"A great leap forward in understanding and contextualizing Mary's life, after two millennia of her being dismissed and rewritten by patriarchal power structures." James Cameron, creator of Avatar, Titanic, and The Terminator

"A great leap forward in understanding and contextualizing Mary's life, after two millennia of her being dismissed and rewritten by patriarchal power structures." - James Cameron, creator of Avatar, Titanic, and The Terminator

"Tabor restores her voice, her faith, her motherhood, and, most of all, her humanity, in this groundbreaking portrait that challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of Christianity." - Reza Aslan, author of Zealot

A world-renowned historian of early Christianity and ancient Judaism lifts the veil on the life of Mary - revealing her revolutionary role as the matriarch of the Jesus movement.

Mary, mother of Jesus, is the best known - and least known - woman in history. Revered and worshipped by millions, she remains a figment of the imagination, the ethereal subject of Raphaels and Botticellis, bathed in heavenly light, too virginal and too pure to move among us.

But what about the real Mary?

The young Jewish woman and single mother of eight - five boys and three girls. The defiant citizen of Roman-occupied Galilee who survived through one of the most dangerous periods of Jewish history - an ancient "game of thrones" that claimed the lives of three of her sons: Jesus and Simon by crucifixion, James by stoning. The historical Mary whose teachings and courageous example may in fact make her the "first founder" of what we now call Christianity.

This Mary has not only been lost to us - she has been systematically erased over the past two millennia by a theological, cultural, and political program intent on removing her from the human realm and marginalizing her womanhood, motherhood, and Jewishness.

In The Lost Mary, James D. Tabor corrects the record, laying out the results of his intensive textual and archaeological sleuthing over the past three decades, including new evidence regarding Mary's genealogy (which may be hiding in plain sight in the New Testament!). Tabor's quest for the historical Mary offers a transformative perspective on Jesus and his early followers, and recovers the nature and essence of earliest Christianity.

"The Lost Mary unfolds in five radical claims... . Together these arguments are Tabor's attempt to rescue Mary from pious abstraction and revolutionize our picture of her as one of the most consequential women in history... . In recovering her story, we discover not only the hidden roots of Christianity but also a model of resilience that speaks across time. Mary, Tabor shows, reminds us that behind every movement are women whose voices have been silenced, whose influence has been hidden in plain sight." - Candida Moss, National Geographic

"She is the most revered woman in history, but how many people know who Mary, the mother of Jesus, really was? In a penetrating and deep analysis of all our available sources, James Tabor presents a surprising, historical view that places Mary in her own, first-century, Jewish context." - Bart Ehrman, author of Misquoting Jesus

"Gospels, histories, legends, traditions, archaeological artifacts: James Tabor brings all these sources to bear as he retells the story of Mary, the mother not only of Jesus but also of the movement that he championed. The Lost Mary effects an imaginative repatriation of this ancient and elusive figure, vividly conjuring both her character and the times that she lived in. Tabor's Mary is 'lost' no more." - Paula Fredriksen, author of When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation

From renowned historian, a new and powerful portrait of the mother of Jesus

About the Author

JAMES D. TABOR is a retired professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he served as department chair for a decade. His previous ten books include the international bestseller The Jesus Dynasty, The Jesus Discovery, and Paul and Jesus. Over the past three decades Tabor has combined his study of ancient texts with field work in archaeology, and since 2008 he has been co-director of the acclaimed Mt. Zion excavation in Jerusalem. Tabor's work has been featured in dozens of major magazines and TV documentaries, including on PBS Frontline, BBC, Discovery Channel, Nightline, 20/20, and the History Channel. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reviews

"In The Lost Mary, renowned historian James Tabor launches a bold quest to rediscover the historical Mary, mother of Jesus. Far from the passive, deified figure of Christian tradition, the real Mary was a Jewish woman shaped by the revolutionary fervor of her time. Tabor restores her voice, her faith, her motherhood, and, most of all, her humanity, in this groundbreaking portrait that challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of Christianity." -Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

"Mary mother of Jesus, perhaps the most poorly-understood person who ever lived, could not find a better modern interpreter than James Tabor, whose life-long training in both archaeology and textual studies has given him the keys to, for the first time, construct a convincing portrayal of this enigmatic figure." -John Dominic Crossan, author of The Historical Jesus

"Tabor's accessible, informed and wide-ranging exploration challenges Mary's traditional portrayal, while situating Mary solidly within the social and political world of her times. This is a book that will appeal to those who seek an alternative view of Christian history." - Joan E. Taylor, author of Boy Jesus: Growing Up Judean in Turbulent Times

"Informed by archaeology, the history of Romen-ruled Judea and the Galilee, Jewish messianic speculation, and early Christian texts, Tabor offers numerous striking insights regarding not only Mary of Nazareth, but also her son Jesus, John the Baptizer, and James the Just. Engaging, creative, thought-provoking, and revelatory." - Amy-Jill Levine, author of Jesus for Everyone: Not Just Christians

"A fresh perspective on a figure who continues to fascinate ... Tabor makes a strong case for a Mary who was not a bystander but an integral part of a messianic movement." - Ilene Cooper, Booklist

"[A] deep dive into Mary as a credible historical reality ... Tabor's very readable retelling of her life boasts impressive research." - Library Journal

Book Information
ISBN 9780008812096
Author James D. Tabor
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Thorsons
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 480g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 159mm * 18mm