Let me renew my request for bibliography (if it exists) in which it is asserted with confidence that Absalom, Jannaeus' brother, was the one mentioned in pesher Habakkuk v 9. It's a bit curious that this may not have been asserted earlier, though some of the reasons are apparent in retrospect. While one cannot claim absolute certainty, the available evidence and the context strongly indicate that he was that Absalom who was silent and did not help the teacher of righteousness (Judah the Essene) when aggrieved by the wicked priest Jannaeus (and, if he is a separate individual, unlikely in this pesher, the Liar).
Brownlee in BASOR 1948 claimed that Absalom referred to David's son symbolically; but this Absalom was not rebelling, much less against his father, but acquiescing, just as Josephus describes him in both War and Antiquities. Absalom was not a common name, but it was repeated among Hasmoneans. Tal Ilan's fine Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity (2002) provides the details. She also argues that Yannai was clearly from Yonathan; and she provides attested double sigma Greek spellings of Joshua, from the same Hebrew letters, in reverse order, as the Hebrew source of the Greek name Essaioi/Ossaioi. Queen Alexandra, according to Talmud (bBer. 48a), had a brother, but his name, Shimon ben Shetah, was not Absalom. Unlike the Hasmonean Absalom use for the brother of Jannaeus, no evidence suggests she had a brother Absalom. Nikos Kokkinos in Herodian Dynasty (1998) has detailed genealogical discussion and a family tree--Herod married the greatgrandaughter of our Absalom. D.N. Freedman in BASOR 1949 provided an article claiming that Absalom was a contemporary individual in history, and would provide a good time peg for the scrolls, but missed the match. Similarly, Paul Winter, wrote that the pHab reference was "Non-Allegorical" (PEQ 1959 38-46). Bilha Nitzan gives a useful survey on "House of Absalom" in Encyclopedia of the DSS (2000). Books by Brownlee, Delcor, Elliger, Nitzan, Horgan and others give useful commentary and bibliography. It is becoming clearer that Yannai was the "wicked priest," and that his surviving brother, Absalom, was silent and did not help the "teacher of righteousness," Judah the Essene. best, Stephen Goranson _______________________________________________ g-Megillot mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.McMaster.CA/mailman/listinfo/g-megillot
