First book of maccabees hanukkah miracle

The development of the chanukah oil miracle in context of. The account concludes with the defeat of the syrian general nicanor in a revolt led by judas maccabeus and his brothers in 161 bc. These books are not part of the tanakh hebrew bible. Eight crazy nights fullcourt miracle the hebrew hammer. The first and second books of maccabees, though regarded by jews and protestants as apocryphal, i. The story of hanukkah is preserved in the books of the first and second maccabees. It seems that power does corrupt and absolute power corrupts completely. For eight days, jews celebrate a miracle that occurred about 2,200 years ago. So seeking to diminish the maccabees role in the story of hanukkah, they invented the miracle of the oil. The miracle of hanukkah sets the stage for a faithful jewish. The ancient israelites, led by judas maccabeus, did vanquish the oppressor antiochus but greek rule would only be shaken off 20 years later under judas younger brother. The first book of the maccabees covers the period of forty years from the accession of antiochus 175 b.

From the maccabees to a miracle to hanukkah donuts. The oil that fueled the hanukkah miracle sunday evening marks the beginning of the jewish festival of hanukkah. About 250 years after these events, the firstcentury jewish historian flavius. The first book of maccabees was written about the time that the. While no one can deny the importance of the hasmonean years, history details the many cruel maccabean acts that occurred after that first hanukkah miracle. 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. Books of maccabees encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The first book of maccabees i maccabees is historical work extant in greek, covering the period of 40 years from the accession of antiochus epiphanes 175 b. When we think about the hanukah celebration, we tend to think about gods miraculous work for the jewish people. But then, in a graduate program in ancient mediterranean history and religions, we read the christian bible. A theological treatise such as 2 maccabees differed widely from the unadorned, factual approach found in 1 maccabees. Circumcision, sabbath worship, teaching the torah first five books of the old. No surprise, but if you do a little digging into the holiday, you find out quite quickly that its a fascinating holiday both because of the history of hanukkah and the story of hanukkah in the book of maccabees. The miracle of the oneday supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days is first described in the talmud, committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of maccabees.

The first hanukkah december 164 bce antiquities 12. The brightness of the first chanukah light had dwindled down. After defeating the syriangreeks in the battlefield, the first of the two miracles celebrated on hanukkah, the maccabees returned to jerusalem. Hanukkah, the jewish festival of lights, celebrates the maccabean. The talmud says that after the forces of antiochus iv had been driven from the temple, the maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. Welcome to part 2 of our series the miracles, mysteries and histories of hanukkah. The first of these is the only one of the four which can be regarded as a reliable historical source. The eightday rededication of the temple is described in 1 maccabees 4. First maccabees written circa 4104 bce and describing the period of 1665 bce is devoted to presenting the maccabean dynasty, from mattathias through his son judah, to jonathan and simon who became high priests and gained political independence. The books of the maccabees biblical literature britannica.

We, for instance, have a site, ekron, from the end ofstill from the first temple period. The book of 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene. The first and second books of maccabees relate the accounts of the jewish revolt against the syrian greek tyrant antiochus epiphanes. Maccabees, mount and modern israel the jewish press. Hanukkah in the book of maccabees welcome to part 2 of our series the miracles, mysteries and histories of hanukkah. The second book of maccabees explains that the mitzvah of celebrating eight days of hanukkah was actually invented as a substitute for celebrating the eight days of sukkot. The books of the maccabees, four books, none of which is in the hebrew bible but all of which appear in some manuscripts of the septuagint. Hanukkah in the book of maccabees galilee of the nations. The historic data are contained in the first book of the maccabees. Heres the untold secrets of hanukkah and the maccabees story. Its name in the septuagint and in the writings of the church fathers eusebius and clement. Hanukkah is called the feast of dedication because it celebrates the maccabees victory over greek oppression and the rededication of the temple.

In the first part of this series we did not elaborate on the horrors committed by antiochus iv, nor did we discuss at length the mighty triumphs of the maccabees. In talmudic times there was related a story of the miracle of finding a small amount of ritually pure oil that beyond expectation burned for eight days. Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days, which is the length of the celebration recorded in the first book of maccabees and which is affirmed by josephus. We fulfill the lighting of the temple menorah through lighting our hanukkah menorahs each year. In another allusion to the hanukkah miracle, traditional hanukkah foods. The books of the maccabees quotes showing 12 of 2 and they cut in pieces, and burnt with fire the books of the law of god. The book of hanukkah, the story of the maccabees a saga of heroism and dedication and a miracle.

The story of how hanukkah came to be is contained in the books of 1 and 2 maccabees. See the feast of dedication hanukkah from a christian. The books of the maccabees are not part of the hebrew bible, so i had never read them growing up and i suspect, neither had most of my hebrew school teachers who taught me the hanukkah story in the first place. Its name in the septuagint and in the writings of the church fathers eusebius and clement is.

Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights, is one of the most joyous times on the jewish calendar. What you need to know about the hanukkah story my jewish. I maccabees presents a historical account of political, military, and diplomatic events from the time of judaeas relationship with antiochus iv epiphanes of syria reigned 175164163 bc to the death 54 bc of simon maccabeus, high priest in jerusalem. The first book of maccabees also gives a list of jewish colonies scattered elsewhere. This evening, the jewish holiday of hanukkah begins. The first book portrays the effort by the jews to regain their cultural and religious independence from antiochus iv epiphanes after his desecration of the jewish temple.

To begin with, let us boil down the main elements of the bavlis account. Heres the untold secrets of hanukkah and the maccabees. The festival of hanukkah is instituted by judas maccabeus and his brothers to. The book is held as canonical scripture by the catholic, orthodox, and oriental orthodox. The first two books only are part of canonical scripture in the septuagint and the vulgate hence are canonical to roman catholicism and eastern orthodoxy and. Indeed, so distinct are these two works that one must not label the epitome the second book of maccabees, as if it were a continuation of 1 maccabees. Maccabean revolt, the battles, the victories, the miracle of the chanukah lights and the events. The book of hanukkah, the story of the maccabees a saga. The first book of the maccabees tells another version of the story, describing an eightday celebration that followed the rededication but making no reference to the miracle of the oil. The original hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the greek translation contained in the septuagint. But hanukkah is also known as the festival of lights, and this is because immediately following the miraculous deliverance, god provided another miracle of.

The true story behind hanukkah the ancient israelites, led by judas maccabeus, did vanquish the oppressor antiochus but greek rule would only be shaken off 20 years later under judas younger brother. The first book of the maccabees tells another version of the story. There are four books which pass under this namei, ii, iii, and iv maccabees. It is a historical account filled with amazing plot lines that we can learn many lessons from today. The miracle of hanukkah was born in the flames of the seleucid greek persecution of the jews. The story of the miracle, as described in the talmud, occurred after the liberation of the temple in jerusalem during the maccabean revolt, and describes how the finding of a jug of pure oil that was to be enough to light the lamp for one. The first book of the maccabees the feast of dedication. Jews refer to the maccabees, but the family is more commonly known as the hasmoneans. The bavlis oil miracle story and 2 maccabees tradition about nehemiahs chanukah. The story of hanukkah is alluded to in the book of 1 maccabees and 2 maccabees. The antihasmonean and zoroastrian approaches do not suggest the origin or the development of the oil story, though other ancient texts may offer certain clues. The book of hanukkah, the story of the maccabees a saga of heroism and dedication and a miracle, maximon, saadyah on. The first round of antijewish decrees went into force on the 3rd day of tishrei in.