Conflict between the Jewish authorities and Jesus` reinterpretations of Torah as the struggle of defending national identity seen in the Gospel: a postcolonial study.

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ABSTRACT

Patrick Anthonio Vespereza Andrada. CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH

AUTHORITIES AND JESUS’REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS THE STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

Gospel is a part of literary work. The gospel focuses on the life of Jesus. Jesus, as a main character in the gospel, lives in the Jewish society which is under the control of the Roman Empire. The Jews struggle to defend their national identity from any kind of colonial effects. The Jews do expect a Messiah, the one to defend their national identity and set them free from colonial domination.

Jesus’ decision to be the Messiah, for some of the Jews, especially the authorities, endangers the Jewish national identity. This conflict comes to the persecution of Jesus. Using literary approach, this research elaborates more the conflict between these two parties.

This research has three objectives of the study. The first one is to see

Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah through his characterization, the second one is to

see how the reinterpretations bring conflict with the Jewish authorities, and the third one is to see the conflict from Postcolonial perspective. This is the focus of this research.

This research is a library research. Some printed and online sources are used. The primary source of this research is a Good News Translation bible. The secondary resources are some books, journals, and articles. There are two steps of doing the research. The first step is to select and arrange some related sources and theories in order to easily analyze the research questions. The second step is the analysis. The sources and theories are applied based on their relation to each research question.

The first finding of this study one is that Jesus claims himself as the Messiah, the Son of God. This is what makes him dares to reinterprets Torah based on his own perspective. He shares the idea of loving each other as the Yahweh’s creatures. The second one is that the new ideas from Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah, for the Jewish authorities, endanger the Jewish national identity and also weaken the anti-colonial struggle. The third finding is that the conflict actually shows the Jewish authorities desire to defend and reclaim their national identity as the thing that unites them all. This shows how important national identity is for the Jewish nation as the colonized nation.

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ABSTRAK

Patrick Anthonio Vespereza Andrada. CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH

AUTHORITIES AND JESUS’REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS THE STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

Injil, yang adalah bagian dari kitab suci, merupakan bagian dari karya sastra. Yesus yang merupakan tokoh utama dalam injil ini hidup bersama masyarakat Yahudi yang berada di bawah penjajahan kekaisaran Romawi. Bangsa Yahudi sebagai sebuah bangsa terjajah ingin mempertahankan identitas bangsanya dari segala pengaruh penjajahan. Bangsa Yahudi mengharapkan sosok Mesias untuk mempertahankan identitas bangsa mereka dan membebaskan mereka dari tangan penjajah. Keputusan Yesus untuk menjadi Mesias, bagi beberapa orang Yahudi khususnya para penguasa, dianggap membahayakan identitas bangsa mereka. Perseteruan terhadap Yesus pun muncul. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan sastra, penelitian ini menelaah lebih jauh perselisihan kedua pihak ini.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menelaah pemahaman kembali dari Yesus mengenai Taurat melalui penokohannya, yang kedua adalah menelaah bagaimana pemahaman kembali ini menimbulkan konflik dengan para penguasa Yahudi, dan yang ketiga adalah menelaah konflik ini dari sudut pandang Poskolonial. Inilah yang menjadi tujuan utama dari penelitian ini.

Penelitian ini bersifat kepustakaan. Sumber cetak dan online digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Sumber utama dari penelitian in adalah kitab suci Good News Translation. Sumber sekunder yang digunakan adalah beberapa buku, jurnal dan artikel. Tahap pertama dalam analisa adalah menyeleksi dan menyusun sumber-sumber dan teori-teori terkait untuk mempermudah pembahasan dalam rumusan masalah. Tahap selanjutnya adalah pembahasan. Sumber-sumber dan teori-teori diterapkan sesuai dengan keterkaitannya dengan setiap rumusan masalah.

Hasil yang dipaparkan adalah bahwa Yesus mengakui dirinya sebagai sang Mesias, anak allah. Inilah yang membuatnya berani untuk membuat pemahaman baru terhadap Taurat berdasarkan pandangannya sendiri. Ia menyampaikan ide untuk saling mengasihi sebagai makhluk ciptaan Yahweh. Kedua, ide yang tergambar dalam pemikiran Yesus ini, bagi para penguasa Yahudi, mengancam keberadaan identitas bangsa mereka sendiri dan juga melemahkan semangat perlawanan terhadap penjajah. Ketiga, konflik ini merupakan perjuangan dari para penguasa Yahudi untuk mempertahankan dan menyuarakan identitas bangsa sebagai sesuatu yang menyatukan mereka semua. Hal ini menunjukan betapa pentingnya identitas bangsa bagi bangsa Yahudi sebagai bangsa terjajah.

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CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES AND

JESUS’ REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS THE

STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN

IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

PATRICK ANTHONIO VESPEREZA ANDRADA Student Number: 114214101

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2015

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CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES AND

JESUS’ REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS THE

STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN

IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

PATRICK ANTHONIO VESPEREZA ANDRADA Student Number: 114214101

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2015

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vii

True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. -Socrates-

Pleasure in the job put perfection in the work. -Aristotle-

Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realize your hidden potential and power. Let difficulties know that you too are difficult.

-Dr. A.P.I. Abdul Kalam-

And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will

know that you are my disciples. -John 13: 34-35-

There is no shortcut in learning. What you have to do to understand a text is to read and RE-READ the text.

-Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A.-

For all the dreamers and all of you who are working on your undergraduate thesis. You always produce SOMETHING in your life in everything you do. Even when

you do NOTHING, you still produce SOMETHING… and it is NOTHING. -me-

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viii

For my beloved parents, families, lecturers,

friends, those who support me, and those…

WHO DON’T LIKE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Mr. Paulus Sarwoto, M.A., Ph.D. for his patience, supports and love towards me during the making of this research from the very beginning until this final script. I also would like to express my gratitude to my co-advisor, Mrs. Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, M.Hum. for her advice and supports, and also to Mbak Ninik who has helped me for some administrative matters. I also give my gratitude to the library of Sanata Dharma University which has provided materials and sources that I need for the process.

The special gratitude I give to God and Jesus as God’s Logos and Messiah for the great blessing so that I can finish doing this research. I also give my gratitude to my families, especially my grandmother who has always supported and prayed for me. I want to thank Bu Mamik, Mbak Andri and Mbak Pipit who always serve me some food everyday when I get hungry. I also want to thank my friends, seniors and juniors in Karate INKAI for the happiness and smiles that always make me happy of being with them, and to my game net-friends; Counter Strike and Age of Empires warriors who always make me relax after doing my research, and also my classmates who have accompanied me for 9 semesters in this campus. They are the best friends I have ever had. For all the names that I do not mention here, I also would like to thank them for all the support and love. May God bless them all.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... ii

APPROVAL PAGE ... iii

ACCAPTANCE PAGE ... iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... vi

MOTTO PAGE. ... vii

DEDICATION PAGE… ... viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x

ABSTRACT ... xi

ABSTRAK ... xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………...……… .1

A. Background of the Study………...………... .1

B. Problem Formulation………...7

C. Objectives of the Study………...7

D. Definition of Terms………...8

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE………...9

A. Review of Related Studies………..…...9

B. Review of Related Theories………..21

1. Theory of Characterization………...21

2. Theory of Conflict………...23

3. Postcolonial Theory……..………...……25

3.1.Theory of Identity………..…………...27

3.2.Theory of National Identity………..29

3.3.Theory of Hybridity………...31

C. Review of Related Backgrounds………..32

1. The Jews under Babylonian Rule………...33

a. The Jews in Captivity………..…………33

2. The Jews under Persian Rule………..34

3. The Jews under Greek Rule……… …..35

a. Hellenization of the Jews………36

b. Maccabean Revolt………...37

4. The Jews under Roman Rule……… 38

D. Theoretical Framework……….41

CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY……….………...42

A. Object of the Study………..44

B. Approach of the Study………...44

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CHAPTER IV : ANALYSIS……….………....48

A.Jesus’ Reinterpretations of Torah………...………...48

1. Reinterpretation on Anger………...50

2. Reinterpretation on Adultery………...52

3. Reinterpretation on Divorce………..53

4. Reinterpretation on Vows……….………54

5. Reinterpretation on Revenge……….…...55

6. Reinterpretation on Sabbath………...56

7. Reinterpretation on King: to pay taxes or not……...59

8. Reinterpretation on the Son of God……….…...60

B.Conflict within the Society concerning Jesus’ Reinterpretations of Torah………..65

1. Reinterpretation on King: to pay taxes or not…………...66

2. Reinterpretation on Revenge and Love for Enemies……68

3. Reinterpretation on Sabbath………. 71

4. Reinterpretation on the Son of God………..73

C.The Conflict as the Struggle of Defending National Identity……...86

1. Jewish National Identity………... 86

a. Plot to Kill Jesus……..………91

b. Jesus before Pilate: Loyalty to Rome as Manipulated Identity...……….93

CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION……….……….98

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xii ABSTRACT

Patrick Anthonio Vespereza Andrada. CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH

AUTHORITIES AND JESUS’REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS

THE STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

This research has three objectives of the study. The first one is to see

Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah through his characterization, the second one is to

see how the reinterpretations bring conflict with the Jewish authorities, and the second one is to see the conflict from Postcolonial perspective. This is the focus of this research.

Yahweh’s creatures. The second one is that the new ideas from Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah, for the Jewish authorities, endanger the Jewish national identity and also weaken the anti-colonial struggle. The third finding is that the conflict actually shows the Jewish authorities desire to defend and reclaim their national identity as the thing that unites them all. This shows how important national identity is for the Jewish nation as the colonized nation.

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xiii ABSTRAK

Patrick Anthonio Vespereza Andrada. CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH

AUTHORITIES AND JESUS’REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS

THE STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

Injil yang adalah bagian dari kitab suci merupakan bagian dari karya sastra. Yesus yang merupakan tokoh utama dalam injil ini hidup bersama masyarakat Yahudi yang berada di bawah penjajahan kekaisaran Romawi. Bangsa Yahudi sebagai sebuah bangsa terjajah ingin mempertahankan identitas bangsanya dari segala pengaruh penjajahan. Bangsa Yahudi mengharapkan sosok Mesias untuk mempertahankan identitas bangsa mereka dan membebaskan mereka dari tangan penjajah. Keputusan Yesus untuk menjadi Mesias, bagi beberapa orang Yahudi khususnya para penguasa, dianggap membahayakan identitas bangsa mereka. Perseteruan terhadap Yesus pun muncul. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan sastra, penelitian ini menelaah lebih jauh perselisihan kedua pihak ini.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Literature is a media to express one’s ideas, emotion, feeling, and thought about something. William Hudson in his book, An Introduction to the Study of Literature said that

Literature is the expression of life through the medium of language. It can be regarded as something essential as it contains real life, people, thought, and their feeling about life (Hudson, 1910: 10).

From his statement, Hudson wants to say that literature reflects human’s real life, thought and feelings and experiences of everyday life. Literature uses language as the medium. Hudson also added that in literature, there are some

reasons of creating a literary work. First one is one’s desire of self-expression

interest; one’s interest in people and their doings; one’s interest in reality

(Hudson, 1910: 11). Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in their book, Theory of Literature, say that “One way is to define literature as everything printed”. (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 20). This means that literary work is mostly in printed such as medical profession in the fourteenth century or planetary motion in the middle Ages (Wellek et al, 1956: 20). They also add that “literature represents life”. It includes life in large measure, society, and also the subjective world of the individual can also be the object of literary “imitation” (Wellek et al, 1956: 94). This can be said that a bible can also be categorized as a literary work as it contains history of humankind and its society at the certain time and becomes the

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representation of human life which contains self-expression interest in reality. Ying Han, from Education Department of Zhejiang Province, argues in his journal with the title “Interdisciplinary Interpretation of the Bible” that “The bible is a complete fusion of art of literature, theology, ethics, and historical speculation”. Here, Han gives his argument about the status of a bible that it also conceives both religious value and literary value which are inseparable (Han, 2015: 170). The bible itself, according to Han, teaches us about the life of ancient world, which in

this case is the ancient Hebrews; Jewish nation, “the origin of Christianity, the

early church” and many other historiesrelated to the Hebrew’s civilization and the

sequence of Christian’s events. He also argues that

The Bible is in narration. Superficially it is just plots, but in its structure, it contains historical, cultural and philosophical elements. It requires careful analysis to get the reasonable comprehension and answer. The Bible provides many perspectives to let either readers or teachers and students make analysis, synthesization and estimation freely, critically and creatively (Han, 2015: 172).

From this statement, Han wants to say that a bible can be recognized as a narration, a story which has many elements that let everyone who read it have the chance to scrutinize it freely from many different perspectives using careful analysis in order to comprehend it fairly. From the literary perspective, the bible should not be only regarded as stories (Han, 2015: 172). Moreover, it should be regarded entirely as literature. The theme it conveys is mainly about “love and redemption” from the beginning and the end of human being; “the creation, paradise, temptation, punishment, repentance, obstinate, and redemption”. A bible

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also has some genres like another literary work. Han also finds some genres and literary features in a bible

Old Testament includes the myth, tale, history, short story and philosophical story; New Testament has gospel, allegory and epistolary style. New Testament also contains literary features, especially the gospel, apostle letter and apocalyptic literature (Han, 2015: 172).

This shows that a bible also has the same characteristics with another literary work. This can certainly help people in order to understand not only about the history of ancient Hebrew and early church but also to develop the critical and creative thinking. Nonetheless, in analyzing a bible as a literary text, it is important to consider the criticism applied. According to Leland Ryken, a professor of English from Wheaton College mentions in his articles with the title

“Words of Delight: The Bible as Literature”. In his article, Ryken says that in

order to analyze a bible, the student should comprehend the literary criticism. The criticism that fits with the bible is traditional criticism.

… what biblical scholars need to hear most from literary critics is that old-

fashioned- critical concepts of plot, character, setting, point of view and diction may be more useful than more glamorous and sophisticated theories (Ryken, 1990: 8).

This means that in order to fit with the context of life and society in the bible, students should use the vintage theory. The traditional criticism he means depends on the genre and the genre is the literary work itself (Ryken, 1990: 8). The genre, which in this case is the bible, has specific qualities which make it different from another genre of literary work. Hence, it will be easier for students to understand the impulses. Akin to a literary work, a bible also has impulses which embody the imagination and experience or reality of the bible. Ryken

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mentions them as theological, historical and literary impulses. These three impulses then be the distinctiveness of a bible with another genre of literary work (Ryken, 1990: 8). The application of literary criticism to the bible, according to Ryken, began many years ago in high schools and college English Departments. The National Council of Teacher of English, in 1975, made a survey and found out that the courses of bible using literary criticism got the top-10 ranked of the 180 that commonly offered in high school courses (Ryken, 1990: 4). Even though this research has been done many years ago, there are still some solicitude that whether or not a bible should conceive the acceptance of being a fiction. Ryken says that this fear was actually appeared as the misconception of a literary work itself. He says that “fictionality” is not an essence of a literary work. What makes the text literary is not the historical and fictive elements but more to how the author of the work designs the work; “the writer’s selectivity and molding of the material” by paying no attention to whether or not it really happens. To apply the literary criticism to the bible will basically concern to what makes a text literary (Ryken, 1990: 12).

As a bible can be analyzed using literary criticism, it conveys the story of ancient Hebrew; the civilization of Jewish people until civilized under the empire of foreign countries, it can certainly be observed using the literary theory which deals with imperialism, colonization and their furthermore impacts within a society. It is the Postcolonial theory which deals with this kind of problem. It is used as it is able to retrace the trail of imperialism and colonization, then, articulate the impacts and the risen-up problems found. In this case, the problems

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found in the bible related to this context can be analyzed by using Postcolonial theory. R.S. Sugirtharajah, in his book with the title The Postcolonial Biblical Reader said that

What postcolonial biblical criticism does is to focus on the whole issue of expansion, domination and imperialism as central forces in defining both biblical narratives and biblical interpretation (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 17). From this statement, Sugirtharajah wants to say that the focus of postcolonial biblical criticism is all about the problem of the development of imperial power which becomes the main forces or factors of defining the biblical narratives and the way it is interpreted or understood by people.

In this research, the writer uses a bible as a primary source. This research tries to see the society in the gospels which in this case are the Jewish people who live in a postcolonial context as they, first, are the ex-colonized nation and, second, are still living under the Roman Empire. Living in this kind of situation, the Jews must undergo the consequences of being the colonized nation; the crisis of identity. Despite of the fact, they still struggle and do their best to defend their national identity, a valuable thing that unites them all and become one nation as the Jewish nation. This research scrutinizes the problems of the two main agents, the Jewish authorities and Jesus. This research also observes what makes the conflict appear between those parties, and then mainly aim at how the problems, from postcolonial view, perform the Jews’ struggle of defending their national identity. Using the additional and supporting historical background, the history of the Jewish people is observed in this research to see what colonial factors affect and shape their identity, their way of thinking and act, and why Torah is

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considered as one of their national identities which they respect so much. The reason of choosing this topic is because the writer wants to observe many problems appeared in the Jewish nation as a colonized nation and how this condition shapes their way of thinking, deeds and actions which then leads to the conflict with Jesus. There are many studies which also use postcolonial theory that discuss the problem similar to what this topic does but those studies have different objectives. This research manages to develop the study of the Jewish nation as a colonized nation by adding some more objectives and findings different from what other studies do. What makes this research worth studied is the developing of the new way of illuminating biblical texts. Sugirtharajah says that the biblical studies have already used external sources and historical criticism in order to enlighten the bible (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 5). Postcolonialism, however, is the new critical theory that can develop the study of biblical text. Fernando Segovia says in his essay that postcolonial theory is the “most appropriate, most

enlightening and most fruitful” theory to analyze the bible as this theory has its

three ways of identifying the problems; “the inescapable and omnipresent reality

of empires” which constructs Judaism and early Christianity texts, Western

interpretation of Jewish and Christian writings that is affected by the colonial influences, and the biblical critics came from the earlier empires who tried to threaten the received readings (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 5).

Although this research uses bible as a primary source, the theory, methodology and the analysis do not use a theological perspective or criticism to scrutinize the problems. Rather, as a literary research, it certainly uses some

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literary approaches and theories. This research elaborates the problems related to Jesus and the Jewish authority then analyzes it using some related theories which are supported also by some related studies and backgrounds.

B. Problem Formulation

As the effort to see the resistance of the Jews toward Jesus’ criticism of Torah, the writer divides the problems into three research questions.

1. What are Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah?

2. How do Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah bring conflict in the society

especially with the Jewish authorities?

3. How does this conflict reinforce the Jewish authorities’ effort of defending the Jewish national identity?

C. Objectives of the Study

The writer’s aim of this study is first, to know Jesus’ reinterpretations that

show his attitude of Torah. The second one is to know how these reinterpretations lead to the resistance of the Jews. In this part, the writer wants to see the reason why Jesus’ reinterpretations of Torah can have a clash with the Jews and emerge as their resistance to it. The last one is to know how this conflict and resistance actually reflect the Jewish authorities’ effort of defending the Jewish national identity.

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D. Definitions of Terms 1. Torah :

Torah refers to all tradition of the Jews but the Torah refers to five books of Moses. It is the most important document used by the Jews for ages. The Jews believed that it is a given from God to Moses in Mount Sinai during their journey to the land of Israel. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/texts/torah.shtml)

2. _{Jewish authorities:}

Known also as the Sanhedrin which comes from the Greek word Sunedrion which means “the council”, consists of seventy one persons. It is composed of three professional groups; the High Priests, the Elders, and Scribes. At the time of Jesus, there are two parties in this group; the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The authority of this group was broad and far-reaching, legislation, administration, justice. They have responsibility in identifying and confirming the Messiah (http://billpetro.com/history-of-the-sanhedrin).

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

This research is a Postcolonial research which observes the problem of Jewish people as colonized nation. Therefore, in order to support this research, the writer uses some related studies that have the same field with this research. First,

the writer uses an essay written by Philip Chia with the title. “On Naming the

Subject: Postcolonial Reading of Daniel 1”. In this essay, Chia uses Postcolonial theory in order to see the problem of Babylonian Empire in the Jewish nation and how this condition influences the writing of Daniel. Chia begins by mentioning four characters who play role and have conflict in Daniel 1; King of Judah or Jehoiakim, King of Babylon or Nebuchadnezzar, God of Judah or Adonai, and God of Babylon or Shinar. Chia quotes what Fewell said that the conflict is actually between God of Judah or Adonai and King of Babylon or Nebuchadnezzar (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 172). Chia finds the irony in the story in what these two characters involve. First, though Nebuchadnezzar thinks he and Adonai are enemies, he never knows that actually they are both allies and have the same objective, it is to defeat Jerusalem. The second irony is though Nebuchadnezzar thinks he has Adonai defeated, he never knows that actually it is Adonai who hands Jehoiakim and Jerusalem over to him. Chia quotes what Fewell argues about the exposing of these two ironies:

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First, is to offer a theological explanation for the defeat of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. Second, it is to present a world in which Adonai is the sovereign Lord who is able to manipulate foreign rulers, even unbelievers, and is in control of events. Third, it is to reflect anger of

Adonai upon the people who have gone against Adonai‟s will. Fourth, by participating in the destruction of Jerusalem, Adonai brings an end to the

“older story” which “foreshadows” a “new story” about to be unfolded

with the possibility of hope (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 172).

From this statement, it can be said that the writer of Daniel theologically characterizes Adonai as the sovereign God who is powerful and able to control anything based on his will even to give both destruction and hope to his adherents. Hence, Chia then relates his way of thinking with the concept of Postcolonialism.

Chia finds that the writer of Daniel‟s postcolonial ideology is mirrored by Daniel

himself. Looking from what the narrator experiences, it can be said that there is a problem of identity crisis in the story.

Chia mentions some examples of this problem. First is the naming of the subjects. Here, Jehoiakim and some of his friends are given new Chaldean names from Nebuchadnezzar (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 176). The second example is the

giving of Babylonian‟s foods to Jehoiakim and his friends (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 179). Though these Jerusalem people have no enough power to resist the Chaldean names given by Nebuchadnezzar, they still can refuse to eat

Babylonian‟s food (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 179). What the writer of Daniel wants to show from these examples is to “reclaim one‟s true past”. As food is the basic distinctive custom of all cultures, changing it means putting the cultural identity into question (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 181). Here, the narrator can articulate the meaning of resistance toward the imperial system as the dominating power. Another reason of exposing the ironies, as the sequence of find a voice and

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identity, is “to erode the colonizer‟s ideology by which their past had been

devalued”. Chia shows how the writer of Daniel characterizes Nebuchandezzar as

“an arrogant fool” who never realized that it was the narrator‟s lord who makes

him victorious. By doing this, Chia argues that the writer of Daniel wants to share the history which devalues the colonizer. This means that the writer of Daniel

considers the colonizers “from a taker to a receiver”. This of course “upgrades” the identity of the colonized from the “passive manipulated to active manipulator, and from powerless loser to powerful giver”. Here, the narrator who mirrors the writer of Daniel shows how, as the colonized, experience the identity crisis as he and his friends are in a hybrid situation; being in the identity of the nativity and the identity imposed by the colonizer. What lies behind the problems, according to Chia, are religious factors implanted with culture. The faith of the narrator also takes part here. The narrator relies on no military power to defend him but religious power. By relaying on faith, he is the victorious.

What the writer wants to look from the findings of this study is the problem of identity or the identity crisis undergone by the Jerusalem people as Jewish nation. Though they are in a hybrid situation, they still struggle to defend their identity as Jewish people. This related study shows its relevance with this research as it also talks about the impact of colonialism experienced by the Jewish people and how the Jewish people reacted to it. In this research, the idea of hybridity from this study is used as the background to see the context of colonialism from where they start to conflict with Jesus.

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The impacts of Babylonian Empire influence the writing of scripture and the Jewish culture. It does not only influence the writing of Daniel but also the writing of Kings. Another study that supports this idea is written by Kari Latuvus

with the title, “Decolonizing Yahweh: A Postcolonial Reading of 2 Kings 24 -251”. In this essay, Latuvus uses Postcolonial theory in order to see the problem of Babylonian Empire experienced by Jehoiachin, the next king of Judah after Jehoiakim. The aim of his study is to first, elucidate the message in the end of 2 Kings, more elaborates on the rehabilitation of Jehoiachin, and the second is to observe how theology is affected by colonialism. In his essay, Latuvus finds out that 2 Kings 24-25 mainly talks about the loss of political and social independence of southern state of Judah. Latuvus says that the “core crisis” of Hebrew Bible is the destruction of Jerusalem temple and the deportation of Jewish people. This deportation then makes Judah dispers and consequently leads to the contact and interaction with other cultures, which Latuvus says as “multicultural Orient”. As the result, this also leads to the condition of uncertainty then threats the ethnic identity ( Sugirtharajah, 2006: 186 ).

Politics of Babylon plays a serious role here. Colonialism takes part in shaping the way Israelites religion and how they pray to their God and also their contents of theology. This is because the Israelites construct their relationship with their God based on the reality they have as the colonized people. Latuvus says that the power of imperialism is showed through the destruction of the city (25: 9-10), the slaughter of royal family and officers (25: 7, 11), and deportation of some society groups ( 24: 12, 14, 15-16; 25:27, 11 ). In the deportation,

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Latuvus finds out that it only involves several specific groups or those who are wealthy and have special social status and professional skills. In another side,

those who are left are “the poor of the land”. This marginalized group then by

Latuvus, is never been mentioned again in the latter text.

Compared to those who are politically related to the empire, this group are not important at all to be named, deported and even killed. This group, during the exile, establish a new governmental system in their homeland. They even make a rebellion but fail which cause the destruction of the city, temple, and palace, houses and walls (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 188). Latuvus finds out that all Babylonian cruelties mentioned in the text are always caused by the deeds of Israelites that do something against what their God wills. Both Jehoiachin and Zedekiah were the main people who caused the major destruction of Jerusalem as they both with their people committed a rebellion against the empire. Every rebellious activity they make only let them to the disastrous facts. Hence, Latuvus finds the inferiority attitude of the writer of 2 Kings. This inferior attitude is found in the characteristic of Gedaliah (25: 24). Babylonian Empire is considered as the one

which “is not to be afraid of...Babylonian should be “served” and the colonial power would let good things happen” and everything will be alright

(Sugirtharajah, 2006: 189). This shows how inferior Gedaliah is. In deuteronomistic theology, Latuvus finds out that the way Israelites make relationship with Yahweh is by serving. However, in this colonial context, it is not Yahweh to be served but the empire. Latuvus argues that

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It seems as if the deuteronomistic Yahweh- talked had been transferred into a new context to create loyalty towards the colonial power, as if it would be the divine. Imperial power is seen and described by divine nations in order to underline how good it is (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 189). This means that the power of imperialism causes a transformation of context constructed by the Israelites in order to fit with the colonial reality they are undergoing. The empire then should be considered good by the colonized. Latuvus says that the last two episodes of 2 Kings have the more colonialism interpretation from all parts of the book which means that these episodes maintain also the inferior attitude. In these episodes, mentioned how kind the empire is. Jehoiachin is released, he is allowed to change his clothes, and he is given a special status in the empire. He can sit down and eat in the same table with the king. However, according to Latuvus, this is a form of “inner colonization of the writer”. This means the writer of 2 Kings focuses more on the good relationship between the imperial power and colonized than the nationalistic spirit and rebellion. Jehoiachin is free from prison and “rehabilitated” but he is still under the control and strict rule of the “superior forces” (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 190). Latuvus says that Yahweh plays an important role in the story though he is mentioned very little, just like the poor of the land. Latuvus says that three important things in the whole story which affect the changes of Yahweh characterization; king of Judah does evil things, it was Yahweh who hands the Israelites to the Babylonian, and Yahweh has an anger-based-act personality. He is the man behind the incidents and the ally of the imperial power, different to what classical liberation theological view that he is the one who will set free the oppressed and the poor in the story of Exodus. This will strengthen the

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characteristic of Yahweh as the one who is very responsible of Babylonian imperialism in the deuteronomistic history. The whole God-talks also changed because Yahweh acts based on his anger. It is different with Yahweh characteristic in pre- deuteronomistic tradition where Yahweh is seen as the love giver, source of life and blessing, and the creator of life. All these transformation, according to Latuvus, is basically influenced by the political power which compelled in theology (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 190). Latuvus ends his essay by giving some steps of decolonizing this image of Yahweh.

From this essay, the writer finds out that the colonization does affect the writing of the scribe and Jewish theology. Jewish nation really have a high regard for their Hebrew Bible. The figuration of Yahweh in the scribes which is constructed by colonial reality influences the Jewish way of thinking and acts. In short, the Jews‟ Hebrew Bible also plays an important and determined role in constructing the Jews way of thinking and acts. This study shows its relevance with this research as it talks about how important The Hebrew Bible is for the Jewish People. In this research, the writer uses this idea to see how the Jewish people recognize Torah as part of their scribes which finally put them in opposition with Jesus.

The fact that Hebrew Bible also takes part in shaping the Jews‟ way of

thinking and acts becomes the very precious opportunity for the empire to strengthen the imperial ideology and extraction. This argument is proved by Jon

L. Berquist in his essay with the title, “Postcolonialism and Imperial Motives for Canonization”. In this essay, Berquist uses Posctolonial theory in order to see the

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problem of Persian imperialism internalized by the Jewish people, in this case the Yehud people in Jerusalem. The aim of his study is to describe the relation of

Persian imperialism to the Yehudites, how the Persia‟s imperialism finally affects

the canonization; what motivates the process of (re)producing the Yehudites‟

canonical scripture. During the time of Persian Empire in Yehud, the empire has been taking away the resources of the land which are the food, products and even human as the necessary task of imperialism. The empire then dominates also the physical resources of a large are for more than two centuries (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 79).

In order to easily take control over the land, the empire, in this case under Darius era, funds the temple construction in Jerusalem. This temple then plays not only its religious role but also political administrative role. Berquist also presumes that this temple even becomes a storehouse to keep the resources to be given to the empire. The Yehudites are turned into a long-term-extraction colony for the empire. In order to strengthen this colonial condition, Darius affects not only the material, economy, and infrastructure of the colony but also something more important related to the “ideological superstructure” of them (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 80). During the imperial era, Darius approves the colony to set up their own legal system of society including history and traditions but these are made, of course,

under the imperial‟s control. The empire establishes imperial administrative, consisting of the appointed governors and scribes, which is centred in the temple

to produce then publish documents, known as the King‟s Law contained laws and

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Berquist shows examples of this King‟s Law asserted in the canonical scripture or

the Hebrew Bible texts

… the reference of King‟s Law in extant Hebrew Bible texts (Ezra 7:26),

the emphasis on public proclamation of the law (Deut 4:44–5:1; Josh 24:1–28; Neh 8:1–18), and the use of Aramaic similar to the imperial language in some texts (Gen 31:47; Jer 10:11; Dan 2:4–7:28; and Ezra 4:8–68, 7:12–16) … a fifth century canon (or pre-canon ) … and that a body of literature corresponding to the Primary History (Genesis–2 Kings) and including the Latter Prophets (Isaiah --Malachi) (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 82).

These are the examples of imperial ideology found in the Hebrew Bible which from them, the empire then constructs the Yehudite community‟s mind to

make such justification about their validity as colony. In this case, the Yehudites‟

mind is constructed to realize that they cannot rule themselves and the destruction of their land is caused by their own deed. That is why they really need Persia which is “anointed” by their God to protect them. Moreover, the law and tithes of the empire should be obeyed as the empire is the manifest of their God. The offerings should be given to the temple which is controlled by the empire (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 86). This is the way Darius strengthen the colonial condition. He affected the ideological superstructure of the colony; the canonical scripture, the Jewish ideology which becomes the consciousness of the Jewish people themselves. According to Berquist, this is because Canonical scripture played a very important role as religion, along with the scripture conceived the norms, and assumptions of the ruling class in the society (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 87). This is what motivates the canonization and how the strategy worked in the society: as the empire needs to make Yehud as a long-term-extraction colony and

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they finds out that the canonical scripture is very important in the society, the empire takes part in the producing of the canonical scripture and uses it as the best mean of oppressing the Yehudites then easily advances the ideology of the empire.

What the writer wants to look from the findings of this essay is the problem that the producing of canonical scripture has been affected by the

colonizer‟s ideology. This means that there must be a mixture of the colonised

identity and the colonizers‟ as canonical scripture originally conceives the identity

of the Yehudites. These related studies give some adequate information about the background of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the valuable thing which conceives their past history, laws, culture and tradition which they honour and preserve as their identity. These studies also give information about the relation of Jewish Hebrew Bible and imperialism; how imperial power constructs it and how it is used to strengthen imperial power. This study shows its relevance with this research as it talks about how imperial power managed to dominate the Jewish people using the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the national identity of the Jews. In this research, the writer uses the idea of this study as the starting point and the background to see why the Jewish people oppose Jesus criticism of Torah.

The Jewish Hebrew Bible or scriptures conceives the norms and assumption of the ruling class in the society (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 87). This means that the Jews must obey all laws written inside. During the Roman era, there is a council, a Jewish authority, established in order to preserve the scripture by making people always obey it, named the Sanhedrin (Houtart, 1976: 18). In the

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gospels, this group is many times involved in arguments with Jesus. The reason is the different viewpoint of understanding Torah, part of Jewish scriptures. In order to see further this problem, as this research aim to see this conflict, the writer uses

Helmut Merkel‟s essay with the title, “The Opposition between Jesus and Judaism” as the related study. In this essay, Merkel argues that the conflicts

between the Jewish authority and Jesus are the result of transformation between the synagogue and the church (Bammel and Moule, 1983: 129). This is because, Jesus is considered as the member of “a nationalistic resistance fighter”. Bultman, in Bammel and Moule, mentions some deeds of Jesus that trigger the conflict:

...breaking the Sabbath commandment, violation of the rules of purity, polemic against Jewish legalism, association with outcasts like tax-gatherers and prostitutes (Bammel and Moule, 1983: 130).

From these examples, these actions Jesus does can be said as the way he attacks the Pharisees or just the Torah itself. Not only as a Zealot, Jesus is also, by some recent studies, assumed to be the member of Qumran Essenes though there are no clear connection and evidence about it (Bammel and Moule, 1983: 131). Tax-gatherers are the most hated society class in the society. Jesus‟ good attitude toward the tax-gatherer is considered as disgraceful provocation looking from the Jewish perspective. Along with the tax-gatherers, the Samaritans are also hated by the Jewish people for their mix of race. The parable of “the good Samaritan” is considered as an insulting outrage for the Jews especially for the “patriotic Jew” (Bemmel and Moule, 1983: 136). Merkel argues that the most difficult and obscure Christian text which is under debate about Jesus‟ characteristic is about his attitude toward the Gentiles. In one side, Jesus seems like avoids seeing the

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Samaritans like what is stated in Matthew 10:5. However, in other hand, Merkel in Bemmel and Moule says that Jesus treats the Gentiles the same as the tax-gatherers, the Samaritans and the sinners (Bemmel and Moule, 1983:134-135).

Merkel takes some example of Jesus‟ attitude toward the Gentiles from Luke

10:23, 11:29, 13:28. There Jesus puts the Samaritans as the good examples and comparison to the evil Jews. Jesus ”openness” to everybody, according to Merkel, is the way he actually separates religion from the “national soil”. Through this attitude, he is actually organizing the “Gentile mission”. Jesus himself many times causes some problems related to the interpretation of Torah. Merkel finds it in the saying of Matthew 8:21. Though it is not a big problem, this can be the attack to Torah as this is about the Fifth Commandment. Another important case concerning Torah is about Sabbath violation. Though Jesus himself thinks that he actually keeps the Sabbath holy but the Jews have different idea. Merkel says that Jesus actually reveals his contemporary understanding of Torah (Bemmel and Moule, 1983:138). By many times referring himself to “Son of Man”, Jesus stands not under but above Torah. This is the biggest reason of the conflict between him

and the Pharisees. Jesus‟ attitude, in this essay, is the trigger of conflict with some

of the Jews, especially the Jewish authority. Jesus then is considered as “a disobedient son”, a parable in the Torah, who deserves to be stoned as the punishment (Bemmel and Moule, 1983: 136). The most ground of conflict is Torah. In the end of his essay, Merkel concludes that the conflict of the Jewish authority and Jesus is actually inescapable as he brings his new way of thinking and breaks the old and conventional one.

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From this related study, the writer finds out that the persecution of Jesus is

caused by his different standpoint of Torah. Jesus‟ way of interpreting Torah is different from what the Jewish people have in their Law. What the writer wants to see from this related study is what makes the clash between the Jewish authorities and Jesus. This study shows its relevance with this research as it also talks about the conflict emerged between Jesus and the Jewish people, especially the Jewish authorities. In this research, the writer also scrutinizes the conflict upholds in this related study but from Postcolonial theory.

These four related studies discuss about the struggle of the Jews in defending their national identity. The first three studies discuss about their relationship with the colonizers, and the last related studies about relationship with Jesus. In this research, the writer will develop these studies. The first three studies will be the starting point of the Postcolonial views. Because they discuss the colonial situation in which the Jews are in, these three studies can help the writer to understand the conflict in the gospel from Postcolonial views. While the last one study will be the starting point to observe the reason of persecuting Jesus from the Postcolonial perspective.

B. Review of Related Theories

In order to be able to analyze the problems, the writer uses some related theories which can explain the problems in this research.

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1. Theory of Characterization

Characterization is the way the author describes a character in his work. Perrine in his book, Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, says that there are two ways of characterization the author makes. First way is direct presentation. In this way the author directly describes or analyzes the character. The author can also use another character as the medium. The second way is indirect presentation. Here, the author describes the character by showing what the character does. Hence, the author lets the reader think and determine about the characteristics of the character (Arp and Johnson, 2009: 162). For the more accurate ways of characterization, the writer uses the theory written by M.J.Murphy.

M.J. Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students mentions some ways of characterizing or how to observe the characteristic of a character in a literary work.

a. Character‟s speech

This is the way the author describes a character to what he or she says in the work. Here, through what the character says, the reader can see the characteristics of the character.

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b. Character‟s reactions

This is the way the author describes a character by showing how the character “reacts” to certain situations and events. Hence, the reader can get a clue

about the character‟s characteristics.

c. Character‟s thoughts

This is the way the author describes a character through what the character is thinking about. Here, as it is in thought, the character can do what do what he/she cannot do in his or her real life. Here, the reader can understand the

“secret” or “inmost” thoughts of a character then can understand the characteristics of him/her.

d. Character‟s mannerism

This is the way the author describes a character by showing what the character mannerism; habits, what he/she usually does (Murphy, 1972: 161-173).

2. Theory of Conflict

Robert Stanton in his book, An Introduction to Fiction says that there are two types of conflict.

1. Internal conflict

This conflict happens inside the character himself without any force from the outside. This happens when a character has two desires in his or her mind

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which make him or herself arguing and don‟t know which one to take. This conflict happens inside the mind of a character (Stanton, 1965: 16).

2. External conflict

This conflict happens including other selves. In this case, it happens between a character and other characters. This happens when both of them have their own desires and arguing each other. This conflict happens between a character and other character (s) and also with nature (Stanton, 1965: 16).

Perrine added that conflict happens as the impact from the clash of action, ideas, desires or wills. A character may have this conflict against other characters or a group of character. This could be as the external force: physical nature, society or “fate”. The conflict may be physical, mental, emotional and moral (Perrine, 2009: 104). This means that a conflict happens when there is a clash between oneself and his mind and also a clash between others.

Marvin Olsen in his book, Societal Dynamics: Exploring Macrosociology said that conflict always happens involving two or more actors, individual or organizational units who are looking for a common goal which is limited or may be different goals which are not compatible. When the characters are in conflict, they tend to use social power to his opponent and ties to control or influence the situation (Olsen, 1991: 100). He also added that there are some kinds of conflict

1. Latent and overt conflict. This conflict exists when two characters have a desire, goal or interest which is opposing each other but they do not “interact

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over it”. This can easily lead into conflict which including social power (Olsen, 1991: 101).

2. Verbal and action conflict. This conflict involving words to persuade,

“demand, discredit, threaten” other character. This conflict also involving physically, economically, legally, or socially in nature (Olsen, 1991: 101).

3. Pragmatic and ideological conflict. This conflict involves the “specific objection” which is considered as fundamental belief which is deeply held such as to win the election and to obtain any important place in governmental system (Olsen, 1991: 101).

4. Regulated and unregulated conflict. The regulated conflict is considered as conflict which is conducted with moral, norms or rules that is accepted by people. The unregulated conflict is different. It is the opposite of the regulated conflict. It is the conflict conducted without any norms or rules (Olsen, 1991: 101).

From these explanations, conflict can be understood as the clash or the different ways of thinking, act, or understanding something which is done by a certain character or group against he himself, other character (s), group, or against nature.

3. Postcolonial theory

Before talking about postcolonial, it is better to know what colonial is. Elleke Boehmer in her book, Colonial and Postcolonial Literature defines colonialism as “a settlement of territory the exploitation development of resources

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and the attempt to govern the indigenous inhabitants of occupied lands” (Boehmer, 2005: 2). In this case, the colonizer came and took anything over to be their own. Ashis Nandy in his book, The Intimate Enemy, has the same idea that

there are two forms of colonialism which first is the „”physical conquest of territory and the second one is the colonization of the minds, selves and cultures” (Nandy, 11: 1983). He also added that the first mode was used in violent, force and greed. The second one is that the rationalist, modernist, liberals who had a notion to civilized the uncivilized.

Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin in their book, Key Concept of Post-Colonial Studies say that:

Post-colonialism (or often postcolonialism) deals with the effects of colonization on cultures and societies (Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin, 1998: 186).

This means that postcolonialism is about colonization and its impact in the societies. This term was sometimes used by some historians after the Second World War era. Despite of the fact, from the late 1970s this term has been used by some literary critics in order to analyze some kind of problems of colonization and its impacts toward cultures. Before that, in 1960s, this field used to focus on the study of Commonwealth literature or the New Literature in English and then it was used to know about the political, linguistic, and cultural experiences from the societies that lived under the European control (Ashcroft, Griffiths, Tiffin, 1998: 186). Bill Ashcroft in his book, The Empire Writes Back as cited in Shrikant B.

Sawant‟s “Postcolonial Theory: Meaning and Significance” said that postcolonial term is used to cover the cultures which are affected by the imperial process from

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its beginning of the colonization until present days. In this case, after the colonization time, the colonizer gives the indigenous people rights to gain their independence by “overcoming political and cultural imperialism” (Ashcroft Griffiths, Tiffin, 1989:2).

Concerning Postcolonial Biblical Study, Segovia in Sugirtharajah also gives his explanation about Postcolonial theory (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 5). He mentions three ways of postcolonial theory in analyzing biblical texts. He finds out that first, that imperial reality is real and always existed then does take part in the construction of the texts of Judaism and early Christianity. The second one is that the colonial motives cause the Western interpretation of Jewish and Christian texts. The presence of the early biblical critics from former empire also wants to make the destabilization of those texts (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 5). Sugirtharajah himself says that Postcolonial study is a way to deal with the “textual, historical, and cultural articulations” of a society or nation which is transformed and constructed by colonial reality. (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 7). He also mentions two aspects of postcolonialism which are used in postcolonial biblical interpretation. First aspect is that to observe how the imperial power constructs the image of the colonized people. The second aspect is to observe how the colonized people struggle to break that image, go far beyond it and enunciate their identity, “ self-worth and empowerment” (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 7). Postcolonialism shows how the past influences the construction of the present.

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3.1. Theory of Identity

Before knowing what national identity is, it is better to know what identity

is. Identity is about „who we are‟ and the existence of ourselves. Stuart Hall, David Held, Don Hubert, Kenneth Thompson in, Modernity An Introduction to Modern Societies mentioned three concepts of identity. It is “(a) the enlightenment subject, (b) the sociological subject, and (c) the post-modern subject” (Hall, Held, Hubert, Thompson, 1996: 597).

The enlightenment subject was based on the conception of human person as fully centred, unified individual, endowed with the capacities of reason,

consciousness, and action, whose „center‟ consisted of an inner core (Hall

et al, 1996: 597).

Here, the inner core he meant is still essentially the same ever since one has been born. He stated that this is very “individualist” concept as it looks only to the center of oneself (Hall et al, 1996: 597).

For the sociological subject, Hall mentioned that this subject is not an autonomous and self-sufficient but it needs the “specific others” who imposes the culture in the world he or she lives (Hall et al, 1996: 597). In this case, identity connects oneself and the outside the society. Through “interaction” with the outside world, the essence of “the real me” then is shaped, formed and modified. So it can be said that identity is the bridge between oneself or personal and the outside world or public world (Hall et al, 1996: 597). Hall also adds that the logic of identity is like the logic of “true self”. The language it uses conceives the experience and the origin of a person that tells where he or she comes from. However, identity is a never-complete process, it is always in process and

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constituted within representation. The point is about being positioned or “in context”. Hall uses the thought of Derrida that identity needs the relation with

“Other”. This “constitutive other” then constructs identity. Concerning to cultural identities, Hall says that it is not something already existed or surpasses place and time. Rather, it comes from history. It is not a fixed origin of people where they can claim it as an absolute or final place to “Return”. Cultural identities are constructed through memory, myth, narratives, and fantasy. It is not an “essence” but “positioning” as it is a process of identification through culture and history. It is the name we give wherever we are in different ways of positioning by. The third concept of identity Hall mentions is the modern subject. For the post-modern subject, Hall mentioned that

Identity becomes a „moveable feast‟: formed and transformed

continuously in relations to the ways we represented or addressed in the cultural systems which is surround us (Hall et al, 1996: 598).

In this case, the subject gets different identities at different times. It is not the biological but historical matters. We are pulled to different directions as there are many different or contradictory identities. This brings us to the shifting. “We are confronted by a bewildering, fleeting multiplicity, of possible identities” (Hall et al, 1996: 598).

3.2. Theory of National Identity

Before going to the description of what a national identity is, it is better to understand what a nation is. Anthony D. Smith in his book, National Identity, gives a definition of a nation as:

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…a named human population sharing an historic territory, common myths

and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members (Smith, 1991: 14).

He also says that the nation is actually bound with many kinds of identity which its own identity can be combined with; class, religious, ethnic, identity and also other ideology. National identity is “fundamentally dimensional” which means that it cannot be reduced into one single element (Smith, 1991: 14). Smith gave some ideas about fundamental features of a national identity.

1. A historic territory or homeland

2. Common myths and historical memories 3. A common, mass public culture

4. Common legal rights and duties for all members

5. A common economy with territorial mobility for members (Smith, 1991: 14).

From these fundamental features, Smith wanted to say that national identity contains the history of homeland, the origin place of a nation. It also contains the myths and memories of a nation, culture and tradition in the society, the rights and role of each member of the nation and the territorial mobility of economy for the members of the nation (Smith, 1991:14).

The sense of national identity gives a strong means of defining and locating “individual selves” in the outside world through the “prism of collective identities and distinctive culture”. It is to know “who we are” (Smith, 1991: 17). Concerning national identity, Hall says that national identities “are not the things we are born with”. It is always constructed, “formed and transformed within and relation to representation” (Hall et al, 1996: 612).

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Hall as cited in in Wodak, de Cillia, Reisigl and Liebhart‟s The Discursive Construction of National Identity mentions five aspects of national identity. First

is the “narrative of the nation” which is presented in national narratives, literature, media, and in “everyday culture” which then connects stories, historical past. “national symbol and national rituals” conceived “shared experiences and destructive defeats”. In this case, the national narratives, literature, media, and

“everyday culture” play an important role to make people remember their past.

The second aspect is the “emphasis on origins, continuity, tradition, and

timelessness”. Here, national identity, as the original identity which is present in

the nature of things. This aspect wants an image of a national character which is

“unbroken and uniform being”. In this case, it wants to show the unbroken and unchanging character of a nation. Hall mentions the third aspect which is

“invention of tradition”. He says that the “invented traditions” make community

from disorder. In this case, the invention of tradition will help the people to remember the moral values and norms of behaviors through repetition that connect people with the historical past. The fourth aspect is the “myth of origin” which belongs to the great significance of inventing a national culture. It is because in “mythical” space, a nation can still exist even though, because of time, it is not exist in the reality any longer. It puts together the origin of the nation, the people and their national character in the “mythic time”. Myth also takes role in adversative narration in order to be used as a way of founding a new nation. The

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supportive aspect of a national identity (Wodak, de Cillia, Reisigl, Liebhart, 1999: 24).

Hall, Held, Hubert, and Thompson argue that the national identities which are constructed by the national cultures are placed “ambiguously” between its

“past” and “future” (Hall et al, 1996: 615). The national cultures here sometimes

want to go back to the historical past when the nation “was great” to “restore” it.

This is “the regressive, anachronistic element” the national cultural story has which wants to put the people within two places at once (Hall et al, 1996: 615). However, behind that returning to the past, there is a concealed desire to endure

the people to get rid of the “others” who “threaten” their identity (Hall et al, 1996:

615).

For Hall, globalization can give impacts to national identity. He mentions three consequences of globalization on cultural identities. The first one is that national identities are being “eroded”. The mix of culture or cultural homogenization and the “global post-modern” is the cause of this problem. The second one is that the resistance to globalization strengthens the national and particularistic identities. And the last one is that national identities are declining. On the other hand, new identities of hybridity are rising (Hall et al, 1996: 619).

3.3. Theory of Hybridity

Robert C.J. Young, in his book Colonial Desire Hybridity in theory, culture and race argues that hybridity is the way “of making one or two distinct things, so it becomes impossible for an eye to detect the hybridity of a Geranium

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rose.” (Young, 2005: 24). Young uses Geranium rose as an example to explain that hybridity mixes two things that vanish the clear cross-cut of them. Bhabha himself in his book, The Location of Culture said that the third space is the precondition of cultural difference; the social contradiction and antagonism (Bhabha 1994: 34). This idea of the third space was then explained as the “in between” of a culture. Here is the space where the cultural meaning can be found. This shows that there is no original meaning or cultural “purity” here (Bhabha, 1994: 38). Elleke Boehmer in his book, Colonial and Postcolonial Literature 2nd Edition also said that to get to the process of hybridity needs the process of mimicry to be the same as the new identity they live by (Boehmer, 2005: 16). C. Review of Related Backgrounds

Review on the History of Jewish Society

In order to easily understand the problems in this research, the writer provides it with some related background. This part contains history of the Jewish people living under the imperial rule. After being free from the conquest of Egypt, in 13th until 12th centuries BCE, the Jews then went to Canaan. They settled a place which is now called as Palestine. In 1020 they established the Jewish monarchy with Saul as their first king. This period is also called the “First Temple” period as this is the first time they can afford building the temple that they really want as the centre of their nation and religion. However, this empire and its temple then ended in 587 when the time they got conquered by Babylonian Empire.

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1. The Jews under Babylonian Rule

In 587 BC the Davidic kingdom felt under the Babylonian rule. The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, took many Jerusalem people to Babylonia. This event was known as the “exile”.

Harper, in his journal, “The Jews in Babylon” says that the Babylonian exile is the

most pathetic experience the Jews ever had (Harper, 1899:104). Lester L. Grabbe, in Introduction to Second Temple Judaism, also says that those who were deported were the royal family, the wealthy people, those who have special status and had special professional skills in the society (Grabbe, 2010: 2). Barton added that Babylonian Empire made two deportations. The first was in 598 and the second was in 586 including the priests (Barton, 1911: 369).

a. The Jews in Captivity

During the exilic period, the captivated Jews spent their days in mourning. They were separated from their holy temple, a place that united them as one nation. They also were afraid of being forced to leave Jehovah, their national God, to worship other God. In other hand, those who were left are the “bulk” of the society. It was hard at first for this left-behind society to govern their selves as the leading group of the society had been taken away. However, they still struggled to be able to do that. Both these groups of Israelites, however, struggled to defend their identity as Jewish nation. Harper says that those who lived in the captivity were amazingly convinced by Jeremiah in order to strengthen their faith to Jehovah (Harper, 1899:108). This argument is supported by Barton. Concerning their sorrow of being separated from their holy temple, Jeremiah said that faith

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was not the matter of outside material. Rather, it was a matter of “inward attitude”. Hence, Jeremiah established a “new theology” (Barton, 1911: 370). This new concepts, according to Harper, conceived the ideas that the exile was

Jehovah‟s plan which meant that it happened to them because of their disobedience to His will. Babylonia and her gods were Jehovah‟s instruments in order to punish Israelites and testify their faith. This idea then consequently brought a meaning that Jehovah, Jewish national God, was very great God that he could even make a great nation like Babylonia and her gods to be his instruments who followed all what he wanted (Harper, 1899: 109). The “left behind” one, according to Latuvus, began to start a new society and make new army. Then, they dared rebel against Babylonian army though failed and caused more destruction, even to their temple (Sugirtharajah, 2006: 188).

Both of these struggles of people showed their strong conviction of being one nation and defended their religion and temple as their identity which united them. The destruction of the temple at first burdened them so much. However, they still kept their faith and with the permission of Darius the King, later in the time of Persian rule, they could build it again.

2. The Jews under Persian Rule

Davidic kingdom fell in 587 BC by Babylon. Years after that, King Cyrus from Persia succeeded to overthrow Babylon and took control over the Jews. Marry Smallwood on her book with the title The Jews under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian mentioned that in 538, the Persian Empire took control over

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attributed to them. In this part, the Jews, under the control of the Jewish authorities struggle to break this kind of image and then enunciate their own identity. The identity of the Jewish nation is represented in the Torah and their Temple. These are the representation of the Jewish national identity. The persecution of Jesus is caused by their worry of the destruction of their national identity caused by reinterpretations of Torah Jesus shares. Here, they find out that Jesus reinterpretations endanger their national identity by weakening the anti-colonial struggle. What Jesus says about love can be understood that they have to love the colonizer too. Loyalty is the manifestation of the love itself. Loyalty to the colonizer will of course eliminate the resistance. This action certainly gives a very precious opportunity to the colonizer so they can easily widespread their culture and ideology over the land. The more the culture and ideology of the colonizer are internalized by the Jews, the harder they can identify who they are.

National identity is a very important thing for a colonized nation as the weapon against the colonial domination. It contains many things about a nation and stands as the thing with which the Jews can give meaning to the world and from whence they can identify themselves. Both Jesus and the Jewish authorities are the Jews. They both have the same desire, to reclaim the identity of the Jewish nation. However, the way these two parties do their duty is different. Jesus reinterprets Torah and plays the role as the Messiah. However, he is out of the figure of the Messianic expectations of the Jews. The concept he gives ironically endangers the national identity. The Jewish authorities dare to conflict with him and hand him to Roman government to be punished. They accuse Jesus as the one

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who wants to rebel. Through their accusation to Jesus, the Jewish authorities seem to be loyal to the Empire. However, it is they themselves who want to rebel against the Empire. In order to get Jesus killed, they have to show their false loyalty. Behind that false loyalty to the Empire, concealed a big effort of defending their national identity from the destruction of their colonizer. This conflict reflects a great effort of the Jewish authorities to defend the Jewish national identity from any impacts of colonization. They dare to do anything even to judge and kill the so-called Messiah, the very important person, the one who they wait for so long. The conflict with Jesus shows their desire to reclaim the Jewish national identity.

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Conflict between the Jewish authorities and Jesus` reinterpretations of Torah as the struggle of defending national identity seen in the Gospel: a postcolonial study.

CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES AND

JESUS’ REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS THE

STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN

IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY

CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES AND

JESUS’ REINTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH AS THE

STRUGGLE OF DEFENDING NATIONAL IDENTITY SEEN

IN THE GOSPEL: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY

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Conflict between the Jewish authorities and Jesus` reinterpretations of Torah as the struggle of defending national identity seen in the Gospel: a postcolonial study.

CONFLICT BETWEEN THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES AND

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