Eleazar Avaran

Miniature from a manuscript Speculum Humanae Salvationis. Eleazar kills the elephant and is crushed.
The Heroism of Eleazar, engraved plate in the Macklin Bible after a painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1815.

Eleazar Avaran, also known as Eleazar Maccabeus, Eleazar Hachorani/Choran(or Horani) (b. ???BC - d. 162 BC; Hebrew: אלעזר המכבי, אלעזר החורני Eleazar HaMakabi) was the fourth son of Mattathias and the younger brother of Judas Maccabeus. He was killed (4 Maccabees 1:7-10) at the Battle of Beth-zechariah (1 Maccabees 6:32-33) during the Maccabean revolt.

Little is known About Eleazar, except his heroic death as was told. According to the scroll of Antichus, his father saw in him a Zealot among zealots, like Pinhas. In 2 Maccabees 8:21-23 it is told that Eleazar read from the Tanakh in front of the people just before the last battle began in 3 Maccabees 6:16-19.

Death

According to 1 Maccabees 6:43-46, during the Battle of Beit Zechariah, Eleazar identified a war elephant that he believed to carry the Seleucid King Antiochus V, due to the special armor the elephant wore. He decided to endanger his life by attacking the elephant and thrusting a spear into its belly. The dead elephant then collapsed upon Eleazar, killing him as well.[1] Despite this heroic effort, the smaller Jewish army was defeated in the battle. Josephus wrote that Eleazar, though killing many enemy soldiers, did not gain any real effect besides the name he made for himself. In another variation of this story which appears in the Megillat Antiochus, Eleazar's body is discovered after sinking in the excrement of an elephant.[2]

Avaran

All of the members of the family of Mattathias were given surnames in addition to their personal names as can be seen in 1 Maccabees 2:1-5 (For example, Judas was given the name 'ha'Makabi', meaning 'the Hammer'.) Eleazar was given the name 'Avaran', which has been taken to mean 'the Piercer' (in reference to his death) or 'to be white' (referring to his light complexion).[3]

Commemoration

Eleazar's death was a popular subject for art in the Middle Ages, where it was given a typological significance as prefiguring Christ's sacrifice of himself for mankind.[4] The chance to portray an elephant was also welcomed by artists, although as most had never seen one, the results are often very strange. It is also portrayed in a painting of 19th century French artist Gustave Doré.

The Israeli settlement, Elazar, in Gush Etzion, near the site of the battle of Beth-zechariah, is named after him. Also there are streets named after him in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv.

References

  1. ↑ Scullard, Howard Hayes (1974). The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World. Cornell Univ Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-0801409318.
  2. ↑ Megillat Antiochus. London: Jewish Antiquarian Society. 1851.
  3. ↑ "Avaran". Net Bible. Bible.org. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Speculum Woodcuts and Miniatures". UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
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