dedication feast of the

Dedication, Feast of the
(John 10:22, 42), i.e., the feast of the renewing. It was
instituted B.C. 164 to commemorate the purging of the temple
after its pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 167), and the
rebuilding of the altar after the Syrian invaders had been
driven out by Judas Maccabaeus. It lasted for eight days,
beginning on the 25th of the month Chisleu (December), which was
often a period of heavy rains (Ezra 10:9, 13). It was an
occasion of much rejoicing and festivity.

  But there were other dedications of the temple. (1) That of
Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:2; 2 Chr. 5:3); (2) the dedication
in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29); and (3) the dedication of
the temple after the Captivity (Ezra 6:16).