Leadership, Social Memory and Judean Discourse in the Fifth - Second Centuries BCE - Diana V. Edelman

Leadership, Social Memory and Judean Discourse in the Fifth - Second Centuries BCE - Diana V. Edelman

Judith Maccabee? On Leadership, Resistance, and the Great Deeds of Little People

Leadership, Social Memory and Judean Discourse in the Fifth - Second Centuries BCE - Diana V. Edelman

Anne-Mareike Schol-Wetter [+-]
Dutch Bible Society
Anne-Mareike Wetter obtained her PhD from Utrecht University (On Her Account: Reconfiguring Israel in Ruth, Esther and Judith, T&T Clark, 2015). In her current position as head of the department of Bible engagement at the Dutch Bible Society, she focuses on making insights from biblical scholarship available for a wider audience.

Description

‘Judith Maccabee’ compares the book of Judith and 1 Maccabees in terms of the ideals of leadership and resistance brought forward in each book. Playfully linking the protagonists of both texts to characters from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, it argues that Judith and Judas Maccabee not only pursue different tactics and different political aims, but also handle different definitions of the enemy against whom their resistance is staged. Both figures are described as acting with 'zeal'; however, their very different appropriation of zealous figures from Israel's past socialises the readers of both works are into contrary models of action: consent and compliance with the establishment of dynastic kingship and priesthood in 1 Maccabees versus grassroots resistance in the book of Judith. More importantly, 1 Maccabees teaches its readers a porous concept of Israel: enemies can be found both within and without - as can friends. Reversely, Judith treats everyone outside Israel as enemies - 'orcs', so to speak - shunning the idea of any form of contact that is not aimed at eliminating the latter.

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Citation

Schol-Wetter, Anne-Mareike . Judith Maccabee? On Leadership, Resistance, and the Great Deeds of Little People. Leadership, Social Memory and Judean Discourse in the Fifth - Second Centuries BCE. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 249-261 Dec 2016. ISBN 9781781792698. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=26818. Date accessed: 29 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.26818. Dec 2016

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