Commentaria in I Machabaeorum
34. AND THE THREE CITIES.—In Greek nomous, a word which signifies not so much buildings as assemblies of citizens using the same rights. So Serarius, Salianus and others. Demetrius grants Jonathan immunity not only of Judea, but also of three cities, or toparchies of Samaria, which his father Demetrius had assigned to Judea, chap. x, 30; and therefore Jonathan had asked the same of Demetrius, ver. 28; and the son Demetrius, following his father’s decree, conceded and attributed the same to the Jews. But what are these three cities? for in the Latin text only two are named, namely Lydda, or Diospolis, and Ramatha, which was the birthplace of Samuel. Sanchez answers that the third is Samaria itself, which was the capital of the whole province of Samaria; for that these three cities were situated in the province of Samaria is clear from the text at this verse, and chap. x, ver. 38.
But the Septuagint, Josephus, Pagninus, Vatablus and others from the Greek assign Apherema as the third city, which Adrichomius places in the tribe of Ephraim near Lydda. For so the Septuagint has: We have therefore appointed to them the borders of Judea and the three cities, Apherema and Lydda and Ramatha, which are added to Judea out of Samaritis, and all the dependencies of them for all that sacrifice in Jerusalem, in place of the royal dues which the king formerly received from them every year from the fruits of the earth and the fruits of trees.
But our interpreter took the Greek anaireseis not as a proper name but as a common noun, signifying sequestration or separation. Whence he translated “sequestered.” The sense of the Vulgate edition, therefore, is, as if to say: of the three cities already mentioned, namely Lydda, Ramatha and Samaria, and of the confines, that is, of those places which are under their jurisdiction, let the yearly produce and revenues be sequestered, that is, set apart from the royal tributes, and deposited with some quaestor in Judea, to be applied to the expenses of the temple and priests, that in this way may be compensated the losses which the king and royal quaestors yearly inflicted on them, when they transferred to their own, that is, profane uses, both the tributes of those cities and the fruits of the trees, which before had been destined to the expenses of the temple, and served them.
Moreover it is wonderful that Josephus adds to these three cities or toparchies three others, namely Gaddea, Joppe and Samaria.
35. AND THE SALT-PITS.—In Greek lakkous, that is, “pools” of the salt-works, which word, says Sanchez, teaches how brackish water, whether drawn from the sea or continually drained from wells, is hardened and congealed. For it is not hardened in its natural place, but collected in pans and pools. There it evaporates, and by the heat of the sun congeals into salt. At Rome indeed the Via Salaria received its name from salt, which still endures, because by it salt was wont to be carried to the Sabines, says Pliny, book XXXI, chap. vii; and military pay and any wages were called salarium from salt, which was distributed to soldiers and workmen as wages, as Pliny testifies in the same place.
38. AND DEMETRIUS SEEING THAT THE LAND WAS QUIET BEFORE HIM.—For Alexander being slain and Philometor dead, there was none who dared to invade Syria; but it wholly submitted to Demetrius, as to its lawful heir and king. Whence he then gave himself to ease and pleasures. Which Tryphon seeing, he roused up Antiochus the son of Alexander, who attacked the sluggish and voluptuous Demetrius and drove him from the kingdom, as the delights of Capua enervated and ruined Hannibal, and Greek luxury the Romans. Whence the old saying: Conquered Greece conquered her conqueror. Hear Justin, book XXXVI: “The kingdom recovered, Demetrius also, corrupted by success, slid into the vices of youth and sloth; and he incurred as much contempt among all for his inertia as his father had incurred hatred for his pride.”
HE SENT AWAY ALL HIS ARMY (his father’s, which his father Demetrius had collected from the Syrians and Asiatics subject to him), EXCEPT THE FOREIGN ARMY WHICH HE HAD DRAWN TOGETHER—from the islands of the nations, namely from Crete, Cyprus and other neighbouring islands. He did this because these had brought him into the kingdom. For Lasthenes had brought him back from Crete into the kingdom with Cretan forces. But in this way he offended his father’s soldiers, his own Syrians and Asiatics, because they took it ill to be deprived by their king of military service and pay: he offended also his subjects, who did not want a foreign soldiery, and took it ill that he trusted foreigners more than his own subjects: and that he kept foreigners at great expense, when he could hire natives and subjects at small cost. Wherefore ALL THE TROOPS OF HIS FATHERS HATED HIM, who therefore went over to Antiochus his rival, and fighting for him drove Demetrius from the kingdom. For they hated the foreign soldier, and therefore he was not seldom insolent.
Let Princes here learn to honour their subjects, and to trust them rather than foreigners. For so they will win the minds, love, faith and obedience of their subjects. So did Alexander the Great, who, to win to himself the Persians conquered and subdued by him, took the Persian dress; enrolled Persians in the army, gave Persian wives to his generals, and bestowed wondrous honours and benefits on the mother, wife and daughters of Darius, as Curtius testifies.
39. NOW THERE WAS ONE TRYPHON, WHO HAD BEEN OF ALEXANDER’S PARTY BEFORE.—This Tryphon is called by Appian and others Diodorus, and is said to have been by nation or education an Apamean, a powerful, crafty and ambitious man. He, seeing the Syrian and Asiatic army dismissed by Demetrius, attached it to himself, that by it he might in appearance restore the kingdom to Antiochus the son of Alexander Balas, who had been the rival and enemy of Demetrius slain by Philometor, but in reality to seize it himself; and so it came to pass. Moreover this Antiochus, son of Alexander, Appian and others likewise call Alexander. Finally this Tryphon, guardian of the “ward” Antiochus (for so it must be read in Justin, book XXXVI, for stepson), soon after became his tormentor, to seize his kingdom, but enjoyed it for a short time; for he himself was killed in the third year after by Antiochus Sidetes, brother and successor of Demetrius. So Josephus.
…THAT HE WOULD CAST OUT (the Demetrian soldiers) THAT WERE IN THE CASTLE IN JERUSALEM,—who occupied the citadel of Sion. Hence it is clear that Jonathan had not yet taken the citadel of Sion, indeed he had raised its siege. Yet Demetrius granted, or rather promised, that he would hand over the citadel to Jonathan, if he would send him his soldiers for his protection. For his subjects the Antiochenes rose against him to the number of 220 thousand, of whom the three thousand Jewish soldiers sent by Jonathan slew a hundred thousand, and delivered Demetrius, as follows. Great was this fortitude, fame and glory of the Jews.
46. THE PALACE,—namely the palace, or citadel, into which Demetrius had fled.
53. AND HE FALSIFIED ALL WHATSOEVER HE HAD SAID,—as if to say: Demetrius, seeing, or rather thinking himself and his affairs to be safe, broke the faith given to Jonathan, and began to vex and persecute him. Great was this ingratitude and perfidy of Demetrius, on account of which a little later he was conquered in battle by Tryphon, the tutor of Antiochus, and driven from the kingdom, being deserted by Jonathan and the Jews, indeed routed and slain by them, as is said ver. 56. For Antiochus made a treaty with Jonathan against Demetrius, and honoured him with great honours. Wherefore the Syrian soldiers, who had been dismissed by Demetrius, betook themselves to Jonathan, with whom equipped Jonathan stormed Ascalon, Gaza and other cities.
56. AND TRYPHON TOOK THE ELEPHANTS,—namely the elephants which Demetrius had led out into the line, with the rest of his war-engines, and so stripped him of his camp, AND MADE HIMSELF MASTER OF ANTIOCH, the royal city and metropolis of the kingdom. This he did by the help of Jonathan, whom therefore he honoured with great honours, and by the help of the Syrian army, which, dismissed by Demetrius, had gone over to Antiochus his rival. Moreover Jonathan, going on to fight for Antiochus, helped by his Syrian army, stormed Ascalon, Gaza and other cities.
58. AND GAVE HIM LEAVE TO DRINK IN GOLD,—namely from a golden cup, goblet, bowl or chalice. For the kings of the Persians and of Asia wished gold to be proper to themselves. Whence Xenophon, book I of the Expedition of Cyrus, says it is a great benefit conceded by the king of the Persians if by him anyone is allowed to wear a golden collar on his neck, golden bracelets, a golden scimitar: the same he teaches again, book I of the Cyropaedia. Procopius, book I On the Persian War, denies that anyone may use a golden ring, or brooch, or girdle, except by the king’s grant. Hence also in Esther vi it was granted to Mardochaeus by king Assuerus that he should wear a golden collar. The same Balthassar promised, Dan. v, to him who should explain the writing on the wall, and in III Esdras iii it is said that Darius the king grants to him whose speech shall be wisest that he be clothed in purple, and drink in gold, and sleep upon gold, and have a chariot with a golden bridle and a golden collar.
60. HE PASSED THROUGH BEYOND THE RIVER (of Juda, namely beyond the Jordan) THE CITIES.
62. AND HE WENT THROUGH THE COUNTRY (Jonathan, as victor, subjugating all) AS FAR AS DAMASCUS.—For this is what “he went through” signifies, as I said on Zachary, ver. 41, where the same word is used of one passing through and subduing a country, (because the Demetrians were stirring up the inhabitants of Cades and the Galileans to revolt from Jonathan and submit themselves to Demetrius. They did this with the design of recalling Jonathan from Syria and Damascus, where he was subjugating all to himself and Antiochus, into Galilee, lest, pursuing other men’s things abroad, he should lose his own at home), WISHING TO REMOVE HIM FROM THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE KINGDOM,—namely lest he should manage and promote the affairs of the kingdom of Syria for Antiochus, but should guard his own in Galilee. Whence Josephus: “When they wished, he says, to draw Jonathan away from Syria, he being about to bring help to the Galileans, men of his own dominion.”