King and God : conceptions of rule and God in 3 Maccabees
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-205149
- In 3 Maccabees, kingship as a form of rule is addressed on two levels: On the political level the question about a good king is addressed against the background of Hellenistic understandings of kingship, using the example of Ptolemy IV Philopator. This king is portrayed at the beginning of 3 Maccabees as a successful, positive, Hellenistic ruler, but one whose good rule goes off the rails. This analysis of the ideal of Hellenistic rule (cf. 3 Macc. 3:12-29; 6:24-28; 7:1-9) is then taken to a theological level: the God of Israel is portrayed asIn 3 Maccabees, kingship as a form of rule is addressed on two levels: On the political level the question about a good king is addressed against the background of Hellenistic understandings of kingship, using the example of Ptolemy IV Philopator. This king is portrayed at the beginning of 3 Maccabees as a successful, positive, Hellenistic ruler, but one whose good rule goes off the rails. This analysis of the ideal of Hellenistic rule (cf. 3 Macc. 3:12-29; 6:24-28; 7:1-9) is then taken to a theological level: the God of Israel is portrayed as the true good king, the Soter who saves his people in their time of greatest trial (6:29, 32; 7:16). By these means the many divine epithets that are a striking feature of 3 Maccabees are incorporated into the narrative (cf. 2:2-3). Thereby 3 Maccabees not only thematises the conflict with a Hellenistic king who exploits his power in diverse ways but also focuses in a concentrated way the notion of a good (Hellenistic) king into the notion of God as king and ruler.…
Author: | Barbara Schmitz |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-205149 |
Document Type: | Book article / Book chapter |
Faculties: | Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät / Institut für Biblische Theologie |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | Figures who shape scriptures, scriptures that shape figures |
Year of Completion: | 2018 |
Pagenumber: | 211–230 |
Source: | Géza G. Xeravits und Greg Schmidt Goering (eds.): Figures who Shape Scriptures, Scriptures that Shape Figures. - Berlin/Munich/Boston : Walter de Gruyter, 2018. S. 211–230. - https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110596373-014 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110596373-014 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 2 Religion / 22 Bibel / 220 Bibel |
Tag: | Cyropaidia; God in 3 Macc; Hellenistic kingship; Isocrates; Maccabees; Xenophon |
Release Date: | 2020/06/02 |
Licence (German): | Deutsches Urheberrecht |