44“Let the cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary be paid from the revenues of the king. 45And let the cost of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it all around, and the cost of rebuilding the walls in Judea, also be paid from the revenues of the king.”
Death of Demetrius
46When Jonathan and the people heard these words, they did not believe or accept them, because they remembered the great wrongs that Demetriusj had done in Israel and how much he had oppressed them. 47They favored Alexander, because he had been the first to speak peaceable words to them, and they remained his allies all his days.
48Now King Alexander assembled large forces and encamped opposite Demetrius. 49The two kings met in battle, and the army of Demetrius fled, and Alexanderk pursued him and defeated them. 50He pressed the battle strongly until the sun set, and on that day Demetrius fell.
Treaty of Ptolemy and Alexander
51Then Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy king of Egypt with the following message: 52“Since I have returned to my kingdom and have taken my seat on the throne of my ancestors, and established my rule—for I crushed Demetrius and gained control of our country; 53I met him in battle, and he and his army were crushed by us, and we have taken our seat on the throne of his kingdom—54now therefore let us establish friendship with one another; give me now your daughter as my wife, and I will become your son-in-law, and will make gifts to you and to her in keeping with your position.”
55Ptolemy the king replied and said, “Happy was the day on which you returned to the land of your ancestors and took your seat on the throne of their kingdom. 56And now I will do for you as you wrote, but meet me at Ptolemais, so that we may see one another, and I will become your father-in-law, as you have said.”
57So Ptolemy set out from Egypt, he and his daughter Cleopatra, and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred sixty-second year.l 58King Alexander met him, and Ptolemym gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, and celebrated her wedding at Ptolemais with great pomp, as kings do.
59Then King Alexander wrote to Jonathan to come and meet him. 60So he went with pomp to Ptolemais and met the two kings; he gave them and their Friends silver and gold and many gifts, and found favor with them. 61A group of malcontents from Israel, renegades, gathered together against him to accuse him; but the king paid no attention to them. 62The king gave orders to take off Jonathan’s garments and to clothe him in purple, and they did so. 63The king also seated him at his side; and he said to his officers, “Go out with him into the middle of the city and proclaim that no one is to bring charges against him about any matter, and let no one annoy him for any reason.” 64When his accusers saw the honor that was paid him, in accord with the proclamation, and saw him clothed in purple, they all fled. 65Thus the king honored him and enrolled him among his chiefn Friends, and made him general and governor of the province. 66And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem in peace and gladness.
Apollonius Is Defeated by Jonathan
67In the one hundred sixty-fifth yearo Demetrius son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his ancestors. 68When King Alexander heard of it, he was greatly distressed and returned to Antioch. 69And Demetrius appointed Apollonius the governor of Coelesyria, and he assembled a large force and encamped against Jamnia. Then he sent the following message to the high priest Jonathan:
70“You are the only one to rise up against us, and I have fallen into ridicule and disgrace because of you. Why do you assume authority against us in the hill country? 71If you now have confidence in your forces, come down to the plain to meet us, and let us match strength with each other there, for I have with me the power of the cities. 72Ask and learn who I am and who the others are that are helping us. People will tell you that you cannot stand before us, for your ancestors were twice put to flight in their own land. 73And now you will not be able to withstand my cavalry and such an army in the plain, where there is no stone or pebble, or place to flee.”
74When Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, his spirit was aroused. He chose ten thousand men and set out from Jerusalem, and his brother Simon met him to help him. 75He encamped before Joppa, but the people of the city closed its gates, for Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. 76So they fought against it, and the people of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and Jonathan gained possession of Joppa.
77When Apollonius heard of it, he mustered three thousand cavalry and a large army, and went to Azotus as though he were going farther. At the same time he advanced into the plain, for he had a large troop of cavalry and put confidence in it. 78Jonathanp pursued him to Azotus, and the armies engaged in battle. 79Now Apollonius had secretly left a thousand cavalry behind them. 80Jonathan learned that there was an ambush behind him, for they surrounded his army and shot arrows at his men from early morning until late afternoon. 81But his men stood fast, as Jonathan had commanded, and the enemy’sq horses grew tired.
82Then Simon brought forward his force and engaged the phalanx in battle (for the cavalry was exhausted); they were overwhelmed by him and fled, 83and the cavalry was dispersed in the plain. They fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, for safety. 84But Jonathan burned Azotus and the surrounding towns and plundered them; and the temple of Dagon, and those who had taken refuge in it, he burned with fire. 85The number of those who fell by the sword, with those burned alive, came to eight thousand.
86Then Jonathan left there and encamped against Askalon, and the people of the city came out to meet him with great pomp.
87He and those with him then returned to Jerusalem with a large amount of booty. 88When King Alexander heard of these things, he honored Jonathan still more; 89and he sent to him a golden buckle, such as it is the custom to give to the King’s Kinsmen. He also gave him Ekron and all its environs as his possession.
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* * *
a 152B.C.
b Gk them
c Gk he
d Gk he
e 152B.C.
f Or tabernacles
g Meaning of Gk uncertain
h Gk house
i Gk they
j Gk he
k Other ancient authorities read Alexander fled, and Demetrius
l 150B.C.
m Gk he
n Gk first
o 147B.C.
p Gk he
q Gk their
10.1–17 The emergence of Alexander Balas in 152 BCE as claimant to the Seleucid throne enables Jonathan to gain concessions from him and Demetrius I.
10.1 Alexander Epiphanes (also called Balas) claimed to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
10.3 Demetrius I recognized that Jonathan was the only remaining military and political force in Judea.
10.6 Hostages, sons of leading men in Judea (see 9.53).
10.11 The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed on several occasions in recent times (1.31; 6.62). Mount Zion, the temple area.
10.14 Renegade Jews remained not only at Beth-zur (9.52), but also in Gazara (13.43).
10.15–16 As Alexander made his move against Demetrius, he wanted to avoid having Jonathan as an enemy and a distraction.
10.18–25 When Alexander offers Jonathan the Jewish high priesthood, Jonathan seizes the opportunity.
10.20 The office of high priest had been vacant since the death of Alcimus. As Seleucid king, Alexander could appoint the Jewish high priest (2 Macc 4.7, 23–24). Jonathan was from a priestly family (1 Macc 2.1), but not from the right high-priestly family. The purple robe and golden crown symbolized Jonathan’s new office as high priest and Friend of the king.
10.21 At the festival of booths (see Lev 23.39–43) in October 152 BCE, Jonathan assumed the office of Jewish high priest. Opposition to his claim may have been the occasion for the beginning of the movement behind the Qumran community and the building of a rival temple by Onias IV at Leontopolis in Egypt (see 2 Macc 1.1–9).
10.25–45 The letter from Demetrius to Jonathan may have originally s
ought to win the Jewish people away from Jonathan. In this context, however, it is used to confirm his privileges as high priest (10.32, 38).
10.25–28 The letter is addressed to the nation of the Jews rather than to Jonathan directly. The claim that they have not sided with Demetrius’s enemies overlooks Jonathan’s acceptance of the high priesthood from Alexander Balas and his new status as Friend of the king.
10.29–45 The list of promises includes exemption from various taxes, recognition of Jerusalem as a holy city, release of Jewish captives, religious freedom for Jews, maintenance for Jewish soldiers, annexation of territory, subsidy for Jerusalem, right of asylum in Jerusalem, and money to rebuild Jerusalem.
10.46–50 Jonathan’s distrust of Demetrius and his promises is borne out by the latter’s defeat at the hands of Alexander.
10.47 As vv. 3–6, 15 indicate, Demetrius had been the first to offer peace.
10.50 Demetrius was killed in battle in 150 BCE.
10.51–66 A marriage alliance between the Ptolemies and Seleucids provides Jonathan with still another opportunity for advancement.
10.51 Ptolemy king of Egypt, Ptolemy VI Philometor (see 1.18).
10.54 Daughter, Cleopatra Thea (v .58). Marriage alliances between the Seleucids and Ptolemies were sometimes unsuccessful (see Dan 2.43; 11.17).
10.56 Ptolemais (Acco), a neutral site on the Palestinian coast.
10.60–61 Where Jonathan got these gifts is not said. His Jewish opponents, who are dismissed as malcontents and renegades, may have objected that he raised taxes from them or plundered them.
10.65 Jonathan is promoted from Friend to a chief Friend and made the military and political ruler in Judea.
10.67–89 A Seleucid plan to remove Jonathan fails and results in even greater honors for Jonathan when he defeats Apollonius.
10.67 Demetrius II was about fourteen in 147 BCE.
10.69 As governor of Coelesyria (originally the region between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains, but later a political-geographical designation that included Palestine), Apollonius was officially Jonathan’s superior. Jamnia (Yavneh) was on the coast.
10.72–73 Apollonius’s taunt that the Jews had been twice put to flight alludes to Judas’s defeats at Beth-zechariah (6.47) and Elasa (9.18). The pebble recalls the David and Goliath episode (1 Sam 17.40, 49–50).
10.75–76 By taking Joppa (north of Jamnia) Jonathan cut Apollonius off from Demetrius II.
10.77–83 By heading south to Azotus (Ashdod) Apollonius lured Jonathan onto more level ground (see vv. 71, 73).
10.84–85 For Judas’s similar treatment of other pagan sanctuaries, see 5.44, 68.
10.86 Askalon, the harbor city south of Azotus, offered no resistance.
10.89 The King’s Kinsmen fastened their purple cloaks with a golden buckle. Ekron, another ancient Philistine city, on the road from Jerusalem to the coast.
1 MACCABEES 11
Ptolemy Invades Syria
1Then the king of Egypt gathered great forces, like the sand by the seashore, and many ships; and he tried to get possession of Alexander’s kingdom by trickery and add it to his own kingdom. 2He set out for Syria with peaceable words, and the people of the towns opened their gates to him and went to meet him, for King Alexander had commanded them to meet him, since he was Alexander’sa father-in-law. 3But when Ptolemy entered the towns he stationed forces as a garrison in each town.
4When heb approached Azotus, they showed him the burnt-out temple of Dagon, and Azotus and its suburbs destroyed, and the corpses lying about, and the charred bodies of those whom Jonathanc had burned in the war, for they had piled them in heaps along his route. 5They also told the king what Jonathan had done, to throw blame on him; but the king kept silent. 6Jonathan met the king at Joppa with pomp, and they greeted one another and spent the night there. 7And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutherus; then he returned to Jerusalem.
8So King Ptolemy gained control of the coastal cities as far as Seleucia by the sea, and he kept devising wicked designs against Alexander. 9He sent envoys to King Demetrius, saying, “Come, let us make a covenant with each other, and I will give you in marriage my daughter who was Alexander’s wife, and you shall reign over your father’s kingdom. 10I now regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has tried to kill me.” 11He threw blame on Alexanderd because he coveted his kingdom. 12So he took his daughter away from him and gave her to Demetrius. He was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest.
13Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and put on the crown of Asia. Thus he put two crowns on his head, the crown of Egypt and that of Asia. 14Now King Alexander was in Cilicia at that time, because the people of that region were in revolt. 15When Alexander heard of it, he came against him in battle. Ptolemy marched out and met him with a strong force, and put him to flight. 16So Alexander fled into Arabia to find protection there, and King Ptolemy was triumphant. 17Zabdiel the Arab cut off the head of Alexander and sent it to Ptolemy. 18But King Ptolemy died three days later, and his troops in the strongholds were killed by the inhabitants of the strongholds. 19So Demetrius became king in the one hundred sixty-seventh year.e
Jonathan’s Diplomacy
20In those days Jonathan assembled the Judeans to attack the citadel in Jerusalem, and he built many engines of war to use against it. 21But certain renegades who hated their nation went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. 22When he heard this he was angry, and as soon as he heard it he set out and came to Ptolemais; and he wrote Jonathan not to continue the siege, but to meet him for a conference at Ptolemais as quickly as possible.
23When Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to continue the siege. He chose some of the elders of Israel and some of the priests, and put himself in danger, 24for he went to the king at Ptolemais, taking silver and gold and clothing and numerous other gifts. And he won his favor. 25Although certain renegades of his nation kept making complaints against him, 26the king treated him as his predecessors had treated him; he exalted him in the presence of all his Friends. 27He confirmed him in the high priesthood and in as many other honors as he had formerly had, and caused him to be reckoned among his chieff Friends. 28Then Jonathan asked the king to free Judea and the three districts of Samariag from tribute, and promised him three hundred talents. 29The king consented, and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all these things; its contents were as follows:
30“King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan and to the nation of the Jews, greetings. 31This copy of the letter that we wrote concerning you to our kinsman Lasthenes we have written to you also, so that you may know what it says. 32‘King Demetrius to his father Lasthenes, greetings. 33We have determined to do good to the nation of the Jews, who are our friends and fulfill their obligations to us, because of the goodwill they show toward us. 34We have confirmed as their possession both the territory of Judea and the three districts of Aphairema and Lydda and Rathamin; the latter, with all the region bordering them, were added to Judea from Samaria. To all those who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem we have granted release fromh the royal taxes that the king formerly received from them each year, from the crops of the land and the fruit of the trees. 35And the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits and the crown taxes due to us—from all these we shall grant them release. 36And not one of these grants shall be canceled from this time on forever. 37Now therefore take care to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and put up in a conspicuous place on the holy mountain.’”
The Intrigue of Trypho
38When King Demetrius saw that the land was quiet before him and that there was no opposition to him, he dismissed all his troops, all of them to their own homes, except the foreign troops that he had recruited from the islands of the nations. So all the troops who had served under his predecessors hated him. 39A certain Trypho had formerly been one of Alexander’s supporters; he saw that all the troops were grumbling against De
metrius. So he went to Imalkue the Arab, who was bringing up Antiochus, the young son of Alexander, 40and insistently urged him to hand Antiochusi over to him, to become king in place of his father. He also reported to Imalkuej what Demetrius had done and told of the hatred that the troops of Demetriusk had for him; and he stayed there many days.
41Now Jonathan sent to King Demetrius the request that he remove the troops of the citadel from Jerusalem, and the troops in the strongholds; for they kept fighting against Israel. 42And Demetrius sent this message back to Jonathan: “Not only will I do these things for you and your nation, but I will confer great honor on you and your nation, if I find an opportunity. 43Now then you will do well to send me men who will help me, for all my troops have revolted.” 44So Jonathan sent three thousand stalwart men to him at Antioch, and when they came to the king, the king rejoiced at their arrival.
45Then the people of the city assembled within the city, to the number of a hundred and twenty thousand, and they wanted to kill the king. 46But the king fled into the palace. Then the people of the city seized the main streets of the city and began to fight. 47So the king called the Jews to his aid, and they all rallied around him and then spread out through the city; and they killed on that day about one hundred thousand. 48They set fire to the city and seized a large amount of spoil on that day, and saved the king. 49When the people of the city saw that the Jews had gained control of the city as they pleased, their courage failed and they cried out to the king with this entreaty: 50“Grant us peace, and make the Jews stop fighting against us and our city.” 51And they threw down their arms and made peace. So the Jews gained glory in the sight of the king and of all the people in his kingdom, and they returned to Jerusalem with a large amount of spoil.
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