maccabees
Historical and theological insights into the Maccabean era and its influence on Judeo-Christian thought.
John of Hyrcanus Among the Prophets? Paid Members Public
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus writes about a high priest during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV and the Maccabean period, named John Hyrcanus. The historian claims that Hyrcanus was given the gift of prophecy and that God spoke to him and enabled him to foretell future events. Here’s what
JEREMIAH AND THE ARK Paid Members Public
The book of 2 Maccabees states that the ark of the covenant was hidden by Jeremiah the prophet in a cave located on the mountain where Moses was allowed to see the land of Canaan before he died, namely Mount Nebo (cf. Deut. 32:48-52; 34:1-8). The exact location
DANIEL 8 & HANUKKAH Paid Members Public
In this short post I will be citing several commentaries on Daniel 8:11-14 to show its relevance to Hanukkah. All emphasis shall be mine. af. Daniel 8:11 sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel
APOCRYPHA & CHRIST’S DEITY Paid Members Public
The book of 3 Maccabees ascribes specific titles and functions that belong uniquely to God: “Lord, Lord (Kyrie, Kyrie), king of the heavens and sovereign of all creation (despota pases ktiseos), holy among the holy ones, the only ruler (monarche), almighty, give attention to us who are suffering grievously from
EARLY CHURCH ON PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD Paid Members Public
It may come as a surprise for Protestants to learn that prayers and offerings for dead Christians were an early and widespread practice observed by the universal Church. What makes this rather intriguing is that the Christians did not invent this custom, but rather inherited it from the Jews that
JESUS CELEBRATES HANUKKAH Paid Members Public
This will be a very short post. According to John’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus celebrated Hanukkah (Hebrew for dedication): “The feast of the Dedication[a] was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.(B) [b]And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
2 Maccabees and The Canon of Scripture Paid Members Public
In this post I am going to raise the question of whether Roman Catholics should consider 2 Maccabees as inspired scripture, and therefore a part of the Old Testament canon. I base this on the following section, which mentions Judas Maccabees offering sacrifices and prayers for Jewish soldiers who were
The Inter-Testamental Jewish Literature and the Deity of the Lord Jesus Paid Members Public
Additional Evidence for the Son’s Consubstantiality with the Father Sam Shamoun In many of our articles (most of which can be found here) we have examined Jesus’ statements and the claims of the NT writers in light of the OT books in order to demonstrate that the inspired Christian