10.29 For other visions of men on horses, see 3.25–26; 5.2–3; 11.8. Here they protect Judas and send thunderbolts on the enemy—usually considered Greek features.
10.31 The numbers are exaggerated.
10.32 Simon captured Gazara (Gezer); see 1 Macc 13.43–48. The story originally concerned Jazer as in 1 Macc 5.8. Chaereas, identified as Timothy’s brother in 10.37.
10.37 Cistern, a large pit with plastered walls, used for storing water during the rainy season.
2 MACCABEES 11
Lysias Besieges Beth-zur
1Very soon after this, Lysias, the king’s guardian and kinsman, who was in charge of the government, being vexed at what had happened, 2gathered about eighty thousand infantry and all his cavalry and came against the Jews. He intended to make the city a home for Greeks, 3and to levy tribute on the temple as he did on the sacred places of the other nations, and to put up the high priesthood for sale every year. 4He took no account whatever of the power of God, but was elated with his ten thousands of infantry, and his thousands of cavalry, and his eighty elephants. 5Invading Judea, he approached Beth-zur, which was a fortified place about five stadiaa from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard.
6When Maccabeus and his men got word that Lysiasb was besieging the strongholds, they and all the people, with lamentations and tears, prayed the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel. 7Maccabeus himself was the first to take up arms, and he urged the others to risk their lives with him to aid their kindred. Then they eagerly rushed off together. 8And there, while they were still near Jerusalem, a horseman appeared at their head, clothed in white and brandishing weapons of gold. 9And together they all praised the merciful God, and were strengthened in heart, ready to assail not only humans but the wildest animals or walls of iron. 10They advanced in battle order, having their heavenly ally, for the Lord had mercy on them. 11They hurled themselves like lions against the enemy, and laid low eleven thousand of them and sixteen hundred cavalry, and forced all the rest to flee. 12Most of them got away stripped and wounded, and Lysias himself escaped by disgraceful flight.
Lysias Makes Peace with the Jews
13As he was not without intelligence, he pondered over the defeat that had befallen him, and realized that the Hebrews were invincible because the mighty God fought on their side. So he sent to them 14and persuaded them to settle everything on just terms, promising that he would persuade the king, constraining him to be their friend.c 15Maccabeus, having regard for the common good, agreed to all that Lysias urged. For the king granted every request in behalf of the Jews which Maccabeus delivered to Lysias in writing.
16The letter written to the Jews by Lysias was to this effect:
“Lysias to the people of the Jews, greetings. 17John and Absalom, who were sent by you, have delivered your signed communication and have asked about the matters indicated in it. 18I have informed the king of everything that needed to be brought before him, and he has agreed to what was possible. 19If you will maintain your goodwill toward the government, I will endeavor in the future to help promote your welfare. 20And concerning such matters and their details, I have ordered these men and my representatives to confer with you. 21Farewell. The one hundred forty-eighth year,d Dioscorinthius twenty-fourth.”
22The king’s letter ran thus:
“King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greetings. 23Now that our father has gone on to the gods, we desire that the subjects of the kingdom be undisturbed in caring for their own affairs. 24We have heard that the Jews do not consent to our father’s change to Greek customs, but prefer their own way of living and ask that their own customs be allowed them. 25Accordingly, since we choose that this nation also should be free from disturbance, our decision is that their temple be restored to them and that they shall live according to the customs of their ancestors. 26You will do well, therefore, to send word to them and give them pledges of friendship, so that they may know our policy and be of good cheer and go on happily in the conduct of their own affairs.”
27To the nation the king’s letter was as follows:
“King Antiochus to the senate of the Jews and to the other Jews, greetings. 28If you are well, it is as we desire. We also are in good health. 29Menelaus has informed us that you wish to return home and look after your own affairs. 30Therefore those who go home by the thirtieth of Xanthicus will have our pledge of friendship and full permission 31for the Jews to enjoy their own food and laws, just as formerly, and none of them shall be molested in any way for what may have been done in ignorance. 32And I have also sent Menelaus to encourage you. 33Farewell. The one hundred forty-eighth year,e Xanthicus fifteenth.”
34The Romans also sent them a letter, which read thus:
“Quintus Memmius and Titus Manius, envoys of the Romans, to the people of the Jews, greetings. 35With regard to what Lysias the kinsman of the king has granted you, we also give consent. 36But as to the matters that he decided are to be referred to the king, as soon as you have considered them, send some one promptly so that we may make proposals appropriate for you. For we are on our way to Antioch. 37Therefore make haste and send messengers so that we may have your judgment. 38Farewell. The one hundred forty-eighth year,f Xanthicus fifteenth.”
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a Meaning of Gk uncertain
b Gk he
c Meaning of Gk uncertain
d 164 B.C.
e 164 B.C.
f 164 B.C.
11.1–12 1 Macc 4.28–35 places Lysias’s siege of Beth-zur before the death of Antiochus IV.
11.1 Lysias was named guardian of Antiochus V by Antiochus IV (see 1 Macc 3.32–33). Kinsman, an honorary title applied to the king’s closest advisers.
11.2 Eighty thousand. According to 1 Macc 4.28 Lysias had sixty thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry. In both accounts the figures are exaggerated.
11.2–3 The city, Jerusalem. For the sale of the high priesthood (a common Hellenistic practice), see 4.7–8, 23–24.
11.4 For Lysias’s elephants, see 1 Macc 3.34.
11.5 Beth-zur, about twenty miles south of Jerusalem.
11.8 For earlier visions of horsemen, see 3.25–26; 5.2–3; 10.29–30.
11.11 According to 1 Macc 4.34, only five thousand of Lysias’s men fell.
11.13–38 The peace negotiations between Lysias and the Jews are described by means of four letters. Their most likely historical sequence is vv. 16–21, 34–38, 27–33, 22–26.
11.13 The term Hebrews (7.31; 15.37) complements the emphasis on their divine protector (3.39; 8.36).
11.16–21 Lysias addressed the Jewish people (not Judas) and agreed to the peace described in v. 15, with the proviso what was possible (v. 18).
11.17 John, perhaps Judas’s brother (1 Macc 2.2). Absalom. See 1 Macc 11.70; 13.11.
11.21 The name of the month Dioscorinthius is uncertain; the compiler thought it preceded March (Xanthicus) 164 BCE (see vv. 33, 38).
11.22–26 Antiochus V instructs Lysias (after his second campaign; see 1 Macc 6.28–63; 2 Macc 13.1–26) to give back to the Jews their temple (which they already possessed) and to let them live according to their ancestral laws (which Antiochus IV had already allowed; see v. 31).
11.27–33 In March 164 BCE Antiochus IV granted amnesty to Jews who stopped fighting before the end of the month. He also allowed them to return to observing the Torah.
11.29 Menelaus apparently went to the king (in Persia?) and convinced him that this strategy would weaken the Jewish opposition.
11.34–38 In March 164 BCE the Romans consented to the arrangement between Lysias and the Jews.
11.34 Titus Manilius (Torquatus) was consul in 165 BCE and in Egypt in 164. Manius Sergius was sent to Antiochus IV in 164. The two figures may be conflated here.
2 MACCABEES 12
Incidents at Joppa and Jamnia
1When this agreement had been reached, Lysias returned to the king, and the Jews went about their farming.
2But some of the governors
in various places, Timothy and Apollonius son of Gennaeus, as well as Hieronymus and Demophon, and in addition to these Nicanor the governor of Cyprus, would not let them live quietly and in peace. 3And the people of Joppa did so ungodly a deed as this: they invited the Jews who lived among them to embark, with their wives and children, on boats that they had provided, as though there were no ill will to the Jews;a 4and this was done by public vote of the city. When they accepted, because they wished to live peaceably and suspected nothing, the people of Joppab took them out to sea and drowned them, at least two hundred. 5When Judas heard of the cruelty visited on his compatriots, he gave orders to his men 6and, calling upon God, the righteous judge, attacked the murderers of his kindred. He set fire to the harbor by night, burned the boats, and massacred those who had taken refuge there. 7Then, because the city’s gates were closed, he withdrew, intending to come again and root out the whole community of Joppa. 8But learning that the people in Jamnia meant in the same way to wipe out the Jews who were living among them, 9he attacked the Jamnites by night and set fire to the harbor and the fleet, so that the glow of the light was seen in Jerusalem, thirty milesc distant.
The Campaign in Gilead
10When they had gone more than a miled from there, on their march against Timothy, at least five thousand Arabs with five hundred cavalry attacked them. 11After a hard fight, Judas and his companions, with God’s help, were victorious. The defeated nomads begged Judas to grant them pledges of friendship, promising to give him livestock and to help his peoplee in all other ways. 12Judas, realizing that they might indeed be useful in many ways, agreed to make peace with them; and after receiving his pledges they went back to their tents.
13He also attacked a certain town that was strongly fortified with earthworksf and walls, and inhabited by all sorts of Gentiles. Its name was Caspin. 14Those who were within, relying on the strength of the walls and on their supply of provisions, behaved most insolently toward Judas and his men, railing at them and even blaspheming and saying unholy things. 15But Judas and his men, calling upon the great Sovereign of the world, who without battering rams or engines of war overthrew Jericho in the days of Joshua, rushed furiously upon the walls. 16They took the town by the will of God, and slaughtered untold numbers, so that the adjoining lake, a quarter of a mileg wide, appeared to be running over with blood.
Judas Defeats Timothy’s Army
17When they had gone ninety-five milesh from there, they came to Charax, to the Jews who are called Toubiani. 18They did not find Timothy in that region, for he had by then left there without accomplishing anything, though in one place he had left a very strong garrison. 19Dositheus and Sosipater, who were captains under Maccabeus, marched out and destroyed those whom Timothy had left in the stronghold, more than ten thousand men. 20But Maccabeus arranged his army in divisions, set meni in command of the divisions, and hurried after Timothy, who had with him one hundred twenty thousand infantry and two thousand five hundred cavalry. 21When Timothy learned of the approach of Judas, he sent off the women and the children and also the baggage to a place called Carnaim; for that place was hard to besiege and difficult of access because of the narrowness of all the approaches. 22But when Judas’s first division appeared, terror and fear came over the enemy at the manifestation to them of him who sees all things. In their flight they rushed headlong in every direction, so that often they were injured by their own men and pierced by the points of their own swords. 23Judas pressed the pursuit with the utmost vigor, putting the sinners to the sword, and destroyed as many as thirty thousand.
24Timothy himself fell into the hands of Dositheus and Sosipater and their men. With great guile he begged them to let him go in safety, because he held the parents of most of them, and the brothers of some, to whom no consideration would be shown. 25And when with many words he had confirmed his solemn promise to restore them unharmed, they let him go, for the sake of saving their kindred.
Judas Wins Other Victories
26Then Judasj marched against Carnaim and the temple of Atargatis, and slaughtered twenty-five thousand people. 27After the rout and destruction of these, he marched also against Ephron, a fortified town where Lysias lived with multitudes of people of all nationalities.k Stalwart young men took their stand before the walls and made a vigorous defense; and great stores of war engines and missiles were there. 28But the Jewsl called upon the Sovereign who with power shatters the might of his enemies, and they got the town into their hands, and killed as many as twenty-five thousand of those who were in it.
29Setting out from there, they hastened to Scythopolis, which is seventy-five milesm from Jerusalem. 30But when the Jews who lived there bore witness to the goodwill that the people of Scythopolis had shown them and their kind treatment of them in times of misfortune, 31they thanked them and exhorted them to be well disposed to their race in the future also. Then they went up to Jerusalem, as the festival of weeks was close at hand.
Judas Defeats Gorgias
32After the festival called Pentecost, they hurried against Gorgias, the governor of Idumea, 33who came out with three thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry. 34When they joined battle, it happened that a few of the Jews fell. 35But a certain Dositheus, one of Bacenor’s men, who was on horseback and was a strong man, caught hold of Gorgias, and grasping his cloak was dragging him off by main strength, wishing to take the accursed man alive, when one of the Thracian cavalry bore down on him and cut off his arm; so Gorgias escaped and reached Marisa.
36As Esdris and his men had been fighting for a long time and were weary, Judas called upon the Lord to show himself their ally and leader in the battle. 37In the language of their ancestors he raised the battle cry, with hymns; then he charged against Gorgias’s troops when they were not expecting it, and put them to flight.
Prayers for Those Killed in Battle
38Then Judas assembled his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was coming on, they purified themselves according to the custom, and kept the sabbath there.
39On the next day, as had now become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kindred in the sepulchres of their ancestors. 40Then under the tunic of each one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was the reason these men had fallen. 41So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; 42and they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those who had fallen. 43He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. 44For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.
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a Gk to them
b Gk they
c Gk two hundred forty stadia
d Gk nine stadia
e Gk them
f Meaning of Gk uncertain
g Gk two stadia
h Gk seven hundred fifty stadia
i Gk them
j Gk he
k Meaning of Gk uncertain
l Gk they
m Gk six hundred stadia
12.1–9 At Joppa and Jamnia, Judas emerges as the champion of all Jews, even those outside of Jerusalem and Judea.
12.2 Timothy. There may be more than one person bearing the name. See 8.30–33; 10.24–28; 12.10–31.
1
2.3 Joppa, an important harbor city on the Mediterranean coast, about thirty-two miles from Jerusalem.
12.8–9 Jamnia, about twelve miles south of Joppa, somewhat inland; see 1 Macc 5.58.
12.10–16 For a fuller account of Judas’s campaign in Gilead, see 1 Macc 5.9–36.
12.10 Gilead is east of the Jordan; more than a mile is awkward and erroneous, suggesting textual corruption. The Arabs were mercenaries (see 1 Macc 5.39); here they are assimilated to the Nabateans favorable to Judas’s cause (1 Macc 5.25).
12.13 Caspin, probably the same as Chaspho in 1 Macc 5.26, 36.
12.14 For blaspheming by Judas’s opponents, see 10.34, 36; Antiochus and Nicanor are called blasphemers (9.28; 15.24).
12.15 For the fall of Jericho, see Josh 6.1–21.
12.17–25 For another account of Judas’s defeat of Timothy, see 1 Macc 5.37–43.
12.17 Charax, perhaps a common noun (“pallisaded camp”) rather than a place-name. Toubiani, the remnants of a military unit commanded by the Tobiad family.
12.21 Carnaim (see 1 Macc 5.43–44) means “horns” it was site of a temple to Atargatis (see note on 12.26).
12.22 The reference to God as one who sees all things implies sins on Timothy’s part (v. 2; see 1 Macc 5.10–13, 25–27).
12.25 Their kindred, the relatives of the Tobiad Jews (see 1 Macc 5.13).
12.26–31 For another account of Judas’s victories, see 1 Macc 5.46–54.
12.26 In Hellenistic times Atargatis, the Syrian fish and grain goddess, consort of Hadad, was identified with Astarte and Artemis.
12.27 Ephron (see 1 Macc 5.46), east of the Jordan and opposite Beth-shan/Scythopolis. Lysias may not be the governor mentioned in 10.11.
12.28 For the Sovereign (Greek dynastes) as a divine title, see 12.15.
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