1 Maccabees 3:38-41

Good News Translation

³⁸ Lysias chose Nicanor, Gorgias, and Ptolemy son of Dorymenes as army commanders; all three were able men who bore the title
    Friend of the King. ³⁹ He put them in charge of 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry and ordered them to invade the land of Judea and destroy it as the king had commanded. ⁴⁰ These commanders set out with their entire force, and when they came to the plains near Emmaus, they made camp. ⁴¹ A force from Idumea^[a] and Philistia joined them. The merchants of the region heard about the strength of the army, and they came to the camp with chains and a large amount of money, hoping to buy some Jewish slaves.