A period of martyrdom set in as Jews throughout the country were forced to conform to pagan customs and sacrifices or die. The apocryphal books of the Maccabees give numerous accounts of men, women, and children who preferred death to compromise.
इस्राएली राजनेता और विद्वान, अब्बा एबन आगे की घटना का सार देता है: “सन्‌ १६८ और १६७ [सा.