I have
been exploring of late the idea, floated on this forum by D. C. Hindley, that the extant Josephan chronology by which Pontius Pilate became governor of Judea in about AD 26 is the result of Christian textual meddling, and Pilate actually became governor in about AD 19. At the same time, my curiosity has
been piqued by the curious fact that Tertullian assigns a date during the Syrian governorship of Saturninus for the census which coincided with Jesus' birth; this date, combined with Luke's insistence that Jesus was about 30 years old when his ministry began, leads naturally to a date in the early twenties for Jesus' ministry and crucifixion, a date conveniently made feasible if our suspicions about the Josephan chronology should prove correct.
Here I would like to add another indicator that may point in the same basic direction. Both Matthew and Luke have Jesus speaking well of John the baptist after his imprisonment:
Matthew 11.7: 7 And as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces. 9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet."
Luke 7.24: 24 When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet."
The "man dressed in soft clothing" seems to refer to Herod Antipas, who according to the canonical gospels imprisoned and eventually executed John. Thus the "reed shaken by the wind" would represent Antipas, as well: there was to be no shaking in the wind for the rugged prophet John!
This interpretation, as natural as it already is in context, also happens to find numismatic support:
Gerd Theissen, The Gospels in Context, page 28: The reed appears on Herod Antipas's first coins, which he had minted for the founding of his capital city, Tiberias (ca. 19 C.E.).
Note the date: in about AD 19 our soft tetrarch minted coins with reeds on them. Here is
an example of such a coin:
- Antipas Reed Coin.jpg (312.32 KiB) Viewed 10689 times
Herod Antipas (4 BC - 39 AD). Mint of Tiberias. AE half denomination (19.8 mm, 8.79 gm, 1h). TIBE PIAC within wreath / HPWΔΟΥ TETPAPXOY; L KΔ (year 24=20/21 AD) in fields; reed upright.
Here is
another example:
Herod Antipas 4 B.C.E - 40 C.E. (Hendin 1201) Quarter denomination struck year 20 C.E. in Tiberias. 4.03 grams
These coins would have been circulating in AD 20, maybe a year before the date of the crucifixion of Jesus according to those spurious
Acta Pilati to which D. C. Hindley has called our attention. The significance of this saying about John corresponding to a numismatic emblem used by Herod Antipas in the early twenties benefits further from the realization that Antipas soon thereafter changed his emblem:
Gerd Theissen, The Gospels in Context, page 29: The first (and oldest) type of coin very probably shows a reed (Canna communis) on the obverse.... It was minted only for the founding of Tiberias and later disappeared. The second type of coin is attested from the years 26-27 C.E. Unmistakably, Antipas has moved to a new vegetable emblem, probably a palm tree.... From the last year of Antipas's reign (39 C.E.) comes a third type of coin. It represents a palm branch.
By the time we reach the traditional range of dates for Jesus' crucifixion, therefore, the reed is gone, replaced by a palm tree. Obviously, somebody speaking about John in around AD 29 or 30
could be either remembering the old coins or even fingering still circulating specimens of them, but if the saying originated in around AD 20 or so there is nothing whatsoever to explain, no hurdles to overleap: it would have naturally used the reed to symbolize Antipas because that would have been the most recent emblem on record for Herod the tetrarch.
Ben.