was directed not only against Gentiles who threatened Israel’s boundaries, but against fellow Jews too.77 However, a close reading of accounts of the actions of OT and Intertestamental zealots indicates that the essential motivation for their zeal was a sense of obligation to observe the law for its own sake. Smiles puts it well: That zeal was not primarily characterized by nationalism, a desire to keep Gentiles at a distance or to maintain Israel’s distinctiveness. Its essential character was an