Septuagint 4 Maccabees

The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of Jewish sacred writings) is of great importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The first translation of the books of the Hebrew Bible (plus additions) into the common language of the ancient Mediterranean world made the Jewish scriptures accessible to many outside Judaism. Not only did the Septuagint become Holy Writ to Greek speaking Jews but it was also the Bible of the early Christian communities: the scripture they cited and the textual foundation of the early Christian movement. Translated from Hebrew (and Aramaic) originals in the two centuries before Jesus, the Septuagint provides important information about the history of the text of the Bible. For centuries, scholars have looked to the Septuagint for information about the nature of the text and of how passages and specific words were understood. For students of the Bible, the New Testament in particular, the study of the Septuagint's influence is a vital part of the history of interpretation. But until now, the Septuagint has not been available to English readers in a modern and accurate translation. The New English Translation of the Septuagint fills this gap.

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This commentary examines 4 Maccabees as a contribution to the ongoing reformulation of Jewish identity and practice in the Greek-speaking Diaspora. It analyzes the Jewish author’s interaction with, and facility in, Greek rhetorical conventions, ethical philosophy, and literary culture, giving attention also to his use and interpretation of texts and traditions from the Jewish Scriptures and other Hellenistic Jewish writings. The commentary exhibits the author’s skillful weaving together of all these resources to create a text that interprets the Torah-observant life as the fullest embodiment of the best Greek ethical ideals. A distinctive feature is the examination of how the experience of reading 4 Maccabees in Codex Sinaiticus differs from the experience of reading the eclectic text.

These accounts of the Maccabean revolt, by which the sons of Mattathias reclaimed the temple of Jerusalem, tell an important story of the founding of the Jewish people. "The Hammerers" is the meaning of the nickname "Maccabees," given to Mattathias's sons, who lived in a time of revolution. Empires struggled for control of Greece, Egypt, and Asia, and the small population of Jews tried to preserve their claim to Judea. The five brothers also made heroic contributions to the practice of Judaism. Their rededication of the temple establishes the annual celebration of Hanukkah, and the martyr stories in Second Maccabees emphasize faithfulness to the law of Moses. The books of First and Second Maccabees are also important for Christians, as in them is told how the Jewish people established the political and religious culture into which Jesus was born. The martyr stories inform the early Christian martyrdoms, and the books are written in Greek, the language in which the Jews of Jesus' time read the Scriptures. As Father Harrington notes, without the Maccabees "the fate of Judaism (and with it Christianity and Islam) was uncertain."

4ᵗʰ Maccabees is a philosophical interpretation of 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees. It was added to the Septuagint in the 1ˢᵗ century AD, however, it could have been written anywhere between 140 BC and 100 AD. This text includes more details regarding the torture of the Israelite youths from 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees, which may have come from Jason of Cyrene’s original five-volume version of Maccabees. The author of 4ᵗʰ Maccabees accepts the flying horsemen of 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees as sky messengers, which implies the Phrygian imagery was widely accepted by Jews at the time and supports the Greek and Roman records that indicate the Phrygians and Hebrews worshiped the same god. Unlike 2ⁿᵈ and 3ʳᵈ Maccabees, 4ᵗʰ Maccabees does not mention the god Dionysus/Sabaoth, indicating that the book was written in Hasmonean Dynasty or later. 4ᵗʰ Maccabees also does not have any Aramaic loanwords, indicating it was almost certainly written in Greek. Four books of Maccabees were ultimately added to the Septuagint, three in the 1ˢᵗ century BC, and the 4ᵗʰ as an appendix in the 1ˢᵗ century AD. No trace of these books has been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they are generally thought to have been written in Greek. 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees do include several Aramaic loanwords that support an Aramaic source text. The Syriac Bibles also include a 5ᵗʰ Maccabees, which is a translation of book 6 of Josephus’ The Judean War. The Judean War is considered extended canon in the Ethiopic Bibles, however, the Ethiopic Bibles also include three books of Maccabees, which are not based on the Greek books, or Josephus. An Arabic book of Maccabees also exists, which is often mislabeled as 5ᵗʰ Maccabees in English language literature, because it was initially misidentified as being the same book as Syriac 5ᵗʰ Maccabees. The Arabic book is a translation of a Palestinian Aramaic book from circa 525 AD, which itself appears to be based on the Hebrew book of Maccabees, which surfaced much later.The Hebrew version of Maccabees was collected with other Hebrew language manuscripts from various eras in a Yiddish compilation in the 1300s. The Hebrew translation of Maccabees was likely composed in Iberia earlier than 500 AD and was probably based on an Aramaic text, along with an Iberian tale about Hannibal. The Aramaic text that was used is closely related to the text found in the Josippon, which is believed to have been composed in southern Italy in the 900s. The Josippon claims to be a copy of the book of Joseph ben Gurion, one of the leaders of the Judean Revolt of 66 AD. Joseph died in 68 AD, and Josephus, who survived the war, did not report that Joseph was a writer, however, it stands to reason his faction must have had some form of propaganda, likely based on the Maccabean Revolt. These Josippon-related versions of Maccabees are of very little historic value, as they are replete with historical errors. Their original function appears to have been to serve as inspiration rather than to educate.

Four books of Maccabees were ultimately added to the Septuagint, three in the 1st-century BC, and the 4th as an appendix in the 1st-century AD. No trace of these books have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they are generally thought to have been written in Greek. 1st and 2nd Maccabees do include several Aramaic loanwords that support an Aramaic source text. A different book of Maccabees has survived in the Arabic language, either called Arabic Maccabees, or 5th Maccabees. Three additional books of Maccabees have survived in the Ge'ez language in Ethiopia and are generally considered translations from either Syriac or Arabian sources. Additionally, several books of Maccabees are known to exist in Syriac, which are not the same as any of the above versions of Maccabees. One Yiddish book of the Maccabee surfaced in Europe during the Middle Ages which appears to have been translated from an Aramaic or Hebrew source. 1st Maccabees tells the story of the Maccabean Revolt against the rule of the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. The content of 1st Maccabees appears to be a Sadducee text, as it clearly gives all credit to the self-declared high-priests that led the rebellion against the Greeks, and barely mentioned the sky-god Shamayim, or the earth-goddess Eretz. It also omits the names of the other gods that 2nd Maccabees and 3rd Maccabees mentions the Judeans worshiping, such as Dionysus, which supports its authorship in the Hasmonean Dynasty, when the other gods were no longer tolerated. 2nd Maccabees claims to be an abridged version of Jason of Cyrene's now lost five-volume version of Maccabees. Jason's books of the Maccabees were likely composed earlier than 1st Maccabees, as the story ends decades earlier, and contains many references to Sabaoth, translated into Greek as Dionysus, which are missing from the 1st Maccabees. While 1st Maccabees is a very secular version of the events that led to the creation of the Hasmonean kingdom, and was, therefore, almost certainly composed by a Sadducee, 2nd Maccabees claims that Judas the Hammer, the protagonist of both 1st and 2nd Maccabees was a Hasidean, suggesting that either Jason of Cyrene, or whoever abridged his work, was a Hasidean. 1st Maccabees mentioned the Hasideans joining Judas' forces, but did not claim he was one. 4th Maccabees is a philosophical interpretation of 2nd Maccabees. It was added to the Septuagint in the 1st-century AD, however, it could have been written anywhere between circa 100 BC and 100 AD. This text includes more details regarding the torture of the Hebrew youths from 2nd Maccabees, which may have come from Jason of Cyrene's original five-volume version of Maccabees. The author of 4th Maccabees accepts the flying horsemen of 2nd Maccabees as sky messengers, which implies the Phrygian imagery was widely accepted by Jews at the time and supports the Greek and Roman records that indicate the Phrygians and Hebrews worshiped the same god. Unlike 2nd and 3rd Maccabees, 4th Maccabees does not mention the god Dionysus/Sabaoth, indicating that the book was written in Hasmonean Dynasty or later. 4th Maccabees also does not have any Aramaic loanwords, indicating it was almost certainly written in Greek.