… to the Sea

literary history may label “the second book of maccabees” as the worst book title ever. the book is not the “second” book of maccabees; the text is anything but a continuation of the tale of the hasmonean dynasty. even worse, the book admittedly is not an original text. 

second maccabees consists of two letters and along with a reader’s digest version of an original jason of cyrene five volume work. mr. cyrene’s massive work, unfortunately, has been lost to antiquity. 2 maccabees 2:24. finally, second maccabees is in some aspects a competing narrative to first maccabees. the writing perspective of second maccabees is more religious than the first. one benefit from second maccabees is that it includes a tale which may have inspired chanukah menorah lighting. according to the jewish annotated apocrypha, new revised standard edition, the dating of the second book maccabees is approximately around 130s to 140s of bce. 

this post’s title relates to a story contained within second maccabees. long before the present middle east conflict, before the region was re-named palestine by the romans and before any jewish conflict with islam [note: this was prior to the birth prophet mohammed, 570 ce and the religion of islam], the second book of maccabees tells a tale of the sea.

in chapter 12, the second maccabees tells of the people of joppa [a city located south of modern tel aviv]. ”and the people of joppa did so ungodly a deed as this: they invited the jews who lived among them to embark, with their wives and children, on boats that they had provided, as though there were no ill will to the jews; and this was done by public vote of the city. when they [the jews] accepted, because they wished to live peaceably and suspected nothing, the people of joppa took them out to sea and drowned them, at least two hundred.” 2 maccabees 12:3-4

“to the sea” may well have been the chant of joppa residents as they escorted the jews out of their city. thus, we must take a moment to ponderis mr. george santayana’s notion that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

be well!!

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