2182. 166. had ended the days of his father's mourning. His little army amounted to no more than fix thousand men; but Yr. of FL, what they wanted in number, they made up in zeal and bravery. God gave them fuch fuccefs, that they quickly Ante Chr. reduced fome of the strongest fortreffes of Judæa, falling upon their enemies fo fuddenly, and with fuch courage, His brathat they drove them out of their cities, villages, and ad- very and vantageous pofts; infomuch that Judas's name began to fuccefs. grow terrible to the Syrians, Samaritans, and apostate Jews; whilft thofe who had forfaken their country, to avoid perfecution, were encouraged to resort daily to him from their retreats. His troops increased to fuch a degree as to make Apollonius, the then governor of Judæa and Samaria, think it high time to fupprefs their rifing power, before it fhould be grown to a greater height. He haftened therefore to raise a confiderable army, which chiefly confifted of Samaritans, Jewish renegadoes, and other neighbouring nations, with whom he marched against the Maccabean chief. Judas, on the other hand, Defeats the no ways terrified with the fuperiority of the enemy, Syrians. came out against him with his handful of men, and gave him a total defeat. Apollonius was killed on the fpot, Apollonius with a great number of his foldiers. The reft were put flain. to the rout, leaving a rich plunder behind them. Among the reft of the spoil, Judas took the flain governor's sword, and used it ever after, in thofe wars which he waged against the enemies of the Jewish nation 2. This defeat fo enraged Antiochus, that he again de- Antiochus's nounced the total extirpation of the Jews; and happy rage awas it for them that his treasury was then fo exhaufted gainst the Jews. by his extravagant largeffes, that he was forced to fupprefs his refentment, till he could raife a fufficient fupply of money to renew the war against them: but before he could accomplish this aim, another of his generals received likewife a fignal overthrow. This was Seron, Seron de. deputy-governor of Cœlefyria", under Ptolemy Macron, feated, who took it into his head to march against Judas, in hopes, that if he could defeat that little army of his, before the king fent more forces thither, he should gain no fmall glory by the exploit. He advanced therefore as far as Bethoron, where Judas met him with a handful of troops Thefe, feeing the fuperiority of the enemy, expreffed great reluctancy to engage, fatigued as they were with marching and fasting (Z); but Judas foon difpelled their fears, by reminding them that they fought the cause of God, who was not wont to fave by ftrength and number, and whofe glory, now concerned in their fuccefs, would difplay itself the more, by the disproportion there was between their two armies. Thus encouraged, they fell upon the Syrians with fuch vigour, that Seron was and killed. overthrown and killed, with eight hundred of his men, on the spot. Some of the reft fled as far as Bethoron, and the greatest part faved themselves by taking refuge in the land of the Philiftines . Thefe continued fucceffes of the new Jewish general made Philip, governor of Judæa, think it high time to acquaint Antiochus with the danger that province was in of being loft, if not speedily relieved. Antiochus had been obliged to leave the government to Lyfias, whilst he himself was gone beyond the Euphrates. Lyfias, who had orders to invade Judæa, and to deftroy all the Jews, dispatched immediately to Ptolemy Macron, governor of Coelefyria and Phoenicia, and to Nicanor, and Georgias, two experienced officers, forty thoufand foot, with orders to fee the king's commands punctually obeyed against the Jewish nation. Thefe came and encamped on the plains of Emmaus, not far from Jerufalem, about twenty miles from Lydda, where they were reinforced with feven thousand horse. Nicanor and Geor gias fent against Judas. Judas's Speech to his troops. Judas immediately affembled his little army, confifting only of fix thoufand men, whom he encouraged by recapitulating his late victories, and reminding them that their religion, lives and liberties were at ftake. Then he made proclamation, according to the Mofaic law, that all who had married wives, planted vineyards, or felt their hearts fail, fhould depart; and near one half of his army left him on this occafion. The reft, who remained inb Maccab. iii. 14, & feq. (Z) Bethoron was, according to St. Jerom and Eufebius, about twelve thousand paces from Jerufalem; but, according to Jofephus, one hundred ftadia. It was fituate northward of Jerufalem, and between that metropolis and Sechem. trepid, trepid, were scarcely furnished with weapons fit for fo bold and unequal an enterprize; nevertheless, he led Leads them his three thousand men to Mizpah, there to implore the to Mizpah. divine affiftance, by prayer, fafting, and facrifices; in confidence of which, he marched with them against the enemy, and encamped as near them as he fafely could, refolved to offer them battle early the next morning, of which intention he gave his troops notice that very night. In the mean time intelligence was brought him, by fome of his fcouts, that Georgias was coming at the head of five thousand of his choiceft men, and one thousand horse, to surprise him in his camp; an information which gave him fuch an opportunity of countermining the enemy, as gained him a complete and eafy victory; for, taking the advantage of Georgias's abfence, he and his three thoufand men fell on a fudden on the Syrian army, killed Defeats three thousand of their men, and put the rest into fuch Nicanor. confufion, that they could not be rallied again by any means, but left their camp and all their baggage and spoil behind them, and fled. Georgias, having in vain sought for his enemy, whom he fuppofed to have retired into the mountains, was returning back to his army, when he perceived his camp on fire; a circumftance which threw his Burns men into fuch a panic, that, in spite of all he could do to Georgias's prevent it, they threw down their arms, and ran after the camp; reft. Judas did not leave off pursuing them till he had killed fix thousand more of their men; after which flaughter, he led his victorious troops to plunder the enemy's camp, where, among other rich spoil, they found gets an im that money which the greedy merchants had brought to menfe fpoil, buy the Jewish captives. This fignal victory was gained on the Friday; and next day being their fabbath, was celebrated with suitable returns to the Divine Providence for their miraculous deliverance *. This action proved doubly advantageous to the conqueror. It furnished him with quantities of arms and and good ammunition for his men; and his fame drew daily fresh supply of reinforcements from all parts of Judæa, whom his fuc- arms, &. cefs encouraged to repair to him from all the places of their difperfion; so that he found himself soon in a condition to attempt another action, which proved no lefs glorious and fuccefsful than the laft. Timotheus, governor of the country beyond Jordan, and Bacchides, an e c Vide Deut. xx. 5. d1 Maccab. iii. 57, & feq. * Jofeph. ubi fupra. 2 Maccab. viii, 24, & feq. other Defeats and Bac- Divides the spoil. other experienced officer of the Syrian army, had joined their forces, and were advancing against him, with a defign to retrieve their late defeat; but Judas was, by this time, fo well reinforced, that he met and overthrew them in a fet battle, killed twenty thousand of their men, enriched himself with their fpoil, got a new supply of provifions for his men, and took prefently after feveral ftrong fortreffes from the difheartened Syrians, which he garrifoned with some of his troops, and deposited in them the arms which they had taken from the enemy. In the diftribution of all the fpoil, Judas's generofity outwent what was even prescribed by the Mofaic law, which entitled none to share it with the combatants, but those who were left to take care of the baggage f; but he caused a confiderable part to be divided among his indigent brethren, fo that the old, decrepit, the fick and lame, the widows and the fatherlefs, were made partakers of the fruits of his victories. In this battle was killed one of Timotheus's chief officers, named Philarchus, who had been a bitter enemy to the Jews. Whilft they were making their rejoicings for their fuccefs, news was brought that Callifthenes Callifthenes, the man who at first fet fire to the gates of the temple, had concealed himself in a little house not far from them; upon which Judas dispatched a detachment, who went and fet it on fire, and burnt him in it, as a just retaliation for his facrilege. As for Nicanor, he faved indeed his life, but loft his honour, being forced to retreat to Antioch, in the disguise of a fervant, and there excufe his late difgrace, by owning that the Jews, when under the protection of their God, were invincible". burnt. Nicanor's Shameful flight. When Lyfias heard the news of the total defeat of the army he had fent into Judæa, he made all the hafte he could to put himself at the head of fixty thousand foot, and five thousand horfe, all of the choiceft troops he could affemble. Entering Judæa with them, through the territories of Idumæa, he was met at Bethsura (A) by the f Vide Numb. xxxi. 25, & feq. 1 Sam. xxx. 24. € 2 Maccab. viii. 30. hr Maccab. & Jofeph. Antiq. lib. xii. cap. 11. (A) This was a very important fortrefs about that time. It was in the tribe of Judah, and had formerly been fortified by king Rehoboam, it being one of the keys of Judæa, on the fouth fide of Idumæa. The fecond book of the Mac cabees places it five furlongs diftance from Jerufalem; but this must be a mistake, either of the tranflator or transcriber, it being, according to Eufebius, full twenty miles from it, on the road to Hebron. Macca 2183. Ante Chr. 165. Lyfias de Maccabitish general, at the head of only ten thousand Yr. of Fl. men. The two armies engaged; and Judas, though so much inferior to the Syrians, fell upon them with fuch courage, that he immediately killed five thousand of them on the fpot, and routed the reft; and Lyfias, obferving that the Jews fought like men determined either feated in to conquer or die, would not venture a fecond engage- Judæa. ment with the remainder of his army; but returned to Antioch, with a defign to bring a much greater force against them in the courfe of the following year. But all this while the fanctuary continued polluted with abominable idols, the temple garrifoned by idolaters, and the city a heap of ruins. As foon therefore as the enemy was gone out of the province, Judas marched with his army to the metropolis, fully purposed to recover and purify it. Upon their coming to Mount Sion, and fee- Judas puing the defolation in which it lay, the houses, palaces, and rifies the gates of the temple burnt down, the courts of the fanc- city and temple. tuary over-run with fhrubs and briars, the priestly apartments demolished, the altar and holy places profaned, Their and stripped of all their ancient fplendor, they rent their ruinous cloaths, covered their heads with duft, and filled the condition. air with cries, and other tokens of unfpeakable forrow. As foon as Judas observed these first emotions a little affuaged, he pofted fome of his braveft troops to guard all the avenues of the city from furprize, and then appointed fuch of the priestly order as had beft fignalized themselves for their zeal and fanctity, to enter into the temple, and fee it thoroughly cleanfed of all its profane lumber, whilft the reft of the people were bufy in clearing the ftreets and places of all their rubbish. Whatever old materials they found, that had undergone any defilement, they broke to pieces, carried them out of the city, and buried them in fome common place, efpecially the altar of burnt-offerings, which had been fo notoriously profaned, that no part of it was fit for ufe; it was therefore demolished, and another of unhewn ftones fubftituted in its place. There were ftill many Yr. of Fl. things wanting before the divine fervice could be refumed; the altar of perfumes, the table of fhewbread, the feven-branch candlestick, cenfers, and other facred utenfils, all of the pureft gold, had been carried off, as well as the rich veil, which covered the holy of holies; all these therefore the Jewish chief caufed to be made 2183. Ante Chr. 165. The altars, holy place, and worship reftored. |