
Professor Joan Taylor
Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism
Research interests
- Religion
Biography
After a BA degree at Auckland University, New Zealand, Joan completed post-graduate studies at the University of Otago and then went to the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (Kenyon Institute) as Annual Scholar in 1986. She undertook a PhD at New College, Edinburgh University, and was appointed in 1992 to a position of lecturer (subsequently senior lecturer) at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, in the departments of both Religious Studies and History. In 1995 she won an Irene Levi-Sala Award in Israel’s 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 Religion at Harvard Divinity School, a position she held in association with a Fulbright Award. She has also been Honorary Research Fellow in the Departments of History and Jewish Studies at University College London. She has taught at King’s College London since 2009.
Research interests and PhD supervision
Joan’s approach is multi-disciplinary; she works in literature, language, history and archaeology. She has written numerous books and articles in her fields of interest.
- The New Testament and other early Christian texts within their wider social, historical and cultural contexts, with a special interest in archaeological evidence.
- The historical figures of Jesus of Nazareth, John the Baptist, Judas Iscariot, Paul, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene, and other New Testament persons, both in terms of the ancient evidence and how they have been constructed over time, including in modern literature and film.
- Second Temple Judaism, particularly the Jewish legal schools (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, ‘Zealots’) and popular religious movements.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls and the archaeology of Qumran.
- Alexandrian Judaism, Philo of Alexandria, and the ‘Therapeutae’
- Women and gender within early Judaism and Christianity, especially regarding women in leadership roles.
- Jewish-Christianity and early Christian constructions of history and orthodoxy.
- Comparative Graeco-Roman religion and philosophy: literary, epigraphical and archaeological evidence.
- The archaeology and history of Christian holy places and travel to Palestine over the centuries, with special interest in the sites of Golgotha, Gethsemane, Eleona, Nazareth, Capernaum and Bethlehem, as well as historical geography.
- Reception exegesis: using creative artefacts to reflect on texts and history.
For more details, please see her full research profile.
Teaching
Joan is a historian who teaches in early Christianity and Second Temple Judaism.
Expertise and public engagement
Joan regularly works in media and gives public talks.
Selected publications
What did Jesus look like? Taylor, J. E., 8 Feb 2018, 1st ed. Bloomsbury T&T Clark.
Jesus and the Mechanics of Empowerment Taylor, J., 2020, Revolutionary: Who was Jesus? Why does he still matter?. Holland, T. (ed.). London: SPCK Publishers, p. 1-33
Philo of Alexandria: On the Contemplative Life: Introduction, Translation and Commentary Taylor, J. & Hay, D., 2020, Leiden: Brill. (Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series)
Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python's Life of Brian Taylor, J. E. (ed.), 10 Sep 2015, 1st ed. Bloomsbury T&T Clark.
The Essenes, the Scrolls and the Dead Sea Taylor, J., 5 Feb 2015, Revised Paperback ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Introduction: JESUS AND BRIAN: THE CONFERENCE AND THE BOOK
Taylor, J. E., 1 Jan 2015, Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, p. xxii-xxviiResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Buqei’a Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant during the seventh to early sixth centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-Off farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland?
Taylor, J., Gibson, S. & Lewis, R., 2023, And in length of days understanding (Job 12:12) – Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. in Honour of Thomas E. Levy. Ben-Yosef, E. & Jones, I. (eds.). Cham: SPRINGER, p. 839-897 88 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Ḥorvat Qasra and the Chapel of Holy Salome: Features, Identity and Archaeological Context
Taylor, J. & Zissu, B., 25 Apr 2024, In: Strata: The Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. 41, p. 63-104 42 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Defining the Real Mary Magdalene
Taylor, J., 20 Jun 2024, The Oxford Handbook of Mary Magdalene. Apostolos-Cappadona, D. (ed.). Oxford: Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Teaching the Historical Jesus over Three Decades, from Waikato to London
Taylor, J., 17 Jun 2024, In: Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 22, 2, p. 121-132 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Gender and Space in Early Synagogue Complexes: Reflections on the Andrōn and the Gunaikōnitis in Texts and Archaeology
Taylor, J., 18 May 2023, Pushing Sacred Boundaries in Early Judaism and Roman Palestine: Essays in Honor of Jodi Magness. Mizzi, D., Grey, M. & Rassalle, T. (eds.). Leiden: Brill, p. 490-528 38 p. (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism; vol. 208).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Buqeica Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland?
Gibson, S., Lewis, R. & Taylor, J., 2 Aug 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) “And in Length of Days Understanding” (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy. Ben-Yosef, E. & Jones, I. (eds.). SPRINGER, p. 839–897 88 p. (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Cerinthus and the Gospel of Mark: The Priority of the Longer Ending
Taylor, J. E., 2022, In: Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin. 8, 2, p. 675-707 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Copper Scroll: The Medium, the Context and the Archaeology
Taylor, J., 2023, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Ancient Media Culture . Williams, T. & Keith, C. (eds.). Leiden: Brill, p. 293-334 42 p. (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah; vol. 144).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
What Did Mary Magdalene Look Like? Images from the West, the East, Dura and Judaea
Taylor, J., 2021, Dress in Mediterranean Antiquity: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians. Batten, A. & Olsen, K. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 257-278Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Mary Magdalene in Film: Response JSHJ
Taylor, J., 2022, In: Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 20, p. 202-208 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Babatha’s Sisters: Judaean Women Refugees in the Cave of Letters and the Christmas Cave
Taylor, J., 2021, In: Strata: The Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. 39, p. 35-68 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Women Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples
Taylor, J. & Bond, H., 2022, Hodder & Stoughton. 203 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
Imagining judean priestly dress: The Berne Josephus and judaea capta coinage
Taylor, J. E., 1 Jan 2014, Dressing Judeans and Christians in Antiquity. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., p. 195-212 18 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Meaning of "Magdalene": A Review of Literary Evidence
Schrader, E. & Taylor, J. E., 2021, In: JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 140, 4, p. 751-773 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Defining multiple inhabitations of a cave environment using interdisciplinary archaeometry: the ‘Christmas Cave’ of the Wadi en-Nar/Nahal Qidron, West of the Dead Sea
Rasmussen, K. L., Plicht, van der, J., Degano, I., Modugno, F., Colombini, M. P., de la Fuente, G., Delbey, T., Frumkin, A., Davidovich, U., Porat, R., Sukenik, N., Shamir, O., Doudna, G., Taylor, J. & Popović , M., 5 Feb 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Heritage Science. 10, 1, 18.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Male-female missionary pairings among jesus’ disciples: Some further considerations
Taylor, J. E., 18 Mar 2021, Patterns of Women’s Leadership in Early Christianity. Oxford University Press, p. 11-25 15 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Machaerus I: History, Archaeology and Architecture of the Fortified Herodian Royal Palace and City Overlooking the Dead Sea in Transjordan. Final Report of the Excavations and Surveys 1807–2012, by Győző Vörös, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 53, Milan: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2013, 399 pp., € 114.00, ISBN: 978-88-6240-168-5.; Machaerus II: The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in the Light of the American-Baptist and Italian-Franciscan Excavations and Surveys: Final Report 1968–2014, by Győző Vörös, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 55, Milan: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2015, 559 pp., € 121.60, ISBN: 978-88-6240-333-7.; Machaerus III: The Golden Jubilee of the Archaeological Excavations. Final Report on the Herodian Citadel (1968-2018), by Győző Vörös, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 56, Milan: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2019, 588 pp., € 121.60, ISBN: 978-88-6240-608-6.
Taylor, J., 25 Jun 2021, In: Palestine exploration quarterly. 153, 2, p. 160-66 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Jesus as News: Crises of Health and Overpopulation in Galilee
Taylor, J., Sept 2021, In: JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 44, 1, p. 8-30 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Catching John in four nets? Competition, Qumran, sacramentalism and messianism: A reply to Joel Marcus
Adinolfi, F. & Taylor, J., 29 Apr 2021, In: Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 19, 1, p. 74-98 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Review: Ulrich Huttner, Early Christianity in the Lycus Valley. Translated by David Green. Pp. xxii + 492. Illustrated. (Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, 85; Early Christianity in Asia Minor, 1.) Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2013.
Taylor, J., 18 Jun 2021, In: JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. 71, 2, p. 877-879 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Qumran in the Iron Age, with Cross-Temporal Reflections on the Hasmonean and Early Roman Periods
Taylor, J. & Gibson, S., Nov 2020, The Woman in the Pith Helmet: A Tribute to Archaeologist Norma Franklin . Ebeling, J. & Guillaume, P. (eds.). Atlanta: Lockwood Press, p. 177-224 38 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Scholars Working in Television: Some Personal Reflections and Advice
Taylor, J., 2020, The Bible on Television. Bond, H. & Adams, E. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 106-119 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review: Marie appelée la Magdaléenne: Entre traditions et histoire Ier–VIIIe siècle, by Thierry Murcia. Pp. 417. (Héritages Méditerranéens.) Aix-en-Provence: Presses Universitaires de Provence, 2017. ISBN 978 1 032 00105 9. Paper €25.
Taylor, J., 2020, In: JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. 71, 1, p. 336-339 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Review: Maren R. Niehoff, Philo of Alexandria: An Intellectual Biography (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2018). Pp. xi, 323. ISBN 9780300175233 ; Francesca Calabi, Olivier Munnich, Gretchen Reydams-Schils et Emmanuele Vimercati (eds), Pouvoir et puissances chez Philon d'Alexandrie (Monothéismes et philosophie 22; Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2015). Pp. xiv, 388. ISBN 978-2-503-56637-5.
Taylor, J., 23 Nov 2020, In: JOURNAL OF ROMAN STUDIES. 110, p. 225-227 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Paul's Significant Other in the “We” Passages
Taylor, J., 28 Dec 2020, Who Created Christianity? Fresh Approaches to the Relationship between Paul and Jesus.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Patterns of Women's Leadership in Early Christianity
Taylor, J. E. & Ramelli, I. L. E., 18 Mar 2021, Oxford University Press. 345 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Philo of Alexandria: On the Contemplative Life: Introduction, Translation and Commentary
Taylor, J. E. & Hay, D. M., 27 Nov 2020, Leiden: Brill. 460 p. (Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series)Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Jesus and the Mechanics of Empowerment
Taylor, J., 2020, Revolutionary: Who was Jesus? Why does he still matter?. Holland, T. (ed.). London: SPCK Publishers, p. 1-33 34 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
What did Jesus wear?
Taylor, J. (Photographer), 2018Research output: Non-textual form › Web publication/site
Dead Sea Scrolls: How we accidentally discovered missing text - in Manchester
Taylor, J., 2020Research output: Non-textual form › Web publication/site
Paul's Caesarea
Taylor, J., 2017, The Urban World and the First Christians . Walton, S., Trebilco, P. & Gill, D. (eds.). Wm Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, p. 42-67 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Sculptural Images of Jesus
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopaedia of the Reception of Jesus: : From Celsus to the Catacombs: Visual, Liturgical, and Non-Christian Receptions of Jesus in the Second and Third Centuries CE. Keith, C. (ed.). Bloomsbury T&T Clark, Vol. 3. p. 338-47 10 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Organic Materials from Cave 11Q: A. Leather, Basketry, Ropes, Wood and Seeds
Taylor, J. & Sukenik, N., 2019, Khirbet Qumran et ‘Ain Feshkha II: Grotte 11Q . Humbert, J.-B. & Fidanzio, M. (eds.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 115-23 9 p. (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica 3).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Organic Objects from Cave 11Q: B. 11Q-9/1 and 2
Taylor, J., 2019, Khirbet Qumran et ‘Ain Feshkha II: Grotte 11Q . Humbert, J.-B. & Fidanzio, M. (eds.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 125-31 7 p. (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica 3).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Radiocarbon Dates of Samples from Qumran Cave 11Q
Taylor, J., van der Plicht, J., Rasmussen, K., Belis, M., Sukenik, N. & Shamir, O., 2019, Khirbet Qumran et ‘Ain Feshkha II: Grotte 11Q . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 135-44 10 p. (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica 3).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Medicine and Hygiene
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). Bloomsbury T&T ClarkResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Jewish-Christianity
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). p. 381-3 4 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Cemeteries (Qumran)
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenburck, L. (eds.). Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 135-8 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Celibacy
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 129-31 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Asceticism
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 79-81 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Tatian’s Diatessaron: The Arabic Version, the Dura Europos Fragment, and the Women Witnesses
Taylor, J. E. & Monier, M., 2021, In: JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. 72, p. 192-230Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Book Review: Jean-Baptiste Humbert, Alain Chambon, and Jolanta Młynarczyk, Khirbet Qumran et Ain Feshkha : Fouilles du P. Roland de Vaux: IIIa: L’archeologie de Qumran. Fouilles du P. Roland de Vaux. vol. IIIA. L’archéologie de Qumrân, (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2016), IEJ 68 (2018), 240-2.
Taylor, J. E., 2018, In: ISRAEL EXPLORATION JOURNAL. 68Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Secrets of the Copper Scroll
Taylor, J. E., Jul 2019, In: Biblical Archaeology Review. 45, 4Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Real Women and Literary Airbrushing: the Women “Therapeutae” of Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa and the Identity of the Group
Taylor, J. E., 2017, Early Jewish Writings. Schuller, E. & Wacker, M.-T. (eds.). p. 205-223 19 p. (The Bible and Women: An Encyclopedia of Exegesis and Cultural History Series).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
‘Scrolls and Hellenistic Jewish Literature: a. Philo
Taylor, J. E., 2018, The T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls . Brooke, G. & Hempel, C. (eds.). p. 137-146 9 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Regional Context of the Dead Sea
Taylor, J. E., 2018, The T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls . Brooke, G. & Hempel, C. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 95-106 11 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
What did Jesus look like?
Taylor, J. E., 8 Feb 2018, 1st ed. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. 269 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Christian Archaeology in Palestine: the Roman and Byzantine Periods
Taylor, J. E., 2019, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology. Pettegrew, D., Caraher, W. & Davis, T. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 269-89 21 p. (Oxford Handbooks).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review: Geza Vermes, The True Herod (London: T&T Clark Bloomsbury, 2014)
Taylor, J. E., 2014, In: History Today. 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review
Research

Jewish Studies at King's
Jewish Studies at King’s is an interdisciplinary network of students and scholars associated with King’s College London. Our research draws on anthropology, history, linguistics, literary studies, religious studies, sociology and related fields to explore Jewish life from antiquity to the present moment.

Centre for Late Antique and Medieval Studies
Interdisciplinary centre for the study of late antique and medieval history, languages, philosophy, religion, literature and music in western and eastern Europe.

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Across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, King’s academics study cultural interactions across time and the transhistorical traditions that often frame, foster, and shape them.
News
Professor Joan Taylor nominated for Jewish Studies book prize
Judges for the British and Irish Association for Jewish Studies (BIAJS ) book prize give Joan Taylor honourable mention.

Dead Sea Scroll fragments thought to be blank reveal text
New research has revealed that four Dead Sea Scroll manuscript fragments housed at The University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library, which were previously...

Professor Joan Taylor gives a talk at annual ideacity conference
Professor Taylor discussed her book ‘What did Jesus Look Like?’ which offers new representations of Jesus based on historical findings.

Prof Joan Taylor discusses Mary Magdalene on BBC4
Professor Joan Taylor discusses Mary Magdalene on BBC4 with Dr Joanne Anderson, Lecturer in Art History at the Warburg Institute (School of Advanced Study),...

Professor Joan Taylor writes for the BBC about the appearance of Jesus
Professor Joan Taylor provides a summary of her talk on the appearance of Jesus from the Arts and Humanities Fabrication Festival for the BBC online magazine.

Leverhulme International Network Grant Success for Qumran Caves Dispersed Artefacts and Archives Project
The Leverhulme Trust has agreed to fund a new international initiative entitled The Network for the Study of Dispersed Qumran Caves Artefacts and Archival...

Features
Dead Sea Scrolls: how we accidentally discovered missing text
The 2,000-year-old scrolls were found in the Qumran caves next to the Dead Sea in the 1940s.

Introduction: JESUS AND BRIAN: THE CONFERENCE AND THE BOOK
Taylor, J. E., 1 Jan 2015, Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, p. xxii-xxviiResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Buqei’a Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant during the seventh to early sixth centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-Off farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland?
Taylor, J., Gibson, S. & Lewis, R., 2023, And in length of days understanding (Job 12:12) – Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. in Honour of Thomas E. Levy. Ben-Yosef, E. & Jones, I. (eds.). Cham: SPRINGER, p. 839-897 88 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Ḥorvat Qasra and the Chapel of Holy Salome: Features, Identity and Archaeological Context
Taylor, J. & Zissu, B., 25 Apr 2024, In: Strata: The Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. 41, p. 63-104 42 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Defining the Real Mary Magdalene
Taylor, J., 20 Jun 2024, The Oxford Handbook of Mary Magdalene. Apostolos-Cappadona, D. (ed.). Oxford: Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Teaching the Historical Jesus over Three Decades, from Waikato to London
Taylor, J., 17 Jun 2024, In: Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 22, 2, p. 121-132 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Gender and Space in Early Synagogue Complexes: Reflections on the Andrōn and the Gunaikōnitis in Texts and Archaeology
Taylor, J., 18 May 2023, Pushing Sacred Boundaries in Early Judaism and Roman Palestine: Essays in Honor of Jodi Magness. Mizzi, D., Grey, M. & Rassalle, T. (eds.). Leiden: Brill, p. 490-528 38 p. (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism; vol. 208).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Buqeica Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland?
Gibson, S., Lewis, R. & Taylor, J., 2 Aug 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) “And in Length of Days Understanding” (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy. Ben-Yosef, E. & Jones, I. (eds.). SPRINGER, p. 839–897 88 p. (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Cerinthus and the Gospel of Mark: The Priority of the Longer Ending
Taylor, J. E., 2022, In: Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin. 8, 2, p. 675-707 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Copper Scroll: The Medium, the Context and the Archaeology
Taylor, J., 2023, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Ancient Media Culture . Williams, T. & Keith, C. (eds.). Leiden: Brill, p. 293-334 42 p. (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah; vol. 144).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
What Did Mary Magdalene Look Like? Images from the West, the East, Dura and Judaea
Taylor, J., 2021, Dress in Mediterranean Antiquity: Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians. Batten, A. & Olsen, K. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 257-278Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Mary Magdalene in Film: Response JSHJ
Taylor, J., 2022, In: Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 20, p. 202-208 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Babatha’s Sisters: Judaean Women Refugees in the Cave of Letters and the Christmas Cave
Taylor, J., 2021, In: Strata: The Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. 39, p. 35-68 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Women Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples
Taylor, J. & Bond, H., 2022, Hodder & Stoughton. 203 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
Imagining judean priestly dress: The Berne Josephus and judaea capta coinage
Taylor, J. E., 1 Jan 2014, Dressing Judeans and Christians in Antiquity. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., p. 195-212 18 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Meaning of "Magdalene": A Review of Literary Evidence
Schrader, E. & Taylor, J. E., 2021, In: JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 140, 4, p. 751-773 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Defining multiple inhabitations of a cave environment using interdisciplinary archaeometry: the ‘Christmas Cave’ of the Wadi en-Nar/Nahal Qidron, West of the Dead Sea
Rasmussen, K. L., Plicht, van der, J., Degano, I., Modugno, F., Colombini, M. P., de la Fuente, G., Delbey, T., Frumkin, A., Davidovich, U., Porat, R., Sukenik, N., Shamir, O., Doudna, G., Taylor, J. & Popović , M., 5 Feb 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Heritage Science. 10, 1, 18.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Male-female missionary pairings among jesus’ disciples: Some further considerations
Taylor, J. E., 18 Mar 2021, Patterns of Women’s Leadership in Early Christianity. Oxford University Press, p. 11-25 15 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Machaerus I: History, Archaeology and Architecture of the Fortified Herodian Royal Palace and City Overlooking the Dead Sea in Transjordan. Final Report of the Excavations and Surveys 1807–2012, by Győző Vörös, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 53, Milan: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2013, 399 pp., € 114.00, ISBN: 978-88-6240-168-5.; Machaerus II: The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in the Light of the American-Baptist and Italian-Franciscan Excavations and Surveys: Final Report 1968–2014, by Győző Vörös, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 55, Milan: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2015, 559 pp., € 121.60, ISBN: 978-88-6240-333-7.; Machaerus III: The Golden Jubilee of the Archaeological Excavations. Final Report on the Herodian Citadel (1968-2018), by Győző Vörös, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 56, Milan: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2019, 588 pp., € 121.60, ISBN: 978-88-6240-608-6.
Taylor, J., 25 Jun 2021, In: Palestine exploration quarterly. 153, 2, p. 160-66 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Jesus as News: Crises of Health and Overpopulation in Galilee
Taylor, J., Sept 2021, In: JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 44, 1, p. 8-30 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Catching John in four nets? Competition, Qumran, sacramentalism and messianism: A reply to Joel Marcus
Adinolfi, F. & Taylor, J., 29 Apr 2021, In: Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. 19, 1, p. 74-98 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Review: Ulrich Huttner, Early Christianity in the Lycus Valley. Translated by David Green. Pp. xxii + 492. Illustrated. (Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, 85; Early Christianity in Asia Minor, 1.) Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2013.
Taylor, J., 18 Jun 2021, In: JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. 71, 2, p. 877-879 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Qumran in the Iron Age, with Cross-Temporal Reflections on the Hasmonean and Early Roman Periods
Taylor, J. & Gibson, S., Nov 2020, The Woman in the Pith Helmet: A Tribute to Archaeologist Norma Franklin . Ebeling, J. & Guillaume, P. (eds.). Atlanta: Lockwood Press, p. 177-224 38 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Scholars Working in Television: Some Personal Reflections and Advice
Taylor, J., 2020, The Bible on Television. Bond, H. & Adams, E. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 106-119 14 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review: Marie appelée la Magdaléenne: Entre traditions et histoire Ier–VIIIe siècle, by Thierry Murcia. Pp. 417. (Héritages Méditerranéens.) Aix-en-Provence: Presses Universitaires de Provence, 2017. ISBN 978 1 032 00105 9. Paper €25.
Taylor, J., 2020, In: JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. 71, 1, p. 336-339 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Review: Maren R. Niehoff, Philo of Alexandria: An Intellectual Biography (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2018). Pp. xi, 323. ISBN 9780300175233 ; Francesca Calabi, Olivier Munnich, Gretchen Reydams-Schils et Emmanuele Vimercati (eds), Pouvoir et puissances chez Philon d'Alexandrie (Monothéismes et philosophie 22; Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2015). Pp. xiv, 388. ISBN 978-2-503-56637-5.
Taylor, J., 23 Nov 2020, In: JOURNAL OF ROMAN STUDIES. 110, p. 225-227 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Paul's Significant Other in the “We” Passages
Taylor, J., 28 Dec 2020, Who Created Christianity? Fresh Approaches to the Relationship between Paul and Jesus.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Patterns of Women's Leadership in Early Christianity
Taylor, J. E. & Ramelli, I. L. E., 18 Mar 2021, Oxford University Press. 345 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Philo of Alexandria: On the Contemplative Life: Introduction, Translation and Commentary
Taylor, J. E. & Hay, D. M., 27 Nov 2020, Leiden: Brill. 460 p. (Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series)Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Jesus and the Mechanics of Empowerment
Taylor, J., 2020, Revolutionary: Who was Jesus? Why does he still matter?. Holland, T. (ed.). London: SPCK Publishers, p. 1-33 34 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
What did Jesus wear?
Taylor, J. (Photographer), 2018Research output: Non-textual form › Web publication/site
Dead Sea Scrolls: How we accidentally discovered missing text - in Manchester
Taylor, J., 2020Research output: Non-textual form › Web publication/site
Paul's Caesarea
Taylor, J., 2017, The Urban World and the First Christians . Walton, S., Trebilco, P. & Gill, D. (eds.). Wm Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, p. 42-67 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Sculptural Images of Jesus
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopaedia of the Reception of Jesus: : From Celsus to the Catacombs: Visual, Liturgical, and Non-Christian Receptions of Jesus in the Second and Third Centuries CE. Keith, C. (ed.). Bloomsbury T&T Clark, Vol. 3. p. 338-47 10 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Organic Materials from Cave 11Q: A. Leather, Basketry, Ropes, Wood and Seeds
Taylor, J. & Sukenik, N., 2019, Khirbet Qumran et ‘Ain Feshkha II: Grotte 11Q . Humbert, J.-B. & Fidanzio, M. (eds.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 115-23 9 p. (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica 3).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Organic Objects from Cave 11Q: B. 11Q-9/1 and 2
Taylor, J., 2019, Khirbet Qumran et ‘Ain Feshkha II: Grotte 11Q . Humbert, J.-B. & Fidanzio, M. (eds.). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 125-31 7 p. (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica 3).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Radiocarbon Dates of Samples from Qumran Cave 11Q
Taylor, J., van der Plicht, J., Rasmussen, K., Belis, M., Sukenik, N. & Shamir, O., 2019, Khirbet Qumran et ‘Ain Feshkha II: Grotte 11Q . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 135-44 10 p. (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica 3).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Medicine and Hygiene
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). Bloomsbury T&T ClarkResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Jewish-Christianity
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). p. 381-3 4 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Cemeteries (Qumran)
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenburck, L. (eds.). Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 135-8 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Celibacy
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 129-31 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Asceticism
Taylor, J., 2019, Encyclopedia of Second-Temple Judaism. Gurtner, D. & Stuckenbruck, L. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 79-81 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Tatian’s Diatessaron: The Arabic Version, the Dura Europos Fragment, and the Women Witnesses
Taylor, J. E. & Monier, M., 2021, In: JOURNAL OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. 72, p. 192-230Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Book Review: Jean-Baptiste Humbert, Alain Chambon, and Jolanta Młynarczyk, Khirbet Qumran et Ain Feshkha : Fouilles du P. Roland de Vaux: IIIa: L’archeologie de Qumran. Fouilles du P. Roland de Vaux. vol. IIIA. L’archéologie de Qumrân, (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2016), IEJ 68 (2018), 240-2.
Taylor, J. E., 2018, In: ISRAEL EXPLORATION JOURNAL. 68Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Secrets of the Copper Scroll
Taylor, J. E., Jul 2019, In: Biblical Archaeology Review. 45, 4Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Real Women and Literary Airbrushing: the Women “Therapeutae” of Philo’s De Vita Contemplativa and the Identity of the Group
Taylor, J. E., 2017, Early Jewish Writings. Schuller, E. & Wacker, M.-T. (eds.). p. 205-223 19 p. (The Bible and Women: An Encyclopedia of Exegesis and Cultural History Series).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
‘Scrolls and Hellenistic Jewish Literature: a. Philo
Taylor, J. E., 2018, The T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls . Brooke, G. & Hempel, C. (eds.). p. 137-146 9 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Regional Context of the Dead Sea
Taylor, J. E., 2018, The T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls . Brooke, G. & Hempel, C. (eds.). London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, p. 95-106 11 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
What did Jesus look like?
Taylor, J. E., 8 Feb 2018, 1st ed. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. 269 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Christian Archaeology in Palestine: the Roman and Byzantine Periods
Taylor, J. E., 2019, The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology. Pettegrew, D., Caraher, W. & Davis, T. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 269-89 21 p. (Oxford Handbooks).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review: Geza Vermes, The True Herod (London: T&T Clark Bloomsbury, 2014)
Taylor, J. E., 2014, In: History Today. 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review
Research

Jewish Studies at King's
Jewish Studies at King’s is an interdisciplinary network of students and scholars associated with King’s College London. Our research draws on anthropology, history, linguistics, literary studies, religious studies, sociology and related fields to explore Jewish life from antiquity to the present moment.

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Across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, King’s academics study cultural interactions across time and the transhistorical traditions that often frame, foster, and shape them.
News
Professor Joan Taylor nominated for Jewish Studies book prize
Judges for the British and Irish Association for Jewish Studies (BIAJS ) book prize give Joan Taylor honourable mention.

Dead Sea Scroll fragments thought to be blank reveal text
New research has revealed that four Dead Sea Scroll manuscript fragments housed at The University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library, which were previously...

Professor Joan Taylor gives a talk at annual ideacity conference
Professor Taylor discussed her book ‘What did Jesus Look Like?’ which offers new representations of Jesus based on historical findings.

Prof Joan Taylor discusses Mary Magdalene on BBC4
Professor Joan Taylor discusses Mary Magdalene on BBC4 with Dr Joanne Anderson, Lecturer in Art History at the Warburg Institute (School of Advanced Study),...

Professor Joan Taylor writes for the BBC about the appearance of Jesus
Professor Joan Taylor provides a summary of her talk on the appearance of Jesus from the Arts and Humanities Fabrication Festival for the BBC online magazine.

Leverhulme International Network Grant Success for Qumran Caves Dispersed Artefacts and Archives Project
The Leverhulme Trust has agreed to fund a new international initiative entitled The Network for the Study of Dispersed Qumran Caves Artefacts and Archival...

Features
Dead Sea Scrolls: how we accidentally discovered missing text
The 2,000-year-old scrolls were found in the Qumran caves next to the Dead Sea in the 1940s.
