Jewish Life in First Century Palestine
The Jewish people in first century Palestine saw their religious faith as part of their daily lives. Many of their daily activities were therefore based around fulfilling the mitzvoth, or commandments that are found in the Torah. In the time of Jesus, Jewish life and culture centred around the Temple. This was actually the second Temple which had been rebuilt by Herod the Great after the first Temple, Solomon’s Temple, was destroyed in 587BCE. Crowds of people thronged in and out of the Temple every day, making ritual animal sacrifices to atone for particular sins, which was another common practice for Jewish people of the time.
Jesus' family would have made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer the prescribed animal sacrifice of thanksgiving for his birth, as described in Luke 2:25-40. It also would have been logical for Joseph and Mary to take their son to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover around the time of his rite of passage into religious adulthood when Jesus was 12, as described in Luke 2:41-51.
In first century Palestine there were many sects and schools in Jewish society. These included the Essenes, who separated themselves from the community and the Pharisees who are depicted negatively in the New Testament. The Pharisees are clearly seen as the opponents of Jesus. The Pharisees though were a scholarly group who had a reputation as the most meticulous observers of the ancestral laws. Their opponents were the Sadducees, who were religious but did not believe in the authoritative nature of the ancestral laws. There were also a wide range of religious and political groups at the time of Jesus including the Zealots and Sicarii. The most numerous group was though the general population of Jewish people. They observed the Sabbath, the holidays and the festivals. They went on pilgrimage to the Temple, observed the Jewish food laws and rituals, believed in the one God and followed the ways by which to make daily life holy.
Despite these common religious practices, the Roman Empire overshadowed the Jews' daily lives, whether they lived in the city or they were from the villages scattered around the area. Roman occupation of the area affected the Jewish people on many levels, from oppressive taxes to physical abuse by soldiers. The Jewish people of first century Palestine struggled to gain independence from the Romans but with little success. Finally, first-century Jewish society was devastated in 70 CE when Roman legions sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.
Jesus' family would have made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer the prescribed animal sacrifice of thanksgiving for his birth, as described in Luke 2:25-40. It also would have been logical for Joseph and Mary to take their son to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover around the time of his rite of passage into religious adulthood when Jesus was 12, as described in Luke 2:41-51.
In first century Palestine there were many sects and schools in Jewish society. These included the Essenes, who separated themselves from the community and the Pharisees who are depicted negatively in the New Testament. The Pharisees are clearly seen as the opponents of Jesus. The Pharisees though were a scholarly group who had a reputation as the most meticulous observers of the ancestral laws. Their opponents were the Sadducees, who were religious but did not believe in the authoritative nature of the ancestral laws. There were also a wide range of religious and political groups at the time of Jesus including the Zealots and Sicarii. The most numerous group was though the general population of Jewish people. They observed the Sabbath, the holidays and the festivals. They went on pilgrimage to the Temple, observed the Jewish food laws and rituals, believed in the one God and followed the ways by which to make daily life holy.
Despite these common religious practices, the Roman Empire overshadowed the Jews' daily lives, whether they lived in the city or they were from the villages scattered around the area. Roman occupation of the area affected the Jewish people on many levels, from oppressive taxes to physical abuse by soldiers. The Jewish people of first century Palestine struggled to gain independence from the Romans but with little success. Finally, first-century Jewish society was devastated in 70 CE when Roman legions sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.
Explore daily life in the time of Jesus through the website Nazareth Village.
For further and more detailed information on first century Palestine explore the website My Jewish Learning.
