The term phalanx appears five times in the Greek text of I Maccabees, three times in the description of the battle of Beth Zacharia (6.35, 38, 45), once in that of the battle of Elasa (9.12) and once more in that of Jonathan's confrontation with Apollonius near Azotos (10.82). An accurate reconstruction of the Hebrew original term is essential for an understanding of the deployment and operation of the Seleucid army at least in the last battle, and consequently for an appreciation of the tactical composition of the Jewish force as well. The clarification of this question has significance also in regard to the domestic policy of the Seleucid kingdom in the second half of the second century b.c. The reconstruction in this case is especially difficult because the word phalanx does not appear in the other books of the Septuagint. It is therefore necessary to examine the context and possible renderings in each of the episodes noted.

In two of the three instances in the Beth Zacharia story (6.35,38), the word appears in the plural (phalangai), and clearly refers to the composite units placed in the centre of the Seleucid array. These units were capable of operating independently with great flexibility, and each included a war elephant, 1,000 heavy infantry (which in some units were phalangites, and in others soldiers armed in the Roman style) stationed on its flanks, and 500 cavalry deployed on each side of the infantry (6.35–6). In the initial phase, when moving through the broad valley, the units spread out side by side in a wide row, and as they entered a pass they altered their formation and advanced in a column, one after the other (6.40).