However, this original Hebrew has been lost, and the work only survives in translation in Koine Greek contained in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Jewish scriptures. It possibly was written during the reign of the Roman emperor Caligula (3741 ce). As noted above, if ancient manuscripts of the hypothesized original Hebrew version existed, they have been lost. First Maccabees was written about 100 B.C., in Hebrew, but the original has not come down to us. And his servants bare rule, each one in his place. VERSE 19. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He also requires Jewish leaders to sacrifice to idols. 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. Elephants were an important part of the army of Antiochus. As far as the dates of composition are concerned, these can be taken as approximately 100 B.C. VERSE 12. 1 After Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came from the land of Kittim, had defeated[ a] King Darius of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded him as king. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. VERSE 33. Many scholars suggest that these Church Fathers may have had access to a Biblical Aramaic paraphrase of the workmost Christians writers of the time did not distinguish between Hebrew and Aramaic. 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. The second book overlaps with the first, starting earlier. 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. Were there any parts of the book that you particularly liked or which inspired you? 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. This caused the Maccabean revolt, led by Mattathias and his sons. Jonathan is eventually captured by the Seleucid Greek ruler Diodotus Tryphon. And they tore in pieces the books of the law which they found, and set them on fire. Reading time: Around 4 hours for both books or 2 hours for one. Thus 1 Maccabeesas well as the other books of this genrefaced a major political obstacle to their acceptance. Protestants and Jews regard it as generally reliable history, but not a part of Scripture. And they got possession of the strong cities in the land of Egypt; and he took the spoils of Egypt. As a part of the revolt, the Temple was freed from the control of the Greek empire and rededicated (an act that is still commemorated yearly in the festival of Hanukkah). The historical integrity of the book, which was compiled from official written sources, oral tradition, and eyewitness reporting, is attested to by the absence of almost all of the conventions of the Hellenistic rhetorical school of historiography and by its uncritical use by the later Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. ", The Church Father Origen relates that the title of the Hebrew original was Sarbeth Sarbanael, translated either as "the Book of the Prince of the House of Israel" or "the Book of the Dynasty of God's resisters.". The author propagates "Hasmonean propaganda" in the sense of upholding the righteousness of the Hasmoneans and their just claim to rule the Hasmonean kingdom. [41] The book dismisses a defeat suffered by other commanders named Joseph and Azariah as because "they did not listen to Judas and his brothers. And the kingdom was well ordered in the sight of Antiochus, and he thought to reign over Egypt, that he might reign over the two kingdoms. However, we believers CANNOT do evil that good may result. Editor's note: The following homily delivered by the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D, S.T.D., on 1 August 2017, commemoration of the Holy Maccabees (Extraordinary Form) at the Church of . Later Jewish leaders thought poorly of the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty for several reasons, and a document so openly celebratory of them was problematic. VERSE 34. Judas's brother Simon Thassi is declared High Priest by will of the Jewish people. 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. 1 Maccabees follows this story until the death of Simon (the third son of Mattathias to rule over Israel) at the hands of the some Egyptian Greeks (from about 175-134 bc). 1 and 2 Maccabees reflect on this question in slightly different ways. He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. 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. Every bridegroom took up lamentation, she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness. Mattathias proclaimed a holy war; Jewish armed resistance operated from the wilderness with great success under the successive leadership of three of Mattathias sonsJudas Maccabeus, the undisputed leader of the Jews (3:1-9); Jonathan (9:28-12:53), and Simon (chap. [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. He interprets the Maccabean victory not as a miraculous intervention by God, but rather as God's using the instrument of the military genius of the Maccabees to achieve his divine ends. 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. St. Augustine wrote in The City of God that they were preserved for their accounts of the martyrs. VERSE 28. He forbids observance of the sabbath and the offering of sacrifices at the Temple. The author, probably a Palestinian Jew, is unknown. Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of Judas, his supporters, and even to other Jewish heroes of the period, such as the seven brothers (2Mc 7). 25) gives testimony to the existence of an original Hebrew text. Judas's Maccabee title is generally tied to the Aramaic word maqqaba ("makebet" in modern Hebrew), "hammer" or "sledgehammer", in recognition of his prowess in battle. The original book was apparently written in Hebrew, as is indicated by a number of Hebrew idioms used by the author. Werner Kappler[de] published a critical edition of the Greek text in 1936, an eclectic compilation of the various surviving manuscripts and the best construction of the original text. And they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled the sanctuary. Thus did they in their might to Israel, to those that were found month by month in the cities. the hundred and forty and fifth year. Antipathy toward the Seleucid-friendly Hellenizing Jews is unsurprising, as they were enemies in war, but 1 Maccabees extends criticism to internal Jewish opponents of the Hasmoneans as well. The Septuagint was preserved by early Christians as the basis for the Christian Old Testament. VERSE 21. and entered presumptuously into the sanctuary, and took the golden altar, and the candlestick of the light, and all that pertained thereto. 2 Maccabees, instead of covering later years, shines a microscope on the first fifteen years of the same period, drawing its own lessons (which I . And he took the spoils of the city, and set it on fire, and pulled down the houses thereof and the walls thereof on every side. And he took the silver and the gold and the precious vessels; and he took the hidden treasures which he found. Finally, there is the issue of its revolutionary character. came there forth out of Israel. the Torah. The people, in turn, must worship the Lord alone and observe exactly the precepts of the law given to them. Modin. 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. by Daniel R. Schwartz. And after these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should die. The name Maccabee probably means "hammer" and was the nickname given in the book to the first leader of the revolt, Judas, third son of Mattathias. VERSE 2. In 168 BC, he desecrates the Temple by setting up an "abomination of desolation" (establishing rites of pagan observance in the Temple, or sacrificing an unclean animal on the altar in the Holy of Holies). And at the doors of the houses and in the streets they burned incense. VERSE 29. As a part of the revolt, the Temple was freed from . Pre-modern translations of the work were made in Latin, Syriac, and Armenian. [40] Jews who complain about Judas's activities "bring to the king an accusation against the people". More wars involving Judas and his brothers Simon and Jonathan are reported in chapters 5, 6 and 7. The revolt is also known by the name Maccabee, after the most renowned of Mattathias's sons . for the second, on the basis of the information given in the first letter they refer to (2 Mace. When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand). I Maccabees is the only contemporary source for the civil wars in Judaea, and the only surviving one for Judaean-Syrian relations after the reign of Antiochus IV. VERSE 37. 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author and included in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons of the Bible. He extensively uses the first thirteen chapters of it in Books 12 and 13 of his work Jewish Antiquities, paraphrasing it directly in parts, although supplementing it with other Greek histories such as Nicolaus of Damascus. 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. . 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. 3 So he advanced to the ends of the earth . 12:1-23). First and Second Maccabees help us to realize that God watches over his own, and they show that Israel always wins victory over its enemies when it stays true to the Covenant. 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