With the help of God, the aged priest Mattathias and his sons—Judas Maccabaeus, Jonathan, and Simon—dramatically lead the Jews of Judaea first to victory and then to freedom against the formidable successors of Alexander the Great. Their struggles begin in guerilla warfare, responding to the terrible persecutions decreed by King Antiochus IV, and courageously accomplish their first great triumph—still celebrated in the festival of Hanukkah.
The introduction to this volume considers not only I Maccabees, but also the parallel accounts found in II Maccabees and shows that the two authors of I and II Maccabees wrote with passionate conviction to teach two sharply opposed points of view. In some cases their convictions blinded them to the truth, but Jonathan A. Goldstein renders their teachings accessible to the modern reader and reconstructs what really happened, making valuable contributions to Greek and Roman as well as to Jewish history. Nineteen maps and diagrams set the scene of the dramatic struggle and the troubled times described in I Maccabees.
Logos Bible Software gives you the tools you need to use this volume effectively and efficiently. With your digital library, you can search for verses, find Scripture references and citations instantly, and perform word studies. Along with your English translations, all Scripture passages are linked to Greek and Hebrew texts. What’s more, hovering over a Scripture reference will instantly display your verse! The advanced tools in your digital library free you to dig deeper into one of the most important contributions to biblical scholarship in the past century!
