I didn’t cite Josephus as a religious authority on the canon, he was not a Rabbi, he was only a historian. I cited him because, he, having lived in the 1st century, related what the Jews held to be inspired - not he himself - at that time. Maccabbes was not among the books he mentioned.
This is not to say that there isn’t historical value in the Maccabbees, I just don’t think it is inspired. The Jews probably didn’t hold it inspired in the 1st century - this is just my opinion - because of all the Pseudipgraphic writings around in their day that were not inspired. Perhaps they thought Maccabbes to have been embellished by later false additions, inserted by these same type of Jews who had written all these “pseudo” books.
Thanks for your reply. I’m curious how you would explain its inclusion in the Septuagint.
Just another thought. Here’s a list of references in the NT:
Matthew 4:15 1 Maccabees 5:15
Matthew 6:10 1 Maccabees 3:60
Matthew 9:38 1 Maccabees 12:17
Matthew 12:4 2 Maccabees 10:3
Matthew 16:22 1 Maccabees 2:21
Matthew 24:15 1 Maccabees 1:54
Matthew 24:15 2 Maccabees 8:17
Matthew 24:16 1 Maccabees 2:28
I took this from:
http://jimmyakin.com/deuterocanonical-references-in-the-new-testament
If memory serves, there is some history of Jews removing books that Christians used to show Christ - for obvious reasons. And, if memory serves again, the argument usually goes: The Jews should determine the OT, vs. The OT used by the first Christians is the Christian OT even if Jews later remove parts. thanks for your discussion.