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.” In Acts of the Apostles (18:2) the writer makes the following parallel commentary “And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a…
Month: September 2016
Brief Summary of Apocrypha
Tobit Carried away captive to Nineveh. Had a political post with Shalmanesar. Tobit mentions his own righteousness, his givings to the poor, and particularly his burying of Jewish corpses left out. This annoyed the king. He says that those who give to the poor are blessed. He has a son called Tobias. One day Tobit is sleeping outside…
Brief Notes on 1 and 2 Maccabees
1 Maccabees Alexander the Great son of Philip of Macedonia wins against Darius of the Medes and Persians. Kills many kings. When he dies he splits his empire up among 4 generals who grew up with him. A bit further on Antiochus Epiphanes defeats Egypt. Then wants all his lands to give up their religions and sacrifice the Greek…