Even though this book is often called “First Maccabees”, it should not be understood as the first part of many others that tell one grand story about “the Maccabees”. Rather, 1 Maccabees is one account among the many others revolving around one person: Judah the Maccabee or Judas Maccabeus. The Hebrew word ‘Maccabee’ or Greek ‘Maccabeus’ simply means “hammer” and it referred to the strength of Judah who crushed his enemies like a hammer. It later came to refer to the whole of his family lineage.

The events of 1 Maccabees take place hundreds of years after when the story of the TaNaKh, or Old Testament, left off. It deals with the problem of many Jews giving into the pressure of Gentile culture especially under military power and it brings about destruction and deep distress for Judea. However, 1 Maccabees is particularly focused on the family of Judah Maccabee - Which the author presents as appointed by God to destroy both the Jews who are unfaithful to the Covenant and let in Gentiles to oppress them and the Gentiles that have set themselves against God’s people. It does this in four main movements:

CHAPTERS 1-2

The book begins by explaining the important historical setting for the revolt: Alexander the Great conquered nations and killed kings and became ruler of the known world. On his deathbed, he divided up his kingdom among his high-ranking officials: two major families being the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt and Judea, and the Selucids, who ruled over Syria.

Generations later, the Seleucid Empire is ruled by King Antiochus the Fourth, or Epiphanes. During his rule, some Jews leave their Jewish way of life in obedience to the Torah to live like Greeks and become renegades. Now these renegades are the first wave of many throughout the story of 1 Maccabees and as you’ll see, their disloyalty to the Torah not only brings about more complications and hardships for all of Judea. And so in the mind of the author of 1 Maccabees, these renegades are the cause of all of the evil that God allows Judea to suffer.

This is all seen immediately, as in the following years, Antiochus raids Jerusalem, steals all the gold from the Temple, burns Jerusalem to the ground, and destroys many Jews. Then, he demands that all Jews stop obeying the Torah, and to offer sacrifices of all types of unclean animals to idols; he appoints the renegade Jews as officers to kill any of the Jews who doesn’t give in and offer up an unclean sacrifice or who follows the Torah.

Then, we are introduced to a Jew named Mattathias and his five sons: John, Simon, Judah the Maccabee, Eleazar, and Jonathan. He is in deep distress over the devastation of his city and people and so he calls on everyone who wants to remain faithful to the Torah to leave Jerusalem with him to live out in the hills. Mattathias and his followers strike down the Jews that were unfaithful, and establishes the Torah as the law again. As Mattathias is about to die, he encourages his sons to stay faithful to the Torah and to God and to destroy the Gentiles and unfaithful Jews who led others to be disloyal to the Torah.

CHAPTERS 3:1-9:22

Next, the story hones in on Judah the Maccabee. He makes his first appearance by leading a band of untrained militia to battle against Gentiles. And, by obedience to the Torah, prayer to God, and encouragement and strategizing from Judah, they win battle after battle.

When Judah takes back Jerusalem in chapter 4, he and his men tear down the altar that had been polluted from unclean animals being sacrificed on it and they build a new altar. They restore the Temple, create new furniture for it, and re-establish faithful priests to continue administering the Temple according to the Torah.

And so, on the twenty-fifth of Chislev - The very same day in which the Gentiles had offered unclean sacrifices on the old altar at the Temple - they offered the first sacrifices to God on the new altar. They worship God, celebrate for 8 days, and hold a feast for the Rededication of the Temple. 

Judah then continues to have many more military successes. And though he had begun with untrained militia, Judah built up a strong army to continue his wars to win back the land of Judea and destroy the Gentiles that had oppressed them.

When other Jews try to lead their own men into war against the Gentiles while not under the leadership of Judah the Maccabee, they fail in their fight and are defeated. However, when Antoichus the Fourth hears of Judah’s military power, he is so terrified that he becomes sick from fear and dies (6:8-9)!

When another king, Demetrius, is established in his place, more unfaithful renegade Jews come to him. The leader of these renegades, Alcimus, appeals to the king to try and buy the position of a high priest (which was only passed down through family): he makes him aware of Judah the Maccabee and the destruction he has brought on all the Gentiles.

So King Demetrius sends him and one of his governors, Bacchides, to Judea. While they fail at their first attempt, Bacchides and Alcimus come back again with tens of thousands of soldiers to take Jerusalem back. Only this time, Judah can’t offer any encouragement to help him win this war. As he struggles with the few, terrified soldiers he has, he is crushed by Bacchides and Alcimus and all Judea mourns for him.

CHAPTERS 9:23-12

The third section shows the shorter and less impressive leadership of Jonathan after the death of his brother Judah. While short, it shows how he was able to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls stronger by a peace treaty from King Demetrius and is made high priest by a competing offer for peace by an opposing king. Further, Jonathan re-establishes an alliance with Rome that his brother Judah had initiated and makes a new alliance with Sparta. However, Jonathan is tricked by an invitation to meet with a friend, he’s trapped, and he’s killed.

CHAPTERS 13-16

The final section starts with Simon becoming the new ruler and high priest. His leadership encourages Judea, as he finishes building the walls, and re-establishes Judea’s independence. In fact, his reign is even recognized by other Gentile nations.

He shows similar strategy and strength in military war as his brother Judah: “He established peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy. All the people sat under their own vines and fig trees, and there was no one to make them afraid. No one was left in the land to fight them, and the kings were crushed in those days.” (14:11-13).

Sparta and Rome hear of Jonathan’s death and write to Simon to renew their alliance as even greater than before and the people of Judea make a memorial for him and establish him to be an official governor of the land and high priest forever.

The book ends with Simon calling on his two sons, Judah and John, to continue in leading Judea as he and his family had before him. Simon is then invited to a party where he gets absolutely wasted. Tragically, some King Ptolemy of Jericho had planned to lower Simon’s guards and kill him and his son Judah. His other son, John, is warned that King Ptolemy is coming for him next and John kills the men sent to kill him before they can get a chance.

And the book ends with John continuing as high priest and leader after his father.

The book of 1 Maccabees is an epic and inspiring history of the Maccabeen legacy. You may have noticed that throughout the book, it’s pulling phrases and ideas from all over the Old Testament. Besides the multiple calls to war or faithfulness to the Covenant that directly reference biblical stories, it speaks of the Maccabees clearing the land and compares their war against the Gentiles to the Conquest on Canaan. Besides this, the whole family is presented as a new legacy of priests modeled after Phineas for his zeal in preventing a plague from destroying Israel by killing an idolatrous Jew (see Numbers 25).

Despite this, it looks forward to a day when a prophet will come to give clear direction to Israel and restore its glory. This is what 1 Maccabees is all about.

COMPARE TO THE ALLEGORY OF JUDITH & ACCOUNTS IN II & III MACCABEES!