Josippon

After this, the land was quiet for eight months. In those days, Yehudah began to judge his people and put away the wicked from among his people. At that time, in all the coastal cities from Gaza to Acco, Judaeans lived among the gentiles of Makedon. The inhabitants of Jaffa and Yavneh perpetrated a great wickedness, deceiving the Judaeans who dwelt in their midst to board their ships with their wives and sons to go play together at sea; they trusted them and went. But when they had reached a deep place, they drowned some two hundred souls.

When it was told to Yehudah, he wept and proclaimed a fast and, racing to Jaffa, besieged it, and the Lord gave it into his hand. He separated the Judaeans from it, then he smote the city with the sword—male, female, infant, and babe—and he burned the city. Thus, he did with Yavneh, and he burned all the ships of Jaffa and Yavneh; the fire could be seen all the way to Jerusalem and the flames for 240 stadia. Thus, he exacted vengeance for the blood of the children and the women who drowned in the sea.

He departed from there and went to the desert of Arav and smote the people of Arav, trampling many people of Arav in battle, and he set tribute on them. Then he went, returning to the land of Yehudah, passing to a city of Caspin, a city greatly fortified, settled by a diversity of gentiles. They trusted in their fortification and, cursing Yehudah, uttered words against the army of Yehudah that we cannot relate. Yehudah said: "O Lord Shaddai, who gave Jericho into the hand of Joshua His servant by the trumpeting sound of your people, give into our hand this day this city that I may exact vengeance upon them for the curses that they swore against our people, O Lord." He took his shield in his left hand and, drawing his sword, leaped against the city gate. All the Hasmonean youth raced after him, and they smeared the gate with pitch, heaped brush upon the pitch and thorns of the desert, and ignited the gate; and it burned and fell to the ground. The Lord gave the city into his hand, and he caused a slaughter in it that has not been done since ancient times; a pool of blood two stadia in length by two stadia in width flowed out from the city like a lake of water.

He departed from there and went 750 stadia; Timotheus went out to confront him with 120,000 infantry and one thousand horse. Yehudah prayed to God and went against Timotheus with ten thousand Judaean young men. A huge battle ensued, and Yehudah killed thirty thousand of Timotheus's men. Timotheus turned tail to flee, and Dositheus, commander of the army, pursued him with Sosipater of the young men of Israel. They captured Timotheus alive and brought him to Yehudah. Yehudah commanded them to cut off his head from him. Now Timotheus wailed greatly and entreated him, saying: "My lord Yehudah, don't kill me, for many Judaeans live in my land, and I swear unto you that I will do good unto them all the days of my life." He swore an oath to him, so Yehudah had mercy on him and did not kill him, permitting him to go his way; and Timotheus, keeping his sworn oath, did not harm the Judaeans for the rest of his days.

Yehudah departed from there, going toward the desert, and attacked the king's force that entered Arav; he smote them, causing them to flee, and killed twenty-five thousand of them. He departed from there and went to Ephron, which was a large city, and besieged it; God gave it into his hand, and he killed in it twenty thousand. He departed and went six hundred stadia to a city named Sitopolis (Scythopolis, i.e., Beit Shean). Now the Scythopolitans were greatly afraid, and they went out to greet him, entreating him with tears, and said to him: "Our master, Anointed Warlord, ask the Judaeans who dwell among us how we have behaved well toward them. Even in the days of Antiochus the cruel, many Judaeans took refuge among us, and we preserved their life." The Judaeans dwelling among them also bore witness to this; Yehudah blessed them and left them. Yehudah returned to Jerusalem three days before the holiday of Shavuoth.

After the holiday, he went out against Gorgias, the Edomite general, leaving with three thousand infantry and four hundred horse. A battle ensued, and some of the Hasmonean warriors fell there on that day. Dositheus, commander of the army, was injured, struck on his shoulder, and the Hasmonean young men were nearly pushed back. When Yehudah saw the collapse of his young men, he prayed to God and encouraged his young men. He sprang ahead of his men, smiting the army of Gorgias, killing many. He called and said: "I am coming to you, Gorgias!" and leaped upon him, stretching forth his hand to smite him. Gorgias turned around to flee from Yehudah. He threw away his weapons and ran away. Nobody encountered him after that, nor was he seen again, alive, or dead. Some say he was wounded in battle, fled to Marisa in the desert of Edom, and died. Yehudah returned and smote all of Edom, destroying all their cities and subjugating them.

Images of the gentiles' idols were found under the clothes of the youth of Israel who were slain in battle, and they brought them to Yehudah. Yehudah knew that this was the sin for which they fell in battle, and he said: "Blessed is the God, the Revealer of the secret, who made manifest these hidden things." The army was encouraged to serve God in holiness and purity, and he returned to Jerusalem.