os. Jew. War, I, 2:6]
At another time, when Antiochus had gone upon an expedition against the
Medes and thus given Hyrcanus an opportunity to be revenged upon him,
Hyrcanus made an attack upon the cities of Syria, thinking, as proved to
be the case, that he would find them empty of good troops. So he took
Medeba and Samaga with their surrounding towns; likewise Shechem and Mount
Gerizim.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 9:1d, e]
Hyrcanus also took Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the
Idumeans. He permitted them to stay in their country, if they would
undergo circumcision and conform to the Jewish laws. They were so desirous
of living in the country of their fathers that they submitted to
circumcision and the other Jewish ways of living. From this time on,
therefore, they were none other than Jews.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:7a-b]
Hyrcanus also proceeded as far as Samaria and invested it on all sides
with a wall, and placed his sons, Aristobulus and Antigonus in charge of
the siege. They pushed it with such vigor that a famine prevailed within
the city, so that the inhabitants were forced to eat what was never before
regarded as food. They also invited Antiochus to come to their assistance
and he readily responded to their invitation, but he was beaten by
Aristobulus and Antigonus, and he was pursued as far as Scythopolis by
these brothers and fled away from them. So they returned to Samaria and
shut up the multitude within the wall again, and when they had taken the
city, they tore it down and made slaves of its inhabitants.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:5]
However the prosperity of Hyrcanus caused the Jews to envy him; and they
who were worst disposed to him were the Pharisees. Now Hyrcanus was one of
their disciples and had been greatly beloved by them. But once when he
invited them to a feast and entertained them kindly and saw them in a good
humor, he began to say to them that they knew that he desired to be a
righteous man and do all things by which he might please God and them, for
the Pharisees are philosophers. However, he desired, if they observed him
offending in any respect or departing from the right way, that they would
call him back and correct him. When they testified that he was entirely
virtuous he was well pleased with their approval. But one of his guests,
Eleazar by name, was a man malignant by nature, who delighted in
dissension. This man said: "Since you wish to know the trut