Samaritan Persecutions in the Hellenistic Period According to Josephus Flavius 2020 (original) (raw)
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Persecution and apostasy 297 of religious oppression in the seventh century requires special consideration. For this reason, we employ sociologist Margaret Somers's theories of narrativity and emplotment to a selection of representative seventh-century documents. 3 This chapter concludes that persecution inflicted by Persians, Muslims, and Romans can only be understood in the context of war and as a means to prevent and punish challenges, both real and imaginary, to a so-called persecutor's hegemony. All three polities considered here were concerned with the smooth administration of communities under their control, not with the destruction of opposing religious groups. Methodology Themes This chapter is divided into three major themes based on forces in the Eastern Mediterranean that have traditionally been considered persecutors. We begin with the Sassanid Persians, who conquered significant portions of Roman territory, including Jerusalem and the True Cross, in 614. 4 The Persian invasions lasted from 602 until 628 when the emperor Heraclius secured victory and recovered Roman territory, along with the restoration of the True Cross. 5 Second, we consider the persecution of religious minorities in the earliest decades of the Muslim invasions. Here we consider the incursions of Islamic forces through to the establishment of Arab hegemony over former Roman territories. The time covered during this period spans from the 640s until the construction of the Dome of the Rock in the 690s. We will conclude by considering the persecution of religious minorities by the Heraclian dynasty itself. Here, we will focus primarily on the persecution of the Jews, initiated by the emperor Heraclius, and the treatment of Christian dissidents by the emperor Constans II, particularly Pope Martin II and Maximus the Confessor. This theme serves to demonstrate that Christians were not only persecuted but also served as persecutors, particularly at the imperial level. Sources This chapter examines sources spanning the chronological range of the seventh century. Witnesses to the Persian invasions include the Life of Anastasius the Persian, the History of the Armenians by pseudo-Sebeos, and the Life of George of Choziba. 6 For the Arab invasions, we consider the Life of Theodore of Sykeon, the Dialogue Between the Jews Papiscus and Philo with a Monk, and the Apocalypse of pseudo-Methodius, composed at the end of the seventh century. 7 Finally, our primary evidence for imperial persecution comes from a unique adversus Judaeos dialogue, the Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati, an account of the arrest and trial of Pope Martin I, and the record of Maximus the Confessor's first trial in Constantinople. 8 Considering the polemical nature of our sources, some caveats are necessary. Each of the sources examined here are hostile toward the so-called persecutors
The phrase 'Jews have no dealings with Samaritans' is the Johannine summary of the sour relations that existed between Jews and Samaritans during the time of Jesus Christ. Relations between Jews and Samaritans were at the level of conflicts during the time of Christ. These conflicts are reflected especially in the Gospels (see John 8:48; Luke 9:53-54). This work is primarily an attempt to identify the bases for these conflicts. Understanding the nature of the relations between these two groups will therefore assists students and interpreters of the New Testament appreciate and comprehend the negative signals emitted by these biblical texts. The work is a historical-critical method of study applied to biblical texts in their synchronic forms. It implies an inquiry into who the Samaritans were; what their beliefs and practices were and why there was such enmity between them and the Jews. The study identifies the non recognition of the Jewish origin of the Samaritans as the basis for the conflicts. It also identifies the intricacies of religion and politics in the diversification of the conflict, highlights some instances of class distinctions and religious conflicts in modern society as contemporary equivalents of the Samaritan-Jewish conflicts. It recommends respects for the dignity of the human person, emphasis on, and widening of the borders of kinship and the encouragement of multi-culturalism as the foundations for building a less discriminatory society.
The Samaritans during the Hasmonean Period: The Affirmation of a Discrete Identity
Religions 10(11):62, 2019
The Hasmonean period is increasingly seen in current scholarship as formative for Samaritan identity and, in particular, as the moment when the Samaritans emerged as a self-contained group separate from the Jews. The first aim of this paper is to give an overview of the condition of the Samaritans during this period. In largely chronological order, the first part of the article discusses the situation of the Samaritans on the eve of the Hasmonean revolt, at the outbreak of the uprising, and under the rule of the first Hasmoneans. The second aim is to review the commonly held causes of the emergence, at this time, of the Samaritans as a discrete community, such as, for instance, the destruction of the Samaritan temple, the production of the Samaritan Pentateuch and the appearance of anti-Samaritan polemics in Jewish literature. The paper concludes that the Hasmoneans' attitude toward the Samaritans cannot simply be seen as one of hatred and rejection as is generally assumed. Besides; although some of the historical processes beginning in the Hasmonean period had far-reaching implications for the parting of the ways between Jews and Samaritans; their immediate effects should not be overstated.
For We, like You, Worship Your God: Three Biblical Portrayals of Samaritan Origins
Vetus Testamentum, 1988
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The Strained Relation Between Samaritans and Jews in the Works of Flavius Josephus
DISKURSUS - JURNAL FILSAFAT DAN TEOLOGI STF DRIYARKARA, 2017
The strained relation between Samaritans and Jews as a fruit of long-term process from the division of the United Kingdom of Israel (ca. 931 B.C.E) became a dominant issue since the post-exilic period and became more pronounced in the first century C.E. Beside the Old Testament, the story of their relation which was full of conflict can be traced to extra-biblical sources. One of them is Flavius Josephus' works (ca. 70 to 100 C.E), i.e., Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities. The root of the conflict is related to the presence of the Second Jerusalem Temple. The peak of the conflict is the construction of the Mount Gerizim temple in which some Jews regarded the adherents of the Samaritan cult as schismatic. The founding of this rival temple of Jerusalem aggravated the bad relations between Samaritans and Jews. The destruction of the Mount Gerizim temple by John Hyrcanus was a crucial incident for their relations. The conflict between Samaritans and Jews still continued in the Roman period. By historical approach, this study would setforth the examination of some Josephus' accounts regarding the historical process of the estrangement and rivalry between Samaritans and Jews which resulted in the final split in second century B.C.E.
This work serves as a comprehensive and detailed socio-historical investigation into the nature of suffering in 1 Peter. While interpreters commonly portray the conflict situation addressed by the epistle as "unofficial" persecution consisting of discrimination and verbal abuse, the study demonstrates the inadequacy of this modern consensus by situating the letter against the backdrop of conflict management in first-century CE Asia Minor. Drawing on a wide range of historical evidence and on modern social-psychological perspectives, the book reconstructs the conflict situation of the Anatolian audience and offers important insights regarding the legal culpability of Christians following the Neronian persecution, the roles of local and provincial authorities in the judicial process, and the variegated conflict experiences of different socio-economic groups within the Christian communities.