3 Maccabees

Septuaginta. The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint. Volume 3: Hosea-4 Maccabees, Psalms of Solomon, Enoch, The Odes. Swete, Henry Barclay, editor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1905

Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.

This work is a religious historical narrative depicting the persecution of the Jewish people under the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt and their miraculous deliverance by God. The story begins with King Ptolemy IV Philopator, who, after his victory at the Battle of Raphia, attempts to desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem. Thwarted by divine intervention, the enraged king retreats to Egypt, strips the local Jews of their citizenship, and orders their mass arrest and execution. The Jews are confined to a hippodrome to be trampled by intoxicated elephants, but God repeatedly intervenes, causing the king to sleep or forget his plans, thus delaying the slaughter. Finally, in response to the fervent prayer of the elder Eleazar, angels appear and turn the rampaging elephants against the king's own army. Repentant, the king reverses his decree, releases the Jews, and ensures their safe return, ending the narrative in great joy and celebration.