Judas Maccabaeus' Campaigns against Timothy
Both 1 and 2 Maccabees mention various campaigns of Judas Maccabaeus against an opponent called Timothy. The author argues that although 1 Maccabees in several instances does provide more accurate detail, 2 Maccabees’ presentation of these campaigns as chronologically discrete has the greater historical plausibility. Additionally, 2 Maccabees alone preserves a record of a third, historically plausible campaign against Timothy. Overall, 2 Maccabees deserves more esteem as an historical source than it commonly receives.