HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  5.25 Nabateans, caravan traders whose center was in southern Transjordan. Here and in 9.35 they appear friendly toward Judas and Jonathan. They may have shared the Jews’ desire for independence from the Seleucids.

  5.26 Bozrah (seventy miles south of Damascus) …and Carnaim, all cities east and north of the Yarmuk River in Transjordan. Their non-Jewish inhabitants probably identified with the Seleucids and thus opposed the Jews because of their recent victories over them.

  5.29 That Jews had a stronghold or fortress at Dathema (see v. 9) or elsewhere (see v. 27) may exaggerate the actual situation.

  5.30–32 The description of the siege echoes various biblical texts (1 Sam 4.5–6; 5.12; Jer 4.19; Ezek 4.23; 21.22; Joel 2.1).

  5.35 Maapha, possibly Mizpah of Gilead (Judg 11.29).

  5.37 Timothy, possibly not the same person as in vv. 6–8.

  5.39 The Seleucids used Arabs as mercenaries (see 2 Macc 12.10).

  5.40–43 Rather than looking for an omen or heavenly sign, Timothy sought to discover whether Judas’s troops were sufficiently few for him to take the initiative in battle.

  5.43 Carnaim, which means “horns,” suggests that the goddess Astarte, who was often represented with cow’s horns, was worshiped there (cf. 2 Macc 12.21, 26). Timothy fled there in hope of protection from the pagan goddess or of asylum.

  5.44 When Judas took the town, he did not respect the sanctity of the pagan shrine at Carnaim.

  5.45–54 The Israelites in Gilead are brought to Judea and the Jerusalem temple by way of Ephron and Beth-shan. See 2 Macc 12.26–31.

  5.46–51 Ephron, nine miles east of Jordan, opposite Beth-shan. Judas treats it in accord with Deut 20.10–15.

  5.52 Beth-shan, also known as Scythopolis (“city of Scythians”) and Nysa, was west of the Jordan.

  5.54 According to 2 Macc 12.31–32 they arrived at Mount Zion in time to celebrate the Festival of Weeks/Pentecost.

  5.55–64 The rout suffered by the two left in charge of Judea (5.18–19) is blamed on their failure to follow Judas’s command (v. 61). See 2 Macc 12.32–35.

  5.58–59 Jamnia (Yavneh), the capital of the province of Azotus (Ashdod) and a seat of opposition to the Jews (2 Macc 12.8–9). Gorgias, possibly not the same person as in 3.38; 4.1.

  5.65–68 The account of Jewish victories closes with battles against Idumea (to the south) and Philistia (to the west). See 2 Macc 12.36–45.

  5.65–66 The ancient names Esau and Philistines contribute to the portrayal of Judas as the ideal biblical warrior.

  5.67 The priests who…fell in battle failed to follow Judas’s command (as in vv. 56–62); 2 Macc 12.32–45 may be another version of this episode.

  5.68 Azotus (Ashdod), possibly the province, not just the city.

  1 MACCABEES 6

  The Last Days of Antiochus Epiphanes

  1King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. 2Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks. 3So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not because his plan had become known to the citizens 4and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great disappointment left there to return to Babylon.

  5Then someone came to him in Persia and reported that the armies that had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; 6that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews;a that the Jewsb had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils that they had taken from the armies they had cut down; 7that they had torn down the abomination that he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-zur, his town.

  8When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. 9He lay there for many days, because deep disappointment continually gripped him, and he realized that he was dying. 10So he called all his Friends and said to them, “Sleep has departed from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. 11I said to myself, ‘To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power.’ 12But now I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem. I seized all its vessels of silver and gold, and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. 13I know that it is because of this that these misfortunes have come upon me; here I am, perishing of bitter disappointment in a strange land.”

  14Then he called for Philip, one of his Friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. 15He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, so that he might guide his son Antiochus and bring him up to be king. 16Thus King Antiochus died there in the one hundred forty-ninth year.c 17When Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus the king’sd son to reign. Lysiase had brought him up from boyhood; he named him Eupator.

  Renewed Attacks from Syria

  18Meanwhile the garrison in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles. 19Judas therefore resolved to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them. 20They gathered together and besieged the citadelf in the one hundred fiftieth year;g and he built siege towers and other engines of war. 21But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them. 22They went to the king and said, “How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our kindred? 23We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said, and to follow his commands. 24For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadelh and became hostile to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances. 25It is not against us alone that they have stretched out their hands; they have also attacked all the lands on their borders. 26And see, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-zur; 27unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them.”

  28The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his Friends, the commanders of his forces and those in authority.i 29Mercenary forces also came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas. 30The number of his forces was one hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war. 31They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-zur, and for many days they fought and built engines of war; but the Jewsj sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought courageously.

  The Battle at Beth-zechariah

  32Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zechariah, opposite the camp of the king. 33Early in the morning the king set out and took his army by a forced march along the road to Beth-zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded their trumpets. 34They offered the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries, to arouse them for battle. 35They distributed the animals among the phalanxes; with each elephant they stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on their heads; and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast. 36These took their position beforehand wherever the animal was; wherever it went, they went with it, and they never left it. 37On the elephantsk were wooden towers, strong and covered; they were fastened on each animal by special harness, and on each were fourl armed men who fought from there, and also its Indian driver. 38The rest of the cavalry were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the phalanxes. 39When the sun shone on the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches.

  40Now a part of the king’s army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order. 41All who heard the noise made by thei
r multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong. 42But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred of the king’s army fell. 43Now Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the animals was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was on it. 44So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. 45He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. 46He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died. 47When the Jewsm saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight.

  The Siege of the Temple

  48The soldiers of the king’s army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion. 49He made peace with the people of Beth-zur, and they evacuated the town because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical year for the land. 50So the king took Beth-zur and stationed a guard there to hold it. 51Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege towers, engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows, and catapults. 52The Jewsn also made engines of war to match theirs, and fought for many days. 53But they had no food in storage,o because it was the seventh year; those who had found safety in Judea from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores. 54Only a few men were left in the sanctuary; the rest scattered to their own homes, for the famine proved too much for them.

  Syria Offers Terms

  55Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus while still living had appointed to bring up his son Antiochus to be king, 56had returned from Persia and Media with the forces that had gone with the king, and that he was trying to seize control of the government. 57So he quickly gave orders to withdraw, and said to the king, to the commanders of the forces, and to the troops, “Daily we grow weaker, our food supply is scant, the place against which we are fighting is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom press urgently on us. 58Now then let us come to terms with these people, and make peace with them and with all their nation. 59Let us agree to let them live by their laws as they did before; for it was on account of their laws that we abolished that they became angry and did all these things.”

  60The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jewsp an offer of peace, and they accepted it. 61So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Jewsq evacuated the stronghold. 62But when the king entered Mount Zion and saw what a strong fortress the place was, he broke the oath he had sworn and gave orders to tear down the wall all around. 63Then he set off in haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control of the city, but he fought against him, and took the city by force.

  next chapter

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  a Gk them

  b Gk they

  c 163B.C.

  d Gk his

  e Gk He

  f Gk it

  g 162B.C.

  h Meaning of Gk uncertain

  i Gk those over the reins

  j Gk they

  k Gk them

  l Cn: Some authorities read thirty; others thirty-two

  m Gk they

  n Gk they

  o Other ancient authorities read in the sanctuary

  p Gk them

  q Gk they

  6.1–17 For other reports of Antiochus IV’s death, cf. 2 Macc 1.13–17; 9.1–29; Dan 11.40–45. Antiochus died in late 164 BCE while plundering a pagan temple. The Jews interpreted his death as punishment for his outrages against them and their temple.

  6.1 Elymais (Elam), the mountainous country west of Persia. City, possibly Persepolis.

  6.5–7 To the report of the defeat of Lysias (3.32–4.35) is added a summary of events in 4.36–61 that occurred after the death of Antiochus IV.

  6.10 Friends, the king’s advisers, the lowest rank of nobility in the Seleucid aristocracy.

  6.11–13 Antiochus IV’s description of himself as kind and beloved is affirmed by the name Eupator (“of a good father”) given his son in v. 17. But 1 Maccabees looks at him mainly with regard to the effects of his policies on the Jews and presents him as cruel and hated.

  6.14 Philip receives the same appointment Lysias had (3.32–33), and so the two become rivals.

  6.16 Antiochus died in October or November 164 BCE, but news of his death may not have reached Jerusalem before the dedication of the temple in December (4.36–61).

  6.18–31 Judas’s attempt to seize the citadel in Jerusalem leads to renewed complaints against him and a new and massive Seleucid expedition.

  6.18 The Seleucid garrison in the citadel (see 1.33–34; 4.41; 9.52; 10.6–9; 11.41; 14.36) continued harassment of Judas’s people. Some were Jews (vv. 18, 21).

  6.19–20 Judas took the confusion surrounding the death of Antiochus IV as the occasion for attacking the citadel.

  6.21–27 The complaint of the ungodly Israelites (led by the high priest Menelaus according to 2 Macc 13.3) was that, despite their cooperation and support for the program of Antiochus IV, they were being abandoned in the face of Judas’s growing power.

  6.22 The king, Antiochus V Eupator, was only about eleven or twelve years old. Lysias was making policy, though the young king was probably involved in the events.

  6.28–31 The size (probably exaggerated) of the Seleucid force indicates how seriously Judas was now taken. As in 4.29 the Seleucid army approached from the south, through Idumea. Beth-zur, which figured in the first battle with Lysias (4.29–35), had been fortified by Judas (4.61) as the southern outpost against attacks.

  6.32–47 Perhaps based on an eyewitness account, this report is a remarkably vivid and generally accurate description of an ancient battle. That Judas was defeated is played down; the emphasis is on the superior numbers of the Seleucids and the bravery of Eleazar. See 2 Macc 13.18–20.

  6.32 Beth-zechariah, south of Jerusalem and six miles north of Beth-zur, was chosen because its topography could be used to stop the enemy’s advances. Apparently Beth-zur (v. 31) had already fallen (see vv. 49–50).

  6.34–37 The elephants (the ancient equivalent of tanks) served as a rallying point for the Seleucid formations. That there were thirty-two elephants (v. 30) is unlikely. That number appears again in the Greek in v. 37; the conjecture four is more reasonable.

  6.40–41 As the Seleucid army proceeds, some troops are dispatched to secure the high hills.

  6.43–47 That the boy-king Antiochus V would have been riding on an elephant in battle is unlikely. Eleazar (2.5) may have wanted to demonstrate that the elephants could be stopped. If so, his action had the opposite effect (6.47).

  6.48–54 With the defeat at Beth-zechariah, the surrender of Beth-zur, the Temple Mount under siege, and low food supplies, the Maccabean movement is close to complete defeat.

  6.48 The symbolic value of the Temple Mount (Mount Zion; see 4.36–61) explains both the Seleucid strategy and the Jewish resistance.

  6.49 In a sabbatical year the land was not worked (Ex 23.11; Lev 25.3–7). The real food shortage would occur after the sabbatical year (see v. 53), since no store of food would be left.

  6.55–63 Because Lysias has to return to Antioch to prevent Philip from taking control (see vv. 14–15), he makes a quick settlement with Judas. See 2 Macc 13.23–26.

  6.57 The scant food supply caused by the sabbatical year (vv. 49, 53) threatened the Seleucid army too.

  6.59 By agreeing to let the Jews live by their laws as they did before (i.e., by the Torah) Lysias effectively cancelled the decree of Antiochus IV (1.41–50).

  6.61–62 The Temple Mount (Mount Zion), held by Judas’s troops and fortified by a wall (4.60), functioned as a stronghold. The citadel remained in enemy hands.

  1 MACCABEES 7

  Expedition of Bacchides and Alcimus

  1In the one hundred fifty-first yeara Demetrius son
of Seleucus set out from Rome, sailed with a few men to a town by the sea, and there began to reign. 2As he was entering the royal palace of his ancestors, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him. 3But when this act became known to him, he said, “Do not let me see their faces!” 4So the army killed them, and Demetrius took his seat on the throne of his kingdom.

  5Then there came to him all the renegade and godless men of Israel; they were led by Alcimus, who wanted to be high priest. 6They brought to the king this accusation against the people: “Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your Friends, and have driven us out of our land. 7Now then send a man whom you trust; let him go and see all the ruin that Judasb has brought on us and on the land of the king, and let him punish them and all who help them.”

  8So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king’s Friends, governor of the province Beyond the River; he was a great man in the kingdom and was faithful to the king. 9He sent him, and with him he sent the ungodly Alcimus, whom he made high priest; and he commanded him to take vengeance on the Israelites. 10So they marched away and came with a large force into the land of Judah; and he sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with peaceable but treacherous words. 11But they paid no attention to their words, for they saw that they had come with a large force.

  12Then a group of scribes appeared in a body before Alcimus and Bacchides to ask for just terms. 13The Hasideans were first among the Israelites to seek peace from them, 14for they said, “A priest of the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not harm us.” 15Alcimusc spoke peaceable words to them and swore this oath to them, “We will not seek to injure you or your friends.” 16So they trusted him; but he seized sixty of them and killed them in one day, in accordance with the word that was written,