Jesus was a Jewish rabbi. In terms of Historical data,…

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi. In terms of Historical data,…

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi. In terms of Historical data, He in incomparable to other rabbis of that time.

Jesus of Nazareth- Earliest source mentioning Him is the Creed found in 1 Corinthians 15, dating c. 33-35 AD, just a few years after His death. Paul’s letters mention Him from the 50s-60s AD. The Gospels were based on oral traditions and were written down c. 70-90s AD.

Honi the Circle Drawer- 1st century BC rabbi, died around 63 BC. The earliest source to mention him is Josephus in the 90s AD, and later texts like the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud mention him.

Other rabbis in the second temple period (1st BC-1st century AD) include Eleazar ben Azariah, Gamaliel (who is mentioned in the book of Acts), Hilell the Elder, Nachum Ish Gamzu, etc. are usually only given biographical info in the Talmud or Mishnah, which is a collection of oral tradition spanning around 200 years.

So in comparison to other rabbis at the time, I think the sources of Jesus stack up extremely well. Having 4 biographies written based on 40-60 years of oral tradition does not seem problematic when the standard was to preserve rabbinical information for around 150-200 years before being written down.

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