2. Jonathan the Asmonean, High-Priest. The immediate results of this defeat and of the death of the heroic Judas, whose inspired devotion to the good cause had been proved so fully during seven years, were exceedingly melancholy. The religious freedom conceded two years before by Lysias and Antiochus Eupator was completely abolished; and the party of the heathen, supported by Bacchides, and with Alcimus at their head, seized the favourable moment to make a last and violent effort to suppress the opposite party altogether. The favour of the Syrians rested everywhere on those who were hostile to the pious-and all power was placed in their hands. The early friends of Judas, on the other hand, were sought out, betrayed, mocked, and punished. Through the unproductiveness of the soil a great famine was added to their troubles, and the land seemed to have become as faithless and false as her children. This dire distress forced the surviving friends of Judas to combine still more closely, and to transfer the leadership to his youngest brother, Jonathan, whose valour was long tried and who even surpassed Judas in craft. The report of their enterprise soon spread, and its immediate effect could only be to increase the danger and difficulty of their position. Jonathan retired with his followers into the wilderness of Tekoa, south-east of Jerusalem, and pitched his camp in the open country, near the great well of Asphar. His next step was to send away all the women, children, and goods, the care of which was rendered difficult by their situation, under the protection of his eldest brother, Johanan. They were to go round the south of the Dead Sea to the Nabateans wandering in the wildernesses on the east, as these were striving to maintain their freedom erect against the Syrians. Upon his way, Johanan arrived with the company in his charge at Mêdebû, formerly a Moabite city. Here he was attacked by the resident tribe of Amri,3 who captured and slew him. Jonathan, however, availed himself of an opportunity which speedily presented itself to cross the Jordan of Jonathan and Simeon, iv. 1, is ex- 3 Or, spelt in its Greek form, 'Außpí, certainly a tribe (like many others in those countries) at the same time occupied in commerce and stationary, and yet upon occasion ready to plunder. The ancient national hostility between Moab and Israel might still from time to time flame up vividly in many minds. Cf. p. 313, vol. iii. p. 86 sq. The tribe was celebrating the marriage of one of its principal men with the daughter of a rich merchant living in Nadabatha (probably an adjoining village), and for this purpose had marched out inoffensively into the open country. The expression of Xavaáv, 1 Macc. ix. 37, with his most valiant men and inflict a bloody revenge upon these robbers. Laden with rich booty, he was returning through the forest-clad hills which bound the Jordan valley on the east, and had descended as far as the low marshy district where the Jordan discharges itself into the Dead Sea, when he saw that Bacchides, who must have received his information from traitors, was already on the ground before him with his powerful army, and had taken up his position at the fords of the Jordan a little further to the north. In this desperate situation he attacked the Syrian general in the most daring manner, in spite of the reliance of the latter on the aid of the sabbath day, drove him back with loss, and escaped with his own followers by swimming across the Jordan. Bacchides, however, soon returned to Jerusalem unmolested, and pushed on his measures with all the more energy. Besides Jerusalem, he fortified a number of cities round it with the utmost strength, and provided them with supplies, and placed the sons of the most eminent persons in the country in prison, as hostages, in the great citadel at Jerusalem. 2 In the year 160, however, Alcimus, who was intending to make some change in the inner court of the temple, without any reference to consecrated usage,3 suddenly died, in the month of May, after a short but painful illness. Upon this, Bacchides thought it no longer worth while to keep up his previous severity, and accordingly returned to the court, leaving orders with his subordinates not to molest the pious. This was probably the first result of Roman intercession. Two years of tranquillity sufficed to prove clearly how soon the party of the strict could completely recover from their defeats and claim the ascendency in the country. This induced the chiefs of the betokens in the later language simply persons engaged in trade, often with a side wind of contempt. As for the main narrative, the writer had begun in ver. 34 to relate the ultimate consequences too soon, and does not return to these till ver. 43. This is certainly the meaning of the more general expression banks of the Jordan,' ver. 43. That the waters of the Jordan and the Dead Sea rise considerably above the banks in certain seasons, particularly in the north-east corner between the two, is well established (cf. Lynch, Narrative of the United States Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, and Ritter's Erdbeschreib. xv. pp. 535, 547, 553). Mêdebâ lies almost due east of this corner, more in the interior of the country. 21 Macc. ix. 50-52. The places which he thus turned into fortresses were Jericho, Emmaus, p. 310, Beth-horon, Bethel, Thamnath-Pharathon (with this additional designation to distinguish it from other cities, it was probably that on the west of Jerusalem), and Taphon (otherwise Tappûah) in the south-west. He further fortified Jerusalem, Beth-zur, already so often mentioned, and Gazara, p. 311 note 1. According to 1 Macc. ix. 54, it seems probable that his plan was to unite the inner, i.e. the priests', court more closely with the outer court. The whole temple, however, but especially its sanctuary and inner fore-court, was still regarded as the work of the last ancient prophets, p. 102 sqq., i.e. as a sacred work. heathen party to urge Bacchides once more to make an effort against the brothers of Judas, representing that if he would come now they could deliver all the leaders of the hostile party into his power at one blow, and thus his conquest of the country would be finally completed. This infernal plan (of which we do not know any further details) was, in the meantime, betrayed to the brothers of Judas before Bacchides arrived. They, on their part, inflicted severe retaliation, and executed about fifty of the leaders of the heathen party. It was now necessary for Bacchides to come in person as judge-in-chief. The brothers of Judas, however, with their bravest adherents, had already taken refuge in a fortress named Beth-basi,' which probably lay at a considerable distance in the wilderness on the south; and this, by artificial works and by their own valour, they rendered impregnable. Bacchides despatched his whole army, reinforced by the levies, to besiege them, and carried off numerous prisoners out of the country. Jonathan, however, with a few of his most daring followers, cut his way through, like David of old, in these southern districts, sought to strengthen himself by forays on the inhabitants of the wilderness, and defeated a powerful tribe among them.2 This swiftly secured for him an unexpected strength, and he appeared suddenly to make a further attack on the besiegers, while his brother Simon, who had been left behind in the fortress, ventured on several sorties, which proved successful. These events led to a quarrel between Bacchides himself and the heathen party, such as had arisen on a previous occasion after similar occurrences. He had a number of them executed, and became weary of the whole affair; so that when Jonathan cunningly proposed terms of peace he was ready to concede them. Jonathan received back all the prisoners, and was at liberty from this time to settle quietly at Machmash (or Michmash) on the north of Jerusalem, to aid and protect the party of the strict, and expel the heathen party Twice mentioned in 1 Macc. ix. 62, 64; perhaps the form given by the Pesh., Beth-basin, is better. What is the place intended is now very obscure; it is perhaps the same as 2, which in Josh. xv. 28 (without, cf. note on Cant. p. 150), is combined with Beersheba; at any rate its situation in the far south would suit well. Josephus, Ant. xiii. 1, 5, has instead Boaλayá, but this is equally or even still more obscure. Another reason why these names have become so obscure to us is, that the from all places which had not been previously inhabited by heathen, provided he only sent the taxes regularly to the court. The citadel at Jerusalem, however, and the other fortresses, remained in possession of the Syrian garrisons, and the hostages already mentioned were still detained there; and Jonathan was obliged to give an express promise to leave everything in statu quo, and in particular not to raise or equip any troops. And wherever the Syrian garrisons were posted, the heathen party continued quite undisturbed. 3 But in the year 153 Alexander Balas,' the nominal son of Antiochus Epiphanes, established himself, with the recognition of Rome, on the Palestinian coast, in the fortress of Ptolemais, and severely threatened King Demetrius, whose harshness made him extremely unpopular.2 This led Demetrius to make proposals of friendship to Jonathan; he conceded to him the right to arm troops, and gave orders for the liberation of the hostages. Jonathan now fixed his residence on the templemountain, where he immediately proceeded to erect fresh buildings and strong fortifications; and the heathen party thought their lives no longer safe outside the citadel and Beth-zur. But soon after this Balas sent him a crown of purple and gold, appointing him high-priest 3 and friend (corresponding in Macedonian usage to something like our peer) of the king. It should be remembered that a sort of alliance had previously been concluded with the Romans under Judas, and these, as the masters of the world, had already overshadowed all its various relations. It is impossible, therefore, to blame the crafty Jonathan too severely for yielding to the man who came in the name of Rome, and offered him better terms: at the Feast of Tabernacles in this year he appeared for the first time in public as high-priest, and worked zealously for Balas. For several years, moreover, the high-priesthood had been, as it were, in abeyance. The house of Joshua, which had borne the honour for nearly four hundred years," had, since the time of Jason, been deeply dishonoured, and in Menelaus and Alcimus the proper succession had been abandoned. After the death of the latter the Syrian court does not seem to have The predilection which the Judeans always retained for him, and which is expressed in many ways even in 1 Macc., shows itself in this among other ways, that throughout 1 Macc. this far from royal name is never once applied to him. 2 On this compare the statement of Diodorus in C. Müller's Fragm. Hist. Græc. ii. p. 12 sqq. 4 3 What the position of the high-priesthood was after the death of Alcimus, p. 325, we do not exactly know. Probably it was left vacant at the court, as the whole situation was uncertain. 4 P. 322. 5 P. 122. 4 appointed a new high-priest,' and the only surviving descendant of the house of Joshua had probably removed some time before from Palestine and sought another home and a fresh dignity in Egypt. In this respect, also, Jonathan committed no error by his assumption of office, as his family, having sprung from the stock of Aaron, could put in a legitimate claim upon it.-Demetrius, however, in a charter to the whole people,2 now offered still more definite conditions. The duties on salt and the crown-taxes, as well as the payment for the third bushel and for the half of the fruit-harvest, were to be abolished for ever throughout Judea, throughout the three Samaritan districts which were to be permanently united with it, and throughout Galilee.3 All the captive Judeans, in whatever part of the Syrian kingdom, were to be released, and the duty on their beasts of burden was to be remitted. Jerusalem, with its territory, was to be regarded as sacred, all the great and lesser feast days were to be observed, and the rights of asylum in the sanctuary maintained, even to the advantage of the debtor. For the support of the expenses of the temple services and buildings, and of the fortresses in the country, considerable contributions were made from the royal revenues; Ptolemais (which, by the way, had to be conquered first) with its territory was handed over to the priests; while the previous burthens and abatements were removed. Further, the Judeans were to be qualified for all offices, they were to be governed exclusively by their own officers and in accordance with their own laws, and in return would only be bound to furnish thirty thousand men fit to be maintained and employed as troops. But the mistrust with which Demetrius had from the beginning of his reign accustomed the people to receive everything which proceeded from him caused them to reject these extremely favourable conditions. Jonathan adhered to Balas; and when the latter was victorious and Demetrius perished, he had, for the time at any rate, no cause to repent his choice. When, in the year 151, Ptolemy Philomêtor came from Egypt to Ptolemais 1 According to the list in Jos. Ant. xx. 10, 3, the high-priestly office remained vacant for seven years after the death of Alcimus, and was then filled for a fresh term of seven years by Jonathan. These numbers are certainly a little more correct than those which Josephus gives elsewhere for the two halves of Jonathan's period of power, Ant. xiii. 2, 3; 6, 6, There seems every reason to regard the document in 1 Macc. x. 25-45, as 4 Josephus, Ant. xiii. 2, 3, here suggests the abolition of the Persian services for the royal post. But this meaning can hardly be extracted out of the word póoo. |