The book of 4 Maccabees is a homily or philosophic discourse praising the supremacy of pious reason over passion. While once accepted as a deuterocanonical book by the Orthodox, it is increasingly relegated to an appendix of apocryphal works. The reasons for this include its inclusion of pagan thought and the differences between the dialog of the martyrs that it portrays and the one in 2 Maccabees. Amongst churches other than the orthodox, it has always been regarded as completely apocryphal. Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. 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Tobias and the Angel, by Filippino Lippi The Book of Tobit (or Book of Tobias in older Catholic Bibles) is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox and Anglican biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics... Judith with the Head of Holophernes, by Christophano Allori, 1613 (Pitti Palace, Florence) The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the Septuagint and in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian Old Testament of the Bible, but excluded by Jews and Protestants. ... 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible which was written by a Jewish (pre-Christian) author, probably about 100 BC, after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom. ... 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. ... Wisdom or the Wisdom of Solomon is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. ... The Wisdom of Ben Sira, (or The Wisdom of Yeshua Ben Sira or merely Sirach), called Ecclesiasticus (not to be confused with Ecclesiastes) by Christians, is a book written circa 180–175 BCE. The author, Yeshua ben Sira, was a Jew who had been living in Jerusalem, who may in... It has been suggested that Epistle of Jeremy be merged into this article or section. ... Letter of Jeremiah is an Apocryphal book consisting of a letter ascribed to Jeremiah to the Jews in exile in Babylon warning them against idolatry by demonstrating its unreasonableness. ... The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָהוּ YirmÉ™yāhÅ« in Hebrew), is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaisms Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianitys Old Testament. ... The additions to Daniel comprise of three additional chapters appended to the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel from the Greek Septuagint. ... Megillah redirects here. ... 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Apocrypha (from the Greek word , meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... 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. ...

Synopsis

The work consists of a prologue and two main sections; the first advances the philosophical thesis while the second illustrates the points made using examples drawn from 2 Maccabees (principally, the martyrdom of Eleazer and the Maccabeean youths) under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The last chapters concern the author's impressions drawn from these martyrdoms. The work thus appears to be an independent composition to 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, merely drawing on their descriptions to support its thesis. 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. ... Look up Martyr in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... There are several monarchs known by the title of Antiochus IV: Antiochus IV of Syria, who ruled during the time of Caligula; Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid oppressor of the Jews who provoked the revolt of the Maccabees. ... 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible which was written by a Jewish (pre-Christian) author, probably about 100 BC, after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom. ... 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. ...

Authorship and criticism

According to some scholars, the last chapter shows signs of later addition to the work, though this was disputed by the 19th century authors of the Jewish Encyclopedia. The dispute is based on the weak ending the book would have without the "added" chapter, as well as arguments based on style. The change of direction with chapter 27 supports the view of the work as a homily held before a Greek-speaking audience on the feast of Hanukkah, as advanced by Ewald and Freudenthal, where this would be a rhetorical element to draw the listeners into the discourse. Others hold that a homily would have to be based on scriptural texts, which this work is only loosely. The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) (‎), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday beginning on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which may fall anytime from late November to late December. ...

In style, the book is oratorical, but not so much as 3 Maccabees. A good amount of Stoic philosophy is cited by the author, though there is little original philosophical insight in the text. The writer appears to be an Alexandrian Jew who used the philosophical ideas of the time to clothe his religious ideas. This characterization is practically without parallel in Jewish literature, and it is cited as the best example of syncretism between Jewish and Hellenistic thought. Perhaps the closest match in the New Testament is the (anonymous) Epistle to the Hebrews. Oratory is the art of eloquent speech. ... The Biblical book 3 Maccabees is found in most Orthodox Bibles as a part of the deuterocanonical books. ... A restored Stoa in Athens. ... Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ...

The book is ascribed to Josephus by Eusebius and Jerome, and this opinion was accepted for many years, leading to its inclusion in many editions of Josephus' works. More modern critical scholarship points to great differences of language and style, so that this identification is largely abandoned today. The book is generally dated between the first century BC and the first century AD, due to its reliance on 2 Maccabees and use by Christians. It was probably written before the persecution of the Jews under Caligula, and certainly before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. A fanciful representation of Flavius Josephus, in an engraving in William Whistons translation of his works Josephus (37 – sometime after 100 CE),[1] who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus,[2] was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and... Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ... “Saint Jerome” redirects here. ... (2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century - other centuries) The 1st century BC starts on January 1, 100 BC and ends on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events The Roman... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, 12 – January 24, 41), more commonly known by his nickname Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 37 to 41 CE. During his brief reign, Caligula focused much of his attention on ambitious construction... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year 70. ...

Doctrinal content

The writer believes in the immortality of the soul, but denies the Pharisaic belief in the resurrection of the body. Good souls are said to live forever in happiness with the patriarchs and God, but even the evil souls are held to be immortal. The suffering and martyrdom of the Maccabees is seen by the author to be vicarious for the Jewish nation, and the author portrays martyrdom in general as bringing atonement for the past sins of the Jews. The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew פרושים prushim from פרוש parush, meaning separated , that is, one who is separated for a life of purity (Ernest Klein, Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language). ... See Patriarchs (Bible) for details about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

External links

• Greek text from Septuaginta: Id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes (Stuttgart: Privilegierte württembergische Biblelanstalt, 1935).
• English text from The Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
• Jewish Encyclopedia: IV Maccabees
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Books of the Maccabees
• An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek, Henry Barclay Swete, Cambridge University Press, 1914, page 280
• The Online Pseudepigrapha: 4 Maccabees