3 Maccabees
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3 Maccabees,
In 3 Maccabees, King Ptolemy IV Philopator attempts to enter the Second Temple in Jerusalem, but is rebuffed by divine power. He grows to hate Jews, and orders the Jews of Egypt assembled in his hippodrome to be executed by elephants. However, God protects the Jews, and Ptolemy's elephants trample his own men instead. Ptolemy experiences a change of heart and lets the Jews go free; the Jews establish a festival in celebration.
3 Maccabees is considered part of the Biblical
Contents
According to the book, after
The attempt to register all the Jews before their execution is thwarted by the sheer number of the Jews. Ptolemy then attempts to have the Jews killed by
Ptolemy abruptly forgets his anger with the Jews and honors them with various immunities and a banquet, with several dates being established as commemorative festivals. The Jews request and receive permission to return home and to kill all the Jews who chose to abandon their faith in order to be spared. The book includes a letter, ostensibly by Ptolemy, to this effect. Finally, the Jews return home.[1][2][3]
Authorship and date
The author of this book was likely an
The precise date of authorship is unknown, but the widest plausible range keeping with the text is considered to be between 100 BC and 70 AD.[3][c] Scholars generally advocate for one of three periods of Egyptian history: the late Ptolemaic period (100–30 BC), the early Roman period (30–20 BC), and the later Roman period (c. 40 AD).[7]
Advocates for the early Roman period include Moses Hadas, Victor Tcherikover, and Matan Orian.[11] They argue that the work was written perhaps around 25–15 BC.[12][8] This is because the story attacks the idea of a census (laographia, a rare word before the Romans came) and its related poll tax, saying it would reduce the Jews to the status of slaves, and the Romans conducted such a census in Roman Egypt in 24 BC. Additionally, publishing a story where a Ptolemaic king acted rashly and was thwarted while the Ptolemies still ruled would be very bold, suggesting a publication date after the Roman absorption of Egypt in 30 BC. The work could then function as an esoteric criticism of Roman policies without naming them directly.[12]
Advocates for the later Roman period include Heinrich Ewald, Hugo Willrich, and John J. Collins. They hold that the book was written as a polemic against Emperor Caligula, thus dating from around 40 AD. The work includes an incident at the Second Temple and an attack on Egyptian Jews; something similar happened in this period albeit with the order reversed, with anti-Jewish riots in Alexandria in 38 AD and Caligula attempting to install a statue of himself in the Temple around 39–40 AD. Arguments against this theory are that Caligula's actions do not match Ptolemy in the book that closely; for example, Ptolemy does not claim he is a divinity and attempt to self-deify himself as Caligula did. The riots in Alexandria came from common people rather than government ministers, as in 3 Maccabees. The author does not appear to have knowledge of Roman activities of the later 1st century that caused opposition from Jews such as desecration of sanctuaries.[12][7]
Scholars who favor the late Ptolemaic period include
Manuscripts and title
3 Maccabees was preserved due to inclusion in the
The original title of the book, if any, is unknown. The Septuagint is what gave the work the title "3 Maccabees", despite being something of a misnomer. Presumably, this was due to the apparent links to 2 Maccabees and to distinguish it from the other
Historicity
The contents of the book have a legendary character and it is not generally considered reliable as history; it is closer to a
That said, while many elements of the story are dubious, many scholars accept that memories of a genuine persecution might be being described in 3 Maccabees, if distorted.
The book's opening, a retelling of the Battle of Raphia, is generally agreed to be loosely accurate, if not to the quality of Polybius's version.[8] It may have been based on a lost history of Ptolemy of Megalopolis, Philopater's governor of Cyprus, and seems to have been based on an account written from the Ptolemaic point of view. The account of Ptolemy's visit to the Temple is considered based on the story of Heliodorus in 2 Maccabees rather than any historical event; archaeological evidence has been found suggesting Philopater indeed visited towns in Coele-Syria in the era to offer sacrifices to the local temples, but no other evidence of a controversy related to such visits exists, or if the visits even extended to Jerusalem.[8]
A possible interpretation that gives credit to the historicity of 3 Maccabees might go something like this: Ptolemy Philopater was more open-minded than many Greeks in that he attempted to integrate non-Greeks into his army and administration, notably native Egyptians. Doing so required creation of a
Another theory about the historical basis of the book was advanced by
Theology
Despite clearly being familiar with 2 Maccabees, the author does not appear to agree with some of its tenets. While describing suffering and evil, the book makes no reference to a future resurrection of the innocent nor future retribution for villains. While two angels appear in response to a prayer, the author specifically writes that the angels were invisible to the Jews, perhaps suggesting a reluctance to ascribe power or authority to angels rather than God, or a reconciling of conflicting stories. The author may have been theologically conservative, keeping to classic traditions of Judaism in opposition to the influence of Greek thought on Judaism, such as Greek beliefs on the immortality of the soul that 2 Maccabees includes.[28][5][3]
One of the main goals of the book may have been to explain the reason behind the Purim-esque festival celebrated by Egyptian Jews. In this theory, the origins of the festival had been muddied by time, and the author expanded existing stories of persecution into a story of how God saved the Jews of Egypt.[2]
The author shows a high regard for the power of prayer; the work frequently depicts the Jews praying for aid, and God answering their prayers. Simon, the Jews collectively, and Eleazar all pray to God in situations of dire need, and these prayers are answered directly.[3]
The author's concluding story sharply condemns apostasy in Judaism: 300 Jews who had left the faith during the initial registration are slain by pious Jews. The story may be partially based on Esther 9, where 300 people are also killed, but there the enemies are gentiles which had sought to destroy the Jews; here, they are merely Jewish civilians, and after the crisis has already passed.[8]
Influence
3 Maccabees was not influential. No Jewish writers of the ancient era appear to reference it or be familiar with it, even those who wrote in Greek. The book was not translated into the Latin
Notes
References
- ^ Hadas 1953, pp. 30–85
- ^ a b Skolnik, Fred, ed. (2007). "Third Book of Maccabees". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 13 (Second ed.). Macmillan Reference USA.
- ^ ISBN 9780190689667.
- ^ a b c Hadas 1953, p. 22
- ^ OCLC 919989843.
- ^ Hadas 1953, pp. 6–12
- ^ a b c d e f Johnson 2004, pp. 129–141
- ^ a b c d e f Tcherikover, Victor (1961). "The Third Book of Maccabees as a Historical Source of Augustus's Time". In Fuks, Alexander; Halpern, Israel (eds.). Studies in History. Scripta Hierosolymitana, Volume 7. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. pp. 1–26.
- ^ ISBN 0-385-09630-5.
- ^ Johnson 2004, pp. 146–148, 169. Albeit with the disclaimer that the courtly language and address are accurate to the late Ptolemaic period, closer to when the author wrote, rather than the style of the 3rd century BC when the story takes place.
- ^ Orian, Matan (June 2017). "The Date of III Maccabees: Additional Support for the Roman Period". Scripta Classica Israelica. 36: 45–54.
- ^ a b c Hadas 1953, pp. 18–21
- ^ 3 Maccabees 3:3
- ^ a b Hadas 1953, pp. 26–27
- ^ Hanhart, Robert (1980) [1960]. Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graece. Maccabaeorum liber III (in German). Vol. IX, 3 (2nd ed.). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
- ^ Hadas 1953, pp. 4–5
- ^ Hadas 1953, pp. 11–12
- ISBN 978-90-47-41893-1.
- ^ a b Hadas 1953, pp. 16–17
- ^ Hadas 1953, p. 19
- ^ a b Hadas 1953, pp. 1–4
- ^ Schürer, Emil (1891). A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. Vol. 3. Translated by Taylor, Sophia; Christie, Peter. Scribner. pp. 216–219. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 9783487055824.
- ^ Josephus, Flavius (1879) [c. 90s]. . Translated by Whiston, William – via Wikisource. [scan ]
- ^ Hadas 1953, pp. 10–11
- ^ Toy, Crawford Howell; Barton, George A.; Jacobs, Joseph; Abrahams, Israel (1904). "Books of Maccabees". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 239–244.
- ^ a b c Johnson 2004, pp. 182–190
- ^ Hadas 1953, pp. 25–26, 75. See 3 Maccabees 6:18.
- ^ Council in Trullo. The Apostolic Canons. Canon 85. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
Bibliography
- LCCN 53-5114.
- Johnson, Sara Raup (2004). Historical Fictions and Hellenistic Jewish Identity: Third Maccabees in Its Cultural Context. University of California Press. JSTOR 10.1525/j.ctt1ppghn.
External links
- 3 Maccabees 1:1–4:21, 3 Maccabees 5:1–6:41, 3 Maccabees 7:1–7:23 (NRSV translation)
- Early Jewish Writings: 3 Maccabees
- Works related to Μακκαβαίων Γ', Septuagint Greek text from the 1935 Alfred Rahlfs' edition of the Septuagint (Septuaginta: Id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes) at Wikisource