The books are named after the Maccabees, the Jewish rebel leader Judas Maccabeus. Only two suggestions need be named: Derenbourg's ("Book of the Family of the Chief of the People of God"), given in his "Essai sur l'Histoire et la Gographie de la Palestine" (p. 450, Paris, 1867), and Dalman's , in his "Grammatik des Jdisch-Palstinischen Aramisch" (p. 6, Leipsic, 1894). and not to the end of Hyrcanus' reign (see "J. Q. R." xiii. 24). 18). The Jews tried bribery (2:32). The epitomizer for some reason or other altered the original order (8:29, 3436; 10:18; 8:3033; 9:129; 10:9; he apparently thought that the letter in 11:22, in which Antiochus IV is regarded as having died, belonged to the same period as the other letters in that chapter which, however, preceded it by a year). 3 Maccabees, also called the Third Book of Maccabees, is a book written in Koine Greek, likely in the 1st century BC in either the late Ptolemaic period of Egypt or in early Roman Egypt.Despite the title, the book has nothing to do with the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire described in 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.Instead it tells the story of a persecution of the Jews under Pharaoh . I. Others hold that the letters were placed in their present position by a later hand, while some believe them to be fabricated. [9] Even as the royal court persecutes them, the author writes that "The Jews continued to maintain goodwill and unswerving loyalty towards the [Ptolemaic] dynasty. From this the inference has been drawn that "God was absolutely conceived as reigning in the remote heaven, and no longer as dwelling among the people by the Shekinah" (Fairweather and Black, "I Maccabees," Introduction, p. 47). He calls (Eusebius, "Hist. The Book of Maccabees was not added to the Bible. Presumably, this was due to the apparent links to 2 Maccabees and to distinguish it from the other books of Maccabees in the Septuagint. 1-23; and by that of their mother (xiv. The riots in Alexandria came from common people rather than government ministers, as in 3 Maccabees. 3-9). 18), with the Patriarchs (v. 37) and with God (ix. Chanukah has a special history. 8 and xvii. 1 et seq., iv. It remains to add that the authenticity of the letters prefixed to II Maccabees has been fiercely assailed. 25) quotes Origen as authority for the name , a name which has been explained in many different ways. 1 Maccabees, originally written in Hebrew and only surviving in a Greek translation, it contains an account of the history of the Maccabees from 175 BC until 134 BC. The fact that just proportions are observed in treating the different parts of the narrative proves the author to have been a writer of considerable skill. 25 et seq. The time covered by this material is barely fifteen years, from the very end of the reign of Seleucus IV., whose servant was Heliodorus, to the victory of Judas over Nicanor (175-160 B.C.). vi. Lit. It is transmitted in three uncial manuscripts of the Septuagintthe Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Alexandrinus, and the Codex Venetusas well as in several cursives. It is listed as canon in the Georgian Orthodox Bible. Its style is oratorical and ornate, though not so extravagant as that of III Maccabees. As Freudenthal was the first to show, it is a sermon addressed to a Greekspeaking audience, and delivered probably on anukkah ("Die Flavius Josephus Beigelegte Schrift ber die Herrschaft der Vernunft [IV Makkaberbuch]," Breslau, 1869), the thesis being that, reason (religion) can control the passions; the author illustrates this from many examples, especially from the story of the Maccabean martyrdoms as related in II Macc. 1 and 2 Maccabees | Catholic Answers 3 Maccabees,[a] also called the Third Book of Maccabees, is a book written in Koine Greek, likely in the 1st century BC in either the late Ptolemaic period of Egypt or in early Roman Egypt. The two letters prefixed to II Maccabees have excited much discussion. The account of Ptolemy's visit to the Temple is considered based on the story of Heliodorus in 2 Maccabees rather than any historical event; archaeological evidence has been found suggesting Philopater indeed visited towns in Coele-Syria in the era to offer sacrifices to the local temples, but no other evidence of a controversy related to such visits exists, or if the visits even extended to Jerusalem. [3][9] 3 Maccabees is included in the deuterocanon of the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East. The Book of First Maccabees | My Jewish Learning 2002-2023 My Jewish Learning. 22 is devoted to the Maccabean struggle under Judas; ix. The author does not appear to have knowledge of Roman activities of the later 1st century that caused opposition from Jews such as desecration of sanctuaries. p. 212) to have compiled his work from hearsay shortly after 160 B.C. iii., p. 8) and Fairweather (in "Cambridge Bible" and Hastings, "Dict. Eccl." v. 63), but also those of Jonathan (comp. 11, xvii. Lucianic versions became the standard in Syria, Asia Minor, and Constantinople, with the version of 3 Maccanees in the Syriac Peshitta notably Lucianic in character, as well as being a rather free translation that included several expansions. The writer holds, also, that the suffering of the martyrs was vicarious; by it they wrought deliverance for their nation (comp. While nothing like the attempted mass execution at the hippodrome thwarted by angels occurred, some Jews in the provinces were possibly executed (3:12-30), before eventually the initiative stopped. as making offerings for the dead because "he took thought of the resurrection." The substance, not the exact form, of documents was given by ancient historians. 20-22; iii. In the earlier part he supplies some welcome information not contained in I Maccabees, and in nearly every chapter are interesting factssome of them confirmed by Josephuswhich may, with caution, be used. The first Maccabees were written in Hebrew around 100 B.C., but the original has never been translated to English. 172 et seq., Vienna, 1899) have put forward the theory that the book refers to a persecution in the Fayum. On these letters see, besides earlier literature, Herkenne, "Die Briefe zu Beginn des Zweiten Makkaberbuchs," Freiburg, 1904. iii. 1 Maccabees, THE FIRST BOOK OF MACCABEES - Daily Bible Readings, Audio Sign up to take a journey through Hanukkah and go deeper into the Festival of Lights. The Hebrew original seems not to have borne the name "Maccabees," though it is not known what was its real designation. Eusebius ("Hist. Second Book of Maccabees Much emphasis is also laid on the belief in the resurrection of the dead (7:14; 12:43). In its extant form, II Maccabees begins with an addendum to the main body of the book, consisting of two letters sent at different times from Judea to Alexandria which request that the festival of anukkah be observed. . . 4-15). If the original order is restored, however, the events accord with those in I Maccabees. On independent gounds, the present writer ("J. Q. R." ix. It received its name probably because it is a fiction concerning the persecution of the Jews by a foreign king; that king was Ptolemy Philopator (222-205 B.C.). [20] Another possibility is that the persecution which inspired the work was the best-attested one: that of Antiochus IV in Judea chronicled in 2 Maccabees, and the Egyptian author was telling a "what if it happened here?" The king was angry and threatened Jews who were already citizens with loss of their status if they did not join, a potential catastrophe that would be remembered for centuries. 23-xii. He dates all events in terms of the Seleucid era. When Were Maccabees 1 and 2 Written? - Authors Cast - Writing Advice Some critics, indeed, doubt the authenticity of the whole of the last section (xiv. The main part of the book commences with 2:19, at a time when Onias (III) was high priest, Seleucus ruled in Asia, and peace and tranquility reigned in Ere Israel; however, the avarice of several high priests led to a complete reversal of the situation. Notably, other Greek writings indicate that the cult of Dionysus, as a mystery cult, restricted entry rather than opening it widely to all; it was a status symbol that people had to petition to be initiated in. In contrast to First Maccabees, the book of Second Maccabees is a summary of a history written originally in Greek for Diaspora Hellenistic Jews living in the Greek-speaking area in Egypt.The Jews to whom the book was addressed were both loyal to their nation and its new Hasmonean state and yet faithful subjects of the kingdoms of the Greek dynasty of Ptolemies in Egypt. 22, 23; xvi. Late in origin and without historical value, the book is, however, of considerable importance from other points of view. The determining fact is held by most to be the statement in xvi. [8] It may have been based on a lost history of Ptolemy of Megalopolis, Philopater's governor of Cyprus, and seems to have been based on an account written from the Ptolemaic point of view. In 3 Maccabees, King Ptolemy IV Philopator attempts to enter the Second Temple in Jerusalem, but is rebuffed by divine power. Of the name "Maccabees" it may be mentioned that in a text of the Megillat Anteyukas ("J. Q. R." xi. [4] The themes and style of the book are similar to those of 2 Maccabees, the Letter of Aristeas, and the Book of Esther, suggesting the author had read them. 24) to the illustration of the thesis by examples drawn from II Maccabees. There also exists also a paraphrastic Armenian version that dates to 400600 AD. Systems of Transliteration Citation of Proper Names. iii., 1894; for the translation, see Kautzsch, Apokryphen, ii. The lists of books in early manuscripts of the Septuagint were not yet standardized, however. III Maccabees purports to record a persecution of the Jews in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy (IV.) The first of these is the only one of the four which can be regarded as a reliable historical source. There are four books which pass under this nameI, II, III, and IV Maccabees. 13; xiii. The letters call upon their brothers to observe Hanukkah as the holiday of the rededication of the Temple. 25), but they are certainly very few and insignificant. When the elephants turned on his own people the king saw a sudden apparition and gave up his purpose. The book, written in Greek, is an important document of Hellenistic historiography.

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