The race and appearance of Jesus, widely accepted by researchers to be a Judean from Galilee has been a topic of discussion since the days of early Christianity. Various theories about the race of Jesus have been proposed and debated. By the Middle Ages, a number of documents, generally of unknown or questionable origin, had been composed and were circulating with details of the appearance of Jesus. These documents are now mostly considered forgeries.
A wide range of depictions have appeared over the two millennia since Jesus's death, often influenced by cultural settings, political circumstances and theological contexts. Many depictions are interpretations of spurious sources, and are generally historically inaccurate.
By the 19th century, theories that Jesus was non-Semitic were being developed, with writers suggesting he was variously white, black, or some other race other than those known to have been native to the Levant. However, as in other cases of the assignment of race to biblical individuals, these claims have been mostly based on cultural stereotypes, ethnocentrism, and societal trends rather than on scientific analysis or historical method.
Historical appearance
Research on ancient skeletons in Palestine suggests that Judeans of the time were biologically closer to Iraqi Jews than to any other contemporary population, according to specialist bio historian Yossi Nagar. Thus, in terms of physical appearance, the average Judean of the time would have likely had brown or even black hair, olive skin, and brown eyes. Judean men of the time period were on average about in height. Scholars have also suggested that it is likely Jesus had short hair and a beard, in accordance with Jewish practices of the time and the appearance of philosophers. The earliest depictions of Jesus from the Roman catacombs depict him as free of facial hair.
Historians have speculated over how Jesus's ascetic and itinerant lifestyle and work as a (Ancient Greek for an artisan/craftsman, typically a carpenter), with the manual labour and exposure to the elements that entailed, affected his appearance. It has been suggested that Jesus likely had a lean appearance.
Biblical references
The Old Testament
Old Testament references which Christians interpret as being about a coming messiah have been used to form conjectures about the appearance of Jesus. Isaiah 53:2 refers to the scourged messiah with "no beauty that we should desire him" and Psalm 45:2–3 describes him as "fairer than the children of men". These passages are often interpreted as Jesus' physical description.
The New Testament
In the Gospels
The New Testament includes no descriptions of Jesus's appearance before his death, and the gospel narratives are generally indifferent to people's racial appearance or features.
The synoptic gospels include the account of the transfiguration of Jesus, during which he was glorified with "His face shining as the sun", but this appearance is considered to refer to Jesus in majestic, transfigured form.
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation includes John's vision of the Son of Man: This vision is usually considered to refer to Jesus in heavenly form, not his appearance during his earthly life.
Literary traditions
Early Church to the Middle Ages
Despite the lack of direct biblical or historical references, from the 2nd century onward, various theories about the appearance of Jesus were advanced. However, these focused more on his physical appearance than on his specific race or ancestry. Larger arguments of this kind have been debated for centuries.
Justin Martyr argued for the genealogy of Jesus in the biological Davidic line from Mary, as well as from his non-biological father Joseph. However, this only implies a general Jewish ancestry, acknowledged generally by authors.
The focus of many early sources was on the physical unattractiveness of Jesus rather than his beauty. The second-century anti-Christian philosopher Celsus wrote that Jesus was "ugly and small", and similar descriptions are presented in a number of other sources as discussed extensively by Robert Eisler, who in turn often quotes from Ernst von Dobschütz' monumental . Tertullian states that Jesus's outward form was despised, that he had an ignoble appearance, and the slander he suffered proved the 'abject condition' of his body. According to Irenaeus, he was a weak and inglorious man, and in the Acts of Peter, he is described as small and ugly to the ignorant. Andrew of Crete relates that Christ was bent or even crooked, and in the non-canonical Acts of John, he is described as bald-headed and small with no good looks.