THE FIRST BOOK OF MACCABEES INTRODUCTION THE English Bible, as is well known, originally contained but two so-called Books of the Maccabees. ere are, however, three such books found in the Septuagint, and a fourth bearing the same title in connection with the works of Josephus. ese are all the Books of the Maccabees now existing in Greek. A work, sometimes called the Fih Book of Maccabees, is extant in an Arabic version, which is also known under the title, Historia Maccabœorum Arabica. Only the first two books actually treat of the Mac- cabæan family and their heroic efforts to free their native land from the Syrian yoke. e order in which these several works are usually enumerated is also that of their actual worth. e second book takes up the history at a point a lile earlier than the first (B.C. 176), but covers a period of only fourteen years. e first begins with the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 175), and closes with the death of the high priest Simon (B.C. 135), so including a space of forty years. e third book narrates the history of events which took place before the Maccabæan family appeared on the stage (B.C. 221–204). e fourth makes use of an incident or two found in the second book, the martyrdom of Eleazar with that of the seven brothers and their mother, introduced by an account of the aempt of Apollonius (Heliodorus) to rob the temple, in order to connect with it a philosophical disquisition on the Rule of Reason (Αὐτοκράτορος λογισμοῦ), or the supremacy of the ὄρθος λόγος over the πάθη. e fih is a chronicle of Jewish affairs, contained in fiy-nine chapters, beginning with the account of Heliodorus’ sacrilege, and extending to the Christian era. In the Arabic it has the title, “Second Book of Mac- cabees.” e first nineteen chapters include, although in a different order, events nar- rated in 1 and 2 Maccabees. At the close of the sixteenth chapter, the remark is found: “us far extends the second book, as it has been taken from the Hebrews.” e compil- er then goes on to the end of the nineteenth chapter to quote from the First Book of Maccabees. He seems also to have made use of the works of Josephus, but shows no such agreement with him as to justify the belief that the author was himself Josephus, as some have intimated. e work first appeared in the Paris Polyglot of Le Jay (vol. 9), and from it was copied into the London Polyglot (vol. 4.). e First Book of Maccabees, now especially under consideration, is by far the most Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., & Bissell, E. C. (). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Apocrypha. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:59 PM 25 December, 2016. 1 important work of the five bearing this name. Its contents, briefly stated, are as fol- lows: ere are first given, as by way of introduction, certain alleged facts relating to Alexander the Great and the partition of his kingdom. e writer then passes over to describe the efforts of Antiochus IV. Epiphanes, to corrupt the Israelitish people through foreign customs, root out their religion, and introduce in its place the frivoli- ties and abominations of heathenism. Excited to the highest pitch by this course, a priest, by the name of Maathias, dwelling at Modein, assembles those who are like- minded about him, and contests, sword in hand, wherever opportunity offers, the unrighteous doings of the king. He himself, however, already advanced in life, does not long survive the outbreak of the struggle. But he does not pass away until he has instilled a determination and deathless courage like his own into the hearts of his five stalwart sons. ey, at least three of them, are the real heroes of the book, and carry on to a successful issue the war for civil and religious freedom. In chapters 3–9:22 is relat- ed what took place under the leadership of Judas; from 9:23–12:53, the history of events during the rule of Jonathan; from 13–16:18, the results achieved by the skillful and pru- dent Simon. e book closes with an account of the escape of John Hyrcanus, the son of Simon, from an aempt on his life, and the statement that his remaining history is contained in the “chronicles of his priesthood, from the time he was made high priest aer his father.” ঌe Name Maccabee A great deal of research and learning has been expended in the effort to discover the derivation, and thereby the real meaning, of the word Maccabee. e Maccabees were of an Asmonæan family, the great-grandfather of Maathias having borne the § ,Ἀσαμωναῖος). Cf. 1 Chron. 24:7; Ps. 58:32, and Jos., Antiq., xii.6 , ַח ְשׁ ָמן) name Chasmon 1, 14:16, § 4, 20:8, § 11. And the title “Asmonæsan” or “Hasmonæan” is the one more commonly employed in Jewish literature to designate not only Maathias and his five sons, but also their descendants down to Herod the Great and Aristobulus. e title “Maccabee,” on the other hand, was first given to Judas, the third son of Maathias, who undertook, aer the death of his father, the leadership of those opposed to the Syrian rule; but at a very early date it was transferred to the entire family, as well as to many others, like Eleazer and the seven brothers, who had a prominent part in the same tragical history. Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., & Bissell, E. C. (). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Apocrypha. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:59 PM 25 December, 2016. 2 ,hammer , ַמ ָקּ ָבא ,.Chald , ַמ ָקּ ָבה e usual derivation of the word Maccabee is from as being a figurative characterization of the thoroughness and stubbornness with which Judas fought against the enemies of his country. So Michaelis, Gesenius, Ewald, Grimm, Keil, and many others. Curtiss, however, in his recent exhaustive monograph on this subject (ঌe Name Machabee, Hinrich, Leip., 1876), urges with great force against to which Μακκαβαῖος corresponds, is without ,מקּבי ,this theory: first, that the reading sufficient foundation; and, second, that the particular hammer referred to by such a designation, supposing the derivation to be correct, would be no fiing illustration for the dashing bravery of Judas. It is not the heavy smith’s hammer, but a smaller one, such as was used in various kinds of simple work. (Cf. Judg. 4:21; 1 Kings 6:7; Is. 44:12; Jer. 10:4.) And he maintains that the Hebrew writer, with six different words for this tool at his command, was not shut up to this one in order to characterize fitly the courage and impetuosity of the Maccabæan leader. Others think that the title is made up of the first leers of several Hebrew words which together formed the sentence: “Who among the gods is like to thee, Jehovah” (cf. Ex. 15:11), which, as is supposed, was inscribed on the Maccabæan banner. To this view it is objected, first, that there is no evidence that the custom of forming words in this manner prevailed at so early a date; second, the Greek form of the word, as wrien with two kappas, would in that case be incomprehensible; and, third, the title would not have possessed, on such a supposi- tion, that individual character which the facts of the history require. Cf. 1 Macc. 2:66, 3:1, 5:34, 2 Macc. 10:1, and passim. e same objections are valid against the derivation proposed by Delitzsch, who thinks the title is an abbreviation of certain Hebrew words meaning: “What is like my father?” e theory of this critic is given in full in a leer to Curtiss published in the work above referred to, pp. 23, 24. meaning, in , ָכּ ָבה Curtiss’s own opinion is, that the word comes from the Hebrew the Piel form, to extinguish, and he refers, among other passages, to Is. 63:17, where the overthrow of an army is compared to the extinguishing of burning flax. e form, would then be the Hiphil of this verb, having the same general meaning as the , ַמ ְכ ִבּי Piel, and would signify, the extinguisher. But in order to come as far as this, it was neces- and not ,מכבי sary first to sele the point that the original reading of the word was -is, Curtiss seeks to do, but, with regret it must be said, has not been so suc .מקבי Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., & Bissell, E. C. (). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Apocrypha. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:59 PM 25 December, 2016. 3 cessful as der Sache ein Loch zu machen, as the Germans would say. His argument, in brief, is this: e question turns on the forms of the word which are found in the Greek and the Latin, since the original is lost. e former has Μακκαβαῖος, which is not deci- sive, since it might come from either of the above-named Hebrew words. e laer, only, since Jerome, who מכבי Machabœus, which could be derived from the Hebrew had the original in his hands, and revised, at least to this extent, the old Latin, uniform- .the exceptions being only apparent ”,כ“ and “ch” for ”,ק“ ly employs a “c” to represent But at this point the otherwise very strong and unexceptionable chain of argument lacks a necessary link or two.