Глава X

Cleansing the church and celebrating its dedication (2Mac 10:1–9). Accession of Antiochus Eupator to the throne (2 Mac. 10:10–15). The victories of the Maccabees over the Edomites, the conquest of their fortresses and the punishment of traitors (2 Mac. 10:16–23). A brilliant victory over Timothy, the conquest of the fortress of Gazara and the killing of Timothy (2 Mac. 10: 24–38). 2 Maccabees and those who were with him, under the leading of the Lord, again occupied the church and the city, On the cleansing of the church cf. 1Mac IV: 31–54. According to 2 Mac VIII: 31 and 33 - The Maccabees occupied the city of Jerusalem after the victory over Nicanor and Timothy. – Around this time (IX: 1), Antiochus also fell ill on his return from Persia. According to a more accurate indication of 1 Mac IV: 7, the king’s illness itself was caused precisely by the unpleasant news about these events. The cleansing of the church followed - according to 1 Mac IV: 52 - in 143 AD. Sel., and the death of Antiochus - according to 1 Mac VI: 16 - in 149 AD. Sat down. – Meanwhile, 2 Mac X: 1–8 places the event of the cleansing of the church as if after the death of Antiochus (cf. IX: 29 and X: 9). This is explained by the intention of the writer of the book to equalize the conclusions of both halves of his work, each of which ends with the establishment of a special holiday - the first after the death of Antiochus, the second after the death of Nicanor (“the day of Nicanor” and in correspondence with it, as it were, the “day of Antiochus”). In the interests of chronological accuracy, this section - X: 1-8 - is more correctly read after Art. 36. Chapter VIII, after 29 Art. Chapter IX is straightforward and easy to read, Art. 9. Chapter X onwards. 2Mac 10:2 And they destroyed the altars and churches that the foreigners had built in the market place. The construction of pagan temples and altars is mentioned in 1 Mac I: 54, etc. 2Mac 10:3 Having cleansed the church, they built another altar; having kindled the stones and taken fire from them, they made a sacrifice after a two-year interval, made a censer and candlesticks and an offering of bread. “Having kindled the stones and taken fire from them...” By rubbing or striking stones against one another, a special fire was produced for the sacrifice in order to eliminate any connection between the new fire and the old one, which had been defiled through its use for pagan sacrifices. – “After a two-year interval...”: μετά διετή, χρόνον – according to 1 Mac IV: 52 (cf. 1 Mac IV: 54) – this interval should be calculated at 3 years. 2Mac 10:4-5 Having arranged all this, they prayed to the Lord, falling on their faces, so that they would no longer be subjected to such calamities; if they sin, then may He punish them mercifully, not handing them over to the blasphemous and cruel pagans. On the very day on which the church was desecrated by foreigners, the cleansing of the church took place, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month of Haslev. According to 1 Mac VI: 52 and 54. 2Mac 10:6-7 And they spent eight days in joy in the likeness of the Feast of Tabernacles, remembering how not long before that time they had spent the Feast of Tabernacles like wild beasts in the mountains and caves. Therefore, with staffs entwined with ivy, and with flowering branches and palm trees, they offered songs of praise to the One who hastened to cleanse His place. “With rods entwined with ivy...”, θύρσους ... έχοντες, glory. “firsi... having.” These “thyrses entwined with ivy” were used by the Greeks themselves at celebrations and round dances in honor of Bacchus; and it is unlikely that the Jews could have been adopted from the pagans in the form in which they were used by these pagans. Most likely, the Jewish “thyrses”, as in Judith, XV: 12, represented branches of dates and grape or myrtle and lemon trees (cf. Josephus - XIII, 13, 4: θύρσου έκ φοινίκων καί κιτρίων ). The use of these “rods” on Jewish holidays could be justified by a special injunction Lev XXIII: 40; The Gospel “date branches” represent nothing more than these same Jewish “firsas”. 2 Mac.10:8-11 And by a common decision and sentence they determined that all the Jewish people should celebrate these days every year. Such was the death of Antiochus, called Epiphanes. Now let us outline what happened under Antiochus Eupator, the son of that wicked man, limiting ourselves to the disasters of war. Having accepted the kingdom, he entrusted control to a certain Lysias, the main military leader of Kel-Syria and Phenicia. “Having accepted the kingdom, he handed over...” Evpator was 9 years old at this time. If, however, he masters such important independent actions as appointing a ruler, or as - 1 Mac VI: 22, 28 and 33 - receiving deputations and waging wars with the Jews, then all this was either done by him independently, or represented the implementation and continuation of the order of things that had developed or was partly planned during the previous reign. Thus, the appointment of Lysias as the ruler of the state and the tutor of the prince was made by the latter’s father, before setting off on a campaign that ended in his death (1 Mac III: 32–33). This Lysias was a relative of the king (XI: 1 and 35). As the chief military commander of Coele-Syria and Phenicia, he appointed Gorgias as the military commander of these provinces, instead of Ptolemy Macron (VIII: 8), apparently the same one who was mentioned earlier in VI: 8 and IV: 45. 2 Mac.10:12-13 For Ptolemy, nicknamed Macro, thought it best to maintain justice towards the Jews, after the injustices that had been done to them, and tried to end things with them peacefully. Therefore, he was slandered by his favorites before Eupator, and, hearing everywhere the name of a traitor because he left Cyprus entrusted to him from Philometor and went over to Antiochus Epiphanes, he, not having honorable power, poisoned himself out of sadness and thus ended his life. “Everywhere...”, παρ έκαστα - “in any case.” 2Mac.10:14-15 Gorgias, having become a military commander in those places, maintained mercenary troops and continuously supported the war against the Jews. Together with him, the Edomites, who owned convenient fortifications, harassed the Jews and, accepting those expelled from Jerusalem, began wars. “Those who owned convenient fortifications...”, for example. Hebron (1Mac V:65). 2Mac.10:16-18 Those who were with Maccabee, praying and asking God to help them in the war, rushed to the fortifications of the Edomites. And, having made a strong attack on them, they took possession of these places, took revenge on all those who fought on the walls, killed everyone who came their way, and killed no less than twenty thousand. No less than nine thousand fled to two very strong towers, equipped with everything against a siege. 2Mac.10:19 Leaving Simon and Joseph and also Zacchaeus with a satisfied number of people to besiege them, Maccabeus himself went to places where he was more needed. About Zacchaeus, nothing more is known. About Simon and Joseph - the brothers of Judah - see VIII: 22. 2Mac 10:20 And they that were with Simon, being lovers of money, allowed some of them that were in the towers to bribe themselves with money; Having received seventy thousand drachmas, they allowed some to escape. “Those who were with Simon...”, o ί περί τον Σίμωνα - here we mean his associates, or the leaders of individual parts (21st article). – 70,000 drachmas – 15 1/2 talents. “Success was in the weapons that were in his hands...”, τοις δέ οπλοίς t α πάντα έν ταίς χερσίν ευοδούμεος..., or rather glorified: “with weapons in all and with hands prospering..." The Russian translation completely incorrectly refers έν ταίς χερσίν to τοίς οπλοις: it is much more natural to attribute this to κ ευοδούμενος and t α πάντα, in which the thought will be completely defined: “with weapons successfully holding everything in their hands,” i.e., “successful in all their enterprises...”, etc. The use - “in fortifications” (οχυρώμασι) instead of “in towers” (πύργοις, 18th century) - shows the possibility of placing at least 20,000 in them people, since - obviously - the towers were only central points of fortification (loopholes), named in Art. 18. instead of a whole fortification. However, it is possible that the number of those locked in these fortified towers and exterminated by Judas (20,000) is significantly exaggerated by popular rumor. Perhaps it was less than 9,000, as is made clear in Art. 20. 2Mac 10:24 Timothy, having previously been defeated by the Jews, gathered a very large army from foreigners, gathered together many horsemen who were in Asia, and came to Judea with the intention of conquering it. “Formerly defeated by the Jews...”, see VIII: 30 etc. - “Asia” is used here not in the diplomatic sense of the Romans from 133 BC (the provinces of Moisia, Lydia and Caria, since these provinces no longer belonged to the Seleucid kingdom), but - probably - in the sense of great Asia, in which Moisia was especially famous for its cavalry and had its coat of arms with a large strong horse. 2Mac.10:25-26 As he approached, those who were with Maccabee turned to prayer to God, sprinkling earth on their heads and girding their loins with sackcloth. Falling at the foot of the altar, they begged Him to be merciful to them, to be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their opponents, as the law says. “As the law says…”, καβώς ο νόμος διασαφεί… (See Exodus XXIII: 22). 2Mac 10:27-31 Having prayed, they took up arms and went far from the city; Having approached the enemies, they stopped. With the onset of sunrise, both of them entered into battle - some, with their valor, having refuge in the Lord as a guarantee of success and victory, others, putting rage as the leader of the battle. When a stubborn battle took place, five majestic men appeared from heaven to the opponents on horses with golden bridles, and two of them led the Jews: they took Maccabeus into the midst and, covering him with their weapons, kept him unharmed, while they threw arrows and lightning at the opponents, so that they, confused from blindness and filled with fear, struck themselves. Twenty thousand five hundred foot soldiers and six hundred horsemen were killed. 2Mac 10:32 Timothy himself fled to a fortress called Gazara, which was very strong and was under the command of Chaereas. The location of Gazara (Gaza) does not require indication (1Mak IX: 52; cf. 1Mak XIII: 43 etc.). – Chaerei, who commanded Gazara, was, according to Art. 37, the brother of Timothy. 2Mac.10:33 Those who were with Maccabee cheerfully besieged this fortress for four days. “It’s fun...”, ασμενοι – joyful with confidence in victory, as opposed to the besieged, confident in the inaccessibility of this place Art.). 2Mac 10:34-35 But those who were in the fortress, confident that the place was inaccessible, slandered excessively and uttered blasphemous speeches. At dawn on the fifth day, twenty young men who were with Maccabee, inflamed with anger from such slander, bravely rushed to the wall and with brutal fury struck everyone who came across. According to some codes, the siege of the fortress lasted 24 days instead of 4; according to the Alexandrian Code, even 40 days. - “With brutal rage...”, in another sense - “with lion’s rage”, with the rage of lions. 2Mac 10:36-37 Others also rushed at those within during the confusion, set fire to the towers, and, having kindled fires, burned the blasphemers alive; others smashed the gates and, letting the rest of the army in, took possession of the city; Timothy, who hid in the ditch, was killed, as well as his brother Chaerei and Apollophanes. "Apollophanes" - nothing more is known about him. Since Timothy is further mentioned again (see XII: 2), the mention of his murder is explained by the fact that the folk tradition here probably confuses the circumstances of two different battles. 2Mac 10:38 Having done this, they gave thanks to the Lord with songs and praises, who had done so much good to Israel and given them victory.