The mother of the seven martyred sons in Macabees

[joanier]

How did the mother of the seven sons who were martyred for their faith die? One translation says she sacrificed herself; another says simply that she was the last to die. Did she commit suicide? I heard a speaker say she hurled herself from the highest part of the temple after all her sons were murdered. Is this correct?

 

[puzzleannie]

the NAB 2Mac7:41 says simply “This mother was the last to die, after her sons.”

 

[bpbasilphx]

St. Solomonia (various spellings) is a holy martyr of the Church. commemorated with her sons and their elder, Eleazar, on 1 August.

 

[NotWorthy]

the NAB 2Mac7:41 says simply “This mother was the last to die, after her sons.”

Maybe its just me, but this would imply that the Greeks killed the mother in a similar manner as they did the sons.

 

[MatthewBerkeley]

Whenever I hear that passage in Maccabees, I feel inspired.
How great it would be if we could all be martyrs, if we could all have the strength the mother displayed as she watched her sons die!
Personally, I doubt someone with such a remarkable faith in God would be tempted to commit suicide; especially after exhorting her sons to offer up their entire life to God, she would hardly not follow suit.
One question I have - how do we know her name is Solomonia?

God bless

 

[puzzleannie]

Maybe its just me, but this would imply that the Greeks killed the mother in a similar manner as they did the sons.

the RSV has a similar wording, the D-R makes it clearer that she died at the hands of the persecutors, but it seems implied in reading all 3 versions (all I have on hand at the moment). The narrative clearly shows the prosecutor threatened her with execution, so no reason so surmise any other manner of death.