RABBIS AS LEGAL EXPERTS IN THE ROMAN EAST

This chapter traces the emergence of rabbis as a new type of recognized legal expert against the backdrop of the provincialization of Jewish society in Palestine. The rise of the rabbinic movement during the second century c.e. correlates with the growing involvement of local provincial elites in juristic knowledge and their role in mediating multiple legal traditions under the Roman imperial administration. The formulation of local law through the juristic activity of the rabbis further established their public authority. Consequently, they turned to adjudication under the auspices of the patriarch, who gradually, from the third century c.e. onward, acquired imperial recognition.