Josephus
κατεῖχον ἀδελφοὶ Δημήτριος καὶ Φίλιππος, καθὼς ἐν ἄλλοις δεδήλωται.1
372(5) Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ τῶν οἰκείων πρὸς αὐτὸν στασιασάντων (ἐπανέστη γὰρ αὐτῷ2 τὸ ἔθνος) τῆς3 ἑορτῆς ἀγομένης, καὶ ἑστῶτος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ θύειν μέλλοντος, κιτρίοις αὐτὸν ἔβαλλον, νόμου ὄντος παρὰ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐν τῇ σκηνοπηγίᾳ ἔχειν ἕκαστον θύρσους ἐκ φοινίκων καὶ κιτρίων (δεδηλώκαμεν δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἐν ἄλλοις)· προσεξελοιδόρησαν δ᾿ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐξ αἰχμαλώτων4 γεγονότα καὶ 373τῆς τιμῆς καὶ τοῦ θύειν ἀνάξιον· ἐπὶ τούτοις ὀργισθεὶς κτείνει μὲν αὐτῶν περὶ ἑξακισχιλίους, δρύφακτον δὲ ξύλινον περὶ τὸν βωμὸν καὶ τὸν ναὸν βαλλόμενος μέχρι τοῦ θριγκοῦ, εἰς ὃν μόνοις ἐξῆν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν εἰσιέναι, τούτῳ τὴν τοῦ πλήθους 374ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ἀπέφραττεν5 εἴσοδον. ἔτρεφε δὲ καὶ ξένους Πισίδας καὶ Κίλικας· Σύροις γὰρ πολέμιος ὢν οὐκ ἐχρῆτο. καταστρεψάμενος δὲ τῶν Ἀράβων Μωαβίτας καὶ Γαλααδίτας εἰς φόρου ἀπαγωγήν, κατερείπει6 μὲν Ἀμαθοῦντα, Θεοδώρου μὴ τολμῶντος 375αὐτῷ συμβαλεῖν. συνάψας δὲ μάχην πρὸς
Jewish Antiquities XIII
Demetrius and Philip, as has been relateda elsewhere.b
(5)cAs for Alexander, his own people revoltedAlexander Jannaeus oppresses his Jewish adversaries. against him—for the nation was aroused against him—at the celebration of the festival,d and as he stood beside the altar and was about to sacrifice, they pelted him with citrons, it being a custom among the Jews that at the festival of Tabernacles everyone holds wands made of palm branches and citrons—these we have described elsewheree; and they added insult to injury by saying that he was descended from captives and was unfit to hold officef and to sacrifice; and being enraged at this, he killed some six thousand of them, and also placed a wooden barrier about the altar and the temple as far as the coping (of the court) which the priests alone were permitted to enter, and by this means blocked the people’s way to him.g He also maintained foreign troops of Pisidians and Cilicians, for he could not use Syrians, being at war with them. And after subduing the Arabs of Moab and Galaaditis, whom he forced to pay tribute, he demolished Amathüs, as Theodorus did not venture to meet him in the field.h
- aVariant “as we have related.”
- bi.e. by other historians. If the reading δεδηλώκαμεν “we have related” is adopted, the formula must be explained as taken over from Josephus’ source, probably Nicolas of Damascus.
- cAt this point the parallels with B.J. are resumed; the details of §§ 372–373, however, are not found in B.J. For rabbinic parallels to this story and other traditions concerning Alexander Jannaeus see Derenbourg, pp. 96–101.
- dVariant “a festival,” as in B.J.: Lat. “the festival of Tabernacles.” “The festival” would correspond exactly to the rabbinic Heb. term he-ḥāg, indicating the festival of Tabernacles as the festival par excellence.
- eAnt. iii. 245.
- fAs high priest, cf. § 292.
- gThe allusion to the barrier is puzzling, since such a barrier (called γείσιον or θριγκός) had been built by Solomon, according to Josephus, Ant. viii. 95, and was presumably found in the second temple, as in Herod’s temple, cf. B.J. v. 226.
- hCf. §§ 356–357.