BOOK OF MACCABEES

Background
 Ptolemy control Palestine (Syria) till 200 B.C.
 200 B.C. Seleucid defeated Ptolemies and established the Seleucid empire
 175 B.C. Antiochus III came to the throne changing his name Antioclus IV
Epiphianes (the God made manifest)
Polices
1. To rebuild the military might
2. Hellenization of all his different ethnic people – in the name of unity (Greek
Language & Culture)
 In order to finance the military, he stripped the temple twice of all the wealth (169
B.C. & 168 B.C.)
 He forbade the Jewish practices of circumcision, abstaining from Pork,
sacrifice in the Temple
 Greek customs & practices were forced upon
 Persecution on those who refused
 Gymnasiums built inside the temple premises
 Zeus statue erected in the temple.
Revolt
169 B.C. Mattathias (Modein – Judean town) revolted
* This struggle of Judean state for religious Freedom & finally for political
independence is found in the two books of Maccabees.
* Josephus also reports in his Antiquities of the Jews.
* The fight for freedom from 168-160 B.C.
* The reign of Mattathias and his sons Judas, Jonathan, Simon (134)

I MACCABEES
Date
100 B.C. composed. It narrates the entire events took place till the coronation of John
Hyrcanus (134 B.C.)
Mattathias – 167 B.C. - Hasmonian – long Dead ancestor
Judas – Maccabees (Hammer) - 164 B.C.– captured the temple and rededicated – I
Mac 4
* The information about, Hanukkah, the feast of lights appeared only II Mac 1
160 B.C. – fell in a battle, Jonathan took over
143 B.C.– captured & died in Syrian prison. Simon took over
143-134 B.C. – faced violent death at the hands of his son in Law
134 B.C. – coronation of Simon’s son John Hyrcanus – Death of John Hyrcanus –
(103 B.C.) – High priests also
1. The tensions present between the ruling classes who were the supporters of Greek
ways and the simpler faith of the people. The country priests who fight to
preserve the traditions & practices of the Law.
2. The fidelity to the Law & trust in God always win through
II MACCABEES
 Witten later than I Mac
 Condensed version of 5 volume history of Maccabean period by Jason of Cyrene.
 Jason’s work is lost. No chance to verify Mac II & the History of Maccabees by
Jason
 History about 170-160 B.C.
 This is not what exactly happened. They were also things exaggerated
3 Parts
1. 2 Mac 1:1 – 2:18 – 2 letters to Jews in Egypt giving directions about the celebration of
the feast of Booths & Hanukkah.
2. 2 Mac 2:19 – 10:9 – The account by Jason upto the dedication of the Temple by Judas
in 164 B.C.
3. 2 Mac 10:10 – 15:39 – Remaining life story of Judas and his great victory over Syrian
general Nicanor (160 B.C.). It does not speak about the death of Judas.

Themes
1. Includes many stories of Jewish martyrs who died heroically in the persecution of
Antiochus Epiphanes.
2. Praises the courage of the mother who watched her seven sons killed as each
professed total obedience to the Law (7:1-42) and the bravery of Eleazer who
was broken on the rack (under strain, distress)
 After life happiness with God for the just
 God is able to create a world out of nothing
 Reflects the ability of Jewish tradition to broaden its own understanding when it
comes into contact with the very culture of Greece which was trying to destroy
the Jewish culture.
 Many of the information II Mac disagree with Josephus & I Mac. But his
emphasis is narrating the story with the touch of personal faith during the time of
persecution & Martyrdom.
Maccabees defenders of the right & traditions of Jews in the 2nd cent B.C.
Maccabee – Extinguisher, Quencher of Hellenism – HAMMER
Hammer – reference to Judas’s crushing military feast or to the mallet or hammer of
his head – HAMMERHEAD
= in Hellenistic word & apparently in Judas’s family people were named for their
physical characteristics (1 Mac 2:2-4)
= Rabbinic literature & Josephus name the family Hasmonians. The name derives
from the great – great grandfather of Judas, Hasmon.

Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)

Ptolemaic Period (323 – 198 B.C.)
Seleucidan Period (198-63 B.C.)
MACCABEAM REVOLT
Antiochus revenge (168-166-B.C.)
Mattathias (166 B.C)
Judas Maccabees (166-160 B.C.) Re-Dedication of the Temple (166-164 B.C.)
Jonathan (160-143 B.C.)
Simon (143-134 B.C.) & High Priest
John Hyrcanus (134-104 B.C) Samaria, Idumea
Aristobulus I 104-103 B.C.
Alexander Jannaeus
Seluncus
Ptolemy
Antigonus