How to Pronounce Maccabees
MAK-uh-beez
Maccabees is pronounced MAK-uh-beez: three syllables, stress on the first. Also heard: MACK-ah-beez.
What is Maccabees?
This word does not occur in Scripture. It was the name given to the leaders of the national party among the Jews who suffered in the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes, who succeeded to the Syrian throne B.C. 175. It is supposed to have been derived from the Hebrew word (makkabah) meaning “hammer,” as suggestive of the heroism and power of this Jewish family, who are, however, more properly called Asmoneans or Hasmonaeans, the origin of which is much disputed. After the expulsion of Antiochus Epiphanes from Egypt by the Romans, he gave vent to his indignation on the Jews, great numbers of whom he mercilessly put to death in Jerusalem.
Adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain.