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[338]
He then tried to take Sepphoris, which was a city not far from that
which was destroyed, but lost many of his men; yet did he then go to fight
with Alexander; which Alexander met him at the river Jordan, near a certain
place called Saphoth, [not far from the river Jordan,] and pitched his
camp near to the enemy. He had however eight thousand in the first rank,
which he styled Hecatontomachi, having shields of brass. Those in the first
rank of Ptolemy's soldiers also had shields covered with brass. But Ptolemy's
soldiers in other respects were inferior to those of Alexander, and therefore
were more fearful of running hazards; but Philostephanus, the camp-master,
put great courage into them, and ordered them to pass the river, which
was between their camps. Nor did Alexander think fit to hinder their passage
over it; for he thought, that if the enemy had once gotten the river on
their back, that he should the easier take them prisoners, when they could
not flee out of the battle: in the beginning of which, the acts on both
sides, with their hands, and with their alacrity, were alike, and a great
slaughter was made by both the armies; but Alexander was superior, till
Philostephanus opportunely brought up the auxiliaries, to help those that
were giving way; but as there were no auxiliaries to afford help to that
part of the Jews that gave way, it fell out that they fled, and those near
them did no assist them, but fled along with them. However, Ptolemy's soldiers
acted quite otherwise; for they followed the Jews, and killed them, till
at length those that slew them pursued after them when they had made them
all run away, and slew them so long, that their weapons of iron were blunted,
and their hands quite tired with the slaughter; for the report was, that
thirty thousand men were then slain. Timagenes says they were fifty thousand.
As for the rest, they were part of them taken captives, and the other part
ran away to their own country.
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