Joan E. Taylor
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Joan E. Taylor is a New Zealand writer and historian of
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
,
early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
, the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...
, and
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The Second Temple pe ...
, with special expertise in
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, and
women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
and
gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...
. Taylor is the Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at
King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
. She identifies as a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
.


Early life and education

Joan Elizabeth Taylor was born in
Horsell Horsell is a village in the borough of Woking in Surrey, England, less than a mile north-west of Woking town centre. In November 2012, its population was 9,384. Horsell is integral to H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel ''The War of the Wor ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England, on 13 September 1958. Her ancestry is English and
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
. In 1967, her family emigrated to New Zealand, where she grew up, attending school in
Newlands Newlands may refer to: Places Australia * Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region New Zealand * Newlands, Wellington, a suburb of Wellington South Africa * Newlands, Cape Town, a suburb of Cape Town * Newlands, Johannesbur ...
and
Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...
. After a BA degree at
Auckland University The University of Auckland is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest, most comprehensive and highest-ranked university in New Zealand and consistently places among the top 100 universit ...
, New Zealand. Joan completed a three-year
postgraduate degree Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...
in Divinity at the
University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...
, and then went to the
British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem The Kenyon Institute, previously known as the British School of Archaeology at Jerusalem (BSAJ), is a British overseas research institute supporting humanities and social science studies in Israel and Palestine. It is part of the Council for Briti ...
(Kenyon Institute) as Annual Scholar in 1986. She undertook a PhD in early Christian
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and Jewish-Christianity at New College,
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...
, as a
Commonwealth Scholar The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. History The plan was originally proposed ...
.


Career

In 1990, she accompanied her husband, human rights expert Paul Hunt, to
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
and then to
Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, returning to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1992. She was lecturer, subsequently senior lecturer, at
the University of Waikato , mottoeng = For The People , established = 1964; years ago , endowment = (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020) , chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ , vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley , cit ...
, in the departments of both Religious Studies and History. In 1995 she won an Irene Levi-Sala prize in archaeology for the book version of her PhD thesis
''Christians and the Holy Places''
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1993, rev. 2003). In 1996-7 she was Visiting Lecturer and Research Associate in Women's Studies in New Testament at
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
, a position she held in association with a Fulbright Award. She joined the staff of
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, in 2009, and in 2012 became Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism. She was visiting scholar at
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...
2019-2022, and is currently (from 2022) Honorary Professor at the Centre of Religion and Critical Enquiry,
Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...
in Melbourne.


Notable Research


The Therapeutae

Taylor travelled to Egypt in 1999 to research the area surrounding
Lake Mareotis Lake Mariout ( ar, بحيرة مريوط ', , also spelled Maryut or Mariut), is a brackish lake in northern Egypt near the city of Alexandria. The lake area covered and had a navigable canal at the beginning of the 20th century, but at the begin ...
where the
Therapeutae The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the ...
lived according to
Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's deplo ...
. Later, she published her archaeological findings beside her textual analysis of Philo's De Vita Contemplativa in her boo
''Jewish Women Philosophers of First-Century Alexandria: Philo's 'Therapeutae' Reconsidered''
Taylor challenged the belief that the Therapeutae were an Essenic community and showed that the Mareotic community belonged to the
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
n milieu with its Jewish Diaspora community. She argued that the best historical context to Philo's Contemp. is the bitter hostilities between the Jews and the Greeks of Alexandria. She also managed to discover the location of the community at a low hill, in the ridge which was called "the Strip." Her findings were welcomed in scholarship. Pieter W. van der Horst found her discovery and analysis thorough and convincing, which makes a shift in our understanding of the context of this group. The prominent Second Temple scholar John J. Collins also accepted the "richly documented" conclusions of Taylor. Yet, he shared van der Horst's reluctance to agree with Taylor's suggestion that the Therapeutae were associated with the extreme allegorizers in Philo's (''Migr.Ab.'' 89-93) due to Philo's sympathy toward the Therapeutae. Her study also proposed a new view of first century Jewish women since the Therapeutrides (Θεραπευτρίδες) were highly educated philosophers. This view further supported the contribution of
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
observations to historical investigation, according t
Annewies van den Hoek
of
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
. Taylor has gone on to write a substantia
commentary
on the De Vita Contemplativa, continuing the work of the late David Hay. This is highly commended as 'without doubt the best commentary ever written on this text'.


John the Baptist

Taylor's ground-breaking work on
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
situated John within the context of
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The Second Temple pe ...
and argued that his baptism should be understood in line with forms of immersion for ritual purity known at the time. John's baptism rid the body of ritual impurity after the inner being had been cleansed by repentance, action and forgiveness, preparing people for the eschatological arrival of a coming figure. In her careful analysis of issues surrounding the traditions of the Baptist like purification, she showed that John's baptism should not be understood through the duality of outer symbolism and inner repentance, as
John Dominic Crossan John Dominic Crossan (born 17 February 1934) is an Irish-American New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, former Catholic priest who was a prominent member of the Jesus Seminar, and emeritus professor at DePaul University. His res ...
stated earlier, but outer and inner purity. The significance of the book, as
Bruce Chilton Bruce D. Chilton (born September 27, 1949 Roslyn, NY) is an American scholar of early Christianity and Judaism. He is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, former Rector of the Church of St John the Evangelist and formerly Li ...
puts it, is in treating the tradition of the Baptist in its own historical context, not under the shadow of New Testament
Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...
. Her analysis instilled scholarly debates of the relationship between Qumran and John the Baptist as well as formative Christianity with a spectrum of opinions over her findings.


Archaeology

Since her PhD and early work on the archaeology of Christian holy sites, Taylor has ranged from studying the archaeology of the goddess
Asherah Asherah (; he, אֲשֵׁרָה, translit=Ăšērā; uga, 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, translit=ʾAṯiratu; akk, 𒀀𒅆𒋥, translit=Aširat; Qatabanian language, Qatabanian: ') in ancient Semitic religion, is a fertility goddess who appears in a ...
to questions of archaeology and historical geography (in
Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
' ''
Onomasticon Onomasticon may refer to: *Onomasticon (Eusebius) *Onomasticon of Amenope *Onomasticon of Joan Coromines *Onomasticon of Julius Pollux *Onomasticon of Johann Glandorp *''Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum Onomasticon may refer to: *Onomasticon (Eusebius ...
'' and the Gospels, and to the excavations of
Qumran Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...
and the
Qumran Caves Qumran Caves are a series of caves, both natural and artificial, found around the archaeological site of Qumran in the Judaean Desert. It is in these caves that the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Israel Nature and Parks Authority took over th ...
, particularly contributing to discussion of the relationship between literary and archaeological evidence for understanding the past (i
On Pliny, the Essene Location and Kh. Qumran
.


''Jesus and Brian''

Taylor organised an international conference focusing on the new hermeneutic of reception exegesis, by considering the historical Jesus through the lens of
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
’s ''
Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It wa ...
'' in June 2014, involving the participation of
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
and
Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...
, who were interviewed as part of the event. The papers are published in a book edited by Taylor, '' Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python's Life of Brian''.


''What Did Jesus Look Like?''

Taylor’s book ''What Did Jesus Look Like?'' (
Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...
T&T Clark, 2018) received considerable media interest on its release. In seeking to understand the appearance of Jesus, Taylor scoured western art and relics, memories and traditions, and ultimately relied on early texts and archaeology to create a visualisation of Jesus that she considered more authentic. In this reconstruction, she stresses that Jesus was not only a Jewish man of Middle Eastern appearance, with ‘olive-brown skin', but probably quite short-haired. He wore very basic clothing and was ‘scruffy’, and his appearance mattered in terms of his message.


Media

Taylor is a frequent contributor to television and radio programmes about Jesus and the early Church. With
Helen Bond Helen Katharine Bond (born 1968) is a British Professor of Early Christianity, Christian Origins and New Testament. She has written many books related to Pontius Pilate, Jesus and Judaism. Biography Bond born in 1968 and raised in the North East ...
, the pair initiated a project that culminated in the 2018 documentar
‘Jesus Female Disciples: The New Evidence’
made b
Minerva Productions
(Jean-Claude Bragard), commissioned by UK's
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, directed and produced by Anna Cox. After receiving high viewing figures and acclaim from reviewers, as a 'healthy corrective to the myths we take for gospel' this has been screened globally in multiple languages. Taylor and Bond then went on to write a popular book
Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples''
(2022), expanding on their studies, with associated interview podcasts, including for th
''Spectator''


Literature

Taylor is also a writer of narrative history, novels and poetry (sometimes using her mother's maiden name of Norlev). Her first novel, ''Conversations wit
Mr. Prain
', was published by
Melville House Publishing Melville House Publishing is an American independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 and is run by the husband-and-wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey. T ...
in Brooklyn, New York, an
Hardie Grant
in Melbourne, in 2006, and republished by Melville House. Her second novel,

', was published by Seventh Rainbow, London, in 2013. In 2016 her historical novel
Napoleon's Willow
' appeared. A review in th
New Zealand Herald
called it 'a feverishly colourful story' and noted her historian's eye: 'The reader can be impressed by the perfect chronology of the events, but layering on a cast of factual and fictitious characters relies on impeccable social research and imagination.'


Books


Author

*''Christians and the Holy Places: The Myth of Jewish Christian Origins'' (Oxford: Clarendon, 1993; rev. ed. 2003). *with Shimon Gibson, ''Beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: The Archaeology and Early History of Traditional Golgotha'' (London: Palestine Exploration Fund*, 1994). *''The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism'' (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1997; also published as John the Baptist: A Historical Study (London: SPCK, 1997). *''Jewish Women Philosophers of First-Century Alexandria - Philo’s ‘
Therapeutae The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the ...
’ Reconsidered'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003; paperback edition 2006). *''The Englishman, the Moor and the Holy City: The True Adventures of an Elizabethan Traveller'' (Stroud: Tempus/History Press, 2006). *''The Essenes, the Scrolls and the Dead Sea'' (Oxford:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2012). *''What Did Jesus Look Like?'' (Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018). *with David Hay, ''Philo of Alexandria: On the Contemplative Life'' (Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series, Leiden: Brill, 2021). *with Helen Bond, ''Women Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022).


Editor and contributor

*''Palestine in the Fourth Century. The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea,'' introduced and edited by Joan E. Taylor, translated by Greville Freeman-Grenville, and indexed by Rupert Chapman III (Jerusalem: Carta, 2003). *(annotator and editor), Cecilie Hertz, Livserindringer - Memories of My Life: A Woman's Life in 19th-Century Denmark, transl. by Birgit Norlev Taylor (New York/Lampeter: Edwin Mellen, 2009). *(editor), ''The Body in Biblical, Christian and Jewish Texts'' (London: T&T Clark Bloomsbury,* 2014). *(editor). ''Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (London: T&T Clark Bloomsbury, 2015). *(editor) with Ilaria Ramelli. ''Patterns of Women’s Leadership in Early Christianity'' (Oxford: OUP, 2021)


Literary work

*(author, novel) ''Conversations with Mr. Prain'' (New Jersey: Melville House Publishing,* 2006; Melbourne: Hardie Grant, 2006); reissued, revised with a new cover and reading group questions, 2011. *''kissing Bowie'' (novel) (London: Seventh Rainbow, 2013). *''Napoleon's Willow: A Story of Akaroa'' (Auckland: RSVP Eunoia, 2016).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Joan E 1958 births Living people New Zealand biblical scholars Academics of King's College London