Professors: James D. Tabor

James D. Tabor is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has taught since 1989. An academic and archaeologist, he has also taught at the University of Notre Dame (1979-1985) and the College of William and Mary (1985-1989). Tabor received his B.A. and M.A. in Biblical Languages at Pepperdale University and his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. His thesis focused on Biblical Studies, with a specialized focus on Christian origins and ancient Judaism, including Jesus, John the Baptist, James, Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is the author of a variety of acclaimed texts, including A Noble Death, which focuses on attitudes toward religious suicide and martyrdom.

The subject of Tabor’s current research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He has combined extensive fieldwork and textual research in this area. Digs he has participated in include: the New Qumrum excavations (1998); the Sepphoris, near Nazareth in the Galilee, a dig directed by Professor James Strange of the University of South Florida, 1996, 1999, 2000); and the archaeological excavation of 2000-2001 with Shimon Gibson in a new cave found in the Ein Kerem area, outside of Jerusalem at Suba, in which Jewish-Christian art related to John the Baptist were found. One of his discoveries with Gibson included the only first century Jewish burial shroud found in Israel, which was uncovered in a Herodian tomb.

Chief editor of the Original Bible Project, a venture aimed at establishing a complete historical-linguistic translation of the Bible, Tabor is also currently working on an edited volume with Professor Eugene Gallagher, entitled Crossing the Bounds: Humanity and Divinity in Late Antiquity. His most noted work is the acclaimed, The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity.

Visit James Tabor's blog at The Jesus Dynasty blog.