سفر المكابيين الخامس

Holy_bible_1

هو سفر غير قانوني وهو كتب متاخرا بعد هدم الهيكل اي بعد سبعين ميلادية

هذا السفر يسمي ايضا سفر المكابيين العربي الثاني وهذا هو الاسم الذي كتب عليه في نسخة باريس ولندن وهذا لانها من اوائل النسخ التي وجدت له كانت بالعربي ( ولم اتوصل للنص العربي ولكن وضعت النص الانجليزي في اخر الملف )

قانونية السفر

قانونيته

كما ذكرت ان السفر غير قانوني وهو لم يعترف به كسفر قانوني في اي مرحله من مراحل التاريخ اليهودي والمسيحي

ولم يقتبس منه العهد الجديد ولا اشار اليه في شيئ وهو غالبا كتب بعد تدمير الهيكل اي بعد 70 م

وايضا السفر لا يتكلم او يشير عن انتظار المسايا ولا يذكر نبوات

السفر غير موجود في المخطوطات السبعينية

ايضا السفر لا وجود له في مخطوطات قمران .

وهو ايضا لانه سفر غير قانوني فلم يوجد في نسخة الفلجاتا اللاتيني للقديس جيروم .

لانجد اي اشاره اليه في التقليد اليهودي عن الاسفار القانونية او التاريخيه

الكتابات اليهوديه التاريخيه لم تشر لهذا السفر ولا الادبية ايضا

ايضا سفر المكابيين الخامس لم يوجد في اي قائمة من القوائم القانونية حتي التي ذكرت مكابيين اول وثاني فقط

ايضا لم يعترف اي مجمع علي مدار التاريخ بقانونيته بما فيهم مجمع ترنت

وايضا اخوتي البروتستنت لم يضعوه حتي في قائمة الاسفار الابوكريفية

وفي اقوال الاباء لم اجد له اي اقتباس في مجموعة اباء ما قبل مجمع نيقية ولا بعده

كاتب السفر

هو انسان يهودي غير معروف ولكنه انسان يتحدث العبرية وغالبا اليونانية وهو علي علم بالكتابات القديمه فهو يعتمد في مادة كتابته علي سفري المكابيين الاول والثاني وايضا كتابات يوسيفوس مع اضافة اشياء قليله من عنده

خلفية عن محتويات السفر

يقدم السفر تاريخ اليهود بدءا من حادثة هجوم هليودورس على الهيكل في سنة 186 ق.م. وحتى سنة 6ق.م. وإن كان في الواقع عبارة عن تلخيص غير دقيق لسفرى المكابيين الأول والثانى، ويشمل هذا التلخيص: الأصحاحات (1 -18) باستثناء الإصحاح الثانى عشر، والذي هو إضافة جديدة من عنده، أما الإصحاحات (20 -59) فهى مأخوذة بكاملها عن تلريخ يوسيفيوس، وربما كان السفر في الأصل ينتهى بالأصحاح التاسع عشر.

لغتة الاصلية:

يرجح بعض العلماء أن هذا السفر كتب أولا بالعبرية، نقلاً عن مذكرات عبرية، وعلى الرغم من ذلك فإنه لا يوجد أي أصل عبري له، بل وجدت النسخة الأولى له في اليونانية، حيث يتضح منها أنه مترجم عن العبرية، وذلك من خلال بعض الكلمات والمصطلحات الفنية عبرية الأصل، مثل التوراة، والأربعة وعشرون سفراً، بيت الله، البيت المقدس، أرض البيت المقدس، مدينة البيت المقدس. وذلك في حديثه عن الأسفار المقدسة وأورشليم والهيكل.

ومع ذلك يرى بعض العلماء الأخرين أن لغة السفر الأصلية هى اليونانية، حيث يستخدم الكاتب الكثير من مصطلحات الفلسفة اليونانية، كما يحمل السفر جميع خصائص الأدب اليونانى الذي عرف في الإسكندرية في مطلع المسيحية.

الغرض من السفر:

كتب السفر لتعزية اليهود في وسط ألامهم، وتشجيعهم على أن يكونوا أمناء للشريعة، ويقدم تعليماً عن الخلود والدينونة ومجد الأبرار القادم ودينونة الأشرار.

والمجد لله دائما

المراجع

مدخل إلى سفريّ المكابيين - الأنبا مكاريوس الأسقف العام

دائرة المعارف الكتابية

الموسوعة اليهودية

دائرة المعارف اليهودية

قاموس انكور بايبل

موقع المكتبة اليهودية الالكترونية

موقع كتابات اليهود القديمة

موقه الويكيبيديا

الموسوعة البريطانية

THE FIFTH BOOK OF

MACCABEES:

CONTAINING

A KECOKD OF EVENTS FROM THE TRANSLATION OF THE

HEBREW SCRIPTURES INTO GREEK UNDER PTOLEMY

PHILADELPHUS, (B.C. 277,) TO THE DEATH OF HR-

ROD\s TWO SONS, IN THE FIFTH OR SIXTH YEAR BE-

FORE CHRIST.

PREFACE (from the Paris Polyglott Bible.)

J. HIS book, from the first to the sixteenth chap-

ter inclusive, is entitled, " The Second Book of

" Maccabees according to the translation of the

" Hebrews," as may be seen at the end of ch. xvi.

The remainder of it is entitled simply, " The Se-

" cond Book of Maccabees," the series of chapters

being continued from the preceding portion. But,

since the work agrees neither with the Syriac

text, which is considered of the highest authority

among the Orientals, nor with the Greek, nor with

the Vulgate version, (although it exists in almost

all the Oriental manuscripts), we have placed it at

the end of this Bible, and moreover without its

points : both, that it may not be supposed by any

one that we include it among the canonical books;

T 3

278 BOOK V. B. C. 184.

and also, because the Second Book of Maccabees,

Avhich is reckoned canonical, still remains to us

entire, though under the name of " The First

" Book."

You have however in this book some particu-

lars extracted from the first and from the second :

also some others which perhaps have never yet

been made public; which we trust may not be

without some degree of pleasure to you: inasmuch

as the entire book is a sort of continuation of the

history, carried down from the very Maccabees to

the reign of Herod and the government of Pilate a ,

and consequently to the time of Christ our Lord.

Lastly, we wish you to understand that we

have copied the text with that scrupulous exact-

ness, that we have not changed even those things

which easily might have been altered for the

better.

CHAPTER I. b

The attempt of Heliodorus on the treasury.

It was ordained by the kings of the Grecian l

b. c. Gentiles that large sums of money should

184 " be sent into the holy city' 1 every year, and

a This appears to be a mis- or Philopator, the son of An-

take, as will be seen on refer- tiochus the Great.

ence to the note at ch. lix. tl Among the peculiarities

25. of expression observable in

b Compare this chapter with this Fifth Book, are to be

3 Mace. iii. reckoned " the house of

c Namely, by Seleucus Ni- " God," or " the holy house,"

canor, Antiochus the Second, instead of " the temple ;"

Antiochus the Great, and also " the holy city," or " the

Seleucus IV, surnamed Soter, " city of the holy house,"

B. C. 176. CHAP. I. 279

should be delivered to the priests, that they might

add it to the treasury of the house of God, as

money for the receivers of alms [orphans] and for

widows.

2 Now Seleucus e was king in Macedonia f : and he

had a friend s, one of his captains, who b.c.

was called Heliodorus. This man was

sent to spoil the treasury, and to take whatever

3 money was therein. When this was noised

abroad, it created great grief among the citizens ;

and they were afraid lest Heliodorus should pro-

4 ceed to greater lengths ; as they had not sufficient

power to prevent him from executing his orders.

5 Wherefore they all fly to God for aid, and or-

dained a general fast, and supplicated with huini-

lity, bowing of the knees, and great wailing ; put-

ting on sackcloth, and rolling themselves in ashes,

with Onias 1 ' the high priest and the other princes

and elders, even to the common people, and wo-

7 men and children. And on the next day Helio-

dorus came into the house of God, with a train of

followers ; and entered into the house with his foot

for Jerusalem ; and " the and Prideaux.

" land (or region) of the e Namely, Seleucus IV.

" holy house," to designate { And of Syria also ; by

" Judaea." The other more which means he possessed the

usual appellations do some- sovereignty of Jiuhea.

times occur, but very seldom. S In 3 Mace. iii. Heliodo-

About this title, " the holy rus is called treasurer to the

" city," a phrase which is king.

used frequently in the Old h Namely, Onias III. —

Testament; and likewise in N.B. I have generally judged

St. Matthew and the book of it superfluous to make men-

Revelation, much has been tion, in the notes on this

written by commentators ; book, of persons previously

and the reader, desirous of named and described in any

fuller information on the of the former books,

point, is referred to Calmet

T 4

280 BOOK V. B. C. 176.

soldiers, he himself being on horseback, and was

in search of the money. But the great and good 8

God 1 sent a loud, terrible voice upon him ; and he

saw a person armed with weapons of war, riding

on a large horse, and advancing against him :

wherefore he was seized with fear and trembling: 9

and that person came up to him, and pulled him

off from his saddle k , and struck him with violence

to the earth. So that being exceedingly terror- 10

struck, and frightened out of his senses, he became

dumb. But when his attendants saw what had 11

befallen him, and could perceive no one who had

done these things unto him, they carried him with

all haste down to his own house: and he remained 12

during several days, neither speaking nor taking

any food. Wherefore the chief men of his friends 13

went to Onias the priest, beseeching him to be

appeased towards him, and to implore the great

and good God that He would not punish him.

Which thing Onias did ; and Heliodorus was 14

healed of his disease. And he saw in a vision the 15

person, whom he had seen in the sanctuary, com-

manding him to go to Onias the priest, and to

salute him, and pay him becoming honour; telling

him, that the great and good God had heard his

prayers, and had healed him at Onias' request.

Heliodorus therefore hastened to Onias the priest, 16

1 This phrase, " Deus Op- Antimorin. p. 66. 4to. 1644.)

" timus Maximus," occurs k Or horsecloth, or housing,

continually, and is peculiar Lat. sagma ; which is the

to this one book of Macca- word used by the Latin Vul-

bees : the same phrase, as we gate at Leviticus xv. 9. where

learn from Hottinger, is usual our translators read " sad-

in the Samaritan Chronicle. " die."

(Hottingeri Exercitationes

B.C. 284. CHAP. II. 281

whom falling down he sainted ; and gave him

money of various kinds 1 , requesting him to add it

to that which was in the treasury.

17 Then he went from Jerusalem into the country

of Macedonia, and related to king Seleucus what

had happened to him ; entreating that he would

not compel him m to become his representative at

18 Jerusalem. Wherefore the king wondered at the

things which Heliodorus mentioned to him ; and

commanded him to publish them to the world.

19 And he took care that his men should be removed

and sent away from Jerusalem, increasing the

gifts which he used to send thither annually, on

20 account of what had befallen Heliodorus. And

the kings added more to the money which they

ordered to be given to the priests, that it might

be spent on the orphans and widows ; also to that

which was to be spent on the sacrifices.

CHAPTER Il a .

The history of the translation of the twenty-four books

out of the Hebrew tongue into the Greek tongue, for

Ptolemy king of Egypt.

1 There was a man of Macedon named Ptolemy,

endued with knowledge and understand- B c

ing; whom, as he dwelt in Egypt, the 284,

1 Lut. denarios et drach- Martyr, or Epiphanius ; or

mas. consult Ussher, Hodius, or

m Compare ver. 38 of book the observations in Calmet.

III. ch. iii. It is obvious to every read-

a See a more full and mi- er, that the events of this

mite account of these transac- chapter precede in order of

tions in Josephus, Ant. XII. time those related in ch. i.

2. See also the history of the But I give the book exactly

same by Aristeas, or Justin as I find it.

282 BOOK V. B. C. 277.

Egyptians made king over the country of Egypt.

Wherefore he, being possessed with a desire of 2

seeking out various knowledge, collected all the

books of wise men from every quarter. And be- 3

ing anxious to obtain " the Twenty-four b Books,"

he wrote to the high priest in Jerusalem, to send

u. c. him seventy elders from among those who

277 ' were most skilled in those books ; and he

sent to the priest a letter, with a present. So 4

when the king's letter came to the priest, he chose

out seventy learned men, and sent them, together

with a man named Eleazar c , one excelling in re-

ligion, science, and learning : who departed into

Egypt. And when their approach was made 5

known to the king, he commanded seventy lodg-

ings to be prepared, and the men to be there en-

tertained. He also ordered a secretary to be ap- 6

pointed for each one, who should take down the

interpretation of these books in the Greek charac-

ter and language. He likewise forbade that any 7

one of these should hold communication with any

b It is well known that the ver. 1 . where Eleazar, who is

Hebrews usually called their tortured for his religion, is

scriptures by the name of said to have formerly gone

" the twenty-two books," an- with the doctors unto Pto-

swering to the number of lemy. The chronology how-

their letters, but not twenty- ever will not permit us to as-

four, as stated by the author sent to this. Eleazar is iii-

of this fifth book. deed there stated to be a man

c Josephus takes no notice of ninety years of age ; but

of any such person being still, the translation of the

sent : but the name of the Scriptures at Alexandria oc-

high priest at this period was curred ninety years before

Eleazar ; so that possibly that persecution under Anti-

some confusion of names may ochus, in which Eleazar was

have arisen from this circum- put to death,

stance. But see below, ch. iv.

B.C. 277. CHAP. II. 283

of his fellows; lest they should agree together

8 to make any change in those books. So the secre-

taries took down from every one of them the

9 translation of " the Twenty-four Books." And

when the translations were finished, Eleazar

brought them to the king; and compared them

together in his presence : on which comparison,

10 they were found to agree. Upon which the king-

was exceeding glad, and ordered a large sum of

money to be divided amongst the party. But Ele-

azar himself he rewarded with a munificent re-

compense.

11 He also on that day set free every captive

which was found in Egypt, of the tribe of Judah

and of Benjamin, that they might return to their

12 own country Syria. The number of them was

13 about one hundred and thirty thousand. More-

over, he ordered money to be distributed among

them, so that several denarii came to the share of

each person ; who, receiving these, departed into

14 their own land. Then he commanded a great

table to be made of the purest gold, which should

be large enough to contain a representation of the

whole land of Egypt, and a picture of the Nile,

from the commencement of its stream to the end

of it in Egypt, with its various divisions through

l."> the country, and how it laves the whole land. He

also ordered the table to be set with many precious

1(5 stones. And this table was made; and its carving

was finished, and it was set with precious stones :

and it was carried into the city of Jerusalem, a

17 present to the magnificent house. And, arriving

in safety, it was placed in the house, according to

18 the king's command. And truly men never be-

284 BOOK V. B. C. 170.

held its like, for the beauty of the pictures, and

the excellence of the workmanship.

CHAPTER III."

The history of the Jews. A relation of what befell the

Jews under king Antiochus; and what battles took

place between them and his captains ; and to what

lengths he at last proceeded.

There was a certain man of the kings of Ma- 1

g c cedon, who was called Antiochus b ; among

170. w hose deeds was this : that when Pto- 2

lemy the abovementioned king of Egypt was

dead, he went with his armies to attack the se-

cond Ptolemy. And, having conquered and slain

Ptolemy, he won his country d Egypt, and took

possession of it. From hence, as his affairs gained 3

an accession of strength, he subdued a great part

of the earth ; the king of Persia and others pay-

ing him obedience. Wherefore his heart was 4

lifted up : and being puffed up with pride, he

commanded images to be made after his own like-

ness ; that men should worship them, to his glori-

fying and honour. And when these were made, 5

he sent messengers into all the regions of his em-

pire, commanding them to be worshipped and

adored. To these commands the nations assented,

fearing and dreading his tyranny.

Now there were at that time in Judaea three tf

a Compare with this chap- tended here is Ptolemy Phi-

ter 2 Mace. i. 3 Mace. v. lometor, the epithet " second"

Joseph. Antiq. XII. 6, 7- is incorrectly applied, he he-

Bell. I. 1. ing in fact the sixth of the

b Namely, Antiochus Epi- Ptolemies.

phanes. d As had been predicted by

c Or rather, " the succeed- the prophet Daniel, ch. xi.

" ine:" for as the l<in<r in- 25.

B.C. 170. CHAP. III. 285

men, the very worst of all mortals ; and each of

them had, as it were, a connexion in the same

sort of vice. The name of one of these three was

Menelaus e ; of the second, Simeon f ; of the third,

7 Alcimnss. And about that time there appeared 11

certain images, which the citizens of Jerusalem

beheld in the air for the space of forty days : they

were the appearances of men riding on fiery horses

8 fighting with each other. So those impious men

went to Antiochus, to obtain from him some au-

thority, that they might perpetrate with ease

whatever they wished, of whoredom, and plunder-

ing of men's goods ; and in short, might rule

over the rest, and might keep them in subjection.

9 And they said to him, " O king, there have ap-

" peared lately in the air over Jerusalem fiery

" horsemen, contending with each other : and on

" that account the Hebrews have rejoiced, saying,

" that this portended the death of king Antio-

10 " chus." Which words the king believing, being

filled with rage, he marched to Jerusalem in the

shortest possible time ; and came upon the nation

11 not at all forewarned of his approach. And his

men attacked the inhabitants, and slew them with

the sword, making a very great slaughter'; many

also they wounded, and a great multitude they led

12 into captivity. But some escaping fled into the

e The brother of Jesus, or book of Maccabees reports,

Jason; for an account of whom that ''there were destroyed

see 3 Mace. iv. " within the space of three

f Or Simon, mentioned at " whole days fourscore thou-

.'5 Mace. iii. and iv. " sand ; whereof forty thou-

S Who was afterwards made " sand were slain in the con-

high priest. See 2 Mace. vii. " flict, and no fewer sold than

•> Compare 3 Mace. v. 2. " slain," ch. v. 14.

آ» The author of the third

286 BOOK V. B.C. 169.

mountains and woods, where they continued a

long time, feeding upon herbs.

After this, Antiochus determined to depart from 13

B c the country. But the evil which he had 14

169 - done to the nation did not suffice him :

but he left as his substitute a man named Fselix k ,

enjoining him to compel the Jews to worship his

image, and to eat swine's flesh. Which Fselix did, 15

sending for the people to obey the king in the

things which he had commanded him. But they 16

refused to do the things whereunto they were

called ; wherefore he slew a great multitude of

them ; preserving those wicked wretches and their

family, and raising their dignity.

CHAPTER IV.a

The history of the death of Eleazar the priest.

Afterwards was seized Eleazar, who had 1

B c gone with the doctors unto Ptolemy b , and

1G7 - was then a very old man, ninety years of

age ; and he was placed before Fselix ; who said -2

to him, " Eleazar, truly you are a wise and pru-

" dent man ; and indeed I have loved you for

" many years, and therefore I should not wish

" your death : therefore obey the king, and wor- 3

" ship his image, and eat of his sacrifices, and de-

" part in safety." To whom Eleazar replied ; 4

" I am not about to forsake my obedience to God,

k This appears to be either him " to compel the Jews to

Philip, whom Antiochus is " depart from the laws of

said (at 3 Mace. v. 22.) to " their fathers."

have left governor at Jerusa- a Compare this chapter with

lem ; or else, "the old man 3 Mace. vi. 18 — 31. and witli

" of Athens" mentioned at 3 4 Mace. v. and vi.

Mace. vi. 1, as being sent by h See above, ii. 4.

B.C. 167. CHAP. IV. 287

5 " in order to obey the king." And Fa?lix, coming

up, whispered to him, " Take care to send for

" some one to bring you flesh from your own of-

<j " ferings, which ])lace upon my table : and eat

" some part of that in the presence of the people,

" that they may know that you have obeyed the

" king : and you will save your life, without any

7 " harm done to your religion." Eleazar answered

him, " I do not obey God under any kind of fraud,

" but rather I will endure this your violence. For

" inasmuch as I am an old man of ninety years,

" my bones are now weakened, and my body has

8 " wasted away. If I therefore shall with a brave

" spirit endure those torments, from which even

" the bravest young men shrink back in fear ; my

" people and the youths of my nation will bravely

9 " imitate me, and will say ; ' How is it that we

" may not endure the pains, which one, who is in-

" ferior to us in strength, and less substantial in

10 " flesh and bones, has undergone?' which indeed

" will be better for me, than to deceive them by a

1 1 " feigned obedience to the king : for they will

" then say, ' If that decrepid old man, wise and

" prudent as he is, is clinging to life and overcome

" by the pain of temporary matters , abdicating

" his religion ; truly that will be lawful for us

" which was lawful for him, since he is an old

" man and a wise one, and one whom we ought

12 " to follow.' Wherefore I would rather die, leav-

" ing to them a constancy in religion and patience

" against tyranny ; than live, after having weak-

" ened their constancy in obeying their Lord and

c Or, " is afflicted by the painful thought of bidding adieu

" to temporal affairs."

288 BOOK V. B. C. 167.

" following his commands ; so that through me

" they may be rendered happy, not unhappy."

Now when Faelix had heard the determination 13

of Eleazar, he was violently enraged with him,

and commanded him to be tortured in a variety

of ways : so that he came into the most desperate

mortal struggle, and said ; " Thou, O God, 14

" knowest that I might have delivered myself

" from the troubles into which I have fallen, by

" obeying another rather than Thee. This how- 15

" ever I have not done ; but I have preferred

" obeying Thee, and have esteemed all the vio-

" lence offered me as light, for the sake of con-

" stancy in obedience to Thee. And now I think 10

" little of the things which have happened to me

" according to thy good pleasure, and support

" them as well as I can. I therefore pray Thee, 17

" that Thou wilt accept this from me, and cause

" me to die before I become weaker in endurance."

And God heard his prayers ; and immediately he 18

died. But he left his people devoted to the wor- 19

ship of their God, and endued with a sound forti-

tude, and perseverance in religion, and patience

to bear up against the trials which awaited them.

CHAPTER V*.

The history of' the death of the seven brethren.

After this, seven brothers were seized, and their l

mother ; and they were sent to the king ; for he

had not yet gone far away from Jerusalem. And 2

when they had been carried to the king, one of

them was brought into his presence ; whom he

a Compare with this chapter, 3 Mace. vii. and 4 Mace.

viii — xii.

B. C. 167. CHAP. V. 289

3 ordered to renounce his religion : but he refusing-

said to him, " If you think to teach us the truth

4 "for the first time, the matter is not so : for truth

" is that which we have learned from our fathers,

" and by which we have bound ourselves to em-

" brace the worship of God only, and constantly

" to observe the law ; and from this we in no

5 " wise will depart." And king Antiochus was

angry at these words, and commanded an iron

frying pan to be brought, and to be placed on the

6 fire. Then he ordered the young man's tongue to

be cut out, and his hands and feet to be cut off,

and the skin of his head to be flayed off, and to

be placed in the pan : and they did so to him.

7 Then he commanded a large brazen caldron to

be brought and set over the fire, into which the

8 rest of his body was thrown. And when the

man was near dying, he ordered the fire to be re-

moved from him, that he might be tortured the

longer : intending by these acts to terrify his

9 mother and his brethren. But in fact by this he

gave them additional courage and strength, to

maintain their religion with constancy, and to

bear all those torments which tyranny could in-

flict upon them.

10 So when the first was dead, the second was

brought before him : to whom some of the at-

tendants said, " Obey those orders which the king

" will give you, lest you perish even as your bro-

1 1 " ther perished." But he answered, " I am not

" weaker in spirit than my brother, nor behind

" him in my faith. Bring forward your fire and

" sword ; and do not diminish ought of that which

" you did to my brother." And they did to him

u

290 BOOK V. B. C. 167.

as had been done to his brother. And he called 12

out to the king, and said to him ; " Hear, O thou

" monster of cruelty towards men, and know that

" thou gainest nothing of ours except our bodies ;

" but our souls thou dost by no means obtain ;

" and these shortly will go to their Creator, whom 13

" He will restore to their bodies, when He shall

" raise to life b the dead men of his nation and the

" slain ones of his people."

And the third was brought out ; who beckon- 14

ing with his hand said to the king ; " Why dost

" thou frighten us, O enemy ? know that this is 15

" sent upon us from heaven, which also we under-

" go as such, giving thanks to God, and from Him

" we hope for our reward." And the king, and 10

those who stood near him, admired the courage of

the youth, and the firmness of his mind, and his

fair discourse. Then he gave orders, and he was

slain.

And the fourth was brought out, who said: 17

" For God's religion we set our lives to sale, and

" hire them out, that we may require payment

" from Him, on that day when you shall have no

" excuse in the judgment, and shall not be able

" to endure your tortures." The king commanded, 18

and he was put to death.

And the fifth was brought out, who said to him ; 19

" Think not within thyself that God has forsaken

" us, because of the things which He has sent

b There appears here a ma- " sing, ye that dwell in dust :

nifest allusion to the words of " for thy dew is as the deAV

the prophet Isaiah, ch. xxvi. " of herbs, and the earth shall

1!>, " Thy dead men shall live, "cast out the dead." Also,

" together with my dead body to a striking passage in Eze-

" shall they arise. Awake and chiel, ch. xxxvii. 1 — 14.

B. C. 167. CHAP. V. 291

20 " upon us. But truly his will is, to shew us

" honour and love by these things ; and He will

21 " avenge us of thee and of thy posterity." And

the king commanded, and he was slain.

22 And the sixth was brought out, who said ; " I

" confess indeed my offences to God, but I believe

" that they shall be forgiven me through this my

23 " death. But you have now opposed God, by

" slaying those who embrace His religion : and

" surely He will repay you according to your

" works, and will root you out from his earth."

And he gave orders for him, and he was slain.

24 And the seventh was brought out, who was a

25 boy. Then his mother arose, fearless and un-

moved, and looked upon c the corpses of her chil-

2t> dren : and she said, " My sons, I know not how I

" conceived each one of you, when I did conceive

" him. Nor had I the power of giving him

" breath ; or of bringing him forth to the light

" of this world ; or of bestowing on him courage

27 " and understanding : but indeed the great and

" good God himself formed him according to his

" own will : and gave to him a form according to

28 " his good pleasure : and brought him into the

" world by his power ; appointing to him a term

" of life, and good rules, and a dispensation of re-

29 " Ugion, as it pleaseth Him. But you now have

" sold to God your bodies which he himself form-

" ed, and your souls which he created : and you

" have acquiesced in his judgments which he

30 آ« hath decreed. Wherefore, happy are ye, in the

" things which happily you have obtained ; and

c Compare what is related of her firmness and fortitude,

in book IV. ch. xv. 13—23.

u2

292 BOOK V. B.C. 167.

" blessed are ye, for the things in which you

" have been victorious."

Now Antiochus had supposed, when he beheld 31

her rise up, that she had done this through being

overcome by fear for her child ; and he wholly

thought that she was about to enjoin him obe-

dience to the king, that he might not perish as his

brethren had perished. But when he had heard 32

her words, he was ashamed, and blushed, and

commanded the boy to be brought to him ; that

he might exhort him, and persuade him to love

life, and deter him from death : lest all those 33

should be seen to oppose his authority, and very

many others should follow their example. There- 34

fore, when he was brought to him, he exhorted

him by discourse, and promised him riches, and

sware to him that he would make him viceroy to

himself. But when the boy was not at all moved 35

by his words, and took no heed of them ; the

king turned to his mother, and said to her;

" Happy woman, pity this thy son, whom alone 36

" thou hast surviving ; and exhort him to comply

" with my orders, and to escape those sufferings

" which have happened to his brethren." And 37

she said, " Bring him hither, that I may exhort

" him in the words of God."

And when they had brought him to her, she 38

went aside from the crowd : then she kissed him,

and laughed to scorn the things which had been

said to her by Antiochus : and then said to him ; 39

" My son, come now, be obedient to me, because

" I have brought you forth, and suckled you, and

" educated you, and taught you divine religion.

" Look up now to the heaven, and the earth, and 40

B.C. 167. CHAP. V. 293

" the water, and the fire ; and understand that

" the one true God himself created these ; and

" formed man of flesh and blood, who lives a

41 " short time, and then will die. Wherefore fear

" the true God, who dieth not : and obey the true

42 " Being, who changeth not his promises : and fear

" not this mere giant d : and die for God's religion,

43 " as your brothers have died. For if you could

" see, my son, their honourable dwelling-place,

" and the light of their habitation e , and to what

" glory they have attained, you would not endure

44 " not to follow them : and in truth I also hope

" that the great and good God will prepare me,

" and that I shall closely follow you."

45 Then said the boy ; " Know ye that I will obey

" God, and will not obey the commands of Anti-

" ochus : wherefore, delay not to let me follow

" my brothers ; hinder me not from departing to

46 " the place whither they have gone." Then to

the king he said; "Woe to thee from God ! whither

" wilt thou fly from Him ? where wilt thou seek

" for refuge? or whose help wilt thou implore,

" that He may not take vengeance on thee ?

d Lat. "Gigantem vulga- rence: " that David my ser-

" rem." " vant may have a light al-

e This circumstance, as be- " ways :" — " the light shall

tokening a state of comfort "shine on thy ways:" —

and happiness, is frequently " Lord, lift thou up the light

brought forward in the holy " of thy countenance upon

Scriptures. Thus, while ac- " us :" — " The Lord is my

tual darkness overspread the " light," &c. &c. &c. So St.

land of Egypt, we read that Paul speaks of " the inherit-

" all the children of Israel " ance of the saints in light."

" had light in their dwell- But I do not purpose to quote

" ings." Exod. x. 23. And the New Testament here. See

the same expression, in a fi- below, verse 48.

gure, is of constant occur-

u 3

294 BOOK V. B. C. 167.

" Truly thou hast done us a kindness, when thou 47

" hadst designed to do us evil : thou hast done

" evil to thine own soul, and hast destroyed it,

" while thou thoughtest to do it good. Now we 48

" are on our way to a life which death shall never

" follow; and shall dwell in light which dark-

" ness shall never put away. But your dwelling 49

" shall be in the infernal regions, with exquisite

" punishments from God. And I trust, that the 50

" wrath of God will depart from his people, on

" account of what we have suffered for them : but 51

" that you He will torment in this world, and

" bring you to a wretched death ; and that after-

" wards you will depart into eternal torments."

And Antiochus was angry, seeing that the boy 52

opposed his authority ; wherefore he commanded

him to be tortured even more than his brothers.

And this was done, and he died. But their mo- 53

ther intreated God, and besought Him that she

might follow her sons ; and immediately she died.

Then Antiochus departed into his country Ma- 54

cedonia : and he wrote to Feelix, and to the other

governors f in Syria, that they should slay all the

Jews, except those who should embrace his reli-

gion. And his servants obeyed his command, 55

putting a multitude of men to death.

CHAPTER V^.

The history of Mattathias the high priest, the son of'

Jochanan, who is the son ()fHesmai b the priest.

A certain man named Mattathias, the son of 1

f See 3 Mace. v. 22—24. b Called by Josephus, " As-

a Compare this chapter with "samonaens:" compare the

2 Mace. ii. ; Joseph. Antiq. note on book II. eh. ii. 1.

XII. II; Bell. 1.1.

B.C. 167. CHAP. VI. 295

Jochanan, fled to one of the mountains which

were fortified. And the men who were scattered

abroad fled thither to him : and some concealed

2 themselves in secluded places. But after that An-

tiochus had departed to a greater distance from

the country, Mattathias sent his son Judas se-

3 cretly into the cities of Judah ; to certify them of

his own and his people's health, and to desire that

as many as were inspired with courage, magna-

nimity, and zeal for religion, for their wives, and

their children, should come unto him.

4 And certain of the higher orders of the people,

who had stayed behind, went out to him : who,

5 when they were come to him, said to them ; " No-

" thing is left to us, but prayer to God, and con-

" fidence in Him, and a fight with our enemies, if

" perhaps God will give us assistance and the vic-

6 " tory over them." And the people assented to

the opinion of Mattathias, and they acted ac-

cording to it.

7 And it was told to Fselix; and he marched

8 against them with a great army. And word was

brought to him, while on his march, that about a

thousand of the people of the Jews, men and wo-

men mixed, were assembled together, and dwell-

ing in a certain cave, that they might be enabled

1) to preserve their own way of worship. And he

turned aside to them with some part of his troops,

sending the commanders of his men with the rest

10 of the army against Mattathias. Now Fselix de-

manded from those who were in the cave, that

they should come out to him, and consent to enter

11 into his religion; but they refused. Whereupon

u 4

296 BOOK V. B.C. 167.

he threatened that he would put smoke c under

them ; and they endured that, and did not come

out to him ; and he put smoke under them, and

they all died.

And when the generals of his army were march- 12

ing against Mattathias, and came even to him, he

being ready for battle ; one of the generals, of 13

noble blood, went to him, proposing to him to

obey the king, and that he should not oppose his

authority ; so that he himself might live, and

those who were with him, and might not perish.

To whom he said ; " I indeed obey God the true 14

" king : but do you obey your king, and do what-

" soever seems good to you." And he ceased from

speaking. And they began to lay snares for him. 15

And there came a certain man, of the worst of 16

the Jews who were with them, and excited them

to march against him and to prepare war. And 17

Mattathias rushed on him with his drawn sword,

and cut off the Jew's head : then he struck the

general d , to whom the Jew was speaking, and

slew him also.

But Mattathias' companions, seeing what he 18

had done, hastened to him ; and they burst into

the camp of the enemy, slaying great numbers of

them, and put them to flight : afterwards they

pursued the fugitives, until they slew the whole

of them.

After this, Mattathias blew the trumpet, and 19

c Namely, that he would d Josephus states the name

kindle fires in the cave's of this general (or " commis-

mouth,and thus smother them " sioner," as he is called at

with the smoke. 2 Mace. ii. 25) to be Apelles.

B.C 166. CHAP. VII. 297

proclaimed an expedition against Fselix. And he

and his companions entered into the land of Ju-

dah, and took possession of very many of their

20 cities. And the most high God gave them rest

by his hands from the generals of Antiochus : and

they returned to the observance of their own re-

ligion : and the bands of their enemies retreated

from before them.

CHAPTER VII^

The account of the death of Mattathias, and the acts of

Judas his son after him.

1 Now Mattathias became infirm. And when

he was near to death, he called his sons, B c

2 who were five, and said unto them : " I 166 -

" know of a certainty that very many and great

" wars will be kindled in the land of Judah, for

" the sake [or, by reason] of those matters for

" which the great and good God has stirred

3 " us up to wage war against our enemies. But

" I charge you that you fear God, and trust

" in him, and be zealous of the law, and the

4 " sanctuary, and the people also; and prepare

" yourselves to wage war against its enemies :

" and fear not death, because, without doubt, this

5 " is decreed unto all men. So that, if God shall

" make you victorious, you have at once obtained

" that which you were longing for : but if you

" fall, that is no loss to you in his sight."

6 And Mattathias died and was buried ; and his

sons did according to that which he had com-

a Compare this chapter Antiq. XII. 8 — 11. Bell,

with 2 Mace. ii. 49, &c. iii. I. i.

iv. 3 Mace. viii. Joseph.

298 BOOK V. B.C. 166.

manded them. And they agreed to make their

brother Judas their leader. Now Judas their 7

brother was the best in counsel, and bravest in

strength of them all. And an army was sent 8

against them by Fselix b , under a man who was

called Seron c , whom Judas with his company put

to flight, and he slew great numbers. And the 9

fame of Judas was spread abroad, and increased

greatly in the ears of men: and all the nations

which were round about him feared him exceed-

ingly.

And it was told to king Antiochus what Matta- 10

thias and his son Judas had done. News of this 11

came also to the king of the Persians ; so that he

played false with Antiochus, departing from his

friendship, following the example of Judas. Which 12

giving Antiochus a great deal of uneasiness, he

called to him one of his household officers named

Lysias d , a stout and brave man, and said to him ;

آ«* I have now determined to go into the land of 13

" Persia to make war ; and I wish to leave behind

" me my son in my stead ; and to take with me

" the half of my army, and to leave the remainder

" with my son : and behold I have given to you 14

" the governance of my son, and the governance

" of the men whom I leave with him. And 15

" verily you know what Mattathias and Judas

" have done to my friends and my subjects.

" Wherefore, send one to lead a powerful army ic

* The second book of Mac- 2 Mace. iii. 13.

cabees, ch. iii. 10. calls him d "A nobleman, and one

Apollonius. " of the blood royal," book

c He is called " a prince II. ch. iii. 32.

" of the army of Syria," at

B.C. 166. CHAP. VII. 299

" into the land of Judah ; and command him to

" attack the land of Judah with the sword, and to

" root them out, and to demolish their dwellings,

" and to destroy all traces of them."

17 Then Antiochus departed into the country of

18 Persia. But Lysias made ready three hardy and

brave generals, skilled in war ; of whom one was

named Ptolemy e , a second Nicanor, and the third

19 Gorgias. And with them he sent forty thousand

chosen troops and seven thousand horsemen. He

also charged them to bring with them an army of

Syrians, and Philistines ; and ordered them to

20 root out the Jews entirely. And they marched

forth, carrying with them a multitude of mer-

chants, that they might sell to them the captives

which they were about to obtain from among the

Jews.

21 But tidings of this came to Judas the son of

Mattathias ; and he went to the house of the

22 great and good God ; and assembled his men, and

enjoined them a fast, and supplications, and

prayers to the great and good God ; and charged

that they should beseech Him for victory against

their enemies ; which thing they did.

23 After this, Judas collecting his men, appointed

over each thousand a chief f , and likewise over

each hundred, and over each fifty, and over each

24 ten. Then he commanded proclamation to be

made by trumpet throughout his army, that who-

soever was fearful, and whomsoever God com-

manded to be dismissed from the army, he should

e At book II. ch. iii. 38, " friends."

these three generals are styled, f Compare 2 Mace. iii. 55,

" mighty men of the king's 56.

300 BOOK V. B. C. 166.

return home. And great numbers returned ; and 25

there remained with them seven thousand stout

and brave men, skilled in wars and accustomed

thereto ; nor had any one of them ever fled : and

they marched against their enemies. But when 26

they had drawn nigh to them, Judas prayed to his

Lord, intreating Him that He would turn away

from him the malice of his enemy ; and that He

would assist him, and render him victorious.

Then he commanded the priests to sound the 27

trumpets, which they did : and all his men called

upon God, and rushed upon the army of Nicanor.

And God gave them victory over them, and they 28

turned him and his men to flight, killing of them

nine thousand men, and the rest were dispersed.

And Judas and his company returned to Nicanor's 29

camp, and made spoil of it ; and plundered very

much property of the merchants, and sent it to be

divided among the sick.

This battle took place on the sixth day of the 30

week ; wherefore Judas and his men remained on

the same spot until the sabbath-day had passed.

Then they marched against Ptolemy and Gorgias, 31

whom they found and defeated, and gained a

victory over them, slaying twenty thousand of

their troops. And Ptolemy and Gorgias fled ; 32

whom Judas and his company pursued ; yet he

could not overtake them, because they betook

themselves into a city of two idols s, and fortified

themselves therein with the remnant of their

army. And Judas attacked Frelix ; and he was 33

put to flight before him. And Judas pursued him.

g The corresponding part of book III. states, that the place

to which Nicanor Hed was Antioch.

B.C. 164. CHAP. VIII. 301

Who, coming to a certain house which was nigh

at hand, entered into it and closed the doors, for

34 it was a fortified house. And Judas commanded,

and he set fire to it ; and the house was burned,

and Faelix was burned h in it. So Judas took

vengeance on him for Eleazar and the others

35 whom Faelix had put to death. Afterwards the

people returned to the slain, and took their spoils

and their armour ; but the best of the prey they

36 sent into the Holy Land. But Nicanor departed

in disguise unknown, and returned to Lysias, and

told him all which had happened to him and his

company.

CHAPTER VIII. a

The relation of Antiochus" 1 return, and of his going into

the land qfJudah,and of the disease which fell on him,

qf which he died in his journey.

1 But Antiochus returned out of the country of

Persia, flying, with his army disbanded. B c

2 And when he had learned what had hap- 1(i4 -

pened to his army which Lysias had sent forth,

and to all his men, he went out with a large

3 army, marching to the land of Judah. Now when

in his progress he had reached the middle of his

journey, God smote his troops with most mighty

4 weapons : but this could not stop him from his

journey ; but he persisted in it, uttering all sorts

of insolence against God, and saying that no one

could turn him aside, nor hinder him from his de-

h At 3 Mace. viii. 33, the a Compare with this chap-

person burned is called Cal- ter 2 Mace, vi; 3 Mace, ix;

listhenes ! Joseph. Antiq. XII. 13.

302 BOOK V. B.C. 164.

termined purposes. Wherefore the great and good 5

God smote him also with ulcers which attacked

the whole of his body : but even yet he did not

desist, nor refrain from his journey ; but was 6

more filled with wrath, and inflamed with an

eager desire to obtain what he had determined on,

and to carry his resolution into effect.

Now there were in his army very many ele- 7

phants. It so happened that one of these ran

away, and made a bellowing : upon which the

horses which were drawing the couch on which

Antiochus lay, ran off, and threw him out. And, 8

as he was fat and corpulent, his limbs were bruised,

and some of his joints were dislocated. And the bad 9

smell of his ulcers, which already sent forth a foe-

tid odour, was so much increased, that neither he

himself could longer endure it, nor could those

who came near him. So when he fell, his ser- 10

vants took him up, and carried him upon their

shoulders : but as the foul smell grew worse, they

threw him down and departed to a distance.

Therefore, perceiving the evils which sur- 11

rounded him, he believed for certain that all that

punishment had come upon him from the great

and good God ; by reason of the injury and the

tyranny which he had used towards the Hebrews,

and the unjust shedding of their blood. In fear 12

therefore he turned himself to God, and, confess-

ing his sins, said ; " O God, in truth I deserve

" the things b which Thou hast sent upon me:

b See Josephus' remark Antiquities. In fact, both

upon Polybius' account of the Polybius and Josephus recog-

cause of Antiochus' death ; in nize the same principle, while

ch. 13 of his Xllth book of they attribute this death to

B.C. 164. CHAP. VIII. 803

" and indeed just art Thou c in thy judgments ;

13 " Thou humblest him who is exalted, and bring-

" est down him who is puffed up : but thine is

" greatness, and magnificence, and majesty, and

14 " prowess. Truly, I own, I have oppressed the

" people, and have both acted and decreed tyran-

15 " nically against them. Forgive, I pray Thee, O

" God, this my error ; and wipe out my sin, and

" bestow on me my health : and my care shall be

" to fill the treasury of thy house with gold and

10 " silver : and to strew d the floor of the house of

" thy sanctuary with purple vestments ; and to

" be circumcised ; and to proclaim throughout all

" my kingdom, that Thou only art the true God,

" without any partner, and that there is no God

" besides thee."

17 But God did not hear his prayers, nor accept

his supplication : but his troubles so increased on

him that he voided his bowels : and his ulcers in-

creased to that degree, that his flesh dropt off

18 from his body. Then he died, and was buried in

his place. And his son reigned in his stead,

whose name was Eupator.

different causes : Polybius, a " Righteous art Thou, O

Greek heathen, considered it " Lord, and upright are Thy

a just recompense for his at- " judgments."

tempt to plunder the temple d Similar to this act of

of Diana ; while Josephus, a thanksgiving was the Lectis-

Jew, regarded it as an ex- ternium of the Romans, when

ample of Divine vengeance, after a victory couches were

punishing his spoliation of the solemnly placed and spread

temple of God at Jerusalem. for the images of their gods,

c The author here borrows as if about to partake of a

the words of tin; 1 1 9th Psalm : feast .

304 BOOK V. B.C. 165.

CHAPTER IX.*

The history of the eight days of dedication.

When Judas had put to flight Ptolemy, and 1

B c Nicanor, and Gorgias, and had slain their

165. men j he himself and his troops returned

into the country 13 of the holy house. And he com- 2

manded all the altars to be destroyed which An-

tiochus had ordered to be built : and he removed 3

all the idols which were in the sanctuary : and

they built up a new altar, and he commanded sa-

crifices to be offered upon that. They prayed also 4

to the great and good God, that He would bring

forth the holy fire c which might remain upon the

altar : and fire came out from some stones of the 5

altar, and burned up the wood and the sacrifices ;

and from it fire continued on the altar until the

third carrying into captivity' 1 . And then they 6

kept the festival of the new altar e for eight days,

beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the month

Casleu. And then they placed bread f on the table 7

of the house of God, and lighted the lamps of the

a Compare 2 Mace. iv. 36, d There can be little doubt

&c. 3 Mace. x. Joseph. An- that the author alludes to the

tiq. XII. 11. There is an ir- last general captivity under

regularity here in the order Titus ; although the expres-

of the narrative ; this cleans- sion, " the third," is often ap-

ing and dedication having pre- plied to an earlier visitation

ceded the death of king An- of that kind. (See Calmet.)

tiochus, and indeed having This phrase may serve in

contributed to his trouble of some degree to mark the pro-

mind, as is shewn at 2 Mace, bable age of the book. Com-

vii. 7- pare ch. xxi. 30. and liii. 8.

b Concerning this phrase, e The same festival which

see the note upon chap. i. 1. Josephus calls " the feast of

above. " lights." Ant. XII. 7-

c Compare 3 Mace. i. 19 — f Namely, the shew-bread.

22: andii. 10.

B.C. 164. CHAP. X. 305

8 candlestick. And on each of these eight days they

assembled together for prayer and praise : and

moreover they appointed it an ordinance for every

year to come.

CHAPTER X.*

The history of Judas battles with Gorgias and Ptolemy.

1 Now after the days of dedication, Judas marched

into the country of the Idumaeans, to the B ( .

mountain Sarah b : for Gorgias was staying 1( * 4 -

2 there. And Gorgias went out against him with

a great army, and there were sore battles betwixt

them ; and there fell of Gorgias' men twenty thou-

3 sand. And Gorgias fled to Ptolemy c into the

land of the west d , (for Antiochus had made him

governor of that country, and there he was stay-

4 ing,) and told him what had befallen him. Where-

upon Ptolemy went forth with an army, in which

were a hundred and twenty thousand men of Ma-

5 cedonia and the east. And he went on until he

came to the country of Giares, {that is to say, Gi-

lead,) and the parts adjacent ; and he slew great

numbers of the Jews. So they wrote to Judas,

telling him what had happened to them, begging

him to come and defeat Ptolemy and drive him

7 away from them. And their letter reached him

at the same time that a letter came to him from

a Compare this with 2 Ill.ch. x. 14, 15, we know that

Mace, v; 3 Mace, x; Joseph. Gorgias at this time was in

Antiq. XII. 12. the neighbourhood of Idumaea.

b Perhaps a continuation of c The Third Book of Mac-

that chain which in Scripture cabees calls him Timotkeus,

is called "mount Seir:" com- throughout the chapter, and

pare ch. xxi. 29. xxxv. 4: so does Josephus.

and read the note at ch. xlix. d Namely, Philistia, and

20. By the parallel passages, the western coast of Judaea,

in book II. ch.v.65, and book

X

306 BOOK V. B.C. 164.

the inhabitants of the mountain e of Galilee like-

wise, informing him how the Macedonians who

were at Tyre and Sidon had now united against

them, and had attacked them, killing several.

Now when Judas had read both the letters, he 8

called together his men, and shewed them the con-

tents of the letters, and appointed a fast and sup-

plication. After this, he ordered his brother Si- 9

meon to take with him three thousand men of the

Jews, and to march with all speed to the moun-

tain of Galilee, and to quell the Macedonians

who were there. And Simeon went. But Judas 10

hastened to encounter Ptolemy. And Simeon at- 11

tacked the Macedonians unexpectedly, and slew

of them eight thousand men, and gave rest to the

Galilaeans.

But Judas marched on until he came up with 12

Gorgias and Ptolemy ; pressing them and be-

sieging them : and the two armies encountered,

and very fierce battles took place betwixt them.

For Ptolemy headed a numerous, stout, and brave 13

body of men. But Judas was accompanied by a

very small band : yet, as the people who were 14

with him consisted of the bravest and strongest

troops, he steadily resisted, and the battle between

them lasted long, and grew very sore. Wherefore 15

Judas called out to the great and good God, and

invoked his aid. And he related f that he had 16

seen five youthful horsemen, three of whom fought

e Or rather, " the moun- and related it to his troops ;

" tainous district." hut that the thing itself was

f Lat. " Meminit." The seen by the whole of the ene-

third book states, not that my's army.

Judas alone saw this vision.

B.C. 164. CHAP. X. 307

against Ptolemy's army, and two stood near him-

17 self. Whom when he viewed attentively, they

18 seemed to him to be angels of God. Wherefore

his heart was comforted, and the hearts of his

companions ; and making frequent assaults upon

the enemy, they put them to flight, and slew

19 great multitudes of them. And the number of

those who were slain of Ptolemy's army, from

the beginning of this battle until the end, was

twenty thousand and five hundred.

20 After these things, Ptolemy and his men fled

to the sea-coast ; while Judas pursued them, and

21 slew as many of them as he caught. But Ptolemy

fled to Gaza, and remained there ; and the men

22 of Chalisam s came to him. And Judas marched

against them ; and when he found them, he de-

feated them : and Ptolemy's men were dispersed,

but he himself fled to Gaza h , and there fortified

23 himself. And Judas' men pursued the flying body,

and slew great numbers of them. And Judas and

the men who were with him marched straight to

Gaza, and he pitched his camp and besieged it.

24 And Judas' men returned to him ; and they who

were left of Ptolemy's forces went up upon the

fortification, and abused Judas with much revil-

25 ing. And the fighting between them and Judas'

troops lasted for five days. But when the fifth

g Who these are, I am not sea-coast : and at 2 Mace. v.

ahle to specify with any cer- 05, we read that Judas pro-

tainty: perhaps the inhabit- ceeded from Hebron into the

ants of Kulzum, a small town land of the Philistines, and

on the sea-coast of Egypt. passed through Samaria : in

h Probably Gazara, as stated which case he might have vi-

at3Macc.x.32. Yet both Gaza sited both of these towns,

and Gazara were near to the

x 2

308 BOOK V. B.C. 164.

day was come, the people continued to cast re-

proaches upon Judas, and to revile his religion :

whereupon twenty of Judas' men grew angry ; 26

who taking shields on their left hands, and swords

in their right, and having with them a man bear-

ing a ladder which they had made, marched until

they came to the wall : and eighteen of them 27

stood and threw darts at those who were on the

wall ; and two, hastening to the wall, raised up the

ladder, and by it mounted. But certain of those 28

who were there, perceiving that they had ascend-

ed, and that their companions had followed, and

also had gone down from the wall into the city,

descended from the wall after them : whom Ju-

das' men defeated, slaying great numbers of their

enemies. But the army of Judas pressed forward 29

to the gate of the city ; and the twenty began to

run toward the gate that they might open it : but

they were driven thence most fiercely ; wherefore

they called out with loud cries. Judas therefore 30

and his men knew that they had come near to the

gate : and the battle grew sore both without the

gate and within. And Judas and his men at- 31

tacked the gate with fire, and it fell down ; and

the people perished, and the men who had reviled

Judas, were taken, and he commanded them to be

brought out and burned '. Moreover he com- 32

manded the city to be utterly smitten with the

sword ; and the slaughter continued in it for two

days, and then it was wasted with fire.

But Ptolemy fled ; nor were tidings of him 33

1 These particulars of the Gaza hut Gazara, in book III.

siege and capture of this place x. 32 — 36.

are expressly assigned, not to

B.C. 163. CHAP. XI. 309

heard at that time; because that he had changed

his clothes, and concealed himself in one of the

34 pits k , and no account of him was had. But his

two brothers were taken, and brought to Judas ;

35 and he ordered them to be beheaded. After this

he went into the land of the sanctuary, with

abundance of spoil ; and both he and his com-

pany offered prayers therein, giving thanks to

God for the benefits which they had received.

CHAPTER XI. *

The relation of the battle between Judas and Lysias the

general of Etipator, after the death of ling Anti-

ochus.

1 The name of Antiochus, of whom mention has

been made above, was Epiphanius : but B . c .

the name of his son who reigned after him 163 -

was Euj>ator, who also was named Antiochus.

2 And when the battles of Judas with these gene-

rals had taken place, they b wrote on the subject

to Eupator ; who sent with Lysias, his cousin's

son, a large army, in which were eighty thousand

3 horsemen and eighty elephants. Who coming to

a city which is called Bethner c , pitched their

camp around it, and besieged it, because it was

4 a large city, and much people was therein. And

Lysias raised engines of war around it, and began

5 to besiege the inhabitants : which being told to

k Compare book III. x. 37- " of Israel, who joined them-

a Compare with this the " selves unto them/' as re-

account given at 3 Mace. xi. lated at 2 Mace. vi. 18 — 27-

and xii. c The same place as Beth-

b Namely, some of the sura, so often mentioned in

king's troops who still held books II. and III. and Beth-

tlic tower in Jerusalem, toge- zur, named in the books of

ther with "some ungodly men Joshua and Chronicles.

x 3

310 BOOK V. B.C. 163.

Judas, he himself and his company went out to

some fortified mountains d ; and there they abode; 6

lest if they remained in any city, Lysias should

come and besiege it, and should overpower them.

Judas therefore collected his company, and re- 7

solved to march with them to Lysias' camp, after

they should have gone to the house of God and

offered sacrifices in it ; beseeching the great and 8

good God to turn away from them the malice of

their enemies, and to grant them victory over

them : which thing they did. After this, they 9

marched from the region of the holy house to

Bethner. For they had designed to come upon

the army suddenly, and to defeat it without a

struggle.

Now men say, that there appeared to Judas 10

a certain personage between heaven and earth,

riding on a fiery horse, and holding in his hand

a large spear, with which he smote the army of

the Gentiles e . So that what they had seen gave 11

them additional courage and spirits. And they

made haste and charged the army, and slew great

numbers of its men. Wherefore the enemy's army 12

was troubled and thrown into the greatest confu-

sion, and the whole of it betook itself to a con-

fused flight. And the sword of Judas and his 13

company pressed sore upon them ; and he slew

of them eleven thousand footmen, and sixteen

hundred horsemen. Lysias also was chased, with 14

his company, to a distant place, in which he re-

mained in safety.

And he sent to Judas, desiring him to be sub- 15

d Probably in tbe neigh- mentioned at 2 Mace. vi. 32.

bourhood of Bathzacharias. e Literally, "of the Greeks."

B.C. 163. CHAP. XII. 311

ject to the king, retaining his own and his peo-

16 pie's religion : to whom Judas consented in this

matter, until word could be written to the king,

and an answer of his agreeing thereto could be re-

17 ceived. And Judas wrote concerning this busi-

ness: Lysias also wrote to the king, informing

him of what had happened, and what proof he

had had of the strength and bravery of the Jew-

18 ish nation ; and that a continuation of wars with

them would exterminate his men, as these before-

mentioned had been exterminated : he told him

also their agreement, and his own waiting until

he should receive a letter to say what he must do.

19 To whom the king replied, that it seemed right

to him to make peace with the nation of the Jews,

taking away that stumblingblock concerning the

exercise of their religion : for that this very thing

had incited them to the revolts, and to the attacks

20 made on his predecessors. He also commanded him

to make with them a treaty of peace and obedi-

ence ; so that no obstacles should be thrown in

21 their way in the matter of religion. He wrote

also to Judas, and to all the Jews who were in

the land of Judah, according to this effect : and

this peace continued between them for some space

of time.

CHAPTER XII.

An account of the beginning of the power of the Romans,

and of the enlargement qf their empire.

1 At this same time, of which we have been

speaking, the affairs of the Romans began to be

exalted : that the great and good God might ful-

fil that which Daniel the prophet (to whom be

x4

312 BOOK V. 13. C. 163.

peace a ) had foretold b concerning the fourth em-

pire. There was also at this time a certain most 2

munificent king in Africa, whose name was Anni-

bal c . And the royal seat of his empire was Car-

thage. He determined to take possession of the

kingdom of the Romans : wherefore they united 3

to oppose him, and wars were multiplied between

them, so that they fought eighteen d battles in the

space of ten years ; and they were not able to

drive him out of their country, by reason of his

innumerable army and people. They determined 4

therefore to raise a large force selected from their

bravest troops and armies, and to attack Annibal

in war, and to persevere until they should turn

away his forces from them. Which thing truly 5

they did : and they placed at the head of their

armies two most renowned men ; the name of

one was iEmilius, and of the other Varro. Who 6

meeting Annibal engaged with him ; and there

were slain of their army ninety thousand men;

and of Annibal's army forty thousand men were

slain. iEmilius also was killed in that battle e .

a This same expression oc- Rome, the reader who is de-

curs in the Samaritan Chro- sirous of particular informa-

nicle: and it is remarked by tion, will, of course, refer to

Hottinger, that this formula the approved Roman histo-

of blessing is constantly added fians.

bv the Arabian writers, after tl In fact, the engagements

mentioning the name of any between the contending pow-

prophet. (Hotlingeri Exerci- ers were far more numerous

tationes Antimoriniance, 4to. than is here stated ; the au-

1G44. p. 05, 06.) thor of the book perhaps eon-

1} Namely, in ch. xi. of his sidered alone those battles

prophecy. which were attended by im-

c For confirmation or cor- portant results.

rection of this whole account, e The battle mentioned is

respecting the beginning and that of Canine, well known

enlargement of the power of to have been attended by the

B.C. 163. CHAP. XII. 313

7 But Varro fled into a certain very large and

strong city called Venusia : him Annibal did not

pursue ; but he marched to Rome, to take it, and

8 there to remain. So he lay before it for eight

days, and began to build houses opposite to it;

9 which when the citizens saw, they deliberated on

entering into a peace and treaty with him, and

on surrendering the country.

10 But there was among them a certain young

man named Scipio, (for the Romans at that time

were without a king, and the entire administra-

tion of their affairs was committed to three hun-

dred and twenty f men, over whom presided a

11 person who was called senior s or elder.) Scipio

therefore comes to these, and persuaded them not

to trust to Annibal nor to submission to him. To

whom they answered, that they did not trust him,

12 but that they were unable to resist him. To

whom he said ; the country of Africa is wholly

destitute of soldiers, because that they are all here

with Annibal : give me therefore a troop of chosen

13 men, that I may go into Africa : and I will per-

form such feats in it, that when tidings of them

shall reach him, perhaps he will quit you, and

you will be freed from him, and will be in peace :

and having retrieved and strengthened your re-

sources, if he should prepare to return, you will

be able to oppose him.

14 And the advice of Scipio appeared to them to

most disastrous results to the the note there.

Romans; the consuls iEmi- g His title was princeps se-

lius Paulus and Terentius natus, a post of great dignity

Varro being defeated with and honour, but unaccompa-

immense loss, and the former nied by any extraordinary

falling on the field of battle. power.

f See 3 Mace. viii. 15. and

314 BOOK V. B.C. 163.

be right ; and they committed to him thirty thou-

sand of their bravest men. And he proceeded 15

into Africa. And Asdrubal the brother of Anni-

bal met him, and fought with him ; whom Scipio

defeated 11 , and cut off his head, and took it, with

the rest of the prey, and returned to Rome.

And mounting upon the rampart, he called to 16

Annibal, and said : How will you be able to pre-

vail against this our country, when you are not

able to expel me from your own land, to which I

have gone : I have destroyed it, and have killed

your brother, and have brought away his head.

Then he threw the head to him. Which being 17

brought to Annibal and recognised by him, he

was increased in fury and anger against the

people, and sware that he would not depart till

he had taken Rome.

But the citizens, to withdraw him from them, 18

and keep him in check, took counsel to send back

Scipio to besiege and attack Carthage. And Sci- 19

pio returned with his army into Africa : and they

pitched their camp around Carthage, and besieged

it with a most active siege. Wherefore the inha- 20

bitants wrote to Annibal, saying, You are covet-

ing a foreign country, which you know not whe-

ther you will be able to win or not : but there has

come to your own country one who is endeavour-

ing to gain possession of it. Wherefore, if you 21

delay coming, we will surrender to him the coun-

try, and will give up your family and all your

h It will be immediately but in Italy; and not by Sci-

perceived tbat there is consi- pio, but by the two consuls

derable incorrectness in this Marcus Livius and Claudius

narrative : Hasdrubal was de- Nero,

feated and slain, not in Africa,

B.C. 161. CHAP. XIII. 315

substance and your treasures ; that we and our

property may go unhurt.

22 Now when this letter was brought to him, he

departed from Rome ; and hastened till he came

23 into Africa : and Scipio went forward and met

him, and fought a most fierce battle with him

three times, and there were slain fifty thousand of

24 his men. But Annibal, being put to flight, re-

tired into the land of Egypt'; whom Scipio pur-

sued, and took him prisoner k , and returned to

25 Africa. And when he was there, Annibal dis-

dained to be seen by the Africans ; wherefore he

took poison and died.

26 And Scipio won the country of Africa, and pos-

sessed himself of all the goods, and servants, and

27 treasures of Annibal. By which means the fame

of the Romans was magnified, and their power

from that time began to receive increase.

CHAPTER XIII. a

An account of the letter of the Romans to Judas, and of

the treaty which tool: place between them.

1 " From the elder and three hundred and twenty

" governors, unto Judas, general of the army, B c

2 " and to the Jews. Health be to you. We 1G1 -

i Here again is an error of to be delivered up to the Ro-

the author : Hannibal did not mans by Prusias, king of Bi-

fly into Egypt, but sailed for thynia, at whose court he had

Tyrus to Antiochus, king of taken shelter after the defeat

Syria ; whom not finding of his friend Antiochus, he

there he followed, till he took poison, rather than fall

joined him at Antioch. into the hands of his old in-

k This part of the narra- veterate enemies,

tive again is incorrect. Han- a Compare with this 2 Mace,

nibal was not taken prisoner viii. 24, &c. Joseph. Antiq.

by Scipio ; nor did he die in XII. 1 7-

Africa ; but on being likely

316 BOOK V. B.C. 161.

" have already heard of your victorie s, and cou-

" rage, and endurance in war ; whereof we rejoice.

" We have also understood that you have entered

" into an agreement with Antiochus. We write 3

" to you to this effect, that you should be friends

" to us, and not to the Greeks who have done

" you harm : moreover we intend to go to An-

" tioch, and to make war upon its inhabitants :

" wherefore make haste to acquaint us with whom 4

" you are at enmity, and with whom you have a

" league of friendship ; that we may act accord-

" ingly."

THE COPY OF THE TREATY.

" This is the treaty made by the elder and 5

" three hundred and twenty k governors with Ju-

" das, general of the army, and the Jews ; that

" they should be joined to the Romans, and that

" the Romans and Jews may be of one mind in

" wars and victories for ever. Now if war should 6

" come upon the Romans, Judas and his people

" shall help them, giving no aid to the enemies of

" the Romans, by provisions or by any kind of

" weapons. And when war shall come upon the 7

" Jews, the Romans shall help them to the utmost

" of their power, giving no aid to their enemies

" by assistance of any kind. And as the Jews are 8

" bound to the Romans, so likewise are the Ro-

" mans to the Jews, without any increase or de-

" crease."

And Judas and his people accepted this ; and '•>

the treaty stood, and continued between them and

the Romans for a long time.

k See the note on 3 Mace. viii. 15.

B. C. 163. CHAP. XIV. 31?

CHAPTER XlV.a

An account of the battle which took place between Judas,

Ptolemy, and Gorgias.

1 After this, Ptolemy collected an hundred and

twenty thousand men, and a thousand horse- B c

men, and they went after Judas. And Judas 163 -

met him with ten thousand men, and routed him,

2 and many of Ptolemy's men were slain. And he

besought Judas, and humbly entreated him to let

him escape with his life; and swore that he would

never more make war against him, and that he

would shew kindness to the Jews who were in all

3 his countries. And Judas had compassion on

him, and let him go ; and Ptolemy adhered to his

oath.

4 But Gorgias having collected three thousand

men from mount Sarah b , {that is, of Iclumcea,)

and four hundred horsemen, met Judas, and slew

the captain of his army and certain of his men.

5 Then Judas and his men advanced towards them ;

and Gorgias was put to flight, and the greater

part of his army was killed or fled : and he was

sought for, and no tidings were heard of him ;

but it is reported that he fell in the battle.

a Quaere, whether the lat- with Ptolemy, but with An-

ter part of this chapter relates tiochus Eupator, at book III.

to the occurrences detailed at ch. xiii. 6 — 24. That trans-

3 Mace. xii. 32 — 37 ? The action, however, seems rather

battle recorded in the former to be referred to in the fol-

part, I do not trace in the lowing chapter of this book,

other books: but something b See above, ch. x. 1.

like it occurred, not indeed

318 BOOK V. B.C. 163.

CHAPTER XV.a

An account of the dissolution of the treaty which Antio-

chus had made with Judas, and of his march {together

with Lysias his cousins soil) with a great army, and

of his wars.

But when word was brought to Antiochus 1

Eupator that Judas' affairs had gained strength,

and what victories he had gained, he was very-

angry ; and broke the treaty which he had made 2

with Judas, and collected a large army, in which

were twenty-two elephants: and he marched with 3

Lysias his cousin's son into the country of Judah,

directing his course to the city Beth-ner b , before

which he pitched his camp, and besieged it. Now 4

when this was reported to Judas, he and all the

elders of the children of Israel met together, and

prayed to the great and good God, offering many

sacrifices ; which being finished, Judas proceeded 5

with the leaders of his forces, and came into the

camp by night, and made a sudden attack upon

it, and slew of the enemy four thousand men and

one of the elephants : and he returned to his own

camp until the dawn of day should begin to break.

Then each army was drawn out, and the battle o

grew fierce between them. And Judas perceived 7

one of the elephants with golden trappings, and

he supposed that the king was sitting upon him :

so he called his men, and said to them, Which of

a Compare 2 Mace, vi ; 3 the place meant is Bethsura,

Mace, xiii; Joseph. Ant. XII. as in the corresponding pas-

14, 15 j Bell. I. 1. sages of the second and third

b See above, ch. xi. 3, 9. books.

There can be no doubt that

B. C. 163. CHAP. XV. 319

8 you will go out and kill this elephant ? And a

young man, one of his servants , who was called

Eleazar, went out and rushed upon the enemy's

line, slaying on the right and left, so that the men

9 turned aside out of his view ; and he went for-

ward until he came even to the elephant ; and

creeping under him, he cut open his belly ; and

the elephant fell down upon him, and he died.

So the king perceiving this, commanded to sound

10 a retreat ; and it was done. And the amount of

men of the higher rank slain that day in the bat-

tle was eight hundred men, besides those of the

common men who were slain, and those who had

been killed during the night.

11 Then it was told the king, that a certain man

of his friends named Philip d had revolted from

him : and that Demetrius e the son of Seleucus

had gone forth from Rome with a great army of

Romans, intending to take the kingdom out of his

12 hand. At which being much affrighted, he sent

to Judas concerning making peace between them :

to which Judas assented ; and Antiochus and

Lysias his cousin's son sware to him, that they

13 would never more make war upon him. And the

king displayed a large sum of money, and gave it

14 to Judas for a present to the house of God. The

king also commanded Menelaus to be seized, one

c This appears to be erro- given of this Philip and his

neous, as from all other ac- connexion with the king, at

counts we are informed that 2 Mace. vi. 14 and 55 ; and

this exploit was performed 3 Mace. ix. 29.

by his own brother, Eleazar, e For particulars concern-

surnamed Avaran. ing him, see 2 Mace. vii. 1,

d Compare the account and the note there.

320 BOOK V. B.C. 162.

of the three f wicked men who had brought evil

on the Jews in the days of Antiochus his father ;

and he ordered him to be carried up to a lofty

tower, and to be thrown headlong thence ; which

was done. For by this the king designed to gra- 15

tify the Jews, since this man was one of their

chief enemies, and had slain great numbers of

them.

CHAPTER XVI.a

The history of the arrival at Antioch of Demetrius the

son of Seleucus, and of his defeating Etipator.

After these things, king Eupator marched 1

b.c. into the country of Macedonia, and then

162 ' returned to Antioch. Whom Demetrius 2

attacked with an army of Romans, and defeated,

and slew, together with Lysias his cousin's son ;

and he reigned at Antioch. But to him went 3

Alcimus, the leader of those three b wicked men ;

who, coming into his presence, prostrated himself

before him, and wept most vehemently, and said ;

" O king, Judas and his company have been slay- 4

" ing great numbers of us; because, having desert-

" ed their religion, we have embraced the religion

" of the king. Wherefore, O king, assist us

" against them, and avenge us on them." Then 5

he made the Jews go to him, and incensed him ;

suggesting to them such things as might provoke

Demetrius, and irritate him to fit out an army to

vanquish Judas. To whom the king giving heed, 6

f See above, ch. iii. 0. The Mace. xiv. xv ; Joseph. Ant.

particulars of his death are XII. 17-

related more at large at 3 *> See above, ch. iii. 6, and

Mace. xiii. 3 — 8. xv. 14.

a Compare 2 Mace, vii ; 3

B. C. 161. CHAP. XVI. 32]

sent a general named Nicanor c , with a great army

7 and an abundant supply of weapons of war. And

when Nicanor had come into the Holy Land, he

sent messengers to Judas to come to him ; and

did not disclose that he had come to conquer the

8 nation, but stated that he came only on account

of the peace which was made between him and

the nation, and that they d also were under obedi-

9 ence to the Romans. And Judas went out to him

with a certain number of his men, who were en-

dued with strength and courage : and he com-

manded them not to go far from him, lest Deme-

trius 6 might lay a snare for him.

10 When therefore he had met Demetrius, he sa-

luted him ; and, a seat being placed for each of

them, they sat down, and Demetrius conversed

with him as he pleased : afterwards each of them

went into a tent which the troops had erected for

him.

11 And Nicanor and Judas departed into the Holy

City, and there dwelt together : and a firm friend-

12 ship grew up between them : which being made

known to Alcimus, he went to Demetrius and

incensed him against Judas, and persuaded him to

write and command Nicanor to send Judas to him

13 bound in chains. But tidings of this came B c

to Judas, and he went out from the city by l6L

night, and departed to Sebaste f , and sent to

c Compare 3 Mace. xiv. 12. read here, and in the follow-

d That is to say, that De- ing verse, Nica?ior ; as it

metrius, as well as the Jews, does not appear from the his-

was in amity with the Ro- tory that Demetrius was pre-

mans ; so that no danger was sent in person. Compare the

to be apprehended by them other accounts, as given in 2

from him. Mace. vii. and 3 Mace. xiv.

e Probably we ought to f That is, Samaria ; it had

322 BOOK V. B.C. 161.

his companions to come to him. And when 14

they were come, he sounded the trumpet, and

commanded them to prepare themselves to attack

Nicanor. But Nicanor sought Judas with great 15

diligence, and could learn no tidings of him.

Wherefore he went to the house of God, requiring 16

of the priests to give him up to him, that he

might send him bound in chains to the king : but

they sware that he had not come into the house

of God. Whereupon he abused both them and the 17

house of God, and spake insolently of the temple,

and threatened that he would demolish it from

the very foundations ; and departed in a rage.

He also took care to search all the houses of the

Holy City. Likewise he sent his men to the 13

house of a certain excellent mans, who had been

seized in the time of Antiochus, and put to ex-

treme torture ; but after the death of Antiochus

the Jews increased his authority and greatly

honoured him. And when the messengers of 19

Nicanor came to him, he feared lest he should

meet with the same treatment which he had

received from Antiochus ; wherefore he laid hands

on himself. When this was told to Judas, he was 20

very sorry and much afflicted : and he sent to

Nicanor, saying ; " Do not seek me in the city, for

" I am not there : therefore come forth to me, that

" we may meet each other, either in the plains or

" in the mountains, as you chuse." And Nicanor 21

went forth to him, and Judas met him with

not yet obtained this appella- xxi. 28.

tion, but at a subsequent pe- s Namely Rhazis, men-

riod was so named by Herod tioned at 3 Mace. xiv. 37.

the Great. See below, ch.

B.C. 161. CHAP. XVII.

these words : " O God, it was Thou who didst ex-

" terminate the army of king Sennacherib ; and

" he indeed was greater than this man, in fame,

22 " in empire, and in the multitude of his host : and

" Thou didst deliver Ezechiah king of Judah

" from him, when he had trusted in Thee and

" prayed to Thee : deliver us, I pray thee, O God,

" from his malice, and make us victorious over

" him."

23 Then he made ready himself for battle, and ad-

vanced to Nicanor, saying, " Take care of your-

24 " self, it is to you I come." And Nicanor turned

his back and fled : and Judas pursuing smote him

on the shoulders, which he divided ; and his men

25 were put to flight. And there fell of them on

that day thirty thousand : and the inhabitants of

the cities went out and slew them, so that they

26 left not one of them. And they decreed that that

clay should be every year a day of thanksgiving

to the great and good God, and a day of gladness,

and of feasting, and of drinking.

[Thus far is finished the Second h Book from the trans-

lation of the Hebrews.]

CHAPTER XVII. ^

An account of the death of Judas.

1 But when nearly the same season of the year

came round, Bacchides went forth with thirty

h Here indeed ends the the death of Simon, the bro-

history, so far as is contained ther of Judas,

in the third (usually second) a Compare 2 Mace. ix. 1 —

book: the second (first) book 22. Joseph. Antiq. XII. 18,

carries the accounts down to 19.

Y 2

324 BOOK V. B.C. 161.

thousand of the bravest of the Macedonians ; and 2

came upon Judas without any tidings thereof

coming to him, when he was in a certain city

called Lalis b , with three thousand men: where- 3

fore most of those who were with him fled ; and

there remained with him eight hundred men, and

his brothers Simeon and Jonathan. But those 4

who remained with Judas were the strongest and

bravest, and who had already endured much in

the several battles which he had fought. And 5

Judas and his company went out to meet Bac-

chides and his army.

And Bacchides divided his army, placing fifteen 6

thousand on the right hand of Judas and his com-

pany, and fifteen thousand on their left. Then 7

each part shouted against Judas and his company.

Who attentively regarding each, perceived that

the enemy's strongest and bravest troops were on

the right, and found out that Bacchides himself

was there among them. Judas likewise divided 8

his company, and took the bravest of them with

him, and gave the rest to his brothers. Then he

made a charge upon those on the right, and he

with his company slew about two thousand men.

Then perceiving Bacchides, he directed his eyes 9

and steps towards him, and slew all the bravest

men who were about him. And he in person 10

with his company sustained the multitudes which

pressed upon him, felling to the ground the greater

part of them, and he came near to Bacchides.

b At book II. ch. ix. 5, this is Calmet, it is a place near to

called Eleasa : where the Vul- Beroea, or rather Berzetho, a

gate reads Laisa, as if it might small city of the tribe of Ben-

be Laish, mentioned in the jamin.

book of Isaiah. — According to

B.C. 160. CHAP. XVIII. 325

11 Whom when Bacchides saw coming towards him

like a lion, brandishing in his hand a large sword

stained with blood, he was excessively afraid of

12 him, and trembled, and fled out of his sight. And

Judas with his company pursued him, and they

slew his people with the sword, so that they put

to death the greater part of those fifteen thousand :

and Bacchides fled even to Ashdod c .

13 And the fifteen thousand which were on Judas'

left, followed him, and attacked Judas, to whom

by this time were come his brothers and those

14 who were with them, greatly fatigued. And

those fifteen thousand rushed upon them, and a

very great battle took place between them and

Judas ; and there fell on both sides a certain

number of slain, in which number was Judas.

15 Whom his brothers carried and buried beside the

sepulchre of Mattathias his father, [God be merci

ful to them] ; and the children of Israel bewailed

16 him many days. Now the time of his governing

was seven years, and Jonathan his brother suc-

ceeded him in the government.

CHAPTER XVIII. a

The history of Jonathan the son of' Mattathias.

1 And Jonathan succeeded his brother, and he

went to Jordan with a small number of men ; H ( .

which when Bacchides heard of, he marched ll ' ih

c Joscphus says, " to a cer- 2 Mace. ix. 15. and xvi. 10.

"tain mountain called A za," a Compare 2 Mace. ix. 28 —

which appears a preferable 72. See the acts of Jonathan

reading; as the town of Ash- detailed more at large at

dod (Azotus) may perhaps he 2 Mace. ix. 28, to xii. and in

thought too distant from the Joseph. Antiq. XIII. 1 — 10.

field of hattle. But compare

Y 3

S c 26 BOOK V. B.C. 158.

to him with a large army. And when Jonathan 2

saw him, his men swam over Jordan ; and Bac-

chides and his army followed them, and sur-

rounded them. But Jonathan rushed on Bac- 3

chides ; and as the men gave way to Jonathan,

he and his company went out from the midst of

them, and departed to Beersheba b : and his bro- 4

ther Simeon joined him, and they abode there ;

and they repaired whatever of the fortifications

had fallen down, and they fortified themselves

there.

But Bacchides marched to them, and besieged 5

B c them : and Jonathan and his brother, and

158, they which were with them, went out to him

by night, and slew great numbers of his army, and

burned the battering rams and engines of war; and 6

his army was dispersed, and Bacchides fled into the

desert. And Jonathan and Simeon, and the men

who were with him, pursued and took him. Who, 7

when he saw Jonathan, knew that his death was

near : wherefore he proclaimed peace with Jona-

than, and sware that he would never more make

war upon him, and moreover, that he would

restore the whole of the captives which he had

taken of the army of Judas. And Jonathan gave 8

him his hand, and departed from him : nor after

this was there any more war between them. And

not long after this c , Jonathan died, and his brother

Simeon succeeded him.

b Quaere whether we ought factorily settled. Jonathan

to read Bethbasi, as the place is said to have lived thirteen

mentioned at 2 Mace. ix. 02 ? or fourteen years after making

c This is not expressed peace with Bacchides, and to

with suthcient accuracy ; nor have been slain by Tryphon

indeed is the chronology satis- in the year B.C. 144. And

B.C. 144. CHAP. XIX.

CHAPTER XIX."

The history of Simeon the son of Mattathias .

1 Then Simeon the son of Mattathias succeeded

to the government ; and he gathered to- B c

gether all those who remained of the army 144 -

2 of Judas : and his affairs prospered, and he sub-

dued all those who had exercised hostility against

the Jews after the death of his brother Judas ;

and he behaved well towards his people, and the

matters of his country were rightly ordered.

3 Wherefore Antiochus 1 ' attacked him, and also

Demetrius the son of Seleucus ; and sent a great

4 army against him : to meet which, Simeon and

his two sons went out ; and he divided his army

into two parts, one of which he kept with himself,

5 and gave the other to his sons. Then he and they

which were with him went to the army ; and he

sent his two sons and their followers by another

way, and appointed with them to attack the army

6 at a given time. After this, he met the army of

Antiochus, and attacked it, and began to prevail

against it : and his two sons came when the battle

had now begun, and the fight grew fierce, and they

7 came round the rear of the army. And Antio-

chus' army, being placed between two armies, was

cut to pieces, nor did a single man of them escape :

nor did Antiochus return any more to fight with

yet Josephus, Antiq. XIII. a Compare 2 Mace, xiii —

11, states that he ruled only xvi. Joseph. Antiq. XIII. 11

four years ! Compare the — 14.

account of his settlement of b Simon was first attacked

the affairs of Jerusalem for by Tryphon ; and subsequent-

some years, at 2 Mace. ix. 73. ly by Cendebaeus under orders

to xii. 48. from Antiochus.

Y 4

328 BOOK V. B. C. 135.

Simeon. And peace and quietness continued 8

among the Jews all the days of Simeon. And the

time of his government was two years . Then 9

Ptolemy his son-in-law rushed on him, and slew

him, at a certain feast d where he was present.

And he seized his wife and his two sons. And

Simeon's son, whose name was Hyrcanus, was set

in his father's place.

[Here ends the history as given in the two books usually

attached to our Bibles.]

CHAPTER XX.a

The history of' Hyrcanus the son of Simeon.

Now Simeon, while he was yet alive b , had ap- 1

B c pointed Jochanan his son to be captain ;

135 - and having gathered to him very many

troops, he sent him to vanquish a certain man

who had come out against him, and was called

Hyrcanus . Now he was a man of great fame, 2

powerful in strength, and of an ancient sove-

reignty. Whom Jonathan encountered, and de- 3

feated : wherefore Simeon named his son Jochanan

Hyrcanus ; on account of his slaying Hyrcanus,

and gaining a victory over him.

c Instead of this, we rather the name by a victory over

ought to read nine years, the Hyrcanians. See Eusebii

namely, from 144 to 135 Chronicon, and Sulpitius Se-

B. C. verus. Calmet thinks that

d Namely, at the castle of the person designated by the

Docus near Jericho, as re- name Hyrcanus was Cende-

lated at 2 Maec. xvi. 15. bacus, the general of king An-

!l Compare Josephus, An- tiochus ; whom John defeated

tiq. XIII. 15. near Modin, as is related at

b See 2 Mace. xiii. 53. 2 Mace. xvi.

e Others say that he gained

B.C. 135. CHAP. XX.

4 But when this Hyrcanus had heard that Pto-

lemy had killed his father, he was afraid of Pto-

lemy, and fled to Gaza d : and Ptolemy pursued him

5 with many followers. But the citizens of Gaza

helped Hyrcanus, and shut the gates of their city,

and hindered Ptolemy from reaching Hyrcanus.

And Ptolemy returned, and departed to Dagon e ,

having with him the mother of Hyrcanus and his

two brothers. Now Dagon had at that time a

strongly fortified castle.

7 But Hyrcanus went to the Holy House f , and

offered sacrifices, and succeeded his father: and he

collected a large army and went to attack Ptolemy.

Wherefore Ptolemy shut the gate of Dagon upon

himself and his company, and fortified himself

8 therein. And Hyrcanus besieged him, and made

an iron ram to batter the wall, and to open it :

9 and the battle between them lasted long, and Hyr-

canus prevailed against Ptolemy, and went up

10 close to the castle, and almost took it. When

Ptolemy therefore saw this, he commanded the

mother of Hyrcanus and his two brothers to be

brought out upon the wall, and to be tortured

11 most severely; which was done to them. But

Hyrcanus, seeing this, stood still ; and fearing that

they would be put to death, desisted from fighting.

12 To whom his mother called out, and said ; " My

d Here, as in many former where Simon was slain by

places, the names of Gaza and Ptolemy his son-in-law. See

Gazaraappear to have been in- 2 Mace. xvi. 15.

terchanged. Compare 3 Mace. f Hottinger remarks, that

xvi. 19, 21. this is the expression used to

e Josephus states this to be designate the temple of Jeru-

" one of the fortresses above salem by all Oriental writers,

" Jericho." It was also called sacred and profane. (Exercitt.

Docus, and was the place Antimorin. 4to. 1044. p. G(i.)

330 BOOK V. B.C. 135.

" son, do not be moved by love and filial piety

" towards me and your brethren, in preference to

" your father : nor on account of our captivity be 13

" weakened in your desire of avenging him ; but

" demand satisfaction for the rights of your father

" and mine, to the utmost of your power. But 14

" that which you fear for us from that tyrant, he

" will necessarily do to us at all events : wherefore

" press forward your siege without any intermis-

" sion."

When therefore Hyrcanus had heard the words 15

of his mother, he urged on the siege : wherefore

Ptolemy increased the tortures of his mother and

his brothers ; and sware that he would throw

them headlong from the castle, as often as Hyrca-

nus came near to the wall. Therefore Hyrcanus lb*

feared, lest he should be the cause of their death ;

and he returned to his camp, still continuing the

siege of Ptolemy. Now it happened, that the 17

feast of tabernacles was at hands; wherefore Hyr-

canus went into the city of the Holy House, that

he might be present at the feast and the solemnity

and the sacrifices. And when Ptolemy knew that 18

he had departed to the Holy City, and was detained

there, he seized upon the mother of Hyrcanus and

his brothers, and slew them ; and he fled into a

place k whither Hyrcanus could not come.

g Joseplius states, that the h Namely, to Philadelphia;

departure of Hyrcanus, and where a friend of his called

the consequent protraction of Zeno (and Cotylas) had seized

the siege, was owing to the upon the sovereignty. [[Jose-

coming on of (he sabbatical pluis.]

year.

B.C. 134. CHAP. XXI. 331

CHAPTER XXL*

The history of the going iip of Antiochus to the city qf

the Holy House, to fight with Hyrcanus.

1 Now when Antiochus had heard that Simeon

was dead, he collected an army, and marched

2 until he came to the city of the Holy House : and

he encamped around it, and besieged it, designing

to take it by force : but he could not, by reason of

the height and strength of the walls, and the mul-

3 titude of warriors who were in it. But by God's

will he was restrained from winning it : for he

had betaken himself to the northern side of the

city, and had built there an hundred and thirty

4 towers opposite to the wall ; and had caused men

to mount them, to fight with those who should

5 endeavour to go up upon the walls of the city. He

also appointed men to dig up the earth in a cer-

tain spot, till they came to the foundation of the

wall : which finding to be of wood, they burned it

with fire, and a very large portion of the wall fell

down.

(J And Hyrcanus' men opposed them, and pre-

vented them from entering, keeping guard over

7 the ruined portion ; and Hyrcanus went out with

the better part of his fighting men against the

army of Antiochus, and defeated them with great

8 slaughter. And Antiochus and his men were

routed ; whom Hyrcanus with his troops pursued,

till they had driven them away from the city.

9 Then, returning to the towers which Antiochus

had built, they destroyed them ; and abode in the

a Compare Josephus, Antiq. XIII. 1G, 17-

332 BOOK V. B. C. 134.

city, and around it. But Antiochus encamped in 10

a certain j)lace, which was distant from the city

of the house of God about two furlongs.

And at the approach of the feast of tabernacles 1]

Hyrcanus sent ambassadors to him, to treat for a

truce until the solemnity should be passed ; which

he granted him ; and sent victims, and gold and

silver 15 , to the house of God. And Hyrcanus com- 12

inanded the priests to receive what Antiochus had

sent ; and they did so. Now when Hyrcanus and 13

the priests saw the reverence of Antiochus to-

wards the temple of God, he sent ambassadors

to him, to treat for peace. To which Antiochus 14

agreed ; and he went to Jerusalem : and Hyrcanus

meeting him, they entered the city together. And 15

Hyrcanus made a feast for Antiochus and his

princes ; and they did eat and drink together ;

and he made him a present of three hundred ta-

lents of gold : and each of them agreed with his ]tf

companion about peace and rendering assistance,

and Antiochus departed into his own country.

But it is related, that Hyrcanus opened the 17

treasury 11 , which had been made by some kings

of the sons of David, [to whom be peace,] and he

brought out thence a great sum of money, and left

b Josephus forcibly con- Diodorus Siculus, and Jose-

trasts this behaviour of the phus.

king with that of Antiochus tl Josephus states, that he

Epiphanes, when he had be- opened the sepulchre of Da-

come master of the city. See vid, and took thence three

2 Mace. i. 44 — ()0. From thousand talents ; with which

this exhibition of liberality, he hired a body of mercenary

the Jews gave to Antiochus troops ; being the first Jewish

the surname of Pivs. prince who did this. Com-

c Namely, on certain con- pare also Joseph. Antiq.VII.

ditions, which may be seen in 12.

B.C. 131. CHAP. XXI. 333

as much in it, consigning it to its former state of

18 secrecy. Then he built up and repaired that part

of the wall which had fallen down ; and he pro-

vided carefully for the convenience and advantage

of his flock, and behaved himself uprightly to-

wards them.

19 Now when Antiochus had come into his own

country, he determined to go and fight B c

with the king of Persia e , for he had re- 13L

20 volted from the time of the first Antiochus : and

he sent ambassadors to Hyrcanus, that he should

go to him ; and Hyrcanus went with him, and

2i departed into the country of Persia. And an

army of the Persians met him, and fought with

him ; whom Antiochus putting to flight defeated

22 and put to the sword. Then he stayed in the

place where he was, and erected a wonderful

building f , that it might be a memorial of him in

23 their country. And after some time he went for-

ward to meet the king of the Persians ; and Hyr-

e Rather, Phraates king of self as an independent mo-

Parthia, who still detained narch ; and the family of the

Demetrius Nicator a prisoner. Arsacidae, having acquired

It is observable that the au- both wealth and power, held

thor of this book, in common possession of their throne

with almost all the later Greek during a period of no less

and Roman historians, uses than 482 years. On the in-

the terms Persians and Par- different use of the words

thians as synonymous. In- Persian and Parthian, see

deed it has been contended archbishop Ussher, in Notis

that the difference is more ad Ignatii Acta, p. 36. (4to.

nominal than real ; since the Lond. 1(547.) And for the

Parthians originally were origin and a short history of

comprised within the Persian that people, consult Justin's

empire ; and after that had History, books 41 and 42.

been brought under the sway f He erected a trophy on

of the Macedonian princes, the banks of the river Lycus,

Arsaces revolted with a large where he had conquered In-

district, and established him- dates the Parthian general.

334 BOOK V. B.C. 129.

canus remained behind, by reason of the sabbath,

which Pentecost immediately followed. And the 24

king of Persia and Antiochus met ; and very great

battles took place between them, in which Anti-

ochus and many of his army were slain s.

And when news of this was brought to Hyr- 25

BC canus, he marched 11 into the country of

130. Syria, and on his journey besieged Hale- 26

pus ' : and the citizens surrendered to him, pay-

ing him tribute ; and he departed from them, and

returned into the Holy City, and remained there

for some days.

Then he departed into the country of Samaria, 27

B c and fought against Neapolis k ; but the citi-

129 - zens hindered him from entering into it.

And he destroyed whatever buildings they had on 28

mount Jezabel l , and the temple ; which was done

two hundred years after that Sanballat" 1 the Sa-

maritan had built it. He also slew the priests

who were in Sebaste n . And he marched into the 29

country of Idumaea, that is, the mountains Sarah ,

S Authors are not agreed plouse. See a description of

whether he fell in battle or its present state in " Clarke's

afterwards : he was succeed- " Travels."

ed by his brother Demetrius * That is, mount Ebal, or

Nicator, whom Phraates had more properly Garizim.

set free at the time of Anti- m See the history of this

ochus' invasion. [Josephus.] transaction in Josephus, An-

h From this period the tiq. XI. 8.

Jews refused to acknowledge n The city of Samaria ob-

any Macedonian or Syrian tained this name under the

king. reign of Herod the Great,

i The town now called A- who enlarged, adorned, and

leppo. fortified it. See Joseph. Ant.

k The town which anciently XV. 11 • Bell. I. 16.

was called Shecliem, or Si- آ° Probably the same as

chem, being the principal city " Scir," so often mentioned

of Samaria. It still bears the in Scripture. See above, ch.x.

name of Napolose, or Na- 1 ; xiv. 4 ; also xlix. 20.

B.C. 127. CHAP. XXII. 335

and they surrendered to him : with whom he

stipulated that they should be circumcised and

adopt the religion of Torah (or the Mosaic law).

30 And they agreed with him, and were circum-

cised, and became Jews, and were confirmed in

this practice even till the destruction of the se-

cond house p.

31 And Hyrcanus went on to all the surrounding

nations ; and they all submitted to him, and at

the same time entered into an agreement of peace

and obedience.

32 He also sent ambassadors to the Romans, writ-

ing to them concerning the renewal of the B c

33 league'' which was between them. When 128,

therefore his ambassadors had come to the Ro-

mans, they honoured them ; and appointed them

a seat of dignity ; and gave attention to the em-

bassy on account of which they had come ; and

despatched their business, and replied to his let-

ter.

CHAPTER XXII. a

The copy of the Romans' letter to Hyrcanus.

1 " From the elder, and his three hundred and

" twenty governors, to Hyrcanus the king B c

2 " of Judah, health. Your letter has even 12? -

" now reached us, on reading which we rejoiced;

" and we have questioned your ambassadors con-

3 " cerning the state of your affairs. Also we have

" acknowledged their place of dignity in science,

P This expression clearly and xii.

informs us that the author of a Compare Josephus, Ant.

this book, whoever he may XIII. 17; but his account va-

have been, lived after A. D. 70. ries in some particulars from

<J See above, 2 Mace. viii. that which is given here.

336 BOOK V. B.C. 126.

" moral discipline, and the virtues ; and we have

" honoured them, and made them sit in the pre-

" sence of our elder : who has been careful to 4

" transact all their business, giving- command that

" all the cities which Antiochus had taken away

" by force should be restored to you ; and that 5

" every obstacle to the exercise of your religion

" should be removed ; and that all should be

" made void which Antiochus had decreed against

" you. He has also commanded that all the cities 6

" which he had taken should continue faithful to

" you; he has likewise given orders by letter to

" all his provinces, that your ambassadors should

" be treated with respect and honour. Moreover 7

" he has sent with them an ambassador to you

" named Cynaeus, bearing a letter ; to whom also

" he has entrusted an embassy, that he might

" treat with you in person."

Therefore when this epistle of the Romans had 8

B c reached Hyrcanus, he began to be styled

126 - king, being formerly called high priest :

and thus the royal and sacerdotal dignities were

united in him. And he was the first who was 9

called king among the chiefs of the Jews in the

time of the second house.

CHAPTER XXIII. a

The history of the wars of Hyrcanus with the Sama-

ritans.

Now Hyrcanus marched to Sebaste, and be- j

sieged the Samaritans 15 who were therein, for a

a Compare Josephus, Ant. tiochus Gryphus and Anti-

XIII. 18. ochus Cyzicenus, being en-

b They were subjects of Sy- gage d in continual quarrels

ria ; whose two princes, An- with each other, gave Hyrca-

B.C. 111. CHAP. XXIII.

long time ; till he reduced them to such straits,

that they were compelled to feed upon every 1{ c

2 kind of dead carcass. Nevertheless they m -

bore this patiently, fearing his sword, and trust-

ing to the Macedonians and Egyptians, whose aid

3 they had implored. In the mean time comes on

the great fast, at which Hyrcanus must be present

in the Holy House, to offer sacrifices on that day.

4 Wherefore he substituted his two sons, Antigonus

and Aristobulus, as commanders of the army ;

leaving them orders to besiege the Samaritans,

5 and reduce them to extremities. Likewise he

commanded the army to obey his sons, and to

execute their orders : and he departed to the city

of the Holy House.

6 Moreover Antiochus c the Macedonian marched

to help the inhabitants of Sebaste ; and tidings of

it were brought to the two sons of Hyrcanus ;

7 who, having substituted a general to conduct the

siege of Sebaste, went to meet Antiochus ; whom

they encountered and routed, and returned to Se-

8 baste. There came likewise out of Egypt Ly-

thras d , the son of queen Cleopatra, to help the

9 Samaritans. When news of this was brought to

Hyrcanus, he went to meet him, the solemnity

being now past : whom when he met, he encoun-

nus opportunity of revenging con and Cleopatra : he began

himself for some former injn- to reign, conjointly with his

ries alleged to have been com- mother, in the year B.C. 116.

mitted by the Samaritans up- He brought about 6000 sol-

on the Jews. diers with him, and began by

c Namely, Antiochus IX, plundering several parts of

surnamed Cyzicenus. Judaea ; hoping thereby to

d That is, Ptolemy Lathy- draw off Hyrcanus from the

rus, the son of Ptolemy Phys- siege.

Z

338 BOOK V. B.C. 105.

tered most fiercely, and slew very many of his

b.c. men آ» and Lythras was put to flight ; nor 10

110 ' did the Egyptians any more after this re-

turn to give assistance to the Samaritans. And 1 1

king Hyrcanus returned to Sebaste, and pressed

sore on it, till he took it with the sword, and slew

those of its citizens who were remaining, and ut-

terly destroyed it, and pulled down its walls.

CHAPTER XXlV.a

The history of Lythras the son of Cleopatra, and of his

marching out against his mother in Egypt.

Lythras the son of Cleopatra, having become l

b.c. strong in goods and in men, revolted from

105 ' Cleopatra his mother ; the chief men of

the kingdom being his abettors. Therefore Cleo- 2

patra, having sent for two Jews, one of whom

was called Chelcias, and the other Hananias b ,

placed them at the head of those princes of Egypt

who remained on her side, and made them both

generals of the Egyptian army. Now they ma- 3

naged all matters well with the common people,

and conducted the affairs of the empire with wis-

dom. Them Cleopatra sent to fight with Lythras ; 4

who going to him made war, and routed him,

a Compare Joseph. Ant. of Isaiah at ch. xix. 19: "In

XIII. 18. See also XIII. 20. " that day shall there he an

b Josephns states these to " altar to the Lord in the

he the sons of that Onias, " midst of the land of Egypt,

who, hy leave of Ptolemy and " and a pillar at the horder

Cleopatra, had built in Egypt " thereof to the Lord." See

a temple to God, after the the particulars of the history

pattern of the temple of Je- detailed at Joseph. Ant. XIII.

rusalem; heing moved to this (>.

hy rememhering the prophecy

B.C. 108. CHAP. XXV. 339

putting his men to flight : and he fled to Cyprus,

and there remained, with a few who adhered to

him.

CHAPTER XXV.a

An account of the Jewish sects at this time.

1 At that time there were three sects among the

Jews. One, of the Pharisees, that is, " the B c

2 " separated," or religious ; whose rule it 108 -

was, to maintain whatever was contained in the

law, according to the expositions of their fore-

3 fathers. The second, that of the Sadducees ; and

these are followers of a certain man of the doctors,

4 by name Sadoc ; whose rule it was, to maintain

according to the things found in the text of the

law, and of which there is demonstration in the

Scripture itself; but not that which is not extant

5 in the text, nor is proved from it. The third sect

was that of the Hasdanim b , or those who stu-

died the virtues : but the author of this book c did

not make mention of their rule, nor do we know

it except in so far as it is discovered by their

6 name : for they applied themselves to such prac-

tices as came near to the more eminent virtues ;

namely, to select from those two other rules what-

a Compare Joseph us, Ant. of the Bible. In the eighth

XIII. 9 ; XVII. 3 ; XVIII. volume of the Critici Sacri

2 ; and especially Bell. II. 7- (edit. 1660) is a specific tract

b Or Assidaeans, mentioned on the subject, by J. Drusius,

at 2 Mace. ii. 42 ; vii. 13 ; 3 which deserves to be con-

Mace, xiv. 6. Some think suited.

them to be the same with the c This expression is to be

Essenes, described by Jose- remarked, but I cannot fur-

phus (Bell. II. 7-) and by nish the solution. See it

others ; for whose collected again at ch. xxv. 5 ; and at

observations the reader is re- the close of the book, ch. lix.

ferred to Calmet's Dictionary 96.

z 2

340 BOOK V. B. C. 10^.

ever was most safe in belief, most sure and

guarded.

Hyrcanus at first was one of the Pharisees ; 7

afterwards he went over to the Sadducees ; be- 8

cause that one of the Pharisees had said to him,

it is not lawful for you to be high priest, because

your mother was a captive before she bare you,

in the days of Antiochus : but it becometh not

that the son of a captive should be high priest.

And this conversation took place in the presence 9

of the chief men of the Pharisees ; which was

the cause of his going over to the rule of the Sad-

ducees. Now the Sadducees were at enmity with 10

the Pharisees ; wherefore they kept up differences

betwixt one another, and they prevailed on him

so far, as to slay great numbers of the Pharisees.

And the trouble came to such a height, that wars ] 1

and many evils continued among them for a great

length of time.

CHAPTER XXVI.a

The account of Hyrcanus' death, and of the time of his

reign .

Hyrcanus had three sons, namely, Antigonus, 1

b.c. Aristobulus, and Alexander. And Hyrca- 2

10 ^- nus loved Antigonus and Aristobulus; but

Alexander was odious to him. And on a time he 3

saw in a dream, that of his sons, Alexander would

reign after his death ; and this gave him uneasi-

ness. And he did not think fit, while he lived, to 4

set up either of the sons whom he loved, on ac-

count of his vision ; nor to appoint Alexander

a Compare Josephus, Ant. XIII. 18; Bell. I. 3.

B. C. 10|. CHAP. XXVII. 341

5 king, because he was disliked by him. Wherefore

he deferred the business ; that after his death it

might take that turn which should please the

great and good God.

6 Now the Jews had been, in the time of his fa-

ther and uncles, united in affection towards them ;

and prompt to obey them, on account of their sub-

duing of their enemies, and the excellent feats

7 which they performed. They also continued

united in affection to Hyrcanus ; until the b. c.

slaughter of the Pharisees was committed 106,

by him, and the rooting out of the Jews, and the

8 civil wars on account of religion. From hence

sprung perpetual enmities, and ceaseless evils, and

many murders. Which was the reason why many

9 detested Hyrcanus. Now the time of his reign

was thirty-one b years, and he died.

CHAPTER XXVII*

The history of Aristobuhis the son of Hyrcanus .

1 Hyrcanus being dead, his son Aristobuhis

succeeded him on the throne ; who dis- b. c.

played haughtiness, pride, and power; and 10 * -

placed on his head a large crown, in contempt of

2 the crown of the sacred priesthood. Now he was

affectionately inclined towards his brother Antigo-

nus, whom he preferred 1 ' to all his friends : but

his brother Alexander he kept in prison, as also

b Josephus, in one book, death in B.C. 107-

says thirty-one years ; in an- a Compare Joseph. Ant.

other, thirty-three: but arch- X1TI. 19; Bell. I. 3.

bishop Ussher allows him only *> And advanced him to a

twenty-nine years' reign ; in share of the regal power,

which case we must place his

z 3

342 BOOK V. B. C. lOf.

his mother c , by reason of her love for Alexander.

And he sent' 1 his brother Antigonus, who fought 3

against him, and conquered him, with all his abet-

tors and troops, which he put to flight, and re-

turned into the city of the Holy House. This hap-

pened while Aristobulus lay sick. When there- 4

fore Antigonus was on his way to the city, the

sickness of his brother was reported to hirn ; who,

entering the city, went to the house of God, to

give thanks for the mercy shewn in his deliver-

ance from the enemy, and to beseech the great

and good God to restore health to his brother.

Therefore certain of those who were adversaries 5

and haters of Antigonus go to Aristobulus and

say ; In sooth the news of your sickness was car- 6

ried to your brother, and behold he is coming

with his partisans, armed ; and is now gone into

the sanctuary to make to himself friends, that he

may come suddenly upon you and slay you. And 7

king Aristobulus was afraid to take any hasty

step against his brother respecting that which

had been told him, till he should know the cor-

rectness of the intelligence. Wherefore he com- 8

manded all his attendants to post themselves arm-

c Josephus adds, that he time Antigonus made an ex-

suffered her to die of hunger pedition into Ituraea, part of

while in prison ! which he conquered and add-

(l There is every appear- ed to Judaea; so that possibly

ance of an hiatus between the a sentence (or more) may

second and third verses of have been omitted, in which

this chapter : against whom Was mentioned the leader of

did Aristobulus send his bro- the Ituraans whom Antigonus

ther Antigonus? not against encountered with such suc-

Alexander, for he was in pri. cess. The text, as it stands

son. But we read in Jose- at present, is scarcely intelli-

phus, that at this particular gible.

B. C. 10|. CHAP. XXVII. 343

ed in a certain place, from which whoever came

9 to his palace could not turn aside. He likewise

ordered it to be publicly proclaimed, that no one

wearing arms of any kind should come to the

10 king into the court, without being bidden. After

this, he sent to Antigonus, ordering him to come

to him : whereupon Antigonus took off his arms

11 in obedience to the king. In the mean time there

comes to him a messenger from the wife of his

brother 6 Aristobulus, (who hated him,) saying to

12 him ; The king says to you, " I have now heard

" of the beauty of your dress when you entered

" the city, and am desirous of beholding you thus

" habited ; wherefore come to me in that form,

13 " that I may be gratified in seeing you." And

Antigonus doubted not that this message was

from the king, as the messenger had reported ;

14 and that he did not wish to put him on the same

footing with others as to the laying aside their

arms : and he went to him in that manner and

15 dress. And when he had come to that place in

which king Aristobulus had commanded his men

to post themselves, with orders to kill any person

16 who should come thither armed ; and when the

men saw him wearing his arms ; — they rushed on

him, and instantly slew him; and his blood flowed

17 over the marble pavement on that spot. And the

cry of men grew loud, and their weeping and la-

mentation was magnified, grieving over the death

of Antigonus, for his beauty, and the elegance of

his discourse, and his exploits.

]آ» So the king, hearing the noise of the men,

e Salome, called also Alexandra.

z 4

344 BOOK V. B. C. lOf .

enquired concerning it ; and found that Antigonus

had been slain ; which caused him the greatest 19

sorrow, both for the affection which he bare

towards him, and because he did not deserve this

fate : and he perceived that a snare had been laid

for his brother : and he cried aloud, and wept 20

exceedingly ; and smote his breast unceasingly ;

so that some blood-vessels of his breast were

burst, and the blood flowed out of his mouth.

But his attendants and the chief of his friends 21

came to him, consoling him, and appeasing and

soothing him, so as to restrain him from this

action ; being apprehensive that he would die, as 22

he was weak, and was almost expiring under that

which he had already done.

And they took a golden basin, to receive the 23

blood which gushed forth at his mouth ; and they 24

sent the basin, with the blood which was in it,

by one of the attendants to a physician, that he

might see it, and advise what was to be done for

him. And the page went with the basin : and 25

when he came to the place where Antigonus had

been slain, and his blood had flowed about, the

page slipped, and fell ; and spilled the king's

blood which was in the basin over the blood of

his murdered brother. And the page returned 26

with the basin, and told the courtiers what had

happened ; who abused and reviled him ; while

he justified himself, and sware that he had not de-

signedly or voluntarily done this. But when the 27

king heard them quarrelling, he asked to be told

what they were saying : and they held their

tongues : but when he threatened them, they told

him. Who then said, " Praise be to the Just 28

B.C. 105. CHAP. XXVIII.

" Judge, who hath shed the blood of the oppressor

29 " over the blood of the oppressed." Then he

groaned, and forthwith expired. And the time of

30 his reign was one full year. And all his flock

lamented him ; for he was noble-minded, vic-

torious 6 , and liberal: and his brother Alexander

reigned in his stead.

CHAPTER XXVIII. a

The account of Alexander the son of Hyrcanus.

1 After that Aristobulus was dead, his brother

Alexander was released from his fetters ; B c

and being brought out of prison, succeeded 105 -

2 to the throne. Now the governor of the city

Acche b {which is Ptolemais) had rebelled ; and

had sent messengers to Lythras the son of Cleo-

patra, requesting that he would aid him, and take

3 him under his protection ; but he for a long time

refused, fearing a incurrence of the things which

4 he had before suffered from Hyrcanus. But

the messenger gave him courage by means of the

succours promised by the lord of Tyre, of Sidon,

and others. And Lythras marched with thirty

5 thousand men : and the report of it was brought

to Alexander, who anticipated him at Ptolemais,

and attacked it ; and the citizens of Ptolemais

shut the gate in his face, and endeavoured to keep

e He became memorable archery is celebrated by the

for subduing Itursea, a part of Roman poets. See also

Arabia Petraea, lying on the Strabo, lib. XVI.

eastern side of Jordan, and a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

compelling its inhabitants to XIII. 20, 21. Bell. I. 3.

adopt the customs of the b See the note on 2 Mace.

Jews. See above, v. 3. — v. 22.

Ituraea is mentioned at Luke c See above, ch. xxiii. 10.

iii. 1. and its renown in

346 BOOK V. B.C. 105.

him out. Wherefore Alexander straitened them, q

and continued to besiege them ; until he was

informed of the marching of Lythras : then he

retired from before them, Lythras with his troops

being at hand.

Now there was among the citizens of Ptole- 7

mais an old man d of acknowledged authority, who

persuaded the citizens not to permit Lythras to

enter their city, nor to take on themselves obe-

dience to him, since he was of a different religion.

He also said to them, Far more advantageous to 8

you in every way will be submission to Alex-

ander, who is of the same religion, than submis-

sion to Lythras : nor did he cease, until they

agreed to his sentiments. And they prevented 9

Lythras from entering Ptolemais, refusing sub-

mission to him. And Lythras was perplexed in

his affairs, nor did he take counsel what was

best for him to do.

And this was told to the king of Sidon e , and 10

he sent messengers to him, that he should help

him in the war against Alexander ; that either

they might defeat him, or take some of his cities,

and thus punish him ; and thus Lythras might 11

return into his own country, after performing

deeds which might render him formidable ; which

in truth would be more to his advantage than to

return without having effected his purpose. And 12

this was told to Alexander ; who sent to Lythras

an honourable embassy with a very valuable pre-

d Josephns informs us that also taken possession of the

the name of this sage conn- neighbouring posts, Strato's

sellor was Demsenetus. Tower, (afterwards called Cae-

e This appears from Jose- sarea,) and Dora.

phus to be ZoVlns, who had

B.C. 104. CHAP. XXVIII. 347

sent, and proposed to him not to aid the king of

13 Sidon. And Lythras accepted Alexander's pre-

14 sent, agreeing to his request. But Alexander

marched to Sidon, and fought against its sovereign ;

and God made him victorious over him, and he

slew great numbers of his men ; and having put

him to flight, gained possession of his country.

15 After this, Alexander sent messengers to Cleo-

patra, that she should come with an army B c

against Lythras her son ; and that he also 104 -

would march with his army against him, and would

1 6 deliver him a prisoner to her. Which when Lythras

found out, he departed into the mountain of Gali-

lee^ and slew great numbers of the inhabitants,

and carried away ten thousand captives : a great

17 number of his own men also were slain. From

thence he marched even till he came to Jordan,

and there encamped ; that his men and horses

might rest themselves, and afterwards he might

march to Jerusalem to fight with Alexander.

18 This was told to Alexander; who went against

him with fifty thousand men, of whom six thou-

sand had shields of brass : and it is said that each

19 of those could resist any number of men. And

he attacked him at the Jordan, and engaged with

him there ; but did not obtain the victory, be-

cause he trusted in his men, and had placed his

confidence in their number.

20 But with Lythras there were men very skilful

in battles & and in drawing up armies; who ad-

f Where falling suddenly captives and other spoil. (Jo-

upon a town called Asochis, sephus.)

he mastered it, and departed, g Josephus particularly

loaded with abundance of names Philostephanus, as the

348 BOOK V. B. C. 104.

vised him to divide his forces into two parts, so

that one might be with Lythras and his company

prepared for battle, and the other part might be

with another captain of their company. And he 21

fought even until noon, and great numbers of his

men were slain. And his friend advanced, with the 22

remainder of the army which was with him,

whose strength was yet entire, against Alexander

and his men, who were by this time overcome

with fatigue : and he dealt with them as he 23

pleased, and slew great multitudes of them ; and

Alexander and the men who had remained with

him fled into the city of the Holy House.

Lythras also departed towards evening into a 24

certain town near at hand ; and by chance some

Jewish women with their children met him ; and 25

he commanded some of the children to be killed,

and their flesh to be dressed, pretending that there

were some in his army who fed on human flesh ;

designing by these acts to strike the inhabitants

of the country with a dread of his troops.

After this came Cleopatra ; whom Alexander 2(3

met, and told her what Lythras had done to his

army, and appointed to go with her in search of

him. Which being told to Lythras, he fled to a 27

place where was a station of his ships ; going on

board which, he returned to Cyprus ; and Cleo-

patra returned into Egypt.

But at the end of the year Alexander marched 28

against Gaza ; because its chief 11 had revolted

from him, and had sent to a certain king of the

man whose skilful tactics Apollodotus; and the brother,

eventually gained Ptolemy who treacherously slew him,

the battle. (ver. 31,) was called Lysima-

hJosephllS records his name, elms.

B. C. 97. CHAP. XXVIII. 349

Arabians named Hartas 1 to assist him ; who con-

29 sented to do so, and marched towards Gaza : this

was told to Alexander ; who leaving some of his

men before Gaza, marched against Hartas, and

30 engaged him, and put him to flight. Then he re-

turned to Gaza, and lying sore upon it, took it at

31 the end of a year. But the cause of his B c

taking it was the brother of that chief; who 97>

32 coming suddenly on him, slew him. When the

citizens sought to kill him, he collected his friends,

and went to the gate of the city, and addressed

Alexander, begging that on giving security for

his life and the lives of his friends, he would enter

33 the city ; which Alexander promising, entered

Gaza, and slew its inhabitants, and overthrew

the temple which was in it, and burned the gilded

idol which was in the temple.

34 After which he departed to the city of the Holy

House, and there celebrated the feast of taber-

35 nacles. And when the feast was past, he made

himself ready against Hartas, whom he encoun-

36 tered, and slew a great number of his men : and

Hartas' affairs were much straitened and crippled,

and he feared his own utter extinction. Where-

fore suing to Alexander for his life, he yielded

37 him obedience, and paid him tributes. And Alex-

1 Such is the spelling given ; the Corinthians ; who, having

but the name is properly Are- married the daughter of He-

fas. This appears to have rod Antipas, held the sove-

been an appellative name a- reignty of" Damascus, and en-

mong the Arabian sovereigns ; deavoured to intercept the

as we read of an Aretas in apostle; whose friends secured

3 Mace. v. 7, at the year B. him by letting him down in a

C. 170: of another, B. C. 66. basket from the city- wall,

(see below, ch. xxxv) : and a See 2 Cor. xi. 32 ; and Acts

grandson of this last occurs in ix. 24.

St. Paul's second Epistle to

350 BOOK V. B.C. 94.

ander departed from him, and marched against

Hemath k and Tyre, and took them ; and having

received tribute from the inhabitants, he returned

into the city of the Holy House.

CHAPTER XXIX. *

An account of the battles which took place between the

Pharisees and Sadducees.

Afterwards evils arose between the Phari- 1

B c sees and Sadducees, and continued by the

M - space of six years b . And Alexander helped 2

the Sadducees against the Pharisees, of whom

there were slain within six years fifty thousand.

Wherefore between these two sects the state of 3

things was reduced to utter destruction , and their

enmity was completely confirmed. So Alexander, 4

having sent for the elder men of each sect, spake

kindly to them, and advised a reconciliation. But 5

they answered him, " In truth you, in our opinion,

" are worthy of death d , for the abundance of in-

" nocent blood which you have shed : wherefore

" let there be nothing between us but the sword."

Then after this, they began to shew their enmity o

openly, sending messengers to Demetrius e the king

k Josephus calls it Ama- " bent on nothing less than

thus, " the strongest of all " the extermination of each

" the fortresses on the river " other."

" Jordan." Some chronolo- d Josephus relates, that

gers place this event three when he asked the JeAvs what

years before the capture of he could do to oblige them,

Gaza. they unanimously desired him

a Compare Josephus, An- " to go and kill himself."

tig. XIII. 21, 22. Bell. I. 3. e Namely, Demetrius III.

b Tacitus is supposed to al- who, conjointly with Philip,

hide to this civil strife, in the was at that time sovereign of

fifth book of his Histories, Syria ; or, as in the text, of

ch. 8. Macedon.

c Or, " these two sects were

B.C. 84. CHAP. XXIX. 351

of Macedon, that he should come to them with an

7 army; promising that they would assist him

against Alexander and his party, and would re-

duce the Hebrews to submission to the Macedo-

nians. And Demetrius marched to them with a

large army.

8 Which also was told to Alexander ; who sent a

person to hire six thousand Macedonians, B c

whom joining to his own forces he ad- m -

9 vanced against Demetrius. Many also of the

10 Jews, Pharisees, went over to Demetrius. And

Demetrius sent secretly persons to those Macedo-

nians who were with Alexander, to seduce them

from him ; but they hearkened not unto him.

11 Alexander also sent secretly men to the Jews who

were with Demetrius, to turn them to his side ;

but neither did these do as he would have them.

12 And Alexander and Demetrius met, and fought a

battle ; in which all Alexander's men fell, and he

13 escaped alone into the land of Jndah. But when

his men heard it whispered that he had escaped

in safety, and found out the place where he was ;

14 there assembled unto him about six thousand men

of the bravest of the sons of Israel ; and many of

those, who had revolted to Demetrius, joined them-

15 selves to him. Afterwards men flocked to him

from every side ; and he returned to give battle to

Demetrius with a numerous force, and put him to

flight : and Demetrius returned into his own

country.

16 And Alexander marched against him to An-

tioch, and besieged it three years : and B c

when Demetrius came out to fight, Alex- 84 -

1 7 ander conquered him and slew him : and he de-

352 BOOK V. B.C. 81.

parted from the city, and returned to Jerusalem to

his citizens ; who magnified him, honouring and

praising him for having defeated his enemies.

And the Jews agreed to submit to him, and his 18

heart was at rest : and he sent his armies against

all his enemies, whom he put to flight, and gained

the victory over them. He also gained possession 19

of the mountains of Sarah, and the country of

Ammon, and Moab, and the country of the Phi-

listines, and all the parts which were in the hands

of the Arabians who fought with him, even to the

bounds of the desert. And the affairs of his king- 20

dom were ruled aright ; and he placed his people

and his country in a state of safety.

CHAPTER XXX.a

The account of the death of Alexander the son of Hyr-

canus.

Afterwards king Alexander fell sick with a 1

B c quartan fever, for three whole years. But 2

81 - when the governor of a city named Ra-

gaba b revolted from him, he led thither a power-

ful army, taking with him his wife and family,

and besieged the city. But when it was on the 3

point of being taken, his disease increased and his

strength declined ; and his wife, who was named

Alexandra, lost all hope of his recovery : who 4

going up to him said ; " You know now what

" differences there are between you and the Pha-

" risees : and your two sons are little boys, and I

" am a woman, and altogether we shall not be

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. tress beyond Jordan, in the

XIII. 23. country of the Gerasenes.

b Josephns calls it a for-

B.C. 78. CHAP. XXX.

" able to resist them : what advice therefore do

5 " you give to me and them ?" He said to her,

" My advice is, that you persevere against the

6 " city till it be taken, which will be shortly. And

" when it shall have been won, establish its go-

" vernment according as the other cities have

7 " been established. But towards all these people,

" pretend that I am sick ; and whatever you do,

" pretend that you do it at my suggestion ; and

" reveal my death to those servants on whom you

8 " can depend. And when you shall have finished

" these matters, go into the city of the Holy House,

" having previously dried and embalmed my

" body with spices ; and fill the place where I lie

" with many perfumes,, that no unpleasant smell

9 " may proceed from me. And when the affairs of

" the country are settled, go thence, and roll me

" up in abundance of perfumes, and carry me into

10 " the palace, as if sick : and when I am there,

" send for the principal men of the Pharisees ;

" and when they come, honour them, and speak

11" good words to them : then say, Alexander is al-

" ready dead, and behold I give him up to you,

" do with him whatever seems good to you : and

" I from henceforth will behave to you as you

12 " shall please. For if you do this, I know very

" well that they will do nothing to me and you,

" except that which is good ; and the people will

" follow them, and your affairs will be ordered

" aright after my death, and you will reign se-

" curely until your two sons be grown up."

13 After this, Alexander died ; and his wife con-

cealed his death ; and when the city was taken,

she returned to Jerusalem ; and having sent for

a a

354 BOOK V. B.C. 77.

the chief men of the Pharisees, she addressed them

as Alexander had advised her. To whom they 14

replied, that Alexander had been their king, and

they had been his people ; and they spoke to her

with all affection, and promised to place her at

the head of their government. Then they went 15

out and collected men ; and taking Alexander's

body, they carried it forth magnificently to its

burial : and they sent for men to appoint Alexan-

dra queen ; with whose concurrence she was so

appointed. And the years of Alexander's reign 16

were twenty-seven.

CHAPTER XXXI.a

The history of queen Alexandra.

Now while Alexandra reigned, she called to l

B. c. her the chief men of the Pharisees, and

77 ' commanded them to write to all those of

their sect who had fled b into Egypt and other

parts, in the days of Hyrcanus and of Alexander,

that they should return into the land of Judah.

And she shewed them her favourable inclination 2

towards them, and did not oppose herself to their

rites, nor forbid their ceremonies, as Alexander

and Hyrcanus had forbidden them. She also re- 3

leased all of them who were detained in prison.

And they came together from every quarter ; and 4

the Sadducees forbore offering them any violence.

And their affairs were well ordered, and their 5

condition became improved by the removal of

quarrels.

a Compare Josephus, Ant. b See Josephus, Ant. XIII.

XIII. 24. Bell. I. 4. 22.

B.C. 71. CHAP. XXXII. 355

6 But when Hyrcanus and Aristobulus the two

sons of Alexander grew up, the queen made Hyr-

canus high priest, for he was meek, mild, and

7 honest : but Aristobulus she made general of the

army, for he was stout, brave, and high-spirited ;

and she also gave to him the army of the Saddu-

cees : but she did not think it meet to appoint

8 him king, as he was still a boy. Moreover she

sent to all those who paid tribute to Alexander,

and took their kings' sons, whom she detained

near her as hostages ; and they continued unin-

terruptedly in their obedience to her, paying tribute

9 every year. And she walked uprightly with her

people, distributing justice, and commanding her

people to do the same. Wherefore there was a

lasting peace between the parties, and she gained

their good-will.

CHAPTER XXXII*

An account of the things which were done to the Saddu-

cees by the Pharisees in the time of Alexandra.

1 There was among the Sadducees a chief man,

who had been promoted by Alexander, b.c.

named Diogenes, who formerly had in- '

duced him to slay eight hundred' 5 men of the Pha-

2 risees. Therefore the leaders of the Pharisees

come to Alexandra, and remind her of what Dio-

genes had done, asking her leave to slay him ;

which she gave : and they, having it, slew many

3 Sadducees together with him. Which the Sad-

ducees taking very much to heart, went to Aristo-

a Compare Josephus, Ant. massacre in Josephns, Ant.

XIII. 24. Bell. I. 4. XIII. 22.

h See the account of this

a a 2

356 BOOK V. B.C. 71.

bulus ; and, taking him with them, went to the

queen, and said to her : " You are aware what 4

" terrible and heavy things we have undergone,

" and the many wars and battles which we have

" fought, in aid of Alexander and his father Hyr-

" canus. Wherefore it was not meet to trample 5

" on our rights, and to lift up the hand of our

" enemies over us, and to lower our dignities ; for 6

" a matter of this kind will not be hidden from

" Hartas and others of your enemies ; who have

" experienced our bravery, and have not been able

" to resist us, and their hearts have been filled

" with the fear of us. When therefore they shall 7

" perceive what you have done to us, they will

" imagine that our hearts are devising plans

" against you ; of which when they shall be cer-

" tified, trust that they will play false towards

" you. Nor will we endure to be killed by the 8

" Pharisees, like sheep. Therefore, either restrain 9

" their malice from us, or allow us to go out from

" the city into some of the towns of Judah." And 10

she said to them, " Do this, that their annoyance

" to you may be prevented." And the Sadducees 11

went forth of the city ; and their chiefs departed

with the men of war who adhered to them ; and

went with their cattle to those of the towns of

Judah which they had selected c , and dwelt in

them ; and there were joined to them those who 12

were devoted to virtue, (i. e. the Hasdanim A .)

c Josephus relates that she wherein her chief valuables

confided to them the fortress- were deposited,

es throughout the country, d See above, the note on

with the exception of three, ch. xxv. 5.

B.C. 70. CHAP. XXXIII. 357

CHAPTER XXXIII*

The account of the death of Alexandra.

1 After these things, Alexandra fell into a dis-

2 ease, of which she died. And when her b.c.

recovery was almost despaired of, her son

Aristobulus went out from Jerusalem by night,

3 attended by his servant : and he departed to Ga-

batha b , to a certain chief man among the Saddu-

4 cees, one of his friends ; and taking him with

him, he proceeded to the cities where the Saddu-

cees dwelt ; and opened to them his purpose, and

exhorted them to go out with him, and to be his

allies in war against his brother and the Phari-

5 sees, and to appoint him king. To whom they

assenting , openly played false with Alexandra,

collecting men from every quarter to join Aristo-

bulus.

6 When the fame of these things reached Hyrca-

nus the son of Alexandra, the high priest, and the

elders of the Pharisees, they went to Alexandra,

sick as she was, and related the matter to her ;

7 pressing on her the great fear which they had for

her and her son Hyrcanus, from Aristobulus and

8 those who were with him. To whom she an-

swered ; " I truly am near death, so that it is

" more proper and profitable for me to attend to

" my own affairs ; what therefore can I do, being

a Compare Josephus, Ant. c Josephns'states, that his

XIII. 24. Bell. I. 4. proposal was so well received,

b Josephus says, Agafm ; that within fifteen days he

and that the name of his gained over to his cause two

friend was Galcestes. and twenty towns.

a a 3

358 BOOK V. B.C. 67.

" situated thus ? But my men, and my goods, and 9

" my arms, are with you and in your hands ;

" therefore order the business as it seemeth to

" you right, imploring the aid of God upon your

" matters, and asking deliverance from Him."

Then she died. The amount of her age was se- ]0

venty-three years ; and the time of her reign nine

years.

CHAPTER XXXIV.*

The account of Aristobulus 1 attack on his brother Hyr-

canus, after Alexandra' 's death.

When Aristobulus departed from Jerusalem in l

b.c. the days of Alexandra, he left his wife and

67 ' children in Jerusalem. But when the news 2

of his departure reached Alexandra, she confined

them in a certain house, setting a guard over

them. But when Alexandra was dead, Hyrcanus 3

called them to him, and behaved kindly to them,

and took care of them ; that they might deliver

him from his brother, if haply he should conquer

him. Then Aristobulus led out a great army as 4

far as to Jordan ; and Hyrcanus went out against

him with an army of Pharisees. And when the 5

two armies had encountered, great numbers of

Hyrcanus' army were slain ; and Hyrcanus, and

the remainder of his army, took to flight. Whom 6

Aristobulus and his troops pursuing, slew every

one whom they caught, excepting those who sur-

rendered themselves. Then Hyrcanus retreated 7

into the Holy City ; whither also arrived Aristo-

bulus and his army ; and he surrounded it on

every side with his tents, and attempted by stra-

a Compare Josephus, Ant. XIV. 1 . Bell. I. 4.

B.C. 67. CHAP. XXXV. 359

8 tagem to destroy the fortification. And the elders

of Judah, and the elders of the priests, went out

to him, and forbade his doing what he had de-

signed ; requesting him to djsmiss from his mind

whatever hostile feeling he had towards his bro-

9 ther : to which proposal he assented. Then it

was agreed between them that Aristobulus should

be king over Judah, and Hyrcanus should be high

priest b in the house of God, and next to the king

10 in dignity. And Aristobulus assented to these

terms, and entered the city, and had an interview

with his brother in the house of God ; and they

took an oath together to ratify those terms which

11 the elders had mutually agreed on. So Aristo-

bulus was made king, and Hyrcanus was ranked

12 next unto him. And men were at peace, and the

affairs of these two brothers were rightly ordered,

and the state of their people and of their country

became one of tranquillity.

CHAPTER XXXV.a

The account of Antipater, (that is, Herod the king,) and

of the seditions and battles which he kindled between

Hyrcanus and Aristobidus.

1 There was a man of the Jews, of the sons b of

certain of those who went up out of Babylon with

b It is observable, that Jo- observation at the year B. C.

sephus takes no notice of this 72, in his " Annals." In

circumstance; but states, that truth, the Jews could never

Hyrcanus consented to live bring themselves to regard

entirely as a private person. Herod as one of their own

a Compare Josephus, Ant. blood and brethren, notwith-

XIV. 2, 3. Bell. I. 5. standing all his acts of muni-

t> See Josephus on this ficence and public splendour.

point : also Abp. Ussher's

a a 4

360 BOOK V. B.C. 67.

Ezra the priest, named Antipater. And he was 2

wise, prudent, acute, brave, and high-minded, of

a good disposition, kind, and courteous ; also rich,

and possessing many houses, goods, and flocks.

This man king Alexander had made governor 3

of the country of the Idumseans, from whence he

had taken a wife ; by whom he had four sons,

namely, Phaselus, Herod, who reigned over Ju-

dah, Pheroras, and Josephus. Afterwards, being 4

removed from the mountains of Sarah c , that is,

the country of the Iduma3ans, in the days of Alex-

ander, he dwelt in the city of the Holy House: and 5

Hyrcanus loved him, and was much inclined to-

wards him : wherefore Aristobulus sought to kill

him ; which, however, he did not accomplish.

So Antipater was excessively afraid of Aristo- 6

bulus, and for that reason began secretly to plot

against Aristobulus' kingdom. He went there- 7

fore to the principal men of the kingdom, and

having gotten from them a pledge of secrecy re-

specting the matters which he was about to com-

municate, he began to talk to them of the infa- 8

mous life of Aristobulus, his tyranny, his impiety,

and the bloodshed which he had caused, and his

usurpation of the throne, of which his elder bro-

ther was more worthy. Then he bade them be- 9

ware of the great and good God, unless they took

away the tyrant's ruling hand, and restored what

was due to their rightful sovereign. Nor was 10

there left a single one of the chief men, whom he

did not overreach, and incline to submit to Hyr-

canus, seducing them from their obedience to Aris-

c See above, cli. x. 1 . and the note there.

B.C. 66. CHAP. XXXV. 361

tobulus, Hyrcanus knowing nothing of the mat-

11 ter: but Antipater ascribed d all this to him, being

unwilling to tell him before he had established

the thing.

12 Therefore, when he had fully settled this busi-

ness with the people, he went to Hyrcanus, and

13 said to him ; Truly your brother is greatly afraid

of you, because he sees that his estate will be no-

wise secure while you are alive ; on which ac-

count he is seeking about for an opportunity to

14 slay you, and will not suffer you to live. But

Hyrcanus did not give credence to him, because

of the goodness and sincerity of his heart. Where-

fore Antipater repeated this discourse to him

15 again and again. Also he gave large sums of

money to the persons in whom Hyrcanus placed

confidence, and agreed with them that they should

tell him similar things to what Antipater had

16 mentioned; only taking care that he should not

imagine that they knew that Antipater had been

17 speaking to him on the subject. So Hyrcanus be-

lieved their words ; and was induced to devise a

plan by which he might be delivered from his

brother.

18 When therefore Antipater spoke again to him

of the matter, he informed him that the b. c.

truth of his words was now manifest to 66 '

him, and that he knew that he had advised him

well ; and he asked his counsel in this affair.

11) And Antipater advised him to go out of the city

d That is to say, he sound- lieve that it was done with

ed all these chief men of the the privity, if not hy the ex-

kingdom, causing them to be- press command, of Hyrcanus.

362 BOOK V. B. C. 66.

to some one in whom he could confide, and who

might be able to aid and assist him. And Anti- 20

pater went to Hartam e , and agreed with him that

he should receive Hyrcanus as a guest when he

came, since he was rather afraid of dwelling with

his brother. At which Hartam rejoiced, and came 21

into the plan, and agreed with Antipater that in

no case would he deliver up Hyrcanus and Anti-

pater to their enemies, and that he would assist

and protect them. And he returned to Jerusalem, 22

and made known to Hyrcanus what he had done,

and how he had agreed with Hartam concerning

their going to him. Wherefore both of them went 23

out of the city by night, and went to Hartam, and

remained with him for some time.

Then Antipater began to persuade Hartam to 24

lead forth an army with Hyrcanus, to reduce and

caj^ture his brother Aristobulus. But Hartam 25

declined prosecuting this plan, fearing that he

had not strength to resist Aristobulus. But An- 26

tipater ceased not to shew him that the business

with Aristobulus was easy, and to urge him to it

by arguments of the treasure to be gained, and

by the greatness of glory ivhich he would acquire,

and the memory which he would leave behind

e Or Hartas. In this man- c. 95. [See it described, mi-

ner is the name spelled der the name of Wadi-moosa,

throughout ; but the person by the recent travellers, Legh

designated is Aretas, king of and Burckhardt.] Aretas was

Arabia Petraca; whose capital afterwards defeated and made

city was Petra, once a place prisoner by Pompey. On the

of consequence, now an al- name, see note on ch. xxviii.

most unknown heap of won- 28. — Plutarch calls him /3ao-i-

drous ruins. Its early history Xtvs tS>v 7rep\ rrjv Utrpav 'Apd-

is briefly touched by Diodorus ftwv.

Siculus, II. c. 48, 'and XIX.

B.C. 66. CHAP. XXXV. 363

27 him : until he consented to march ; yet upon con-

dition that Hyrcanus would restore to him what-

ever cities and towns f belonging to him his father

28 Alexander had taken away. To which Hyrca-

nus agreeing and completing the treaty, Hartam

marched (and Hyrcanus with him) with fifty

thousand horse and foot soldiers, bending his

course to the country of Judah : against whom

29 Aristobulus went forth and engaged them. And

when the fight had become fierce, many of Aristo-

30 bulus' army went over to Hyrcanus. Which

Aristobulus perceiving, sounded a retreat, and re-

turned to his camp, fearing lest his whole army

should gradually slip away to the enemy, and thus

31 he himself should be taken prisoner. But when

night was coming on, Aristobulus departed from

32 the camp alone, and went to the Holy City. And

when on break of day his departure became

known to the army, the greater part of them

joined themselves to Hyrcanus, and the rest dis-

33 persed and went their ways. But Hyrcanus,

Hartam, and Antipater, went straight to the city

of the Holy House, carrying with them a large

34 army ; and they found Aristobulus already pre-

pared for a siege ; for he had closed the gates of

the city, and had placed men on the ramparts to

35 defend them. And Hyrcanus and Hartam en-

camped with their forces against the city, and be-

sieged it.

f Josephus tells us that these were twelve in number, and

he recites their names.

364 BOOK V. B.C. 64.

CHAPTER XXXVI. *

The history of Gneas, general of the army of the

Romans.

Now it happened, that Gneus b , general of the 1

B c army of the Romans, went forth to fight

64 - with Tyrcanes c the Armenian : for the 2

citizens of Damascus, and Hames d , and Halepum e ,

and the rest of thern of Syria who are belonging

to the Armenians, had lately rebelled against the

Romans : and on that account Gneus had sent 3

Scaurus to Damascus and to its territories^ to take

possession of them ; which thing was told to Ari-

stobulus and Hyrcanus. Therefore Aristobulus 4

sent ambassadors to Scaurus, and much money,

requesting him to come to him with an army, and

assist him against Hyrcanus. Hyrcanus also sent 5

ambassadors to him, requesting his aid against

Aristobulus ; but he did not send him a present.

But Scaurus refused to go to either of them : 6

but he wrote to Hartam, ordering him to retire

with his army from the city of the Holy House,

and forbade him to give help to Hyrcanus against

his brother ; and threatened that he would come 7

into his country with an army of Romans and

Syrians, unless he obeyed. Now when this letter 8

had reached Hartam, he immediately retired from

the city : Hyrcanus also retreated ; whom Aristo- 9

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. preference to any prince of

XIV. 4—8. Bell. I. 5. the Syrian line.

,} That is, Cneius Pompeius. d Prohably Hamath, or E-

c That is, Tigranes, who mesa, a city on the river

had been elected king of Syria, Orontes.

after the joint reign of De- e Aleppo, as above men-

nietrius III. and Philip, in tioned at ch. xxi. 25.

B.C. 64. CHAP. XXXVI. 365

bulus pursued with a certain number of his troops,

and overtook them, and engaged them f : and a

great number of the Arabians were slain in that

battle, and very many of the Jews : and Aristo-

bulus returned into the Holy City.

10 In the mean time, Gneus reached Damascus ;

to whom Aristobulus sent, by the hand of a man

named Nicomedes^, a garden and vineyard 11 of

gold, altogether weighing five hundred talents,

with a most rich present; and besought him to

11 assist him against Hyrcanus. Hyrcanus also sent

12 Antipater to Pompey, with the like request. And

Pompey (who is Gneus) was inclined to help Ari-

13 stobulus. Which when Antipater saw, he watched

an opportunity that he might speak with Pompey

14 alone, and said to him : " In truth, that present

" which you have received from Aristobulus needs

" not be restored to him, even though you should

15 " not assist him ; yet Hyrcanus offers you twice

" so much : and Aristobulus will not be able to

" bring the Jews into subjection to you, but this

16 " Hyrcanus will do." And Pompey supposed the

matter to be so as Antipater had said ; and re-

joiced to think that he could bring the Jews under

17 his dominion. Wherefore he said to Antipater,

" I will assist your friend against Aristobulus ; al-

f At a place called Papyro. or rather, perhaps, from the

(Josephus). magnificent vine of gold and

S Josephus calls him Nico- jewels with which Herod de-

demus. corated the outer gate of his

h Josephus states, that he neAvly erected temple, may

himself had seen this orna- have sprung the idea which

ment and read the inscription is mentioned by Tacitus, in

on it, in the temple of Ju- the fifth book of his His-

piter Capitolinus at Rome, tory, that the Jews were wor-

From this splendid ornament, shippers of Bacchus.

366 BOOK V. B. C. 64.

" though I may pretend to help him against you,

" that he may entrust himself to me. For I am 18

" sure, that as soon as he shall find out that I am

" giving aid to his brother against him, he will

" play false with all his men, and will take care

" of himself, and his business will be much longer

" delayed. But I will send for him, and will go 19

" with him into the Holy City, and then will so

" act that your friend shall obtain his right ; but

" with this condition, that he shall pay us an an-

" nual tribute."

THE MESSENGER OF ARISTOBULUS.

After this, having sent for Nicomedes, he said 20

to him ; " Go to your master, and tell him, that I

" have consented to his request ; and carry him

" my letter, and say to him, that he must come to

" me in haste without delay, for I am waiting for

" him." And he wrote a letter to Aristobulus, of 21

which this is a copy :

" From Gneus, general of the army of the Ro- 22

" mans, to king Aristobulus, heir to the throne

" and high-priesthood, health be to you. Your 23

" garden and vine of gold have arrived ; and I

" have received them, and have sent them to the

" elder and governors ; which they have accepted

" and have placed in the temple ' x at Rome, return-

" ing you thanks. They have written, moreover, 24

" that I should assist you, and appoint you king

" over the Jews. If therefore you think fit to 25

" come to me with all speed, that I may go up

> Namely, of Jupiter Capi- which is related in the note

tolinus ; agreeably to that on verse 10, above.

B.C. 63. CHAP. XXXVI. 367

" with you to the Holy City, and fulfil your

" wishes, I will do so."

26 And Nicomedes departed to Aristobulus with the

letter of Gneus. And Antipater, returning b. c.

to Hyrcanus, told him of the promise of 63 '

27 Gneus, advising him to go to Damascus. So Hyr-

canus went to Damascus : Aristobulus went also :

and they met at Damascus in the audience-room of

Pompey, (that is, Gneus;) and Antipater and the

28 elders of the Jews said to Gneus ; " Know, most

" illustrious general, that this Aristobulus has

" been dealing falsely towards us, and has usurped

" by the sword the kingdom of his brother Hyr-

" canus, who is more worthy of it than he, seeing

" that he is the elder brother, and of a better and

29 " more correct way of life. And it was not enough

" for him to oppress his brother, but he has op-

" pressed all the nations which are round about

" us ; shedding their blood and pillaging their

" goods unjustly, and keeping up enmities be-

" tween us and them, a thing which we abhor."

30 Then stood up a thousand aged men, attesting the

truth of his words.

31 And Aristobulus said, " Truly this my brother

" is a better man than I ; but I did not seek for

" the throne, until I saw that all those who had

" been subject to our father Alexander were deal-

" ing falsely with us after his death, knowing the

32 " inability of my brother. Which when I looked

" into, I perceived that it was my duty to under-

" take the sovereignty, in that I was better than

" he in matters of war, and by that was better

33 " suited for preserving the monarchy : and I

" went to war with all those who dealt falsely

368 BOOK V. B.C. 63.

" with us, and reduced them to obedience : and

" this was the command of our father before his

" death." And he brought forward witnesses 34

who attested the truth of his words.

After these things Pompey departed from the 35

city Damascus, journeying to the Holy House.

But Antipater sent privately to the inhabitants 36

of the cities which Aristobulus had won, exciting

them to complain to Gneus, setting forth the

tyranny which he had exercised over them ;

which thing they did. And Gneus ordered him 37

to write them a testimonial of their freedom, and

to say that he would in no wise trouble them

more ; which truly he did, and the nations were

released from their obedience to the Jews.

But when Aristobulus saw what Gneus had 38

done to him, he and his men departed by night

from Gneus' army without acquainting him with

it, and went on to the city of the Holy House :

and Gneus followed him till he came to the city 39

of the Holy House, around which he encamped.

But when he beheld the height of the walls, and 40

the strength of its buildings, and the multitude of

men who were in it, an4 the mountains which

encircled it, he perceived that flattery and cunning

would be more serviceable against Aristobulus

than acts of provocation : wherefore he sent am- 41

bassadors to him, that he should come out to him,

promising him safe conduct : and Aristobulus

went out to him ; whom Gneus received kindly,

not saying a word about his former doings.

After this Aristobulus said to Gneus, " I wish 42

" that you would aid me against my brother,

" giving my enemies no power over me ; and for

B.C. 63. CHAP. XXXVI. 369

" this you shall have whatsoever you wish."

43 Gneus replied, " If you wish this, bring to me

" whatever money and precious stones are in the

" temple, and I will put you in possession of

" what you wish." And Aristobulus said to him,

44 " Undoubtedly this I will do." And Gneus sent

a captain named GabiniusJ with a great number

of men, to receive whatever of gold and jewels

45 there was in the temple. But the citizens and

the priests refused to permit this : wherefore they

resisted Gabinius, killing many of his men and of

46 his friends, and drove him out of the city. Upon

which, Gneus, being wrath with Aristobulus,

threw him into prison.

47 Then he marched with his army, to force his

way into the city and enter it. But a great body

of the citizens going forth, hindered him from

doing this, by slaying great numbers of his men.

48 And in truth, the numbers, the spirit, and the

bravery of the nation, which he had seen, fright-

ened him ; so that, being alarmed at these, he

had resolved to retire from them, had not mis-

chievous quarrels arisen in the city between the

friends of Aristobulus and the friends of Hyr-

49 canus. For some of them wished to open the

gates to Pompey, but others were averse to this.

Wherefore they came to blows on this account ;

J Aulus Gabinius attained publicly defended by Cicero,

the dignity of consul : being That oration is not now ex-

a friend of Pompey, he was tant ; but we are made ac-

employed in Jud;ca : for the quainted with the circum-

act of replacing Ptolemy on stance by what is said in the

the throne of Egypt, as re- oration for Rabirius Posthu-

lated below at ch. xl. 15 — inns, which in fact is a sort of

20, he was accused at Rome, second part of the same cause

ami at Pompey's request was or trial

Bb

370

BOOK V.

B. C. 63.

and as this state of things increased rather than

diminished, the war continued. Which Pompey 50

noticing, beset with his army the gate of the

city : and as some of the people opened a wicket

to him, he entered k , and took possession of the

king's palace ; but could not gain the temple,

because the priests had closed the doors, and had

secured the approaches by armed men. Against 51

these he sent men to attack them from every side,

and they put them to flight. And his friends

coming to the temple, mounted the wall and de-

scended into it, and opened its gates, after slaying

a multitude of priests. Then Gneus came, and 52

entered into it 1 , and greatly admired its beauty

and magnificence which he beheld, and was asto-

nished when he saw its riches and the precious

stones which were in it : and he forebore to take 53

any thing out of it m ; and he commanded the

k The historian Appian

states, that Pompey not only

captured, but also destroyed

Jerusalem : he uses the strong

expression Karea-Kayfrev, he rased

it to its foundations : but the

incorrectness of this is evi-

dent. Compare the follow-

ing note.

1 Josephus speaks feelingly

on this profanation : but he

gives Pompey due credit for

the forbearance which he

shewed, amidst so great temp-

tation to plunder : ovhevos

rj^/tiTO hi cv(T([ictav. We shall

see in the next note, that the

motives of the Roman general

were not rated quite so high

by one of his own country-

men. However, we may

hence correct the statements

of the later historians, as

Dio Cassius, who asserts that

on the capture of the temple

a general plunder took place,

iravra ra xpr)fj.a.Ta hirjpnacrdr].

m It is remarked, that

Cicero has praised Pompey

for thus respecting the temple

and its contents : " At Cneius

" PompeiuSj captis Hieroso-

" lymis victor ex illo fano

" nihil attigit. In prim is

" hoc, ut nuilta alia, sapi-

" enter, cpiod in tarn suspi-

" ciosa ac maledica civitate

" locum sermoni obtrectato-

" rum non reliquerit. Non

" enim, credo, religionem, et

" Judaeorum et hostium, im-

" pedimento pncstantissimo

" Imperatori, sed pudorem,

" fuisse." Orat. pro L.

B.C. 63. CHAP. XXXVII. 371

priests to cleanse the house from the slain, and to

offer sacrifices according to the ceremonies of their

country.

CHAPTER XXXVII. a

The account of the appointment of 'Hyrcanus the son <)f

Alexander to be king of the Jews, and of the return to

Rome of the general of the Roman army.

1 Having arranged these matters, Pompey ap-

pointed Hyrcanus to be king' 5 ; and carried away

2 his brother Aristobulus in chains: he also ordered

that the Jews should have no dominion over

those nations who had been subdued by their

3 kings before his arrival ; and he exacted a tribute

from the city of the Holy House ; and covenanted

with Hyrcanus, that he should receive inauguration

4 from the Romans every year. And he departed d ,

taking with him Aristobulus, and two of his sons,

and his daughters : and he had a son remaining,

named Alexander, whom Pompey could not seize,

Flacco, cap. 28. For my happy quarrels of Aristobulus

part, I doubt whether this be and Hyrcanus had brought

praise : as the orator openly and fixed upon their country:

attributes the act, not to its labours wasted — its bounds

principle, but to policy ; not curtailed — its power dimin-

to any sense of religion, but ished — its treasures spoiled —

solely to motives of private its glory sunk — its sanctuary

and personal interest. profaned — its liberty taken

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. away — and itself reduced to

XIV. 8. Bell. I. 5. the sad condition of a Roman

,J Josephus only states that province !

he appointed him high priest. d See a summary of the

In point of fact, the whole proceedings of Pompey at

power was really lodged in Jerusalem, as detailed by

the Roman governor of Ccelo- various heathen (not Jewish)

Syria, Scaurus. authors, given in Ussher's

c Josephus eloquently la- Annals, at the year 13. C. 63.

ments the evils which the un-

n b 2

372 BOOK V. B.C. 62.

because he had fled. So Pompey placed in his 5

room in the city of the Holy House, Hyrcanus,

and Antipater, and with them his own colleague

Scaurus.

CHAPTER XXXVIII. *

The history of Alexander the son of Aristobulus.

When Pompey had set out for Rome, Hyr- l

B c canus and Antipater marched against the

C2 - Arabians, to bring them under the domi-

nion of the Romans. To which the Arabians 2

submitted, trusting to their intimacy with Anti-

pater, and paying great regard to his advice ; by

which acts Antipater designed to reconcile the

Romans to him.

Therefore when Alexander the son of Aristo- 3

B c bulus perceived the expedition of Hyrca-

58 - nus, Antipater, and Scaurus, against the

Arabians, and that they had departed to a great

distance from the Holy City ; he journeyed till he 4

arrived there ; and entering into the palace, he

brought out thence money for the expence of re-

pairing the city-wall which Pompey had broken

down. And he raised for himself an army, and 5

arranged all those matters which he wished, be-

fore Hyrcanus and his party should return to the

city of the Holy House : and when they returned,

he went out to meet them, and engaged them,

and put them to flight.

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. XIV. <), 10. Bell. I. 6.

B. C. 57. CHAP. XXXIX. 373

CHAPTER XXXIX*

The history of Gabinius and of' Alexander the son of

Aristobulus.

1 Now Gabinius b had gone out from Rome, to

dwell in the land of Syria, to take care of B .c.

2 it ; and it was told him what Alexander 57 -

the son of Aristobulus had done, by building up

that which Pompey had pulled down, and by

opposing his successor, and slaying his friends.

3 Wherefore he went straight until he came to Je-

rusalem ; and Hyrcanus and his party joined him.

4 Against whom Alexander went out with ten thou-

sand foot and fifteen hundred horse, and encoun-

5 tered them : and they routed him, and slew a

certain number of his friends ; and he fled into a

certain city in the land of Judah, called Alexan-

drium c , in which he fortified himself with his

6 company. And Hyrcanus, and Gabinius, and

their forces, marched against him and besieged

7 him. And Alexander went out against them,

and engaged thern, and slew great numbers of

8 their men. And Marcus d , who is called Anto-

nius, marched against him, and forced him to flee

again into Alexandrium.

9 And Alexander's mother went out to Gabinius,

deprecating his anger, and imploring him to grant

10 her son Alexander his life : to whom Gabinius as-

a Compare Joseph. Ant. on the summit of a steep hill,

XIV. 10. Bell. I. 6. near to Corese, on the north-

h He was appointed go- ern border of Judaea. (Antiq.

vernor of Syria by the Ro- XIV. 6.)

mans. d Namely, Mark Antony,

c Josephus describes this the celebrated triumvir,

as an elegant fortress built

b b S

374 BOOK V. B.C. 56.

sented in this point ; and Alexander went out to

him ; and Gabinius put him to death e ; and

thought proper to divide the territories of Judah

into five portions. One is, the country of Jeru- 11

salem and the parts adjacent ; and over this part

Hyrcanus was made governor. Another portion

is Gadira f , and the places about it. The third is, 12

Jericho and the plains. The fourth is, Hamaths

in the land of Judah. And the fifth is, Sephoris h .

By these means he intended to remove wars and 13

seditions out of the land of Judah ; but they were

by no means removed.

CHAPTER XL.*

The history of the flight qf Aristobulus and his son Anti-

gonus from Rome, and their return into the land of

Judah: also, an account of the death of Aristobulus.

Then Aristobulus devised plans, till he had sue- 1

B c ceeded in escaping from Rome with his son

5C - Antigonus, and had arrived in the city of

Judah. And when Aristobulus shewed himself in 2

public, a great multitude of men flocked round him ;

out of whom he selected eight thousand, and march-

ed against Gabinius, and engaged him ; and there

were slain of the Roman army a very great num-

ber : there fell also of his own men seven thou- 3

e Josephus, at this part of on the eastern side of Jordan,

the history, takes no notice (Josephus.)

of Gabinius putting Alexan- h A large and considerable

der to death : and, some chap- city, which for some time was

ters later, alludes to the fact considered the capital of Ga-

of his having been slain by lilee, erected (says Josephus)

order of Scipio. in a position naturally very

f Or Gadara, a strong town strong,

on the eastern side of Jordan, a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

the capital of Per<ea. XIV. 11. Bell. I. 6, 7.

k That is, Amathus, a city

B.C. 56. CHAP. XL. 375

sand, but one thousand escaped ; and the enemy's

army pursued him ; but he and they who were

left to him ceased not to resist even till the total

4 destruction of his men; nor was there one left

but he alone ; and he fought most furiously until

he fell overpowered by wounds, and was taken

and led to Gabinius ; who ordered him to be taken

5 care of until he was healed. Then he sent him

in chains to Rome.

[And he remained shut up in prison until the

reign of Caesar ; who brought b him out of prison,

6 and loaded him with gifts and favours ; and giv-

ing to him two generals and twelve thousand men,

sent him into the land of Judah, [B. C. 49.] to

detach the Jews from Pompey's party, and bring

them over to obey Caesar : for Pompey at that

time was governor of the land of Egypt.

7 And the report of Aristobulus and his party

reached Hyrcanus ; who was greatly afraid, and

wrote to Antipater to avert his power from him

8 by his customary devices. So Antipater sent

some of the chief men of Jerusalem, giving to one

of them poison, charging him to administer it

9 craftily to Aristobulus. And they met him in

the land of Syria, as though they were ambassa-

dors to him from the Holy City : and he received

them joyfully, and they did eat and drink with

10 him. And those men laid plots till they gave

him the poison ; and he died, and was buried in

1 1 the land of Syria. Now the time of his reign c ,

until he was taken prisoner the first time, was

'آ» Compare Joseph. Antiq. see Ussher's remark on the

XIV. 13. passage, in his Annals.

c Compare Josephus : and

B b 4

376 BOOK V. B. C. 55.

three years and a half; and he was a man of

courage, weight, and excellent disposition.]

Now Gabinius had written to the senate, to 12

send away his two sons to their mother, since she

had requested it ; which they did. But it came 13

to pass, that when Pompey had departed to a

great distance from Jerusalem, they broke their

engagement of obedience to the Romans : where- 14

fore Gabinius went against them, encountered

them, and conquered them, and reduced them

again to submission to the Romans.

In the mean time the land of Egypt rebelled 15

B c against Ptolemy d , and expelled him from

55 - his royal city, refusing to pay tribute to

the Romans. Whereupon Ptolemy wrote to Gabi- 16

nius that he should come and help him against the

Egyptians, that he might bring them again into

subjection to the Romans. And Gabinius march- 17

ed out of the country of Syria, and wrote to Hyr-

canus to meet him with an army, that they might

go to Ptolemy. And Antipater went with a large Ui

army to Gabinius, and met him at Damascus, con-

gratulating with him on the victory which he had

gained over the Persians e : and Gabinius ordered 19

him to hasten to Ptolemy, which he did, and

fought against the Egyptians, and slew of them

a very great number. Afterwards Gabinius com- 20

ing up, replaced Ptolemy on his throne, and went

back to the Holy City, and renewed Hyrcanus'

sovereignty, and returned to Rome.

d Namely, Ptolemy, but- be their king,

named Dionysius Novus. In e That is, Parthians, as be-

opposition to him the Egyp- fore,

tians had chosen Archelaus to

B.C. 54. CHAP. XLI. 377

CHAPTER XLI. *

The history qfCrassus.

1 When Gabinius had returned to Rome, the

2 Persians b played false to the Romans ; and B c

Crassus c marched with a large army into 54 -

Syria, and came to Jerusalem, requiring of the

priests that they should deliver to him whatever

3 money there was in the house of God. To whom

they made answer, how will this be lawful for

you, when Pompey, Gabinius, and others have

deemed it unlawful ? But he answered, I must

4 do it at all events. And Eleazar the priest said

to him, Swear to me that you will not lay your

hand upon any thing which belongs to it, and I

5 will give you three hundred minse of gold. And

he sware to him that he would take nothing from

the treasure of the house of God, if he would deli-

6 ver to him what he had mentioned. And Eleazar

gave him a bar of wrought gold, the upper part of

which had been inserted into the wall of the trea-

sury of the temple, upon which were placed every

year the old veils of the house, new ones being

7 substituted for them. And the bar weighed three

hundred minae d of gold, and it was covered with

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. thus governor of the province

XIV. 12. of Syria. His subsequent

b Parthians, as before. attempts against the Parthi-

c Marcus Licinius Crassus, ans, his defeat and death,

whose history and fame are are recorded by Plutarch and

well known, after having other writers,

served under Sylla, and oh- d Josephus states here, "the

tained great glory by his " minse with us weighs two

timely defeat of Spartacus " pounds and a half:" from

and the revolted slaves, be- whence the immense value of

came consul, censor, triumvir this bar may be understood,

with Ctesar and Pompey, and

378 BOOK V. B. C. 53.

the veils which were accumulated during a long

course of years, being known to no one besides

Eleazar. Crassus then, having received this bar, 8

broke his word, going back from the agreement

made with Eleazar; and he took all the treasures

of the temple, and plundered whatever money was

therein, to the amount of two thousand talents :

for this money had been accumulating from the 9

building of the temple until that time, out of the

spoils of the kings of Judah and their offerings,

and also from the presents which the kings of the

Gentiles e had sent ; and they were multiplied and 10

increased in the lapse of years ; all which he took.

Then that vile Crassus went off with the mo- 11

ney and his army into the country of the Per-

sians ; and they defeated him f and his army in

battle, slaying them in a single day : and the Per- 12

sian army took as spoil every thing which was in

the camp of Crassus.

After this feat, they marched into the country of 13

B c Syria, which they won, and detached from

53 - its submission to the Romans. Which the 14

Romans learning, sent a renowned general named

Cassiuss with a great army : who, arriving in the

country of Syria, drove out those of the Persians

who were in it. Then proceeding to the Holy City, 15

he delivered Hyrcanus from the war which the

Jews were waging against him, reconciling the par-

ties. Afterwards, passing the Euphrates 11 , he fought io

e See above, cli. I. 1. g He was first treasurer to

f For the miserable end of Crassus ; after whose death

this expedition against the lie was made governor of Sy-

Parthians, which cost the life ria. Subsequently he became

of Crassus, and the destruction conspicuous as one of the

of his whole army, see the murderers of Julius Caesar.

Roman historians. h Ussher remarks, that

B.C. 52. CHAP. XLII. 379

with the Persians, and brought them back to their

17 subjection to the Romans: he also reduced to

submission the two and twenty kings 1 whom

Pompey had subdued ; and reduced under obe-

dience to the Romans every thing in the countries

of the east.

CHAPTER XLII. a

The history qfCcesar, king of the Romans.

1 It is reported that there was at Rome a certain

woman who was pregnant, who, being near R c

to her delivery, and racked with most vio- 52 -

2 lent pains of childbirth, died : but as the child was

in motion, the belly of the mother was opened, and

it was brought forth thence and lived, and grew, and

was named Julius, because he was born in the fifth

3 month ; and was called Caesar b , because the belly

of his mother, from whence he was extracted, was

4 ripped open. (Lat. ccesa.) But when the elder

of Rome sent Pompey into the east, he likewise

sent Caesar into the west, to subdue certain na-

tions which had revolted from the Romans. And

Caesar went, and conquered them, and reduced

them to obedience to the Romans, and returned to

.)

there is a mistake in this as- " sisse ipse Pompeius pro

sertion : as the Roman histo- " concione narravit." Histor.

rians mention indeed the sue- VI. c. 6.

cesses of Cassius against the a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

Parthians in Syria, but say XIV. 14, 15. Bell. I. 7-

not a word of his having pur- b On this point, which has

sued them back into their been contested, see Suidas,

own country. in voce 'IoOAjos ; and for the

> The historian Orosius, various accounts given of the

after reciting Pompey's ex- name, consult Hoffmann's

ploits in Asia, states ; " Hoc lexicon, and the authors there

" helium orientis cum viginti cited.

" et duobus regibus sese ges-

380 BOOK V. B.C. 49.

Rome with great glory : and his fame increased, 6

and his affairs became much renowned, and exces-

sive pride took hold on him ; wherefore he re-

quested the Romans to name him king. But the 7

elder and governors answered him, " Truly our

" fathers took an oath in the days of Tarquin the

" king, — who had taken by force another man's

" wife, who laid hands on herself that he might

" not enjoy her, — that they would not give the 8

" title of king to any of those who should be

" placed at the head of their affairs ; on account

" of which oath (said they) we are not able to gra-

" tify you in this particular." Wherefore he 9

stirred up seditions, and waged furious battles at

Rome, slaying many people, until he seized on

the throne of the Romans, and entitled himself

king, putting a diadem on his head. From thence- 10

forth they were called kings of the Romans, from

their kingdom : they were also called Caesars.

When therefore Pompey heard this news of Cae- 11

B c sar, and that he had slain the three hundred

49 - and twenty governors, he collected his

armies and marched into Cappadocia : and Caesar 12

going to meet him engaged him, conquered 11 and

slew him, and gained possession of the whole terri-

tory of the Romans. After this, Caesar went into the 13

province of Syria ; whom Mithridates e the Arme-

nian met with his army, assuring him that he was

come with peaceful designs, and was ready to at-

c See above, 2 Mace. viii. dered on the coast of Egypt,

15 ; also 5 Mace. xii. and whither he was fleeing for

xiii. succour.

d At the battle of Pharsa- e Namely, king of Perga-

lia. Shortly afterwards Pom- mus ; not one of the kings of

pey was treacherously mar- Parthia.

B.C. 48. CHAP. XLII. 381

tack whatsoever enemies he should command.

14 Ccesar ordered him to depart into Egypt; and

Mithridates marched till he came to Ascalon.

15 Now Hyrcanus feared Caesar very much, because

his submission to Pom pey, whom Caesar had B c

16 slain, was known. Wherefore he despatch- 48 -

ed hastily Antipater with a brave army to assist

Mithridates : and Antipater marched to him, and

aided him against a certain one of the cities of

17 Egypt*, and they took it. But as they departed

thence, they found an army of the Jews who

dwelled in Egypt, making a stand at the entrance,

to prevent Mithridates from entering Egypt.

18 And Antipater produced to them a letter from

Hyrcanus, commanding them to desist, and not

oppose Mithridates, the friend of Caesar. And

19 they forbore. But the others marched till they

came to the city of the then reigning king ; who

came out to them with all the armies of the Egypt-

ians, and when they engaged with him, he con-

20 quered and routed them ; and Mithridates turned

his back and fled ; whom, when he was sur-

rounded by the Egyptian troops, Antipater saved

21 from death : and Antipater and his men ceased

not to resist the Egyptians in battle, whom he

routed and conquered, and won the whole country

of Egypt.

22 And Mithridates wrote to Caesar, shewing him

what Antipater had done, and what battles he

had endured, and what wounds he had received ;

23 and that the winning of the country was to be

ascribed not to him but to Antipater, and that

f Namely, Pelusium. sius II, together with Cleo-

g Namely Ptolemy Diony- patra.

382 BOOK V. B. C. 47.

he had reduced the Egyptians to obedience unto

Caesar. And when Caesar had read the letter of 24

Mithridates, he commended Antipater for his ex-

ploits, and resolved to advance and exalt him.

After these acts, Mithridates and Antipater went 25

to Caesar, who then was at Damascus ; and he

obtained from Caesar whatsoever he liked, and he

promised him whatever he wished for.

CHAPTER XLIII.a

The account of the coming of 'Antigonus the son of Aris-

tobulus unto Ccvsar, complaining of Antipater icho had

caused his father 's death.

But Antigonus the son of Aristobulus came to 1

B c Caesar, and related to him the expedition

47 - of Aristobulus his father to attack Pom-

pey, and how obedient and obsequious he was to

him. Then he told him that Hyrcanus and An- 2

tipater had secretly sent a man to his father to

destroy him by poison b , intending (said he) to

assist Pompey against your friends.

Caesar therefore sent to Antipater, and ques- 3

tioned him on this matter; to whom Antipater

replied ; " Certainly I did obey Pompey, because 4

" then he was the ruling person, and conferred

" benefits on me ; but I did not now fight with

" the Egyptians for the sake of Pompey, who is

" already dead ; nor did I go through difficulties 5

" in defeating them and reducing them to obedi-

" ence to Pompey ; but I did this out of duty to

" Caesar, and that I might reduce them to obedi-

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. is stated above, at chap. xl.

XIV. 15. Bell. I. 8. 7—10.

b According to that which

B. C. 47. CHAP. XLIII. 383

6 " ence to him." Then Antipater uncovered his

head and his hands, and said ; " These wounds,

" which are on my head and body, testify that

" my affection and obedience to Caesar are greater

" than my affection and obedience to Pompey ;

7 " for I did not expose myself in the days of Pom-

" pey, to the things to which I have exposed ray-

8 " self in the days of king Caesar." And Caesar

said to him, " Peace be to thee, and to all thy

" friends, O bravest of the Jews : for thou hast

" truly shewn this fortitude, magnanimity, obedi-

" ence, and affection towards us."

9 And from that time Caesar increased in affec-

tion towards Antipater, and advanced him above

all his friends, and promoted him to be general of

his armies, and took him with him into the coun-

10 try of the Persians : and he saw from 1 his bravery

and his successful exploits, that he more and more

excited in him a longing and affection for him :

11 at length he brought him back into the land of

Judah, covered with honours and crowned with

a post of authority c .

12 And Caesar marched to Rome, having settled

the affairs of Hyrcanus d ; who built the walls of

the Holy City, and conducted himself towards the

13 people in a most excellent manner : for he was a

good man, endued with virtues, of irreproachable

life, but his inability in wars was notorious to all

men.

c It appears that Caesar d Caesar ordained that Hyr-

confirmed Hyrcanus in the canus and his descendants

high-priesthood; but commit- should perpetually retain the

ted really the chief civil power principality ((Ovapxla) and

to the hands of Antipater, ere- high-priesthood of the Jews,

ating him procurator or go- according to the ancient usage

vernor of Judaea. of the country.

BOOK V. B.C. 45.

CHAPTER XLIV.a

The account of the embassy of ' Hyrcanus to Caesar ; ask-

ing for a renewal of the treaty between them; and of

the copy of the treaty which Hyrcanus sent to him.

Therefore Hyrcanus sent ambassadors to l

B c Caesar, with a letter concerning a renewal

47—45. f t ne treaty which was between him and

the Romans. And when Hyrcanus' ambassadors 2

came to Caesar, he ordered them to be seated in

his presence ; an honour which he had not con-

ferred on any one of the ambassadors of the kings

who used to come to him.

Moreover he acted kindly to them, by expe- 3

diting their business, and ordered an answer to

be given to Hyrcanus' letter ; to whom also he

wrote the treaty, of which the following is a

copy.

" From Caesar, king of kings, to the princes of 4

" the Romans who are at Tyre and Sidon, peace

" be with you. I give you to know, that a letter 5

" of Hyrcanus the son of Alexander, both kings

" of the Jews, has been brought to me ; at the 6

" arrival of which I rejoiced, by reason of the

" continued good-will which both he and his peo-

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. ought to assign to it the year

XIV. 16, 17- Josephus, here 54: but it is clear that the

enumerating the various ordi- embassy mentioned in the

nances, decrees, &c. of the text was subsequent to Cae-

Romans in favour of the sar's arrangements in favour

Jews, begins by reciting a de- of Hyrcanus, related in the

cree of the senate, differing preceding chapter. In fact,

in almost every particular the letter inserted, as in this

from this letter ofCtesar. As passage, by Josephus, belongs

lie states that this transaction to the transactions related in

took place in the ninth year ch. xxii. of this our book,

of Hyrcanus' sovereignty, we

B.C. 45. CHAP. XLIV. 385

" pie declare that they have towards me and the

7 " Roman nation. And verily the truth of his

" words I have proved by this ; that he formerly

" sent b Antipater a captain of the Jews, and their

" cavalry, with Mithridates my friend, whom the

8 " troops of Egypt attacked ; and he saved Mithri-

" dates from death, having won for us the coun-

" try of Egypt, and reduced the Egyptians to

" obedience to the Romans : he also marched with

" me into the country of the Persians, serving as

9 " a volunteer. And therefore I order that all the

" inhabitants of the sea-coast, from Gaza as far as

" Sidon, shall pay all the tributes which they owe

" us, every year, to the house of the great God

10 " which is in Jerusalem ; except the citizens of

" Sidon ; and let these pay to it, according to the

" appointment of their tribute, twenty thousand

" five hundred and fifty viba? c of wheat every

11 " year. I also order, that Laodicea and its pos-

" sessions, and all things which were in the hand

" of the kings of Judah, even to the bank of the

12 " Euphrates ; with all those 'places which the As-

" monaeans d won from the passing over Jordan, —

f be restored to Hyrcanus the son of Alexander

b See these transactions re- lish measure. But Josephus,

lated above, at ch. xlii. 15 — reciting the same decree, states

23. the appointed quantity to be

c The word which the La- twenty-six thousand and se-

tin translator has rendered venty-five modii. [There ap-

viba, is stated by Meninski to pears to be a various reading,

signify a measure containing twenty thousand six hundred

twenty-two or twenty-four and seventy-five.] See edit.

Roman modii. The modius, Haverk. Ant. XIV. c. 10. آ§. G.

though familiarly translated a d Namely, Judas Macca-

bushel, is generally under- bams and his successors. For

stood to have been equal to the origin of the name, see

one peck and a half of Eng- the note on book II. ch. ii. 1.

C C

386 BOOK V. B.C. 44.

" king of Judah. For all these things his fathers 13

" had won by their sword, but Pompey had un-

" justly taken them away e in the time of Aristo-

" bulus : and from this time and for the future 14

" let them belong to Hyrcanus, and to the suc-

" ceeding kings of Judah. And this treaty is for 15

" me, and for every one of the kings of Rome my

" successors : whoever therefore shall break it or

" any part of it, may God destroy him by the

" sword, and may his house and his government

" be made desolate and be cut down ! And when ] 6

" you shall read this my epistle, write it in let-

" ters f engraved on tables of brass, in the lan-

" guage of the Romans and in their characters,

" and in the language of the Greeks and in their

" characters : and place the tables in conspicuous 17

" parts of the temples which are at Tyre and Si-

" don ; that every person may be able to see them,

" and may understand what I have appointed for

" Hyrcanus and the Jews."

CHAPTER XLV.a

The history of ' Cccsar^s death.

There were with Caesar two of Pompey's l

B ( , friends ; of whom the one was called Cas-

44 - sius, and the other Brutus ; who laid a

plot to kill Caesar. For which purpose they con- 2

cealed themselves in the temple b at Rome which

e See above, eh. xxxvii. 2. XIV. 17, 18. Bell. I. 9.

f Josephus recites this or- ,J It is known, from the

der, but in another place ; Roman historians, that it was

namely, as given by Antony in no temple, but in the se-

(for Augustus and himself) nate-house, that Caesar met

after Julius Caesar's death. his death.

a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

B. C. 43. CHAP. XLVI. 387

3 he had set apart for himself to pray in. To which

therefore when he came, careless, safe, and taking

no sort of heed to himself, they rushed upon him,

4 and killed him. And Cassius got possession of

the throne c , and gathered a large army, and trans-

ported it beyond the sea ; fearing Caesar's party if

he should continue to reside at Rome.

.5 And he marched into the land of Asia, and

wasted it : from thence he went into the B c

6 country of Judah : and Antipater wished 43 -

to attack him ; but seeing that his strength was

not equal to the task, he made peace with him.

7 And Cassius laid a tribute of seven hundred ta-

lents of gold d on the land of Judah ; and Anti-

8 pater bound himself as surety for the money ; and

charged his son Herod to raise it on the country

of Judah, and to carry it to Cassius : who receiv-

ing it marched into the country of Macedonia,

and there remained through fear of the Romans.

CHAPTER XLVI.a

The history of the death of Antipater.

1 Now the princes of Judah had taken counsel

to slay Antipater ; and for that purpose had se-

cretly set upon him a man who was called Mal-

2 chiah. And Malchiah made the attempt, but its

3 execution was delayed for a long time. And the

report of it reached Antipater, who sought out

4 Malchiah to kill him : but Malchiah cleared him-

self in the sight of Antipater of the things whereof

c This in id similar misstate- silver: a much more mode-

ments must be corrected from rate exaction,

the Roman historians. a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

آ«l Josephus says, talents of XIV. 19. Bell. I. 9.

c c 2

388 BOOK V. B.C. 42.

he had been accused to him ; and sware to him

that the report was groundless : and Antipater

believed him, putting aside all suspicion from him.

But Malchiah, having given a large sum of money 5

to Hyrcanus' cup-bearer, agreed with him to give

Antipater poison, while he was on the banqueting

couch in the king's presence. And the cup-bearer 6

did this, and king Antipater b died on that same

day : and the thing was not by the design, nor

with the knowledge, of the king. And when An- 7

tipater was dead, Hyrcanus substituted Malchiah

in his place.

CHAPTER XLVlI.a

The history of the death of Malchiah.

Now when Herod the son of Antipater was in- 1

B c formed that Malchiah had caused his fa-

42 - ther's death, he thought to rush openly

upon Malchiah ; but his brother prevented him

from doing this, advising that he should be taken

off by stratagem. And Herod went to Cassius, 2

and told him what Malchiah had done : to whom

the other replied, when I am gone to Tyre, and

Hyrcanus is with me, and with him Malchiah,

then rush on him and kill him.

When therefore Cassius had gone to Tyre, and 3

Hyrcanus had gone to join him, taking Malchiah

b I do not remember that name of king. It is said also,

this title is given to Antipater in the next verse, that " Hyr-

in any other passage. Ca'sar " canus substituted Malchiah

had made him procurator of " in his place," evidently im-

Judaea ; but though he really plying a subordinate rank,

had the supreme power, it a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

does not appear that he ever XIV. 1<), 20. Bell. I. 9.

possessed the throne or the

B. C. 42. CHAP. XLVII. 389

with him ; and they were standing together in

Cassins' presence, at a certain feast to which Cas-

4 sius had invited them with all his friends : (now

Cassins had given orders to his servants to do

5 whatever Herod should order them :) Herod also

was standing with his brother amongst the com-

panions of Hyrcanus, and Herod agreed with some

of the servants to kill Malchiah, when a signal

fi should be given by a wink of the eye. When

therefore Hyrcanus had eaten and drunken with

his friends, they went to sleep in the afternoon :

7 and when they had awaked from sleep, Hyrcanus

ordered one to prepare a couch for him in the

open air, before the entrance of the banqueting

8 room in which they had slept : and he himself sat

down, and commanded Malchiah to sit with him :

he also ordered Herod and his brother to be seated :

<) and Cassius' servants stood near Hyrcanus ; to

whom Herod winked against Malchiah, and they

10 immediately rushed on him and slew him*: and

Hyrcanus was greatly frightened, and fell into a

fit of fainting.

11 But when Cassius' attendants had retired, and

the slain Malchiah was carried out, Hyrcanus

came to himself again, and asked of Herod the

12 cause of Malchiah's death. And Herod answer-

ed ; "I am wholly ignorant, nor do I know the

" cause of the thing." And Hyrcanus held his

peace, and never again asked more of the matter.

13 And Cassius marched into Macedonia, to meet

Octavian the son of Caesar's brother, and An-

b The circuni.stiinces of his c Who was afterwards

death are differently related better known by the title of

by Joseplms. Augustus Caesar. It is not

c c 3

390 BOOK V. B.C. 41.

tony the general of his army : for they had set

out from Rome with a great army in search of

Cassius.

CHAPTER XLVIII.a

The history of Octavian, {the same is Augustus the son

of CcEsars brother. ,) and of Antony, general of his

army, and of Cassias' 1 death.

When Octavian had marched into Macedonia, l

Cassius went out to meet him, and engaged

with him ; and Cassius was put to flight ;

whom Octavian pursuing, entirely defeated and 2

killed b : and Octavian won the kingdom in place

of his uncle Caesar ; and he also was surnamed

Caesar, after the name of his uncle.

Now when the death of Cassius became known 3

B c to Hyrcanus, he sent ambassadors with

41 - presents, money, and jewels, to Augustus

and Antony : and he wrote to him, asking for 4

a renewal of the treaty which had been entered

into with Caesar ; and that he would order all 5

the captives of Juclah who were in his kingdom,

and those who had been made captives in the

days of Cassius, to be set free ; and that he would (>

permit all the Jews who were in the country

of the Greeks, and in the land of Asia, to return

into the country of Judah, without requiring any 7

true that he was the sou of XIV. 22, 23. Bell. I. 10.

Caesar's brother: but bis mo- b Namely, at the battle of

ther Accia was sister of Julius Pbilippi, a town of Mace-

Caesar ; so that in fact he donia, fought in October,

was a nephew, but by the B. C. 42.

female side. c See above, ch. xliv. 1.

a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

B.C. 41. CHAP. XLVIII. 391

ransom, or redemption, or any obstacle being

thrown in the way by any one.

8 So when the ambassadors of Hyrcarms came

to Augustus, with their letter and presents, he

9 honoured the ambassadors, and accepted the pre-

sents, and acceded to all things which Hyrcanus

had asked ; writing to him a letter, of which

this is the copy.

10 " From Augustus d , king of kings, and Antony

" his colleague, to Hyrcanus king of Judah ;

11 " Health be to you. Your letter has even now

" reached us, at which we rejoiced ; and we have

" sent that which you wished, respecting the

" renewal of the treaty, and the writing, to all

" our provinces, which extend from the country

12 " of the Indias even to the western ocean. But

" that which delayed us from sooner writing to

" you concerning the renewal of the treaty was,

" our occupation in subduing Cassius. that filthy e

13 " tyrant; who, acting wickedly towards Caesar,

14 " that luminary of the world, slew him. Where-

" fore we have contended with him with our

" whole strength, until the great and good God

" rendered us victorious, and caused him to fall

15 " into our hands ; whom we have put to death f .

" We have also slain Brutus his colleague ; and

d Josephus states all this man historians, that neither

to have been done by Antony Cassins nor Brutus fell in

alone, and in his own name, battle, nor, strictly speaking,

Caesar having departed into rvereputtodeatkbyOct&via.n:

Gaul or Italy immediately as each of them, feeling that

after trie battle of Philippi. their hopes and prospects

e The Latin version ren- were irretrievably destroyed,

ders the word by " forni- fell upon his own sword

" carius," literally, a fre- rather than fall into the vic-

quenter of brothels. tor's hands.

f It is related h\ the Ho-

c c 4

392 BOOK V. B. C. 41.

' we have delivered the country of Asia out of

1 his hand, after he had laid it waste, and had

' exterminated its inhabitants. Nor did he ad- 16

•' here to any engagement ; nor honour any tem-

' pie ; nor do justice to the oppressed ; nor pity

' a Jew, or any other of our subjects : but with 17

' his followers he wickedly did many evils to all

' men through oppression and tyranny : where- 18

' fore God hath turned their malice back on their

' own heads, delivering them up, with those who

' were confederate with them. Rejoice now 19

' therefore, O king Hyrcanus, and other Jews,

' and inhabitants of the Holy Region, and priests

' who are in the temple of Jerusalem : and let 20

* them accept the present which we have sent to

' the most glorious temple, and pray for Augustus

' ever. We have written also to all our pro- 21

* vinces, that there remain in none of them any

' one of the Jews, be it servant or maid, but that

' all should be let go, without price and without

' ransom : and that they should be hindered by 22

' no person from returning into the land of

' Judah ; and this by command of Augustus, and

likewise of Antony his colleague."

Moreover, he wrote s to his friends, who are at 23

Tyre and Si don, and in other places, to restore

whatever they had taken out of the land of Judah

in the days of that filthy Cassius : and to treat 21

the Jews peaceably, and not to oppose them in

any thing, and to do for them whatever Caesar

had decreed in his treaty with them.

آ£ Josepbus, as above, attributes tbis to Antony, not to

Caesar.

B.C. 41. CHAP. XLVIII.

25 Now Antony remained in the country of Syria ;

and Cleopatra 11 queen of Egypt came to him,

26 whom he took for his wife. She was a wise

woman, skilled in magical arts and properties of

things: so that she enticed him, and got posses-

sion of his heart to that degree that he could deny

her nothing.

27 At this same time, a hundred men of the chief

of the Jews went to Antony', and complained of

Herod and his brother Phaselus the sons of Anti-

28 pater, saying ; They have now gotten every thing

belonging to Hyrcanus, and there remains to him

nothing of the kingdom except the name ; and the

concealment of this matter is a proof of the capti-

29 vity of their lord. But when Antony had in-

quired of Hyrcanus the truth of the things which

they had mentioned to him, Hyrcanus declared

that they spoke falsely ; clearing Herod and his

brother from that which they had laid to their

30 charge. And Antony rejoiced at this ; for he

was greatly inclined towards them, and loved

31 them. Moreover, other persons at another time

complained to him of Herod and his brother,

32 when he was at Tyre : but he not only refused to

entertain their words, but put to death some of

33 them, and cast the rest into prison ; and he ad-

vanced the dignity of Herod and his brother,

doing them services, and sent them back to Jeru-

34 salem with great honour. But Antony himself

h Namely, the fifth (or country to the condition of a

sixth) princess of that name, Roman province at her death,

the daughter of Ptolemy B.C. 30.

Auletes : she was the last of ' Who at this time was at

the sovereigns of Egypt, Au- Daphne, near Antioch in

gustus having reduced that Syria. (Josephus.)

394 BOOK V. B. C. 40.

going into the country of the Persians k , defeated

them, and subdued them, and returned to Rome.

CHAPTER XLIX.a

The history of Antigonus the son of Aristobulus, and of

his expedition against his uncle Hyrcanus: and of the

succour which was obtained from the king of the Per-

sians.

When Augustus and Antony had arrived at 1

B c Rome, Antigonus went to the king of

40 - the Persians 1 *, and promised him a thou-

sand talents of coined gold, and eight hundred

virgins of the daughters of Judah and of its

princes, beautiful and wise ; if he would send 2

with him a general leading a great army against

Jerusalem, and would order him to make him

king over Judah, and would take prisoner his

uncle Hyrcanus, and kill Herod and his brother.

To whom the king assenting, sent with him a 3

general with a great army : and they marched 4

until they came into the land of Syria ; and they

slew a friend of Antony and certain Romans who

were dwelling there.

From thence they marched against the Holy 5

City ; professing security and peace, and that An-

tigonus had only come to pray in the sanctuary,

and then would return to his own friends. And 6

they entered the city ; into which when they had

gotten, they played foul, and began to kill men,

and to plunder the city, according to the orders

of the king of Persia to them. And Herod and 7

k That is. Parthians, as b The Parthians, of whom

before. Orodes was at this time king.

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. e Josephus says, live hun-

XIV. 24, 2a. Bell. I. 11. dred.

B. C. 40. CHAP. XLIX. 395

his men ran forward to defend the palace of Hyr-

canus : but he sent his brother, and commanded

him to guard the way which leads from the walls

8 to the palace. And when he had possessed him-

self of each position, he chose out some of his

men, and marched against the Persians who were

9 in the city ; and his brother followed with a cer-

tain number of his men; and they slew the greater

part of the Persians who were in the city, but the

rest fled out of the city.

10 And when the general of the Persians saw that

things had not gone to his mind, he despatched

messengers to Herod and his brother, to treat for

11 peace ; informing them, that now he was satisfied

of their valour and bravery, that they ought to be

preferred to Antigonus ; and that for that reason

he would persuade his troops to aid Hyrcanus and

12 them rather than Antigonus: and this his wish he

confirmed by the most solemn oaths, so that Hyr-

canus and Phaselus believed him, but not Herod.

13 So Hyrcanus and Phaselus, going out to the gene-

ral of the Persians, signified to him their reliance

on him ; and he advised them to go to his col-

14 league who was at Damascus; and they went. And

when they were come to him, he received them

honourably, and made a display of holding them

in high esteem, and treated them courteously;

although he had secretly given orders that they

15 should be made prisoners. And some of the prin-

cipal men of the land coming to them, told them

of this very design ; advising them to flee, with

16 a promise of aiding their escape. But they did

not trust these men, fearing lest it were some plot

17 against them ; wherefore they stayed. And when

396 BOOK V. B.C. 40.

night came on, they were seized : Phaselus indeed

laid hands on himself; but Hyrcanus was bound

in chains, and by order of the general of the Per-

sians his ear was cut off d , that he might never be

high priest again; and he sent him to Herak e , to 18

the king of the Persians ; to whom when he came,

the king ordered his chains to be struck off, and

shewed him kindness ; and he remained in Herak 19

loaded with honours, until Herod demanded him

from the king of the Persians : and when he was

sent back to Herod, those things befell him f which

did befall him.

After this, the general went up with Antigo- 20

nus into the Holy City : and it was told Herod

what had been done to Hyrcanus and Phaselus :

wherefore taking his mother Cypris, and his wife 21

Mariainne the daughter of Aristobulus, and her

mother Alexandra, he sent them with horses and

much baggage to Joseph his brother to mount

d Josephus adds, that the " not approach : no man that

mutilation of Hyrcanus took " hath a blemish of the seed

place at the suggestion of An- " of Aaron the priest shall

tigonus ; and his remark is " come nigh to offer the of-

conrirmed by an expression " ferings of the Lord made

occurring at ch. liv. 9. of " by fire : he hath a blemish;

this book. We know both " he shall not come nigh to

the object and the ground of " offer the bread of his

this proceeding, from the fol- " God." Lev. xxi. 16.17-18.

lowing express and repeated 21.

command of God : " And the e Josephus does not use this

"Lord spake unto Moses, expression; but merely states,

" saying, Speak unto Aaron, that Hyrcanus was sent into

" saying, Whosoever he be of the country of the Parthians.

" thy seed in their genera- Concerning the meaning of

" tions that hath any blemish, the word Herak, see the note

" let him not approach to of- on ch. liv. 1. of this book.

" fer the bread of his God. f See the sequel of his his-

" For whatsoever man he be tory below, at ch. liv.

" that hath a blemish, he shall

B.C. 40.

CHAP. XLIX.

397

22 Sarah s : but himself with an army of a thousand

men marched slowly, and waited for those of the

23 Persians who might attempt to pursue him. And

the general of the Persians pursued him with his

army ; whom Herod attacked, and conquered, and

24 put to flight. After this, Antigonus' troops also

pursued him, and fought with him most fiercely :

and these he smote h , and slew great numbers of

25 them. Then he marched to the mountains of Sa-

rah ; and found his brother Josephus, whom he

ordered to secure the families in a safe place, and

to provide all things which were necessary for

26 them : and he gave them abundance of money,

that if need were, they might buy themselves pro-

visions.

S This name has occurred

frequently in this book, hut I

do not find it elsewhere : per-

haps it may be derived from

that part of ancient Idumsea,

which in Scripture is called

" the mountains of Seir." See

above, ch. xxi. 29; xxxv. 4.

The spot in which Joseph se-

cured the persons entrusted

to his charge appears from

Josephus (Ant. XIV. 24, 26,

27.) to have been the strong-

hold of Massada. But this

creates some difficulty: for,

although we know that Mas-

sada was a strong position,

and was used as a place of

defence by Herod, its situa-

tion does not well accord with

the statement in the text.

Massada is said to have been

near to Engaddi, which was

not far from Jericho ; so that

it cannot well be taken for

a part of mount Sarali in Idu-

nuca. Consult ch. 26 and

27 of the XlVth book of Jo-

sephus' Antiquities; and ch.

11 and 12 of the first book of

his Wars ; all which passages

favour the idea, that Massada

was in Idumsea. Salmasius,

in his " Exercitationes Pli-

" nianae ad Solini Polyhistor."

cap. 35, affords some assist-

ance, by desiring us to re-

member that the boundary-

line between Arabia Petraea

(rather Idumaea) and Judaea

was not accurately defined ;

so that places which by one

author are assigned to one

country, by a second may be

referred to the other. Such

may be the case with the town

in question.

h And on the spot where

he defeated them, he after-

wards, when he came to the

throne, erected a castle and

palace, bearing the name of

Herodium. (Josephus.)

398 BOOK V. B.C. 40.

And having left his men with his brother Jose- 27

phus, himself with a few companions went into

Egypt, that he might take ship and proceed to

the country of the Romans. Cleopatra entertained 28

him courteously, and requested him to take the

command of her armies and the management of

all her affairs ; to whom he notified that it was

quite necessary for him to go to Rome. And she 29

gave him money and ships : and he went till he

reached Rome, and abode with Antony, and told

him what Antigonus had done, and what he had

committed against Hyrcanus and his brother, by

help of the king of the Persians : and Antony 30

rode with him to Augustus and to the senate, and

told them the selfsame thing.

CHArTER L.a

The history of' Herod when the Romans appointed him

king- over the Jews, and his departure from Rome with

an army to fight against the Holy House.

Augustus and the senate, informed of what 1

Antigonus had done, with one consent appointed

Herod king over the Jews ; commanding him to 2

put a golden diadem on his head, and to mount a

horse, and that it should be proclaimed by trum-

pets preceding him, " Herod is king over the Jews

" and the holy city Jerusalem :" which was done.

And returning to Augustus, he rode, and Augus- 3

tus, and Antony; and they went to Antony's

house, who had invited the senate and all the citi-

zens of Rome to a banquet which he had prepared.

And they did eat and drink, and rejoiced over 4

a Compare Josephus, Ant. XIV. 26, 27- Bell. I. 11, 12.

B.C. 40. CHAP. L. 399

Herod with great joy, making with him a treaty-

engraven in tables of brass ; and it was placed in

5 the temples. And they inscribed that day as the

first of Herod's reign, and from that time it was

taken for an aera, by which times are counted.

6 After these things, Antony and Herod departed

by sea with a great and abundant army : and

when they came to Antioch, they divided their

7 forces : and Antony took a part, and led it into

the country of the Persians which is Herak b and

the parts adjacent : and Herod, taking another

8 part, went straight till he came to Ptolemais. So

Antigonus, hearing that Antony had made an ex-

pedition into the country of the Persians, and that

Herod had reached Ptolemais, marched out from

the Holy House to the mountain Sarah c , to take

Josephus, Herod's brother, and those who were

9 with him. Whom he assaulted, and besieged ;

and having cut off* a canal, intercepted the water

which flowed down to them : so that thirst pre-

vailed among them, and their affairs were reduced

10 to great straits. Wherefore Josephus determined

to flee ; and the families had deliberated upon

surrendering themselves to Antigonus, if Josephus

11 should flee. But God sent to them an abundant

rain, which filled all their cisterns and vessels :

wherefore their hearts were encouraged, and their

12 condition was improved ; and Josephus continued

to repulse Antony d and his men from the strong

1} See the note on ch. liv.l. take for Antigonus : Antony,

c See above, at ch. xlix. as we have read at ver. 7> had

21. 24, and the note. Jose- led his troops into Babylonia

phus states the place to be at this time, where we find

Massacln. him employed at ch. lii. 1 — 3.

d This obvionslv is a mis-

400 BOOK V. B.C. 39.

hold, nor could the latter gain any advantage over

him. But Herod inarched straight to the moun- 13

tain Sarah, to bring back his brother, and the fa-

milies, and the men who were with him, to Jeru-

salem. And he found Antigonus besieging his 14

brother ; upon whom he made a sudden attack ;

and Josephus and his men came out to them, and

the greater part of Antigonus' army was destroy-

ed, and he fled into Jerusalem.

Whom Herod pursued with a great army of 15

Jews, who had come to him from every quarter,

when they found that he had returned ; and he

was well supplied with assistance, so that he stood

in less need of the army of the Romans. When 16

therefore Herod had reached the Holy City, An-

tigonus shut the gates in his face ; and fought

against him ; and sent much money to the chiefs

of the army of the Romans, requesting them not

to assist Herod : which they did e for him.

Wherefore the war lasted a long time between 17

Antigonus and Herod, neither of them prevailing

over his fellow [i.e. antagonist].

CHAPTER LI. a

The history of the magnanimity of certain of Herod's

men, and of their bravery.

Now thieves, and they who were longing for 1

B.C. the property of others, had multiplied

during the time of Antigonus ; betaking 2

themselves to some caves in the mountains, to

which there was no approach except for one man

e It appears that Silo, a fence of Antigonus' interests.

Roman general, was bribed, a Compare Josephus, Ant.

and exerted himself in de- XIV. 27. Hell. I. 12.

B.C. 39. CHAP. LI. 401

at a time, through certain places fitted for the

3 purpose by them, and known to them alone : and

even though others should know them, they could

not go up to the cave ; because that a man was

ever ready at the mouth, who, with a very little

trouble, could easily repel a person who was

4 climbing up. And now some of these men had

gotten to themselves in that cave abundance of

arms, provisions, and drink, and all those things

5 which they needed ; together with all the sjioils

which they had gained by attacking those whom

they met, and that which they had taken by right

or wrong.

6 When therefore Herod had learnt their pro-

ceedings, and found that their matters were likely

to cause delay b ; also that men could not at pre-

sent mount up to them by ladders, nor in fact

7 climb up in any way ; he made use of great

wooden chests fitted and joined together, and filled

them with men, (adding food and water,) bearing

8 very long hooked spears : and those chests he or-

dered to be let down from the summit of the

mountains, at the middle of which the caves were,

until they were placed opposite to their mouths :

9 and when they were opposite to these, he desired

that his men should attack them in close fight

with swords, and from a distance should drag

10 them out with those spears. And the chests were

n made, and filled with men. And when some of

them were let down, and were opposite to the

mouths of those caves, no information having

b In other words, that in he put a stop to, from the

all probability their maraud- difficulty of coming at their

ing system would not ensily retreats.

D d

402 BOOK V. B. C. 39.

been given to the persons living there ; one of the

men who were in the chests rushed into the caves,

followed by his companions; and they killed the 12

robbers who were in them, together with their

followers, and threw them down into the valleys

below ; all the men whom Herod had sent, emu-

lating these first. And in this exploit, their cou- 13

rage, bravery, and boldness was so conspicuous,

that the like of it was never seen : and they

wholly rooted out the robbers from all those

parts.

CHAPTER LH.a

An account of Antony's return from the country of the

Persians after hilling the king' of the Persians, and

his meeting- xvith Herod.

Then Antony, after leaving Herod b , marched I

from Antioch into the country of the Persians,

and fought with the king of the Persians, over-

came, slew him, and won his land; and having 2

reduced the Persians to obedience to the Romans,

he turned aside to the Euphrates .

And when his fame was told to Herod, he set 3

out to congratulate with him on his victory ; and

to request him to come with him into the Holy

Country. And he found a very large multitude 4

collected 01 , wishing to approach Antony ; to which

many bodies of Arabians had opposed themselves,

preventing it from coming to Antony's presence.

And Herod marched against the Arabians, and 5

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. c On the banks of which

XIV. 27. Bell. I. 13. river he laid siege to, and

** See above, ch. 1. 7- The subsequently took, the im-

great defeat, however, was portant city of Samosata.

given to the Parthians, not d In the neighbourhood of

by Antony, but by Ventidius Antioch. (Josephus.)

his lieutenant.

B.C. 38. CHAP. LII. 403

slew them, opening a passage for all who wished

6 to approach Antony. And this was reported to

Antony, before that Herod arrived : whereupon

he sent him a golden diadem, and a great many

horses.

7 But when Herod came, Antony received him

courteously, praising him for his exploits against

the Arabians : and he attached to him Sosius the

general of his army, with a large force, ordering

him to go with him to the city of the Holy House:

8 giving him also letters to all the country of Syria,

which is from Damascus even to the Euphrates,

and from the Euphrates to the country of Ar-

9 menia; saying to them, " Augustus, king of kings,

" and Antony his colleague, and the Roman se-

" nate, have now appointed Herod king over the

" Jews ; and they desire you to lead forth all

" your men of war with Herod to assist him : if

" therefore you act contrary to this, you must go

" to war with us."

10 Then Antony marched to the sea-coast, and

thence into Egypt : but Herod, and Sosius with his

11 army, commanded the forces of Syria. But when

Herod drew nigh to Damascus, he found that B c

his brother Josephus had gone out from the s *

Holy House with an army of Romans, to besiege

12 Jericho and to cut down its corn : against whom

came forth Pappus the general of Antigonus'

forces, and slew of them thirty thousand e , having

13 also slain Josephus Herod's brother : and when

his head was presented to Antigonus, Pheroras

e Probably tbere is an error about three thousand men,

in the number. Josephus re- were slain,

lates that six cohorts, that is,

D d 2

404 BOOK V. B.C. 38.

his brother bought it for five hundred talents^,

and buried it in the sepulchre of his fathers : and 14

he heard also that Antigonus and Pappus were

advancing against him with a large army. Which 15

Herod having fully ascertained, determined to

make an onset on Antigonus, and to crush him

unexpectedly: and he agreed with Sosius that he 16

should take twelve thousand Romans and twenty

thousand Jews, and march against Antigonus,

but that the other should slowly follow his foot-

steps with the remainder of the army.

And Herod marched with his troops in a body, 1 7

and met with Antigonus in the mountainous parts

of Galilee : and they fought with him from mid-

day even until night. Then the army was dis- 18

persed ; and Herod with some of his men passed

the night in a certain house, and the house fell

upon them ; but they all escaped B from the ruin

with their lives, without a bone of any one of

them being broken.

Shortly afterwards Herod hastened to fight 19

with Antigonus, and there was a very great

battle between them, and Antigonus fled into the

Holy House ; Pappus meanwhile resisting bravely,

and continuing the fight, for he was high-spirited

and very brave. And the greater part of Anti- 20

gonus' army was slain on that day ; Pappus also

was killed, whose head Pheroras cut off, and they

f Truly a large sum to be partiality for Herod, adduces

given for such an object. Jo- this occurrence for a proof

sephus, with greater probabi- how much he was beloved by

lity of being right, states God, whose providence pre-

Jifty. served his life in so extraor-

g Josephus, who frequently dinary a manner,

in his works manifests a strong

B.C. 37. CHAP. LII. 405

carried it to Herod 1 ', who ordered it to be bu-

ried.

21 When therefore none remained of Antigonus'

army, except prisoners or runaways, Herod gave

orders to his men to take rest, and to eat and

22 drink. But he himself went to a certain bath

which was in the next town, and went into the

23 bath unarmed. Now there lay hidden 1 in the

bath three strong and brave men, holding in their

hands drawn swords : who, when they saw him

come into the bath, and unarmed, made all haste

to go out one after the other, being afraid of him ;

and so he escaped.

24 After this came Sosius; and they marched to-

gether to the city of the Holy House, which they

surrounded with a trench ; and fierce battles took

25 place between them and Antigonus : and great

numbers of Sosius' men were slain, Antigonus

frequently overcoming them ; but he could not

put them to flight, by reason of their firmness

26 and endurance in bearing his assaults. Then

Herod prevailed against Antigonus ; and Antigo-

nus fled, and entering the city shut the gates

against Herod, and Herod besieged him a long

time.

27 But on a certain night the guards of the gate

fell asleep : which some of Herod's men B c

discovering, twenty of them ran, and taking 37 -

ladders placed them against the wall, and climbing

h Or rather, Herod cut off chanced to resort to the bath

the head, and sent it to Phe- as a place of concealment; and

roras. upon the unexpected appear-

' It appears from Josephus ance of Herod with his at-

that they had not gone thither tendant, were too happy to

for the purpose of attacking escape with their lives.

Herod ; hut that tliev had

n d ii

406 BOOK V. B.C. 37.

up killed the guards. And Herod with his men 28

hastened to the gate of the city which was oppo-

site to them, and burst it in, and entered the city.

Which the Romans taking, began to slaughter 29

the citizens ; at which Herod being troubled said

to Sosius, " If you shall destroy all my people,

" over whom will you appoint me king?" and So- 30

sius ordered proclamation to be made that the

sword should be stayed ; nor was any person

slain after the proclamation. But Sosius' cap- 31

tains, eager for prey., ran to plunder the house of

God : but Herod standing at the gate, holding a

drawn sword in his hand, prevented them ; and

sent to Sosius to restrain his men, promising

them money. And Sosius ordered proclamation 32

to be made to his men to abstain from plunder,

and they abstained. And they sought Antigonus

and found him, and Antigonus was taken prisoner.

After these things, Sosius betook himself into 33

Egypt to his colleague Antony, carrying with

him Antigonus in chains. But Herod sent to 34

Antony a very great and fair present, requesting

him to slay Antigonus; and Antony slew him k :

and this was in the third year of the reign of He-

rod, which also was the third year of Antigonus.

CHAPTER LIU.*

The history of Herod after the death of' Antigonus.

When Herod was certified of the death of An- 1

k Thus terminated, the go- remarks on Antony's putting

vernment of the Asmona'an to death the king, given by

princes, in the hundred and Josephus out of Strabo.

twenty-sixth year from its a Compare Joseph. Antiq.

first establishment under Ju- XV. 1. Bell. I. 13.

das Maecabucus. See some

B.C. 37. CHAP. LIV. 407

tigonus, he considered himself secure that no one

of the royal Asmonsean family would contend with

2 him : wherefore he employed himself in advanc-

ing the dignities, in kindnesses and promotions,

of those who were well inclined to him and

3 obeyed his will. He also exerted himself in de-

stroying those persons, together with their fami-

lies, and in plundering their cattle and their goods,

who had opposed him, furnishing aid against him.

4 And he oppressed persons, taking away their pro-

perty, and despoiling all those who had shaken off

obedience to the Jews ; and slew those who re-

5 sisted him, and plundered their goods. Also he

made an agreement with all who were obedient to

him, that they should pay him money. He also

stationed guards at the gates of the Holy House,

who might search those who went out, and take

whatever gold or silver they should find on any

7 one, and bring it to him. He also ordered the

coffins of the dead to be searched ; and whatever

money any person might endeavour to carry out

8 by stratagem, the same to be taken. And he

heaped together so much money as none of the

kings of the second house had amassed.

CHAPTER LIV. *

The history of Hyrcanus the son qf Alexander, the uncle

of Antigonus, and of his return into Jerusalem at the

request of Herod, and of the death to which he pid

him.

1 Hyrcanus, after that the king of the Persians

had set him at liberty 1 ', remained in Herakin c , in

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. this narrative above, at ch.

XV. 1,2, 9. xlix. 17, 18.

15 See the preceding part of c Josephus in loco reads

n d 4 %

408 BOOK V. B.C. 37.

a most respectable condition and great honour :

wherefore Herod was afraid lest any thing might 2

induce the king of the Persians to appoint him

king' 1 , and send him into the land of Judah.

Wherefore wishing to set his mind at rest, he laid 3

plots for this business ; and sent to the king of

the Persians a very great present, and a letter ;

in which he made mention of Hyrcanus' deserts 4

and kind deeds towards him ; and how he had

gone to Rome on account of what Antigonus his

brother's son had done to him ; and that having 5

now attained the throne, and his affairs being in

order, he wished to reward him in a proper man-

ner for the benefits which he had conferred.

So the king of the Persians sent a messenger to 6

Hyrcanus, saying ; " If you wish to return into

" the land of Judah, return : but I warn you to 7

" beware of Herod ; and I distinctly inform you,

" that he does not seek for you to do you any

" good, but his design is to render himself secure,

" as there is none remaining whom he fears, ex-

" cept you : wherefore take heed of him most dili-

" gently, and be not led into a snare." The Jews 8

of Babylon also came to him, and said to him the

like words. Again they say to him, " You now 9

" are an old man, and not fit to discharge the

" office of high priest, because of the stain which

" your nephew e inflicted on you : but Herod is a 10

Babylon. In fact Yerak, or from the office of high priest,

Irak, the Arahian name for yet the crafty Herod knew

the district or country of Ba- that this was no ohstacle to

h\ Ionia, is retained to the his reappearing among his

present day. See above, ch. countrymen in the capacity of

xlix. 17, 18. 1. 7- their monarch.

ll Although the loss of his e See the account of this

ear disqualified Hyrcanus transaction at ch. xlix. 16,

B.C. 37. CHAP. LIV. 409

" bad man, and a shedder of blood ; and he re-

" calls you only because he fears you ; and you

" do not want for any thing among us, and you

" are with us in that station in which you ought

11 "to be. And your family there is in the best

" condition ; wherefore remain with us, and do not

" aid your enemy against yourself."

12 But Hyrcanus acceded not to their words ; nor

listened to the advice of one who advised him

13 well. And he set out and journeyed till lie came

into the Holy City, for the very great longing

which he had towards the house of God, his fa-

mily, and his country.

14 And when he had come near to the city, Herod

met him, shewing such honour and magnificence,

that Hyrcanus was deceived, and trusted in him.

15 And Herod in the public assembly, and before his

own friends, used to call him " Father :" but ne-

vertheless he ceased not to devise plots in his

heart, only so that they should not be imputed to

10 him. Wherefore Alexandra and Mariamne her

daughter go to Hyrcanus, putting him in fear of

Herod, and counselling him to take care of him-

17 self; but neither to them did he attend, although

they repeated this to him again and again, ad-

vising him to flee to some one of the kings of the

IB Arabians : yet he attended not to all these things,

until they drove him to it by repeated warnings

and alarmings.

19 Then therefore he wrote to that king 1 of Ara-

of this book, and read the phus. It is to be observed,

note there. that Josephus places the pre-

f Namely, Malchus. See sent transaction somewhat

above, ch. xlix. 20, and the later in the history, viz. after

corresponding ]>art in Jose- Herod had heard of the tie-

410 BOOK V. B. C. 37.

bia; and having sent for a certain man, (whose

brothers Herod had slain, and had confiscated his

goods, and had visited him with many evils,) he

told him that he wished to impart to him a cer-

tain secret, adjuring him not to tell it to any one;

and giving him money and the letter to the king 20

of the Arabians, communicated to him what he

requested in the letter. So the messenger, having 21

received the letter, thought that he should obtain

a high post with Herod, and should remove from

himself the evil which he was continually fearing

at his hands, if he communicated the matter to

Herod ; and that this would be more profitable to 22

him than the keeping of Hyrcanus' secret : since

in the other case he was not safe, and sure that

the thing would not be told to Herod at some

time or other, and thus would be the cause of his

destruction. He therefore carried the letter to 23

Herod, and unfolded to him the whole business :

who said to him, Carry the letter, as it is, to the

king of the Arabians, and bring me back his an-

swer, that I may know it : tell me also the place 24

where the men will be, whom the king of the

Arabians will send, that Hyrcanus may go back

with them.

So the messenger went, and carried Hyrcanus' 25

letter to the king of the Arabians ; who rejoiced,

and sent some of his men ; ordering them to go 26

feat of Antony at Actinm, ment made in the last verse

and had become apprehensive of this chapter, that Hyrca-

of the reception which he nns had reigned forty years,

might meet with from An- g Josephns names him Do-

gnstns ; i.e. in the year B.C. sitheus, and his brother Jose-

30, which indeed appears phus.

nearly to agree with the state-

B.C. 37. CHAP. LIV. 411

to a certain place near to the Holy City, and there

to wait nntil Hyrcanus should come to them ; and

then to attend Hyrcanus till they brought him to

27 his presence. He wrote likewise to Hyrcanus an

answer to his letter, and sent it by the messenger.

28 So the men proceeded with the messenger to the

appointed place, and there waited : but the mes-

senger carried the letter to Herod, who learned its

contents : he told him also the place of the men,

to whom Herod sent persons to take them.

29 Afterwards, having sent for seventy old men of

the elders of the Jews, and having sent also for

Hyrcanus ; when he came, he said to him, Is

there any interchange of letters between you and

30 the king of the Arabians ? and Hyrcanus said,

No. Then he said to him, Did you send that you

31 might flee to him ? and he said, No. And Herod

ordered his messenger to come forward, and the

Arabians, and the horses ; he also brought out

32 the answer to his letter, and it was read. Then

he commanded Hyrcanus' head to be stricken

off h ; and his head was stricken off, and no one

dared to utter a word for him.

h Josephus, agreeing in which remain to us, it appears

these particulars, informs us that Nicolaus was intimate

that he took his account from with Augustus ; and in fact

the " Commentaries, or Acts, that it was he who succeeded

" of Herod himself," other in procuring for Herod a fa-

authors relating them in a vourahle reception by the Ro-

different manner. There is man court, at a most critical

reason to believe that these juncture. He wrote several

Acts were written by a per- works ; as, " A History of

sonal friend of Herod, Nico- " Augustus :" " A History

lausDamasceniiSjWho is men- " of the World:" a large vo-

tionod by Josephus, Ant. XIV. lume of " Assyrian History:"

2; XVI. 15, 16, 17; XVII. "A Collection of strange

7. From the accounts of him " Customs," &c. See Photii

412 BOOK V. B.C. 36.

Now Hyreanus had delivered Herod' from the 33

death which was justly awarded him in the as-

sembly of judgment, commanding the assembly to

be deferred till the morrow, and sending away

Herod that same night. Whence he was destined 3-1

to become his murderer, regardless of his services

to him and to his father. Hyreanus was put to 35

death when he was eighty years old, and he

reigned forty years : nor was there any one of the

kings of the Asmonaean race of a more praise-

worthy conduct 15 , or more honourable way of life.

CHAPTER LV.a

The history of Aristobulus the son of Hyreanus.

Aristobulus the son of Hyreanus b was of such ]

B c beauty of form, and exquisite figure and un-

30. derstanding, that his equal was not known.

His sister Mariainne also, the wife of Herod, was 2

like to him in beauty ; and Herod was wonder-

fully attached to her. But Herod was averse to 3

appoint Aristobulus high priest in the place of his

Bibliothec. cod. CLXXXIX. and to the shameful usage

Montacutii Apparatum 5 ad which he met with at the

Origines Ecclesiast. p. 169. hands of Herod, whose very

(ed. 1635), Valesii Excerpta best friend and benefactor he

Peirese. 4to. 1634, where are in truth had been.

considerable fragments of his a Compare Josephus, Ant.

writings : Fabricii Biblioth. XV. 2, 3.

Graec. edit. Harles. III. p. b This is an error: Aris-

500 : and especially, Grotii tobulus and Mariamne were

Epistol. ad Gallos, p. 240 — the children, not of Hyrca-

320. edit. 1648. 12ino. nus, but of Alexander son of

i See Joseph. Ant. XIV. 0. Aristobulus the brother of

k Josephus, although in Hyreanus, by Alexandra

general a favourer of Herod, daughter of Hyreanus. See

cannot here refrain from bear- the Genealogical Table sub-

ing testimony to the respect- joined to the introduction to

able character of Ilyrcanus, this volume.

B.C. 36. CHAP. LV. 413

father ; lest the Jews, being attached to him

through their affection to his father, should at

4 some future time make him king. Wherefore he

appointed some one of the number of common

priests c , who was not of the family of the Asmo-

naeans, to be high priest.

5 At which Alexandra the mother of Aristobulus

being vexed, wrote to Cleopatra ; requesting to

have a letter from Antony to Herod, that he

should remove the priest whom he had elevated,

and appoint her son Aristobulus high priest in

6 his stead. And Cleopatra granted this; and re-

quested Antony to write a letter to Herod on this

subject, and to send it by some chief man of his

7 servants. So Antony wrote a letter, and sent it

by his servant Gellius : and Gellius coming to

8 Herod, delivered to him Antony's letter. But

Herod forbore to do that which Antony had

written to order, asserting that it was not the

custom among the Jews to depose any priest from

his station.

9 Now it happened that Gellius saw Aristobulus,

and was greatly struck with the beauty of his

form and the perfection of his carriage, which he

10 saw. Wherefore he painted a picture of his like-

ness, and sent it to Antony, writing beneath the

picture to this effect ; that no man had begotten

Aristobulus, but that an angel cohabiting with

11 Alexandra, begat him on her. Therefore when

the picture reached Antony, he was seized with a

c Josephus states, that he nelus. Ant. XV. 2. Yet af-

sent to Babylon for one of terwards he describes him as

the obscure Jews residing being rov apx^pariKov yivovs.

there, whose name was Ana- (See XV. 3.)

414 BOOK V. B. C. 36.

most vehement desire to see Aristobulus. And he 12

wrote a letter to Herod, reminding him how he

had appointed him king, and had assisted him

against his enemies, recounting his kindnesses to-

wards him : adding a request, that he would send 13

Aristobulus to him ; and he threatened him in

this business for the words which he had sent

back.

But when Antony's epistle was brought to He- ]4

rod, he refused to send Aristobulus, knowing what

Antony designed ; and on that account he dis-

dained to do it : and he hastily deposed d the high

priest whom he had appointed, establishing Aris-

tobulus in his place.

And then he wrote to Antony, informing him 15

that he had already executed that which he had

formerly written to him, about the placing Aris-

tobulus in his father's post, before his last letter

arrived: which business he had to that time de- 10

layed, because it was necessary to debate the mat-

ter with the priests and Jews, after an interval of

some days, as the thing was unusual ; but it hav-

ing passed according to his wish, he had imme-

diately appointed him. But now that he was ap- 17

pointed, it was not lawful for him to go out of

Jerusalem ; as he was not king, but a priest at-

c Or the sense may be, moved from his office. He

" he threatened him repeat- states that the first instance

" edly if he should not com- of this being done was that

" ply with his desires in this of Antiochus Epiphanes, who

" matter." through bribery consented to

d Josephus complains, that depose Jason, and substituted

in this Herod acted contrary his brother Menelaus (or O-

to the law; which declared nias). See the account of that

that a person once appointed transaction above, at 3 Mace,

high priest could not be re- iv. 23, 24.

B. C. 35. CHAP. LV. 415

1 8 tached to the service of the temple : and as often

as he wished to compel him to go out, the Jews

refused, and would not allow him, even if he

li) should slay the greater part of them. Therefore

when Herod's letter reached Antony, he desisted

from asking for Aristobulus ; and Aristobulus was

made high priest.

20 Then came on the feast of tabernacles ; and

men, assembled before the house of God, beheld

Aristobulus clothed in the sacerdotal robes stand-

ing at the altar, and they heard him blessing

21 them : and he pleased men so much, that they

exhibited their affection towards him in a very

22 marked manner. Which Herod being fully in-

formed of, was much grieved ; and feared lest, when

Aristobulus' party gained strength, he should de-

mand from him the kingdom, if his life should

be prolonged : wherefore he began to plot his

death.

23 Now it was customary for the kings to go out,

after the feast of tabernacles, to some plea- B c

sure-residences at Jericho which former 35 -

24 kings had made : and there are many gardens ad-

joining each other, in which were wide and deep

fish-ponds, to which they had conducted streams

of water, and had erected fair buildings in those

gardens : they also had built in Jericho fair pa-

laces and handsome edifices.

25 Now the author of the book e relates, that bal-

e Who is the author al- balsam-trees; as at Antiq. IV.

luded to? [See the same ex- 5; VIII. 6: where he states

pression occurring before, at that they were first brought

ch. xxv. 5, and below, at ch. into Judaea by the queen of

lix. 96.] Josephus in vari- Saba, who presented them to

ous passages mentions the Solomon: and IX. 1. Again

416

BOOK V.

B. C. 35.

sam-trees grew abundantly in Jericho ; and that

they were found no where else but there ; and

that many kings had carried them thence into

their own country, but none grew, except those

at XV. 4, he says, <&epei 8' %

X^>P a T o fiakcrapov, o ripiooTciTov

tcov exei, kcu irapa povois (pverat.

But Josephus is not " the

" author" of this book. Se-

veral heathen authors relate

the fact of the balsam being

thought peculiar to Judaea ;

but I have not discovered

what early writer it is that

has recorded the experiment

of transplanting, and the

failure of the original trees,

mentioned in the text.

Diodorus Siculus (speak-

ing of the balsam) says, oi)8a-

pov pev ttjs clWrjs oli<ovpevr)s

evpMTKopevov tov (f)vrov rovrov.

Biblioth. II. 48. and XIX. 9.

(ed. Wesseling.) But we

must remember that Diodo-

rus Siculus assigns the lake

Asphaltites and its coasts, not

to the Jews, but to the Na-

bathaean Arabians; which cir-

cumstance perhaps may help

to reconcile the seemingly

conflicting accounts of differ-

ent historians; some of whom

confine the plant to Judaea,

while others assert its native

place to be Arabia.

Pliny states, " Omnibus

" odoribus praefertur balsam-

" um, uni terrarum Judaeae

" concessum. — Quondam in

" duobus tantum hortis, utro-

" que regio, alter o jugerum

" xx non amplius, altero pau-

" ciorum. Ostendere arbus-

" culam hanc urbi Impera-

" tores Vesj)asiani ; clarumquo

" dictu, a Pompeio magno in

" triumpho arbores quoque

" duximus. Servit nunc haec

" et tributa pendit cum sua

" gente." Hist. Nat. XII. 54.

Again ; " Fastidit balsamum

" alibi nasci." Id. XVI. 39.

Justin reports to the same

effect. — It is proved, that the

Romans, after their conquest

of Judaea, enlarged the plant-

ations of balsam at Jericho ;

so that the produce became

greater, and the article itself

less costly. It is perhaps al-

most needless to observe, that

the " vinevards of Engaddi,"

mentioned in the Song of So-

lomon, are the groves of bal-

sam, which were in that neigh-

bourhood. Historians have

said, that some of the trees

were carried from Judaea into

Egypt by Cleopatra, in the

days of Herod : but this is

contested in a note to Haver-

kamp's Josephus, vol. II. p. 66.

See the fullest details on this

subject in Salmasii Exercita-

tiones Plinianae in Solini Po-

lyhistorem, cap. 35. p. 418 —

430. edit. Traject. 1689: also

in the notes on Theophrasti

Hist. Plant. IX. 6. edit. Sta-

pel, fol. 1644.

Some Arabian authors re-

late, that the balsam-tree had

been carried by the Saracens

to Matarea, (the ancient He-

liopolis,) but that the plants

had continually failed there.

B.C. 35. CHAP. LV. 417

26 which were carried into Egypt ; and that they

did not fail in Jericho until after the destruction

of the second House ; but then they withered

away, and never sprouted forth again.

27 So Herod went out to Jericho in quest of plea-

28 sure, and Aristobulus followed him. And when

they came to Jericho, Herod commanded some of

his servants to go down into the fish-ponds, and

play as was customary : and that if Aristobulus

should come down to them, they should play with

29 him for some time, and then drown him. But

Herod sat in a banqueting-room which he had

prepared for himself to sit in : and Herod sent for

Aristobulus, and made hirn sit by his side : also

the chief of his attendants and of his friends sat

30 in his presence : and he commanded eatables and

drink to be brought ; and they did eat and drink :

and the attendants hastened down to the waters

31 according to custom, and sported. And Aristo-

bulus greatly wished to go down with them into

the water, the wine now mastering them, and

32 asked leave of Herod to do so : who replied, This

neither befits you nor any one like you : and

when he was urgent, he admonished him and for-

bade him : but when Aristobulus repeated his re-

quest to him, he said to him, Do as you please.

33 And then Herod, rising up went to a certain pa-

34 lace that he might go to sleep there. And Ari-

stobulus went down to the waters, and played for

a long time with the attendants : who, when they

perceived that being now weary and tired out he

wished to go up, held him under water, killed him,

and carried him out dead.

e e

418 BOOK V. B.C. 35.

And there was a great tumult of the people, 35

and cry, and a lamentation was set up. And He- 36

rod running up, came out to see what had hap-

pened : who, when he saw Aristobulus dead, be-

wailed him, and wept over him very tenderly with

a most vehement flood of tears. Then he ordered 37

him to be borne into the Holy City, and accom-

panied him until he came into the city, and com-

pelled the people to attend his funeral, and there

was no point of the very highest honour which

he omitted to pay him. And he died when a 38

youth of sixteen years of age, and his high-priest-

hood continued only for a few days.

On which account enmity grew up between his 39

mother Alexandra and her daughter Mariamne

Herod's wife, and the mother and sister of Herod f .

And the execrations and revilings which Mari- 40

amne heaped upon them were known ; and al-

though these reached Herod, yet he did not for-

bid her nor reprove her, through his great affec-

tion for her : he feared also, lest she should ima- 41

gine in her mind that he was well inclined to-

wards the others : from hence these doings lasted

long between these women. And Herod's sister, 42

who was endued with the greatest malice, and

consummate artifice, began to plot against Ma-

riamne : but Mariamne was religious, upright, 43

modest, and virtuous : but she was a little tinged

with haughtiness, pride, and hatred towards her

husband.

f Namely, Cypris his mo- above, at ch. xlix. 20 ; and

ther, who was mentioned Salome his sister.

B.C. 34. CHAP. LVI. 419

CHAPTER LVI. آ»

The history of Antony, and of his expedition, against

Augustus, and of the aid which he asked from Herod.

And an account of the earthquake which occurred in

the land qfJudah, and of the battle which took place

betioeen them and the Arabians.

1 Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, was the wife

of Antony: and she discovered such methods B>c .

of adorning and painting herself, by which

women are wont to allure men, as no other woman

2 in the world had found out : so that, while she

was a woman advanced in age, she seemed as a

little unmarried girl, and even more delicate and

3 more fair. Antony also found in her those

methods of beauty, and those means of creating

pleasure, which he had never found in the vast

number of women whom he had enjoyed. Where-

fore she so completely gained possession of An-

tony's heart, that no room was left in it for affec-

4 tion to any other person. She therefore per-

suaded him to discomfit certain kings who were

subject to the Romans, from her own private con-

siderations; and he obeyed her in this, putting

to death certain kings 1 ' at her instance; and some

he left alive by her orders, making them servants

and slaves to her.

5 And this was told to Augustus ; who wrote to

him, abominating such conduct, and desiring him

6 not to be guilty of the like again. And Antony

told Cleopatra what Augustus had written to

a Compare Joseph. Antiq. bazes^ &c. ; the account of

XV. 6, 7, 8. Bell. I. 14. which proceedings may he

h As Lysanias, and Arta- seen in Josephus.

e e 2

420 BOOK V. B.C. 32.

to him ; and she advised him to revolt from

Augustus, and shewed him that the thing was

very easy.

To whose opinion he assenting, openly played 7

B c false with Augustus ; and gathered an

33 - army and supplies, that he might go by

sea to Antioch, and thence might march by land

to meet Augustus wheresoever he might chance

to find him. He sent also for Herod, that he 8

might accompany him. And Herod went to him

with a most powerful army and most complete

B c supplies. And when he had come to him, 9

32 - Antony said to him ; Right reason ad-

vises us to make an expedition against the Ara-

bians, and to engage with them : for we are

by no means secure that they may not make an

incursion upon the Jews and the land of Egypt,

so soon as we shall have turned our backs.

And Antony departed by sea : but Herod 10

made an inroad upon the Arabians : and Cleo-

patra sent a general named Athenio with a great

army, to assist Herod in subduing the Arabians :

and she commanded him to place Herod and his n

men in the first rank , and to make agreement

with the king of the Arabians, that they together

should enclose Herod and cut his men to pieces.

To this she was led by a desire of obtaining pos- 12

session of all which Herod was worth : Alex- 13

andra also some time previously had requested

her to induce Antony to put Herod to death ;

c Even thus, at an earlier "in the forefront of the^hot-

period of Jewish history, had " test battle, and retire ye

the same iniquitous command " from him, that he may be

been given : " Set ye Uriah " smitten and die !"

B.C. 32. CHAP. LVI. 421

which indeed she had done, but Antony refused

14 to commit this act. To this was added the cir-

cumstance, that Cleopatra had formerly longed

for Herod, and had at some time desired inter-

course with him ; but he restrained himself, for

he was chaste. And these were the causes which

15 had induced her to this line of conduct. So

Athenio coming to Herod, according to the com-

mand of Cleopatra, sent to make agreement with

the king of the Arabians, that he might surround

16 him. And when Herod and his Arabians met

and encountered, Athenio and his men attacked

Herod, who was intercepted between the two

armies, and the battle grew fierce against him

17 both before and behind. But Herod seeing what

had happened, collected his men, and fought most

vigorously until they were beyond the reach of

both armies, after the greatest exertion ; and he

returned into the Holy House.

18 And there happened a great earthquake in the

land of Judah, such as had not occurred since the

time of king Harbah d , in which a great number

19 of men and of animals was destroyed. And this

alarmed Herod much, and caused him great fear,

and broke down his spirit. He therefore took

counsel with the elders of Judah about making an

agreement with all nations round about them ;

designing peace, and tranquillity, and the removal

20 of wars and bloodshed. He sent also ambassadors

on these matters to the surrounding nations, all

of whom embraced the peace to which he had

d Probably by this name is Scripture that a violent earth-

meant Uzziah king of Judah, quake took place. See Amos,

in whose days we learn from i. 1. and Zechariah, xiv. 5.

E e 3

422 BOOK V. B. C. 32.

invited them, except the king of the Arabians ;

who ordered the ambassadors whom Herod had 21

sent to him to be put to death ; for he supposed

that Herod had done this because his men had

been destroyed in the earthquake, and therefore,

being weakened, he had turned himself to making

peace. Wherefore he resolved to go to war with 22

Herod; and having collected a large and well-

provided army, he marched against him.

And this was told to Herod ; and he was much 23

vexed, for two reasons : one, on account of the

slaughter of his ambassadors, an act which none

of the kings had hitherto committed ; another,

because he had dared to attack him, imagining in

his mind his weakness and want of troops. But 24

he wished to shew him that the matter was

otherwise : that all, to whom he had sent ambas-

sadors, to treat of peace, might know that he had

not done this through any fear or weakness, but

from a wish of that which was kind and good ;

that no one might dare make attempts against the

Jews, or imagine in his mind that they were

weak. Besides, he wished to take vengeance on 25

the king of the Arabians for his ambassadors : on

these accounts he determined in all haste to march

against him.

Therefore he collected troops from the land of 26

Judah, and said to them : " You are aware of the

" slaughter of our ambassadors perpetrated by

" that Arab ; an act which no king hitherto has

" committed : for he thinks that we have been 27

" weakened and have become powerless ; and he

" lias dared to provoke us, and thinks that he

" shall obtain all his desires over us : nor will he

B. C. 32. CHAP. LVI. 423

28 " cease from warring on us continually. Where-

" fore you must struggle against difficulties, that

" you may shew forth your bravery, and may

" subdue your enemies, and bear off their spoils :

29 " although fortune may at one time shew herself

" favourable, at another time adverse to us, ac-

" cording to the custom and usual vicissitudes of

30 " this world. In truth, you must immediately

" undertake an expedition, to take vengeance on

" those oppressors, and to curb the audacity of

31 " all who hold you in little esteem. But if you

" shall say, this earthquake has disheartened us,

" and has destroyed great numbers of us ; you

" know full well, that it has destroyed none of

32 " the fighting men e , but certain others. Nor

" ought we to think it at all unreasonable, that it

" has destroyed the worst among our nation, but

" has left the best to survive. It is also un-

" doubted, that this has improved your spirits

33 " and your inward feelings. But the duty of him,

" whom God has saved from destruction, and has

" preserved from ruin, requires that he should

" obey Him, and should do what is good and

34 " right. And truly no obedience is more honour-

" able or glorious, than to seek redress for the

" oppressed on the oppressor ; and to subdue the

" enemies of God and his religion and nation, by

" aiding those who shew obedience and attention

35 " to Him. Nor is it unknown to you, what befell

" us lately with those Arabs, when they had sur-

e Josephus remarks, that houses having fallen upon

about ten (in another place them ; but that the soldiers,

he says thirty) thousand per- being abroad and under tents,

sons perished in this earth- escaped free from every

quake, principally from the harm.

E e 4

424 BOOK V. B.C. 32.

" rounded us with Athenio f ; and how the great

" and good God helped us against them, and

" delivered us from them. Therefore fear God, 36

" following your ancient custom, and the laudable

" custom of your forefathers ; and prepare your-

" selves against this enemy before he makes ready

" against you, and be beforehand with him before

" he anticipates you : and God will supply you

" with aid and succour against your enemy."

So when the men had heard the address of He- 37

rod, they replied, that they were ready to under-

take the expedition, and would make no delay.

And he returned thanks to God and to them for it, 38

and ordered many sacrifices to be offered : he also

ordered an army to be raised ; and a great multi-

tude was gathered from the tribe of Judah and Ben-

jamin. And Herod marching against the king of 39

the Arabians, encountered him ; and the battle

grew fierce between them, five thousand of the

Arabians being slain. There was again a battle, 40

and four thousand of the Arabians were killed :

wherefore the Arabians returned to their camp,

and remained there ; and Herod could do nothing

against them, for the place was fortified ; but he

remained with his army, besieging them in the

same place, and not allowing them to go out.

And they remained five days in this condition ; 41

and a most violent thirst came upon them ; they

sent therefore ambassadors to Herod with a most

valuable present, asking for a truce, and liberty to

draw water to drink : but he did not listen to

them, but continued in the same furious hostility.

f See above, verses 10, 15, 16.

B.C. 31. CHAP. LVII. 425

42 The Arabians then said therefore, Let us go out

against this nation ; for it is better for us to con-

43 quer or die, than to perish from thirst. And they

went out against them ; and Herod's party over-

came them, and slew nine thousand of them ;

and Herod with his men pursued the Arabians as

they fled, slaying great numbers of them ; and he

44 besieged their cities and took them. Wherefore

they sued for their lives, promising obedience ; to

which he agreeing, retired from them, and re-

turned into the Holy House.