Rhetoric in 2 Maccabees

Download or read book Rhetoric in 2 Maccabees written by Nicholas Peter Legh and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-03 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a religio-historical perspective, 2Maccabees should be considered a watershed narrativeâ "one that describes the threat of Hellenisation to traditional Jewish religious society. However, by the time 2Macc was written (c. 124 BCE), Judaism had already been greatly Hellenised and, quite ironically, the Jewish opponents to Hellenisation were deliberately employing Greek rhetorical and literary competencies to combat supposedly iniquitous Greek influences. Accordingly, 2Macc has intrigued scholars since at least the nineteenth century. Here, research has variously focused on the grammatical-historical approach (1891 to 1949), the socio- economical approach (1959 to 1985), and the ubiquitous impact of Hellenisation (1986 to 2012). The chapters in this book reflect post-2012 insights of nine prominent scholars dedicated to presenting some of the very latest findings in the context of 2Macc research. Here, they make use of some of the latest methods, with particular emphasis on narratology and rhetoric. This book, which offers a wide spectrum of the latest theological insights into Second Temple Judaism, should be considered an essential source for serious Biblical scholars.