PROLOGUE

Prologue to "Light of the World." Gives background on the story that follows in the chapters.

In 1941, in the Kidron Valley near Jerusalem, two archaeologists discovered a tomb dating to the first century, prior to the destruction of Herod’s Temple at the hands of the Roman General Titus. Inside, they found eleven ossuaries, or “bone boxes,” nine of which had some form of inscription. Unlike the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” found in alabaster jars by Bedouin shepherds in caves near Qumran in what is now the West Bank, these ossuaries were found as a result of systematic research and digging, rather than pure chance.

Inside the tomb, the scholars found what seemed to be an undisturbed family resting place, that found its roots in the Greek city of Cyrene, in modern day Libya. The archaeologists removed all the stone ossuaries, photographed the bones within, and re-buried the remains in accordance with the Jewish law, but keeping the ossuaries. Inside one, they found five parchment scrolls, but reading only the introduction of the first, thought it was nothing more than a genealogy, and replaced it in its ossuary, which was then placed on a shelf for over twenty years.

 

Then, in the late 1990’s, an undergraduate student at Hebrew University who was researching the work of the Chief archaeologist on the dig, came across the minor press clippings released in 1941, which mentioned the scrolls, requested permission to translate them. After being granted permission, the student was astounded at what she read. However, without a degree, was unable to have her work published in any of the leading scholarly magazines.

The next sections of this document are the results of her work, the completed translation of the scrolls. The content of these scrolls will amaze even the most skeptical reader, as the urgency of the original author raced against time to finish his memoir, in the face of his imminent death.

Author's Note

As with all my writings, I prefer to have a select group of people proofread. If you leave a review, I would appreciate you limiting it to how clear, and how enjoyable the writing is. If you leave a review with a link to one of your writings, I will gladly return the favor and give you a review.