Apocryphal Books > Univeral Deuterocanon > 2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book
which focuses on the Maccabean Revolt
against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and
concludes with the defeat of the Seleucid
empire general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas
Maccabeus, the hero of the work. Unlike 1
Maccabees, 2 Maccabees was written in
Koine Greek, probably in Alexandria, Egypt,
circa 124 BC. It presents a revised version
of the historical events recounted in the
first seven chapters of 1 Maccabees, adding
material from the Pharisaic tradition,
including prayer for the dead and a
resurrection on Judgment Day. Jews and
Protestants reject most of the doctrinal
issues present in the work, while Catholics
and Eastern Orthodox consider the work to
be deuterocanonical.
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