1 Maccabees: "If Our Time Has Come, Let's Die in a Manly Way": Nicanor, Rome, and the Death of Judas (7:1–9:22)

In the one hundred fifty first year, Demetrius the son of Seleucus came out of Rome, and went up with a few men to a city by the sea, and reigned there. It came to pass, when he would go into the house of the kingdom of his fathers, that the army laid hands on Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them to him. The thing became known to him, and he said, “Don’t show me their faces!” So the army killed them. Then Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.

All the lawless and ungodly men of Israel came to him. Alcimus was their leader, desiring to be high priest. They accused the people to the king, saying, “Judas and his kindred have destroyed all your friends, and have scattered us from our own land. Now therefore send a man whom you trust, and let him go and see all the destruction which he has brought on us and the king’s country, and how he has punished them and all who helped them.” So 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. He sent him and that ungodly Alcimus, whom he made the high priest; and he commanded him to take vengeance upon the children of Israel.

They marched away and came with a great army into the land of Judah. He sent messengers to Judas and his kindred with words of peace deceitfully. They paid no attention to their words; for they saw that they had come with a great army. A group of scribes gathered together to Alcimus and Bacchides to seek just terms. The Hasidaeans were the first among the children of Israel who sought peace from them, for they said, “One who is a priest of the seed of Aaron has come with the army, and he will do us no wrong.” He spoke with them words of peace, and swore to them, saying, “We won’t seek to harm you or your friends.” They trusted him. Then he seized sixty men of them, and killed them in one day, according to the word which was written,

The fear and the dread of them fell upon all the people, for they said, “There is neither truth nor justice in them; for they have broken the covenant and the oath which they swore.” Bacchides withdrew from Jerusalem, and encamped in Bezeth. He sent and seized many of the deserters who were with him, and some of the people, and he killed them, throwing them into a large pit. He placed Alcimus in charge of the country and left with him a force to aid him. Then Bacchides went away to the king.

Alcimus struggled to maintain his high priesthood. All those who troubled their people joined him, and they took control of the land of Judah, and did great damage in Israel. Judas saw all the wrongs that Alcimus and his company had done among the children of Israel, even more than the Gentiles. He went out into all the borders of Judea and took vengeance on the men who had deserted from him, and they were restrained from going out into the country. But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his company had grown strong, and knew that he was not able to withstand them, he returned to the king, and brought evil accusations against them.

Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honorable princes, a man who hated Israel and was their enemy, and commanded him to destroy the people. Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army. He sent to Judas and his kindred 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.” He came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably. The enemies were ready to seize Judas by violence. This was known to Judas, that he came to him with deceit, and he was very afraid of him, and would see his face no more. Nicanor found out that his plan was disclosed; and he went out to meet Judas in battle beside Capharsalama. About five hundred men of Nicanor’s army fell, and the rest fled into the city of David.

After these things, Nicanor went up to mount Zion. Some of the priests came out of the sanctuary, with some of the elders of the people, to salute him peaceably, and to show him the whole burned sacrifice that was being offered for the king. He mocked them, laughed at them, derided them shamefully, spoke arrogantly, and swore in a rage, saying, “Unless Judas and his army are now delivered into my hands, it shall be that, if I return safely, I will burn up this house!” And he went out in a great rage. The priests entered in, and stood before the altar and the temple; and they wept, and said, “You chose this house to be called by your name, to be a house of prayer and supplication for your people. Take vengeance on this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword. Remember their blasphemies, and don’t allow them to live any longer.”

Then Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped in Bethhoron, and there the Syrian army met him. Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men. Judas prayed and said, “When those who came from the king blasphemed, your angel went out, and struck among them one hundred eighty-five thousand. Even so, crush this army before us today, and let all the rest know that he has spoken wickedly against your sanctuary. Judge him according to his wickedness.” On the thirteenth day of the month Adar, the armies met in battle. Nicanor’s army was defeated, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle. Now when his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw away their weapons and fled. They pursued them a day’s journey from Adasa until you come to Gazara, and they sounded an alarm after them with the signal trumpets. Men came out of all the surrounding villages of Judea, and outflanked them. These turned them back on those, and they all fell by the sword. There wasn’t one of them left. The Jews took the spoils and the booty, and they cut off Nicanor’s head and his right hand, which he had stretched out so arrogantly, and brought them, and hung them up beside Jerusalem. The people were exceedingly glad, and they kept that day as a day of great gladness. They ordained to keep this day year by year on the thirteenth day of Adar. So the land of Judah had rest a few days.

Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they are valiant men, and have pleasure in all who join themselves to them, and make friends with all who come to them, and that they are valiant men. They told him of their wars and exploits which they do among the Gauls, and how they conquered them, and forced them to pay tribute; and what things they did in the land of Spain, that they might take control of the silver and gold mines which were there; and how by their policy and persistence they conquered all the place (and the place was exceedingly far from them), and the kings who came against them from the uttermost part of the earth, until they had defeated them, and struck them severely; and how the rest give them tribute year by year. Philip, and Perseus, king of Chittim, and those who lifted up themselves against them, they defeated in battle, and conquered them. Antiochus also, the great king of Asia, came against them to battle, having one hundred twenty elephants, with cavalry, chariots, and an exceedingly great army, and he was defeated by them. They took him alive, and decreed that both he and those who reigned after him should give them a great tribute, and should give hostages, and a parcel of land from the best of their provinces: the countries of India, Media, and Lydia. They took them from him, and gave them to King Eumenes. Judas heard how the Greeks planned to come and destroy them, but this became known to them, and they sent against them a general who fought against them, and many of them fell down wounded to death, and they made captive their wives and their children, and plundered them, and conquered their land, and pulled down their strongholds, and plundered them, and brought them into bondage to this day. The remaining kingdoms and islands, as many as rose up against them at any time, they destroyed and made them to be their servants; but with their friends and those who relied on them they stayed friends. They conquered the kingdoms that were near and those that were far off, and all that heard of their fame were afraid of them. Moreover, whoever they desired to help and to make kings, these they make kings; and whoever they desired, they depose. They are exalted exceedingly. For all this, none of them ever put on a crown, neither did they clothe themselves with purple, as a display of grandeur. Judas heard how they had made for themselves a senate house, and day by day, three hundred twenty men sat in council, consulting always for the people, to the end they might be well governed, and how they commit their government to one man year by year, that he should rule over them, and control all their country, and all are obedient to that one, and there is neither envy nor emulation among them.

So Judas chose Eupolemus the son of John, the son of Accos, and Jason the son of Eleazar, and sent them to Rome, to establish friendship and alliance with them, and that they should free the yoke from themselves; for they saw that the kingdom of the Greeks kept Israel in bondage. Then they went to Rome, a very long journey, and they entered into the senate house, and said, “Judas, who is also called Maccabaeus, and his kindred, and the people of the Jews, have sent us to you, to make an alliance and peace with you, and that we might be registered as your allies and friends.”

This thing was pleasing to them. This is the copy of the writing which they wrote back again on tables of brass, and sent to Jerusalem, that it might be with them there for a memorial of peace and alliance:

“Good success be to the Romans, and to the nation of the Jews, by sea and by land forever. May the sword and the enemy be far from them. But if war arises for Rome first, or any of their allies in all their dominion, the nation of the Jews shall help them as allies, as the occasion shall indicate to them, with all their heart. To those who make war upon them, they shall not give supplies, food, weapons, money, or ships, as it has seemed good to Rome, and they shall keep their ordinances without taking anything in return. In the same way, moreover, if war comes first upon the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall willingly help them as allies, as the occasion shall indicate to them; and to those who are fighting with them, there shall not be given food, weapons, money, or ships, as it has seemed good to Rome. They shall keep these ordinances, and that without deceit. According to these terms, the Romans made a treaty with the Jewish people. But if hereafter the one party and the other shall determine to add or diminish anything, they shall do it at their pleasure, and whatever they add or take away shall be ratified.

Concerning the evils which King Demetrius is doing to them, we have written to him, saying, ‘Why have you made your yoke heavy on our friends and allies the Jews? If therefore they plead any more against you, we will do them justice, and fight with you on sea and on land.’ ”

Demetrius heard that Nicanor had fallen with his forces in battle, and he sent Bacchides and Alcimus again into the land of Judah a second time, and the right wing of his army with them. They went by the way that leads to Gilgal, and encamped against Mesaloth, which is in Arbela, and took possession of it, and killed many people. The first month of the one hundred fifty-second year, they encamped against Jerusalem. Then they marched away and went to Berea with twenty thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry. Judas was encamped at Elasa with three thousand chosen men. They saw the multitude of the forces, that they were many, and they were terrified. Many slipped away out of the army. There were not left of them more than eight hundred men.

Judas saw that his army slipped away and that the battle pressed upon him, and he was very troubled in spirit, because he had no time to gather them together, and he became faint. He said to those who were left, “Let’s arise and go up against our adversaries, if perhaps we may be able to fight with them.”

They tried to dissuade him, saying, “There is no way we are able; but let’s rather save our lives now. Let’s return again with our kindred, and fight against them; but we are too few.”

Judas said, “Let it not be so that I should do this thing, to flee from them. If our time has come, let’s die in a manly way for our kindred’s sake, and not leave a cause of reproach against our honor.”

The army marched out from the camp, and stood to encounter them. The cavalry was divided into two companies, and the slingers and the archers went before the army, and all the mighty men that fought in the front of the battle. Bacchides was in the right wing. The phalanx advanced on the two parts, and they blew with their trumpets. The men by Judas’ side sounded with their trumpets, and the earth shook with the shout of the armies, and the battle was joined, and continued from morning until evening.

Judas saw that Bacchides and the strength of his army were on the right side, and all that were brave in heart went with him, and the right wing was defeated by them, and he pursued after them to the mount Azotus. Those who were on the left wing saw that the right wing was defeated, and they turned and followed in the footsteps of Judas and of those who were with him. The battle became desperate, and many on both sides fell wounded to death. Judas fell, and the rest fled.

Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother, and buried him in the tomb of his ancestors at Modin. They wept for him. All Israel made great lamentation for him, and mourned many days, and said, “How the mighty has fallen, the savior of Israel!” The rest of the acts of Judas, and his wars, and the valiant deeds which he did, and his greatness, are not written; for they were exceedingly many.