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VIRTUAL CHANUKAH
POSTED 09 DECEMBER, 2007
Teaching on 1 Maccabees 1:41-62
commentary by J.K. McKee
Then the king wrote to his
whole kingdom that all should be one people,
and that each should give up his customs.
All the Gentiles accepted the command of the
king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted
his religion; they sacrificed to idols and
profaned the sabbath. And the king sent
letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah; he directed them to follow
customs strange to the land, to forbid burnt
offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings
in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and
feasts, to defile the sanctuary and the
priests, to build altars and sacred
precincts and shrines for idols, to
sacrifice swine and unclean animals, and to
leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to
make themselves abominable by everything
unclean and profane, so that they should
forget the law and change all the
ordinances. “And whoever does not obey the
command of the king shall die.” In such
words he wrote to his whole kingdom. And he
appointed inspectors over all the people and
commanded the cities of Judah to offer
sacrifice, city by city. Many of the people,
every one who forsook the law, joined them,
and they did evil in the land; they drove
Israel into hiding in every place of refuge
they had. Now on the fifteenth day of
Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth
year, they erected a desolating sacrilege
upon the altar of burnt offering. They also
built altars in the surrounding cities of
Judah, and burned incense at the doors of
the houses and in the streets. The books of
the law which they found they tore to pieces
and burned with fire. Where the book of the
covenant was found in the possession of any
one, or if any one adhered to the law, the
decree of the king condemned him to death.
They kept using violence against Israel,
against those found month after month in the
cities. And on the twenty-fifth day of the
month they offered sacrifice on the altar
which was upon the altar of burnt offering.
According to the decree, they put to death
the women who had their children
circumcised, and their families and those
who circumcised them; and they hung the
infants from their mothers' necks. But many
in Israel stood firm and were resolved in
their hearts not to eat unclean food
(1 Maccabees 1:41-62).
1 Maccabees
1:41-62, while longer than the two texts we have
examined in Days Four and Five, is actually
quite easier to understand. It lays out the
edicts that were mandated by Antiochus Epiphanes,
as he spreads his domain over the Land of
Israel. David S. Williams summarizes Antiochus’
actions quite succinctly: “Antiochus IV issues a
decree that strikes at the heart of Jewish
religion, especially Torah observance.”[1]
There were, however, specific ways that
Antiochus went about and did this.
In your studies
of the Maccabees, there has no doubt an
incredible amount of discussion given to the
topic of “Hellenization.” But what
“Hellenization” actually is may vary from text
to text, and from teacher to teacher. In order
to have a proper understanding of what it is,
dispelling any misinformation that might lead us
to improper conclusions, this study today lays
out what the Maccabees fought against, and what
they fought to restore. Perhaps even more
importantly, what Antiochus does prefigures
future events to befall Planet Earth.
41 Then the king wrote to his
whole kingdom that all should be one people, 42
and that each should give up his customs.
Antiochus
Epiphanes thought he was powerful enough that he
could decree everyone under his control to
become “a single people” (NJB). The title
Epiphanēs (Epifanhß)
actually means “God manifest,” but he was
nicknamed “epimanes” or “madman” by many
who came in contact with him.[2]
This obviously indicates that Antiochus was a
self-delusional leader, but in spite of this
enough people feared him to go along with his
intentions. Oftentimes in the history of
nation-states where charismatic leaders come to
power, those who “know better” will still go
along with the leader’s plans because of his
promises to “restore” or “bring glory” to the
country. Antiochus was ambitious to the point
that he desired all to “abandon their own laws
and religion” (NEB).
43 All the Gentiles accepted the
command of the king. Many even from Israel
gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to
idols and profaned the sabbath.
We see that “The nations
everywhere complied with the royal command”
(NEB). The verb eudokeō (eudokew)
actually means “to
consent
to do, be glad to do” (LS).[3]
Somehow the vision of Antiochus to expand his
empire and make everyone into the same people
after his design, worshipping the same gods,
dispensing with local and regionalized culture,
and perhaps even worshipping him, was appealing
to many. If you were in the position of a pagan
Gentile during this period, and Antiochus’
armies came into your town, and all of a sudden
new buildings were constructed, along with
aqueducts bringing water to your small farm, a
police force keeping criminal elements at bay,
and providing new services that you did not have
under the previous local king or regent, what
would you be thinking? Think of all the
third-world dictators today who bring
electricity or order into places where there is
none? Think of the amount of political power
drug lords in South America possess because they
try to “help the peasantry.” And how many people
return loyalty for these services because the
legitimate government may not help them?
These may be the kind of
situations we see with Antiochus expanding his
empire, and his edicts being so gladly followed.
Certainly with many people, they had no choice
but to follow his edicts, lest they get in
trouble with the authorities. But what is very
sad is that “Many even from Israel gladly
adopted his religion.” Williams remarks, “The
most prevalent theory has been that Antiochus
aimed to use Greek culture to blend his
heterogeneous empire into a more cohesive
whole.”[4]
They appear to have done us of their own free
will, and demonstrated it to be so by practicing
idolatry and breaking Shabbat.
44 And the king sent letters by
messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah;
he directed them to follow customs strange to
the land, 45 to forbid burnt offerings and
sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary,
to profane sabbaths and feasts, 46 to defile the
sanctuary and the priests, 47 to build altars
and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to
sacrifice swine and unclean animals, 48 and to
leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to
make themselves abominable by everything unclean
and profane, 49 so that they should forget the
law and change all the ordinances.
Antiochus
Ephiphanes, in spite of being referred to as a
“madman” behind his back, probably had enough
common sense to know that getting the Jewish
nation to agree to his demands was not going to
be easy. V. 44 says “the king sent agents with
written orders” (NEB) to Judea that would be
responsible to enforce “strange laws” (LXE).
These laws would be totally contrary to the
Torah, prohibiting the Torah’s commandments to
be faithfully observed.
When we examine
vs. 45-48 we see exactly the type of
Hellenization that Antiochus wanted to introduce
to the Jewish nation. The law enforced by the
Seleucid overlords prohibited the Jews from
observing the Mosaic sacrificial system, and
likewise from observing the seventh-day Sabbath
and appointed times. To add insult to injury,
Antiochus sees to it that the Temple in
Jerusalem is defiled by unclean animals being
sacrificed on the altar, and pagan temples and
shrines begin popping up all over the Land of
Israel for Jews to worship the Greek Pantheon of
gods. It is made illegal for the Jews to
circumcise their sons, namely as in Greek
culture the human body was viewed as a symbol of
great perfection, and to do anything to it,
especially the sexual organ, was viewed as
mutilation. Commenting on the historical
condition, the author of 1 Maccabees says that
many people were “prostituting themselves to all
kinds of impurity and abomination” (NJB).
The result
of this was clear: Antiochus wanted the Jews to
“forget the law and change all the ordinances.”
By making it illegal to practice the principal
elements of Torah observance, the people would
be forced to forget what it was all about and by
default accept his religious system. I
personally believe that forced Hellenization of
the Jewish people under Antiochus was only a
means toward his ultimate end. Antiochus
Epiphanes, as he was surnamed, wanted to be
worshipped and immortalized as a god himself.
Looking back on his work, I believe he wanted to
be able to say, “No one could destroy Israel,
but I did and now they’re worshipping me.”
Of course, he never
succeeded.
50 “And whoever does not obey the
command of the king shall die.” 51 In such words
he wrote to his whole kingdom. And he appointed
inspectors over all the people and commanded the
cities of Judah to offer sacrifice, city by
city.
The direct decree,
“The penalty for disobeying the royal command
[is] death” (REB) is a sure motivation to get
many people to bow to your whim. Perhaps
Antiochus and his subordinates were familiar
with the stories of the Hebrew God, and how
Israel and faced physical destruction many times
over, with the most recent in his time being
Haman trying to kill all the Jews in the Persian
Empire. Antiochus’ advisers may have told him
that if he wanted the Jews to obey him, he would
have to alter his tactics and not repeat the
mistakes of the others. The enemy of our souls
knew that the Jewish people were the only
remnant of Israel left, and likewise that
destroying them directly would not work. So, on
the threat of death, the Jews living in the Land
of Israel were commanded to dispense with their
religion and become like the Seleucid-Greeks.
While it equally applied for other parts of his
empire, these laws were primarily directed
toward the Jews.
V. 51 says that
“superintendents” (NEB) or “overseers” (LXE)
were sent to see that his laws were being
enforced. To prove their loyalty to Antiochus,
Jews were commanded, city-by-city, to sacrifice
to the Greek gods, likely with unclean animals.
Many went along with it probably to just
preserve their lives, and did not do it happily.
Interestingly enough, Judaism today largely
believes that any commandment in the Torah can
be broken to save a life under the principal of
Pikku’ach Nefesh, with few exceptions. If
one has nothing to eat but unclean insects, one
can eat those insects to extend life. But
idolatry cannot be committed to save one’s life.
Imagine the job the Maccabees had once they
defeated the Seleucids and reestablished Jewish
independence, the social problems experienced by
who was loyal to the God of Israel, and who went
along with the paganism. Suffice it to say,
there was probably a substantial amount of
suspicion of some in the generation that
followed.
52 Many of the people, every one
who forsook the law, joined them, and they did
evil in the land; 53 they drove Israel into
hiding in every place of refuge they had.
This is a
very interesting statement to consider: “Many of
the people—that is, every apostate from the
Law—rallied to them and so committed evil in the
country, forcing Israel into hiding in any
possible place of refuge” (NJB). Here, the
author of 1 Maccabees is clearly considering
“Israel” to be those who are loyal to the Torah
and the One True God. But what the text seems to
imply is that it was many Jews, who had become
apostate, who joined with Antiochus’ forces, and
who pursued their own fellow Jews who had not
committed the abominations. One meaning of the
verb sunathroizō (sunaqroizw)
is “to link w. others in a common experience,
unite with, be joined to” (BDAG).[5]
These Jews who had decided to obey Antiochus’
law not only decided to join in his militia
forces, but were a part of the whole experience
to dispense with the Torah obedient lifestyle
God had ordained for His people. It is bad
enough that they obeyed these terrible laws, but
here they actively participate in their
enforcement.
We are told that the Jews who
were faithful to the God of Israel had to flee
“into hiding in every possible place of refuge”
(NEB). George A. F. Knight comments that “the
best of the Jewish people recognized that a
crisis had arrived and so went into hiding
(vs. 53). God’s people could do no other.”[6]
If you were loyal to the Torah and to the One
True God, what else would you have done? Not
only were occupiers of your homeland coming
against you, but some of your own people,
collaborating with them, were as well. How
difficult would it have been to find a place to
hide? The Jewish collaborators knew the Land of
Israel much better than the Seleucids, and
possibly could even have known the best places
to hide. Would it have been hard to find a place
where you would not be discovered? This is why
an organized resistance against them was the
only viable solution.
54 Now on the fifteenth day of
Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth
year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon
the altar of burnt offering. They also built
altars in the surrounding cities of Judah, 55
and burned incense at the doors of the houses
and in the streets.
While laws
were being placed to curtail the Israelite
religion, the ultimate desecration came on the
15th of Kislev. McEleney notes, “On December 7,
167 B.C.E., Antiochus built an altar to Zeus
Olympios on the temple’s altar of
holocausts…This abomination replaced the
Holy of Holies as the center of worship in the
temple, and the worship of Zeus replaced that of
Israel’s God.”[7]
Zeus, of course, was the principal deity of the
Greek Pantheon, being the king of the gods. To
supplant the worship of Israel’s God, Adonai
Elohim, with this imposter god, would have been
the ultimate insult to the Jewish people.[8]
But for some, who may have been wavering in
their loyalty to the Lord, it may have also been
the turning point for them deciding to abandon
their faith in favor of what Antiochus was
offering.
This event was in fulfillment of
the Prophet Daniel’s words in Daniel 11:31:
“Forces from him will arise, desecrate the
sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular
sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination
of desolation.” It may seem confusing for us
because the eschatological term that often
describes “the Abomination of Desolation” in
most pre-millennial prophecy circles is used to
refer to another event, that of Daniel 9:27:
“And he will make a firm covenant
with the many for one week, but in the middle of
the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and
grain offering; and on the wing of abominations
will come one who makes desolate, even
until a complete destruction, one that is
decreed, is poured out on the one who makes
desolate.”
Without a doubt, what Antiochus
did was an abomination before the God of Israel.
But it was not the final abomination spoken of
by Daniel that occurs at the end of the
seventy-weeks prophecy. A future leader, much
like Antichous, eager to unite the world as one
people worshipping him, will make all of the
previous abominations that have occurred on the
Temple Mount seem like nothing. The text uses
the plural kenaf
siqutzim
(~ycWQv
@nK),
indicating that there have been multiple
abominations committed, but this one will be
the extreme abomination, topping all the
others.[9]
The Apostle Paul describes this in greater
detail in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:
“Let no one in any way deceive
you, for it will not come unless the
apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness
is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes
and exalts himself above every so-called god or
object of worship, so that he takes his seat in
the temple of God, displaying himself as being
God.”
From Paul’s
vantage point, the Abomination of Desolation has
yet to occur; and from our view today, it
likewise has yet to occur. There has been no
leader like Antiochus, who has entered into the
Temple in Jerusalem to be worshipped as God. In
fact, there is no Temple in Jerusalem today
where this prophecy could even be fulfilled in.
The seventy-weeks prophecy of Daniel has yet to
be completely fulfilled, as when it is all over
we are to see the restoration of God’s Kingdom
on Earth, stated clearly in Daniel 9:24:
“Seventy weeks have been decreed
for your people and your holy city, to finish
the transgression, to make an end of sin, to
make atonement for iniquity, to bring in
everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”
The example of Antiochus
Ephiphanes is very, very important to
understand. It lays the historical precedent as
being one of the many abominations that has
occurred on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This
abomination in 167 B.C.E. was followed by the
Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and
the subsequent erection of a temple to Jupiter.
Likewise, when Islam expanded throughout the
Middle East the Dome of the Rock was built on
the Temple Mount. Today, we await the
reconstruction of the Temple by many of the
Temple Mount faithful groups in Israel, and then
we can see the climax of all of these
abominations. Unlike those who committed
abominations in the past, though, the man of
lawlessness will be able to broadcast himself to
the world, so everyone, not just those in
Jerusalem, will be able to see him declare
himself as God. Do you think Antiochus
Ephiphanes would have liked to do this? Well,
the same spirit of antimessiah that was in him
will be in someone else in the future.
56 The books of the law which
they found they tore to pieces and burned with
fire. 57 Where the book of the covenant was
found in the possession of any one, or if any
one adhered to the law, the decree of the king
condemned him to death.
Vs. 56-57 describe
how religious texts of the Jews were sought out
and “torn up and burnt” (NEB). While most
Messianic readers may gloss over this, and
assume that the Torah or Chumash
(Genesis-Deuteronomy) is all that is being
spoken of, notice that the author of 1 Maccabees
has two specific groupings of text in mind. He
first references “the books of the law,” ta
biblia tou nomou (ta
biblia tou nomou),
and then refers to “the book of the covenant,”
tini biblion diathēkēs (tini
biblion diaqhkhß).
This was during the time when only the Written
Torah, “the book of the covenant,” would have
been composed for people to read. But, it does
not disclude the possibility that some laws or
rulings or other texts of the Jewish community
used in Torah interpretation may be what are
referred to as “the books of the law.” Perhaps
more likely and probable, “the books of the law”
is a reference to the Prophets and Writings. A
hunt was sent out to find these texts and
destroy them. Anyone found in possession of the
Scriptures was executed.
It is quite
amazing that the Bible, in any of its forms, has
survived through the history of our faith. Here
in 1 Maccabees we see an excellent example of
how those even possessing a copy of the Torah,
the Prophets or Writings, or quite even writings
related to these, were given a death sentence.
Almost 2,200 years later many in the Messianic
community today, while largely not debating the
veracity of the Hebrew Tanach, do call the
validity of the Greek Apostolic Scriptures into
question.[10]
Such individuals do not believe that the God of
Israel is powerful enough to inspire His Word in
languages other than Hebrew, and that the gospel
message could only have been written in Hebrew.
In spite of the fact that no text(s) has even
been discovered to support such a claim, nor
does Biblical history support their opinion, do
they consider what the Second and Third Century
Believers had to go through in order to preserve
the message of Messiah Yeshua? Just like the
Jewish people during the times of the Maccabees,
the Christians of the Second and Third Centuries
faced persecution and the death sentence by
possessing copies of Scripture. If Messianics
can so unwisely consider their sacrifice in
vain, because they were preserving “Greek
texts,” then what is to be said of the sacrifice
of Jews in this passage? Did they die in vain?
Some in the Messianic community
do not consider the statements that they make in
light of history and the example of the giants
of faith. The Maccabees did not give in to
religious assimilation; the early Believers in
Yeshua endured the persecution of the Romans;
and the many Reformers translated Scripture into
their native languages on threat of death from
the Catholic Church. If it were not for these
people, we would not be where we are today:
restoring the faith to its Torah foundation.
We have to be very thankful that God by His
sovereign hand preserved the Holy Scriptures as
we have them. And we also need to be thankful
for the Jewish and Christian saints that have
gone before us in the faith.
58 They kept using violence
against Israel, against those found month after
month in the cities. 59 And on the twenty-fifth
day of the month they offered sacrifice on the
altar which was upon the altar of burnt
offering.
The author of 1
Maccabees writes that “these wicked men used
their power against the Israelites” (NEB). Why
is the term en ischui (en
iscui) used
in the text, which literally means “in power”?
Is it to contrast human power used against God’s
people, to God’s power which is infinitely
more powerful and used against His enemies?
Notice once again that the author uses the term
“Israel,” as a reference to the faithful ones
who resisted against the evil decrees. The
process of going into a town and finding those
faithful to the God of Israel and rooting them
out continued along with the abominations in the
Temple.
60 According to the decree, they
put to death the women who had their children
circumcised, and their families and those who
circumcised them; 61 and they hung the infants
from their mothers' necks. 62 But many in Israel
stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not
to eat unclean food.
Our text selection
ends describing more of the persecution that was
going on among the Jewish faithful who refused
to give in to the decrees of the Seleucids.
Women who circumcised their children were put to
death. Worse yet, “Their babies, their families,
and those who had circumcised them, they hanged
by the neck” (NEB). Circumcision is pointed out
in the text as being one of the prime elements
of Torah observance that brought death, likely
because it was so offensive to the Greeks.
History has shown
that many Jews have been persecuted because of
being circumcised, and there are many examples
in the Books of 1-4 Maccabees that attest to
this. Consider the fact that one practice some
Jews had to adopt in Europe was that of
semi-circumcision: “In Europe before the war
[World War II], Jews concerned with recognition
often underwent this half-circumcision. In this
procedure, only half of the foreskin is removed.
The procedure is enough to satisfy the religion,
but equally important, the skin can be pulled
over the gland without risk of an infection
underneath. This enabled many Jews to escape
detection at a time when their religion brought
them much persecution.”[11]
Likewise, in v. 62
we are told that “many in Israel…stood firm and
found the courage to refuse unclean food” (NJB).
It is during this same time that Jewish
animosity toward pork began.
Alfred J. Kolatch
states in The Second Jewish Book of Why,
“scholars have associated the deep Jewish
aversion to the pig with the Hasmonean period in
Jewish history (second century B.C.E.) when the
Syrian-Greeks, led by Antiochus Ephiphanes,
dominated the Palestine scene and tried to force
Jews to sacrifice pigs in the Temple and to eat
of their flesh.”[12]
In the Messianic
community today, we do not face the threat of
death for keeping the Torah, or for that same
matter believing that Yeshua is the Messiah. We
might get the occasional snide remark made to
us, or subtle putdowns among those of the world,
but nothing like the Jews during this period
experienced. These people, as committed
followers of the God of Israel, did not give in
to the prevailing culture around them. They
resisted the attempts made to get them to deny
Him and His ways. 2 Maccabees 5:22-7:42
describes in greater detail the extent of their
persecution and what they endured for all of us.
If it had not been for them, Israel in any
form would have been wiped out, and there
would have been no nation for Messiah Yeshua to
have been born into. We are forever in their
debt, and must consider their example through
whatever challenges we face today in our lives.
If you have been blessed
by Outreach Israel Ministries and TNN Online this year,
please consider helping us with a Special Year End Offering.
Bibliography
Knight, George A. F. “The First
Book of the Maccabees,” in The Interpreter’s
One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, pp
588-599.
McEleney, Neil J. “The First Book of the
Maccabees,” in The Oxford Study Bible, pp
1197-1232.
Williams, David S. “1 Maccabees,” in New
Interpreter’s Study Bible, pp 1551-1593.
NOTES
[1]
David S. Williams, “1 Maccabees,” in
Walter J. Harrelson, ed., et. al.,
New Interpreter’s Study Bible, NRSV
(Nashville: Abingdon, 2003),1556.
[2]
Neil J. McEleney, “The
First Book of the Maccabees,” in M. Jack
Suggs, Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, and
James R. Mueller, et. al., The Oxford
Study Bible, REB (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1992), 1197.
[3]
H.G. Lidell and R. Scott,
An Intermediate
Greek-English Lexicon
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), 324.
[4]
Williams, in New
Interpreter’s Study Bible, 1556.
[5]
Frederick William Danker,
ed., et. al.,
A Greek-English Lexicon
of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature,
third edition (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2000), 964.
[6]
George A.F. Knight, “The
First Book of the Maccabees,” in Charles
M. Laymon, ed., The Interpreter’s
One-Volume Commentary on the Bible
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1971), 592.
[7]
McEleney, in The
Oxford Study Bible, 1199.
[8]
Note that some fringe
teachers in the Messianic community
today, of the Sacred Name Only
persuasion, actually equate the
abomination of Zeus on the Temple Mount
with Christians who pray in the name of
Jesus. Other than such individuals
setting themselves up as arbiters of
spirituality in God’s universe, not
theirs, the fact of the matter
remains that Zeus (Zeuß)
and Iēsous (Ihsouß)
have two totally different spellings
and pronunciations in Greek. The
name Iesous is of Jewish origin,
being employed as the transliteration of
the Hebrew name Yeshua ([Wvy)
in the Greek Septuagint.
[9]
The Hebrew kanaf (@nK)
specifically means, “wing, extremity”
(Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles
A. Briggs. Hebrew and English Lexicon
of the Old Testament [Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1979], 489).
[10]
Consult
Scripture Under Scrutiny: Was the New
Testament Really Written in Hebrew?
edited by Margaret McKee Huey.
[11]
Niels Lauersen and Steven
Whitney, It’s Your Body: A Woman’s
Guide to Gynecology (New York:
Grosset & Dunlap, 1977), pp 383-384.
[12]
Alfred J. Kolatch, The
Second Jewish Book of Why (Middle
Village, NY: Jonathan David Publishers,
1985), 318.
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