After reading a historical novel, lots of readers (including me) want to know how much of the story is true and how much is fiction. I always try to answer those questions in the back of my historical stories. This one is from DAUGHTER OF CANA, the first book in the Jerusalem Road series. The book is about Tasmin, the twin sister of disciple Thomas. In the story, Tasmin does not immediately decide to follow Yeshua like her brother–in fact, she is downright skeptical until after the resurrection. Even if you haven’t read the book, I hope you’ll find this interesting.
Q. Did Tasmin really exist?
A. Yes . . . and no. We have no record of a woman named Tasmin who did the things in this novel.
But Scripture tells us that Thomas Didymus means twin, so apparently he had one. And while Peter and Andrew were brothers, and James and John, Thomas’s sibling appears to be absent from the roster of disciples. Was his twin not a disciple because she was female?
Scripture also tells us that Jude, Jesus’s half-brother and the author of the New Testament book, had a wife (1 Corinthians 9:5). I have no proof that Thomas’s sister and Jude’s wife were one and the same, but one is allowed to conjecture in fiction.
One thing is certain: I do try to be as accurate and responsible as possible, because one day I will meet Jude and Thomas and their wives, and do not want to be embarrassed about how I portrayed them . . .
Q. Did the Virgin Mary really have a sister?
A. Yes—see John 19:25 and Mark 15:40. By comparing these two verses, you can deduce which women were present at the cross: Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary’s sister, Salome; Mary Magdalene; and Miriam, wife of Clopas and mother to Jacob and Joses.
Q. Did Jesus really have siblings? And did you use their actual names?
A. Matthew 13:55-56 names all his brothers and mentions his sisters, but does not name them, so I invented names for his sisters.
Q. What does Ima mean? And how do you pronounce it?
A. It’s what a Jewish child calls his mother. Pronounced ee-mah. The word for father is Abba.
Q. Are the events of this novel true to the timeline of the Gospels?
A. Yes and no.
Jesus ministered for a period of three years, beginning with the wedding at Cana and continuing through his death and resurrection. I have tried to place the events and miracles in approximate order, but since not all the events are related in all the Gospels, it is difficult to pin certain events down to a timeline. I did exercise a bit of poetic license in this, using actual events at times and in places that suited my story.
Q. Did I understand correctly—you have Jesus being crucified on a Thursday night instead of Good Friday?
A. Yes. I read an excellent answer for what has been called “the Passover problem” which details the Jewish feasts that coincided with the death of Christ. If Jesus died on Nisan 14, Thursday afternoon, Passover day, he died at the very hour the Passover lambs were being killed at the Temple. The people ate the Passover meal after sundown, on Nisan 15, which was a special Sabbath because it was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The next day, Nisan 16, was a Saturday, a “regular” Sabbath, and the next day, Nisan 17, was the day after the regular Sabbath during Pesach—the Feast of Firstfruits.
If we follow this pattern, Jesus fulfills his own words found in Matthew 12:40: “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” If Jesus died on a Friday night and rose on Sunday, he was only in the heart of the earth for two nights, not three.
For more information, visit this link: https://www.torahclass.com/other-studies/47-other-studies-text/985-the-passover-problem-solved-by-tom-bradford
This is by no means a new idea; it has been around for years. But people are so accustomed to the traditional Easter story that they are surprised to realize that crucifixion on a Friday doesn’t fulfill Jesus’ prophecy.
Q. I’ve never seen Mary Magdalene described as Miriam. And many of the names you use disagree with the names in my Bible.
A. The conflict arises only because different languages are involved. Depending on which version you use, your English Bible was likely translated from Greek into English. The New Testament was written by people who spoke Aramaic, the common language of the day. But educated people also spoke Greek and/or Latin, and many people born at that time had both Hebrew and Greek names, like Salome Alexandra (Hebrew/Greek) and Alexander Janneaus (Greek/Hebrew). Some names were very common: Mary/Miriam (same name, but Greek and Hebrew variations), Joseph/Joses, Jacob/James, and Judah/Jude.
Rather than aim for consistency and use only one language for names, I opted instead to use different variants to avoid confusion. By using Mary for Jesus’s mother, Miriam for Mary Magdalene, and Mary, wife of Clopas, for the third Mary, I hoped to make things clearer for the reader. In reality, all three women were known by the same popular name: Miriam.
Q. Why do you refer to the cross as an “execution stake”?
A. To give a complete answer, I have to go back to my church high school handbell choir. One Friday night, Jim Whitmire, our minister of music, arranged for us—kids from a Baptist church—to play for the service at a synagogue. Before we left for the service, Jim reminded us that God promised Abraham that whoever blessed his descendants would be blessed, and whoever cursed them would be cursed (Gen. 12:3).
Ever since that time, I’ve had a strong love for Israel, and sincerely want to respect and bless the Jewish people. I have spoken at a Jewish book club and freely shared my faith. I have Jewish friends whom I treasure. I am open and honest with them, realizing that it is the Spirit who must bring them to salvation.
Since entering adulthood, I’ve seen far too many Christians unintentionally offend Jewish people by saying that the church has “replaced” Israel in God’s plan (it hasn’t!) and by forgetting that we have been grafted into their family tree. God, in his mercy, has allowed us Gentiles to partake of the blessings brought about by the Jewish people and their messiah, Yeshua.
Throughout history, overzealous Christians have used the symbol of the cross to force Jews to convert or die. Christian anti-Semitism has been all too real, and for many Jews, the symbol of a cross elicits the same negative emotions as a swastika.
For that reason, I and the messianic Jews who put together the Tree of Life Bible use both “cross” and “execution stake” when describing the instrument on which Jesus died. Changing the wording is a small effort for me, but it might make a big difference in a Jewish reader’s perspective. And if my small effort blesses them, I am blessed in return.
That’s it! Hope you found this interesting, and have a marvelous day!
~~Angie
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Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading! :-).
I read your post early this morning just before hitting the (editing) ground running, but have been thinking about it all day. I wish we could meet over coffee and discuss all these Biblical conundrums. Someday! I finished studying the book of John this morning so your speculation on the crucifixion being TH versus FR was timely. Scholars make cases for both, of course, as you said, but it’s interesting to look at all the possibilities. And the OT’s constant (and beautiful) foreshadowing of Jesus is a treasure! Thanks for sharing through your biblical fiction some of all you’ve learned in God’s Word. LOVE IT!