Meqabyan


Meqabyan, also referred to as Ethiopian Maccabees and Ethiopic Maccabees, are three books found only in the Ethiopian Orthodox Old Testament and Beta Israel Mäṣḥafä Kedus Biblical canon. The language of these books is Geʽez, also called Classical Ethiopic. These books are completely different in content and subject from the various better known books of Maccabees in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles.
The account of the "Maccabees" described in these sacred texts are not those of the advent of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea, nor are they an account of the "Five Holy Maccabean Martyrs", nor the "woman with seven sons", who were also referred to as "Maccabees" and are revered in Orthodox Christianity as the "Holy Maccabean Martyrs". The Maccabees who are referenced do not correspond to known martyrology and their identity is never full clarified by the ancient author. However, they do assume the familiar moniker of being "a Maccabee", the etymological origins of which remain disputed.
Like much of the Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon, until the 21st century it was only accessible in the Ge'ez or Amharic tongue. There are now two complete translations available into English that are accessible to the general public - a translation into standard English by Feqade Selassie, and an Iyaric translation by Ras Feqade Tebbaqiw in use by Rastafarians. Additionally, the First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees has also been translated into English by DP Curtin. Despite this, there is still currently no significant academic scholarship available on the books' authorship or origins.

First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees (1 Meqabyan)

The text has 36 chapters in total, and gives the account of two separate revolts against Seleucid rule over Judea. The first account begins by stating that there was an idol-worshipping king of Media and Midian who is devoted to the cult of his idols. Unlike the more familiar narrative found in the books of Maccabees, his name is given as "Tseerutsaydan" ; this is possibly a folk memory of the historical Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who held court at the Phoenician cities, after he began minting coins with the names "Tyre and Sidon" stamped in Punic alongside his image.
According to this book, a certain man from the territory of Benjamin called Meqabis had three sons Abya, Seela, and Pantos, who opposed the tyrannical policies of the king and refused to worship his idols. Their account consumes only a short section of the book, spanning chapters 1 through chapter 4. They are noted elsewhere in the hagiographical text of the Ethiopian Synaxarion, and hold a feast day within the Ethiopian Church.
A second group of brothers are later introduced in Chapter 15. They are called: Yihuda, Meqabis and Mebikyas, and they are said to have led a successful revolt against the ruthless King Akrandis of Midian. This is possibly a historical allusion to the king Alexander I Balas, who ruled the Seleucid Empire after the death of Antiochus IV, and who supported the legitimacy of the Maccabees cause. However, in this folk rendering of history, Mebikyas enters the king's military camp and decapitates him at his dinner table, while his food was still in his mouth.
The rest of the book contains no further narratives about the Maccabeans and offers no further historical narrative, instead focusing on principles such as the primacy of God, the importance of good works, and the vanity of earthly power, often illustrated using examples from the Old Testament.

Chapter summary

This book contains 21 chapters. Chapters 1-4 recount that a king of Moab named Meqabis made war against Israel, which was God's punishment for their sins. He later repents and is taught the law of the God of Israel by the prophet Re'ay, instituting a golden age in his kingdom, until it is attacked by King Tseerutsaydan. Chapters 5-8 and 12-13 recount the same narrative of 1 Meqabyan of the three brothers who refuse to worship Tseerutsaydan's idols. The rest of the book covers more general religious teachings, with a strong emphasis on the doctrine of physical resurrection after death.

Chapter summary

This is the shortest of the three books, containing 10 chapters. At times, within the liturgical practices of the Ethiopian Church, the 2nd and 3rd Books of Meqabyan are collapsed to form a single text. It is a diffuse account of salvation and punishment, and the importance of maintaining faith in God, illustrated from the lives of various Biblical patriarchs, such as Adam, Job, and David. Much of the book is concerned with the Devil and how he tempts humans to sin. It is stated that the Devil was originally an angel who was punished by God for arrogantly refusing to bow down to his creation Adam.

Chapter summary