Hasmonean Legitimacy Texts in the Hebrew Bible

In this article, I propose the existence of historiographic texts in the Hebrew Bible that aim to support Hasmonean claims to legitimacy with regard to such issues as non-Davidic rulership, the high priesthood, cult and ritual, and territorial expansion. These texts can be found in Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and the Priestly writings. Some were supposedly composed in the second century BCE, while others were redacted at that time and incorporated into older texts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
Published
2026-10-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/09018328.2026.2742841
Primary Topic
Biblical Studies and Interpretation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Hasmonean Legitimacy Texts in the Hebrew Bible

Israel Finkelstein
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
Biblical Studies and Interpretation
article

Hasmonean Legitimacy Texts in the Hebrew Bible

Israel Finkelstein
article en

Abstract

In this article, I propose the existence of historiographic texts in the Hebrew Bible that aim to support Hasmonean claims to legitimacy with regard to such issues as non-Davidic rulership, the high priesthood, cult and ritual, and territorial expansion. These texts can be found in Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and the Priestly writings. Some were supposedly composed in the second century BCE, while others were redacted at that time and incorporated into older texts.

Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
Tel Aviv University (IL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Biblical Studies and Interpretation
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