Corpus-Paul

[Richard Fellows <rfellows AT intergate.ca>]

Jim Miller wrote:

>First, I should mention that I am not interested in the Timothy question. 
> I have an interest in the Jewish population of central Anatolia which is 
>only occasionally tangental to this newsgroup.  But I do notice that Paul 
>tended to evangelize where synagogues were already established.  And somehow 
>central Anatolia managed to have enough of a Jewish presence that Paul's 
>preaching in a local synagogue could raise the interest of the whole city
(if 
>Acts 13-14 is to be believed).  So, IMHO,  Acts would have had some 
>difficulty in being accepted if those synagogues were a mere fiction.  Acts 
>tells us that the Jewish presence was there in Pisidian Antioch and in 
>Iconium (which is in Lycaonia).  A significant Jewish presence in Lystra and 
>Derbe is not specified in Acts, but the silence should not be taken as proof 
>against.  It might only mean that the local Jews did not take offence at 
>Paul's preaching.

I agree that there were Jews in Psidian Antioch and in Iconium, and that
their presence there was probably due to the action of Antiochus. He moved
2000 Jewish families from Babylon to "Lydia and Phrygia", according to
Josephus. Iconium, I understand, was considered either Phrygian or
Lycaonian. Lystra, on the other hand, was unambiguously Lycaonian, so was
not in the right region to have inherited Jews from Babylon. Furthermore,
Lystra was founded as a Roman colony in 25BC, or thereabouts. We know
nothing of Lystra prior to this date so it was probably nothing more than a
village. It is therefore both chronologically and geographically unlikely
that Lystra received Jews from Babylon.

But did some Jews from Iconium migrate to Lystra after the founding of the
city? This is possible, but it seems more likely that Lystra was settled by
the surrounding Lycaonian population, not by people from Iconium. Acts
tells us that they spoke a Lycaonian tongue in Lystra, and 14:6 implies
that Lystra and Derbe were ethnically distinct from Iconium. I understand
that there is evidence that Phrygian, not Lycaonian, was spoken in Iconium.
Can anyone help with sources on this question? 

There may have been some Jews among the former soldiers who settled in
Lystra. But I'm not sure how many there would have been. Jews were exempt
from military service. Can anyone shed any light on this?

>    Josephus explains how at least some of those Jews settled in central 
>Anatolia.  And "2000 families" should not be counted an insignificant 
>presence.  At least in the eyes of Josephus such a number is sufficient to 
>pacify a troubled province and to explain the significant Jewish presence in 
>central Anatolia.  For all we know Josephus made the number up and was a bit 
>unclear on the exact settlement pattern.

But doesn't Josephus normally OVERestimate numbers?

Lastly, I am sympathetic to the idea that Paul chose to evangelize cities
with a large Jewish presence. But unlike other cities, Paul did not go to
Lystra as part of a planned evangelization itinerary. He fled there to
escape persecution in Iconium.

So, I think there is a rather low probability of there being many Jews in
Lystra. This is one reason (though not the major reason) why I believe
Timothy was from Antioch.

Richard Fellows.