What is the difference between 1 and 2 Maccabees?

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.

What is the main theme of 1 Maccabees?

The work’s main religious theme is that the martyr’s sufferings vicariously expiated the sins of the entire Jewish people. The Maccabees books were preserved only by the Christian church. St. Augustine wrote in The City of God that they were preserved for their accounts of the martyrs.

Why was the Apocrypha removed?

They reasoned that not printing the Apocrypha within the Bible would prove to be less costly to produce. Since that time most modern editions of the Bible and reprintings of the King James Bible omit the Apocrypha section.

What’s the difference between 1 and 2 Maccabees?

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.

Who are the Maccabees in 2 Mac 7?

In this connection it gives a very moving account of the martyrdom of seven brothers, whose names are unknown but who are popularly called “the Maccabees” (2 Mac 7:1 ff).

Who are the characters in 1 and 2 Maccabees?

1 and 2 Maccabees are set during the reign of the Seleucid Greek empire (the part of the Greek empire that found its roots in Syria). It tells the story of how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress Temple worship and to destroy the practice of Jewish law. This caused the Maccabean revolt, led by Mattathias and his sons.

Where was the 2 Maccabees written in Greek?

Unlike 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees was written in Koine Greek, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, c. 124 BC.