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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 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work. " Deuterocanonical books " is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Antiochus is the name of thirteen kings of the Seleucid Empire: Antiochus I Soter Antiochus II Theos Antiochus Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Nicanor (born ??? BC - died 161 BC pronounced ni-ka'-nor ni'-ka-nor (Nikanor was a Syrian- Seleucid General under Antiochus Epiphanes and Demetrius Judas Maccabeus (or Judah Maccabee, also spelled Machabeus or Maccabaeus Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, Yehudah HaMakabi, Judah the Hammer A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and

2 Maccabees was written in Greek, probably in Alexandria[1], Egypt, c 124 BC. [2] It presents a revised version of the historical events recounted in the first seven chapters of 1 Maccabees, adding material from the Pharisaic tradition, including prayer for the dead and a resurrection on Judgment Day. [2]

Catholics and Orthodox consider the work to be canonical and part of the Bible. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Protestants and Jews reject most of the doctrinal innovations present in the work. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Some Protestants include 2 Maccabees as part of the Apocrypha, useful for reading in the church. Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England defines it as useful but not the basis of doctrine and not necessary for salvation. The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established in 1563 and are the historic defining statements of Anglican doctrine in relation to the controversies of the The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican [3][4]

Contents

Author

The author of 2 Maccabees is not identified, but he claims to be abridging a 5-volume work by Jason of Cyrene. Jason of Cyrene was a Hellenistic Jew who lived about 100 BCE and wrote a history of the times of the Maccabees down to the victory over 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 BC 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. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Hanukkah (חנוכה alt Chanukah) also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the If the author of the book inserted these letters, the book would have to have been written after 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. Catholic scholars tend toward a dating in the last years of the second century BC, while the consensus among Jewish scholars place it in the second half of the first century BC. The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. The 1st century BC started the first day of 100 BC and ended the last day of 1 BC.

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.

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 BC) to the defeat of Nicanor in 161. Seleucus IV Philopator, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 187 BC to 175 BC over a realm consisting of Syria (now including Cilicia Events By place Greece After three years of intriguing against his younger brother Demetrius including accusing him of coveting the succession to

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. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE 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. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The action follows a very simple plan: after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple is instituted. Another Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king in Commagene under Caligula and Claudius. The newly-dedicated Temple is threatened by Nicanor, and after his death, the festivities for the dedication are concluded.

Doctrine

2 Maccabees is notable for several points of advanced doctrine deriving from Pharisaic Judaism. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated"

Doctrinal issues that are raised in 2 Maccabees include:

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. Wherever there is a belief in the continued existence of Man 's personality through and after Death, Religion naturally concerns itself with the relations Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral Rule, or the state of having committed such a violation The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity This article concerns itself with Jesus Christ Christian, Islamic and other religious interpretations of resurrection in general The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom 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 (that number is considerably higher in the Eastern Orthodox churches' calendars, where they also appear). The book is considered the first model of the medieval stories of the martyrs.

Canonicity

Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox regard 2 Maccabees as canonical. Jews and Protestants do not. 2 Maccabees, along with 1 and 3 Maccabees, appeared in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible completed in the 1st century BC. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the [2] In Jamnia c 90, Palestinian rabbis endorsed a narrower canon, excluding deuterocanonical works such as 2 Maccabees. Even before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai relocated to the city of Yavne / Jamnia and received permission This had little immediate impact on Christians, however, since most Christians did not know Hebrew and were familiar with the Hebrew Bible through the Greek Septuagint text of Hellenistic Jews, which included 2 Maccabees and other deuterocanonical works. When the texts were translated into Latin in the early fifth century by Jerome, he noticed that they were absent in the Hebrew but, not wanting to remove them from the canon entirely, coined the term deuterocanon (Greek second canon) for them. In the early 1520s, Martin Luther found much of the contents of the deuterocanon, particularly 2 Maccabees, doctrinally disagreeable and removed them on the pretext that they were absent from the Masoretic text, along with the Epistle of James. [2]

2 Maccabees was condemned in Protestant circles. [2] 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. " Deuterocanonical books " is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. "[7]

References

  1. ^ Alexandria was a center of Jewish, and later Christian, scholarship.
  2. ^ a b c d e Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Stephen L Harris is Professor and Chair Department of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University Sacramento. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
  3. ^ Article VI at episcopalian.org
  4. ^ read online
  5. ^ (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. (2 Macc 12:42-45)
  6. ^ 12:44 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.
  7. ^ Luther, Martin [1566] (1893). Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer "Of God's Word: XXIV", The Table-Talk of Martin Luther, trans. William Hazlitt, Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society. LCC BR332.T4. The Library of Congress Classification ( LCC) is a system of Library classification developed by the Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2006-03-25. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6.  

External links

Preceded by
1 Maccabees		 R. 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom probably about 100 BC. Catholic & Orthodox
Books of the Bible
See Deuterocanon		 Succeeded by
Job in the Roman Catholic OT
3 Maccabees in the Eastern OT
Books of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox Slavonic Orthodox Georgian Armenian Apostolic " Deuterocanonical books " is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages The Book of Job ( איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. One of the Pseudepigrapha, the Biblical book 3 Maccabees is found in most Orthodox Bibles as a part of the Deuterocanonical books, but Protestants Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon.

Dictionary

2 Maccabees

-proper noun

  1. (Biblical) The second book of Maccabees of the Old Testament Apocrypha.
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