Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Alexander the Great, about to die, distributes his kingdoms among his Princes. From one of these, namely Seleucus, descended Antiochus Epiphanes, who devastated Judea, plundered the temple, and placed in it an idol of Jupiter, killed very many Jews, compelled the rest to idolatry, and subjected those who resisted to martyrdom through various torments.
Vulgate Text: 1 Maccabees 1:1-67
1. And it came to pass, after Alexander the Macedonian, son of Philip, who first reigned in Greece, going forth from the land of Kittim, had struck down Darius king of the Persians and Medes; 2. he fought many battles, and captured the strongholds of all, and slew the kings of the earth; 3. and he passed through to the ends of the earth, and took the spoils of a multitude of nations; and the earth was silent before him. 4. And he gathered a mighty and exceedingly strong army; and his heart was exalted and lifted up, 5. and he obtained the regions of nations and tyrants; and they became tributary to him. 6. And after these things he fell sick in bed, and knew that he was going to die. 7. And he called his noble attendants, who had been brought up with him from his youth; and he divided his kingdom among them while he was still alive. 8. And Alexander reigned twelve years, and died. 9. And his attendants obtained the kingdom, each one in his own place; 10. and they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their sons after them for many years, and evils were multiplied in the earth. 11. And there came forth from them a sinful root, Antiochus the Illustrious, son of King Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. 12. In those days there went forth from Israel sons of iniquity, and they persuaded many, saying: Let us go and make a covenant with the nations that are around us; for since we departed from them, many evils have befallen us. 13. And the speech seemed good in their eyes. 14. And some of the people determined and went to the king; and he gave them authority to follow the practices of the nations. 15. And they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem according to the customs of the nations; 16. and they made themselves foreskins, and departed from the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the nations, and sold themselves to do evil. 17. And the kingdom was established before Antiochus, and he began to reign over the land of Egypt, that he might reign over two kingdoms. 18. And he entered Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots and elephants and horsemen and a great fleet of ships: 19. and he made war against Ptolemy king of Egypt, and Ptolemy was afraid at his presence and fled, and many fell wounded. 20. And he captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and took the spoils of the land of Egypt. 21. And Antiochus turned back, after he had struck Egypt, in the one hundred and forty-third year; and he went up against Israel, 22. and went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude. 23. And he entered the sanctuary with arrogance, and took the golden altar, and the lampstand of light, and all its vessels, and the table of showbread, and the libation vessels, and the bowls and the golden censers, and the veil, and the crowns, and the golden ornament that was on the face of the temple; and he broke them all in pieces. 24. And he took the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels; and he took the hidden treasures that he found; and having taken everything he went away to his own land. 25. And he made a great slaughter of men, and spoke with great arrogance. 26. And there was great mourning in Israel, and in every place of theirs; 27. and the princes and elders groaned: the virgins and young men were made feeble, and the beauty of the women was changed. 28. Every husband took up lamentation; and those who sat in the marriage bed mourned; 29. and the land was shaken for the sake of those who dwelt in it, and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame. 30. And after two full years, the King sent a chief collector of tribute to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a great throng. 31. And he spoke to them peaceful words in deceit, and they believed him. 32. And he fell upon the city suddenly, and struck it with a great blow, and destroyed much people of Israel. 33. And he took the spoils of the city, and set it on fire, and pulled down its houses and its walls round about; 34. and they led the women captive, and possessed the children and the cattle. 35. And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall and with strong towers, and it became their citadel; 36. and they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified themselves in it, and stored up weapons and provisions, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem; 37. and stored them there; and they became a great snare. 38. And this served as an ambush against the sanctuary, and as an evil adversary against Israel; 39. and they shed innocent blood around the sanctuary, and defiled the sanctuary. 40. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled on account of them, and the city became a habitation of strangers, and became foreign to her own offspring, and her children forsook her. 41. Her sanctuary was made desolate like a wilderness, her feast days were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honors into nothing. 42. According to her glory was her ignominy multiplied; and her exaltation was turned into mourning. 43. And King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all people should be one, and that each should abandon his own law. 44. And all the nations consented according to the word of King Antiochus; 45. and many of Israel consented to his worship, and sacrificed to idols, and profaned the sabbath. 46. And the King sent letters by the hands of messengers to Jerusalem and to all the cities of Judah, that they should follow the laws of the nations of the land; 47. and should forbid holocausts and sacrifices and atonement offerings to be made in the temple of God; 48. and should forbid the sabbath and the solemn days to be celebrated; 49. and he ordered the holy things and the holy people of Israel to be defiled. 50. And he ordered altars and temples and idols to be built, and swine's flesh and unclean beasts to be sacrificed; 51. and that they should leave their sons uncircumcised, and defile their souls with all uncleanness and abominations, so that they should forget the law and change all the ordinances of God. 52. And whoever would not act according to the word of King Antiochus should die. 53. According to all these words he wrote to his whole kingdom; and he set overseers over the people to compel these things to be done. 54. And they commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice. 55. And many of the people gathered to those who had forsaken the law of the Lord, and committed evils upon the earth; 56. and they drove the people of Israel into hiding, into the secret places of fugitives. 57. On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, King Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God, and throughout all the cities of Judah round about they built altars; 58. and before the doors of houses and in the streets they burned incense and sacrificed; 59. and they burned with fire the books of the law of God, tearing them to pieces; 60. and wherever the books of the covenant of the Lord were found, and whoever observed the law of the Lord, according to the edict of the king, they put him to death. 61. By their power they did these things to the people of Israel who were found month after month in the cities. 62. And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they sacrificed upon the altar that was set up against the altar. 63. And the women who circumcised their sons were killed according to the command of King Antiochus, 64. and they hanged the infants from the necks throughout all their houses; and those who had circumcised them, they killed. 65. And many of the people of Israel determined within themselves not to eat unclean things; and they chose rather to die than to be defiled with unclean foods; 66. and they refused to break the holy law of God, and were put to death; 67. and there was very great wrath upon the people.
Verse 1: And It Came To Pass, After Alexander
1. AND IT CAME TO PASS, AFTER ALEXANDER (the Great), THE MACEDONIAN, SON OF PHILIP, WHO FIRST REIGNED IN GREECE (that is, all of it, says Serarius), GOING FORTH FROM THE LAND OF KITTIM — that is, from the regions beyond the sea as far as the Jews are concerned (for these the Jews call Kittim), such as Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus, etc. — so today, those who live beyond the Alps are called by Italians "transmontani" (those beyond the mountains). Again, some take "Kittim" as specifically meaning Macedonia (which today is called Albania), both because Philip and Perseus are called kings of the Kittim, that is, of the Macedonians, 1 Maccabees 8:5; and because Suidas under the entry "Latini" and "Kition" asserts that Macedonia was called by prosthesis from Kittim, namely pateis and in the Attic form maketta; so also St. Jerome, book 5 on Isaiah chapter 23, and on Ezekiel chapter 27, and Daniel 11, takes Kittim as the islands of Macedonia; and St. Epiphanius, Heresy 30, says Alexander is said to have gone forth from Kittim, that is, from Macedonia, because in it there was a stock of Cypriots and Rhodians, to whom this name properly belongs: for Kittim, as Josephus attests, book 1 of Antiquities chapter 7, properly means Cyprus, and from there any other islands. The Hebrews call "islands" all regions across the sea, such as Italy, Greece, Macedonia. This is supported by the fact that Livy, book 5, Decade 2, names in Macedonia a place called Citium, where the entire army of Perseus had assembled. The affinity of the word Macedonia with Kittim also supports this. Whence Dionysius on the Geography and Hesychius in his Lexicon call Macedonia Maceta, and the Macedonians Macetae. Hence Ausonius, in Famous Cities, Epigram 2: "and to exalt the name of the Macetae." Indeed Thucydides, book 2, chapter 2, says that Cypriots migrated to Macedonia, so that they could have given it their name Kittim. So also Theodore Annius, Pintus, and Pererius on Isaiah 2, by Kittim understand Macedonia.
DARIUS KING OF THE PERSIANS — the last, surnamed Codomannus. Alexander the Great struck down and killed him in the sixth year of his reign, and then transferred the monarchy from Darius and the Persians to himself and to the Greeks, and becoming sole monarch reigned another six years: for he died in the twelfth year of his reign. Moreover, Darius was previously called Codamus and kept a tavern at Susa, says Dionysius Chrysostom, oration 5; from there he was made prefect of Armenia, and finally king: therefore he was not of royal stock, but pretended to be by assuming the royal name Darius, and therefore Alexander invaded him and deprived him of a kingdom not rightfully his.
Verse 3: And He Passed Through To The Ends Of The Earth
3. AND HE PASSED THROUGH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH — subjugating all things to himself by arms as far as the Ganges and the Indian Ocean, says Josephus, Livy, and Justin. AND THE EARTH WAS SILENT BEFORE HIM — from terror of his strength and his continuous victories, so that no one dared resist him or even open his mouth against him, just as mice are silent in the presence of a cat, and dogs before a lion.
Verse 4: And He Gathered Strength And An Army
4. AND HE GATHERED STRENGTH AND AN ARMY — that is, an army fearsome not so much for its numbers as for the valor of its soldiers. For Alexander's soldiers were veterans, accustomed to toils and battles, emboldened by continuous victories to conquer and subdue all things. It is a hendiadys. Hence the Greek reads: he gathered strength, that is, a mighty army. AND HIS HEART WAS LIFTED UP — so much so that he aspired to divinity and claimed he was born from Jupiter himself. This vain opinion he had imbibed from his enormous victories, the blandishments of flatterers, and his incredibly prosperous affairs, to the point that, as Aulus Gellius attests (book 13, chapter 4), he made Olympias a rival of Juno. He wrote foolishly to the Greeks and ordered them to make him a god, as Aelian says (book 2 of Miscellaneous History, chapter 19); but ridiculed by the Spartans, he was charged with madness and stupidity, as the same Aelian reports (book 5, chapter 2). The priest of Ammon, instead of paidies (boy, son), flattered him by calling him paidios, that is, son of Jupiter.
Verse 6: After These Things
6. AFTER THESE THINGS, (in the 12th year of his reign, the 6th of his monarchy, at age 33), HE FELL SICK IN BED — either from excessive drinking, as Plutarch narrates in his life, and Seneca, epistle 83, or from poison, as Curtius thinks.
Verse 7: And He Called His Attendants
7. AND HE CALLED HIS ATTENDANTS, that is, generals, princes close to him, such as Ptolemy son of Lagus, Seleucus, Antigonus, Aridaeus, Perdiccas, Cassander, and others: AND HE DIVIDED HIS KINGDOM AMONG THEM. — The same is asserted by Josephus Gorionides, book 3, and St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 4 on Sacred Scripture, and others. This is supported by what Curtius writes, book 10, chapter 10: "Some believed," he says, "that the provinces were distributed by Alexander's testament"; and he asserts that this was handed down by various authors, although he himself holds the contrary. Now our Author, to whom as a sacred writer the Greek and Latin Fathers, indeed the whole Church, attributes sacred credibility, should be believed more than Diodorus, Justin, Curtius, and Orosius, who assert that Perdiccas distributed the provinces among the Princes after Alexander's death: which nevertheless could also have happened, namely that Alexander, by giving his ring to Perdiccas as one privy to his secret, commanded him to divide his empire among twelve Princes. For Perdiccas did this — something he certainly would not have done, but would have retained most for himself, unless Alexander had commanded him to do so. Again, St. Thomas, the Gloss, Dionysius, Josephus, and Stephen explain it thus: "He divided his kingdom among them," that is, he left it to be divided, set forth and offered, as if to say: Alexander, dying, designated no definite heir, but wished that the princes should divide it among themselves equally. Hear now Justin, book 12: "When his friends saw that he was failing, they asked whom he would make heir of the empire. He answered: the most worthy. So great was his magnanimity that, although he was leaving behind his son Hercules, his brother Aridaeus, and his wife Roxane who was pregnant, forgetful of kinship, he named the most worthy as his heir. On the sixth day, his voice having failed, he removed the ring from his finger and handed it to Perdiccas. Which action settled the growing dissension among his friends. For although he had not named an heir by voice, he nevertheless appeared to have been chosen by this sign." Moreover, among these twelve heirs and successors of Alexander, the chief ones were four, namely: Ptolemy, who took Egypt; Antigonus, who took Asia; Aridaeus, who took Macedonia; Seleucus, who took Syria, Babylon, and Persia, and having defeated Antigonus, seized Asia.
Verse 8: And He Died
8. AND HE DIED — at Babylon, from poison treacherously given to him by Antipater, says Bede and Quintus Curtius; or as others say from excessive drinking, or from both: I said more about the deeds of Alexander at Daniel chapter 8. See here the vanity of kings and the kingdoms of the world. Behold Alexander, who had subjugated the world and was seeking new worlds to subjugate — he enjoyed his empire for only six years, and dying in the sixth year lies entombed and buried in a tiny sepulcher. Truly Juvenal, Satire 10: "For one Pellean youth (Alexander) a single world does not suffice, He chafes, unhappy, at the narrow limits of the world, etc. He shall be content with a sarcophagus: death alone reveals How small are the bodies of men." Hence Apelles painted Alexander as if holding a thunderbolt in his hand, because like a thunderbolt he swept through all things, but also vanished at once, like a thunderbolt. Peter Alphonsus relates that many philosophers (perhaps the Gymnosophists, who had once resolved the questions proposed by Alexander) upon hearing of Alexander's death hastened to his funeral. And one, he says, said: "Yesterday the spaciousness of the whole earth was not enough for Alexander; now a space of three or four ells suffices for him." Another said: "Yesterday Alexander could deliver many from death; today he cannot save himself." Another, seeing his golden coffin: "Yesterday Alexander made a treasure out of gold; today gold has made a treasure out of him." Another: "Yesterday Alexander oppressed the earth; today the earth oppresses him." Finally Alexander's mother Olympias groaned: "O son," she said, "you who aspired to share in heaven, you cannot even possess what is common to all mortals — earth and burial." For Alexander's corpse remained unburied for thirty days on account of the princes' disputes. Go now, sons of Adam, of the earth; like moles, gape after more — pile field upon field, city upon city, kingdom upon kingdom, tomorrow to die. "O the cares of men! O how much emptiness there is in things!" Alexander was beautiful, now he is a rotting corpse: he was a Cyrus, now he is a beggar: he was a master of cups, now he is food for worms; he was the terror of nations, now he is the prey of demons: he was a glorious king of glory, now he is the bellows and fuel of hell, and will be so forever in all eternity. Gaze upon this mirror, O Reader, and say to yourself: "Today Alexander, tomorrow me."
Verse 11: And There Came Forth A Sinful Root, Antiochus The Illustrious
11. AND THERE CAME FORTH FROM THEM A SINFUL ROOT, ANTIOCHUS THE ILLUSTRIOUS — as if to say: From one of Alexander's generals, and after his death one of the kings, there descended Antiochus Epiphanes, namely from Seleucus, who having defeated Antigonus placed the diadem of Asia upon himself in the 12th year after Alexander's death; for from Seleucus in the sixth generation descended Epiphanes, that is "the Illustrious." More truly called by others Epimanes, that is "the Insane"; both because he did many stupid and insane things, which Leonicus catalogued at Daniel 11:21; and because, as if driven by infernal furies, he raged insanely and most cruelly against the Jews. Polybius gives another reason, namely that he was poisoned by the Magi through magic and driven to delirium and madness. Epiphanes is called a "sinful root" because just as from a root sprout fruit and apples, so from Epiphanes sprouted all sins — of pride, avarice, lust, cruelty, impiety, sacrilege, etc. — which we shall hear about throughout this chapter and the next. Hence he was the express type and forerunner of the Antichrist, who in 2 Thessalonians 2 is called by Paul "the man of sin," because he will be most impious and criminal.
SON OF KING ANTIOCHUS (surnamed the Great), WHO HAD BEEN A HOSTAGE AT ROME. — For Antiochus the Great, defeated together with Hannibal by Scipio Asiaticus the brother of Scipio Africanus (because he had neglected Hannibal's counsels), gave to Scipio and the Romans as a hostage of peace and alliance his younger son Antiochus Epiphanes. But Epiphanes, after his father died and his elder brother Seleucus Philopator was treacherously killed by Heliodorus, secretly escaped from Rome to Syria, and there began to reign in the year 137 OF THE KINGDOM OF THE GREEKS, that is, in the year 145 after the death of Alexander the Great. For the years of the Greeks begin from Seleucus, who in the 12th year after Alexander's death made himself king of Asia and transmitted the kingdom to his descendants, as I said in the Introduction, Question 3.
Verse 12: In Those Days There Went Forth From Israel Sons Of Iniquity
12. IN THOSE DAYS THERE WENT FORTH FROM ISRAEL SONS OF INIQUITY — whose leader was Jesus the brother of Onias the High Priest, who, adopting Gentile and Greek ways, called himself Jason, and having expelled his brother Onias, seized the Pontificate, about whom see book 2, chapter 4:7. Likewise Menelaus, Simon, and others like them, about whom see book 2, chapter 5. These, seeing the wickedness as well as the power of Antiochus Epiphanes ruling over Syria and Judea, conformed themselves to his impiety in order to obtain from him wealth and honors and be set over the other Jews, and become Pontiffs and governors, indeed lords of the Jews, namely: "The whole world is fashioned after the king's example." Just as, therefore, the pious king David made the Jews pious, so the impious Epiphanes made them impious.
Verse 14: He Gave Them Authority To Follow The Practices Of The Nations
14. HE (Epiphanes) GAVE THEM AUTHORITY TO FOLLOW THE PRACTICES OF THE NATIONS — that is, to follow the rites and customs of the Gentiles, and especially their false religion and idolatry, and unrestrained licentiousness, and to introduce these into Judea; whence it follows:
15. AND THEY BUILT A GYMNASIUM IN JERUSALEM ACCORDING TO THE CUSTOMS OF THE NATIONS — in which, namely, young men were to learn not only Gentile legends and literature, as St. Thomas and Lyranus think, and also sword-fighting, archery, running races, jumping, discus-throwing, and wrestling in the palaestra, etc., but were also taught every form of luxury, even that against nature — pederastic and sodomitic — whence to these gymnasiums were added ephebia, that is, houses of prostitution, book 2, chapter 4:12. And impious kings formerly erected such things in Judah, called "houses of the effeminate," over which the mother of King Asa of Judah presided as a kind of priestess and princess, 3 Kings 15:12; but Asa and other pious kings removed them, while Herod restored them, as Josephus attests, book 14, chapter 9, and book 15, chapter 11. Learn here that just as purity and chastity are the companions of true religion, so impurity and lust are the companions of false religion and heresy: certainly you will find troops of virgins, both men and women, who religiously preserve their chastity vowed to God throughout their whole lives, only in the orthodox faith.
Verse 16: And They Made Themselves Foreskins
16. AND THEY MADE THEMSELVES FORESKINS — that is, they drew back the foreskins that had been cut off in circumcision by means of certain instruments and medications, and made them grow back, so that by this act they might avoid circumcision and Judaism and profess Gentilism; for the restoration of the foreskin was the symbol of this. See what I said on 1 Corinthians 7:18, at the words: "Let him not be uncircumcised."
Verse 17: And The Kingdom
17. AND THE KINGDOM (of Asia and Syria) WAS ESTABLISHED BEFORE ANTIOCHUS (Epiphanes) — for Seleucus Philopator, the elder brother of Epiphanes, was killed by the treachery of Heliodorus; wherefore Epiphanes, with the help of the neighboring kings Eumenes and Attalus, easily seized his father's kingdom alone. Not content with this: HE BEGAN TO REIGN OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT — for as follows:
18. AND HE ENTERED EGYPT WITH A GREAT MULTITUDE — that is, a copious one, namely with a numerous and great army. It is an enallage; for a continuous quantity is used for a discrete one, namely "heavy" or "great" for "many." So the "most grievous swarm of flies" means very many, Exodus 8:24. See what I said there. Moreover, Antiochus Epiphanes entered Egypt twice, pretending to want to help Ptolemy Philometor, his nephew through his sister Cleopatra, who was a boy, but in truth with the intention of excluding his nephew and adding the kingdom of Egypt to his own kingdom of Asia. First, he entered in the second year of his reign, about which 2 Maccabees 4:21 deals. Second, in the sixth year of his reign, which was the year 142 of the Greeks, about which this passage deals; for in the following year 143 he went up from Egypt against Israel, as is said in verse 21.
Verse 23: And He Entered The Sanctuary
23. AND HE ENTERED THE SANCTUARY — that is, the holy place, namely the temple most sacred to the Jews, and from there sacrilegiously took the GOLDEN ALTAR, that is, the altar of incense; AND THE GOLDEN TABLE, on which the 12 tribes offered to God the 12 loaves of SHOWBREAD, AND the libation vessels — that is, cups, bowls, and other vessels with which wine, oil, and the blood of victims was poured out to God, that is, poured at the horn of the altar.
Verse 25: And He Made A Great Slaughter Of Men
25. AND HE MADE A GREAT SLAUGHTER OF MEN, namely — as is said in 2 Maccabees 5:12: "There were killings of young men and of elders and women, and the destruction of children, and the slaughter of virgins and infants. In the whole three days, 80,000 were killed, 40,000 were bound, and no fewer were sold." The reason was that the Romans had ordered Antiochus Epiphanes to leave Egypt and leave it free to King Ptolemy Philometor, their friend; for Publius Popilius Laenas, the Roman legate who had been a friend of Antiochus Epiphanes at Rome, having arrived at Alexandria by ship, drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus with his staff and said to him: "The Senate and People of Rome command you to withdraw from Egypt, and not fight against the Ptolemies, and to answer on this spot what counsel you take: whether you desire peace or war." At which, terrified, he said: "If this pleases the Romans, I must withdraw." And so he immediately moved his army. So Josephus, Antiquities book 12, chapter 6; Livy, book 5, decade 5; Appian in the Syriaca; Justin and others. Therefore, gnashing his teeth, Antiochus then moved his camp against the neighboring Jews and poured out his indignation and fury upon them. AND HE SPOKE WITH GREAT ARROGANCE — boasting, as if he were some earthly god whom all must obey and whom no one could resist, as his antitype the Antichrist will do. See what I said at Daniel 11:36.
Verse 27: And The Beauty Of The Women Was Changed
27. AND THE BEAUTY OF THE WOMEN WAS CHANGED — both because they themselves, having laid aside their fine garments, put on mourning clothes in the common grief, that is, black and squalid clothing; and because fear, sorrow, and anguish made them pale and ghastly. So in the disaster wrought by the Chaldeans Jeremiah says in Lamentations 1, concerning the virgins: "All her beauty has departed from the daughter of Zion"; concerning the young men, chapter 4:2: "The precious sons of Zion, clothed in finest gold, how they are reckoned as earthen vessels"; and verse 7, concerning the Nazirites: "Her Nazirites were whiter than snow, brighter than milk, more ruddy than ivory, more beautiful than sapphire; their faces have become blacker than coals, and they are not recognized in the streets."
Verse 29: And The Land Was Shaken
29. AND THE LAND WAS SHAKEN — Judea was stricken and convulsed with enormous terror, grief, and anguish, ON ACCOUNT OF THOSE DWELLING IN IT — namely on account of the Jewish inhabitants killed, captured, and sold by Antiochus.
30. AND AFTER TWO FULL YEARS, that is, after two complete years fully expired with all their days, so that some additional days had also passed, Antiochus Epiphanes SENT A CHIEF COLLECTOR OF TRIBUTE — whom he had placed in charge of collecting taxes, named Apollonius, to the Jews not only to plunder them but also to slaughter them, as is said in 2 Maccabees 5:24, who moreover.
33. HE SET IT (Jerusalem, already despoiled by him) ON FIRE AND DESTROYED ITS HOUSES AND WALLS ROUND ABOUT — so that it could not rebel against Antiochus.
35. AND THEY BUILT THE CITY OF DAVID — namely the citadel of Zion, which dominated the entire city below it like a rock or tower, WITH A GREAT (tall) AND STRONG WALL.
36. AND THEY PLACED THERE A SINFUL NATION, namely, rapacious, murderous, and criminal soldiers, who would plunder, bind, and slaughter the Jews.
38. AND THIS SERVED AS AN AMBUSH AGAINST THE SANCTUARY — that is, the holy place or temple, so that they might lie in wait for Jews going to the temple for the sake of sacrifice or prayer, and bursting out from the citadel, might rush upon them and plunder, capture, and wound them. For Antiochus wanted to abolish the worship of the true God and compel the Jews to worship his idols, and therefore he had placed an image of Jupiter Olympius in the temple. AND AS AN EVIL ADVERSARY IN ISRAEL — both because these soldiers were diaboloi, that is, slanderers, for they slandered those going to the temple as if they wished to fortify it against Antiochus; and because like demons they plundered, beat, and tore them apart, to the point of filling and polluting the temple itself with the blood of the slain; and finally because they compelled them from the worship of God to the worship of Jupiter, that is, of the devil, and at the same time invited them to fornication in the brothels attached to the temple; which was a plainly diabolical work.
Verse 43: And King Antiochus Wrote
43. AND KING ANTIOCHUS WROTE a decree commanding THAT ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ONE, that is, uniform in faith and religion, so that all his subjects would be united with him in the same superstition and idolatry, just as they were united in the same kingdom, and therefore THAT EACH SHOULD ABANDON HIS OWN LAW — namely that the Jews should abandon the law and worship of their God given through Moses, and adopt the law and worship of Antiochus. It is advantageous that in one kingdom there be one religion, but a true and orthodox one. For if it is false, it is better for there to be many, so that the true one may shine forth and be recognized from the variety of false ones, as Cardinal Hosius used to say.
Verse 45: And Many Of Israel Consented To His Worship
45. AND MANY OF ISRAEL CONSENTED TO HIS WORSHIP. — In Greek te latreia, that is, to the latria, or sacred service, worship, and adoration of him, so that they would worship no other God with latria, nor serve any other God, than the god of Antiochus their king, namely Jupiter Olympius, and Antiochus himself. For he himself wanted to be worshipped along with Jupiter as God.
46. AND THE KING SENT LETTERS — that is, correspondence and epistles. For this is what the Hebrew sepher, that is "book," signifies.
49. AND HE ORDERED THE HOLY THINGS TO BE DEFILED, that is, the holy temple and its holy sacrifices, rites, sabbaths, feasts, etc. to be violated and profaned. AND THE HOLY PEOPLE OF ISRAEL — so that, having cast off the holy faith and law of God, they would pollute themselves with sacrilegious offerings and the superstitions of the Gentiles and idols; whence, explaining further, he adds:
50. THAT SWINE'S FLESH SHOULD BE SACRIFICED, that is, pigs and swine, which were unclean by the law of Moses and therefore forbidden to eat or sacrifice; AND COMMON BEASTS, that is, unclean ones; for those that were unclean were common among the Gentiles, while those that were clean were peculiar and proper to the Jews, Leviticus 11. Hence God, wishing to lead St. Peter to convert Cornelius and the unclean Gentiles to Christ, in a vision commanded him to eat unclean animals, saying: "What God has purified, do not call common, that is, unclean." Acts 10:15.
Verse 51: And That They Should Change All The Ordinances Of God
51. AND THAT THEY SHOULD CHANGE ALL THE ORDINANCES OF GOD, that is, violate all God's decrees and laws; for these are called "justices" and "ordinances" because they prescribe what is fair and just.
55. AND MANY OF THE PEOPLE GATHERED TO THOSE WHO HAD FORSAKEN THE LAW OF THE LORD — to the apostates, apostatizing with them from the law of God, namely to Jason, Alcimus, Menelaus, and the other leaders of the Apostasy.
56. AND THEY DROVE OUT FROM THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL — those who did not want to apostatize but persevered constantly in the true law and worship of God, so that they were forced to flee to caves and caverns and hide themselves there.
57. ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF THE MONTH OF KISLEV (which corresponds to our November) HE BUILT (and placed) UPON THE ALTAR OF GOD in the temple of Jerusalem THE ABOMINABLE IDOL OF DESOLATION — of Jupiter Olympius, which was to be the cause of all calamity and desolation, as Daniel had foretold, chapter 11:11.
61. BY THEIR POWER (in Greek en ischyi, that is, by force and strength, that is, violently) THE SATELLITES OF ANTIOCHUS DID THESE THINGS TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, WHO WERE FOUND IN EVERY MONTH AND MONTH, that is, in each month, IN THE CITIES — by "month" understand the New Moon, or the first day of the month, which was solemn and quasi-sacred to the Jews; whence they would then flock from villages and towns into the city to hear the law of God, just as the inhabitants around Rome would flock to Rome on the same day, whence the Calends take their name, as Leviticus 28:11 shows. The meaning is: The soldiers of Antiochus watched for those who observed the New Moon according to the law of Moses, and punished them severely, indeed killed them. And to abolish the New Moon, that is, the solemnity of the first day of the month, they themselves:
Verse 62: On The Twenty-Fifth Day Of The Month
62. ON THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF THE MONTH THEY SACRIFICED UPON THE ALTAR that they had erected for Jupiter Olympius, WHICH WAS SET UP AGAINST THE ALTAR — of holocausts dedicated to God in the temple of Jerusalem. On this altar, therefore, they sacrificed not only to Jupiter but also to Antiochus himself, as to a god. For he wished to be worshipped as God, as Daniel foretold, chapter 11:36; and therefore he was a type of the Antichrist. The idolaters did not want to sacrifice on the altar of God, lest they seem to be sacrificing to the God of the Hebrews; and to make it, as something profane, abominable to the people, they placed in it a statue of Jupiter Olympius, before which they sacrificed on the neighboring altar erected by them to Jupiter.
65. AND THEY CHOSE RATHER TO DIE, and be variously tortured, THAN TO BE DEFILED WITH UNCLEAN FOODS — than to eat pork and similar foods forbidden in Leviticus 11, as therefore Eleazar and the seven Maccabee brothers were tortured, 2 Maccabees 7. All these, then, were glorious martyrs in that ancient and rude age. Hear Josephus, book 12, chapter 7: "Therefore every day they were killed, tortured with the cruelest torments; scourged also and their bodies lacerated, while still alive and breathing they were nailed to crosses; and their wives and circumcised children they strangled according to the royal command, and hung them from the necks of their crucified parents." This is what Daniel 11:33 and 35 foretold: "And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be refined, and chosen, and made white, until the appointed time."
67. AND THERE WAS VERY GREAT WRATH OF GOD UPON THE PEOPLE — as if to say: God, angry with the Jews on account of their sins, allowed them to be so atrociously afflicted by Antiochus.