Judas Maccabaeus or Maccabeus ( MAK-ə-BEE-əs), also known as Judah Maccabee (Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi), was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He was an early leader in the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, taking over from his father around 166 BCE, and leading the revolt until his death in 160 BCE.
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Dedication") commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BC after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it.