Books Jesus Read

66

Books Jesus Read

Jonathan pursued the calvary to Azotus, but Apollonius’ horsemen ambushed Jonathan’s men from behind. Jonathan withstood them from morning till evening, exhausting their horses. Simon then led a fresh garrison against Apollonius and defeated him. Both the horsemen and infantry of Demetrius II were scattered. Those who were able made their way to Beth-Dagon, to take cover in the temple of their idol. Jonathan set fire to Azotus and its surrounding villages and plundered them. He also set fire to the temple of Beth-Dagon, and those who were inside perished. The total number of those who were killed by the sword or burned alive was eight thousand. From there, Jonathan led his forces to Ashkelon, where the people came forth to celebrate his great victory. Jonathan soon returned to Jerusalem with the plundered wealth of his enemies. King Alexander, when he learned of Jonathan’s successes, honored him even more. He sent him a golden buckle like those shared among the king’s near kinsmen. He also gave him Ekron and the surrounding province for his own possession. 1 Maccabees 11 Then Ptolemy, king of Egypt, assembled a massive army whose numbers were like the sands of the seashore, besides many ships. Alexander was away in Cilicia putting down a revolt, so Ptolemy attempted to annex Alexander’s kingdom by deception. He journeyed to Syria and greeted the people there with kind words. They came out to meet with him because he was Alexander’s father-in-law, and because Alexander had instructed them to do so. Yet, as Ptolemy visited each city, he left a garrison of his troops behind to occupy it.