Chapter 16
Simon’s Sons Repulse the Invader. 1 John then went up from Gazara and reported to Simon his father what Cendebeus was doing. 2 Simon summoned his two oldest sons, Judas and John, and said to them, “My brothers and I and my father’s house have fought the battles of Israel from our youth until today, and on many occasions we were successful in saving Israel. 3 Now I am old, but by the mercy of Heaven you have achieved maturity. Take my place and my brother’s, and go out and fight for our nation. And may the help of Heaven be with you.”
4 John then selected twenty thousand of the country’s infantry and cavalry, and they marched against Cendebeus. After spending the night at Modein, 5 they marched into the plain early in the morning, where a large force of infantry and cavalry was waiting to attack them, with a stream lying between the two armies. 6 John and his troops lined up in position facing them. When he realized that his soldiers were afraid to cross the stream, John himself crossed over first. On seeing this, his men followed him across. 7 Then he divided his army into two sections, with the cavalry centered between them, for the cavalry of the enemy were very numerous. 8 They sounded the trumpets, and Cendebeus and his army were put to flight. Many of them fell wounded, and the rest fled to the refuge in the stronghold. 9 Judas, the brother of John, fell wounded, but John pursued them until Cendebeus reached Kedron, which he had rebuilt. 10 When some of the enemy fled to the towers on the plain of Azotus, John set fire to these towers, and about two thousand of the enemy perished. He then returned safely to Judea.
11 Simon Assassinated by His Son-in-Law. Ptolemy,[a] the son of Abubus, had been appointed governor of the plain of Jericho, and he possessed a great amount of silver and gold, 12 for he was the son-in-law of the high priest. 13 However, he became ambitious, determining to gain control of the country, and he therefore made treacherous plans to do away with Simon and his sons.
14 Simon, who was inspecting the towns of the country and attending to their needs, went down to Jericho with his sons Mattathias and Judas in the year one hundred and seventy-seven, in the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat.[b] 15 The son of Abubus received them treacherously at the small fortress called Dok,[c] which he had built. He entertained them at a sumptuous banquet, while his men were concealed in nearby hiding places. 16 When Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and his men rose up and seized their weapons. Rushing against Simon in the banquet hall, they killed him and his two sons and some of his servants. 17 By this act of vicious treachery he returned evil for good.
18 Then Ptolemy wrote a report about his deed and forwarded it to the king, asking that troops be sent to aid him and that the country and its towns be placed under his rule. 19 He sent some troops to Gazara to do away with John, and he wrote letters to his military commanders inviting them to come to him so that he might reward them with silver, gold, and gifts. 20 He also sent other troops to seize control of Jerusalem and the temple mount. 21 However, someone ran ahead and reported to John at Gazara that his father and his brothers had been murdered and that Ptolemy was sending men to kill him too. 22 On hearing this, John was greatly shocked. When the men came to kill him, he had them arrested and put to death, for he had been forewarned of their mission to destroy him.
23 The rest of the history of John[d] and his wars and the brave deeds that he performed, the walls he built, and the rest of his achievements 24 are recorded in the annals[e] of his high priesthood from the time when he succeeded his father as high priest.
Footnotes
- 1 Maccabees 16:11 Concerning this Ptolemy, nothing is known except what is referred to him in this episode. The security of borders was very important. Simon entrusts the western borders to his son John and the eastern ones to his brother-in-law Ptolemy.
- 1 Maccabees 16:14 In February 134 B.C., Shebat, a name of Akkadian origin that was introduced into Jewish terminology after the Babylonian Exile, designated the eleventh month of the year.
- 1 Maccabees 16:15 Dok signifies in Aramaic a high place that lends itself to observation. It was three miles northwest of Jericho.
- 1 Maccabees 16:23 John, surnamed Hyrcanus, was high priest from 134–104 B.C. The Hasmonean dynasty was supplanted by Herod in 31 B.C. This verse and the succeeding one indicate that 1 Maccabees was completed only after his death.
- 1 Maccabees 16:24 The annals have been lost. The Book concludes in a similar fashion to the accounts of the kings of Israel (1 Ki 11:41; 2 Ki 10:34; 12:19; 20:20, etc.).