Modin

Modin (or Modein) was the hometown of Mattathias and the birthplace of the Maccabean revolt. Located in the Shephelah foothills northwest of Jerusalem, approximately midway between Lydda and Jerusalem, the town features prominently in 1 Maccabees. When Antiochus IV's officers came to Modin to compel the Jews to offer pagan sacrifices, Mattathias killed both a fellow Jew who was about to comply and the royal officer, then fled to the wilderness with his sons — the opening act of the revolt.

After Judas Maccabaeus died, his brothers were buried at Modin, and Simon built an elaborate family tomb there (1 Macc. 13:25–30), described as adorned with carved ships and visible from the sea. The site has been tentatively identified with Khirbet el-Midyeh near the modern Israeli city of Modi'in, though the identification remains debated. Modin is not mentioned in the canonical Old or New Testament.