Maccabean

[mak-uh-bee-uhn]

adjective

1. of or relating to the Maccabees or Judas Maccabaeus.

Maccabean

/ ˌmækəˈbiːən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Maccabees or to Judas Maccabaeus, the Jewish leader of a revolt (166–161 _bc ) against Seleucid oppression

Word History and Origins

Origin of Maccabean¹

First recorded in 1815–25; Maccabe(es) + -an

Example Sentences

Jesus refused to be the nationalistic leader many Jews wanted, as they demonstrated when they waved palm branches—a symbol of the previously successful Maccabean Revolt—at his entry into Jerusalem.

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According to National Geographic, the Talmud, a Jewish holy text, states that Hanukkah acknowledges the Maccabean revolt the Hebrews led against the Hellenistic influence that was being imposed by Greco-Syrian Seleucid rulers.

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Hanukkah, which begins Sunday evening, is celebrated for eight days to mark a miraculous batch of consecrated oil used in the Second Temple after the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the second century BCE.

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Also known as the Festival of Lights, Jews celebrate the holiday to commemorate the miracles performed during the Maccabean revolt against Israel's Greek king.

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His historical thinking goes back to the destruction of the last Jewish sovereign nation, the Maccabean kingdom at the end of the Second Temple era 2,000 years ago.

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