Post-Holiday Ponderments
Rereading the Christmas Story in Light of Hanukkah; It’s Not Revisionism
Dear Reader:
I had thought to write much sooner. If you have ever ailed from sciatica, and I hope you never do, then you will understand my tardiness. Apologies and excuses aside, Christmas has just passed, and we are midway through Hanukkah (the “h” has a hard “k” sound similar to the “ch” in Christmas). I will attempt to combine their two histories, and show how a grammatico-historical re-reading of scriptural texts challenges a revisionist’s reading—all before we ring in the New Year!
What is meant by the terms “grammatico-historical” and “revisionism”?
A grammatico-historical reading of ancient texts considers what you probably imagine: biblical languages and historical settings (location, culture).1 The term has been updated to a “syntactical-theological” method of biblical exegesis (interpretation). But that term is more complicated, moving further from the plain sense meaning.
Revisionism, on the other hand, is more nuanced. It is a type of re-reading or re-evaluation of the biblical texts and can neatly pair with the grammatico-historical approach if one seeks to re-read the texts from an ancient Jewish perspective, considering its languages and settings in life, and I would add, ancient Jewish literary forms. However, reading an ancient text within its historical and linguistic setting isn’t really re-reading it; it is reading it for the first time.
Otherwise, revisionism can go far afield, re-reading the text through external biases like political agendas, or social concerns. For example, a revisionist may read the texts through a relational lens focusing on the marginalization of subgroups, or perhaps, redefining “sin” as disharmony within the community. Indeed, God’s precepts are relational, but when “relationship” becomes the interpretive filter by which all texts are read, then the plain, simple and temporal realities of the text go missing. Albeit, one’s purpose may be to comment on a passage for life application (midrash); this is a unique and obvious usage by the expositor.
Hanukkah and Christmas Dovetail
By 164 BCE (before the common era), the Maccabean family of the Hasmonean dynasty had rebelled, won, and replaced the wicked Seleucid ruler, Antiocus IV. Antiocus IV Epiphanes (ruled 175-163 BCE), a self-appointed surname meaning “God Manifest,” ruthlessly persecuted the Jews and descecrated God’s Temple in Jerusalem, leading to a revolt that ultimately brought Jewish autonomy for about 100 years.2
In the wake of the Maccabean revolt, a new holiday took shape. To celebrate the miraculous victory by a handful of rebels against the Seleucid army, the cleansed Temple, and God’s supernatural provision of eight days worth of holy oil out of a day’s supply, the Jewish community inaugurated the feastival of “Hanukkah,” which means “dedication.” With the oil, they were able to restore the eternal light, using their makeshift lampstand made from the spears of fleeing Seleucid soldiers (Pesikta Rabbati 2:1). Later, this light burned brightly from a glistening gold menorah, illuminating the holy place of the Temple. The Hanukkah menorah (hanukkiah) was constructed in a similar fashion with branches extending off of a main arm and elevating a central branch called a “shammash,” or servant candle, by which all other lights are lit.
In 2 Maccabees 10:5-8, the rememberance of the Temple dedication was established on 25th of Chislev and thematically connected to the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) since not long before they recounted their wanderings in the wilderness and God’s deliverance form Egyptian bondange.
Yet, there are more “hanuakkah” moments in biblical history.
Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel, and Jeshua ben Jozadak returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile (5ce BCE) under King Cyrus's and later Darius's approval. God directed Zerabbabel to build a second temple where Solomon’s Temple once stood. Ezra led the people into a rededication of heart and soul to God’s Torah, while Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem’s fortifying walls (Ezra 3-6; Neh. 2:11-20). After the work was finished, they “dedicated” (Heb. hanak) the new temple and the fortified walls to God, while the people dedicated themselves to renewed obedience (Ezra 6:16, Neh. 12:27).
Similarly, the book of Numbers, using the same verb, describes a “dedication offering” for the altar:
And the chiefs offered offerings for the dedication (hanak) of the altar on the day it was anointed (clarification added, Num. 7:10a).
Fast Forward to the First Century
The apostle John records Yeshua’s participation of the Hanukkah festival in the Temple complex, celebrated on the 25th of Chislev. Yeshua describes his sheep as dedicated to the Father—set apart as holy unto the Lord for eternity. He doesn’t use the verbs from Ezra-Nehemiah, per se, but he describes their activites:
Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. Then the Judean leaders surrounded Him, saying, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us outright!” Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one (John 10:22-30).
In a round-about way, not obvious in English translations, the Hebrew words for “dedicate” and “holy” have a connection (hanak, H2852; kadosh, H7727). When something is holy, it is set apart for God’s purposes; and something set apart for God is dedicated to his service (biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Dedicate-Dedication).
I believe that Yeshua implies this connection in John’s story. His sheep are set apart (hanak, dedicated) to God and have eternal life in Yeshua’s righteousness. Because he is holy, we are accredited as righteous and holy (kadosh, cf. 1 Peter 1:16). Also, other themes like “freedom,” “deliverance” and “light” prevade the historical narratives.
Back to the Manger
The angels herald a deliverer and the aged Simeon recounts Isaiah’s words:
A Savior is born to you today in the city of David, who is Messiah the Lord … Now may You let Your servant go in peace, O Sovereign Master, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your Salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples: A light for revelation to the nations and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:11, 29-32; Isa. 42:6).
Perhaps, the verses speak for themselves, so I will be brief in drawing the linguistic and thematic connections between Hanukkah and Christmas. The birth of Hanukkah on the 25th of Chislev mirrors the birth of Yeshua celebrated on the 25th of December. A discussion about his birth date is not the focus here, however.
Our focus is the ultimate deliverer from sin’s tyranny who sets us apart and dedicates us to God. He is the light that lights all others, born a humble babe, died a criminal, and was resurrected to Glory that we might shine his light in a dark and dying world.
Conclusion
I have been describing Christmas and Hanukkah from a grammatico-historical approach. From a revisionist’s perspective, I might disconnect linguistic similarities and historical themes, re-evaluating meaning through a particular bias. What might that look like? Perhaps I would compare the subjugation of the Jews and the tyrannical rule of the Selucids during the 2nd century BCE with the Judean leadership and their treatment of Yeshua in the 1st century CE (common era). That isn’t a bad study in and of itself. It is historically based, but what is its purpose? What conclusions do I draw? Is it making a statement about corrupt leadership in general or something more? If an interpretation leads away from plain sense meaning or linguistic connections between pericopes or even between passages and their broader textual locations, it leads away from their contexts and has revised their meanings. In my example, revisionism excludes the overarching purposes of God to set apart (dedicate, make holy) in each narrative and how these historical events connect lingustically to the term “Hanukkah,” or thematically to deliverance and light.
At any rate, I hope you have gleaned helpful insights for the New Year: Yeshua’s advent in a humble manger is our Light and Life, and through him, we are dedicated, set apart, and made into a holy congregation for God.
Blessings and Peace for 2025—
Kathy
A method of exegesis proposed by Karl A. G. Kiel (1778), for the purpose of stepping away from the natural tendency to translate words and meanings of words through our own context. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. and Moisé Silva, Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning, rev. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), 35, 281.
J. Julius Scott, Jr., Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament (Grand rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 1995), 82.