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The Biblical Conquest of the Promised Land and the Hasmonaean Wars According to 1 and 2 Maccabees

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The Biblical Conquest of the Promised Land and the Hasmonaean Wars According to 1 and 2 Maccabees THE BIBLICAL CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND AND THE HASMONAEAN WARS ACCORDING TO 1 AND 2 MACCABEES Katell Berthelot (CNRS, Aix en Provence, France) According to several scholars working on 1 and 2 Maccabees and the Has­ monaean dynasty, the wars led by the Hasmonaeans-especially the wars of conquest led by John Hyrcanus and Alexander Jannaeus-were inspired by the biblical model of the conquest of the Promised Land at the time of Jo­ shua, and aimed at reconquering the Land given by God to His people. This idea, however, is not really discussed by scholars, but rather taken for gran­ ted. Thus, in connection with 1 Maccabees, Aryeh Kasher for example writes: ( ... ) we must not ignore (Simon's) sincere religious ambition, shared by most of the Jewish population, which was to purge the Land of Israel of the impurities caused by its idolatrous inhabitants; nor may we dismiss the nationalistic and historical motives of liberating portions of the "homeland" ( ... ).1 In connection with 1 Macc 15:33-34, Jonathan A. Goldstein similarly writes: Seleucid kings had insisted on that principle [the right to retake one's ancestral heritage) as well as on the right of possession by conquest ( ... ). The Jews' claims based on divine promises to their ancestors and on previous conquest should have had at least equal validity.2 More recently, Zeev Safrai evokes lithe deep influence of the biblical concept of the conquest of the land on the literature of the Hasmonean period."3 But the truth of these assertions is not demonstrated. In this article, I would like to argue that a careful reading of 1 and 2 Maccabees shows these assertions to be at least partly false. Moreover, it seems that the notion of the ancestral 1 "The Changes in Manpower and Ethnic Composition of the Hasmonean Army (167-63 BCE)," JQR 81/3-4 (1991) 325-52, quotation 344. 2 I Maccabees (AB 41, Garden City: Doubleday 19846 [first edition 1976)) 516. 3 "The Gentile Cities of Judea: Between the Hasmonean Occupation and the Ro­ man Liberation," in Studies in Historical Geography and Biblical Historiography Presented to Zecharia Kallai (ed. G. Galil and M. Weinfeld, VTSup 81, Leiden: Brill 2000) 63-90, quotation 77. 46 KATELL BERTHELOT Land conveyed in the texts corresponds mainly to Judea. The notion of a "greater Israel" based on the divine promise and the biblical texts seems to be considered a reality of the past, without programmatic effects on the present (i.e., on the period during which the authors lived). 1. REFERENCES TO JOSHUA AND THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN IN 1 AND 2 MACCABEES a) 1 Maccabees References to Joshua and the conquest of Canaan are surprisingly few in 1 Maccabees. The only reference, actually, is to Joshua himself. It appears in Mattathias' testament (1 Macc 2:55). There we read: "Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel" (Ir1Oo\l5 EV Tc;l TTATJPWOCXI AOYOV 'syevsTo KPlTIJ5 EV lopcxTJA).4 The insistence on Joshua's obedience to God's command is easy to understand in the context of a speech delivered by someone whose message to his sons focuses on "zeal for the Law," on faithfulness to the commandments of the Torah. The second aspect-Joshua becoming a judge-is more peculiar, since Joshua is not explicitly appointed as a judge in the Bible.s Rather, he is the one who enables the people to in­ herit the land.6 But if compared to other biblical leaders, he clearly stands together with the heroes of the Book of Judges. The first Hasmonaeans certainly perceived themselves as judges too. 1 Macc 9:73 clearly states: "Jo­ nathan dwelt in Michmash. And Jonathan began to judge the people." Like Joshua and the judges of old time/ the Hasmonaeans considered themselves elected by God.8 Thus, the reference to Joshua aims at showing that the Has­ monaeans were deemed worthy to deliver, judge and lead Israel because of their faithfulness to the Law. It is enlightening to compare 1 Maccabees' description of Joshua with that of Ben Sira. The account in Ben Sira is as follows: Joshua the son of Nun was mighty in war, and was the successor of Moses in pro­ phesying. He became, in accordance with his name, a great savior of God's elect, to take vengeance on the enemies that rose against them, so that he might give Is­ rael its inheritance. How glorious he was when he lifted his hands and stretched out his sword against the cities! Who before him ever stood so finn? For he waged the wars of the Lord (46:1-3). 4 All Biblical and deuterocanonical quotations come from the NRSV. 5 See for example Deut 31:3,7-8,23; Jos 1:1. J.A. Goldstein already noticed this point (see I Maccabees, 240). According to W. Dommershausen, Joshua may be considered the first judge; see 1 Makkabiier. 2 Makkabiier (NEB, Wiirzburg: Echter Verlag 1985) 27. 6 See Jos 1:6, among others. 7 Joshua is chosen by God himself, who says to Moses: "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him" (Num 27:18). 8 See 1 Macc 5:62: they are the ones through whom deliverance will be given to Israel. .
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