Judaea In Hellenistic Times

« Rendez à César ce qui est à César et à Dieu ce qui est à Dieu » : cette phrase bien connue des Évangiles s’éclaire d’un jour nouveau à mesure que se poursuivent les enquêtes historiques portant sur la fiscalité en Judée du tournant de notre ère.
Cette première synthèse complète sur la fiscalité de Judée invite à se demander si cette matière froide et technique ne serait pas, au contraire, une matière brûlante, « éveilleur de révoltes », à la fois un reflet et un condensé des complexités économiques, politiques, sociales voire théologiques ?
Quels sont les impôts prélevés ? Quels sont les moyens de paiement ? Est-il vrai que le temple de Jérusalem n’acceptait que les shekels de Tyr ? Pourquoi l’impôt romain dérangeait-il les contemporains de Jésus ? Quelle est la place des relations financières dans l’histoire politique de la Judée ? Ces questions, parmi tant d’autres, reçoivent ici une réponse à la fois à jour des découvertes les plus récentes et accessible au public spécialiste autant que curieux.

The article looks at the royal coinage of the Roman client king Herod the Great (40/37 – 4 BC) of Judaea. Herod was an avowed friend and loyal ally of Rome and the Emperor, and his political acts as well as his building programme contain many aspects expressive of a pro-Roman attitude. In the area of material culture the adoption of Roman goods, materials and techniques can be demonstrated. This technology transfer can be described by the term Romanization. The aim of this article is to evaluate Herod’s royal bronze coinage iconographically in terms of his relations with Rome. It is apparent that, while the presumption of pro-Roman imagery is common among researchers, critical appraisal shows that Rome in fact played no role in the coinage struck under the King. Rather, Herod presents himself as a Jewish king in the tradition of the Hasmoneans. Rome is not a subject and the coins do not represent evidence of Romanization.

This book recounts the heroic story of the Maccabees and explains how they successfully took on the might of the Seleucid realm, illustrated by the coins issued by the main protagonists.  What was an epic struggle of an oppressed people to win their national and religious freedom has provided much inspiration through the ages and continues to strike a strong resonance with our own times. However, that historical drama, as recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees, with its unfamiliar roll-call of major players and place-names, has acquired a considerable mystique. The coins put faces to many of these seemingly obscure names and help to bring those stirring events back to life. In this new edition, archaeological findings that have elucidated the historical backdrop to the Wars of the Maccabees are also given due attention. An updated and considerably augmented bibliography is included. The origin of Torah Judaism is discussed and an appendix on 'Hellenization of the Hasmonaeans in the Later Second Century BCE' has also been added to this new addition.

Foreign taxes were hated in Judaea, it seems, by a people proud to pay from its funds the cult of the temple of Jerusalem. Such an idea, widespread as it is in historiography, indeed finds its roots inside the ancient sources, but is it historical? Exploring various sources and recent discoveries (texts from the literary tradition, Dead Sea Scrolls, coins, inscriptions, archaeological remains) and borrowing from transdisciplinary methodology (sociology, social psychology, fiscal law), this book aims to study taxation in Hellenistic and Roman Judaea as a fundamental part of political history of the region. Since taxes are a marker of domination, a few Jewish groups wondered whether it was permitted to pay tribute to foreign master while they already paid a compulsory offering to God. However, such a discourse was multiform, it was not universally shared and changed according to groups and conjunctural evolutions, sometimes visible, sometime invisible following historical events. Moreover, far from being consubstantial to Ancient Judaism, this idea was the product of a political instrumentalization, a rhetorical tool used in order to motivate people to insurrection. Born at the time of Maccabees, it was inherited in more or less radical ways by diverse schools in the Roman era. Yet, on the other hand, it is nowhere to be seen beyond speeches, even those most hostile to tribute raised taxes after taking power, using the former tribute to their own advantage. By confronting this omnipresence of anti-tax protest in the speeches, with the data on the actual taxation during this period, this book sheds light on the distance between politics and everyday life and endeavours to bring into question some well-accepted elements. For instance, that the tribute was oppressive, that population was impoverished by the foreign exploitation of resources, or that the masters of the region only searched their interests and not the consent of the taxpayers.

https://ausoniuseditions.u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr/collections/catalogue?coll=Scripta%20antiqua

Course Description: This course offers an introduction to the history of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the end of the Hellenistic Age (roughly the 16 th to the 1 st centuries BCE), drawing on both source materials and modern works. This is a student-driven seminar based on readings, presentations, and in-class discussions on the societal, religious, and political developments of the Greek world in antiquity. Students will become familiar with the Bronze, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and early Roman periods of Greek history. The foundation of this course is the geopolitical history of the expanding Greek world; however, students also will engage the importance of ancient Greek culture, literature, religion, art, and gender roles. Through the investigation of texts, architecture, and archaeology, students will gain an appreciation of not just the ruling classes of the ancient Greek world, but also of the daily lives of normal Greeks and Hellenized native peoples. This will be a reading seminar course driven primarily by student participation. It will focus mostly on modern studies but also will feature a wide array of literary and archaeological source materials. Students will investigate historiographical arguments, lead class discussions, and prepare presentations.

Hurbat Husham lies in the Judean Foothills at the summit of a hill that overtops its surroundings (elev. 380 m above sea level). It is located in the northern section of a ridge that is part of the High Shephelah, between the Nahal Soreq and Nahal Elah basins. The ruin covers some 50 dunams at the top and along the slopes of the knoll. It affords a view in all directions, including towards the coastal plain, the Shephelah, the Soreq valley, and extensive stretches of the Judean Hills as far as the Beit El Hills. The name of the site, Hurbat Husham, or, in Arabic, Kh. el Kheishum (i.e., “nose”) reflects the fact that it towers prominently over its surroundings.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the authors documented and mapped underground cavities and other archaeological features there, in the wake of intensive illegal excavations carried out by antiquities looters. We documented a variety of elements, including mikvaʾot (ritual baths), underground storage cavities, a hiding complex, agricultural facilities, a small fortress at the top of the hill, and burial caves. These findings bear witness to a large Jewish settlement at the site from the Second Temple period until the Bar Kokhba Revolt. An uninscribed milestone, found in the wadi north of the site, indicates the existence of a Roman road nearby.
In 2013, looters uncovered the opening of a large underground cistern, 18 m long and five m wide, rock-cut on the site’s northern slope outside the ancient settlement. The cistern is similar in its layout and design to others that have been found on the slopes of Hasmonean/Herodian fortresses throughout Judea, both in the Judean Desert—Masada, Hyrcania, Herodium, Dok, Kypros, and Alexandrion—and in settled areas—Kh. el Urmeh, Tel Kefira, Kh. Tura, and Kh. al-Jumjum. During this year, the authors carried out an excavation (on behalf of IAA) in a Second Temple–era ritual bath on the northern slope. The doorposts were marked with Christian graffiti, which include crosses and schematic representations of birds. During this excavation, we also collected shards from a hiding system on the same slope near the ritual bath. The pottery makes it possible to date the periods of activity at the site: the second and first centuries BCE, from the late Second Temple era through the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the late Roman and Byzantine era, and the Ottoman period.
The site’s unique topography, the name, the existence of a long rectangular cistern from the Second Temple era, and pottery from the second century BCE all suggest the existence of a Hasmonean/Herodian fortress intended to guard the western approach and one of the major access routes (the Soreq valley) to Judea in the late Second Temple period. The existence of a ruin known as Kh. Tibneh near Hurbat Husham allows us to suggest, albeit with due caution, that the ancient name of this site was “Timna” and that the name was transferred to and preserved in the nearby “Tibneh”—a phenomenon known from many other places. We therefore propose identifying this site with Thamnata, one of the fortresses erected by Bacchides in response to the Hasmonean Revolt.

It was our intention in this work was to study the imagetic of local coinage from Judea-Palestine mostly Jerusalem from the Persian until the roman domination in the region. Observing the monetary types we intended to understand how the Jewish typology can revels some cultural elements of Judaism. Also it was our intention in this work from the monetary studies, to analyse the gradual influence that the roman civilization establishes in the region of Palestine, as well as its relationship with the Greek and Hebrew culture present in the region.

The paintings on the walls a pair of ancient tomb caves at Marisa/Maresha at the western edge of the Judean hill country are unique in the Greek pictorial repertoire and are among the most important surviving examples of Hellenistic art. The remarkable painted frieze extending along the two long sides of the main chamber of Tomb I depicts 22 different animal species, drawn from the wild fauna of the Levant, the Nile basin and the Horn of Africa - as well as a few mythical beasts. This animal frieze attests to the interest in exotic animals shown in the Hellenistic period. Other remarkable subjects represented in the Marisa paintings include Cerberus, the three-headed guard-dog of Hades, and a pair of elegant musicians in Greek dress.

This study contains, for the first time, high quality reproductions of the photographic plates taken in 1902, which are held in the PEF collections. Reproduced with the photographs are the proofs of the coloured lithographs, which are superior in quality to the versions that were published. The inaccuracies and loss of delicate detail of the originals in the coloured lithographs used by Peters and Thiersch for their 1905 publication of these Marisa tombs are clearly apparent. The paintings are analysed in the light of modern scholarship and an assessment is made of their religious and cultural significance. Each of the animals in the frieze is compared with descriptions given by ancient writers, and a new interpretation is presented of the cycle as a whole. An appraisal is made of the overall contribution of the Marisa paintings to our knowledge of the art and culture of the Levant in the Hellenistic period. Included with this study is facsimile reprint of the original 1905 publication and a very rare addendum prepared by R.A.Stewart Macalister after inspecting the Marisa tombs later in 1902.

Résumé. – À l’aide du concept de « normativités » employé dans d’autres sciences humaines pour définir les conceptions que peuvent se faire des groupes de ce qui est (ou devrait être) la norme socio-politique, cet article se propose de mettre en évidence la pluralité des conceptions cosmogoniques, politiques et théocratiques des judaïsmes dès avant la conquête séleucide de Jérusalem en 200 av. J. C. Les éléments cognitifs sont exploités pour montrer l’importance, dans chaque milieu, de construire, d’entretenir, d’instrumentaliser ou, au contraire, d’empêcher les rapports de confiance entre les individus et les pouvoirs en place pour légitimer (ou délégitimer) l’ordre présent. Cette grille d’analyse permet de montrer que la domination romaine n’a pas fait éclater le judaïsme antique, car celui-ci était depuis longtemps déjà profondément pluriel ; elle n’a fait que faciliter leur irrémédiable séparation.

This is an extract of my m.a. thesis which is to be presented by september 2019 in Paris, the topic of this extract is 1 Maccabees as per the greek and the french versions of the original text which is lost and was in Hebrew. The applicated method was an interdisciplinary approach and this helped me to provide a better picture of second century  bCe Judaism.

There is a bug when reading online, please download the document to read it in "non-bugged" conditions.

One of the unresolved issues in the geographical-historical study of Judea during the Second Temple period is the question of the identification of the residents of the three districts, before being annexed to Judea in 145 BCE. This annexing occurred as part of the agreement between Jonathan and Demetrius II. Based on literary sources, but not on archaeological finds, most of the scholars saw in this annexation a ratification of the existing situation, in which Jews populated the area before the Hasmonean revolt. Data from recent excavations and surveys, allow us to reconsider the issue of the three districts. The new accumulated data indicates a settlement during this period around Bethel Mountain and in the foothills of Lod. Inspection of the results of surveys conducted in the northern and southern areas of Bethel Mountain indicate the connection and continuity of Jewish settlements in the Jerusalem area during the Hellenistic period. This data complements existing historical sources, and for the first time allows to confirm the assumptions of the scholars which proposes that this area were Mixed population in which the Jewish element was dominant.

Le Premier livre des Maccabées contient la description d’un spectacle riche de significations sur les prétentions de la famille hasmonéenne à la tête du peuple juif. Si l’on en croit l’auteur, peu avant la bataille d’Emmaüs en 165 av. J. C., Judas Maccabée aurait réuni ses partisans pour une cérémonie rituelle au cours de laquelle tous se seraient remis entre les mains de Dieu. Mais le texte est à ce point chargé de référents bibliques et si riche pour justifier rétrospectivement la forme du pouvoir exercé par la famille aux temps de Jean Hyrcan (134-104 av. J. C.), qu’il est possible de se demander si ce morceau de littérature ne serait pas davantage un outil de légitimation scripturaire, construit à la cour hasmonéenne en vue d’auréoler le souverain, que le témoin fidèle d’événements et de pratiques historiques.

Upper-division, synchronic/synoptic course on Second-Temple Jerusalem, from the late-6th c. B.C.E. to the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. It traces Jerusalem’s physical development from a small town to an important royal capital that incorporated Judaean, Hellenistic, and Roman artistic and architectural influences. This course also considers the political, social, economic, and religious divisions among its inhabitants, and follows the course of political and military alliances and conflicts with Judaea’s neighbors in regional and pan-Mediterranean venues.

Il est souvent admis que l’impôt séleucide et romain en Judée était prélevé en monnaie et que l’impôt du temple de Jérusalem n’était payé qu’en statères tyriens. Pourtant, un réexamen de ces assertions à l’aide en particulier des manuscrits fiscaux retrouvés dans le désert de Judée, parvient à prouver que ces idées reçues ne sont guère fondées. Partant de l’expression « monnaie du tribut » par laquelle Jésus de Nazareth désigne le denier, on verra que, si le lien entre la monnaie et l’impôt est très étroit, l’impôt n’est pas non plus totalement monétarisé et qu’il n’existe pas plus de « monnaie du temple » que de « monnaie du tribut ». Le denier semble accepté dans le temple de Jérusalem, au moins selon certaines modalités.

Rock-Cut Caves and Hiding Systems at Horvat Tabaq
Nachum Sagiv and Boaz Zissu

Horvat Tabaq is an ancient site, situated on the south slopes of  Tel Goded, in the Judaean Foothills, about two kms. North-East of Beth Guvrin - Roman Eleutheropolis. A survey and excavations were carried by the authors at the site and in the nearby necropolis on behalf of the Bar Ilan University, with the assistance of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The different components of the site are presented in the Hebrew article, focusing on the description of the complicated subterranean systems,and the necropolis of the site, their archaeological findings, and their possible historical significance.
The overall area of the ancient site is about 5 dunams. The site is located at the bottom of a slope, close to a rich water source, near a main route and fertile lands. Typical to this region is the systematically usage of the bedrock - soft limestone (kirton). An entangled underground maze had been carved ground deep, under the buildings of the ancient site. Due to the good preservation of the man-made caves, their various uses could be identified, such as quarries, storage halls, water-reservoirs, industrial installations, columbaria, mikvaoth (ritual baths), hiding complexes and burial caves. In comparison to our good understanding of the subterranean parts of the ancient site, little is known of the plan and nature of the houses built above the ground. Maybe further excavations will clarify this issue.
In spite of the illegal excavations of the underground halls and chambers, sufficient data was recovered, thus enabling an understanding of the different periods of human occupation. We presume that the inhabitancy had begun in the Persian period and climaxed in the first century C.E.. The archaeological findings give evidence to a Jewish population at that time, with customs similar to those of Jerusalem’s Jews. They used limestone vessels (unsusceptible to ritual impurity), immerse in the mikveh (for being ritualy pure) and used stone ossuaries for secondary individual burial.
The site at Kh. Tabaq ceased to exist at the first half of the second century C.E., apparently during the violent events of the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 CE). Typical items, such as glass vessels and Judaean (‘southern’) lamps, discovered in the underground chambers and in the mikveh leave no doubt as to the date of destruction of the site. It seems that the three hiding systems were hewn during the preparations of this revolt.
Remains such as mikvaot, ossuaries, stone vessels and Judaean lamps make Kh. Tabaq a typical Second Temple period Jewish  site. Spotting such finds at other sites would help identifying additional Jewish sites from this period all around Judaea.

The foundation of cities (poleis) was one of the governing principles of most Hellenistic
rulers. However, the Hasmoneans presented the opposite approach to this matter
when ruling over Judea. Not only did they not found any new cities, but they also
deliberately caused the fall of the Greek cities that had found themselves within the
borders of their state due to their conquests of Samaria, Galilee and the Decapolis.
The author tries to identify the reason for such an attitude of the rulers of Judea.
Pdf available on demand

... Edited by Tessa Rajak, , Sarah Pearce, , James Aitken, , and Jennifer Dines. . ... in the Letter of Aristeas'), concluding that the historical circumstances which surround the birth of the Septuagint cannot be solved by a literary analysis of Aristeas; with B. Wright ('Ben Sira on Kings ...

Aruma Fortress (Kh. El-Urmeh) is situated on the top of a commanding hill in Eastern Samaria, about two kilometers south - east of the settlement of Itamar. Scholars have identified here Biblical Arumah, the city of Abimelech son of Gideon the judge.
The remains of a Hasmonean – Herodian fortress, including an impressive water supply system were studied in the past. The system includes a series of rock-cut and plastered cisterns, supplied by surface runoff water.
These cisterns, of a design familiar from Hasmonean and Herodian fortresses in the Judean Desert as well as from fortresses located in the settled parts of Judea, may have been associated with a royal fortress. Similar cisterns were recorded at Sartaba-Alexandrium, Kipros, Horqania, Doc-Dagon, Masada, Kh. El-Hamam, H. Tura, etc.
In the early '80s Hanan Eshel and Ze'ev H. Erlich documented at Kh. El-Urmeh six cisterns, of a total volume of c. 5000 cubic meters.
In this article, which is an update of the pioneering study of Eshel and Erlich, the authors present a brief documentation carried out during a tour of the site in 2009. It turned out that the site was severely damaged by unsupervised development work, quarrying and road construction made with heavy machinery by the residents of the nearby village of Beta.
These works uncovered openings to four additional cisterns, sealed until recently. The cisterns have similar characteristics. The total volume of ten cisterns is estimated at c. 15000 cubic meters.
The effort of installing the cisterns was probably due to the need to ensure year-round supply of adequate quantity of water to the residents of the fortress, located on the edge of the desert.
These findings reinforce the suggestion of Eshel and Ehrlich, who identified the fortress at Kh. El-Urmeh as a royal Judean fortress from the Second Temple period.

Kreimerman, I. and Sandhaus, S. Political Trends as Reflected in the Material Culture: A New Look at the Transition between the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods. In: Honigman, S., Nihan, C. and Lipschits, O. (eds.), Times of Transition: Judea in the Early Hellenistic Period

RESUMO-Este artigo objetiva discutir possibilidades de análise iconográfica a partir das imagens estampadas das moedas da Judeia-Palestina, mais especificamente nas moedas de Jerusalém do período que vai desde a dominação persa na região até a conquista da Judeia pelos romanos. Além das moedas outros suportes como sarcófagos, capitéis, joias, dentre outros discutirão elementos da cultura judaica como o lírio, a palmeira, a uva e instrumentos musicais. A duas revoltas dos judeus contra os romanos se constituirão em importante pano de fundo histórico para reflexão de nossas observações. PALAVRAS CHAVE-Iconografia monetária; cultura judaica; Império Romano. ABSTRACT-It was our intention in this work was to study the imagetic of local coinage from Judea-Palestine mostly Jerusalem from the Persian until the roman domination in the region. Observing the monetary types we intended to understand how the Jewish typology can revels some cultural elements of Judaism. Also it was our intention ...

... Edited by Tessa Rajak, , Sarah Pearce, , James Aitken, , and Jennifer Dines. . ... in the Letter of Aristeas'), concluding that the historical circumstances which surround the birth of the Septuagint cannot be solved by a literary analysis of Aristeas; with B. Wright ('Ben Sira on Kings ...