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THE BOOK OF 1 MACCABEES
Lesson 1
Introduction

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Lord God,
When we are faced with struggles and call upon You to come to our aid, You are faithful to do so if we are practicing the obedience of faith and trusting in You to have our best interests at heart. Sometimes struggles are meant to test our faith, and other times to help us grow in faith. But always, even when Your message is that Your grace is sufficient for us, You cover us with Your love. In the Book of 1 Maccabees, Your covenant people's freedom to practice their faith and keep the commandments of the Sinai Covenant are at stake. You answer their call for help by sending the brave sons of the priest Mattathias to battle the enemy and restore the Covenant people to celebrate their independence from foreign powers and to practice legitimate worship in the Jerusalem Temple. Please, Lord, give us that same protection for Your Kingdom of the Church as we face enemies both foreign and domestic. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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There are four books of the Maccabees, but only the first two are in the Catholic canon of Sacred Scripture. Maccabees I and II deal with the struggle against the Greek Seleucid kings led by the sons of the priest Mattathias. 1 Maccabees presents the history of the first generation of Hasmoneans, who, according to the Jewish priest and historian Flavius Josephus, are called Hasmoneans because Mattathias's great-grandfather was called Hasman/Asamoneus (Antiquities of the Jews, 12.6.1). The revolt began under the Greek Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 175 BC, when he sought to Hellenize the Jews by destroying their culture and religion and replacing them with Greek culture and the worship of the Greek pantheon of gods. The book ends with Simon's death in 135 BC, the third son of Mattathias, and the reign of his brother John.

The book of 1 Maccabees was written in Hebrew, probably about 100 BC, but exists now only in a Greek version. It is included in the Old Testament canon of Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, and Russian Orthodox churches, but is not in Protestant or Jewish Bibles. The book's title comes from the name Maccabaeus, "hammer," a title given to Judas, the heroic son of the Jewish priest Mattathias, and later passed on to his brothers.

The Five-Part Division of 1 Maccabees:

1. Introduction (Chapters 1-2)
   1. Alexander the Great and the Seleucid Persecution (1:1-63)
   2. Mattathias and His Sons (2:1-70)
2. The Leadership of Judas Maccabeus (3:1-9:22)
3. The Leadership of Jonathan (9:23-12:53)
4. The Leadership of Simon (13:1-16:17)
5. The Reign of John Hyrcanus (16:18-24)

Summaries of the five parts:
Part I: The Hellenization of Jerusalem (1:1-64). With support from influential Greek-culture Jews, Antiochus IV tries to force Greek culture and religion on Jerusalem, resulting in Mattathias' Armed Revolt (2:1-70).

Part II: Judas Maccabeus, Leader of the Jews (3:1-9:22). After the death of Mattathias in c. 166 BC, Judas, the third of his five sons, assumes leadership of the revolt against the Seleucids (1 Macc 2:66). "Judas" is the Greek form of the name Judah, the fourth son of Jacob-Israel and father of the tribe of Judah. Judas's skill, determination, and victories earned him the title "the Hammer" (Maccabaeus), as he achieved crushing defeats against the Syrian army and made a treaty with Rome, an emerging power in the region (1 Macc 8:1-32). He regains and purifies the Jerusalem Temple, establishing the national Feast of Dedication (Hebrew Hanukkah), also called the Feast of Lights, which celebrates the rededication of the Temple in 164 BC after Antiochus IV Epiphanes defiled it (1 Mac 4:56).¹ Later, he was killed in battle.

Part III: Jonathan Continues the Revolt (9:23-12:53). After Judas' death in battle, his brother Jonathan, surnamed Apphus (1 Mac 2:5), was elected as leader of the Jews (1 Mac 9:28-31). With political skill, he gets himself appointed the Jewish High Priest and obtains military control of the region, ratifying treaties with Rome before being murdered in an ambush (1 Mac 13:12-23).

Part IV: Simon Succeeds Jonathan (13:1-16:17). Simon, also known as Thassi, the second son of Mattathias, was praised as a man "wise in counsel" (1 Macc 2:65) and fought with success against the Seleucids and the Nabateans. He succeeded his brother Jonathan after he was captured by Trypho. By 142 BC, he became High Priest and leader of a politically independent Judea. Simon was assassinated by his son-in-law and was succeeded by his son John Hyrcanus.

Part V: Reign of John Hyrcanus (16:18-24). John, son of Simon, who was a successful military general, succeeds his father as the leader of Judea, bringing the book to an end.

In the last quarter of the second century BC, Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes (ruled 175-164 BC) controlled the Levant, including Samaria (formerly the Northern Kingdom of Israel) and Judah (formerly the Southern Kingdom of Judah). He began a vicious attack on the religion of the Jews, trying to force them to worship the Greek gods and accept Hellenistic culture. He set up pagan altars in the Jerusalem Temple and sacrificed pigs (religiously unclean animals) on Yahweh's holy altar. His attack on Jewish culture and religious traditions led to a revolt championed by the priest Mattathias and his sons: Judas, Jonathan, Simon, and John.²

Historical Summary:
1. Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonian Greece (born in 356 BC), began a conquest that stretched from Greece to India, creating one of the largest empires in history, spreading across three continents.

2. When Alexander died in 323 BC, his generals divided his kingdom, with Ptolemy taking Egypt and Seleucus I Nicator taking the eastern provinces, both founding Hellenistic Greek states. Seleucus controlled the eastern provinces, including Syria, Mesopotamia, and parts of Anatolia.

3. Greek Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC) invaded Judah, hoping to force the Jewish people to adopt Greek culture and the worship of the Greek gods. He outlawed Jewish religious practices, desecrated the Jerusalem Temple by installing pagan altars and plundering sacred vessels to fund his campaign (1 Maccabees 1:41/43-64/67). These actions led to the Maccabean Revolt (1 Maccabees 2:15-28), victory over the Syrians, the purification and rededication of the Jerusalem Temple (celebrated during Hanukkah), and, finally, after years of struggle, independence for Judah/Israel under the Jewish Hasmonean rulers.

4. Emerging from the Maccabean Revolt against Syria, the family of the Jewish priest Mattathias, known as the Hasmoneans, ruled Judea from c. 141 BC to 37 BC. They established a semi-independent Jewish kingdom that later became a Roman client state. The Maccabean rebel leaders, Mattathias, Judas Maccabeus, and Jonathan Apphus, did not claim the title of king before or after liberating Jerusalem. However, after Jonathan Apphus's death, his brother Simon Thassi became the first of many Hasmonean rulers in 142 BC, named both High Priest and ethnarch, inaugurating the Hasmonean Dynasty.

In 1 Maccabees, obedience to the Law of Yahweh is the theme. The struggle is less between the Greek culture of the Seleucids and the Hasmoneans, or between pagan-worshipping kings and the Jews, than between those dedicated to faithfully observing Mosaic Law and their adversaries. Yahweh's Law imparted to Moses is not merely a list of rules and regulations. It comes from the irreversible Covenant that Yahweh made with His people, which His covenant people must guard and uphold as their greatest national treasure.

All Scripture passages are from the New Jerusalem Bible unless cited as from the NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition). CCC refers to citations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Endnotes:
1. The Feast of Hanukkah is not a God-ordained feast, but is instead a national feast, established by the Covenant people. See the list of Jewish feasts at The Seven Annual Feasts and Their Fulfillment in Jesus_Christ. Hanukkah continues to be observed for eight days during the winter months, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the Jewish month of Kisley (1 Macc 4:52-59; 2 Macc 10:5-8). In the New Testament, Jesus attended this national feast (John 10:22).
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2. Mattathias had five sons: John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan (1 Mac 2:1-5).
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