Ptolemy was the son of Abubus

Abubus

Abubus, also spelt Abobus or Abobi, was the father of Ptolemy. He is mentioned only in the first book of the Maccabees and , wherein Ptolemy invites Simon Maccabaeus and his two sons, Mattathias and Judas, to a banquet, subsequently killing them....

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History

He was appointed governor of the Jericho region of Israel by the Seleucid king, Antiochus VII Sidetes

Antiochus VII Sidetes

Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature....

, and married a daughter of Simon Maccabaeus

Simon Maccabaeus

Simon Thassi was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. The name "Thassi" has an uncertain meaning...

, military commander of the Maccabees

Maccabees

The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...

 and founder of Israel's Hasmonean

Hasmonean

The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...

 dynasty. He held a banquet for father-in-law Simon and two of Simon's sons, where he had them killed. He then attempted to have Simon's third son, John Hyrcanus

John Hyrcanus

John Hyrcanus was a Hasmonean leader of the 2nd century BC.-Name:...

, killed also, but failed.