Zealots

A detailed Summary of Zealots

The Zealots were Jewish revolutionaries in the first century Judaea, whose religious zeal lead them to fight to the death against Roman domination, and to kill or persecute Jews who collaborated with the Romans. Zealots fought their way to freedom from enslavement, by not giving up the battle (Hasting 441).

Scholars disagree as to whether the name Zealots referred to all revolutionary groups of the first century, or only one of the groups active during the Roman-Jewish War of 66-70 A.D. Josephus Flavius (37-100 A.D.) the Jewish general who surrendered to the Romans and whose official Roman history of the war furnishes the major source, is unclear in his use of terminology (Hastings 441).

In 6 A.D. Judah the Galilean showed zeal for God's law and land. The Zealots movement began as a protest against the census when Coponius was procurator of Judea. The outbreak did not occur in Judea, but in Galilee, which was not directly affected by the census. The oppression of the Seleucids also lead to the rise of the Zealots. Judah and his followers fought to cleans the land by taking vengeance against Jews who cooperated with the Romans. Judah considered such behavior to be idol worship of a lord other than God. He and his foll

The authorities were, with some truth, accused of lack of energy in the prosecution of the war and even of the Romans. The Zealots believed that the safety of the nation lay in removal of the aristocratic native leaders, and taking control themselves. They began by imprisoning the royal public treasurer, and other high rank, political people. John of Gischala now became the leader of the Zealots, and dictator of the country. When the country was captured, John fell into the hands of the Romans. The last strong hold of the Zealots was Masada. It eventually fell in April 73 A.D. The Zealots, now a forgotten party, remained in the people thoughts, because of the spirit that remained with them (Farmer 876).

The Jews had come in contact with Rome in the days of the Maccabees. If Pompey captured Jerusalem, and abolished the Hasmoneans kingship; he would have left the Jews in the enjoyment of an independent nation. Judea was at this time made part of the Roman province. The Jews found the Romans rude and unkind to them (Hasting 453-454).

It was said that the Zealot party was doomed to fail because it was lead by judgmental, critics, and because the Zealots had a devotion to hopeless causes. The Zealots are often compared to the Pharisees, the Essences, and the Sadducees, because of the similarities in their fight for freedom. The Zealots were originally a branch off of the Pharisees, and the Sicarii were from the Zealots. The Zealot movement not only arose within Pharisaism, but throughout its course really stood for the ideals of the Pharisees (Hastings 854).

The Jews were excused from Roman military levies; and the non-Jewish Palestinians were the first recruited. Roman authorities were most tolerant of Jewish customs and religious beliefs. The cult of the Caesar, elsewhere established, and even welcomed in the empire, was not forced upon the Jews except during the mad attempt of Caligula. This led to a fearful massacres in Alexandria and caused much heart-searching in Judea. The pro-Roman or pacifist party

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion