TRYPHO trī’ fō (Τρύφων). KJV TRYPHON. The surname of Diodotus, a usurper of the throne of Syria. He was a native of Apamea in Syria. The name Trypho was adopted by him after his accession to power. He was a general of Alexander I Balas, king of Syria (150-145 b.c.), who claimed to be the son of Antiochus V Epiphanes and seized the Seleucid throne at the death of Demetrius I Soter (162-150 b.c.). When Alexander Balas died, Trypho set Alexander’s son, Antiochus VI Dionysius, on the throne and declared himself the regent, against the claims of Demetrius II Nicator, the son of Demetrius I Soter (1 Macc 11:38ff., 54ff.). Because of quarrels with Demetrius II, the Jews, led by the Hasmonean ruler Jonathan, accepted Antiochus VI, and Trypho expelled Demetrius from Antioch (1 Macc 11:54-56). Trypho, who planned to seize the Seleucid throne for himself, first treacherously murdered Jonathan at Ptolemais and then killed Antiochus VI (1 Macc 12:39-13:32). He declared himself sole ruler of Syria (142 b.c.; 1 Macc 13:31f.). Because of his tyranny and rapacity, the brother of Demetrius II, Antiochus VII Sidetes, invaded the country and inflicted a decisive defeat on Trypho at Dor in Phoenicia (1 Macc 15:10-14, 25). Trypho fled to Orthosia on the Lebanon coast and then to Apamea, where he died (Jos. Antiq. XIII. vii. 2; Strabo, XIV. v. 2).