Jonathan Renews Friendship with Rome and Sparta.

When Jonathan saw that the times were favorable, he selected men to send to Rome for the purpose of confirming and renewing the treaty of friendship with the Romans. He also sent letters to the same effect to Sparta and elsewhere.

       Upon reaching Rome, the envoys entered the senate chamber and said, "The high priest Jonathan and the Jewish people have sent us to renew their treaty of friendship and alliance with you." The Romans provided them with letters that requested the authorities in various locations to give the envoys safe conduct to the land of Judah.

       This is a copy of the letter that Jonathan wrote to the Spartans: "Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people send greetings to their brothers the Spartans. Quite some time ago a letter was sent to Onias the high priest from Arius your king, stating that you are indeed our brothers, as the attached copy shows. Onias welcomed the envoy with honor and accepted the letter, on which was set forth a clear declaration of alliance and friendship. Although we have no need of such things, inasmuch as we have as a source of encouragement the sacred books in our possession, we have decided to request the renewal of our pact of family ties and friendship with you so that we may not become estranged from you, for a great many years have elapsed since you last contacted us.

       "We, for our part, remember you constantly in the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers at our festivals and on other appointed days, for it is right and proper to remember brothers. We rejoice in your renown. We ourselves, however, have endured many trials and wars, and the kings in our vicinity have been attacking us. We did not want to bother you and our other allies and friends during these wars, inasmuch as we have the support of Heaven to help us. Therefore, we were delivered from our enemies, and they have been humbled. And so we have chosen Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason, and we have sent them to the Romans to renew our former pact of friendship and alliance. We have also instructed them to visit you and greet you and deliver this letter about the renewal of our pact of family ties. Please send us a reply to this letter."

       This is a copy of the letter that was sent to Onias: "Arius, the king of the Spartans, sends greetings to Onias the high priest. A document has been uncovered that states that the Spartans and the Jews are brothers, both being descended from Abraham. And now that we have learned of this, we ask that you write to us with news of your welfare. We, on our part, affirm that your livestock and your possessions belong to us and that ours belong to you, and we are instructing our envoys to give you a promise to this effect."

1ST MACCABEES: CHAPTER 12, VERSES 1 - 23