14Judas saw that Bacchides and the strength of his army were on the right; then all the stouthearted men went with him, 15and they crushed the right wing, and he pursued them as far as Mount Azotus. 16When those on the left wing saw that the right wing was crushed, they turned and followed close behind Judas and his men. 17The battle became desperate, and many on both sides were wounded and fell. 18Judas also fell, and the rest fled.
19Then Jonathan and Simon took their brother Judas and buried him in the tomb of their ancestors at Modein, 20and wept for him. All Israel made great lamentation for him; they mourned many days and said,
21“How is the mighty fallen,
the savior of Israel!”
22Now the rest of the acts of Judas, and his wars and the brave deeds that he did, and his greatness, have not been recorded, but they were very many.
Jonathan Succeeds Judas
23After the death of Judas, the renegades emerged in all parts of Israel; all the wrongdoers reappeared. 24In those days a very great famine occurred, and the country went over to their side. 25Bacchides chose the godless and put them in charge of the country. 26They made inquiry and searched for the friends of Judas, and brought them to Bacchides, who took vengeance on them and made sport of them. 27So there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them.
28Then all the friends of Judas assembled and said to Jonathan, 29“Since the death of your brother Judas there has been no one like him to go against our enemies and Bacchides, and to deal with those of our nation who hate us. 30Now therefore we have chosen you today to take his place as our ruler and leader, to fight our battle.” 31So Jonathan accepted the leadership at that time in place of his brother Judas.
The Campaigns of Jonathan
32When Bacchides learned of this, he tried to kill him. 33But Jonathan and his brother Simon and all who were with him heard of it, and they fled into the wilderness of Tekoa and camped by the water of the pool of Asphar. 34Bacchides found this out on the sabbath day, and he with all his army crossed the Jordan.
35So Jonathanc sent his brother as leader of the multitude and begged the Nabateans, who were his friends, for permission to store with them the great amount of baggage that they had. 36But the family of Jambri from Medeba came out and seized John and all that he had, and left with it.
37After these things it was reported to Jonathan and his brother Simon, “The family of Jambri are celebrating a great wedding, and are conducting the bride, a daughter of one of the great nobles of Canaan, from Nadabath with a large escort.” 38Remembering how their brother John had been killed, they went up and hid under cover of the mountain. 39They looked out and saw a tumultuous procession with a great amount of baggage; and the bridegroom came out with his friends and his brothers to meet them with tambourines and musicians and many weapons. 40Then they rushed on them from the ambush and began killing them. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled to the mountain; and the Jewsd took all their goods. 41So the wedding was turned into mourning and the voice of their musicians into a funeral dirge. 42After they had fully avenged the blood of their brother, they returned to the marshes of the Jordan.
43When Bacchides heard of this, he came with a large force on the sabbath day to the banks of the Jordan. 44And Jonathan said to those with him, “Let us get up now and fight for our lives, for today things are not as they were before. 45For look! the battle is in front of us and behind us; the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that, with marsh and thicket; there is no place to turn. 46Cry out now to Heaven that you may be delivered from the hands of our enemies.” 47So the battle began, and Jonathan stretched out his hand to strike Bacchides, but he eluded him and went to the rear. 48Then Jonathan and the men with him leaped into the Jordan and swam across to the other side, and the enemye did not cross the Jordan to attack them. 49And about one thousand of Bacchides’ men fell that day.
Bacchides Builds Fortifications
50Then Bacchidesf returned to Jerusalem and built strong cities in Judea: the fortress in Jericho, and Emmaus, and Beth-horon, and Bethel, and Timnath, andg Pharathon, and Tephon, with high walls and gates and bars. 51And he placed garrisons in them to harass Israel. 52He also fortified the town of Beth-zur, and Gazara, and the citadel, and in them he put troops and stores of food. 53And he took the sons of the leading men of the land as hostages and put them under guard in the citadel at Jerusalem.
54In the one hundred and fifty-third year,h in the second month, Alcimus gave orders to tear down the wall of the inner court of the sanctuary. He tore down the work of the prophets! 55But he only began to tear it down, for at that time Alcimus was stricken and his work was hindered; his mouth was stopped and he was paralyzed, so that he could no longer say a word or give commands concerning his house. 56And Alcimus died at that time in great agony. 57When Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead, he returned to the king, and the land of Judah had rest for two years.
The End of the War
58Then all the lawless plotted and said, “See! Jonathan and his men are living in quiet and confidence. So now let us bring Bacchides back, and he will capture them all in one night.” 59And they went and consulted with him. 60He started to come with a large force, and secretly sent letters to all his allies in Judea, telling them to seize Jonathan and his men; but they were unable to do it, because their plan became known. 61And Jonathan’s meni seized about fifty of the men of the country who were leaders in this treachery, and killed them.
62Then Jonathan with his men, and Simon, withdrew to Bethbasi in the wilderness; he rebuilt the parts of it that had been demolished, and they fortified it. 63When Bacchides learned of this, he assembled all his forces, and sent orders to the men of Judea. 64Then he came and encamped against Bethbasi; he fought against it for many days and made machines of war.
65But Jonathan left his brother Simon in the town, while he went out into the country; and he went with only a few men. 66He struck down Odomera and his kindred and the people of Phasiron in their tents. 67Then hej began to attack and went into battle with his forces; and Simon and his men sallied out from the town and set fire to the machines of war. 68They fought with Bacchides, and he was crushed by them. They pressed him very hard, for his plan and his expedition had been in vain. 69So he was very angry at the renegades who had counseled him to come into the country, and he killed many of them. Then he decided to go back to his own land.
70When Jonathan learned of this, he sent ambassadors to him to make peace with him and obtain release of the captives. 71He agreed, and did as he said; and he swore to Jonathank that he would not try to harm him as long as he lived. 72He restored to him the captives whom he had taken previously from the land of Judah; then he turned and went back to his own land, and did not come again into their territory. 73Thus the sword ceased from Israel. Jonathan settled in Michmash and began to judge the people; and he destroyed the godless out of Israel.
next chapter
* * *
a 160B.C.
b Gk lacks of Bacchides
c Gk he
d Gk they
e Gk they
f Gk he
g Some authorities omit and
h 159B.C.
i Gk they
j Other ancient authorities read they
k Gk him
9.1–10 To avenge the defeat of Nicanor, Demetrius sends Bacchides, who confronts the vastly outnumbered army of Judas north of Jerusalem.
9.1 Right wing, the right flank of the army in battle formation (as in v. 12).
9.2 Gilgal, possibly an error for Galilee. Mesaloth, possibly a misreading of a Hebrew common noun meaning “trails, highways, ascents.”
9.4 Berea, about ten miles north of Jerusalem, opposite Elasa (v. 5, precise location uncertain).
9.5–6 The number of deserters (from three thousand select troops to eight hundred) is large and may be exaggerated to explain Judas’s defeat.
9.8–10 Judas hoped to seize the
initiative and surprise his numerically superior opponents.
9.11–22 After a vivid description of the battle of Elasa, there is mourning over the fallen Judas, who is celebrated as a biblical hero.
9.12 Phalanx (see 6.35, 38, 45; 10.82), the heavy-infantry unit of soldiers carrying spears and shields.
9.14 Judas’s plan was to destroy Bacchides and the right flank of his army, but he found himself trapped in a pincer maneuver on the part of the Seleucids (v. 16).
9.15 There is no Mount Azotus (Ashdod). The Hebrew original probably read “the mountain slopes.”
9.19 For the Maccabean family tomb at Modein, see 2.70; 13.27–30.
9.21 The lament combines material from 2 Sam 1.25, 27; Judg 3.9.
9.22 The concluding formula (the rest of the acts of Judas) echoes the refrain in 1–2 Kings applied to the kings of Israel and Judah (e.g., 1 Kings 11.41).
9.23–31 With the death of Judas, the reemergence of renegade Jews, a famine, and the punishment of Judas’s supporters, the Maccabean revolt reaches its lowest point. Jonathan is chosen to carry on the movement.
9.24 During a famine the Seleucid authorities could take control of the food supply and easily win people over to their side.
9.27 Prophets, probably the postexilic prophets Haggai and Zechariah or Malachi. See 4.46; 14.41 for hope of a new prophet arising.
9.28–31 Why Jonathan was preferred over the older Simon is not explained. As ruler and leader Jonathan acts like the judges of old (Judg 11.11).
9.32–49 Jonathan avenges the death of his brother John east of the Jordan and narrowly escapes from Bacchides at the Jordan.
9.33 The wilderness of Tekoa (fifteen miles southeast of Jerusalem) was a safe refuge for Jonathan (see 2 Sam 14.1–17; 2 Chr 20.20). Pool of Asphar, probably a cistern.
9.34 The report of Bacchides’ movement is out of place here; it properly belongs in v. 43, where it is repeated.
9.35–36 For the Nabateans as friends of the Maccabean movement, see 5.25. It is not clear whether the family of Jambri from Medeba (near the northeastern tip of the Dead Sea) were Nabateans. That John (see 2.2) was killed is made clear in 9.42.
9.37 There is much speculation but no certainty about Canaan (code name for Nabatean traders? archaism? origin west of the Jordan?) and Nadabath (Nebo? Medeba?).
9.43–49 To discern from the text the places and strategies of the armies is difficult. The basic point is that in swampy area north of the Dead Sea Jonathan eluded the trap sprung by Bacchides. This is the first report of actual fighting on a sabbath (see 2.40–41).
9.49 One thousand, probably exaggerated. In fact, the encounter was probably a defeat for Jonathan, who was fortunate to escape alive.
9.50–57 The Seleucid triumph represented by Bacchides’ fortifications and Alcimus’s remodeling the temple is cut short by Alcimus’s death, thus giving Jonathan a chance to regroup and gain power.
9.50–52 Bacchides secured key places in northern Judea and southern Samaria (Timnath, Pharathon, Tephon) against Jonathan.
9.53 To gain the cooperation of their parents, Bacchides held the sons of Jewish leaders in the citadel as hostages.
9.54 The wall of the inner court separated the holy of holies (reserved for Israelite priests) from the rest of the temple area. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah had encouraged and overseen the building of the Second Temple.
9.55–56 The stroke and subsequent death of Alcimus were viewed as punishment for altering the temple architecture.
9.58–73 Setbacks for Bacchides and the renegade Jews result in peace with Jonathan, who takes on the role of “judge” at Michmash. The high priesthood was most likely vacant between 159 and 152 BCE.
9.60 The plot to kill Jonathan in 157 BCE became known and was thus a defeat for the renegade Jews and an embarrassment for Bacchides.
9.62 Bethbasi, a fort south of Bethlehem (see 2 Chr 26.10), toward Tekoa.
9.66 Odomera…Phasiron, local people who allied themselves with Bacchides.
9.69 Bacchides’ anger is now directed at the renegades, perhaps out of frustration at having been called on so often to resolve internal conflicts in Judea.
9.70–72 With Jonathan the only remaining significant political figure in Judea, Bacchides came to terms with him.
9.73 Michmash, seven miles north of Jerusalem, had been the base of an earlier Israelite kingdom (1 Sam 13.2) and the scene of the earlier Jonathan’s victory (1 Sam 14.5–31). It was Jonathan’s headquarters from 157 to 152 BCE.
1 MACCABEES 10
Revolt of Alexander Epiphanes
1In the one hundred sixtieth yeara Alexander Epiphanes, son of Antiochus, landed and occupied Ptolemais. They welcomed him, and there he began to reign. 2When King Demetrius heard of it, he assembled a very large army and marched out to meet him in battle. 3Demetrius sent Jonathan a letter in peaceable words to honor him; 4for he said to himself, “Let us act first to make peace with himb before he makes peace with Alexander against us, 5for he will remember all the wrongs that we did to him and to his brothers and his nation.” 6So Demetriusc gave him authority to recruit troops, to equip them with arms, and to become his ally; and he commanded that the hostages in the citadel should be released to him.
7Then Jonathan came to Jerusalem and read the letter in the hearing of all the people and of those in the citadel. 8They were greatly alarmed when they heard that the king had given him authority to recruit troops. 9But those in the citadel released the hostages to Jonathan, and he returned them to their parents.
10And Jonathan took up residence in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and restore the city. 11He directed those who were doing the work to build the walls and encircle Mount Zion with squared stones, for better fortification; and they did so.
12Then the foreigners who were in the strongholds that Bacchides had built fled; 13all of them left their places and went back to their own lands. 14Only in Beth-zur did some remain who had forsaken the law and the commandments, for it served as a place of refuge.
15Now King Alexander heard of all the promises that Demetrius had sent to Jonathan, and he heard of the battles that Jonathand and his brothers had fought, of the brave deeds that they had done, and of the troubles that they had endured. 16So he said, “Shall we find another such man? Come now, we will make him our friend and ally.” 17And he wrote a letter and sent it to him, in the following words:
Jonathan Becomes High Priest
18“King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greetings. 19We have heard about you, that you are a mighty warrior and worthy to be our friend. 20And so we have appointed you today to be the high priest of your nation; you are to be called the king’s Friend and you are to take our side and keep friendship with us.” He also sent him a purple robe and a golden crown.
21So Jonathan put on the sacred vestments in the seventh month of the one hundred sixtieth year,e at the festival of booths,f and he recruited troops and equipped them with arms in abundance. 22When Demetrius heard of these things he was distressed and said, 23“What is this that we have done? Alexander has gotten ahead of us in forming a friendship with the Jews to strengthen himself. 24I also will write them words of encouragement and promise them honor and gifts, so that I may have their help.” 25So he sent a message to them in the following words:
A Letter from Demetrius to Jonathan
“King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greetings. 26Since you have kept your agreement with us and have continued your friendship with us, and have not sided with our enemies, we have heard of it and rejoiced. 27Now continue still to keep faith with us, and we will repay you with good for what you do for us. 28We will grant you many immunities and give you gifts.
29“I now free you and exempt all the Jews from payment of tribute and salt tax and crown levies, 30and instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that I should receive, I release them from this day and henceforth. I will not collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts
added to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day and for all time. 31Jerusalem and its environs, its tithes and its revenues, shall be holy and free from tax. 32I release also my control of the citadel in Jerusalem and give it to the high priest, so that he may station in it men of his own choice to guard it. 33And everyone of the Jews taken as a captive from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom, I set free without payment; and let all officials cancel also the taxes on their livestock.
34“All the festivals and sabbaths and new moons and appointed days, and the three days before a festival and the three after a festival—let them all be days of immunity and release for all the Jews who are in my kingdom. 35No one shall have authority to exact anything from them or annoy any of them about any matter.
36“Let Jews be enrolled in the king’s forces to the number of thirty thousand men, and let the maintenance be given them that is due to all the forces of the king. 37Let some of them be stationed in the great strongholds of the king, and let some of them be put in positions of trust in the kingdom. Let their officers and leaders be of their own number, and let them live by their own laws, just as the king has commanded in the land of Judah.
38“As for the three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria, let them be annexed to Judea so that they may be considered to be under one ruler and obey no other authority than the high priest. 39Ptolemais and the land adjoining it I have given as a gift to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to meet the necessary expenses of the sanctuary. 40I also grant fifteen thousand shekels of silver yearly out of the king’s revenues from appropriate places. 41And all the additional funds that the government officials have not paid as they did in the first years,g they shall give from now on for the service of the temple.h 42Moreover, the five thousand shekels of silver that my officialsi have received every year from the income of the services of the temple, this too is canceled, because it belongs to the priests who minister there. 43And all who take refuge at the temple in Jerusalem, or in any of its precincts, because they owe money to the king or are in debt, let them be released and receive back all their property in my kingdom.
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 395