The Third Book of Maccabees
Egyptian Jews face persecution under Ptolemy IV and a miraculous rescue.
Despite its title, Third Maccabees has nothing to do with the Maccabean revolt at all; instead it recounts events roughly a generation earlier in Ptolemaic Egypt, when King Ptolemy IV Philopator attempted to desecrate the Jerusalem Temple. Its narrative of crisis and deliverance echoes earlier historical books like Joshua. Begin at III Maccabees chapter 1 to read the full account.
About III Maccabees
Third Maccabees is a Deuterocanonical book recognized in the Orthodox canon (Anagignoskomena) but not included in the Catholic or most Protestant canons. Despite its title, it is unrelated to the Maccabean revolt covered in 1-2 Maccabees, instead recounting events roughly a generation earlier in Ptolemaic Egypt: King Ptolemy IV Philopator's attempt to desecrate the Jerusalem Temple and his subsequent persecution of Alexandria's Jewish community, who are miraculously delivered from a plot to have them trampled by intoxicated war elephants. Read Third Maccabees online here, verse by verse.