Mattathias

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Mattathias 1. A Jew, who had married a foreign wife ( 1Es 9:33 ); called in   Ezra 10:33 Mattattah. 2. One of the men who stood at the right hand of Ezra during the reading of the Law ( 1Es 9:48 ); in   Nehemiah 8:4 Mattithiah. 3. The father of the five Maccabæan brothe rs (  Malachi 2:1  Malachi 2:1; 1Ma 2:14;   Malachi 2:16  Malachi 2:16 f., 1Ma 2:24; 1Ma 2:27; 1Ma 2:39; 1Ma 2:45; 1Ma 2:48; 1Ma 14:29 ). See Maccabees, § 1. 4. A captain in the army of Jonathan the Maccabæan ( 1Ma 11:70 ). 5. A son of Simon the high priest, who was murdered, together with his father and brother Judas, at a banquet at Dok, by Ptolemy the son of Abubus ( 1Ma 16:14-16 ). 6. One of three envoys sent by Nicanor to treat with Judas Maccabæus ( 2Ma 14:19 ). 7. 8. Two ancestors of Jesus (  Luke 3:25-26 ).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The son of Semei, in the same genealogy ( Luke 3:26 ).

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Mattathias'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/m/mattathias.html. 1897.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Mattathi'as. (Gift Of Jehovah). The Greek form of Mattathiah.

1. Son of Amos, in the genealogy of Christ .  Luke 3:25. (B.C. after 406).

2. Son of Semei.  Luke 3:26.

3. The father of the Maccabees. (B.C. 168 and previous).

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Luke 3:25-26 2 1 Maccabees 2:1 3High Priest

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

1.  Luke 3:25.

2.  Luke 3:26.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1,2. Son of Amos, and son of Semei, in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.  Luke 3:25,26 .

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

MATTATHIAS. —Occurs twice in our Lord’s genealogy,  Luke 3:25-26.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Ματταθίας ), the Greek form of MATTATHIAH (See Mattathiah) (q.v.), and standing for several persons in the Apocrypha and New Test.

1. One who supported Ezra in reading the law ( 1 Esdras 9:43), the MATTITHIAH of  Nehemiah 8:4.

2. The father of the Maccabmean brothers ( 1 Maccabees 2:1;  1 Maccabees 2:14;  1 Maccabees 2:16-17;  1 Maccabees 2:19;  1 Maccabees 2:24;  1 Maccabees 2:27;  1 Maccabees 2:39;  1 Maccabees 2:45;  1 Maccabees 2:49;  1 Maccabees 14:29). (See Maccabee).

3. The son of Absalom and brother of the Maccabean Jonathan, the high- priest ( 1 Maccabees 11:70;  1 Maccabees 13:11). In the battle fought by the latter with the forces of Demetrius on the plain of Nasor (the old Hazor), his two generals Mattathias and Judas alone stood by him when his army was seized with a panic and fled, and with their assistance the fortunes of the day were restored.

4. The son of Simon Maccabueus, who was treacherously murdered, together with his father and brother, in the fortress of Docus, by Ptolemueus, the son of Abubus ( 1 Maccabees 16:14). (See Maccabee).

5. One of the three envoys sent by Nicanor to treat with Judas Maccabueus ( 2 Maccabees 14:19). (See Maccabee).

6. Son of Amos, in the genealogy of Jesus Christ ( Luke 3:25). 7. Son of Semei, in the same catalogue ( Luke 3:26). For both these last, (See Mattithiah), 5, 6.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mat - a - thı̄´as ( Ματταθίας , Mattathı́as ). The persons of this name in the Apocrypha are:

(1) Mattathias the father of the Maccabees. See Asmoneans; Maccabees .

(2) One of the 7 who stood on Ezra's right hand as he read the law (1 Esdras 9:43) = "Mattithiah" of  Nehemiah 8:4 .

(3) The son - probably the youngest (compare  1 Maccabees 16:2 ) - of Simon the Maccabean, treacherously murdered along with his father and his brother Judas by his brother-in-law Ptolemy, son of Abubus in the stronghold of Dok near Jericho in the 177th Seleucid - 136-135 Bc ( 1 Maccabees 16:14 ).

(4) Son of Absalom, one of the two "captains of the forces" who in the campaign against Demetrius in the plain of HaZor gallantly supported Judas, enabling the latter to turn an impending defeat into a great victory ( 1 Maccabees 11:70 ).

(5) One of the three envoys sent by Nicanor to treat with Judas in 161 Bc ( 2 Maccabees 14:19 ). No names of envoys are given in the account of  1 Maccabees 7:27 ff.

(6) One of the sons of Asom who put away his "strange wife" (1 Esdras 9:33) = the King James Version "Matthias" = "Mattattah" of  Ezra 10:33 .

In addition to these two of this name are mentioned in the New Testament:

(7)  Luke 3:25 , "son of Amos."

(8)  Luke 3:26 , "son of Semein."

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A Jewish priest, the father of the Maccabees, who in 170 B.C., when asked by a Syrian embassy to offer sacrifice to the Syrian gods, not only refused to do so, but slew with his own hand the Jew that stepped forward to do it for him, and then fell upon the embassy that required the act; upon which he rushed with his five sons into the wilderness of Judea and called upon all to follow him who had any regard for the Lord; this was the first step in the war of the Maccabees, the immediate issue of which was to the Jew the achievement of an independence which he had not enjoyed for 400 years.