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Why Did the Seleucid State βPersecuteβ the Jews?
Dec 30, 2016 By Nathan Schumer | Commentary | Hanukkah
The familiar version of the story of Hanukkah is one of ΊΪΑΟΙη agency. Jews were persecuted and then, under the Hasmonean banner, successfully defeated the Seleucid conquerors, drove off the persecutors, and rededicated their Temple. But this telling omits why the Seleucids βpersecutedβ the Jews. This is an aspect of Hanukkah thatβs poorly understood, but recent scholarship helps to explain the Seleucid perspective.
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