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Jewish and Non-Jewish Interaction in the Greco-Roman Period Introduction An analysis of the historical and literary data available from the Second Temple era can arguably lead to the assertion that Jewish and Gentile encounters, relationships, and attitudes towards each other were extremely complicated. The attitudes and perspectives that Jews and Gentiles maintained toward each other during this period of time will be reviewed in this paper. A brief consideration of Jewish identity will also be considered in light of the relevance to our subject. An evaluation of Jewish attitudes towards non-Jews is significant in understanding the subject of Jewish self-definition during this critical era in Jewish history. To understand these perspectives a review of the Jewish distinctive afforded by the Hebrew Scriptures and the variety of thought extant in the post-Biblical literature will be conducted. In addition, I will review the delineations established by Ezra, the rise of Hellenism, and the concepts of social boundaries existent in the Greco-Roman period as found in Josephus, Philo, and other pertinent sources.
Jewish Self Definition The destruction of the first Temple and their subsequent dispersion throughout the civilized world during the post-exilic period brought Jews into unavoidable contact and activity with the surrounding non-Jewish communities in which they now lived. A large number of Jews settled throughout the various countries of the Mediterranean area and 1 the emergence of the Greco-Roman eras brought Jews into even greater commercial and social intercourse with non-Jews than ever before. They often retained the ability to regulate their own internal affairs and found favor before various rulers, but pagan ritual, idolatry, and Greco-Roman philosophies became almost impossible to avoid.2 As a consequence many Jews eventually found themselves 1 Jews were spread in large numbers throughout the Mediterranean world. Scholars disagree but the figures go into the millions. Harnack (1908:4-9) and Juster (1914:1.209-12) suggested that more Jews lived in the Diaspora than in the Judea or the Galilee, though their proposed figures disagreed. Harnack argued for 4 to 4.5 million; Juster argued for 6 to 7 million. Both of these figures are some to extent dependent upon the data provided by Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus, though many scholars argue that the numbers given by them are exaggerated. John M.G. Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora: From Alexandria to Trajan (Berkley: University of California Press, 1996), p4. 2 The first significant influx of Jews westward into Alexandria appears to have taken place in the fourth century CE. Eastward movements into Babylon and beyond stemmed from the 6th BCE. Their occupations were quite varied and it appears that wherever they settled, the were allowed to live in “accordance with their ancestral customs.� In the case of Alexandria, a Greek city, Jews were organized into their own semi-political body in which they exercised limited self-government. Louis Feldman and Meyer Reinhold, Jewish Life and Thought among Greeks and Romans (Minneapolis:, Fortress, 1996), p22.
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