Глава VII

Accession of Demetrius Seleucus (1 Mac.7:1–4). Sending them Alcimus and Bacchides to Judea (1 Mac. 7:5–11). Their treachery towards the godly scribes (1Mac.7:12-18). The return of Bacchides and Alcimus to the king (1 Mac. 7:19–25). Nicanor's campaign against Judea, the battle of Hafarsalam, the retreat of Judah (1 Mac. 7:26–32). Nicanor in Jerusalem and the Church (1 Mac. 7:33–39). The Battle of Bethhoron, the death of Nicanor and the flight of the Syrians (1 Mac. 7:40–47). The joy of the people (1 Mac. 7:48–50) (cf. 2 Mac. 14:15; Ios. Antt. XII, 10, 1–5). 1 Mac.7:1 In the hundred and fifty-first year Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, left Rome, and with a few people entered a certain seaside city and reigned there. "In 151", i.e. e. Sat down. – 161 BC – “Son of Seleucus...”, i.e. the IV with this name – Philopator, the eldest son of Antiochus the Great (see I:10). - After the death of this Seleucus, his son - Demetrius - would then have to inherit his throne. But since he was then a hostage in Rome, the rule of the kingdom was taken over by his uncle, Antiochus Epiphanes, who, before his death, gave the kingdom to his minor son Antiochus Eupator under the regency of Philip (VI: 14 etc.). But Demetrius, having learned about the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, presented his rights to the Syrian throne before the Roman Senate - however, to no avail - probably because the Senate, in the interests of the Roman state, found it more advantageous for a boy to rule in Syria, and not an independent husband of 22 years old, as Demetrius was then. However, after some time, Demetrius still found an opportunity to sail from Rome to Syria on one of the Carthaginian ships (cf. Polyb. XXXI, 19–23, App. Syr. p. 47; Liv. Epit. XLVI and Justin, XXXIV, 3, 4–9). - The “seaside city” in which Demetrius reigned was according to 2 Mac XIV: 1 - Tripolis. – “With a few people...” – according to Poliv. XXXI, 22, 11 – with 8 friends, 5 servants and 3 boys. This testimony will not contradict 2 Mac XIV: 1, which says that Demetrius sailed with a strong land and sea army - μεταπλήθους ίσχυρου και στόλου, if we assume that in the first case we are talking about the original the landing of Demetrius in Tripolis, and in the second - about boarding ships in the harbor of this city with the aim of taking possession of the kingdom. 1Mac 7:2 And as he entered into the royal house of his fathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them to him. “The royal house of the fathers...” – οίκος βασιλέις (Dan IV: 27; Esther I: 9; II: 16) – the royal residence, i.e. Antioch. 1Mac 7:3 This became known to him, and he said, “Do not show me their faces.” Demetrius' command - “not to show him the faces” of Antiochus and Lysias - was probably caused by his fears that he would not be able to refuse them pardon if they began to ask him for it. 1 Mac.7:4-5 Then the soldiers slew them, and Demetrius sat on the throne of his kingdom. And all the wicked and wicked men from Israel came to him, and Alcimus led them, seeking the priesthood; "Alkim" – 'Αλκιμος, according to Ios. Antt. XII, 9, 7 also Ί άκειμος. – “Seeking the priesthood...” – according to Art. 21. - "high priesthood". According to 2 Mac XIV: 3, 7 - he had previously been a high priest, but for his inclination towards pagan customs he was dismissed by pious Jews. 1Mac 7:6 And they accused the people before the king, saying: “Judas and his brothers have destroyed your friends, and they have driven us out of our land. “Your friends...”, that is, your followers among the Jewish people. 1Mac 7:7-13 Now therefore send a man whom you trust; let him go and see all the destruction that they have caused to us and the king’s country, and let him punish them and everyone who helps them.” The king chose Bacchides from among the king's friends, who ruled on the other side of the river, was great in the kingdom and faithful to the king, and sent him and the wicked Alcimus, giving him the priesthood, and commanded him to take vengeance on the children of Israel. They set out and came into the land of Judah with a large army; and he sent envoys to Judah and his brothers with a peaceful but treacherous proposal. But they did not heed their words, for they saw that they came with a large army. A meeting of scribes came together to Alcimus and Bacchides to seek justice. The first of the sons of Israel were the Acsidees; they sought peace from them, “A meeting of the scribes...”, συναγωγή γραμματέων – a crowd of scribes ( συναγωγή – as II:42 γραμματεις – as Ezra VII:6; Ezra XI; Neh. VIII:4, – next, otherwise than in our book V:42), who devoted themselves to studying the Word of God and teaching and instructing others in it - “teachers of the law.” These scribes came to Alcimus and Bacchides “to seek justice...” - έκζητήσαι δίκαια, that is, truth, the right to live righteously, according to the laws of the fathers, on the basis of the peace already concluded by the Jews with Antiochus Eupator (VI: 59). The next verse (13), in connection or comparison with the previous one, can have a double meaning. It depends on what meaning is given to the expression: “the first of the sons of Israel.” If we see in this expression the desire of the writer to indicate the time, or the order of presentation of this and that part of the people to Alcimus and Bacchides, then verse 13 will have the following meaning: “the first of the sons of Israel who sought peace from them (i.e. Alcimus and Bacchides) were the Acideans.” If “first” is used here in the sense of “best,” then the idea of ​​​​both these verses (12, 13) will be this: “a meeting of scribes came together to Alcimus and Bacchides to seek justice. Among them were the best of the sons of Israel - the Acideans, who sought peace from them...” It is possible to imagine the matter this way, that the Acideans were not part of the party of the scribes and not a special party from it, but on the contrary - these scribes were part of the party of the Asideans or all of it. In this case, the thought here may be as follows: “to Alcimus... a meeting of scribes came together...: these were the best of the sons of Israel - the Asideans...”, etc. - Alcimus was - according to Ios. Antt. XII, 9, 7 – ούκ έκ τής των αρχιερέων γενεάς, or, as he expresses himself more clearly in XX, 10 γένους μεν του ᾿Ααρωνος, ούκ όντα δέ τής οικίας ταύτης, that is, not from the family of the slain Menelaus, whom he descends from Aaron along the Eleazar line. Thus, Alcimus becomes high priest in addition to the closest candidate for the high priesthood, which was Onias, also the son of Onias (III), the eldest of those 3 brothers - the children of Simon, who one after another became high priests (Onias, Jesus (Jason) and Onias - Menelaus). 1Mac 7:14-15 For they said, A priest from the tribe of Aaron came with the army, and will not hurt us. And he spoke to them peaceably and swore to them, and said: We will not harm you or your friends. “He swore by him...” Although the oath of Bacchides is not mentioned here, it is clear from what follows (v. 18) that either Alcimus, giving an oath to the people, gave it together and for Bacchides, or Bacchides himself gave the same oath, not mentioned here. 1 Mac.7:16-17 And they believed him, and he captured sixty men from them and killed them in one day, as the Scripture says: “The bodies of Your saints and their blood were shed around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.” The text of Scripture that the writer cites, reporting the treacherously cruel beating of 60 husbands, is borrowed from Ps LXXVIII: 2-3. This “psalm of Asaph” most closely tells the story of the Chaldean destruction of Jerusalem: it is also remembered here by the similarity of events. 1Mac 7:18 And fear and terror fell upon all the people because of them, and they said, There is no truth or righteousness in them, for they have broken the statute and the oath which they swore. “Decree” – ή στάσις, i.e. agreement, promise. 1Mac.7:19 Then Bacchides retreated from Jerusalem and encamped at Betheth, and he sent and caught many of the men who fled from him and some of the people, stabbed them and threw them into a deep well. "Bizetha" - Βηζείθ - the location of this site of Bacchides is not known exactly. Some think that this was the hill of Bezeth, which was subsequently developed and became a suburb of Jerusalem, or part of it (cf. Ios. De bell. jud. V, 4, 2); in any case, this place of reprisal against the Jews was not so far from Jerusalem. - “He caught many of the men who fled from him...”, that is, probably those of the Jews who, along with the renunciation of their faith, first joined the Syrians, but then fell away from them again. - “And some of the people...”, who probably seemed to Bacchides the most suspicious in the sense of sympathy and assistance to the Syrians. 1 Mac.7:20-21 Then, entrusting the country to Alcimus and leaving with him an army to help him, Bacchides went to the king. Alcimus sought the high priesthood. Alcimus’s “harassment” of the high priesthood was the harassment by force of the troops left to him by Bacchides. iOS reading. Antt. XII, 10, 3, that Alcimus tried to gain the favor of the people with flattering speeches, does not agree much with the expression of the original ήγωνισατο and probably stemmed from a false interpretation of Art. 22. 1Mac 7:22 And all those who had troubled their people gathered together unto him, and took possession of the land of Judea, and caused a great slaughter in Israel. “They brought about a great defeat in Israel...”, that is, they killed many faithful Israelis. 1 Mac.7:23-24 And Judah saw all the evil that Alcimus and his accomplices had done to the children of Israel, more than the Gentiles; and, having gone around all the borders of Judea, he took vengeance on the apostates - and they stopped entering this country. “He took vengeance on the apostates,” i.e., those mentioned in v. 22, “and they stopped entering this country,” i.e., with the goal of “disturbing” his people and causing “a great defeat in Israel” (same v.). – After Antiochus Eupator made peace with the Jews, allowing them to live according to their fatherly customs and laws (VI: 61), – Judas probably allowed his army to go home for a while, taking measures so that, if necessary, they would quickly rally around him again. When Demetrius, upon his accession to the Syrian throne, sent Bacchides and Alcimus with a strong army to Judea, Judas and his brothers did not succumb to the insidiously peaceful words of the strangers and decided to wait for further events. The unfortunate fate of the scribes and Asideans, who succumbed to the bait of their enemies, justified his fears and brought him out of his wait-and-see mode of action once again into the work of a bloody militia for faith and freedom. The successes of Judah in a short time led to the fact that Alcimus was forced to return to the king, with complaints against the Jewish knight and with a request to send a new strong army to Judea (23–26 vv.). 1 Mac.7:25-26 When Alcimus saw that Judas and those with him had become stronger, and realized that he could not resist them, he returned to the king and cruelly accused them. Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his glorious leaders, a hater and hostile to Israel, and ordered him to destroy this people. Nicanor, who had already opposed the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes (III: 38), was - according to 2 Mac XIV: 12 - in charge of the war elephants, according to Joseph - he fled with Demetrius from Rome, according to Polyb XXXI, 22, 4 - he was one of his most trusted confidantes there. His hatred and enmity towards Israel is especially clear after the defeat at Emmaum III: 38; IV: 6 etc. 1 Mac.7:27-28 Nicanor, having come to Jerusalem with a large army, sent treacherously to Judas and his brothers with peaceful words: Let there be no war between me and you; I will go in with a few people to see your faces in peace. “See your faces...” – visit for a personal conversation or negotiations, cf. Ex X: 28 et c. – “In peace...”, i.e. without malicious intent, peacefully, friendly. 1Mac 7:29-30 And he came to Judah, and they greeted each other peacefully; and meanwhile the soldiers were prepared to seize Judas. It became known to Judas that he came to him with deceit, so he was afraid of him and did not want to see his face anymore. The story of the peaceful relations of Judah with Nicanor is conveyed in the form of a whole saga in 2 Mac XIV: 21–29 etc. 1 Mac.7:31 When Nicanor learned that his plan had been revealed, he went out against Judah to battle near Hafarsalama. “Hafarsalama” - Χαφαρσαλαμά - Joseph called κωμη τής - was located unknown where, one thing is certain - south of Jerusalem, because after the battle Nikanor flees to Jerusalem (the city of David) and then to Bethoron. 1Mac 7:32-33 And about five thousand men that were at Nicanor fell, and the rest fled to the city of David. After this Nicanor ascended Mount Zion; and some of the priests and elders of the people came out of the sanctuary to greet him peacefully and show him the burnt offering offered for the king. “He ascended Mount Zion...”, i.e., the mountain of the church, see I: 33. – “Burnt offering for the king...” Under the rule of the pagans, the Jews introduced the custom of sacrificing for pagan kings, as for their sovereigns, and praying for them. They did this for the Persian kings (Ezra VI: 10), and later for the Roman Caesars (cf. Ios. bell. Iud. II, 17, 2; pp. Ap. II, 6, Philo, hegat. ad Caj. Opp. II, 592). This had a basis in the reminder of the prophet Jeremiah XXIX: 7 to the captives - to pray for the well-being of the city in which they were settled. 1Mac 7:34 But he ridiculed them, mocked them, and defiled them, and spoke arrogantly, “Desecrated them...” - how? – not specified. According to Ioc. Gorion. III, 21, 12 he spat on them, or, in fact, in the direction of the church. 1Mac 7:35-39 And he swore with anger and said, “If Judah and his army are not delivered into my hands now, when I return safely, I will burn this house.” And he left with great anger. And the priests entered and stood before the altar and the church, wept and said: Thou, Lord, hast chosen this house, that Thy name should be upon it, and that it should be a house of prayer and supplication for Thy people. Take vengeance on this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword; remember their blasphemies and do not let them remain any longer. And Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped at Bethhoron, and the Syrian army came to him there. About Bethoron, see III: 16. - “The Syrian army came to him here...”, i.e., an auxiliary detachment from Syria. 1Mac 7:40 And Judah and three thousand men encamped near Hadas; and Judas prayed and said: “Judah... settled down... with Hadas...”, έν ᾿Αδασά - (Ios.: έν ᾿Αδασοίς, and called κώμη). Adasa - according to Eusebius - 30 stadia (3 4 miles) from Bethhoron, near Gofna, next. north (NO.) of Bethhoron. 1 Mac 7:41 Lord! When the messengers of the king of Assyria uttered blasphemies, your angel came and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of them. About the defeat of 185,000 Assyrians by an angel - see 2 Kings XVIII:13, XIX:35. 1 Mac.7:42-45 So now crush this horde before us, so that others may know that they have blasphemed Your holy things, and judge them according to their wickedness. And the troops entered the battle on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and the army of Nicanor was defeated, and he was the first to fall in battle. When his soldiers saw that Nikanor had fallen, they threw away their weapons and fled. And the Israelites pursued them all day long, from Hadas to Gazira itself, and blew the messenger trumpets after them. “The Israelites pursued them all day long...” – more precisely, the famous one: “the way is one day...”. - “Up to Gazira itself...”, more precisely, famous: “until they came to Gazira” - εως του έλθείν εις Γάζηρα - to the place where you enter Gazira. Joseph Fl. estimates the strength of the enemy army at 9,000 people. The number indicated in 2 Mac XV: 27 is probably greatly exaggerated - “at least 35,000 killed.” 1Mac 7:46 And they came out from all the surrounding villages of Judah and surrounded them, and they turned to those who pursued them, and they all fell by the sword, and not one of them was left. “They surrounded them...”, more precisely - glorious: “enclosing them with horns” (ύπερκεράν). - “And they, turning to those who pursued them, all fell ...”, - άνέστρεφον ούτοι πρός τούτους ..., more precisely - glorious: “and they returned to them...” The matter, apparently, should be presented here like this: those being pursued in order to get out of the ring, into which The Jews running out to meet them threatened to imprison them, turned back, and, of course, first of all ran into their own people running behind them, with whom in confusion and panic they entered into hand-to-hand combat, mistaking them for Jews, and, perhaps, simply crushing each other. 1Mac 7:47 And the Jews took their spoils and their spoils, and cut off Nicanor's head and his right hand, which he had stretched out arrogantly, and brought them and hanged them before Jerusalem. “And what they plundered...” – καί τήν προνομήν, glav.: “and captivity.” This word among pagan writers means “fodder”, food, among the LXX it means prey in general, cf. Deuteronomy XXI: 10, where also captive women are understood in προνομή; here, probably, in the sense of general booty collected by the enemies during the campaign and taken away again by the Jews. - “And his right hand, which he stretched out arrogantly...”, that is, when he swore an oath - v. 35. This marks the correspondence of the punishment to the crime. - “They hanged them before Jerusalem...”, according to 2 Mac XV: 32-33 - “against the church.” 1Mac 7:48-49 The people rejoiced greatly and spent that day as a day of great joy; and established to celebrate this day annually on the thirteenth of Adar. The celebration of the “13th Adar” (“Nicanor’s day”), in memory of the victory over Nicanor, was celebrated in the time of Joseph, but later it went out of custom. 1Mac 7:50 And the land of Judea rested for a while. “The land of Judea calmed down for a while...”, in the sense of a short time (' ημέρας ολίγας), famous: “for small days.” The books of Maccabees are translated from Greek because they are not in the Hebrew text.