Romans + Judaism

[Restitvtvs]

I'd appreciate fellow RAT members sharing historic/cultural facts, images, interpretations, references, webpages, etc. about Judaism within & related to the Roman Empire.

The Jewish Diaspora ([url:18963hhy]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora[/url]) started long before the Romans occupied Judea. Roman period Jewish art, artifacts & architecture can be found throughout & beyond the former Empire's boundaries. Ritual baths in former Castra Regina, Raetia (Regensburg, Germany). Catacombs outside Rome.

That is about the extent of my "knowledge" (what I "know" may not be so!) on the subject. I hope others have & will share more.

[Restitvtvs]

Great Collections of Roman-Jewish Articles:
http://www.livius.org/judaea.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:A ... an_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jewish_history
http://www.houseofdavid.ca/treas_dss.htm (added 14 Jun 2008 )

Assorted Roman Period Jewish Websites + Webpages

http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/search.cgi

http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/ ... i?list=all

More Roman image collections, which include some period Jewish items, are in this thread:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=10899

Many of these other websites also have time-saving "search" functions.

Some Roman views on Jews & Judaism, from period writers:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/roman-jews.html

Overview of Jews' 22 Centuries in Rome:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jso ... /Rome.html

Jewish Diaspora Roman (and Other) Wikipedia Article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_diaspora

Jewish-Roman Revolts / Wars (partly civilian, partly military):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-Roman_wars

Very good website on the First Roman-Jewish Revolt / War: "Visual Timeline of Roman-Jewish War: Tracking the Seven-Year Jewish Revolt of A.D. 66-73 from a Military Point of View."

http://www.preteristarchive.com/ARTchive/churban/

Roman Period Jewish (and Many Other) Maps...

Organized chronologically:
http://www.preceptaustin.org/bible_maps_1.htm
http://www.preceptaustin.org/bible_maps_2.htm
http://www.preceptaustin.org/bible_maps_3.htm
http://www.preceptaustin.org/bible_maps_4.htm

Organized by subject:
http://www.preceptaustin.org/bible_maps.htm

Roman Period Essenes, Qumran, and the Dead Sea Scrolls:

Websites on the Dead Sea Scrolls, mostly scriptures copied by the Essenes in Qumran (during Roman rule), in the "Wilderness of Judah", overlooking the Dead Sea:

http://www.uwm.edu/Course//HEBRST-235/...
http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il/index.html
http://www.bibelausstellung.de/ (German)
http://www.proel.org/qumran/qumranh.htm (Spanish)

What is real & what is not...?

Who really knows?


http://www.bibelausstellung.de/bilder/14.jpg

Jewish Roman (and Other) Period Timeline Webpage:

[url:3sc2gxo2]http://www.biblediagrams.com/diagrams/timeline/[/url]

Fantastic timeline images. Click on the smaller images on this webpage, for the larger images.

[Theodosius the Great]

From the Jewish catacombs - the base to either a bowl or a cup :





Theo

[Jona Lendering]

I have put some articles on Judaisms in the Roman period online at this place.

[Felix Agrippa]

There is still a community of Jews in modern Rome, there Judaism differs from the rest of the religion in the way that they were founded before the fall of the temple in 70 A.D. So in there doctrine there is nothing about the mourning of the destroyed temple during the Jewish Revolt.

[tlclark]

We often think of Judaism as predating Christianity but Rabbinical Judaism has many complicated roots and is a response to Christianity as much as a source.

The dress and customs of modern Jews, of all stripes and sects, are the product of the middle ages, not the ancient world and there are many social and political influences on Judaism. For example, Hannukhah was not a significant holiday throughout much of the Middle Ages because it celebrated the rededication of the Temple, and after the destruction of the Temple there didn't seem like much reason to celebrate. There were also many political issues with the holiday since it commemorated the ascent of the Hasmonean family which (some believed improperly) took control of priesthood.

After the arrival of Zionism in the 18th C. the holiday was revived as a commemoration of a successful Jewish victory and became something of a national holiday.

The point being that Judaism today is far different from that of the first century.

Some things we can infer about first century Judaism that might be different from contemporary Judaism, (or at least the more orthodox traditions)

1.) There was no objection to proselyting to non-jews. This certainly became a problem later when many of these jewish converts switched to Christianity.

2.) The principle scriptural text of much of the Galille/decapolis area was not the Masoretic, but the Septuagint. In every way, Greek and Hellenistic culture had penetrated jewish society from the highest to the lowest levels and it really didn't appear to bother them much. There is the riot over the gymnasium in Jerusalem, but in nearly all cases, the archaeological record the material culture of Jews is indistinguishable except by class. Syrian lower income homes are identical to Jewish low-income homes and high income Jewish families were outfitted with the best Greek and Roman fashions. Disputes over hellenization are largely ideological and not cultural.

3.) Customs of dress, kosher/dietary laws, etc. were far less strict, including prohibitions against images. This is especially true outside of the environs of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is always a thornier issue. For example, we find very little evidence that they were anywhere as particular about kosher laws as contemporary orthodox jews.

4.) Hotly debated but fascinating : Far less monotheistic/theological rigidity - A community of Jews built a Temple in Elephantine and many Jewish shrines indicate that strict monotheism and the centrality of the Temple in Jerusalem was not a feature of all Jewish communities. This is the famous "Yahweh and his Asherah" controversy that suggests that Rather than a monotheistic diety, Yahweh was an Henotheistic or chief diety with consort. Othmar Keel's book on this is the best I think and suggests that rather than a monotheistic entity or a henotheistic entity Yahweh was a monad, not unlike the Brahman oversoul of Hindu!! Strict monotheism developed later and some, like Margeret Baker suggest that it developed in response to challenges from Christianity as a way of excluding Christian interpretations of scripture.

[Tarbicus]

A bunch of books and papers:

[url:1nnfxvnt]http://www.heritagemp.com/results-book.asp?keywords=jewish+roman&match=all&I1.x=0&I1.y=0[/url]

[Theodosius the Great]

4.) Hotly debated but fascinating : Far less monotheistic/theological rigidity

Yes, that is interesting. I wonder if the Romans branded Jews as "atheists" (as they did Christians).


Theo

[Restitvtvs]

Apparently, yes.

Definitions of atheism varied between individuals & over time:

[url:2htwzemd]http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/atheism[/url]

10+ webpages on Roman period Jewish history, starting at:

[url:2htwzemd]http://www.aish.com/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_30_-_The_Romans.asp[/url]

[Theodosius the Great]

Apparently, yes.

That would seem to undermine the theory (#4) from Travis' post. Apparently, in the eyes of the Romans the Jews weren't Henotheistic enough for their tastes.

And why would the Jews wait so long to reassert their Monotheism ? Wouldn't a better time to do so have been in the fourth century when Christianity was supreme and rapidly growing instead of after the fall of the Western Empire ?


Theo

[Casmin]

I don't remember if the Romans knew the Jews as atheists. The Romans were definitely at odds with Jewish culture. I always thought that the Jewish adherance to one god was disconcerting to the Romans. However, if the dualistic Yahweh theory is correct then that does undermine this. Of course if any Jew interfered with a Roman ritual then they would be called an atheist.

[Theodosius the Great]

Celsus, an anti-Christian from the II century, wrote that although the Jews seemed weird, at least they worshipped in the manner of their ancestors. To do so was the proper way to worship.

Stephen Williams says that for the Romans, deliberate innovatation in worship was almost self-contradictory. Although, syncretism was perfectly acceptable.

To deny the existence of the Roman gods was tantamount to atheism in their eyes. Although, later the Christians no longer looked upon the pagan gods as nonexistent. Rather, they were demons in disguise. This isn't to say that this distinction improved relations between Christians and the state.


Theo

[sicarii sam]

I know alot of people dont like michael grant but a basic intro to jews and romans relationships in palestine is Jews in the Roman world. Gives a basic overview but really isnt anything in depth and I found some inaccuracies myself even as a novice. Gives some good trail heads to run down.

[Restitvtvs]

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[Restitvtvs]

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