1 Maccabees 13 – With Jonathan in Trypho’s custody, Simon takes over the leadership of the Jews. He gathers the people, encourages them and rekindles their spirit. He completes the planned fortifications.

Trypho assembles his army to invade and sends envoys to Simon demanding a ransom of 100 talents and two of Jonathan’s sons before he will free Jonathan. Simon prepares to pay it more to assuage the desires of the people than anything. He believes it is all a…

1 Maccabees 13 – With Jonathan in Trypho’s custody, Simon takes over the leadership of the Jews. He gathers the people, encourages them and rekindles their spirit. He completes the planned fortifications.

Trypho assembles his army to invade and sends envoys to Simon demanding a ransom of 100 talents and two of Jonathan’s sons before he will free Jonathan. Simon prepares to pay it more to assuage the desires of the people than anything. He believes it is all a…

1 Maccabees 12 – Jonathan decides that it is not enough to be siding with Trypho and his attempt to set the child-king Antiochus up.

Jonathan continues to use “triangulation” as a policy; he sends people to Rome and Sparta to build other alliances against the Hellenists. He sends letters and ambassadors to renew or initiate treaties of friendship. The author includes a copy of the letter Jonathan sends to the Spartans. It reminds them of good relations in the past and…

Maccabees 11:38-74 - The politically complex situation around which the Books of Maccabees are constructed is not easy for modern readers to understand. Generally, in school, history teachers focus on the rise of the Roman Empire in the years we are discussing here. The details of the Hellenistic world simply do no make it into the history books. What is happening here is that the Hellenistic rulers - Ptolemies and Seleucids - are trying hard to expand and…

Maccabees 11:1-37 – Ptolemy VI tries to take possession of Alexander’s kingdom even though he is Alexander’s father-in-law. Ptolemy tries to win Demetrius’ cooperation by promising to give his daughter [Alexander’s wife at this time] to be his wife instead. The next sentence says that this actually happens right away.

Next, Ptolemy enters the city of Antioch and “assume[s] the crown of Asia” (11:13). When Ptolemy and Alexander finally engage in a decisive battle near…

1 Maccabees 10:51-89 - Despite the fact that Demetrius defeats the forces of Alexander Balas, Demetrius himself is killed by the end of the day. Alexander then sends agents to Ptolemy VI, king of Egypt, claiming victory over Demetrius and asking for his daughter in marriage.

Ptolemy writes him and arranges to meet him in the city of Ptolemais, where Akko is today on the Mediterranean. It is 150 BC when the marriage occurs.

Alexander writes to…

 1 Maccabees 10:1-50 – The port city of Ptolemais (Acca) is taken by Alexander Balas (Epiphanes). King Demetrius sends Jonathan a conciliatory letter to prevent him from joining up with this Balas against them. He gives him authority to raise an army (militia). Jonathan takes charge in Jerusalem and begins to rebuild the city. King Alexander hears of what Jonathan is doing and approaches him, to make friends with him. He offers to make him “high priest” of his nation. Jonathan then…

1 Maccabees 9 – This takes up the story left in Chapter 7. King Demetrius [the Seleucid king], hears of Nicanor’s defeat, he sends other generals in. It is 160 BC – when Judas’ men see the huge force coming after them, many flee. They are left with around 800 out of the original 3000.

His men try to convince him to leave the field in the present state of weakness, but he convinces them their reputation requires them to stay. Somehow, they manage to break the strong…

1 Maccabees 8 – Judas Maccabaeus sends a delegation to the Romans to conclude a treaty with them. The Romans are seen as very powerful but not as oppressive as the Seleucids are. This is the time of the Republic, and the Roman emperors do not assume any divine status as perhaps the Seleucids did. They conclude a treaty promising not to give any aid or comfort to any enemy of Rome and Rome promises a similar intent.

2 Timothy 2 – Paul urges Timothy to “take your…

1 Maccabees 7 – It is 161 BC. Demetrius, a son of Seleucus and older brother of Antiochus IV, challenges Antiochus V and Lysias. Demetrius had been the true heir of Seleucus but had been held as a hostage in Rome; his younger brother had used this as an opportunity to seize the throne. In 161 Demetrius escapes Rome and is here trying to reestablish his authority over the kingdom.

The young Antiochus is killed along with his protector, Lysias, and Demetrius takes the…

1 Maccabees 6:18-63 - Meanwhile, the garrison around Jerusalem continues to harass the Jews. This site is called the Citadel or Acre. It is a Hellenist garrison established around 168 BC by Antiochus IV [Epiphanes]. It was manned by Seleucid troops and also by some pro-Seleucid Jews who were not sympathetic to the Maccabeans. It is rather easy for me to imagine that there might have been a good many Jews who actually…

1 Maccabees 6:1-17 – Meanwhile, King Antiochus IV tries to take and plunder a rich city in Persia—Elymais—but fails. He receives word that the Jews have used all the plunder they have won to strengthen their towns and that they have torn down the “abomination” in their Temple. He is shaken by both these things and feels that he has failed. He becomes depressed.

The tone of the passage is interesting because he is, after all, the enemy of the Jews; but they seem to see…

1 Maccabees 5 - When the nations surrounding Judaea – also under the control of the Seleucids but more compliant - hear that the Temple has been restored, they “determined to destroy the whole race of Jacob living among them; they began murdering and evicting Jewish citizens” (6:2). In response, Judas makes war on a number of these people: the “sons of Esau in Idumaea” (south of Palestine), and the Ammonites. The warfare described here is what people did back then, but it is not easy…

1 Maccabees 4 – Gorgias, a commander under Lysias, comes against the Jews at Emmaus, but finds no one there. Judas has moved his 3000 to the plain nearby. He is terribly short of armor and supplies but he reminds his men of how God helped their ancestors in the desert.

The Jews advance on the Seleucid army; they fight and the Gentiles are crushed. They pursue those who retreat for a time, but Judas tells them not to be greedy for plunder, for another battle awaits…

1 Maccabees 3 – It is 166-160 BC. Judas, called Maccabaeus, now steps forward to lead the fight for Israel. “He extended the fame of his people. He put on the breatplate like a giant and girded on his war harness; he engaged in battle after battle, protecting the ranks with his sword” (3:3)

Someone named Apollonius, governor of Samaria and commander of the Seleucid army in that region, gathers Gentiles together to fight him, but they are beaten. Apollonius’ sword…

1 Maccabees 2 - Mattathias of a priestly family and his five sons—John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan—are all desolate because of the shame to Israel this desecration of their Temple has brought. The king’s commissioners come to their town, Modein, and approach Mattathias about being the first to comply with what the Jews consider an “apostasy” so as to make a “good example” to others, who are also being asked to conform their religious practices to what the Seleucid rulers…

Introductory Material on 1 Maccabees from Jerusalem Bible:

These two books are not in the Jewish canon. They are considered deuterocanonical by the Church. They are about Jewish resistance to the Seleucid dynasty of rulers, and about Jewish resistance to secularization in the form of Hellenism. The Jewish community is torn within itself by those who want to follow the dominant culture and those who stand by the traditions. The Maccabeas family leads the…

Judith 15 – As the men hear of the situation, there is a complete rout and slaughter. This is not a book pacifists will enjoy at all unless they can see it as an allegory of spiritual faithfulness, courage and ingenuity. The Israelite warriors seize enormous amounts of loot from abandoned camps.

Joakim, the high priest, and all the members of the Council of Elders come to see the riches and bless Judith with a song of praise. “The…

Judith 14 – Judith tells the men to hang the head on the battlements and to get ready. She is sure that when they wake up and find that Holofernes is not with them, they “will then be seized with panic and flee at your advance. All you and the others who live in the territory of Israel will have to do is to give chase and slaughter them as they retreat” (14:4).  

She then asks that they call Achior, the Ammonite, to come and identify the head she has brought as…