Maccabees

[ mak-uh-beez ]

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.

Maccabees

/ 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

Maccabees

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 .

Example Sentences

Hanukkah, also known as Judaism’s festival of lights, marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century B.C., after a small group of Jewish fighters known as the Maccabees liberated it from occupying Syrian forces.

From Seattle Times

But the Maccabees’ story did not go away.

From Slate

Instead, it recounts the Maccabees’ victory, but credits God—not human strength—with their success.

From Slate

In one, recounted in the First and Second Books of Maccabees, a small band of ancient Jewish zealots defeat the Seleucid army, which is intent on eliminating Jewish religious and cultural practice, and has defiled the Temple in Jerusalem with idol worship.

From Slate

The Talmudic transformation of Chanukah’s story from one focused on a military victory to one based on a divine miracle reflects the rabbis’ antipathy toward the regime that the Maccabees’ victory established: a ruling group known as the Hasmoneans.

From Slate