The other primary source for the hasmonean dynasty is the first book of the wars of the jews by the jewish historian josephus, 37c. Maccabees, priestly family of jews who organized a successful rebellion against the seleucid ruler antiochus iv and reconsecrated the defiled temple of jerusalem. The qiliri, who apparently wrote without access to maccabees and within a galilean context, relocated the hasmoneans to that region, as did other contemporaneous sources. The miracle of chanukah actually occurred only in the third year of the. The same title is used for a syriac version of 6th book of josephus jewish war. In 167 bce, the jewish people rose up, with mattathias as their leader. Preserved by the church in its greek translation, 1 maccabees describes the priest mattathiass first heroic act as the murder a fellow jew who agreed to offer a pagan sacrifice under. The earliest description of the maccabean revolt is in 1 maccabees, which was written in hebrew only a few decades after the maccabean victory in 164 b. Jews refer to the maccabees, but the family is more commonly known as the hasmoneans. This remained true no matter what apparent good had resulted from the revolt e.
In search of the maccabees by jacqueline schaalje as is well known, the jewish holiday of chanukah is based on historic events. The books that tell the hanukkah tale didnt make it into the hebrew bible but they are in. Historically, the maccabees are considered the founders of the hasmonean dynasty which ruled ruled judea and israel until the days of herod, an edomite, who managed to murder all the remaining hasmoneans directly related to the original five sons of mattathias the hasmonean, namely john gaddis, simon thassi, judas maccabaeus, eleazar avaran, and. Like other rulers before him, antiochus underestimated the will and strength of his jewish. Some israelites had risen up against him, and against all odds, had successfully removed the yoke of the seleucids from israel. The name maccabee is often used as a synonym for the entire hasmonean dynasty, but the maccabees proper were judah maccabee and his four brothers. Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of judas, his supporters. Historically, the maccabees are considered the founders of the hasmonean dynasty which ruled ruled judea and israel until the days of herod, an edomite, who managed to murder all the remaining hasmoneans directly related to the original five sons of mattathias the hasmonean, namely john gaddis, simon thassi, judas maccabaeus, eleazar avaran, and jonathan apphus.
After the prologue, the first section of 4 maccabees sets forth the philosophical thesis, and the second section illustrates the points made using examples drawn from the maccabees principally, the martyrdom of eleazer and the maccabean. The earliest portrayals of the hasmoneans, now known as the books of maccabees i and ii, cast them as religious. They only found one small flask of uncontaminated oil with the seal of the high priest, barely enough to burn for one day, but they needed eight days to. 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. Hasmoneans, now known as the books of maccabees i and ii, cast them as. First maccabees written circa 4104 bce and describing the period of 1665 bce is devoted to presenting the maccabean dynasty, from mattathias through his son judah, to jonathan and simon who became high priests and gained political independence. Why the maccabees arent in the bible my jewish learning. His name means diplomat this primarily alluded to his main trait as described in maccabees. The wars of the maccabees and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Even after leaving jerusalem, the dead sea sect continued to refer to its leaders as the sons of zadok. The hasmonean army turned in joy and awe to the task of liberating the temple. Alexander the great after alexander son of philip, the macedonian, who came from the land of kittim, had defeated king darius of the persians and the medes, he succeeded him as king.
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. I maccabees was originally written in hebrew as an official court history for the hasmonean dynasty. See all 6 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Josephus account is the only primary source covering the history of the hasmonean dynasty during the period of its expansion and independence between 110 to 63 bce. They celebrated the restoration of temple worship with a new festival called dedication or hanukkah.
Tracing the hasmonean story from i maccabees to the. There is some justification for the title since illustrations are largely drawn from 2 maccabees 6 and 7. Thus, even from this short excerpt it is evident that the qiliri related explicitly and positively to the hasmoneans. This revolt of the jews sets a precedent in human history. The term mostly refers to two deuterocanonical books contained in various canons of the bible. The author of the first book of maccabees regarded the maccabean revolt as a rising of pious jews against the seleucid king who had tried to eradicate their religion and against the jews who supported him.
Rule of the hasmoneans a new phase of the maccabean rule had emerged. Four books recording the struggle of loyalist jews against the forces of. The book of 1 maccabees clearly favors the revolution against the seleucid and the hasmonean dynasty. Dec, 2017 this contradicts the evidence of 1 maccabees that associates the hasmoneans with the division of yehoyariv. It describes the refusal of mattathias to perform pagan religious rites, the ensuing jewish revolt. Hasmoneans maccabees resources american bible society. Many people are under the impression that after the miracle of chanukah the war with the greeks was over. In contrast to first maccabees, the book of second maccabees is a summary of a history written originally in greek for diaspora hellenistic jews living in the greekspeaking area in egypt. Ginsburg kittos cycyclopedia of biblical literature. The archaeological excavations of the hasmonean palaces in jericho and the numismatic evidence on the hasmoneans are examined in order to understand the hasmonean rulers approach to hellenistic culture. Hasmonaean definition of hasmonaean by merriamwebster. Hasmonaean definition is a member of the maccabees. From 110 bce, with the seleucid empire disintegrating, the dynasty became fully independent, expanded into. The warrior judas maccabeus, or judah of maccabee, drawn by julius.
From the year 180 bce until 161 bce the maccabees rebelled against the syrian king antiochus iv who persecuted the jews. The name 3 maccabees, though occurring in the oldest manuscripts and vss, is quite unsuitable, because the book refers to events which antedate the maccabean age by about half a century, and also to events in which the maccabees took no part. Since the maccabeeshasmoneans had revolted against the divinely appointed seleucids, it then seemed incumbent on jews to support the seleucids and oppose the maccabeeshasmoneans. The jews to whom the book was addressed were both loyal to their nation and its new hasmonean state and yet faithful subjects of the kingdoms of the greek dynasty of ptolemies in egypt. Jan, 2014 the book of psalms kjv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 19 duration. The books of the maccabees are essential to understand why our lord and savior, yeshua hamashiach celebrated the feast of dedication. The hasmonean revolt and the hasmonean dynasty, in the cambridge history of. They enable us to see not only the extent of hellenistic influence, but also how and why hellenistic markers were used.
The books of the maccabees are books concerned with the maccabees, the leaders of the jewish rebellion against the seleucid dynasty and related subjects. Dec 27, 2016 the earliest description of the maccabean revolt is in 1 maccabees, which was written in hebrew only a few decades after the maccabean victory in 164 b. They were among the successors of alexander the great and patrons of greek culture. Web maccabees, the family nickname of the jewish dynasty that ruled judea from the time of the maccabean revolt 167 b. He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. 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. This ancient work, known by some as 4 maccabees, and by others as on the supremacy of reason, is a writing unlike any other. We will be talking about events that happened in the second century, which took place in judea located in the syrian empire. 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. Friends, sent him off to plunder judea and seize simon ant.
With each of these episodes, the portrayal and importance of the hasmoneans changed, absorbing the relevant interests, concerns, and biases of each author responsible for crafting a chapter in their story. The book of psalms kjv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 19 duration. The family of mattathias became known as the maccabees, from the hebrew word for hammer, because they were said to strike hammer blows against their enemies. Soon after 167 bce, the family of mattathias became known as the maccabees or the hammer. Archaeology proves rule extended to negev highlands. The designation 5 maccabees was first given to the book now commonly so called by cotton the five books of maccabees english, 1832, and it has been perpetuated by dr. Apr 09, 2014 books of the maccabees paperback april 9, 2014 by king james bible author, douay rheims author 4. However, second maccabees seeks to explain to diaspora jews and greeks alike that the maccabean revolt was not the result of an inevitable clash of two cultureshellenism and judaismor of two peoples, hellenes and jews. Books of the maccabees paperback april 9, 2014 by king james bible author, douay rheims author 4. The one hundred and eighty years in this stanza is the traditional number associated with the rule of the greeks. When they captured it, they shattered the statue of zeus and cleaned the temple to the extent that they could. Since the talmud refers to this famous family as hasmonean, and maccabee does not occur in sem. Books of maccabees encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway.
Maccabees, books of oxford biblical studies online. These books were better known among greek speaking jews in the mediterranean world around the time of jesus. Judah maccabees troops captured the jerusalem temple in 164 b. The author of the second book of maccabees presented the conflict as a struggle between judaism and hellenism, concepts which he coined. Jonathan of maccabees amazing bible timeline with world.
He ruled from the years 161 to 143 bc where he can be found on the bible timeline chart with history. But this book tells of sufferings and triumphs on the part of loyal jews comparable to those of the. The books of the maccabees are books concerned with the maccabees, the leaders of the jewish rebellion against the seleucid dynasty and related subjects the term mostly refers to two deuterocanonical books contained in various canons of the bible. 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. The hasmonean era is among the most glorious in jewish history, yet contained seeds of selfdestruction that almost destroyed everything. May 21, 2007 the maccabees, by replacing the zadokite high priesthood with their own, reduced the zadokites to a subsidiary position for as long as hasmonean rule lasted. The books of the maccabees biblical literature britannica. He and his five sons, john, simon, judah, eleazer, and jonathan, rallied the jewish population. The name maccabee was a personal epithet of judah, and the later generations were not his direct descendants. The original hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the greek translation contained in the septuagint. The first book, although written from a biased perspective, does not directly mention god or divine intervention.
Judas was tipped off, and crushed the small army on the road to jerusalem. Jan 02, 2020 the book of 4 maccabees is a philosophic discourse extoling the supremacy of pious reason over passion. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. One explanation of the names origins is that it derives from the aramaic maqqa, the hammer, in recognition of judahs ferocity in. The reason for this is that the maccabean dream had finally come true. The earliest portrayals of the hasmoneans, now known.
The book of 4 maccabees is a philosophic discourse extoling the supremacy of pious reason over passion. Ii maccabees was originally written in greek and based on earlier work written by jason of cyrene. The book of 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene. Why isnt the book of maccabees included in the bible. In ancient greece, jonathan of maccabees was regarded as the head of the hasmonean dynasty in the land of judea. The maccabees and their descendants lived during the greek culture, as was the rest of the antique world, but they did not become greeks. Samuel davidson introduction to the old testament, iii, 465. He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. Though initially hailed as liberators, the selucid family wasted no time in leaving their mark upon judea. The principal leader of the revolt was a man named judah, nicknamed maccabeus or the hammer. Hellenistic art, swimming pools, bathhouses, and symbols on the coins. The author of first maccabees, who wrote for judeans, sought to promote the legitimacy of the hasmonean priesthood and its political rule. The book is held as canonical scripture by the catholic, orthodox, and oriental orthodox.
The first book of maccabees in order that he might reign. Accounts of the conflict, known as the maccabean revolt, appear in the books of maccabees, which are part of the apocrypha. So, i have been reading the book of maccabees and for the life of me, i cannot understand why it isnt included in our bible. The word cosmopolitan describes this greek approach to life. The first and second books of maccabees contain the most detailed. 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. The maccabees, by replacing the zadokite high priesthood with their own, reduced the zadokites to a subsidiary position for as long as hasmonean rule lasted. First maccabees begins with the rise and legitimacy of the hasmonean. Antiochuss policies provoked a military response from some jews. The second book has a more theological slant, advancing several. I am thoroughly struck by how profound the life of christ was in the light of the book of 1 and 2 maccabees. 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 books of the maccabees, four books, none of which is in the hebrew bible but all of which appear in some manuscripts of the septuagint.