From 167-164 BCE, a series of conflicts between the Jewish people and the Seleucid's occurred that are referred to as the Maccabean Revolt. Two books of the Jewish bible, 1st and 2nd Maccabees, offer slightly different depictions of the events of the Revolt. However, as sources that are nearly two millennia old, it is important to consider their historical reliability. When trying to discern fact from fiction and gain a better understanding of the Maccabean Revolt, it is useful to consider who the authors of 1st and 2nd Maccabees were and what emotions these authors hoped to invoke in readers. It is likely that 1st and 2nd Maccabees were written by a Jewish author, given the tone that the author of 1st Maccabees takes about to the Hellenization of Judea and given the prologue of 2nd Maccabees. In 1st Maccabees, the author describes the Hellenizing …show more content…
He indicates that the reason for the initial attack on Jerusalem is that Antiochus Epiphanes believed that Judea was in a state of revolt due to the actions of Jason (2 Macc. 5:11-14). However, the author later insinuates that Antiochus sent Apollonius to attack Jerusalem, "In his malice towards the Jewish citizens" (2 Macc. 5:23-24). This contrasts the notion that the author believes that the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes were justified and makes any bias of the book unclear. Chapter Seven of 2nd Maccabees details the brutal torture and murder of 7 Jewish brothers and their mother for their refusal to break the covenant by eating swine's flesh. (2 Macc. 7). The brothers display conviction and resilience, while subjected to unspeakable cruelty for their beliefs. The author clearly intends for the reader to feel pity for the Jewish people based off of this description and characterizes the villainous nature of Antiochus
“The old man mumbled something, groaned, and died. Nobody cared. His son searched him and took the crust of bread”. But then two men saw the boy and killed him to for the crust. The people in the cattle car were no longer people, but animals who only cared for food. The people outside the cattle car also painted a dark picture of human nature. People gathered around the cattle car to have a glance at the fights happening over the piece of bread. Soon the spectators continued to toss bread inside the cattle car and watched the effects of their action with great interest. They observed those monsters who were ready to kill for a crust of bread. The circumstances that allowed this dark side of human nature to emerge was the instinct to survive. The Jews did everything to survive and no longer cared about anyone else. They went through so much suffering that they didn't listen to their conscience and didn't care if they killed somebody. The people outside revealed their dark side too because they enjoyed watching people kill each other for food and they encouraged the fight instead of stopping it. They watched in awe because at that time Germans didn't see Jews as humans. They enjoyed seeing the Jews
It was a survival of the fittest among the Jews. Death seemed inevitable, for there were emaciated corpses lying around and the smell of burning flesh lingering in the air.... ... middle of paper ... ...
...f the major Optimism of the Jews is that they could not comprehend the killing of all their people. They see it as a task that contains no possible way to be fulfilled. They justify it by saying “Was he going to wipe out a whole people? Could he exterminate a population scattered throughout so many countries? So many millions! What methods could he use?” (6). The answer to their question is yes but there is many chances to escape this fate, although the Jews of Sighet deny it.
The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.
The books 1 and 2 Maccabees focus on the rebellion of the Jewish people of Jerusalem against the hellenization of their city. While the events of both books are ultimately defined by the Jewish faith as demonstrated by the works’ protagonists, the two books utilize different aspects of that faith; 1 Maccabees is written in a mostly historical manner, showing chronologically how the actions of Jewish individuals contributed to the revolt against the hellenization of Jerusalem, but 2 Maccabees takes the focus away from Jewish people and places it with the Jewish God, declaring that it was his intervention which allowed the Jews to overcome the ungodly act of hellenization in their city. The aim of each author, to promote the Jewish community
They were set apart; they had no earthly king and their history was one filled with miracles and impossible victories. Yet Israel’s people were still human; their failures were nearly equal to their victories and their frequent disobedience towards God had cost them greatly. They were hardly a unified nation, and despite a history rich in God’s provision, they were rebellious.
1. Carter’s book focuses on the diverse ways the Early Christians dealt with their world, where imperial politics, economics, culture, and religion were mixed together (x). Furthermore, the author organized his book around important imperial realities that New Testament writings negotiate (x). The audience for Carter’s book includes high school or college students, Bible study groups, Sunday school students, clergy, and scholars interested in insights about passages in the New Testament to study.
1996. “Sacrifices and Offerings in Ancient Israel” in Community, Identity, and Ideology: Social Science approach to the Hebrew Bible., ed. Charles E. Carter.
A timeless and infamous text that has been influenced is the New Testament story of Jesus Christ. His teachings were written as early as 50 AD but the story was only put into text from oral tradition as early 63 AD, but it wasn’t until 80 AD when all recognised accounts were finished. This gives an idea of how powerful and large the story had spread and how the cinematic storytelling techniques originally employed by the likes of Homer to immerse specific audiences and achieve its goal of spreading the word of Christ. Set from just before the start of the common era to circa 30 ACE, it was a time where the Jews were heavily oppressed and occupied by the Romans. Jews were forced to worship the Roman emperor like a God(2), pay heavy taxes to Rome and one was severely beaten by Roman soldiers if one did not comply. Also there was a strict social order in which if you broke, you...
...r to Menelaus now. Thee tapestry is too intricately woven, so as the central blame is Helen, most of the individuals involved are in the war for widely different motives.
The Zealots had been rebelling against the Roman Empire the Great Jewish Revolt. However, they lacked proper leadership, and therefore had poor training and discipline, as well as little preparation for battle. Titus, a Roman military commander, was instructed to put this Jewish rebellion to an end. So he surrounded the city of Jerusalem with the Legions, Macedonia, Apollinaris and Fulminata, and had Fretensis occupy the Mount of Olives, which was a mountain ridge adjacent to Jerusalem. This strategy aligned with what was written in Luke 21:20, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.” This unfortunately was a...
The Book of Daniel is the only full-blown apocalyptic book in the Protestant recognized version of the Canon. A literary device divides the book into two halves. Chapters 1-6 are a collection of stories that introduces the reader to Daniel and three other Israelites as unwilling guests of the Babylonian Empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. The second half, Chapters 7-12, consists of apocalyptic imagery of deformed beasts and the heavenly court. The focus of this paper will be on chapter 7, which serves as a bridge between the two halves.
Senior, Donald, Mary Ann Getty, Carroll Stuhlmueller, and John J. Collins. "The Book of Habakkuk." Catholic Study Bible: The New American Bible. London: Oxford University Press, 1990. 1150-1153. Print.
LaSor, W., Hubbard, D., Bush, F., & Allen, L. (1996). Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans