Chapter Fifteen

Nicanor’s attempt to attack Judas on the Sabbath day (2 Macc 15:1-5). The encouragement of the Jews by Judas (2 Macc 15:6-16). The bold advance of the Jews into battle and the victory. The death of Nicanor. The establishment of the festival (2 Macc 15:17-37). The conclusion of the book (2 Macc 15:38-39).

2 Maccabees 15:1. When Nicanor learned that those with Judas were in the region of Samaria, he thought he could attack them completely without penalty on the day of rest. “In the region of Samaria...” έν τοίς κατα Σαμαριαν τόποις… — in the localities bordering Samaria, that is, on the boundary with Samaria, between Beth-horon and Gophna (1 Macc 7:39 ff.).

2 Maccabees 15:2. When the Jews who were forced to accompany him said: “Do not destroy them so cruelly and savagely; honor the day consecrated by the All-Seeing One”; “The day consecrated by the All-Seeing One...” τή προτετιμημένη υπό τού παντα εφορώντος μεθ᾿ αγιότητος ᾿ημέρα…; Slavonic, more precisely: “the day honored above others by the All-Seeing One in holiness” — that is, the day whose observance has been sanctified by the example and commandment of the All-Seeing Lord Himself (cf. Gen 2:3; Exod 20:8-11 ff.).

2 Maccabees 15:3. this godless man asked: “Is there really a Sovereign in heaven who has commanded the Sabbath to be observed? The question: “Is there really a Sovereign in heaven who has commanded...” expresses not a denial of the existence of God, but only a denial of the said commandment — a denial that among the gods there was any such one who had issued this commandment.

2 Maccabees 15:4. And when they answered: “There is the living Lord, the heavenly Sovereign, who has commanded the seventh day to be kept holy”, “The living Lord” — ό Κύριος ζών — “living” — in contrast to the dead gods of the pagans.

2 Maccabees 15:5. he said: “And I am master on earth, commanding to take arms and carry out the king’s service.” However, he did not succeed in carrying out his intention. What prevented Nicanor’s plan to attack the Jews on the Sabbath is unknown.

2 Maccabees 15:6–10. Nicanor, boasting with great arrogance, thought to erect a general victory trophy over those with Judas. But Maccabeus never ceased hoping with full confidence that he would receive support from the Lord. He urged those with him not to fear the onslaught of the pagans, but, recalling past experiences of heavenly help, to expect for themselves victory and aid from the Almighty now as well. Comforting them with the promises of the law and the prophets, reminding them of the deeds they themselves had performed, he filled them with courage. Stirring their spirit, he urged them on, pointing at the same time to the treachery of the pagans and their violation of oaths. Examples of pagans’ treachery and perjury: 1 Macc 16:17; 1 Macc 6:62; 2 Macc 5:25 ff. and XII:5.

2 Maccabees 15:11–12. He armed each of them not so much with solid shields and spears as with persuasive and encouraging words, and besides that, he cheered them all with an account of a trustworthy dream he had seen. The vision he had was this: he saw Onias, the former high priest, a man of honor and goodness, revered in appearance, gentle in manner, pleasant in speech, who from childhood had diligently cultivated everything pertaining to virtue — he saw him stretching out his hands and praying for the entire Jewish people. On this Onias, see 2 Macc 3:1 ff.

2 Maccabees 15:13–16. Then there appeared another man, adorned with white hair and glory, surrounded by wondrous and extraordinary majesty. And Onias said: “This is the one who loves his brothers, the one who prays much for the people and the holy city — Jeremiah, the prophet of God.” Then Jeremiah, stretching out his right hand, gave Judas a golden sword and, presenting it, said: “Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down the enemies. “The holy sword...” as given to him by God to strike down evil and godlessness that was assailing His sanctuary.

2 Maccabees 15:17. Encouraged by the most excellent words of Judas, which were capable of arousing courage and steeling the hearts of the young, the Jews resolved not to encamp but to attack boldly and, entering the battle with full courage, to settle the matter by force of arms, since the city, the sanctuary, and the Temple were in danger. “The city and the sanctuary and the Temple...” τήν πόλιν και τα αγία και τό ιερόν — Slavonic: “the city, and the holy things, and the sanctuary...” τα αγία alongside and placed before ιερόν shows that here it (τα αγία) is used in the broad sense of the word — sacred order, sacred institutions of the people.

2 Maccabees 15:18. The struggle for wives and children, brothers and kinsmen seemed to them a matter of lesser importance; their greatest and primary concern was for the holy Temple. “The primary concern was for the holy Temple” — in view of Nicanor’s threats, XIV:33.

2 Maccabees 15:19–21. For those who had remained in the city there was also no small anxiety, since they were troubled about the battle that was to take place in the field. And so, when all were awaiting the coming decision of the matter, when the enemies had already joined forces and the army was drawn up in battle order, the elephants positioned in their proper places and the cavalry arrayed on the flanks, Maccabeus, seeing the advance of the numerous host, the variety of weapons arrayed, and the ferocity of the beasts, stretched out his hands to heaven and called upon the Lord, the worker of wonders and the all-seeing, knowing that victory is won not by weapons, but that He Himself, as He wills, grants victory to those who deserve it. “The ferocity of the beasts” — that is, of the elephants.

2 Maccabees 15:22–24. In his prayer he spoke thus: “You, O Lord, when Hezekiah was king of Judah, sent an Angel — and he struck down from the camp of Sennacherib one hundred and eighty-five thousand. And now, O Lord of heaven, send a good Angel before us to bring fear and trembling upon the enemies. By the might of Your arm let those who have come with blasphemy against Your holy people be struck down.” With these words he ended. 2 Maccabees 15:25–27. Those with Nicanor advanced with the sound of trumpets and battle cries, while those with Judas entered the battle against the enemies with prayer and supplication. Fighting with their hands and praying with their hearts to God, they struck down no fewer than thirty-five thousand, greatly gladdened by the manifest help of God. 2 Maccabees 15:28–30. When the engagement was over and they were returning with joy, they learned that Nicanor had fallen in his full armor. When the outcry and noise had died down, they praised the Lord in their native tongue. Then Judas, the foremost champion of his people in body and soul, who had kept his loyalty to his countrymen throughout the best years of his life, gave the order for Nicanor’s head to be cut off, along with his hand and shoulder, and carried to Jerusalem. 2 Maccabees 15:31–33. Arriving there, he summoned his countrymen and stationed the priests before the altar, invited those who were in the fortress, and, having shown them the head of the vile Nicanor and the hand of the blasphemer which he had stretched out against the holy house of the Almighty and with which he had boasted, ordered the tongue of the godless Nicanor to be cut out and given in fragments to the birds, and the hand of the madman to be hung up opposite the Temple. “The hand of the madman...” τα δ᾿ έπιχειρα τής ανοίας; Slavonic, more precisely: “and this in recompense for his madness... hang up.” The singular τό επίχειρον is very rarely (Jer 48:25) used in the sense of “shoulder”; in the plural τα επίχειρα it means what “comes to hand” for someone, what is fated, what is deserved — the recompense of a deed, and if the deed is evil, then — punishment. Consequently, in this passage — to hang τα δ᾿επίχειρα τής ανοίας — means to hang the sign of the punishment of the madman, that is, his severed hand.

2 Maccabees 15:34–35. Then all, turning to heaven, praised the Lord who had manifested His help and said: “Blessed be He who has kept His place undefiled!” He hung the head of Nicanor on the fortress as a visible and clear sign of the help of the Lord, for all to see. “On the fortress...” Here, as in v. 21, what is meant is not the Zion fortress, which was cleared of pagans later, under the successors of Judas, but probably the fortifications of Jerusalem itself and the Temple, in contrast to the Zion fortifications.

2 Maccabees 15:36. And all by common decision decreed: never to let this day pass without celebration, but to mark with festivity the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar in the Syrian tongue, the day before the day of Mordecai. On the establishment of the festival on the 13th day of Adar, see 1 Macc 7:49. — “The day before the day of Mordecai” — that is, the eve of the feast of Purim (Esth 9:31 ff.). — “In the Syrian tongue” — τή Συριακή φωνή — that is, in the Aramaic dialect, which had by then come into general use among the Jews of Palestine.

2 Maccabees 15:37–39. Thus ended the affair with Nicanor; and since from that time the city has remained in the possession of the Hebrews, I will bring my account to an end here. If I have told it well and with proper form, that is what I wished; if inadequately and mediocrely, I have done what was within my powers. For just as it is unpleasant to drink wine alone and then water alone, while wine mixed with water is pleasant and produces enjoyment, so also a composition that blends its elements well is pleasing to the ear of the reader by virtue of its proportionality. Here let there be an end. Subscribe to our Telegram channel