"For the first time an accurate picture of rabbinic Judaism and Christian origins in Roman Palestine emerges as two active field archaeologists--one Jewish and the other Christian-- integrate historical literature with current archaeological findings. Their unique blending of literary and nonliterary approaches to the past allows a more reliable reconstruction of this critical and formative era of Western civilization"--Back cover.

In this important study, two active field archaeologists, one Jewish and the other Christian, combine in an attempt to draw an accurate picture of rabbinic Judaism and Christian origins in Roman Palestine on the basis of both historical literature and archaeological findings. Their work includes important material previously accessible only in other languages, including modern Hebrew. Writing for students and others concerned to arrive at a balanced understanding of Palestine in the first century AD, the authors are concerned to establish a general picture rather than to argue for particular hypotheses; above all, they document by archaeology and epigraphy the great diversity there was in early Palestinian, Judaism and early Christianity. They also make out a case for far more contact between, Jewish and Christian communities than has ordinarily been assumed possible. After examining the cultural setting of Galilee and the question of regionalism, together with the context of early Christianity and Palestinian Judaism in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Capernaum. they look in detail at the languages of Roman Palestine, Jewish burial practice and views of afterlife, evidences of-Christianity in Palestine and synagogues, art and the world of the sages. There are maps, drawings and diagrams of synagogues, and a final chapter discusses the place of Palestine in Jewish and Christian theology

In this book Richard Horsley attempts to construct bridges of communication and engagement between the fields of archaeology and history focused on developing an understanding of Galilee. Horsley contends that neither the material nor the textual remains from Galilee can be adequately understood without consideration of the prevailing patterns of power relations in Galilee, Palestine, and the Roman Empire. He also uses recent work in the wider field of anthropological archaeology to reconfigure and reinterpret key findings of archaeological excavations in Galilee. Chapter by chapter Horsley constructs a picture of social relations Galilee that is based upon and helps explain both the artifacts and texts, and that takes fully into consideration the changing historical circumstances between the time of Jesus and the rabbis. Horsley considers various textual and archaeological evidence and interpretations, writes at length on the villages of Upper Galilee, and looks at the different languages being spoken at the time of Jesus. The result is a fascinating picture of Galilee that sheds light on the social context in which Jesus and the rabbis lived and functioned. For this Cornerstones edition Horsley has provided an extensive new introduction, locating the book within current dialogue, and has updated bibliographical entries and various points within the text.

"This handbook brings together work by leading scholars of the archaeology of early Christianity in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions. The 34 essays to this volume ground the history, culture, and society of the first seven centuries of Christianity in the latest currents of archaeological method, theory, and research."--

Drawing on his years of field experience in Galilee, the author illustrates how the archaeological record has been misused by New Testament scholars, and how synthesis of the material culture is foundational for understanding Christian origins in Galilee and the Jewish culture out of which they arose.

Having long served as a standard introduction to the world of the early church, Everett Ferguson's Backgrounds of Early Christianity has been expanded and updated in this third edition. The book explores and unpacks the Roman, Greek, and Jewish political, social, religious, and philosophical backgrounds necessary for a good historical understanding of the New Testament and the early church. New to this edition are revisions of Ferguson's original material, updated bibliographies, and fresh discussions of first-century social life, of Gnosticism, and of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Jewish literature.

Caesarea Maritima, the capital of the Roman province of Judaea / Palaestina, was founded in 10/9 BCE by Herod the Great to serve as an administrative and economic center. It was named after his Roman patron Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The book, well illustrated, presents the results of the large scale excavations at the site during the 1990’s and early 2000’s in their wider historical and cultural context: the architectural evolution and transformation of the thriving city from its foundation to its decline caused by the Arab conquest (640/41 CE), its conversion to a Roman colony in 71 CE, aspects of provincial administration, commerce and economy, entertainment and religious life of its communities – Jews, Pagans, Christians and Samaritans.

This series seeks to keep New Testament and early church researchers, teachers, and students abreast of emerging documentary evidence by reproducing and reviewing recently published Greek inscriptions and papyri that illumine the context in which the Christian church developed. Produced by the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre at Macquarie University, the New Docs volumes broaden the context of biblical studies and other related fields and provide a better understanding of the historical and social milieus of early Christianity.

This book tells the story of the formation of classical Judaism and orthodox Christianity as parallel yet interlocking histories. Here, in a series of chapters written by leading scholars in this country and in Israel, the reader is offered a general account of how, during the first six centuries of the Common Era, Judaism and Christianity took the form we recognize today.

The papers in this volume are organized around the ambition to reboot the writing of history about Jews and Christians in the first two centuries CE. Many are convinced of the need for a new perspective on this crucial period that saw both the birth of rabbinic Judaism and apostolic Christianity and their parting of ways. Yet the traditional paradigm of Judaism and Christianity as being two totally different systems of life and thought still predominates in thought, handbooks, and programs of research and teaching. As a result, the sources are still being read as reflecting two separate histories, one Jewish and the other Christian. The contributors to the present work were invited to attempt to approach the ancient Jewish and Christian sources as belonging to one single history, precisely in order to get a better view of the process that separated both communities. In doing so, it is necessary to pay constant attention to the common factor affecting both communities: the Roman Empire. Roman history and Roman archaeology should provide the basis on which to study and write the shared history of Jews and Christians and the process of their separation. A basic intuition is that the series of wars between Jews and Romans between 66 and 135 CE – a phenomenon unrivalled in antiquity – must have played a major role in this process. Thus the papers are arranged around three focal points: (1) the varieties of Jewish and Christian expression in late Second Temple times, (2) the socio-economic, military, and ideological processes during the period of the revolts, and (3) the post-revolt Jewish and Christian identities that emerged. As such, the volume is part of a larger project that is to result in a source book and a history of Jews and Christians in the first and second centuries.