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ANTIOCHUS

(Gk. Antíochos)

The events described in 1–2 Maccabees and Daniel take place against the background of Seleucid history in the 2nd century b.c.e. The sequence of Seleucid rulers (with their approximate regnal years) is: Antiochus III (223-187), Seleucus IV Philopator (187-175), Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164), Antiochus V Eupator (164-162), Demetrius I Soter (162-150), Alexander I Balas (150-145), Demetrius II Nicator (145-139), Antiochus VI (and Trypho) (145-142), and Antiochus VII Sidetes (138-129). A genealogical chart can help to clarify the relationships among these rulers.

1. Antiochus III. Under his rule Judea as part of Coele-Syria came under Seleucid rather than Ptolemaic (Egyptian) control after his victory at Panium in 200 b.c.e. But his defeats by the Romans at Thermopylae (191) and Magnesia (190) and his surrender at Apamea (188) checked his imperial expansion. He died in Elam in 187 while plundering the temple of Bel.

2. Antiochus IV Epiphanes; the most famous and important Antiochus for biblical studies. The son of Antiochus III, he was sent as a hostage to Rome after the battle of Magnesia and remained there until 176. After spending some time in Athens, he learned that his brother Seleucus IV had been assassinated, and so he traveled to Antioch in Syria and claimed the Seleucid throne for himself in 175.

Antiochus IV invaded Egypt in 170 and again in 168. He was forced to withdraw from Egypt by the Roman general Popillius Laenas or be counted an enemy of Rome. On his return from Egypt he plundered the Jerusalem temple (perhaps twice, or only in 168). With the encouragement of a group of Jewish “progressives” (1 Macc.1:11-15), Antiochus IV either cooperated in or promoted a program that established Greek institutions in Jerusalem (the gymnasium, etc.), decreed new laws in place of the Torah, and brought a new order of worship to the Jerusalem temple. Described in Jewish sources as the “desolating sacrilege” or “abomination of desolation” (cf. Dan. 11:31; 12:11; 1 Macc. 1:54; Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14), the new cult involved the worship of the “Lord of heaven” — most likely the Semitic deity Baal Shamin who was probably regarded as the equivalent of the Israelite creator and master of heaven and earth.

The extent and purpose of Antiochus IV’s involvement in Jewish affairs between 168 and 164 remain disputed. His activities are attributed to personal arrogance in 1 Maccabees, while Daniel and 2 Maccabees regard them as part of God’s discipline before Israel’s eschatological and/or historical vindication. Modern scholars explain his actions in other ways: promoting the cultural program of hellenization, carrying out a religious persecution, intervening in a Jewish civil war, developing the eastern equivalent of the nascent Roman Empire, or raising money to pay his soldiers by putting the Jewish high priesthood up for bid and robbing the Jerusalem temple and its treasury. A combination of several of these motives seems likely.

According to 1 Maccabees, Jewish resistance to the program of Antiochus IV and his Jewish collaborators coalesced around the Maccabee or Hasmonean family led first by a priest of Modein named Mattathias (1 Macc. 2) and then by his sons Judas, Jonathan, and Simon in turn. By early 164 Antiochus IV gave conditional amnesty to the Jewish rebels and ended the religious persecution and the edict against observing the Torah. This coincided with Antiochus IV’s campaign to strengthen the eastern part of his empire. The ancient sources give conflicting accounts of his death (Dan. 11:40-45; 1 Macc. 6:1-16; 2 Macc. 1:13-17; 9:1-28). He most likely died of some disease at Tabae in Persia (Polybius Hist. 31.9) in late 164 — around the time of Judas Maccabeus’ purification and rededication of the Jerusalem temple.

The fact that his son and successor Antiochus V was called Eupator (“of a good father”) suggests that Antiochus IV was respected. He was the first Seleucid king to be designated theós (“god”) on his coinage, a practice that probably increased Jewish opposition to him. Polybius described him as charming but erratic (and so the pun epimanḗs [“mad”] on epiphanḗs [“(god) manifest”]) and as a student and patron of local religious customs (not a religious persecutor as the Jewish texts suggest).

3. Antiochus V, made king in 164 at nine years of age, with Lysias as his prime minister (2 Macc. 10:11). They were prevented from seizing back Jerusalem mainly because they had to return to Antioch and fight off a rebellion by Philip, a courtier who claimed that Antiochus IV had promised him guardianship and power (1 Macc. 6:14-17, 55-63; 2 Macc. 13:23). In late 162 or early 161 Antiochus V and Lysias were executed under Demetrius I, the son of Seleucus IV (1 Macc. 7:1-4; 2 Macc. 14:1-2).

4. Antiochus VI, the son of Alexander Balas, whose own claim to be the son of Antiochus IV (cf. 1 Macc. 10:1) was disputed even in antiquity. Antiochus VI was crowned king in early 144 through the efforts of Trypho, who became the real ruler (11:54-59) and succeeded in capturing Jonathan Maccabeus (12:39-53). Trypho went so far as to assassinate Antiochus VI in 142 and to claim the kingship for himself (13:31-32).

5. Antiochus VII. A son of Demetrius I (1 Macc. 15:1, 10), he claimed the Seleucid throne in 138. He renewed the attempt to gain greater control over Jerusalem and other parts of the land of Israel (15:38–16:10), but his major interest was expanding the Seleucid Empire against the Parthians. He died in 129, either in battle or by suicide after being defeated by the Parthian army under Phraates.

Bibliography. E. Bickerman, The God of the Maccabees. SJLA 32 (Leiden, 1979); M. Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism (Philadelphia, 1974); O. Mørkholm, Antiochus IV of Syria (Copenhagen, 1966); E. Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 b.c.-a.d. 135), rev. ed. (Edinburgh, 1973-1987); V. Tcherikover, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews (Philadelphia, 1959).

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ANTIOCHUS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)