1. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 1.10, 3.3-3.33, 3.35-3.37, 4.26-4.35, 4.61, 6.1-6.16, 6.18-6.54, 6.56-6.63, 7.2, 10.51-10.58, 11.1-11.13, 11.18, 13.2 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.10. From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. 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. 3.35. 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. 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. 4.28. But the next year he mustered sixty thousand picked infantrymen and five thousand cavalry to subdue them. 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. 4.61. 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. 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. 6.18. 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. 6.56. 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. 7.2. As he was entering the royal palace of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him. 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. 11.1. Then the king of Egypt gathered great forces, like the sand by the seashore, and many ships; and he tried to get possession of Alexanders kingdom by trickery and add it to his own kingdom. 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. 13.2. and he saw that the people were trembling and fearful. So he went up to Jerusalem, and gathering the people together |
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2. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 4.5, 4.21, 4.23, 5.22, 6.11, 6.29, 7.24, 8.8, 9.23, 9.25, 9.29, 10.1-10.11, 11.1-11.13, 11.22-11.27, 12.10, 12.16-12.17, 12.24-12.25, 12.29, 13.9-13.26, 14.8 (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.' 5.22. And he left governors to afflict the people: at Jerusalem, Philip, by birth a Phrygian and in character more barbarous than the man who appointed him;' 6.11. Others who had assembled in the caves near by, to observe the seventh day secretly, were betrayed to Philip and were all burned together, because their piety kept them from defending themselves, in view of their regard for that most holy day.' 6.29. And those who a little before had acted toward him with good will now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness.' 7.24. Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his fathers, and that he would take him for his friend and entrust him with public affairs.' 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.' 9.23. but I observed that my father, on the occasions when he made expeditions into the upper country, appointed his successor,' 9.25. Moreover, I understand how the princes along the borders and the neighbors to my kingdom keep watching for opportunities and waiting to see what will happen. So I have appointed my son Antiochus to be king, whom I have often entrusted and commended to most of you when I hastened off to the upper provinces; and I have written to him what is written here.' 9.29. And Philip, one of his courtiers, took his body home; then, fearing the son of Antiochus, he betook himself to Ptolemy Philometor in Egypt.' 10.1. Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city;' 10.2. and they tore down the altars which had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts.' 10.3. They purified the sanctuary, and made another altar of sacrifice; then, striking fire out of flint, they offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years, and they burned incense and lighted lamps and set out the bread of the Presence.' 10.4. And when they had done this, they fell prostrate and besought the Lord that they might never again fall into such misfortunes, but that, if they should ever sin, they might be disciplined by him with forbearance and not be handed over to blasphemous and barbarous nations.' 10.5. It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev.' 10.6. And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.' 10.7. Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place.' 10.8. They decreed by public ordice and vote that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year. 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.' 10.11. This man, when he succeeded to the kingdom, appointed one Lysias to have charge of the government and to be chief governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia.' 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' 11.22. The king's letter ran thus:'King Antiochus to his brother Lysias, greeting.' 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.' 11.24. We have heard that the Jews do not consent to our father's change to Greek customs but prefer their own way of living and ask that their own customs be allowed them. 11.25. Accordingly, since we choose that this nation also be free from disturbance, our decision is that their temple be restored to them and that they live according to the customs of their ancestors.' 11.26. You will do well, therefore, to send word to them and give them pledges of friendship, so that they may know our policy and be of good cheer and go on happily in the conduct of their own affairs.' 11.27. To the nation the king's letter was as follows:'King Antiochus to the senate of the Jews and to the other Jews, greeting.' 12.10. When they had gone more than a mile from there, on their march against Timothy, not less than five thousand Arabs with five hundred horsemen attacked them.' 12.16. They took the city by the will of God, and slaughtered untold numbers, so that the adjoining lake, a quarter of a mile wide, appeared to be running over with blood.' 12.17. When they had gone ninety-five miles from there, they came to Charax, to the Jews who are called Toubiani.' 12.24. Timothy himself fell into the hands of Dositheus and Sosipater and their men. With great guile he besought them to let him go in safety, because he held the parents of most of them and the brothers of some and no consideration would be shown them.' 12.25. And when with many words he had confirmed his solemn promise to restore them unharmed, they let him go, for the sake of saving their brethren.' 12.29. Setting out from there, they hastened to Scythopolis, which is seventy-five miles from Jerusalem.' 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.' 14.8. first because I am genuinely concerned for the interests of the king, and second because I have regard also for my fellow citizens. For through the folly of those whom I have mentioned our whole nation is now in no small misfortune.' |
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3. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 12.381-12.383, 12.386 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 12.381. and that it was much better to make a league with the besieged, and to become friends to their whole nation, by permitting them to observe the laws of their fathers, while they broke out into this war only because they were deprived of them, and so to depart home. When Lysias had discoursed thus to them, both the army and the officers were pleased with this resolution. 12.382. 7. Accordingly the king sent to Judas, and to those that were besieged with them, and promised to give them peace, and to permit them to make use of, and live according to, the laws of their fathers; and they gladly received his proposals; and when they had gained security upon oath for their performance, they went out of the temple. 12.383. But when Antiochus came into it, and saw how strong the place was, he broke his oaths, and ordered his army that was there to pluck down the walls to the ground; and when he had so done, he returned to Antioch. He also carried with him Onias the high priest, who was also called Menelaus; 12.386. But when king Antiochus found that Philip had already possessed himself of the government, he made war against him, and subdued him, and took him, and slew him. |
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