Tales of High Priests and Taxes - The Books of the Maccabees and the Judean Rebellion Against Antiochos IV

In the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the ancient world of the Bible—the ancient Near East—came under Greek rule, and in the land of Israel, time-old traditions and Greek culture met. But with the accession of King Antiochos IV, the soft power of culture was replaced with armed conflict, and soon the Jews rebelled against their imperial masters, as recorded in the Biblical books of the Maccabees. Whereas most scholars have dismissed the biblical accounts of religious persecution and cultural clash, Sylvie Honigman combines subtle literary analysis with deep historical insight to show how their testimony can be reconciled with modern historical analysis by conversing with the biblical authors, so to speak, in their own language to understand the way they described their experiences. Honigman contends that these stories are not mere fantasies but genuine attempts to cope with the massacre that followed the rebellion by giving it new meaning. This reading also discloses fresh political and economic factors. Cover 1 Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Preface and Acknowledgments 10 General Introduction 14 PART I. IOUDAÏSMOS: 1 AND 2 MACCABEES AS DYNASTIC HISTORY – Methodological Introduction: The Modern Semantic Categories of "Religion" and "Politics" and Ancient Societies 64 1. 2 Maccabees as Dynastic History 78 2. Temple Foundation and Royal Legitimacy: A Narrative Pattern and Its Message 108 3. Ioudaïsmos as the Legitimate Social Order Founded by Judas Maccabee 132 4. Royal High Priests and Temple Foundation: The Narrative Pattern and the Hasmonean Political Order 160 Conclusion 196 PART II. HELLENISMOS: THE CAUSES OF THE REBELLION ACCORDING TO THE AUTHORS OF 1 AND 2 MACCABEES – Methodological Introduction: Symbolic Universe, Cultural Codes, and Causal Analysis in 1 and 2 Maccabees 202 5. Hellenismos: The Social Order of the Wicked Rivals in 1 and 2 Maccabees 210 6. The "Religious Persecution" in the Light of Ancient Judean Cultural and Narrative Codes 242 7. The Causes of the Rebellion according to 1 and 2 Maccabees 272 Conclusion 300 PART III. HISTORY: THE JUDEAN REBELLION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, 200–164 B.C.E. – From Literary Analysis to History: A Summary of the Conclusions of Parts I and II 304 8. Judea and Koile Syria and Phoinike under Antiochos III, 200–187 B.C.E. 310 9. Seleukos IV Philopator and the Revision of Antiochos III's Settlement in Judea, 187–175 B.C.E. 329 10. Judea under Antiochos IV Epiphanes: The Reforms, 175 – ca. 172 B.C.E. 358 11. Judea under Antiochos IV Epiphanes: The Suppression of the Rebellion, 169/8–164 B.C.E. 391 Appendix A. The Literary Composition of 1 Maccabees 418 Appendix B. The Literary Composition of 2 Maccabees 422 Abbreviations 426 General Notes 430 Bibliography 526 Index Locorum 546 Subject Index 552 A 553 B 555 C 555 D 556 E 556 F 556 G 557 H 557 I 558 J 558 K 560 L 560 M 561 N 561 O 561 P 562 R 563 S 564 T 565 U 567 V 567 W 567 Z 567 "In the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the ancient world of the Bible--the ancient Near East--came under Greek rule, and in the land of Israel, time-old traditions and Greek culture met. But with the accession of King Antiochus IV, the soft power of culture was replaced with armed conflict, and soon the Jews rebelled against their imperial masters, as recorded in the Biblical books of Maccabees. Whereas most scholars have dismissed the Biblical accounts of religious persecution and cultural clash, Sylvie Honigman combines subtle literary analysis with deep historical insight to show how their testimony can be reconciled with modern historical analysis by learning to converse with the biblical authors, so to speak, in their own language to understand the way they described their own experiences. Honigman contents that their stories are not mere fantasies but genuine attempts to cope with the massacre that followed the rebellion by giving it new meaning. This reading also discloses fresh political and economic factors"-- Provided by publisher