The books of
Machabees1 are four texts originally written in
Hebrew (or
Aramaic), authors unknown.
1 Machabees describes the struggle of the Jewish people for political and religious freedom under the leadership of the Machabee family, with Judas Machabeus as the central figure.
2 Machabees provides a history of the Machabean rebellion.
3 Machabees discusses the persecution of the Jews under Ptolemy IV.
4 Machabees is a treatise on the supremacy of pious reason.
For a detailed discussion of the four texts see the excellent Catholic Encyclopedia article entitled The Books of Machabees. Of the four books, only 1 Machabees and 2 Machabees are considered canonical by the Catholic Church.2 3 Machabees and 4 Machabees are considered apocryphal.
1 Rook points out that '
Maccabees' is probably the preferred form, since their sources transliterate the
Hebrew root as 'maqqabyahu'. On the other hand, the
Catholic Church has been referring to the books for several hundred years as '
Machabees' (short form, '
Mach') -- see the
Catholic Encyclopedia article,
The Books of Machabees.
2Protestants believe all four books of
Machabees to be
apocryphal.