Finishing 4 Maccabees

In my March 25 blog entry, I indicated that I had just finished the book of 2nd Esdras, and was going on to read 4th Maccabees. Well, today I finished 4th Maccabees. This is the final book in the "extended" version of the Apocrypha, as found in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

4th Maccabees is a rather obscure book. It is not recognized as canonical Scripture by any major religious body. It is laid out as a philosophical treatise, with the intent of proving the superiority of reason over the emotions. To prove his point, the author retells a few stories from the annals of Hebrew history, with more than half of the book devoted to the Judean revolt against Greek King Antiochus. In each of these stories, the author shows how reason trumped emotions, and thus "won the day". Whether or not you agree with this idea, it's a book certainly worth reading, especially for those interested in Ancient Near East history. It's not a heavy read--just 18 chapters, and short chapters at that.

To mark this occasion in my devotional reading, I will leave you with the final two verses of 4th Maccabees, which are thus the "final" verses of the Old Testament Apocrypha:

But the sons of Abraham with their victorious mother are gathered together into the chorus of the fathers, and have received pure and immortal souls from God, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.