Masada myth

The Masada myth is the early Zionist retelling of the Siege of Masada, and an Israeli national myth. The Masada myth is a selectively constructed narrative based on Josephus' account, supplemented with fabrications and omissions. This narrative was socially constructed and promoted by Jews in Mandatory Palestine and later Israel. Despite the modern academic consensus, popular accounts by figures like Yadin and Pearlman have perpetuated the myth, influencing public perception.^[1]^[2]

In the myth narrative, the defenders of Masada were depicted as national symbols of heroism, freedom, and national dignity. This narrative selectively emphasized Josephus’s account, highlighting the defenders' courage and resistance while omitting the details of their murderous campaign against innocent Jews, as well as certain elements of their final mass suicide.^[3]

The early Zionist settlers and the first generation of modern Jews to settle in Palestine often considered themselves direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews, and thus used the Masada myth narrative to establish a sense of national heroism and to promote a positive patriotic model.^[4]^[5]

Background

The only original source on the Siege of Masada is the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus Flavius, who participated in the revolt before joining the Roman side. In a 1986 article investigating the national myth by Barry Schwartz, Yael Zerubavel and Bernice M. Barnett, it was described as "one of the least significant and least successful events in ancient Jewish history".^[6]

Sicarii

Josephus describes the defenders of Masada as Sicarii, an extreme Jewish group known for assassination, including the killing of the High Priest in Jerusalem. The Sicarii did not join the fight against Rome but instead plundered local villages, such as Ein Gedi, where they massacred over 700 women and children.^[7]

Early evolution

Lamdan's 1927 Masada poem in Masada visitors center

In 1927, shortly after the first Hebrew translation of Josephus was published, 27-year-old Yitzhak Lamdan published a Hebrew epic poem called "Masada: A Historical Epic" about the Jewish struggle for survival in a world full of enemies. The poem described Masada as a symbol for the Land of Israel and the Zionist enterprise, and as both a refuge and a potential trap. The poem was highly influential, but the "potential trap" aspect was left out in its mainstream Zionist reception and interpretation.^[8] According to literary scholar and cultural historian David G. Roskies, Lamdan's poem later inspired the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto.^[9]

The transformation of Masada into a symbol of modern Israeli heroism has been attributed to Shmarya Guttman. In 1942, through organized treks and advocacy, Guttman established Masada as a Zionist emblem. The Masada myth often whitewashed Josephus's account, overlooking the Sicarii's violent actions and presenting them instead as heroic defenders. This transformation was facilitated by a constellation of events in the twentieth century, including knowledge of the Holocaust.^[10] Between February and July 1942, the Masada ethos became deeply rooted in youth movements and public discourse. The myth narrative resonated strongly, symbolizing Jewish resilience and loneliness during the Holocaust. Youth movements and Palmach squads integrated this ethos into their activities, reinforcing its significance.^[10]

Yadin's excavations

1969 Israeli military funeral for 27 skeletons found in the excavation of Masada. This photo includes Yigael Yadin, Menachem Begin and Yisrael Yeshayahu Sharabi.

Archeologist Yigal Yadin, formerly the Israeli Chief of the General Staff, sought to portray the defenders as committed supporters of a national resistance led by the Zealots.

For example, Yadin interpreted scrolls found at Masada as evidence of diverse sectarian support. However, these scrolls might have been looted from nearby villages, and Josephus's identification of the defenders as Sicarii suggests a more complex picture.^[7]

References

^ Ben-Yehuda 1996, p. 307: "On the professional level, we now know that the Masada myth is a particular selective historically invented sequence (narrative) based, par-tially, on Josephus Flavius's account, minus some very important details and supplemented by items ranging from a rather liberal interpretation of his writings to sheer fabrication. The way in which this particular sequence was socially constructed can be understood in terms of leveling, sharpening, and assimilation. The Allport and Postman model that was used in this context was very helpful in conceptualizing the process. In this book, we analyzed the way in which the Masada mythical narrative was socially constructed by Jews in British-occupied Palestine and in the State of Israel. Hence, most of the emphasis was placed on social activities in this region and on texts in the Hebrew language. However, the non-Hebrew-speaking person, in Israel and abroad, has also been exposed to much of the same myth. Two of the more popular books in English - Yadin (1966) and Pearlman (1967) - present a magnificent example of the Masada mythical narrative. The debate in the more academic journals did not reach most interested parties, and the discussion in the popular Jewish press (e.g., in the Jewish Spectator) may have only helped to confuse the issue. The Masada mythical narrative was consciously invented, fabricated, and supported by key moral entrepreneurs and organizations in the Yishuv. At the time, central Jewish leaders (see, e.g., Guttman's interview) were very reluctant to use this rather questionable tale. Much of the success in its acceptance can be attributed to these key moral entrepreneurs"
^ Cockburn 1997: "Most Israeli archaeologists now accept that what really happened at Masada was very different from the picture painted by Professor Yigael Yadin, the archaeologist and former chief of staff of the Israeli army, who carried out the highly publicised excavations in 1963-65."
^ Silberman 1989, p. 96-97: "The Sicari - or "knife-wielders" - adopted their name from their favorite means of political persuasion, and their reputation was anything but heroic in their own time. According to Josephus's testimony, they terrorized any Judeans who opposed the rebellion— using the tactics of assassination, arson, and theft. After killing the Roman garrison and taking control of the fortress at Masada at the outbreak of the revolt, they continued their violent ways. They did not come to the aid of their rebel colleagues in Jerusalem when the city was under siege by the Tenth Roman Legion but preferred to remain at their desert hideaway, maintaining themselves by preying on the surrounding populace. During the festival of Passover in A.D. 68, for example, they raided the nearby settlement of Ein Gedi, carrying off the inhabitants' crops and livestock. Their victims in this encounter were not the hated Romans, but - according to Josephus - more than 700 innocent Jewish men, women, and children."
^ Magness 2021, p. 197: "How did the site of a reported mass suicide of a band of Jewish rebels who terrorized other Jews become a symbol of the modern State of Israel? The creation of the Masada myth—in which these Jewish terrorists are transformed into freedom fighters and the mass suicide becomes a heroic last stand-has been explored by a number of scholars. While archaeology has been used in many countries to advance political or nationalistic agendas, Masada perhaps best exemplifies this phenomenon. Although Masada's eventual fame is largely a result of Yadin's excavations, the site had become a symbol of the modern State of Israel long before the 1960s. It is the late Israeli archaeologist Shmaryahu Gutman who deserves much of the credit for the creation of the Masada myth. Beginning in the 1930s and through the next couple of decades, Gutman organized treks to Masada for youth movements and groups of guides which established the site as an emblem of Zionist aspirations. With the creation of Israel in 1948, Masada became a symbol of the new state. Gutman continued to make a case for Masada's importance through the 1950s and was involved in the first archaeological explorations of the site. It was because of Gutman's persistence that Yadin later undertook excavations at Masada. Nachman Ben-Yehuda, an Israeli sociologist, notes that the Masada myth is based on a whitewashing of Josephus's account. For example, instead of referring to sicarii, the Jews atop Masada are typically described as Zealots, as for example by Yadin, or as defenders or rebels-neutral terms that mask the group's violent activities. Their terrorism of other Jews, including the massacre of innocent villagers at Ein Gedi, is overlooked in the Masada myth. A constellation of interrelated events in the twentieth century made possible Masada's transformation into a symbol of Jewish heroism and the modern State of Israel. First, the European Jews who immigrated to Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century sought to establish a physical connection to the Zionist homeland. Treks like those organized by Gutman to Masada were intended to forge this bond…. "
^ Zerubavel 1995, p. 68-69: "Thus, the meaning of Masada was first and foremost shaped by the urge to forge a sense of historical continuity between the modern-day Zionist National Revival and Antiquity, when Jews lived in their own homeland, and to heighten their divergence from Exile. The Masada episode, marking the end of the Jewish revolt against the Romans, was seen as the essence of the national spirit that made the Jews stand up and fight for their freedom. In the period in which the Zionist settlers and the first generation of New Hebrews wished to define themselves as the direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews, they portrayed the Masada people as the authentic carriers of the spirit of active heroism, love of freedom, and national dignity, which, according to the Zionist collective memory, disappeared during centuries of Exile. Masada was therefore presented as a positive model of behavior and an important patriotic lesson. To fulfill this role, the Masada commemorative narrative required a highly selective representation of Josephus's historical record. By emphasizing certain aspects of his account and ignoring others, the commemorative narrative reshaped the story and transformed its meaning. The new myth narrative highlights the defenders' courage in rebelling against the Romans in the first place and in sustaining their resistance long after the rest of Judaea had been defeated. It stresses their heroic spirit, devotion, and readiness to fight until the last drop of blood but does not dwell on the specifics of the final episode of death. In so doing, the myth narrative elaborates where Josephus is silent and silences some of his more elaborate descriptions: the ancient historian does not mention a direct confrontation between the besieged Masada people and the Roman soldiers, yet he does provide a long and detailed description of the collective suicide."
^ Schwartz, Zerubavel & Barnett 1986, p. 147.
^ ^a ^b Cockburn 1997: "The only literary source is Josephus Flavius, the Jewish historian who had himself taken part in the revolt before joining the Roman side. His account says that the defenders of Masada took no part in the war against Rome during the siege of Jerusalem, but instead plundered local villages including En Gedi on the Dead Sea, where "women and children, more than 700 in number, were butchered”… Professor Yadin wanted to prove that the defenders of Masada were the hard-core supporters of a national resistance movement led by the Zealots, the movement which fought in Jerusalem. He interpreted scrolls found at Masada as showing that the defenders came from different sects and groups, though the scrolls may have been looted from nearby villages. What Josephus actually said was that the defenders of Masada were Sicarii, an extreme Jewish group who specialised in assassination and had killed the High Priest in Jerusalem."
^ Ben-Yehuda 1995, pp. 222–223: "... the manner in which secular Zionists utilized the poem, that is, as a major element for experiencing the Masada mythical narrative, deviated ― very clearly ― from Lamdan's original intent. Lamdan's ambivalence simply disappears. His genuine concern that Eretz Israel may become a trap (and not a refuge) for Jews (that is, a second Masada) was almost completely eliminated in favor of what was presented as a proud, heroic national interpretation."
^ Jewish Virtual Library: Masada
^ ^a ^b Shavit 2013, p. 79–97: "No wonder that between February and July 1942, Gutman's Masada ethos takes root. The youth movement's weekly publishes extensive reports of the Masada trek and seminar, and it puts Ben Yair's last speech on its March 31 cover. Other Labor publications also celebrate and glorify Masada. A press conference in which Gutman promotes Masada resonates strongly in contemporary public opinion. The forty-six youth leaders do their share to pass along the Masada message to their youth movement cadets, so that the second Masada trek, held only three months after the first, includes more than two hundred youngsters. Throughout the country, Passover youth camps and youth activities are devoted to Masada. With Rommel at the gate, with Europe's Jewry in ghettos, and with the national leadership considering extreme ideas, Gutman's gospel of Masada spreads like fire in the woods. More and more youth movements ascend Masada. Palmach squads ascend Masada. Masada overtakes the public discourse. Within a few months, the ethos of Masada becomes the formative ethos of the young nation. Masada is now at the heart of the Zionist narrative, defining its new Palestine-born generation…But just as the Jewish community of Palestine relaxes and returns to the pleasures of an unprecedented economic boom, the news from Europe becomes grimmer. On December 17, 1942, the British foreign secretary, Anthony Eden, declares in Westminster that Nazi Germany is exterminating European Jewry. By now, it is clear that what Hitler has in mind is not a megapogrom but a holocaust. Every single day thousands are murdered. In 1942 more than a million are murdered. By the end of the war it might turn out that European Jewry has vanished completely. As 1943 begins, hence, the ethos of Masada takes on new meaning. Now it's not only a historic legend whose purpose is to prepare the Jews for a desperate war in the Land of Israel. Now Masada is a mythical, almost metaphysical metaphor for the loneliness of the Jewish people. As always, Yitzhak Tabenkin is the one to phrase the new insight in the cruelest fashion: "Our feeling is that of ultimate loneliness.... There is no way to know how many Jews will remain alive.... There is no guarantee that the Nazis will not exterminate the entire one hundred percent.... Bitter is the knowledge of our solitude and the knowledge that the world is our enemy."… But the ethos of Masada will live on. The ethos forged in Gutman's January 1942 seminar will grow stronger and stronger as the horrors of 1942 are revealed. So those who ask whether the ethos was based merely on myth ask the wrong question. It is not Ben Yair who defined Masada, it is Gutman. What matters is not the event that did or did not take place on the fringe of history in A.D. 73, but the event that does take place in the locus of history in A.D. 1942. For the Masada ethos put forth by Gutman would define the Zionism of the 1940s and would decide the fate of 1948 and would shape the future state of Israel."

Bibliography

Schwartz, Barry; Zerubavel, Yael; Barnett, Bernice M. (1986). "The Recovery of Masada: A Study in Collective Memory". The Sociological Quarterly. 27 (2). Wiley: 147–164. ISSN 0038-0253. JSTOR 4106206.
Silberman, Neil Asher (1989). Between Past and Present: Archaeology, Ideology, and Nationalism in the Modern Middle East. Doubleday.
Zerubavel, Yael (1995). Recovered Roots: Collective Memory and the Making of Israeli National Tradition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-98157-4.
Ben-Yehuda, Nachman (1996). Masada Myth: Collective Memory and Mythmaking in Israel. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-14833-1.
Cockburn, Patrick (1997-03-30). "Ancient battle divides Israel as Masada 'myth' unravels". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
Ben-Yehuda, Nachman. Sacrificing Truth: Archaeology and the Myth of Masada, Humanity Books, 2002.
Magness, Jodi (2021). Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-21677-5.
Shavit, Ari (2013). My Promised Land: the triumph and tragedy of Israel. Scribe Publications Pty Limited. ISBN 978-1-922072-51-1.

[Ben-Yehuda-1] Ben-Yehuda 1996, p. 307: "On the professional level, we now know that the Masada myth is a particular selective historically invented sequence (narrative) based, par-tially, on Josephus Flavius's account, minus some very important details and supplemented by items ranging from a rather liberal interpretation of his writings to sheer fabrication. The way in which this particular sequence was socially constructed can be understood in terms of leveling, sharpening, and assimilation. The Allport and Postman model that was used in this context was very helpful in conceptualizing the process. In this book, we analyzed the way in which the Masada mythical narrative was socially constructed by Jews in British-occupied Palestine and in the State of Israel. Hence, most of the emphasis was placed on social activities in this region and on texts in the Hebrew language. However, the non-Hebrew-speaking person, in Israel and abroad, has also been exposed to much of the same myth. Two of the more popular books in English - Yadin (1966) and Pearlman (1967) - present a magnificent example of the Masada mythical narrative. The debate in the more academic journals did not reach most interested parties, and the discussion in the popular Jewish press (e.g., in the Jewish Spectator) may have only helped to confuse the issue. The Masada mythical narrative was consciously invented, fabricated, and supported by key moral entrepreneurs and organizations in the Yishuv. At the time, central Jewish leaders (see, e.g., Guttman's interview) were very reluctant to use this rather questionable tale. Much of the success in its acceptance can be attributed to these key moral entrepreneurs"

[Cockburn2-2] Cockburn 1997: "Most Israeli archaeologists now accept that what really happened at Masada was very different from the picture painted by Professor Yigael Yadin, the archaeologist and former chief of staff of the Israeli army, who carried out the highly publicised excavations in 1963-65."

[Silberman-3] Silberman 1989, p. 96-97: "The Sicari - or "knife-wielders" - adopted their name from their favorite means of political persuasion, and their reputation was anything but heroic in their own time. According to Josephus's testimony, they terrorized any Judeans who opposed the rebellion— using the tactics of assassination, arson, and theft. After killing the Roman garrison and taking control of the fortress at Masada at the outbreak of the revolt, they continued their violent ways. They did not come to the aid of their rebel colleagues in Jerusalem when the city was under siege by the Tenth Roman Legion but preferred to remain at their desert hideaway, maintaining themselves by preying on the surrounding populace. During the festival of Passover in A.D. 68, for example, they raided the nearby settlement of Ein Gedi, carrying off the inhabitants' crops and livestock. Their victims in this encounter were not the hated Romans, but - according to Josephus - more than 700 innocent Jewish men, women, and children."

[Magness-4] Magness 2021, p. 197: "How did the site of a reported mass suicide of a band of Jewish rebels who terrorized other Jews become a symbol of the modern State of Israel? The creation of the Masada myth—in which these Jewish terrorists are transformed into freedom fighters and the mass suicide becomes a heroic last stand-has been explored by a number of scholars. While archaeology has been used in many countries to advance political or nationalistic agendas, Masada perhaps best exemplifies this phenomenon. Although Masada's eventual fame is largely a result of Yadin's excavations, the site had become a symbol of the modern State of Israel long before the 1960s. It is the late Israeli archaeologist Shmaryahu Gutman who deserves much of the credit for the creation of the Masada myth. Beginning in the 1930s and through the next couple of decades, Gutman organized treks to Masada for youth movements and groups of guides which established the site as an emblem of Zionist aspirations. With the creation of Israel in 1948, Masada became a symbol of the new state. Gutman continued to make a case for Masada's importance through the 1950s and was involved in the first archaeological explorations of the site. It was because of Gutman's persistence that Yadin later undertook excavations at Masada. Nachman Ben-Yehuda, an Israeli sociologist, notes that the Masada myth is based on a whitewashing of Josephus's account. For example, instead of referring to sicarii, the Jews atop Masada are typically described as Zealots, as for example by Yadin, or as defenders or rebels-neutral terms that mask the group's violent activities. Their terrorism of other Jews, including the massacre of innocent villagers at Ein Gedi, is overlooked in the Masada myth. A constellation of interrelated events in the twentieth century made possible Masada's transformation into a symbol of Jewish heroism and the modern State of Israel. First, the European Jews who immigrated to Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century sought to establish a physical connection to the Zionist homeland. Treks like those organized by Gutman to Masada were intended to forge this bond…. "

[Zerubavel-5] Zerubavel 1995, p. 68-69: "Thus, the meaning of Masada was first and foremost shaped by the urge to forge a sense of historical continuity between the modern-day Zionist National Revival and Antiquity, when Jews lived in their own homeland, and to heighten their divergence from Exile. The Masada episode, marking the end of the Jewish revolt against the Romans, was seen as the essence of the national spirit that made the Jews stand up and fight for their freedom. In the period in which the Zionist settlers and the first generation of New Hebrews wished to define themselves as the direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews, they portrayed the Masada people as the authentic carriers of the spirit of active heroism, love of freedom, and national dignity, which, according to the Zionist collective memory, disappeared during centuries of Exile. Masada was therefore presented as a positive model of behavior and an important patriotic lesson. To fulfill this role, the Masada commemorative narrative required a highly selective representation of Josephus's historical record. By emphasizing certain aspects of his account and ignoring others, the commemorative narrative reshaped the story and transformed its meaning. The new myth narrative highlights the defenders' courage in rebelling against the Romans in the first place and in sustaining their resistance long after the rest of Judaea had been defeated. It stresses their heroic spirit, devotion, and readiness to fight until the last drop of blood but does not dwell on the specifics of the final episode of death. In so doing, the myth narrative elaborates where Josephus is silent and silences some of his more elaborate descriptions: the ancient historian does not mention a direct confrontation between the besieged Masada people and the Roman soldiers, yet he does provide a long and detailed description of the collective suicide."

[FOOTNOTESchwartzZerubavelBarnett1986147-6] Schwartz, Zerubavel & Barnett 1986, p. 147.

[Cockburn-7] Cockburn 1997: "The only literary source is Josephus Flavius, the Jewish historian who had himself taken part in the revolt before joining the Roman side. His account says that the defenders of Masada took no part in the war against Rome during the siege of Jerusalem, but instead plundered local villages including En Gedi on the Dead Sea, where "women and children, more than 700 in number, were butchered”… Professor Yadin wanted to prove that the defenders of Masada were the hard-core supporters of a national resistance movement led by the Zealots, the movement which fought in Jerusalem. He interpreted scrolls found at Masada as showing that the defenders came from different sects and groups, though the scrolls may have been looted from nearby villages. What Josephus actually said was that the defenders of Masada were Sicarii, an extreme Jewish group who specialised in assassination and had killed the High Priest in Jerusalem."

[Ben-Yehuda2-8] Ben-Yehuda 1995, pp. 222–223: "... the manner in which secular Zionists utilized the poem, that is, as a major element for experiencing the Masada mythical narrative, deviated ― very clearly ― from Lamdan's original intent. Lamdan's ambivalence simply disappears. His genuine concern that Eretz Israel may become a trap (and not a refuge) for Jews (that is, a second Masada) was almost completely eliminated in favor of what was presented as a proud, heroic national interpretation."

[9] Jewish Virtual Library: Masada

[Shavit-10] Shavit 2013, p. 79–97: "No wonder that between February and July 1942, Gutman's Masada ethos takes root. The youth movement's weekly publishes extensive reports of the Masada trek and seminar, and it puts Ben Yair's last speech on its March 31 cover. Other Labor publications also celebrate and glorify Masada. A press conference in which Gutman promotes Masada resonates strongly in contemporary public opinion. The forty-six youth leaders do their share to pass along the Masada message to their youth movement cadets, so that the second Masada trek, held only three months after the first, includes more than two hundred youngsters. Throughout the country, Passover youth camps and youth activities are devoted to Masada. With Rommel at the gate, with Europe's Jewry in ghettos, and with the national leadership considering extreme ideas, Gutman's gospel of Masada spreads like fire in the woods. More and more youth movements ascend Masada. Palmach squads ascend Masada. Masada overtakes the public discourse. Within a few months, the ethos of Masada becomes the formative ethos of the young nation. Masada is now at the heart of the Zionist narrative, defining its new Palestine-born generation…But just as the Jewish community of Palestine relaxes and returns to the pleasures of an unprecedented economic boom, the news from Europe becomes grimmer. On December 17, 1942, the British foreign secretary, Anthony Eden, declares in Westminster that Nazi Germany is exterminating European Jewry. By now, it is clear that what Hitler has in mind is not a megapogrom but a holocaust. Every single day thousands are murdered. In 1942 more than a million are murdered. By the end of the war it might turn out that European Jewry has vanished completely. As 1943 begins, hence, the ethos of Masada takes on new meaning. Now it's not only a historic legend whose purpose is to prepare the Jews for a desperate war in the Land of Israel. Now Masada is a mythical, almost metaphysical metaphor for the loneliness of the Jewish people. As always, Yitzhak Tabenkin is the one to phrase the new insight in the cruelest fashion: "Our feeling is that of ultimate loneliness.... There is no way to know how many Jews will remain alive.... There is no guarantee that the Nazis will not exterminate the entire one hundred percent.... Bitter is the knowledge of our solitude and the knowledge that the world is our enemy."… But the ethos of Masada will live on. The ethos forged in Gutman's January 1942 seminar will grow stronger and stronger as the horrors of 1942 are revealed. So those who ask whether the ethos was based merely on myth ask the wrong question. It is not Ben Yair who defined Masada, it is Gutman. What matters is not the event that did or did not take place on the fringe of history in A.D. 73, but the event that does take place in the locus of history in A.D. 1942. For the Masada ethos put forth by Gutman would define the Zionism of the 1940s and would decide the fate of 1948 and would shape the future state of Israel."

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