Biblical Archaeology Review - January-February 2018

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QUERIES&COMMENTS
8 January/February 2018
NEW TESTAMENT
POLITICAL
FIGURES
More Evidence
Thanks for the article by Law-
rence Mykytiuk on political
figures in the New Testament
confirmed by archaeology and
extra-Biblical writings (“New
Testament Political Figures
Confirmed,” BAR, September/
October 2017). How about
another one? Paul mentions
an Erastus, the city treasurer
in Corinth (Romans 16:23). An
inscription in the theater at
Corinth may very well refer
to him.
WILLIAM C. VARNER
PROFESSOR OF BIBLE AND GREEK
THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY
Ancient Intertwining of
Religion and Politics
In your list of real New Tes-
tament political figures, you
failed to mention Lysanias
(Luke 3:1), who is noted by
Josephus in Antiquities 20.
and War 2.27.
Also, while I’m sure you’ll be
including various high priests
in the follow-up piece on
“nonpolitical figures,” accord-
ing to Josephus, the Jewish
high priests “were the political
governors of the people,” and
after the death of King Herod
and his son (Archelaus), “the
government became an aristoc-
racy, and the high priests were
entrusted with a dominion over
the nation” (Antiquities 20.249–
251; cf. Apion 2.185). This fact
can be observed by the way
Luke introduces various politi-
cal figures at the beginning of
chapter 3 and also includes in
his list the names of Annas and
Caiaphas (Luke 3:1–2).
K. SHANE ROSENTHAL
HILLSBORO, MISSOURI
Lawrence Mykytiuk responds:
Thank you for the suggestions. In
the article, identifications must
be reliable, not merely possible, to
be considered real and to appear
in the table on pp. 56–57. More
information on people not clearly
documented outside the New
Testament is available in my blog
post, “New Testament Political
Figures: The Evidence” (Bible
History Daily, September 7, 2017;
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/
ntpeople), in which, regarding
Erastus, I cite pieces by Henry J.
Cadbury, Andrew D. Clarke, and
Steven J. Friesen.
Professor Varner, Friesen’s
chapter, “The Wrong Erastus,”
shows that the identification of
the Erastus of Romans 16:23 in
the inscription on three remain-
ing stone blocks in the plaza
southeast of the theater at
Corinth is founded on baseless
speculation about the Biblical
Erastus climbing to the higher
social level and elite title of the
inscriptional Erastus, inaccu-
rate archaeology, and circular
reasoning about the date of the
inscription (which is more likely
mid-second century C.E. than
first century C.E.).
Mr. Rosenthal, I intention-
ally omitted Lysanias (Luke 3:1)
from the table published in BAR
because there is not enough data
in sources outside the New Testa-
ment to identify Lysanias clearly.
Josephus’s writings are vague in
their time references and could
refer to another Lysanias. In
the inscription, there is enough
evidence to make a reasonable
(though not quite certain) iden-
tification of him and therefore
to classify him as “almost real.”
Also, Luke 3:1–2 specifies a par-
ticular time simply by listing
public officials, political or not.
My forthcoming article on the
remaining confirmed New Tes-
tament figures will address the
political and religious aspects of
ancient officialdom.
CLARIFICATION
“Hebron” Abbreviation
in External Texts
In “Hebron Still Jewish in
Second Temple Times” (BAR,
September/October 2017),
author David Ben-Shlomo
writes, “The name Hebron ...
is not mentioned in external
texts and is known only from
the Bible.” However, the four
Hebrew letters that spell this
word (H
̇
BRN) appear on seal
impressions made during the
First Temple period.
The authors of Numbers
3:27, 26:58, and 2 Samuel 2:
used the same abbreviated
spelling format.
G.M. GRENA
REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Josephus on Hebron
I am somewhat puzzled by
a statement in your article
on Hebron that it is not
known from external texts
and only mentioned in the
Bible, yet three paragraphs
later you state it is found in
Josephus (“Thus did Simon
Ancient Politics
and Power
Mysteries of
the Menorah
Crucifixion,
Darkness,
and Science
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