Maccabean Revolt

In the 330's BCE, Alexander the Great conquered all the territory from Greece to Egypt and India. Alexander died when he was 32 years old. After his death, his empire was divided among his generals (the Diadochi). From the Diadochi, two of the major dynasties arose: the Ptolemies (based in Egypt) and the Seleucids (based in Syria).

For about one hundred years, the Ptolemies dominated Judea, and the Jews managed, for the most part, to avoid Ptolemaic interference. Between 223-200 BCE, however, there was a change in the situation. The Seleucid ruler Antiochus III defeated the Ptolemies and gained control of all of Palestine. After a defeat by the Romans in 190 BC, the Seleucids needed more money (a large war indemnity was imposed by the Romans).

Until 175 BCE, the Jews were under the control of a foreign government, but their day-to- day lives were not significantly affected. Neither the Ptolemies nor the Seleucids interfered in any significant way with the religious or cultural life of the people of Israel. This does not mean, however, that Hellenization didn't become an issue. In fact, there were some Jews who actively embraced Hellenistic culture and others who despised it. There was very serious tension in Israel because of the Hellenizers (the Jews who embraced Hellenistic culture) and the more conservative Jews.

In 175 BCE a coup was carried out by Hellenized Jews with the help of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who was now the Seleucid king. These Hellenized Jews, who made up a wealthy aristocracy, began to treat the high-priesthood as if it were just another aspect of their ongoing struggle for power and prestige. They removed the high priest, Onias, and installed his brother, Jason, who was a Hellenistic reformer. When Jason didn't work out, they put in another high priest who was named Menelaus.

The pious Jews of Israel were enraged. In 168 BCE, they took possession of Jerusalem and they locked up Menelaus and his partisans.

Antiochus was in no mood for this sort of thing because he'd just been humiliated by the Romans (the Senate had recently forced him to relinquish his Egyptian conquests). He retook Jerusalem at once, and his governor, Apollonius, began a persecution of faithful Jews. The temple of Yahweh was transformed into a temple of a Greek/Syrian God called Zeus Baal Shamayin, and a statue of was erected on the altar of burnt offering. This is the "abomination of desolation" that we read of Dan 11:31; 12:11. In 167 BCE Judaism was outlawed. Antiochus imposed a violent policy of Hellenization. He began to slaughter the population and he seized valuable items from the temple. For an ancient account of this period, read 1 Mac. 1.41-64.

Soon thereafter, the priest Mattathias and his five sons began a guerilla warfare revolt. You can read about the beginnings of this revolt in 1 Mac. 2.1-28. One of Mattathias' sons, whose name was Judas Maccabaeus (Judas the Hammer), became the leader of the revolt.

The Jews defeated the Seleucids in 164 (largely because of Seleucid political distractions), and they saw this as the result of divine intervention. This was the first time since 587 BCE that Israel had been a truly independent nation. The sons of Mattathias took power, and a new ruling family, which came to be known was the Hasmonean dynasty, was installed. Unfortunately, this dynasty later became corrupt.

The Hasmonean state ended in 63 BCE. Two Hasmonean brothers were feuding and each appealed to Rome for help. The Romans decided to help by overthrowing Jerusalem, and Judea became a provincial territory. From this point forward, Judea was under Roman rule.