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The significance of the ancestral norms for the Judean community depicted in 1Maccabees has never been thoroughly analyzed. This book takes up the debate concerning the composition of 1Maccabees and incorporates it into a discussion of the Judean ancestral traditions that seem most important to the Judean community it presents. This study sheds light on the complexity of opinions on Judean traditions by revealing the many voices in 1Maccabees.
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DE GRUYTER Francis Borchardt THE TORAH IN 1MACCABEES A LITERARY CRITICAL APPROACH TO THE TEXT Francis Borchardt The Torah in 1 Maccabees Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies Edited by Friedrich V. Reiterer, Beate Ego and Tobias Nicklas Volume 19 Francis Borchardt The Torah in 1 Maccabees A Literary Critical Approach to the Text DE GRUYTER ISBN 978-3-11-032298-9 e-ISBN 978-3-11-032348-1 ISSN 1865-1666 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2014 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Printing: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com For Nele, Alexandra, Sophia, and Erasmus Acknowledgements Throughout the process of preparing this book I have received invaluable guidance from various professors in the department of Biblical Studies at the University of Helsinki. Professor Raija Sollamo has overseen the work from the beginning, and shepherded me through the entire doctoral process. I owe her many thanks. Professor Anneli Aejmelaeus has, especially in the context of meetings and colloquia, offered great support and insightful comments on various issues within the text. Her input was always highly valued as I worked through the details of my argument. Professor Martti Nissinen has been extraordinarily supportive in a variety of ways, even preceding the commencement of my doctoral studies. I am happy to have him as a professor and friend. Special thanks must be extended to Professor Christoph Levin of Ludwig Maximilian University in München, who willingly and skillfully took up the task of forming my kernel of an idea into a workable and pertinent thesis. Without his aid, the literary critical sections of this study would have been far more daunting. Dr. Juha Pakkala has been helpful and supportive in countless ways throughout this process. From helping me to wind my way through the foreign university bureaucracy to providing me with funding through the European Young Investigator (EURYI) award he received for the Birth and Transmission of Holy Tradition project. This allowed me opportunities to travel, research, and participate in conferences that would have been otherwise impossible. More important than the funding, however, was the opportunity Dr. Pakkala offered to participate in the dynamic research group he formed. The members of the Birth and Transmission of Holy Tradition project helped me to entirely change my perspective on some of the most fundamental questions in biblical studies, and I always treasure their input. I received further financial support from the University of Helsinki in the form of research and travel grants that helped to bring this study to completion. My family, however, has been my greatest strength and most valuable asset throughout my period of study. The support offered first by my mother, father and brother, and later by my wife and children has never waned. I especially must thank my wife Nele, and my daughters Alexandra and Sophia,