4 Maccabees and the logic of religion

For discussing the Church, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Mormonism, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
Niemand
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 13997

4 Maccabees and the logic of religion

Post by Niemand »

Image
"Imitate me, O brethren, nor ever desert your station, nor abjure my brotherhood in courage: Fight the holy and honourable fight of religion" (4 Maccabees 9:23).

Intro
With this book I wade out into the murkier waters outside the true Apocrypha and leave the books of Maccabees behind. The Ethiopian Bible may be next or I'll try and find one or two other works which are barely canonical, and thence onto Pseudepigrapha.

Unlike the 1, 2 & 3 Maccabees, this book doesn't do much storytelling except to prove philosophical points. None of the stories appear to be original. This is a wisdom book of sorts but a very different wisdom book to Sirach or the Wisdom of Solomon. It is part Greek philosophy and part literary review. The main themes of the work are logic in religion, and attitude towards martyrdom. The book attempts to reconcile religion and philosophy – in fact at times it even refers to Judaism as the later – much as some try and do with religion and science today.

Name
This book is normally called 4 Maccabees, IV Maccabees or Fourth (Book of) Maccabees. In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canon, there are three other books of Maccabees with varying relevance to the first one. There are also several Ethiopian books of Maccabees. The Jewish Encyclopedia claims that only the first is a reliable historical source.

The word "Maccabee" is believed to mean "hammer" since Judas/Judah and his family hammer the Greek pagans.

It may have an ancient title, being "On the Sovereignty of Reason".

Canonicity
4 Maccabees has the least traction of the four books of this title. It doesn't appear in the KJV Apocrypha, and is not part of the western canon at all, since it doesn't appear in Roman Catholic Bibles either. Even the Orthodox churches are sceptical, with the book, if anything stuffed into an appendix. Some Orthodox Bibles don't include it at all. The writer recognises the immortality of the soul, but not resurrection.

It does not appear in the Hebrew Bible at all. Some people have attributed it to the Jewish historian Josephus but it does not read like him at all.

Summary
Ironically for a work pleading the superiority of Jewish culture over the Greek, 4 Maccabees seems to have originated in Greek and has not been much esteemed by Jews. Stylistically the original Greek is apparently fluent and well written.

The book seems to be written to convince Greeks and Hellenised Jews of the logic of Judaism. It often reads far more like a text from ancient Greek philosophy than a Biblical work and is unusual in being what appears to be a Jewish missionary text. Jews have never been known for trying to convert people to their religion, at least not in any numbers, and yet this is what this is what this book tries to do. It is almost a kind of midrash for Gentiles about 2 Maccabees putting it in a strange contradictory position. As Wikipedia says:

The work is largely an elaboration of the stories of martyrdom in the book 2 Maccabees: that of the woman with seven sons and the scribe Eleazar, who are tortured to death by Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes in an attempt to make them renounce their adherence to Judaism. What 2 Maccabees covered in one chapter and a half, 4 Maccabees extends to a full 14 chapters of dialogue and philosophical discussion. 4 Maccabees recasts the story as one of reason and logic: the martyrs will be rewarded in the afterlife, so it is rational to continue to obey Jewish law, even at the risk of torture and death.


The ancient Greeks, and especially the Stoics, esteemed reason over emotion, and saw emotion as a lack of self-restraint:
4 Maccabees 1:7–9 (NRSV) "I could prove to you from many and various examples that reason is dominant over the emotions, but I can demonstrate it best from the noble bravery of those who died for the sake of virtue, Eleazar and the seven brothers and their mother. All of these, by despising sufferings that bring death, demonstrated that reason controls the emotions."
But the book's self-contradiction extends into this realm "even now, we ourselves shudder as we hear of the suffering of these young men" (4 Maccabees 14:9) It declaims Greek culture, yet also praises it. In time the Jews would stop loving Greek culture and move on. The Greeks embraced Christianity and received Hebrew religion by a very different route.

For details of the events this describes, see my post on 1 & 2 Macc.

4 Maccabees audiobook - 1 hour 9 minutes.
--
This is part of my ongoing series on Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical works:

1 Esdras inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1343974

2 Esdras (the most relevant book in the Apocrypha?) inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1344302

1 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?t=69454

2 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?t=69468

3 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?t=69496

Book of Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy/Jeremiah
viewtopic.php?t=69433

Book of Tobit inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1341501

Apocryphal additions to Esther inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1343414

Bel and the Dragon (quoted in full, KJV; inc audiobook link)
viewtopic.php?t=69261

Prayer of Azarias and Hymn of the Three Children (quoted in full KJV, inc. audiobook link)
viewtopic.php?p=1341611

Book of Judith and the Book of Mormon, inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?t=69402

Book of Susanna inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?t=69386

Wisdom of Solomon
viewtopic.php?t=69469

Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus
viewtopic.php?t=69412

Prayer of Mannases (aka Mannaseh; quoted in full KJV, inc. audiobook link)
viewtopic.php?t=69263

Psalm 151 (quoted in full, NRSV)
viewtopic.php?t=63875

Epistle to the Laodiceans (NT, quoted in full Wycliffe's translation, )
viewtopic.php?t=64025

The Book of Odes - this is an Eastern Orthodox work of limited interest, but included for the sake of completeness.
viewtopic.php?t=69470

Outside the Western and Eastern Orthodox Canon...

The Ethiopian canon. This includes brief info on the books of Sinodos, Ethiopian Clement, Ethiopian Covenant, and Didascalia as well as a list of other works in the canon.
viewtopic.php?t=69540

The Book of Enoch
viewtopic.php?t=69577

The Book of Jubilees, also known as Leptogenesis or Little Genesis
viewtopic.php?t=69548

3 Corinthians (Armenian)
viewtopic.php?t=69567

And also
Antilegomena: the books which barely made it into the Bible - Revelation, the Song of Solomon, Jude, Esther etc.
viewtopic.php?t=69609
Last edited by Niemand on February 7th, 2023, 2:34 pm, edited 4 times in total.

User avatar
Niemand
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 13997

Re: 4 Maccabees and the logic of religion

Post by Niemand »

https://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/fbe/fbe249.htm
The foreword to this book from The Forgotten Books of Eden, by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr., [1926].

I think this is much kinder than my review, but I like the style of it.

THIS book is like a fearful peal of thunder echoing out of the dim horrors of ancient tyranny. It is a chapter based on persecution by Antiochus, the tyrant of Syria, whom some called Epiphanes, The Madman. Roman history of the first centuries records two such tyrants--the other, Caligula, the Second Brilliant Madman.

The form of this writing is that of an oration. So carefully timed are the risings and fallings of the speech; so devastating are its arguments; so unfaltering is its logic; so deep its thrusts; so cool its reasoning--that it takes its place as a sample of the sheerest eloquence.

The keynote is--Courage. The writer begins with an impassioned statement of the Philosophy of Inspired Reason. We like to think of this twentieth Century as the Age of Reason and contrast it with the Age of Myths--yet a writing such as this is a challenge to such an assumption. We find a writer who probably belonged to the first century before the Christian Era stating a clear-cut philosophy of Reason that is just as potent today as it was two thousand years ago.

The setting of the observations in the torture chambers is unrelenting. On our modern ears attuned to gentler things it strikes appallingly. The detail's of the successive tortures (suggesting the instruments of the Spanish Inquisition centuries later) are elaborated in a way shocking to our taste. Even the emergence of the stoical characters of the Old man, the Seven Brothers, and the Mother, does nothing to soften the ferocity with which this orator conjures Courage.

The ancient Fathers of the Christian Church carefully preserved this book (we have it from a Syrian translation) as a work of high moral value and teaching, and it was undoubtedly familiar to many of the early Christian martyrs, who were aroused to the pitch of martyrdom by reading it.

User avatar
Niemand
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 13997

Re: 4 Maccabees and the logic of religion

Post by Niemand »

Meqabyan or Ethiopic Maccabees
In addition to the two books of Maccabees from the western Apocrypha (1 & 2l and the two others from the Eastern Orthodox Apocrypha (3 & 4) there are three other books sometimes known as Ethiopic Maccabees. I have called these "Meqabyan", the Ethiopian name to avod confusion.

There are only three Ethiopian books, so no 4 Meqabyan. However there is some parallel in that some of these books use the stories of martyrdom as a springboard for theological discussion (particularly the later sections of both 1 & 2 Meqabyan).

These Ethiopian works is not connected with the better known 1, 2, 3 & 4 Maccabees directly although there are some points of contact.

1 Meqabyan (Ethiopian canon), another lost book?
viewtopic.php?t=69855

2 Meqabyan (Ethiopian canon), - the return of Tsirutsaydan
viewtopic.php?t=69971

3 Meqabyan (Ethiopian canon), a Question of Satan... another lost book
viewtopic.php?t=1367649

Latest Apocrypha
Some of the other works

Four Apocryphal Psalms - 152, 153, 154, 155
viewtopic.php?t=69985

The Gospel of Nicodemus or Acts of Pilate, as tested on Mennonites
viewtopic.php?t=69760

The Shepherd of Hermas - inspired literature or pagan trash?
viewtopic.php?t=69650

The Epistle of Barnabas (NT Apocrypha) - link between OT and NT, or not?
viewtopic.php?t=69679

1 Clement: Papist propaganda or a window into the early church?
viewtopic.php?p=1368842

2 Clement – inclement Gnosticism?
viewtopic.php?t=70327

The Didache or Teachings of the Apostles
viewtopic.php?t=69698

And

Is Q canonical? How about the Gospel of Thomas? The answer's more complicated than you think.
viewtopic.php?t=69715

The LDS Bible Dictionary on Lost Books and non-canonical works referred to in the Bible.
viewtopic.php?t=69805

Interrelated sects and religions:

The Samaritans, their canon and its significance
viewtopic.php?t=69905

About the Koran, and its use of figures from the Bible, the Apocrypha and extracanonical material. How useful a source is the Koran itself? Does it have any real extra information on Biblical figures? This is something of work in progress.
viewtopic.php?t=70169

Was Zoroaster/Zarathustra a lost prophet of God? Some surprising links between this largely forgotten figure and Judaism, plus the Gathas etc.
viewtopic.php?t=65938

User avatar
Niemand
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 13997

Re: 4 Maccabees and the logic of religion

Post by Niemand »

The timeline of the Maccabees and the Book of Daniel

viewtopic.php?f=1&p=1246007#p1246007
Oldemandalton wrote: March 5th, 2022, 2:56 pm In my article I identify 25 of the kings and other historical figures mention by the angel in Daniel chapter 11. I also identify 23 events from history.
Rest of Oldemandalton's post in italics.

Daniel 11:2 The Four Kings of Persia: Cambyses (530-522 BC), Bardiya (522 BC), Darius (522-486 BC), and Xerxes’ (485-465 BC) invasion of Greece.
Daniel 11:3-4 Alexander the Great ( 336-323 BC) and the four Diadochi: Ptolemy in Egypt, Cassander in Macedonia, Lysimachus in Thrace/Asia Minor, and Seleucus in Mesopotamia/Central Asia.
Daniel 11:5 Seleucus I (305–281 BC) and Ptolemy I (305/304 – 282 BC), Battle of Ipsus (301 BC)
Daniel 11:6 Ptolemy II Philadelphus (284-246 BC) and Antiochus II Theos (261-246 BC), Berenice, Ptolemy’s daughter. Laodice, Antiochus’ wife. Second Syrian War (260–253 BC)
Daniel 11:7-8 Third Syrian War (246–241 BC)
Daniel 11:9 Seleucus II Callinicus (246-225 BC), Ptolemy III (246-222 BC)
Daniel 11:10-12 The sons were: Seleucus III Ceraunus & Antiochus III the Great, Fourth Syrian War (219-217 BC) Battle of Raphia (217 BC)
Daniel 11:13 Antiochus III the Great Campaigns in Anatolia, Bactria, and India (216-203 BC)
Daniel 11:14 Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204-180 BC) and the Alexandrian Revolution (203 BC)
Daniel 11:15-16 Antiochus III the Great vs Ptolemy V Epiphanes in the Fifth Syrian War (202–195 BC) and the Battle of Panium.
Daniel 11:17 Antiochus III the Great forms and alliance with Egypt and gives his daughter, Cleopatra to Ptolemy V
Daniel 11:18-19 Antiochus the Great looses to the Roman General, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, at the battle of Magnesia ( 190/189 BC)
Daniel 11:20 Seleucus IV Philopater (187-175 BC) orders Heliodorus to loot the Temple in Jerusalem, see 2 Maccabees chapter 3.
Daniel 11:21-22 Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC), prince of the covenant is Onias III
Daniel 11:23 Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Daniel 11:24-28 Sixth and Last Syrian War (170-168 BC) Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145 BC), Siege of Alexandria.
Daniel 11:29-32 Antiochus's Second Invasion of Egypt (168 BC) Roman ambassador, Gaius Popillius Laenas, stops the invasion. Antiochus’s destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.
Daniel 11:33-35 The Maccabee Rebellion (167 BC)
Daniel 11:36 Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Daniel 11:37-39 Antiochus IV Epiphanes worships the Roman, not Greek god, Jupiter.
Daniel 11:40-43 Antiochus IV Epiphanes Military Campaigns (175-164 BC)
Daniel 11:44-45 Antiochus IV Epiphanes sacks Jerusalem (168 BC) and dies from disease in 164 BC.

For a more detailed explanation see: “The Prophecies of Daniel: Part 8. Chapters 10-12, The Wars of the Kings of the North and the South.” https://www.theharvestatearthsend.com/T ... art-8.html


Latest Apocrypha
The Two Apocalypses of Peter: Guides to the universe or sadism? The ancient Apocalypse of Peter and the Arabic Apocalypse of Peter.
viewtopic.php?t=70682

The First and Second Books of Adam and Eve (the Conflict with Satan)
viewtopic.php?t=70846

A post on the Restored Branch, an English LDS microsect and its canon which includes works such as the Nag Hammadi and Gnostic texts: these are the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Phillip, the Gospel of Truth (sic), the Letter of the Apostle Paul, the Sophia (Wisdom) of Jesus the Christ, the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles and the Letter of Peter which he sent to Philip.
viewtopic.php?t=70413

Interrelated religions:
My thread on a bizarre Middle Eastern sect and their beliefs. Are the Yezidis of the Middle East an ancient Satanist group or a lost Jewish tribe? And what is the connection between their religion and today's rainbow flag? Is this strange group simply misunderstood?
viewtopic.php?t=70625

User avatar
Niemand
Level 34 Illuminated
Posts: 13997

Re: 4 Maccabees and the logic of religion

Post by Niemand »

Latest Apocrypha
A lost Old Testament book containing prophecies of Christ and the Tribulation preserved by Jews in India? The Book of Gad the Seer
viewtopic.php?t=71421

The Ascension of Isaiah, visions of Christ and Antichrist
viewtopic.php?t=71598

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: are these lost books of the founders of each Tribe of Israel or a later forgery?
viewtopic.php?t=71314

The Book of the Cock – an unfortunately named Ethiopian gospel still in current use.
viewtopic.php?t=71338

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, an early endorsement of Paul or a forgery?
viewtopic.php?p=1400884

The Martyrdom of Polycarp, a second century piece related to an early martyr.
viewtopic.php?t=71751

The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus - a beautiful short letter about the relations of Christians and non-Christians, and the Tree of Knowledge
viewtopic.php?p=1404032

End Times Prophecy in Apocrypha/Pseudepigrapha: A guide
Includes discussions of 2 Esdras, (1) Enoch, Nicodemus, Ascension of Isaiah, Gad the Seer and the Shepherd of Hermas
viewtopic.php?t=71659

Celtic legends about the Bible, including the visits of Biblical figures to western Europe, the Michael Line, Holy Grail/Arthurian legend, and Pontius Pilate. Discusses the Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (the Sonnini Manuscript), Magna Tabula Glastonia, writings of Nicephorus, Leabhar Gabhala/Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Settlements), the Mabinogion etc. Also discussed the modern Kolbrin Book and the Gospel of Kailedy, plus the ideas of William Comyns Beaumont.
viewtopic.php?t=71061

Post Reply