Official Review: First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees

[ciecheesemeister]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees" by D.P. Curtin.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees is a translation of text contained in the Amharic Orthodox Bible. The translation was undertaken by D.P. Curtin and editing is attributed to Jessica Curtin. The text relates several stories, the prevalent theme of which is rejecting idolatry.

The first is the story of the sons of Maccabeus of the Tribe of Benjamin. Initially, there are three sons referenced who visit the empire of King Tseerutsaydan. Later in the text, there are references to five sons. King Tseerutsaydan worships idols made from various Earthly materials, believing that they give him power. He gives them food made from “unclean sacrifices,” which his priests consume. He attempts to convince others to worship these idols as well. When he attempts to convince the sons of Maccabeus to do so, they refuse and are put to death. However, he finds it impossible to destroy their bodies. Eventually, they return to him fully resurrected, giving him the chance to forsake his idols and pledge his allegiance to God.

It isn’t my intent to critique the story contained in The First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees. This is a straightforward translation, provided for historical and scholarly value. I give the book three out of four stars. I am not sure if Jessica Curtin could be considered a professional editor. There were some minor errors in the text of the footnotes, which is what I am critiquing.

I have always enjoyed studying history, including various religions past and present. I have a collection of Biblical Apocrypha, which I have appreciated learning from over the years. I was looking forward to reading The First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees, a text which I had heard of but knew nothing about. Reading the translated text was interesting and informative, but I still know very little about the text’s origins. I had to turn to sources outside of this book for that information.

Readers who are simply looking for a translation of The First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees will be fine with this book. Readers who are interested in further information about the Books of Ethiopian Maccabees, of which there are three, will be disappointed. I am not even sure when the book was initially translated, only when it was published (2018). There is no information regarding the translator, D.P. Curtin. The footnotes in the book are sparse and not particularly informative to a person who is not a theological scholar.

While I enjoyed reading The First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees, I was frustrated by the lack of further information regarding the text or even its translator.

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First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees
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[Cynthia_Oluchi]

I've so much heard about the Ethiopian Macabees, but I am already disappointed to learn I won't be gathering just enough information from this book. Thank you for the heads on!

[MsH2k]

I am interested in learning about the Books of Ethiopian Maccabees. Given your informative review, I will continue to look for other resources. Thank you!