2 Maccabees

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Books of the Old Testament (For details see Biblical canon)
Hebrew Bible or Tanakh Common to Judaism and Christianity Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua (Jesus Nave) Judges Ruth 1–2 Samuel 1–2 Kings 1–2 Chronicles Ezra (see Esdras for other names) Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor prophets
Included by Orthodox and Roman Catholics, but excluded by Jews, Protestants, and other Christian denominations: Tobit Judith 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom (of Solomon) Ben Sira Baruch, includes Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah) Additions to Daniel Additions to Esther
Included by Orthodox (Synod of Jerusalem): 1 Esdras (see Esdras for other names) 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees (in appendix but not canonical) Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151
Included by Russian and Ethiopian Orthodox: 2 Esdras
Included by Ethiopian Orthodox: Jubilees Enoch 1–3 Meqabyan 4 Baruch
Included by Syriac Peshitta Bible: Psalms 152–155 2 Baruch This box: view • talk • edit

2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible which focuses on the Jews' revolt against Antiochus and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BCE by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work. Catholics and Orthodox consider the work to be canonical and part of the Bible. It's listed in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England^[1]. Protestants and Jews, while not considering it to be Scripture, consider it useful as a historical supplement to 1 Maccabees, but reject most of the doctrinal innovations present in the work. Some Protestants include 2 Maccabees as part of the Apocrypha, useful for reading in the church.

1 Author
2 Contents
3 Doctrine
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Author

The author of 2 Maccabees is not identified, but he claims to be abridging a 5-volume work by Jason of Cyrene. This longer work is not preserved, and it is uncertain how much of the present text of 2 Maccabees is simply copied from that work. The author wrote in Greek, apparently, 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. Jason's work was apparently written sometime around 100 BCE and most likely ended with the defeat of Nicanor, as does the abridgement available to us.

The beginning of the book includes two letters sent by Jews in Jerusalem to Jews of the Diaspora in Egypt concerning the feast day set up to celebrate the purification of the temple (see Hanukkah) and the feast to celebrate the defeat of Nicanor. If the author of the book inserted these letters, the book would have to have been written after 124 BCE, 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. Catholic scholars tend toward a dating in the last years of the second century BCE, while the consensus among Jewish scholars place it in the second half of the first century BCE.

It appears to be written for the benefit of the diaspora Jews in Egypt, primarily to inform them about the restoration of the temple and to encourage them to make the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is written not from the point of view of a professional historian, but rather of a religious teacher, who draws his lessons out of history.

[edit] Contents

Unlike 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees does not attempt to provide a complete account of the events of the period, instead covering only the period from the high priest Onias III and King Seleucus IV (180 BCE) to the defeat of Nicanor in 161.

In general, the chronology of the book coheres with that of 1 Maccabees, and it has some historical value in supplementing 1 Maccabees, principally in providing a few apparently authentic historical documents. The author seems primarily 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. It's possible that some events appear to be presented out of strict chronological order in order to make theological points. Some of the numbers cited for sizes of armies may also appear exaggerated though not all of the manuscripts of this book agree.

The Greek style of the writer is very educated, and he seems well-informed about Greek customs. The action follows a very simple plan: after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple is instituted. The newly-dedicated Temple is threatened by Nicanor, and after his death, the festivities for the dedication are concluded.

[edit] Doctrine

2 Maccabees is notable for several points of advanced doctrine deriving from Pharisaic Judaism. Many have suggested that this is the primary reason for its rejection—and following from that, the rejection of all the deuterocanonical books—by reformers such as Martin Luther, who 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."^[2]

Doctrinal issues that are raised in 2 Maccabees include:

Prayer for the dead and sacrificial offerings, both to free the dead from sin^[3]^[4]
Merits of the martyrs
Intercession of the saints (15:11-17) [1]
Resurrection from the dead

In particular, the long descriptions of the martyrdoms of Eleazer and of a mother with her seven sons (2 Macc 6:18–7:42) caught the imagination of medieval Christians. Several churches are dedicated to the "Maccabeean martyrs", and they are among the very few pre-Christian figures to appear on the Catholic calendar of saints' days. The book is considered the first model of the medieval stories of the martyrs.

[edit] References

^ Article VI at episcopalian.org
^ Luther, Martin [1566] (1893). "Of God's Word: XXIV", The Table-Talk of Martin Luther, trans. William Hazlitt, Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society. LCC BR332.T4.
^ (A)nd they turned to prayer, beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out. And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.
^ v.44 (For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.) is clearly paraphrased by St. Paul in 1 Cor 15:29 (Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?). This should not only put to rest questions of whether the New Testament authors accepted Maccabees but also make quite clear that Paul accepted the idea of offering one's personal sufferings for the dead to be loosed from their sins. (Baptism also means salvific suffering for others in the New Testament, cf. Mat 20:22-23, Mk 10:38-39 and Lk 12:50). However, such an opinion is Catholic in nature, reflecting the belief that the redemptive work of Christ may be added to by personal sufferings. Protestant Christians reject this view, and generally require that any given Church practice be taught by Christ, practiced by the Church in Acts and taught about in the epistles. Single verses that do not meet this criteria are not accepted as doctrine.