War between Alexander Balas and Demetrius
1In the year one hundred and sixty (152 B.C.), Alexander Epiphanes, son of Antiochus, sailed for Ptolemais and occupied it. He was well received and he began to reign. 2When Demetrius heard this, he assembled a very large army and marched out to fight him. 3At the same time, he sent a letter of friendship to Jonathan and offered him vast power, 4for Demetrius thought: “Let us make the first move in making peace with him before he makes peace with Alexander against us, 5remembering all the wrongs we have done to him, his brothers and his nation.”
6So Demetrius authorized Jonathan to organize an army and manufacture arms; he named him his ally and ordered the release of the hostages who were in the Citadel of Jerusalem. 7Jonathan went at once to Jerusalem and read the letter before all the people and those in the Citadel. 8They were afraid when they heard that the king had authorized Jonathan to organize a great army, 9and they released the hostages to Jonathan who handed them back to their families. 10Jonathan resided in Jerusalem and began rebuilding and restoring the city. 11He commanded the builders to build the walls and the defenses of Mount Zion with hewn stones. And they did so.
12Then all the foreigners who stayed in the fortresses built by Bacchides began to flee, 13each of them abandoning his post and returning to his own land. 14Only at Beth-zur did some who had abandoned the Law and the precepts remain, since this was like a place of refuge.
15 ① King Alexander was informed of the promises Demetrius had made to Jonathan; he was also given an account of the battles and exploits of Jonathan and his brothers and the trials they had endured. 16So Alexander declared: “Shall we ever find another man like him? Let us make him our ally and friend.” 17And he wrote him a letter: 18“King Alexander to our brother Jonathan, peace. 19We have heard of you, that you are a valiant man and most worthy of our friendship. 20Therefore, we now appoint you High Priest of your nation and bestow on you the title Friend of the King (he also sent him a purple robe and a golden crown). So we invite you to watch over our interests and maintain friendly relations with us.”
21This is why in the seventh month of the year one hundred and sixty (152 B.C.), on the occasion of the feast of Tabernacles, Jonathan put on the sacred vestments. He also recruited troops and manufactured a great quantity of arms.
22When Demetrius heard what had happened, he was greatly displeased and said, 23“What have we done that Alexander is ahead of us in gaining the friendship of the Jews? 24I will also write them kind words and promise them honor and gifts to win them to my side.” 25So he wrote to the Jews:
“King Demetrius greets the Jewish nation. 26You have kept your agreement with us and have remained our friends, and have not joined our enemies. We have heard of it and so we rejoice. 27Therefore, continue to be faithful and we will grant you privileges in return for all you do on our behalf. 28I will free the Jews from many taxes and grant them royal privileges and exemptions. 29From now on and forever, I now free all Jews from payment of tribute, salt dues and crown levies. 30I give up from this day and henceforth the third of the harvest and half of the fruit of the trees which I have the right to exact from the region of Judea and the three districts annexed to it from Samaria and Galilee. 31From this day on and for all time, Jerusalem shall be a Holy City and be free with all its territory, with the right to collect tithes and tributes. 32I also give up control of the Citadel of Jerusalem and turn it over to the High Priest that he may choose the men he wants to defend it. 33I grant freedom without ransom to all the captives taken from Judea into any part of my kingdom. I free everyone from the taxes they owe me for their livestock.
34All feasts, sabbaths, new moons, special days and the three holy days before and after a feast shall be days of exemption for all the Jews in my kingdom. 35No one shall have the right to pursue or molest them for any motive whatsoever. 36I also decree that they be accepted into the king’s army to the number of thirty thousand Jews who shall receive the same salary as the rest of the king’s forces. 37Some of them shall be stationed at the king’s fortresses, and positions of trust shall be given to some of them; their officers shall be chosen from among themselves and they will live according to their laws as the king has prescribed in the land of Judea.
38The three districts of Samaria annexed to Judea shall be considered part of Jewish territory; to avoid any conflict of power, these shall be subject to no authority other than that of the High Priest. 39I give the city of Ptolemais and its territory as a gift to the temple of Jerusalem to cover the expenses of public worship. 40Henceforth, I will give fifteen thousand pieces of silver annually for the maintenance of the temple which shall be taken from the royal revenues from appropriate places. 41Moreover, I give all that should have been paid to me by the administrators in previous years.
42In addition, I also remit the five thousand pieces of silver levied every year from the tributes to the temple, and give them to the priests in charge of public worship. 43Anyone who takes refuge in the temple of Jerusalem or in any of its enclosures because of his debt on royal taxes or because of any other debt, shall not be disturbed and his possessions anywhere in my kingdom shall be duly protected.
44Finally, the cost of rebuilding or restoring the sanctuary shall be passed on to the king’s account, 45as well as the expenses of reconstructing the walls of Jerusalem, the fortification of its defenses and the construction of the walls in the cities of Judea.”
46When Jonathan and the people heard such proposals, they did not believe or accept them, for they remembered the great wrongs Demetrius had done to Israel and the ill-treatment to which he had subjected them. 47They decided in favor of Alexander, for he was the first to propose peace, and they became his faithful allies. 48King Alexander assembled a great army and encamped opposite Demetrius. 49The two kings met in battle and the army of Demetrius was routed. Alexander pursued him until Demetrius was defeated. 50The battle lasted until sunset, and on that day Demetrius died.
51Then Alexander sent messengers to Ptolemy the king of Egypt with the following message: 52“I am now again in my kingdom and have assumed power after defeating Demetrius and all his army. 53Now I occupy the throne of my ancestors as master of all the land. Let us be friends. 54Give me your daughter in marriage, and I will become your son-in-law, and I will give you, and her, gifts worthy of you.”
55King Ptolemy replied as follows: “Blessed be the day when you returned to the land of your ancestors and ascended to their throne! 56I will without delay do for you as you have proposed. But meet me in Ptolemais. There we shall see one another and I will receive you as my son-in-law as you have requested.”
57Ptolemy left Egypt with his daughter Cleopatra in the year one hundred and sixty-two, and arrived at Ptolemais. 58Alexander went to meet him, and Ptolemy gave him his daughter Cleopatra, and celebrated her wedding with great splendor as kings do.
Political liability of Jonathan
59 ② King Alexander also wrote to Jonathan to come and meet him. 60So Jonathan went to Ptolemais with great pomp and met the two kings. Then he gave them and their Friends much silver and gold and many other gifts. 61The renegades, the pest of Israel, gathered together to accuse Jonathan, but the king paid no attention to them. 62The king even gave orders that Jonathan remove his garment and be clothed in purple and it was done. 63The king also seated him by his side, and said to his captains: “Go with him into the center of the city and proclaim that no one is to accuse Jonathan under any pretext, and no one is to molest him for any reason.” 64When his accusers saw the public honor given to Jonathan and that he was clothed in purple, they all fled. 65The king did him great honor and enrolled him among his first Friends, and appointed him general and governor. 66So Jonathan returned to Jerusalem happy and secure.
67In the year one hundred and sixty-five (147 B.C.), Demetrius the son of Demetrius, returned from Crete to the land of his ancestors. 68When King Alexander heard of it, he was so greatly disturbed that he returned to Antioch. 69Demetrius took his general Apollonius, the governor of Coele-Syria, who assembled a large force. He encamped at Jamnia and sent the following message to Jonathan, the high priest:
70“Are you the only one who resists our authority? And am I to be ridiculed because of you? Why do you stand against our authority in your mountains? 71If you have confidence in your forces, come down to the plain and let us measure each other’s strength there, for I have with me the army of the cities.
72Inquire and find out who I am and who are those who support me. Men will tell you that you cannot resist us, for your fathers were twice defeated on their own land. 73Nor will you be able to withstand the cavalry and so great an army on the plain, where there are no stones or rocks offering a refuge.”
74When Jonathan heard Apollonius’ message, he was greatly aroused. So he left Jerusalem with ten thousand picked men, and his brother Simon came to his help. 75They encamped near Joppa, but the inhabitants of the city closed the gates to them, as Apollonius had a garrison there. 76So Jonathan gave the order to attack. The people in the city were so afraid that they opened the gates to him, and Jonathan occupied Joppa. 77When Apollonius learned of it, he mobilized three thousand cavalry and a large army. Then he set out towards Azotus, pretending to march through the land, but in fact his troops were spreading out in the direction of the plain, since he had a great number of cavalry on which he relied. 78Jonathan pursued him towards Azotus and they began to fight. 79Apollonius had left a thousand picked horsemen hidden behind Jonathan, 80but Jonathan was informed of the ambush.
The horsemen surrounded Jonathan’s men and shot their arrows from morning till evening. 81But the Israelites faced them as Jonathan had commanded until the horses of the enemy tired. Once the cavalry were exhausted, 82Simon and his men advanced and attacked the infantry. The enemy was defeated and fled.
83The cavalry scattered over the plain and those who fled went to Azotus, where they entered the temple of Dagon, their idol, to save their lives. 84But Jonathan set fire to Azotus and the surrounding towns, and plundered them. He also burned down the temple of Dagon with all who had taken refuge in it. 85There were about eight thousand men who either fell by the sword or were burned to death. 86Jonathan then left for Askalon where the inhabitants received him with great honor. 87From there, Jonathan and his men returned to Jerusalem laden with booty.
88When King Alexander heard what had happened, he bestowed new honors on Jonathan. 89He sent him a golden brooch which is usually given to the kinsmen of kings. He also gave him Ekron and all its territory as his possession.
- Jonathan represents the Jews before Alexander, but with what title? The Jews had not had a king since the Exile, and what is more, they would not have accepted any king who was not a descendant of David. Since the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, priests ruled over the Jewish community. So Jonathan must be the High Priest and to be able to represent the Jewish people, he is to receive this charge from Demetrius. This starts a moral crisis for the Jews since no one could proclaim himself high priest, but became one only through family rights (see Lev 8).
Jonathan's appointment caused division among the most religious Jews. Many opposed him, among whom were the Hasideans (7:13) who would later give rise to the Pharisees. - Jonathan gets more and more involved in politics and this chapter does not hide how dirty politics can be, the way it is usually practiced. What was said earlier about Judas is confirmed (9:1); the time to restore a kingdom of God which would be a nation among nations has gone.
The mission of Christians is to be involved in politics as yeast among the masses, in spite of the fact that they will find temptations and errors among many unscrupulous people. The Church itself, however, must be careful not to go back to seeking success through a compromise with partisan forces, since its own mission cannot be confused with any political program. Moreover, the Church does not divide people into good and bad, friends or enemies, according to their positions in social struggles.
