Maccabean Period (jan 1, 167 BC – jan 1, 3 BC)
Description:
Mattathias the Levite and his 5 sons defend the House of Yahuda against ongoing Greek invasion and assimilation. The leader initially becoming his son Judas nicknamed Judas Maccabeus (the war hammer).This is when the Gentiles first began to whitewash the Hebrew Isrealites by painting them to look as themselves (see 1 Maccabees 3:48)
At this time, the concept of "converting" to Judaism begins to take hold and Shimon requests those in the land of Yahuda "convert" to Judaism, which devalued the understanding of who is a Yahudi by lineage.
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 167 BC
jan 1, 3 BC
~ 164 years