Original Hebrew 1Maccabees and the Full Armor

Shalom Chaverim,

Well today I was working on my translation of 1Maccabees from the never before translated (nearly lost) Hebrew text of 1Maccabees (for the HRV Apocrypha) and I discovered that in the Hebrew there are six additional verses imbedded in the midst of 1Maccabees 7:33 (more correctly additional material which naturally breaks down into six verses) including three verses which parallel 2Maccabees 15:1-3.  I find this interesting because in the Shem Tob Hebrew Matthew in place of Mt. 17:18 we find several verses which parallel Mk. 9:20-28, so it is interesting to find a similar phenomena in the Hebrew of 1Maccabees.

Especially interesting is the 6th of these verses which speaks of the full armor in referring to the Jews in Nicanor occupied Jerusalem, says:

7:33a6  And they put on the full armor,
and not chain mail and lances
but rather prayers and supplications.
(1Macc. 7:33a6 HRV)

This is especially interesting because the HRV version of 4th Maccabees makes frequent mention of the full armor:

7:1 For like a swift ship captain, thus was the mind of the aged Eleazar. By way of the steering of the fear of Eloah, his thought was leading, over the great sea of torture and emotions.
7:2 And while threats and tortures of the Tyrant were coming upon him, and tumultuous waves of tribulation.
7:3 And in no way did he turn the rudder from fear of Eloah until he voyaged and arrived to the haven of victory that does not die.
7:4 No city besieged ever held out against mighty vassals coming against its walls and its various parts like this. He was dressed in all the armor. For while his soul was suffering, consumed by torture, and by tribulation, and by burning, he conquered the tribulation because of his mind was fighting with the shield of truth.
(4Macc. 7:1-4 HRV)

13:16 Therefore put on the full armor of authority over the passions, which belongs to the mind that fears Eloah.
(4Macc. 13:16 HRV)

15:31 For like the ark of Noach, in the flood of all the world, were the throes within him. And he kept to the covenant and was sustained, and his strong word was fixed.
15:32 Thus also you keeper of the Torah, from every way overwhelmed with emotion you are drawn in and the violent winds of the torture of your sons, here and there weeping they blow. Strong is hope [over] the storm against shield of truth.
(4Macc. 15:31-32 HRV)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Sirens” in the Book of Enoch?

“Sirens” in the Book of Enoch? By James Scott Trimm In the Book of Enoch we read: “And the women also of the angels who went astray shall become sirens .” (1Enoch 19:2). Although the Ethiopic text has “ salamaweyan ” (“peaceful”) which is widely regarded as a corruption with the original reading being that found in the Greek εις σειρηνας “into sirens.”  This is certainly a passage which we would like to see in the Aramaic, much less the lost original Hebrew, but unfortunately the Aramaic for this passage has not survived. In Greek mythology, the Sirens were beautiful yet dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.  So why would the Book of Enoch refer to “sirens”.  Why would an ancient Hebrew text refer to “sirens” and what was the original Hebrew word(s) behind “sirens”? “Sirens” in the LXX In the Greek Septuagint the Greek word σειρηνας (sirens) does...
Read more

Secrets of the Oath that Binds the Fallen Angels

Image
Secrets of the Oath That Binds the Fallen Angels By James Scott Trimm We read in the Torah: 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. And they took them wives, whomsoever they chose. 3 And YHWH said: My Spirit shall not abide in man forever. For that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. 4 The N’filim were on the earth in those days and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. The same were the mighty men that were of old--the men of renown. 5 And YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil; continually. 6 And it repented YHWH that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And YHWH said: I will blot out man whom ...
Read more

The Five Satans in the Book of Enoch

The Five Satans in the Book of Enoch By James Scott Trimm We read in the Torah: 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. And they took them wives, whomsoever they chose. 3 And YHWH said: My Spirit shall not abide in man forever. For that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. 4 The N’filim were on the earth in those days and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. The same were the mighty men that were of old--the men of renown. 5 And YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil; continually. 6 And it repented YHWH that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And YHWH said: I will blot out man whom I have created fro...
Read more