Antiochus' 'Great' Move: How the Jews Became His Loyal Supporters

In the year 202 BCE, the Land of Israel changed hands for the second time since the construction of the Second Temple. In 323 BCE, it came under the control of Alexander the Great, from him to his successor Ptolemy, King of Egypt, and now, after many years of warfare, it fell into the hands of Antiochus III, 'the Great', King of the Seleucids, who ruled from the Mediterranean shores of Israel to distant India.

During these years, as Josephus describes: 'The Jews had to endure much suffering due to the blows inflicted on their land, for when Antiochus fought Ptolemy, they had to suffer greatly, whether he was victorious or defeated, so much so that they were like a ship tossed in a storm, pressed by waves from all sides.'

The high priest Onias made a mistake when he prematurely sided with the King of the Seleucids, leading to the appointment of Joseph Ben Tobiah. But now, with Antiochus's victory seemingly assured, Joseph Ben Tobiah was disgracefully expelled, and the Jews assisted the Seleucids in capturing the land. In a letter written by Antiochus, quoted by Josephus, he states: 'Since the Jews showed their affection to us immediately upon our arrival in their land, warmly receiving us into their city with the council of elders and provided abundantly for our soldiers and elephants, not only that but assisted in expelling the Egyptian garrison, we too have decided to reward them by restoring their city, which was devastated by war, and settling it by gathering its scattered people. We decided, due to their devotion to Hashem, to supply them with a quota of kosher animals for sacrifices, wine, oil, and twenty thousand silver coins... and all temple work shall be completed, materials brought from Lebanon without any taxes. All people shall govern themselves according to the laws of their ancestors, and the council of elders, priests, and scholars of the temple shall be exempt from poll taxes, and all residents of Jerusalem are exempt from taxes for three years, and any Jew who became a slave shall be freed.'

It seemed once again that the stature of the Jews was rising within the Seleucid Hellenistic Empire they had joined. The opinion that the Jews were people who would stand by their word and are loyal spread also through the Seleucid Empire. When rebellions arose in Lydia and Phrygia, Antiochus sent to Zeuxis the Strategos that the solution is to relocate two thousand families of Babylonian Jews to the fortresses on the border, 'because I believe they will be the necessary guards for our interests due to the fear of Hashem that is in their hearts, and I know that my ancestors have testified to their loyalty and dedication to all that is asked of them, and they will be allowed to maintain their unique laws.' It seemed to look better and better, what could possibly go wrong?

What happened throughout this period was a closing gap between peoples, the Greeks and the Jews. Until that time, all the nations that fought against the Jews, or even made peace treaties with them, had no cultural contact with them, did not understand, and did not try to understand the Jewish faith and laws, and several examples in the Bible show how far they were from grasping the spirit of Judaism - like the Arameans, who thought the God of Israel was 'a god of the mountains.' But since the translation of the Torah into Greek, the Greeks learned to appreciate the Jews, to collaborate with them, to learn and interpret their laws and ways, fostering a relationship between the two peoples. The Greeks, with all their appreciation for good traits, were an idolatrous people, far removed from Jewish ethics. This connection is the root of the disasters that befell the Jewish people later. Even if for several generations it seemed the Jews benefited from the deal of closeness and familiarity, it later became clear that the loss was double, and not worth the gains.

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