fecurity, whofe property therefore they were; that a confiderable fum had been likewife laid up there by Hyrcan the son of Jofeph, a man of great dignity; and that he, being the guardian of this wealth, could never give his confent, that it fhould be alienated from the right owners, to the difgrace of his dignity, and of that facred place, which was reverenced by all the world: but this remonstrance, not being fufficient to outweigh the positive orders which Heliodorus had received from the king, he marched directly towards the temple; the high-priest and the rest of the minifters of the place in vain endeavouring to obstruct his paffage. Whilft the whole city was in the utmost confufion, the gates of the place were ordered to be broken down, and the Syrians were juft going to enter, Is punished when God fmote them with fuch a panic, that they fell by God. down half-dead (L). Endeavours to force the temple. When the traitor Simon found, that he had miffed his aim, he endeavoured to throw all the blame upon the good high-prieft, pretending that he was the perfon who had called Heliodorus to Jerufalem; and raifed fuch a party against him, that feveral perfons were killed on both fides. Onias goes At length Onias, fearing the confequences of fuch an into complain teftine faction, especially seeing his rival in high favour to the king with Apollonius the governor, went to complain to the king at Antioch. He was well received; and Simon was (L) Heliodorus among the reft, who faw a vision of a man on horfeback sumptuoufly dreff ed, who flew upon him with the utmost speed and fury, and crushed him under his horfe's feet, was forthwith carried out almost dead by his men, and continued fome days in that condition. At length Onias, fearing left this wonderful accident fhould bring the Jews under the fufpicion of having made fome unlawful attempt against the Syrian minifter, went to the temple, and offered fome facrifices for his recovery; which being obtained, he immediately left Jerufalem, and went to acquaint the king with what had happened to him. Seleucus however, whether he suspected the truth of his relation, or was refolved at any price to get the Jewish treafure, asked him further, whether he knew any man that › was fit to be sent upon that expedition? Heliodorus answered, that if the king had any enemy that he would be glad to get rid of, he need but fend him to rifle that facred place, and he would fee him come back in fuch a condition, as would convince him, that it was under the protection of fome divine and irresistible power. This whole ftory we must take on the authority of the book of Maccabees. banished; banifhed ; but Seleucus, dying foon after, was fucceed ed by his fon Antiochus, furnamed Epiphanes, who foon made his fubjects repent of the joy they had expreffed at his acceffion to the crown. The Jews were not long before they felt the dreadful effects of his fury, more through the ambition of fome, and the factions and feuds which reigned then in that unhappy ftate, than the cruel temper of this new monarch. He was fcarce fettled on his throne, before Jafon (M), the brother of Onias the high-prieft, taking advantage of the king's penury, his treasury being quite exhausted by the large tribute his predeceffors had paid to the Romans, went to Antioch, and procured from him the high-priesthood, at the price of three hundred and fifty talents; and obtained an order, that his brother should be sent to, and confined to dwell at that metropolis. Gains a Jafon, finding how welcome this money was to the young monarch, and being defirous to leffen, as much as poflible, the antipathy which other nations had against that of the Jews, offered him another fum of one hundred and fifty talents, for the liberty of erecting at Jerusalem a gymnafium or place of public exercifes, fuch as were prac- Builds a tifed in Greece; an academy for training up the youth gymnasium after the Grecian manner; and for the liberty of making lem at Jerufa fuch Jews as he thought fit, free of the city of Antioch: all which indulgences were readily granted. He then fet out for Jerufalem, and with thefe powers formed fo Arong par ftrong a party in Judæa, as he thought would easily over- ty there. bear that of his rival Onias, which was ftill very strong, especially in Jerufalem. Among thofe that joined this intruder, were the malcontent fons of Jofeph, lately mentioned, and a number of others, who, through a wanton inconftancy, were become exceffively fond of the Grecian customs, and as weary of their own. The freedom of the city of Antioch, a very valuable privilege, was another bait, which drew ftill greater numbers over to him. Causes a general a postasy. Sends prefents to facrifice to Hercules. His recep tion of Antiochus. Supplant ed by his brother. Menelaus buys the high-prieft. From this time a general apoftasy from the Jewish religion overfpread the greatest part of the nation: the academies were erected by the ufurping high-priest; and as fome of these exercises were to be performed naked, the performers found means to efface the fcar of circumcifion, to prevent their being distinguished from other people. The priests, as well as the laity, from thenceforward neglected the fervice of the temple, to affift at these new exercises; and the laws, which the Jewish nation had obtained for the free exercise of their religion and rights, became of none effect. As Jafon ftuck at nothing that could ingratiate himself with Antiochus, he fent next year a number of his partizans, on whom he had bestowed the freedom of Antioch, to affift at the Olympic games, with a confiderable fum to be spent in facrifices to the Tyrian Hercules, in whose ho nour thofe games were celebrated; but these men, whether out of confcience, or fear, chofe rather to make a present of it to the Tyrians towards the repairing of their fleet. Antiochus by this time understanding that the young king of Egypt, now of age, defigned to attempt the recovery of Palestine, Phoenice, and Coelefyria, made a tour into thefe provinces, and took Jerufalem in his way, where Jafon received him with a magnificence fuitable to the value he put upon that monarch's favour and friendship. He did not however enjoy his ill-gotten dignity long, before he was thrust out of it by his brother Menelaus (N), whom he had fent to Antiochus with the ufual tribute. Menelaus, inftead of confulting the king about those matters which his brother had charged him with, took that opportunity to infinuate himself into his favour, by the moft flagrant flatteries; to which having added the fum of three hundred talents more than Jason had paid for the high-priesthood, he eafily obtained it, and returned with his new commiffion to Jerufalem, in the third year of Jafon's pontificate. He foon raised a strong party, at the head of which were the fons of Tobias, then very powerful in Judæa; but Jason was not without his powerful friends, who, detefting Menelaus's treachery, foon forced Ante Chr. him to retire, with the heads of his faction, into Antioch. Thither, the better to gain their point against Jason, they hood. Yr. of Fl. 2176. 172. (N) This apoftate's right name was Onias, which he changed for that of Menelaus, in imitation of his brother, and in complaifance to the Greeks. went, Apofia went, and acquainted Antiochus, that they were fully re- to Antiocha But whilst he was endeavouring, by all wicked means, to ingratiate himself with Antiochus and his court, he neglected one main article, the paying of the money he had promised to him, notwithstanding the preffing importunities of Softratus, then governor of the citadel of Jerufalem, and receiver of the king's cuftoms in Palestine. At length Menelaus Antiochus, fufpecting fome private intelligence between fummoned them, ordered them both to come to Antioch, commanding Menelaus to leave his brother Lyfimachus his vicegerent at Jerufalem. At their arrival, they found the king had been forced to go and quell a fedition in Cilicia; and had left the government of Antioch to Andronicus, one of the prime nobles of his court. Menelaus having ex- Rifles the haufted his coffers, and finding that nothing but the pay- temple of ment of the king's money could recover his favour, fent Jerufalem. private instructions to his brother at Jerufalem, to convey to him as many of the golden veffels as he could conveniently strip the temple of; which having received foon after, and caused to be fold at Tyre, and in the neighbouring cities, he raised a fufficient fum, not only to fatisfy the king, but also to bribe his courtiers in his favour. All this however could not be tranfacted fo fecretly, but Onias his brother Onias, who had been, ever fince his depofi- complains tion, confined to that capital, had intelligence of his fa- against him. crilege. He made fuch bitter complaints against Menelaus, as were like to have raised all the Antiochian Jews against him. He was therefore obliged to have recourfe to Andronicus, whom he had already bribed by his prefents; and, for a fresh sum of money, engaged him to cut off the good old high-prieft, who being by this time apprised of his intrigues, had taken fanctuary at Daphne, an afylum near the city of Antioch. Andronicus went thi ther, and, under fome pretence or other, accompanied with the most folemn vows and proteftations for his fafety, had no fooner got him out of the place, than he put him Onias mur to death, without regard either to his oaths, the fanctity of the place, or the laws of hofpitality. dered. f Maccab, ubi fupra, & Jofeph. ubi fupra. This put to death. This treacherous murder of a perfon fo venerable for his age and exemplary piety, and so respected in that me tropolis, both by Jews and Gentiles, excited the bitterest complaints against the facrilegious affaffin, as foon as the king was returned to Antioch; and that prince, bad as he was, could not forbear fhedding tears at the relation of the inhuman deed. As foon therefore as he had taken full cognizance of the fact, he caufed the murderer to beftripped of his purple, to be conducted with infamy to the place where the crime had been committed, and there Andronicus to be put to death. Menelaus, though the most guilty of the two, found means to avoid the prefent ftorm, and to maintain his credit fome time longer; but he was obliged to draw large fums from Jerufalem, which Lyfimachus was forced to raise by the most unheard-of violences and facrileges. These excited a tumult, in which the Jews fell upon him, and the three thoufand men he had affembled to defend him, with such desperate fury, that they killed Lyfimachus a great number of them, and put the reft to flight. Lyfimajacred. machus, no longer able to refift, was purfued to the treafury of the temple, and there maffacred by the enraged multitude. Antiochus coming foon after to Tyre, the Jewish fanhedrim refolved to fend a deputation to him, both to juftify the death of Lyfimachus, and to accufe Menelaus as the author and caufe of all the troubles that had happened both in Judæa and Antioch. The three deputies pleaded their caufe fo well before the king, that Menelaus, not knowing which way to clear himself, and avoid the impending punishment, had recourfe to his old Yr. of Fl. fecret of bribery. He applied himself to a favourite of Antiochus, named Ptolemy Macron, the fon of Dorymenes, and promised him fo large a fum, that the courtier, who knew the inconftancy of that monarch's temper, eafily prevailed upon him, not only to abfolve the apoftate high-prieft, but also to condemn the three Jewish deputies The deputies to death. This fentence was forthwith put in execution, put to death. and thofe venerable men were hurried to death, who, as the author of the Maccabees expreffes it, would have gained their caufe, had they pleaded it before even the Scythians; and indeed this piece of cruelty and injuftice was fo fhocking to the Tyrians, that though they dared not openly exclaim against it, yet they ventured to fhew their refpect to thofe deputies, by bestowing an honourable burial upon them o. Deputies fent from the fanhe drim to Anaiochus. 2178. Ante Chr. 170. 2 Maccab. iv. 44, & feq. |