2 Maccabees 13 - Summary

Holy city at the centre of the story: plundered by Antiochus, freed by Judas, and the place where Nicanor's head is hung up

Sanctuary defended against Heliodorus, profaned and dedicated to Jupiter, cleansed on the twenty-fifth of Casleu, then threatened by Nicanor

Home of the Jews to whom the opening letters are written, and the land of Antiochus's campaigns

Seleucid capital, near which Onias is murdered at Daphne, and to which Nicanor flees after his first defeat

Land where the priests hid the altar fire at the exile, and from which Antiochus returns in disgrace before his death

The mountain from which Moses saw the heritage of God, where Jeremiah is said to have hidden the tabernacle and the ark in a cave

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.

Modin was the home town of the priest Mattathias and his sons, the Maccabees. There Mattathias refused the order of Antiochus Epiphanes to sacrifice to idols, launching the revolt. The family tomb was at Modin: Mattathias, Judas and Jonathan were buried there, and Simon raised over it a monument with seven pyramids. The site lies in the foothills between Jerusalem and the coast, near the modern city of Modiin; its exact location is uncertain.

Antioch in Syria was the third largest city in the Roman Empire and became a major center of early Christianity. It was here that believers were first called "Christians." The church at Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. The city was known for its diverse population of Jews and Gentiles worshipping together.