Dr. Jodi Magness

And Mattathias dies within a year of the outbreak of the revolt. As I said, he was elderly. But the revolt in its first years was led by the third son, whose name was Judah, who becomes known as Judah Maccabee. Maccabee, it's a nickname. It means Judah the Hammer.

And Mattathias dies within a year of the outbreak of the revolt. As I said, he was elderly. But the revolt in its first years was led by the third son, whose name was Judah, who becomes known as Judah Maccabee. Maccabee, it's a nickname. It means Judah the Hammer.

Yeah. So it comes from Judah's nickname, right? Maccabee. And it kind of gives this name to the whole revolt. The family, by the way, sometimes we refer to them as the Maccabees, but they're actually the Hasmonean family. And they and their descendants will be known as the Hasmoneans. But Maccabee comes from that nickname. That's given to Judah. Right, Judah the Hammer.

Yeah. So it comes from Judah's nickname, right? Maccabee. And it kind of gives this name to the whole revolt. The family, by the way, sometimes we refer to them as the Maccabees, but they're actually the Hasmonean family. And they and their descendants will be known as the Hasmoneans. But Maccabee comes from that nickname. That's given to Judah. Right, Judah the Hammer.

Yeah. So it comes from Judah's nickname, right? Maccabee. And it kind of gives this name to the whole revolt. The family, by the way, sometimes we refer to them as the Maccabees, but they're actually the Hasmonean family. And they and their descendants will be known as the Hasmoneans. But Maccabee comes from that nickname. That's given to Judah. Right, Judah the Hammer.

And so he, you know, our sources describe this. And again, a lot of our information comes from 1 and 2 Maccabees, which are these two books that are included in the Catholic Bible. And then we also have some information from Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian. So... What happens is that Judah gathers some supporters and they flee, right? They flee into the wilderness.

And so he, you know, our sources describe this. And again, a lot of our information comes from 1 and 2 Maccabees, which are these two books that are included in the Catholic Bible. And then we also have some information from Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian. So... What happens is that Judah gathers some supporters and they flee, right? They flee into the wilderness.

And so he, you know, our sources describe this. And again, a lot of our information comes from 1 and 2 Maccabees, which are these two books that are included in the Catholic Bible. And then we also have some information from Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian. So... What happens is that Judah gathers some supporters and they flee, right? They flee into the wilderness.

They hide out and they sort of, as they go around, they recruit more and more followers. And without going into a great deal of detail, of course, the Seleucid king sends, you know, troops to, I mean, Antiochus IV isn't going to put up with a revolt. So he sends troops to put down the revolt. And there are a series of battles that are fought.

They hide out and they sort of, as they go around, they recruit more and more followers. And without going into a great deal of detail, of course, the Seleucid king sends, you know, troops to, I mean, Antiochus IV isn't going to put up with a revolt. So he sends troops to put down the revolt. And there are a series of battles that are fought.

They hide out and they sort of, as they go around, they recruit more and more followers. And without going into a great deal of detail, of course, the Seleucid king sends, you know, troops to, I mean, Antiochus IV isn't going to put up with a revolt. So he sends troops to put down the revolt. And there are a series of battles that are fought.

And it's one of the very, you know, really surprising things of history that the, let's call them the Maccabees at this point, were successful. They basically have a guerrilla band is what it is, right? But somehow they were able to register some significant victories against the Seleucid forces. And there's been a lot of scholarship written about how this happened.

And it's one of the very, you know, really surprising things of history that the, let's call them the Maccabees at this point, were successful. They basically have a guerrilla band is what it is, right? But somehow they were able to register some significant victories against the Seleucid forces. And there's been a lot of scholarship written about how this happened.

And it's one of the very, you know, really surprising things of history that the, let's call them the Maccabees at this point, were successful. They basically have a guerrilla band is what it is, right? But somehow they were able to register some significant victories against the Seleucid forces. And there's been a lot of scholarship written about how this happened.

And the other thing that I'll mention, though, is that at this very early stage of the revolt, it wasn't just an external revolt against the Seleucids, but it was also an internal civil war because our sources tell us that Judah and his followers also rooted out men or people who they refer to as lawless.

And the other thing that I'll mention, though, is that at this very early stage of the revolt, it wasn't just an external revolt against the Seleucids, but it was also an internal civil war because our sources tell us that Judah and his followers also rooted out men or people who they refer to as lawless.

And the other thing that I'll mention, though, is that at this very early stage of the revolt, it wasn't just an external revolt against the Seleucids, but it was also an internal civil war because our sources tell us that Judah and his followers also rooted out men or people who they refer to as lawless.

And lawless means Jews who were not observing biblical Jewish law, meaning Jews who were going along with the royal mandate, right, accepting it. So basically, it's kind of a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, rooting out anybody who is complying with this requirement to worship Greek gods and adopt Greek culture. And on the other hand, fighting against the Seleucid forces.

And lawless means Jews who were not observing biblical Jewish law, meaning Jews who were going along with the royal mandate, right, accepting it. So basically, it's kind of a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, rooting out anybody who is complying with this requirement to worship Greek gods and adopt Greek culture. And on the other hand, fighting against the Seleucid forces.

And lawless means Jews who were not observing biblical Jewish law, meaning Jews who were going along with the royal mandate, right, accepting it. So basically, it's kind of a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, rooting out anybody who is complying with this requirement to worship Greek gods and adopt Greek culture. And on the other hand, fighting against the Seleucid forces.