Synopsis
II Maccabees continues the chronicle of the "Time of the Troubles" (167-64 B.C.E.), begun in I Maccabees. It recounts the stories of conflict between militant Jews, led by Judas Maccabaeus, and their Hellenistic oppressors. Aside from the story of the struggle to control the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem, though, II Maccabees shares little in common with I Maccabees. The second volume of reflections of Jewry in the generation following the Maccabaean revolt presents and evaluates the experience from its own unique perspective.
How these events came to be written, who told the stories, and what reasons motivated such divergent yet parallel interpretations are the questions Jonathan A. Goldstein, translator and commentator on both Maccabaean histories, addresses here. Goldstein utilizes the full array of scholarly tools to examine the critical issues raised by II Maccabees. By examining its language and style, its Hellenic yet Jewish flavor, its comparison and relationship to I Maccabees, its use of sacred writings (Torah and Prophets), its historical context, and the role of the miraculous, Goldstein thoroughly elucidates this powerful account of a pivotal period in Jewish history.
As the commentary makes clear, II Maccabees focuses on certain themes: miracles as God's tools for shaping history; the holiness of the Jerusalem temple; the dynamic relationship between the Hasmonaean rulers and their pious opponents; praise of martyrdom; the doctrine of resurrection. An abridgment of Jason of Cyrene's work, II Maccabees advances its own theological perspective to its Greek-speaking audience, refuting the Hasmonaean partisan's view that pervades I Maccabees.
Jonathan A. Goldstein, author of I Maccabees, is Professor of History and Classics at the University of Iowa. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Harvard, and a doctorate at Columbia University.
Review
William F. Albright, Johns Hopkins University. C26 [d. 1971]
Francis I. Andersen, University of Queensland, Australia (Emeritus). C24, C24A
Markus Barth, University of Basel. C34, C34A, C34B [d. 1994]
Adele Berlin, University of Maryland. C25A
Helmut Blanke, Doctor of Theology from the University of Basel. C34B
Joseph Blenkinsopp, University of Notre Dame. RL5
Robert G. Boling, McCormick Theological Seminary. C6, C6A
John Bright, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond. C21
Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Union Theological Seminary, New York (Emeritus). C29, C29A, C30, RL1, RL8
George W. Buchanan, Wesley Theological Seminary. C36
Edward F. Campbell, Jr., McCormick Theological Seminary. C7
James H. Charlesworth, Princeton Theological Seminary. RL4
Mordechai Cogan, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. C11 John J. Collins, University of Chicago. RL11
James L. Crenshaw, Duke Divinity School. C24C
Mitchell Dahood, S.J., The Pontifical Biblical Institute. C16, C17, C17A [d. 1982]
Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M., Catholic University of America. C23, C39
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J., Jesuit Community, Boston College. C28, C28A, C33
J. Massyngberde Ford, University of Notre Dame. C38
David Noel Freedman, University of Michigan (Emeritus) and University of California, San Diego. General Editor. C24, C24A
Victor P. Furnish, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. C32A
Jonathan A. Goldstein, University of Iowa. C41, C41A Moshe Greenberg, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. C22
Louis F. Hartman, C.SS.R., Catholic University of America. C23 [d. 1970]Delbert R. Hillers, Johns Hopkins University. C7A
Luke Timothy Johnson, Candler School of Theology, Emory University. C37A
Baruch A. Levine, New York University. C4
P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., Johns Hopkins University. C8, C9
John L. McKenzie, De Paul University. C20 [d. 1991]
C. S. Mann, formerly Coppin State College. C26, C27
Amihai Mazar, Institute of Archaeology of Hebrew University, Jerusalem. RL2
John P. Meier, Catholic University of America. RL3, RL10
Doron Mendels, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. RL6
Carol L. Meyers, Duke University. C25B, C25C
Eric M. Meyers, Duke University. C25B, C25C
Jacob Milgrom, University of California, Berkeley (Emeritus). C3, C3A
Carey A. Moore, Gettysburg College. C7B, C40, C40A, C44
Johannes Munch, Aarhus University. C31 [d. 1965]
Jacob M. Myers, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg. C12, C13, C14, C42 [d. 1991]
Jacob Neusner, University of South Florida at Tampa. RL9
Jerome H. Neyrey, University of Notre Dame. C37C
William F. Orr, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. C32 [d. 1993]
Brian Peckham, Regis College, Toronto University. RL7
Marvin H. Pope, Yale University (Emeritus). C7C, C15
Jerome D. Quinn, St. Paul Seminary. C35, C35A [d. 1988]
Bo Ivar Reicke, University of Basel. C37 [d. 1987]
Jack M. Sasson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. C24B
R. B. Y. Scott, Princeton University. C18 [d. 1987]
Patrick W. Skehan, Catholic University of America. C39 [d. 1980]
Ephraim A. Speiser, University of Pennsylvania. C1 [d. 1965]
Hayim Tadmor, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. C11
William C. Wacker, Master of Theology, St. Johns University. C35A
James Arthur Walther, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (Emeritus). C32
MosheWeinfeld, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. C5
David Winston, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley (Emeritus). C43
G. Ernest Wright, Semitic Museum, Harvard University. C6 [d. 1974]
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