Josephus

Judaism in Rome

hackney@uoregon.edu

Rome had a policy to accept many other religions than simply their own pantheon, given that they were not harmful to the Roman way of life. This was particularly helpful when examining how the Romans treated their Jewish population. The Roman elite had “respect for ancestral traditions” (Rives, 194) even when they considered the religions bizarre. This respect from the elites of Rome, and smooth maneuvering by the Judean leaders, led to a general acceptance of the Jewish way of life. Roman authorities allowed the Jews to practice their ancestral ways and practices without interference, even going so far as to write documents dissuading other Romans from stealing their sacred funds and scriptures by calling that sacrilege (Rives, 195).

Jews in the Roman empire also got special treatment, at the beginning, due to their religion, Josephus writes that Lucius Lentulus gave special permission to the Jews to be exempt from military service on religious grounds (Warrior, 14.2). Josephus often writes of the Roman favor towards the Jews, they had the right to meet in assembly when it was restricted to others, as well as being exceptions to holding common meals. Though the Jews were favored at times and had their rights upheld, while some were not, this peaceful cooperation between the people of Rome and the people practicing Judaism did not last.

There were multiple revolts of the Jews during the Roman Empire. The first was because of a conflict in Caesarea, which led to a protest breaking out in Jerusalem. The Romans destroyed the temple and in its place a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus was built. The Romans also forbade proselytizing, and all taxes that originally went to the temple now went to Jupiter.  Tactitus, a historian, wrote that everything the Romans thought as pious was found impure by the Jews and everything the Jews believed in was found impious by the Romans (Rives, 194). He wrote, “ they are extremely loyal toward one another and always ready to show compassion, but toward every other people they show hate and enmity” (Warrior, 14.21). The disrespect and overall difference in cultures, at this point, was a major reason that the two peoples were not able to get along. This work shows a Roman historian’s views on the Jews and how their differences are just too vast.  This Roman perspective would be a problem, because it would become a perspective of the elites, and as they had power and influence, this opinion would be detrimental to the Jews of Rome.

Judaism in the Roman Empire

lgc@uoregon.edu

In his chapter on Roman religious policy James Rives presents evidence that points to a lack of a cohesive policy on how religions were treated in the Roman Empire. Furthermore, most of the interaction between Roman authorities and religious groups under their rule would have been reactionary in nature. Most notably if an individual or group were seen as disruptive to the status quo. As Rives has discussed in other chapters, the socio-economic elite were the same people in charge of religious affairs, so any group that appeared to threaten this established hierarchy as dealt with accordingly. However, up until the first century the Jewish people in the Roman Empire were granted a fair amount of freedom when it came to religious practices. Rives partially explains this phenomenon in stating, “…some people looked upon Judaean tradition with fascination or even admiration, partly because it was perceived as an ancient and exotic “oriental” tradition…” Much like the Roman fascination with all things Egyptian, they viewed the ancient traditions of the Jewish people with a certain reverence that allowed the Jews to go against many Roman religious norms. This difference in religious norms would eventually cause confrontation, as was discussed in both the Warrior and Rives readings. The Jewish historian Josephus cites several exemptions from normal Roman life in his title Antiquities, “…his fellow-Jews cannot undertake military service since they are not able to bear arms or march on the days of the Sabbath. Nor can they obtain the traditional foodstuffs to which they are accustomed. I, therefore, like the governors before me, grand them exemption from military service and allow them to observe their native customs…” (Warrior, 14.5, pg. 165) This relationship of benevolent respect of tradition began to deteriorate in the first century, largely due to the aforementioned concern of the Roman authorities to maintain rule and order. During the first century, there were a series of disturbances and uprisings in Judaea that required notable military responses. In reference to the cause of this unrest, Rives states, “…the Roman governors of Judaea were not especially competent in dealing with Judaean sensibilities, and some were overtly hostile. On the other side, some Judaean extremists regarded the mere fact of Roman rule as a challenge to the rule of god.”

In his writings, Histories, Tacitus encapsulates many of these Roman ideas regarding the Jewish people. He states, “In these everything that we regard as sacred is held to be profane. On the other hand they permit things that for us are taboo.” He continues, “These rites, whatever their origin, are maintained by their antiquity.” In these passages he outlines not only the superiority of Roman religious practices, but also why Jewish rituals were allowed to exist when they seemed to go against everything that being a pious Roman consisted of.