Research reveals the shape of Jesus

Jesus was depicted with medium height, brown eyes, black hair and a robe in a new study by an English professor.

In the Bible, Jesus was a Jew born about 4 BC in Bethlehem of Judea, according to Live Science. When he was young, he lived in Egypt for a short time before moving to Nazareth. These notes do not mention what Jesus looked like, except for a number of references to His clothes and his disciples, Joan Taylor, Professor of the Second Temple Temple of God and Christian Era. Study King's in London, writing in the book "How is Jesus shaped?"

The earliest artistic descriptions of Jesus dating back at least two centuries after his death provide very little reliable information about his form. To learn about the face of Jesus, Taylor relied on archeology and texts to suggest the general form of Jews in Judea and Egypt at the time of Jesus' birth. She also looked at art images on coins and pictures of Egyptian mummies.

Portrait of Jesus Christ.(Photo: Cathy Fisher).

According to Taylor's research, instead of being taller than the people of Judea, Jesus was about 1.7 meters tall. This is the average height of the remains of men living there. People in Judea and Egypt often have brown eyes, black hair and olive-colored skin, based on retained remains, historical texts and depictions of mummy portraits.

The people of Judea also interacted with Europeans (lighter skin), Sudanese and Ethiopians (darker skin). But because Jews in Judea and Egypt tend to marry fellow countrymen, skin, eye color and hair of Jesus may resemble most people in Judea and Egypt.

Historical records also show that people in Judea have relatively short hair and beard and neatly combed their hair, possibly to avoid spreading head lice, a major problem at the time. Most likely, Jesus did the same. He could use a knife to cut hair and beard, because ancient inhabitants were better at using knives than modern people.

In the Gospel, it is described as a carpenter who walks a lot but sometimes eat very poorly. Active lifestyle but often lack of this means that he can be skinny but firm. Some other features on the face of Jesus like the mouth and cheeks are speculative, according to Taylor. He may have scars or skin lesions on his face, traces of carpenter work, but there is no way to be certain.

Taylor was skeptical of the descriptions that claimed Jesus was very handsome. She explained that if Jesus was really beautiful, the Gospel writers would describe him as similar to Moses (the prophet who led the Israelis and David, the killer of the giant Goliath, in the Bible.

The Gospels and many archeological documents still reveal some details about the costume of Jesus. He is most likely wearing a non-tinted woolen coat to reveal his legs or a sleeveless robe to keep warm. His shoes can be of modern sandal sandals.

Among Bible scholars read Taylor's book, Helen Bond, the theology professor at Edinburgh University, Scotland and Jim West, a professor of Bible studies at Ming Hua University of Theology, Hong Kong, both give many positive reviews for research.