Boy Jesus
Growing Up Judean in Turbulent Times
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Zondervan Academic (Zondervan)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
As a boy, Jesus was a refugee, an outsider, an immigrant in Galilee in which he grew up, and affected by horrific atrocities by the occupying Roman overlords. All this and more is explored in this scholarly but highly accessible investigation into the world of Jesus, ranging from his birth to his coming of age and beyond. Joan Taylor, a world authority on the history and literature of the first century CE, draws both on the latest archaeological findings and on the historical clues to be found within ancient texts of the period. The result is a book that brings the story of Jesus' childhood clearly and vividly to life as never before, while also pointing to the many ways in which Jesus' experiences as a child are likely to have influenced his life, attitudes, and actions as an adult.
Endorsements (12)
“Boy Jesus considers all the ancient texts and archaeological data connected with Jesus’s birth and early years and comes up with some surprising conclusions. . . . This is Joan Taylor at her best, offering an original, imaginative, clearly written, and deeply thoughtful analysis of a range of exceptionally powerful texts. Her deep erudition and balanced judgment are everywhere on display.”
“Boy Jesus is perhaps the most thorough, accessible, and compelling contextual treatment of Jesus’s life to date. Everything from his tribal identity to his family and trade are given close examination. This book will be prized by anyone studying the historical Jesus or the Gospels, scholar or pastor alike.”
“A thought-provoking and innovative investigation of a subject usually supposed beyond the reach of historians.”
“Original, engaging, and smart, Taylor’s volume brilliantly challenges conventional readings of the nativity stories and so of Jesus’s upbringing.”
“Enlightening and engaging, this is a must-read for everyone interested in the historical Jesus and the birth of Christianity.”
“Beautifully written and richly illustrated, Boy Jesus weaves recent archaeological discoveries with insightful textual analyses to construct the crucial background for understanding the world and memories behind the Jesus of the Gospels. A must-read for anyone interested in the historical Jesus and Christian origins.”
“Joan Taylor masterfully uncovers memories of Jesus’s upbringing—his ancestry, family ties, cultural connections, and moments of dislocation from the land—amid the social and political turmoil of a changing Galilee and Judea. Taylor’s insightful analysis offers readers a profound understanding of how the boy Jesus was shaped, making this a must-read for anyone seeking deeper insight into his formative years.”
“In this engrossing book, Joan Taylor draws on a broad range of textual and archaeological sources to imagine the concrete, everyday realities of Jesus’s childhood and young adulthood. In contrast to many other scholars, Taylor does not pay mere lip service to the fact that Jesus was Jewish, nor does she argue for exceptionalism. Rather, she situates Jesus squarely within his historical, social, geographical, and religious contexts, and in doing so brings him to life as few other studies have done.”
“A leading archaeologist and expert on Second Temple Judea offers here a nuanced, wide-ranging, and groundbreaking exploration of the earliest stories of Jesus’s infancy and childhood. Always in a thoroughly informed way, Taylor includes both fresh, sometimes controversial proposals and evidence for more conventional ones. This meticulously argued work will surely generate both debate and well-deserved praise. Everyone will learn from it, and those who disagree on points will necessarily find the study fascinating and worthy of engagement, while finding much worthy of consideration.”
“Through a creative but disciplined approach to birth and infancy narratives (including noncanonical stories), Joan Taylor challenges the received consensus among critical scholars who argue that we can know little about the early life of Jesus. Her long-recognized expertise in ancient history, languages, literature, and material culture is used to show that we can say quite a lot about the fraught nature of family life in Judea and Galilee against the backdrop of displacement, health crises, banditry, and the ever-present threat of violence from the ruling classes. While Taylor’s intellectual prowess is evident, Boy Jesus is also written in her typically engaging and accessible style.”
“In Boy Jesus, Joan Taylor challenges the view that there is little we can confidently know about Jesus’s early years. She comes to judicious and fresh conclusions about Jesus’s Judean and Davidic heritage, his family, and his Galilean childhood, emphasizing the precarious and at times dangerous contexts in which Jesus grew up. Taylor’s work emerges from her wide-ranging knowledge of ancient Judaism and Christianity, coupled with exceptional historical facility and a disciplined historical imagination. A unique and valuable resource.”
“This is an extraordinary accomplishment! Taylor paints a totally new picture of the boy Jesus as a refugee and emigrant in a landscape of turbulence and violence that shaped his life.”
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