Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

Jerusalem

In contrast to these urban centers, only one place in Judea deserved the la-

belcity:Jerusalem. Its only source of income and status was the Temple.

Early Hellenistic Jerusalem was fairly small (basically only the City of Da-

vid was inhabited) and quite poor. Only the small priestly aristocracy en-

joyed moderate wealth, mostly based on income from the Temple and rev-

enues as landowners. Most people had access only to local goods. Handles

of storage vessels stamped with YHD indicate taxation in kind, probably

managed by authorized tax collectors or (in the case of stamps with

YRSLM and a star) by members of the priesthood. These stamps first ap-

pear in the Persian period and were used well into the Ptolemaic age.

The situation in the hill country and especially in Jerusalem changed

after 200b.c.e.when Antiochus III defeated Ptolemy V Epiphanes in the

battle of Paneion and the Seleucids took control of the region. The

Seleucids supported the Temple out of their own politically inspired

agenda, via members of the local elite who supervised the implementation

of Seleucid policy.

The spectrum of finds from Jerusalem is notably different from that of

the previous period. Now, large amounts of stamped amphora handles

from Greek islands like Rhodes and Kos indicate frequent imports from the

Aegean to meet the demands of elite who became increasingly attracted to

Greek culture and had the means to acquire luxury goods. Few archaeologi-

cal remains have survived from the pre-Hasmonean period. No remains of

the Seleucid Akra have been identified securely, and only some stretches of

the city walls in the City of David and around the citadel may date to the

pre-Hasmonean period. Arrowheads and inscribed lead projectiles from

the second centuryb.c.e.were found in Hellenistic layers at the citadel and

probably belong to the siege by Antiochus VII in 133/32b.c.e.

All other settlements in Judea were even smaller than Jerusalem.

Bethel was a large village and Qalandiya no more than a large farmstead

specializing in the production of wine. Fortresses continued to be built

(e.g., at Maresha, Samaria, Beth-Zur, and Gebel Sartaba near Pella).

Samaria

In the region of Samaria, at least three sites can be called cities. The city of

Samaria, the former seat of the Persian governor and later a Macedonian

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Archaeology, Papyri, and Inscriptions

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:12 PM