This is a response to criticisms raised by Paula Fredriksen and F. Gerald Downing of my recent JSNT article, ‘Jesus in Jerusalem: Armed and Not Dangerous’. After noting cases where Fredriksen and Downing misrepresent my arguments, I respond to Fredriksen’s disagreement with my interpretation of μάχαιρα as ‘sword’ and to the objections raised by both respondents about the lack of legal evidence for the prohibition of carrying arms in a city. I also address a number of historical and methodological issues raised by both responses.
