of the first temple, the
sacred fire of the altar was hid in a hollow pit without water; how, at
the close of the captivity, it was found in the form of thick water,
which being by the command of Nehemiah sprinkled on the wood of the
altar and the sacrifices, there was kindled, when the sun shone upon it,
a great fire, so that all men marvelled; how Jeremiah, at God's command,
carried the tabernacle, the ark, and the altar of incense to the
mountain "which Moses ascended and saw the heritage of God," that is,
mount Nebo (Deut. 34:1), and hid them there in a hollow cave, where they
are to remain until the time that God shall gather his people together
again, and be gracious to them.

The epitome of Jason's history begins some five years earlier than the
history contained in the first book, and covers a period of about
nineteen years; so that it is partly anterior to that history, partly
supplementary, and partly parallel. Alexander's Kitto, Art. Maccabees.
The two books are entirely independent in their sources of information;
and although the second cannot lay claim to the same degree of
trustworthiness as the first, yet the general judgment of biblical
scholars is that it is, in its main facts, authentic. But these are set
forth with embellishments and exaggerations, in which the author
manifests his love for the marvellous. Where the history of the two
books is parallel, it agrees in its general outlines, but the details
are almost always different, and sometimes they present irreconcilable
discrepancies. In its religious aspect this book is very interesting. In
the account of the martyrdom of a mother and her seven sons for their
refusal to eat swine's flesh (chap. 7) the doctrine of the resurrection
is plainly announced: "It is a thing to be desired," says the fourth son
to the king Antiochus, "that one being put to death by men should wait
for the hope of God that he shall be again raised up by him; but for
thee there is no resurrection unto life" (v. 14). Where Jason composed
his work cannot be determined. He cannot have lived long after the
events which he describes, else he would have taken notice of the
important events that followed. The author of the epitome contained in
this book is believed to have been a Hellenistic Jew living in
Palestine, who probably wrote in the first century before Christ.

25. _The third book of Maccabees._ This book does not belong to the
Maccabean age, but to the earlier time of