Third and Fourth Maccabees

Third and Fourth Maccabees are ancient Jewish writings connected by name with the books of the Maccabees, though neither continues the history told in 1 and 2 Maccabees.

Third Maccabees describes the persecution and deliverance of Jews in Egypt under King Ptolemy IV. Despite its title, it does not mention the Maccabee family.

Fourth Maccabees is a religious and philosophical work. It argues that reason devoted to God can rule over human emotions and desires. Its main examples are the martyrs of 2 Maccabees 6–7, who endured torture and death rather than abandon God's law.

Jewish and Christian traditions differ on the authority of these books. Third Maccabees is accepted as Scripture in Eastern Orthodox churches. Fourth Maccabees is not part of most canons, though it appears in some ancient Greek Bibles and influenced later Jewish and Christian thought.

See also Apocrypha.