September 2021

The Maccabees

May 23, 2023

After Alexander the Great had defeated the Persians and conquered many lands and advanced to the ends of the earth, he fell sick and perceived that he was dying. So he summoned his most honored generals and divided his kingdom among them. Soon Alexander was dead and his officers began to rule, each in his own place, and they set up kingdoms for themselves. One such kingdom that sprang from the division of Alexander’s Macedonian Empire was the Seleucid Empire, founded by Seleucus I Nicator. Seleucus’ kingdom covered much of the territory of the Ancient Near East; a dynasty which existed from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucids held a light rule over the territory of Judea and the Jewish people: they respected Jewish culture and protected Jewish institutions. However, during the rein of Antiochus IV Epiphanies (beginning in 175 BC) the Jews were faced with harsh persecutions which led to a rebellion against his rule. This Jewish uprising against Greek influence would be known as The Maccabean Revolt, and lasted from 167 to 160 BC.

After taking control of Egypt, Antiochus went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar and the table of shew-bread. He stripped off the golden ornaments from the temple as well as other costly vessels and the hidden treasures that he found. He took them all and went into his own land after shedding much blood. Two years later in 168 BC, Antiochus Epiphanies returned to Jerusalem and captured the city. Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and that all should give up their particular customs. Many from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath. Antiochus erected the abomination of desolation on the altar of burnt offering, and on the 25th day of Chislev they offered sacrifice upon the idolatrous altar, which was upon the altar of God, and this sacrifice is believed to have been a pig. But many in Israel stood firm and resolved not to eat unclean food and chose rather to die than to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. And very great wrath came upon Israel.

In those days Mattathias, a priest from the family of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. He had five sons, namely Judas called Maccabeus, meaning “the hammer.” Mattathias saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem and he and his sons tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly. The king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to Modein to make them offer sacrifice. Mattathias strongly refused and said loudly, “We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left.” And just as he finished speaking, a Jew came forward to sacrifice on the altar of Modein, according to the order of the king. Seeing it, Mattathias filled with zeal and righteous anger ran and killed him on the altar. He also killed the kings officer, who was enforcing the sacrifice, and tore down the altar. Then he and his sons fled to the hills. Then there united with them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel and other fugitives joined them and reinforced them. They organized an army and struck down sinners in their anger. Mattathias and his friends tore down the altars, forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys within the borders of Israel, and rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.

Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he instructed his sons to show zeal for the law and to give their lives for the covenant of their ancestors. Then his son Judas Maccabeus took command in his place. All his brothers and the others who joined his father helped him and they gladly fought for Israel. Judas extended the glory of his people. Like a giant he put on his breastplate; he bound on his armor of war and waged battles, protecting the camp by his sword. When king Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered. He gathered and sent all the forces of his kingdom, and opened his coffers and payed his troops until all the money in the treasury was exhausted. Troubled by this financial loss Antiochus went to Persia in the hopes of collecting the revenues from that region. However, the king had to retreat from Persia for the people fought him as he attempted to rob the temples of Persepolis. In a rage he turned towards Jerusalem with arrogant intent as he spoke of making Jerusalem a cemetery for Jews. But the God of Israel struck him with an incurable and invisible blow. The ungodly man’s body swarmed with worms, and as he suffered in agony, his flesh rotted away. Before he died he uttered these words, “It is right to be subject to God; mortals should not think that they are equal to God.” So the murderer and blasphemer, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains in a strange land.

Now Judas Maccabeus and his followers recovered the temple and the city. They purified the sanctuary, and tore down the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned. They decided to store the stones in a convenient place until a prophet should come and tell what to do with them. Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one. They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts. Then, early in the morning on the 25th day of Chislev in 164 BC, they rose and offered sacrifice on the new altar of burnt offering that they had built. At the very season and on the very day that the Greeks had profaned it, it was dedicated with song and harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed the God of heaven, who had prospered them. So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and joyfully offered burnt offerings. Then Judas and all the assembly of Israel determined that each year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days beginning with the 25th day of the month Chislev. According to Rabbinic tradition, the Maccabees could only find one jar of oil that had remained unpolluted by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to light the Menorah for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days. Thus was birthed the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

 

References:

Cambridge University Press. The Apocrypha, Authorized King James Version. (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1992).

Cambridge University Press. The Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version. (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1992).

Holy Apostles Convent. The Lives of the Holy Prophets. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 1998).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).

Alexander the Great

May 23, 2023

Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C. in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. The son of Philip II, King of Macedonia, and of Olympias a princess of Epirus. The Greek philosopher Aristotle was Alexander’s tutor, and gave him a thorough training in rhetoric and literature. In the summer of 336 B.C. Philip was assassinated, and Alexander ascended the Macedonian throne. He found himself surrounded by enemies, but disposed of all conspirators by ordering their execution. Before the end of the summer of 336 B.C. he had reestablished his position in Greece and was elected by a congress of states at Corinth.

Alexander began his war against Persia in the spring of 334 B.C. by crossing the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles) with an army of 35,000 along with his chief officers Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. At the river Granicus, near Troy, he attacked an army of Persian and Greek mercenaries totaling 40,000 men. He defeated the enemy and, according to tradition lost only 110 men. After this battle, all the states of Asia Minor submitted to him. In passing through Phrygia he is said to have cut with his sword the Gordian knot.

Continuing to advance southward. Alexander encountered the main Persian army, commanded by King Darius III at Issus, in northeastern Syria. The Battle of Issus, in 333 B.C., was a great victory for Alexander. He took Tyre (in modern Lebanon) by storm in 332 B.C. after a siege of seven months. Alexander captured Gaza next and then passed on into Egypt, where he was greeted as a deliverer. By these successes he secured control of the entire eastern Mediterranean coastline. Later in 332 B.C. he founded, at the mouth of the Nile, the city of Alexandria, which later became the literary, scientific, and commercial center of the Greek world.

In 331 B.C. Alexander headed to Babylon. Crossing the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, he met Darius and completely defeated his army in the Battle of Arbela on the plain of Guagamela, on Oct. 1, 331 B.C. Babylon surrendered after Gaugamela, and the city of Susa with its enormous treasures was soon conquered. Then, in mid-winter, he forced his way to Persepolis, the Persian capital. After plundering the royal treasuries and taking other rich booty he burned the city and thus completed the destruction of the ancient Persian Empire.

In 323 B.C. Alexander arrived in Babylon, and the following June he contracted a fever and died. He left his empire, in his own words, “to the strongest.” Alexander was one of the greatest generals of all time. As a statesman and ruler his plans were grandiose. He cherished a scheme for uniting the East and the West in a world empire, a new and enlightened “world brotherhood of all men.” He adopted Persian manners and married Eastern wives, namely Roxana, and encouraged his officers to take Persian wives. To bind his conquests together, Alexander founded a number of cities. Greek veterans from his army settled in them, Greek culture was introduced, and the Greek language became widely known. Thus Alexander paved the way for the kingdoms of the Hellenistic Period and the conquests of the Roman Empire.

Cyrus the Great, King of Persia

May 23, 2023

Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first of the Persian Empires. Under his rule, all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East were conquered. Cyrus’ empire was also expanded to most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia and the Caucasus. But the most significant victory for Cyrus came in 539 B.C., when the Persian army marched on Babylon.

Babylon was thought to be impregnable. The city, which was built on both sides of the Euphrates River, had enormous fortified double walls and enclosed an area of some 200 square miles. The outside wall was protected by a wide deep moat fed by the Euphrates River. Five brass gates connecting streets to the outside were protected by drawbridges which were raised at night. Spanning the north end of the river, between the east and west bank wall, were two huge leaved gates of brass. At night the gates were swung shut and secured by large iron bars. In those days of ancient warfare, the city was impregnable.

However, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus states that, “Cyrus diverted the Euphrates into a new channel, and guided by two deserters, marched by the dry bed into the city while the Babylonians were carousing at a feast of their gods.” According to the Bible, king Belshazzar of Babylon made a great feast one night. While he was drinking wine, he commanded that the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem be used for him and his princes, his wives and his concubines, that they might drink therein.

Then as they drank wine, and praised the gods of silver and gold, came forth fingers of a man’s hand and wrote on the wall of the king’s palace. The king was suddenly troubled, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees knocked. The king’s wise men were brought in, but they could not interpret the writing. Then was the prophet Daniel brought in. He was able to read the writing on the wall and give the interpretation. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Thus the Persian army marched into the city on a dry riverbed and took Babylon without a fight. And just as the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had been instrumental in enslaving the Jews and leading them into captivity, so was king Cyrus of Persia instrumental in freeing the Jewish refugees and encouraged them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. In the book of Ezra it states, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia…the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus…that he made a proclamation…saying, thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” Cyrus went on to bring forth the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple and sent them back to Jerusalem along with the Jewish refugees. Thus a new era in Jewish history was born, known as the Second Temple Period.

 

References:

Brenton. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., 1851).

Daniel, J. Scarlet and the Beast Vol. II. (Tyler, TX: JKI Publishing, 1994).

Holy Apostles Convent. The Life of the Virgin Mary, The Theotokos. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 2000).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).

Nebuchadnezzar and the Destruction of the Temple

May 23, 2023

After the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., the Assyrians who conquered them would also fall the century following. After the death of the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal in 627 B.C., the Assyrian empire began to crumble due to civil war. Taking advantage of this weakness, the Babylonians attacked in alliance with the Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians. Nineveh was sacked in 612 B.C., and the seat of power in the region was transferred to Babylonia. Thus began a period in Mesopotamian history that witnessed a significant improvement in daily life. Architectural projects flourished as did other arts and sciences. This new power would be known as the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

The most significant ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire was king Nebuchadnezzar. He would go on to capture much territory for his empire as well as beautifying his kingdom with impressive construction projects. For example, in 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar led an army against the Egyptian ruler Necho II, who was occupying Syria. This would go down in history as the Battle of Carchemish, where Pharaoh Necho II was defeated and Syria and Phoenicia were brought under the control of Babylon. In the field of art and architecture Nebuchadnezzar enlarged the royal palace, built a bridge over the Euphrates, and constructed the Processional Way and the famous Ishtar Gate lavishly decorated with glazed brick.

In addition to these military excursions and engineering endeavors, king Nebuchadnezzar also made Biblical history through his sieges of Jerusalem and by destroying the Temple of Solomon. According to the Bible, in 598 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar and his army came against Judah and besieged it. King Jehoiakim died during the siege and in the following year (597) Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and took the new king Jeconiah prisoner. He then installed king Zedekiah and took from him a rich tribute. Along with Jeconiah prominent citizens and craftsmen, and much of the Jewish population, numbering about 10,000 were deported back to Babylon.

As devastating as this was for Judah, the Babylonians would return a decade later. Though Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah, he revolted against Babylon and entered into an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar responded by once again invading Judah and began the second siege of Jerusalem in 589 B.C. The siege lasted until famine prevailed and the city was broken up. The men of war fled by night and the king went the way toward the plain. However, the Babylonians pursued after the king and captured him in the plains of Jericho, where his army deserted him. Zedekiah was then taken to the king of Babylon for judgment in Riblah. There they killed Zedekiah’s sons in front of him and then put out his eyes and carried him off to Babylon, where he remained a prisoner until he died.

The final blow came on the 9th of Av in 586 B.C. Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of king Nebuchadnezzar came unto Jerusalem. He burnt the Temple, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down round about. The people in the city were carried away, but the poor were left behind to be vine-dressers. The pillars of brass that were in the Temple as well as the brass sea were broke in pieces and taken away. All the vessels of gold and silver were also plundered and taken back to Babylon. The Temple was completely destroyed and all of Jerusalem with it. King Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon with the treasures of the Temple and a great number of the people of Judah. This would be the final deportation in the period of Jewish history know as the Babylonian Captivity.

 

References:

Barker, M. The Gate of Heaven. (Sheffield, United Kingdom: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008).

Brenton. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., 1851).

Green, J.P. The Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible. (Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, 2000).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).