It was morning before he arrived; and, encouraging his men not to fear the large number of the enemy by reminding them how the Jews were saved from the Egyptians in the Red Sea, he rushed down upon the Syrians. The Syrian general, thinking that Gorgias would easily crush the small army of the Jews, had taken no steps to guard against a surprise. The Syrians, panic-stricken and confused, offered but feeble resistance, and fled from all sides. Several tents had been set on fire in the confusion, but Judas wisely forbade the Jews to extinguish the flames or to plunder the camps, for Gorgias had to be met and defeated. Gorgias and his army, meanwhile, finding the camps of the Jews deserted, thought that they had fled to the mountains, and went to look for them. But what was their surprise when they beheld the smoke rising from the tents of their comrades! Thus deceived, the Syrians lost all their courage; and, upon seeing Judas marching toward them, they too turned their backs and fled. It was a great victory for the Maccabaean soldiers, and they returned joyfully to the Syrian camps, where they examined their rich plunder, consisting not only of large quantities of food and clothing, but also of the large sums of money which the slave dealers had brought along with them. As a just punishment for the slave dealers who had come to buy, the Jews sold as many of them as they could find, as slaves. The next day was the Sabbath, and it was indeed a day of rest and rejoicing for the brave Jews. THE RETREAT OF LYSIAS. Nicanor, who had escaped from Judea disguised as a slave, now returned to Antioch, where he informed Lysias of his defeat. At this news, Lysias was aroused; and raised a still larger army than any that had been sent before against Judea, this time consisting of sixty thousand footmen and five thousand horse. At the head of this vast multitude, Lysias himself marched against the Jews. Judas with only ten thousand men met the Syrian army at Beth-Tsur, where the battle took place. Although Lysias lost but five thousand men, he was discouraged from continuing battle, for he saw that the Jews were determined to conquer or die. He therefore made his retreat from Judea and returned to Antioch. THE PURIFICATION OF THE TEMPLE.