Executing John the Baptist

[Jona Lendering]

The Latinisms found in the text are common for the literature of the period. ... they are also found in the Hebrew literature, including the Mishnah (including the "speculator") and Talmuds.

I'm sure Jona would be grateful for a more precise reference, Alexander!

I know them. A fine one is the prosbul (pro + boule), a legal document developed in the first quarter of the first century CE (many rabbinical regerences). Another interesting one is Tosefta, Hullin 2.24: a story about rabbi Eleazar who runs into trouble for accepting a Christian interpretation of a verse; the hegmon (hegemon; judge) dismisses him from court with the Latin "dimus" (dimissus). In the Gospels are more latinisms.

But at issue is, now, whether we can retroject the late-first century meaning of "speculator" (executioner, guard) to c.28 CE, when it still meant "spy", "agent". The only way to retroject, is to accept that Mark -written in Greek- is the first evidence, antedating Otho's crisis measure. I do not think that is very plausible, and tend to stick to a Roman agent who accepted orders from a foreign head of state.