The Deuterocanon
The hammer strikes, Antiochus profanes the temple, and a priestly family fights back. Hanukkah's history.
The best history in the deuterocanon and one of the most valuable sources for the second century BC by any standard. It tells, soberly and without visions, how Antiochus IV banned the practice of Judaism, how an elderly priest named Mattathias refused to sacrifice and began a revolt, and how his sons, above all Judas called Maccabeus, fought the Seleucid empire to a standstill and rededicated the temple. That rededication is the origin of Hanukkah, which is why John's Gospel can mention the Feast of Dedication in passing. The book is notably restrained about the miraculous, crediting strategy and courage. Scripture for Catholics and Orthodox, Apocrypha for Protestants, and read as history by nearly everyone.
If you remember one thing
The most sober history in the deuterocanon and the main source for what Hanukkah remembers. It never mentions miracles, which historians find striking.
“Victory in battle does not depend on the size of the army, but strength comes from Heaven.”
1 Maccabees 3:19
1 Maccabees 2:41
The ruling that defensive fighting on the Sabbath is permitted, made after a group was slaughtered for refusing. An early and explicit case of weighing one command against life.
Canon
Scripture for Catholics and Orthodox, Apocrypha for Protestants, and treated as valuable history by nearly everyone.
Named here rather than skipped. Where Christians read a passage differently, we say so instead of choosing for you.
Scripture for Catholic and Orthodox churches; among the Apocrypha in Protestant traditions.
Everyone here has a write-up, drawn from the same records that explain the names while you read the text.
The Greek king who tried to abolish Jewish worship: he outlawed the Sabbath and circumcision, plundered the temple, and set up a pagan altar on it. The revolt that answered him is what Hanukkah remembers. He called himself Epiphanes, meaning God manifest, and his critics called him Epimanes, the madman.
The deuterocanonical books, and the King James New Testament, often carry names in their Greek shapes: Josias is Josiah, Jeremias is Jeremiah, Elias is Elijah, Esaias is Isaiah, Noe is Noah, Booz is Boaz, Jonas is Jonah, Zorobabel is Zerubbabel, Nave is Nun.
Never named in the Hebrew Bible, but present in it. Daniel's goat from the west with a conspicuous horn, moving so fast it does not touch the ground, and whose horn breaks at the height of its power to be replaced by four, is read across traditions as Alexander and the four generals who divided his empire.
The priest Mattathias and his sons, who revolted when Antiochus IV banned the practice of Judaism and installed a pagan altar in the temple. Judas, nicknamed Maccabeus, probably the hammer, retook Jerusalem and rededicated the temple, which is the origin of Hanukkah.
When Alexander died his generals carved up the empire, and two of the resulting dynasties fought over Judea for a century and a half: the Ptolemies from Egypt and the Seleucids from Syria. Several kings and generals of both, named Demetrius, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Tryphon, Lysias, and Bacchides, move through the Maccabean books.
The commanders sent against Judas Maccabeus. Nicanor was defeated and killed at Adasa, and the anniversary was kept as a feast day for a time. Apollonius, Timotheus, and Gorgias lead other campaigns across 1 and 2 Maccabees.
The men who held or bought the high priesthood in the years around the Maccabean crisis. Onias III was respected and was deposed by his brother Jason, who purchased the office and built a gymnasium in Jerusalem. Menelaus then outbid Jason, and Alcimus later took the post with Seleucid backing.
A quiz for 1 Maccabees is on the workbench. In the meantime, the games for the judges, the kings, and the prophets are open.
