Texts in Conversation
In 2 Maccabees, seven brothers and their mother are tortured for refusing to eat forbidden food, saying they are ready to die rather than disobey the Torah. In the Testament of Moses, Taxo and his seven sons make the same vow.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Maccabees 7:2
Deuterocanon
1 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and thongs, to partake of unlawful swine's flesh. 2 One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, "What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors." 3 The king fell into a rage, and gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated. 4 These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on. 5 When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying,
Testament of Moses 9
Assumption of Moses
Pseudepigrapha
Now, therefore, my sons, hear me: for observe and know that neither did the fathers nor their forefathers tempt God, so as to transgress His commands. And you know that this is our strength, and thus we will do. Let us fast for the space of three days and on the fourth let us go into a cave which is in the field, and let us die rather than transgress the commands of the Lord of Lords, the God of our fathers. For if we do this and die, our blood shall be avenged before the Lord.
Search:
Notes and References
“... The Testament of Moses probably was known to both our authors. Both agree with it in regarding the persecution as punishment for the sins of the Hellenizers. Jason shares the idea that the divine vengeance is roused by wholesale martyrdom. The story of the martyrdom of the woman and her seven sons (II 7) may well be an effort to make the disappointing prophesy of Test Moses ix 7 - x 1 prove true after all. ...”
Goldstein, Jonathan A.
I Maccabees: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 40) Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1976
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.