Editing Maccabees (section)

==Revolt==
{{main|Maccabean Revolt}}
[[File:Judea Judas Makk.PNG|thumb|230px|Judea under Judah Maccabee]]
[[File:Judea Jonathan Makk.PNG|thumb|230px|Jonathan's conquests|right]]
[[File:Judea Simon Makk.PNG|thumb|230px|Simon's conquests|right]]
In the narrative of ''I Maccabees'', after Antiochus issued his decrees forbidding Jewish religious practice, a rural Jewish priest from [[Modi'in (ancient city)|Modi'in]], [[Mattathias]] the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]], sparked the revolt against the Seleucid Empire by refusing to worship the [[Greek gods]]. Mattathias killed a Hellenistic Jew who stepped forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias' place. He and his five sons fled to the wilderness of Judah. After Mattathias' death about one year later in 166&nbsp;BCE, his son Judah Maccabee led an army of Jewish dissidents to victory over the Seleucids in [[guerrilla warfare]], which at first was directed against Hellenizing Jews, of whom there were many. The Maccabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages, circumcised boys and forced Jews into outlawry.<ref name=deLange/> As a result, one explanation of the name ''Maccabees'' is based on the Aramaic word for "hammer", because they "strike hammer blows against their enemies".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Maccabees.html |title=Jewish Virtual Library |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=2013-07-29}}</ref>

The revolt involved many battles, in which the Maccabean forces gained notoriety among the Seleucid army for their use of guerrilla tactics. After the victory, the Maccabees entered Jerusalem in triumph and ritually cleansed the Temple, reestablishing traditional Jewish worship there and installing [[Jonathan Maccabee]] as high priest. A large Seleucid army was sent to quash the revolt but returned to Syria on the death of Antiochus IV. Its commander Lysias, preoccupied with internal Seleucid affairs, agreed to a political compromise that restored religious freedom.

The Jewish festival of [[Hanukkah]] celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple following Judah Maccabee's victory over the Seleucids. According to rabbinic tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of oil that had remained uncontaminated by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to sustain the [[Temple menorah]] for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days, by which time further oil could be procured.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html |title=Talmud, Tractate Shabbat |publisher=Jewishvirtuallibrary.org |access-date=2013-07-29}}</ref>