Joppa
Ancient Canaanite city built on a 116' high hill on a promontory overlooking the only
natural harbor on the southern Palestinian coast.
Joppa was claimed
by the tribe of Dan during
the Israelite settlement but was soon lost to the Philistines. Solomon made it the
major port in Judea [10th c. BCE]. After a period
of Greek domination Joppa
was returned to Judean control by Jonathan,
the brother and heir of Judah
Maccabee [147 BCE]. Pompey briefly made it an independent city
[67 BCE], but Julius Caesar awarded it to Antipater [46 BCE] and
it remained under Judean administration throughout the reign of Herod. But after Archelaus
was deposed [6 CE], the Roman prefect at Caesarea was
given jurisdiction over the city. Still, its population remained
staunchly Jewish. It was destroyed by Vespasian in 68 CE for its
role in the Jewish revolt.
There is, however, no hint of such cultural or political tensions
in the two stories of Peter's activity that Luke sets at Joppa [Acts
9-10].
Sources: Into
His Own |