Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Judas Maccabeus with six thousand men, having invoked God, wonderfully harasses the gentiles. Then, verse 16, he exhorts his few men with a sharp speech to fight bravely against Nicanor and to hope for certain victory from God. Thus encouraged, they fight and overthrow Nicanor, who fleeing to Antioch proclaims everywhere the might of the God of Israel. With equal strength, verse 30, he strikes down Timothy and Bacchides and burns the impious Callisthenes.
Vulgate Text: 2 Maccabees 8:1-36
1. But Judas Maccabeus and those who were with him entered secretly into strongholds; and calling together their relatives and friends, and taking those who had remained in Judaism, they assembled six thousand men. 2. And they called upon the Lord to look upon His people, who were being trampled upon by all; and to have mercy on the temple, which was being defiled by the impious; 3. to have mercy also on the destruction of the city, which was about to be leveled to the ground, and to hear the voice of the blood crying out to Him; 4. to remember also the most wicked murders of innocent children, and the blasphemies committed against His name, and to be indignant over these things. 5. But Maccabeus, having gathered a multitude, became intolerable to the gentiles; for the wrath of the Lord was turned to mercy. 6. And coming upon strongholds and cities by surprise, he set them on fire; and seizing advantageous positions, he inflicted not a few slaughters upon the enemy; 7. but especially during the nights he undertook such raids, and the fame of his valor was spread everywhere. 8. But Philip, seeing the man gradually advancing and things more frequently going prosperously for them, wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, to bring aid to the king's affairs. 9. And he quickly sent Nicanor, son of Patroclus, one of his chief friends, giving him armed forces of mixed nations numbering no fewer than twenty thousand, to destroy the entire Jewish race, and he also joined to him Gorgias, a military man most experienced in the affairs of war. 10. And Nicanor determined to make up the tribute of two thousand talents that was owed to the Romans from the captivity of the Jews; 11. and immediately sent to the coastal cities, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves, promising that he would sell ninety slaves for one talent, not considering the vengeance that would come upon him from the Almighty. 12. But when Judas learned of it, he informed the Jews who were with him of Nicanor's arrival. 13. Some of them, fearing and not believing in God's justice, turned to flight; 14. but others sold whatever remained to them, and at the same time besought the Lord to deliver them from the impious Nicanor, who had sold them before he even came near; 15. and if not for their own sake, then for the covenant which was with their fathers, and for the invocation of His holy and magnificent name upon them. 16. And Maccabeus, having called together the seven thousand who were with him, begged them not to make peace with the enemy, nor to fear the multitude of enemies coming unjustly against them, but to fight bravely, 17. keeping before their eyes the outrage that had been unjustly done to the holy place, and also the injury of the city held in derision, and also the overthrow of their ancient institutions. 18. For they indeed, he said, trust in arms and in boldness; but we trust in the almighty Lord who can and those coming against us, and destroy the whole world with a single nod, we trust. 19. He also reminded them of the help God had given to their ancestors; and that under Sennacherib one hundred and eighty-five thousand had perished; 20. and of the battle they had against the Galatians in Babylonia, when the matter came to a head and the Macedonian allies hesitated, they themselves, six thousand alone, destroyed one hundred and twenty thousand, because of the help given them from heaven, and they obtained very many benefits for these deeds. 21. By these words they were made steadfast, and ready to die for their laws and fatherland. 22. He therefore appointed his brothers as leaders of each division: Simon, Joseph, and Jonathan, assigning to each one thousand five hundred men. 23. In addition, Esdras having read to them from the holy book, and the signal of God's help having been given, he himself as leader in the first line engaged Nicanor. 24. And with the Almighty as their helper, they killed more than nine thousand men; and they compelled the greater part of Nicanor's army, weakened by wounds, to flee. 25. And seizing the money of those who had come to buy them, they pursued them in every direction, 26. but they returned at the closing hour; for it was before the Sabbath: for which reason they did not continue the pursuit. 27. And gathering their arms and spoils, they kept the Sabbath, blessing the Lord who had delivered them on that day, beginning to pour His mercy upon them. 28. After the Sabbath they divided the spoils among the disabled, the orphans, and the widows; and the remainder they themselves kept with their own. 29. These things being done, and a common supplication being made by all, they besought the merciful Lord to be reconciled to His servants at last. 30. And of those who were fighting against them with Timothy and Bacchides, they killed more than twenty thousand and obtained lofty fortifications; and they divided the greater plunder, making equal portions for the disabled, orphans and widows, and also for the elders. 31. And when they had carefully collected their arms, they stored them all in suitable places, and the remaining spoils they carried to Jerusalem; 32. and they killed Philarches, who was with Timothy, a wicked man who had afflicted the Jews in many ways. 33. And while they were celebrating their triumphs in Jerusalem, they burned Callisthenes, who had set fire to the sacred gates, when he had taken refuge in a certain house -- a worthy reward for his impieties being thus rendered to him. 34. But the most villainous Nicanor, who had brought a thousand merchants for the sale of the Jews, 35. humbled by the Lord's help by those whom he had considered as nothing, laid aside his garment of glory and fleeing through the interior lands, came alone to Antioch, having achieved the greatest misfortune from the destruction of his army. 36. And he who had promised to pay the tribute to the Romans from the captivity of Jerusalem now proclaimed that the Jews had God as their protector, and that on His account they were invulnerable, because they followed the laws established by Him.
THE FIRST seven verses of this chapter, in the order of time and events, should be appended to verse 1 of chapter 5, book I; the rest to the end of the chapter should apparently be inserted between verses 37 and 38 of the same chapter 5. Up to this point we have heard the passive fortitude of the Jewish martyrs; now to the end of the book we shall hear the active fortitude of the Jewish soldiers, namely Judas Maccabeus and his brothers. "It is Roman, he used to say, to do brave deeds; but it is Maccabean, as well as Christian, both to suffer hard things and to do brave deeds."
Verse 1: Assembled Six Thousand Men
1. BUT JUDAS MACCABEUS, ETC., ASSEMBLED SIX THOUSAND MEN. -- With these few forces he overthrew the greatest armies of Antiochus Epiphanes, partly because these men were like men with nothing to lose, fighting for their altars and hearths, and partly because they entered battles with great hope in God and invocation of Him: therefore God added courage and strength to them, and took it from their enemies.
Verse 3: The Voice of the Blood Crying Out
3. And that He would hear the voice of the blood (of innocent Jews killed by Antiochus, as we heard in chapter 7 and the preceding) crying out to Him (with a mute voice, like Abel against the parricide Cain).
Verse 5: Maccabeus Intolerable to the Gentiles
5. BUT MACCABEUS, HAVING GATHERED A MULTITUDE, BECAME INTOLERABLE (Greek anypastatos, unendurable, intolerable -- whom no one could endure, whose arms and forces no one could withstand, but all yielded and succumbed to them) TO THE GENTILES; FOR THE WRATH OF THE LORD (by which He had chastised the sin of the Jews through Antiochus up to this point) WAS TURNED TO MERCY -- so that through Judas He would make the Jews, previously conquered and trampled by Antiochus, his conquerors and tramplers. This is what the last Maccabee, tortured the preceding year, had foretold to Antiochus like a prophet, chapter 7, verse 38: "In me, he said, and in my brothers the wrath of the Almighty shall cease." For in order that this might come about, he himself and his brothers, by their so heroic
endurance of martyrdom they merited, by which they expiated the sins of the Jews before God and turned His wrath into mercy and grace; whereby it came about that God raised up Judas Maccabeus and added to him the courage and strength by which he everywhere routed the forces of Antiochus.
Verse 6: Coming Upon Strongholds by Surprise
6. AND COMING UPON STRONGHOLDS AND CITIES BY SURPRISE, HE SET THEM ON FIRE. -- For this is a stratagem of distinguished military leaders -- to rush upon the enemy unexpectedly, and therefore by night, when they are unarmed and unprepared, indeed buried in sleep and wine, and thus to slaughter them like cattle, as Judas did here. Hannibal did the same to the Romans, and in turn the Romans to Hannibal, as Livy, Justin, Plutarch and others attest.
Verse 8: Philip Seeing the Man Advancing
8. BUT PHILIP, SEEING -- who had been appointed governor of Jerusalem by Antiochus (chapter 5, verse 22) -- THE MAN GRADUALLY ADVANCING, namely that Judas was daily growing in victories as well as in spirit, strength and forces flowing to him as the victor, and making progress, fearing for himself and his people, he sought help from Ptolemy, the Governor of Coele-Syria.
Verse 9: Ptolemy Sent Nicanor
9. AND HE (Ptolemy) QUICKLY SENT NICANOR, SON OF PATROCLUS, ETC., GIVING HIM ARMED FORCES OF MIXED NATIONS NUMBERING NO FEWER THAN TWENTY THOUSAND; -- but afterwards far more were added to these, as is clear from book I, chapter 3, verses 38 and 42.
Verse 10: Nicanor Determined to Make Up the Tribute
10. AND NICANOR DETERMINED (puffed up with such great forces, and devouring all the Jews with certain hope of victory) TO MAKE UP FOR THE KING (Antiochus) THE TRIBUTE THAT WAS OWED TO THE ROMANS (because the Romans had defeated his father Antiochus the Great in war and condemned him to pay tribute; the amount of this tribute owed to the Romans was) TWO THOUSAND TALENTS (so that he would make up this tribute) FROM THE CAPTIVITY OF THE JEWS, -- so that he would raise this whole sum largely from the sale of the Jews he intended to capture. Hence he summoned the inhabitants of Tyre, Sidon, and other neighboring cities to buy Jewish slaves at the cheapest price; namely:
Verse 11: Ninety Slaves for One Talent
11. PROMISING THAT HE WOULD SELL NINETY SLAVES FOR ONE TALENT (of silver), -- that is, for 500 gold coins, so that each slave would cost no more than five and a half gold coins; whereas shortly before Hyrcanus had sold a single young man for a talent, that is 500 gold coins, as Josephus attests, book XII, chapter 4. This indignity and contempt stung the Jews, so that they flocked in droves to the camp of Judas, ready to fight to the death for the law and liberty. Therefore Nicanor did this imprudently, provoking the Jews to fight like men with nothing to lose, and for that reason he was defeated and slain by them.
Verse 13: Not Believing in God's Justice
13. NOT BELIEVING IN GOD'S JUSTICE, -- namely that God would be the patron and avenger of the just and innocent cause of the Jews, and would overthrow the unjust Nicanor through them.
Verse 14: Others Sold Whatever Remained
14. BUT OTHERS SOLD WHATEVER REMAINED TO THEM, and from this they procured arms and provisions, so that approaching the camp of Judas, they might fight courageously against Nicanor for their fatherland and faith unto death.
Verse 15: The Covenant with Their Fathers
15. AND IF NOT FOR THEIR OWN SAKE, THEN FOR THE COVENANT WHICH WAS WITH THEIR FATHERS, -- as if to say: They besought the Lord to deliver them from Nicanor, not for their own merits, but for those of the Fathers, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc., with whom God had made a testament, that is a covenant, promising that He would be their God and that of their posterity, that is their guardian and protector, if they in turn would worship Him as their God.
Verse 16: Not to Make Peace with the Enemy
16. AND MACCABEUS, HAVING CALLED TOGETHER SEVEN THOUSAND, -- Greek: six thousand; for that many are named in verses 4 and 22, but the seventh thousand was led by Judas himself, the remaining six thousand by his brothers as commanders. So Salianus.
HE BEGGED THEM NOT TO MAKE PEACE WITH THE ENEMY, -- but to wage against them an aspondon polemon, that is, an irreconcilable war, and therefore one to be dreaded and feared by the enemy, such as Hannibal waged against the Romans, who when he was still quite a boy was bound by an oath by his father Hamilcar while sacrificing at the altars, that as soon as his age permitted, he would be an enemy of the Romans, as Plutarch attests in his Life. Similarly the Numantines in Spain, besieged by the Romans for 14 years, refused to be reconciled with them, and therefore destroyed 40,000 Romans; but at last, pressed by famine under Scipio, they burned all their possessions and themselves in a fire kindled in the forum. So Florus, book II. Hasdrubal, the commander of Carthage besieged by Scipio, mutilated Roman captives on the walls -- their eyes, tongues, fingers, or soles of their feet -- and thus threw them alive from the cliffs, so as to leave the Carthaginians no hope of obtaining pardon from the Romans, but to place their salvation in arms alone, says Appian. For war with the obstinate is hard and dangerous. Such a war every faithful person ought to wage throughout their whole life against Lucifer, against the flesh and the world, against pride, anger, gluttony, and lust, admitting no terms of peace, but constantly fighting against them in a war to the death.
Verse 20: The Battle Against the Galatians
20. AND OF THE BATTLE THEY HAD AGAINST THE GALATIANS IN BABYLONIA, WHEN THE MATTER CAME TO A HEAD AND THE MACEDONIAN ALLIES HESITATED, THEY THEMSELVES, SIX THOUSAND ALONE, DESTROYED 120,000. -- This seems to have occurred under Antiochus I, who was the son and successor of Seleucus I, the first king of Asia and Syria after Alexander, and was surnamed Soter. For he, as Appian narrates in the Syriaca, repelled the Galatians invading Asia from Europe, and this with the help of the Jews, to whom therefore both he and his son Antiochus surnamed Theos conferred the highest dignities and privileges in thanksgiving, as Josephus narrates, book XII, chapter 3; Justin, books 24 and 25; Plutarch in his Demetrius; and others. So Serarius, Mariana and others.
Verse 22: Brothers as Leaders of Each Division
22. HE THEREFORE APPOINTED HIS BROTHERS AS LEADERS OF EACH DIVISION: SIMON AND JOSEPH. -- This Joseph was called by another name, John, in book I, chapter 2, verse 2. So Serarius.
Verse 23: Esdras Read from the Holy Book
23. IN ADDITION, ESDRAS HAVING READ TO THEM FROM THE HOLY
BOOK. -- This Esdras was not the true and celebrated scribe who wrote the book of Ezra, but one much later, namely a priest or distinguished doctor of the law, who, in order to add courage and hope of victory to the soldiers going to battle, read to them from Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 7, where God promises certain triumph over enemies to the Jews who duly worship Him. And God Himself had ordered this to be done before battle, in Deuteronomy chapter 20, saying: "When the battle draws near, the priest shall stand before the army and shall speak thus: Hear, O Israel, do not be afraid, because the Lord your God is in your midst."
Moreover the Greek has: Furthermore, Judas also appointed Eleazar, namely his fourth brother, as a commander in the war, assigning him likewise 1,500 soldiers; for thus he distributed six thousand soldiers among four brothers as leaders, assigning to each a quarter, namely 1,500 soldiers. Then it adds another point, that Judas, as Pontiff and supreme military commander, as stated above, read the book of Deuteronomy to the soldiers.
AND THE SIGNAL HAVING BEEN GIVEN, -- that is, the military watchword of God's help; as if to say, Judas gave his men this battle watchword by which allies could be distinguished from enemies: "God is our helper." This was the omen and cause of all their victories -- namely that Judas placed all his hope of victory not in his own forces but in God's. Similarly, the pagans often gave this battle watchword: "God is with us," says Vegetius, book III, chapter 3. Thus Cyrus's watchword in battle was: "Jupiter, ally and leader of the war," says Xenophon, book III. Pompey's in the battle of Pharsalus was: "Hercules unconquered;" and Julius Caesar's was: "Venus victorious," as Appian attests, book II On the Civil Wars. So Sanchez, Serarius, Salianus and others.
HE HIMSELF AS LEADER (Judas) ENGAGED (in battle) WITH NICANOR.
Verse 24: The Almighty as Their Helper
24. AND WITH THE ALMIGHTY AS THEIR HELPER, THEY KILLED MORE THAN NINE THOUSAND MEN, -- the rest being put to flight or captured.
Verse 26: They Returned at the Closing Hour
26. BUT THEY RETURNED AT THE CLOSING HOUR, -- that is, when the evening hour which precedes the Sabbath was approaching, they were restricted and prohibited from pursuing the fleeing enemies, for on the Sabbath rest was prescribed for them by law; and the Sabbath began at the evening hour of the preceding day.
Verse 28: Spoils Divided Among Disabled and Orphans
28. THEY DIVIDED THE SPOILS AMONG THE DISABLED, THE ORPHANS, AND THE WIDOWS. -- See here the charity and generosity of Judas and his soldiers, by which in thanksgiving for the victory obtained from God they distributed the spoils among the needy, and therefore obtained new victories from God, who is more grateful to the grateful and more generous to the generous: for in verse 30, "from the camps of Timothy they killed more than twenty thousand and obtained lofty fortifications and divided greater spoils." Let the confessors and preachers of Christian soldiers and commanders tell them this example of the Jews, so that by imitating it they may deserve to be similarly blessed by God and heaped with victories. Indeed, when the Turk obtains some notable victory over his enemies, he is accustomed to erect some hospital in thanksgiving for feeding the poor, and to endow it.
Verse 29: Common Supplication Made by All
29. AND A COMMON SUPPLICATION BEING MADE BY ALL (let our soldiers also imitate this common litany), THEY BESOUGHT THE MERCIFUL LORD TO BE RECONCILED TO HIS SERVANTS AT LAST. -- that is, that He, hitherto offended by the sins of the Jews and therefore chastising them through Antiochus, would at last, appeased by their common prayers, remove this scourge and fully and completely deliver them from every attack of enemies.
Verse 30: Equal Portions for the Disabled
30. MAKING EQUAL PORTIONS FOR THE DISABLED, ORPHANS AND WIDOWS, AND ALSO FOR THE ELDERS. -- Greek isomoirous, that is, making equal shares with the disabled, orphans and widows, and priests; as if to say: They divided the spoils into two equal portions. Of these, the soldiers kept one for themselves; the other they distributed especially among the disabled -- who had been wounded, mutilated, or incapacitated in battle -- and also among orphans and widows whose parents and husbands had fallen in battle. For piety and the merits of their parents and husbands demanded this. And also to the priests, since they were consecrated to God and had prayed to God for the fighting soldiers to grant them victory.
Verse 32: They Killed Philarches
32. AND THEY KILLED PHILARCHES WHO WAS WITH TIMOTHY. -- Philarches is not a proper name but a title of office and rank; for phylarchos means a tribune, a prefect of tribes, and is the name of a military magistrate: phyle means tribe, family, cohort; archos means prefect, prince. So Salianus.
Verse 33: Burning of Callisthenes
33. And while they were celebrating their triumphs in Jerusalem. -- He calls 'epinicia' the public feasts, applause and ovations for the victory obtained. At the same time, as a sign of triumph, they burned Callisthenes, who had set fire to the doors of the temple, with a similar fire. This was a just penalty of retribution.
Verse 36: The Jews Had God as Their Protector
36. HE PROCLAIMED (Nicanor, defeated and struck down by Judas) THAT THE JEWS HAD GOD AS THEIR PROTECTOR, AND THAT ON HIS ACCOUNT THEY WERE INVULNERABLE (Vatablus: invincible) BECAUSE THEY FOLLOWED THE LAWS ESTABLISHED BY HIM. -- This is a great testimony from an enemy.
Learn here, O Christian, that in any temptation, persecution, conflict, or hardship you will be invulnerable and invincible if you keep the laws of God. For God will be your protector, and will either free you from it, or through patience and magnanimity will cause you to endure and overcome it bravely, so that He may prepare for you a greater crown in heaven as you fight and conquer.