The first book of Maccabees opens with a brief reference to Alexander the Great and to the Greek rulers who succeeded him. The detailed history, however, begins with Antiochus Epiphanes and continues to the death of Simon in 135 B.C. The references in the prologue to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Simon's son, John Hyrcanus, between 135 and 125 B.C., and the absence of any allusions to the more important events in the latter part of his reign, indicate that his history was probably completed by 125 B.C. It was written, therefore, less than half a century after all the events which it records took place. While the author is a true patriot and keenly interested in the history of his race, he does not allow his patriotism to carry him into exaggeration. He reveals the true historical spirit and a splendid reserve in recounting the epoch-making events that he records. II. Character and Contents of II Maccabees. In marked contrast with I Maccabees is the second book which bears this name. The author states in 2:19-32 that it was based on an earlier five-volume history written by Jason, of Cyrene, in northern Africa. The final epitomizer of this earlier work probably lived not long after 50 B.C. Jason himself appears to have lived somewhere between 160 and 140 B.C. and to have written from northern Syria. The language of the original was evidently Greek. The aim of the author was didactic rather than historical, and he drew freely from popular tradition. In general character it corresponds closely to the work of the Chronicler, who compiled the Old Testament books of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah. The miraculous element is prominent, numbers are frequently enlarged, and Israel's disasters are minimized. Notwithstanding all of its obvious faults, II Maccabees has preserved many important historical facts. Where its testimony differs from that of I Maccabees, the latter in general should be followed, but its account of the events which led to the Maccabean uprising are much more detailed than those of I Maccabees, which it supplements at many important points. With the aid of these two histories it is possible to gain a remarkably vivid and detailed conception of the half-century that witnessed the reawakening of Judaism and the birth of a new national spirit.