Mattathias Refuses to Sacrifice

Now at this time there was a man named Mattathias who lived at Modein, a village of Judea, the son of John, the son of Simeon, the son of Asamoneus. He was a priest of the course of Joab and a citizen of Jerusalem. He had five sons: John, called Gaddi; Simon, called Thassi; Judas, called Maccabeus; Eleazar, called Avaran; and Jonathan, called Apphus. This Mattathias lamented to his children the wretched state of their affairs, the ravaging of the city, the plundering of the temple and the calamities the people were suffering; and he told them that it was better to die for the laws of their country than to live as impiously as they were living then. [a]

When the king’s appointed officers came to Modein to force the Jews to do what they had been ordered and to command those who were there to offer sacrifice as the king had commanded, they asked Mattathias, as the man of greatest standing among them — for other reasons and particularly because of his large and worthy family of sons — to begin the sacrifice; for his fellow citizens would follow his example, and doing so would bring him honor from the king. But Mattathias said he would not do it; even if all the other nations obeyed the commands of Antiochus, whether from fear or to please him, neither he nor his sons would abandon the worship of their country. But as soon as he had finished speaking, one of the Jews came forward into the middle of them and sacrificed as Antiochus had commanded. At this Mattathias was filled with indignation. He rushed at him with his sons, who had swords with them, and killed both the man who had sacrificed and Apelles, the king’s officer who was compelling them to sacrifice, together with a few of his soldiers. He also overturned the idol’s altar and cried out: “If anyone is zealous for the customs of his country and for the worship of God, let him follow me.” When he had said this, he hurried off into the desert with his sons and left all his property in the village. Many others did the same, and fled with their children and wives into the desert and lived in caves. [f]

When the king’s officers heard this, they took all the forces they then had in the citadel at Jerusalem and pursued the Jews into the desert. When they had overtaken them, they first tried to persuade them to repent and to choose what was most to their advantage, and not to force them to treat them by the law of war. But when they would not yield to their persuasion and remained of a different mind, they attacked them on the Sabbath day and burned them in the caves as they were, without resistance; they did not even block up the entrances of the caves. They refused to defend themselves on that day because they were unwilling to violate the honor they owed the Sabbath even in such distress; for our law requires that we rest on that day. About a thousand of them, with their wives and children, were suffocated and died in those caves. But many of those who escaped joined Mattathias and made him their ruler. He taught them to fight even on the Sabbath day. He told them that unless they did so, they would become their own enemies by their observance of the law, while their adversaries would still attack them on that day and they would not defend themselves; and then nothing could prevent them all from perishing without a fight. This speech persuaded them, and this rule continues among us to this day: if there is necessity, we may fight on Sabbath days. So Mattathias gathered a large army around him. He overthrew their idol altars and killed those who broke the laws, all he could get into his power, for many of them had scattered among the surrounding nations for fear of him. He also commanded that the boys who were not yet circumcised should be circumcised now, and he drove away those who had been appointed to prevent it.

But when he had ruled for one year and had fallen ill, he called for his sons, set them around him, and said: “My sons, I am going on the journey that fate appoints. I commend my resolve to you, and I beg you not to be careless in keeping it. Remember the wishes of the father who brought you into the world and raised you. Preserve the customs of your country, and recover our ancient form of government, which is in danger of being overturned. Do not be carried along with those who betray it, whether by their own inclination or out of necessity; but, since you are my sons, stand firm. Rise above all force and necessity, and so set your souls that you are ready, when it is necessary, to die for your laws. Understand this by plain reasoning: if God sees that you are of this mind, he will not overlook you, but will value your virtue highly and will give you back to yourselves, and restore to you the freedom in which you will live quietly and enjoy your own customs. Your bodies are mortal and subject to fate, but they receive a kind of immortality through the remembrance of what they have done. I want you to be so in love with this immortality that you pursue glory, and that, when you have undergone the greatest hardships, you do not hesitate to lose your lives for such things. Above all, I urge you to live in harmony with one another. In whatever excellence any one of you surpasses the others, yield to him so far, and in this way reap the benefit of each one’s own virtues. Regard your brother Simon as your father, then, because he is a man of extraordinary good sense, and be guided by him in the counsel he gives you. Take Maccabeus as the general of your army because of his courage and strength, for he will avenge your nation and bring vengeance on your enemies. Admit among you the righteous and the devout, and increase their power.” [h]

When Mattathias had spoken to his sons in this way and had prayed to God to be their helper and to restore to the people their former way of life, he died a little later and was buried at Modein, and all the people mourned him greatly. Then his son Judas, also called Maccabeus, took charge of public affairs, in the 146th year. So, with the ready help of his brothers and of others, Judas drove their enemies out of the country, put to death those of his own countrymen who had broken its laws, and cleansed the land of all the defilements that were in it. [k]