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20
PARTI:JUDEAUNDERTHEHASMONAEANS(167–63BCE)
whomitcametobeknownastheMaccabeanrevolt.Nosourceexplainswhenandwhy
thechangeinleadershipoccurred.Perhaps,asmanyscholarssuggest,Simon’spart
isalaterinterpolationmeanttohighlighthisroleretroactively,butthemostprobable
explanationsseemtobethatheresignedofhisownaccord.Inthis,hemayhavebeen
actingonthebeliefthatJudah’stemperamentandwarrior’sfamehehadalreadywon
(cf.1Macc2:66)wouldgivetherevoltthenewmomentumitneeded.Simonwasprob-
ablyawareofthemovement’sstilllimitedextentaswellasofhisownweaknesses.This
hypothesisseemssubstantiatedbyMattathias’opinionthatSimonwasbettersuitedfor
politicalratherthanmilitaryleadership(1Macc2:65).Itmustbeadmittedthatinthe
commonstruggleSimonalwaysstoodbyhisbrother,afactofmajorimportancetotheir
jointsuccesses.IfSimonwasindeedguidedbysuchinspiration,hewasdisplayinggreat
shrewdness,forunderJudah’scommandtherevoltindeedquicklyroseinstrengthand
gainedmomentum.
Inthe1Maccversion,Judahappearsasthevictoriouscommanderofapower-
fulinsurgency,tocombatwhichtheSyrianauthoritieshadtodispatchconsiderable
forces.Apoeticvisionofhisearlierfeats(1Macc3:3–9)isnotveryspecificabout
facts.Richlysymbolic,itpaintsapictureofhissuccessesagainsttheHellenistswhich
helpedaffirmhisfameandleadership(1Macc3:8–9).Withsuchassets,Judahfaced
nodifficultywithrecruitmentandcouldproceedtoorganizeandtrainaregularin-
surgentarmywhichshortlyattainedconsiderablepotential.SomemoredetailsonJu-
dah’sactivityatthetimeprecedinghisskirmisheswithSyriantroopsareofferedby
2Macc,animportantcomplementtothestoryof1Macc.Bothaccountsagreethat
beforeJudahrosetothecommand,therevoltwaspurelylocalinsize.Asissuggested
by2Macc(8:1–4),beforeheembarkedoncombatingSyrianforces,Judahwithhis
followerscontinuedfightingtheHellenistswhileadmittingvolunteerstohisarmy.His
recruitmenteffortshelpedhimgatherca.6,000menunderhiscommand(2Macc8:1).
Thisenabledhimtowidengreatlyhisfrontofoperationsagainstreligiousopponents.
Healsoincorporatednewelementstowardachangeinhisstrategy,forhesuccessfully
attemptedtocaptureselectedstrategiclocations(2Macc8:6)tosecuremorelasting
controloverchosenareasofJudea.Suchcontrolaffordedabetterchancetoprepare
furthermilitaryoperations,soldiertraining,andprovisionofbetterconditionsforrest
andrecreationtohismen.Still,weneednotexaggeratetheimpactofsuchsuccesses
assomeofthemwereprobablyephemeralandneverposedaseriousthreattotheSyr-
ianadministration.Judah’scombateffectivenessstillreliedonhistime-testedguer-
rillatacticswhichincludedharassingtheenemyinnightattacks(2Macc8:6–7).The
ideologicalfoundationofallsuchactionswasstilldefenseofancestralreligion.Inthe
absenceofanymentionsaboutit,itisdifficulttodetermineifandtowhatextentJudah
employedMattathias’methodsagainsthisadversaries.Weknowofonemethodof
inflictingsevereblowswhichwassystematicdestructionoftheirproperty(cf.2Macc
8:6)oritsconfiscation.38
ThegrowingmightoftheforceunderJudah’scommandanditsexpandingfield
ofoperationcouldnotbeindefinitelydismissedorignoredbytheSyrianauthorities.
ComplaintsfromtheHellenistsaffectedbytheinsurgents’actionscalledforafirm
38Cf.Pastor1997:51–52,53–54.
