I\IOKElAND:AllCHAEOlOGYINNEWTESTAl\1£NTCOURSES 147TakingthedryofSepphorisasa testcase,Heed'sworkontheethnic
markersthathavebeenidentifiedinthearchaeologiGllmaterialisourpri-
marysourceofinformation)?Hearguesthatthematerialremainsshow
thattheseresidents 01 Galileewerequitesimilartotheresidentsofjudea,
particularlyjerusalem, with regard to their"religious indicators." ';Key
aspectsoftheGalileanmaterialculrureofthisperiodmatchthatofjudea:
stonevessels,miqwaolbinhousesbutnoporkwhereverboneprofilesare
published,andsecondaryburialwithossuariesinkokhim."40Theseareall
signsofearlyjewishpracticeinjudea;thusa clearargumentcanbemade
in favorofthejewishinhabitantsofGalileebeingconnectedto--even
descendedfrom-theresidentsofjudea/jerusalem.Theaforementioned
article ofChancey and Meyers ("HowjewishWas Sepphorisin jesus'
Time?") is anotheruseful resourcefor presentationsofthis material in
classroomsettings.
Ofrelatedinteresttothequestionofethnicand/orreligiousidentities
intheregionofGalileeisthesomewhatsurprising(~ll1doftenreferenced)
lack ofsynagogues in muchofthe area that has beendesignatedas
jewish.WhiletheliterarypicturefromtheGospelnarrativessuggeststhe
presenceofmanysynagoguesintheregion^41 -eveninthesmallVillages
suchasNazareth-thearchaeologicalmaterialpresentsa starkcontrast.No
unquestionable synagogue remains arc extant from the Early Roman
periodin G~tlilee.Thisf:let fromthearchaeologicalrecord hasledtoa
rethinkingofthemeaningoftermsynagogue.Themajorityscholarlyopin-
ionappearstobeinfavorofunderstandingthetermtorefertoa gathering
ofpeopleinpublicspaces,courtyards,orprivatehomesratherthanasa
referencetoanactualbuilding.^42 Whilethesignificanceofthisshiftindef-
initionmaynotbeimmense,thisisarguablyoneoftheclearestindications
thatarchaeologyishaVinga direct impactonthestudyofthehistorical
jesusandtheGospels.OurpictureofEarlyHoman Galileehas literally
beenforcedtochange;thereisnoevidenceforanysynagoguebuildingin
theGalileansitesmentionedintheNewTestament.
Thearchaeologicalpicture,thoughstillincomplcle,suggeststhatthe
inhabitantsoftheimmediateareaswherejesusissaidtohavelivedwere
jewish.Thesepeoplewere notisolated. Greco-RomancultureorHel-
lenismwasnotonlyplentifulinthemanysurroundingregionsandcities
in closeproximity tothelocalizedJewishregionsofGalilee,but quite
39 Ibid.,25-61.
4UIbid.,52-53.
41 Cf.Mark1:39part-bt(4:23andLuke4:15.
42 Seethediscu~sion,withreferencestotherelevantsecond:lrylilenl\ure.inFreyne.
•ArchaeologyandthcHistoricalJCl;llS."t30-3t:Ch:mcey,J~~rlbof(/GelllileGalilee.66-67.