Antiochus V Makes a Treaty with the Jews.

The king, having had a taste of the daring of the Jews, resorted to strategy to capture their positions. He advanced against Beth-zur, a strong fortress of the Jews, but he was checked, driven back, and defeated. Judas then sent whatever supplies were needed to the garrison, but Rhodocus, a soldier in the Jewish army, passed on secret information to the enemy. He was found out, arrested, and imprisoned. The king negotiated with the inhabitants of Beth-zur for a second time, offering and accepting pledges of friendship. After withdrawing, he then attacked Judas and his men but was defeated.

       Soon afterward, he received a report that Philip, who had been left in charge of the government in Antioch, had rebelled. Stunned by this news, he opened negotiations with the Jews, agreed to their terms, and swore to respect all their rights. Having reached this agreement, he offered a sacrifice, honored the sanctuary, and made a generous donation to the holy place. He received Maccabeus in a gracious manner and left Hegemonides to serve as governor of the region from Ptolemais to the territory of the Gerrhenes.

       When he thereupon went to Ptolemais, the people of that city expressed their disapproval of the treaty in no uncertain terms, and were so angered that they wanted to annul its provisions. However, Lysias mounted the rostrum and made a reasoned defense of the treaty that won them over, calmed them down, and obtained their goodwill. Then he departed for Antioch. Such are the basic facts of the king's attack and his subsequent retreat.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 13, verses 18 - 26

Alcimus Plots Intrigues against the New King.

       Three years later, Judas and his followers were informed that Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, had sailed into the harbor of Tripolis with a powerful army and a fleet, and that he had taken control of the country after having done away with Antiochus and his guardian Lysias.

       Now a man named Alcimus, a former high priest who had willfully incurred defilement at the time of the revolt, realized that there was no possible way that his safety could be assured or that he could again have access to the holy altar. Therefore, he went to King Demetrius about the year one hundred and fifty-one and presented him with a crown of gold and a palm branch, in addition to some of the customary olive branches from the temple. On that occasion, he kept silent. However, he found an opportunity to further his mad scheme when Demetrius invited him to a meeting of the council and questioned him about the dispositions and the intentions of the Jews. He replied:

       "Those Jews who are called Hasideans and are led by Judas Maccabeus are warmongers who foment sedition and prevent the kingdom from achieving a state of tranquility. That is why, although I have been deprived of my ancestral dignity--I am referring to the high priesthood--I have now come here, first out of my genuine concern for the interests of the king, and second, because of my regard for my compatriots, since our entire nation has been afflicted severely because of the irresponsible conduct of these people I have mentioned. When you have ascertained the truth of these facts, O king, may it please you to make provision for the welfare of our country and our oppressed people, exhibiting the same gracious kindness that you extend to all. For as long as Judas remains alive, it will be impossible for the state to enjoy the condition of peace."

       When he had said this, the rest of the King's Friends, all of whom were hostile to Judas, added further fuel to the fire, inflaming the anger of Demetrius even more.

       The king immediately chose Nicanor, who had been in command of the elephants, and appointed him as governor of Judea. Then, he sent him forth with orders to put Judas to death, to disperse his followers, and to install Alcimus as high priest of the great temple.

       The Gentiles throughout Judea, who had fled from the attacks of Judas, now flocked to join Nicanor, confident that the misfortunes and calamities of the Jews would mean prosperity for themselves.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 14, verses 1 - 14

Nicanor Makes Peace with Judas.

       When the Jews learned that Nicanor was approaching and that the Gentiles were rallying to his support, they sprinkled dust over themselves and prayed to HIM who had established HIS people forever and who always came to the aid of HIS heritage. At the command of their leader, they set out from there immediately and confronted the enemy at the village of Adasa. Simon, the brother of Judas, engaged in battle with Nicanor, but suffered a minor setback due to the sudden appearance of the enemy. However, when Nicanor heard of the bravery exhibited by Judas and his men and how courageously they always fought for their country, he became reluctant to allow the issue to be settled by bloodshed. Therefore, he sent Posidonius, Theodotus, and Mattathias to negotiate a treaty of peace.

       After a lengthy discussion of the terms, each leader explained them to his troops, and all were of one mind in favor of accepting them. On the day decided upon for the respective leaders to meet privately, a chariot came forward from each side, and thrones were set in place. Judas had posted armed men at strategic points to prevent any sudden act of treachery on the part of the enemy. In this way, the conference was held without any complications.

       Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem and did nothing there that could be construed as a hostile act. He sent away the crowds that had rallied to him, but he always kept Judas close to him, for he became deeply attached to him. He urged him to marry and have children, and Judas did marry and settle down to lead the quiet life of an ordinary citizen.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 14, verses 15 - 25

Nicanor Moves Anew against Judas.

       When Alcimus discovered the depth of the friendship that these two men had for each other, he went to Demetrius with a copy of the treaty they had signed. He claimed that Nicanor was engaged in treasonable activity against the state, since he had appointed Judas, a conspirator against the kingdom, to be his successor. Enraged by the slanderous charges of that villain, the king wrote to Nicanor, expressing his displeasure with the terms of the treaty and commanding him to send Maccabeus as a prisoner to Antioch at once.

       When this message reached Nicanor, he was greatly upset, for he did not wish to break his agreement with a man who had done nothing wrong. However, since there was no possible way to flaunt the king's wishes, he waited for an opportunity to carry out the order by means of some stratagem. But Maccabeus began to notice that Nicanor was becoming much cooler in his dealings with him and displaying unaccustomed rudeness whenever they met, and he surmised that such an attitude did not bode well for him. Therefore, he gathered a large number of his followers and went into hiding from Nicanor.

       When Nicanor became aware that he had been cleverly outwitted by this man, he went to the great and holy temple at the time when the priests were offering the customary sacrifices and ordered them to surrender Judas. When they declared under oath that they did not know the whereabouts of the wanted man, he stretched out his right hand toward the temple and swore this oath: "If you do not hand over Judas to me as a prisoner, I shall level this shrine of GOD to the ground and destroy the altar, and on this very spot, I will erect a splendid temple to Dionysus."

       Having issued this threat, he then left, whereupon the priests stretched out their hands to heaven and prayed to THE CONSTANT DEFENDER of our nation in these words: "O LORD OF ALL, though YOU are in need of nothing, it has pleased YOU that there should be a temple for YOUR dwelling place among us. Therefore, O HOLY ONE, LORD OF ALL HOLINESS, preserve forever undefiled this house that has so recently been purified."

2 MACCABEES: chapter 14, verses 26 - 33

The Voluntary Sacrifice of Razis.

       A man named Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor. He deeply loved his compatriots and was highly esteemed by them, and he was known as the father of the Jews because of his loyalty. In the early days of the revolt, he had been convicted of practicing Judaism and had risked unhesitatingly both life and limb in that cause. Nicanor, in his determination to demonstrate his contempt for the Jews, sent more than five hundred soldiers to arrest him, for he thought that by such an action he would deliver a severe blow to the Jews. When the troops were on the point of capturing the tower and were forcing open the outer gate, they called for fire to burn down the doors. Razis, finding himself surrounded on all sides, turned his sword on himself, preferring to die nobly rather than fall into the hands of evil men and suffer outrages unworthy of his noble birth.

       However, in the heat of the struggle he failed to hit his mark exactly. So while the troops rushed in through the doors, he quickly ran up to the top of the wall and courageously threw himself down into the crowd. They quickly separated, and a space opened, and he plunged into the midst of the empty area they had vacated. Still breathing and inflamed with anger, he picked himself up and ran through the crowd, even though blood was gushing from his severe wounds. Then, standing on a steep rock, with almost the last drop of blood drained from his body, he tore out his entrails with both hands and flung them into the midst of the crowd, calling upon THE LORD OF LIFE AND SPIRIT to restore them to him once again. This was the manner of his death.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 14, verses 37 - 46

Nicanor's Blasphemy.

       When Nicanor was informed that Judas and his troops were in the region of Samaria, he made plans to attack them on their day of rest when there would be no risk. Those Jews who had been forced to accompany him pleaded: "Do not massacre them in so savage and barbaric a fashion. Show respect for the day that THE ALL-SEEING has exalted and sanctified above all other days." At this, the thrice-accursed wretch asked if there was a sovereign in heaven who had commanded the observance of the Sabbath day. When the Jews declared, "THE LIVING LORD HIMSELF, THE RULER IN HEAVEN, ordered us to keep holy the seventh day," he replied, "And I am a sovereign on earth, and I command you to take up arms and carry out the king's business." Nevertheless, he did not succeed in carrying out his wicked plan.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 15, verses 1 - 5

Judas's Humble Trust is Contrasted with Nicanor's Haughty Certainty.

       Nicanor, in his utter boastfulness and arrogance, had planned to erect a public monument of victory over Judas and his men. However, Maccabeus remained confident, firm in his belief that he would receive help from THE LORD. He urged his troops to have no fear of the attack of the enemy but to keep in mind the help that they had received from Heaven in former times and to remain confident that victory would be theirs through the help of THE ALMIGHTY. He encouraged them by citing the Law and the Prophets, and by reminding them of the struggles they had already survived in the past, he filled them with fresh enthusiasm. When he had stirred up their courage, he issued his orders, reminding them at the same time of the treachery of the Gentiles and their violation of oaths. Having armed each of them not so much with the protection of shield and spear as with the confidence aroused by brave words, he encouraged all of them by relating a dream, a type of vision, that was worthy of belief.

       What he had seen was this: Onias, the former high priest, a good and noble man, modest in bearing, gentle in manner, eloquent in speech, and trained from childhood in every virtue, was praying with out-stretched hands for the whole Jewish community. Next, in the same fashion, another man appeared, distinguished by his great age and dignity, an impressive air of majesty and extraordinary authority. Onias then began to speak. "This is GOD'S prophet Jeremiah" he said "who loves the family of Israel and fervently prays for his people and the holy city." Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and presented Judas with a gold sword. As he gave it to him, he said, "Take this holy sword as a gift from GOD. With it you will crush your enemies."

2 MACCABEES: chapter 15, verses 6 - 16

Preparations for Combat.

       Encouraged by the noble words of Judas, which had the power to inspire valor and stir up courage in the hearts of the young, the Jews resolved not to delay but to bravely take the offensive and engage in hand-to-hand combat, inasmuch as their city, their holy things, and their temple were in danger. Their concern was not so much for their wives and children or their brothers and sisters and kindred as it was for the consecrated sanctuary. Those who remained in the city experienced a similar anxiety, for they were anxious about the battle that was about to take place in the open country.

       Everyone now awaited the moment of decision. The enemy was already mounting the attack, with their troops drawn up in battle formation, with their elephants deployed in strategic positions, and with the cavalry stationed on the flanks. Observing the deployment of the troops, the variety of the weapons, and the savagery of the elephants, Maccabeus stretched out his hands toward heaven and called upon THE LORD who works miracles, for he was well aware that it was not by force of arms but, as GOD HIMSELF decides, that victory is won by those who deserve it. His prayer was in these words:

       "YOU, O LORD, sent YOUR angel in the days of King Hezekiah of Judea, and he slew at least one hundred and eighty-five thousand men of Sennacherib's army. Now, O SOVEREIGN OF THE HEAVENS, please send a good angel once again to go before us spreading terror and panic. May these blasphemers who have come to attack YOUR holy people be struck down by the might of YOUR arm." With these words he brought his prayer to a close.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 15, verses 17 - 24

The Gentiles Are Defeated.

       Nicanor and his forces advanced to the sound of trumpets and songs of battle, but Judas and his troops countered by engaging the enemy with invocations and prayers. Fighting with their hands and praying to GOD in their hearts, they cut down at least thirty-five thousand men and greatly rejoiced over this manifestation of GOD'S power. When the battle was over and they were joyfully departing, they recognized Nicanor lying dead in full armor. Thereupon, they raised tumultuous shouts in their ancestral tongue in praise of the divine Sovereign.

       Then Judas, who had devoted himself, body and soul, to the defense of his people and had maintained from his youth his love for his compatriots, ordered them to cut off Nicanor's head and his whole right arm and carry them to Jerusalem. When he arrived there and had called the people together and stationed the priests before the altar, he sent for those in the citadel and showed them the head of the vile Nicanor and the wretched blasphemer's arm that had been boastfully stretched out against the holy house of THE ALMIGHTY. He cut out the tongue of the godless Nicanor and swore that he would feed it piecemeal to the birds and hang up the rewards of his folly opposite the temple. On hearing this, everyone looked to heaven and blessed THE LORD for the manifestation of HIS divine power, saying, "Blessed be HE who has preserved HIS own place from defilement."

       Judas hung Nicanor's head from the citadel, a clear and evident sign to everyone of the help of THE LORD. By public vote it was unanimously decreed never to allow that day to pass unobserved, but to celebrate it on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar in Aramaic, the eve of Mordecai's day.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 15, verses 25 - 36

Author's Epilogue

       This, then, was the fate of Nicanor, and since that time, the city has remained in the possession of the Hebrews. Therefore, I will bring my own work to an end here too. If it has been well written and to the point, that has been my purpose. If it is poorly done and mediocre, that is the best I can do. For just as it is injurious to drink wine by itself or water by itself, whereas wine mixed with water produces a pleasant and delicious drink that enhances one's enjoyment, so a skillful style used in presenting a story will delight the ears of those who read the work. Let this, then, be the end.

2 MACCABEES: chapter 15, verses 37 - 39