History Literature / BooksOfMaccabees

-->''This all-out attack on Jewish life and beliefs was universally considered the worst ever. The Temple was turned into a nightclub complete with cocktail parties, pork cooked on the altar burners, all-nighters, female escorts, and sex on demand. If it was against the Law, it was on the Temple menu now.'' (2nd Maccabees 6:3-5, The Message Catholic Edition)

There is also a ''5th Maccabees'', alternatively referred to as ''Arabic 2nd Maccabees''. This covers the period between Heliodorus' attempt to rob the Temple treasury to the death of Herod the Great's two sons about 6 BC.

* BadassIsraeli: Judah Maccabee and his brothers, plus their army. Also Judah's father Mattathias, who went so far as to slay one of the Jews who dared to sacrifice upon the pagan altar.

-->''This all-out attack on Jewish life and beliefs was universally considered the worst ever. The Temple was turned into a night club complete with cocktail parties, pork cooked on the altar burners, all-nighters, female escorts, sex on demand. If it was against the Law, it was on the Temple menu now.'' (2nd Maccabees 6:3-5, The Message Catholic Edition)

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In 1st Maccabees 2:62, in Mattathias' final words to his sons, he tells them, "Don't let the threats of that brutal Antiochus frighten you! He may be famous, but he's nothing but food for worms." (Contemporary English Version) This would come true with King Antiochus Epiphanes' death as recorded in 2nd Maccabees chapter 9, as his broken body was eaten by worms and began to stink terribly.

* IllegalReligion: Judaism as practiced by the Jews that remained faithful to God's Law, whenever rulers like Antiochus Epiphanes enforced their religion and culture upon them.

* InsigniaRipOffRitual: In 2nd Maccabees chapter 4, the king was so enraged at the news of Andronicus' murder of Onias the high priest that he not only stripped Andronicus of his royal robe, he also [[ShamefulStrip stripped the man of all his clothes]] and forced him to go through the entire town naked before he was killed.

* LastStand: In 1st Maccabees chapter 9, when Judah and his men saw that they were outnumbered by Bacchides' enemy forces at Elasah, and that his own forces were dwindling, he didn't make an appeal to Heaven, but rather told his remaining men to stand their ground and fight so that no one should question their honor. That was how Judah met his end.

* MadeOfIncendium: 2nd Maccabees chapter 1 tells of how from a sacred fire that the Temple priests have hid, they have created a liquid that became flammable when exposed to sunlight when [[Literature/BookOfNehemiah Nehemiah]] used it to ignite the sacrifice made to God.

* MarriageToAGod: King Antiochus' attempt to "marry" the Persian goddess Nanea, in order to establish himself as a godlike emperor, is mentioned in 2nd Maccabees chapter 1, along with the ensuing revolt by the people who had seen what he had done to the priests of Nanea's temple.

* NastyParty: Ptolemy son of Abubus invited Simon, the last of the Maccabee brothers, to a banquet and there had his soldiers kill Simon, his two sons, and some of their servants while they were drunk.

* SinisterMinister: Jason, the corrupt high priest appointed by King Antiochus IV, who brought Greek culture into Judea and made the Jews turn from following God. He was succeeded by Menelaus, the brother of the corrupt Temple official Simon, who basically bought his position with money and was described as having "the hot temper of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a savage wild beast." He even goes so far as to put his brother Lysimachus in charge, who ends up stealing valuable items from the Temple. Also Alcimus, who was appointed by Demetrius.

* SmashTheSymbol: The Jews under Judah Maccabee's leadership, after they had regained control of the Temple, proceeded to remove the "abomination of desolation" that Antiochus IV had set up and restored it as a proper place for the Jewish worship of God, as recorded in both 1st and 2nd Maccabees.

* SuicidalPacifist: In 1st Maccabees, where some Jews would rather let themselves be killed on the Sabbath than defend their lives. The eponymous family of the Maccabees decides to skip that rule in order to defend their country. (It's worth noting that most Jewish traditions, at least nowadays, are quite clear on the principle that working to save a life permits breaking the Sabbath).

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: In 1st Maccabees chapter 2, after hearing about a group of Jews that decided that they would rather die honorably than break the Sabbath for the sake of defending themselves, Judah and his family decided that they would rather break the Sabbath and defend themselves from King Antiochus' forces than allow all of the faithful Jews to be massacred.
* TongueTrauma: The first of the seven brothers to be martyred in 2nd Maccabees had his tongue cut out before he was roasted in the fire. The third brother willingly offered up his tongue as well as his hands to his tormentor, saying that the Lord is able to give them back to him again.
* TortureIsIneffective: 4th Maccabees points out, through the detail given about the seven brothers and their mother who were tortured to death by King Antiochus' men for failing to submit to him, that while their mindful bravery in preferring torture over deliverance didn't accomplish anything with what that evil king wanted, it did eventually bring about the end of King Antiochus and his rulership.

-->''This all-out attack on Jewish life and beliefs was universally considered the worst ever. The Temple was turned into a nightclub complete with cocktail parties, pork cooked on the altar burners, all-nighters, female escorts, and sex on demand. If it was against the Law, it was on the Temple menu now.'' (2nd Maccabees 6:3-5, The Message Catholic Edition)

-->''Therefore do not suppose that it would be a petty sin if we were to eat defiling food; to transgress the law in matters either small or great is of equal seriousness, for in either case the law is equally despised.'' (4th Maccabees 5:19-21)
* AltarDiplomacy: In 1st Maccabees chapter 10, King Alexander, after the defeat of his rival Demetrius, made a treaty of friendship with King Ptolemy of Egypt by having him give his daughter Cleopatra to Alexander as his wife, which Ptolemy accepted. In the following chapter, however, Ptolemy had later regretted it and decided to take back his daughter and give her to Demetrius' son to make an alliance with him, thus causing a rift between himself and Alexander.

* AnimalStampede: In 3rd Maccabees, King Ptolemy Philopator had Hermon the elephant trainer drug the elephants with frankincense and unmixed wine so that they could be let loose to trample the Jews to death as a spectacle to the king and his guests. However, God kept interfering with those plans, first by putting the king into a deep sleep, then by constantly having him change his mind about the stampede.

* BadassIsraeli: Judah Maccabee and his brothers, plus their army. Also Judah's father Mattathias, who went so far as to slay one of the Jews that dared to sacrifice upon the pagan altar.

* BookBurning: Scrolls that contained the Law of Moses were forcibly burned, and anyone who was found with them were put to death.
* BreakTheHaughty: God does this to King Antiochus Ephiphanes in 2nd Maccabees chapter 9 when he came to Jerusalem with the intent of turning it into "a cemetery for Jews". First God gave him pain in his bowels with sharp internal tortures. When the king persisted in his arrogance, he fell out of his chariot so hard that he broke all the bones in his body. And on top of all this, God caused the king's body to be eaten from the inside out with worms, and he ended up stinking so badly that even he himself couldn't stand the smell. It was then he decided to do a HeelFaithTurn and make amends with God before his death.

* CircumcisionAngst: Inverted. The Jews who participated in the exercise routines in the gymnasium built in their land had their circumcisions undone to disguise the fact that they were Jews, since ancient Greek gymnasiums required its participants to exercise in the nude, and the Greeks looked down on anyone that had an exposed circumcised penis.
* CivilWar: It wasn't just Judah Maccabee and his brothers against the Greeks; it was also them against their own fellow Jews that decided to apostatize rather than stay faithful to their religion.

-->''This all-out attack on Jewish life and beliefs was universally considered the worst ever. The Temple was turned into a night club complete with cocktail parties, pork cooked on the altar burners, all-nighters, female escorts, sex on demand. If it was against the Law, it was on the Temple menu now.'' (2nd Maccabees 6:3-5, The Message Catholic Edition)

* DirtyCoward: "Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor’s invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army, those who were cowardly and distrustful of God’s justice ran off and got away." (2nd Maccabees 8:12-13)

* DueToTheDead: Judah and his family members not only pay their respects when each of them die, he and his army also pray for the dead Jews that were bearing the tokens of the idol of Jamnia in the hopes that their sins would be forgiven.[[note]]Praying for the dead is a doctrine that is taught among Catholics, but is hardly ever used among Evangelical Protestants since they believe forgiveness of sins can only be for the living.[[/note]]

* EvilSmellsBad: In 2nd Maccabees chapter 9, Antiochus IV was stricken with such a devastating illness by the Lord that his entire army was sickened by the smell and no one could even come close enough to carry him around on a litter. Eventually even the king couldn't stand the smell of himself and decided to make amends with the Jewish people and God.
* AFeteWorseThanDeath: In 3rd Maccabees chapter 4, a feast of gladness for the Gentiles was given to them while the Jews were being rounded up and brought to Alexandria to have the FinalSolution applied to them. Fortunately God stepped in and protected the Jews before that happened in the king's court.
* FalseFriend: King Antiochus Epiphanes, who in 1st Maccabees chapter 1 spoke peaceable words to the people of Jerusalem to gain their trust, before he and his forces plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and surrounding walls, taking the women and children captive and seizing their livestock.

* ForgedByTheGods: Judah Maccabee's sword, which in the fifteenth chapter of 2nd Maccabees he claims was given to him from heaven by Onias the high priest and Jeremiah the prophet to smite the forces of evil coming against the Jews. In 1st Maccabees, Judah's sword was actually Apollonius', which he took after slaying him and used it for the rest of his life.
* GiveMeASign: In 2nd and 3rd Maccabees, God responds with miraculous deliveries whenever the Jews prayed for His help.

-->''Now I urge those who read this book not to be depressed by such calamities, but to recognize that these punishments were designed not to destroy but to discipline our people. In fact, it is a sign of great kindness not to let the impious alone for long, but to punish them immediately. For in the case of the other nations the Lord waits patiently to punish them until they have reached the full measure of their sins; but he does not deal in this way with us, in order that he may not take vengeance on us afterward when our sins have reached their height. Therefore he never withdraws his mercy from us. Although he disciplines us with calamities, he does not forsake his own people.'' (2nd Maccabees 6:12-16)

* HeelFaceTurn: King Philopator near the end of 3rd Maccabees, when God shows up to ruin his plan of destroying the Jews.

** Zabdiel the Arab chopped off King Alexander Epiphanes' head and sent it to King Ptolemy VI in 1st Maccabees chapter 11. Three days later, Ptolemy also died.

* PrayerOfMalice: In 1st Maccabees 7:37-38, the Temple priests prayed for the Lord to take vengeance on Alcimus for threatening to burn down the Temple if Judah Maccabee and his army were not delivered into Alcimus' hands.
* PyrrhicVictory: Jason the corrupt (and eventually former) high priest continued to slaughter Jews in 2nd Maccabees chapter 5, without realizing that a victory that destroys his own people is the worst possible defeat, because he was thinking he had won a battle against enemies rather than against other Jews.

-->''“What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our ancestors through Moses. But you, who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God. For we are suffering because of our own sins. And if our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants. But you, unholy wretch, you most defiled of all mortals, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven. You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God. For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk of ever-flowing life, under God’s covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will receive just punishment for your arrogance. I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our ancestors, appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by trials and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God, and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen on our whole nation.”''

* SuicidalPacifist: In 1st Maccabees, where some Jews would rather let themselves be killed on the Sabbath than defend their lives. The eponymous family of the Maccabees decide to skip that rule in order to defend their country. (It's worth noting that most Jewish traditions, at least nowadays, are quite clear on the principle that working to save a life permits breaking the Sabbath).
* TakingUpTheMantle: After Mattathias dies, his son Judah takes up the mantle of leadership for the Jewish resistance. His brother Jonathan takes over when Judah dies, then their brother Simon takes over when Jonathan dies, and finally Simon's son John takes over when Simon dies.

* WouldHurtAChild: In 2nd Maccabees, when the Jewish people rebelled against the corrupt high priest Jason, who had been appointed by King Antiochus IV, and ran him out of town, the king left Egypt for Jerusalem. Once in Jerusalem, he massacred many, young and old, women and children, virgins and infants. In 1st and 2nd Maccabees, King Antiochus IV then decreed that everyone take up the customs of everyone else, except the Jewish customs. He outlawed all Jewish customs, including circumcision. The children who were circumcised were killed, as were their mothers and whoever performed the circumcision.

* DeathOfAChild: In 2nd Maccabees, when the Jewish people rebelled against the corrupt high priest Jason, who had been appointed by King Antiochus IV, and ran him out of town, the king left Egypt for Jerusalem. Once in Jerusalem, he massacred many, young and old, women and children, virgins and infants. In 1st and 2nd Maccabees, King Antiochus IV then decreed that everyone take up the customs of everyone else, except the Jewish customs. He outlawed all Jewish customs, including circumcision. The children who were circumcised were killed, as were their mothers and whoever performed the circumcision.

* WeddingSmashers: Jonathan, Simon, and the Jews ended up turning a very important wedding of officials from the Jambri tribe into a funeral by attacking them.

* PyrrhicVillainy: Jason the corrupt (and eventually former) high priest continued to slaughter Jews in 2nd Maccabees chapter 5, without realizing that a victory that destroys his own people is the worst possible defeat, because he was thinking he had won a battle against enemies rather than against other Jews.

There is also a ''5th Maccabees'', alternatively referred to as ''Arabic 2nd Maccabees''.

There is also a ''5th Maccabees'' that was written, also referred to as ''Arabic 2nd Maccabees''.

* KarmicDeath: Jason the high priest, who had driven many of his own people out of the land into exile, was himself driven out of the land and died in exile, with [[DishonoredDead no one to bury him]], as recorded in 2nd Maccabees chapter 5.