In Chapter 2 of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, authors Richards and O'Brien explore the influence of ethnicity in both the Old and New Testaments. They assert that missing the ethnic markers and their importance in the ancient world can lead the modern reader to missing key elements in the text.
In addition to cultural, lingual, physical, and citizenship significance, the regional world played a key role as well. On page 65, they say, "It's easy for us to assume, for example, that Jerusalem was the center of the action in the ancient world. The city was certainly important to the Jews....But Jerusalem was insignificant in Jesus' time."
The importance of Israel was only geographic in Bible times. Situated at the crossroads of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, it was the best place to transport goods to and from the different continents. "It was important that Roman controlled the land [for tax reasons], but the activities that took place there were rarely of Roman interest. Pilate was more than the main finance officer or tax collector than anything else.
"The events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, so important for Jews and Christians at the time, were marginal events in a nothing town on the edge of an empire with more important matters to consider. If we fail to recognize this, we can fail to recognize just how remarkable the rapid growth of the earth church really was" (page 65).
Jerusalem was not an 'important' city in the eyes of the world. Israel was not an important piece of land. It's easy to read the Bible and see it as the center of the action, with great significance, but this wasn't the case.
How does this regional distinction affect how we read the Bible?
I highly recommend going through the questions at the end of every chapter of this book, as the authors point out key passages and ask the reader to consider the impact of the chapter's them on that story. Are you ready to read the Bible with a new perspective?
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