Eupolemus
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [1]
ū̇ - pol´ē̇ - mus ( Εὐπόλεμος , Eupólemos ): Son of John, the son of Accos = Hakkoz (Ἀκκώς , Akkō̇s ; Nehemiah 3:4 , Nehemiah 3:21 , etc.); was one of the two deputies sent by Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 8:17; 2 Macc 4:11) to Rome circa 161 bc to ask the help of the Romans against Demetrius. A critical estimate of the narrative (1 Macc 8 and Josephus, Ant , Xii , x, 6) of the first meeting of the representatives of the Jewish nation and the Romans will be found in Stanley, Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church , III, 350ff, where it is admitted that "inaccuracies of detail only confirm the general faithfulness of the impression." Keil ( Comm ., 14) further remarks on this point: "that the author of 1 Macc wrote from twenty to twenty-five years after the destruction of Corinth (146 bc) by the Romans; and that the Jews of Palestine were not accurately informed concerning the wars of the Romans with the Greeks." Eupolemus has been identified with the historian of the same name quoted by Eusebius ( Praep. Ev ., IX, 17ff); but there is no evidence that the historian was of Jewish origin.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [2]
( Εὐπόλεμος , Good us War, a frequent Greek name), the "son of John, the son of Accos (q.v.), one of the envoys sent to Rome by Judas Maccabaeus, B.C. cir. 161, to negotiate an alliance with then Romans ( 1 Maccabees 8:17; Josephus, Ant. 12:10, 6). He has been identified (Euseb. Praep. Eu. 9:17 sq.) with the historian of the same name (Josephus, Apion, 1:23), who wrote several works on the affairs of the Jews (Kuhlusey, Eupolemi Fragmenta, Berlin, 1840, 8vo); but it is by no means clear that the historian was of Jewish descent (yet comp. Jerome, De Vir. Illustr. 38). His father, John (q.v.), is spoken of as having procured special privileges for the Jews from the Syrian kings ( 2 Maccabees 4:11).
