5. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 1.11, 1.14, 2.40, 2.66-2.67, 3.48, 3.55, 3.59, 4.14, 4.17, 4.61, 5.9-5.10, 5.18-5.19, 5.42-5.43, 6.1-6.17, 6.19, 6.58, 7.18-7.19, 7.33, 8.23-8.27, 8.29, 9.29-9.30, 10.18-10.20, 10.24-10.45, 10.80-10.81, 11.21, 11.30-11.37, 11.42, 12.6, 12.20, 12.35, 12.44-12.53, 13.6, 13.8, 13.17, 13.36-13.48, 13.50-13.51, 13.53, 14.1-14.15, 14.20, 14.25-14.49, 15.1, 15.3-15.10, 15.13, 15.15-15.24, 15.27-15.29, 15.33-15.36, 15.38, 15.40, 16.3-16.5, 16.8-16.15, 16.21, 16.23-16.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.11. In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying, "Let us go and make a covet with the Gentiles round about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon us. 1.14. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom 2.40. And each said to his neighbor: "If we all do as our brethren have done and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and for our ordices, they will quickly destroy us from the earth. 2.66. Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples. 2.67. You shall rally about you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people. 3.48. And they opened the book of the law to inquire into those matters about which the Gentiles were consulting the images of their idols. 3.55. After this Judas appointed leaders of the people, in charge of thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens. 3.59. It is better for us to die in battle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary. 4.14. and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain 4.17. and he said to the people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; 4.61. And he stationed a garrison there to hold it. He also fortified Beth-zur, so that the people might have a stronghold that faced Idumea. 5.9. Now the Gentiles in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who lived in their territory, and planned to destroy them. But they fled to the stronghold of Dathema 5.10. and sent to Judas and his brothers a letter which said, "The Gentiles around us have gathered together against us to destroy us. 5.18. But he left Joseph, the son of Zechariah, and Azariah, a leader of the people, with the rest of the forces, in Judea to guard it; 5.19. and he gave them this command, "Take charge of this people, but do not engage in battle with the Gentiles until we return. 5.42. When Judas approached the stream of water, he stationed the scribes of the people at the stream and gave them this command, "Permit no man to encamp, but make them all enter the battle. 5.43. Then he crossed over against them first, and the whole army followed him. All the Gentiles were defeated before him, and they threw away their arms and fled into the sacred precincts at Carnaim. 6.1. King 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. 6.2. Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks. 6.3. So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city 6.4. and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon. 6.5. Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; 6.6. that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down; 6.7. that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-zur, his city. 6.8. When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. 6.9. He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. 6.10. So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. 6.11. I 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. 6.12. But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. 6.13. I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land. 6.14. Then he called for Philip, one of his friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. 6.15. He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, that he might guide Antiochus his son and bring him up to be king. 6.16. Thus Antiochus the king died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year. 6.17. And when Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus the kings son to reign. Lysias had brought him up as a boy, and he named him Eupator. 6.19. So Judas decided to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them. 6.58. Now then let us come to terms with these men, and make peace with them and with all their nation 7.18. Then the fear and dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, "There is no truth or justice in them, for they have violated the agreement and the oath which they swore. 7.19. Then Bacchides departed from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-zaith. And he sent and seized many of the men who had deserted to him, and some of the people, and killed them and threw them into a great pit. 7.33. After these events Nicanor went up to Mount Zion. Some of the priests came out of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to greet him peaceably and to show him the burnt offering that was being offered for the king. 8.23. May all go well with the Romans and with the nation of the Jews at sea and on land for ever, and may sword and enemy be far from them. 8.24. If war comes first to Rome or to any of their allies in all their dominion 8.25. the nation of the Jews shall act as their allies wholeheartedly, as the occasion may indicate to them. 8.26. And to the enemy who makes war they shall not give or supply grain, arms, money, or ships, as Rome has decided; and they shall keep their obligations without receiving any return. 8.27. In the same way, if war comes first to the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall willingly act as their allies, as the occasion may indicate to them. 8.29. Thus on these terms the Romans make a treaty with the Jewish people. 9.29. Since the death of your brother Judas there has been no one like him to go against our enemies and Bacchides, and to deal with those of our nation who hate us. 9.30. So now we have chosen you today to take his place as our ruler and leader, to fight our battle. 10.18. King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting. 10.19. We have heard about you, that you are a mighty warrior and worthy to be our friend. 10.20. And so we have appointed you today to be the high priest of your nation; you are to be called the kings friend" (and he sent him a purple robe and a golden crown) "and you are to take our side and keep friendship with us. 10.24. I also will write them words of encouragement and promise them honor and gifts, that I may have their help. 10.25. So he sent a message to them in the following words:"King Demetrius to the nation of the Jews, greeting. 10.26. Since you have kept your agreement with us and have continued your friendship with us, and have not sided with our enemies, we have heard of it and rejoiced. 10.27. And now continue still to keep faith with us, and we will repay you with good for what you do for us. 10.28. We will grant you many immunities and give you gifts. 10.29. And now I free you and exempt all the Jews from payment of tribute and salt tax and crown levies 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. 10.31. And let Jerusalem and her environs, her tithes and her revenues, be holy and free from tax. 10.32. I release also my control of the citadel in Jerusalem and give it to the high priest, that he may station in it men of his own choice to guard it. 10.33. And every one of the Jews taken as a captive from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom, I set free without payment; and let all officials cancel also the taxes on their cattle. 10.34. And all the feasts and sabbaths and new moons and appointed days, and the three days before a feast and the three after a feast -- let them all be days of immunity and release for all the Jews who are in my kingdom. 10.35. No one shall have authority to exact anything from them or annoy any of them about any matter. 10.36. Let Jews be enrolled in the kings forces to the number of thirty thousand men, and let the maintece be given them that is due to all the forces of the king. 10.37. Let some of them be stationed in the great strongholds of the king, and let some of them be put in positions of trust in the kingdom. Let their officers and leaders be of their own number, and let them live by their own laws, just as the king has commanded in the land of Judah. 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. 10.39. Ptolemais and the land adjoining it I have given as a gift to the sanctuary in Jerusalem, to meet the necessary expenses of the sanctuary. 10.40. I also grant fifteen thousand shekels of silver yearly out of the kings revenues from appropriate places. 10.41. And all the additional funds which the government officials have not paid as they did in the first years, they shall give from now on for the service of the temple. 10.42. Moreover, the five thousand shekels of silver which my officials have received every year from the income of the services of the temple, this too is canceled, because it belongs to the priests who minister there. 10.43. And whoever takes refuge at the temple in Jerusalem, or in any of its precincts, because he owes money to the king or has any debt, let him be released and receive back all his property in my kingdom. 10.44. Let the cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary be paid from the revenues of the king. 10.45. And let the cost of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and fortifying it round about, and the cost of rebuilding the walls in Judea, also be paid from the revenues of the king. 10.80. Jonathan learned that there was an ambush behind him, for they surrounded his army and shot arrows at his men from early morning till late afternoon. 10.81. But his men stood fast, as Jonathan commanded, and the enemys horses grew tired. 11.21. But certain lawless men who hated their nation went to the king and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. 11.30. King Demetrius to Jonathan his brother and to the nation of the Jews, greeting. 11.31. This copy of the letter which we wrote concerning you to Lasthenes our kinsman we have written to you also, so that you may know what it says. 11.32. `King Demetrius to Lasthenes his father, greeting. 11.33. To the nation of the Jews, who are our friends and fulfil their obligations to us, we have determined to do good, because of the good will they show toward us. 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. 11.35. And the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits and the crown taxes due to us -- from all these we shall grant them release. 11.36. And not one of these grants shall be canceled from this time forth for ever. 11.37. Now therefore take care to make a copy of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and put up in a conspicuous place on the holy mountain. 11.42. And Demetrius sent this message to Jonathan, "Not only will I do these things for you and your nation, but I will confer great honor on you and your nation, if I find an opportunity. 12.6. Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people to their brethren the Spartans, greeting. 12.20. Arius, king of the Spartans, to Onias the high priest, greeting. 12.35. When Jonathan returned he convened the elders of the people and planned with them to build strongholds in Judea 12.44. Then he said to Jonathan, "Why have you wearied all these people when we are not at war? 12.45. Dismiss them now to their homes and choose for yourself a few men to stay with you, and come with me to Ptolemais. I will hand it over to you as well as the other strongholds and the remaining troops and all the officials, and will turn round and go home. For that is why I am here. 12.46. Jonathan trusted him and did as he said; he sent away the troops, and they returned to the land of Judah. 12.47. He kept with himself three thousand men, two thousand of whom he left in Galilee, while a thousand accompanied him. 12.48. But when Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the men of Ptolemais closed the gates and seized him, and all who had entered with him they killed with the sword. 12.49. Then Trypho sent troops and cavalry into Galilee and the Great Plain to destroy all Jonathans soldiers. 12.50. But they realized that Jonathan had been seized and had perished along with his men, and they encouraged one another and kept marching in close formation, ready for battle. 12.51. When their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back. 12.52. So they all reached the land of Judah safely, and they mourned for Jonathan and his companions and were in great fear; and all Israel mourned deeply. 12.53. And all the nations round about them tried to destroy them, for they said, "They have no leader or helper. Now therefore let us make war on them and blot out the memory of them from among men. 13.6. But I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have gathered together out of hatred to destroy us. 13.17. Simon knew that they were speaking deceitfully to him, but he sent to get the money and the sons, lest he arouse great hostility among the people, who might say 13.36. King Demetrius to Simon, the high priest and friend of kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greeting. 13.37. We have received the gold crown and the palm branch which you sent, and we are ready to make a general peace with you and to write to our officials to grant you release from tribute. 13.38. All the grants that we have made to you remain valid, and let the strongholds that you have built be your possession. 13.39. We pardon any errors and offenses committed to this day, and cancel the crown tax which you owe; and whatever other tax has been collected in Jerusalem shall be collected no longer. 13.40. And if any of you are qualified to be enrolled in our bodyguard, let them be enrolled, and let there be peace between us. 13.41. In the one hundred and seventieth year the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel 13.42. and the people began to write in their documents and contracts, "In the first year of Simon the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews. 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. 13.44. The men in the siege engine leaped out into the city, and a great tumult arose in the city. 13.45. The men in the city, with their wives and children, went up on the wall with their clothes rent, and they cried out with a loud voice, asking Simon to make peace with them; 13.46. they said, "Do not treat us according to our wicked acts but according to your mercy. 13.47. So Simon reached an agreement with them and stopped fighting against them. But he expelled them from the city and cleansed the houses in which the idols were, and then entered it with hymns and praise. 13.48. He cast out of it all uncleanness, and settled in it men who observed the law. He also strengthened its fortifications and built in it a house for himself. 13.50. Then they cried to Simon to make peace with them, and he did so. But he expelled them from there and cleansed the citadel from its pollutions. 13.51. On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred and seventy-first year, the Jews entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. 13.53. And Simon saw that John his son had reached manhood, so he made him commander of all the forces, and he dwelt in Gazara. 14.1. In the one hundred and seventy-second year Demetrius the king assembled his forces and marched into Media to secure help, so that he could make war against Trypho. 14.2. When Arsaces the king of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his commanders to take him alive. 14.3. And he went and defeated the army of Demetrius, and seized him and took him to Arsaces, who put him under guard. 14.4. The land had rest all the days of Simon. He sought the good of his nation;his rule was pleasing to them,as was the honor shown him, all his days. 14.5. To crown all his honors he took Joppa for a harbor,and opened a way to the isles of the sea. 14.6. He extended the borders of his nation,and gained full control of the country. 14.7. He gathered a host of captives;he ruled over Gazara and Beth-zur and the citadel,and he removed its uncleanness from it;and there was none to oppose him. 14.12. Each man sat under his vine and his fig tree,and there was none to make them afraid. 14.13. No one was left in the land to fight them,and the kings were crushed in those days. 14.14. He strengthened all the humble of his people;he sought out the law,and did away with every lawless and wicked man. 14.20. This is a copy of the letter which the Spartans sent: "The rulers and the city of the Spartans to Simon the high priest and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our brethren, greeting. 14.25. When the people heard these things they said, "How shall we thank Simon and his sons? 14.26. For he and his brothers and the house of his father have stood firm; they have fought and repulsed Israels enemies and established its freedom. 14.27. So they made a record on bronze tablets and put it upon pillars on Mount Zion. This is a copy of what they wrote: "On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year, which is the third year of Simon the great high priest 14.28. in Asaramel, in the great assembly of the priests and the people and the rulers of the nation and the elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us: 14.29. Since wars often occurred in the country, Simon the son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons of Joarib, and his brothers, exposed themselves to danger and resisted the enemies of their nation, in order that their sanctuary and the law might be perserved; and they brought great glory to their nation. 14.30. Jonathan rallied the nation, and became their high priest, and was gathered to his people. 14.31. And when their enemies decided to invade their country and lay hands on their sanctuary 14.33. He fortified the cities of Judea, and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where formerly the arms of the enemy had been stored, and he placed there a garrison of Jews. 14.34. He also fortified Joppa, which is by the sea, and Gazara, which is on the borders of Azotus, where the enemy formerly dwelt. He settled Jews there, and provided in those cities whatever was necessary for their restoration. 14.35. The people saw Simons faithfulness and the glory which he had resolved to win for his nation, and they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and because of the justice and loyalty which he had maintained toward his nation. He sought in every way to exalt his people. 14.36. And in his days things prospered in his hands, so that the Gentiles were put out of the country, as were also the men in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had built themselves a citadel from which they used to sally forth and defile the environs of the sanctuary and do great damage to its purity. 14.37. He settled Jews in it, and fortified it for the safety of the country and of the city, and built the walls of Jerusalem higher. 14.38. In view of these things King Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood 14.39. and he made him one of the kings friends and paid him high honors. 14.40. For he had heard that the Jews were addressed by the Romans as friends and allies and brethren, and that the Romans had received the envoys of Simon with honor. 14.41. And the Jews and their priests decided that Simon should be their leader and high priest for ever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise 14.42. and that he should be governor over them and that he should take charge of the sanctuary and appoint men over its tasks and over the country and the weapons and the strongholds, and that he should take charge of the sanctuary 14.43. and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all contracts in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold. 14.44. And none of the people or priests shall be permitted to nullify any of these decisions or to oppose what he says, or to convene an assembly in the country without his permission, or to be clothed in purple or put on a gold buckle. 14.45. Whoever acts contrary to these decisions or nullifies any of them shall be liable to punishment. 14.46. And all the people agreed to grant Simon the right to act in accord with these decisions. 14.47. So Simon accepted and agreed to be high priest, to be commander and ethnarch of the Jews and priests, and to be protector of them all. 14.48. And they gave orders to inscribe this decree upon bronze tablets, to put them up in a conspicuous place in the precincts of the sanctuary 14.49. and to deposit copies of them in the treasury, so that Simon and his sons might have them. 15.1. Antiochus, the son of Demetrius the king, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation; 15.3. Whereas certain pestilent men have gained control of the kingdom of our fathers, and I intend to lay claim to the kingdom so that I may restore it as it formerly was, and have recruited a host of mercenary troops and have equipped warships 15.4. and intend to make a landing in the country so that I may proceed against those who have destroyed our country and those who have devastated many cities in my kingdom 15.5. now therefore I confirm to you all the tax remissions that the kings before me have granted you, and release from all the other payments from which they have released you. 15.6. I permit you to mint your own coinage as money for your country 15.7. and I grant freedom to Jerusalem and the sanctuary. All the weapons which you have prepared and the strongholds which you have built and now hold shall remain yours. 15.8. Every debt you owe to the royal treasury and any such future debts shall be canceled for you from henceforth and for all time. 15.9. When we gain control of our kingdom, we will bestow great honor upon you and your nation and the temple, so that your glory will become manifest in all the earth. 15.10. In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year Antiochus set out and invaded the land of his fathers. All the troops rallied to him, so that there were few with Trypho. 15.13. So Antiochus encamped against Dor, and with him were a hundred and twenty thousand warriors and eight thousand cavalry. 15.15. Then Numenius and his companions arrived from Rome, with letters to the kings and countries, in which the following was written: 15.16. Lucius, consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greeting. 15.17. The envoys of the Jews have come to us as our friends and allies to renew our ancient friendship and alliance. They had been sent by Simon the high priest and by the people of the Jews 15.18. and have brought a gold shield weighing a thousand minas. 15.19. We therefore have decided to write to the kings and countries that they should not seek their harm or make war against them and their cities and their country, or make alliance with those who war against them. 15.20. And it has seemed good to us to accept the shield from them. 15.21. Therefore if any pestilent men have fled to you from their country, hand them over to Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their law. 15.22. The consul wrote the same thing to Demetrius the king and to Attalus and Ariarathes and Arsaces 15.23. and to all the countries, and to Sampsames, and to the Spartans, and to Delos, and to Myndos, and to Sicyon, and to Caria, and to Samos, and to Pamphylia, and to Lycia, and to Halicarnassus, and to Rhodes, and to Phaselis, and to Cos, and to Side, and to Aradus and Gortyna and Cnidus and Cyprus and Cyrene. 15.24. They also sent a copy of these things to Simon the high priest. 15.27. But he refused to receive them, and he broke all the agreements he formerly had made with Simon, and became estranged from him. 15.28. He sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends, to confer with him, saying, "You hold control of Joppa and Gazara and the citadel in Jerusalem; they are cities of my kingdom. 15.29. You have devastated their territory, you have done great damage in the land, and you have taken possession of many places in my kingdom. 15.33. but Simon gave him this reply: "We have neither taken foreign land nor seized foreign property, but only the inheritance of our fathers, which at one time had been unjustly taken by our enemies. 15.34. Now that we have the opportunity, we are firmly holding the inheritance of our fathers. 15.35. As for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, they were causing great damage among the people and to our land; for them we will give you a hundred talents." Athenobius did not answer him a word 15.36. but returned in wrath to the king and reported to him these words and the splendor of Simon and all that he had seen. And the king was greatly angered. 15.38. Then the king made Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the coastal country, and gave him troops of infantry and cavalry. 15.40. So Cendebeus came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people and invade Judea and take the people captive and kill them. 16.3. But now I have grown old, and you by His mercy are mature in years. Take my place and my brothers, and go out and fight for our nation, and may the help which comes from Heaven be with you. 16.4. So John chose out of the country twenty thousand warriors and horsemen, and they marched against Cendebeus and camped for the night in Modein. 16.5. Early in the morning they arose and marched into the plain, and behold, a large force of infantry and horsemen was coming to meet them; and a stream lay between them. 16.8. And they sounded the trumpets, and Cendebeus and his army were put to flight, and many of them were wounded and fell; the rest fled into the stronghold. 16.9. At that time Judas the brother of John was wounded, but John pursued them until Cendebeus reached Kedron, which he had built. 16.10. They also fled into the towers that were in the fields of Azotus, and John burned it with fire, and about two thousand of them fell. And he returned to Judea safely. 16.11. Now Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed governor over the plain of Jericho, and he had much silver and gold 16.12. for he was son-in-law of the high priest. 16.13. His heart was lifted up; he determined to get control of the country, and made treacherous plans against Simon and his sons, to do away with them. 16.14. Now Simon was visiting the cities of the country and attending to their needs, and he went down to Jericho with Mattathias and Judas his sons, in the one hundred and seventy-seventh year, in the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat. 16.15. The son of Abubus received them treacherously in the little stronghold called Dok, which he had built; he gave them a great banquet, and hid men there. 16.21. But some one ran ahead and reported to John at Gazara that his father and brothers had perished, and that "he has sent men to kill you also. 16.23. The rest of the acts of John and his wars and the brave deeds which he did, and the building of the walls which he built, and his achievements 16.24. behold, they are written in the chronicles of his high priesthood, from the time that he became high priest after his father. |
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