Lawrence M. Wills (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151428
- eISBN:
- 9780199870516
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151429.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The present collection makes available in fresh translations all of the ancient examples of the Jewish novels, and introduces them for the student and general reader. The texts are divided into three ...
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The present collection makes available in fresh translations all of the ancient examples of the Jewish novels, and introduces them for the student and general reader. The texts are divided into three categories: novels, historical novels, and testaments, and each text is given its own introduction. Similarities and differences are discussed in regard to other ancient popular literature, such as Greek novels, Roman novels, Christian novels, and Apocryphal Acts, and the distinction between fiction and history is explored. Jewish identity and the competition of ethnic groups are generally the themes, but with the large number of women characters, we are also afforded insights into gender constructions in Jewish popular literature. The protagonists of Jewish novels are often figures otherwise unknown to Jewish history, but are sometimes also biblical patriarchs (Moses, Joseph, Abraham, Job), although their stories are told here in a way surprisingly different from what is found in the Hebrew Bible. There are also possible allusions to Jewish mysticism and mysteries in some of the texts.The texts are: Greek Esther, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon (or Bel and the Serpent) from Greek Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Third Maccabees, The Marriage and Conversion of Aseneth (or Joseph and Aseneth), The Tobiad Romance, The Royal Family of Adiabene, the Testament of Joseph, the Testament of Job, and the Testament of Abraham. Some of the novels are found in the Old Testament Apocrypha, while others derive from other sources, such as Josephus or the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.Less
The present collection makes available in fresh translations all of the ancient examples of the Jewish novels, and introduces them for the student and general reader. The texts are divided into three categories: novels, historical novels, and testaments, and each text is given its own introduction. Similarities and differences are discussed in regard to other ancient popular literature, such as Greek novels, Roman novels, Christian novels, and Apocryphal Acts, and the distinction between fiction and history is explored. Jewish identity and the competition of ethnic groups are generally the themes, but with the large number of women characters, we are also afforded insights into gender constructions in Jewish popular literature. The protagonists of Jewish novels are often figures otherwise unknown to Jewish history, but are sometimes also biblical patriarchs (Moses, Joseph, Abraham, Job), although their stories are told here in a way surprisingly different from what is found in the Hebrew Bible. There are also possible allusions to Jewish mysticism and mysteries in some of the texts.
The texts are: Greek Esther, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon (or Bel and the Serpent) from Greek Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Third Maccabees, The Marriage and Conversion of Aseneth (or Joseph and Aseneth), The Tobiad Romance, The Royal Family of Adiabene, the Testament of Joseph, the Testament of Job, and the Testament of Abraham. Some of the novels are found in the Old Testament Apocrypha, while others derive from other sources, such as Josephus or the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Deborah W. Rooke
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269984
- eISBN:
- 9780191600722
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269986.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Uses material from Josephus (Antiquities xii), and 1 and 2 Maccabees to examine the changes in the high priesthood leading up to the Maccabean revolt, and the careers of the first two Maccabean ...
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Uses material from Josephus (Antiquities xii), and 1 and 2 Maccabees to examine the changes in the high priesthood leading up to the Maccabean revolt, and the careers of the first two Maccabean leaders, Jonathan and Simon. Although Jonathan and Simon both became high priests as well as political rulers, their style of rule was monarchic, and they had already achieved political authority among their own people, by virtue of their military exploits, before they were made high priests. The high priesthood, of itself, did not therefore give them any new powers of governance.Less
Uses material from Josephus (Antiquities xii), and 1 and 2 Maccabees to examine the changes in the high priesthood leading up to the Maccabean revolt, and the careers of the first two Maccabean leaders, Jonathan and Simon. Although Jonathan and Simon both became high priests as well as political rulers, their style of rule was monarchic, and they had already achieved political authority among their own people, by virtue of their military exploits, before they were made high priests. The high priesthood, of itself, did not therefore give them any new powers of governance.
Isabel Moreira
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736041
- eISBN:
- 9780199894628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736041.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter identifies some of the earliest Christian texts to describe purgation as part of the Christian afterlife and examines the interpretation placed on them by patristic authors from Origen ...
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This chapter identifies some of the earliest Christian texts to describe purgation as part of the Christian afterlife and examines the interpretation placed on them by patristic authors from Origen to Augustine. Bede’s definition of purgatory is presented. The chapter discusses traditional “proof texts” for purgatory including 2 Maccabees, 1 Corinthians 3:11–15, and the fate of Dinocrates in the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. It discusses purgatorial fire, universal salvation, and how ideas about original sin intersected with an economy of pain that was thought to cross the barrier of death.Less
This chapter identifies some of the earliest Christian texts to describe purgation as part of the Christian afterlife and examines the interpretation placed on them by patristic authors from Origen to Augustine. Bede’s definition of purgatory is presented. The chapter discusses traditional “proof texts” for purgatory including 2 Maccabees, 1 Corinthians 3:11–15, and the fate of Dinocrates in the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. It discusses purgatorial fire, universal salvation, and how ideas about original sin intersected with an economy of pain that was thought to cross the barrier of death.
Liv Mariah Yarrow
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199277544
- eISBN:
- 9780191708022
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277544.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book starts at the end of Polybius' Histories, and investigates documentation of the Roman empire recorded by non-Romans. Intellectuals, being members of the social elite, controlled the wealth ...
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This book starts at the end of Polybius' Histories, and investigates documentation of the Roman empire recorded by non-Romans. Intellectuals, being members of the social elite, controlled the wealth in a community and usually the political decision-making processes as well. After the destruction of Carthage and Corinth, Rome made the transition from military dominance to provincial administration and client states. This left local elites grasping for the remains of their political influence. The products of the intellectuals reflect the concerns of the day. Also the culture of intellectual exchange in place in the Mediterranean gave the local elite a means of communicating their anxieties and expectations. Historical texts offer the most explicit evidence of this trend. The texts of six contemporary historians of this period survive in enough detail to allow productive analysis: the author of 1 Maccabees, Posidonius, Diodorus Siculus, Pompeius Trogus, Nicolaus of Damascus, and Memnon of Heraclea. The book starts with a detailed analysis of the relationship between intellectuals and political authority. However, methodological difficulties are encountered because of the fragmentary nature of most of the surviving historical texts composed by non-Romans. Thus, the discussion continues by laying out an approach to the reliability of different forms of reliquiae. The remainder of the study looks at the political dimensions of the themes present in the contemporary history-writing of non-Romans, how narrative structures help to further the compositional objectives of each historian, and mythological and ethnographical characterizations of the Romans, their domestic affairs, and their involvement with the wider Mediterranean. The study also explores the portrayal of potential rivals for political dominion of the Mediterranean. The book shows that the historians are working not with models of endorsement or resistance, but instead with an eye to the pragmatic issues of harmonious co-existence. Rome is treated as an ultimate authority, intrinsically neither good nor bad.Less
This book starts at the end of Polybius' Histories, and investigates documentation of the Roman empire recorded by non-Romans. Intellectuals, being members of the social elite, controlled the wealth in a community and usually the political decision-making processes as well. After the destruction of Carthage and Corinth, Rome made the transition from military dominance to provincial administration and client states. This left local elites grasping for the remains of their political influence. The products of the intellectuals reflect the concerns of the day. Also the culture of intellectual exchange in place in the Mediterranean gave the local elite a means of communicating their anxieties and expectations. Historical texts offer the most explicit evidence of this trend. The texts of six contemporary historians of this period survive in enough detail to allow productive analysis: the author of 1 Maccabees, Posidonius, Diodorus Siculus, Pompeius Trogus, Nicolaus of Damascus, and Memnon of Heraclea. The book starts with a detailed analysis of the relationship between intellectuals and political authority. However, methodological difficulties are encountered because of the fragmentary nature of most of the surviving historical texts composed by non-Romans. Thus, the discussion continues by laying out an approach to the reliability of different forms of reliquiae. The remainder of the study looks at the political dimensions of the themes present in the contemporary history-writing of non-Romans, how narrative structures help to further the compositional objectives of each historian, and mythological and ethnographical characterizations of the Romans, their domestic affairs, and their involvement with the wider Mediterranean. The study also explores the portrayal of potential rivals for political dominion of the Mediterranean. The book shows that the historians are working not with models of endorsement or resistance, but instead with an eye to the pragmatic issues of harmonious co-existence. Rome is treated as an ultimate authority, intrinsically neither good nor bad.
Shelly Matthews
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195393323
- eISBN:
- 9780199866618
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393323.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter analyzes the dying forgiveness prayer of Stephen and the related prayer of the Lukan Jesus. By reading these prayers aside related bodies of literature including Maccabees and the Sermon ...
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This chapter analyzes the dying forgiveness prayer of Stephen and the related prayer of the Lukan Jesus. By reading these prayers aside related bodies of literature including Maccabees and the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, it argues that these prayers are for Luke a Christian proprium. They are potentially more radical than Gospel teaching on enemy love, as Tertullian would have recognized, since the plea for forgiveness of undeserving persecutors, more so than enemy love, challenged the framework of cosmic justice, as Marcion would have affirmed. The prayer was frequently read intransitively, as idealizing the one who so prays, without having any effect on the prayer’s object, thereby functioning analogously to the Roman discourse of clemency. Those who read the prayer otherwise landed upon this radical challenge, which explains the prayer’s complicated reception history, including the scribal omission of Jesus’ forgiveness prayer (Luke 23.34a) from the Gospel of Luke.Less
This chapter analyzes the dying forgiveness prayer of Stephen and the related prayer of the Lukan Jesus. By reading these prayers aside related bodies of literature including Maccabees and the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, it argues that these prayers are for Luke a Christian proprium. They are potentially more radical than Gospel teaching on enemy love, as Tertullian would have recognized, since the plea for forgiveness of undeserving persecutors, more so than enemy love, challenged the framework of cosmic justice, as Marcion would have affirmed. The prayer was frequently read intransitively, as idealizing the one who so prays, without having any effect on the prayer’s object, thereby functioning analogously to the Roman discourse of clemency. Those who read the prayer otherwise landed upon this radical challenge, which explains the prayer’s complicated reception history, including the scribal omission of Jesus’ forgiveness prayer (Luke 23.34a) from the Gospel of Luke.
Lawrence M. Wills (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151428
- eISBN:
- 9780199870516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151429.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
An introduction and translation of Third Maccabees. It was not canonized as part of the Hebrew Bible or the Catholic Old Testament Apocrypha, but was contained in the Eastern Orthodox Old Testament. ...
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An introduction and translation of Third Maccabees. It was not canonized as part of the Hebrew Bible or the Catholic Old Testament Apocrypha, but was contained in the Eastern Orthodox Old Testament. This satire of the Dionysos cult recounts an incidence of persecution of the Jews in Egypt, but pushes the limits of history; their escape comes through a series of miracles. It includes the motifs of prayer and the competition of ethnic groups.Less
An introduction and translation of Third Maccabees. It was not canonized as part of the Hebrew Bible or the Catholic Old Testament Apocrypha, but was contained in the Eastern Orthodox Old Testament. This satire of the Dionysos cult recounts an incidence of persecution of the Jews in Egypt, but pushes the limits of history; their escape comes through a series of miracles. It includes the motifs of prayer and the competition of ethnic groups.
Liv Mariah Yarrow
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199277544
- eISBN:
- 9780191708022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277544.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the historians included in this book: Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees. They are, consciously or ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the historians included in this book: Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees. They are, consciously or unconsciously, post-Polybian in their choice of subject matter and thematic approach. Although several of the historians in question wrote on diverse matters, even within their histories, their common element is a treatment of contemporary history from 146 BC onwards. Moreover, they all address the role of Rome in the wider Mediterranean.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the historians included in this book: Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees. They are, consciously or unconsciously, post-Polybian in their choice of subject matter and thematic approach. Although several of the historians in question wrote on diverse matters, even within their histories, their common element is a treatment of contemporary history from 146 BC onwards. Moreover, they all address the role of Rome in the wider Mediterranean.
Liv Mariah Yarrow
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199277544
- eISBN:
- 9780191708022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277544.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
In the contemporary histories of the Late Republic written by non-Romans, we can find preserved the attitudes of those dispossessed of their power by the establishment of Roman hegemony. The ...
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In the contemporary histories of the Late Republic written by non-Romans, we can find preserved the attitudes of those dispossessed of their power by the establishment of Roman hegemony. The historical texts themselves, like any intellectual product, have a distinctive form. The genre employed by each author and the structural choices made reflect the nature of the historian's objectives and political position. Choices regarding the integration of Rome into the narrative structure are of particular significance. Two categories have been recognized in Hellenistic historical writing: universal history and local chronicles.Less
In the contemporary histories of the Late Republic written by non-Romans, we can find preserved the attitudes of those dispossessed of their power by the establishment of Roman hegemony. The historical texts themselves, like any intellectual product, have a distinctive form. The genre employed by each author and the structural choices made reflect the nature of the historian's objectives and political position. Choices regarding the integration of Rome into the narrative structure are of particular significance. Two categories have been recognized in Hellenistic historical writing: universal history and local chronicles.
Liv Mariah Yarrow
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199277544
- eISBN:
- 9780191708022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277544.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The authors at the core of this analysis — Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees — are from geographically diverse origins on the periphery of the Roman world. ...
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The authors at the core of this analysis — Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees — are from geographically diverse origins on the periphery of the Roman world. Nevertheless, scrutiny of their texts has brought to light significant thematic cohesion: all accept Roman rule. This open and clear acknowledgement of Roman hegemony throughout the Mediterranean basin may not seem surprising given the political and military realities of the day. However, in contrast to the scholarly trends towards identifying this type of literature as hostile to the new ruling power, the clear acceptance of Roman rule as the foremost conclusion of the preceding analysis is emphasized.Less
The authors at the core of this analysis — Nicolaus, Memnon, Diodorus, Trogus, Posidonius, and the author of 1 Maccabees — are from geographically diverse origins on the periphery of the Roman world. Nevertheless, scrutiny of their texts has brought to light significant thematic cohesion: all accept Roman rule. This open and clear acknowledgement of Roman hegemony throughout the Mediterranean basin may not seem surprising given the political and military realities of the day. However, in contrast to the scholarly trends towards identifying this type of literature as hostile to the new ruling power, the clear acceptance of Roman rule as the foremost conclusion of the preceding analysis is emphasized.
Jeffrey A. Trumbower
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195140996
- eISBN:
- 9780199834747
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195140990.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Chapter one sets up the cultural context for the study of early Christian texts by examining traditions in which the living helped the dead in Greek religion, Roman religion, and ancient Judaism. The ...
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Chapter one sets up the cultural context for the study of early Christian texts by examining traditions in which the living helped the dead in Greek religion, Roman religion, and ancient Judaism. The archaeology of burial sites, epitaphs, other inscriptions, and textual sources are adduced as evidence for this purpose. The chapter concludes with a discussion of salvation after death in the Greek religious movement called Orphism, as well as in the Jewish texts 2 Maccabees and 4 Ezra.Less
Chapter one sets up the cultural context for the study of early Christian texts by examining traditions in which the living helped the dead in Greek religion, Roman religion, and ancient Judaism. The archaeology of burial sites, epitaphs, other inscriptions, and textual sources are adduced as evidence for this purpose. The chapter concludes with a discussion of salvation after death in the Greek religious movement called Orphism, as well as in the Jewish texts 2 Maccabees and 4 Ezra.
Reuven Firestone
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199860302
- eISBN:
- 9780199950621
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199860302.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The military victory of the Jewish Maccabees against the idolatrous Seleucid Greeks and their Hellenised Jewish allies during the period of the Second Temple was understood by its protagonists to ...
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The military victory of the Jewish Maccabees against the idolatrous Seleucid Greeks and their Hellenised Jewish allies during the period of the Second Temple was understood by its protagonists to have been successful by virtue of divine providence. Descriptions of this are not found in the Hebrew Bible but appear in the non-canonical Books of Maccabees. The triumph of Jewish heroes against the Greeks was acknowledged by Jews as a celebration of divinely wrought military success. Josephus acknowledges God’s hand in victory, and the festival of Hanukkah originally developed a celebration of military victory. Later, however, as observed from canonical rabbinic literature, Hanukkah takes on an entirely different meaning that plays down the military aspect of the occasion it celebrates.Less
The military victory of the Jewish Maccabees against the idolatrous Seleucid Greeks and their Hellenised Jewish allies during the period of the Second Temple was understood by its protagonists to have been successful by virtue of divine providence. Descriptions of this are not found in the Hebrew Bible but appear in the non-canonical Books of Maccabees. The triumph of Jewish heroes against the Greeks was acknowledged by Jews as a celebration of divinely wrought military success. Josephus acknowledges God’s hand in victory, and the festival of Hanukkah originally developed a celebration of military victory. Later, however, as observed from canonical rabbinic literature, Hanukkah takes on an entirely different meaning that plays down the military aspect of the occasion it celebrates.
Sara Raup Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233072
- eISBN:
- 9780520928435
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233072.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This study investigates the creation of historical fictions in a wide range of Hellenistic Jewish texts. Surveying so-called Jewish novels, including the Letter of Aristeas, Second Maccabees, Esther, ...
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This study investigates the creation of historical fictions in a wide range of Hellenistic Jewish texts. Surveying so-called Jewish novels, including the Letter of Aristeas, Second Maccabees, Esther, Daniel, Judith, Tobit, and Josephus's account of Alexander's visit to Jerusalem and of the Tobiads, Artapanus, and Joseph and Aseneth, the book demonstrates that the use of historical fiction in these texts does not constitute a uniform genre. Instead it cuts across all boundaries of language, provenance, genre, and even purpose. It argues that each author uses historical fiction to construct a particular model of Hellenistic Jewish identity through the reinvention of the past. The models of identity differ, but all seek to explore relations between Jews and the wider non-Jewish world. The book goes on to present a focal in-depth analysis of one text, Third Maccabees. Maintaining that this is a late Hellenistic, not a Roman, work it traces important themes in Third Maccabees within a broader literary context. It evaluates the evidence for the authorship, audience, and purpose of the work and analyzes the historicity of the persecution described in the narrative. Illustrating how the author reinvents history in order to construct his own model for life in the diaspora, this book weighs the attitudes and stances, from defiance to assimilation, of this crucial period.Less
This study investigates the creation of historical fictions in a wide range of Hellenistic Jewish texts. Surveying so-called Jewish novels, including the Letter of Aristeas, Second Maccabees, Esther, Daniel, Judith, Tobit, and Josephus's account of Alexander's visit to Jerusalem and of the Tobiads, Artapanus, and Joseph and Aseneth, the book demonstrates that the use of historical fiction in these texts does not constitute a uniform genre. Instead it cuts across all boundaries of language, provenance, genre, and even purpose. It argues that each author uses historical fiction to construct a particular model of Hellenistic Jewish identity through the reinvention of the past. The models of identity differ, but all seek to explore relations between Jews and the wider non-Jewish world. The book goes on to present a focal in-depth analysis of one text, Third Maccabees. Maintaining that this is a late Hellenistic, not a Roman, work it traces important themes in Third Maccabees within a broader literary context. It evaluates the evidence for the authorship, audience, and purpose of the work and analyzes the historicity of the persecution described in the narrative. Illustrating how the author reinvents history in order to construct his own model for life in the diaspora, this book weighs the attitudes and stances, from defiance to assimilation, of this crucial period.
Sara Raup Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233072
- eISBN:
- 9780520928435
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233072.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The unusual historical distortions that abound in Jewish fictions are in no way random but are deliberately employed for rhetorical purposes. Third Maccabees has often been misunderstood. Because it ...
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The unusual historical distortions that abound in Jewish fictions are in no way random but are deliberately employed for rhetorical purposes. Third Maccabees has often been misunderstood. Because it recounts a persecution (albeit one miraculously averted at the last moment), it has been seen primarily as a confrontational text rejecting assimilation and interaction with gentiles. The principal subject of Third Maccabees is a persecution of the Jews of Alexandria that apparently took place under Ptolemy IV Philopator not long after the battle of Raphia in 217 bce However, it has long been recognized that the text as it stands cannot possibly have been composed before the end of the second century bce, nearly a century after the events it purports to describe. The terminus post quem is fixed by a clear allusion in Third Maccabees to the Greek translation of Daniel together with the additions now considered apocryphal.Less
The unusual historical distortions that abound in Jewish fictions are in no way random but are deliberately employed for rhetorical purposes. Third Maccabees has often been misunderstood. Because it recounts a persecution (albeit one miraculously averted at the last moment), it has been seen primarily as a confrontational text rejecting assimilation and interaction with gentiles. The principal subject of Third Maccabees is a persecution of the Jews of Alexandria that apparently took place under Ptolemy IV Philopator not long after the battle of Raphia in 217 bce However, it has long been recognized that the text as it stands cannot possibly have been composed before the end of the second century bce, nearly a century after the events it purports to describe. The terminus post quem is fixed by a clear allusion in Third Maccabees to the Greek translation of Daniel together with the additions now considered apocryphal.
David A. deSilva
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195329001
- eISBN:
- 9780199979073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195329001.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Judea gained political independence under the Hasmonean dynasty for the first time since the deportation to Babylon. Reflections on the accomplishments of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers set the ...
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Judea gained political independence under the Hasmonean dynasty for the first time since the deportation to Babylon. Reflections on the accomplishments of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers set the tone for messianic expectations to come, even when these expectations arose in reaction against the later Hasmonean and early Herodian rulers. The Psalms of Solomon provide an exceptionally clear snapshot of these expectations. The piety, ethics, and eschatology of these texts are explored, with an eye to their impact upon Jesus' teaching and degree of conformity to popular messianic paradigms.Less
Judea gained political independence under the Hasmonean dynasty for the first time since the deportation to Babylon. Reflections on the accomplishments of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers set the tone for messianic expectations to come, even when these expectations arose in reaction against the later Hasmonean and early Herodian rulers. The Psalms of Solomon provide an exceptionally clear snapshot of these expectations. The piety, ethics, and eschatology of these texts are explored, with an eye to their impact upon Jesus' teaching and degree of conformity to popular messianic paradigms.
David A. deSilva
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195329001
- eISBN:
- 9780199979073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195329001.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Reflection on the deaths of the Maccabean martyrs such as one finds in 2 Maccabees 6–7 and 4 Maccabees, together with the development of traditions concerning the violent deaths of the major ...
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Reflection on the deaths of the Maccabean martyrs such as one finds in 2 Maccabees 6–7 and 4 Maccabees, together with the development of traditions concerning the violent deaths of the major prophets, provides a sufficient basis for Jesus' expectation, and articulation of this expectation during his lifetime, of a violent death as the outcome of his witness. Jewish martyrology also provides sufficient basis for his expectation both of vindication through resurrection and his expectation that his obedience to God to the point of suffering death with bring benefits to the Jewish nation, or at least his followers, within the framework of the covenant (or the inauguration of the new covenant).Less
Reflection on the deaths of the Maccabean martyrs such as one finds in 2 Maccabees 6–7 and 4 Maccabees, together with the development of traditions concerning the violent deaths of the major prophets, provides a sufficient basis for Jesus' expectation, and articulation of this expectation during his lifetime, of a violent death as the outcome of his witness. Jewish martyrology also provides sufficient basis for his expectation both of vindication through resurrection and his expectation that his obedience to God to the point of suffering death with bring benefits to the Jewish nation, or at least his followers, within the framework of the covenant (or the inauguration of the new covenant).
Andrew R. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190868963
- eISBN:
- 9780190868994
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190868963.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter looks briefly at the rhetoric of temple renovation in texts from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, namely, the Hanukkah story in 2 Maccabees, Josephus’s account of Herod’s renovation of ...
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This chapter looks briefly at the rhetoric of temple renovation in texts from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, namely, the Hanukkah story in 2 Maccabees, Josephus’s account of Herod’s renovation of the Jerusalem temple, and the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s prediction of destroying and rebuilding the temple. Although they are not examined at great depth, these examples suggest that the rhetoric of temple renovation persisted in the ancient Levant well into later periods.Less
This chapter looks briefly at the rhetoric of temple renovation in texts from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, namely, the Hanukkah story in 2 Maccabees, Josephus’s account of Herod’s renovation of the Jerusalem temple, and the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s prediction of destroying and rebuilding the temple. Although they are not examined at great depth, these examples suggest that the rhetoric of temple renovation persisted in the ancient Levant well into later periods.
Timothy H. Lim
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300164343
- eISBN:
- 9780300164954
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300164343.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
An important period for our understanding of the formation of the Jewish canon is the second century bce. Scholars have looked to the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira and 2. Maccabees to back up the view ...
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An important period for our understanding of the formation of the Jewish canon is the second century bce. Scholars have looked to the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira and 2. Maccabees to back up the view that the canon was determined, if not already closed. This chapter examines the texts to see just how far the evidence can take us. It is argued that the Prologue of Sira does not have in view the closed canon. In its conception, the collection of authoritative scriptures consisted of the law, the prophets, and the other ancestral books, but this is not a bipartite or tripartite canon. The chapter also argues that for 2. Maccabees, the comparison between Nehemiah and Judas should be understood in a general way.Less
An important period for our understanding of the formation of the Jewish canon is the second century bce. Scholars have looked to the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira and 2. Maccabees to back up the view that the canon was determined, if not already closed. This chapter examines the texts to see just how far the evidence can take us. It is argued that the Prologue of Sira does not have in view the closed canon. In its conception, the collection of authoritative scriptures consisted of the law, the prophets, and the other ancestral books, but this is not a bipartite or tripartite canon. The chapter also argues that for 2. Maccabees, the comparison between Nehemiah and Judas should be understood in a general way.
Philip Wood
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199670673
- eISBN:
- 9780191760709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199670673.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World, Church History
The second chapter sets out the historiographical context for the emergence of a patriarchal history. It examines the writing of stories of martyrdom in the fifth century that were set during the ...
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The second chapter sets out the historiographical context for the emergence of a patriarchal history. It examines the writing of stories of martyrdom in the fifth century that were set during the earlier persecutions of the fourth century. Unlike the controversial missionary martyrs of the fifth century, the ‘greatest’ of the fourth century martyrs was a bishop of Ctesiphon, Simeon bar Sebba’e. His story could represent a vehicle for discussing the relationship between the shah and his Christian subjects, and the chapter traces the shift from total opposition to admission of the shah’s authority within reasonable bounds. Yet, at the same time, the Acts of Simeon were only weakly associated with the office of catholicos, an institution that would form the centre of the patriarchal histories composed at the end of the fifth century.Less
The second chapter sets out the historiographical context for the emergence of a patriarchal history. It examines the writing of stories of martyrdom in the fifth century that were set during the earlier persecutions of the fourth century. Unlike the controversial missionary martyrs of the fifth century, the ‘greatest’ of the fourth century martyrs was a bishop of Ctesiphon, Simeon bar Sebba’e. His story could represent a vehicle for discussing the relationship between the shah and his Christian subjects, and the chapter traces the shift from total opposition to admission of the shah’s authority within reasonable bounds. Yet, at the same time, the Acts of Simeon were only weakly associated with the office of catholicos, an institution that would form the centre of the patriarchal histories composed at the end of the fifth century.
John David Penniman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780300222760
- eISBN:
- 9780300228007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300222760.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Greek literature from ancient Judaism reflects many of the same strategies and assumptions surrounding food and proper formation found in Greek paideia and Roman family values. Indeed, certain Jewish ...
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Greek literature from ancient Judaism reflects many of the same strategies and assumptions surrounding food and proper formation found in Greek paideia and Roman family values. Indeed, certain Jewish authors (including the author of 2 Maccabees, Philo of Alexandria, the apostle Paul) worked with the prominent notion that food carries an essence in order to think through the very characteristics of their “Jewishness.” In so doing, they devised similar gastronomic regimes out of milk and solid food. Yet something was also different in how food functioned in this literature as the material basis of a deeper religious bond. The three sets of Jewish texts examined in this chapter indicate how the idioms, values, and embodied politics of Roman rule could be repurposed within a specific provincial culture. And they do so in such a way that emphasizes their own scriptural and philosophical commitments.Less
Greek literature from ancient Judaism reflects many of the same strategies and assumptions surrounding food and proper formation found in Greek paideia and Roman family values. Indeed, certain Jewish authors (including the author of 2 Maccabees, Philo of Alexandria, the apostle Paul) worked with the prominent notion that food carries an essence in order to think through the very characteristics of their “Jewishness.” In so doing, they devised similar gastronomic regimes out of milk and solid food. Yet something was also different in how food functioned in this literature as the material basis of a deeper religious bond. The three sets of Jewish texts examined in this chapter indicate how the idioms, values, and embodied politics of Roman rule could be repurposed within a specific provincial culture. And they do so in such a way that emphasizes their own scriptural and philosophical commitments.
Timothy Michael Law
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199781713
- eISBN:
- 9780199345168
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199781713.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter sets the historical background for the translation of the Septuagint. The formation of the Hebrew Torah occurred in the Persian period just before the Hellenistic Age introduced by ...
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This chapter sets the historical background for the translation of the Septuagint. The formation of the Hebrew Torah occurred in the Persian period just before the Hellenistic Age introduced by Alexander the Great. Judaism both in Palestine and the Diaspora was not immune to the pressures of Hellenization, and this new reality created the conditions for the translation of the Septuagint. Since the Persian period, there had been a Jewish presence in Egypt, and when Alexandria rose to become the cultural capital of the Hellenistic world, it also provided the ideal setting for the translation of the Hebrew Torah into Greek.Less
This chapter sets the historical background for the translation of the Septuagint. The formation of the Hebrew Torah occurred in the Persian period just before the Hellenistic Age introduced by Alexander the Great. Judaism both in Palestine and the Diaspora was not immune to the pressures of Hellenization, and this new reality created the conditions for the translation of the Septuagint. Since the Persian period, there had been a Jewish presence in Egypt, and when Alexandria rose to become the cultural capital of the Hellenistic world, it also provided the ideal setting for the translation of the Hebrew Torah into Greek.
