Seven brothers and their mother were seized and brought before King Antiochus. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserved by Moses Gaster in 1899, the king demanded they eat swine's flesh—a substance the Jews "abhorred and despised." When they refused, he tore their flesh apart.
The first son spoke without hesitation: "Why waste words to teach us? We have already been taught by our forefathers. We are prepared to suffer death for the Lord and His law." Antiochus was furious. He ordered a brass pan heated and the young man's tongue cut out, his hands and feet severed, then his body fried alive while his mother and brothers watched.
The second brother was brought forward. They scalped him and asked if he would eat. "No," he said. He died the same way. The third brother, when ordered to extend his tongue, stretched out his hands as well and declared: "From heaven I received these limbs, and for the sake of God's law I give them up, trusting that He will restore them." Even Antiochus marveled at his courage.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth brothers each went to their deaths with defiance. The mother stood through it all, urging each son forward. "God who created the world will renew your bodies," she told them. "He will give you the reward of your actions."
The seventh was the youngest—just a boy. Antiochus tried a different approach, promising him silver, gold, and a place among the king's companions if only he would comply. The boy refused. The king appealed to the mother to persuade her last living child. Instead, she leaned close and whispered: "Do not fear this executioner. Accept death, and I will receive you back with your brothers." The enraged king tortured the seventh son more cruelly than all the others.
When the last boy died, the mother stood among the seven corpses of her children, spread out her hands, and prayed: "O exalted and awe-inspiring God, now I will come. Now I will die with my sons in the place You have prepared for them." She fell upon their bodies, and her spirit departed.
LXXXIX. (1) Seven brothers with their mother wero
then seized and sent to the king, for the king had not yet
departed from Jerusalem, and because the swine's flesh was
abhorred by the Jews and stank and was despised by them,
therefore the cruelties against them were increased, and he
tore their flesh as that of an ox.
(2) When the flrst son was brought before the king, he
said, ' Why waste words to teach us, for we have already
been taught by our forefathers ? We are prepared to suffer
death for the Lord and His law.' The king was furious at
this, and, ordering a pan of brass to be brought, placed
it on the fire. Then, ordering his tongue to be cut out, his
hands and legs and the skin of his head to be cut off, he
placed them all in the frying-pan in the sight of his
brothers; the rest of his body they cast in a large brass pot
placed upon the hot coals. When he was near death the
king commanded the fire to be removed from under the
pot so that he should not die too quickly, so as to terrify
his brothers and his mother. But they, on the contrary,
encouraged each other and fortified each other when they
saw that their brother gave up his life for the Lord and His
Torah, and said to each other, * See what Moses, the servant
of the Lord, said in his song, *' He shall be comforted in
His servants." Even now the Lord is comforted in us for
all the evil which He has purposed to do to His people, and
He will have compassion upon them.'
264 [LXXXIX. 3
(3) As soon as the first died, the second brother was
brought. They said to him, ' Listen to the command of
the king. Why die in great torture as thy brother ?' And
he repUed, ' Make haste with the sword and with the fire,
and do not do one whit less to me than ye did to my
brother, for I do not fall short of my brother in piety and
the fear of God.' Every limb was then commanded to be
cut off and placed in the frying-pan on the fire. He then
said, ' Hear me, thou cruel king: art thou able to bind up
these our souls which thou robbest us of ? Behold, they
shall walk to God, who has given them to us — to the light
that is with the Lord. We shall yet live a life that has no
limit or end when He awakeneth the dead of His people
and the slain of His servants.'
(4) Thus died the second brother. When the third was
brought, he looked at the king, and, stretching out his
right hand towards the king, said, * What business of thine
is it to destroy us, 0 thou enemy and foe ? All this comes
from Heaven, and we receive it with love, but thy tortures
are despicable in our eyes, as nothing before us, since we
expect honour and favour from Heaven. He will grant us
the reward of our actions.' The king and all his princes
were astonished at the bravery of the youth.
(5) After his death the fourth brother was brought.
* What,' said he, ' have I to do with thee, 0 thou wicked
man ? We die for the Lord, and He will again bring us
back to life, but thou shalt never rise again.'
(6) When the fifth was brought, he said, ' Do not imagine
that God has forsaken us, for on account of His great love
has He brought us to this honour. Thou reviler and blas-
phemer, the Lord hates thee and stirs thee up to do unto
us whatever thou wilt, but a great vengeance will be taken
upon thee and thy seed, and His anger will be kindled
against thee and all thy household.'
(7) After his death the sixth brother was brought before
the king, and he said, ' We know our wickedness, for we
have sinned against the Lord, and now our souls are given
over to death as an atonement for our people; but now be-
cause thy heart prompts thee to do this thmg to the servants
of our God and to fight against God; behold, He shall fight
against thee and uproot thee from the face of the earth.'
(8) The seventh and last brother was but a young lad,
yet the mother, who had seen her seven sons slain on one
day, neither feared nor trembled, but, standing upright by
the corpses of her sons, she lifted up her voice and cried,
saying, ' 0 my son ! 0 my son ! I do not know how you
were formed in my womb, nor did I give you the breath
and soul which you had, nor bring you out of my womb,
nor raise you, nor make you grow, or your flesh which
is now offered as a sacrifice; God formed it. He wove the
sinews and covered it with skin, and caused hair to grow
upon it. He then breathed in your nostrils the breath of
life. And since you give up all this for His sake, He will
restore them to you, and will renew^ your body. He will
give you the reward of your actions, and happy are ye, my
sons, for all this.'
(9) At this the king was very much taken aback, in that
the woman had subdued him. ' Bring me the seventh
one,' said he, ' and perhaps, as he is but a young lad, I
may be able to entice him with soft words to do our will,
but do not let this woman boast of me, saying, ' I have
conquered King Antiochus in exhorting my sons to die for
our God.'
(10) According to the king's command, the seventh lad
was brought, and the king implored him, and took an
oath to enrich him with silver and gold, with cattle and
many servants, to make him viceregent, and to let him
rule over the whole kingdom. But when the lad despised
the words of the king, the king summoned the mother to
him, and said, ' 0 good woman, have pity upon this child,
and be merciful to the fruit of thy womb; induce him to
perform my will and to escape.' And the woman answered,
' Give him to me, and I shall entice him with kind words.'
This being done, she led him aside, and having kissed kim,
and rejoiced at the king's shame and confusion, said, * 0
my son, thou whom I carried in my womb for nine months.
266 [Lxxxix. 11
and whom I suckled for three years, after which I sustained
thee with food until this very day, give up all this proffered
honour, and fear the God of whom I taught thee. (11) Now,
0 my son, look toward the heaven, and behold the land,
the sea, the waters, and the fire, which by the word of the
Lord were created. But man is merely flesh and blood and
as nothing before Him. Do not fear this cruel man, but
give up thy life for the sake of the Lord. Go the same
way as thy brothers. Would that I could now see where
thy brothers are, and the greatness of their glory before
the Lord. My son, cleave to thy brothers, and thy lot
shall be cast in their glory. I shall go there with you, and
rejoice with you as on the days of your marriage. I shall
be with you in your righteousness.'
(12) While she was yet speaking the lad answered, and
said, ' Why do you delay me, and will not leave me to go
and join my holy brothers? I will not listen to the king,
but to the law of our God, which He has given through
the hand of Moses to the people of Israel, which this cruel
enemy of God has put to shame and reviled. Woe unto
thee, woe unto thee ! Whither wilt thou go ? whither wilt
thou flee ? whither wilt thou run ? and where wilt thou
hide thyself from our God, 0 enemy, foe, and wicked man,
for He still keeps us alive, and has glorified and exalted us
over all nations? But thou who art insolent enough to
stretch forth thy hand against His servants, it were better
thou hadst not been born. Thou wicked fool Antiochus,
who wast begotten of tainted folly, hast committed evil
against thyself, but Thou hast done good unto us, and
if we endure and bear these tortures in this world,
we shall be taken to the life and light of the world where
there is no darkness, but eternal life without death.
(13) But thou wilt be the abomination of all creatures,
and wilt be abhorred of our God when He takes vengeance
upon thee. Thou shalt die an unnatural death, plagued
with dreadful plagues. Thou shalt descend to the bottom
of hell. Thou shalt be drawn into darkness, where there
is no life or light, but darkness and shades; where there
is no repose or rest, but trouble, sorrow, brimstone, and
fire. This will be thy portion of the Lord and thy lot
from our God, 0 man of blood and wicked man. But God
will have mercy upon His people. Until now His wrath
has rested upon us, but He will henceforth be angry no
longer with His people, bat will repent of what He has
done to us at the beginning, although He did so in truth
and in righteousness, for w^e acted wickedly. He will
return and have mercy upon us, and will grant us eternal
life.' King Antiochus now became exceedingly angry
because he would not perform his will, and therefore
increased the tortures, and acted much more cruelly to
him than he had done to the others. Thus died the
seventh.
(14) The mother then stood by the corpses of her sons,
and, spreading out her hands, she said, ' 0 exalted and
aw^e-inspiring God, 0 God of the universe, now will I come;
now will I die with my sons in the place which Thou hast
prepared for them.' While she was yet speaking she
finished her days upon earth, falling upon the dead bodies
of her sons, her spirit went forth, and she died with them.
