1 Maccabees 15: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

Antiochus, son of King Demetrius, writes to Simon from the islands of the sea, confirming old privileges, canceling debts, and promising honor once he wins the kingdom; he then lands, the troops come over to him, and he besieges Tryphon at Dora by land and sea. Numenius returns from Rome carrying a letter from the consul Lucius to the kings and countries, warning them not to harm the Jews and to hand over fugitives to Simon. Once Tryphon is shut in, Antiochus refuses Simon's offered troops and money, breaks his earlier agreements, and demands through Athenobius the return of Joppa, Gazera, and the Jerusalem stronghold, or a thousand talents; Simon offers a hundred talents for the two cities. Athenobius reports back, the king is furious, and after Tryphon escapes by sea the king puts Cendebeus over the coast to fortify Cedron and attack Judea.

Claim by Claim

1. 15:1
   • Antiochus son of King Demetrius sent letters.
   • He sent the letters from the islands of the sea.
   • The letters were addressed to Simon the priest and ethnarch of the Jews.
   • The letters were addressed also to the whole nation.
2. 15:2
   • The letters contained the following.
   • The letter is from King Antiochus.
   • The letter is addressed to Simon the high priest and ethnarch, and to the nation of the Jews.
   • The letter opens with a greeting.
3. 15:3
   • Antiochus says certain pestilent men have seized control of the kingdom of his fathers.
   • Antiochus says his purpose is to lay claim to the kingdom.
   • Antiochus says he intends to restore the kingdom to what it was before.
   • Antiochus says he has hired a multitude of foreign troops.
   • Antiochus says he has prepared warships.
4. 15:4
   • Antiochus says he intends to land in the country.
   • Antiochus says his aim is to punish those who have ruined the country.
   • Antiochus says his aim is to punish those who have made many cities in the kingdom desolate.
5. 15:5
   • Antiochus confirms to Simon all the remissions of dues that the kings before him granted him.
   • Antiochus confirms whatever other remissions they granted him.
6. 15:6
   • Antiochus permits Simon to strike coinage as his own currency for his country.
7. 15:7
   • Antiochus declares that Jerusalem and the sanctuary are to be free.
   • Antiochus declares that all the weapons Simon has made are to remain his.
   • Antiochus declares that the strongholds Simon has built and holds are to remain his.
8. 15:8
   • Antiochus declares that every debt owed to the king is remitted to Simon.
   • Antiochus declares that royal dues that will fall due are also remitted to Simon.
   • The remission is from this time forth and for all time.
9. 15:9
   • Antiochus says that when they have established their kingdom, they will glorify Simon, his nation, and the temple with great glory.
   • Antiochus says the result will be that their glory is made known in all the earth.
10. 15:10
    • In the one hundred and seventy-fourth year Antiochus went into the land of his fathers.
    • All the forces came together to him.
    • Few men were left with Tryphon.
11. 15:11
    • King Antiochus pursued Tryphon.
    • Tryphon fled and came to Dora.
    • Dora lies by the sea.
12. 15:12
    • Tryphon knew that troubles had gathered upon him.
    • The forces had abandoned Tryphon.
13. 15:13
    • Antiochus encamped against Dora.
    • He had with him one hundred and twenty thousand fighting men.
    • He had with him eight thousand horsemen.
14. 15:14
    • He surrounded the city.
    • The ships joined the attack from the sea.
    • He pressed the city hard from the land and from the sea.
    • He allowed no one to go out or come in.
15. 15:15
    • Numenius and his company came from Rome.
    • They carried letters to the kings and to the countries.
    • The following was written in the letters.
16. 15:16
    • The letter is from Lucius, consul of the Romans.
    • The letter is addressed to King Ptolemy.
    • The letter opens with a greeting.
17. 15:17
    • The ambassadors of the Jews came to us.
    • They are our friends and allies.
    • They came to renew the friendship and alliance that existed from the beginning.
    • They were sent from Simon the high priest and from the people of the Jews.
18. 15:18
    • They brought a shield of gold.
    • The shield weighed one thousand minas.
19. 15:19
    • It pleased us to write to the kings and to the countries.
    • They are not to seek harm against the Jews.
    • They are not to make war on the Jews, their cities, or their countries.
    • They are not to ally with those who fight against the Jews.
20. 15:20
    • It seemed good to us to accept the shield from them.
21. 15:21
    • If any pestilent men have fled from their country to you, hand them over to Simon the high priest.
    • The purpose is that Simon may punish them according to their own law.
22. 15:22
    • He wrote the same things to King Demetrius.
    • He wrote the same things to Attalus.
    • He wrote the same things to Ariarathes.
    • He wrote the same things to Arsaces.
23. 15:23
    • He wrote the same things to all the countries.
    • He wrote to Sampsames and to the Lacedemonians.
    • He wrote to Delos, Myndus, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Aradus, Cos, Side, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene.
24. 15:24
    • They wrote a copy of this to Simon the high priest.
25. 15:25
    • King Antiochus encamped against Dora the second day.
    • He brought his forces against it continually.
    • He built siege engines.
    • He shut Tryphon in so that he could not go out or come in.
26. 15:26
    • Simon sent Antiochus two thousand chosen men to fight on his side.
    • Simon sent silver and gold.
    • Simon sent ample equipment.
27. 15:27
    • Antiochus refused to accept these things.
    • Antiochus annulled all the agreements he had made with Simon before.
    • Antiochus became estranged from Simon.
28. 15:28
    • Antiochus sent Athenobius to Simon.
    • Athenobius was one of the king's friends.
    • Athenobius was sent to confer with Simon.
    • The message said that Simon's people hold Joppa and Gazara and the citadel in Jerusalem.
    • The message said these are cities of the king's kingdom.
29. 15:29
    • The message said they have laid waste the territory of those cities.
    • The message said they have done great harm in the land.
    • The message said they have taken control of many places in the king's kingdom.
30. 15:30
    • The message demanded they hand over the cities they had taken.
    • The message demanded the tributes of the places they had taken control of outside the borders of Judea.
31. 15:31
    • Otherwise they are to give five hundred talents of silver in place of the cities.
    • They are to give another five hundred talents for the damage done and for the tributes of the cities.
    • If not, the king's men will come and make war on them.
32. 15:32
    • Athenobius the king's friend came to Jerusalem.
    • He saw the glory of Simon.
    • He saw a sideboard with gold and silver vessels.
    • He saw a large retinue in attendance.
    • He was astonished.
    • He reported the king's words to them.
33. 15:33
    • Simon answered him.
    • Simon said they have not taken foreign land.
    • Simon said they have not seized what belongs to others.
    • Simon said what they hold is the inheritance of their fathers.
    • Simon said their enemies had unjustly held it for a time.
34. 15:34
    • Simon said that, having the opportunity, they hold fast to their inheritance and that of their fathers.
35. 15:35
    • Simon said that as for Joppa and Gazara, which Athenobius demands, those cities did great harm among the people and to their land.
    • Simon said they will give a hundred talents for them.
    • Athenobius did not answer him a word.
36. 15:36
    • Athenobius returned to the king in a rage.
    • He reported these words to the king.
    • He reported the glory of Simon.
    • He reported all that he had seen.
    • The king was exceedingly angry.
37. 15:37
    • Tryphon boarded a ship.
    • Tryphon fled to Orthosias.
38. 15:38
    • The king appointed Cendebeus chief commander of the coastal region.
    • The king gave him forces of infantry and cavalry.
39. 15:39
    • The king commanded him to encamp facing Judea.
    • The king commanded him to build up Cedron.
    • The king commanded him to fortify the gates.
    • The king commanded him to make war on the people.
    • The king himself pursued Tryphon.
40. 15:40
    • Cendebeus came to Jamnia.
    • He began to provoke the people.
    • He began to invade Judea.
    • He began to take the people captive.
    • He began to kill them.
41. 15:41
    • He built up Cedron.
    • He stationed horsemen there.
    • He stationed forces of foot soldiers there.
    • The purpose was that they might go out and raid the roads of Judea.
    • He did this as the king had commanded him.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

15:1

Antiochus son of Demetrius is Antiochus VII, called Sidetes, the younger brother of Demetrius II. Demetrius had been captured by the Parthians, and Antiochus was pressing his claim to the throne from outside the kingdom. The "isles of the sea" are the Greek islands of the Aegean, where he was living. The King James "prince" translates a Greek title meaning head of the nation, an administrative office under the king, not a royal rank.

15:2

A high priest was the leader of all the priests. He was the most important man at the temple in Jerusalem.

15:3

"The kingdom of our fathers" is the Seleucid empire, founded by one of Alexander the Great's generals and ruling Syria and the lands east of it. The "pestilent men" who have usurped it are Tryphon and his supporters. Tryphon had been a general who put a boy king on the throne, killed him, and took the crown himself.

15:5

The King James "oblations" is misleading. These are not religious offerings but remissions of tribute: taxes that earlier kings had agreed not to collect from the Jews. Antiochus is confirming those exemptions.

15:6

The right to strike coinage with your own stamp was one of the clearest public marks of an independent state. A king granting it was conceding a visible piece of his own authority.

15:7

"Free" here is a technical term of Greek statecraft. A free city paid no tribute to the king and ran its own affairs rather than being administered by royal officials.

15:10

Dates in this book are counted from the founding of the Seleucid kingdom. The one hundred and seventy-fourth year is roughly 138 BC.

15:11

Dora was a fortified harbor town on the Mediterranean coast, south of Mount Carmel and north of the later site of Caesarea.

15:15

Numenius had been sent to Rome as Simon's envoy; that mission is described in chapter 14. He returns carrying not a treaty text but circular letters from Rome to the other powers of the region.

15:16

A consul was one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman republic, elected for a single year and holding the highest civil and military authority. "Ptolemee" is Ptolemy, the family name borne by every Greek king of Egypt; the one addressed here is Ptolemy VIII.

15:17

"Friends and confederates" is a formal Roman diplomatic category rather than a compliment. It named a recognized standing relationship with Rome and carried the specific protections set out in the rest of the letter.

15:18

The Greek gives the weight in minas, a Greek unit of a little over a pound. A thousand of them is a very large mass of gold, and a shield of that weight was a ceremonial gift for display, not a usable piece of armor.

15:21

This is an extradition clause. Rome is asked to hand back Jews who had opposed Simon and fled abroad, and to accept that Jewish law, administered by the high priest, is the law under which they will be tried.

15:22

Demetrius II was Antiochus VII's elder brother and the reigning Seleucid king, though at this point a prisoner of the Parthians. Attalus is Attalus II, king of Pergamum in western Asia Minor. Ariarathes is Ariarathes V of Cappadocia in central Asia Minor. Arsaces is the throne name taken by every Parthian king, here Mithridates I.

15:23

These are the kings, city states and islands of the eastern Mediterranean, most of them in the Aegean or along the coast of Asia Minor. Rome is circulating one letter to every power in the region at once, and many of these places had Jewish communities living in them. The King James list names Aradus twice and drops Phaselis; the rendering follows the Greek.

15:25

Siege engines were wooden towers, battering rams and catapults, usually built on the spot from local timber and used to break through or climb over a city's walls.

15:26

Armor is metal clothing that keeps a soldier safe in a fight.

15:28

Joppa is the port on the coast, modern Jaffa. Gazera is Gezer, a fortress town inland that guarded the road up toward Jerusalem. Simon had taken both. "The tower that is in Jerusalem" is the citadel the Greeks called the Akra, which had held a royal garrison overlooking the temple until Simon captured it; the word means a fortified stronghold, not a single tower.

15:30

Tribute was the fixed annual payment a subject town or district owed to the king. Antiochus is demanding both the towns themselves and the revenue Simon had been collecting from them.

15:31

A talent was a weight of silver, roughly seventy-five pounds. Five hundred talents is an enormous sum, the scale of payment demanded between kingdoms after a war.

15:32

"The king's friend" was a formal rank at the Seleucid court, roughly a member of the king's council, not a description of personal affection. The King James "cupboard" means a sideboard for displaying gold and silver dishes, not a closed cabinet; setting out such a display was a standard way of showing a visiting envoy how wealthy a ruler was.

15:33

Simon's argument is legal. He claims Joppa and Gezer lie within the land Israel held anciently, so taking them back is recovering property wrongfully held by others, not conquering foreign territory.

15:35

A hundred talents is a fifth of what Antiochus demanded. Simon offers a payment for the two towns while refusing the claim that stands behind the demand.

15:37

Orthosias was a port on the Phoenician coast, north of Tripolis, in what is now Lebanon.

15:38

"Captain of the sea coast" was a Seleucid provincial command covering the coastal strip of Phoenicia and Palestine. Putting a general there placed an army directly between Judea and the sea.

15:39

Cedron, or Kidron, was a village on the edge of the coastal plain near Jamnia. It is not the Kidron valley beside Jerusalem.

15:40

Jamnia, later called Yavneh, was a town in the plain between Judea and the sea, southwest of Joppa.

15:41

Raiding the roads meant rushing out to attack people traveling by.