What does the word maccabee mean in Hebrew?

Answer 1

There are different theories:

1. It comes from the Aramaic word "makkaba" (מכבא), meaning "the hammer"
2. It comes from the traditional Jewish explanation that Maccabee is an acronym for the battle-cry of the Maccabees, "Mi Chamocha Ba'elim Adonai", "Who is like You among the mighty, O Eternal!"
3. It was an acronym for "Matityahu Kohen ben Yochanan (aka, Mattathias).
4. The scholar and poet Aaron Kaminka argues that the name is a corruption of Machbanai, a leading commando in the army of King David.