Friday, July 12, 2013

Luke 19:41-44 and 21:20-4 the Bar Cochba Revolt


In the Lukan text, we find references to the destruction of Jerusalem:

Luke 19:41-44

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

In Luke 21:20-4, we find:

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.  Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.  They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

 Christian scholars opine that these verses refer to the First Jewish War, when Titus destroyed the Temple.  We would note, however, that Jesus is speaking to and of the city Jerusalem, not the Temple.  From that specific reference, we may infer that this is actually a reference to the bar Cochba Revolt, in which the city of Jerusalem was demolished.

Ths pericopes do not have parallels in the Matthean and the Markan texts.

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