Attitudes Toward Foreigners in 2 Maccabees, Eupolemus, Esther, Aristeas, and Luke-Acts

Abstract

The theme, or topos, of God's people and of their relationship to other ethnic/religious groups is woven through the narratives of both Luke Acts and 2 Maccabees. The conception and experience of foreigners in the Hebrew Esther differ from that in the Greek Additions, and both differ dramatically from Eupolemus, Judas Maccabeas's ambassador to Rome. Jewish literature from Jerusalem in the Maccabean age exhibits a spectrum of alienation from and/or integration with hellenistic culture, persons, and rulers. This chapter argues that Luke-Acts belongs within this Maccabean/Jewish debate, a policy dispute that must have occurred within many ethnic groups and urban areas in the Roman empire. The Septuagint, including 2 Maccabees 4 and 10, and Acts 10 treat the relationship between God's people and foreigners. The Jerusalem temple symbolizes and creates this relationship. Keywords: 2 Maccabees; Esther; Eupolemus; Jerusalem temple; Luke-Acts

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 19 citations exist upstream.