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Agrippa I and the Judeans of Alexandria in the Wake of the Violence in 38 Ce

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Agrippa I and the Judeans of Alexandria in the Wake of the Violence in 38 Ce AGRIPPA I AND THE JUDEANS OF ALEXANDRIA 1 Allen KERKESLAGER Saint Joseph's University AGRIPPA I AND THE JUDEANS OF ALEXANDRIA IN THE WAKE OF THE VIOLENCE IN 38 CE RÉSUMÉ Le roi de Judée Agrippa Ier, ne peut plus être considéré comme un avocat des Judéens d’Alexandrie. Après sa visite à la ville en 38 de l’ère commune, le compor- tement d’Agrippa révèle à plusieurs reprises la volonté de se disculper de la vio- lence qui avait éclaté pendant sa visite. Cela resort d'In Flaccum et Legatio ad Caium de Philon d’Alexandrie, du procès d’Isidoros dans les Actes des Alexan- drins, de la lettre de Claudius aux Alexandrins (P. Lond. 6.1912 = CPJ 2.153), des œuvres de Flavius Josèphe et d’autres sources. L’analyse de ces sources procède chronologiquement, à partir de la visite d’Agrippa à Alexandrie en 38. Suit une dis- cussion du rôle éventuel d’Agrippa et d’autres Hérodiens dans la composition et la description des violences par Philon. À chaque étape, Agrippa montra qu’il se pré- occupe davantage de conforter sa position dans l’administration romaine que du sort des Judéens d’Alexandrie. Cette conclusion pourrait résoudre plusieurs ques- tions liées aux événements de 38, telle la nature des accusations portées contre le gouverneur romain, Flaccus. SUMMARY This study argues that the Judean king Agrippa I can no longer be viewed as a champion for the Judeans of Alexandria. After his visit to the city in 38 CE, Agrippa's behavior repeatedly reveals an effort to avoid incrimination in the violence that had erupted during his visit. This is apparent from Philo's In Flaccum and Legatio ad Gaium, the lawsuit of Isidoros in the Acts of the Alexandrians, the papyrus letter of Claudius to the Alexandrians (P. Lond. 6.1912 = CPJ 2.153), the works of Josephus, and other sources. Analysis of these sources proceeds in order of the events, beginning with Agrippa's visit to Alexandria in 38 and ending with the possible influence of Agrippa and other Herodians on the composition and copying of Philo's descriptions of the violence in 38. At every stage, Agrippa betrayed far more interest in the security of his status in the Roman administration than the plight of the Judeans of Alexan- dria. This conclusion may help resolve numerous questions related to the violence in 38, such as the nature of the charges brought against the Roman governor Flaccus. Revue des études juives, 168 (1-2), janvier-juin 2009, pp. 1-49. doi: 10.2143/REJ.168.1.2035300 1888-08-REJ09/1-2_01 1 09-15-2009, 14:38 2 AGRIPPA I AND THE JUDEANS OF ALEXANDRIA Introduction At one time it was common to describe the Judean king Marcus Julius Agrippa I as a defender of Judean religious traditions1. Contradictory evi- dence was accommodated by expressing skepticism about Agrippa's per- sonal piety2. In the last few decades support for this view of Agrippa has eroded. Scholarship has developed greater sensitivity to the source-critical problems, rhetorical agendas, and finer details of the ancient literary por- traits of Agrippa3. More attention also has been given to Agrippa's family heritage, his upbringing in Rome, his coins, his building projects, and other clues to his cultural priorities4. Agrippa's proclivities now appear typical of 1. E.g., M. STERN, “The Herodian Dynasty and the Province of Judea at the End of the Period of the Second Temple,” in M. Avi YONAH and Z. BARAS, eds., The World History of the Jewish People, Vol. 7: The Herodian Period (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1975) 136-49; W. WIRGIN, Herod Agrippa I (Leeds: Department of Semitic Languages and Literature, Leeds University, 1968), esp. 53-61, 84-86; S. PERONE, The Later Herods (New York: Abingdon, 1958) 68-83. The likely praenomen (Marcus) is only attested for his son Agrippa II; see OGIS 420 (SEG 7.217), 421, 428 (IG 2[2].3449); SEG 7.216; 7.970; 50.1398 (SEG 49.2011); Y. MESHORER, A Treasury of Jewish Coins (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi and Nyack: Amphora, 2001; henceforth TJC) nos. 133, 133a, 133b; A. BURNETT, M. AMANDRY, P. RIPOLLÈS, et al., Roman Provincial Coinage (London: British Museum Press, 1992 and ongoing; henceforth RPC) 1.4992. The praenomen Gaius was argued by A. STEIN, “Gaius Julius, An Agoranomos from Tiberias,” ZPE 93 (1992) 144-48, based on SEG 38.1646 (the reading in AE 1992, no. 1695 may exclude her proposal). She appeals to Herod's expected tria nomina (Gaius Julius Herod, now in SEG 45.1131). But the name of Agrippa's son sug- gests that Agrippa I was named after Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who died about a year be- fore Agrippa's birth in ca. 11 BCE; N. KOKKINOS, The Herodian Dynasty (Sheffield: Shef- field Academic Press, 1998) 271-72. 2. E.g., E. M. SMALLWOOD, The Jews Under Roman Rule (Leiden: Brill, 1976) 193-99; E. SCHÜRER, with G. VERMES, F. MILLAR, et al., eds., The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (Revised edition, Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1973) 1.442-54; A. H. M. JONES, The Herods of Judaea (2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon, 1967) 206-16. For related issues, see J. M. BAUMGARTEN, “Exclusions from the Temple: Proselytes and Agrippa I,” JJS 33 (1982) 215-25. 3. E.g., K.-S. KRIEGER, “Die Darstellung König Agrippas I. in Flavius Josephus' Antiquitates Judaicae,” in J. U. KALMS und F. SIEGERT, Hrsg., Internationales Josephus- Kolloquium Dortmund 2002 (Münster: Lit, 2003) 94-118; KRIEGER, “A Synoptic Approach to B 2:117-283 and A 18-20,” in F. SIEGERT und J. U. KALMS, Hrsg., Internationales Josephus-Kolloquium Dortmund 2001 (Münster: Lit, 2003) 90-100; A. KUSHNIR-STEIN, “Agrippa I in Josephus,” SCI 22 (2003) 153-61; M. ALEXANDRE, Jr., Rhetorical Argumenta- tion in Philo of Alexandria (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999) 158-75; O. W. ALLEN, Jr., The Death of Herod (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997); D. R. SCHWARTZ, Agrippa I: The Last King of Judaea (Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1990); ID., “On Drama and Authenticity in Philo and Josephus,” SCI 10 (1989/90) 113-29; D. GOODBLATT, “Agrippa I and Palestin- ian Judaism in the First Century,” Jewish History 2 (1987) 7-32. 4. E.g., M. HADAS-LEBEL, “L'éducation des princes hérodiens à Rome et l'évolution du clientélisme romain,” in M. MOR, A. OPPENHEIMER, J. PASTOR, and D. R. SCHWARTZ, eds., Jews and Gentiles in the Holy Land in the Days of the Second Temple, the Mishnah, and the Talmud (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi, 2003) 44-62; KOKKINOS, Herodian Dynasty, 86-139, 284- 1888-08-REJ09/1-2_01 2 09-15-2009, 14:38 AGRIPPA I AND THE JUDEANS OF ALEXANDRIA 3 any other Hellenized elite who grew up in Rome and shared a similar mix- ture of Idumaean, Judean, and perhaps Phoenician and Nabatean ancestry5. But it has become increasingly apparent that his cultural and political ten- dencies were fundamentally Roman6. 87, 291-304, 351-52; D. C. DULING, “'[Do Not Swear… ] By Jerusalem Because It Is the City of the Great King' (Matt 5:35),” JBL 110 (1991) 291-309; SCHWARTZ, Agrippa, 40-45; A. BURNETT, “The Coinage of King Agrippa I of Judaea and a New Coin of King Herod of Chalcis,” in H. HUVELIN, M. CHRISTOL, and G. GAUTIER, eds., Mélanges de numismatique offerts à Pierre Bastien (Wetteren: Numismatique Romaine, 1987) 25-38 and plates 3-4; M. LÄMMER, “Griechische Agone und römische Spiele unter der Regierung des jüdischen Königs Agrippa I,” Kölner Beitrage zur Sportwissenschaft 10-11 (1982) 199-237; ID., “The Attitude of King Agrippa I Towards Greek Contests and Roman Games,” in U. SIMRI, ed., Physical Education and Sport in the Jewish History and Culture (Jerusalem: Wingate Insti- tute for Physical Education and Sport, 1981) 7-17; C. M. KRAAY, “Jewish Friends and Allies of Rome,” American Numismatic Society Museum Notes 25 (1980) 53-57. For Agrippa's coins, see MESHORER, TJC, nos. 112-26; BURNETT, AMANDRY, and RIPOLLÈS, RPC 1.4973-87. The practice of fortifying the Roman frontier makes revolutionary designs unlikely in Agrippa's project on Jerusalem's walls; Josephus AJ 19.326-27; BJ 2.218-19; 5.152-54; cf. S. BEN-ARIEH and E. NETZER, “Excavations Along the ‘Third Wall' of Jerusalem, 1972- 1974,” IEJ 24 (1974) 97-107. 5. On Herodian ancestry, see KOKKINOS, Herodian Dynasty, 36-146; with qualifications in D. J. BRYAN, “The Herodians: A Case of Disputed Identity,” TynBul 53 (2002) 223-38; Shaye J. D. COHEN, The Beginnings of Jewishness (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999) 13-24, 109-39. E.g., OGIS 418 might indicate that the Idumaean Qos/ Apollo was the “ancestral god” shared by Agrippa and the dedicant; cf. Apollo and Herod the Great in Josephus BJ 1.424; AJ 16.147; and Antipas in NOY, PANAYATOV, and BLOED- HORN, IJO 1, Ach69 (OGIS 417). But on Qos and Yahweh, see L. ZALCMAN, “Shield of Abraham, Fear of Isaac, Dread of Esau,” ZAW 117 (2005) 405-10. A “Qostabar” is among Agrippa's close relatives; Josephus, BJ 2.418-19, 556-58; AJ 20.214; cf. also the earlier Qostabar in BJ 1.486; AJ 15.252-64; 16.227; 18.133. Herod's mother was probably Nabatean (though arguably Idumaean); Josephus BJ 1.181; AJ 14.121-22; cf. the marriage of Antipas in AJ 18.109-12. A Phoenician heritage might partly explain Agrippa's building projects in Berytus (Josephus AJ 19.335-37) and Heliopolis/Baalbek (probably ILS 8957).
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