who were the maccabees

So who were these Maccabees, why do they have so many books written about them, and how was their story so important to inspire a Jewish holiday based on an account that isn't even canon in Jewish scripture? According to 1 Maccabees, there were some early groups of Jewish rebels who refused to fight on the Sabbath, and perished accordingly (1 Maccabees 2:2938) until the Maccabean patriarch Mattathias decided to change the law and permit defensive warfare on the Sabbath (2:3941). [5], In 1914 the organization changed its name from the Knights of the Maccabees to simply The Maccabees. For early Christians, Greek was no object: The Gospels were in Greek, too. [] #1. http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/modiin-whe… []. . And the Jewish Annotated Apocrypha has also included the Book of Jubilees. 1 Maccabees chapter 2 introduces Mattathias, a priest from the city of Modein, and his five large adult sons: John Gaddi, Simon Thassi, Eleazar Avaran, Jonathan Apphus, and the most famous of all, who actually should have been listed third but is last for dramatic reasons, Judah Maccabee, also known by the Greek version of his name, Judas Maccabeus. The etymology of the nickname Maccabee is uncertain, though some trace it to the Hebrew word for hammer. However, in popular Jewish tradition today, the entire group of rebels is known by Judahs nickname, the Maccabees.. As My Jewish Learning explains, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV had the official epithet of Epiphanes ("God manifest"), but he was unofficially known by his subjects as Epimanes ("the madman"). Explore what the palace architecture and pottery tell us about the delicate balance the Hasmoneans tried to strike when projecting the power, wealth, and authority of their independent state to their Jewish subjects and foreign dignitariesin Eyal Regevs article The Hasmonean Kings: Jewish or Hellenistic?, Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled over the Seleucid Empire, including Judea, in the second century BCE. you can also find out more about them in the bible: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=4219672, Your email address will not be published. References1906 Jewish Encyclopedia1911 Encyclopedia BritannicaHoly Bible, a Faithful Version. Antiochus, in about 167, orders a pagan altar be set up inside the Temple and unclean meat offered on it (a shadow of the prophetic "abomination of desolation" referred to by Jesus in Matthew 24:15). 2 Maccabees, curiously, says nothing about thisdespite its narrative of these years being longer and more detailed on the whole. This doesn't even get into the guy in 2 Maccabees chapter 14, who, rather than be taken captive by the Seleucids, stabbed himself with his own sword, jumped out of a window, ripped out his own intestines and threw them at his enemies until he died. By Jonathan Klawans, BAR, January/February 1994 Who are the Maccabees? Degree of Protection - In the Degree of Protection, the candidate was introduced to the demands of Honor, Courage, and Obedience. Perfect for Jewish readers, and also appropriate for all readers interested in reading these works in the context of the people who wrote them. In their retelling of the story of the Maccabees, on the other hand, Jews focused on a completely different story, one first attested in the Babylonian Talmud. By the time of Alexander the Great's sudden death in 323 BCE, he had conquered most of the known world, with his Hellenistic empire stretching from the Ionian Sea to northern India. The traditional Jewish explanation is that Maccabee ( Hebrew: Machabi) is an acronym for the Torah verse that was the battle-cry of the Maccabees, "M i ch amocha ba'elim Y HWH ", "Who is like You among the heavenly powers, Lord!", [7] [8] as well as an acronym for "M atityahu ha K ohen ben Yochanan " (Matthias the priest, son of John). Who Are "the Maccabees"? - Museum of the Bible They also had a permanent headquarters in Port Huron, which had opened in 1892. More than Hanukkah heroes, the Maccabees were a family of Jewish priests who overthrew Seleucid rule and established an independent Jewish dynasty in the Holy Land during the second and first centuries BCE. Jonathan more than sustained the dignity of Judas. Lysias, the Syrian general, was now the real power. The lesson derived from his example was that of genuine patriotism and inculcated the duty to uphold and defend the rights of liberty and conscience when they are threatened by irresponsible power in any form. This book retells the first portion of the Torah (from Genesis 1 to Exodus 12), interspersing the narratives with laws. [6], In terms of finances and benefits, the Maccabees adopted the National Fraternal Congress Tables in 1911 and the American Mortuary Table of Rates in 1920. Scroll down to read a summary of these articles. As death claims began piling up, the organizations expenses began to outweigh its income. As My Jewish Learning explains, the story of the miracle of the oil, so central to the modern celebration of Hanukkah with its 9-branched menorah and abundance of oily fried foods, didn't arise until centuries after the institution of the celebration. It concludes with the defeat of the Seleucid Empire general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the Maccabees. The Maccabees played a significant role in this. Combine a one-year tablet and print subscription to BAR with membership in the BAS Library to start your journey into the ancient past today! Andrea M. Berlin and Geoffrey B. Waywell, Monumental Tombs from Maussollos to the Maccabees, Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2007. Originally written by Jews, these books were only transmitted by Christians in Greek as a part of the Old Testament Apocrypha for much of history. The Maccabees: Heroes or Fanatics? | My Jewish Learning Excavations conducted in the past decade at Umm el-Umdan (Arabic for Mother of Columns) by authors Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Alexander Onn (recently deceased) revealed a previously unknown synagoguefeaturing eight imposing columnslikely built during the reign of King Herod. He will be the last of a line of Maccabees to serve as both a ruler and High Priest. Jonathan Apphus, one of Judas' brothers, is the first of the Maccabees to assume the office of High Priest when he is elevated to this position during the Feast of Tabernacles in 153. Uniting other disgruntled anti-assimilationists, Mattathias and his five sons launched a revolt against Antiochus that began in 167 BCE. By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Jonathan Klawans is Professor of Religion at Boston University. Commander that of Judas, the Past Commander that of John (son of Mattathias), and the Chaplain that of Eleazar (son of Mattathias). Roman expansion swept away the last vestige of Edomitic independence . 11, p. 4114) Notice that the fulfillment extends down to our day. Furthermore, those engaged in extra-hazardous occupations, such as coal miners, electric line men, aeronauts, people engaged in blasting, the manufacture of highly flammable or explosive material and submarine officers were excluded from membership. The version of the death of Antiochus recorded in 2 Maccabees is, uh, somewhat different. Learn more about this nefarious character in John Gregory Drummonds article Antiochus EpiphanesThe Bibles Most Notoriously Forgotten Villain., Antiochus IV Epiphanes profaned the Jerusalem Temple by setting up idols within it and offering a pig on its altar. If the thinking had been otherwisefor the reason suggested above or for some other reasonthen all the more theres every reason to exclude these books. The History Of The Maccabees Explained - Grunge The entire period of the influence of the Maccabees, on Judea and the Jews, lasts roughly 130 years (167 to 37 B.C.). After Judah and his brothers had defeated all of Antiochus' generals, 1 Maccabees chapter 5 records victories in neighboring areas by not only Judah, but also his brothers Simon and Jonathan. Photo: Skyview. The term Maccabee (Maccabeus), which originated with Mattahias' son Judah, is frequently applied to his four brothers. His body is subsequently plagued with worms, and the smell of his rotting flesh repulses his entire army. In December 164 bce, three years after Antiochus had defiled it, Judas recaptured Jerusalem, all except the Acra. Mattathias then insisted that all groups of resisters should fight if required on the holy Sabbath. Many joined them there, especially the Hasideans, a pious and strict group deeply concerned for the Law of Moses. Calling people names or clowns is disrespectful . Although the text of Maccabees views Judah as a liberator whose zealotry was necessary to preserve the Torah and the Jewish people, later rabbinic commentators frowned . The Supreme Tent was then revived, again, in September 1883. [14] By 1915 membership had reached 331,756. At the height of their power, the Maccabees ruled over a substantial territoryfrom Judea to Galilee. This effort was spearheaded by the Seleucids beginning around 175 B.C. Each men's local chapter of the Maccabees was known as a Mutual Tent. Just as in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and her neighbor towns, Jehovah has said, no man will dwell there. (Jeremiahs recording of prophecies was completed by 580 B.C.E.) Mattathias's death-dealing zeal for the law paralleled Phinehas's slaughter of Zimri in Numbers 25:10-15 (2:26). Initially, Antiochus paid little attention to the Jewish revolt, underestimating their strength of will. In his first battle he seized the sword of Apollonius, governor of Samaria, the general leading the opposing army. The Ladies of the Maccabees were the group's female auxiliary. The story of Hanukkah is a complex one, involving internal Judean conflict that eventually resulted in Antiochus IV forbidding many Jewish religious practices and taking over the Jerusalem temple, desecrating it. After the death of Mattathias (c. 166 bce ), Judas Maccabeus, the third son, became the leader of the resistance movement. The guerrilla war that followed was as much a civil war as a war of national resistance. Meet the Maccabees The BAS Library Modiin was the hometown of the Maccabees, the heroes of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid king who ruled over Judea. These hints may be telling, but we must turn to 2 Maccabees 10 for the surest confirmation of this sound explanation for the eight-day length of the Festival of Lights. God does not accept strange fire. Woman with seven sons - Wikipedia More than Hanukkah heroes, the Maccabees were a family of Jewish priests who overthrew Seleucid rule and established an independent Jewish dynasty in the Holy Land during the second and first centuries BCE. Mattathias's story is related in the deuterocanonical book of 1 Maccabees. Membership was open to all white persons between 18 and 70, though those over 52 were ineligible for the beneficiary features. The organization was not on an actuarially sound basis - no medical exams were required of new members, and assessments of death was 10 cents for each member. According to the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, zeal for the Jewish religion drove this revolt, and the familiar holiday Hanukkah celebrates the purification of the Jerusalem Temple under their leadership. Explore the earliest accounts of this holiday in Jonathan Klawanss article Hanukkah, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and the Apocrypha., A remarkable Dead Sea Scroll fragment mentions King Jonathan. Scholars Esther Eshel, Hanan Eshel, and Ada Yardeni identify this figure with the Hasmonean king Alexander Janneus, who ruled from 103 to 76 BCE. In the Jewish tradition, the sobriquet Maccabee always refers to Judah Maccabee and his brothers, the leaders of the rebellion against Antiochus IV. Have excavations conducted within the modern Israeli city of Modiin20 miles northwest of Jerusalemfinally exposed the Jewish village that the Maccabees called home? With the gruesome accounts of these martyrs in 2 Maccabees and 4 Maccabees, it's no wonder "Maccabee" is thought to be the origin of the word "macabre.". It is at this low point in the forced Hellenization of the Jewsaccording to 1 Maccabees 1:11-15, some Jews even reversed their circumcisions in order to appear more Greekthat a family of heroes rises to the stage. The oil lasts, however, for a total of eight days until more can be produced. . (1 Macc 2:1-3). Knights of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada. Answer The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against their Greek/Syrian oppressors in Israel, c. 167160 BC, as well as a rejection of Hellenistic compromises in worship. Part of the reason for that is that the origin of Hanukkah lies within the military successes of the Maccabees, a family of revolutionaries whose exploits are recorded in a series of texts called the Books of Maccabees. The name Maccabee, probably meaning "hammer," is actually applied in the Books of Maccabees to only one man, Judas, third son of the priest Mattathias and first leader of the revolt against the Seleucid kings who persecuted the Jews (1 Mc 2:4, 66; 2 Mc 8:5, 16; 10:1, 16).Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of Judas, his supporters . The ladies chapters were known as Hives. So Jubilees disagrees with the Torah in two ways: First, the earliest biblical figures are presented as receiving legal revelation; second, the laws of Jubilees often disagree with the Torah. Well, for one thing, the fullest accounts of Hanukkah are not found in the Hebrew Bible at all. The Revolt of the Maccabees: The True Story Behind Hanukkah But what about earlier? Head offices were traditionally in Detroit, but in 1965 they were moved to Southfield, Michigan.[13]. Hanukkah, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and the Apocrypha Explore the evidence and learn more about Alexander Janneus, the great-grandson of Mattathias, in Who Was He? God only allows Antiochus to die after he promises that his successor will be kinder to the Jews. The mother was forced to watch each of her seven sons die one by one in front of her, which she suffered stoically and without giving in to the demands of the Gentiles. Both communities find things to learn from the Maccabees., By Jesse Abelman, Curator of Judaica and Hebraica. In 167 B.C. After reading the responses of Stacy Quinn and Elli, it appears that Ringling Brothers does not have the only clowns to be found today. The Hasmonean Kings: Jewish or Hellenistic? In focusing on that miracle, the Talmud centers the holiday neither on the sacrifice of the martyrs nor on the Hasmonean victory, but on the purpose of the revolt: the restoration of the worship of God following the dictates of the Torah and the hand of the divine making it possible. Judas then had blameless priests cleanse the Holy Place and erect a new altar of unhewn stones. No one responded to the first comment, except in flippancy. In keeping with the Maccabee legend of the revolt at Modin the patriarch Mattathias remained steadfast to the Jewish religion when ordered to make sacrifice to Greek gods and at great personal risk stops an apostate Jew from offering sacrifice to false gods. This page is not available in other languages. They then reconsecrated the sanctuary on December 24 (Kislev 25 in the Hebrew calendar). The war continued. These at first refused to fight on the Sabbath and at once lost a thousand lives. Major N. S. Boynton was elected the new Supreme Lieutenant Commander. In one battle with this army, Judah's brother Eleazar died in the coolest, most heroic way possible: sliding under a war elephant and slashing it from beneath, being crushed by its gargantuan corpse. Continue Reading That is how the Idumaean king Herod of Jesus day was a Jew by religion. He specializes in the religion and religious texts of ancient Judaism. . The Maccabees were instruments of God for the preservation of the faith, and they frequently are compared with OT heroes. This marked the first step toward the eventual takeover by Rome. First, once we get the fuller story, we can appreciate why ancient Jews shied away from reciting these books or even otherwise elaborating on the details of the revolt when celebrating Hanukkah. Read Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Alexander Onns coauthored article on excavations near the Western Wall in Jerusalem and explore the latest finds in the Biblical worlds most vibrant city in the free eBook Jerusalem Archaeology: Exposing the Biblical City. Who Were the Maccabees? - Christianity So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. At this point, Antiochus IV's general Lysias and the new nine-year-old king Antiochus V marched a large army complete with war elephants to end Judah's siege. Additionally, a lot of rabbis simply didn't care for the Hasmonean dynasty established by Judah and his brothers. The oldest son of Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I, then succeeds his father as High Priest. On the one hand Israel had priests who were important but could not be kings. However, as the Orthodox Church in America explains, these Maccabees aren't Judah, Jonathan, or Simon, but rather a number of Jews who died during Seleucid persecution during the Maccabean era. Each of these books holds interest for Christians, but each holds interest for Jewish readers as well. One final collection of Maccabean stories are collected in the biblical canon of Ethiopian Jews and Christians. The guerrilla war that followed was as much a civil war as a war of national resistance. John Hyrcanus, Maccaban leader, extended the kingdom of Judah to include the w. part of Edomitic lands. Tradition states that when the Maccabees retook Jerusalem's temple it had only a single day's worth of oil for the Temple's menorah. The Story of the Maccabees | Museum of the Bible The Greeks were an empire, a world power; the Jews were a band of upstarts. Judas was a savior of Israel . By 1882, the order had indeed become dormant outside of Michigan, and Boynton became Great Record Keeper and then Great Commander of the state. However, after a series of divine interventions including angels coming down and terrifying the elephants, Ptolemy gives up his anger and honors the Jews instead. The home of Mattathias, a priest in the village of Modiim (now Modiin), 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Jerusalem, quickly became the centre of resistance. Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update. Not only did he ban Sabbath observance, but he also desecrated the Temple. a Jewish priest named Mattathias, along with his five sons, begins a revolt against the Seleucid Empire and its king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. I am thoroughly struck by how profound the life of Christ was in the light of the book of 1 and 2 Maccabees. The Maccabean Revolt ( Hebrew: ) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The link you clicked is provided as a courtesy. Answer The books of 1 and 2 Maccabees are early Jewish writings detailing the history of the Jews in the first century BC. This is how we have the Apocrypha. When Antiochus heard of this rebellion, any last shred of leniency he had shown the Jews was eliminated. The movement that had begun with intense conviction and deep patriotic zeal had so completely succeeded that all memory of its first wild enthusiasm had gone. The answer might depend on who you are. The sacred practices of circumcision, studying the Torah, and keeping kosher were now expressly forbidden. When the report is brought to him that his general (and guardian of his young son) Lysias had been forced to flee by the Jewish army, Antiochus is shaken to his core. The answer might depend on who you are. This triggered the Maccabean Revolt. When Antiochus Epiphanes died in 164 bce, others administered the kingdom because his son, Antiochus Eupator, was still a minor. Also included is the Wisdom of Sirach, an extended collection of wise sayings (longer than Proverbs and Ecclesiastes combined), which concludes with a particularly rich poetic praise of biblical heroes: a readable, teachable 12-chapter tour of Israelite valor. What was at Umm el-Umdan during the time of the Maccabees and the Maccabean revolt? Who were the Maccabees? While excluded and forgotten by Jews, these booksalong with many otherswere preserved, thankfully, by Christians. The death rate among the membership was 5.54 per 1,000, which was considered exceptionally low. 1 Maccabees later narrates that the situation was rectified by the rising Maccabees, who ensure that all such boys were duly circumcised (2:46). By Eyal Regev, Bible History Daily, May 9, 2021 Where is Modiin, hometown of the Maccabees? According to the first book of Maccabees, one of the Hellenistic kings defiled the temple, forbade circumcision, and even set up . Not a BAS Library member yet? The woman with seven sons was a Jewish martyr described in 2 Maccabees 7 and other sources, who had seven sons that were arrested (along with her) by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who forced them to prove their respect to him by consuming pig meat. By Martin Goodman. The word Maccabee is an acronym for the Hebrew words that mean "Who is like You among all powers, Gd ." There are, of course, other reasons too why ancient Jews may have rejected these books: Perhaps the books (and the holiday) were perceived to be too recent. The Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple to the Jewish God. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil (1 Maccabees 1:1115). Yet theres also something peculiar about Hanukkah, at least in comparison to other Jewish festivals. Well, you won't find that account in any of the Books of Maccabees. The Apocrypha is available, for the first time, in an English language edition with an emphasis on Jewish tradition. These days its not that hard to come by stand-alone editions of the Apocrypha. This process of forced assimilation only became worse for the Jews with the accession in 176 BCE of Antiochus IV, who refused to allow any religious exemptions for the Jews as his father had. The Books of the Maccabees | Definition, Contents, & Facts Nevertheless, these texts, which until extremely recently were only available in the ancient Ethiopic language of Ge'ez, do tell the stories of various Judean revolts against tyrannical foreign kings in the Maccabean tradition. and has the pagan altar erected by the Seleucids removed from the temple. Antiochus's promulgation of decrees against the practice of Judaism led in 167 bce to the successful revolt of the priest Mattathias (died 166 bce) and his five sonsthe Maccabees (Hasmoneans; see also Hasmonean dynasty ). Tseerutsaydan tries to dispose of their bodies, but is miraculously prevented from doing so, and the ghosts of the Meqabyans taunt him about the uselessness of his idols. He began by replacing the Jewish high priest with one loyal to him and sympathetic to his assimilationist campaign. Judah lies in the basement of the Church of St. Peter in Chains in Rome, According to the First Book of the Maccabees, Mattathias and his sons were Priests. And how dramatic it is: Just as the nights are starting earlier and earlier, and just as it is getting colder and colder, Jewish families gather in their own homes, light candles, and watch them burn in commemoration of extraordinary events that occurred long ago. But who exactly are the Maccabees? Whether you are Jewish or not, whether you celebrate Hanukkah or not, if you choose to explore the Apocrypha around Hanukkah time, 1 and 2 Maccabees is a perfect place to start. Hellenism threatened to obliterate the identity of the Jewish people. Degree of Loyalty - In the Degree of Loyalty, the dramatic work revolved around the following characters: Apelles, Mattathias, Matthathias's four sons, Judas, Soldiers, while the candidate, Sentinel, and a Knight took the parts of Jewish peasants. Christmas Carols: Stories of Your Favorite Christmas Classics. As such, Antiochus took the assimilation of the Jews very seriously. Jonathan, his brother, succeeded him as general. This story tells that when the temple was recaptured from Antiochus IV after the Hasmonean victory, it was to be rededicated to the worship of God. This group eventually merged with the Highland Nobles in 1911. But the Maccabees' vision, the revival of the era of the Judges, was still but a distant dream. Hellenism brought with it new artistic styles, architectural forms, and literary genres that helped give new expression to traditional forms of Jewish identity and culture. Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 14:13, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Royal & SunAlliance Announces the Sale of its US Life Operations to Swiss Re Life & Health", "Reassure America Life Insurance Company", http://mill-valley.freemasonry.biz/marin_knights_maccabees.htm, Home Page for a revived version of the order, History of the Knights in Marin County, California, Phoenixmasonry page on Knights of the Maccabees, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knights_of_the_Maccabees&oldid=1139914785. Heres what 1 Maccabees has to say about events in Judea, early in Antiochuss reign, and before Antiochus trained his eye on what was happening in Jerusalem: In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us. This proposal pleased them, and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. The finds discovered at the site of Umm el-'Umdan in modern Modi'in are described in "Modi'in: Hometown of the Maccabees" by Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Alexander Onn in the March/April 2014 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. Your email address will not be published.

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