Jesus grew up at a time of deep social disturbance, as the Jewish people struggled to come to terms with Roman occupation. Written by a leading historian of the period, this book explores the question, What would Jesus have witnessed, experienced and felt as a boy growing up in first-century Galilee?

'Enlightening and engaging, this is a must read for everyone interested in the historical Jesus and the birth of Christianity.' - Nick Holmes, author of The Roman Revolution: Crisis and Christianity in Ancient Rome What would Jesus have witnessed, experienced, and felt as a boy growing up in first-century Galilee? Jesus lived at a time of deep social disturbance, as the Jewish people struggled to come to terms with Roman occupation. As a boy, he was a refugee, an outsider, an immigrant in the Galilee in which he grew up. He was also a witness to horrific atrocities carried out by the occupying Roman overlords and their client rulers. All this and more is explored in this scholarly but highly accessible historical investigation. Joan Taylor, a world authority on the history and literature of the first century CE, draws both on the latest archaeological findings and on the historical clues found within key texts of the period. The result is a book that brings the story of Jesus' identity, birth and boyhood clearly to life as never before, while also pointing to the many ways in which his experiences as a child are likely to have influenced him in adulthood.