A Historic-Critical and Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables of the Kingdom

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Contents

Introduction..................................................................................2Chapter one History and Geography in First-Century Palestine.................................27Chapter Two History and Economic Distribution in First-Century Palestine.....................61Chapter Three The Literary Parables..........................................................111Chapter Four Greek and Latin.................................................................142Chapter Five From Parables to Catholic Teaching..............................................172Afterword.....................................................................................208Glossary......................................................................................211

Chapter One

History and Geography of First-Century Palestine

During the first-century, the land of Palestine was the homeland of Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish people. Palestine is called Israel by the Jews and by many westerners; because it has long been in the midst of territorial disputes. This area is located along the Mediterranean Sea (to the west); Syria, the land of the Phoenicians is to the north; Batanea, Auranitis, Decapolis and Nabatea is to the east; and King Herod's county, Idumea, and Egypt lies to the south. For centuries the surrounding neighbors of Palestine have been fatal threats to the existence of the Jewish people. When these countries went to war with each another, they would cross through Judea, pillaging the Jews and taking them as slaves.

Water sources of Palestine

The lake of Galilee, in the north, is the closest water source to Nazareth, where Jesus lived. When Jesus visited Capernaum (a lakeside town), he bathed and fished there. The Jordan River empties into lake Galilee. The primary water sources of Palestine are: 1. The Mediterranean Sea (which connected the Roman Empire), 2. The lake of Galilee (shown above), 3. The Dead Sea and the 4. Jordan River (below).

Many of the disciples were fishermen from the town of Capernaum, therefore Jesus visited there often for his ministry and for rest. The Dead Sea was named so because there is so much salt in the sea that creatures are unable to live. There are no fish for edible sustenance and livelihood in the Dead Sea.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why were the Jewish people located in a vulnerable area in the first-century?

2. How did their geographic location affect their daily life?

3. Name the primary water sources of Palestine.

Why do we call the land Palestine, not Israel?

Many Biblical scholars have applied the name "Palestine" in their writing because this is the name foreigners and foreign rulers, including the Romans, used to identify the land. During the first-century, the local inhabitants used several different names for their homeland, most notably: The Holy Land, the Promised Land, the Land of Canaan, the Land of Israel, the Land of Judah, and the Land. The Land was made up of mountains, valleys, deserts, fertile farmland, beaches, small villages and busy merchant cities.

Discussion Question:

1. Explain why different people refer to this territory by different names?

2. What was kind of physical geographic land forms exist in Palestine?

Languages of the Land

The natives of Palestine, like Jesus of Nazareth, spoke Aramaic as their first language. Hebrew was the language of Jewish scripture, the Torah, and it was used in temple settings by the rabbis and literate men. The Jews may have commonly spoken koine Greek (or street Greek) as well, because it was the common language of trade in the Roman Empire. Additionally, Latin (the official language of Rome), was spoken in political and commercial circles. All of these languages would have been encountered in the marketplace of Jerusalem. And yes, it was very confusing!

Discussion Questions:

1. What were the primary languages of first-century Palestine?

2. Who used which language and what were they each primarily used for?

3. How does the knowledge of a language affect one's lifestyle and their level of participation in a society?

The themes of the Land and the people

The Jewish people had themes in their ordinary lives (as peasantry under imperialism who abide by moral codes) that relate to the themes of their monotheist religion, Judaism (one omnipotent God). The ordinary themes of life, identified by scholar, Bernard Brandon Scott are: Family, Village, City and Beyond; Masters and Servants; and, Home and Farm. These everyday themes may correspond to the primary theological teachings of the parables: The Kingdom of God, Judgment and God's Grace.

• Family, Village, City and Beyond – the Kingdom of God

• Masters and Servants – Judgment

• Home and Farm – Grace

Masters and Servants – Roman Imperialism and the Jews

In 70 AD the Romans conquered the Land of Judea; the Land existed under the Roman Empire for the next 500 years. The Romans governed foreigners with the decree of pax romana (Roman peace), allowing the people of Palestine to keep their culture and religion, as long as the production of the land (taxer and tribute) were handed over to Caesar, the Roman political leader.

The Jews went from being farmers of their own land, to farmhands who were taxed for working the empire's land. The Romans established a puppet government in Judea, with Idumean rulers who answered to Rome; The Roman client kings during the life of Jesus were, Herod the Great (74 BC – 4 BC) and Herod Antipas (4 BC – 39 AD).

The Roman Empire and the Holy Land

At the time of the Roman conquest, Palestine was an advanced agrarian country that used the plow and could produce enough crop surplus to feed the population. This allowed the people to settle in villages oriented toward established cities like Sepphoris and Jerusalem with lucrative trade markets. The Romans would develop these cities further, growing the population of Sepphoris from 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants during the reign of Antipas.

The Jew's monotheist religion clashed with the polytheistic, pagan religion of imperial Rome. However, for the Romans, religion was just a tool. The Romans took advantage of the Jewish priestly class, which upheld the strict moral principles of the God-fearing people, using them as retainers toward the peasantry. The Jews were an internally disciplined and self-regulated people out of obedience to God, which fed into their fierce identity and nationalism. And, for Imperial Rome, the Promised Land was a fertile treasure chest that would keep the empire well fed, but this conquest was filled with tension.

The Jewish peasant: From farmer to farmhand

In the ancient world, greed and bullying were legitimate methods of ownership and advancement (most societies were pagan). The land was simply taken by those who had the most power and strength over the other. The elite (two percent of the population) competed among themselves and the ruler (satraps and empires) for land, entitlements, wealth and control. Once they secured a lot from the empire,...