For under pretext of intending to marry her …: In ancient times, as in many cultures today, when a man married a woman, the woman’s family would present the man with gifts of money or other valuable items. This was the bride’s dowry. So too, a king might go through a kind of wedding ceremony in which he married a goddess. The treasury of the temple in which the goddess was worshiped became the dowry, which the king was then entitled to take. Antiochus’ intent was not to worship Nanea, but to rob this temple, and to do it legally, by “marrying” the goddess. Under pretext means “pretending to.”

Antiochus came to the place together with his friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry: For friends of the king, see the comments on 1Macc 2.18; Good News Bible says “most trusted advisers,” which is accurate. In many languages there will be a specific term for dowry. Good News Bible provides a good model with “wedding gift.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• King Antiochus had gone there with his trusted advisers for a ceremony in which he would pretend to marry the goddess. Then he could take most of the treasures in the temple as a wedding gift.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.