1 Maccabees

1 9.9

A Jewish book that tells the story of Judas Maccabeus and the revolt against Greek rulers

proper noun
/wʌn ˈmækəbiːz/

: 1 Macabeos

The book 1 Maccabees describes the Jewish revolt against the Seleucids.

Examples

The narrative in 1 Maccabees focuses on the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus.
In Bible study, we discussed the historical significance of 1 Maccabees for Jewish resistance.
Many scholars analyze 1 Maccabees to understand the origins of Hanukkah.
Have you read 1 Maccabees for your history class?
In Bible study, we discussed the historical significance of 1 Maccabees for Jewish resistance.
Many scholars analyze 1 Maccabees to understand the origins of Hanukkah.
The narrative in 1 Maccabees focuses on the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus.

Synonyms

I Maccabees

vs1 Maccabees

Literature

9.9

An old Jewish religious book that tells the story of the revolt led by Judas Maccabeus

has identical content but uses a different numeral style in writing

Surface Forms

1 Maccabees main

Morphology

one + Maccabees

The title is compositionally transparent: the numeral 'one' (here understood as 'first') combined with the book name 'Maccabees' indicates the first book in the Maccabees corpus. This numbering convention for book titles (e.g. 1 Samuel, 2 Kings) is cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is the first Maccabees book rather than an idiomatic or shifted meaning.

Etymology

1 Maccabees is an old historical book found in some Bibles. It tells how Judas Maccabeus led a Jewish revolt to win back their temple and describes the events that began the festival called 'Hanukkah', so 1 Maccabees is used to mean that historical account of the revolt.