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2 Maccabees presents suffering as a form of discipline meant for correction, not destruction, echoing the proverb that links discipline with the use of the rod. 2 Maccabees expands the proverb to describe the suffering of the entire nation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Proverbs 13:24
Hebrew Bible
22 A good person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. 23 Abundant food may come from the field of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice. 24 The one who spares his rod hates his child, but the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining him. 25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked will be empty.
Date: 600–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
2 Maccabees 6:12
Deuterocanon
11 Others who had run together into the caves nearby to keep the seventh day secretly, were betrayed to Philip and were all burned together, because their piety kept them from defending themselves, in view of the honor of that most solemn day. 12 I urge those who read this book to not be discouraged because of the calamities, but recognize that these punishments were not for the destruction, but for the chastening of our race. 13 For indeed it is a sign of great kindness that those who act impiously are not let alone for a long time, but immediately meet with retribution. 14 For in the case of the other nations, the Sovereign Lord waits patiently to punish them until they have attained to the full measure of their sins; but not with us,
Date: 160–63 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In this context, physical chastisement plays an important role: “Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24). “Discipline your children while there is hope; do not set your heart on their destruction” (Prov 19:18). “Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy, but the rod of discipline drives it far away” (Proverbs 22:15). In Proverbs 23:13f., it similarly says: “Do not withhold discipline from your children; if you beat them with a rod, they will not die. If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol” (compare Proverbs 29:1, 17). In Sirach 22:6, a rigorous education is linked to wisdom ... In this context, 2 Maccabees 6:12–16 (compare 7:33) deserves particular attention. Within the scope of a paraclesis to the reader, it is explicitly said that God did not send the penal sufferings for doom but for education or for improvement. In the background, there is also the idea of the so-called eschatological measure (“eschatologisches Maß”), according to which God always immediately punishes his people to prevent the sin from accruing, whereas it defers for the other nations, the Goyim ..."
Wolfgang Kraus, “'Whom the Lord Loveth He Chasteneth': About the Adoption of Prov 3:11f. in Hebr 12:5f,” in Septuagint, Sages, and Scripture: Studies in Honour of Johann Cook, ed. Randall X. Gauthier, Gideon R. Kotze, and Gert J. Steyn, VTSup 172 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 323–335.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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