The Institution of the Hasmonean High Priesthood Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism Editor Benjamin G. Wright, III Department of Religion Studies, Lehigh University Associate Editors Hindy Najman Department of Religious Studies, Yale University Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven Advisory Board a.m. berlin – k. berthelot – r. bloch – g. bohak – j.j. collins – j. duhaime – k. hogan – p.w. van der horst – o. irshai – a.k. petersen – s. mason – j.h. newman – m.r. niehoff – m. popović – i. rosen-zvi – j.t.a.g.m. van ruiten – m. segal – j. sievers – g. stemberger – l.t. stuckenbruck – j.c. de vos VOLUME 165 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/jsjs The Institution of the Hasmonean High Priesthood By Vasile Babota LEIDEN • BOSTON 2014 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The institution of the Hasmonean high priesthood / by Vasile Babota. pages cm. — (Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism, ISSN 1384–2161 ; Volume 165) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-25177-9 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25204-2 (e-book) 1. Maccabees. 2. Jewish high priests—History. 3. Jews—History—168 B.C.–135 A.D. I. Babota, Vasile, 1974 DS121.7.I47 2013 229’.7—dc23 2013034677 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 1384-2161 ISBN 978-90-04-25177-9 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-25204-2 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. In memory of my grandmother Hafia Babota (June 1, 1909–October 29, 2012) CONTENTS Acknowledgments .......................................................................................... xv Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1. Scholarly Studies on the Jewish High Priesthood ...................... 1 2. The Aim and Importance of the Present Study .......................... 4 3. The Methodology of the Present Study ......................................... 5 4. The Structure of the Present Study ................................................. 6 I. Sources and Their Characteristics ........................................................ 9 Introduction ................................................................................................. 9 A. First Maccabees ..................................................................................... 9 Introduction ........................................................................................... 9 Unity and Structure ............................................................................ 9 Authorship, Purpose and Audience ................................................ 10 Date ........................................................................................................... 11 Sources ..................................................................................................... 12 Historical Reliability ............................................................................ 13 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 15 B. Second Maccabees ............................................................................... 15 Introduction ........................................................................................... 15 Unity and Structure ............................................................................. 16 Sources ..................................................................................................... 16 Authorship, Place(s) of Composition, Date .................................. 17 Purpose(s) ............................................................................................... 18 Historical Reliability ............................................................................ 19 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 20 C. Flavius Josephus .................................................................................... 20 Introduction ........................................................................................... 20 1. Jewish War 1 ....................................................................................... 21 Aim, Audience, Unity, Structure and Date ................................... 21 Sources ..................................................................................................... 22 Historical Reliability ........................................................................... 23 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 23 viii contents 2. Jewish Antiquities 12–13; 20; Life ..................................................... 24 Audience, Aim, Structure, and Unity ................................................ 24 Sources ........................................................................................................ 25 Josephus’ Method of Writing History ................................................ 26 The Use of First Maccabees in Ant. 12–13 ........................................ 27 The Early Hasmonean High Priesthood in Ant. 12–13 and 20 ....... 29 3. Life .......................................................................................................... 31 4. Against Apion ....................................................................................... 32 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 33 II. The Pre-Hasmonean High Priests of the Seleucid Period ........... 35 Introduction .............................................................................................. 35 1. The Institution of the Seleucid Judea .......................................... 36 2. Judea, the Jerusalem Temple, and the Hasmoneans of Modein .................................................................................................. 38 3. The Edicts of Antiochus III for Jews and the Jerusalem Temple ................................................................................................... 39 3.1. The Royal strategos and archiereus Ptolemy, and the Jerusalem High Priest ............................................................... 40 3.2. King Antiochus III and the Judean Authorities ................ 41 3.3. Antiochus III, the Jewish ethnos, and the Jerusalem Temple ........................................................................................... 42 4. King Seleucus IV and the Royal archiereus Olympiodorus ... 44 5. The Jewish High Priest Onias III and the Inner Struggles ..... 46 6. The Jewish High Priest Jason and the Hellenizing Reform ... 48 6.1. The Institution of the Gymnasium and of the “Antiocheans” .............................................................................. 50 6.2. The Jewish High Priesthood for Sale: A Hellenistic Innovation .................................................................................... 52 7. The New High Priest Menelaus and the Jerusalem gerousia ................................................................................................. 53 8. Menelaus, Jason’s Attack on the Temple, and King Antiochus IV ........................................................................................ 54 9. The Royal Official Apollonius, the Profanation of the Jerusalem Temple, and the Institution of the Seleucid Akra ....................................................................................... 57 contents ix 10. The Royal Edict of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes ................. 59 11. A Religious Persecution in Samaria? ......................................... 60 12. The Royal Edict, the Jerusalem Temple, and Its Priesthood .......................................................................................... 61 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 64 III. The Hasmonean Revolt and the High Priesthood of Menelaus ............................................................................................. 67 Introduction ............................................................................................. 67 1. The Beginnings of the Hasmonean Revolt .............................. 67 2. The Anabasis of Antiochus IV and the Hasmonean Revolt .................................................................................................. 69 3. The Hasmonean Priestly Revolt and the High Priest Menelaus ...........................................................................................