The Year A.D. 69

In the first century, each year holds it own interest and special fascination, but 69 CE is of special interest because it is often designated as the year of the four emperors.  A recent book on the topic is by Gwyn Morgan, 69 A.D.:  The Year of the Four Emperors (Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 2006).  Morgan writes a running commentary on the gaining (and in three cases losing) the purple as represented by Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian.  He utilizes five sources Tacitus, Suetonius (Roman), Plutarch, Dio Cassius (Greek), and Josephus (Judean).  He especially focuses on Tacitus’ accounts (Josephus is cited the least). 

I am always interested in how a scholar utilizes numismatics in reconstructions and interprets of the past.  Morgan downplays almost all numismatic evidence.  As he notes, ‘The most eye-catching artifacts to have come down to us, . . . the coins struck by the emperors, remain our least helpful guides to specific events despite all the work devoted to them by numismatists” (p. 3).  While coins may not on every occasion give reference to specific events, they do give an overall sense of the propaganda that emperors attempted to distribute to the general public.  Morgan is very dismissive of the propaganda element saying, “. . . the minting authority was conveying some kind of general message, and apparently the consumer was supposed to swallow this message without demur, but that is about all we can say” (p.3).  He is selling short what we can say and reasonably know about the messages imperial coinage conveyed. 

Morgan, whose interest is focused on the literary documentation, illustrates his lack of numismatic insight when he does on the rare occasion make mention of numismatic references.  For example, he writes, “The question is for whom the message on the denarii was meant.  Silver coinage was hardly seen by the common people. Mostly it ended up in the hands of the soldiery and the of the upper classes” (p. 97).  This assertion seem easily refuted.  When troops did have silver, they did spend it, and it did make its way into circulation among the non-elites.  Also here is just one easily found example of where non-elites possess denarii.  In the Gospel of Matthew 20:1-15 is the parable of the “Workers in the Vineyard.”  In this well known parable, day laborers, probably dispossessed landless peasants, are hired to work in a vineyard.  This group would be on one of the lowest levels of non-elites; without land, they are nobodies and very vulnerable.  Yet each laborer in the parable at the end of day will possess a denarius. 

Even though Morgan has little use for numismatics, his book is a fine survey of the events of this crucial year in the first century.  It is worth the read for orienting a reader to the dynamics within the context of the Empire.  If one especially likes British linguistic eccentricities, which I do, this book is also interesting since Morgan frequently throws in Britishism, such as “lickspittle.”  Try to find a way this week to work this word into your conversation.

Cappadocia and the NT World

It has been awhile since I noted a numismatic point of interest related to the New Testament.  The coin below is one that stimulated my thinking along several different trajectories related to first century and the New Testament. 

This coin is a silver drachm.  The obverse is the laurate head of Vespasian (69-79 CE) and the reverse depicts Mount Argaeus.  On the summit of the mountain is Helios with a radiate crown; he is standing left and holding a globe in the right hand and a sceptre in the left.  (There are two scratches in the field on the reverse). The coin was minted in the Roman province of Cappadocia at Caesarea around 75-76 CE. 

Cappadocia (earlier called Mazaka and today known as Kayseri) is mentioned twice in the NT, Acts 2:9 and 1 Peter 1:1.  The iconography of the coin provides a subtle look into the NT world.  Especially for Judeans living in the Diaspora, the portrait of the emperor Vespasian would certainly bring to mind the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem that occurred only a few years earlier.  In fact a specific legion that had participated in the Jewish War was relocated for punishment to the province of Cappadocia.  Joseph records this account in The Jewish War, 7:3, “Recollecting too that the the twelfth legion [the Fulminata] had under the command of Cestius succumbed to the Jews, he [Titus] banished them from Syria altogether–for they had previously been quartered at Raphanaeae–and sent them to the district call Melitene, beside the Euphrates, on the confines of Armenia and Cappadocia.”   

It has been suggested that bulk of imperial coinage circulating in Asia Minor was supplied from the time of Tiberius to the time of Gordian III by the mint at Caesarea.  The importance of this fact is that the coins and their accompanying images would have easily circulated in the first century through many of the cities in which the early Jesus movement was being established.  Some of these cities would certainly have included the seven cities noted in the Apocalypse. 

The most prominent image on the reverse is perhaps the god Helios (Sol) standing on Mount Argaeus with a radiate crown and holding a globe and sceptre (E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of Caesarea in Cappadocia [London, 1933], 10).  The description of the Son of Man in Revelation 1:12-16 includes a figure that might call to mind Helios, “and his face like the sun shines in its power” (16b).  As is typical many commentaries go to literary sources to find the background or allusion to this image.  David Aune is typical, Revelation, WBC, vol. 1, page 99; e.g., Dan 10:6.  But the combination of the rest of the features of the Son of Man, i.e., bronze feet, and the seven stars in his hand, might also call to mind this statue on Mount Argaeus.  (Mount Argaeus is often portrayed with a star a top it). One might also consider that Mount Argaeus was the highest mountain in Asia Minor and was covered by snow year round.  The image of snow is also associated with the Son of Man. 

Some have suggest that the figure is not a representation of Helios but the Genius or Spirit of Argaeus (Peter Lewis and Ron Bolden, The Pocket Guide to Saint Paul: Coins Encountered by the Apostle on His Travels [Wakefield, 2002], 67).  It could be that the Romans were attempting to bring about a synthesis of Jupiter, Helios and Argaeus via the image of the radiated statue on the mountain.  Whatever the exact identity of the figure on Mt. Argaeus, the Son of Man would certainly stand in antithesis to this image.   

Table of Contents for Journals

One of my most pleasant memories while working on my PhD at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, (1984-1987) was taking one or two days a month and spending the entire day simply reading a variety of journals.  I would go to the second floor of the James P. Boyce Library and start with A and work my way to Z.  I picked up journals and read articles I never would have encountered in my particular discipline of NT.  To sample the variety of articles on that second floor was to know what it was to be surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  Now, at least partially, this same experience is available online.  It is found in the database “Table of Contents for Journals” at the Boyce Library.  I have also provided a link in my website.  One can only hope for the day, which hopefully is not far off, when not just the “Table of Content” but every article can be easily and quickly accessed. 

Latest Issue of Review & Expositor

Yeah! The latest issue of Review & Expositor is out and on a topic of continuing importance:   ”Mutual Witness:  Muslim-Christian Relations, II,” Vol. 105, No. 1 (winter 2008).  Articles include the following:

S. Mark Heim, “Christianity and Islam:  Two Kinds of Difference,” pp. 27-38

Whitney Bodman, “History, Faith and Muslim-Christian Dialoge, 2,” pp. 39-51

Amir Hussain, “A Muslim Perspective on Interfaith Dialogue with Christians,” pp. 53-66

Lance D. Laird, “Loving Our Neighbor, Honoring Muhammad,” pp. 67-83

Tayyibah Taylor, “The Contemporary Muslim American Woman,” pp. 85-91

Lanny Peters, “Sacred Hospitality:  Christian Youth on Pilgrimage in a Muslim Land,” pp. 93-113

James E. Lamkin, “Kum…Ba…Yah…ALLAH!‘”, pp. 115-123

Linda Weaver-Williams, “The Grand Story,” pp. 127-134

Karen Thomas-Smith, “Seeing Through the Eyes of our Sister, Hagar:  An Expository Sermon on Genesis 16:1-16, 21:1-21 and John 4:5-14,” pp. 135-138

This is the seccond part of a special issue by R&E related to Muslim-Christian relations.  For the first part, see Vol. 104, No. 1 (winter 2007). 

 

Death of Krister Stendahl

The New Testament world is a little smaller with the passing of Bishop Krister Stendahl (April 21, 1921-April 15, 2008).  Bishop Stendahl is known for many NT writings, but perhaps one of his best known is “The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West,” Harvard Theological Review 56 (1963), 199-215.  It has often been reprinted.  Bishop Stendahl had a wonderful article, “Why I Love the Bible,” in the winter 2007 issue of the Harvard Divinity Bulletin.  It is a worthy and inspiring read and is availabe by clicking on the title above. 

Conversation on Paul and Women

Here is a conversation/lecture/dialogue entitled “No Male or Female?:  A Conversation on St. Paul and Women.”  The conversation partners are Amy-Jill Levine and Ben Witherington, and it took place on April 7, 2008, at Duke Divinity School.  Below is a link to a podcast of the event.

http://www.box.net/shared/av7lxeuck4

Critique

I am always interested in how NT background works utilize numismatic evidence.  Frequently the material culture represented by numismatics is given only a few pages; these pages are typically devoted to the various denominations in circulation and where coin references are found in the NT.  Most information is minimal.  A case in point is found in James S. Jeffers’ book The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era:  Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (Eerdmans, 1999).  This book has many good qualities, but the information related to ancient numismatics is wrong several times within the short coinage section (pp. 149-154).  Here are a few examples.  On page 149 Jeffers writes, “He [Herod the Great] was the first Jewish ruler to use the Greek language on his coins, instead of Hebrew, and the first to put a date on his coins.”  Actually the first Jewish ruler to use Greek on his coins was Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan) 103-76 BCE.  See the reverse and observe of the coin below.

This is a bronze prutah.  On the obverse is an anchor with the Greek inscription “of King Alexander.”

On the reverse is a star with eight rays surrounded by a stylized diadem.  The Hebrew inscription reads “Yehonatan the King.”

This bilingual coin is a perfect example of the hellenistic influence in Judea.  Perhaps there are examples today of coinage in which two languages are present.  In a very concrete way, the coins of Jannaeus demonstrate how cultures clash and synthesize.

Here is another wrong statement from Jeffers:  ”But his son Herod Philip, ruling the largely Gentile area of Ituraea and Trachonitis, put on his coins the image of the emperor on one side and the Jewish temple on the other” (p. 150).  It is true that Herod Philip did utilize the portrait of Roman emperors on his coins (specifically Augustus and Tiberius).  This acknowledgement and nod to the imperial family makes good sense for a patron-client society in which Philip is clearly a client beholding to imperial largess.  What may be most remarkable is that Herod Philip is the first Judean to place his image on a coin.  The last part of Jeffers statement is incorrect.  Philip did not place the “Jewish temple” on his coinage.  Rather, Philip placed a Roman temple on his coins.  It was a temple that he had constructed in the capital city (and mint city) of Caesarea Philippi (Panias).  The coin below is bronze and has a portrait of Tiberius on the obverse and the Roman temple on the reverse.  The lettering between the temple columns indicate that this coin was minted around 33/34 CE

Coins can serve a much more important function in NT background studies than just how much they were worth and what they could buy.  When approached from the four core social institutions of kinship, politics, religion, and economics, they help provide a window into the ideological perspective of at least some of individuals populating the ancient world and the pages of the Bible.  

 

Digital Resource

There is a resource that I should have been aware of but slipped under my radar. It is found on the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) website and is called the Cooperative Digital Resources Initiative. Perhaps it is the title that caused me to overlook this link, but it contains a wealth of resources. Many seminaries and divinities school become closets for an eclectic accumulate of donated collections. Many of them are of limited value; however, many contain interesting resources. These collections, until recently, have been only accessible to those in the seminary/divinity school community or those who made the effort to go and visit the collections (if these collections were even known). ATLA has digitalized a variety of these collections for ready access. These include numismatic collections, archaeological artifacts, art, iconography, manuscripts, books, and a variety of other collections. It is an interesting site to explore.

Good Friday

Leander Keck in his book Who is Jesus?:  History in Perfect Tense (University of South Carolina Press, 2000) lists the various individuals who participated in the events surrounding ”Good” Friday:  “disciples, temple traders, priest, scribes, Sadducees, an unnamed widow, a leper named Simon, a woman with a jar of ointment, a man (!) carrying a jar of water, crowds, the high priest’s slave, a young man fleeing naked, the Sanhedrin, the high priest’s servant girl, Pilate, Roman soldiers, Simon from Cyrene in North Africa, women at the cross, Joseph of Arimathea–to mention only those that appear in Mark” (p.126). 

I had never seen and reflected upon a list of individuals touched by that Friday in Judea.  On the one hand, it is a strange group of individuals gathered together in one basket:  women, men, powerful, weak, obscure, well known, the diseased, the confused, the naked (!), local folk, international folk, individuals just trying to make a buck, religious folks dedicated to God, owners and the owned.   On the other hand, it is a revealing window onto how the event of that Friday cuts across all lines and touched all, whether they knew it or not.

Keck, in a wonderful quote, illustrates well the implication of Jesus’ death on that “Good” Friday:  “Because Jesus’ lifework ended on the cross he is the fractured prism, and his ‘brokenness’ remains its essential feature.  For Christian theology Jesus’ resurrection did not ‘heal’ his brokenness but made it permanently significant” (p. 114).

The Symbol of Palms

Since this is Palm Sunday, I thought it might be appropriate to illustrate via numismatics the powerful symbol of palms in the ancient world.

Of course Palm Sunday is a bit of a misnomer since the use of palms to greet Jesus is only specifically mentioned in the Gospel of John (12:12-19).  In Matt 21:1-9 the crowds greet Jesus with garments and “branches from the trees” (v. 8).  Mark’s account in 11:1-10 records also the reference to garments and adds “leafy branches which they had cut from the fields” (v. 8).  Luke, 19:28-40, omits any reference to branches and only notes the use of garments. 

The numismatic evidence points to the frequent use of a palm branch (lulav) (singular), palm branches (plural) or a palm tree as referencing  the land of Judea.  Interestingly, this symbol was used on coins minted by Romans (prefects and victorious Emperors), Judean client kings, and also Judean rebel leaders.  While these groups would hardly agree on any other issue, they all acknowledged the palm as a fixed symbol for the land and people of Judea.  Just a few numismatic examples of this symbol are below.

Bronze prutah, minted by Valerius Gratus (15-26 C.E.) under Tiberius

Bronze prutah, minted by Antonius Felix (52-59 C.E.) under Claudius

Bronze, full denomination, minted under Herod Antipas, (4 B.C.E to 40 C.E.)

Bronze, minted by Agrippa the II (55 to 95 C.E.) during the reign of Domitian

Silver denarius, minted under Titus (79-81 C.E.).  This coin is placed in the Judaea Capta series.  It illustrates Rome’s victory in the Judean War of 66-70 C.E.

Middle Bronze with the seven branched date palm.  Minted during the Bar Kochba rebellion (132-135 C.E.)

While the palm was a dominate symbol for the land and people of Judea, it was also used in other contexts.  There are earlier usages of the palm during the time of the Roman Republic as illustrated below with a coin minted by the moneyer L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi.  The coin has a rider waving a palm branch while riding a horse.

The palm branch was also used later on Roman coins.  The coin below was minted by Constantine I (the Great).  On the reverse is a palm surrounded by legionary standards.

Frequently in Roman usage, the palm is associated with particular goddesses, especially victory, Nike.