Maccabees
- originally the nickname of one Judas Maccabee, then extended to all defenders and confessors of the faith in general during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, especially to the family of Judas Maccabee himself, who led the Jewish uprising against the Seleucids, and founded the Hasmonean dynasty.
For martyrs who suffered for the faith, see Maccabean martyrs
The nickname “Maccabee” was first borne by Judas (1 Mac 2:4). Then it spread to the whole family. This nickname is usually traced back to the Hebrew makkevet
or Aramaic
makkawa
- “hammer”.
According to the traditional Jewish interpretation, it is an abbreviation of the original Hebrew verse Exodus 15:11: “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?”
Being weak, the Jews suffered a lot from neighboring peoples. They suffered the most severe persecution from the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC), who was especially zealous in the forced Hellenization of Palestine and placed an idol in the Jerusalem Temple itself.
The priest Mattathias Asmonaeus, or Hasmonides, from Modin (10 km southeast of Lydda), gathered around him zealots of the faith and, supported by five sons, John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar and Jonathan, in 167 BC. began the fight against the troops of Antiochus Epiphanes from impregnable mountain shelters, deciding to fight on the Sabbath days. He raided neighboring areas, destroying altars, performing circumcisions, punishing apostates and seducers, but soon died (166 BC).
The greatly increased detachment was led by his third son, Judas Maccabeus, who repeatedly defeated the Syrians. In December 164 BC. he managed to recapture Jerusalem from them and re-consecrate the temple desecrated by Antiochus. In memory of this, the Jews established the Feast of Renewal - Hanukkah (see John 10:22). In 160 BC. Judas Maccabee fell in battle with the Syrians.
His brother Eleazar, the fourth son of Mattathias, died even earlier, so the leadership of the uprising was taken over by the youngest of the brothers, Jonathan, who achieved recognition of him as the Syrian governor, became a high priest and began to streamline government. The eldest, John, was soon after killed by the sons of Jambre, members of a robber tribe in Transjordan. Not wanting to allow Judea to separate from Syria, the Syrian usurper Tryphon Diodotus in 143 BC. lured Jonathan and his two sons to him and ordered all three to be killed.
Simon, who had already helped his brothers a lot before, became the head of the Maccabees. He fortified the cities under his control, conquered the harbor of Joppa, encouraged trade and industry, ushered in the anti-Seleucid era, and was proclaimed hereditary high priest and prince in 140 BC. This was the beginning of the Hasmonean dynasty, as this family now became known.
Land of Israel under Hellenistic Syria [↑]
IN 3390
year (370 BC) the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity and gradually rebuilt the Second Temple. The land of Israel was then part of the Persian Empire.
IN 3428
year (332 BC) Persia is defeated by Alexander the Great, who, as the Haggadah says, respected the Jewish sages. The Jews accepted him without war and, while he was alive, did not experience any oppression.
After the death of Alexander the Great, his empire was divided: one of his commanders reigned in Greece itself, another in Egypt, and a third in Syria. The land of Israel came under the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt, and was later conquered by Syria, led by the Seleucid dynasty. Attitudes towards Jews began to deteriorate significantly.
Hellenism. Reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. [↑]
In the countries conquered by Alexander the Great, Hellenism spread (from the word Hellas
- Greece) - a worldview and culture, the features of which were the cult of physical strength and beauty, belief in the absoluteness of the human mind, the denial of any ethical norms and restrictions.
Gymnastics classes were introduced, festivals of unbridled dancing were organized, and the worship of Greek deities became widespread. The conquered peoples readily adopted the Greek way of life. There were also his supporters among the Jews. They were called “ mityavnim”
- i.e. similar to the Greeks, Hellenists. But most Jews continued to live according to the Torah and believe in One God.
The Greco-Syrian Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes (“Mad”) decided to force all Jews to Hellenize. He outlawed the Jewish faith: he prohibited the study of the Torah and the observance of basic commandments. The high priest Yochanan was deposed and subsequently killed. A Hellenist was appointed in his place.
IN 3593
year (167 BC) Antiochus desecrated the Temple of Jerusalem by placing a Greek idol there and sacrificing to it.
Brutal persecution of Jews began. They killed everyone who kept the Sabbath, circumcised their sons, or refused to eat pork or worship idols. Hellenistic Jews actively helped the Syrians.
Is it always possible to avenge the blood of martyrs?
What if such martyrdom for the faith as the Maccabees endured happens among us? Should we start a rebellion? There was a similar example in our recent Soviet history. Temples were closed, priests were shot, believers were sent to camps. But Orthodox Christians did not take up arms - after all, they would have to fight against their own brothers. They gathered to pray and celebrate the liturgy in secret, and instead of one murdered priest, two were ordained... In this way, the people tried to preserve their faith in the face of persecution, and they succeeded.
The blood of a whole host of martyrs and confessors of the Soviet era testifies to the patience and submissive bearing of the cross by our people. They teach us by their example how to react to such situations, the arrival of godless power. Look how Christians behave today in Western Ukraine. Priests and laity, driven out of their own churches, gather for prayer on the street or somewhere else. They “protest” with humility, prayer, and defend their temples in courts, not in battles.
Archpriest Konstantin Lisnyak
Uprising in Modi'in [↑]
One day, Antiochus' servants arrived in the town of Modi'in.
, to collect taxes and force the inhabitants to worship the Greek gods. Modi'in was ruled by the elderly Matityahu from the Hasmonean clan, the son of the high priest Yochanan.
When the Syrian soldiers built an altar in the center of the town and demanded that Matityau sacrifice on it, he answered with dignity: “I, my sons and all our relatives will be devoted to the covenant that the Lord made with our forefathers.” One of the Jews wanted to make a sacrifice, but Matityau pulled out a sword and killed him. The sons of Matityahu and their companions attacked the soldiers, killed them and destroyed the altar.
Matityau understood perfectly well that Antiochus would not forgive the murder of his envoys. Therefore, he and his family and supporters left Modiin for the Judean Mountains.
Matityau called on all Torah-faithful Jews to join him. His slogan was Moshe’s call to punish those responsible for the sin of the Golden Calf: “Mi Le-Ha-Shem - Elai”
(
“Whoever is for the Lord, let him follow me!”
-
see Shemot 32:26
).
Under the leadership of the Hasmoneans, detachments began to form, which from time to time went on campaigns, destroying pagan altars and attacking Syrian soldiers.
When Matityau felt death approaching, he entrusted military leadership to his son Judah, who had outstanding abilities
commander. Judah, and subsequently his entire family, was nicknamed Makabi
(
Maccabeus
) -
“hammer”
.
In addition, as stated above, “Makabi”
is also an abbreviation of four letters:
“mem”
,
“kav”
,
“beit”
,
“yud”
, according to the first letters of the verse:
“What strength is like You, O Most High”( Shemot, 15:11
). These words were inscribed on the banner of the rebels.
Holy Martyrs of the Maccabees
The eldest of the boys, who was the first to give an answer to the king on behalf of all seven brothers, was given over to terrible torture in front of the other brothers and their mother; the other five brothers, one after another, suffered the same torment. There is a seventh brother left, the youngest. Antiochus proposed to Saint Solomonia to persuade him to renounce, so that she could have at least his last son, but the courageous mother strengthened him in the confession of the True God. The boy endured the torment just as firmly as his older brothers. After the death of all the children, Saint Solomonia, standing over their bodies, raised her hands with a grateful prayer to God and died.
Victories of the Maccabees and the miracle of Hanukkah. [↑]
More and more people joined the army of Judah Maccabee. The Maccabees began to engage in open battles with the Syrians and each time miraculously won victories - the enemy forces outnumbered them many times over.
After three years, the roads of Judea were finally cleared. The Jews approached Jerusalem.
A sad sight awaited them on the Temple Mount: the sanctuary was full of dirt and desecrated with pagan images. The Jews together cleaned the Temple. After this they built a new altar, because... the old one was no longer suitable, and on Kislev 25, 3596
(164 BC) consecrated it, i.e.
for the first time they made sacrifices on it. Consecration in Hebrew is "hanukkah"
- hence the name of the holiday Hanukkah.
The golden seven-branched candlestick that previously stood in the Temple was stolen. Instead, they made an iron menorah. When they wanted to light it, there was not enough pure oil - they found only a small jug with the seal of the High Priest Yochanan. This oil was supposed to last only for one day, but a miracle happened: it burned for eight days until new, pure oil was prepared (seven days were required to perform the temple cleansing ritual, and another day to prepare the oil).
In memory of the miracle, the sages decided to celebrate Hanukkah every year for eight days, starting on the 25th of Kislev, by lighting fires and praising the Creator.
Remembering the Maccabees in Chanukah Prayers [↑]
In memory of the miraculous victories sent by the Almighty through the Maccabees, in the prayers “Shemoneh Esreh” (the main Jewish prayer) and the afternoon prayer “Birkat Ha-Mazon” during Hanukkah, a special insert “Al Ha-Nisim” (“For Miracles”)
) - gratitude “for miracles, and for deliverance, and for (Your) power, and for salvation, and for the wars that You performed for our fathers in those days, at this time (of the year) ...".
During the days of Hanukkah, we also glorify and thank the Almighty by reading the full “Halel” (psalms praising G-d) in the morning prayer “Shacharit”. And it is customary to skip the mournful passages—Tahanun, “God is long-suffering,” “To the Chief of the Choir,” and “Your Patience.”
In the morning prayer on Hanukkah, special passages from the Torah are read, telling about the consecration of the altar in the Mishkan (about the offering of sacrifices by the heads of each tribe), and on the last day of Hanukkah - also about the making of the seven-branched menorah ( Bamidbar, 7:1-8:4
).
Hasmonean Dynasty after Hanukkah [↑]
Four years after Hanukkah, in 3600
year (160 BC) Judah Macabee died in battle. His brothers Jonathan and Shimon continued the war.
Jonathan took advantage of the power struggle between the various Seleucid rulers, and one of them appointed him high priest. Jonathan was subsequently captured and killed by the Syrians. Shimon became the high priest and ruler, who managed to completely expel the Syrians from the country.
IN 3625
year (135) BC.
e. Shimon and his two sons, Matityahu and Judah, were treacherously killed in Jericho by Shimon's son-in-law. Shimon's third son, Yochanan Hyrcanus, managed to gain the upper hand in the struggle for power. He reigned until 3656
(104 BC) and significantly expanded the boundaries of the Hasmonean state.
At the end of his reign, Yohanan Hyrcanus sided with the Tzdukim (Sadducees), who denied the Oral Torah, taking what was written in the Torah literally.
Yochanan Yehuda's son Aristobulus (3656-3657
gg. / 104-103 BC) became the first ruler of the Hasmonean dynasty to declare himself king.
Under his brother Alexander Yanai, the conflict between the Hasmoneans and the Prushim (Pharisees) - Jews who, unlike the tzdukim, fully observed the Torah, deepened even more. The king began to persecute the Jewish sages.
After the death of Alexander Yanai, power passed to his wife Shlomtsion (3684-3693
gg.
/ 76-67 BC), sister of the sage Shimon ben Shatach
. Under her, the judicial and religious leadership of the sages was restored.
After the death of Queen Shlomtsion, an internecine war began between her sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. IN 3697
year (63 BC), both sides turned to the Roman commander Pompey for help, and he took advantage of this to subjugate Judea to Rome. The Romans retained the title of high priest for Hyrcanus, but abolished royal power and seized significant territories from the former Hasmonean kingdom.
Around Hyrcanus, the Edumite Antipater and his son Gordus (Herod) began to enjoy great influence.
In the following years there were several unsuccessful revolts against the Romans, led by Aristobulus and his son Alexander. The last attempt to restore the former greatness of the Hasmonean dynasty was made by the son of Aristobulus Matityau Antigonus. Taking advantage of the Parthians' enmity with Rome and, with their help, capturing Jerusalem, he became king and high priest. But not for long.
First and Second Books of Maccabees. Revolt of the Maccabees. The beginning of a dynasty.
The persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes could not last long. The priest Mattathias becomes the head of the uprising. The king's envoys come to his city and demand that everyone go and make a sacrifice. Mattathias, despite persuasion, refuses and calls on the people to do the same. The priest then kills the Jew who agreed to go, and kills the king's envoy, and flees into the mountains with his five sons. There is a war going on. Mattafiya, like a partisan, occasionally makes forays and plunders Palestine. The whole movement began to be called Maccabean, after Judas Maccabee (the Hammer), he was appointed military leader by his father Mattathias. The elder Simon, although he was the head, commanded the troops of Judas. The actions of Judas Maccabee (166–160 BC) were very successful, since Antiochus did not expect to encounter serious resistance.
The First Book of Maccabees describes the turn of God's wrath to mercy. This book is non-canonical, and therefore one might say somewhat biased. Its author tried to justify and give greatness to the new royal dynasty of the Maccabees, but they were not from the line of David. Therefore, these books may present the Maccabees as heroes and great righteous people, although this might not be the case.
After a very short time, Judas Maccabee manages to come to Jerusalem and conquer Zion. Only the citadel remained in the hands of the Syrians. The temple was cleansed of all the abominations that were happening there, and worship resumed. A new altar is built, and the stones from the old, desecrated one, are put aside. The Jews did not know what to do with them, and decided to leave them until the time when a faithful prophet would come and say what to do with the stones from this altar (1 Mac. 4: 43–45). Having celebrated an eight-day celebration in the likeness of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews decided to annually celebrate the festival of the renewal of the Temple.
In one of the episodes, Judas Maccabee, praying before the battle, sees the high priest Onias the righteous and the prophet Jeremiah, who pray to God for a successful outcome of this battle (2 Mac. 15: 12–13).
After the liberation of Jerusalem and the Temple, Antiochus Epiphanes dies. He repents and admits that this is punishment for the desecration of the Temple of God and the city of God. Before his death, Antiochus proclaimed the right of the Jews to freedom of their religion and ordered the return of everything that he had seized in the Temple, and gave a decree that sacrifices should be made there, and even promised to become a Jew if he recovered. He does not recover (2 Macc. 9). But from this moment on, religious persecution ceases.
The war loses its religious meaning, but continues further and from that moment on acquires a national liberation character. Some pious Jews, called Hasidim in Scripture, lag behind the Maccabean movement because they see no point in fighting further. They saw the point in fighting for the paternal law, but there was no point in fighting for political independence and for the restoration of the kingdom.
Judas Maccabee fails to recapture the Jerusalem citadel. It was in the hands of the pagans, who continued to control the city, Judas was forced to retreat. Nevertheless, he is gradually expanding the territory under his control. Jerusalem temporarily falls back to the Syrians. The administration of Judea is entrusted to Bacchides, with whom comes a certain Alcimus, who sought the high priesthood and whom King Demetrius instructed “to take vengeance on the children of Israel” (1 Mac. 7:9). They carried out many murders and violence in Israel, which caused the Maccabees to take active action against themselves.
The commander Nikanor, sent against them, came to Jerusalem and vowed to burn the temple after the battles with Judas. But he was defeated and died. After this, Judas concludes a military alliance with the Romans against Demetrius. Another detail that emphasizes the changed nature of the war, since previously the Jews counted only on God’s help. After this, Judas loses the battle to Bacchides and Alcimus and dies himself. This happened in 160. The alliance with the pagans did not bring him much benefit. Bacchides triumphs for some time, but Jonathan (160–143 BC) stands at the head of the Jews, who inflicts a series of defeats on him. Bacchides made peace with Jonathan and left Judea.
In Syria, meanwhile, there is a struggle between two families of the descendants of Antiochus the Great in the person of Demetrius and Alexander; a moment comes when Jonathan himself supports first one or another contender for the throne, and each time supported the representative of the dynasty who at the moment had more legal rights to the throne, that is, not for money.
Jonathan sends an embassy to Rome to renew the alliance. Naturally, the Romans are very willing to agree to this alliance. An alliance is also concluded with the Spartans, about whom it was found that “they are brothers and from the family of Abraham” (1 Mac. 12: 7, 21). Prayers are offered and sacrifices are made for the pagan allies.
Jonathan, having won another victory over the troops of Demetrius, trusted the Syrian commander Tryphon. He is taken hostage, then his children are demanded, but in the end, both he and them are killed. Since two other brothers, John and Eleazar, also died earlier in various campaigns, then only one of the Maccabees remains, Simon (143–135). Under him, peace finally came to Judea (1 Mac. 14:4–15). The people proclaim him ruler over all the people and high priest, as it is written on the tablet that was minted for this occasion, until the faithful prophet comes (1 Mac. 14:41). That is, until the time when a prophet comes who can judge whether the Maccabees were rightly or wrongly appointed to the high priesthood and kingdom. In fact, although the Maccabees were not declared kings, they were proclaimed leaders of the people, and before them the high priests performed this function. Either Simon is declared the leader of the people until the coming of Christ, then this decree turns out to be prophetic in some sense: after the Maccabean dynasty was torn from power, the throne was taken by Herod, an Edomite, during which Christ is born.
The Maccabees subjugate a significant territory and become completely autonomous; they themselves begin to mint coins, which is a sign of independence. In 135, Simon died ingloriously, killed by his own son-in-law, who wanted to rule himself and tried to kill his children. John Hyrcanus remains alive, and in 134 he becomes the successor. With John's rise to power, the very first book of Maccabees ends, its narrative extends to the year 135. The Second Book of Maccabees ends with the death of Judas Maccabee. In this book the religious aspect is expressed much more clearly, and since after the death of Judas Maccabee the whole movement becomes purely political, it is not reflected here.
And not a single book of the Bible tells about the events of the next century.
The tragic end of the Hasmonean dynasty [↑]
IN 3723
year (37 BC) Roman troops took Jerusalem after a long siege. Matthias Antigonus was executed, and the Romans installed Herod on the throne.
Wanting to be treated by the Jews as a legitimate king, Herod decided to become related to the Hasmonean dynasty and married Miriam, the granddaughter of Hyrcanus. A few years later, Miriam was executed on the orders of Herod. He also killed her brother, grandfather and mother.
In the end, only one young woman remained alive from the Hashmonean family, whom Herod decided to marry. But to avoid this fate, she committed suicide.
The destruction of the Hasmonean dynasty was a punishment for the fact that the members of this family, being kohanim (priests), usurped royal power and did not want to give it to the descendants of King David, to whom it rightfully belongs.
Holy "revolutionaries" in Rus'
There have been many such examples in the history of the Church. Let us remember St. Sergius of Radonezh, who blessed the holy noble prince Demetrius Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo against the Tatar-Mongols and even gave him two of his monks - Peresvet and Oslyabya - to help him. For a long time, the Slavs endured and paid tribute to the Tatars until they touched the religious part of their lives. But the Tatar-Mongols, who had previously been fire worshipers, accepted Islam and began to actively spread it in Rus'. And the Slavs rebelled. A battle took place that brought victory to our ancestors.
Let us remember the year 1612, when Polish interventionists tried to seize power and forcefully introduce Catholicism. Ordinary townspeople and peasants under the leadership of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and the merchant Kuzma Minin gathered into a people's militia, carrying the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in front of them, and overthrew the invaders and completely defeated the Polish army. Why not the Maccabees? Now many historical moments are being questioned, but the overthrow of the Polish interventionists by ordinary people is a fact fully confirmed in history.
