services for his people.  In brief (1) he taught them to fight for their rights; (2) he helped them to save their law and traditions; (3) he secured for them religious freedom; (4) he restored many of the Jews of the dispersion and thus prepared the way for the consolidated kingdom which later rose with Jerusalem as the centre; (5) he inspired his countrymen with ambitions for political independence; and (6) he set them a noble example of courage, patriotism, and practical piety.  While measured by the higher standards of a later day Judas is not without his faults, yet he is unquestionably one of the great heroes of Israel’s history and an example to all of unselfish and devoted patriotism.

VII.  The Dissensions in the Syrian Court.  The Jews ultimately attained political independence not primarily through their own efforts, but because the protracted contests between the rival claimants for the Syrian throne gave them opportunities which they quickly improved.  In 152 B.C. a youth known as Alexander Balas, who claimed to be a son of Antiochus Epiphanes, raised the standard of revolt against the reigning Syrian king, Demetrius I. The kings of southwestern Asia and Egypt at first lent their support to this impostor.  By 150 B.C. he had succeeded in defeating and putting to death Demetrius I. Two years later, however, Demetrius ii, the son of the deposed king, appeared with a large body of Cretan mercenaries to contest the throne of his father.  Many of the Syrian cities at once espoused his cause.  Ptolemy Philometor, of Egypt, finally turned against Alexander Balas; and in 145 B.C. this strange adventurer was slain near Antioch by his own followers.  Soon after his death, however, one of his generals, Tryphon, appeared with an infant son of Alexander whom he sought to place on the Syrian throne, thus perpetuating the feud that was constantly undermining the power of the Seleucid kingdom.

VIII.  Concessions to Jonathan.  The Jews profited by each turn in these tortuous politics.  In 158 B.C., after a period of outlawry in the wilderness east of Judea, Jonathan and his followers were allowed by Demetrius I to settle again within the bounds of Judea.  Jonathan Established his head-quarters at Michmash, the fortress famous for the achievement of Saul’s valiant son Jonathan.  Here he ruled over the Jews as a vassal of Demetrius, who retained immediate control over the citadel at Jerusalem and the fortified cities that had been built along the borders of Judea.  On the appearance of Alexander Balas in 152 B.C.  Demetrius I, in order to retain the loyalty of the Jews, permitted Jonathan to maintain a small standing army and to rebuild the fortifications of Jerusalem.  To outbid his rival the impostor Alexander Balas conferred upon Jonathan the coveted honor of the high priesthood, thus making him both the civil and religious head of the Jewish state.  Disregarding his promises to Demetrius and the contemptible character of Alexander, Jonathan at once proceeded to establish his new authority.  He was doubtless more acceptable to the majority of the Jews than the apostate high priests whom he succeeded, but the stricter Hasideans naturally regarded it as a sacrilege that a man whose hands were stained with war and bloodshed should perform the holiest duties in the temple service.