The word “canon” originally comes from the Greek and means “standard” or “measurement.” When referring to a scriptural canon, the word is used to designate a collection of writings that are considered authoritative within a specific religious group.
The canonization process of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is most often associated with the Council of Yavneh, which occurred around the year 90 C.E.
Other scholars believe the Torah (not Tanakh) was codified (although edited at a later time) in the period following Ezra there was a schism between the Sadducees and the Pharisees and both communities have the same Torah; it must have taken its current form before the two groups parted ways (450BCE; edited in 6th and 5th centuries); they believe the Tanakh (later Prophets) was completed around 70CE.
The final two books added were Ecclesiastes and The Song of Songs. We know this because there is a conversation in the mishnah (Yadayim 3:5) recorded about the debate of adding these two books and whether they held holy status.
Apocryphal writings contain books that existed at the same time as Yavneh - The Book fo Maccabees is included in the Apocrypha.
Apocrypha” (meaning hidden things in Greek) and refers to a set of works deemed canonical by the Egyptian Jewish community, based in Alexandria, but not included in the smaller canon of the Palestinian Jewish community which became the present-day Tanakh.
The two Books of Maccabees contain independent accounts of events (in part identical) that accompanied the attempted suppression of Judaism in Palestine in the second century B.C. The vigorous reaction to this attempt established for a time the religious and political independence of the Jews.
The First Book of the Maccabees - Summary
First Maccabees was written about 100 B.C., in Hebrew, but the original has not come down to us. Instead, we have an early, pre-Christian, Greek translation full of Hebrew idioms. The author, probably a Palestinian Jew, is unknown. His purpose in writing is to record the deliverance of Israel that God worked through the family of Mattathias (5:62)—especially through his three sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. The writer compares their virtues and their exploits with those of Israel’s ancient heroes, the Judges, Samuel, and David.
I Maccabees
Chapter 1
15The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them sacrifice.16Many of Israel joined them, but Mattathias and his sons drew together.17Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias: “You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city, supported by sons and kindred.18Come now, be the first to obey the king’s command, as all the Gentiles and Judeans and those who are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons shall be numbered among the King’s Friends,* and you and your sons shall be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”
19But Mattathias answered in a loud voice: “Although all the Gentiles in the king’s realm obey him, so that they forsake the religion of their ancestors and consent to the king’s orders,20yet I and my sons and my kindred will keep to the covenant of our ancestors.
Chapter 2
But when they saw the army coming against them, they said to Judas: “How can we, few as we are, fight such a strong host as this? Besides, we are weak since we have not eaten today.”
18But Judas said: “Many are easily hemmed in by a few; in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between deliverance by many or by few;
19for victory in war does not depend upon the size of the army, but on strength that comes from Heaven.a
20
The Second Book of the Maccabees - Summary
II Maccabees focuses on the Jews’ revolt against Antiochus and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BCE by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work. In general, its chronology coheres with that of I Maccabees. An unknown editor, the “Epitomist,” used the factual notes of a historian, Jason of Cyrene, to write this historical polemic. Its vocabulary and style indicate a Greek original.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Books-of-the-Maccabees
II Maccabees
Chapter 2
This is the story of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, of the purification of the great temple, the dedication of the altar,
20the campaigns against Antiochus Epiphanes and his son Eupator,*
21and of the heavenly manifestations accorded to the heroes who fought bravely for the Jewish people. Few as they were, they plundered the whole land, put to flight the barbarian hordes,
22regained possession of the temple renowned throughout the world, and liberated the city. They re-established the laws that were in danger of being abolished, while the Lord favored them with every kindness.
Different Theories:
- Only books written originally in Hebrew were considered for inclusion in the canon.
- Theory does not hold up because the Book of Daniel was mostly written in Aramaic and there is a belief that the First Book of Maccabees was originally written in Hebrew
- Omission of the first two Books of Maccabees is based on the dating of these documents
- Some believe that while the contents of the canon were finalized at Yavneh, most of the texts had already been identified long before.
- If this is true, the relatively late date of the Maccabean revolt would preclude its inclusion in an already accepted previous list.
- This theory, however, is severely weakened through a comparison with the Book of Daniel, since Daniel is included within the biblical canon in spite of the fact that most scholars date the latter book to the time of the Maccabean revolt around 165 B.C.E.–in other words, to the time of the story related in the Books of Maccabees.
- Political Rivalry during the late Second Temple Period between the Sadducees and the Pharisees
- The Sadducees, a priestly class in charge of the Temple, openly rejected the oral interpretations that the Pharisees
- The Maccabees were a priestly family, while the rabbis who may have determined the final form of the biblical canon at Yavneh were descended from the Pharisees.
- The Rabbis might not have wanted to canonize a text that clearly praised the priestly Hasmonean family
- While the Hanukkah Revolt succeeded, a few centuries later, Jerusalem fell to the Romans. Perhaps the rabbis did not want to encourage Jews to revolt out of fear that the Romans would see the text as a threat to their power.
Are these texts still valuable?
- They provide valuable information, not unlike history books
- It sheds light on the political, ideological, and historical reality of the authors and their audience’s time period.
- texts not only divulge religious belief and practice, but also give insight into the mundane, yet retrospectively intriguing, daily activities.
- They served as a response to the political and religious challenges of the day
- the Talmud and other Jewish works do on occasion cite specifics works of the Apocrypha.
First and Second Maccabees were included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible originally prepared for the Jewish community of Alexandria.
However, the Septuagint became the official version of the Bible for the nascent Christian Church.
Ironically, the Books of Maccabees survived because they became part of the Christian canon, for otherwise they most certainly would have been lost during the centuries.
But once this Christian canonization occurred, these books became lost to the Jewish world for many centuries.