Apocalypse against Empire

<DIV>A fresh and daring take on ancient apocalyptic books. The year 167 b.c.e. marked the beginning of a period of intense persecution for the people of Judea as Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted - forcibly and brutally - to eradicate traditional Jewish religious practices. In Apocalypse against Empire Anathea Portier-Young reconstructs the historical events and key players in this traumatic episode in Jewish history and provides a sophisticated treatment of resistance in early Judaism. Building on a solid contextual foundation Portier-Young argues that the first Jewish apocalypses emerged as a literature of resistance to Hellenistic imperial rule. She makes a sturdy case for this argument by examining three extant apocalypses giving careful attention to the interplay between social theory history textual studies and theological analysis. In particular Portier-Young contends the book of Daniel the Apocalypse of Weeks and the Book of Dreams were written to supply an oppressed people with a potent antidote to the destructive propaganda of the empire - renewing their faith in the God of the covenant and answering state terror with radical visions of hope..</DIV>