A Pause in Fighting to Observe Shavuot
About This Entry
This passage takes place after the Hasmonean revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, during the reign of his successor, Antiochus V Eupator, when the Hasmonean forces under Judah Maccabee continue to find themselves embroiled in conflict. Judah leads his forces to Scythopolis (the Greek name for Beth-shean) in the Jordan Valley, but when the Jewish residents tell them that the people of the city have been kind to Jews, they leave in peace and go to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot (called Pentecost in Greek). After the festival, they move south to Idumea, where they do battle against the Idumean governor Gorgias, who has been hostile to the Jews and attacked them repeatedly (2 Maccabees 10:14–15). The pause to observe Shavuot in Jerusalem is one of many instances in which 2 Maccabees emphasizes the piety of Judah and his followers.
29Setting out from there, they hastened to Scythopolis, which is seventy-five miles [120 km] from Jerusalem. [ . . . ] 31[T]hey thanked them and exhorted them to be well disposed to their race in the future also. Then they went up to Jerusalem, as the festival of weeks was close at hand.
32After the festival called Pentecost, they hurried against Gorgias, the governor of Idumea.
Credits
New Revised Standard Version Bible copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
You may also like
Hyrcanus’ Request to Refrain from Battle on Shavuot
Jewish Antiquities 13.251–252
In this passage, Antiochus VII grants the request of high priest and ethnarch John Hyrcanus for a pause in fighting to observe a Jewish festival.
Philo’s Explanation of Shavuot
On the Special Laws 2.176–187 (selections)
This passage explains several features of Shavuot, including the fifty days of the omer and the offering of two leavened loaves of wheat bread.
Jesus’ Apostles Filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost
Acts 2:1–6
This passage describes the apostles’ reception of the holy spirit in Jerusalem on Shavuot, echoing several passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Shavuot as the Date of the Giving of the Torah
b. Shabbat 86b
This rabbinic debate establishes the date of the holiday of Shavuot and also tries to determine on which of day of the week the Torah was given.
The Procedure for Reaping the Omer
m. Menaḥot 10:3
This passage from the Mishnah describes a dramatic procedure for reaping the omer, meant as a polemic against the Boethusians.
Beginning the Count on a Fixed Day
b. Menaḥot 65a–b
This passage from the Babylonian Talmud describes a debate between Jewish sects over the date of Shavuot.
You may also like
Hyrcanus’ Request to Refrain from Battle on Shavuot
Jewish Antiquities 13.251–252
In this passage, Antiochus VII grants the request of high priest and ethnarch John Hyrcanus for a pause in fighting to observe a Jewish festival.
Philo’s Explanation of Shavuot
On the Special Laws 2.176–187 (selections)
This passage explains several features of Shavuot, including the fifty days of the omer and the offering of two leavened loaves of wheat bread.
Jesus’ Apostles Filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost
Acts 2:1–6
This passage describes the apostles’ reception of the holy spirit in Jerusalem on Shavuot, echoing several passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Shavuot as the Date of the Giving of the Torah
b. Shabbat 86b
This rabbinic debate establishes the date of the holiday of Shavuot and also tries to determine on which of day of the week the Torah was given.
The Procedure for Reaping the Omer
m. Menaḥot 10:3
This passage from the Mishnah describes a dramatic procedure for reaping the omer, meant as a polemic against the Boethusians.
Beginning the Count on a Fixed Day
b. Menaḥot 65a–b
This passage from the Babylonian Talmud describes a debate between Jewish sects over the date of Shavuot.