Biblical Profile: Maccabees

Maccabees

The Maccabees (meaning, “hammers”) successfully led a revolt against Antiochus IV in response to his persecution of the Jews. They and their descendants (called Hasmoneans) ruled Judea for nearly a hundred years and helped form Jewish society as we see it in the time of Jesus.

The Maccabean Revolt (166–142 BC)

When Antiochus IV made the practice of Judaism punishable by death in 167 BC, many Jews acquiesced, while others passively resisted and paid with their lives. Soon, more active resistance arose. When a representative of Antiochus IV came to the town of Modein to require the Jews to perform a pagan sacrifice, a priest named Mattathias killed him and then said, “Everyone who is zealous for the law of Moses and wants to obey the covenant, follow me!” (1 Maccabees 2:27). He then fled to the mountains with his sons and some other followers.

Mattathias, who was very old, soon died, but before his death, he appointed his son Judas to lead the revolt. Judas was a tactical genius and charismatic commander. He, his brothers, and their followers succeeded in defeating Seleucid attacks and liberating most of Judea. After gaining control of Jerusalem, Judas and his band of rebels immediately set about to cleanse the Temple and restore the daily sacrifices, so that daily worship could be resumed. This restoration and rededication was then memorialized in the Festival of Dedication or Lights (Hanukkah). Judas opposed the appointment of a Hellenistic high priest and sought additional political freedom. He defeated the Seleucid army that was dispatched to put down the uprising, but the Seleucid king responded by sending a much larger army. Most of Judas’s men deserted, and Judas was killed in the battle of Elasa (160 BC).

After Judas was killed, the Maccabees regrouped under his younger brother Jonathan, who was a skilled politician and commander. Over the next few years the Maccabees regained control of Judea once more. Jonathan secured the high priesthood and allied himself with Rome. But the Seleucid general Tryphon tricked him, took him hostage, and murdered him in 143 BC.

Another brother, Simon, followed Jonathan as leader of the Maccabees. In 142 BC, Simon extracted a treaty from Seleucid king Demetrius II, whereby Judea became independent. Simon retained the office of high priest, and it became a hereditary position for his family. Simon was assassinated by his son-in-law in 135 BC.

Hasmonean Rule (142–63 BC)

The rule of Mattathias’s son Simon marks the transition from the Maccabean rebel movement to the Hasmonean dynasty, named for Mattathias’s great-grandfather Asmoneus. Simon’s descendants ruled Judea for close to a hundred years. This era saw the increasing Hellenization of Jewish political leadership. At the same time, the Pharisees gained popularity as they sought to preserve orthodox Judaism. Meanwhile, separatist groups such as the Essenes removed themselves completely from Jewish society. Toward the end of this period, the struggle for control between two brothers, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus II, led to political instability and provided Rome an opportunity to bring peace and assert control.

Roman Rule (beginning 63 BC)

In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey marched on Jerusalem, and Judea became a tributary to Rome. Judea then entered a period of relative peace. With the end of Hasmonean rule, the stage was set for the coming of a new and strong religious leader for the Jewish people, the long-awaited Messiah.