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Judean Cultural Resistance to the Persian and Hellenistic States: the Beginnings of a Jewish Kingdom

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Judean Cultural Resistance to the Persian and Hellenistic States: the Beginnings of a Jewish Kingdom Judean Cultural Resistance to the Persian and Hellenistic States: The Beginnings of a Jewish Kingdom Item Type text; Electronic Thesis Authors Delecki, Abram Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 21:50:54 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/632545 JUDEAN CULTURAL RESISTANCE TO THE PERSIAN AND HELLENISTIC STATES: THE BEGINNINGS OF A JEWISH KINGDOM by Abram Delecki ____________________________ Copyright © Abram Delecki 2019 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2019 1 Acknowledgments Thank you to my family who have supported me in this project. Thank you to the faculty and Department of History personnel who have been great help with this project. 3 Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………...5 Chapter 1 – The Persian Period………………………………………………………..6 Chapter 2 – Alexander the Great and the Early Hellenistic Period…………………....28 Chapter 3 – The Maccabees and a new Jewish Kingdom……………………………...48 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….......64 Works Cited……….…………………………………………………………………....68 4 Abstract The date of 539 B.C.E. was significant for the people of ancient Judea for two reasons. First, it marked the rediscovery of and the rebuilding process for their sacred Temple in Jerusalem. Secondly it was the start of the inclusion of Judea into a large, cosmopolitan Persian Empire and then into the newer Hellenistic Kingdoms of the late 4th century B.C.E. As a result of this inclusion the Jews would be presented with a number of difficulties. A major one would be the cultural conflicts that would plague Judean society for centuries, mostly connected with marriages to non-Jews and various degrees of religious and cultural syncretism with (mostly) Greek neighbors. The other would be the questions of how Judea should function within the broader kingdom in which it was located, what kind of autonomy the Jews should receive and how this autonomy should be maintained. These questions would lead to disputes and, by the middle of the 2nd century B.C.E., outright revolt. 5 CHAPTER 1 – The Persian Period Introduction For a race or culture to write its own collective history is an impressive task. Their closeness and access to sources allow them to create a fuller history than would be possible for an outside observer, far removed from the events and sources. As a rule, scholars give more weight to and put more focus on contemporary authors or even witnesses to the events they write about than works created centuries after the events described. Yet, even though we acknowledge the significance of first-hand observer accounts of historical events, it is important not to wholly rely on one author’s or collective’s view of affairs. Indeed, one must carefully scrutinize the origins of such written sources. Are the versions that survive intact the same as the originals they are based on? What events or periods affected the writer’s tone or view of the narrative? Can we use other documentation to elaborate on or refute a claim? These and other questions all modern historians must consider when looking at sources, especially those that demonstrate little agreement with other sources. In the ancient world, the Jews were a people who were very concerned about the maintenance of both their cultural and political identity. This cultural identity was heavily connected to their religious devotion, or, to be exact, their covenant with their God. According to Webster’s dictionary, this covenant was “the agreement between God and the ancient Israelites, in which God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.” Judging from this, the Jews lived at the whim of their God. When he was benevolent and kind, the Jews prospered and grew; when he was angry, those who angered him were diminished or even destroyed. The covenant was maintained by the Jews following cultural practices, traditional religious laws and interpretations of prophetic omens. Yet though their covenant with God did not change, the circumstances of the Jews often did. One thing that repeatedly changed for Judea over the centuries was its connection to other 6 terrestrial kingdoms. The period from 539 B.C.E. to 160 B.C.E. represented a unique time for Jews in the ancient world, a new beginning of sorts. To have a beginning, of course, something must end. This ending occurred in 587 B.C.E., when Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 B.C.E.). The devastation was thorough: All the vessels of the house of God, large and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, all these he brought to Babylon. They burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia…1 As the Jews were only in exile for a few decades, there were among them members of older generations who were familiar with the old ways, but also those from newer generations growing up under foreign customs. Judea in the past had always served as something of a crossroads of cultures and ideas, but that was when it had been controlled by a strong central power—the priests or the kings. Now there were no surviving institutions to enforce customs and traditions. The issue for the Jews in resettling their old state was to decide how accepting they would be of foreign customs and influence. The fall of Jerusalem also highlights one of the more troubling issues for the Jews: their proximity to major Near Eastern and later Hellenistic powers. The Jews had had the practical experience of losing Judea once and they were determined not to suffer the same fate again. As we shall see, future resistance would not be violent, at least not initially. Instead, it would be through maintaining religious and moral traditions, with violence as a last resort. However, no amount of resistance or patriotism would bring stability and coordination; for that there would have to be a stable secular authority working with God’s covenant. Fittingly, the end of the period under consideration here coincided with another beginning: the beginning of Jewish sovereignty with the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 B.C.E.). 1 2 Chronicles, 36.18-20 (NRSV). 7 The focus of this project is not the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem or of the entire Jewish exile itself, but rather the Jewish resettlement of Jerusalem and Judea, first under Persian masters and then under Hellenistic monarchs. I will analyze how the Jews viewed themselves in relation to these different empires and the question of whether they were able to maintain their cultural independence while not sacrificing their political independence. I will also consider what the responsibility of these different empires was to Judea and its peoples. Finally, in regards to the Revolt of the Maccabees, I will examine whether it was driven by dutiful Jews oppressed by apostate Hellenistic customs imposed by deceitful leaders, or opportunists striking at a decaying Seleucid Empire. Issues with the Sources The Biblical Narratives Any study of Jewish history or culture must include the Bible and all its different versions.2 Yet the data from this collection—not to mention the various pieces of the collection itself—are problematic for a variety of reasons. The first issue to be addressed is whether an accurate chronology of events exists in the biblical texts. Ultimately, accurate and reliable historical narratives cannot be created from this source.3 Readers must instead focus on what topics or ideas a chronicler or author highlights in his sections. This raises another concern: When were the Bible and its related texts actually conceived and written? Much recent scholarship acknowledges that the Second Temple Period (540 B.C.E.–70 C.E.) marks the beginning of systematic attempts to organize the biblical manuscripts.4 What this means for our 2 For the purpose of this project the Septuagint will provide the primary biblical narrative. The reason for this is because the Septuagint was produced during the Hellenistic Era (323–30 B.C.E.) and reflects elements of the Jewish experience at the time. In addition, it is possibly mentioned in The Letter of Aristeas (2nd Century B.C.E). Any discrepancies between the biblical texts used here will be noted. 3 Ackroyd,136. 4 Noll 216, Mroczek 33, Morton Smith 244. Noll differs from Mroczek and Smith in his chronology, placing the origins near the Hasmonean Period (140–116 B.C.E.). Mroczek believes that other texts and interpretations coexisted alongside earlier biblical versions. Smith dates many of the original works to the 8 project is that a high degree of accuracy in the biblical accounts of events contemporary with our period cannot be expected. Fortunately, other contemporary documentation such as the Elephantine Papyri elaborate on, and in some instances even refute, the preserved biblical narratives. A third conundrum is the relative mix of genres that exists in the biblical narratives: autobiography (Nehemiah), prophecy (Haggai) and Hellenistic novel (Esther).5 These narratives also contain subgenres within them, such as genealogies and family records, that break up the main narratives and cause confusion about the subject material.
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