Monday, August 14, 2023

Isaac Kalimi on Historical Problems in 1 Maccabees

  

Several historical differences between the text of the early books and the book of Chronicles stem from the Chronicler’s lack of awareness of the use of certain technical idioms and unchanging linguistic structures and his lack of awareness of the real historical and geographical facts of the period of the Monarchy. These are some of the signs of the time gap separating the later historian, who lived in the Persian period, and the early sources at his disposal in his book on the history of the First Temple period. In other words, despite the Chronicler’s many literary and historiographical talents, his work is not free of errors and misunderstanding.

 

This phenomenon is also observable in other historiographical sources—for example, in the historiography of the Hasmonean revolt:

 

(a) In 1 Macc 1:29 we are told: “two years later the king sent a minister of taxation (αρχουνα φρονολογιας) to the cities of Judah.” This is apparently a reference to Appollonius, who was called “captain of the Mysians” in 2 Macc 5:24 because he was in command of the mercenary force from the land of Mysia (Μυσια), in northwest Asia Minor. The Greek translator of 1 Maccabees was apparently unfamiliar with this geographical term and with the military title derived from it, so he paraphrased it, explaining: מוסים ‘Mysians’ = מסים ‘taxes’.

 

(b) In 1 Macc 3:13, Seron is termed “commander of the army of Syria” (αρχων τηνς δυναμεως Συριας). However, it is clear from v. 14 that Seron was not the head of the Seleucid army: “He [Seron] said: ‘I will make a name for myself and become a noble of the kingdom, for I will wage war against Judas and his companions, who ridicule the word of the king.’” Only the Seleucid king himself was the commander-in-chief of the army, and the commanding officer of the various expeditions were determined by him. Later, when Josephus made use of this source (Ant. 12.288), he paraphrased it erroneous, apparently using the term accepted in his day for “commander of the army of Syria” and describing Sermon as “commander of the armies of Coele-Syria” (σταρατηγος της κοιλης Συριας). (Isaac Kalimi, The Reshaping of Ancient Israelite History in Chronicles [Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2005], 392-93)

 

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