Thursday, August 1, 2013

Ancient souces disagree on which emperor expelled the Jews from Rome, and on why they were expelled


Ancient sources disagree with the grounds for the expulsion of the Jews from Rome and disagree on which Emperor expelled them:

Acts 18:1-2

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he fund a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. 

Suetonius refers to the expulsion of Jews by Claudius in Claudius, 25:

Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.

Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.5 81-84

Tiberius...ordered the whole Jewish community to leave Rome. The consuls drafted four thousand of these Jews for military service and sent them to the island of Sardinia; but they penalized a good many of them, who refused to serve for fear of breaking the Jewish law. Thus the Jews were banished from the city for the wickedness of four men.

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