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International Meeting : Society of Biblical Literature, Amsterdam

Communication de Katell Berthelot au colloque international de la SBL (littérature biblique) : "Hasmonean Discourse between Biblical Tradition and Seleucid Rhetoric : A New Interpretation of 1 Maccabees 15:28-36" - Amsterdam du 22 au 26 juillet 2012.

Katell Berthelot est historienne, spécialisée dans l’étude du judaïsme à l’époque hellénistique et romaine.

Résumé anglais de la communication

1 Maccabees 15:28-36 records a diplomatic exchange over disputed cities and territories between Simon, Judas Maccabaeus’ brother, and the Seleucid king Antiochus VII. In verses 33-34, Simon argues that the Jews/Judeans have not seized foreign lands that belonged to others, but have simply taken back “the heritage of our fathers.” Many scholars have interpreted Simon’s reply as a self-evident indication that the Hasmonean dynasty saw itself as reconquering the Promised Land. Moreover, it is this passage alone that is always quoted by scholars in support of such a theory. However, a closer analysis of the text shows that it has probably been over-interpreted. Through the analysis of the literary construction of the passage and of its connections with both Biblical traditions on the one hand, and Seleucid rhetoric as presented in 1 Maccabees itself on the other hand, I shall propose a different way of reading the text. It will be shown that Simon’s discourse cannot be seen through the lens of Biblical intertextuality only, and that it needs to be compared with ways of arguing about one’s legitimate right to possess a territory in the Hellenistic world at large.

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