If one decides to be religious—what defines their religion, and how? Do they have to do anything with their religion? Is it a ‘work,’ a type of faith, belief, or choice? Are they predestined for these actions? Do they need to earn ‘it,’ or are they given ‘it’? Is religion a passive encounter with the Divine, or is it a wretched walk to the fires of eternal suffering and purification? Perhaps a soul’s salvation comes through faith—and by faith alone. Or maybe their faith needs to be proven, defined, and tested through action and/or sacrifice? If faith is merely an inward ‘personal conviction,’ does the term or action of ‘faith’ even hold any meaning if it fails to manifest its own deeds?
These rather crude, obtuse, and thought-provoking questions lie at the complex intersection of theology and philosophy, where the essence of genuine faith is examined. At this intersection, the soul is invited to seek salvation through a ‘work’ as painful as death and as liberating as belief.
One Biblical story, which is considered ‘to be hidden away,’ explains this rather obsolete and wretched religious dilemma quite well.[1] A story that just so happens to be the philosophical discourse of reason over passion and faith over persecution. Explained in two different accounts, entails a glorious Mother and Her seven Sons, who were all murdered for what they had faith in. This story, titled as calmly as ‘(the) Woman with Seven Sons,’ is one of the most underread, undervalued, and underappreciated stories in the entire Biblical canon.
Spread over two accounts; the first in order of the Septuagint is in the Deuterocanonical book of 2nd Maccabees, Chapter 7. This account, both historical and hagiographical, condensed into one singular chapter, focuses on the Woman and Her seven Sons and their steadfast faith in the face of persecution by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. In the story, all seven Sons, along with their Mother, are tortured and killed one by one for their steadfast refusal to eat pork, a violation of Jewish law.[2] This first account is written with the intent of crude inspiration for the Jewish audience to resist giving into paganism, and remain steadfast in the law. The account in 2nd Maccabees uses visceral imagery, such as the Mother being boiled alive and the frying of Her Sons in oil, to highlight this.[3]
The second account is an expanded philosophical discussion spread over 14 chapters of dialogue in 4thMaccabees. The book is located in the Anagignoskomena and is almost always considered in an appendix to the Hebrew Scriptures in the Orthodox Bible.[4] In this account, the narrative attempts to emphasize the triumph of reason and faith over passion and suffering, using each Son and their Mother’s martyrdom over refusing to eat pork as an example.[5] The book dives deep into heroic martyrdom, portraying each character as the ultimate example of virtuous endurance in the face of wretched persecution. The story is basically a retelling of the one in 2nd Maccabees 7, with the use of philosophical elements in a much deeper format.
In both accounts, the story profoundly examines what we define as ‘faith.’ However, the account in the 2ndMaccabees emphasizes an expression of faith through unwavering loyalty to the Jewish law, while the account in the 4thMaccabees dives into philosophical underpinnings, examining reason and the pursuit of virtue. Yet in both accounts, one of the main characters, a Woman—more specifically, a mother—shows the reader of the story what unwavering faith actually means.
For the sake of simplicity, Her name will remain ‘Mother’ or ‘the Mother’ in this discussion. The main reason for this is that there remains a vast debate among scholars, as well as theologians, over Her name, for she remains unnamed in both accounts. The Mother is known by various names in Jewish and Christian traditions, but most commonly as Hannah.[6] Other names include Miriam and Shmouni.[7]
To begin with, this story of the ‘Women with Seven Sons’ is set in a time frame when great heroes of Jewish Law were in need. It was a very turbulent time for the Jews, who found themselves under the Seleucid rule, specifically during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BC).[8] More specifically, Jews found their laws and customs under attack, with Antiochus enforcing Hellenistic practices and outlawing their traditional worship.[9] This story is part of the significant narrative of the Maccabean Revolt, which the two Deuterocanonical books of the 1st and 2nd Maccabees go over.[10] A martyrdom narrative is not out of place in this context, nor is it in the broader scope of religious teaching in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.
The Women in this story, alongside Her Seven Sons, bridge the historical context of the Maccabean Revolt with both theological and moral insights. This allows for a seamless connecting of martyrdom to themes in both Christian and Jewish traditions.
This Woman’s role is particularly significant to broader theological views of Christianity and Judaism. She is a beautiful character, both morally and theologically, as She is a true theologian (following the law) and moral exemplar (mindfully following the law). At the heart of this Woman’s identity is the complex role of a mother, which She must embrace with profound grace and depth while facing the ultimate test of death, something we often don’t face in our world. In today’s ever-so-modern society, the role of a mother remains just as vital as it did thousands of years ago, even if that role is almost always underappreciated amidst modern life, for a mother is that of a steady flame, lighting the path, in a world lost in its own shadows. A mother’s presence in nurturing Her family is indispensable, for without the maternal figure, a family is bound to fall apart. This Mother, specifically, exemplifies this timeless devotion in one of the most painful ways a mother can do.
In the overall story (both accounts), King Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempts to force the Sons and the Mother to eat pork, which is forbidden by the Torah.[11] The Mother, being forced to, watches as Her Sons are executed one by one for refusing to eat pork. Rather than pleading for their lives and eating pork, She encourages them to die. After She witnesses 6 of Her Sons being murdered for not eating pork, She tells the Seventh Son, who had yet to be murdered, “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of humankind and devised the origin of all things, in his mercy gives life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”[12] Rather than shielding Her Sons from internal suffering at their faith’s expense, She inspires them to embrace the law—showing profound strength and wisdom. Believing that their steadfastness in the law will allow them to be given eternal life, for just as ‘the Creator’ gives them life and breath, He too will give ‘life and breath’ in Heaven.
She encourages Her Sons to remain steadfast in their faith in God by demonstrating what actually matters in ‘faith,’ which is obedience to God in the hope of eternal life. In doing these things while being brought down to dirt, the Mother embodies the ideal of what a parent should be. Not just simply being a mother who nurtures the body but also the soul. True guidance, guiding their children towards the promise of God, and ultimate virtue and eternal glory.
In 4th Maccabees, chapters 15-17, the Mother’s role is expanded more philosophically, highlighting Her rationality and piety. In this account, She embraces the two roles of a mother, but instead, it is based more on philosophy—natural maternal instinct, which is informed by reason while having a commitment to the divine law. She says,“Remember that it is through God that you have had a share in the world and have enjoyed life, and therefore, you ought to endure every suffering for the sake of God.”[13] She emphasizes that Her views of suffering for faith, are a test, urging Her Sons to endure hardship in alignment with God’s will, She reconciles that life itself, is a gift from God.
In the overall story (both accounts), She could have easily begged for mercy and renounced Her faith by eating pork to save Her children, but instead, She not only willingly dies but tells Her children to die—the ultimate test. She willingly chooses to inspire them to remain loyal to God, “How great and how many torments the mother then suffered as her sons were tortured on the wheel and with the hot irons!But pious reason, giving her heart a man’s courage in the very midst of her passions, strengthened her to disregard, for the time, her parental love.”[14] It highlights the unique tension between maternal love and religious devotion, with the Mother transcending personal loss to uphold Divine law, emphasizing Her as a paragon of faith.
This Mother, unnamed yet immortalized, and Her actions of martyrdom raise several profound moral questions. Firstly, is it morally right to encourage one’s children to embrace martyrdom? Now, first, this question may seem rather easy to answer: if it is the law, the law should be kept. However, that is a fairly elementary thing to say when we are not in a situation of life or death. On one side, the Mother’s steadfastness in keeping the law set by God is admirable, serving as a testimony to Her faith in God’s promises. Yet, on the other side, She encourages Her Sons to face torture and death, which can be seen as morally troubling, especially from our ever-so-modern perspective. This tension between one side and the other is further heightened given the cultural and historical context. In a society such as this one, where one’s covenant with God is the foundation of identity, the Mother’s action aligns with what the law requested. However, this story forces us, the readers, to question what faith in the law means, allowing us to grapple with the cost of faithfulness and the ethical implications of prioritizing religion over well-being.
Her role shows the reader that ‘faith’ is a dynamic, active force rather than a passive state of belief or inner personal conviction. She is deeply complicated by the tensions set before Her unwavering faith and Her natural maternal instincts; encouraging Her Sons to embrace death is not a simple act of ‘faith’ but one of emotional turmoil and moral complexity, as well as the profound agony of losing Her children in this life but still remaining with the hopes of the resurrection and seeing them in the afterlife. It is this deep intersection of love and theology where we find this Mother, where natural affection does not vanish but instead is transformed to a higher purpose. Her faith is not passive, nor is a simple act of belief, but an agonizing struggle that reflects embodying the profound cost of true fidelity to God’s law.
At the beginning of this discourse, we were confronted with several profound questions: What defines religion? Is faith merely personal conviction, or does it demand action, sacrifice, and a relentless pursuit of divine truth? In considering the story of the Woman with Seven Sons, the Mother in the narratives pushes us to believe that genuine faith transcends passive belief. Genuine faith is dynamic, fluid, agonizing, and transformative, all while being a constant and invisible encounter with the Divine above. Her commitment to the law set for Her by God, even at the cost of Her seven children, lies in the crosshairs of modernism and modern sensibilities but reveals a reasoned and lived faith. In Her actions, whether morally correct or not, we see that faith is not just this abstract concept; it manifests in deeds and in works, often at a personal cost. Her steadfastness illustrates that faith, when true and authentic, is the profound intersection of reason, sacrifice, and love.
Her maternal role elevates this narrative to a deeper level; instead of abandoning Her natural affection for Her children, She redirects Her attention to the heavens and eternal life and salvation. This Woman embodies the tension between the Divine and the Divine creation, demonstrating to us, the reader, that faith is not about avoiding suffering but enduring it—for a higher, more profound purpose.
It is this very powerful reminder that we so often do not get in this ever-so-modern world, that faith is not simply a choice or an inherited tradition but a lived experience requiring action, often in the face of death. This Woman is a call to question whether faith, if left untested or devoid of works, holds any real meaning. Yet, in this single Mother, we find the answer that faith is not passive submission but active engagement. Her role, both as a Mother and a person, solidifies Her as a timeless symbol of unwavering devotion, a person to look up to, further challenging us to reflect on the cost of true fidelity to God.
[1] ἀπόκρυφος (apocryphal): From the Greek adjective ἀπόκρυφος, meaning “hidden” or “concealed.” .
[2] 2nd Maccabees 7:20.
[3] 2 Maccabees 7:22-28, 2 Maccabees 7:29-42.
[4] ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα (anagignoskomena): Derived from the Greek verb ἀναγιγνώσκω (anagignosko), meaning “to read” or “to recognize.”
[5] 4 Maccabees 6:35.
[6] Gerson D. Cohen, “The Story of Hannah and Her Seven Sons in Hebrew Literature,” in Mordecai M. Kaplan Jubilee Volume, ed. Moshe Davis (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1953), 109–22 (in Hebrew).
[7] Eva Synek and Heleen Murre-van den Berg, “Syriac Christianity; Syriac Hagiography,” in The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity, ed. Kenneth Parry (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007), 266, 444–45.
[8] 1 Maccabees 1:10.
[9] 2 Maccabees 6:1–11.
[10] 2 Maccabees 7:1–42.
[11] Leviticus 11:7, Deuteronomy 14:8.
[12] 2 Maccabees 7:22-23.
[13] 4th Maccabees 16:18-19.
[14] 4th Maccabees 15:22-24.
Colin C. Caso 
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