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Line 7: + + − This is one of the historical books of the Bible, similar in tone to the books of Kings and Chronicles and Joshua and Judges. It is a religious summary or epitome by an unknown author of a 5 volume work by an unknown Jason of Cyrene, covering the history of the Jews from the time of the rise of [[Alexander the Great]] during the [[high priest|high priesthood]] of [[Jaddua]] about 333 B.C., through the persecution of [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]], and the resistance of the [[Maccabee]]s under Judas Maccabeus. The book is prefaced by copies of official correspondence sent to the Jews in Egypt in 124 B.C., and a second document addressed to Aristobulus II "of the family of the anointed priests" Hasmonean high priest of the nation 66 to 63 B.C. in the time of [[Pompey]] of Rome. The book was evidently written shortly after that time as an encouragement to the Jews to remain faithful to God with confidence in his power over the nations.+ − + + + Line 38:
Line 42: − "''...To [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1769-aristobulus-ii Aristobulus],''<ref>Aristobulus II (son of Alexander Jannaeus [''who ruled'' 103–76 B.C.] son of John Hyrcanus). It is unlikely that the earlier Aristobulus I is indicated, who imprisoned his mother, killed his brother, and ruled less than one year 104–103 B.C. as ethnarch and high priest. ''Ant.'' 13:11:1–3 (§§301–317).</ref> ''who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptolemy the king ''[http://www.livius.org/ps-pz/ptolemies/ptolemy_xii_auletes.html Ptolemy XII Auletes]''...Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king. For he drove out those who fought against the holy city.''"+ − *''See'' Josephus, [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/works/files/ant-14.htm ''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book 14, Chapters 2—4]+ − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + − − See [[Apocrypha]]. Line 54:
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additional information, and links. Source materials combined, synthesized, condensed and partially corrected and rewritten. Needs more work.
2 Maccabees was first removed from the Old Testament and placed in the Apocrypha by Martin Luther in the 16th century. The Second Book of Maccabees is regarded as an apocryphal book of the Old Testament by less than one-third of Christian believers.<ref name=Prot/>
2 Maccabees was first removed from the Old Testament and placed in the Apocrypha by Martin Luther in the 16th century. The Second Book of Maccabees is regarded as an apocryphal book of the Old Testament by less than one-third of Christian believers.<ref name=Prot/>
See [[Apocrypha]]<br/>See [[Biblical Canon]]
==Content==
==Content==
'''2 Maccabees''' is one of the Historical books of the Bible, similar in tone to the books of Kings and Chronicles and Joshua and Judges. It is a religious summary or epitome by an unknown author of a 5 volume work by an unknown Jason of Cyrene, covering the history of the Jews from the time of the rise of [[Alexander the Great]] during the [[high priest|high priesthood]] of [[Jaddua]] about 333 B.C., through the persecution of [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]], and the resistance of the [[Maccabee]]s under Judas Maccabeus. The book is prefaced by copies of official correspondence sent to the Jews in Egypt in 124 B.C., and a second document addressed to Aristobulus II "of the family of the anointed priests" Hasmonean high priest of the nation 66 to 63 B.C. in the time of [[Pompey]] of Rome. The book was evidently written shortly after that time as an encouragement to the Jews to remain faithful to God with confidence in his power over the nations.
Chapter 10:1-9 relates the triumphant recovery and dedication of the Temple after the defilement of the pagans and apostate Jews who had gone over to [[Hellenism]]. The '''Feast of the Dedication''' is mentioned in the Gospel According to John, chapter 10:22-23. Today this celebration is called '''[[Ḥanukkah]]'''. It demonstrates the miraculous providence of God in preserving the nation in the face of violent religious oppression, and the overcoming of pagan forces seeking the annihilation of the Jews and the destruction of the books (scrolls) of the sacred scriptures containing the written Word of God. It ends with the triumphant defeat of Nicanor, the Syrian general, his beheading, and the decree that this day be celebrated, the 13th day of Adar, the day before Purim on the 14th and 15th day of Adar the 12th month of the Jewish calendar.
===The Dedication (2 Maccabees 10:1-8 and John 10:22-23)===
[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%2010:1-8&version=NABRE 2 Maccabees Chapter 10:1-8] relates the triumphant recovery and dedication of the Temple after the defilement of the pagans and apostate Jews who had gone over to [[Hellenism]]. The '''Feast of the Dedication''' is mentioned in the [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2010:22-23&version=KJV Gospel According to John, chapter 10:22-23.] Today this celebration is called '''[[Ḥanukkah]]'''. It demonstrates the miraculous providence of God in preserving the nation in the face of violent religious oppression, and the overcoming of pagan forces seeking the annihilation of the Jews and the destruction of the books (scrolls) of the sacred scriptures containing the written Word of God. It ends with the triumphant defeat of Nicanor, the Syrian general, his beheading, and the decree that this day be celebrated, the 13th day of Adar, the day before Purim on the 14th and 15th day of Adar the 12th month of the Jewish calendar.
===Chapter summary headings===
===Chapter summary headings===
==Confused readings of the identity of Antiochus in 2 Maccabees 1==
==Confused readings of the identity of Antiochus in 2 Maccabees 1==
Some commentaries and footnotes on the deuterocanonical/apocrypha books of 1 and 2 Maccabees state that there are 3 conflicting accounts of the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in these works,<ref>2 Maccabees 1:14-17 and 9:1-29 and 1 Maccabees 6:1-16.</ref> some writers adducing from this interpretive reading of the text (''and other perceived indications'') that the books are false and unhistorical, full of errors, and therefore apocryphal. They are evidently misled by the name "Antiochus" into believing that all 3 accounts are drawn from independent and conflicting sources, each attempting to describe the death of one man, and not of different men, each of whom was named Antiochus, and that they were collected together without any attempt at editorial correction, harmonizing, or comment on their differences by the author of the book. Our recent custom of numbering kings with the same name as I, II, III, IV, V, etc., the First, the Second, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth, etc. is unknown in antiquity, and is perhaps a factor contributing to the confusion of identity. However, the text alone of the books of the Maccabees mentions distinctly separate individuals having each the name of "Antiochus" combined with a second ''nomen'' (see [http://biblehub.com/topical/a/antiochus.htm Topical Bible: Antiochus]):
*Antiochus Epiphanes ("the Illustrious"), who succeeded his brother Seleucus Kallinikos 175 B.C..
*2 Maccabees 1:13-16 relates the death of [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antiochus_10.html Antiochus X Eusebes] and his men, during the course of a military expedition, as locked inside the temple of Nanaya/Nanea in Persia,<ref>Nanea. See [http://www.behindthename.com/name/nanaya Nanaya] (behindthename.com) and [http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000731.php The Melammu Project. The Heritage of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East: Nanaya in Syria and Mesopotamia] (aakkl.helsinki.fi)</ref> stoned to death and beheaded by the priests.<ref>[http://www.westarinstitute.org/membership/westar-fellows/fellows-directory/mahlon-h-smith/ Mahlon H. Smith] states that Antiochus X Eusebes died fighting the Parthian Empire (which included Persian territory).<br/>See [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antiochus_10.html Antiochus X Eusebes ''entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith''] and [http://www.livius.org/am-ao/antiochus/antiochus_x_eusebes.html Antiochus X Eusebes] (livius.org)</ref><ref name=ParthianMedia/> <br/>(<small>This Antiochus should not be confused with the earlier Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who failed to take Elymais and its temple, and afterward died of parasitic infection and decay in the mountains of Persia. 1 Maccabees 6:1-16; 2 Maccabees 9:1-10, 28.</small><ref>Some scholars (''The New American Bible'' for example) believe that the ''Antiochus'' referred to in this text of 2 Macc. 1:14 was Antiochus IV Epiphanes: "'''''1, 14-17''': A different account of the death of Antiochus IV is given in 2 Mc 9, 1-29 and another variant account in 1 Mc 6, 1-16. The writer of this letter'' [2 Macc. 1:10–2:18 one copy to Aristobulus in Jerusalem, one copy to the Jews in Egypt] ''probably heard a distorted rumor of the king's death. This fact and other indications show that the letter was written very soon after Antiochus IV died, hence in 164 B.C.'' —New American Bible, 2 Maccabees 1:14–17, footnote. <br/> As with the text of Daniel 11:45, a literalist interpretation of 2 Maccabees rejects the scholarly view of a "''distorted rumor''" in favor of an "inerrant" reading that takes the narrative as an accurate report, and therefore as not referring to the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but to the actual death of another Antiochus who was slain by Parthians in the (Syrian) region of [http://americanhistory.si.edu/numismatics/parthia/frames/phisf.htm Persia/the Parthian Empire] in the temple of Nanaya. The extra-biblical evidence cited by Mahlon H. Smith and others regarding the "official" circumstances of the death of Antiochus X tends to support this literalist view, as being an ancient historical revisionist account written to cover up the truth of his humiliating and scandalous death as recorded in the Bible, as being instead the death of a king in the midst of a battle against his Parthian enemy, but this is currently a minority opinion.</ref>)
:(2 Maccabees 4:7) Antiochus IV Epiphanes called simply ,"Antiochus": 1 Maccabees 1–6; 2 Maccabees 4–9.
*Antiochus Eupator ("Nobleborn"), son and successor to Antiochus Epiphanes, who ascended the throne as a boy (163-161 B.C.)
:(2 Maccabees 9:29; 13:1) Antiochus V Eupator called simply ,"Antiochus": 1 Maccabees 6–7; 2 Maccabees 11–14.
*Antiochus Theos ("God"), or, according to coins, Dionysus Epiphanes, the son of Alexander Balas, who claimed to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and thus brother of Antiochus V Eupator. Alexander Balas left the throne to his son Antiochus in 146 B.C.
:(1 Maccabees 11:39-40; 54-57). Antiochus VI Theos called simply ,"Antiochus": 1 Maccabees 11–13.
*Antiochus Eusebes ("Pious")
:(2 Maccabees 1:11-17). Antiochus X Eusebes called simply ,"Antiochus": 2 Maccabees 1.
In the 1st chapter of 2 Maccabees, the second letter (1:10–2:18) is addressed to Aristobulus:<blockquote>"''...To Aristobulus,''<ref>Aristobulus II (son of Alexander Jannaeus [''who ruled'' 103–76 B.C.] son of John Hyrcanus). See [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1769-aristobulus-ii Jewish Encyclopedia: Aristobulus II].<br/>It is unlikely that the earlier Aristobulus I is indicated, who imprisoned his mother, killed his brother, and ruled less than one year 104–103 B.C. as ethnarch and high priest. ''Ant.'' 13:11:1–3 (§§301–317).</ref> ''who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of Ptolemy the king ''<ref>[http://www.livius.org/ps-pz/ptolemies/ptolemy_xii_auletes.html Ptolemy XII Auletes]</ref>''...Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king. For he drove out those who fought against the holy city.''"</blockquote>
This aggressive military action of Antiochus X against Jerusalem is related indirectly by Josephus, [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/works/files/ant-14.htm ''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book 14, Chapters 2—4], in which he relates that numbers of men swarmed out of Persia and fought against the Jews, and the holy city. The second letter of 2 Maccabees relates (1:13-16) the death of Antiochus X Eusebes and his men,<ref>See [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antiochus_10.html Antiochus X Eusebes] (virtualreligion.net)</ref> during the course of a military expedition, as locked inside the temple of Nanaya/Nanea in Persia,<ref>Nanea. See [http://www.behindthename.com/name/nanaya Nanaya] (behindthename.com) and [http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000731.php The Melammu Project. The Heritage of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East: Nanaya in Syria and Mesopotamia] (aakkl.helsinki.fi)</ref> stoned to death and beheaded by the priests. Mahlon H. Smith states that, according to Syrian records, Antiochus X Eusebes died fighting the Parthian Empire (which included Persian territory).<ref>[http://www.westarinstitute.org/membership/westar-fellows/fellows-directory/mahlon-h-smith/ Mahlon H. Smith]<br/>See [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antiochus_10.html Antiochus X Eusebes ''entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith''] <br/>and [http://www.livius.org/am-ao/antiochus/antiochus_x_eusebes.html Antiochus X Eusebes] (livius.org)</ref><ref name=ParthianMedia>'''Parthian Media'''. See [http://www.iranchamber.com/history/parthians/parthians.php Parthian Empire] (iranchamber.com), [http://www.ancient.eu/Parthian_Empire Parthian Empire] (ancient.eu), [http://www.friesian.com/iran.htm Media, Persia, Parthia, and Irân] (friesian.com), and [http://www.livius.org/pan-paz/parthia/kings.html Parthian kings] (livius.org)</ref> This Antiochus should not be confused with the earlier Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who failed to take Elymais and its temple, and afterward died of parasitic infection and decay in the mountains of Persia. 1 Maccabees 6:1-16; 2 Maccabees 9:1-10, 28.
:
See [[Literalist Bible chronology]].
Some scholars (''The New American Bible'' 1970 for example) nevertheless believe that the ''Antiochus'' referred to in this text of 2 Maccabees 1:14 was Antiochus IV Epiphanes: <blockquote>[<small>2 Maccabees</small>] "'''''1, 14-17''': A different account of the death of Antiochus IV is given in 2 Mc 9, 1-29 and another variant account in 1 Mc 6, 1-16. The writer of this letter'' <ref>"This letter": 2 Macc. 1:10–2:18 one copy to Aristobulus in Jerusalem, one copy to the Jews in Egypt.</ref> ''probably heard a distorted rumor of the king's death. This fact and other indications show that the letter was written very soon after Antiochus IV died, hence in 164 B.C.''"
:—New American Bible, 2 Maccabees 1:14–17, footnote.<ref>See the [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%201:14-27&version=NABRE footnote 1:14-17, 2 Maccabees, in ''The New American Bible, Revised Edition'']</ref></blockquote>
However, the address of the letter of the senate and Judas in Jerusalem to "''Aristobulus, who is of the family of anointed priests''",<ref>"Judas", a common name among the Jews. Judas Maccabeus had died before the formation of the senate of the Jews under Simon the high priest. <br/>See 1 Maccabees 13:41–14:49.</ref> that is, of the family of the [[Hasmoneans|Hasmonean]] high priests, indicates a period after 104 B.C., after the death of John Hyrcanus I.
:
As with the text of Daniel 11:45, a literalist interpretation of 2 Maccabees rejects the liberalist scholarly view of a "''distorted rumor''" in favor of an "inerrant" reading that takes the narrative as an accurate report, and therefore as not referring to the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but to the actual death of another Antiochus who was slain by the Parthians in the (Syrian) region of [http://americanhistory.si.edu/numismatics/parthia/frames/phisf.htm Persia/the Parthian Empire] in the temple of Nanaya. The extra-biblical evidence cited by Mahlon H. Smith and others regarding the "official" circumstances of the death of Antiochus X tends to support a literalist view that the "official" Syrian record is an ancient historical revisionist account written to cover up the truth of his humiliating and scandalous death as recorded in the Bible, and presented by embarrassed Syrian chroniclers as being instead the death of a king in the midst of a battle against his Parthian enemy, but this literalist understanding of the contradicting ''historical'' record is currently a minority opinion.
:
It is a characteristic mark of liberalist scholarship to take the word of pagan writers as being unquestionably more reliable and accurate than the word of the biblical author, and to take the judgment of the biblical canon by Jews who reject Christianity and the entire New Testament and Jesus Christ himself as being unquestionably more reliable and accurate than the judgment of the Holy Spirit who guided and led the apostles and early Church leaders who accepted and preserved all the books of the Septuagint as that authentic Old Testament of the Bible which clearly proves that Jesus is the Christ together with the judgment of those Christian Church leaders ("''obey those who are over you in the Lord; for they watch over your souls''" [http://biblehub.com/multi/hebrews/13-17.htm Hebrews 13:17]) who finally closed the debate over the canonical status of the books of the Bible.
===Text comparison===
Online links to the three texts are provided here for comparison (''Douay-Rheims Bible''):
*[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1maccabees%206:1-16&version=DRA 1 Maccabees 6:1-16]
*[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%209:1-29&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 9:1-29]
*[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%201:11-17&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 1:11-17]
Compare: [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1maccabees%206:8&version=DRA 1 Maccabees 6:8] and [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%209:3-10&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 9:3-10]
The abbreviated summary statement in 1 Maccabees 6:8 is simply related, with the details of the story related in 2 Maccabees 9:3-10. In both accounts, Antiochus goes to Persia. In 1 Maccabees he tried to take Elymais and its temple;<ref>Elymais. A district of Persia lying South of Media and North of Susiana, a name derived from its capital, Susa. See [http://biblehub.com/topical/e/elymais.htm Topical Bible: Elymais].</ref> and in Persia, after being withstood, and fleeing with intention to return to Babylon, and after hearing of the revolt in Judea, while still in Persia, he is stricken ill, and he dies. In 2 Maccabees, while he was in Persia, Antiochus also went to Persepolis and attempted to rob the temple ("temples" plural RSV) and control the city, and after being withstood, and again shamefully retreating, and while he was in Ecbatana, in Persia, and after hearing of the revolt in Judea, he departs from Ecbatana, he is stricken ill, and he dies ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%209:28&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 9:28]; [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=daniel%2011:44-45&version=KJV Daniel 11:44-45]). There is no conflict here: the story is essentially the same. An omission in one narrative which is included in another is not a contradiction of the source. Compare 1 Maccabees 1:16-52 and 2 Maccabees 5:1-26. The second invasion of Egypt in 2 Maccabees 5:1 is not mentioned in 1 Maccabees, but there is no conflict here. The two accounts complement each other: what one has not, the other has. And it is the same with the narratives of 1 Maccabees 6:1-16 and 2 Maccabees 9:1-29.
But there is another, distinctly different story, about another Antiochus. In the 1st chapter of 2 Maccabees another Antiochus dies inside the temple of Nanea, in Babylon, not in Persia. Compare: [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%201:14-16&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 1:14-16]. The temple of Nanea/Nanaya was not in Elymais near Susa, but westward of that city, outside of Persia, closer to Judea, in Uruk, an ancient city of Sumer, later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river. The distance between Susa in the east and Babylon toward the west is about 2,435 miles (3,919 kilometers) in a straight line.<ref>[http://www.worldcities.us/distance_from_Susa-CO_to_Babylon/ Distance from Susa to Babylon] (worldcities.us)</ref><ref>Sources:
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=1frplXFGf4sC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=temple+of+Nanaya&source=bl&ots=Tntk4N1jAB&sig=xgWxdK37-Xxvpu0Rl9Ati_ZAVjs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=klCwVJqLFsmlyASy74KQBg&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=temple%20of%20Nanaya&f=false Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon, By T. Boiy]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=v-WRJhvfudIC&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=temple+of+Nanaya&source=bl&ots=x_p73qgXAE&sig=om_5tLlXaDxAZy0H_Iy1k51yvW4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=klCwVJqLFsmlyASy74KQBg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=temple%20of%20Nanaya&f=false The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian Period, By Paul-Alain Beaulieu.]</ref><ref>See [https://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+parthian+empire&rlz=1C1QJDB_enUS602US602&espv=2&biw=996&bih=642&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=YGewVILaKYSuyQS2vILoBw&ved=0CDIQ7Ak&dpr=1#imgdii=_&imgrc=hE0L7HaVY3WbQM%253A%3BoYF4K5obTCoOmM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.iranchamber.com%252Fhistory%252Fsassanids%252Fimages%252Fsassanid_empire_map.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.iranchamber.com%252Fhistory%252Fsassanids%252Fsassanids.php%3B600%3B350 Map of Parthian Empire]</ref> The setting of this story is clearly not the same.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes was not alive during the high priesthood of Aristobulus II 66–63 B.C. when the second letter of 2 Maccabees 1 was written. The Antiochus who died in the temple of Nanea was not Antiochus IV. The stories are of two different occurances with two different men who died at two different times and in two different places. They are not the same. The editor and author of 2 Maccabees does not identify them as representing the same event, nor should we. From the context the two letters of 2 Maccabees 1–2 were not part of the work by Jason of Cyrene epitomized by the author of 2 Maccabees, but were written approximately 36 and 95 years, respectively, after the events he documented in his history (Nicanor was defeated by Judas 160 B.C.).
By an interpretive reading (''eisegesis'' <ref>See [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eisegesis Merriam-Webster definition: eisegesis]. ''Eisegesis'' occurs when a reader imposes his or her interpretation into and onto the text, such as the belief that the name "Antiochus" only means Antiochus IV Epiphanes, saying that it means what it does ''not'' mean ([[Proof text|reader-response Biblical interpretation]]). See four articles
*[http://www.gotquestions.org/exegesis-eisegesis.html What is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis?] —gotquestions.org
*[http://thechristianwatershed.com/2007/12/10/eisegesis-vs-exegesis/ Eisegesis vs. Exegesis] —thechristianwatershed.com
*[http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/5430/how-to-separate-exegesis-from-eisegesis-in-this-example How to separate exegesis from eisegesis in this example?] —hermeneutics.stackexchange.com
*[http://carm.org/dictionary-eisegesis Dictionary: eisegesis. Brief informal definition and discussion of eisegesis: —''citing a classic example of Mormon eisegesis on 1 Cor. 8:5'' (KJV)] —carm.org. ''Eisegesis'' is severely condemned according to many literalist readings of the text of the [[Deuteronomy|Book of Deuteronomy]] and the [[Book of Revelation]] See [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/22-18.htm# Literalist commentaries on Revelation 22:18] and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/deuteronomy/4-2.htm# Literalist commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:2] (biblehub.com).</ref>) of the name "Antiochus" as representing only the one man Antiochus IV Epiphanes alone, in each of the three narratives discussed above, a contradiction and confusion and error is perceived and introduced where none in fact exists. There is no awareness of the supportive factual details of history in such a reading and in such commentaries, which only leads to erroneous conclusions about the factual historicity of the book. See [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%204:24-25&version=NABRE Mark 4:24-25]<blockquote>"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." KJV</blockquote>
==New Testament allusions to 2 Maccabees==
==New Testament allusions to 2 Maccabees==
The martyrdom of the mother and her 7 sons in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%207&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 7] is referenced in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2011:35&version=KJV Hebrews 11:35.] The 6th chapter's testimony of the witness of the aged Eleazar faithful to the Law in the face of death [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%206:18-31&version=DRA 6:18-31] and the 7th chapter's testimony of their powerful words to the tyrant before they died are referenced as the angel with the little scroll who cried out like a lion roaring and the 7 thunders sounding, whose words John sealed up and did not write, in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=revelation%2010:1-7&version=KJV Revelation 10:1-7].
The martyrdom of the mother and her 7 sons in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%207&version=DRA 2 Maccabees 7] is referenced in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2011:35&version=KJV Hebrews 11:35.] The 6th chapter's testimony of the witness of the aged Eleazar faithful to the Law in the face of death [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2maccabees%206:18-31&version=DRA 6:18-31] and the 7th chapter's testimony of the powerful words of the seven sons to the tyrant before they died are referenced as the angel with the little scroll who cried out like a lion roaring and the 7 thunders sounding, whose words John sealed up and did not write, in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=revelation%2010:1-7&version=KJV Revelation 10:1-7] (compare the "sons of thunder", "''boanerges''" in [http://biblehub.com/multi/mark/3-17.htm Mark 3:17]).
==References==
==References==
==External links==
==External links==
[http://www.wmcarey.edu/browning/Classes/HOB/BibleD-OTText.pdf The Old Testament Text. (wmcarey.edu/browning/Classes)]
[http://www.wmcarey.edu/browning/Classes/HOB/BibleD-OTText.pdf The Old Testament Text. (wmcarey.edu/browning/Classes)]
[http://www.scripturecatholic.com/septuagint.html Septuagint Quotes in the New Testament]
[http://www.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/0 Introduction to 1 Maccabees (includes introduction to 2 Maccabees)]
[https://www.bible.com/bible/69/2ma.INTRO1.gntd Introduction to 2 Maccabees Good News Translation (US Version) (GNTD)] (bible.com)
[http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/2maccabees.html Early Jewish Writings: 2 Maccabees] (earlyjewishwritings.com)
[http://www.livius.org/maa-mam/maccabees/2macc01.html 2 Maccabees] (livius.org) ''includes Revised Standard Version text''
[http://graceandknowledge.faithweb.com/apoc2.html An Introduction to the Apocrypha-Part Two. The Second Book of Maccabees, By Jared L. Olar] (graceandknowledge.faithweb.com)
[http://www.bible.ca/catholic-apocrypha.htm Roman Catholic and Orthodox Faith Examined, and The Apocrypha: "Reasons why the Apocrypha does NOT belong in the Bible!"] (bible.ca)
[http://www.bible.ca/catholic-apocrypha.htm Roman Catholic and Orthodox Faith Examined, and The Apocrypha: "Reasons why the Apocrypha does NOT belong in the Bible!"] (bible.ca)
[http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/chapter2.html Reasoning From the Scriptures with Ron Rhodes Critique of Chapter 2, Does the Apocrypha Belong in the Bible?, by Matt1618]
[http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/chapter2.html Reasoning From the Scriptures with Ron Rhodes Critique of Chapter 2, Does the Apocrypha Belong in the Bible?, by Matt1618]
[http://www.presentationministries.com/tapes/tape.asp?pubID=268 Presentation Ministries: Introduction to the Bible (1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees). Audio AV31-3. Description: A 30-minute introduction to each book of the Bible. Speaker: Fr. Al Lauer] (presentationministries.com)
[http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/default.asp Greek and English Septuagint] <br/> [http://vulgate.org/ Latin and English Vulgate]<br/>[http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Apocrypha-Books/ Kings James Apocrypha Online]
[http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/default.asp Greek and English Septuagint] <br/> [http://vulgate.org/ Latin and English Vulgate]<br/>[http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Apocrypha-Books/ Kings James Apocrypha Online]
[[category:Bible]] [[category:apocrypha]]
[[category:Bible]] [[category:apocrypha]]