Somewhere in the middle, continued:Tax collectors (publicans)Bought positionAssessment arbitraryFill quotaShaky heritageHigh net worthVery low esteem with allMatthew 5:43-48Matthew 18:15-17Matthew 9:9-13Luke 18:9-14Matthew 21:23-31, 33-46Luke 19:1-10 – Zaccheus was a rich tax collector.The elitesThe richUsually the most successful farmers and merchantsNot always SadduceesLuke 15:11-32 – father of the prodigal son was a wealthy manPharisees, scribesThe religious eliteRarely among the richJohn 3:1; 19:39 – Nicodemus was a Pharisee, but evidently a man of means.PriesthoodThe priestly eliteUsually among the richestPriests made money on concessions around the temple and money-changing.Regions, cities, enclaves of the DiasporaPersia had largest regional Jewish populationMostly remainders of Babylonian captivityHad the lowest level of Hellenization of all JewsAlexandria had largest Jewish urban populationAbout 200,000Mostly around HeliopolisEasy access to ports to rest of the world, relatively easy to get back to Jerusalem for worshipEnclaves from Morocco to India, Cape Horn to the Bosporus
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