Seven brothers and their mother were seized and brought before King Antiochus. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserved by Moses Gaster in 1899, the king demanded they eat swine's flesh—a substance the Jews "abhorred and despised." When they refused, he tore their flesh apart.
The first son spoke without hesitation: "Why waste words to teach us? We have already been taught by our forefathers. We are prepared to suffer death for the Lord and His law." Antiochus was furious. He ordered a brass pan heated and the young man's tongue cut out, his hands and feet severed, then his body fried alive while his mother and brothers watched.
The second brother was brought forward. They scalped him and asked if he would eat. "No," he said. He died the same way. The third brother, when ordered to extend his tongue, stretched out his hands as well and declared: "From heaven I received these limbs, and for the sake of God's law I give them up, trusting that He will restore them." Even Antiochus marveled at his courage.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth brothers each went to their deaths with defiance. The mother stood through it all, urging each son forward. "God who created the world will renew your bodies," she told them. "He will give you the reward of your actions."
The seventh was the youngest—just a boy. Antiochus tried a different approach, promising him silver, gold, and a place among the king's companions if only he would comply. The boy refused. The king appealed to the mother to persuade her last living child. Instead, she leaned close and whispered: "Do not fear this executioner. Accept death, and I will receive you back with your brothers." The enraged king tortured the seventh son more cruelly than all the others.
When the last boy died, the mother stood among the seven corpses of her children, spread out her hands, and prayed: "O exalted and awe-inspiring God, now I will come. Now I will die with my sons in the place You have prepared for them." She fell upon their bodies, and her spirit departed.