1. Hebrew Bible, Joel, 3.17 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
|
2. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 9.11, 51.18, 76.2, 84.1, 84.3-84.5, 84.7-84.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 9.11. וְיִבְטְחוּ בְךָ יוֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶךָ כִּי לֹא־עָזַבְתָּ דֹרְשֶׁיךָ יְהוָה׃ 51.18. כִּי לֹא־תַחְפֹּץ זֶבַח וְאֶתֵּנָה עוֹלָה לֹא תִרְצֶה׃ 76.2. נוֹדָע בִּיהוּדָה אֱלֹהִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל גָּדוֹל שְׁמוֹ׃ 84.1. מָגִנֵּנוּ רְאֵה אֱלֹהִים וְהַבֵּט פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ׃ 84.1. לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־הַגִּתִּית לִבְנֵי־קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר׃ 84.3. נִכְסְפָה וְגַם־כָּלְתָה נַפְשִׁי לְחַצְרוֹת יְהוָה לִבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי יְרַנְּנוּ אֶל אֵל־חָי׃ 84.8. יֵלְכוּ מֵחַיִל אֶל־חָיִל יֵרָאֶה אֶל־אֱלֹהִים בְּצִיּוֹן׃ 84.9. יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת שִׁמְעָה תְפִלָּתִי הַאֲזִינָה אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה׃ | 9.11. And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; For thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." 51.18. For Thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it; Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering." 76.2. In Judah is God known; His name is great in Israel." 84.1. For the Leader; upon the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah." 84.3. My soul yearneth, yea, even pineth for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God." 84.8. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appeareth before God in Zion." 84.9. O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah" 84.10. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of Thine anointed." |
|
3. Hebrew Bible, 1 Samuel, 14.21-14.22, 17.1, 17.26, 17.36, 17.45, 17.51-17.53 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 14.21. וְהָעִבְרִים הָיוּ לַפְּלִשְׁתִּים כְּאֶתְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם אֲשֶׁר עָלוּ עִמָּם בַּמַּחֲנֶה סָבִיב וְגַם־הֵמָּה לִהְיוֹת עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר עִם־שָׁאוּל וְיוֹנָתָן׃ 14.22. וְכֹל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל הַמִּתְחַבְּאִים בְּהַר־אֶפְרַיִם שָׁמְעוּ כִּי־נָסוּ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּדְבְּקוּ גַם־הֵמָּה אַחֲרֵיהֶם בַּמִּלְחָמָה׃ 17.1. וַיַּאַסְפוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת־מַחֲנֵיהֶם לַמִּלְחָמָה וַיֵּאָסְפוּ שֹׂכֹה אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה וַיַּחֲנוּ בֵּין־שׂוֹכֹה וּבֵין־עֲזֵקָה בְּאֶפֶס דַּמִּים׃ 17.1. וַיֹּאמֶר הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֲנִי חֵרַפְתִּי אֶת־מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה תְּנוּ־לִי אִישׁ וְנִלָּחֲמָה יָחַד׃ 17.26. וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־הָאֲנָשִׁים הָעֹמְדִים עִמּוֹ לֵאמֹר מַה־יֵּעָשֶׂה לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַכֶּה אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הַלָּז וְהֵסִיר חֶרְפָּה מֵעַל יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי מִי הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הֶעָרֵל הַזֶּה כִּי חֵרֵף מַעַרְכוֹת אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים׃ 17.36. גַּם אֶת־הָאֲרִי גַּם־הַדּוֹב הִכָּה עַבְדֶּךָ וְהָיָה הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הֶעָרֵל הַזֶּה כְּאַחַד מֵהֶם כִּי חֵרֵף מַעַרְכֹת אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים׃ 17.45. וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אַתָּה בָּא אֵלַי בְּחֶרֶב וּבַחֲנִית וּבְכִידוֹן וְאָנֹכִי בָא־אֵלֶיךָ בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר חֵרַפְתָּ׃ 17.51. וַיָּרָץ דָּוִד וַיַּעֲמֹד אֶל־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי וַיִּקַּח אֶת־חַרְבּוֹ וַיִּשְׁלְפָהּ מִתַּעְרָהּ וַיְמֹתְתֵהוּ וַיִּכְרָת־בָּהּ אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ וַיִּרְאוּ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי־מֵת גִּבּוֹרָם וַיָּנֻסוּ׃ 17.52. וַיָּקֻמוּ אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה וַיָּרִעוּ וַיִּרְדְּפוּ אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים עַד־בּוֹאֲךָ גַיְא וְעַד שַׁעֲרֵי עֶקְרוֹן וַיִּפְּלוּ חַלְלֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים בְּדֶרֶךְ שַׁעֲרַיִם וְעַד־גַּת וְעַד־עֶקְרוֹן׃ 17.53. וַיָּשֻׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִדְּלֹק אַחֲרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיָּשֹׁסּוּ אֶת־מַחֲנֵיהֶם׃ | 14.21. Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Pelishtim before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the country round about, they also turned to be with the men of Yisra᾽el that were with Sha᾽ul and Yonatan." 14.22. Likewise all the men of Yisra᾽el who had hid themselves in mount Efrayim, when they heard that the Pelishtim fled, they also pursued them closely in the battle." 17.1. Now the Pelishtim gathered together their camps to battle, and were gathered together at Sokho, which belongs to Yehuda, and pitched between Sokho and ῾Azeqa, in Efes-dammim." 17.26. And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that kills yonder Pelishtian, and takes away the reproach from Yisra᾽el? for who is this uncircumcised Pelishtian, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" 17.36. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Pelishtian shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 17.45. Then said David to the Pelishtian, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Yisra᾽el, whom thou hast taunted." 17.51. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Pelishtian, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and with it he cut off his head. And when the Pelishtim saw that their champion was dead, they fled." 17.52. And the men of Yisra᾽el and of Yehuda arose, and shouted, and pursued the Pelishtim, until the approaches of Gay, and to the gates of ῾Eqron. And the dead of the Pelishtim fell by the way to Sha῾arayim, and to Gat, and to ῾Eqron." 17.53. And the children of Yisra᾽el returned from chasing after the Pelishtim, and they plundered their tents." |
|
4. Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings, 19.16, 25.25 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 19.16. הַטֵּה יְהוָה אָזְנְךָ וּשֲׁמָע פְּקַח יְהוָה עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה וּשְׁמַע אֵת דִּבְרֵי סַנְחֵרִיב אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ לְחָרֵף אֱלֹהִים חָי׃ 25.25. וַיְהִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בָּא יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־נְתַנְיָה בֶּן־אֱלִישָׁמָע מִזֶּרַע הַמְּלוּכָה וַעֲשָׂרָה אֲנָשִׁים אִתּוֹ וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־גְּדַלְיָהוּ וַיָּמֹת וְאֶת־הַיְּהוּדִים וְאֶת־הַכַּשְׂדִּים אֲשֶׁר־הָיוּ אִתּוֹ בַּמִּצְפָּה׃ | 19.16. Incline Thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open Thine eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to taunt the living God." 25.25. But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah." |
|
5. Hebrew Bible, 2 Samuel, 5.5-5.10 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 5.6. וַיֵּלֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאֲנָשָׁיו יְרוּשָׁלִַם אֶל־הַיְבֻסִי יוֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ וַיֹּאמֶר לְדָוִד לֵאמֹר לֹא־תָבוֹא הֵנָּה כִּי אִם־הֱסִירְךָ הַעִוְרִים וְהַפִּסְחִים לֵאמֹר לֹא־יָבוֹא דָוִד הֵנָּה׃ 5.7. וַיִּלְכֹּד דָּוִד אֵת מְצֻדַת צִיּוֹן הִיא עִיר דָּוִד׃ 5.8. וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כָּל־מַכֵּה יְבֻסִי וְיִגַּע בַּצִּנּוֹר וְאֶת־הַפִּסְחִים וְאֶת־הַעִוְרִים שנאו [שְׂנֻאֵי] נֶפֶשׁ דָּוִד עַל־כֵּן יֹאמְרוּ עִוֵּר וּפִסֵּחַ לֹא יָבוֹא אֶל־הַבָּיִת׃ 5.9. וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד בַּמְּצֻדָה וַיִּקְרָא־לָהּ עִיר דָּוִד וַיִּבֶן דָּוִד סָבִיב מִן־הַמִּלּוֹא וָבָיְתָה׃ | 5.6. And the king and his men went to Yerushalayim to the Yevusi, the inhabitants of the land: who spoke to David, saying, Unless thou remove even the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in here: thinking, David cannot come in here." 5.7. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Żiyyon: that is the city of David." 5.8. And David said on that day, Whoever smites the Yevusi, and gets up to the aqueduct, and smites the lame and the blind (that are hated of David’s soul) – therefore the saying, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house." 5.9. So David dwelt in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built round about from the Millo and inward." 5.10. And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him." |
|
6. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 37.17 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 37.17. הַטֵּה יְהוָה אָזְנְךָ וּשְׁמָע פְּקַח יְהוָה עֵינֶךָ וּרְאֵה וּשְׁמַע אֵת כָּל־דִּבְרֵי סַנְחֵרִיב אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח לְחָרֵף אֱלֹהִים חָי׃ | 37.17. Incline Thine ear, O LORD, and hear; open Thine eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to taunt the living God." |
|
7. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 41.1 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 41.1. וַיְהִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בָּא יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־נְתַנְיָה בֶן־אֱלִישָׁמָע מִזֶּרַע הַמְּלוּכָה וְרַבֵּי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַעֲשָׂרָה אֲנָשִׁים אִתּוֹ אֶל־גְּדַלְיָהוּ בֶן־אֲחִיקָם הַמִּצְפָּתָה וַיֹּאכְלוּ שָׁם לֶחֶם יַחְדָּו בַּמִּצְפָּה׃ 41.1. וַיִּשְׁבְּ יִשְׁמָעֵאל אֶת־כָּל־שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם אֲשֶׁר בַּמִּצְפָּה אֶת־בְּנוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־כָּל־הָעָם הַנִּשְׁאָרִים בַּמִּצְפָּה אֲשֶׁר הִפְקִיד נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים אֶת־גְּדַלְיָהוּ בֶּן־אֲחִיקָם וַיִּשְׁבֵּם יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־נְתַנְיָה וַיֵּלֶךְ לַעֲבֹר אֶל־בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן׃ | 41.1. Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and one of the chief officers of the king, and ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah." |
|
8. Hebrew Bible, Judges, 7.22 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 7.22. וַיִּתְקְעוּ שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאוֹת הַשּׁוֹפָרוֹת וַיָּשֶׂם יְהוָה אֵת חֶרֶב אִישׁ בְּרֵעֵהוּ וּבְכָל־הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיָּנָס הַמַּחֲנֶה עַד־בֵּית הַשִּׁטָּה צְרֵרָתָה עַד שְׂפַת־אָבֵל מְחוֹלָה עַל־טַבָּת׃ | 7.22. And the three hundred blew the horns, and the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, throughout all the camp: and the host fled to Bet-hashshitta in Żerera, and to the border of Avel-meĥola, at Tabbat." |
|
9. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 17.13 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 17.13. וַיִּקַּח מִזֶּרַע הַמְּלוּכָה וַיִּכְרֹת אִתּוֹ בְּרִית וַיָּבֵא אֹתוֹ בְּאָלָה וְאֶת־אֵילֵי הָאָרֶץ לָקָח׃ | 17.13. and he took of the seed royal, and made a covet with him, and brought him under an oath, and the mighty of the land he took away;" |
|
10. Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles, 3.1 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.1. וַיָּחֶל שְׁלֹמֹה לִבְנוֹת אֶת־בֵּית־יְהוָה בִּירוּשָׁלִַם בְּהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה אֲשֶׁר נִרְאָה לְדָוִיד אָבִיהוּ אֲשֶׁר הֵכִין בִּמְקוֹם דָּוִיד בְּגֹרֶן אָרְנָן הַיְבוּסִי׃ 3.1. וַיַּעַשׂ בְּבֵית־קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים כְּרוּבִים שְׁנַיִם מַעֲשֵׂה צַעֲצֻעִים וַיְצַפּוּ אֹתָם זָהָב׃ | 3.1. Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where [the LORD] appeared unto David his father; for which provision had been made in the Place of David, in the threshingfloor of Or the Jebusite." |
|
11. Hebrew Bible, Zechariah, 9.9 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 9.9. גִּילִי מְאֹד בַּת־צִיּוֹן הָרִיעִי בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִַם הִנֵּה מַלְכֵּךְ יָבוֹא לָךְ צַדִּיק וְנוֹשָׁע הוּא עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל־חֲמוֹר וְעַל־עַיִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנוֹת׃ | 9.9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, He is triumphant, and victorious, Lowly, and riding upon an ass, Even upon a colt the foal of an ass." |
|
12. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 1.29, 2.1, 2.6-2.13, 2.15-2.70, 3.1-3.37, 3.46-3.54, 4.1-4.27, 4.29-4.38, 4.61, 5.38, 6.6-6.8, 6.17-6.63, 7.4, 7.27, 7.35, 7.44-7.45, 7.47, 9.5-9.6, 9.9, 10.89, 11.31 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.29. Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force. 2.1. In those days Mattathias the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. 2.6. He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem 2.7. and said, "Alas! Why was I born to see this,the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city,and to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy,the sanctuary given over to aliens? 2.8. Her temple has become like a man without honor; 2.9. her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity. Her babes have been killed in her streets,her youths by the sword of the foe. 2.10. What nation has not inherited her palaces and has not seized her spoils? 2.11. All her adornment has been taken away;no longer free, she has become a slave. 2.12. And behold, our holy place, our beauty,and our glory have been laid waste;the Gentiles have profaned it. 2.13. Why should we live any longer? 2.15. Then the kings officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer sacrifice. 2.16. Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled. 2.17. Then the kings officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: "You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers. 2.18. Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts. 2.19. But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: "Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers 2.20. yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covet of our fathers. 2.21. Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordices. 2.22. We will not obey the kings words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left. 2.23. When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Modein, according to the kings command. 2.24. When Mattathias saw it, be burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar. 2.25. At the same time he killed the kings officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. 2.26. Thus he burned with zeal for the law, as Phinehas did against Zimri the son of Salu. 2.27. Then Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covet come out with me! 2.28. And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city. 2.29. Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there 2.30. they, their sons, their wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them. 2.31. And it was reported to the kings officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men who had rejected the kings command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness. 2.32. Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day. 2.33. And they said to them, "Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live. 2.34. But they said, "We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day. 2.35. Then the enemy hastened to attack them. 2.36. But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places 2.37. for they said, "Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly. 2.38. So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons. 2.39. When Mattathias and his friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply. 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. 2.41. So they made this decision that day: "Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their hiding places. 2.42. Then there united with them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered himself willingly for the law. 2.43. And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them. 2.44. They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety. 2.45. And Mattathias and his friends went about and tore down the altars; 2.46. they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel. 2.47. They hunted down the arrogant men, and the work prospered in their hands. 2.48. They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand. 2.49. Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he said to his sons: "Arrogance and reproach have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger. 2.50. Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covet of our fathers. 2.51. Remember the deeds of the fathers, which they did in their generations; and receive great honor and an everlasting name. 2.52. Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? 2.53. Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt. 2.54. Phinehas our father, because he was deeply zealous, received the covet of everlasting priesthood. 2.55. Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel. 2.56. Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land. 2.57. David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom for ever. 2.58. Elijah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven. 2.59. Haniah, Azariah, and Mishael believed and were saved from the flame. 2.60. Daniel because of his innocence was delivered from the mouth of the lions. 2.61. And so observe, from generation to generation, that none who put their trust in him will lack strength. 2.62. Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and worms. 2.63. Today he will be exalted, but tomorrow he will not be found, because he has returned to the dust, and his plans will perish. 2.64. My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor. 2.65. Now behold, I know that Simeon your brother is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father. 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. 2.68. Pay back the Gentiles in full, and heed what the law commands. 2.69. Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his fathers. 2.70. He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of his fathers at Modein. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation. 3.1. Then Judas his son, who was called Maccabeus, took command in his place. 3.2. All his brothers and all who had joined his father helped him; they gladly fought for Israel. 3.3. He extended the glory of his people. Like a giant he put on his breastplate;he girded on his armor of war and waged battles,protecting the host by his sword. 3.4. He was like a lion in his deeds,like a lions cub roaring for prey. 3.5. He searched out and pursued the lawless;he burned those who troubled his people. 3.6. Lawless men shrank back for fear of him;all the evildoers were confounded;and deliverance prospered by his hand. 3.7. He embittered many kings,but he made Jacob glad by his deeds,and his memory is blessed for ever. 3.8. He went through the cities of Judah;he destroyed the ungodly out of the land;thus he turned away wrath from Israel. 3.9. He was renowned to the ends of the earth;he gathered in those who were perishing. 3.10. But Apollonius gathered together Gentiles and a large force from Samaria to fight against Israel. 3.11. When Judas learned of it, he went out to meet him, and he defeated and killed him. Many were wounded and fell, and the rest fled. 3.12. Then they seized their spoils; and Judas took the sword of Apollonius, and used it in battle the rest of his life. 3.13. Now when Seron, the commander of the Syrian army, heard that Judas had gathered a large company, including a body of faithful men who stayed with him and went out to battle 3.14. he said, "I will make a name for myself and win honor in the kingdom. I will make war on Judas and his companions, who scorn the kings command. 3.15. And again a strong army of ungodly men went up with him to help him, to take vengeance on the sons of Israel. 3.16. When he approached the ascent of Beth-horon, Judas went out to meet him with a small company. 3.17. But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judas, "How can we, few as we are, fight against so great and strong a multitude? And we are faint, for we have eaten nothing today. 3.18. Judas replied, "It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few. 3.19. It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven. 3.20. They come against us in great pride and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to despoil us; 3.21. but we fight for our lives and our laws. 3.22. He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of them. 3.23. When he finished speaking, he rushed suddenly against Seron and his army, and they were crushed before him. 3.24. They pursued them down the descent of Beth-horon to the plain; eight hundred of them fell, and the rest fled into the land of the Philistines. 3.25. Then Judas and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell upon the Gentiles round about them. 3.26. His fame reached the king, and the Gentiles talked of the battles of Judas. 3.27. When king Antiochus heard these reports, he was greatly angered; and he sent and gathered all the forces of his kingdom, a very strong army. 3.28. And he opened his coffers and gave a years pay to his forces, and ordered them to be ready for any need. 3.29. Then he saw that the money in the treasury was exhausted, and that the revenues from the country were small because of the dissension and disaster which he had caused in the land by abolishing the laws that had existed from the earliest days. 3.30. He feared that he might not have such funds as he had before for his expenses and for the gifts which he used to give more lavishly than preceding kings. 3.31. He was greatly perplexed in mind, and determined to go to Persia and collect the revenues from those regions and raise a large fund. 3.32. He left Lysias, a distinguished man of royal lineage, in charge of the kings affairs from the river Euphrates to the borders of Egypt. 3.33. Lysias was also to take care of Antiochus his son until he returned. 3.34. And he turned over to Lysias half of his troops and the elephants, and gave him orders about all that he wanted done. As for the residents of Judea and Jerusalem 3.35. Lysias was to send a force against them to wipe out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remt of Jerusalem; he was to banish the memory of them from the place 3.36. settle aliens in all their territory, and distribute their land. 3.37. Then the king took the remaining half of his troops and departed from Antioch his capital in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. He crossed the Euphrates river and went through the upper provinces. 3.46. So they assembled and went to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem, because Israel formerly had a place of prayer in Mizpah. 3.47. They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and rent their clothes. 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. 3.49. They also brought the garments of the priesthood and the first fruits and the tithes, and they stirred up the Nazirites who had completed their days; 3.50. and they cried aloud to Heaven, saying, "What shall we do with these?Where shall we take them? 3.51. Thy sanctuary is trampled down and profaned,and thy priests mourn in humiliation. 3.52. And behold, the Gentiles are assembled against us to destroy us;thou knowest what they plot against us. 3.53. How will we be able to withstand them,if thou dost not help us? 3.54. Then they sounded the trumpets and gave a loud shout. 4.1. Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and a thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night 4.2. to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. 4.3. But Judas heard of it, and he and his mighty men moved out to attack the kings force in Emmau 4.4. while the division was still absent from the camp. 4.5. When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, "These men are fleeing from us. 4.6. At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have armor and swords such as they desired. 4.7. And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry round about it; and these men were trained in war. 4.8. But Judas said to the men who were with him, "Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge. 4.9. Remember how our fathers were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them. 4.10. And now let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favor us and remember his covet with our fathers and crush this army before us today. 4.11. Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel. 4.12. When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them 4.13. they went forth from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their trumpet 4.14. and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed and fled into the plain 4.15. and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them fell. 4.16. Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them 4.17. and he said to the people, "Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; 4.18. Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterward seize the plunder boldly. 4.19. Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills. 4.20. They saw that their army had been put to flight, and that the Jews were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened. 4.21. When they perceived this they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle 4.22. they all fled into the land of the Philistines. 4.23. Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized much gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches. 4.24. On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. 4.25. Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day. 4.26. Those of the foreigners who escaped went and reported to Lysias all that had happened. 4.27. When he heard it, he was perplexed and discouraged, for things had not happened to Israel as he had intended, nor had they turned out as the king had commanded him. 4.29. They came into Idumea and encamped at Beth-zur, and Judas met them with ten thousand men. 4.30. When he saw that the army was strong, he prayed, saying, "Blessed art thou, O Savior of Israel, who didst crush the attack of the mighty warrior by the hand of thy servant David, and didst give the camp of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and of the man who carried his armor. 4.31. So do thou hem in this army by the hand of thy people Israel, and let them be ashamed of their troops and their cavalry. 4.32. Fill them with cowardice; melt the boldness of their strength; let them tremble in their destruction. 4.33. Strike them down with the sword of those who love thee, and let all who know thy name praise thee with hymns. 4.34. Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men; they fell in action. 4.35. And when Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness which inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he departed to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries, to invade Judea again with an even larger army. 4.36. Then said Judas and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it. 4.37. So all the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. 4.38. And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. 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. 5.38. Judas sent men to spy out the camp, and they reported to him, "All the Gentiles around us have gathered to him; it is a very large force. 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. 6.17. 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. 6.18. Now the men in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary. They were trying in every way to harm them and strengthen the Gentiles. 6.19. So Judas decided to destroy them, and assembled all the people to besiege them. 6.20. They gathered together and besieged the citadel in the one hundred and fiftieth year; and he built siege towers and other engines of war. 6.21. But some of the garrison escaped from the siege and some of the ungodly Israelites joined them. 6.22. They went to the king and said, "How long will you fail to do justice and to avenge our brethren? 6.23. We were happy to serve your father, to live by what he said and to follow his commands. 6.24. For this reason the sons of our people besieged the citadel and became hostile to us; moreover, they have put to death as many of us as they have caught, and they have seized our inheritances. 6.25. And not against us alone have they stretched out their hands, but also against all the lands on their borders. 6.26. And behold, today they have encamped against the citadel in Jerusalem to take it; they have fortified both the sanctuary and Beth-zur; 6.27. and unless you quickly prevent them, they will do still greater things, and you will not be able to stop them. 6.28. The king was enraged when he heard this. He assembled all his friends, the commanders of his forces and those in authority. 6.29. And mercenary forces came to him from other kingdoms and from islands of the seas. 6.30. The number of his forces was a hundred thousand foot soldiers, twenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants accustomed to war. 6.31. They came through Idumea and encamped against Beth-zur, and for many days they fought and built engines of war; but the Jews sallied out and burned these with fire, and fought manfully. 6.32. Then Judas marched away from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zechariah, opposite the camp of the king. 6.33. Early in the morning the king rose and took his army by a forced march along the road to Beth-zechariah, and his troops made ready for battle and sounded their trumpets. 6.34. They showed the elephants the juice of grapes and mulberries, to arouse them for battle. 6.35. And they distributed the beasts among the phalanxes; with each elephant they stationed a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and with brass helmets on their heads; and five hundred picked horsemen were assigned to each beast. 6.36. These took their position beforehand wherever the beast was; wherever it went they went with it, and they never left it. 6.37. And upon the elephants were wooden towers, strong and covered; they were fastened upon each beast by special harness, and upon each were four armed men who fought from there, and also its Indian driver. 6.38. The rest of the horsemen were stationed on either side, on the two flanks of the army, to harass the enemy while being themselves protected by the phalanxes. 6.39. When the sun shone upon the shields of gold and brass, the hills were ablaze with them and gleamed like flaming torches. 6.40. Now a part of the kings army was spread out on the high hills, and some troops were on the plain, and they advanced steadily and in good order. 6.41. All who heard the noise made by their multitude, by the marching of the multitude and the clanking of their arms, trembled, for the army was very large and strong. 6.42. But Judas and his army advanced to the battle, and six hundred men of the kings army fell. 6.43. And Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the beasts was equipped with royal armor. It was taller than all the others, and he supposed that the king was upon it. 6.44. So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. 6.45. He courageously ran into the midst of the phalanx to reach it; he killed men right and left, and they parted before him on both sides. 6.46. He got under the elephant, stabbed it from beneath, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and he died. 6.47. And when the Jews saw the royal might and the fierce attack of the forces, they turned away in flight. 6.48. The soldiers of the kings army went up to Jerusalem against them, and the king encamped in Judea and at Mount Zion. 6.49. He made peace with the men of Beth-zur, and they evacuated the city, because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical year for the land. 6.50. So the king took Beth-zur and stationed a guard there to hold it. 6.51. Then he encamped before the sanctuary for many days. He set up siege towers, engines of war to throw fire and stones, machines to shoot arrows, and catapults. 6.52. The Jews also made engines of war to match theirs, and fought for many days. 6.53. But they had no food in storage, because it was the seventh year; those who found safety in Judea from the Gentiles had consumed the last of the stores. 6.54. Few men were left in the sanctuary, because famine had prevailed over the rest and they had been scattered, each to his own place. 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. 7.4. So the army killed them, and Demetrius took his seat upon the throne of his kingdom. 7.27. So Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a large force, and treacherously sent to Judas and his brothers this peaceable message 7.35. and in anger he swore this oath, "Unless Judas and his army are delivered into my hands this time, then if I return safely I will burn up this house." And he went out in great anger. 7.44. When his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled. 7.45. The Jews pursued them a days journey, from Adasa as far as Gazara, and as they followed kept sounding the battle call on the trumpets. 7.47. Then the Jews seized the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanors head and the right hand which he so arrogantly stretched out, and brought them and displayed them just outside Jerusalem. 9.5. Now Judas was encamped in Elasa, and with him were three thousand picked men. 9.6. When they saw the huge number of the enemy forces, they were greatly frightened, and many slipped away from the camp, until no more than eight hundred of them were left. 9.9. But they tried to dissuade him, saying, "We are not able. Let us rather save our own lives now, and let us come back with our brethren and fight them; we are too few. 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. 11.31. 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. |
|
13. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 6.30, 8.1-8.36, 10.24, 11.1-11.13, 11.23, 13.9-13.26 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.30. When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: 'It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him.' 8.1. But Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kinsmen and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand men.' 8.2. They besought the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all, and to have pity on the temple which had been profaned by ungodly men,' 8.3. and to have mercy on the city which was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground, and to hearken to the blood that cried out to him,' 8.4. and to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name, and to show his hatred of evil.' 8.5. As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy.' 8.6. Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy.' 8.7. He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere. 8.8. When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, for aid to the king's government.' 8.9. And Ptolemy promptly appointed Nicanor the son of Patroclus, one of the king's chief friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand Gentiles of all nations, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service.' 8.10. Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery.' 8.11. And he immediately sent to the cities on the seacoast, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to hand over ninety slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.' 8.12. Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor's invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army,' 8.13. those who were cowardly and distrustful of God's justice ran off and got away. 8.14. Others sold all their remaining property, and at the same time besought the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them,' 8.15. if not for their own sake, yet for the sake of the covets made with their fathers, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name.' 8.16. But Maccabeus gathered his men together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of Gentiles who were wickedly coming against them, but to fight nobly,' 8.17. keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage which the Gentiles had committed against the holy place, and the torture of the derided city, and besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life.' 8.18. For they trust to arms and acts of daring,'he said, 'but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us and even the whole world.' 8.19. Moreover, he told them of the times when help came to their ancestors; both the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred and eighty-five thousand perished,' 8.20. and the time of the battle with the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand in all went into the affair, with four thousand Macedonians; and when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand and took much booty.' 8.21. With these words he filled them with good courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts. 8.22. He appointed his brothers also, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, each to command a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each.' 8.23. Besides, he appointed Eleazar to read aloud from the holy book, and gave the watchword, 'God's help'; then, leading the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.' 8.24. With the Almighty as their ally, they slew more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor's army, and forced them all to flee.' 8.25. They captured the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. After pursuing them for some distance, they were obliged to return because the hour was late.' 8.26. For it was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue their pursuit.' 8.27. And when they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day and allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy.' 8.28. After the sabbath they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured and to the widows and orphans, and distributed the rest among themselves and their children.' 8.29. When they had done this, they made common supplication and besought the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.' 8.30. In encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided very much plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.' 8.31. Collecting the arms of the enemy, they stored them all carefully in strategic places, and carried the rest of the spoils to Jerusalem.' 8.32. They killed the commander of Timothy's forces, a most unholy man, and one who had greatly troubled the Jews.' 8.33. While they were celebrating the victory in the city of their fathers, they burned those who had set fire to the sacred gates, Callisthenes and some others, who had fled into one little house; so these received the proper recompense for their impiety.' 8.34. The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews,' 8.35. having been humbled with the help of the Lord by opponents whom he regarded as of the least account, took off his splendid uniform and made his way alone like a runaway slave across the country till he reached Antioch, having succeeded chiefly in the destruction of his own army!' 8.36. Thus he who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender, and that therefore the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.' 10.24. Now Timothy, who had been defeated by the Jews before, gathered a tremendous force of mercenaries and collected the cavalry from Asia in no small number. He came on, intending to take Judea by storm.' 11.1. Very soon after this, Lysias, the king's guardian and kinsman, who was in charge of the government, being vexed at what had happened,' 11.2. gathered about eighty thousand men and all his cavalry and came against the Jews. He intended to make the city a home for Greeks,' 11.3. and 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.' 11.4. He 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.' 11.5. Invading Judea, he approached Beth-zur, which was a fortified place about five leagues from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard.' 11.6. When Maccabeus and his men got word that Lysias was besieging the strongholds, they and all the people, with lamentations and tears, besought the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel.' 11.7. Maccabeus himself was the first to take up arms, and he urged the others to risk their lives with him to aid their brethren. Then they eagerly rushed off together.' 11.8. And there, while they were still near Jerusalem, a horseman appeared at their head, clothed in white and brandishing weapons of gold.' 11.9. And they all together praised the merciful God, and were strengthened in heart, ready to assail not only men but the wildest beasts or walls of iron.' 11.10. They advanced in battle order, having their heavenly ally, for the Lord had mercy on them.' 11.11. They hurled themselves like lions against the enemy, and slew eleven thousand of them and sixteen hundred horsemen, and forced all the rest to flee.' 11.12. Most of them got away stripped and wounded, and Lysias himself escaped by disgraceful flight.' 11.13. And as he was not without intelligence, he pondered over the defeat which had befallen him, and realized that the Hebrews were invincible because the mighty God fought on their side. So he sent to them' 11.23. Now 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.' 13.9. The king with barbarous arrogance was coming to show the Jews things far worse than those that had been done in his father's time. 13.10. But when Judas heard of this, he ordered the people to call upon the Lord day and night, now if ever to help those who were on the point of being deprived of the law and their country and the holy temple,' 13.11. and not to let the people who had just begun to revive fall into the hands of the blasphemous Gentiles. 13.12. When they had all joined in the same petition and had besought the merciful Lord with weeping and fasting and lying prostrate for three days without ceasing, Judas exhorted them and ordered them to stand ready.' 13.13. After consulting privately with the elders, he determined to march out and decide the matter by the help of God before the king's army could enter Judea and get possession of the city.' 13.14. So, committing the decision to the Creator of the world and exhorting his men to fight nobly to the death for the laws, temple, city, country, and commonwealth, he pitched his camp near Modein.' 13.15. He gave his men the watchword, 'God's victory,'and with a picked force of the bravest young men, he attacked the king's pavilion at night and slew as many as two thousand men in the camp. He stabbed the leading elephant and its rider.' 13.16. In the end they filled the camp with terror and confusion and withdrew in triumph. 13.17. This happened, just as day was dawning, because the Lord's help protected him.' 13.18. The king, having had a taste of the daring of the Jews, tried strategy in attacking their positions.' 13.19. He advanced against Beth-zur, a strong fortress of the Jews, was turned back, attacked again, and was defeated.' 13.20. Judas sent in to the garrison whatever was necessary. 13.21. But Rhodocus, a man from the ranks of the Jews, gave secret information to the enemy; he was sought for, caught, and put in prison.' 13.22. The king negotiated a second time with the people in Beth-zur, gave pledges, received theirs, withdrew, attacked Judas and his men, was defeated;' 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.' 13.24. He received Maccabeus, left Hegemonides as governor from Ptolemais to Gerar,' 13.25. and went to Ptolemais. The people of Ptolemais were indigt over the treaty; in fact they were so angry that they wanted to annul its terms. 13.26. Lysias took the public platform, made the best possible defense, convinced them, appeased them, gained their good will, and set out for Antioch. This is how the king's attack and withdrawal turned out.' |
|
14. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 12.3, 12.290-12.291, 12.314, 12.409 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 12.3. And while these princes ambitiously strove one against another, every one for his own principality, it came to pass that there were continual wars, and those lasting wars too; and the cities were sufferers, and lost a great many of their inhabitants in these times of distress, insomuch that all Syria, by the means of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, underwent the reverse of that denomination of Savior, which he then had. 12.3. Out of regard therefore to justice, and out of pity to those that have been tyrannized over, contrary to equity, I enjoin those that have such Jews in their service to set them at liberty, upon the receipt of the before-mentioned sum; and that no one use any deceit about them, but obey what is here commanded. 12.3. And when Judas saw their camp, and how numerous their enemies were, he persuaded his own soldiers to be of good courage, and exhorted them to place their hopes of victory in God, and to make supplication to him, according to the custom of their country, clothed in sackcloth; and to show what was their usual habit of supplication in the greatest dangers, and thereby to prevail with God to grant you the victory over your enemies. 12.291. and that they had the plainest instances in their forefathers, who, by their righteousness, exerting themselves on behalf of their own laws, and their own children, had frequently conquered many ten thousands,—for innocence is the strongest army. 12.314. where Judas met him with ten thousand men; and when he saw the great number of his enemies, he prayed to God that he would assist him, and joined battle with the first of the enemy that appeared, and beat them, and slew about five thousand of them, and thereby became terrible to the rest of them. 12.409. And when he had encouraged them not to be dismayed at the multitude of their enemies, nor to regard how many they were against whom they were going to fight, but to consider who they themselves were, and for what great rewards they hazarded themselves, and to attack the enemy courageously, he led them out to fight, and joining battle with Nicanor, which proved to be a severe one, he overcame the enemy, and slew many of them; and at last Nicanor himself, as he was fighting gloriously, fell:— |
|
15. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.41 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.41. 5. So this Antiochus got together fifty thousand footmen, and five thousand horsemen, and fourscore elephants, and marched through Judea into the mountainous parts. He then took Bethsura, which was a small city; but at a place called Bethzacharias, where the passage was narrow, Judas met him with his army. 1.41. But the king, by the expenses he was at, and the liberal disposal of them, overcame nature, and built a haven larger than was the Pyrecum [at Athens]; and in the inner retirements of the water he built other deep stations [for the ships also]. |
|
16. Palestinian Talmud, Taanit, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
|
