“The king fell into a rage. He handled him worse than the others, being exasperated at his scorn. So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the Lord. Last of all, the mother died, after her sons. Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.”
King Antiochus IV was in a rage because of the young man’s scorn. He just killed him and his mother. The author said that he had spent enough time on the problem of eating the pagan sacrifices and the tortures that were applied. However, throughout out this story, the last words of the 7 sons developed a strong sense of the late 2nd Temple Jewish concept of God as creator, almighty, in heaven, merciful, and just, as well as being the God of their ancestors. These concepts of God will have a profound influence on the early followers of Jesus Christ in the next century, the 1st century CE. In fact, there were Christian churches dedicated to these 7 brothers in Antioch, Rome, Lyons, and Vienne, although in facts they were not the Maccabees, but people whose name we do not know.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 