June 23: The Second Book of Maccabees: A History of Resistance

2 Maccabees was written in Greek in about 125 BCE.  It is a revised version of 1 Maccabees, a little shorter as a history.

Maccabee is derived from the word “Hammer.”  Possibly a reference to Judas and his four brothers as being the Hammers of God against the Greek rulers.

The revolt (165 BCE) takes place during the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Greek ruler of Israel.  When Alexander the Great died he left his empire to his five generals.  Seleusius inherited the area which contained the ancient country of Israel.  For most of the three hundred years that the Seleucids ruled the Jews were allowed to follow their traditions and maintain their religion and their Temple.  When Antiochus IV took power there was a conflict between the Hellenized Jews, who had adopted many Greek practices, the traditional Jews, who were keeping their religion pure, and the Greeks who had colonized areas of Israel and had brought their culture with them.

Antiochus IV wished to strengthen his own power over his territories and sided with the Greeks and Hellenized Jews.  Jewish religious rites and traditions were outlawed.  People had to be publically seen worshiping Zeus as the supreme God at least once a year.  This often meant an enforced gathering of the population in the town square where a sacrifice was made to Zeus, then each person had to eat a piece of the sacrificial meat to show their loyalty.  Also parents weren’t allowed to circumcise their children and could be put to death for doing so. 

According to legend: A devout Jew named Mattathias was a rural Jewish priest in Modiin, and when the day of Greek sacrifice came to town he had decided that in order to maintain his religious purity that he would not participate in the sacrifice, even if it meant that he would be killed.  Unfortunately a Hellenistic Jew stepped forward to offer a sacrifice to Zeus, or another Greek god, in Mattathias’ place.  Mattathias killed him before the Jew could defile him.  He and his five sons fled to the Judah wilderness.  About one year later, in 166 BCE, his son Judah Maccabee led an army of Jewish dissidents to victory over the Seleucids by using guerrilla warfare. 

The Maccabean army attacked many Hellenized Jews as well as Greeks.  Once the victory for Jerusalem was completed the Maccabees entered Jerusalem and ritually cleansed the Temple, and reestablished Jewish worship.  Jonathan Maccabee was installed as high priest.  A large Seleucid army was sent to quash the revolt but when Antiochus died (of illness or infection) the commander, Lysias, agreed to a political compromise that gave Jewish religious freedom back.

Doctrinal issues:

1. Prayer for the dead and sacrificial offerings, both to free the dead from sin. 

            12:39-45: The story of Judas taking care of the fallen soldiers.

2. Merits of the martyrs:  Eleazar: 6:18 – 31

                                             Mother and her Seven Sons: Chapter 7

            These martyrs caught the imagination of medieval Christians, and are among the few pre-Christian figures that were honored in with Saint’s Days.  This book was considered to be the first “martyr book” ever created.

3. Intercession of the saints:  Jeremiah visiting Judas: 15:11–17

            Also there are two cases of heavenly figures assisting during battle: 3:24-34 & 10:8-11

4. Resurrection of the dead: When all of the martyrs die and many of the battles take place it is mentioned that those who have kept the law and fought justly will have the reward of eternal life.

5. Specific mention of creation ex nihilo: 7:28: This means that God made the universe out of nothing. 

Two Important Results of the Revolt:

1. Independent Country of Israel is established: At first between 140 – 116 BCE the descendants of Judas founded the Hasmonean dynasty and ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids.  When the Seleucid Empire started to disintegrate the dynasty became independent and expanded into Samaria, Galilee, Iturea, Perea and Idumea.  This became an independent kingdom of Israel.  In 63 BCE the kingdom was conquered by Rome and made into a client state.  In 37 BCE Rome made Herod the Great the puppet ruler.  There is a legend, through the historian Josephus, that Herod was a descendant of one of the original five brothers (Eleazar or Auran) though not of Judas or Jonathan.  But this could have been a claim that Herod made for his own purpose.  Herod did marry a Hasmonean princess, Mariamne.  He killed both the male children that she gave to him out of paranoia.  He also drowned the last male Hasmonean heir at his Jericho palace.

2. The Establishment of Hanukkah:  The actual establishment of the holiday is established in another work called The Scroll of Antiochus.  But the two books of Maccabees confirm the rededication of the Temple and it’s cleansing.