Maccabean Priests - Quick Facts
Once the Hebrews gained independence, the Maccabees had Pharisee scribes issue an expanded, revised Bible
Their stories are about turning the Bible from elitist to populist
When: around 140 BCE
Where: Jerusalem
Greatest Works: editing Exodus, arranging the Bible along a single chronological timeline, additions to Joshua, Samuel, and Kings
Traits: revolutionary, reformer, expert editor
Scholarly Name: Parts of "J source" of Exodus (with newer Hebrew), the presumed "J source" of Joshua and the newer layer in Samuel (mostly Samuel 2)
Who were the Maccabean Editors?
On the first of the month of Tishrei, 140 BCE, the leader of the newly independent Hebrew state, Shimon the High Priest, Shimon the Maccabee, also known as Shimon Thasi and Shimon the Just, read aloud the revised, edited, expanded, reformed and edited version of the Hebrew Bible.
Ancient Hebrew historians mistakenly placed the editing under Shimon as taking place about a century earlier by one or another unrelated Shimon, and Shimon the Maccabee's crucial role in the making of the Hebrew Bible was lost to history.
Shimon was closely allied with the group we know as the Pharisees, led by rural sages and writers, keen on inserting their own ancient stories into the priestly Bible. And once the Maccabees had the temple in their control, they began the massive editing process, the last major editing of the Bible.
It is hard to exaggerate how professional and deft at their jobs these editors were, especially those who worked on the editing of Exodus. They were able to transform it into a Hebrew epic that eventually became world-famous. And they were editing with a handicap - they were not allowed to erase anything, only to rearrange and add new things.
But as any editor knows, the editing makes the story, and the way they opened the book of Exodus not only gave it tons of energy, but it also mirrored the Maccabean-Pharisee political perspective on the popular revolt that eventually swept them to power.
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