Little did I know when I departed the first time to participate in excavations at Sepphoris the impact that experience would have on me. I was instantly captivated by fieldwork – the physical challenges, the tangibility of archaeological evidence, the camaraderie that develops while digging. By season's end, I had developed a new interest in Galilean Judaism and its significance for Historical Jesus research. In my subsequent reading, I quickly became aware of a gap between the archaeological evidence I observed in Galilee and the descriptions of Galilee I encountered in much New Testament scholarship. I also soon realized the need for scholars to support generalized descriptions of archaeological finds with references to specific finds and specific publications.

This study is the result of my ensuing investigation of Galilee's population. The consistency of my findings surprised me. In examining the Gospels, Josephus, and published archaeological data, I discovered impressive amounts of evidence for Judaism and very meager evidence for paganism. I found little support for oft-repeated claims that large numbers of gentiles lived in first-century CE Galilee. The implications of these findings are clear: in our attempts to situate Jesus and the Jesus movement in Galilee, we must always keep in mind the region's predominantly Jewish milieu. Because the persuasiveness of my argument depends upon the thoroughness of my research, I have not been sparing in bibliographical detail.