Antiquities of the Jews — Book 13, Chapter 6

1. Now when Trypho knew what had befallen Demetrius, he was no longer
firm to Antiochus, but contrived by subtlety to kill him, and then take
possession of his kingdom; but the fear that he was in of Jonathan was
an obstacle to this his design, for Jonathan was a friend to Antiochus,
for which cause he resolved first to take Jonathan out of the way, and
then to set about his design relating to Antiochus; but he judging it
best to take him off by deceit and treachery, came from Antioch to
Bethshan, which by the Greeks is called Scythopolis, at which place
Jonathan met him with forty thousand chosen men, for he thought that he
came to fight him; but when he perceived that Jonathan was ready to
fight, he attempted to gain him by presents and kind treatment, and gave
order to his captains to obey him, and by these means was desirous to
give assurance of his good-will, and to take away all suspicions out of
his mind, that so he might make him careless and inconsiderate, and
might take him when he was unguarded. He also advised him to dismiss his
army, because there was no occasion for bringing it with him when there
was no war, but all was in peace. However, he desired him to retain a
few about him, and go with him to Ptolemais, for that he would deliver
the city up to him, and would bring all the fortresses that were in the
country under his dominion; and he told him that he came with those very
designs.

2. Yet did not Jonathan suspect any thing at all by this his management,
but believed that Trypho gave him this advice out of kindness, and with
a sincere design. Accordingly, he dismissed his army, and retained no
more than three thousand of them with him, and left two thousand in
Galilee; and he himself, with one thousand, came with Trypho to
Ptolemais. But when the people of Ptolemais had shut their gates, as it
had been commanded by Trypho to do, he took Jonathan alive, and slew all
that were with him. He also sent soldiers against those two thousand
that were left in Galilee, in order to destroy them; but those men
having heard the report of what had happened to Jonathan, they prevented
the execution; and before those that were sent by Trypho came, they
covered themselves with their armor, and went away out of the country.
Now when those that were sent against them saw that they were ready to
fight for their lives, they gave them no disturbance, but returned back
to Trypho.

3. But when the people of Jerusalem heard that Jonathan was taken, and
that the soldiers who were with him were destroyed, they deplored his
sad fate; and there was earnest inquiry made about him by every body,
and a great and just fear fell upon them, and made them sad, lest, now
they were deprived of the courage and conduct of Jonathan, the nations
about them should bear them ill-will; and as they were before quiet on
account of Jonathan they should now rise up against them, and by making
war with them, should force them into the utmost dangers. And indeed
what they suspected really befell them; for when those nations heard of
the death of Jonathan, they began to make war with the Jews as now
destitute of a governor and Trypho himself got an army together, and had
intention to go up to Judea, and make war against its inhabitants. But
when Simon saw that the people of Jerusalem were terrified at the
circumstances they were in, he desired to make a speech to them, and
thereby to render them more resolute in opposing Trypho when he should
come against them. He then called the people together into the temple,
and thence began thus to encourage them: "O my countrymen, you are not
ignorant that our father, myself, and my brethren, have ventured to
hazard our lives, and that willingly, for the recovery of your liberty;
since I have therefore such plenty of examples before me, and we of our
family have determined with ourselves to die for our laws, and our
Divine worship, there shall no terror be so great as to banish this
resolution from our souls, nor to introduce in its place a love of life,
and a contempt of glory. Do you therefore follow me with alacrity
whithersoever I shall lead you, as not destitute of such a captain as is
willing to suffer, and to do the greatest things for you; for neither am
I better than my brethren that I should be sparing of my own life, nor
so far worse than they as to avoid and refuse what they thought the most
honorable of all things,—I mean, to undergo death for your laws, and for
that worship of God which is peculiar to you; I will therefore give such
proper demonstrations as will show that I am their own brother; and I am
so bold as to expect that I shall avenge their blood upon our enemies,
and deliver you all with your wives and children from the injuries they
intend against you, and, with God's assistance, to preserve your temple
from destruction by them; for I see that these nations have you in
contempt, as being without a governor, and that they thence are
encouraged to make war against you."

4. By this speech of Simon he inspired the multitude with courage; and
as they had been before dispirited through fear, they were now raised to
a good hope of better things, insomuch that the whole multitude of the
people cried out all at once that Simon should be their leader; and that
instead of Judas and Jonathan his brethren, he should have the
government over them; and they promised that they would readily obey him
in whatsoever he should command them. So he got together immediately all
his own soldiers that were fit for war, and made haste in rebuilding the
walls of the city, and strengthening them by very high and strong
towers, and sent a friend of his, one Jonathan, the son of Absalom, to
Joppa, and gave him order to eject the inhabitants out of the city, for
he was afraid lest they should deliver up the city to Trypho; but he
himself staid to secure Jerusalem.

5. But Trypho removed from Ptolemais with a great army, and came into
Judea, and brought Jonathan with him in bonds. Simon also met him with
his army at the city Adida, which is upon a hill, and beneath it lie the
plains of Judea. And when Trypho knew that Simon was by the Jews made
their governor, he sent to him, and would have imposed upon him by
deceit and trenchery, and desired, if he would have his brother Jonathan
released, that he would send him a hundred talents of silver, and two of
Jonathan's sons as hostages, that when he shall be released, he may not
make Judea revolt from the king; for that at present he was kept in
bonds on account of the money he had borrowed of the king, and now owed
it to him. But Simon was aware of the craft of Trypho; and although he
knew that if he gave him the money he should lose it, and that Trypho
would not set his brother free and withal should deliver the sons of
Jonathan to the enemy, yet because he was afraid that he should have a
calumny raised against him among the multitude as the cause of his
brother's death, if he neither gave the money, nor sent Jonathan's sons,
he gathered his army together, and told them what offers Trypho had
made; and added this, that the offers were ensnaring and treacherous,
and yet that it was more eligible to send the money and Jonathan's sons,
than to be liable to the imputation of not complying with Trypho's
offers, and thereby refusing to save his brother. Accordingly, Simon
sent the sons of Jonathan and the money; but when Trypho had received
them, he did not keep his promise, nor set Jonathan free, but took his
army, and went about all the country, and resolved to go afterward to
Jerusalem by the way of Idumea, while Simon went over against him with
his army, and all along pitched his own camp over against his.

6. But when those that were in the citadel had sent to Trypho, and
besought him to make haste and come to them, and to send them
provisions, he prepared his cavalry as though he would be at Jerusalem
that very night; but so great a quantity of snow fell in the night, that
it covered the roads, and made them so deep, that there was no passing,
especially for the cavalry. This hindered him from coming to Jerusalem;
whereupon Trypho removed thence, and came into Celesyria, and falling
vehemently upon the land of Gilead, he slew Jonathan there; and when he
had given order for his burial, he returned himself to Antioch. However,
Simon sent some to the city Basca to bring away his brother's bones, and
buried them in their own city Modin; and all the people made great
lamentation over him. Simon also erected a very large monument for his
father and his brethren, of white and polished stone, and raised it a
great height, and so as to be seen a long way off, and made cloisters
about it, and set up pillars, which were of one stone apiece; a work it
was wonderful to see. Moreover, he built seven pyramids also for his
parents and his brethren, one for each of them, which were made very
surprising, both for their largeness and beauty, and which have been
preserved to this day; and we know that it was Simon who bestowed so
much zeal about the burial of Jonathan, and the building of these
monuments for his relations. Now Jonathan died when he had been high
priest four years 13 and had been also the governor of his nation. And
these were the circumstances that concerned his death.

7. But Simon, who was made high priest by the multitude, on the very
first year of his high priesthood set his people free from their slavery
under the Macedonians, and permitted them to pay tribute to them no
longer; which liberty and freedom from tribute they obtained after a
hundred and seventy years 14 of the kingdom of the Assyrians, which was
after Seleucus, who was called Nicator, got the dominion over Syria. Now
the affection of the multitude towards Simon was so great, that in their
contracts one with another, and in their public records, they wrote, "in
the first year of Simon the benefactor and ethnarch of the Jews;" for
under him they were very happy, and overcame the enemies that were round
about them; for Simon overthrew the city Gazara, and Joppa, and Jamhis.
He also took the citadel of Jerusalem by siege, and cast it down to the
ground, that it might not be any more a place of refuge to their enemies
when they took it, to do them a mischief, as it had been till now. And
when he had done this, he thought it their best way, and most for their
advantage, to level the very mountain itself upon which the citadel
happened to stand, that so the temple might be higher than it. And
indeed, when he had called the multitude to an assembly, he persuaded
them to have it so demolished, and this by putting them in mind what
miseries they had suffered by its garrison and the Jewish deserters, and
what miseries they might hereafter suffer in case any foreigner should
obtain the kingdom, and put a garrison into that citadel. This speech
induced the multitude to a compliance, because he exhorted them to do
nothing but what was for their own good: so they all set themselves to
the work, and leveled the mountain, and in that work spent both day and
night without any intermission, which cost them three whole years before
it was removed, and brought to an entire level with the plain of the
rest of the city. After which the temple was the highest of all the
buildings, now the citadel, as well as the mountain whereon it stood,
were demolished. And these actions were thus performed under Simon.