by
Damien F. Mackey
One of the themes running through I and II Maccabees appears to be
the ancient wars between Israel and the
Philistines.
The five Maccabean brothers who fought so
courageously for Jerusalem against the far more numerous and better-armed
Seleucid Greeks must have been told by their father, Mattathias, wondrous
stories about the heroes of Israel, including David.
At last, a dying Mattathias will run
through a roll-call of famous OT characters, commencing with Abraham (I
Maccabees 2:51-61), and not failing to mention David (v. 57): ‘David inherited the throne of the kingdom
forever because he was merciful’.
Judas himself was wont to recall the
heroic exploits of some of these great ancestors when confronted by massive
Greek armies, for example Lysias in his first campaign against the Jews (I
Maccabees 4:28): “The
next year [Lysias] gathered together sixty thousand select men and five
thousand cavalry, intending to subdue the Israelites”.
Here,
Judas will recall David, and also his beloved friend, Jonathan, and his
armour-bearer (vv. 30-33):
When Judas saw how numerous their army
was, he prayed:
‘Blessed are you, Savior of Israel, who
crushed the attack of the mighty warrior through the power of your servant
David.
You handed over the camp of the
Philistines to Saul’s son Jonathan and the man who carried his armor.
So surround this army by the power of
your people Israel, and let them be disappointed by their troops and cavalry.
Fill them with cowardice. Melt away the
boldness of their strength. Let them quake in their destruction.
Strike them down with the sword of those
who love you, and let all who know your name
praise you with
hymns’.
One of the themes running through I and
II Maccabees appears to be the ancient wars between Israel and the Philistines.
Thus the defeated Gorgias and his men “all fled into the land of the Philistines”
(4:22).
And the Jews sang hymns of victory,
including (David’s?) Psalm 136: “For
he is good, for his mercy endures forever” (I Maccabees 4:24).
The author may well have had in mind the
flight of the Philistines after their hero Goliath had been killed (I Samuel
17:51-53):
When the
Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the
men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines
to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were
strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites
returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
Cf.
I Maccabees 4:23: “Then Judas returned to plunder the camp …”.
On
another occasion (5:68): “… Judas turned aside to Azotus in the land of the
Philistines. Judas tore down their altars, and he burned the carved images of
their gods with fire. He plundered the towns and returned to Judah”.
Judas
orders the beheading of Nicanor
The Greek general
Nicanor will suffer the same fate as had Goliath - and “Holofernes” at the hands of Judith after
him – a beheading by Israel.
When Nicanor
had first advanced against the Holy Land “… at the head of an international
force of at least twenty thousand men, to exterminate the entire Jewish race”
(2 Maccabees 8:9), we read that “… the fainthearted and those who lacked
confidence in the justice of God took to their heels and ran away” (8:13).
This was
similar to the reaction amongst the Israelites when Goliath had thundered against
them (I Samuel 17:10): ‘… I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a
man, that we may fight together’. “When Saul and all Israel heard these words
of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid” (v. 11).
Nicanor,
like Goliath, was full of boastfulness and blasphemies.
Judas
Maccabeus, for his part - like David - trusted in his God.
2 Maccabees
15:6-7: “While Nicanor, in his unlimited boastfulness and pride, was planning
to erect a public trophy with the spoils taken from Judas and his men, [Judas] Maccabaeus
remained firm in his confident conviction that the Lord would stand by him”.
Here is the dramatic
account of the fall of the tyrant, Nicanor.
2
Maccabees 15:25-35:
Nicanor and his men advanced to the sound of trumpets and
war songs, but the men of Judas closed with the enemy uttering invocations and
prayers.
Fighting with their hands and praying to God in their
hearts, they cut down at least thirty-five thousand men and were greatly
cheered by this divine manifestation.
When the engagement was ended and they were withdrawing
in triumph they recognised Nicanor, lying dead in full armour.
With shouting and confusion all around, they blessed the
sovereign Master in the language of their ancestors.
The man who had devoted himself entirely, body and soul,
to the service of his countrymen, and had always preserved the love he had felt
even in youth for those of his own race, gave orders for Nicanor’s head to be
cut off, together with his arm and shoulder, and taken to Jerusalem.
When he arrived there himself, he called together his
countrymen and the priests; then standing in front of the altar he sent for the
people from the Citadel.
He showed them the head of the infamous Nicanor, and the
hand which the blasphemer had stretched out so insolently against the holy
house of the Almighty.
Then, cutting out the tongue of the godless Nicanor, he
gave orders for it to be fed piecemeal to the birds, and for the reward of his
folly to be hung up in sight of the Temple.
At this everyone sent blessings heavenward to the
glorious Lord, saying, ‘Blessings on him who has preserved his own dwelling
from pollution!’
He hung Nicanor’s head from the Citadel, a clear and
evident sign to all of the help of the Lord.
Judas as
a giant
I Maccabees
3:3 depicts Judas “like a giant”:
He advanced the honor of his people.
He put on his breastplate like a giant.
He strapped on his war armor
and waged battles,
protecting the camp with his sword.
Which “sword”?
Had not
Judas - just like David, who had taken the sword of Goliath - appropriated the
sword of one of his enemies?
3:10-12:
Apollonius gathered Gentiles and a large force from
Samaria to fight against Israel. When Judas found out about it, he went
out to meet him in battle, then defeated and killed him. Judas wounded and
killed many, while the rest fled. Then the Israelites seized their spoils.
Judas took Apollonius’ sword and used it in battle for the rest of his life.
Cf. 1 Samuel 21:
David told
Ahimelech, ‘Is there no spear or sword available here? I took
neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s mission is urgent’.
The priest said, “
‘The sword of
Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah is wrapped
up in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it because there is no
other except it here’.
So David said, ‘There
is none like it. Give it to me’.
Goliath, too, had brothers
Goliath's Brothers In The Bible - Bible Wisdom Hub
In the Bible, Goliath
is famously known as the giant Philistine warrior who was defeated by the young
shepherd David in a dramatic showdown. However, Goliath was not the only
formidable figure among his family members. According to the biblical account, Goliath
had several brothers who were also renowned for their strength and prowess in
battle.
One of Goliath’s
well-known brothers was Lahmi, who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 20:5. Although
not as prominent as Goliath, Lahmi was also a formidable warrior who fought
alongside his brother in battles against the Israelites. The Bible does not
provide as much detail about Lahmi as it does about Goliath, but his mention
indicates that he too was a significant presence on the battlefield.
Another one of
Goliath’s brothers is referred to as the “brother of Goliath the Gittite” in 2
Samuel 21:19. This unnamed brother was also a giant, with six fingers on each
hand and six toes on each foot, totaling twenty-four in all. Like Goliath, he
was a fierce warrior who posed a formidable threat to the Israelites. In a
similar fashion to Goliath, this brother was eventually defeated in battle by
one of King David’s mighty men.
The existence of
Goliath’s brothers serves to underscore the strength and prowess of the
Philistine warriors during that time period. It also highlights the ongoing
conflicts and battles between the Philistines and the Israelites, with each
side fielding formidable fighters to engage in combat.
While Goliath may be
the most well-known of his brothers, the mentions of Lahmi and the unnamed
giant show that the family of giants was a force to be reckoned with in the
biblical narrative. Their stories add depth and context to the legendary tale
of David and Goliath, showcasing the complex and often brutal nature of ancient
warfare in the biblical world.
Judas had four brothers.
And these five Maccabeans have been represented as being tall and very
strong men.
I refer to the story of “Athronges” and his four brothers fighting for Judah
during the Infancy of Jesus Christ (to where I would re-date the Maccabees):
Religious war raging in Judah during the
Infancy of Jesus
(3) Religious war
raging in Judah during the Infancy of Jesus
Finally,
when Judas dies, the eulogy is straight from David’s “How are the mighty
fallen!” (I Samiel 1:27).
Cf. 1 Maccabees 9:21:
“What a mighty one has fallen, saving Israel!”
