Then they marched off and went to Berea with twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalry: They marched off may be rendered “they marched from Jerusalem” (similarly Good News Bible). The identification of Berea is a problem. This is not the area called Berea in the New Testament. It appears to be a village, which scholars identify with either of two places, both guesses. Dancy and Goldstein prefer “Bereth,” which was a village 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) north of Jerusalem. New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Abel prefer “Beer-Zaith/Beerzeth” (modern Birzeit), which was a village 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of Jerusalem. We recommend that translators follow Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible with “Berea,” but they are free to use one of the other suggested names. For cavalry see the comments on 1Macc 1.17.

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.