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Eleazar

His fingu lar intre pidity.

falem, and to fee either his orders more punctually obeyeds or the recufants punished with the moft exquifite cruelties. One of the first that fell a victim to his fury was the venerable Eleazar, a man of ninety years of age, refpected by martyred. all for his great learning, probity, and zeal for his religion, and whofe example had preferved a great number of Jews from falling into apoftafy. Him they brought upon the ftage, and commanded to eat fwine's flesh; and, when they could not prevail upon him by any means to comply, they defired him that at least he would, out of regard to his extreme old age, confent to eat fome other unforbidden flesh, that they might make the king believe that he had obeyed. The good old man answered, with becoming courage, that the moft dreadful death was preferable to fuch a base diffimulation, fo unworthy his old age and character, and fo dangerous in its confequence, fince it might be the means of feducing many of his nation to follow his example. As foon as he had ended this fpeech, which was interpreted as the effect of his pride rather than of his zeal, he was dragged to execution. When he was ready to expire he cried out, with a loud voice, “O Lord, thou knoweft what pains I fuffer in my body, from which I might have freed myself; but my foul feels a real joy, because I fuffer them for the fake of thy law :" and Beven bre- fetching a deep groan, gave up the ghoft. After him, the seven brethren, whofe martyrdom is related in the fame book', fuffered, one after another, the most exquifite torment, with invincible courage and conftancy, whilst their mother ftood by, encouraging and strengthening them, in the Hebrew tongue, with the affurance of a glorious recompence in the next life; for which she was, laft of all, facrificed to the tyrant's fury, and died with the fame chearfulness and intrepidity which she had inspired into her offspring (S).

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It was about this time that Mattathias, an eminent priest Mattaof the family of Joarib, began to fignalize himself by his thias's emizeal for his religion. He had been, fome time before, and braforced to retire to Modin, his native place, to fhun the fight of those scenes of cruelty and profanenefs, which were acted at Jerufalem by Apollonius, and the apoftate Jews. During his recefs, Apelles, one of the king's officers, came to oblige the inhabitants of the place to execute his commands. Having got the people together, with Mattathias, and his five fons (T), he addreffed himfelf to him on account of his dignity, and the great esteem he was in, hoping, that if he could perfuade him to comply, his example would foon draw all the reft. He made him the ampleft promises, that the king's favour and protection would be the immediate reward of his compliance. Mattathias answered him, with a voice loud Noble anenough to be heard by all the affembly, that though the Swer to whole Jewish nation, and the whole world, were to con- Apelles. form to the king's edict, yet both he and his fons would continue faithful to their God to the last minute of their lives; and that no confideration fhould prevail on them to forfake the religion of their forefathers. In the mean time the king's officers had prevailed on fome cowardly Jews to take another way; and one of them was just then going to facrifice to an idol, when the old prieft, calling to mind what the law of Mofes ordains against such tranfgreffors, that they should be put to immediate death', fell upon the man, and killed him upon the fpot. His Heads the fons, at the fame time, being fired with the fame zeal, Jews a killed the king's officer and his men, overthrew the altar gain the Syrians. and idol, and, running about the city, cried out, that those who were zealous for the law of God, should fol

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Yr. of Fl. 2181.

167.

low them by which means they faw themfelves at the head of a numerous troop, with whom they foon after withdrew into fome of the deferts of Judæa. These were prefently followed by great numbers, who, to avoid perfecution, flocked to them from other parts of the country.

As foon as Mattathias and his men had reached a place of fafety, they began to confult about the beft means for ftanding on their own defence. Here the remembrance of thofe of their brethren, who had suffered themselves to be butchered by their enemies on the fabbath, foon made them fenfible of their danger, unless they steered a different courfe; for, as long as they continued in that scrupulous notion of non-refiftance, for fear of breaking the fabbath, they would be still liable to the fame ftratagems, and by that means, in a little time, be totally extirpated. Having therefore maturely weighed the matter, and confulted other learned priefts and rulers that were come over to them, it was refolved that, for the future, it should be lawful, nay, obligatory, to take up arms in their own defence, whenever they were attacked, on the fabbath as well as on any other day". This decree having been privately communicated to the Jews, in and out of Palestine, together with their reafons for paffing it, it was univer fally received by all; and from that time they made no difficulty to defend their lives and properties at all times, and upon all occafions (U).

Mattathias having ftrengthened his little army with these and other ftout and religious men, who daily reAnte Chr. forted to him, began to try his force, not only against their perfecutors, but also against his apoftate brethren, As of these as he took he put to death; the reft, in Mattathias many reflores the much greater numbers, he forced to fly into foreign counworship of tries, to fecure themselves from his refentment. Having once ftruck terror into the hearts of his enemies, he marched from city to city, overturned the idolatrous altars, opened the Jewish fynagogues, which had till then been either fhut up or appropriated to other ufes, made a dilithe facred gent fearch after all the facred books which had efcaped the fury of their enemies, and ordered fresh copies of

God.
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cities. Recovers

books.

"Jofeph. 1 Maccab. ubi fupra.

(U) Among those who reforted to, and did not a little ftrengthen, the inconfiderable flying army of Mattathias, were the Affideans, or rather Haffide

ans, a brave and ftrenuous fect, formed among the Jews foon after their return from the captivity.

them

them to be written. He caufed the reading and expounding of the Scriptures, prayers, and other parts of divine worship, to be refumed, and all the males born fince the perfecution to be circumcifed. In all these measures God bleffed him with fuch fuccefs, that he had extended this reformation through a confiderable part of Judæa, within the short space of one year; and, in all likelihood, would have gone through with it, even to Jerufalem, where the ftrongest Syrian garison was kept, had he not been prevented by death. But what he left unfinished, was foon after perfected by his worthy fons, efpecially by Judas Maccabeus, of whom we shall speak more fully in the next section.

In the mean time Mattathias, finding himfelf quite His lat worn out with age and fickness, called his fons together, Speech to and spoke to them to this effect: "Hitherto pride and op- his fons. preffion have been fuffered to profper over us, for a punishment of our fins; but now be ye valiant and zealous for God's laws, and fear not to expose your lives in defence of God's covenant with your forefathers, if you expect the reward promised to it. Call to your remembrance the obedience of Abraham, the faithfulness of Jofeph, the zeal of Phinehas, Caleb's courage, David's conftancy, Elijah's zeal, and the intrepidity of Daniel and his faithful companions. Let their miraculous deliverance infpire you with a fure truft in the Almighty's protection. `Be not difcouraged by the threats and weak efforts of the greatest men, who, though they seem to triumph now, will fhortly be cut off, and become the food of worms; but arm yourselves with courage, in defence of our laws, liberties, and religion, and you will not fail of fuccefs. Simon, your eldest brother, has always fhewed himself a man of confummate wifdom; let him fupply the office of a father and a counsellor, and do nothing without his advice. Judas is well known to you all for his valour and conduct; let him be your general, and lead you against your enemies. And heaven crown his and may lour with glory and fuccefs !" Having thus faid, he expired Ante Chr. in a good old age, and was buried at Modin with his anceftors, greatly lamented by all the faithful in Ifrael (X).

II Maccab. ii. 43, & feq.

your va

Yr. of Fl.

2182.

166.

He His death.

y Ibid. ii. 49. ad fin. (X) The first book of Mac- of the era of the Seleucida. cabees barely tells us, that he Some therefore have taken it died in the one hundred and in the former fense; but the forty-fixth year, without men- far greater part in the lat tioning whether of his life, or ter; for the one hundred and

forty.

Judas

Maccabeus Jucceeds his father.

He was, according to his defire, fucceeded by his fon
Judas in the command of the army; and by him the
Jewish religion and ftate were foon after restored to their
ancient splendor, as we shall fee in the next fection.

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The Sequel of the Jewish Hiftory, from Judas Maccabeus to the Conqueft of Judea by the Romans.

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UDAS, furnamed Maccabeus, from whom the heroes of this epocha had the name of Maccabees (Y), did not fuffer his troops to continue longer idle than till they

forty-fixth year of the kingdom of the Greeks, falls exactly with the Julian year 166 before Chrift, which is the year in which he died.

(Y) There are various conjectures concerning the etymology of the word, and not one of them to be depended upon; not only because nothing is more uncertain than etymologies, but because the book of the Maccabees being only extant in Greek, we have no certainty which were the original letters of the world.

The first book of the Maccabees was written originally, either in Hebrew or the Chaldee, which became the current language of the Jews, after the captivity. Its ftyle and phrafe come nearest that of the facred hiftorians of any of the Apocrypha, and its chronological computation is purely Hebrew, and begins always at the month Nifan, anfwering to our March and April; whereas the Syrians, &c. began their year fix months later.

It contains a clear and fuccinct history of what happened to the Jews, from the reign of

had

Antiochus Epiphanes, to the death of the high-priest Simon, that is, of about forty years. It was partly compiled from the memoirs which Judas Maccabeus had caufed to be collected, and partly from those of the high-prieft Hyrcanus, the fon of Simon, who began his government where the book ends, and who is therefore by fome fuppofed to be the author of it, though he be barely quoted in it, as having furnifhed him the materials out of his chronicle.

The fecond book of the Maccabees is an epitome of a larger hiftory written by one Jafon, but long fince loft. Both the author and the abridger feem to have been Hellenists, by their manner of computation and ftyle; or rather it looks like a collection of some valuable pieces, relating to the Jewish history, from the attempt of Heliodorus upon the treafury of the temple, to the fignal victory which Judas Maccabeus gained over Nicanor fifteen years after.

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We have already spoken of the third book of the Macca

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