Rededication of the Temple

After recapturing Jerusalem from Seleucid forces, Judas Maccabeus cleansed and rededicated the Second Temple on the 25th of Kislev, 164 BCE—exactly three years after Antiochus IV had desecrated it. This event established the festival of Hanukkah, celebrating both military victory and spiritual restoration.

The Maccabees found the temple in a shambles: the altar defiled with pagan sacrifices, the sanctuary stripped and overgrown with vegetation, gates burned, and priests’ chambers destroyed. They wept at the desecration, then set about purification. They dismantled the polluted altar stone by stone, storing the stones on the Temple Mount until a prophet could determine what to do with them. A new altar was constructed, new sacred vessels fashioned, and the menorah relit.

The eight-day dedication ceremony mirrored Solomon’s temple dedication and the Feast of Tabernacles. According to later rabbinic tradition, they found only one cruse of pure oil with the high priest’s seal—enough for one day—yet miraculously it burned for eight days until new consecrated oil could be prepared. This miracle became central to Hanukkah celebrations.

Judas decreed that the rededication should be celebrated annually for eight days “with gladness and joy,” making it a perpetual Jewish festival. Hanukkah affirms God’s faithfulness in preserving His people and their worship despite attempts to eradicate both.