The books 1 and 2 Maccabees are twin accounts of the Maccabean/Hasmonean revolt against the Greeks. 2 Maccabees is an evocation of Jewish identity in a turbulent world - scholars suggest many goals of the text, but “Jewish identity” is central. 2 Maccabees is not a sequel to 1 Maccabees - the two texts treat the same events in very different ways. The author of 2 Maccabees was probably unaware of 1 Maccabees, and indeed may have written his volume earlier.