The route taken by Bacchides on his second expedition to Judaea which ended in the battle near Elasa is described in I Maccabees in relative detail and with more than the usual number of topographical indications. Nevertheless, the identity of the locations and the meanings of the phrases mentioned – and consequently the overall reconstruction of the expeditionary route – are in dispute. The precise determination of the route is important for an understanding not only of the particular strategy that Bacchides adopted in the expedition itself, but also of the date when extensive Jewish settlement began outside the Judaean Hills area during the period of the Second Temple.

The expedition is described as follows (I Macc. 9.2):

The name Gilgal is well known in the toponymy of the Holy Land, and at least four sites bearing the same name figure in the sources and can be located. The word maisalōth is obviously a transcription of the Hebrew mesīlōt, and can be either a place-name or a noun denoting ‘routes’ and the like, which would mean that Bacchides camped at a crossroads.