In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “jewish family who fought against the rule of antiochus iv epiphanes of the hellenistic seleucid dynasty”. Today it says “group of jewish rebel warriors who re-took control of judea”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Maccabees ( Hebrew : Makabim ) were a Jewish family who fought against the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty , who was succeeded by his infant son Antiochus V Eupator . The Maccabees founded the Hasmonean royal line and established Jewish independence in the land of Israel for about 100 years (from 165 BC to 63 BC ). In 165 BC, Judas Maccabaeus started the revolt against the Seleucid overlords of Judea. After defeating them militarily, he entered Jerusalem in triumph and cleansed the Temple, reestablishing traditional Jewish worship there. Independence was achieved gradually. It was not until 140 that Simon had himself crowned king (in, ironically, a Hellenistic ceremony). Jewish historians have said that Simon's claiming of kingship is what led to the downfall of the state, since no one who did not belong to the Davidic line was supposed to hold that title. In any case, the Maccabee kings ruled in manner similar that of the Seleucids, save for allowing Jews to practice their religion. Their bureaucracy was filled with men with Greek names. Judas Maccabeus' victory over the Seleucids is celebrated each year at Hanukkah . The story of the Maccabees can be found in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16050306.
The opening as it stood in 2010 11 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Maccabees ( or מקבים , Makabim or Maqabim ; Greek Μακκαβαῖοι , /makav'εï/) were a Jewish rebel army who took control of parts of the Land of Israel , which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire .They founded the Hasmonean dynasty , which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of Israel and reducing the influence of Hellenism .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 367391285.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The descendants of Mattathias The Maccabees, also spelled Machabees ( , Maqabim ; or Machado ; , Makkabaioi ), were the leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea , which at the time had been a province of the Seleucid Empire . They founded the Hasmonean dynasty , which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, partly by forced conversion , expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665835856.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea For other uses, see Maccabees (disambiguation) .The descendants of Mattathias The Maccabees ( / ˈ m æ k ə ˌ b iː z / ), also spelled Machabees ( or , Maqabim ; or Maccabaei ; , Makkabaioi ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea , which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire .They founded the Hasmonean dynasty , which ruled from 167 BCE to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from about 110 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, partly by forced conversion , expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963599979.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Group of Jewish rebels in the Seleucid Empire For other uses, see Maccabees (disambiguation) . The descendants of Mattathias The Maccabees ( / ˈ m æ k ə ˌ b iː z / ), also spelled Machabees ( , Makkabbīm or מַקַבִּים , Maqabbīm ; or Maccabaei ; , Makkabaioi ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea , which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire . They founded the Hasmonean dynasty , which ruled from 167 BCE to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from about 110 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest, and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism . The Hasmonean dynasty ruled Judea from the Maccabean revolt in 167 BC until 37 BC.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1162741778.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Group of Jewish rebels in the Seleucid Empire For other uses, see Maccabees (disambiguation) . The descendants of Mattathias The Maccabees ( / ˈ m æ k ə b iː z / ), also spelled Machabees ( Hebrew : מַכַּבִּים , Makkabbīm or מַקַבִּים , Maqabbīm ; Latin : Machabaei or Maccabaei ; Ancient Greek : Μακκαβαῖοι , Makkabaioi ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea , which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire .Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty , which ruled from 167 BCE (after the Maccabean Revolt ) to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from 104 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion , expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest, and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism . The Mathematics of the Calendar . The Hasmonean dynasty ruled Judea from the Maccabean revolt in 167 BC until 37 BC.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1288132596. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “jewish family who fought against the rule of antiochus iv epiphanes of the hellenistic seleucid dynasty”. Today it says “group of jewish rebel warriors who re-took control of judea”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
jewish family who fought against the rule of antiochus iv epiphanes of the hellenistic seleucid dynasty
Now
group of jewish rebel warriors who re-took control of judea
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
