When he’s not filming “Unashamed” podcasts, duck hunting, or hanging out with his family, Jase Robertson can usually be found combing the land with his metal detector. His interest in treasure hunting sparked several years ago when a family friend battling cancer introduced him to the hobby. His enthusiasm for metal detecting grew over time and eventually culminated in the Fox Nation series “Duck Family Treasure.”
This deep fondness for unearthing lost treasure recently drew Jase to a story about a lost biblical treasure that many have forgotten or perhaps never heard of. On a recent episode of “Unashamed,” Jase shared the fascinating and mysterious tale of Oded Golan and the James Ossuary.
Golan is a Tel Aviv-based Israeli antiquities collector. According to his testimony, he purchased a bone box in the mid-1970s from a Jerusalem antiquities dealer, paying only a modest sum. The box bore an Aramaic inscription that read: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”
The implications of such a discovery, Jase explains, were enormous because if proved legitimate, it would “give proof to the Bible itself.”
But for decades, Golan didn’t think much of the box or its inscription. As a secular Jew, he didn’t connect it to the biblical James. Around 2001, however, he happened to show the box to a visiting French epigrapher André Lemaire, who instantly recognized the potential significance.
Lemaire published his analysis of Golan’s bone box in “Biblical Archaeology Review.” The ossuary was then briefly exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, causing worldwide sensation as possible first archaeological evidence linked to Jesus.
“This turned into an eight-year trial,” Jase exclaims.
The public attention attracted the Israel Antiquities Authority, which then convened experts to analyze the box’s inscription. They ultimately declared the “brother of Jesus” part was a modern forgery, citing patina analysis, style differences, and other evidence.
“I’m a treasure hunter so I was familiar with [patina],” says Jase. “The patina all seemed legit except on the part where it said ‘brother of Jesus.’”
But this accusation makes him a bit skeptical. “[The box] had a lot of patina on it, which you can’t fake patina. … Any treasure hunter knows that,” he says.
The experts’ conclusion that the “brother of Jesus” inscription was forged ignited a massive international scandal, complete with police raids on Golan’s home, dramatic claims of a sophisticated forgery ring, and headlines labeling it the “forgery trial of the century.”
The ensuing years-long legal saga became a grueling courtroom battle of rival experts, ending in Golan’s 2012 acquittal on forgery charges (though he was convicted on a minor trading offense). The judge, however, noted the verdict did not prove the inscription authentic.
“They just really couldn’t prove that it wasn’t authentic,” says Jase.
The ossuary was eventually returned to Golan. It remains one of the most controversial artifacts in biblical archaeology, with scholars still divided on its authenticity.
Jase wonders if the authorities’ seeming frenzy to disprove the inscription stemmed from Judaism’s rejection of Jesus as deity.
“In their mind, they’re like, ‘Well, Jesus is not the son of God. This guy’s got some proof,’” he remarks.
Ultimately, whether the box contained the actual bones of Jesus Christ’s brother James is not a matter of great importance, Jase argues.
While he believes there’s “pretty strong evidence” the bone box could be legitimate, trying to prove its authenticity is “the wrong search,” he says.
“I really feel like in my heart that we serve God in faith. If you’re trying to look to prove there’s a God, I just don’t think that’s the way God designed it.”
To hear more, watch the episode above.
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