[5] Others, namely, Heinrich Graetz and Moses Samuel Zuckermandl, thought the word was derived from Sicarii, a group associated with murders, brigandage and robbery during the Second Temple period.
[6][7] Hai ben Sherira also thought that the word Sicarii refers to government personnel involved with implementing the laws of Sicaricon.
[10] Isaac ben Melchizedek, echoing the same view, held that sicaricon were hired "hitmen," sent to embezzle the original landowner of his property at the threat of death.
[11] In any case, the word invariably refers to a Roman or foreign molester who expropriates land from its Jewish owner, usually by a decree made by a tyrant king (Caesar).
[21] This enactment was also made to ensure the continued Jewish settlement in the towns and cities across Judea, a country then largely occupied by the sicaricon.
[31] This enactment is believed to have been the result of certain decrees made by Pertinax and which affected all territories falling under Roman suzerainty, including Judea.
[32] The novelty of Judah HaNasi's enactment is that after twelve months, no longer would it require the consent of the original land owner to buy a field held by a sicaricon.
Scholars have pointed out that the very need of the rabbis to annul these Roman laws suggests that the country of Judea in the 2nd-century CE was still largely inhabited and settled by its Jewish citizens.