1 Maccabees
Chapter 7
Demetrius I
In one hundred and fifty-one (in 161 B.C.), Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, escaped from Rome. He sailed with a few men to a port of the kingdom, where he arrived and proclaimed himself king.
As soon as he entered his fathers’ kingdom, the army arrested Antiochus and Lysias to deliver them to him.
When Demetrius heard this, he said: “I do not want to see their faces.”
So the army executed them, and Demetrius took the throne.
Immediately, all the Israelites who lacked law or religion came to him. They were led by Alcimus, a man who sought the office of chief priest for himself.
He started accusing their people before the king.“Judas and his brothers have murdered all your friends and have driven us away from our land.
Send one of your trustworthy friends to see the destruction they have caused us and our province, which belongs to the king. Let him punish all who support them.”
The king chose Bacchides, one of his friends and a prominent man of the kingdom, the governor of the western province of the Euphrates.
He also sent Alcimus, whom he had appointed as chief priest, and ordered them to punish the Israelites.
They set out with a large army. Upon reaching Judea, they sent messengers to Judas and his brothers with treacherous peace offers.
But the Jews, aware that they came with a formidable army, did not trust them.
Nevertheless, a group of teachers of the law met with Alcimus and Bacchides to seek a fair resolution.
These men, from the group of the Hasideans, the first to seek peace in Israel,
reasoned like this: “A man in the line of Aaron has come with the army. He will surely deal with us in fairness.”
Bacchides, moreover, sent them a friendly message and assured them under oath: “We do not wish any harm to you and your friends.”
They believed him. But he arrested sixty of them, executing them the same day, according to the word of the Scripture:
Around Jerusalem, they have scattered the dead bodies of your saints. They have shed their blood, and there was no one to bury them.
All the people were terrified and feared them. They said: “There is no justice or truth in these people who have violated the agreement they made with an oath.”
Bacchides left Jerusalem and camped at Beth-Zur. From there, he ordered the arrest of many prominent men who had deserted him, along with some individuals. He then had them thrown into a bottomless pit.
Then he placed the province in the hands of Alcimus, leaving him with an army to support him, before returning to the king.
Alcimus struggled to gain recognition as the chief priest among the Israelites,
and all who disturbed the peace of the people joined him. They became rulers of the land of Judea and caused great harm to the Israelites.
Judas realized that Alcimus and his followers were a bigger threat to Israel than the pagans.
So he traveled across the territory of Judea to bring justice to those traitors and keep them from roaming around the country.
Alcimus realized that Judas and his men were stronger and that he could not defeat them. So he went back to the king, accusing them of serious crimes.
Defeat of Nicanor
The king then sent Nicanor, one of his more illustrious generals and a known enemy of Israel, with the mission to utterly destroy this people.
Nicanor reached Jerusalem with a large army. He sent Judas and his brothers false friendship messages, telling them:
“Let us not begin as enemies once more. I will come with a few men to meet you face to face, in friendship.”
He indeed went to Judas, and they greeted each other peacefully, but the enemy was ready to capture him.
Judas was told that Nicanor had come to him treacherously. So he backed away from Nicanor and refused to see him again.
When Nicanor saw that his plans had been uncovered, he went looking for Judas, this time to fight him. He found him near Capharsalama.
About five hundred of Nicanor’s men were killed, and the rest fled to the city of David.
After these events, Nicanor went up to Mount Zion, where some priests and elders came out of the temple to greet him peacefully and show him the sacrifice they offered for the king.
But he mocked, scorned, and insulted them;
and angrily swore this oath: “If you do not deliver Judas into my hands immediately, as soon as I have destroyed him, I will return and burn this temple.” Then, furious, he went away.
The priests entered the temple and stood weeping before the altar and the Sanctuary. They said:
“You, Lord, chose this house so that your name may be invoked in it, that it would be a house of prayer and petition for your” people.
Take vengeance on this man and his army. Let them die by the sword. Remember their insults and do not delay in punishing them.”
Nicanor left Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-horon, where the Syrian army joined him.
Meanwhile, Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men and prayed:
“Lord, when the messengers of the king of Assyria insulted you, your angel came and killed one hundred eighty-five thousand of his men.
So now, crush this army before us, so that all the rest may know that this Nicanor has blasphemed against your temple. Judge him according to his wickedness.”
The two armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. Nicanor’s army was defeated, and he was among the first to fall in battle.
When his troops saw that he was dead, they threw down their weapons and fled.
The Jews pursued them for a day’s journey from Adasa to the entrance of Gazara, sounding trumpets as they followed them.
The people came out from all the neighboring villages of Judea and surrounded the fugitives, forcing them to turn back to defend their lives. So everyone fell by the sword; not a single one was left.
Then the Jews seized the plunder and booty. They cut off Nicanor’s head and the right hand he had so arrogantly stretched out, and they displayed them at the entrance of Jerusalem where every-one could see.
The people were elated, and
celebrated their victory annually on Adar’s thirteenth day of the month.
The land of Judah enjoyed peace for a short time.
Commentaries
Demetrius I.
Demetrius I, the rightful heir of Seleucus IV, was unable to claim the throne after his father’s death because he was arrested and taken to Rome as a child. His brother, Antiochus IV, initially took power, followed by his nephew, Antiochus V, whom Demetrius viewed as a usurper. Demetrius escaped from Rome and, with some military support, regained power and declared himself king in 161 B.C. His generals killed Antiochus V and Lysias. With Demetrius’s rise, tensions increased between two Jewish groups: the “renegades” (pro-Hellenists) and the “traditionalists” (pro-Maccabees). The “renegade” Jews once again sought the emperor’s help to accuse their brothers of treason. They relied on Alcimus—the Hellenized name of Joachin—who was appointed high priest by the emperor (9). However, traditional Jews rejected him because of his Hellenistic court and his submissive attitude toward the empire. Alcimus and the “renegades” declared war on their brothers (21-25). Judas Maccabeus responded accordingly (23ff).
Defeat of Nicanor.
Alcimus seeks help from Demetrius, who sends his top general, Nicanor, to attack the Jews and take away what little independence they still have. Nicanor’s plan relies on deception, pretending to engage in dialogue and negotiation. The Maccabean victory becomes an annual celebration. However, it soon fades from memory, probably because it is close to the Feast of Purim (March 14). This ending, with its sense of victory and a time of peace, reminds us of the stories in the book of Judges.