Cleansing and Dedication of the Temple

³⁶ Then said Judas and his brothers, “Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.” ³⁷ So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. ³⁸ And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. ³⁹ Then they rent their clothes, and mourned with great lamentation, and sprinkled themselves with ashes. ⁴⁰ They fell face down on the ground, and sounded the signal on the trumpets, and cried out to Heaven. ⁴¹ Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary.

⁴² He chose blameless priests devoted to the law, ⁴³ and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place. ⁴⁴ They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned. ⁴⁵ And they thought it best to tear it down, lest it bring reproach upon them, for the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar, ⁴⁶ and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them. ⁴⁷ Then they took unhewn^[a] stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one. ⁴⁸ They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts. ⁴⁹ They made new holy vessels, and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. ⁵⁰ Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. ⁵¹ They placed the bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.

⁵² Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year,^{[b] 53} they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built. ⁵⁴ At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. ⁵⁵ All the people fell on their faces and worshiped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. ⁵⁶ So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise. ⁵⁷ They decorated the front of the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the gates and the chambers for the priests, and furnished them with doors. ⁵⁸ There was very great gladness among the people, and the reproach of the Gentiles was removed.

⁵⁹ Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

A Letter to the Jews in Egypt

1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea,

To their Jewish brethren in Egypt,

Greeting, and good peace.

² May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. ³ May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. ⁴ May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. ⁵ May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. ⁶ We are now praying for you here.

⁷ In the reign of Deme′trius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year,^[a] we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom ⁸ and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves. ⁹ And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.^[b]

A Letter to Aristobulus

¹⁰ Those in Jerusalem and those in Judea and the senate and Judas,

To Aristobu′lus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptol′emy the king, and to the Jews in Egypt,

Greeting, and good health.

¹¹ Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king.^{[c] 12} For he drove out those who fought against the holy city. ¹³ For when the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nane′a by a deception employed by the priests of Nane′a. ¹⁴ For under pretext of intending to marry her, Anti′ochus came to the place together with his friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry. ¹⁵ When the priests of the temple of Nane′a had set out the treasures and Anti′ochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it. ¹⁶ Opening the secret door in the ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the leader and his men, and dismembered them and cut off their heads and threw them to the people outside. ¹⁷ Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment upon those who have behaved impiously.

Fire Consumes Nehemiah’s Sacrifice

¹⁸ Since on the twenty-fifth day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the feast of booths and the feast of the fire given when Nehemi′ah, who built the temple and altar, offered sacrifices.

¹⁹ For when our fathers were being led captive to Persia, the pious priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar and secretly hid it in the hollow of a dry cistern, where they took such precautions that the place was unknown to any one. ²⁰ But after many years had passed, when it pleased God, Nehemi′ah, having been commissioned by the king of Persia, sent the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to get it. And when they reported to us that they had not found fire but thick liquid, he ordered them to dip it out and bring it. ²¹ And when the materials for the sacrifices were presented, Nehemi′ah ordered the priests to sprinkle the liquid on the wood and what was laid upon it. ²² When this was done and some time had passed and the sun, which had been clouded over, shone out, a great fire blazed up, so that all marveled. ²³ And while the sacrifice was being consumed, the priests offered prayer—the priests and every one. Jonathan led, and the rest responded, as did Nehemi′ah. ²⁴ The prayer was to this effect:

“O Lord, Lord God, Creator of all things, who art awe-inspiring and strong and just and merciful, who alone art King and art kind, ²⁵ who alone art bountiful, who alone art just and almighty and eternal, who dost rescue Israel from every evil, who didst choose the fathers and consecrate them, ²⁶ accept this sacrifice on behalf of all thy people Israel and preserve thy portion and make it holy. ²⁷ Gather together our scattered people, set free those who are slaves among the Gentiles, look upon those who are rejected and despised, and let the Gentiles know that thou art our God. ²⁸ Afflict those who oppress and are insolent with pride. ²⁹ Plant thy people in thy holy place, as Moses said.”

³⁰ Then the priests sang the hymns. ³¹ And when the materials of the sacrifice were consumed, Nehemi′ah ordered that the liquid that was left should be poured upon large stones. ³² When this was done, a flame blazed up; but when the light from the altar shone back, it went out. ³³ When this matter became known, and it was reported to the king of the Persians that, in the place where the exiled priests had hidden the fire, the liquid had appeared with which Nehemi′ah and his associates had burned the materials of the sacrifice, ³⁴ the king investigated the matter, and enclosed the place and made it sacred. ³⁵ And with those persons whom the king favored he exchanged many excellent gifts. ³⁶ Nehemi′ah and his associates called this “nephthar,” which means purification, but by most people it is called naphtha.^[d]

Jeremiah Hides the Tent, Ark, and Altar

2 One finds in the records that Jeremiah the prophet ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire, as has been told, ² and that the prophet after giving them the law instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord, nor to be led astray in their thoughts upon seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment. ³ And with other similar words he exhorted them that the law should not depart from their hearts.

⁴ It was also in the writing that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God. ⁵ And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance. ⁶ Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. ⁷ When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: “The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. ⁸ And then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated.”

⁹ It was also made clear that being possessed of wisdom Solomon^[e] offered sacrifice for the dedication and completion of the temple. ¹⁰ Just as Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire came down from heaven and devoured the sacrifices, so also Solomon prayed, and the fire came down and consumed the whole burnt offerings. ¹¹ And Moses said, “They were consumed because the sin offering had not been eaten.” ¹² Likewise Solomon also kept the eight days.

¹³ The same things are reported in the records and in the memoirs of Nehemi′ah, and also that he founded a library and collected the books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about votive offerings. ¹⁴ In the same way Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war which had come upon us, and they are in our possession. ¹⁵ So if you have need of them, send people to get them for you.

¹⁶ Since, therefore, we are about to celebrate the purification, we write to you. Will you therefore please keep the days? ¹⁷ It is God who has saved all his people, and has returned the inheritance to all, and the kingship and priesthood and consecration, ¹⁸ as he promised through the law. For we have hope in God that he will soon have mercy upon us and will gather us from everywhere under heaven into his holy place, for he has rescued us from great evils and has purified the place.

The Compiler’s Preface

¹⁹ The story of Judas Maccabe′us and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar,

Purification of the Temple

10 Now Maccabe′us and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city; ² and they tore down the altars which had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts. ³ They purified the sanctuary, and made another altar of sacrifice; then, striking fire out of flint, they offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years, and they burned incense and lighted lamps and set out the bread of the Presence. ⁴ And when they had done this, they fell prostrate and besought the Lord that they might never again fall into such misfortunes, but that, if they should ever sin, they might be disciplined by him with forbearance and not be handed over to blasphemous and barbarous nations. ⁵ It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. ⁶ And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals. ⁷ Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place. ⁸ They decreed by public ordinance and vote that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year.