Jewish Reactions to the Destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70: Apocalypses and Related Pseudepigrapha (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism)

319 Pages·2011·1.05 MB·English

by  Kenneth R. Jones

Jewish Reactions to the Destruction
of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
Supplements
to the
Journal for the Study
of Judaism
Editor
Hindy Najman
Department and Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto
Associate Editors
Florentino García Martínez
Qumran Institute, University of Groningen
Benjamin G. Wright, III
Department of Religion Studies, Lehigh University
Advisory Board
g. bohak – j.j. collins – j. duhaime – p.w. van der horst –
a.k. petersen – m. popoviĆ – j.t.a.g.m. van ruiten –
j. sievers – g. stemberger – e.j.c. tigchelaar –
j. magliano-tromp
VOLUME 151
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/jsjs.
Jewish Reactions to the
Destruction of Jerusalem
in A.D. 70
Apocalypses and Related Pseudepigrapha
By
Kenneth R. Jones
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2011
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jones, Kenneth R.
Jewish reactions to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 : Apocalypses and related
Pseudepigrapha / by Kenneth R. Jones.
p. cm. — (Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism,
ISSN 1384-2161 ; v. 151)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-21027-1 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Temple of Jerusalem (Jerusalem)—In the Bible. 2. Jerusalem—History—Siege, 70 A.D.
3. Jews—History—To 70 A.D. 4. Apocalyptic literature—History and criticism. 5. Bible. O.T.
Ezra IV—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 6. Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 7. Greek Apocalypse of Baruch—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
8. Paralipomena Jeremiae—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 9. Oracula Sibyllina. 10. Oracles,
Greek. I. Title. II. Series.
BS1199.J38J66 2011
229’.91309500933442—dc23
2011028622
ISSN 1384-2161
ISBN 978 90 04 21027 1
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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UXORI CARISSIMAE

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ............................................................................ ix
Abbreviations ..................................................................................... xi
1 Introduction ................................................................................. 1
1.1 Rome and the Jews after A.D. 70 .................................... 18
2 “Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion?”
4 Ezra and the Delayed Punishment of Rome ....................... 39
2.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 41
2.2 Original Language, Versions, and Composition Date ... 44
2.3 Analysis ............................................................................... 57
2.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 75
3 “Why do you look for the decline of your enemies?”
2 Baruch and the Roman Question .......................................... 79
3.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 82
3.2 Original Language, Versions, and Composition Date ... 87
3.3 Analysis ............................................................................... 89
3.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 108
4 “Where is their God?”
3 Baruch and the Divine Government of the Cosmos ......... 111
4.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 114
4.2 Original Language, Versions, and Composition Date ... 117
4.3 Analysis ............................................................................... 120
4.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 141
5 “Let anyone who desires the Lord forsake the works of
Babylon”
4 Baruch and Jewish Cooperation with Rome ....................... 143
5.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 145
5.2 Original Language and Composition Date .................... 148
5.3 Analysis ................................................................................ 157
5.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 171
viii contents
6 “Then the strife of war will come to the West”
Sibylline Oracle 4 and the Conflict of East and West ........... 173
6.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 176
6.2 Composition Date .............................................................. 178
6.3 Analysis ............................................................................... 181
6.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 204
7 “Then he will return declaring himself equal to God”
Sibylline Oracle 5 and the Return of Nero .............................. 209
7.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 210
7.2 Composition Date .............................................................. 213
7.3 Analysis ............................................................................... 215
7.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 242
8 “And I saw there the likeness of the idol of jealousy”
The Apocalypse of Abraham and Jewish Idolatry .................. 245
8.1 Summary of the Text ........................................................ 246
8.2 Original Language and Composition Date ................... 251
8.3 Analysis ............................................................................... 256
8.4 Conclusion .......................................................................... 270
9 Conclusion .................................................................................... 271
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 281
Index .................................................................................................... 295
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is a fairly substantial revision and amplification of my dis-
sertation, which was originally submitted in May of 2006 to the Grad-
uate Group in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology at the
University of California at Berkeley. The original dissertation did not
include the chapters on 3 Baruch, Sibylline Oracle 5, and the Apoca-
lypse of Abraham. I would like to record my gratitude for the guidance
and encouragement of the members of my committee, Erich Gruen,
Daniel Boyarin, Susanna Elm, and the late Gerard Caspary.
I would also like to thank G. W. Bowersock, John Endres, S.J., Mat-
thias Henze, Robert Knapp, Fergus Millar, and George Nickelsburg,
who each read and commented on parts of the manuscript at various
stages. I am deeply grateful not only for their thoughtful comments on
the project, but perhaps even more so for their generosity in devoting
their precious time to reading it. I must also thank John Collins, who
read parts of the manuscript at an early stage and the completed dis-
sertation in its entirety; he was also the first to suggest publication in
this series. Though it is a commonplace to absolve one’s colleagues of
responsibility for any remaining errors, in an interdisciplinary work
such as mine, which demands that the author pose as an expert in two
fields at the same time, one is especially aware of one’s own failings.
I would like to thank Hindy Najman for inviting me to publish with
this series and for patiently maintaining her initial enthusiasm for the
project throughout the years separating her invitation from the final
submission of my manuscript. I must also express my gratitude to the
two anonymous readers; it is the drawback of anonymity that I cannot
thank them by name for the important role they played in the final
stages of this book’s development. I am also thankful for the guidance
provided by the editorial staff at Brill, especially Mattie Kuiper and
Tessel Jonquière.
The debt of gratitude that I owe to Erich Gruen merits special men-
tion. Our association began during my undergraduate days, when he
assumed the mantle of mentorship as director of an honors thesis on
a topic far removed from the present study. The example he set in the
lecture hall, seminar room, and his published works has been a con-
stant source of inspiration. His careful and thorough criticism of the