(avg. read time: 7–15 mins.)
Hasmonean Period
Timeline (167/163/142 BCE–63 BCE)
As noted previously, there is difficulty in defining the precise scope of this period, as the Hasmonean consolidation of power and achievement of political independence took decades. Thus, one should remember that there was a long transition between these two periods, rather than a radical break.
Sources for This Period
Greek Additions to Esther
1 Baruch
Epistle of Jeremiah
Greek Additions to Daniel (Prayer of Azariah, Song of the Three Jews, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon)
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
1 Esdras (possibly)
3 Maccabees
Prayer of Manasseh
Book of Dream Visions (1 En. 83-90)
Book of the Epistle of Enoch (1 En. 91-107; with 108 as a much later addition)
Jubilees
Joseph and Aseneth (possibly)
Pseudo-Philo’s Biblical Antiquities (possibly)
Fragmentary writings:
o Aristeas the Exegete
o Eupolemus
o Pseudo-Eupolemus
o Cledemus Malchus
Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Josephus, Ant. 13.1–14.76
Major Figures
Judas Maccabeus
2 Maccabees does not mention his father Mattathias, but 1 Maccabees presents him as taking up the leadership of a guerrilla revolution after his father’s death.
It is debatable how he got his sobriquet “The Hammer”; it may have been in reference to battle (his prowess or his weapon), his piety, or belief in his election.
He used guerrilla tactics in larger battles as well, including at Beth Horon, Emmaus, and Beth Zur, which helped his smaller armies triumph over the larger, typically better trained Seleucid armies (1 Macc 3–4).
After the battle of Beth Zur, he oversaw the cleansing and dedication of the temple with a new altar, which was completed on the 25th of Chislev in 164 BCE, three years after the temple’s defiling that sparked the revolt.
He oversaw the execution of Menelaus the high priest, but against his will Alcimus (a fellow Hellenizer) became high priest and gained the support of Demetrius I.
He abandoned his guerrilla tactics in the larger battle at Beth Zechariah (162 BCE), in which he lost his brother Eleazar (who was crushed by an elephant he killed).
He opened up relations with Rome by establishing an alliance.
o Although this agreement would not have an immediate effect on Judea itself, it laid the foundation for events to come.
In line with his legacy as a warrior, he died in battle at Elasa against Bacchides, Demetrius’s general.
Jonathan
Chosen as Judas’s successor, he continued his brother’s strategy of guerrilla warfare.
His conflict with Bacchides came to a head with the siege and battle at Bethbasi, in which the guerrilla tactics carried the day again.
Jonathan secured peace with Bacchides and exchanged captives.
He was once again brought into war with the Seleucid civil war between Demetrius I and Alexander Balas.
Alexander gave Jonathan the high priesthood in exchange for his loyalty in the civil war.
Jonathan was ordained at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) in 152 BCE, and he helped to ensure Alexander’s reign over the Seleucid Empire.
When Demetrius II arose to usurp Alexander, Jonathan met his governor Apollonius at the Battle of Azotus, which resulted in a decisive victory for the Hasmoneans.
o Alexander gave much of former Philistia to Jonathan as a reward.
He expanded the Hasmonean sphere of influence by renewing the treaty with Rome and establishing a treaty with Sparta (1 Macc 12:1–23).
He went to battle on behalf of Seleucid kings but was ultimately killed by the treacherous Trypho.
Simon
Chosen by the people as leader, being the last of the Maccabees (1 Macc 13:1–9).
Fortified Jerusalem and other cities of Judea under Hasmonean control.
Secured Judean peace and independence from tribute in return for continuing his brother’s political support for Demetrius II.
Finally able to expel the gentile occupants of the Acra.
Expanded Judean territory, and even attempted making Judea more of a force at sea.
Confirmed as both commander and high priest by his own people (1 Macc 14:27–49).
Assassinated, along with two of his sons, by Ptolemy VIII, but John Hyrcanus escaped.
John Hyrcanus
At the beginning of his reign as king and high priest, he ejected Ptolemy from the country and then faced a siege by Antiochus VII against Jerusalem, the result of which involved payment of 500 talents of silver, removed fortifications, and declared allegiance to Antiochus.
o Interestingly, key events in this allegiance revolved around the festivals, as Antiochus earned respect from the Jews by breaking the siege for Sukkoth and Hyrcanus did not march with him during Pentecost, which ultimately ensured Antiochus’s death against the Parthians (Josephus, Ant. 13.240–253).
Afterwards, Hyrcanus continued his father’s work in expanding Judea’s territory and renewing friendship with the Romans.
In this campaign, he laid waste to Samaria as well as the Samaritan temple at Mt. Gerizim.
Once he conquered Idumea, he instituted a policy of forced conversion, insisting that the Idumeans needed to be circumcised if they wanted to stay in the region.
The conflicts between the Pharisees and the Sadducees began during his reign.
Josephus presents a high view of Hyrcanus, portraying him as partaking of all three great offices of king, priest, and prophet (Ant. 13.299–300).
Alexander Jannaeus
His brother, Aristobulus I, initially crowned himself after his father’s death, but after his efforts of matricide and fratricide, he died of illness after reigning for only one year.
Alexander’s conquests brought the Hasmonean kingdom the closest to reconquering the former lands of David and Solomon.
However, his unsuccessful battle with the Nabateans, combined with his impiety during Sukkoth and claims that he was a descendant of captives, led to a long-term insurrection against him.
In the process of this insurrection, Alexander killed thousands of Jews and built a wooden partition wall around the temple to prevent people from attacking him.
As part of his efforts to crush a rebellion against him, he crucified 800 rebels (including Pharisees) and slit the throats of their wives and children before them.
On his deathbed, he passed his power to Salome Alexandra and advised her to give power to the Pharisees to reconcile the nation.
Salome Alexandra
First queen since Athaliah (2 Kgs 11:1–20).
Made her son Hyrcanus II the high priest, but her other son, Aristobulus II, desired the throne.
Josephus claims that Salome was the regent, but the Pharisees had the power during her reign (Ant. 13.409).
The Pharisees killed Alexander’s remaining mercenaries as retribution for the civil war.
She died the last undisputed ruler of the Hasmonean dynasty, and her sons fought for the throne after her death.
Antipater I
Founder of the Herodian dynasty, as his family had historical connections to power in Idumea since the time of Alexander.
Helped Hyrcanus II in the civil war through appeal to the Nabatean Aretas III.
He would become more significant to the course of the region’s history in the Roman era, but his machinations began in this era.
Pompey
Took Jerusalem in 63, destroying its walls, and restored Hyrcanus II as the high priest, since Hyrcanus and his followers helped him conquer the city.
Instituted rebuilding and restoration projects across Judea.
Exacted a tribute of over 10,000 talents from the Judeans.
Highlights of Historical Context
The Maccabean revolt led to the first period of Jewish independence since the days of the Davidic kings and the Maccabean literature describes the results accordingly (e.g., 1 Macc 14:12; cf. Lev 26:4; 1 Kgs 4:25; Ezek 36:33–36; Mic 4:4; Zech 8:4).
o Their violent (“zealous”) response to gentile threats against Jewish practices became the one of the ruling party; but others, such as the early high priests of this era (accommodation) and the apocalyptists (non-violent perseverance in the present time), had different responses that would continue to divide Jewish parties into the Roman era.
The Hasmoneans forged an alliance with Rome amidst Seleucid attempts to reclaim control of Judea, which was an alliance that eventually took away their independence after Roman response to Judean civil wars.
As the Hasmoneans and Judeans established themselves as an independent power, the Samaritans faced a new era of vulnerability to their nearby enemies, as exemplified in the destruction of the temple at Mt. Gerizim in 128 BCE by John Hyrcanus.
Although the Hasmoneans would become involved in wars outside of Judea, what ultimately led to their loss of power and influence were civil conflicts and wars, especially during the long reign of Alexander Jannaeus. In fact, the last civil war between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II directly precipitated Pompey’s invasion and seizure of control over the area.
Pompey’s conquest of Judea came as good news to the Samaritans, whom Pompey freed from Jewish control and restored their own province of Samaria.
Theological Developments
Although stories of persecution and martyrdom were not unknown in Jewish history before this period, this period witnessed a proliferation of such stories and a greater prevalence of expectations of suffering before the eschaton.
As noted above, Jews developed a variety of responses to the prospects of persecution and martyrdom, including accommodation (so that commonalities of Jewish and gentile cultures were emphasized), violent response (as an exercise of the protective instinct), and non-violent perseverance (whether or not the community expected to enact violence in the eschaton, the basic approach was to bear witness through suffering in the present time).
Judaism never became an evangelistic religion to the same extent that early Christianity was, but themes of repentance and conversion became more prominent in this period.
While Hasmonean efforts were often aimed at reclaiming space (i.e., Eretz Israel), Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls in particular testify to the increasing concern for proper use of time by means of properly structuring the calendar and the religious practices observed according to it.
As writers in the Persian period renewed interest in the traditional festivals as ways of simultaneously recalling the ancient days and looking forward to the time of deliverance from the current situation of ongoing exile, subjugation, and fragmentation, writers in the Hasmonean period expanded the theological concern to the calendar as a whole.
One addition to the Jewish calendar in this era that became an enduring tradition was the Festival of Hanukkah (otherwise known as the Festival of Lights or the Feast of Dedication, as in John 10).
The revolutionary roots of this holiday inspired both pride in tradition and potential subversion against rulers.
Although it was traditional for Jewish kings and high priests to have separate domains, the Hasmonean dynasty occupied both offices, a fact that did not sit comfortably alongside their rhetoric of restoring the religion of Israel’s ancestors. The problems of corruption in the priesthood that became prominent in this era and in the next also highlighted flaws in the established religion.
It is often posited that the Wicked Priest referred to in the Dead Sea Scrolls has this Hasmonean priesthood as its source. In any case, it was emblematic of this era that the priests could not be assumed to be on the right side of the coming eschaton, not least because they would derive their power from non-Jewish sources.
Some of the major expressions of Judaism in Eretz Israel that would become known as the sects of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes emerged in this period.
The precise character of these groups is still debated and one cannot simply take Josephus’s descriptions for granted (War 2.120–166; Ant. 13.297–98; 15.371–379; 18.12–22; Life 10–12), since they are shaped by his aim of communicating in a fashion that his Greek-speaking gentile audience can understand.
Not all scholars agree that the Essenes should be identified with the community of Qumran, but the identification of that community as a group of Essenes remains the majority view.
For all that is controversial about the histories of these groups, it is generally agreed that the Sadducees were the majority of power brokers in Judea, the Pharisees were more of a popular group with some representatives in the Sanhedrin and many rabbis/scholars among them, and the Essenes were something close to a monastic group that had little representation among those in power.
Each group also had a peculiar approach to Scripture (although there was variety in each). The Sadducees focused on what was written in the Torah (although it is not clear that they only accepted the Torah as canonical; they may have focused on the Torah because it was virtually universally revered and regarded as foundational among Jews). The Pharisees accepted traditions as authoritative alongside what they regarded as Scripture, and this approach shaped what they regarded as the best ways of keeping the covenant. The Essenes adopted an approach to Scripture that befitted their apocalyptic worldview as they pursued deeper, eschatological meanings that referred to the community and its circumstances (Evans, 106–8).
The groups were also eschatologically divergent. The Sadducees did not expect resurrection, and there is no sense that they had any definite eschatology at all. The Pharisees expected resurrection to final judgment after an intermediate state of being a disembodied soul/spirit. The Essenes are more ambiguous regarding personal fate (although they do seem to have believed in resurrection) and their larger vision includes an eschatological war, purification of Israel, and the recognition of the community as the true Israel.
Areas for Further Research
It would be interesting to track the contours and developments of the relationship between Judea and Rome in this period and the following one. How, when, and why did it change over time? What were the views of different groups and sects on this relationship?
Civil war defined this era in the Mediterranean world, including among the Hasmoneans, the Seleucids, and the Romans. Civil wars did not disappear with the ascendance of the Roman Empire, but they became much less frequent. It would be interesting to do a sociological analysis on why this era in particular produced so much civil war across the world and what motivations and ideologies animated these conflicts.
While I know that calendrical debates were significant in this time and they even produced significant divergences between certain groups (as seen in Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls), I have admittedly not invested enough time in studying the theology behind the different calendrical schemes. What motivated the different calendars? What significant differences can we find in actual practices shaped by these calendars?
Another area that seems like it will always require further research is the major sects of Judaism in Palestine. What were the histories of the different sects? Why did they develop like they did? What account can we render of the Sadducees, considering that seemingly all the sources we have about them are from unsympathetic writers? Given the mysteries surrounding the different sects, what precisely can we say about their different theologies and practices? What can we say with different levels of confidence and at what point must we be content to say that we are speculating?
Bibliography
Charlesworth, James H. The Pesharim and Qumran History: Chaos or Consensus? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2014.
Derfler, Steven L. The Hasmonean Revolt: Rebellion or Revolution. Ancient Near Eastern Texts and Studies 5. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1989.
Evans, Craig. “Biblical Interpretation at Qumran.” Pages 105–24 in Judaism in Late Antiquity. Part 5: The Judaism of Qumran: A Systemic Reading of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Vol. 2: World View, Comparing Judaisms. Edited by Alan J. Avery-Peck, Jacob Neusner, and Bruce Chilton. HdO 57. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
Grabbe, Lester L. Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian. Vol. 1: The Persian and Greek Periods. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
Schürer, Emil. The Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ. Vol. 1. Revised and edited by Geza Vermes, Fergus Millar, and Matthew Black. London: T & T Clark, 2014.