The War against Nicanor’s Strategy
Chapter 14
Alcimus Plots Intrigues against the New King. 1 Three years later, Judas and his followers were informed that Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, had sailed into the harbor of Tripolis with a powerful army and a fleet,[a] 2 and that he had taken control of the country after having done away with Antiochus and his guardian Lysias.
3 Now a man named Alcimus, a former high priest who had willfully incurred defilement at the time of the revolt, realized that there was no possible way that his safety could be assured or that he could again have access to the holy altar. 4 Therefore, he went to King Demetrius about the year one hundred and fifty-one and presented him with a crown of gold and a palm branch, in addition to some of the customary olive branches from the temple. On that occasion, he kept silent. 5 However, he found an opportunity to further his mad scheme when Demetrius invited him to a meeting of the council and questioned him about the dispositions and the intentions of the Jews. He replied:
6 “Those Jews who are called Hasideans and are led by Judas Maccabeus are warmongers who foment sedition and prevent the kingdom from achieving a state of tranquility. 7 That is why, although I have been deprived of my ancestral dignity—I am referring to the high priesthood—I have now come here, 8 first out of my genuine concern for the interests of the king, and second, because of my regard for my compatriots, since our entire nation has been afflicted severely because of the irresponsible conduct of these people I have mentioned. 9 When you have ascertained the truth of these facts, O king, may it please you to make provision for the welfare of our country and our oppressed people, exhibiting the same gracious kindness that you extend to all. 10 For as long as Judas remains alive, it will be impossible for the state to enjoy the condition of peace.”
11 When he had said this, the rest of the King’s Friends, all of whom were hostile to Judas, added further fuel to the fire, inflaming the anger of Demetrius even more.
12 The king immediately chose Nicanor,[b] who had been in command of the elephants, and appointed him as governor of Judea. Then, he sent him forth 13 with orders to put Judas to death, to disperse his followers, and to install Alcimus as high priest of the great temple.
14 The Gentiles throughout Judea, who had fled from the attacks of Judas, now flocked to join Nicanor, confident that the misfortunes and calamities of the Jews would mean prosperity for themselves.
15 Nicanor Makes Peace with Judas. When the Jews learned that Nicanor was approaching and that the Gentiles were rallying to his support, they sprinkled dust over themselves and prayed to him who had established his people forever and who always came to the aid of his heritage. 16 At the command of their leader, they set out from there immediately and confronted the enemy at the village of Adasa.[c] 17 Simon, the brother of Judas, engaged in battle with Nicanor, but suffered a minor setback due to the sudden appearance of the enemy. 18 However, when Nicanor heard of the bravery exhibited by Judas and his men and how courageously they always fought for their country, he became reluctant to allow the issue to be settled by bloodshed. 19 Therefore, he sent Posidonius, Theodotus, and Mattathias to negotiate a treaty of peace.
20 After a lengthy discussion of the terms, each leader explained them to his troops, and all were of one mind in favor of accepting them. 21 On the day decided upon for the respective leaders to meet privately, a chariot came forward from each side, and thrones were set in place. 22 Judas had posted armed men at strategic points to prevent any sudden act of treachery on the part of the enemy. In this way, the conference was held without any complications.
23 Nicanor stayed on in Jerusalem and did nothing there that could be construed as a hostile act. He sent away the crowds that had rallied to him, 24 but he always kept Judas close to him, for he became deeply attached[d] to him. 25 He urged him to marry and have children, and Judas did marry and settle down to lead the quiet life of an ordinary citizen.
26 Nicanor Moves Anew against Judas. When Alcimus[e] discovered the depth of the friendship that these two men had for each other, he went to Demetrius with a copy of the treaty they had signed. He claimed that Nicanor was engaged in treasonable activity against the state, since he had appointed Judas, a conspirator against the kingdom, to be his successor. 27 Enraged by the slanderous charges of that villain, the king wrote to Nicanor, expressing his displeasure with the terms of the treaty and commanding him to send Maccabeus as a prisoner to Antioch at once.
28 When this message reached Nicanor, he was greatly upset, for he did not wish to break his agreement with a man who had done nothing wrong. 29 However, since there was no possible way to flaunt the king’s wishes, he waited for an opportunity to carry out the order by means of some stratagem. 30 But Maccabeus began to notice that Nicanor was becoming much cooler in his dealings with him and displaying unaccustomed rudeness whenever they met, and he surmised that such an attitude did not bode well for him. Therefore, he gathered a large number of his followers and went into hiding from Nicanor.[f]
31 When Nicanor became aware that he had been cleverly outwitted by this man, he went to the great and holy temple at the time when the priests were offering the customary sacrifices and ordered them to surrender Judas. 32 When they declared under oath that they did not know the whereabouts of the wanted man, 33 he stretched out his right hand toward the temple and swore this oath: “If you do not hand over Judas to me as a prisoner, I shall level this shrine of God to the ground and destroy the altar, and on this very spot, I will erect a splendid temple to Dionysus.”
34 Having issued this threat, he then left, whereupon the priests stretched out their hands to heaven and prayed to the constant defender of our nation in these words: 35 “O Lord of all, though you are in need of nothing, it has pleased you that there should be a temple for your dwelling place among us. 36 Therefore, O Holy One, Lord of all holiness, preserve forever undefiled this house that has so recently been purified.”
37 The Voluntary Sacrifice of Razis.[g] A man named Razis, one of the elders of Jerusalem, was denounced to Nicanor. He deeply loved his compatriots and was highly esteemed by them, and he was known as the father of the Jews because of his loyalty. 38 In the early days of the revolt, he had been convicted of practicing Judaism and had risked unhesitatingly both life and limb in that cause. 39 Nicanor, in his determination to demonstrate his contempt for the Jews, sent more than five hundred soldiers to arrest him, 40 for he thought that by such an action he would deliver a severe blow to the Jews. 41 When the troops were on the point of capturing the tower and were forcing open the outer gate, they called for fire to burn down the doors. Razis, finding himself surrounded on all sides, turned his sword on himself, 42 preferring to die nobly rather than fall into the hands of evil men and suffer outrages unworthy of his noble birth.
43 However, in the heat of the struggle he failed to hit his mark exactly. So while the troops rushed in through the doors, he quickly ran up to the top of the wall and courageously threw himself down into the crowd. 44 They quickly separated, and a space opened, and he plunged into the midst of the empty area they had vacated. 45 Still breathing and inflamed with anger, he picked himself up and ran through the crowd, even though blood was gushing from his severe wounds. 46 Then, standing on a steep rock, with almost the last drop of blood drained from his body, he tore out his entrails with both hands and flung them into the midst of the crowd, calling upon the Lord of life and spirit to restore them to him once again. This was the manner of his death.
Footnotes
- 2 Maccabees 14:1 See 1 Mac 7:1. The events are taking place in the spring of 161 B.C.
- 2 Maccabees 14:12 Nicanor: the Syrian general who had directed the first great expedition against Judea at the time of Antiochus IV. During the reign of Antiochus V, he had dissociated himself from the politics of the prime minister Lysias and had gone to Rome where he joined Demetrius I and accompanied him in his escape from there and eventual acquisition of the throne.
- 2 Maccabees 14:16 Adasa: a name that occurs only here and whose location is disputed. In any case, it had to be north of, and not far away from, Jerusalem since it was in this area that the parallel events narrated in 1 Mac 7:26-50 took place.
- 2 Maccabees 14:24 Deeply attached: only for a while (see vv. 14:31-33).
- 2 Maccabees 14:26 Failing to obtain civil power, Alcimus feared that Judas would be made his successor as high priest.
- 2 Maccabees 14:30 The account is here completed with what is said in 1 Mac 7:30-32.
- 2 Maccabees 14:37 Razis’s suicide, which in any other circumstance would be a crime, is here equivalent to the heroic act of a martyr and becomes a supreme appeal for divine justice. At the same time, it bears witness to Razis’s faith in the resurrection.