Apocrypha
2 Maccabees
15 chapters
About this book
An account of the same period of persecution and resistance, presented with more explicit theological reflection than 1 Maccabees and with a stated interest in the meaning of events rather than only their sequence. It includes well-known accounts of martyrdom under persecution.
Why read this
Reading it alongside 1 Maccabees shows two ancient writers treating the same events very differently, one as political history and one as a religious interpretation of suffering. That contrast is instructive in itself.