The impact of a change in political constitution on early Palestinian Judaism during the period 175-161 B.C.E.

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study looks at a watershed period in the history of Judaism. In 175 B.C.E. a group ofJews sought to break Judaea out of the isolation in which it had stood since the Persianperiod. They wished to develop closer ties with their neighbours in Coele-Syria andPhoenicia and the Greek world in general. Since the Persian period the people of Judaeahad been governed by high priests according to the 'ancestral laws' i.e. the Torah and itsinterpretation by Ezra. This 'ancestral law' had been confirmed as binding on all Jews byAntiochus III in his decree of 198 B.C.E. In order to move beyond the restrictions placedon contact between Jews and other peoples, it would be necessary to have the politicalstatus of Judaea changed. A change of political status could only be brought about by theking or one of his successors.In 175 B.C.E. a group of Jews requested Antiochus IV to permit them totransform Judaea from an ethnos into a polis. He agreed and the transformation wasbegun. It is these events of 175 B.C.E. that form the base of this study. The writer usesthe model of Cultural Anthropology to form a framework in which these and subsequentevents can be analysed. In this way we can get a better understanding of how eventsprogressed. How a political reform ended in a religious suppression and persecution andfinally a successful revolt against the Seleucid kingdom.The Torah and its interpretation stood at the center of Jewish life. Each groupinterpreted the law in their own way and understood events in relation to thisinterpretation. Therefore no analysis of this period can be undertaken without taking thelaw and its various interpretations into account. The law is the thread that holds all facetsof this work together.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University