1 Maccabees 4:46

Deuterocanon

41 Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary. 42 He chose blameless priests devoted to the law, 43 and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place. 44 They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned. 45 And they thought it best to tear it down, so that it would not be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar, 46 and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until a prophet should come to tell what to do with them. 47 Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one. 48 They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated the courts.

1QS 9

Community Rule
Dead Sea Scrolls

2 At that time, the men of the Community shall set apart a House of Holiness in order that it may be united to the most holy things and a House of Community for Israel, for those who walk in perfection. The sons of Aaron alone shall command in matters of justice and property, and every rule concerning the men of the Community shall be determined according to their word. As for the property of the men of holiness who walk in perfection, it shall not be merged with that of the men of injustice who have not purified their life by separating themselves from iniquity and walking in the way of perfection. They shall depart from none of the counsels of the Law to walk in all the stubbornness of their hearts, but shall be ruled by the primitive precepts in which the men of the Community were first instructed until there shall come the Prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel.

 Notes and References

"... Israel longed for a prophet not only because of generally dark times, but also because of specific problems. For example, in the Maccabean revolt the altar in Jerusalem was defiled with swine’s blood. Upon taking the city, Judas was confronted with a difficult question. The stones of the altar were holy; yet they had been profaned. What should be done with them? ... Here we find, indeed, not only a longing but also a definite expectation. It is only a short step to a specifically eschatological interpretation of Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, and that step was taken prior to the first century C.E. Among the scrolls of the Qumran community we now find two references which would seem to show the hope for a (the) prophet like Moses who is a definite eschatological figure distinct from the Messiah(s) ... One is reminded of 1 Maccabees 4:46. It is confidently expected that a definite prophet shall come. That he is to be the Prophet like Moses is suggested in a remarkable collection of Old Testament quotations which would seem to attest the expectation of the same three eschatological figures mentioned in 1QS 9:10f ..."

Martyn, J. Louis History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel (p. 105) Westminster John Knox Press, 2003

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