1 Maccabees — Chapter 6

Et rex Antiochus perambulabat superiores regiones

VERSE 1. ET REX ANTIOCHUS PERAMBULABAT SUPERIORES REGIONES ET AUDIVIT QUIA EST IN ELYMAIDA PERSIA CIVITAS. — While Antiochus was traversing the upper provinces, he heard that Elymais in Persia was a city famed for its wealth in silver and gold. Its temple was very rich, containing golden shields, breastplates, and weapons left there by Alexander son of Philip, king of Macedon, who was the first to reign over the Greeks. He went and tried to take the city and plunder it, but he could not, because his plan became known to the men of the city, and they rose in battle against him; so he fled and in great disappointment left there to return to Babylon. Lapide provides the historical background of Antiochus's death in Persia, noting the discrepancy between 1 Maccabees (he dies trying to plunder a temple in Elymais) and 2 Maccabees 9 (he dies in agony from a terrible disease while retreating from his Persian campaign). He harmonizes these accounts.

Et dolore magno repletus est

VERSE 8. ET DOLORE MAGNO REPLETUS EST ET INVOCAVIT SOCIOS SUOS ET DIXIT EIS. — Then he was filled with grief and called his friends and said to them: \"Sleep has departed from my eyes, and I am broken in heart with worry. I said to myself, how great a tribulation I am in now, and how great a flood of misery it is into which I have come! I who was kind and beloved in my power — but now I remember the evil things I did in Jerusalem, where I took all the silver and gold vessels that were in it, and sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without good reason.\" Lapide sees in Antiochus's deathbed confession a significant detail: even this cruel and impious king, at the moment of death, acknowledged that his persecution of the Jews had been unjust. The confession of a dying tyrant is a remarkable literary and theological moment.

Et cogitabam mala quae feci in Jerusalem

VERSE 12. ET COGITABAM MALA QUAE FECI IN JERUSALEM UNDE ET ABSTULIT OMNIA VASA AUREA ET ARGENTEA QUAE ERANT IN EA. — \"And now I remember the crimes I committed against Jerusalem, and I took all her vessels of silver and gold. I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Judah without cause. I know that it is because of this that these evils have overtaken me; and behold, I am perishing of deep grief in a strange land.\" Lapide expounds on divine retributive justice: Antiochus robbed God's Temple and God repaid him with death in a strange land, dying of grief, without friends, without honor. He had sought immortal fame (his surname \"Epiphanes\" means \"the Illustrious\") but died in obscurity and disgrace.

Et vocavit Philippum unum de amicis suis

VERSE 15. ET VOCAVIT PHILIPPUM UNUM DE AMICIS SUIS ET PRAEPOSUIT EUM SUPER OMNE REGNUM SUUM. — He called Philip, one of his friends, and made him regent of his entire kingdom. Lapide discusses the succession crisis created by Antiochus's death: his young son Antiochus V Eupator was a minor, and Lysias was already acting as regent. Philip's appointment created a rival regency and subsequent civil conflict. This internal weakness of the Seleucid empire was providentially advantageous for the Maccabees.

Et qui erant in arce includebant Israel

VERSE 18. ET QUI ERANT IN ARCE INCLUDEBANT ISRAEL IN CIRCUITU SANCTORUM ET QUAEREBANT IN OMNI TEMPORE MALUM EIS ET FIRMAMENTUM GENTIBUS. — Those in the citadel kept hemming Israel in around the sanctuary and continually stirring up trouble for them and strengthening the Gentiles. Lapide explains the strategic situation: the Seleucid garrison in the Akra continued to be a source of constant harassment, making it impossible for the Temple worship to proceed in peace. This is why the capture of the Akra was one of the central objectives of all three Maccabean brothers: Judas, Jonathan, and Simon.

Et Eleazar qui vocabatur Abaron

VERSE 43. ET ELEAZAR QUI VOCABATUR ABARON VIDIT UNAM DE BESTIIS LORICATAM LORICA REGIS ET EXCELSAM PRE CETERIS BESTIIS. — Eleazar, called Avaran, saw that one of the animals was equipped with royal armor, and it was taller than all the others; and he supposed that the king was on it. So he gave his life to save his people and to win for himself an everlasting name. He ran courageously into the midst of the phalanx to reach it, killing men right and left, so that they parted before him on both sides. He got under the elephant and stabbed it from below, and killed it; but it fell to the ground upon him and there he died. Lapide praises Eleazar Avaran's heroic sacrifice as one of the most impressive acts of individual courage in the Old Testament. He died in a spectacular act of self-sacrifice, believing he was attacking the king's elephant. Lapide notes that while Eleazar was mistaken (it was not the king's elephant), his intention was pure and his courage genuine, and therefore his sacrifice earned him eternal glory.