Brenton's Septuagint · Under the Greeks
4 Maccabees 12
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1When he, too, had undergone martyrdom, and in the caldron into which he had been thrown, the seventh, the youngest of all, came forward: 2whom the tyrant pitying, though he had been dreadfully reproached by his brethren, 3seeing him already encompassed with chains, had him brought nearer, and endeavoured to him, saying, 4Thou seest the end of the madness of thy brethren: for they have in torture through ; and you, if , having been miserably tormented, will yourself prematurely. 5But if you , you shall be my friend, and have a charge over the affairs of . 6And having thus exhorted him, he sent for the mother of the boy; that, by condoling with her for the loss of so many sons, he might incline her, through the of safety, to render the survivor obedient. 7And he, after his mother had urged him on in the , (as we shall soon relate) says, 8 me, that I may speak to the king and all his friends. 9And they, rejoicing exceedingly at the promise of the youth, quickly let him go. 10And he, running up to the pans, said, 11Impious tyrant, and most blasphemous man, wert thou not , having received prosperity and a kingdom from , to His servants, and to rack the doers of godliness? 12Wherefore the divine is reserving thee for and torments, which shall cling to thee for all time. 13Wert thou not , man as thou art, yet most savage, to cut out the of men of like feeling and origin, and having thus abused to torture them? 14But they, bravely dying, fulfilled their religion towards . 15But thou shalt groan according to thy deserts for having slain without cause the champions of virtue. 16Wherefore, he continued, I myself, being about to , 17will not forsake the of my brethren. 18And I call upon the of my fathers to be merciful to my race. 19But thee, both living and , he will punish. 20Thus having , he hurled himself into the pans; and so expired.
Sir Lancelot Brenton's 1851 English translation of the Greek Old Testament, public domain. Used here for books received in Orthodox canons that the other editions do not carry. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.