Investigate a relatively neglected but momentous period in Judean history Nadav Sharon closely examines a critical period in Judean history, which saw the end of the Hasmonean dynasty and the beginning of Roman domination of Judea leading up to the kingship of Herod (67-37 BCE). In this period renowned Roman figures such as Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, Gaius Cassius (a conspirator against Caesar), and Mark Anthony, led the Roman Republic on the eve of its transformation into an Empire, each having his own dealings with—and holding sway over—Judea at different times. This volume explores the impact of the Roman conquest on the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, enhances the understanding of later Judean-Roman relations and the roots of the Great Revolt, and examines how this early period of Roman domination had on impact on later developments in Judean society and religion. Features: Part one dedicating to reconstructing Judean history from the death of Alexander to the reign of King Herod Part two examining the effects of Roman domination on Judean society Maps, illustrations, and appendices

This volume provides a reconstruction of the history of Judea and its neighboring regions from 334 BCE, when Alexander's eastward conquests brought Judea into the Greek empire, through 135 CE, when Hadrian re-founded Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina and banished Jews from the city limits -- a formative period both for early Judaism and the Christian movement. This history unfolds against a backdrop of international politics that constrained developments within Judea, including wars between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires for control of Palestine, internal wars that led to the decline of the Seleucid empire, and the eastward expansion and consolidation of Roman rule. Judea under Greek and Roman Rule focuses on the Hellenizing Reform that precipitated the Maccabean Revolt, the establishment of an independent kingdom under the Hasmonean Dynasty, the rule of Herod and transition to Roman rule, the circumstances that precipitated two devastating revolts against Roman domination, and constructive responses (both literary and practical) within Judaism to both revolts and the consequences.

Some of the most heated contests around the apostle Paul today concern the effort to understand him wholly “within Judaism,” and the effort to interpret him over against the culture and ideology of the early Roman Empire. In this collection of essays, Neil Elliott shows that these two conversations belong together and must be resolved together, by understanding Paul as a Jew living out Israel’s ancient hopes under the pressures of Roman imperial power.

Luke-Acts contains a wealth of material that is relevant to politics, and the relationship between Jesus and his followers and the Roman Empire becomes an issue at a number of points. The author's fundamental attitude toward Rome is hard to discern, however. The complexity of Luke's task as both a creative writer and a mediator of received tradition, and perhaps as well the author's own ambivalence, have left conflicting evidence in the narrative. Scholarly treatments of the issue have tended to survey in a relatively short scope a great amount of material with different degrees of relevance to the question and representing different proportions of authorial contribution and traditional material. This book attempts to make a contribution to the discussion by narrowing the focus to Luke's depiction of the Roman provincial governors in his narrative, interpreted in terms of his Greco-Roman literary context. Luke's portraits of Roman governors can be seen to invoke expectations and concerns that were common in the literary context. By these standards Luke's portrait of these Roman authority figures is relatively critical, and demonstrates his preoccupation with Rome's judgment of the Christians more than a desire to commend Roman rule.

It is remarkable that Judaism could develop given the domination by Rome in Palestine over the centuries. Smallwood traces Judaism's constantly shifting political, religious, and geographical boundaries under Roman rule from Pompey to Diocletian, that is, from the first century BCE through the third century CE. From a long-standing nationalistic tradition that was a tolerated sect under a pagan ruler, Judaism becomes, over time, a threat that needs to be repressed and confined against a now-Christian empire. This work examines the galvanizing forces that shaped and defined Judaism as we have come to know it. This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.

In The Danielic Discourse on Empire in Second Temple Literature, Alexandria Frisch asks: how did Jews in the Second Temple period understand the phenomenon of foreign empire? In answering this question, a remarkable trend reveals itself—the book of Daniel, which situates its narrative in an imperial context and apocalyptically envisions empires, was overwhelmingly used by Jewish writers when they wanted to say something about empires. This study examines Daniel, as well as antecedents to and interpretations of Daniel, in order to identify the diachronic changes in perceptions of empire during this period. Oftentimes, this Danielic discourse directly reacted to imperial ideologies, either copying, subverting, or adapting those ideologies. Throughout this study, postcolonial criticism, therefore, provides a hermeneutical lens through which to ask a second question: in an imperial context, is the Jewish conception of empire actually Jewish?

Through careful analysis of sources, especially Josephus, Horsley explicates the deep divisions between rulers and the ruled, emphasizing the role of Galilean peasants in uprisings that would eventually culminate in the Great Revolt against Rome. Rich in historical detail, Galileans under Jerusalem and Roman Rule offers readers a nuanced understanding of the social and political dynamics that shaped this pivotal region, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of religion, politics, and resistance in ancient Palestine.

The studies in this collection deal with a variety of subjects. Their focus is the Roman Empire in the East, the Roman army, Judaea in the Roman period, and Jewish history. Inscriptions are published in them and literary sources discussed. First, Judaea in the period before the arrival of the Romans as well as under Roman rule forms the centre of attention. Here, articles on specific documents are presented and historical problems discussed ranging from the Seleucid period to the Later Roman Empire. The second part of the book contains studies of the wider area and the third part is concerned with the Roman army, its organisation and aims in the Frontier areas. Many of these papers are hard to find and it is particularly valuable to have all of them together and logically arranged in one volume. Moreover extensive discussions of recent publications and newly published material have been added here.

Paul Barnett not only places the New Testament within the world of caesars and Herods, proconsuls and Pharisees, Sadducee and revolutionaries, but argues that the mainspring and driving force of early Christian history is the historical Jesus.