They went by the road which leads to Gilgal and encamped against Mesaloth in Arbela: Each of the three places mentioned here is a problem; none can be identified with certainty. Gilgal does not seem to be the place by that name mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. It may be an otherwise unknown place of the same name, or, as scholars suggest, a mistake for either “Galilee,” or less likely, “Gilead.” Mesaloth may not be a proper name, but a Hebrew word used for a raised place, specifically a highway. However, in this context it is often taken to be a reference to an area of steep hillsides with many caves, where Josephus tells us that Jews hid from Bacchides (Jewish Antiquities 12.11.1). Arbela appears to be a town, which some scholars place east of Lake Galilee in Gilead, and others place in Galilee itself. We suggest two approaches to this verse, and translators may choose either one: (a) Since the problems cannot be solved with any confidence, they may simply use Good News Bible as a model or Contemporary English Version, which says “On the way to Gilgal in Judea, Bacchides and Alcimus captured the town of Mesaloth in Arbela, and they killed many of the people.” (b) If they want to make a brave attempt at reconstructing the actual situation, we suggest the following model:

• His army marched down the Galilee Road, and on the way attacked the town of Arbela and the steep hillsides around it. They won the battle and killed many people.*
* The geographical references in this verse are uncertain.

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.