23 November 2012

The Machabees brothers (Simon, Judas, and Jonathan) slaughter the heathens

After the Hanukkah killings. the Gentiles gathered together to fight the Israelites, who sent messengers "with their garments rent" to Judas asking for help.
The Gentiles ... assembled themselves together against the Israelites ... to destroy them. 1 Machabees 5:9
There came other messengers out of Galilee with their garments rent. 5:14
And they asked the right guy.

Judas and his brothers (Simon and Jonathan) attacked the Gentiles in Galilee and Galaad.
Judas said to Simon his brother: Choose thee men, and go, and deliver thy brethren in Galilee: and I, and my brother Jonathan will go into the country of Galaad. 5:17 
Simon killed 3000 Galilean heathens and took their wives and children captive.
Simon went into Galilee, and fought many battles with the heathens: and the heathens were discomfited before his face." 5:21
And there fell of the heathens almost three thousand men, and he took the spoils of them. 5:22
And he took ... their wives, and children, and all that they had." 5:23
Judas and his army went to Bosor and "slew every male with the edge of the sword, took all their spoils, and burnt it with fire."
Judas and his army suddenly turned their march into the desert, to Bosor, and took the city: and he slew every male by the edge of the sword, and took all their spoils, and burnt it with fire. 5:28
Then they retreated to their fortress.
They ... went till they came to the fortress. 5:29 
The next day they saw "people without number" preparing to attack.
And it came to pass ... when they lifted up their eyes, behold there were people without number, carrying ladders and engines to take the fortress. 5:30
So they sounded their trumpets and cried out in prayer, which scared the hell out of Timotheus' army, who fled away in terror as Judas' men killed "almost eight thousand."
The cry of the battle went up to heaven like a trumpet. 5:31
And they sounded their trumpets, and cried out in prayer. 5:33
The host of Timotheus understood that it was Machabeus, and they fled away before his face: and they made a great slaughter of them: and there fell of them in that day almost eight thousand men. 5:34
Then Judas did unto the city of Maspha as he did to Bosor -- burning it to the ground after killing every male "with the edge of the sword."
And Judas turned aside to Maspha, and assaulted, and took it, and he slew every male thereof, and took the spoils thereof, and burnt it with fire. 5:35
Then he went and did likewise to "Casbon, and Mageth, and Bosor, and the rest of the cities of Galaad." (I guess he slaughtered Bosor again just for the heck of it.)
From thence he marched, and took Casbon, and Mageth, and Bosor, and the rest of the cities of Galaad. 5:36
Although Timotheus and his army ran away from Judas a few verses ago (5:34), he's back now with an "exceeding great" army. General Tim comes up with a great plan: if Judas is afraid to come near, Tim's army will win; if Judas isn't afraid to come near, Judas will win. Judas wasn't afraid, so Judas won.
But after this Timotheus gathered another army ... exceeding great 5:37-38
And Judas went to meet them. 5:39
And Timotheus said to the captains of his army: When Judas and his army come near ... if he pass over unto us first ... he will certainly prevail over us. 5:40
But if he be afraid to pass over ... we ... shall prevail against him. 5:41
Now when Judas came near ... he passed over to them first ... and all the heathens were discomfited before them, and they threw away their weapons, and fled to the temple that was in Carnaim. 5:42-43

All the heathens were discomfited before them, and they threw away their weapons, and fled to the temple that was in Carnaim. And he took that city, and the temple he burnt with fire. 5:44
Next Judas commands his soldiers to attack the great city of Ephron, kill every male, and then burn it.
They came as far as Ephron: now this was a great city. 5:46
Then Judas commanded proclamation to be made ... that they should make an assault. 5:49
They slew every male with the edge of the sword, and he razed the city, and took the spoils thereof, and passed through all the city over them that were slain. 5:51
To thank him for helping them slaughter the Gentiles, Judas and his brothers killed some animals for God. 
And they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, and offered holocausts, because not one of them was slain, till they had returned in peace. 5:54
Then Judas and his brethren attacked the children of Esau, burned walls and towers in Chebron, destroyed the all the altars and statues in the land of the aliens and strangers, and took the spoils of their cities.
Then Judas and his brethren went forth and attacked the children of Esau, in the land toward the south, and he took Chebron, and her towns: and he burnt the walls thereof and the towers all round it. 5:65
And he removed his camp to go into the land of the aliens, and he went through Samaria. 5:66

And Judas turned to Azotus into the land of the strangers, and he threw down their altars, and he burnt the statues of their gods with fire: and he took the spoils of the cities. 5:68

So how heathens did God help the Machabees brothers kill?
  • 3000 from Galilee
  • Every male in Bosor (1000 estimate)
  • 8000 soldiers in Timotheus' army
  • Every male in Maspha (1000 estimate)
  • Every male in Casbon, and Mageth, and Bosor, and the rest of the cities of Galaad (5000 estimate)
  • All the heathens in Timotheus's army (10,000 estimate)
  • Every male in Ephron (5000 estimate, since Ephron, as skanksta noted below, was "a great city")
  • The children of Esau (1000 estimate)
  • Chebron (1000 estimate)
  • Samaria (1000 estimate)
  • Azotus in the land of the strangers (1000 estimate)
So there were at least 11,000 victims, with a total estimate of 32,000


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Baruch Hashem!

Steve Wells said...

Blessed be God (Baruch Hashem) for killing so many people? Is that the idea, yminoh?

Anonymous said...

Baruch Hashem...that Israelites were not destroyed.
-Killing so many people...sux!

skanksta said...

Pedantic point of order Steve,

Ephron - "now THIS was a great city..."

IMO 'great cities' should be estimated as 5,000 dead ? I'd be happy with 2,000 as a minimum; but surely great cities require greater slaughter ?

thanks,

@ ymnioh - yeah nice one god; great stuff saving those Israelites !

Steve Wells said...

Hey thanks skanksta! I missed the fact that Ephron was "a great city." Great cities always have at least 5000 people.