Recaptured by Judas Maccabeus

Recaptured by Judas Maccabeus.

In 165 Judas Maccabeus was at length successful in driving the Syrians out of the Temple and out of the greater part of the city, in honor of which the Feast of Hanukkah was instituted. The Temple mount was fortified with high walls and strong towers (I Macc. iv. 60, vi. 7). The citadel, however, was not freed until the time of Simon (142). In 163 Jerusalem was once more besieged, by Antiochus V., Eupator. Failing to take it, he feigned a peace; and, entering the city, he caused the wall around the Temple area to be razed (I Macc. vi. 60 et seq.; "Ant." xii. 9, §§ 5-7). It was rebuilt by the Maccabean Jonathan with rectangular stones, and he also repaired the walls of the city (I Macc. x. 10, 11). In 143 he raised the wall still higher, rebuilding a portion called "Caphenatha," which led down to the Kidron Valley, and which had fallen into decay (ib. xii. 36, 37). Finally, he built a wall to separate effectually the Acra from the rest of the city (ib.). This work was completed by his successor, Simon (ib. xiii. 10), who as related above expelled the Syrian garrison and leveled the hill of the Acra. The author of I Maccabees, however, knows nothing of this leveling; in xiv. 37 he speaks of Simon's fortifying the citadel, and in xv. 28 he mentions it as still existing. Wellhausen ("I. J. G." p. 227) supposes that the work was done at the time of John Hyrcanus. No certainty can be reached on this subject; but that the leveling occurred is proved by the various groundlevels as they exist to-day (Schürer, "Gesch." i. 195, note 14). Under Hyrcanus the city was once again besieged, by Antiochus VII., Sidetes (134 B.C.). Towers were raised by him opposite the northern wall; and great suffering ensued. On this occasion Hyrcanus opened the sepulcher of David and took out 3,000 talents ("Ant." vii. 15, § 3; "B. J." i. 2, § 5). A truce was made and, while the Syrian garrison was not admitted, some part of the fortifications around the city was leveled ("Ant." xiii. 8, §§ 2-4); it seems, however, to have been soon rebuilt (I Macc. xvi. 23).

Jerusalem