Perpetual Fires in the Jerusalem Temple through a Mediterranean Perspective: Regularity, Eternity, Exemplarity
The fires of the Jerusalem temple altar were said to be perpetual. Various writers from the fourth century BCE to the third century CE added explanations and perspectives to this practice: the argument that the fire came from heaven, that it continued even during the destruction of the temple, or th...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2024
|
| In: |
Journal for the study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period
Year: 2024, Volume: 55, Issue: 3, Pages: 301-334 |
| Further subjects: | B
Plutarch
B Jerusalem Temple B Fire B Ritual B Altars B Menorah B Delphi B perpetuity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The fires of the Jerusalem temple altar were said to be perpetual. Various writers from the fourth century BCE to the third century CE added explanations and perspectives to this practice: the argument that the fire came from heaven, that it continued even during the destruction of the temple, or that it remained lit only when the high priest was righteous. Though these texts are well known, they were never examined in a comparative context: how special were these practices and discourses in their Mediterranean and Persian contexts? Maintaining a perpetual fire on the altar or lamps was a known practice in Mediterranean sanctuaries. The discourses surrounding these fires, developed especially by Greek and Roman writers of the first century BCE and the first century CE, are in many ways similar to those in the Jewish texts. I will consider in detail the differences and similarities and their significance. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1570-0631 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman period
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700631-bja10083 |