Banditry (Hobsbawm 1965, 1981; Shaw 1984; Lincoln 2008), or “social banditry” (Horsley and Hanson 1985), emerged in traditional agrarian societies where peasants were exploited by the authorities, government, and/or landowners, particularly when economic vulnerability was pronounced and governments were administratively inefficient.

See Banditry in the Time of Jesus: Exploitation, Famine, and Leadership
See Banditry in the Time of Jesus: “Crisis Points” and Full Rebellion Against Rome

In the first century, the period in which Jesus of Nazareth (c. 6-4 BCE–c. 30 CE) was active, banditry was always a rural phenomenon found in agricultural societies that consisted largely of peasants and landless laborers ruled by oppressive and exploitive others, mostly landlords, towns, and governments (Horsley and Hanson 1985, 49; see Landsberger 1974:8–18 for discussion about the definition of “peasants” and Finley’s (1986) “peasant spectrum”). 

For the purposes of this entry and series, the Jewish peasantry constituted the majority of the population. They survived as small farm owners and day laborers and worked the land owned by wealthy landowners (Harland 2002, 511–527; Hatina 2008, 979). Such people are not to be equated with the absolutely destitute, but with workers of the land whose livelihoods were sustained by immediate consumption and allowed for very little, if any, surplus or disposable income. 

Banditry appeared particularly in areas and periods of administrative inefficiency that provided conditions allowing room for outlaws to emerge and grow in number (Lincoln 2008, 227). Alternatively, a highly organized, controlled, and repressive regime could suppress bandits, regardless of how intolerable the conditions were for the peasantry. 

Famine, high taxation, and social disruption caused by the imposition of new political or social-economic systems caused many peasants to be cut off from their land and become vulnerable to landlords and/or ruling authorities. Famines were also devastating and caused peasants to turn to other sources of livelihood. Often with little choice, many were compelled to turn to banditry when there was no work available (Harland 2002, 515).

According to Hobsbawm, bandits were sometimes viewed as champions of justice for the common people and therefore usually benefited from the support of local peasants. Instead of assisting the authorities in capturing bandits, the people actually protected them as they “share(d), and often symbolize(d), the common people’s fundamental sense of justice and their basic religious loyalties… in some historical circumstances it accompanies or leads to peasant revolts” (Horsley and Hanson 1985, 49).

In one episode, when bandits robbed an imperial servant named Stephen, the peasants stood in solidarity with them, refusing to help the pursuing authorities. Peasants perceived by the Roman authorities to be complicit in protecting the bandits suffered harsh punishments. This did not always aid the Romans and often only served to enhance perceived injustice and oppression, contributing to even more peasants joining and supporting bandit groups.  

Also in the bandits’ favor was that they generally agreed with the fundamental values and religious beliefs of the general peasant population, for whom tithes for supporting the temple and priesthood in Jerusalem were a primary obligation. These were “highly positive symbols of the unity of the people and their link with God, [the] guardian of the proper social order” (Horsley and Hanson 1985, 55; see Neh. 10:32–39). Although the bandits defended these values, they did not consider themselves enemies of the king or authorities unless they were ruled by oppressive, vindictive powers. When they perceived they were, the bandits could represent a divine justice that the peasants rarely experienced. Also, as Martin Goodman concluded, the lack of an effective Jewish ruling class, particularly at the local authority level, forced peasants to turn elsewhere for guidance when provoked to bandits (1993, 75).

In Antiquities of the Jews (93/94 CE), a valuable work of the first century historian Josephus (37–100 CE), another incident occurred in which Judean peasants appealed to bandits for justice after some Samaritans had murdered a Galilean on his way to Jerusalem to attend a festival (20.118–36; 2.228–31). Their appeals to the Roman procurator Cumanus (r. 48–52 CE), however, had fallen on deaf ears, leading to greater resentment in the peasantry vying for revenge. Without any justice, and led by Eleazar ben Dinai (c. second half of the first century CE) and Alexander (c. second half of the first century CE), the bandits headed into Samaria where they sacked and burned villages. 

It is worthwhile observing at this point that the New Testament Gospels, written in the second half of the first century CE, evidence an awareness of banditry during the time of Jesus. When Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve disciples, betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked rhetorically: “Have you come out as against a bandit, with swords and clubs to capture me?” (Mark 14:48). Following his trial and conviction, Jesus was crucified between two “bandits” (Mark 15:27).

Further, the fear that many Jewish peasants had regarding uncertainty over their economic livelihoods reflects in Jesus’ sayings. In one of his teachings, Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on… Instead, seek his kingdom, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Luke 12:22, 31; Matthew 6:25, 33). Jesus was aware that among members of his audience there existed concern about what they would eat or wear, almost always dependent on access to land and what could be produced on it.

“For many Jewish peasants at the time, however, access to land had become problematic. In order to live, a peasant had to have land on which he could raise not only enough food to survive until the next harvest, but also enough extra grain for seed for the next year’s crops, enough feed for a draft animal (if he had any), enough to sell or barter for whatever necessities he could not raise himself, and enough extra to provide for whatever ceremonies might be celebrated to help explain and regulate life” (Horsley and Hanson 1985, 52).

References

Finley, M. 1986. Ancient History: Evidence and Models. London: Chatto and Windus.

Goodman, M. 1993. The Ruling Class of Judea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Harland, P. 2002. “The Economy of First Palestine: the State of Scholarly Discussion.” In Handbook of Early Christianity: Social Science Approaches, edited by A. J. Blasi, P. A. Turcotte, and E. J. Duhaine, 511–527. Walnut Creek, CA. Alta Mira Press.

Hatina, Thomas A. 2008. “Households, Jewish.” In The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus, 971–986 (Apple Books pagination). Routledge.

Hobsbawm, E. J. 1965. Primitive Rebels. New York: Norton.

Hobsbawm, E. J. 1981. Bandits. New York: Pantheon.

Horsley, R. A., and Hanson, J. S. 1985. Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs: Popular Movements at the Time of Jesus. Winston Press. 

Landsberger, H. A. 1974. Peasant Movements and Social Change. London: Macmillan.

Shaw, B. D. 1984. “Bandits in the Roman Empire.” Past and Present 102:3-52.