Maccabees

I

Introduction

Maccabees, family of Jewish patriots and rulers prominent in the 2nd and 1st centuries bc, and more correctly known as the Hasmonaeans, from Hashmon or Hasmon, the name of an ancestor. The surname Maccabeus (Latin, probably derived from Aramaic maqqaba, “the Hammerer”), from which the English name Maccabee is derived, properly belongs only to the most prominent member of the family, Judas (see below). Eventually, however, it came to be applied to Judas's relatives. The Maccabees led the Jewish people in their struggle for freedom from the kingdom of Syria. Their exploits and the legends surrounding them are recounted in the Old Testament books Maccabees. Prominent members of the family include the following.

II

Mattathias or Mattathiah

(died 167 bc), priest of Modin, north-west of Jerusalem. In 168 bc the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes forbade Judaism and also decreed that altars to the Greek gods be set up in the Temple at Jerusalem and in country towns. Mattathias, then an old man, by a royal officer and a Jew who had complied with the decree. In 167 bc, Mattathias fled with his five sons and many faithful Jews, to the mountains where he led a revolt against Antiochus. He died soon after, leaving his son Judas in command of the rebellion.

III

Judas or Judah

(died 161 bc), third son and successor of Mattathias. Judas was one of the great generals in Jewish history, who, with a few thousand followers, defeated the numerically superior Syrian forces in a series of engagements (166-165 bc). In December 165 bc, he led his insurgent army into Jerusalem, retook the Temple, which had been used for Greek rites during the preceding three years, and, following a cleansing ceremony restored the Jewish rites. This purification and restoration is commemorated annually by the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. Judas launched extensive military campaigns against the enemies of the Jews in and around Judaea, as a result of which Syria recognized the religious liberty of the Jews in 163 bc. Judas then began to work for Jewish political independence from Syria, enlisting the help of Rome. Dissensions among the Jews, however, weakened his position. Although Judas won a great victory over the Syrians at Beth-horon (just north-west of Jerusalem) in 161 bc, he was killed in a subsequent battle fought nearby at Elsa.

IV

Jonathan

(?-142 bc), brother and successor of Judas, youngest son of Mattathias. After the death of Judas, Jonathan continued for three years to lead a small band of insurgents. In 157 bc, the Syrians, who were preoccupied by their own internal struggles for political power, made peace with him. In 152 Jonathan took advantage of Syria's problems and became high priest in Jerusalem and administrator of Judaea. Thereafter, he alternately supported the Syrian kings and pretenders, playing one off against the other, while increasing Jewish territory and power. In 143 bc Tryphon, pretender to the Syrian throne, decided to crush the power of Jonanthan whom he feared as a threat to his own influence. Jonathan was treacherously taken prisoner near Beth-shan (modern Beit Shean) by Tryphon, and killed.