Library/Deuterocanon
3 Maccabees
Not about the Maccabees. Ptolemy IV tries to have Egyptian Jews trampled by drunk elephants; angels turn the elephants; a feast is instituted. Diaspora novella with a miracle.
- Status
- Orthodox canon (not Catholic)
- Date
- 1st century BCE – 1st century CE
- Languages
- Greek
- Setting
- Ptolemaic Egypt; Jews herded in the hippodrome
What it contains
- Temple incident
- The hippodrome
- The elephants
- The feast
Why it sits outside most canons
Orthodox only; no Maccabees in it, and no Hebrew original.
Themes
- Diaspora
- Persecution
- Angels
- Feast
Passages
3 Maccabees 6:18
Then the greatly glorious, almighty, and true God showed his holy face and opened the heavenly gates, from which two glorious angels of fearful aspect descended.