Bible Verse Lookup
2 Mac 10:5
Chapter 10
5
The purification of the temple took place on the same day the foreigners profaned it, which was the twenty-fifth of Kislev.
The purification of the temple took place on the same day the foreigners profaned it, which was the twenty-fifth of Kislev.
Commentaries
The Seven Brothers and Their Mother.
The author outlines the Maccabean rebellion in three parts: the victorious rise of Judas Maccabeus (8:1-36), the fall of Antiochus IV (9:1-29), and the dedication of the Temple (10:1-8).
Purification of the Temple.
This account appears suddenly, acting as a kind of parenthesis between 9:29 and 10:9. It is understandable that if the most severe consequence of Antiochus IV’s persecution was the desecration of the Temple, then the rebellion’s success results in the purification and rededication of the Temple. Notably, the purification occurs on the same month and day it was desecrated (5). This feast, celebrating the rededication of the Temple and Judaism’s triumph over paganism, was declared a national holiday (8). It continued to be observed in Jesus’ time (Jn 10:22) and is still celebrated today by Jews as Hanukkah, meaning “dedication,” lasting eight days starting on December 25.