Let’s just talk about these books, as they are what I’ve been reading. I remember, Mel Gibson was talking about making a film about the Maccabean revolt but he never did. Pity, I think that’d have been an awesome film. So let’s discuss the context, history, and spirituality behind the books.
Very good topic!
I was reading the Anchor Bible commentary on 2 Maccabees a while back, and the author (Jonathan A. Goldstein) gave this observation that stuck with me: 1 and 2 Maccabees are, in a way, the polar opposites of each other. While both books deal with the same topic, the two are sharply different from one another that in a way, one actually complement the other in that they could be made to check one account against the other.
For example, 1 Maccabees is what essentially many people have called Hasmonean propaganda: the author takes great pains to portray Mattathias and his sons, the Maccabee brothers in the same vein as the divinely-appointed saviors of Israel a la Old Testament figures like Joshua or David, thus proving the legitimacy of the Hasmonean dynasty of high priest-kings founded by the brothers. That’s why 1 Maccabee reads like the other historical books of the OT: the author consciously made his history sound ‘biblical’. He wrote in ‘Biblese’, if you will.
2 Maccabees, on the other hand, has a more nuanced picture: the author, Jason of Cyrene, and/or his abridger clearly admired Judah Maccabee/Judas Maccabaeus, but he apparently didn’t like his brothers or the dynasty they established. (Heck, Mattathias their father isn’t even mentioned.) Even then, his portrait of Judas is still balanced: while Judas’ acts may arguably be the fulfillment of prophecy, he still ain’t no Joshua or David.
It has even been supposed that Jason wrote expressly to refute Hasmonean propaganda that (over-)exalted the Maccabees: if you’ll notice, in 2 Maccabees Judas is portrayed as being more reliant on divine intervention.
God is the main actor, not so much Judas or the other brothers themselves.
