Upper Galilee Conclusion 4 Galilee and the circle of nations The "foreign nations" Galilee and the neighboring areas Conclusion Conclusion Was Galilee known as "Galilee of the Gentiles?" The Historical Jesus's contact with gentiles The cultural atmosphere of ancient Galilee Conclusion Bibliography Index of passages Selective index of places Selective index of people and topics

Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus, a book-length investigation of this topic, challenges the conventional scholarly view that first-century Galilee was thoroughly Hellenised. Examining architecture, inscriptions, coins and art from Alexander the Great's conquest until the early fourth century CE, Chancey argues that the extent of Greco-Roman culture in the time of Jesus has often been greatly exaggerated. Antipas's reign in the early first century was indeed a time of transition, but the more dramatic shifts in Galilee's cultural climate happened in the second century, after the arrival of a large Roman garrison. Much of Galilee's Hellenisation should thus be understood within the context of its Romanisation. Any attempt to understand the Galilean setting of Jesus must recognise the significance of the region's historical development as well as how Galilee fits into the larger context of the Roman East.

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Recent New Testament scholarship has rightly emphasized the significance of urban features at Sepphoris for gospels and Historical Jesus research. However, some of these studies have greatly exaggerated the quantity of evidence for Greco-Roman influence in the first-century city. Most of the architectural features associated with the Greco-Roman city are missing, evidence for use of Greek is minimal, and signs of pagans are rare. In light of this, questions about the influence of Galilee's Hellenistic milieu on the Historical Jesus must be reconsidered.

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