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The Roman historian Suetonius (c. AD 69 – c. AD 122) makes reference to early Christians and possible reference to their founder in his work Lives of the Twelve Caesars.

A statement in Claudius 25 involves the agitations in the Roman Jewish community which led to the expulsion of Jews from Rome by Claudius in AD 49, and may be the same event mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (18:2). Scholars are divided on the value of this reference in the biography of Claudius. Some scholars see it as a likely reference to Jesus, while others see it as referring to an otherwise unknown person living in Rome. Louis Feldman states that most scholars assume that in the reference Jesus is meant and that the disturbances mentioned were due to the spread of Christianity in Rome.

The Nero 16 passage refers to a series of rulings by Nero for public order, one of which being the punishment of Christians. These punishments are generally dated to around AD 64, the year of the Great Fire of Rome. In this passage Suetonius describes Christianity as a superstition (superstitio) as do his contemporaries, Tacitus and Pliny.

Historians debate whether or not the Roman government distinguished between Christians and Jews prior to Nerva's modification of the Fiscus Judaicus in AD 96. From then on, practising Jews paid the tax, Christians did not.

The Claudius reference

Roman Emperor Claudius reigned 41 to 54 AD. Suetonius reports his dealings with the eastern Roman Empire, that is, with Greece and Macedonia, and with the Lycians, Rhodians, and Trojans.

In Claudius 25 Suetonius refers to the expulsion of Jews by Claudius and states (in Edwards' translation):

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

As it is highly unlikely that a Christian interpolator would have called Jesus "Chrestus", placed him in Rome in 49, or called him a "troublemaker", the overwhelming majority of scholars conclude that the passage is genuine.

The Latin text

The Latin original version of this statement is as follows:

Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit

Erich Gruen describes the statement as a "notorious crux". Leonard Rutgers states that "the interpretation of Suetonius's phrase impulsore Chresto is difficult" and "opinions differ as to what caused these disturbances." William L. Lane explains that the Latin text is ambiguous, giving two ways of interpreting it: 1) "He expelled from Rome the Jews constantly making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus" and 2) "Since the Jews constantly make disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." The first indicates that Claudius only expelled those Jews who were making disturbances. H. Dixon Slingerland adds a third way the Latin text is ambiguous, that Chrestus instigated Claudius to expel the Jews. Boman (2012) uses the following translation, which he "consider non-committal and adequately close to the original Latin": "From Rome he (Claudius) expelled the perpetually tumultuating Jews prompted by Chrestus."

Interpretation

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Chrestus

James D.G. Dunn states that most scholars infer that "Suetonius misheard the name 'Christus' (referring to Jesus as Christ) as 'Chrestus'" and also misunderstood the report and assumed that the followers of someone called Chrestus were causing disturbances within the Jewish community based on his instigation. Andreas J. Köstenberger asserts that Suetonius had confused the name "Chrestus" with "Christus" and that he thought "Jesus was alive and in Rome at the time of the expulsion." William L. Lane states that Suetonius' reference to the agitator displays a "notorius confusion" and indicates that Suetonius may have relied on contemporary records, without careful evaluation. R.T. France says that the notion of a misspelling by Suetonius "can never be more than a guess, and the fact that Suetonius can elsewhere speak of 'Christians' as members of a new cult (without any reference to Jews) surely makes it rather unlikely that he could make such a mistake." The term Chrestus (which may have also been used by Tacitus) was common at the time, particularly for slaves, meaning good or useful. William L. Lane states that while Chrestus was a common name among Roman slaves at the time it was not a common Jewish name. Van Voorst states that the name Chrestus is never found among Jewish inscriptions in Rome, but a Jewish woman named Chreste (ΧΡΗΣΤΗ) is mentioned in an inscription from Panticapaeum, made in 80/81 AD.

Francesco Carotta (2005) believes that the word chresto refers to the Greek "chrêstês, which means 'speculator', 'usurer'” and interprets Suetonius sentence's as: " ... the Jews who practiced usury and thereby caused constant turmoil, he expelled them from Rome".

Feldman states that most scholars assume that in the reference Jesus is meant and that the disturbances mentioned were due to the spread of Christianity in Rome. Robert E. Van Voorst states that there is "near-unanimous" agreement among scholars that the use of Chrestus here refers to Christ. but states that nothing in the sentence that Suetonius wrote explicitly refers to Christ or Christianity and adds that the simplest way to understand the statement is that Chrestus was an agitator in Rome. E. M. Smallwood states that the only reasonable interpretation is that Suetonius was referring to Christianity. H. Solin notes that the statement by Suetonius is often seen as reflective of a dispute about Jesus, but without sufficient reason, and he argues that Chrestus was involved in rioting in Rome. F. F. Bruce states that it is more likely that Chrestus was understood by Suetonius to be the leader of the Christians, and that writing about 70 years after the event Suetonius may have consulted records that led him to believe the agitator was in Rome. Edwin M. Yamauchi states that "A growing number of scholars, however, have accepted the argument that the "Chrestus" mentioned in Suetonius was simply a Jewish agitator with a common name, and that he had no association with Christianity." John Granger Cook finds that the identification of Chrestus with Christ unresolved. Amy-Jill Levine states that Suetonius may have dealt with "struggles between Jews who accepted the Christian proclamation and those who did not" or "the otherwise unknown 'Chrestus' could have been a local agitator." Van Voorst states that in the passage Chrestus is most likely an error for Christus.

Among recent classical scholars there does not seem to be the certainty that is found among many biblical studies scholars. Barbara Levick comments, "To claim that Suetonius, writing in the second century, misunderstood a reference to Christians in his source is unconvincingly economical", concluding "The precise cause of the expulsion remains obscure." J. Mottershead in his commentary on the Claudius states that if Suetonius "had included a reference to Christ one would not have expected him to have simply used Chrestus/Christus unqualified." This points "towards the conclusion that Suetonius did not have in mind a religious dispute involving Christians." Donna Hurley explains that Suetonius includes the expulsion "among problems with foreign populations, not among religions"

The spelling issue

Chresto (ablative of Chrestus) is the most trustworthy spelling in Suetonius' work. "A spelling with an e is used in 90.2 % (37 of 41)" of the manuscripts collected by Boman (2012). William L. Lane states that the confusion between Chrestus and Christus was natural enough for Suetonius, given that at that point in history the distinction between spelling and pronunciation was negligible. Lane states that this is supported by the spelling of Christians in Acts 11:26 and 26:28 and in 1 Peter 4:16 where the unical codex Sinaiticus reads Chrestianos. Raymond E. Brown states in the second century, when Suetonius wrote, both Christus (Christ) and Christianus (Christian) were often written after the "r" with an "e" instead of an "i". Irina Levinskaya looks at the spelling issue and concludes "We need to abandon the habit of making dogmatic statements about how actually Suetonius or Tacitus spelled the name of Christ or of the adherents of the new religion. We simply don't know." Joseph Fitzmyer states that because of the commonality of both terms at the time, Suetonius confused the two. After stating the popular assumption that Chrestus was an alternative spelling of Christ, Andrew D. Clarke adds that the view is "increasingly disputed". In Tacitus' Annales, the word Christians might have been spelled chrestianos; see Tacitus on Christ.

The expulsion

There were at least two expulsions of Jews from Rome before the event that Suetonius mentions. In 139 BC the Jews were expelled after being accused of aggressive missionary efforts. Then in AD 19 Tiberius once again expelled Jews from the city for similar reasons.

Dunn states that the disturbances Suetonius refers to were likely caused by the objections of Jewish community to the continued preachings by early Christians. Lane states that the cause of the disturbance was likely the preachings of Hellenistic Jews in Rome and their insistence that Jesus was the Messiah, resulting in tensions with the Jews in Rome. E.A. Judge states that Suetonius later introduces Christians "in a way that leaves no doubt that he is discussing them for the first time" (ie in Nero 16), bringing into doubt an interpretation that Suetonius is dealing with Christians in Claudius 25. Köstenberger believes the expulsion of the Jews which Suetonius mentions is likely the same event mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (18:2) which discusses how Apostle Paul met Priscilla and Aquila:

"And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome."

Donna Hurley notes that Acts provides a date of 49, but adds that neither Tacitus nor Dio "reports an expulsion in 49 or 50 as would be expected if there had been a large exodus of the Jewish community", concluding that '"all" is probably a hyperbole.'

Dunn states that the confusion he notes in Suetonius weakens the historical value of his reference as a whole. Scholars are divided on the value of the Suetonius reference. Some such as Craig A. Evans, John Meier and Craig S. Keener see it as a likely reference to Jesus Others such as Stephen Benko and H. Dixon Slingerland see it as having a different historical value, not related to Christianity, for Benko an otherwise unknown agitator in Rome by the name of Chrestus and for Slingerland someone who influenced Claudius to expel Jews. Silvia Cappelletti discounts Slingerland's view of Chrestus as a "too subtle" argument from silence. Neil Elliott states, "following H. Dixon Slingerland's meticulous work I do not believe any of us can assume the expulsion of some Jews under Claudius was the result of Christian agitation".

The passage suggests that in the mid-first century the Romans still viewed Christianity as a Jewish sect. Historians debate whether or not the Roman government distinguished between Christians and Jews prior to Nerva's modification of the Fiscus Judaicus in AD 96. From then on, practising Jews paid the tax, Christians did not.

Date of the expulsion

Dating the Chrestus event provides some challenges because Suetonius writes in a topical rather than chronological fashion, necessitating the use of other texts to establish a time frame. The dating of the "edict of Claudius" for the expulsion of Jews relies on three separate texts beyond Suetonius' own reference, which in chronological order are: Cassius Dio's reference in History 60.6.6-7, Paulus Orosius's fifth century mention in History 7.6.15-16 of a non-extant Josephus reference and the reference to the trial of Apostle Paul by Gallio in the Acts of the Apostles (18:2). Rainer Riesner states that scholars generally agree that these references refer to the same event.

Cassius Dio

Cassius Dio makes a comment in 60.6.6-7 regarding an action early in the reign of Claudius:

As for the Jews, who had again increased so greatly that by reason of their multitude it would have been hard without raising a tumult to bar them from the city , he did not drive them out, but ordered them, while continuing their traditional mode of life, not to hold meetings.

The similarities are noteworthy, for both Suetonius and Cassius Dio deal with Jews, tumult, Claudius, the city and expulsion, and Cassius Dio does provide a chronological context that points to the year AD 41. However, Cassius Dio does not mention Chrestus or any cause for the emperor's actions, while he does say that Claudius did not drive the Jews out of the city. Slingerland states that "Suetonius Claudius 25.4 does not refer to the event narrated in Dio 60.6.6-7." Slingerland thus states that the fact that Cassius Dio notes that Claudius did not expel the Jews argues against the relevance of the AD 41 date to the Chrestus expulsion. Rainer Riesner states that ancient historians generally hold that Cassius Dio here may have referred to an earlier, more limited action against some Jews, which was later expanded by Claudius to the expulsion of a larger group of Jews.

Raymond E. Brown states that Dio specifically rejects a general expulsion and it would be more reasonable to assume that only the most vocal people on either side of the Christ issue were expelled. Feldman states that the expulsion mentioned by Dio refers to the same event in Suetonius, but had a limited nature. Feldman states that given that Claudius' Jewish friend Agrippa I had been helpful in his ascent to the throne as in Ant 19.236-44, and given Claudius' actions in Ant 20.10-14 it seems hard to believe that Claudius would have expelled all the Jews due to a single agitator, soon after assuming the throne. Feldman states that the most likely explanation is that Claudius at first either expelled only the Christians or restricted public assembly by the Jews.

Orosius

The other date popular among scholars is the year AD 49, partly through a report from the 5th century Christian writer Paulus Orosius and also through scholarly efforts to construct a Pauline chronology using Acts 18:1-18. Here is Orosius citing two sources:

Josephus reports, "In his ninth year the Jews were expelled by Claudius from the city." But Suetonius, who speaks as follows, influences me more: "Claudius expelled from Rome the Jews constantly rioting at the instigation of Christ ." As far as whether he had commanded that the Jews rioting against Christ be restrained and checked or also had wanted the Christians, as persons of a cognate religion, to be expelled, it is not at all to be discerned

The first source used by Orosius, comes from a non-existent quote from Josephus. It is this which provides the date of AD 49. The second source is Suetonius Claudius 25.4. Slingerland contends that Orosius made up the Josephus passage for which no scholar has been able to discover a source. He also argues that the writer is guilty of manipulating source materials for polemic purposes. Brown states more tactfully, "Orosius is not famous for his impeccable accuracy," then adds that "such a date" (i.e. 49) "receives some confirmation from Acts." Feldman states that "there is no such statement in the extant manuscripts of Josephus, and there is reason to believe that this version was created in the mind of Orosius himself." Philip Esler agrees with Slingerland that the AD 49 date "is a creation fully explicable within the tendentious historiography of this author."

However, E. M. Smallwood states that Orosius may have known of a passage from another author but confused the Josephus passage with it, or may have been quoting from memory. Silvia Cappelletti states that the change in spelling was probably not due to Orosius but to an intermediate source he consulted. Cappelletti also states that the lack of the Josephus text referred to does not undermine the authority of the date Orosius has suggested. Bernard Green states that given that this section of Orosius' history is based on the chronological order of events, and that he refers to the expulsion only briefly and attaches no significance to it, Orosius seems to be "guiltlessly reporting" an event based on records he had seen. Rainer Riesner notes that it is not possible for Orosius to have derived the date of the expulsion that he wrote about from the Book of Acts.

Gallio

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The dating related to Acts 18:1-18 is derived from the occurrence of two facts: first the mention of the proconsul Gallio in 18:12 and the existence of an inscription found at Delphi and published in 1905, preserving a letter from Claudius concerning Gallio dated during the 26th acclamation of Claudius, sometime between January 51 and August 52.

Craig S. Keener states that most scholars believe that the Delphi inscription "pinpoints" Gallio's term in Corinth to within a year or two and that his term started in July 51, although some scholars prefer 52. Udo Schnelle states that dates for the reign of Gallio can be determined with a "fair degree of accuracy" given the Delphi inscription and his term started in the summer of 51. F. F. Bruce states that the start of Gallio's term can be inferred "rather precisely" to the summer of 51. James Jeffers supports the year 51 for the start of Gallio's term. In support of the dates accepted by the majority of scholars for the Claudius expulsion of Jews from Rome, Ralph Novak states that the Delphi inscription clearly indicates that Gallio did not assume office any earlier than the spring of 50, adds that he may have served one or two years, and uses that to show how the date ranges are computed. If Claudius's edict were issued in January of 49 and Paul came to Corinth and met Aquila and Priscilla, within six or so months of the edict, then an eighteen-month stay in Corinth would indicate a date after late spring of 50 and many days before January of 51 for Paul's trial. Novak states that on the other hand if Claudius's edict were issued in December of 49, using the same reasoning, the date of Paul's trial would be many days before the January of 52. Michael R. Cosby states that the dates 49-50 for the expulsion of Jews from Rome support the date from the trial of Paul in Corinth, and are consistent with the account of the activities of Priscilla and Aquila given in Acts 18:24-26. Raymond E. Brown supports the dates 49-50 accepted by most scholars. Richard Longenecker states that these dates are "fairly well established" and are the most certain of all dates assigned to the activities of Paul.

Conversely, Collins and Harrington state that Luke's account may be a conflation of various traditions and not entirely accurate. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor indicates that Acts 18 is "much less precise than appears at first sight." The expulsion was from Rome, but Aquila and Priscilla came from Italy, so they may have stayed in Italy after the expulsion, how long "no-one can say". He also questions the exactitude of what is meant by "recently"/"lately".

As seen above, many scholars reject the validity of the Orosius date. Slingerland accepts a wide date range for Paul's trial similar to that of Novak for Gallio's consulship and states that Paul could have arrived in Corinth up to 18 months earlier than the earliest possible start of Gallio's term of office or a short time before the end of Gallio's latest date.

Most scholars agree that this expulsion of some Jews around AD 49-50 is consistent with the chronology of Paul and the time frame Suetonius refers to.

The Nero reference

In Nero 16 Suetonius lists various laws by Nero to maintain public order, including halting chariot races as the drivers were cheating and robbing and pantomime shows which frequently were scenes of brawls. Amongst these is punishment for Christians. He states:

"During his reign many abuses were severely punished and put down, and no fewer new laws were made: a limit was set to expenditures; the public banquets were confined to a distribution of food; the sale of any kind of cooked viands in the taverns was forbidden, with the exception of pulse and vegetables, whereas before every sort of dainty was exposed for sale. Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition. He put an end to the diversions of the chariot drivers, who from immunity of long standing claimed the right of ranging at large and amusing themselves by cheating and robbing the people. The pantomimic actors and their partisans were banished from the city."

K.R. Bradley notes that the verb in the clause "Punishment was inflicted on the Christians" (Latin: afflicti suppliciis christiani) should be corrected to "affecti", based first on the frequent use of this verb with the word for "punishment" and second on the fact that Orosius uses this verb in material dependent on the Suetonius Nero 16 passage. These words in combination indicate that the punishment was capital, e.g. Suet. Augustus 17.5 (death of young Antony), Claudius 26.2 (death of Messalina) and Galba 12.1 (death of officials).

In Roman usage, the word superstitio refers to any type of religious observance that could not be incorporated into traditional Roman religious practice. To Suetonius this superstition was new and mischievous. This may have been the case in Suetonius' time, but Marius Heemstra thinks he was backdating the accusation to the time of Nero.

The passage shows the clear contempt of Suetonius for Christians - the same contempt expressed by Tacitus and Pliny the younger in their writings. Stephen Benko states that the contempt of Suetonius is quite clear, as he reduces Christians to the lowest ranks of society and his statement echoes the sentiments of Pliny and Tacitus.

The punishment of Christians by Nero are generally dated to around AD 64. Unlike Tacitus' reference to the persecution of Christians by Nero, Suetonius does not relate the persecution to the Great Fire of Rome.

See also

• Historicity of Jesus
• Historical Jesus
• Josephus on Jesus
• Lucian on Jesus
• Mara Bar-Serapion
• Pliny the Younger on Christians
• Tacitus on Christ

References

1. ^ Suetonius, Catharine Edwards. Lives of the Caesars (2001) ISBN 0192832719 pp. 184, 203
2. ^ John Dominic Crossan, Birth of Christianity (1999) ISBN 0567086682 p. 3
3. Van Voorst, Jesus, 2000. pp. 29-30
4. ^ Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament (2009) ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3 p. 110
5. Van Voorst, Jesus, 2000. pp. 38-39
6. ^ Eddy, Paul; Boyd, Gregory. The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition (2007) ISBN 0-8010-3114-1 pages 166
7. ^ Craig S. Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels (2012) ISBN 0802868886 p. 66
8. ^ Louis H. Feldman, Jewish Life and Thought among Greeks and Romans (Oct 1, 1996) ISBN 0567085252 p. 332
9. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume 4, (Eerdmans, 1959) ISBN 9780802837844 p.216, col.2.
10. ^ Matthew Bunson, Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire 1994 ISBN 081602135X page 111
11. ^ Wylen, Stephen M., The Jews in the Time of Jesus: An Introduction, Paulist Press (1995), ISBN 0-8091-3610-4, pp.190-192; Dunn, James D.G., Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, 70 to 135, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1999), ISBN 0-8028-4498-7, Pp 33-34.; Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro & Gargola, Daniel J & Talbert, Richard John Alexander, The Romans: From Village to Empire, Oxford University Press (2004), ISBN 0-19-511875-8, p.426;
12. C. Adrian Thomas, A Case for Mixed-Audience With Reference to the Warning Passages in the Book of Hebrews, Peter Lang Pub (2008) p 116
13. Van Voorst, Jesus, 2000. p 30-31
14. De Vita Caesarum (C. Suetoni Tranquilli Opera. Vol. 1, ed. M. Ihm, 1908) OCLC 462167701.
15. Boman (2012) states that there are many different spellings of this word in the manuscripts he examined, namely "Chresto, Cherestro, Cresto, Chrestro, Cheresto, Christo, xpo, xpisto, and Cristo". The readings Chestro and Chirestro, mentioned by earlier scholars, "might indeed be only scholarly misspellings" he writes. He concludes that "the majority of the 41 manuscripts collected , including a vast majority of the oldest and most trustworthy manuscripts from the 9th to the 13th century, belonging to both families read Chresto" and that "it is incorrect to claim that only one manuscript contains this reading (Torrentius), that Chresto is only an occasional reading (Botermann) or that no copyist ever wrote Christo (Van Voorst)", "that Cherestro, and other similar spellings, in all likelihood are at best mere scribal or scholarly conjectures, but rather pure scribal errors which have been incautiously transmitted" and that "Christ-spellings in the MSS most likely are the conjectures by Christian scribes or scholars"; see J. Boman, Inpulsore Cherestro? Suetonius’ Divus Claudius 25.4 in Sources and Manuscripts, Liber Annuus 61 (2011), ISSN 0081-8933, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Jerusalem 2012, p. 375 f
16. Gruen, Eric (1998), "review of H. Dixon Slingerland, Claudian Policymaking and the Early Imperial Repression of Judaism at Rome", Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 1998-07-02. Donna Hurley also notes that impulsore Chresto is "surely the most notorious phrase Suetonius ever wrote." (Donna W. Hurley (ed.), Suetonius: Diuus Claudius (Cambridge University Press, 2001) ISBN 9780521596763 p.177.)
17. Leonard Victor Rutgers, "Roman Policy towards the Jews: Expulsions from the City of Rome during the First Century C.E." in Classical Antiquity 13, 1 (1994) p.66 JSTOR 25011005.
18. Wm L. Lane, p.204.
19. ^ D. Slingerland, "Chrestus: Christus?" in A. J. Avery-Peck, New Perspectives on Ancient Judaism 4 (Lanham: University Press of America, 1989) ISBN 9780819171795 p.143. The same view has been espoused by Neil Elliot, ('impulsore Chresto probably refers to "Chrestus" having prompted Claudius' expulsion, not the Jews' disturbances': Neil Elliot, "The Letter to the Romans" in R. S. Sugirtharajah and Fernando F. Segovia (eds.) A Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings (T.& T.Clark, 2009) ISBN 9780567637079 p.198) and Ian Rock ("there is sufficient reason to believe that either Chrestus may have been the impulsor to Claudius given the evidence that powerful freedmen influenced Claudius' decisions": Ian E. Rock, "Another Reason for Romans - A Pastoral Response to Augustan Imperial Theology: Paul's Use of the Song of Moses in Romans 9-11 and 14-15" in Kathy Ehrensperger, J. Brian Tucker (eds.) Reading Paul In Context: Explorations In Identity Formation; Essays In Honour Of William S. Campbell (T.& T.Clark, 2010) ISBN 9780567024671, p.75).
20. J. Boman, Inpulsore Cherestro? Suetonius’ Divus Claudius 25.4 in Sources and Manuscripts, p. 356
21. ^ James D. G. Dunn Jesus Remembered (2003) ISBN 0-8028-3931-2 pp. 141-143
22. ^ William L. Lane in Judaism and Christianity in First-Century Rome edited by Karl Paul Donfried and Peter Richardson (1998) ISBN 0802842658 pp. 204-206
23. R.T. France, The Evidence for Jesus, Hodder & Stoughton (1986) p. 42.
24. R. T. France. The Evidence for Jesus. (2006) Regent College Publishing ISBN 1-57383-370-3. p. 42
25. Van Voorst, page 33
26. Terence L. Donaldson, Judaism and the Gentiles: Jewish Patterns of Universalism (to 135 CE), Waco, Tex.: Baylor University Press, 2007, p. 609 f
27. Francesco Carotta, Jesus was Caesar: On the Julian Origin of Christianity, Aspekt, Soesterberg 2005, p. 150
28. As translated by Molly Whittaker, Jews and Christians: Graeco-Roman Views, (Cambridge University Press, 1984), p. 105.
29. ^ Van Voorst, Jesus, 2000. pp 31-32
30. Van Voorst, Jesus, 2000. p. 32.
31. ^ E. Mary Smallwood, The Jews Under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian (Oct 1, 2001) ISBN 039104155X pp. 210-211
32. H. Solin, "Juden und Syrer im westlichen Teil der römischen Welt" in Hildegard Temporini, Wolfgang Haase (eds.), Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms in Spiegel der neueren Forschung, Volumes 2-22 (Walter De Gruyter, 1983) ISBN 9783110095258 p. 659.
33. Frederick Fyvie Bruce The Letter of Paul to the Romans ISBN 0802800629 pp. 16-17
34. Edwin M. Yamauchi, "Jesus Outside the New Testament: What Is the Evidence?", in Jesus Under Fire, Michael J. Wilkins & J.P. Moreland (eds.), Grand Rapids: Zondervan, (1995) ISBN 0-310-21139-5, p.215
35. John Granger Cook, Roman Attitudes Toward the Christians: From Claudius to Hadrian, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, (2010) ISBN 9783161505539, p.27.
36. Amy-Jill Levine, "Introduction" in The historical Jesus in context, A.J. Levine, Dale C. Allison, Jr., and John Dominic Crossan, (eds.), Princeton University Press, (2006) ISBN 978-0691009926, p.22.
37. Van Voorst page 37
38. Barbara Levick, Claudius (Yale University Press, 1993) ISBN 9780300058314 p.121-122.
39. J. Mottershead (ed.), Claudius, ed. with commentary (Bristol : Bristol Classical Press, 1986) p.50.
40. Donna W. Hurley (ed.), Suetonius: Diuus Claudius (Cambridge University Press, 2001) ISBN 9780521596763 p.176.
41. J. Boman, Inpulsore Cherestro? Suetonius’ Divus Claudius 25.4 in Sources and Manuscripts, p. 375
42. Antioch and Rome by Raymond E. Brown and John P. Meier (May 1983) ISBN 0809125323 pages 100-101
43. Irina Levinskaya, The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, Volume 5 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996) ISBN 9780802824370 p.181
44. Nancy Calvert Koyzis Paul, Monotheism and The People of God (2 Dec 2004) ISBN 0567083780 page 116
45. Andrew D. Clarke, "Rome and Italy", in David W.J. Gill & Conrad Gempf, The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994) ISBN 0853645647 pp.470, 471.
46. Van Voorst, Jesus, 2000. pp. 37
47. E. A. Judge (2008). James R. Harrison (ed.). The First Christians in the Roman World: Augustan and New Testament Essays. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 9783161493102. p.446.
48. Donna W. Hurley (ed.), Suetonius: Diuus Claudius (Cambridge University Press, 2001) ISBN 9780521596763 p.177.
49. Brian Incigneri, The Gospel to the Romans (Leiden: Brill, 2003) ISBN 9004131086 p.211.
50. The Jewish Community in Rome: From the Second Century B. C. to the Third Century by Silvia Cappelletti (Aug 1, 2006) ISBN 9004151575 page 76
51. Neil Elliot, "The Letter to the Romans" in R. S. Sugirtharajah and Fernando F. Segovia (eds.) A Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings (T.& T.Clark, 2009) ISBN 9780567637079 p.5.
52. ^ Slingerland, 'Suetonius "Claudius" 25.4 and the Account in Cassius Dio', JQR 79, 4, p.306
53. ^ Jerome Murphy-O'Connor St. Paul's Corinth: Texts and Archaeology (Aug 1, 2002) ISBN 0814653030 p.152
54. ^ Rainer Riesner "Pauline Chronology" in Stephen Westerholm The Blackwell Companion to Paul (May 16, 2011) ISBN 1405188448 pp.13-14
55. Slingerland, 'Cassius Dio', JQR 79, 4, p.316
56. Slingerland, 'Cassius Dio', JQR 79, 4, (1988) p.307
57. Slingerland, 'Cassius Dio', JQR 79, 4, (1988) p.321-22
58. ^ Raymond E. Brown and John P. Meier Antioch and Rome (May 1983) ISBN 0809125323 page 102
59. ^ Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World by Louis H. Feldman (Oct 14, 1996) ISBN 069102927X page 304
60. Historiarum adversum paganos libri VII 7.6.15-16, cited in Slingerland, 'Orosius', JQR 83, 1/2 (1992), p. 137.
61. Slingerland, 'Orosius', JQR 83, 1/2 (1992), p. 137.
62. Slingerland, 'Orosius', JQR 83, 1/2 (1992), p. 142.
63. Slingerland, 'Orosius', JQR 83, 1/2 (1992), pp. 139-141.
64. Louis H. Feldman, Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions From Alexander To Justinian (Princeton University Press, 1996) ISBN 9780691029276 p.304.
65. Philip Francis Esler, Conflict and Identity in Romans: The Social Setting of Paul's Letter (Augsburg Fortress, 2004) ISBN 9780800634353 p.99.
66. ^ The Jewish Community in Rome: From the Second Century B. C. to the Third Century C. E. by Silvia Cappelletti (Aug 1, 2006) ISBN 9004151575 pp. 73-74
67. Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries by Bernard Green (Apr 15, 2010) ISBN 0567032507 page 25
68. Paul: his letters and his theology by Stanley B. Marrow 1986 ISBN 0-8091-2744-X pages 45-49
69. "The Gallio Inscription". Retrieved 2012-08-19.
70. John B. Polhill, Paul and His Letters, B&H Publishing Group, 1999, ISBN 9780805410976, p.78.
71. ^ Craig S. Keener in The Blackwell Companion to Paul edited by Stephen Westerholm 2011 ISBN 1405188448 page 51
72. Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology by Udo Schnelle 2005 ISBN 0801027969 page 49
73. The Book of Acts by F. F. Bruce 1998 ISBN 0802825052 page
74. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era by James S. Jeffers (Oct 7, 1999) ISBN 0830815899 page 164
75. ^ Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts by Ralph Martin Novak 2001 ISBN 1-56338-347-0 pages 18-22
76. Apostle on the Edge: An Inductive Approach to Paul by Michael R. Cosby (Oct 20, 2009) ISBN 0664233082 pages 142-143
77. Introduction to the New Testament by Raymond E. Brown (30 Nov 1997) ISBN 0385247672 page 433
78. Introducing Romans: Critical Issues in Paul's Most Famous Letter by Richard N. Longenecker (Mar 25, 2011) ISBN 0802866190 pages 46-47
79. Raymond F. Collins, Daniel J. Harrington, First Corinthians (Liturgical Press, 1993) ISBN 9780814658093 p.24.
80. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, St. Paul's Corinth: Text and Archaeology (Liturgical Press, 2002) ISBN 9780814653036 p.159.
81. Slingerland, 'Orosius', JQR 83, 1/2 (1992), p.134.
82. Gregory E. Sterling. "Customs Which Are Not Lawful: The Social Apology of Luke-Acts". Leaven. Retrieved 2012-08-20. p.1. (pdf)
83. The spelling christiani "seems to be the original reading"; cf. J. Boman, Inpulsore Cherestro? Suetonius’ Divus Claudius 25.4 in Sources and Manuscripts, p. 355, n. 2
84. K. R. Bradley, "Suetonius, Nero 16.2: ‘afflicti suppliciis christian’", The Classical Review, 22, p.10.
85. Marius Heemstra, The Fiscus Judaicus and the Parting of the Ways (Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Company 2010) ISBN 9783161503832, p.89.
86. Stephen Benko, Pagan Rome and the Early Christians (Indiana University Press, 1986) ISBN 0253203856 page 20

Bibliography

• Barry Baldwin, Suetonius: Biographer of the Caesars. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert, 1983 ISBN 9789025608460.
• H. Dixon Slingerland, 'Suetonius "Claudius" 25.4 and the Account in Cassius Dio', JQR 79, 4 (1988) pp. 305–322. (Cassius Dio) JSTOR 1453891
• H. Dixon Slingerland, 'Suetonius Claudius 25.4, Acts 18, and Paulus Orosius' "Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII:" Dating the Claudian Expulsion(s) of Roman Jews', JQR 83, 1/2 (1992) pp. 127–144. (Orosius) JSTOR 1455110
• H. Dixon Slingerland, 'Acts 18:1-18, the Gallio Inscription, and Absolute Pauline Chronology', JBL 110, 3 (1991) pp. 439–449. (Gallio) JSTOR 3267781
• Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, (2000) (Jesus) ISBN 9780802843685

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from August 2012
• Christianity under the Roman Empire
• Jesus and history