📜 **1 Maccabees — Full Historical Background (Late 2nd Century BC)**
> ⚠️ This scroll is **not** part of the Paleo-Hebrew Torah, Aramaic Scriptures, or Early Square Script canon.
> It was written during the Hasmonean period in **Hebrew**, then later translated into **Greek**, and preserved in the **Apocrypha** only via church-controlled sources.
> However, the events it records **did happen** and are supported by verified historical accounts.
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## 🔹 HISTORICAL CONTEXT: GREEK OPPRESSION AND HEBREW RESISTANCE
**Date of Events:** \~175–134 BC
**Date Written:** \~100–90 BC (original Hebrew version, now lost; only full Greek remains)
**Author:** Unknown Hebrew scribe, likely attached to the Hasmonean dynasty.
### 🏛️ Background:
* After Alexander the Great's empire split (323 BC), **Seleucid** rulers took control of Judea.
* **Antiochus IV Epiphanes** (reigned 175–164 BC), a Seleucid king, enforced *Hellenization* — including:
* Outlawing Torah observance
* Banning circumcision
* Forbidding Sabbath keeping
* Forcing Jews to eat pork
* Desecrating the Temple by placing an altar to Zeus
📖 These actions triggered a righteous rebellion led by **Mattathias**, a priest from Modi’in, and his sons — especially **Yehudah (Judah) Maccabee**.
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## 🔥 KEY EVENTS IN THE BOOK (1 Maccabees Chapters Summary):
### 📌 **Ch. 1: Desecration and Rebellion Begins**
* Antiochus IV desecrates the Temple.
* Mattathias kills a Jew who sacrifices to Zeus and escapes to the hills with his sons.
### 📌 **Ch. 2–3: Judah Maccabee Rises**
* Mattathias dies; Judah takes command.
* Judah leads guerrilla warfare against Greek forces.
### 📌 **Ch. 4: Temple Rededicated**
* Judah reclaims the Temple.
* Cleanses it and restores true worship.
* This rededication later becomes the **festival of Hanukkah** (not commanded by Yhwh, but a historical remembrance).
### 📌 **Ch. 5–9: Continued Battles**
* Ongoing war with Greek forces and surrounding hostile nations.
* Judas dies in battle; his brothers Jonathan and Simon carry on the mission.
### 📌 **Ch. 10–13: Rise of Hasmonean Power**
* Jonathan becomes high priest and military leader.
* Forms temporary alliances with Seleucid rivals.
* Simon eventually gains full independence for Judea.
### 📌 **Ch. 14–16: The Hasmonean Dynasty**
* Simon is praised as leader and priest.
* Judea gains political autonomy.
* Ends with Simon’s assassination and his son John Hyrcanus taking power.
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## ⚖️ HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
✅ **True Historical Events:**
* Confirmed by outside sources (Josephus, Roman records).
* 1 Maccabees was originally **written in Hebrew**, unlike 2 Maccabees (Greek and theological).
✅ **Purpose of the Scroll:**
* To glorify the Hasmonean family and record their military and religious victories.
* Used politically to justify their priesthood (though they were not Zadokite priests).
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## 🚫 WHAT IT IS **NOT**:
❌ It is **not Torah**.
❌ It contains **no prophecy**.
❌ It does **not record Yhwh’s words or covenant laws**.
❌ It was **never included** in the Paleo-Hebrew or Aramaic canon.
❌ The surviving version is Greek and includes edits to promote Hanukkah and Hasmonean rule.
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## ✅ WHY IT STILL MATTERS:
* It records real Hebrew resistance against forced assimilation.
* It proves that **faithful Hebrews refused to break Torah**, even under threat of death.
* It explains **why Yeshua** later walked in a temple already shaped by Hasmonean rule — and why He opposed the priesthood system of His day.
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