Jewish Leaders Involved in the Persecution of Fellow-Jews in the First Century Ad

Abstract

The most important source of information on first-century Galilee is formed by the works of Flavius Josephus (37/38-ca. 100 AD). In his De bello judaico , written during the late seventies of the first century AD, Josephus describes the history of the Jews in Palestine from the time of the Maccabean Revolt in the second century BC to the end of the Jewish Revolt against the Romans in the mid-seventies of the first century AD. The Jewish leading class in Palestine during this period played a certain role in the Roman administration of the area. The Jewish leaders tried to prevent the outbreak of insurrections among the Jews by means of persuasion and argument. In this chapter a few cases are discussed in which the Jewish authorities actively persecuted Jewish groups or individuals whose behaviour was considered a violation of the public order. Keywords: argument; De bello judaico ; first-century Galilee; Flavius Josephus; Jewish authorities; Jewish Revolt; Palestine; persuasion