1 Maccabees - Although the book presents the Jewish leaders Judas, Jonathan, and Simon as devout people and has little sympathy for people who favor hellenization, it must be noted that he nowhere mentions divine intervention.
The book was composed in Greek and relates a story set in the time of Ptolemy IV Philopat.
The book is a story about a situation in which the Jewish people, this time in Egypt, were in danger of being annihilated by a Hellenistic monarch, who was attempting to topple their religious convictions and practices. 3 Maccabees- The title of 3 Maccabees is a misnomer because the book has nothing to do with the Maccabees, who are never mentioned in it. 14.46; 12.43) we have concepts of eternal life and death, and in 12.43 the intercession of the living for the dead, an element on which the Catholic church has sometimes sought to found the doctrine of Purgatory.
In 7.9, 14 (cf.
That is to say that God made the world not from things which were, which is not identical with \'nothing\' in the philosophical sense of the term.
In 7.28 there appears for the first time in Hebrew thought the doctrine which will later be called creatio ex nihilo, which is the belief that creation, and thus all things created, was brought about out of nothing.
This stand in stark contrast first to Wisdom and Philo, both of which teach the immortality of the soul.
We find theological features in 2 Maccabees such as the resurrection of the body in 7.11; 14.46.
The pagans are defined as \'blasphemous and barbarous nations\' in 10.4, but there are also severe censures of apostate Jews, of whom there must therefore, have been considerable numbers. 2 Maccabees is not as well written and has a less polished form.
The contents of the book can be summarized as follows: Chapter 1-2: The hellenization of Judah and the non-violent resistance by Mattathias
Chapter 3-9: Military actions by Judas the Maccabaean (\'battle hammer\'): after 166, he defeats the Seleucid armies three times and liberates Jerusalem, where the temple is purified; more operations
Judas\' defeat and death in 161
Chapter 9-12: Continued warfare, led by Judas\' brother Jonathan (160-143), who, benefiting from wars of succession in the Seleucid Empire, restores the fortunes of the Jewish nationalists and adds to their territories
Chapter 13-16: The third brother, Simon, achieves political independence and founds the Hasmonaean dynasty.2 Maccabees2 Maccabees has a much greater interest in theology than I Maccabees. 1 Maccabees - Although the book presents the Jewish leaders Judas, Jonathan, and Simon as devout people and has little sympathy for people who favor hellenization, it must be noted that he nowhere mentions divine intervention
