Construction, Coherence and Connotations

Pierre J. Jordaan, Nicholas P. L. Allen

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9783110465679
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

These fourteen selected essays were originally read at the LXXSA international conference: Construction, Coherence and Connotation in Septuagint, Apocryphal and Cognate Literature (28-30 August 2015), hosted by the North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Here, the intention was to apply new critical theory and approaches to the fields of Old Testament Scripture as well as associated Apocryphal and Cognate literature, with a specific focus on the interrelated recurring theme of the Wisdom of the deity and its decryption and reception at various times in history.

In this regard, it was felt that this theme and associated source texts had been largely overlooked in recent scholarship. Here the aim was to attract recent research by both leading national as well as international scholars which not only shed new light on Old Testament Apocrypha and so-called Pseudepigraphical literature but which also critically reviewed certain biblical wisdom texts which are foundational for both the Christian as well as Jewish communities.

As a consequence, many of the essays deal with the apocryphal Wisdom of Sirach. However, important contributions may also be found apropos Micah, Daniel, Baruch, 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Susanna, Judith, and the works of Josephus Flavius.

Eugene Coetzer

Coincidence or Coherence? Rhetorical Considerations for Unnatural Elements in 2 Maccabees 5:1–20

Abstract: In 2 Macc. 5:1–20 a series of mysterious events are incorporated into the account of the Temple’s profanation. Scenes of divine apparition, rumours and coincidental death are all interwoven into the text. These events are usually viewed as independent. Alternatively, this article investigates the possibility of a unified purpose for these elements. Four scenes are identified which demonstrate the author’s proclivity towards a supernatural explanation of the circumstances described in this pericope. Accordingly, the Temple’s desecration can only be conseptualised by the reader as divinely driven. This, in turn, proves that the events are not merely coincidence, but engineered by God. The attack on the Temple can only be seen as punishment if God has caused it. Consequently, through a rhetorical analysis, the article provides a means to view the four scenes as a unified communicative strategy.

Keywords: 2 Maccabees, Holy Temple, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Rhetoric.

1Introduction

Throughout the text of 2 Maccabees, the author has been raising the level of the anticipation of a disastrous event to follow. This has been done through a variety of warnings and estimations such as:

–the summary of events to follow in the attached letters (1:1–2:18) and the prologue (2:19–32),

–the threat to the Temple in 3:1–39,

–the warning of the dangers of the Hellenistic reform under Jason (4:15–17)

–and the death of Onias III (4:23–50)

Now, finally, disaster strikes. Antiochus IV Epiphanes himself leads the massacre in Jerusalem and defiles the Temple by entering and plundering it with his polluted hands (5:16). By now, the reader has no doubt about the importance of the Temple’s status as well as the devastation should it be profaned. Jordaan (2015: 352) distinguishes three temple scenes in 2 Macc and demonstrates their significance for the relation between the Jews and their God. The reaction of the city to the first threat to the Temple in 2 Macc. 3:1–39 asserted that it is critical for the Temple to remain consecrate.

Now, the defilement of the most holy Temple in this pericope leads to questions: Why does Antiochus IV succeed where others have failed? Why was the wickedness of the Seleucid king allowed, but not that of Heliodorus? To these questions, the author supplies a direct answer, one of which the essence becomes a theme throughout 2 Macc: God allows misfortune due to the sins of the city, until He is again reconciled with his people. The author states this explicitly, through the statement in 5:17–20 that Antiochus IV is only a tool of God’s punishment. This explicit theological communication is part of a series of reflections (see also 4:16–17; 6:12–17) by the author in an attempt to guide the reader’s understanding of events.

Due to this direct form of communication and its content it is tempting to regard verses 17–20 as the totality of the author’s plan with this pericope. Preceding these four verses is, however, an array of mysterious events. Premonitions, rumours and coincidental death are the elements that drive the text. Thus, certain questions arise regarding the relevancy of the rest of the pericope:

–Why is the premonitory sign included?

–Why is the premonitory sign not explained or referenced in the rest of the pericope?

–Why is the attack of Jason as well as that of Antiochus IV caused by a rumour?

–Why is the death of Jason included and elaborated?

These questions lead to the potentiality of a unifying theme which may serve as a strategy applied by the author to move the reader to adopt his proposition.

The pericope has been discussed by many scholars (Bickerman, 1979; Bénevot, 1931; Bartlett, 1973; Habicht, 1976; Goldstein, 1983; Dommerhausen, 1985; Schwartz, 2008; Doran, 2012) applying various approaches:

–Bickerman aims his book, The God of the Maccabees (1979), as a preliminary study for a commentary on 1 and 2 Macc. His book developed out of a philological interpretation and has a “purely historical” aim in order to understand the sequence of events and make them comprehensible (1979: 1). Amongst his foci are the dating of the prefixed letters and the book, the differences of the various traditions, and the original aggressors of the persecutions.

–Another leading scholar, Robert Doran, in his commentary on 2 Macc (2012), highlights the author’s love for metaphors and wordplay. He focuses on worldview and the confrontation between Judaism and Hellenism. His research shows interest in some rhetorical aspects of the text and accordingly investigates the goals of the text.

–Jonathan A. Goldstein’s commentary follows the work of his doktorvater, Bickerman, except in the dating of 2 Macc. He examines the critical issues raised by 2 Macc. He discusses its language and style, its Hellenistic and Jewish inclination, its comparison and relationship to I Maccabees, its use of sacred writings (Torah and Prophets), its historical context, and the role of the miraculous.

–Daniel R. Schwartz, in his work 2 Maccabees (2008), highlights 2 Macc as a second century B.C.E. Jewish writing. He accentuates 2 Macc as a narration and interpretation of the events that took place in Jerusalem prior to and during the Maccabean revolt (167–160 B.C.E.). He provides an important solution to the intricate discussion on the linkage between the letters and the narrative in arguing that the authors of the first letter took notice of the book and that the second letter is closely linked to the narrative concerning the fire in the Temple (2008: 525–527).

–Jan Willem Van Henten, in his book The Maccabean Martyrs as Saviours of the Jewish People: A Study of 2 and 4 Maccabees (1997), discusses the religious, political as well as the philosophical aspects of noble death in 2 and 4 Macc. discussing the narrative, he distinguishes six elements which are a key facet in understanding the narrative pattern of 2 Macc (1997: 295). He argues that the theme of martyrdom is a very important part of the self-image of the Jews as presented by the authors of both works. Eleazar, the anonymous mother with her seven sons and Razis should, therefore, be considered heroes of the Jewish people.

None of these approaches, however, deal with the possibility of the four scenes in 5:1–16 having a unified purpose in moving the reader to adopt a specific proposition.

In an attempt to further the understanding of this text, this article therefore suggests that these elements are not to be conceptualised individually. Rather, they serve a combined purpose of supporting the author’s main proposition. Consequently, the following elements will guide the study:

1. Determining the author’s proposition and argumentation through a detailed analysis of each of the four scenes as well as of the author’s reflection in 5:17–20,
2. investigating a possible unifying theme between the four identified scenes,
3. and demonstrating the relation between this theme and the author’s proposition in 2 Macc. 5:1–20.

The article will thus conduct a rhetorical analysis. The text will be discussed syntactically, semantically and pragmatically.

2Syntactical and Semantic Analysis

2.1Scene 1: A premonitory Sign (2 Macc. 5:1–4)

In terms of content, this pericope can be compared to texts such as 1 Macc., Josephus’ Jewish War 1.31–35, Antiquities of the Jews 12.239–54, 4Q248 and Daniel 11:28–31a. When compared by authors such as Broshi and Eshel (1997, 120–29), Sievers (2001), Schwartz (2008, 533–36), Doran (2012, 139–142), it becomes evident that there are historical discrepancies between these texts which are hard to assimilate. These discrepancies have led scholars (who’s arguments Schwartz, 2008: 534–536, discusses thoroughly) to try and bridge the gap between 2 Macc. 5:1 and 1 Macc. 1:20–23.

The account in 1 Macc. mentions two invasions, while 2 Macc apparently mentions only one. In aiming to synchronise 1 and 2 Maccabees’ versions of the Temple plundering, there are two ways of dealing with the problem: either 2 Macc. 5:1 refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes’s second visit to Egypt, but in reality the first invasion; or 2 Macc. 5:1 refers to the second phase of the first invasion. These attempts are, however, only based on a loose interpretation of the term ἔφοδος (generally: “approach”). This term is employed in the phrase τὴν δευ-τέραν ἔφοδον (“in the second approach”). This general interpretation (“approach”), however, becomes unlikely when considering that the term ἔφοδος is employed six times in 2 Macc, all referring to the hostile sense of “inroad,” or “assault.” A second facet which supports the hostile interpretation of the term is the fact that the term ἀναζευγνύω (“I prepare to go away again”) is found in 5:11 (a term also paired with ἔφοδος in 13:26 – where the hostile sense is implied). It is thus clear from the context of 2 Macc. 5 that ἔφοδος is to be translated in a hostile sense and means “inroad” or “assault.”

The question that remains is whether this refers to a first or second attack. This article will follow Doran (2012, 126) in reading into this ambiguity the real aim of the author, which is to provide a concise version and focus “on the emotional hardships of the Jews” and to stress “the horrible characters of Jason, Menelaus and Antiochus IV (Doran 2012, 126).

After mentioning the second inroad of Antiochus IV into Egypt in verse 1, the author mentions the sighting of supernatural activity in the sky all around Jerusalem (5:2–3). The sighting continues nearly forty days, a number which is well-known from the Israelites’ forty year desert-wandering, Moses’ forty days on the mountain and Elijah’s forty day travel to the mountain. Here the forty days similarly causes anticipation of a significant event to follow.

The gold wrought armaments (διαχρύσους στολάς) mentioned in 5:2 are a typical element in ancient historiographical reference to supernatural beings (Doran 2012, 126) and is paralleled in Polybius (30.25.13). Through this reference, the reader is led to recall the epiphany in the events regarding Heliodorus and the Temple in the first threat to the Temple. The phrases in 5:2–3 are linked together by the particle “καί” (“and, also”) and forms one long sentence. In this sentence there is both paronomasia (βελῶν … βολάς) and parachesis (χρυσέων κόσμων).

This premonitory sign, especially in the light of 5:4, is open to both a positive and negative interpretation. This is typical for ancient historiographical signs prior to battle and pagan oracles (Doran 2012, 126). This type of ambiguous premonitory sign, here in 2 Macc 5, may very well be an ironic reference to the neutral and current state of the Jewish religion. The fact that is clear, however, is that this is an excellent stylistic trait evident of the author’s Hellenistic inclination. In tandem with the element of suspense and relief throughout the text, this ensures the reader’s anticipation.

Thus, this scene heightens the rhetorical value of the pericope through creating tension and anticipation. Furthermore, the author ensures through vivid imagery, and by means of the nature of the premonition, that the reader acknowledges the supernatural nature of this happening.

2.2Scene 2: Jason is driven by a Rumour (2 Macc. 5:5–8a)

The second scene regards Jason and his actions. An interesting aspect is that a rumour is employed to set in motion a series of disastrous events. Word is spread that Antiochus IV had died. This causes Jason, who was previously forced to flee to the region of Ammon (4:26), to return to Jerusalem and attack the city. This event, in turn, causes a second rumour that Jerusalem had disaffiliated, which drives Antiochus IV to attack Jerusalem and the Temple. Thus, one finds here in 5:5–7 the first of two rumours that drive the events in this pericope.

In 5:6 the author uses three terms to highlight the fact that Jason slaughtered his own people (πολιτῶν-“”, συγγενεῖς-“”, ὁμοεθνῶν-“”). The last two of these terms, unlike πολιτῶν, refer to the group’s common descent. It is cl...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• The Relationship Between the Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sira and the Septuagint Version of Proverbs
• Three Poetic Pillars in the Book of Ben Sira: From the Divine to Human Wisdom
• Past, Present and Future in the Book of Ben Sira
• A Text-Critical Examination of Different Readings in the Hebrew and Greek Texts of Ben Sira 35:18 (32:19)
• Interpretation and Ideology in the Metatexts of Ben Sira: The Headings of the Geneva Bible (1560) and the King James Version (1611)
• Angelic Mediation in the Book of Tobit: A Shift in the Deuteronomic Paradigm?
• Structural and Psychological Coherence in the Book of Tobit
• Translation Shifts in LXX-Micah as Clues to its Theology and Ideology
• Reading Judith as a Guide to Jewish Worship in Second Temple Judaism: A Greimassian Perspective
• A Study of Connection and Disjunction in the Book of Baruch
• Susanna – Framing the Minds and Views of People in Daniel
• A Possible Greek Bible Source for Late Antique Synagogue Art
• Coincidence or Coherence? Rhetorical Considerations for Unnatural Elements in 2 Maccabees 5:1–20
• Josephus and the Pharisees
• Index
• Endnotes