History of the Maccabees 1

7/28/2019 History of the Maccabees 1

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Daniel chapter 8 verses 13-14 tells of the Transgression of Desolation

that will come upon the Jews and the temple and the 2300 days before

the temple will be cleansed once again. This period of time is explainedagain in chapter 11 verses 31-35.

The Maccabees are the people that will fight against the Seleucus

Empire and will restore the temple. The History of the Maccabees

explains what happens during the 2300 Days and the following 102

years before the Roman Empire conquers Israel in 63 BC.

History of the Maccabees

The Maccabees were a J ewishrebel army who took control ofJ udea, which hadbeen a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean

dynasty, which ruled from 164 BC to 63 BC, reasserting the J ewish religion,

expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence of

Hellenism.

Background

In the 2nd century BC, J udea lay between the Ptolemaic Kingdombased inEgypt and the Seleucid empire based in Syria, kingdoms formed after the death

ofAlexander the Great (336323 BC) Previously under the Ptolemies, J udea had

fallen to the Seleucids in.200 BC. Since the rule of Alexander in the near east,

there had been a process ofHellenization, which affected J udea. Some J ews,

mainly those of the urban upper class, notably the Tobiad family, wished to

dispense with J ewish law and to adopt a Greek lifestyle. According to the

historian Victor Tcherikover, the main motive for the Tobiads' Hellenism was

economic and political. Hellenizing J ews had built a gymnasium, competed

internationally in Greek games, "removed their marks of circumcision and

repudiated the holy covenant".
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WhenAntiochus IV Epiphanes(215164 BC), became rulerof the Seleucid

Empire in 175 BC, theHigh Priestin J erusalem wasOnias III.Antiochus IV

Epiphanes was insensitive to the views of religious J ews and treated the High

Priest as a political appointee and one from whom money could be made. To

Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the High Priest was merely a local governor within his

realm, who could be appointed or dismissed at will, while to orthodox J ews he

was divinely appointed.Jason, the brother ofOnias, bribedAntiochus IV

Epiphanes to make him High Priest instead. Jason abolished the traditional

theocracy and established J erusalem as a Greek city state.Menelaus(who was

not even a member of theLevitepriestly family) then bribedAnt iochus IV

Epiphanes and was appointed High Priest in place of J ason. Menelaus had

Onias assassinated. His brother Lysimachus took holy vessels from the Temple,

causing riots and the thief's death at the hands of the rioters. Menelaus was

arrested and arraigned beforeAntiochusIV Epiphanes, but he bribed his way

out of trouble. Jason subsequently drove outMenelaus and became High Priest

again. AntiochusIV Epiphanes pillaged the Temple, attacked Jerusalem and

"led captive the women and children". From this point onwards,AntiochusIV

Epiphanes pursued a Hellenizing policy with zeal. This effectively meant

banning traditional J ewish religious practice. In167 BCJ ewish sacrifice was

forbidden, Sabbaths and feasts were banned and circumcision was outlawed.

Altars to Greek gods were set up and animals prohibited to J ews were sacrificed

on them. The OlympianZeuswas placed on the altar of the Temple. Possession

of J ewish scriptures was made a capital offence. The motives ofAntiochusIV

Epiphanes were to create Israel as a Grecian Hellenistic state.

The revolt

In the narrative ofI Maccabees, afterAntiochusIV Epiphanes issued his

decrees forbidding Jewish religious practice, a rural J ewish priest fromModiin,

Mattathias the Hasmonean, sparked the revolt against theSeleucid Empireby

refusing to worship theGreek gods.Mattathias killed a Hellenistic J ew who

stepped forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias' place. He and his
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five sons fled to the wilderness of J udah. After Mattathias' death about one year

later in 166 BC, his sonJudah Maccabeeled an army of J ewish dissidents to

victory over theSeleucid dynasty, (King of the North, Daniel chapter 11) in

guerrilla warfare, which at first was directed against Hellenizing J ews, of whom

there were many. The Maccabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages,

circumcised children and forced J ews into outlawry. The termMaccabees as

used to describe the J ewish army is taken from the Hebrew word for "hammer".

The revolt itself involved many battles, in which the Maccabean forces gained

notoriety among the Seleucid army for their use ofguerrilla tactics. After the

victory, the Maccabees entered Jerusalem in triumph and ritually cleansed

the Temple, reestablishing traditional Jewish worship there and installingJonathan Maccabee as high priest. A large Seleucid army was sent to quash

the revolt, but returned to Syria on the death ofAntiochus IV Epiphanes. Its

commander Lysias, preoccupied with internal Syrian affairs, agreed to a political

compromise that restored religious freedom.

The J ewish festival ofHanukkahcelebrates the re-dedication of the Temple

following J udah Maccabee's victory over the Seleucids. According to Rabbinic

tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of oil that had

remained uncontaminated by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained

enough oil to sustain theMenorahfor one day, it miraculously lasted for eight

days, by which time further oil could be procured.

Maccabean rule

Following the re-dedication of the temple, the supporters of the Maccabees were

divided over the question of whether to continue fighting or not. When the revolt

began under the leadership ofMattathias, it was seen, in the view of the author

of theFirst Book of Maccabees, as a war for religious freedom to end the

oppression of the Seleucids. However, as the Maccabees realized how

successful they had been, many wanted to continue the revolt and conquer other
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lands with J ewish populations or to convert their peoples. This policy

exacerbated the divide between thePhariseesandSadduceesunder later

Hasmonean monarchs such as Alexander J annaeus. Those who sought the

continuation of the war were led by Judah Maccabee.

On his death in battle in 160 BC, J udah was succeeded as army commander by

his younger brother, J onathan, who was already High Priest. J onathan made

treaties with various foreign states, causing further dissent between those who

merely desired religious freedom and those who sought greater power.

In 142 BC J onathan was assassinated byDiodotus Tryphon, a candidate to the

Seleucid throne, and was succeeded bySimon Maccabee, the last remaining

son of Mattathias.Simon Maccabeegave support to Demetrius II Nicator, the

Seleucid king, and in return Demetrius exempted the Maccabees fromtribute

(taxation). Simon conquered the port ofJ oppa and the fortress ofGezer and

expelled the Seleucid garrison from theAcra in Jerusalem.

NOTE: The Acra was a fortified compound in Jerusalembuilt byAntiochus

Epiphanes, ruler of theSeleucid Empire, following his sack of the city in

168 BC. The fortress played a significant role in the events surrounding the

Maccabean Revolt and the formation of the Hasmonean Kingdom. It was

destroyed by Simon Maccabeus during this struggle.

In 140 BC,Simon Maccabeewas recognized by an assembly of the priests,

leaders and elders as high priest, military commander and ruler of Israel. Their

decree became the basis of the Hasmonean kingdom. Shortly after, theRoman

senaterenewed its alliance with the Hasmonean kingdom and commanded itsallies in the eastern Mediterranean to do so also. Although the Maccabees won

autonomy, the region remained a province of the Seleucid Empire and Simon

was required to provide troops toAntiochus VII Sidetes, the brother of

Demetrius II. When Simon refused to give up the territory he had conquered,

Antiochus VII Sidetes took them by force.
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Simon Maccabeewas murdered in 134 BC by his son-in-law Ptolemy, and was

succeeded as high priest and king by his sonJohn Hyrcanus I.Antiochus VII

Sidetesconquered the entire district of J udea, but refrained from attacking the

Temple or interfering with J ewish observances. J udea was freed fromSeleucid

rule on the death ofAnt iochus VII Sidetesin129 BC.

Hasmonean rule lasted until 63 BC, when the Roman generalPompey

captured J erusalem and subjected Israel to Roman rule, while the Hasmonean

dynasty itself ended in 37 BC whenHerod the Great became king of Israel and

king of the J ews.
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History of the Maccabees 1

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