JERUSALEM: AN ANCIENT stone tablet discussed at a conference in Jerusalem yesterday may shed light on the links between Judaism and Christianity, experts say.
Israeli historian Israel Knohl said a message written on the tablet, which dates from the first century BC, showed the idea of a messiah being resurrected three days after his death was rooted in Jewish writings from before the time of Jesus's birth.
Dr Knohl's analysis of the tablet is seen as supporting a theory believed by many religious scholars that the idea of resurrection predated Christianity and can be found in Jewish writings.
L Michael White, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, said religious scholars had long known that the idea of resurrection existed in Judaism.
"But what was interesting was the notion of three days," Prof White said.
- (Reuters)