Gog of magog and the maccabean revolt science and bible. It discusses how some jews succumbed to the temptations of hellenization. The maccabean revolt in 175 bc antiochus epiphanes came to power as the seleucid ruler with an agenda to expand the empire. Oct 11, 2017 the maccabean revolt set a historical precedent as the first religious war. In 167 bce the seleucid king antiochus iv epiphanes reign from 175164 bce ordered the religious persecution of the jews. Modiin was the hometown of the maccabees, the heroes of the maccabean revolt against the seleucid king who ruled over judea. If youve heard of hanukah, you mightve heard of the maccabees. This video looks at the period of the maccabean revolt.
Antiochus iv epiphanes harsh decrees had the effect of accelerating jewish resistance to greek customs rather than the. Where the maccabees lived biblical archaeology society. Hanukkah, the jewish festival of lights, celebrates the maccabean revolt 167160 bce, and the narrative that jewish rebel judas maccabeus. I maccabees presents a historical account of political, military, and diplomatic events from the time of judaeas relationship with antiochus iv epiphanes of syria reigned 175164163 bc to the death 54 bc of simon maccabeus, high priest in jerusalem. The first two books only are part of canonical scripture in the septuagint and the vulgate hence are canonical to roman catholicism and eastern orthodoxy and are included. Dec 08, 2018 the maccabean revolt it was in jerusalem where he first encountered the priestly maccabees led by judas maccabeus who was disgusted by what antiochus was doing to israel. The revolt of the maccabees the jewish revolt against the greeks sets a precedent in human history it becomes the worlds first religious war. The maccabean revolt was a jewish rebellion against their greeksyrian oppressors in israel, c. Both maccabees books essentially break down the history from antiochus iv s desecration to the jewish revolt. This man was so evil that he made herod the great look like a great humanitarian by comparison.
The maccabean revolt after the death of alexander the great, his kingdom was divided into four. A couple of centuries later, jewish scholars found themselves in jamnia with the temple destroyed and jerusalem lost. Mattathias, a priest, of intense patriotism and unbounded courage, infuriated at the attempt of antiochus epiphanes to destroy the jews and their religion, gathered a. This guerilla army, known as the maccabees, mounted a revolt against antiochus. The books of maccabees describe the revolt led by the maccabean family against the syrian king, antiochus epiphanes. The causes of the maccabean revolt against antiochus iv although jason and menelaus were hellenized high priests, we have no reason to believe that they ever harmed the temple, as 2 maccabees claimed, or that menelaus took part in the religious persecution of fellow jews, as some modern scholars contended. The name maccabee was a title of honour given to judas, a son of mattathias and the hero of the jewish wars of independence, 168. Jerusalem after the death of alexander the great and the subsequent division of his empire between his generals daniel 8. The early christians preserved these jewish texts written centuries earlier which many scholars believe attest to the events of the maccabean revolt. It began with the killing of a local who was willing to sacrifice to a pagan idol, and the action was taken by a. The maccabean revolt and the abomination of desolation. He felt enough was enough and he led a revolt against antiochus, but the maccabees werent very successful at. May 09, 2016 this is the tenth lesson of a series entitled, an introduction to the bible. At the center of the story are mattathias, a country.
A novel of the maccabean revolt paperback june 27, 2015. The maccabean revolt grace thru faith the bible made. Thus, the jury is still out as to whether the magnificent tomb for the maccabees, heroes of hanukkahs maccabean revolt, has been found. What hanukkah and the maccabean revolt have to do with jesus. Maccabees, priestly family of jews who organized a successful rebellion against the seleucid ruler antiochus iv and reconsecrated the defiled temple of jerusalem. To purchase this briefing pack in its entirety, go to.
The books of the maccabees biblical literature britannica. He attacked and overthrew the ptolmaic empire in egypt, thus judea came under seleucid control. He felt enough was enough and he led a revolt against antiochus, but the maccabees werent very successful at first. The term maccabees as used to describe the jewish army is taken from the hebrew word for hammer. Why the maccabees arent in the bible my jewish learning.
This is the tenth lesson of a series entitled, an introduction to the bible. Tcherikover, hellenistic civilization and the jews 1959. He is joined in his effort by his five sons judas maccabeus maccabee, eleazar avaran, simon thassi, john gaddi, and jonathan apphus. The maccabean revolt by mark perkins, pastor, front range bible church, denver, co usa syria had one incredibly evil ruler by the name of antiochus epiphanes. The story of chanukah, though not included in the jewish bible, remains a valuable source of jewish history. When king demetrius heard of it, he assembled a very large army and marched out to meet him in battle. In addition to the temple building itself, the temple area greek, temenos consisted of an outer courtyard surrounding the. When mattathias died, the revolt was led by his son judas, or judah maccabee, as he is often called. Egypt, governed by ptolemy i soter allowed for judaism in jerusalem to flourish with very little intervening in the 3rd century bce. Egypt, the seleucid empire, the kingdom of pergamon and macedon including greece. The origin of hanukkah is traced back to the maccabean revolt. This segment comes from the matthew commentary published by koinonia house. Mattathias, a priest, of intense patriotism and unbounded courage, infuriated at the attempt of antiochus epiphanes to destroy the jews and their religion, gathered a band of loyal jews and raised the standard of revolt. Hellenized jews maccabees early church history 101.
The company of greek officers who arrived at modiin intending to enforce the kings ordinances addressed mattathias first. You can read about it in the first book of maccabees which is found in the apocrypha, a collection of books included in catholic bibles and other places. The maccabean revolt set a historical precedent as the first religious war. The history of the maccabean revolt is found in 1 and 2 maccabees and in the writings of josephus. Similar to the traditional tale though, the books of first and second maccabees. This theory, however, is severely weakened through a comparison with the book of daniel, since daniel is included within the biblical canon in spite of the fact that most scholars date the latter book to the time of the maccabean revolt around 165 b. The maccabees also spelled machabees were a group of jewish rebel warriors who took. The seleucid empire, which controlled presentday syria and israel, sought to make the jewish people more greeklike. More insights from your bible study get started with logos bible. The revolt involved many battles, in which the maccabean forces gained notoriety among the seleucid army for their use of guerrilla tactics. Soon after 167 bce, the family of mattathias became known as the. Understanding the maccabean revolt 167 to 63 bcd an introductory atlas. The two books of the maccabees deal substantially with the same theme. The story of the maccabean revolt and temple cleansing is not in the bible because it happened in 165 bc during the time between the old and new testaments.
After a hardfought victory over the seleucids, the maccabees entered jerusalem in triumph and rededicated the temple. The maccabean revolt is the first religious war prophecy in. Sep 25, 2015 thus, the jury is still out as to whether the magnificent tomb for the maccabees, heroes of hanukkahs maccabean revolt, has been found. The first book of maccabees is an excellent and reliable historical source on the period of the maccabean revolt and its aftermath, 1754 b. We learn from 1 maccabees what the jews faced and what they thought about being hellenized. The book of 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene. The maccabean revolt was a jewish rebellion against their. The maccabean story is preserved in the books of the first and second maccabees, which describe in detail the rededication of the temple in jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah. In this struggle, the hasmoneans clashed with the hellenistic kingdom of the seleucids and the greek cities around judea, yet at the same time the maccabean state acquired some of the hellenistic cultural traits of its adversaries. We know the details of the jewish fight against the greeks and hellenism from the two books of the maccabees as well as the writings of the jewish historian josephus. Jan 02, 2020 the book of 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene. It is the national celebration of the rededication of the temple by the jews at the end of the maccabean revolt. May 17, 20 in this segment chuck missler discusses the maccabean revolt.
These books are not part of the tanakh hebrew bible which came from the jewish canon. Oct 29, 2015 understanding the maccabean revolt 167 bce to 63 bce. The record in 2 maccabees begins one year earlier than that of 1 maccabees, but as the latter reaches down to 5 b. Where the heroes of the maccabean revolt lie biblical.
In this segment chuck missler discusses the maccabean revolt. They lacked the supplies to withstand a lengthy siege, not least because that year was a shmita year. Jesus gives no indication he was avoiding the day and its accompanying social and spiritual activities. Hanukkah, the jewish festival of lights, celebrates the maccabean revolt 167 160 bce, and the narrative that jewish rebel judas maccabeus. It was in jerusalem where he first encountered the priestly maccabees led by judas maccabeus who was disgusted by what antiochus was doing to israel.
In 167 bce, the jewish people rose up, with mattathias as their leader. The maccabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages, circumcised boys and forced jews into outlawry. Sievers emphasizes the pivotal role played by jonathan the hasmonean in laying the foundations for the hasmonean state. The book traces the struggle of the judean jews against the cruel oppression of the seleucid rulers who had taken control of judea away from the ptolemaic egyptian kings shortly after 200 b. It describes the refusal of mattathias to perform pagan religious rites, the ensuing jewish revolt. The riddle remains unsolvedthe search for the elusive tomb of the maccabees continues, reem and shahar said. You can read about it in the first book of maccabees which is found in the apocrypha, a collection of. The books of the maccabees, maccabees also spelled machabees, four books, none of which is in the hebrew bible but all of which appear in some manuscripts of the septuagint. The first two books only are part of canonical scripture in the septuagint and the.
A detailed description of the herodian temple is provided by josephus, and the mishnah, which was completed around 200 c. The first book, although written from a biased perspective, does not directly mention god or divine intervention. Gog of magog and the maccabean revolt december 7, 164 b. The maccabean revolt is the first religious war prophecy. The second book has a more theological slant, advancing several. Maccabees, priestly family of jews who organized a successful rebellion. Have excavations conducted within the modern israeli city of modiin20 miles northwest of jerusalemfinally exposed the. Once antiochus epiphanes desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and erected a statue of zeus in the holy of holies, the profane act both shocked those loyal to yahweh god and caused the rise of the priestly maccabee family to rise up and wage war against the tyrant.
By the end of the war, simon was the only one of the five sons of mattathias to survive and he ushered in an 80year period of jewish independence in judea, as the land of israel was now called. Demetrius sent jonathan a letter in peaceable words to honor him. Maccabean revolt biblical studies oxford bibliographies. Maccabean revolt simple english wikipedia, the free. Maccabees, also spelled machabees, flourished 2nd century bce, palestine, priestly family of jews who organized a successful rebellion against the seleucid ruler antiochus iv and reconsecrated the defiled temple of jerusalem historical context of the maccabees. Maccabean revolt article about maccabean revolt by the free. International law relations, 162100 bce routledge studies in ancient history. Ii maccabees focuses on the jews revolt against antiochus and concludes. Antiochus iv epiphanes harsh decrees had the effect of accelerating jewish resistance to greek customs rather than the intended opposite. After beating judas in battle south of bethlehem, lysias laid siege to jerusalem.
Though his father antiochus iii made allowances for the people of israel to. Studies on the meaning and origin of the maccabean revolt. In the narrative of i maccabees, after antiochus iv issued his decrees forbidding jewish religious practice, a rural. The maccabean revolt mattathias, the man who is creditted with starting the maccabean revolt, can trace his lineage back to aarons grandson phinehas 1 maccabees. Antiochus iv epiphanes ruled the seleucid empire from 175 bce to 164 bce. Mar 17, 2020 the maccabean revolt in 175 bc antiochus epiphanes came to power as the seleucid ruler with an agenda to expand the empire. Aside from those denominations who hold both 1 and 2 maccabees as canon, do the rest of the old and new testament have anything to say about the maccabees or this time period. The author of the first book of maccabees regarded the maccabean revolt as a rising of pious jews against the. Jun 21, 2019 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene quote from this article. A good discussion of the political and religious developments in judea from the beginning of the maccabean revolt. Sep 22, 2019 in the novemberdecember 2008 issue of bar, andrea m. He served as a priest during a tumultuous time when an aggressive campaign was launched in order. C see i, 5, 1 maccabees covers a period of at least 40 years, while 2 maccabees gives the history of but 15 years 176161 b. The maccabean revolt was an insurrection by jewish patriots the maccabees against the seleucid empire and parties who wished to adopt greek culture.
The bible and interpretation religious persecution or. Revolt of alexander epiphanes in the one hundred sixtieth year alexander epiphanes, son of antiochus, landed and occupied ptolemais. The name maccabee was a title of honour given to judas, a son of mattathias and the hero of the jewish wars of independence, 168164. See also bibliography under old testament old testament, christian name for the hebrew bible, which serves as the first division of the christian bible see new testament. The seleucid emperor antiochus iv epiphanes installed a greek idol zeus in jerusalems temple and forbade jewish practices. Maccabean revolt article about maccabean revolt by the. The causes of the maccabean revolt against antiochus iv although jason and menelaus were hellenized high priests, we have no reason to believe that they ever harmed the temple, as 2 maccabees claimed, or that menelaus took part in the religious persecution of. The bible and interpretation religious persecution or high. Their circumstances were the result of their own failed revolt against the romans. He served as a priest during a tumultuous time when an aggressive campaign was launched in order to hellenize bring the greek culture into judea. Lysias set out to destroy jerusalem and crush the maccabean revolt once and for all. The period of independence also called the maccabean, or asmonean, or hasmonaean, period.