Maccabean Revolt
The Maccabean Revolt occurred in the second century BC when the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes imposed Hellenistic practices on the Jewish people and desecrated the Second Temple by sacrificing a pig on its altar. In response, Judas Maccabeus and his brothers led a guerrilla campaign that ultimately defeated the Seleucid armies and restored Jewish worship in the Temple, an event commemorated by the festival of Hanukkah. This historical episode is detailed in the deuterocanonical books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, underscoring themes of religious liberty and covenant faithfulness that resonate throughout Scripture.
Meanwhile in the World
Alexander the Great conquers from Greece to India (330s BC). Greek culture spreads everywhere (Hellenization). Rome rises to dominate the Mediterranean. The Maccabean revolt occurs. Julius Caesar is assassinated (44 BC). The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) is translated in Alexandria.
Maccabean Revolt (167 BC), rise of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes; Dead Sea Scrolls community