Chanukah
Eight: 8 Candles (Feast of Dedication); 1-Tevet.
Chanukah
8:
Numbers
7:54-to-end,8:1-4.
54 On the eighth day Gamaliel the
son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh
55 gave his offering: one silver platter, the
weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour
mixed with oil for a meal offering;
56 one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of
incense;
57 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a
year old, for a burnt offering;
58 one male goat for a sin offering;
59 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings,
two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old.
This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
60 On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni,
prince of the children of Benjamin
61 gave his offering: one silver platter, the
weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour
mixed with oil for a meal offering;
62 one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of
incense;
63 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a
year old, for a burnt offering;
64 one male goat for a sin offering;
65 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings,
two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old.
This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.
66 On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of
Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan
67 gave his offering: one silver platter, the
weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour
mixed with oil for a meal offering;
68 one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of
incense;
69 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a
year old, for a burnt offering;
70 one male goat for a sin offering;
71 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings,
two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old.
This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
72 On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of
Ochran, prince of the children of Asher
73 gave his offering: one silver platter, the
weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour
mixed with oil for a meal offering;
74 one golden ladle of ten shekels, full of
incense;
75 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a
year old, for a burnt offering;
76 one male goat for a sin offering;
77 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings,
two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old.
This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ochran.
78 On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan,
prince of the children of Naphtali
79 gave his offering: one silver platter, the
weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour
mixed with oil for a meal offering;
80 one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of
incense;
81 one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a
year old, for a burnt offering;
82 one male goat for a sin offering;
83 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings,
two head of cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old.
This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.
84 This was the dedication of the altar, on the
day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve silver platters,
twelve silver bowls, twelve golden ladles;
85 each silver platter weighing one hundred
thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy; all the silver of the vessels two
thousand four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary;
86 the twelve golden ladles, full of incense,
weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of
the ladles weighed one hundred twenty shekels;
87 all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve
bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs a year old twelve, and their meal
offering; and the male goats for a sin offering twelve;
88 and all the cattle for the sacrifice of
peace offerings twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the
male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after it was
anointed.
89 When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to
speak with YHWH, he heard his voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat
that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim: and he
spoke to him.
1 \Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Arrangement of the Lamps. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to Aaron, and tell him, ‘When you
light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the menorah.’”
3 Aaron did so. He lit its lamps to light the
area in front of the menorah, as YHWH commanded Moses.
4 This was the workmanship of the menorah,
beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work:
according to the pattern which YHWH had shown Moses, so he made the menorah.
(2 Maccabees 13:1-26 NAB-A) :
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Menelaus
Is Put to Death. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
In the year one hundred and forty-nine, Judas and his men learned
that Antiochus Eupator was invading Judea with a large force, and that
with him was Lysias, his guardian, who was in charge of the government. They
led a Greek army of one hundred and ten thousand foot soldiers, fifty-three
hundred horsemen, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with
scythes. Menelaus also joined them, and with
great duplicity kept urging Antiochus on, not for the welfare of his country,
but in the hope of being established in office. But
the King of kings aroused the anger of Antiochus against the scoundrel. When
the king was shown by Lysias that Menelaus was to blame for all the trouble, he
ordered him to be taken to Beroea and executed there in the customary local
method. There is at that place a tower
seventy-five feet high, full of ashes, with a circular rim sloping down steeply
on all sides toward the ashes. A man guilty of
sacrilege or notorious for certain other crimes is brought up there and then
hurled down to destruction. In such a manner
was Menelaus, the transgressor of the Torah, fated to die; he was deprived even
of decent burial. It was altogether just that
he who had committed so many sins against the altar with its pure fire and
ashes should meet his death in ashes.
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. A Battle
Near the City of Modein. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
The king was advancing, his mind full of savage plans for inflicting
on the Jews worse things than those they suffered in his father's time. When
Judas learned of this, he urged the people to call upon YHWH night and day, to
help them now, if ever, when they were about to
be deprived of their Torah, their country, and their holy temple; and not to
allow this nation, which had just begun to revive, to be subjected again to
blasphemous Gentiles. When they had all joined
in doing this, and had implored the merciful YHWH continuously with weeping and
fasting and prostrations for three days, Judas encouraged them and told them to
stand ready. After a private meeting with the
elders, he decided that, before the king's army could invade Judea and take
possession of the city, the Jews should march out and settle the matter with Elohim's
help. Leaving the outcome to the Creator of the
world, and exhorting his followers to fight nobly to death for the Torah, the
temple, the city, the country, and the government, he pitched his camp near
Modein. Giving his men the battle cry
"Elohim's Victory," he made a night attack on the king's pavilion
with a picked force of the bravest young men and killed about two thousand in
the camp. They also slew the lead_ elephant and its
rider. Finally they withdrew in triumph, having filled the camp
with terror and confusion. Day was just
breaking when this was accomplished with the help and protection of YHWH!
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Antiochus
Makes a Treaty with the Jews. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
The king, having had a taste of the Jews' daring, tried to take
their positions by a stratagem. So he marched against Beth-zur, a strong
fortress of the Jews; but he was driven back, checked, and defeated. Judas then sent supplies to the men inside, but Rhodocus, of the Jewish army, betrayed military secrets
to the enemy. He was found out, arrested, and imprisoned. The king made a second attempt by negotiating with the men
of Beth-zur. After giving them his pledge and receiving theirs, he withdrew
and attacked Judas and his men. But he was defeated.
Next he heard that Philip, who was left in charge of the government in Antioch
had rebelled. Dismayed, he parleyed with the Jews, submitted to their terms,
and swore to observe their rights. Having come to this agreement, he offered a
sacrifice, and honored the temple with a generous donation. He approved of Maccabeus and left him as military and civil
governor of the territory from Ptolemais to the region of the Gerrenes. When he came to Ptolemais, the people of that city were
angered by the peace treaty; in fact they were so indignant that they wanted to
annul its provisions. But Lysias took the
platform, defended the treaty as well as he could and won them over by
persuasion. After calming them and gaining their good will, he returned to
Antioch. That is how the king's attack and withdrawal went.
! ! End of
The Chapter.
\Eng:[:phone arpa
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(2 Maccabees 14:1-46 NAB-A)
:
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Alcimus
Speaks against Judas. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
Three years later, Judas and his men learned that Demetrius, son of
Seleucus, had sailed into the port of Tripolis with a powerful army and a
fleet, and that he had occupied the country, after doing away with
Antiochus and his guardian Lysias. A certain
Alcimus, a former high priest, who had willfully incurred defilement at the
time of the revolt, realized that there was no way for him to salvage his
position and regain access to the holy altar. So
he went to King Demetrius in the year one hundred and fifty-one and presented
him with a gold crown and a palm branch, as well as some of the customary olive
branches from the temple. On that occasion he kept quiet. But he found an opportunity to further his mad scheme when
he was invited to the council by Demetrius and questioned about the
dispositions and intentions of the Jews. He replied: "Those Jews called Hasideans, led by Judas Maccabeus,
are warmongers, who stir up sedition and keep the kingdom from enjoying peace
and quiet. For this reason, now that I am
deprived of my ancestral dignity, that is to say, the high priesthood, I have
come here-- first, out of my genuine concern
for the king's interests, and secondly, out of consideration for my own
countrymen, since our entire nation is suffering great affliction from the
unreasonable conduct_ of the people just mentioned. When you
have informed yourself in detail on these matters, O king, act in the interest
of our country and its hard-pressed people with the same gracious consideration
that you show toward all. As long as Judas is
around, it is impossible for the state to enjoy peace." When he had said this, the other Friends who were hostile to
Judas quickly added fuel to Demetrius' indignation. The king immediately chose Nicanor, who had been in command
of the elephants, and appointed him governor of Judea. He sent him off with orders to put Judas to death, to disperse his
followers, and to set up Alcimus as high priest of the great temple. The Gentiles from Judea, who would have banished Judas, came
flocking to Nicanor, thinking that the misfortunes and calamities of the Jews
would mean prosperity for themselves.
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Nicanor
Makes Friends with Judas. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
When the Jews heard of Nicanor's coming, and that the Gentiles were
rallying to him, they sprinkled themselves with earth and prayed to him who
established his people forever, and who always comes to the aid of his
heritage. At their leader's command, they set out at once and came
upon the enemy at the village of Adasa. Judas'
brother Simon had engaged Nicanor, but because of the sudden appearance of the
enemy suffered a slight repulse. However, when
Nicanor heard of the valor of Judas and his men, and the great courage with
which they fought for their country, he shrank from deciding the issue by
bloodshed. So he sent Posidonius, Theodotus and
Mattathias to arrange an agreement. After a
long discussion of the terms, each leader communicated them to his troops; and
when general agreement was expressed, they assented to the treaty. A day was set on which the leaders would meet by themselves.
From each side a chariot came forward and thrones were set in place. Judas had posted armed men in readiness at suitable points
for fear that the enemy might suddenly carry out some treacherous plan. But the
conference was held in the proper way. Nicanor
stayed on in Jerusalem, where he did nothing out of place. He got rid of the
throngs of ordinary people who gathered around him; but he always kept Judas in his company, for he had a
cordial affection for the man. He urged him to
marry and have children; so Judas married, settled down, and shared the common
life.
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Nicanor
Turns against Judas. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
When Alcimus saw their friendship for each other, he took the
treaty that had been made, went to Demetrius, and said that Nicanor was
plotting against the state, and that he had appointed Judas, the conspirator
against the kingdom, to be his successor. Stirred up by the villain's
calumnies, the king became enraged. He wrote to Nicanor, stating that he was
displeased with the treaty, and ordering him to send Maccabeus as a prisoner to
Antioch without delay. When this message
reached Nicanor he was dismayed, for he hated to break his agreement with a man
who had done no wrong. However, there was no
way of opposing the king, so he watched for an opportunity to carry out this
order by a stratagem. But Maccabeus noticed
that Nicanor was becoming cool in his dealings with him, and acting with
unaccustomed rudeness when they met; he concluded that this coldness betokened
no good. So he gathered together a large number of his men, and went into
hiding from Nicanor. When Nicanor realized that
he had been disgracefully outwitted by the man, he went to the great and holy
temple, at a time when the priests were offering the customary sacrifices, and
ordered them to surrender Judas. As they
declared under oath that they did not know where the wanted man was, he raised his right hand toward the temple and swore this
oath: "If you do not hand Judas over to me as prisoner, I will level this
shrine of Elohim to the ground; I will tear down the altar, and erect here a
splendid temple to Dionysus." With these
words he went away. The priests stretched out their hands toward heaven,
calling upon the unfailing defender of our nation in these words: "Master of all, though you are in need of nothing, you
have approved of a temple for your dwelling place among us. Therefore, O holy One, Master of all holiness, preserve
forever undefiled this house, which has been so recently purified."
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Razis
Dies for His Country. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
A certain Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to
Nicanor as a patriot. A man highly regarded, he was called a father of the Jews
because of his love for them. In the early days of the revolt, he had been
convicted of Judaism, and had risked body and life in his ardent zeal for it.
Nicanor, to show his detestation of the Jews, sent
more than five hundred soldiers to arrest him. He
thought that by arresting such a man he would deal the Jews a hard blow.
But when these troops, on the point of capturing the
tower, were forcing the outer gate and calling for fire to set the door ablaze,
Razis, now caught on all sides, turned his sword against himself, preferring to die nobly rather than fall into the hands of
vile men and suffer outrages unworthy of his noble birth. In the excitement of the struggle he failed to strike
exactly. So while the troops rushed in through the doors, he gallantly ran up
to the top of the wall and with manly courage threw himself down into the
crowd. But as they quickly drew back and left
an opening, he fell into the middle of the empty space. Still breathing, and inflamed with anger, he got up and ran
through the crowd, with blood gushing from his frightful wounds. Then, standing on a steep rock, as he lost the last of his
blood, he tore out his entrails and flung them with both hands into the crowd,
calling upon YHWH of life and of spirit to give these back to him again. Such
was the manner of his death.
! ! End of
The Chapter.
\Eng:[:phone arpa
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(2 Maccabees 15:1-39 NAB-A)
:
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Nicanor's
Arrogance. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
When Nicanor learned that Judas and his companions were in the
territory of Samaria, he decided to attack them in all safety on the day of
rest. The Jews who were forced to follow him pleaded, "Do not
massacre them in that way, like a savage barbarian, but show respect for the
day which the All-seeing has exalted with holiness above all other days."
At this the thrice-sinful wretch asked if there was a
ruler in heaven who prescribed the keeping of the sabbath day. When they replied that there was indeed such a ruler in
heaven, the living YHWH himself, who commanded the observance of the sabbath
day, he said, "I, on my part, am ruler on
earth, and my orders are that you take up arms and carry out the king's
business." Nevertheless he did not succeed in carrying out his cruel plan.
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. Judas
Prepares the Jews for Battle. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
In his utter boastfulness and arrogance Nicanor had determined to
erect a public monument of victory over Judas and his men. But
Maccabeus remained confident, fully convinced that he would receive help from
YHWH! He urged his men not to fear the enemy,
but mindful of the help they had received from Heaven in the past, to expect
that now, too, victory would be given them by the Almighty. By encouraging them with words from the Torah and the
prophets, and by reminding them of the battles they had already won, he filled
them with fresh enthusiasm. Having stirred up
their courage, he gave his orders and pointed out at the same time the perfidy
of the Gentiles and their violation of oaths. When
he had armed each of them, not so much with the safety of shield and spear as
with the encouragement of noble words, he cheered them all by relating a dream,
a kind of vision, worthy of belief. What he saw
was this: Onias, the former high priest, a good and virtuous man, modest in
appearance, gentle in manners, distinguished in speech, and trained from
childhood in every virtuous practice, was praying with outstretched arms for
the whole Jewish community. Then in the same
way another man appeared, distinguished by his white hair and dignity, and with
an air about him of extraordinary, majestic authority. Onias then said of him, "This is Elohim's prophet
Jeremiah, who loves his brethren and fervently prays for his people and their
holy city." Stretching out his right hand,
Jeremiah presented a gold sword to Judas. As he gave it to him he said, "Accept this holy sword as a gift from Elohim; with it
you shall crush your adversaries." Encouraged
by Judas' noble words, which had power to instill valor and stir young hearts
to courage, the Jews determined not to delay, but to charge gallantly and
decide the issue by hand-to-hand combat with the utmost courage, since their
city and its temple with the sacred vessels were in danger. They were not so much concerned about their wives and
children or their brothers and kinsmen; their first and foremost fear was for
the consecrated sanctuary. Those who remained
in the city suffered a like agony, anxious as they were about the battle in the
open country.
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. The
Defeat and Death of Nicanor. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
Everyone now awaited the decisive moment. The enemy were already
drawing near with their troops drawn up in battle line, their elephants placed
in strategic positions, and their cavalry stationed on the flanks. Maccabeus,
contemplating the hosts before him, their elaborate equipment, and the
fierceness of their elephants, stretched out his hands toward heaven and called
upon YHWH who works miracles; for he knew that it is not through arms but
through YHWH'S decision that victory is won by those who deserve it. He prayed to him thus: "You, O YHWH, sent your angel in
the days of King Hezekiah of Judea, and he slew a hundred and eighty-five
thousand men of Sennacherib's army. Sovereign
of the heavens, send a good angel now to spread fear and dread before us.
By the might of your arm may those be struck down who
have blasphemously come against your holy people!" With this he ended his
prayer. Nicanor and his men advanced to the
sound of trumpets and battle songs. But Judas
and his men met the army with supplication and prayers. Fighting with their hands and praying to Elohim with their
hearts, they laid low at least thirty-five thousand, and rejoiced greatly over
this manifestation of Elohim's power. When the
battle was over and they were joyfully departing, they discovered Nicanor lying
there in all his armor; so they raised
tumultuous shouts in their native tongue in praise of the divine Sovereign.
Then Judas, who was ever in body and soul the chief
defender of his fellow citizens, and had maintained from youth his affection
for his countrymen, ordered Nicanor's head and whole right arm to be cut off
and taken to Jerusalem. When he arrived there,
he assembled his countrymen, stationed the priests before the altar, and sent
for those in the citadel. He showed them the
vile Nicanor's head and the wretched blasphemer's arm that had been boastfully
stretched out against the holy dwelling of the Almighty. He cut out the tongue of the godless Nicanor, saying he
would feed it piecemeal to the birds and would hang up the other wages of his
folly opposite the temple. At this, everyone
looked toward heaven and praised YHWH who manifests his divine power, saying,
"Blessed be he who has kept his own Place undefiled!" Judas hung up Nicanor's head on the wall of the citadel, a
clear and evident proof to all of YHWH's help. By
public vote it was unanimously decreed never to let this day pass unobserved,
but to celebrate it on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar in
Aramaic, the eve of Mordecai's Day. Since
Nicanor's doings ended in this way, with the city remaining in possession of
the Hebrews from that time on, I will bring my own story to an end here too.
\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnestLOW”\. The
Compiler's Epilogue. .\Vce=Speaker=“LeslieEarnest”\.
If it is well written and to the point, that is what I wanted; if
it is poorly done and mediocre, that is the best I could do. Just as
it is harmful to drink wine alone or water alone, whereas mixing wine with
water makes a more pleasant drink that increases delight, so a skillfully
composed story delights the ears of those who read the work. Let this, then, be
the end.
!!. . End of 2 Maccabees: Praise Yah!. .
! ! End of
Today’s FEAST and Related Scriptures! Praise Yah! (HNV-yet version, in the public domain.)
\Eng:[:phone arpa
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