Isaac T. Soon
“In strength” not “by force”: Re-reading the circumcision of the uncircumcised ἐν ἰσχύι in 1 Macc 2:46
Soon, Isaac T.
Authors
Abstract
This article challenges the dominant reading of 1 Macc 2:46, both that (a) the syntagm ἐν ἰσχύι means coercion and that (b) the literary context of 1 Maccabees understands the circumcising of the uncircumcised in 2:46 as coercive. An analysis of the lexical semantics of ἐν ἰσχύι in ancient Greek literature shows that it never referred to coercion, but primarily referred to the means by which an action was accomplished (“by strength/might/power”). Admittedly, ἐν ἰσχύι can occur in coercive contexts (e.g. Wis 16:16). However, coercion is not a part of the syntagm itself, but arises out of the surrounding literary circumstances. Rather than as one who forces circumcision upon others, the literary context of 1 Macc 2:46 presents Mattathias as a liberator who reinstates circumcision for those who had been prevented from circumcising their children due to persecution. Josephus, our earliest reception of 1 Macc 2:46, is a witness to this reading.
Citation
Soon, I. T. (2020). “In strength” not “by force”: Re-reading the circumcision of the uncircumcised ἐν ἰσχύι in 1 Macc 2:46. Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 29(3), 149-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720902086
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Online Publication Date | May 10, 2020 |
Publication Date | 2020-03 |
Deposit Date | Nov 11, 2020 |
Publicly Available Date | Nov 11, 2020 |
Journal | Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha |
Print ISSN | 0951-8207 |
Electronic ISSN | 1745-5286 |
Publisher | SAGE Publications |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 29 |
Issue | 3 |
Pages | 149-167 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820720902086 |
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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
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