1 Maccabees 10:75-77

Good News Translation

⁷⁵ set up camp outside of Joppa. The men of the city refused to let them in because there was a detachment of Apollonius' troops there, but Jonathan attacked, ⁷⁶ and the men in the city became so frightened that they opened the gates, allowing Jonathan to capture Joppa. ⁷⁷ When Apollonius heard what had happened, he took 3,000 cavalry and a large army of infantry and pretended to retreat south toward Azotus. However, relying upon the strength of his cavalry, he marched into the plain with his main force,