Alexander to Constantine: Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume III

396 Pages·2012·12.43 MB·English

by  Eric M. Meyers, Mark A. Chancey

Alexander to Constantine
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criticism.
john j. collins
General Editor
The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
Alexander to
Constantine
Archaeology of the Land of the Bible
v o l u m e 3
Eric M. Meyers Mark A. Chancey
New Haven and London
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Calvin Chapin of the Class of 1788, Yale College.
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In memory of David Noel Freedman, biblical scholar par
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Series and this volume, and
In honor of Mark’s brothers David, Keith, and Andy
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
c h a p t e r o n e
The Persian Period and the Transition to Hellenism 1
c h a p t e r t wo
The Advent of Hellenism Under the Greek Kingdoms and the
Hasmoneans (32–37 b.c.e.) 1
c h a p t e r t h r e e
Herod the Great and the Introduction of Roman Architecture 50
c h a p t e r f o u r
Khirbet Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls 83
c h a p t e r f i v e
From Herod to the Great Revolt 113
c h a p t e r s i x
The Great Revolt and the Bar Kokhba Rebellion 139
c h a p t e r s e v e n
The Emergence of Christianity 174
c h a p t e r e i g h t
Early Judaism and the Rise of the Synagogue 203
c h a p t e r n i n e
The Archaeology of Paganism 239
viii c o n t e n t s
c h a p t e r t e n
The Growth of Greco-Roman Culture and the Case of Sepphoris 260
c h a p t e r e l e v e n
After Constantine: Beyond the Roman Period 285
List of Abbreviations 295
Notes 297
Bibliography 321
Subject Index 349
Index of Place Names 355
Index of Passages Cited 359
Color plates appear following page 176
Preface
This volume has a bit of history behind it. The idea originated when
David Noel Freedman was editor in chief of the Anchor Bible Com-
mentary and Reference Library. Freedman wanted to have a third vol-
ume in the Reference Library following the highly regarded initial
volumes in the series on biblical archaeology, the first by Amihai Ma-
zar and the second by Ephraim Stern. Although Stern’s volume ends
with the Hellenistic period and the conquest of Alexander the Great
(332 b.c.E.), our volume offers a very short review of the material
from the Persian period, which in recent years has seen much new
work and consequently its importance for the study of the Bible and
the Second Temple in particular has greatly increased. This book in
truth takes off where Stern’s ends and focuses on the advent of Hel-
lenism introduced by Alexander the Great as the unifying factor that
bridges his era with the time of Constantine at the beginning of the
fourth century c.e. With the introduction of Greek culture into Near
Eastern society, Hellenism became the vehicle that allowed many dif-
ferent cultures in that region and in other regions as well to express
themselves in a more universal way. While we lean heavily on mate-
rial culture throughout our treatment, we give no less attention to the
tumultuous intellectual and religious changes that affected world his-
tory at key moments in the time periods covered.
For this reason our book is a collaborative one between two
scholars with extensive expertise and field experience in archaeology,
one trained in Hebrew Bible and Jewish history and the other in New
Testament and early Christianity. The transformation of the ancient
Near East under the influence first of the Greeks and then of the Ro-
mans led to foundational changes in both the material and intellectual
worlds of the Levant. In the case of the “lands of the Bible,” Helle-
nism and its stepchild Greco-Roman culture contributed to the ul-
timate shape and character of the two main religions that emerged