Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera
Roman soldier of the Cohors I Sagittariorum (c. 22 BC - AD 40) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera (/pænˈtɛrə/; c. 22 BC – AD 40) was a Roman-Phoenician soldier born in Sidon, whose tombstone was found in Bingerbrück, Germany, in 1859. A historical connection from this soldier to Jesus has long been hypothesized by numerous scholars, based on the claim of the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus, who, according to Christian writer Origen in his "Against Celsus" (Greek Κατὰ Κέλσου, Kata Kelsou; Latin Contra Celsum), was the author of a work entitled The True Word (Greek Λόγος Ἀληθής, Logos Alēthēs).
Celsus' work was lost but, in Origen's account of it, Jesus was depicted as the result of an affiliation (non-consensual or consensual) between his mother Mary and a renowned Roman figure in a time of great upheaval. He said that for this reason she was "accused of adultery but had the child by the leader named Panthera".[1] Biblical scholar James Tabor claimed that Tiberius Pantera could have been serving in the region at the time of Jesus's conception,[2] but more recent scholarship has shown this claim to be greatly doubtful. Christopher Zeichmann goes so far as to say: "Where precisely Pantera's unit was located during the years leading up to Jesus' conception is uncertain, but it is beyond doubt that it was not Judaea or Galilee."[3]
Both the ancient Talmud and medieval Jewish writings and sayings reinforced this notion, referring to "Yeshu ben Pantera", which translates as "Jesus, son of Pantera". Tabor's hypothesis is considered highly unlikely by mainstream scholars given that there is little other evidence to support Pantera's paternity outside of the some Greek and Jewish texts. Some scholars and religious figures postulate Pantera was a Roman ancestor of Jesus but not his father. [4][5]
Historically, the name Pantera and Yeshu were not unusual in the region and were in use among Jews and Gentiles.[4][6]