1 Maccabees 11
King Ptolemy of Egypt gathered a massive army and sought to obtain the kingdom of Alexander by deceit. He entered Syria with peaceful intentions, but placed garrisons in each city he visited. Jonathan met with Ptolemy at Joppa and accompanied him to the river Eleutherus before returning to Jerusalem. Ptolemy eventually turned against Alexander, who was killed by an Arab named Zabdiel. Ptolemy died soon after, and Demetrius took the throne. Demetrius confirmed Jonathan as high priest and granted him control over Judea and three other districts. Jonathan sent 3,000 men to aid Demetrius in Antioch, where they helped quell a rebellion and killed 100,000 men. However, Demetrius later reneged on his promises to Jonathan. Meanwhile, Trypho returned with Antiochus, the son of Alexander, and eventually took control of Antioch. Antiochus confirmed Jonathan as high priest and granted him authority over four cities. Jonathan then led a successful campaign against the cities of Gaza and Damascus, and defeated a large army at Kadesh.
1 And the king of Egypt gathered together an army, like the sand that is along the shore of the sea, and many ships. And he sought to obtain the kingdom of Alexander by deceit, and to add it to his own kingdom 2 And he departed into Syria with words of peace, and they opened the cities to him, and they were meeting with him. For king Alexander had commanded them to go out to meet him, because he was his father-in-law 3 But when Ptolemy entered a city, he placed garrisons of soldiers in each of the cities 4 And when he drew near to Azotus, they revealed to him that the temple of Dagon had been burned with fire, and Azotus and its suburbs had been demolished, and bodies had been abandoned, and that, for those who had been cut to pieces in the war, they had made a tomb along the way 5 And they told the king that Jonathan had done these things, so as to make him hated. But the king remained silent 6 And Jonathan went to meet the king at Joppa with glory, and they greeted one another, and they stayed there 7 And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river, which is called Eleutherus. And he returned to Jerusalem 8 But king Ptolemy obtained the dominion of the coastal cities, as far as Seleucia, and he devised evil plans against Alexander 9 And he sent ambassadors to Demetrius, saying: "Come, let us compose a pact between us, and I will give you my daughter, whom Alexander had, and you will reign in the kingdom of your father 10 For I regret that I have given him my daughter. For he has sought to kill me. 11 And he slandered him, because he coveted his kingdom 12 And he took away his daughter, and he gave her to Demetrius, and he alienated himself from Alexander, and his hostilities were made manifest 13 And Ptolemy entered Antioch, and he placed two diadems upon his head, that of Egypt, and that of Asia 14 Now king Alexander was in Cilicia at that time, because the people of those places were rebelling 15 And when Alexander heard of it, he came against him in warfare. And king Ptolemy led forth his army, and he met him with a strong hand, and he put him to flight 16 And Alexander fled into Arabia, so as to be protected there. And king Ptolemy was exalted 17 And Zabdiel the Arab took off the head of Alexander, and he sent it to Ptolemy 18 And king Ptolemy died on the third day, and those who were in the strongholds were destroyed by those who were in the camp 19 And Demetrius reigned in the one hundred and sixty-seventh year 20 In those days, Jonathan gathered together those who were in Judea, in order to fight against the stronghold that was in Jerusalem. And they made many machines of war against it 21 And so, certain men of iniquity, who hated their own people, went forth to king Demetrius, and they reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the stronghold 22 And when he heard it, he became angry. And immediately he came to Ptolemais, and he wrote to Jonathan that he should not besiege the stronghold, but that he should meet with him promptly, for a discussion 23 But when Jonathan heard this, he ordered them to besiege it. And he chose some from the elders of Israel and from the priests, and he put himself in danger 24 And he took gold, and silver, and vestments, and many other presents, and he went to the king at Ptolemais, and he found favor in his sight 25 And some of the iniquitous from his nation came forward with objections against him 26 And the king treated him just as those who were before him had treated him. And he exalted him in the sight of all his friends 27 And he confirmed him in the high priesthood and in all the other honors that he held before, and he made him the leader of his friends 28 And Jonathan requested of the king that he would make Judea free from tribute, along with the three districts, and Samaria, and its confines. And he promised him three hundred talents 29 And the king consented. And he wrote letters to Jonathan about all these things, continuing in this way 30 "King Demetrius to his brother Jonathan, and to the nation of the Jews: greetings 31 We are sending you a copy of the letter that we wrote to Lasthenes, our parent, about you, so that you will know 32 ‘King Demetrius to Lasthenes, his parent: greetings 33 We have determined to do good to the people of the Jews, who are our friends and who keep to what is just with us, because of their good will, which they hold toward us 34 Therefore, we have assigned to them all the parts of Judea, and the three cities, Lydda and Ramatha, which were added to Judea from Samaria, and all their confines, to be set apart for all those sacrificing in Jerusalem, in place of that which the king previously received from them each year, and in place of the fruits of the land and of the fruit trees 35 And, as for the rest of that which pertains to us from tithes and tributes, from this time forward, we release them from these, as well as from the drying areas of salt and the crowns that were presented to us 36 All these, we concede to them, and nothing of these shall be revoked, from this time forward and for all time 37 Now, therefore, take care to make a copy of these things, and let it be given to Jonathan and set upon the holy mountain, in an honorable place.’ 38 And king Demetrius, seeing that the land was quieted in his sight and that nothing resisted him, sent all his forces away, each one to his own place, except the foreign army, which he had drawn together from the islands of the nations. And so all the troops of his fathers were hostile to him 39 But there was a certain one, Trypho, who was previously on Alexander’s side. And he saw that all the army murmured against Demetrius, and so he went to Imalkue the Arab, who raised Antiochus, the son of Alexander 40 And he persuaded him to deliver him to him, so that he would reign in his father’s place. And he reported to him what Demetrius had done, and that his army was hostile to him. And he remained there for many days 41 And Jonathan sent to king Demetrius, so that he would cast out those who were in the stronghold in Jerusalem and those who were with the garrisons, because they fought against Israel 42 And Demetrius sent to Jonathan, saying: "I will not only do this for you and your people, but I will elevate your glory and your nation, when opportunity shall serve 43 Now, therefore, you will do well if you send men as auxiliaries to me. For all my army has withdrawn from me. 44 And Jonathan sent three thousand strong men to him at Antioch. And they came to the king, and the king was delighted at their arrival 45 And those who were of the city gathered together, one hundred and twenty thousand men, and they wanted to execute the king 46 And the king fled into the royal court. And those who were of the city, occupied the passageways of the city, and they began to fight 47 And the king called the Jews to his assistance. And they came together before him at the same time, and then they all dispersed themselves throughout the city 48 And they killed, in that day, one hundred thousand men, and they set fire to the city, and they seized many spoils in that day, and they freed the king 49 And those who were of the city saw that the Jews had taken the city, just as they wanted, and they were weakened in their resolve, and they cried out to the king with supplication, saying 50 And they threw down their arms, and they made peace. And the Jews were glorified in the sight of the king and in the sight of all who were in his realm. And they became renowned in the kingdom, and they returned to Jerusalem, holding many spoils 51 And so king Demetrius sat on the throne of his kingdom. And the land was quieted in his sight 52 And he falsified everything whatsoever that he had said. And he alienated himself from Jonathan, and he did not repay him according to the benefits that he had received in tribute from him. And he vexed him greatly 53 But after this, Trypho returned, and with him was Antiochus, the adolescent boy, and he reigned, and he put a diadem on himself 54 And there assembled before him all the troops, which Demetrius had dispersed, and they fought against him. And he turned his back and fled 55 And Trypho took the elephants, and he obtained Antioch 56 And young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying: "I confirm you in the priesthood, and I appoint you over the four cities, so as to be among the king’s friends. 57 And he sent him vessels of gold for his ministry, and he gave him the authority to drink from gold, and to be clothed in purple, and to have a golden clasp 58 And he appointed his brother Simon as governor, from the borders of Tyre, all the way to the borders of Egypt 59 Then Jonathan went out, and he passed through the cities across the river. And all the armies of Syria were gathered together in assistance to him, and he came to Askalon, and those from the city met him honorably 60 And he went from there to Gaza. And those who were in Gaza closed themselves in. And so he besieged it, and he burned all that was around the city, and he plundered it 61 And those of Gaza petitioned Jonathan, and he pledged to them with his right hand, and he accepted their sons as hostages and sent them to Jerusalem. And he traveled through the country, as far as Damascus 62 And Jonathan heard that the leaders of Demetrius were acting treacherously at Kadesh, which is in Galilee, with a great army, intending to remove him from the affairs of the kingdom 63 And he went to meet them. But he left his brother Simon behind in the countryside 64 And Simon took a position against Bethzur, and he assailed it for many days, and he closed them in 65 And they asked him to accept a pledge, and he granted this to them. And he cast them out of there, and he seized the city, and he placed a garrison in it 66 And Jonathan and his camp took a position by the water of Gennesaret, and, before first light, they were standing watch in the plains of Hazor 67 And behold, an army of foreigners met him in the plains. And they set up an ambush against him in the mountains. But he met them from the opposite direction 68 Yet those lying in ambush then rose up from their places and joined them in combat 69 And all those who were from Jonathan’s side fled, and not one of them was left, except Mattathias, the son of Absalom, and Judas, the son of Chalphi, the leader of military training 70 And so Jonathan tore his garments, and he placed dirt on his head, and he prayed 71 And Jonathan turned back toward them in battle, and he put them to flight, and they fought 72 And when those from his side, who had fled, saw this, they returned to him, and with him they all pursued them, even to Kadesh, to their camp, and they even passed beyond there 73 And there fell from the foreigners on that day three thousand men. And Jonathan returned to Jerusalem