Modein
A place in the Bible
A town near the city of Lydda. It was the hometown of the family of the Maccabees.
What happened here
- Mattathias: he was a priest. Fleeing the persecution, he left Jerusalem and went to live in Modein with his sons.
- Judas Maccabeus: when Judas died in battle, his brothers Jonathan and Simon buried him in Modein, in the tomb of his ancestors. All Israel mourned him for many days.
Today
It is identified with a place called El Mediyeh, near the city of Lod, in Israel.
Where it appears in the Bible
1 Maccabees 2:1; 1 Maccabees 9:19-20
What the Bible says
1 Maccabees 2:1
In those days arose Mathathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem, and he abode in the mountain of Modin.
1 Maccabees 9:19-20
19And Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother, and buried him in the sepulchre of their fathers in the city of Modin. 20And all the people of Israel bewailed him with great lamentation, and they mourned for him many days.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Machabees”