Monday, June 21, 2004
Claudius (42-54) and the "Iudaeos"
Text: Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit. (Svetonius, cf. Acts 18:2)
This Chrestus may be a name for Christ, or just the name of a turbulent religious leader in Rome. If it is a reference to Christ, it may point to disturbances happening because of violent debates within the Jewish community about Christ as the Messiah. Or because of debates concerning the decisions of the recent council of Jerusalem (48-49, Acts 15).
It is possible and likely that at this early stage Judaism and Christianity were regarded as the same religion, so the expulsion may just apply to Christians only (Iudaeos expulit in the sense of "some Jews"). It is also possible that Iudaeos here are really people practising Judaism, and that Christianity has nothing to do with them (against Acts). Certainly this decree of expulsion contrasts sharply with Claudius' approach toward Alexandrian Jews ("I conjure you that, on the one hand, the Alexandrians show themselves forebearing and kindly towards the Jews who for many years have dwelt in the same city, and dishonor none of the rites observed by them in the worship of their god, but allow them to observe their customs as in the time of the Deified Augustus...", cf Claudius, Letter to the Alexandrians). On the other hand, Claudius is known to have been paranoic about his own safety, so the expulsion might have been justified had he for example seen in it a threat to himself. But a mass expulsion seems rather peculiar.
Acts say that when Paul arrived in Corynth (50) the expulsion had occurred already, and the expulsion is dated generally to 49 CE.
Regarding Nero (54-68) and its persecution, see Tacitus' Account of Nero's Persecution of Christians for a comment of the well-known passage from the Annals, questioning the persecution itself. Interesting comments on possible theological interpolations of Tacitus' text.
Categories: Church_History
This Chrestus may be a name for Christ, or just the name of a turbulent religious leader in Rome. If it is a reference to Christ, it may point to disturbances happening because of violent debates within the Jewish community about Christ as the Messiah. Or because of debates concerning the decisions of the recent council of Jerusalem (48-49, Acts 15).
It is possible and likely that at this early stage Judaism and Christianity were regarded as the same religion, so the expulsion may just apply to Christians only (Iudaeos expulit in the sense of "some Jews"). It is also possible that Iudaeos here are really people practising Judaism, and that Christianity has nothing to do with them (against Acts). Certainly this decree of expulsion contrasts sharply with Claudius' approach toward Alexandrian Jews ("I conjure you that, on the one hand, the Alexandrians show themselves forebearing and kindly towards the Jews who for many years have dwelt in the same city, and dishonor none of the rites observed by them in the worship of their god, but allow them to observe their customs as in the time of the Deified Augustus...", cf Claudius, Letter to the Alexandrians). On the other hand, Claudius is known to have been paranoic about his own safety, so the expulsion might have been justified had he for example seen in it a threat to himself. But a mass expulsion seems rather peculiar.
Acts say that when Paul arrived in Corynth (50) the expulsion had occurred already, and the expulsion is dated generally to 49 CE.
Regarding Nero (54-68) and its persecution, see Tacitus' Account of Nero's Persecution of Christians for a comment of the well-known passage from the Annals, questioning the persecution itself. Interesting comments on possible theological interpolations of Tacitus' text.
Categories: Church_History
