The Social And Cultural Dichotomy Of Jews By Greco-Roman Literature

Though Jews were generally accepted by Roman governing officials, upper-class hostility is clearly reflected in the ridicule and degradation in Roman writings. Roman authorship regarding Judaism was focused on urban-social relationships rather than the peripheral conflict of the surrounding provinces. This meant Roman authors were highly critical of how Jewish-Roman citizens fit into the social and cultural dichotomy of the mosaic. The writings of Tacitus provide one very prominent voice of criticism on Jewish way of life. He was strongly opposed to the idea of circumcision and Jewish habits towards social isolation. The practice of circumcision was strongly opposed by Roman writers who viewed it as a form of bodily mutilation rather than

The practice was recognized within the popular culture and was the subject of mockery. For example, a popular Roman joke made at the expense of Jews was that Jerusalem was conquered because Jews would not defend themselves of the Sabbath. By far the biggest criticism identified by Greco-Roman writers was the Jewish propensity for self-isolation and “lack of sociability.” Within Greco-Roman culture sociability was synonymous with one’s civility. The Jewish inclination towards internal community was criticized by many prominent writers such as Cicero. Given the social significance of sociability, the closed off nature of Jews was interpreted as only having loyalty and trust with each other, subsequently showing disloyalty to society. Within this social framework the concept of monotheism was given similar judgement. The Jewish concept of a singular God who brought wrath on those who venerated any other deity was seen as their God refusing to associate with the other Gods, further reflecting the Jewish “unsociability.” The anti-Jewish rhetoric that exists prior to the popularization of Christianity differs from anti-Judaism and antisemitism that later

Two mutually reinforcing narratives emerge through the development of theological Christian identity that would come to be known as the Adversus Judaeos tradition. The first, and arguably most influential is the accusation of Jews as committing deicide. Melito of Sardis is most well known for being the first Christian to explicitly accuse and charge Jews with the crime of deicide. In early Christianity the crime referred to the crucifixion of Jesus, but as the divine nature of Jesus was further realized, it evolved into the killing of a part of God. The Jewish crime of deicide has been further developed by some of Christianity’s most influential scholars. The accusation stems from supporters of Jesus who believe that Jewish head priests pressured the Romans into crucifying Jesus, as suggested in the Gospel of Luke. The second significant development within Christian theology perpetrated the supersession of the covenant from the Jews. In the most basic of terms, it was believed that Jews were not fit to withhold the covenant of God, and it had now been passed to the Christians. The “failing” of Jews was interpreted in a plethora of different ways. Some scholars, such as Tertullian pushed the theory of Jewish inferiority as the only logical reason for their failure to maintain the covenant. Under a similar