*This was my paper presented to my Palestinian Roman class. Hope you enjoy and that it helps you understand the culture in which Jesus lived*
Many
factors composed and held together the society of first century Palestine.
Kinship was of great importance at this time. Sons normally followed after
their fathers when it came to work. Daughters were normally married to second
cousins or wealthy suitors to help sustain the family’s wealth.
The cities were very much interdependent
and inter-relational, as the shop owners of similar trades would work together
in close circles to help keep each other economically afloat.
There were tax collectors who would collect monies for Rome in order to keep the
government stable. There would be rulers over all of the major cities such as
Herod the Great and Herod Antipas who ruled for the Roman Empire over Jerusalem,
Sepphoris, and other provinces.
Thus kinship, business, the political landscape, and many other factors were
essential to the economy of first century Palestine. But this paper will not
focus on any of the previous factors mentioned.
Instead, the focus of this paper will be upon the agriculture,
specifically the production of wheat, grain, and meal and their essential
nature to the economy of first century Palestine.
First
century Palestine was not a culture of industries like the modern world; many
people had to work as farmers either in a small sense just for their household
or in a bigger sense at a farmhouse.
One author makes the claim that “80 to 90 percent of the populace in Jesus’ day
regularly engaged in agricultural work.”
Thus, Palestine was self-sustained economically.
Grain was a prominent crop that was produced among the farmers. Grain then was
a sustaining factor in first century Palestine’s economy. But how can this
statement be proven? This paper sets out to prove the previous statement, to
show that first century Palestine’s economy was held together by their
self-production of grain
.
One might think that this could not be proven because the remains of seeds,
grains and weeds might no longer be evidenced due to their perishable nature.
Yet, the significance of wheat to the first century Palestine’s economy will be
proven by the examination of many factors, both archaeological and historical.
First this paper will examine the parables of Jesus of
Nazareth, which were spoken to the common man of first century Palestine. Then the
sizable presence of farms, both big and small, will be examined. Thirdly, the
landscapes and archaeological evidence will be looked at in order to bolster
the claim that “‘wheat was grown in all regions of Palestine’…except for times
of drought and famine, Galilee in particular and Palestine in general supplied
itself with grain.”
Fourthly, the taxation of the villages
to the cities’ storehouses will be examined to shed further light on their
economy. Then, the historical evidence found in reliable works will be examined.
Finally, there will be an examination of the evidenced eating habits, which
make wheat a multi-purposed necessity for the first century person in
Palestine. All of these factors will be combined to shows how the economy of
first century Palestine was dependent upon seeds, wheat, grain, and meal.
Why should Jesus of Nazareth be
used to point out the significance of agriculture in first century Palestine? It
is key to note that when Jesus spoke to the peoples of Palestine, he did not
just speak these parables to a specific social group. The New Testament says,
“That great crowds gathered about him.”
(Matt. 13:2) This was not just one group of people but instead was multiple
groups that many times included the Pharisees (Matt. 12:2). Jesus’ parables
should be examined for many reasons. First off, it must be noted that the
Gospels are one of the most significant helps that one has to understand first
century Palestine due to their details of this era.
Secondly, Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth was about four miles from the important
city of Sepphoris, and it was south of the rich agricultural land of Bet Netofa
Valley.
Thus, Jesus was very much acquainted with the agricultural areas. Finally,
Jesus was a carpenter thus making him well acquainted with farmers who were on
the same level as him socially and economically.
During Jesus’ presentation of the
“Parable of the Sowers” it is important to note that he was in Nazareth his
hometown (Matt. 13:53-54). One can deduce that in this case agriculture was a
well-known, essential part of the economy in Nazareth. The use of agriculture
by Jesus was not a mistake because Jesus often used things that were common to
the people in his parables.
For example, look at the “Parable of the Net” (Matt. 13:47-50) or the “Parable
of Salt and Light” (Matt. 5:13-16).
These are just a few references that point to Jesus’ use of common things in
his parables. Thus, the things that Jesus references in his parables can then
be seen as things which were common to the first century people of Palestine
and in turn show that seeds, grain, wheat, and meal were common to these
peoples.
Jesus then used his keen
observation skills using what was common to the peoples in his public
proclamations. There are some key things that one can observe from his parables
in order to further understand how essential and common seeds, grain, and wheat
were to these peoples. First, notice the disciple’s confused reaction to Jesus’
“Parable of the Sower” (Matt. 13:1-9). Jesus presented a farmer who cast seed
in four places: the path, the rocky ground, the thorns, and the good soil. The
fact that people sow seeds was a common thing to the people, yet casting seed
so randomly seems leaves the people with confusion. The proper way to sow seeds
was common to these people. This points out that these disciples, from various
jobs, did not just have a passing understanding of how to plant seeds but a
proper understanding. It is also to be noted by Jesus’ response concerning the
people’s lack of understanding that the common people were also confused, as
the disciple had been (Matt. 13:11-13)
.
Thus, the conclusions made by some that most peoples of the first century
Palestine were involved in agriculture, specifically wheat, seem to be true of
these “great crowds” that came out to hear Jesus speak.
Based off of an
article, by Yizhar Hirschfield a former Israeli archaeologist, entitled “Farms
and villages in Byzantine Palestine,” one can see traces of the agriculture
economy of the first century Palestine, which carried over into the Byzantine
period. Even Hirschfield himself admits in the beginning of his article that “the
economic prosperity of the villages in the eastern provinces, which had begun
to take root in the Hellenistic period, continued throughout the Byzantine period.”
A lot of Hirschfield’s observations concerning farms in the Byzantine period
are based off of the facts of farms in the Roman period. He goes onto explain
how proper excavations and dating has concluded that the housings and farms
were “
diverse, ranging from large or small single
farms, to groups of farms combined to form small villages or hamlets, to
medium- and large-sized villages scattered throughout the country”
The appearance of this mass amount of farms seems to indicate the agrarian
nature of the first century Palestinian economy.
Hirschfield
then goes on to trace archaeological findings concerning farmhouses. This is
significant because he shows that farms and agriculture were found in a variety
of locations in Roman Palestine. Though, in this article his primary focus is
upon the Byzantine period. He also mentions some Roman farms because these two
time periods over lap in dating of farms and lay out of farms. Often the farms
of the Byzantine period had been built in the earlier periods.
The first farm, which had a large
plot of farmland, was excavated on the southern bank of Nahal Govta.
He even shows how some villages were formed around farmhouses in Horvat
Din’ila. In Ramat Hanadiv a
farmhouse was exposed which was much like a Roman villa rustica. These are just a few examples of
Roman/Byzantine farms. Hirschfeld continues to trace farmhouse from the coastal
plains, Samria, Judea, the Negev Desert, Northern, Western, central Negev, and
the Negev highlands. This
agriculturally based society was not just found in a few regions in Palestine
but is found throughout the land of first century Palestine.
Another
archaeologist has found farmhouses throughout the Caesarea. One archaeologist
says, “Farmhouses, were found dispersed in the countryside of Caesarea, and in
the Samaria Hills.” Thus, along the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea and the hills of Samaria there is archaeological backing for
Hirschfield’s previous claims of the prevalence of farms in Palestine. It is
also important to note that warehouses and granaries were “found next to urban
palatial mansions.” This
storage of grain is seen as so prominent that it reaches the shore, city,
plains, and hills. This
evidence concerning farmhouses paints the land of Palestine as actively engaged
in agriculture.
These
farmhouses are not only found in all of the previous areas mentioned by
Hirschfeld but are also found in and around ancient Jerusalem. There was a specific group of
archaeologists who examined the whole area of Jerusalem finding “literally hundreds
of carefully planned farm units and many other remains scattered around
Jerusalem.”
The conclusions of these archaeologists are very important to the investigation
of the agrarian nature of the first century Palestine. They found two types of farms. The
first one covered around four and a half acres of land and was built between
the eight and sixth centuries B.C. Though this farm was built during the Iron
Age, there was evidence of its usage during the first century. The elements
that characterize this first farm are a house at the center, agricultural
installations, and an enclosed area for the animals.
The second farm had a wine manufacturing installation.
This farm was also built in Iron Age and continued in use throughout first
century A.D. Yet, it was not primarily a wine press because there was much
evidence of the milling of grain found throughout this farm. This farm was
built on a slope with a great irrigation system to water the grain and grapes.
These farms were primarily focused upon grain and grapes providing crops for
Jerusalem.
In examining the landscape of
Palestine there is much archaeological evidence, which sheds light upon the
claims that first century Palestine was an agrarian based society. Some modern
researchers, when examining the soil, have seen the previous agricultural
prosperity.
One archaeologist points out concerning the soil of Upper Galilee,
In the coastal
plain and the smaller valleys, the main soil types are basically alluvial,
particularly suitable for field crops and especially for cereals grown without
irrigation…Although the vast majority of these fields were not cultivated in
1945, this evidence shows that almost all the land except for the steepest
slopes was cultivated at sometime in the past.
Thus, from examination of present day soil and landscaping, archeologists
can see the presence of the past agricultural society.
This author goes onto to show that there is evidence that shows dividing
stonewalls in the fields that might signify farmland, which would point to
sheep grazing and the production of produce, which most likely included grain.
This further points out the claims others have made concerning the citizens and
land of Palestine pointing to their necessity of grain and wheat production.
To
add onto the previous thought, some archaeologists have noticed the presence of
this agrarian based society saying that from c.a. 7000 B.C. to c.a. 400 A.C.
there was “an active agricultural population.”
These archeologists have also based these claims off of the examination of soil
and landscaping, seeing remains of this agricultural engagement throughout the
land. They also claim that there
was a “prosperous agriculture
during the Roman occupation.”
Thus, they have seen evidences of
agriculture being an essential part of the first century Palestinian economy
and that agriculture continued to grow into the Christian time period. Concerning
the area called the Lod (Lydda) Basin one archaeologist notices fertile nature
of the soil and also claims that many grains were grown in this area.
With these conclusions set in place, by archaeologist examining the soil and
landscape, it is clear that the economy of first century Palestine had the
fertility to sustain a great amount of cultivation.
All of these claims by archaeologists concerning the soil of Palestine coincide
claims made by Josephus in the first century that (B.J. 3.42) “the land
everywhere is so rich in soil.”
The claims of first century Palestine being an agrarian society are not just
claims made by past historians but are claims confirmed by modern
archaeologists.
Reflecting
upon and examining the lands throughout Palestine, many field archaeologists
have noticed much about their agrarian culture. For instance, Yizhar Hirschfield
concerning the Ein Gedi noticed “the terraces and irrigation system indicated that
these people were engaged in agriculture.”
It is not only the soil that leads archaeologists to conclude that the land was
ripe for agriculture, but it was also the irrigation system. In the same
archaeological exploration of Israel, one archaeologist found “a concentration
of cereal grains” in Atlit-Yam. During this same exploration in
different areas they also found grains and other aspects of agriculture that
would leave one more convinced that first century Palestine was rich in grain
and agricultural cultivation.
Concerning
soil in the land of Palestine, some archaeologists have found some interesting
things in the Judean wilderness. On the outside, the Judean wilderness might
appear barren and have no chance of farming; yet with a more throughout
examination one will find the opposite is true. These archaeologists discovered
desert farms that previously provided food for the security garrisons. These farms were used from the Iron Age
into the Byzantine period. These archaeologists began to examine the area of
these farms, that were uniquely u-shaped, to find out how the soil was able to
produce any crops at all. They found that the water that flowed down towards
the Dead Sea would be collected where the farms dwelt. The reason these farms
would collect the water was due to the fact that they dwelt in a basin. Not
only did the location of these farms help them flourish but also the architects
developed a unique system to help retain the water for their crops. Thus, the
natural flooding and the skill of these farmers helped to cultivate this
wilderness. These
archaeologists “found the botanical remains of wheat and barley,
probably grown on the farm.”
Agriculture and the production of grain was so essential to the peoples of
Palestine that they even cultivated areas that others would think were
impossible to cultivated.
The
people of the villages of first century Palestine, specifically Galilee, had a culture
of subsistence, which means they primarily produced goods for themselves and
not for trade. There was no such thing as a market in the village economy. No
archaeological evidence has been found concerning a specific market building in
the village, yet the villages did have extra produce that was given to the tax
collectors. This tax had previous been paid to the temple because the people
were required to give forth their first fruits or one-fourth of their produce.
But, when Rome took over Palestine, their leaders just adopted this system of
taxation for their government and also required the villages to pay a tribute
to Rome. This is shown in Josephus (Ant. 14.209), “[The Judeans] shall pay
tithes to Hyrcanus and his sons, just as they paid their forefathers.”
The villages then had heavy
burdens place upon them by the Herodian officers who were the collectors of
produce for Rome. This type of taxing by Herod “was a system of state monopoly
or of tax-farming.” The produce
redistribution by the cities from the towns shows that “the grain supply was at
the very center of the ‘politics’ of the polis!”
In Caesarea the collector of taxed grain for the cities was called “grain buyer
(sitonos).”
Thus the village’s produce was essential to the economy of the Roman cities
because it was taxed to help with army supplies and help the local aristocrats
run a better economy.
Another
evidence of the city’s dependence upon the villages, which shows further
evidence for this taxation and redistribution, comes from Josephus. In a
discourse where Josephus is giving defense of Galilee for the Romans from John
of Gischala, Josephus says (Vita 71-73), “The imperial grain stored in the
villages of Upper Galilee.” Even though Josephus mentions this as a passing
reason for his defense of Galilee it is a significant point. First off, these
grain storehouses were so essential to the economy of Palestine that Josephus
was willing to defend it by force. Secondly, that this stored grain was
actually in existence in Upper Galilee proves the existence of redistribution
and taxation of grain by the Romans. Finally, that Josephus was in some way
responsible for this grain, showing the importance the village grain had to the
Roman cities. This mention by Josephus only further solidifies the claim that
grain was essential to the Roman economy.
Many
archaeologists working throughout the land of Palestine have found the
existence of granaries and warehouses, which were mentioned previously by
Josephus. Excavations have uncovered inside and to the south of Caesarea the
storage of grain in underground granaries. These storages areas, which were
mainly next to urban villas, took up an altogether twenty-five percent of the
area.
Thus, this archaeological evidence coincides with Jeffers who says, “Storage
pits were dug into the floor to hold grain.”
Numerous storage rooms were also found throughout Masada. Many of these
storerooms in Masada were specifically used for wheat and grain storage.
These storehouses and granaries are found throughout the land of first century
Palestine.
Concerning many of the
agricultural recourses in Palestine, historically, Caesarea was a great source
of wealth for Herod the Great’s Kingdom.
One of the main reasons that Caesarea was a great source of wealth was due to
the fact that it possessed the Sharon Plain, which was renown “as a land of
wheat.”
The Sharon Plain’s wheat was imported throughout the kingdom by their five
trade roots, which went in all directions to the surrounding regions.
There is also much historical evidence concerning the grain, which was
evidently essential to Jerusalem. Historically there are many mentions of
“‘fields’… ‘landed property’…threshing[floors]”
in and around Jerusalem that provided grain for the city. In Jerusalem grain,
flour, and bread went for a higher price due to the fact that much of it was
imported from the villages.
In times of famine Jerusalem would
first lack grain. This is due to fact Jerusalem had poor soil and was unable to
provide its own grain. But the
fact that grain was the first crop to diminish during a famine also points to
its essential nature to Jerusalem. The prevalence of grain is also seen in the
fact that one of the names of the cities that was within eleven miles was made
up of the word ‘wheat.’
The fine flour that was received by the temple in Jerusalem was imported from
Judea. Grain suppliers brought this fine flour from Michmash, Zanoah, and
Ephriam. Even though Judea provided this flour
for the temple, the primary source of imported grain for Jerusalem was from
Transjordan. Thus, when it came to Jerusalem, the historical records point to
grain being primarily imported from all over the land of Palestine.
Many
of the tools that were used to harvest and work grain have been found in
archaeological digs. Yet, before
the tools are mentioned, it is important to note that in Caesarea they found an
amulet with a man holding back a sickle to thresh produce. If someone was willing
to wear an amulet inscribed with a farmer, it is clearly evident that farming
was a prevalent and cherished activity.
Inside of the city of Caesarea there were basalt millstones found.
These millstones were heavy stones used to grind grain for baking and cooking
uses.
Caesarea was not the only city with millstones; the Ein Yalu farm outside of
Jerusalem had varies milling stone scattered throughout their farm. These
millstones were made from the hard limestone found in the local quarries.
The primary tools for farming were then the sickle noted in the amulet picture
and the millstone, which would grind the grain into flour.
The
preeminence of bread in the first century Palestinian’s diet was not only seen
in the bible but is also seen in other sources.
When it comes to housing layout most of the archaeological evidence show bread
ovens being found inside and outside of houses. This shows how essential bread
was to these people that they would have a specific oven for bread cooking.
This bread cooking would be done on a weekly basis. The people of this time
would use a millstone to grind their grain or buy ground grain to make their
own bread weekly. Yet, it is
important to note that some people would take a specific apprenticeship to
learn how to cook five hundred recipes, which would require five years of
apprenticeship. Josephus
mentioned that during a time of famine there were specialized bakers of bread
in first century Jerusalem.
A loaf of bread in Jerusalem was sold for a twelfth of a denarius. From this
price it has been deduced that the price of grain or flour in Jerusalem was
“one denarius for each Se’ah (about thirteen liters or three
gallon)”
The prominence of bread in the daily diet of all of the people throughout the
land of Palestine is clearly evidenced.
In
conclusion, Jesus speaks to the common man’s environment when he speaks in
parables about wheat and seeds. The overwhelming archaeological evidence proves
this. Throughout the landscape of Palestine many have found fertile soil,
remains of previous agricultural usage, and a massive amount of farms. These
farms are dated from the first century and are found predominantly throughout
the land of Palestine. Yet, these farms’ primary crop was wheat. This is
evidenced from the massive amounts of granaries, millstone, and bread ovens
found throughout them. This agriculture of wheat is also seen in the
storehouses found historically in Josephus and archaeologically in many cities
throughout the land. This wheat and grain was used throughout the daily meals
of the first century Palestine. Thus, first century Palestine’s economy was
very much dependent upon their self-production of wheat and grain.
Yadin, Y. The Excavation of Masada, Jerusalem, Israel Exploration society,
1965.
