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MACCABEES, THIRD AND FOURTH BOOKS OF

3 Maccabees

A historical romance originating in the Jewish Diaspora, most probably in Alexandria, the setting of the story. Because of its literary relationship with 2 Maccabees and the Letter of Aristeas, it is usually dated between 90 b.c.e. and 40 c.e. The historicity of the tale has been questioned, due both to the lack of external corroboration of Ptolemy IV Philopator’s action against the Alexandrian Jews and to Josephus’ attribution of this event to the later reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Similarities with the story of Esther and 2 Maccabees, moreover, suggest conscious literary creativity and patterning, rather than historiographical interest. It may well be that the anti-Jewish pogroms which arose during the reign of Gaius Caesar gave the author occasion to address the contemporary crisis through a saga of past fortitude and deliverance.

The story begins with Ptolemy’s defeat of Antiochus III at Raphia, after which Ptolemy visits his client peoples to confirm their loyalty in the aftermath of the war. He visits sacred sites, lavishing gifts for the treasuries, and offering sacrifices in the temples. Everywhere he is welcome, until he attempts to enter the holy place in Jerusalem. While his intention appears to have been benevolent, the Jewish people regard this as a profanation of the temple, and flock to protest (1:1-29). The high priest Simon offers a prayer for divine intervention, and Ptolemy is driven back by God’s invisible hand (2:1-24).

Outraged by such an affront from his clients based on their allegiance to indigenous customs, Ptolemy returns to Egypt hoping to prevent any problems on the home front by absorbing the Jewish population of Alexandria into the Greek citizenry, or excluding them from the political body entirely. Several hundred Jews accept the king’s invitation to join in the pagan rites which accompany the gift of citizenship, while the majority refuse and are registered for the poll tax, to be treated as the native Egyptian population (2:25-33). The king then decides that reduction of status is not sufficient, so he orders all Jews in Egypt to be rounded up in the hippodrome to await execution (4:1-21). Elephants are prepared for the occasion, being intoxicated with wine and incense, but in response to the Jews’ prayers, God prevents the king from carrying out his plan for several days (5:1-51). Finally, the king succeeds in giving the order to loose the elephants, but, in response to the prayer of the aged Eleazar, God turns the elephants back on Philopator’s soldiers. The king praises God for delivering God’s people, ordering the Jews to be sent home after a seven-day feast (6:1–7:9), The tale concludes with the punishment of apostate Jews at the hands of those Jews who remained loyal (7:10-23).

The work has striking parallels with 2 Maccabees, providing diaspora Jews with a saga about faithfulness to the ancestral Torah in the face of the threat of enforced hellenization, connecting them with the experience of Palestinian Judaism (cf. 1–2 Maccabees), and showing that they too share in the persecutions and triumphs connected with the temple and the Lord. 3 Maccabees is also very informative for understanding Jew-Gentile hostility from both sides. The Jewish author views Gentiles as “alienated from the truth” of the One God and the true religion of Torah (4:16; cf. Rom. 1:21, 25, 28); the Gentiles’ failure to honor God, and their acts of outrage against the Jerusalem temple and the holy people throughout history, earn them the frequent epithet of “arrogant” (1:25-26; 2:2-9; 5:13; 6:9). Piercing through the author’s bias, we also glimpse a view of the gentile viewpoint. The Jewish tendency to form tight-knit communities (necessitated by the purity and dietary regulations of Torah) becomes a cause, for the Gentiles view them with suspicion, as though Jews were unconcerned about the common good of the city and thus represented a potential source of disloyalty. Jewish commitment to one God and abhorrence of all idolatrous forms of worship prevent full participation in the life of the Greek city: attempts to enfranchise Jews as citizens meet with disaster because of the civic cult participation which is then expected. What Greeks value highly is deemed to be scorned by the Jewish population, and so mutual antagonism and misunderstanding escalate.

The insight 3 Maccabees provides into these ethnic tensions also assists our understanding of the experience of the early Church, especially the Pauline mission, which sought to break down barriers and overcome prejudices which had been firmly in place for centuries. The hostility within the Jewish community toward apostates attested here provides additional insight into Jewish (both Christian and non-Christian) reaction to Paul’s relaxation of Torah in his proclamation of a new, united people (cf. Gal. 3:26-28), which could be seen as just another attempt at hellenization and the compromising of necessary boundaries.

4 Maccabees

A philosophical demonstration (epídeixis) of the thesis that “devout reason is sovereign over the emotions” (1:1; 7:16; 13:1, 7; 16:1). The author takes as his starting point Stoic ethical philosophy with its concern for the attainment of virtue, particularly the Greek cardinal virtues of justice, courage, temperance, and wisdom. The páthē, which include not only emotions but also desires and physical sensations (1:20-27), might easily turn an untrained rational faculty away from pursuing that course which led to virtue. Fear of injury, or the experience of pain, might hinder the pursuit of courage on the battlefield; desire for some physical gratification might hinder the pursuit of temperance. It was the Stoic contention that reason, guided by philosophy, could master the páthē and choose the virtuous course even if that meant hardship, danger, or denial. 4 Maccabees is in essential agreement with this analysis, but seeks to demonstrate that only the rational faculty which has been trained and exercised by the Jewish Law will actually achieve consistent victory over the emotions, desires, and concern about pleasure or pain (1:15-17; 2:21-23; 5:22-24; 7:18-19). Only the devotee of Torah, therefore, has an accurate trainer in virtue, and therefore a sure foundation for honor and self-respect.

This thesis is demonstrated by means of examples from Israel’s sacred history. Joseph, e.g., overcame sexual desire by means of his rational faculty which was strengthened by the command, “You shall not covet” (2:1-6, in striking contrast to Rom. 7:7-24). Moses, similarly, overcame wrath when provoked by Dathan and Abiram (2:16-20). The laws themselves are shown to force those who by nature are greedy to act generously (e.g., in the laws regarding canceling debts in the seventh year and regarding gleaning a field after harvest, 2:8-9). The supreme exemplars of pious reason’s domination over the passions, however, are taken from more recent history, namely those who were executed for their adherence to Torah during the hellenization crisis of 167-164 b.c.e. The story from 2 Macc. 6–7 is here expanded into an encomium of Eleazar, the seven brothers, and the mother. After the suppression of the Jewish religion by the apostate Jewish leadership, supported by Antiochus IV (4:1-26), those who remained loyal to Torah were brought before Antiochus. Eleazar and each of the seven brothers are, in turn, given the opportunity to eat nonkosher foods (symbolizing their willingness to accommodate to the Greek way of life) under the threat of torture. The endurance displayed by these figures and the failure of the most severe of tortures to turn their minds away from steadfast obedience make them the ultimate proof of Torah’s ability to equip the mind to choose the virtuous course no matter what the toll on the body — even above the natural love of life and the natural affection of siblings and parents (13:27–14:1; 15:24-28).

4 Maccabees is a product of the Jewish Diaspora. The precise location and the date of composition are unknown, but strong cases have been made for an Antiochene provenance during the first half of the 1st century c.e. Some scholars have read it as a speech commemorating the death of the martyrs, since it shares so much in common with Greek funeral orations. While its precise occasion must remain a mystery, 4 Maccabees shows an interest in reaffirming its audience’s commitment to central Jewish cultural values in a setting where the enticements to abandon religious and ethnic particularity in favor of the Greek way of life are strong. Accommodation to Hellenism at the cost of loyalty to God offers only temporary advantage, but will bring eternal disadvantage (13:15; 15:2-3, 8, 27). The apostate Jews may for a time gain honor in the sight of Greek society, but they will ultimately lose their only abiding claim to honor (17:18; 18:3). The audience, identifying with the martyrs, are moved to remain loyal to their Divine Benefactor (16:18-22) rather than dishonor God in favor of any human patron in the Greek world, no matter what advantages are offered or disadvantages threatened (8:5-9; 12:4-5).

This work, though not regarded as canonical by any Christian communion, has nevertheless exercised a profound influence on Christianity. The author of Hebrews shares 4 Maccabees’ view of faith and obligation to God as Patron, and includes the martyrs in his own encomium on faith. More generally, 4 Maccabees shares with NT authors the distinction between temporary vs. eternal safety, the depiction of society’s hostility as a noble contest to be endured for the sake of a religious victory (16:16; 17:11-16), and the notion of substitutionary atonement (cf. 6:28-29; 17:21-22). This book and its heroes were frequent subjects for sermons in the first four centuries of the Church, and the anniversary of their death was celebrated as a Christian festival.

Bibliography. H. Anderson, “3 Maccabees,” OTP 2 (Garden City, 1985), 509-29; “4 Maccabees,” OTP 2:531-64; D. deSilva, “The Noble Contest: Honor, Shame, and the Rhetorical Strategy of 4 Maccabees,” JSP 13 (1995): 29-55; M. Hadas, The Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees (1953, repr. New York, 1976).

David A. deSilva

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MACCABEES, THIRD AND FOURTH BOOKS OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)