MACCABEES, THE THIRD BOOK OF, not given in the Romish Vulgate, the Apocrypha of the A. V., nor in Protestant versions generally, but still read in the Greek Church.
1. Title and Position of the Book—This book is improperly called the third of Maccabees, since it does not at all record the exploits of the Macca bean heroes, but narrates events of an earlier date. It, however, derives its name from the fact that this appellation, which originally belonged to Judas, was afterwards used in the sense of martyrs, and was extended to the Alexandrian Jews who suf fered for their faith's sake either immediately before or after the Maccabean period. In the Synapsis of the Pseudo-A az anemia's, it is apparently also called Ptolemaka, from the name of the royal hero (comp. 31aKicaparta ppla S' IlroNenattcd, p. 432, ed. Migne, for which Credner, Grimm, etc., suggest that the true reading is, MarcKa)9aiial Kat IlroXeizaDcd, and that this book is to be under stood by IlroXetc—Grimm, Comment., p. 22o). Properly speaking, this hook ought to precede the former two productions, and occupy the first position, since it is prior in time to both the first and second Maccabees. But tradition has assigned to it a third position, because it came into circula tion later than the others, and was regarded as being of third-rate importance. Cotton, in his edition of the Five Books of Maccabees, has placed it as i Maccab.
2. Design and Contents of the Book. — The design of this book is to comfort the Alexandrian Jews in their sufferings for their faith in the God of Abraham, and to encourage them to steadfastness and perseverance by recounting to them the expe rience of the past, which most unquestionably shows that the theocracy cannot perish ; that though tyrants might vent their rage on the chosen people, the Lord will not suffer the enemy to triumph over them, but will appear for their deliverance, avenge himself on their persecutors, as well as put to confusion those of the Israelites who have apostatised from their ancestral religion. To illustrate this, the writer narrates the following incident from the dealings of Providence with his covenant people :—Ptolemy IV. Philopator, on returning from his victory over Antiochus the Great (217 B. c.), was waited upon by envoys from Jerusalem to congratulate him on his success, which made him visit the holy city and offer sacri fices in the Temple, when he was seized with a desire to penetrate into the Holy of Holies (i. 1-11),
and as the entreaties of the people failed to make the king relinquish his outrageous desire, the high priest Simon prayed to the King of kings, who immediately chastised this insolent heathen, by throwing him down paralysed on the ground (ii. 1-23). Enraged at this, he wreaked his vengeance, on his arrival in Egypt, on the Alexandrian Jews, ordering that they should be deprived of their citizenship and be branded with an ivy leaf, unless they agreed to be initiated into the orgies of Bacchus (24-30). A few complied, but the bulk of the chosen people refused to apostatise from their ancestral religion (31, 32). These were ordered to be chained, with their wives and children, sent from all parts of the country to Alexandria, and confined in the Hippodrome outside the city (iii. iv. 20), to be trampled to death by 50o drunken elephants (v. 1-5). Thus devoted to destruction for their faith, the Jews prayed for help to the God of their fathers, who visited the king with deep forgetfulness, and thereby momentarily averted the impending calamity, which, however, was only postponed to the following daybreak (6-50). Then Eleazar, an aged priest, earnestly prayed for his people (vi. 1-15) ; and just as he finished praying, the royal train and the elephants arrived at the Hippodrome, when suddenly two angels appeared in terrible form, visible to all but the Jews, making the affrighted elephants go backwards and crush the soldiers (16-21). This changed the king's anger into pity, and with tears in his eyes he at once set free the sons of the Almighty, heavenly, living God,' and made a great feast for them (22 3o). To commemorate this marvellous interposi tion of their heavenly Father, the Jews instituted an annual festival, to be celebrated through all the dwellings of their pilgrimage for after generations' (31-40. The faithful Jews had not only their mourning turned into joy, and the royal protection for the future, but were permitted by the king to inflict condign punishment on those of their brethren who had forsaken the religion of their fathers in order to escape the temporary sufferings ; thus the most high God worked wonders through. out for their deliverance' (vii. 1-23).