John Hyrcanus
Hyrcanus Besieges Ptolemy
13.230–235
So Ptolemy [Hyrcanus’ brother-in-law] retired to one of the fortresses above Jericho, called Dagon. But Hyrcanus, having taken the high priesthood that had been his father’s before, first propitiated God by sacrifices and then forged an expedition against Ptolemy, who built a fortress and tormented his [John Hyrcanus’] mother and brothers in the sight of all and threatened to throw them down headlong if Hyrcanus would not stop the siege. [ . . . ] However, his mother spread out her hands and begged him not to grow weak on her account, but to let his anger fuel him to do his utmost to take the place quickly—in order to get their enemy under his power—and then to avenge upon him what he had done to those who were dearest to him. For that death would be to her sweet, though with torment, if their enemy might but be brought to punishment for his wicked dealings with them. Now when his mother said this, he resolved to take the fortress immediately, but when he saw her beaten and torn to pieces, his courage failed him, and he could not but sympathize with what his mother suffered and was thereby overcome. And as the siege was drawn out in this manner, the seventh year, on which the Jews used to rest, came around. Relieved of war, Ptolemy slew Hyrcanus’ brothers and his mother. And when he had so done, he fled to Zeno, surnamed Cotylas, who was then the tyrant of the city of Philadelphia.
Antiochus VII Sidetes Invades Judaea
13.236, 240–244
But Antiochus, resenting the injuries inflicted upon him by Simon, invaded Judaea in the fourth year of his reign, and the first year of Hyrcanus’ rule, in the hundred and sixty-second Olympiad.1 And after ravaging the country, he shut Hyrcanus up in the city, which he surrounded with seven encampments. [ . . . ] Because Hyrcanus discerned the disadvantage of so great a number of men in the city, due to the rapid squandering of provisions by them, [ . . . ] he separated the useless men, sending them out of the city, retaining only those more youthful and fit for war. However, Antiochus would not let anyone leave. They wandered about and died miserably due to famine. Yet just then the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand, and those within the city took pity on their condition and took them in. And when Hyrcanus sent to Antiochus a request that there might be a truce for seven days, because of the festival, he respected this piety toward God and obliged. He moreover sent a magnificent sacrifice, bulls with gilded horns, gilded with all sorts of sweet spices, and with cups of gold and silver. So those who were at the gates received the sacrifices from those who brought them and led them to the Temple. Meanwhile Antiochus gave a feast for his army—very different from that of Antiochus Epiphanes, who, when he had taken the city, offered swine upon the altar and sprinkled the Temple with the grease of their flesh in order to violate the laws of the Jews and their ancestral religion, for which reason our nation made war with him and would never be reconciled to him. But things were different with this Antiochus. All men called him Antiochus Eusebes (“the Pious”) because of his religious zeal.
Antiochus and John Hyrcanus Come to Terms
13.245–258
Accordingly, Hyrcanus took note of his [Antiochus VII Sidetes’] kindness, and when he learned of his reverence for the deity, he sent an envoy to him with the request that he restore to the Jews their ancestral form of government. So Antiochus rejected the counsel of those who would have him utterly destroy the nation because of the separateness of their way of living, which was to others unsociable, and did not regard what they said.2 But being persuaded that all they did was out of piety, he told the envoys that if the besieged would deliver up their arms, pay tribute to him for Jaffa and the other cities that bordered Judaea, and admit a garrison of his—on these terms, he would no longer make war against them. But the Jews, although they were content with the other conditions, did not agree to admit the garrison because they could not associate with other people, nor converse with them. They were, however, willing instead to give him hostages and five hundred talents of silver. They gave him three hundred talents at once and sent the hostages immediately, which King Antiochus accepted. One of those hostages was Hyrcanus’ brother. The king accepted this and tore down the walls encircling the city. And so, on these conditions, Antiochus broke up the siege and withdrew.
Hyrcanus also opened the sepulcher of David, who surpassed all other kings in riches, and took out three thousand talents of silver. He was also the first of the Jews to maintain foreign troops, relying on this wealth. There was also a league of friendship and mutual assistance made between him and Antiochus. Hyrcanus admitted him into the city and lavishly furnished him with whatever his army wanted. And when [Antiochus] made an expedition against the Parthians, [Hyrcanus] marched along with him. [ . . . ] But when Antiochus went to battle against Arsaces, the Parthian general, he lost a great part of his army and was himself slain. His brother Demetrius [Demetrius II, r. 145–138 and 129–125 BCE] succeeded him to the throne of Syria, after Arsaces freed him from captivity at the time when Antiochus invaded Parthia, as was earlier related elsewhere.
Hyrcanus’ Territorial Conquests
When Hyrcanus heard of the death of Antiochus [129 BCE], he immediately advanced an expedition against the cities of Syria, hoping to find them, just as they were, destitute of fighting men or anyone capable of delivering them. However, it was not until the sixth month that he took Medaba, and that not without a heavy cost to his army. After this he took Samega and environs, and in addition he captured Shechem and Gerizim, and the Cuthean nation, which lives near the temple built after the model of the sanctuary at Jerusalem, which Alexander permitted Sanballat, the general of his army, to build for the sake of his son-in-law Manasseh, the brother of the high priest Jaddua, as we have formerly related [Jewish Antiquities 11.313–339]. The temple was now deserted two hundred years after it was built [ca. 330 BCE]. Hyrcanus also captured the Idumean cities of Dora and Marisa and subdued all the Idumeans. He permitted them to stay in that country if they had themselves circumcised and were willing to observe the laws of the Jews. They so wanted to live in the country of their forefathers that they submitted to circumcision and the rest of the Jewish way of life, and from that time on they continued to be Jews.
Hyrcanus Renews Relations with the Romans
13.259, 265–300
Hyrcanus, the high priest, wished to renew his friendship with the Romans. Accordingly, he sent an envoy to them, and when the senate received their letter, they made an alliance of friendship with them. [ . . . ] But as to the request for letters, their reply was that the senate would deliberate the matter when their own affairs would give them leave, that at least for the time being they would make sure that no like harm should be done to them and that their praetor, Fanius, should give them money out of the public treasury to cover expenses for their return home. And thus did Fanius dismiss the Jewish envoys and gave them money out of the public treasury. He gave a decree of the senate to those that were to escort them on their return home safely.
Alexander Zebinas Becomes Seleucid King, Then Dies
Thus stood the affairs of Hyrcanus, the high priest. As for King Demetrius, who considered waging war against Hyrcanus, there was no opportunity to do so, for both the Syrians and his soldiers bore him ill will. But when he [Demetrius II] had sent envoys to Ptolemy, who was called Physcon [Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, r. 145–116 BCE], that he would send them one of the family at Seleucus, in order to take the kingdom, he sent them Alexander, who was called Zebinas, with an army, and a battle took place with Demetrius, who, having been beaten in the fight, fled to Ptolemais, to Cleopatra his wife, but his wife would not receive him. He then went to Tyre, where he was captured. After much suffering at their hands, his enemies put him [Demetrius] to death. So Alexander took the kingdom and made an alliance with Hyrcanus. When he [Alexander] afterward fought with Antiochus, the son of Demetrius, surnamed Grypus, he [Alexander] was also beaten in the fight and slain.
Hyrcanus Gains Independence
Now when Antiochus [VIII Grypus, r. 125–96 BCE] had taken the kingdom, he was afraid to wage war against Judaea, because he heard that his brother by the same mother, who was also called Antiochus [IX Cyzicenus, r. 116–96 BCE], was raising an army against him out of Cyzicum. He therefore remained in his own land and resolved to prepare himself for the attack he expected from his brother, who was surnamed Cyzicenus because he had been brought up in that city. He was the son of Antiochus who was called Soter and who died in Parthia. He was the brother of Demetrius, the father of Grypus; for it had so happened that one and the same Cleopatra was married to two who were brothers, as we have related elsewhere. And when Antiochus Cyzicenus came into Syria, he continued many years at war with his brother. Now Hyrcanus lived all this while in peace; for after the death of Antiochus [Sidetes], he revolted from the Macedonians and no longer furnished them with any aid, either as their subject or their friend. His affairs were improving and flourishing during the time of Alexander Zebinas, and especially under these brothers, for the war that they had made with one another gave Hyrcanus the opportunity to enjoy himself in Judaea quietly, in that he amassed limitless sums of money.
Hyrcanus Lays Siege to Samaria
So he [Hyrcanus] made an expedition against Samaria, which was a well-fortified city—how this city was rebuilt by Herod under the name of Sebaste we shall relate at its proper time—but nonetheless he made his attack against it and besieged it mightily, for he detested the Samaritans on account of the injuries they inflicted on the people of Marisa, a colony of Jews who had allied with them [i.e., the Jews]. This they [the Samaritans] had done in compliance to the kings of Syria. He [Hyrcanus] dug a ditch and built a double wall around the city, which was fourscore furlongs [ten miles or sixteen kilometers] long, and set his sons Antigonus and Aristobulus in charge. As they pressed the siege, the Samaritans were so affected by the famine that they were forced to eat that which is not usually eaten for sustenance and to call for Antiochus Cyzicenus to help them. He readily came to their assistance but was beaten by Aristobulus. And when he was pursued as far as Scythopolis by the two brothers, he got away. So they [the two brothers] returned to Samaria and shut them again within the wall, until they [the Samaritans] were forced to send for the same Antiochus to help them a second time. He [Antiochus] procured about six thousand men from Ptolemy Lathyrus, against his mother’s wishes. When she heard of this, she all but drove him out of the kingdom. With these Egyptians, Antiochus at first invaded and ravaged Hyrcanus’ territory, like a robber, for he did not dare to fight him face to face—his army was insufficient for that purpose—but supposed that by thus damaging Hyrcanus’ territory, he would force him to lift the siege of Samaria. However, after losing many of his men, who fell into ambushes, he [Antiochus] went off to Tripoli, thus leaving Callimander and Epicrates to lead the war against the Jews.
But Callimander attacked the enemy too rashly and was put to flight and killed on the spot. As for Epicrates, he was such a lover of money that he openly betrayed Scythopolis and other places near it to the Jews but was unable to bring the siege of Samaria to an end. Hyrcanus thus captured the city after besieging it for a year. However, that did not suffice, for he demolished it entirely and let it be swept away by mountain torrents. He dug deep beneath it in order to let the water run under it until it fell into the beds of the torrents, leaving no trace of it behind.
Hyrcanus Hears a Divine Voice in the Temple
Now an extraordinary story about this high priest, Hyrcanus, is told, about how God came to speak with him. For they say that on the very same day on which his sons fought with Antiochus Cyzicenus, he was alone in the Temple offering incense as high priest and heard a voice saying that his sons had just then overcome Antiochus. And this he openly declared before all the people when he came out of the Temple. It accordingly proved true. This then was the state of the affairs of Hyrcanus.
The Jewish Generals of Egypt
Now it happened at this time that not only the Jews at Jerusalem and in Judaea were flourishing, but also those living in Alexandria, in Egypt, and in Cyprus. For Cleopatra [III Euergetes, r. 142–131, 127–116, and 116–101 BCE], the queen, who was warring with her son Ptolemy [IX Soter, r. 116–107 and 88–81 BCE], called Lathyrus, appointed for her generals Chelkias and Ananias, the sons of that Onias who built the temple in the prefecture of Heliopolis, similar to that at Jerusalem, as we have elsewhere related. Cleopatra entrusted these men with her army and did nothing without their advice, as Strabo of Cappadocia attests when he writes as follows: “For the majority, both those who came back from exile with us and those who were sent back to Cyprus by Cleopatra, immediately went over to Ptolemy. Only the Jews of Onias’ party remained faithful because their countrymen Chelkias and Ananias were held in special favor by the queen.” These are the words of Strabo.
Hyrcanus and the Pharisees
Hyrcanus’ prosperous state of affairs aroused the envy of the Jews. The Pharisees, one of the Jewish sects, were particularly hostile toward him. Their power over the people is so great that when they say anything against the king or the high priest, they are readily believed. Now Hyrcanus was a disciple of theirs and greatly beloved by them. He once invited them to a feast and entertained them hospitably. When he saw that they were having a good time, he began by saying to them that they knew he wanted to be a righteous man and do all that would please God, beliefs that the Pharisees also profess. He asked them that if at any time they observed him doing anything wrong or going astray, they would lead him back and correct him. They attested to his being entirely virtuous, which very much delighted him. One of his guests, however, whose name was Eleazar, a malicious man by nature, who delighted in dissent, said, “Since you want to know the truth, if you really want to be righteous, give up the high priesthood, and be content with governing the people.” When Hyrcanus asked him why he should give up the high priesthood, he replied, “We have heard it from our elders that your mother had been a captive during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes” [i.e., his parentage and eligibility for the high priesthood were in question]. This story was false. Hyrcanus was furious with the man, and all the Pharisees were very indignant.
Hyrcanus Joins the Sadducees and Alienates the Masses
Now a certain Jonathan, a very good friend of Hyrcanus, a member of the Sadducean sect, who maintain opinions quite contrary to those of the Pharisees, spoke to Hyrcanus. He [Jonathan] told him [Hyrcanus] that the consensus of the Pharisees was that Eleazar made a slanderous statement and that this would be made apparent to Hyrcanus if he would ask what punishment they thought this man deserved. He asked them the question, for he said that depending on the severity of the punishment, he would be convinced whether the slanderous statement had been made with their approval. The Pharisees replied that Eleazar deserved stripes and chains but that it did not seem right to punish reproaches with death. And indeed the Pharisees, even upon other occasions, are not apt to be severe in punishments. This mild sentence angered Hyrcanus, who thought this man reproached him with their approval. It was this Jonathan in particular who fueled his anger and influenced him to the point that he left the party of the Pharisees, abolished the decrees they [the Pharisees] had instituted for the people, and punished those who observed them. This gave rise to the hatred of the masses toward him and his sons. We shall speak of these matters later, but for now what I will explain is this: The Pharisees passed down to the people a great many observances from generation to generation, which are not written in the laws of Moses, and that is why the Sadducees reject them and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word [i.e., the Torah] only and are not to observe what is derived from the tradition of our forefathers. And concerning these matters, the two parties came to have great disputes and serious differences. While the Sadducees are able to persuade the rich and do not have the support of the populace, the Pharisees have the multitude on their side. [ . . . ]
Hyrcanus quieted this sedition [the opposition of the Pharisees to Hyrcanus and his sons] and lived happily thereafter. He administered the government in the best manner for thirty-one years and then died, leaving behind five sons. He was esteemed by God worthy of three of the greatest privileges: the government of his nation, the office of the high priesthood, and prophecy. God was with him and enabled him to tell the future, specifically to foretell that his two older sons would continue in governing public affairs for a long time. The story of their demise is worth relating so that we may learn just how inferior they were in possessing their father’s good fortune.
Notes
[There is a discrepancy between the dates Josephus provides. According to Ralph Marcus (Jewish Antiquities, vol. 7 [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1976], 346), “The several dates here given do not synchronize. The fourth year of Antiochus’ reign and the first of Hyrcanus’ was 135/134 B.C., while the 162nd Olympiad began in July 132 B.C.”—Ed.]
[This charge of Jewish separateness, that the Jews are “clannish,” appears in various pagan writers. According to Marcus, in Diodorus we read, “They alone of all the nations do not take part in social intercourse with other nations, and regard them all as enemies” (350).—Ed.]
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
