Synopsis of the Chapter
Judas Maccabeus with six thousand men, having invoked God, wonderfully harasses the gentiles. Then, verse 16, he exhorts his few men with a sharp speech to fight bravely against Nicanor and to hope for certain victory from God. Thus encouraged, they fight and overthrow Nicanor, who fleeing to Antioch proclaims everywhere the might of the God of Israel. With equal strength, verse 30, he strikes down Timothy and Bacchides and burns the impious Callisthenes.
Verse 1: Assembled Six Thousand Men ¶
1. BUT JUDAS MACCABEUS, ETC., ASSEMBLED SIX THOUSAND MEN. -- With these few forces he overthrew the greatest armies of Antiochus Epiphanes, partly because these men were like men with nothing to lose, fighting for their altars and hearths, and partly because they entered battles with great hope in God and invocation of Him: therefore God added courage and strength to them, and took it from their enemies.
Verse 3: The Voice of the Blood Crying Out ¶
3. And that He would hear the voice of the blood (of innocent Jews killed by Antiochus, as we heard in chapter 7 and the preceding) crying out to Him (with a mute voice, like Abel against the parricide Cain).
Verse 5: Maccabeus Intolerable to the Gentiles ¶
5. BUT MACCABEUS, HAVING GATHERED A MULTITUDE, BECAME INTOLERABLE (Greek anypastatos, unendurable, intolerable -- whom no one could endure, whose arms and forces no one could withstand, but all yielded and succumbed to them) TO THE GENTILES; FOR THE WRATH OF THE LORD (by which He had chastised the sin of the Jews through Antiochus up to this point) WAS TURNED TO MERCY -- so that through Judas He would make the Jews, previously conquered and trampled by Antiochus, his conquerors and tramplers. This is what the last Maccabee, tortured the preceding year, had foretold to Antiochus like a prophet, chapter 7, verse 38: "In me, he said, and in my brothers the wrath of the Almighty shall cease." For in order that this might come about, he himself and his brothers, by their so heroic
endurance of martyrdom they merited, by which they expiated the sins of the Jews before God and turned His wrath into mercy and grace; whereby it came about that God raised up Judas Maccabeus and added to him the courage and strength by which he everywhere routed the forces of Antiochus.
Verse 6: Coming Upon Strongholds by Surprise ¶
6. AND COMING UPON STRONGHOLDS AND CITIES BY SURPRISE, HE SET THEM ON FIRE. -- For this is a stratagem of distinguished military leaders -- to rush upon the enemy unexpectedly, and therefore by night, when they are unarmed and unprepared, indeed buried in sleep and wine, and thus to slaughter them like cattle, as Judas did here. Hannibal did the same to the Romans, and in turn the Romans to Hannibal, as Livy, Justin, Plutarch and others attest.
Verse 8: Philip Seeing the Man Advancing ¶
8. BUT PHILIP, SEEING -- who had been appointed governor of Jerusalem by Antiochus (chapter 5, verse 22) -- THE MAN GRADUALLY ADVANCING, namely that Judas was daily growing in victories as well as in spirit, strength and forces flowing to him as the victor, and making progress, fearing for himself and his people, he sought help from Ptolemy, the Governor of Coele-Syria.
Verse 9: Ptolemy Sent Nicanor ¶
9. AND HE (Ptolemy) QUICKLY SENT NICANOR, SON OF PATROCLUS, ETC., GIVING HIM ARMED FORCES OF MIXED NATIONS NUMBERING NO FEWER THAN TWENTY THOUSAND; -- but afterwards far more were added to these, as is clear from book I, chapter 3, verses 38 and 42.
Verse 10: Nicanor Determined to Make Up the Tribute ¶
10. AND NICANOR DETERMINED (puffed up with such great forces, and devouring all the Jews with certain hope of victory) TO MAKE UP FOR THE KING (Antiochus) THE TRIBUTE THAT WAS OWED TO THE ROMANS (because the Romans had defeated his father Antiochus the Great in war and condemned him to pay tribute; the amount of this tribute owed to the Romans was) TWO THOUSAND TALENTS (so that he would make up this tribute) FROM THE CAPTIVITY OF THE JEWS, -- so that he would raise this whole sum largely from the sale of the Jews he intended to capture. Hence he summoned the inhabitants of Tyre, Sidon, and other neighboring cities to buy Jewish slaves at the cheapest price; namely:
Verse 11: Ninety Slaves for One Talent ¶
11. PROMISING THAT HE WOULD SELL NINETY SLAVES FOR ONE TALENT (of silver), -- that is, for 500 gold coins, so that each slave would cost no more than five and a half gold coins; whereas shortly before Hyrcanus had sold a single young man for a talent, that is 500 gold coins, as Josephus attests, book XII, chapter 4. This indignity and contempt stung the Jews, so that they flocked in droves to the camp of Judas, ready to fight to the death for the law and liberty. Therefore Nicanor did this imprudently, provoking the Jews to fight like men with nothing to lose, and for that reason he was defeated and slain by them.
Verse 13: Not Believing in God's Justice ¶
13. NOT BELIEVING IN GOD'S JUSTICE, -- namely that God would be the patron and avenger of the just and innocent cause of the Jews, and would overthrow the unjust Nicanor through them.
Verse 14: Others Sold Whatever Remained ¶
14. BUT OTHERS SOLD WHATEVER REMAINED TO THEM, and from this they procured arms and provisions, so that approaching the camp of Judas, they might fight courageously against Nicanor for their fatherland and faith unto death.
Verse 15: The Covenant with Their Fathers ¶
15. AND IF NOT FOR THEIR OWN SAKE, THEN FOR THE COVENANT WHICH WAS WITH THEIR FATHERS, -- as if to say: They besought the Lord to deliver them from Nicanor, not for their own merits, but for those of the Fathers, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., with whom God had made a testament, that is a covenant, promising that He would be their God and that of their posterity, that is their guardian and protector, if they in turn would worship Him as their God.
Verse 16: Not to Make Peace with the Enemy ¶
16. AND MACCABEUS, HAVING CALLED TOGETHER SEVEN THOUSAND, -- Greek: six thousand; for that many are named in verses 4 and 22, but the seventh thousand was led by Judas himself, the remaining six thousand by his brothers as commanders. So Salianus.
HE BEGGED THEM NOT TO MAKE PEACE WITH THE ENEMY, -- but to wage against them an aspondon polemon, that is, an irreconcilable war, and therefore one to be dreaded and feared by the enemy, such as Hannibal waged against the Romans, who when he was still quite a boy was bound by an oath by his father Hamilcar while sacrificing at the altars, that as soon as his age permitted, he would be an enemy of the Romans, as Plutarch attests in his Life. Similarly the Numantines in Spain, besieged by the Romans for 14 years, refused to be reconciled with them, and therefore destroyed 40,000 Romans; but at last, pressed by famine under Scipio, they burned all their possessions and themselves in a fire kindled in the forum. So Florus, book II. Hasdrubal, the commander of Carthage besieged by Scipio, mutilated Roman captives on the walls -- their eyes, tongues, fingers, or soles of their feet -- and thus threw them alive from the cliffs, so as to leave the Carthaginians no hope of obtaining pardon from the Romans, but to place their salvation in arms alone, says Appian. For war with the obstinate is hard and dangerous. Such a war every faithful person ought to wage throughout their whole life against Lucifer, against the flesh and the world, against pride, anger, gluttony, and lust, admitting no terms of peace, but constantly fighting against them in a war to the death.
Verse 20: The Battle Against the Galatians ¶
20. AND OF THE BATTLE THEY HAD AGAINST THE GALATIANS IN BABYLONIA, WHEN THE MATTER CAME TO A HEAD AND THE MACEDONIAN ALLIES HESITATED, THEY THEMSELVES, SIX THOUSAND ALONE, DESTROYED 120,000. -- This seems to have occurred under Antiochus I, who was the son and successor of Seleucus I, the first king of Asia and Syria after Alexander, and was surnamed Soter. For he, as Appian narrates in the Syriaca, repelled the Galatians invading Asia from Europe, and this with the help of the Jews, to whom therefore both he and his son Antiochus surnamed Theos conferred the highest dignities and privileges in thanksgiving, as Josephus narrates, book XII, chapter 3; Justin, books 24 and 25; Plutarch in his Demetrius; and others. So Serarius, Mariana and others.
Verse 22: Brothers as Leaders of Each Division ¶
22. HE THEREFORE APPOINTED HIS BROTHERS AS LEADERS OF EACH DIVISION: SIMON AND JOSEPH. -- This Joseph was called by another name, John, in book I, chapter 2, verse 2. So Serarius.
Verse 23: Esdras Read from the Holy Book ¶
23. IN ADDITION, ESDRAS HAVING READ TO THEM FROM THE HOLY
BOOK. -- This Esdras was not the true and celebrated scribe who wrote the book of Ezra, but one much later, namely a priest or distinguished doctor of the law, who, in order to add courage and hope of victory to the soldiers going to battle, read to them from Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 7, where God promises certain triumph over enemies to the Jews who duly worship Him. And God Himself had ordered this to be done before battle, in Deuteronomy chapter 20, saying: "When the battle draws near, the priest shall stand before the army and shall speak thus: Hear, O Israel, do not be afraid, because the Lord your God is in your midst."
Moreover the Greek has: Furthermore, Judas also appointed Eleazar, namely his fourth brother, as a commander in the war, assigning him likewise 1,500 soldiers; for thus he distributed six thousand soldiers among four brothers as leaders, assigning to each a quarter, namely 1,500 soldiers. Then it adds another point, that Judas, as Pontiff and supreme military commander, as stated above, read the book of Deuteronomy to the soldiers.
AND THE SIGNAL HAVING BEEN GIVEN, -- that is, the military watchword of God's help; as if to say, Judas gave his men this battle watchword by which allies could be distinguished from enemies: "God is our helper." This was the omen and cause of all their victories -- namely that Judas placed all his hope of victory not in his own forces but in God's. Similarly, the pagans often gave this battle watchword: "God is with us," says Vegetius, book III, chapter 3. Thus Cyrus's watchword in battle was: "Jupiter, ally and leader of the war," says Xenophon, book III. Pompey's in the battle of Pharsalus was: "Hercules unconquered;" and Julius Caesar's was: "Venus victorious," as Appian attests, book II On the Civil Wars. So Sanchez, Serarius, Salianus and others.
HE HIMSELF AS LEADER (Judas) ENGAGED (in battle) WITH NICANOR.
Verse 24: The Almighty as Their Helper ¶
24. AND WITH THE ALMIGHTY AS THEIR HELPER, THEY KILLED MORE THAN NINE THOUSAND MEN, -- the rest being put to flight or captured.
Verse 26: They Returned at the Closing Hour ¶
26. BUT THEY RETURNED AT THE CLOSING HOUR, -- that is, when the evening hour which precedes the Sabbath was approaching, they were restricted and prohibited from pursuing the fleeing enemies, for on the Sabbath rest was prescribed for them by law; and the Sabbath began at the evening hour of the preceding day.
Verse 28: Spoils Divided Among Disabled and Orphans ¶
28. THEY DIVIDED THE SPOILS AMONG THE DISABLED, THE ORPHANS, AND THE WIDOWS. -- See here the charity and generosity of Judas and his soldiers, by which in thanksgiving for the victory obtained from God they distributed the spoils among the needy, and therefore obtained new victories from God, who is more grateful to the grateful and more generous to the generous: for in verse 30, "from the camps of Timothy they killed more than twenty thousand and obtained lofty fortifications and divided greater spoils." Let the confessors and preachers of Christian soldiers and commanders tell them this example of the Jews, so that by imitating it they may deserve to be similarly blessed by God and heaped with victories. Indeed, when the Turk obtains some notable victory over his enemies, he is accustomed to erect some hospital in thanksgiving for feeding the poor, and to endow it.
Verse 29: Common Supplication Made by All ¶
29. AND A COMMON SUPPLICATION BEING MADE BY ALL (let our soldiers also imitate this common litany), THEY BESOUGHT THE MERCIFUL LORD TO BE RECONCILED TO HIS SERVANTS AT LAST. -- that is, that He, hitherto offended by the sins of the Jews and therefore chastising them through Antiochus, would at last, appeased by their common prayers, remove this scourge and fully and completely deliver them from every attack of enemies.
Verse 30: Equal Portions for the Disabled ¶
30. MAKING EQUAL PORTIONS FOR THE DISABLED, ORPHANS AND WIDOWS, AND ALSO FOR THE ELDERS. -- Greek isomoirous, that is, making equal shares with the disabled, orphans and widows, and priests; as if to say: They divided the spoils into two equal portions. Of these, the soldiers kept one for themselves; the other they distributed especially among the disabled -- who had been wounded, mutilated, or incapacitated in battle -- and also among orphans and widows whose parents and husbands had fallen in battle. For piety and the merits of their parents and husbands demanded this. And also to the priests, since they were consecrated to God and had prayed to God for the fighting soldiers to grant them victory.
Verse 32: They Killed Philarches ¶
32. AND THEY KILLED PHILARCHES WHO WAS WITH TIMOTHY. -- Philarches is not a proper name but a title of office and rank; for phylarchos means a tribune, a prefect of tribes, and is the name of a military magistrate: phyle means tribe, family, cohort; archos means prefect, prince. So Salianus.
Verse 33: Burning of Callisthenes ¶
33. And while they were celebrating their triumphs in Jerusalem. -- He calls 'epinicia' the public feasts, applause and ovations for the victory obtained. At the same time, as a sign of triumph, they burned Callisthenes, who had set fire to the doors of the temple, with a similar fire. This was a just penalty of retribution.
Verse 36: The Jews Had God as Their Protector ¶
36. HE PROCLAIMED (Nicanor, defeated and struck down by Judas) THAT THE JEWS HAD GOD AS THEIR PROTECTOR, AND THAT ON HIS ACCOUNT THEY WERE INVULNERABLE (Vatablus: invincible) BECAUSE THEY FOLLOWED THE LAWS ESTABLISHED BY HIM. -- This is a great testimony from an enemy.
Learn here, O Christian, that in any temptation, persecution, conflict, or hardship you will be invulnerable and invincible if you keep the laws of God. For God will be your protector, and will either free you from it, or through patience and magnanimity will cause you to endure and overcome it bravely, so that He may prepare for you a greater crown in heaven as you fight and conquer.