The Dates and Provenance of 4 Maccabees
In the study of a literary work, knowing the identity of the author, among other things, is helpful in ascertaining the date of the composition. Though many of the manuscripts of 4 Maccabees are anonymous, there is a tradition (promulgated by Eusebius and Jerome) that the author of 4 Maccabees is Josephus. Today's scholarship has rejected such a conclusion primarily because of conflicting styles.1 It is also not surprising that Philo would be suggested as the author since the work is explicitly in the style of Greek philosophy. This, too, has can be dismissed since Greek philosophy was not limited to Philo and the philosophy of 4 Maccabees is not as sophisticated and erudite as the philosophy of Philo. Helyer offers as good of a conclusion as any when he says, "The most that can safely be assumed is that our author was a Diaspora Jew who possessed a Greek education, though his understanding of Greek philosophy was not extensive."2
The identity of the author not only helps in the determining of the date of a literary work, but it also helps in determining the provenance of the same. In the case of 4 Maccabees, combining the conclusion that the author was likely a Diaspora Jew with what is known about the content of the book, a likely provenance is Alexandria, Egypt. In addition to the large colony of Jews residing in this African city, it was also thoroughly saturated with Greek philosophy as evidenced in the works of Philo who hails from there. But this is far from conclusive. Other scholars have proposed Syrian Antioch because of the "Asianic-styled" rhetoric which is typified by very flowery metaphorical descriptions, such as that found in 4 Maccabees. H. Alexander explains that this city was the "third city of the ancient world, where Greek rhetoric ...certainly did flourish, where there was also a large community of Jews. ... In later Christian tradition there are in fact certain indications of the existence of a cult of the Macccabean martyrs at Antioch."3 Presumably in the same place, John Chrysostom preached at the "tomb of the martyrs."4 Though the evidence pleads for Syrian Antioch as the literary origination of 4 Maccabees, the point should not be pressed too forcefully.5 Helyer probably adopts the safest posture by leaving the question open.6
Notes
1Larry R. Helyer, Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002): 404.
2Ibid.
3H. Anderson, "4 Maccabees," in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments, Vol. 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1983): 535. Anderson continues to relate Jerome's ambiguous reference to martyrs not only at the time of the Maccabean revolt, but also of other martyrs that could perhaps fit the description of those described in 4 Maccabees.
4Ibid.
5For a detailed investigation into the Syrian Antioch as a provenance theory, confer Sigrid Peterson's paper presented at the SBL in September, 1995. The full text of this article is posted online at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~petersig/mcc4sbl.htm. The author basically seeks other ancient Greek sources from the Syrian Antioch provenance (by using TLG database) to determine if there are any clues that would tip the scales one way or the other. He admits that a definite conclusion is not possible, but offers two suggestions that might open up progress in future pursuits.
6Helyer, 404.
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