Overview
1 Maccabees, called 1 Machabees in the Douay-Rheims Bible, is the principal biblical narrative of the Maccabean revolt and the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty. It covers roughly four decades, from the accession of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 175 B.C. through the leadership of Mattathias and his sons Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, ending after Simon’s death in 134 B.C. The USCCB dates the book to about 100 B.C., states that it was written in Hebrew, and notes that the lost original survives through an early Greek translation rich in Hebrew idioms. [1]
From Alexander to Antiochus IV
The book begins with Alexander the Great, the division of his empire, and the rise of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Some Jews seek accommodation with Hellenistic culture, establish a gymnasium in Jerusalem, and abandon covenant practices. Antiochus then intensifies the crisis by suppressing Jewish observance, profaning the Temple, and forbidding circumcision and Sabbath observance. [5]
The USCCB emphasizes that the struggle is not simply Jew against Gentile. The author sharply condemns Jews who abandon the law. The conflict is therefore about covenant identity: whether Israel will continue to worship the Lord and observe the Torah when fidelity becomes costly. [1]
Mattathias and the Beginning of Revolt
Resistance begins in Modein with the priest Mattathias. When ordered to participate in royal sacrifice, he refuses, kills a Jew who steps forward to comply, strikes down the king’s official, and flees with his family and supporters into the hills. His final speech urges his sons to remain zealous for the law and remember biblical ancestors who remained faithful under trial. Mattathias then designates Judas as military leader before his death.
The family’s name became associated with the revolt, but “Maccabee” originally applies specifically to Judas. The USCCB notes that the name probably means “hammer”; later usage extended it to his brothers, followers, and eventually the broader movement. [1]
Judas Maccabeus
Judas becomes the military hero of the book’s first half. Facing larger armies, he rallies his followers by recalling earlier acts of divine help. Battles against Seleucid commanders establish him as defender of the law and sanctuary. The narrative praises courage, tactical skill, and confidence that numbers alone do not determine victory.
Daniel R. Schwartz’s 2022 Anchor Yale commentary stresses an important feature of the book’s theology and politics: 1 Maccabees attributes unusually prominent historical agency to human valor and Hasmonean leadership. Schwartz argues that this supports one of the work’s broader purposes—legitimating the Hasmonean dynasty, particularly the line associated with Simon. [7]
The Temple Rededication and Hanukkah
The central religious victory comes in chapter 4. After recovering Jerusalem, Judas and his followers find the sanctuary profaned and the altar desecrated. They cleanse the Temple, construct a new altar, restore the sacred vessels, light the lamps, burn incense, and offer sacrifice. On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev they dedicate the restored sanctuary with music, worship, and rejoicing. [4]
The celebration continues for eight days, and Judas and the assembly establish an annual observance. The USCCB identifies this rededication as the origin of Hanukkah. [1] For 1 Maccabees, military resistance and religious restoration are inseparable: the revolt succeeds most meaningfully when right worship is restored in Jerusalem.
War, Diplomacy, and Judas’s Death
The revolt does not end with the Temple’s rededication. Judas protects Jewish communities, fights further Seleucid armies, and enters diplomacy beyond Judea, including an alliance with Rome. He eventually dies in battle against Bacchides, and leadership passes to Jonathan.
Jonathan: From Guerrilla Leader to High Priest
Jonathan continues armed resistance but increasingly operates within Seleucid politics, negotiating with rival claimants and receiving offices and honors. He becomes high priest, combining religious, political, and military authority, and renews ties with Rome and Sparta.
This evolution illustrates one of the major themes identified by Doron Mendels in the Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha: 1 Maccabees narrates not only a war against the Seleucids but the gradual entry of the Hasmonean family into the political world of neighboring Hellenistic kings and states. [6]
Simon and Jewish Independence
After Jonathan is captured and killed, Simon becomes the final major leader of the book. Under him the Hasmonean project reaches its political climax. Foreign forces are expelled from strategic positions, the citadel in Jerusalem is secured, alliances are renewed, and Simon receives broad authority from the Jewish people.
Chapter 14 celebrates his rule in language of peace and prosperity: agriculture flourishes, people live securely, the sanctuary is strengthened, and Simon is praised for seeking the good of the nation. The people formally recognize him as high priest, governor, and ethnarch until a trustworthy prophet should arise. [8] Mendels identifies this achievement of Jewish independence under Simon as the book’s political climax. [6]
Historical Character and Sources
Among the deuterocanonical writings, 1 Maccabees is especially important as a historical source for the second century B.C. It preserves names, campaigns, diplomatic letters, political offices, dates according to the Seleucid era, and detailed accounts of Hasmonean leadership. Modern historians nevertheless read it critically, recognizing that its author writes with clear sympathy for the Hasmonean cause.
Schwartz’s commentary treats the book both as an indispensable historical witness and as literature with a political program. The work’s biblical style, praise of Hasmonean heroes, use of documents, and selective theological emphases shape how events are narrated. [7]
Language and Composition
The Hebrew original of 1 Maccabees has not survived. The USCCB and older Jewish scholarship agree that the extant Greek displays strong Hebrew influence and is best explained as a translation from Hebrew. [2] The book was likely composed in Judea after the principal events it narrates, around 100 B.C. Its author writes from within a culture steeped in biblical historical prose and Deuteronomic ideals of covenant fidelity.
Theology and 1 Maccabees Compared with 2 Maccabees
First and Second Maccabees are independent works, not consecutive volumes by the same author. The USCCB notes important theological differences. First Maccabees emphasizes fidelity to law, Temple, national survival, reputation, and historical achievement. It does not develop the strong teaching on resurrection and individual immortality found in 2 Maccabees, nor does it express an explicit messianic expectation. [1]
Canon and Lasting Importance
The Catholic Church receives 1 Maccabees as deuterocanonical Scripture. The Council of Trent formally lists Machabaeorum primus among the canonical books. [3] It is also received in Eastern Christian traditions, while Jewish and Protestant canons do not include it among their canonical books.
Its lasting importance is both historical and theological. First Maccabees preserves the story of a community struggling to maintain law, worship, and identity under coercive rule; records the rededication that stands behind Hanukkah; and explains how a resistance movement developed into an independent Hasmonean state. Its heroes are not portrayed simply as warriors. They are priests, diplomats, governors, and defenders of a sanctuary whose freedom is meaningful only if Israel can worship according to its covenant. The book therefore remains one of the indispensable sources for understanding Judaism in the generation before Roman domination of Judea and the political-religious world that formed the background of the New Testament period.
Annotated Bibliography
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The First Book of Maccabees.” Original source retained. Introduction covering the meaning of “Maccabee,” the book’s scope from 175–134 B.C., approximate composition around 100 B.C., Hebrew original and Greek translation, covenant theology, Hanukkah, literary structure, and comparison with 2 Maccabees. bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/0 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
- Jewish Encyclopedia, “Maccabees, Books of.” Original source retained. Historical reference on the Books of Maccabees, the Hebrew origin of 1 Maccabees, and the strong Hebraisms preserved in its Greek translation. jewishencyclopedia.com — Maccabees, Books of ↩︎
- Council of Trent, Session IV, “Decree Concerning the Canonical Scriptures” (1546). Original source retained. The Catholic canonical list explicitly includes Machabaeorum primus. papalencyclicals.net — Fourth Session ↩︎
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “1 Maccabees, Chapter 4.” Original source retained. Account of Judas’s recovery, purification, and rededication of the Jerusalem Temple and the institution of the annual feast of dedication. bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/4 ↩︎
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “1 Maccabees, Chapter 1.” Text and notes for the rise of Antiochus IV, the Hellenizing movement in Jerusalem, suppression of Jewish law, and the opening religious crisis. bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/1 ↩︎
- Doron Mendels, “1 Maccabees,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha. Oxford University Press, 2021. A modern scholarly overview of the Hasmonean war against the Seleucids, Temple restoration, territorial expansion, diplomacy with Hellenistic states, emerging Jewish identity, and the establishment of independence under Simon. Oxford Academic — 1 Maccabees ↩︎ ↩︎
- Daniel R. Schwartz, 1 Maccabees: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries. Yale University Press, 2022. A major modern commentary on the Greek text, lost Hebrew original, historical reconstruction, literary purpose, political theology, and the book’s role in legitimating the Hasmonean dynasty. yalebooks.yale.edu — 1 Maccabees ↩︎ ↩︎
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “1 Maccabees, Chapter 14.” Text and notes on Simon’s peaceful rule, territorial consolidation, alliances, and formal recognition as high priest, governor, and ethnarch. bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/14 ↩︎