the gospel of john and the mediterranean diaspora raimo hakola [email protected] theological...
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The Gospel of John and the Mediterranean Diaspora
Raimo Hakola
Theological faculty
Department of Biblical Studies
Introduction
What things should be considered, if John is located in a
Diaspora setting? Thesis:
Societal structures in Diaspora were much more complex
than is often assumed in many Johannine studies
Criticisms of the persecution scenario: Adele Reinhartz 1998, 2001
Raimo Hakola, Identity Matters: John the Jews and
Jewisness (Brill, 2005)
cf. also Hakola, “The Johannine Community as Jewish
Christians? Some Problems in Current Scholarly
Consensus.”
Hakola and Reinhartz, “John's Pharisees.”
The Johannine community as a persecuted minority in Diaspora
Martyn 2003, 75-75 n. 99: “Now I am on the verge of being compelled to conclude that
in John’s milieu Jewish leaders do in fact exercise some kind
of authority even over those who have been
excommunicated. I can only suggest that this authority
exercised over excommunicates was of a very peculiar sort,
carried out in light of what the Jewish leaders in John’s city
must have viewed as extremely provocative activity on the
part of Jewish-Christian evangelists. This line of thought
obviously presupposes that within their own section of the
city the Jewish leaders had considerable de facto power”
(italics original).
The Johannine community as a persecuted minority in Diaspora
Martyn 2003, 76 n. 100: “There are a few hints in the Gospel that would seem to
indicate the presence in John’s city of a distinct Jewish
quarter. If so, one would think immeaditely of Rome, Antioch
and Alexandria.”
Diaspora Jews in written sources
Tacitus Hist. V 1–5. (Translation from LCL): “the Jews are extremely loyal toward one another, and
always ready to show compassion, but toward every other
people they feel only hate and enmity.”
Acts 10:28 (NRSV) “It is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile”
(Acts 10:28).
Rutgers 1995, 43-49 Judaism and Hellenistic culture are mutually exclusive, a
<<<< a Hegelian view of history
Diaspora Jews and the study of ancient material culture
White 1998, 32-33: “Here, too, traditional assumptions have been significantly
revised in the light of the social interaction of these
synagogue communities with their local environments.
What has become increasingly clear is that traditional
assumptions of the static nature of Diaspora Judaism,
whether in relation to the later development of the rabbinic
tradition or in relation to the emergence of the Christian
movement, must be discarded. Instead, we see a diverse
and socially active Jewish life in the Diaspora, where the
competing social and cultural pressures of self-definition
and assimilation are held in a creative tension by local
congregations.” (Cf. also Kraabel 1979, 1981, 1982)
Jewish Neighborhoods in Diaspora
Alexandria Josephus, War. 2.495; Apion 2:33–36; Philo, Flacc. 55
Trastevere in Rome Antioch
Jews were spread all over the city
Barclay 1996, 229-330. “residency in a Jewish district of a town did not mean, of
course, that all such Jews had minimal links with non-Jews.
Such were the crowded conditions in an immigrant quarter
like Trastevere in Rome that Jews could not help
encountering people of other nationalities in every turn. But
common residency did make it possible for those who
wished to minimize social contacts with ‘outsiders.’”
Jewish self-government in Diaspora?
Jewish politeumata? Zuckerman 1985/88, 171–185; Lüderitz 1994, 183–225.
two inscriptions from the city of Berenice in Cyrenaica
Zuckerman 1985/88, 184: “The concept of the politeuma of aliens as an ‘independent
political unit’ which could secure for its members any rights
whatsoever belongs to the realm of historiographic legend,
which can claim the support of quite a number of learned
authorities but not a single source.”
Jewish privileges in Diaspora?
Josephus’ Jews are allowed to live according to their own laws and
customs
Rajak 2001, 301–333. in normal case there was no need to the special legislation
for the Jews, the main concessions concerned the practice
of religion
Pucci Ben Zeev 1998 “The Jews, like most peoples living under the Roman
government, were allowed to use their own juridical
framework to a certain extent — an extent which was
determined not only by Roman intervention but also by the
interests of the Jews themselves.” (437-438)
Jewish privileges in Diaspora?
Pucci Ben Zeev 1998 “The rights given to the Jews therefore may not be regarded
as proof of a special consideration for Jewish needs, but
rather an application of common principles of Roman policy.”
Collins 2000, 115: “Despite the strong tradition that Jews could live in
accordance with their own laws, the papyri record only
Jewish litigation before Gentile courts. Jewish law could
serve as civil law in disputes between Jews, but it was never
the highest court of appeal. Ultimate authority lay with the
Ptolemaic king and the Roman prefect.”
Diaspora synagogues
Cohen 1999, 140–74. the Gentiles could interact with Jewish communities in a
variety of ways—from admiring some aspects of the faith of
the Jews to full conversion.
White 1990, 92. “In many early Diaspora communities the boundaries
between Jew and gentile were less rigid and allowed for
access to the assembly and worship.”
Diaspora synagogues
Synagogue Mosaic, Dura-Europos, 3rd Century CE
(Source: Wikipedia Commons)
Diaspora synagogues
Synagogue communities as private associations
Many different synagogue communities for example in the
city of Rome No central government
Conclusions
The evidence of the material culture should be taken into
account in the reconstructions of the history of the
Johannine community.
Synagogue communities were open, diverse and non-
hierarchical.
The strict distinction between Jewish and Greco-Roman
cultural stimuli is not viable in the Diaspora context.
The Gospel of John and the Mediterranean Diaspora
Raimo Hakola
After the meeting, PP:s available at:
http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/hyel/rimi/project
Theological faculty
Department of Biblical Studies