2nd Maccabees Chapter 13

The campaign of Antiochus V and Lysias, Horrible death of Menelaus

13:1 In the one hundred forty-ninth year (163 BCE) Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here found out, that Antiochus Eupator was marching with a large army to Judeaיהודה‎
(Yəhūda Greek: Ἰουδαία Latin: Iudaea) or Judaea – a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name “Judah”, which originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. For more info click here,
13:2 And Lysias his guardian, and the head of his government, with him, both having of them had a Greek force of, one hundred ten thousand infantry, and five thousand three hundred cavalry, and two elephants and twenty-three hundred chariots with sharp blades attached to their wheels.
13:3 Menelaus taking advantage of the situation, and cunningly urging Antiochus on, not for the good of the country, but because he hoped of being returned to office.
13:4 But the King of kings made Antiochus furious with this evil monster, and Lysias informed the king that this man was the cause of all the troubles, so that the king gave orders to for him to be taken to the city of Beroea, and had him put to death by the method that is customary in that place.
13:5 In that city there is a tower about seventy-five feet high, full of ashes, and it has an internal lip running round it that on all sides inclines sloping down into the ashes.
13:6 If anyone was convicted of crimes against the gods, theft or some other horrible crime, they are taken to the top and pushed over to their death.
13:7 Such a death happened to that evil monster, not having so much as the privilege of burial;
13:8 The justice he deserved since he had committed many sins often profaned the sacred ashes of the altar fire in the Temple, whose fire and ashes were holyקָדְשׁוֹ‎
Transliteration qōḏeš Pronunciation ko’-desh a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity:—consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (× most) holy (× day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary. For more info click here, he met his death in ashes.

The prayers and success of the Jews Near Modein

13:9 The king arrogantly continued his barbaric invasion of Judah, planing on giving the Jews a demonstration of things far worse than anything his father had done.
13:10 When Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here heard of this, he told the people to pray to YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here night and day, now more than ever to help those who were to the point of being stripped of the Torahתּוֹרָה‎
Tōrā,/ˈtɔːrə, ˈtoʊrə/; law, teaching, direction, instruction – The first five books of the Bible or also called “the books of Moses” comes from an archery term meaning to shoot. and their country and the Holyקָדְשׁוֹ‎
Transliteration qōḏeš Pronunciation ko’-desh a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity:—consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (× most) holy (× day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary. For more info click here Temple:
13:11 and not to let the people who had just begun to revive fall into the hands of the blasphemous nations.
13:12 When they had all with one voice, and had begged the merciful Lord with weeping and fasting and lying prostrate for three days continuously, Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here, encouraged them and ordered them to get ready for action.
13:13 And Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here, met privately with the Jewish leaders, and decided, before the king’s army could enter into Judeaיהודה‎
(Yəhūda Greek: Ἰουδαία Latin: Iudaea) or Judaea – a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name “Judah”, which originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. For more info click here, and attack Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלַם‎
Transliteration: yᵊrûšālam – Pronunciation: yer-oo-shaw-lah’-im – proper locative noun meaning “teaching of peace” or possession of peace – also called the city of David and Zion – the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split For more info click here, to go out and leaving the outcome of the battle to YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here.
13:14 So when he had left the outcome to Creator of the world, and encouraged his soldiers to fight bravely to death for the laws‎ The expression belongs to the Greek jurisprudence, but for the author “the laws” are fundamentally “the Law” or “the Torah” – From the New Jerusalem Bible, the Temple, the city, the country, and their way of life, they camped near Modin:
13:15 Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here gave his men the battle cry, Victory from Elohimאֱלֹהִים
romanized: ʾĔlōhīm: [(ʔ)eloˈ(h)im]), the plural of אֱלוֹהַּ‎ (ʾĔlōah), is a Hebrew word meaning “gods”. Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity particularly the God of Israel In other verses it refers to the singular gods of other nations or to deities in the plural A name for GOD — God The Creator. For more info click here; and with a hand picked force of the bravest young men he attacked the king’s pavilion at night and killed about four thousand men, and stabbed to death the lead elephant and its rider.
13:16 having at last filled the camp with fear and terror, they withdrew in victory.
13:17 This was done just as dawn broke, because of the protection that YAHWEH יְהֹוָה‎
Hebrew Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. It is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God’s name in Christianity. Covenant making covenant keeping GOD. For more info click here had given him.

Antiochus V negotiates with the Jews

13:18 Now when the king had a taste of the bravery of the Jews, he went about to find some better way of capturing the Jewish positions,
13:19 And marched toward Beth-zur, which was a fortress of the Jews: but he was turned back, attacked again, finally defeated:
13:20 Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here sent supplies to the to the men defending the fort.
13:21 But a Jewish soldier named Rhodocus‎ rŏd’ ə kəs (̔Ρόδοκος), gave secret information to the enemy; however he was searched for, caught, and put him in prison.
13:22 The king negotiated a second time with the people of Beth-zur, gave vows, took their’s, left, then attacked Judasיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here, and his men, but lost the battle again;
13:23 Meanwhile Philip, who was left in charge of affairs in Antioch, revolted, stunned by this, opened negotiations with the Jews, agreed to their terms, and promised to be just in his treatment of them, and offered sacrifice, honored the Temple, made generous gifts to the Holyקָדְשׁוֹ‎
Transliteration qōḏeš Pronunciation ko’-desh a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity:—consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (× most) holy (× day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary. For more info click here place,
13:24 He received Maccabeusיהודה המכבי
romanized: Yehudah HaMakabi Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabaeus /mækəˈbiːəs/, also spelled Maccabeus was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it. For more info click here kindly, left Hegemonides hĕj’ ə mō’ nə dez (̔Ηγεμονίδης) as governor from Ptolemais to Gerar;
13:25 Went to Ptolemais: the people there disapproved of the treaty; they complained, that they wanted the treaty canceled:
13:26 But Lysias made a public speech, made the best possible defense of the provisions, which convinced and appeased them, gained their goodwill. He then returned to Antioch.

So much for the episode of the king’s attack and withdrawal.