1 Maccabees

The main theme of the book of 1 Maccabees is the war of the Hasmonaean family against the Seleucids and their gradual participation in the political games of the neighboring Hellenistic kings and claimants to kingship, until the declaration of Jewish independence by Simeon and its aftermath. Subthemes are interwoven in the main subject of the book, which play a significant role within the narrative and are closely related to it. They are the conquest of parts of the Land of Israel, the refoundation of the Temple and its renovation, the relationship of the first Hasmonaeans with their neighboring kings and princes as well as with more remote but important states (Sparta and Rome), and various ethical and theological issues that seem to have had a major role in the creation of a new Jewish identity in Palestine. The book’s climax is the Jewish independence in the land of Israel achieved by Simeon; its anticlimax is the death of the latter.