Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and took Jehoiakim and some of his princes into captivity (Daniel 1:1).While in exile, Jehoiachim ate every day at Nebuchadnezzar's table in Babylon (Jeremiah 52:33; II Kings 25:29), but by the Hasmonean period: 'Many in Israel took courage not to eat any unclean food, and they chose to die rather than be defiled by [unclean] foods . ..' (I Maccabees 1:62-63).Gentile food had become suspect of being connected to pagan ritual, so it was considered preferable to suffer martyrdom rather than eat it.1 The account of a controlled dietary trial in the book of Daniel thus reflects attitudes characteristic of this period (2nd-1st centuries BCE).
Author: Susan Weingarten
Institution: W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4404396724