Self-portrayal as a ‘fence around Torah’ : an ethical critique of Eleazar’s Martyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6 : 18-31

Abstract

2 Maccabees 6:18-31 concerns persecution related to dietary laws and its main protagonist is an elderly scribe called Eleazar. The problem of persecution appears before 2 Macc 6, but the beginning of this chapter furnishes the precise framework in which the enemies of the Jews were operating (2 Macc 6:1-2a). This reference to the various kinds of flagrant profanities committed by the Greeks and tortures to which Jews were subjected if they refused to follow Greek customs introduces 2 Maccabees 6–7. From 6:18 onwards, the focus is on pagan ritual meals and how Jews were forced to participate in such unlawful sacrifices and to eat pork meat which was forbidden by Torah. Prior to these accounts, vv. 12-17 constitute a redactional note wherein the author offers an explanation of the unfolding events. This parenthetic interjection deals with theodicy and interprets persecution as an anticipated form of suffering which Jews must bear. This suffering is not punishment for sin, as is the case with other nations, but discipline before sin reaches its full measure (v. 15). Though this theological position falls short of outrightly claiming that God’s people were without sin, it surely militates in favour of their innocence, particularly their resolve to abide by divine law in the Jewish tradition. In the entire Old Testament, it is only in 2 Macc that the scriptures are referred to collectively as “the holy book” (τὴν ἱερὰν βίβλον, 8:23). By then, the Pentateuch and the Prophets were already identifiable corpuses such that Torah-consciousness was likely at its highest. 2 Macc makes several references to the Law, employing different nominal or adjectival forms: νόμος (law); πρόσταγμα (ordinance, command); νομοθεσία (legislation); νομίμως (adv. lawfully); and their antonyms παράνομος and ἀθέμιτος (unlawful)4. In the initial salutations, an opening of the heart to God’s Law and his ordinances is listed as one of the wishes that the author expresses (1:4). That the various mores mentioned, particularly dietary customs referred to in 6:18 and 7:1, are directly related to God’s divine law and shaped by it can be inferred from the numerous references to it: 6:1.5.21.23.28; 7:2.9.11.23.30.37. It becomes evident that the religious and cultural mores of the Jews to which the narratives refer are embedded in divine law. [Extract]