jjares reviewed The Maccabean Revolt: The History and Legacy of the Jewish Uprising against the Seleucid Empire that Restored Judea?s Religious Freedom on + 3275 more book reviews
The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Empire and Hellenistic influences on Jewish life in Judea. It lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and pitted the priest Mattathias (and his sons and followers) against Hellenistic Jews and Seleucids.
The Temple in Jerusalem was central to the Jewish mind. The Seleucids under Antiochus III tried to Hellenize Judea by forcibly converting as many as possible to the Greek culture and religion. Because of the economic benefits, some Jews accepted the new reality and were called Hellenistic Jews. The pious Jews refused to Hellenize. Mattathias killed a Hellenistic Jew who came forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias' stead.
That spawned the revolt by Mattathias (and later led by his third son, Judah Maccabee) and it was both a civil war and a war against on oppressor. Before it was all over, the revolt was led by several of the Maccabees (Mattathias (the father), Judas, John, Simon, Eleazar, and Jonathan (all sons).
The revolt succeeded and Judea ruled themselves. Later, they developed the Hasmonean dynasty. The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah reminds the Jewish faithful of the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the 2nd-century BCE (after the end of the revolt).
This book makes the mistake (in my mind) of trying to utilize statements from ancient texts (which may not be easy to understand, if one isn't a Bible scholar). I had to google to understand some of the complex issues because the author did not just tell the reader, but used ancient texts.
The Temple in Jerusalem was central to the Jewish mind. The Seleucids under Antiochus III tried to Hellenize Judea by forcibly converting as many as possible to the Greek culture and religion. Because of the economic benefits, some Jews accepted the new reality and were called Hellenistic Jews. The pious Jews refused to Hellenize. Mattathias killed a Hellenistic Jew who came forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias' stead.
That spawned the revolt by Mattathias (and later led by his third son, Judah Maccabee) and it was both a civil war and a war against on oppressor. Before it was all over, the revolt was led by several of the Maccabees (Mattathias (the father), Judas, John, Simon, Eleazar, and Jonathan (all sons).
The revolt succeeded and Judea ruled themselves. Later, they developed the Hasmonean dynasty. The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah reminds the Jewish faithful of the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the 2nd-century BCE (after the end of the revolt).
This book makes the mistake (in my mind) of trying to utilize statements from ancient texts (which may not be easy to understand, if one isn't a Bible scholar). I had to google to understand some of the complex issues because the author did not just tell the reader, but used ancient texts.
