Chapter Eleven

The attempt of Ptolemy VI Philometor to seize the Syrian kingdom; battle with Alexander and the death of both kings (cf. Antt. XIII, 4, 5 and following) (1 Macc 11:1-19). The siege of the Jerusalem citadel by Jonathan and the agreement with King Demetrius (cf. Antt. XII, 4, 9) (1 Macc 11:20-37). Jonathan’s support for Demetrius in the renewed struggle over the succession to the throne (cf. Ann. XII, 4, 9 and 5, 1–4) (1 Macc 11:38-53). The newly enthroned Antiochus confirms Jonathan in the high priesthood and in his other rights. Jonathan’s transfer to Antiochus’s side and his struggle on the latter’s behalf against Demetrius (cf. Antt. XII, 5, 3–7) (1 Macc 11:54-74).

1 Maccabees 11:1–11. Meanwhile the king of Egypt assembled a large army, like the sand on the seashore, and many ships, and was seeking to seize the kingdom of Alexander by deceit and to add it to his own kingdom. He entered Syria with peaceful words, and the inhabitants opened their cities to him and went out to meet him, for King Alexander had given orders to receive him, since he was his father-in-law. When Ptolemy entered the cities, he left a garrison of troops in each city. When he came near Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon that had been burned, and Azotus and its surrounding cities destroyed, and the bodies slain and burned in the battle, for they had piled them in heaps along his path, and they told the king everything Jonathan had done, accusing him; but the king said nothing. Then Jonathan went out to meet the king at Joppa with honor, and they greeted each other and spent the night there. And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutherus, and then returned to Jerusalem. But King Ptolemy seized the cities on the seacoast as far as Seleucia by the sea, and was forming evil designs against Alexander. And he sent envoys to King Demetrius, saying: come here, let us make an alliance between us, and I will give you my daughter who is now with Alexander, and you will reign in the kingdom of your father. I regret that I gave him my daughter, for he tried to kill me. And he slandered Alexander in this way, because he himself was coveting his kingdom. The stratagem by which Ptolemy sought to seize Alexander’s kingdom consisted in Ptolemy striving everywhere to present himself as the defender of Alexander’s rights as his son-in-law. Others, it is true, do not deny that Ptolemy also had a genuine desire to help Alexander, but in any case that desire is considered to have been self-interested, aimed at profiting one way or another at the expense of Alexander’s possessions. This, apparently not immediately, was understood by Alexander himself. Having initially ordered that his father-in-law receive the grandest possible reception in all cities along his route, he suddenly shifted to open enmity and, instead of an ally, declared him his enemy. Then Jonathan too, who had initially intended to take part in the whole campaign of Ptolemy as an ally of his son-in-law, parted from Ptolemy and moved against him. This also compelled Ptolemy to state his goal more directly and openly, especially after an attempt on his life had been made at Ptolemais, in which one of Alexander’s prominent favorites — Ammonius — turned out to be implicated. Alexander’s refusal to hand over Ammonius at Ptolemy’s demand gave him grounds to declare Alexander himself the instigator of the attempt, and thereby to justify his own offensive operations against Alexander’s possessions. But the writer of our book — XI:11 — presents this entire conspiracy simply as “slander” fabricated by Ptolemy himself for the purposes described above. — The river Eleutherus (verse 7) — the boundary between Phoenicia and Syria (Strabo, XVI, p. 753), flows through Lebanon and between Tripolis and Arados empties into the Mediterranean Sea — probably the present-day Nahr el Kebir, a large, swift-flowing stream. — “Seleucia by the sea” (verse 8) — so named to distinguish it from 8 other cities built afresh or restored by Seleucus Nicator and named after him — lay 40 stades north of the mouth of the river Orontes, 3 miles from Antioch, the capital of Syria (also called Pieria, from Mount Pierius on which it stood).

1 Maccabees 11:12–13. And taking back his daughter from him, he gave her to Demetrius, and became estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest. And Ptolemy entered Antioch and placed two crowns on his head — of Asia and of Egypt. “Two crowns — of Asia and of Egypt,” see at VIII:6.

1 Maccabees 11:14–16. King Alexander was in Cilicia at that time, because the people of those parts had revolted from him. When Alexander heard of it, he went to fight against him; then Ptolemy brought out his army and met him with a strong force and put him to flight. And Alexander fled to Arabia to find shelter there; and King Ptolemy rose to prominence. 1 Maccabees 11:17–18. And Zabdiel the Arab cut off Alexander’s head and sent it to Ptolemy. But King Ptolemy died on the third day, and those who were in the strongholds were destroyed by the inhabitants of the strongholds. More detailed accounts of Alexander’s death are found in Diod. Sic. I, c. Nr. XXI. On Ptolemy’s death see Josephus (cf. Liv. Epit. LII). — “On the third day...” — i.e., after receiving Alexander’s head. — “Those who were in the strongholds...” — see verse 3.

1 Maccabees 11:19. And Demetrius became king in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year. “In the 167th year” of the Seleucid era — 146–145 BC.

1 Maccabees 11:20. In those days Jonathan gathered the Jews to take the citadel of Jerusalem, and set up many siege engines against it. The citadel of Jerusalem, as is evident from this, was still occupied by the Syrians, whom Demetrius had promised to remove (X:32), but had not yet removed after his proposals to the Jews had failed to achieve their purpose in general.

1 Maccabees 11:21–28. But some who hated their own people, renegades from the law, went to the king and reported that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. When he heard of it, he was angered and, quickly making ready, went to Ptolemais and wrote to Jonathan that he should not besiege the citadel, but should come to meet him in Ptolemais as soon as possible to discuss things with him. But Jonathan, when he heard this, ordered the siege to continue and, choosing from among the elders of Israel and from the priests, decided to face the danger. Taking silver and gold, clothing, and many other gifts, he went to the king at Ptolemais and gained his goodwill. And although some renegades from the same people accused him, the king treated him in the same way as his predecessors had treated him, and exalted him before all his friends, and confirmed him in the high priesthood and in the other honors he had previously held, and made him one of the foremost of his friends. And Jonathan asked the king to exempt Judea and the three districts and Samaria from taxes, and he promised him three hundred talents. On the “three districts” see at X:30. — “And Samaria...” The mention of Samaria here is very strange and can hardly have had any historical basis, not only in view of the hostile relations between the Samaritans and the Jews, but also in view of the contradiction created by such a reading with verse 34 and X:30. Most probably, the text here should read not καί την Σαμαρείτιν but τής Σαμαρείτιδος. Exemption from taxes had been promised to the Jews by Demetrius’s own father, but they had declined these proposals, distrusting the king who had caused them so much harm (X:25–46). Now Jonathan himself requests this, while promising the king three hundred talents as a redemption sum. Commentators are divided on whether this sum was to be paid as a one-time payment for everything conceded by the king, or whether this amount was to be paid annually in place of the taxes collected by royal officials. The expression here admits both interpretations, but verse 35, where the king cedes to the Jews all tithes, levies, and dues, seems to favor the first interpretation. — The talent — the highest ancient Greek unit of weight and currency, not of the same value everywhere: the most commonly used Attic talent being worth 2,210 rubles.

1 Maccabees 11:29–32. The king agreed and wrote to Jonathan a letter to this effect: “King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan and to the Jewish people — greetings. A copy of the letter that we wrote concerning you to Lasthenes our kinsman we send also to you, so that you may know it. King Demetrius to his father Lasthenes — greetings. The king’s “letter” to Jonathan was in fact a copy of another letter addressed to Lasthenes. The expressions — “to his brother Jonathan...” and “to Lasthenes his father...” — are the customary forms for indicating a kinship-like and friendly relationship with especially trusted and distinguished persons (cf. IX:18; X:89; Gen 45:8). — Lasthenes, according to Ios. Ann. XIII, 4, 3, is the very Cretan who had assembled Demetrius’s mercenary army for his return “to the land of his fathers” — X:67. From the fact that Demetrius directed his favorable letter concerning the Jews to Lasthenes, it can be concluded with certainty that Lasthenes was either the governor of Coele-Syria or the chief minister of the kingdom.

1 Maccabees 11:33–34. To the Jewish people, our friends, who faithfully fulfill their duties toward us, we have resolved to do good on account of their goodwill toward us. Therefore we confirm to them both the borders of Judea and the three districts: Apherema, Lydda, and Ramathem, which have been annexed to Judea from Samaria, and everything belonging to all their priests in Jerusalem, in lieu of the royal dues which the king previously received annually from them, from the produce of the land and from the fruits of trees, “We confirm...” — i.e., not in the sense of “we newly give” — cf. at X:30. — “Apherema” — Αφαίρεμα — probably... — 2 Chr 13:19 Keri — the city of Εφραίμ, mentioned in the Gospel (John 11:54), which according to Ios. bell. jud. IV, 9, 9 lay near Bethel (Ephron, Ophrah, Josh 19:23). — “Lydda” — Λύδδα — the Old Testament Lod — 1 Chr 8:12, later called Diospolis, the present-day sizeable Muslim settlement under its ancient name Lud — between Jaffa and Jerusalem, north of Ramleh. — Ramathem — Ραμαθέμ, otherwise Ραθαμείν and Ραμαθαίμ, in Josephus Ραμαθά — undoubtedly the well-known city of Samuel, Ramathaim Zophim — 1 Sam 1:1, commonly called..., the present-day settlement er Ram, 4 geographical miles north of Jerusalem, the New Testament Arimathea (Matt 27:15; John 19:33). — Located on the border of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, this city may well at that time have belonged to Samaria and been annexed from it to Judea. — “Everything belonging to all their priests in Jerusalem...” — cf. Num 35:4 and X:39 of our book. From the words “to all their priests in Jerusalem...” a new sentence begins, the predicate of which comes at the end of verse 35: “we cede to them...” The preceding words “and everything belonging” should properly be read as a continuation of the mention of the districts annexed to Judea from Samaria (more precisely: “three regions... and everything pertaining to them,” and then: “to all their priests...” — and so on down to the words: “we leave to them”). In the expression “in lieu of the royal dues,” αντί τών βασιλικών, something is missing for completeness of sense. Some have supposed that a specific figure has dropped out here, indicating the sum that was paid to the king “in lieu of the royal dues” and is now being left to them. Other commentators, more plausibly, think that before αντί the simple definite article τά has dropped out (τά αντί τών βασιλικών — as in X:30: “that which was due in place of the third part of the grain” etc. τής τιμής... αντί τού τρίτου), or still more probably that αντί itself arose in place of τά (not: αντί τών βασιλικών, but: τά τών βασιλικών) or καί τά, which amid a convergence of several alphas (and with the confusion of “i” with “ν”) could very easily have occurred. The whole expression thus acquires the following simple and clear meaning: “and that, in place of the royal rights over the produce of the land,” which was paid in annual dues, “and all the rest... (verse 35)... we fully cede to them.” On tithes, dues, etc., see at X:29, 31. — “Salt lakes” in place of “dues from lake salt” (τιμή τού αλός X:29).

1 Maccabees 11:35–37. and all the rest belonging to us henceforth from the tithes and dues due to us, the salt lakes and the crown levy belonging to us — all of it we cede to them in full. And nothing shall be revoked from this henceforth and forever. Now take care to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and placed on the holy mountain in a place known. A copy of the letter was to be placed “on the holy mountain in a known place,” as previously in VIII:22.

1 Maccabees 11:38. And King Demetrius saw that the land was at peace before him and nothing resisted him, and he dismissed all his troops, each to his own place, except the foreign troops whom he had hired from the islands of foreign peoples — and for this all the forces of his fathers hated him. “The land was at peace before him...” — ησύχασεν ή γή — more precisely in the Slavonic: “the land grew quiet before him...” cf. at I:3. — “From the islands of foreign peoples,” i.e., probably from Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus, and other islands of the Mediterranean Sea and the Archipelago. — “The forces of his fathers,” i.e., of Seleucus Philopator and Demetrius I. The hatred toward Demetrius II for his “cruelty” (ob crudelitatem) and “negligence” (propter segnitiam) is also noted by Livy (epit. LII) and Justin (XXXVI, 1, 9).

1 Maccabees 11:39. Trypho, one of Alexander’s former adherents, seeing that all the troops were muttering against Demetrius, went to Imalcue the Arab, who was raising Antiochus, the young son of Alexander; “Trypho” — his proper name was Diodotus, while Τρύφων, i.e., “the dissolute,” was actually his nickname (see about him in Diodorus, Livy, Strabo, and Appian). — “Imalcue the Arab...” is named very variously in other sources: Ειμαλκουαί, Ιμαλκουέ, Σινμαλκουή, Σιμαλκουέ, Emalchuel (Vulgate) and Malchus. He was an Arab ruler to whom Alexander had entrusted his son’s upbringing. Diodorus l. c. Nr. 20 calls him Diocles (Diokles), while in Nr. 21 he is called Iamblichus, though the latter may be the son of the former and his successor. — Antiochus, the son of Alexander, is noted by Diodorus (l. c.) as τον Επιφανή χρηματίζοντα; on coins he is named Επιφανής Διόνυσος. According to Livy — epit. LII — he was about two years old when Trypho took custody of him, and — according to epit. c. LV — ten years old when Trypho killed him.

1 Maccabees 11:40. and pressed him to hand him over, so that he might make him king in his place; and he told him of everything that Demetrius had done, and the hostility that the troops bore toward him, and he stayed there many days. “He stayed there many days...” During these “many days” (ημέρας πολλάς) falls the revolt of the Antiochenes against Demetrius, described in verses 41–53, which was suppressed with the help of the Jewish contingent sent by Jonathan.

1 Maccabees 11:41–43. And Jonathan sent word to King Demetrius to remove those he had left in the Jerusalem citadel and in the fortifications, for they were attacking Israel. Demetrius sent word to Jonathan: not only will I do this for you and your people, but I will also greatly honor you and your people as soon as I have the opportunity. Now you will do well if you send me men to help in the war, for all my troops have defected from me. “You will do well if you send...” — ορθώς ποιήσεις αποστείλας — a tactful way of making a request, cf. XII:18, 22; John 3:6.

1 Maccabees 11:44–47. And Jonathan sent to him in Antioch three thousand valiant men, and they came to the king, and the king rejoiced at their coming. And the citizens, having gathered to the center of the city to the number of one hundred and twenty thousand, wanted to kill the king. But the king fled into the palace, while the citizens seized all the streets of the city and began to besiege him. Then the king summoned the Jews to his aid, and they all gathered to him at once, and suddenly they scattered through the city, and they killed on that day in the city up to one hundred thousand people, “And suddenly they scattered through the city...” — i.e., it was the revolted Antiochenes who scattered, not the Jews, although in both neighboring sentences — the preceding and the following — the subject is “the Jews.” Such a rapid change of subject is very common in Hebrew speech (cf. IV:20). — The Slavonic text expresses the meaning of the original more precisely in this passage: “and they all gathered together at once (πάντες άμα, i.e., the Jews) to him; and they all scattered (πάντες άμα, evidently the Antiochenes) through the city...”. In the other understanding of the expression cited — πάντες άμα — it would be a pointless tautology. The number of those killed (100,000), as well as of those who revolted (120,000), may well be greatly exaggerated.

1 Maccabees 11:48–50. and set fire to the city, and took much plunder that day, and saved the king. And the citizens saw that the Jews had taken possession of the city as they pleased, and their spirits fell, and they began to cry out to the king, begging and saying: grant us your right hand, and let the Jews stop attacking us and our city. “Grant us your right hand...” — Greek: δος ημίν δεξιάς — more precisely in the Slavonic: “give us your right hand...” (cf. VI:58), i.e., “make peace with us.”

1 Maccabees 11:51. And they laid down their arms and made peace. And the Jews were honored before the king and before all in his kingdom, and they returned to Jerusalem with great plunder. “And they laid down their arms...” — ερριψαν τα οπλα — more precisely in the Slavonic: “and they cast down their arms...” — the subject is “the Antiochenes.”

1 Maccabees 11:52–54. And King Demetrius sat on the throne of his kingdom, and the land grew quiet before him. But he lied in everything he had promised, and he turned against Jonathan and did not repay him for the good he had received, and he greatly wronged him. After that, Trypho returned and with him Antiochus, still very young; he became king and put on the crown. On the age of Antiochus see at verse 39.

1 Maccabees 11:55. And all the troops that Demetrius had dismissed gathered to him, and they began to make war against Demetrius, and he fled and was defeated. According to Josephus, Demetrius fled to Cilicia; according to Livy (epit. LII) — to Seleucia.

1 Maccabees 11:56. And Trypho took the elephants and seized Antioch. Instead of “elephants” the original properly has τα θηρία (Slavonic: “and Trypho took the beasts...”). These elephants may have belonged to the Egyptian army and, after the death of Ptolemy Philometor (verse 18), passed into Demetrius’s possession — if indeed the condition of the treaty with the Romans, after the battle of Magnesia, not to use elephants in war, was still being observed (VI:30).

1 Maccabees 11:57. And the young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying: I confirm you in the high priesthood and appoint you over four districts, and you shall be among the king’s friends. “I appoint you (i.e., as governor) over four districts...” We already know three of these districts from verses 28 and 34. Concerning the fourth, opinions differ. Some name Ptolemais, others Ekron (X:89), others Judea itself.

1 Maccabees 11:58. And he sent him golden vessels and table service and gave him the right to drink from golden vessels and to wear purple and a golden clasp, “And table service...” — καί διακονίαν — Slavonic: “and service...” — in other words, tableware (a “service set”).

1 Maccabees 11:59–61. and he appointed his brother Simon as commander from the region of Tyre to the borders of Egypt. And Jonathan set out on a campaign, and marched through the territory beyond the river (Jordan) and through the cities, and all the Syrian forces gathered to help him; and he came to Ashkelon, and the inhabitants of the city received him with honor. From there he went to Gaza; but the inhabitants of Gaza shut the gates; and he besieged the city and burned its suburbs with fire and plundered them. “Through the territory beyond the river...” — this could only be the Jordan. — “All the Syrian forces gathered to help him...” — i.e., those discharged by Demetrius. Such was the purpose of the campaign — to assemble the warriors of Demetrius scattered throughout all the cities of Palestine in order to use them afterward against the Philistine cities, which had until then remained on the side of Demetrius II. The inhabitants of Ashkelon received Jonathan with honor, as previously at X:86. The inhabitants of Gaza (present-day Ghuzzeh), on the other hand, shut the gates and were subdued only by force.

1 Maccabees 11:62–63. And the inhabitants of Gaza implored Jonathan, and he made peace with them, but he took the sons of their leaders as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem, and he passed through the country as far as Damascus. And Jonathan heard that Demetrius’s commanders had come to Kedesh in Galilee with a large army, intending to remove him from the territory. “Kedesh,” Κάδης (or Κηδες) in Galilee — is the ancient Levitical city of refuge in the mountains of Naphtali — the present-day small settlement of the same name northwest of the Sea of Galilee (Josh 12:22). — “To remove him from the territory...” — μεταστήσαι αυτον τής χρείας — properly: “to relieve him of his charge,” i.e., the one he had undertaken in favor of Antiochus. The expression “from the territory” is explained by variant readings in some texts — χώρας in place of χρείας.

1 Maccabees 11:64–66. But he went to meet them, leaving his brother Simon in the land. And Simon encamped before Beth-zur and besieged it for many days and blocked it off. And they asked for peace, and he agreed; but he drove them out from there, took the city, and placed a garrison in it. Before the account of Jonathan’s battle with the general of Demetrius, we are told of Simon’s capture of Beth-zur. This border fortress between Judea and Idumea (see at IV:29), since its capture by Antiochus Eupator (VI:50), had remained in Syrian hands, heavily fortified by Demetrius I (IX:52), and only now reverted to Judea.

1 Maccabees 11:67. And Jonathan and his army encamped by the waters of Gennesaret, and in the morning they moved to the plain of Hazor. “By the waters of Gennesaret...” — i.e., by the Sea of Galilee. — “The plain of Hazor.” Νασώρ — more correctly Ασώρ — the ancient Canaanite capital, the location of which is now difficult to identify precisely, but probably on the site of the present ruins of Huzzur or Hasireh — 2 hours’ journey west of Bint Jbeil (Josh 11:1).

1 Maccabees 11:68–73. And behold, the army of the foreigners met him on the plain, having left an ambush against him in the mountains, while they themselves came to meet him from the opposite direction. And those who were in the ambush rose from their positions and began to fight; and all who were with Jonathan fled, and not one of them remained, except Mattathias, the son of Absalom, and Judas, the son of Chalphi, commanders of the military units. And Jonathan tore his garments and put dust on his head and prayed. Then he turned back to fight with them and routed them, and they fled. And those who had fled from him, seeing this, returned to him, and together with him they pursued them as far as Kedesh, to their very camp, and there they halted. It appears that the situation unfolded as follows: Jonathan’s army was so thrown off by the unexpected attack of the enemy that it wavered and began to flee; only Jonathan together with two other commanders remained bravely at their posts, and this had a sobering effect on the rest, who quickly recovered from their confusion and, returning, made a concerted charge at the enemy and prevailed.

1 Maccabees 11:74. On that day there fell from among the foreigners up to three thousand men; and Jonathan returned to Jerusalem. The pursuit of the enemy continued “to their very camp...” There the enemy had presumably taken shelter behind strong fortifications, and Jonathan, not considering himself strong enough to launch a storm, preferred to return to Jerusalem, leaving the enemy the opportunity to advance against him soon again with an even larger army (XII:24 and following). * * * Notes The Books of Maccabees are translated from the Greek, because they do not exist in the Hebrew text.