yṭṿr hyhṿdyt / The Jewish Yeṭur
At the time when the Seleucid empire broke up and Jewish independence was regained in Judea, various Arab tribes from the desert broke into Syria and established a number of sheikdoms. The Arabs of Yeṭur conquered the Lebanese valley and proclaimed Chalkis their capital. Long before that there were...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
1982
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1981, Volume: 52, Pages: 11-32 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | At the time when the Seleucid empire broke up and Jewish independence was regained in Judea, various Arab tribes from the desert broke into Syria and established a number of sheikdoms. The Arabs of Yeṭur conquered the Lebanese valley and proclaimed Chalkis their capital. Long before that there were Jewish enclaves in the valley of Lebanon, called in the Bible by the name of Levo-Ḥamat. In the reigns of King David and King Solomon, Hebrews of Levo-Ḥamat attended sacred ceremonies in Jerusalem. At the time of an Aramean oppression they are mentioned again (II Kings 14:25-28). Zechariah also prophesied to the Hebrews of Ḥamat, Ḥadrakh and Damascus (Zechariah 9:1-2). The success of the Hasmonean kings aroused in them a desire to join the land of Yeṭur to Judea. Timagenes relates that Aristobulus I (104/3) conquered a part of Yeṭur and forced the inhabitants to convert. While Alexander Yannai was engaged in his wars against Hellenistic cities, the inhabitants of Yeṭur overwhelmed the Jews who were about to be annihilated. Yannai came to their help, reconquered Chalkis and strengthened the Jewish population. Talmai, son of Menai, King of Chalkis married a sister of Antigonus II, and his son and successor, Lysanias, with the aid of a Persian general who had invaded Syria, helped Antigonus expel Herod and return Antigonus to Jerusalem. From the year 41 to the end of the first century there were Jewish tetrarchs in Chalkis, such as Herod II, son of Aristobulus, and after him Agrippas II. They were already appointees of Rome. In addition to their status of "Tetrarch" of Chalkis they also supervised the Temple and its treasures and had the authority to appoint the High Priest. Sages surnamed "from Chalkis" and inscriptions from burial places in Jerusalem attest to religious and cultural ties between Jews of Chalkis and Judea. We do not know much about this community. With the ascendancy of Christianity, they were drawn into the new religion, establishing a special Judeo-Christian sect. The Church Fathers remembered them as "Chalkisites." The latest information concerning Jews of Chalkis is from Hieronymus. He tells that in the year 373 he left Antioch for Palestine and stayed in Chalkis, where he learned Hebrew. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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