Yehudah of the Galilee
Little is known about Yehudah (Judas) of the Galilee except he is mentioned in Josephus with regard to the raid on the armory in Sepphoris. This insurrection resulted in the crucifixion of many men and the town itself being razed. There is an additional reference in the New Testament (Acts 5:36 ff.) where Gamaliel describes him as a false messiah. His uprising in 6 C.E. is thought by some scholars to be the opening battle that would culminate in the Jewish Wars in 66-67 C.E. and the destruction of the Temple and the leveling of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Sometimes referred to as, Yehudah of Gamala
Yeshua ben Josef
Jesus of Nazareth.
Sicarii
The Sicarii, (Hebrew סיקריקים) the Dagger Men, were a group of Zealots which operated during the Roman occupation of Palestine (Israel today). They were terrorists, nationalists, and feared equally by the Romans and the Israelis. The Sicarii are mentioned by Josephus in his Jewish Antiquities: “When Albinus reached the city of Jerusalem, he bent every effort and made every provision to ensure peace in the land by exterminating most of the Sicarii (xx.208).
Hippodrome
The name hippodrome (Latin = Circus) is derived from the Greek words “hippos (ἵππος; “horse”) and “dromos” (δρόμος; “course”). Originally a Greek stadium built for horse and chariot racing, the Greek hippodrome was usually set out on the slope of a hill, and the ground taken from one side served to form the embankment on the other side. One end of the hippodrome was semicircular, and the other end square with an extensive portico in front of which, at a lower level, were the stalls for the horses and chariots. At both ends of the hippodrome there were posts (termai) or pylons around which the chariots turned.
Miscellany
Gehinnom
Garbage, trash, offal, and waste were dumped in this valley outside Jerusalem. When the rains came much of it would be washed eastward toward and finally into the Dead Sea.
Garum
A pungent paste made by crushing the roe and liver of fish and then and fermenting them in brine and used to flavor other dishes. Garum was popular in the Roman world.
Mikvah (pl. mikva´ote)
Orthodox Jews cleanse themselves periodically by immersion in this ritual bath. Some ascribe this practice as the forerunner of the baptismal practice instituted by John the Baptizer.
Neqqudot
To recycle papyrus, a sheet would be sanded and re-polished. If the task were not done carefully, a bit of ink might be overlooked (a neqqudot) and when a new word was written, that mark might be introduced which could easily change the meaning of the word or the entire sentence.
Perjury
Under Jewish law at that time, bearing false witness was a serious offense. If a witness were caught lying to a court, he would receive the punishment the accused would have received if convicted.
Since it sits on the old African Rift, Israel has had its share of earthquakes over the centuries. One major earthquake in Jerusalem has been dated to 32CE and because the gospel narratives cite an earthquake on the day Jesus was crucified, the crucifixion is sometimes arbitrarily fixed to that year. It is more difficult to find a coincident eclipse of the sun.
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