PI commanders described in the second half of the verse This

correspondence is further confirmed by the fact that they are | appointed by Judas. The Maccabaean commanders clearly correspond | to the «commanders of the hosts* of Dt 20.9b ( A i M , ’!

LXX TfiO A<i00 ) . j

The pre-eminent position of Judas at Mizpah and in the subsequent campaigns prompts the question as to whether he should be regarded as a charismatic leader in the old sense (394).

In 1 Maccabees 9.21 Judas is described in eulogy as a «warrior champion* ( , i.e. 4*/? ), and as the “deliverer*

(<TW^WK ) of Israel. The ancient charismatic war-leader was essentially a deliverer ( ^ ^ , Ju 3*9,15; of Ju 2.16,18; 3*31 ; 8.22; 13*5).

It is clear, moreover, that the leadership throughout the Revolt

is the prerogative of the Hasrooxiaean house (cf Simon's address to

the people, 1 M 13*3-7), and that that leadership must not be

challenged.

According to 1 Maccabees 5.62 only the house of Hashmon was

destined to bring deliverance to Israel (395). Perhaps the episode of the priests who ventured rashly into battle (l M 5*67) may partly be understood in this connection.

Thus, to the mind at least of the writer of First Maccabees, the

have appeared as worthy successors of the charismatic leaders of the ancient holy wars.

J

102

XV Cb.aracteri.sation of the Maccabaean warriors .

As noted above (pp 98foot~99), the authors of First and Second Maccabees make no direct reference to Deuteronomic regulations for

the cultic purity of warrior or camp. Nor is there any explicit mention of warrior abstinence (so. cultic chastity) such as we find in the episodes of David's warriors (l Sam 21.1-10) and Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam 11,6-13). This does not mean that the accepted laws

of levitical purity (e.g., the regulations dealing with physical ' uncleanness of Lev 15) would not be scrupulously observed by faithful Jews in the Maccabaean period (396); nor should we assume that the authors of First and Second Maccabees regarded the warrior and ^ warfare as being outwith the sphere of the cult (397). It is ^ necessary, despite the “secular* tone of First Maccabees, to view

1

the Maccabaean Revolt in relation to the contemporary spiritual

movement of intense devotion to the Law, for it is precisely this | Torah-centred Judaism which is the cause to which the Maccabees, :j

initially at any rate,commit themselves and their forces. Defence 1 of Torah, and of the whole religious way of life which it inculcates, is the mark of resistance, passive and militant, against renegade hellenisers as well as alien persecutors. The faithful were willing not only to suffer and die for the Torah, there were also those who were willing to fight and kill for the Torah (398). Complete devotion to the Law brings a new emphasis, indeed, a new dimension to the concept of warrior consecration : to the cult of purity is added an ethic of piety which makes faithful observance of the Law the supreme rule of life. This is reflected in specific statements dealing with the composition of the Maccabaean army and the

characterisation of its men.

According to 1 Maccabees 2.28,39,42-43 , three distinct groups constitute the army recruited by Mattathias (399)-

Initially there is a comparatively small band comprising Mattathias, his sons, and immediate followers ( w 28,39). These are joined by a

"contingent of Hasidaeans" (400) specifically described (v 42). The array is further augmented by "all who sought refuge from the

troubles" (v 43). Verses 29-38 of the same chapter may indicate the history of a similar company of fugitives. We should not too readily assume that such fugitives are to be identified completely or

necessarily with the Hasidaeans of verse 42, or, that the company mentioned in verses 29-38 formed a fighting force which simply

desisted from hostilities on the Sabbath (401). The brief references in these passages do not seem to warrant such assumptions. Indeed, the opposite may appear more likely from the description of the

fugitives in verses 29-38. They are portrayed as pious Jews who have fled to the open country with their families and their cattle (402) in order to practise their faith and maintain their Law undisturbed

(cf 1 M 1.531 2 M 6.11). When the test comes — in the form of the challenge and ultimatum of the Seleucid forces — they prefer to «meet death with a clear conscience" rather than compromise the Law (403) and betray their faith. These particular Jews are doubtless only one community among many who, in the course of the persecution undez" Antiochus Bpiphanes, preferred to leave the towns to the

apostates and the Temple to its defilers. To remain in the towns meant either renouncing Law and Covenant or facing torture and

martyrdom (4o4). The purpose, therefore, of their retreat "into the wilds* is not in the first instance the deliberate formation of a military resistance force (405), but rather the establishing of a true community — indeed, the "true Israel* — on the basis of Torah and Covenant. The entry of Hasidaeans into military alliance with the house of Hashmon may well have been the decisive event which persuaded some of the fugitives to take up arms in defence of

their religion. It is certainly more than coincidental that at the outset of his campaign of armed resistance, Mattathias has to decide upon the vexed question of fighting on the Sabbath (1 M 2.4l) (4o6)« Even so, the decision taken does not endorse all-out military

offensive on the Sabbath, but only retaliation in the case of enemy attack (407)• W.R, Farmer is undoubtedly correct in his statement that fighting on the Sabbath «is not to be understood as evidence of secular motivation* (408). Furthermore, the apparent "pacifism* of the pious fugitives (i.e., of 1 M 2.29-38) possibly had a much deeper motivation than simply their devotion to the Law. Their

refusal to take up arms to defend themselves may have been a direct consequence of their belief that God Himself would deliver them from the enemy, Thus, even the ultra-pious may have shared one of the fundamental concepts of holy war.

The participation of Hasidaeans in active warfare is of the foremost importance for our study of the Maccabaean Revolt (409).

The traditions embodied in the general hasidic movement go back at

least to the post-exilic period and have their origin in a spirit Î of pious devotion to the Law. N.H. Snaith aptly describes the

as "one who is faithful in keeping covenant" (410) .

io4 Significantly, defence of the Law becomes the rallying point of the Maccabaean Revolt (411), as, indeed, pious zeal for the Law becomes

the predominant spirit of the Maccabaean struggle. This is well illustrated in the second chapter of First Maccabees (cf w 1 9-2 2, 2 6-2 7,48,50,67; for the concept of zeal, vide infra pp 106f).

More important, however, is the probability that the Hasidaeans are the descendants of a tradition more ancient than that of post-exilic Torah-centred Judaism, namely, the holy war tradition which has its roots ultimately in primitive desert Yahwism. Direct evidence

relevant to this proposition, though somewhat scarce, is nevertheless compelling,

In 1 Maccabees 2.42 the Hasidaeans are described by two phrases which recall the character of the ancient warriors of Israel.

Firstly, they are designated “mightymen of Israel" — Z otlTiP — a phrase comparable to the Hebrew

(412). For the writer of First Maccabees the Hasidaeans

J

Israel * s past. ₁

Secondly, we read that "each one had willingly offered himself for I

f r / ^ / "I

the Law”. The phrase £ Ti^ presents a positive linguistic link with the holy war tradition, namely, in the all- 1 important concept of voluntary warrior devotion which is conveyed

by the Greek verb. The same Greek verb is used in the Septuagint to .1 render the Hithpa^el of (4 1 3) primarily in the description of ' the nazirite warriors of the Deborah-Barak battle (Ju 5*2,9; cf also

j

j We may be justified in concluding that these militant Hasidaeans { represent a revival of the cultic levy, a volunteer militia, 3 answering the call to arms in the cause and under the direction of I God. They may also be regarded as embodying the concept of the j nazirite warrior, the ancient devotee of Yahweh, and here, in keeping : with the ethos of the Maccabaean period, we see that it is the Law

which forms the focal point of Hasidaean devotion. Herein would seem to lie the uniqueness of their contribution as a contingent of the Maccabaean army (4l4). V. Tcherikover correctly assesses their role

in the conflict as that of fostering the religious zeal of the

Maccabaean troops (4l5). It is also reasonable to suppose that such hasidic warriors would be strictly bound by the ancient warrior code. This is perhaps the implication of the technical expressions

O'U¥é<^T0^<3LŸTù (1 M 2.44), which may be interpreted:

105