Woman with seven sons: Difference between revisions
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According to the [[West Syrian Rite|Syriac]] [[Maronite]] Fenqitho (book of festal offices), the name of the mother is Shmooni while her sons are Habroun, Hebsoun, Bakhous, Adai, Tarsai, Maqbai and Yawnothon.<ref>Maronite Church, Fenqitho, v. 1, Lilyo of the Feast of Shmooni and Her Seven Sons</ref> |
According to the [[West Syrian Rite|Syriac]] [[Maronite]] Fenqitho (book of festal offices), the name of the mother is Shmooni while her sons are Habroun, Hebsoun, Bakhous, Adai, Tarsai, Maqbai and Yawnothon.<ref>Maronite Church, Fenqitho, v. 1, Lilyo of the Feast of Shmooni and Her Seven Sons</ref> |
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The three Ethiopian books of [[Meqabyan]] (canonical in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], but distinct works from the other four books of Maccabees) refer to an unrelated group of "Maccabean Martyrs," five brothers including 'Abya, Seela, and |
The three Ethiopian books of [[Meqabyan]] (canonical in the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], but distinct works from the other four books of Maccabees) refer to an unrelated group of "Maccabean Martyrs," five brothers including 'Abya, Seela, and Pantos, sons of a Benjamite named Maccabeus, who were captured and martyred for leading a guerilla war against Antiochus Epiphanes.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=0P6CDwAAQBAJ</ref> |
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Various [[mystery play]]s in the [[Middle Ages]] portrayed the Maccabean martyrs, and depictions of their martyrdom possibly gave rise to the term "[[macabre]]", perhaps derived from the Latin ''Machabaeorum''.<ref>The [[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]] (Fifth edition; 2002) states that the origin of "macabre" perhaps has reference to "a miracle play containing the slaughter of the Maccabees." Volume 1, p. 1659.</ref> |
Various [[mystery play]]s in the [[Middle Ages]] portrayed the Maccabean martyrs, and depictions of their martyrdom possibly gave rise to the term "[[macabre]]", perhaps derived from the Latin ''Machabaeorum''.<ref>The [[Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]] (Fifth edition; 2002) states that the origin of "macabre" perhaps has reference to "a miracle play containing the slaughter of the Maccabees." Volume 1, p. 1659.</ref> |
Revision as of 21:17, 28 February 2019
The woman with seven sons was a
2 Maccabees
Shortly before the revolt of Judas Maccabeus (2 Maccabees 8), Antiochus IV Epiphanes arrested a mother and her seven sons, and tried to force them to eat pork. When they refused, he tortured and killed the sons one by one. The narrator mentions that the mother "was the most remarkable of all, and deserves to be remembered with special honour. She watched her seven sons die in the space of a single day, yet she bore it bravely because she put her trust in the Lord."[4] Each of the sons makes a speech as he dies, and the last one says that his brothers are "dead under God's covenant of everlasting life".[5] The narrator ends by saying that the mother died, without saying whether she was executed, or died in some other way.
Tractate Gittin
The Talmud tells a similar story, but with refusal to worship an idol replacing refusal to eat pork. Tractate Gittin 57b cites Rabbi Judah saying that "this refers to the woman and her seven sons" and the unnamed king is referred to as the "Emperor" and "Caesar". The woman commits suicide in this rendition of the story: she "also went up on to a roof and threw herself down and was killed".[6]
Other versions
Other versions of the story are found in 4 Maccabees (which suggests that the woman might have thrown herself into the flames, 17:1) and Josippon (which says she fell dead on her sons' corpses[1]).
Name
Various sources have proposed names for this woman. In
Legacy
The woman with seven sons is remembered with high regard for her religious steadfastness, teaching her sons to keep to their faith, even if it meant execution. The Maccabees story reflects a theme of the book, that "the strength of the Jews lies in the fulfillment of the practical
It is probable that
According to Antiochene Christian tradition, the relics of the mother and sons were interred on the site of a synagogue (later converted into a church) in the Kerateion quarter of Antioch.[1] On the other hand, tombs believed to be those of these martyrs were discovered in San Pietro in Vincoli in 1876.[13] An additional tomb believed to be that of the woman with her seven sons is located in the Jewish cemetery of Safed.
Holy Maccabean Martyrs
The Holy Maccabees | |
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Pre-Congregation | |
Feast | August 1 |
Although they are not the same as the Hasmonean rulers called Maccabees, the woman and her sons, along with the Eleazar described in 2 Maccabees 6, are known as the "Holy Machabees" or "Holy Maccabean Martyrs" in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Church celebrates the Holy Maccabean Martyrs on
According to
According to the
The three Ethiopian books of
Various mystery plays in the Middle Ages portrayed the Maccabean martyrs, and depictions of their martyrdom possibly gave rise to the term "macabre", perhaps derived from the Latin Machabaeorum.[21]
See also
- List of names for the Biblical nameless
- Felicitas of Rome
- Symphorosa
- Danse Macabre
References
- ^ a b c d Gerson D. Cohen, Hannah and Her Seven Sons at Jewish Virtual Library
- ^ a b Tal Ilan, "Hannah, Mother of Seven," at the Jewish Women's Archive
- ^ a b c Seven Holy Maccabee Martyrs, at the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America website.
- ^ 2 Maccabees 7:20, New English Bible.
- Authorised Version. George Bull says of this verse, "I scarce know where to find an instance of greater faith" (in the resurrection and immortality) "and fortitude in any of our Christian martyrologies than here." Sermon VIII, cited in The Old Testament According to the Authorised Version With Brief Commentary by Various Authors. The Apocryphal Books: Esdras to Maccabees (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1902).
- ^ Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Gittin Folio 57.
- ^ Armenian Church Liturgical Calendar July 2008
- ^ The Women's Bible Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. 1998. p. 324.
- ^ Yehoshua M. Grintz, Maccabees, Second Book of at Jewish Virtual Library
- ^ Hilary of Poitiers. On the Trinity. Book IV, 16.
- ^ Patrick Henry Reardon. Creation and the Patriarchal Histories: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Genesis. Conciliar Press, 2008. pp.34-35.
- ^ James Akin, Defending the Deuterocanonicals
- ^ Taylor Marshall, The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of the Catholic Christianity (Saint John Press, 2009), p. 170.
- ^ Great Synaxaristes: Template:Gr icon Οἱ Ἅγιοι Ἑπτὰ Μακαβαίοι. 1 Αυγούστου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
- ^ 7 Holy Maccabee Martyrs. OCA - Feasts and Saints.
- ^ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 132
- ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
- ^ The website of Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in Baltimore lists them as "Habim, Antonin, Guriah, Eleazar, Eusebon, Hadim (Halim) and Marcellus." The Seven Holy Maccabean Martyrs
- ^ Maronite Church, Fenqitho, v. 1, Lilyo of the Feast of Shmooni and Her Seven Sons
- ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=0P6CDwAAQBAJ
- ^ The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Fifth edition; 2002) states that the origin of "macabre" perhaps has reference to "a miracle play containing the slaughter of the Maccabees." Volume 1, p. 1659.