‎Now when Alexander was dead, the government was parted among his successors, but the temple upon Mount Gerizzim remained. And if any one were accused by those of Jerusalem of having eaten things common³³ or of having broken the sabbath, or of any other crime of the like nature, he fled away to the Shechemites, and said that he was accused unjustly. About this time it was that Jaddua the high priest died, and Onias his son took the high priesthood. This was the state of the affairs of the people of Jerusalem at this time.

 

 

 

 

HOW, UPON THE QUARRELS ONE AGAINST ANOTHER ABOUT THE HIGH PRIESTHOOD ANTIOCHUS MADE AN EXPEDITION AGAINST JERUSALEM, TOOK THE CITY AND PILLAGED THE TEMPLES. AND DISTRESSED THE JEWS' AS ALSO HOW MANY OF THE JEWS FORSOOK THE LAWS OF THEIR COUNTRY; AND HOW THE SAMARITANS FOLLOWED THE CUSTOMS OF THE GREEKS AND NAMED THEIR TEMPLE AT MOUNT GERIZZIM THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER HELLENIUS.

 

 ABOUT this time, upon the death of Onias the high priest, they gave the high priesthood to Jesus his brother; for that son which Onias left [or Onias IV.] was yet but an infant; and, in its proper place, we will inform the reader of all the circumstances that befell this child. But this Jesus, who was the brother of Onias, was deprived of the high priesthood by the king, who was angry with him, and gave it to his younger brother, whose name also was Onias; for Simon had these three sons, to each of which the priesthood came, as we have already informed the reader. This Jesus changed his name to Jason, but Onias was called Menelaus. Now as the former high priest, Jesus, raised a sedition against Menelaus, who was ordained after him, the multitude were divided between them both. And the sons of Tobias took the part of Menelaus, but the greater part of the people assisted Jason; and by that means Menelaus and the sons of Tobias were distressed, and retired to Antiochus, and informed him that they were desirous to leave the laws of their country, and the Jewish way of living according to them, and to follow the king's laws, and the Grecian way of living. Wherefore they desired his permission to build them a Gymnasium at Jerusalem.²¹ And when he had given them leave, they also hid the circumcision of their genitals, that even when they were naked they might appear to be Greeks. Accordingly, they left off all the customs that belonged to their own country, and imitated the practices of the other nations.

 

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33 Here Josephus uses the very word koinophagia"eating things common," for "eating things unclean;" as does our New Testament, Acts x. 14,15, 28; xi. 8, 9; Rom. xiv. 14.

 

21 This word" Gymnasium" properly denotes a place where the exercises were performed naked, which because it would naturally distinguish circumcised Jews from uncircumcised Gentiles, these Jewish apostates endeavored to appear uncircumcised, by means of a surgical operation, hinted at by St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 7:18, and described by Celsus, B. VII. ch. 25., as Dr. Hudson here informs us.