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1 Maccabees says the defiled altar stones were stored until a future prophet could decide what to do with them. The Dead Sea Scrolls Community Rule expects a coming prophet and two messiahs, based on Deuteronomy promising a future leader like Moses.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1QS 9:9
Community Rule
Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts
6 the community shall set apart a holy house for Aaron, to be joined as a holy of holies, and a house of community for Israel, those who walk in perfection. 7 Only the sons of Aaron shall rule in judgment and in property, and at their word the lot shall go out for every rule of the men of the community. 8 And the property of the men of holiness who walk in perfection, their property shall not be mixed with the property of the men of deceit, who 9 have not purified their way so as to separate from iniquity and to walk in perfection of way. And from any counsel of the Torah they shall not depart, to walk 10 in all the stubbornness of their heart, but they shall be judged by the first judgments, in which the men of the community began to be instructed, 11 until the coming of a prophet and the messiahs of Aaron and Israel.
1 Maccabees 4:46
Deuterocanon
41 Then Judas appointed certain men to fight against those who were in the citadel until he had cleansed the holy place. 42 He chose blameless priests who were devoted to the law; 43 and they cleansed the holy place and carried the defiled stones out to an unclean place. 44 They deliberated what to do with the altar of burnt offerings, which had been profaned. 45 A good plan came into their mind, that they should pull it down, lest it would be a reproach to them, because the Gentiles had defiled it. So they pulled down the altar 46 and laid up the stones on the temple hill in a convenient place, until a prophet would come to give an answer concerning them. 47 They took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar like the former. 48 They built the holy place and the inner parts of the house; and they consecrated the courts.
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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
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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