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. Contents Preface and acknowledgments General Introduction Part I. IoudaÏsmos: 1 and 2 Maccabees as Dynastic History Methodological Introduction: The Modern Semantic Categories of “Religion” and “Politics” and Ancient Societies 1. 2 Maccabees as Dynastic History 2. Temple Foundation and Royal Legitimacy: A Narrative Pattern and Its Message 3. Ioudaïsmos as the Legitimate Social Order Founded by Judas Maccabee 4. Royal High Priests and Temple Foundation: Th e Narrative Pattern and the Hasmonean Political Order Conclusion Part II. Hellēnismos The Causes of the Rebellion according to the Authors of 1 and 2 Maccabees Methodological introduction Symbolic Universe, Cultural Modes, and Causal Analysis in 1 and 2 Maccabees 5. Hellēnismos: The Social Order of the Wicked Rivals in 1 and 2 Maccabees 6. The “Religious Persecution” in the Light of Ancient Judean Cultural and Narrative Codes 7. The Causes of the Rebellion according to 1 and 2 Maccabees Conclusion 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 8. Judea and Koilē Syria and Phoinikē under Antiochos III, 200–187 b.c.e. 9. Seleukos IV Philopator and the Revision of Antiochos III’s Settlement in Judea, 187–175 b.c.e. 10. Judea under Antiochos IV Epiphanes: Th e Reforms, 175–ca. 172 b.c.e. 11. Judea under Antiochos IV Epiphanes: Th e Suppression of the Rebellion, 169/8–164 b.c.e Appendix A. Th e Literary Composition of 1 Maccabees Appendix B. Th e Literary Composition of 2 Maccabees Abbreviations General Notes Bibliography Index Locorum Subject Index "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"