Excerpt from “The Feasts of the Lord” By: Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal
The word “Channukah” in Hebrew means “dedication”; the holiday is so named because it celebrates the rededication of the Temple to the Lord after it was desecrated by the Greco-Syrian soldiers in 165 B.C. The Chanukkah story preserves the epic struggle and the heroic exploits of one of the greatest Jewish victories of all time-independence from Greco-Syrian oppression. The festival is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, the 9th month on the Hebrew calendar (which roughly corresponds to the month of December on the Gregorian calendar.
Alexander the Great of Greece defeated the mighty Medo-Persian empire of King Darius, III in 332B.C., conquering all the known world from Europe to Egypt to the borders of India. Alexanders untimely death at age 33 resulted in the division of his empire between four of his generals, Seleucus, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander. Israel was strategically located between Syria and Egypt, the land bridge between the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 171 B.C., Antiochus IV came to the Seleucid throne in Syria He was a harsh, cruel, and savage tyrant. He wore his pride like a garment, believing he was a deity in the flesh, and called himself “Antiochus Theos Epiphanes” (Antiochus the visible god). His goal was to “Hellenize” or impose Greek language, thought, and religion on his subjects in an effort to assimilate his diverse empire.
In response, two political factions arose in Israel, the Orthodox party, which was committed to preserving Judaism and the pure worship of the God of Israel; and the “progressive” Hellenist party comprised most of the Israelite aristocracy. They had little concern for the faith of their fathers, and saw only the economic and social advantages of appearing “enlightened, civilized, and accepted” by the Hellenistic world. These two groups were the ancestors of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to reunify the Greek empire as in the days of Alexander, wherein he tried to invade Egypt, and was forced to withdraw in humiliation after being confronted by Roman military power, Antiochus without warning ordered his generals to destroy Jerusalem. Jewish homes were burned, the walls of the city were breached, and tens of thousands of Jews were killed or sold into slavery. Greco-Syrian soldiers then turned to attack the Temple on Mt. Zion, smashing its gates and porches and looting the sanctuary of its golden vessels and treasures. On Kislev 15, 168 B.C., Antiochus erected an idol of Zeus, the supreme deity of the Greek pantheon, on the holy altar in the courtyard. On December 25 (Zeus’ birthday), Antiochus offered a pig on the altar, sprinkled its blood on the Holy of Holies, and poured its broth (entrails) over the holy Torah scrolls before cutting them to pieces and burning them. The Temple was converted to a shrine to Zeus, and only swine were permitted for sacrifice. The sanctuary of the Most High had been polluted and profaned, desecrated and defiled! The Israelites were traumatized and left utterly desolate. Antiochus then issued an edict forbidding the practice of Judaism on pain of death and enforced it by house searches.
In the small town of Modi’in, 17 miles NW of Jerusalem, a detachment of Greco-Syrian soldiers arrived to build a pagan altar to Zeus. An aged priest named Mattathias was singled out and ordered to sacrifice a pig to the Greek gods in honor of Antiochus. Mattathias refused; at that moment, an apostate priest approached the altar and requested permission to offer the pig. Afterward, the townspeople would be forced to eat the pig’s flesh. A holy indignation burned in Mattathias’ breast; he seized a sword from the Syrian commander and killed him with it. Running forward, he impaled the apostate Jew. Mattathias’ five sons attacked and killed the rest of the soldiers and pulled down the altar. Knowing that Antiochus’ retribution would be swift and bloody, they and the faithful of Modi’in, fled to the hills of Judea, leaving almost all their belongings behind.
As word of the rebellion spread, hundreds of Jews joined the ranks of the freedom fighters, who launched a guerilla warfare campaign against Syrian outposts, destroying shrines, and chastising apostate sympathizers. Within a year, the aged Mattathias grew sick and died, but before dying, passed his leadership to his son Judah, called the Maccabee, whose name comes from the Hebrew word “makkevet”, or hammer. For three years the revolt raged. The Maccabees hid in caves and ambushed their enemies from concealed positions. They gradually frustrated and wore down the Greco-Syrian armies who occupied their land. Finally, the freedom fighters met the enemy in open battle, securing stunning victories at Beth-Horon and Emmaus, opening the road to Jerusalem.
When the army of Judah the hammer entered Jerusalem, finding waist-high weeds in the courtyard, and the abominable Zeus idol with the face of Antiochus, they tore their clothes, threw dust on their heads, and wept. They then began the arduous process of cleansing the Sanctuary. Because of the pollution to the altar, they pulled down its stones and stored them, “until there should come a prophet (Messiah?) to give an answer concerning them” (1 Macc. 4:44-46). They rebuilt the holy altar and on Kislev 25, 165 B.C., exactly three years to the day from its defilement, they rededicated the altar to the Lord.
According to Jewish tradition in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b) the Maccabees found only one small cruse of unpolluted oil in the Temple which still bore the unbroken seal of the high priest. It was but one day’s supply for the golden lampstand. Miraculously, it burned for eight days until a new supply of oil could be consecrated. This is why Chanukkah lasts for eight days.
The most likely origin of the popular oil cruse story was an attempt to religiously redirect the central focus on Channukah way from the Maccabean dynasty, which later became very corrupt. This would explain why it is only rarely mentioned in the Talmud. This would also be more politically expedient during the 1st century A.D. under Roman occupation. Stories of Jewish uprising against occupying forces would not be “politically correct. The Jewish historian Josephus (1st century A.D.) knew the holiday as the Feast of Lights (Antiquities of the Jews 12.7.7) centuries before the oil cruse tradition was suggested.
The modern celebration of Channukah includes the lighting of candles on a nine-headed menorah called a Chanukiah, which holds eight candles. The ninth candle, called the “shammash” or servant candle, is used to light the rest, from left to right, and a special blessing is recited before and after the lights are kindled, thanking God for His deliverance. The Chanukiah is placed in the front window of the house so that all who pass by may see the lights and be reminded of the meaning of Channukah.
Channukah is a time of gift-giving, especially in America where it had been heavily impacted by Christmas, due to the similar dates of celebration. An earlier tradition, preserved from eastern Europe, involves the giving of Channukah “gelt” (Yiddish for money). On the fifth night of the celebration, parents and grandparents gather their children and give them coins. Channukah is also a special time of the year for Tzedakah or charity. The holiday also features games, especially the children’s game of the dreidel (Yiddish) or sivivon (Hebrew). It is a 4-sided top with one Hebrew letter on each side. The letters are the first letters of the words in the phrase “Nes gadol Hayah Sham”, or “.A Great miracle happened there.” Foil covered chocolate coins are put in a pot, and the dreidel top spun to see who won or lost. The celebration is also marked by food, particularly fried potato cakes, or latkes and deep fired donuts filled with jelly, called “sufganiyot”. Songs including “Maoz Tzur” or “Mighty Rock” are sung in Ashkenazi homes.
Channukah also closely parallels the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot in Hebrew), which is celebrated over 7 days. The Hallel (Psalms 113-118) originally sung only on Sukkot, is often sung at Channukah synagogue services, as did the Maccabees (2 Macc.10:7). The emphasis on lights comes from King Solomon’s dedication of the first Temple to the Lord, he did so at the Feast of tabernacles (2Chr.5:3). That dedication was accompanied by the coming of the Shekinah glory to the Temple, and the Divine lighting of the fire upon the sacrificial altar(2Chr. 7:1).
NEW TESTAMENT IMPLICATIONS: It was only natural that during Channukah, a celebration of freedom from foreign oppression, that thoughts of national deliverance would be aroused. In the days of Yeshua/Jesus, Israel was looking for the ultimate deliverer, the Messiah himself, to overthrow Roman rule. In John 10:22, we find Yeshua walking in the Temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade during winter. It was the time of Channukah. “So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, ’How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly! Yeshua answered them, ‘I have already told you, and you don’t trust me. The works I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf, but the reason you do not trust is that you are not included among my sheep … I and my Father are one.’ Once again, the Judeans picked up rocks in order to stone him.”
According to Rabbi Jonathan Bernis; the rocks these Judeans were ready to stone the Messiah with were the remnants of the stones from the desecrated altar in Temple that was torn down and replaced during the Maccabbes cleansing of the Temple in 165 B.C. “until there should come a prophet to give an answer concerning them” (1Macc. 4:44-46). These altar stones were preserved because they had been in the Shekinah presence of God in Solomon’s time.
Yeshua already identified himself as the “Good Shepherd of Israel” (Jn.10:11, Ps.80:1, Isa.40;11, Ezek. 34:12-23). But there could be no new occasion of Channukah, the overthrow of Gentile rule, for the nation was still blind in the rejection of their Savior.
I highly recommend “The Feasts of the Lord” By: Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal. It would make a great addition to your library for bible study.
