Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

(^148) BE1WEENnXfANDAll.nFACT
clearlyHellenismwasintcgr:Hed intothedailyworldofmostGalileans.
SepphorlsandTibcriaswere mostlikelyprimarily inhabitedbypeople
whomwewouldclassifyasJewish,butthisdidnotmakethemanyless
Hellenisticthantheirregionalneighbors.TheolddichotomyofJudaismin
distinctionfromHellenismisathingofthepas!.Travel,tracie,Herodian
innucnces,theestablishmentofnewurbanccnters,andthecloseproxim-
ity ofmajorcentersofnon-Jewishinhabitantsall suggesta worldthat
cannot be neatlycategorized bythe modern notionsofdistinctethnic
and/orreligiousidentities.Whatis thepicturethatarchaeologyispainting?
WasGalileeJewish?Yes!WasGalileeHellenistic?Yes!
THEHEU.·110;\,SHII'BE1WEENGALlI.EEANDjERUMI.EM
Asnotedahove,studentsarcortencompelledtoconstructanimageof
EarlyHomanGalileethatisdominatedbythePharisees.Thereareseveral
indicationsfromthearchaeologicaldala,andeventhelitemrym~llerialout-
sideoftheNewTestament,thatsuggestthattheGospelshaveoverslated
theroleofthePharisees(andalsotheSadducees).Nodoubttheinhabi-
tantsofsomepartsofGalilee(includingSepphoris)showsignsofdescent
fromajudeantradilion,butwhatcanweknowabouttheactualcontacts
betweentheregionsduringtheEarlyRomanperiod?Toa largeextent,the
materialevidencethatcouldbeusedtosuggestdirectcontactbetweenthe
regionsismissing.Forexample,[canpointstudentstovariousstudiesthat
obselVethatthereisscarceevidenceoutsideofIheNewTestamentGospels
thatsuggestsawidespreadpatternoftravelbetweenthetwoareas,even
fortheholydays.Forinstance,Ze'evSafraihasconcluded,"Basically,each
ofthemajorregionsofEretz-Israel-judaea,Peraea,GalileeandSamaria-
weresep~ml1eunits.TheimpressionthatonegelsfromTalmudictradilion
is that thereW<lS hardlyany travel betweenthe variousregions."43No
doubtsomepeopletraveledbetweenthevariousregionsfortrade,enter-
tainment,andholyclays, butthereisnoevidencethatsupportstheidea
thatGalileanswerephysicallytied 10 jerusaleminanysignificantway.The
ideathatlargegroupswouldtr;weltogethertoPassoverisnotsupported
intheliteratureoutsideofLuke.^44
Unfortunately,introductorytextbooksinNewTestamentstudiesdonot
pointOUlthatthereislilliem<llerialevidencethatwouldsuggestsignificant
commerce or travel between the [Wo regions. Part of the argument
dependsonwhathasnotbeenfoundintheexcavationsofGalileansites.
·l3ZC\'vSafr:li,71)e1;(;011011I.1'ofROfl/mlPalestine(London:Routledge. t994),269.
44 $c:mFreyne."Galil""e-Jcnlsalc1llRcl:uionsaccordin~to Josephus·Life."IViS 33 (1987):
600-609