Shlomo Sand, The Invention of the Jewish People - Rafapal

THE INVENTION OF THE EXILE I57
Judea was not Hellenism but polytheism. The rebels could not have had a firm
concept of the people's "authentic" Hebrew culture, much less as a contrast to
Hellenism. Such a description is an anachronistic fantasy of cultural sensitivity
typical of modern times, but lacking all meaning in antiquity. The Hasmoneans
and their power structures were both uncompromisingly monotheistic and
typically Hellenistic. Archaeological findings from that period reveal both
modest ritual baths and luxurious public baths. In their intrigues and rivalries,
the royal courts of Judea closely resembled other Hellenistic courts in
the region, as did the system of dynastic succession. The present work cannot
go into extensive exploration of the Hasmonean kingdom and its fascinating
dualistic development beyond its essential Judeo-Hellenistic aspects, which
made it an important factor in the spread of Judaism in antiquity.
This was perhaps the first time in history that a clearly monotheistic religion
combined with a political government: the sovereign became a priest.
Like other single-deity religions that would hold power in the future, the
Hasmonean theocracy used the sword to spread not only its territorial domain
but also its religious following. And with the historical option of cultural
Hellenization came the possibility of conversion to Judaism. The boundaries
opened in both directions. Hellenism injected Judaism with the vital element
of anti-tribal universalism, which in turn strengthened the rulers' appetite for
propagating their religion, leading them to abandon the exclusive commandments
of Deuteronomy and Joshua. The Hasmoneans did not claim descent
from the House of David, and they saw no reason to emulate the story of
Joshua, the mythological conqueror of Canaan. 57
In 125 BCE Yohanan Hyrcanus conquered Edom, the country that spread
south of Beth-zur and Ein Gedi as far as Beersheba, and Judaized its inhabitants
by force. Josephus described it in Antiquities of the Jews:
Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all
the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would
circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were
so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to
the use of circumcision, and of the rest of the Jewish ways of living, at which
time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews. 58
57 On the Maccabees and the biblical myth, see Katell Berthelot, "The Biblical
Conquest of the Promised Land and the Hasmonaean Wars According to 1 and 2 Maccabees,"
in The Books of the Maccabees: History, Theology, Ideology, G. G. Xeravits and J. Zsengellér
(eds.), Leiden: Brill, 2007, 45-60.
58 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 13. 9. Josephus later refers to the event in other
words: "Hyrcanus had made a change in their political government, and made them receive
the Jewish customs and law" (ibid., 15. 9). See also the article by Steven Weitzman, "Forced