A Letter to the Jews in Egypt
1To the brothers and sisters, the Jews in Egypt: greetings and good peace from the brothers and sisters, the Jews in Jerusalem and in the Judean countryside. 2May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with his faithful servants Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. 3May he give every one of you a heart for worshiping him and doing what he wills, with a generous heart and a willing soul. 4May he open your heart to his law and to his commandments, and may he make peace. 5May he listen to your petitions and be reconciled with you, and may he not abandon you in a time of evil. 6Here and now we are praying for you. 7In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year, we Jews have written to you amid the affliction and the crisis that overtook us during those years, after Jason and those with him broke away from the holy land and the kingdom. 8They set fire to the gateway and shed innocent blood. We made our petition to the Lord, and we were heard. We offered sacrifice and fine flour, lit the lamps, and set out the loaves. 9So now, be sure to celebrate the days of the Festival of Tabernacles in the month of Chislev. In the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.
A Second Letter: The Death of Antiochus
10Those in Jerusalem and those in Judea, with the senate and Judas, to Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests and teacher of King Ptolemy, and to the Jews in Egypt: greetings and good health. 11Rescued by God from great dangers, we thank him greatly, for we stand, as it were, in battle array against a king. 12It was he himself who flung out those who had drawn up for battle in the holy city. 13For when the leader arrived in Persia, together with the force around him that looked irresistible, they were cut down in the temple of Nanaia, because the priests of Nanaia resorted to a ruse. 14Antiochus had come to the place with the Friends who were with him, as if he were going to marry her, in order to take the greater part of the treasure by way of a dowry. 15When the priests of Nanaia’s temple had laid the treasure out, and he had gone with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they locked the temple once Antiochus had entered. 16Then they opened a hidden door in the paneled ceiling, hurled stones, and struck the leader down as with thunderbolts. They cut the men limb from limb, cut off their heads, and threw them out to the people outside. 17Blessed in every way be our God, who handed over those who had committed sacrilege.
The Fire Hidden in the Well
18We are about to celebrate, on the twenty-fifth of Chislev, the purification of the temple, and we thought it necessary to inform you, so that you too may keep the Festival of Tabernacles and the festival of the fire, of the time when Nehemiah, who had built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices. 19For when our ancestors were being led away to Persia, the devout priests of that time took some of the altar’s fire and hid it in secret in a hollow shaped like a waterless well. There they made it secure, so that no one at all knew the place. 20After many years had passed, when it pleased God, Nehemiah, commissioned by the king of Persia, sent the descendants of the priests who had hidden the fire to recover it. When they reported to us that they had found no fire, only thick water, he told them to dip some out and bring it. 21When the sacrifices had been laid in place, Nehemiah told the priests to sprinkle the water over the wood and over what lay upon it. 22When this had been done and some time had passed, the sun, which had been clouded over, shone out, and a great blaze was kindled, so that everyone marveled. 23While the sacrifice was being consumed, the priests offered a prayer — the priests and everyone else — with Jonathan leading and the rest responding, as Nehemiah did too. 24This was the form the prayer took: “Lord, Lord God, the Creator of everything, you who are awesome and mighty, just and merciful, who alone are King and alone are kind, 25who alone provide, who alone are just, almighty, and eternal, who rescue Israel from every evil, who made the fathers your chosen ones and sanctified them, 26accept the sacrifice on behalf of all your people Israel; guard your portion and make it holy. 27Gather our Diaspora together, set free those who are enslaved among the Gentiles, look upon those who are scorned and loathed, and let the Gentiles know that you are our God. 28Punish those who oppress us and who, in their arrogance, treat us with outrage. 29Plant your people in your holy place, just as Moses said.” 30Then the priests chanted the hymns. 31Once the sacrifice had been consumed, Nehemiah ordered them to pour the remaining water over some large stones. 32As soon as this was done, a flame blazed up; but when the light from the altar shone back, the flame was consumed. 33When the affair became known, the king of the Persians was told that water had appeared in the spot where the priests who had been deported had hidden the fire, and that Nehemiah and those with him had purified the offerings with it. 34After investigating the matter, the king had the place fenced in and made it sacred. 35The king collected large sums and shared them with those he wished to favor. 36Nehemiah and his people gave this the name Nephthar, which means purification; but most people call it Nephthai.
