History of Chanukah

The Story Behind The Festival of Lights

Today at sundown, December 18th begins Chanukah. It is more commonly spelled Hanukkah.

Both are a transliteration of the Hebrew word חֲנֻכָּה‎ meaning “dedication.” This Jewish holiday traces its roots back more than 2,000 years.

Events Leading Up to Chanukah

At that time, the Jewish people were living under the oppressive government of the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV (a somewhat ironic name — Epiphanes means “God Manifest”), a descendant of Seleucus, one of the generals of Alexander the Great.

When Alexander died, he left no legitimate heir (that survived); instead, his empire was divided among the Diadochi, his surviving generals. For several centuries the divided empire was ruled by the rival dynasties of two of his generals:

• Ptolemy controlled Egypt in the south; Cleopatra was the last of his line in the first century B.C.
• Seleucus controlled Syria in the north; his descendant was Antiochus Epiphanies IV, who ruled Judea in the 2nd century B.C.

Jewish Crisis

During Antiochus’ rule, he forbade reading the Scriptures, circumcision, Sabbath observance, and several other Jewish religious practices. To…