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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

IntroIndex©

LYSIAS

1. Roman commander who wrote a letter to Felix concerning the apostle Paul (Acts 23:26). See Claudius Lysias.

2. Appointed regent of Syria by Antiochus IV Epiphanes while the king was fighting the Parthians (1 Macc 3:31-37; 166–165 BC). Lysias (d. 162 BC) sent generals Ptolemy, Nicanor, and Gorgias to subdue Judas Maccabeus in Judea and then himself led an attack on Judas. Eventually, a peace treaty was signed and approved by Antiochus Epiphanes (2 Macc 11). This removed the severe religious restrictions against the Jews, and Judas proceeded to cleanse the temple and reinstate the daily sacrifice.

When Antiochus Epiphanes died in 164, Lysias, accompanied by the boy-king Antiochus V Eupator, entered Judea again, defeated Judas at Bethzacharia, and laid siege to Jerusalem. But the political situation in Antioch forced Lysias to withdraw and return to Syria, where he and his young charge, Antiochus V, were overthrown by Demetrius I and executed (162 BC).