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===Authenticity===
===Authenticity===
[[Image:Lipsius manuscript.jpg|thumb|180px|The title page of 1598 edition of the works of Tacitus, kept in [[Empoli]], [[Italy]].]]
[[Image:Lipsius manuscript.jpg|thumb|180px|The title page of 1598 edition of the works of Tacitus, kept in [[Empoli]], [[Italy]].]]

The authenticity of the ''Annals'' has been challenged several times since 1775, by [[Voltaire]], Linguet, John Wilson Ross, P. Hochart, [[Leo Wiener]], Eugène Bacha and T. S. Jerome.<ref>Clarence W. Mendell, ''Tacitus: The Man And His Work'' (Yale University Press/Oxford University Press, 1957).</ref>

Most scholars consider the passage to be authentic.<ref name=VVoorst39 /><ref name=Portier263 /> Although a few scholars question the passage given that Tacitus was born 25 years after Jesus, the majority of scholars consider it genuine.<ref name=VVoorst39 /> William L. Portier has stated that the consistency in the references by Tacitus, Josephus and the letters to [[Emperor Trajan]] by [[Pliny the Younger]] reaffirm the validity of all three accounts.<ref name=Portier263 >''Tradition and Incarnation: Foundations of Christian Theology'' by William L. Portier 1993 ISBN 0809134675 page 263</ref>
Most scholars consider the passage to be authentic.<ref name=VVoorst39 /><ref name=Portier263 /> Although a few scholars question the passage given that Tacitus was born 25 years after Jesus, the majority of scholars consider it genuine.<ref name=VVoorst39 /> William L. Portier has stated that the consistency in the references by Tacitus, Josephus and the letters to [[Emperor Trajan]] by [[Pliny the Younger]] reaffirm the validity of all three accounts.<ref name=Portier263 >''Tradition and Incarnation: Foundations of Christian Theology'' by William L. Portier 1993 ISBN 0809134675 page 263</ref>


Revision as of 17:39, 5 March 2012

This article is part of the Jesus and history series of articles.
Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus
Bornca 56 A.D.
Diedca 117 A.D.
OccupationSenator, consul, governor, historian
GenreHistory, Silver Age of Latin
SubjectHistory, biography, oratory

The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Christ, his execution by Pontius Pilate and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, Annals (written ca. 116 AD), book 15, chapter 44.

The context of the passage is the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of the city in 64 AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero.[1] The passage is one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origin of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the Canonical gospels, and the presence and persecution of Christians in 1st-century Rome.[2][3]

Scholars generally consider Tacitus's reference to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate to be both authentic, and of historical value as an independent Roman source, [4][5][6] although the authenticity of the Annals has been challenged and disputed. [7]

The passage is also of historical value in establishing three separate facts about Rome around 60 AD, namely that there was a sizable number of Christians in Rome at the time, that it was possible to distinguish between Christians and Jews in Rome and that at the time pagans made a connection between Christianity in Rome and its origin in Judea.[8][9]

The earliest surviving manuscript of the Annals dates from the ninth century, known as the "first Medicean" (technically referred to as M or M1). [10]

Part of a series on
Jesus
Jesus in Christianity
Jesus in Islam
Background
Jesus in history
Perspectives on Jesus
Jesus in culture

The passage and its context

The Annals passage (15.44), which has been subjected to much scholarly analysis, follows a description of the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of Rome in July 64 AD.[2]

The key part of the passage reads as follows:

"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind".

Tacitus then describes the torture of Christians. The exact cause of the fire remains uncertain, but much of the population of Rome suspected that Emperor Nero had started the fire himself.[2] To divert attention from himself, Nero accused the Christians of starting the fire and persecuted them, making this the first confrontation between Christians and the authorities in Rome.[2] Tacitus never accused Nero of playing the lyre while Rome burned - that statement came Cassius Dio who died in the 3rd century.[1] But Tacitus did suggest that Nero used the Christians as scapegoats.[11]

No original copies of the Annals exist and the surviving copies of Tacitus' works derive from two principal manuscripts, known as the Medicean manuscripts, written in Latin, which are held in the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy.[12] It is the second Medicean manuscript, 11th century and from the Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino, which is the oldest surviving copy of the passage describing Christians.[13] Scholars generally agree that these copies were written at Monte Cassino and the end of the document refers to Abbas Raynaldus cu... who was most probably one of the two abbot of that name at the abbey during that period.[13]

Specific references

Christians and Chrestians

Detail of the 11th century copy of Annals, the gap between the 'i' and 's' is highlighted in the word 'Christianos'.

The passage states:

"... called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin ...."

In 1902 Georg Andresen commented on the appearance of the first 'i' and subsequent gap in the 11th century copy of the Annals in Florence, suggesting that the text had been altered, and an 'e' had originally been in the text, rather than this 'i'.[14] This has since given rise to debates among scholars as to whether Tacitus deliberately used the term Chrestians, or Christians, or if a scribe made an error during the Middle Ages.[15][16]

Both the terms Christians and Chrestians had at times been used by the general population in Rome to refer to early Christians.[17] Many sources indicate that the term Chrestians was also used among the early followers of Jesus by the 2nd century.[18][16] The term Christians appears only three times in the New Testament, the first usage (Acts 11:26) giving the origin of the term.[16] In all three cases the uncorrected Codex Sinaiticus in Greek reads Chrestianoi.[16][18] In Phrygia a number of funerary stone inscriptions use the term Chrestians, with one stone inscription using both terms together, reading: "Chrestians for Christians".[18]

Adolf von Harnack argued that Chrestians was the original wording, and that Tacitus deliberately used Christus immediately after it to show his own superior knowledge compared to the population at large.[16] Robert Renehan has stated that it was natural for a Roman to mix the two words that sounded the same, that Chrestianos was the original word in the Annals and not an error by a scribe.[19][20] Robert Van Voorst has stated that it was unlikely for Tacitus himself to refer to Christians as Chrestianos i.e. "useful ones" given that he also referred to them as "hated for their shameful acts".[15] Paul Eddy sees no major impact on the authenticity of the passage or its meaning regardless of the use of either term by Tacitus.[21]

The rank of Pilate

Pilate's rank while he was governor of Iudaea province appeared in a Latin inscription which called him a prefect exactly as stated in the Gospel of Luke, while this Tacitean passage calls him a procurator. Josephus refers to him with the generic Greek term ηγεμων, or governor. Van Voorst thinks that the use of such different terms is what one would expect from witnesses writing in different languages, at different times in history.[22]

Tacitus records that Claudius was the ruler who gave procurators governing power.[23][24] After Herod Agrippa's death in 44 A.D., when Judea reverted to direct Roman rule, Claudius gave procurators control over Judea.[2][25][26]

Bruce Chilton and Craig Evans state that Tacitus apparently used the title "procurator" because it was more common at the time of his writing and that this variation in the use of the title should not be taken as evidence to doubt the correctness of the information Tacitus provides. [27]

Authenticity and historical value

Authenticity

The title page of 1598 edition of the works of Tacitus, kept in Empoli, Italy.

The authenticity of the Annals has been challenged several times since 1775, by Voltaire, Linguet, John Wilson Ross, P. Hochart, Leo Wiener, Eugène Bacha and T. S. Jerome.[28]

Most scholars consider the passage to be authentic.[29][30] Although a few scholars question the passage given that Tacitus was born 25 years after Jesus, the majority of scholars consider it genuine.[29] William L. Portier has stated that the consistency in the references by Tacitus, Josephus and the letters to Emperor Trajan by Pliny the Younger reaffirm the validity of all three accounts.[30]

Tacitus was a patriotic Roman senator.[31][32] His writings shows no sympathy towards Christians, or knowledge of who their leader was.[4][33] His characterization of "Christian abominations" may have been based on the rumors in Rome that during the Eucharist rituals Christians ate the body and drank the blood of their God, interpreting the symbolic ritual as cannibalism by Christians.[34][35]

Robert E. Van Voorst states that the passage is unlikely to be a Christian forgery because of the pejorative language used to describe Christianity.[29] John P. Meier states that there is no historical or archaeological evidence to support the argument that a scribe may have introduced the passage into the text.[36]

Tacitus was about 7 years old at the time of the Great Fire of Rome, and as other Romans as he grew up he would have most likely heard about the fire that destroyed most of the city, and Nero's accusations against Christians.[11] When he wrote his account, Tacitus was the governor of the province of Asia, and as a member of the inner circle in Rome he would have known of the official position with respect to the fire and the Christians.[11]

In 1885 P. Hochart had proposed that it was a pious fraud,[37] but the editor of the 1907 Oxford edition dismissed his suggestion and treated the passage as genuine.[38] Scholars such as Bruce Chilton, Craig Evans, Paul R. Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd agree with John Meier's statement that: "Despite some feeble attempts to show that this text is a Christian interpolation in Tacitus, the passage is obviously genuine.”[39][27]

Historical value

The Fire of Rome, by Karl von Piloty, 1861. According to Tacitus, Nero targeted Christians as those responsible for the fire.

Scholars generally consider Tacitus's reference to be genuine and of historical value as an independent Roman source about early Christianity that is in unison with other historical records.[4][40][41][30]

Robert E. Van Voorst states that "of all Roman writers, Tacitus gives us the most precise information about Christ".[29] John Dominic Crossan considers the passage important in establishing that Jesus existed and was crucified, and states: "That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus...agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact."[42]

Some scholars have debated the historical value of the passage, given that Tacitus does not reveal the source of his information.[43] Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz argue that Tacitus at times had drawn on earlier historical works now lost to us, and he may have used official sources from a Roman archive in this case; however, if Tacitus had been copying from an official source, some scholars would expect him to have labeled Pilate correctly as a prefect rather than a procurator.[44] Theissen and Merz state that Tacitus gives us a description of widespread prejudices about Christianity and a few precise details about "Christus" and Christianity, the source of which remains unclear.[45] However, Paul R. Eddy has stated that given his position as a senator Tacitus was also likely to have had access to official Roman documents of the time and did not need other sources.[21]

Scholars have also debated the issue of hearsay in the reference by Tacitus. Charles Guignebert argued that "So long as there is that possibility [that Tacitus is merely echoing what Christians themselves were saying], the passage remains quite worthless".[46] R. T. France states that the Tacitus passage is at best just Tacitus repeating what he had heard through Christians.[47] However, Paul R. Eddy has stated that as Rome's preeminent historian, Tacitus was generally known for checking his sources and was not in the habit of reporting gossip.[21] Biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman wrote: "Tacitus's report confirms what we know from other sources, that Jesus was executed by order of the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, sometime during Tiberius's reign."[48]

James D. G. Dunn considers the passage as useful in establishing facts about early Christians, e.g. that there was a sizable number of Christians in Rome around AD 60.[8] Dunn states that Tacitus seems to be under the impression that Christians were some form of Judaism, although distinguished from them.[8] Raymond E. Brown and John P. Meier state that in addition to establishing that there was a large body of Christians in Rome, the Tacitus passage provides two other important pieces of historical information, namely that by around AD 60 it was possible to distinguish between Christians and Jews in Rome and that even pagans made a connection between Christianity in Rome and its origin in Judea.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Stephen Dando-Collins 2010 The Great Fire of Rome ISBN 9780306818905 pages 1-4
  2. ^ a b c d e A political history of early Christianity by Allen Brent 2009 ISBN 0567031756 pages 32-34
  3. ^ Robert Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000. p 39- 53
  4. ^ a b c Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies by Craig A. Evans 2001 ISBN 0391041185 page 42
  5. ^ Mercer dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 2001 ISBN 0865543739 page 343
  6. ^ Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation by Helen K. Bond 2004 ISBN 0521616204 page xi
  7. ^ John Wilson Ross, Tacitus and Bracciolini: The Annals Forged In The XVth Century (The Echo Library, 2007). ISBN 978-1-40684-051-3. Originally published London: Diprose and Bateman, 1878.
  8. ^ a b c Beginning from Jerusalem by James D. G. Dunn 2008 ISBN 0802839320 pages 56-57
  9. ^ a b Antioch and Rome: New Testament cradles of Catholic Christianity by Raymond Edward Brown, John P. Meier 1983 ISBN 0809125323 page 99
  10. ^ Cornelius Tacitus, Anthony John Woodman, Tacitus: The Annals, page xxvii (Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2004). ISBN 978-0-87220-559-8
  11. ^ a b c Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times by Paul Barnett 2002 ISBN 0830826998 page 30
  12. ^ Cornelii Taciti Annalium, Libri V, VI, XI, XII: With Introduction and Notes by Henry Furneaux, H. Pitman 2010 ISBN 1108012396 page iv
  13. ^ a b Newton, Francis, The Scriptorium and Library at Monte Cassino, 1058–1105, ISBN 0521583950 Cambridge University Press, 1999. "The Date of the Medicean Tacitus (Flor. Laur. 68.2)", p. 96-97. [1]
  14. ^ Georg Andresen in Wochenschrift fur klassische Philologie 19, 1902, p. 780f
  15. ^ a b Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing ISBN 0802843689 pages 44-48
  16. ^ a b c d e International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1995 ISBN 0802837816 page 657
  17. ^ Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries by Peter Lampe 2006 ISBN 0826481027 page 12
  18. ^ a b c Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence Eerdmans Publishing ISBN 0802843689 pages 33-35
  19. ^ Robert Renehan, "Christus or Chrestus in Tacitus?", La Parola del Passato 122 (1968), pp. 368-370
  20. ^ Transactions and proceedings of the American Philological Association, Volume 29, JSTOR (Organization), 2007. p vii
  21. ^ a b c The Jesus legend: a case for the historical reliability of the synoptic gospels by Paul R. Eddy, et al 2007 ISBN 0801031141 pages 181-183
  22. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000. p 39-53
  23. ^ Tacitus, Annals 12.60: Claudius said that the judgments of his procurators had the same efficacy as those judgments he made.
  24. ^ P. A. Brunt, Roman imperial themes, Oxford University Press, 1990, ISBN 0198144768, 9780198144762. p.167.
  25. ^ Tacitus, Histories 5.9.8.
  26. ^ Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1988. ISBN 0802837859, 9780802837851. p.979, col.1.
  27. ^ a b Studying the historical Jesus: evaluations of the state of current research by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998 ISBN 9004111425 pages 465-466
  28. ^ Clarence W. Mendell, Tacitus: The Man And His Work (Yale University Press/Oxford University Press, 1957).
  29. ^ a b c d Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000. p 39- 53
  30. ^ a b c Tradition and Incarnation: Foundations of Christian Theology by William L. Portier 1993 ISBN 0809134675 page 263
  31. ^ Josephus, the Bible, and history by Louis H. Feldman 1997 ISBN 9004089314 page 381
  32. ^ Jesus as a figure in history: how modern historians view the man from Galilee by Mark Allan Powell 1998 ISBN 0664257038 page 33
  33. ^ Ancient Rome by William E. Dunstan 2010 ISBN 0742568334 page 293
  34. ^ Ancient Rome by William E. Dunstan 2010 ISBN 0742568334 page 293
  35. ^ An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity by Delbert Royce Burkett 2002 ISBN 0521007208 page 485
  36. ^ Meier, John P., A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Doubleday: 1991. vol 1: p. 168-171.
  37. ^ Henry Furneaux, ed., Cornelii Taciti Annalium ab excessu divi augusti libri. The annals of Tacitus with introduction and notes, 2nd ed., vol. ii, books xi-xvi. Clarendon, 1907. Appendix II, p. 416f."
  38. ^ Henry Furneaux, ed., Cornelii Taciti Annalium ab excessu divi augusti libri. The annals of Tacitus with introduction and notes, 2nd ed., vol. ii, books xi-xvi. Clarendon, 1907. Appendix II, p.418
  39. ^ The Jesus Legend: a case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition by Paul R. Eddy, Gregory A. Boyd 2007 ISBN 0801031141 page 181
  40. ^ Mercer dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 2001 ISBN 0865543739 page 343
  41. ^ Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation by Helen K. Bond 2004 ISBN 0521616204 page xi
  42. ^ Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. ISBN 0060616628 page 145
  43. ^ F.F. Bruce,Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974) p. 23
  44. ^ Theissen and Merz p.83
  45. ^ Theissen, Gerd; Merz, Annette (1998). The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780800631222. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ Jesus, University Books, New York, 1956, p.13
  47. ^ France, RT (1986). Evidence for Jesus (Jesus Library). Trafalgar Square Publishing. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0340381728.
  48. ^ Ehrman p 212

Further reading

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