Could Possessing a Copy of the Bariyth Writings Get You Killed?
Primary: 1 Maccabees 1:56–57 · Corroborating: Josephus, Antiquities 12.5
What the ancient record says
After the tearing and burning of Scrolls, 1 Maccabees says anyone found possessing the book of the Bariyth, or adhering to the Turah, was condemned to death by royal decree. Josephus likewise says sacred books found were destroyed and the people with whom they were found perished.
The danger was not only teaching or ritual, possession of the writings themselves was dangerous; a written copy could be evidence against its holder. Bariyth keeps the covenant category visible rather than a generic "book"; the underlying Greek witness will be audited in the finished source apparatus.
Read it for yourself. 1 Maccabees 1:56–57; Josephus, Antiquities Book 12 Ch. 5.
Evidence strength: Very strong ancient literary evidence, connects text destruction directly with punishment of the people preserving the text.