I am assuming that most of us will have heard of the term ‘Hanukkah’. It is the Jewish feast that celebrates the Maccabean revolt’s success in liberating the Temple from forces backing Greek tyrant Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Unusually this year, Hanukkah commences on Christmas Day, December 25th, and so maybe a deeper consideration of the word Hanukkah is timely.

A Hanukkah miracle

When the Maccabeans reached the Temple they were met with a scene of utter devastation and corruption. As part of their effort to restart Temple activities as soon as possible, they fashioned a crude menorah out of broken spears. However, they only had one cruse of oil – one day’s supply – and it would take eight days to purify the new oil. What could they do?

The decision was made to step out in faith and light the menorah, trusting in YHWH’s grace to provide the answer. The oil lasted until new supplies were purified and hence the festival of Hanukkah or ‘Dedication’, was founded.

The meaning of Hanukkah – dedication and training

Now the word Hanukkah certainly means ‘dedication’.

When Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem, the Bible reads,

“Solomon offered as peace offerings to YHWH 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated (וַיַּחְנְכוּ; vayach’nehu) the house of YHWH” (1 Kings 8:63 ESV).

Similarly, the book of Deuteronomy states,

“Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated (וְלֹא חֲנָכוֹֹ; velo chanaho) it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate (יַחְנְכֶנּוּ; yach’nehenu) it’” (Deut 20:5 ESV).

Also, in Numbers 7:10, the ‘dedication offering’ is called a hanukkah (חֲנֻכַּת). It is not hard to see the ‘dedication’ meaning. However, that is not all: the verb behind the noun Hanukkah (חָנַךְ; chanach) is also linked with ‘training’ and ‘teaching’.

Genesis 14:14 tells us that Abraham took 318 “trained men” (חֲנִיכָיו; chanichav) from his household to free Lot from his captors. A famous proverb admonishes, “train up a child (חֲנֹךְ לַנַּעַר; chanoch lanaar) in the way he should go” (Prov 22:6). In Jewish tradition, children’s education is often called chinuch (חינוך). So how are these two meanings of Hanukkah related?

Dedication to God’s training

This demonstrates that, with a more complete understanding of Hanukkah, the biblical implication is that ‘teaching’ and ‘training’ simply cannot be accomplished without ‘dedication’! That it takes time, intentionality and devotion to develop any skill. All these ideas are interrelated.

So would this Christmastime be a good time for us to dedicate ourselves to the training that our Lord has for us?