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And king Antiochus was journeying through the upper countries; and he heard say, that in Elymais in Persia there was a city renowned for riches, for silver and gold; and that the temple which was in it was rich exceedingly, and that therein were golden shields, and breastplates, and arms, which Alexander, son of Philip, the Macedonian king, who reigned first among the Greeks, left behind there. And he came and sought to take the city, and to pillage it; and he was not able, because the thing was known to them of the city, and they rose up against him to battle: and he fled, and removed thence with great heaviness, to return unto Babylon.

And there came one bringing him tidings into Persia, that the armies, which went against the land of Judah, had been put to flight; and that Lysias went first with a strong host, and was put to shame before them; and that they had waxed strong by reason of arms and power, and with store of spoils, which they took from the armies that they had cut off; and that they had pulled down the abomination which he had built upon the altar that was in Jerusalem; and that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high walls, as before, and Bethsura, his city.

And it came to pass, when the king heard these words, he was astonished and moved exceedingly: and he laid him down upon his bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not befallen him as he looked for. And he was there many days, because great grief was renewed upon him, and he made account that he should die. And he called for all his Friends, and said unto them,

'Sleep departeth from mine eyes, and my heart faileth for care. And I said in my heart, Unto what tribulation am I come, and how great a flood is it, wherein I now am! for I was gracious and beloved in my power. But now

I remember the evils which I did at Jerusalem, and that I took all the vessels of silver and gold that were therein, and sent forth to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without a cause. I perceive that on this account these evils are come upon me, and, behold, I perish through great grief in a strange land.'

And he called for Philip, one of his Friends, and set him over all his kingdom, and gave him his diadem, and his robe, and his signet-ring, to the end he should bring

A SOLDIER'S DEATH

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Antiochus his son, and nourish him up that he might be king. And king Antiochus died there in the hundred and forty and ninth year. And Lysias knew that the king was dead, and he set up Antiochus his son to reign, whom he had nourished up being young, and he called his name Eupator.

§ 2. The encounter at Bethzacharias.—At this juncture, some fugitives from the citadel of Jerusalem together with members of the Hellenistic party among the Jews, who were now being persecuted in their turn by the Maccabeans and their adherents, came to Antioch and implored help. Lysias with the young king entered Judæa from the south, besieged Bethsura, and engaged in battle with the forces of Judas at Bethzacharias. Here for the first time the men of Judas were forced to give way, and the Syrians immediately advanced to the siege of Jerusalem and the fortified temple hill.

At this battle of Bethzacharias, Eleazar, the brother of Judas, sought and found a soldier's death. The Syrian army included, according to our authority, thirty-two elephants 'trained for war.

And Eleazar, who was called Avaran, saw one of the beasts armed with royal breastplates, and he was higher than all the beasts, and the king seemed to be upon him; and he gave himself to deliver his people, and to get him an everlasting name; and he ran upon him courageously into the midst of the phalanx, and slew on the right hand and on the left, and they parted asunder from him on this side and on that. And he crept under the elephant, and thrust him from beneath, and slew him; and the elephant fell to the earth upon him, and he died there.

The Jews and their Maccabean leaders were now in the extremity of peril. Bethsura fell; there was famine in Jerusalem. The end seemed certain, when the divisions of the enemy brought deliverance. Philip sought to obtain the power which Antiochus Epiphanes had assigned to him. He marched against Antioch. To forestall and prevent him, it was necessary for Lysias to raise the siege of Jerusalem, and come to terms with the Jews. These terms were that they should walk after their own laws as aforetime,' i.e. the free exercise of the Jewish religion was again permitted. The offer was accepted by the Jews.

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And the king and the princes sware unto them: thereupon they came forth from the stronghold. And the king

entered into mount Sion; and he saw the strength of the place, and set at nought the oath which he had sworn, and gave commandment to pull down the wall round about. And he removed in haste, and returned unto Antioch, and found Philip master of the city; and he fought against him, and took the city by force.

The date for these events is 163 B.C.

§ 3. Alcimus and the Hasidarns.-The main object for which the martyrs had bled and the first battles been waged was now secured. The aim of the ensuing struggles was very different. The legal existence of the Jewish religion was no longer imperilled; the question was which party among the Jews themselves, the nationalists or the Hellenists, should have the mastery. But even the Hellenists did not aim at any violent subversion or prohibition of the ancient worship.

Both Antiochus V and Lysias soon disappeared from the scene. Demetrius, the brother of Antiochus IV, escaped from Rome, landed in Phoenicia, and obtained a following and soon after the kingship. Antiochus V and Lysias were put to death. Senate of Rome after some hesitation acknowledged Demetrius.

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The Hellenistic party among the Jews, whose leader was now a certain Alcimus, an Aaronite, approached the new ruler Demetrius with complaints of the persecutions and oppressions which they and the other loyal subjects of the king were suffering from the hands of Judas and his people.

And Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom. And there came unto him all the lawless and ungodly men of Israel; and Alcimus was their leader, desiring to be high priest; and they accused the people to the king, saying,

'Judas and his brethren have destroyed all thy friends, and have scattered us from our own land. Now therefore send a man whom thou trustest, and let him go and see all the havock which he hath made of us, and of the king's country, and how he hath punished them and all that helped them.'

And the king chose Bacchides, one of the king's Friends, who was ruler in the country beyond the river, and was a great man in the kingdom, and faithful to the king. And he sent him, and that ungodly Alcimus, and made sure to him the high priesthood, and he commanded him to take vengeance upon the children of Israel.

ALCIMUS AND BACCHIDES

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The Maccabeans and the Chasidim now began to show their different points of view. Alcimus was an Aaronite, and the Chasidim did not venture to oppose him; they were no politicians, and merely desired the free exercise of their religion. Maccabeans were more wary.

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And they removed, and came with a great host into the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and his brethren with words of peace deceitfully. And they gave no heed to their words; for they saw that they were come with a great host. And there were gathered together unto Alcimus and Bacchides a company of scribes, to seek for justice.

And the Hasidæans were the first among the children of Israel that sought peace of them; for they said, 'One that is a priest of the seed of Aaron is come with the forces, and he will do us no wrong.' And he spake with them words of peace, and sware unto them, saying, ' We will seek the hurt neither of you nor your friends.' And they gave him credence: and he laid hands on threescore men of them, and slew them in one day, according to the word which [the psalmist] wrote, "The flesh of thy saints [did they cast out], and their blood did they shed round about Jerusalem; and there was no man to bury them.'

And the fear and the dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, 'There is neither truth nor judgement in them; for they have broken the covenant and the oath which they sware.'

And Bacchides removed from Jerusalem, and encamped in Bezeth; and he sent and took many of the deserters that were with him, and certain of the people, and he slew them, and cast them into the great pit. And he made sure the country to Alcimus, and left with him a force to aid him; and Bacchides went away unto the king.

Who were these 'scribes'? Do they belong to the Chasidim? The question is difficult. Note the quotation from a Psalm which itself is possibly Maccabean. The Greek has merely 'which he wrote,' i. e. the sacred writer. The Psalm is already Scripture.

§ 4. The battle of Adasa, 161 B. C.-The two Jewish parties were thus left to fight it out among themselves. The next series of events is thus described.

And Alcimus strove for his high priesthood. And there were gathered unto him all they that troubled their people, and they got the mastery of the land of Judah, and did great hurt in Israel. And Judas saw all the mischief that Alcimus and his company had done among the children of Israel, even above the Gentiles, and he went out into all the coasts of Judæa round about, and took vengeance on the men that had deserted from him, and they were restrained from going forth into the country. But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his company waxed strong, and knew that he was not able to withstand them, he returned to the king, and brought evil accusations against them.

And the king sent Nicanor, one of his honourable princes, a man that hated Israel and was their enemy, and commanded him to destroy the people. And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great host; and he sent unto Judas and his brethren deceitfully with words of peace, saying, 'Let there be no battle between me and you; I will come with a few men, that I may see your faces in peace.' And he came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably. And the enemies were ready to take away Judas by violence. And the thing was known to Judas, to wit, that he came unto him with deceit, and he was sore afraid of him, and would see his face no more. And Nicanor knew that his counsel was discovered; and he went out to meet Judas in battle beside Capharsalama; and there fell of Nicanor's side about five hundred men, and they fled into the city of David.

And after these things Nicanor went up to mount Sion: and there came some of the priests out of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of the people, to salute him peaceably, and to shew him the whole burnt sacrifice that was being offered for the king. And he mocked them, and laughed at them, and entreated them shamefully, and spake haughtily, and sware in a rage, saying, 'Unless Judas and his army be now delivered into my hands, it shall be that, if I come again in peace, I will burn up this house:' and he went out in a great rage.

And the priests entered in, and stood before the altar and the temple; and they wept, and said, "Thou didst choose this house to be called by thy name, to be a house of prayer and supplication for thy people: take vengeance

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