# Mattathias’s family begins armed resistance

Between the Testaments · Draft · BSB

Content revision: 7f030429af1f37a0 · No editorial review date recorded

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Date: c. 167–166 BC · Modiin and the hills

First Maccabees describes Mattathias refusing a royal demand to sacrifice, killing a fellow Jew and the king’s officer, and fleeing with his sons to the hills. After refugees are killed on a Sabbath, the resistance resolves to defend itself when attacked.

The account commends zeal but includes violence against both outsiders and fellow Jews, as well as forced circumcision. Those details belong in the reading. Describing them is not a general instruction for how a class should treat religious disagreement.

## Historical sources and canon context

Historical background with external readings. First and Second Maccabees are Scripture in Catholic and many Orthodox traditions, but are outside the Jewish and most Protestant canons and this app’s bundled 66-book Bible.

[1 Maccabees 2:15–48](https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/2)

Primary account of resistance, flight and the decision concerning Sabbath defense.

## Primary Scripture

No primary biblical passage is assigned to this historical-background event. Consult its external sources.

## Related Scripture

These Bible readings are connected by theme or later setting; they are not direct accounts of this historical stop.

[Numbers 25:6–13 · recollection](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2025%3A6%E2%80%9313&version=BSB)

First Maccabees explicitly invokes Phinehas as a precedent for Mattathias’s zeal; comparison should include the difficult violence in both accounts.

## Location evidence

Modiin’s ancient village location is disputed. The shaded area northwest of Jerusalem is deliberately broad; no modern tomb, altar or hideout is certified.

Event map marker: Approximate region; \[longitude, latitude\] = \[35, 31.92\]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.

Judea: Approximate region. Coordinates \[longitude, latitude\]: \[35.05, 31.65\]. Classification source: editorial.

Illustrative regional extent: \[\[34.65,31.25\],\[35.5,32\]\]; not a measured confidence interval.

[IAA: historical timeline; extent is an editorial illustration](https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/historical-timeline?locale=en_US)

Modiin area: Approximate region. Coordinates \[longitude, latitude\]: \[35, 31.92\]. Classification source: editorial.

Illustrative regional extent: \[\[34.9,31.82\],\[35.1,32.02\]\]; not a measured confidence interval.

[1 Maccabees 2 and geographical note; area only, not an identified village](https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/2)

[1 Maccabees 2 and geographical note; area only, not an identified village](https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/2)

## For the class

What tensions between survival, law and violence does this account ask readers to confront?

## Interpretation and reuse

Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.

Record source: editorial (content/authored/between-testaments.json)

Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.

Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.

Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm

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