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The Bone Box

Bob Hostetler (Goodreads Author)

3.77 · Rating details · 98 ratings · 25 reviews

Combining the adrenaline-fueled adventure of Indiana Jones with the thrills of a Steve Berry Novel, The Bone Box is the latest in biblical archeological suspense.

Archeologist and agnostic Randall Bullock has come to Israel to try and resurrect his crumbling career and shattered life. Teaming up with Miri Sharon, a beautiful representative of Israeli Antiques Authority, ...more

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Paperback, 352 pages

Published October 7th 2008 by Howard Books

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· 98 ratings · 25 reviews

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Aug 29, 2009 Keiki Hendrix rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-christian

An agnostic archeologist, is asked to begin an emergency excavation of a burial site in Taipoit, just outside of Jerusalem where he discovers the remains of Caiaphas, the High Priest that presided over the trial and subsequent delivery of Jesus Christ to the Romans to be crucified.

In Bob Hostetler’s “The Bone Box“, archeologist Randall Bullock lives a mediocre life participating in digs far from his family. The recent loss of his wife and the strained relationship with his only daughter intensif An agnostic archeologist, is asked to begin an emergency excavation of a burial site in Taipoit, just outside of Jerusalem where he discovers the remains of Caiaphas, the High Priest that presided over the trial and subsequent delivery of Jesus Christ to the Romans to be crucified.

In Bob Hostetler’s “The Bone Box“, archeologist Randall Bullock lives a mediocre life participating in digs far from his family. The recent loss of his wife and the strained relationship with his only daughter intensifies his loneliness driving him to drink , despair and loss of interest in his chosen occupation.

An old friend offers him an opportunity to investigate a cave recently discovered at a construction site. While on location, his daughter Tracy (recently expelled from college) arrives unexpectedly creating more complexity as he attempts to expedite the digg before the Jewish Sabbath.

An Israeli Antiques Authority guard named Miri Sharon is assigned to the site and instructs Randall in some of the complex customs of the Jewish religion stressing that “nothing in Israel is simple“. Indeed it is not as Randall soon discovers a mob surrounding the site insisting that any bones discovered be surrendered to them for proper burial.

Randall and his daughter hurry to document as much of the discovery as possible before they are forced to surrender the bones to the insistent Jews but not before he discovers a scroll.This discover would be monumental to history but the great significance is how the discovery of the scroll affects Randall Bullock.

For purely evidential reasons and with only vague memories of the name Caiaphas from his wife and from his childhood, Randall searches the bible to discover more about this man.

A parallel account of Caiaphas is told beginning with his appointment as High Priest portraying the man in a much more ‘human’ way than I have read before. The story of John the Baptist arrival on the scene, Yeshua’s many miracles and healings, and Yeshua’s subsequent trial and crucifixion are retold from Caiaphas’ viewpoint. This is a fiction account,of course, but was very well researched. Christian readers will connect many of the events described in the parallel story.

What follows is political intrigue, the path of salvation, and finally reconciliation and redemption. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly. ...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Michelle Kidwell rated it it was amazing

Randall heads to Israel to do an excavation, The Archaelogist and Agnostic is trying to ressurect his crumbling career. In Israel he meets Major Seargeant Miri Sharon who helps as he unearths a casket marked Joseph Son Of Caiphas, in the casket he finds a fragile Papyrus scroll that contains the events of the death and ressurection of Christ, when he tries to have these scrolls authotizied instead he runs into trouble, people are trying to accuse him of falsifying the finds. When Randalls daught ...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Kimberlee rated it it was amazing

What a fantastic novel, I truly enjoy the telling of three lives. Joseph son of Caiaphas, Dr Rand Bullock and his daughter Tracey. Three different lives all in serch of the truth and finding faith and courage in their convictions. You may truly believe in something but do you believe enough to follow.

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Jan 30, 2019 Audrey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biblical-fiction, inspirational-fiction, religion-and-christianity

Oh my, that was stunning. At first I was distracted when the author interrupted the story a couple of times to make an explanation. However the story itself was incredible. Actually it was two stories in one. The main story is about Rand who found a very important archaeological discovery in Jerusalem. The ossuary, or bone box, contained the remains of Caiaphas, the high priest from the time of Jesus. It also apparently contained a note from Nicodemus verifying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ...more

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May 23, 2018 Jason rated it really liked it

Shelves: currently-own

I was going to give this book 5 stars until the last third of the book. Essentially, the book has three stories. The first two are in the modern day, one a story of faith and archeological discovery, and one a romance. The third story is a story of Caiaphas around the life of Jesus. While the romance and Caiaphas stories seemed to build until the very end of the book, the story of the discovery and its impact ended prematurely. Its importance practically disappeared in the last third of the book ...more

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Oct 01, 2017 Dorothy Caswell rated it really liked it

This is a true story of an archeological find in Jerusalem. In an ossuary bones were identified as those of the high priest, Caiaphas. He presided over the trial of Jesus and saw that he was killed. From a scroll that was found in the ossuary, he carried on a correspondence with Nicodemus, one of the Sanhedrin who believed in Jesus. The discovery has a huge impact on the archeologist who finds the bones and the scroll. He wants to change the world but discovers that he has to start with himself ...more

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May 04, 2018 Rebekah Millet rated it it was amazing

What first drew me to this book is the author, Bob Hostetler. He’s hilariously witty on social media and I’m always excited to find a new-to-me author. The Bone Box drew me in right from the start. Told from three points of view, this novel included lots of emotion, suspense, and intriguing history. I love reading books that bring the Bible to life in a different way and have me excited to look up scripture. This, dear friends, was one of those books. It kept me up late and night and happy waiti ...more

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Oct 07, 2019 Cherie Colburn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Such an interesting time slip novel, integrating fascinating info on Jewish tradition, 1st century Israel, and geography of Israel. The main reason I could not give it a 5 star rating is personal...I didn’t like how short some of the chapters were. It seemed to jump too abruptly: as soon as I started to settle in, off we go again. Other than that, it was written and researched well.

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Dec 24, 2017 Dawn Owens rated it really liked it

This book is an amazing story of how the Bible can come alive in this day and age to affect our lives for good. I loved how the author used present day story and intertwined it with Biblical day story. This kept me wanting more. Great job!

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Jan 20, 2020 Matthew S. rated it liked it

A bit slow. Interesting characters and premise. The ending felt rushed and changed focus too drastically from the initial tone and direction.a longer story arc leading to the end would have been more convincing as it relates to the changes experienced by the main characters.

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Sep 19, 2017 Maureen rated it liked it

Average detective story - seemingly written by some sort of born again Christian.
In any case - it's very naive.
...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Lisa Bös rated it liked it

I truly expected more.

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Jun 21, 2010 Bruce Judisch rated it it was amazing

Rather than keep you in suspense of the inevitable, I’m going to begin my review of Bob Hostetler’s The Bone Box with a digression. That’ll get it out of the way up front.

One of the great things about Biblical fiction is that it allows us the freedom to examine the record in greater detail than what Scripture often actually gives us. However, that’s a two-edged sword. On one edge, there’s a danger of the writer weaving his own agenda into the Biblical record and straining, sometimes to the break Rather than keep you in suspense of the inevitable, I’m going to begin my review of Bob Hostetler’s The Bone Box with a digression. That’ll get it out of the way up front.

One of the great things about Biblical fiction is that it allows us the freedom to examine the record in greater detail than what Scripture often actually gives us. However, that’s a two-edged sword. On one edge, there’s a danger of the writer weaving his own agenda into the Biblical record and straining, sometimes to the breaking point, reasonable inference (witness accusations against Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code).

On the other edge, through careful research and skillful storytelling, the author can present angles on events and people that are entirely plausible and in keeping with the Scriptural account, but lend a novel (pun intended) perspective on them. In doing so, she offers something perhaps we hadn’t thought of before. The unexpected inference—or ‘twist’—not only enhances the entertainment value (see my February 11th post), but can also broaden our spiritual horizons.

The latter requires intellectual honesty. The former requires…well, nothing to commend. Happily for us, Mr. Hostetler’s The Bone Box is guilty of the latter and not the former.

Dr. Randall Bullock is an archaeologist who has pretty much mucked up his personal life in deference to his professional one. Recently widowed, Dr. Bullock tries to put himself back on an even keel by immersing himself in a new dig outside Jerusalem. When a construction project collapses an ancient tomb nearby, he is offered the opportunity to solo the project to examine its contents before having to turn them over to the Antiquities Authority. He discovers no less than the ossuary (bone box) containing the remains of one Joseph bar Caiaphas. Yup, the same Caiaphas who presided over Christ’s trial. In the ossuary is a small scroll, the contents of which cast a stunning light on the events of over two thousand years ago.

Enter daughter Tracy, recently expelled from college, who shows up in Israel in search of a father she barely knows—and respects even less—due to his absence from all the significant events of her life, including the death of her mother. They both embark on an awkward road of attempted reconciliation, which comes at a particularly difficult time as the demands of this momentous archaeological discovery pull at her father’s attentions. Just like before. Just like always.

Interspersed with Dr. Bullock’s story are flashbacks to the first century ad, with Caiaphas playing the central role. From his installation as Kohen haGadol (the High Priest), through the preaching of John the Baptist, to Jesus’ trial, Caiaphas is shown in a very interesting light—and as the subject of a most fascinating twist. I don’t think you’re going to anticipate this one.

Mr. Hostetler’s careful research is evident throughout the story. You’ll learn loads about modern and ancient Israel through the pages of The Bone Box. The only possible criticism I could offer to the author’s technique might be the reliance of side narratives to enlighten the reader on Hebrew history and culture. Perhaps more of the education could have been interwoven into the story. For example, Dr. Bullock could have presented some of the facts in dialog with Tracy (or other similar exchanges), thereby educating the reader through the action of the story instead of digressive explanations, which, I felt, pulled me away from the story a little more often than I would like to have been pulled. But don’t let that dissuade you. The tale and the education are well worth the ride.

Mr. Hostetler’s skill at storytelling is just as evident. He mixes intrigue, suspense, pathos and even romance wonderfully in a tale that tackles a well worn story in a fresh and meaningful way. Oh, and what becomes of this discovery that has such crucial historical and theological significance? Well, that’s Mr. Hostetler’s point. Read the book. He relates it much better than I ever could.

Final thought: I note on the title pages of my own works of Biblical fiction the following: “It has been the author’s intent to remain as true to the Biblical account as possible, filling in additional events, descriptions and characters where Scripture permits to accommodate the story line. Such extra-Biblical references are products of the author’s own imagination and are not intended to represent any persons, living or dead.” It, I believe, should be a goal of every author of Biblical fiction that their work would motivate the reader to delve back into the Bible (cf. Acts 17:11). There, fact will be separated from fiction, and the lesson can be applied against the Authoritative record.

Fortunately, (at the risk of putting words in his mouth) it appears Mr. Hostetler shares the above sentiment. The Bone Box was a real pleasure to read. Entertaining, thought-provoking, real, and honest. A great blend of historical and contemporary fiction that really means something.

Yup, highly recommended.

Thanks, Mr. Hostetler. ...more

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Jan 17, 2016 Rose on aish rated it really liked it

Shelves: bible, jewish

The book is about an archeologist Randall Bullock, who discovers an ancient Jewish tomb in Taipoit, outside Jerusalem. There he discovers the remains of Caiaphas, the High Priest from Jesus' time. The story confirms the resurrection of Christ, and the fictional role Caiaphas might have played in the ancient event. It is a story told from three points of view: the archeologist's, his daughter's and the High Priest's.

The archeologist Randall Bullock lives a life far from his family, his wife died The book is about an archeologist Randall Bullock, who discovers an ancient Jewish tomb in Taipoit, outside Jerusalem. There he discovers the remains of Caiaphas, the High Priest from Jesus' time. The story confirms the resurrection of Christ, and the fictional role Caiaphas might have played in the ancient event. It is a story told from three points of view: the archeologist's, his daughter's and the High Priest's.

The archeologist Randall Bullock lives a life far from his family, his wife died and he doesn't get on with his daughter. While in Israel, his daughter Tracy (expelled from college) arrives unexpectedly. So she joins his father's work. An Israeli Antiques Authority guard named Miriam Sharon has to guard the site and helps Randall to understand some of the complex customs of the Jewish religion stressing that "nothing in Israel is simple"(I agree with that). A mob of orthodox Jews wants to take over the bones discovered there, that they might be surrendered to them for proper religious burial. Rand and his daughter hurry, but not before he discovers a scroll. This discovery would be monumental to history but the great significance is how the discovery of the scroll affects him personally. Out of curiosity and information Rand searches the Bible to discover more about Caiaphas.

A parallel account of Caiaphas is told beginning with his appointment as High Priest, then tells about the story of John the Baptist's arrival on the scene, Jesus' many miracles and healings, Jesus' subsequent trial and crucifixion in another way. What follows is political intrigue, the path of salvation, and finally reconciliation and redemption.

This book is fictional, but it was pretty well written and not so predictable. It is a great story that ties many Christian truths and facts into it. "Do you just believe in Jesus or are you following Jesus?" -this was one of the topics in the book. What I didn't like was that the story ended without knowing what the results of the excavation were. ...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Victoria rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, archeology

Normally I don't read so-called Christian fiction because of the fatuous faith scenes at the end. This one included archeology most of which is factual and referenced at the end, and a parallel intermittent story of the High Priest Caiaphas during the times of Jesus. Rand the archeologist is a little too uninformed about Hebrew and Aramaic for a Middle-East researcher IMO. In fact the entire book is written geared toward a 10th-grade level or sumpin'. I did appreciate some of the details about d ...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Erik rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book tells the story of Jesus's rise and fall as seen through the eyes of an archaeologist who had experienced tragedy and loss in his life. He uncovered a tomb that not only led him to renew his faith but encouraged him to renew his relationship with his daughter and led both of them to a new life "following" Christ (as opposed to simply believing in Christ). As a skeptic, I have to say I found the plot familiar...a different take on the same old story but in the end just another, equally ...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: modern-fiction, christian

A good book overall. The back cover synopsis doesn't cover what it is really about. The synopsis only deals with the last 70 pages or so. The build up is more detailed and in depth than the 'action' so to speak. I LOVED the theology behind it and the way the public reaction is dealt with. I think that part was very realistic. I loved the way Hostetler goes back and forth in time and his portrayal of Caiaphas.
I did very much enjoy the novel even though it wasn't quite what I expected. The charac ...more

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Apr 01, 2015 Michael Bell rated it really liked it

I was impressed by this book. The main character was an archaeologist with a daughter. His ex wife died and the daughter tracked him down on a dig in Israel. The story also included real time depictions of life during Jesus' time. His life and eventual crucifixion. The real drama her involved the fact that the relatives of Jesus were interred in this crypt. As we enter Easter Season for Christians, the relevance of the life and death of Jesus is an excellent time for reflection. Israel has chang ...more

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Jul 08, 2014 Rachael Atamian rated it really liked it

So many amazing books in a row for me. This was great because it touched on multiple things I adore. 1. Archeology
2. Israel/Jewish themes
3. Christianity - subtle and not in your face

The ending needed a tighter wrap up, however, without the tightness of the story your are left with the end theme. Are you a believer or a follower? This is a hard cup to swallow for most people.
Great book, highly recommended!

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Jan 25, 2016 Joe rated it liked it

This book looks at the life of Jesus from the point of view of the high priest who supposedly helped him get crucified. It is an interesting point of view on the story. This all is the background story for a present day archaeological dig that uncovers the bones of the priest. I enjoyed the book because it respects different spiritual points of view and does not preach to an audience that may not care.

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Oct 27, 2013 Roberta Brosius rated it it was amazing

I liked how the author alternated current time chapters with first century chapters. He also included end notes that documented the historical and archaeological information. That's not to say the book was too scholarly or inaccessible. The interwoven current and ancient plots and characters were compelling. ...more

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May 13, 2012 Morgan rated it it was ok

Shelves: in-my-library

It had a good message, simple story, predictable. Not what I was expecting. The story focused on a father-daughter relationship and I was expecting more action like a Dan Brown novel.

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Jun 23, 2015 Stephanie Ann Marcotte rated it liked it

Good read with realistic archaeological elements.

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Sep 04, 2013 Peggy Armstrong rated it liked it

Interesting imagining of Caiaphas and his reign as high priest.

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About Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler

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Bob Hostetler is an award-winning writer, editor, and speaker from southwestern Ohio. His books, which include the award-winning Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door (co-authored with Josh McDowell) and the novel, The Bone Box, have sold over 3 million copies. He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and an Amy Foundation Award. He is the founding pastor of Cobblesto ...more