The word Maccabees (Machabees) is an acronym for the Hebrew phrase; Mi Kamocha Ba Elim Yah (MKaBE) in English: “Who is like you among the mighty O God” (a rhetorical question!!!!!! There is none!!!!)
Maccabees is the name given to the five sons of Mattathias: Jonathan, Simon, Judah, Eleazar and Yohanan. They fearlessly fought against the well-trained and mighty Syrian army and defeated them. The Maccabees devoted their lives to preserve what they knew for sure was their ideal. They fought not only for themselves but for future generations. They fought hard to oppose cultural mingling and won!
Mattathias was a steadfast priest who refused the king’s command to sacrifice a pig on the Greek’s portable altar and to perform other pagan religious rites. He killed one of his own men who stepped forward to carry out the Syrian (Greek) king’s command along with the king’s representative who had carried the message.
“Though all the nations obey him, and fall away from the beliefs of their fathers, I and my sons and my brethren will walk in the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances. We will not hearken unto the king’s words, either to the right hand, or to the left.”
Vs. 37: “Let us die all in our innocency: heaven and earth will testify for us, that ye put us to death wrongfully”.
Vs. 43 & 59” Let us restore the decayed fortune of our people, and let us fight for our people and the sanctuary. For it is better for us to die in battle, than to behold the calamities of our people and our sanctuary.”
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