Context No. 147 of 4322 · 2 Maccabees

2 Maccabees 15:28-39: in context

28When the engagement was over and they were returning again with joy, they recognized Nicanor lying dead in full armor. 29Then there was shouting and noise, and they blessed the Sovereign Lord in the language of their ancestors. 30He who in all things was in body and soul the foremost champion of his fellow citizens, he who kept through life the good will of his youth toward his countrymen, ordered that Nicanor’s head be cut off with his hand and arm, and that they be brought to Jerusalem. 31When he had arrived there and had called his countrymen together and set the priests before the altar, he sent for those who were in the citadel. 32Showing the head of the vile Nicanor and the hand of that profane man, which with proud brags he had stretched out against the holy house of the Almighty, 33and cutting out the tongue of the impious Nicanor, he said that he would give it in pieces to the birds, and hang up these rewards of his folly near the sanctuary. 34They all, looking up to heaven, blessed the Lord who had manifested himself, saying, “Blessed is he who has preserved his own place undefiled!” 35He hung Nicanor’s head and shoulder from the citadel, a clear sign evident to all of the help of the Lord. 36They all ordained with a common decree to in no way let this day pass undistinguished, but to mark with honor the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (it is called Adar in the Syrian language), the day before the day of Mordecai. 37This then having been the account of the attempt of Nicanor, and the city having from those times been held by the Hebrews, I also will here make an end of my book. 38If I have written well and to the point in my story, this is what I myself desired; but if its poorly done and mediocre, this is the best I could do. 39For as it is distasteful to drink wine alone and likewise to drink water alone, while the mingling of wine with water at once gives full pleasantness to the flavor; so also the fashioning of the language delights the ears of those who read the story. Here is the end.

Second Maccabees is a shorter, more emotional retelling of part of the same revolt First Maccabees covers. This passage is its final scene and then something unusual: the author talking about his own book.

The battle against the Seleucid general Nicanor is won, and Nicanor is found dead in his armor. Judas orders his head and arm displayed in Jerusalem, which is what was done with enemy commanders. The day is declared a holiday, the thirteenth of Adar, the day before Mordecai's day. Then the writer says the city stayed in Hebrew hands, and closes: here I will end.

The last paragraph is the author speaking directly. If the story is well told, that is what I desired. If it is poorly done and mediocre, that was the best I could do. Then his image: as it is disagreeable to drink wine alone or water alone, while wine mixed with water is pleasant, so the style of the story delights the ears of those who read the work. A biblical author signs off by hoping he got the writing right and admitting he may not have. Whose work am I judging by a standard its maker never claimed to meet?

Sources

2 Maccabees 15:28-36: the death of Nicanor and the holiday declared on the thirteenth of Adar
2 Maccabees 15:37-39: the author's closing apology for his own writing, with the image of wine mixed with water
2 Maccabees as an abridgment of a five-volume work by Jason of Cyrene (2:19-32)