The Roman Context for the Rabbinic Ban on Teaching Greek to Sons

Abstract

This paper examines Mishnah Soṭah 9:14, Tosefta Soṭah 15:8 and Jerusalem Talmud Soṭah 9:14, 24c (= Pe’ah 1:1, 15c), which provide accounts of the rabbinic prohibition against teaching Greek to one’s son. Scholars often consider these sources in the context of Jewish attitudes toward Greek culture and Hellenization. This mishnah has also been examined in relation to the events of 115–117 C. E. (the Diaspora Revolt); thus, establishing a link between the ban on teaching Greek and the destruction of the Jewish community in Alexandria. In this study, I show that these texts place this exclusion in the framework of relationships with Roman authorities, thereby associating it with confrontations between Jews and Romans. Thus, I suggest that this proscription be read in a Roman context more than a Greek one, especially in the Tosefta and the Jerusalem Talmud, which mention that language as a means for enabling communication with Roman authorities.