The maccabean revolt

1. THE MACCABEAN REVOLT
&
HASMONEAN RULE
The Jewish people as a whole wouldn’t be the same without the Maccabees. Without their bravery and
loyalty to their god, the Jewish religion might have died. It was the Maccabees’ revolt that saved the
Jewish people. The historical rebellion of the Maccabees, which took place near modern day Israel after
the Jews were released from the Babylonian Exile, can be broken down into three periods. These
periods can be referred to as the pre-rebellion, rebellion, and post-rebellion.
Despite all the political oppression which the Jews experienced, they
had always enjoyed religious freedom. The first real sustained attack
on their religion came from Antiochus.
The attack resulted to a revolt led by the Maccabean family headed
by Mattathias.



The Pre-Rebellion
During this period the Ptolemies and the Seleucids controlled what was formerly Alexander the Great's
empire. According to Kleckley and Kemerling, the Ptolemies focused their energy on improving their
country, while the Seleucids tried to convert everyone in their country to the religion of the Greeks. The
Jews who lived in Egypt and Jerusalem were ruled by the Ptolemies. However, in the year 198 BCE, the
Seleucids took over Jerusalem and oppressed the Jewish people which ended their religious freedom.
The king of the Seleucid Empire was Antiochus IV, whom the Jews referred to as Epiphanes. Along with
bringing the religion of the Greeks, Antiochus plundered the temple to fund a war against the Ptolemies.
Some of the ways that Antiochus tried to take away the Jews' religious freedom was:
he outlawed circumcision
altars to Greek idols were placed in every Jewish town
those who didn't convert were put to death
he sacrificed unclean animals in the temple in Jerusalem, and
he forced all the Jews to worship him as their god

2. The Rebellion
The rebellion was started by an old Jewish priest in 167 BCE in the town of Modin. A Greek official tried
to make him give a sacrifice to a Greek God, but the old man refused. One of the Jews who had
converted quickly jumped to the occasion. The old priest, disgusted, killed the official and the converted
Jew.
That old priest's name was Mattathias. After Mattathias killed the two men, he jumped up and was said
to say, "Follow me....every one of you who is zealous for the law and strives to maintain the covenant" (I
Maccabees 2:27). Mattathias and his five sons waged war on the Seleucid troops.


a
This picture illustrates Mattathias killing the converted Jew.
His five sons were:
Eliezer
Simon
John
Judah
Jonathan

3. After Matthathias's death, a year after the rebellion
had begun, command was shifted to his son Judah.
Because of his great fighting ability, Judah was
nicknamed Maccabeus, "The Hammer." Exactly three
years after the Greeks desecrated the temple, the
Hebrews re-conquered, purified, and rededicated it.
This day was the 25 of Kislev, 165 BCE, and marks the
day that Jews began the festival of Chanukah.
Other than the wonderful stories of how the little bit
of oil lasted the Jews eight days, the holiday of
Chanukah celebrates:
the defeat of Antiochus
the eight days that the temple was
rededicated, and
the Jews regaining their freedom of religion

The Post-Rebellion
Of Mattathias's sons, Judah was the first leader, then his brother Jonathan, and then Simeon. All
together, the three brothers ruled for about thirty years. Simeon's son, John Hyrcanus I, took over after
him. He ruled for another thirty years. John Hyrcanus I was replaced by his eldest son, Judah Aristobulus
I, for about a year. When Judah Aristobulus died, his brother Alexander Yannai took over and married his
widow, Salome Alexandra. This was required by Jewish law. He also ruled for about thirty years. He
managed to restore the country to the size it was when the original twelve tribes had settled there.
Salome Alexandra took control for about nine years when Alexander Yannai died. She had two sons. The
older son was named Hyrcanus II and the younger one was named Aristobulus II. When she ruled, she
tried to create a stricter observance of the Torah. After her, the power shifted to her two sons.
Although, after a very long dispute between the two men, a man named Herod took control of the
country. Being an Edomite, he ended the Maccabean's rule over Judea.
The Maccabees' successful revolt against Antiochus' antisemitic persecution was ended about a hundred
years later by their own self-destruction. Their downfall was due to greedy family members who wanted
the country for themselves. If it weren't for the Maccabees, Judaism might have been just something
you learned about on the internet. If it had not been for them standing up for what they believed in, the
Jewish religion and the Hebrew people may have been blotted out by the Paganism of the Greeks.

4. THE HOSMONEAN FAMLY
Judas (Judas Maccabeus)– was a Kohen (priest) and a son of the
Jewish priest Mattathias, succeeded his father and earned for
himself the second name of “hammer”. After three years, he
restored the religious freedom and the daily sacrifice: likewise, he
purified the temple. After his death his brother, Jonathan, took
over his leadership over the people.




Jonathan (Jonathan Apphus) – the name Apphus means “the
Wary” or “the Diplomat. He was the youngest of the five sons of
Mattathias. He achieved political independence and assumed the
office of highest priest. He was treacherously arrested and killed.
Simon, his brother succeeded him.




Simon (Simon Thassi) – was the second son of Mattathias. The name
“Thassi” has an uncertain meaning (“the Director”, “the Guide”, “the
Man of Counsel”, and “the Zealous” are all possible meanings of the
term). He obtained a rescript in 1421 B.C. and that Year I of the new
independent state. Like his brother, he was treacherously murdered.
His son John Hyrcanus I succeeded him.

5. From John Hyrcanus I onwards, the Maccabean princes were known as the “Hasmoneans”, after
Hashmon, an ancestor of the family. Hyrcanus I extended much as the boundaries of the Jewish
kingdom. It was during his reign that a group from the Hasidim began to oppose him. This group formed
the Pharisees. Those who compromised their religious principles and collaborate with Hyrcanus I
politically became the so-called Sadducees.