FIRST MACCABEES

CHAPTER 15

Antiochus, son of King Demetrius, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Shimon, the koheyn and ethnarch of the Yehudym, and to all the nation, which read as follows:

“King Antiochus sends greetings to Shimon, the Koheyn Gadol and ethnarch, and to the Yehudy nation. Whereas certain villains have gained control of the kingdom of our ancestors, I intend to reclaim it, that I may restore it to its former state. I have recruited a large number of mercenary troops and equipped warships. I intend to make a landing in the country so that I may take revenge on those who have ruined our country and laid waste many cities in my kingdom.

“Now, therefore, I confirm to you all the tax exemptions that the kings before me granted you and whatever other privileges they conceded to you. I authorize you to coin your own money, as legal tender in your country. Yerushalayim and its sanctuary shall be free. All the weapons you have prepared and all the strongholds you have built and now occupy shall remain in your possession. All debts, present or future, due to the royal treasury shall be canceled for you, now and for all time. When we establish our kingdom, we will greatly honor you and your nation and the Temple, so that your esteem will be manifest in all the earth.”

In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year Antiochus invaded the land of his ancestors, and all the troops rallied to him, so that few were left with Trypho. Pursued by Antiochus, Trypho fled to Dor, by the sea, realizing what troubles had come upon him now that his soldiers had deserted him. Antiochus encamped before Dor with a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and eight thousand cavalry. While he surrounded the city, his ships closed from the sea, so that he pressed it hard by land and sea and let no one go in or out.

Meanwhile, Numenius and his companions came from Rome with letters containing this message to various kings and countries: “Lucius, Consul of the Romans, sends greetings to King Ptolemy. Ambassadors of the Yehudym, our friends and allies, have come to us to renew their earlier friendship and alliance. They had been sent by Shimon the Koheyn Gadol and the Yehudy people, and they brought with them a gold shield of a thousand minas. Therefore we have decided to write to various kings and countries, that they are not to venture to harm them, or wage war against them or their cities or their country, and are not to assist those who fight against them. We have also decided to accept the shield from them. If, then, any troublemakers from their country take refuge with you, hand them over to Shimon the Koheyn Gadol, so that he may punish them according to their law.”

The consul sent identical letters to Kings Demetrius, Attalus, Ariarthes and Arsaces; to all the countries—Sampsames, the Spartans, Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene. A copy of the letter was also sent to Shimon the Koheyn Gadol.

When King Antiochus encamped before Dor, he assaulted it continuously both with troops and with the siege engines he had made. He blockaded Trypho by preventing anyone from going in or out. Shimon sent to Antiochus’ support two thousand elite troops, together with silver and gold and much equipment. But he refused to accept the aid; in fact, he broke all the agreements he had previously made with Shimon and became hostile toward him.

He sent Athenobius, one of his friends, to confer with Shimon and say: “You are occupying Yapha and Gazara and the citadel of Yerushalayim; these are cities of my kingdom. You have laid waste their territories, done great harm to the land, and taken possession of many districts in my kingdom. Now, therefore, give up the cities you have seized and the tribute money of the districts you control outside the territory of Yehudah; or instead, pay me five hundred talents of silver for the devastation you have caused and five hundred talents more for the tribute money of the cities. If you do not do this, we will come and make war on you.”

So Athenobius, the king’s Friend, came to Yerushalayim and on seeing the splendor of Shimon’s court, the gold and silver plate on the sideboard, and his rich display, he was amazed. When he gave him the king’s message, Shimon said to him in reply: “It is not foreign land we have taken nor have we seized the property of others, but only our ancestral heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies. Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the heritage of our ancestors. As for Yapha and Gazara, which you demand, those cities were doing great harm to our people and our country. For these we will give you a hundred talents.” Athenobius made no reply, but returned to the king in anger. When he told him of Shimon’s words, of his splendor, and of all he had seen, the king fell into a violent rage.

Trypho had boarded a ship and escaped to Orthosia. Then the king appointed Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the seacoast, and gave him infantry and cavalry forces. He ordered him to encamp against Yehudah and to fortify Qidron and strengthen its gates, so that he could wage war on the people. Meanwhile the king went in pursuit of Trypho. When Cendebeus came to Yamnia, he began to harass the people and to make incursions into Yehudah, where he took people captive and massacred them. As the king ordered, he fortified Qidron and stationed cavalry and infantry there, so that they could go out and patrol the roads of Yehudah.