Possible misreading in 1 Maccabees 7:34 in light of its biblical model

Matan Orian

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

First Maccabees 7:34 employs four verbs to describe the offensive speech by Nicanor, the Seleucid general, addressed to the Jewish elders and priests. The third verb indicates that Nicanor defiled his audience. While this has led scholars to associate 1 Maccabees with the Jewish concept of gentile impurity, several factors suggest that, at this point, an error found its way into the Greek translation from the original Hebrew. The present argument comprises three steps. First, I use the biblical Sennacherib story, featured in the background of the Nicanor episode in 1 Maccabees, as a means of reconstructing the relevant original Hebrew verb employed by 1 Maccabees. Second, I suggest a possible misreading of one letter on the part of the Greek translator. Finally, I propose that a similar, earlier verse in 1 Maccabees, 1:24b, may have been conducive to the translator’s commission of this mistake, thus offering an insight into his way of thinking.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)777-789
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Biblical Literature
Volume138
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Religious studies
  • Literature and Literary Theory

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Possible misreading in 1 Maccabees 7:34 in light of its biblical model'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this