The Hasmoneans : : ideology, archaeology, identity / / Eyal Regev.

• Author: Regev, Eyal.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (342 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

The first two chapters discuss the religious practices of the Hasmoneans. Chapter 1 explores why the Maccabees regarded Hanukkah as a festival of renewal, specifically of those traditions related to the Temple cult. Chapter 2 examines the manner in which the Hasmoneans used the protection and maintenance of the Jewish Temple to legitimize their rule-and how they worked to place the Temple at the center of the Jewish religion. Chapters 3-5 deal with different perspectives in the Hellenistic world on the role of government and royal ideologies. Specifically, chapter 3 explores both the Hellenistic and Jewish contexts for Hasmonean government and kingship. Regev shows how the Hasmonean dynasty built up its religious (in contrast to political) authority, suggesting that the Hasmonean state was not a conventionally Hellenistic one, but rather a 'national' monarchy, closer to Macedonian in type. Chapter 4 attempts to decipher the meaning of the symbols and epigraphs on Hasmonean coins, and examines how both Hellenistic symbols and Jewish concepts were employed to reinforce the dynasty's authority and introduce Jewish 'national' ideas into the populace. Chapter 5 then undertakes a comparative social-archaeological analysis of the Hasmonean palaces in Jericho in an effort to gain insight into their royal ideology. The author compares the Hasmonean palaces to other Hellenistic palaces - especially the Herodian palaces. Finally, the concluding chapter integrates the previous findings into a new understanding of and appreciation for the Hasmoneans' creation of an innovative Jewish corporal identity, one whose echoes we can still hear today.

Table of Contents

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Preface; Table of Contents; Body; Introduction; 1. Hasmonean Ideology : Previous Scholarship and Methodology; 2. The Maccabean Revolution: The Transformation of Jewish Identity; 3. The Pursuit of Hellenism; 4. The Sources: Panegyric and Hostile Historiographies; 1 Maccabees; 2 Maccabees; 5. Ideology, Legitimization, and Power; 6. A Note on Terms and Translations; Chapter One: Hạnukkah and the Temple of the Maccabees; 1. Hạnukkah as Days of Millu'im; 2. Hạnukkah as the "Festival of Tabernacles" in 2 Maccabees

3. Consecration Ceremonies, Ritual Legends, and Temple Ideology in the Second Letter of 2 Maccabees4. Hạnukkah as a Political Festival; Chapter Two: The Centrality of the Temple in Hasmonean Ideology; 1. The Ideology of the Temple in 1 Maccabees; 2. Eupolemus, Solomon's Temple, and the Maccabean Ideology; 3. The Temple and Hasmonean Political Power according to Josephus; 4. Temple Practices: the Half-Shekel Tribute and Pilgrimage; 5. Diaspora Acquiescence: 2 Maccabees and Aristeas; 6. Moral Opposition to the Hasmonean Temple: Qumran and the Psalms of Solomon

7. Conclusions: When Politics Meets ReligionChapter Three: Leading the People: Establishing Hasmonean Authority; 1. High Priesthood and Authority in the Persian and Hellenistic Periods; 2. Mattathias the Zealot; 3. Judah the Savior; 4. Jonathan the Judge ; 5. Simon the Elected High Priest; 6. John Hyrcanus the Prophet; 7. The Hasmoneans as Religious Leaders; 8. Priestly Descent and the Zadokite Problem; 9. Becoming Monarchs: Hellenistic Honors and the Accumulation of Wealth; 10. Conclusions: Hasmonean "National" Monarchy; Chapter Four: Hasmonean Kingship in Hellenistic and Jewish Contexts

1. Introduction: Were the Hasmoneans Legitimate Kings?2. Hellenistic Royal Ideology; 3. The Idea of Kingship in the Hebrew Bible; 4. The Quest for Kingship in Ancient Judaism; 5. The Pros and Cons of Hasmonean Kingship; 6. Conclusions; Chapter Five: Hasmonean Coinage as Political Discourse; 1. Introduction: Background and Method; 2. Hasmonean Authority: High Priests or Kings?; 3. Hẹber ha-yehudim and the Hasmoneans' Collective Jewish Identity; 4. The Symbols: Political, Religious, or "National"?; 5. Reading Political History in the Hasmonean Coins; 6. Conclusions

Chapter Six: Royal Ideology in the Hasmonean Palaces in Jericho1. Introduction: Aims and Methods; 2. Plain Courts: The Size and Function of the Hasmonean Palaces; 3. The Internal Structure of the Hasmonean Palaces: Access Analysis; 4. Royal Water: Swimming Pools and Gardens; 5. The Hasmonean Bathhouses; 6. Jewish Royal-Priestly Purity : Ritual Baths; 7. Excursus: Identifying the Palaces of Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II; 8. Unembellished Pottery; 9. Royal Feasts; 10. Disposal of Vessels and Priestly Purity; 11. Conclusions: Internal Modesty and External Propaganda

Chapter Seven: Hasmonean Construction of the Jewish Collective Identity