I maccabees presents a historical account of political, military, and diplomatic events from the time of judaeas relationship with antiochus iv epiphanes of syria reigned 175164163 bc to the death 54 bc of simon maccabeus, high priest in jerusalem. But this book tells of sufferings and triumphs on the part of loyal jews comparable to those of the maccabean period. Chapter one after alexander, son of philip the macedonian, who came from the land of kittim, had defeated king darius of the persians and the medes, he succeeded him as king. Maccabees, books of, 35 international standard bible encyclopedia. The sixth book of josephus jewish war is also titled 5 maccabees, which we will now call the pseudofifth book of the maccabees. It is an aid to finding cross references between two longstanding standards of biblical literature. He bases his prosepoem narrative on accounts given by josephus, in his the jewish war and antiquities of the jews. The name maccabee was a title of honour given to judas, a son of mattathias and the hero of the jewish wars of independence, 168. The five books of maccabees in english forgotten books.
It does not deal with the warriors of the maccabean revolt, but with the story of the martyrs of the preceding religious persecution, as related in ii maccabees 67. The first book of maccabees in order that he might reign. Maccabees, the fifth book of, cyclopedia of biblical. The books of the maccabees are books concerned with the maccabees, the leaders of the jewish rebellion against the seleucid dynasty and related subjects. These books were better known among greek speaking jews in the mediterranean world around the time of jesus.
This list is a complement to the list in books of the latin vulgate. Its name in the septuagint and in the writings of the church fathers eusebius and clement is. These are the books of the king james version of the bible along with the names and numbers given them in the douay rheims bible and latin vulgate. It is an arabic work printed in the paris and london polyglots with latin translation, and contains a history of the jews beginning with the account of heliodorus ii. Maccabees, the fifth book of, an important chronicle of jewish affairs, which was for the first time printed in arabic in the paris polyglot 1645, and was thence copied into the london polyglot 1657. The jews purified the temple on the twentyfifth of chislev 164 b. The original hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the greek translation contained in the septuagint. Maccabees, fourth book of iv maccabees, apocryphal book, included in the septuagint.
Maccabees, also spelled machabees, flourished 2nd century bce, palestine, priestly family of jews who organized a successful rebellion against the seleucid ruler antiochus iv and reconsecrated the defiled temple of jerusalem historical context of the maccabees. Why does the catholic bible include the maccabees and the. From the first sentence of the first book of the maccabees to the final sentence of the fifth, cotton expertly weaves the works into theological, theoretical and. Entry for maccabees, the fifth book of, cyclopedia of biblical, theological and ecclesiastical literature one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia, with its nearly 50,000 entries and 17 millin words, dwarfs modern bible encyclopedias with the depth of knowledge. Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of judas, his supporters. It is a chapter based on persecution by antiochus, the tyrant of syr ia, whom some called epiphanes, the madman. The books of the maccabees quotes showing 12 of 2 and they cut in pieces, and burnt with fire the books of the law of god. Even more problematic is the fact that scholars believe that the first book of maccabees was indeed written originally in hebrew, therefore meeting the language criterion for inclusionand yet it is absent from the biblical canon. None of the books of maccabees are contained in the vatican b. The name maccabee, probably meaning hammer, is actually applied in the books of maccabees to only one man, judas, third son of the priest mattathias and first leader of the revolt against the seleucid kings who persecuted the jews 1 mc 2. The books of the maccabees biblical literature britannica. This book contains all 5 and quite glad about that. One concerning theological teaching from 2 maccabees is the concept of praying on behalf of the dead 2 maccabees 12.
The book is held as canonical scripture by the catholic, orthodox, and oriental orthodox. The writers of the septuagint, a greek translation of the old testament, placed the books of the maccabees though not 5 maccabees, which was written much later in the category of useful writings rather than inspired scripture. However, the book of daniel, although included within the canon, is to a large extent written in aramaic. The five books of maccabees in english internet archive.
The first book of maccabees i maccabees is historical work extant in greek, covering the period of 40 years from the accession of antiochus epiphanes 175 b. Tells of the military actions by judas the maccabaean. By the well of living and seeing, and the fifth book of the maccabees. By the well of living and seeing, and the fifth book of. It describes the refusal of mattathias to perform pagan religious rites, the ensuing jewish revolt. Maccabees, the fifth book of, an important chronicle of jewish affairs, which was for the first time printed in arabic in the paris polyglot 1645, and was thence. The book of 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene. A fifth book of the maccabees is sometimes referred to. Here ends the history as given in the two books usually attached to our bibles. The hellenization of judah and the nonviolent resistance by mattathias is covered. Maccabees, books of, 35 international standard bible. Dates are given in this book according to the beginning of the seleucid era. The first book, although written from a biased perspective, does not directly mention god or divine intervention. The second book has a more theological slant, advancing several.
First maccabees written circa 4104 bce and describing the period of 1665 bce is devoted to presenting the maccabean dynasty, from mattathias through his son judah, to jonathan and simon who became high priests and gained political independence. Apocrypha 1st maccabees of the king james bible 1611. Charles reznikoff, in a mood to add to the apocryphal four books of the maccabees, here presents us with his own fifth book. Why the maccabees arent in the bible my jewish learning. Books of maccabees encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. I have been searching for a complete maccabees book in researching about the maccabees and come to find out that there are more books of the maccabees than are listed in the apocrypha. Internet archive contributor princeton theological seminary library language english. The rest of the book covers about much of the same material found in josephus on up to the death of herods sons and appears to be a later addition. These are the first 19 chapters to 5 maccabees, and the epistle in the 22nd chapter. With notes and illustrations classic reprint cotton, henry on. There is some justification for the title since illustrations are largely drawn from 2 maccabees 6 and 7. The name 3 maccabees, though occurring in the oldest manuscripts and vss, is quite unsuitable, because the book refers to events which antedate the maccabean age by about half a century, and also to events in which the maccabees took no part. The fifth book of the maccabees is an ancient jewish work relating the history in the 2nd and 1st centuries bc. A fifth book is contained in the ambrosian peshitta, but it seems to be merely a syriac reproduction of the sixth book of josephuss history of the jewish war.
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