Tales of High Priests and Taxes: The Books of the Maccabees and the Judean Rebellion against Antiochos IV

Using books of the Bible to explore history of the ancient Near East can be a tricky proposition. It was not written with an eye towards modern historians, it was more written to explain a current world view and how a particular group of people viewed their world and how it works. Nothing is more like this than the Book of Maccabees, which tells a Jewish rebellion. This book takes an in-depth look at both Maccabees books and explores their literary, historical, and cultural reality and that they can be used to get a clear picture of the Jewish rebellion, instead of being dismissed as an historical account.

This book is split up into three sections, each focusing on a different broad topic and then subdivided into individual chapters. Along the way, the author does an excellent job of delving into the intricate world of biblical history and the challenges along the way, but she does an excellent job teasing out her argument, and supporting her thesis. This is an excellent resource for religious studies and history, students. This book should be used in classrooms for a long time to come.