My latest article has been published in Biblische Notizen. It appears in a special issue on the theme of Empire and Potentates, edited by Kelley Coblentz Bautch. Paid subscribers to this blog can access a scanned PDF of the full article below.
Abstract: There is a respectable strand of biblical scholarship which has argued the Galilean economy under Herod Antipas was relatively prosperous and that his building projects benefited the broader populace, assuming a kind of “trickle-down” logic to the ancient economy. A less reductive approach, as advocated by this article, argues that class conflict can be present irrespective of unambiguous rises (or falls) in living standards. The situation of unequal distribution of resources remains; it will not satisfy all, and rises for some can lead to further demands. The argument is explored with reference to the impact (or not) of socio-economic factors on the emergence of the early Jesus movement.
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