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I looked over this answer Why isn't the book of the Maccabees part of the Jewish canon?, but I had further questions.

I understand why its non canonical, i think its easier to understand when an item is non-holy-spirit-inspired by how the writer puts the hero(s). If the hero(s) are put without fault, then usually its a sure sign that its out of canon. (There are VERY few characters in the Jewish canon that do not have any faults.)

But II Maccabees has stories of God interacting with his people: The flogging in the temple, the horsemen leading battle charges, and what sounds like another Jericho incident. I thought God was silent after Malachi. But this does not sound silent! Can someone explain? My pastor said he does not have time to read and learn the Apocrypha as the Bible is already to much for the time given to answer my questions :) So clearly the Stack Exchange crowd shall help be my answer.

Thanks.

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  • Welcome to the site. Your question's a little unclear (to me) but seems to be "That Maccabees recounts miracles and faults of its heroes should put it in Tanach. Why isn't it there?". Is that right? If so, how is this not a duplicate of the question you link to?
    – msh210 ♦
    Mar 21, 2012 at 20:34
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    Or, well, I guess it's not exactly a duplicate, if you are satisfied with the answer "Those are not the criteria".
    – msh210 ♦
    Mar 21, 2012 at 21:17
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    @msh210 I think what Michael is trying to ask is that he understood that interaction between god and man ended along with the canon, yet we see interaction between god and man outside of the canon- in Maccabees II.
    – Baal Shemot Tovot
    Mar 21, 2012 at 21:22
  • Oh, I see. Yes, I suspect you're right. I wonder where that premise came from. I'll pen an answer.
    – msh210 ♦
    Mar 21, 2012 at 21:25
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    @msh210, l' comment is right. I was wondering why there is still interactions between God and man when I thought God's silence started after Malachi
    – ThePrimeagen
    Mar 22, 2012 at 14:24

1 Answer 1

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You question's a little unclear (to me) but if you're asking (as l ' suggests)

I understood that interaction between God and man in the form of miracles done by the former ended along with the canon, yet we see such outside of the canon!

then the answer is simple: Your premise is wrong. God has done many miracles since the times of Tanach. There are stories in the Talmud of miracles done for tanaim and even later rabbis, for example. (One famous one off the top of my head is that a tana's vinegar lit when he had no oil; another is that a later rabbi was able to revive another after killing him when drunk.)

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    To be clear: It is not interaction between God and man that ended with Malachi, but rather strictly prophecy (and what we understand to be Biblical-level literary divine inspiration) that ended then.
    – jake
    Mar 21, 2012 at 22:23
  • I can accept that as a valid answer. My premise must be wrong.
    – ThePrimeagen
    Mar 22, 2012 at 14:26
  • And thanks for the welcoming. I appreciate it
    – ThePrimeagen
    Mar 22, 2012 at 14:27

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