Library/Deuterocanon

1 Maccabees

A sober, almost political history of the revolt: Mattathias, Judah, Jonathan, Simon. Temple restored, alliances made, brothers killed. The Animal Apocalypse of Enoch is watching the same decades with different animals.

Status: Catholic & Orthodox deuterocanon
Date: c. 100 BCE
Languages: Hebrew (lost) · Greek
Setting: Judea under Antiochus IV and the Hasmoneans

What it contains

Persecution
Revolt
Temple rededication
Hasmonean succession

Why it sits outside most canons

Not in the Tanakh; Reformers dropped it. Still the main narrative of Hanukkah’s war.

Themes

Zeal
Temple
Empire
Law

Passages

1 Maccabees 2:27
Whoever is zealous for the law and supports the covenant, let him come out with me.