Глава XI

The attempt of Ptolemy VI Philometor to take possession of the Syrian kingdom; the battle with Alexander and the death of both kings (cf. Antt. XIII, 4, 5 etc.) (1 Mac. 11: 1–19). The siege of the Jerusalem fortress by Jonathan and the agreement with King Demetrius (cf. Antt. XII, 4, 9) (1 Mac. 11: 20–37). Jonathan's assistance to Demetrius in the newly flared up struggle for succession to the throne (cf. Ann. XII, 4, 9 and 5, 1-4) (1 Mac. 11: 38-53). The enthroned Antiochus confirms Jonathan in the high priesthood and in his other rights. Jonathan's transition to the side of Antiochus and the fight for the latter against Demetrius (cf. Antt. XII, 5, 3–7) (1 Mac. 11:54–74). 1 Mac.11:1-11 Meanwhile, the king of Egypt, having gathered a large army, like the sand on the seashore, and many ships, sought to take possession of the kingdom of Alexander by cunning and annex it to his kingdom. He came to Syria with peaceful speeches, and the inhabitants opened the cities to him and came out to meet him, for the command was given from Tsar Alexander to meet him, because he was his father-in-law. When Ptolemy entered cities, he left an army to guard each city. When he approached Azoth, they showed him the burned church of Dagon, and Azoth and the surrounding cities destroyed, and the bodies struck and burned during the battle, for they piled them up along the way, and told the king about everything that Jonathan had done, complaining about him; but the king remained silent. Then Jonathan went out to meet the king in Joppa with honor, and they greeted each other and spent the night there. And Jonathan walked with the king to the river called Eleuthera, and then returned to Jerusalem. King Ptolemy took possession of the cities on the seashore as far as Seleucia by the sea and formed evil plans against Alexander. And he sent ambassadors to King Demetrius, saying: come here, let us make an alliance with each other, and I will give you my daughter, whom Alexander has, and you will reign in the kingdom of your father. I repent that I gave him my daughter, for he tried to kill me. So he slandered him, because he himself sought his kingdom. The trick by which Ptolemy wanted to take possession of the kingdom of Alexander was that Ptolemy tried everywhere to show himself as a defender of the rights of Alexander, as his son-in-law. Others, however, do not deny Ptolemy a real desire to help Alexander, but in any case this desire is recognized as unselfish, meaning to profit one way or another at the expense of Alexander’s possessions. Alexander himself understood this, apparently not immediately. Having first ordered his father-in-law to be given the most magnificent reception in all the cities on his way, he suddenly switched to open hostility towards him and, instead of an ally, declared him his enemy. Then Jonathan, who at first had the intention of taking part in Ptolemy’s entire campaign as an ally of his son-in-law, separated from Ptolemy and went against him. This forced Ptolemy to set his goals more directly and frankly, especially after the attempt on his life in Ptolemais, in which one of Alexander’s prominent favorites, Ammonius, turned out to be a participant. Alexander's refusal to hand over Ammonius at the request of Ptolemy gave him grounds to declare Alexander himself the culprit of the assassination attempt, and thereby justify his offensive course of action on his possessions. But the writer of our book - XI: 11 - represents this whole conspiracy as simply “slander”, invented by Ptolemy himself for his above purposes. - The Eleuther River (7th century) - the border between Phenicia and Syria (Strabon, XVI, p. 753), flows through Lebanon, and between Tripolis and Arad flows into the Mediterranean Sea - probably the current Nahr el Kebir, a large, fast-flowing stream. - “Seleucia seaside” (8th century) - so named in contrast to 8 other cities built again or renewed by Seleucus Nicator and named after him - lay 40 stadia north of the mouth of the river. Orontes, 3 miles from Antioch, the capital of Syria (also called Pieria from Mount Pierius, on which it lay). 1 Mac 11:12-13 And having taken his daughter from him, he gave her to Demetrius, and became a stranger to Alexander, and their enmity was revealed. And Ptolemy entered Antioch and placed two crowns on his head - Asia and Egypt. “Two crowns - Asia and Egypt”, see VIII: 6. 1 Mac 11:14–16 King Alexander was in Cilicia at that time, because the inhabitants of those places had fallen away from him. Hearing about this, Alexander went to fight against him; then Ptolemy led out the army and met it with strong force, and put it to flight. And Alexander fled to Arabia to take refuge there; King Ptolemy became exalted. 1 Mac 11:17–18 Zabdiel, an Arabian, took Alexander's head and sent it to Ptolemy. King Ptolemy died on the third day, and those who remained in the fortresses were exterminated by the inhabitants of the fortresses. More detailed information about Alexander's death is available from Diod. Sic. I, p. No. XXI. On the death of Ptolemy, see Josephus (cf. Liv. Epit. LII). - “On the third day...”, i.e. after receiving Alexander’s head. – “Those remaining in the fortresses...”, see Art. 3. 1 Mac 11:19 And Demetrius reigned in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year. "In the year 167" e. Seleucus. – 146–145 BC. 1Mac 11:20 In those days Jonathan gathered the Jews together to conquer the fortress of Jerusalem, and built many engines in front of it. The fortress of Jerusalem, as can be seen from here, was still occupied by the Syrians, whom, although Demetrius promised to remove (X: 32), he had not yet removed, after his proposals to the Jews did not achieve their goal at all. 1Mac 11:21-28 But certain haters of his people, apostates from the law, went to the king and reported that Jonathan was laying siege on the fortress. When he heard about this, he became angry and, hastily getting ready, went to Ptolemais and wrote to Jonathan not to tax the fortress, but to go to meet him in Ptolemais as soon as possible in order to talk with him. But Jonathan, having heard this, ordered to continue the siege and, choosing from among the elders of Israel and priests, decided to expose himself to danger. Taking silver and gold, clothes and many other gifts, he went to the king in Ptolemais and acquired his favor. And although some apostates from the same people slandered him, the king treated him in the same way as his predecessors had treated him, and elevated him above all his friends, and confirmed for him the high priesthood and other honorary distinctions that he had before, and made him one of his first friends. And Jonathan asked the king to free Judea and three regions and Samaria from taxes and promised him three hundred talents. Regarding the “three regions”, see X: 30. – “And Samaria...” The mention of Samaria here is very strange and hardly took place in reality, not only in view of the hostile relations between the Samaritans and the Jews, but also in view of the contradiction created by such a reading, with Art. 34. and X: 30. Probably what should be read here is not καί τήν Σαμαρείτιν, but τίς Σαμαρείτιδος. Demetrius's father promised the Jews exemption from taxes, but they rejected these offers, not trusting the king, who had caused them so much trouble (X: 25–46). Now Jonathan himself asks for this, and promises the king three hundred talents as a ransom amount. Regarding the payment of this amount, the opinions of interpreters are divided: whether it should have been paid as a one-time contribution for everything conceded by the king, or this amount of money should have been paid annually - in return for the taxes collected by the king's officials. The expression in this case allows for both interpretations, but Art. 35, where the king cedes all tithes, taxes and tributes to the Jews, seems to speak for the first interpretation. – Talent is the ancient Greek highest measure of weight and coins are not of the same value everywhere: the most common Attic talent is 2,210 rubles. 1 Mac.11:29-32 The king agreed and wrote a letter to Jonathan about all this with the following content: “King Demetrius, to brother Jonathan and to the people of Judah, rejoice. We are sending a list of the letter that we wrote about you to Lasfen, our relative, to you so that you know. Tsar Demetrius Lasfen to his father - rejoice. The king's "letter" to Jonathan was, in fact, a copy of another letter addressed to Lasphen. The expressions “brother Jonathan...” and “Father Lasthenes...” are the usual forms for signifying a family-friendly relationship with especially trusted and honored persons (cf. IX: 18; X: 89; Gen. XLV: 8). – Lasfen, according to Ios. Ann. XIII, 4, 3 - the same Cretan who gathered a mercenary army for Demetrius to settle “in the land of his fathers” - X: 67. From the fact that Demetrius sends his favorable letter about the Jews to Lasthenes, we can accurately conclude that Lasthenes was either the governor of Kele-Syria, or the supreme minister of the kingdom. 1 Mac.11:33-34 We decided to show a benefit to the people of Judah, our friends who faithfully fulfill their duties to us, because of their good disposition towards us. So, we claim for them both the borders of Judea and three regions: Apherem, Lydda and Ramathem, which are annexed to Judea from Samaria, and everything that belongs to all their priests in Jerusalem, for those royal taxes that the king previously received from them annually from the growth of the earth and from the fruits of the trees, “We affirm...”, that is, not in the sense: “we give again” - cf. to X: 30. – “Apherema” – Αφαίρεμα, – probably – ... – 2 Chronicles XIII: 19 Keri – city ' Εφραίμ, mentioned in the Gospel John XI: 54 according to Ios. bell jud IV, 9, 9 - lay near Bethel (Ephron, Ophra, Joshua XIX: 23). – “Lydda” – Λύδδα – Old Testament Lod – 1 Chronicles VIII: 12, later – Diospolis, the current significant Mohammedan village under the ancient name Lud – between Jaffa and Jerusalem – north of Ramla. – 'Ramathem - ' Ραμαθέμ, otherwise ' Ραθαμείν and ' Ραμαθαίμ, in Jos. ' Ραμαθά, - without a doubt, the famous city of Samuel Ramatain Sofim - 1 Kings I: 1, usually called ..., the current village of er Ram, in 4 geogr. miles north of Jerusalem, New Testament Arimathea (Matthew XXVII: 15; John XIX: 33). – Located on the border of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, this city could then really belong to Samaria and from it be annexed to Judea. – “Belonging to all their priests in Jerusalem...” - cf. Numbers XXXV: 4 and X: 39 of our book. From the words: “to all their priests in Jerusalem...” begins a new sentence, the predicate of which at the end of the 35th art. “we yield to them...” The words preceding this: “and everything belonging to” should actually be read as a continuation of the mentioned regions annexed to Judea from Samaria (see more precisely the words: “three countries ... and everything that belongs to them,” and then: “to all the priests...” - etc., ending with the words: “we leave to them”). In the expression: “for those royal taxes...”, άντί τόν βασιλικών - something is missing for completeness and roundness. Some believed that some figure fell out here indicating the amount that was paid to the king “for those royal taxes” and was now left to him. Other interpreters think even more rightly that here in front of αντί there fell simply an indefinite τά (τά άντί τών βασιλικών, - as in X: 30: “what was due for the third part of the seeds”, etc. τής τιμής ... αντί τού τρίτου ), or even more correctly, αντί itself was formed instead of τά (not: άντί τών βασιλικών, but: τά τών βασιλικών ) or καί τά, which could very easily happen with the confluence of several alphas (and with the mixing of “i” with “ν”). The whole expression thus receives the following simple and clear meaning: “and that, instead of the royal rights to the fruits of the land,” which was paid by annual quitrents and “everything else... (Art. 35) ... we completely cede to them.” About tithes, tributes, etc., see X: 29, 31. - “Salt Lakes” vm. “duties on lake salt” (τιμή του αλός X:29). 1 Mac 11:35-37 and everything else that belongs to us from now on from the tithes and tributes that are due to us, the salt lakes and the crown tax that belong to us, we all completely yield to them. And nothing will be canceled from this now and forever. So, take care to make a list of this, and let it be given to Jonathan and laid on the holy mountain in a certain place.” The list from the letter was to be placed “on the holy mountain in a famous place” as before in VIII: 22. 1Mac 11:38 And King Demetrius saw that the earth bowed before him and nothing stood against him, and he sent all his armies away, each one to his own place, except the foreign armies, which he hired from the islands of foreign nations, for which reason all the armies of his fathers hated him. “The earth bowed down before him...” - ήσύχασεν ή γή - more precisely slav.: “The earth was still before him...”, cf. to I: 3. – “From the islands of foreign peoples...”, i.e., probably from Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus and other islands of the Mediterranean Sea and the Archipelago. - “The armies of his fathers...”, i.e. Seleucus Philopator and Demetrius I. Livy (epit LII) and Justin (XXXVI, 1, 9) also mention hatred of Demetrius II for “cruelty” (ob crudelitatem) and “carelessness” (propter segnitiam). 1 Mac.11:39 Tryphon, one of Alexander’s former followers, seeing that all the troops were grumbling against Demetrius, went to Emalki the Arabian, who was raising Antiochus, Alexander’s young son; “Tryphon” was actually called Diodotus, and Τρύφων, that is, the libertine, was actually his nickname (see about him in Diodorus, Livy, Strabo and Appion). – “Emalkui the Arabian...”, is called very differently in other monuments: Είμαλκουαί, Ιμαλκουέ, Σινμαλκουή, Σιμαλκουέ, Emalchuel (Vulg.) and Malchus. – This was the Arab ruler to whom Alexander entrusted his son with his upbringing. Diodorus 1. p. No. 20 calls him Diokles, on the contrary - in Nr. 21 – Iamblichus, although the latter may be the son of the former and successor. – Antiochus, son of Alexander, Diodorus (I. c.) notes as τον Επιφανή χρηματίζοντα; on coins it is called 'Επιφανής Διόνυσος. According to Livy - epit. LII, - he was two years old when Tryphon took custody of him, and - according to epit. With. LV - ten years old when he killed him. 1Mac 11:40 and insisted that he should hand him over to him, that he might make him king in his stead; and he told him about everything that Demetrius had done, and about the hostility that his troops had towards him, and he stayed there for many days. “I stayed there for many days...” During these “many days” (“ημέρας πολλάς”) the uprising of the Antiochians against Demetrius, described in verses 41–53, falls, pacified with the help of a Jewish detachment sent from Jonathan. 1 Mac 11:41-43 And Jonathan sent to King Demetrius, so that he would bring out those he had left in the fortress and fortifications of Jerusalem, for they were attacking Israel. Demetrius sent to say to Jonathan: I will not only do this for you and your people, but also honor you and your people with great honor, as soon as I have a favorable time. Now you will do justly if you send me people to help me in the war, for all my troops have deserted me. “You will do justice if you send...”, όρθως ποιήσεις αποσιείλας - a subtle appeal to the request cf XII: 18, 22; John III:6. 1 Mac 11:44-47 And Jonathan sent to him three thousand brave men to Antioch, and they came to the king, and the king rejoiced at their arrival. The citizens, having gathered in the middle of the city up to one hundred and twenty thousand people, wanted to kill the king. But the king fled to the palace, and the citizens occupied all the streets of the city and began to besiege him. Then the king called on the Jews for help, and they all immediately gathered to him, and suddenly they scattered throughout the city, and that day they killed up to a hundred thousand in the city, “And suddenly they scattered throughout the city...”, that is, the rebels of Antioch, but not the Jews, although in both adjacent sentences - the previous and the following - the subject is “Jews”. Such a rapid change of subjects is very common in the Jewish structure of speech (cf. IV: 20). – The Slavic text in this place more accurately expresses the thought of the original: “And you gathered together (πάντες άμα, i.e. Jews) to him: and scattered everything (πάντες άμα, obviously - Antiochians) throughout the city...”. With another understanding of the above expression - πάντες άμα - it would be an inappropriate tautology. The number of those killed (100,000), as well as those who rebelled (120,000), may be significantly exaggerated. 1 Mac 11:48-50 And they set the city on fire, and took much spoil that day, and saved the king. And the citizens saw that the Jews had taken possession of the city as they wanted, and they lost heart, and began to cry out to the king, begging and saying: forgive us, and let the Jews stop attacking us and the city. “Forgive us...”, Greek: δος ημίν δεξιάς, - glory. more precisely: “give us your right hand...” (cf. VI: 58), i.e., “make peace with us.” 1 Mac 11:51 And they laid down their arms and made peace. And the Jews glorified themselves before the king and before everyone in his kingdom and returned to Jerusalem with great spoils. “And they laid down their arms...” - έρριψαν τα ᾿οπλα, - glory. more precisely: “and the destruction of weapons ...” - the subject “Antiochians”. 1 Mac 11:52-54 And King Demetrius sat on the throne of his kingdom, and the earth was calm before him. But he lied in everything he promised, and betrayed Jonathan and did not repay the good done to him and greatly offended him. After this, Tryphon returned and with him Antiochus, still very young; he reigned and put the crown on himself. For the age of Antiochus, see Art. 39. 1 Mac.11:55 And all the troops that Demetrius had disbanded gathered to him and began to fight with him, and he fled and was defeated. According to Josephus Fl., Demetrius fled to Cilicia, according to Libya - (epit. LII) to Seleucia. 1 Mac 11:56 And Tryphon took the elephants and took possession of Antioch. Instead of “elephants”, the original has the actual τα θηρία (glav.: “and Tryphon took the beasts...”). These elephants could have belonged to the Egyptian army, and, after the death of Ptolemy Philometor (18th century), passed into the possession of Demetrius, if only the agreement with the Romans, after the battle of Magnesia, actually preserved the condition - not to use elephants for war (VI: 30). 1 Mac 11:57 And young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying, “I have given you the high priesthood and made you over the four provinces, and you will be among the king’s friends.” “I place you (i.e., governor) over four regions...” We already know about three of these regions from Art. 28 and 34. Regarding the fourth, opinions differ. Some call it Ptolemais, others Akron (X:89), others call Judea itself. 1Mac 11:58 And he sent him golden vessels and utensils, and gave him the right to drink from golden vessels and to wear purple and a gold buckle, “And household utensils...” - καί διακονίαν, glor.: “and service...”, i.e., in other words, cutlery (“service”). 1Mac 11:59-61 And he made Simon his brother commander of the army from the region of Tire to the borders of Egypt. And Jonathan set out on a campaign, and passed on the other side of the river (Jordan) and through the cities, and all the Syrian troops gathered to his aid; and he came to Ascalon, and the inhabitants of the city met him with honor. From there he went to Gaza; but the people of Gaza locked themselves in; and he besieged the city, and burned its suburbs with fire, and laid waste them. “On the other side of the river...” - it could only be Jordan. - “All the Syrian troops gathered to help him...”, that is, those dismissed by Demetrius. This was also the purpose of the campaign - to gather Demetrius’s soldiers scattered throughout the cities of Palestine, in order to use them later against the Philistine cities, which until now had sided with Demetrius II. The inhabitants of Ascalon received Jonathan with honor, as before - X: 86. But the inhabitants of Gaza (present-day Ghuzzeh) locked themselves in and were subdued only by force. 1Mac 11:62-63 And the inhabitants of Gaza begged Jonathan, and he made peace with them, only he took the sons of their leaders hostage and sent them to Jerusalem, and went through the country as far as Damascus. And Jonathan heard that the commanders of Demetrius had come to Cadiz in Galilee with a large army to remove him from the country. "Cadiz", Κάδης (or Κηδες) in Galilee - is an ancient Levitical and free city in the mountains of Naphtali - the current insignificant village of the same name northwest of Lake Galilee (Joshua XII: 22). - Remove him from the country...”, μεταστήσαι αύτον τής χρείας, proper: “remove him from the case,” i.e., the one he started in favor of Antiochus. The expression “from the country” is explained by discrepancies in some texts - χώρας vm. χρείας. 1Mac 11:64-66 But he went to meet them, but left his brother Simon in the country. And Simon pitched his camp at Bethshur, and besieged it for many days, and shut it up. And they asked him for peace, and he agreed, but drove them out of there, and took possession of the city, and placed a guard in it. Before the story of the battle of Jonathan with the military leader Demetrius, the story of the capture of Bethsura by Simon is narrated. This border fortress between Judea and Idumea (see IV:29), from the time of its conquest by Antiochus Eupator (VI:50), remained in the hands of the Syrians, strongly fortified by Demetrius I (IX:52), and only now went back to Judea. 1Mac 11:67 And Jonathan and his army pitched by the waters of Gennesaret, and in the morning they stood in the plain of Nasor. “By the waters of Gennesaret...” That is, by Lake Gennesaret. - “On the Plain of Nasor.” Νασώρ - more correctly Ασώρ - the ancient Canaanite capital, the position of which is now difficult to indicate with accuracy, but probably - on the site of the current ruins of Huzzur or Hasireh - at 2 o'clock. path west of Bint Dschebail (Jos. XI: 1). 1 Mac.11:68-73 And behold, an army of foreigners met him on the plain, leaving an ambush against him in the mountains, while they themselves came to meet him from the opposite side. And those who were in ambush came out of their places and began to fight: then all those who were with Jonathan fled, and not one of them remained except Mattathias the son of Absalom, and Judah the son of Halfhi, the commanders of the military detachments. And Jonathan tore his clothes, and sprinkled earth on his head, and prayed. Then he returned to fight them and defeated them, and they fled. Seeing this, those who had fled from him returned to him and with him pursued them to Cadiz, right up to their camp, and stopped there. The situation, apparently, was like this: Jonathan’s army was so confused by the unexpected attack of the enemies that they wavered and began to run; only Jonathan, along with 2 other military leaders, courageously remained in place, and this had a sobering effect on the others, who all soon recovered from their confusion and, returning, rushed together to the enemy and defeated him. 1Mac 11:74 On that day there fell from the foreigners up to three thousand men; and Jonathan returned to Jerusalem. The pursuit of the enemies continued “until their very camp...” 3 Here, probably, the enemies took refuge behind strong fortifications, and Jonathan, not considering himself strong enough to storm, chose to return to Jerusalem, giving the enemies the opportunity to soon move against him with an even larger army (XII: 24 etc.). The books of Maccabees are translated from Greek because they are not in the Hebrew text.