by
Damien
F. Mackey
“… the coins bearing the
inscription, “In Commemoration of the Liberation of Jerusalem,” are unreliable
because they may have originated with Simon the Hasmonean”.
Jewish
Encyclopedia
Introduction
In my previous
attempts at historically revising the supposedly two major Jewish revolts
against Rome (60’s and 130’s AD), I had been working along what I thought were
the likely lines that the First Revolt and the so-called Second Revolt were one
and the same event - meaning that the Roman era of Vespasian-Titus now had to
be blended with that of the emperor Hadrian. I briefly recalled this former
view in my recent article:
Simon Bar Kochba in Temple Period. Part One:
Correcting my former views
as follows:
In previous articles I had
noted that the First and Second Jewish Revolts were similarly, e.g.:
- of about 3 years’ duration;
- had a prominent military
leader named Simon Bar ….;
- and had a religious leader
named Eleazer.
But the most compelling
argument in favour of a necessary (as I had thought) synchronisation of the
activities of Simon Bar Giora and Simon Bar Kochba was that the destruction in
Israel was so complete in the first case, at the hands of Vespasian and Titus,
with the entire land devastated, the great City (Jerusalem) and its Temple
completely burned to the ground, and the people slaughtered wholesale, or sent
into slavery, that I did not consider it reasonable to suggest that, some 60-70
years later … Simon Bar Kochba was able to command armies of 400,000 men in
Israel against a Hadrian-led Rome and to have several of the most famous of all
the Roman legions on the verge of annihilation - only afterwards to see some
580,000 Jewish men die, almost 1000 fortified villages in Israel completely
devastated, once again, and the people, once again, slaughtered or taken into
captivity en masse.
The “Son of the Star” was now
being called, contemptuously, Bar Kozeba, “Son of Deception”, or “Son of
the Lie”.
Now here was
what I had thought was the clincher:
The nail in the coffin of the
textbook history for these times, I had written, was that Simon Bar Kochba
issued coins depicting “The Redemption of Israel” - oh, yes, and so did Simon
Bar Giora do the exact same thing. And, guess what was depicted on Bar Kochba’s
coins?: THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM, which I believe he was so desperately
defending, with the Ark of the Covenant inside it, and a star, his own star,
depicted over the Temple. ….
But, more
recently, owing to the following surprising discovery:
Antiochus 'Epiphanes' and
Emperor Hadrian. Part One: "… a mirror image"
it has occurred
to me that, instead of attempting to ‘fold’ a most dubious C2nd AD Jewish
Revolt against Rome with the established C1st AD revolt of Simon Giora - as I
had previously thought to do - the proper way of ‘folding’ was of the dubious
C2nd AD Revolt with that of Simon ‘Thassi’ the Maccabean (or Hasmonean) during
the Seleucid era.
Whilst I do not
know if anyone else may have suggested a revision along such lines - which must
play absolute havoc with conventional Greco-Roman history - I do find that some
have argued for problematic coinage, forgeries, and that, in the case of the
following piece from the Jewish Encyclopedia, later Revolt coins may actually
“have originated with Simon the Hasmonean”:
….
It is uncertain whether the [Bar
Kochba] insurgents acquired possession of Jerusalem: the Jewish sources contain
no mention of it; and the coins bearing the inscription, “In Commemoration of
the Liberation of Jerusalem,” are unreliable because they may have originated
with Simon the Hasmonean. Among the historians, Graetz is almost the only one
that accepts the supposition of a conquest of Jerusalem. But if this had been
the case, the insurgents would not have made Bethar, but Jerusalem, their
center of operations. Moreover, Bethar, according to Eusebius, was situated in
the vicinity of Jerusalem, a statement which may apply equally to a place north
or south of the Holy City. However this may be, a city of the size ascribed to
Bethar in Jewish sources could never have arisen in the immediate vicinity of
Jerusalem. ….
“Certain silver coins of
“Eleazar the Priest,” marked (by the alphabetic characters used) as being of
the Hasmonaean age, have been rashly attributed to Eleazar, who defended the
Temple in 70 a.d. In at least one instance the coin is regarded as a forgery by
both de Vogue and de Saulcy, and this appears to apply to all the so-called
“coins of the revolts”.”
Claude Reignier Conder
But what to make
of Conder’s views that he expressed in The City of
Jerusalem (1909) about Jewish “coins of the revolts”? Some
of this could turn a part of Jewish-Roman history right on its head:
….
The leaders of
the revolt were Bar Cocheba {Kokeba), “the Son of the Star,” and Rabbi ‘Akibah,
who believed this pretender to be the true Messiah, in spite of the warning of
Rabbi Jehohanan, “‘Akibah, the grass will be growing between thy jaws before
the Son of David comes.”- The rabbinical accounts of the Bether war are late
and legendary, and the “Son of the Star” is called in the Talmudic allusions
“the son of falsehood” — Bar Koziba — probably as a term of contempt. The
theory according to which he struck coins in Jerusalem demands notice, in
connection with the history of the city, but it appears to be one of those
learned fallacies which are very long in dying…..
Certain silver
coins of “Eleazar the Priest,” marked (by the alphabetic characters used) as
being of the Hasmonaean age, have been rashly attributed to Eleazar, who
defended the Temple in 70 a.d. In at least one instance the coin is regarded as
a forgery by both de Vogue and de Saulcy, and this appears to apply to all the
so-called ” coins of the revolts.”
The copper ones
bear blundered imitations of genuine inscriptions from coins of Simon the
Hasmonaean.
They have been
struck on much defaced Roman coins of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, and Trajan,
but more probably in the nineteenth century than in the second century. One
such coin bears the name Simon, and is struck on a silver tetradrachm of
Antioch attributed to Vespasian. It does not seem to have occurred to the
scholars who suppose it to have been struck by Simon, son of Gioras, in 70
a.d., that as Vespasian had then only been emperor a few months, and as
Jerusalem was besieged, it is quite impossible that an old coin of his reign
could have been found in the city in the year of its fall.
The forgery of
Jewish coins is still common in Palestine, and the forgers did not foresee that
the remains of the original legend on a coin would be read by the trained eye
of some European specialist, while they thought that the worn surface of the
coin would show its antiquity, but that its value would be much higher if it
was regarded as being Jewish. The same observation applies to all the restruck
copper coins, which have been variously attributed to Simon son of Gioras, to
Simon son of Gamaliel, and to Bar Cocheba, who has been conjectured to have
been also named Simon — of which there is no proof at all. The latter
assumption was necessitated by the fact that some of the coins used by the
forgers were as late as the reigns of Domitian and Trajan. It may, however, be
remarked that if the Jews, in 135 a.d., struck any coins at all, the lettering
is not likely to have been in the same characters used about 139 b.c, but would
have been in those used at the time, that is to say, practically in square
Hebrew. We may regard these coins, therefore, as forged imitations of those of
Simon the Hasmonaean, and they have no bearing on the question whether
Jerusalem had been rebuilt before 135 A.D. Appian was a contemporary historian,
but says nothing about any siege of Jerusalem, which city he tells us was
“razed to the ground by Vespasian.” ….
“The fact
that nearly every living Jew in Judea must have had relatives who had been
killed in the earlier revolt added fuel to the revolutionary fire, as did the
Roman policy of insisting that pagan sacrifice be offered in the holy city.
Although Bar Kokhba himself is not yet heard from, it is likely that he was already
one of the organizers of this movement”.
The New World Enyclopedia
Simon Bar Kochba
is, unlike Simon the Hasmonean, a very poorly known figure.
The latter
figures as the great high priest, Simon II, in my article:
Maccabean
Dynasty of Priests
According to
this article, Simon the Hasmonean is the one eulogised by Sirach as “the
greatest of his brothers” - no small praise (Ecclesiasticus 50:1-21):
The greatest of
his brothers and the pride of his people was the High Priest Simon son of
Onias, who repaired the Temple and laid the foundation for the high double wall
and the fortifications of the Temple. The reservoir, as big as
the bronze tank, was dug[c]
while he was in office. He made plans to protect his people from attack and
fortified the city so that it could withstand a siege.
How glorious he
was when he came out of the Most Holy Place! He was like the morning star
shining through the clouds, like the full moon, like the sun shining on the
Temple of the Most High, like the rainbow gleaming in glory against the clouds,
like roses in springtime, like lilies beside a stream, like the cedars of
Lebanon in summer, like burning incense, like a cup made of hammered gold and
decorated with all kinds of jewels, like an olive tree loaded with fruit, like
a cypress tree towering into the clouds.
When Simon put
on his magnificent robe and went up to the holy altar dressed in perfect
splendor, he made the Temple courtyard a majestic sight. When the priests
handed him the portions of the sacrifice as he stood beside the altar with his
assistants circling him like a wreath, he was like a young cedar of Lebanon
surrounded by palm trees. Those were the descendants of Aaron in their splendid
garments, standing before the whole assembly of Israel, holding in their hands
the offering made to the Lord. When he had finished the service at the altar
and had arranged the sacrifice to the Most High, the Almighty, he reached for a
cup and poured out sweet-smelling wine at the foot of the altar as an offering
to the Most High, the universal King. Then the priests shouted and blew their
trumpets of hammered silver. They made a loud noise that the Most High would
hear. All the people immediately bowed down with their faces to the ground to
worship their Lord, the Almighty, the Most High. Then the choir began to sing
his praises, and the beautiful music rang out. The people kept praying to the
merciful Lord Most High until the service of worship had come to a close. Then
Simon came down from the altar, raised his hands over the whole assembly of
Israel, and reverently pronounced the blessing from the Lord, while the people
bowed a second time in worship to receive that blessing from the Most High.
Cf. I Maccabees
14:4-15.
This Simon had a
long floruit. Already selected by the
father, Mattathias, as “wise … father” (I Maccabees 2:65-66): ‘Here is your
brother Simeon who, I know, is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall
be your father. Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he
shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples’, Simon
would survive the resplendent military career, firstly of Judas, and then that
of Jonathan, the priest-statesman, to become the leader of the Jews and their
high priest.
There is debate
about the meaning, or even construction, of his name, “Thassi” (var Thatis and
Matthes), which some think may pertain to “Wise”, or perhaps “Zealous”.
It is becoming
more and more my consideration that this great and highly praised Jewish leader,
Simon, was the matrix for the semi-legendary Simon Bar Kochba, “Son of the
Star”, of whom we read (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Bar_Kochba):
“There is little historical information about the early stages of the revolt
…”. In fact, we know precious little about Simon Bar Kochba at all (https://bltnotjustasandwich.com/2012/05/10/bar-kokhba-false-messiah-and-national-hero/):
“But Bar Kokhba remains veiled in mystery – we know very little about him –
although his actions (and their aftermath) helped cement the difference between
mainstream Judaism and the ethnic Jews belonging to the early Christian sect”.
Whilst the
reputation of Bar Kochba as a “Messiah” figure sits quite awkwardly with him (NWE):
In an ironic
way, Bar Kokhba could be seen as the most successful would-be Messiah in Jewish
history. Despite the folly and self-defeating outcome of a violence-based
project, he can be described as the only messianic claimant to have actually
established an independent Jewish nation (fleeting though it was) … [,]
it is perfectly
apt in the case of Simon “Thassi” Maccabeus: (https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Simon%20Thassi)
He took a
prominent part in the Jewish revolt
against the Seleucid
Empire led by his brothers, Judas
Maccabaeus and Jonathan
Maccabaeus. The successes of the Jews rendered it expedient for the
pretenders to the throne of Syria to show them special favor, and therefore
Antiochus VI. appointed Simon strategus, or military commander, of the coast
region from the Ladder of Tyre to Egypt. As strategus Simon conquered the
cities of Beth-zur and Joppa, garrisoning them with Jewish troops, and built
the fortress of Adida in the plain[4]
After the
capture of Jonathan, Simon was elected leader by the people, assembled at
Jerusalem; he at once completed the fortification of the capital, and made
Joppa secure by expelling its Gentile inhabitants and filling it with Jews (I
Macc. xiii. 8, 10, 11; "Ant." xiii. 6, § 4). At Hadid he blocked the
advance of the treacherous Trypho, who was attempting to enter the country and
seize the throne of Syria. Since Trypho could gain nothing by force, he
demanded a ransom for Jonathan and the surrender of Jonathan's sons as
hostages. Although Simon was fully aware that Trypho would deceive him, he
acceded to both demands, so that the people might see that he had done
everything possible for his brother. Jonathan was nevertheless treacherously
assassinated, and the hostages were not returned. Simon thus became the sole
leader of the people.[4]
As the opponent
of Trypho, Simon had every reason to side with Demetrius II., to whom he sent a
deputation requesting freedom from taxation for the country. The fact that his
request was granted implied the recognition of the political independence of
Judea.[4]
He became the
first prince of the Hebrew Hasmonean
Dynasty. He reigned from 142 to 135 BCE.
The Hasmonean
Dynasty was founded by a resolution, adopted in 141 BCE, at a large assembly
"of the priests and the people and of the elders of the land, to the
effect that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until there
should arise a faithful prophet" (1
Maccabees 14:41).
[End of quote]
(NWE):
According to Eusebius of Ceasaria (c.260-c.340), Bar Kokhba claimed to have
been sent to the Jews from heaven (Church History 4.6.2). However, Simon’s own
letters show him to be of a pragmatic military and political mind.
The Revolt of
Simon Bar Kochba is supposed to have been triggered by the emperor Hadrian’s
interference in Jewish religious practice (NEW): “The situation came
to a head when Hadrian
forbade the circumcision
of infants, which the Jews found intolerable”.
But that is the
very same sort of reason that had prompted the Maccabean Revolt.
And did we not
read in:
Antiochus 'Epiphanes' and Emperor Hadrian. Part One:
"… a mirror image"
that the name
“Hadrian” had been substituted for Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’ in a rabbinic account
of the famous incident of the pious mother and the martyrdom of her seven sons!
Ridiculous to
think, I believe, that there could have occurred another major Jewish Revolt
against Rome after the one that had seen the complete destruction of Jerusalem
and its Temple under the regime of Vespasian and Titus, causing such implausible
comments as this one from NWE (emphasis added):
The fact that nearly
every living Jew in Judea must have had relatives who had been killed in the
earlier revolt added fuel to the revolutionary fire, as did the Roman
policy of insisting that pagan sacrifice be offered in the holy city. Although
Bar Kokhba himself is not yet heard from, it is likely that he was already one
of the organizers of this movement. ….
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