Over 150 years before the events described, Judas Maccabeus led a successful revolt against the Greek-cultured Syrians who had desecrated the Temple in 168 BC under Antiochus Epiphanes. After their father was killed for refusing to bow to a statue of Minerva, Judas, one of five brothers from the Hasmonean family, became the military leader. Known as the Hammer, a nickname for the Maccabees, he gathered a guerrilla band that grew over time, eventually confronting and defeating the Syrians in open battle. When the time came to rededicate and cleanse the Temple, Judas Maccabeus was received as a king by the people, who hailed him and threw straw before him as he entered the city. This historical event parallels the actions of Jesus, who, upon entering Jerusalem, was also acclaimed as a king and symbolically began the cleansing of the Temple by casting out the money changers, marking the start of a deeper, spiritual purification.

In the prophecy of Daniel 11, the persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes led to significant resistance among God's people. As a result of Antiochus's desecration of the temple and his acts of oppression, he became a symbol of everything the Jewish people despised. This sparked a widespread and successful rebellion led by Judas Maccabaeus. As described in Daniel 11:32-35, those who knew their God stood strong and carried out great exploits, instructing many despite facing persecution through sword, flame, captivity, and plundering. Some fell to refine, purify, and make them white until the appointed time of the end, demonstrating the enduring struggle and resilience of God's faithful amidst oppression.

During the period between roughly 168-165 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes, after being humiliated in Egypt by the Romans, turned his frustration on the Jews, whom he had long tried to Hellenize without success. In his anger, he unleashed severe persecution, resulting in gruesome deaths and the desecration of the Temple by offering swine on the altar. Amidst this oppression, the Hasmonean family rose in resistance, earning the nickname Maccabees, meaning "hammer," for their persistent fight against the Syrians. Judas Maccabeus, the greatest and leader of the five brothers, was known as Judas the Hammer. Through guerrilla warfare over about three years, they wore down the Syrians and eventually drove them out. Following their victory, they cleansed the Temple in the winter month of Kislev. Finding only a one-day supply of oil for the menorah, they lit it, and miraculously, the oil lasted eight days until new oil could be prepared according to Old Testament instructions. This event marked the origin of the Feast of Dedication, also known as the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah, commemorating their triumph and the rededication of the Temple.