Jonathan A. Goldstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1929 |
| Died | 2004 Iowa City, Iowa |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Academic |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Jewish Theological Seminary, Harvard University |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (Ph.D.) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Israelites. The second division of Christian Bibles is the New Testament, written in Koine Greek.
The Maccabees, also spelled Machabees, were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 167 to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from 104 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest, and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism.
1 Maccabees, also known as the First Book of Maccabees, First Maccabees, and abbreviated as 1 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest history of the independent Hasmonean kingdom. It describes the promulgation of decrees forbidding traditional Jewish practices by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the formation of a rebellion against him by Mattathias of the Hasmonean family and his five sons. Mattathias's son Judas Maccabeus takes over the revolt and the rebels as a group are called the Maccabees; the book chronicles in detail the successes and setbacks of the rebellion. While Judas is eventually killed in battle, the Maccabees eventually achieve autonomy and then independence for Judea under the leadership of the Hasmonean family. Judas's brother Simon Thassi is declared High Priest by will of the Jewish people. The time period described is from around 170 BC to 134 BC.
2 Maccabees, also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt against him. It concludes with the defeat of the Seleucid Empire general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the Maccabees.
Edwin Richard Thiele was an American Seventh-day Adventist missionary in China, editor, archaeologist, writer, and scholar of the Old Testament. He is best known for his chronological studies of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. Over 1,000 scholars—representing Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Muslim, secular, and other traditions—have contributed to the project. Their works offer discussions that reflect a range of viewpoints across a wide theological spectrum.
Scott Walker Hahn is an American Catholic theologian and Christian apologist. A former Protestant, Hahn was a Presbyterian minister who converted to Catholicism. Hahn's popular works include Rome Sweet Home and The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth. His lectures have been featured in multiple audio distributions through Lighthouse Catholic Media. Hahn is known for his research on Early Christianity during the Apostolic Age and various theoretical works concerning the early Church Fathers.
Jason of Cyrene was a Hellenistic Jew who lived around the middle of the second century BCE. He is the author of a five-volume history of the Maccabean Revolt and its preceding events, which subsequently became a lost work. His history was preserved indirectly in an abridgment by an unknown Egyptian Jew, the book of 2 Maccabees, which was eventually included in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Jewish scriptures. 2 Maccabees was eventually recognized as a deuterocanonical book included in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian biblical canon.
The Books of the Maccabees or the Sefer HaMakabim recount the history of the Maccabees, the leaders of the Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid dynasty.
Joseph Augustine Fitzmyer was an American Catholic priest and scholar who taught at several American and British universities. He was a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
The Battle of Beth Zur was fought between the Maccabees led by Judas Maccabeus and a Seleucid Greek army led by Regent Lysias in October 164 BC at Beth Zur. According to the books of Maccabees, the rebels won the battle, although how significant this victory really was is disputed; it is possible the battle's result was inconclusive. Through a stroke of good fortune for the rebels, the days after the battle likely coincided with news of Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes's death reaching Judea; rather than continue the campaign, the Seleucid army and Lysias returned to the capital to handle the leadership transition. The Maccabees were able to capture Jerusalem soon after.
Bacchides was a Syrian-Greek general and governor (strategos) and friend and advisor (philoi) of King Demetrius I Soter of the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucid Empire was one of the Greek successor states (diadochi) founded after the conquests of Alexander the Great, and was centered in Syria and Babylonia in the Hellenistic era.
John Paul Meier was an American biblical scholar and Catholic priest. He was author of the series A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, six other books, and more than 70 articles for peer-reviewed or solicited journals or books.
The Hasideans were a Jewish group during the Maccabean Revolt that took place from around 167–142 BCE. The Hasideans are mentioned three times in the books of the Maccabees, the main contemporary sources from the period. According to the book 1 Maccabees, during the early phases of the anti-Jewish decrees and persecution proclaimed by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, some Hasideans joined up with Mattathias the Hasmonean as he martialed forces and allies for his rebellion. Later on, during the term of High Priest Alcimus, some Hasideans apparently trusted Alcimus's promises at first and attempted to negotiate a settlement with the government, but were betrayed and executed. In the book 2 Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus is described as the leader of the Hasideans and of them all as troublemakers disrupting the peace, but by Alcimus, a source the book considers untrustworthy and corrupt.
Luke Timothy Johnson is an American New Testament scholar and historian of early Christianity. He is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Candler School of Theology and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.
Mark Stratton John Matthew Smith is an American Old Testament scholar and professor.
Bruce D. Chilton is an American scholar of early Christianity and Judaism, and an Episcopalian priest. He is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, formerly Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament at Yale University, and Rector of the Church of St John the Evangelist He holds a PhD in New Testament from Cambridge University. He has previously held academic positions at the Universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Münster.
Francis Ian Andersen was an Australian scholar in the fields of biblical studies and Hebrew. Together with A. Dean Forbes, he pioneered the use of computers for the analysis of biblical Hebrew syntax. He taught Old Testament, History, and Religious Studies at various institutions in Australia and the United States, including Macquarie University, the University of Queensland, and Fuller Theological Seminary. His published works include the Tyndale commentary on Job, and Anchor Bible commentaries on Hosea, Amos, Habakkuk and Micah, and over 90 papers.
John J. Collins is an Irish-born American biblical scholar, the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. He is noted for his research in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the apocryphal works of the Second Temple period including the sectarian works found in Dead Sea Scrolls and their relation to Christian origins. Collins has published and edited over 300 scholarly works, and a number of popular level articles and books. Among his best known works are the Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora ; Daniel in the Hermeneia commentary series ; The Scepter and the Star. The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature ; and The Bible after Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age.
Choon-Leong Seow, known as C. L. Seow, is a distinguished biblical scholar, semitist, epigrapher, and historian of Near Eastern religion, currently as Vanderbilt, Buffington, Cupples Chair in Divinity and Distinguished Professor of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt University. An expert in wisdom literature, Seow has written widely in the field of biblical studies.
