And Demetrius appointed Apollonius the governor of Coelesyria: Apollonius becomes the focus of the narrative at this point. He is not the same Apollonius of 1Macc 3.10, nor of 2Macc 3.5. The governor of Coelesyria is literally “the one who was over Coelesyria.” The meaning of this clause is not exactly clear, but Good News Bible is probably right in taking it to mean that Demetrius confirmed Apollonius in an office he already held. This is what Good News Bible means by “reappointed,” but this does not imply that he had been out of office a while. Goldstein translates “Demetrius reappointed Apollonius, the incumbent governor, over Coele-Syria.” Part of the problem here is that there seems to be no connection between the appointment of Apollonius and his going out to fight Jonathan. New English Bible offers a possible solution, saying “Demetrius appointed as his commander Apollonius the governor of Coele-syria” (similarly Revised English Bible). We recommend this rendering. At that time in history Coelesyria referred to an administrative unit of the Seleucid Empire consisting of most of the territory along the Mediterranean Sea. It may be intended to designate the part of the empire not included in “the upper provinces” (1Macc 3.37; see the comments there), with the exception of Phoenicia. Coelesyria and Phoenicia are often named separate regions (see, for example, 2Macc 4.4; 1~Esd 2.17). As the narrative develops in the next few verses, it is important to understand that Judea would have been considered part of the administrative responsibility of the governor of Coelesyria. Good News Bible calls this region “Greater Syria.” We could also say “Southwest Syria.”

And he assembled a large force and encamped against Jamnia may be rendered “So Apollonius assembled a huge group of soldiers and set up his camp [or, they set up their tents] near the town of Jamnia.” For Jamnia see the comments on 1Macc 4.12-15.

Then he sent the following message to Jonathan the high priest: Apollonius sent a message to Jonathan as the high priest (see verse 20), not as the governor of Judea (see verse 65); he did not accept Jonathan’s civil authority. Good News Bible joins this sentence to the previous one, which works well.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Meanwhile, Demetrius appointed Apollonius, the governor of Greater Syria, as his commander. This man assembled a large army and set up camp near Jamnia. He then sent the following message to Jonathan the High Priest:….

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.