Jews as a whole. It may be set aside as impossible, as opposed to all evidence and reasonable inference,

either that an ordinary Hellenic city would voluntarily set aside its own fundamental principles in order to

welcome its most hated enemies and most dangerous commercial rivals, or that the superior power would or

could violate the constitution of the city in favour of a single individual. Where Jews are proved or believed

to have been citizens of a Hellenic city, the origin of their right must lie in a general principle laid down by a

superior power, accompanied by the introduction of a body of Jewish citizens sufficiently strong to support

one another and maintain their own unity and religion.

But might not a Jew occasionally desire the Hellenic citizenship for the practical advantages it might offer in

trade? He might desire those advantages in some or many cases; but they could not be got without formal

admission to a "Tribe," and if he were admitted to an ordinary Hellenic Tribe through a special decree, he

must either participate in its religion or sacrifice the advantages which he aimed at. In fact, it may be doubted

whether any person who avoided the meetings and ceremonies of the tribesmen could have retained the

membership. The Jew must either abandon his nation and his birthright absolutely, or he must stand outside

of the Hellenic citizenship, except in those cities whose constitution had been widened by the creation of a

special "Tribe" or similar body for Jews.

The case may be set aside as almost inconceivable that any Jew in the pre -Roman period, except in the rarest

cases, absolutely disowned his birthright and was willing to merge himself in the ordinary ranks of Hellenic

citizenship. Professor E. Schurer has emphasised the thoroughly Hebraic character even of the most

Hellenised Jews who had settled outside Palestine; and there can be no doubt that he is right. They were a

people of higher education and nobler views than the Gentiles; and they could not descend entirely to the

Gentile level. Even the lowest Jew who made his living out of Gentile superstitions or vices usually felt, as

we may be sure, that he was of a higher stock, and was not willing to become a Gentile entirely.

Moreover, the race hatred was too strong. The Greeks would not have permitted it, even if a Jew had desired

it. The Greeks had no desire to assimilate the Jews to themselves; they only desired to be rid of them.

The position of the Jews in the Ionian cities is illustrated by an incident that occurred in 15 BC. There was a

body of Jews in Ephesus; and the other citizens, i.e. the Hellenes, tried to induce Agrippa to expel these on

the ground that they would not take part in the religion of the city. Their argument is instructive. They

appealed to the settlement of the Ephesian constitution by Antiochus II, 261-246 BC, as authoritative; and

this proves that there had been no serious change in the principles of the Ephesian constitution since that

That body of Jews in Ephesus did not consist simply of non-citizens, resident (perhaps for many

generations) in the city for purposes of trade. That there were Ephesian citizens among them is clearly

implied in the pleading of their fellow-citizens: the Hellenes of Ephesus made no charge against Jewish

strangers: in the forefront of their case they put their claim that the Hellenes alone had any right to the

citizenship, which was the gift of Antiochus II. These words are useless and unnecessary, unless there was

a body of Jews claiming to be citizens of Ephesus, whom the Greeks desired to eject from the citizenship.

They came to Agrippa asking permission, not to expel Jewish strangers from the town, but to deprive the

Jews of their participation in the State.

Moreover, the next words quoted from the argument of the Hellenes are even stronger: they put the case

that the Jews are kinsmen and members of the same race with themselves, "If the Jews are kinsmen to us,

they ought to worship our gods." The only conceivable kinship between Jews and Greeks was that which

they acquired through common citizenship. The idea that common citizenship implies and produces kingship

is very characteristic of ancient feeling and language. We note in passing that this idea occurs in St. Paul,

Romans 16:7, 11, where the word "kinsmen" will be understood as denoting Tarsian Jews by those who

approach the Epistles from the side of ordinary contemporary Greek thought. It can hardly mean Jews simply

(as "kinsmen according to the flesh" does in Romans 9:3); for many other persons in the same list are not so