Biblical Profile: Antiochus IV

Antiochus IV

Antiochus IV is the most important of all the Seleucid rulers as far as the biblical literature is concerned and is known as one of the cruelest tyrants of all time. He was an enthusiastic believer in the Olympian god Zeus and hoped to unify his territories by spreading Hellenistic culture, law, and religion. In so doing, he came into violent conflict with the Jews in Judea.

Antiochus IV, born in 215 BC with the name Mithradates, was a son of Antiochus III but was not the designated heir of the Seleucid kingdom. After the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, Mithradates went to Rome as a hostage to guarantee payment of his father’s debts to Rome. His brother, Seleucus IV, then began to reign in 187 BC, but Mithradates used intrigue to get himself released from bondage and when his brother was murdered, he usurped the Seleucid throne, becoming Antiochus IV. He called himself Epiphanes, which means “god manifest.” But his unstable temper led critics to use the pejorative nickname Epimanes, which means “manifestly insane.”

Antiochus’s drive for Hellenization and his need for finances created a ripe environment for him to sell the Jewish high priesthood to the highest Hellenizing bidder. He sold the office twice, first to Jason in 174 BC and then to Menalaus (who offered a higher bid) in 171 BC.