1. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 38.1 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 38.1. וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִוא וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה מֵאֵת אֶחָיו וַיֵּט עַד־אִישׁ עֲדֻלָּמִי וּשְׁמוֹ חִירָה׃ 38.1. וַיֵּרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיָּמֶת גַּם־אֹתוֹ׃ | 38.1. And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah." |
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2. Polybius, Histories, 31.11-31.12 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 31.11. 1. At this time when the news arrived of the calamity that had happened to Gnaeus Octavius,,2. how he had been assassinated, and when the envoys sent by Lysias on behalf of King Antiochus appeared and were profuse in their assurances that the friends of the king had had no part in the deed,,3. the senate paid scant attention to the embassy, not wishing to pronounce any decision on the matter or to express in any manner their opinion.,4. But Demetrius, excited by the news, at once sent for Polybius and submitted to him his doubt as to whether or not he should address the senate again on the question of his own situation.,5. Polybius begged him not to stumble twice on the same stone, but to trust in himself and take some bold course worthy of a throne; for, he said, there were many opportunities for action suggested by the present situation.,6. Demetrius understood this advice and held his peace for the present, but shortly afterwards communicated with one of his intimate friends, Apollonius, about the same matter.,7. This man, being of an unsuspecting character and quite young, advised him to try the senate once more, for he felt sure, that as they had unjustly deprived him of his kingdom, they would at least release him from his position as hostage,,8. since it was quite unreasonable that now, when the young Antiochus had succeeded to the throne of Syria, Demetrius should serve as hostage for him.,9. Persuaded by this reasoning Demetrius again appeared before the senate and begged the house to release him at least from his obligation as hostage, as they had decided to secure the throne to Antiochus.,10. After he had spoken at some length in this sense, the senate adhered to its original resolve, as was only to be expected.,11. For on the former occasion it was not because Demetrius was not right in what he said that they had decided to keep the young king on the throne, but because it suited their own interest.,12. And as the conditions remained the same, it was to be expected that the decision of the senate should be based on the same policy. 31.12. 1. But Demetrius, having sung his swan's song in vain and recognizing the soundness of Polybius's advice not to stumble twice on the same stone,,2. repented of what he had done, but, being naturally high-spirited and having courage adequate to carry out his designs, at once called Diodorus who had recently arrived from Syria and informed him of his position.,3. Diodorus had been the foster-father of Demetrius; he was an able man and had carefully studied the situation in Syria, and he now pointed out to Demetrius that since great disturbance prevailed there owing to the murder of Octavius, since Lysias and the populace mutually distrusted each other, and since the senate was convinced that the outrage on their envoys had been due to the king's friends, the time was very favourable for his appearing suddenly on the scene.,5. For the Syrians would at once transfer the crown to him, even if he appeared accompanied only by a single slave, while the senate would not go so far as to help and support Lysias after his conduct.,6. All that remained then was to escape from Rome secretly without anyone having any notion of his plan.,7. Having come to this decision, Demetrius sent for Polybius and communicated the project to him, begging him to assist him in it and join him in planning the best means of escape.,8. At that time it happened that there was a certain Menyllus of Alabanda present, on an embassy from the elder Ptolemy, with the object of confronting and answering the younger Ptolemy. Polybius had long been intimate with this Menyllus, and had great confidence in him.,9. So that, thinking him to be the proper person to engage in the present service, he introduced him to Demetrius, recommending him very cordially and warmly.,10. Menyllus consented to take part in the project, and engaged to have a ship ready and to provide all else that was required for the voyage.,11. Finding a Carthaginian ship that had carried sacred offerings anchored at the mouth of the Tiber, he hired it.,12. Such ships were specially selected at Carthage for the conveyance of the traditional offering of first-fruits to their gods that the Carthaginians send to Tyre. Menyllus chartered her openly to convey himself home;,13. so that he could without any suspicion send on board a month's stock of provisions and could speak openly to the ship's officers and make arrangements with them. |
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3. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 1.9, 1.19, 1.21-1.23, 1.29, 1.64, 3.3-3.33, 4.26-4.35, 6.1-6.17, 6.20-6.23, 6.28-6.63, 7.1-7.4, 10.40, 10.44 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.9. They all put on crowns after his death, and so did their sons after them for many years; and they caused many evils on the earth. 1.19. And they captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt. 1.21. He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. 1.22. He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off. 1.23. He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures which he found. 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. 1.64. And very great wrath came upon 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. 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. 6.1. King Antiochus was going through the upper provinces when he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. 6.2. Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian king who first reigned over the Greeks. 6.3. So he came and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city 6.4. and they withstood him in battle. So he fled and in great grief departed from there to return to Babylon. 6.5. Then some one came to him in Persia and reported that the armies which had gone into the land of Judah had been routed; 6.6. that Lysias had gone first with a strong force, but had turned and fled before the Jews; that the Jews had grown strong from the arms, supplies, and abundant spoils which they had taken from the armies they had cut down; 6.7. that they had torn down the abomination which he had erected upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded the sanctuary with high walls as before, and also Beth-zur, his city. 6.8. When the king heard this news, he was astounded and badly shaken. He took to his bed and became sick from grief, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. 6.9. He lay there for many days, because deep grief continually gripped him, and he concluded that he was dying. 6.10. So he called all his friends and said to them, "Sleep departs from my eyes and I am downhearted with worry. 6.11. I said to myself, `To what distress I have come! And into what a great flood I now am plunged! For I was kind and beloved in my power. 6.12. But now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem. I seized all her vessels of silver and gold; and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason. 6.13. I know that it is because of this that these evils have come upon me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land. 6.14. Then he called for Philip, one of his friends, and made him ruler over all his kingdom. 6.15. He gave him the crown and his robe and the signet, that he might guide Antiochus his son and bring him up to be king. 6.16. Thus Antiochus the king died there in the one hundred and forty-ninth year. 6.17. And when Lysias learned that the king was dead, he set up Antiochus the kings son to reign. Lysias had brought him up as a boy, and he named him Eupator. 6.20. 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. 6.28. 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. 7.1. In the one hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius the son of Seleucus set forth from Rome, sailed with a few men to a city by the sea, and there began to reign. 7.2. As he was entering the royal palace of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias to bring them to him. 7.3. But when this act became known to him, he said, "Do not let me see their faces! 7.4. So the army killed them, and Demetrius took his seat upon the throne of his kingdom. 10.40. I also grant fifteen thousand shekels of silver yearly out of the kings revenues from appropriate places. 10.44. Let the cost of rebuilding and restoring the structures of the sanctuary be paid from the revenues of the king. |
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4. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 1.2, 1.14, 2.21, 2.24-2.31, 3.3-3.4, 3.24-3.26, 3.38, 4.7-4.17, 4.23-4.29, 4.36, 4.39-4.40, 5.3, 5.17-5.18, 5.20, 5.24, 5.26, 6.1, 6.17, 7.3, 7.33, 7.42, 8.1, 8.4-8.5, 8.15, 9.1, 9.14-9.17, 9.29, 10.10-10.11, 10.24, 10.37, 11.2-11.13, 11.16-11.33, 12.1, 12.10-12.11, 12.24-12.25, 12.31, 12.35, 12.43, 13.1-13.2, 13.9-13.26, 14.1-14.3, 14.6, 14.11, 14.18, 15.12, 15.14 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.2. May God do good to you, and may he remember his covet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants.' 1.14. For under pretext of intending to marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry.' 2.21. and the appearances which came from heaven to those who strove zealously on behalf of Judaism, so that though few in number they seized the whole land and pursued the barbarian hordes,' 2.24. For considering the flood of numbers involved and the difficulty there is for those who wish to enter upon the narratives of history because of the mass of material,' 2.25. we have aimed to please those who wish to read, to make it easy for those who are inclined to memorize, and to profit all readers.' 2.26. For us who have undertaken the toil of abbreviating, it is no light matter but calls for sweat and loss of sleep,' 2.27. just as it is not easy for one who prepares a banquet and seeks the benefit of others. However, to secure the gratitude of many we will gladly endure the uncomfortable toil,' 2.28. leaving the responsibility for exact details to the compiler, while devoting our effort to arriving at the outlines of the condensation.' 2.29. For as the master builder of a new house must be concerned with the whole construction, while the one who undertakes its painting and decoration has to consider only what is suitable for its adornment, such in my judgment is the case with us.' 2.30. It is the duty of the original historian to occupy the ground and to discuss matters from every side and to take trouble with details,' 2.31. but the one who recasts the narrative should be allowed to strive for brevity of expression and to forego exhaustive treatment. 3.3. o that even Seleucus, the king of Asia, defrayed from his own revenues all the expenses connected with the service of the sacrifices.' 3.4. But a man named Simon, of the tribe of Benjamin, who had been made captain of the temple, had a disagreement with the high priest about the administration of the city market;' 3.24. But when he arrived at the treasury with his bodyguard, then and there the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority caused so great a manifestation that all who had been so bold as to accompany him were astounded by the power of God, and became faint with terror.' 3.25. For there appeared to them a magnificently caparisoned horse, with a rider of frightening mien, and it rushed furiously at Heliodorus and struck at him with its front hoofs. Its rider was seen to have armor and weapons of gold.' 3.26. Two young men also appeared to him, remarkably strong, gloriously beautiful and splendidly dressed, who stood on each side of him and scourged him continuously, inflicting many blows on him.' 3.38. If you have any enemy or plotter against your government, send him there, for you will get him back thoroughly scourged, if he escapes at all, for there certainly is about the place some power of God.' 4.7. When Seleucus died and Antiochus who was called Epiphanes succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption,' 4.8. promising the king at an interview three hundred and sixty talents of silver and, from another source of revenue, eighty talents.' 4.9. In addition to this he promised to pay one hundred and fifty more if permission were given to establish by his authority a gymnasium and a body of youth for it, and to enrol the men of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.' 4.10. When the king assented and Jason came to office, he at once shifted his countrymen over to the Greek way of life.' 4.11. He set aside the existing royal concessions to the Jews, secured through John the father of Eupolemus, who went on the mission to establish friendship and alliance with the Romans; and he destroyed the lawful ways of living and introduced new customs contrary to the law.' 4.12. For with alacrity he founded a gymnasium right under the citadel, and he induced the noblest of the young men to wear the Greek hat.' 4.13. There was such an extreme of Hellenization and increase in the adoption of foreign ways because of the surpassing wickedness of Jason, who was ungodly and no high priest,' 4.14. that the priests were no longer intent upon their service at the altar. Despising the sanctuary and neglecting the sacrifices, they hastened to take part in the unlawful proceedings in the wrestling arena after the call to the discus,' 4.15. disdaining the honors prized by their fathers and putting the highest value upon Greek forms of prestige. 4.16. For this reason heavy disaster overtook them, and those whose ways of living they admired and wished to imitate completely became their enemies and punished them.' 4.17. For it is no light thing to show irreverence to the divine laws -- a fact which later events will make clear. 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.' 4.24. But he, when presented to the king, extolled him with an air of authority, and secured the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver.' 4.25. After receiving the king's orders he returned, possessing no qualification for the high priesthood, but having the hot temper of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a savage wild beast.' 4.26. So Jason, who after supplanting his own brother was supplanted by another man, was driven as a fugitive into the land of Ammon.' 4.27. And Menelaus held the office, but he did not pay regularly any of the money promised to the king.' 4.28. When Sostratus the captain of the citadel kept requesting payment, for the collection of the revenue was his responsibility, the two of them were summoned by the king on account of this issue.' 4.29. Menelaus left his own brother Lysimachus as deputy in the high priesthood, while Sostratus left Crates, the commander of the Cyprian troops.' 4.36. When the king returned from the region of Cilicia, the Jews in the city appealed to him with regard to the unreasonable murder of Onias, and the Greeks shared their hatred of the crime.' 4.39. When many acts of sacrilege had been committed in the city by Lysimachus with the connivance of Menelaus, and when report of them had spread abroad, the populace gathered against Lysimachus, because many of the gold vessels had already been stolen.' 4.40. And since the crowds were becoming aroused and filled with anger, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men and launched an unjust attack, under the leadership of a certain Auranus, a man advanced in years and no less advanced in folly.' 5.3. troops of horsemen drawn up, attacks and counterattacks made on this side and on that, brandishing of shields, massing of spears, hurling of missiles, the flash of golden trappings, and armor of all sorts.' 5.17. Antiochus was elated in spirit, and did not perceive that the Lord was angered for a little while because of the sins of those who dwelt in the city, and that therefore he was disregarding the holy place.' 5.18. But if it had not happened that they were involved in many sins, this man would have been scourged and turned back from his rash act as soon as he came forward, just as Heliodorus was, whom Seleucus the king sent to inspect the treasury.' 5.20. Therefore the place itself shared in the misfortunes that befell the nation and afterward participated in its benefits; and what was forsaken in the wrath of the Almighty was restored again in all its glory when the great Lord became reconciled. 5.24. Antiochus sent Apollonius, the captain of the Mysians, with an army of twenty-two thousand, and commanded him to slay all the grown men and to sell the women and boys as slaves.' 5.26. He put to the sword all those who came out to see them, then rushed into the city with his armed men and killed great numbers of people.' 6.1. Not long after this, the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their fathers and cease to live by the laws of God,' 6.17. Let what we have said serve as a reminder; we must go on briefly with the story. 7.3. The king fell into a rage, and gave orders that pans and caldrons be heated.' 7.33. And if our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants.' 7.42. Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.' 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.' 8.4. 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.' 8.15. 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.' 9.1. About that time, as it happened, Antiochus had retreated in disorder from the region of Persia.' 9.14. that the holy city, which he was hastening to level to the ground and to make a cemetery, he was now declaring to be free;' 9.15. and the Jews, whom he had not considered worth burying but had planned to throw out with their children to the beasts, for the birds to pick, he would make, all of them, equal to citizens of Athens;' 9.16. and the holy sanctuary, which he had formerly plundered, he would adorn with the finest offerings; and the holy vessels he would give back, all of them, many times over; and the expenses incurred for the sacrifices he would provide from his own revenues;' 9.17. and in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God. 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.' 10.10. 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.' 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.' 10.37. They killed Timothy, who was hidden in a cistern, and his brother Chaereas, and Apollophanes.' 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' 11.16. The letter written to the Jews by Lysias was to this effect:'Lysias to the people of the Jews, greeting.' 11.17. John and Absalom, who were sent by you, have delivered your signed communication and have asked about the matters indicated therein.' 11.18. I have informed the king of everything that needed to be brought before him, and he has agreed to what was possible.' 11.19. If you will maintain your good will toward the government, I will endeavor for the future to help promote your welfare.' 11.20. And concerning these matters and their details, I have ordered these men and my representatives to confer with you.' 11.21. Farewell. The one hundred and forty-eighth year, Dioscorinthius twenty-fourth.' 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.' 11.28. If you are well, it is as we desire. We also are in good health.' 11.29. Menelaus has informed us that you wish to return home and look after your own affairs. 11.30. Therefore those who go home by the thirtieth day of Xanthicus will have our pledge of friendship and full permission 11.31. for the Jews to enjoy their own food and laws, just as formerly, and none of them shall be molested in any way for what he may have done in ignorance.' 11.32. And I have also sent Menelaus to encourage you. 11.33. Farewell. The one hundred and forty-eighth year, Xanthicus fifteenth.' 12.1. When this agreement had been reached, Lysias returned to the king, and the Jews went about their farming.' 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.' 12.11. After a hard fight Judas and his men won the victory, by the help of God. The defeated nomads besought Judas to grant them pledges of friendship, promising to give him cattle and to help his people in all other ways.' 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.' 12.31. they thanked them and exhorted them to be well disposed to their race in the future also. Then they went up to Jerusalem, as the feast of weeks was close at hand.' 12.35. But a certain Dositheus, one of Bacenor's men, who was on horseback and was a strong man, caught hold of Gorgias, and grasping his cloak was dragging him off by main strength, wishing to take the accursed man alive, when one of the Thracian horsemen bore down upon him and cut off his arm; so Gorgias escaped and reached Marisa.' 12.43. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection.' 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,' 13.2. and with him Lysias, his guardian, who had charge of the government. Each of them had a Greek force of one hundred and ten thousand infantry, five thousand three hundred cavalry, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with scythes.' 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.' 14.1. Three years later, word came to Judas and his men that Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, had sailed into the harbor of Tripolis with a strong army and a fleet,' 14.2. and had taken possession of the country, having made away with Antiochus and his guardian Lysias.' 14.3. Now a certain Alcimus, who had formerly been high priest but had wilfully defiled himself in the times of separation, realized that there was no way for him to be safe or to have access again to the holy altar,' 14.6. Those of the Jews who are called Hasideans, whose leader is Judas Maccabeus, are keeping up war and stirring up sedition, and will not let the kingdom attain tranquillity.' 14.11. When he had said this, the rest of the king's friends, who were hostile to Judas, quickly inflamed Demetrius still more.' 14.18. Nevertheless Nicanor, hearing of the valor of Judas and his men and their courage in battle for their country, shrank from deciding the issue by bloodshed.' 15.12. What he saw was this: Onias, who had been high priest, a noble and good man, of modest bearing and gentle manner, one who spoke fittingly and had been trained from childhood in all that belongs to excellence, was praying with outstretched hands for the whole body of the Jews.' 15.14. And Onias spoke, saying, 'This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God.' |
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5. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 3.374 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.374. Do not you know that those who depart out of this life, according to the law of nature, and pay that debt which was received from God, when he that lent it us is pleased to require it back again, enjoy eternal fame? that their houses and their posterity are sure, that their souls are pure and obedient, and obtain a most holy place in heaven, from whence, in the revolution of ages, they are again sent into pure bodies; |
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6. New Testament, Acts, 23.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 23.8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these. |
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7. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, 18b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 18b. מותרין בהספד ותענית אימת אילימא בני חמיסר וקא קרו ליה בארביסר ומי שרי,והכתיב במגילת תענית יום ארבעה עשר בו ויום חמשה עשר בו יומי פוריא אינון דלא למיספד בהון ואמר רבא לא נצרכא אלא לאסור את של זה בזה ואת של זה בזה,ואלא בני ארביסר וקא קרי ליה בתליסר יום ניקנור הוא ואלא בני ארביסר וקא קרי ליה בתריסר יום טוריינוס הוא,אלא לאו דקא קרו ליה בחדיסר וקתני מותר בהספד ובתענית,לא בני ארבעה עשר וקא קרו ליה בתריסר ודקאמרת יום טריינוס הוא יום טריינוס גופיה בטולי בטלוהו הואיל ונהרגו בו שמעיה ואחיה אחיו כי הא דרב נחמן גזר תעניתא בתריסר אמרו ליה רבנן יום טוריינוס הוא אמר להו יום טוריינוס גופיה בטולי בטלוהו הואיל ונהרגו בו שמעיה ואחיה אחיו,ותיפוק ליה דהוה ליה יום שלפני ניקנור אמר רב אשי השתא איהו גופיה בטלוהו משום יום ניקנור ניקום ונגזר,מאי ניקנור ומאי טוריינוס דתניא ניקנור אחד מאפרכי יוונים היה ובכל יום ויום היה מניף ידו על יהודה וירושלים ואומר אימתי תפול בידי וארמסנה וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום קצצו בהונות ידיו ורגליו ותלאום בשערי ירושלים ואמרו פה שהיה מדבר בגאוה וידים שהיו מניפות על ירושלים תעשה בהם נקמה,מאי טוריינוס אמרו כשבקש טוריינוס להרוג את לולינוס ופפוס אחיו בלודקיא אמר להם אם מעמו של חנניה מישאל ועזריה אתם יבא אלהיכם ויציל אתכם מידי כדרך שהציל את חנניה מישאל ועזריה מיד נבוכדנצר אמרו לו חנניה מישאל ועזריה צדיקים גמורין היו וראויין היו ליעשות להם נס ונבוכדנצר מלך הגון היה וראוי ליעשות נס על ידו,ואותו רשע הדיוט הוא ואינו ראוי ליעשות נס על ידו ואנו נתחייבנו כליה למקום ואם אין אתה הורגנו הרבה הורגים יש לו למקום והרבה דובין ואריות יש לו למקום בעולמו שפוגעין בנו והורגין אותנו אלא לא מסרנו הקדוש ברוך הוא בידך אלא שעתיד ליפרע דמינו מידך,אעפ"כ הרגן מיד אמרו לא זזו משם עד שבאו דיופלי מרומי ופצעו את מוחו בגיזרין:,אין גוזרין תענית על הצבור בתחלה בחמישי כו' אין גוזרין תענית בראשי חדשים כו': וכמה הויא התחלה רב אחא אמר שלש רבי אסי אמר אחת,אמר רב יהודה אמר רב זו דברי רבי מאיר שאמר משום רבן (שמעון בן) גמליאל אבל חכמים אומרים מתענה ומשלים דרש מר זוטרא משמיה דרב הונא הלכה מתענה ומשלים:, br br big strongהדרן עלך סדר תעניות כיצד /strong /big br br,מתני׳ big strongסדר /strong /big תעניות אלו האמור ברביעה ראשונה אבל צמחים ששנו מתריעין עליהן מיד וכן שפסקו גשמים בין גשם לגשם ארבעים יום מתריעין עליהן מפני שהיא מכת בצורת,ירדו לצמחין אבל לא ירדו לאילן לאילן ולא לצמחין לזה ולזה אבל לא לבורות לשיחין ולמערות מתריעין עליהן מיד וכן עיר שלא ירדו עליה גשמים דכתיב (עמוס ד, ז) והמטרתי על עיר אחת ועל עיר אחת לא אמטיר חלקה אחת תמטר וגו' | 18b. as the Sages decreed that in certain places one may read the Scroll of Esther on the eleventh, twelfth, or thirteenth of Adar, nevertheless, it is bpermitted to eulogize and faston these days. The Gemara clarifies: bWhendoes this ruling apply? bIf we saythat it applies to bthosein walled cities, who normally read the scroll on the bfifteenthof Adar bandyet this year bthey read it on the fourteenth,a day on which they normally are permitted to fast and eulogize, bbutthis cannot be the case, as bare they permittedto fast and eulogize at all on these days?, bBut isn’t it written in iMegillat Ta’anit /i: The day of the fourteenth ofAdar band the day of the fifteenth ofAdar bare the days of Purim, on which eulogizing is prohibited. And Rava said:Since these days are already mentioned in the Bible (Esther 9:18–19), it bis necessaryto state this ihalakhain iMegillat Ta’anit bonly to prohibitthose living bin thesewalled cities from fasting and eulogizing bon thisdate, the fourteenth, and those living bin thesenon-walled cities from fasting and eulogizing bon this date,the fifteenth.,The Gemara continues its explanation of the difficulty. bBut rather,the mishna must be referring to bthosewho normally read on the bfourteenthof Adar, bbut who readthe Scroll of Esther early, bon the thirteenth.However, it is already prohibited to fast on the thirteenth, as bit is Nicanor’s Day,which is a commemorative day in its own right. bBut rather,you will say that the mishna is referring to bthoseresidents of cities who normally read on bthe fourteenth, but who read itearly that year, bon the twelfth;however, the twelfth of Adar is also a commemorative day, as bit is Trajan’s Day. /b, bRather, isn’tthe mishna referring to a case bwhere they readthe Scroll of Esther bon the eleventhof Adar, bandnevertheless that mishna bteachesthat it is bpermitted to eulogize and faston this day, despite the fact that it is the day before Trajan’s Day? The opinion in this unattributed mishna is not in accordance with that of Rabbi Yosei, which means that there is a contradiction between the two statements of Rabbi Yoḥa.,The Gemara answers: bNo;the mishna is actually referring to bthosewho normally read bon the fourteenth, but who read itthat year bon the twelfthof Adar. bAndwith regard to bthat which you said,that bit is Trajan’s Day, Trajan’s Day itself was annulledand is no longer celebrated, bsince Shemaya and his brother Aḥiya were killed on thatday. We learn this bas inthe incident bwhen Rav Naḥman decreed a fast on the twelfthof Adar and bthe Sages said to him: It is Trajan’s Day. He said to them: Trajan’s Day itself was annulled, since Shemaya and his brother Aḥiya were killed on thatday.,The Gemara asks: bAnd let him derivethat fasting on the twelfth is prohibited in any case, bas it is the day before Nicanor’sDay. bRav Ashi said: Nowthat with regard to Trajan’s Day bitself, they annulled it, will wethen barise and issue a decreenot to fast on this date bdue tothe following day, bNicanor’sDay?,In relation to the above, the Gemara inquires: bWhat isthe origin of bNicanor’sDay band what isthe origin of bTrajan’sDay? bAs it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bNicanor was one of the generals [ iiparkhei /i]in the bGreekarmy, band each and every day he would wave his hand over Judea and Jerusalem and say: When willthis city bfall into my hands, and I shall trample it? And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcamethe Greeks band emerged victorious over them,they killed Nicanor in battle, bcut off his thumbs and big toes, and hung them on the gates of Jerusalem, saying: The mouth that spoke with pride, and the hands that waved over Jerusalem, may vengeance be taken against them.This occurred on the thirteenth of Adar., bWhat isthe origin of bTrajan’sDay? bThey saidin explanation: bWhen Trajan sought to killthe important leaders bLuleyanus and his brother Pappas in Laodicea, he said to them: If you are from the nation of Haiah, Mishael, and Azariah, let your God come and save you from my hand, just as He saved Haiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.Luleyanus and Pappas bsaid to him: Haiah, Mishael, and Azariah were full-fledged righteouspeople, band they were worthy that a miracleshould be bperformed for them, and Nebuchadnezzar was a legitimate kingwho rose to power through his merit, band it is fitting that a miraclebe performed bthrough him. /b, bBut this wickedman, Trajan, bis a commoner,not a real king, band it is not fitting that a miraclebe performed bthrough him.Luleyanus and Pappas continued: bAndwe are not wholly righteous, band have been condemned to destruction by the Omnipresentfor our sins. bAnd if you do not kill us, the Omnipresent has many other executioners. Andif men do not kill us, bthe Omnipresent has many bears and lions in His world thatcan bhurt us and kill us. Instead, the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed us into your hands only so that He will avenge our blood in the future. /b, bEven so,Trajan remained unmoved by their response and bkilled them immediately. It is saidthat bthey had not moved fromthe place of execution bwhen two officials [ idiyoflei /i] arrived from Romewith permission to remove Trajan from power, band they split his skull with clubs.This was viewed as an act of divine retribution and was established as a commemorative day.,§ The mishna taught: bOne may not decree a fast on the community starting on a Thursday,so as not to cause prices to rise. Furthermore, bone may not decree a fast on New Moons,on Hanukkah, or on Purim. However, if one began a set of fasts, one does not interrupt the sequence for these days. The Gemara asks: bAnd how manyfasts bareconsidered ba beginning? Rav Aḥa said:If one fasted bthreefasts before the festive day. bRabbi Asi said:Even if one fasted bonefast before it., bRav Yehuda saidthat bRav said: This ihalakhaof the mishna that a fast that occurs on a festival is not observed, bis the statement of Rabbi Meir, who saidit bin the name of Rabban Gamliel. However, the Rabbis say:If a communal fast occurs on one of these days, one must bfast and completethe fast until nightfall. bMar Zutra taught in the name of Rav Huna:The practical ihalakha /iis in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis, that one bfasts and completeshis fast until nightfall.,, strongMISHNA: /strong bThe order of these fastsof increasing severity, as explained in Chapter One, bis statedonly bina case when bthe first rainfallhas not materialized. bHowever,if there is bvegetation thatgrew and its appearance bchangeddue to disease, the court does not wait at all; bthey cry out about it immediately. And likewise, if rain ceasedfor a period of bforty daysbetween bone rainfall and another, they cry out about it because it is a plague of drought. /b,If sufficient rain bfell for the vegetation but notenough bfell for the trees;or if it was enough bfor the trees but not for the vegetation;or if sufficient rain fell bfor both this and that,i.e., vegetation and trees, bbut notenough btofill the bcisterns, ditches, and caveswith water to last the summer, bthey cry out about it immediately. And likewise,if there is a particular bcity upon which it did not rain,while the surrounding area did receive rain, this is considered a divine curse, bas it is written: “And I caused it to rain upon one city, but caused it not to rain upon another city; one piece was rained upon,and the portion upon which it did not rain withered” (Amos 4:7). |
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8. Jerome, Commentaria In Danielem, 11.44-11.45 (5th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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