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Re: orion 1st BCE generation; War Scroll

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According to Sigrid:
>If you understand *Jihad* as meaning `struggle' (with self and
>other/Other), as "Worrier" (typo for Warrior) would suggest. There are
>many problems, though, with understanding the martyrdoms of the
>Hasmonean period in this way.

No, I understand *Jihad* as the Holy War; here: the delivery of the holy
Battle-Sword to Judas verbatim by Onias III (/Mattatias?) in 2 Macc15:15 and
the important authoritative law-interpretation of Num 10:9 in the sense of
*passive defense* (the minimal form of strategic defensive) on Shabbat (1
Macc 1:39ff.; Ant XII, 272ff.) by Mattatias (/Onias III ?) as a doresh
ha-Torah; see 1QM x,6ff. N.B. Remember that the date of  Onias III^Òs death
in 170 BC is questionable.
If you understand the *Hasmonaean period* as the period of the ruling
Zadokite priestly service class of Jehojarib, I have no problems at all. To
Jehojarib see Maier, J._Die Texte vom Toten Meer_ vol. III, pp. 52-160,
Munich 1996.
And I^Òll get a spell-checker soon  ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>I don't think there was a disaster followed by a decisive victory; rather
>a disaster (Antiochus IV plundering Jerusalem, installing the "abomination
>of desolation"--you know more than I do about its nature), followed by a
>standoff. It was many years before the Seleucid garrison was driven out of
>Jerusalem.

Antiochus IV^Òs plundering of  the Temple treasure (Ant XII, 247ff.; 2 Macc
5:21) after his expedition against Iudea  and the conquer of Jerusalem (1
Macc 1:29; Ant XII, 246f.; 2 Macc 5:11-20) was followed by the desecration
of the Temple in autumn 168 BC (1 Macc 1:54), now called "the Temple of
Jupiter (Zeus) Olympius" (2 Macc 6:22; you see: I do not know more, perhaps
I miss less  :-). Finally he starts a pogrom (2 Macc 5:22; cf. Bell I,34ff.;
Ant XiII, 253; 2 Macc 6-7). That was disastrous enough, therefore "Judas
Maccabeus, with about nine others (the biblical minimum of ten righteous, so
that *localities* continue to exist) got away to the wilderness, and kept
himself and his companions alive in the mountains as wild animals do (that^Òs
why I assumed that they were bearded); they continued to live on what grew
wild (= temporarily vegetarians), so that they might not share in the
defilement" (2 Macc 5:27).
Exactly 36 months after these events (that^Òs historically *short after* )
Judas^Ò *Holy Warriors*  re-conquered Jerusalem with exception of the Acra -
a flaw referred by Sigrid. First HP Simon Maccabaeus corrected that by a
cosmetic operation in 142/1 BC (that^Òs indeed of *long after*) , when
Demetrius II was captured on his expedition to Media Atropatene by Parthian
cataphracts ...
However, the Acra had no fundamental strategic relevance (like the Swine-Bay
or whatever its name was in a later event), therefore the disaster was
followed by a decisive victory as I^Òve said earlier - pardon, Madame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

>Interpreting the (eventual) Hasmonean Revolution in terms of later events
>is not to my taste,

Hola mujer! I agree; the Cuban tortilla isn^Òt everyone^Òs (last) cup of blood
...
~~~~~~~~~~~~

>My purpose in posting was to register that while the Hasmonean
>Revolution may ultimately have been successful, it began with a disaster
>that John Chrysostom and others termed the "third exile" -- after Egypt
>and Babylon.

That^Òs the Isaiah-40/3-roundtrip: Jerusalem -> desert of Jerusalem -> Araba
of Nations -> Jordan ford -> Jerusalem - the essential doctrine of the
yachad behind the DSS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

>See Joshua Efron's article on the Roman takeover, in his STUDIES ON
>THE HASMONEAN PERIOD (Brill, 1987; 1st Hebrew ed., 1980

I didn^Òt know Efron^Òs article, probably because publications of E. Brill are
very expensive - but I^Òll try to get an exemplar of the University of
Nijmegen or Utrecht soon. Now I^Òm interested. Furthermore I^Òve to read
Strabo^Òs Geography (which book-position ?) and Diodorus^Ò Historical Library
again, for I don^Òt remember me. Perhaps we^Òre now quit :-)

Greetings
Dierk

____________________

Dr. Dierk Vandenberg
Heinrich-Heine University
Duesseldorf, Germany
haGalil@gmx.net
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