Political Power and Ideology in Early Jewish and Early Christian Literature (2011), conference

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Political Power and Ideology in Early Jewish and Early Christian Literature (2011) is a conference in the series of International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, chaired by Géza G. Xeravits.

History

The conference is organised by the Department of Bible, Sapientia College of Theology, Budapest (Hungary), in 18-20 May, 2011.

Official Program

István Karasszon: National Ideology or Ethical Tradition? A Fresh Approach to Deuteronomy -- David Benka: The Power of the Powerless and the Powerless Power: A Reading of Nahum -- Karin Schöpflin: Political Power and Ideology in Qohelet -- Ida Fröhlich: Political Theology in the Deuteronomistic History -- Michael Wojciechowski: To Fight or not to Fight? Various Answers to the Foreign Political Power in the Deuterocanonical Literature -- Stefan Schorch: Secular Power and Religious Claim—The Judean and the Samari(t)an Ways of Constructing a Difficult Relationship -- Friedrich V. Reiterer: Use of Power and the Powerful in the Book of Wisdom (Sapientia Salamonis) -- Jack Pastor: What did Josephus Mean by the Word ‘Freedom’ -- József Zsengellér: Being Jewish as the Controversial Ideology of the Maccabean Political Power -- Moyna McGlynn: The Politeuma: Guardian of Civil Rights or Heavenly Commonwealth in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt -- György Geréby: Philo’s Debate with Pseudo-Aristotle on Monarchy: Two Kinds of Political Metaphysics -- Géza G. Xeravits: The West Wall of the Dura Synagogue as a Political and Religious Manifesto -- Csaba Ötvös: The Fourth Race. The Concept of a ‘Generation without King’ in the Writing without Title (NHC II,5) -- József Gátas: The Political Background of a Mystical Ascension -- Elizabeth Narvaez and Alejandro David Tamez: Political Ideology and the Priesthood: Reflections from 1 Maccabees

Abstracts of the Lectures

  • David Benka (University of Bratislava): The Power of the Powerless and the Powerless Power: A Reading of Nahum

One of the elementary types of religious experience conveyed by the Hebrew Scriptures is that those who have the political power or even exercise brutal force are the ones who not necessarily prevail in the overall perspective. It is the relatively powerless group which is against all odds able to stand ground face to face with the powerful adversary. The Book of Nahum documents such experience or anticipated belief. The paper reads the book through the lens of the brilliant political essay of Václav Havel The Power of the Powerless, especially through his (nearly theological) insight that an individual or a relatively small and powerless group confronted with a system of power where ideology spans the abyss between the aims of the system and the aims of life, one has either the option to live within the lie or to live within the truth. Living within the lie encompasses accepting the prescribed ritual, accepting appearances as reality, accepting the given rules of the game, and succumbing to the dictate of an (empty) phrase. Refusal to accept appearances as reality is, in other words, living within the truth and thus even an individual or a small group is capable of threatening the existence of the whole system by saying that "the king is naked." In the case of Nahum’s prophecy, Assyria—once an instrument of God’s wrath and punishment depicted by the First Isaiah as nearly as an unearthly and invincible military machine—is now unmasked by Nahum as an earthly and powerless power and Assyrian propaganda, which had left deep impact on Judean society, is declared an empty phrase.

  • Ida Fröhlich (Pázmány Péter Catholic University): Political Theology in the Deuteronomistic History

The biblical narrative on Israel’s national history (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings) results, in its present form, from the work of several generations of Deuteronomistic redactors, the final shape of the work being given after an historical catastrophe, the Babylonian exile. The Deuteronomistic history is the theological interpretation (in the spirit of the Deuteronomy) of an historical tradition, a history written in the terms of religious ethic. The views of the redactors are voiced not only in the addresses and prayers added to the historical narratives but also in the use of certain recurrent motifs in the narratives. Cultic sins and sexual transgressions are regarded in Deuteronomistic views as sins that make the land impure and cause the sinner’s disinheritance of the land. Motifs related to these sins in the narrative of the history of Israel have a special Deuteronomistic meaning concerning the future of the sinner as well as the future of the kingdom.

  • József Gátas (Pázmány Péter Catholic University): The Political Background of a Mystical Ascension

Ezekiel’s fragmented drama—the Exagoge—from the 2nd century B.C. is one of the many enigmas of the Hellenistic Jewish literature. The Exagoge is very important because this text is the longest piece from a play from the Hellenistic period, and the only survived Jewish drama of that age. The drama contains several extra canonical passages. One of them is Moses’ dream vision where he was offered the throne, the sceptre and the crown of a noble man. This passage attracted more scholarly attention than any other aspects of the play and resulted in a wide range of theories. Most of them labelled this vision to the first specimen of the mystical Judaism, and try to find the root of the merkavah tradition in it. In my lecture I would like to draw a possibly different interpretation of the text from political point of view.

  • György Geréby (Central European University, Budapest): Philo’s Debate with Pseudo-Aristotle on Monarchy: Two Kinds of Political Metaphysics

In the paper I will address the dispute of Philo against contemporary ideas in political theology, and discuss the alternative he juxtaposes to the prevalent views. Philo is usually credited with the standard monarchic conceptions that he seems to share with his fellow Hellenistic thinkers. The politico-theological reading of these texts was forcefully proposed by Erik Peterson (1932), then by Arnold Ehrhard (1959), and to a lesser extent by E. Goodenough and F. Dworkin. Philo indeed quotes Iliad II, 204 like his contemporaries for justifying the monarchy, and he also seems to be a supporter of the analogy of cosmic and earthly realms. I will contest, however a simplistic interpretation of these facts by pointing out that in certain key texts Philo not only modifies, but clearly rejects the standard Hellenistic views about the organisation of the heavenly and the earthly realm and their analogous structure in favour of a biblical understanding (on his terms). Unfortunately in the implicit discussions of Philo mentions no names. Views, however represented (among others) by the De mundo were clearly in the crosshair. A solution to the special methodological difficulties can be offered by relying on liminal formulations. Such clear contradictions in liminal terms can be detected between the views represented by the pseudo-Aristotelian De mundo (398a sq.) and Philo’s De opificio mundi (20 sq.) or the De confusione linguarum (170 sq.). The clear conflict in their views can be gathered from the great rhetorical images employed by the authors to manifest their conceptions on the nature of the relation between the deity and the universe.

  • István Karasszon (Károli Gáspár Reformed University, Budapest): National Ideology or Ethical Tradition? A Fresh Approach to Deuteronomy

All investigations of a law code must run in two directions: First, we have to tackle the issue of independent sentences. Second, we have to uncover the intention of law-giving, the ideology of legislator. In the study of Deuteronomy, both are heavily debated. As to the individual sentences, the relationship of former legislation with Deuteronomy is not clear enough. In turn, it seems clear that the Deuteronomistic legislation was an act of independence: liberation from the Assyrian rule. However, this idea is certainly not invented by King Josiah: also here we have to reckon with a long tradition. The paper argues that legislation in itself must be regarded as an act of independence, so Deuteronomy may reflect much more ethical tradition as accepted by modern scholars.

  • Moyna McGlynn: The Politeuma: Guardian of Civil Rights or Heavenly Commonwealth in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt

Scholars, over the years, have considered the question of the existence of a separate governing body for the Jewish communities in the cities of the Diaspora during the Ptolemaic Kingdoms and the Roman Empire. The debate has ranged from the idea of an autonomous "state within a state" to a more general series of rights and privileges from among the Greek-speaking Hellenes who were established in the Egyptian Diaspora and Alexandria in particular. However, repeated civic unrest and rioting, deputations to imperial Rome, appeals, letters and decrees from Rome, and finally, the Jewish uprising of 115-117 CE, which led to the widespread destruction of Egyptian Jewry, all tend towards an understanding by the Jewish community that they had specific rights which were in continual danger of infringement. This paper will re-examine the evidence for the "politeuma" as a political body, and ask what rights were conferred upon the Jewish community under the Ptolemies and the Romans. We will also ask the question why legal and judicial status was so important to the Alexandrian Jews in particular, among all the Hellenic Diasporas inside Egypt.

  • Csaba Ötvös (Eötvös Loránd State University, Budapest): The Fourth Race. The Concept of a "Generation without King" in the Writing without Title (NHC II,5)

In those ancient mythological theologies which we usually labelled as Gnostic occur some terms and concepts in the primary sources which serve as self-identifications. It is a much debated question in the modern literature, why and how the author did use this terminology and where these motives originate from. The paper attempts to investigate the concept of a “generation without king” in the Writing without Title from the Nag Hammadi library. According to the distinguished commentators and researchers (e.g. Bethge, Painchaud, Williams) the concept comes from the secondary recension of the treatise and represents the influence of the Sethian tradition. The present paper focuses on the anthropological and soteriological connotations of the concept, which also involve issues of political and religious power and authority. In the last part of the paper I try to demonstrate that the entire issue of a generation “without king” in this treatise must be interpreted in the context of the debates of early Christian theology concerning the status of the elects and saved, and that the very interpretation of the concept marked the moving frontier between orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

  • Jack Pastor (Oranim Academic College of Education, Tivon Israel): What did Josephus Mean by the Word "Freedom"

Flavius Josephus is the major historical source for the period of the Second Temple. Among other subjects, his writings include material on questions of political philosophy, religion, society, and geography. In his description of the trends and changes in the history of the Jews, and in his own time, he touches on subjects such as the type of government, political movements, and comparisons between the Jewish People and other nations. He uses the word eleutheria a number of times in his books The Jewish War Against the Romans and The Antiquities of the Jews. Yet, Josephus was an historian who existed in three cultures at once: Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman. Scholars have for quite some time been aware that Josephus’ works were written with the help of scribes conversant with Greek, who were themselves influenced by the Greek literary tradition, and apparently mostly by Sophocles and Thucydides. Scholars have also noticed that Josephus made an effort to present Jewish ideas to his Gentile audience by the use of expressions familiar to them. However, part of Josephus’ audience although literate in Greek was Roman, and they would have been familiar with the idea of libertas. Moreover, Josephus himself was a Jerusalemite Cohen who would have been most familiar with the Hebrew word "herut." When Josephus is writing "freedom," is he thinking of eleutheria, libertas, or herut? Is he thinking in Hebrew, Greek or Latin, or is he thinking of the same idea, simply expressed by different words in different tongues? This paper will examine the Josephean corpus to determine what Josephus meant by the term “freedom.” It will compare his usage of the term with what is known about its use by Greek and Latin authors, and Jewish sources both literary and numismatic.

  • Friedrich V. Reiterer (Universität Salzburg): Use of power and the powerful in the Book of Wisdom (Sapientia Salamonis)

In the Book of Wisdom we find references which show that at the time of composition there existed a group (to which the author obviously belongs) that is in great danger. On the one hand (poor) people are ridiculed and subject to persecution. On the other hand, hints are given what the reasons and justification of the opponents’ aggression are. It seems that a lawless state prevails. Whoever has power, is right: "Let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless" (Wis 2:11). Important observations are collected to describe the nature of the threat. We investigate who the opponents are. Has this state something to do with the Hellenistic setting? "Die Legitimation der seleukidischen Herrschaft folgte für die orientalischen (nicht-judäischen) Untertanen allgemein aus ihrer Herrschaft über Länder, die sie in der Nachfolge einheimischer Könige angetreten hatten, leitet sich für die Griechen aber aus dem Recht des Sieges her, das erblich weitergeben werden konnte... Aus dieser Souveränität des Königs folgerten hellenistische Staatstheoretiker, der König sei selbst der Ursprung des Rechts..." (Kippenberg, Religion, 86, Anm. 41). Are these the same ideas, though there is no king? Do we find a democratisation of abuse here?

  • Karin Schöpflin (Universität Göttingen): Political Power and Ideology in Qohelet

The paper is going to examine selected passages from Qohelet, namely 8:2-9; 9:13-18; 10:6-7, 16-20. A second focus is on the (fictitiously) royal philosopher and author, traditionally identified with King Solomon. Does his role within the book also shed some light on political power and ideology?

  • Stefan Schorch (Universität Halle-Wittenberg): Secular Power and Religious Claim. The Judean and the Samari(t)an Ways of Constructing a Difficult Relationship

The Judean tradition of the Hebrew Bible and the traditions dependant on it, especially the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, have been constructed a close relationship between secular power and religious claim: The Davidic dynasty has been chosen by God, their capital is at the same time the only legitimate place for the temple cult, and the eschatalogical expectation longs for the messiah to come, who will be both king and redeemer. The Samaritan tradition created a different perspective, constructing a clear difference between the two fields. This development has roots in the sociological and geographical environment of the Northern Kingdom and Samaria, and it became on of the main lines of Samaritan identity from the 2nd century BCE onwards.

  • Michael Wojciechowski (University of Olsztyn): To Fight or not to Fight? Various Answers to the Foreign Political Power in the Deuterocanonical Literature

Earlier books of the Old Testament do not face the problem of living under a foreign government. It surfaced after the Exile and is variously answered in later Hebrew books, in the Greek books of the Old Testament and in the New Testament. There are two main contradictory answers. One possibility is a submission; it can be expressed in avoiding politics (Sirach, Wisdom) and also in approving careers at a foreign court (Esther, Tobit, first part of Daniel). The faithfulness to God of Israel remains a necessary condition. On the other side we meet an opposition, including a military action (1 Maccabees, Judith) and condemnation of the foreign empire (visions of Daniel). It can be modified by the religious factor: in 2 Maccabees passive resistance and martyrdom are morally better and finally assure a victory in the field.

  • Géza G. Xeravits (Sapientia College of Theology, Budapest): The West Wall of the Dura Synagogue as a Political and Religious Manifesto

In the title of the present contribution, I label the west wall of the Dura synagogue as a political and religious manifesto. The first artist of the west wall, whose approach was predominantly non-figurative, accentuated the enduring covenant between God and his people (the Akedah scene and the vine tree), and the continuity of the cult (Temple and cultic motifs over the Torah niche). The second artist picked up these overall Leitmotivs, and expanded them by adding the figurative paintings. The modifications to the central panel emphasise the idea that Israel is a people chosen by God, in whose history God’s promises and the forefathers’ blessings are fulfilled. This is complemented by the wing panels, where Moses, the pre-eminent figure of the past, is depicted. Chronologically, at the centre of this small Mosaic cycle the giving and promulgating of the Law are illustrated, which stresses the importance of the Divinely ordered life-style of Israel. It is noteworthy that on Wing Panel III, the Ark of Covenant appears, which strengthens the religious/cultic orientation of this Mosaic cycle. This aspect is further emphasised by the middle register of the narrative panels—and it is not by chance that this register is placed on the very same level where Wing Panel III is situated. As we look at the narrative panels, we see that the middle register has a kind of central position—framed by the top and bottom registers—which assigns to it a basic or essential place within the composition. All who gaze at this mural are summoned at this point to meditate upon their relationship with God. After articulating the religious message of the west wall, the artist turned to political issues. The paintings of the bottom and top registers recalling various events of the histoire sainte—affirm the pre-eminence of the Jewish people. Affirming this in a minority context and in an especially turbulent period of regional history, these panels carry a message of consolation. For this purpose, it was essential to assert that it is not the power of the Israelites per se which could effect glory over the pagans, but Divine help and providence. This is symbolised by the motif of the Hand of God, which recurs in panels WA 3, WC 1, Wing Panel I and the Aqedah of the west wall, and which is a clear symbol of Divine intervention.


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