Maccabees

American  

[mak-uh-beez] / ˈmæk əˌbiz /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the members of the Hasmonean family of Jewish leaders and rulers comprising the sons of Mattathias and their descendants and reigning in Judea from 167? to 37 b.c., especially Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers, who defeated the Syrians under Antiochus IV in 165? and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.

2. (used with a singular verb) either of two books of the Apocrypha, I Maccabees or II Maccabees, that contain the history of the Maccabees.

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Maccabees British  

/ ˈmækəˌbiːz /

noun

1. a Jewish family of patriots who freed Judaea from Seleucid oppression (168–142 _bc )

2. any of four books of Jewish history, including the last two of the Apocrypha

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Maccabees Cultural  

1. According to two books of the Apocrypha, a family of Jewish patriots active in the liberation of Judea from Syrian rule. The Maccabees established a line of priest-kings that lasted until the rule of Herod the Great.

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Example Sentences

The festival celebrates the victory of the Jewish Maccabees against the Greek-led Seleucid Empire, which sought to eradicate Judaism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

White is the guitarist with The Maccabees and 86TVs.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

At the same time, as both ancient and modern rabbis have understood, one cannot write the Maccabees, the military battle, or the Hasmonean dynasty entirely out of the Chanukah story.

From Slate • Dec. 10, 2023

The revolt of the Maccabees, as it came to be known, continued on and ultimately drove the Seleucids from Judea in 160.

From National Geographic • Dec. 7, 2023

“The last one. Old Testament. Second Maccabees 13:4: ‘But the King of Kings aroused the anger of Antiochus against the rascal.’”

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver