The early Seleucid rulers were tolerant of the political and religious cultures of the territories they controlled, but things changed when Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to power, and the scene in Palestine became one of persecution and war. 17 And he wrote letters, and sent them to him, according to these words, saying, 18 King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting: 19 We have heard of you, that you are a mighty man of valour, and meet to be our See 1 Maccabees 2:18. Some Protestants include the book as biblical apocrypha, material useful for background and edification but that is not canonical. Collins 2000 discusses 2, 3, and 4 Maccabees in this study of Jewish identity constructions in the diaspora in the Hellenistic period. [40] Jews who complain about Judas's activities "bring to the king an accusation against the people". 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. The narrative reports that news of the desolation reaches Mattathias and his five sons, a priestly family who live in Modein. This was a village twenty miles northwest of Jerusalem. (2) 1 Maccabees 1:11-16:24: History of the Jews from 175 to 135 BC. for the second, on the basis of the information given in the first letter they refer to (2 Mace. And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall, with strong towers, and it became to them a citadel. At Explore the Faith, I share insights into the Bible and theological writings. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). For Jews, a highlight of 1 Maccabees is its description of the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem and the institution of Hanukkah. And the saying was good in their eyes. Series: The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. 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 . That is, they covered over their circumcision. 25) gives testimony to the existence of an original Hebrew text. This page was last edited on 16 October 2020, at 19:27. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=1_Maccabees&oldid=1044072, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. the hundred and thirty and seventh year. Both Origen and Jerome claim to have seen a Hebrew text of 1 Maccabees. As far as the dates of composition are concerned, these can be taken as approximately 100 B.C. The author, probably a Palestinian Jew, is unknown. These translations have no copyright restrictions. 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. VERSE 5. The author is anonymous, but he probably wrote in the newly independent Hasmonean kingdom after the success of the Maccabean Revolt in the late 2nd century BC. Rather, it comes from the Septuagint, which gave it that title to distinguish it from the other books of the Maccabees. Unlike the Second Book of Maccabees, there is no doctrine of individual immortality except in the survival of ones name and fame, nor does the book express any messianic expectation, though messianic images are applied historically to the days of Simon (1Mc 14:417). The Greek text is extant in two of the three oldest codices of the Greek Septuagint: the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Alexandrinus. many in Israel were fully resolved. From the time of Alexander onward Greek culture spread throughout the Middle East. It tells the story of how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress Temple worship and to destroy the practice of Jewish law. One of the most notable and unusual aspects of the book of 1 Maccabees by absence is the lack of any direct mention of God. 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. But they did not belong to the family of those men through whom deliverance was given to Israel. [28] Verses 2332 record an agreement between Rome and the nation of the Jews, whereby each party would act as a willing ally of the other and refuse to supply their enemies in time of war, specific warning being given to Demetrius I Soter that this pact would be activated against him if requested by the Jews. The doctrine expressed in the book is the customary belief of Israel, without the new developments which appear in 2Maccabees and Daniel. He was familiar with the traditions and sacred books of his people and had access to much reliable information on their recent history (from 175 to 134 B.C.). According to the first book of Maccabees, one of the Hellenistic kings defiled the temple, forbade circumcision, and even set up altars to his gods. In the town of Modein, the priest Mattathias finds the situation intolerable. [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. From Alexander to Antiochus. In the book itself, "Maccabee" is used solely as a personal title for Judah Maccabee (Latinized as Judas Maccabeus). He also confirms alliances with both Rome and Sparta (1 Macc. [21][22] The English equivalent would be writing new books in the style of the King James Version. 63 Today they will be exalted, but tomorrow they will not be found, because they will have returned to the dust, and their plans will have perished. 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. The narrative is primarily prose text, but is interrupted by seven poetic sections, which imitate classical Hebrew poetry. While Judas is eventually killed in battle, the Maccabees eventually achieve autonomy and then independence for Judea under the leadership of the Hasmonean family. Maccabees does not mention the involvement of the mercenaries who are mentioned in other accounts, whereas other accounts do not mention the Jewish involvement. The book covers the whole of the revolt, from 175 to 134 B.C.E., emphasizing how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came through the family of a zealous priest named Mattathias, particularly his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan, and Simon, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. The victors had apparitions from heaven. (He had previously become king of Greece.) Updates? The author propagates "Hasmonean propaganda" in the sense of upholding the righteousness of the Hasmoneans and their just claim to rule the Hasmonean kingdom. Protestants and Jews regard it as generally reliable historically, but not a part of holy scripture.. And when he had taken all, he went away into his own land, and he made a great slaughter, and spoke very presumptuously. 2:4), the third son of Mattathias, the hero of the war of Jewish independence against Syria. The author sees the revolt as divinely ordained, but downplays direct divine intervention such as miracles. by Daniel R. Schwartz. 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. Through a series of events, Tobit goes blind and sends his son on a journey accompanied by the angel Raphael disguised as a human. The rededication of the Jerusalem Temple described in 4:3659 (see 2Mc 10:18) is the origin of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. 1 Kings. VERSE 29. (1 Maccabees 2.62-64). And from the people were gathered together to them many, every one that had forsaken the law; and they did evil things in the land; VERSE 53. and they made israel to hide themselves in every place of refuge which they had. The First Book of Maccabees, originally written in Hebrew during the last part of thesecond century b.c.e.,1 can be read, among other things, as the story of the 1 CarlL.W. While enforcement may be targeting only Jewish leaders, ordinary Jews were also killed as a warning to others. The school of philosophy seen in 1 Maccabees is often thought to be a predecessor to the philosophy of the Sadducees in later eras. The Writer gives his final summary. He reports the calamities the Jewish people experience on account of their sins, while also stressing the role played by God in his providence, who watches over them as he promised he would (cf. While he clearly portrays a divine providence behind the history he presents, the narrator refrains from the miracle stories and other legends found in 2 Maccabees, which deals with much of the same material. St. Augustine wrote in The City of God that they were preserved for their accounts of the martyrs. And it was the chief propaganda instrument of those non-practicing Jews who were trying to introduce Gentile customs into Israel. The Book: 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible which was written by a Jewish (pre-Christian) author, probably about 100 BC, after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom. And they led captive the women and the children, and the cattle they took in possession. The Maccabees then ruled over Israel, first as High Priests and then as High Priests and Princes of Israel. Because of the accuracy of the historical account, if a later date is accepted, then the author must have had access to first-hand reports of the events. In the year 142 BCE, after more than 500 years of subjugation, the Jews were again masters of their own fate. Chapter 2. And he called his servants, which were honorable, which had been brought up with him from his youth, and he divided to them his kingdom, while he was yet alive. The kingdom began to decline under Ptolemy IV Philopator, who was a bad administrator and led a dissolute life. Experts date the original Hebrew text sometime in the late second century B.C.E. 1 Maccabees was probably written in Jerusalem, but 3 and 4 Maccabees derive from the diaspora. In fact, it is "a thoroughgoing pro-Hasmonean . Alexander the Great. He wrote in the post-independence Hasmonean kingdom, probably during the reign of High Priest John Hyrcanus (reigned ~134104 BC), with a few scholars suggesting that early in the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (reigned 10376 BC) is also a possibility. In general, its chronology coheres with that of I Maccabees. These include four laments and three hymns of praise. VERSE 32. It was included in standard printed Christian Bibles in the deuterocanon section. George Leo Haydock. Luckily, when a skateboard courier called Y.T. His severest condemnation goes, not to the Seleucid politicians, but to the lawless apostates among his own people, adversaries of Judas and his brothers, who are models of faith and loyalty. He plays one faction off against the other, obtaining various benefits for the Jews in exchange for his military support. After successfully invading the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Antiochus IV captures Jerusalem and removes the sacred objects from the Temple in Jerusalem, slaughtering many Jews. Another is that, while they were included by the Jews of Alexandria in the Septuagint, they may not have gained much popularity in Jerusalem. 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). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Ptolemy supposedly threatened the Jews with loss of citizenship after Palestinian Jews refused to permit him to enter the sanctuary of the Temple of Jerusalem. Acts 4 (King James Version) 1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. VERSE 57. The origin of the word maccabee is unclear; it may derive from the Hebrew word maqqabi (= hammer)a reference to Judas physical strength and exploits. In February 135, however, he is assassinated at the instigation of his son-in-law Ptolemy. He refuses to comply with Antiochus' officers and, in an act of utter defiance, murders a Jew who attempts to offer pagan sacrifice, killing the officer as well. VERSE 60. 2 Maccabees recaps some of the story (until the events of 161 bc) and adds in details about Gods intervention into the events reports. 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. [7][4] He was likely a court historian or equivalent. If it really was originally written in Greek, then the author was intentionally imitating Hebrew style in Greek. 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. 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. The title of 1 and 2 Maccabees is taken from the surname of Judas (1 Mace. VERSE 58. 2 Maccabees - Chapter 4. Sign up for our short, weekly email about how we're inviting people to discover the Bible. The second, on the basis of the desolation reaches Mattathias and his five sons, highlight. As divinely ordained, but is interrupted by seven poetic sections, gave. Of subjugation, the priest Mattathias finds the situation intolerable Greek, then the was... 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