First Maccabees

Overview

The book of First Maccabees is included in the UPDV since it fills in important events in the history of Israel between the time of Malachi and the New Testament.

However, in reviewing the text, it appears that some parts of First Maccabees are likely to have been added at a later time. A careful evaluation of the text resulted in retaining about 75% of the original.

Criteria for Exclusion

The following factors were evaluated in identifying text that was not likely to be original:

Suspect introductory style. Sections of text introduced by an unusual style of writing were flagged, including evaluating the way subjects were referred to at the beginning of new context.

Vocabulary and grammatical patterns. Where the pattern of vocabulary, grammar, or style of writing did not appear to come from the original author — based on comparison to the rest of his writing — the text was considered suspect.

Absence from Josephus. A significant portion of First Maccabees appears to have been used by Josephus, the ancient historian. However, some parts were not. This could be because he did not want to use them, or because these parts were not in the copy he had at the time.

Abrupt context or flow. Where the context or flow of thought seemed unusually abrupt or out of place, the text was examined more closely.

Excluded Sections

This process resulted in retaining about 75% of the text of First Maccabees. The sections not included are: 1:1–9 (partial), Chapter 8, 9:34, 12:1–23, and 13:43–16:24. Additional information is provided in the footnotes at these texts.

Chapter and Verse Numbering

The book's historical chapter and verse numbering has generally been followed. This allows easier comparison to other versions and use of reference works.

There is no present intention of including in the UPDV any of the books commonly known as Second, Third, or Fourth Maccabees. The name "First Maccabees" was retained since that is what it is commonly known as today.

Source Text

First Maccabees was not included in the ASV, which was the starting point for the rest of the UPDV (except Wisdom of Sirach). The following text was used as the starting point for First Maccabees:

The Holy Bible Translated, from the Latin Vulgate; Diligently Compared with the Hebrew, Greek, and other Editions in Divers Languages. Baltimore: John Murphy Company, 1914.