1.41
So this Antiochus got together fifty thousand footmen, and five thousand
horsemen, and fourscore elephants, and marched through Judea into the mountainous
parts. He then took Bethsura, which was a small city; but at a place called
Bethzacharis, where the passage was narrow, Judas met him with his army.
However, before the forces joined battle, Judas's brother Eleazar, seeing
the very highest of the elephants adorned with a large tower, and with
military trappings of gold to guard him, and supposing that Antiochus himself
was upon him, he ran a great way before his own army, and cutting his way
through the enemy's troops, he got up to the elephant; yet could he not
reach him who seemed to be the king, by reason of his being so high; but
still he ran his weapon into the belly of the beast, and brought him down
upon himself, and was crushed to death, having done no more than attempted
great things, and showed that he preferred glory before life. Now he that
governed the elephant was but a private man; and had he proved to be Antiochus,
Eleazar had performed nothing more by this bold stroke than that it might
appear he chose to die, when he had the bare hope of thereby doing a glorious
action; nay, this disappointment proved an omen to his brother [Judas]
how the entire battle would end. It is true that the Jews fought it out
bravely for a long time, but the king's forces, being superior in number,
and having fortune on their side, obtained the victory. And when a great
many of his men were slain, Judas took the rest with him, and fled to the
toparchy of Gophna. So Antiochus went to Jerusalem, and staid there but
a few days, for he wanted provisions, and so he went his way. He left indeed
a garrison behind him, such as he thought sufficient to keep the place,
but drew the rest of his army off, to take their winter-quarters in Syria.
1.47
Now, after the king was departed, Judas was not idle; for as many
of his own nation came to him, so did he gather those that had escaped
out of the battle together, and gave battle again to Antiochus's generals
at a village called Adasa; and being too hard for his enemies in the battle,
and killing a great number of them, he was at last himself slain also.
Nor was it many days afterward that his brother John had a plot laid against
him by Antiochus's party, and was slain by them.
note
1.48
WHEN Jonathan, who was Judas's brother, succeeded him, he behaved
himself with great circumspection in other respects, with relation to his
own people; and he corroborated his authority by preserving his friendship
with the Romans. He also made a league with Antiochus the son. Yet was
not all this sufficient for his security; for the tyrant Trypho, who was
guardian to Antiochus's son, laid a plot against him; and besides that,
endeavored to take off his friends, and caught Jonathan by a wile, as he
was going to Ptolemais to Antiochus, with a few persons in his company,
and put him in bonds, and then made an expedition against the Jews; but
when he was afterward driven away by Simon, who was Jonathan's brother,
and was enraged at his defeat, he put Jonathan to death.
1.50
However, Simon managed the public affairs after a courageous manner,
and took Gazara, and Joppa, and Jamnia, which were cities in his neighborhood.
He also got the garrison under, and demolished the citadel. He was afterward
an auxiliary to Antiochus, against Trypho, whom he besieged in Dora, before
he went on his expedition against the Medes; yet could not he make the
king ashamed of his ambition, though he had assisted him in killing Trypho;
for it was not long ere Antiochus sent Cendebeus his general with an army
to lay waste Judea, and to subdue Simon; yet he, though he was now in years,
conducted the war as if he were a much younger man. He also sent his sons
with a band of strong men against Antiochus, while he took part of the
army himself with him, and fell upon him from another quarter. He also
laid a great many men in ambush in many places of the mountains, and was
superior in all his attacks upon them; and when he had been conqueror after
so glorious a manner, he was made high priest, and also freed the Jews
from the dominion of the Macedonians, after one hundred and seventy years
of the empire [of Seleucus].
1.54
This Simon also had a plot laid against him, and was slain at a feast
by his son-in-law Ptolemy, who put his wife and two sons into prison, and
sent some persons to kill John, who was also called Hyrcanus. note
But when the young man was informed of their coming beforehand, he made
haste to get to the city, as having a very great confidence in the people
there, both on account of the memory of the glorious actions of his father,
and of the hatred they could not but bear to the injustice of Ptolemy.
Ptolemy also made an attempt to get into the city by another gate; but
was repelled by the people, who had just then admitted of Hyrcanus; so
he retired presently to one of the fortresses that were about Jericho,
which was called Dagon. Now when Hyrcanus had received the high priesthood,
which his father had held before, and had offered sacrifice to God, he
made great haste to attack Ptolemy, that he might afford relief to his
mother and brethren.