The rabbi in second-century Jewish society

Abstract

Who were the rabbis of second-century Palestine (the ‘tannaitic’ period)? What was their role in Jewish society? What was their relationship with their fellow Jews? In what areas did they exercise authority? What were the institutional bases of their power? In sum, what was the nature of the society in which the rabbis lived and worked? These are the primary questions to be addressed by this chapter. I admit at the outset that these questions are not fully answerable, and that the answers, whether full or partial, do not yield a complete portrait of the social history of second-century Palestine. A thorough study of Palestinian society would have to treat all the elements of the population: Jews of all sorts (not just rabbis and not just those Jews who came into contact with rabbis), pagans (of all sorts), Christians (of all sorts), and Samaritans (of all sorts). Some of the inhabitants were rich, most were poor; some lived in cities, most lived in towns and villages; some were artisans and traders, most were farmers. The land was as diverse as its population and was divided into politico-geographical regions (Galilee, Samaria, Judaea, Idumaea, the coastal plain, the trans-Jordan, etc.) and sub-regions (notably upper Galilee and lower Galilee). The power structure which governed this complex land was also complex. In addition to the central Roman administration, both civil and military, many cities ( poleis ) had jurisdiction over substantial amounts of terrain. Other areas ( toparchies ) were governed from the towns and villages. Each religious group, whether or not recognized by the Roman state, had its own functionaries and temples.

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