After the death of Alexander the Great, his Kingdom was divided into four; Egypt, the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon and Macedon (including Greece). Egypt, governed by Ptolemy I Soter allowed for Judaism in Jerusalem to flourish with very little intervening in the 3rd century BCE. However, during the 2nd century BCE, the Seleucids having gained dominance over Judea went to enforce a dominion over Egypt and the Jews.
SUMMARY OF 1 MACCABEES. Previous. List of Book Summaries. Next. The Twelve Major Periods of Biblical History. Related Lesson 23.
Jews under Ptolemaic rule
Theocracy and politics were intertwined in the 2nd century BCE in Jerusalem. The social structure of Jerusalem was run by the Jewish aristocracy such as the Priests and the High Priests. Although Hellenism, which had spread in the 3rd century BCE after Alexander's conquests, was the dominant culture around Judea and the Greek way of life pervaded the area, the Jewish community remained steadfast to their own practices. They largely ignored Hellenism and, under Alexander and the Ptolemies, were respected in doing so. The Ptolemies gave the Jewish people their civil rights and they lived contently under their rule.
Remove Ads
Advertisement
Advertise HereThe Holy Temple was the most important structure to the entire Jewish community in Jerusalem. It was the social and religious centre of the Jewish people, not to mention the economic benefits of trading in the Temple. More importantly, however, it was considered a sign of God’s presence amongst them. This feeling of the elect, the chosen ones, was crucial to the Jewish self-consciousness.
Seleucid takeover
In 198 BCE, all of the goodwill of the Jewish community towards the governing body turned to hatred as the Seleucid Empire defeated the Ptolemies, taking control of all Judea. As the Seleucid Empire expanded, so too did their notion of Hellenism. The Seleucids under Antiochus III controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula forcibly converting many of its new populace to Greek culture and religion, and the intent in that hegemony continued as they took Jerusalem. Antiochus wanted to Hellenize the Jewish community. His aim was to remove any features of Judaism that could define it from the Greek religion and other accepted monotheistic religions. Because of the benefits of the Greek culture, which included economic integration between all of the Greek states, and the pressure of regime, many Jewish people accepted Hellenism.
The already strained relations between the pious Jewish people that did not accept Hellenism and the Seleucid Empire were shattered when Antiochus Epiphanes adopted his father’s policy of universal Hellenization but took it to new heights. As Epiphanes looked at Alexander the Great of Macedon and aspired to have his name in the history books alongside him, he needed to distinguish himself above his predecessors. The best way to do that, he thought, was to enforce the Greek culture on all of the Jewish population, a feat that had so far been elusive. He accepted a bribe and approved the take-over of Jason of the Oniad family to the now de-facto client position of High Priesthood. Antiochus used Jason’s power as the High Priest over the Jewish people to build a gymnasium just outside the Temple, with that, strengthening the Greek culture in the heartland of the Jewish community. It was a symbol of Greek Hellenism and having it outside the Temple showed the Jewish community exactly who was in charge. The Hellenistic idea of masculinity was shown in the rule that one must be naked to enter the gymnasium. Being naked in public was strictly forbidden under Jewish laws, so any Jewish person that went into the gymnasium violated the laws of the covenant. The state understood this, and therefore, made it a legal requirement for anybody who could afford it to go at least once.
Remove Ads
Advertisement
Advertise HereThis was a method of making the state bigger and of greater authority than any other religion other than the Greek polytheism, thus many Jewish people fell in line and acquiesced to the regime. Antiochus, buoyed by his success of the gymnasium, decided to push harder against the Jewish religion. A short-lived rebellion took place and when this was put down Antiochus’ views were hardened. He defiled the Holy Temple, vandalizing it and erecting an idol on the altar. He then outlawed certain practices such as circumcision and the Sabbath. Altars to Greek gods and idols were placed in every town and those who did not pray to them and convert from practising Judaism were put to death.
Rebellion
Although many of the Jewish community were, at this point, Hellenized, the persecution of the Jewish people and the destruction of practicing Judaism united the Jewish people in Judea. The Jewish people needed someone to lead them. When Antiochus sent some of his officers to the town of Modiin to lay down his tyranny and enact the oppressive laws that he had enforced, he was met by a local Jewish country priest named Mattathias. This turned out to be a very portentous meeting. The country priest was ordered to fulfil his duty to the state and be the first to sacrifice an animal to an altar of an idol. He refused and when another Jewish man stepped forward to do it, he murdered the officer. Tearing down the idol, Mattathias preached 'Let everyone who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow me!' (I Maccabees 2:27). The Jewish people had their leader. He and his five sons, John, Simon, Judah, Eleazer, and Jonathan, rallied the Jewish population. In 167 BCE, the Jewish people rose up, with Mattathias as their leader. Soon after 167 BCE, the family of Mattathias became known as the Maccabees or the hammer. They recruited tough Jewish people on the way and began a guerrilla war as they started to take over the northern villages of Judea. They tore down the altars of idols and killed those who worshipped them, even many Hellenistic Jews. Mattathias died in 166 BCE but just before death, he left Judah in charge of his army.
Remove Ads
Advertisement
Advertise HereAntiochus underestimated the severity of the rebellion and the size and strength of the Jewish army. Instead of crushing them with the full force of his armies, he set his less effective generals on them. Judah, a wise and courageous military general, defeated them with consummate ease. Antiochus was made to look foolish. As a response, he set out to exterminate the Jewish population in Judea. Antiochus sent for his most glorified general, Lysias, and around 60,000 Seleucid soldiers to try and do just that. Rhino tutorials free.
Judah was severely outnumbered. However, the familiarity of Judea was a huge advantage for the Jewish army. Using the slight hills and the superior knowledge of the area, they outmanoeuvred the Seleucids and slowly they picked them off. Finally, they came to battle. Judah had gathered another 7000 Jewish rebels but still they were outmanned by at least five to one. As Judah stood there looking at the masses, so the story goes, he prayed to God for victory. The Jewish people overcame the massive difference in manpower to secure an almost impossible victory over the Seleucid Empire and over Antiochus.
After the defeat, Antiochus’ armies were devastated. They met again when Judah’s army was at the gates of Jerusalem, but it was a much shorter battle. The Seleucids were bereft of hope as Judah drove the enemy out of the Holy City. The Jewish army had defeated Lysias. When Judah and his brothers went to the Temple, he saw the destruction and defilement that Antiochus caused upon it and was overwhelmed by grief (I Maccabees 4:36-40). On December 25, 165 BCE, after months of work clearing and cleaning, the Temple was finally rededicated to God. Their celebrations continued for eight days as is known to this day as the celebration of Hanukah.
Remove Ads
Advertisement
Aftermath
The Maccabees had accomplished their pursuit of religious liberty and were going after political independence. Although the Jewish people supported their fight against the shackles of religious desegregation, they were unsure of the political and cultural influence of the Maccabees. The Hellenistic way of life was already entrenched onto the Jewish people. However, after the Maccabees conquered the whole of Judea and enforced the collapse of the Seleucid Kingdom in Palestine, the Jewish people imposed themselves as an autonomous group. Judea was now free from the Seleucid rule and the death of Antiochus VII in 129 BCE confirmed this. The Jewish people were now content with the new political purpose of the Maccabees. Although no brother of Judah survived, with Simon being the last leader of the Maccabees who died in 134 BCE, their intention still flourished.
There is no general consensus on the nature of the revolt. Some see it as an economic and religious civil war, the Hellenised Jews that were propped up with the support of the Seleucid's against the zealous who could only turn to their religion. Whilst others tend to think that is was more than a class victory; it was an example of success in fighting against perceived oppression. The outcome, however, remained the same; the formation of the Hasmonean Dynasty, an autonomous Jewish rule over Palestine that would last a generation. The hopes of the Jewish monarchy was relieved. So too was the freedom to practice the Jewish religion. This experience would be vital in the history of the Jewish people, particularly in Jerusalem in the following century.
Tanakh(Judaism) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Old Testament(Christianity) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bible portal |
1 And 2 Maccabees Online
Martyrs refusing to sacrifice from Die Bibel in Bildern
1 Maccabees is a book written in Hebrew by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom by the Hasmonean dynasty, about the latter part of the 2nd century BC. The original Hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the Greek translation contained in the Septuagint. The book is held as canonical scripture by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches (except for the Orthodox Tewahedo), but not by Protestant denominations nor any major branches of Judaism; it is not part of the Tanakh. Such Protestants consider it to be an apocryphal book (see also Deuterocanon).
![1 maccabees 14 summary 1 maccabees 14 summary](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124868932/417691387.jpg)
1 Maccabees is best-known for containing the narrative behind the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Contents[edit]
The setting of the book is about a century and a half after the conquest of Judea by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, after Alexander's empire has been divided so that Judea was part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. It tells how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish law, resulting in the Maccabean Revolt (a Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule). The book covers the whole of the revolt, from 175 to 134 BC, highlighting how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came through Mattathias' family, particularly his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Apphus, and Simon Thassi, and Simon's son, John Hyrcanus. The doctrine expressed in the book reflects traditional Jewish teaching, without later doctrines found, for example, in 2 Maccabees. The First Book of Maccabees also gives a list of Jewish colonies scattered elsewhere through the Mediterranean at the time.[1]
In the first chapter, Alexander the Great conquers the territory of Judea, only to be eventually succeeded by the Seleucid Antiochus IV Epiphanes. After successfully invading the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Antiochus IV captures Jerusalem and removes the sacred objects from the Temple in Jerusalem, slaughtering many Jews. He then imposes a tax and establishes a fortress in Jerusalem.
Antiochus then tries to suppress public observance of Jewish laws, in an attempt to secure control over the Jews. In 168 BC, he desecrates the Temple by setting up an 'abomination of desolation' (that is, establishing rites of pagan observance in the Temple, or sacrificing an unclean animal on the altar in the Holy of Holies). Antiochus forbids both circumcision and possession of Jewish scriptures on pain of death. He forbids observance of the sabbath and the offering of sacrifices at the Temple. He also requires Jewish leaders to sacrifice to idols. While enforcement may be targeting only Jewish leaders, ordinary Jews were also killed as a warning to others.
Hellenization included the construction of gymnasiums in Jerusalem. Among other effects, this discouraged the Jewish rite of circumcision even further, which had already been officially forbidden; a man's state could not be concealed in the gymnasium, where men trained and socialized in the nude. However, 1 Maccabees also insists that there were many Jews who sought out or welcomed the introduction of Greek culture. According to the text, some Jewish men even engaged in foreskin restoration in order to pass as fully Greek.
Mattathias calls upon people loyal to the traditions of Israel to oppose the invaders and the Jewish Hellenizers, and his three sons begin a military campaign against them (the Maccabean Revolt). There is one complete loss of a thousand Jews (men, women and children) to Antiochus when the Jewish defenders refuse to fight on the Sabbath. The other Jews then reason that, when attacked, they must fight even on the holy day. In 165 BC the Temple is freed and reconsecrated, so that ritual sacrifices may begin again. The festival of Hanukkah is instituted by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers to celebrate this event (1 Macc. 4:59). Judas seeks an alliance with the Roman Republic to remove the Greeks. He is succeeded by his brother Jonathan, who becomes high priest and also seeks alliance with Rome and confirms alliance with Areus of Sparta (1 Macc. 12:1–23). Simon follows them, receiving the double office of high priest and prince of Israel. (Simon and his successors form the Hasmonean dynasty, which is not always considered a valid kingship by the Jews, since they were not of the lineage of David.) Simon leads the people in peace and prosperity, until he is murdered by agents of Ptolemy, son of Abubus, who had been named governor of the region by the Macedonian Greeks. He is succeeded by his son, John Hyrcanus.
![Summary Summary](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124868932/191841068.jpg)
Name[edit]
The name Maccabee in Hebrew, means 'Hammer'. This is properly applied to the first leader of the revolt, Judas, third son of Mattathias, whose attacks were 'hammer-like'. The name came to be used for his brothers as well, which accounts for the title of the book.
The Name 'Maccabee' can also be derived from the first letters of each word מי כמוכה באלים י'ה 'Who is like You from amongst the mighty, the LORD?' (Mem, Kaf, Bet, Yud). This Hebrew verse is taken from Exodus 15:11.
Form[edit]
The narrative is primarily prose text, but is interrupted by seven poetic sections, which imitate classical Hebrew poetry. These include four laments and three hymns of praise.
Canonicity[edit]
Pope Damasus I's Council of Rome in 382, if the Decretum Gelasianum is correctly associated with it, issued a biblical canon identical with the list given at Trent including the two books of Maccabees. Origen of Alexandria (253),[2]Augustine of Hippo (c. 397),[3]Pope Innocent I (405),[4][5]Synod of Hippo (393),[6] the Council of Carthage (397),[7] the Council of Carthage (419),[8] the Apostolic Canons,[9]the Council of Florence (1442)[10] and the Council of Trent (1546)[11] listed the first two books of Maccabees as canonical.
Transmission, language and author[edit]
The text comes to us in three codices of the Septuagint: the Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Venetus, as well as some cursives.
Though the original book was written in Hebrew, as can be deduced by a number of Hebrew idioms in the text,[12] the original has been lost and the version which comes down to us is the Septuagint. Some authors date the original Hebrew text even closer to the events covered, while a few suggest a later date. Because of the accuracy of the historical account, if the later date is taken, the author would have to have had access to first-hand reports of the events or other primary sources.
Origen of Alexandria[13] gives testimony to the existence of an original Hebrew text. Jerome likewise claims 'the first book of Maccabees I have found to be Hebrew, the second is Greek, as can be proved from the very style' (per Prologus Galeatus). Many scholars suggest that they may have actually had access to a Biblical Aramaic paraphrase of the work—but one should be aware of a 'creeping Aramaicism', finding evidence for a vaguely Aramaic text when there is nothing definite to point to.[citation needed] Only the Greek text has survived, and this only through its inclusion in the Christian canon. Origen claims that the title of the original was Sarbēth Sarbanael (variants include Σαρβηθ Σα[ρ]βαναι ελ 'Sarbēth Sa[r]banai El' and Σαρβηθ Σα[ρ]βανέελ Sarbēth Sa[r]baneel), an enigmatic Greek transliteration from a putative Hebrew original.[14] Various reconstructions have been proposed:
- 'Book of the Prince of the House of Israel' or 'the Prince of the House of God (El)', from the Hebrew שַׂר בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, Sar Beit-Yisra'el or שַׂר בֵּית אֵל, Sar Beit-El, respectively,
- 'History of the House of the Warriors',[15]
- 'Book of the House of the Princes of God',[16]
- 'the Book of the Dynasty of God's resisters',[17] perhaps from סֵפֶר בֵּית סָרְבָנֵי אֵל, Sefer Beit Sarevanei El ('Book of the House who strive for God').
Gustaf Dalman, meanwhile, suggests that the title is a corruption of the Aramaic 'The Book of the House of the Hasmoneans'.[18]
John Deere Service Advisor 5.2 Agricultural 2019 - All Models All Serials Service Info Manuals & DiagnosticsOnline Installation Service Included!John Deere Service Advisor 5.2 is the NEW Dealer service Information For All John Deere Models Worldwide.Newest update: 10-2018.JD Service Advisor v5.2 support only Genuine JD EDL V3 DLA Adapter kit (The previous version V2 USB is also supported). John deere service advisor software. John Deere Service Advisor contains:TractorsTractor AttachmentsTransmissionCombines and HeadersCotton HarvestingCutting and MowingHarvesterHarvester HeadHay and ForageLandscapingMate.
The book's author is unknown, but some suggest that it may have been a devout Jew from the Holy Land who may have taken part in the events described in the book. He shows intimate and detailed geographical knowledge of the Holy Land, but is inaccurate in his information about foreign countries.[citation needed] The author interprets the events not as a miraculous intervention by God, but rather as God using the military genius of the Maccabees as the instrument to achieve his own ends.
Notes[edit]
- ^Paul JohnsonA History of the Jews, pp. 170–71.
- ^Eusebius, of Caesarea. Ecclesiastical History Book 6 Chapter 25:1–2. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^Augustine of Hippo. On Christian Doctrine Book II Chapter 8:2. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^Westcott, Brooke Foss (2005). A general survey of the history of the canon of the New Testament (6th ed.). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. p. 570. ISBN1597522392.
- ^Letter from Innocent I to Exsuperius, bishop of Toulouse.
- ^'Canon XXIV. (Greek xxvii.)', The Canons of the 217 Blessed Fathers who assembled at Carthage, Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- ^B. F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 440, 541–542.
- ^Council of Carthage (419) Canon 24
- ^in Trullo, Council. The Apostolic Canons. Canon 85. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^Session 11–4 February 1442
- ^Session IV Celebrated on the eighth day of April, 1546 under Pope Paul III
- ^ See: Darshan, Guy, “The Original Language of 1 Maccabees: A Reexamination,” Biblische Notizen (Neue Folge) 182 (2019), 91–110, esp. 94–97.
- ^Cited by Eusebius, Church History vi. 25.
- ^ See: Darshan, Guy, “The Original Language of 1 Maccabees: A Reexamination,” Biblische Notizen (Neue Folge) 182 (2019), 91–110, esp. 92–94.
- ^Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea: The Ecclesiastical History and The Martyrs of Palestine, translated by J. E. L. Oulton and H. J. Lawlor (London: SPCK, 1927–1928); II, 74f.
- ^The Interpreter's dictionary of the Bible, by William H. Brownlee (New York: Abingdon Press, 1962), III, 203.
- ^I Maccabees, by Jonathan A. Goldstein (AB 41, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1976), 414–15.
- ^Gustaf Dalman, Grammatik des Jüdisch-Palästinischen Aramäisch, section 6
Further reading[edit]
- Bartlett, John R. 1998. 1 Maccabees. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press.
- Borchardt, Francis. 2014. The Torah in 1 Maccabees: A Literary Critical Approach to the Text. Boston: Walter de Gruyter.
- Darshan, Guy. 2019. 'The Original Language of 1 Maccabees: A Reexamination.' Biblische Notizen (Neue Folge) 182: 91–110.
- Goldstein, Jonathan A. 1976. I Maccabees: A New Translation, with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible 41. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
- Lanzinger, Daniel. 2015. 'Alcimus’ Last Command: History and Propaganda in 1 Maccabees 9:54.' Journal for the Study of Judaism 46, no. 1: 86–102.
- Williams, David S. 1999. The Structure of 1 Maccabees. Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association.
External links[edit]
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
Wikiquote has quotations related to: 1 Maccabees |
- The Book of First Maccabees Full text
- 1 Maccabees: 2015 Critical Translation with Audio Drama at biblicalaudio
- 'Maccabees, Book of'. The Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906.
- Fairweather, William (1911). 'Maccabees, Books of' . Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). pp. 198–200.
- 1 Maccabees, article in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
- 1 Maccabees public domain audiobook at LibriVox
1 Maccabees | ||
Preceded by Esther | Roman Catholic Old Testament | Succeeded by 2 Maccabees |
Eastern Orthodox Old Testament |
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1_Maccabees&oldid=918454310'