Judas and the Defeat of Nicanor

In 1 Maccabees, the king sent Nicanor, a powerful enemy of Israel, with orders to destroy the people. Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army and sent Judas peaceful words as a trick. Judas learned the plan, refused to trust him again, and fighting soon began near Capharsalama, where many of Nicanor's men fell.

2 Maccabees gives further background to the same conflict. Alcimus spoke against Judas before Demetrius, and Nicanor was sent out with orders to kill Judas, scatter his followers, and set up Alcimus. That account also says Nicanor later made agreements of friendship with Judas for a time, until a new royal order pushed him back toward treachery.

Both books report that Nicanor came to the holy place with proud and wicked threats. In 1 Maccabees he mocked the priests and swore to burn the house if Judas were not handed over. In 2 Maccabees he stretched out his hand toward the sanctuary and threatened to tear down the temple and altar and raise a shrine to Dionysus. The priests prayed for God to guard his holy house.

Before the final battle, 1 Maccabees says Nicanor camped at Beth-horon while Judas camped at Adasa with three thousand men. Judas prayed for God to judge the army that had spoken wickedly against the sanctuary. 2 Maccabees adds that Judas strengthened his people with reminders of God's help and told a vision in which Onias and Jeremiah appeared, and Jeremiah handed him a golden sword.

The armies met on the thirteenth day of Adar. In 1 Maccabees, Nicanor was the first to fall and his army fled. In 2 Maccabees, Judas and his men fought while praying, and Nicanor was found dead after the battle. Both accounts say his head and the hand or arm he had stretched out proudly were brought to Jerusalem, and the victory was remembered each year on that day.