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Do not invite a Roman General to join a Jewish fight!


Salome Alexandra (139-67 BCE), whose Hebrew name was Shelamzion, was a descendant of the Hasmonean family (Maccabees).  She was the wife of Alexander Jannai and they had two sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. In her husband’s will, she became head of the secular government, while the high priesthood was given to his oldest son, Hyrcanus II. Alexander considered the Pharisees his enemies.

During Shalome’s nine-year reign she completely reversed her late husband’s position and included Pharisees into her government. One of her major appointments was Shimon ben Shetah, leader of the Pharisees, as joint head of the Great Sanhedrin. She also allowed the Oral Law of the Pharisees to be incorporated with the Torah as the law of her royal court. 

Aristobulus aggressively challenged the authority of his brother, but his mother took military action to stop him -- setting off another Jewish civil war. She did not live long enough to see how the chain of events that would not only take the lives of her sons, but would ultimately bring down the Temple and the entire Jewish nation.  

A conflict between the two brothers escalated during Passover (63 BCE) and Aristobulus send a message to Roman General Pompey's representative in Syria promising to give him 8,000 kg of silver if he intervened. He did and Aristobulus and the Sadducees were safe again. Aristobulus sent General Pompey a golden vine (800 kg), which the Roman commander forwarded to the temple of Jupiter in Rome. Later, for whatever reason, made a major miscalculation – he asked General Pompey to punish the man he had paid the 8,000 kg of silver, saying the man extorted it from him. Pompey decided to go and see what was really going on -- he sided with Hyrcanus and Aristobulus was arrested.

With the Romans in control of the Temple, Pompey and his officers took a tour and the Menorah, the treasure storehouse, the sacred vessels, as well as entering the Holy of Holies. The next day Pompey ordered the cleansing of the Temple and appointed Hyrcanus as High Priest.

When you read about the Sadducees and Pharisees in the New Testament, they are not different Jewish religious groups like those today. They were political/religious groups that had fought wars against each other. And when you read about what the Romans were doing in Judah and Galilee during the time of Jesus – remember that Shalome’s son invited them to help him defeat his brother.
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SOURCES
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/salome-alexandra/
https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/roman-jewish-wars/
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1769-aristobulus-ii


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