“hour” (kairos)—whether that means “chance” or the “stars,” it is far from any notion of divine providence. Indeed, after the first chapters, 1 Maccabees makes little reference to God altogether. This is all we would expect from a dynastic history of a sovereign state whose rulers were aware of their own accomplishments. Perhaps its content is just what is described by the title Origen cited: “Book of the House of Those Who Rebelled against God.” Second Maccabees is different on all these counts. It is