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A Jerusalem monument thought for millennia to be the tomb of King David's rebellious son, Absalom, may actually be the burial site of key Gospel figures, according to recently uncovered inscriptions from around A.D. 350. Joe Zias, a retired curator for the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Emile Puech discovered faded Greek writing only visible by sunlight at certain times of the day: "This is the Tomb of Zacharias, martyr, very pious priest, father of John." Nearby was a reference to Simeon, the Jewish priest who hailed Jesus as Messiah.

While the ascetic biblical scholar Jerome (c.345-420) recorded that Zacharias and Simeon were buried together, along with Jesus' disciple and brother James, most scholars say the finding tells us something about the beliefs of early Christians, but it's probably not the actual burial site. It probably wasn't Absalom's Tomb, either—archaeologists have dated the site to the first century B.C. "We don't know if it actually is Zacharias's tomb … but it is clear someone in the 4th century was convinced it was," University of South Florida religion professor Jim Strange told The Christian Science Monitor.

The find may prompt work on other neglected sites that will yield further insights. Absalom's Tomb itself had been of little archaeological or historical interest lately—Zias found it used at times as a drug den. Meanwhile, Zias is looking for an inscription mentioning James. "There are three burial niches, so it certainly fits," he says. But after the heated controversy over the last James find—the "son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" ossuary—he may be better off without it.

The archives at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey, has the relics of many Methodist founders. Among them: Francis Asbury's glasses, upholstery from a chair that once supported John Wesley, and a peg that once held up Asbury's coat. The most shocking item is the thumb of evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770), though no one knows how it got there. It's not the oddest thing about Whitefield's postmortem life, according to Bangor Seminary's Clifton Guthrie. In 1775, two Continental Army officers (one of them Benedict Arnold) reportedly stole the clerical collar and wristbands from Whitefield's corpse and carried them into battle. In 1829, his arm made a 20-year sojourn to Britain before returning to his Newburyport, Massachusetts, burial vault. Two thousand people joined the procession for its return.

Museumgoers may experience déjà vu upon viewing "Rembrandt's Journey: Painter, Draftsman, Etcher," an exhibit that includes more than 20 paintings, 35 drawings, and 150 prints. The collection emphasizes changes made by the Dutch painter (1606-1669) as he returned to a theme or subject. For example, notes the Associated Press, "In three prints—each from a different decade—depicting the presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple, Rembrandt progressively zooms in on the central subject, culminating in the 1654 version, when light and shadow dominate the print." Such variety "provides deeper insight into the inventive, subtle, and complex way he brought new life to traditional biblical themes and how he projected himself into them," says an exhibit press release. Other items include a rare print of "Christ Preaching" and an early sketch of "Christ Carrying the Cross," where a finger smudge guides viewers' eyes to the detailed faces of Christ and his mother. The exhibit, which also has a companion book, will be at the Art Institute of Chicago through May.

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