Armed with his training as a Bible scholar and a linguist, Professor Friedman combines his own understanding of the ancient world with recent archeological evidence and new methods of literary analysis to discover clues within the Bible itself that point to a solution to the puzzle of its authorship. Like a skilled detective on a difficult case, he carefully uncovers the identity of the writers: when and where they lived, their relationship to the events they described, whom they admired, whom they opposed, the political and religious motivations behind their works; and in three cases, he provides their names. He discovers that some of these writers knew each other and tells how this affected, in unexpected ways, the final form the Bible took. Finally, he explains why there are inconsistencies in the Bible, why certain stories came out the way they did and what their relationship was to the historical events they describe, why certain laws were laid down, and why God is portrayed in so many different and often contradictory ways.--From publisher description.

If you thought Dan Brown's fiction was gripping, try the truth. This controversial book pieces together new evidence on the real life of Jesus. The true inspiration behind Kathy Reich's bestselling thriller, 'Cross Bones', archaeologist and scholar James Tabor takes us on a startling journey that changes the story of Christianity as we know it. Based on hands-on archaeological experience and ground-breaking academic research, real-life Indiana Jones, James Tabor, has produced a compelling and bold new interpretation of the life of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. So revelatory is his work that Kathy Reichs, bestselling mystery writer of the Tempe Brennan series, was inspired by his findings to write her latest novel, 'Cross Bones'. The truth, however, is far more gripping than fiction - either hers or Dan Brown's. Tabor's scholarly detective work begins with his accidental discovery on a dig in Israel of what many now think was Jesus' family tomb. Tabor pieces together new archaeological evidence, combined with the earliest surviving Christian documents to reconstruct Jesus' real family history as a royal dynasty in exile. Jesus was leader of a messianic movement - one far different to the revelations of his maverick follower Paul who was responsible for what we know as Christianity today. Was Jesus far more human than the Church has led us to believe? Was his royal bloodline meant to free mankind or just a chosen few? And why did dissident follower Paul have a more lasting effect on Christianity than Jesus himself? Find out the controversial truth in 'The Jesus Dynasty'.