241 Book Reviews
Dongshin Don Chang
Phinehas, the Sons of Zadok, and Melchizedek: Priestly Covenant in Late Second
Temple Texts. Library of Second Temple Studies 90. London: Bloomsbury T&T
Clark, 2016. Pp. xii + 242. Hbk. $114.00. ISBN: 9780567667052.
Chang’s monograph, a revised version of his dissertation completed at the
University of Manchester under the direction of Dr. George J. Brooke, explores
the combined concepts of priesthood and covenant in 1 and 2 Maccabees, the
Dead Sea Scrolls, and Hebrews. Chang argues that these concepts, which have
frequently been studied in isolation of one another, are inextricably linked in
this group of texts. While Chang finds that the texts take different approaches
to their combination of these concepts, they share the concern with using the
covenantal tradition to legitimize a particular segment of the priestly leader-
ship. The depth of research and the strong command of a wide range of litera-
ture that the author demonstrates makes for an important contribution to the
study of Second Temple literature.
Chang provides a brief survey of scholarship on the concept of covenant,
starting with Wellhausen. However, with the exception of Mowinckel, Chang
argues that “the priestly or cultic aspect was still widely neglected in the schol-
arly discourse on covenant” (5). For example, Albright associated covenant
with the law codes, and Noth understood covenant as primarily concerning the
tribes of Israel. Likewise, E. P. Sanders’ studies on Paul introduced the concept
of “covenantal nomism,” which treats covenant in relation to law. Chang also
surveys recent studies on the priesthood in the Second Temple period, finding
that they are primarily concerned with either the duties of the priestly office or
its lineage. However, Chang finds missing from these studies an exploration of
how each of the priestly groups represented in these texts claimed legitimacy
for themselves. Chang claims that we can only understand each group’s claims
to authority by understanding how they have applied the concept of covenant
in their texts, and reading this understanding of covenant in connection with
their claims for priestly legitimacy.
In chapter 2, Chang focuses on these concepts as they appear in 1 and 2
Maccabees. This will likely be the most familiar section of Chang’s work for
many readers, as the connections between the Maccabees and Phinehas are
well-known. Chang observes that Maccabees’ usage of “covenant” is concen-
trated in the first two chapters of 1 Maccabees, with this concept being used to
distinguish the “renegade Jews,” who “abandon the holy covenant” (1:15) from
the faithful Jews, who keep this covenant in 1:45-64 (35). Covenant is used again
in 2:15-26 when Mattathias pledges to “live by the covenant” of his ancestors,
before killing the Jewish apostate with a “zeal for the law” which is compared
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