What did Jesus look like? It might not be what you think, new study says

Jesus Christ is the most painted figure in Western art, so when his name comes up, a familiar image springs to mind.

The long, light-brown hair falling over blue eyes and the tunic or toga framing a tall, slender build.

The thing is, Jesus’ outward appearance is rarely discussed in the Gospels, so how can we know?

Historian and author Joan Taylor studied historical documents dating back to the Nazarene’s lifetime for her book titled “What Did Jesus Look Like?” in an effort to put a more accurate face with one of history’s most famous names.

Taylor’s research suggests that Jesus most likely stood in the neighborhood of 5 feet, 5 inches tall, according to the average skeletal remains of males found in the area known during Jesus’ time as Judea.

“In terms of a color palette then, think dark brown to black hair, deep brown eyes, olive-brown skin,” Taylor wrote in the Irish Times. “Jesus would have been a man of Middle Eastern appearance. What I have learned is that Judeans of this time were closest biologically to Iraqi Jews of the contemporary world.”

The distinction between long and short-cropped hair is probably made, according to Live Science, because lice were such a problem in Judea in the first century. It forced people to keep their hair and beards relatively short and well-groomed.

That more familiar image of Jesus — the one with paler skin and long, wispy hair — comes from the Byzantine era, following the fourth century. According to the BBC, Byzantine portraits of Jesus were meant to be symbolic — based on the image of a ruler of nations, not reflecting historical accuracy.

The earliest surviving painting of Jesus seems to confirm Taylor’s research. A third century wall painting from the ruined city of Dura-Europos near modern-day Syria pictured him without a beard and with short hair in depictions of the healing of the paralytic and of Christ walking on water.

Jesus’ familiar slender build probably is accurate, Taylor says in the book, because of a lifestyle of walking from city to city without always having regular meals.

“He shouldn’t be presented as [in] any way someone who was living a soft life,” Taylor told Live Science. “And sometimes that’s the kind of image we get.”

But mystery still shrouds his facial features. Taylor said she doesn’t quite buy depictions of Jesus that show him as a handsome figure. If he were handsome, wouldn’t the Gospel writers or the other early Christian documents have said so, as did early descriptions of Moses and David?

This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 8:47 AM with the headline "What did Jesus look like? It might not be what you think, new study says."