Why is Esther in the Jewish Bible but the Maccabees is not?

Answer 1

It is believed that the Council of Jamnia, meeting around 96 CE, decided on the books to be canonised in the Jewish Bible. Although the Book of Esther was included, all the material recognised as not being original to the earliest version of the book was excised from the accepted version.

Although Esther is obviously not a religious book and does not even mention God (although later additions used in the Catholic version do), it does portray the Jews in a very flattering light. It was therefore not very difficult for its supporters to gain the necessary votes for inclusion of Esther.

1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees were written at about the same time by two different authors regarding an earlier period in Jewish history. Although the Catholic Church seems to have had no problem reconciling the two books, the Jewish sages could perhaps have found it difficult to do so. 3 Maccabees is clearly a book of the Common Era.

Jewish answer:

According to Jewish tradition, prophecy ended two or three decades after the book of Esther was written. The books of Maccabees were composed centuries later, making them non-prophetic, non-Biblical material for Jews.