“Hannukah”—the celebration of the (re-)dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem—goes back to the very first dedication—that of Solomon in the 10th century BCE. But the holiday Jews have long called Hannukah commemorates just one of the Temple’s re-dedications—that at the hand of the Maccabees in 164 BCE. This holiday has sometimes been called a “minor” […]
The Seleucids attempted to neutralize Judah by appointing Alcimus as high priest. Together with the Seleucid commanders, he fought against the Hasmonean forces. Ultimately, Judah himself fell in battle. Once again the Hellenizers and their Seleucid supporters controlled Judea for a time, until Jonathan began to retake the countryside. The Seleucids were forced to recognize […]
In 164 B.C.E. the Seleucids succeeded in convincing many Jews, including the Hasideans, to accept a truce and amnesty. The Hasmoneans, seeking not only religious freedom but political independence, refused to accept the amnesty. Judah seems to have lost power in this period. 11-22 The king’s letter ran thus- “King Antiochus 129 to his brother […]
1 Maccabees describes the rededication of the Temple, which took place after Judah (Judas) the Maccabee and his men conquered Jerusalem, and the institution of the holiday of Hanukkah. Thereafter, Judah undertook a policy of fighting against Israel’s neighbors who had supported the Hellenists and the Seleucids. But after the death of Antiochus IV in […]
Excerpted from Lawrence H. Schiffman, Texts and Traditions, Ktav, Hoboken 1998, p.156-160 and Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Apocrypha, copyright 1957 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Image courtesy of Avi Deror, Wikimedia […]
2 Maccabees was written in Greek sometime in the first century B.C.E., itself condensed from the five-volume work of Jason of Cyrene in North Africa. It relates in detail the account of the events leading up to the Maccabean Revolt (168-64 B.C.E.), showing that the revolt and the resulting persecutions had their roots in an […]
From Text to Tradition Hellenistic Reform and the Maccabean Revolt Historical Surveys Lee I. Levine. “The Age of Hellenism- Alexander the Great and the Rise and Fall of the Hasmonean Kingdom.” Part II Primary sources 2 Maccabees 3-6- The Hellenistic Reform and the Onset of Persecution 1 Maccabees 1-4- The Maccabean Uprising 1 Maccabees 4-6- […]
Excerpted from Lawrence H. Schiffman, From Text to Tradition, Ktav Publishing House, Hoboken, NJ, 1991. The political background of the struggle over Hellenization must be sought in the years following the final Seleucid conquest of the Land of Israel under Antiochus III in 198 B.C.E. Throughout the years of warfare between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies each empire […]