Josippon

At that time, Demetrius, son of Seleucus, came with an army of Romans and fought against Antiochus Eupator; he killed Antiochus and Lysias and ruled in Antioch, which belonged to Makedon. Alcimus the priest, a wicked man who ate the flesh of pork in the days of Antiochus, went to him, and Alcimus said to Demetrius: "May the king live forever! How long will you fail to do justice unto your servants who are in the land of Judaea? For Yehudah, son of Mattathias, has prevailed upon us by his sword and with him his army of Judaeans called Hasidim; and he has killed us because we rebelled against their Law, while we have accepted your Law."

Alcimus said many things, infuriating Demetrius, and Demetrius sent Nicanor, commander of his army, with a strong force and with him chariots, cavalry, elephants, and infantry without number. He came to Jerusalem and sent to Yehudah words of peace, saying: "Let us greet each other in friendship and speak together words of peace to each other." Yehudah was not alarmed by his words and went to Nicanor. Nicanor went out to greet him; he embraced him and greeted him. Chairs were brought and placed for the two of them, and they sat and spoke words of peace. Then Yehudah commanded his young men, the Hasmoneans, to approach with their arms, for he said in his heart: "Lest the enemy leap upon me suddenly," and the young men stood about him as Yehudah had commanded. They stood up from the chairs and went to their tents. Nicanor and Yehudah returned to Jerusalem, and a battle did not take place. Nicanor was fond of Yehudah and said to him: "It is fitting for a man like you to take a wife and beget sons." So Yehudah took a wife and begot a son.

Alcimus beheld their friendship and returned to the king, telling him what happened. The king wrote to Nicanor, saying: "If you do not send me Yehudah, son of Mattathias, bound in chains, know that you shall surely die!" Yehudah learned of this and, leaving the city at night, blew the ram's horn, giving the signal to war; all the Hasidim warriors and the Hasmonean army gathered about him; and he went to Shomron (Samaria) and stayed there.

Nicanor came to the Temple of God and said to the priests: "Bring forth the man who fled from me, and I will send him to the king bound in chains." The priests swore, saying: "He has not come here, nor have we seen his face recently." Whereupon Nicanor cursed the Temple of God, also he spit at the Sanctuary, and extending his right hand, baring his forearm toward the Temple, he said: "I shall destroy this Sanctuary, leaving not one stone upon another, for I shall dig up and overturn all its foundations." Then he left in great anger. The priests wept between the porch and the altar, saying: "O Lord, who has dwelt in this House since ancient times, You are still indwelling, for here is Your throne and here the footstool for Your feet and all Your worship. Nicanor has dared to curse Your House and Your dwelling place, Your strength and the Temple of Your glory. Take vengeance upon him and let all know that he spoke villainy; therefore, let him die like a villain."

Nicanor was searching every house in Jerusalem for Yehudah and sent five hundred troops to the house of Raxias (Rasius), the Elder of the Hasidim, who was tested in the days of Antiochus the cruel and was proved perfect, for he bore willingly blows and many torments and was called "father to the Jews" and "judge in Jerusalem." When Nicanor sought to manifest the enmity that he had in his heart for the Jews, he sent forth to bring him to him; they surrounded the house to capture him, and the old man hastened and, taking the sword, stuck it into his belly, ran to the wall, and threw himself down into the midst of Nicanor's troops. The troops moved back to make space for him, and falling to the ground, he was broken. But he got up and, passing the troops, stood on a large rock, and from the excess of blood that flowed out from him, he went out of his mind; he grabbed his intestines with both hands and threw them on the troops and, calling unto God, died and was gathered to his people.

When Yehudah heard these things, his anger burned within him, and he sent unto Nicanor, saying: "Why do you tarry? Get out to the field of battle, and I will show you the man whom you seek within the city; behold, here he is for you in the valley, on the plain." Nicanor assembled all his army and went to confront Yehudah on the Sabbath. The Judaeans who came with Nicanor spoke to him, saying: "Our lord, do not act maliciously! Respect the Giver of the Sabbath!" Nicanor said: "So who is it who gave the Sabbath?" And they said: "God, whose dwelling is in heaven, and His government is over the whole world." Nicanor cursed and spoke with such malice that it is not proper to write.

Yehudah heard and said to his young men: "How long will we tarry to go to war to wreak vengeance on this cursing and blaspheming man, for who is this dead and castoff dog who has desecrated the strength of the glory of Israel?" Yehudah marched off to Nicanor in anger and great zeal, and Nicanor went out to confront him with a strong force and a mighty hand. Yehudah called out unto God and said: "O Lord my God, You sent an angel into the camp of Sennaharib, whose servants stood without the city and vilified you, and You smote 185,000 of his men: the dead we counted, but the killer we saw not; all the more this man who stood in Your house and vilified Your power and Your glory!"

A great battle was waged on that day. During the battle, Yehudah saw Nicanor, his sword drawn in his hand, and Yehudah called out, saying: "I am coming to you, Nicanor!" He ran at him in the fury of his anger. Nicanor turned tail to flee from Yehudah. But Yehudah overtook him and smote him with his sword, hacking him in two, hurling him to the ground. There fell on that day in battle thirty thousand of the Makedonian army, and the rest fled. Yehudah pursued them with his young men blowing the ram's horn, and they went out from all the cities of Judaea to confront them; they smote them and crushed them, and not even one of them was saved. They returned to strip the fallen, and they found gold, precious stones, and much purple. They cut off Nicanor's head and his arm that he had stretched out against the Sanctuary of the Lord, and they hung them before the gate; for this reason, its name is called the Gate of Nicanor unto this day. The people rejoiced greatly, praising God in the words of David, king of Israel: "For the Lord is good and His grace is forever." From that day hence, they made that day a holiday, a festival, and a day of wine drinking on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, one day before Purim. Yehudah judged all his people, enacting justice and righteousness in the land.