The Second Book of the Maccabees, chapters 1 - 3
1 TO THEIR JEWISH KINSMEN in Egypt, the Jews who are
in Jerusalem and those in the country of Judaea send brotherly
greeting.
May God give you peace and prosperity and remember his covenant
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants. May he give to
you all a will to worship him, to fulfil his purposes eagerly with heart and
soul. May he give you a mind open to his laws and precepts. May he make
peace and answer your prayers, and be reconciled to you and not forsake
you in an evil hour. Here and now we are praying for you.
In the reign of Demetrius, in the year 1969, we the Jews wrote to you
during the persecution and the crisis that came upon us in those years since
the time when Jason and his partisans revolted from the holy land and
the kingdom. They set the porch of the temple on fire and shed innocent
blood. Then we prayed to the Lord and were answered. We offered a
sacrifice of fine flour, we lit the lamps, and set out the Bread of the
Presence. And now, you are to observe the celebration of a Feast of
Tabernacles in the month of Kislev.
Written in the year 188.
FROM THE PEOPLE of Jerusalem and Judaea, from the Senate, and
from Judas, to Aristobulus, the teacher of King Ptolemy and a member
of the high-priest family, and to the Jews in Egypt, greeting and good
health.
We have been saved by God from great dangers, and give him all thanks,
as men standing ready to resist the king. It was God who drove out the
enemy force in the holy city.
For when the king went into Persia with an army that seemed invincible,
they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanaea through a stratagem
employed by Nanaea's priests. Antiochus, along with his Companions,
arrived at the temple to marry the goddess, in order to secure the consider-
able treasure by way of dowry. After this had been laid out by the priests,
he went into the temple precinct with a small rentinue. When Antiochus
entered, the priests shut the sanctuary, opened a secret door in the panel-
ling, and hurled stones at them. The king fell, as if struck by a thunderbolt.
They hacked off limbs and head and threw them to those outside. Blessed
in all things be our God, who handed over the evil-doers to death!
We are about to celebrate the purification of the temple on the twenty-
fifth of Kislev, and think it right to inform you, so that you also for your
part may celebrate a Feast of Tabernacles, in honour of the fire which
appeared when Nehemiah offered sacrifices, after he had built the temple
and the altar. When our fathers were carried off to Persia, the pious priests
of those days secretly took fire from the altar and concealed it in a dry well.
it proved a safe hiding-place and remained undiscovered. After many
years had passed, in God's good time, Nehemiah was sent back by the king
of Persia. He then dispatched the descendants of the priests who had
hidden it to get the fire, and they informed our people that they found,
not fire, but a thick liquid. Nehemiah ordered them to draw some out and
bring it to him. When the materials of the sacrifice had been presented, he
ordered the priests to sprinkle this liquid over the wood and the things laid
upon it, and this was done. Some time passed; then the sun, which earlier
had been hidden by clouds, shone out and the altar burst into a great blaze,
so that everyone marvelled. As the sacrifice was burning, the priests
offered prayer, they and all those present: Jonathan began and the rest
responded, led by Nehemiah.
The prayer was in this style: 'O Lord God, creator of all things, thou the
terrible, the mighty, the just, and the merciful, the only King, the only
gracious one, the only giver, the only just, omnipotent, and everlasting one,
who dost deliver Israel from every evil, who didst choose the patriarchs and
set them apart: accept this sacrifice on behalf of thy whole people Israel;
they are thy own, watch over them and sanctify them. Gather the dis-
persed, free those who are in slavery among the heathen, look favourably
on the despised and detested; let the heathen know that thou art our God.
Punish our oppressors for their insolent brutality and make them suffer
torment; but plant thy people in thy holy place, as Moses said.'
Then the priests chanted the hymns. After the materials of the sacrifice
had been consumed, Nehemiah further ordered what remained of the
liquid to be poured over some great stones. At this a flame shot up, but
burnt itself out as soon as the fire on the altar outshone it.
These events became widely known. The king of Persia was told that,
in the place where the priests who were deported had hidden the fire, a
liquid had appeared, and that Nehemiah and his companions had used it
to burn up the materials of the sacrifice. When he had verified the fact,
the king enclosed the site and made it sacred. The custodians he appointed
received a share of the very substantial revenue that the king derived from
it. Nehemiah and his companions called the liquid 'nephthar', which means
'purification'; but most people call it 'naphtha'.
2 The records show that it was the prophet Jeremiah who ordered the
exiles to hide the fire, as has been mentioned; also that, having given them
the law, he charged them not to neglect the ordinances of the Lord, or be
led astray by the sight of images of gold and silver with all their finery. In
similar wards he appealed to them not to abandon the law.
Further, this document records that, prompted by a divine message, the
prophet gave orders that the Tent of Meeting and the ark should go with
him. Then he went away to the mountain from the top of which Moses saw
God's promised land. When he reached the mountain, Jeremiah found a
cave-dwelling; he carried the tent, the ark, and the incense-altar into it,
then blocked up the entrance. Some of his companions came to mark out
the way, but were unable to find it. When Jeremiah learnt of this he repri-
manded them. 'The place shall remain unknown', he said , 'until God finally
gathers his people together and shows mercy to them. Then the Lord will
bring these things to light again, and the glory of the Lord will appear with
the cloud, as it was seen both in the time of Moses and when Solomon
prayed that the shrine might be worthily consecrated.'
It was also related that Solomon, having the gift of wisdom, offered the
dedication sacrifice at the completion of the temple; and that, just as Moses
prayed to the Lord and fire came down from heaven and burnt up the
sacrificial offerings, so Solomon prayed and the fire came down and con-
sumed the whole-offerings. (Moses said: 'The sin offering was burnt up
in the same way because it was not eaten.') Solomon celebrated the feast
for eight days.
The same facts are set out in the official records and in the memoirs of
Nehemiah. Just as Nehemiah collected the chronicles of the kings, the
writings of prophets, the works of David, and royal letters about sacred
offerings, to found his library, so Judas also has collected all the books that
had been scattered as a result of our recent conflict. These are in our pos-
session, and if you need any of them, send messengers for them.
As, then, we are about to celebrate the purification of the temple, we are
writing to impress upon you the duty of celebrating this festival. God has
saved the whole people and granted to all of us the holy land, the kingship,
the priesthood, and the consecration, as he promised by the law; and in
him we have confidence that he will soon be merciful to us and gather us
from every part of the world to the holy temple. For he has delivered us
from great evils and purified the temple.
IN FIVE BOOKS Jason of Cyrene has set out the history of Judas Macca-
baeus and his brothers, the purification of the great temple, and the
dedication of the altar. He has described the battles with Antiochus
Epiphanes and with his son Eupator, and the apparitions from heaven
which appeared to those who vied with one another in fighting manfully
for Judaism. Few though they were, they ravaged the whole country and
routed the foreign hordes; they restored the world-renowned temple,
freed the city of Jerusalem, and reaffirmed the laws which were in danger
of being abolished. All this they achieved because the Lord was merciful
and gracious to them.
These five books of Jason I shall try to summarize in a single work; for
I was struck by the mass of statistics and the difficulty which the bulk of the
material causes to those wishing to grasp the narratives of this history. I
have tried to provide for the entertainment of those who read for pleasure,
the convenience of students who must commit the facts to memory, and the
profit of even the casual reader. The task which I have taken upon myself
in making this summary is no easy one. It means toil and late nights, just
as i at is no light task for the man who plans a dinner-party and aims to satisfy
his guests. Nevertheless, I will gladly undergo this hard labour for the
benefit of readers in general. I shall leave to the original author the minute
discussion of every detail, and concentrate on the main points of my out-
line. As the architect of a new house must concern himself with the whole
of the structure, while the man who paints in encaustic on the walls needs
to discover only what is necessary for the ornamentation, so, I judge, it is
with me also. It is the province of the original author of a history to take
possession of the field, to spread himself in discussion, and to inquire
closely into particular questions. The man who makes a paraphrase must
be allowed to aim at conciseness of expression and to omit a full treatment
of the subject-matter.
Here, then, without adding anything further, I begin my narrative. It
would be absurd to take a lengthy introduction to the history and cut
short the history itself.
3 DURING THE RULE of the high priest Onias, the holy city enjoyed
complete peace and prosperity, and the laws were still observed most
scrupulously, because he was a pious man and hated wickedness. The
kings themselves held the sanctuary in honour and used to embellish the
temple with the most splendid gifts; even Seleucus, king of Asia, bore all
the expenses of the sacrificial worship from his own revenues.
But a certain Simon, of the clan of Bilgah, who had been appointed
administrator of the temple, quarrelled with the high priest about the
regulation of the city market. Unable to get the better of Onias, he went to
Apollonius son of Thrasaeus, then Governor of Coele-syria and Phoenicia,
and alleged that the treasury at Jerusalem was full of untold riches——
indeed the total of the accumulated balances was incalculable sand did not
correspond with the account for the sacrifices; he suggested that these
balances might be brought under the control of the king. When Apollonius
met the king, he reported what he had been told about the riches. The king
selected Heliodorus, his chief minister, and sent him with orders to remove
these treasures.
Heliodorus set off at once, ostensibly to make a tour of inspection of the
cities of Coele-syria and Phoenicia, but in fact to carry out the purpose of
the king. When he arrived at Jerusalem and had been courteously received
by the high priest and the citizens, he explained why he had come: he told
them about the allegations and asked if they were in fact true. The high
priest intimated that the deposits were held in trust for widows and
orphans, apart from what belonged to Hyrcanus son of Tobias, a man of
very high standing; the matter was being misrepresented by the impious
Simon. In all there were four hundred talents of silver and two hundred of
gold. it was unthinkable, he said, that wrong should be done to those who
hd relied on the sanctity of the place, on the dignity an inviolability of
the world-famous temple. But Heliodorus, in virtue of the king's orders,
replied that these deposits must without question be handed over to the
royal treasury.
He fixed a day and went into the temple to make an inventory. At this
there was great distress throughout the whole city. The priests, prostrating
themselves in their vestments before the altar, prayed to Heaven, to the
Lawgiver who had made deposits sacred, to keep them intact for their
rightful owners. The high priest's looks pierced every beholder to the
heart, for his face and its changing colour betrayed the anguish of his soul.
Alarm and shuddering gripped him, and the pain he felt was clearly ap-
parent to the onlookers. The people rushed pell-mell from their houses
to join together in supplication because of the dishonour which threatened
the holy place. Women in sackcloth, their breasts bare, filled the streets;
unmarried girls who were kept in seclusion ran to the gates or walls of their
houses, while others leaned out from the windows; all with outstretched
hands made solemn entreaty to Heaven. It was pitiful to see the crowd all
lying prostrate in utter confusion, and the high priest in an agony of
apprehension.
While the people were calling upon the Lord Almighty to keep the
deposits intact and safe for those who had deposited them, Heliodorus pro-
ceeded to carry out his decision. But at the very moment when he arrived
with his bodyguards at the treasury, the Ruler of spirits and of all powers
produced a mighty apparition, so that all who lacked the audacity to ac-
company Heliodorus were faint with terror, stricken with panic at te
power of God. They saw a horse, splendidly caparisoned, with a rider of
terrible aspect; it rushed fiercely at Heliodorus and, rearing up, attacked
him with its hooves. The rider was wearing golden armour. There also
appeared to Heliodorus two young men of surpassing strength and
glorious beauty, splendidly dressed. They stood on either side of him and
scourged him, raining ceaseless blows upon him. He fell suddenly to the
ground, overwhelmed by a great darkness, and his men snatched him up
and put him on a litter. This man, who so recently had entered the treasury
with a great throng and his whole bodyguard, was now borne off by them
quite helpless, publicly compelled to acknowledge the sovereignty of God.
While he lay speechless, deprived by this divine act of all hope of
recovery, the Jews were praising the Lord for the miracle he had performed
in his own house. The temple, which a short time before was full of alarm
and confusion, now overflowed with joy an festivity, because the Lord
Almighty had appeared.
Some of Heliodorus's companions hastily begged Onias to pray to the
Most High, and so to spare the life of their master now lying at his very last
gasp. The high priest, fearing that the king might suspect that Heliodorus
had met with foul play at the hands of the Jews, brought sacrifice for the
man's recovery. As the high priest was making the expiation, the same
young men, dressed as before, again appeared to Heliodorus. They stood
over him and said: 'Be very grateful to Onias the high priest; for his sake
the Lord has spared your life. You have been scourged by God; now tell all
men of his mighty power.' When they had said this, they vanished.
Heliodorus offered a sacrifice and made lavish vows to the Lord who had
spared his life; then, after taking friendly leave of Onias, he led his troops
back to the king. He bore witness to everyone of the miracles of the supreme
God which he had seen with his own eyes.
When the king asked him what sort of man would be suitable to send to
Jerusalem another time, Heliodorus replied: 'If you have an enemy or
someone plotting against your government, that is the place to send him;
you will receive him back soundly flogged, if he survives at all, for beyond
doubt there is divine power surrounding the temple. He whose habitation
is in heaven watches over it himself and gives it his aid; those who approach
the place with evil intent he strikes and destroys.'
So runs the story of Heliodorus and the preservation of the treasury.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Aug 10, 2019, 9:59 PM UTC
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