Race and appearance of Jesus
The race and appearance of Jesus, widely accepted by researchers to be a Judean from Galilee,[1] has been a topic of discussion since the days of early Christianity.
[2][3] By the Middle Ages, a number of documents, generally of unknown or questionable origin, had been composed and were circulating with details of the appearance of Jesus.
[4][5][6] A wide range of depictions have appeared over the two millennia since Jesus's death, often influenced by cultural settings, political circumstances and theological contexts.
[7]: 44–45 By the 19th century, theories that Jesus was non-Semitic were being developed, with writers suggesting he was variously white, black, or some other race other than those known to have been native to the Levant.
[8] However, as in other cases of the assignment of race to biblical individuals, these claims have been mostly based on cultural stereotypes, ethnocentrism, and societal trends rather than on scientific analysis or historical method.
[7]: 18 Research on ancient skeletons in modern-day Palestine suggests that Judeans of the time were biologically closer to present-day Iraqi Jews than to any other modern population, according to specialist bio historian Yossi Nagar.
[9]: 83–121 Historians have speculated that Jesus's ascetic and itinerant lifestyle and work as a tektōn (Ancient Greek for an artisan-craftsman, typically a carpenter), entailing manual labour and exposure to the elements, affected his appearance.
The second-century anti-Christian philosopher Celsus wrote that Jesus was "ugly and small",[25] and similar descriptions are presented in a number of other sources as discussed extensively by Robert Eisler,[26] who in turn often quotes from Ernst von Dobschütz' monumental Christusbilder.
[27] Tertullian states that Jesus's outward form was despised, that he had an ignoble appearance, and the slander he suffered proved the 'abject condition' of his body.
[26]: 439 Andrew of Crete relates that Christ was bent or even crooked,[26]: 412 and in the non-canonical Acts of John, he is described as bald-headed and small with no good looks.
[30] As quoted by Eisler,[26]: 393–394, 414–415 both Hierosolymitanus and John of Damascus claim that "the Jew Josephus" described Jesus as having had connate eyebrows with goodly eyes and being long-faced, crooked and well-grown.
Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Ambrose considered lack of physical attractiveness in Jesus as fulfilling the messianic prophecy Suffering Servant narrative of Isaiah 53.
[32] The more mainstream, theological perspective, as expressed by Church Fathers Jerome and Augustine of Hippo, argued that Jesus must have been ideally beautiful in face and body.
[43] In contrast, Abd Allah ibn Abbas says Jesus was of "moderate complexion inclined to the red and white colors and of lank hair".
For example, Ana Echevarría notes that medieval Spanish writer Jiménez de Rada, in his Historia arabum, chooses a version to emphasise that Jesus is whiter than Muhammad, quoting the Ibn Abbas version: "I saw Jesus, a man of medium height and moderate complexion inclined to the red and white colours and of lank hair."
"[45] The Doctrine and Covenants describes the Lord appearing to Joseph Smith: "His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters ..." (D&C: 110:3) In keeping with the political climate of the 19th and 20th centuries, Latter-Day Saint founder Joseph Smith envisioned Jesus as white, as reflected in Latter-Day Saint texts and portrayals of Jesus.
According to Blum and Harvey, the blue eyes may have been intended to bolster Mormonism's image of whiteness and Americanness, distinguishing it from Protestant faiths.
[47] Cain Hope Felder has argued that New Testament passages such as Galatians 3:28 express a form of universalism which goes beyond race, ethnicity or religion.
[60] Assuming Jesus to be a native West Asian Galilean Semite, the study concluded in conjunction with Mark Goodacre that he would have appeared 'Middle Eastern' and his skin would have been "olive-coloured"[61] and "swarthy"[citation needed] – these results were criticised by some media outlets for being "dismissive" and "dumbed down".
The study, sponsored by the BBC, France 3 and the Discovery Channel,[67] used one of three first-century Jewish skulls from a leading department of forensic science in Israel.
A face was constructed using forensic anthropology by Richard Neave, a retired medical artist from the Unit of Art in Medicine at the University of Manchester, in collaboration with other British scientists.
[61] Additional information about Jesus's skin color and hair was provided by Mark Goodacre, a senior lecturer at the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham.
[74] By the 20th century, some reports of miraculous images of Jesus began to receive a significant amount of attention, e.g. Secondo Pia's photograph of the Shroud of Turin, one of the most controversial artifacts in history.
[75][76][77] Another 20th-century depiction of Jesus, namely the Divine Mercy image, is based on Faustina Kowalska's reported vision, which she described in her diary as a pattern that was then painted by artists.
[78][79] Despite the lack of biblical references or historical records, for two millennia a wide range of depictions of Jesus have appeared, often influenced by cultural settings, political circumstances and theological contexts.
[18] These depictions of Jesus with reddish brown hair which is parted in the middle and almond shaped eyes remained consistent for several centuries.
In the 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ, Jesus was portrayed by Jim Caviezel, who wore a prosthetic nose during filming and had his blue eyes digitally changed to light brown to give him a more Middle Eastern appearance.
According to designer Miles Teves, who created the prosthesis: "Mel [Gibson] wanted to make the actor playing Jesus, James Caviezel, look more ethnically Middle Eastern, and it was decided that we could do it best by changing the shape of his nose.
