ASOR Day Two: The Morning Session

I attended the NT and Archaeology session and it was quite good with various papers by various persons including James Tabor who talked about his Mt Zion excavation and the location of the Essene Gate.

The highlight paper though was, for me, the presentation of Kim Bauser on Cana and its importance (an importance greater than usually granted). She investigated such matters as why John alone mentions Cana (and Nathaniel) and persuasively argues that Nathaniel was a ‘proto-rabbinic’ figure (seen by Jesus under the fig tree- where rabbis taught) and that Cana was a typically Jewish town (with its own Synagogue). This is all important because of the opposition of the ‘Jews’ to Jesus throughout the rest of the Gospel because it sets the stage by demonstrating that Jesus and his followers were normal pious Jews.

H. Shanks was there as well but we didn’t get a chance to chat… So I left.

Then I wandered around the ETS exhibition hall and ran into Bobby K., who I was very happy to see!