Antiochus, driven back in shame from the temple of Persepolis, hears at Ecbatane of the defeat of Nicanor and Timotheus and hurries towards Jerusalem, boasting that he will make it a common burying place of the Jews. God strikes him with an incurable pain of the bowels; he falls from his chariot, worms rise from his body, and his army cannot bear the stench. Humbled, he says 'It is meet to be subject unto God' and vows to free the city, adorn the temple and even become a Jew. He writes to the Jews commending his son Antiochus, then dies a miserable death in the mountains of a strange country.
2 Maccabees 9 - Summary
Summary
Read 2 Maccabees Chapter 9 Summary
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Characters in This Chapter
Jeremiah
Prophet remembered for hiding the tabernacle and the ark, who appears in Judas's dream praying for the people and giving him a golden sword
Nehemiah
Leader who, in the opening letter, rekindles the hidden altar fire and founds a library of the sacred books
Judas Maccabeus
Hero of the book, who cleanses the Temple, prays for the fallen and defeats Nicanor after his dream of Jeremiah
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
King who plunders the Temple and persecutes the faithful, then dies of a plague after his flight from Persepolis
Philip
Apostle from Bethsaida
Places in This Chapter
Jerusalem
View on MapHoly city at the centre of the story: plundered by Antiochus, freed by Judas, and the place where Nicanor's head is hung up
The Temple
View on MapSanctuary defended against Heliodorus, profaned and dedicated to Jupiter, cleansed on the twenty-fifth of Casleu, then threatened by Nicanor
Egypt
View on MapHome of the Jews to whom the opening letters are written, and the land of Antiochus's campaigns
Antioch (Syria)
View on MapSeleucid capital, near which Onias is murdered at Daphne, and to which Nicanor flees after his first defeat
Persia
View on MapLand where the priests hid the altar fire at the exile, and from which Antiochus returns in disgrace before his death
Mount Nebo
View on MapThe mountain from which Moses saw the heritage of God, where Jeremiah is said to have hidden the tabernacle and the ark in a cave
Athens
View on MapAthens was the intellectual capital of the ancient world, famous for its philosophers and the Areopagus. Paul visited Athens during his second missionary journey and delivered his famous sermon on Mars Hill, addressing the Athenians' altar to the "unknown god" and proclaiming the true God who raised Jesus from the dead.
Position in Book
Letters to the Jews of EgyptChapters 1-2
Heliodorus and the Temple TreasuryChapters 3
Corrupt High Priests and the Sack of JerusalemChapters 4-5
Persecution and the MartyrsChapters 6-7
Judas's Rising and the Tyrant's EndChapters 8-9
Judas routs Nicanor's army, and Antiochus, struck by God on his way to Jerusalem, repents too late and dies in agony.
The Temple Cleansed and the Wars under EupatorChapters 10-13
Nicanor, Razis and the Last VictoryChapters 14-15