1. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 5.6-5.52, 6.16, 6.49-6.50, 11.34 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 5.6. Then he crossed over to attack the Ammonites, where he found a strong band and many people with Timothy as their leader. 5.7. He engaged in many battles with them and they were crushed before him; he struck them down. 5.8. He also took Jazer and its villages; then he returned to Judea. 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. 5.11. They are preparing to come and capture the stronghold to which we have fled, and Timothy is leading their forces. 5.12. Now then come and rescue us from their hands, for many of us have fallen 5.13. and all our brethren who were in the land of Tob have been killed; the enemy have captured their wives and children and goods, and have destroyed about a thousand men there. 5.14. While the letter was still being read, behold, other messengers, with their garments rent, came from Galilee and made a similar report; 5.15. they said that against them had gathered together men of Ptolemais and Tyre and Sidon, and all Galilee of the Gentiles, "to annihilate us. 5.16. When Judas and the people heard these messages, a great assembly was called to determine what they should do for their brethren who were in distress and were being attacked by enemies. 5.17. Then Judas said to Simon his brother, "Choose your men and go and rescue your brethren in Galilee; I and Jonathan my brother will go to Gilead. 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. 5.20. Then three thousand men were assigned to Simon to go to Galilee, and eight thousand to Judas for Gilead. 5.21. o Simon went to Galilee and fought many battles against the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were crushed before him. 5.22. He pursued them to the gate of Ptolemais, and as many as three thousand of the Gentiles fell, and he despoiled them. 5.23. Then he took the Jews of Galilee and Arbatta, with their wives and children, and all they possessed, and led them to Judea with great rejoicing. 5.24. Judas Maccabeus and Jonathan his brother crossed the Jordan and went three days journey into the wilderness. 5.25. They encountered the Nabateans, who met them peaceably and told them all that had happened to their brethren in Gilead: 5.26. Many of them have been shut up in Bozrah and Bosor, in Alema and Chaspho, Maked and Carnaim" -- all these cities were strong and large-- 5.27. and some have been shut up in the other cities of Gilead; the enemy are getting ready to attack the strongholds tomorrow and take and destroy all these men in one day. 5.28. Then Judas and his army quickly turned back by the wilderness road to Bozrah; and he took the city, and killed every male by the edge of the sword; then he seized all its spoils and burned it with fire. 5.29. He departed from there at night, and they went all the way to the stronghold of Dathema. 5.30. At dawn they looked up, and behold, a large company, that could not be counted, carrying ladders and engines of war to capture the stronghold, and attacking the Jews within. 5.31. So Judas saw that the battle had begun and that the cry of the city went up to Heaven with trumpets and loud shouts 5.32. and he said to the men of his forces, "Fight today for your brethren! 5.33. Then he came up behind them in three companies, who sounded their trumpets and cried aloud in prayer. 5.34. And when the army of Timothy realized that it was Maccabeus, they fled before him, and he dealt them a heavy blow. As many as eight thousand of them fell that day. 5.35. Next he turned aside to Alema, and fought against it and took it; and he killed every male in it, plundered it, and burned it with fire. 5.36. From there he marched on and took Chaspho, Maked, and Bosor, and the other cities of Gilead. 5.37. After these things Timothy gathered another army and encamped opposite Raphon, on the other side of the stream. 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. 5.39. They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the stream, ready to come and fight against you." And Judas went to meet them. 5.40. Now as Judas and his army drew near to the stream of water, Timothy said to the officers of his forces, "If he crosses over to us first, we will not be able to resist him, for he will surely defeat us. 5.41. But if he shows fear and camps on the other side of the river, we will cross over to him and defeat him. 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. 5.44. But he took the city and burned the sacred precincts with fire, together with all who were in them. Thus Carnaim was conquered; they could stand before Judas no longer. 5.45. Then Judas gathered together all the Israelites in Gilead, the small and the great, with their wives and children and goods, a very large company, to go to the land of Judah. 5.46. So they came to Ephron. This was a large and very strong city on the road, and they could not go round it to the right or to the left; they had to go through it. 5.47. But the men of the city shut them out and blocked up the gates with stones. 5.48. And Judas sent them this friendly message, "Let us pass through your land to get to our land. No one will do you harm; we will simply pass by on foot." But they refused to open to him. 5.49. Then Judas ordered proclamation to be made to the army that each should encamp where he was. 5.50. So the men of the forces encamped, and he fought against the city all that day and all the night, and the city was delivered into his hands. 5.51. He destroyed every male by the edge of the sword, and razed and plundered the city. Then he passed through the city over the slain. 5.52. And they crossed the Jordan into the large plain before Beth-shan. 6.16. Thus Antiochus the king died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year. 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. 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. |
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2. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 3.30, 8.23, 10.4, 10.24-10.30, 10.32, 10.34-10.35, 10.37, 11.5, 13.1, 13.11, 13.15-13.16, 13.21-13.22, 13.25, 14.28 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 3.30. they praised the Lord who had acted marvelously for his own place. And the temple, which a little while before was full of fear and disturbance, was filled with joy and gladness, now that the Almighty Lord had appeared.' 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.' 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.' 10.24. 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.' 10.25. As he drew near, Maccabeus and his men sprinkled dust upon their heads and girded their loins with sackcloth, in supplication to God.' 10.26. Falling upon the steps before the altar, they besought him to be gracious to them and to be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their adversaries, as the law declares.' 10.27. And rising from their prayer they took up their arms and advanced a considerable distance from the city; and when they came near to the enemy they halted. 10.28. Just as dawn was breaking, the two armies joined battle, the one having as pledge of success and victory not only their valor but their reliance upon the Lord, while the other made rage their leader in the fight.' 10.29. When the battle became fierce, there appeared to the enemy from heaven five resplendent men on horses with golden bridles, and they were leading the Jews.' 10.30. Surrounding Maccabeus and protecting him with their own armor and weapons, they kept him from being wounded. And they showered arrows and thunderbolts upon the enemy, so that, confused and blinded, they were thrown into disorder and cut to pieces.' 10.32. Timothy himself fled to a stronghold called Gazara, especially well garrisoned, where Chaereas was commander.' 10.34. The men within, relying on the strength of the place, blasphemed terribly and hurled out wicked words.' 10.35. But at dawn of the fifth day, twenty young men in the army of Maccabeus, fired with anger because of the blasphemies, bravely stormed the wall and with savage fury cut down every one they met.' 10.37. They killed Timothy, who was hidden in a cistern, and his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes.' 11.5. Invading Judea, he approached Beth-zur, which was a fortified place about five leagues from Jerusalem, and pressed it hard.' 13.1. In the one hundred and forty-ninth year word came to Judas and his men that Antiochus Eupator was coming with a great army against Judea,' 13.11. and not to let the people who had just begun to revive fall into the hands of the blasphemous Gentiles. 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. 13.21. 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;' 13.25. 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. 14.28. When this message came to Nicanor, he was troubled and grieved that he had to annul their agreement when the man had done no wrong.' |
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3. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 13.397 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 13.397. in the country of Moab, Heshbon, and Medaba, Lemba, and Oronas, Gelithon, Zara, the valley of the Cilices, and Pella; which last they utterly destroyed, because its inhabitants would not bear to change their religious rites for those peculiar to the Jews. The Jews also possessed others of the principal cities of Syria, which had been destroyed. |
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