Then Judas his son, who was called Maccabeus, took command in his place: In 1Maccabees Judas Maccabeus is usually referred to simply as Judas. In 2Maccabees he is normally referred to as Maccabeus. Good News Bible has “Judas Maccabeus,” but it might be better to use the same form it has in 1Macc 2.4: “Judas (also called Maccabeus).” Good News Bible makes it explicit that the pronoun his refers to Mattathias, which other languages will find helpful at the beginning of this new section. Took command is not in the Greek, but implied. Good News Bible provides a helpful model for this verse. Another possible model is:

• After this Judas (also called Maccabeus) took the place of his father Mattathias as leader.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.