Books of the Maccabees

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The Books of the Maccabees are ancient Jewish historical and religious texts recounting the Maccabean revolt and events surrounding the rededication of the Second Temple.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Jewish historical texts
ancient Jewish religious texts
biblical apocrypha
deuterocanonical books
associatedWith Hanukkah
Second Temple Judaism
audience Jewish communities under Hellenistic rule
canonicalStatusInCatholicism deuterocanonical (1 and 2 Maccabees)
canonicalStatusInEasternOrthodoxy deuterocanonical (1, 2, 3 Maccabees)
canonicalStatusInJudaism non-canonical
canonicalStatusInProtestantism apocryphal
commemoratedBy Hanukkah celebrations
describesEvent Jewish resistance to Seleucid rule
cleansing and rededication of the Temple
persecution of Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes
genre historical narrative
religious literature
hasPart 1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
3 Maccabees
4 Maccabees
historicalContext Hellenistic period
conflict between Hellenism and Judaism
influenced Christian theology
Jewish liturgy
language Greek
Hebrew
literaryForm prose narrative
mainSubject Hasmonean dynasty
Maccabean Revolt
rededication of the Second Temple
preservedIn Septuagint
purpose to encourage faithfulness to the Torah under persecution
to record the Maccabean struggle and Temple rededication
relatedWork Book of Daniel
Megillat Antiochus
religion Judaism
settingLocation Jerusalem
Judea
theme divine deliverance
martyrdom
national liberation
religious fidelity
timePeriodDescribed 2nd century BCE
Seleucid rule over Judea
tradition Hellenistic Jewish literature
usedIn Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Festival of Lights ("Books of the Maccabees (historical)")
Hanukkah
scripturalSource
Maccabees
associatedWithText
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("Books of Maccabees")
mentionedIn

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