Géza Vermes, (; 22 June 1924 – 8 May 2013) was a British

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, Biblical scholar, and Judaist of Jewish–Hungarian descent—one who also served as a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

in his youth—and scholar specialized in the field of the

history of religion The history of religion is the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). The Prehistoric religion, prehistory of reli ...

, particularly ancient Judaism and

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

. He is best known for his complete translation of the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

into English; his research focused on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Ancient Hebrew writings in

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

such as the Targumim, and on the life and religion of Jesus. Vermes was one of the most important voices in contemporary Jesus research,

Gerd Theissen Gerd Theißen (or Theissen; born 24 April 1943) is a German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar. He is Professor of New Testament Theology at the University of Heidelberg. Early life and education Theissen obtained his doctorate in ...

, Annette Merz (1998), ''The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide'', Fortress Press (translated from the German 1996 edition). Chapter 1: ''Quest of the historical Jesus'', pp. 1–16. and he has been described as the greatest Jesus scholar of his time. Vermes' written work on Jesus focuses principally on the Jewishness of the historical Jesus, as seen in the broader context of the narrative scope of

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, while questioning and challenging the basis of the Christian doctrine on Jesus.

Biography

Vermes was born in Makó,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, in 1924 to a family of Hungarian Jewish descent: Terézia Riesz, a schoolteacher, and Ernő Vermes, a liberal journalist. The Vermes family was of Jewish background but had given up religious practice by the mid-19th century. All three were baptised as

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s when he was six; referring to his parents' conversion, he defined it as a way to escape from the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe (see also

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

). In an interview with Rachel Kohn of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

in 1999 he stated: "In fact, I never was anything but a Jew with a temporary sort of outer vestment. I realised I ought to recognise my genuine identity." Nonetheless, his mother and father were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in 1944. Vermes attended a Catholic seminary. When he was eligible for college, in 1942, Jews were not accepted into Hungarian universities. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he became a Catholic priest, but was not admitted into the Jesuit or Dominican orders because of his Jewish ancestry. Vermes was accepted into the Order of the Fathers of Notre-Dame de Sion, a French-Belgian order which prayed for the Jews. Later he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he studied under the Hungarian born French Jewish scholar Georges Vajda, a graduate of the Rabbinical Seminary of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. He studied then at the College St Albert and the Catholic University of Leuven in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where he specialised in Oriental history, civilisations and languages. In 1953, Vermes obtained a Doctorate of Theology with the first dissertation written on the

and its historical framework. In 1962 he completed a first translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, later revised and much augmented. Also in Paris, Vermes befriended and worked with Paul Demann, a scholar, like him, of Hungarian Jewish origins. Together with a third collaborator, Renee Bloch, they battled doggedly against the anti-Semitic content in Catholic education and ritual of the time. The Second Vatican Council would later accept many of the trio's theological arguments. After researching the Dead Sea Scrolls in Paris for several years, Vermes had met Pamela Hobson Curle, a poet and scholar, disciple of the Neo-Hasidic Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, and the two fell in love. She was married and the mother of two children, but her marriage was in the process of ending. In 1958, after her divorce, and after Vermes left the priesthood, they married, remaining together and often collaborating on work, until her death in 1993. He also renounced Christianity and embraced his

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective sense of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. It encompasses elements of nationhood, "The Jews are a nation and were so before there was a Jewish state of Israel" "Jews are ...

, although not religious observance. He took up a teaching post at the

University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick un ...

. In 1965, after teaching

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

for several years at University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he joined the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, rising to become the first Oxford Professor of Jewish Studies before his retirement in 1991; he subsequently directed the Oxford Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. In 1970 he reconverted to Judaism as a liberal Jew, and became a member of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue of London. After the death of his first wife in 1993, he married Margaret Unarska in 1996 and adopted her son, Ian. Vermes died on 8 May 2013 at the age of 88.

Academic career

Vermes was one of the first scholars to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls after their discovery in 1947, and is the author of the standard translation into English of the Dead Sea Scrolls: ''The Dead Sea Scrolls in English'' (1962). He is one of the leading scholars in the field of the study of the historical Jesus (see Selected Publications, below) and together with Fergus Millar and Martin Goodman, Vermes was responsible for substantially revising Emil Schurer's three-volume work, ''The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ'', His ''An Introduction to the Complete Dead Sea Scrolls,'' revised edition (2000), is a study of the collection at

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') 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, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

.Jesus Christ
" Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 8 November 2010 . Until his death, he was a Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies and Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, but continued to teach at the Oriental Institute in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He had edited the '' Journal of Jewish Studies''JJS Online
Journal of Jewish Studies. from 1971 to his death, and from 1991 he had been director of the Oxford Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He inspired the creation of the British Association for Jewish Studies (BAJS) in 1975 and of the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS) in 1981 and acted as founding president for both. Vermes was a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

; a Fellow of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities; holder of an Oxford D. Litt. (1988) and of honorary doctorates from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(1989), University of Durham (1990),

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

(1994) and the Central European University of Budapest (2008). He was awarded the Wilhelm Bacher Memorial Medal by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1996), the Memorial Medal of the city of Makó, his place of birth (2008) and the keys of the cities of Monroe LA and Natchez MS (2009). He received a vote of congratulation from the US House of Representatives, proposed by the Representative of Louisiana on 17 September 2009. In the course of a lecture tour in the United States in September 2009, Vermes spoke at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in Chapel Hill, at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in Durham NC, at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in Baltimore MD, and at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and at Baton Rouge. On 23 January 2012 Penguin Books celebrated at Wolfson College, Oxford, the golden jubilee of Vermes's ''The Dead Sea Scrolls in English'', which has sold an estimated half-a-million copies worldwide. A "Fiftieth anniversary" edition has been issued in the

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English language, English, Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Korean language, Korean amon ...

series.

Historical Jesus

Vermes was a prominent scholar in the contemporary field of historical Jesus research. The contemporary approach, known as the " third quest", emphasises Jesus's Jewish identity and context. It portrays Jesus as founding a renewal movement within Judaism. Vermes described Jesus as a 1st-century Jewish holy man, a commonplace view in academia but novel to the public when Vermes began publishing. Contrary to certain other scholars (such as E. P. Sanders),Sanders, E. P. ''The historical figure of Jesus''. Penguin, 1993. Vermes concludes that Jesus did not reach out to non-Jews. For example, he attributes positive references to

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

in the gospels not to Jesus himself but to early Christian editing. He suggests that, properly understood, the historical Jesus is a figure that Jews should find familiar and attractive. This historical Jesus, however, is so different from the Christ of faith that Christians, says Vermes, may well want to rethink the fundamentals of their faith.Vermes, Geza. ''The authentic Gospel of Jesus''. London, Penguin Books. 2004. Epilogue. pp. 398–417. Important works on this topic include '' Jesus the Jew'' (1973), which describes Jesus as a thoroughly Jewish Galilean charismatic, ''The Gospel of Jesus the Jew'' (1981), which examines Jewish parallels to Jesus's teaching and '' Christian Beginnings'' (2012), which traces the evolution of the figure of Jesus from Jewish charismatic in the

synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

to equality with God in the Council of Nicea (325 CE). He also expounded this theme in the controversial television miniseries, '' Jesus: The Evidence'' (Channel 4, 1984). Vermes believed it is possible "to retrieve the authentic Gospel of Jesus, his first-hand message to his original followers."

The historical Jesus can be retrieved only within the context of first-century Galilean Judaism. The Gospel image must therefore be inserted into the historical canvas of Palestine in the first century CE, with the help of the works of
Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...
, the Dead Sea Scrolls and early
rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...
. Against this background, what kind of picture of Jesus emerges from the Gospels? That of a rural holy man, initially a follower of the movement of repentance launched by another holy man,
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
. In the hamlets and villages of Lower Galilee and the lakeside, Jesus set out to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God within the lifetime of his generation and outlined the religious duties his simple listeners were to perform to prepare themselves for the great event.

Selected publications

* ''Scripture and Tradition in

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

: Haggadic studies (Studia post-biblica)'', Brill, Leiden 1961 * '' Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

'', Minneapolis, Fortress Press 1973 * ''Post-Biblical Jewish Studies'', Brill, Leiden, 1975 * ''The Dead Sea Scrolls:

in Perspective'', Minneapolis, Fortress Press 1977 * ''Jesus and the World of

'', Minneapolis, Fortress Press 1983 * ''The Essenes According to the Classical Sources'' (with Martin Goodman), Sheffield Academic Press 1989 * ''The Religion of Jesus the Jew'', Minneapolis, Fortress Press 1993 * ''The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English'', Penguin 1997 (2004 ed.) (Fiftieth anniversary ed. 2011 ) * ''The Changing Faces of Jesus'', London, Penguin 2001 * ''Jesus in his Jewish Context'', Minneapolis, Fortress Press 2003 * ''The Authentic

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

of Jesus'', London, Penguin 2004 * ''The Passion'', London, Penguin 2005 . * ''Who's Who in the Age of Jesus'', London, Penguin 2005 * '' The Nativity: History and Legend'', London, Penguin 2006 * ''The Resurrection: History and Myth'', Doubleday Books 2008 . * ''Searching for the Real Jesus'', London, SCM Press 2010 * ''The Story of the Scrolls: The Miraculous Discovery and True Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls'', London, Penguin 2010 * ''Jesus: Nativity – Passion – Resurrection'', London, Penguin 2010 * ''Jesus in the Jewish World'', London, SCM Press 2010 * '' Christian Beginnings. From Nazareth to Nicaea, AD 30–325'', London, Allen Lane 2012 * ''The True Herod'', London, Bloomsbury, 2014 For more details see his autobiography, ''Providential Accidents'', London, SCM Press, 1998 ; Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham MD, 1998 .

References

External links