Joseph of Tiberias (c. 285 – c. 356) was a Christian convert from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

. He is also known as Count Joseph and is venerated as Saint Joseph of Palestine. His memorial day is 22 July. The main source about his life is a book by Epiphanius, the ''

Panarion In early Christian heresiology, the ''Panarion'' ( grc-koi, Πανάριον, derived from Latin ''panarium'', meaning "bread basket"), to which 16th-century Latin translations gave the name ''Adversus Haereses'' (Latin: "Against Heresies"), is t ...

'', written between 374 and 377. Chapter 30 retells the stories Epiphanius heard from Joseph during their encounter in Scythopolis around the year 355. According to Epiphanius, Joseph was a contemporary of

Emperor Constantine Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterrane ...

, a Rabbinical scholar, member of the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ...

and a disciple of

Hillel II Hillel II (Hebrew: הלל נשיאה, Hillel the Nasi), also known simply as Hillel, was an '' amora'' of the fifth generation in the Land of Israel. He held the office of '' Nasi'' of the Sanhedrin between 320 and 385 CE. He was the son and succ ...

. Following his conversion, Emperor Constantine gave him the rank of count (''

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

''), appointed him as supervisor of the churches in Palestine and gave him permission to build churches in the Galilee. Specifically, Joseph wished to build churches in Jewish towns which didn't yet have a Christian community. One of the churches attributed to him was the first

Church of the Multiplication The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, shortened to the Church of the Multiplication, is a Roman Catholic church located at Tabgha, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The modern church rests on the site of ...

of the Loaves and Fish at Heptapegon, erected around AD 350. Despite his high position, he opposed the Arian policies of Constantine's successors, and got married after his first wife died in order to evade Arian pressure to become a bishop for that sect.

Criticism of Epiphanius' account

Scholars have questioned the historicity and accuracy of Epiphanius' account on Joseph's life. Zeev Rubin points out several inconsistencies: * During Constantine's time there was no Nasi (Prince of the Sanhedrin) named Hillel. According to Epiphanius, Hillel was succeeded as head of the Sanhedrin by a son named Judah; this does not match what is known about the Princes of the Sanhedrin. Epiphanius admits he is not sure he remembers the names well. Rubin speculates that Epiphanius might have mistakenly switched between the names of father and son, possibly

Judah ha-Nasi Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא‎, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mis ...

and his son

. * Rubin questions Epiphanius' depiction of Joseph of Tiberias as a hardline opponent of Arianism. According to Epiphanius, Joseph hosted

Eusebius of Vercelli Eusebius of Vercelli (c. March 2, 283 – August 1, 371) was a bishop from Sardinia and is counted a saint. Along with Athanasius, he affirmed the divinity of Jesus against Arianism. Biography Eusebius was born in Sardinia, in 283. After his fat ...

, a former bishop exiled to Scythopolis for opposing Arianism. However, in his letters Eusebius informs he was a prisoner in Scythopolis. According to Rubin, it can be assumed that Joseph cooperated with the Arian bishop, Patrophilus of Scythopolis, at keeping Eusebius under custody. * According to Epiphanius' account, Joseph saw the Bishop of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

secretly baptizing the Prince of the Sanhedrin on his deathbed. However, according to the same account, Tiberias was a predominantly Jewish city at the time. If Tiberias had no significant Christian community at the beginning of the 4th century, as implied in the account, it is unlikely that it would have had its own bishop. In the 18th century,

Michel Le Quien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his pr ...

tried to solve the discrepancy by suggesting Epiphanius referred to a bishop of a different town in the vicinity of Tiberias. According to Rubin, it can be assumed that Tiberias had a bishop by the time Epiphanius wrote down his account, but not during Joseph's days.

Notes

External links

An article in the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' mentioning Joseph of Tiberias

Stephen Craft Goranson, ''The Joseph of Tiberias Episode in Epiphanius: Studies in Jewish and Christian Relations'' (1990)
{{Authority control Saints from the Holy Land Converts to Christianity from Judaism Early Jewish Christians 4th-century Christian saints People from Tiberias Year of birth uncertain

Criticism of Epiphanius' account

Further reading

Notes

External links