1 Maccabees Chapters 8-10 Q&A: Bible Study by Atheists

Pronouns in 1 Maccabees 8–10 are doing crimes against clarity, so we hit pause and run a full-on Q&A intervention. Judas hears about Rome (yes, that Rome), decides “distant empire bestie” is a solid plan, and sends envoys to lock in a treaty… which mostly functions as a symbolic “don’t make me call my big cousin” threat.

Then the story hard-swerves into “and now Judas is dead because… choices.” Demetrius I sends Bacchides to crush the rebels, the movement splinters, and we finally decode who the “lawless” actually are (spoiler: collaborators). With Judas gone, Jonathan takes over and switches from battlefield heroics to pure political chess—playing rival claimants (Alexander vs. Demetrius) to claw out legitimacy and autonomy.

And because we’re apparently masochists, we compare the first ten chapters to Josephus, who rewrites the same events with a Greco-Roman “everybody calm down, Rome is totally benevolent” filter. It’s historiography meets PR cleanup: the Macadoodles are writing revolutionary memory; Josephus is writing “please don’t revolt again” damage control.

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📌 Topics Covered:

• Rome shows up like a mythic superhero… then immediately “leaves the chat.”
• Judas sends envoys west, because nothing says “freedom” like foreign empire paperwork.
• Judas dies at the battle of Elasa and the rebellion’s vibes collapse instantly.
• “The lawless” finally decoded: collaborators aligned with the Seleucids.
• Jonathan replaces sword-swinging with backroom dealing (and it works).
• Alexander Balas vs. Demetrius I: two kings fighting over Jonathan like he’s the last Wi-Fi password in town.
• The high priesthood gets politicized; appointed by an outside king, not hereditary.
• Josephus vs. 1 Maccabees: same history, wildly different spin, rebellion vs. respectability politics.

💬 Best Quote from the Episode:

“So much is because of pronoun abuse.”

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