Josippon

When Antiochus heard of this (this is Antiochus Eupator, son of Antiochus, called Epiphanes, who did evil against Jerusalem, who killed the Hasidim, and who died of the great afflictions, as we wrote above), he sent Lysias, his cousin, with a force of eighty thousand cavalry, eighty elephants, and an immense army; they invaded Judah and Jerusalem and fought against Beitar and, building a siege wall around her, began to batter the city with an iron ram and with catapulted rocks. Yehudah and the entire Hasmonean army were living in the forests and mountains due to the Greek force. Yehudah said to his young men: "Let us welcome our God with fasting and entreaties, and let us go against the Greek army fighting at Beitar." After the fast, he sounded the ram's horn and, giving the war signal, went with all his young men to the aid of their brethren who were in Beitar.

When they came to Jerusalem and arrived at the Temple, they offered up burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings and called upon God. They went out from Jerusalem to go to Beitar, to the Makedonian camp. Yehudah said to his lads: "Be strong, and we shall be strengthened for the sake of the people of God and for our brethren; we shall die together bravely and not see the evil that shall befall our people." When he had spoken such words, he lifted his eyes and beheld between heaven and earth a man dressed in gold, riding a horse; the appearance of the horse was like a flame, and in the hand of the man was a spear. His back was toward the Hasmonean army, and his front faced the Greek camp; his hand outstretched to smite the Greek camp. Yehudah said: "Blessed is God who sent His angel to save His people and smite the enemy camp." They hastened from there, and, arriving at Beitar, they charged into the midst of the Makedonian camp, terrorizing it. They killed eleven thousand foot soldiers and sixteen hundred cavalry of the Makedonians there. Lysias fled with all his army in shame and disgrace. Now Lysias knew that the Lord was fighting against the enemies of Israel, so he made a treaty with Yehudah. These are the words of the letter that Lysias sent to the army of Judah: "Lysias, Commander of the army and Viceroy to King Antiochus to the Anointed Warlord Yehudah and all his army, greetings. Let it be known to you that I have received your letters from Yoḥanan and Absolom, the messengers whom you sent, and all that they said to me I have done. I read the letter in friendship, and I have fulfilled all that was written in it, and I have passed on to the king on your behalf all the messages you have sent me; I have made a reply to Yoḥanan and Absolom, and also I have instructed the messengers that I have sent to you to speak to you words of peace."

These were the words of the letter that the king sent to Lysias, his cousin: "King Antiochus to Lysias, my brother, greetings. Let it be known to you that I have received and read in friendship the letter that you sent to me regarding the Judaeans. My father died and is no longer among men but was taken to be with the angels. I seek the well-being of my entire kingdom, making an end to wars and establishing peace. I have heard that the Jews did not wish to obey my father and abandon their Law; therefore, they prevailed with the sword and killed my father's choicest and his dignitaries. So now extend to them your right hand and seal a pact with them, and they will know that, out of my wisdom and the goodness of my heart, I will let them live and preserve their Law according to their wishes."

These were the words of the letter that the king sent to Yehudah: "King Antiochus Eupator to Yehudah Anointed Warlord and to the rest of the people, greetings. Let it be known to you that I have enacted a decree in every city and among every people of my realm with regard to the Jews, not to oppress them but to allow them to preserve the rites of your Law; and for everything my father did originally in error, forgive us. And if we have erred, behold, we have sent to you Menelaus to speak words of peace."