Professors: Israel Knohl

Professor Israel Knohl teaches Biblical studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also a senior researcher at the Shalom Hartman Institue and is well-known in the academic community.

Throughout his academic career Knohl has written numerous publications including books, chapters in books, and a handful of articles. He's best known for his books The Sanctuary of Silence and The Messiah before Jesus.

In his bookThe Sanctuary of Silence, Knohl defends the idea that the Priestly Source dates back to an earlier period than believed to, and that the Holiness Code represents an addition to the law code of Priesty Sources.

In The Messiah before Jesus, Knohl argues that Jesus was not the first Messiah, and probably is not the last Messiah either. To support his argument, Knohl used the two hymns found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. One of the hymns describes what it means to be a "Suffering Servant." This narration shows how to obey the will of God to bring good, a time of sinless joys, to the Jewish people. According to Knohl, someone who considered himself to be the Messiah wrote the hymn retelling his story during a time period before Jesus.

Third Princeton Symposium (2008)

Professor Israel Knohl is one of the over 50 guests who attended the Third Princeton Symposium on Judaism and Christian Origins at the beautiful and historic Mishkenot She'ananim in Jerusalem. The conference ran for four days from January 13 to January 16, 2008. The conference was organized by Professor James Charlesworth to discuss the Talpiot Tomb in Context.

Knohl also served as one of the five expert panelists during the symposium. Although, the opinion among the panel remained divided, Knohl on the last day of the conference said that he saw no reason not to evaluate the tomb in Talpiot as Jesus' family tomb. He also suggested that the surrounding caves should be excavated for more proof and explanations.