The Concept of Evil in 4 Maccabees

The concept of evil in 4 Maccabees differs from what we find in most ancient Jewish literature, and little attention has been paid to its philosophical background. In this article I submit that the author of 4 Maccabees has absorbed and adapted a Stoic conception of evil into his Jewish philosophy....

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Main Author: Moscicke, Hans (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2017
In: The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Further subjects:B 4 Maccabees concept of evil emotions Hellenistic philosophy natural law Second Temple Judaism value theory
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:The concept of evil in 4 Maccabees differs from what we find in most ancient Jewish literature, and little attention has been paid to its philosophical background. In this article I submit that the author of 4 Maccabees has absorbed and adapted a Stoic conception of evil into his Jewish philosophy. I trace the concept of evil in Stoicism and in 4 Maccabees using the categories of value theory, natural law, and the emotions. The outcome is an integrative philosophy that embraces vice as the sole evil, yet maintains a belief in the “goodness” of an afterlife; redefines natural law in terms of the Torah, reckoning any deviance from that Law as vicious; and conceives of the emotions as false belief and the cause of evil behavior, while still maintaining their God-given nature.
ISSN:1477-285X
Contains:In: The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1477285X-12341283