Catholic Commentary
Rome and Sparta Renew Their Alliance with Simon (Part 1)
16It was heard at Rome that Jonathan was dead, and even in Sparta, and they were exceedingly grieved.17But as soon as they heard that his brother Simon was made high priest in his place, and ruled the country and the cities in it,18they wrote to him on brass tablets to renew with him the friendship and the alliance which they had confirmed with his brothers Judas and Jonathan.19These were read before the congregation at Jerusalem.20This is the copy of the letter which the Spartans sent: “The rulers and the city of the Spartans, to Simon the high priest, to the elders, the priests, and the rest of the people of the Jews, our kindred, greetings.21The ambassadors who were sent to our people reported to us about your glory and honor. We were glad for their coming,22and we registered the things that were spoken by them in the public records as follows: ‘Numenius son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, the Jews’ ambassadors, came to us to renew the friendship they had with us.
1 Maccabees 14:16–23 describes the immediate international recognition of Simon as high priest following Jonathan's death, and the renewal of diplomatic alliances with Sparta through bronze tablets. The passage emphasizes continuity of Hasmonean authority and validates Jewish legitimacy through formal acknowledgment by foreign powers, with the letters publicly read before the Jerusalem congregation.
When a leader governs faithfully, the wider world takes notice—and engraves it in bronze.
Commentary
1 Maccabees 14:16 — Grief at the death of Jonathan: The notice that Jonathan's death "was heard at Rome… and even in Sparta" is not incidental diplomatic color. It measures how far Israel's reputation had traveled under the Maccabean brothers. That Rome and Sparta "were exceedingly grieved" signals that Jonathan had cultivated real alliances of mutual benefit, not merely pro forma correspondence. The grief of the nations over a Jewish leader has an almost eschatological resonance — the wider world is drawn into the drama of Israel's fate.
1 Maccabees 14:17 — Simon's succession recognized immediately: The transition from Jonathan to Simon is described with careful precision: Simon is named "high priest in his place," governing "the country and the cities in it." This is not merely political succession; it is theological continuity. The office of high priest carried both religious and civic authority in Second Temple Judaism, and the phrase "in his place" emphasizes dynastic legitimacy — the Hasmonean line continues unbroken. The foreign powers do not pause to re-evaluate; they accept Simon's succession as naturally authoritative.
1 Maccabees 14:18 — Brass tablets and the renewal of covenant language: The use of brass (bronze) tablets is significant. Writing on durable metal implied permanence, public visibility, and legal weight — the ancient equivalent of a constitutional inscription. The verb "renew" (Greek: ἀνανεῶσαι) is laden with covenant overtones. The friendship was not begun fresh but renewed — tracing back through Jonathan all the way to Judas Maccabeus (see 1 Macc 8). This chain of renewal underscores continuity and fidelity across generations, virtues the narrative consistently prizes.
1 Maccabees 14:19 — Public reading before the congregation: That the letters were "read before the congregation at Jerusalem" transforms a diplomatic document into something approaching a liturgical act. The assembly (ἐκκλησία in the Septuagint) is the gathered community of Israel, echoing the great public readings of the Law under Ezra (Neh 8). The people become witnesses and participants in the covenant of friendship, not passive recipients of decisions made over their heads.
Verses 20–21 — The Spartan letter and its laudatory opening: The Spartans' letter opens with praise — "your glory and honor" — and with expressions of joy at the ambassadors' arrival. This formal rhetoric follows Hellenistic epistolary conventions, but within the theological frame of the book it reads as Gentile acknowledgment of Israel's divinely-given dignity. The naming of specific ambassadors — Numenius son of Antiochus, Antipater son of Jason — grounds the account in historical particularity and reflects 1 Maccabees' consistent interest in credible, verifiable record.
Verses 22–23 — Registration in the public records: The Spartans record the encounter "in the public records," a detail repeated for emphasis. The repetition insists on the public, verifiable, irrevocable nature of the renewed alliance. The final clause — "Moreover they wrote a copy of these things to Simon the high priest" — closes the loop: what the nations recorded for themselves, Simon also received. He is named, honored, and formally recognized. The typological resonance here reaches toward the New Testament, where the name of Christ is written not on bronze but "in heaven" (Luke 10:20), and where the Church's dignity is inscribed not in earthly archives but in the Book of Life.
Catholic Commentary
From a Catholic perspective, this passage illuminates several interlocking theological themes. First, the passage demonstrates the principle that legitimate religious and civic authority — here united in the high priest Simon — commands recognition even from those outside the covenant community. The Catechism teaches that legitimate authority participates in God's own authority and serves the common good (CCC 1897–1899); Simon's recognition by Rome and Sparta illustrates how genuine leadership ordered toward the flourishing of a people carries a persuasive moral authority that transcends borders and creeds.
Second, the renewal of alliance through written documents echoes the Catholic understanding of covenant as inherently public, documented, and mediated through human instruments. The Church has always insisted, against a purely interior or spiritualized reading of covenant, that God's saving purposes unfold through concrete historical acts — texts, sacraments, institutions. Pope Benedict XVI, in Verbum Domini (§§9–10), speaks of the Word becoming not only incarnate but embedded in history through written Scripture and Tradition.
Third, the Fathers, particularly Clement of Alexandria (Stromata, I.15), noted the correspondence between Sparta and the Jews as evidence that elements of divine wisdom could be discerned even among the Gentiles — a point harmonious with Vatican II's Nostra Aetate (§2), which affirms that the Church "rejects nothing that is true and holy" in other peoples' traditions. The Spartans' recognition of Jewish "glory and honor" prefigures the ultimate calling of the nations to recognize the glory of God in Israel's Messiah (Is 60:3; Rom 15:9–12).
For Today
This passage speaks to Catholics navigating the relationship between their faith community and the broader civil world. Simon does not refuse engagement with Rome and Sparta out of a defensive insularity, nor does he compromise his identity as high priest to earn their favor. He simply governs faithfully, and the nations take notice. This is a model for Catholic public witness: not triumphalism, not retreat, but the quiet credibility of a community that lives what it professes.
For Catholic leaders in particular — bishops, lay ecclesial ministers, Catholic politicians, heads of Catholic institutions — the image of Simon's name being formally inscribed in the public records of foreign cities is a reminder that authentic stewardship of one's community earns a reputation that opens doors no self-promotion could. The brass tablets also challenge us: what we record, what we make permanent, what we put into writing matters. Parish communities might ask what is inscribed in the public life of their city — whether the Church's presence is known, welcomed, and associated with honorable dealing. Concretely, this could mean fostering transparent governance, building genuine partnerships with civic institutions, and ensuring that the Church's good works are visible and verifiable, not hidden behind institutional walls.
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