''6 Maccabees'', or the ''Sixth Book of Maccabees'', is an anonymous

Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic dialect that emerged during the first century ...

narrative poem about the martyrdom of

Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from c ...

and the

woman with seven sons The woman with seven sons was a Jewish martyr described in 2 Maccabees 7 and other sources, who had seven sons that were arrested (along with her) by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who forced them to prove their respect to him by consuming pig meat. Whe ...

under

Antiochus IV Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his deat ...

as described in the prose

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

works '' 2 Maccabees'' and ''

4 Maccabees 4 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Δʹ, translit=Makkabaíōn 4 also called the Fourth Book of Maccabees and possibly originally known as On the Sovereignty of Reason, el, περί αύτοκράτορος λογισμού, translit=Perí áf ...

''. ''6 Maccabees'' is a conventional title based on the theory that it is an Old Testament pseudepigraphal work of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origin., and , but , calls it ''On the Maccabees''. ''6 Maccabees'' was originally written in Syriac and only a Syriac text is known, preserved in at least three manuscripts. The whereabouts of only one of these is currently known:

Bodleian The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

, Or. 624 (Syr. 134), an 18th- or 19th-century copy in Nestorian script from the Christian community of Malabar in India. The manuscript tradition and the final form of the text are certainly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. The work itself may be of a very late date.

Sebastian Brock Sebastian Paul Brock, FBA (born 1938, London) is a British scholar, university professor, and expert in the field of academic studies of Classical Syriac language and Classical Syriac literature. His research also encompasses various aspects of ...

proposed the 12th or 13th century. Sigrid Peterson, on the other hand, argues that the earliest, unembellished form of the text must be earlier than ''4 Maccabees'' (1st–2nd century). The text as we have it, however, makes reference to ''4 Maccabees'' when it says that

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

wrote the martyrs' history, since ''4 Maccabees'' was commonly if erroneously attributed to Josephus. ''6 Maccabees'' contains 678 lines of verse. Its use of

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

is indicative of a medieval, as opposed to ancient, origin. Its dodecasyllabic metre is strongly associated with

Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Sarug ( syr, ܝܥܩܘܒ ܣܪܘܓܝܐ, ''Yaʿquḇ Sruḡāyâ'', ; his toponym is also spelled ''Serug'' or ''Serugh''; la, Iacobus Sarugiensis; 451 – 29 November 521), also called Mar Jacob, was one of the foremost Syriac poet-the ...

(died 521). The

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of the piece, ''mēmrē'', is that of a

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

in narrative verse, with characteristics of a dramatic dialogue and perhaps even of Jewish ''

piyyut A ''piyyut'' or ''piyut'' (plural piyyutim or piyutim, he, פִּיּוּטִים / פיוטים, פִּיּוּט / פיוט ; from Greek ποιητής ''poiētḗs'' "poet") is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, ch ...

im''. Much of it consists of the speeches given by the woman, Martha Shamoni (Marty Shmuni), before the execution of each of her sons. The names of the sons in ''6 Maccabees'' are Gadday, Maqqbay, Tarsay, Hebron, Hebson, Bakkos and Yonadab, which are the names known in both the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and West Syriac traditions. The content of ''6 Maccabees'' is a mix of Jewish and Christian. There is an emphasis on keeping the

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

, but also references to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, to the

intercession of saints Intercession of the Saints is a Christian doctrine held by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. The practice of praying through saints can be found in Christian writings from the 3rd century onward. The 4th-century Apo ...

and to the construction of churches commemorating the Maccabean martyrs. Although forceful arguments have been made for a Jewish original in Syriac, there is no clear evidence of the use of that literary language among Jews. The Syriac text with an English translation was published by

Robert Lubbock Bensly Robert Lubbock Bensly (born in Eaton, Norwich, England, 24 August 1831; died in Cambridge, 23 April 1893) was an English orientalist. Life He was born at Eaton, near Norwich, on 24 August 1831. He was the second son of Robert Bensly and Harriet Re ...

in 1895. A revised translation can be found in Peterson's dissertation.

Notes

References

* * * * {{refend 6 Old Testament pseudepigrapha Texts in Syriac