( 3 reviews )
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Posted: May 25 2009
To be honest, I wasn't looking for commentary on these two books when I purchsed this title. I'm glad I bought it, though.
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Posted: Mar 7 2009
As I've been digging deeper into the New Testament, I've been gathering more resources on books like First and Second Maccabees (for NT Jewish Backgrounds study). As I look at my current resources on Maccabees, I believe this one is by far the shortest work I have. At 134 pages, with a stapled spine, it looks and feels like a thick study guide, but it is actually a commentary. And if you look at the layout of the book, slightly over half of the material is the text of 1st and 2nd Maccabees. It's written like a study bible, yet without the cross reference margins. It has one black and white map in the back of Palestine during the time of the Maccabees. It has a few (three or four) study aids or topics to discuss for each chapter in the back. There is no index of any kind and there are no footnotes. The introduction is a few pages long. All the pages are 5.5 x 8, so you are really talking about maybe 50 to 60 pages of commentary in this book. The text is the New American Bible 1970, and the type setting is large and pleasant to look at. It's inexpensive, and rightly so, you don't get a lot beyond a simple translation here, still it's nicely done for what it is. Because of these things, I think it was worth getting. The commentary is straightforward and written for a small group bible study or Sunday School class setting (in my view). This translation of Maccabees is excellent to read. I've enjoyed it a lot. let me illustrate what he talks about here. For 2 Maccabees 6:12-17 we have the following comments directly below the text in large, easy to read type. "A theology of persecution. The reader was advised earlier that the reason for the ills that befell Jerusalem and the people was that the people had sinned by engaging in various Hellenizing activities. The author now explains that the punishment was not meant to be destructive, but corrective, like a parent disciplining a child. In effect, the author states that God gives the other nations enough rope to hang themselves: with Israel, God punishes them before they reach the fulness of their sinfulness so that they can experience God's mercy. The assertion that God does not abandon the covenanted people is found throughout Jewish tradition." The commentary then goes on to Eleazar's martyrdom, and presents this as possibly intentionally set up as an inspiration to the seven brothers and their mother who were martyred during Antiochus IV reign of desecration and forced Hellenization. He also touches on interesting things, but does not develop them at all. For example, he mentions there are parallels between Socrates and Eleazar, but doesn't enumerate any and gives no footnotes or references for further study. (Boooo!!) 2 Maccabees 6 on Eleazar contains the first mention in this book of a key term (ARETHS-or Virtue) that Peter uses in 2 Peter 1, and thus becomes potential Jewish Background study material for a deeper exegesis of 2 Peter 1 in the New Testament. However, Spilly does not pick up on this. He does not tie into NT usage of terms in Maccabees generally, and so for NT studies this book is good for familiarization with Maccabees, but NOT good for tying in terminology used later in the NT. It's amazing to me that a commentary on Maccabees would overlook that sort of information!!! Still I believe this is a well written albeit very concise study guide sort of commentary. It's a great way to just sit and read Maccabees and to glean a little clarification and explanation along the way.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 29 2008
I am using this book as a reference as I teach my class on the Maccabees, those heroic Jewish warriors who saved Judaism from annihilation during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This book is quite useful in understanding Old Testament Theology and helps one understand modern Judaism as well. The origins of Hanukkah are found here and this resource is a great place to discover the background.
