Father of John the Baptist?

A recently discovered inscription found by a 60-foot-high funerary monument at the foot of the Mount of Olives reads: "This is the tomb of Zachariah, martyr, very pious priest, father of John." Does this mean that the father of John the Baptist was buried there? Most scholars seem to doubt it; according to them, the inscription was probably added centuries later by Byzantine Christians who searched the Holy Land for biblical sites, marking them based upon local traditions they heard.

That doesn't mean that this discovery is unimportant, however. It may not be direct evidence of John the Baptist, but it is evidence of the existence of early traditions surrounding John the Baptist - and that is a significant find for biblical scholars and historians of Christianity.

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• Christian History