Benjamin Scolnic
Biographic Data
| ID | 1423528 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Benjamin Scolnic |
| GIVEN NAMES | Benjamin |
| FAMILY NAME | Scolnic |
| SIGNATURE | SCOLNIC B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Southern Connecticut State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4263-8024 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Books of the Maccabees
Adrastus [‘No Escape’]
Croesus famously consulted oracles to determine whether to make war on Persia in 547/46 BCE. But Herodotus tells us he misunderstood the oracular response, due to a mix of hubris and fate. And yet, was this the oracle that brought doom to the Lydian Empire? The defeat of Croesus is not just the affirmation of the divine knowledge of the Delphic oracle because the king does not interpret the oracle correctly. Rather, his defeat is the affirmation …
Karomemphitai. Origin stories of Karians in Egypt and their role in the rise of the Saite dynasty
Anecdotes in Polyaenus, Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus concerning oracles that both predicted and played a role in Psammetichus I's rise to power in 664–658 BCE may reflect later etiologies. After attempting to reconstruct the historical context of the rise of the Saite dynasty in the seventh century BCE Egypt, we will evaluate the possible role of Karians in the defeat of the Nubians by their Saite rivals. A century later, the Karians may have p…
Maccabees
The Failure of Poseidon, ‘Averter of Disaster’ and the Mythical Geography of Isaiah 23
The nostos , the return home in Greek mythology, is most often a journey over the sea, and it is the god Poseidon who rules the sea, both ensuring the safe passage of fishermen and sailors and causing disasters to individuals like Ajax son of Oileus, sometimes through obstacles like his daughter Charybdis. Most famously, he uses his power to hinder the nostos of Odysseus, all the while knowing he cannot prevent him from reaching home. This exampl…
King Zedekiah’s Release of Slaves for the Strategic Harmony of a Besieged Jerusalem (Jer 34)
King Zedekiah of Judah’s covenant to release Hebrew slaves during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 588/587 and Jeremiah’s idealistic denunciation of the reclaiming of those slaves in Jer 34 has been the subject of interesting scholarly debate. For all the proposed foreign and intra-Biblical parallels, the policy was purely pragmatic and can be understood as a recognizable strategy from ancient texts that recommend procedures during a …
Ἀντίπατρος ἀδελφιδοῦς
Polybe désigne le courtisan et commandant militaire Antipatros comme le « neveu » d’Antiochos III. Les rois hellénistiques désignaient souvent leurs courtisans honorés par des titres de parenté tels que « frère » ou « ami », et Antipatros semble être un exemple de cette pratique. Il pourrait s’agir d’Antipatros fils d’Epigonos de Telmessos, un cousin germain de Ptolémée II, le souverain de cette ville. Antipatros fils d’Epigonos était un homme de…
The Prophet of Second Chances
The author of the Book of Jonah carefully selected the prophet Jonah ben Amittai, mentioned briefly in 2 Kings 14:23–29, to be the anti-hero of his tale. We may integrate knowledge from the historical context of this prophet’s lifetime in the eighth century bce to see structural parallels between the sinful actions, Y hwh ’s merciful responses to the actions, and the continued sinful actions, of Jonah, Israel and Assyria. Jonah becomes the prophe…
The Festival of Dionysus in 2 Macc 6
Recent scholarship has maintained that the Dionysian rites of 2 Macc 6:7b are not historical because evidence of this cult in Seleukid official policy is seen as meager at best. A review of Antiochus IV ’s coinage, his procession at Daphne, his designation of Geron the Athenian as enforcer of the imposed cult, and other allusions to promiscuity in the Temple may indicate that this reference to Dionysian practices is at least plausible
Heliodorus and the Assassination of Seleucus IV according to Dan 11
The impetus for the assassination of Seleucus IV in 175 B. C. E. is commonly associated with his robbing the temples and oppressing the peoples of the Seleucid kingdom in order to pay tribute to Rome according to the Treaty of Apamea. Reconsideration of the relevant evidence – especially Dan 11:20 and 2 Macc 3, with attention to a passage from Appian, inscriptions from Delos, the Heliodorus stele and the Ptolemaios dossier – suggests another expl…
Is Daniel 11
Daniel 11 is considered an exceptional Biblical text because of its interest in and accuracy about historical and political events in the Hellenistic world. A recent theory suggests that the author was a former Seleucid scribe; another theory posits the use of a Ptolemaic propaganda document. The approach here will be inductive, reading out from the text to adduce evidence that the author of Daniel 11 either used or reflected the attitudes of Pto…
When Did the Future Antiochos IV Arrive in Athens
The mention of an Antiochos in an Athenian inscription, I 7453, which dates to 178/7 b.c., has led scholars to accept that the future Antiochos IV lived in Athens from 178 to 175, and was not just present in the city in 175, as a statement by Appian seems to indicate. A reevaluation of the evidence calls into question both this extended sojourn and the identification of the Antiochos in the inscription, inviting us to reconsider the circumstances…
When Did the Future Antiochos IV Arrive in Athens
The mention of an Antiochos in an Athenian inscription, I 7453, which dates to 178/7 b.c., has led scholars to accept that the future Antiochos IV lived in Athens from 178 to 175, and was not just present in the city in 175, as a statement by Appian seems to indicate. A reevaluation of the evidence calls into question both this extended sojourn and the identification of the Antiochos in the inscription, inviting us to reconsider the circumstances…
Is Daniel 11
Daniel 11 is considered an exceptional Biblical text because of its interest in and accuracy about historical and political events in the Hellenistic world. A recent theory suggests that the author was a former Seleucid scribe; another theory posits the use of a Ptolemaic propaganda document. The approach here will be inductive, reading out from the text to adduce evidence that the author of Daniel 11 either used or reflected the attitudes of Pto…
When Did the Future Antiochos IV Arrive in Athens
The mention of an Antiochos in an Athenian inscription, I 7453, which dates to 178/7 b.c., has led scholars to accept that the future Antiochos IV lived in Athens from 178 to 175, and was not just present in the city in 175, as a statement by Appian seems to indicate. A reevaluation of the evidence calls into question both this extended sojourn and the identification of the Antiochos in the inscription, inviting us to reconsider the circumstances…
Heliodorus and the Assassination of Seleucus IV according to Dan 11
The impetus for the assassination of Seleucus IV in 175 B. C. E. is commonly associated with his robbing the temples and oppressing the peoples of the Seleucid kingdom in order to pay tribute to Rome according to the Treaty of Apamea. Reconsideration of the relevant evidence – especially Dan 11:20 and 2 Macc 3, with attention to a passage from Appian, inscriptions from Delos, the Heliodorus stele and the Ptolemaios dossier – suggests another expl…
The Festival of Dionysus in 2 Macc 6
Recent scholarship has maintained that the Dionysian rites of 2 Macc 6:7b are not historical because evidence of this cult in Seleukid official policy is seen as meager at best. A review of Antiochus IV ’s coinage, his procession at Daphne, his designation of Geron the Athenian as enforcer of the imposed cult, and other allusions to promiscuity in the Temple may indicate that this reference to Dionysian practices is at least plausible
The Prophet of Second Chances
The author of the Book of Jonah carefully selected the prophet Jonah ben Amittai, mentioned briefly in 2 Kings 14:23–29, to be the anti-hero of his tale. We may integrate knowledge from the historical context of this prophet’s lifetime in the eighth century bce to see structural parallels between the sinful actions, Y hwh ’s merciful responses to the actions, and the continued sinful actions, of Jonah, Israel and Assyria. Jonah becomes the prophe…
Ἀντίπατρος ἀδελφιδοῦς
Polybe désigne le courtisan et commandant militaire Antipatros comme le « neveu » d’Antiochos III. Les rois hellénistiques désignaient souvent leurs courtisans honorés par des titres de parenté tels que « frère » ou « ami », et Antipatros semble être un exemple de cette pratique. Il pourrait s’agir d’Antipatros fils d’Epigonos de Telmessos, un cousin germain de Ptolémée II, le souverain de cette ville. Antipatros fils d’Epigonos était un homme de…
King Zedekiah’s Release of Slaves for the Strategic Harmony of a Besieged Jerusalem (Jer 34)
King Zedekiah of Judah’s covenant to release Hebrew slaves during the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 588/587 and Jeremiah’s idealistic denunciation of the reclaiming of those slaves in Jer 34 has been the subject of interesting scholarly debate. For all the proposed foreign and intra-Biblical parallels, the policy was purely pragmatic and can be understood as a recognizable strategy from ancient texts that recommend procedures during a …
Maccabees
The Failure of Poseidon, ‘Averter of Disaster’ and the Mythical Geography of Isaiah 23
The nostos , the return home in Greek mythology, is most often a journey over the sea, and it is the god Poseidon who rules the sea, both ensuring the safe passage of fishermen and sailors and causing disasters to individuals like Ajax son of Oileus, sometimes through obstacles like his daughter Charybdis. Most famously, he uses his power to hinder the nostos of Odysseus, all the while knowing he cannot prevent him from reaching home. This exampl…
The Books of the Maccabees
Adrastus [‘No Escape’]
Croesus famously consulted oracles to determine whether to make war on Persia in 547/46 BCE. But Herodotus tells us he misunderstood the oracular response, due to a mix of hubris and fate. And yet, was this the oracle that brought doom to the Lydian Empire? The defeat of Croesus is not just the affirmation of the divine knowledge of the Delphic oracle because the king does not interpret the oracle correctly. Rather, his defeat is the affirmation …
Karomemphitai. Origin stories of Karians in Egypt and their role in the rise of the Saite dynasty
Anecdotes in Polyaenus, Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus concerning oracles that both predicted and played a role in Psammetichus I's rise to power in 664–658 BCE may reflect later etiologies. After attempting to reconstruct the historical context of the rise of the Saite dynasty in the seventh century BCE Egypt, we will evaluate the possible role of Karians in the defeat of the Nubians by their Saite rivals. A century later, the Karians may have p…
History (8 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (7 works) · Art (6 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (6 works) · Classical Antiquity Studies (6 works) · Classics (6 works) · History (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Ancient history (5 works) · Classics (4 works)