Mary is the best known, least known woman in history. Billions recognize her name, yet the actual Jewish woman behind the icons has been almost completely erased. In this powerful conversation, Dr. James Tabor, Distinguished Fellow at Hebrew University and two-time New York Times bestselling author, reveals what 20 years of research, archaeology, and critical scholarship have uncovered about the real Mary. What emerges is not the passive, silent figure of tradition, but a revolutionary Jewish matriarch who shaped the teachings of Jesus, ran the headquarters of the early movement from Mount Zion, and whose voice we still hear in the Beatitudes.

Dr. Tabor takes us into the violent, politically charged world Mary lived through: mass crucifixions in the Galilee, Herod murdering his own family, and the constant threat facing anyone with Davidic lineage. He reveals the urban setting most people miss (Sepphoris, a major city just four miles from Nazareth), makes the case that Luke's genealogy is actually Mary's lineage showing she was "doubly royal" (descended from both King David and the priestly line of Aaron), and addresses the question most scholars avoid: the mysterious name Pantera that appears in early Jewish sources. This is history that will reshape how you understand Christianity's origins.

In this episode you will learn:

- Why Mary is the "most erased" woman in history and how it happened deliberately
- The shocking urban context of Jesus's upbringing (Sepphoris was a major city of 30,000 people just 4 miles from Nazareth)
- How Mary likely witnessed the mass crucifixions and burning of Sepphoris when Jesus was an infant
- The case for James (not John) being the "beloved disciple" at the cross
- Why the brothers and sisters of Jesus are real biological siblings, not stepchildren or cousins
- The evidence that Luke's genealogy is actually Mary's lineage, making her "doubly royal"
- What early Jewish sources in Sepphoris actually say about "Yeshua ben Pantera" (and why it's not an insult)
- How Mary functioned as the matriarch who shaped Jesus's nonviolent, revolutionary teachings
- The connection between Isaiah 11, Mary's vision, and Jesus's Beatitudes
- Why three of Mary's sons (Jesus, James, and Simon) were murdered because of their lineage

Get Dr. Tabor's new book "The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus"

More from Dr. James Tabor:
Blog: https://jamestabor.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JamesTaborVideos
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jamesdtabor

Also check out Dr. Tabor's bestsellers:

"The Jesus Dynasty"

"Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity"


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