Josippon

The king went on his way to Makedonia and commanded Philip and his officers, whom he left in the land of Judah, and said to them: "Obliterate all memory of the name Judah from the land and kill everyone who calls himself a Jew; but everyone who sees fit to be of our people and calls himself a Greek, let him live!" Philip and the chiefs who were with him did as ordered; he wiped out all those whom he found observing the Torah. Only those who fled with Mattathias ben Yohanan to Mount Modiin were spared, for Mattathias would not suffer the disgrace caused by the uncircumcised; he was zealous for his God and wept, saying: "Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me to see destruction of my people!" He sent forth Yehudah (Judah), his son, to exclaim secretly throughout the cities of Judah, saying: "Whoever among you is with me and whoever is for the Lord, my God, to me!" There gathered unto him the powerful community of the Hasidim, to whom Mattathias said: "Why should we continue to waste words! There is nothing left now but prayer and war. Be strong and let us be strengthened. Let us die in battle and not die as sheep led to slaughter." All were strengthened by Mattathias's words and said to one another: "To your tents, O Judah. Rule now your land! Enough of you, King Antiochus! Your sword is sharp, O people of Judah; beware, O nation of Makedon!" And from that day forward, the yoke of the nation of Makedon was removed from the people of Judah.

When Philip and the king's chiefs heard of these things, they went against them with a great force. On their way, they found about one thousand Yehudim, men, women, and children, all of them in one cave observing the Sabbath. They came to the entrance of the cave and said to them: "Come out and profane the Sabbath and obey the king's command, and you shall live and not die." But they said: "We shall neither go out nor profane the Sabbath! Today let heaven and earth bear witness on our behalf that we shall die in our innocence." Philip commanded to bring fire and place it at the entrance of the cave; they put logs on it, and the cave filled with smoke; and they all died in the smoke.

The king's officers went to Mattathias on Mount Modiin and found him girded with weapons, he and his sons and brothers and only a few of the community of Hasidim with him, for they had gone to bring their wives and children to Mount Modiin. The king's chiefs approached Mattathias with words of peace and said: "O Mattathias, a man honored among your people, obey the command of the king, and you shall live and not die." But Mattathias replied proudly and said: "I will fulfill the commandment of my King—now you fulfill the commandment of your king that he commanded you!" The king's officers became scared and fell silent and did not say a word, for they wondered how they could seize Mattathias and kill him as they had killed the rest of the Hasidim. One of the Yehudim who was with the king's chiefs, one of the bandits and wicked ones, replied: "I am amazed at the officers of the king and his army. How long will you be silent and not fulfill the king's command? Let us have vengeance upon Mattathias, who has dared not to obey the king's command." As he said this, he unsheathed his sword and cut off the head of the pig, took it in his hand, and went to the altar they had built to sacrifice to the vanities of King Antiochus. He placed the head of the pig upon it and burned incense to the images of the king.

When Mattathias saw this, he became very angry, and his furor burned within him: he unsheathed his sword and leapt onto the Judaean offering the sacrifice and struck him on the neck with his sword. His head flew aloft and fell before the king's chief, who had drawn near to speak with Mattathias, and his body fell upon the altar, by which he had been standing. Mattathias killed him, and the king's chief he cut down with his sword and put to flight the remainder of the chiefs and slew many of their crowd. Then he sounded the ram's horn to give the signal for battle. He was the first to raise his hand against the kingdom of Makedon, and he was the one who commanded us to fight on the Sabbath, and he is the one who will be our intercessor in this matter. It is written in the book of Joseph ben Gurion haCohen. Mattathias went forth with his sons and brothers and with them the great congregation of the Hasidim; they pursued the sinners, beat them, and crushed them until not even a remnant was left of them in the land of Judah; and they circumcised the boys; so God achieved a great salvation through his hand.

As the day of Mattathias's death drew nigh, he summoned his five sons and encouraged them, saying: "My sons, I know that henceforth great wars will oppress the land of Judah because the Lord God aroused me to do battle for our people. Now, my sons, be zealous for your God, for His temple, and for His people; make war and do not fear death, for, if you should die in your war, you will be received among your fathers and share with them their reward, for all our ancestors who were zealous for God received from him honor and grace. Did not Pinḥas, our father, receive the covenant of salt because of this? And the remainder of our fathers who were zealous for God received their reward from Him." He summoned Shimon, his son, and said to him: "I am aware of the wisdom that God has placed within your heart. Do not withhold your counsel from this people; be like a father to your brothers, and they will heed your every counsel and every word, for our God has given you courage and counsel." And Mattathias spoke on: "Summon Judah, my son, to me!" They called him, and he came and stood before his father. He said to him: "My son Judah, you are called Maccabee because of your bravery; I know my son; I know that you are indeed a man of war and God has given you strength and bravery and a heart like that of a lion that flees before nothing. Now, my son, honor the Lord for the wealth that He has given you; fight His battles and make war without sloth. Laze not to go unto every corner of your land, into the east and west and north and south, to take the land from the hand of the uncircumcised; be for this people 'general of the army' and 'anointed for war.'" Bringing forth a flask of oil, he poured it over his head, anointing him for war. All the people shouted for joy and sounded the ram's horn, saying: "Long live the messiah!" And having completed commanding his sons, he died and was gathered to his people.