THE APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHAO F THE

OLD TESTAMENTI N ENGLISHW I T H I K T R O D U C T I O N S A N D CRITICAI, ANPI E X P L A N A T O R Y NOTES T O T H E S E V E R A L BOOKSE D I T E D IN CONJUNCTION W I T H M A N Y SCHOLARS BY

K. H. CHARLES, D.LITT., D.D.FELLOW OF blERTOh' COLLEGE, OXFORD EELLO\\' OF THE BRITISH ACADELI1'

VOLUME I

APOCRYPHA

OXFORDA T T H E CLARENDON PRESS

Oxford University Press, Ely House, London W.IGLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELlLINGTON CAPE TOWN SALISBURY IBADAN NAIROBI LUSAKA ADDIS ABABA BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI LAHORE DACCA KUALA LUMPUR HONG KONG TOKYO

FIRST PUBLISHEI) 1 9 1 3 REPRINTED LITHOGRAPHICALLY I N GREAT BRITAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD FROM SHEETS OF THE FIRST EDITION

1963,

1965,

1968

PREFFOR students both of the Old and New Testaments the value of the non-Canonical Jewish literature from 2 0 0 E. C. to A. u. roo is practically recognized on every side alike by Jewish and Christian scholars. But hitherto no attempt has been made io issue an edition of this literature as a whole in English.' Indeed, such an undertaking would have been all but impossible a t an earlier date, seeing that critical editions of some of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha have not been published till within the last few years.The melhod observed ijt~this z~lorK.In all the contributions one and the same method has been observed. Each contribution consists of an introduction, an English trarislation from the best critical text-in a few cases the Revised Version has been adopted and emendations suggested in the notes-and of a critical and exegetical c ~ m m e n t a r y . ~A s regards the introductions, the subjects dealt with in them have, so far as possible, been treated in the same order to facilitate the use of the work. Though a large discretion has naturally been given to the various editors, the following order has more or less been observed as a guide or been actually carried out.

4

4 4 4 4

Short account of the book, embodying its leading feat~lresand the editor's chief conclusions. 2. Title of the book. 3. T h e MSS. 4. T h e Ancient Versions. 5. Date of (a) the original text, (6) of the Ancient Versions. $ 6. Integrity or composite nature of the text. j 7. Authorship. 8. Influence of the book on later literature-(a) Jewish ; (6) Christian. g. Theology of the book. j 10. Bibliography(a) Chief editions of the text (and of the Ancient Versions). (6) Chief critical inquiries. (c) Chief editions of the book.I.

4 4

Kautzsch published a n edition in German in 1900, hut on a smaller scale than the present work and embracing fewer books of this literature (vol. i. 1-507 ; vol. ii. 1-540). In the case of Sirach and Tobit the editors have been allowed much beyond the normal number of pages for their critical apparatus, which they have used to good purpose.111

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T h e e x f e d of the P ~ e s e l z fzttork.T h e first volume contains what is generally known as the Apocrypha Proper, which constitutes the excess of the Vulgate over the Hebre\v Old Testament, which excess was in turn borrowed from the LXX. But. this volume differs from the Apocrypha Proper a t once in the waj7 of excess a'nd in the way of defect. 3 Maccabees has been added after 2 Maccabees, since it is contained in many MSS. of the LXX, and .4 Ezra has been transferred to Volume ii since it is essentially a Pseudepigraph. Volume ii contains all the remaining extant non-Canonical Jewish books written between 2 0 0 B. C. and A.D. roo with possibly one. or two exceptions. T h e greater part of these books have hitherto been accessible only in expensive editions-such. as Jubilees, I Enoch, Testaments of the X I 1 Patriarchs, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, Psalms of Solomon, P i r k ~Aboth, the Story of Ahikar, &c. A s regards the last two, it is not necessary to make any apology for their introduction into the present work, although they do not properly fall within the true limits above defined, but thej \yere used, a t all events partially, by Jewish readers within this period, nor can they be rightly designated Pseudepigraphs. T h e Fragments of a Zadokite Work are of a n historical character, and are valuable in throwing light on a lost chapter of Jewish religious history. They contain likewise apocalyptic material of an interesting nature. T h e General Editor, in conclusion, wishes to express his thanks to the Delegates of the Press for undertaking this work, and to the Officers of the Press, whose help and counsel were always ready to meet each difficulty as it arose. T h e Editor is also under deep obligations to the many scholars who, notwithstanding the pressure of other duties, have yet given themselves so unsparingly to the tasks they had undertaken, that in every instance most valuable service has been rendered to the student and the scholar, while in not a few instances their contributions form actual monographs within the limits assigned. His thanks are due to Messrs: A. and C. Black, the ~ u b l i s h e r s his editions of Jubilees, Martyrdom of Isaiah, Testament of the XI1 of Patriarchs, Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, for permission t o reprint the translation and make use of the introduction and notes contained in those editions. Finally, he \vould acknowledge his indebtedness to the Rev. A. L1. Davies, \\rho has acted throughout as his secretary and also made the General Index.

R. H. C H A R L E S .

CONTENTS

VOLUMEPAGES

vi

'THE AE'OCRl'PHAGESERALINTRODUCTION (Charles) ADIIENI).I ET COIZRIGESDA . HISTORICAL BOOKSIJ

O F T H E OLD 'I'ES'I'AhlENTviixi

.

E ~ D R X(Cook) S . MACCABEES (Oesterley) . 2 MACCABEES (Moffatt) . 3 MACCABEES (Emrnet) .

QUASI-HISTORICAL HOOKS W R I T T E N W I T H A MORAL PUKPOSE-

TOBIT (Simpson) JUDITH(Cowley)

. .

WISDOM L I T E R A T U R E SIRACH(Box and Oesterley) . WISDOMOF SOLOMON (Holrnes)

.

ADDITIONS T O AND COMPLETIONS O F T H E CANONICAL BOOKSI BARUCH (Whitehouse) . EPISTLE.OF JEKEBIY (Ball) . PRAYER XIXSA~SES OF (Kyle) . AI~DITIONS DAXIELTO PRAYEROF AZARIAHAND SONG THE THREE CSIILDREX OF (Bennett) SUSANNA (Kay) . BEL AXD THE DRAGON (Witton Davie5) . ADDITION^ TO ESTHLR(Gregg)

.

CONTRIBUTORS

VOLUME

BALL,C. J., M.A., I).Litt., Queen's College, University Lecturer in Assyriology, Oxford: The Epistle of Jerolty. BENNETT, I-I., I,itt.D., D.D., Professor of Old Testament Exegesis, Hackney College, London : W. The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Thvee Chilaken. BOX,G. H., M.A., formerly Scholar of St. John's College, Oxford ; Lecturer in Rabbinical Hebrew. King's College, London ; Rector of Sutton, Reds. : Sirach (along with Dr. Oesterley). COOI:, S. A,, M.A., Ex-Fellow and Lecturer in the Comparative Study of Religions, and Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge : 1 Esdras. CO~VLET, E., M.A., D.Litt., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford : Jzddith. A. DAVIES, WITTON,, T. B.A., Ph.D., Professor of Semitic Languages, University College, Bangor : Bel a d the Drgofz. EMMET, CYRILW., M.A., formerly Scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford ; Rector of \Vest Hendred : 3 Macchbees. GREGG, A. F., D.D., Archbishop King's Professor in Divinity, Trinity College, Dublin: The J. Additions to Esther. HOLMES, SAMUEL, M.A., Lecturer in Theology, Jesus College, Oxford:

The Wisdom of Solo??ton.

KAY,D. M., B.D., Professor of Oriental Languages, St. Andrews : Sz~safzna. MOFFATT, JAMES, D.D., Yates Professor of New Testament Greek and Exegesis, Mansfield College, Oxford : 2 Il/laccabees. OESTERI~EY, 0. E., D.D. (Cambridge) : W.I

iPlaccnbees, Sirach (jointly with G. H. Box).

RTLE,RIGHTREV.BISHOPHERBERT D.D., Dean of Westminster ; formerly Hulsean Professor E., f of Divinity, Cambridge, and Bishop of Exeter and Winchester: The Prayer o Manasses. SIMPSON, C., M.A., Lecturer in Theology and Hebrew, St. Edmund Hall, and Reader in Hebrew D. and Old Testament in Manchester College, Oxford : Tobit. WHITEHOUSE, C., M.A., D.D., Theological Tutor, Cheshunt College, Cambridge: 0.1

Baruch.

I N T R O D U C T I O N TO V O L U h l E I 1QI.

The origin of the term apocr3plza.l.

How the term 'Apocryphal Books'(d.lr6~~v$a piphi'a) arose has not yet been determined. It did not, as Zahn (Gescl~. s Kez~testa~~ze~ztZiche~z I , i. 123 sq.:), Schurer, Porter, N. Schmidt, and A Kmzons others maintain, originate in the Late Hebrew phrase nlrnJ n w a , 'hidden books.I2 But Talmudic literature knows nothing of such a class. The Hebrew word gnnaz (rx) does not mean ' t~ hide', but ' to store away ' things in themselves precious. Indeed, so far is it from being a technical term in reference to non-Canonical writings, that it is most frequently used in reference'to the Canonical Scriptures themselves. When writings were wholly without the pale of the Sacred books-such as i.e. those of the heretics or Samaritans-they were usually designated /zi~onim, 'outside ' (Sanh. x. I t19JlYn n 9 1 D D and n9Ynn 9 % ~ ) . TO this class the Apocrypha were never relegated, save Sirach, according to a statement found only in Sanh. x. I in the Palestinian Talmud, where it is stated that ' whoso reads the outside books urould have no part in the life to conie '. But it is clear that there is some error either in the text or the interpretation ; for Sirach is very frequently cited by the Cowley and Neubauer, pp. xix-XXX), Rabbis (see the Oy@znl Hr6rezr, of a Portion of Ecclesi~zsticus, and two passages of it (Sir. vii. l o in Erubin 6 j a and xiii. 1 1 in Raba Qama 92'') are cited as 6 belonging to the Hagiographa. The facts show that Sirach was read-read at all events for private edification though not in the synagogues.Extent of the rewish apocryphal writi?gs. We are not here of course concerned with all Jewish apocryphal writings, but with those which were written between 200 LC. and A.D. 120. The most notable of these in the past centuries were those which we may define as the Apocrypha Proper, i.e.2.I

4

2

Esdras Esdras

Epistle of Jeremy Additions to Daniel-The

Tobit ,, ,, Judith 1, ,, Prayer of Manasses Additions to Esther I Maccabees Wisdom of Solomon 2 Maccabees Ecclesiasticus or Sirach I Baruch If we compare the collection of the Sacsed books as they are found in the Hebrew Old Testament, the LXX, and the Vulgate, we shall find that the Apocrypha Proper constitutes the excess of the Vulgate over the Hebrew Old Testament, and that this excess is borrowed from the LXX. But the official Vulgate (1592) does not include I and 2 Esdras (i.e. 4 Ezra in this edition) and the Prayer of Manasses among the Canonical Scriptures, but prints them as an appendix ~ after the Netv Testament. The Roman Church excludes them from the C a n ~ n . Only I Esdras isThis Introduction is not intended to be a General Introduction to the Apocrypha, but only to bring forward a few important points in connexion with the Apocrypha. This error appears to have arisen from Aboth K. N., I . i, where it is said, ' Forrnerly because Proverbs, the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes, contained only proverbs, and did not belong to the Hagiographa, they were stored away (D*~)>J) the Inen of the Great Synagogue explained them.' Here many scholars have rendered the Hebrew word until wrongly a s 'hidden '. T h e rest of the Apocrypha Proper was declared to be Canonical by the Council of Trent (1546), which pronounced a n anathema on the Inan who did not accept libros ijsos integr0.s cu?lz o~ittzibussuis @czrtibus, $rozrt i n Gcclesia C~ztholica legi consueverz~ntet irz veteri zgzdgntn Lalina editiolze Robe~ztr~r, sczcri~el cnnonicis. pro

I'rayer of Azariah and the Soug of the Three Children Susanna Re1 and the Dragon

vii

INTRODUCTION T O VOLURIE Ifound in the LXX. That 2 Esdras (i.e. 4 Ezra) was not incoiporated can only have been due to an accident. Further, it is to be observed that, whereas 3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151 are found in most manuscripts of the LXX, they are absent frorn the Vulgate and the Apocrypha Proper. Thus the difference between the Protestant Canon and that of Rome represents the difference between the Canon of the Palestinian and the Alexandrian Jews. This difference is not due, as it was thought at one time, to the difference in the language of the originals-a view which appears as early as the Gontroversy of Africanus with Origen ; for, as live are now aware, the bulk of the Apocrypha was originally written in Hebrew. But besides the Apocrypha Proper there was a vast body of literature in circulation in Judaism to which is now generally attached the term ' Pseudepigrapha ', i.e. books written between 300 r4.c. and A.D. 1 2 0 under the nanies of ancient worthies in Israel. Since these will be briefly dealt with in the ~ntroductionto vol. ii we shall not discuss them here. T o the Apocrypha Proper in this volume we have added 3 Maccabees-a quasi-historical work -which is found in very many manuscripts of the LXX. I t might have been advisable to have Bibficarunz, which was written originally in Hebrew included also Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiqz~italz~ez and possibly soon after A.D. 70. But this work has not yet been critically edited. Of lost apocrypha we might mention the History of Jokanjzes Hj~rcnnzis, mentioned in x hlacc, xvi. 23, 24, Jnrztzes arzd ~llnmbres e. Jambres), Rook o 7oseph nrzd Aselznth. (i. f

.

L'nrioz~s nzeani~gso fllc tevlrl ' apoc?yphnl'. f

( I ) In its earliest use this term ( c i n 6 l c p u $ o s ) \\,as 'lpplied in a laudatory aignification to writings which were withheld from public knowledge because they were vehicles of mysterious or esoteric wisdom which was too sacred or profound to be disclosed to any save the initiated. In this sense it is found in a magical book of Moses, which has been edited by Dieterich (Ahraxas 169) and may be as old as the first century AD. This book is entitled ' A sacred secret Book of ?\loses' ( M o v u i o s icph P i / h o s & T ~ K ~ U $ O S ) . Rut me have still earlier indications of the existence and nature of the Apocrypha in this senst. The Book of Daniel is represented as withheld from public knowledge until the time came for it> publication : xii. 4, ' But thou, 0 Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book. even unto the time of the end.' The writer of I Enoch speaks of his reveldtions as designed not for his own, i. 2 , cviii. 1 , but for the elect of later generations : xciii. 10

And at its close shall be elected The elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness, To receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation. Similarly, the writer of the Assumption of Moses enjoins that his book is to he preserved for a later period, i. 16-17. That with large bodies of the Jews this esoteric literature was as highly or more highly treasured than the Canoilical Scriptures is clear from the claims made by the Rabbis on behalf of their oral, which was originally in essence an esoteric, tradition, since it was not to be committed to writing. Though they insisted on the exclusive canonicity of the twenty-four books, they claimed to be the possessors of an oral tradition that not only overshadowed but frequently displaced the written Law. In 4 Ezra xiv. 44 sq. we have a categorical statement as to t%e superior worth of this esoteric literature: ' So in forty days were written ninety-four books. And it came to pass when the forty days were fulfilled, that the Most High spake unto me saying: The twenty-four books1 that thou hast written publish, that the worthy and the unzoortl~y ~ n y v rend (thenz):But the seventy last thou shalt keep to deliver to the wise among thy people. The twenty-four books are, of course, the Old Testanlent : the seventy are the apocryphal, but especially the apocalyptic books. .. . v1 11

For in them is the spring of understanding, T h e fountain of wisdom, And the stream of knowledge.' In a like laudatory sense Gregory of Nyssa reckons the New Testament Apocalypse as < v & n o ~ p 4 $ o ~(Oratio in suam ordirzatio?zenz,111. 549 : Ed. Migne). s (i) But the word was applied to writings that were withheld from public circulation, not on the ground of their transcendent worth, but because their value was confessedly secondary or questionable. Thus Origen differentiates writings that were read in p~ublicworship from apocryphal works (Comm. i f z n/lalt. x. 1 8 , xiii. 57). This use became current, and prepared the way for the third and unfavourable sense of the word. (3) T h e word came to be applied to what was false, spurious, or heretical. This meaning appears also in Origen, Prolog. in Calzt. Cantic. : Lommatzsch, xiv. 325).fj 4. Thc attitude of the Christiun Church to the Apocrypha. T h e degree of estimation in which the apscryphal books have been held in the Church has varied with age and place. (I). T h e Greek Fathers such as Origen and Clement, who used the Greek Bible, which included these books, frequently cite them as ' scripture ', ' Divine scripture', ' inspired ', or the like. Later Greek Fathers1 rejected in various ways this conception of the Canon, but it was accepted and maintained in the West by St. Augustine. Where the Greelc differed from the Hebrew Augustille held that the difference was due to Divine inspiration, and that this difference was to be regarded as a sign that in the passage in question an allegorical-not a literal-interpretation \\.as to be looked for. Since h e habitually used a Latin Bible, which embraced the Apocrypha, he appealed to the ) ~ authority of these books as of the rest of the Scriptures. T h e Council of Hippo (A.D. 3 9 ~ and that of Carthage (AD. 397), a t both of which Augustine was present respectively as a presbyter and a bishop, drew up a list of Canonical writings, which, though formed by Latin-speaking bishops, was the chief authority on which the Council of Trent based its own decision. I n fact the list authoritatively issued by the Council of Hippo and that of Trent agrce in nearly every respect, save that the Tridentine divines appear to have n~isunderstoodthe meaning of I and 2 Esdras in the list of the African Council. That in this list I Esdras meant the apocryphal book which Augustine acknowledged as Scripture (Dc Ch.Dci, xviii. 36) and z Esdras meant the Canonical Ezra and Nehemiah there is no reason for doubt ; but the Tridentine divines, taking I Esdras as = the Canonical Ezra and 2 Esdras as = the Canonical Nehemiah," tlrrough a misunderstanding declared r Esdras (i.e. the apocryphal Esdras) apocryphal. (2) On the other hand, teachers connected with Palestine and familiar with the Hebrew Canon, like Africanus and Jerome, declared all books outside the Hebrew Canon as apocryphal. (3) Alongside these two opposing views arose a third which held that, though these books were they nevertheless had their value not t o be put in the same rank as those in the Hebrew collectior~, for m ~ r a uses, and should be read in the Church services. Hence they were called ' ecclesiastical Il a designation that is found first in Kufinus (ob. A . D . 410). Notwithstanding many variations in the attitude of different authorities and councils these three opinions maintained their ground down to the Reformation. A t the Reformation the above ecclesiastical usages were transformed into articles of belief, which may be regarded as characteristic of the Churches by which they were adopted. As 11.e have already remarked, the Council of Trent adopted the Canon of the Council of Hippo and of Augustine, declaring: ' If any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire withI n the next century Athanasius, in an Easter letter (A. D. 36;), states that the books of the Old Testament were twenty-two in number according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Otlier books not included in the Canon, such ;IS isdon don^, Sirach, Esther, Tobit, Judith, might be used,for the instructio~nof catechumens. It is noten.orthy here that the Maccabees are omitted, and Esther is treated as a n apocryph. Zahn, Gcsch. r k s N. 7 licken finons, I I. i. 246-253. : W o u n c i l of Trent, April 8, 1546. ' Testamenti v e t e r i ~ Esdrae primus et secundus, qui dicitur Nehemias.'

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is

' 4

*

INTRODUCTION T O VOLUhIE Iall their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate let him be anathema." All the Apocrypha except I Esdras, q Ezra, and t h e Prayer of Manasses belonging to the Apocrypha Proper were diclared Canonical. On the other hand, the Protestant Churches have universally declared their adhesion t o the Hebrew Canon of the Old Testament. Yet amongst these a milder and a severer view prevailed. While in some Confessions, i. e. the Westminster, it is decreed that they are not ' t o be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings', a more favourable view is expressed regarding them in many other quarters ; e.g. in the preface prefixed to them in the Genevan Bible : ' A s books proceeding from godly men (they) were received t o be read for the advancement and furtherance of the knowledge of history and for the instruction of godly manners: which books declare that a t all times God had an especial care of His Church, and left them not utterly destitute of teachers and means t o confirm them in the hope of the promised Messiah' ; and in t h e Sixth Article of the Church of England: ' t h e other books the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners.' In addition t o the spiritual and moral service rendered by these books, the modern student recognizes that without them it is absolutely impossible t o explain the course of religious development between 2 0 0 B. C. and A.D. ICO. I n this respect the Apocrypha is to b e regarded as embracing t h e Pseudepigrapha a s well. If the Canonical and Apocryphal Books are compared in reference to the question of inspiration, no unbiased scholar could have any hesitation in declaring that the inspiration of such a book as Wisdom or the Testaments of the XI1 Patriarchs is incomparably higher than that of Esther.

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4 5.

Editiolzs-partial

or cov~flete-of the ilpocrypha.

Fritzsche und Grimm, Kurzgef. exegef, Handbuch zu den dpokg$hen drs A. II, 1851-60. Fritzsche, Lief. I, 3 Esra, Zusutze ZZL &-sfher urzd Daniel, Gebet illanusses, Baruch, Bn'gjer.; 11. To627 und judifh; V. Sirach. Grimm, Lief. 111, I Makk. ;IV. 2-4 Mahk. ;VI. FYistlo??r. E. C. Bissell, The rlpocrypha o fhe Old Testament, wifh historical ATntroducfrbnsand bTotes Crifical and f Explanatory, New York, 1880. This work contains the Apocrypha Proper (though 2 Esdras (i. e. 4 Ezra) is added in an Appendix); also 3 hlacc. and a summary of 4 Llacc. In a second Appendix a short account is given of some of the Pseudepigrapha. Wace, Ajocrypha (in the 'Speaker's Commentary'), 2 vols., London, 1888. This edition is furnished with a good introductinn by Salmon. The various books are edited by different English scholars. 0. Zockler, Die Apokr. drs A. 1 nebst eizem Anhang iiber d i Pseudepigrc~hen/iterafur, 89 I . . ~ I Ball, The Ecclesiasficalor Beutero-Canonical Books o the Old Z~sfunzent, f conrmonly called fhe Apocrypha (1892). Kautzsch, Die Apokryphen und Pseude$z&aphen des Alfen Testaments, 2 vols., Tiibingen, 1900. This is the best work that has hitherto appeared on this literature as a whole. But many parts of it are already antiquated.

Q 6.

General literatzwe dealing directly or indiyectly with the period o f this literntu~e.~

Weber, Systenr der altynngogalen palasfinischen Theologie (1880). The last edition of this work was published under the title Lehre des Tulnruds, 1897. Bacher, Die Aggada der Tannuiten, 2 vols., 1884-90. Stade, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, vol. ii, Das Ende des jiidischen Staatswesens (by 0. Holtzmann). 1888. Drummond, Philo judaeus, 2 vols., 1888. Bois, Essai sur les.or&zizes de la philosophiejudlo-Alexandrine, 1890. Toy, Judaisnt and Chrisfia?zi&, I 890. This decree of the Council of Trent was ratified by fifty-three prelates, 'among whom (Westcott, Bible i n the Church, 257) there was not one German, not one scholar distinguished by historical learning, not one who was fitted f by special study for the examination of a subject in which the truth could only be determined by the voice o antiquity." This list includes-only a few of the works interesting to the student of this literature.X

INTRODUCTION TO VOLUhIE ISmlth, G. A., Hzsforz?al Geography of the Holy Land, 1894, 1gor7. Mahaffy, The Empzi-e of the Ptolemies, I 895. Bertholet, Die Sfellung der Isrueliten und der &den zu den Fremden, I 8596. Schechter, Studies i n judaism, I 896. Cheyne, Jewish Relzkious Lt;fe a a f r the E'xile, 1898. Streane, The d g t ufthe Maccabees, I 898. Kent, A History of the jewrb 6 People, Part 111, I 899. Wellhausen, Israelitische und jiidische Geschichte6, I g o I . Schurer, Geschichte des jiidischen VolX.ess,I 898-1 901. Bevan, The House o f Seleucus, z vols., 1902. V o l z ,jiidische Eschatologie von Daniel his Apiba, 1903. Bousset, Die .Uelz;S.ion des judeenfums ivz neufestamenflichen Zeitalter, 1903, 1906'. Baldensperger, Die filessianisch-Apokalyp fische Hofnungen des Jude nthzrms, I 903. Porter, The Messages of the Apocaly$tical Writers, I 905. Friedlander, Die religiisen Bezeregungen zitnerhalb des]udenfhunzs i m Zeitalterjesu, I 905. Marti, Geschichk der ziraeliiischen Relzgion6, 1907. See Sections V and VI. Oesterley and Box, The Relzgion and Worsh$ of the Synagogue, 1907. Kent, The Sermons, Epistles, and Apoca&pses o f Ismel's Prophetsfrom t,heBeglizning o f f h e A s y r i a n Period to the End of fhe Maccabean StruggZe, I g 10. H . Pentin, Internationaljournal ofL4jocBq in E ix. 48. See further the comment. and Torrey, 172 seq., 178 seqq., Bayer, 33 seq. 17. Ccelesyria and Phcenicia. T h e geographical term in MT (' Transflumen ', ' Transpotamia') represents the Persian province west of the Euphrates, and to this the earlier use of the term Coelesyria (before the first cent. B. C.) corresponds. E ' s rendering (contrast EQ's literal i i p a v TOG ~ o r a ~ omay point to an Egyptian locale where the i) geography of Palestine and Syria was unfamiliar (Torrey, 83). Jos. names Syria and Phoenicia, and adds Ammon and Moab ; cf. perhaps Tobiah the Ammonite and Sanballat (if a native of Horonaim).27

I ESDRAS 2. 18-30Jerusalem, do build that rebellious and wicked city, and do repair the marketplaces and the walls of it, and do lay the foundation of a temple. 1 9 Now if this city be builded and the tb~alls thereof be finished, they will not only refuse to give tribute, but will even stand up against kings. the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.

Be it 13 known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll. and in the end it will 2 0 And forasmuch a!; the things pertaining to the endamage the kings. Now because we eat the 14 temple are now in hand, we think it meet not to salt of the palace,and it is not meet for us t o see 2 1 neglect such a matter, but to speak unto our lord the king's dishonour, therefore have Itre sent and the king, to the intent that, if it be thy pleasure, certified the king ; that search may be made in 15 search may be made in the books of thy fathers : the book of the records of thy fathers : so shalt 2. and thou shalt find in the chronicles what is thou find in the book of the records, and know written concerning these things, and shalt under- that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto stand that that citjr was rebellious, troubling both kings and provinces, and that they have moved 2 3 kings and cities : and that the Jews we1 e rebelsedition within the same of old time : for which lious, and raised always wars therein of old time ; cause was this city laid waste. for the which cause even this city was laid waste. 2 4 Wherefore now me do declare unto thee, 0 lord W e certify the 16 the king, that if this city be builded again, and king that, if this city be builded, and the walls the walls thereof set up anew, thou shalt from finished, by this means thou shalt have no portion henceforth have no passage into Ccelesyria and bevond the river. 25 Phenicia. Then the king wrote back again to l'he~t sent the king an answer 1 7 Rathumus the storywriter, and Beeltethmus, and unto Rehurn the cha~lcellor, and to Shimshai the Samellius the scribe. and t o the rest that were in scribe, and to the rest of their companions that commission, and dwelt in Samaria and Syria and dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the coutztry 26 Pllcenicia, after this manner: I have read the beyond the ri~ier, Peace, and so forth. The letter 18 epistle which ye have sent unto m e : which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read therefore before me. And I decreed, and search hath been 19 I commanded to make search, and it hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time found that that city of old time hath made in- hath made insurrection against kings, and that 2 7 surrcction against kings ; and the men were given rebellion and sedition have been made therein. to rebellion and war therein: and that mighty There have been mighty kings also over Jeru- 2 0 kings and fierce were in Jerusalem, who reigned salem, which have ruled over all the cou~ztry and exacted tribute in Cclesyria and Phcenicia. beyond the river; and tribute, custom, and toll, 2s Now therefore I have commanded to hinder was paid unto them. Make ye now a decree to 21 those nien from building the city, cause these lnen to cease, and that this city be not builded, until a decree shall be made by me. and heed to And take heed that ye be not slack herein: why 2 2 be taken that there be nothing done contrary to should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? 29 this order; and that those wicked doings pro30 ceed no further to the annoyance of kings. Then Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter 23 king Artaxerxes his letters being read, Rathu- was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, mus, and Samellius the scribe, and the rest that and their companions, they went in haste t o were in commission with them, removing in haste Jerusalem untio the Jews, and made them to cease unto Jerusalem with horsemen and a multitude by force and power. of people in battle array, began to hinder the Then ceased the work of builders ; and the building of the temple in Jeru18. lay the foundation , ~ avabv iinop6XXovrar ( B A ; 3nrp,36XXovra L ~ c ~ P XL).O ; ~ ~ ~ , i L jaltrce 20. temple . i n hand (ivrpyeimr T& ~ a r hd v va6v), 11t. 'are belng urged on'. M T Now because (QBA om.) may mean 'that the writers are in the king's service, or have entered into a covenant with him, or (reading .' ; Nestle, Strack) receive the dues of the palace or temple (cf. E vii. 22, I Macc. x. 29, xi. 35). 'our salt is the E apparently rests upon some confusion of n>D ('salt '), with n 3 ~ 5 D work of '), n>D (' the matter of '), or perhaps (' K>D ('be full, complete '). In any case the reference to the Temple here and in v. 18 is noteworthy ; either it may be part of a deliberate aim to introduce allusions to the Temple (see Bayer, 87 seqq., 94 seq., I O ~ or there was ), a tradition of the building of the Temple in the time of Artaxerxes. The latter finds independent support (see Introd. 4 5 e), and the text i r ~M T may be explained by the fact that, while in E and E Sheshbazzar had returned to rebuild the Temple, in E only is there an account of the commencement of the work and the delay. See also Introd. 15 seq. 23. Rather ' rebelllous and still continuing sieges therein from of old ' (Ball). 30. horsemen, tic. ; -MT force (lit. ' arm ') nnd#ower (lit. ' strength ' or ' army '). Cf. the situation in N iv. 2, 8.

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z8

I ESDRAS 2.30-3.salem ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians. the house of God which is at Jerusalem ; and it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

3I

2

Now king Darius made a great feast unto all his subjects, and unto all that were born in his house, and unto all the princes of Media and of Persia, and to all the satraps and captains and governors 3 that were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, in the hundred twenty and seven provinces. And when they had eaten and drunken, and being satisfied were gone home, then Darius the king went into his bedchamber, and slept, and awaked out of his sleep. Then the three young men of the body-guard, that kept the king's person, spake one to another : 4 5 Let every one of us say one thing which shall be strongest: and he whose sentence shall seem wiser than the others, unto him shall Darius the king give great gifts, and great honours in token ofT h e Story of the Three 'Pages and the Decree of Darius, iii. I-v. 6, wanting in E ; see Jos. xi. 3 2-6. ( a ) This section, famous for the Praise of Truth and for the familiar though often misquoted saying in iv. 41, is the centre of the problems of E. T h e story, well-known to early Christian Fathers and Synoptists, appears to be a piece of popular literature (cf. Susanna, Be1 and the Dragon), not originally connected with Zerubbabel (see iv. 13, v. 5). Although ascribed to the early part of the reign of Darius (iv. 43, v. 6), ~twas evidently not written for the present context, which, indeed, it throws into great chronological confusion (see iv. 44, 57 ; v. z, 55,71, 73). I n fact, the name Apame (iv. 29) suggests the time of Darius 111 (Codomannus), and the original scene, not lald In Babylon (iv. 57, 61), though ostensibly in Susa, was probably Egypt (so most scholars) or P~ntiochin Syria (;LIarq. 66j. The orations are not distinctively hihlical. T h a t on drink stands in contrast, e. g. to Prov. xxiii. 29-35, E C C ~ U S . 25-30 ; and iv. 20 xxxi. and 39 do not necessarily .~ndicateany acquaintance with Gen. ii. 24 and Deut. x. 17 respectively. Allusions to Samson (so Lnpton) are not obvious in iv. I;? 24, 26. The religious colouring is weak, but has been deepened by translators (see iv. 35 seq., 41, 59). Even the fine Praise of Truth se'ems to be a n early addition: it is loosely appended to the paean of \Yomen, which, again, is out of touch with 0.T. thought. Vet, even though the story be somewhat relnoved from bibmlical ideas, it may still be Jewish. T h e Praise of Truth, for example, may be a specimen of Palestinian wisdom (Zunz), and although Volz (1493) thinks it shows contact with Alexandrian religious philosophy, Torrey (46 seq.) fails to find anything ' hellenistic' or suggestive of the influence of Greek literature or philosophy. (4)Ewald h a s suggested a connexion with the Sibylline books (iii. 293 seq.), where allusion is made to Persian kings inspired by ili-ennzs to further the restoration of the Temple. This is as little convincing or helpfiil as the alleged parallel between the questio-ns debated by the Three Pages and the propositions put to the Jewish elders in the Letter of Aristeas. On the other hand, the opening of the story is clearly reminiscent of Elst. i. 1-3; iii. 9 seems to be connected with Dan. vi, 2 (Torrey, 48), and several other interesting ]points of contact with Esther and Daniel have been noticed by Uayer (110 seqq.). Lagarde (Jdittheil. iv. 3581 conjectured that the story once followed after Dan. vi. I. I t is not improbable that the compiler identified Darius with the Mede in Dan. v. 31 (Hitzig, Keuss), and Biichler (51) further points out that Daniel's prayer in the first year of Darius (ix.) knows of no earlier return of exiles and may be associated with E ' s story of Zerubbabel, which is placed in the king's second year. T h e story contains data which ignore and exclude E ii. 1-1 5 (note that Cyrus folloivs Darius in the book of Daniel). T h e land is waste and is partly occupied by Edomites who had burned the Temple. Neither exiles nor Temple-vessels h a d as yet returned, and now for the first time the favour of Persia had been gained and permission was given to return. F o r some reason Cyrus had been unable to fulfil his vow, and that of Darius is virtually a duplicate. I t is, a s Ewald (129) trenchantly observes, ' a s if these kings had been in the habit of thinking of the: God of Israel and the fate of his people at every critical moment of their lives, and the history of the whole world had strictly hinged in consequence upon the changes of its lot '. Ewald, ho\.jever, accepts the decree of Cyrus, and this leaves no room for that of Darius, which is as credible, in itself, as that of the other Persian kings. See below, p: 32. (c) I t is very generally agreed that, with the exception of v. 1-6, the sectlon was probably or certainly composed in Greek. But signs of a Hebrew original have been noticed by Schrader, Renan, Ball, and especially Jahn, who offers a Hebrew retranslation (177-88). Torrey (20-25, 37-61) argues for a Hebrew or Aramaic original, on the grounds of internal linguistic features, antecedent probability (viz. the close connexion between v. 1-6 a n d . t h e end of iv.), and the characteristic interest in the ecclesiastical bodies (iv. 5 1-56). H e notices several ' Aramaisms ' (e.g. use of T ~ E Aram. ; ~ T K ijp[a~o,970), and concludes that the Story of the Three Pages was in Aramaic, and , ; metrical (p. 47) ; vv. 43-46 were also in Aramaic, but the sequel in Hebrew (pp. 25) seq., 58). Bayer (123 seqq.) agrees, but urges that the whole of iii. and iv. was in Aramaic. See further Torrey's retranslation and notes (50 seqq.), and below on iv. 42 seqq. Jos. reproduces the section, with a necessary introduction to account for the presence of Zerubbabel ; he seems to have used a slightly different version (Biichler, 57 seqq., 100; see on iii. 3). An abbreviated Slrud. ii. 16 seqq,. ; here cited a s Lag.), and in version is given in the Latin summary published by Lagarde (Stpi. Josippon (see Hiichler, 59 seqq., 62 seq., loo seq.). For other witnesses see on iv. 36, 41, ;9. I l l . 3. s l e p t , a n d awaked: i ~ o i ~ Ka'r ;(~nvos iyivcro, 'lay down a:nd was sleepless , cf. :(urrvos in mod. Greek j8~ 'wide-awake ' (J. C. Lawsori, 'lfooti. Gr. Folklore, p. 31). According to Jos. 3 35, cf. $ 57, the king was restless (cf. Est. vi. I), and was the first to 5,uggest the orations and to promise and specify rewards. This conflicts with v. 8 seq., but seems to be hinted at in iv. 42 (nXrio T&W yrypapri~ov). On the other lnand, E does not a:l3w that the suggestion came from the king, who is asleep ( 7 ~ 8 seq., 13). J a h n proposes to read ivunvop (p. 177); Torrey (24, 50) con. jectures that the original .Aramaic text read: ' (v.3) . Llarius slept. (7). 4) Then stood on the watch (or "bestirred thelnselves" jryg.'nn) three young guardsmen (who protected the person of the king : a gloss), and .' they said 5. t h i n g (Xdyov), i.e. sentence, a s in v. 16. s t r o n g e s t (Cncp~cr~Curt), e. shall prevail. i. s e n t e n c e (bypa), i. e. argument. L ; V h o n o u r s , kc., < ~ L Y ~ K L L IIeY(;X~, (7'. 6) i(ai rroP@6pav rcpt@aX;a~n~J~os.$ 35 Y I K ~ T $ ~ L O ?rop@;paw ~w8;uao6ar. Cf. Dan. v. 7.

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29B"

I ESDRAS 3.6-4.

10

6 victory: as, to be clothed in purple, to drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold, and a chariot with

7 bridles of gold, and a headtire of fine linen, and a chain about his neck : and he shall sit next to8

g one his sentence, and set to their seals, and laid the writing under king Darius his pillow, and said, When the king is risen, some shall give him the writing ; and of whose side the king and the three

Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called Darius his cousin.

And then they wrote every

princes of Persia shall judge that his sentence is the wisest, t o him shall the victory be given, as it is IO,II,1 2 written. T h e first wrote, Wine is the strongest. The second wrote, The king is strongest. T h e third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things Truth beareth away the victory. 1 3 Now when the king was risen up, they took the writing, and gave it unto him, and so he read it : I 4 and sending forth he called all the princes of Persia arid of Media, and the satraps, and the captains, 15 and the governors, and the chief officers ; and sat him down in the royal seat of judgement ; and the 16 writing was read before them. And he said, Call the young men, and they shall explain their own 1 7 sentences. So they were called, and came in. And they said unto them, Declare unto us your mind concerning the things ye have written. 18 Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, and said thus, 0 sirs, how exceeding 19 strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink i t : it maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one ; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich : 2 0 it turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor 21 debt : and it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor satrap ; and it 2 2 maketh to speak all things by talents : and when they are in their cups, they forget their love both 23 to friends and brethren, and a little after draw their swords: but when they awake from their wine, 24 they remember not what they have done. 0 sirs, is not wine the strongest, seeing that it enforceth to do thus ? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace. 4 I, 2 Then the second, that had spoken of the strength of the king, began to say, 0 sirs, do not men 3 excel in strength, that bear rule over the sea and land, and all things in them ? But yet is the king stronger : and he, is their lord, and hath dominion over them ; and in whatsoever he commandeth If he bid them make war the one against the other, they do it : and if he 4 them they obey him. 5 send them out against the enemies, they go, and overcome mountains, walls, and towers. They slay and are slain, and transgress not the king's commandment: if they get the victory, they bring 6 all to the king, as well the spoil, as all things else. Likewise for those that are no soldiers, and have not t o do with wars, but use husbandry. when they have reaped again that which they had sown, 7 they bring it to the king, and compel one another to pay tribute unto the king. And he is but one 8 man: if he command t o kill, they kill ; if he command to spare, they spare ; if he command to smite, they smite ; if he command to make desolate, they make desolate; if he conlmand to build, g, 1 0 they build ; if he command to cut down, they cut down ; if he command to plant, they plant. So all his people and his armies obey him : furthermore he lieth down, he eateth and drinketh, and9. some (i. e. they) shall give, ~ O U O U U ~ Y .dabi~nus. IL three princes, cf. Est. i. 14 ( 6 , but MT 7, as in E viii. 1 1 ) . as it is written, Jahn restores according to his .zuriling. 12. above all things . (;rip 62 r d v r a .), i.e. 'Truth is victor over all' (Torrey, p. 24, cf. $y ny:). ' T h e third appears,to have a double thesis to maintain, thus interfering with the symmetry ' (Lupton). 13. GL' wrltlngs ', and similarly in v . I 5. 14. GL om. satraps. Cf. Dan. iii. 2 for this list. 15. s a t ; % 53 they sat. seat of judgement ( ~ ~ ~ ~ r r c r r ~ ~ l ~ ) , (cf. A.V. mg.). council-chamber 16. he, GLb they. 17. they said, 1L he said, B i Land the king said. LlC 18. IL quam (+facile ILC ; cito Lag.) 9vaeualet (ac vincit) v i n u ~ n o~iznibus haminibus (%ILC homines) qui bibtint omnes illud. 21. speak by talents, BL wai rlivra 6th ypappdrov rrorri Srav 62 rivocrr. + 23. awake, BEIytPB&utv, Y~vqBi)uiv, Y i ~ ~ v ~ et ~ , cligessen't sfinurn et strryexerinnt (Lag. cum a*vino GA GL KC a cum fuerint . .). 24. GLhow is not wine . , cf. iv. 12, 32. ,rather ' in bearing rule .' IV. 2. that bear lord of all, cf. A.V. ; 1L rex autem super omriia praecellit, ZC . super fortis est. 3. their lord, - and hath them, GLom. obey, BBbCvaroiovucv, GLcr&rbs, &oiouuc TOG ivds, BArroljaovutv (cf. L Lag. faciunt) ; ILC om. ' and in . . him '. 5. as well the spoil G rai (A+Bcra) Cirv npovopc~uoarvrai r h dXXn ncivrn (i. e. 'and if they raid- and all else' [il like manner]), 1L they bring to the king whatsoever they spoil. Torrey (52) conjectures a confusion of Aram. 717% take ' other and ~ n 'p ~ 7. but one man, mg. one and alone; 6 ~ d airrhs el (GBabAL pdvos Curlv, cf. Josh. xxii. 20, Judith i. I I (so Torrey, r c&:t 52. who would join the words to v. 61. Cf. 8. 6 om. if in ZJ. 8 seq. BAom. cincv iprlpiunr Cprlpoikc~~. generally Dan. v. 19.

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I ESDRAS 4.rI

I I -35

talteth his rest : and these keep watch round about him, neither may any one depart, and do his own business, neither disobey they him in alzything. 0 sirs, how should not the king be strongest, seeing I that in such sort he is obeyed ? And he held his peace. 13 Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of truth, (this was Zorobabel) began to speak. 1 4 0 sirs, is not the king great, and men are many, and wine is strong ? who is it then that ruleth them, 1,s or hath the lordship over them ? are they not women ? Women have borne the king and all the 1 6 people that bear rule by sea and land. Even of them came they: and they nourished them up that 1 7 planted the vineyards, from whence the wine cometh. These also make garments for men ; these 18 bring glory unto men ; and without women cannot men be. Yea, and if men have gathered together gold and silver and every other goodly thing, and see a woman which is comely in favour and beauty, 19 they let all those things go, and gape after her, and even with open mouth fix their eyes fast on her ; 20 and have all more desire unto her than unto gold or silver, or any goodly thing whatsoever. A Inan 2 1 leaveth his own father that brought him up, and his own country, and cleaveth unto his wife. And 2 2 with his wife he endeth I ~ i s days, and remembereth neither father, nor mother, nor country. B y this also ye must know that women have dominion over you : do ye not labour and toil, and give and 2.3 bring all to women? Yea, a man taketh his sword, and goeth forth to make outroads, and t o rob 24 and t o steal, and to sail upon the sea and upon rivers ; and looketh upon a lion, and walketh in the 25 darkness ; and when he hath stolen, spoiled, and robbed, he bringeth it to his love. Wherefore a man 26 loveth his wife better than father or mother. Yea, many there be that have run out of their wits for 27 women, and become bondmen for their sakes. Many also have perished, have stumbled, and sinned, 28 for women. And now do ye not believe m e ? is not the king great in his power? do not all regions 29 fear to touch him ? Yet did I see him and Apame the king's concubine, the daughter of the illus30 trious Bartacus, sitting at the right hand of the king, and takrng the crown from the king's head, 3 r and setting it upon her own head ; yea, she struck the king with her left hand : and therewithal the king gaped and gazed upon her with open mouth : if she laughed upon him, he laughed also : but if she took any displeasure a t him, he was fain to flatter, that she might be reconciled to him again. 32 0 sirs, how can it be but women should be strong, seeing they do thus ? 3 3 Then the king and the nobles looked one upon another : so he began to speak concerning truth. 34 0 sirs, are not women strong? great is the earth, high is the heaven, swift is the sun in his course, for he compasseth the heavens round about, and fetcheth his course again to his own place in one 35 day. Is he not great that maketh these things? therefore great is truth, and stronger than allI2

13. otrds /uriv Zop., GLllicS +the son of Salathiel, Lag. +of the hou~seof David, of the tribe of Judah, cf. v. 5. ! L The identity of the unknown third youth (note v. 58), thus parenthetically introduced, is stated also by Qi in v. 61, by 3LC in 33, 43, 58, and by Jos. regularly after iv. 40. 14. is not GLby onnitting the negative, makes the statement, and joining the: verse on to v. 15, reads 'have not women borne the king ? and all the people . . . land were even of them '. men are many, or are mighty, see Torrey, 24, 53. From v. 14 seq. Biichler (61 seq.) conjectures that the first and secontl orations have been transposed; cf. August. rle Civ. Dei, xviii. 36 ' quumyeges unus dixisset, alter vinum, tertius mulieres,' &c. 17. garments . . glory, probably a doublet (Torrey). 18. and see . . . , GAdo, they not love (cf. A.V.). comely . . . beauty ~ r r A ; l v . . r+ KUXXEL,evident sign of translartion (Torrey, 53). an 21. endeth his days, G ri+iqui r i v Jlux Uwith great pomp B X K ; c v e ~ p a r q KC.& V (= %') A %fledK were slain B C U ' ' > 64 &heBe %' bthe land of Elgypt A.V 93 "> land K V d + went up against Blue ?Lz 3L1 e-e > V fthe instruments of the sacrifices and offerings BIUC Bcarried (thein) V -t And he (A they) made a great slaughter anc! he (A they) spake with great arrogancy ; all authorities (exc Be) ; + and he made a great slaughter 58, Jerusalem 64 ouzitting the rest. T h e words have $rob~tbly o t out of place, andshould come after v. 21. g kTherelK ; ryevcro E Y T T E V B ~ L V C ~ E Y B ~ LUC A UE nAntiochus the king Luc O-omuch spoil B fore B m-w > 93 Pof Jerusalem B 9-9 > K ; + for themselves KC.& Luc BIUc18. Ptolemy. The sixth of the name, Philometor, 181-146 B. C. ; he was only sixteen years old at this time. . . t h e r e fell m a n y wounded. The Hebrew equivalent a??? !1+)>_? $$?'! would imply that they were wounded to death (cp. R.V.), but in Greek the word has not this intensive force. 20. w e n t u p a g a i n s t Jerusalem. Cp. 2 Macc. v. I I ff. Cp. Exod. xxx. 1-6. 2 1 . t h e golden a l t a r . t h e candlestick. Cp. Exod. xxv. 31-9. Cp. Exod. xxv. 23-30; cp. Josephus, Antip. 111. vi. 6. 22. t h e table of t h e shewbread. 23. t h e hidden treasures. Cp, 2 hIacc. iii. 10-12; Josephus, Bell. l u d . 11. ix. 4. ~ 5 ~ This lament was probably originally in poetical form, and is largely made up from the language of the O.T. 8 . poet~cal books. Cp. for some verses cast in a somewhat similar mode 2 (4) Esdras x. 22. 2 5 . g r e a t mourning. Cp. Job xxx. 31. 26. t h e elders. Cp. Lam. i. 19, ii. 10. faded a w a y . Cp. Sept, of Ps. cviii. 24, $XXotieq (cix. 24 in Hebr.). Cp. Lam. i. 4, 18, ii. 10,zo. v i r g i n s a n d young men 6viXapov (the Heb. reads differently). 27. t o o k u p (his) lament. Cp. Sept. of Lam. v. 13 ~ h a v d ~ b v 28. clothed w i t h shame. Cp. Job. viii. 22; Ps. XXXV. 26, cxxxii. 18. 29. a chief collector of tribute. i. e. Xpollonius, according to 2 Macc. v. 24. A f t e r t h e l a p s e o f t w o years. Lit. 'After two years of days'; Heb. P): D!~??V YZT, cp. Gen. xli. I. '? 30. h e spoke peaceful words. A Hebrew idiom : P ~ ? V $1?1 ~nd*!. C'p. Deut. ii. 26. h e fell u p o n suddenly. Cp. 2 hlacc. V. 24 ff. i. 33. i n t o a citadel. cis a"xpav, e. Acra.

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69

3738

39

40

And they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, And they defiled the sanctuaryr. And because of them the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled, And she became a dwelling for strangers, Being herself estranged to her offspring, And her children forsook her. Her sanctuary became desolate as a wilderness, "er feasts were turned into mournings, Her sabbaths into shameu, Her honourtx into contempt. According as her gloryy (had been) "so was (now) her dishonour increasedz, And her high estate was turned to mourninga.

I. 41- j3.41,42

Edict of Antiochus, forbiddivg Jewish bvorship.

And the kingb wrote unto his whole kingdom, that all should be one people, and that every one should give up his [religious] usages. And all "he nationsc acquiescedd in accordance with the com43 mand of the lting. And many in Israel took delight in "is (form of) worshipe, and they began 44 sacrificing to idols, and profaned the sabbathf. Furthermore, the king sent lettersg by the hand of messengers to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah (to the effect that) they should practise customs 45 hforeigni to (the traditions of) the landh, and that they should cease the (sacrificing of) whole burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and drink offerings in the sanctuary, and that they should profane the sabbaths 46, 47 and feasts, and pollute the sanctuary and kthose whp had been sanctifiedk; that they should (moreover) build high places, and sacred groves, and 'shrines for idols1, and that they should sacrifice 48 swine and (other) uncleanm animals ; and that they should leave their sons uncircumcized, and make 49 themselves abominable by means of (practising) everything that was unclean and profane, so that 50 they might forget the Law, and change all the (traditional) ordinances. And whosoever should not 5 1 act according to the word of the king, should die. In this manner did he write unto the whole" of his kingdom; and he appointed overseers0 over all the people ; and he commanded the cities of Judah 52 to sacrifice, every one of them. And many of the people joined themselves unto them, allp those 53 [namely] who had forsaken the Law; these did evilq in the land, and caused Israel to hide in all manner of hiding-places.

I. 54-64.54

Idolatry forced upon the peopk of Jzrdlzh ;destruction of copies of the Scr@tures; massacre of Isvaelites.

And on the fifteenthr days of Chislev in the one hundred and forty-fiftht year they set up upon the altar an ' abomination of desolation ', and in the cities of Judah am every side they established high-

'+ of the

Lord V s-s > 5 g t-t > N but added b y Uhumilnation 19 x#luv. itt %'d %' yher children N * Z-"the land was filled with shame K ahurniliation 64 BIUc + Antiochus % c-2 > s 8 *sanctuary Aa sabbath A* h-hof the Gentiles in the e-ethe worship of the king %g g > 64 93 land 3L i > 93 k-k the holy things S3 3L2 I-lidols AVa ,56 % mall K * (unclean >AV%% O+over all his kingdom and S g pall 5 s 3L1 qmuch evil 64 93 ]'twenty-fifth big + in the month Luc tforty-fifth A

37-40. Another lament in poetical form originally, the language of which is again largely borrowed from that of the O.T. poetical books. 37. t h e y s h e d i n n o c e n t blood. Cp. Ps. Ixxix. 3. t h e y defiled t h e s a n c t u a r y . Cp. Ps. Ixxix. I. 38. a d w e l l i n g f o r s t r a n g e r s . Cp. Ps. liv. 3 ; Lam. v. 2. B e i n g herself e s t r a n g e d . Cp. Lam. i. I . h e r c h i l d r e n f o r s o o k h e r . Cp. Lam. i. 5. Cp. Amos viii. 10. 39. H e r f e a s t s . . H e r s a b b a t h s i n t o s h a m e . Cp. Lam. ii. 6. 40. A n d h e r h i g h e s t a t e . . . Cp. Lam. ii. 9, 10. 41. o n e people. i. e. as regards religious practice. 44. letters. p~fiii'a,Heb. D'???. 47. s w i n e a n d u n c l e a n a n i m a l s . i. e. animals holy to heathen gods and goddesses ; the pig a n d the hare were holy to Astarte, and as holy animals occupied a n important place in the religions of Greece and Asia Minor. 51. a p p o i n t e d o v e r s e e r s . Cp. z Macc. v. 22. 54. t h e fifteenth d a y of Chislev. W e should read here with S g ' t h e twenty-fifth day ', see v. 59. Chislev is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar (= December approximately). t h e o n e h u n d r e d a n d forty-fifth y e a r . i. e. 168 B. C. a n a b o m i n a t i o n of desolation. Cp. Dan. xi. 3 1 , xii. 11 ; i.e. the abomination which brought about profanation (= desolation) ; it was a small heathen altar which was set up on the altar of burnt-offering, see v. 59.

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70

I MACCABEES 1. 55-2.

14

55, 56 places ; and "they offered sacrificeUa t the doors of the houses and in the streets. And the books of 57 the Law which they found they "rent in pieces, andx burned them in the fire. And with whomsoever was found a book of the covenant, and if he was (found) consenting unto the Law, such an one was, 58 according t o the king's sentenceY,condemned to death. Thus dhd they in their might to the Israelites 59 who were foundz month by month in theira cities. And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they 60 sacrificed upon the altar which was upon the altar of burnt-offering. And, according to the decreeb, 61 they put to death the women who had circumcised their children, hanging their babes rourld their (mothers') necks, and they put to death their (entire) familiesc, together with those who had circum6 2 cised them. Nevertheless many in Israel stood firm%nd determined in theirheartse that they would 63 not eat unclean things, and chose rather to die so that they might not be defiled with meats, thereby 6 4 profaning the holy covenantf ; and they did die. And exceeding great wrath came upon Israel.

11.

1-j.

The G~nealogy the iVczccabees. of

In those days rose up Mattathias, the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem ; and he dwelt a t Modin. And he had five sons: John, who was surnamed 3, 4,5 Gaddis; Simon, who was called Thassis ; Judas, who was called Maccab~aeus Eleazar, who was ; called Auaran ; and Jonathan, who was called Aphphus.I

2

2

11. 6-14.6,7

A Divge oz1er the desecration of'lhe Holy City.

And he saw the blasphemous things that were done in Judah and in Jerusalem, and said, ' Woe is me, why was 1 born to behold the ruin of my people and the ruina of the holy city, and to sit still there while it was being given into the hand of enemies, and the sanctuaryvnto the hand of strangers ? ' 8 "Her housed is become like (that of) a man dishonouredec; *Her glorious vessels are carried away captive ; g Her infants have been slain in her streets, Her young men with the sword of the enemy, 10 What nation hath the kingdom not taken possession of, (Of what nation) hath it not seized the spoils ? II Her adornment hath ail been taken away, gInstead of a free woman she is become a slaves. And, behold, our holy things, and our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste, 12 And the heathen have profaned them ! T o what purpose should we continue to live ? 13 And Mattathias and his sons rent their garments, and covered themselves with sackcloth, and I4 mourned greatly.xXx> S yedict 3L2 L2 + and they U-Uthey burned incense and offered sacrifice 3L' they burned incense S2 bthe command of the king 5 the cornmand of king Antiochus %' led them away by force 5 s a V ; the K A k c a were hanged A 19 > 19 %IuC Chouses K V their entire houses 3L (2s = A) + and plundered Nc.a BLuc *the holy Law of Go2 W C-~T.K.%' H e r temple was like a n ; bher sanctified ones 5 6 + were delivered B6 11. a > 19 93 S ' U C 3La illustrious man K A V BIUC%. They did clothe her temple with glory as a man (is clothed) Br dpeople 93 Ig + And now Luc g-g H e r freedom is become bondage SlUuf-

55. qt the doors of the houses. T h e reference is to sacrifices offered to the ' deities of the street ', i. e. images of Greek gods which stood in the porches of houses. 56. the books of the Law. i. e. rolls of the Pentateuch. 58. to the Israelites who were found. A literal translation of the Hebrew tl+NYD3;1 $ u W * ~ . 63. and chose rather to die. Cp. z Macc. vi, vii.Cp. Josephus, Antz'g. XII. vi. I. 11. I. In those days the son of Simeon. Josephus adds roc 'Arrapovuiov, from whom the adjectival form of the family name, Asmonaean or Hasmonaean, was derived; the name does not occur in the b00k:j of the Maccabees, though Josephus often uses it, and it is found in the Mishnah (kfiddotlt i. 6), and frequently in the Gemara (e. g. SAnbbatA 21 b, Bnba K-nnzu 82 b), where the name Hasmonaeans is always used for Maccabaeans. the sons of Joarib. Cp. I Chron. xxiv. 7 ff. Modin. Cp. v. 70, xiii. 25. T h e present El-Medije, east of Lydda. 4. Maccabaeus. See Introduction. 7 . The holy city. WTPI'I 7'Y Isa. xlviii. 3 ; cp. 2 Macc. i, 12, iii. I, ix. 14. 8-12. Another dirge in poetical form. T h e usual signs of mourning in the East, see further Nowack, Hebruische Archti'o14. rent their garments logie I. I 92 ff.

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71

I I. r 5-28. T h e cowzwzence~jzc~zt the n/lZlccabaca~zRevolt. ~f And the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modin "to make them 15 1 6 sacrificeh. And many from Israel went unto them ; but Mattathias and his sons gathered themselves 1 7 together. Then the king's officers answered and spake unto Mattathias. saying: ' A ruler art thou, 18 and illustrious and great in this city, and upheld by sons and brothels. Do thou, therefore, come have done, and all the peoplek of Judah, first, and carry out the king's command, as all the na~tions and they that have remained in Jerusalem; then shalt thou1 and '"thy housem be (numbered among) the friends of the king, and thou and thy sons shall be honoured with silver and gold, and with many 1 9 gifts.' Thereupon Mattathias answered and said with a loud voice: ' If all t h e nations that are within the king's dominions obey him by forsaking, "every one of themn, the worship of their fathers, 2 0 and have chosen for themselves to follow his comm;inds, yet w. 1 I and m y sons and my brethren 1 2 1 walk in the covenant of our fathers. Heaven forbid that we should forsake the Law and the ordi2 2 nances; (but) the law0 of the king we will not obey by departing from our worship either t o the 23 right hand or to the left.' Arld as heP ceased speaking qthese wordsq, a Jew came forward in the 24 sight of all to sacrifice* upon the altar in hIodin in accordance with the king's command. And when hilattathias saw it, "is zeal was kindleds, and his heart quivered (with wrath) ; and his indig2,s nation burst forth for judgement, so that he ran and slew him on the altar: and t a t the same timet 26 he ralso] killed the king's officer who had come to enforce the sacrificing, pulled down the altar, and [thus] showed forth his zeal for the Law, just as Phinchas had done in the case of Zimri the son of 2 7 Salom. And Mattathias cried out with a loud voice in the city, saying, ' L e t everyone that is 28 zealous for the Law and that would maintain the covenant come forth after me ! ' And he and his sons fled unto the mountains, and left all that they possessed in the city.

'

11. 29-38.

A strict ohserz)n~z~e the Sabbath reszdts of

i7z

the ?na:isncre of a thoz~satzdJewish feofk,.

A t that time many who were seeking righteousness and judgement went down t o the wilderness to 29 30 abide there, they and their sons, and their wives, and ,their cattle; for misfortunes ufell hardlyu upon 31 them. And it was reported t o the king's officers and t o the troops that were in Jerusalem, the city32 in the wilderness.

of David, that men who had set at nought the Icing's commandx had gone down into hiding-places A n d many ran after them, and having overtaken them, ythey encamped against

ithey that were with him 64 93 b-hto sacrifice 63 !L2; i and burn incense and forsake the Law of God %' n-n > s ~ u c rn-"'and thy sons NC.5 5 IL, Othe word K V Luc 1 + and thy sons V 64 krulers K V )to burn incense A 5 s t-t > IL, 8-"g $laces this after quivered 9 q > K (hub KC." Y &Tattathias 64 93 1-Y > 5 l U c !L' U-J + and were niultiplied K * Kc.a were niultipl~ed V Xcounsel K

18. the friends of the king. There were, according to Polybius (xxxi. 3. 7), two orders of royal favourites under the Graeco-Syrian kings, viz. those of the ' Companions ' and the ' Friends' ; these occupied the position of a military aristocrrrcy: Cp. x. 65, xi. 27 ; z Macc. viii. 9. rijs fiatrtXc;as TOG povtX;os, cp. Amos vii. 13 " L o p pacr~Xrinc,~J!JDDn+2, in 19. the king's dominions. i v reference to Bethel. have chosen for themselves. Cp. 2 Chron. xxix. I I (Sept.). 21. Heaven forbid. Zhros = il!Jyh,2 Sam. xx. 20. cp. 22. either to the right hand or to the left. Cp. 2 Sam. xiv. 19. {for 24. his heart. Lit. ' h i s kidneys7, the seat of the emotions and affections, cp. Ps. lxxiii. 2 1 p1nVH $n~*hr, my kidneys were in a ferment.' for judgement. Heb. D b d m ; what, according to the statute, he was bound to do. and slew him. Cp. Deut. xiii. 9 ; 2 Chron. xxx. 16. . Cp. Num. xxv. 7, 8. 26. as Phineas had done come forth after me. Grimm quotes (from Livy xxii. 53) the cry of the Roman patriots 27. Let everyone in time of danger : Qui re~n$zrblicnnzsulvnln volunt nre sequczn2'ur. 28. fled unto the mountains. This would enable him, wi~:h a conlparatively small number of followers, to defy almost any force that might be brought against him, an attarcking party being always at a great disadvantage in mountain warfare. ) 29. righteousness and judgement. Cp. Ps. lxxxix. 14, xcvii. 2 ; righteousness ( 7 3 1 ~ = ethical right-doing ; judgement (UDWD)= sense of justice; the technical terms are ' t o do (nb~) righteousness', and ' t o keep ( ~ D w ) judgement ', cp. ?a. lvi. I ; the terms are generally used in the reverse order, and rightly s o a s the more logical ; the inward sense of lustice has as its result outward acts of righteousness; this is also borne out by the verbs used, ' t o keep,' ' t o do.' the wilderness. i.e. the wilderness of Judaea, west of the Dead Sea ; it was called Jeshimon, cp. I Sam. xxiii. 19, 24, X X V ~ .13, meaning ' desolation '. 30. their cattle. I n the wilderness of Tekoa, which lay to the north of the district just mentioned, there was sufficient vegetationto support cattle, cp. Amos i. I, vii. !4. 31. hiding-places in the wilderness. Cp. I Sam. xx~v.3 ; Isa. xlii. 22. 72

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I MACCABEES 2.

33-'+2

And they said unto them : '=Let it suffice nowz; come f o ~ t hand d o according t o the command of the king, and ye shall live.' , 34 And they answered, ' i i T e will not come forth, nor will we do ac-ording to the comtnand of the king, 35, 36 and thereby profane the Sabbath day. Thereupon they immediately attacked them. But they 37 answered them not, nor did they cast a stone a t them, nos even block up their hiding-places, saying, ' Let us all die in our innocency ; Heaven and earth bear us witness that ye destroy us wrongfully '&. 38 And they attacked them on the S a b b a t h : and they died, they and their wives, and their children, and their cattle, about a thousand souls.

33 them, andy set the battle in array against then1 on the Sabbath day.

11. 39-48.39, 40

L?.l'nttnt/lias, s u p p o r t e d

by the Chasidinz, contiuzres the afar rwifh szdccess.

A n d when Mattathias and his friends knewb it they mourned greatly for them. A n d one said t o another, ' If xve all do a s our brethren have done, and do not fight against the Gentiles for our lives 4I and our ordinances, they will soon destroy us from off the earth.' And they took counsel on that day, saying, ' Whosoever attacketh us on the Sabbath day, let us fight against him, that we may not in 42 any case all die, as our b ~ e t h r e n died in their hiding-places.' Then were there gathered unto them ca company of the Chasiditnc, mighty men of Israel who willingly offered themselves for the Law,2-Wo ye resist still even now ? % "uncharitably,4g

"heard SUC

C-C

the whole company of Jews K V

32. o n t h e S a b b a t h d a y . From the words in v. 33 it is evident that the enemy hac. no desire of taking a mean advantage by fighting on a day on which they knew the Jews would make no resistance. 34. a n d t h e r e b y p r o f a n e t h e S a b b a t h day. T h e profanation of the Sabbath would, according to the preceding words, consist in coining forth and doing according to the command of the king ; i. e. the cornmand of the king was that they should come forth and submit themselves. This the Jews would not have done a t any time, but to do so on the Sabbath \vould have been a n aggravation of the ofience, since, apart from the act of renegades which subnlission would, under the circumstances, have implied, the coming forth with their belongings wor:.ld, in itself, have constituted a breaking of the Sabbath. 36. n o r did t h e y c a s t a s t o n e . i. e. there was not even the semblance of resistance. 37. i n o u r i n n o c e n c y . i'v ~iririX6rrjrr $ p & v , i.e. ' i n our integrity' ( ~ n;)cp. Ps. xxvi. I, 11, xxv. 21, xli. 13. w r o n g f u l l y . Cp. xv. 33 where 1I.V. renders ~ K P ; T W S'wrongfully ' ; this is a better rendering than ' \\rithout trial ' as K.V. translates here, for the revolt having been entered upon by the events recorded in vv. 15-28, the idea of a trial is out of the question. Cp. Ps. lxix. 4, ' T h e y that would cut me off, being mine enemies wrongfully, are . mighty.' 38. t h e y a t t a c k e d t h e m . This hardly bears out the statenlent of Josephus: 'they jurned then, as they were in the caves without resistance, and without so much as stopping up the entrances of the caves ' (Anliq. X I I . vi. 2). a n d t h e y died . a b o u t a t h o u s a n d souls. Josephus adds : ' But many of those that escaped joined themselves to hlattathias, and appointed him to be their ruler, who taught them to fight, even on the Sabbath d a y ' (ibid.), Cp. V V . 40, 41. 39. t h e y m o u r n e d g r e a t l y f o r t h e m . 2os cr+l6pa = 1UD-19; in' airoLs, the verb S x ( ' t o mourn') is usually followed by $Y (' upon ' or ' over '). i t 4 40. a n d o n e s a i d t o a n o t h e r . ~ a rliicv d v i p npds rbv rrXqmiov a h ; is another Hebraism : l;lyl-!JK ~ ~ 1DK'l. Cp. i x 44 ff., xi. 34, 43 ff. ; the coun:jel ('Whosoever attacks .') taken was 41. a n d t h e y t o o k c o u n s e l . of a n~odification the L a w ; but, a s a matter of fact, the Written Law did not forbid necessary labour on the Sabbath. What we have here is a n ordinance of the Oral Law, framed by the rigid legalists as the interpretation of the \\'ritten Law. T h e mention of the Clzasiniin in the next verse is significant, as they were respc~msible,in large measure, for the strict interpretation of the Written Law, T h e passage shows' that the party of the Clznsidin~was already in existence, and was not created by the persecution under Antiochus ; see next note. (= 42. a c o m p a n y of t h e Chasidim. T h e ' A u ~ 6 n i o ~ D'l'Dn) are here referred to as though well known, a fact which further substantiates what \\.as said in the preceding note. T h e ClzasirZim (' pious ') were those, frequently referred to in some of the later I'salms (e. g. xii, z, xxx. 4, xxxi. 23, xxxvii. 28, cxlix. I-g), who remained true to the traditions and customs of their fathers when, in the third century R. C. and onwards, the Jevrs of the Dispersion, and alsoof Palestine, were becoining lax in their observance of orthodox Judaism owing to the rise of the Hellenistic spirit. They were animated by a hatred of everything and everyone that savoured of Heller~ism, for, according to them, this implied unfaithf~llness the God of Israel. Although in existence beforehand, it was only during the Maccabaean struggle that to they commenced to play an important r81e in the political life of the nation. I11 I , z Llacc. they are referred to three times ; the data regarding, their characteristics seem, a t first sight, to be conflicting. In I hlacc. ii. 43,,44 they are to described as warlike; in ~ I I .12-14 they appear as the peaceful party, while in z hlacc. xiv. 6 they are s a ~ d 'keep up war, and are seditious, not suffering the kingdom to find tranquillity '. It is probable ,:hat these descriptions both witness to the true facts of the case; the natural inclination of these strict observers of the: Law would obviously be in the direction of peace ; but a:j soon as they realized that the cherished o'bject of their existence was imperilled, it behoved them to be up and doing. This is borne out by what we read in the Psalms concerning them, for a t one time they are spoken of as peaceful worshippers (xxx. 4), and as the lovers of the Lord (xxxi. 23, nxxvii. 28) ; while a t another time they are represented a s warriors zealous for the honour of God, and fighting His enemies (cxlix. 6-9). I t is not without significance that after t.he hlaccabaean struggle, when the victory for orthodox Judaism had been won, nothing further is heard of the ClzasifIi~~z. They seem to havegradually developed into the Pharisaic party, which \!>as characterized by the same zeal for the Law (cp. Moritz Friedirinder, Gesclzi~:hteder j i i d i s ~ h e ? ~ Ajologefik, pp. 316 ff., 464 ff.1.. m l g h t y m e n of I s r a e l . Cp. I Chron. vii. 2, 7 (Sept.).

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73

I MACCABEES 2. 43-6543 every one of them. And all they that fled from the evils were added unto them, and reinforced 44 them. And they mustered a host, and smote sinners in their anger, and lawless men in their wrath ; 45 and the rest fled to the Gentiles to save themselves. And Mattathias and his friendsd went round 46 aboute, and pulled down altarsf, and they circun~cisedby force the children that were uncircumcised, 47 as many as theyg found hwithin the bordersh of Israell. And they pursued after the sons of pride, 48 and thei work prospered in their hand. And they rescuedVhe Law out of the hand of the

Gentiles, and lout of the hand1 of them kings, neither !suffered they the sinner t o triumph. 11. 49-70.49

The last words o Mattathias; his death. f

And the days drew near that Mattathias should die, and he said unto his sons : ' Now have pride 50 and rebuke" gotten strength and a season of destruction and wrath of indignation. And now (my) 51 children, be zealous for the Law, and give your lives for the covenant of your0 fathersq. PAnd call to mind the deeds of ther fathers* which they did int their generationsq; uthat ye may receiveu 5 2 great glory and an everlasting name. Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was 53 reckoned unto him forx righteousness? Joseph, in the time of his distress, kept the co~nmandment, 54 and became lord of Egypt. Phinehas, our father, for that he was zealous exceedingly, obtained the 55 covenanty of an everlastingz priesthood. Joshua, for fulfilling the worda, became a judge in Israel. 56,57 Caleb, for bearing witness inb the congregation, obtained "land (as) an heritagec. David, for being 58 merciful, inheritedd the throne ofd a el 64 mtheir Kc a 64 93 Ufamine 5 g 0111. A P-P > 5 l u c sons K 9-9 > 71 'our A s f i r ~ ones %g t t>A U-"and ye shall recelve La X > A ythe lot of a covenant K "holy A > 71 &words LUC. + of the Lor11%' >X +"the heritage K L' a heritage of e-ean everlasting kingdom A 7 r fverses 59-63 are omitted by 71 land V a land of herltage SLUC > 71 L 1 hlion K 64 '-'according to generation A k > Blue lLuc "a worm 19 slut L l n> A 0-o> K (hub K C 8 ) P-P > 71 'Jyour A 'our 93 sgood counsel t2 counsel and intelligence $3 t>t '44. sinners . lawless men. i. e. the renegade Israelites. 46, the children Israel. An eloquent witness to the way in which the Hellenistic spirit had influenced the Jews. The same applies to the mention of altars (i.e. idol-altars), for these verses evidently refer to Jews, cp. the words of Josephus : ' . . and overthrew their idol-altars, and slew those that broke the laws, even all that he could bring under his power, for many of them were dispersed among the nations round about them for fear of him (i. e. Slattathias).' 47. sons of pride. Hebraism, cp. 'sons of tumult' (ilKV '22) Jer. xlviii. 45 ; the reference is to the Syrians ; cp. i. 21. ~ rt@ 48. neither suffered they the sinner to triumph. O ~ K 6 o K f l v K ~ ~ U S dpnproX$, Hebraism; cp. Ps. Ixxv. 5, 'Lift not up your horn on high'; a frequent O.T. figure for strength. 49. And the days drew near . A frequent O.T. phrase, cp. Gen. xlvii. 29 ; I Kings ii. I. 50 ff. With this enumeration of the deeds of the fathers, cp. Ecclus. xliv-xlix. 51. a n everlasting name. On the ideas connected with this cp. the writer's Lz;fe, Death, and I?n?nortal*; StzrrZies in fhe Psalms, Lecture 111. 52. . in temptation. Cp. Gen. xxii. I. Cp. Gen. xv. 6. reckoned unto . 53. kept the commandment. Cp. Gen. xxxix. 9. 54. was zealous.exceedingly. Cp. Num. xxv. 7, 13. 55. a judge. D?V in the sense of 'ruler ', cp. Mic, iv. 14. Cp. NUIII. xiii. 31, xiv. 24; Iloshua xiv. 14. 56. for bearing witness 57. the throne of a kingdom. Cp. 2 Sam. vii. 16. 58. exceeding zealous . . . Cp. I Kings xviii. 40, xix. 10. was taken up . . . Cp. 2 Kings ii. I I. Cp. Dan. i. 6 ff. 59. Hananiah . . believing. Cp. Dan. iii. 17. 60. . . . of the lions. Cp. Dan. vi. 22. 61. shall want fgr nothing. Cp. Ps. xxxiv. 10. 63. To-day . Cp. Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4 ; Ecclus. x. 10. 64. Be strong . Cp. Joshua x. 25 ; I Sam. iv ; I Kings ii. 2.

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74

I MACCABEES 2. 67-3.

II

Judas Maccabaeus, heu hath been strong and mighty' "from his youthw; he shall be your captain and67 shall fightx the battle7 of the peoplez. And ye, take you unto you all those who observe the Law, 68 and avenge the wrong of your people. "Render a recompense to the Gentiles, and take heed to the

69, 70

commandments of the Law.' And he blessed them, and was gathered unto hisb fathers. cAnd h e q i e d in the one hundred and forty-sixth0 yearf" ;and his sons buried himg the sepulchresi of his fathers at Modin ; kand all Israel made great lamentation for himk. 111. I--9. A Song o praise i n ~ O Z O U Yof Jua'as il.faccabrzezrs. f And his son Judas, 'who was called1 Maccabaeus, rose up in his stead. And all his brethren helped him, And all they that clave untom his father, And they fought with gladness the battle of Israel. And hen extended the glory "of his peopleo, And put on a breastplate as a giant, And girt on his weapons of war. PHe set battles in array, H e protected the army with the swordqp. And he was like a lion in hisr deeds : And as a lion's whelp roaring for prey, H e pursued the lawless, seeking them out, And burnt up those that troubled %is people0, And the lawless lost heart for fear of him, And all the workers of lawlessness were sore troubled ; tAnd deliverance prospered in his hand.t And he angered manyu kings, And made Jacobx glad with his acts. And his memorial is blessed for ever. And he went about anlong the cities of Judah, And destroyed the ungodlyy thereout",, And turned away wrath from Israel. And he was renowned unto the utmost part of the earth, And gathered together "those \vho were perishinga. 111. I 0-26. L7ictories of YzrcEns Maccabaeus over Apollorziz~sand Serolz. bAnd Apollonius gatheredb the Gentilesc together, andd a great host from Samaria, to fight against Israel. And Judas perceived it, and went forth to meet him, and smote him, and slew him ;f

3 I,

2

3

4

56

78

g

1011

> U Luc 'in might A w-W > 71 =ye shall tight A Y battles Luc sfor the people 7 I %' .% a > this v . 7 1 btheir K* (his KC.&) 0-C> 71 dltattathias Luc eforty-eighth K S I U ( ! + bf the kingdom Luc g-ghe was buried K 7 1 Y.' h-h> 71 isepulchre Luc k-k > 71 I . > mfollowed 64 nJudas Luc %2 0-Oby his word, V P-PS131 that they fell in the battle; '> K : s-8> A q-qwith his sword in battle V t-t> 93 and he raised up shields against the fortresses S g > 93 S g XIsrael Luc Ykxngs 64 zthereon A a-aApollonius (as subject) V n >V n C > ~ 9 d > s g6 8 . Render a recompense. Cp. Ps. cxxxvi. 1 1 (Sept.). 69. and was gathered . . . A regular O.T. phrase, cp. e.g. Gen. xxv. 8 ; Deut. xxxii. 50, cp. also Acts xiii. 36. 70. in the one hundred and forty.sixth year. i. e. 167-166 B. C. 111. I. Judas. Hebr. ilYl7". who was called Maccabaeus. Cp. ii. A, 66, v. 24 ; 2 Macc. ii. 19, viii, I . 3-9. I n his panegyric on Judas ~ a c c a b a e u s author adopts a poetical form. the 3. giant. ylyns is not a good rendering of V33, which means 'hero ' ; for the Sept. usage see, e.g., Gen. x. 9, Isa, iii. 2. rh'rrohepr~d= ;inn5n *h, I Sam. viii. 12. cp. weapons of war. rir a ~ c ; ~ 4. like a lion. Cp. z Macc. xi. 1 1 . 5. burnt up. Better 'exterminated', according to the sense of 7Y3 in 2 Sam. iv. 1 1 ; unless it is meant literally cp. vv. 5, 44, 2 Macc. viii. 33 ; this was regarded as the most degrading death, cp. Lev. xx. 14, xxi. 9 ; Deut. xxi. 23; Joshua vii. 25 ; Amos ii. I . 7. his memorial . . Cp. Prov. x. 7. 10. Apollonius. Cp. i. 29 and 2 Xlacc. v. 2 4 ; Josephus, Antiq. XII. v. 5 , vii. I .

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and many fell wounded to death, and the rest fled. ,2nd theye took their spoilsf ; and Judas took the s n ord of Apollonius, and therewith fought he all (his) days. 1 3 And Seron, the commander of the host of Syria, heard that Juclas had gathered 9a gathering andg 1 4 a congregation of faithful men with him, hand' of such as went out to n a r h ; and he said : ' I will make a name for myself, and get me glory in the kingdom ; and I will fight against Judask and them that 1 5 are with him, that1 set a t nought the word of the king. "And he went u p againm; and there went up 1 6 with him a mighty army of the ungodly t o help him, to take vengeance on t h e children of Israel. A n d h e n came near t o the ascent of Bethhoron ; and Judaso went tort11 to meet him" with a small 1 7 company. But 'lwhen theyr saw the army coming to meet themq: they said unto Judas: ' W h a t ? t shall we be able, being a small company, to fight agalnst so great "and stlongu a multitude ? And we, for 18 our p a t , are faint, having tasted no food this day.' r i n d Judas said: ' I t is an easy thing for many '~ to be shut up in the hands of a few, and there is no difference 'in the sight of' I l e a ~ e n to save b y 1 9 many or by few; for v i c t o ~ y battle standeth not in the multitude of an host, but strength is from in 2 0 Heavenx. They come unto us inY fulness of insolence and lawlessness, " t o destroy us and our wives 21, 2 2 and our children, for5 to spoil u s z ; but xire fight for our lives and our laws. A n d H e Himselfb will 23 discomfit theni before our face ; but as for you, be ye not afraid of them.' Now when hec had left off speaking, hed leapt suddenly upon them, and Seron and h ~ army were discomfited "before hime. s 24 And they puswed themf a t the descent of Bethhoron~unto the plain ; and there fell of them about eight hundred men ; and the rest fled into sthe land ofg t h e Philistines. 25 Then began the fear of Judas hand of his brethren" and the dread (of them) fell upon the nations' 26 round about ithem. And his name came near even unto the king; and kevery nationk told of the battles1 of Judas.12

111. 27-37.27

Lj'sins is co~~zmissio7zcd conr'inzre the zuczr ngairzst the yews dtwi7zgto the absence of A 7ztiochz~s Per.iia. in

But when Antiochus the kingm heard these word>, he was full of indignatio~i and he sent and ; treasury and gave his forces pay foraP

28 gathered together all the forces nof his kingdomn, Oan exceeding strong armyo. And he opened his

year, and commanded them to be ready4 for every need'.

29 A n d he saw that the money failed fi-om his treasures, and that the tributes of the country were

small, because of the dissension and harm which he had brought upon the land (in seeking) to take30 away the laws which had been (in vogue) from the carliest times ; and he feared (therefore) that he

would not have (enough), as (he had had) a t other times, for the charges and the gifts which he gaveehe 19Q them

*arms (lit. vessels) A

6-a> Siuc

V 64 q - q > 71 + that were with him Luc . shim A V a (theni V) t H o w 71 U - U > A =the Heavenly One 19 64 w t h e God of Heaven K V him that dwelleth in Heaven 5 6 6 lit. before I - ? > Be 71 51UC % bthe Lord Luc %IUC CJudas Luc dtl~ey 6 5 e - e > 93 *him K h-h> 19 'a111 the nations a' k-kthe nations K 64 93 'acts 93 5 "> 5lUC "-"> 71 O-O> K O.") Pthe A q +for a year A rail things 3L2

m-mReading K a c npouetJrro r o u

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h-L> 5 i > LUC k + the son K land those that A ( n h 5 clDrr?) ; and he prepared himself 3L1 > 3L2 Uthey V Luc Ohe SB

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15. a n d h e w e n t up a g a i n . See critical note. 16. t h e a s c e n t of B e t h h o r o n . About five hours' journey north-west of Jerusalem. ' From a military point of view Bethhoron was a n important outpost, and to an invading fc~rce from the maritime plain the key to Jerusalem; cp. Joshua x. 16-26 ' (Fairweather and Black, iz loc.). 18. t o s a v e by m a n y o r b y few. Cp. I Sam. xiv. 6. 22. H e Himself. Thus avoiding the mention of the name of God ; this is characteristic of later usage; cp. ii. 61. 23. w e r e discomfited. u u v r p i U c ~ vhas a stronger meaning, 'were utterly crushed '. 28. p a y f o r a y e a r . This suggests that his forces could not always be relied upon. T h e extravagance of Antiochus Epiphanes (cp. 7). 30) and the way in which he squandered money on public displays, games, and the like, must have often made it difficult to find the wherelvithal to pay his soldiers, in consequence of which discontent would have manifested itself. T h e Jews had a great advantage her8e,since, in fighting, they \Irere actuated solely by patriotic motives. According to Josephus (Bell,ZurZ. I. ii. 5) the Jews never en~ployedmercenary troops until the tinie of Hyrcanus I (135-107 B. c.). t o b e r e a d y f o r e v e r y need. The meaning is, presumably, that they were not necessarily to be employed against the Jews only, but that they were to be prepared to go anywhere; this provision was necessary, for with his Egyptian campaigns Antiochus was always in need of sold.iers. I n 2 Macc. v. 5-11, e.g., we are told that he was hurriedly called back from a n Egyptian campaign in order to quell a n outbreak in Judaea under Jason. 30. t h e gifts w h i c h . w i t h a liberal h a n d . Cp. the words of Polybius (xxvi. I ) : 'Rational people were a t a loss what to think about him. Some regarded him as a simple and ho=ely man, others looked upon him a s crazed. . . T o some he gave bone dice, to others dates, to others gold. Rut if perchance he should meet anyone whom he had never seen before, he would give him unexpected presents ' (quoted by Fairweather and Black, i n 106.). Grimm mentions that in one of his Egyptian campaigns Antiochus gave a piece of gold to every Greek in Naukratis (Polybius, xxviii. 17. I I ) ; cp. also Dan. xi. 24, ' In time of slecurity shall he conle even upon the fattest places of the

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he was more lavish than the kings that were before him? H e was (therefore) exceedingly perplexed in his mind ; so het determined to go to Persia, and to take 32 tributes of the countriesu, and (thus) to gather much money. And he leftv Lysias, an honourable man, and 'one of the seed royal", (to be) over the affairs of the king from the river Euphrates unto 33, 3 4 the borders of Egypt, and to bring up his son Antiochus until he should return. And he delivered unto him the half of the forces, and the elephants, and gave him charge over all the things that he would 35 have d.one and concerning them" Ythat dwell in Judaea and Jerusalem, (namely) that he should send a host "against t h e m 9 0 root outayand destroy the strengthb of Israel andCthe remnant of Jerusalem, 3 6 and dto take awayQheire memorial from the place ; and that he should make strangers to dwell in 3 7 all their borders, and that he should fdivide their land by lotf. And the king took the half that remained of the forces, arid removed from Antioch, gfrom hish royal citya, '(in) the one hundred and forty-seventh year1 ; and he passed over the river Euphrates, and went through the upper countries.

3 1 aforetime with a liberal hand,-Jand

A tthey A Antiochus Luc Ucountry SIUc Vsent K* (left Kc,a) W-Wby race (belonging) to . the kingdom %g the country % xall them A y - y > 93 z-a> %4 drive the king %Iuc bname S g + t o take away Luc d-d> LUC e i t j A *-f take possession of their land A out AV 64 93 g g> 3 , ' hthe 5 9 '-I;> 71 take possession of their land a n d divide it by lot %

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province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fat'hers' f a t h e r s he shall scatter among them prey, and' spoil, and substanct:.' 31. P e r s i a , a n d t o t a k e c o u n t r i e s . i. e. the countries east of the Euphrates under the rule of the Seleucidae ; cp. vi. 56, where the reference is to Media and Persia. t o g a t h e r m u c h m o n e y . ' T h e temples of the Asiatics had hitherto been for the most part respected by their European conquerors, a n d large stores of the precious metals were accurnulated in them. Epiphanes saw in these hoards the means of relieving his own necessities, and determined to seize and confiscate them. Besides plundering the temple of Jehovah at Jerusalem (see i. 21-23), he made a journey into the south-eastern portion of his empire, about 165 B. c., for the express purpose of conducting in person the collection of the sacred treasure