MACCABOa 



MACCABEES. 



To th* beacon of iiiinar.1 autbonhtp. other boaoort were addd. 

 lo 1M Mr. MaeesOay WM oltotad Lord Rector of the University of 

 OhMfow : and hi* ia*o*^n(iop addrea* wa* poblbbed. In th* tame 

 ye.7Vb.eta>* . baisksr of Uaeofa's Inn ; in 1*50 he was appointed 

 Cta* heaorery ***** of Pi ufit.tr of Ancient History in th* Royal 

 iia.lstj : aad b ISM he reeeired th* Pruttiaa Order of Merit 

 Mot* jiasJfltiH perhaps of all, th dtiaeos of Edinburgh .ponteneoualy 

 fa JeJyTlMt, releeted him oa* of their repreMDtetivoi ; and this 

 IbsMli be did not attead th. election, nor even fame an addrtaa, He 

 jSMftod the stark of their reetored confidence with great good will ; 

 ad far a year or two was agate nominally -member for Kdiaburgh," 

 Ihoath th* ttate at hi* health did not permit him to return to office 

 aor to uad-ruk. th. eetjre dieobarte of parliamentary duties, In 

 ISM he pabbehsrl a oaDatesd sad reriaed edition of Us 'Speeches, 

 r sad Mierellaoeoo. -the*. sps*ehai baring bora already 

 tMricm, aad aa edition by a London publisher compiled 

 and the u. nopal)** bring also fa the market The 

 10 popular as the 'Essays.' At 

 loaf interval, th* third and fourth rolumei of the 



causing a furor of 



Britain, to which 

 parallel. A* Mr. 



ha* recently noigood bit eeat for Edinbursh, and with it 

 ta of resuaiBg pabUe or parliamentary life, there will be 

 aew (ISM) DO other delay in the eeetfaasUou of thi>, tb* great work 

 rf hi* Mfe, thaa a>*y be toroJred to the natun of th. work itself, and 

 the iistfailtail of the authors powers of laborious occupation. 



MACCABKE8, a Jewish family celebrated for their heroic reaistane* 

 to the orprvOTioa of th. Greek kings of Syria in the second century 

 hsfcss the Oiristian are. Their gmealogy bat born given under 

 Though tb* name Maccabees i* applied to the whole 

 ' ^ ead is often need *r*n with a wi.ier signification 



History of Kagkod ' were poblUhed fa 1855, can 

 SMsssBMat fa the poblishiag aad reeding world of 

 thesaaal* of Patenosarr Row hardly furniah any ] 



ly to Judas, the third aoo of Mattathias, who 

 (' tie bammcrtr') on account of hi* prowess 



on bl rrtarn from bit campaign in Egypt, 

 polluted the Temple, carried away from it 

 treasure*, and made Philip the Phrygian 

 (B.C. !). Two yean later, after bia but Egyptian 

 imenesd a furious persecution of the Jews. Apol- 

 bis chief collector of tribute, was tent to Jerufalem, which he 

 id aad plundered, maaxrilng many men, and making the 

 i ead sliildmi captive*. He fortified Mount Sion, and placed 

 At th* eame time Antiochus is<ued an <dict 

 the same usage* ; and not content 



nfcaSyriaagarrisoa. 

 tbat all hi. *o.bj*ote ab< 

 wish this blew at th* r 



wtth this blew atthereHgio. of th* Jews.be tent orden forbidding 

 thsai th* exerrbe of their religioot rift, sod commanding them to 

 stsriiDi to idol*, to peons* th* Sabbath, aad to discontinue circum. 

 tnttiaoo* to these commands wa* mad* a capital offence, and 

 th* J*ws rr* pat to death ; while some tared tbemflve* 

 [ into th* wild trusts, sad other, conformed to the idolatrous 

 atsd apoa them. Th* books of the law were tonght for and 

 I, sad whoever kept them wa, put to death. Jerusalem was 

 aad the Tempi* WM polluted eteoed time. An old man 



5?SL 



th* TentpU WM polluted *eoood time. An old man, 

 AOwosraa. who wa* scot by Antiochut to instruct the Jew* in 

 Otvek religion, placed on the gnat altar a smaller altar to Jupiter 

 aafas. whssb the asthor of the first book of Maccabees call* the 

 m of o-oUUoo-(I Mace, L 64). alladtog. it it generally 

 to the prophecy of Daniel (riii. 1; sill ; xii. 11). In 

 of this the dairy saerlae* eeased on th* 16th of th* month 



rr aad January, B.C. 



<Oitoo-s'F.Mi.-roLUL,p. 321.) The officer* of AnUocbus 

 . the eitfai of Jodtvt to enforc* th* king* edict 

 eftbeaioatM to Modfa. where Matialbtas dwelt and lamented 



,towHH>r~ri*<>f 



th* *tat* of taraaL Upon the attempt being 

 the dty to Moriae* to idol*. MatUthia* 



ode aa epos rroUUae*. killed a Jew who cam. to aaorinre, alew the 

 kiaV* eOoar. aad fmllrd down th* alter. M. then fled to the 

 Hill i with ht OM and their adhereote. About th* tame time 



see>e Jews wfc bed take, refog. to the wildernosi were attacked on 



of a thnasstH. la onasequsscis of tbl* 

 aad hit party resolved aot to 



m_ ___ iL,..i i_ .- . . .1 . . . 



w ^~ m j^^^* vj M.W A^HWBSD., B *ee* ar 



, ead ether*. MaHashfai vsat throagb the J 

 the altar* of idol*, paabhtaf tht.po.Ute 

 la* taw of Mast* 



the Uw */ 

 la ihe midet of Ihi* MOOOI 

 hhi thhd OML Jeda* 



i. ^ W^^^WB ^>Vf mm^*m 



i r. )4). Jed*. psWaid hb 



Rs> os*aBBsViaaBl taasWl taloVfaT A a>aajl*a.aaas*a ftu flMfataaiauhai rJ 



seteU tores pat to Ikat a large srary oaoer BMvaTtte 



"- M^_ ./ _- 



Jtwm, and 



died, herfaf 



T | kV 



s brother- 



mt :! 



*> ^ Cl^ AaMcNttat aow grthered aa 



4fc*> IfMBiaiBsViisiV* ttttot)>*B* LjVT*aViBl sVd *a<*A al Itaaat ll, 



- *rf by 40,000 tofrtry. ad WObor* 

 r, sad Oorfaas, Jades had oar/ 000 



men ; but by a akilful manoouvro he rarpriaod the Syrian* in their 

 camp, and completely routed them. Next year he defeated an army 

 of 60,000 foot and 6000 home commanded by Lyiias himaclf, and by 

 hi* riotory became matter of Judoa. Hi* first care wat to purify the 

 "emple, which he did on the 15th of the month Cha-leu, aa 1GS-4, 

 >xactly three yean after ite pollution. An annual feast of eight dyt 

 rat etteblithed in commemoration of this event ID the meantime 

 ludas attacked the Syrian garrison on Mount Sion, which however he 

 wa* unable to reduce, and fortified the Temple and the fortress of 

 iethsura, near Jerusalem. His attention was now occupied by the 

 attacks of the neighbouring idolatrous nations, whom he and his 

 pothers Simon and Jonathan repeatedly defeated Enraged at these 

 rent*, Antiochu* marched in great baste to invade Judaa, but died 

 on hi* way in the greatest agony, confessing that he suffered for hi* 

 cruelty to the Jews (B.C. 164 or 163). The Jews now enjoyed a thort 

 mtervsl of peace with Ptolemy Macro, upon whoso death however the 



r with the neighbouring nations broke out afresh, and Judssa was 

 once more invaded by Lysis, who had possession of the person of 

 Antiocbus Knpator, the infant son and successor of Epiphane*. Lysiat 

 was defeated, and concluded a peace with Judas. But not long after 

 .hit, at the instigation of some idolatrous Jews who had escaped from 

 the castle on Mount Sion, Lysias and tho king again invaded Judtee 

 with 100,000 foot, 20,000 horse, 32 elephant*, and 300 war-chariot*. 

 Before this force Judas was compelled to retreat, after fighting one 

 rreat battle, in which his younger brother Eleaiar Savarau died in 

 performing a heroic action. (1 Mace. vi. 43-46.) Bethsura was taken, 

 and the Jew* were closely besieged in the Temple, when Lysias was 

 compelled, by the state of affairs in Syria, to grant them peace on 

 Favourable terms; but before leaving Jerusalem he demolished the 

 fortification* of the Temple. Under Demetrius Soter the war was 

 renewed at the instigation of Alcimns, who aspired to the high- 

 prietthood. The Syrian armies sent under Bacchides and Nicanor to 

 inpport his claims were defeated by Judas, and Nicanor himself was 

 killed in battle at Caphanalama. During the short interval of peace 

 which followed, Judaa mode an alliance with the Romans ; but in the 

 next year (n c. 160) another army entered Judaea under Baochides and 

 Alcimus, and Judai Maccabffius fell in battle. 



The Syrians were now for a time masters of the country, and Alcimus 

 was established in the priesthood. About this tiuie John, tho eldest 

 son of Mattathia*, fell into an ambush of the enemy, and was put to 

 death. In the following year Alcimus died in agony while engaged in 

 violating the sanctity of the Temple ; and Bacchides left Judtea, which 

 remained in peace two years under tho government of Jonathan 

 Apphut, the youngest of the Maccabtean family. At the end of this 

 period another invasion of the Syrians wa* repelled, and Bacchides 

 made peaoe with Jonathan, who*e authority became fully established. 

 Th* subsequent hiitory of the Macoabeea has already been given fully 

 enough under Asuox.eixs. See also AXTIOCHCS IV. ; JUDA* MACCA- 

 BJKDI; JOICATBAX Armus; and Siuox MACCAB.KUS. 



Five book* bav* come down to at under the title of THE BOOKS or 

 THE MACCABEES. 



1. The Pint Book of the Maccabees contains the history of tho Jews 

 during forty years, from the accession of Antiochut Kpiphanes to the 

 death of Simon Matthea, n.c, 135. The author is unknown. Sumo 

 snppoe* th* book to bar* been compiled from the memoirs of tho 

 Maocabtran prince*, perhaps by John Hyrcanu*, about th* close of 

 hot. reign internal evidence would lead us to fix its date. (1 Mace, 

 xri. 29.) Tb* general opinion of critic* i* that it wa* written in 

 Hebrew. Origen and Jerome assert that they had teen the Hebrew 

 original, and th* Greek copy which we possets bear* internal evidence 

 of being translated from Hebrew. It forms part of the Septuagint, 

 and there i* an ancient Latin renion made from the Greek, and a 

 Syriao r*rion, which Michtelis suppose, to have been translated from 

 the H.bnw. Th is book it conn<lered the bast authority for the bistorv 

 of the period to which it relate*. 



2. Tb* Seoood Book of the Maccabees begin* with two letters which 

 an not connected with each other, nor with the rest of the book. It 

 then mentions come event, which preceded the persecution of Antio- 

 oho* Bpipbanea, relate* tb* acta of Jixia* Maooaboius, and concludes 

 with the defeat of Nicanor, recorded in 1 Mace. rii. This book is 

 abridged from an earlier work in fire books, by on. Jason of Gyrene 

 (* * U- SWJ-) Tb* author i* unknown, but from the style he is 

 WpJiOtfsia to MV b***n 4% Htltooitrttc Jew. It exiat* in tho Onwilr nf 

 the S.pto*gint, which it oootidered to be tb* original, and ther7 

 MMssat reraion* in Syriao aud Latin. Its authority U greatly inferior 

 to that of the first book, from which it often diner*. 



of Maoeabee* an received aa canonical 



i_Lj_ 1/V* nd u J roB> "I*-" Tb* church doe* indeed read tue 

 booksof tb. Maccabee*. but doe. not reooir. them among thecti^ 

 oal BoripUns.' (Pnefkt. to ' Pror. ."-' 



- 

 to bar. been th. orifbmL 



history of th. 



from the battle of llaphia, in 

 k of the SeptnaRint u 

 There it a Syriac version in the 



