New Testament Relevence of 4 Maccabees



The relevance of 4 Maccabees with the New Testament is not necessarily related to its genre, since there is no equivalent genre (as an entire corpus) comparable to it in the New Testament. Thematically, however, there are several points of relevance inviting the New Testament exegete to investigate. The motif of atonement (see under: Purposes and Motifs) is certainly an area that shares commonality. The New Testament's discussion of atonement will differ in substance, however, since it is christological, whereas in 4 Maccabees the atonement is anthropological. This is a distinct difference that is offensive to the New Testament Christian. It may be that the author modeled his text after the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah 53. Helyer observes that "belief in vicarious atonement seems to have flourished in apocalyptic circles" and then cites a passage from the Testament of Benjamin (3:8).1 Whether or not it was this specific Isaianic passage is not necessary to posit, for the author cites various other passages from the Old Testament and surely had an awareness of the deeply-implanted cultic observances of animal sacrifice. Additionally, 2 Samuel 21--where the seven descendants of Saul were hung as retribution for a covenant violation to the Gibeonites as a sort of atonement2 --is perhaps even more viable than Isaiah 53. The point is, there is no way to ascertain one way or another, except to note the generally understood tradition that was available for the author to draw upon.

Martyrdom is another motif that dominates 4 Maccabees. Even though the New Testament offers few comparative passages on martyrdom, two are suggested here. The first is the list of "heroes" of the faith detailed in Hebrews 11:35-38 and is quoted here for comparison.

The similarity should be evident to one who is familiar with the content of 4 Maccabees. A second passage, not often considered, and of minor importance is Romans 5:7:

This text, of course, moves immediately from the martyrdom notion to a Christological concept of vicarious atonement. So the two observations, atonement and martyrdom are closely related and a comparison with 4 Maccabees will necessarily involve both concepts since they overlap.

Another subject that has relevance to 4 Maccabees and the New Testament is the author's treatment of Law (Torah). The New Testament exegete may find Paul's treatment of the Law and the recent scholarship proposing the "new perspective on Paul" to be fertile ground for comparison. There is evidence in 4 Maccabees that the author promotes piety as the absolute ideal, which essentially means, for him, conformity to Torah by suppression of the base desires (i.e. passions, or emotions). This suppression is supposedly attained by reason. There is no mention, of course, of the need for regeneration to accomplish this. From this perspective, one could argue that the author of 4 Maccabees held to a works-based soteriology.3

Two final suggestions of relevance between the New Testament and 4 Maccabees can be offered. The first is the broad subject of suffering and perseverance in general. There are many places in the New Testament that discuss this subject across the various biblical genres. Such a comparative study may yield fruit for the study of how a godly person should control his emotions. The final suggestion is the Pauline conception of the mind (nous) especially as it he works it out in Romans 7:14-25. In this passage, Paul uses many of the same key terms used by the author of 4 Maccabees, including the importance of the role of the Law.4

In conclusion, 4 Maccabees has much to offer New Testament student in terms of comparative study. Apparently, the Christians of the early church regarded it as a worthy piece of literature since they are the group responsible for its preservation. It was a citation resource for several Church fathers (e.g. Gregory Nazianzus, John Chrysostum, Ambrose, and Augustine)5. Though the descriptions of torture are graphic, there is edifying value in this unique work.

Notes

1Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002): 409.

2It is interesting to note that what brackets this passage is a comment about the condition of the land. This fact is significant to the story line of 2 Samuel 21. The land had been subjected to a famine for three consecutive years (12:1). When David sought the face of the Lord, presumably to ask for showers of refreshment upon the land, the Lord told him quite specifically that the famine was a result of a covenant violation under his predecessor's [i.e. Saul's] reign. Once David offers the seven sons of Saul as an appeasement to the Gibeonites for covenant violation, the text says that "God answered prayer on behalf of the land" (21:14). It is in this sense that there is a distinct parallel with 4 Maccabees since the author of that work relates how the martyrdom of the seven sons (and also their mother and the aged priest Eleazar) under Antiochus accomplished a purification for the land (cf. 4 Macc. 17:20-22).

3See under: Purposes and Motifs for more substantiation for this view.

4Helyer, 411. Helyer also mentions later (p. 412) 1 Corinthians 13:3 as a possible place where Paul may have had 4 Maccabees in mind (viz. giving his body to be burned).

5H. Anderson, "4 Maccabees" in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments, Vol. 2, ed. James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1983): 541-42.
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