Posted on 03/17/2004 6:16:16 AM PST by veronica
The Maccabees - (166-129 BCE) - By Mitchell Bard
The death of Alexander the Great of Greece in 323 BCE led to the breakup of the Greek empire as three of his generals fought for supremacy and divided the Middle East among themselves. Ptolemy secured control of Egypt and the Land of Israel. Seleucus grabbed Syria and Asia Minor, and Antigonus took Greece.
Palestine was sandwiched between the two rivals and for the next 125 years Seleucids and Ptolemies battled for the prize. The former finally won in 198 B.C. when Antiochus III defeated the Egyptians and incorporated Judea into his empire. Initially, he continued to allow the Jews autonomy, but after a stinging defeat at the hands of the Romans he began a program of Hellenization that threatened to force the Jews to abandon their monotheism for the Greeks' paganism. Antiochus backed down in the face of Jewish opposition to his effort to introduce idols in their temples, but his son, Antiochus IV, who inherited the throne in 176 B.C. resumed his father's original policy without excepting the Jews. A brief Jewish rebellion only hardened his views and led him to outlaw central tenets of Judaism such as the Sabbath and circumcision, and defile the holy Temple by erecting an altar to the god Zeus, allowing the sacrifice of pigs, and opening the shrine to non-Jews.
The Jewish Hammer
Though many Jews had been seduced by the virtues of Hellenism, the extreme measures adopted by Antiochus helped unite the people. When a Greek official tried to force a priest named Mattathias to make a sacrifice to a pagan god, the Jew murdered the man. Predictably, Antiochus began reprisals, but in 167 BCE the Jews rose up behind Mattathias and his five sons and fought for their liberation.
The family of Mattathias became known as the Maccabees, from the Hebrew word for "hammer," because they were said to strike hammer blows against their enemies. Jews refer to the Maccabees, but the family is more commonly known as the Hasmoneans.
Like other rulers before him, Antiochus underestimated the will and strength of his Jewish adversaries and sent a small force to put down the rebellion. When that was annihilated, he led a more powerful army into battle only to be defeated. In 164 BCE, Jerusalem was recaptured by the Maccabees and the Temple purified, an event that gave birth to the holiday of Chanukah.
Jews Regain Their Independence
It took more than two decades of fighting before the Maccabees forced the Seleucids to retreat from Palestine. By this time Antiochus had died and his successor agreed to the Jews' demand for independence. In the year 142 BCE, after more than 500 years of subjugation, the Jews were again masters of their own fate.
When Mattathias died, the revolt was led by his son Judas, or Judah Maccabee, as he is often called. By the end of the war, Simon was the only one of the five sons of Mattathias to survive and he ushered in an 80-year period of Jewish independence in Judea, as the Land of Israel was now called. The kingdom regained boundaries not far short of Solomon's realm and Jewish life flourished.
The Hasmoneans claimed not only the throne of Judah, but also the post of High Priest. This assertion of religious authority conflicted with the tradition of the priests coming from the descendants of Moses' brother Aaron and the tribe of Levi.
It did not take long for rival factions to develop and threaten the unity of the kingdom. Ultimately, internal divisions and the appearance of yet another imperial power were to put an end to Jewish independence in the Land of Israel for nearly two centuries.
"The Passion of the Christ" filmmaker told WABC radio's Sean Hannity in an interview broadcast yesterday that he may make a film about the Jewish rebellion against the Syrian Greeks in 165 B.C.
Hanukkah commemorates the victory by the rebels known as the Maccabees who recaptured the Holy Temple in Jerusalem."
Just in time for Christmas!
"We look at the books as history but do not accept them as inspired."
It's (still) a (more or less) free country. You're free to "not accept them as inspired", and I'm free to consider that mistaken and misguided.
But Scripture or not, they make great reading; far better than most political/historical thriller novels. Well written history (as opposed to the dreck foisted off on teenagers in high school) tends to be like that ...
Why stop at Chanukah Mel? Why not look at the last 48 hours of the destruction of the second temple? Lot's of blood there. Matter of fact, we could look at Sampson's last 48 hours with the Philistines.
Here is a partial list of ideas for Mel-
-The 48 hours during and shortly after Haman is revealed to king Achasverosh (There's a really good war at the end) (Purim)
-The 48 hours leading up to the destruction of Sodom (a big atom bomb like destruction of a city)
The destruction of Jericho (the walls come crashing down)
-The Israelites' war with Amalek (oohh, some really good hand to hand sword and spear fighting- lots of blood)
-The city of Schem is ransacked by the bothers of Dinah (some great and bloody fighting)
-The taking of Canaan by the Israelites in war
Well, I am sure that FReepers can come up with excellent ideas for his production company. Hmmm, the Patriot meets the bible. I like it.
Machabees is part of the Septuagint. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches consider the Septuagint to be Scripture. They have done so for far longer than whatever church you belong to (I've never got that straight) has existed. You can reject them, if you like, but I consider you misguided to do so.
That, sirrah, is my only and final word on this subject.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.