Free The Second Messiah by Glenn Meade Page B

absolutely no historical or biblical mention of Jesus ever having visited the towns of Dora or Caesarea, never mind being arrested in either. Jesus Christ was principally known to frequent a fairly small area in Judea. Dora and Caesarea were in different Roman provinces, over sixty miles away. We didn’t understand the reference to not curing the blind and the sick either. Like I said, it’s bizarre. Had we been able to fully translate the text, it may have shed new light on established biblical events.”
    “Do you mind if I copy down your translation in my notebook?”
    “Help yourself.” Jack showed her the note.
    Lela copied it. “Do you think the text could have been significant historically? Perhaps even extremely valuable as well?”
    “I think so, Lela.”
    “Are there any other Aramaic experts on site?”
    “Buddy Savage isn’t an expert but he knows enough. There’s a German guy, Wolfgang, who’s pretty hot on Aramaic but he was away in Munich. A couple of the Israelis are Hebrew experts. Why?”
    “Did the professor consult Savage?”
    Jack raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? He wouldn’t have even consulted Buddy about which shirt he ought to wear for dinner.”
    “Why?”
    “With respect, Green could be arrogant. He believed his own intellect was superior to everyone else’s and he rarely consulted anyone.”
    “Sounds like he wasn’t the ideal team leader.”
    “He raised the funds to cover the cost of the dig in the first place. He’s the one who got our sponsors, so Green was the boss.”
    “Who are the sponsors?”
    “Wealthy benefactors in the United States. I don’t get into the politics of it but I believe they’ve sponsored lots of digs in this area in the past. And don’t ask me who they are or why they do it. I think some of them may have wanted to remain anonymous. Buddy Savage may know more. He often helped Green with his paperwork.”
    “What about religious convictions?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Are many of the team here because of any particularly strong religious beliefs?”
    Jack shrugged. “I guess about half are interested in religion, whether it’s the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim faith. The other half are here just to learn and appreciate the dig. But some among them, being young and carefree, are just here to party and have fun.”
    Lela smiled. She removed her Ray-Bans as they came to a cliff face that rose at least a hundred feet in the air. At the bottom was a scattering of massive limestone chunks, once part of the cliff that had long ago collapsed. Jack led the way into a six-foot-wide chasm on the right. Twenty paces later their path ended at a cave mouth. Limestone debris had been moved to a mound on the right, a rockfall that had been cleared away.
    “This is where we found our treasure. Do confined spaces bother you, Lela?”
    “If you mean am I claustrophobic, the answer is … sometimes. It depends how small the space is.”
    “Not too small, but maybe you better hold on to me. There are some holes where we’d been digging.” Jack held out his hand to her. “Ready?”
    Lela’s eyes met his. “When you are.”
    Jack winked at her, a tiny smile flickering on his lips, and then she took his hand, held her breath, and let him lead her inside the cave.

15

    LELA SAW THAT inside the cave several holes had been dug into the ground. Jack stepped around them, leading the way, shining the torch. He halted when he came to a hole that was about a yard wide and the same deep. A mound of clay was piled behind it.
    “This is where we found our trove.” Jack’s voice echoed inside the cave.
    “You found only one scroll inside the jar? Is that usual?”
    “Sometimes scrolls have been found singly, or sometimes we get a whole bunch of them in one place. It could be just a single page consisting of twenty lines, or dozens of pages all rolled together. There’s no rule.”
    Jack shone the torch as Lela knelt to examine the bare, three-feet-deep rut