gophna | David Solomon

The early victories of the Maccabees over the Seleucid armies have been etched into Jewish memory in the form of the festival of Hanukkah. In this podcast episode, David examines the first four of these Maccabean victories with a focus on the insight, bravery, and military ingenuity of Judea’s guerrilla fighters. Continuing with his exploration of the role played by the geography and topography of the land of Israel in these battles, David offers a rare insight into why, how, and what was involved in these historic events. He also shares his view on the place these victories should take in our historical celebration of the miracle of Hanukkah.

For listeners to the podcast who can not see the maps David draws in this lecture, we have provided a series of graphics in pdf that capture the information provided on the whiteboard. To gain the most from this lecture, we recommend referring to these maps as you listen.

Battles of Jewish History: Maccabean revolts — Rough outline of geography & topography of Land of Israel in relation to Maccabean victories. Image created by M Solomon using creative commons map by Sting (see https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Israel_relief_location_map-blank.jpg)

Battles of Jewish History: 12 tribes of Israel — By 12 tribus de Israel.svg: Translated by Kordas12 staemme israels heb.svg: by user:יוסי12 staemme israels.png: by user:Janzderivative work Richardprins (talk) – 12 tribus de Israel.svg12 staemme israels heb.svg12 staemme israels.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10865624

Battles of Jewish History: Map of fertile cresen — By Nafsadh – Map of fertile cresent.png, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15272124

Battles of Jewish History: Macedonian phalanx — Depiction of a Macedonian phalanx: this graphic was first published in May, Elmer; Stadler, Gerald; Votaw, John; Griess, Thomas (series ed) (1984) Ancient and Medieval Warfare: The History of the Strategies, Tactics, and Leadership of Classical Warfare, New Jersey, United States: Avery Publishing Group. Public Domain.

Find a large-size pdf of the maps here.

This Jewish history lecture includes discussions on:

the military tactics and might of the Seleucid armies
the context, details, and outcomes of the battles of Maaleh Levonah, Beit Horon, Emmaus, and Beit Tzur
the significance of the geography and topography of the land of Israel in determining the shape and results of these battles
the role of military intelligence and the rise of Jewish guerrilla warfare
the historical status of these events and their connection with the festive of Hanukkah

Find more of David Solomon’s podcast, with dozens of lectures on Jewish history, the Bible, Jewish philosophy, and Kabbalah here.