The Siege of Jerusalem during the Hasmonaean Civil War

“Cursed is the Man who Teaches his Son Greek Wisdom”

According to Josephus, the Hasmonean brothers fought a civil war (c. 65 BCE), and word of this war eventually made it to the rabbinic sages in Babylonia. The talmudic narrative of the civil war, however, has many details not mentioned in Josephus. We will attempt to identify the sources of these unique details focusing especially on the source of inspiration for the character of the old traitor