1 Maccabees

Historical Introduction

Everything started with the conquests of Alexander the Great, son of Philip, the Macedonian. Starting from Greece, he defeated Darius, king of Persia and Media. Since he was already king of Greece, he took the throne of Darius.

After fighting many battles, capturing strongholds, and executing the kings of those nations,

he reached the farthest corners of the earth and plundered several nations. When the world was quiet and under his control, he became proud.

He gathered a powerful army, ruled over provinces and nations, and rulers paid him taxes.

But he fell ill, and knowing he would die,

he called his generals and noblemen who had been raised with him from youth; while still alive, he divided his kingdom among them.

Alexander had reigned for twelve years when he died.

His generals took charge, each assigned to a region.

Right after Alexander’s death, they declared themselves kings, and their sons after them, causing years of chaos and destruction.

Persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes

From their descendants came a godless offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus, who had been held hostage in Rome. He became king in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Greek era (in 175 B.C.).

It was then that some rebels emerged from Israel, who succeeded in winning over many people. They said: “Let us renew contact with the people around us, for we have endured many misfortunes since we separated from them.”

This proposal was well-received,

and some eagerly went to the king. The king authorized them to adopt the customs of the pagan nations.

With his permission, they constructed a gymnasium in Jerusalem in the style of the pagan nations.

And as they wanted to be like the pagans in everything, they made artificial foreskins for themselves and abandoned the Holy Covenant, sinning as they pleased.

When Antiochus felt confident of his power, he seized Egypt and ruled over the two nations.

He entered Egypt with a strong army, with chariots of war, elephants, horses, and a great fleet,

and attacked Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Ptolemy had to retreat and was defeated, with many of his men dying in the process.

The victors seized the fortified cities of Egypt and plundered the land.

In one hundred and forty-three (in B.C.), when Antiochus returned after defeating Egypt, he passed through Israel and went up to Jerusalem with a strong army.

He arrogantly broke into the Sanctuary and removed the golden altar, the lampstand for the light with all its accessories,

the table for the bread of offering, the libation vessels, the cups, the golden censers, the curtains and the crowns; and stripped away all the decorations, the golden moldings that used to cover the temple entrance.

He also took possession of the silver, gold, valuable objects, and all the hidden treasures he could find.

He took everything with him and left for his country after shedding blood and making arrogant statements.

There was great mourning throughout the land of Israel.

The leaders and the elders groaned, young men and maidens lost courage, and women grew pale;

bridegrooms sang lamentations, and the young bride wept in her marriage bed.

The earth quaked in sorrow for its inhabitants, and all the people of Jacob were humiliated.

After two years, the king sent the chief tax collector to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a strong army.

He spoke to the people with words of peace to deceive them. But when he had gained their confidence, he suddenly attacked the city and dealt it a terrible blow, killing many Israelites.

He plundered the city, burning and destroying the palaces and the surrounding walls.

He took women and children captive and seized the livestock.

Then, they rebuilt the city of David with a high, solid wall protected by strong towers, which became their fortress.

There, they stationed evil men and apostates to defend it.

They stored weapons, provisions, and everything they looted in the city, posing a constant threat.

It became a trap for the Sanctuary, a grave and ongoing threat to Israel.

They shed innocent blood around the Sanctuary and defiled the Sanctuary itself.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them. She became a colony of strangers and was a stranger to her children, who abandoned her.

Her Sanctuary became as empty as the desert, her feasts became days of mourning, her Sabbaths were ridiculed, and her fame became an object of contempt.

As her glory had been great, so now was her dishonor, for her greatness was turned into grief.

Antiochus issued a decree throughout his entire kingdom.

All the people within his empire were required to abandon their traditional customs and become one unified people.

All the pagan nations obeyed and respected the king’s decree, and even in Israel, many accepted the imposed cult. They offered sacrifices to idols and no longer honored the Sabbath.

The king sent messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judea to deliver the decree, which brought in strange customs.

It abolished burnt offerings, sacrifices, and other offerings in the Sanctuary. It also ordered that Sabbaths and holy festivals be treated as normal days.

The Sanctuary and its ministers were no longer to be considered sacred.

Instead, altars, holy enclosures, and temples were to be dedicated to idols. They were to offer pigs and unclean animals as sacrifices,

and refrain from circumcising their sons.

In summary, they were to defile themselves with all kinds of impurity and profanity, forget the law, and alter all their customs.

The decree concluded with the statement: “Anyone who disobeys the king’s order shall face death.”

The king announced this mandate throughout the province, and the inspectors he appointed traveled through the land of Judea. They made sure sacrifices were offered in all cities.

Many Israelites joined them, abandoning the law and committing countless evils,

forcing the true Israelites to find places of refuge to hide.

On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev, in one hundred and forty-five (in B.C.), Antiochus erected the “abominable idol of the invaders” on the temple’s altar. Pagan altars were built throughout the whole land of Judea;

incense was offered at the doors of their houses and in the squares.

There, wicked men tore up the books of the law they found and burned them.

They killed anyone caught in possession of the Book of the Covenant and who followed the law’s precepts, as the royal decree had ordered.

And being in positions of power, they pursued the Israelite rebels they found, month after month, in the cities.

On the twenty-fifth day of each month, they offered sacrifices on the new altar they had built upon the temple’s altar.

The women who, in defiance of the decree, had their children circumcised were put to death, with their babies hung around their necks.

Their families and all who participated in the circumcision were also executed.

But many Israelites remained firm and determined not to eat unclean food despite all this.

They preferred to die rather than to make themselves unclean with those foods (prohibited by the law) that violated the Holy Covenant.

And Israel suffered a great trial.