0167 Judah Machabee besieges the Greek garrison in Jerusalem 0167 The Book of Daniel is composed and written back into the days of the Babylonian captivity. Continued domination by a parade of foreign powers in spite of the piety of the priests and people discredits the Deuteronomist view and heralds the emergence of Apocalypticism. The characteristics of apocalyptic works are: pseudonymity - visions are attributed to figures from the past; numerical symbolism; secret language - contemporary rulers referred to by past rulers; animal symbolism; doctrine of angels; division of history into periods (of which the Greek is the fourth and final); references to the coming time; and belief in one or more Messiahs who would deliver Israel from foreign domination (a point conveniently overlooked by Christians). 0164 The Machabean rebels are victorious. Jonathan Machabee becomes High Priest, though he is not a Zadokite, and purifies the Temple - the origin of Hanukkah. The Zadokites then evolve into 1) the Egyptian Leontopolis cult under Onius IV, 2) Jerusalem’s Sadducees, and 3) the Essenes of the Qumran sect. Some see this period also as a civil war between orthodox and Hellenized Jews. Hasmonean kings attempt to revive the Judah described in the Bible: a Jewish monarchy ruling from Jerusalem over all territories once ruled by David and Solomon. In order to carry out this project, the Hasmoneans forcibly convert Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites, as well as the lost kingdom of Israel (Samaritans) to Judaism. 0161 Judah Machabee renews the treaty with Rome to weaken Hellenism; Jews assert their nationalism. 0150 Testaments of the Patriarchs - a text is written of ‘the speeches that should have been made.’ Levi and Judah are associated as dual Messiah figures. 0150 Jubilees - a text retelling stories within a framework of seven years, with the use of a solar calendar, written in Ethiopic, containing many historical anachronisms and talking animals. 0142 The Seleucids free Hasmonean Judea from paying taxes to the Empire. The Machabees are recognized as a new dynasty “until a new prophet shall arise,” … or the Romans (63 BCE). 0134-0104 John Horchanus I succeeds his father Simon Machabee. Besieged in Jerusalem by the Seleucid Antiochus VII, he first removes, then readmits non-combatants. The walls of Jerusalem are broken down. After the death of Antiochus VII, the Seleucid Empire begins to break up. Horchanus robs the Tomb of David to support a mercenary army, by which he expands his kingdom (Idumea), destroys the (schismatic) Samaritan temple (111 BCE), and forces conversions of non-Jewish populations, among whom is the grandfather of Herod the Great. 0130 1 Machabees in Hebrew relates Jewish history 175-135 BCE. Mattathias, like Phineas in Numbers, gives legitimacy to Hasmoneans. 0120 2 Machabees in Greek relates the ideology of martyrdom, resurrection, Judaism, Hellenism, and how Jews can live in the diaspora. ~~~~~~~~