Mattathiah was dying. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserved by Moses Gaster in 1899, the father of the Maccabean revolt called his five sons to his bedside for a final charge. He did not offer comfort. He offered a battle plan.
"I know that fierce battles will be waged in the land of Judah," he told them. "Now, my sons, be zealous for your God, for His sanctuary, and for His people. Fight, and do not be afraid of death. If you die in battle, you will be received among your brethren, and their portion shall be shared with you." He reminded them of every ancestor who had fought with zeal—Abraham, who battled the four kings; Joseph, who kept God's commandments in a foreign land; Phinehas, who acted with righteous fury and received an eternal covenant of priesthood; Joshua, who became judge of Israel through obedience; David, who inherited the throne through mercy.
Then Mattathiah turned to the question of leadership. He appointed Simeon, his wisest son, as the family's counselor: "He shall be a father unto you." For the battlefield, he chose Judah—the one they would call Maccabee. "He shall go forth and wage your wars," Mattathiah declared, "and he will gather our people about him."
Mattathiah died and was buried at Mod'aith, mourned by all Israel. His son Judah rose to take his place. The chronicle describes him as a figure who struck terror into kings—appearing to his enemies "as a roaring lion seeking prey appears to cattle." Jacob rejoiced at his deeds from beyond, for Judah's name rang from one end of the world to the other. The text concludes with a blessing rarely given to a warrior: "Peace and repose upon his righteous couch, for he did not withhold his soul from death to defend Israel, God's people."