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TorahCentersandRabbinicActivity in Palestine –ce Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism Editor Hindy Najman Department and Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto Associate Editors Florentino García Martínez Qumran Institute, University of Groningen Benjamin G. Wright, III Department of Religion Studies, Lehigh University Advisory Board j.j. collins – j. duhaime – p.w. van der horst a. klostergaard petersen – j.t.a.g.m. van ruiten – j.sievers g. stemberger – e.j.c. tigchelaar – j. tromp VOLUME 138 Torah Centers and Rabbinic Activity in Palestine –ce History and Geographic Distribution By Ben-Zion Rosenfeld Translated from the Hebrew by Chava Cassel LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rozenfeld, Ben Tsiyon. Torah centers and rabbinic activity in Palestine, 70-400 C.E. : history and geographic distribution / by Ben-Zion Rosenfeld ; translated from the Hebrew by Chava Cassel. p. cm. – (Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism, ISSN 1384-2161 ; v. 138) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17838-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Talmudic academies–Palestine–History. 2. Judaism–History–Talmudic period, 10-425. 3. Jewish learning and scholarship–Palestine. 4. Jews–Palestine–Intellectual life. I. Cassel, Chava. II. Title. III. Series. BM502.R6913 2010 296.071'15694–dc22 2009036383 ISSN: 1384-2161 ISBN: 978 90 04 17838 0 Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Brill has made all reasonable efforts to trace all right holders to any copyrighted material used in this work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle other permission matters. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Preface ................................................................. vii Abbreviations.......................................................... ix Introduction ........................................................... 1 Sources.............................................................. 1 ResearchTools...................................................... 6 Chapters—OutlineandStructure.................................. 11 TranslationofSourceMaterial ..................................... 13 Chronology ......................................................... 14 Chapter One. Methodology: Who Is a Sage and Where Did He Live?................................................................. 17 WhoisaSage? ...................................................... 17 IdentifyingaSage’sPlaceofResidence............................. 19 DeterminingtheImportanceofaSageoraTorahCenter......... 30 Delineating the Geographic Borders of Palestine’s Jewish Population........................................................ 32 ChapterTwo. Judea................................................... 41 Lod—Urban Torah Center with Uninterrupted Rabbinic Activity,–ce............................................... 41 Rural Settlements with Rabbinic Activity—Mishnaic Period, –ce......................................................... 57 Rural Settlements with Rabbinic Activity—Talmudic Period, –ce ....................................................... 75 SummaryoftheDataandDiscussion.............................. 82 Conclusions......................................................... 98 The Judean Sages: Internal Dynamics and Ties with the Wider RabbinicCommunity—DiscussionandConclusions .......... 106 ChapterThree. Galilee................................................ 115 Sepphoris and Tiberias—Urban Torah Centers with UninterruptedRabbinicActivity................................ 115 Rural Settlements with Rabbinic Activity—Mishnaic Period, –ce......................................................... 126 vi contents Rural Settlements with Rabbinic Activity—Talmudic Period, –ce . ..................................................... 150 SummaryoftheData............................................... 170 DiscussionandConclusions........................................ 173 ChapterFour. CentralPalestine...................................... 203 Caesarea—UrbanTorahCenterandCapitalofPalestine.......... 203 Samuka—RuralSettlementwithRabbinicActivity................ 217 SummaryoftheData............................................... 220 DiscussionandConclusions........................................ 223 ChapterFive. Golan,Bashan,HauranandTransjordan............. 235 HistoricalandGeographicBackground............................ 235 Settlements with Rabbinic Activity—Golan, Bashan and Hauran 237 RabbinicActivity—Transjordan.................................... 251 SummaryoftheDataandConclusions............................ 255 Bibliography ........................................................... 259 Maps ................................................................... 295 IndexofNames........................................................ 301 IndexofGeographicalPlaces.......................................... 311 IndexofSubjects....................................................... 317 PREFACE This book deals with a unique aspect of the social and cultural history of Jewish society in Roman and early Byzantine Palestine. The time period is that of the Mishnah and Talmud, –ce. Using the rabbinic literature as its primary source, the book identifies the cities, towns and villages in which the sages were active in the different regions of Palestine and explores the historical significance of this geographic distribution. To date, the research on the world of the sages and their activities has been devoted primarily to the main Torah centers, which, by and large, were located in the cities. No study has attempted to identify all of the places in which the sages resided and were active, particularly those located in the rural areas of Palestine. This book attempts to fill that void. The discussion of rabbinic activity takes an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating the fields of geography, archaeology and sociology. In addition, the book contributes to the scholarly research on the complex world of Mediterranean society in the period under discussion, of which PalestineanditsJewishpopulationwerepart. Thepreparationofthisbookwasamultifacetedendeavor.Ioweaspe- cial debt of gratitude to the following individuals at Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, who assisted me in this effort; the President of Bar-Ilan Uni- versity, Professor Moshe Kaveh, and the Rector, Professor Joseph Menis, for financial assistance; Ms. Yehudit Grossman of the Library of Social Sciences, whose wisdom was an invaluable asset to me in this research; the librarians at the Library of Jewish Studies, who enabled me to benefit from their extensive knowledge; Dr. Merav Tobol-Kahana of the Depart- ment of Hebrew and Semitic Languages for her help in the field of lin- guistics. And last, but by no means least, my wife, Rivka, whose patience and support made it possible for me to produce this book. ABBREVIATIONS AASOR The Annual of the American School of Oriental Research ADAJ Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt,Berlin-NewYork, – BAIAS Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, London BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BJPES Bulletin of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin CA Current Anthropology CAH The Cambridge Ancient History (second edition) CHJ The Cambridge History of Judaism CJ Codex Justinianus CQ Classical Quarterly CT Codex Theodosianus HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual IEJ Israel Exploration Journal IESBS International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JRA Journal of Roman Archaeology JRS Journal of Roman Studies JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism JSPSup Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series LCL Loab Classical Library MBAH Münstersche Beträge z. antiken Handelsgeschichte MGWJ Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums NEAEHL New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vols, Jerusalem . PAAJR Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly PG Patrologiae Graecae PW, RE Pauly-Wissowa, Paulys Realencyclopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft RB Review Biblique REJ Revue des etudes Juives SCI Scripta Classica Israelica ZDPV Zeitschrift der deutschen Palästina-Vereins ZPE Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik INTRODUCTION Thisbook,ahistorical-geographicstudyofrabbinicactivityinPales- tine from to ce, the mishnaic and talmudic periods, maps the locations of Torah centers and uses these data to examine the socio- cultural makeup