Zealots קנאים (Hebrew) | |
|---|---|
| Leader | The "Fourth Philosophy" The Zealots TheSicarii Related factions |
| Founded | 6 CE |
| Dissolved | 73 CE (First Jewish–Roman War) |
| Ideology | Jewish nationalism |
| Religion | Second Temple Judaism |
TheZealots were members of aJewish political movement during theSecond Temple period who sought to incite the people ofJudaea to rebel against theRoman Empire and expel it from theLand of Israel by force of arms, most notably during theFirst Jewish–Roman War. "Zealotry" was the term used by the Jewish historianJosephus for a "fourthsect" or "fourthJewish philosophy" during this period.
At the core of Zealotry was the Jewish concept of "zeal," a total commitment to God's will and law,[1] which was epitomized by the biblical figures ofPhinehas andElijah, and the Hasmonean priest,Mattathias.[2][3] Zealotry was also driven by a belief inIsrael's election by God,[1] and is often seen as a key driver of the First Jewish Revolt.[2][3]
Eleazar ben Simon's faction is the only group to have explicitly adopted the title of "Zealots,"[4][5] though the term has since been applied to other rebel factions as well. TheSicarii, another radical group active during the First Jewish Revolt, are widely recognized by scholars as a distinct and rival faction, though one that shared significant similarities with the Zealots. Led by descendants of Judas of Galilee, founder of the Fourth Philosophy, the Sicarii, as noted by scholars likeMartin Hengel, adhered to many of the same principles as the Zealots, including a "theocratic ideal" and a deep commitment to the concept of "zeal."[6]
The termzealot, the common translation of theHebrewkanai (קנאי, frequently used in plural form,קנאים,kana'im), means one who is zealous on behalf of God. The term derives fromGreekζηλωτής (zēlōtēs), "emulator, zealous admirer or follower".[7][8]
Josephus'Jewish Antiquities[9] states that there were three main Jewish sects at this time, thePharisees, theSadducees, and theEssenes. The Zealots were a "fourth sect", founded byJudas of Galilee (also called Judas of Gamala) in 6 CE against theCensus of Quirinius, shortly after theRoman Empire declared what had most recently been thetetrarchy of Herod Archelaus to be aRoman province. According to Josephus, 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 theJewish Encyclopedia article onZealots:[10]
Judah of Gaulanitis is regarded as the founder of the Zealots, who are identified as the proponents of the Fourth Philosophy. In the original sources, however, no such identification is anywhere clearly made, and the question is hardly raised of the relationship between the Sicarii, the upholders of the Fourth Philosophy, and the Zealots. Josephus himself in his general survey of the various groups of freedom fighters (War 7:268–70) enumerates the Sicarii first, whereas he mentions the Zealots last.
Others have also argued that the group was not so clearly marked out (before the first war of 66–70/3) as some have thought.[11]
Simon the Zealot was listed among the apostles selected byJesus in theGospel of Luke[12] and in theActs of the Apostles.[13] He is calledCananaean in Mark and Matthew (Matthew 10,Matthew 10:4,Mark 3,Mark 3:18) Two of Judas of Galilee's sons, Jacob and Simon, were involved in a revolt and were executed byTiberius Alexander, theprocurator of Iudaea province from 46 to 48.[14]
The Zealots took a leading role in theFirst Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), as they objected to Roman rule and violently sought to eradicate it by indiscriminately attacking Romans and Greeks. Another group, likely related, were theSicarii, who raided Jewish settlements and killed Jews they consideredapostates and collaborators, while also urging Jews to fight the Romans and other Jews for the cause. Josephus paints a very bleak picture of their activities as they instituted what he characterized as a murderous "reign of terror" prior to theJewish Temple's destruction. According to Josephus, the Zealots followedJohn of Gischala, who had fought the Romans inGalilee, escaped, came to Jerusalem, and then inspired the locals to a fanatical position that led to the Temple's destruction. They succeeded in taking overJerusalem and held it until 70, when the son of Roman EmperorVespasian,Titus, retook the city and destroyedHerod's Temple during thedestruction of Jerusalem.[citation needed]
In theTalmud, the Zealots are characterized as non-religious, that is not following the contemporary religious leadership. They are called theBiryonim (בריונים) meaning "boorish", "wild", or "ruffians", and are condemned for their aggression, their unwillingness to compromise to save the survivors of besieged Jerusalem, and their blind militarism in opposition to the rabbis' desire to seek a peace treaty with Rome. However, according to one body of tradition, the rabbis initially supported the revolt until the Zealots instigated a civil war, at which point all hope of resisting the Romans was deemed impossible.[15]
The Zealots are further blamed for having contributed to the demise of Jerusalem and the Second Temple, and of ensuring Rome's retribution and stranglehold on Judea. According to theBabylonian Talmud,Gittin:56b, theBiryonim destroyed decades' worth of food and firewood in besieged Jerusalem to force the Jews to fight the Romans out of desperation. This event precipitated the escape ofJohanan ben Zakai and his meeting withVespasian, which led to the foundation of theAcademy of Jamnia and the composition of theMishnah, ensuring the survival ofrabbinical Judaism.[16][17]
At the core of Zealotry was the Jewish concept of "zeal," a total commitment to God's will and law.[1] This concept drew on earlier figures associated with zealotry found in theHebrew Bible. Perhaps the most authoritative role model for zealotry wasPhinehas, the grandson ofAaron and the son ofEleazar, whose story is found in theTorah.[18][19] His act of zeal is described inNumbers 25:1–15, where he impales an Israelite man,Zimri, and aMidianite woman,Cozbi, who were engaged in a sexual act, thereby halting the divine plague brought upon Israel for its sins.[19][18] His enforcement of God's covenant through military means made him a central figure in the ideological framework of Zealotry.[18] His role as a priest amplified his influence within priestly circles; his zeal was used to justify the legitimacy of theHasmonean dynasty, which invoked Phinehas' zeal to support their usurpation of the high priesthood from the descendants ofZadok.[18]
Other figures associated with zealotry include the biblical prophetElijah andHasmonean priest Mattathias.[2][3] Elijah, in1 Kings 19, refers to himself as "zealous" when speaking to God after killing the worshippers ofBa'al; Mattathias, the Hasmonean patriarch who helped spark theMaccabean revolt in the 2nd century BCE,[19] is celebrated for killing a Jew who agreed to make a pagan sacrifice, as well as the Greek official who ordered it. He is portrayed in1 Maccabees as a latter-day Phinehas;[20] according to the text, he "had burned with zeal for the law, just as Phineas did against Zimri, the son of Salu".[21][19]
Zealotry was also driven by a belief inIsrael's election by God.[1]
While "zeal of the Torah" does not necessarily imply resistance to Roman rule, as noted by New Testament scholarRichard Horsley,[22] Zealot ideas can nonetheless be seen as a key driver of the First Jewish Revolt.[2][3] Judaic scholarPhilip Alexander sees the common goal connecting all Zealot factions as 'freeing Israel from Roman rule by force.'.[23]
The Sicarii were a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, strongly opposed the Roman occupation of Judea and attempted to expel them and their sympathizers from the area.[24] Their leader in the early stages of the revolt wasMenahem ben Judah, a descendant of Judah of Galilee.[25][26] The Sicarii carriedsicae, or smalldaggers, concealed in their cloaks.[27] At public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack Romans and alleged Roman sympathizers alike, blending into the crowd after the deed to escape detection.
According to historianHayim Hillel Ben-Sasson, the Sicarii, originally based in Galilee, "were fighting for a social revolution, while the Jerusalem Zealots placed less stress on the social aspect," and the Sicarii "never attached themselves to one particular family and never proclaimed any of their leaders king". Both groups objected to the way the priestly families were running the Temple.[14]
Historian Jonathan Price argues that the Zealots were initially part of the broader Sicarii movement, which may have been known by a different name in its earlier stages. He suggests that the Zealots, along with possibly other splinter factions, broke away from the Sicarii in a hostile manner as tensions escalated with the onset of the First Jewish Revolt. According to Price, both groups likely believed they were fulfilling the true intentions of the movement's founders, despite the Sicarii having "dynastic legitimacy."[28] The murder of Menahem and the expulsion of many of his followers in 66 CE, Price argues, was part of a broader struggle for control over the revolution in Jerusalem.[28] Judaic scholarPhilip Alexander describes the Sicarii as a loose coalition of Jewish nationalists, united by the goal of expelling Roman rule through force.[23]
Zealotry did not fade away immediately after the First Jewish Revolt but instead found new expressions in later uprisings.[29][23] In the early 70s, the Zealot mindset continued to drive Jewish resistance, first in Egypt and later in Cyrenaica. In Alexandria, Sicarii activists sought to incite rebellion, but their efforts were quickly quelled by local Jewish leadership, who acted to prevent further conflict with Rome. A similar Sicarii attempt to stir unrest occurred in Cyrenaica, where a figure named Jonathan led a group into the desert, promising signs of divine intervention, but was likewise suppressed by Roman forces after the leadership alerted them to the threat.[29]
Philip Alexander writes that the persistence of Zealot ideas laid the groundwork for later Jewish revolts, including thediaspora uprisings in 115 CE and theBar Kokhba revolt in 132 CE.[30]
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While mostEnglish translations of the Bible render the Greek wordzelotes inActs 22:3 andGalatians 1:13-14 and Philippians 3:5-6 of theNew Testament as the adjective "zealous", an article by Mark R. Fairchild[31] takes it to mean a Zealot and suggests thatPaul the Apostle may have been a Zealot, which might have been the driving force behind his persecution of the Christians (see the stoning ofSaint Stephen) before hisconversion to Christianity, and theincident at Antioch, even after his conversion. While Paul was not formally part of the Zealot movement—focused on violent resistance to Roman rule, his pre-conversion actions reflect a similar fervor for preserving Jewish purity and traditions. This zeal may also explain his later confrontations, such as the incident at Antioch, even after his conversion.[32][33][34]
In the two cited verses Paul literally declares himself as one who isloyal to God, or anardent observer of the Law according to the Douay-Rheims of Acts 22:3, but the relationship ofPaul the Apostle and Jewish Christianity is still debated. This does not necessarily prove Paul was revealing himself as a Zealot. TheModern King James Version ofJay P. Green renders it as 'a zealous one'. Two modern translations (theJewish New Testament andAlternate Literal Translation) render it as 'a zealot'. TheUnvarnished New Testament (1991) renders Galatians 1:14 as "being an absolute zealot for the traditions".
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