Prayer Salutation in Letter

2 Maccabees 1:1–6

Late 2nd Century BCE

1The Jews in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea,

To their Jewish kindred in Egypt,

Greetings and true peace.

2May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. 3May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. 4May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. 5May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. 6We are now praying for you here.

Translation from the New Revised Standard Version.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

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Second Maccabees purports to be the epitome of a longer account of the Maccabean wars, written by Jason of Cyrene and now lost. It begins with a letter from the Jews of Jerusalem to the Jews of Egypt urging them to keep the eight-day feast of dedication, later called Hanukkah, commemorating the Maccabean victories and the restoration of the Jerusalem Temple. The letter’s salutation opens with a prayer for the well-being of the Jews in Egypt.

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