[Footnote 66: That this appellation of Maccabee was not first of all given to Judas Maccabæaus, nor was derived from any initial letters of the Hebrew words on his banner, Mi Kamoka Be Elim, Jehovah?

Only we may note, by the way, that the original name of these Maccabees and their posterity was Asamoneans, which was derived from Asamoneus, the great-grandfather of Mattathias, as Josephus here informs us.]

The story of the brave Maccabee was already, you may be sure, familiar to me in all its parts.

When the store outfitted Odd Fellows' Hall with new window shades he learned that the Odd Fellows shared the place with strong lodges of the Maccabees and Modern Woodmen.

In this way died one valiant Maccabee; Brutus feigned madness; prudent Solon hid His sense; and David, when he feared Gath's king.

The heroic ages of Jewish history passed away when ships navigated by Phoenician sailors brought gold from Ophir and silver from Tarshish, and did not return until the Maccabees rallied the hunted and decimated tribes of Israel against the armies of the Syrian kings.

Herod, the great historic king of the Jews, though passionately in love with his wife Mariamne, sacrifices her brother Aristobulus to his suspicions, fearing that this young prince, the last of the Maccabees, may supplant him on the throne.

Not only Homer has made use of it, but we find the Jewish Hero in the Book of Maccabees, who had fought the Battels of the chosen People with so much Glory and Success, receiving in his Dream a Sword from the Hand of the Prophet Jeremiah.

of the first Book of Maccabees, will make an excellent motto for a seal.

But like a second Maccabee, "his right arm abandons him not, and his courage, inflamed by so many perils, came to his aid."

I. Character and Contents of I Maccabees.

The first book of Maccabees is in many ways the best history that has come down from ancient Israel.

The first book of Maccabees opens with a brief reference to Alexander the Great and to the Greek rulers who succeeded him.

Character and Contents of II Maccabees.

In marked contrast with I Maccabees is the second book which bears this name.

Where its testimony differs from that of I Maccabees, the latter in general should be followed, but its account of the events which led to the Maccabean uprising are much more detailed than those of I Maccabees, which it supplements at many important points.

Judas, who bore the surname Maccabeus (whence the word Maccabees), soon proved himself a great military leader.

Several passages describe the destructive policies of this Syrian ruler almost as vividly as the books of Maccabees (Dan. 8:11, 12): "It (Antiochus) magnified itself even to the Prince of the Host (Jehovah), and took away from him the daily sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary, and set up the sacrilegious thing over the daily sacrifice, and cast down truth to the ground, and did it and prospered.

All the evidence found in the two books of Maccabees indicates that he was inspired by the noblest patriotism.

From the parallel account in II Maccabees it is clear that he did not succeed in winning a decisive victory, but a crisis in Antioch suddenly compelled Lysias to return, leaving the Jews in possession of the battle-field.

Describe the general character of I Maccabees.

3. II Maccabees.

The historical value of II Maccabees.

It doubtless fed the forces of that glorious revolt that shortly thereafter burst forth under the heroic Maccabees.

The stirring and bloodcurdling stories in the Books of the Maccabees were his favourites.