The Hasmonean period and its influence on the formation of Jewish sects

A master's thesis in the field of Abrahamic religions

Abstract

The Maccabean movement was a movement that the Jews created in Judaea by overcoming the Seleucid kings, the successors of Alexander the Great. Alexander sought to spread Greek culture in all parts of the lands under his control. Therefore, simultaneously with the conquests of lands such as Iran, Asia Minor, India, Syria and Egypt, he promoted Greek culture. After Alexander, one of his successors, named Antiochus IV, tried to spread Greek culture among the Jews of Judea, and to replace the Greek religion and gods with the God of Jehovah. In this process, a group of Jews rose up to prevent the invasion of religion and Greek gods on the religious beliefs and thoughts of the Jewish people.

In this treatise, the aim is to examine the different aspects and perspectives of this Jewish movement and the impact it had on the Jews. A group of Jews called "Hasidim" who rose up against this invasion, supported this rebellion until the victory of Judas Maccabeus. The Maccabee family included Matthew the priest and his sons John, Judas Maccabee, Eleazar, Jonathan and Simeon. They led the Jewish resistance against the oppressive Seleucid rulers, who promoted the Greek religion. The Jewish uprising led to Jewish independence. The years 142 BC to 63 BC, the era of Jewish independence, is called the Maccabean period.

In this period, many sects were born, among them the two most important sects were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The war and conflict between these two groups weakened the nearly 100-year rule of the Maccabees and paved the way for Roman domination. Finally, one of the Roman generals named "Pompey" took a part of Syria from the rule of the Maccabees in 63 BC.

Key words: post-exile period, Great Council, Sanhedrin, Hasmoneans, Hasidim, Pharisees, Sadducees and Messiah.

Introduction

This treatise is under the title of special periods in Judaism called the Hasmonean period and the effect this period had on the formation of Jewish sects. The Hasmonean dynasty was founded around 167 BC in the city of Modin near Jerusalem and lasted until around 63 BC.

Explanation

Jews lived under the domination of foreign rulers for most of their long history and never rebelled against any king in a serious sense. The silence of the people against these rulers had both religious and political reasons. From a religious point of view, the prophets forbade them from doing this, and the people believed that rebellion against the king is rebellion against God, and they considered this rebellion to be a violation of God's decree. Judea was a weak and small land, and the Jews did not have the strength to confront any of their superior forces.

But this silence could continue as long as the religious freedom of the Jews was not disturbed. In the middle of the second century BC, the Jews, led by Matthias Maccabee, launched a rebellion against the Seleucid king. The result of this revolt was that the Jews regained their religious freedom. Since the leaders of this rebellion were priests themselves, after achieving independence and victory, and for the first time, they brought together the priesthood and the kingdom in one person.

The Maccabean or Hasmonean period is one of the important periods of ancient Judaism, both politically and religiously. Politically, we are witnessing a huge change in the lives of the Jews living in Judea, which affected the Jews' encounter with foreign rulers, including the great empire of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids. From a religious point of view, this revolution caused differences and new ideas among the Jewish sects, the most important of which was the creation of sects among the Jews. However, the goals that the members of this family followed later did not prove the truth of this claim.

Research background

The topic of this thesis is a topic that has not been worked on in Persian language in a coherent and impartial way. In Arabic and English sources, this period has been viewed either biased or partial. In English sources, for example, in the works of Yusufus, who claims to be a descendant of the Hasmoneans, the events of this period are only biased, and on the other hand, in the Arabic book "Elihud fi Palestine fi al-Asr al-Butlami wa al-Saluki (Al-Makabiyun: Drase fi al-Nahiyyah al-Diniyeh wa al-Siyasiyyah)" a critical view is shown.  Therefore, this treatise tries to provide an unbiased and coherent source and provide it to those interested and researchers of the history of this particular period of Judaism.     

The main research questions

If the claim of the Maccabi family is true that they arose simply to prevent religious mixing and to defend the religion and religion of their fathers, many questions arise in the researcher's mind. Among other things: if this rebellion was to confront the Greek religion, what was the reason for the Greekization of some members of the Maccabi family? If, according to this family, the basic principle for the Jewish religion was the Bible, what was the reason for ignoring some verses of the Bible, including the non-friendship agreement with foreigners, the prohibition of non-Jews entering this religion, and the non-marriage with non-Jews during this period? Even more important than these issues, what could be the reason for the opposition of some members of this family to the rituals and ceremonies of the Jewish religion? There are also other questions that are raised during the thesis and we will answer them to the best of our ability.

Research Objectives

One ??of the reasons for choosing this topic for the title of this thesis is the existence of many ambiguities behind this rebellion that I felt obliged to use the sources left from that era, which include the Bible, the works of Josephus (dating from the first century AD) and the book of Maccabees 2 and 1. As well as some other sources that have been written during different centuries, to the best of my ability, I will solve these ambiguities and reveal the reality of the rebellion of the Maccabee family and more importantly, the effect that this rebellion had on the people and throughout history, it took root among the people and even remains to this day. We go back to the fifth century BC, a great rebellion among the Jews who did not dare to make this great revolution during successive centuries against the foreign masters. In the first chapter, the time of the exile of the Jews (5th century BC) to Babylon and the psychological and intellectual revolution that this exile brought on the people have been examined. This captivity, which according to Jeremiah (12:25), lasted 70 years, had many religious and cultural effects among the Jewish people. Finally, this captivity was ended around 530 BC by Cyrus the Great, whom the Jews considered their savior. Jews returned to their homeland and rebuilt their religion and rituals. But this freedom was ended a few centuries later, in the third century BC, by Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great was educated by Aristotle and was influenced by him. Before he was a military figure, he was a cultural figure. Therefore, simultaneously with the conquests of lands such as Iran, Asia Minor, India, Syria, and Egypt, he promoted Greek culture.

The attitude of different Jewish groups in front of Greek culture was different.

In Jewish society, the rich together with the high priests formed an intermediary group that tried to exploit Judea and its people for the benefit of the ruling Seleucid Empire. On the other hand, the Hasidim, who were monotheistic Jews, were against the invasion of foreign culture and saw their religious identity in danger.

In the second chapter of the treatise, the political, social and religious situation of the Jewish community from the middle of the second century BC to the end of the Hasmonean period and the politics of the Ptolemaic and then Seleucid governments have been investigated. In this chapter, the rebellion of the Maccabean or Hasmonean dynasty against the policy of the Seleucid king and the different reasons and perspectives for this rebellion are examined. Then, the actions of Judas Maccabeus and the final victory in the time of Simeon and John Hyrcanus's clear rejection of the Jewish law and finally the end of the Hasmonean period and the beginning of the Herodian period have been discussed. In the third chapter, the effects and consequences of the Hasmonean dynasty have been examined.