Hopefully, by next class we will have reached the beginning stages of the first Jewish revolt against Rome. We will then take a brief jaunt back in time to discuss the Jewish Diaspora. We have already discussed this topic to some extent when we covered the Ptolemaic period. We will take a more indepth look at Jews living outside of Palestine on Thursday.
Please take another quick look at the Letter of Aristeas. Don't focus so much on the story of the translation of the Septuagint. The letter actually gives us a rather rich view about how some Diaspora Jews may have viewed the high priest, the temple, and Jerusalem. The philospophical discussions between the Ptolemaic king and the Jewish delegates is also worth another look.
If you have not already done so, make sure that you have read the material from John Barklay's "Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora." The readings were sent to you a week ago as attachments to an email and are now available on the website.
You can also find them here , here and here.
In addition, I would like to start our section on the Diaspora by discussing the following list of names. Come to class prepared to discuss which figures you think are Jewish and which are not:
Iosepos
Joshua
Jason/Jesus
Sabbathios
Shelamzion
(the following three names roughly translate as "gift of god" or "god-given")
Dositheos
Theodotos
Theodoros
Artimodoros
Apollodoros
Horus
Gelasios (laughter in Greek)
Haggai son of Diaphoros (Greek for "different" or "excellent")
Hanniah father of Tasa ("the guardian" in Egyptian)
Apollonios son of Jason
Dositheos son of Artimodoros
Ezekias son of Ezekias
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1 comment:
Simone Gore
10/30/06
Ancient
Prof. Spielman
The Eschatological within Fourth Ezra
Fourth Ezra is a fascinating pseudepigrapha, as evidenced by the title of the text claims to have been written by Ezra the Scribe, who returned to the province Yehud at the conclusion of the Babylonian Exile. However, it is startlingly obvious that this could not possibly be the case. The author(s) of 4 Ezra cite other books that are apocryphal in nature and not included in the Jewish canon, like Wisdom of Solomon (see 4 Ez 1.20), that were written far later than the book of Ezra, and even more blatantly, references Matthew and Luke (see 4 Ez.1.30-31). “Ezra’s” work focuses on several points that show changes in Jewish/Christological thought. The emphasis on the future war when only the pure will be saved, the final judgment, and the Messiah. According to B.M. Metzger this book is considered to have been written in the late first century C.E. and contains Jewish messianism, as well as Christian revisions and additions (Metzger 520-521). Metzger also discusses the problem of that there is actually no one extant text, so he and other authors are forced to piece together versions in Latin, Greek, Armenian, Ethiopic, etc (518-519). For the purpose of this paper I want to concentrate on two of Ezra’s eschatological visions: the destruction of Jerusalem and the many-winged eagle.
Ezra clearly allude to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Ezra may have been alive during the destruction of Jerusalem. Even if he were not the image of the Temple burning, and the Israelites being led away in chains would have remained in the popular conscious (much like the violence of Vietnam remains instilled in many counter-culturists thoughts today, even though they were born long after the fall of Saigon). Ezra flatly prophesizes (ipso facto): “Because I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon” (4 Ez. 3.3). The Torah is clear that when the Jews are faithful to God, they will be rewarded with bountiful crops and riches, and when they sin, they will be stricken with famine and captivity. This phrase is designed to show how the destruction of the Temple (and Zion as a whole) resulted from the sinful practices of the Jews. Ezra repeatedly expresses how God has chosen a new Israel over the Jews, because of their sinful nature, even after experiencing God’s miracles. Ezra states: “And your glory passed through the four gates of fire and earthquake and wind and ice, to give the Law to the descendents of Jacob, and your commandments to the posterity of Israel” (4 Ez.3.19). This clearly alludes to the inferno that the Romans set on the Temple Mount to quell rebellious fervor of the Jews. These allusions to the destruction of Jerusalem demonstrate in part the concern faced with the future of Judaism (how can it continue?) and does the herald the end of time? For Ezra, the destruction means the selection of a new Israel (i.e. Christians) and the establishment of a short messianic kingdom that end with the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment.
A disturbing vision that Ezra receives is of the many-headed eagle (see chapter 11), where an eagle with many heads and wings. Each head rule for a while until it is replaced by another head that consume it; this holds true for the wing as well. This is clearly the Roman eagle, which was a much-hated sign of idolatry to the Jews and the symbol of the Roman Empire. The eagle’s fighting body parts are allusions to the constant dynastic and military struggles for control of the Empire, this being interpreted in 12.10-39. A lion comes and tells the eagle that since it has despised truth and encouraged war it will disappear and the eagle vanishes (4 Ez. 11.37-46). The lion is interpreted as “the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David” (4 Ez.12.32). The lion could be the Lion of Judah, a classic messianic symbol of the Jews, or the lion as a symbol for Christ.
Fourth Ezra is concerned with the future of Israel and is probably a good example of popular thought amongst Jews and Christian at the time. Clearly, the destruction of the Temple was a foreshadowing of the end of days. For the Christian redactors the destruction of the Temple also meant that the Christians were now the chosen people, because of the waywardness of the Jews. The longing for the end of Rome must have been a common thought amongst the Jews and the Christians due to their repeated mistreatment at the hands of the Romans, as well as other conquered people may have hoped for the end of Rome as well. The combined destruction of the Temple and the barbarous nature of the Romans, must have made many Jews and Christians think that the End was imminent. To conclude, this book is a good study for how Jews and Christians looked at the world they were living in 100 C.E.
Works Cited
B.M. Metzger. “The Fourth Book of Ezra: A New Translation and Introduction.”
“Eschatological.” Merriam Webster On-line. 8 Nov. 2006. http://www.webster.com/
“Pseudepigrapha.” Merriam Webster On-line. 8 Nov. 2006. http://www.webster.com/
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