When war broke out between these two brothers the Romans intervened, took Jerusalem and brought the monarchy to an end. saves his butt from a delivery-gone-bonkers, he decides to play nice with . VERSE 51. [63], The Jewish historian Josephus of the 1st century AD almost certainly read 1 Maccabees. According to all these words wrote he to his whole kingdom; and he appointed overseers over all the people, and he commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice, city by city. Luckily, when a skateboard courier called Y.T. Journey through the Bible, one book at a time, with the 2nd edition of our Books of the Bible journal. In general, its chronology coheres with that of I Maccabees. The book also comes across as dismissive of martyrdom and passive approaches to resistance, seeing such gestures as futile and pointless. In the first chapter, Alexander the Great conquers vast territories and sets up a great empire, in which the territory of Judea is included. 1 Maccabees 10, Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, One of over 125 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary was originally compiled by priest and biblical scholar Rev. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. If this is all new to you, don't worrywe're here to help. Ptolemy, a loyal general of Alexanders, was made satrap of Egypt in 323 when Alexander died, and in 304 he assumed the title of king, annexing Cyprus, Palestine, and the Lebanon. John R. Bartlett argues for somewhere between 11090 BCE. INTRODUCING MATTATHIAS. Many scholars believe that they were placed there after the composition of the book by some inspired editor . [21][22] The English equivalent would be writing new books in the style of the King James Version. an abomination of desolation. in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. However, the original has been lost and the version which comes down to us is the Septuagint. 2 He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. That said, the author is still proud of forging alliances with others, citing negotiations with the Roman Republic and Sparta. [This chapter is in Orthodox and Catholic Bibles] Alexander the Great. As the Bible says, "On the eighth day, God created Shmoop and saw that it was good." Or something like that. As a surname it was also applied to his brothers and, by extension, to the seven martyred brothers (2 Macc.7). In those days rose up Mattathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem; and he lived at Modin. VERSE 12. Proverbs 16:18. 2He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. He achieves semi-independence from the Seleucid Empire and gains recognition of his rulership from the Roman Senate in 139. The rebellion began under the leadership of the Jewish priest Mattathias after Antiochus sought to stamp out Judaism by forbidding all Jewish practices and desecrating the temple (167 bc). This text explicitly states that there is an interim stage where souls are purified and that they can be helped by suffrages offered by the living. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. And the land was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame. VERSE 21. and entered presumptuously into the sanctuary, and took the golden altar, and the candlestick of the light, and all that pertained thereto. VERSE 59. 16:1 Then John came up from Gazara, and told Simon his father what Cendebeus had done against their people. Did you read anything in the book that touched you, expanded your faith or made you think more deeply about your life and how you live it. [7][4] He was likely a court historian or equivalent. The book's author is unknown, but is assumed to have been a devout Jew from the Holy Land who may have even taken part in the events described in the book, or at least knew older people who participated in them. Chapter 2 1 1 In those days Mattathias, son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, left Jerusalem and settled in Modein. It is not permitted to do evil that good may result. 1-2 Thessalonians. That is, his heart became proud and arrogant (NAB translation). [20], The Jerusalem Bible divides the book into five sections:[24], 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 had been divided so that Judea had become part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. By the end of the war, Simon was the only one of the five sons of Mattathias to survive and he ushered in an 80-year period of Jewish . For Jews, a highlight of 1 Maccabees is its description of the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem and the institution of Hanukkah. Origen (cited by Eusebius Eccl Hist vi. This history includes battles with Antiochus IV and his son. Many observant Jews flee from the capital, but others readily accept Antiochus' policies. For the full article, see, Prohibition of Jewish religious practices, Hanukkah: reconsecration of the sanctuary, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Maccabees. 1 and 2 Maccabees are stories that reflect on oppression and resistance. 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. It is probably a Greek translation of a Hebrew account of Israel's independence struggle between 174 and 134 bc.Similarly little is known about the author of 2 Maccabees, although it is clear that he was not the same person as the author of 1 Maccabees. The second book is even more important from the doctrinal point of view. It later became a title given to the rebels as a whole around the 3rd-5th century AD, hence the Septuagint naming the works as books of the Maccabees. The second book overlaps with the first, starting earlier. In this connection it gives a very moving account of the martyrdom of seven brothers, whose names are unknown but who are popularly called the Maccabees (2 Mac 7:1 ff). 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 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. To keep the Law of Moses would mean being put to death. 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. Demetrius' death is reported in 1 Maccabees 10:50, and Ptolemy VI Philometor and Alexander Balas, claimant to the Seleucid throne, enter into an agreement under which Alexander marries Cleopatra Thea, Ptolemy's daughter (1 Maccabees 10:58). VERSE 64. 1 Maccabees, also known as the First Book of Maccabees, First Maccabees, and abbreviated as 1 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest history of the independent Hasmonean kingdom.It describes the promulgation of decrees forbidding traditional Jewish practices by King Antiochus IV . Do a bit of research on Hanukkah and talk what you have learnt about this very important Jewish festival. It came to pass, after that Alexander the Macedonian, the son of Philip, who came out of the land of Chittim, and struck Darius king of the Persians and Medes, it came to pass, after he had struck him, that he reigned in his stead, in former time, over Greece. 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (1 Maccabees 2.62-64). This suggests that in antiquity, IV Maccabees, dealing almost exclusively with martyrdom, may have been the most highly regarded. Read more . The first and second Books of Maccabees, though regarded by Jews and Protestants as apocryphal, i.e., not inspired Scripture, because not contained in the Jewish list of books drawn up at the end of the first century A.D., have always been accepted by the Catholic Church as inspired and are called deuterocanonical to indicate that they are canonical even though disputed by some. The Latin translation is sometimes useful to identify certain changes made by Lucian of Antioch to the Greek text.[66]. In true Deuteronomic tradition, the author insists on fidelity to the law as the expression of Israels love for God. 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. 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. 13-16). An unknown editor, the Epitomist, used the factual notes of a historian, Jason of Cyrene, to write this historical polemic. VERSE 29. Book of Deuteronomy. Antiochus captures Egypt. Simon, who was called Thassi; Unlike most of the Books of the Maccabees, 1 Maccabees was written in Hebrew and translated into Greek as part of the . they made themselves uncircumcised. VERSE 40. The [] Some even engage in foreskin restoration. Every bridegroom took up lamentation, she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness. VERSE 28. During the Protestant Reformation, the book (along with other books in the Catholic deuterocanon) was classed as biblical apocrypha in Protestantism, material useful for background but not canonical. When we first meet Hiro Protagonist, he delivers pizzas for the mob in L.A.; he's also a brilliant hacker and sword-wielding genius, but his plays-poorly-with-others personality means he needs a day job. Omissions? Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. It was portrayed as a center of athletic and intellectual life. St. Augustine wrote in The City of God that they were preserved for their accounts of the martyrs. 15:11). [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. After Jesus redeemed mankind by dying on the cross, the just of the Old Testament were enabled to enter heaven, and thus the ancient people of God became the new Israel, which is the Church. It runs from the end of the reign of Seleucus IV, the predecessor of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, up to the defeat of Nicanor, shortly before the death of Judas Maccabeusthat is, a period of fifteen years (176-161), which are covered in chapters 1-7 of the first book. After Judass death, the war continued intermittently under his brothers Jonathan and Simon. Elephants were an important part of the army of Antiochus. Pre-modern translations of the work were made in Latin, Syriac, and Armenian. Antiochus forbids both circumcision and possession of Jewish scriptures on pain of death. In general, its chronology coheres with that of I Maccabees. And king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people. 1 Maccabees,[note 1] also known as the First Book of Maccabees, First Maccabees, and abbreviated as 1 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest history of the independent Hasmonean kingdom. Even in stories set during the Maccabean period, references to Judas by name were explicitly removed to avoid hero-worship of the Hasmonean line. [11][12], The title "1 Maccabees" is not the original title of the work. This was a mighty defeat for Egypt. Modin. The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes eventually comes to rule over Syria. And they tore in pieces the books of the law which they found, and set them on fire. Thus did they in their might to Israel, to those that were found month by month in the cities. He bans the observance of the sabbath and the offering of sacrifices at the Temple. 2:4), the third son of Mattathias, the hero of the war of Jewish independence against Syria. Antiochus makes Judaism illegal. They establish a gymnasium, where men socialized in the nude. That is, men of Israel came forth. Not only the leaders, but also circumcised infants and their mothers are killed as a warning to others. 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 (1Mc 2:4, 66; 2Mc 8:5, 16; 10:1, 16). The Greeks recognize him as high priest, but like Judas, he finds himself caught between competing Greek kings who are engaged in their own civil war for control of the Seleucid Empire. All this shows that these inspired books are well worth prayerful reading, particularly the second, which provides us with many edifying examples especially the humility which leads its protagonists to trust in God, their fortitude in defending their faith, their patience in dealing with obstacles to observance of the Law, and their deep piety, as shown in their prayer for their dead comrades. First Maccabees (written circa 134-104 BCE and describing the period of 166-135 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.. First Maccabees was written in Hebrew (though it is only preserved today in Greek) for a Judean audience in a Biblical style that emphasizes . In 165 BC the Temple is freed and reconsecrated, so that ritual sacrifices may begin again. 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. It tells how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish law, resulting in the Maccabean Revolt. CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Chronology. Some Jews went along with the changes. the hundred and forty and third year. We will be talking about events that happened in the second century, which took place in Judea located in the Syrian empire. And they did all put diadems upon themselves after that he was dead, and so did their sons after them many years: and they multiplied evils in the earth. And it was the chief propaganda instrument of those non-practicing Jews who were trying to introduce Gentile customs into Israel. 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