Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods: Life, Culture, and Society

678 Pages·2014·7.36 MB·English

by  D. A. Fiensy

Galilee in the Late Second Temple
and Mishnaic Period
Life, Culture, and Society
Life, Culture, and Society
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods Volume 1: Life, Culture, and
Society David A. Fiensy and James Riley Strange, Editors
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Cover images, from right to left: Mona Lisa of the Galilee, flik47/iStock/Thinkstock.
Olive Branch, Ryan Rodrick Beiler/iStock/Thinkstock. Roman Road, © Doug
Oakman; reprinted by permission. Sea of Galilee, Naive/iStock/Thinkstock. Tomb
with niches (Khirbet Qana) © David A. Fiensy; reprinted by permission.
Cover design: Laurie Ingram
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available

ISBN: 978-1-4514-6674-4
eISBN: 978-1-4514-8958-3

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z329, 48-1984. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
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IN MEMORIAM
Seán Freyne
Contents
Dedication
Archaeological Chronology
Events and Rulers in Galilee and Judea in the Late Second Temple through Mishnaic Periods
Maps and Galilee Photo Gallery
Preface
Overview of Galilean Studies
Introduction to Galilee: Volumes 1 and 2
David A. Fiensy and James Riley Strange
1. Galilee and the Historical Jesus in Recent Research
Roland Deines
History
2. The Political History in Galilee from the First Century BCE to the end
of the Second Century CE
Morten Hørning Jensen
3. Religious Practices and Religious Movements in Galilee: 100 BCE–
200 CE
Roland Deines
4. The Ethnicities of Galileans
Mark A. Chancey
5. The Synagogues of Galilee
Lee I. Levine
6. Notable Galilean Persons
Thomas Scott Caulley
7. Social Movements in Galilee
Richard Horsley
Village Life
8. The Galilean Village in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic
Periods
David A. Fiensy
9. Household Judaism
Andrea M. Berlin
10. The Galilean House in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic
Periods
David A. Fiensy
11. Mortality, Morbidity, and Economics in Jesus’ Galilee
Jonathan L. Reed
12. Education/Literacy in Jewish Galilee: Was There Any and at What
Level?
John C. Poirier
Economics
13. The Galilean Road System
James F. Strange
14. Urbanization and Industry in Mishnaic Galilee
Ze’ev Safrai
15. Never the Two Shall Meet? Urban–Rural Interaction in Lower
Galilee
Agnes Choi
16. Inner Village Life in Galilee: A Diverse and Complex Phenomenon
Sharon Lea Mattila
17. Debate: Was the Galilean Economy Oppressive or Prosperous?
Douglas E. Oakman and Andrew Overman
18. Taxation and Other Sources of Government Income in the Galilee of
Herod and Antipas
Fabian Udoh
Abbreviations
Roland Deines
Contributors
Archaeological Chronology
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIOD[1] ABBREVIATION DATES
Iron I I1 1200–1000 BCE
Iron II I2 1000–586 BCE
Persian P 586–333 BCE
Hellenistic I H1 333–152 BCE
Hellenistic II H2 152–37 BCE
Early Roman ER 37 BCE–70 CE
Middle Roman MR 70–250 CE
Late Roman LR 250–363 CE
Early Byzantine Byz 1 363–451 CE
Late Byzantine Byz 2 451–640 CE
Early Islamic EI 640–950 CE
Late Islamic LI 950–1291 CE
1. This chronology is taken from James F. Strange, Thomas R.W. Longstaff, and Dennis E. Groh
with revisions by James Riley Strange, The Excavations at Shikhin: Manual for Area
Supervisors (unpublished manuscript). The archaeological periods are those seen at Sepphoris
and Shikhin. ↵
Events and Rulers in Galilee and Judea in the Late
Second Temple through Mishnaic Periods
Key Events
110 John Hyrcanus conquers parts of Galilee?
BCE?
104 Aristobulus I annexes Galilee
BCE
104 Ptolemy IX Lathyros attacks Sepphoris
BCE
63 General Pompey of Rome conquers Judea
BCE
55 Gabinius locates a regional Sanhedrin at Sepphoris
BCE
47–37 Herod the Great governs the Galilee
BCE
49/38 Herod makes Sepphoris his northern headquarters
BCE
4 BCE Death of Herod; Sepphoris revolts; Roman legions destroy it
4 BCE Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, rebuilds Sepphoris as his Galilean capital
20 CE Antipas builds Tiberias as his new capital
30–33 Jesus’ ministry
CE
66–70 First Jewish Revolt: Vespasian invades Galilee; destruction of Yodefat, Magdala, and Gamla;
CE destruction of Jerusalem and the temple; migration of Judeans to Galilee
70– Era of the Tannaim
225
CE
80– Sanhedrin moves to Usha
140
CE
Bar Kokhba Revolt; expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem; migration to Galilee
Bar Kokhba Revolt; expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem; migration to Galilee
132–
135
CE
140 Sanhedrin moves to Shefar‘am
CE
163 Sanhedrin moves to Beit She‘arim, then to Sepphoris
CE
193 Sanhedrin moves to Tiberias
CE
200– Rabbi Judah the Prince completes the codification of the Mishnah at Sepphoris
220
CE
Rulers of Judea from Hellenistic Times
Hellenistic Dynasties Dates of Reign
Alexander III of Macedon 333–323 BCE
Ptolemy I Soter (“Savior”) 300–282 BCE
Ptolemy II Philadelphus (“Brother-loving”) 285–246 BCE
Ptolemy III Euergetes (“Benefactor”) 246–221 BCE
Ptolemy IV Philopator (“Father-loving”) 221–204 BCE
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (“[God] Manifest”) 204–180 BCE
Antiochus III (“The Great”) 223–187 BCE (takes control of Palestine in 198)
Seleucus IV Philopator 18–175 BCE
Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175–164 BCE
Hasmonean Dynasty Dates of Control
Mattathias d. 166 BCE
Judas, son of Mattathias 165–160 BCE
Jonathan, son of Mattathias 160–142 BCE
Simon, son of Mattathias 142–135 BCE
John Hyrcanus I, son of Simon 135–104 BCE
Judah Aristobulus I, son of John Hyrcanus I 104–103 BCE
Alexander Jannaeus, son of John Hyrcanus I 103–76 BCE
Salome Alexandra, wife of Alexander Jannaeus 76–67 BCE
Aristobulus II, son of Alexander Jannaeus and Alexandra 67–63 BCE
John Hyrcanus II, son of Alexander Jannaeus and Alexandra 63–40 BCE (high priest)
Mattathias Antigonus II, son of Aristobulus II 40–37 BCE (Parthian rule)
Herodian Dynasty Dates of Reign
Herod the Great
governor of the Galilee 47–37 BCE
king of the Jews 37–4 BCE
Archelaus, son of Herod, ethnarch (“ruler of a people”) of Judea, Samaria, Idumea 4 –6 [1]
BCE CE