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'Judas Maccabeus' (or 'Judah Maccabee',
Hebrew: 'יהודה המכבי', ''Yehudah HaMakabi'') was the third son of the
Jewish priest
Mattathias. He led the
Maccabean revolt against the
Seleucid Empire (
167BCE-
160 BCE) and is acclaimed as one of the greatest warriors in
Jewish history alongside
Joshua,
Gideon and
David.
Life
Judah was the third son of
Mattathias the
Hasmonean, a
Jewish priest from the village of
Modiin. In
167 BCE Mattathias, together with his sons Judah,
Eleazar,
Simon, and
Jonathan, started a revolt against the
Seleucid ruler
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who since
175 BCE had issued decrees that forbid
Jewish religious practices. After Mattathias's death in 166 BCE, Judah assumed leadership of the revolt in accordance with the deathbed disposition of his father. The
First Book of Maccabees[1] praises Judas's valor and military talent, suggesting that those qualities made Judas a natural choice for the new commander.
In the early days of the rebellion, Judas received a surname Maccabee. Several explanations have been put forward for this surname. One suggestion is that the name derives from the
Aramaic ''maqqaba'' ("makebet" in modern
Hebrew), "hammer" or "sledgehammer", in recognition of his ferocity in battle. It is also possible that the name Maccabee is an
acronym for the
Torah verse ''Mi kamokha ba'elim YHVH'', "Who is like unto thee among the mighty, O LORD!" (
Exodus 15:11).
Minding the superiority of Seleucid forces during the first two years of the revolt, Judas's strategy was to avoid any involvement with their regular army, and to resort to
guerrilla warfare, in order to give them a feeling of insecurity. The strategy enabled Judas to win a string of victories. At the
battle of Nahal el-Haramiah (wadi haramia), he defeated a small Syrian force under the command of Apollonius, governor of
Samaria, who was killed. Judas took possession of Apollonius's sword and used it until his death as a symbol of vengeance. After Nahal el-Haramiah, recruits flocked to the Jewish cause.
Early victories
Shortly thereafter, Judas
routed a bigger Seleucid army under the command of Seron near
Beth-Horon, largely thanks to a good choice of the battlefield. Then in the
Battle of Emmaus, Judah proceeded to defeat the Seleucid forces led by generals
Nicanor and
Gorgias. This force was dispatched by
Lysias, whom Antiochus left as
viceroy after departing on a campaign against the
Parthians. By a forced night march, Judah succeeded in eluding Gorgias, who had intended to attack and destroy the Jewish forces in their camp with his cavalry. While Gorgias was searching for him in the mountains, Judas made a surprise attack upon the Seleucid camp and defeated the Seleucid in the
Battle of Emmaus. The Seleucid commander had no alternative but to withdraw to the coast.
The defeat at
Emmaus convinced Lysias that he must prepare for a serious and prolonged war. He accordingly assembled a new and larger army and marched with it on
Judea from the south via
Idumea. Once again, however, Judas succeeded in overcoming the numerically superior enemy in the
battle near
Beth-Zur, south of
Jerusalem. This victory opened up the road to Jerusalem, which Judah entered at the head of his army. He purified the defiled
Temple of Jerusalem and on the 25th of
Kislev (
December 14, 164 BCE) restored the service in the Temple. The reconsecration of the Temple is a permanent Jewish holiday,
Hanukkah. The liberation of Jerusalem was the first step on the road to ultimate independence.
After Jerusalem
Judah now set out to consolidate his authority. He fortified the
Temple Mount and the stronghold of
Beth-Zur. Upon hearing the news that the Jewish communities in
Gilead,
Transjordan, and
Galilee were under attack by neighboring
Greek cities, Judah immediately went to their aid. Judas sent his brother, Simeon, to Galilee at the head of 3,000 men; Simeon proceeded to successfully fulfill his task, achieving numerous victories and transplanted a substantial portion of the Jewish settlements, including women and children, to Judea. He personally led the campaign in Transjordan, taking with him his brother Jonathan. After fierce fighting, he defeated the
Arab tribes and rescued the Jews concentrated in fortified towns in Gilead. The Jewish population of the areas taken by the Maccabees was evacuated to Judea.
[2] At the conclusion of the fighting in Transjordan, Judah turned against the
Edomites in the south, captured and destroyed
Hebron. He then marched on the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea, destroyed the altars and statues of the pagan gods in
Ashdod, and returned to Judea with much spoils.
Judas then laid siege to the Syrian garrison in the
Hakra, the Seleucid isolated fortress of Jerusalem. The besieged, who included not only Syrians but also
Hellenistic Jews, appealed for help to Lysias, who effectively became the regent of the young king
Antiochus V Eupator after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes at the end of
164 BCE during the
Parthian campaign. Lysias together with Eupator set out for a new campaign in Judea. Lysias skirted Judea as he had done in his first campaign, entering it from the south, and besieged Beth-Zur. Judas raised the siege of the Hakra and went to meet Lysias. In the
Battle of Beth-zechariah, south of
Bethlehem, Seleucids achieved their first major victory over the Maccabees, and Judas was forced to withdraw to Jerusalem. Beth-Zur was compelled to surrender and Lysias reached Jerusalem, laying siege to the city. The defenders found themselves in a precarious situation because their provisions were exhausted, it being a
sabbatical year during which the fields were left uncultivated. However, when the capitulation seemed imminent, Lysias and Eupator had to withdraw when Antiochus Epiphanes's commander-in-chief Philip, whom the late ruler appointed regent before his death, rebelled against Lysias and was about to enter
Antioch and seize power. Lysias decided to propose a peaceful settlement, which was concluded at the end of
163 BCE. The terms of peace were based on the restoration of religious freedom, the permission for the Jews to live in accordance with their own laws, and the official return of the Temple to the Jews.
Internal conflict
However, when war against the external enemy came to an end, an internal struggle broke out between the party led by Judah and the Hellenist party. The influence of the Hellenizers all but collapsed in the wake of the Seleucid defeat. The Hellenizing
High Priest Menelaus was removed from office and executed. His successor was a moderate Hellenizer
Alcimus. However, when Alcimus executed sixty pietists who were opposed to him, he found himself in an open conflict with the Maccabees. Alcimus fled from Jerusalem and went to the Seleucid king, asking for help.
Meanwhile,
Demetrius I Soter, son of
Seleucus IV Philopator and nephew of the late Antiochus IV Epiphanes, fled from
Rome in defiance of the
Roman Senate, arrived in Syria, captured and killed Lysias and Antiochus Eupator, and usurped the throne. It was thus Demetrius to whom the delegation led by Alcimus, complained of the persecution of the Hellenist party in Judea. Demetrius granted Alcimus's request to be appointed High Priest under the protection of the king's army and sent to Judea an army led by
Bacchides. The weaker Jewish army couldn't appose the enemy and withdrew from Jerusalem, so Judas returned to wage Guerrilla warfare. Soon after it was aberrant that the Seleucid Army was not able to remain away from the turbulent political situation at home and returned to
Antioch. Soon After Judas forces returned to Jerusalem and the Selucids dispatched another army, again led by Nicanor. In a
battle near Adasa, on the 13th
Adar 161 BCE, the Syrian army was destroyed and Nicanor was killed. The annual "Day of Nicanor" was instituted to commemorate this victory.
Agreement with Rome
Judah then sent a delegation to Rome headed by Eupolemus son of Johanan and Jason son of Eleazar, with the request for an alliance. The outcome of the mission was less than Judah had hoped for, the Romans committing themselves only to such obligations as were in their own interests, while demanding absolute allegiance from the Jews. The letter dispatched by the Senate to Demetrius, forbidding him to act in a hostile manner against the Jews, failed to exercise any influence on him. On receipt of the news of Nicanor's defeat, he dispatched a new army, again commanded by Bacchides. This time the Syrian forces of 20,000 men were numerically so superior that most of Judah's men left the field of battle and advised their leader to do likewise and to await a more favorable opportunity. However, Judah decided to try his fortune once more. In the
Battle of Elasa, Judah and those who remained faithful to him were killed. His body was taken by his brothers from the battlefield and buried in the family sepulcher at
Modiin.
The death of the Maccabee stirred the Jews to renewed resistance. After several additional years of war under the leadership of two of Mattathias' other sons, the Jews finally achieved independence and the liberty to worship freely.
In the arts
Medieval period
As warrior hero and national liberator, Judah Maccabee has inspired many writers, and several artists and composers. In
the Divine Comedy,
Dante sees the spirit of Judas Maccabeus in the
Heaven of Mars with the other "heroes of the true faith". In
Shakespeare's
Love's Labour's Lost, Judas Maccabeus is enacted along with the other
Nine Worthies, but heckled for sharing a name with
Judas Iscariot. Most significant works dedicated solely to him date from the 17th century onwards.
William Houghton's ''Judas Maccabaeus'', performed in about 1601 but now lost, is thought to have been the first drama on the theme; however, the earliest surviving literary work is ''El Macabeo'' (
Naples, 1638), a
Castilian epic by the
Portuguese Marrano Miguel de Silveyra. Two other 17th century works were ''La chevalerie de Judas Macabé'' by the
French dramatist and tragedian Pierre du Ryer (c. 1600–1658) and the anonymous neo-Latin work ''Judas Machabaeus'' (
Rome, 1695).
19th century
Interest in Judah only revived in the 19th century, with ''Giuda Macabeo, ossia la morte di Nicanore...'' (1839), an
Italian "azione sacra" based on which
Vallicella composed an
oratorio. One of the best-known literary works on the theme was ''Judas Maccabaeus'' (1872), a five-act verse tragedy by
Henry Longfellow. A Hebrew version of Longfellow's play was published in 1900. Two later 19th-century interpretations of the story were ''Judas Makkabaeus'', a novella by the German writer Josef Eduard Konrad Bischoff which appeared in ''Der Gefangene von Kuestrin'' (1885); and ''The Hammer'' (1890), a book by Alfred J. Church and Richmond Seeley.
20th century
Several 20th century Jewish authors also wrote works devoted to Judah Maccabee and the Maccabeean Revolt. Jacob Benjamin Katznelson (1855–1930) wrote the poem, "Alilot Gibbor ha-Yehudim Yehudah ha-Makkabi le-Veit ha-Hashmona'im" (1922); the
Yiddish writer Moses Schulstein wrote the dramatic poem, "Yehudah ha-Makkabi" (in ''A Layter tsu der Zun,'' 1954); Jacob Fichmann's "Yehudah ha-Makkabi" is one of the heroic tales included in ''Sippurim le-Mofet'' (1954). Many children's plays have also been written on the theme by various Jewish authors.
In addition, the American writer
Howard Fast penned the
historical novel, ''
My Glorious Brothers,'' which was published in 1948, during the
Israeli War of Independence.
During
World War II the Swiss-German writer Karl Boxler published his novel ''Judas Makkabaeus; ein Kleinvolk kaempft um Glaube und Heimat'' (1943), the subtitle of which suggests that Swiss democrats then drew a parallel between their own national hero,
William Tell, and the leader of the Maccabean revolt against foreign tyranny.
Visual arts
In the
medieval Christian art, Judah Maccabee was regarded as one of the heroes of the
Old Testament. He figures in a tenth-century illustrated manuscript ''Libri Maccabaeorum''. The late medieval French artist Jean Fouquet painted an illustration of Judah triumphing over his enemies for his famous manuscript of Josephus.
Rubens painted Judah Maccabee praying for the dead; the painting illustrates an episode from II Maccabees 12:39–48 in which Judah's troops found stolen idolatrous charms on the corpses of Jewish warriors slain on the battlefield. He therefore offered prayers and an expiatory sacrifice for these warriors who had died in a state of sin. During the
Counter-Reformation the passage was used by
Catholics against
Protestants in order to justify the doctrine of
purgatory. Accordingly, Rubens painted the scene for the Chapel of the Dead in
Tournai cathedral. In the 19th century, Paul Gustave Doré executed an engraving of Judah Maccabee victoriously pursuing the shattered troops of the Syrian enemy.
Music
In music, almost all the compositions inspired by the Hasmonean revolt are primarily concerned with Judah. In
1746, the composer
George Frideric Handel composed his
oratorio ''
Judas Maccabeus'' putting the biblical story in the context of the
Jacobite Rising; one of the themes is used as the tune for the popular
Christian Easter hymn ''Thine Be The Glory, Risen Conquering Son''. This work, with libretto by Thomas Morrell, had been written for the celebrations following the
Duke of Cumberland's victory over the
Scottish Jacobite rebels at the
Battle of Culloden in 1746. The oratorio's most famous chorus is "See, the conqu'ring hero comes." Handel's ''Judas Maccabaeus'' was often performed in the
Land of Israel, with the motif of "conqu'ring hero" becoming a Hanukkah song.
Tom Lehrer refers to Judas Maccabeus in his song "Hanukah in Santa Monica".
Mirah refers to Judah Maccabe in her song "Jerusalem".
Sports
Judas Maccabeus strongly dispparoved of athletic games and competitions, which were a clear influence of Greek culture and were introduced into Jerusalem by his staunch enemies the Hellenising Jews, and abolished upon his getting control of the city.
Nevertheless, by the irony of history one of the main sports federations of contemporary
Israel is named for him
Maccabi, and most Israeli cities have atheltics, football and basketball clubs of that name (some of them internationally famous). Also named for him are the
Maccabiah Games, an international
Jewish athletic event similar to the modern
Olympics - in turn modeled on the Classical Greek ones, of which Maccabeus also evidently disapproved as part of an alien and hostile culture.
Notes
1. Virtually all that is known about Judas Maccabee is contained in the Books of the Maccabees and in the works of Josephus, largely dependent on this source.
2. Galilee, however, does not seem to have been evacuated of its Jewish population, since two generations later, when John Hyrcanus conquered it, he found it largely inhabited by Jews.
See also
★
Jewish leadership
References
1. Virtually all that is known about Judas Maccabee is contained in the Books of the Maccabees and in the works of Josephus, largely dependent on this source.
2. Galilee, however, does not seem to have been evacuated of its Jewish population, since two generations later, when John Hyrcanus conquered it, he found it largely inhabited by Jews.
Further reading
★ Schalit, Abraham (1997). "Judah Maccabee". ''
Encyclopedia Judaica'' (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed.
Cecil Roth. Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8
★ Schäfer, Peter (2003). ''The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World''. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-30585-3
External links
★
Judas Maccabeus on the Web (pictures and directory)
★
Jewish Encyclopedia
★
Catholic Encyclopedia
★
Judah Maccabee
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