And his servants bare rule, each one in his place. Antipathy toward the Seleucid-friendly Hellenizing Jews is unsurprising, as they were enemies in war, but 1 Maccabees extends criticism to internal Jewish opponents of the Hasmoneans as well. [64], The Roman Catholic Lectionary makes use of texts from 1 Maccabees 1 to 6, along with texts from 2 Maccabees 6 and 7, in the weekday readings for the 33rd week in Ordinary Time, in year 1 of the two-year cycle of readings, always in November, and as one of the options available for readings for the dedication of an altar and as one of the suggested readings at a Mass celebrated to honour persecuted Christians.[65]. And he had five sons, John, who was surnamed Gaddis; VERSE 3. Their faith in the resurrection, which they explicitly assert (v. 11), gives them the courage to undergo terrible sufferings to keep the holy Law of God, sufferings in which they are also supported by their mothers faith. Finally, after Matthathias dies, his son Judas succeeds in liberating the Temple precincts and reconsecrating the Temple itself in 165 B.C.E. The later Jewish historian Josephus most likely used some form of this text in writing his account of the Maccabean revolt. Why do you think the story of the Maccabees remains so important for Jews even today? The book is held as canonical scripture today in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches (except for the Orthodox Tewahedo). The sacred writers purpose is to build up the morale of the Jews. This is alluded to in two other passages: Daniel 9:27. The second book overlaps with the first, starting earlier. Corrections? Jonathan is eventually captured by the Seleucid Greek ruler Diodotus Tryphon. 2 He had five sons: John, who was called Gaddi; 3 Simon, who The surviving Greek script has Hebraisms and Hebrew idioms. The author exhibits a personal interest in the events, but presents them as accurately as possible given his own commitment to the Maccabean dynasty as instituted by God. Omissions? 1 Alexander of Macedon son of Philip had come from the land of Kittim and defeated Darius king of the Persians and Medes, whom he succeeded as ruler, at first of Hellas. 2 Maccabees - Chapter 4. Maccabees does not mention the involvement of the mercenaries who are mentioned in other accounts, whereas other accounts do not mention the Jewish involvement. Purpose of The Book of 1 Maccabees: The purpose in writing 1 Maccabees Book is to record the deliverance of Israel that God worked through the family of Mattathias (5:62) - especially through his three sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. 1 Samuel. The book is not part of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and is not considered canonical by Protestant denominations nor in any of the major branches of Judaism. The author was an enthusiastic a supporter of the Maccabees who shows little sympathy with either their Jewish or Greek opponents. Throughout the early Christian period, IV Maccabees was wrongly attributed to Josephus. Both books, which Protestants regard as apocryphal, were recognized by the Fathers as inspired [and canonical at the Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397, 419)] and were later [again] defined as canonical by the Council of Trent (1546). And the saying was good in their eyes. [29] Jewish historian Uriel Rappaport[he] asserts that "the majority of scholars today accept the authenticity of this document". [13] The word "Maccabees" in plural, however, does not appear to have been used until centuries after the Maccabean Revolt. In an effort to enforce unity, he attempts to suppress the public observance of Jewish religious laws. St. Augustine wrote in The City of God that they were preserved for their accounts of the martyrs. When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand). Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Finally, he desecrates the Temple by setting up an "abomination of desolation" there, apparently either a pagan idol or a bust of himself. 16:1 Then John came up from Gazara, and told Simon his father what Cendebeus had done against their people. The first book was written in Hebrew, although what we have is only a Greek translation; the second, written in Greek, shows that the author had a good grasp of Greek rhetoric and the Greek language, which suggests he may have been from Alexandria. 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author and included in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons of the Bible. Proverbs 16:18. 1 Kings. For more details about the Maccabees family and battles with the Greeks, please read 1 Maccabees. 2 Maccabees interprets the misfortunes of the Jews as God's punishment for their own sins; the author of 1 Maccabees depicts the problems as due to the external evil of Antiochus IV and his generals, not as a cleansing ordeal that was in some sense divine will. perhaps even Sadducean, tendency interpenetrates the entire work" (Fischer, 4:441) and the "author of 1 Maccabees identifies unreservedly with the rebels and their leaders." (Efron, 47; Sievers, 2). 1 Maccabees is best known for its account of the recapture of Jerusalem in the year 164 BC and rededication of the Second Temple: the origin behind the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. In true Deuteronomic tradition, the author insists on fidelity to the law as the expression of Israels love for God. It also seems to have been written in Judea where knowledge of Hebrew would have been more widespread. 1:9 And after his death they all put crowns upon themselves; so did their sons after them many years: and evils were multiplied in the earth. each should forsake his own laws. The words "God" and "Lord" never occur in the text, always being replaced by "Heaven" or "He.". They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The rise of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Rabbinic Judaism generally disapproved of the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty, but the book is openly pro-Hasmonean, one of several factors for a lack of enthusiasm for the book within later Judaism. He relented after angels intervened on behalf of the Jews. (2) 1 Maccabees 1:11-16:24: History of the Jews from 175 to 135 BC. Although 1 Maccabees was originally written in Hebrew (some you can tell from the sentence structure) it exists now only in Greek. Mattathias proclaimed a holy war; Jewish armed resistance operated from the wilderness with great success under the successive leadership of three of Mattathias sonsJudas Maccabeus, the undisputed leader of the Jews (3:1-9); Jonathan (9:28-12:53), and Simon (chap. 2 He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. [22], The narrative is primarily prose text, but is interrupted by seven poetic sections, which imitate classical Hebrew poetry. II Maccabees focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 bce by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work. [This chapter is in Orthodox and Catholic Bibles] Alexander the Great. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. they chose to die. 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. And on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the hundred and forty and fifth year, they built an abomination of desolation upon the altar, and in the cities of Judah on every side they built idol altars. However, the original has been lost and the version which comes down to us is the Septuagint. The title of 1 and 2 Maccabees is taken from the surname of Judas (1 Mace. These heroes of the faith will not forsake the One God. VERSE 12. ; and the Seleucids, who took over large parts of the Middle East and moved into Palestine in 200 B.C. From this it follows that, for the just man, supreme glory consists in being ready to give ones life, if necessary, to defend Gods intereststhe Law, which every Jew must strictly obey. As a surname it was also applied to his brothers and, by extension, to the seven martyred brothers (2 Macc.7). But he also wants to show that Gods purpose in permitting persecution is to discipline the Jews in order that he may not take vengeance on us afterwards when our sins have reached their height (6:12-17). First Maccabees can be divided as follows: Copyright 2019-2023 USCCB, please review our Privacy Policy. It gives detailed accounts of the Maccabean revolt led by Judas Maccabeus, as well as the martyrdoms of Eleazar and seven brothers. Mattathias's son Judas Maccabeus (Judah Maccabee) takes over the revolt and the rebels as a group are called the Maccabees; the book chronicles in detail the successes and setbacks of the rebellion. The setting of the book is about a century after the conquest of Judea by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, when the country was part of the Greek . They are in the Public Domain. After Judass death, the war continued intermittently under his brothers Jonathan and Simon. The history of the Maccabee family given in these books ends with the death of Simon and the succession of his son, John Hyrcanus. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Flavius Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, carries the story forward; only he gives the surname Hasmoneus, which applies to the successors of the early Maccabees up to Aristobulus II. Collins 2000 discusses 2, 3, and 4 Maccabees in this study of Jewish identity constructions in the diaspora in the Hellenistic period. [14][15] Various reconstructions have been proposed: Gustaf Dalman, meanwhile, suggests that the title is a corruption of the Aramaic "The Book of the House of the Hasmoneans". Uriel Rappaport calls it emblematic of Hasmonean politics in general: that the Hasmonean state was an explicitly Jewish one that sought to separate itself from polytheism, yet was pragmatic and sought allies where they could be found.[9]. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To keep the Law of Moses would mean being put to death. VERSE 31. More recent English language versions of the Bible which contain 1 Maccabees include the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Good News Translation (GNT), New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE). Its name in the Septuagint and in the writings of the Church Fathers (Eusebius and Clement) is , i.e . Not only the leaders, but also circumcised infants and their mothers are killed as a warning to others. After the episode of Heliodorus (3:1-40), the writer lays great emphasis on the inviolate sanctity of the Temple and implies that Antiochus suffers the terrible death he does suffer because of his profanation of it. The Hasmoneans were not an obvious choice to be rulers; they did not descend from the priestly line of Zadok that had taken the office of High Priest for generations at the point of the Maccabean Revolt. That is, about 170 BC. (Das erste Buch der Maccaber [Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zu [ a] 2 He had five sons: John, who was called Gaddi; 3 Simon, who was called Thassi; 4 Judas, who was called Maccabeus; 5 Eleazar, who was called Avaran; and Jonathan, who was called . The revolt is also known by the name Maccabee, after the most renowned of Mattathias's sons . He also forbids circumcision and possession of Jewish scriptures, imposing the death penalty for those who disobey. More wars involving Judas and his brothers Simon and Jonathan are reported in chapters 5, 6 and 7. [43], While the book holds all the Hasmoneans in high regard, it praises Simon Thassi in particular, the person who would pass the High Priesthood to his sons and establish the dynasty. (1 Maccabees 2.62-64). The people of Israel have been specially chosen by the one true God as covenant-partner, and they alone are privileged to know and worship God, their eternal benefactor and unfailing source of help. It also uses anachronistic terms at times to make explicit parallels between the exploits of the Hasmoneans and earlier Jewish heroes; for example, it refers to the coastal region of Palestine as the land of the Philistines, despite the Philistines no longer being a relevant cultural grouping in the era. 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