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Primary Sources

Source collections | Josephus | 1 and 2 Maccabees

Source collections

Judas Maccabeus resources, a rich collection of bibliography and source selections assembled by David Noy (University of Wales), part of his course Jews Among Greek and Romans Resources on the Maccabean Revolt. (The other sections are equally rich.)

Sources on Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt including Livy, Josephus, 1 Maccabees, from Into His Own: Perspective on the World of Jesus by Mahlon H. Smith (Rutgers University) who also translates the texts. Into His Own is an excellent collection of resources contextualizing Jesus and first-century Judaism. There's a lot more than initially meets the eye, with substantial hyperlinking opening up resources such as a short bio of Judah Maccabee and Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Josephus

Text: Josephus, Antiquities 12 covers everything from the death of Alexander to the death of Judas Maccabeus, better-formatted than most.

Excellent short survey of Josephus' life with links to short summaries of his works.

1 and 2 Maccabees

Text: New American Bible: 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. Starts with one of the better introductions, and has notes throughout.

Text: RSV: 1 Maccabees amd 2 Maccabees.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Maccabees, Books of 1-2 (1915 edition?). Detailed scholarly entry from an American Protestant perspective.

entry by F. Bechtel (1910 edition). Detailed, scholarly entry. The third and fourth are only briefly treated.

Wikipedia: 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees . Usual Wikipedia caveats apply, but this is a detailed and scholarly entry.

Latin: The Martyrdom of Eleazar (2 Macc. 6.18ff.) from Laura Gibb's excellent Fabulae Vulgatae, short selections from the vulgate designed for easy reading and supplemented with various aids.