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 Simon the Zealot was a brother of James the Great and St Jude Thaddeus. He is portrayed with a large, serrated saw. It was with this that he was eventually martyred for his faith. Simon was cut in half by heathens in a most gruesome way. (image courtesy of www.art.nl)
(larger image)Zealotry was originally a political movement in first century Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the holy land by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt (AD 66-70).Two of Judas' sons, Jacob and Paul, were involved in a revolt and were executed by Tiberius Alexander, the procurator of Iudaea province from 46 to 48[7]. Zealotry was described by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus as one of the "four sects" at this time.
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From The Banishment Of Archelus To The Departure From Babylon
- The Jews had for a great while had three sects of philosophy peculiar to themselves; the sect of the Essens, and the sect of the Sadducees, and the third sort of opinions was that of those called Pharisees; of which sects, although I have already spoken in the second book of the Jewish War, yet will I a little touch upon them now.
- Now, for the Pharisees, they live meanly, and despise delicacies in diet; and they follow the conduct of reason; and what that prescribes to them as good for them they do; and they think they ought earnestly to strive to observe reason's dictates for practice. They also pay a respect to such as are in years; nor are they so bold as to contradict them in any thing which they have introduced; and when they determine that all things are done by fate, they do not take away the freedom from men of acting as they think fit; since their notion is, that it hath pleased God to make a temperament, whereby what he wills is done, but so that the will of man can act virtuously or viciously. They also believe that souls have an immortal rigor in them, and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in this life; and the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison, but that the former shall have power to revive and live again; on account of which doctrines they are able greatly to persuade the body of the people; and whatsoever they do about Divine worship, prayers, and sacrifices, they perform them according to their direction; insomuch that the cities give great attestations to them on account of their entire virtuous conduct, both in the actions of their lives and their discourses also.
- But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this: That souls die with the bodies; nor do they regard the observation of any thing besides what the law enjoins them; for they think it an instance of virtue to dispute with those teachers of philosophy whom they frequent: but this doctrine is received but by a few, yet by those still of the greatest dignity. But they are able to do almost nothing of themselves; for when they become magistrates, as they are unwillingly and by force sometimes obliged to be, they addict themselves to the notions of the Pharisees, because the multitude would not otherwise bear them.
- The doctrine of the Essens is this: That all things are best ascribed to God. They teach the immortality of souls, and esteem that the rewards of righteousness are to be earnestly striven for; and when they send what they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offer sacrifices because they have more pure lustrations of their own; on which account they are excluded from the common court of the temple, but offer their sacrifices themselves; yet is their course of life better than that of other men; and they entirely addict themselves to husbandry. It also deserves our admiration, how much they exceed all other men that addict themselves to virtue, and this in righteousness; and indeed to such a degree, that as it hath never appeared among any other men, neither Greeks nor barbarians, no, not for a little time, so hath it endured a long while among them. This is demonstrated by that institution of theirs, which will not suffer any thing to hinder them from having all things in common; so that a rich man enjoys no more of his own wealth than he who hath nothing at all. There are about four thousand men that live in this way, and neither marry wives, nor are desirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to be unjust, and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but as they live by themselves, they minister one to another. They also appoint certain stewards to receive the incomes of their revenues, and of the fruits of the ground; such as are good men and priests, who are to get their corn and their food ready for them. They none of them differ from others of the Essens in their way of living, but do the most resemble those Dacae who are called Polistae [dwellers in cities].
- But of the fourth sect of Jewish philosophy, Judas the Galilean was the author. These men agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord. They also do not value dying any kinds of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man lord. And since this immovable resolution of theirs is well known to a great many, I shall speak no further about that matter; nor am I afraid that any thing I have said of them should be disbelieved, but rather fear, that what I have said is beneath the resolution they show when they undergo pain. And it was in Gessius Florus's time that the nation began to grow mad with this distemper, who was our procurator, and who occasioned the Jews to go wild with it by the abuse of his authority, and to make them revolt from the Romans. And these are the sects of Jewish philosophy. [2]
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia article on Zealots[3]: “ Following Josephus ("B. J." ii. 8, § 1; "Ant." xviii. 1, §§ 1, 6), most writers consider that the Zealots were a so-called fourth party founded by Judas the Galilean (see Grätz, "Gesch." iii. 252, 259; Schürer, "Gesch." 1st ed., i. 3, 486). This view is contradicted, however, by the fact that Hezekiah, the father of Judas the Galilean, had an organized band of so-called "robbers" which made war against the Idumean Herod ("B. J." i. 10, § 5; "Ant." xiv. 9, § 2), and also during the reign of Herod, if not long before by the fact that the system of religious and political murders practised by the Zealots was in existence during the reign of Herod, if not long before... In either case, it has also been argued that the group was not so clearly marked out (before the first war of 66-70/3) as some have thought.[5]
The following is from Thayer's Lexicon (derrived from Grimm's lexicon of 1868):
- azbsol., for the Hebr. קנאי used of God as jealous of any rival and sternly vindicating his control: Ex. 20:5; Deut. 4:24, etc. From the time of the Maccabees there existed among the Jews a class of men, called Zealots, who rigorously adhered to the Mosaic law and endeavored even by a resort to violence, after the example of Phinehas (Num. 25:11)
פִּֽינְחָס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן הֵשִׁיב אֶת־חֲמָתִי מֵעַל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקַנְאֹו אֶת־קִנְאָתִי בְּתֹוכָם וְלֹא־כִלִּיתִי אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי׃ to prevent religion from being violated by others; but in the latter days of the Jewish common-wealth they used their holy zeal as a pretext for the basest crimes, Jospeh b. j. 4,3,9; 4,5,1; 4,6,3; 7,8,1. To this class perhaps Simon the apostle had belonged, and hence fot the surname Ζηλωτής: Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13 [cf. Schürer, Neutest. Zeitgesch., Index x. v. Zeloten; Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah[8], 1, 237 aqq,].
- with gen. of the obj.: w. gen. of the thing, most eagerly desirous of, zealous for, a thing; a. to acquire a thing,[zealous of] : 1 Co 14:12; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 3:13 LT Tr WH (Philo of Alexandria, praem. et poen. § 2; de monarch l. i § 3; de poenit. § 1; Dio 1, 73, Clemement of Rome 1 Cor 45:1). b. to defend and uphold a thing, vehemently contending for a thing, [zealous for]: Acts 21:20 (2 Macc 4:2; Gal 1:14, Philo, vit. Moys. 3 § 19; Diod excerpt. p 611 [fr. l. 37, vol. 2 564 Didot]); w gen. of pers.: intent on protecting the majesty and authority of God by contending for the Mosaic law, Acts 22:3. (In prof. auth also an emulator, admirer, imitator, follower of any one.)
History
Zealotism denotes zeal in excess, usually on behalf of Israel's God. The original Zealots were a Jewish political movement in the 1st century AD which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the country by force of arms during the Great Jewish Revolt (AD 66-70). |
| When the Romans introduced the imperial cult, the Jews had rebelled and been put down. The Zealots continued to oppose the Romans, on the grounds that Israel belonged only to a Jewish king descended from David, see Messiah.
Flavius Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews (book 18) states that there were three main Jewish sects at this time, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. The Zealots were a "fourth sect", founded by Judas of Galilee (also called Judas of Gamala) and Zadok the Pharisee in the year 6 against Quirinius' tax reform, shortly after the Roman state declared what had most recently been the territory of the tribe of Judah a Roman Province, and that they "agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord." (18.1.6) According to the Jewish Encyclopedia article on Zealots[1]: "Following Flavius Josephus ("B. J." ii. 8, § 1; "Ant." xviii. 1, §§ 1, 6), most writers consider that the Zealots were a so-called fourth party founded by Judas the Galilean (see Grätz, "Gesch." iii. 252, 259; Schürer, "Gesch." 1st ed., i. 3, 486). This view is contradicted, however, by the fact that Hezekiah, the father of Judas the Galilean, had an organized band of so-called "robbers" which made war against the Idumean Herod ("B. J." i. 10, § 5; "Ant." xiv. 9, § 2), and also by the fact that the system of religious and political murders practised by the Zealots was in existence during the reign of Herod, if not long before (see below)." In either case, it has been argued that the group was not so clearly marked out (before the first war of 66-70/3) as some have thought (see Richard Horsley's "Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs" and N. T. Wright's "The New Testament and the People of God"[9]).
The Zealots had the leading role in the Great Jewish Revolt of 66. They succeeded in taking over Jerusalem, and kept control of it until 70, when the son of Roman emperor Vespasian, Titus Flavius, retook the city and destroyed Herod's Temple during the destruction of Jerusalem.
The Zealots objected to Roman rulership and sought to violently eradicate it; Zealots engaged in violence were called the Sicarii. They raided Jewish habitations and killed Jews they considered collaborators, they also urged Jews to fight Romans and other Jews for their religiopolitical cause. Josephus paints a very bleak picture of their activities as they instituted what he characterized as a murderous "reign of terror" prior to the Jewish Temple's destruction.
According to Josephus, the Zealots followed John of Giscala, who had fought the Romans (see Roman Legion) in Galilee, escaped, came to Jerusalem, and then inspired the locals to a fanatical position that led to the Temple's destruction.
The Talmud
In the Talmud, the Zealots are also called the biryonim meaning "boorish" or "wild", and are condemned for their aggression, unwillingness to compromise to save the living survivors of Jerusalem besieged by the Romans, blind-militarism and are blamed for having contributed to the demise of Jerusalem, the second Jewish Temple and of ensuring Rome's retributions and stranglehold on Judea.
The Jewish zealots of the late New Testament times advocated killing, stealing, and many other crimes. Zealots were known to commit acts of terrorism against Romans and Jews alike. One Sadducee family in favor of the Romans was brutally murdered by the zealots. After torching the Sadducee house, they captured its occupants and threw them in a pit of poisonous snakes. When the children were almost dead, the zealots took them out of the pit and began beating them. Finally, the children's bodies were ripped apart by the savage zealots. Intestines and blood spilled all over the ground.
Masada
The Zealots took the Roman fortress, Masada, and killed everyone inside. Thousands of Roman soldiers died attempting to re-take the stronghold, and even after inventing new types of siege engines, the Zealots retained control of the fortress. The Romans eventually gave up and burned the walls down. When they stormed in, all they found were corpses. The Zealots had committed suicide rather than continue in servitude. One of their leaders, Elazar ben Yair escaped to the desert fortress of Masada and fought alongside the Sicarii Zealots until Masada was captured in 73. The Jewish Revolt was quickly suppressed and the Zealots lost all their influence and finally vanished.
Sicarii
One particularly extreme group of Zealots was also known in Latin as sicarii, meaning "daggermen" (sing. sicarius, possibly a morphological reanalysis), because of their policy of killing Jews opposed to their call for war against Rome. Probably many Zealots were sicarii simultaneously, and they may be the biryonim of the Talmud that were feared even by the Jewish sages of the Mishnah, such as Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai who feared assassination for suggesting a truce with the Roman forces besieging ancient Jerusalem, and had to feign death in a casket to escape being stabbed.
New Testament narratives
The New Testament was written later but its narrative is set during those times. Some have speculated that the name of Jesus' disciple Yehuda Ish-Kerayot (Judas Iscariot) means that he was a sicarius, "daggerman". However, the Latin and Hebrew words for "zealot" sound very different, so it is hard to conclude definitively. Tax collectors, like Matthew, were often collaborating with the Romans. Paul of Tarsus was also known as a zealot of sorts, likely a Shammaite. (Gal 1:13-14)
In addition to Judas, another of Jesus' apostles, Simon the Canaanite, is referred to by Luke as "Simon the Zealot". The epithet for Simon is a Greek translation of an Aramaic (see also: Aramaic of Jesus) word that corresponds to "zealot".
Notes
- book 18
- H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0674397312, The Crisis Under Gaius Caligula, pages 254-256: "The reign of Gaius Caligula (37-41) witnessed the first open break between the Jews and the Julio-Claudian empire[6]. Until then — if one accepts Sejanus' heyday and the trouble caused by the census after Archelaus' banishment — there was usually an atmosphere of understanding between the Jews and the empire .. These relations deteriorated seriously during Caligula's reign, and, though after his death the peace was outwardly re-established, considerable bitterness remained on both sides. .. Caligula ordered that a golden statue of himself be set up in the Temple in Jerusalem. .. Only Caligula's death, at the hands of Roman conspirators (41), prevented the outbreak of a Jewish-Roman war that might well have spread to the entire East."
- H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0674397312, page 275
- H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0674397312, page 275
Notes
- Zealot, Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 11/05/2009
- Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews. BOOK XVIII. Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Two Years. From The Banishment Of Archelus To The Departure From Babylon. CHAPTER 1. How Cyrenius Was Sent By Caesar To Make A Taxation Of Syria And Judea; And How Coponius Was Sent To Be Procurator Of Judea; Concerning Judas Of Galilee And Concerning The Sects That Were Among The Jews. (Public Domain). Retrieved 11/05/2009
- JewishEncyclopedia.com - ZEALOTS Retrieved 11/05/2009
- Richard Horsley's "Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs" ISBN-10: 1563382733, ISBN-13: 978-1563382734 and N. T. Wright's The New Testament and the people of God ISBN-10: 0800626818, ISBN-13: 978-0800626815
- H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN-10: 0674397312, ISBN-13: 978-0674397316, The Crisis Under Gaius Caligula, pages 254-256: "The reign of Gaius Caligula (37-41) witnessed the first open break between the Jews and the Julio-Claudian empire. Until then — if one accepts Sejanus' heyday and the trouble caused by the census after Archelaus' banishment — there was usually an atmosphere of understanding between the Jews and the empire ... These relations deteriorated seriously during Caligula's reign, and, though after his death the peace was outwardly re-established, considerable bitterness remained on both sides. ... Caligula ordered that a golden statue of himself be set up in the Temple in Jerusalem. ... Only Caligula's death, at the hands of Roman conspirators (41), prevented the outbreak of a Jewish-Roman war that might well have spread to the entire East."
- H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0674397312, page 275
- abstract, "Paul's Pre-Christian Zealot Associations: A Re-examination of Gal. 1:14 and Acts 22:3" by Mark R. Fairchild, Ph.d
- translate.google.com the German: Schürer, Neutest. Zeitgesch., Index x. v. Zeloten; Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah. The English: Schurer, Neut. Current affairs., Index x. v. zealots; Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah
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