Tomb of Salome Discovered in Israel

Mother of Apostles James and John

Jerusalem — Beit Lehi Foundation, with its team of archaeologists under the direction of Dr. Oren Gutfeld and the Israel Antiquities Authority announce the discovery of the Tomb of Salome, and most likely the tomb of the Zebedee Family at Beit Lehi, the largest lost city ever discovered in Israel.

With more than fifty-five inscriptions and the name, “Holy Salome” engraved in adjacent structures at the site, there is little doubt that the tomb is that of Salome. Some of the inscriptions have been translated into English:

“Holy Salome, have mercy on Zacaraias the son of Cyrillus, Amen”

“Holy Salome” “Jesus Christ”

“Abas Agapius the sinner Deacon of the Church of Holy Salome”

“Temple of Holy Salome”

You can now learn more and even take a virtual tour of this amazing discovery.

In the New Testament Salome is known to be the mother of James and John, two of the Apostles of Jesus. Salome is often identified as the wife of Zebedee, who is thought to have been a fisherman, along with his sons James and John, and a man of some means or wealth.

Salome’s name appears frequently in apocryphal writings. Most scholars today believe Salome was either the sister or cousin of Mary, mother of Jesus of Nazareth. If the former, James and John were first cousins of Jesus. The apocryphal Gospel of James, also known as The Protoevangelium of James, identifies Salome as the midwife who was to be present at the birth of Jesus. Salome arrived late for the birth though it is believed she later assisted Mary with the Holy Child.

By the Middle Ages, Salome became identified as “Mary Salome, the believing midwife.” Salome’s marriage to Zebedee would have come after the birth of Jesus, and they became the parents of future apostles James and John.

Mark 15:40-41 mentions several Galilean women being at the Crucifixion of Jesus, Salome among them. She later joined in bringing spices for anointing Jesus’s body (Mark 16:1). Salome also appears in apocryphal writings as a committed disciple of Jesus. She attended the crucifixion and would be among the three women, or “Three Marys,” who would witness the empty tomb on Resurrection morning and hear the angels declare, “He is risen.” Therefore, it is important to note the significant role Salome played as a witness of Jesus’s divinity.

Non-Christian writers in the 2nd century were aware of teachings passed down from “Salome the disciple.” Celsus, a 2nd century Greek, wrote a discourse attacking Christian sects as a threat to the Roman state, specifically Harpocratian Christians who traced themselves to Salome.

The tomb itself has been dated to the 1st Century B.C. However, attached to the tomb are structures, apparently places of worship, dating from the 4th and 7th centuries. A large well-constructed stone foundation has been uncovered in front of the tomb and it is possible that it might be the Temple of Holy Salome referred to in the inscriptions at the site.

An excavation of the foundation is scheduled to begin in October 2022. Beit Lehi Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Sandy, Utah. Contributors interested in participating in the archeological excavation at Beit Lehi should contact the Beit Lehi Foundation directly or through their website www.beitlehi.org/contact.

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Beit Lehi is an ongoing excavation project about 22 miles southwest of Jerusalem. It is situated within a geographical region known as the Judean Shephelah, or Lowland, between the Judean Hills in the east and the coastal plain in the west where so much biblical history took place.

Dr. Oren Gutfeld believes that settlement may have existed at the site as early as 1100 B.C. (Iron Age I) as part of the Kingdom of Judah (see Judges 15:14-19). The site was abandoned during the Babylonian conquest in 586 B.C., and soon after reoccupied by the Idumeans who came from the southeast (King Herod was half-Idumean). Around 112 B.C. the area reverted to Jewish control under the Hasmoneans/Maccabees, remaining so into the Herodian, or Late Second Temple, period.

Following the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (66–70 A.D.), the site seems to have been abandoned. It was resettled about 300 years later, in the Byzantine period, as a Christian village. Although the site remained Christian following the Arab conquest of the land of Israel around 636 A.D., by the late 8th century its Christian inhabitants seem to have been replaced by Muslims.

During the following centuries, Beit Lehi seems to have existed as a small, modest village, finally abandoned in about the 13th or 14th century. Since then, the site lay undisturbed, with centuries of rain and wind doing their best to cover the existing structures. To date, Beit Lehi is the largest lost city ever discovered in Israel.

Beit Lehi Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Those interested in contributing or participating in excavation efforts should contact the foundation at www.beitlehi.org/contact.

Further Information: Alan Rudd, President
Beit Lehi Foundation, Inc.
arudd@beitlehi.org

Beit Lehi Foundation
75 Towne Ridge Parkway, Suite 125
Sandy UT, 84070