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Has The Tomb of Mattatayah Antigonus Been Found?
(a/k/a The Abba Tomb)
Mattatayah Antigonus was the last Hasmonean king who Marc Antony executed in 37 BCE, in Antioch. Ancient historians did not record where or how he was buried. In 1971, a bulldozer preparing the foundation for a private house in Jerusalem's Givat Hamivtar district uncovered an ancient tomb. "As the scholars and archeologists were summoned to examine the site, their attentions focused upon an extraordinary inscription facing the cave's entrance, composed in the Aramaic language in the 'old Hebrew' alphabet in use among the Samaritans." Prof. Eliezer Segal article. I infer from Prof. Segal's comments that the inscription on the tomb's entrance was written in Archaic Biblical Hebrew. I'll circle back to the issue of the script after discussing the inscription itself. Below are two slightly different translations found online.
I, Abba, son of the priest
Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high (priest),
I, Abba, the oppressed
and the persecuted (?),
who was born in Jerusalem,
and went into exile into Babylonia
and brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah),
son of Jud(ah), and buried him in a
cave which I bought by deed.
jewishvirtuallibrary.org
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I am aba son of priest
Elazer son of Aaron the Great
I am Aba the tortured and persecuted,
Born in Jerusalem
Exiled to Babylon and raised Mattathias
Son of Yehuda and buried him
in the cave, which I bought by bill.
numis.co.il
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The first two lines identify the individual who made the inscription: Abba, son of priest, Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest (or "the great"). My take on this section of the inscription is that the names "Eleazar son of Aaron" are not the father and grandfather, respectively, of Abba but, rather, refer to the patriarch Aaron (i.e., the brother of Moses) whose son Eleazar succeeded him in office as high priest. The translation on the left infers that the inscription next to Aaron's name reads "high priest" but the second translation has these words or word as "the great". This tells us that the inscription contains only the word "gadol" but lacks "kohen" (of course, the Hebrew title for high priest is "Kohen Gadol"). This inscription is well preserved in stone so I highly doubt the word "kohen" was washed away over time. See picture of inscription at middle of this page. For this reason, I think "Aaron the Great" is the better translation. Further, couple the unusual honorific reference to Aaron with the fact that he had a son Eleazar and they were priests leads to a fairly easy conclusion, in my view, that this inscription refers to Aaron the patriarch.
The term "son of Aaron" identifies one as Kohanim. Using that interpretation, Abba identifies himself as a Kohen priest who was born in Jerusalem. He was later persecuted and tortured then left for exile in Babylon. What Kohanim priests were tortured? The only priests who were tortured during the Roman period were those who committed insurrection against Rome. The fact Abba was exiled to Babylon, a city in the kingdom of Parthia thus outside the Roman Empire, further indicates that Abba sought refuge from Rome. The ancient sources record only one incident of a Kohen priest being tortured by the Romans, the execution of Hasmonean king Antigonus. Cassius Dio said Antigonus was scourged and crucified by Marc Antony. Link. However, Josephus quotes Strabo as saying Antigonus was simply beheaded by Antony. Antiquities XV 1:2. As Dio was born in the middle of the second century CE, he had access to the same Roman source material as Josephus who wrote 100 years before Dio (meaning they both read early versions of Strabo's works). The histories of Josephus were commissioned by the Flavians who sought to downplay the offenses committed by the Romans in Palestine. The works of Josephus contain numerous instances where he omits inconvenient names and other facts. One prime example is the list Josephus gives for his own ancestors in Vita. Another example is the failure of Josephus to name the daughter of Antigonus who married Herodian crown prince Antipater. It's a long list of historical omissions by Josephus that demands a separate article (a task I hope to get to in the future). For this reason, I accept Dio's account of the execution of Antigonus as the more complete over that of Josephus.
When Herod captured Jerusalem in 37 BCE, it wasn't just King Antigonus who was slain. Herod "also slew forty-five of the principal men of Antigonus' party, and set guards at the gates of the city, that nothing might be carried out." Antiquities XV 1:2 (5). Let's back up in history to a time before Herod captured Jerusalem by the Romans to gain an understanding of "Antigonus' party" as referred to by Josephus. During the brief first civil war between Antony and Octavian, Octavian defeated forces allied with Antony commanded by his brother Lucius at the Battle of Perusia in 41 BCE. Anthony thereafter stripped Roman legions out of the eastern provinces (including Palestine) in preparation for war with Octavian. Before a decisive battle could be joined, Antony and Octavian made peace at Brundisium in 40 BCE. That same year, a Parthian army marched out of the east overrunning the Roman eastern provinces. Hasmonean Mattatayah Antigonus was the last remaining son of King Aristobulus II at this time. The Romans killed both his father Aristobulus II and brother Alexander. Antigonus allied himself with the Parthians against the Romans and, with Parthian military support, captured Jerusalem in 40 BCE. The Romans left Jerusalem under the nominal control of Hasmonean high priest Hyrcanus II (uncle of Antigonus) when it fell. Antigonus cut off Hyrcanus' ears (to disqualify him from ever serving as high priest again) and exiled Hyrcanus to Babylon. Thus, there were separate groups of Hasmoneans (and presumably lower ranking Kohanim priests) aligned with both the Romans through Hyrcanus and the Parthians through Antigonus. The leading men of Antigonus' party were the Kohamin Temple priests aligned with the Parthians. The highest ranking subgroup within the class of Kohamin were the Hasmoneans. I surmise the forty-five "principal men" referred to by Josephus were the Kohanim priests of Hasmonean blood aligned with Antigonus. Josephus gives a long list of Hasmoneans executed by Herod so it stands to reason that the Hasmoneans were his primary target when the city finally fell in 37 BCE. Herod conducted a frantic search for treasure after Jerusalem fell as he needed to pay off the Roman soldiers and Marc Antony. It's a strong assumption that Herod tortured those of Antigonus' party not counted as "principal men" and, thus, not immediately exec uted. Herod needed information about any hidden treasure. I theorize those persons spared to have been Kohanim priests who were not of royal Hasmonean blood. There were certainly many more Kohanim priests serving in the Temple when it fell to Herod than the 45 individuals Josephus says Herod executed so it stands to reason that some number of priests who served in the Temple under Antigonus survived the fall of Jersualem in 37 BCE. Josephus himself claims to descend (on his father's side) from an Hasmonean ancestor who was high priest but never claimed to be king (i.e., not royal). Antigonus and those who survived until the end chose not to fight to the last man when the Romans breached the walls of the Temple (their last strong-hold in the city) and, instead, surrendered to the Romans.
Moving on to the final section of the inscription, it reads "brought [back to Jerusalem] Mattathi, son of Jud, and buried him in a cave." The father of King Antigonus was Aristobulus II. Josephus only records the Greek names of the Hasmonean kings; however, we know each had a Hebrew name as well from the coins they minted. As previously mentioned, Antigonus' Hebrew name was Mattatayah. There is some confusion over the coins minted under the name Artistobulus as to whether they are from Aristobulus I (104-103 BCE) or Aristobulus II (66 to 63 BCE). In any event, the coins indicate that the Hebrew name of Aristobulus was Judah (Link) and the general consensus appears to be that both Hasmonean kings with the name Aristobulus were Judah Aristobulus. Thus, the father of Mattatayah Antigonus was indeed Judah, which is consistent with the Abba inscription.
What about the issue of the inscription's ancient Hebrew script that only Samaritans continue to use? Here is what Wikipedia says about the script: "Archaic Biblical Hebrew from the 10th to the 6th century BCE, corresponding to the Monarchic Period until the Babylonian Exile and represented by certain texts in the Hebrew Bible (Tanach), notably the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). Also called Old Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew. It was written in a form of the Canaanite script. (A script descended from this is still used by the Samaritans, see Samaritan Hebrew language.)" Link. The Samaritans broke from Temple worship at Jerusalem many centuries prior to the Roman period. They established their own temple on Mount Gerizim. The burial of Mattathay ben Judah in Jerusalem by a Kohen priest rules out either being a Samaritan. Why the archaic script then? In my view it was a form of code. Abba wished to preserve for later generations the location of the body of Mattathay ben Judah, while keeping this information from the authorities. This was an ancient and sacred Hebrew script that the Romans and Herodians would not be expected to know.FN1
The story of the inscription matches nicely with that of King Antigonus. We have a Kohen priest born in Jerusalem who was persecuted during the Roman period and then went into exile in Babylon, part of the Parthian kingdom. King Antigonus was allied with Parthia and executed by the Romans as an enemy of the state during this period. Abba revered the individual named Mattatay ben Judah to such an extent that he risked return from exile in Babylon to ensure that Mattatay was buried in Jerusalem. He buried Mattatay in East Jerusalem not far from the Mount of Olives. I submit that the person Abba went to such lengths to ensure his burial in East Jersualem was a high status individual, above an ordinary Kohen priest. This description fits that of a Hasmonean king. In my view, there is a reasonable likelihood that Abba's Mattatay ben Judah was in fact King Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king. As with all events from 2000 years ago, it is difficult to say with any degree of confidenence.
Why should the general public take interest in the potential tomb of King Antigonus? Readers of this blog may be aware that I champion the theory that Jesus the Nazarene was the grandson of King Antigonus. See Jesus Christ, Messiah of Levi? Given the manic attention paid to Jesus relics in Christendom, I'm surprised hardly any academics have found this tomb of note. FWIW, here is a video of a few individuals who do not appear to be academics entering the Abba Tomb.
Update: I recently came into possession of the 1977 scientific report regarding the bones found inside the ossuary at the Abba Tomb and have written a critique of said report.
JJR
3-31-2011
Reader Comments
FN1 My original version of this article suggested one potential motivation for Abba to rebury Mattathay ben Judah in Jerusalem was connected to the Jewish belief in resurrection. "The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the physical body after death." Philip A. Pecorino, Ph.D., see also Acts 23:8. The Sadducees held the opposite view (in fact, they did not believe in an afterlife much less bodily ressurrection). Josephus idenifies party affiliation, i.e., Pharisee or Sadducee, of some but not all members of the Hasmonean royal family. It is my understanding that most Hasmonean royalty were Sadducee with noted exceptions (see Queen Salome Alexandra). I am unware of any recorded party affiliation for King Antigonus; however, his father Aristobulus II was a Sadducee. We also know that King Antigonus had tremendous support among the Jewish people (according to Josephus) so it may be that he mended fences with the Pharisees during his brief reign as had his grandmother Queen Alexandra. That's speculation on my part though.
Finishing the thought, Jews traditionally believed that those buried "on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives * * * were guaranteed to be first in line when the dead were revived in the Messianic era." Prof. Segal article. The Tomb of Abba lies in East Jerusalem not far from the Mount of Olives. I suspect this tradition for Jews wishing to be buried on or near the Mount of Olives became cultural taking on significance beyond the original root believe in preferential resurrection for those so buried.
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