Colonial Education and Class Formation in Early Judaism

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Colonial Education and Class Formation in Early Judaism COLONIAL EDUCATION AND CLASS FORMATION IN EARLY JUDAISM: A POSTCOLONIAL READING by Royce Manojkumar Victor Bachelor of Science, 1988 Calicut University, Kerala, India Bachelor of Divinity, 1994 United Theological College Bangalore, India Master of Theology, 1999 Senate of Serampore College Serampore, India Dissertation Presented to the Faulty of the Brite Divinity School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Interpretation Fort Worth, Texas U.S.A. May 2007 ii iii © 2007 by Royce Manojkumar Victor Acknowledgments It is a delight to have the opportunity to thank the people who have helped me with the writing of this dissertation. Right from beginning to the completion of this study, Prof. Leo Perdue, my dissertation advisor and my guru persevered with me, giving apt guidance and judicious criticism at every stage. He encouraged me to formulate my own questions, map out my own quest, and seek the answers that would help me understand and contextualize my beliefs, practices, and identity. My profuse thanks to him. I also wish to thank Prof. David Balch and Prof. Carolyn Osiek, my readers, for their invaluable comments and scholarly suggestions to make this study a success. I am fortunate to receive the wholehearted support and encouragement of Bishop George Isaac in this endeavor, and I am filled with gratitude to him. With deep sense of gratitude, I want to acknowledge the inestimable help and generous support of my friends from the Grace Presbytery of PC(USA), who helped me to complete my studies in the United States. In particular, I wish to thank Rev. David Wasserman, Rev. Jeff Finch, Dr. William J. Carl III, Carol and Bob Adcock, and Peggy and Tommy Wadley. Without their constant encouragement, generosity of spirit, and ready willingness to help, my stay and studies in this country would not have been as smooth or as pleasant. v I want to thank many others from the various aspects of my life for their participation, support, and encouragement during the writing of this dissertation. Dr. Gregory Cuéllar, Dr. Israel Kamudzandu, Anirudra Thapa, Prof. Toni Craven, Dr. Jeff Williams, Dr. Edward McMahon, and Dr. Steven Sherwood deserve special thanks. Above all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude and admiration to my wife, Bindu and our son, Joel who endured hardships and inconveniences such an undertaking imposes on a family. Without their support and encouragement, I could not have achieved this goal. vi Contents Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 Early Jewish Society and Classes ............................................................................. 8 Sources.................................................................................................................... 13 1 The Books of First and Second Maccabees ..................................................... 14 2 Schools in Early Judaism and the Greco-Roman World ................................. 18 I. Introduction to Postcolonial Reading and Historiography ...................................... 25 Introduction............................................................................................................. 25 Greco-Roman Culture and Western Historiography: An Overview....................... 28 Postcolonialism and Education............................................................................... 33 Postcolonial Historiography.................................................................................... 37 Postcolonial Theories.............................................................................................. 41 1 Edward W. Said ............................................................................................... 41 2 Homi K. Bhabha .............................................................................................. 42 3 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ............................................................................ 46 4 The Subaltern Group........................................................................................ 48 5 Conclusions...................................................................................................... 54 Postcolonial Historiography and Present Study...................................................... 57 II. Historical Overview of Third and Second Centuries BCE .................................... 65 Introduction............................................................................................................. 65 Diadochi.................................................................................................................. 67 Ptolemaic Dynasty .................................................................................................. 71 Alexander, Diadochi, and Israel.............................................................................. 73 Israel under Ptolemies............................................................................................. 77 1 Ptolemaic Administration and Policies............................................................ 82 2 Ptolemies and Israel ......................................................................................... 91 vii The Seleucid Dynasty ............................................................................................. 93 The Seleucid Administration and Policies.......................................................... 97 Jews and Policies of the Empires.......................................................................... 107 Judea and the Hasmonean Uprising...................................................................... 113 1 Antiochus IV and Hellenization..................................................................... 123 2 The Revolt and the Aftermath........................................................................ 128 III. Hellenism and Material Culture in Israel............................................................ 136 Introduction........................................................................................................... 136 Hellenization and Israel ........................................................................................ 143 Cultural Features of Hellenism in Israel ............................................................... 145 1 Language........................................................................................................ 145 2 Greek Names.................................................................................................. 160 3 Material Culture............................................................................................. 164 i Houses and Other Buildings ....................................................................... 167 ii Tombs and Funerary customs.................................................................... 171 iii Pottery....................................................................................................... 174 iv Lamps........................................................................................................ 181 Summary and Conclusion..................................................................................... 183 IV. Hellenistic Education and Early Judaism ........................................................... 194 Introduction........................................................................................................... 194 School System in Early Judaism........................................................................... 195 1 Ben Sira.......................................................................................................... 197 Ben Sira and Education................................................................................. 205 2 Writings from Qumran................................................................................... 212 i Qumran Community and Education ........................................................... 213 ii Summary.................................................................................................... 219 3 Josephus ......................................................................................................... 223 4 Philo of Alexandria........................................................................................ 227 viii 5 Rabbinic Literature ........................................................................................ 230 6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 236 Hellenistic Education in Israel.............................................................................. 239 1 The Gymnasium and the Jews of Israel ......................................................... 242 2 The Curriculum of the Gymnasium at Jerusalem .......................................... 247 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 250 V. British Education in Colonial India and Class Formation ................................... 254 Introduction........................................................................................................... 254 Pre-Colonial Education in India............................................................................ 254 The Western Colonial Education before the British............................................. 261 The Colonial British
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