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1 Maccabees
1 Maccabees is a history of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV and the rise of the Maccabee (Hasmonean) family, covering about 175–134 BC: the ban on Jewish worship, Judas Maccabeus' victories, the rededication of the Temple, and the rule of his brothers Jonathan and Simon. People read it as the main source for the period between the Old and New Testaments, for the origin of Hanukkah, and as a story about staying faithful to God's law under persecution.
- about 100 BC
- Hebrew (lost)
- Protestant Catholic Orthodox Ethiopian
Should it be in the Bible?
The case for
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It is a careful, detailed history that modern historians treat as the best source for its period.
The evidence
It dates events by the Seleucid calendar, quotes letters and treaties (with Rome in chapter 8, with Sparta in chapter 12, and the decree honouring Simon in chapter 14), and its account broadly agrees with Greek historians such as Polybius. Josephus followed it closely in Antiquities books 12–13.
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The church read and received it as scripture from early times, and large parts of the church made that formal.
The evidence
Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian and Hippolytus cite it. It appears in the great Greek Bibles Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Alexandrinus, in the Apostolic Canons (canon 85), and in the canon lists of the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397); Trent (1546) affirmed it for Catholics and the Synod of Jerusalem (1672) for the Orthodox.
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It fits the rest of the Bible, showing events Daniel foretold and the Jewish world Jesus lived in.
The evidence
It describes Antiochus IV's desecration of the Temple, the 'abomination of desolation' (1:54), which matches Daniel 11:31 and 12:11. It explains the Feast of Dedication Jesus attended (John 10:22), and its theology (covenant loyalty, zeal for the Torah, trust that Heaven gives victory) is the same as the Old Testament's.
The case against
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Jews never counted it as scripture, and the book itself says there were no prophets in its day.
The evidence
It is not in the Hebrew Bible, and no copy has turned up among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book says three times that no prophet was active (4:46, 9:27, 14:41), and it never claims to be inspired. The rabbis kept Hanukkah but told its story differently (Talmud Shabbat 21b).
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Important early Christian lists left it out or ranked it below scripture, and the Reformers did the same.
The evidence
Origen (in Eusebius, Church History 6.25) and Jerome (Prologus Galeatus) place Maccabees outside the canon, and Athanasius' list of 367 does not include it. Luther placed it among the Apocrypha as 'useful and good to read' but not equal to scripture. The Church of England's Article VI says such books are read for example of life, not to establish doctrine.
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It is written partly to promote one ruling family and contains some factual mistakes.
The evidence
It praises the Hasmoneans as the family 'through whom deliverance was given to Israel' (5:62) and supports Simon's claim to be both high priest and ruler (14:41). It wrongly says Alexander divided his empire before he died (1:6) and that Rome had a single ruler each year (8:16). Its timeline also sometimes differs from 2 Maccabees.
Both sides are written as strongly as the honest evidence allows, so you can decide for yourself. Researched by claude-opus-5-5.
When, where and by whom
The book names no author, and tradition has always treated it as the work of an unnamed Jewish writer in Judea who supported the Hasmonean family and wrote in Hebrew; Origen and Jerome both say they knew of a Hebrew version. Most scholars date it to about 104–100 BC, because it closes by mentioning the chronicles of John Hyrcanus' reign (16:23–24), though some place it soon after 134 BC.
Jesus, the New Testament and this book
- The Feast of Dedication Jesus attends in John 10:22 (Hanukkah) is founded in 1 Maccabees 4.
- Jesus is in the Temple at the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22). That festival is Hanukkah, which Judas Maccabeus set up when he rededicated the Temple in 164 BC (1 Macc 4:36–59). (strong link)
- Jesus warns of the 'abomination of desolation' (Mark 13:14; Matthew 24:15). The phrase comes from Daniel, and 1 Maccabees 1:54 uses the same Greek wording for Antiochus' pagan altar, which shows how Jews of Jesus' day understood it. (likely link)
- 1 Maccabees describes waiting for 'a trustworthy prophet' (4:46; 14:41), which matches the hope for 'the prophet' that John the Baptist and Jesus were asked about (John 1:21; 6:14). (possible link)
- Mattathias says Abraham 'was found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness' (2:52). James 2:21–23 joins Abraham's test to Genesis 15:6 in a similar way. (possible link)
- Hebrews 11:33–34 praises believers who 'became mighty in war' and 'put foreign armies to flight.' This may refer to the Maccabean heroes among others. (possible link)
- Mattathias' zeal, modelled on Phinehas (2:24–27), helps explain the 'zealot' ideal of Jesus' time, such as Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:15). (possible link)
How it came down to us
The original Hebrew text is lost; Origen recorded its Hebrew title, and Jerome said he had seen a Hebrew copy. Today it survives in the Greek of the Septuagint, with the oldest full copies in Codex Sinaiticus (4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (5th century), plus Codex Venetus (8th century). Early translations into Latin (Old Latin, later taken into the Vulgate), Syriac and Armenian also survive. After the first century, Christians rather than Jews kept copying it.
- Greek Septuagint manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Venetus
- Old Latin, Vulgate, Syriac and Armenian versions
- Josephus, Jewish Antiquities books 12–13
- Origen's canon list as quoted in Eusebius, Church History 6.25; Jerome, Prologus Galeatus
- Canon lists: Athanasius' Festal Letter 39 (367), Apostolic Canons 85, councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), Council of Trent (1546), Synod of Jerusalem (1672)
- Reformation sources: Luther's 1534 Bible prefaces; Church of England Thirty-Nine Articles, Article VI; Westminster Confession 1.3
- Early Christian writers: Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Hippolytus
- Greek historians, especially Polybius, for comparison with Seleucid history
- Book of Daniel 8–12 and 2 Maccabees for parallel accounts
- Rabbinic tradition: Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 21b
- Modern commentaries (e.g. J. A. Goldstein, Anchor Bible 1 Maccabees; J. R. Bartlett)