Simon leads the Israelties, Independence granted by king Demetrius, re-capture of cities

Simon seems to be the last of the Maccabbees brothers who led the Jews after his brother Jonathan was captured. Simon was able to rally his people to stand agains Trypho. When the confrontation between the armies of Trypho and Simon was about to occur, Trypho pretended that he took Jonathan simply for ransom purposes. So he promised to return Jonathan for 100 talents of silver. Although Simon knew it was a trick, he had no choice but to pay the ransom. Trypho was preparing to invade, but the weather changes his plan, forcing him to return to his country and killed Jonathan along the way.

Jonathan was given a great funeral and Simon built seven pyramids, one for Jonathan, and the others for their ancestors.
Tryphon then killed his young king and took over the kingdom. Simon took this opportunity to strengthen the fortifications of Judea. He re-established relations with King Demitrius. The king made true peace with Simon, not only by recognizing his leadership, but also releasing Judea from the taxes. Simon recaptured a few other cities in Israel. He was also showing mercy to the captured enemy. Whenever he captured the cities he also cleansed the city from the idols they used to worship. Finally they re-captured and liberated Jerusalem and they were welcomed with great honour.



1 Maccabees 13  (RSVCE)
Simon Takes Command
13 Simon heard that Trypho had assembled a large army to invade the land of Judah and destroy it, 2 and he saw that the people were trembling and fearful. So he went up to Jerusalem, and gathering the people together 3 he encouraged them, saying to them, “You yourselves know what great things I and my brothers and the house of my father have done for the laws and the sanctuary; you know also the wars and the difficulties which we have seen. 4 By reason of this all my brothers have perished for the sake of Israel, and I alone am left. 5 And now, far be it from me to spare my life in any time of distress, for I am not better than my brothers. 6 But I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have gathered together out of hatred to destroy us.”

7 The spirit of the people was rekindled when they heard these words, 8 and they answered in a loud voice, “You are our leader in place of Judas and Jonathan your brother. 9 Fight our battles, and all that you say to us we will do.” 10 So he assembled all the warriors and hastened to complete the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it on every side. 11 He sent Jonathan the son of Ab′salom to Joppa, and with him a considerable army; he drove out its occupants and remained there.

Deceit and Treachery of Trypho
12 Then Trypho departed from Ptolema′is with a large army to invade the land of Judah, and Jonathan was with him under guard. 13 And Simon encamped in Ad′ida, facing the plain. 14 Trypho learned that Simon had risen up in place of Jonathan his brother, and that he was about to join battle with him, so he sent envoys to him and said, 15 “It is for the money that Jonathan your brother owed the royal treasury, in connection with the offices he held, that we are detaining him. 16 Send now a hundred talents of silver and two of his sons as hostages, so that when released he will not revolt against us, and we will release him.”

17 Simon knew that they were speaking deceitfully to him, but he sent to get the money and the sons, lest he arouse great hostility among the people, who might say, 18 “Because Simon[a] did not send him the money and the sons, he perished.” 19 So he sent the sons and the hundred talents, but Trypho[b] broke his word and did not release Jonathan.

20 After this Trypho came to invade the country and destroy it, and he circled around by the way to Ador′a. But Simon and his army kept marching along opposite him to every place he went. 21 Now the men in the citadel kept sending envoys to Trypho urging him to come to them by way of the wilderness and to send them food. 22 So Trypho got all his cavalry ready to go, but that night a very heavy snow fell, and he did not go because of the snow. He marched off and went into the land of Gil′ead. 23 When he approached Bas′kama, he killed Jonathan, and he was buried there. 24 Then Trypho turned back and departed to his own land.

Jonathan’s Tomb
25 And Simon sent and took the bones of Jonathan his brother, and buried him in Mo′de-in, the city of his fathers. 26 All Israel bewailed him with great lamentation, and mourned for him many days. 27 And Simon built a monument over the tomb of his father and his brothers; he made it high that it might be seen, with polished stone at the front and back. 28 He also erected seven pyramids, opposite one another, for his father and mother and four brothers. 29 And for the pyramids[c] he devised an elaborate setting, erecting about them great columns, and upon the columns he put suits of armor for a permanent memorial, and beside the suits of armor carved ships, so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea. 30 This is the tomb which he built in Mo′de-in; it remains to this day.

Judea Gains Independence
31 Trypho dealt treacherously with the young king Anti′ochus; he killed him 32 and became king in his place, putting on the crown of Asia; and he brought great calamity upon the land. 33 But Simon built up the strongholds of Judea and walled them all around, with high towers and great walls and gates and bolts, and he stored food in the strongholds. 34 Simon also chose men and sent them to Deme′trius the king with a request to grant relief to the country, for all that Trypho did was to plunder. 35 Deme′trius the king sent him a favorable reply to this request, and wrote him a letter as follows, 36 “King Deme′trius to Simon, the high priest and friend of kings, and to the elders and nation of the Jews, greeting. 37 We have received the gold crown and the palm branch which you[d] sent, and we are ready to make a general peace with you and to write to our officials to grant you release from tribute. 38 All the grants that we have made to you remain valid, and let the strongholds that you have built be your possession. 39 We pardon any errors and offenses committed to this day, and cancel the crown tax which you owe; and whatever other tax has been collected in Jerusalem shall be collected no longer. 40 And if any of you are qualified to be enrolled in our bodyguard,[e] let them be enrolled, and let there be peace between us.”

41 In the one hundred and seventieth year[f] the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel, 42 and the people began to write in their documents and contracts, “In the first year of Simon the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews.”

The Capture of Gazara by Simon
43 In those days Simon[g] encamped against Gazar′a[h] and surrounded it with troops. He made a siege engine, brought it up to the city, and battered and captured one tower. 44 The men in the siege engine leaped out into the city, and a great tumult arose in the city. 45 The men in the city, with their wives and children, went up on the wall with their clothes rent, and they cried out with a loud voice, asking Simon to make peace with them; 46 they said, “Do not treat us according to our wicked acts but according to your mercy.” 47 So Simon reached an agreement with them and stopped fighting against them. But he expelled them from the city and cleansed the houses in which the idols were, and then entered it with hymns and praise. 48 He cast out of it all uncleanness, and settled in it men who observed the law. He also strengthened its fortifications and built in it a house for himself.

Simon Regains the Citadel at Jerusalem
49 The men in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from going out to the country and back to buy and sell. So they were very hungry, and many of them perished from famine. 50 Then they cried to Simon to make peace with them, and he did so. But he expelled them from there and cleansed the citadel from its pollutions. 51 On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the one hundred and seventy-first year,[i] the Jews[j] entered it with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. 52 And Simon[k] decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel, and he and his men dwelt there. 53 And Simon saw that John his son had reached manhood, so he made him commander of all the forces, and he dwelt in Gazar′a.

Jonathan tricked and captured by Trypho

Jonathan, the high priest of Israel, had established good relations, not only with Rome, but also with the Spartans. A letter from Jonathan to the Spartans is detailed in this chapter. It was also accepted, in this chapter, that the Spartans were cousins to the Jews, bpth having descended from Abraham.

There was still a threat from the forces of Demetrius against the Jews. There was a planned attack that was aborted when Demetrius army heard that Jonathan was returning. Jonathan also ordered the walls of Jerusalem to be strengthened and built higher.

Trypho also wanted to be king by dethroning Antiochus, but Jonathan was standing in their way. When Trypho saw the great army of Jonathan and also from his reputation, Trypho pretended to be friendly to Jonathan. Finally Trypho managed to get Jonathan alone and captured him. The land of Judah and its people were left at the mercy of their surrounding enemies.



1 Maccabees 12 (RSVCE)
Alliances with Rome and Sparta
12 Now when Jonathan saw that the time was favorable for him, he chose men and sent them to Rome to confirm and renew the friendship with them. 2 He also sent letters to the same effect to the Spartans and to other places. 3 So they went to Rome and entered the senate chamber and said, “Jonathan the high priest and the Jewish nation have sent us to renew the former friendship and alliance with them.” 4 And the Romans[a] gave them letters to the people in every place, asking them to provide for the envoys[b] safe conduct to the land of Judah.

5 This is a copy of the letter which Jonathan wrote to the Spartans: 6 “Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people to their brethren the Spartans, greeting. 7 Already in time past a letter was sent to Oni′as the high priest from Ari′us,[c] who was king among you, stating that you are our brethren, as the appended copy shows. 8 Oni′as welcomed the envoy with honor, and received the letter, which contained a clear declaration of alliance and friendship. 9 Therefore, though we have no need of these things, since we have as encouragement the holy books which are in our hands, 10 we have undertaken to send to renew our brotherhood and friendship with you, so that we may not become estranged from you, for considerable time has passed since you sent your letter to us. 11 We therefore remember you constantly on every occasion, both in our feasts and on other appropriate days, at the sacrifices which we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and proper to remember brethren. 12 And we rejoice in your glory. 13 But as for ourselves, many afflictions and many wars have encircled us; the kings round about us have waged war against us. 14 We were unwilling to annoy you and our other allies and friends with these wars, 15 for we have the help which comes from Heaven for our aid; and we were delivered from our enemies and our enemies were humbled. 16 We therefore have chosen Nume′nius the son of Anti′ochus and Antip′ater the son of Jason, and have sent them to Rome to renew our former friendship and alliance with them. 17 We have commanded them to go also to you and greet you and deliver to you this letter from us concerning the renewal of our brotherhood. 18 And now please send us a reply to this.”

19 This is a copy of the letter which they sent to Oni′as: 20 “Ari′us, king of the Spartans, to Oni′as the high priest, greeting. 21 It has been found in writing concerning the Spartans and the Jews that they are brethren and are of the family of Abraham. 22 And now that we have learned this, please write us concerning your welfare; 23 we on our part write to you that your cattle and your property belong to us, and ours belong to you. We therefore command that our envoys[d] report to you accordingly.”

Further Campaigns of Jonathan and Simon
24 Now Jonathan heard that the commanders of Deme′trius had returned, with a larger force than before, to wage war against him. 25 So he marched away from Jerusalem and met them in the region of Hamath, for he gave them no opportunity to invade his own country. 26 He sent spies to their camp, and they returned and reported to him that the enemy[e] were being drawn up in formation to fall upon the Jews[f] by night. 27 So when the sun set, Jonathan commanded his men to be alert and to keep their arms at hand so as to be ready all night for battle, and he stationed outposts around the camp. 28 When the enemy heard that Jonathan and his men were prepared for battle, they were afraid and were terrified at heart; so they kindled fires in their camp and withdrew.[g] 29 But Jonathan and his men did not know it until morning, for they saw the fires burning. 30 Then Jonathan pursued them, but he did not overtake them, for they had crossed the Eleu′therus river. 31 So Jonathan turned aside against the Arabs who are called Zabade′ans, and he crushed them and plundered them. 32 Then he broke camp and went to Damas′cus, and marched through all that region.

33 Simon also went forth and marched through the country as far as As′kalon and the neighboring strongholds. He turned aside to Joppa and took it by surprise, 34 for he had heard that they were ready to hand over the stronghold to the men whom Deme′trius had sent. And he stationed a garrison there to guard it.

35 When Jonathan returned he convened the elders of the people and planned with them to build strongholds in Judea, 36 to build the walls of Jerusalem still higher, and to erect a high barrier between the citadel and the city to separate it from the city, in order to isolate it so that its garrison[h] could neither buy nor sell. 37 So they gathered together to build up the city; part of the wall on the valley to the east had fallen, and he repaired the section called Chaphena′tha. 38 And Simon built Ad′ida in the Shephe′lah; he fortified it and installed gates with bolts.

Trypho Captures Jonathan
39 Then Trypho attempted to become king of Asia and put on the crown, and to raise his hand against Anti′ochus the king. 40 He feared that Jonathan might not permit him to do so, but might make war on him, so he kept seeking to seize and kill him, and he marched forth and came to Beth-shan. 41 Jonathan went out to meet him with forty thousand picked fighting men, and he came to Beth-shan. 42 When Trypho saw that he had come with a large army, he was afraid to raise his hand against him. 43 So he received him with honor and commended him to all his friends, and he gave him gifts and commanded his friends and his troops to obey him as they would himself. 44 Then he said to Jonathan, “Why have you wearied all these people when we are not at war? 45 Dismiss them now to their homes and choose for yourself a few men to stay with you, and come with me to Ptolema′is. I will hand it over to you as well as the other strongholds and the remaining troops and all the officials, and will turn round and go home. For that is why I am here.”

46 Jonathan[i] trusted him and did as he said; he sent away the troops, and they returned to the land of Judah. 47 He kept with himself three thousand men, two thousand of whom he left in Galilee, while a thousand accompanied him. 48 But when Jonathan entered Ptolema′is, the men of Ptolema′is closed the gates and seized him, and all who had entered with him they killed with the sword.

49 Then Trypho sent troops and cavalry into Galilee and the Great Plain to destroy all Jonathan’s soldiers. 50 But they realized that Jonathan[j] had been seized and had perished along with his men, and they encouraged one another and kept marching in close formation, ready for battle. 51 When their pursuers saw that they would fight for their lives, they turned back. 52 So they all reached the land of Judah safely, and they mourned for Jonathan and his companions and were in great fear; and all Israel mourned deeply. 53 And all the nations round about them tried to destroy them, for they said, “They have no leader or helper. Now therefore let us make war on them and blot out the memory of them from among men.”