Book of maccabees commentary

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. The early church father clement of alexandria second century a. Schwartz of the hebrew university discusses the the first and second books of maccabees. Charles reznikoff, in a mood to add to the apocryphal four books of the maccabees, here presents us with his own fifth book. Although maccabee meaning hammer was originally the nickname of the hero judah, the use of the title maccabean. Anchor yale bible commentary aybc 97803009976 by jonathan goldstein. It recounts the stories of conflict between militant jews, led by judas maccabaeus, and their hellenistic oppressors.

The title of 1 and 2 maccabees is taken from the surname of judas 1 mace. Apocrypha 1st maccabees of the king james bible 1611. The second book explains the feast of the dedication of the temple hannukah and contains explicit evidence for belief in a bodily resurrection and prayer for the dead in late pre. After a brief preface summarizing alexanders conquests, death, and successors, the author begins his story with antiochus epiphanes invasion of egypt and subsequent. 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. Jan 02, 2020 the book of 2 maccabees consists of a greek synopsis of a fivevolume history of the maccabean revolt written by jason of cyrene. He bases his prosepoem narrative on accounts given by josephus, in his the jewish war and antiquities of the jews.

First maccabees, second maccabees collegeville bible commentary old testament 12 by alphonse p. There is some justification for the title since illustrations are largely drawn from 2 maccabees 6 and 7. The second book has a more theological slant, advancing several. The third book of maccabees tells the story of ptolemy iv philopators persecution of the jews and his conversion, through divine intervention, to their protector. With the help of god, the aged priest mattathias and his sonsjudas maccabaeus, jonathan, and simondramatically lead the jews of judaea first to victory and then to freedom against the formidable successors of alexander the great. Click the commentary tab or pulldown menu for a full selection of commentaries over any bible passage you are researching. Ii maccabees continues the chronicle of the time of the troubles 16764 b.

The fourth book of the maccabees, so called, is a semiphilosophic discourse, or sermon, on the supremacy of the pious reason ch. As a surname it was also applied to his brothers and, by. The original hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the greek translation contained in the septuagint. Manuscripts of the septuagint include sometimes two and sometimes. The fourth book of maccabees tells the martyrdom story of eleazer and the maccabean youths under antiochus iv epiphanes. 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. Unlike 1 maccabees, 2 maccabees was written in koine greek, probably in alexandria, egypt, c. Hippolytus of rome mentions for the first time several of these books of the maccabees in a reference to 1 maccabees in his commentary on dan 4. This commentary is an invaluable resource for students of second temple period judaism. 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 greekspeaking area in egypt. Maccabees, books of, 12 international standard bible.

It describes the refusal of mattathias to perform pagan religious rites, the ensuing. The books of the maccabees biblical literature britannica. 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. We have just added many new sources, including the expositors bible commentary, bengels gnomon, langes commentary, hastings great texts and many more. After a brief preface summarizing alexanders conquests, death, and successors, the author begins his story with antiochus epiphanes invasion of egypt and subsequent desecration of the temple, and. First and second maccabees by daniel harrington, paperback. Spilly and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The first book of maccabees mmmmmm introduction the english bible, as is well known, originally contained but two socalled books of the maccabees. Before providing the english translation with notes, emmet covers the books contents, purpose, date and origin, historical basis, and much more. The book contains thoughtful reflections on the different theological and literary purposes of 1 and 2 maccabees, and on the historical reasons for the shortlived success of the maccabees. The first book, although written from a biased perspective, does not directly mention god or divine intervention.

Ginsburg kittos cycyclopedia of biblical literature. The author tells us that he is summarizing a 5volume work by jason of cyrene 2. This commentary is an invaluable resource for students of. He fought many battles, conquered strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. This study tells the story of the maccabee revolt and the reign of the hasmoneans. You can find the best commentary on ot apocryphal for you using the tools on the right side.

In the early church 2 maccabees was much less valued and therefore less read than 1 maccabees. Though initially hailed as liberators, the selucid family wasted no time in leaving their mark upon judea. He advanced to the ends of the earth, and plundered many nations. 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. Its name in the septuagint and in the writings of the church fathers eusebius and clement is. The author of first maccabees, who wrote for judeans, sought to promote the legitimacy of the hasmonean priesthood and its political rule. Aside from the story of the struggle to control the temple and the holy city of jerusalem, though, ii maccabees shares little in common with i maccabees. Alexander the great 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. We will be talking about events that happened in the second century, which took place in judea located in the syrian empire. However, second maccabees seeks to explain to diaspora jews and greeks alike that the maccabean revolt was not the result of an inevitable clash of two cultureshellenism and judaismor of two peoples, hellenes and jews. The designation 5 maccabees was first given to the book now commonly so called by cotton the five books of maccabees english, 1832, and it has been perpetuated by dr. Several ancient versions of the old testament contain four books named after the maccabees, which are not part of the hebrew bible. An abridgment of jason of cyrenes work, ii maccabees advances its own theological perspective to its greekspeaking audience, refuting the hasmonaean partisans view that pervades i maccabees.

A reading from the second book of maccabees judas the ruler of israel, then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. An examination of the hellenistic period after the death of alexander and its impact upon the jewish people. Books of maccabees encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Augustine was the only church father to claim for it canonical rank and even he in a. The apocryphal book of i maccabees volume 41 in the acclaimed anchor bible series is an inspirational thriller. Oct 25, 2017 an examination of the hellenistic period after the death of alexander and its impact upon the jewish people. The earliest extant mention of the book as 2 maccabees is in euseb. Samuel davidson introduction to the old testament, iii, 465. Please check the reference to make sure it is correct. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. Traditionally the name has come to be extended to the brothers of judas, his. Spilly and a great selection of related books, art.