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Context No. 809 of 4322 · 1 Maccabees

Context · Reflection

1 Maccabees 12:46-53: in context

46He put his trust in him, and did even as he said, and sent away his forces, and they departed into the land of Judah. 47But he reserved to himself three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, but one thousand went with him. 48Now as soon as Jonathan entered into Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais shut the gates and seized him. They killed all those who came in with him with the sword. 49Tryphon sent troops and cavalry into Galilee, and into the Great Plain, to destroy all Jonathan’s men. 50They perceived that he had been seized and had perished, along with those who were with him. They encouraged one another and went on their way close together, prepared to fight. 51Those who followed them saw that they were ready to fight for their lives, and turned back again. 52They all came in peace into the land of Judah, and they mourned for Jonathan and those who were with him, and they were very afraid. All Israel mourned with a great mourning. 53And all the Gentiles who were around them sought to destroy them utterly; for they said, “They have no ruler nor anyone to help them. Now therefore let’s fight against them, and take away their memory from among men.”

Jonathan, the leader of the Jews after his brother Judas, makes a fatal mistake: he trusts a treacherous man. Tryphon, plotting against him, lures him with friendly words into the city of Ptolemais, and Jonathan, believing him, sends away most of his army and walks in with only a small guard. The gates slam shut behind him, he is seized, and the men who came in with him are killed. In one stroke the people have lost their leader, and Tryphon sends troops into Galilee to hunt down the rest of Jonathan's forces and finish them off.

What those leaderless men do next is the heart of the passage. When they learn that Jonathan has been taken and probably killed, they do not scatter, which is exactly what an army usually does when its commander falls. They encourage one another, the text says, and they march on in tight formation, ready to fight for their lives. And their pursuers, seeing men who would sell themselves dearly rather than run, lose their nerve and turn back. The soldiers come home safely, and all Israel mourns Jonathan deeply, and the surrounding nations, smelling weakness, gather to wipe them out, saying, they have no ruler and no one to help them; let us destroy them and erase their memory. But they had not fallen apart. In the worst hour, with their leader gone and enemies closing in, they held together and strengthened each other, and that alone was enough to keep them alive until a new leader could rise.

When their leader was suddenly taken, Jonathan's men did not scatter; they encouraged one another and held their ground. When a leader or a support I depend on is suddenly gone, do I fall apart, or do I close ranks and strengthen the people around me?

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