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Meanwhile Maccabæus had arranged his division in perfect order, and encouraged them to fight for their country, their Law, and their Sanctuary. His younger brother hurriedly read to them a few encouraging verses out of the Law, and gave the warriors the watchword "God's help!" The Judæan army was greater in number than the single division of Syrian troops, and fought with great enthusiasm. Thus the enemy was beaten, and put to flight. Judas forbade his soldiers to seize any booty, as they still had to fight the other division of the enemy's army, which was returning from the mountains. These troops shortly made their appearance, and the Judæans stood ready to resume the battle; but it did not take place, for as soon as the Syrians saw the smoke rising from their camp, they turned and fled southwards into the land of the Philistines. "There was a great rescue on that day." The victory of Emmaus (166), gained by clever strategy and resolute valour, was of vast importance. It crippled the enemy, and inspired the Judæans with confidence in their own power. Neither the cavalry nor the foot-soldiers, with their helmets and shields, alarmed them any longer, and the arms which they needed fell into their hands after the enemy had taken to flight. The booty consisted of gold, silver, and purple, and of the sacks of money belonging to the numerous slave-traders who had come to the Syrian camp. All these things were not to be despised, as they became the means of victory to them in future struggles. The victors returned to their meeting-place at Modin with songs of rejoicing, the refrain of which was, "Praise the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever."

But not yet could they lay down their arms; they knew that Lysias, who had received orders to destroy the Judæans, would not let this first defeat pass quietly, but that he would strain every effort to repair the disaster. They therefore remained armed, and had the happiness of seeing their numbers increase to 10,000. If ever a war deserved the name of "holy," the one conducted by the Maccabæans certainly proved worthy of that appellation. In the following year (165), when Lysias attacked Judæa with a powerful, picked army of cavalry and foot-soldiers, he found the Judæans more courageous and determined than ever. He had not ventured to enter their land on the same road as before, but had taken a circuitous route, intending to invade Judæa from the territory occupied by the Idumæans. He encamped near Bethzur, a five hours' march to the south of Jerusalem. Maccabæus marched with his 10,000 men to meet him; a regular battle ensued, in which the impetuous attacks of the Judæans again secured a victory over the strategy of the Syrian hirelings. Lysias departed, furious at his defeat; but he flattered himself that by increasing the number of his army he would ultimately master his opponents. Only in the Acra of Jerusalem, the incorrigible Hellenists, with Menelaus and a small Syrian garrison, still held sway.

CHAPTER XXIII.
VICTORIES AND DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABÆUS; JONATHAN THE HASMONÆAN

Return of Judas to Jerusalem – Reconsecration of the Temple – The Feast of Lights – Fortification of the Capital – The Idumæans and Ammonites defeated by Judas – Ill-treatment of the Galilean Judæans – Measures against Timotheus – Death of Antiochus – Embassy of the Hellenists to Antiochus V. – Battle at Bethzur – Retreat of Judas – Affairs in Jerusalem – Alcimus – Intervention of the Romans – Nicanor's Interview with Judas – Battle of Adarsa – Death of Judas – Results of his Career – Condition of the People after the Death of Judas – The Chasidim, the Hellenists, and the Hasmonæans – Jonathan – His Guerilla Warfare against Bacchides – Death of the High-Priest Alcimus – Truce between Jonathan and Bacchides – Jonathan as High-Priest – His far-sighted Policy – His Captivity and his Death.

165–143 B. C. E

The two decisive battles of Emmaus and Bethhoron had entirely altered the position of Judæa. The imminent danger was averted. Three years and a half had passed since the beginning of the religious persecution and the desecration of the Temple (Tammuz, 168 – Marheshvan, 165), and, just as the Book of Daniel had prophesied, peace had followed the disastrous excitement of this period. Maccabæus and his followers took advantage of this favourable moment to march into Jerusalem, and put an end to the desecration which had hitherto held sway there. The condition of the holy city was deeply distressing to her faithful sons, who had shed their hearts' blood to save her. The town looked like a desert, – the sporting-place of her desecrators. The Sanctuary was deserted, its gates were burnt, its halls were destroyed; idolatrous altars stood everywhere; the image of Zeus, the desolating abomination, towered on the altar, and statues of Antiochus insulted the Judæans. But the holy warriors had not time to give vent to their sorrow at the general desecration, for they were forced to act quickly for fear of being disturbed in their work of purification. Their first duty was to destroy all statues of Jove, and to remove all unclean objects from the Temple courts (3rd Kislev, 165). They also removed the altar, thinking it unfit for their sacrifices, as it had been so frequently polluted. A council of elders determined to place the stones of the altar in one of the porches of the entrance-court, and to keep them there until the prophet Elijah should appear and decree what was to be done with them. Meanwhile a new altar was built, new doors were put up, and new vessels were brought to the Temple to replace the old ones. All these preparations were finished in three weeks, and early in the morning of the 25th Kislev (November), 165, the Temple was consecrated with sacrifices and thanksgivings. The two former consecrations certainly could not have been held with greater fervour and devotion. The purest feelings animated the congregation, and the mortal anguish, which they had endured for three years and a half, now gave place to feelings of joy and hope.

The consecration of the Temple not only denoted the victory of the weak over the strong, the faithful over the sinner, but also, and especially, the victory of Judaism over Hellenic paganism, of the God of Israel over idols. People from every town of Judæa took part in the festival, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem lit bright lamps in front of their houses as a symbol of the Law, called "Light" by the poets. The Hasmonæan brothers and the other members of the Great Council decided that in future the week beginning on the 25th of Kislev should be held as a joyous festival, to commemorate the consecration of the Temple. Year after year the members of the House of Israel were to be reminded of the victory of the few over the many, and of the re-establishment of the Sanctuary. This decree has been conscientiously carried out. For two thousand years these days have been celebrated as the "Days of Consecration" (Hanukkah) by the lighting of lamps in every household in Israel. From this custom the days derived their name of "Feast of Lights." Naturally, the old order of things was restored in the Temple. Priests and Levites were reinstated in their offices; only those Aaronides who had taken part in idolatrous worship were excluded from the Sanctuary. This severity, just as it was, produced bad results, and increased the difficulty of the position of the Judæans. The priests among the Hellenists and followers of Menelaus, despairing of reconciliation with the representatives of the people, became more and more embittered in their hatred against the patriotic, pious party. Maccabæus had placed his soldiers on guard whilst the Temple was being restored, to prevent the Hellenists from hindering the people in their work, and now that the consecration was over, he fortified the Temple Mount by means of a high wall with two strong towers, and placed a garrison in them, to protect it from sudden attacks from the neighbouring Birah or Acra. Foreseeing that the people would have to fight more battles before they could secure their freedom, he took the precaution of protecting the country in different ways, among which was the fortification of Bethzur, the town from which Lysias had sought to penetrate into Judæa with his army. It was to be in particular a stronghold against the Idumæans. The victory of the heroes of Israel over the well-armed Syrian troops increased the burning hatred of the neighbouring nations against the Judæans, and goaded them on to cruel enmity against the members of the people who dwelt amongst them, or who had fled to them for refuge. They either grudged them their victory or feared their superiority. The Philistines, in the south-west; the Phœnicians, in the north-west; the Ammonites, on the other side of the Jordan; the Syrians and Macedonians everywhere in the neighbourhood, and the Idumæans in the south, were imbued with hatred of the Judæans.

When driven away from their homes by the Nabatæans, the Idumæans had settled in the old Judæan territory, and had even taken possession of Hebron. They showed themselves the bitter enemies of the Judæans in Antiochus's time, just as they had done under Nebuchadnezzar's despotism; they were ever on the watch for the fugitives, whom they ill-treated, and sometimes even killed. It was therefore very important to reduce them to subjection. Judas first undertook an expedition against the sons of Esau in Akrabattine, defeated them, and drove them from their dwelling-places. He then crossed the Jordan with his army, fought the Ammonites, who were led by a Syrian warrior, Timotheus, an implacable and indefatigable enemy of the Judæans. When Judas had defeated him and the Ammonites, and had taken possession of their capital Rabbath-Ammon (Philadelphia), Timotheus sought shelter in the neighbouring fortress Jaazer, commanded by his brother Chaireas. Twenty Judæan youths are reported to have shown wonderful valour, climbing the walls of this difficult fortress, and making a breach for the troops to enter. Judas accomplished his object by taking Jaazer and its "daughter towns"; he obtained peace for the Judæans residing in this part of the country, and inspired the peoples with respect for the name of Israel.

The Judæan troops had hardly returned to Jerusalem before they received intelligence of other cases of ill-treatment of their Judæan brethren at the hands of their heathen neighbours. The Judæans turned in their distress to Maccabæus, as the Israelites had done of old to Saul. The inhabitants of Gilead and Bashan informed him by letter that the heathen tribes had collected, with Timotheus at their head, with the intention of utterly destroying them; that 1,000 Judæans had been slaughtered in the province of Tobiene; that women and children had been dragged into captivity, and that their property had been plundered by the enemy. Messengers, with rent garments, followed upon this missive, bringing letters from the Galilean Judæans, that they also were threatened with death by the inhabitants of Acco, Tyre and Sidon. They implored Judas to come to their aid before it was too late. He had no need, like Saul, to send messengers with threatening words, in order to call together an army to the assistance of the threatened Jabesh-Gileadites, for his devoted followers constituted the whole fighting power of the land. Maccabæus gave the command of one part of his army to his brother Simon, with orders to march to the assistance of the Judæans of Galilee, whilst he and his brother Jonathan, with another division, prepared to rescue his oppressed brethren beyond the Jordan. The rest of the Judæan forces, under the command of two leaders, were to guard the western boundary of Judæa from the inroads of the Philistines. Simon accomplished his task with rapidity and good-fortune. He began by hastening to Acco, whose Judæan inhabitants were the worst sufferers at the hands of the Greeks or Macedonians. His well-trained soldiers, meeting with some hostile forces, defeated them easily, put them to rout, and pursued them to the very walls of their seaport town. This successful feat of arms relieved him from the necessity of further engagements, for the Macedonians of the neighbouring towns did not venture to encounter the Maccabæan troops. Simon was therefore able to progress unmolested through Galilee, and to persuade the Judæans of that province to migrate to Judæa.

A more laborious contest awaited Judas in the Transjordanic provinces, for on his march he again met with the obstinate hostility of Timotheus. As in former ages, the heights were still crowned with fortresses. However, Judas succeeded in reducing several of them; he razed their walls to the ground, disarmed their defenders, and delivered his imprisoned countrymen. He then assembled the Judæan population, led them across the Jordan, through the friendly city of Bethshean (Scythopolis), and shortly before the celebration of the feast of Pentecost (May, 164) he returned to Jerusalem with a number of emigrant Judæans from Gilead. From all cities of Judæa the enthusiastic people streamed to receive the victors and to celebrate the festival with feelings of joy and gratitude. New songs of praise resounded in the Temple.

But Judas soon marched out again, in order to avenge an injury which had been received during his absence. His two generals, Joseph, the son of Zachariah, and Azariah, whom he had left behind to guard the land in the west, had, contrary to his orders, attacked Gorgias, who was occupying Jamnia with a force; but they had suffered a defeat, and had been driven back to the Judæan mountains. Judas therefore embarked on a new campaign. His arms were again crowned with success, he destroyed several cities on the sea-coast, together with their temples and idols.

Whilst the hero of the Maccabees had been making fearless warriors out of his miserable and trembling countrymen who had hidden in caves, whilst he had been inspiring his people with self-confidence, and vanquishing the enemy far and near, the court of Syria had remained wrapped in the most complete indifference. What could have induced Lysias, who held the reins of government, to remain passive in the face of this daring defiance? Had he not the means of hiring mercenaries; or did he think the Judæans invincible? It is said that a distinguished man at the Syrian court, named Ptolemy Macron, had advocated the cause of the Judæans, and had declared that the religious restraint imposed upon them was unjust.

Suddenly important news came to Palestine concerning Antiochus Epiphanes. The progress of that monarch through Parthia had not been signalised by any military success; nor had he been able to refill his treasury. Driven by want of money, he undertook an expedition to the city of Susa, in Elymais, to plunder the temple of the goddess Anaitis; but the inhabitants resisted the invader and forced him to retreat. He fell sick in the Persian city of Tabæ, and while in a state of delirium, expired (164). He who had derided the idea of a Divine Being and Divine justice, who had deliberately assaulted all that men hold sacred, in the end lost confidence in himself in consequence of the frustration of all his plans. It is quite possible that on his deathbed he repented of his desecration of the Temple, or, as another report has it, that his attack of frenzy resulted from the stings of conscience. At all events his last orders savour of madness, for he appointed one of his favourites, Philip, as regent of his kingdom and guardian of his young son Antiochus V., although previous to his departure for Persia he had invested Lysias with absolute power. This, his dying act, of pitting two rival governors against each other, thus dividing his country into factions, proved fatal to the Syrio-Macedonian kingdom, and to the Seleucidæan house.

The death of Antiochus produced no change in the position of the Judæans. Lysias, who was guardian of the young king, Antiochus V. (Eupator, from 164 to 162), undertook no expedition against the Judæans. Judas Maccabæus took advantage of this inactivity to improve the unsatisfactory internal condition of his country. At that time there existed in Jerusalem two neighbouring fortified places that were in daily feud with each other, namely the Sanctuary, and the fortress of the Acra, occupied by the Hellenists, who, with their pretended high-priest Menelaus, continued their hostilities against the patriotic and loyal Judæans by making attacks upon the fortifications of the Temple. Judas Maccabæus took measures to bring this intolerable state of affairs to an end. He undertook the formal siege of the Acra, and raised earthworks on which he placed catapults, to discharge stones against the walls.

In this emergency some of the Hellenists resolved to have recourse to the young king, Antiochus V. (Eupator), and, eluding the besiegers, travelled for that purpose to Antioch. Upon their arrival, they declared that they had been cruelly treated by the Judæan party, on account of their devotion to the royal cause; that they had been robbed of their property, and threatened with death. They also represented to the king and his guardian that if the Acra were allowed to fall into the hands of the Hasmonæans, the rebellious Judæans would be utterly invincible. A council was thereupon held at the Syrian court, and it was agreed to commence hostile proceedings against the Hasmonæans. Ptolemy Macron, who alone spoke in favour of peaceful measures, could gain no hearing.

The flame of war again blazed up in the spring of 163 B. C. It was an unfortunate time for the Judæans, as this happened to be a Sabbatical year, which was strictly kept by those ready to forfeit their lives for the Law. There was neither sowing nor reaping, and the people had to content themselves with the fruits of the trees, with the spontaneous aftergrowth of the soil, or with what had been planted before the beginning of the Sabbatical year. The garrisons of the fortresses could not be supplied with food.

Lysias, accompanied by the royal child Eupator, and at the head of a large army with elephants, marched towards the south side of Judæa. Judas could only send a small army into the field, as he required the greater number of his forces for the defence of the Temple and of the fortress of Bethzur. Thus he was compelled to restrict himself to defensive operations. The garrison of Bethzur fought bravely, and attempted to destroy the siege-train of the invaders. Unfortunately, the scarcity of their provisions would not permit the beleaguered to undergo a long siege, and, moreover, they were betrayed by a traitor, Rodocus, who is accused of having revealed to the enemy the secret ways by which food was introduced into the fortress. At length famine and treachery compelled the garrison of Bethzur to surrender; but they were allowed free egress from the fortress. Relieved on this side, the Syrian army was now able to march upon Jerusalem. Nothing was left to Maccabæus but to meet them in the field. He advanced at the head of his troops to Beth-Zachariah, not far from Bethsur, where he awaited the enemy. The Judæans again performed prodigies of valour. Eleazar, one of the Hasmonæan brothers, thinking that the magnificently-attired rider of an elephant was the king himself, crept boldly under the animal, stabbed it to death, and fell crushed by its enormous weight. But in spite of the courage and daring of the Judæans, they were obliged to retreat before the superior numbers of the Syrians. Judas retreated to Jerusalem, and entrenched himself with his army in the Temple fortress. Lysias soon followed, and began a formal siege of the Sanctuary. Judas did not fail to defend himself, and also erected catapults. As the siege continued for a long time, the supplies, which were not plentiful on account of the Sabbatical year, were soon consumed by the garrison. Tortured by hunger, the troops began to desert the fortress by subterranean passages. Only Judas Maccabæus, his three brothers, and a small band of devoted followers remained steadfastly at their post of danger, defying the pangs of hunger. Jerusalem, or, more properly speaking, its last place of refuge, the Temple, was about to fall, as in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, through want of food; but help came unexpectedly.

Philip, who had been named regent of Syria by the dying king Antiochus Epiphanes, had raised a large army of Medo-Persians, and was marching upon Antioch to deprive Lysias of the rule. As soon as Lysias heard of the advance of his rival, he was forced to withdraw his troops from Jerusalem to lead them against this new enemy. He therefore persuaded the young king to make peace with the Judæans, and thus a treaty was concluded, the chief condition being that the Judæans should enjoy complete religious freedom, and that the fortress of the Temple should remain inviolate. Lysias agreed by oath to these conditions, but as soon as the gates of the fortress were opened, he ordered his soldiers to raze the walls and the towers to the ground. In no other way, however, did he seek to molest the Judæans, for he neither destroyed nor desecrated the Sanctuary, and he soon commenced his march to Syria, where Philip had taken possession of the capital. Thus the numerous battles of the Hasmonæans were crowned after all with success, and the Judæans were once more permitted to enjoy religious liberty, and were no longer compelled to sacrifice to Jupiter.

But these wars had another fortunate result: the Syrian court withdrew its protection from the Hellenists, who were obliged to leave their fortress in the Acra. Menelaus, the usurping high-priest, the author of untold misery, was sacrificed by Lysias. The latter looked upon him as a firebrand, and had him executed in Berœa (Aleppo), after he had, for ten years, degraded his priestly diadem by the most execrable conduct. Jason, who had not, indeed, been so great a criminal as Menelaus, but who had done his best to disturb the peace of his country, had expired somewhat earlier in a foreign land. Persecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes, and driven by the Nabatæan prince, Aretas, out of his country, he had fled to Egypt, but finding no safety there, had wandered from town to town, until at last he had found a grave in Sparta.

The truce between the Syrian court and the Judæan people making a return to the old order of things possible, it was necessary to elect a new high-priest as political chief, and who could be found worthier of that office than Judas Maccabæus? The great Hasmonæan hero was most probably raised to that dignity by Antiochus Eupator, or by his guardian, Lysias.

During these days of peace, the warrior was able to lay aside his arms, the peasant to till his fields, and the scribe to devote himself to the study and the expounding of the Law; the bleeding wounds of the commonwealth began at length to close and to heal. But peace was not to be of long duration.

The excitement, resulting from years of civil warfare, was not so easily allayed that a veil could be thrown over the past. There were still avowed and clandestine Hellenists, who hated Judas Maccabæus and his devoted adherents, especially the Chasidim, on account of the restraint imposed upon them and the frustration of their efforts. They took advantage of a turn in the political tide to gratify their bitter animosity. Prince Demetrius, who had been debarred from the succession to the throne of Syria by his uncle Antiochus Epiphanes, and who had been left by that monarch as hostage in Rome, seized upon a favourable opportunity for quitting that city to depose the son of the usurper and his guardians.

Lysias had foolishly and publicly maintained trained elephants and built ships of war, though the Roman Senate had interdicted both. Hereupon Rome sent one of its severest censors to Syria, the envoy Cneius Octavius, not only to pronounce a severe reproof against the regent, but also to order the slaying of his elephants and the burning of his fleet. The orders were carried out without opposition; but Octavius met with his death, at the hand of a patriot, in a bath at Laodicea. Thus the authorities in Rome, displeased with the court of Antiochus, overlooked the escape of Demetrius. When this prince appeared as an invader in Syria, he gained over the people and the army to his cause, and put the king and the regent to death (162). The discontented Judæan party made use of this change of rulers to lodge their complaints against the Hasmonæans. They were led by a priest of the name of Jakim, or in Greek Alcimus, the nephew of one of the teachers of the Law, Josê, son of Joëzer, but himself an adherent of the innovators. Alcimus and his adherents, embittered at having been excluded from the Temple and the altar, repaired to the king of Syria – it is said, with a golden introduction – to whom they gave a gloomy picture of the state of Judæa, ascribing the misfortunes of the country to Judas and his followers. The accusation was levelled chiefly against Maccabæus. So long as he lived, they said, the land would not obtain the blessings of peace. This accusation was pleasing to Demetrius, as it gave him an opportunity of asserting his power over a small, semi-independent province. Though he did not mean to walk in the footsteps of his kinsman, Antiochus Epiphanes, in the matter of religious persecutions, still, the fact of his being able to name Alcimus high-priest and political head of the Judæan commonwealth, would be a sign that he was master of the people. In order to prevent any opposition to his wishes, he sent Bacchides, a rude, inexorable warrior, with a large troop of Syrians, to Jerusalem. He came with peaceful assurances on his lips. But Judas and his brethren were not deceived. Convinced that their freedom and their lives were at stake, they quitted their beloved city, and retreated to the mountains.

The unsuspicious Chasidim, however, allowed themselves to be deceived; they trusted Alcimus, because he was of the house of Aaron. A large assembly of distinguished scribes, possibly the whole body of the Synhedrin, repaired to Bacchides and Alcimus, assuring them of their friendliness and devotion, and begged them to take measures for restoring the quiet of their country. Alcimus, the new high-priest, solemnly swore that this was his intention; but as soon as he had taken possession of the city, he ordered sixty of the Chasidim to be slain, his uncle Josê being probably one of the victims. This outrage, coupled with his perjury, spread terror and mourning through the whole country. Again all hearts turned towards the Maccabees, and many of those who had joined the faction of Alcimus left him, and sought the Hasmonæan brothers at Modin.

It hardly required a new outrage, perpetrated by Bacchides, to light the torch of civil war. The Syrian army had intercepted the march of a number of Judæans who were leaving Alcimus in a body, had surrounded them near Jerusalem, at Beth Zachariah, and after slaying them, had thrown their dead bodies into a cistern. All who loved their freedom and their country now gathered round the Hasmonæans. But Alcimus succeeded in attracting the ambitious, luxurious and law-breaking Judæans. The nation was once more divided into two rival factions. At first the Hellenists were the stronger, as they were under the protection of foreign troops. Alcimus lost no time in marching through the land, in order to force the inhabitants to pay submission to Demetrius, and obedience to himself as high-priest. Meanwhile the army of the Maccabees was growing in strength and numbers. Judas was once more able to take the field against the Hellenists, and to punish the deserters, and he spread such terror that the adherents of Alcimus did not dare show themselves outside of Jerusalem.

Alcimus founded his hopes of ultimate success on the devotion he showed to the Syrian court, more than on his popularity among the people. Therefore he hurried to Antiochia with fresh accusations against the Hasmonæans. Demetrius thought he could easily cope with the rebellion of his Judæan subjects. He sent Nicanor, one of the warriors who had escaped with him from Rome, to Judæa, commanding him to treat the insurgents with the utmost harshness. This leader, too, considered it necessary to proceed gently at first, if only to gain time until the troops placed at his disposal arrived. It is said that having heard of the valour and heroism of the great Judæan commander, he desired to effect a reconciliation between Judas and the king, and to this end offered to send three confidential envoys to confer with Maccabæus. The proposals of Posidonius, Theodotus, and Mattathias being acceptable to Judas and his adherents, an interview took place between him and Nicanor. The latter was so enchanted with the Judæan hero, that he advised him after the conclusion of peace to take a wife, and bring an heroic race into the world. Alcimus, however, put an end to this good understanding by informing the king that Nicanor was playing a false part, that he favoured his enemy Judas, and contemplated raising him to the office of high-priest. Hereupon the king sent strict orders to Nicanor to cease all negotiations, and to send Judas in chains to Antiochia.

Meanwhile Judas, who had been cautioned not to trust Nicanor, had retreated to his mountain fastnesses, whither he was followed by Nicanor and his army. A battle ensued at Caphar-Salama, on the confines of Samaria, where Nicanor's army suffered defeat, and was driven back to the fortress of the Acra. Enraged at this repulse, the Syrian renewed hostilities with untiring energy, his chief object being to make Judas prisoner.

He repaired to the Mount of the Sanctuary, there to make known his orders that the hero should be delivered up to him. In vain did the Council come forth to meet him, assuring him of their devotion to the king, for whose welfare they offered up daily sacrifices; he treated them all with rough contempt, and swore that he would burn the Temple down, if Judas were not delivered into his hands.