18 April 2022
Everybody know wetin Jesus look like. Na im dem paint pas for Western art, everybody know am as pesin wey get long hair and bear-bear, one long robe wit long sleeves (most times white) and mantle (most times blue).
Jesus dey very popular sotay u fit recognize am for pancake or piece of toast.
But shey na so im really look like?
Maybe not.
In fact dis familiar image of Jesus dey actually come from di Byzantine era, from di 4th Century onwards, and Byzantine representations of Jesus dey symbolic – na about meaning, e no get anything to do wit historical accuracy.
Di image dey based on one emperor, as we see for di altar mosaic of di Santa Pudenziana church for Rome.
Jesus wear one gold toga. Im be di heavenly ruler of all di world, familiar from di famous statue of long-haired and bearded Olympian Zeus wey be dey on a throne - di statue bin dey so popular sotay one Roman Emperor - Augustus wey pipo sabi - make copy of imself wit di same style (without di godly long hair and beard).
Byzantine artists, be wan show Christ heavenly rule as cosmic King, e come invent imself as a younger version of Zeus. Wetin come happun be say ova time, e become di visualisation of heavenly Christ - today – e don become our standard model of di early Jesus.
So wetin Jesus really look like?
Make we go from head to toe.
1. Hair and beard
Tori be say wen early Christians bin no dey show Christ as heavenly ruler, dem show Jesus as a real man like any oda: no beard and pesin wey get short-hair.
But a kind of wise pesin wey dey wander, na im make Jesus get beard, for di simple reason say e no dey go barber.
Say pesin no pay too much attention to im dressing and im beard na im bin differentiate a philosopher (pesin wey dey tink of higher tings) from everyone else. Di Stoic philosopher Epictetus consider am as "appropriate according to Nature".
Odawise, for di 1st Century Graeco-Roman world, to dey clean-shaven wit short-hair den bin dey reign.
So Jesus, as a philosopher wit di "natural" look, fit get short beard, like di men dem for Judaea Capta coinage, but im hair probably bin no dey very long.
If im hair bin dey slightly long hair, we for expect some reaction. Jewish men wey bin no dey take care of dia beards and wey dia hair long small dem tag dem as men wey don take Nazirite vow. E mean say, dem go dedicate themselves to God for a period of time, dem no go drink wine or cut dia hair - and at di end of dis period, dem go shave dia heads for special ceremony for di temple for Jerusalem (as dem describe am for Acts chapter 21, verse 24).
But Jesus no keep Nazirite vow, because im dey often drink wine - im critics accuse am of drinking far too much of am (Matthew chapter 11, verse 19). If im bin get long hair, and bin look like a Nazirite, we for don hear some comment on di difference between how im appear and wetin im dey do do - di problem go be say im drink wine at all.
Man wey respond to Davido Tweet on helping pipo wit business ideas tok how e change im lif
2. Clothing
At di time of Jesus, rich men bin dey wear long robes for special occasions, to show off dia high status in public. For one of Jesus teachings, e say, "Beware of di scribes, anyone wey desire to walk in long robes (stolai), greet pipo for marketplaces, and get di most important seats for synagogues and di places of honour for banquets" (Mark chapter 12, verses 38-39).
Generally Jesus teaching dey considered as di more accurate parts of di Gospels, so from dis, we fit assume say Jesus no really wear such robes.
Overall those days, men for Jesus time dey wear knee-length tunic, a chiton, and woman dey wear ankle-length one, and if you swap these around na statement. For, di 2nd Century Acts of Paul and Thecla, wen Thecla, one woman, wear short (male) tunic e come as shock. These tunics na something wey get coloured bands wey dey run from di shoulder to di bottom and dem fit weave am as one piece.
On top of di tunic you go wear a mantle, a himation, and we know say Jesus bin wear one of these because dat na wetin one woman touch wen she dey find healing from am (see, for example, Mark chapter 5, verse 27).
Di quality, size and colour of these mantles dey show Power and prestige. Purple and certain types of blue indicate class and esteem. Dis na royal colours because di dyes dem use to make dem dey very rare and expensive.
But colours fit also indicate something else. Di historian Josephus describe di Zealots (one Jewish group wey be want push di Romans out of Judaea) as a bunch of murderous transvestites wey wear "dyed mantles" - chlanidia – e say na women cloth. Dis wan suggest say no real men, unless say dia status high suppose wear undyed clothing.
Jesus no wear white, however. E dey different onto say e require, bleaching or chalking, and for Judaea, e bin dey associated with a group wey dem call Essenes - wey follow strict interpretation of Jewish law. Di difference between Jesus clothing and bright, white clothing, dey described for Mark chapter 9, wen three apostles accompany Jesus to one mountain to pray and e begin to radiate light. Mark tori say Jesus himatia (in plural di word fit mean "clothing" or "clothes" rather dan "mantles") begin "shine, intensely white, as no pesin on earth fit bleach dem". Before im transfiguration, therefore, Mark present Jesus as an ordinary man, wey wear ordinary clothes, for dis case, undyed wool, di material wey you go send to a fuller - pesin wey dey bleach cloth.
Dem tell us about Jesus cloth during im execution, wen Roman sojas divide im himatia (in dis case di word probably refer to two mantles) into four shares (see John chapter 19, verse 23). One of dis na probably di tallith, or Jewish prayer shawl. Dis mantle wit tassels (tzitzith) dey referred to by Jesus for Matthew chapter 23, verse 5. Na lightweight himation, traditionally made of undyed creamy-coloured woollen material, and e get some kind of indigo stripe or threading.
3. Feet
For im feet, Jesus go dey wear sandals. Everybody dey wear sandals. For desert caves close to di Dead Sea and Masada, sandals from the time of Jesus don come to light, so we fit see exactly wetin dem dey like. Simple, wit soles made of thick pieces of leather wey dem sew together, and di upper parts dey made of straps of leather wey go through di toes.
4. Wetin im face look like
And what about Jesus facial features? Na Jew. Jesus na Jew (or Judaean) e dey sure onto say e dey for many repeated diverse literature, including im letters of Paul. And, as di Letter to di Hebrews states: "E dey clear say our Lord bin descend from Judah." So how we go imagine a Jew at dat time, a man "about 30 years of age wen im begin," according to Luke chapter 3?
For 2001, forensic anthropologist Richard Neave bin create a model of one Galilean man for one BBC documentary, Son of God, wey work on di basis of a skull wey dem find for di region. E no claim say na Jesus face. Na to prompt pipo to consider Jesus as being a man of im time and place, since dem no tell us say im look dey distinctive.
For all di pipo wey don do modelling on ancient bones, I feel say dis na di the closest correspondence to wetin Jesus really look like wey dem find in di way dem show Moses for di walls of di 3rd Century synagogue of Dura-Europos, since e show how dem imagine a Jewish sage (wise man) to look like for di Graeco-Roman world. Dem imagine Moses to wear clothes wey no dey dyed, and in fact im mantle na tallith, since for di Dura image of Moses as e dey part di Red Sea, you fit see tassels (tzitzith) for di corners.
At any rate, dis image dey far more correct as a basis for imagining di historical Jesus dan di adaptations of di Byzantine Jesus wey don become standard: short-hair and small beard, and e dey wear short tunic, wit short sleeves, and himation.
Joan Taylor wey write dis article na professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism for King's College London and di author of The Essenes, the Scrolls and the Dead Sea.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o67CZ5qopV%2BltqWzyKdmraeinnp3fZBtZ2pvaQ%3D%3D