But some of the governors in various places, Timothy and Apollonius the son of Gennaeus, as well as Hieronymus and Demophon, and in addition to these Nicanor the governor of Cyprus, would not let them live quietly and in peace: The governors in various places refers to non-Jewish officials in Palestine. Contemporary English Version says “the local officials.” Timothy, whose story is continued in verses 17-25, may be the Timothy of 2Macc 8.30, but if he is to be identified with the Timothy of 2Macc 10.24-37, one of the stories is out of place, since the latter Timothy dies in that passage. Apollonius is probably not to be identified with any of the other men by that name in 1-2Maccabees. Hieronymus and Demophon are otherwise unknown. The English form of the name Hieronymus is “Jerome.” Nicanor does not seem to be identical with anyone else by that name in 1-2Maccabees. The governor of Cyprus is better than “the commander of the mercenaries from Cyprus” (Good News Bible). For Cyprus see the comments on 1Macc 15.23. Good News Bible condenses would not let them live quietly and in peace into one expression, saying “would not let them live in peace,” which is a good model. It may be helpful to isolate the long list of names from the rest of the sentence in this verse by rendering verses 1b-2 as follows:

• Meanwhile, the Jews went back to their farms, 2~but some of the governors in the region would not let them live in peace. Among these were Timothy, Apollonius the son of Gennaeus, Hieronymus, Demophon, and Nicanor the governor of Cyprus.

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.