KOBIETY W KULTURZE I RELIGII SPOŁECZNOŚCI ŻYDOWSKIEJ W ŚWIETLE KSIĄG MACHABEJSKICH

Analyzing the contents of the Books of the Maccabees (1-2Macc canonical and 3-4Macc apocryphal) it can be noted that their authors – on the canvas of the story associated with the revolt of the Maccabees and the persecution of the Jewish community – also touched upon issues of the presence and role of women in the religion and culture of ancient Israel in Hellenistic times. Although women mentioned by the authors women are anonymous, one can, however, learn a lot about their lives in this period. The authors in fact give different information about the women of different status: young girls, virgins/unmarried maidens, wives, mothers, widows, grandmothers as well as prostitutes. Of particular note are women who demonstrated heroism in defense of God’s Law. The mother of seven sons, presented in 2Macc and 4Macc, stands out in this respect as – for the fidelity to the Law – she suffered a martyr’s death, encouraging earlier her own sons to assume the same attitude. To sum up, one can conclude that women in the Jewish community of the time, which was clearly dominated by men, played important roles and in certain circumstances were able to do heroic deeds.