For anyone who actually read the Bible....

[LeftyMom]

36. We know, on the other hand, a great deal about historical figures of the period.

We know their genealogies in most cases, the Romans being somewhat obsessed with familiar honor. Of course the genealogies of Jesus are one of the fishier things in the gospels, since they contradict each other and go through Joseph- the one person we can be absolutely sure would bear no relation if the accounts were true in order to retcon Jesus to prophecies about the Messiah coming from the line of David. We know what jobs they took when, when they traveled, who taught them, what they thought of other figures at the time, who they schemed with, who they slept around with. We have detailed records of what things cost and why that changed from time to time. Historical figures with murky histories from the period are the rare exception, not the rule, and even they are well documented when they become prominent.