1. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 2.10 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 2.10. For pass over to the isles of the Kittites, and see, and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there hath been such a thing." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 27.6 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 27.6. אַלּוֹנִים מִבָּשָׁן עָשׂוּ מִשּׁוֹטָיִךְ קַרְשֵׁךְ עָשׂוּ־שֵׁן בַּת־אֲשֻׁרִים מֵאִיֵּי כתים [כִּתִּיִּים׃] | 27.6. of the oaks of Bashan Have they made thine oars; Thy deck have they made of ivory inlaid in larch, From the isles of the Kittites." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 11.25-11.30 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 11.25. וְיָעֵר כֹּחוֹ וּלְבָבוֹ עַל־מֶלֶךְ הַנֶּגֶב בְּחַיִל גָּדוֹל וּמֶלֶךְ הַנֶּגֶב יִתְגָּרֶה לַמִּלְחָמָה בְּחַיִל־גָּדוֹל וְעָצוּם עַד־מְאֹד וְלֹא יַעֲמֹד כִּי־יַחְשְׁבוּ עָלָיו מַחֲשָׁבוֹת׃ 11.26. וְאֹכְלֵי פַת־בָּגוֹ יִשְׁבְּרוּהוּ וְחֵילוֹ יִשְׁטוֹף וְנָפְלוּ חֲלָלִים רַבִּים׃ 11.27. וּשְׁנֵיהֶם הַמְּלָכִים לְבָבָם לְמֵרָע וְעַל־שֻׁלְחָן אֶחָד כָּזָב יְדַבֵּרוּ וְלֹא תִצְלָח כִּי־עוֹד קֵץ לַמּוֹעֵד׃ 11.28. וְיָשֹׁב אַרְצוֹ בִּרְכוּשׁ גָּדוֹל וּלְבָבוֹ עַל־בְּרִית קֹדֶשׁ וְעָשָׂה וְשָׁב לְאַרְצוֹ׃ 11.29. לַמּוֹעֵד יָשׁוּב וּבָא בַנֶּגֶב וְלֹא־תִהְיֶה כָרִאשֹׁנָה וְכָאַחֲרֹנָה׃ | 11.25. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall stir himself up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise devices against him." 11.26. Yea, they that eat of his food shall destroy him, and his army shall be swept away; and many shall fall down slain." 11.27. And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper, for the end remaineth yet for the time appointed." 11.28. And he shall return to his own land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covet; and he shall do his pleasure, and return to his own land." 11.29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former." 11.30. For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be cowed, and he shall return, and have indignation against the holy covet, and shall do his pleasure; and he shall return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covet." |
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4. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 6.55-6.63, 8.5, 10.30, 10.38, 10.51-10.58, 10.76, 10.84, 10.89, 11.2-11.13, 11.18, 11.34, 11.59, 11.66, 13.11, 13.43 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.55. Then Lysias heard that Philip, whom King Antiochus while still living had appointed to bring up Antiochus his son to be king 6.56. had 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. 6.57. So he quickly gave orders to depart, and said to the king, to the commanders of the forces, and to the men, "We daily grow weaker, our food supply is scant, the place against which we are fighting is strong, and the affairs of the kingdom press urgently upon us. 6.58. Now then let us come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation 6.59. and agree to let them live by their laws as they did before; for it was on account of their laws which we abolished that they became angry and did all these things. 6.60. The speech pleased the king and the commanders, and he sent to the Jews an offer of peace, and they accepted it. 6.61. So the king and the commanders gave them their oath. On these conditions the Jews evacuated the stronghold. 6.62. But 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. 6.63. Then he departed with haste and returned to Antioch. He found Philip in control of the city, but he fought against him, and took the city by force. 8.5. Philip, and Perseus king of the Macedonians, and the others who rose up against them, they crushed in battle and conquered. 10.30. and instead of collecting the third of the grain and the half of the fruit of the trees that I should receive, I release them from this day and henceforth. I will not collect them from the land of Judah or from the three districts added to it from Samaria and Galilee, from this day and for all time. 10.38. As for the three districts that have been added to Judea from the country of Samaria, let them be so annexed to Judea that they are considered to be under one ruler and obey no other authority but the high priest. 10.51. Then Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemy king of Egypt with the following message: 10.52. Since I have returned to my kingdom and have taken my seat on the throne of my fathers, and established my rule -- for I crushed Demetrius and gained control of our country; 10.53. I 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 -- 10.54. now 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. 10.55. Ptolemy the king replied and said, "Happy was the day on which you returned to the land of your fathers and took your seat on the throne of their kingdom. 10.56. And 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. 10.57. So Ptolemy set out from Egypt, he and Cleopatra his daughter, and came to Ptolemais in the one hundred and sixty-second year. 10.58. Alexander the king met him, and Ptolemy gave him Cleopatra his daughter in marriage, and celebrated her wedding at Ptolemais with great pomp, as kings do. 10.76. So they fought against it, and the men of the city became afraid and opened the gates, and Jonathan gained possession of Joppa. 10.84. But 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. 10.89. and he sent to him a golden buckle, such as it is the custom to give to the kinsmen of kings. He also gave him Ekron and all its environs as his possession. 11.2. He set out for Syria with peaceable words, and the people of the cities opened their gates to him and went to meet him, for Alexander the king had commanded them to meet him, since he was Alexanders father-in-law. 11.3. But when Ptolemy entered the cities he stationed forces as a garrison in each city. 11.4. When he approached Azotus, they showed him the temple of Dagon burned down, and Azotus and its suburbs destroyed, and the corpses lying about, and the charred bodies of those whom Jonathan had burned in the war, for they had piled them in heaps along his route. 11.5. They also told the king what Jonathan had done, to throw blame on him; but the king kept silent. 11.6. Jonathan met the king at Joppa with pomp, and they greeted one another and spent the night there. 11.7. And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river called Eleutherus; then he returned to Jerusalem. 11.8. So King Ptolemy gained control of the coastal cities as far as Seleucia by the sea, and he kept devising evil designs against Alexander. 11.9. He sent envoys to Demetrius the king, saying, "Come, let us make a covet with each other, and I will give you in marriage my daughter who was Alexanders wife, and you shall reign over your fathers kingdom. 11.10. For I now regret that I gave him my daughter, for he has tried to kill me. 11.11. He threw blame on Alexander because he coveted his kingdom. 11.12. So he took his daughter away from him and gave her to Demetrius. He was estranged from Alexander, and their enmity became manifest. 11.13. Then Ptolemy entered Antioch and put on the crown of Asia. Thus he put two crowns upon his head, the crown of Egypt and that of Asia. 11.18. But King Ptolemy died three days later, and his troops in the strongholds were killed by the inhabitants of the strongholds. 11.34. We 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 from the royal taxes which the king formerly received from them each year, from the crops of the land and the fruit of the trees. 11.59. Simon his brother he made governor from the Ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt. 11.66. Then they asked him to grant them terms of peace, and he did so. He removed them from there, took possession of the city, and set a garrison over it. 13.11. He sent Jonathan the son of Absalom to Joppa, and with him a considerable army; he drove out its occupants and remained there. 13.43. In those days Simon encamped against Gazara and surrounded it with troops. He made a siege engine, brought it up to the city, and battered and captured one tower. |
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5. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 4.5, 4.21, 4.23, 9.23, 10.9-10.10, 13.23 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.5. So he betook himself to the king, not accusing his fellow citizens but having in view the welfare, both public and private, of all the people.' 4.21. When Apollonius the son of Menestheus was sent to Egypt for the coronation of Philometor as king, Antiochus learned that Philometor had become hostile to his government, and he took measures for his own security. Therefore upon arriving at Joppa he proceeded to Jerusalem.' 4.23. After a period of three years Jason sent Menelaus, the brother of the previously mentioned Simon, to carry the money to the king and to complete the records of essential business.' 9.23. but I observed that my father, on the occasions when he made expeditions into the upper country, appointed his successor,' 10.9. Such then was the end of Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes.' 10.10. Now we will tell what took place under Antiochus Eupator, who was the son of that ungodly man, and will give a brief summary of the principal calamities of the wars.' 13.23. he got word that Philip, who had been left in charge of the government, had revolted in Antioch; he was dismayed, called in the Jews, yielded and swore to observe all their rights, settled with them and offered sacrifice, honored the sanctuary and showed generosity to the holy place.' |
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6. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 1.289, 3.827 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 1.289. of boundless waters Noah on all sides– 3.827. And kings against each other shall begin |
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7. Livy, History, 45.12 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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8. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 12.242, 13.80, 13.85, 13.102, 13.109, 13.113-13.114, 13.255 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 12.242. 2. Now Antiochus, upon the agreeable situation of the affairs of his kingdom, resolved to make an expedition against Egypt, both because he had a desire to gain it, and because he condemned the son of Ptolemy, as now weak, and not yet of abilities to manage affairs of such consequence; 13.85. And when the captains had thus done, those that were prepared to accuse Jonathan, and who bore him ill-will, when they saw the honor that was done him by proclamation, and that by the king’s order, ran away, and were afraid lest some mischief should befall them. Nay, king Alexander was so very kind to Jonathan, that he set him down as the principal of his friends. 13.102. But when Alexander heard that Apollonius, the general of his army, was beaten, he pretended to be glad of it, because he had fought with Jonathan his friend and ally against his directions. Accordingly, he sent to Jonathan, and gave testimony to his worth; and gave him honorary rewards, as a golden button, which it is the custom to give the king’s kinsmen, and allowed him Ekron and its toparchy for his own inheritance. 13.109. 7. Hereupon Ptolemy blamed himself for having given his daughter in marriage to Alexander, and for the league he had made with him to assist him against Demetrius; so he dissolved his relation to him 13.113. Ptolemy came then to Antioch, and was made king by its inhabitants, and by the army; so that he was forced to put on two diadems, the one of Asia, the other of Egypt: 13.114. but being naturally a good and a righteous man, and not desirous of what belonged to others, and besides these dispositions, being also a wise man in reasoning about futurities, he determined to avoid the envy of the Romans; so he called the people of Antioch together to an assembly, and persuaded them to receive Demetrius; 13.255. However, it was not till the sixth month that he took Medaba, and that not without the greatest distress of his army. After this he took Samega, and the neighboring places; and besides these, Shechem and Gerizzim, and the nation of the Cutheans |
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9. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.50 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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10. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 1.194 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.194. He also speaks of the mighty populousness of our nation, and says that “the Persians formerly carried away many ten thousands of our people to Babylon; as also that not a few ten thousands were removed after Alexander’s death into Egypt and Phoenicia, by reason of the sedition that was arisen in Syria.” |
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