First century Galilee
Subtitle: a fresh examination of the sources
By: Bradley W. Root
Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. 2. Reihe -- 378; Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament -- 378.
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Tübingen, Germany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9783161534898
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Evangelien; Bible; Geschichtsschreibung; Criticism, interpretation; In the New Testament; Criticism and interpretation; Antiquities; Galilee (Israel) in the New Testament; Archäologie; Römerzeit; Funde
Description: This dissertation argues against the widespread belief among current scholars that Galilee experienced extensive Hellenization, rapid urbanization, and a socio-economic crisis in the first-century C.E. as a result of major socio-economic changes initiated by Herod the Great and his successors. My research indicates that earlier studies allowed the textual evidence to have an undue influence on the way that scholars interpret the archaeological evidence, and vice-versa. Unlike previous studies on Early Roman Galilee, the dissertation begins by attempting to interpret each source for the region individually and without recourse to other sources. After establishing what each source says on its own about Galilee, the dissertation analyzes the data as a whole and offers a reconstruction of Galilean society in the first-century C.E. that better reflects the available evidence. The major findings are that the region was politically stable until the Great Revolt of 66 C.E., that the region was much less Hellenized than some prominent scholars claim, that the urbanization process initiated by Herod Antipas had less of a negative immediate impact on Galilean society than modern scholars usually assume, and that Galilee was not experiencing any unusual or severe socio-economic problems prior to the revolt.
Notes: Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009 under title: From Antipas to Agrippa II : Galilee in the first century CE.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-208) and indexes.