Megillat Antiochus

Rabbinic Literature

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Megillat Antiochus (Hebrew: מגילת אנטיוכוס‎ - "The Scroll of Antiochus"; also "Megillat HaHashmonaim", "Megillat Hanukkah", or "Megillat Yevanit") is a work recounting the story of Hanukkah and the history of the victory of the Maccabees (Hasmoneans) over the Seleucid Empire.

This work has come down to us in both Aramaic and Hebrew; the Hebrew version is a literal translation from the Aramaic original. It was published for the first time in Mantova in 1557. The Hebrew text with an English translation can be found in the Siddur of Philip Birnbaum. The first known text in our possession is in a Siddur from Salonika, published 1568.

There are several theories as to its authorship. Recent scholarship dates Megillat Antiochus to somewhere between the 2nd and 5th Centuries, probably in the 2nd Century,^[1] with the Hebrew dating to the seventh century. The scroll is first mentioned by Simeon Kayyara (ca. 825 CE) in Halakhot Gedolot.^[2] Saadia Gaon, who translated it into Arabic in the 9th Century, ascribed it to the Maccabees themselves, with a final section added later. The Geonim thought the authors were the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel. Hakham Moses Gaster argued for a 1st century BCE date.^[3] Louis Ginzberg, writing in the Jewish Encyclopedia, indicates that this megilla is a "spurious work" based on unhistorical sources, with the exception of its plagiarism of certain passages from First Book of the Maccabees.^[4] Nevertheless, as mentioned, it was held in very high esteem by Saadia Gaon, Nissim ben Jacob, and others.

During the Middle Ages, Megillat Antiochus was read in the Italian synagogues on Hanukkah just as the Book of Esther is read on Purim. It still forms part of the liturgy of the Yemenite Jews: the Baladi rite included this scroll as part of the prayer service for Hanukkah, since at one time it was customary to teach it to young schoolchildren during Hanukkah. [1]

The Books of the Maccabees, which are part of the Apocrypha, are entirely different from this work. These books are relatively lengthy, and of the four books only the first two deal with the activities of Matitiyahu the Maccabee (Mattathias) and his sons in general, and of Judah the Maccabee in particular. The rest of the books bear this name only because other heroic deeds are recounted there, but have nothing to do with Judah the Maccabee and his brothers. Moreover, we have 1-4 Maccabees only in Greek. 1 Maccabees was probably originally composed in Hebrew; the other three books of the Maccabees were originally written in Greek [2].

References

1. ^ "The Scroll of Antiochus: Rabbi Benjamin Zvieli". http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/miketz/zev.html. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
2. ^ "My Jewish Learning - Hanukkah Scroll". http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Hanukkah/TO_Hanukkah_Community/HanukkahScroll.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
3. ^ "The Unknown Chanukah M'gillah". http://www.oztorah.com/2007/11/the-unknown-chanukah-mgillah/. 
4. ^ This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article "Scroll Of Antiochus" by Louis Ginsberg, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Antiochus, Scroll Of, Louis Ginzberg, jewishencyclopedia.com
• Scroll of Antiochus, Encyclopedia Judaica
• The Scroll of Antiochus, Rabbi Benjamin Zvieli, biu.ac.il
• The Unknown Chanukah M'gillah
• A Megillah for Hanukkah?, Rabbi David Golinkin, myjewishlearning.com
• Hebrew Text
• Birnbaum Translation
• Tsel Harim Torah Library Translation
• Hebrew and English Text as PDF
• TorahLab translation with footnotes