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55 trained for war. He also, having divided the elephants among the phalanxes, stationed by each elephant a thousand men armored in chain mail, with bronze helmets on their heads, and five hundred choice horsemen assigned to each beast, and wooden towers on each beast by a device, and on each thirty-two armed men of might. And when the sun shone on the golden shields and the chariots, the mountains gleamed from them; for the army was very great and strong. And as the battle intensified, Eleazar the brother of Judas, seeing the elephants maddened and archers being carried upon them, and seeing one taller than the others and equipped with royal armor, and thinking that the king was being carried on it, leaping out of the battle line, he plunges into the throng of the enemy, and after killing many of those around the elephant, he slipped underneath it, and striking the elephant in the belly, caused the beast to sit on and crush him. Which Judas seeing and perceiving the war to be stronger, fled to Jerusalem. 1.289 And Antiochus pursuing, besieged it. Then, when he had made words of peace with oaths, Judas receives him inside the city. But he, having entered and violated the oath and completely destroyed the wall and plundered the inhabitants, returned to Antioch. But after these things, Judas in three years restored the ancestral religion which had been neglected, and having displayed many wars and set up great trophies and driven all of Antiochus’ men out of the country and cleansed the temple, by the will of all the people of the Jews, he received the high priesthood. And the affairs of the Romans were formerly administered by consuls for 364 years until Julius Caesar, who was not born; for his mother having died in the ninth month, they cut her open and brought him out, whence he is also called Caesar, which is incision. From whom the Caesars and the kings of the Romans were named. In the 5211th year of the world, Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned over Alexandria and Egypt for 38 years, who also caused the translation of the divine scriptures and of other Greek, Chaldean, Egyptian and Roman books, numbering to ten myriads, all of which were in foreign tongues, into the Greek language through the 70 wisest Hebrews; which he also deposited in his libraries in Alexandria. And the entire translation of the Hebrew books was done in 72 whole days. 1.290 Therefore, the king and all those in authority being amazed at the beauty of the divine scriptures, with the philosopher Menedemus and Demetrius of Phalerum also present, the king asked how, with the divine words being such, no historian or poet had mentioned them. And Demetrius answered that no one ever dared to touch these things because Theopompus, wishing to write a history about them, was seized with madness and saw in a dream that this happened to him for meddling in divine matters. And that Theodectes the tragedian, having mentioned these sacred books in one drama, was blinded. And that both, having refrained from the daring act and having placated the divinity, became well. Ptolemy Euergetes, son of Philadelphus and Arsinoe, 26 years. In these times Jesus son of Sirach, who wrote the Wisdom, was known among the Hebrews. Ptolemy Philopator, the son of Euergetes, reigned 17 years. Under him the people of the Hebrews, having been led captive into Egypt, suffered something of this kind. He ordered his attendants to give 500 elephants, which he had, wine with frankincense to drink, so that through them all the Jews

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νεʹ γεγυμνασμένων πρὸς πόλεμον. ὃς καὶ διελὼν τοὺς ἐλέφαντας εἰς τὰς φάλαγγας παρέ στησεν ἑκάστῳ ἐλέφαντι ἄνδρας χιλίους τεθωρακισμένους ἐν ἁλυ σειδωτοῖς, καὶ περικεφαλαῖαι χαλκαῖ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἱππεῖς ἐκλεκτοὶ πεντακόσιοι διατεταγμένοι ἑκάστῳ θηρίῳ, καὶ πύρ γοι ξύλινοι ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ θηρίῳ διὰ μηχανῆς, καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ ἄν δρες δυνάμεως ἔνοπλοι τριακονταδύο. ὡς δὲ κατέλαμπεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐπὶ τὰς χρυσᾶς ἀσπίδας καὶ τὰ ἅρματα, ἔστιλβε τὰ ὄρη ἀπ' αὐ τῶν· ἦν γὰρ ἡ παρεμβολὴ μεγάλη καὶ ἰσχυρὰ λίαν. καὶ ὡς ἐπέ τεινεν ἡ μάχη, θεασάμενος Ἐλεάζαρ ὁ ἀδελφὸς Ἰούδα πεπυρωμένους τοὺς ἐλέφαντας καὶ τοξότας ἐπ' αὐτῶν φερομένους, ἕνα δ' ἰδὼν ὑψηλότερον τῶν ἄλλων καὶ βασιλικοῖς θώραξι καθω πλισμένον, καὶ νομίσας ἐπ' αὐτὸν φέρεσθαι τὸν βασιλέα, ἐκπη δήσας τῆς παρατάξεως ἐμπλέκεται τῷ τῶν πολεμίων ἀθροίσματι, καὶ πολλοὺς ἀποκτείνας τῶν περὶ τὸν ἐλέφαντα ὑποκάτωθεν αὐτοῦ ὑπέδυ, καὶ πατάξας εἰς τὴν γαστέρα τὸν ἐλέφαντα ἐπικαθίσαι καὶ συντρῖψαι αὐτὸν τὸ θηρίον ἐποίησεν. ὅπερ Ἰούδας θεασάμενος καὶ κραταιότερον τὸν πόλεμον αἰσθόμενος εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔφυγε. 1.289 καὶ ἐπιδιώξας Ἀντίοχος ἐπολιόρκει ταύτην. εἶτα λόγους εἰρηνι κοὺς μεθ' ὅρκων ποιησαμένου, δέχεται αὐτὸν Ἰούδας ἔνδον τῆς πόλεως. ὁ δὲ εἰσελθὼν καὶ τὸν ὅρκον παρασπονδήσας καὶ τὸ τεῖχος τέλεον καταστρέψας καὶ τοὺς οἰκήτορας σκυλεύσας εἰς Ἀν τιόχειαν ὑπέστρεψε. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Ἰούδας τρισὶν ἔτεσι τὴν θρησκείαν ὀλιγωρηθεῖσαν τὴν πάτριον ἀνεκτήσατο, καὶ πολέμους πολλοὺς ἐπιδειξάμενος καὶ τρόπαια μεγάλα στησάμενος καὶ τῆς χώρας ἅπαντας ἀπελάσας τοῦ Ἀντιόχου καὶ τὸν ναὸν ἐκκαθάρας γνώμῃ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην παρέ λαβε. Τὰ δὲ Ῥωμαίων πράγματα διῳκεῖτο πρῴην ὑπὸ ὑπάτων ἐπὶ ἔτη τξδʹ ἕως Ἰουλίου Καίσαρος τοῦ μὴ γεννηθέντος· τῆς γὰρ μητρὸς αὐτοῦ θανούσης ἐν τῷ θʹ μηνί, ταύτην ἀνασχί σαντες ἐξέβαλον αὐτόν, ὅθεν καὶ λέγεται Καῖσαρ, ὅ ἐστιν ἀνα τομή. ἀφ' οὗ Καίσαρες καὶ οἱ τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλεῖς προσηγο ρεύθησαν. Τῷ δὲ εσιαʹ ἔτει τοῦ κόσμου Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ Αἰγύπτου Πτολεμαῖος ὁ φιλάδελφος ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη ληʹ, ὃς καὶ τὴν μετα βολὴν τῶν θείων γραφῶν καὶ λοιπῶν Ἑλληνικῶν Χαλδαϊκῶν Αἰ γυπτίων καὶ Ῥωμαϊκῶν εἰς δέκα μυριάδας ἀριθμουμένων βιβλίων, πασῶν τε ἀλλογλώσσων οὐσῶν, εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα γλῶσσαν μετε ποίησε διὰ τῶν οʹ σοφωτάτων Ἑβραίων· ἃς καὶ ἐν ταῖς κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν βιβλιοθήκαις αὐτοῦ ἐναπέθετο. γέγονε δὲ ἡ μετα βολὴ πᾶσα τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν βιβλίων ἐν ὅλαις ἡμέραις οβʹ. ἐπὶ τῷ 1.290 κάλλει τοίνυν τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἐκπλαγέντος τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν τέλει, παρόντος καὶ Μενεδήμου φιλοσόφου καὶ ∆ημητρίου Φαληρέως ἠρώτα ὁ βασιλεὺς ὅτι πῶς τοιούτων ὄντων τῶν θείων λόγων, οὐδεὶς ἱστορικῶν ἢ ποιητῶν ἐμνήσθη αὐτῶν. καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ∆ημήτριος ὅτι οὐδείς ποτε ἐτόλμησε τούτων ἅψα σθαι διὰ τὸ καὶ Θεόπομπον θελήσαντα ἱστορῆσαι περὶ αὐτῶν παραφροσύνῃ κρατηθῆναι καὶ ὄναρ ἰδεῖν, ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο αὐτῷ συνέβη περιειργασμένῳ τὰ θεῖα. καὶ Θεόδεκτον τὸν τῶν τραγῳ διῶν ποιητὴν ἐν ἑνὶ δράματι μνησθέντα τῶν ἱερῶν βίβλων τούτων τυφλωθῆναι. ἑκατέρους δὲ ἀποσχομένους τοῦ τολμήματος καὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐξευμενισαμένους ὑγιεῖς γενέσθαι. Πτολεμαῖος ὁ εὐεργέτης, ὁ φιλαδέλφου καὶ Ἀρσινόης, ἔτη κ ϛʹ. κατὰ τούτους τοὺς χρόνους Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Σιρὰχ ὁ τὴν Σοφίαν συγγράψας παρ' Ἑβραίοις ἐγνωρίζετο. Πτολεμαῖος ὁ φιλοπάτωρ, ὁ τοῦ εὐεργέτου υἱός, ἐβασί λευσεν ἔτη ιζʹ. ἐπὶ τούτου ὁ λαὸς τῶν Ἑβραίων αἰχμάλωτος ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀπαχθεὶς τοιοῦτόν τι ἔπαθεν. οὗτος προσέταξε τοῖς αὐτοῦ ὑπασπισταῖς ἐλέφαντας φʹ, οὓς εἶχε, ποτίσαι οἶνον λιβανωτόν, ὅπως ἅπαντας τοὺς Ἰουδαίους δι' αὐτῶν