h plundered the temple, abolished the worship of the true God, forbidding the daily facrifice for three years and an half; compelled many to facrifice unto idols, and to eat forbidden meat, and made great flaughter among them who refused, fparing neither age nor fex ". This came to pass three hundred and fixty-fix years after their return from Babylon, according as it had been foretold by Daniel, that he (the king of the north, that is, of Syria, this Antiochus,) fhould have indignation against the holy covenant, and pollute the Sanctuary of Strength, and take away the daily facrifice, &c. This dreadful calamity had been foreboded fome time before, by ftrange lights in the air, for forty days together, of troops of. horfemen, encountering each other *. The Samaritans now difowned their relation to the Jews, and their religious rites, and dedicated their temple on mount Gerizim to the Heathen god, Jupiter!. In this diftrefs God raised up Mattathias, one of the priests, and head of the family of the Afmoneans, to affift and protect his brethren the Jews ". He foon died, but left his fon Judas, furnamed Maccabeus, from Maccabi, a feigned word, which he chofe for the motto of his standard, (being formed of the firft letters of each word of the Hebrew text ", which in our tranflation is, Wha is like unto thee among the gods, O Lord, or Jehovah?) the first letters of which words in the Hebrew are fuch as anfwer to our M. C. B. I. °. This h See 1 Maccab. i. and 2 Maccab. v. 6, &c. xi. 30, 31. k 2 Maccab. v. I, 2. m Vid. Grot. de Jure Belli & Pacis, lib. Exod. xv. 11. b. xii. chap. vii. 。 Vid. Grot. This Judas Maccabeus undertook the caufe, headed the people, and overthrew the Syrians; purged the temple, and restored the ancient worship of God, (fomewhat above an hundred and fixty years before Chrift,) after it had been omitted above three years; which was alfo foretold by Daniel P. The people that do know their God fhall be strong, and do exploits; when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help, &c. This was the rife of the Maccabees, fo called from the aforefaid Judas Maccabeus: They were also called Afmoneans, from Afmoneus, of whofe family Mattathias fprung. Judas having heard much of the fame and power of the Romans, who at that time were become very confiderable, endeavoured to establish himself, and fecure the government for the future, by entering into an alliance with them, which was confirmed a decree of the Roman fenate, and continued many years; which alliance, Jofephus obferves, was the first the Jews ever made with the Romans. From this time the family of the Maccabees fucceffively bore the chief fway over the Jews, (till Pompey made them fubject to the Romans, fomewhat more than an hundred years after,) defended them against their enemies, afferted their liberty, and preferved in great measure their laws and religion, tho' with confiderable lofs and oppreffions fometimes. After fix years, Judas being flain, his Grot. Prefat. in 1 Maccab. aliter Hottingeri Thefaur. lib. ii. chap. ii. de Libris Apochryphis, p. 528. P Chap. xi. 32. 34. વ્ 1 Maccab. viii. Jofeph. Antiq. book xii. chap. 17. at the end. The Romans having a great part of Afia delivered to them twenty eight years before, on their victory over Antiochus king of Syria. See Uffer. A. M. 3815. See 1 Maccab. iii, &c. Jofeph. Antiq. book xi!. chap. 8, &c. I his brother Jonathan fucceeded in the government, and alfo was made high priest; which office of the high priesthood continued in the Afmonean family, who were efteemed as princes and high priests too, (fo was Hyrcanus II.)" till Herod the Great. Ariftobulus, one of these Maccabees, caufed himfelf to be crowned, and was the first king of Judah, after the Babylonian captivity, who changed the principality into a monarchy. One principle of their religion had like to have destroyed them utterly at the beginning of their deliverance, which was to observe the fabbath so ftrictly, as if it were unlawful thereon to defend themfelves; which their enemies understanding, took the advantage thereof, and deftroyed great numbers of them, on that day, without refiftance: Upon which Mattathias above-mentioned, inftruct. ed that for the future they were to defend themfelves upon the fabbath, as well as upon any other day". To preferve in memory the purging of the temple and reftoring the altar, and the daily facrifice, by Judas and his followers, the Jews ordained a feast of eight days, called the feast of the dedication, to be yearly obferved *, at which Christ, in his time, vouchfafed his prefence '. Here, as we may reflect on God's correcting his people for their fins; fo alfo on his justice on their cruel enemies. For Antiochus, above-mentioned, was foon after fmitten by God with an incurable and S 1 Maccab. ix. 31. I t Jofeph. ibid. b. xiii. chap. 5. Jofeph. Antiq. b. xiii. chap. 24. & b. xiv. chap. 1, 2. v Jofeph. Antiq. b. xiii. chap. 19. w Jofeph. Antiq. 1 Maccab, iv. 59, y John x. 22. and invifible plague, and died miferably, acknowledging that he was justly punished for the fake of the Jews, for the facrilegious rifling and profaning of their tempie, and for the contempt of God". CHA P. XXI. From the Jews' Subjection under the Romans, to the Death of Herod. a HE Maccabees having continued fomewhat above one hundred years, there happened afterwards another new change in the government; for the Romans had by their arms overcome a great part of the world: Amongst the reft Pompey, one one of their generals, made the Jews fubject to them; which was occafioned by a quarrel between two brothers, princes of the Maccabees, Hyrcanus II. and Ariftobulus, who both appealed to Pompey, being at that time in Syria, (which he had lately fubdued to the Romans,) each of them ftriving to gain the interest of so great a general, and thereby of the whole Roman power. Pompey conceiving fome danger from Ariftobulus, who was making preparation for a defence, marched against him, and was admitted by one party, who were of his fide, into the city of Jerusalem, whilst the other party, being Ariftobulus's followers, had feized the temple, which Pompey took by storm, b after a Jo z Maccab. xi. Jofeph. Antiq. b. xii. chap. xiii. feph. Antiq. b. xiv. chap. v, vi, vii, viii. and of Wars, b. i. chap. v. b Dion. Caf. lib. xxxvii. p. 41. and Jof. ibid. after a fiege of three months, taking the advan tage of the fabbath-day for the carrying on his works against it: When, although the Jews might defend themselves, (according to the inftruction of Mattathias, above-mentioned) yet they would do no work to hinder the enemies advancing their bulwarks, and fixing their engines of war. Pompey made a great flaughter of the priests and other Jews in the temple, to the number of twelve thousand, and profaned it by entering into the holy of holies, where only the high-prieft was to be admitted; but fuffered not the foldiers to plunder it: And having restored Hyrcanus to the high priesthood and the government, (fubject nevertheÎefs to the, Roman power) he carried Ariftobulus prifoner to Rome, and brought the whole country of Judea under fubjection. From that time the Jews became fubject and tributary to the Romans: Upon which Jofephus makes the following remark; "From this feud between Hyrcanus and "Ariftobulus we may date the ruin of Jerufalem, "with the lofs of our liberty to the Romans, the "impofition of above ten thousand talents, and "the tranflation of the fovereign power, which "had ever, till then, defcended in the priesthood "to the commonalty." In like manner afterwards, exhorting them not to refift the Roman power; "Whence, fays he, are we to date our flavery, but from our own feditious coun66 trymen; when the two factions of Ariftobulus "and Hyrcanus, in ambitious heat of competition, "brought Pompey into the city, and made the Jews 66 d Dion. Caf. lib. xxxvii. p. 41. and Jof. ibid. d Jof. Antiq. b. xiv. chap. viii. с Jof. Wars, b. vi, chap. xi. |