Jonathan Apphus - Leader of The Jews

Leader of The Jews

Jonathan Apphus was the youngest of the five sons of Mattathias. His father was a Kohen credited as the founding figure of the rebellion of the Maccabees against Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire. However Mattathias died in 167 BCE while the rebellion was only beginning.

He was survived by Jonathan and his brothers Eleazar Avaran, Johanan, Judas Maccabeus, and Simon Thassi. They were sworn to continue the rebellion of their father. Judas soon became their de facto leader and the military chief of the rebellion.

Jonathan served under his brother and took active parts in the battles against the Seleucid forces. His reputation for courage is lesser to that of Judas but hardly questionable. His courage had been frequently tried. However, Judas was one of the casualties of the Battle of Elasa (161/160 BCE). The victor of the battle was Bacchides, a Seleucid general under Demetrius I Soter. Bacchides proceeded with crushing rigor against the Maccabean party while at the same time a famine broke out in the land. The Jewish rebels required a new leader and Jonathan was chosen.

Jonathan noticed that Bacchides was trying to entrap him. He reacted by retiring with his brother Simeon and his followers to a desert region in the country east of the Jordan River. They set camp near a morass by the name of Asphar. But Bacchides followed him there and overtook them during a Sabbath. Jonathan gave all the baggage into the hands of his brother John who took a small force and headed towards the friendly Nabataeans. The plan was to secure their baggage there but the "sons of Jambri of Medaba", a hostile tribe apparently, ambushed them during their journey. John and his companions were killed and their cargo was looted (I Macc. ix. 32-36; Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews" xiii. 1, § 2). Jonathan would later take revenge for the death of his brother.

Meanwhile on that Sabbath, Jonathan and his companions were forced to engage in battle with Bacchides. Jonathan had encountered and had raised his hand to slay Bacchides, when the latter evaded the blow; the Jews, defeated, sought refuge by swimming through the Jordan to the western bank. In this first encounter Bacchides lost about 1,000 men.

Soon after this event, informed that one of the sons of Jambri was leading home a noble bride in great pomp, the Maccabean brothers proceeded to Medaba, ambushed the bridal procession, killed the entire party, to the number of 300, and seized all the treasure (I Macc. ix. 37-49; Josephus, l.c. xiii. 1, §§ 3-4). They remained, however, in the swamp in the country east of the Jordan. Bacchides thought them insignificant. Following the death of his puppet governor Alcimus, Kohen Gadol of Jerusalem, Bacchides felt secure enough to leave the country.