1 Maccabees 9 - Summary

City plundered and garrisoned by Antiochus, won back by Judas, rebuilt by Jonathan and freed of its Syrian tower by Simon

Sanctuary profaned by the abomination of desolation in the 145th year and rededicated by Judas three years later to the day

Town of Mattathias, where the revolt begins and where the family is buried under Simon's monument

Where the army of Nicanor and Gorgias camps and is routed by Judas

Royal city of the Seleucid kings, from which the armies set out, and where Jonathan's soldiers save Demetrius from a rising

Judea was the southern region of Israel, centered on Jerusalem. It was the heart of the ancient kingdom of Judah. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, was crucified in Jerusalem, and the early church spread from Judea to the ends of the earth.

The wilderness refers to the desert regions of Sinai and Judea. Israel wandered here for 40 years after the Exodus. John the Baptist preached in the wilderness of Judea, and Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days. It represents testing, preparation, and encounter with God.

Jericho, one of the oldest cities in the world, was the first Canaanite city conquered by the Israelites after crossing the Jordan River. Its walls famously fell after the Israelites marched around it for seven days as commanded by God through Joshua. Jesus later passed through Jericho, healing blind Bartimaeus and dining with the tax collector Zacchaeus.

A village about sixty stadia from Jerusalem where two disciples walked on the evening of the resurrection. A stranger joined them and opened the Scriptures along the road; they knew him only when he broke the bread, and he vanished. Several sites claim the name; this marker follows the distance Luke gives.