…and beyond
Reason ruling the passions, argued from the courage of the seven brothers and their mother.
A philosophical essay disguised as a martyrdom story, arguing a thesis that would be at home in a Stoic lecture hall: that devout reason is master of the passions. It proves the case by retelling, at length and in unflinching detail, the deaths of the aged Eleazar and of the mother and seven brothers from 2 Maccabees. It is the most Greek book in the whole collection, and its notion that the martyrs' deaths functioned as a ransom purifying the nation is of real interest to anyone tracing how atonement language developed. Not canonical for Catholics or Protestants; printed in an appendix in Greek Orthodox Bibles rather than received as Scripture.
If you remember one thing
It takes the story of the seven brothers and uses it to argue a Greek philosophical point: that devout reason is master of the emotions.
“Devout reason is sovereign over the emotions.”
4 Maccabees 1:1
4 Maccabees 17:21-22
The martyrs' deaths described as a ransom and a purification for the nation, which is of real interest to anyone tracing how atonement language developed.
Canon
Not Scripture for Catholics or Protestants; printed in an appendix in Greek Orthodox Bibles.
Named here rather than skipped. Where Christians read a passage differently, we say so instead of choosing for you.
An appendix in Greek Orthodox Bibles and canonical in the Georgian tradition; not in the Catholic or Protestant canons.
Everyone here has a write-up, drawn from the same records that explain the names while you read the text.
The priest Mattathias and his sons, who revolted when Antiochus IV banned the practice of Judaism and installed a pagan altar in the temple. Judas, nicknamed Maccabeus, probably the hammer, retook Jerusalem and rededicated the temple, which is the origin of Hanukkah.
A quiz for 4 Maccabees is on the workbench. In the meantime, the games for the judges, the kings, and the prophets are open.
