Chapter Two

Continuation of the letter of the Palestinian Jews to the Egyptian Jews (2 Macc 2:1-19). Preface of the author (2 Macc 2:30-23).

2 Maccabees 2:1–3. In the records of the prophet Jeremiah it is found that he commanded those being led into exile to take some of the fire, as had been shown, and that the prophet, giving the law to those being carried into exile, commanded them not to forget the commandments of the Lord and not to go astray in their minds when they saw the golden and silver idols and their adornment. Speaking also of other similar things, he urged them not to let the law depart from their hearts. “In the records of the prophet Jeremiah it is found” — Greek: en tais apographais heurisketai Ieremias — hoti... instead of: heurisketai hoti Ieremias..., that is: “in the records (of some unnamed writer) it is found that Jeremiah commanded...” and so on. This event described here is indeed not found in the canonical books of the Old Testament; this makes the proposed emendation of the present verse entirely plausible and sound.

2 Maccabees 2:4. It was also found in the records that the prophet, in accordance with a divine revelation given to him, commanded the tent and the ark to follow him as he went up to the mountain from which Moses had ascended to behold the inheritance of God. “It was also found in the records” — te graphe — not in the record par excellence (canonical, sacred Scripture), but in the aforementioned apographais. — “Commanded the tent and the ark to follow him” — This “following” of the tent and the ark is presented more clearly by Syncellus: “Jeremiah commanded the priests to take up the divine ark and the tent and to follow him” (p. 409 ed. Bonn.). Some hint of this kind of following of the tent can be found in the present passage in the mention of those “accompanying” Jeremiah (v. 6), who may have been the bearers of the sacred parts of the tent. — “The inheritance of God” — kleronomia, that is, the holy land, given by God to his people as a possession, a portion. The mountain from which Moses was shown this “inheritance of God” is Nebo (Deut 34:1).

2 Maccabees 2:5–7. When he arrived there, Jeremiah found a dwelling in a cave and brought in the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and sealed the entrance. When some of those who followed came to mark the way, they could not find it. When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and said that the place would remain unknown until God, showing mercy, gathered the assembly of the people. “Until God, showing mercy, gathered the assembly of the people.” This gathering of the people and the restoration of God’s favor toward them was expected from the Messiah, in accordance with the many prophecies concerning it.

2 Maccabees 2:8. And then the Lord will show it, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they appeared in the time of Moses, and as Solomon prayed that the place might be especially consecrated. “In the time of Moses” — at the consecration of the tent — Exod. 40:34 and following; Num 9:15 and following; 14:10. — “That the place might be especially consecrated” — ho topos, that is, the site of the temple (v. 18; 3:2, 18, 30; 5:16, etc.). The account of the fulfillment of this prayer of Solomon — 1 Kgs 8:10 and following; as well as 2 Sam 6:41-7:1 and following.

2 Maccabees 2:9. It was also recorded how he, filled with wisdom, offered a sacrifice at the dedication and completion of the temple. “It was also recorded how he, filled with wisdom...” — Slavonic: “and it appeared that, as having wisdom...”; Greek: diesapheto de, kai hos sophian echon anenegnke thysian...— More precisely: “it was found (in the records) also how Solomon, as one possessing wisdom, offered...” and so on. — “Offered a sacrifice at the dedication and completion of the temple” — enkainismou kai tes teleioseos. The latter is added to express the thought that only with the offering of the dedication sacrifice was the temple fully consecrated and became the place of God’s dwelling, in which prayers could now be offered.

2 Maccabees 2:10. As Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, so Solomon also prayed, and the fire that came down consumed the burnt offerings. About this one may read Lev 9:24; 2 Chr 7:1. — Regarding Moses’s prayer at the consecration of the tent, nothing is mentioned in Leviticus 9; however, from verse 23 there it follows of itself that Moses and Aaron entered the tent for no other purpose than prayer (they entered... and came out, and blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared...).

2 Maccabees 2:11. And Moses said: since the sin offering was not eaten, it was consumed by fire. The saying quoted here is found nowhere in the Pentateuch of Moses. In the most relevant parallel passage — Lev. 10:16 and following — there is only a narrative of how Moses, after Aaron had offered the goat as a sin offering, was angry with the priests for having burned the entire offering rather than eaten it themselves, as required by God’s command as a “great holy thing.” Aaron’s explanation of this omission satisfied Moses, and although the book of Leviticus expresses this satisfaction briefly with the words “and Moses heard, and approved” (v. 20), in the present verse 11 it is presented also as God’s approval, the visible sign of which was the consuming of this sacrifice together with the others (cf. Lev 10:16). — “The sin offering” — Greek: to peri tes hamartias, Slavonic more precisely: “what was for sin” — what had been offered for sin. This form, or even more simply peri hamartias, is very frequently found in the LXX to designate the sin offering (Lev 5:11 etc.).

2 Maccabees 2:12. In the same way Solomon also kept the feast for eight days. The feast of the dedication of the temple under Solomon, according to 2 Chr 7:8 and following, lasted seven days proper, not eight. Here eight days are counted, evidently including the day mentioned in 2 Chronicles 7:9, the day after the feast.

2 Maccabees 2:13. It is also narrated in the records and memoirs of Nehemiah, how he, in founding a library, collected books about the kings and prophets and about David, and letters of kings concerning sacred offerings. “In the memoirs of Nehemiah” — en tois hypomnematismois hoi kata ton Neemian — similar to the Gospel superscriptions: kata Matthaion, kata Markon, etc. This presupposes that there were also other writers covering the same material; in the present case, kata ton Neemian suggests either the existence of another work of a pseudo-Nehemiah, or that the intention is to distinguish Nehemiah’s work from some Greek adaptation of the canonical Nehemiah with substantial interpolations, like the Third Book of Ezra. — “Books about the kings and prophets and about David” — ta peri ton basileon kai propheton kai ta tou Dauid. The Russian translation of this passage seriously distorts the meaning of the original: Nehemiah collected “books” of the Kings (here apparently Judges are included as well), not “accounts”; further, he collected not “accounts about the prophets” but “the prophets” themselves, that is, the prophetic books of the Old Testament; and finally he collected not “accounts about David” but “David,” for which reason ta tou Dauid is specifically repeated in the original — that is, the writings of David, or Psalms — the Psalter (cf. Luke 24:44). To all this are added the letters of kings concerning sacred offerings — epistolai basileon peri hagematon, where in all probability the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are meant, containing the letters of the Persian kings from Cyrus to Artaxerxes, and the account of their benevolent relations toward the temple and the Jewish people. There is thus contained here a not insignificant testimony and indication regarding the collection of the canonical books of the Old Testament (the canon) in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah and specifically through the labors and authority of the latter. The fact that the Pentateuch (nomos) is not mentioned among the books listed has the simple explanation that “the law” had long been the foundation of all of Israel’s life and had been entrusted by the prophet Jeremiah to the Jewish exiles (v. 2). And the very “gathering” of books by Nehemiah was properly a supplement to the “law” that already existed, as expressed also by the verb in the original: episynegage (“added to”).

2 Maccabees 2:14. In the same way Judas collected all the books that had been scattered because of the war that had come upon us, and they are now in our hands. “Judas collected all that had been scattered” (ta diapeptokota, that is, biblia), “because of (dia) the war that had come upon us” — Here the unfortunate period of Antiochus Epiphanes is in view, when many copies of Holy Scripture perished, owing to Antiochus’s decree ordering their search and destruction. But despite all this, the books were preserved and are now being offered to the Egyptian Jews.

2 Maccabees 2:15–17. If, therefore, you have need of them, send people to bring them to you. Since we are about to celebrate the purification, we have written to you; you would do well to celebrate these days. God, who saved all his people and restored to all of them the inheritance, and the kingdom, and the priesthood, and the sanctuary, “The inheritance and the kingdom and the priesthood and the sanctuary” (Slavonic: “the consecration”) — ten kleronomian kai to basileion, kai ta hierateuma kai ton hagismon — that royal and priestly dignity of the chosen people of which Exod 19:5-6 speaks (“you shall be to me a royal priesthood and a holy nation”). From this is also evident the incorrectness of translating the word hagismon as “sanctuary”: the Slavonic “consecration” is more accurate. — Kleronomia — the property of Jehovah.

2 Maccabees 2:18. as he promised in the law — we hope in God — he will soon have mercy upon us and will gather us from under heaven to the holy place. “Promised in the law” — dia tou nomou — strictly, through the law, or by means of the law, on the condition of faithfulness to it on Israel’s part. — “To the holy place” — eis ton hagion topon, where the temple is. — “Will soon have mercy” — tacheos eleese — here the expectation of the coming of the Messianic kingdom in the near future is expressed; strong grounds for this expectation were provided by the fact that God had “saved them from great disasters and purified the place,” the holy place, from pagan altars, idols, and idol-worship.

2 Maccabees 2:19–20. For he delivered us from great disasters and purified the place. Now concerning Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, and the purification of the great temple and the rededication of the altar, On the surname Makkabaeus — see commentary on 1 Macc 2:3 and on the brothers of Judas — 1 Macc 2:2-5. — “The purification of the great temple and the rededication of the altar” is spoken of in 1 Macc 4:42 and following. — “Great” — for the sake of its purpose to serve the worship of the true God.

2 Maccabees 2:21–22. also about the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes and against his son Eupator, and about the appearances from heaven granted to those who fought for Judaism so zealously that, though few in number, they plundered the whole country and drove away the barbarian hordes, “About the appearances from heaven” — is narrated in 3:24 and following; 5:2–4; 11:8; 15:12–16. — “For Judaism” — hyper tou ioudaismou — for Jewishness, for the Jewish faith, laws, and customs (cf. 8:1; 14:38), in contrast to Hellenism — hellenismos, 4:13; 6:24, or to foreign ways in general — allophylismos. — “The barbarian hordes” — ta barbara plethe — Slavonic more precisely: “the multitude of the barbarians they drove away.” Barbarians here are the Syrian troops, so called for their cruelty and brutality, and in general the enemies of the Jews (cf. Ezek 21:31; Ps 113:1, as well as 2 Macc 4:25 and 3 Macc 3 chapters).

2 Maccabees 2:23–25. and recovered the temple famous throughout all the world, and liberated the city, and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, the Lord having shown great kindness upon them with all graciousness — all this, as set out by Jason of Cyrene in five books, we shall attempt to condense into a single volume. For, considering the flood of numbers and the difficulty arising from the abundance of material for those wishing to engage with historical accounts, “The flood of numbers” — in the citing of years, months, numbers of troops engaged, and similar details.

2 Maccabees 2:26–33. we have taken pains to provide spiritual edification for those who wish to read, ease for those striving to commit things to memory, and benefit for all who happen to read; though for us who have undertaken the labor of abridgment, this is no easy task, but one requiring effort and sleepless application, as it is not easy for one who prepares a banquet and seeks the profit of others. Yet, with the gratitude of many in view, we gladly take upon ourselves this labor, leaving the precise treatment of details to the historian, while trying to follow the pattern of a condensed account. For just as the architect of a new house must take care of the entire structure, while one who undertakes the painting and decoration need only seek what is suitable for its adornment, so we think it is with us. To enter deeply into every matter and to investigate every detail belongs to the original writer of the history. The one who makes an abridgment, however, must be permitted to pursue only brevity of expression and to avoid thorough investigation. So then, having begun with these remarks, let us now start the narrative; for it is foolish to extend the preface to the history while abridging the history itself. Our Telegram channel