1 Maccabees is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. 2 Macc is not a sequel to 1 Macc. In fact, 2 Macc tells many of the same stories from a slightly different perspective than 1 Macc.

I’ve often described the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces as “modern-day Maccabees,” invoking the larger-than-life image of the Chanukah superheroes as a way to compliment today’s ...

However, our prayers commemorating Hanukkah place much more emphasis on the military victory of the Maccabees over the mighty Greeks, the success of the few against the many, the pure against the ...