JERUSALEM in the Time of Jesus
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
JERUSALEM in the Time of Jesus JOACHIM JEREMIAS JERUSALEM in the Time of Jesus An Investigation into Economic and Social Conditions during the New Testament Period FORTRESS PRESS PHILADELPHIA Translated by F. H. and C. H. Cave from the German Jerusalem zur Zeit Jesu 3rd edition published 1962 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Gottingen with author's revisions to 1967. An earlier draft translation was contributed by M. E. Dahl. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 77-81530 First published in English 1969 Translation © SCM Press Ltd 1969 Printed in Great Britain CONTENTS Translators9 note xi Editions used xii Abbreviations xiii PART ONE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE CITY OF JERUSALEM I INDUSTRIES 3 A The industries of Jerusalem 4 1. Industries which served the general public 4 A Goods for domestic use 4 B Food trades 6 c Luxury goods 8 D The building trade 10 i. Building activity 10 ii. The building workers 14 (a) Ordinary building 14 Skilled craftsmanship in building 15 (y) Building maintenance 16 E Other trades 17 2. Guilds within individual industries 18 A The layout of the city 18 B The distribution of industries in the city 19 c The organization of the trades 21 3. Industries connected with the Temple 21 A The buildings 21 B The cultus 25 c Organization of Temple workers 26 B The individuality of Jerusalem 27 1. The position of the city 27 2. The political and religious significance of the city 27 II COMMERCE 31 A Evidence of commerce in Jerusalem 31 1. In general 31 vi CONTENTS 2. Foreign trade 35 3. Local trade 38 A Grain 39 B Fruit and vegetables 41 c Livestock 46 D Raw materials 49 B The influence of Jerusalem on commerce 51 1. The city's geographical position 51 2. Political and religious importance of the city 54 III FOREIGN VISITORS 58 A Evidence for foreign visitors in the city 58 1. In general 58 A The Journey to Jerusalem 58 B Accommodation in Jerusalem 60 2. Visitors from a distance 62 A Gaul, etc. 63 B Rome 63 c Greece 64 D Cyprus 64 E Asia Minor 65 F Mesopotamia 66 G Parthia 67 H Syria 68 1 Arabia 68 J Egypt 69 K Cyrene 71 L Ethiopia 71 3. Visitors from within Palestine 71 B The unique character of Jerusalem 73 1. The city's geographical position 73 2. Political and religious importance of the city 73 Excursus The number of pilgrims at Passover 77 Additional Note on calculating the number of festival pilgrims 84 PART Two ECONOMIC STATUS IV THE RICH 87 A The court 87 CONTENTS Vll B The wealthy class 92 1. Extravagance 92 2. Representatives of the wealthy class 95 V THE MIDDLE CLASS 100 VI THE POOR 109 A Slaves and day labourers 110 B The subsidized sections of the population 111 VII DECISIVE FACTORS IN DETERMINING THE ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM 120 A Economic and geographic situation of the city 120 1. The cost of living in normal times 120 2. The cost of living in times of emergency 121 B The political situation 123 1. Taxation 124 2. War and spoliation 126 c Religion and cult us 126 1 • Acts of charity 126 2. Pilgrim traffic 134 3. Income from the Cultus 138 Excursus 1 The historicity of Matthew 27.7 138 Excursus 11 Disasters in Jerusalem 140 PART THREE SOCIAL STATUS ^III THE CLERGY 147 A The high priest 147 B The chief priests and chief Levites 160 c The priestly aristocracy 181 Excursus The chronology of Maccabees 182 D The 'ordinary' priests 198 E The Levites 207 F The hereditary character of the priesthood 213 IX THE LAY NOBILITY 222 viii CONTENTS X THE SCRIBES 233 XI THE PHARISEES 246 PART FOUR THE MAINTENANCE OF RACIAL PURITY XII THE STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY 271 XIII ISRAELITES OF PURE ANCESTRY 275 A Legitimacy of ancestry 275 B Historical value of lay genealogies 284 c Civil rights of full Israelites 297 XIV DESPISED TRADES AND JEWISH SLAVES 303 A Despised trades 303 B Jewish slaves 312 XV ILLEGITIMATE ISRAELITES 317 A Israelites with slight blemish 317 1. Illegitimate descendants of priests 317 2. Proselytes 320 3. Freed Gentile slaves 334 B Israelites with grave blemish 337 1. Bastards 337 2. Temple slaves, fatherless, foundlings, eunuchs 342 XVI GENTILE SLAVES 345 XVII THE SAMARITANS 352 XVIII THE SOCIAL POSITION OF WOMEN 359 List of High Priests 377 Jerusalem Scribes 379 Index of Names and Subjects 381 Index of References 385 Old Testament 385 New Testament 388 Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha 392 Qumran Writings 392 CONTENTS ix The Mishnah 393 The Tosephta 396 The Babylonian Talmud 397 The Jerusalem Talmud 399 The Extra-canonical Tractates 400 Midrash Rabbah 400 Josephus 401 Philo 4°4 TRANSLATORS' NOTE This is a translation based on the third German edition of 1962. The first part has been extensively revised to 1967 by Professor Jeremias, and the whole has been compared with the French edition, Jerusalem au temps de Jesus, Paris 1967. The translators wish to thank Lady Bruce Lockhart for her skill and care in typing a much corrected manuscript. EDITIONS USED Mishnah, Stettin 1865. In doubtful cases, after the ed. princ. of the Jerusa lem Talmud, Venice 1523. Cf. ET by H. Danby, Oxford 1933. Tosephta, Pasewalk 1880 (reprinted Jerusalem 1963). In doubtful cases, MS Erfurt, now in Berlin, Staatsbibl. MS or. 20 1220. Mekilta Ex., Venice 1545 (cited by biblical chapter and verse, folio and column a-d); cf. ET by J. Z. Lauterbach, 3 vols., Philadelphia 1933-5 (reprinted 1949) (cited as L). Siphra Lev., ed. princ., Venice 1545 (cited in the same way as Mek. Ex.). Siphre Num. and Deut., ed. princ., Venice 1545 (cited in the same way as Mek. Ex.). Jerusalem Talmud, ed.princ., Venice 1523. Cf. French trans, by M. Schwab, 11 vols., Paris 1878-90, reprinted in 6 vols., Paris i960. (Cited by chapter and section, followed by page, column and line of Schwab.) Babylonian Talmud, Lemberg (Lvov), 1861. Cf. ET, ed. I. Epstein, 34 vols., London 1935-52. Midrash Rabbah on the Pentateuch, Stettin 1864. Cf. ET, ed. H. Freed- man and M. Simon, 10 vols, (published by the Soncino Press and referred to as Son.), London 1939. (Cited by Parasha, biblical chapter and verse, Soncino paragraph where this differs from the Stettin ed., and Soncino page.) Midrash on the five Megilloth, ed. princ., Pesaro 1519. Cited from Stettin ed. and Soncino ed. in the same as Midrash Rabbah. Tanhuma, Stettin 1864. Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer, Warsaw 1878. Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (ARN), ed. S. Schechter, Vienna 1887. Cf. ET by J. Goldin, The Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan, New Haven 1955. Pesiqta rabbati, ed. M. Friedmann, Vienna 1880. Damascus Document, ed. L. Rost, Berlin 1933. (Cited as CD.). Flavius Josephus, ed. B. Niese, Berlin 1885-94 (reprinted Berlin 1955). Cf. ET by H. St J. Thackeray and others, 9 vols. (Loeb Classical Library), London 1926-66. Philo of Alexandria, ed. L. Cohn and P. Wendland, Berlin 1896-1926 (reprinted Berlin 1962-3). Cf. ET by F. H. Colson and G. H. Whitaker, 9 vols, (Loeb Classical Library), London 1929-41. ABBREVIATIONS Ant. Josephus, Antiquitates (see p. xii) ARN Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (see p. xii) Beginnings See under Foakes-Jackson, p. xiv Bill. (H. L. Strack and) P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, 6 vols., Munich 1923-61 BJ Josephus, Bellum Judaicum (see p. xii) BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschriftfur die alttestamentliche Wissen- schaft, Giessen, then Berlin, 18966°. CA Josephus, Contra Apionem (see p. xii) CCSL Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina, Turnhout, i959ff. CIJ Corpus Inscriptionum Judaicarum I—II (Sussidi alio studio delle antichitk cristiane 1 and 3), ed. J.-B. Frey, Rome, 1936 and 1952 CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vienna, Prague and Leipzig, i866ff. ET English translation GCS Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte, Leipzig and Berlin, 18976°. HTR Harvard Theological Review, Cambridge, Mass., 19086°. HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual, Cincinnati, 19246°. JE The Jewish Encyclopaedia, 12 vols., New York 1901-6 30* Jewish Quarterly Review, London 18896°. LXX The Septuagint MGWJ Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judent(h)ums, Dresden, Leipzig and elsewhere, 18516°. MT Masoretic text MW L. Mitteis and U. Wilcken, Grundziige und Chresto- mathie der Papyruskunde I.i, Leipzig 1912 NS New series NTS New Testament Studies, Cambridge 19546°. PJB Paldstinajahrbuch, Berlin 19056°. PL Patrologiae cursus completus accurante J.-P. Migne, Series Latina, Paris 18446°. Xiv ABBREVIATIONS PRE Realencyklopadie fur protestantische Theologie und Kirche, 3rd ed., Leipzig 1896-1913 RB Revue biblique, Paris 18926°. REJ Revue des etudes juives, Paris i88off. RGG Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3rd ed., Tubingen 19576°. Son. See Midrash Rabbah, p. xii SW See under Dalman, below TA See under Krauss, p. xv TWNT Theologisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament, ed. G. Kittel and G. Friedrich, Stuttgart 19326°. Vita Josephus, Vita (see p. xii) WB See under Dalman, below WJ See under Dalman, below ZAW Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, Gies- sen, then Berlin, 18816°. ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins, Leipzig, then Wiesbaden, 18786°. ZNW Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, Gies- sen, then Berlin, 19006°. The following Works are cited by Short Title, as indicated by Bold type W. Bacher, Die Agada der Tannaiten I, 2nd ed., Strasbourg 1903; II, Stras bourg 1890 (cited as Ag. Tann.) A. Biichler, Die Priester und der Cultus im letzten Jahrzehnt des jerusalemischen Tempels, Vienna 1895 G. Dalman, Sacred Sites and Ways: Studies in the Topography of the Gospels, London 1935 (cited as SW; ET by P.