1 Maccabees

About This Book

1 Maccabees, also known as the First Book of Maccabees, First Maccabees, and abbreviated as 1 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book that details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest history of the independent Hasmonean kingdom. It describes the promulgation of decrees by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes forbidding traditional Jewish practices, and the formation of a rebellion against him by Mattathias, a member of the Hasmonean family, and his five sons. Mattathias's son Judas Maccabeus takes over the revolt, and the rebels are collectively called the Maccabees; the book chronicles in detail the successes and setbacks of the rebellion. While Judas is eventually killed in battle, the Maccabees achieve autonomy and, under the leadership of the Hasmonean family, independence for Judea. Judas's brother Simon Thassi is declared High Priest of Israel by the will of the Jewish people. The time period described is from around 170 BC to 134 BC.

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