The priesthood as you did not know it - Chapter XNUMX: The reign of Hyrcanus

And this time, in the historical review of the relationship between the institution of the priesthood and the institution of the monarchy in Judea during the Second Temple period, we have reached Hyrcanus, the tragic figure in our story

In the previous list, we learned about the exhausting quarrel between the brothers, the sons of Alexandros Yanai, which symbolized the end of the Hasmonean dynasty, and the beginning of Roman rule in the region.

It may be convenient to think that this confrontational course between the brothers led to the collapse of the Hasmonean kingdom and the beginning of the Roman era in the region, but relying on such an interpretation sails too far, far too much, in the importance of the event to the Romans. It has, in its kind of interpretation, to develop a confirmation of rationalization around the myth of the classic "Jewish War". The plan to take over the entire Mediterranean basin, including the eastern part, is an idea that brewed in the minds of the Romans while conducting the Punic wars with the Karta-Hadta (Carthage) people, and it had no significant connection to the sibling rivalry.

It can be assumed from the other direction, that the approach of the Romans to the region caused natural tensions between the members of the political leadership in Judea, and it was she who fueled the phenomenon of "fraternal strife".

The beginning of Roman rule in Judea did not only lead to the decline of the Hasmonean house, but to fundamental changes in the composition of the leadership, and first and foremost, the change symbolized the decline of the status of the priesthood and the rise of other, non-priestly forces, such as the House of Antipater, from which the special and interesting figure of Herod would emerge.

When Herod was revealed to be "armed and bold (the governor of the Galilee) and hungry for tyrannical rule" (Jewish Antiquities 165, XNUMX), in the eyes of the members of the Sanhedrin, they turned to the high priest Horcanus to do something about it. According to their provocative claim, the High Priest carries the title of Nabob of Malchut, while the house of Antipater lines his nest with royal feathers. And in order to get Hyrcanus out of the legal and status entanglement, they hinted to him that Herod could be summoned to trial for issuing a death sentence against Jewish rebels in Galilee.

Herod is summoned by Hyrcanus to the Sanhedrin trial, when, Hyrcanus presides over him by virtue of his great priesthood, and precisely during it Herod showed his arrogance and conceit, probably against the background of the Roman commissioner's support for him and his family. Indeed, the Roman commissioner of Syria orders Hyrcanus to acquit Herod of all guilt.

On the other hand, Shammai, one of the leaders of the Sanhedrin, stood up and asked to hold Herod accountable while defining and crowning Hyrcanus at least twice as king and beloved of the people.

In the end, Hyrcanus succeeded in driving Herod out of the city. Herod rushed towards Syria and was honored there by the commissioner who appointed him strategos of the Syrian army (a geo-political concept of most parts of the country). The Syrian commissioner preferred, perhaps in contrast to imperial Roman policy, Herod as a loyal, if local, ruler over the somewhat amorphous Hyrcanus.

Indeed, when Julius Caesar settled in Rome, Hyrcanus sent him messengers who begged on his behalf to confirm/renew the alliance between the two parties. Julius Caesar performed this with great ceremony and publicly and assertively announced that Hyrcanus is "the high priest and ruler of the Jews, and his descendants will be rulers of the Jews and will serve in the high priesthood of the Jews forever according to the laws of their ancestors, and he and his sons will be our allies and will be among the privileged among our friends, and all the rights of the high priesthood Or the privileged rights are clean according to their laws, I decree, that Hyrcanus and his sons will have" (The Jewish Antiquities 195, 194-XNUMX). This privilege was enacted in Greek and Latin letters and was placed in the Capitol in Rome according to the orders of Julius Caesar.

In another document the following text appears: "Gaius Caesar, emperor, dictator, consul, gave permission to Hyrcanus son of Alexander and his sons, due to his worth, integrity of character and love of humanity and for the benefit of the Senate and the people of Rome, to be high priests and rulers of Jerusalem and the Jews according to the same rights and laws that Through them their ancestors held the great priesthood" (ibid., 199).

There is no doubt that these certificates were in some contradiction to the policy of the Roman commissioner in Syria, but their validity and weight were very heavy. Despite Hyrcanus' weaknesses, he was seen by the Romans as a comfortable ruler on their behalf. He had a strong will, so it seems from the point of view of the Romans, that he would not stir up any rebellious activity towards Rome.

This communication between Hyrcanus and the Romans greatly strengthened the status and image of Hyrcanus even in the eyes of different rulers. At the initiative of Hyrcanus, the governor of Asia on behalf of the Romans exempted the Jews under his rule from serving in the army and/or from working for the army. Also included are a series of cities in Asia Minor, where, thanks to the intervention of the high priest Horcanus, the Jewish residents were granted far-reaching privileges in the field of taxation, self-judgment and certainly in the field of religious customs.

When Julius Caesar was assassinated (44 BC), the figure of Herod was raised again as a strategos of the Syrian army. After restoring the city of Samaria, Herod asked to enter Jerusalem. Hyrcanus was tempted to believe that if he put before Herod a religious reason, such as public engagement in the holy works, he would be convinced and would not enter the city. But Herod mocked Hyrcanus and entered Jerusalem. This mini-conflict, after Hyrcanus helped Herod to escape to Syria at the time, symbolized more than anything the beginning of the collapse of the High Priesthood.

In 43 BC, Herod's father, Antipater, was poisoned by a conspiracy hatched by Malichus, an Arab prince, under the direction of Hyrcanus. This murderous move points to the great corruption that gripped the great priesthood of power, manipulation and moral corruption. Herod did not suspect Hyrcanus, but since then their mutual relations were problematic. Herod was doubtless disturbed by the fact that Hyrcanus during his stay in Babylon was honored by kings.

Not much time passed since then and Herod, after removing the Hasmonean element that threatened his future as ruler, Antigonus son of Aristobulus (brother of Hyrcanus), came to Jerusalem and Hyrcanus, not only did he not seek to prevent Herod's entry into the city, but this time, pragmatic-survival, he even respected him with great ceremony and made sure to arrange the giving of wreaths of honor to Herod on behalf of the people. At the same time, the families of Herod and Hyrcanus entered into an engagement covenant, with Herod going to marry Miriam, the granddaughter of Hyrcanus. Hyrcanus follows the rule of: if you can't do it, team up with him!

The next historical picture leads us to the city of Dafni, near Antioch in Syria. Representatives of both sides arrived there - Herod's supporters from one side and a delegation from the people (members of the Sanhedrin) from the other. Antony turned to Hyrcanus to hear his opinion on the matter. The appeal was supposed to flatter Hyrcanus, but in fact the answer was clear and received Roman approval - Hyrcanus supported Herod and his house as the preferred leadership of Judea. Hyrcanus acted out of political and personal pragmatism, saying that he read the preferred Roman policy, and therefore voted for whoever voted. It was clear from the very Roman address and Hyrcanus's answer, that the leadership chapter of the great priesthood was thus sealed.

Two years later, the Parthians, Rome's sworn enemies, take over Syria, including Judah, and plan to put a Hasmonean scion at its head, who is Antigonus son of Aristobulus. And Antigonus bought his kingdom by the fact that he promised the Parthians a thousand pieces of silver (from the temple of course) and five hundred wives and from the respectable families. This move was reprehensible in the eyes of Herod and after considering his actions and the relationship of forces he decided to escape with his family to Edom.

It is interesting to note that on the coins of Mattathias Antigonus (37-40 BC) appears the inscription "Mattathias a great priest and friend of the Jews" even though his title was king. This was due to a desire to renew the ancient tradition of the Hasmonean house until the time of Yochanan Hyrcanus I. Also, there was consideration here of the "Jews' association", which is the well-known Sanhedrin institution.

Antigonus was made king by the Parthians, while Hyrcanus and Fetzel, Herod's brother, were captured by him. Antigonus feared that Hyrcanus would be ruled by the people, and apparently he had some basis for this assumption, he took care to mutilate Hyrcanus - he cut off his ears and thereby disqualified him from reigning both as a priest and as a king. Fetzal committed suicide in prison by slamming his head hard against a rock. The truth is that Antigonus secretly sent fake doctors to save Petzal, but in fact to kill him.

When Herod was appointed king, after the removal of the Euphratean threat and the execution of Antiogonus by beheading, Hyrcanus was released from the Euphratean captivity, where he was honored by kings, and the Babylonian Jews on the Euphrates "respected Hyrcanus as high priest and king" according to Josephus. Herod encouraged Hyrcanus to return to Judea, implying to him more and explicitly handing over to the Parthian authorities, that Hyrcanus was to become his co-ruler. This move was taken by Herod to cushion his throne against Jewish opposition.

It should be noted that Herod was not supposed to fear the return of Hyrcanus to the status of the High Priesthood due to the shock inflicted on him, but rather could have recognized in him a kind of political-personal danger, and even significant in terms of a type for royalty, since he was from the Hasmonean royal family and the true heir of Queen Shlomzion. Herod sought to overcome his concerns in this regard by bringing Hyrcanus closer to him, as in this way he would be able to monitor his actions and curb his intentions when the time came.

From the moment Hyrcanus arrived in Judea, Herod made sure to honor and cherish him publicly and even used to call him "my father". At the same time and somewhat unexpectedly, Herod summons from Babylon a priest from a not very respectable family named Hananel, and Herod appoints him high priest. This move was intended to test the public's reaction and at the same time to signal Herod's intentions to gradually shrink the status of the high priesthood, such that it was in order to threaten, even to a certain extent, the privileges of his kingdom.

This step of Herod met, as expected, with strong opposition from the Hasmonean family, when the stinging insult was borne by Alexandra, the daughter of Hyrcanus and the wife of Alexander son of Aristobulus, the Hasmonean king, and the daughter of Miriam, the wife of Herod, whose son would not hold the office of the high priesthood, and therefore wrote a letter to Queen Cleopatra Egypt, which would influence the Roman Antony to appoint his son Aristobulus, who took the name Aristobulus III, to the position.

Antonius was not interested in intervening in the matter at this stage, but under the influence of his friend, Delius, who was very impressed by Aristobulus's physical characteristics and their descriptions, but because of Herod's fear of a syphilis-homosexual connection between the boy and the Roman ruler, the matter was postponed. Herod explained this as a danger of rebellion in Judea if Aristobulus was sent out of the country.

With the intervention of Miriam the Hasmonean, Herod's wife and the sister of the boy Aristobulus, and perhaps also under the covert pressure of Antony, who himself was somewhat pressured by Cleopatra, Herod withdrew from his intention to appoint the Babylonian Hananal to the High Priesthood, and handed the reins of the temple into the hands of Aristobulus, who was 17 years old (beginning of 35 B.C. s).

But to her and to her - when Aristobulus began his priestly duties, on the Feast of Tabernacles (end of 35 BC), and approached the altar in the presence of a crowd and a celebrating people in Jerusalem "and he was wearing the vestments of the high priests and was doing the holy work, great in beauty and taller than his age , and from the cluster of his face one can see to a great extent the nobility of his family (descriptions reminiscent of the pictorial compliments of the administration Shimon ben Sira in the Hellenistic period regarding the high priest), he passed through the crowd a surge of affection for him, and the memory of the deeds of Aristobulus the elder (the Hasmonean king) stood vividly before them... and were Both happy and excited, and sent him voices of blessings, mixed with prayers, in such a way that the affection of the masses became visible to the eye, and the acknowledgment of these feelings was seen as excessive recklessness in the days of Herod's reign..." (Kedmoniot, 53, 51-XNUMX). Herod was afraid of the strengthening of Aristobulus's power and the growth of a threat to his rule and therefore he made sure to eliminate him by drowning him in the swimming pool in his palace in Jericho, as a day of recreational exercises with his slaves.

The fact that Aristobulus frolicked in the pool shows the degree of Hellenization that afflicted the High Priesthood for a very long and prolonged period.

After the assassination of Aristobulus, Herod took the official robes of the high priest and deposited them in the fortress of Baris "the capital" to supervise its wearers. That is, from here on Herod will closely supervise the high priests - their work and their actions in general. This move overshadowed the prestige of the priesthood and intensified the lighting on Herod's head.

After Octavian defeated his opponents in the battle of Actium (31 BC), Herod got rid of the influence of Antony, who was indirectly manipulated by Cleopatra, and was free to remove the hidden, traditional threat to his kingdom, namely Hyrcanus II. The reinforcement for the destruction of Hyrcanus was the military arrangements between Herod and the Nabataeans, when Herod emphasized the ties between Hyrcanus and the Nabataeans at the time. Herod accused Hyrcanus of plotting a conspiracy against Prince Malichus. He convened a tribunal on his behalf, which tried Hyrcanus to the penalty of duty and sentenced him to death.

Yosef ben Matthiahu closes the chapter of the unfolding of the life of Hyrcanus with these charged words: "This end was excited and came upon the life of Hyrcanus, after having experienced many different suits of fate in the days of Haldo. For from the very beginning of his mother Alexandra's reign he was appointed high priest of the Jewish people and held the position for nine years. From her name his mother received the kingship and held it for three months, and was deposed by his brother Aristobulus. Then he was returned by Pompey and received again all the virtues of honor and persisted in them for forty years. After he was banished for the second time by Antigonus and became physically disabled, he was captured by the Parthians. After a while he again returned from there to his country because of the hopes that Herod raised in him. Of these, nothing will happen to him according to his expectations, for we will experience a life full of pain, and the saddest of them... that in his old age he came to an end that he did not deserve. For it seems that he was in every way comfortable and moderate and managed his rule mostly by epitropes, and did not interfere in affairs, nor was he qualified to stand at the head of the kingdom. Because of this moderation, it was possible for Antipater and Herod to reach such a position, and in the end they met an end not according to justice and not according to honesty (Kdm. 182, 179-XNUMX).

The series of articles "The Priesthood You Didn't Know" by Dr. Yehiam Sorek

• Part I - the end of the First Temple and the exile in Babylon
• Part II - Return to Zion
• Part III - The Hellenistic period
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood in Marumiya
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood makes muscles
• Part XNUMX - Matthew turns over in his grave
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood begins to lose height