A00064 -Johannine Apocalypse

 

Introduction

The Johannine Apocalypse, commonly referred to as the Book of Revelation in the Christian canon, is a text rich in historical and literary significance. While it showcases unique characteristics, it retains numerous connections to Jewish and Judeo-Christian literature, raising questions about its originality. Scholars believe that a comprehensive understanding of the Apocalypse can be achieved by examining its socio-historical context, which helps clarify the influences on the author and the message conveyed. This article outlines the foundational elements of the Apocalypse, its historical backdrop, and the complex interplay between faith and political forces during a tumultuous period of early Christianity.

The Apocalyptic Literature and Historical Context

Jewish apocalyptic literature had a long-standing tradition by the end of the first century, with roots tracing back to ancient prophets. The Johannine Apocalypse embodies this genre and invites readers to explore its messages in relation to earlier writings. The interpretation of past scriptures aimed not only at spiritual nourishment but also at extending and renewing their messages, highlighting a blend of fidelity and creativity within Jewish thought. As the author examined the past for prophetic insights into future events, particularly during a time of crisis marked by the Jewish-Roman War, the Apocalypse became a significant crossroads of religious expectation, societal upheaval, and evolving beliefs.

The Role of Historical Figures and Events

The timing of the Apocalypse's composition is crucial for understanding its content. Traditionally, it has been dated to the end of the first century during the rule of Emperor Domitian. However, some argue that the author could not have referenced the preservation of the Temple, given its destruction in 70 CE, suggesting that parts of the text might date back to the reign of Nero. A noteworthy proposition places the writing of the Apocalypse in the immediate aftermath of the Jewish War under Vespasian, wherein the prophetic imagery and symbols align closely with historical events described by Josephus. This interpretation highlights the interplay of current events and apocalyptic expectation, illustrating how the author navigated the chaos of his time to convey a message of hope and warning.

Thematic Concerns of Christian Identity

The Apocalypse juxtaposes the early Christian community's experiences against the backdrop of imperial power and persecution. The text presents a vivid cosmic battle where the protagonists—symbolized by the Lamb—face off against earthly powers depicted as monstrous entities, such as the beast. The work emphasizes the spiritual implications of allegiance to God versus the dangers of imperial worship, underscoring the stark conflict between emerging Christianity and the institutionalized cult of the Roman Empire. At its core, the author propounds a message of faith and perseverance amidst impending trials, encouraging readers to resist the allure of the beast and reaffirm their loyalty to God. This theme resonates deeply within the historical context of political subjugation experienced by early Christians.

Conclusion

In summary, the Johannine Apocalypse represents a multifaceted text shaped by its historical context, theological concerns, and literary traditions. Through a careful examination of its influences and the historical backdrop of early Christianity, one can appreciate its rich tapestry of meanings and its call for resilience in faith. The ongoing dialogue between the past and the future—embodied in the symbols and visions of the Apocalypse—enables contemporary readers to explore their own spiritual journeys while addressing the perennial tensions between faith and power. Thus, the examination of the Apocalypse remains an essential domain of study within religious and historical scholarship.

FAQ section (important questions/answers):

What is the historical context of the Johannine Apocalypse?

The Johannine Apocalypse reflects a complex interplay of Jewish and early Christian thoughts, addressing eschatological expectations and responses to the Roman imperial cult during and after the Jewish War.

How does the Apocalypse relate to Jewish apocalyptic literature?

It shares foundational elements with Jewish apocalyptic writings, drawing on prophetic traditions and emphasizing a transformative interpretation of the Scriptures while anticipating future divine action.

What are the main occurrences described in the Apocalypse?

The Apocalypse describes a series of divine judgments symbolized by seal and trumpet sequences, reflecting on events from the early church era until the destruction of Jerusalem.

What is the significance of the number seven in the Apocalypse?

The structure of the Apocalypse is characterized by recurring sevenfold patterns, symbolizing completeness and divine order, manifesting through seven seals, trumpets, and bowls in its narrative.

What role does the figure of Neron play in the Apocalypse?

Neron is depicted as a 'beast' whose return is anticipated, embodying the oppressive Roman regime and triggering a conflict between early Christians and the imperial cult.

What themes are emphasized in the Johannine Apocalypse?

The themes include divine judgment, perseverance under persecution, the ultimate victory of the Lamb, and the rejection of the imperial cult, offering hope to early Christians facing tribulations.

Glossary definitions and references:

Theological and religious glossary list for “Understanding the Historical Context of the Johannine Apocalypse”. The list explains important keywords that occur in this and other scholarly articles. It is also linked to the glossary for understanding that concept in the context of History, Religion, Philosophy, Theology, Sociology etc.

1) King:
In the context of the Johannine Apocalypse, the term 'King' relates to the various Roman emperors considered to hold power over the empire. The author contrasts these earthly kings with the ultimate authority of the Lamb, who is portrayed as the true King of kings, capable of delivering both fatal power and spiritual victory over all adversaries.

2) Power:
Power in the Apocalypse is associated with both the divine authority of God and the political might of the Roman Empire. The narrative draws a distinction between the spiritual power that God possesses, which leads to salvation, and the temporal power that rulers like Nero or Vespasian wield, which ultimately leads to destruction.

3) Death:
Death is a critical theme in the Apocalypse that symbolizes both a physical end and a spiritual consequence. It is depicted as a result of the Roman Empire's persecution of Christians, as well as an inevitable fate that stems from one's choices regarding faith and worship. The text warns of death for those who choose to worship the beast.

4) Seer:
The 'Seer' refers to the author of the Apocalypse, who receives visions and communicates them to the community. As a prophetic figure, the Seer interprets past events while also predicting future judgments and struggles, portraying a deep understanding of spiritual truths and the experiences of the faithful.

5) Worship:
Worship is a central theme of the Apocalypse that outlines the conflict between true worshippers of God and those who succumb to idolatry, particularly through the imperial cult. The text warns against the consequences of worshipping the beast and emphasizes the necessity of genuine faith in the divine over pagan practices.

6) Temple:
The Temple symbolizes the center of Jewish worship and the dwelling place of God. Within the Apocalypse, the destruction of the Temple serves as a prophetic sign of God's new covenant and the shift from old religious practices to a spiritual worship that transcends physical locations.

7) Earth:
The term Earth encompasses both the terrestrial realm and the domain of humanity affected by the cosmic struggles portrayed in the Apocalypse. The text reveals the dire consequences awaiting the Earth in the face of impending judgment and emphasizes the earth's state as a reflection of spiritual choices regarding worship.

8) Horn:
Horns in the Apocalypse symbolize power and authority, specifically relating to the ten kings associated with the beast. The imagery of horns represents both the temporary power of earthly rulers and the divine judgment that ultimately prevails over them, capturing the struggle between human ambition and divine sovereignty.

9) Destruction:
Destruction in the Apocalypse signifies both physical ruin, such as the downfall of Babylon and the Temple, and the spiritual consequences of opposing God's plan. The narrative emphasizes that earthly powers, despite their might, will ultimately face destruction at the hands of the divine.

10) Sanctuary:
The Sanctuary refers to the sacred dwelling of God within the Temple, which is depicted as being temporarily preserved amid impending destruction. The author's portrayal of the Sanctuary highlights the transition from the old covenant to a new understanding of worship that is rooted in spirit and truth.

11) Victory:
Victory is a prominent theme, particularly the ultimate triumph of the Lamb over evil forces. The Apocalypse reassures believers that despite present suffering, faithfulness leads to victory and salvation, contrasting this with the temporary victories claimed by worldly powers.

12) Famine:
Famine is depicted as one of the catastrophic consequences prophesied in the Apocalypse, symbolizing spiritual hunger and the turmoil resulting from human sin. This unsettling condition reflects the broader struggles faced by humanity, particularly amid the societal upheaval of the Jewish War.

13) Future:
The concept of the Future is integral to the Apocalypse's message, as it reveals God's plans for humanity beyond the present struggles. With an apocalyptic vision, the Seer provides hope for eventual salvation and the establishment of God's kingdom, in contrast to the transient nature of earthly reigns.

14) Roman (Roma):
The term Roman relates to the Empire that exercises control over the Jewish people and Christians during the period in which the Apocalypse was written. The narrative critiques Roman authority, particularly through the figure of Nero, highlighting the struggle between earthly empire and the divine kingdom.

15) Image:
Image in the Apocalypse often refers to the manifestations of power, such as the beast and the idols associated with imperial worship. The contrast made between the image of the Lamb and the beast's image further develops the theme of true versus false worship and the consequences of choosing idolatry.

16) Hour:
The Hour symbolizes a specific time of reckoning and divine judgment within the Apocalypse. This phrase is used to herald significant events, including the hour of God's wrath, prompting worshippers to recognize the urgency of their faith in the face of approaching trials.

17) Hope:
Hope is expressed throughout the Apocalypse as a motivating force for believers. Despite the bleak circumstances portrayed, the Seer inspires confidence in God's ultimate victory, imploring the faithful to endure persecution with the assurance of salvation and the promise of a new creation.

18) Scripture:
Scripture is referenced as the foundation of the Seer's visions, a source of inspiration that connects the past prophecies with present and future implications. The engagement with sacred texts reflects the author's Jewish background and underscores the continuity of divine revelation.

19) Religion:
Religion encompasses the practices and beliefs espoused by the communities addressed in the Apocalypse. The text critiques the religious adherence to the imperial cult and proclaims a call to true worship that is grounded in faithfulness to God alone amidst competing ideologies.

20) Torment:
Torment represents the suffering faced by those who choose to reject the beast and align with the Lamb. In the context of persecution, torment serves as a trial for the faithful, yet it ultimately contrasts with the promise of peace and divine justice awarded to the faithful.

21) Monster:
Monster refers to the apocalyptic imagery of the beast that reflects the monstrous nature of imperial power and idolatry. The Seer's portrayal of this monster is a warning against the dangers of worship and the impending downfall that awaits such deified entities.

22) Doubt:
Doubt emerges as a response to the apparent absence of immediate divine intervention amid trials. The Seer counters this skepticism by reaffirming the text's ultimate truths and the assurance of God's sovereign plan, encouraging believers to withstand challenges without losing faith.

23) Light:
Light serves as a metaphor for divine truth and knowledge, contrasting the darkness of ignorance and sin. The Seer emphasizes the importance of walking in light as a reflection of one's commitment to God and the knowledge bestowed through Scripture.

24) Cult:
Cult in the context of the Apocalypse refers to the worship practices surrounding Roman emperors and idols. The author critiques these established cults, calling for a return to monotheistic worship of God, thus resisting the pressures of societal norms to engage in idolatry.

25) Dead:
The Dead in the Apocalypse relate to both the martyrs who have died for their faith and those who have failed to uphold their commitment to God. The Seer emphasizes the eventual resurrection and judgment of the dead, providing hope for the faithful amidst temporal despair.

26) End of the world:
The End of the world is a central theme communicated through apocalyptic visions that predict divine judgment and ultimate transformation. The Seer urges believers to prepare for this end while maintaining their faith in God's salvation plan that transcends earthly circumstances.

27) Possession:
Possession refers to the control exerted by earthly powers, particularly represented by the beast and its false kings. The Apocalypse warns against yielding possession of one's heart or loyalty to these forces, instead promoting unwavering devotion to God.

28) Literature:
Literature encompasses the written works that convey religious truths, such as the Apocalypse itself. This text is noted for its unique apocalyptic genre and reflects the interplay of faith, hope, and historical context among its audience.

29) Knowledge:
Knowledge in the context of the Apocalypse signifies the understanding bestowed upon the Seer through divine revelation. The text challenges readers to pursue spiritual knowledge that aligns with God's will, resulting in salvation and eternal life.

30) Spiritual:
Spiritual pertains to the matters of faith and divine connection, transcending the physical realm. The Apocalypse emphasizes the importance of spiritual integrity over material concerns and calls for genuine worship that reaches beyond empty rituals.

31) Augustus:
Augustus symbolizes the initial recognition of a divine emperor within Rome, marking a significant point in the development of the imperial cult. His reign initiated a tradition that the author critiques, warning against the idolatry that ensued in later emperors.

32) Doctrine:
Doctrine refers to the established beliefs that define the faith of the community receiving the Apocalypse. The Seer emphasizes adherence to true doctrine, warning against the influence of idolatrous practices that distort the message of salvation.

33) Language:
Language in the Apocalypse is a critical vehicle for conveying the profound messages of the text. The unique apocalyptic language employed by the Seer serves to engage readers' imaginations while communicating deep spiritual truths.

34) Illusion:
Illusion reflects the misleading nature of imperial power that deceives and captivates the hearts of its subjects. The text calls believers to reject such illusions in favor of the unwavering truth found in their faith and relationship with God.

35) Exercise:
Exercise refers to the active practice of faith and the undertaking of spiritual responsibilities in the face of trials. The Seer encourages believers to exercise their faith while standing firm amidst the threatening uncertainties of the current age.

36) Babylon:
Babylon symbolizes the epicenter of worldly power, immorality, and opposition to God. In the Apocalypse, Babylon's eventual downfall serves as a stark warning against the allure of such corruption, signaling the ultimate triumph of divine justice.

37) Triumph:
Triumph denotes the victorious outcome promised to the faithful who endure persecution. Throughout the Apocalypse, the Seer assures believers of their future triumph alongside the Lamb against all forces of evil and oppression.

38) Secret (Secrecy, Secretly):
Secret suggests hidden truths within the apocalyptic visions that may only be revealed to the faithful. The Seer invites believers to seek understanding, suggesting that true knowledge and revelation lie beyond superficial interpretations.

39) Truth:
Truth is a foundational concept within the Apocalypse, contrasting between the divine truths revealed and the deceptions propagated by the beast and its followers. The Seer urges the faithful to remain steadfast in their pursuit of God's truth.

40) Faith:
Faith in the context of the Apocalypse is framed as unwavering trust in God amid trials and tribulations. The text repeatedly calls believers to nurture their faith, for it is through faith that they will experience salvation and eternal life.

41) Three kings (Three Dharma kings):
Three kings represent the fleeting power of Roman emperors who, despite their claim to divinity, ultimately participate in their collective downfall. The Seer's use of this imagery signifies the transient nature of human authority against God's eternal kingdom.

42) Manifest (Manifested, Manifestation, Manifesting):
Manifestation suggests the revealing of divine truths through the apocalyptic visions. As the Seer conveys these truths, he articulates the necessity for believers to recognize and respond to the spiritual realities accessible to them.

43) Threatening:
Threatening relates to the ominous elements present within the apocalyptic narrative, including impending judgment and tribulation. The Seer paints a vivid picture of the threats Christians face, urging them to fortify their faith amid such foreboding circumstances.

44) Speculation:
Speculation indicates the conjectures made by those trying to understand the prophetic elements of the text. The Seer's visions fuel speculation about future events, encouraging believers to remain vigilant and rooted in faith as they await divine fulfillment.

45) Monotheism:
Monotheism underlies the conflict depicted in the Apocalypse, representing the exclusive worship of one God in contrast to the polytheistic practices of the Roman Empire. The Seer adamantly promotes monotheism while condemning idolatry.

46) Meditation:
Meditation on Scripture forms the basis of understanding the apocalyptic messages and prophecies. The Seer invites believers to engage in deep reflection on God's Word to glean insight into their present trials and future hope.

47) Experience:
Experience refers to the lived reality of faith that informs Christians' understanding of the Apocalypse and their relationship with God. The Seer connects past experiences of suffering with the promise of divine intervention and eventual victory.

48) Worshipper (Worshiper):
Worshipper embodies the faithful who seek a genuine connection with God amidst the pressures of idolatrous practices. The Seer calls worshippers to steadfastly embrace true worship that honors God's sovereignty over all things.

49) Science (Scientific):
Scientific perspectives on the history and literature of the Apocalypse reveal the complexities of its interpretations and origins. This approach underscores the necessity of rigorous inquiry into historical contexts that shaped its writings.

50) Happiness:
Happiness in the context of the Apocalypse reflects the joy promised to the faithful who maintain their commitment to God. The text assures believers that despite earthly suffering, true happiness awaits those who triumph in faith.

51) Salvation:
Salvation is the ultimate promise conveyed throughout the Apocalypse, emphasizing the hope that believers hold in receiving divine grace and eternal life through their faith in Jesus as the Lamb of God.

52) Sacrifice:
Sacrifice is a recurring theme within the text, urging believers to lay down their lives in devotion to God. The Seer points to the greatest sacrifice—the suffering and death of Jesus—as the model for their own lives.

53) Physician:
Physician serves as a metaphor for the Seer's role in addressing the spiritual ailments of the community. Similar to a physician's care for the body, the Seer's insights guide believers toward healing through the knowledge of God's truth.

54) Existence:
Existence signifies the reality of both earthly life and the spiritual realm that the Apocalypse seeks to illuminate. The Seer portrays existence as transient, pointing believers toward the enduring promise of eternal life.

55) Forehead:
Forehead symbolizes the mark of authority and identity, particularly in regards to worship practices. The Seer warns against receiving the mark of the beast on the forehead, which signifies allegiance to corrupt powers instead of fidelity to God.

56) Darkness:
Darkness represents the absence of divine light and truth, encapsulating the ignorance and moral decline present in society. The Apocalypse contrasts darkness with the light of revelation that the Seer provides to encourage believers.

57) Confusion (Confused):
Confused captures the state of those who may struggle to understand the Seer's apocalyptic visions. The narrative challenges believers to seek clarity amidst the intricate symbols and messages, fostering a deeper understanding of spiritual truths.

58) Servant:
Servant pertains to the obedient stance of the Seer in conveying God's messages and prophecies. The text emphasizes the role of the believer as a faithful servant, called to act according to divine teachings and uphold God's will.

59) Soldier:
Soldier symbolizes the calling of believers to engage in spiritual warfare against the forces of evil. The Seer encourages Christians to embody the qualities of a soldier, standing firm in faith as they face trials and tribulations.

60) Dynasty:
Dynasty ties into the historical context of the Roman emperors and the lineages of power. The narrative critiques these human dynasties, contrasting them with the everlasting dynasty of Christ and the ultimate authority of God.

61) Warrior:
Warrior signifies the combative imagery associated with the Lamb, representing Jesus as a victorious figure in spiritual warfare. The Seer assures believers that they too are called to embody a warrior spirit as they fight for their faith.

62) Passion:
Passion reflects the intense feelings and fervor that believers experience while facing persecution for their faith. The Apocalypse inspires a passionate commitment to God, urging worshippers to remain steadfast despite the trials they encounter.

63) Eternal:
Eternal pertains to the everlasting life promised to the faithful in contrast to the transient nature of earthly power and existence. The Apocalypse emphasizes the assurance of eternal life as a central element of the hope provided to believers.

64) Harvesting (Harvest):
Harvest symbolizes the gathering of souls for divine judgment, reflecting the agricultural themes present in many Jewish texts. The Seer uses this imagery to convey the anticipation of a time when God will collect the faithful for eternal blessings.

65) Nature:
Nature denotes the inherent qualities and order of creation as established by God. The Seer's visions often draw from natural imagery to communicate spiritual truths and the unfolding divine plan throughout history.

66) Animal:
Animal imagery in the Apocalypse serves to represent both earthly powers and the forces of evil that oppose God's plan. The Seer utilizes symbols of animals to depict the chaotic and destructive aspects of sin in the world.

67) Flying:
Flying raises images of divine intervention and prophetic revelation, capturing the remarkable visions seen by the Seer. The imagery of flying also evokes the urgency to respond to God's messages and calls to action.

68) Heaven:
Heaven refers to the divine realm where God's presence resides, contrasting the earthly struggles depicted in the text. The Seer encourages believers to seek heavenly truths despite the harshness of their present circumstances.

69) Riddle:
Riddle highlights the mysterious and paradoxical nature of the apocalyptic text, which requires careful interpretation to uncover its meanings. The Seer's use of riddles challenges believers to engage deeply with the text in search of truth.

70) Heroic:
Heroic signifies the call for believers to display courage and resilience in the face of persecution. The Seer encourages a heroic faith that stands firm against trials, echoing the experiences of martyrs who have blazed a trail for the faithful.

71) Terror:
Terror embodies the fear and anxiety that characterize the tumultuous events prophesied in the Apocalypse. The text aims to elicit a healthy fear of God that encourages believers to choose faith over fear of human powers.

72) Hatred:
Hatred emerges as a response to the conflicts between believers and those in opposition, particularly the oppressive powers of the Roman Empire. The Seer acknowledges the hatred faced by Christians while urging them to respond with love and perseverance.

73) Egypt:
Egypt in the context of the Apocalypse may symbolize oppression and the trials faced by the faithful. The Seer alludes to historical contexts and events that resonate with the struggles and captivities experienced by God's people.

74) Horse:
Horse imagery is associated with conquest and power, often depicting riders that symbolize various aspects of judgment and forthcoming trials. The Seer uses such imagery to indicate the dynamic tension between God's authority and earthly dominion.

75) Syria (Syrian):
Syria likely refers to geographical and political connections relevant to the period of the Apocalypse. The Seer may reference regions such as Syria in illustrating the broader impact of imperial powers on the faithful and their contexts.

A00063 - 2 Maccabees

 2 Maccabees,^{[note 1]} also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt against him. It concludes with the defeat of the Seleucid Empire general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the Maccabees.

2 Maccabees was originally written in Koine Greek by an unknown diaspora Jew living in Hellenistic Egypt. It was likely written some time between 150 and 100 BC. Together with the book 1 Maccabees, it is one of the most important sources on the Maccabean Revolt. The work is not a sequel to 1 Maccabees but rather its own independent rendition of the historical events of the Maccabean Revolt. It both starts and ends its history earlier than 1 Maccabees, beginning with an incident with the Seleucid official Heliodorus attempting to tax the Second Temple in 178 BC, and ending with the Battle of Adasa in 161 BC. Some scholars believe the book to be influenced by the Pharisaic tradition, with sections that include an endorsement of prayer for the dead and a resurrection of the dead.

The book, like the other Books of the Maccabees, was included in the Septuagint, a prominent Greek collection of Jewish scripture. It was not promptly translated to Hebrew or included in the Masoretic Hebrew canon, the Tanakh. While possibly read by Greek-speaking Jews in the two centuries after its creation, later Jews did not consider the work canonical or important. Early Christians did honor the work, and it was included as a deuterocanonical work of the Old Testament. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Christians still consider the work deuterocanonical; Protestant Christians do not regard 2 Maccabees as canonical, although many include 2 Maccabees as part of the biblical apocrypha, noncanonical books useful for the purpose of edification.

Authorship and composition date

The author of 2 Maccabees is not identified, but he claims to be abridging a 5-volume work by Jason of Cyrene.^{[1][note 2]} This longer work is not preserved, and it is uncertain how much of the present text of 2 Maccabees is copied from Jason's work. The author wrote in Greek, as there is no particular evidence of an earlier Hebrew version. A few sections of the book, such as the Preface, Epilogue, and some reflections on morality are generally assumed to come from the author, not from Jason. Scholars disagree on both when Jason's work was written and when 2 Maccabees was written. Many scholars argue that Jason's work was likely published by a contemporary of the Maccabean Revolt, around 160–140 BCE, although all that is known for sure is that it was before 2 Maccabees.^[2] Scholars suggest 2 Maccabees was composed at some point from 150–100 BC.^{[note 3]} It is generally considered that the work must have been written no later than the 70s BC, given that the author seems unaware that Pompey would defeat the Hasmonean kingdom and make Judea a Roman protectorate in 63 BC.^[2] The work was possibly modified some after creation, but reached its final form in the Septuagint, the Greek Jewish scriptures. The Septuagint version also gave the work its title of "2 Maccabees" to distinguish it from the other books of the Maccabees in it; the original title of the work, if any, is unknown.

The author appears to be an Egyptian Jew, possibly writing from the capital in Alexandria, addressing other diaspora Jews.^{[6][2][note 4]} The Greek style of the writer is educated and erudite, and he is familiar with the forms of rhetoric and argument of the era. The beginning of the book includes two letters sent by Jews in Jerusalem to Jews of the diaspora in Hellenistic Egypt encouraging the celebration of the feast day set up to honor the purification of the temple (Hanukkah). If the author of the book inserted these letters, the book would have to have been written after 188 SE (~124 BC), the date of the second letter. Some commentators hold that these letters were a later addition, while others consider them the basis for the work.^{[note 5]}

Contents

Main article: Chapters of 2 Maccabees

Vision of Judas Maccabee, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld

Summary

2 Maccabees both starts and ends its history earlier than 1 Maccabees does, instead covering the period from the high priest Onias III and King Seleucus IV (180 BC) to the defeat of Nicanor in 161. The exact focus of the work is debated. All agree that the work has a moralistic tenor, showing the triumph of Judaism, the supremacy of God, and the just punishment of villains. Some see it as a paean to Judas Maccabeus personally, describing the background of the Revolt to write a biography praising him; some see its focus as the Second Temple, showing its gradual corruption by Antiochus IV and how it was saved and purified;^[9] others see the focus as the city of Jerusalem and how it was saved;^[10] and others disagree with all of the above, seeing it as written strictly for literary and entertainment value.

The author is interested in providing a theological interpretation of the events; in this book God's interventions direct the course of events, punishing the wicked and restoring the Temple to his people. Some events appear to be presented out of strict chronological order to make theological points, such as the occasional "flash forward" to a villain's later death. The numbers cited for sizes of armies may also appear exaggerated, though not all of the manuscripts of this book agree.

After the introductory stories of the controversies at the Temple and the persecutions of Antiochus IV, the story switches to its narrative of the Revolt itself. After the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple is instituted. The Seleucid general Nicanor threatens the newly dedicated Temple. After his death, the festivities for the dedication are concluded. A special day is dedicated to commemorate the Jewish victory in the month of Adar,^[11] on the day before "Mordecai's Day" (Purim).^[12] The work explicitly urges diaspora Jews to celebrate both Hanukkah and Nicanor's Day.

Structure

2 Maccabees consists of 15 chapters.

• 1:1–2:18: Two letters to the Jews of Egypt.
• 2:19–32: Epitomist's preface.
• Chapter 3: Heliodorus attempts to tax the Temple of Jerusalem's treasury, but is repelled. (~178 BC)
• Chapter 4: High Priest Onias III of the Temple of Jerusalem is succeeded by his brother Jason; Jason is then succeeded by the corrupt Menelaus; Onias III is murdered. (~175–170 BC)
• Chapter 5: Jason attempts to overthrow Menelaus. King Antiochus IV Epiphanes returns from the second expedition of the Sixth Syrian War in Egypt, defeats Jason's supporters, sacks Jerusalem, loots the Temple treasury, and kills and enslaves local Jews as retribution for the perceived revolt. Jason is forced into exile. (168 BC)
• Chapter 6: The Temple is converted into a syncretic Greek-Jewish worship site. Antiochus IV issues decrees forbidding traditional Jewish practices, such as circumcision, keeping kosher, and keeping the Sabbath. Eleazar the scribe is tortured and killed after refusing to eat pork. (168–167 BC)
• Chapter 7: Martyrdom of the woman and her seven sons after torture by Antiochus IV.
• Chapter 8: Start of the Maccabean Revolt. Judas Maccabeus defeats Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy son of Dorymenes at the Battle of Emmaus. (~166–165 BC)
• 9:1–10:9: Antiochus IV is stricken with disease by God. He belatedly repents and writes a letter attempting to make peace before dying in Persia. Judas conquers Jerusalem, cleanses the Temple, and establishes the festival of Hanukkah. (~164 BC)
• 10:10–38: Lysias becomes regent. Governor Ptolemy Macron attempts to cement peace with the Jews, but is undermined by anti-Jewish nobles and commits suicide. The Maccabees campaign in outlying regions against Timothy of Ammon and others. (~163 BC)
• Chapter 11: Lysias leads a military expedition to Judea. Judas defeats him at the Battle of Beth Zur. Four documents detailing negotiations with Lysias and the Roman Republic. (~160s BC)
• Chapter 12: More accounts of the campaigns in outlying regions against Timothy, Gorgias, and others. (~163 BC)
• Chapter 13: Lysias orders the execution of unpopular High Priest Menelaus. Judas harries Lysias's expedition with minor victories. Lysias leaves and returns to the capital of Antioch to face the usurper Philip. (~163–162 BC, likely near in time to the Battle of Beth Zechariah described in 1 Maccabees)
• 14:1–15:36: Demetrius I becomes King. Alcimus, who had replaced Menelaus as High Priest, is affirmed by Demetrius I. Nicanor is appointed governor of Judea. Nicanor and Judas enter negotiations for peace, but are subverted by Alcimus, who complains to the king; Judas's arrest is ordered. Nicanor threatens to destroy the Temple. In a dream vision, Onias III and the prophet Jeremiah give Judas a divine golden sword. At the Battle of Adasa, Judas defeats and kills Nicanor, preserving the sanctity of the Temple. The Day of Nicanor festival is established. (~161 BC)
• 15:37–39: Epitomist's epilogue.

Canonicity and theology

See also: Biblical canon, Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, and Development of the Old Testament canon

Rider on the Horse with golden armor, who appears in Chapter 3 to fight Heliodorus, from Die Bibel in Bildern

The Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodox Churches regard 2 Maccabees as canonical. Jews and Protestants do not.

Hellenistic Judaism

Greek-speaking Jews were the original audience addressed by the work. Both 1 and 2 Maccabees appear in some Septuagint manuscripts.^[13][14] Unlike most works in the Septuagint which were Greek translations of Hebrew originals, 2 Maccabees was a Greek work originally. While not a problem for Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews nor Christians (whose scriptures were written in Greek), other Jews who kept to the Hebrew version of the Hebrew Bible never included it. Hellenistic Judaism slowly waned as many of its adherents either converted to Christianity or switched to other languages, and 2 Maccabees thus did not become part of the Jewish canon.^[15] Josephus, the most famous Jewish writer of the first century whose work was preserved, does not appear to have read 2 Maccabees, for example; neither does Philo of Alexandria.^[16] Neither book of the Maccabees was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Essenes, a Jewish sect hostile to the Hasmoneans and their memory.^[17][18] Various works such as Seder Olam Rabbah (a 2nd-century AD midrash) indicate that the age of prophecy ended with Alexander the Great, and 2 Maccabees, a work clearly written later, thus could not be prophetic.^[19]

Traditionally, it was hypothesized that the author of 2 Maccabees might have been influenced by the Pharasaic tradition.^[20][21] The Pharisees emphasized adherence to Jewish law and disputed with the rulers of the Hasmonean kingdom. They criticized how the Hasmoneans took a dual role of both Chief Priest and King and demanded that they cede one of the titles (usually the kingship, which was expected to be held by one of the family lineage of King David).

Hasmonean King Alexander Jannaeus is recorded as organizing a massacre of his political opponents, and many went into exile. The theory goes that 2 Maccabees praises Judas for saving the Temple but excludes mention of how his brothers and extended family later took the throne, which might have been written by a Pharisee from Judea writing in Egyptian exile. The work's emphasis on adherence to the Law even on pain of martyrdom, keeping Shabbat, and the promise of a future resurrection seem to fit within Pharisaic theology and praxis.^[6] Still, other scholars disagree that the author shows any signs of such inclinations, and belief in a future resurrection of the dead was not limited to only Pharisees; scholars since the 1980s have tended to be skeptical of the proposed connection.^[22][23]

The theology of the work is an update to the "Deuteronomist" history seen in older Jewish works. The classical Deuteronomist view had been that when Israel is faithful and upholds the covenant, the Jews prosper; when Israel neglects the covenant, God withdraws his favor, and Israel suffers. The persecution of Antiochus IV stood in direct contradiction to this tradition: the most faithful Jews were the ones who suffered the most. At the same time, those who abandoned Jewish practices became wealthy and powerful. The author of 2 Maccabees attempts to make sense of this in several ways: he explains that the suffering was a swift and merciful corrective to set the Jews back on the right path. While God had revoked his protection of the Temple in anger at the impious High Priests, his wrath turned to mercy upon seeing the suffering of the martyrs. The work also takes pains to ensure that some sort of sin or error is at fault when setbacks occur. For those truly blameless, such as the martyrs, the author invokes life after death: that post-mortem rewards and punishments would accomplish what might have been lacking in the mortal world.^[24][25] These references to the resurrection of the dead despite suffering and torture were part of a new current in Judaism also seen in the Book of Daniel, a work the authors of 2 Maccabees were likely familiar with.^[26] This would prove especially influential among Roman-era Jews who converted to Christianity.^[27][24]

Christianity in the era of the Roman Empire

A Byzantine-style fresco at the Santa Maria Antiqua church in Rome, likely painted around 650 AD. It depicts the woman and her seven sons (here named Solomne) and Eleazar, their teacher. The story of their martyrdom is the most famous part of 2 Maccabees.^[28]

In the early Christian tradition, the Septuagint was used as the basis for the Christian Old Testament. The inclusion of 2 Maccabees in some copies of the Septuagint saw it a part of various early canon lists and manuscripts, albeit sometimes as part of an appendix. Pope Damasus I's Council of Rome in 382, if the 6th century Gelasian Decree is correctly associated with it, issued a biblical canon which included both 1 and 2 Maccabees, but neither 3 nor 4.

Pope Innocent I (405 AD),^[29][30] the Synod of Hippo (393 AD),^[31] the Council of Carthage (397 AD),^[32] the Council of Carthage (419 AD),^[33] and the Apostolic Canons^[34] all seemed to think that 2 Maccabees was canonical, either by explicitly saying so or citing it as scripture. Jerome and Augustine of Hippo (c. 397 AD) had seemingly inconsistent positions: they directly excluded 2 Maccabees from canon, but did say that the book was useful; yet in other works, both cited 2 Maccabees as if it was scripture, or lists it among scriptural works.^[35][36]

Theologically, the major aspects of 2 Maccabees that resonated with Roman-era Christians and medieval Christians were its stories of martyrology and the resurrection of the dead in its stories of Eleazar and the woman with seven sons. Christians made sermons and comparisons of Christian martyrs to the Maccabean martyrs, along with the hope of an eventual salvation; Eusebius compared the persecuted Christians of Lyon to the Maccabean martyrs, for example.^[37] Several churches were dedicated to the "Maccabean martyrs", and they are among the few pre-Christian figures to appear on the calendar of saints' days.^[28] A cult to the Maccabean martyrs flourished in Antioch, the former capital of the Seleucids; Augustine of Hippo found it ironic and fitting that the city that named Antiochus IV now revered those he persecuted.^[38] The one awkward aspect was that the martyrs had died upholding Jewish Law in an era when many Christians felt that the Law of Moses was not merely obsolete, but actively harmful. Christian authors generally downplayed the Jewishness of the martyrs, treating them as proto-Christians instead.^[39][40][37]

Controversy in the Reformation era

The Triumph of Judas Maccabeus, a 1630s work by Peter Paul Rubens. The scene depicted is from 2 Maccabees: After a campaign in Idumea, some Jews fell against Gorgias's forces. According to the epitomist, these Jews died because they had idols on them; Judas makes a sin offering in recompense. This offering would become cited in the 1400s and 1500s as a defense of Catholic doctrine on purgatory and indulgences.^[41]

2 Maccabees was in a position of being an official part of the canon, but as a deuterocanonical work and thus subtly lesser than the older scriptures during the early 1500s. Josse van Clichtove, in his work The Veneration of Saints, cited 2 Maccabees as support for the idea of dead saints interceding for the salvation of the living; in Chapter 15, during a dream vision, both the earlier high priest Onias III and the prophet Jeremiah are said to pray for whole of the people.^[42][43] He also cited 2 Maccabees as support for prayers for the dead, the reverse case of the living praying for the salvation of souls suffering in purgatory.

The book became controversial due to opposition from Martin Luther and other reformers during the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s. Luther had a very high opinion of scripture, but precisely because of this, he wished for the canon to be strict. He would eventually demote the deuterocanonical works to "apocrypha"; still useful to read and part of the 1534 version of the Luther Bible, but set aside in their own separate section and not accepted as a sound basis for Christian doctrine.^[44][45] Luther had several complaints. One was that it was an abridgment of another work, rather than a single divinely inspired author.^[37] Another was a general preference for using the Hebrew Bible as the basis for the Old Testament, rather than the Latin Vulgate or the Greek Septuagint.^[37] Another was with the prevailing Catholic interpretation and use of one story: that of Judas making a "sin offering" of silver after some of his troops were slain and found with idols, so that the dead might be delivered from their sin.^[46] This passage was used as an example of the efficacy of monetary indulgences paid to the Catholic Church to free souls from purgatory by some Catholic authors of the period.^[24] Luther disagreed with both indulgences and the concept of purgatory, and in his 1530 work Disavowl of Purgatory, he denied that 2 Maccabees was a valid source to cite.^[42] Luther was reported as having said: "I am so great an enemy to the second book of the Maccabees, and to Esther, that I wish they had not come to us at all, for they have too many heathen unnaturalities."^[47] The reformer Jean Calvin agreed with Luther's criticism of 2 Maccabees, and added his own criticism as well. Calvin propounded predestination, the doctrine that God has chosen the elect, and nothing can change this. Thus, the arguments from Clichtove and other Catholics that cited 2 Maccabees for the doctrine of the intercession of saints was suspect to him: for Calvin, salvation was strictly God's choice, and not a matter that dead saints could intervene on.^[48] Another issue Calvin and other Protestants raised was the self-effacing epilogue to 2 Maccabees, which Calvin took as an admission from the epitomist that he was not divinely inspired.^[48][49]

In response to this, the Catholic Church went the opposite direction. While earlier Church Fathers had considered the deuterocanonical books useful but lesser than the main scriptures, the Catholic Church now affirmed that 2 Maccabees (and other deuterocanonical works) were in fact fully reliable as scripture at the Council of Trent in 1546.^{[50][51][42][52]}

Modern status

2 Maccabees is still used to endorse the doctrine of resurrection of the dead, intercession of saints, and prayers for the dead to be released from purgatory in the Catholic tradition.^[53] The Latin Church Lectionary makes use of texts from 2 Maccabees 6 and 7, along with texts from 1 Maccabees 1 to 6, in the weekday readings for the 33rd week in Ordinary Time, in year 1 of the two-year cycle of readings, always in November, and as one of the options available for readings during a Mass for the Dead.^[54]

The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches consider the book canonical. As in antiquity, the most notable section remains the martyrs, who are celebrated as saints by a variety of feast days. They are especially honored in Syriac Christianity, perhaps due to suffering persecution themselves; the mother of seven sons is known as Marth Shmouni in that tradition.^[55][56]

In the Protestant tradition, the book is regarded non-canonical, though it is traditionally included in the intertestamental Apocrypha section of the Bible (especially those used by Lutherans and Anglicans).^[57][58] As with the Lutheran Churches, Article VI of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion defines 2 Maccabees as useful but not the basis of doctrine.^[58][59] Scripture readings from the Apocrypha are included in the lectionaries of the Lutheran Churches and Anglican Communion.^[60]

The texts regarding the martyrdoms under Antiochus IV in 2 Maccabees are held in high esteem by the Anabaptists, who faced persecution in their history.^[61]

Literary influence

A 1517 German depiction of the crucified Jesus, the mother, and her seven sons in the boiling cauldron.

The most influential part of 2 Maccabees was its stories of the martyrdom of Eleazar and the woman with seven sons; various works expanded the story to add more details such as the woman's name (variously called Hannah, Miriam, Shmouni, and other names) and their story. A prominent early example is the book of 4 Maccabees, written by a 1st-century Jewish author who used 2 Maccabees as a direct source (as well as the Book of Daniel). 4 Maccabees discusses in detail the martyrdoms described in 2 Maccabees, but provides a different interpretation of them. While 2 Maccabees attempts to arouse sympathy and emotions (pathos), 4 Maccabees was written by someone schooled in Stoic philosophy. As such, in its depiction, the martyred woman and Eleazar calmly discuss matters with their oppressors; they use reason and intellectual argument to stay calm and defy Antiochus IV. 4 Maccabees takes the idea of the resurrection of the dead even more directly than 2 Maccabees and Daniel: if God will revive those who suffer for obeying God's law, then it makes perfect sense to obey the greater ruler rather than the lesser ruler.^[16][62]

To a lesser degree, the book 3 Maccabees evinces familiarity with 2 Maccabees; while the setting is different (it is set fifty years before the Maccabean Revolt in Egypt, not Judea), Eleazar the scribe appears in it, and the depictions of turmoil and suffering among Egyptian Jews are influenced by 2 Maccabees. The Christian Epistle to the Hebrews possibly makes a reference to 2 Maccabees as well, or has similar knowledge of the Maccabean martyr tradition.^[63][64]

A later work that directly expanded 2 Maccabees was the Yosippon of the 10th century, which includes a paraphrase of parts of the Latin translation of 2 Maccabees.^[65] Among Jews, there had been practically no interest in 2 Maccabees itself for a millennium;^[66] the Yosippon was a rare exception of medieval Jews rediscovering the work.^[67] Much like in Christian works, the story of the mother and her seven sons was the most retold and influential.^[65]

Reliability as history

2 Maccabees has traditionally been considered a somewhat lesser source on the history of the Maccabean Revolt than 1 Maccabees by secular historians, especially in the 19th century. This is for a number of reasons: it wears its religious moralizing openly; it skips around in time and place at parts, rather than the chronological approach in 1 Maccabees; and it includes a number of implausible claims directly in contention with 1 Maccabees.^[21] In general, most scholars continue to agree that 1 Maccabees is a superior source on the military history of the revolt: it was written by a Judean who names and describes locations accurately compared to the occasional geographic blunders of 2 Maccabees written by an Egyptian, includes far more details on maneuvers and tactics than the simple depictions of battle in 2 Maccabees, and its figures for elements such as troop counts and casualties are considered more reliable than the wildly inflated numbers in 2 Maccabees. (For example, 2 Maccabees implausibly claims that there were 35,000 Syrian casualties at the Battle of Adasa, a number likely far larger than the entire Seleucid force.^[68]) 2 Maccabees was also written in a "pathetic" in the sense of pathos style, appealing to emotions and sentiment.^[69] Skeptical historians considered this a sign that the epitomist was not interested in historical accuracy much, but merely telling a good story.^[7][70]

In the 20th century, there was a renewed interest in rehabilitating 2 Maccabees as a source on par with 1 Maccabees by scholars. In particular, there was a growing recognition that a politically slanted history, as 1 Maccabees is, could be just as biased and unreliable as the religiously slanted history that 2 Maccabees is.^[71] A deeply devout observer could still be describing true events, albeit with a religious interpretation of them. By the 1930s, historians generally came to the conclusion that the historical documents present in 2 Maccabees – while seemingly out of chronological order – were likely legitimate and matched what would be expected of such Seleucid negotiations.^[70] Archaeological evidence supported many of the references made to Seleucid leadership, causing historians to think that Jason and the epitomist must have had better knowledge of internal Seleucid affairs than the author of 1 Maccabees.^[72] As an example, 2 Maccabees appears to be more reliable and honest on the date of the death of Antiochus IV. Archaeological evidence supports the claim in 2 Maccabees he died before the cleansing of the Temple, while 1 Maccabees moves his death later to hide the fact that Lysias abandoned his campaign in Judea not due to the efforts of the Maccabees at the Battle of Beth Zur, but rather to respond to political turmoil resulting from Antiochus's death. In 2 Maccabees, it is written that Antiochus's decrees were targeted against Judea and Samaria, which historians find more likely than the claim in 1 Maccabees that he demanded religious standardization across the entire empire.^[73]

Even to the extent that 2 Maccabees is still distrusted as history to a degree, the fact that it is a genuinely independent source is considered invaluable to historians. Many events in the Hellenistic and Roman periods have only passing mentions that they occurred; those that do have a detailed source often only have a single such detailed source, leaving it difficult to determine that author's biases or errors. For example, the Great Revolt against the Romans in 64–73 AD is only closely recorded by Josephus's The Jewish War. The Maccabean Revolt having two independent detailed contemporary histories is a rarity.

Manuscripts

Early manuscripts of the Septuagint were not uniform in their lists of books.^[74] 2 Maccabees is found in the 5th century Codex Alexandrinus which includes all of 1, 2, 3, and 4 Maccabees, as well as the 8th century Codex Venetus. 2 Maccabees is missing from the Codex Vaticanus (which lacks any of the books of Maccabees) and the Codex Sinaiticus (which includes 1 and 4 Maccabees, but neither 2 nor 3 Maccabees).^[75] Additionally, other ancient fragments have been found, albeit with some attributed to Lucian of Antioch who is considered to have "improved" some of his renditions with unknown other material, leading to variant readings. Pre-modern Latin, Syriac, and Armenian translations exist, as well as a fragment in Akhmimic Coptic, but they mostly match the Greek, or the Lucianic renditions of the Greek in the case of the Syriac versions.^[76] Robert Hanhart created a critical edition of the Greek text in 1959 with a second edition published in 1976.^[77][76]

Notes

1.  Greek: Μακκαβαίων Β´, romanized: Makkabaíōn 2
2.  Since 2 Maccabees is largely an abridgment of another's work, the person who wrote 2 Maccabees is often referred to as "epitomist" or "epitomator" rather than "author".
3.  Scholarly estimates for the date of authorship include:
   • Daniel R. Schwartz argues for an "early" date of publication of around 150–140 BC.^[3]
   • Stuckenbruck & Gurtner argue for between 150–120 BC.^[4]
   • Jonathan A. Goldstein argues for Jason of Cyrene's history published at sometime during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (103 to 76 BC), and the abridged 2 Maccabees with the introductory letters by 76 BC.^[5]
   • John R. Bartlett argues for "almost anywhere in the last 150 years B.C."^[6]
4.  Although the scholarly consensus is not entirely unanimous; Sylvie Honigman argues it was written in the Hasmonean kingdom rather than Egypt, and its portrayal of Judas's brother Simon Thassi was still positive overall. This view is usually discounted as 2 Maccabees is seen as downplaying Simon, along with various geographic mistakes that suggest a diaspora author.^[7]
5.  Few scholars believe the introductory letters to be authentic, but some do suggest that they were compiled by the same epitomist who made the rest of the work. Some notable scholarly positions include: Benedikt Niese believed that the letters were integral to the work. Jonathan Goldstein considers the letters forgeries and later additions. Daniel R. Schwartz believes that they are a later addition, and further that the date was actually 148 SE, not 188 SE, and was a reference not to the date of the letter, but the date of the original cleansing of the Temple.^[8]

References

1.  2 Maccabees 2:23
2.  Duggan, Michael W. (2021). "2 Maccabees". In Oegema, Gerbern S. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha. Oxford University Press. pp. 168–187. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190689643.013.10. ISBN 9780190689667.
3.  Schwartz 2008, p. 8–15.
4.  Stuckenbruck, Loren T.; Gurtner, Daniel M. (2019). T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism Volume One. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780567658135. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
5.  Goldstein 1983, p. 121–122.
6.  Bartlett 1973, p. 215–219.
7.  Hongiman, Sylvie (2014). Tales of High Priests and Taxes: The Books of the Maccabees and the Judean Rebellion against Antiochos IV. Oakland, California: University of California Press. pp. 65–94. ISBN 9780520958180.
8.  Schwartz 2008, p. 519–525.
9.  Harrington 2009, p. 36–38.
10.  Schwartz 2008, pp. 3, 512.
11.  2 Maccabees 15:36
12.  Koller, A., Purim, accessed 17 January 2021
13.  Life after death: a history of the afterlife in the religions of the West (2004), Anchor Bible Reference Library, Alan F. Segal, p. 363
14.  Ellis, E. Earle (2003). The Old Testament in early Christianity: Canon and interpretation in the light of modern research. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-1592442560.
15.  Goldstein 1983, p. 27.
16.  Schwartz 2008, p. 86.
17.  Freedman, David Noel; Allen C. Myers; Astrid B. Beck, eds. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible ([Nachdr.] ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdman. p. 426. ISBN 978-0802824004.
18.  VanderKam, James C.; Flint, Peter (2004). The meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls : their significance for understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity (1st paperback ed.). San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco. p. 99. ISBN 978-0060684655.
19.  Schwartz 2008, p. 58-61.
20.  Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
21.  Oesterley, William O. E. (1935). An Introduction to the Books of the Apocrypha. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 315–326.
22.  Schwartz 2008, p. 168, 442.
23.  Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 571–572.
24.  deSilva, David A. (2021). "Biblical Theology and the Apocrypha". In Oegema, Gerbern S. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha. Oxford University Press. pp. 534–550. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190689643.013.27. ISBN 9780190689667.
25.  Ehrman, Bart (2020). Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. Simon & Schuster. p. 142–146; 151–158. ISBN 9781501136757.
26.  Goldstein 1983, p. 63–70.
27.  Harrington 2009, p. 129–130.
28.  Berger, Albrecht (2012). "The Cult of the Maccabees in the Eastern Orthodox Church". In Signori, Gabriela (ed.). Dying for the Faith, Killing for the Faith: Old-Testament Faith-Warriors (1 and 2 Maccabees) in Historical Perspective. Brill. p. 107–111; 116–119. ISBN 978-90-04-21104-9.
29.  "Letter of Innocent I on the Canon of Scripture". www.bible-researcher.com.
30.  Westcott, Brooke Foss (2005). A general survey of the history of the canon of the New Testament (6th ed.). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. p. 570. ISBN 1597522392.
31.  "Canon XXIV. (Greek xxvii.)", The Canons of the 217 Blessed Fathers who assembled at Carthage, Christian Classics Ethereal Library
32.  B.F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 440, 541–42.
33.  "CHURCH FATHERS: Council of Carthage (A.D. 419)". www.newadvent.org.
34.  Council in Trullo. The Apostolic Canons. Canon 85. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
35.  Augustine of Hippo. On Christian Doctrine Book II Chapter 8:2. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
36.  Schwartz 2008, p. 59.
37.  Signori, Gabriela (2012). "Introduction". Dying for the Faith, Killing for the Faith: Old-Testament Faith-Warriors (1 and 2 Maccabees) in Historical Perspective. Brill. p. 1–3. ISBN 978-90-04-21104-9.
38.  Lapina, Elizabeth (2012). "The Maccabees and the Battle of Antioch". In Signori, Gabriela (ed.). Dying for the Faith, Killing for the Faith: Old-Testament Faith-Warriors (1 and 2 Maccabees) in Historical Perspective. Brill. p. 147–148. ISBN 978-90-04-21104-9.
39.  Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Daniel (2009). Christian Memories of the Maccabean Martyrs. New York: Palgrave Mcmillan. p. 1–10. ISBN 978-0-230-60279-3.
40.  Schwartz 2008, p. 87-89.
41.  RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: Peter Paul Rubens and studio of Peter Paul Rubens. See 2 Maccabees 12:39–45.
42.  Pelikan, Jaroslav (1984) [1983]. Reformation of Church and Dogma (1300-1700). The Christian Tradition. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. p. 136–137; 261; 266; 276. ISBN 0-226-65376-5.
43.  2 Maccabees 15:12–16
44.  Hiers, Richard H. (2001). The Trinity Guide to the Bible (Pbk. ed.). Harrisburg, Penn.: Trinity Press International. p. 148. ISBN 978-1563383403.
45.  McDonald, Lee Martin (2009). Forgotten scriptures: the selection and rejection of early religious writings (1st ed.). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0664233570.
46.  2 Maccabees 12:39–45
47.  Luther, Martin (1893) [1566]. "Of God's Word: XXIV". The Table-Talk of Martin Luther. trans. William Hazlitt. Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society. LCC BR332.T4.
48.  Schwartz 2008, p. 60–61.
49.  Calvin, Jean (2008) [1559]. "Book 3, Chapter 5, Section 8–9". Institutes of the Christian Religion. Translated by Beveridge, Henry. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 440–441. ISBN 9781598561685.
50.  New Catholic encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America. 2003. pp. 20, 26, 390.
51.  Metzger, Bruce M. (March 13, 1997). The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. Oxford University Press. p. 246. ISBN 0-19-826954-4. Finally on 8 April 1546, by a vote of 24 to 15, with 16 abstentions, the Council issued a decree (De Canonicis Scripturis) in which, for the first time in the history of the Church, the question of the contents of the Bible was made an absolute article of faith and confirmed by an anathema.
52.  Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent/Session IV/Canonical Scriptures . Translated by Buckley, Theodore Alois. 1851 [1546] – via Wikisource. [scan ]
53.  Ellis, P. F. (2003). "Maccabees, Books of". New Catholic Encyclopedia (Second ed.). Washington, DC: Thomson Gale.
54.  Roman Missal, Lectionary, Revised Edition approved for use in the dioceses of England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, published by Collins, Geoffrey Chapman and Veritas, 1981, 1982, volumes 2 and 3
55.  St Shmouni and her Seven Sons – Martyrs – 1 August
56.  Synek, Eva; Murre-van den Berg, Heleen (2007). "Chapter 12: Syriac Christianity; Chapter 21: Eastern Christian Hagiographical Traditions, Oriental Orthodox: Syriac Hagiography". In Perry, Kenneth (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity. Book Publishers. pp. 266, 444–445. ISBN 9780631234234.
57.  Ramsay, William M. (1 January 1994). Westminster Guide to the Books of the Bible. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-664-25380-6. The Reformers countered by pointing out that 2 Maccabees was a book of the Apocrypha; Protestants would accept as authoritative Old Testament only the canon of the Hebrew scriptures. ... The Reformers did grant that the Apocrypha was valuable. ... these books, while useful "for edification," were not authoritative for doctrine.
58.  Geisler, Norman L.; MacKenzie, Ralph E. (1995). Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences. Baker Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-8010-3875-4. Lutherans and Anglicans used it only for ethical / devotional matters but did not consider it authoritative in matters of faith.
59.  "Articles of Religion". The Church of England. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
60.  Readings from the Apocrypha. Forward Movement Publications. 1981. p. 5.
61.  deSilva, David A. (2018). Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance. Baker Books. ISBN 978-1-4934-1307-2.
62.  Goldstein 1983, p. 26.
63.  Schwartz 2008, p. 88. See Hebrews 11:35–36
64.  Hengel, Martin (2002). The Septuagint as Christian Scripture. T&T Clark. p. 116. ISBN 0-567-08737-9.
65.  Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Daniel (2012). "The Mother And Seven Sons in Late Antique And Medieval Ashkenazi Judaism: Narrative Transformations and Communal Identity". In Signori, Gabriela (ed.). Dying for the Faith, Killing for the Faith: Old-Testament Faith-Warriors (1 and 2 Maccabees) in Historical Perspective. Brill. p. 129–134. ISBN 978-90-04-21104-9.
66.  Stemberger, Günter (1992). "The Maccabees in Rabbinic Tradition". The Scriptures and the Scrolls: Studies in Honour of A.S. van der Woude on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday. E. J. Brill. p. 192–203.
67.  Schwartz 2008, p. 90.
68.  Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 360.
69.  Schwartz 2008, p. 78–80.
70.  Grabbe, Lester L. (2020). A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period: The Maccabean Revolt, Hasmonaean Rule, and Herod the Great (174–4 BCE). Library of Second Temple Studies. Vol. 95. T&T Clark. pp. 80–84. ISBN 978-0-5676-9294-8.
71.  Doran 2012, p. 3; 519–520.
72.  Schwartz 2008, p. 40–44.
73.  Portier-Young, Anathea (2011). Apocalypse Against Empire: Theologies of Resistance in Early Judaism. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 191–192. ISBN 9780802870834.
74.  Archer, Gleason Jr. (2007). A survey of Old Testament introduction ([Rev. and expanded]. ed.). Chicago, IL: Moody Press. pp. 81, 82. ISBN 978-0802484345.
75.  Gallagher, Edmon L. and Meade, John D. (2018). The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: Texts and Analysis. Oxford University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-0198792499.
76.  Hanhart, Robert; Kappler, Werner (1976). Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graece. Maccabaeorum liber II (in German). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 9–11, 26–33. ISBN 3-525-53405-1.
77.  Doran 2012, p. 19.

Bibliography

• Bar-Kochva, Bezalel (1989). Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish Struggle Against the Seleucids. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521323525.
• Bartlett, John R. (1973). The First and Second Books of the Maccabees. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Doran, Robert (2012). Attridge, Harold W. (ed.). 2 Maccabees: A Critical Commentary. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press. ISBN 9780800660505.
• Harrington, Daniel J. (2009) [1988]. The Maccabean Revolt: Anatomy of a Biblical Revolution. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock. ISBN 978-1-60899-113-6.
• Goldstein, Jonathan A. (1983). II Maccabees: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Bible Series. Vol. 41A. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04864-5.
• Schwartz, Daniel R. (2008). 2 Maccabees. Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-019118-9.
• Harrington, Daniel J. (2012). New Collegeville Bible Commentary: First and Second Maccabees. Collegeville Township, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0814628461.

Further reading

• Borchardt, Francis. 2016. "Reading Aid: 2 Maccabees and the History of Jason of Cyrene Reconsidered." Journal for the Study of Judaism 47, no. 1: 71–87.
• Coetzer, Eugene. 2016. "Heroes and Villains in 2 Maccabees 8:1–36: A Rhetorical Analysis." Old Testament Essays: 419–33.
• Doran, Robert. 1981. Temple Propaganda: The Purpose and Character of 2 Maccabees. Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 12. Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association.
• Habicht, C. 1976. "Royal Documents in II Maccabees." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 80: 1–18.
• Janowitz, Naomi. 2017. The Family Romance of Martyrdom In Second Maccabees. New York: Routledge.
• Kosmin, P. 2016. "Indigenous Revolts in 2 Maccabees: The Persian Version." Classical Philology 111, no. 1: 32–53.
• Stewart, Tyler A. 2017. "Jewish Paideia: Greek Education in the Letter of Aristeas and 2 Maccabees." Journal for the Study of Judaism 48, no. 2: 182–202.
• Trotter, Jonathan R. 2017. "2 Maccabees 10:1–8: Who Wrote It and Where Does It Belong?" Journal of Biblical Literature 136, no. 1: 117–30.