Julia Schlecht Patino
jschlechtpatino@zagmail.gonzaga.edu
Biography
As a historian first and theologian second, the research found in these documents is a collection historical fact. While the Hebrew Bible is an important piece of historical context, I will be leaning on other sources to inform my telling of the life of Judas Maccabaeus. To have a consistent historical approach, I will only reference historical books and articles written by my fellow historians. The Hebrew Bible will be mentioned though never as an informative source.
Judas, or Judah, is most known for being a Jewish hero. The name Maccabee comes from the literal translation of "the hammer," as he is the swinging force, the hammer, of the Jewish people. The historical knowledge we possess come from both historical Greek and Jewish records, as well as the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew Bible there are four books named after this heroic figure, each containing his life story as well as other tales of Jewish heroes.
The greatness of Judas does not start with his accomplishments, but rather the generation prior. Judas' father Matthias was a rebel leader who led a group of Jews out of Jerusalem after being forced to worship a pagan god. Here, Matthias would lead guerilla style warfare against the Seleucids. As a leader, his death meant the torch must be passed to another. His role was passed to his third son Judas (Bright, 425).
Judas had many battles as a rebel leader but some of his most prominent battles will be discussed below.
As Apollonius went to Judah to attack the rebels, Judas saw him and his men were quite outnumbered. Judas planned a surprise attack and slaughtered Apollonius and his troops. This helped Judas gather a large following, recruiting more Jews to fight with him (Blight,425). Judas also led the battle of Ammus, a brave night-raid targeting a sleeping Seleucid camp (Williams, 327).
Religious candles being lit for Hannukah, Source: www.proquest.com curtesy of the Foley Library
Judas' greatest victory was in 164 BCE against general Lysias. In response to a previous lost battle, Lysias marched to hunt down Judas with a bigger army than he had ever faced. Instead of taking them head on, Judas waited till Lysias' troops split up, then he attacked (Lutz, 3). This gave Judas entry back into Jerusalem where his troops stormed the temple, finally reclaiming it for the Jewish people. This was monumental. All pagan gods had standing no more. Any alter or priest used to assist in pagan worship was thrown out and replaced. Loyal priests were allowed to stay and new alters were built. Judas than lit an oil lamp in the window of the temple which burned for eight days without needing to be refueled. This is where the story of Hannukah comes from. The eight day-long celebration is both a celebration of the dedication of the temple as well as the Hebrew gods' miracle (Regev, 88).