Samson, Saul, Jonathan, and David insult the Philistines for being uncircumcised. Antiochus IV prohibited circumcision, while Mattathias and later John Hyrcanus forced others to circumcise. In Roman times too, Emperor Hadrian forbade circumcision, and Bar Kochba circumcised Jews by force. Was circumcision a cause of the revolt?
The Second Temple was destroyed in the course of the Judaean Revolt (66–73 C.E.) against Rome, and looms large in Jewish history for the way in which it decisively shaped the future of Judaism. But how different was it from other revolts against Rome? Are there elements that mark the Judaean Revolt as unique and essentially different?
In the Bible, Esau is the ancestor of the Edomites who live on Mount Seir, southwest of Judah. So how did the rabbis come to associate Esau and Edom with Rome? Two main factors are at work here: Christianity and Herod.
