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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 
Brigham  Young  University-Idaho 


http://archive.org/details/completeworksoff05jose 


. 


THE  WORKS 


OF 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS: 


COMPRISING    THE 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE  JEWS; 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWISH  WARS; 

AND 

LIFE  OF  FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS,  WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF, 

TRANSLATED   FROM   THE  ORIGINAL   GREEK, 

By    WILLIAM    WHISTON,    A.  M./ 

PROFESSOR   OF    MATHEMATICS   IN   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF    CAMBRIDGE. 


TOGETHER  WITH  NUMEROUS  EXPLANATORY  NOTES, 


AND 


S^ree  Dissertations, 


CONCERNING 


JESUS   CHRIST,  JOHN    THE   BAPTIST,   JAMES   THE   JUST, 
GOD'S   COMMAND   TO   ABRAHAM,    ETC. 


HARTFORD,   CONN.: 

THE   S.  S.  SCEANTON   CO. 

1905. 


r 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Life  of  Fl.wius  Josephus 7 

Introduction 37 

BOOK  I. 

FROM  THE   CREATION   TO  THE   DEATH   OF   I3AAC. 

Chap.  I.  B.  C.  4004. — Creation  of  the  Universe — In- 
stitution of  the  Sabbath — Fall  of  Man 39 

Chap.  II.  Generations  of  Adam,  and  Deaths  of  the 
Patriarchs.     B.  C.  4003-2349 43 

Chap.  III.  The  Deluge — Gdd's  covenant  with  Noah — 
Death  of  Noah.    B.  C.  2349-1998 43 

Chap.  IV.  Tower  of  Babel — Confusion  of  Tongues. 
B.  C.  2233 40 

Chap.  V.  Dispersion  of  the  Posterity  of  Noah.  B.  C. 
2234 47 

Chap.  VI.  Nations  receive  their  names  from  their 
first  inhabitants.    B.C.  22PJ-1990 47 

Chap.  VII.  Abram  quits  Chaldea — dwells  in  Canaan 
— teaches  the  knowledge  of  the  one  true  God.  B.  C. 
1922 49 

Chap.  VIII.  Famine  in  Canaan — Abrah;  m  visits 
Egypt — instructs  natives  in  religion,  arithmetic, 
ami  astronomy,  returns  to  Canaan,  and  divides  the 
country  with  his  kinsmen.     B.  C.  1921 50 

Chap.  IX.  Destruction  of  Sodom  by  the  Assyrians. 
B.  C.  1912 *. 51 

Chap.  X.  The  Assyrian  army  pursued  and  defeated 
by  Abraham — Birth  of  Isbmael — circumcision  in- 
stituted.    B.  C.  1912-1910 51 

Chap.  XI.    Destruction  of  Sodom.    B  O.  1897 52 

Chap.  XII.  Birth  of  Isaac — Banishment  of  Ishmael 
and  Ilagar.     B.  C.  1890-1892 53 

Chap  XIII.  Abraham's  faith  in  the  promises  of  God 
— his  obedience  to  the  Divine  command — Isaac's 
acquiescence  to  the  will  of  God.    B.  C.  1871 55 

Chap.  XIV.    Death  of  Sarah.    B.  C.  185!) 50 

Chap.  XV.  Descendants  of  Abraham  by  Keturah, 
his  second  wife 60 

Chap.  XVI.    Abraham  demands  Kebeka  in  marriage 

for  his  son  Isaac.    B.C.  1850 57 

Chap.  XVII.     Death  of  Abraham.     B.  C.  1821 58 

Chap.  XVIII.  Esau  and  Jacob  born — Jacob  sup- 
plants Esau.     B.  C.  1837-1700 58 

Chap.  XIX.     History  of  Jacob.     13.  C.  1700-1739 59 

Chap.  XX.    Meeting  of  Jacob  and  Esau.    B.  C.  1739    63 
Chap.  XXI.    Ill  treatment  of  the  daughter  of  Jacob 
— his  sons  revenge  their  sister's  disgrace — Death 

of  Rachel.     B.  C.  1739 61 

Chap.  XXII.     Death  of  Isaac.    B.  C.  1716 65 

BOOK  II. 

Containing  an  interval  of  220  years. 
FROM   THE   DEATH    OF  ISAAC    TO    THE   EXODUS   OUT  OF  EGYPT. 

Chap.  I.  Esau  and  Jacob  divide  their  inheritance — 
Esau  possesses  Idumea,  and  Jacob  Canaan 65 

Chap.  II.     History  of  Joseph.     B.  C.  1729 60 

Chap.  III.  Joseph  envied  by  his  brethren,  who  sell 
him  to  some  Arabian  merchants.  Gen.  xxxvii.  18. 
B.C.  1729  67 

Chap.  IV.  Joseph  bought  by  Potiphar — rejects  the 
advances  of  his  wife,  and  is  thrown  into  prison. 
Gen.  xxxix.     B.  C.  1729 68 

Chap.  V.  Interprets  the  king's  butler  and  baker's 
dreams — is  released  from  prison — presented  to  the 
king — and  becomes  the  second  person  in  the  king- 
dom.    Gen.  xl.,  xli.    B.  C.  1718-1715 70 

Chap.  VI.  Famine  throughout  Egypt,  and  the  adja- 
cent countries — Joseph's  brethren  visit  Egypt  to 
procure  food — Joseph  holds  his  brethren  in  tempo- 
rary subjection.    Gen.  xli.     B.  C.  1715-1707 73 

Chap.  VII.  Joseph's  father,  with  all  his  family,  re- 
move into  Egvpt.    Gen.  xlvi.  xlvii.    B.  C.  1700 79 

Chap.  VIII.  Death  of  Jacob  and  of  Joseph.  B.  C. 
1089-1035 81 

Chap.  IX.  The  afflictions  that  befell  the  Hebrews  in 
Egypt,  during  400  years.     B.  C.  1035-1571 81 

Chap.  X.    War  with  the  Ethiopians 84 

Chap.  XI.  The  Egyptians  seek  the  life  of  Moses, 
who  flies  into  Midian 86 

Chap.  XII.  The  burning  bush,  and  the  rod  of  Moses. 
Exod.  iii.  2.    B.  C.  1491 87 


PAQI 

Chap.  XIII.      Moses  returns  into  Egypt.     Ex.  iv. 

B.  C.  1491 88 

Chap.  XIV.  The  ten  plagues.  Ex.  iv.,  x.  B.  C.  1491  89 
Chap.  XV.     The    Hebrews,    under  the    conduct    of 

Moses,  leave  Egypt.     Ex.  xii.     B.  C.  1491 91 

Chap.  XVI.     Passage  of  the  Red  Sea.     Ex.  xiv.  13. 

B.  C.  1491 92 

BOOK  III. 

Containing  an  interval  of  two  years. 

FROM  THE  EXODUS  OUT  OF  EGYPT  TO  THE  REJECTION  OP 
THAT  GENERATION. 

Chap.  I.  Moses  conducts  the  people  to  Mount  Sinai. 
Ex.  xv.  21 94 

Chap.  II.  The  Amalekites  and  the  neighbouring  na- 
tions make  war  on  the  Hebrews,  and  lose  a  great 
part  of  their  army.     Ex.  xvii.  8.     B.  C.  1491 97 

Chap.  III.  Moses  kindly  receives  his  father-in-law. 
Ex.  xviii.  1 99 

Chap.  1  V.  Raguel  suggests  to  Moses  to  set  the  peo- 
ple in  order,  under  rulers 99 

Chap.  V.  Mos es  receives  laws  from  God,  and  deliv- 
ers them  to  the  Hebrews.    Ex.xix.,  xx.    B.C.  1491100 

Chap.  VI.  Description  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the 
wilderness 102 

Chap.  VII.  The  garments  of  the  High  Priest  and 
Priests 106 

Chap.  VIII.     Of  the  priesthood  of  Aaron.     Lev.  viii..  109 

Chap.  IX.  The  manner  of  offering  sacrifices.  Lev.  iii.  112 

Chap.  X.  Concerning  the  festivals.  Num.  xxviii., 
xxix 113 

Chap.  XI.    Of  the  purifications.    Num.  iii 114 

Chap.  XII.    Several  laws 115 

Chap.  XIII.  Moses  conducts  the  people  to  the  bor- 
ders of  Canaan 117 

Chap.  XIV.  The  spies  sent  to  Canaan  make  a  false 
report  and  cause  the  people  to  murmur.  Num. 
xiii.  14 118 

Chap.  XV.  The  children  of  Israel  condemned  to  re- 
main in  the  wilderness  for  .forty  years, as  a  punish- 
ment for  their  disobedience 119 

BOOK    IV. 

Containing  an  interval  of  thirty- eight  years. 

FROM     THE    REJECTION     OF    THAT    GENERATION    UNTIL    THE 
DEATH   OF    MOSES. 

Chap.  I.    The  Hebrews  defeated  by  the  Canaanites..  120 

Chap.  II.  Sedition  of  Corah  and  the  multitude 
against  Moses  and  his  brother,  concerning  the 
priesthood.     B.  C.  1471 121 

Chap.  III.  Destruction  of  the  Seditionaries — Aaron 
and  his  posterity  retain  the  priesthood.   Num.  xvi.  123 

Chap.  IV.  Various  occurrences  which  befell  the  He- 
brews in  the  desert  during  thirty-seven  years.  B. 
C.  1489-1451 125 

Chap.  V.  Moses  conquers  the  kings  of  the  Amorites 
— destroys  their  army,  and  divides  their  land,  by 
lot,  to  two  tribes  and  a  half  of  the  Hebrews.  B.  C. 
1452.    Num.  xxi 127 

Chap.  VI.  Transactions  between  Balak  and  Balaam 
—the  Hebrews  fall  into  idolatry.  Num.xxii.23,  &c.  129 

Chip.  VII.  The  Hebrews  war  with  the  Midianites, 
and  overcome  them.      Num.  xxxi 133 

Chap.  VIII.  The  policy  of  Moses,  and  his  departure 
from  mankind.    B.  C.  1451 135 

BOOK   V. 

Containing  an  interval  of  476  yeara. 
FROM  THE  DEATH   OF   MOSES   TO  THE   DEATH   OF   ELI. 

Chap.  I.  Joshua  overcomes  the  Canaanites,  and  di- 
vides the  land  among  the  children  of  Israel.  B. 
C.  1451-1413 148 

Chap.  II.  The  Israelites  transgress  the  laws  of  their 
country,  and  experience  great  afflictions.  B.  C. 
1413-1404 157 

Chap.  III.  The  Israelites  grow  wicked,  and  serve 
the  Assyrians — God  delivers  them  by  Othniel,  who 
rules  over  them  forty  years.     B.  C.  1405-1342 162 

Chap.  IV.  The  Israelites  serve  the  Moabites  eighteen 
years — are  delivered  by  one  Ehud,  who  retains  the 
dominion  eighty  years.    B.  C.  1343-1325 163 


11 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Chap.  Y.  Tho  Canaanites  bring  the  Israelites  under 
slavery  for  twenty  years — they  are  delivered  by 
Barak  and  Deborah,  who  rule  over  them  forty 
years.     B.C.  1305-1285 164 

Chap.  VI.  The  Midianites  and  other  nations  enslave 
tho  Israelites  for  seven  years — Gideon  delivers 
them  and  rules  over  them  forty  years.  B.  C.  1252- 
1245 165 

Chap.  VII.  The  judges  who  succeed  Gideon  make 
war  with  the  adjoining  nations.    B.  C.  1245-1153..  166 

Chap.  VIII.  History  of  Samson.  Judg.  xiii.-xvi.  B. 
C.  1155-1117 170 

Chap.  IX.  History  of  Ruth.  Ruth  i.,  iv.  B.  C.  1222- 
1312 173 

Chap.  X.    Birth  of  Samuel.    1  Sam.  i.  20.    B.  C.  1171  175 

Chap.  XI.  The  Philistines  carry  away  the  ark — 
Death  of  Eli.    B.  C.  1116 176 

BOOK  VI. 

Containing  an  interval  of  thirty-two  years. 
FROM  THE  DEATH   OF  ELI   TO  THE  DEATH  OF   SAUL. 

Chap.  I.  The  Philistines  restore  the  ark,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  evils  that  befall  them.    B.  C.  1140....  177 

Chap.  II.  The  Philistines'  expedition  against  the 
Hebrews  defeated.    B.C.  1140 178 

Chap.  III.  The  Israelites,  dissatisfied  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  Samuel's  sons,  desire  a  king.    B.  C.  1095  180 

Chap.  IV.     Saul  appointed  king.     B.  0.  1095 181 

Chap.  V.  Saul's  expedition  and  victory  against  tho 
nation  of  the  Ammonites 183 

Chap.  VI.  The  Philistines,  in  their  secoud  expedi- 
tion against  the  Hebrews,  again  defeated.   B.  C.  1067  186 

Chap.  VII.    Saul  defeats  the  Amalekites.    B.C.  1079  189 

Chap.  VIII.  David  named  as  the  successor  of  Saul. 
B.  C.  1063 191 

Chap.  IX.  David  slays  Goliah,  and  thus  defeats  the 
third  expedition  of  the  Philistines 192 

Chap.  X.  Saul  envies  David  his  success,  but  eventu- 
ally gives  him  his  daughter  Michal 194 

Chap.  XI.  David  rescued  from  the  machinations  of 
Saul  by  the  friendship  of  Jonathan,  and  by  the 
contrivances  of  his  wife 195 

Chap.  XII.  David  flies  from  Saul,  and  sojourns  with 
the  kings  of  the  Philistines  and  of  the  Moabites. 

B.  C.  1062 198 

Chap.  XIII.   Saul  pursues  David — is  convinced  of  his 

own  wickedness  in  seeking  the  life  of  one  who 
never  injured  him — Death  of  Samuel.    B.  C.  1061..  201 
Chap.  XIV.     Saul  inquires  of  his  destiny  from  a  ne- 
cromantic woman — the  Philistines  defeat  the  Is- 
raelites— Death  of  Saul  and  of  his  sons.    B.  C.  1056  206 

BOOK  VII.  r 

Containing  an  interval  of  forty  years. 
FROM  THE   DEATH   OF   SAUL  TO   THE  DEATH   OF  DAVID. 

Chap.  I.  David  reigns  over  one  tribe  at  Hebron,  and 
the  son  of  Saul  reigns  over  the  rest 211 

Chap.  II.  Ishbosheth  treacherously  slain  —  David 
reigns  over  the  whole  kingdom.     B.  C.  1048 215 

Chap.  III.  David  vanquishes  the  Canaanite  inhabit- 
ants of  Jerusalem,  and  takes  possession  of  the 
city.     B.C.1042 216 

Chap.  IV.     David  brings  the  ark  to  Jerusalem.    B. 

C.  1042 217 

Chap.  V.     Wars  with  the  neighbouring  nations.     B. 

C.1040 219 

Chap.  VI.    Conclusion  of  the  Ammonite  war.    B.  C. 

1037 221 

Chap.  VII.    David  seduces  Bathsheba,  and  causes 

the  death  of  Uriah,  her  husband.    B.  C.  1035 222 

Chap.  VIII.    Ammon  ill-treats  his  sister — is  slain 

by  Absalom.    B.  C.  1032 225 

Chap.  IX.    Absalom's    insurrection  against    David. 

B.C.  1024 227 

Chap.  X.    Death  of  Absalom.    B.  C.  1023 231 

Chap.  XI.  David  returns  to  Jerusalem.  B.  C.  1023.  23:> 
Chap.  XII.  Wars  with  the  Philistines.  B.  C.  1018..  230 
Chap.  XIII.  David  numbers  the  people — fatal  con- 
sequences arising  therefrom.    B.  C.  1018 238 

Chap.  XIV.    Adonijah  attempts  to  gain  the  kingdom 

— Solomon  named  as  successor.    B.  C.  1015 240 

Chap.  XV.    David  dies,  and  is  succeeded  by  Solomon. 

B.  C.  1015 243 

BOOK  VIII. 

Containing  an  interval  of  163  years. 
FROM   THE  DEATH   OF  DAVID   TO   THE    DEATH   OF  AHAB. 

Chap.  I.  Solomon  succeeds  David — defeats  the  con- 
spiracy formed  against  him.     B.  C.  1014 245 


PAGE 

Chap.  II.  Solomon  marries  the  daughter  of  Pha- 
raoh— his  wisdom,  riches,  and  power.    B.  C.  1014..  246 

Chap.  III.    Building  of  the  Temple.    B.  C.  1012-1004  25U 

Chap.  IV.  Solomon  removes  the  ark  into  the  Tem- 
ple— offers  public  sacrifices  to  God.    B.  C.  1004 253 

Chap.  V.  Solomon  erects  a  splendid  palace  for  his 
own  residence — solves  the  enigmas  sent  by  Hiram, 
king  of  Tyre.     B.  C.  992 256 

Chap.  VI.  Solomon  fortifies  the  city  of  Jerusalem — 
builds  great  cities — entertains  the  Queen  of  Ethio- 
pia.    B.  C.  992 258 

Chap.  VII.  Solomon  increases  in  wealth — becomes 
addicted  to  women — rebellion  of  Ader  and  Jero- 
boam—Death of  Solomon.    B.  C.  984-975..../. 270 

Chap.  VIII.  Rehoboam  ascends  the  throne — Ten 
Tribes  revolt,  and  make  Jeroboam  king.    B.  C.  975  263 

Chap.  IX.    False  prophets.    B.  C.  975 265 

Chap.  X.  Shishak  besieges  Jerusalem  —  Death  of 
Rehoboam.    B.C.  971-958 266 

Chap.  XI.  Defeat  of  Jeroboam  by  Abijam — Death  of 
Jeroboam,  and  extirpation  of  his  whole  race 268 

Chap.  XII.  Destruction  of  the  Ethiopians  by  Asa — 
Zimri  and  his  son  successively  govern  the  Ten 
Tribes.    B.  C.929 270 

Chap.  XIII.  Ahab  takes  Jezebel  to  wife,  and  be- 
comes more  wicked  than  all  the  kings  that  had 
preceded  him — an  account  of  the  prophet  Elijah. 
B.  C.  918-910 272 

Chap.  XIV.  Benhadad,  king  of  Damascus  and  of 
Syria,  defeated  in  two  expeditions  against  Ahab. 
B.  C.  901 276 

Chap.  XV.  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Jerusalem — Ahab's 
expedition  against  the  Syrians — is  assisted  by  Je- 
hoshaphat—Death  of  Ahab.    B.  C.  897 279 

BOOK   IX. 

Containing  an  interval  of  157  years. 

FROM     THE    DEATH    OF    AHAB    TO     THE    CAPTIVITY    OF    THB 
TEN   TRIBES.      B.   C.    897-725. 

Chap.  I.  Jehoshaphat  constitutes  judges — overcomes 
his  enemies 281 

Chap.  II.  Wickedness  of  Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel — 
the  prophet  Elijah 283 

Chap.  III.  Joram  and  Jehoshaphat  make  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Moabites — Death  of  Jehoshaphat..  284 

Chap.  IV.  Jchoram  succeeds  Jehoshaphat — Joram, 
king  of  Israel,  fights  with  the  Syrians 285 

Chap.  V.  Wickedness  of  Jehoram,  king  of  Jerusa- 
lem— his  defeat  and  death 289 

Chap.  VI.  Jehu  anointed  king— slays  Joram  and 
Ahaziah 290 

Chap.  VII.  Athaliah  reigns  over  Jerusalem  five  [six] 
years — Jehoiada,  the  high  priest,  kills  her,  and 
makes  Jehoash,  the  son  of  Ahaziah,  king 293 

Chap.  VIII.  Hazael's  expedition  agaiust  Israel  and 
Jerusalem — Jehu  dies — Jehoahaz  succeeds  him — 
Jehoash  becomes  impious — Zechariah  stoned — Je- 
hoash dies — Amaziah  succeeds  him 294 

Chap.  IX.  Amaziah  conquers  the  Edomites  and 
Amalekites — makes  war  against  Joash — is  defeated 
and  slain — Uzziah  succeeds  him 296 

Chap.  X.  Jeroboam  II.  reigns  over  Israel — Death  of 
Jeroboam — his  son  aucceeds  him — Uzziah,  king  of 
Jerusalem,  subdues  the  nations  round  about 298 

Chap.  XI.  Zechariah,  Shalluni,  Menahem,  Pekahiah 
and  Pekah  reign  over  Israel— Pul  and  Tiglath-Pile- 
ser  war  against  the  Israelites— Jotham  reigns  over 
Judah— Nahum  prophesies  against  the  Assyrians...  200 

Chap.  XII.  Death  of  Jotham— Ahaz  reigns  in  his 
stead— Resin,  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah.  king  of 
Israel,  make  war— Tiglath-Pileser,  king  of  Assyria, 
assists  Ahaz— lays  Syria  waste — removes  the  Da- 
mascenes into  Media — places  other  nations  in 
their  room 301 

Chap.  XIII.  Pekah  dies  by  the  treachery  of  Hoshea. 
who  is  srbdued  by  Shalmaneser — Hezekiah  suc- 
ceeds, and  restores  the  true  religion 302 

Chap.  XIV.  Shalmanesep  takes  Samaria  by  force — 
transplants  the  Ten  Tribes  into  Media,  and  removes 
the  Cutheans  intOTJudea 303 

BOOK  X. 

Containing  an  interval  of  182K  years. 

FROM    THE    CAPTIVITY    OF    TnE    TEN    TRIBES    TO    THE    FIRST 

OF   CYRUS. 

Chap.  I.  Sennacherib  makes  an  expedition  against 
Hezekiah — destruction  of  his  army — is  murdered 
by  his  sons.     B.  C.710 305 

Chap.  II.  Hezekiahs  sickness — restoration  to  health 
—the  prophet  Isaiah.    B.  C.  713 307 


CONTENTS. 


Ill 


PAGE 

Chap.  III.    Death  of  Hezekiah— is  succeeded  by  his 

son.     B.  C.  698-643 308 

Chap.  IV.     Anion— Josiah.     B.  C.  641 309 

Chap.  V.  Josiah  wars  with  the  Icing  of  Egypt — Death 
of   Josiah — captivity    of    Jehoahaz — Jehoiakim — 

Jeremiah— Ezckiel.     B.  C.  G41-G10 310 

Chap.  VI.    Nebuchadnezzar    makes    an    expedition 

against  the  Jews.     B.  C.  607-GOO 311 

Chap.  VII.    Captivity  of  the  Jews.    B.  0.  699 312 

Chap.  VIII.    Destruction  of  the  Temple  by  tho  kings 

of  Babylon.     B.  C.  588 315 

Chap.  IX.     Rulers  set  over  the  captive  Jews 317 

Chap.  X.     History  of  Daniel.     B.  C.  007-5G3 319 

Chap.  XI.  Nebuchadnezzar  dies — his  successors — 
their  government  is  dissolved  by  the  Medes  and 
Persians.     B.  C.  538 322 

BOOK  XL 

Containing  t.n  interval  of  253  years  5  months. 

FROM   THE   FIRST   OF   CYRUS   TO    TIIE    DEATH    OF   ALEXANDER 
THE  GREAT. 

Chap.  I.  Restoration  of  the  Jews  by  Cyrus.  B.  C. 
536 327 

Chap.  II.  Death  of  Cyrus — consequences  thereof. 
B.C. 529 328 

Chap.  III.  Death  of  Cambyses — Darius  grants  per- 
mission to  the  Jews  to  rebuild  tho  Temple.  B.  C. 
52o 329 

Chap.'  iv.'Bu'iiiiing "of  the  Temple     B.  ( '.  520 332 

Chap.  V.      Xerxes,    son    of    Darius,    well    disposed 

toward   the   Jews — Esdras   and   Nehemiah.     B.  C. 

4G7-155 336 

Chap.  VI.     History  of  Esther.     B.  0.  510 340 

Chap.  VII.    John  slays  his  brother  in  the  Temple — 

Sanballat.     B.  C.  332 348 

Chap.  VIII.    Sanballat  and  Manassch  build  a  temple 

on  Mount  Gcrizzim — Alexander  the  Great  enters 

Jerusalem.    B.  C.  335 348 

BOOK   XII. 

Containing  an  interval  of  170  years. 

FROM  TnE  DEATH  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  TO  THE  DEATH 

OF  JUDAS  MACCAUEUS.   B.  C.  32U-161. 

Chap.  I.  Ptolemy  takes  Jerusalem  and  Judea  by 
treachery.     B.  C.  320 351 

Chap.  II.  Ptolemy  Philadalphus  causes  tho  Jewish 
Laws  to  be  translated  into  Greek.     B.  0.  277 352 

Chap.  III.     The  kings  of  Asia  honour  the  Jews 360 

Chap.  IV.    Antiochus  makes  a  league  with  Ptolemy.  302 

Chap.  V.  Dissensions  among  the  Jews — consequences 
thereof.    B.  C.  170-167 3G8 

Chap.  V  I.  The  Jews  prohibited  from  following  their 
religion  by  Antiochus.    B.  C.  166 370 

Chap.  VII.  Judas  overthrows  the  forces  of  Apollo- 
nius  and  Seron,  and  purities  the  temple.  B.  C.  166- 
165 371 

Chap.  VIII.  Judas  subdues  the  nations  round  about 
— overthrows  Timotheus.    B.  C.  165 374 

Chap.  IX.  Death  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes — Antio- 
chus Eupator  besieges  Judas  in  the  Temple.  B.  C. 
104-162 376 

Chap.  X.  Demetrius  Bends  an  expedition  against  Ju- 
dea— Death  of  Alcimus — Succession  of  Judas.  B. 
C.  162-160 378 

Chap.  XI.  Death  of  Judas  Maccabeus.     B.  C.  160 381 

BOOK  XIII. 

Containing  an  interval  of  82  years. 

FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JUDAS  MACCABEUS  TO  QUEEN 
ALEXANDRA'S  DEATH. 

Chap.  I.  Jonathan  succeeds  Judas  Maccabeus.  B. 
C.100 382 

Chap.  II.  Alexander  Bala  and  Demetrius  seek  the 
friendship  of  Jonathan — Death  of  Demetrius.  B. 
C.  158-150 386 

Chap.  III.  Onias  erects  a  temple  in  Egypt  similar  to 
the  one  in  Jerusalem 386 

Chap.  IV.  Alexander  honours  Jonathan— is  defeated 
by  Demetrius  II.  who  makes  a  league  with  Jona- 
than.    B.  C.  150-145 387 

Chap.  V.  Demetrius  is  defeated  by  Trypho,  who  gives 
the  kingdom  to  Antiochus.    B.  C.  144 391 

Chap.  VI.  Jonathan  treacherously  slain — is  succeeded 
by  Simon  Maccabeus.     B.  C.  141-142 395 

Chap.  VII.  Simon  joins  Antiochus  Pius  against  Try- 
pho and  Cendebeus — is  treacherously  murdered*  by 
his  brother-in-law — Death  of  Antiochus.  B.  C.  142- 
135 397 


PAGE 

Chap.  VIII.  nyrcanus  receives  the  high-priesthood 
— and  eject3  Ptolemy  out  of  the  country — Antio- 
chus makes  war  against  Hyrcanus.     B.  C.  130 398 

Chap.  IX.  Death  of  Antiochus — Hyrcanus  wars 
against  Syria— and  makes  a  league  with  the  Ro- 
mans— Death  of  Demetrius 400 

Chap.  X.  Hyrcanus  destroys  Samaria—joins  the  Sad- 
ducees 401 

Chap.  XI.  Aristobulus  seizes  the  government — his 
cruelty  and  death 404 

Chap.  Xll.  Alexander's  expedition  against  Ptole- 
mais 405 

Chap.  XIII.  Alexander  makes  an  expedition  against 
GVlcsyria — overthrows  Gaza,  and  destroys  many 
thousands  of  the  Jews 407 

Chap.  XIV.  Demetrius  Eucerus  overcomes  Alexan- 
der—retires out  of  the  country  for  fear  of  the  Jews 
— Death  of  Demetrius 409 

Chap.  XV.  Antiochus  Dionysius  and  Aretas  make 
expeditions  into  Judea — Death  of  Alexander 410 

Chap.  XVI.  Alexandra  retains  the  kingdom  nine 
years — her  death 412 

BOOK  XIV. 

Containing  an  interval  of  thirty-two  years. 

FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA  TO  THE 

DEATH  OF  ANT1GONUS. 

Chap.  I.  Aristobulus  ascends  the  throne — Hyrcanus 
flies  to  Aretas 414 

Chap. II.  Aretas  and  Hyrcanus  make  an  expedition 
against  Aristobulus,  and  besiege  Jerusalem — death 
of  Onias — the  Roman  general  raises  tho  seige 416 

Chap.  111.  Aristobulus  and  Hyrcanus  appeal  to 
Pompey — Flight  of  Aristobulus — Pompey  leads  an 
army  against  him 417 

Chap.  IV.  Pompey  besieges  Jerusalem,  and  takes  it 
by  force 418 

Chap.  V.  The  Roman  general  enters  into  a  league 
with  Aretas — Alexander  invades  Judea — is  defeated 
by  the  Romans 420 

Chap.  VI.  Aristobulus  flees  from  Rome — sent  back 
by  Gobinius,  who  overcomes  Alexander  and  the 
Nabateans 421 

Chap.  VII.  Crassua  pillages  the  temple — marches 
against  the  Parthians — perishes  with  the  whole 
army — Cassius  obtains  Syria 422 

Chap.  VIII.  The  Jews  become  confederate  with 
Ctesar — Actions  of  Autipater — his  friendship  with 
Csesar 424 

Chap.  IX.  Autipater  commas  the  care  of  Galilee  to 
Herod, and  Jesusalem  to  Phasaelus 42C 

Chap.  X.  Tho  Jews  enter  into  a  leaguo  with  the  Ro- 
mans    42& 

Chap.  XI.  Marcus  succeeds  Sextus — on  the  death  of 
Caesar,  Cassius  distresses  Judea — Malichus  kills 
Autipater,  and  is  himself  slain  by  Herod 435 

Chap.  XII.  Herod  ejects  Antigonus  out  of  Judea, 
and  gains  the  friendship  of  Antony  by  presents....  436 

Chap.  XIII.  Herod  and  Phasaelus  made  tetrarchs  by 
Antony— Herods  flight 439 

Chap.  XIV.  Herod  visits  Egypt  and  Rome — obtains 
the  sovereignty  of  Judea  by  means  of  presents  to 
Antony 442 

Chap.  XV.     Herod  sails  from  Italy  to  Judea 444 

Chap.  XVI.  Herod  marries  Mariamne — takes  Jeru- 
silem  by  force — termination  of  the  Asamonean 
government 449 

BOOK    XV. 

Containing  an  interval  of  eighteen  years. 

TR0M   THE  DEATH   OF  ANTIGONUS   TO   THE  FINISHING   OF 
THE   TEMPLE   BY   HEEOD. 

Chap.  I.  Pollio  and  Sameas — Herods  slays  the  prin- 
cipal of  Autigonus's  friends — spoils  the  city — An- 
tony beheads  Antigonus 451 

Chap.  II.  Hyrcanus  set  at  liberty  by  the  Parthians 
— returns  to  Herod 451 

Chap.  III.  Herod  makes  Aristobulus  high  priest — 
causes  him  to  be  murdered — excuses  himself  to 
Antony — Joseph  and  Mariamne 454 

Chap.  IV.  Cleopatra  obtains  from  Antony  parts  of 
Judea  and  Arabia — visits  Judea— receives  many 
presents  from  Herod 457 

Chap.  V.  Herod  conquers  the  king  of  Arabia,  and  is 
chosen  gevernor  by  the  Arabs 459 

Chap.  VI.  Herod  kills  Hyrcanus — obtains  the  king- 
dom— entertains  Cajsar 463 

Chap.  VII.  Herod  kills  Sohemus  and  Mariamne,  and 
afterwards  Alexandra  and  Costobarus,and  his  most 
intimate  friends,  and  the  sous  of  Baba  also 466 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Chap.  VIII.  Ten  of  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem  enter 
into  a  conspiracy  against  Herod.. 471 

Chap.  IX.  Famine  in  Judea  and  Syria — Herod  mar- 
ries again — rebuilds  Coesarea,  and  other  Grecian 
cities 473 

Chap.  X.  Herod  sends  his  sons  to  Rome — is  accused 
by  the  Gadarenes — is  acquitted,  and  gains  the  good- 
will of  Caesar ■. 477 

Chap.  XL    Herod  rebuilds  the  Temple 480 

BOOK  XVI. 

Containing  an  interval  of  twelve  years. 

FROM    THE    FINISHING   OF    THE    TEMPLE    BY   HEROD,   TO  THE 

DEATH   OF   ALEXANDER  AND  ARISTOBULUS. 

Chap.  I.  Herod's  law  concerning  thieves — Salome 
and  Pherofas  calumniate  Alexander  and  Aristobu- 
lus  upon  their  return  from  Rome 485 

Chap.  II.  Agrippa  visits  Herod — Herod  sails  after 
Agrippa,  who  confirms  the  laws  of  the  Ionian  Jews.  486 

Chap.  III.  Disturbances  in  Herod's  family  on  his  pre- 
ferring Antipater  before  the  rest 489 

Chap.  IV.  Herod  brings  Alexander  and  Aristobulus 
before  Caasar — Alexander's  defence,  and  reconcilia- 
tion to  his  father 491 

Chap.  V.  Herod  celebrates  the  games  that  were  to 
return  every  fifth  year,  on  the  building  of  Ca;sarea  495 

Chap.  VI.  The  Jews  in  Asia  complain  of  the  Greeks 
to  Cassar 496 

Chap.  VII.  Herod  removes  part  of  the  riches  from 
the  tomb  of  David — sedition  consequent  thereon...  498 

Chap.  VIII.    Continued  dissensions  in  Herod's  family  501 

Chap.  IX.  The  Trachenites  revolt— rSylleus  accuses 
Herod  before  Cresar 504 

Chap.  X.    Eurycles  falsely  accuses  Herod's  son 506 

Chap.  XI.  Herod,  by  permission  from  Caesar,  accuses 
his  sons  before  an  assembly  of  judges  at  Berytus — 
Death  of  the  young  men,  and  their  burial  at  Alex- 
andrium 510 

BOOK  XVII. 

Containing  an  interval  of  fourteen  years. 

FROM  ALEXANDER  AND  ARISTOBULUS'S  DEATHS  TO  THE 
BANISHMENT  OF  ABCHZLAUS. 

Chap.  I.  Antipater  hated  by  the  Jewish  nation,  en- 
deavours to  gain  the  good-will  of  the  Romans  and 
Syrians  by  presents 514 

Chap.  II.  Zamaris,  a  Babylonish  Jew,  assumes  the 
government  of  Batanea — his  d«ath — Antipater 
plots  against  Herod 516 

Chap.  III.  Enmity  between  Herod  and  Pheroras — 
Herod  sends  Antipater  to  Caesar — Death  of  Pherb- 
ras 517 

Chap.  IV.  Plieroras's  wife  accused  of  poisoning  her 
husband — consequences  of  the  accusation 519 

Chap.  V.  Antipater  returns  from  Rome — accused  by 
Nicolaus  of  Damascus — condemned  to  die  by  Herod 
and  Quintilius  Varus 520 

Chap.  VI.  Illness  of  Herod — the  Jews  raise  a  sedi- 
tion thereon — are  discovered  and  punished 525 

Chap.  VII.  Herod  contemplates  self-destruction — 
orders  Antipater  to  be  slain 528 

Chap.  VIII.     Herod's  death — his  testament — burial..  529 

Chap.  IX.  The  people  raise  a  sedition  against  Ar- 
chelaus,  who  sails  to  Rome 530 

Chap.  X.     Sedition  of  the  Jews  against  Sabinus 534 

Chap.  XI.  An  Embassy  of  the  Jews  to  Cassar — Cas- 
sar confirms  Herod's  testament 538 

Chap.  XII.     Concerning  a  spurious  Alexander 540 

Chap.  XIII.  Archelaus,  upon  a  second  accusation, 
banished  to  Vienna 541 

BOOK  XVIII. 

Containing  an  interval  of  thirty-two  years. 

FROM  THE  BANISHMENT  OF  ARCHELAUS  TO  THE  DEPARTURE 

OF  THE  JEWS  FROM  BABYLON. 

Chap.  I.  Cyrenus  sent  by  Caesar  to  tax  Syria  and 
Judea;  Coponius  sent  as  procurator  of  Judea — 
Judas  of  Galilee — sects  among  the  Jews 543 


PAGE 

Chap.  II.  Herod  and  Philip  build  several  cities  in 
honour  of  Cassar 545 

Chap.  III.  Sedition  of  the  Jews  against  Pontius  Pi- 
late 54T 

Chap.  IV.  The  Samaritans  make  a  tumult — Pilate 
destroys  many  of  them — Pilate  is  accused 556 

Chap.  V.  Herod  the  tetrarch  makes  war  with  Are- 
tas,  king  of  Arabia — is  beaten  by  him — Death  of 
John  the  Baptist 552 

Chap.  VI.  Agrippa  visits  Rome — accused  before  Ti- 
berius Caesar — imprisoned — is  set  at  liberty  by 
Caius,  after  the  death  <->f  Tiberius 554 

Chap.  VII.     Herod  the  tretrarch  banished 561 

Chap.  VIII.  Embassy  of  the  Jews  to  Caius — Caius 
sends  Petronius  into  Syria,  to  make  war  against  the 
Jews 568} 

Chap.  IX.    Sedition  among  the  Babylonish  Jews 567 


BOOK  XIX. 

Containing  an  interval  of  three  years  and  a  half. 

FROM  THE  JEWS'  DEPARTURE  OUT  OF  BABYLON  TO  FADUS 
THE  ROMAN  PROCURATOR. 

Chap.  I.     Caius  (Caligula)  slain  by  Cherea 573 

Chap.  II.  The  senators  attempt  the  re-establishment 
of  a  democracy — Claudius  chosen  emperor  by  the 
soldiers — Death  of  the  wife  and  daughter  of  Caius.  584 

Chap.  III.  Claudius  seized  on,  and  brought  to  the 
camp — the  senate  sends  an  embassy  to  him 588 

Chap.  IV.  Claudius  assisted  by  Agrippa,  obtains  the 
sovereignty  of  Rome — executes  the  murderers  of 
Caius 590 

Chap.  V.  Claudius  restores  to  Agrippa  his  grand- 
father's kingdom — augments  his  dominions;  and 
publishes  an  edict  in  behalf  of  the  Jews 592 

Chap.  VI.  Conduct  of  Agrippa — Petronius  writes  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Doris  on  behalf  of  the  Jews 594 

Chap.  VII.  Silas  imprisoned  by  Agrippa — Jerusalem 
encompassed  by  a  wall — benefits  conferred  on  the 
inhabitants  of  Berytus  by  Agrippa 595 

Chap.  VIII.     Death  of  Agrippa 597 

Chap.  IX.  The  Emperor  Cladius  appoints  Cuspius 
Fadus  procurator  of  Judea 598 


BOOK  XX. 

Containing  an  interval  of  twenty-two  years. 
FROM   FADUS   THE   PROCURATOR   TO   FLORUS. 

Chap.  I.  Sedition  of  the  Philadelphians  against  the 
Jews 599 

Chap.  II.  Helena,  queen  of  Adiabene,  and  her  son 
Izates,  embrace  the  Jewish  religion — Helena  sup- 
plies the  poor  with  corn  during  a  great  famine  at 
Jerusalem 600 

Chap.  III.  Artabanus,  king  of  Parthia,  re-instated 
in  his  government  by  Izates — Bardanes  denounces 
war  against  Izates 603 

Chap.  IV.  Izates  betrayed  by  his  subjects,  and  is 
attacked  by  the  Arabians,  but  eventually  subdues 
them 605 

Chap.  V.  Concerning  Theudas  and  the  sons  of  Judas 
the  Galilean — calamity  of  the  Jews  on  the  day  of 
the  Passover 606 

Chap.  VI.  A  quarrel  between  the  Jews  and  the  Sa- 
maritans— Claudius  puts  an  end  to  their  differences  607 

Chap.  VII.  Felix  made  procurator  of  Judea — con- 
cerning the  younger  Agrippa  and  his  sisters 608 

Chap.  VIII.  Nero  succeeds  to  the  Roman  govern- 
ment— his  cruelties — Felix  and  Festus  procurators 
of  Judea 609 

Chap.  IX.  Albinus  procurator  of  Judea — the  Apos- 
tle James  slain — Edifices  built  by  Agrippa 613 

Chap.  X.     Ennmeratiorr  of  the  high  priests 615 

Chap.  XI.  Florus  the  procurator  compels  the  Jews 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  Romans — conclusion..  616 


CONTENTS. 


WARS  OF  THE  JEWS. 


'  PAGE 

Preface 619 

BOOK  I. 

Containing  an  interval  of  167  years. 

FROM    TIIE   TAKING   OF   JERUSALEM   BY  ANTIOCHUS   EPI- 

PIIANES   TO   THE   DEATH   OF   HEROD   THE   GREAT. 

Chap.  I.  Jerusalem  taken,  and  the  temple  pillaged 
[by  Autiochus  EpiphanesJ — actions  of  the  Macca- 
bees, Matthias  and  Judas — death  of  Judas 622 

Chap.  II.  Jonathan,  Simeon,  and  John  Hyrcanus 
succeed  Judas  Maccabeus 623 

Chap.  III.  Aristobulus  changes  the  government  into 
a  kingdom — destroys  his  mother  and  brother — 
reigns  one  year 625 

Chap.  IV.  Alexander  Janneus  succeeds  to  the  crown, 
and  reigns  27  years 627 

Chap.  V.     Alexander  reigns  nine  years 0^8 

Chap.  VI.  Hyrcanus  resigns  the  kingdom  in  favour 
of  his  brother  Aristobulus — is  induced  to  reclaim  it 
— Pompey  arbitrates  between  the  two  brothers 629 

Chap.  VII.  Jerusalem  surrendered  to  Pompey,  who 
seizes  on  the  Temple  by  force 631 

Chap.  VIII.  Alexander,  son  of  Aristobulus,  makes 
an  expedition  against  Hyrcanus — is  defeated  by 
Gabinius — Aristobulus  escapes  from  Kome,  is 
beaten  by  the  Romans,  and  sent  back  again 633 

Chap.  IX.  Aristobulus  poisoned  by  Pompey *s  party 
— Scipio  beheads  Alexander — Antipater  cultivates 
a  friendship  with  Caesar,  after  Pompey's  death 635 

Chap.  X.  Antipater,  procurator  of  Judea — appoints 
Phasaelus  governor  of  Jerusalem,  and  Herod  of 
Galilee — Sextus  Caisar  murdered  by  Bassus 636 

Chap.  XI.     Herod  made  procurator  of  all  Syria 638 

Chap.  XII.  Phasaelus  too  hard  for  Felix — Herod 
overcomes  Autigonus — the  Jews  accuse  Herod  and 
Phasaelus — AntoniuS  acquits  them,  and  makes 
them  tetrarchs 640 

Chap.  XIII.  The  Parthians  bring  Antigonus  back 
— Hyrcanus  and  Phasaelus  imprisoned — flight  of 
Herod — the  Parthians  obtain  possession  of  Jerusa- 
lem— death  of  Phasaelus 641 

Chap.  XIV.  Herod  rejected  in  Arabia, — makes  haste- 
to  Home — Anthony  and  Caesar  unite  their  interest 
to  make  him  king  of  the  Jews 644 

Chap.  XV.  Antigonus  besieges  Massada — Herod 
compels  him  to  raise  the  siege,  and  then  marches 
to  Jerusalem 645 

Chap.  XVI.  Herod  takes  Sepphoris — subdues  the 
robbers — avenges  himself  on  Macheras — joins  An- 
tony at  Samosata 646 

Chap.  XVII.  Death  of  Joseph—  Herod's  preservation 
beheads  the  slayer  of  his  brother — besieges  Jeru- 
salem and  marries  Mariamne 648 

Chap.  XVIII.  Herod  and  Sosius  take  Jerusalem  by 
force — death  of  Antigonus — Cleopatra's  avarice 650 

Chap.  XIX.  Antony,  at  the  persuasion  of  Cleopatra, 
sends  Herod  to  fight  against  the  Arabians — great 
earthquake 652 

Chap.  XX.  Herod  is  confirmed  in  his  kingdom  by 
Caesar — cultivates  a  friendship  with  the  emperor 
by  magnificent  presents — Ca?sar  returns  Herod's 
kindness  by  enlarging  his  territories 654 

Chap.  XXI.  Of  the  [temple  and]  cities  built  by  He- 
rod— his  magnificence  to  foreigners 656 

Chap.  XXII.  Murder  of  Aristobulus  and  Hyrcanus 
the  high  priests,  and  of  Mariamne  the  queen 658 

Chap.  XXIII.  Calumnies  against  the  sons  of  Mari-. 
amne — Antipater  preferred  before  them — they  are 
accused  before  Caesar,  and  Herod  is  reconciled  to 
them 660 

Chap.  XXIV.  Malice  of  Antipater  and  Doris — He- 
rod pardons  Pheroras  and  Salome — Herod's  eunuchs 
tortured — Alexander  imprisoned 662 

Chap.  XXV.  Archelaus  procures  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween Alexander,  Pheroras,  and  Herod 665 

Chap.  XXVI.  Eurycles  calumniates  the  sons  of  Ma- 
riamne— Euratus  apology  has  no  effect 666 

Chap.  XXVII.  Herod,  by  Caesar's  directions,  accuses 
his  sons  at  Berytus — they  are  condemned  and  sent 
to  Sebasto,  and  strangled  shortly  afterward 669 

Chap.  XXVIII.  Antipater  hated  by  all — the  king 
espouses  the  sons  of  those  that  had  been  slain  to 
his  kindred — Antipater  induces  him  to  change 
them  for  other  women — Herod's  marriages  and 
children 670 


PAGE 

Chap.  XXIX.  Intolerance  of  Antipater — he  is  sent 
to  Rome — Pheroia  refuses  to  divorce  his  wife 672 

Chap.  XXX.  Herod  inquires  into  the  death  of  Phe- 
roras— consequences  thereof 673 

Chap.  XXXI.  Antipater,  convicted  by  Bathyllus, 
returns  from  Home,  and  is  brought  to  trial  by  He- 
rod   675 

Chap.  XXXII.  Antipater  accused  before  Varus — is 
convicted — his  punishment  postponed  till  the  re- 
covery of  his  father 677 

Chap.  XXXIII.  The  golden  eagle  cut  to  pieces — 
Herod's  barbarity — attempts  to  kill  himself — com- 
mands Antipater  to  be  slain — survives  him  five  days  679 

BOOK  II. 

Containing  an  interval  of  sixty-nine  years. 

FROM   THE   DEATH   OF   nEROD   TILL  VESPASIAN   WAS   SEJTT 
TO   SUBDUE  THE  JEWS   BY   NERO. 

Chap.  I.  Archelaus  makes  a  funeral  feast — a  great 
tumult  raised  by  the  multitude — the  soldiers  de- 
stroy about  3000  of  them 682 

Chap.  II.  Archelaus  accused  before  Caesar  by  Anti- 
pater— is  successiully  defended  by  Nicolaus 083 

Chap.  III.     Revolt  of  the  Jews 085 

Chap.  IV.  Herod's  veteran  soldiers  become  tumul- 
tuous— robberies  of  J  udas — Simon  and  Athrongeus 
assume  the  name  of  king 686 

Chap.  V.  Varus  quells  the  tumults  in  Judea — cruci 
fies  about  two  thousand  of  the  seditious 687 

Chap.  VI.  The  Jews  complain  o(  Archelaus,  and  de- 
sire that  they  be  made  subject  to  Roman  governors.  088 

Chap.  VII.  History  of  the  spurious  Alexander — 
banishment  of  Archelaus,  and  death  of  Glaphyra..  089 

Chap.  VIII.  Archelaus's  ethnarchy  reduced  to  a  [Ro- 
man] province — sedition  of  Judas  of  Galilee — the 
three  sects  of  the  Jews 090 

Chap.  IX.  Death  of  Salome — Pilate  occasions  dis- 
turbances— Tiberius  puts  Agrippa  into  bonds — 
Caius  frees  him,  and  makes  him  king — Herod  An- 
tipas  banished 094 

Chap.  X.  Cams  commands  that  his  statue  should  be 
sot  up  in  the  temple 095 

Chap.  XI.  The  government  of  Claudius,  and  the 
reign  of  Agrippa — Death  of  Agrippa  and  Herod...   090 

Chap.  XII.  Tumults  under  Cumanus — suppressed 
by  Quadratus — Felix  procurator  ot  Judea — Agrippa 
advanced  from  Chalcis  to  a  larger  kingdom 098 

Chap.  XIII.  Nero  adds  four  cities  to  Agrippa's  king- 
dom— disturbances  raised  by  the  Sicarii,  the  magi- 
cians, and  an  Egyptian  false  prophet 700 

Chap.  XIV.  Pestus,  Albinus,  and  Floras  successively 
procurators  of  Judea — the  Jews  resist  the  cruelties 
of  Floras 701 

Chap.  XV.  Bernice  petitions  Floras  to  spare  the 
Jews — cruelties  and  avarice  of  Floras 704 

Chap.  XVI.  Floras  accuses  the  Jews  of  revolting 
from  the  Roman  government — Agrippa's  speech  to 
the  Jews  on  their  intended  war  against  the  Ro- 
mans   706 

Chap.  XVII.  Commencement  of  the  Jewish  war 
with  the  Romans — Manahan  heads  the  Jewish  in- 
surgents, who  are  defeated  with  great  slaughter...  711 

Chap.  XVIII.  Dreadful  slaughters  and  sufferings  of 
the  Jews 715 

Chap.  XIX.  Cestius  besieges  Jerusalem — retreats 
from  the  city — the  Jews  pursue  him,  and  defeat 
him  with  great  slaughter 719 

Chap.  XX.  Cestius  sends  embassadors  to  Nero — the 
Damascenes  destroy  the  Jews  in  their  cities — Jeru- 
salem put  in  a  state  of  defence — Josephus  made  a 
general  of  the  Jewish  forces 722 

Chap.  XXI.  Josephus  defeats  the  plots  of  John  of 
Gischala,  and  recovers  the  revolted  cities 724 

Chap.  XXII.    The  Jews  prepare  for  war 728 

BOOK  III. 

Containing  an  interval  of  about  one  year. 

FROM  VESPASIAN'S   COMING   TO   SUBDUE    THE   JEWS   TO   THE 
TAKING   OF   GAMALA. 

Chap.  I.  Vespasian  sent  into  Syria  by  Nero,  to  make 
war  with  the  Jews 729 

Chap.  II.  Slaughter  of  the  Jews  about  Ascalon — 
Vespian  arrives  at  Ptolemais 730 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Chap.  in.  Description  of  Galileo,  Samaria,  and  Ju- 
dea 731 

Chap.  IV.  Joseph  us  makes  au  attempt  upon  Sep- 
phoria,  but  is  repelled — Titus  joins  Vespasian  at 
Ptolemais 732 

Chap.  V.  Description  of  the  Roman  armies  and 
campa 733 

Chap.  VI.  Placidua  attempts  to  take  Jotapata,  hut 
is  repulsed — Vespasian  marches  into  Galilee 735 

Chap.  VII.  Vespasian  takes  Gadara,  and  marches  to 
Jotapata,  which  is  betrayed  hy  a  deserter 73G 

Chap.  VIII.  Josepbus  discovered  in  a  cave — he  de- 
livers himself  up  to  the  Romans,  who  bring  him 
before  Vespasian 748 

Chap.  IX.    Joppa  taken,  and  Tiberias  delivered  up...  751 

Chap.  X.  Tarichece  taken— a  description  of  the 
river  Jordan,  and  of  Geuesareth 753 

BOOK  IV. 

Containing  an  interval  of  about  one  year. 

FROM  THE  SIEGE  OF  GAMALA  TO  THE   COMING   OF  TITUS 
TO   BESIEGE   JURUASALEM. 

Chap.  I.    The  siege  and  taking  of  Gamala 758 

Chap.  II.  The  surrender  of  the  small  city  of  Gischala 
— John  of  Gischala  flies  to  Jerusalem 763 

Chap.  III.  Concerning  John  of  Gischala — the  Zea- 
lots and  the  high  priest  Ananus — the  Jews  raise 
seditions  one  against  another ..  765 

Chap.  IV .  The  Idumeans  being  sent  for  by  the  Zea- 
lots, come  immediately  to  Jerusalem 771 

Chap.  V.  Cruelty  of  the  Idumeans  and  the  Zealots 
— slaughter  of  Ananus.  Jesus,  and  Zacbarias 775 

Chap.  VI.  The  Idumeans  return  home — the  Zcalota 
continue  their  slaughter  of  the  citizens — Vespasian 
dissuades  the  Romans  from  proceeding  in  the  Jew- 
ish war 778 

Chap.  VII.  Tyranny  of  John — Massada  plundered 
by  the  Zealots — Vespasian  takes  Gadara 780 

Chap.  VIII.  Commotions  in  Gall  [Galatia] — Vespa- 
sian hastens  to  terminate  the  Jewish  war — descrip- 
tion of  Jericho,  the  Great  Plain,  and  the  Lake  As- 
phaltitis 783 

Chap.  IX.  Vespasian  makes  preparations  to  besiege 
Jerusalem — Death  of  Nero — an  account  of  Simon 
of  Gerasa 785 

Chap.  X.  Vespasian  proclaimed  emperor  hy  the  sol- 
diers in  Judea  and  Egypt — he  liberates  Josepbus...  790 

Chap.  XI.  Upon  the  conquest  and  slaughter  of  Vi- 
tellius,  Vespasian  hastens  to  Rome,  and  Titus  re- 
turns to  Jerusalem 793 

BOOK  V. 

Containing  an  interval  of  near  six  months.  ' 

FROM  TIIE  COMING  OF  TITUS  TO  BESIEGE  JERUSALEM,  TO 
THE  GREAT  EXTREMITY  TO  WHICH  THE  JEWS  WERE 
REDUCED. 

Chap.  I.  Seditions  at  Jerusalem,  and  miseries  conse- 
quent thereon 795 

Chap.  II.     Titus  marches  to  Jerusalem 798 

Chap.  III.  The  sedition  again  revived  within  Jeru- 
salem— the  Jews  contrive  snares  for  the  Romans — 
Titus  threatens  his  soldiers  for  their  ungovernable 

rashness 801 

Chap.  IV.     Description  of  Jerusalem 803 

Chap.  V.    Description  of  the  Temple 806 

Chap.  VI.     Titus  continues  the  siege  vigorously 810 

Cbap.  VII.  The  Romans,  after  great  slaughter,  ob- 
tain possession  of  the  first  wall — treacherous  snares 

of  the  Jews 812 

Chap.  VIII.  The  Romans  possess  themselves  of  the 
second  wall 815 


PAGE 

Chap.  IX.  Temporary  cessation  of  the  siege — re- 
newal of  hostilities — Josepbus  sent  to  offer  peace..  816 

Chap.  X.  Many  of  the  Jews  endeavour  to  desert  to 
the  Romans — severe  famine  in  the  city 820 

Chap.  XI.  The  .Jews  crucified  before  the  walls  of  the 
city — Antiochus  Epiphanes — the  Jews  overthrow 
the  banks  raised  by  the  Romans 822 

Chap.  XII.  Titus  encompasses  the  city  round  with 
a  wall — the  famine  consumes  the  people  by  whole 
houses  and  families 825 

Chap.  XIII.  Great  slaughter  and  sacrilege  in  Jeru- 
salem    827 


LOOK  VI. 

Containing  an  interval  of  about  one  month. 

FROM    THE    GREAT    EXTREMITY   TO  WHICH    THE   JEWS   WEKB 
REDUCED   TO  THE   TAKING   OF  JERUSALEM   BY   TITUS. 

Chap.  I.  The  miseries  of  the  Jews  increase — the  Ro- 
mans make  an  assault  upon  the  tower  of  Antonia..  830 

Chap.  II.  Titus  orders  the  tower  of  Antonia  to  bo  de- 
stroyed— Josepbus  exhorts  the  Jews  to  surrender..  836 

Chap.  III.  Stratagems  of  the  Jews  against  the  Ro- 
mans— further  account  of  the  famine  within  the 
city 841 

Chap.  IV.    Destruction  of  the  Temple 843 

Chap.  V.  Distress  of  the  Jews  upon  the  destruction 
of  the  Temple 846 

Chap.  VI.  The  Romans  continue  to  plunder  and  burn 
the  city 849 

Chap.  VII.  The  seditious  continue  to  resist  the  Ro- 
mans   852 

Chap.  VIII.  Titus  gains  possession  of  the  whole 
city 853 

Chap.  IX.  Titus  examines  the  city — number  of  cap- 
tives and  of  the  slain — the  Romans  entirely  destroy 
the  walls 855 

Chap.  X.  History  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  its  various 
sieges 856 


BOOK    VII. 

Containing  au  interval  of  about  three  years. 

FROM   THE    TAKING   OF   JERUSALEM   BY   TITUS,   TO   THE 
SEDITION   OF   THE  JEWS   AT   CYRENE. 

Chap.  I.  Entire  destruction  of  Jerusalem — Titus  re- 
wards his  soldiers,  and  dismisses  many  of  them 857 

Chap.  II.  Titus  exhibits  shows  at  Cassarea  Philippi 
— capture  of  Simon 858 

Chap.  III.  Titus  celebrates  his  father's  and  brother's 
birthday  by  slaughtering  many  of  the  Jewish  cap- 
tives— the  people  of  Antiocb  accuse  the  Jews  of 
sedition 859 

Chap.  IV.  Vespasian's  reception  at  Rome — revolt  of 
the  German  legion — the  Samaritans  overrun  Myria, 
but  are  defeated 860 

Chap.  V.  An  account  of  the  Sabbatic  river— the  An- 
tiochans  petition  Titus  against  the  Jews,  but  are 
rejected — description  of  the  triumphal  shows  of 
Vespasian  and  Titus 862 

Chap.  VI.  The  city  Macherus — Lucilius  Bassus  takes 
the  citadel,  and  other  places 865 

Chap.  VII.  Misfortunes  of  Antiochus,  king  of  Com- 
magene — clemency  of  Vespasian — the  Alans  ravage 
the  countries  of  the  Medes  and  Armenians 869 

Chap.  VIII.     Massada  besieged  by  Flavins  Silva 870 

Chap.  IX.  The  inhabitants  of  the  fortress,  at  the 
instigation  of  Eleazer.  destroy  each  other 877 

Chap.  X.  The  Sicarii  fleeJo  Alexandria — destruction 
of  the  Jewish  temple  built  by  Onias 879 

Chap.  XL     Conclusion 880 


ADDENDA. 


Flavins  Josephus  against  Apion 884 

An  Extract  out .  of  Josephus's  Discourse  to  the  Greeks 
concerning  Hades 927 

Dissertation  I.  The  Testimonies  concerning  Jesus 
Christ,  John  the  Baptist,  and  James  the  .Just,  vin- 
dicated    930 

Th<;  ancient  citations  of  the  testimonies  of  Josepbus 
from  his  own  time  till  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury   930 

Observations  from  the  foregoing  evidence  and  cita- 
tions   937 


Dissertation  II.    Concerning   God's    command    to 

Abraham  to  offer  up  Isaac  his  son  for  a  sacrifice....  948 
Dissertation  III.  Tacitus's  accounts  of  the  origin 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  of  the  particulars  of  the 
last  Jewish  War — that  the  former  was  probably 
written  in  opposition  to  Josephus's  Antiquities, 
and  that  the  latter  was  for  certain  almost  all  directly 
taken  from  Josephus's  History  of  the  Jewish  War.  951 

Pliny's  Epistle  to  Trajan 960 

Trajan's  Epistle  to  Pliny %12 

Observations  upon  the  passages  taken  out  of  Tacitus.  962 
Table  of  Jewish  Weights  and  Measures 964 


THE 


LIFE  OF  FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS. 

WRITTEN   BY   HIMSELF. 


The  family  from  which  I  am  derived  is 
not  an  ignoble  one,  but  hath  descended 
all  along  from  the  priests;  and  as  nobi- 
lity among  several  people  is  of  a  different 
origin,  so  with  us  to  be  of  the  sacerdotal 
dignity  is  an  indication  of  the  splendour 
of  a  family.  Now,  I  am  not  only  sprung 
from  a  sacerdotal  family  in  general,  but 
from  the  first  of  the  twenty-four  courses; 
and  as  among  us  there  is  not  only  a  con- 
siderable difference  between  one  family 
of  each  course  and  another,  I  am  of  the 
chief  family  of  that  first  course  also ;  nay, 
further,  by  my  mother  I  am  of  the  royal 
blood ;  for  the  children  of  Asamoneus, 
from-  whom  that  family  was  derived,  had 
both  the  office  of  the  high-priesthood,  and 
the  dignity  of  a  king,  for  a  long  time  to- 
gether. I  will  accordingly  set  down  my 
progenitors  in  order.  My  grandfather's 
father  was  named  Simon,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  Psellus :  he  lived  at  the  same 
time  with  that  son  of  Simon,  the  high- 
priest,  who  first  of  all  the  high-priests 
was  named  Hyrcanus.  This  Simon  Psel- 
lus had  nine  sons,  one  of  whom  was 
Matthias,  called  Ephlias  :  he  married  the 
daughter  of  Jonathan,  the  high-priest; 
which  Jonathan  was  the  first  of  the  sons 
of  Asamoneus,  who  was  the  high-priest, 
and  was  the  brother  of  Simon,  the  high- 
priest  also.  This  Matthias  had  a  son 
called  Matthias  Curtus,  and  that  in  the 
first  year  of  the  government  of  Hyrcanus  : 
his  son's  name  was  Joseph,  born  in  the 
ninth  year  of  the  reign  of  Alexandra  :  his 
eon  Matthias  was  born  in  the  tenth  year 
of  the  reign  of  Archelaus  ;  as  was  I  born 
to  Matthias  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign 
of  Caius  Caesar.  I  have  three  sons : 
Hyrcanus,  the  eldest,  was  born  in  the 
fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Vespasian,  as 
was  Justus  born  in  the  seventh,  and 
Agrippa  in  the  ninth.  Thus  have  I  set 
down  the  genealogy  of  my  family  as  I 
have  found  it  described  in  the  public  re- 
cords, and  so  bid  adieu  to  those  who 
calumniate  me  [as  of  a  lower  original]. 


Now,  my  father  Matthias  was  not  3iily 
eminent  on  account  of  his  nobility,  but 
had  a  higher  commendation  on  account 
of  his  righteousness ;  and  was  in  great 
reputation  in  Jerusalem,  the  greatest  city 
we  have.  I  was,  myself,  brought  up  with 
my  brother,  whose  name  was  Matthias, 
for  he  was  my  own  brother,  by  both 
father  and  mother ;  and  I  made  mighty 
proficiency  in  the  improvements  of  my 
learning,  and  appeared  to  have  both  a 
great  memory  and  understanding.  More- 
over, when  I  was  a  child,  and  about  four- 
teen years  of  age,  I  was  commended  by 
all  for  the  love  I  had  to  learning ;  on 
which  account,  the  high-priests  and  prin- 
cipal men  of  the  city  came  then  frequently 
to  me  together,  in  order  to  know  my  opi- 
nion about  the  accurate  understanding  of 
points  of  the  law ;  and  when  I  was  about 
sixteen  years  old,  I  had  a  mind  to  make 
trial  of  the  several  sects  that  were  among 
us.  These  sects  are  three  : — the  first  is 
that  of  the  Pharisees,  the  second  that  of 
the  Sadducees,  and  the  third  that  of  the 
Bssenes,  as  we  have  frequently  told  you; 
for  I  thought  that  by  this  means  I  might 
choose  the  best,  if  I  were  once  acquainted 
with  them  all ;  so  I  contented  myself 
with  hard  fare,  and  underwent  great  diffi- 
culties, and  went  through  them  all.  Nor 
did  I  content  myself  with  these  trials 
only;  but  when  I  was  informed  that  one, 
whose  name  was  Banus,  lived  in  the  de- 
sert, and  used  no  other  clothing  than 
grew  upon  trees,  and  had  no  other  food 
than  what  grew  of  its  own  accord,  and 
bathed  himself  in  cold  water  frequently, 
both  by  night  and  by  day,  in  order  to 
preserve  his  chastity,  I  imitated  him  io 
those  things,  and  continued  with  him 
three  years.*  So  when  I  had  accom- 
plished my  desires,  I  returned  back  to 
the  city,  being  now  nineteen  years  old 
and  began  to  conduct  myself  according  tn 
the    rules   of  the  sect  of   the  Pharisees, 

»  Dan.  i.  8-16. 


8 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAVIUS   JOSEPHS. 


which  is  of  kin  to  the  sect  of  the  Stoics, 
as  the  Greeks  call  them. 

But  when  I  was  in  the  twenty-sixth 
year  of  my  age,  it  happened  that  I  took  a 
Toyage  to  Rome ;  and  this  on  the  occasion 
which  I  shall  now  describe.  x\t  the  time 
when  Felix  was  procurator  of  Judea, 
there  were  certain  priests  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, and  very  excellent  persons  they 
were,  whom  on  a  small  and  trifling  occa- 
sion he  had  put  into  bonds,  and  sent  to 
Rome  to  plead  their  cause  before  Csesar. 
These  I  was  desirous  to  procure  deliver- 
ance for;  and  that  especially  because  I 
was  informed  that  they  were  not  unmind- 
ful of  piety  toward  God,  even  under  their 
afflictions ;  but  supported  themselves  with 
figs  and  nuts.  Accordingly,  I  came  to 
Rome,  though  it  were  through  a  great  num- 
ber of  hazards,  by  sea;  for,  as  our  ship 
was  drowned  in  the  Adriatic  Sea,  we  that 
were  in  it,  being  about  600  in  number,* 
swam  for  our  lives  all  the  night ;  when, 
upon  the  first  appearance  of  the  day,  and 
upon  our  sight  of  a  ship  of  Cyrene,  I  and 
some  others,  eighty  in  all,  by  God's  pro- 
vidence, prevented  the  rest,  and  were 
taken  up  into  the  other  ship  :  and  when  I 
had  thus  escaped,  and  was  come  to  Dice- 
archia,  which  the  Italians  call  Puteoli,  I 
became  acquainted  with  Aliturius,  an 
actor  of  plays,  and  much  beloved  by 
Nero,  but  a  Jew  by  birth ;  and  through 
his  interest  became  known  to  Ponoea, 
Caesar's  wife ;  and  took  care,  as  soon  -as 
possible,  to  entreat  her  to  procure  that 
the  priests  might  be  set  at  liberty ;  and 
when,  besides  this  favour,  I  had  obtained 
many  presents  from  Poppea,  I  returned 
home  again. 

And  now  I  perceived  innovations  were 
already  begun,  and  that  there  were  a 
great  many  very  much  elevated,  in  hopes 
of  a  revolt  from  the  Romans.  I,  there- 
fore, endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to  these 
tumultuous  persons,  and  persuaded  them 
to  change  their  minds;  and  laid  before 
their  eyes  against  whom  it  was  that  they 
were  going  to  fight,  and  told  them  that 
they  were  inferior  to  the  Romans,  not 
only  in  martial  skill,  but  also  in  good 
fortune ;  and  desired  them  not  rashly, 
and  after  the  most  foolish  manner,  to 
bring  on  the  dangers  of  the  most  terrible 


*  It  has  been  thought  the  number  of  Paul  and 
his  companions  on  shipboard,  (Acts  xxvii.  38,) 
which  are  276  in  our  copies,  are  many;  whereas 
we  find  here,  that  Josephus  and  his  companions,  a 
very  few  years  after  the  other,  were  about  600. 


mischiefs  upon  their  country,  upon  theii 
families,  and  upon  themselves.  And 
this  I  said  with  vehement  exhortation, 
because  I  foresaw  that  the  end  of  such  a 
war  would  be  most  unfortunate  to  us 
But  I  could  not  persuade  them ;  for  the 
madness  of  desperate  men  was  quite  too 
hard  far  me. 

I  was  then  afraid  lest  by  inculcating 
these  things  so  often  I  should  incur  their 
hatred  and  their  suspicions,  as  if  I  were 
of  our  enemies'  party,  and  should  run 
into  the  danger  of  being  seized  by  them 
and  slain,  since  they  were  already  pos- 
sessed of  Antonia,  which  was  the  citadel; 
so  I  retired  into  the  inner  court  of  the 
temple ;  yet  did  I  go  out  of  the  temple 
again,  after  Manahem  and  the  principal 
of  the  band  of  robbers  were  put  to  death, 
when  I  abode  among  the  high-priests  and 
the  chief  of  the  Pharisees;  but  no  small 
fear  seized  upon  us  when  we  saw  the 
people  in  arms,  while  we  ourselves  knew 
not  what  we  should  do,  and  were  not  able 
to  restrain  the  seditious.  However,  as 
the  danger  was  directly  upon  us,  we  pre- 
tended that  we  were  of  the  same  opinion 
with  them  ;  but  only  advised  them  to  be 
quiet  for  the  present,  and  to  let  the 
enemy  go  away,  still  hoping  that  Gessius 
[Florus]  would  not  be  long  ere  he  came, 
and  that  with  great  forces,  and  so  put  an 
end  to  these  seditious  proceedings. 

But,  upon  his  coming  and  fighting,  he 
was  beaten,  and  a  great  many  of  those 
that  were  with  him  fell ;  and  this  dis- 
grace which  Gessius  [with  Gestius]  re- 
ceived, became  the  calamity  of  our  whole 
nation ;  for  those  that  were  fond  of  the 
war  were  so  far  elevated  with  this  success, 
that  they  had  hopes  of  finally  conquering 
the  Romans.  Of  which  war  another  oc- 
casion was  ministered ;  which  was  this  : 
those  that  dwelt  in  the  neighbouring 
cities  of  Syria  seized  upon  such  Jews  as 
dwelt  among  them,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  and  slew  them,  when  they  had 
not  the  least  occasion  of  complaint  against 
them ;  for  they  did  neither  attempt  any 
innovation  or  revolt  from  the  Romans, 
nor  had  they  givea-  any  marks  of  hatred 
or  treacherous  designs  toward  the  Syrians ; 
but  what  was  done  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Scythopolis  was  the  most  impious  and 
most  highly  criminal  of  ail  ;*  for  when 
the  Jews,  their  enemies,  came  upon  them 
from  without,  they  forced  the  Jews  that 


*  See  Jewish  War,  b.  ii.  s.  xviiL 


THE    LIFE   OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPIIUS. 


9 


were  among  them  to  bear  arms  against 
their  own  countrymen,  which  it  is  unlaw- 
ful for  us  to  do;*  and  when,  by  their 
assistance,  they  had  joined  battle  with 
those  who  attacked  them,  and  had  beaten 
them,  after  that  victory  they  forgot  the 
assurances  they  had  given  these  their 
fellow-citizens  and  confederates,  and  slew 
them  all,  being  in  number  many  ten 
thousands  [13,000].  The  like  miseries 
were  undergone  by  those  Jews  that  were 
the  inhabitants  of  Damascus ;  but  we 
have  given  a  more  accurate  account  of 
these  things  in  the  books  of  the  Jewish 
war.  I  only  mention  them  now,  because 
I  would  demonstrate  to  my  readers  that 
the  Jews'  war  with  the  Romans  was  not 
voluntary,  but  that,  for  the  main,  they 
were  forced  by  necessity  to  enter  into  it. 

So  when  Gessius  had  been  beaten,  as 
we  have  said  already,  the  principal  men 
of  Jerusalem,  seeing  that  the  robbers  and 
innovators  had  arms  in  great  plenty,  and 
fearing  lest  they,  while  they  were  unpro- 
vided with  arms,  should  be  in  subjection 
to  their  enemies,  which  also  came  to  be 
the  case  afterward,  and  being  informed 
that  all  Galilee  had  not  yet  revolted  from 
the  Romans,  but  that  some  part  of  it  was 
still  quiet,  they  sent  me  and  two  others 
of  the  priests,  who  were  men  of  excelleut 
characters,  Joazar  and  Judas,  in  order  to 
persuade  the  ill  men  there  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  to  teach  them  this  lesson, 
that  it  were  better  to  have  those  arms  re- 
served for  the  most  courageous  men  that 
the  nation  had  [than  to  be  kept  there] ; 
for  that  it  had  been  resolved,  that  those 
our  best  men  should  always  have  their 
arms  ready  against  futurity;  but  still  so, 
that  they  should  wait  to  see  what  the 
Romans  would  do. 

When  I  had,  therefore,  received  these 
instructions,  I  came  into  Galilee,  and 
found  the  people  of  Sepphoris  in  no  small 
agony  about  their  country,  by  reason  that 
the  Galileans  had  resolved  to  plunder  it, 
on  account  of  the  friendship  they  had 
with  the  Romans;  and  because  they  had 
given  their  right  hand,  and  made  a  league 
with  Oestius  Gallus,  the  president  of  Sy- 


*  The  Jews  might  collect  this  unlawfulness  of 
fighting  against  their  brethren  from  that  law  of 
Moses,  (Lev.  xix.  16,)  "Thou  shalt  not  stand 
against  the  blood  of  thy  neighbour,"  and  that, 
(ver.  1",)  "Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  any 
grudge,  against  the  children  of  thy  people;  but 
thou  si  aJt  love  thy  neighbour  as  hyself;"  as  well 
as  from  many  other  places  in  the  Pentateuch  und 
Vroim<  ts. 


ria :  but  I  delivered  thent  all  out  of  the 
fear  they  were  in,  and  persuaded  the  mul- 
titude to  deal  kindly  with  them,  and  per 
mitted  them  to  send  to  those  that  were 
their  own  hostages  with  Gessius  to  Dora, 
which  is  a  city  of  Phoenicia,  as  often  as 
they  pleased  ;  though  I  still  found  the 
inhabitants  of  Tiberias  ready  to  take 
arms,  and  that  on  the  occasion  following: 
There  were  three  factions  in  this  city. 
The  first  was  composed  of  men  of  worth 
and  gravity ;  of  these  Julius  Capellus 
was  the  head.  Now  he,  as  well  as  all  his 
companions,  Herod,  the  son  of  Miarus, 
and  Herod,  the  son  of  Gamalus,  and 
Compsus,  the  son  of  Compsus;  (for  as  to 
Compsus's  brother,  Orispus,  who  had  once 
been  governor  of  the  city  under  the  great 
king  [Agrippa],  he  was  beyond  Jordan  in 
his  own  possessions ;)  all  these  persons 
before  named  gave  their  advice,  that  the 
city  should  then  continue  in  their  alle- 
giance to  the  Romans  and  to  the  king; 
but  Pistus,  who  was  guided  by  his  son 
Justus,  did  not  acquiesce  in  that  resolu- 
tion, otherwise  he  was  himself  naturally 
of  a  good  and  virtuous  character  :  but  the 
second  faction  was  composed  of  the  most 
ignoble  persous,  and  was  determined  for 
war.  But  as  for  Justus,  the  son  of  Pis- 
tus, who  was  the  head  of  the  third  fac- 
tion, although  he  pretended  to  be  doubt- 
ful about  going  to  war,  yet  was  he  really 
desirous  of  innovation,  as  supposing  that 
he  should  gain  power  to  himself  by  the 
change  of  affairs.  He,  therefore,  came 
into  the  midst  of  them,  and  endeavoured 
to  inform  the  multitude  that  "  the  city 
Tiberias  had  ever  been  a  city  of  Galilee ; 
and  that  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  tetrarch, 
who  had  built  it,  had  obtained  the  prin- 
cipal place ;  and  that  he  had  ordered  that 
the  city  Sepphoris  should  be  subordinate 
to  the  city  Tiberias :  that  they  had  not 
lost  this  pre-eminence  even  under  Agrippa 
the  father;  but  had  retained  it  until  Felix 
was  procurator  of  Judea;  but  he  told 
them  that  now  they  had  been  so  unfortu- 
nate as  to  be  made  a  present  by  Nero  to 
Agrippa,  junior;  and  that,  upon  Seppho- 
ris's  submission  of  itself  to  the  Romans, 
that  was  become  the  capital  city  of  Gali- 
lee, and  that  the  royal  treasury  and  the 
archives  were  now  removed  from  theni." 
When  he  had  spoken  these  things,  and  a 
great  many  more  against  King  Agrippa, 
in  order  to  provoke  the  people  to  a  revolt, 
he  added,  that  "  this  was  th-e  time  foi 
them   to    take  arms    and  join   with   the 


10 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAVIUS   JOSEPHU8. 


Galileans  as  their  confederates,  (whom 
they  might  command,  and  who  would 
now  willingly  assist  them,  out  of  the 
hatred  they  bear  to  the  people  of  Seppho- 
ris,  because  they  preserved  their  fidelity 
to  the  Romans,)  and  to  gather  a  great 
number  of  forces,  in  order  to  punish 
them."  And,  as  he  said  this,  he  ex- 
horted the  multitude  [to  go  to  war] ;  for 
his  abilities  lay  in  making  harangues  to 
the  people,  and  in  being  too  hard  in  his 
speeches  for  such  as  opposed  him,  though 
they  advised  what  was  more  to  their  ad- 
vantage, and  this  by  his  craftiness  and  his 
fallacies,  for  he  was  not  unskilful  in  the 
learning  of  the  Greeks ;  and  in  depend- 
ence on  that  skill  it  was  that  he  under- 
took to  write  a  history  of  these  affairs,  as 
aiming,  by  this  way  of  haranguing,  to 
disguise  the  truth;  but  as  to  this  man, 
and  how  ill  were  his  character  and  con- 
duct of  life,  and  how  he  and  his  brother 
were,  in  great  measure,  the  authors  of  our 
destruction,  I  shall  give  the  reader  an  ac- 
count in  the  progress  of  my  narration. 
So  when  Justus  had,  by  his  persuasions, 
prevailed  with  the  citizens  of  Tiberias  to 
take  arms,  nay,  and  had  forced  a  great 
many  so  to  do  against  their  wills,  he  went 
out,  and  set  the  villages  that  belonged  to 
Gadara  and  Hippos  on  fire;  which  vil- 
lages were  situated  on  the  borders  of 
Tiberias,  and  of  the  region  of  Scythopolis. 

And  this  was  the  state  Tiberias  was 
now  in;  but  as  for  Gischala,  its  affairs 
were  thus :  When  John,  the  son  of  Levi, 
saw  some  of  the  citizens  much  elevated 
upon  their  revolt  from  the  Romans,  he 
laboured  to  restrain  them ;  and  entreated 
them  that  they  would  keep  their  alle- 
giance to  them ;  but  he  could  not  gain 
his  purpose,  although  he  did  his  endea- 
vours to  the  utmost;  for  the  neighbouring 
people  of  Gadara,  Gabara,  and  Sogana,  with 
the  Tyrians,  got  together  a  great  army, 
and  fell  upon  Gischala,  and  took  Gischala 
by  force,  and  set  it  on  fire;  and  when  they 
had  entirely  demolished  it,  they  returned 
home.  Upon  which  John  was  so  enraged, 
that  he  armed  all  his  men,  and  joined 
battle  with  the  people  before  mentioned; 
and  rebuilt  Gischala  after  a  manner  bet- 
ter than  before,  and  fortified  it  with  walls 
for  its  future  security. 

But  Gamala  persevered  in  its-allegiance 
to  the  Romans  for  the  reason  following : 
Philip,  the  son  of  Jacimus,  who  was  their 
governor  under  King  Agrippa,  had  been 
unexpectedly  preserved  when    the    royal 


palace  at  Jerusalem  had  been  besieged; 
but,  as  he  fled  away,  had  fallen  into  an- 
other danger;  and  that  was,  of  being 
killed  by  Manahem,  and  the  robbers  that 
were  with  him ;  but  certain  Babylonians, 
who  were  of  his  kindred,  and  were  then 
in  Jerusalem,  hindered  the  robbers  from 
executing  their  design.  So  Philip  stayed 
there  four  days,  and  fled  away  on  the  fifth, 
having  disguised  himself  with  fictitious 
hair,  that  he  might  not  be  discovered ; 
and  wheu  he  was  come  to  one  of  the  vil- 
lages to  him  belonging,  but  one  that  was 
situated  at  the  borders  of  the  citadel  of 
Gamala,  he  sent  to  some  of  those  that 
were  under  him,  and  commanded  them  to 
come  to  bim ;  but  God  himself  hindered 
that  his  intention,  and  this  for  his  own 
advantage  also ;  for  had  it  not  so  happen- 
ed, he  had  certainly  perished ;  for  a  fever 
having  seized  upon  him  immediately,  he 
wrote  to  Agrippa  and  Beruice,  and  gave 
them  to  one  of  his  freedmen  to  carry  them 
to  Varus,  who,  at  this  time,  was  procura- 
tor of  the  kingdom,  which  the  king  and 
his  sister  had  intrusted  him  withal,  while 
they  were  gone  to  Berytus  with  an  inten- 
tion of  meeting  Gessius.  When  Varus 
had  received  these  letters  of  Philip,  and 
had  learned  that  he  was  preserved,  he  was 
very  uneasy  at  it,  as  supposing  that  he 
should  appear  useless  to  the  king  and  his 
sister,  now  Philip  was  come.  He,  there- 
fore, produced  the  carrier  of  the  letters 
before  the  multitude,  and  accused  him  of 
forging  tne  same  :  and  said,  that  he  spake 
falsely  when  he  related  that  Philip  was  at 
Jerusalem,  fighting  among  the  Jews  against 
the  Romans.  So  he  slew  him.  And 
when  this  freedman  of  Philip  did  not  re- 
turn again,  Pbilip  was  doubtful  what 
should  be  the  occasion  of  his  stay,  and 
sent  a  second  messenger  with  letters,  that 
he  might,  upon  his  return,  inform  him 
what  had  befallen  the  other  that  had  been 
sent  before,  and  ^why  he  tarried  so  long. 
Varus  accused  this  messenger  also,  when 
he  came,  of  telling  a  falsehood,  and  slew 
him ;  for  he  was  puffed  up  by  the  Syrians 
that  were  at  Caesarea,  and  had  great  expec- 
tations ;  for  they  said  that  Agrippa  would 
be  slain  by  the  Romans  for  the  crimes 
which  the  Jews  had  committed,  and  that 
he  should  himself  take  the  government, 
as  derived  from  their  kings :  for  Varus 
was,  by  the  confession  of  all,  of  the  royal 
family,  as  being  a  descendant  of  Soh  jmus, 
who  had  enjoyed  a  tetrarchy  about  Libanus; 
for  which  reason  it  was  that  he  was  puffed 


THE  LIFE  OF  FLAVIUS  JOSEPIIUS. 


11 


up,  and  kept  the  letters  to  himself.  He  con- 
trived also  that  the  king  should  not  meet 
with  those  writings,  by  guarding  all  the 
passes,  lest  any  one  should  escape,  and 
inform  the  king  what  had  been  done.  He, 
moreover,  sicw  many  of  the  Jews,  in  order 
to  gratify  the  Syrians  of  Caesarea.  He  had 
a  mind  also  to  join  with  the  Trachonites 
in  Batanea,  and  to  take  up  arms  and 
make  an  assault  upon  the  Babylonian  Jews 
that  were  at  Ecbatana  ;  for  that  was  the 
name  they  went  by.  He,  therefore,  called 
to  twelve  of  the  Jews  of  Caesarea,  of 
the  best  character,  and  ordered  them  to 
go  to  Ecbatana,  and  inform  their  country- 
men who  dwelt  there,  that  Varus  hath 
heard  that  "  you  intend  to  march  against 
the  king  ;  but,  not  believing  that  report, 
he  hath  sent  us  to  persuade  you  to  lay 
down  your  arms;  and  that  this  compli- 
ance will  be  a  sign  that  he  did  well  not 
to  give  credit  to  those  that  raised  the  re- 
port concerning  you/'  He  also  enjoined 
them  to  send  seventy  of  their  principal 
men  to  make  a  defence  for  them  as  to  the 
accusation  laid  against  them.  So  when  the 
twelve  messengers  came  to  their  country- 
men at  Ecbatana,  and  found  that  they  had 
no  designs  of  innovation  at  all,  they  per- 
suaded them  to  send  the  seventy  men  also  ; 
who,  not  at  all  suspecting  what  would  come, 
sent  them  accordingly.  So  these  seventy 
went  down  to  Caesarea,  together  with  the 
twelve  ambassadors ;  where  Varus  met 
them  with  the  king's  forces,  and  slew 
them  all,  together  with  the  [twelve]  am- 
bassadors, and  made  an  expedition  against 
the  Jews  of  Ecbatana.  But  one  there 
was  of  the  seventy  who  escaped,  and  made 
haste  to  inform  the  Jews  of  their  coming; 
upon  which  they  took  their  arms  with 
their  wives  and  children,  and  retired  to 
the  citadel  at  Gamala,  leaving  their  own 
villages  full  of  all  sorts  of  good  things, 
and  having  many  ten  thousands  of  cattle 
therein.  When  Phiiip  was  informed  of 
these  things,  he  also  came  to  the  citadel 
of  Gamala;  and  when  he  was  come,  the 
multitude  cried  aloud,  and  desired  him 
to  resume  the  government,  and  to  make 
an  expedition  against  Varus  and  the  Sy- 
rians of  Caesarea :  for  it  was  reported  that 
they  had  slain  the  king.  But  Philip  re- 
strained their  zeal,  and  put  them  in  mind 
of  the  benefits  the  king  had  bestowed 
upon  them ;  and  told  them  how  powerful 
the  Romans  were,  and  said  it  was  not  for 
their  advantage  to  make  war  with  them; 
and  at    length    he  prevailed  with    them 


But  now  when  the  king  was  acquainted 
with  Varus's  design,  which  was  to  cut  off 
the  Jews  of  Caesarea,  being  many  ten 
thousands,  with  their  wires  and  children, 
and  all  in  one  day,  he  caJed  to  him  Equi- 
culus  Mod;us,  and  sent  him  to  be  Varus's 
successor,  as  we  have  elsewhere  related. 
But  still  Philip  kept  possession  of  the  cita- 
del Gamala,  and  of  the  country  adjoining 
to  it,  which  thereby  continued  in  theii 
allegiance  to  the  Romans. 

Now,  as  soon  aj  I  was  come  into  Gali- 
lee, and  had  learned  this  state  of  things 
by  the  information  of  such  as  told  me  of 
them,  I  wrote  to  the  sanhedrim  at  Jeru- 
salem about  them,  and  required  their  di- 
rection what  I  should  do.  Their  direction 
was,  that  I  should  continue  there,  and 
that,  if  my  fellow-legates  were  willing,  I 
should  join  with  them  in  the  care  of  Gali- 
lee. But  those  my  fellow-legates,  having 
gotten  great  riches  from  those  tithes  which, 
as  priests,  were  their  dues,  and  were  given 
to  them,  determined  to  return  to  their  own 
country.  Yet  when  I  desired  them  to  stay 
so  long  that  we  might  first  settle  the  pub- 
lic affairs,  they  complied  with  me.  So  I 
removed,  together  with  them,  from  the 
city  of  Sepphoris,  and  came  to  a  certain 
village  called  Bethmaus,  four  furlongs 
distant  from  Tiberias ;  and  thence  I  sent 
messengers  to  the  senate  of  Tiberias,  and 
desired  that  the  principal  men  of  the 
city  would  come  to  me ;  and  when  they 
were  come,  Justus  himself  being  also  with 
them,  I  told  them  that  I  was  sent  to  them 
by  the  people  of  Jerusalem  as  a  legate, 
together  with  these  other  priests,  in  order 
to  persuade  them  to  demolish  that  house 
which  Herod  the  tetrarch  had  built  there, 
and  which  had  the  figures  of  living  crea- 
tures in  it,  although  our  laws  have  for- 
bidden us  to  make  any  such  figures;  and 
I  desired  that  they  would  give  us  leave 
so  to  do  immediately.  But  for  a  good 
while  Capellus  and  the  principal  men  be- 
longing to  the  city  would  not  give  us  leave, 
but  were  at  length  entirely  overcome  by 
us,  and  were  induced  to  be  of  our  opinion. 
So  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sapphias,  one  of 
those  whom  we  have  already  mentioned 
as  the  leader  of  a  seditious  tumult  of 
mariners  and  poor  people,  prevented  us, 
and  took  with  him  certain  Galileans,  and 
set  the  entire  palace  on  fire,  and  thought 
he  should  get  a  great  deal  of  money  there- 
by, because  he  saw  some  of  the  roofs  gilt 
with  gold.  They  also  plundered  a  great 
deal  of  the  furniture,  which  was  done  witb 


VI 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS    JOSEPHUS. 


out  our  approbation  ;  for,  after  we  had 
discoursed  with  Capellus  and  the  princi- 
pal men  of  the  city,  we  departed  from 
Bethmaus,  and  went  into  the  Upper  Gali- 
lee. But  Jesus  and  his  party  slew  all  the 
Greeks  that  were  inhabitants  of  Tiberias, 
and  as  many  others  as  were  their  enemies 
before  the  war  began. 

When  I  understood  this  state  of  things, 
I  was  greatly  provoked,  and  went  down 
to  Tiberias,  and  took  all  the  care  I  could 
of  the  royal  furniture,  to  recover  all  that 
could  be  recovered  from  such  as  had  nlun- 

i. 

dered  it.  They  consisted  of  candlesticks 
made  of  Corinthian  brass,  and  of  royal 
tables,  and  of  a  great  quantity  of  uncoined 
silver  ;  and  I  resolved  to  preserve  whatso- 
ever came  to  my  hand  for  the  king.  So 
I  sent  for  ten  of  the  principal  men  of  the 
senate,  and  for  Capellus,  the  son  of  An- 
tyllus,  and  committed  the  furniture  to 
them  with  this  charge,  that  they  should 
part  with  it  to  nobody  else  but  to  myself. 
From  thence  I  and  my  fellow-legates  went 
to  Gischala,  to  John,  as  desirous  to  know 
his  intentions,  and  soon  saw  that  he  was 
for  innovations,  and  had  a  mind  to  the 
principality,  for  he  desired  me  to  give  him 
authority  to  carry  off  that  corn  which  be- 
longed to  Caesar,  and  lay  in  the  villages 
of  Upper  Galilee  ;  and  he  pretended  that 
he  would  expend  what  it  came  to  in  build- 
ing the  walls  of  his  own  city.  But  when 
I  perceived  what  he  endeavoured  at,  and 
what  he  had  in  his  mind,  I  said  I  would 
not  permit  him  so  to  do;  for  that  I  thought 
either  to  keep  it  for  the  Romans,  or  for 
myself,  now  I  was  intrusted  with  the 
public  affairs  there  by  the  people  of  Jeru- 
salem :  but,  when  he  was  not  able  to  pre- 
vail with  me,  he  betook  himself  to  my 
fellow-legates ;  for  they  had  no  sagacity 
in  providing  for  futurity,  and  were  very 
ready  to  take  bribes  :'so  he  corrupted  them 
with  money  to  decree,  that  all  that  corn 
which  was  within  his  province  should  be 
delivered  to  him  ,  while  I,  who  was  but  one, 
was  outvoted  by  two,  and  held  my  tongue. 
Then  did  John  introduce  another  cunning 
contrivance  of  his ;  for  he  said  that  those 
Jews  who  inhabited  Caesarea  Philippi, 
and  were  shut  up  by  the  order  of  the 
king's  deputy  there,  had  sent  to  him  to 
desire  him,  that,  since  they  had  no  oil 
that  was  pure  for  their  use,  he  would  pro- 
vide a  sufficient  quantity  of  such  oil  for 
them,  lest  they  should  be  forced  to  make 
use  of  oil  that  came  from  the  Greeks,  and 
thereby  transgress  their  own  laws.     Now 


this  was  said  by  John,  not  out  of  his  re- 
gard  to  religion,  but  out  of  his  most  flagrant 
desire  of  gain  ;  for  he  knew  that  two  sec- 
taries were  sold  with  them  of  Caesarea  foi 
one  drachma;  but  that  at  Gischala  four- 
score sectaries  were  sold  for  [at  the  price 
of]  four  sectaries :  so  he  gave  order  that 
all  the  oil  which  was  there  should  be  car- 
ried away,  as  having  my  permission  for 
so  doing;  which  yet  I  did  not  grant  him 
voluntarily,  but  only  out  of  fear  of  the 
multitude,  since,  if  I  had  forbidden  him, 
I  should  have  been  stoned  by  them.  When 
I  had,  therefore,  permitted  this  to  be  done 
by  John,  he  gained  vast  sums  of  money 
by  this  his  knavery. 

But  when  I  had  dismissed  my  fellow- 
legates,  and  sent  them  back  to  Jerusalem, 
I  took  care  to  have  arms  provided,  and 
the  cities  fortified ;  and  when  I  had  sent 
for  the  most  hardy  among  the  robbers,  I 
saw  that  it  was  not  in  my  power  to  take 
their  arms  from  them ;  but  I  persuaded 
the  mu'citude  to  allow  them  money  aa 
pay,  a.id  told  them  it  was  better  for  them 
to  give  them  a  little  willingly  rather  than 
to  [be  forced  to]  overlook  them  whei 
they  plundered  their  goods  from  them 
And  when  I  had  obliged  them  to  take  an 
oath  not  to  come  into  that  country,  unless 
they  were  invited  to  come,  or  else  when 
they  had  not  their  pay  given  them,  I  dis- 
missed them,  and  charged  them  neither 
to  make  an  expedition  against  the  Bo- 
mans,  nor  against  those  their  neighbours 
that  lay  round  about  them ;  for  my  first 
care  was  to  keep  Galilee  in  peace.  So  I 
was  willing  to  have  the  principal  of  the 
Galileans,  in  all  seventy,  as  hostages  for 
their  fidelity,  but  still  under  the  notion 
of  friendship.  Accordingly,  I  made  them 
my  friends  and  companions  as  I  journeyed, 
and  set  them  to  judge  causes;  and  with 
their  approbation  it  was  that  I  gave  my 
sentences,  while  I  endeavoured  not  to 
mistake  what  justice  required,  and  to 
keep  my  hands  clear  of  all  bribery  ii 
those  determinations. 

I  was  now  about  the  thirtieth  year  of 
my  age ;  in  which  time  of  life  it  is  a  hard 
thing  for  any  one  to  escape  the  calumnies 
of  the  envious,  ^although  he  restrain  him- 
self from  fulfilling  any  unlawful  desires, 
especially  where  a  person  is  in  great  au- 
thority. Yet  did  I  preserve  every  woman 
free  from  injuries;  and  as  to  what  pre- 
sents were  offered  me,  I  despised  them, 
as  not  standing  in  need  of  them  ;  nor,  in- 
deed,   would    I    take   those   tithes  which 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS 


13 


wire  due  to  me  as  a  priest,  from  those 
that  brought  them.  Yet  do  I  confess 
that  I  took  part  of  the  spoils  of  those 
Syrians  which  inhabited  the  cities  that 
adjoined  to  us,  when  I  had  conquered 
them,  and  that  I  sent  them  to  my  kin- 
dred at  Jerusalem ;  although,  when  I 
twice  took  Sepphoris  by  force,  and  Tibe- 
rias four  times,  and  Gadara  once,  and 
when  I  had  subdued  and  taken  John,  who 
often  laid  treacherous  snares  for  me,  I 
did  not  punish  [with  death]  either  him 
or  any  of  the  people  before  named,  as  the 
progress  of  this  discourse  will  show.  And 
on  this  account,  I  suppose,  it  was  that 
God,  who  is  never  unacquainted  with 
those  that  do  as  they  ought  to  do,  de- 
livered me  still  out  of  the  hands  of  these 
my  enemies,  and  afterward  preserved  me 
when  I  fell  into  those  many  dangers 
which  I  shall  relate  hereafter. 

Now,  the  multitude  of  the  Galileans 
had  that  great  kindness  for  me,  and 
fidelity  to  me,  that  when  their  cities  were 
taken  by  force,  and  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren carried  into  slavery,  they  did  not  so 
deeply  lament  for  their  own  calamities,  as 
thev  were  solicitous  for  my  preservation. 
But  when  John  saw  this,  he  envied  me, 
and  wrote  to  me,  desiring  that  I  would 
give  him  leave  to  come  down,  and  make 
use  of  the  hot  baths  of  Tiberias  for  the 
recovery  of  the  health  of  his  body.  Ac- 
cordingly, I  did  not  hinder  him,  as  hav- 
ing no  suspicion  of  any  wicked  design  of 
bis ;  and  1  wrote  to  those  to  whom  I  had 
committed  the  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  Tiberias  by  name,  that  they  should 
provide  a  lodging  for  John,  and  for  such 
as  should  come  with  him,  and  should  pro- 
cure him  what  necessaries  soever  he 
snould  stand  in  need  of.  Now  at  this 
time  my  abode  was  in  a  village  of  Galilee, 
which  is  named  Cana. 

But  when  John  was  come  to  the  city 
of  Tiberias,  he  persuaded  the  men  to  re- 
volt from  their  fidelity  to  me,  and  to  ad- 
here to  him ;  and  many  of  them  gladly 
received  that  invitation  of  his,  as  ever 
fond  of  innovations,  and  by  nature  dis- 
posed to  changes,  and  delighting  in  sedi- 
tions ;  but  they  were  chiefly  Justus  and 
his  father  Pistus  that  were  earnest  for 
their  revolt  from  me,  and  their  adherence 
to  John.  But  I  came  upon  them,  and 
prevented  them  j  for  a  messenger  had 
come  to  me  from  Silas,  whom  I  had  made 
governor  of  Tiberias,  as  I  have  said  al- 
ready, and  had  told  me  of  the  inclinations 


of  the  people  of  Tiberias,  and  advised  me 
to  make  haste  thither;  for  that,  if  T  made 
any  delay,  the  city  would  come  under 
anoher's  jurisdiction.  Upon  the  receipt 
of  this  letter  of  Silas,  I  took  200  men 
along  with  me,  and  travelled  all  night, 
having  sent  before  a  messenger  to  let  the 
people  of  Tiberias  know  that  I  wasccming 
to  them.  When  I  came  near  to  the  city, 
which  was  early  in  the  morning,  the  mul- 
titude came  out  to  meet  me,  and  John 
came  with  them,  and  saluted  me,  but  in  a 
most  disturbed  manner,  as  being  afraid 
that  my  coming  was  to  call  him  to  an  ac- 
count for  what  I  was  now  sensible  he  was 
doing.  So  he,  in  great  haste,  went  to  his 
lodging.  But  when  I  was  in  the  open 
place  of  the  city,  having  dismissed  the 
guards  I  had  about  me,  excepting  one, 
and  ten  armed  men  that  were  with  him, 
I  attempted  to  make  a  speech  to  the  mul- 
titude of  the  people  of  Tiberias ;  and 
standing  on  a  certain  elevated  place,  I  en- 
treated them  not  to  be  so  hasty  in  their 
revolt ;  for  that  such  a  change  in  their 
behaviour  would  be  to  their  reproach, 
and  that  they  would  then  justly  be  sus- 
pected by  those  that  should  be  their  go- 
vernors hereafter,  as  if  they  were  not 
likely  to  be  faithful  to  them  neither. 

But  before  I  had  spoken  all  I  designed, 
I  heard  one  of  my  own  domestics  bidding 
me  come  down ;  for  that  it  was  not  a 
proper  time  to  take  care  of  retaining  the 
good-will  of  the  people  of  Tiberias,  but  to 
provide  for  my  own  safety,  and  escape  my 
enemies  there ;  for  John  had  chosen  the 
most  trusty  of  those  armed  men  that  were 
about  him  out  of  those  thousand  that  he 
had  with  him,  and  had  given  them  orders, 
when  he  sent  them,  to  kill  me,  having 
learned  that  I  was  alone,  excepting  some 
of  my  domestics.  So  those  that  were 
sent  came  as  they  were  ordered,  and  they 
had  executed  what  they  came  about,  had 
I  not  leaped  down  from  the  elevation  1 
stood  on,  and  with  one  of  my  guards, 
whose  name  was  James,  been  carried  [out 
of  the  crowd]  upon  the  back  of  one  Herod 
of  Tiberias,  and  guided  by  him  down  to 
the  lake,  where  I  seized  a  ship,  and  got 
into  it,  and  escaped  my  enemies  unex- 
pectedly, and  came  to  Tarichese. 

Now,  as  soon  as  the  inhabitants  of  that 
city  understood  the  perfidiousness  of  the 
people  of  Tiberias,  they  were  greatly  pro- 
voked at  them.  So  they  snatched  up 
their  arms,  and  desired  me  to  be  their 
leader  against  them  j  for  they  said  they 


14 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


would  avenge  their  commander's  cause 
upon  Tuem.  They  also  carried  the  report 
of  what  had  been  done  to  me  to  all  the 
Galileans,  and  eaperly  endeavoured  to 
irritate  them  against  the  people  of  Tibe- 
rias, and  desired  that  vast  numbers  of 
them  would  get  together,  and  come  to 
them,  that  they  might  act  in  concert  with 
the,#r  commander,  what  should  be  deter- 
mined as  fit  to  be  done.  Accordingly, 
tho  Galileans  came  to  me  in  great  num- 
bers, from  all  parts,  with  their  weapons, 
and  besought  me  to  assault  Tiberias,  to 
take  it  by  force,  and  to  demolish  it,  till  it 
lay  even  with  the  ground,  and  then  to 
make  slaves  of  its  inhabitants,  with  their 
wivej  and  children.  Those  that  were  Jo- 
sephus's  friends  also,  and  had  escaped  out 
of  Tiberias,  gave  him  the  same  advice. 
But  I  did  not  comply  with  them,  think- 
ing it  a  terrible  thing  to  begin  a  civil  war 
among  them  ;  for  I  thought  that  this  con- 
tention ought  not  to  proceed  further  than 
words;  nay,  I  told  them  that  it  was  not 
for  their  own  advantage  to  do  what  they 
would  have  me  to  do,  while  the  Romans 
expected  no  other  than  that  we  should 
destroy  one  another  by  our  mutual  sedi- 
tions ;  and  by  saying  this,  I  put  a  stop  to 
the  anger  of  the  Galileans. 

But  now  John  was  afraid  for  himself, 
since  his  treachery  had  proved  unsuccess- 
ful ;  so  he  took  the  armed  men  that  were 
about  him,  and  removed  from  Tiberias  to 
Gischala,  and  wrote  to  me  to  apologize 
for  himself  concerning  what  had  been 
done,  as  if  it  had  been  done  without  his 
approbation ;  and  desired  me  to  have  no 
suspicion  of  him  to  his  disadvantage.  He 
also  added  oaths,  and  certain  horrible 
curses  upon  himself,  and  supposed  he 
should  be  thereby  believed  in  the  points 
he  wrote  about  to  me. 

But  now  another  great  number  of  the 
Galileans  came  together  again  with  their 
weapons,  as  knowing  the  man,  how 
wicked  and  how  sadly  perjured  he  was, 
and  desired  me  to  lead  them  against  him, 
and  promised  me  that  they  would  utterly 
destroy  both  him  and  Gischala.  Here- 
upon I  professed  that  I  was  obliged  to 
them  for  their  readiness  to  serve  me ; 
snd  that  I  would  more  than  requite  their 
good-will  to  me.  However,  I  entreated 
them  to  restrain  themselves  ;  and  begged 
of  them  to  do  what  I  intended,  which 
was  to  put  an  end  to  these  troubles 
without  bloodshed ;  and  when  I  had 
prevailed    with    the    multitude    of    the 


Galileans   to   let    me  do   so,  I   came    to 
Sepphoris. 

But  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  having 
determined  to  continue  in  their  allegiance 
to  the  Romans,  were  afraid  of  my  coming 
to  them  ;  and  triad,  by  putting  me  upon 
another  action,  to  divert  me,  that  they 
might  be  freed  from  the  terror  they  were 
in.  Accordingly,  they  sent  to  Jesus,  the 
captain  of  those  robbers  who  were  in  th« 
confines  of  Ptolemais,  and  promised  to 
give  him  a  great  deal  of  money,  if  he 
would  come  with  those  forces  he  had  with 
him,  which  were  in  number  800,  and 
fight  with  us.  Accordingly,  he  complied 
with  what  they  desired,  upon  the  promises 
they  had  made  him,  and  was  desirous  to 
fall  upon  us  when  we  were  unprepared  for 
him,  and  knew  nothing  of  his  coming 
beforehand  :  so  he  sent  to  me,  and  desired 
that  I  would  give  kim  leave  to  come  and 
salute  me.  When  I  had  given  him  that 
leave,  which  I  did  without  the  knowledge 
of  his  treacherous  intentions  beforehand, 
he  took  his  band  of  robbers,  and  made 
haste  to  come  to  me.  Yet  did  not  this 
his  knavery  succeed  well  at  last;  for,  as 
he  was  already  nearly  approaching,  one 
of  those  with  him  deserted  him,  and  came 
to  me,  and  told  me  what  he  had  under- 
taken to  do.  When  I  was  informed  of 
this,  I  went  into  the  market-place,  and 
pretended  to  know  nothing  of  his  treacher- 
ous purpose.  I  took  with  me  many  Gali- 
leans that  were  armed,  as  also  some  of 
those  of  Tiberias;  and,  when  I  had  given 
orders  that  all  the  roads  should  be  care- 
fully guarded,  I  charged  the  keepers  of 
the  gates  to  give  admittance  to  none  but 
Jesus,  when  he  came,  with  the  principal 
of  his  men,  and  to  exclude  the  rest;  and 
in  case  they  aimed  to  force  themselves  in, 
to  use  stripes  [in  order  to  repel  them]. 
Accordingly  those  that  had  received  such 
a  charge  did  as  they  were  bidden,  and 
Jesus  came  in  with  a  few  others;  and 
when  I  had  ordered  him  to  throw  down 
his  arms  immediately,  and  told  him,  that 
if  he  refused  so  to  do,  he  was  a  dead  man. 
he  seeing  armed  men  standing  all  round 
about  him,  was  terrified,  and  complied ; 
and  as  for  those  of  his  followers  that  were 
excluded,  when  they  were  informed  that 
he  was  seized,  they  ran  away.  I  then 
called  Jesus  to  me  by  himself  and  told 
him,  that  UI  was  not  a  stranger  to  thai 
treacherous  design  he  had  against  me,  nor 
was  I  ignorant  by  whom  he  was  sent  for; 
that,  however,  I  wo^ld  forgive  ^im  what 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLA.VIUS   JOSEPIIUS. 


15 


tic  had  done  already,  if  be  would  repent 
of  it,  and  be  faithful  to  me  hereafter/' 
And  thus  ,upon  his  promise  to  do  all  that  I 
desired,  I  let  him  go,  and  gave  him  leave  to 
get  those  whom  he  had  formerly  had  with 
him  together  again.  But  I  threatened  the 
inhabitants  of  Sepphoris,  that,  if  they  would 
not  leave  off  their  ungrateful  treatment  of 
me,  I  would  punish  them  sufficiently. 

At  this  time  it  was  that  two  great  men, 
who  were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
king  [Agrippa],  came  to  me  out  of  the  re- 
gion of  Trachonitis,  bringing  their  horses 
and  their  arms,  and  carrying  with  them 
their  money  also ;  and  when  the  Jews 
would  force  them  to  be  circumcised,  if 
they  would  stay  among  them,  I  would  not 
permit  them  to  have  any  force  put  upon 
them,  but  said  to  them,  "  Every  one  ought 
to  worship  God  according  to  his  own  in- 
clinations, and  not  to  be  constrained  by 
force;  and  that  these  men,  who  had  fled 
to  us  for  protection,  ought  not  to  be  so 
treated  as  to  repent  of  their  coming  hither/' 
And  when  I  had  pacified  the  multitude, 
I  provided  for  the  men  that  were  come  to 
us  whatsoever  it  was  they  wanted,  accord- 
ing to  their  usual  way  of  living,  and  that 
in  great  plenty  also. 

Now  King  Agrippa  sent  an  army  to 
make  themselves  masters  of  the  citadel 
of  Gamala,  and  over  it  Equiculus  Modius; 
but  the  forces  that  were  sent  were  not 
enow  to  encompass  the  citadel  quite 
round,  but  lay  before  it  in  the  open 
places,  and  besieged  it.  But  when  Ebu- 
tius  the  decurion,  who  was  intrusted  with 
the  government  of  the  great  plain,  heard 
that  I  was  at  Simonias,  a  village  situated 
in  the  confines  of  Galilee,  and  was  distant 
from  him  sixty  furlongs,  he  took  100 
horsemen,  that  were  with  him  by  night, 
and  a  certain  number  of  footmen,  about 
200,  and  brought  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  Gibea  along  with  him  as  auxiliaries, 
and  marched  in  the  night,  and  came  to 
the  village  where  I  abode.  Upon  this  I 
pitched  my  camp  over  against  him,  which 
had  a  great  number  of  forces  in  it;  but 
Ebutius  tried  to  draw  us  down  into  the 
plain,  as  greatly  depending  upon  his 
horsemen  ;  but  we  would  not  come  down; 
for  when  I  was  satisfied  of  the  advantage 
that  his  horse  would  have  if  we  came 
down  into  the  plain,  while  we  were  all 
footmen,  I  resolved  to  join  battle  with 
the  enemy  where  I  was.  Now  Ebutius 
and  his  party  made  a  courageous  opposi- 
tion  for  some   time;    but   when    he  saw 


that  his  horse  were  useless  to  him  in 
that  place,  he  retired  back  to  the  city 
Gibea,  having  lost  three  of  his  men  in 
the  fight.  So  I  followed  him  directly 
with  2000  armed  men ;  and  when  I  was 
at  the  city  Besara,  that  lay  in  the  confineH 
of  Ptolemais,  but  twenty  furlongs  from 
Gibea,  where  Ebutius  abode,  I  placed  my 
armed  men  on  the  outside  of  the  village, 
and  gave  orders  that  they  should  guard 
the  passes  with  great  care,  that  the  enemy 
might  not  disturb  us  until  we  should  have 
carried  off  the  corn,  a  great  quantity  of 
which  lay  there  :  it  belonged  to  Bernice 
the  queen,  and  had  been  gathered  to- 
gether out  of  the  neighbouring  villages 
into  Besara :  so  I  loaded  my  camels  and 
asses,  a  great  number  of  which  I  had 
brought  along  with  me,  and  sent  the  corn 
into  Galilee.  When  I  had  done  this,  I 
offered  Ebutius  battle ;  but  when  he 
would  not  accept  of  the  offer,  for  he  was 
terrified  at  our  readiness  and  courage,  1 
altered  my  route  and  marched  toward 
Neopolitauus,  because  I  had  heard  that  the 
country  about  Tiberias  was  laid  waste  by 
him.  This  Neopolitanus  was  captain  of  a 
troop  of  horse,  and  had  the  custody  of 
Scythopolis  intrusted  to  his  care  by  the 
enemy ;  and  when  I  had  hindered  him 
from  doing  any  further  mischief  to  Tibe- 
rias, I  set  myself  to  make  provision  for 
the  affairs  Of  Galilee. 

But  when  John,  the  son  of  Levi,  who, 
as  we  before  told  you,  abode  at  Gischala, 
was  informed  how  all  things  had  suc- 
ceeded to  my  mind,  and  that  I  was  much 
in  favour  with  those  that  were  under  me, 
as  also  that  the  enemy  were  greatly  afraid 
of  me,  he  was  not  pleased  with  it.  as 
thinking  my  prosperity  tended  to  his 
ruin.  So  he  took  up  a  bitter  envy  and 
enmity  against  me;  and,  hoping  that  if 
he  could  inflame  those  that  were  under 
me  to  hate  me,  he  should  put  an  end  to 
the  prosperity  I  was  in,  he  tried  to  per- 
suade the  inhabitants  of  Tiberias  pud  of 
Sepphoris,  (and  for  those  of  Gabara,  he 
supposed  they  would  be  also  of  the  same 
mind  with  the  others,)  which  were  the 
greatest  cities  of  Galilee,  to  revolt  from 
their  subjection  to  me,  and  to  be  of  his 
party ;  and  told  them  that  he  would  com- 
mand them  better  than  I  did.  As  for 
the  people  of  Sepphoris,  who  belonged  to 
neither  of  us,  because  they  had  chosen  to 
be  in  subjection  to  the  Romans,  they  did 
not  comply  with  his  proposal;  and  fcr 
those  of  Tiberias,  they  did  not  indeed  so 


16 


THE    LIFE   OF   FLAYlUrf   JOSLPHUS. 


far  comply  as  to  make  a  revolt  from  un- 
der me,  but  they  agreed  to  be  his  friends, 
while  the  inhabitants  of  Gabara  did  go 
over  to  John ;  and  it  was  Simon  that 
persuaded  them  so  to  do,  one  who  was 
both  the  principal  man  in  the  city,  and  a 
particular  friend  and  companion  of  John. 
It  is  true,  these  did  not  openly  own  the 
making  a  revolt,  because  they  were  in 
great  fear  of  the  Galileans,  and  had  fre- 
quent experience  of  the  good-will  they 
bore  to  me ;  yet  did  they  privately  watch 
for  a  proper  opportunity  to  lay  snares  for 
me ;  and,  indeed,  I  thereby  came  into 
the  greatest  danger  on  the  occasion  fol- 
lowing : 

There  were  some  bold  young  men  of 
the  village  of  Dabaritta,  who  observed 
that  the  wife  of  Ptolemy,  the  king's  pro- 
curator, was  to  make  a  progress  over  the 
great  plain  with  a  mighty  attendance, 
and  with  some  horsemen  that  followed  as 
a  guard  to  them,  and  this  out  of  a  country 
that  was  subject  to  the  king  and  queen, 
into  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Romans;  and 
fell  upon  them  on  a  sudden,  and  obliged 
the  wife  of  Ptolemy  to  fly  away,  and 
plundered  all  the  carriages.  They  also 
came  to  me  to  Tarichese,  with  four  mules' 
loading  of  garments  and  other  furniture ; 
and  the  weight  of  the  silver  they  brought 
was  not  small ;  and  there  were  500  pieces 
of  gold  also.  Now  I  had  a  mind  to  pre- 
serve these  spoils  for  Ptolemy,  who  was 
my  countryman  ;  and  it  is  prohibited  by 
our  laws  even  to  spoil  our  enemies;  so  I 
said  to  those  that  brought  these  spoils, 
that  they  ought  to  be  kept,  in  order  to  re- 
build the  walls  of  Jerusalem  with  them 
when  they  came  to  be  sold ;  but  the 
young  men  took  it  very  ill  that  they  did 
not  receive  a  part  of  those  spoils  for  them- 
selves, as  they  expected  to  have  done ;  so 
they  went  among  the  villages  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Tiberias,  and  told  the 
people  that  I  was  going  to  betray  their 
country  to  the  Romans,  and  that  I  used 
deceitful  language  to  them,  when  I  said 
that  what  had  been  thus  gotten  by  ra- 
pine should  be  kept  for  the  rebuilding 
of  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
although  I  had  resolved  to  restore  these 
spoils  again  to  their  former  owner ;  and, 
indeed,  they  were  herein  not  mistaken  as 
to  my  intentions;  for  when  I  had  gotten 
clear  of  them,  I  sent  for  two  of  the  prin- 
cipal men,  Dassion,  and  Janneus,  the  son 
of  Levi,  persons  that  were  among  the 
chief  friends  of  the  king,  and  commanded 


them  to  take  the  furniture  that  had  been 
plundered,  and  to  send  it  to  him  ;  and  I 
threatened  that  I  would  order  them  to  be 
put  to  death  by  way  of  punishment,  if 
they  discovered  this  my  command  to  any 
other  person. 

Now,  when  all  Galilee  was  filled  with 
this  rumour,  that  their  country  was  about 
to  be  betrayed  by  me  to  the  Romans,  and 
when  all  men  were  exasperated  against 
me,  and  ready  to  bring  me  to  punish- 
ment, the  inhabitants  of  Tarichese  did 
also  themselves  suppose  that  what  the 
young  men  said  was  true,  and  persuaded 
my  guards  and  armed  men  to  leave  me 
when  I  was  asleep,  and  to  come  presently 
to  the  hippodrome,  in  order  there  to  take 
counsel  against  me  their  commander ; 
and  when  they  had  prevailed  with  them, 
and  they  were  gotten  together,  they 
found  there  a  great  company  assembled 
already,  who  all  joined  in  one  clamour, 
to  bring  the  man  who  was  so  wicked  to 
them  as  to  betray  them,  to  his  due  pun- 
ishment; and  it  was  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Sapphias,  who  principally  set  them  on. 
He  was  ruler  in  Tiberias,  a  w:cked  man, 
and  naturaHy  disposed  to  make  disturb- 
ances in  matters  of  consequence ;  a  sedi- 
tious person  he  was  indeed,  and  an  inno- 
vator beyond  everybody  else.  He  then 
took  the  laws  of  Moses  into  his  hands, 
and  came  into  the  midst  of  the  people, 
and  said,  "  0  my  fellow-citizens !  if  you 
are  not  disposed  to  hate  Josephus  on  your 
own  account,  have  regard,  however,  to 
these  laws  of  your  country,  which  your 
commander-in-chief  is  going  to  betray; 
hate  him,  therefore,  on  both  these  ac- 
counts, and  bring  the  man  who  hath 
acted  thus  insolently,  to  his  deserved 
punishment. " 

When  he  had  said  this,  and  the  multi- 
tude had  openly  applauded  him  for  what 
he  had  said,  he  took  some  of  the  armed 
men,  and  made  haste  away  to  the  house 
in  which  I  lodged,  as  if  he  would  kill  me 
immediately,  while  I  was  wholly  insen- 
sible of  all  till  this  disturbance  happened  ; 
and  by  reason  of  the  pains  I  had  been 
taking,  was  fallen  jast  asleep ;  but  Simon, 
who  was  intrusted  with  the  care  of  my 
body,  and  was  the  only  person  that  stayed 
with  me,  and  saw  the  violent  incursion 
the  citizens  made  upon  me,  awaked  me 
and  told  me  of  the  danger  I  was  in,  and 
desired  me  to  let  him  kill  me,  that  I 
might  die  bravely  and  like  a  general,  be- 
fore my  enemies  came  in,  and  forced  me 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


17 


[to  kill  myself]  or  killed  me  themselves. 
Thus  did  he  discourse  to  me  ;  but  I  com- 
mitted the  care  of  my  life  to  God,  and 
made  haste  to  go  out  to  the  multitude. 
Accordingly,  I  put  on  a  black  garment, 
and  hung  my  sword  at  my  neck,  and 
went  by  such  a  different  way  to  the  hip- 
podrome wherein  I  thought  none  of  my 
adversaries  would  meet  me;  so  I  ap- 
peared among  them  on  the  sudden,  and 
fell  down  flat  on  the  earth,  and  bedewed 
the  ground  with  my  tears ;  then  I  seemed 
to  them  all  an  object  of  compassion ;  and 
when  I  perceived  the  change  that  was 
made  in  the  multitude,  I  tried  to  divide 
their  opinions  before  the  armed  men 
should  return  from  my  house ;  so  I 
granted  them  that  I  had  been  as  wicked 
as  they  supposed  me  to  be ;  but  still  I 
entreated  them  to  let  me  first  inform 
them  for  what  use  I  had  kept  that  money 
which  arose  from  the  plunder ;  and  that 
they  might  then  kill  me,  if  they  pleased  : 
and,  upon  the  multitude's  ordering  me  to 
speak,  the  armed  men  came  upon  me,  and 
when  they  saw  me,  they  ran  to  kill  me ; 
but  when  the  multitude  bade  them  hold 
their  hands,  they  complied ;  and  ex- 
pected that  as  soon  as  I  should  own  to 
them  that  I  kept  the  money  for  the  king, 
it  would  be  looked  on  as  a  confession  of 
my  treason,  and  they  should  then  be  al- 
lowed to  kill  me. 

When,  therefore,  silence  was  made  by 
the  whole  multitude,  I  spake  'thus  to 
them  :  u  0  my  countrymen  !  I  refuse  not 
to  die,  if  justice  so  require.  However, 
I  am  desirous  to  tell  you  the  truth  of 
this  matter  before  I  die;  for  as  I  know" 
that  this  city  of  yours  [Tariehese]  was  a 
city  of  great  hospitality,  and  filled  with 
abundauce  of  such  men  as  have  left  their 
own  countries,  and  are  come  hither  to  be 
partakers  of  your  fortune,  whatever  it  be, 
I  had  a  mind  to  build  walls  about  it,  out 
of  this  money,  for  which  you  are  so 
angry  with  me,  while  yet  it  was  to  be 
expended  in  building  your  own  walls." 
Upon  my  saying  this,  the  people  of  Ta- 
riehese and  the  strangers  cried  out,  that 
i(  they  gave  me  thanks,  and  desired  me  to 
be  of  good  courage  f  although  the  Gali- 
leans, and  the  people  of  Tiberias,  conti- 
nued in  their  wrath  against  me,  insomuch 
that  there  arose  a  tumult  among  them, 
while  some  threatened  to  kill  me,  and 
some  bade  me  not  to  regard  them ;  but 
when  I  promised  them  that  I  would  build 
them  walls  at  Tiberias,  and  at  other  cities 
2 


that  wanted  them,  they  gave  credit  to 
what  I  promised,  and  returned  every  one 
to  his  own  home.  So  I  escaped  tho  be- 
fore-mentioned danger,  beyond  all  my 
hopes;  and  returned  to  my  own  house, 
accompanied  with  my  friends,  and  twenty 
armed  men  also. 

However,  these  robbers  and  other  au- 
thors of  this  tumult,  who  were  afraid  on 
their  own  account,  lest  I  should  punish 
them  for  what  they  had  done,  took  600 
armed  men,  and  came  to  the  house  where 
I  abode,  in  order  to  set  it  on  fire.  When 
this  their  in.sult  was  told  me,  I  thought 
it  indecent  for  me  to  run  away,  and  I  re- 
solved to  expose  myself  to  danger,  and  to 
act  with  some  boldness ;  so  I  gave  order 
to  shut  the  doors,  and  went  up  into  an 
upper  room,  and  desired  that  they  would 
send  in  some  of  their  men  to  receive  the 
money  [from  the  spoils];  for  I  told  them 
they  would  then  have  no  occasion  to  be 
augry  with  me ;  and  when  they  had  sent 
in  one  of  the  boldest  of  them  all,  I  had 
him  whipped  severely;  and  I  commanded 
that  one  of  his  hands  should  be  cut  off, 
and  hung  about  his  neck ;  and  in  this 
case  was  he  put  out  to  those  that  sent 
him.  At  which  procedure  of  mine  they 
were  greatly  affrighted,  and  in  no  small 
consternation ;  and  were  afraid  that  they 
should  themselves  be  served  in  like  man- 
ner, if  they  stayed  there;  for  they  sup- 
posed that  I  had  in  the  house  more 
armed  men  than  they  had  themselves ;  so 
they  ran  away  immediately,  while  I,  by 
the  use  of  this  stratagem,  escaped  this 
their  second  treacherous  design  against  me 

But  there  were  still  some  that  irritated 
the  multitude  against  me,  and  said  that 
those  great  men  that  belonged  to  the  king 
ought  not  to  be  suffered  to  live,  if  they 
would  not  change  their  religion  to  the 
religion  of  those  to  whom  they  fled  for 
safety ;  they  spoke  reproachfully  of  them 
also,  and  said  that  they  were  wizards, 
and  such  as  called  in  the  Romans  upon 
them.  So  the  multitude  was  soon  de- 
luded by  such  plausible  pretences  as  were 
agreeable  to  their  own  inclinations,  and 
were  prevailed  on  by  them;  but  when  I 
was  informed  of  this,  I  instructed  the 
multitude  again,  that  those  who  fled  to 
them  for  refuge  ought  not  to  be  perse- 
cuted :  I  also  laughed  at  the  allegation 
about  witchcraft;  and  told  them  that  the 
I  Romans  would  not  maintain  so  many  ten 
I  thousand  soldiers,  if  they  qould  overcome 
[  their  enemies  by  wizards.    Upon  my  say 


18 


THE   LIFE   OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


ing  this,  the  people  assented  for  a  while ; 
but  they  returned  agaiu  afterward,  as 
irritated  by  some  ill  people  against  the 
great  men ;  nay,  they  once  made  an  as- 
sault upon  the  house  in  which  they  dwelt 
at  Taricheae,  in  order  to  kill  them  ;  which, 
when  I  was  informed  of,  I  was  afraid  lest 
so  horrid  a  crime  should  take  effect,  and 
nobody  else  would  make  that  city  their 
refuge  any  more.  I,  therefore,  came  my- 
self, and  some  others  with  me,  to  the 
house  where  these  great  men  lived,  and 
locked  the  doors,  aud  had  a  trench  drawn 
from  their  house  leading  to  the  lake,  and 
sent  for  a  ship,  and  embarked  therein 
with  them,  and  sailed  to  the  confines  of 
Hippos  :  I  also  paid  them  the  value  of 
their  horses ;  nor  in  such  a  flight  could  I 
have  their  horses  brought  to  them.  I 
then  dismissed  them  j  and  begged  of 
them  earnestly  that  they  would  coura- 
geously bear  this  distress  which  befell 
them.  I  was  also  myself  greatly  dis- 
pleased that  I  was  compelled  to  expose 
those  that  had  fled  to  me,  to  go  again  into 
an  enemy's  country ;  yet  did  I  think  it 
more  eligible  that  they  should  perish 
among  the  Romans,  if  it  should  so  hap- 
pen, than  in  the  country  that  was  under 
my  jurisdiction.  However,  they  escaped 
at  length,  and  King  Agrippa  forgave 
them  their  offences;  and  this  was  the 
conclusion  of  what  concerned  these  men. 

But  as  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
of  Tiberias,  they  wrote  to  the  king,  and 
desired  him  to  send  them  forces  sufficient 
to  be  a  guard  to  their  country :  for  that 
they  were  desirous  to  come  over  to  him. 
This  was  what  they  wrote  to  him  ;  but1 
when  I  came  to  them  they  desired  me  to 
build  their  walls,  as  I  had  promised  them 
to  do ;  for  they  had  heard  that  the  walls 
of  Taricheae  were  already  built.  I  agreed 
to  their  proposal  accordingly;  and  when 
I  had  made  preparation  for  the  entire 
building,  I  gave  order  to  the  architects  to 
go  to  work;  but  on  the  third  day,  when  I 
was  gone  to  Taricheae,  which  was  thirty 
furlongs  distant  from  Tiberias,  it  so  fell 
out,  that  some  R^man  horsemen  were  dis- 
covered on  their  march,  not  far  from  the 
city,  which  made  it  to  be  supposed  that 
the  forces  were  come  from  the  king ; 
upon  which  they  shouted,  and  lifted  up 
their  voices  in  commendations  of  the  kinir, 
ana  in  reproaches  against  me.  Hereupon 
on<:  came  running  to  me,  and  told  me  what 
their  dispositions  were;  aud  that  they  had 
resolved  to  revolt  from  me:  upon  hearing 


which  news  I  was  very  much  alarmed, 
for  I  had  already  sent  away  my  armed  men 
from  Taricheae  to  their  own  homes,  because 
the  next  day  was  our  Sabbath  ;  for  I  would 
not  have  the  people  of  Taricheae  disturbed 
[on  that  day]  by  a  multitude  of  soldiers : 
and  indeed,  whenever  I  sojourned  at  that 
city,  I  never  took  any  particular  care  for 
a  guard  about  my  own  body,  because  I 
had  had  frequent  instances  of  the  fidelity 
its  inhabitants  bore  to  me.  I  had  now 
about  me  no  more  than  seven  armed  m^n, 
besides  some  friends,  and  was  doubtfui 
what  to  do ;  for  to  send  to  recall  my  own 
forces  I  did  not  think  proper,  because  the 
present  day  was  almost  over;  and  had 
those  forces  been  with  me,  I  could  not 
take  up  arms  on  the  next  day,  because 
our  laws  forbade  us  so  to  do,  even  though 
our  necessity  should  be  very  great;  and  if 
I  should  permit  the  people  of  Taricheae, 
and  the  strangers  with  them,  to  guard  the 
city,  I  saw  that  they  would  not  be  sufficient 
for  that  purpose,  and  I  perceived  that  I 
should  be  obliged  to  delay  my  assistance  a 
great  while  :  for  I  thought  with  myself 
that  the  forces  that  came  from  the  king 
would  prevent  me,  and  that  I  should  be 
driven  out  of  the  city.  I  considered,  there- 
fore, how  to  get  clear  of  these  forces  by  a 
stratagem;  so  I  immediately  placed  those 
my  friends  of  Taricheae,  on  whom  I  could 
best  confide,  at  the  gates,  to  watch  those 
very  carefully  who  went  out  at  those  gates; 
I  also  called  to  me  the  heads  of  families, 
and  bade  every  one  of  them  to  seize  upon 
a  ship,  to  go  on  board  it,  and  take  a  mas- 
ter with  them,  and  follow  him  to  the  city 
of  Tiberias.  I  also  myself  went  on  board 
one  of  those  ships,  with  my  friends,  and 
the  seven  armed  men  already  mentioned, 
and  sailed  for  Tiberias. 

Rut  now,  when  the  people  of  Tiberias 
perceived  that  there  were  no  forces  come 
from  the  king,  and  yet  saw  the  whole  lake 
full  of  ships,  they  were  in  fear  what  would 
become  of  their  city,  and  were  greatly 
terrified,  as  supposing  that  the  ships  were 
full  of  men  on  board ;  so  they  then  chang- 
ed their  minds,  aud  tjirew  down  thejr 
weapons,  and  met  me  with  their  wives  and 
children,  and  made  acclamations  to  me 
with  great  commendations;  for  they  ima- 
gined that  I  did  not  know  their  former  incli- 
nation [to  have  been  against  me] :  so  they 
persuaded  me  to  spare  the  city;  but  when 
I  was  come  near  enough,  I  gave  order  to 
the  masters  of  the  ships  to  cast  anchor  a 
good  way  off  the  land,  that  the  people  of 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


19 


Tiberias  might,  not  perceive  that  the  ships 
had  no  men  on  board ;  but  I  went  nearer 
to  the  people  in  one  of  the  ships,  and  re- 
buked them  for  their  folly,  and  that  they 
were  so  fickle  as,  without  any  just  occasion 
in  the  world,  to  revolt  from  their  fidelity 
to  me.  However,  I  assured  them  that  I 
would  entirely  forgive  them  for  the  time 
to  come,  if  they  would  send  ten  of  the 
ringleaders  of  the  multitude  to  me;  and 
when  they  complied  readily  with  this  pro- 
posal, and  sent  me  the  men  before  men- 
tioned, I  put  them  on  board  a  ship,  and 
sent  them  away  to  Taricheae,  and  ordered 
them  to  be  kept  in  prison. 

And  by  this  stratagem  it  was  that  I 
gradually  got  all  the  senate  of  Tiberias 
into  my  power,  and  sent  them  to  the  city 
before  mentioned,  with  many  of  the  prin- 
cipal men  among  the  populace;  and  those 
not  fewer  in  number  than  the  other :  but, 
when  the  multitude  saw  into  what  great 
miseries  they  bad  brought  themselves, 
they  desired  me  to  punish  the  author  of 
this  sedition :  his  name  was  Clitus,  a  young 
man,  bold  and  rash  in  his  undertakings. 
Now,  since  I  thought  it  not  agreeable  to 
piety  to  put  one  of  my  own  people  to 
death,  and  yet  found  it  necessary  to  punish 
him,  I  ordered  Levi,  one  of  my  own  guards, 
to  go  to  him,  and  cut  off  one  of  Clitus's 
hands;  but  as  he  that  was  ordered  to  do 
this,  was  afraid  to  go  out  of  the  ship  alone, 
among  so  great  a  multitude,  I  was  not 
willing  that  the  timorousness  of  the  sol- 
dier should  appear  to  the  people  of  Tibe- 
rias :  so  I  called  to  Clitus  himself,  and  said 
to  him,  "  Since  thou  deservest  to  lose  both 
thine  hands  for  thy  ingratitude  to  me,  be 
thou  thine  own  executioner,  lest,  if  thou 
refusest  so  to  be,  thou  undergo  a  worse 
punishment."  And  when  he  earnestly 
begged  of  me  to  spare  him  one  of  his 
hands,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  granted 
it.  So,  in  order  to  prevent  the  loss  of 
both  his  hands,  he  willingly  took  his 
sword,  and  cut  off  his  own  left  hand ;  and 
this  put  an  end  to  the  sedition. 

Now  the  men  of  Tiberias,  after  I  was 
gone  to  Taricheae,  perceived  what  stra- 
tagem I  had  used  against  them,  and  they 
admired  how  I  had  put  an  end  to  their 
foolish  sedition,  without  shedding  of  blood. 
But  now,  when  I  had  sent  for  some  of  those 
multitudes  of  the  people  of  Tiberias  out 
of  prison,  among  whom  were  Justus  and 
his  father  Pistus,  I  made  them  to  sup  with 
me ;  and  during  our  supper-time  I  said  to 
them,  that  J  knew  the  power  of  the  Ro- 


mans was  superior  to  all  others ;  but  did 
not  say  so  [publicly]  because  of  the  rob- 
bers. So  I  advised  them  to  do  as  I  did, 
and  to  wait  for  a  proper  opportunity,  and 
not  to  be  uneasy  at  my  being  their  com- 
mander; for  that  they  could  not  expect 
to  have  another  who  would  use  the  like 
moderation  that  I  had  done.  I  also  put 
Justus  in  mind  how  the  Galileans  had 
cut  off  his  brother's  hands  before  evei  I 
came  to  Jerusalem,  upon  an  accusation  laid 
against  him,  as  if  he  had  been  a  rogue,  and 
had  forged  some  letters;  as  also  how  the 
people  of  Gamala,  in  a  sedition  they 
raised  against  the  Babylonians,  after  the 
departure  of  Philip,  slew  Chares,  who  was 
a  kinsman  of  Philip,  and  withal  how  they 
had  wisely  punished  Jesus,  his  brother 
Justus's  sister's  husband  [with  death]. 
When  I  had  said  this  to  them  during 
supper-time,  I  in  the  morning  ordered 
Justus,  and  all  the  rest  that  were  in  pri- 
son, to  be  loosed  out  of  it,  and  sent  away. 
But  before  this,  it  happened  that  Philip, 
the  son  of  Jacimus,  went  out  of  the  cita- 
del of  Gamala  upon  the  following  occa- 
sion :  when  Philip  had  been  informed  that 
Varus  was  put  out  of  his  government 
by  King  Agrippa,  and  that  Equiculus 
Modius,  a  man  that  was  of  old  his  friend 
and  companion,  was  come  to  succeed  him, 
he  wrote  to  him  and  related  what  turns 
of  fortune  he  had  had,  and  desired  him  to 
forward  the  letters  he  sent  to  the  king 
and  queen.  Now,  when  Modius  had  receiv- 
ed these  letters,  he  was  exceedingly  glad, 
and  sent  the  letters  to  the  king  and  queen, 
who  were  then  about  Berytus.  But  when 
King  Agrippa  knew  that  the  story  about 
Philip  was  false,  (for  it  had  been  given  out, 
that  the  Jews  had  begun  a  war  with  the 
Romans,  and  that  this  Philip  had  been 
their  commander  in  that  war,)  he  sent  some 
horsemen  to  conduct  Philip  to  him;  and 
when  he  was  come  he  saluted  him  very 
obligingly,  and  showed  him  to  the  Roman 
commanders,  and  told  them  that  this  was 
the  man  of  whom  the  report  had  gono 
about  as  if  he  had  revolted  from  the  Ro- 
mans. He  also  bid  him  to  take  some  horse- 
men with  him,  and  to  go  quickly  to  the 
citadel  of  Gamala,  and  to  bring  out  thence 
all  his  domestics,  and  to  restore  the  Baby- 
lonians to  Batanea  again.  He  also  gave 
it  him  in  charge  to  take  all  possible  care 
that  none  of  his  subjects  should  be  guilty 
of  making  any  innovation.  Accordingly, 
upon  theso  directions  from  the  king,  he 
made  haste  tr  do  what  he  was  commanded. 


20 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


Now  there  was  one  Joseph,  the  son  of 
a  female  physician,  who  excited  a  great 
many  young  men  to  join  with  him.  He 
also  insolently  addressed  himself  to  the 
principal  persons  at  Gamala,  and  persuad- 
ed them  to  revolt  from  the  king,  and  take 
up  arms,  and  gave  them  hopes  that  they 
should,  by  his  means,  recover  their  liberty : 
and  some  they  forced  into  the  service  ; 
and  those  that  would  not  acquiesce  in 
what  they  had  resolved  on,  they  slew. 
They  also  slew  Chares,  and  with  him 
Jesus,  one  of  his  kinsmen,  and  a  brother 
of  Justus  of  Tiberias,  as  we  have  already 
said.  Those  of  Gamala  also  wrote  to  me, 
desiring  me  to  send  them  an  armed  force, 
and  workmen  to  raise  up  the  walls  of  their 
city;  nor  did  I  reject  either  of  their  re- 
quests. The  region  of  Gaulanitis  did  also 
revolt  from  the  king,  as  far  as  the  village 
Solyma.  I  also  built  a  wall  about  Seleu- 
cia  and  Soganni,  which  are  villages  na- 
turally of  very  great  strength.  Moreover, 
I,  in  like  manner,  walled  several  villages 
of  Upper  Galilee,  though  they  were  very 
rocky  of  themselves.  Their  names  are  Jam- 
nia,  and  Meroth,  and  Achabare.  I  also 
fortified,  in  the  Lower  Galilee,  the  cities 
Taricheae,  Tiberias,  Sepphoris,  and  the 
villages,  the  cave  of  Arbela,  Bersobe,  Se- 
lamin,  Jotapata>  Capharecho,  and  Sigo, 
and  Japha,  and  Mount  Tabor.  I  also 
laid  up  a  great  quantity  of  corn  in  these 
places,  and  arms  withal,  that  might  be 
for  their  security  afterward.  r 

But  the  hatred  that  John,  the  son  of 
Levi,  bore  to  me,  grew  now  more  violent, 
while  he  could  not  bear  my  prosperity 
with  patience.  So  he  proposed  to  himself, 
by  all  means  possible,  to  make  away  with 
me;  and  built  the  walls  of  Gischala,  which 
was  the  place  of  his  nativity.  He  then 
sent  his  brother  Simon,  and  Jonathan, 
the  son  of  Sisenna,  and  about  100  armed 
men,  to  Jerusalem,  to  Simon,  the  son  of 
Gamaliel,  in  order  to  persuade  him  to 
induce  the  commonalty  of  Jerusalem  to 
take  from  me  the  government  over  the 
Galileans,  and  to  give  their  suffrages  for 
conferring  that  authority  upon  him.  This 
Simon  waa  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and 
of  a  very  noble  family,  of  the  sect  of  the 
Pharisees,  which  are  supposed  to  excel 
others  in  the  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
laws  of  their  country.  He  was  a  man  of 
g~eat  wisdom  and  reason,  and  capable  of 
restoring  public  affairs  by  bis  prudence, 
when  they  were  in  au  ill  posture.  He 
was  aluo  an  o  d  friend  and  companion  of 


John;  but  at  that  time  he  had  a  difference 
with  me.  When,  therefore,  he  had  re- 
ceived such  an  exhortation,  he  persuade^ 
the  high-priests,  Ananus,  and  Jesus,  the 
son  of  Gamala,  and  some  others  of  th 
same  seditious  faction,  to  cut  me  down, 
now  I  was  growing  so  great,  and  not 
to  overlook  me  while  I  was  aggrand- 
izing myself  to  the  height  of  glory ;  and 
he  said  that  it  would  be  for  the  advantage 
of  the  Galileans  if  I  were  deprived  of  my 
government  there.  Ananus  also,  and  his 
friends,  desired  them  to  make  no  delay 
about  the  matter,  lest  I  should  get  the 
knowledge  of  what  was  doing  too  soon, 
and  should  come  and  make  an  assault 
upon  the  city  with  a  great  army.  This 
was  the  counsel  of  Simon ;  but  Ananus, 
the  high-priest,  demonstrated  to  them 
that  this  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  be  done, 
because  many  of  the  high-priests  and  of  the 
rulers  of  the  people  bore  witness  that  I 
had  acted  like  an  excellent  general,  and 
that  it  was  the  work  of  ill  men  to  accuse 
one  against  whom  they  had  nothing  to  say 
When  Simon  heard  Ananus  say  this, 
he  desired  that  the  messengers  would  con- 
ceal the  thing,  and  not  let  it  come  among 
many ;  for  that  he  would  take  care  to 
have  Josephus  removed  out  of  Galilee 
very  quickly.  So  he  called  for  John's 
brother  [Simon],  and  charged  him  that 
they  should  send  presents  to  Ananus  and 
his  friends  :  for,  as  he  said,  they  might 
probably,  by  that  means,  persuade  them 
to  change  their  minds.  And,  indeed, 
Simon  did  at  length  thus  compass  what  he 
aimed  at;  for  Ananus,  and  those  with  him, 
being  corrupted  by  bribes,  agreed  to  expel 
me  out  of  Galilee,  without  making  the 
rest  of  the  citizens  acquainted  with  what 
they  were  doing.  Accordingly  they  re- 
solved to  send  men  of  distinction  as  to 
their  families,  and  of  distinction  as  to 
their  learning  also.  Two  of  these  were 
of  the  populace,  Jonathan  and  Ananias, 
by  sect  Pharisees ;  while  the  third,  Jozar, 
was  of  the  stock  of  the  priests,  and  a 
Pharisee  also ;  and  Simon,  the  last  of 
them,  was  of  the  youngest  of  the  high- 
priests.  These  h#d  it  given  them  in 
charge,  that,  when  they  were  come  to  the 
multitude  of  the  Galileans,  they  should 
ask  them  what  was  the  reason  of  their 
love  to  me ;  and  if  they  said  that  it  was 
because  I  was  born  at  Jerusalem,  that 
they  should  reply,  that  they  four  were  all 
born  at  the  same  place ;  and  if  they 
should    say,    it  was    because   I   was  well 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS    JOSEPHUS. 


>n 


versed  in  their  law,  they  should  reply, 
that  neither  were  they  unacquainted  with 
the  practices  of  their  country  ;  but  if,  be- 
sides these,  they  should  say  they  loved 
me  because  I  was  a  priest,  they  should 
reply,  that  two  of  these  were  priests  also. 

Now,  when  they  had  given  Jonathan 
and  his  companions  these  instructions, 
they  gave  them  40,000  [drachmae]  out 
of  the  public  money  :  but  when  they 
heard  that  there  was  a  certain  Galilean 
that  then  sojourned  at  Jerusalem,  whose 
name  was  Jesus,  who  had  about  him  a 
band  of  600  armed  men,  they  sent  for 
him,  and  gave  him  three  months'  pay, 
and  gave  him  orders  to  follow  Jonathan 
and  his  companions,  and  be  obedient  to 
them.  They  also  gave  money  to  300 
men  that  were  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  to 
maintain  them  all,  and  ordered  them  also 
to  follow  the  ambassadors ;  and  when 
they  had  complied,  and  were  gotten  ready 
for  the  march,  Jonathan  and  his  compa- 
nions went  out  with  them,  having  along 
with  them  John's  brother  and  100  armed 
men.  The  charge  that  was  given  them 
by  those  that  sent  them  was  this  :  That 
if  I  would  voluntarily  lay  down  my  arms, 
they  should  send  me  alive  to  the  city  of 
Jerusalem ;  but  that,  in  case  I  opposed 
them,  they  should  kill  me,  and  fear  no- 
thing; for  that  it  was  their  command  for 
them  so  to  do.  They  also  wrote  to  John 
to  make  all  ready  for  fighting  me,  and 
gave  orders  to  the  inhabitants  of  Seppho- 
ris,  and  Gabara,  and  Tiberias,  to  send 
auxiliaries  to  John. 

Now,  as  my  father  wrote  me  an  account 
of  this,  (for  Jesus,  the  son  of  Gamala, 
who  was  present  in  that  council,  a  friend 
and  companion  of  mine,  told  him  of  it,)  I 
was  very  much  troubled,  as  discovering 
thereby  that  my  fellow-citi-zens  proved  so 
ungrateful  to  me,  as  out  of  envy,  to  give 
order  that  I  should  be  slain  ;  my  father 
earnestly  pressed  me  also  in  his  letter  to 
come  to  him,  for  that  he  longed  to  see  his 
son  before  he  died.  I  informed  my 
friends  of  these  things,  and  that  in  three 
days'  time  I  should  leave  the  country 
and  go  home.  Upon  hearing  this,  they 
were  all  very  sorry,  and  desired  me,  with 
tears  in  their  eyes,  not  to  leave  them  to 
be  destroyed;  for  so  they  thought  they 
should  be,  if  .1  were  deprived  of  the  com- 
mand over  them ;  but  as  I  did  not  grant 
their  request,  but  was  taking  care  of  my 
own  safety,  the  Galileans,  out  of  their 
head  of  the  consequence  of  my  departure, 


that  they  should  then  be  at  the  mercy  of 
the  robbers,  sent  messengers  over  all  Ga- 
lilee to  inform  them  of  my  resolution  to 
leave  them.  Whereupon,  as  soon  as  they 
heard  it,  they  got  together  in  great  num- 
bers from  all  parts,  with  their  wives  and 
children  ;  and  this  they  did,  as  it  ap- 
peared to  me,  not  more  out  of  their  affec- 
tion to  me,  than  out  of  their  fear  on  their 
own  account ;  for,  while  I  stayed  witl 
them,  they  supposed  that  they  should 
suffer  no  harm.  So  they  all  came  into 
the  great  plain,  wherein  I  lived,  the  name 
of  which  was  Asochis. 

But  wonderful  it  was  what  a  dream  I 
saw  that  very  night;  for  when  I  had  be- 
taken myself  to  my  bed,  as  grieved  and 
disturbed  at  the  news  that  had  been 
written  to  me,  it  seemed  to  me,  that  a 
certain  person  stood  by  me,  and  said, 
"  O  Josephus !  leave  off  to  afflict  thy 
soul,  and  put  away  all  fear :  for  what 
now  grieves  thee  will  render  thee  very 
considerable,  and  in  all  respects  most 
happy;  for  thou  shalt  get  over  not  only 
these  difficulties,  but  many  others,  with 
great  success.  However,  be  not  cast 
down,  but  remember  that  thou  art  to 
fight  with  the  llomans."  When  I  had 
seen  this  dream,  I  got  up  with  an  inten- 
tion of  going  down  to  the  plain.  Now, 
when  the  whole  multitude  of  the  Gali- 
leans, among  whom  were  the  women  and 
children,  saw  me,  they  threw  themselves 
down  upon  their  faces,  and,  with  tears  in 
their  eyes,  besought  me  not  to  leave  them 
exposed  to  their  enemies,  nor  to  go  away 
and  permit  their  country  to  be  injured  by 
them ;  but,  when  I  did  not  comply  with 
their  entreaties,  they  compelled  me  to 
take  an  oath  that  I  would  stay  with 
them  :  they  also  cast  abundance  of  re- 
proaches upon  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
that  they  would  not  let  their  country  en- 
joy peace. 

When  I  heard  this,  and  saw  what  sor- 
row the  people  were  in,  I  was  moved  with 
compassion  to  them,  and  thought  it  be-» 
came  me  to  undergo  the  most  manifest 
hazards  for  the  sake  of  so  great  a  multi- 
tude ;  so  I  let  them  know  I  would  staj 
with  them ;  and  when  I  had  given  order 
that  5000  of  them  should  come  to  me 
armed,  and  with  provisions  for  their  main 
tenance,  I  sent  the  rest  away  to  their  own 
homes;  and,  when  those  5000  were  come, 
1  took  them,  together  with  3000  of  the 
soldiers  that  were  with  me  before,  and 
eighty    horsemen,    and    marched    to    the 


Tl 


THE   LIFE   OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEHIUS. 


village  of  Chabolo,  situated  in  the  con- 
fines of  Ptolemais,  and  there  kept  my 
forces  together,  pretending  to  get  ready 
to  fight  with  Placidus,  who  was  come 
with  two  cohorts  of  footmen,  and  one 
troop  of  horsemen ;  and  was  sent  thither 
by  Cestius  Gallus  to  burn  those  villages 
of  Galilee  that  were  near  Ptolemais. 
Upon  whose  casting  up  a  bank  before 
the  city  Ptolemais,  I  also  pitched  my 
camp  at  about  the  distance  of  sixty  fur- 
longs from  that  village ;  and  now  we  fre- 
quently brought  out  our  forces  as  if  we 
would  fight,  but  proceeded  no  further 
than  skirmishes  at  a  distance ;  for  when 
Placidus  perceived  that  I  was  earnest  to 
come  to  a  battle,  he  was  afraid,  and 
avoided  it ;  yet  did  he  not  remove  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  Ptolemais. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Jonathan 
and  his  fellow-legates  came.  They  were 
sent,  as  we  have  said  already,  by  Simon 
and  Ananus  the  high-priest ;  and  Jona- 
than contrived  how  he  might  c:itch  me  by 
treachery;  for  lie  durst  not  make  any 
attempt  upon  me  openly.  So  he  wrote 
me  the  following  epistle  :  "  Jonathan  and 
those  that  are  with  him,  and  are  sent  by 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  to  Josephus, 
send  greeting.  We  are  sent  by  the  prin- 
cipal men  of  Jerusalem,  who  have  heard 
that  John  of  Gischala  hath  laid  many 
snares  for  thee,  to  rebuke  him,  and  to 
exhort  him  to  be  subject  to  thee  here- 
after. We  are  also  desirous  to  consult 
with  thee  about  our  common  concerns, 
and  what  is  fit  to  be  done.  We,  there- 
fore, desire  thee  to  come  to  us  quickly, 
and  to  bring  only  a  few  men  with  thee ; 
for  this  village  will  not  contain  a  great 
number  of  soldiers."  Thus  it  was  that 
they  wrote,  as  expecting  one  of  these  two 
things;  either  that  I  should  come  with- 
out armed  men,  and  then  they  should 
have  me  wholly  in  their  power;  or  if  I 
came  with  a  great  number,  they  should 
judge  me  to  be  a  public  enemy.  Now  it 
was  a  horseman  who  brought  the  letter,  a 
man  at  other  times  bold,  and  one  that  had 
served  in  the  army  under  the  king.  It 
was  tho  second  hour  of  the  night  that  he 
cam 3,  when  I  was  feasting  with  my 
friends  and  the  principal  of  the  Gali- 
leans. This  man,  upon  my  servant's 
telling  mc  that  a  certain  horseman  of  the 
Jewish  nation  was  come,  was  called  in  at 
my  command,  but  did  not  so  much  as 
salute  me  at  all,  but  held  out  a  letter, 
and   said,  u  This   letter   is  sent   thee  by 


those  that  are  come  from  Jerusalem  :  do 
thou  write  an  answer  to  it  quickly,  for  I 
am  obliged  to  return  to  them  very  soon." 
Now,  my  guests  could  not  but  wonder  at 
the  boldness  of  the  soldier;  but  I  desired 
him  to  sit  down  and  sup  with  us ;  but 
when  he  refused  so  to  do,  I  held  the  let- 
ter in  my  hands  as  I  received  it,  and  fell 
a  talking  with  my  guests  about  other 
matters ;  but  a  few  hours  afterward,  I 
got  up,  and  when  I  had  dismissed  the 
rest  to  go  to  their  beds,  I  bid  only  four 
of  my  intimate  friends  to  stay ;  and  or- 
dered my  servant  to  get  some  wine  ready. 
I  also  opened  the  letter  so  that  nobody 
could  perceive  it;  and  understanding 
thereby  presently  the  purport  of  the 
writing,  I  sealed  it  up  again,  and  ap- 
peared as  if  I  had  not  yet  read  it,  but 
only  held  it  in  my  hands ;  I  ordered  twenty 
drachmae  should  be  given  the  soldier  for 
the  charges  of  his  journey ;  and  when 
he  took  the  money,  and  said  that  he 
thanked  me  for  it,  I  perceived  that  he 
loved  money,  and  that  he  was  to  be 
caught  chiefly  by  that  means  ;  and  I  said 
to  him,  "  If  thou  wilt  but  drink  with  us, 
thou  shalt  have  a  drachmae  for  every 
glass  thou  drinkest."  So  he  gladly  em- 
braced this  proposal,  and  drank  a  great 
deal  of  wine,  in  order  to  get  the  more 
money,  and  was  so  drunk,  that  at  last  he 
could  not  keep  the  secrets  he  was  in- 
trusted with,  but  discovered  them  without 
my  putting  questions  to  him,  viz.  that  a 
treacherous  design  was  contrived  against 
me;  and  that  I  was  doomed  to  die  by 
those  that  sent  him.  When  I  heard 
this,  I  wrote  back  this  answer :  "  Jose- 
phus to  Jonathan,  and  those  that  are  with 
him,  sendeth  greeting.  Upon  the  infor- 
mation that  you  are  come  in  health  into 
Galilee,  I  rejoice,  and  this  especially,  be- 
cause I  can  now  resign  the  care  of  public 
affairs  here  into  your  hands,  and  return 
into  my  native  country,  which  is  what  I 
have  desired  to  do  a  great  while ;  and  I 
confess  I  ought  not  only  to  come  to  yon 
as  far  as  Xaloth,  but  farther,  and  this 
without  your  commands ;  but  I  desire  you 
to  excuse  me,  becatfse  I  cannot  do  it  now, 
since  I  watch  the  motions  of  Placidus, 
who  hath  a  mind  to  go  up  into  Galilee ; 
and  this  I  do  here  at  Chabolo.  Do  you, 
therefore,  on  the  receipt  of  this  epistle, 
come  hither  to  me.     Fare  you  well." 

When  I  had  written  thus,  and  given 
the  letter  to  be  carried  by  the  soldier,  1 
sent  along   with  him   thirty  of  the   Gali 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHTJS. 


23 


leans  of  the  best  characters,  and  gave 
thein  instructions  to  salute  those  ambas- 
sadors, but  to  say  nothing  else  to  them. 
I  also  gave  orders  to  as  many  of  those 
armed  men,  whom  I  esteemed  most  faith- 
ful to  me,  to  go  along  with  the  others, 
every  one  with  him  whom  he  was  to 
guard ;  lest  some  conversation  might  pass 
between  those  whom  I  sent,  and  those 
who  were  with  Jonathan.  So  those  men 
rent  [to  Jonathan].  But,  when  Jona- 
than and  his  partners  had  failed  in  this 
their  first  attempt,  they  sent  me  another 
letter,  the  contents  whereof  were  as  fol- 
lows:  "Jonathan,  and  those  with  him,  to 
Josephus,  send  greeting.  We  require 
thee  to  come  to  us  to  the  village  Gaba- 
roth,  on  the  third  day,  without  any  armed 
men,  that  we  may  hear  what  thou  hast  to 
lay  to  the  charge  of  John  [of  Gischala]." 
When  they  had  written  this  letter,  they 
saluted  the  Galileans  whom  I  sent ;  and 
came  to  Japha,  which  was  the  largest  vil- 
lage of  all  Galilee,  and  encompassed  with 
very  strong  walls,  and  had  a  great  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  in  it.  There  the  mul- 
titude of  men,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, met  them,  and  exclaimed  loudly 
against  them ;  and  desired  them  to  be 
gone,  and  not  to  envy  them  the  advan- 
tage of  an  excellent  commander.  With 
these  clamours  Jonathan  and  his  partners 
were  greatly  provoked,  although  they 
durst  not  show  their  anger  openly ;  so 
they  made  them  no  answer,  but  went  to 
other  villages.  But  still  the  same  cla- 
mours met  them  from  all  the  people,  who 
said,  "Nobody  should  persuade  them  to 
have  any  other  commander  besides  Jose- 
phus." So  Jonathan  and  his  partners 
went  away  from  them  without  success, 
and  came  to  Sepphoris,  the  greatest  city 
of  all  Galilee.  Now,  the  men  of  that 
city,  who  inclined  to  the  Komaus  in  their 
sentiments,  met  them  indeed,  but  neither 
praised  nor  reproached  me ;  and  when 
they  were  gone  down  from  Sepphoris  to 
Asochis,  the  people  of  that  place  made  a 
clamour  against  them,  as  those  of  Japha 
"had  done ;  whereupon  they  were  able  to 
contain  themselves  no  longer,  but  ordered 
the  armed  men  that  were  with  them  to 
beat  those  that  made  the  clamour  with 
their  clubs ;  and  when  they  came  to  Ga- 
bara,  John  met  them  with  3000  armed 
men ;  but,  as  I  understood  by  their  letter 
that  they  had  resolved  to  fight  against 
me,  I  arose  from  Chabolo,  with  3000 
armed  men  also,  but  left  in  my  camp  one 


of  my  fastest  friends,  and  came  to  Jota- 
pata,  as  desirous  to  be  near  them,  the 
distance  being  no  more  than  forty  fur- 
longs. Whence  I  wrote  thus  to  them : 
"  If  you  are  desirous  that  I  should  come 
to  you,  you  know  there  are  240  cities  and 
villages  in  Galilee :  I  will  come  to  any  of 
them  which  you  please,  excepting  Gabara 
and  Gischala,  the  one  of  which  is  John's 
native  city,  and  the  other  in  confederacy 
and  friendship  with  him." 

When  Jonathan  and  his  partners  had 
received  this  letter,  they  wrote  me  no  more 
answers,  but  called  a  council  of  their 
friends  together,  and  taking  John  into 
their  consultation,  they  took  counsel  to- 
gether by  what  means  they  might  attack 
me.  John's  opinion  was,  that  they  should 
write  to  all  the  cities  and  villages  that 
were  in  Galilee ;  for  that  there  must  be 
certainly  one  or  two  persons  in  every  one 
of  them  that  were  at  variance  with  me ; 
and  that  they  should  be  invited  to  come, 
to  oppose  me  as  an  enemy.  He  would 
also  have  them  send  this  resolution  of 
theirs  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  that  its 
citizens,  upon  the  knowledge  of  my  being 
adjudged  to  be  an  enemy  by  the  Galileans, 
might  themselves  also  confirm  that  deter- 
mination. He  said  also,  that  when  this 
was  done,  even  those  Galileans  who  were 
well  affected  to  me,  would  desert  me,  out 
of  fear.  When  John  had  given  them 
this  counsel,  what  he  had  said  was  very 
agreeable  to  the  rest  of  them.  I  was  also 
made  acquainted  with  these  affairs  about 
the  third  hour  of  the  nignt,  Dy  the  means 
of  one  Saccheus,  who  had  belonged  to 
them,  but  now  deserted  them  and  came 
over  to  me,  and  told  me  what  they  were 
about.  So  I  perceived  that  no  time  was 
to  be  lost.  Accordingly,  I  gave  command 
to  Jacob,  an  armed  man  of  my  guard, 
whom  I  esteemed  faithful  to  me,  to  take 
200  men,  and  to  guard  the  passages  that 
led  from  Gabara  to  Galilee,  and  to  seize 
upon  the  passengers,  and  send  them  to  me, 
especially  such  as  were  caught  with  letter: 
about  them  :  I  also  sent  Jeremias  himself 
one  of  my  friends,  with  600  armed  men, 
to  the  borders  of  Galilee,  in  order  to  watch 
the  roads  that  led  from  this  country  to  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  gave  him  charge  to 
lay  hold  of  such  as  travelled  with  letter! 
about  them,  to  keep  the  men  in  bond? 
upon  the  place,  but  to  send  me  the  letters 

When  I  had  laid  these  commands  upon 
them,  I  gave  them  orders,  and  bid  then» 
take  their  arms  and  bring  three  days'  pro 


24 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPIIUS. 


visioi  with  them,  and  be  with  me  the  next 
day.  I  also  parted  those  that  were  about 
me  into  four  parts,  and  ordained  those  of 
them  that  were  most  faithful  to  me  to  be 
a  guard  to  my  body.  I  also  set  over  them 
centurions  ;  and  commanded  them  to  take 
care  tl  at  not  a  soldier  which  they  did  not 
know  should  mingle  himself  among  them. 
Now,  on  the  fifth  day  following,  when  I 
was  at  Gabaroth,  I  found  the  entire  plain 
that  was  before  the  village  full  of  armed 
men,  who  were  come  out  of  Galilee  to  as- 
sist me  :  many  others  of  the  multitude 
also  out  of  the  village,  ran  along  with  me; 
but  as  soon  as  I  had  taken  my  place,  and 
began  to  speak  to  them,  they  all  made  an 
acclamation,  and  called  me  the  benefactor 
and  saviour  of  the  country;  and  when  I 
had  made  them  my  acknowledgments,  and 
thanked  them  [for  their  affection  to  me], 
I  also  advised  them  to  fight  with  nobody,* 
nor  to  spoil  the  country,  but  to  pitch  their 
tents  in  the  plain,  and  be  content  with 
their  sustenance  they  had  brought  with 
them ;  for  I  told  them  I  had  a  mind  to 
compose  these  troubles  without  shedding 
any  blood.  Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  on 
the  very  same  day  those  who  were  sent  by 
John  with  letters,  fell  among  the  guards 
whom  I  had  appointed  to  watch  the  roads; 
so  the  men  were  themselves  kept  upon  the 
place,  as  my  orders  were ;  but  I  got  the 
letters,  which  were  full  of  reproaches  and 
lies;  and  I  intended  to  fall  upon  these 
men,  without  saying  a  word  of  these  mat- 
ters to  anvb^dv 

Now,  as  soon  as  Jonathan  and  his  com- 
panions heard  of  my  coming,  they  took  all 
their  own  friends,  and  John  with  them, 
and  retired  to  the  house  of  Jesus,  which 
indeed  was  a  large  castle,  and  noway  un- 
like a  citadel ;  so  they  privately  led  a  band 
of  armed  men  thereiu,  and  shut  all  the 
other  doors  but  one,  which  they  kept  open, 
and  they  expected  that  I  should  come  out 
of  the  road  to  them,  to  salute  them;  and 
indeed  they  had  given  orders  to  the  armed 
men,  that  when  I  came  they  should  let 
nobody  beside  me  come  in,  but  should  ex- 
clude others ;  as  supposing  that,  by  this 
means,  they  shou.'d  easily  get  me  under 
their  power :  but  they  were  deceived  in 
their  expectation,  for  ]  perceived  what 
snares  they  had  laid  for  me.  Now,  as 
soon  as  I  was  got  off  my  journey,  I  took 


*  Joeephus'a  directions  to  his  soldiers  here  are 
much  the  same  that  John  the  Baptist  gave,  (Luke 
iii.  14:) — "Do  violence  to  no  man,  neither  accuse 
any  falsely,  and  be  content  with  your  wages." 


up  my  lodgings  over  against  them,  and 
pretended  to  be  asleep ;  so  Jonathan  and 
his  party,  thinking  that  I  was  really  asleep 
and  at  rest,  made  haste  to  go  down  into 
the  plain  to  persuade  the  people  that  I  was 
an  ill  governor:  but  the  matter  proved 
otherwise ;  for,  upon  their  appearance, 
there  was  a  cry  made  by  the  Galileans  im- 
mediately, declaring  their  good  opinion  of 
me  as  their  governor ;  and  they  made  a 
clamour  against  Jonathan  and  his  partners 
for  coming  to  them  when  they  had  suffered 
no  harm,  and  as  though  they  would  over- 
turn their  happy  settlement;  and  desired 
them  by  all  means  to  go  back  again,  for 
that  they  would  never  be  persuaded  to 
have  any  other  to  rule  over  them  but  my- 
self. When  I  heard  of  this,  I  did  not 
fear  to  go  down  into  the  midst  of  them ; 
I  went,  therefore,  myself  down  presently, 
to  hear  what  Jonathan  and  his  companions 
said.  As  soon  as  I  appeared,  there  was 
immediately  an  acclamation  made  to  me 
by  the  whole  multitude,  and  a  cry  in  my 
commendation  by  them,  who  confessed 
their  thanks  were  owing  to  me  for  my 
good  government  of  them. 

When  Jonathan  and  his  companions 
heard  this,  they  were  in  fear  of  their  own 
lives,  and  in  danger  lest  they  should  be 
assaulted  by  the  Galileans  on  my  account  j 
so  they  contrived  how  they  might  run 
away;  but  as  they  were  not  able  to  get 
off,  for  I  desired  them  to  stay,  they  looked 
down  with  concern  at  my  words  to  them. 
I  ordered,  therefore,  the  multitude  to 
restrain  entirely  their  acclamations,  and 
placed  the  most  faithful  of  my  armed  men 
upon  the  avenues,  to  be  a  guard  to  us, 
lest  John  should  unexpectedly  fall  upon 
us;  and  I  encouraged  the  Galileans  to 
take  their  weapons,  lest  they  should  be 
disturbed  at  their  enemies,  if  any  sudden 
insult  should  be  made  upon  them  ;  and 
then,  in  the  first  place,  I  put  Jonathan 
and  his  partners  in  mind  of  their  [former] 
letter,  and  after  what  manner  they  had 
written  to  me,  and  declared  they  were  sent 
by  the  common  consent  of  the  people  of 
Jerusalem,  to  make  up  the  differences  I 
had  with  John,  and  liow  they  had  desired 
me  to  come  to  them  ;  and  as  I  spake  this, 
I  publicly  showed  that  letter  they  had 
written,  till  they  could  not  at  all  deny 
what  they  had  done,  the  letter  itself  con- 
victing them.  I  then  said,  "  0  Jonathan  ! 
and  you  that  are  sent  with  him  as  his  col- 
leagues, if  I  were  to  be  judged  as  to  my 
behaviour,  compared  with  that  of  John's, 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


25 


and  had  brought  no  more  than  two  or 
three  witnesses,*  good  men  and  true, 
it  is  plain  you  had  been  forced,  upon  the 
examination  of  their  characters  before- 
hand, to  discharge  the  accusations :  that, 
therefore,  you  may  be  informed  that  I 
have  acted  well  in  the  affairs  of  Galilee, 
I  think  three  witnesses  too  few  to  be 
brought  by  a  man  that  hath  done  as  he 
ought  to  do ;  so  I  gave  you  all  these  for 
witnesses.  Inquire")"  of  them  how  I  have 
lived,  and  whether  I  have  not  behaved 
myself  with  all  decency,  and  after  a  vir- 
tuous manner  among  them.  And  I  fur- 
ther conjure  you,  0  Galileans  !  to  hide  no 
part  of  the  truth,  but  to  speak  before 
these  men  as  before  judges,  whether  I  have 
in  any  thing  acted  otherwise  than  well." 

While  I  was  thus  speaking,  the  united 
voices  of  all  the  people  joined  together, 
and  called  me  their  benefactor  and  saviour, 
and  attested  to  my  former  behaviour, 
and  exhorted  me  to  continue  so  to  do  here- 
after; and  they  all  said,  upon  their  oaths, 
that  their  wives  had  been  preserved  free 
from  injuries,  and  that  no  one  had  ever 
been  aggrieved  by  me.  After  this,  I  read 
to  the  Galileans  two  of  those  epistles 
which  had  been  sent  by  Jonathan  and  his 
colleagues,  and  which  those  whom  I  had 
appointed  to  guard  the  road  had  taken, 
and  sent  to  me.  These  were  full  of  re- 
proaches and  of  lies,  as  if  I  had  acted  more 
like  a  tyrant  than  a  governor  agf?  hst 
them ',  with  many  other  things  besides 
therein  contained,  which  were  no  better 
indeed  than  impudent  falsities.  I  also 
informed  the  multitude  how  I  came  bv 
these  letters,  and  that  those  who  carried 
them  delivered  them  up  voluntarily ;  for 
I  was  not  willing  that  my  enemies  should 
know  any  thing  of  the  guards  I  had  set, 
lest  they  should  be  afraid,  and  leave  off 
writing  hereafter. 

When  the  multitude  heard  these  things, 
they  were  greatly  provoked  at  Jonathan 
and  his  colleagues  that  were  with  him, 
and  were  going  to  attack  them,  and  kill 
them  ;  and  this  they  had  certainly  done, 
unless  I  had  restrained  the  anger  of  the 


*  We  hero  learn  the  practice  of  the  Jews,  in 
the  days  of  Josephus,  to  inquire  into  the  charac- 
ters of  witnesses  before  they  were  admitted;  and 
that  their  number  ought  to  be  three,  or  two  at  the 
least,  as  in  the  law  of  Moses,  b.  ii.  s.  37. 

■f  This  appeal  to  the  whole  body  of  the  Galileans 
by  Josephus,  and  the  testimony  they  gave  him  of 
integrity  in  his  conduct  as  their  governor,  is  very 
like  that  appeal  and  testimony  in  the  case  of  the 
prophet  Samuel.    (1  Sam.  xi\  1-5.) 


Galileans,  and  said,  that  "  I  fcrgave  Jona- 
than and  his  colleagues  what  was  past,  if 
they  would  repent,  and  go  to  their  own 
country,  and  tell  those  who  sent  them  the 
truth,  as  to  my  conduct."  When  T  had 
said  this,  I  let  them  go,  although  I  knew 
they  would  do  nothing  of  what  they  had 
promised.  But  the  multitude  were  very 
much  enraged  against  them,  and  entreated 
me  to  give  them  leave  to  punish  them  for 
their  insolence  \  yet  did  I  try  all  methods 
to  persuade  them  to  spare  the  men  ;  for  I 
knew  that  every  instance  of  sedition  wa? 
pernicious  to  the  public  welfare.  But  the 
multitude  was  too  angry  with  them  to  be 
dissuaded;  and  all  of  them  went  imme- 
diately to  the  house  in  which  Jonathan 
and  his  colleagues  abode.  However,  when 
I  perceived  that  their  rage  could  not  be 
restrained,  I  got  on  horseback,  and  ordered 
the  multitude  to  follow  me  to  the  village 
Sogane,  which  was  twenty  furlongs  off 
Gabara  ;  and  by  using  this  stratagem,  I  so 
managed  myself  as  not  to  appear  to  begin 
a  civil  war  among  them. 

But  when  I  was  come  near  Sogane,  I 
caused  the  multitude  to  make  a  halt,  and 
exhorted  them  not  to  be  so  easily  pro- 
voked to  anger,  and  to  the  inflicting  such 
punishments  as  could  not  be  afterward  re- 
called :  I  also  gave  order,  that  a  hundred 
men,  who  were  already  in  years,  and  were 
principal  men  among  them,  should  get 
themselves  ready  to  go  to  the  city  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  should  make  a  complaint 
before  the  people,  of  such  as  raised  sedi 
tions  in  the  country.  And  I  said  to  them, 
that  "in  case  they  be  moved  with  what, 
you  say,  you  shall  desire  the  community 
to  write  to  me,  and  to  enjoin  me  to  con- 
tinue in  Galilee,  and  to  order  Jonathan 
and  his  colleagues  to  depart  out  of  it." 
When  I  had  suggested  these  instructions 
to  them,  and  while  they  were  getting 
themselves  ready  as  fast  as  they  could,  I 
sent  them  on  this  errand  the  third  day 
after  they  had  been  assembled :  I  also 
sent  500  armed  men  with  them  [as  a 
guard].  I  then  wrote  to  my  friends  in 
Samaria,  to  take  care  that  they  might 
safely  pass  through  the  country :  for  Sa- 
maria was  already  under  the  Romans,  and 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  those  that 
go  quickly  [to  Jerusalem]  to  pass  through 
that  country;  for  in  that  road  you  may, 
in  three  days'  time,  go  from  Galilee  tc 
Jerusalem.  I  also  went  myself,  and  con- 
ducted the  old  men  as  fax  as  the  bounds  of 
Galilee,  and  set  guards  in  the  roads,  that 


26 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


it  m;glil  £101  be  easily  known  by  any  one 
that  these  men  were  gone.  And  when  I 
had  thus  done,  I  went  and  abode  at  Japha. 

Now  Jonathan  and  his  colleagues,  having 
failed  of  accomplishing  what  they  would 
have  done  against  me,  sent  John  back  to 
Gischala,  but  went  themselves  to  the  city 
of  Tiberias,  expecting  it  would  submit  it- 
self to  them ;  and  this  was  founded  on  a 
letter  which  Jesus,  their  then  governor, 
had  written  them,  promising  that,  if  they 
came,  the  multitude  would  receive  them, 
and  choose  to  be  under  their  government; 
so  they  went  their  ways  with  this  expect- 
ation. But  Silas,  who,  as  I  said,  had 
been  left  curator  of  Tiberias  by  me,  in- 
formed me  of  this,  and  desired  me  to  make 
haste  thither.  Accordingly,  I  complied 
with  his  advice  immediately,  and  came 
thither;  but  found  myself  in  danger  of 
my  life,  from  the  following  circumstance : — 
Jonathan  and  his  colleagues  had  been  at 
Tiberias,  and  had  persuaded  a  great  many 
of  such  as  had  a  quarrel  with  me  to  desert 
me ;  but  when  they  heard  of  my  coming, 
they  were  in  fear  for  themselves,  and 
came  to  me;  and  when  they  had  saluted 
me,  they  said  that  I  was  a  happjr  man  in 
having  behaved  myself  so  well  in  the  go- 
vernment of  Galilee ;  and  they  congratu- 
lated me  upon  the  honours  that  were  paid 
me ;  for  they  said  that  my  glory  was  a 
credit  to  them,  since  they  had  been  my 
teachers  and  fellow-citizens;  and  they 
said  further,  that  it  was  but  just  that  tlley 
should  prefer  my  friendship  to  them  rather 
than  John's,  and  that  they  would  have 
immediately  gone  home,  but  that  they 
stayed  that  they  might  deliver  up  John 
into  my  power;  and  when  they  said  this, 
they  took  their  oaths  of  it,  and  those  such 
as  are  most  tremendous  among  us,  and 
such  as  I  did  not  think  fit  to  disbelieve. 
However,  they  desired  me  to  lodge  some- 
where else,  because  the  next  day  was  the 
Sabbath  ;  and  that  it  was  not  fit  the  city 
of  Tiberias  should  be  disturbed  [on  that 
day]. 

So  I  suspected  nothing,  and  went  away 
♦•3  Taricheae;  yet  did  I  withal  leave  some 
*o  make  inquiry  in  the  city  how  matters 
went,  and  whether  any  thing  was  said 
about  me;  I  also  set  many  persons  all 
the  way  that  led  from  Taricheae  to  Tibe- 
rias, that  they  might  communicate  from 
one  to  another,  if  they  learned  any  news 
from  those  that  were  left  in  the  city.  On 
the  next  day,  therefore,  they  all  came  into 
the  Proseucha;   it  was  a  large  edifice,  and 


capable  of  receiving  a  great  number  of 
people ;  thither  Jonathan  went  in,  and 
though  he  durst  not  openly  speak  of  a  re- 
volt, yet  did  he  say  that  their  city  stood 
in  need  of  a  better  government  than  it 
then  had.  But  Jesus,  who  was  the  ruler, 
made  no  scruple  to  speak  out,  and  said 
openly,  "0  fellow-citizens!  it  is  better 
for  you  to  be  in  subjection  to  four  than  to 
one;  and  those  such  as  are  of  high  birthj, 
and  not  without  reputation  for  their  wis- 
dom;" and  pointed  to  Jonathan  and  his 
colleagues.  Upon  his  saying  this,  Justus 
came  in  and  commended  him  for  what  he 
had  said,  and  persuaded  some  of  the  peo- 
ple to  be  of  his  mind  also.  But  the  mul- 
titude were  not  pleased  with  what  was 
said,  and  had  certainly  gone  into  a  tumult, 
unless  the  sixth  hour,  which  was  now 
come,  had  dissolved  the  assembly,  at 
which  hour  our  laws  require  us  to  go  to 
dinner  on  Sabbath  days;  so  Jonathan  and 
his  colleagues  put  off  their  council  till  the 
next  day,  and  went  off  without  success. 
When  I  was  informed  of  these  affairs,  I 
determined  to  go  to  the  city  of  Tiberias 
in  the  morning.  Accordingly,  on  the  next 
day,  about  the  first  hour  of  the  day,  I 
came  from  Taricheae,  and  found  the  mul- 
titude already  assembled  in  the  Proseucha; 
but  on  what  account  they  were  gotten 
together,  those  that  were  assembled  did 
not  know.  But  when  Jonathan  and  his 
ecl^agues  saw  me  there  unexpectedly, 
they,  were  in  disorder ;  after  which  they 
raised  a  report  of  their  own  contrivance, 
that  Roman  horsemen  were  seen  at  a 
place  called  Union,  in  the  borders  of 
Galilee,  thirty  furlongs  distant  from  the 
city.  Upon  which  report,  Jonathan  ind 
his  colleagues  cunningly  exhorted  me  ni,t 
to  neglect  this  matter,  nor  to  suffer  the 
land  to  be  spoiled  by  the  enemy.  And 
this  they  said  with  a  design  to  remove  me 
out  of  the  city,  under  the  pretence  of  the 
want  of  extraordinary  assistance,  while 
they  might  dispose  the  city  to  be  my 
enemy. 

As  for  myself,  although  I  knew  of 
their  design,  yet  did  I  comply  with  what 
they  proposed,  lest  the  people  of  Tiberias 
should  have  occasion  to  suppose  that  J 
was  not  careful  of  their  security.  I  there- 
fore went  out ;  but,  when  I  was  at  the 
place,  I  found  not  the  least  footsteps  of 
any  enemy;  so  I  returned  as  fast  as  ever 
I  could,  and  found  the  whole  council  as- 
sembled, and  the  body  of  the  people  got- 
ten together,  and  Jonathan  and  his  col- 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS 


'27 


leagues  bringing  vehement  accusations 
against  me,  as  one  who  had  no  concern 
to  ease  them  of  the  burdens  of  war,  and 
as  one  that  lived  luxuriously.  And  as 
they  were  discoursing  thus,  they  produced 
four  letters  as  written  to  them,  from  some 
people  that  lived  at  the  borders  of  Galilee, 
imploring  that  they  would  come  to  their 
assistance,  for  that  there  was  an  army  of 
Romans,  both  horsemen  and  footmen,  who 
would  come  and  lay  waste  the  country  on 
the  third  day;  they  desired  them  also  to 
make  haste,  and  not  to  overlook  them. 
When  the  people  of  Tibarias  heard  this, 
they  thought  they  spake  truth,  and 
made  a  clamour  against  me,  and  said  I 
ought  not  to  sit  still,  but  to  go  away  to 
the  assistance  of  their  countrymen.  Here- 
upon I  said  (for  I  understood  the  meaning 
of  Jonathan  and  his  colleagues)  that  I  was 
ready  to  comply  with  what  they  proposed, 
and  without  delay  to  march  to  the  war 
which  they  spake  of;  yet  did  I  advise  them, 
at  the  same  time,  that  since  these  letters 
declared  that  the  Romans  would  make 
their  assault  in  four  several  places,  they 
should  part  their  forces  into  five  bodies, 
and  make  Jonathan  and  his  colleagues 
generals  of  each  body  of  them,  because 
it  was  fit  for  brave  men  not  only  to  give 
counsel,  but  to  take  the  place  of  leaders, 
and  assist  their  countrymen  when  such  a 
necessity  pressed  them;  for,  said  I,  it  is 
not  possible  for  me  to  lead  more  than  one 
party.  This  advice  of  mine  greatly  pleased 
the  multitude;  so  they  compelled  them  to 
go  forth  to  the  war.  But  their  designs 
were  put  into  very  much  disorder,  because 
they  had  not  done  what  they  had  designed 
to  do,  on  account  of  my  stratagem,  which 
was  opposite  to  their  undertakings. 

Now  there  was  one  whose  name  was 
Ananias;  (a  wicked  man  he  was,  and  very 
mischievous ;)  he  proposed  that  a  general 
religious  fast  should  be  appointed  the  next 
day  for  all  the  people,  and  gave  order  that 
at  the  same  hour  they  should  come  to  the 
same  place,  without  any  weapons,  to  make 
it  manifest  before  God,  that  while  they 
obtained  his  assistance,  they  thought  all 
these  weapons  useless.  This,  he  said,  not 
out  of  piety,  but  that  they  might  catch 
me  and  my  friends  unarmed.  Now,  I  was 
hereupon  forced  to  comply,  lest  I  should 
appear  to  despise  a  proposal  that  tended 
to  piety.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  we  were 
gone  home,  Jonathan  and  his  colleagues 
wrote  to  John  to  come  to  them  in  the 
morning,  and  desiring  him  to  come  with 


as  many  soldiers  as  he  possibly  could,  for 
that  they  should  then  be  able  easily  to 
get  me  into  their  hands,  and  to  do  all 
they  desired  to  do.  When  John  had  re- 
ceived this  letter,  he  resolved  to  comply 
with  it.  As  for  myself,  on  the  next  day, 
I  ordered  two  of  the  guards  of  my  body, 
whom  I  esteemed  the  most  courageous 
and  most  faithful,  to  hide  daggers  undei 
their  garments,  and  to  go  along  with  me} 
that  we  might  defend  ourselves,  if  any 
attack  should  be  made  upon  us  by  our 
enemies.  I  also  myself  took  my  breast- 
plate, and  girded  on  my  sword,  so  that  it 
might  be,  as  far  as  it  was  possible,  con 
cealed,  and  came  into  the  Proseucha. 

Now  Jesus,  who  was  the  ruler,  com- 
manded that  they  should  exclude  all  that 
came  with  me,  for  he  kept  the  door  him- 
self, and  suffered  none  but  his  friends  to 
go  in.  And  while  we  were  engaged  in 
the  duties  of  the  day,  and  had  betaken 
ourselves  to  our  prayers,  Jesus  got  up, 
and  inquired  of  me  what  was  become  of 
the  vessels  that  were  taken  out  of  the 
king's  palace  when  it  was  burnt  down, 
[and]  of  that  uncoined  silver :  and  in 
whose  possession  they  now  were?  Thi? 
he  said  in  order  to  drive  away  time  till 
John  should  come.  I  said  that  Capellus, 
and  the  ten  principal  men  of  Tiberias, 
had  them  all;  and  I  told  him  that  they 
might  ask  them  whether  I  told  a  lie  or 
not.  And  when  they  said  they  had  them, 
he  asked  me,  What  is  become  of  those 
twenty  pieces  of  gold  which  thou  didst 
receive  upon  the  sale  of  a  certain  weight 
of  uncoined  money?  I  replied,  that  I 
had  given  them  to  those  ambassadors  of 
theirs,  as  a  maintenance  for  them,  when 
they  were  sent  by  them  to  Jerusalem. 
So  Jonathan  and  his  colleagues  said  that 
I  had  not  done  well  to  pay  the  ambassa- 
dors out  of  the  public  money.  And 
when  the  multitude  were  very  angry  at 
them  for  this,  for  they  perceived  the 
wickedness  of  the  men,  I  understood  that 
a  tumult  was  going  to  arise;  and  being 
desirous  to  provoke  the  people  to  a  great- 
er rage  against  the  men,  I  said,  "  But  if 
I  have  not  done  well  in  paying  our  am- 
bassadors out  of  the  public  stock,  leave 
off  your  anger  at  me,  for  I  will  repay  the 
twenty  pieces  of  gold  myself.,, 

When  I  had  said  this,  Jonathan  and 
his  colleagues  held  their  peace;  but  the 
people  were  still  more  irritated  against 
them,  upon  their  openly  showing  their 
unjust  ill-will  to  me.     When  Jesus  saw 


28 


THE   LIFE   OF    FLAVIUS   JOSErHUS. 


this  change  in  the  people,  he  ordered 
them  to  depart,  but  desired  the  senate  to 
stay,  for  that  they  could  not  examine 
things  of  such  a  nature  in  a  tumult;  and 
as  the  people  were  crying  out  that  they 
would  not  leave  me  alone,  there  came  one 
and  told  Jesus  and  his  friends  privately 
that  John  and  his  armed  men  were  at 
hand :  whereupon  Jonathan  and  his  col- 
leagues, being  able  to  contain  themselves 
no  longer,  (and  perhaps  the  providence 
of  God  hereby  procuring  my  deliverance, 
for,  had  not  this  been  so,  I  had  certainly 
been  destroyed  by  John,)  said,  "0  you 
people  of  Tiberias !  leave  off  this  inquiry 
about  the  twenty  pieces  of  gold;  for  Jo- 
sephus  hath  not  deserved  to  die  for  them ; 
but  he  has  deserved  it  by  his  desire  of 
tyrannizing,  and  by  cheating  the  multi- 
tude of  the  G-alileans  with  his  speeches, 
in  order  to  gain  the  dominion  over  them/' 
When  he  had  said  this,  they  presently 
laid  hands  upon  me,  and  endeavoured  to 
kill  me :  but  as  soon  as  those  that  were 
with  me  saw  what  they  did,  they  drew 
their  swords,  and  threatened  to  smite 
them,  if  they  offered  any  violence  to  me. 
The  people  also  took  up  stones,  and  were 
about  to  throw  them  at  Jonathan;  and  so 
they  snatched  me  from  the  violence  of  my 
enemies. 

But  as  I  was  gone  out  a  little  way,  I 
was  just  upon  meeting  John,  who  was 
marching  with  his  armed  men.  So  Iwjis 
afraid  of  him,  and  turned  aside,  and 
escaped  by  a  narrow  passage  to  the  lake, 
and  seized  on  a  ship,  and  embarked  in  it, 
and  sailed  over  to  Tarichese.  So,  beyond 
my  expectation,  I  escaped  this  danger. 
Whereupon  I  presently  sent  for  the  chief 
of  the  G-alileans,  and  told  them  after  what 
manner,  against  all  faith  given,  I  had 
been  very  near  to  destruction  from  Jona- 
than and  his  colleagues,  and  the  people  of 
Tiberias.  Upon  which  the  multitude  of 
the  Galileans  were  very  angry,  and  en- 
couraged me  to  delay  no  longer  to  make 
war  upon  them,  but  to  permit  them  to  go 
against  John,  and  utterly  to  destroy  him, 
as  well  as  Jonathan  and  his  colleagues. 
H.nvcver,  I  restrained  them,  though  they 
were  in  such  a  rage,  and  desired  them  to 
tarry  a  while,  till  we  should  be  informed 
what  orders  those  ambassadors  that  were 
sent  by  them  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
should  bring  thence;  fori  told  them  that 
it  was  best  to  act  according  to  their  de- 
termination; whereupon  they  were  pre- 
vailed   on.     At  which   time    also,  John, 


when  the  snares  he  had  laid  did  not  take 
effect,  returned  back  to  Gischala. 

Now,  in  a  few  days  those  ambassadors 
whom  we  had  sent,  came  back  again  and 
informed  us  that  the  people  were  greatly 
provoked  at  Ananus,  and  Simon,  the  son 
of  Gamaliel,  and  their  friends ;  that, 
without  any  public  determination,  they 
had  sent  to  Galilee,  and  had  done  their 
endeavours  that  I  might  be  turned  out  of 
the  government.  The  ambassadors  said 
further,  that  the  people  were  ready  to 
burn  their  houses.  They  also  brought 
letters,  whereby  the  chief  men  at  Jeru- 
salem, at  the  earnest  petition  of  the  peo- 
ple, confirmed  me  in  the  government  of 
Galilee,  and  enjoined  Jonathan  and  his 
colleagues  to  return  home  quickly.  When 
I  had  gotten  these  letters,  I  came  to  the 
village  Arbela,  where  I  procured  an  as- 
sembly of  the  Galileans  to  meet,  and  bid 
the  ambassadors  declare  to  them  the 
anger  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem  at  what 
had  been  done  by  Jonathan  and  his  col- 
leagues, and  how  much  they  hated  their 
wicked  doings,  and  how  they  had  con- 
firmed me  in  the  government  of  their 
country,  as  also  what  related  to  the  order 
they  had  in  writing  for  Jonathan  and  hig 
colleagues  to  return  home.  So  I  im- 
mediately sent  them  the  letter,  and  bid 
him  that  carried  it  to  inquire,  as  well  as 
he  could,  how  they  intended  to  act  [on 
this  occasion]. 

Now,  when  they  had  received  that  let- 
ter, and  were  thereby  greatly  disturbed, 
they  sent  for  John,  and  for  the  senators 
of  Tiberias,  and  for  the  principal  men  of 
the  Gabarens,  and  proposed  to  hold  a 
council,  and  desired  them  to  consider 
what  was  to  be  done  by  them.  However, 
the  governors  of  Tiberias  were  greatly 
disposed  to  keep  the  government  to  them- 
selves: for  they  said  it  was  not  fit  to 
desert  their  city,  now  it  was  committed 
to  their  trust,  and  that  otherwise  I  should 
not  delay  to  fall  upon  them;  for  they 
pretended  falsely  that  so  I  had  threatened 
to  do.  Now  John  was  not  only  of  their 
opinion,  but  advised  them,  that  two  of 
them  should  go  to  accuse  me  before  the 
multitude  [at  Jerusalem],  that  I  do  not 
manage  the  affairs  of  Galilee  as  I  ought 
to  do ;  and  that  they  would  easily  per- 
suade the  people,  because  of  their  dignity, 
and  because  the  whole  multitude  are  very 
mutable.  When,  therefore,  it  appeared 
that  John  had  suggested  the  wisest  advice 
to  them,  they  resolved  that  two  of  them, 


TI1E    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   J0SEPHUS. 


29 


Jjiiathan  and  Ananias,  should  go  to  the 
people  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  other  two 
[Simon  and  Joazar]  should  be  left  behind  to 
tarry  at  Tiberias.  They  also  took  along 
with  them  100  soldiers  for  their  guard. 

However,  the  governors  of  Tiberias 
took  care  to  have  their  city  secured  with 
walls,  and  commanded  their  inhabitants 
to  take  their  arms.  They  also  sent  for  a 
great  many  soldiers  from  John,  to  assist 
them  against  me,  if  there  should  be  occa- 
sion for  them.  Now  John  was  at  Gischa- 
la.  Jonathan,  therefore,  and  those  that 
were  with  him,  when  they  were  departed 
from  Tiberias,  and  as  soon  as  they  were 
come  to  Dabaritta,  a  village  that  lay  in  the 
utmost  parts  of  Galilee,  in  the  great  plain, 
they,  about  midnight,  fell  among  the 
guards  I  had  set,  who  both  commanded 
them  to  lay  aside  their  weapons,  and  kept 
them  in  bonds  upon  the  place,  as  I  had 
charged  them  to  do.  This  news  was 
written  to  me  by  Levi,  who  had  the  com- 
mand of  that  guard  committed  to  him  by 
me.  Hereupon  I  said  nothing  of  it  for 
two  days;  and  pretending  to  know  nothing 
about  it,  I  sent  a  message  to  the  people 
of  Tiberias,  and  advised  them  to  lay  their 
arms  aside,  and  to  dismiss  their  men,  that 
they  might  go  home ;  but  supposing  that 
Jonathan,  and  those  that  were  with  him, 
vere  already  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  they 
made  reproachful  answers  to  me ;  yet  was 
I  not  terrified  thereby,  but  contrived  an- 
other stratagem  against  them  ;  for  I  did 
not  think  it  agreeable  with  piety  to  kindle 
the  fire  of  war  against  the  citizens.  As  I 
was  desirous  to  draw  those  men  away 
from  Tiberias,  I  chose  out  10,000  of  the 
best  of  my  armed  men,  and  divided  them 
into  three  bodies,  and  ordered  them  to  go 
privately,  and  lie  still,  as  an  ambush,  in 
the  villages.  I  also  led  1000  into  another 
village,  which  lay  indeed  in  the  moun- 
tains, as  did  the  others,  but  only  four  fur- 
longs distant  from  Tiberias ;  and  gave 
orders,  that  when  they  saw  my  signal, 
they  should  come  down  immediately,  while 
I  myself  lay  with  my  soldiers  in  the  sight 
of  everybody.  Hereupon  the  people  of 
Tiberias,  at  the  sight  of  me,  came  running 
out  of  the  city  perpetually,  and  abused  me 
greatly.  Nay,  their  madness  was  come  to 
that  height,  that  they  made  a  decent  bier 
for  me,  and,  standing  about  it,  they 
mourned  over  me  in  the  way  of  jest  and 
sport;  and  I  could  not  but  be  myself  in  a 
pleasant  humour  upon  the  sight  of  this 
madness  of  theirs 


And  now  being  desirous  to  catch  Simon 
by  a  wile,  and  Joazar  with  him,  I  sent  a 
message  to  them,  and  desired  them  to 
come  a  little  way  out  of  the  city,  and 
many  of  their  friends  to  guard  them  ;  for 
I  said  I  would  come  down  to  them,  and 
make  a  league  with  them,  and  divide  the 
government  of  Galilee  with  them.  Ac- 
cordingly, Simon  was  deluded,  on  account 
of  his  imprudence,  and  out  of  the  hopes 
of  gain,  and  did  not  delay  to  come ;  but 
Joazar,  suspecting  snares  were  laid  for 
him,  stayed  behind.  So  when  Simon  was 
come  out,  and  his  friends  with  him  for  his 
guard,  I  met  him,  and  saluted  him  with 
great  civility,  and  professed  that  I  was 
obliged  to  him  for  his  coming  up  to  me; 
but  a  little  while  afterward  I  walked  along 
with  him,  as  though  I  would  say  some- 
thing to  him  by  himself;  and  when  I  had 
drawn  him  a  good  way  from  his  friends,  I 
took  him  about  the  middle,  and  gave  him 
to  my  friends  that  were  with  me,  to  carry 
him  into  a  village ;  and  commanding  my 
armed  men  to  come  down,  I  with  them 
made  an  assault  upon  Tiberias.  Now,  as 
the  fight  grew  hot  on  both  sides,  and  the 
soldiers  belonging  to  Tiberias  were  in  a 
fair  way  to  conquer  me,  (for  my  armed 
men  were  already  fled  away,)  I  saw  the 
posture  of  my  affairs;  and  encouraging 
those  that  were  with  me,  I  pursued  those 
of  Tiberias,  even  when  they  were  already 
conquerors,  into  the  city.  I  also  sent 
another  band  of  soldiers  into  the  city  by 
the  lake,  and  gave  them  orders  to  set  on 
fire  the  first  house  they  could  seize  upon. 
When  this  was  done,  the  people  of  Tibe- 
rias thought  that  their  city  was  taken  by 
force,  and  so  threw  down  their  arms  for 
fear;  and  implored,  they,  their  wives,  and 
children,  that  I  would  spare  their  city. 
So  I  was  over-persuaded  by  their  en- 
treaties, and  restrained  the  soldiers  from 
the  vehemency  with  which  they  pursued 
them  ;  while  I  myself,  upon  the  coming 
on  of  the  evening,  returned  back  with  my 
soldiers,  and  went  to  refresh  myself.  I 
also  invited  Simon  to  sup  with  me,  and 
comforted  him  on  occasion  of  what  had 
happened;  and  I  promised  that  I  would 
send  him  safe  and  secure  to  Jerusalem, 
and  withal  would  give  him  provisions  for 
his  journey  thither. 

But  on  the  next  day,  I  brought  10,000 
armed  men  with  me,  and  came  to  Tibe- 
I  then   sent  for  the  principal  men 


nus. 


of  the  multitude  into  the  public  place,  and 
enjoined  them  to  tell  me  who  were  the 


30 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


authors  of  the  revolt ;  and  when  they  told 
me  who  the  men  were,  I  sent  them  bound 
to  the  city  Jotapata ;  but,  as  to  Jonathan 
and  Ananias,  I  freed  them  from  their 
bonds,  and  gave  them  provisions  for  their 
journey,  together  with  Simon  and  Joazar, 
and  500  armed  men  who  should  guard 
them;  and  so  I  sent  them  to  Jerusalem. 
The  people  of  Tiberias  also  came  to  me 
again,  and  desired  that  I  would  forgive 
them  for  what  they  had  done ;  and  they 
said  they  would  amend  what  they  had 
done  amiss  with  regard  to  me,  by  their 
fidelity  for  the  time  to  come ;  and  they  be- 
sought me  to  preserve  what  spoils  re- 
mained upon  the  plunder  of  the  city,  for 
those  that  had  lost  them.  Accordingly, 
I  enjoined  those  that  had  got  them,  to 
bring  them  all  before  us ;  and  when  they 
did  not  comply  for  a  great  while,  and  I 
saw  one  of  the  soldiers  that  were  about 
me  with  a  garment  on  that  was  more 
splendid  than  ordinary,  I  asked  him 
whence  he  had  it;  and  when  he  replied 
that  he  had  it  out  of  the  plunder  of  the 
city,  I  had  him  punished  with  stripes; 
and  I  threatened  all  the  rest  to  inflict  a 
more  severe  punishment  upon  them,  un- 
less they  produced  before  us  whatsoever 
they  had  plundered;  and  when  a  great 
many  spoils  were  brought  together,  I 
restored  to  every  one  of  Tiberias  what 
they  claimed  to  be  their  own. 

And  now  I  am  come  to  this  part  of  my 
narration,  I  have  a  mind  to  say  a  few 
things  to  Justus,  who  hath  himself  written 
a  history  concerning  these  affairs  ;  as  also 
to  others  who  profess  to  write  history,  but 
have  little  regard  to  truth,  and  are  not 
afraid,  either  out  of  ill-will  or  good-will  to 
some  persons,  to  relate  falsehoods.  These 
men  do  like  those  who  compose  forged 
deeds  and  conveyances ;  and  because  they 
are  not  brought  to  the  like  punishment 
with  them,  they  have  no  regard  to  truth. 
When,  therefore,  Justus  undertook  to 
write  about  these  facts,  and  about  the 
Jewish  war,  that  he  might  appear  to  have 
been  an  industrious  man,  he  falsified  in 
what  he  related  about  me,  and  could  not 
speak  truth  even  about  his  own  country; 
whence  it  is  that,  being  belied  by  him,  I 
am  under  a  necessity  to  make  my  defence; 
and  so  I  shall  say  what  I  have  concealed 
till  now;  and  let  no  one  wonder  that  I 
have  not  told  the  world  these  things  a 
great  while  ago;  for  although  it  be  neces- 
sary for  an  historian  to  write  the  truth, 
7et  is  such  a  one  not  bound  severely  to 


animadvert  on  the  wickedness  of  certain 
men,  not  out  of  any  favour  to  them,  but 
out  of  an  author's  own  moderation.  How 
then  comes  it  to  pass,  0  Justus !  thou 
most  sagacious  of  writers,  (that  I  may  ad- 
dress myself  to  him  as  if  he  were  hero 
present,)  for  so  thou  boastest  of  thyself, 
that  I  and  the  Galileans  have  been  the 
authors  of  that  sedition  which  the  country 
engaged  in,  both  against  the  Romans  and 
against  the  king  [Agrippa,  junior]  ?  for 
before  ever  I  was  appointed  governor  of 
Galilee  by  the  community  of  Jerusalem, 
both  thou  and  all  the  people  of  Tiberias 
had  not  only  taken  up  arms,  but  had  made 
war  with  Decapolis  of  Syria.  According- 
ly, thou  hadst  ordered  their  villages  to  be 
burnt,  and  a  domestic  servant  of  thine  fell 
in  the  battle ;  nor  is  it  I  only  who  say 
this ;  but  so  it  is  written  in  the  Comment- 
aries of  Vespasian,  the  emperor;  as  also 
how  the  inhabitants  of  Decapolis  came 
clamouring  to  Vespasian  at  Ptolemais,  and 
desired  that  thou,  who  wast  the  author  [of 
that  war],  mightest  be  brought  to  punish- 
ment ;  and  thou  hadst  certainly  been 
punished  at  the  command  of  Vespasian, 
had  not  King  Agrippa,  who  had  power 
given  him  to  have  thee  put  to  death,  at  tho 
earnest  entreaty  of  his  sister  Bernice, 
changed  the  punishment  from  death  into  a 
long  imprisonment.  Thy  political  adminis- 
tration of  affairs  afterward  doth  also  clearly 
discover  both  thy  other  behaviour  in  life, 
and  that  thou  wast  the  occasion  of  thy 
country's  revolt  from  the  Romans;  plain 
signs  of  which  I  shall  produce  presently. 
I  have  also  a  mind  to  say  a  few  things  to 
the  rest  of  the  people  of  Tiberias  on  thy 
account;  and  to  demonstrate  to  those  that 
light  upon  this  history,  that  you  bear  no 
good-will,  neither  to  the  Romans,  nor  to 
the  king.  To  be  sure,  the  greatest  cities 
of  Galilee,  0  Justus !  were  Sepphoris,  and 
thy  country  Tiberias ;  but  Sepphoris,  situ- 
ated in  the  very  midst  of  Galilee,  and 
having  many  villages  about  it,  and  able 
with  ease  to  have  been  bold  and  trouble- 
some to  the  Romans,  if  they  had  so 
pleased,  yet  did  it  resolve  to  continue 
faithful  to  those  their  masters,  and  at  the 
same  time  excluded  me  out  of  their  city; 
and  prohibited  all  their  citizens  from  join- 
ing with  the  Jews  in  the  war ;  and,  that 
they  might  be  out  of  danger  from  me,  they, 
by  a  wile,  got  leave  of  me  to  fortify  their 
city  with  walls :  they  also,  of  their  own 
accord,  admitted  of  a  garrison  of  Roman 
legions,  sent  them  by  Cestius  Gallus,  who 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAVILS   JOSEPHUS. 


31 


was  then  president  of  Syria,  and  so  had 
ine  in  contempt,  though  I  was  then  very 
powerful,  and  all  were  greatly  afraid  of 
me;  and  at  the  same  time  that  the  great- 
est of  our  cities,  Jerusalem,  was  besieged, 
and  that  temple  of  ours,  which  belonged 
to  us  all,  was  in  danger  of  falling  under 
the  enemy's  power,  they  sent  no  assistance 
thither,  as  not  willing  to  have  it  thought 
they   would   bear  arms   against   the   Ro- 
mans; but  as  for  thy  country,  O  Justus! 
situated  upon  the  lake  of  Genesareth,  and 
distant  from  Hippos  thirty  furlongs,  from 
Gadara  sixty,  and  from  Scythopolis,  which 
was  under  the  king's  jurisdiction,  120; 
when  there  was  no  Jewish  city  near,  it 
might  easily  have  preserved  its  fidelity  [to 
the  Romans]  if  it  had  so  pleased  them  to 
do;  for  the  city  and  its  people  had  plenty 
of  weapons;  but,  as  thou  sayest,  I  was 
then  the  author  [of  their  revolt] ;  and  pray, 
0  Justus !    who   was    that   author   after- 
ward ?  for  thou  kn6west  that  I  was  in  the 
power  of  the  Romans  before  Jerusalem 
was  besieged,  and  before  the  same  time 
Jotapata  was   taken  by  force,  as  well  as 
many  other  fortresses,  and  a  great  many 
of  the  Galileans  fell  in  the  war.     It  was, 
therefore,  then  a  proper  time,  when  you 
were  certainly  freed  from  any  fear  on  my 
account,  to  throw  away  your  weapons,  and 
to  demonstrate  to  the  king  and  to  the  Ro- 
mans, that  it  was  not  of  choice,  but  as 
forced  by  necessity,  that  you  fell  into  the 
war  against  them ;    but  you   stayed  till 
Vespasian  came   himself  as   far  a3  your 
walls,  with  his  whole  army ;  and  then  you 
did  indeed  lay  aside  your  weapons  out  of 
fear,  and  your  city  had  for  certain  been 
taken  by  force,  unless  Vespasian  had  com- 
plied with  the  king's  supplication  for  you, 
and  had  excused  your  madness.     It  was 
not  I,  therefore,  who  was  the  author  of 
this,  but  your  own  inclinations   to   war. 
Do  not  you  remember  how  often  I  got  you 
under  my  power,  and  yet  put  none  of  you 
to  death  ?     Nay,  you  once  fell  into  a  tu- 
mult one  against  another,  and  slew  185  of 
your  citizens,  not  on  account  of  your  good- 
will  to  the  king  and  to  the  Romans,  but 
on  account  of  your  own  wickedness,  and 
this  while  I  was  besieged  by  the  Romans 
in  Jotapata.     Nay,  indeed,  were  there  not 
reckoned  up  2000  of  the  people  of  Tibe- 
rias during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  some 
of  whom  were  slain,  and  the  rest  caught 
and  carried  captives  ?     But  thou  wilt  pre- 
tend that  thou  didst  not  engage  in  the  war, 
sinoe  thou  didst  flee  to  the  king !     Yes, 


indeed,  thou  didst  flee  to  him  ;  but  I  say 
it  was  out  of  fear  of  me.     Thou  sayest, 
indeed,  that  it  is  I  who  am  a  wicked  man. 
But  then,  for  what  reason  was  it  that  King 
Agrippa,  who  procured  thee  thy  life  when 
thou  wast  condemned  to  die  by  Vespasian, 
and  who  bestowed  so   much   riches   upon 
thee,    did    twice    afterward    put    thee    in 
bonds,  and  as  often  obliged   thee  to  run 
away  from  thy  country;  and,  when  he  had 
once  ordered  thee  to  be  put  to  death,  he 
granted  thee  a  pardon  at  the  earnest  de- 
sire   cf  Bernice  ?     And    when  (after  so 
many  of  thy  wicked  pranks)  he  had  made 
thee  his  secretary,  he  caught  thee  falsify 
ing  his  epistles,  and  drove  thee  away  from 
his  si^ht?     But  I  shall  not  inquire  accu- 
rately  into  these  matters  of  scandal  against 
thee.      Vet  cannot  I  but  wonder  at  thy 
imprudence,  when  thou  hast  the  assurance 
to  say,  that  thou  hast  better  related  these 
affairs  [of  the  war]  than  have  all  the  others 
that  have  written  about  them,  while  thou 
didst  not  know  what  was  done  in  Galilee; 
for  thou  wast  then  at  Berytus  with  the 
king ;  nor  didst  thou  know  how  much  the 
Romans  suffered  at  the  siege  of  Jotapata, 
or  what  miseries  they  brought  upon  us ; 
nor  couldst  thou  learn  by  inquiry  what  I 
did  during  that  siege  myself;  for  all  those 
that  might  afford  such  information  were 
quite  destroyed  in  that  siege.     But  per- 
haps thou  wilt  say,  thou  hast  written  of 
what  was  done  against  the  people  of  Jeru- 
salem exactly.     But  how  should  that  be  ? 
for  neither  wast  thou  concerned  in  that 
war,  nor  hast  thou   read  the  Commenta- 
ries of  Caesar ;  of  which  we  have  evident 
proof,  because  thou  hast  contradicted  those 
Commentaries   of  Caesar  in   thy  history. 
But  if  thou  art  so  hardy  as  to  affirm  that 
thou  hast  written  that  history  better  than 
all   the  rest,  why  didst  thou  not  publish 
thy  history  while  the  Emperors  Vespasian 
and  Titus,  the   generals  in  that  war,  as 
well  as  King  Agrippa  and  his  family,  who 
were  men  very  well  skilled  in  the  learning 
of  the  Greeks,  were  all  alive  ?  for  thou 
hast  had  it  written  these  twenty  years, 
and  then  mightest  thou  have  had  the  tes- 
timony of  thy  accuracy.     But  now,  when 
these  men  are  no  longer  with  us,  and  thou 
thinkest  thou  canst  not  be  contradicted, 
thou  venturest  to  publish  it.     But  then  I 
was  not  in  like  manner  afraid  of  my  own 
writing,  but  I  offered  my  books  to  the 
emperors  themselves,  when  the  facts  were 
almost  under  men's  eyes ;  for  I  was  con- 
scious to  myself  that  I  had  observed  tho 


32 


THE   LIFE   OF   FLAV1US   JOSEPHUS. 


truth  of  the  facts ;  and  as  I  expected  to 
have  their  attestation  to  them,  so  I  was 
not  deceived  in  such  expectation.  More- 
over, I  immediately  presented  my  history 
to  many  other  persons,  some  of  whom 
were  concerned  in  the  war,  as  was  King 
Agrippa  and  some  of  his  kindred.  Now 
the  Emperor  Titus  was  so  desirous  that  the 
knowledge  of  these  affairs  should  be  taken 
from  these  books  alone,  that  he  subscribed 
his  own  hand  to  them,  and  ordered  that 
they  should  be  published ;  and  for  King 
Agrippa,  he  wrote  me  sixty-two  letters, 
and  attested  to  the  truth  of  what  I  had 
therein  delivered;  two  of  which  letters  I 
have  here  subjoined,  and  thou  mayest 
thereby  know  their  contents  : — "  King 
Agrippa  to  Josephus,  his  dear  friend,  send- 
eth  greeting.  I  have  read  over  thy  book 
with  great  pleasure,  and  it  appears  to  me 
that  thou  hast  done  it  much  more  accu- 
rately, and  with  greater  care,  than  have 
the  other  writers.  Send  me  the  rest  of 
these  books.  Farewell,  my  dear  friend." 
"  King  Agrippa  to  Josephus,  his  dear 
friend,  sendeth  greeting.  It  seems  by 
what  thou  hast  written,  that  thou  staudest 
in  need  of  no  instruction,  in  order  to  our 
information  from  the  beginning.  How- 
ever, when  thou  comest  to  me,  I  will  in- 
form thee  of  a  great  many  things  which 
thou  dost  not  know."  So  when  this  his- 
tory was  perfected,  Agrippa,  neither  by 
way  of  flattery,  which  was  not  agreeable 
to  him,  nor  by  way  of  irony,  as  thou  rwilt 
say,  (for  he  was  entirely  a  stranger  to  such 
an  evil  disposition  of  mind,)  but  he  wrote 
this  by  way  of  attestation  to  what  was 
true,  as  all  that  read  histories  may  do. 
And  so  much  shall  be  said  concerning 
Justus,  which  I  am  obliged  to  add  by  way 
of  digression. 

Now,  when  I  had  settled  the  affairs  of 
Tiberias,  and  had  assembled  my  friends 
as  a  sanhedrim,  I  consulted  what  I  should 
do  as  to  John  :  whereupon  it  appeared  to 
be  the  opinion  of  all  the  Galileans  that  I 
should  arm  them  all,  and  march  against 
John,  and  punish  him  as  the  author  of  all 
the  disorders  that  had  happened.  Yet 
was  not  I  pleased  with  their  determina- 
tion; as  purposing  to  compose  these  trou- 
bles without  bloodshed.  Upon  this  I  ex- 
horted them  to  use  the  utmost  care  to 
learn  the  names  of  all  that  were  under 
John  ;  which,  when  they  had  done,  aud  1 
thereby  was  apprized  who  the  men  were, 
1  published  an  edict,  wherein  I  offered  se- 
curity and  my  right  hand  to  such  of  John's 


party  as  had  a  mind  to  repent;  and  I  al- 
lowed twenty  days'  time  to  such  as  would 
take  this  most  advantageous  course  for 
themselves.  I  also  threatened,  that  un- 
less they  threw  down  their  arms,  I  would 
burn  their  houses,  aud  expose  their  goods 
to  public  sale.  When  the  men  heard  of 
this,  they  were  in  no  small  disorder,  and 
deserted  John ;  and  to  the  number  of 
4000  threw  down  their  arms  and  came  to 
So  that  no  others  stayed  with  John 


me 


but  his  own  citizens,  and  about  1500 
strangers  that  came  from  the  metropolis 
of  Tyre ;  and  when  John  saw  that  he  had 
been  outwitted  by  my  stratagem,  he  con- 
tinued afterward  in  his  own  country,  and 
was  in  great  fear  of  me. 

But  about  this  time  it  was  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Sepphoris  grew  insolent,  and  took 
up  arms,  out  of  a  confidence  they  had  in 
the  strength  of  their  walls,  and  because 
they  saw  me  engaged  in  other  affairs  also. 
So  they  sent  to  Cestius  Gallus,  who  was 
president  of  Syria,  and  desired  that  he 
would  either  come  quickly  to  them,  and 
take  their  city  under  his  protection,  or 
send  them  a  garrison.  Accordingly,  Gal- 
lus promised  them  to  come,  but  did  not 
Dend  word  when  he  would  come  :  and  when 
I  had  learned  so  much,  I  took  the  soldiers 
that  were  with  me,  and  made  an  assault 
upon  the  people  of  Sepphoris,  and  took 
the  city  by  force.  The  Galileans  took 
this  opportunity,  as  thinking  they  had 
now  a  proper  time  for  showing  their  ha- 
tred to  them,  since  they  bore  ill-will  to 
that  city  also.  They  then  exerted  them- 
selves, as  if  they  would  destroy  them  all 
utterly,  with  those  that  sojourned  there 
also.  So  they  ran  upon  them,  and  set  then 
houses  on  fire,  as  finding  them  without 
inhabitants ;  for  the  men,  out  of  fear,  ran 
together  to  the  citadel.  So  the  Galileans 
carried  off  every  thing,  and  omitted  no 
kind  of  desolation  which  they  could  bring 
upon  their  countrymen.  When  I  saw  this, 
I  was  exceedingly  troubled  at  it,  and  com- 
manded them  to  loave  off,  and  put  them 
in  mind  that  it  was  not  agreeable  to  piety 
to  do  such  things  to  their  countrymen: 
but  since  they  neither  would  hearken  to 
what  I  exhorted,  nor  to  what  I  commanded 
them  to  do,  (for  the  hatred  they  bore  to 
the  people  there  was  too  hard  for  my  ex- 
hortations to  them,)  I  bade  those  of  my 
friends,  who  were  most  faithful  to  me,  and 
were  about  me,  to  give  out  reports,  as  if 
the  Romans  were  falling  upon  the  other 
part  of  the  city  with  a  great  army ;  and 


THE    LIFE   OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


33 


this  I  did,  that,  by  such  a  report  being 
spread  abroad,  I  might  restrain  the  vio- 
lence of  the  Galileans,  and  preserve  the 
city  of  Sepphoris.  And  at  length  this 
stratagem  had  its  effect;  for,  upon  hear- 
ing this  report,  they  were  in  fear  for  them- 
selves, and  so  they  left  off  plundering, 
and  ran  away;  and  this  more  especially, 
because  they  saw  me,  their  general,  do  the 
same  also;  for,  that  I  might  cause  this 
report  to  be  believed.  T  pretended  to  be  in 
fear  as  well  as  they.  Thus  were  the  in- 
habitants of  Sepphoris  unexpectedly  pre- 
served by  this  contrivance  of  mine. 

Nay,  indeed,  Tiberias  had  like  to  have 
been  plundered  by  the  Galileans  also  upon 
the  following  occasion  :  the  chief  men  of 
the  senate  wrote  to  the  king,  and  desired 
that  he  would  come  to  them,  and  take  pos- 
session of  their  city.  The  king  promised 
to  come,  and  wrote  a  letter  in  answer  to 
theirs,  and  gave  it  to  one  of  his  bed- 
chamber, whose  name  was  Crispus,  and 
who  was  by  birth  a  Jew,  to  carry  it  to 
Tiberias.  When  the  Galileans  knew  that 
this  man  carried  such  a  letter,  they  caught 
him  and  brought  him  to  me ;  but  as  soon 
as  the  whole  multitude  heard  of  it,  they 
were  enraged,  and  betook  themselves  to 
their  arms.  So  a  great  many  of  them  got 
together  from  all  quarters  the  next  day, 
and  came  to  the  city  Asochis,  where  I 
then  lodged,  and  made  heavy  clamours, 
and  called  the  city  of  Tiberias  a  traitor  to 
them,  and  a  friend  to  the  king;  and  de- 
sired leave  of  me  to  go  down  and  utterly 
destroy  it ;  for  they  bore  the  like  ill-will 
to  the  people  of  Tiberias  as  they  did  to 
those  of  Sepphoris. 

When  1  heard  this,  I  was  in  doubt 
what  to  do,  and  hesitated  by  what  means 
I  might  deliver  Tiberias  from  the  rage  of 
the  Galileans ;  for  I  could  not  deny  that 
those  of  Tiberias  had  written  to  the  king, 
and  invited  him  to  come  to  them ;  for  his 
letters  to  them,  in  answer  thereto,  would 
fully  prove  the  truth  of  that.  So  I  sat  a 
long  time  musing  with  myself,  and  then 
Baid  to  them,  "I  know  well  enough  that 
the  people  of  Tiberias  have  offended  :  nor 
shall  I  forbid  you  to  plunder  the  city. 
However,  such  things  ought  to  be  done 
with  discretion ;  for  they  of  Tiberias  have 
not  been  the  only  betrayers  of  our  liberty, 
but  many  of  the  most  eminent  patriots  of 
the  Galileans,  as  they  pretended  to  be, 
have  done  the1  same.  Tarry,  therefore,  till 
L  shall  thoroughly  find  out  those  authors 
>f  our  danger,  and  then  you  shall  have 
3 


them  all  at  once  under  your  power,  with 
all  such  as  you  shall  yourselves  bring  in 
also."  Upon  my  saying  this,  I  pacified 
the  multitude,  and  they  left  off  their 
anger,  and  went  their  ways;  and  I  gave 
orders  that  he  who  brought  the  king'a 
letters  should  be  put  into  bonds;  but  in  a 
few  days  I  pretended  that  I  was  obliged, 
by  a  necessary  affair  of  my  own,  to  go  cat 
of  the  kingdom.  I  then  called  Crisps 
privately,  and  ordered  him  to  make  the 
soldier  that  kept  him  drunk,  and  to  run 
away  to  the  king.  So  when  Tiberias  was 
in  danger  of  being  utterly  destroyed  a 
second  time,  it  escaped  the  danger  by  my 
skilful  management,  and  the  care  that  I 
had  for  its  preservation. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Justus,  the 
son  of  Pistus,  without  my  knowledge,  ran 
away  to  the  king;  the  occasion  of  which 
I  will  here  relate.  Upon  the  beginning 
of  the  war  between  the  Jews  and  the  Ro- 
mans, the  people  of  Tiberias  resolved  to 
submit  to  the  king,  and  not  to  revolt  from 
the  Romans  ;  while  Justus  tried  to  per- 
suade them  to  betake  themselves  to  their 
arms,  as  being  himself  desirous  of  inno- 
vations, and  having  hopes  of  obtaining 
the  government  of  Galilee,  as  well  as  of 
his  own  country  [Tiberias]  also.  Yet  did 
he  not  obtain  what  he  hoped  for,  because 
the  Galileans  bore  ill-will  to  those  of  Ti- 
berias, and  this  on  account  of  their  anger 
at  what  miseries  they  had  suffered  from 
them  before  the  war ;  thence  it  was  that 
they  would  not  endure  that  Justus  should 
be  their  governor.  I  myself  also,  who 
had  been  instructed  by  the  community  of 
Jerusalem  with  the  government  of  Galilee, 
did  frequently  come  to  that  degree  of  rage 
at  Justus,  that  I  had  almost  resolved  to 
kill  him,  as  not  able  to  bear  his  mischievous 
disposition.  He  was,  therefore,  much 
afraid  of  me,  lest  at  length  my  passion 
should  come  to  extremity ;  so  he  went  to 
the  king,  as  supposing  that  he  would  dwell 
better  and  more  safely  with  him. 

Now,  when  the  people  of  Sepphoris 
had,  in  so  surprising  a  manner,  escaped 
their  first  danger,  they  sent  to  Costius 
Gallus,  and  desired  him  to  come  to  them 
immediately,  and  take  possession  of  their 
city,  or  else  to  send  forces  sufficient  to 
repress  all  their  enemies'  incursions  upos 
them  ;  and  at  the  last  they  did  prevail  with 
Gallus  to  send  them  a  considerable  army, 
both  horse  and  foot,  which  came  in  the 
night-time,  and  which  they  admitted  into 
the  city.     But  when   the   country  vound 


34 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS. 


about  it  was  harassed  by  the  Roman  army, 
[  took  those  soldiers  that  were  about  me, 
and  came  to  Garisme,  where  I  cast  up  a 
bank,  a  good  way  off  the  city  of  Seppho- 
ris;  and  when  I  was  at  twenty  furlongs 
distance,  I  came  upon  it  by  night,  and 
made  an  assault  upon  its  walls  with  my 
forces :  and  when  I  had  ordered  a  consi- 
derable number  of  my  soldiers  to  scale 
them  with  ladders,  I  became  master  of  the 
greatest  part  of  the  city.  But  soon  after, 
our  unacouaintedness  with  the  places 
forced  us  to  retire,  after  we  had  killed 
twelve  of  the  Roman  footmen,  and  two 
horsemen,  and  a  few  of  the  people  of 
Sepphoris,  with  the  loss  of  only  a  single 
man  of  our  own.  And  when  it  after- 
ward came  to  a  battle  in  the  plain  against 
the  horsemen,  and  we  had  undergone  the 
dangers  of  it  courageously  for  a  long  time, 
we  were  beaten  :  for  upon  the  Romans  en- 
compassing me  about,  my  soldiers  were 
afraid,  and  fell  back.  There  fell  in  that 
battle  one  of  those  that  had  been  intrusted 
to  guard  my  body  ;  his  name  was  Justus, 
who  at  this  time  had  the  same  post  with 
the  king.  At  the  same  time  also  there 
came  forces,  both  horsemen  and  footmen, 
from  the  king,  and  Sylla,  their  commander, 
wh#  was  the  captain  of  his  guard ;  this 
Sylla  pitched  his  camp  at  five  furlongs 
distance  from  Julias,  and  set  a  guard  upon 
the  roads,  both  that  which  led  to  Cana, 
and  that  which  led  to  the  fortress  Ga- 
mala,  that  he  might  hinder  their  inhabit- 
ants from  getting  provisions  out  of  Ga- 
lilee. 

As  soon  as  I  had  got  intelligence  of 
this,  I  sent  2000  armed  men,  and  a  cap- 
tain over  them,  whose  name  was  Jeremiah, 
who  raised  a  bank  a  furlong  off  Julias, 
near  to  the  river  Jordan,  and  did  no  more 
than  skirmish  with  the  enemy;  till  I  took 
3000  soldiers  myself,  and  came  to  them. 
But  on  the  next  day,  when  I  had  laid  an 
ambush  in  a  certain  valley,  not  far  from 
the  banks,  I  provoked  those  that  belonged 
to  the  king  to  come  to  a  battle,  aud  gave 
orders  to  my  own  soldiers  to  turn  their 
backs  upon  them,  until  they  should  have 
drawn  the  enemy  away  from  their  camp, 
and  brought  them  out  into  the  field,  which 
was  done  accordingly;  for  Sylla,  suppos- 
ing that  our  party  did  really  run  away, 
was  ready  to  pursue  them,  when  our  sol- 
diers that  lay  in  ambush  took  them  on 
their  backs,  and  put  them  all  into  great  dis- 
order. I  also  immediately  made  a  suddeu 
turn  with  my  own  forces,  and  met  those 


of  the  king's  party,  and  put  them  to  flight. 
And  I  had  performed  great  things  that 
day,  if  a  certain  fate  had  not  been  my 
hinderance;  for  the  horse  on  which  I  rode, 
and  upon  whose  back  I  fought,  fell  into  a 
quagmire,  and  threw  mo  on  the  ground  j 
and  I  was  bruised  on  my  wrist,  and  car- 
ried into  a  village  named  Cepharnome,  or 
Capernaum.  When  my  soldiers  heard  of 
this,  they  were  afraid  I  had  been  worse 
hurt  than  I  was;  and  so  they  did  not  go  on 
with  their  pursuit  any  farther,  but  re- 
turned in  very  great  concern  for  me.  I, 
therefore,  sent  for  the  physicians,  and 
while  I  was  under  their  hands,  I  continued 
feverish  that  day;  and  as  the  physicians 
directed,  I  was  that  night  removed  to  Ta- 
richeae. 

When  Sylla  and  his  party  were  in- 
formed what  happened  to  me,  they  took 
courage  again;  and,  understanding  that 
the  watch  was  negligently  kept  in  our 
camp,  they  by  night  placed  a  body  of 
horsemen  in  ambush  beyond  Jordan,  and 
when  it  was  day  they  provoked  us  to 
fight;  and  as  we  did  not  refuse  it,  but 
came  into  the  plain,  their  horsemen  ap- 
peared out  of  that  ambush  in  which  they 
had  lain,  and  put  our  men  into  disorder, 
and  made  them  run  away;  so  they  slew 
six  men  of  our  side.  Yet  did  they  not 
go  off  with  the  victory  at  last;  for  when 
they  heard  that  some  armed  men  were 
sailed  from  Taricheae  to  Julias,  they  were 
afraid,  and  retired. 

It  was  not  long  before  Vespasian  came 
to  Tyre,  and  King  Agrippa  with  him  ;  but 
the  Tyrians  began  to  speak  reproachfully 
of  the  king,  and  called  him  an  enemy  to 
the  Romans ;  for  they  said  that  Philin. 
the  general  of  his  army,  had  betrayed  tne 
royal  palace  and  the  Roman  forces  that 
were  in  Jerusalem,  and  that  it  was  done 
by  his  command.  When  Vespasian  heard 
of  this  report,  he  rebuked  the  Tynans  for 
abusing  a  man  who  was  both  a  kiug  and 
a  friend  to  the  Romans;  but  he  exhorted 
the  king  to  send  Philip  to  Rome,  to  answer 
for  what  he  had  done  before  Nero.  But 
when  Philip  was  sent  thither,  he  did  not 
come  into  the  sight  of  Nero,  for  he  found 
him  very  near  death,  on  account  of  the 
troubles  that  then  happeued,  and  a  civil 
war;  and  so  he  returned  to  the  king. 
But  when  Vespasian  was  come  to  Ptole- 
mais,  the  chief  men  of  Decapolis  of  Syria 
made  a  clamour  against  Justus  of  Tiberias, 
because  he  had  set  their  villages  on  fire  ■ 
so  Vespasian  delivered   him  to  the  king; 


THE    LIFE    OF    FLAVIUS    JOSEPHUS. 


35 


to  be  put  to  death  by  those  undei  the 
king's  jurisdiction;  yet  did  the  king  [only] 
put  him  into  bonds,  and  concealed  what 
he  had  done  from  Vespasian,  as  I  have 
before  related.  But  the  people  of  Sep- 
phoris  met  Vespasian,  and  saluted  him, 
and  had  forces  sent  hitn,  with  Placidus, 
their  commander:  he  also  went  up  with 
them,  as  I  also  followed  them,  'ill  Ves- 
pasian came  into  Galilee.  As  to  which 
coming  of  his,  and  after  what  manner  it 
was  ordered,  and  how  he  fought  his  first 
battle  with  me  near  the  village  Taricheae, 
and  how  from  thence  they  went  to  Jota- 
pata,  and  how  I  was  taken  alive,  and 
bound,  and  how  I  was  afterward  loosed, 
with  all  that  was  done  by  me  in  the  Jew- 
ish war,  and  during  the  siege  of  Je- 
rusalem, I  have  accurately  related  them 
in  the  books  concerning  the  War  of  the 
Jews.  However,  it  will,  I  think,  be  tit 
for  me  to  add  now  an  account  of  those 
actions  of  my  life  which  I  have  not  related 
in  that  book  of  the  Jewish  war. 

For,  when  the  siege  of  Jotapata  was 
over,  and  I  was  among  the  Romans,  I  was 
kept  with  much  care,  by  means  of  the 
great  respect  that  Vespasian  showed  me. 
Moreover,  at  his  command,  I  married  a 
virgin,  who  was  from  among  the  captives 
of  that  country;  yet  did  she  not  live  with 
mc  long,  but  was  divorced,  upon  my 
being  freed  from  my  bonds,  and  my  going 
to  Alexandria.  However,  I  married  an- 
other wife  at  Alexandria,  and  was  thence 
sent,  together  with  Titus,  to  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem,  and  was  frequently  in  danger 
of  being  put  to  death,  while  both  the 
Jews  were  very  desirous  to  get  me  under 
their  power,  in  order  to  have  me  pu- 
nished; and  the  Romans  also,  whenever 
they  were  beaten,  supposed  that  it  was 
occasioned  by  my  treachery,  and  made 
continual  clamours  to  the  emperors,  and 
desired  that  they  would  bring  me  to  pu- 
nishment, as  a  traitor  to  them  :  but  Titus 
Caesar  was  well  acquainted  with  the  un- 
certain fortune  of  war,  and  returned  no 
answer  to  the  soldiers'  vehement  solicita- 
tions against  me.  Moreover,  when  the 
city  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  force,  Titus 
Caesar  persuaded  me  frequently  to  take 
whatsoever  I  would  of  the  ruins  of  my 
country,  and  said  that  he  gave  me  leave 
so  to  do ;  but  when  my  country  was  de- 
stroyed, I  thought  nothing  else  to  be  of 
any  value  which  I  could  take  and  keep  as 
a  comfort  under  my  calamities;  so  1  made 
this    request    to   Titus,   that    my    family 


might  have  their  liberty:  I  had  also  the 
holy  books  by  Titus's  concession,  nor 
was  it  long  after,  that  I  asked  of  liim  the 
life  of  my  brother,  and  of  fifty  friends 
with  him;  and  was  not  denied.  When  I 
also  went  once  to  the  Temple,  by  the  per- 
mission of  Titus,  where  they  were  a  great 
multitude  of  captive  women  and  children, 
I  got  all  those  that  I  remembered,  as 
among  my  own  friends  and  acquaintances, 
to  be  set  free,  being  in  number  about 
190;  and  so  I  delivered  them,  without 
their  paying  any  price  of  redemption,  and 
restored  them  to  their  former  fortune; 
and  when  I  was  sent  by  Titus  Caesar  with 
Cerealius,  and  1000  horsemen,  to  a  cer- 
tain village  called  Thecoa,  in  order  to 
know  whether  it  were  a  place  fit  for  a 
camp,  as  I  came  back,  I  saw  many  cap- 
tives crucified,  and  remembered  three  of 
them  as  my  former  acquaintance,  I  was 
very  sorry  at  this  in  my  mind,  and  went 
with  tears  in  my  eyes  to  Titus,  and  told 
him  of  them;  so  he  immediately  com- 
manded them  to  be  taken  down,  and  to 
have  the  greatest  care  taken  of  them,  in 
order  to  their  recovery;  yet  two  of  them 
died  under  the  physician's  hands,  while 
the  third  recovered. 

But  when  Titus  had  composed  the 
troubles  in  Judea,  and  conjectured  that 
the  lands  which  I  had  in  Judea  would 
bring  me  no  profit,  because  a  garrison  to 
guard  the  country  was  afterward  to  pitch 
there,  he  gave  me  another  country  in  the 
plain;  and,  when  he  was  going  away  to 
Rome,  he  made  choice  of  me  to  sail  along 
with  him,  and  paid  me  great  respect;  and 
when  we  were  come  to  Rome,  I  had  great 
care  taken  of  me  by  Vespasian;  for  he 
gave  me  an  apartment  in  his  own  house, 
which  he  lived  in  before  he  came  to  the 
empire.  He  also  honoured  me  with  the 
privilege  of  a  Roman  citizen,  and  gave 
ine  an  annual  pension;  and  continued  to 
respect  mc  to  the  end  of  his  life,  without 
any  abatement  of  his  kindness  to  me; 
which  very  thing  made  me  envied,  and 
brought  me  into  danger;  for  a  certain 
Jew,  whose  name  was  Jonathan,  who  had 
raised  a  tumult  in  Cyrene,  and  had  per- 
suaded 2000  men  of  that  country  to  join 
with  him,  was  the  occasion  of  their  ruin; 
but  when  he  was  bound  by  the  governor 
of  that  country,  and  tent  to  the  emperor, 
he  told  him  that  I  had  sent  him  both 
weapons  and  money.  However,  ho  could 
not  conceal  his  being  a  liar  from  Ves- 
pasian,   who    condemned    him    to    die; 


36 


THE  LIFE  OF  FLAVIUS  JOSEPIIUS. 


according  to  which  sentence  he  was  put  to 
death.  Nay,  after  that,  when  those  that 
envied  my  good  fortune  did  frequently 
bring  accusations  against  me,  by  God's 
providence  I  escaped  them  all.  I  also 
received  from  Vespasian  no  small  quantity 
of  land,  as  a  free  gift,  in  Judea ;  about 
which  time  I  divorced  my  wife  also,  as 
not  pleased  with  her  behaviour,  though 
not  till  she  had  been  the  mother  of  three 
children ;  two  of  whom  are  dead,  and  one, 
whom  I  named  Hyrcanus,  is  alive.  After 
this  I  married  a  wife  who  had  lived  at 
Crete,  but  a  Jewess  by  birth :  a  woman 
she  was  of  eminent  parents,  and  such  as 
were  the  most  illustrious  in  all  the  coun- 
try, and  whose  character  was  beyond  that 
of  most  other  women,  as  her  future  life 
did  demonstrate.  By  her  I  had  two  sons ; 
the  elder's  name  was  Justus,  and  the 
next  Simonides,  who  was  also  named 
Agrippa:  and  these  were  the  circum- 
stances of  my  domestic  affairs.  How- 
ever, the  kindness  of  the  emperor  to  me 


continued  still  the  same :  for  when  Ves- 
pasian was  dead,  Titus,  who  succeeded 
him  in  the  government,  kept  up  the  same 
respect  for  me  which  I  had  from  his 
father;  and  when  I  had  frequent  accusa- 
tions laid  against  me,  he  would  not  be- 
lieve them :  and  Domitian,  who  succeeded, 
still  augmented  his  respects  to  me ;  for 
he  punished  those  Jews  that  were  my 
accusers;  and  gave  command  that  a  ser- 
vant of  mine,  who  was  an  eunuch,  and 
my  accuser,  should  be  punished.  He 
also  made  that  country  I  had  in  Judea 
tax  free,  which  is  a  mark  of  the  greatest 
honour  to  him  who  hath  it;  nay,  Domitia, 
the  wife  of  Caesar,  continued  to  do  me 
kindnesses  :  and  this  is  the  account  of  the 
actions  of  my  whole  life;  and  let  others 
judge  of  my  character  by  them  as  they 
please;  but  to  thee,  0  Epaphroditus, 
thou  most  excellent  of  men !  do  I  dedi- 
cate all  this  treatise  of  our  Antiquities; 
and  so,  for  the  present,  I  here  conclude 
the  whole. 


rr 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Those  who  undertake  to  write  histories, 
do  not,  I  perceive,  take  that  trouble  on 
one  and  the  same  account,  but  for  many 
reasons,  and  those  such  as  are  very  differ- 
ent one  from  another;  for  some  of  them 
apply  themselves  to  this  part  of  learning 
to  show  theii  skill  in  composition,  and 
that  they  may  therein  acquire  a  reputation 
for  speaking  finely;  others  of  them  there 
are  who  write  histories,  in  order  to  gratify 
those  that  happened  to  be  concerned  in 
them,  and  on  that  account  have  spared  no 
pains,  but  rather  gone  beyond  their  own 
abilities  in  the  performance ;  but  others 
there  are,  who,  of  necessity  and  by  force, 
are  driven  to  write  history,  because  they 
are  concerned  in  the  facts,  and  so  cannot 
excuse  themselves  from  committing  them 
to  writing,  for  the  advantage  of  posterity  : 
nay,  there  are  not  a  few  who  are  induced 
to  draw  their  historical  facts  out  of  dark- 
ness into  light,  and  to  produce  them  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public,  on  account  of 
the  great  importance  of  the  facts  them- 
selves with  which  they  have  been  con- 
cerned. Now  of  these  several  reasons  for 
writing  history,  I  must  profess  the  two 
last  my  own  reasons  also;  for  since  I  was 
myself  interested  in  that  war  which  we 
Jews  had  with  the  Romans,  and  knew 
myself  its  particular  actions,  and  what 
conclusion  it  had,  I  was  forced  to  give 
the  history  of  it,  because  I  saw  that 
others  perverted  the  truth  of  those  ac- 
tions in  their  writings. 

Now  I  have  undertaken  the  present 
work,*  as  thinking  it  will  appear  to  all 
the  Greeks  worthy  of  their  study ;  for  it 
will  contain  all  our  antiquities,  and  the 
constitution  of  our  government,  as  in- 
terpreted out  of  th»  Hebrew  Scriptures; 
and,  indeed,  I  did  formerly  intend,  when 

*  Josephus  wrote  his  Seven  Books  of  the  Jewish 
War  long  before  he  wrote  the  Antiquities.  The 
former  were  published  about  A.  D.  75;  and  the 
latter,  about  eighteen  years  afterward. 


I  wrote  of  the  war,  to  explain  wh,  the 
Jews  originally  were — what  fortunes  ihcy 
had  been  subject  to, — and  by  what  legis- 
lator they  had  been  instructed  in  piety, 
and  the  exercise  of  other  virtues, — what 
wars  also  they  had  made  in  remote  ages, 
till  they  were  unwillingly  engaged  in  this 
last  with  the  Romans;  but  because  this 
work  would  take  up  a  great  compass,  1 
separated  it  into  a  set  treatise  by  itself, 
with  a  beginning  of  its  own,  and  its  own 
conclusion ;  but  in  process  of  time,  as 
usually  happens  to  such  as  undertake 
great  things,  I  grew  weary,  and  went  on 
slowly,  it  being  a  large  subject,  and  a 
difficult  thing  to  translate  our  history  into 
a  foreign,  and  to  us  unaccustomed,  lan- 
guage. However,  some  persons  there 
were  who  desired  to  know  our  history, 
and  so  exhorted  me  to  go  on  with  it;  and, 
above  all  the  rest,  Epaphroditus,  a  man 
who  is  a  lover  of  all  kind  of  learning, 
but  is  principally  delighted  with  the  know- 
ledge of  history ;  and  this  on  account  of 
his  having  been  himself  concerned  in 
great  affairs,  and  many  turns  of  fortune, 
and  having  shown  a  wonderful  vigour  of 
an  excellent  nature,  and  an  immovable 
virtuous  resolution  in  them  all.  I  yield- 
ed to  this  man's  persuasions,  who  always 
excites  such  as  have  abilities  in  what  is 
useful  and  acceptable,  to  join  their  en- 
deavours with  his.  I  was  also  ashamed 
myself  to  permit  any  laziness  of  disposi- 
tion to  have  a  greater  influence  upon  me 
than  the  delight  of  taking  pains  in  such 
studies  as  were  very  useful :  I  thereupon 
stirred  up  myself,  and  went  on  with  my 
work  more  cheerfully.  Besides  the  fore- 
going motives,  I  had  others,  which  1 
greatly  reflected  on :  and  these  were,  that 
our  forefathers  were  willing  to  communi- 
cate such  things  to  others;  and  that  some 
of  the  Greeks  took  considerable  pains  to 
know  the  affairs  of  our  nation. 

I  found,  therefore,  that  the  second  of 

37 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  TIIE  JEWS. 


the  Ptolemies  was  a  king  who  was  extra- 
ordinarily diligent  in  what  concerned 
learning  and  the  collection  of  books;  that 
he  was  also  peculiar! j  ambitious  to  pro- 
cure a  translation  of  our  law,  .and  of  the 
constitution  of  our  government  therein 
contained,  into  the  Greek  tongue.  Now 
Eleazar,  the  high  priest,  one  not  inferior 
to  any  of  that  dignity  among  us,  did  not 
envy  the  forenamed  king  the  participation 
of  that  advantage,  which  otherwise  he 
wjuld  for  certain  have  denied  him,  but 
that  he  knew  the  custom  of  our  nation 
was  to  hinder  nothing  of  what  we  esteemed 
ourselves  from  being  communicated  to 
others.  Accordingly,  I  thought  it  be- 
came me  both  to  imitate  the  generosity 
of  our  high  priest,  and  to  suppose  there 
might  even  now  be  many  lovers  of  learn- 
ing like  the  king;  for  he  did  not  obtain 
all  our  writings  at  that  time;  but  those 
who  were  sent  to  Alexandria  as  inter- 
preters, gave  him  only  the  books  of  the 
law,  while  there  were  a  vast  number  of 
other  matters  in  our  sacred  books.  They 
indeed  contain  in  them  the  history  of 
5000  years;  in  which  time  happened 
many  strange  accidents,  many  chances 
of  war,  and  great  actions  of  the  com- 
manders, and  mutations  of  the  form  of 
our  government.  Upon  the  whole,  a  man 
that  will  peruse  this  history,  may  princi- 
pally learn  from  it,  that  all  events  suc- 
ceed well,  even  to  an  incredible  degree, 
and  the  reward  of  felicity  is  proposed  fjy 
God ;  but  then  it  is  to  those  that  follow 
his  will,  and  do  not  venture  to  break  his 
excellent  laws; — and  that  so  far  as  men 
any  way  apostatize  from  the  accurate  ob- 
servation of  them,  what  was  practicable 
before,  becomes  impracticable;  and  what- 
soever they  set  about  as  a  good  thing  is 
converted  into  an  incurable  calamity : — 
and  now  I  exhort  all  those  that  peruse 
these  books  to  apply  their  minds  to  God; 
and  to  examine  the  mind  of  our  legislator, 
whether  he  hath  not  understood  his  nature 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  him ;  and  hath 
not  ever  ascribed  to  him  such  operations 
a»  become  his  power,  and  hath  not  pre- 
served his  writings  from  those  indecent 
fables  which  others  have  framed,  although, 
by  the  great  distance  of  time  when  he 
lived,  he  might  have  securely  forged  such 
lies;  for  he  lived  2000  years  ago;  at 
which  vast  distance  of  ages  the  poets 
themselves  have  not  been  so  hardy  as  to 
tix  even  the  generations  of  their  gods, 
much   less   the    actious   of  their   men,   or 


their  own  laws.  As  I  proceed,  there 
fore,  I  shall  accurately  describe  what  is 
contained  in  our  records,  in  the  order  of 
time  that  belongs  to  them;  for  I  have 
already  promised  so  to  do  throughout  this 
undertaking,  and  this  without  adding 
any  thing  to  what  is  therein  contained, 
or  taking  away  any  thing  therefrom. 

But  because  almost  all  our  constitution 
depends  on  the  wisdom  of  Moses,  our 
legislator,  I  cannot  avoid  saying  some- 
what concerning  him  beforehand,  though 
I  shall  do  it  briefly,  I  mean,  because 
otherwise  those  that  read  m}'  book  may 
wonder  how  it  comes  to  pass  that  my 
discourse,  which  promises  an  account  of 
laws  and  historical  facts,  contains  so  much 
of  philosophy.  The  reader  is  therefore 
to  know,  that  Moses  deemed  it  exceeding 
necessary,  that  he  who  would  conduct  his 
own  life  well,  and  give  laws  to  others,  in 
the  first  place  should  consider  the  Divine 
nature,  and  upon  the  contemplation  of 
God's  operations,  should  thereby  imitate 
the  best  of  all  patterns,  so  far  as  it  is 
possible  for  human  nature  to  do,  and  to 
endeavour  to  follow  after  it;  neither  could 
the  legislator  himself  haT'e  a  right  mind 
without  such  a  contemplation  ;  nor  would 
any  thing  he  should  write  tend  to  the 
promotion  of  virtue  in  his  readers ;  I 
mean,  unless  they  be  taught  first  of  all, 
that  God  is  the  Father  and  Lord  of  all 
things,  and  sees  all  things,  and  that  thence 
he  bestows  a  happy  life  upon  those  that 
follow  him;  but  plunges  such  as  do  not 
walk  in  the  paths  of  virtue  into  inevitable 
miseries.  Now  when  Moses  was  desirous 
to  teach  this  lesson  to  his  countrymen,  he 
did  not  begin  the  establishment  of  his 
laws  after  the  same  manner  that  other 
legislators  did;  I  mean,  upon  contracts 
and  other  rites  between  one  man  and 
another,  but  by  raising  their  minds  up- 
ward to  regard  God,  and  his  creation  of 
the  world;  and  by  persuading  them,  that 
we  men  are  the  most  excellent  of  the 
creatures  of  God  upon  earth.  Now  when 
once  he  had  brought  them  to  submit  to 
religion,  he  easily  persuaded  them  to  sub- 
mit to  all  other  things;  for,  as  to  other 
legislators,  they  followed  fables,  and,  by 
their  discourses,  transferred  the  most  re- 
proachful of  human#vices  unto  the  gods, 
and  so  afforded  wicked  men  the  most 
plausible  excuses  for  their  crimes;  but, 
as  for  our  legislator,  when  he  had  once 
demonstrated  that  God  was  possessed  of 
perfect  virtue,  he  supposed  that  men  also 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


39 


ought  to  strive  aft<  r  the  participation  of 
it )  and  on  those  that  did  not  so  think  and 
so  believe,  he  inflicted  the  severest  punish- 
ment. I  exhort,  therefore,  my  readers  to 
examine  this  whole  undertaking  in  that 
view;  for  thereby  it  will  appear  to  them 
that  there  is  nothing  disagreeable  either 
to  the  majesty  of  God,  or  to  his  love  to 
mankind;  for  all  things  have  here  a  re- 
ference to  the  nature  of  the  universe; 
while  our  legislator  speaks  some  things 
wisely,  but  enigmatically,  and  others  un- 
der a  decent  allegory,  but  still  explains 
such  things  as  require  a  direct  explication 
plainly  and  expressly.     However,  those 


that  have  a  mind  to  know  the  reasons  of 
everything,  may  find  here  a  very  curious 
philosophical  theory,  which  I  now  indeed 
shall  waive  the  explication  of;  but  if  God 
afford  me  time  for  it,  I  will  set  about 
writing  it,*  after  I  have  finished  the  pre- 
sent work.  I  shall  now  betake  myself 
to  the  history  before  me,  after  I  have  firs 
mentioned  what  Moses  says  of  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  which  I  find  described 
in  the  Sacred  Books  after  the  manner 
following. 


*  Joscphus  did  not  live  to  commence  this  muefc 
to  be  desifed  treatise. 


BOOK  I. 


FROM  THE  CREATION  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ISAAC. 

GEN.  I.— XXXV. 

According  to  Joaephua,  this  Book  includes  a  period  of  2883  yeara;  Scripture  Chronology,  howevei 

fixes  it  at  2288,  viz. 

From  the  Creation  to  the  Deluge 1656 

The  Deluge  to  the  destruction  of  Babel 115 

Destruction  of  Babel  to  the  birth  of  Abraham 237  }  2288  years. 

Birth  of  Abraham  to  the  birth  of  Isaac 100 

Death  of  Isaac  at  the  age  of. 180 


CHAPTER  I. 

B.  C.  4004. — Creation  of  the  Universe — Institution 
of  the  Sabbath — Fall  of  Man. 

In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth ;  but  when  the 
earth  did  not  come  into  sight,  but  was 
covered  with  thick  darkness,  and  a  wind 
moved  upon  its  surface,  God  commanded 
that  there  should  be  light;  and  when 
that  was  made,  he  considered  the  whole 
mass,  and  separated  the  light  and  the 
darkness ;  and  the  name  he  gave  to  one 
was  Night,  and  the  other  he  called  Day ; 
and  he  named  the  beginning  of  light  and 
the  time  of  rest,  the  Evening  and  the 
Morning;  and  this  was  indeed  the  first 
day ;  but  Moses  said  it  was  one  day,  the 
cause  of  which  I  am  able  to  give  eVen 
now;  but  because  I  have  promised  to  give 
such  reasons  for  all  things  in  a  treatise 
by  itself,  I  shall  put  off  its  exposition  till 
that  time.  After  this,  on  the  second  day, 
he  placed  the  heaven  over  the  whole 
world,  and  separated  it  from  the  other 
parts;  and  he  determined  it  should  stand 
by  itself.  He  also  placed  a  crystalline 
[firmament]  round  it,  and  put  it  together 
in  a  manner  agreeable  to  the  earth,  and 
fitted  it  for  giving  moisture  and  rain,  and 
for  affording  the  advantage  of  dews.  On 
tne  third  day  he  appointed  the  dry  land 
to  appear,  with  the  sea  itself  round  about 
it;  and  on  the  very  same  day  he  made  the 
plants  and  the  seeds  to  spring  out  of  the 
earth.  On  the  fourth  day  he  adorned  the 
heaven  with  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
other  stars;  and  appointed  them  their  mo- 
tions and  courses,  that  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  seasons  might  be  clearly  signified. 
And  on  the  fifth  day  he  produced  the 
living  creatures,  both  those  that  swim  and 
those  that  tly  •    the   former  in  the  sea,  the 

4o 


latter  in  the  air.  He  also  sorted  them  as 
to  society  and  mixture,  for  procreation, 
and  that  their  kinds  might  increase  and 
multiply.  On  the  sixth  day  he  created 
the  four-footed  beasts,  and  made  them 
male  and  female  :  on  the  same  day  he 
also  formed  man.  Accordingly,  Moses 
says,  "That  in  just  six  days  the  world  and 
all  that  is  therein  was  made;  and  that  the 
seventh  day  was  a  rest,  and  a  release  from 
the  labour  of  such  operations ;" — whence  it 
is  that  we  celebrate  a  rest  from  our  labours 
on  that  day,  and  call  it  the  Sabbath ; 
which  word  denotes  Rest  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue. 

Moreover,  Moses,  after  the  seventh 
day  was  over,  begins  to  talk  philosophic- 
ally; and  concerning  the  formation  of  man, 
says  thus:  "That  God  took  dust  from 
the  ground,  and  formed  man,  and  inserted 
in  him  a  spirit  and  a  soul."*  This  man  was 
called  Adam,  which  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 
siguifies  one  that  is  Red,  because  he  was 
formed  out  of  red  earth,  compounded 
together;  for  of  that  kind  is  virgin  and 
true  earth.  God  also  presented  the  living 
creatures,  when  he  had  made  them,  accord- 
ing to  their  kinds,  both  male  and  female, 
to  Adam,  who  gave  them  those  names 
by  which  they  are  still  called.  But  when 
he  saw  that  Adam  had  no  female  com- 
panion, no  society,  "  for  there  was  no  such 
created,"  and  that  he  wondered  at  the 
other  animals  which  were  male  and  fe- 
male, he  laid  him  asleep,  and  took  away 
one  of  his  ribs,  and  out  of  it  formed  the 
woman;  whereupon  Adam  knew  her  when 
she  was  brought  to  him,  and  acknowledged 


*  Josephus  supposed  man  to  be  compounded  of 
spirit,  soul,  and  body,  with  St.  Paul.  1  These,  v.  23, 
and  the  rest  of  the  ancients:  he  elsowhere  says 
also,  that  the  blood  of  animals  was  forbidden  to  k» 
oaten,  as  having  in  it  eoul  and  spirit. 


Chap.  L] 


AxNTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


41 


that  she  was  made  out  of  himself.  Now 
a  woman  is  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 
Issa;  but  the  name  of  this  woman  was 
Eve,  which  signifies  the  "Mother  of  all 
living." 

Moses  says  further,  that  God  planted 
a  paradise  in  the  East,  flourishing  with 
all  sorts  of  trees;  and  that  among  them 
was  the  tree  of  life,  and  another  of 
knowledge,  whereby  was  to  be  known 
what  was  good  and  evil;  and  that 
when  he  brought  Adam  and  his  wife 
into  this  garden,  be  commanded  them  to 
take  care  of  the  plants.  Now  the  garden 
was  watered  by  one  river,  which  ran  round 
about  the  whole  earth,  and  was  parted 
into  four  parts.  And  Phison,  which  de- 
notes a  multitude,  running  into  India, 
makes  its  exit  into  the  sea,  and  is  by  the 
Greeks  called  Ganges.  Euphrates  also, 
as  well  as  Tigris,  goes  down  into  the  Red 
Sea.*  Now  the  name  of  Euphrates,  or 
Phrath,  denotes  either  a  dispersion  or  a 
flower;  by  Tigris,  or  Diglath,  is  signified 
what  is  swift  with  narrowness;  and  Geon 
runs  through  Egypt,  and  denotes  what 
arises  from  the  east,  which  the  Greeks 
call  Nile. 

God  therefore  commanded  that  Adam 
and  his  wife  should  eat  of  all  the  rest 
of  the  plants,  but  to  abstain  from  the 
tree  of  knowledge;  and  foretold  to  them 
that  if  they  touched  it,  it  would  prove 
their  destruction.  But  while  all  the  liv- 
ing creatures  had  one  language, f  at  that 
time,  the  serpent,  which  then  lived  to- 
gether with  Adam  and  his  wife,  showed 
an  envious  disposition,  at  his  supposal  of 
their  living  happily,  and  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  God;  and,  imagining 
that,  when  they  disobeyed  them,  they 
would  fall  into  calamities,  he  persuaded 
the  woman,  out  of  a  malicious  intention, 
to  taste  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  telling 
them,  that  in  that  tree  was  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil ;  which  knowledge  when 
they  should  obtain,  they  would  lead  a 
happy  life,  nay,  a  life  not  inferior  to  that 
of  a  god  :  by  which  means  he  overcame 
the  woman,  and  persuaded  her  to  despise 
the  command  of  God.  Now,  when  she 
had  tasted  of  that  tree,  and  was  pleased 
with   its   fruit,    she   persuaded  Adam    to 

*  By  rhe  Red  Sea  is  not  here  meant  the  Arabian 
Gulf,  which  alone  is  now  called  by  that  name,  but 
all  that  South  Sea,  which  included  the  Red  Sea 
and  the  Persian  Gulf,  as  far  as  the  East  Indies. 

f  Hence  it  appears  that  Josephus  thought  seve- 
ral, at  least,  of  the  brute  annuals,  particularly  the 
Berpent,  could  speak  before  the  Fall. 


make  use  of  it  also.  Upon  this  they  per- 
ceived  that  they  were  become  naked  to 
one  another;  and  being  ashamed  thus  to 
appear  abroad,  they  invented  somewhat 
to  cover  them,  "for  the  tree  sharpened 
their  understanding,"  and  they  covered 
themselves  with  fig-leaves;  and  tying  these 
before  them,  out  of  modesty,  they  thought 
they  were  happier  than  they  were  before, 
as  they  had  discovered  what  they  were  in 
want  of.  But  when  God  came  into  the 
garden,  Adam,  who  was  wont  before  to 
come  and  converse  with  him,  being  con- 
scious of  his  wicked  behaviour,  went  out 
of  the  way.  This  behaviour  surprised 
God  ;  and  he  asked  what  was  the  cause 
of  this  his  procedure ;  and  why  he,  that 
before  delighted  in  that  conversation,  did 
now  fly  from  it,  and  avoid  it.  When  he 
made  no  reply,  as  conscious  to  himself 
that  he  had  transgressed  the  command  of 
God  ;  God  said,  "I  had  before  determined 
about  you  both,  how  you  might  lead  a 
happy  life,  without  any  affliction,  and  care, 
and  vexation  of  soul ;  and  that  all  things 
which  might  contribute  to  your  enjoyment 
and  pleasure  should  grow  up  by  my  provi- 
dence, of  their  own  accord,  without  your 
own  labour  and  pains-taking;  which  state 
of  labour  and  pains-taking  would  soon 
bring  on  old  age ;  and  death  would  not  be 
at  any  remote  distance :  but  now  thou  hast 
abused  this  my  good-will,  and  Kast  dis- 
obeyed my  commands;  for  thy  silence  is 
not  the  sign  of  thy  virtue,  but  of  thy  evil 
conscience."  However,  Adam  excused 
his  sin,  and  entreated  God  not  to  be  angry 
at  him,  and  laid  the  blame  of  what  was 
done  upon  his  wife ;  and  said  that  he  was 
deceived  by  her,  and  thence  became  an 
offender;  while  she  again  accused  the  ser- 
pent. But  God  allotted  him  punishment, 
because  he  weakly  submitted  to  the  coun- 
sel of  his  wife;  and  said  the  ground  should 
not  henceforth  yield  its  fruit  of  its  own 
accord,  but  that  when  it  should  be  harassed 
by  their  labour,  it  should  bring  forth  some 
of  its  fruits,  and  refuse  to  bring  forth 
others.  He  also  made  Eve  liable  to  the 
inconveniency  of  breeding,  and  the  sharp 
pains  of  bringing  forth  children,  and  this 
because  she  persuaded  Adam  with  the 
same  arguments  wherewith  the  serpent  had 
persuaded  her,  and  had  thereby  Vrought 
him  into  a  calamitous  condition.  He  also 
deprived  the  serpent  of  speech,  out  of  in- 
dignation at  his  malicious  disposition  to- 
ward Adam.  Besides  this,  he  inserted 
poison  under  his  tongue,  and  made  him 


42 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I 


an  enemj  to  men ;  and  suggested  to  them 
that  they  should  direct  their  strokes  against 
his  head,  that  being  the  place  wherein  lay 
his  mischievous  designs  toward  men,  and 
it  being  easiest  to  take  vengeance  on  him 
that  way :  and  when  he  had  deprived 
him  of  the  use  of  his  feet,  he  made  him 
to  go  rolling  all  along,  and  dragging  him- 
Belf  upon  the  ground.  And  when  God 
had  appointed  these  penalties  for  them, 
he  removed  Adam  and  Eve  out  of  the 
garden  into  another  place. 

> 

CHAPTER  II. 

Generations  of  Adam,  and  Deaths  of  the  Patri-i 
archs.     B.  C.  4003-2349. 

Adam  and  Eve  had  two  sons;  the  elder 
of  them  was  named  Cain ;  which  name, 
when  it  is  interpreted,  signifies  a  Posses- 
sion. The  younger  was  Abel,  which  sig- 
nifies Sorrow.  They  had  also  daughters.  | 
Now,  the  two  brethren  were  pleased  with 
different  courses  of  life ;  for  Abel,  the 
younger,  was  a  lover  of  righteousness,  and, 
believing  that  God  was  present  at.  all  his 
actions,  he  excelled  in  virtue ;  and  his 
employment  was  that  of  a  shepherd.  But 
Cain  was  not  only  very  wicked  in  other 
respects,  but  was  wholly  intent  upon  get- 
ting; and  he  first  contrived  to  plough  the 
ground.  He  slew  his  brother  on  the  oc- 
casion following: — They  had  resolved  to 
sacrifice  to  God.  Now  Cain  brought.^the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  and  of  his  husbandry ; 
but  Abel  brought  milk,  and  the  first-fruits 
of  his  flocks ;  but  God  was  more  delighted 
with  the  latter  oblation,  when  he  was 
honoured  with  what  grew  naturally  of  its 
own  accord,  than  he  was  with  what  was 
the  invention  of  a  covetous  man,  and 
gotten  by  forcing  the  ground;  whence  it 
was  that  Cain  was  very  angry  that  Abel 
was  preferred  by  God  before  him ;  and 
he  slew  his  brother,  and  hid  his  dead  body, 
thinking  to  escape  discovery.  But  God 
knowing  what  had  been  done,  came  to 
Oain,  and  asked  him  what  was  become  of 
his  brother,  because  he  had  not  seen  him 
of  many  days,  whereas  he  used  to  observe 
them  conversing  together  at  other  times. 
But  Cain  was  in  doubt  with  himself,  and 
knew  not  what  answer  to  give  to  God.  At 
first  he  said  that  he  was  himself  at  a  loss 
about  his  brother's  disappearing;  but  when 
he  was  provoked  by  God,  who  pressed  him 
vehemently,  as  resolving  to  know  what 
the  matter  was,  he  replied  he  was  not  his 
brother's  guardian  or  keeper,  nor  was  he 


an  observer  of  what  he  did.     But  in  re- 
turn, God  convicted  Cain,  as  having  been 
the  murderer  of  his  brother;   and   said, 
"I  wonder  at  thee,  that  thou  knowest  not 
what  is  become  of  a  man  whom  thou  thy- 
self hast  destroyed."     God  therefore  did 
not  inflict  the  punishment  [of  death]  upon 
him,  on  account  of  his  offering  sacrifice, 
and  thereby  making  supplication  to  him 
not  to  be  extreme  in  his  wrath  to  him  ;  but 
he  made  him  accursed,  and  threatened  bis 
posterity  in  the  seventh  generation.     He 
also  cast  him,  together  with  his  wife,  out 
of  that  land.     And  when  he  was  afraid 
that  in  wandering  about  he  should   fall 
among   wild   beasts,  and   by  that  means 
perish,  God  bid  him  not  to  entertain  such 
a  melancholy  suspicion,  and  to  go  over  all 
the  earth  without  fear  of  what  mischief 
he   might  suffer  from    wild    beasts;  and 
setting  a  mark  upon   him  that  he  might 
be  known,  he  commanded  him  to  depart. 
s    And  when  Cain  had  travelled  over  many 
countries,  he,  with  his  wife,  built  a  city, 
named  Nod,  which  is  a  place  so  called, 
and  there  he  settled  his  abode;  where  also 
he  had  children.     However,  he  did  not  ac- 
cept of  his  punishment  in  order  to  amend- 
ment, but  to  increase  his  wickedness;  for 
he  only  aimed  to  procure  every  thing  that 
was  for  his  own  bodily  pleasure,  though 
it  obliged  him  to  be  injurious  to  his  neigh- 
bours.   He  augmented  his  household  sub- 
stance with  much  wealth,  by  rapine  and 
violence  ;  he  excited  his  acquaintance  tc 
procure  pleasures  and  spoils  by  robbery, 
and  became  a  great  leader  of  men  into 
wicked  courses.     He  also  introduced  a 
change  in  that  way  of  simplicity  wherein 
men  lived  before  ;  and  was  the  author  of 
measures  and  weights,  And  whereas  they 
lived  innocently  and  generously  while  they 
knew  nothing  of  such  arts,  he  changed 
the  world  into  cunning  craftiness.     He 
first  of  all  set  boundaries  about  lands;  he 
built  a  city,  and  fortified  it  with  walls,  and 
he  compelled  his  family  to  come  together 
to  it ;    and  called  that  city  Enoch,  after 
the  name  of  his  eldest  son,  Enoch.     Now 
Jared  was  the  son  of  Enoch  ;  whose  son 
was  Malaliel,  whose  son  was  Mathusea; 
whose  son  was  Lamech ;  who  had  severJy- 
seven  children  by  two  wives,  Silla  and 
Ada.    Of  those  children  by  Ada,  one  was 
Jabal ;  he  erected  tents,  and  loved  the 
life  of  a  shepherd,     But  Jubal,  who  was 
born  of  the  same  mother  with  him,  exer- 
cised himself  in  music  ;  and  invented  the 
psaltery  and  the  harp.      But  Tubal,  one 


On  a  p.  III.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS 


43 


of  his  children  by  the  other  wife,  exceeded 
all  men  in  strength,  and  was  very  expert 
and  famous  in  martial  performances.  He 
procured  what  tended  to  the  pleasures  of 
the  body  by  that  method  ;  and  first  of  all 
invented  the  art  of  making  brass.  La- 
mech  was  also  the  father  of  a  daughter, 
whose  name  was  Naamah  ;  and  because 
he  was  so  skilful  in  matters  of  divine 
revelation,  that  he  knew  he  was  to  be 
punished  for  Cain's  murder  of  his  brother, 
he  mado  !hat  known  to  his  wives.  Nay, 
even  while  Adam  was  alive,  it  came  to 
pass  that  the  posterity  of  Cain  became  ex- 
ceeding wicked,  every  one  successively 
dying  one  after  another,  more  wicked  than 
the  former.  They  were  intolerable  in 
war,  and  vehement  in  robberies;  and  if 
any  one  were  slow  to  murder  people,  yet 
was  he  bold  in  his  profligate  behaviour,  in 
acting  unjustly,  and  doing  injuries  for  gain. 
Now  Adam,  who  was  the  first  man,  and 
made  out  of  the  earth,  (for  our  discourse 
must  now  be  about  him,)  after  Abel  was 
slain,  and  Cain  fled  away  on  account  of 
his  murder,  was  solicitous  for  posterity, 
and  had  a  vehement  desire  for  children, 
he  being  230  years  old ;  after  which  time 
he  lived  auother  700,  and  then  died.  He 
had  indeed  many  other  children,*  but 
Seth  in  particular.  As  for  the  rest,  it 
would  be  tedious  to  name  them  ;  I  will 
therefore  only  eudeavour  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  those  that  proceeded  from  Seth. 
Now  this  Seth,  when  he  was  brought  up, 
and  came  to  those  years  in  which  he  could 
discern  what  was  good,  became  a  virtuous 
man ;  and  as  he  was  himself  of  an  excel- 
lent character,  so  did  he  leave  children 
behind  him  who  imitated  his  virtues.  All 
these  proved  to  be  of  good  dispositions. 
They  also  inhabited  the  same  country 
without  dissensions,  and  in  a  happy  con- 
dition, without  any  misfortunes  falling 
upon  them  till  they  died.  They  also  were 
the  inventors  of  that  peculiar  sort  of  wis- 
dom which  is  concerned  with  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  their  order.  And  that  their 
inventions  might  not  be  lost  before  they 
were  sufficiently  known,  upon  Adam's 
prediction  that  the  world  was  to  be  de- 
stroyed at  one  time  by  the  force  of  fire, 
and  at  another  time  by  the  violence  and 
quanity  of  water,  they  made  two  pillars ; 
the  one  of  brick,  the  other  of  stone  :  they 
inscribed  their  discoveries  on  them  both, 

*  The  number  of  Adam's  children,  as  says  the 
old   tradition,  was  thirty-three  sons  and   twenty 
""tree  daughters*. 


that  in  case  the  pillar  of  brick  should  be 
destroyed  by  the  flood,  the  pillar  of  stone 
might  remain,  and  exhibit  those  disco- 
veries to  mankind ;  and  also  inform  them 
that  there  was  another  pillar  of  brick 
erected  by  them.  Now  this  remains  in 
the  land  of  Siriad  to  this  day. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Deluge — God's  Covenant  with  Noah — Death 
of  Noah.     B.  C.  2349-1998. 

Now  this  posterity  of  Seth  continued 
to  esteem  God  as  the  Lord  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  to  have  an  entire  regard  to 
virtue,  for  seven  generations  ;  but  in  pro- 
cess of  time  they  were  perverted,  and  for- 
sook the  practices  of  their  forefathers,  and 
did  neither  pay  those  honours  to  God 
which  were  appointed  them,  nor  had  they 
any  concern  to  do  justice  toward  men. 
But  for  what  degree  of  zeal  they  had  for- 
merly shown  for  virtue,  they  now  showed 
by  their  actions  a  double  degree  of  wicked- 
ness; whereby  they  made  God  to  be  theii 
enemy;  for  many  angels  of  God  accom- 
panied with  women,  and  begat  sous  that 
proved  unjust,  and  despisers  of  all  that 
was  good,  on  account  of  the  confidence 
they  had  in  their  own  strength ;  for  the 
tradition  is,  that  these  men  did  what  re- 
sembled the  acts  of  those  whom  the  Gre- 
cians call  giants.  But  Noah  was  very 
uneasy  at  what  they  did;  and,  being  dis- 
pleased at  their  conduct,  persuaded  them 
to  change  their  dispositions  and  their  acts 
for  the  better;  but  seeing  that  they  did 
not  yield  to  him,  but  were  slaves  to  their 
wicked  pleasures,  he  was  afraid  they  would 
kill  him,  together  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, and  those  they  had  married ;  so  he 
departed  out  of  that  land. 

liNow  God  loved  this  man  for  his  right- 
eousness ;  yet  he  not  only  condemned 
those  other  men  for  their  wickedness,  but 
determined  to  destroy  the  whole  race  of 
mankind,  and  to  make  another  race  that 
should  be  pure  from  wickedness ;  and 
cutting  short  their  lives,  and  making  their 
years  not  so  many  as  they  formerly  lived, 
but  120  only,  he  turned  the  dry  laud  into 
sea;  and  thus  were  all  these  men  de- 
stroyed :  but  Noah  alone  was  saved  ;  for 
God  suggested  to  him  the  following  con- 
trivance and  way  of  escape  : — that  he 
should  make  an  ark  of  four  stories  high, 
300  cubits*  long,  50    »ubits  broad,  and 


*  A  cubit  is  about  twenty-one  English  inches. 


44 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


Book.  J 


30  cubits  higlA  Accordingly  he  entered 
into  that  ark,  and  his  wife  and  sons,  and 
their  wives;  and  put  into  it  not  only 
other  provisions,  to  support  their  wants 
there,  but  also  sent  in  with  the  rest  all 
60rts  of  living  creatures,  the  male  and  his 
female,  for  the  preservation  of  their 
kinds;  and  others  of  them  by  sevens. 
Now  this  ark  had  firm  walls,  and  a  roof, 
and  was  braced  with  cross  beams,  so  that 
it  could  not  be  any  way  drowned  or  over- 
borne by  the  violence  of  the  water;  and 
thus    was    Noah,    with    his    family,    pre- 

/ (Served.  Now  he  was  the  tenth  from 
Adam,  as  being  the  son  of  Lamech,  whose 
father  was  Mathusala.  He  was  the  son 
of  Enoch,  the  son  of  Jared;  and  Jared 
was  the  son  of  Malaleel,  who,  with  many 
of  his  sisters,  were  the  children  of  Cainan, 
the  son  of  Enos.  Now  Enos  was  the  son 
of  Seth,  the  son  of  Adam.  ~^v 

This  calamity  happened  in  the  600th 
year  of  Noah's  government  [age],  in  the 
second  month,  called  by  the  Macedonians 
Dius,  but  by  the  Hebrews  Marchesuan  ; 
for  so  did  they  order  their  year  in  Egypt; 
but  Moses  appointed  that  Nisan  [April], 
which  is  the  same  with  Xanthicus^snould 
be  the  first  month  for  their  festivals,  be- 
cause he  brought  them  out  of  Egypt  in 
that  month,  so  that  this  month  began  the 
year  as  to  all  the  solemnities  they  ob- 
served to  the  honour  of  God,  although  he 
preserved  the  original  order  of  the  months 
as  to  selling  and  buying,  and  other  ordi- 
nary affairs.  Now  he  says  that  this  flood 
began  on  the  27th  day  of  the  foremen- 
tioned  month ;  and  this  was  26JiQ  years 
from  Adam,  the  first  man ;  and  the  time 
is  written  down  in  our  sacred  books,  those 
who  then  lived  having  noted  down,  with 
great  accuracy,  both  the  births  and  deaths 
of  illustrious  men. 

For  indeed  Seth  was  born  when  Adam 
was  in  his  230th  year,  who  lived  930 
years.  Seth  begat  Enos  in  his  f^05th 
year;  who,  when  he  had  lived  912  years, 
delivered  the  government  to  Cainan  his 
son,  whom  he  had  in  his  190th  year ;  he 
lived  905  years.  Cainan,  when  he  had 
lived  910  years,  had  his  son  Malaleel, 
who  was  born  in  his(}70th  year.  This 
Malaleel,  having  Uvea  895  years,  died, 
leaving  his  son  Jared,  whom  he  begat 
when  he  was  in  his  165th  year.  He  lived 
962  years;  and  then  his  sou  Enoch  suc- 
ceeded him,  who  was  born  when  his  father 
was  162  years  old.  Now  he,  when  he  had 
lived   365   years,  departed,  and  went   to 


God ;  whence  it  is  that  they  have  not 
written  down  his  death.  Now  Mathusala, 
the  son  of  Enoch,  who  was  born  to  him 
when  he  was  165  years  old,  had  Lamech 
for  his  son  when  he  was  187  years  of  age  ; 
to  whom  he  delivered  the  government, 
when  he  had  retained  it  969  years.  Now 
Lamech,  when  he  had  governed  777 
years,  appointed  Noah,  his  son,  to  be 
ruler  of  the  people,  who  was  born  to  La- 
mech when  he  was  182  years  old,  and  re- 
tained the  government  950  years*.  These 
years  collected  together,  make  up  the  sum 
before  set  down ;  but  let  no  one  inquire 
into  the  deaths  of  these  men,  for  they  ex- 
tended their  lives  along  together  with 
their  children  and  grandchildren ;  but  let 
him  have  regard  to  their  births  only. 

rWhen  God  gave  the  signal,  and  it  be 
gan  to  rain,  the  water  poured  down  forty 
entire  days,  till  it  became  fifteen  cubits 
higher  than  the  earth ;  which  was  the 
reason  why  there  was  no  greater  number 
preserved,  since  they  had  no  place  to  fly 
to.  When  the  rain  ceased,  the  water  did 
but  just  begin  to  abate,  after  150  days, 
(that  is,  on  the  17th  day  of  the  7th 
month,)  it  then  ceasing  to  subside  for  a 
little  while.!  After  this,  the  ark  rested 
on  the  topwa  certain  mountain  in  Arme- 
nia; which,  when  Noah  understood,  he 
opened  it;  and  seeing  a  small  piece  of 
land  about  it,  he  continued  quiet,  and 
conceived  some  cheerful  hopes  of  deliver- 
ance ;  but  a  few  days  afterward,  when  the 
water  was  decreased  to  a  greater  degree, 
he  sent  out  a  raven,  as  desirous  to  learn 
whether  any  other  part  of  the  earth  were 
left  dry  by  the  water,  and  whether  he 
might  go  out  of  the  ark  with  safety ;  but 
the  raven,  finding  all  the  land  still  over- 
flowed, returned  to  Noah  again.  And 
after  seven  days  he  sent  out  a  dove,  to 
know  the  state  of  the  ground;  which 
came  back  to  him  covered  with  mud,  and 
bringing  an  olive-branch.  Hereby  Noah 
learned  that  the  earth  was  become  clear 
of  the  flood.  So  after  he  had  p£ayed  seven 
more  days,  he  sent  the  living  creatures 
out  of  the  ark  ;  and  both  he  and  his  fa- 
mily went  out,  when  he  also  sacrificed  to 
God,  and  feasted  with  his  companions. 
However,  the  Armenians  call  this  place, 
The  Place  of  Descent;  for  the  ark  being 
saved  in  that  place,  its  remains  are  shown 
there  by  the  inhabitants  to  this  day. 

Now  all  the  writers  of  barbarian   his 
tories  make  mention  of  this  flood  and  of 
this  ark ;    among   whom   is   Berosus  the 


Chap.  IILj 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


15 


Chaldean ;  for  when  he  is  describing  the 
circumstances  of  the  flood,  he  goes  on 
thus  : — "It  is  said  there  is  still  some  part 
of  this  ship  in  Armenia,  at  the  mountain 
of  the  Corydaeans;  and  that  some  people 
carry  off  pieces  of  the  bitumen,  which 
they  take  away,  and  use  chiefly  as  amu- 
lets for  the  averting  of  mischiefs. "  Hie- 
ronymus  the  Egyptian,  also,  who  wrote 
the  Phoenician  Antiquities,  and  Mnaseas, 
and  a  great  many  more,  make  mention  of 
the  same.  Nay,  Nicolaus  of  Damascus, 
in  his  96th  book,  hath  a  particular  rela- 
tion about  them,  where  he  speaks  thus  : — 
"  There  is  a  mountain  in  Armenia,  over 
Minyas,  called  Baris,  upon  which  it  is  re- 
ported that  many  who  fled  at  the  time  of 
the  deluge  were  saved ;  and  that  one  who 
was  carried  in  an  ark  came  on  shore  upon 
the  top  of  it;  and  that  the  remains  of  the 
timber  were  a  great  while  preserved.  This 
might  be  the  man  about  whom  Moses, 
tne  legislator  of  the  Jews,  wrote." 

But  as  for  Noah,  he  was  afraid,  since 
God  had  determined  to  destroy  mankind, 
lest  he  should  drown  the  earth  every 
year;  so  he  offered  burnt-offerings,  and 
besought  God  that  Nature  might  hereafter 
go  on  in  its  former  orderly  course,  and 
that  he  would  not  bring  on  so  great  a 
judgment  any  more,  by  which  the  whole 
race  of  creatures  might  be  in  danger  of 
destruction ;  but  that,  having  now  pu- 
nished the  wicked,  he  would  of  his  good- 
ness spare  the  remainder,  and  such  as  he 
had  hitherto  judged  fit  to  be  delivered 
from  so  severe  a  calamity;  for  that  other- 
wise these  last  must  be  more  miserable 
than  the  first,  and  that  they  must  be  con- 
demned to  a  worse  condition  than  the 
others,  unless  they  be  suffered  to  escape 
entirely;  that  is,  if  they  be  reserved  for 
another  deluge,  while  they  must  be  af- 
flicted with  the  terror  and  sight  of  the 
first  deluge,  and  must  also  be  destroyed 
by  a  second.  He  also  entreated  God  to 
accept  of  his  sacrifice,  and  to  grant  that 
the  earth  might  never  again  undergo  the 
like  effects  of  his  wrath  ;  that  men  might 
be  permitted  to  go  on  cheerfully  in  culti- 
vating the  same — to  build  cities  and  live 
happily  in  them;  and  that  they  might 
not  be  deprived  of  any  of  those  good 
things  which  they  enjoyed  before  the 
flood ;  but  might  attaiu  to  the  like  length 
of  days  and  old  age  which  the  ancient 
people  had  arrived  at  before. 

When  Noah  had  made  these  supplica- 
tions, God,    who  loved    the   man   for  his 


righteousness,  granted  entire  success  to 
his  prayers;  and  said,  that  it  was  not  he 
who  brought  destruction  on  a  polluted 
world,  but  that  they  underwent  that  ven- 
geance on  account  of  their  own  wicked- 
ness; and  that  he  had  not  brought  men 
into  the  world  if  he  had  himself  deter- 
mined to  destroy  them,  it  being  an  in- 
stance of  greater  wisdom  not  to  have 
granted  them  life  at  all,  than,  after  it  was 
granted,  to  procure  their  destruction ; 
"  but  the  injuries,"  said  he,  "  they  offered 
to  my  holiness  and  virtue,  forced  me  to 
bring  this  punishment  upon  them ;  but  I 
will  leave  off  for  the  time  to  come  to  re- 
quire such  punishments,  the  effects  of  so 
great  wrath,  for  their  future  wicked  ac- 
tions, and  especially  on  account  of  thy 
prayers ;  but  if  I  shall  at  any  time  send 
tempests  of  rain  in  an  extraordinary  man- 
ner, be  not  affrighted  at  the  largeness  of 
the  showers,  for  the  waters  shall  no  more 
overspread  the  earth.  However,  I  require 
you  to  abstain  from  shedding  the  blood 
of  men,  and  to  keep  yourselves  pure  from 
murder;  and  to  punish  those  that  com- 
mit any  such  thing.  I  permit  you  to 
make  use  of  all  the  other  living  creatures 
at  your  pleasure,  and  as  your  appetitea 
lead  you ;  for  I  have  made  you  lords  of 
them  all,  both  of  those  that  walk  on  the 
land,  and  those  that  swim  in  the  waters, 
and  of  those  that  fly  in  the  regions  of  air 
on  high — excepting  their  blood,  for  therein 
is  the  life ;  but  I  will  give  you  a  sign  that 
I  have  left  off  my  anger,  by  my  bow," 
[whereby  is  meant  the  rainbow,  for  they 
determined  that  the  rainbow  was  the  bow 
of  God  ;]  and  when  God  had  said  and 
promised  thus,  he  went  away. 

Now  when  Noah  had  lived  350  years 
after  the  Flood,  and  all  that  time  happily, 
he  died,  having  lived  the  number  of  950 
years :  but  let  no  one,  upon  comparing 
the  lives  of  the  ancients  with  our  lives, 
and  with  the  few  years  which  we  now  live, 
think  that  what  we  have  said  of  them  ia 
false ;  or  make  the  shortness  of  our  livca 
at  present  an  argument  that  neither  did 
they  attain  to  so  long  a  duration  of  life; 
for  those  ancients  were  beloved  of  God, 
and  [lately]  made  by  God  himself;  and 
because  their  food  was  then  fitter  for  the 
prolongation  of  life,  might  well  live  so 
great  a  number  of  years ;  and  besides, 
God  afforded  them  a  longer  time  of  life 
on  account  of  their  virtue,  and  the  good 
use  they  made  of  it  in  astronomical  and 
geometrical  discoveries;  which   would  not 


46 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


have  afforded  the  time  of  foretelling  [the 
periods  of  the  stars],  unless  they  had  lived 
600  years;  for  the  Great  Year  is  com- 
pleted in  that  interval.  Now  I  have  for 
witnesses  to  what  I  have  said,  all  those 
that  have  written  Antiquities,  both  among 
the  Greeks  and  barbarians;  for  even  Ma- 
netho,  who  wrote  the  Egyptian  History, 
and  Berosus,  who  collected  the  Chaldean 
Monuments,  and  Mochus,  and  Hestiaeus, 
and  besides  these,  Hieronymus  the  Egyp- 
tian, and  those  who  composed  the  Phoeni- 
cian History,  agree  to  what  I  here  say  : 
Hesiod  also,  and  Hecataeus,  Hellanicus, 
and  Acusilaus ;  and  besides  these,  Epho- 
rus  and  Nicolaus  relate  that  the  ancients 
lived  a  thousand  years:  but  as  to  these 
matters,  let  every  one  look  upon  them  as 
he  thinks  fit. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Tower    of    Babel — Confusion    of   Tongues.    B.  C. 
2233. 

Now,  the  sons  of  Noah  were  three — 
Shem,  Japhet,  and  Ham,  born.  100  years 
before  the  Deluge.  These  first  of  all  de- 
scended from  the  mountains  into  the 
plains,  and  fixed  their  habitation  there ; 
and  persuaded  others  who  were  greatly 
afraid  of  the  lower  grounds,  on  account 
of  the  flood,  and  so  were  very  loth  to 
come  down  from  the  higher  places,  to  ven- 
ture to  follow  their  examples.  Now  the 
plain  in  which  they  first  dwelt  was  called 
Shinar.  God  also  commanded  them  to 
send  colonies  abroad,  for  the  thorough 
peopling  of  the  earth — that  they  might 
not  raise  seditions  among  themselves,  but 
might  cultivate  a  great  part  of  the  earth, 
and  enjoy  its  fruits  after  a  plentiful  man- 
ner; but  they  were  so  ill  instructed,  that 
they  did  not  obey  God ;  for  which  reason 
they  fell  into  calamities,  and  were  made 
sensible  by  experience,  of  what  sin  they 
had  been  guilty;  for  when  they  flou- 
rished with  a  numerous  youth,  God  ad- 
monished them  again  to  send  out  colonies ; 
but  they,  imagining  the  prosperity  they 
enjoyed  was  not  derived  from  the  favour 
of  God,  but  supposing  that  their  own 
power  was  the  proper  cause  of  the  plenti- 
ful condition  they  were  in,  did  not  obey 
him.  Nay,  they  added  to  this  their  dis- 
obedience to  the  Divine  will,  the  suspicion 
that  they  were  therefore  ordered  to  send 
out  separate  colonies,  that,  being  divided 
asunder,  they  might  the  more  easily  be 
oppressed. 


Now  it  was  Nimrod  who  excited  them 
to  such  an  affront  and  contempt  of  God. 
He  was  the  grandson  of  Ham,  the  son  of 
Noah — a  bold  man,  and  of  great  strength 
of  hand.  He  persuaded  them  not  to  as- 
cribe to  God,  as  if  it  was  through  his 
means  they  were  happy,  but  to  believe 
that  it  was  their  own  courage  which  pro- 
cured that  happiness.  He  also  gradually 
changed  the  government  into  tyranny, 
seeing  no  other  way  of  turning  men  from 
the  fear  of  God,  but  to  bring  them  into  a 
constant  dependence  upon  his  power.  He 
also  said  he  would  be  revenged  on  God, 
if  he  should  have  a  mind  to  drown  the 
world  again ;  for  that  he  would  build  a 
tower  too  high  for  the  waters  to  be  able 
to  reach !  and  that  he  would  avenge  him- 
self on  God  for  destroying  their  forefa- 
thers ! 

Now  the  multitude  were  very  ready  to 
follow  the  determination  of  Nimrod,  and 
to  esteem  it  a  piece  of  cowardice  to  sub- 
mit to  God;  and  they  built  a  tower,  nei- 
ther sparing  any  pains,  nor  being  in  any 
degree  negligent  about  the  work  ;  and  by 
reason  of  the  multitude  of  hands  em- 
ployed in  it,  it  grew  very  high,  sooner 
than  any  one  could  expect;  but  the  thick- 
ness of  it  was  so  great,  and  it  was  so 
strongly  built,  that  thereby  its  great  height 
seemed,  upon  the  view,  to  be  less  than  it 
really  was.  It  was  built  of  burnt  brick, 
cemented  together  with  mortar,  made  of 
bitumen,  that  it  might  not  be  liable  to 
admit  water.  When  God  saw  that  they 
acted  so  madly,  he  did  not  resolve  to 
destroy  them  utterly,  since  they  were  not 
grown  wiser  by  the  destruction  of  the 
former  sinners;  but  he  caused  a  tumult 
among  them,  by  producing  in  them  divers 
languages;  and  causing  that,  through  the 
multitude  of  those  languages,  they  should 
not  be  able  to  understand  one  another. 
The  place  wherein  they  built  the  tower  is 
now  called  Babylon  ;  because  of  the  con- 
fusion of  that  language  which  they  readily 
understood  before  ;  for  the  Hebrews  meant 
by  the  word  Babel,  Confusion.*  The  Sibyl 
also  makes  mention  of  this  tower,  and  of 
the  confusion  of  the  language,  when  she 
says  thus  : — "  When  all  men  were  of  one 
language,  some  of  them  built  a  high  tower, 
as  if  they  would  thereby  ascend  up  to 
heaven  ;  but  "the  gods  sent  storms  of  wind 
and  overthrew  the  tower,  and  gave  every 

■  Moses  Cliarenenses,  an  Armenian  historian, 
itatea  that  God  overthrew  *Jiis  tower  by  a  terrible 
storm. 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


47 


one  his  peculiar  language ;  and  for  this 
reason  it  was  that  the  city  was  called  Ba- 
bylon. fJ  But  as  to  the  plain  of  Shinar, 
in  the  country  of  Babylonia,  Hestieeus 
mentions  it,  when  he  says  thus  : — "  Such 
of  the  priests  as  were  saved,  took  the  sa- 
cred vessels  of  Jupiter,  (Enyalius,)  or 
conqueror,  and  came  to  Shinar  of  Baby- 
lonia." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Dispersion  of  the  Posterity  of  Noah.     B.C.  2234. 

After  this  they  were  dispersed  abroad, 
on  account  of  their  languages,  and  went 
out  by  colonies  everywhere  ;  and  eachco- 
lony  took  possession  of  that  land  which 
they  lighted  upon,  and  unto  which  God 
led  them ;  so  that  the  whole  continent 
was  filled  with  them,  both  the  inland  and 
maritime  countries.  There  were  some  also 
who  passed  over  the  sea  in  ships,  and  in- 
habited the  islands;  and  some  of  those 
nations  do  still  retain  the  denominations 
which  were  given  them  by  their  first 
founders  ;  but  some  have  lost  them  also  ; 
and  some  have  only  admitted  certain 
changes  in  them,  that  they  might  be  the 
more  intelligible  to  the  inhabitants ;  and 
they  were  the  Greeks  who  became  the 
authors  of  such  mutations;  for  when,  in 
after  ages,  they  grew  potent,  they  claimed 
to  themselves  the  glory  of  antiquity — 
giving  names  to  the  nations  that  sounded 
well  (in  Greek)  that  they  might  be  better 
understood  among  themselves;  and  setting 
agreeable  forms  of  government  over  them, 
as  if  they  were  a  people  derived  from 
themselves. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Nations  receive  their  names  from  their  first  inha- 
bitants.    2219-1996. 

Now  they  were  the  grandchildren  of 
Noah,  in  honour  of  whom  names  were 
imposed  on  the  nations  by  those  that  first 
seized  upon  them.  Japhet,  the  son  of 
Noah,  had  seven  sons;  they  inhabited  so, 
that,  beginning  at  the  mountains  Taurus 
and  Amanus,  they  proceeded  along  Asia, 
&s  far  as  the  river  Tanais,  and  along 
Europe  to  Cadiz;  and  settling  themselves 
on  the  lands  which  they  light  upon,  which 
none  had  inhabited  before,  they  called  the 
nations  by  their  own  names;  for  Gomer 
founded  those  whom  the  Greeks  now  call 
Galatians,  [Galls,]  but  were  then  called 
Gomerites.     Magog    founded    those    that 


from  him  were  named  Magogites,  but  who 
are  by  the  Greeks  called  Scythians.  Now 
as  to  Javan  and  Madai,  the  sons  of  Japhet; 
from  Madai  came  the  Madeans,  who  are 
called  Medes  by  the  Greeks;  but  from 
Javan,  Ionia  and  all  the  Grecians  arc  de- 
rived. Thobel  founded  the  Thobclites, 
who  are  now  called  Iberes;  and  the  Mo- 
socheni  were  founded  by  Mosoch ;  now 
they  are  Cappadocians.  There  is  also  a 
mark  of  their  ancient  denomination  still 
to  be  shown ;  for  there  is  even  now  among 
them  a  city  called  Mazaca,  which  may  in- 
form those  that  are  able  to  understand, 
that  so  was  the  entire  nation  so  called. 
Thiras  also  called  those  whom  he  ruled 
over,  Thirasians ;  but  the  Greeks  changed 
the  name  into  Thrasians.  And  so  many 
were  the  countries  that  had  the  children 
of  Japhet  for  their  inhabitants.  Of  the 
three  sons  of  Gomer,  Aschanax  founded 
the  Aschanaxians,  who  are  now  called  by 
the  Greeks  Rheginians.  So  did  Riphath 
found  the  Ripheans,  now  called  Paphla- 
gonans;  and  Thrugramma  the  Thrugram- 
nieans,  who,  as  the  Greeks  resolved,  were 
named  Phrygians.  Of  the  three  sons  of 
Javan,  also  the  son  of  Japhet,  Elisa  gave 
name  to  the  Eliseans,  who  were  his  sub- 
jects ;  they  are  now  the  iEolians.  Thar- 
sus  to  the  Tharsians ;  for  so  was  Cilieia 
of  old  called ;  the  sign  of  which  is  this, 
that  the  noblest  city  they  have,  and  a 
metropolis  also,  is  Tarsus,  the  tau  being 
by  chance  put  for  the  theta.  Cethimua 
possessed  the  island  Kethima;  it  is  now 
called  Cyprus;  and  from  that  it  is  that, 
all  the  islands,  and  the  greatest  part 
of  the  seacoasts,  are  named  Cethin  by 
the  Hebrews ;  and  one  city  there  is  in 
Cyprus  that  has  been  able  to  preserve  its 
denomination;  it  is  called  Citius  by  those 
who  use  the  language  of  the  Greeks,  and 
has  not,  by  the  use  of  that  dialect,  es- 
caped the  name  of  Cethim.  And  so 
many  nations  have  the  children  and  grand- 
children of  Japhet  possessed.  Now  when 
I  have  premised  somewhat,  which  perhaps 
the  Greeeks  do  not  know,  I  will  return 
and  explain  what  I  have  omitted;  for  such 
names  are  pronounced  here  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Greeks,  to  please  my  readers;  for 
our  own  country  language  does  not  so  pro- 
nounce them  ;  but  the  names  in  all  cases 
are  of  one  and  the  same  ending  ;  for  the 
names  we  here  pronounce  Noeas,  is  there 
Noah,  and  in  every  case  retains  the  same 
termination. 

The   children    of    Ham    possessed    the 


48 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


land  from  Syria  and  Amanus,  and  the 
mountains  of  Libanus,  seizing  upon  all 
that  was  upon  its  seacoasts  and  as  far  as 
the  ocean,  and  keeping  it  as  their  own. 
Some  indeed  of  its  names  are  utterly 
vanished  away ;  others  of  them,  being 
changed,  and  another  sound  given  them, 
are  hardly  to  be  discovered ;  yet  a  few 
there  are  which  have  kept  their  denomi- 
nations entire ;  for  of  the  four  sons  of 
Ham,  time  has  not  at  all  hurt  the  name 
of  Chug;  for  the  Ethiopians,  over  whom 
he  reigned,  are  even  at  this  day,  both  by 
themselves  and  by  all  men  in  Asia,  called 
Chusites.  The  memory  also  of  the  Mes- 
raites  is  preserved  in  their  name,  for  all 
we  who  inhabit  this  country  [of  Judea] 
call  Egypt  Mestre,  and  the  Egyptians 
Mestreans.  Phut  was  also  the  founder  of 
Libya,  and  called  the  inhabitants  Phutites, 
from  himself;  there  is  also  a  river  in  the 
city  of  the  Moors  which  bears  that  name  ; 
whence  it  is  that  we  may  see  the  greatest 
part  of  the  Grecian  historiographers  men- 
tion that  river  and  the  adjoining  country  by 
the  appellation  of  Phut;  but  the  name  it 
has  now,  has  been  by  change  given  it  from 
one  of  the  sons  of  Mesraim,  who  was 
called  Lybyos.  We  will  inform  you  pre- 
sently what  has  been  the  occasion  why  it 
lias  been  called  Africa  also.  Canaan,  the 
fourth  son  of  Ham,  inhabited  the  country 
now  called  Judea,  and  called  it  from  his 
own  name  Canaan.  The  children  of  these 
[four]  were  these  :  Sabas,  who  founded 
the  Sabeans;  Evilas,  who  founded  the  Evi- 
leans,  who  are  called  Getuli;  Sabathes, 
founded  the  Sabathens — they  are  now 
called  by  the  Greeks,  Astaborans;  Sabac- 
tas  settled  the  Sabactans;  and  Ragmus 
the  Ragmeans ;  and  he  had  two  sons,  the 
one  of  whom,  Judadas,  settled  the  Juda- 
deans,  a  nation  of  the  Western  Ethiopians, 
and  left  them  his  name ;  as  did  Sabas  to 
the  Sabeans.  But  Nimrod,  the  son  of 
Chus,  stayed  and  tyrannized  at  Babylon,  as 
we  have  already  informed  you.  Now  all 
the  children  of  Mesraim,  being  eight  in 
number,  possessed  the  country  from  Gaza 
to  Egypt,  though  it  retained  the  name  of 
one  only,  the  Philistim  ;  for  the  Greeks 
call  part  of  that  country  Palestine.  As 
for  the  rest,  Ludieim,  and  Enemim,  and 
Labim,  who  alone  inhabited  in  Libya,  and 
called  the  country  fmni  himself,  Nedim, 
and  Phethrosim,  and  Chesloim,  and  Ceph- 
thorim  ;  we  know  nothing  of  them  besides 
their  names;  for  the  Ethiopic  war,  which 
we  shall  describe  hereafter,  was  the  cau«e 


that  those  cities  were  overthrown.*  The 
sons  of  Canaan  were  these  :  Sidonius,  who 
also  built  a  city  of  the  same  name — it  is 
called  by  the  Greeks,  Sidon;  Amathus 
inhabited  in  Amathine,  which  is  even  now 
called  Am  a  the  by  the  inhabitants,  although 
the  Macedonians  named  it  Epipbania, 
from  one  of  his  posterity;  Arudeus  pos- 
sessed the  island  Aradus;  Arucas  pos- 
sessed Arce,  which  is  in  Libanus ;  but  for 
the  seven  others,  [Eueus,]  Chetteus,  Je- 
buseus,  Amorreus,  Gergesus,  Eudeus,  Si- 
neus,  Samareus,  we  have  nothing  in  the 
sacred  books  but  their  names,  for  the  He- 
brews overthrew  their  cities;  and  their  ca- 
lamities came  upon  them  on  the  occasion 
following. 

Noah,  when,  after  the  Deluge,  the  earth 
was  resettled  in  its  former  condition,  set 
about  its  cultivation;  and  when  he  had 
planted  it  with  vines,  and  when  the  fruit 
was  ripe,  and  he  had  gathered  the  grapes 
in  their  season,  and  the  wine  was  ready 
for  use,  he  offered  sacrifice,  and  feasted, 
and  being  drunk,  he  fell  asleep,  and  lay 
naked  in  an  unseemly  manner.  When 
his  youngest  son  saw  this,  he  came  laugh- 
ing, and  showed  him  to  his  brethren;  but 
they  covered  their  father's  nakedness 
And  when  Noah  was  made  sensible  of 
what  had  been  done,  he  prayed  for  pros- 
perity to  his  other  sons;  but  for  Ham,  he 
did  not  curse  him  by  reason  of  his  near- 
ness in  blood,  but  cursed  his  posterity. 
And  when  the  rest  of  them  escaped  that 
curse,  God  inflicted  it  on  the  children  of 
Canaan.  But  as  to  these  matters  we  shall 
speak  more  hereafter. 
v  Shem,  the  third  son  of  Noah,  had  five 
sons,  who  inhabited  the  land  that  began 
at  the  Euphrates,  and  reached  to  the  In- 
dian Ocean;  for  Elam  left  behind  him  the 
Elamites,  the  ancestors  of  the  Persians. 
Ashur  lived  at  the  city  of  Niueve;  and 
named  his  subjects  Assyrians,  who  became 
the  most  fortunate  nation  beyond  others. 
Arphaxad  named  the  Arphaxadites,  who 
are  now  called  Chaldeans.  Aram  had  the 
Aramites,  which  the  Greeks  call  Syrians; 
as  Laud  founded  the  Laudites,  which  are 
now  called  Lydlans.  Of  the  four  sons  of 
Aram,  Uz  founded  Trachonitis  and  Da 
mascus;  this  country  lies  between  Pales- 
tine and  Celesyria.  Ul  founded  Armenia; 
and  Gather  the  Bactrians ;  and  Mesa  the 
Mesaneans;   it  is  now  called  Charax  Spa- 


*  It  is  not  known  from  what  source  Josophus 
procured  this  account  of  the  Ethiopia  Wars. 


Chap.  VII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


49 


«ini.  Sala  was  the  sod  of  Arphaxad;  and 
his  son  was  Heber,  from  whom  they 
originally  callj>oL-~tlie~~<Jews  Hebrews. 
Heber  begat  Joctan  and  Phaleg :  he  was 
called  Phaleg  because  he  was  born  at  the 
.dispersion  of  the  nations  to  their  several 
countries;  for  Phaleg,  among  the  He- 
brews, signifies  Division.  Now  Joctan, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Heber,  had  these  sons : 
Elmodad,  Saleph,  Asermoth,  Jera,  Ado- 
ram,  Aizel,  Decla,  Ebal,  Abimael,  Sa- 
beus,  Ophir,  Euilat,  and  Jobab.  These  in- 
habited from  Cophen,  an  Indian  river,  and 
in  part  of  Asia  adjoining  to  it.  And  this 
shall  suffice  concerning  the  sons  of  Shem. 
I  will  now  treat  of  the  Hebrews.  The 
son  of  Phaleg,  whose  father  was  Heber, 
was  Ragau;  whose  son  was  Serug,  to 
whom  was  born  Nahor;  his  son  was 
Terah,  who  was  the  father  of  Abraham,* 
who  accordingly  was  the  tenth  from  Noah, 
and  was  born  in  the  292d  year  after  the 
/elu^s^  for  Terah  begat  Abram  in  his 
>"n  year.  Nahor  begat  Haran  when  he 
was  120  years  old;  Nahor  was  born  to 
Serug  in  his  132d  year;  llagan  had  Serug 
at  130;  at  the  same  age  also  Phaleg  had 
Ragau;  Heber  begat  Phaleg  in  his  134th 
year;  he  nlmself  being  begotten  by  Sala 
when  he  was  130  years  old,  whom  Ar- 
phaxad had  for  his  son  at  the  135th  year 
of  his  age.  Arphaxad  was  the  son  of 
Shem,  and  born  twelve  years  after  the 
Deluge.  Now  Abram  had  two  brethren, 
Nahor  and  Haran :  of  these  Haran  left  a 
son,  Lot;  as  also  Sarai  and  Milcha  his 
daughters,  and  died  among  the  Chaldeans, 
in  a  city  of  the  Chaldeans,  called  Ur;  and 
his  monument  is  shown  to  this  day. 
These  married  their  nieces.  Nahor  mar- 
ried Milcha,  and  Abram  married  Sarai. 
Now  Terah  hating  ChtJdea,  on  account  of 
his  mourning  for  Haran,  they  all  removed 
to  Haran  of  Mesopotamia,  where  Terah 
died,  and  was  buried,  when  he  had  lived 
to  be  205  years  old;  for  the  life  of  man 
was  already  by  degrees  diminished,  and 
became  shorter  than  before,  till  the  birth 
of  Moses;  after  whom  the  term  of  human 
life  was  120  years,  God  determining  it  to 
the  length  that  Moses  happened  to  live. 
Now  Nahor  had  eight  sons  by  Milcha; 
Uz  and  Buz,  Kemuel,  Chesed,  Azau, 
Pheldas,  Jadelph,   and   Bethuel.     These 


*  From  this  period,  history  may  truly  be  said  to 
commence.  Before  the  time  of  Abraham,  real 
truth  is  so  strangely  blended  with  apparent,  that 
little  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  various  tra- 
ditionary accounts  of  earlier  events. 


were  all  the  genuine  sons  of  Nahor;  for 
Teba  and  Gaam,  and  Tachas,  and  Maaca, 
were  born  of  Reuma  his  concubine;  but 
Bethuel  had  a  daughter,  Rebecca, — and 


a  son,  Laban. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Abram  quits  Chaldea — dwells  in  Canaan — teaches 
the  knowledge  of  the  one  true  God.     B.  C.  1922. 

Now  Abram,  having  no  son  of  his  own, 
adopted  Lot,  his  brother  Haran's  son,  and 
his  wife  Sarai's  brother;  and  he  left  the 
land  of  Chaldea  when  he  was  seventy-five 
years  old,  aud  at  the  command  of  God  went 
into  Canaan,  and  therein  he  dwelt  him- 
self, and  left  it  to  his  posterity.  He  was 
a  person  of  great  sagacity,  both  for  under- 
standing all  things  and  persuading  his 
hearers,  and  not  mistaken  in  his  opinions; 
for  which  reason  he  began  to  have  highei 
notions  of  virtue  than  others  had,  and  he 
determined  to  renew  and  to  change  the 
opinion  all  men  happened  then  to  have 
concerning  God,  for  he  was  the  first  that 
ventured  to  publish  this  notion,  "That 
there  was  but  one  God,  the  creator  of  the 
universe;  and  that,  as  to  other  [gods],  if 
they  contributed  any  thing  to  the  happi- 
ness of  men,  that  each  of  them  afforded  it 
only  according  to  His  appointment,  and 
not  by  their  own  power."  This  his  opi- 
nion was  derived  from  the  irregular  phe- 
nomena that  were  visible  both  at  land 
and  sea,  as  well  as  those  that  happen  to 
the  sun  aud  moon,  and  all  the  heavenly 
bodies,  thus: — "If  [said  he]  these  bodies 
had  power  of  their  own,  they  would  cer- 
tainly take  care  of  their  own  regular  mo- 
tions ;  but  since  they  do  not  preserve  such 
regularity,  they  make  it  plain,  that  in  so 
far  as  they  co-operate  to  our  advantage, 
they  do  it  not  of  their  own  abilities,  but 
as  they  are  subservient  to  Him  that  com- 
mands them ;  to  whom  alone  we  ought 
justly  to  offer  our  honour  aud  thanks- 
giving.^ For  which  doctrines,  when  the 
Chaldeans  and  other  people  of  Mesopo- 
tamia raised  a  tumult  against  him,  ho 
thought  fit  to  leave  that  country;  and  at 
the  command,  aud  by  the  assistance  of 
God,  he  came  and  lived  in  the  land  of 
Canaan.  And  when  he  was  there  settled, 
he  built  an  altar,  aud  performed  a  sacri- 
fice to  God. 

Berosus  mentions  our  father  Abram 
without  naming  him,  when  he  says  thus: 
— "In  the  tenth  generation  after  the 
Flood,  there  was  among  the  Chaldeans  » 


60 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


man  righteous  aud  great,  and  skilful  in 
the  celestial  science. "  But  Hecatacus 
does  more  than  barely  mention  him ;  for 
he  composed  and  left  behind  him  a  book 
concerning  him.  And  Nicholaus  of  Da- 
mascus, in  the  fourth  book  of  his  history, 
says  thus: — "Abram  reigned  at  Damas- 
cus, being  a  foreigner,  who  came  with  an 
army  out  of  the  land  above  Babylon,  called 
the  land  of  the  Chaldeans.  But  after  a 
long  time  he  got  him  up,  and  removed 
from  that  country  also  with  his  people, 
and  went  into  the  land  then  called  the 
land  of  Canaan,  but  now  the  land  of 
Judea,  and  this  when  his  posterity  were 
become  a  multitude;  as  to  which  posterity 
of  his,  we  relate  their  history  in  another 
work.  Now  the  name  of  Abram  is  even 
still  famous  in  the  country  of  Damascus; 
aud  there  is  shown  a  village  named  from 
him,  The  Habitation  of  Abrain." 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

Famine  in  Canaan — Abram  visits  Egypt — instructs 
natives  in  religion,  arithmetic,  and  astronomy, 
return"  to  Canaan,  and  divides  the  country  with 
his  kinsmen.     B.  C.  1921. 

Now  after  this,  when  a  famine  had  in- 
vaded the  land  of  Canaan,  and  Abram 
had  discovered  that  the  Egyptians  were 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  he  was  dis- 
posed to  go  down  to  them,  both  to  par- 
take of  the  plenty  they  enjoyed,  and  to 
become  an  auditor  of  their  priests,  and'to 
know  what  they  said  concerning  the  gods; 
designing  either  to  follow  them,  if  they 
had  better  notions  than  he,  or  to  convert 
them  into  a  better  way,  if  his  own  notions 
proved  the  truest.  Now,  seeing  he  was 
to  take  Sarai  with  him,  and  was  afraid  of 
the  madness  of  the  Egyptians  with  regard 
to  women,  lest  the  king  should  kill  him 
on  occasion  of  his  wife's  great  beauty,  he 
contrived  this  device: — He  pretended  to 
be  her  brother,  and  directed  her  in  a  dis- 
sembling way  to  pretend  the  same,  for  he 
said  it  would  be  for  their  benefit.  Now, 
ap  soon  as  he  came  into  Egypt,  it  happened 
to  Abram  as  he  supposed  it  would;  for 
the  fame  of  his  wife's  beauty  was  greatly 
talked  of,  for  which  reason  Pharaoh  the 
king  of  Egypt  would  not  be  satisfied  with 
what  was  reported  of  her,  but  would  needs 
see  himself,  and  was  preparing  to  enjoy 
her;  but  God  put  a  stop  to  his  unjust  in- 
clinations, by  sending  upon  him  a  dis- 
temper, and  u  sedition  against  his  govern- 
ment.     And   when    he    inquired    of   the 


priests  how  he  might  be  freed  from  these 
calamities,  they  told  him  that  this  his 
miserable  condition  was  derived  from  the 
wrath  of  God,  upon  account  of  his  inclina- 
tion to  abuse  the  stranger's  wife.  He 
then  out  of  fear  asked  Sarai  who  she  was, 
and  who  it  was  that  she  brought  along 
with  her.  And  when  he  had  found  out 
the  truth,  he  excused  himself  to  Abram, 
that  supposing  the  woman  to  be  his  sister, 
and  not  his  wife,  he  set  his  affections  on 
her,  as  desiring  an  affinity  with  him  by 
marrying  her,  but  not  as  incited  by  lust 
to  abuse  her.  He  also  made  him  a  large 
present  in  money,  and  gave  him  leave  to 
enter  into  conversation  with  the  most 
learned  among  the  Egyptians;  from 
which  conversation,  his  virtue  and  his 
reputation  became  more  conspicuous  than 
they  had  been  before. 

For  whereas  the  Egyptians  were  for- 
merly addicted  to  different  customs,  and 
despised  one  another's  sacred  and  ac- 
customed rites,  and  were  very  angry  one 
with  another  on  that  account,  Abram  con- 
ferred with  each  of  them,  and  confutiug 
the  reasonings  they  made  use  of  every 
one  for  their  own  practices,  demonstrated 
that  such  reasonings  were  vain  and  void 
of  truth;  whereupon  he  was  admired  by 
them  in  those  conferences  as  a  very  wise 
man,  and  one  of  great  sagacity,  when  he 
discoursed  on  any  subject  he  undertook; 
and  this  not  only  in  understanding  it, 
but  in  persuading  other  men  also  to  assent 
to  him.  He  communicated  to  them 
arithmetic,  and  delivered  to  them  the 
science  of  astronomy ;  for,  before  Abram 
came  into  Egypt,  they  were  unacquainted 
with  those  parts  of  learning;  for  that 
science  came  from  the  Chaldeaus  into 
Egypt,  and  from  thence  to  the  Greeks 
also. 

As  soon  as  Abram  was  come  back  into 
Canaan,  he  parted  the  laud  between  him 
and  Lot,  upon  account  of  the  tumultuous 
behaviour  of  their  shepherds,  concerning 
the  pastures  wherein  they  shouM  feed 
their  flocks.  However,  he  gave  Lot  his 
option  or  leave  to  choose  which  lauds  he 
would  take;  and  he  took  himself  what 
the  other  left,  which  were  the  lower 
grounds  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains ; 
and  he  himself  dwelt  in  Hebron,  which  is 
a  city  seven  years  more  ancient  than 
Tauis  of  Egypt.  But  Lot  possessed  the 
land  of  the  plaiu,  and  the  river  Jordan, 
not  far  from  the  city  of  Sodom,  which  was 
then  a  fine  city ;  but  is  now  destroyed  by 


Chap.  X.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


51 


the  will  and  wrath  of  God;  the  cause  of 
which  I  shall  show  in  its  proper  place 
hereafter. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Destruction  of  Sodom  by  the  Assyrians.    B.  C.  1912. 

At  this  time,  when  the  Assyrians  had 
the  dominion  over  Asia,  the  people  of 
Sodom  were  in  a  flourishing  condition, 
both  as  to  riches  and  the  number  of  their 
youth.  There  were  five  kings  that  ma- 
naged the  affairs  of  this  country  :  Ballas, 
Barsas,  Senabar,  and  Sumobor,  with  the 
king  of  Bela;  and  each  king  led  on  his 
own  troops;  and  the  Assyrians  made  war 
upon  them;  and,  dividing  their  army 
into  four  parts,  fought  against  them. 
Now  every  part  of  the  army  had  its  own 
commander;  and  when  the  battle  was 
joined,  the  Assyrians  were  conquerors, 
and  imposed  a  tribute  on  the  kings  of  the 
Sodomites,  who  submitted  to  this  slavery 
twelve  years j  and  so  long  they  conti- 
nued""!*) pay  their  tribute ;  but  on  the 
thirteenth  year  they  rebelled,  and  then 
the  army  of  the  Assyrians  came  upon 
them,  under  their  commanders  Amra- 
phel,  Arioch,  Chodorlaomer,  and  Tidal. 
These  kings  had  laid  waste  all  Syria,  and 
overthrown  the  offspring  of  the  giants ; 
and  when  they  were  come  over  against 
Sodom,  they  pitched  their  camp  at  the 
vale  called  the  Slime  Pits,  for  at  that 
time  there  were  pits  in  that  place ;  but 
now,  upon  the  destruction  of  the  city  of 
Sodom,  that  vale  became  the  Lake  Asphal- 
tites,  as  it  is  called.  However,  concern- 
ing this  lake  we  shall  speak  more  pre- 
sently. Now,  when  the  Sodomites  joined 
battle  with  the  Assyrians,  and  the  fight 
was  very  obstinate,  many  of  them  were 
killed,  and  the  rest  were  carried  captive  ; 
among  which  captives  was  Lot,  who  had 
come  to  assist  the  Sodomites. 


CHAPTER  X. 

TTie  Assyrian  army  pursued  and  defeated  by 
Abram — Bir'h  of  Ishmael — Circumcision  insti- 
tuted.    B.C.  1912-1910. 

When  Abram  heard  of  their  calamity, 
he  was  at  once  afraid  for  Lot  his  kins- 
man, and  pitied  the  Sodomites,  his  friends 
and  neighbours;  and  thinking  it  proper 
to  afford  them  assistance,  he  did  not  delay 
it,  but  marched  hastily,  and  the  fifth 
night,  fell  upon  the  Assyrians,  near  Dan, 
for  that  is  the  name  of  the  other  spring 


of  Jordan;  and  before  they  could  arm 
themselves,  he  slew  some  as  they  were  in 
their  beds,  before  they  could  suspect  any 
harm  ;  and  others,  who  were  not  yet  gone 
to  sleep,  but  were  so  drunk  that  they 
could  not  fight,  ran  away.  Abram  pur- 
sued after  them,  till,  on  the  second  day, 
he  drove  them  in  a  body  unto  Hoba,  a 
place  belonging  to  Damascus ;  and  thereby 
demonstrated  that  victory  does  not  de- 
pend on  multitude  and  the  number  of 
bauds,  but  that  the  alacrity  and  courage 
of  soldiers  overcome  the  most  numerous 
bodies  of  men,  while  he  got  the  victory 
over  so  great  an  army  with  no  more  than 
318  of  his  servants,  and  three  of  his 
friends :  but  all  those  that  fled  returned 
home  ingloriously. 

So  Abram,  when  he  had  saved  the  cap- 
tivo  Sodomites,  who  had  been  taken  by 
the  Assyrians,  and  Lot  also,  his  kinsman, 
returned  home  in  peace.  Now  the  king 
of  Sodom  met  him  at  a  certain  place, 
which  they  called  the  King's  Dale,  where 
Melchisedec,  king  of  the  city  of  Salem, 
received  him.  That  name  signifies  "  the 
righteous  king;"  and  such  he  was  with- 
out dispute,  insomuch  that,  on  this  ac- 
count, he  was  made  the  priest  of  God  : 
however,  they  afterward  called  Salem 
Jerusalem.  Now  this  Melchisedec  sup- 
plied Abram's  army  in  an  hospitable 
manner,  and  gave  them  provisions  in 
abundance;  and  as  they  were  feasting, 
he  began  to  praise  him,  and  to  bless  God 
for  subduing  his  enemies  under  him. 
And  when  Abram  gave  him  the  tenth 
part  of  his  prey,  he  accepted  of  the  gift ; 
but  the  king  of  Sodom  desired  Abram  to 
take  the  prey,  but  entreated  that  he 
might  have  those  men  restore  1  to  him 
whom  Abram  had  saved  from  the  Assy- 
rians, because  they  belonged  to  him  ;  but 
Abram  would  not  do  so ;  nor  would  make 
any  other  advantage  of  that  prey  than 
what  his  servants  had  eaten ;  but  [Mel- 
chisedec] still  insisted  that  he  should 
afford  a  part  to  his  friends  that  had  as- 
sisted him  in  the  battle.  The  first  of 
them  was  called  Eschol,  and  then  Enuer, 
aud  Mambre. 

And  God  commended  his  viitue,  and 
said,  u  Thou  shalt  not,  however,  lose  the 
rewards  thou  hast  deserved  to  leceive  by 
such  thy  glorious  actions."  He  answered, 
"  And  what  advantage  will  it  be  to  me  to 
have  such  rewards,  when  I  have  none  to 
enjoy  them  after  me  ?",for  he  was  hitherto 
child' ess.      And   God  promised   that    he 


52 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


should  have  a  son,  ami  that  his  posterity 
should  be  very  numerous,  insomuch  that 
their  number  should  be  like  the  Btars. 
When  he  heard  that,  he  offered  a  sacrifice 
to  God,  as  he  commanded  him.  The 
manner  of  the  sacrifice  was  this  :  he  took 
au  heifer  of  three  years  old,  and  a  she- 
goat,  of  three  years  old,  and  a  ram  in  like 
manner  of  three  years  old,  and  a  turtle- 
dove, and  a  pigeon  ;*  and,  as  he  was  en- 
joined, he  divided  the  three  former;  but 
the  birds  he  did  not  divide.  After  which, 
before  he  built  his  altar,  where  the  birds 
of  prey  flew  about,  as  desirous  of  blood, 
a  divine  voice  came  to  him,  declaring 
that,  their  neighbours  would  be  grievous 
to  his  posterity  when  they  should  be  in 
Egypt,  for  400  years,  during  which  time 
they  should  be  afflicted ;  but  afterward 
should  overcome  their  enemies,  should 
conquer  the  Canaanites  in  war,  and  pos- 
sess themselves  of  their  land,  and  of  their 
cities. 

Now  Abram  dwelt  near  the  oak  called 
Ogyges — the  place  belongs  to  Canaan, 
not  far  from  the  city  of  Hebron ;  but 
being  uneasy  at  his  wife's  barrenness,  he 
entreated  God  to  grant  that  he  might 
have  male  issue;  and  God  required  of 
him  to  be  of  good  courage  ;  and  said, 
that  he  would  add  to  all  the  rest  of  the 
benefits  that  he  had  bestowed  on  him 
ever  since  he  led  him  out  of  Mesopo- 
tamia, the  gift  of  children.  Accordingly 
Sarai,  at  God's  command,  brought  to"  his 
bed  one  of  her  handmaidens,  a  woman  of 
Egyptian  descent,  in  order  to  obtain  chil- 
dren by  her;  and  when  this  handmaid 
was  with  child,  she  triumphed,  and  ven- 
tured to  affront  Sarai,  as  if  the  dominion 
were  to  come  to  a  son  to  be  born  of  her ; 
but  when  Abram  resigued  her  into  the 
hand  of  Sarai,  to  punish  her,  she  con- 
trived to  fly  away,  as  not  able  to  bear  the 
instances  of  Sarai's  severity  to  her ;  and  she 
entreated  God  to  have  compassion  on  her. 
Now  a  divine  angel  met  her,  as  she  was 
going  forward  in  the  wilderness,  and  bid 
her  return  to  her  master  and  mistress  ;  for, 
if  she  would  submit  to  that  wise  advice, 
she  would  live  better  hereafter;  for  that 
the  reason  of  her  being  in  such  a  mise- 
rable case  was  this,  that  she  had  been 
ungrateful  and  arrogant  toward  her  mis- 
tress.     He  also  told  her,  that  if  she  dis- 

*  Un<ler  the  law  of  Mosea,  no  other  sacrifices 
k.ti;  required  than  these  live  ;  neither  »li<l  the  .lews 
rat  any  clher  domestic  animals  than  those  here 
tamed. 


obeyed  God,  and  went  on  still  in  her 
way,  she  should  perish  ;  but  if  she  would 
return  back,  she  should  become  the  mo- 
ther of  a  son  who  should  reign  over  that 
country.  These  admonitions  she  obeyed, 
and  returned  to  her  master  and  mistress, 
and  obtained  forgiveness.  A  little  while 
afterward,  she  bare  Ismael,  which  may 
be  interpreted  "  Heard  of  God,"  because 
God  had  heard  his  mother's  prayer. 

The  forementioned  son  was  born  to 
AJbram  when  he  was  eighty-six  years 
old  :  but  when  he  was  ninety-nine,  God 
appeared  to  him,  and  promised  him  that 
he  should  have  a  son  by  Sarai,  and  com- 
manded that  his  name  should  be  Isaac  ; 
and  showed  him,  that  from  this  son  should 
spring  great  nations  and  kings,  and  that 
they  should  obtain  all  the  land  of  Canaan 
by  war,  from  Sidon  to  Egypt.  But  he 
charged  him,  in  order  to  keep  his  pos- 
terity unmixed  with  others,  that  they 
should  be  circumcised  in  the  flesh  of  their 
foreskin,  and  that  this  should  be  done  on 
the  eighth  day  after  they  were  born  :  the 
reason  of  which  circumcisiou  I  will  ex- 
plain in  another  place.  And  Abram  in- 
quiring also  concerning  Ismael,  whether 
he  should  live  or  not,  God  signified  to 
him  that  he  should  live  to  be  very  old, 
and  should  be  the  father  of  great  nations. 
Abram,  therefore,  gave  thanks  to  God 
for  these  blessings ;  and  then  he,  and  all 
his  family,  and  his  son  Ismael,  were  cir- 
cumcised immediately,  the  son  being  that 
day  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  he  niuety- 
uine. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Destruction  of  Sodom.     B.  C.  1897. 

About  this  time  the  Sodomites  grew 
proud,  on  account  of  their  riches  and  great 
wealth:  they  became  unjust  toward  men, 
and  impious  toward  God,  insomuch  that 
they  did  not  call  to  mind  the  advantages 
they  received  from  him :  they  hated 
strangers,  and  abused  themselves  with 
Sodomitical  practices.  God  was  there- 
fore much  displeased  at  them,  and  de- 
termined to  punish  them  for  their  pride, 
and  to  overthrow  their  city,  and  to  lay 
waste  their  country,  until  there  should 
neither  plant  nor  fruit  grow  out  of  it. 

When  God  had  thus  resolved  concern- 
ing the   Sodomites,  Abraham,*  as  he  sat 

*  About  this  time  Abram's  name  was  changed 
to  Abraham,  and  that  of  his  wile  Sarai  to  Sarah 
Q-en.  xvii.  4,  16. 


UllAP.    XII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


53 


by  the  oak  of  Mambre,  at  the  door  of  his 
cent  saw  three  angels;  and,  thinking 
them  to  be  strangers,  he  rose  up  and  sa- 
luted them,  and  desired  they  would  ac- 
cept of  an  entertainment,  and  abide  with 
him;  to  which  when  they  agreed,  he  or- 
dered cakes  of  meal  to  be  made  presently; 
and  when  he  had  slain  a  calf  he  roasted 
it,  and  brought  it  to  them,  as  they  sat 
under  the  oak.  Now  they  made  a  show 
of  eating;  and  besides,  they  asked  him 
about  his  wife  Sarah,  where  she  was; 
and  when  he  said  she  was  within,  they 
said  they  would  come  again  hereafter, 
and  find  her  become  a  mother.  Upon 
which  the  woman  laughed,  and  said  that 
it  was  impossible  she  should  bear  chil- 
dren, since  she  was  ,90  years  of  age, 
and  her  husband  was  100.  Then  they 
concealed  themselves  no  longer,  but  de- 
clared that  they  were  angels  of  God  ;  and 
that  one  of  them  was  sent  to  inform  them 
about  the  child,  and  two  of  the  overthrow 
of  Sodom. 

When  Abraham  heard  this,  he  was 
grieved  for  the  Sodomites;  and  he  rose 
up,  and  besought  God  for  them,  and  en- 
created  him  that  he  would  not  destroy  the 
righteous  with  the  wicked.  And  when 
God  had  replied  that  there  was  no  good 
man  among  the  Sodomites,  for  if  there 
were  but  ten  such  men  among  them,  he 
would  not  punish  any  of  them  for  their 
sins,  Abraham  held  his  peace.  And  the 
angels  came  to  the  city  of  the  Sodomites, 
and  Lot  entreated  them  to  accept  of  a 
lodging  with  him  ;  for  he  was  a  very 
generous,  hospitable  man,  and  one  that  hud 
learned  to  imitate  the  goodness  of  Abra- 
ham. Now,  when  the  Sodomites  saw  the 
young  men  to  be  of  beautiful  counte- 
nances, and  this  to  an  extraordinary  de- 
gree, and  that  they  took  up  their  lodgings 
with  Lot,  they  resolved  themselves  to  en- 
joy these  beautiful  boys  by  force  and  vio- 
lence ;  and  when  Lot  exhorted  them  to 
sobriety,  and  not  to  offer  any  thing  im- 
modest to  the  strangers,  but  to  have  re- 
gard to  their  lodging  iu  his  house  ;  and 
promised,  that  if  their  inclinations  could 
not  be  governed,  he  would  expose  his 
daughters  to  their  lust  instead  of  these 
Strangers — neither  thus  were  they  made 
ashamed. 

But  God  was  much  displeased  at  their 
impudent  behaviour,  so  that  he  both 
smote  those  men  with  blindness,  and 
condemued  the  Sodomites  to  universal 
destruction.      But    Lot,    up>n    God's 


in- 


forming him  of  the  future  destruction  of 
the  Sodomites,  went  away,  taking  with 
him  his  wife  and  daughters,  who  were 
two,  and  still  virgins ;  for  those  that 
were  betrothed  to  them  were  above  the 
thoughts  of  going,  and  deemed  that  Lot's 
words  were  trifling.  God  then  cast  a 
thunderbolt  upon  the  city,  and  set  it  on 
fire,  with  its  inhabitants;  and  laid  waste 
the  country  with  the  like  burning,  as  I 
formerly  said  when  I  wrote  the  Jewish 
War.  But  Lot's  wife  continually  turning 
back  to  view  the  city  as  she  went  from  it, 
and  being  too  nicely  inquisitive  what 
would  become  of  it,  although  God  had 
forbidden  her  so  to  do,  was  changed  into 
a  pillar  of  salt ;  for  I  have  seen  it,  and  it 
remains  at  this  day.  Now  he  and  his 
daughters  fled  to  a  certain  small  place, 
encompassed  with  the  fire,  and  settled  in 
it.  It  is  to  this  day  called  Zoar,  for  that 
is  the  word  which  the  Hebrews  use  for  a 
small  thing.  There  it  was  that  he  lived 
a  miserable  life,  on  account  of  his  having 
no  company,  and  his  want  of  provisions. 

But  his  daughters,  thinking  that  all 
mankind  were  destroyed,  approached  to 
their  father,  though  taking  care  not  to 
be  perceived.  And  they  bare  sons:*  the 
son  of  the  elder  was  named  Moab,  which 
denotes  one  derived  from  his  father.  The 
younger  bare  Ammon,  which  name  de- 
notes one  derived  from  a  kinsman.  The 
former  of  whom  was  the  father  of  the 
Moabites,  which  is  even  still  a  great  na- 
tion ;  the  latter  was  the  father  of  the 
Ammonites;  and  both  of  them  are  in- 
habitants of  Celesyria.  And  such  was 
the  departure  of  Lot  from  among  the 
Sodomites. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Birth  of  Isaac — Banishment  of  Ismael  and  Hagar. 
B.  C.  1896-1892. 

Abraham  now  removed  to  Gerar  of 
Palestine,  leading  Sarah  along  with  him, 
under  the  notion  of  his  sister,  using  the 
like  dissimulation  that  he  had  used  before, 
and  this  out  of  fear;  for  he  was  afraid  of 
Abimelech,  the  king  of  that  country,  who 
did  also  himself  fall  in  love  with  Sarah, 
and  was  disposed  to  corrupt  her;  but  he 
was  restrained  from  satisfying  his  lust, 
by  a  dangerous  distemper,  which  befell 
him  from  God.  Now  when  his  physicians 
despaired   of  curing   him,  he   fell    asleep, 

*  Gen.  xix.  23-38. 


54 


ANTIQUIHE8   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  L 


and  saw  a  dream,  warning  him  not  to 
abuse  the  stranger's  wife  ;  and  when  be 
recovered,  he  told  his  friends  that  God 

hud  inflicted  that  disease  upon  him,  by 
way  of  punishment  for  his  injury  to  the 
stranger,  and  in  order  to  preserve  the 
chastity  of  his  wife;  for  that  she  did  not 
accompany  him  as  his  sister,  but  as  his 
legitimate  wife;  and  that  God  had  pro- 
mised to  be  gracious  to  him  for  the  time 
to  come,  if  this  person  be  once  secure 
uf  his  wife's  chastity.  When  he  had  said 
this,  by  the  advice  of  his  friends,  he  sent 
for  Abraham,  and  bid  him  not  to  be  con- 
cerned about  his  wife,  or  fear  the  corrup- 
tion of  her  chastity;  for  that  God  took 
care  of  him,  and  that  it  was  by  his  provi- 
dence that  he  received  his  wife  again, 
without  her  suffering  any  abuse;  and  he 
appealed  to  God  and  to  his  wife's  con- 
science, and  said  that  he  had  not  any  in- 
clination at  first  to  enjoy  her,  if  he  had 
known  she  was  his  wife ;  but  since,  said 
he,  thou  leadest  her  about  as  thy  sister, 
I  was  guilty  of  no  offence.  He  also  en- 
treated him  to  be  at  peace  with  him,  and 
to  make  God  propitious  to  him;  and  that 
if  he  thought  fit  to  continue  with  him,  he 
should  have  what  he  wanted  in  abundance ; 
but  that  if  he  designed  to  go  away,  he 
should  be  honourably  conducted,  and  have 
whatsoever  supply  he  wanted  when  he 
came  thither.*  Upon  his  saying  this, 
Abraham  told  him  that  his  pretence  of 
kindred  to  his  wife  was  no  lie,  because 
she  was  his  brother's  daughter;  and  that 
he  did  not  think  himself  safe  in  his 
travels  abroad,  without  this  sort  of  dis- 
simulation ;  and  that  he  was  not  the 
cause  of  his  distemper,  but  was  only 
solicitous  for  his  own  safety.  He  said 
also,  that  he  was  ready  to  stay  with  him. 
Whereupon  Abimileeh  assigned  him  land 
und  money;  and  they  covenanted  to  live 
together  without  guile,  and  took  an  oath 
at  a  certain  well  called  Beersheba,  which 
may  be  interpreted,  "  The  Well  of  the 
'Oath."  And  so  it  is  named  by  the  people 
of  the  country  unto  this  day. 

Now  in  a  little  time  Abraham  had  a 
Bon,  by  Sarah,  as  God  had  foretold  to 
him,  whom  he  named  Isaac,  which  sig- 
nifies- u  laughter ;"  and  indeed  they  so 
'•ailed  him,  because  Sarah  laughed  when 
God  said   that  she  should    bear  a  sou,  she 

uol  expecting  such  a  thing,  as  being  past 
the  age  of  child-bearing,  for  she  was  !»() 

*  Ot'i).  x.\. 


y^irs  old,  and  Alraham  100;  so  that 
this  son  was  born  to  them  both  in  tic 
last  year  <>f*  each  of  those  decimal  num 
bers.  And  they  circumcised  him  upon 
the  eighth  day.  And  from  that  time  the 
Jews  continue  ihe  custom  of  circumcising 
their  sons  within  that  number  of  days. 
But  as  for  the  Arabians,  they  circumcise 
after  the  thirteenth  year,  because  Ismael, 
the  founder  of  their  nation,  who  was  born 
to  Abraham  of  the  concubine,  was  cir- 
cumcised at  that  age  ;  concerning  whom 
I  will  presently  give  a  particular  account, 
with  great  exactness. 

As  for  Sarah,  she  at  first  loved  Ismael, 
who  was  born  of  her  own  handmaid, 
Hagar,  with  an  affection  not  inferior  to 
that  of  her  own  son,  for  he  was  brought 
up  in  order  to  succeed  to  the  government; 
but  when  she  herself  had  borne  Isaac,  she 
was  not  willing  that  Ismael  should  be 
brought  up  with  him,  as  being  too  old  for 
him,  and  able  to  do  him  injuries  when 
their  father  should  be  dead ;  she  there- 
fore persuaded  Abraham  to  send  him  and 
his  mother  to  some  distant  country.  Now, 
at  the  first  he  did  not  agree  to  what  Sarah 
was  so  zealous  for,  and  thought  it  an  in- 
stance of  the  greatest  barbarity  to  send 
away  a  young  child  and  a  woman  unpro- 
vided of  necessaries;  but  at  length  he 
agreed  to  it,  because  God  was  pleased 
with  what  Sarah  had  determined ;  so  he 
delivered  Ismael  to  his  mother,  as  not  yet 
able  to  go  by  himself;  and  commanded 
her  to  take  a  bottle  of  water,  and  a  loaf 
of  bread,  and  so  to  depart,  and  to  take 
Necessity  for  her  guide.  But  as  soon  as 
her  necessary  provisions  failed,  she  found 
herself  in  an  evil  case;  and  when  the 
water  was  almost  spent,  she  laid  the 
young  child,  who  was  ready  to  expire, 
under  a  fig-tree,  and  went  on  farther, 
that  so  he  might  die  while  she  was  ab- 
sent. But  a  divine  angel  came  to  her, 
and  told  her  of  a  fountain  hard  by,  and 
bid  her  take  care  and  bring  up  the  child, 
because  she  should  be  very  happy  by  the 
preservation  of  Ismael.  She  then  took 
courage,  upon  the  prospect  of  what  was 
promised  her,  and,  meeting  with  some 
shepherds,  by  (heir  care  she  got  clear  of 
the  distresses  she  had  been  in. 

When  the  lad  was  grown  up,  he  married 
a  wife,  by  birth  an  Egyptian,  from  whence 
the  mother  was  herself  derived  originally. 
Of  this  wife  were  born  to  Ismael  twelve 
sons:  Nabaioth,  Kedar,  Abdeel,  Mabsam, 
Idumas,  Masmaos,  Blasaos,  Chodad,  The- 


Chap.  XIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


55 


man,  Jetur,  Naphesus,  Cadmas.  These 
inhabited  all  the  country  from  Euphrates 
to  the  Eed  Sea,  and  called  it  Nabatene. 
They  are  an  Arabian  nation,  and  name 
their  tribes  from  these,  both  because  of 
their  own  virtue,  and  because  of  the 
dignity  of  Abraham  their  father. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Abraham's  faith  in  the  promises  of  God — his  obedi- 
ence to  the  Divine  command — Isaac's  acquies- 
cence to  the  will  of  God.     B.  C.  1871. 

Now  Abraham  greatly  loved  Isaac,  as 
being  his  only  begotten,*  and  given  to 
him  at  the  borders  of  old  age,  by  the 
favour  of  God.  The  child  also  endeared 
himself  to  his  parents  still  more,  by  the 
exercise  of  every  virtue,  and  adhering  to 
his  duty  to  his  parents,  and  being  zealous 
in  the  worship  of  G-od.  Abraham  also 
placed  his  own  happiness  in  this  psospect, 
that,  when  he  should  die,  he  should  leave 
this  his  son  in  a  safe  and  secure  condition ; 
which  accordingly  he  obtained  by  the  will 
of  God;  who,  being  desirous  to  make  an 
experiment  of  Abraham's  religious  dispo- 
sition toward  himself,  appeared  to  him, 
and  enumerated  all  the  blessings  he  had 
bestowed  on  him;  how  he  had  made  him 
superior  to  his  enemies;  and  that  his  son 
Isaac,  who  was  the  principal  part  of  his 
present  happiness,  was  derived  from  him ; 
and  he  said  that  he  required  this  son  of 
his  as  a  sacrifice  and  holy  oblation.  Ac- 
cordingly he  commanded  him  to  carry 
him  to  the  mountain  Moriah,  and  to 
build  an  altar,  and  offer  him  for  a  burnt- 
offering  upon  it;  for  that  this  would  best 
manifest  his  religious  disposition  toward 
him,  if  he  preferred  what  was  pleasing  to 
God,  before  the  preservation  of  his  own 
son. 

Now  Abraham  thought  that  it  was  not 
right  to  disobey  God  in  any  thing,  but 
that  he  was  obliged  to  serve  him  in  every 
circumstance  of  life,  since  all  creatures 
that  live  enjoy  their  life  by  his  provi- 
dence, and  the  kindness  he  bestows  on 
them.  Accordingly  he  concealed  this 
command  of  God,  and  his  own  intentions 
about  the  slaughter  of  his  son,  from  his 
wife,  as  also  from  every  one  of  his  ser- 
vants— otherwise  he  should  have  been 
hindered  from  his  obedience  to  God;  and 
he  took  Isaac,  together  with  two  of  his 
servants,    and    laying  what    things    were 


*  Properly  his  "  on  y  belored  son.' 


necessary  for  a  sacrifice  upon  an  ass,  he 
went  away  to  the  mountain.  Now  the 
two  servants  went  along  with  him  for  two 
days;  but  on  the  third  day,  as  soon  as  he 
saw  the  mountain,  he  left  those  servants 
that  were  with  him  till  then  in  the  plain, 
and,  having  his  son  alone  with  him,  he 
came  to  the  mountain.  It  was  that 
mountain  upon  which  king  David  after- 
ward built  the  temple.*  Now  they  had 
brought  with  them  every  thing  necessary 
for  a  sacrifice  excepting  the  animal  that 
was  to  be  offered  only.  Now  Isaac  was 
twenty -five  years  old.  And  as  he  was 
building  the  altar  he  asked  his  father 
what  he  was  about  to  offer,  since  there 
was  no  animal  there  for  an  oblation :  to 
which  it  was  answered,  "  That  God  would 
provide  himself  an  oblation,  he  being 
able  to  make  a  plentiful  provision  for 
men  out  of  what  they  have  not,  and  to 
deprive  others  of  what  they  already  have, 
when  they  put  too  much  trust  therein ; 
that,  therefore,  if  God  pleased  to  be  pre- 
sent and  propitious  at  this  sacrifice,  he 
would  provide  himself  an  oblation." 

As  soon  as  the  altar  was  prepared,  and 
Abraham  had  laid  on  the  wood,  and  all 
things  were  entirely  ready,  he  said  to  his 
son,  "0  son!  I  poured  out  a  vast  number 
of  prayers  that  I  might  have  thee  for  my 
son ;  when  thou  wast  come  into  the 
world,  there  was  nothing  that  could  con- 
tribute to  thy  support  for  which  I  was 
not  greatly  solicitous,  nor  any  thing 
wherein  I  thought  myself  happier  than 
to  see  thee  grown  up  to  man's  estate,  and 
that  I  might  leave  thee  at  my  death  the 
successor  to  my  dominion;  but  since  it 
was  by  God's  will  that  I  became  thy 
father,  and  it  is  now  his  will  that  I  re- 
linquish thee,  bear  this  consecration  to 
God  with  a  generous  mind;  for  I  resign 
thee  up  to  God,  who  has  thought  fit  now 
to  require  this  testimony  of  honour  to 
himself,  on  account  of  the  favours  he 
hath  conferred  on  me,  in  being  to  me  a 
supporter  and  defender.  Accordingly 
thou,  my  son,  wilt  now  die,  not  in  any 
commoo  way  of  going  out  of  the  world, 
but  sent  to  God,  the  Father  of  all  men, 
beforehand,  by  thy  own  father,  in  the 
nature  of  a  sacrifice.  I  suppose  he 
thinks  thee  worthy  to  get  clear  of  this 
world  neither  by  disease,  neither  by  war, 


*  This  temple  was  built  by  Solomon:  David 
erected  an  altar  only  on  Mount  Moriah.  2  Sam 
xxiv.  18,  etc. 


56 


ANTIQUITLES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I 


nor  l>y  any  other  severe  way,  by  which 
death  usually  oornes  upOD  men,  but  so 
that  he  will  receive  thy  soul  with  prayers 
and  holy  offices  of  religion,  and  will  place 
thee  near  to  himself,  and  thou  wilt  there 
be  to  me  a  succourer  and  supporter  in  my 
old  age;  on  which  account  I  principally 
brought  thec  up,  and  thou  wilt  thereby 
procure  me  God  for  my  Comforter  instead 
of  thyself." 

Now  Isaac  was  of  such  a  generous  dis- 
position as  became  the  son  of  such  a 
father,  and  was  pleased  with  this  dis- 
course; and  said  "  that  he  was  not  worthy 
to  be  born  at  first,  if  he  should  reject  the 
determination  of  God  and  of  his  father, 
and  should  not  resign  himself  up  readily 
to  both  their  pleasures;  since  it  would 
have  been  unjust  if  he  had  not  obeyed, 
even  if  his  father  alone  had  so  resolved." 
So  he  went  immediately  to  the  altar  to 
be  sacrificed.  And  the  deed  had  been 
done  if  God  had  not  opposed  it;  for  he 
called  loudly  to  Abraham  by  his  name, 
and  forbade  him  to  slay  his  son;  and 
said,  "It  was  not  out  of  a  desire  of  hu- 
man blood  that  he  was  commanded  to 
slay  his  son,  nor  was  he  willing  that  he 
should  be  taken  away  from  him  whom  he 
had  made  his  father,  but  to  try  the  temper 
of  his  mind,  whether  he  would  be  obe- 
dient to  such  a  command.  Since,  there- 
fore, he  now  was  satisfied  as  to  that  his 
alacrity,  and  the  surprising  readiness  he 
showed  in  this  his  piety,  he  was  delighted 
in  having  bestowed  such  blessings  upon 
him ;  and  that  he  would  not  be  wanting 
in  all  sort  of  concern  about  him,  and  in 
bestowing  other  children  upon  him;  and 
that  his  son  should  live  to  a  very  great 
age;  that  he  should  live  a  happy  life,  and 
bequeath  a  large  principality  to  his  chil- 
dren, who  should  be  good  and  legitimate." 
He  foretold,  also,  that  his  family  should 
increase  into  many  nations ;  and  that 
those  patriarchs  should  leave  behind  them 
an  everlasting  name;  that  they  should  ob- 
tain the  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  be  envied  by  all  men.  When  God 
had  said  this,  he  produced  to  them  a  ram, 
which  did  not  appear  before,  for  the  sacri- 
fice. So  Abraham  and  Isaac  receiving 
each  other  unexpectedly,  and  having  ob- 
tained the  promises  of  such  great,  bless- 
ings, embraced  one  another;  and  when 
they  had  sacrificed,  they  returned  to  Sarah, 
and  lived  happily  together,  God  affording 


them  his  assistance  in  all  things  they  de- 
sired. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Death  of  Sarah.     B.  C.  1859. 

Now  Sarah  died  a  little  while  after, 
having  lived  127  years.  They  buried  her 
in  Hebron;  the  Canaanites  publicly  allow 
ing  them  a  burying-place :  which  piece  of 
ground  Abraham  bought  for  400  shekels, 
of  Ephron,  an  inhabitant  of  Hebron  ;  and 
both  Abraham  and  his  descendants  buiU 
themselves  sepulchres  in  that  place. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Descendants  of  Abraham  by  Keturah,  his  second 
wife. 

Abraham  after  this  married  Keturah, 
by  whom  six  sons  were  born  to  him  ;  men 
of  courage  and  of  sagacious  minds:  Zani- 
bran,  and  Jazar,  and  Madan,  and  Madian, 
and  Josabak,  and  Sous.  Now  the  sons  of 
Sous  were  Sabathan  and  Dadan;  the  sons 
of  Dadan  were  Latusim,  and  Assur,  and 
Luom ;  the  sons  of  Madian  were  Ephas, 
and  Ophren,  and  Anoch,  and  Ebidas,  and 
Eldas.  Now,  for  all  these  sons»and  grand- 
sons, Abraham  tried  to  settle  them  in  co- 
lonies; and  they  took  possession  of  Tro- 
glodytis,  and  the  country  of  Arabia  fhe 
Happy,  as  far  as  it  reaches  to  the  Red 
Sea.  It  is  related  of  this  Ophren,  that  he 
made  war  against  Libya,  aud  took  it;  and 
that  his  grandehildren,  when  they  inha- 
bited it,  called  it  (from  his  name)  Africa; 
aud  indeed  Alexander  Poly histor  gives  his 
attestation  to  what  I  here  say;  who  speaks 
thus — "Cleodemns  the  prophet,  who  was 
also  called  Malchus,  who  wrote  a  history 
of  the  Jews,  in  agreement  with  the  His- 
tory of  Moses,  their  legislator,  relates 
that  there  were  many  sons  born  to  Abra- 
ham by  Keturah;  nay,  he  names  three  of 
them,  Apher,  and  Surim,  and  Japhran: 
that  from  Surim  was  the  land  of  Assyria 
denominated;  and  that  from  the  other 
two  (Apher  and  Japhran)  the  country  of 
Africa  took  its  name ;  because  these  men 
were  auxiliaries  to  '  Hercules,  when  he 
fought  against  Libya  and  Antaeus  J  and 
that  Hercules  married  Aphra's  daughter, 
and  of  her  he  begat  a  son,  Diodorus;  and 
that  Sophon  was  his  son;  from  whom  that 
barbarous  people  called  Soplacians  were 
denominated." 


Chap.  XVI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


57 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Abraham  demands  Rebeka  in  marriage  for  his  son 
Isaac.     B.  C.  1856. 

Now  when  Abraham,  the  father  of 
Isaac,  had  resolved  to  take  Rebeka,  who 
was  grand-daughter  to  his  brother  Nahor, 
for  a  wife  to  his  son  Isaac,  who  was  then 
about  forty  years  old^  he  sent  the  most 
ancient  of  his  servants  to  betroth  her, 
after  he  had  obliged  him  to  give  him  the 
strongest  assurances  of  his  fidelity;  which 
assurances  were  given  after  the  manner 
following  : — They  put  each  other's  hands 
under  each  other's  thighs;  then  they 
called  upon  God  as  the  witness  of  what 
was  to  be  done.  He  also  sent  such  pre- 
sents to  those  that  were  there  as  were  in 
esteem,  on  account  that  they  either  rare- 
ly or  never  were  seen  in  that  country. 
The  servant  got  thither  not  under  a  con- 
siderable time;  for  it  requires  much  time 
to  pass  through  Mesopotamia,  in  which  it 
is  tedious  travelling,  both  in  winter,  for 
the  depth  of  the  clay,  and  in  summer,  for 
want  of  water;  and,  besides  this,  for  the 
robberies  there  committed,  which  are  not 
to  be  avoided  by  travellers  but  by  caution 
beforehand.  However,  the  servant  came 
to  Haran ;  and  when  he  was  in  the  sub- 
urbs, he  met  a  considerable  number  of 
maidens  going  to  the  water;  he  therefore 
prayed  to  God  that  Rebeka  might  be 
found  among  them,  or  her  whom  Abraham 
sent  him,  as  his  servant,  to  espouse  to  his 
son,  in  case  his  will  were  that  this  mar- 
riage should  be  consummated ;  and  that 
she  might  be  made  known  to  him  by  the 
sign,  that  while  others  denied  him  water 
to  drink,  she  might  give  it  him. 

With  this  intention  he  went  to  the  well, 
and  desired  the  maidens  to  give  him  some 
water  to  drink :  but  while  the  others  re- 
fused, on  pretence  that  they  wanted  it  all 
at  home,  and  could  spare  none  for  him, 
one  only  of  the  company  rebuked  them 
for  their  peevish  behaviour  toward  the 
stranger;  and  said,  u  What  is  there  that 
you  will  ever  communicate  to  anybody, 
who  have  not  so  much  as  given  the  man 
some  water  ?"  She  then  offered  him 
water  in  an  obliging  manner;  and  now  he 
began  to  hope  that  his  grand  affair  would 
succeed ;  but  desiring  still  to  know  the 
truth,  he  commended  her  for  her  generosity 
and  good-nature,  that  she  did  not  scruple 
to  afford  a  sufficiency  of  water  to  those 
that  wanted  it,  though  it  cost  her  some 
pains  to  draw  it;  and  asked  who  were  her 
parents,  and  wished  them  joy  of  such  a 


daughter.  "And  niayest  thou  be  es- 
poused,"  said  he,  "to  their  satisfaction, 
into  the  family  of  an  agreeable  husband, 
and  bring  him  legitimate  children'!"  Nor 
did  she  disdain  to  satisfy  his  inquiries, 
but  told  him  her  family..  "They,"  said 
she,  "call  me  Rebeka;  my  father  was 
Bethuel,  but  he  is  dead;  aud  Laban  is  my 
brother;  who,  together  with  my  mothe., 
takes  care  of  all  our  family  affairs,  and  is 
the  guardian  of  my  virginity."  When 
the  servant  heard  this,  he  was  very  glad 
at  what  had  happened,  and  at  what  was 
told  him,  as  perceiving  that  God  had  thus 
plainly  directed  his  journey;  and  pro- 
ducing his  bracelets,  and  some  other  orna- 
ments which  it  was  esteemed  decent  for 
virgins  to  wear,  he  gave  them  to  the  dam- 
sel, by  way  of  acknowledgment,  and  as  a 
reward  for  her  kindness  in  giving  him 
water  to  drink;  saying,  it  was  but  just 
that  she  should  have  them,  because  she 
was  so  much  more  obliging  than  any  of 
the  rest.  She  desired  also  that  he  would 
come  and  lodge  with  them,  since  the  ap- 
proach of  the  night  gave  him  not  time  to 
proceed  farther;  and  producing  his  pre- 
cious ornaments  for  women,  he  said  he 
desired  to  trust  them  to  none  more  safely 
than  to  such  as  she  had  shown  herself  to 
be;  and  that  he  believed  he  might  guess 
at  the  humanity  of  her  mother  and  brother, 
that  they  would  not  be  displeased,  from 
the  virtue  he  found  in  her;  for  he  would 
not  be  burdensome,  but  would  pay  the 
hire  for  his  entertainment,  and  spend  his 
own  money.  To  which  she  replied,  that 
he  guessed  right  as  to  the  humanity  of 
her  parent,  but  complained  that  he  should 
think  them  so  parsimonious  as  to  take 
money,  for  that  he  should  have  all  on  free 
cost :  but  she  said  she  would  first  inform 
her  brother  Laban,  and,  if  he  gave  her 
leave,  she  would  conduct  him  in. 

As  soon  theu  as  this  was  over,  she  intro- 
duced the  stranger;  and  for  the  camels, 
the  servants  of  Laban  brought  them  in, 
and  took  care  of  them ;  and  he  was  him- 
self brought  in  to  supper  by  Laban.  And, 
after  supper,  he  says  to  him,  and  to  the 
mother  of  the  damsel,  addressing  himself 
to  her,  "Abraham  is  the  sou  of  Terah,  and 
a  kinsman  of  yours;  for  Nahor,  tha  grand- 
father of  these  children,  was  the  brother 
of  Abraham,  by  both  father  and  mother; 
upon  which  account  he  hath  sent  me  to 
you,  being  desirous  to  take  this  damsel 
for  his  son  to  wife.  He  is  his  legitimate 
son,  and   is  brought  up  as   his  only  heir 


58 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I 


He  could  indeed  have  had  the  most  happy 
nf  all  the  women  in  that  country  for  him, 
but  he  would  not  have  his  son  marry  any 
of  thorn';  but,  out  of  regard  to  his  own 
relations,  he  desired  him  to  match  here, 
whose  affection,  and  inclination  I  would 
not  have  you  despise  j  for  it  was  by  the 
good  pleasure  of  God  that  other  accidents 
fill  out  in  my  journey,  and  that  thereby 
1  lighted  upon  your  daughter  and  your 
house;  for  when  T  was  near  to  the  city, 
I  saw  a  great  many  maidens  coming  to  a 
well,  and  I  prayed  that  I  might  meet  with 
this  damsel,  which  has  come  to  pass  ac- 
cordingly. Do  you,  therefore,  confirm 
that  marriage,  whose  espousals  have  been 
already  made  by  a  divine  appearance ;  and 
show  the  respect  you  have  for  Abraham, 
who  hath  sent  me  with  so  much  solicitude, 
in  giving  your  consent  to  the  marriage  of 
this  damsel."  Upon  this  they  understood 
it  to  be  the  will  of  God,  and  greatly  ap- 
proved of  the  offer,  and  sent  their  daugh- 
ter as  was  desired.  Accordingly  Isaac 
married  her,  the  inheritance  being  now 
come  to  him  ;  for  the  children  of  Keturah 
were  sone  to  their  own  remote  habitations. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Death  of  Abraham.     B.  C.  1821. 

A  little  while  after  this  Abraham 
died.  He  was  a  man  of  incomparable  vir- 
tue, and  honoured  by  God  in  a  mauner 
agreeable  to  his  piety  toward  him.  The 
whole  time  of  his  life  was  175  years;  and 
he  was  buried  in  Hebron,  with  his  wife 
Sarah,  by  their  sons  Isaac  and  Ishmael. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Esau  and  Jacob  born — Jacob  supplants  Esau. 
B.  C   1837-1760. 

Now  Isaac's  wife  proved  with  child, 
after  the  death  of  Abraham  ;*  and  when 
her  belly  was  greatly  burdened,  Isaac  was 
very  anxious,  and  inquired  of  God;  who 
answered,  that  Rebeka  should  bear  twins; 
and  that  two  nations  should  take  the  names 
of  those  sons;  and  that  he  who  appeared 
the  second  should  excel  the  elder.  Ac- 
cordingly slut,  in  a  little  time,  as  God  bad 
foretold,  bare  twins;  the  elder  of  whom, 
from  his  head  to  his  feet,  was  very  rough 
and  hairy;    but  the  younger  took  hold  of 

•  The  liirtli  of  Jacob  and  Esau  is  here  said  lo  be 
after  Abraham's  death:  it  should  have  been  after 
Sarah's  death. 


his  heel  as  they  were  in  the  birth.  Now 
the  father  loved  the  elder,  who  was  called 
Esau,  a  name  agreeable  to  his  roughness, 
for  the  Hebrews  call  such  a  hairy  re  ugh- 
ness  [Esau,  or]  Seir;  but  Jacob  the 
younger  was  best  beloved  by  his  mother. 

When  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land, 
Isaac  resolved  to  go  into  Egypt,  the  land 
there  being  good,  but  he  went  to  Gerar, 
as  God  commanded  him.  Here  Abime- 
lech  the  king  received  him,  because  Abra- 
ham had  formerly  lived  with  him,  and  had 
been  his  friend;  and  as  in  the  beginning 
he  treated  him  exceedingly  kindly,  so  he 
was  hindered  from  continuing  in  the  same 
disposition  to  the  end,  by  his  envy  at  him  ; 
for  when  he  saw  that  God  was  with  Isaac, 
and  took  such  great  care  of  him,  he 
drove  him  away  from  him.  But  Isaac, 
when  he  saw  how  envy  had  changed  the 
temper  of  Abimelech,  retired  to  a  place 
called  the  Valley,  not  far  from  Gerar ;  and 
as  he  was  digging  a  well,  the  shepherds 
fell  upon  him,  and  began  to  fight,  in  order 
to  hinder  the  work ;  and  because  he  did 
not  desire  to  contend,  the  shepherds  seemed 
to  get  the  better  of  him ;  so  he  still  retired, 
and  dug  another  well;  and  when  certain 
other  shepherds  of  Abimelech's  began  to 
offer  him  violence,  he  left  that  also,  and 
still  retired;  thus  purchasing  security  to 
himself,  by  a  rational  and  prudent  conduct. 
At  length  the  king  gave  him  leave  to  dig 
a  well  without  disturbance.  He  named 
this  well  Rehoboth,  which  denotes  a  large 
space ;  but  of  the  former  wells,  one  was  call- 
ed Escovi,  which  denotes  strife ;  the  other 
Sitenna,  which  name  signifies  enmity. 

It  was  now  that  Isaac's  affairs  increased, 
and  his  power  was  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion ;  and  this  from  his  great  riches.  But 
Abimelech,  thinking  Isaac  throve  in  op- 
position to  him,  while  their  living  together 
made  them  suspicious  of  each  other,  and 
Isaac's  retiring,  showing  a  secret  enmity 
also,  he  was  afraid  that  his  former  friend- 
ship with  Isaac  would  not  secure  him,  if 
Isaac  should  endeavour  to  revenge  the 
injuries  he  had  formerly  offered  him;  he 
therefore  renewed  his  friendship  with 
him,  and  broughfrwith  hiai  Philoc,  one  of 
his  generals.  And  when  he  had  obtained 
every  thing  he  desired,  by  reason  of 
Isaac's  good-nature,  who  preferred  the 
earliei  friendship  Abimelech  had  showu 
to  himself  and  his  father  to  his  later  wrath 
against  him,  he  returned  home. 

Now  when  Esau,  one  of  the  bom  of 
Isaac,  whom    the  father  principally  loved, 


Chap.  XIX.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


59 


was  now  come  to  the  age  of  forty  years, 
he  married  Adah,  the  daughter  of  Helon, 
Rnd  Aholibamah,  the  daughter  of  Esebeon  ; 
which  Helon  and  Esebeon  were  great 
lords  among  the  Canaanites,  thereby 
taking  upon  himself  the  authority,  and 
pretending  to  have  dominion  over  his  own 
marriages;  without  so  much  as  asking  the 
advice  of  his  father;  for  had  Isaac  been 
the  arbitrator,  he  had  not  given  him  leave 
to  marry  thus,  for  he  was  not  pleased  with 
contracting  any  alliance  with  the  people 
of  that  country ;  but  not  caring  to  be  uneasy 
to  his  son,  by  commanding  him  to  put 
away  tkese  wives,  he  resolved  to  be  silent. 

But  when  he  was  old,  and  could  not 
see  at  all,  he  called  Esau  to  him,  and  told 
him,  that  besides  his  blindness  and  the 
disorder  of  his  eyes,  his  very  old  age 
hindered  him  from  the  worship  of  God 
[by  sacrifice];  he  bid  him  therefore  go 
out  hunting,  and  when  he  had  caught  as 
much  venison  as  he  could,  to  prepare  him 
a  supper,  that  after  this  he  might  make 
supplication  to  God,  to  be  to  him  a  sup- 
porter and  an  assister  during  the  whole 
time  of  his  life;  saying,  that  it  was  un- 
certain when  he  should  die,  and  that  he 
was  desirous,  by  prayers  for  him,  to  pro- 
cure, beforehand,  God  to  be  merciful  to 
him. 

Accordingly  Esau  went  out  hunting; 
but  Rebeka  thinking  it  proper  to  have 
the  supplication  made  for  obtaining  the 
favour  of  God  to  Jacob,  and  that  without 
the  consent  of  Isaac,  bid  him  kill  kid.*)  of 
the  goats,  and  prepare  a  supper.  So 
Jacob  obeyed  his  mother,  according  to 
all  her  instructions.  Now  when  the  sup- 
per was  got  ready,  he  took  a  goat's  skiu, 
and  put  it  about  his  arm,  that  by  reason 
of  its  hairy  roughness,  he  might  by  his 
father  be  believed  to  be  Esau;  for  they 
being  twins,  and  in  all  things  else  alike, 
differed  only  in  this  thing.  This  was 
done  out  of  his  fear,  that  before  his  father 
had  made  his  supplications,  he  should  be 
caught  in  his  evil  practice;  and  lest  he 
should,  on  the  contrary,  provoke  his 
father  to  curse  him.  So  he  brought  in 
the  supper  to  his  father.  Isaac  perceiv- 
ing, by  the  peculiarity  of  his  voice,  who 
he  was,  called  his  son  to  him,  who  gave 
him  his  hand,  which  was  covered  with 
the  goat's  skin.  When  Isaac  felt  that, 
he  said,  "  Thy  voice  is  like  the  voice  of 
Jacob,  yet,  because  of  the  thickness  of 
thy  hair,  thou  seemest  to  be  Esau."  So 
suspectiug  no  deceit,  he  ate  the  supper, 


and  betook  himself  to  his  prayers  and  in- 
tercessions with  God;  and  said,  "0  Lord 
of  all  ages,  and  Creator  of  all  substance; 
for  it  was  thou  that  didst  propose  to  my 
father  great  plenty  of  good  things,  and 
hast  vouchsafed  to  bestow  on  me  what  I 
have;  and  hast  promised  to  my  posterity 
to  be  their  kind  supporter,  and  to  bestow 
on  them  still  greater  blessings,  do  thou, 
therefore,  confirm  these  thy  promises,  and 
do  not  overlook  me,  because  of  my  present 
weak  condition,  on  account  of  which  I 
most  earnestly  pray  to  thee.  Be  gracious 
to  this  my  son ;  and  preserve  him,  and 
keep  him  from  every  thing  that  is  evil. 
Give  him  a  happy  life,  and  the  possession 
of  as  many  good  things  as  thy  power  is 
able  to  bestow.  Make  him  terrible  to  his 
enemies,  and  honourable  and  beloved 
among  his  friends !" 

Thus  did  Isaac  pray  to  God,  thinking 
his  prayers  had  been  made  for  Esau.  He 
had  but  just  finished  them,  when  Esau 
came  in  from  hunting;  and  when  Isaac 
perceived  his  mistake,  he  was  silent:  but 
Esau  required  that  he  might  be  made  par- 
taker of  the  like  blessing  from  his  father 
that  his  brother  had  partook  of;  but  his 
father  refused  it,  because  all  his  prayers 
had  been  spent  upon  Jacob;  so  Esau 
lamented  the  mistake.  However,  his 
father  being  grieved  at  his  weeping,  said, 
that  u  he  should  excel  in  hunting  and 
strength  of  body,  in  arms,  and  all  such 
sorts  of  work ;  and  should  obtain  glory 
for  ever  on  those  accounts,  he  and  his 
posterity  after  him;"  but  still  should  serve 
his  brother. 

Now  the  mother  delivered  Jacob,  when 
she  was  afraid  that  his  brother  would  in- 
flict some  punishment  upon  him,  because 
of  the  mistake  about  the  prayers  of  Isaac; 
for  she  persuaded  her  husband  to  take  a 
wife  for  Jacob  out  of  Mesopotamia,  of  her 
own  kindred,  Esau  having  married  already 
Basemmath,  the  daughter  of  Ismael,  with- 
out his  father's  consent;  for  Isaac  did  not 
like  the  Canaanites,  so  that  he  disapproved 
of  Esau's  former  marriages,  which  made 
him  take  Basemmath  to  wife,  in  order  to 
please  him;  and  indeed  he  had  a  great 
affection  for  her. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

History  of  Jacob.     B.C.  1760-1739. 

Now  Jacob  was  sent  by  his  mother 
to  Mesopotamia,  in  order  to  marry  her 
brother  Laban's  daughter,  (which  marriage 


00 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Dock  L 


was  permitted  by  [saac,  on  aeeoant  of  his 
obsequiousness  to  the  desires  of  his  wife;) 

and  he  accordingly  journeyed  through  the 
laud  of  Canaan  ;  and  because  he  hated  t lie 
people  of  that  country,  he  would  not  lodge 
with  any  of  them,  but  took  up  his  lodg 
in  the  open  air,  and  laid  his  head  on  a 
heap  of  stones  that  he  had  gathered  to- 
gether. At  which  time  he  saw  in  his 
sleep  a  vision  standing  by  him :  he  seemed 
to  see  a  ladder,  that  reached  from  the 
earth  unto  heaven,  and  persons  descending 
upon  the  ladder  that  seemed  more  ex- ) 
cellent  than  human;  and  at  last  God  him- 
self stood  above  it,  and  was  plainly  visible 
to  him;  who,  calling  him  by  his  name, 
spake  to  him  these  words: — 

"0  Jacob,  it  is  not  fit  for  thee,  who 
art  the  son  of  a  good  father,  and  grandson 
of  one  who  had  obtained  a  great  reputa- 
tion for  his  eminent  virtue,  to  be  dejected 
at  thy  present  circumstances,  but  to  hope 
for  better  times,  for  thou  shalt  have  great 
abundance  of  all  good  things  by  my  assist- 
ance; for  I  brought  Abraham  hither,  out 
of  Mesopotamia,  when  he  was  driven  away 
by  his  kinsmen,  and  I  made  thy  father  a 
happy  man;  nor  will  I  bestow  a  lesser 
degree  of  happiness  on  thyself;  be  of  good 
courage,  therefore,  and  under  my  conduct 
proceed  on  this  thy  journey,  for  the  mar- 
riage thou  goest  so  zealously  about  shall 
be  consummated;  and  thou  shalt  have 
children  of  good  characters,  but  their 
multitude  shall  be  innumerable;  and  they 
shall  leave  what  they  have  to  a  still  more 
numerous  posterity,  to  whom  and  to 
whose  posterity  I  give  the  dominion  of 
all  the  land,  and  their  posterity  shall  fill 
the  entire  earth  and  sea,  so  far  as  the  sun 
beholds  them ;  but  do  not  thou  fear  any 
danger,  nor  be  afraid  of  the  many  labours 
thou  must  undergo,  for  by  my  providence 
I  will  direct  thee  what  thou  art  to  do  in 
the  time  present,  and  still  much  more  in 
the  time  to  come." 

Such  were  the  predictions  which  God 
made  to  Jacob;  whereupon  he  became 
very  joyful  at  what  he  had  seen  and  heard ; 
and  he  poured  oil  on  the  stones,  because 
ou  them  the  prediction  of  such  great  bene- 
fits was  made.  He  also  vowed  a  vow, 
that  be  would  oiler  sacrifices  upon  the  in, 
if  he  lived  and  returned  safe;  and  if 
be  came  again  in  such  a  condition,  he 
wmild  give  (he  tithe  of  what  he  had 
gotten  to  God.  He  also  judged  the 
place  to  be  honourable,  and  gave  it 
the     name     of    Bethel,     which,     m     the 


Greek,  is  interprets],  "The  ITouse  of 
God." 

So  he  proceeded  on  his  journey  to 
Mesopotamia,  and  at  length  came  to 
Haran;  and  meeting  with  shepherds  in 
the  suburbs,  with  boys  grown  up,  and 
maidens  sitting  about  a  certain  well,  he 
stayed  with  them,  as  wanting  water  to 
drink;  and  beginning  to  discourse  with 
them,  he  asked  them  whether  they  kn?w 
such  an  one  as  Laban,  and  whether  he 
was  still  alive.  Now  they  all  said  they 
knew  him,  for  he  was  not  so  inconsidera- 
ble a  person  as  to  be  unknown  to  any  of 
them;  and  that  his  daughter  fed  her 
father's  flock  together  with  them  ;  and 
that  indeed  they  wondered  that  she  was 
not  yet  come,  for  by  her  means  he  might 
learn  more  exactly  whatever  he  desired  to 
know  about  that  family.  Vv^hile  they 
were  saying  this  the  damsel  came,  and  the 
other  shepherds  that  came  down  along 
with  her.  Then  they  showed  her  Jacob, 
and  told  her  that  he  was  a  stranger,  who 
came  to  inquire  about  her  father's  affairs. 
But  she,  as  pleased,  after  the  custom  of 
children,  with  Jacob's  coming,  asked  him 
who  he  was,  and  whence  he  came  to  them, 
and  what  it  was  he  lacked  that  he  came 
thither.  She  also  wished  it  might  be  in 
their  power  to  supply  the  wants  he  came 
about. 

But  Jacob  was  quite  overcome,  not  so 
much  by  their  kindred,  nor  by  that  affec- 
tion which  might  arise  thence,  as  by  his 
love  to  the  damsel,  and  his  surprise  at 
her  beauty,  which  was  so  flourishing,  as 
few  of  the  women  of  that  age  could  vie 
with.  He  said  then,  "There  is  a  relation 
between  thee  and  me,  elder  than  thy  or 
my  birth,  if  thou  be  the  daughter  of 
Laban;  for  Abraham  was  the  sou  of 
Terah,  as  well  as  Haran  and  Nahor.  Of 
the  last  of  whom  (Nahor)  Bethuel  thy 
grandfather  was  the  son.  Isaac  my  father 
was  the  son  of  Abraham  and  of  Sarah, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Haran  ;  but  there 
is  a  nearer  and  later  cement  of  mutual 
kindred  which  we  bear  to  one  another, 
for  my  mother  ltebeka  was  sister  to  Laban 
thy  father,  both  by  the  same  father  and 
mother;  I  therefore  and  thou  arc  cousin- 
germ  ansj  and  1  am  now  come  to  salute 
\ou,  and  to  renew  that  affinity  which  i.* 
proper  between  us."  Upon  this  the  dam- 
sel, at  the  mention  of  Rebeka,  as  usually 
happens  to  young  persons,  wept,  and  that 
out  of  the  kindness  Bhe  had  for  her  father. 
ami   embraced  Jacob,  she   having  learned 


Hhap   XIX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


61 


an  account  of  Rebeka  from  her  father, 
and  knew  that  her  parents  loved  to  hear 
her  named;  and  when  she  had  saluted 
him,  she  said  that  "he  brought  the  most 
desirable  and  greatest  pleasures  to  her 
father,  with  all  their  family,  who  was 
always  mentioning  his  mother,  and  always 
thinking  of  her,  and  her  alone;  and  that 
this  would  make  him  equal  in  his  eyes  to 
any  advantageous  circumstances  whatso- 
ever. "  Then  she  bid  him  go  to  her 
father,  and  follow  her  while  she  conducted 
him  to  him  :  and  not  to  deprive  him  of 
such  a  pleasure,  by  staying  any  longer 
away  from  him. 

When  she  had  said  thus,  she  brought 
him  to  Laban;  and  being  owned  by  his 
uncle,  he  was  secure  himself,  as  being 
among  his  friends;  and  he  brought  a 
great  deal  of  pleasure  to  them  by  his  un- 
expected coming.  But  a  little  while  after- 
ward, Laban  told  him  that  he  could  not 
express  in  words  the  joy  he  had  at  his 
coming;  but  still  he  inquired  of  him  the 
occasion  of  his  coming,  and  why  he  left 
his  aged  mother  and  father,  when  they 
wanted  to  be  taken  care  of  by  him;  and 
that  he  would  afford  him  all  the  assistance 
he  wanted.  Then  Jacob  gave  him  an 
account  of  the  whole  occasion  of  his 
journey,  and  told  him,  "that  Isaac  had 
two  sons  that  were  twins,  himself  and 
Esau,  who,  because  he  failed  of  his 
father's  prayers,  which  by  his  mother's 
wisdom  were  put  up  for  him,  sought  to 
kill  him,  as  deprived  of  the  kingdom 
which  was  to  be  given  him  of  God,  and 
of  the  blessings  for  which  their  father 
prayed;  and  that  this  was  the  occasion  of 
his  coming  hither,  as  his  mother  had  com- 
manded him  to  do:  for  we  are  all  (says 
he)  brethren  one  to  another;  but  our 
mother  esteems  an  alliance  with  your 
family  more  than  she  does  one  with  the 
families  of  the  country ;  so  I  look  upon 
yourself  and  God  to  be  the  supporters  of 
my  travels,  and  think  myself  safe  in  my 
present  circumstances." 

Now  Laban  promised  to  treat  him  with 
great,  humanity,  both  on  account  of  his 
ancestors,  and  particularly  for  the  sake  of 
his  mother,  toward  whom,  he  said,  he 
would  show  his  kindness,  even  though 
she  were  absent,  by  taking  care  of  him; 
tor  he  assured  him  he  would  make  him 
the  head  shepherd  of  his  flock,  and  give 
him  authority  sufficient  for  that  purpose: 
and  when  he  should  have  a  mind  to  return 
to  his  parents,  he  would  send   him   back 


with  presents,  and  this  in  as  honourable 
a  rnaner  as  the  nearness  of  their  relation 
should  require.  This  Jacob  heard  gladly ; 
and  said  he  would  willingly,  and  with 
pleasure,  undergo  any  sort  of  pains  while 
he  tarried  with  him,  but  desired  Rachel 
to  wife,  as  the  reward  of  those  pains,  who 
was  not  only  on  other  accounts  esteemed 
by  him,  but  also  because  she  was  the 
means  of  his  coming  to  him;  for  he  said 
he  was  forced  by  the  love  of  the  damsel 
to  make  this  proposal.  Laban  was  well 
pleased  with  this  agreement,  aud  con- 
sented to  give  the  damsel  to  him,  as  not 
desirous  to  meet  with  any  better  son-in- 
law;  and  said  he  would  do  this,  if  he 
would  stay  with  him  some  time,  for  he 
was  not  willing  to  send  his  daughter  to 
be  among  the  Canaanites,  for  he  repented 
of  the  alliance  he  had  made  already  by 
marrying  his  sister  there.  And  when 
Jacob  had  given  his  consent  to  this,  he 
agreed  to  stay  seven  years;  for  so  many 
years  he  had  resolved  to  serve  his  father- 
in-law,  that,  having  given  a  specimen  of 
his  virtue,  it  might  be  better  known  what 
sort  of  a  man  he  was:  and  Jacob  accept- 
ing of  his  terms,  after  the  time  was  over, 
he  made  the  wedding- feast;  and  when  it 
was  night,  without  Jacob's  perceiving  it, 
he  put  his  other  daughter  into  bed  to 
him,  who  was  both  elder  than  Rachel, 
and  of  no  comely  countenance:  Jacob  lay 
with  her  that  night,  as  being  both  in 
drink  and  in  the  dark.  However,  when 
it  was  day  he  knew  what  had  been  done 
to  him;  and  he  reproached  Laban  for  his 
unfair  proceeding  with  him;  who  asked 
pardon  for  that  necessity  which  forced 
him  to  do  what  he  did;  for  he  did  not 
give  him  Lea  out  of  any  ill  design,  but  as 
overcome  by  another  greater  necessity: 
that,  notwithstanding  this,  nothing  should 
hinder  him  from  marrying  Rachel;  but 
that  when  he  had  served  another  seven 
years,  he  would  give  him  her  whom  he 
loved.  Jacob  submitted  to  this  condition, 
for  his  love  to  the  damsel  did  not  permit 
him  to  do  otherwise;  and  when  another 
seven  years  were  gone,  he  took  Rachel 
to  wife. 

Now  each  of  these  had  handmaids,  by 
their  father's  donation.  Zilpha  was  hand- 
maid to  Lea,  and  Bilha  to  Rachel;  by  no 
means  slaves,  but,  however,  subject  to 
their  mistresses.  Now  Lea  was  sorely 
troubled  at  her  husband's  love  to  her  sis- 
ter ;  and  she  expected  she  should  be  bet- 
ter esteemed  if  she  bare  him  childn  n  ;  «u 


82 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  1 


she  entreated  God  perpetually  ;  and  when 
she  had  borne  a  son,  and  her  husband  was 
on  that  account  better  reconciled  to  her, 
she  named  her  son  Rcubel,  because  "  God 
had  had  mercy  upon  her,  in  giving  her  a 
son  ;"  for  that  is  the  signification  of  this 
name.  After  some  time  she  bare  three 
more  sons :  Simeon,  which  name  signifies 
11  that  God  had  hearkened  to  her  prayer." 
Then  she  bare  Levi,  "  the  confirmer  of 
their  friendship."  After  him  was  born 
Judah,  which  denotes  "  thanksgiving." 
But  Rachel,  fearing  lest  the  fruitfulness 
of  her  sister  should  make  herself  enjoy  a 
lesser  share  of  Jacob's  affections,  put  to 
bed  to  him  her  handmaid  Bilha;  by  whom 
Jacob  had  Dan ;  one  may  interpret  that 
name  into  the  Greek  tongue,  "  a  divine 
judgment."  And  after  him  Nepthalim, 
as  it  were,  "  unconquerable  in  strata- 
gems," since  Rachel  tried  to  conquer  the 
fruitfulness  «f  her  sister  by  this  strata- 
gem. Accordingly,  Lea  took  the  same 
method,  and  used  a  counter-stratagem  to 
that  of  her  sister ;  for  she  put  to  bed  to 
him  her  own  handmaid.  Jacob,  there- 
fore, had  by  Zilpha  a  son,  whose  name 
was  Gad,  which  may  be  interpreted  "  for- 
tune '/'  and  after  him  Asher,  which  may 
be  called  "  a  happy  man,"  because  he 
added  glory  to  Lea.  Now  Reubel,  the 
eldest  son  of  Lea,  brought  apples  of  man- 
drakes to  his  mother.  When  Rachel  saw 
them,  she  desired  that  she  would  give  her 
the  apples,  for  she  longed  to  eat  them ; 
but  when  she  refused,  and  bid  her  be 
content  that  she  had  deprived  her  of  the 
benevolence  she  ought  to  have  had  from 
her  husband,  Rachel,  in  order  to  mitigate 
her  sister's  anger,  said  she  would  yield 
her  husband  to  her,  and  he  should  lie 
with  her  that  evening.  She  accepted  of 
the  favour  ;  and  Jacob  slept  with  Lea,  by 
the  favour  of  Rachel.  She  bare  then 
these  sons :  Issachar,  denoting  "  one  born 
by  hire;"  and  Zabulon,  "one  born  as  a 
pledge  of  benevolence  toward  her  •"  and 
a  daughter,  Dina.  After  some  time 
Rachel  had  a  son,  named  Joseph,  which 
signified  "  there  should  be  another  added 
to  him." 

Now  Jacob  fed  the  flocks  of  Laban,  his 
father-in-law,  all  this  time,  being  twenty 
years  ;  after  which  he  desired  leave  of  his 
father-in-law  to  take  his  wives  and  go 
home  ;  but  when  his  father-in-law  would 
not  give  him  leave,  he  contrived  to  do  it 
secretly.  He  made  trial,  therefore,  of  the 
disposition  of  his  wives,  what  they  thought 


of  this  journey;  when  they  appeared  glad, 
and  approved  of  it.  Rachel  took  along 
with  her  the  images  of  the  gods,  which, 
according  to  their  laws,  they  used  to 
worship  in  their  own  country,  and  ran 
away,  together  with  her  sister.  The 
children  also  of  them  both,  and  the  hand- 
maids, and  what  possessions  they  had, 
went  along  with  them.  Jacob  also  drove 
away  half  the  cattle,  without  letting  La- 
ban  know  of  it  beforehand ;  but  the  7ea- 
son  why  Rachel  took  the  images  of  thrt 
gods,  although  Jacob  had  taught  her  to 
despise  such  worship  of  those  gods,  was 
this,  that  in  case  they  were  pursued,  and 
taken  by  her  father,  she  might  have  re 
course  to  these  images,  in  order  to  obtain 
his  pardon. 

But  Laban,  after  one  day's  time,  being 
acquainted  with  Jacob's  and  his  daugh- 
ters' departure,  was  much  troubled,  and 
pursued  after  them,  leading  a  band  of 
men  with  them ;  and  on  the  seventh  day 
overtook  them,  and  found  them  resting 
on  a  certain  hill;  and  then,  indeed,  he 
did  not  meddle  with  them,  for  it  was 
eventide;  but  God  stood  by  him  in  a 
dream,  and  warned  him  to  receive  his 
son-in-law  and  his  daughters  in  a  peace- 
able manner;  and  not  to  venture  upon 
any  thing  rashly,  or  in  wrath  to  them3 
but  to  make  a  league  with  Jacob ;  and  he 
told  him,  that  if  he  despised  their  small 
number,  and  attacked  them  in  a  hostile 
manner,  he  would  himself  assist  them. 
When  Laban  had  been  thus  forewarned 
by  God,  he  called  Jacob  to  him  the  next 
day,  in  order  to  treat  with  him,  and 
showed  him  what  dream  he  had;  in  de- 
pendence whereupon  he  came  confidently 
to  him,  and  began  to  accuse  him ;  al- 
leging that  he  h,id  entertained  him  when 
he  was  poor,  and  in  want  of  all  things, 
aud  had  given  him  plenty  of  all  things 
which  he  had;  u  for,"  said  he,  "I  have 
joined  my  daughters  to  thee  in  marriage, 
and  supposed  that  thy  kiudness  to  ine 
would  be  greater  than  before;  but  thou 
hast  no  regard  to  either  thy  mother's  re- 
lation to  me,  nor  to  the  affinity  now 
newly  contracted  between  us  ;  nor  to  those 
wives  whom  thou  hast  married  ;  nor  to 
those  children  of  whom  I  am  the  grand- 
father. Thou  hast  treated  me  as  an 
enemy,  by  driving  away  my  cattle;  and 
by  persuading  my  daughters  to  ruu  away 
from  their  father;  and  by  carrying  hone 
those  sacred  paternal  images  which  were 
worshipped  by  my  forefathers,  and  have 


Chap.  XX.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


63 


been  honoured  with  the  like  worship 
which  they  paid  them,  by  myself.  In 
short,  thou  hast  done  this  while  thou  art 
my  kinsman,  and  my  sisters  son,  and  the 
husband  of  my  daughters,  and  was  hospi- 
tably treated  by  me,  and  didst  eat  at  my 
table."  When  Laban  had  said  this,  Jacob 
made  his  defence  : — That  he  was  not  the 
only  person  in  whom  God  had  implanted 
the  love  of  his  native  country,  but  that  he 
had  made  it  natural  to  all  men ;  and  that 
therefore  it  was  but  reasonable  that,  after 
so  long  time,  he  should  go  back  to  it. 
"  But  as  to  the  prey,  of  whose  driving 
away  thou  accusest  me,  if  any  other  per- 
son were  the  arbitrator,  thou  wouldst  be 
found  in  the  wrong  j  for  instead  of  those 
thanks  I  ought  to  have  had  from  thee, 
for  both  keeping  thy  cattle  and  increasing 
them,  how  is  it  that  thou  art  unjustly 
angry  at  me  because  I  have  taken,  and 
have  with  me  a  small  portion  of  them  ? 
But  then,  as  to  thy  daughters,  take  no- 
tice, that  it  is  not  through  any  evil  prac- 
tices of  mine  that  they  follow  me  in  my 
return  home,  but  from  that  just  affection 
which  wives  naturally  have  to  their  hus- 
bands. They  follow,  therefore,  not  so 
properly  myself  as  their  own  children." 
And  thus  far  of  his  apology  was  made,  in 
order  to  clear  himself  of  having  acted 
unjustly.  To  which  he  added  his  own 
complaint  and  accusation  of  Laban ;  say- 
ing, "  While  I  was  thy  sister's  sou,  and 
thou  hadst  given  me  thy  daughters  in 
marriage,  thou  hast  worn  me  out  with 
thy  harsh  commands,  and  detained  me 
twenty  years  under  them.  That,  indeed, 
which  was  required  in  order  to  my  mar- 
rying thy  daughters,  hard  as  it  was,  I 
own  to  have  been  tolerable ;  but  as  to 
those  that  were  put  upon  me  after  those 
marriages,  they  were  worse,  and  such,  in- 
deed, as  an  enemy  would  have  avoided." 
For  certainly  Laban  had  used  Jacob  very 
ill ;  for  when  he  saw  that  God  was  assist- 
ing to  Jacob  in  all  that  he  desired,  he 
promised  him,  that  of  the  young  cattle 
which  should  be  born,  he  should  have 
sometimes  what  was  of  a  white  colour, 
and  sometimes  what  should  be  of  a  black 
colour;  but  when  those  that  came  to 
Jacob's  share  proved  numerous,  he  did 
not  keep  his  faith  with  him,  but  said  he 
would  give  them  to  him  the  next  year, 
because  of  his  envying  him  the  multitude 
of  his  possessions.  He  promised  him  as 
before,  because  he  thought  such  an  in- 
crease   was   not    to    be    expected ;    but 


when  it  appeared  to  be  fact,  he  deceived 
him. 

But  then,  as  to  the  sacred  images,  he 
bid  him  search  for  them ;  and  when  La- 
ban accepted  of  the  offer,  Rachel,  being 
informed  of  it,  put  those  images  into  that 
camel's  saddle  on  which  she  rode,  and 
sat  upon  it ;  and  said,  that  her  natural 
purgation  hindered  her  rising  up  :  so 
Laban  left  off  searching  any  further,  not 
supposing  that  his  daughter  in  those  cir- 
cumstances would  approach  to  those 
images.  So  he  made  a  league  with  Jacob, 
and  bound  it  by  oaths,  that  he  would  not 
bear  him  any  malice  on  account  of  what 
had  happened ;  and  Jacob  made  the  like 
league,  and  promised  to  love  Laban's 
daughters.  And  these  leagues  they  con- 
firmed with  oaths  also,  which  they  made 
upon  certain  mountains,  whereon  they 
erected  a  pillar,  in  the  form  of  an  altar  : 
whence  that  hill  is  called  Gilead ;  and 
from  thence  they  call  that  laud  the  Land 
of  Gilead,  at  this  day.  Now  when  they 
had  feasted,  after  the  making  of  the 
league,  Laban  returned  home. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Meeting  of  Jacob  and  Esau.     B.  C.  1739. 

Now  as  Jacob  was  proceeding  on  his 
journey  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  angels 
appeared  to  him,  and  suggested  to  him 
good  hope  of  his  future  condition ;  and 
that  place  he  named  the  "  Camp  of  God." 
And  being  desirous  of  knowing  what  his 
brother's  intentions  were  to  him,  he  sent 
messengers,  to  give  him  an  exact  account 
of  every  thing,  as  being  afraid,  on  account 
of  the  enmities  between  them.  He 
charged  those  that  were  sent,  to  say  to 
Esau,  "  Jacob  had  thought  it  wrong  to 
live  together  with  him,  while  he  was  in 
anger  against  him,  and  so  had  gone  out 
of  the  country ;  and  that  he  now,  think- 
ing the  length  of  time  of  his  absence 
must  have  made  up  their  differences,  was 
returning ;  that  he  brought  with  him  his 
wives,  and  his  children,  with  what  pos- 
sessions he  had  gotten;  and  delivered 
himself,  with  what  was  most  dear  to  him, 
into  his  hands;  and  should  think  it  his 
greatest  happiness  to  partake  together 
with  his  brother  of  what  God  had  be- 
stowed upou  him."  So  these  messengers 
told  him  this  message.  Upon  which  Esau 
was  very  glad,  and  met  his  brcther  with 
400   men.     And  Jacob,    when  he   heard 


64 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I.  Chap.  XXI 


that  he  iraa  coming  to  meet  him  with 
Buofa  a  Dumber  of  men,  was  greatly  afraid ; 
however,  he  committed  his  hope  of  de- 
liverance to  God  ;  and  considered  how,  in 
his  present  circumstances,  he  might  pre- 
serve himself  and  those  that  were  with 
him,  and  overcome  his  enemies  if  they 
attacked  him  injuriously.  He  therefore 
distributed  his  company  into  parts;  some 
be  sent  before  the  rest,  and  the  others  he 
ordered  to  come  close  behind,  that  so,  if 
the  first  were  overpowered  when  his 
brother  attacked  them,  they  might  have 
those  that  followed  as  a  refuge  to  fly 
unto.  And  when  he  had  put  his  com- 
pany in  this  order,  he  sent  some  of  them 
to  carry  presents  to  his  brother.  The 
presents  were  made  up  of  cattle,  and  a 
great  number  of  four-footed  beasts,  of 
many  kinds,  such  as  would  be  very  ac- 
ceptable to  those  that  received  them,  on 
account  of  their  rarity.  Those  who  were 
sent  went  at  certain  intervals  of  space 
asunder,  that,  by  following  thick  after 
another,  they  might  appear  more  nume- 
rous ;  that  Esau  might  remit  of  his  anger 
on  account  of  these  presents,  if  he  were 
still  in  a  passion.  Instructions  were  also 
given  to  those  that  were  sent  to  speak 
gently  to  him. 

When  Jacob  had  made  these  appoint- 
ments all  the  day,  and  night  came  on,  he 
moved  on  with  his  company;  and,  as 
they  were  gone  over  a  certain  river  called 
Jabboc,  Jacob  was  left  behind;  and  meet- 
ing with  an  angel,  he  wrestled  with  him, 
the  angel  beginning  the  struggle ;  but  he 
prevailed  over  the  angel,  who  used  a  voice, 
and  spake  to  him  in  words,  exhorting  him 
to  be  pleased  with  what  had  happened  to 
him,  and  not  to  suppose  that  his  victory 
was  a  small  one,  but  that  he  had  overcome 
a  divine  angel,  and  to  esteem  the  victory 
as  a  sign  of  great  blessings  that  should 
come  to  him ;  and  that  his  offspring 
should  never  fail ;  and  that  no  man 
should  be  too  hard  for  his  power.  He 
also  commanded  him  to  be  called  Israel, 
which  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  signifies 
"one  that  struggled  with  the  divine 
angel."*  These  promises  were  made  at 
the  prayer  of  Jacob;  for  when  he  per- 
ceived him  to  be  the  angel  of  God,  he 
desired  be  would  signify  to  him  what 
should  befall   him   hereafter.      And  when 


*  Perhaps  this  may  be  the  proper  meaning  of  the 
word  Israel.  It  is  certain  that  the  Hellenists  of  the 
first  century,  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere,  interpreted 

lbrael  to  be  "ft  man  acein^j  God." 


the  angel  had  said  what  is  before  related, 
disappeared;  but  Jacob  was  pleased 
with  these  things,  and  named  the  place 
Phanuel,  which  signifies,  "  the  face  of 
God."  Now  when  he  felt  pain,  by  this 
struggling,  upon  his  broad  sinew,  he  ab- 
stained from  eating  that  sinew  himself 
afterward  ;  and  for  his  sake  it  is  still  not 
eaten  by  us. 

When  Jacob  understood  that  his  brother 
was  near,  he  ordered  his  wives  to  go  be- 
fore, each  by  herself,  with  the  handmaids, 
that  they  might  see  the  actions  of  the  men 
as  they  were  fighting,  if  Esau  were  so  dis- 
posed, lie  then  went  up  to  his  brother 
Esau,  and  bowed  down  to  him,  who  had 
no  evil  design  upon  him,  but  saluted  liim  ; 
and  asked  him  about  the  company  of  the 
children  and  of  the  women;  and  desired, 
when  he  had  understood  all  he  wanted  to 
know  about  them,  that  he  would  go  along 
with  him  to  their  father;  but  Jacob  pre- 
tending that  the  cattle  were  weary,  Esau 
returned  to  Seir,  for  there  was  his  place 
of  habitation  ;  he  having  named  the  place 
Roughness,  from  his  own  hairy  roughness. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

Ill-treatment  of  the  daughter  of  Jacob — His  sons 
revenge  their  sister's  disgrace — Death  of  RacheL 
B.C.  1739. 

Hereupon  Jacob  came  to  the  place 
till  this  day  called  Tents,  (Succoth;)  from 
whence  he  went  to  Shechem,  which  is  a 
city  of  the  Canaanites.  Now  as  the  She- 
chemites  were  keeping  a  festival,  Dina, 
who  was  the  only  daughter  of  Jacob,  went 
into  the  city  to  see  the  finery  of  the  women 
of  that  country.  But  when  Shechem,  the 
son  of  Hamor  the  king,  saw  her,  he  defiled 
her  by  violence;  and,  being  greatly  in  love 
with  her,  desired  of  his  father  that  he 
would  procure  the  damsel  to  him  for  a 
wife:  to  which  desire  he  condescended, 
and  came  to  Jacob,  desiring  him  to  give 
leave  that  his  son  Shechem  might,  ac- 
cording to  law,  marry  Dina.  But  Jacob, 
not  knowing  how  to  deny  the  desire  of 
one  of  such  great  dignity,  and  yet  not 
thinking  it  lawful  to  many  his  daughter 
bo  a  stranger,  entreated  him  to  give  him 
leave  to  have  a  consultation  about  what 
he  desired  him  to  do.  So  the  king  went 
away,  in  hopes  that  Jaeob  would  grant 
him  this  marriage  But  Jaeob  informed 
his  sons  of  the  defilement  of  their  sister, 
and  of  the  address  of  llanior;   and  desired 


Book  II.  Chap.  I.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


65 


them  to  give  their  advice  what  they 
should  do.  Upon  this,  the  greatest  part 
said  nothing,  not  knowing  what  advice  to 
give.  But  Simeon  and  Levi,  the  brethren 
of  the  damsel  by  the  same  mother,  agreed 
between  themselves  upon  the  action  fol- 
lowing: it  being  now  the  time  of  a  festi- 
val, when  the  Shechemites  were  employed 
in  ease  and  feasting,  they  fell  upon  the 
watch  when  the}7  were  asleep,  and,  coming 
into  the  city,  slew  all  the  males;*  as  also 
the  king  and  his  son  with  them;  but 
spared  the  women;  and  when  they  had 
done  this,  without  their  father's  consent, 
they  brought  away  their  sister. 

Now  while  Jacob  was  astonished  at  the 
greatness  of  this  act,  and  was  severely 
blaming  his  sons  for  it,  God  stood  by 
him,  and  bid  him  be  of  good  courage ; 
but  to  purify  his  tents,  and  to  offer  those 
sacrifices  which  he  had  vowed  to  offer 
when  he  went  first  into  Mesopotamia,  and 
saw  his  vision.  As  he  was  therefore 
purifying  his  followers,  he  lighted  upon 
the  gods  of  Laban  ;  (for  he  did  not  before 
know  they  were  stolen  by  Rachel;)  and 
he  hid  them  in  the  earth,  under  an  oak, 
in  Shechem ;  and  departing  thence,  he 
offered  sacrifice  at  Bethel,  the  place 
where  he  saw  his  dream,  when  he  went 
first  into  Mesopotamia. 

And  when   he   was  gone    thence,  and 

♦Josephus's  account  of  this  transaction   differs 
from  that  recorded  in  Genesis  xxxiv.  25  et  seq. 


was  come  over  against  Ephrata,  he  there 
buried  Rachel,  who  died  in  childbed  : 
she  was  the  only  one  of  Jacob's  kindred 
that  had  not  the  honour  of  burial  at 
Hebron ;  and  when  he  had  mourned  for 
her  a  great  while,  he  called  the  son  that 
was  born  of  her  Benjamin,  because  of  the 
sorrow  the  mother  had  with  him.  These 
are  all  the  children  of  Jacob,  twelve 
males  and  one  female;  of  them  eight 
were  legitimate,  viz.  six  of  Lea,  and  two 
of  Rachel;  and  four  were  of  the  hand- 
maids, two  of  each;  all  whose  names  have 
been  set  down  already. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Death  of  Isaac.     B.  C.  1716. 

From  thence  Jacob  came  to  Hebron, 
a  city  situate  among  the  Canaanites;  and 
there  it  was  that  Isaac  lived :  and  so 
they  lived  together  for  a  little  while; 
for  as  to  Rebeka,  Jacob  did  not  find  her 
alive.  Isaac  also  died  not  long  after  the 
coming  of  his  son;  and  was  buried  by 
his  sons,  with  his  wife,  in  Hebron,  where 
they  had  a  monument  belonging  to  them 
from  their  forefathers.  Now  Isaac  was  a 
man  who  was  beloved  of  G-od,  and  was 
vouchsafed  great  instances  of  providence 
by  God,  after  Abraham  his  father,  and 
lived  to  be  exceeding  old;  for  when  he 
had  lived  virtuously  185  years,  he  then 
died. 


BOOK  II. 


CON1AINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  220  YEARS,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  ISAAC 

TO  THE  EXODUS  OUT  OF  EGYPT. 


GEN.  XXXVII.  to  EXOD.  XIL 


CHAPTER  I. 

Esau   and  Jacob  divide  their   inheritance- 
possesses  Idumea,  and  Jacob  Canaan. 


-Esau 


After  the  death  of  Isaac,  his  sons 
divided  their  habitations  respectively ; 
nor  did  they  retain  what  they  had  before; 
but  Esau  departed  from  the  city  of  He- 
bron, and  left  it  to  his  brother,  and  dwelt 
in  Seir,  and  ruled  over  Idumea.  He 
called  the  country  by  that  name  from 
6 


himself,  for  he  was  named  Adorn ;  which 
appellation  he  got  on  the  following  occa- 
sion :  —  One  day  returning  from  the  toil 
of  hunting  very  hungry,  (H  was  when  he 
was  a  child  in  age,)  he  lighted  on  his 
brother  when  he  was  getting  ready 
lentile-pottage  for  his  dinner,  which  was 
of  a  very  red  colour;  on  which  account 
he  the  more  earnestly  longed  for  it,  and 
desired  him  to  give  him  some  of  it  to 
eat:    but    he    made    advantage    of    hi« 


65 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II 


brother's  hunger,  and  forced  him  to  re- 
sign up  to  him  his  birthright j  aud  he, 

being  pinched  with  famine,  resigned  it 
up  to  him,  under  an  oath.  Whence  it 
came,  that,  on  account  of  the  redness  of 
this  pottage,  he  was,  in  way  of  jest,  by 
his  contemporaries,  called  Adorn,  for  the 
Hebrews  call  what  is  red  Adom  j  and  this 
was  the  name  given  to  this  country  :  but 
he  Greeks  gave  it  a  more  agreeable  pro- 
nunciation, and  named  it  Idumea. 

He  became  the  father  of  five  sons  ;  of 
whom  Jaus,  and  Jalomus,  and  Coreus, 
were  by  one  wife,  whose  name  was  Ali- 
bama;  but  of  the  rest,  Aliphaz  was  born 
to  him  by  Ada,  and  Raguel  by  Basem- 
math  :  and  these  were  the  sons  of  Esau. 
Aliphaz  had  five  legitimate  sons;  The- 
man,  Omer,  Saphus,  Gotham,  and  Kanaz; 
for  Amalek  was  not  legitimate,  but  by  a 
concubine,  whose  name  was  Thamna. 
These  dwelt  in  that  part  of  Idumea  which 
is  called  Gebalitis,  and  that  denominated 
from  Amalek,  Amalekitis ;  for  Idumea 
was  a  large  country,  and  did  then  pre- 
serve the  name  of  the  whole,  while  in  its 
several  parts  it  kept  the  names  of  its  pe- 
culiar inhabitants. 


CHAPTER  II. 

History  of  Joseph.    B.  C.  1729. 

It  happened  that  Jacob  came  to  so 
great  happiness  as  rarely  any  othef  per- 
son had  arrived  at.  He  was  richer  than 
the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  country; 
and  was  at  once  envied  and  admired  for 
such  virtuous  sons,  for  they  were  deficient 
in  nothing,  but  were  of  great  souls,  both 
for  labouring  with  their  hands  and  en- 
during of  toil;  and  shrewd  also  in  under- 
standing; and  God  exercised  such  a  pro- 
vidence over  him,  and  such  a  care  of  his 
happiness,  as  to  bring  him  the  greatest 
blessings,  even  out  of  what  appeared  to 
be  the  most  sorrowful  condition  ;  and  to 
make  him  the  cause  of  our  forefathers' 
departure  out  of  Egypt — him  and  his 
posterity.  The  occasion  was  this  : — When 
Jacob  had  his  son  Joseph  born  to  him  by 
Kachel,  his  father  loved  him  above  the 
rest  of  his  sons,  both  because  of  the 
beauty  of  his  body,  and  the  virtues  of  his 
mind,  for  he  excelled  the  rest  in  pru- 
dence. This  affection  of  his  father  ex- 
cited the  cnxy  and  the  hatred  of  his 
brethren;  as  did  also  the  dreams  which 
he  saw,  and  related  tc   his  father  aud  to 


them,  which  foretold  his  future  happi- 
ness :  it  being  usual  with  mankind  to 
envy  their  very  nearest  relations  such 
their  prosperity.  Now  the  visions  which 
Joseph  saw  in  his  sleep  were  these  : 

When  they  were  in  the  middle  of 
harvest,  and  Joseph  was  sent  for  by  his 
father,  with  his  brethren,  to  gather  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  he  saw  a  vision  in  a 
dream,  hut  greatly  exceeding  the  accus- 
tomary  appearances  that  come  when  we 
are  asleep  ;  which,  wheu  he  was  got  up, 
he  told  his  brethren,  that  they  might 
judge  what  it  portended.  He  said,  he 
saw  the  last  night,  that  his  wheat-sheaf 
stood  still  in  the  place  where  he  set  it, 
hut  that  their  sheaves  ran  to  bow  down 
to  it,  as  servants  bow  down  to  their 
masters;  but  as  soon  as  they  perceived 
that  the  vision  foretold  that  he  should 
obtain  power  and  great  wealth,  and  that 
his  power  should  be  in  opposition  to 
them,  they  gave  no  interpretation  of  it  to 
Joseph,  as  if  the  dream  were  not  by  them 
understood  :  but  they  prayed  that  no  part 
of  what  they  suspected  to  be  its  meauing 
might  come  to  pass;  and  they  bare  a  still 
greater  hatred  to  him  on  that  account. 

But  God,  in  opposition  to  their  envy, 
sent  a  second  vision  to  Joseph,  which  was 
much  more  wonderful  than  the  former; 
for  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  sun  took 
with  him  the  moon  and  eleven  of  the 
stars,  and  came  down  to  the  earth,  and 
bowed  down  to  him.  He  told  the  vision 
to  his  father,  and  that,  as  suspecting 
nothing  of  ill-will  from  his  brethren, 
when  they  were  there  also,  and  desired 
him  to  interpret  what  it  should  signify. 
Now  Jacob  was  pleased  with  the  dream  ; 
for,  considering  the  prediction  in  his 
mind,  and  shrewdly  and  wisely  guessing 
at  its  meaning,  he  rejoiced  at  the  great 
things  thereby  signified,  because  it  de- 
clared the  future  happiness  of  his  son  ; 
and  that,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  the 
time  would  come  when  he  should  be 
honoured,  and  thought  worthy  of  worship 
by  his  parents  and  brethren,  since  they 
were  eleven  in  number,  as  were  the  stars 
that  receive  their  power  from  the  sun 
and  moon. 

Aud  thus  did  Jacob  make  a  judgment 
of  this  vision,  and  that  a  shrewd  one  also  ; 
but  tuese  interpretations  caused  very  great 
grief  to  Joseph's  brethren  ;  and  they  were 
affected  to  him  hereupon  as  if  he  were  a 
certain  stranger  that  was  to  have  those 
good  things  which  were  signified  by  the 


Jhap.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE  JEWS. 


67 


dreams,  and  not  as  one  that  was  a 
brothn,  with  wkom  it  was  probable  they 
should  uu  joint- partakers;  and  as  they 
had  be^n  partners  in  the  same  parentage, 
go  should  whey  be  of  the  same  happiness. 
They  also  resolved  to  kill  the  lad;  and 
having  fully  ratified  that  intention  of 
theirs,  as  soon  as  their  collection  of  the 
fruits  was  over,  they  went  to  Shechem, 
which  is  a  country  good  for  feeding  of 
cattle,  and  for  pasturage;  there  they  fed 
their  flocks,  without  acquainting  their 
father  with  their  removal  thither ;  where- 
upon he  had  melancholy  suspicions  about 
them,  as  being  ignorant  of  his  sons'  con- 
dition, and  receiving  no  messenger  from 
the  flocks  that  could  inform  him  of  the 
true  state  they  were  in;  so,  because  he 
was  in  great  fear  about  them,  he  sent 
Joseph  to  the  flocks,  to  learn  the  circum- 
stances his  brethren  were  in,  and  to  bring 
him  word  how  they  did. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Joseph  envied  by  his  brethren,  who  sell  him  to 
some  Arabian  merchants.  Gen.  xxxvii.  18. 
B.  C.  1729. 

Now  these  brethren  rejoiced  as  soon  as 
they  saw  their  brother  coming  to  them, 
not  indeed  as  at  the  presence  of  a  near 
relation,  or  as  at  the  presence  of  one  sent 
by  their  father,  but  as  at  the  presence  of 
an  enemy,  and  one  that  by  Divine  provi- 
dence was  delivered  into  their  hands;  and 
they  already  resolved  to  kill  him,  and  not 
let  slip  the  opportunity  that  lay  before 
them ;  but  when  lleubel,  the  eldest  of 
them,  saw  them  thus  disposed,  and  that 
they  had  agreed  together  to  execute  their 
purpose,  he  tried  to  restrain  them,  show- 
ing them  the  heinous  enterprise  they  were 
going  about,  and  the  horrid  nature  of  it; 
that  this  action  would  appear  wicked  in 
the  sight  of  God,  and  impious  before  men, 
even  though  they  should  kill  one  not  re- 
lated to  them;  but  much  more  flagitious 
and  detestable  to  appear  to  have  slain  their 
own  brother;  by  which  act  the  father 
must  be  treated  unjustly  in  the  sou's 
slaughter,  and  the  mother  also  be  in  per- 
plexity while  she  laments  that  her  .son  is 
taken  away  from  her,  and  this  not  in  a 
natural  way  neither.  So  lie  entreated 
th°ra  to  have  a  regard  to  their  own  c«»n- 
Bciences,  and  wisely  to  consider  what  mis- 
chief would  betide  them  upon  the  death 
of  so  good  a  child,  and  their  youngest 
brother;  that  they  would  also  fear  God, 


who  was  already  both  a  spectator  and  a 
witness  of  the  designs  they  had  against 
their  brother;  that  he  would  love  thein  if 
they  abstained  from  this  act,  and  yielded 
to  repentance  and  amendment;  but  in 
case  they  proceeded  to  do  the  fact,  all 
sorts  of  punishments  would  overtake  them 
from  God  for  this  murder  of  their  bro- 
ther, since  they  polluted  his  providence, 
which  was  everywhere  present,  and  which 
did  not  overlook  what  was  done,  either  in 
deserts  or  in  cities;  for  wheresoever  a 
man  is,  there  ought  he  to  suppose  that 
God  is  also.  He  told  them  further,  that 
their  consciences  would  be  their  enemies, 
if  they  attempted  to  go  through  so  wicked 
an  enterprise,  which  they  can  never  avoid, 
whether  it  be  a  good  conscience,  or  whe- 
ther it  be  such  an  one  as  they  will  have 
within  them  when  once  they  have  killed 
their  brother.  He  also  added  this  besides 
to  what  he  had  before  said,  that  it  was  not 
a  righteous  thing  to  kill  a  brother,  though 
he  had  injured  them;  that  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  forget  the  actions  of  such  near 
friends,  even  in  things  wherein  they  might 
seem  to  have  offended  ;  but  that  they  were 
going  to  kill  Joseph,  who  had  been  guilty 
of  nothing  that  was  ill  toward  them,  in 
whose  case  the  infirmity  of  his  small  age 
should  rather  procure  him  mercy,  and 
move  them  to  unite  together  in  the  care 
of  his  preservation  :  that  the  cause  of 
killing  him  made  the  act  itself  much 
worse,  while  they  determined  to  take  him 
off  out  of  envy  at  his  future  prosperity,  an 
equal  share  of  which  they  would  natu- 
rally partake  while  he  enjoyed  it,  since 
they  were  to  him  not  strangers,  but  the 
nearest  relations,  for  they  might  reckon 
upon  what  God  bestowed  upon  Joseph  as 
their  own;  and  that  it  was  fit  for  them 
to  believe,  that  the  anger  of  God  would 
for  this  cause  be  most  severe  upon  them, 
if  they  slew  him  who  was  judged  by  God 
to  be  worthy  of  that  prosperity  which  was 
to  be  hoped  for;  and  while,  by  murdering 
him,  they  made  it  impossible  for  God  to 
bestow  it  upon  him. 

Ikubel  said  these  and  many  other  things, 
and  used  entreaties  to  them,  and  thereby 
endeavoured  to  divert  them  from  the  mur- 
der of  their  brother;  but  when  he  saw 
that  his  discourse  had  not  softened  them 
at  all,  and  that  they  made  haste  to  do  the 
fact,  he  advised  them  to  alleviate  the  wick- 
edness they  were  going  about,  in  the  man- 
ner of  taking  Joseph  off;  for  as  he  had 
exhorted  them  first,  when  they  were  going 


68 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


to  rev.-nge  themselves,  to  be  dissuaded 
from  doing  it,  so,  since  the  sentence  for 
killing  their  brother  had  prevailed,  he 
said  that  they  would  not,  however,  be  so 
grossly  guilty,  if  they  would  be  persuaded 
to  follow  his  present  advice,  which  would 
include  what  they  were  so  eager  about,  but 
was  not  so  very  bad,  but,  in  the  distress 
they  were  in,  of  a  lighter  nature.  He 
begged  of  them,  therefore,  not  to  kill  their 
brother  with  their  own  hands,  but  to  cast 
him  into  the  pit  that  was  hard  by,  and 
bo  let  him  die;  by  wThich  they  would  gain 
so  much,  that  they  would  not  defile  their 
own  hands  with  his  blood.  To  this  the 
young  men  readily  agreed;  soReubel  took 
the  lad  and  tied  him  to  a  cord,  and  let 
him  down  gently  into  the  pit,  for  it  had 
no  water  at  all  in  it;  who,  when  he  had 
done  this,  went  his  way  to  seek  for  such 
pasturage  as  was  fit  for  feeding  his  flocks. 

But  Judas,  being  one  of  Jacob's  sons 
also,  seeing  some  Arabians,  of  the  pos- 
terity of  Ismael,  carrying  spices  and  Sy- 
rian wares  out  of  the  land  of  Gilead  to 
the  Egyptians,  after  Reubel  was  gone,  ad- 
vised his  brethren  to  draw  Joseph  out  of 
the  pit  and  sell  him  to  the  Arabians  ;  for 
if  he  should  die  among  strangers  a  great 
way  off,  they  should  be  freed  from  this 
barbarous  action.  This,  therefore,  was  re- 
solved on  ;  so  they  drew  Joseph  up  out  of 
the  pit,  and  sold  him  to  the  merchants  for 
20  pounds.*  He  was  now  17  years  old  : 
but  Reubel,  coming  in  the  night-timefto 
•the  pit,  resolved  to  save  Joseph,  without 
the  privity  of  his  brethren  ;  and  when, 
upon  his  calling  to  him,  he  made  no  an- 
swer, he  was  afraid  that  they  had  destroyed 
him  after  he  was  gone ;  of  which  he  com- 
plained to  his  brethren;  but  when  they 
had  told  him  what  they  had  done,  Reubel 
left  off  his  mourning. 

When  Joseph's  brethren  had  done  thus 
to  him,  they  considered  what  they  should 
do  to  escape  the  suspicions  of  their  father. 
Now  they  had  taken  away  from  Joseph 
the  coat  which  he  had  on  when  he  came 
to  them  at  the  time  they  let  him  down 
into  the  pit;  so  they  thought  proper  to  tear 
that  coat  to  pieces,  and  to  dip  it  into  goat's 
blood,  and  then  to  carry  it  and  show  it  to 
their  father,  that  he  might  believe  he  was 
destroyed  by  wild  beasts;  and  when  they 

♦The  Septuagint  have  20  pieces  of  gold ;  the 
Testament  of  Gad  30  j  the  Hebrew  and  Samaritan 
20  of  silver  ;  and  the  vulgar  Latin  30.  What  was 
the  true  number  and  true  sum  cannot  therefore  now 
be  known. 


had  so  done,  they  came  to  the  old  man, 
but  this  not  till  what  had  happened  to  his 
son  had  already  come  to  his  knowledge. 
Then  they  said  that  they  had  not  seen  Jo- 
seph, nor  knew  what  mishap  had  befallen 
him  ;  but  they  had  found  his  coat  bloody 
and  torn  to  pieces,  whence  they  had  a  sus- 
picion that  he  had  fallen  among  wild  beasts, 
and  so  perished,  if  that  was  the  coat  he 
had  on  when  he  came  from  home.  Now 
Jacob  had  before  some  better  hopes  tba'i 
his  son  was  only  made  a  captive ;  but  now 
he  laid  aside  that  notion,  and  supposed 
that  this  coat  was  an  evident  argument 
that  he  was  dead,  for  he  well  remembered 
that  this  was  the  coat  he  had  on  when  he 
sent  him  to  his  brethren ;  so  he  hereafter 
lamented  the  lad  as  now  de-ad,  and  as  if 
he  had  been  the  father  of  no  more  than 
one,  without  taking  any  comfort  in  the 
rest;  and  so  he  was  also  affected  with  his 
misfortune  before  he  met  with  Joseph's 
brethren,  when  he  also  conjectured  that 
Joseph  was  destroyed  by  wild  beasts.  He 
sat  down  also  clothed  in  sackcloth  and  in 
heavy  affliction,  insomuch  that  he  found 
no  ease  when  his  sons  comforted  him,  nei- 
ther did  his  pains  remit  by  any  length  of 
time. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Joseph  bought  by  Potiphar — rejects  the  advances 
of  his  wife,  and  is  thrown  into  prison.  Gen. 
xxxix.     B.C.  1729. 

Now  Potiphar,  an  Egyptian,  who  was 
chief  cook  to  King  Pharaoh,  bought  Jo- 
seph of  the  merchants,  who  sold  him  to 
him.  He  had  him  in  the  greatest  honour, 
and  taught  him  the  learning  that  became 
a  free  man,  and  gave  him  leave  to  make 
use  of  a  diet  better  than  was  allotted  to 
slaves.  He  intrusted  also  the  care  of  his 
house  to  him.  So  he  enjoyed  these  ad- 
vantages, yet  did  not  he  leave  that  virtue 
which  he  had  before,  upon  such  a  change 
of  his  condition;  but  he  demonstrated 
that  wisdom  was  able  to  govern  the  un- 
easy passions  of  life,  in  such  as  have  it  in 
reality,  and  do  not  only  put  it  on  for  a 
show,  under  a  present  state  of  prosperity. 

For  when  his  master's  wife  had  fallen 
in  love  with  him,  both  on  account  of  his 
beauty  of  body  and  his  dexterous  manage- 
ment of  affairs;  and  supposed,  that  if  she 
should  make  it  known  to  him,  she  could 
easily  persuade  him  to  come  and  lie  with 
her,  and  that  he  would  look  upon  it  as  a 
piece  of  happy  fortune  that  his  mistress 


Ceap  rv.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE    JEWS. 


69 


should  entreat  him,  as  regarding  that  state 
of  slavery  he  was  in,  and  not  his  moral 
character,  which  continued  after  his  con- 
dition was  changed ;  so  she  made  known 
her  naughty  inclinations,  and  spake  to  him 
about  lying  with  her.  However,  he  re- 
jected her  entreaties,  not  thinking  it 
agreeable  to  religion  to  yield  so  far  to 
her,  as  to  do  what  would  tend  to  the  af- 
front aud  injury  of  him  that  purchased 
him,  and  had  vouchsafed  him  so  great 
honours.  He,  on  the  contrary,  exhorted 
her  to  govern  ^that  passion ;  and  laid  be- 
fore her  the  impossibility  of  her  obtaining 
her  desires,  which  he  thought  might  be 
conquered,  if  she  had  no  hope  of  succeed- 
ing :  and  he  said,  that  as  to  himself,  he 
would  endure  any  thing  whatever  before 
he  would  be  persuaded  to  it;  for  although 
it  was  fit  for  a  slave,  as  he  was,  to  do  no- 
thing contrary  to  his  mistress,  he  might 
well  be  excused  in  a  case  where  the  con- 
tradiction was  to  such  sort  of  commands 
only.  But  this  opposition  of  Joseph,  when 
she  did  not  expect  it,  made  her  still  more 
violent  in  her  love  to  him  ;  and  as  she 
was  sorely  beset  with  this  naughty  pas- 
sion, so  she  resolved  to  compass  her  de- 
sign by  a  second  attempt. 

When,  therefore,  there  was  a  public  fes- 
tival coming  on,  in  which  it  was  the  cus- 
tom for  women  to  come  to  the  public 
solemnity,  she  pretended  to  her  husband 
that  she  was  sick,  as  contriving  an  oppor- 
tunity for  solitude  and  leisure,  that  she 
might  entreat  Joseph  again;  which  oppor- 
tunity being  obtained,  she  used  more  kind 
words  to  him  than  before;  and  said  that  it 
had  been  good  for  him  to  have  yielded  to  her 
first  solicitation,  and  to  have  given  her  no 
repulse,  both  because  of  the  reverence  he 
ought  to  bear  to  her  dignity  who  solicited 
him,  and  because  of  the  vehemence  of  her 
passion,  by  which  she  was  forced,  though 
she  was  his  mistress,  to  condescend  be- 
neath her  dignity;  but  that  he  might  now, 
by  taking  more  prudent  advice,  wipe  off 
the  imputation  of  his  former  folly;  for, 
whether  it  we're  that  he  expected  the  re- 
petition of  the  solicitations  she  had  now 
made,  and  that  with  greater  earnestness 
than  before,  for  that  she  had  pretended 
sickness  on  this  very  account,  and  had 
preferred  his  conversation  before  the  fes- 
tival and  its  solemnity;  or  whether  he  op- 
posed her  former  discourses,  as  not  be- 
lieving she  could  be  in  earnest,  she  now 
gave  him  sufficient  security,  by  thus  re- 
peating her  application,  that  she  meant 


not  in  the  least  by  fraud  to  impose  upon 
him;  and  assured  him,  that  if  he  complied 
with  her  affections,  he  might  expect  the 
enjoyment  of  the  advantages  he  already 
had ;  and  if  he  wrere  submissive  to  her, 
he  should  have  still  greater  advantages ; 
but  that  he  must  look  for  revenge  and 
hatred  from  her,  in  case  he  rejected  her 
desires,  and  preferred  the  reputation  of 
chastity  before  his  mistress ;  for  that  he 
would  gain  nothing  by  such  procedure,  be- 
cause she  would  then  become  his  accuser, 
and  would  falsely  pretend  to  her  husband 
that  he  had  attempted  her  chastity;  and 
that  Potiphar  would  hearken  to  her  words 
rather  than  to  his,  let  his  be  ever  so 
agreeable  to  the  truth. 

When  the  woman  had  said  thus,  and 
even  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  neither  did 
pity  dissuade  Joseph  from  his  chastity, 
nor  did  fear  compel  him  to  a  compliance 
with  her;  but  he  opposed  her  solicitations, 
and  did  not  yield  to  her  threatenings,  and 
was  afraid  to  do  an  ill  thing,  aud  chose  to 
undergo  the  sharpest  punishment  rather 
than  to  enjoy  his  present  advantages,  by 
doing  what  his  own  conscience  knew  would 
justly  deserve  that  he  should  die  for  it. 
He  also  put  her  in  mind  that  she  was  a 
married  woman,  and  that  she  ought  to 
cohabit  with  her  husband  only;  and  de- 
sired her  to  suffer  these  considerations  to 
have  more  weight  with  her  than  the  short 
pleasure  of  lustful  dalliance,  which  would 
bring  her  to  repentance  afterward,  would 
cause  trouble  to  her,  and  yet  would  not 
amend  what  had  been  done  amiss.  He 
also  suggested  to  her  the  fear  she  would 
be  in  lest  they  should  be  caught ;  and  that 
the  advantage  of  concealment  was  uncer- 
tain, and  that  only  while  the  wickedness 
was  not  known  [would  there  be  any  quiet 
for  them] ;  but  that  she  might  have  the 
enjoyment  of  her  husband's  company 
without  any  danger :  and  he  told  her, 
that  in  the  company  of  her  husband  she 
might  have  great  boldness  from  a  good 
conscience,  both  before  God  and  before 
men  ;  nay,  that  she  would  act  better  like 
his  mistress,  and  make  use  of  her  autho- 
rity over  him  better  while  she  persisted 
in  her  chastity,  than  when  they  were  both 
ashamed  for  that  wickedness  they  had 
been  guilty  of;  and  that  it  was  much 
better  to  depend  on  a  good  life,  well  acted, 
and  known  to  have  been  so,  than  upon  the 
hopes  of  the  concealment  of  evil  practices. 

Joseph,  by  saying  this,  and  more,  tried 
to  restrain  the  violent  passion  of  the  wo 


70 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Hook  II 


man,  and  to  reduce  her  afflictions  within 
the  rules  of  reason ;  hut  she  grew  more 
ungovernable  and  earnest  in  the  matter  ; 
and  since  she  despaired  of  persuading 
him,  she  laid  her  hands  upon  him,  and 
had  a  mind  to  force  him.  But  as  soon 
;is  Joseph  had  got  away  from  her  anger, 
leaving  also  hi*  garment  w'fU  her,  for  he 
left  that  to  her,  and  leaped  out  of  her 
chamher,  she  was  greatly  afraid  lest  he 
should  discover  her  lewdness  to  her  hus- 
hand,  and  greatly  troubled  at  the  affront 
he  had  offered  her;  so  she  resolved  to  be 
beforehand  with  him,  and  to  accuse  Jo- 
seph falsely  to  Potiphar,  and  by  that 
means  to  revenge  herself  on  him  for  his 
pride  and  contempt  of  her;  and  she 
thought  it  a  wise  thing  in  itself,  and  also 
becoming  a  woman,  thus  to  prevent  his 
accusation.  Accordingly  she  sat  sorrow- 
ful and  in  confusion,  framing  herself  so 
hypocritically  and  angrily,  that  the  sorrow, 
which  was  really  for  her  being  disappoint- 
ed of  her  lust,  might  appear  to  be  for  the 
attempt  upon  her  chastity;  so  that  when 
her  husband  came  home,  and  was  dis- 
turbed at  the  sight  of  her,  and  inquired 
what  was  the  cause  of  the  disorder  she 
was  in,  she  began  to  accuse  Joseph  :  and, 
"  0  husband/'  said  she,  "  mayst  thou  not 
live  a  day  longer  if  thou  dost  not  punish 
the  wicked  slave  who  has  desired  to  defile 
thy  bed;  who  has  neither  minded  who  he 
was  when  he  came  to  our  house,  so  aerto 
behave  himself  with  modesty;  nor  has 
he  been  mindful  of  what  favours  he  had 
received  from  thy  bounty:  (as  he  must 
be  an  ungrateful  man  indeed,  unless  he, 
in  every  respect,  carry  himself  in  a  man- 
ner agreeable  to  us:)  this  man,  I  say, 
laid  a  private  design  to  abuse  thy  wife, 
and  this  at  the  time  of  a  festival,  observ- 
ing when  thou  wouldst  be  absent.  So 
that  it  now  is  clear  that  his  modesty,  as 
it  appeared  to  be  formerly,  was  only  be- 
cause of  the  restraint  he  was  in  out  of 
fear  of  ihee,  but  that  he  was  not  really 
of  a  good  disposition.  This  has  been 
occasioned  by  his  being  advanced  to 
honour  beyond  what  he  deserved  and 
what  he  hoped  for;  insomuch  that  he 
concluded,  that  he  who  was  deemed  fit  to 
be  trusted  with  thy  estate,  and  the  go- 
vernment of  thy  family,  and  was  pre- 
ferred above  thy  eldest  servants,  might 
be  allowed  to  touch  thy  wife  also."  Thus 
when  she  had  ended  her  discourse,  she 
showed  him  his  garment,  as  if  he  then 
left  it  with   her   when    he    attempted   to 


force  her.  But  Potiphar,  m  t  being  able 
to  disbelieve  what  his  wife's  tears  showed, 
and  what  his  wife  said,  and  what  he  saw 
himself,  and  being  seduced  by  his  love  to 
his  wife,  did  not  set  himself  about  the 
examination  of  the  truth;  but  taking  it 
for  granted  that  his  wife  was  a  modest 
woman,  and  condemning  Joseph  as  a 
wicked  man,  he  threw  him  into  the  male- 
factors' prison ;  and  had  a  still  higher 
opinion  of  his  wife,  and  bare  her  witness 
that  she  was  a  woman  of  becoming  mo- 
desty and  chastity. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Interprets  the  king's  butler  and  baker's  dream-    is      * 
released  from    prison — presented  to  the  king  - 
and  becomes  the  second  person  in  the  kingdom. 
Gen.  xl.  xli.     B.  C.  1718-1715. 

Now  Joseph,  commending  all  his  affairs 
to  God,  did  not  betake  himself  to  make 
his  defence,  nor  to  give  an  account  of  the 
exact  circumstances  of  the  fact,  but  silent- 
ly underwent  the  bonds  and  the  distress 
he  was  in,  firmly  believing  that  God,  who 
knew  the  cause  of  his  affliction  and  the 
truth  of  the  fact,  would  be  more  powerful 
than  those  that  inflicted  the  punishments 
upon  him :  a  proof  of  whose  providence 
he  quickly  received;  for  the  keeper  of 
the  prison,  taking  notice  of  his  care  and 
fidelity  in  the  affairs  he  had  set  him  about, 
and  the  dignity  of  his  countenance,  re- 
laxed his  bonds,  and  thereby  made  his 
heavy  calamity  lighter,  and  more  support- 
able to  him  :  he  also  permitted  him  to 
make  use  of  a  diet  better  than  that  of 
the  rest  of  the  prisoners.  Now,  as  his 
fellow-prisoners,  when  their  hard  labours 
were  over,  fell  to  discoursing  one  among 
another,  as  is  usual  in  such  as  are  equal 
sufferers,  and  to  inquire  one  of  another, 
what  were  the  occasions  of  their  being 
condemned  to  a  prison;  amoug  them  the 
king's  cup-bearer,  and  one  that  had  been 
respected  by  him,  was  put  in  bouds,  on 
the  king's  anger  at  him.  This  man  was 
under  the  same  bonds  with  Joseph,  and 
grew  more  familiar  with  him;  aud  upon 
his  observing  that  Joseph  had  a  better 
understanding  than  the  rest  had,  he  told 
him  of  a  dream  he  had,  and  desired  he 
would  interpret  its  meaning,  complaining 
that,  besides  the  afflictions  he  underwent 
from  the  king,  God  did  also  add  to  him 
trouble  from  his  dreams. 

lie  therefore  said,  that  in  his  sleep  he 
saw  three  clusters  of  grapes  hauging  upon 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE    JEWS. 


71 


three  branc'r  es  of  a  vine,  large  already, 
and  ripe  for  gathering ;  and  that  he 
squeezed  them  into  a  cup  which  the  king 
held  in  his  hand ;  and  when  he  had 
strained  the  wine,  he  gave  it  to  the  king 
to  drink,  and  that  he  received  it  from  him 
with  a  pleasant  countenance.  This,  he 
said,  was  what  he  saw;  and  he  desired 
Joseph,  that  if  he  had  any  portion  of 
understanding  in  such  matters,  he  would 
tell  him  what  this  vision  foretold :  who 
hade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  expect  to 
be  loosed  from  his  bonds  in  three  days' 
time,  because  the  king  desired  his  service, 
and  was  about  to  restore  him  to  it  again ; 
for  he  let  him  know  that  God  bestows  the 
fruit  of  the  vine  upon  men  for  good; 
which  wine  is  poured  out  to  him,  and  is 
the  pledge  of  fidelity  and  mutual  confi- 
dence among  men;  and  puts  an  end  to 
their  quarrels,  takes  away  passion  and 
grief  out  of  the  minds  of  them  that  use 
it,  and  makes  them  cheerful.  "Thou 
sayest  that  thou  didst  squeeze  this  wine 
from  three  clusters  of  grapes  witli  thine 
hands,  and  that  the  king  received  it :  know, 
therefore,  that  this  vision  is  for  thy  good, 
and  foretells  a  release  from  thy  present 
distress  within  the  same  number  of  days 
as  the  branches  had  whence  thou  gather- 
e<]st  thy  grapes  in  thy  sleep.  However, 
remember  what  prosperity  I  have  foretold 
thee,  when  thou  hast  found  it  true  by  ex- 
perience; and  when  thou  art  in  authority, 
do  not  overlook  us  in  this  prison,  wherein 
thou  wilt  leave  us  when  thou  art  gone  to 
the  place  we  have  foretold;  for  we  are 
not  in  prison  for  any  crime;  but  for  the 
sake  of  our  virtue  and  sobriety  are  we 
condemned  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  male- 
factors, and  because  we  were  not  willing 
to  injure  him  that  has  thus  distressed 
us,  though  it  were  for  our  own  pleasure." 
The  cup  bearer,  therefore,  as  was  natural 
to  do,  rejoiced  to  hear  such  an  interpreta- 
tion of  his  dream,  and  waited  the  com- 
pletion of  what  had  been  thus  shown  him 
beforehand. 

But  there  was  another  servant  of  the 
king's,  who  had  been  chief  baker,  and 
was  now  bound  in  prison  with  the  cup- 
bearer; he  also  was  in  good  hope,  upon 
Joseph's  interpretation  of  the  other's 
vision,  for  he  had  seen  a  dream  also ;  so 
he  desired  that  Joseph  would  tell  him 
what  the  visions  he  had  seen  the  nijrht 
before  might  mean.  They  were  these  that 
follow :  "  Methought,"  says  he,  "I  carried 
three    baskets  upon  my  head;  two  were 


full  of  loaves,  and  the  third  full  of  sweet- 
meats and  other  eatables,  such  as  are  pre- 
pared for  kings;  but  that  the  fowls  came 
flying,  and  ate  them  all  up,  and  had  no  re- 
gard to  my  attempt  to  drive  them  away;  " 
and  he  expected  a  prediction  like  to  that 
of  the  cup-bearer.  But  Joseph,  consider- 
ing and  reasoning  about  the  dream,  said 
to  him,  that  he  would  willingly  be  an  in- 
terpreter of  good  events  to  him,  and  not 
of  such  as  his  dream  denounce!  to  him ; 
but  he  told  him  that  he  had  only  three 
days  in  all  to  live,  for  that  the  [three] 
baskets  signify,  that  on  the  third  day  he 
should  be  crucified,  and  devoured  by  fowls, 
while  he  was  not  able  to  help  himself. 
Now  both  these  dreams  had  the  same 
several  events  that  Joseph  foretold  they 
should  have,  and  this  to  both  the  parties; 
for  on  the  third  day  before  mentioned, 
when  the  king  solemnized  his  birth-day, 
he  crucified  the  chief  baker,  but  set  the 
butler  free  from  his  bonds,  and  restored 
him  to  his  former  ministration. 

But  God  freed  Joseph  from  his  confine- 
ment, after  he  had  endured  his  bonds  two 
years,  and  had  received  no  assistance  from 
the  cup-bearer,  who  did  not  remember 
what  he  had  said  to  him  formerly;  and 
God  contrived  this  method  of  deliverance 
for  him.  Pharaoh,  the  king,  had  seen  in 
his  sleep  the  same  evening  two  visions; 
and  after  them  had  the  interpretation  of 
them  both  given  him.  He  had  forgotten 
the  latter,  but  retained  the  dreams  them- 
selves. Being  therefore  troubled  at  what 
he  had  seen,  for  it  seemed  to  him  to  be 
all  of  a  melancholy  nature,  the  next  day 
he  called  together  all  the  wisest  men 
among  the  Egyptians,  desiring  to  learn 
from  them  the  interpretation  of  his 
dreams.  But  when  they  hesitated  about 
them,  the  king  was  so  much  the  more 
disturbed.  And  now  it  was  that  the  me- 
mory of  Joseph,  and  his  skill  in  dreams, 
came  into  the  mind  of  the  king's  cup- 
bearer, when  he  saw  the  confusion  that 
Pharaoh  was  in;  so  he  came  and  men- 
tioned Joseph  to  him,  as  also  the  vision 
he  had  seen  in  prison,  and  how  the  event 
proved  as  he  had  said;  as  also  that  the 
chief  baker  was  crucified  on  the  very  same 
day;  and  that  this  also  happened  to  him 
according  to  the  interpretation  of  Joseph. 
That  Joseph  himself  was  laid  in  bonds  by 
Potiphar,  who  was  his  head  cook,  as  a 
sla#;;  but,  he  said,  he  was  one  of  the 
noblest  of  the  stock  of  the  Hebrews;  and 
said    further,   his    father    lived   in    grent 


72 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


splendour.  "If,  therefore,  thou  wilt  send 
for  him,  and  not  despise  him  on  the  score 
of  hie  misfortunes,  thou  wilt  learn  what 
thy  dreams  signify."  So  the  king  com- 
manded that  they  should  bring  Joseph 
into  his  presence;  and  those  who  received 
the  command  came  and  brought  him  with 
them,  having  taken  care  of  his  habit,  that 
it  might  be  decent,  as  the  king  had  en- 
joined them  to  do. 

But  the  king  took  him  by  the  hand; 
and,  "0  young  man,"  says  he,  "for  my 
servant  bears  witness  that  thou  art  at  pre- 
sent the  best  and  most  skilful  person  I 
can  consult  with;  vouchsafe  me  the  same 
favours  which  thou  bestowedst  on  this 
servant  of  mine,  aud  tell  me  what  events 
they  are  which  the  visions  of  my  dreams 
foreshow;  and  I  desire  thee  to  suppress 
nothing  out  of  fear,  nor  to  natter  me 
with  lying  words,  or  with  what  may 
please  me,  although  the  truth  should  be 
of  a  melancholy  nature.  For  it  seemed 
to  me  that,  as  I  walked  by  the  river,*  I 
saw  kine  fat  and  very  large,  seven  in 
number,  going  from  the  river  to  the 
marshes,  and  other  kine  of  the  same 
number  like  them  met  them  out  of  the 
marshes,  exceeding  lean  and  ill-favoured, 
which  ate  up  the  fat  and  the  large  kine, 
and  yet  were  no  better  than  before,  and 
not  less  miserably  pinched  with  famine. 
After  I  had  seen  this  vision,  I  awaked 
out  of  my  sleep;  and  being  in  disorder, 
and  considering  with  myself  what  this 
appearance  should  be,  I  fell  asleep  again, 
and  saw  another  dream  much  more 
wonderful  than  the  foregoing,  which  still 
did  more  affright  and  disturb  me :  I  saw 
seven  ears  of  corn  growing  out  of  one 
root,  having  their  heads  borne  down  by 
the  weight  of  the  grains,  and  bendiug 
down  with  the  fruit,  which  was  now  ripe 
and  fit  for  reaping;  and  near  these  I  saw 
seven  other  ears  of  corn,  meagre  and  weak, 
for  want  of  rain,  which  fell  to  eatiug  and 
consuming  those  that  were  fit  for  reaping, 
and  put  me  into  great  astonishment." 

To  which  Joseph  replied :  "  This  dream," 
said  he,  "  0  king,  although  seen  under 
two  forms,  signifies  one  and  the  same 
event  of  things;  for  when  thou  sawest  the 

*  The  river  here  alluded  to  was  the  Nile.  Once 
cvi  rv  year  it  overflows  trie  greater  part  of  Lower 
Egypt,  and  from  that  overflowing  proceeds  either 
-  an  it  \  or  plenty.  If  the  water  rises  too  high,  it 
lies  too  long  on  the  ground,  and  scarcity  ei»ues ; 
and  if  too  low,  there  is  not  a  sufficiency  to  fertilize 
the  soil. 


|  fat  kine,  which  is  an  animal  made  foi 
j  the  plough  and  for  labour,  devoured  by 
I  the  worser  kine,  and  the  ears  of  corn  eaten 
I  up  by  the  smaller  ears,  they  foretell  a  fa- 
I  mine,  and  want  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth 
for  the  same  number  of  years,  and  equal 
with  those  when  Egypt  was  in  a  happy 
state ;  and  this  so  far,  that  the  plenty  of 
these  years  will  be  spent  in  the  same 
number  of  years  of  scarcity,  and  that 
scarcity  of  necessary  provisions  will  be 
very  difficult  to  be  corrected;  as  a  sign 
whereof,  the  ill-favoured  kine,  when  they 
had  devoured  the  better  sort,  could  not 
be  satisfied.  But  still  God  foreshows 
what  is  to  come  upon  men,  not  to  grievf 
them,  but  that,  when  they  know  it  before- 
hand, they  may  by  prudence  makr  the 
actual  experience  of  what  is  foretold  the 
more  tolerable.  If  thou,  therefore,  care- 
fully dispose  of  the  plentiful  crops  which 
will  come  in  the  former  years,  thou  wilt 
procure  that  the  future  calamity  will  not 
be  felt  by  the  Egyptians." 

Hereupon  the  king  wondered  at  the 
discretion  and  wisdom  of  Joseph ;  and 
asked  him  by  what  means  he  might  so 
dispense  the  foregoing  plentiful  crops,  in 
the  happy  years,  as  to  make  the  miserable 
crops  more  tolerable.  Joseph  then  added 
this  his  advice  :  to  spare  the  good  crops, 
and  not  permit  the  Egyptians  to  spend 
them  luxuriously ;  but  to  reserve  what 
they  would  have  spent  in  luxury  beyond 
their  necessity,  against  the  time  of  want. 
He  also  exhorted  him  to  take  the  corn  of 
the  husbandmen,  and  give  them  only  so 
much  as  would  be  sufficient  for  their  food. 
Accordingly  Pharaoh  being  surprised  at 
Joseph,  not  only  for  his  interpretation  of 
the  dream,  but  for  the  counsel  he  had 
given  him,  intrusted  him  with  dispensing 
the  corn ;  with  power  to  do  what,  he 
thought  would  be  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  of  Egypt,  aud  for  the  benefit  of  the 
king,  as  believing  that  he  who  first  dis- 
covered this  method  of  acting,  would  prove 
the  best  overseer  of  it.  But  Joseph,  hav- 
ing this  power  given  him  by  the  king; 
with  leave  to  make  use  of  his  seal,  and  to 
wear  purple,  drove'in  his  chariot  through 
all  the  land  of  Egypt,  aud  took  the  corn 
of  the  husbandmen,*  allotting  as  much  to 
every  one  as  would  be  sufficient  for  seed 
and  for  food,  but  without  discovering  to 
any  one  the  reason  why  he  did  so. 


*  That  is,  bought  it  for  Pharaoh  at  a  very  low 
price. 


Chap.  VI.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


73 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Famine  throughout  Egypt,  and  the  adjacent  coun- 
tries— Joseph's  brethren  visit  Egypt  to  procure 
food — Joseph  holds  his  brethren  in  temporary 
subjection.  Gen.  xli.     B.  C.  1715-1707. 

Joseph  was  now  grown  up  to  thirty 
years  of  age,  and  enjoyed  great  honours 
from  the  king,  who  called  him  Psothom 
Phanech,  out  of  regard  to  his  prodigious 
degree  of  wisdom  ;  for  that  name  denotes 
"  the  revealer  of  secrets. "  He  also  mar- 
ried a  wife  of  very  high  quality ;  for  he 
married  the  daughter  of  Petepbres,*  one 
of  the  priests  of  Heliopolis  :  she  was  a 
virgin,  and  her  name  was  Asenath.  By 
her  he  had  children  before  the  scarcity 
came  on ;  Manasseh,  the  elder,  which  sig- 
nifies "  forgetful,"  because  his  present 
happiness  made  him  forget  his  former 
misfortunes;  and  Ephraim,  the  younger, 
which  signifies  "  restored/'  because  he 
was  restored  to  the  freedom  of  his  fore- 
fathers. Now  after  Egypt  had  happily 
passed  over  seven  years,  according  to  Jo- 
seph's interpretation  of  the  dreams,  the 
famine  came  upon  them  in  the  eighth 
year;  and  because  this  misfortune  fell 
upon  them  when  they  had  no  sense  of  it 
beforehand,  they  were  all  sorely  afflicted 
by  it,  and  came  running  to  the  king's 
gates;  and  he  called  upon  Joseph,  who 
sold  the  corn  to  them,  being  become  con- 
fessedly a  saviour  to  the  whole  multitude 
of  the  Egyptians.  Nor  did  he  open  this 
market  of  corn  for  the  people  of  that 
country  only,  but  strangers  had  liberty  to 
buy  also ;  Joseph  being  willing  that  all 
men,  who  are  naturally  akin  to  one  an- 
other, should  have  assistance  from  those 
that  lived  in  happiness. 

Nuw  Jacob  also,  when  he  understood 
that  foreigners  might  come,  sent  all  his 
sons  into  Egypt  to  buy  corn ;  for  the  laud 
of  Canaan  was  grievously  afflicted  with 
the  famine,  and  this  great  misery  touched 
the  whole  continent.'}'  He  only  retained 
Benjamin,  who  was  born  to  him  by  Rachel, 
and  was  of  the  same  mother  with  Joseph. 
These  sons  of  Jacob  then  came  iuto  Egypt, 
and  applied  themselves  to  Joseph,  want- 
ing to  buy  corn;  for  nothing  of  this  kind 
was  done  without  his  approbation,  since 
even  then  only  was  the  honour  that  was 
paid  the  king  himself  advantageous  to  the 


•  This  is  a  different  person  from  him  who  was 
auptain  of  the  guard,  and  was  in  a  different  quality. 
t  Gen.  zlii.  et  seq. 


persons  that  paid  it,  when  they  took  care 
to  honour  Joseph  also.  Now,  when  he 
well  knew  his  brethren,  they  thought  no- 
thing of  him;  for  he  was  but  a  youth 
when  he  left  them,  and  was  now  come  to 
an  age  so  much  greater,  that  the  linea- 
ments of  his  face  were  changed,  and  he 
was  not  known  by  them  :  besides  this,  the 
greatness  of  the  dignity  wherein  he  ap- 
peared, suffered  them  not  so  much  as  to 
suspect  it  was  he.  He  now  made  trial 
what  sentiments  they  had  about  affairs  of 
the  greatest  consequence ;  for  he  refused 
to  sell  them  corn,  and  said  they  were  come 
as  spies  of  the  king's  affairs;  and  that 
they  came  from  several  countries,  and 
joined  themselves  together,  and  pretended 
that  they  were  of  kin,  it  not  being  possible 
that  a  private  man  should  breed  up  so 
many  sons,  and  those  of  so  great  beauty 
of  countenance  as  they  were ;  such  an 
education  of  so  many  children  being  not 
easily  obtained  by  kings  themselves.  Now 
this  he  did  in  order  to  discover  what  con- 
cerned his  father,  and  what  happeued  to 
him  after  his  own  departure  from  him, 
and  as  desiring  to  know  what  was  become 
of  Benjamin  his  brother;  for  he  was 
afraid  that  they  had  ventured  on  the  like 
wicked  enterprise  against  him  that  they 
had  done  to  himself,  and  had  taken  him 
off  also. 

Now  these  brethren  of  his  were  under 
distraction  and  terror,  and  thought  that 
very  great  danger  hung  over  them ;  yet 
not  at  all  reflecting  upon  their  brother 
Joseph,  and  standing  firm  under  the  ac- 
cusations laid  against  them,  they  made 
their  defence  by  Ruebel,  the  eldest  of 
them,  who  now  became  their  spokesman  : 
"  We  come  not  hither,"  said  he,  "  with 
any  unjust  design,  nor  in  order  to  bring 
any  harm  upon  the  king's  affairs;  we  only 
want  to  be  preserved,  as  supposing  your 
humanity  might  be  a  refuge  for  us  from 
the  miseries  which  our  country  labours 
under,  we  having  heard  that  you  pre  posed 
to  sell  corn,  not  only  to  your  own  country- 
men, but  to  strangers  also;  and  that  you 
determined  to  allow  that  corn,  in  order  to 
preserve  all  that  want  it ;  but  that  we  are 
brethren,  and  of  the  same  common  blood, 
the  peculiar  lineaments  of  our  faces,  and 
those  not  so  much  different  from  one  an- 
other, plainly  show.  Our  father's  name 
is  Jacob,  an  Hebrew  man,  who  had  twelve 
of  us  for  his  sons  by  four  wives;  which 
twelve  of  us,  while  we  were  all  alive,  were 
a  happy  family ;    but   when   one   of  oui 


74 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


brethren,  whose  name  was  Joseph,  died, 
our  affairs  chaDged  for  the  worse  ;  for  our 
father  could  not  forbear  to  make  a  long 
lamentation  for  him  ;  and  we  are  in  afflic- 
tion, both  by  the  calamity  of  the  death  of 
our  brother,  and  the  miserable  state  of 
our  aged  father.  We  are  now,  therefore, 
come  to  buy  corn,  having  intrusted  the 
care  of  our  father,  and  the  provision  for 
our  family,  to  Benjamin,  our  youngest 
brother;  and  if  thou  sendest  to  our  house, 
thou  mayest  learn  whether  we  are  guilty 
of  the  least  falsehood  in  what  we  say." 

And  thus  did  Keubel  endeavour  to  per- 
suade Joseph  to  have  a  better  opinion  of 
them.  But  when  he  had  learned  from 
them  that  Jacob  was  alive,  and  that  his 
brother  was  not  destroyed  by  them,  he  for 
the  present  put  them  in  prison,  as  intend- 
ing to  examine  more  into  their  affairs 
when  he  should  be  at  leisure.  But  on 
the  third  day  he  brought  them  out,  and 
said  to  them,  "  Since  you  constantly  affirm 
that  you  are  not  come  to  do  any  harm  to 
the  king's  affairs,  that  you  are  brethren, 
and  the  sons  of  the  father  whom  you 
named,  you  will  satisfy  me  of  the  truth 
of  what  you  say,  if  you  leave  one  of  your 
company  with  me,  who  shall  suffer  no  in- 
jur}-,  here;  and  if,  when  ye  have  carried 
corn  to  your  father,  you  will  come  to  me 
again,  and  bring  your  brother,  whom  you 
say  you  left  there,  along  with  you ;  for 
this  shall  be  by  me  esteemed  an  assurance 
of  the  truth  of  what  you  have  told  me." 
Hereupon  they  were  in  greater  grief  than 
before ;  they  wept,  and  perpetually  de- 
plored one  among  another  the  calamity 
of  Joseph  ;  and  said,  "  they  were  fallen 
into  this  misery  as  a  punishment  inflicted 
by  God  for  what  evil  contrivances  they 
had  against  him."  And  Reubel  was  large 
in  his  reproaches  of  them  for  their  too 
late  repentance,  whence  no  profit  arose  to 
Joseph  ;  and  earnestly  exhorted  them  to 
bear  with  patience  whatever  they  suffered, 
since  it  was  done  by  God  by  way  of  pu- 
nishment, on  his  account.  Thus  they 
epake  to  one  another,  not  imagining  that 
Joseph  understood  their  language.  A 
general  sadness  also  seized  on  them  at 
Reubel's  words,  and  a  repentance  for  what 
they  iia.d  done;  and  they  condemned  the 
wickedness  they  had  perpetrated,  for 
which  they  judged  they  were  justly  pu- 
nished by  God.  Now  when  Joseph  saw 
that  they  were  in  this  distress,  he  was  so 
affected  at  it  that  he  fell  into  tears,  and 
not  being  willing  that  they  should  take 


notice  of  him,  he  retired ;  and  after  a 
while  came  to  them  again,  and  taking 
Symeon,  in  order  to  his  being  a  pledge 
for  his  brethren's  return,  he  bade  them 
take  the  corn  they  had  bought,  and  go 
their  way.*  He  also  commanded  his 
steward  privily  to  put  the  money  which 
they  had  brought  with  them  for  the  pur- 
chase of  corn  into  their  sacks,  and  to  dis- 
miss them  therewith;  who  did  what  he 
was  commanded  to  do. 

Now  when  Jacob's  sons  were  come  into 
the  land  of  Canaan,  they  told  their  father 
what  had  happened  to  them  in  Egypt,  and 
that  they  were  taken  to  have  come  thither 
as  spies  upon  the  king ;  and  how  they 
said  they  were  brethren,  and  had  left  their 
eleventh  brother  with  their  father,  but 
were  not  believed;  and  how  they  had  left 
Symeon  with  the  governor,  until  Benja- 
min should  go  thither,  and  be  a  testimo- 
nial of  the  truth  of  what  they  had  said ; 
and  they  begged  of  their  father  to  fear 
nothing,  but  to  send  the  lad  along  with 
them.  But  Jacob  was  not  pleased  with 
any  thing  his  sons  had  done ;  and  he  took 
the  detention  of  Symeon  heinously,  and 
thence  thought  it  a  foolish  thing  to  give 
up  Benjamin  also.  Neither  did  he  yield 
to  Reubel's  persuasion,  though  he  begged 
it  of  him ;  and  gave  leave  that  the  grand- 
father might,  in  way  of  requital,  kill  his 
own  sons,  in  case  any  harm  came  to  Ben- 
jamin in  the  journey.  So  they  were  dis- 
tressed, and  knew  not  what  to  do  :  nay, 
there  was  another  accident  that  still  dis- 
turbed them  more — the  money  that  was 
found  hidden  in  their  sacks  of  corn.  Yet, 
when  the  corn  they  had  brought  failed 
them,  and  when  the  famine  still  afflicted 
them,  and  necessity  forced  them,  Jacob 
did  [not]  still  resolve  to  send  Benjamin 
with  his  brethren,  although  there  was  no 
returning  into  Egypt,  unless  they  came 
with  what  they  had  promised.  Now  the 
misery  growing  every  day  worse,  and  his 
sons  begging  it  of  him,  he  had  no  other 
course  to  take  in  his  present  circum- 
stances. And  Judas,  who  was  of  a  bold 
temper  on  other  occasions,  spake  his  mind 
very  freely  to  him  :  "  That  it  did  not  be- 
come him  to  be  afraid  on  account  of  his 
son,  nor  to. suspect  the  worst,  as  he  did; 
for  nothing  could  be  done  to  his  son  but 
by  the  appointment  of  God,  which  must 

*  The  reason  why  Symeon  might  bo  selected 
from  the  rest  for  Joseph's  prisoner,  was  because  he 
was  one  of  the  bitteresi  of  u.11  Joseph's  brethren 
against  him. 


Chak  VI. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


75 


also  for  certain  come  to  pass,  though  he 
were  at  home  with  him  ;  that  he  ought 
not  to  condemn  them  to  such  manifest 
destruction;  nor  deprive  them  of  that 
plenty  of  food  they  might  have  from  Pha- 
raoh, by  his  unreasonable  fear  about  his 
eon  Benjamin,  but  ought  to  take  care  of 
the  preservation  of  Symeon,  lest,  by  at- 
tempting to  hinder  Benjamin's  journey, 
Symeon  should  perish.  He  exhorted  him 
to  trust  God  for  him ;  and  said'  he  would 
either  bring  his  son  back  to  him  safe,  or, 
together  with  his,  lose  his  own  life."  So 
that  Jacob  was  at  length  persuaded,  and 
delivered  Benjamin  to  them,  with  the 
price  of  the  corn  doubled ;  he  also  sent 
presents  to  Joseph  of  the  fruits  of  the 
land  of  Canaan ;  balsam  and  resin,  as 
also  turpentine  and  honey.  Now  their 
father  shed  many  tears  at  the  departure 
of  his  sons,  as  well  as  themselves.  His 
concern  was,  that  he  might  receive  them 
back  again  safe  after  their  journey;  and 
their  concern  was,  that  they  might  find 
their  father  well,  and  no  way  afflicted  with 
grief  for  them.  And  this  lamentation 
lasted  a  whole  day ;  so  that  the  old  man 
was  at  last  tired  with  grief,  and  stayed  be- 
hind ;  but  they  went  on  their  way  for 
Egypt,  endeavouring  to  mitigate  their 
grief  for  their  present  misfortunes  with 
the  hopes  of  better  success  hereafter. 

As  soon  as  they  came  into  Egypt,  they 
were  brought  dowu  to  Joseph :  but  here  no 
small  fear  disturbed  them,  lest  they  should 
be  accused  about  the  price  of  the  corn, 
as  if  they  had  cheated  Joseph.  They  then 
made  a  long  apology  to  Joseph's  steward, 
and  told  him,  that  when  they  came  home 
they  found  the  money  in  their  sacks,  and 
that  they  had  now  brought  it  along  with 
them.  He  said  he  did  not  know  what 
they  meant :  so  they  were  delivered  from 
that  fear.  And  when  he  had  loosed 
Symeon,  and  put  him  into  a  handsome 
habit,  he  suffered  him  to  be  with  his 
brethren;  at  which  time  Joseph  came 
from  his  attendance  on  the  king.  So  they 
offered  him  their  presents;  and  upon  his 
putting  the  question  to  them  about  their 
father,  they  answered,  that  they  found 
him  well.  He  also,  upon  his  discovery 
that  Benjamin  was  alive,  asked  whether 
this  was  their  younger  brother?  for  he  had 
seen  him.  Whereupon  they  said  he  was: 
he  replied  that  the  God  over  all  was  his 
protector.  But  wheu  his  affection  to  him 
made  him  shed  tears,  he  retired,  desiring 
he  might  n  )t  be  seen  in  that  plight  by  his 


brethren.  Then  Joseph  took  them  to 
supper,  and  they  were  set  down  in  the 
same  order  as  they  used  to  sit  at  their  fa- 
ther's table.  And  although  Joseph  treated 
them  all  kindly,  yet  did  he  send  a  mess  to 
Benjamin  that  was  double*  to  what  the 
rest  of  the  guests  had  for  their  shares. 

Now  when  after  supper  they  had  com- 
posed themselves  to  sleep,  Joseph  com-' 
manded  his  steward  both  to  give  them 
their  measures  of  corn,  and  to  hide  its 
price  again  in  their  sacks ;  and  that 
withal  they  should  put  into  Benjamin's 
sack  the  golden  cup,  out  of  which  he  loved 
himself  to  drink:  which  things  he  did,  in 
order  to  make  trial  of  his  brethren, 
whether  they  would  stand  by  Benjamin 
when  he  should  be  accused  of  having 
stolen  the  cup,  and  should  appear  to  be 
in  danger;  or  whether  they  would  leave 
him,  and,  depending  on  their  own  inno- 
cency,  go  to  their  father  without  him. 
When  the  servant  had  done  as  he  was 
bidden,  the  sons  of  Jacob,  knowing  no- 
thing of  all  this,  went  their  way,  and  took 
Symeon  along  with  them,  and  had  a 
double  cause  of  joy,  both  because  they 
had  received  him  again,  and  because  they 
took  back  Benjamin  to  their  father,  as 
they  had  promised.  But  presently  a  troop 
of  horsemen  encompassed  them,  and 
brought  with  them  Joseph's  servant,  who 
had  put  the  cup  into  Jienjamin's  sack. 
Upon  which  unexpected  attack  of  the  horse- 
men they  were  much  disturbed,  and  asked 
what  the  reason  was  that  they  came  thus 
upon  men,  who  a  little  before  had  been  by 
their  lord  thought  worthy  of  an  honour- 
able and  hospitable  reception  !  Tliey  re- 
plied, by  calling  them  wicked  wretches, 
who  had  forgot  that  very  hospitable  and 
kind  treatment  which  Joseph  had  given 
them,  and  did  not  scruple  to  be  injurious 
to  him,  and  to  carry  off  that  cup  out  of 
which  he  had,  in  so  friendly  a  manner, 
drank  to  them,  and  not  regarding  their 
friendship  with  Joseph,  no  more  than  the 
danger  they  should  be  in  if  they  were 
taken,  in  comparison  of  the  unjust  gain. 
Hereupon  he  threatened  that  they  should 
be  punished  ;  for  though  they  had  escaped 
the  knowledge  of  him  who  was  but  a 
servant,  yet  had  they  not  escaped  the 
knowledge  of  God,  nor  had  gone  off 
with  what  they  had  stolen ;  and  after  all. 
asked  why  we  come  upou   them  ?  as  if 


*  Possibly  to  observe  whether  the  re.st  would 
look  upon  Benjamin  with  the  same  envious  eye  a' 
they  had  formerly  done  upon  himself. 


70 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


they  knew  nothing  of  the  matter:  and  he 
told  them  that  they  should  immediately 
know  it  by  their  punishment.  This,  and 
more  of  the  same  nature,  did  the  servant 
suv,  in  way  of  reproach  to  them  :  but  they 
being  wholly  ignorant  of  any  thing  here 
that  concerned  them,  laughed  at  what  he 
said,  and  wondered  at  the  abusive  lan- 
guage which  the  servant  gave  them,  when 
he  was  so  hardy  as  to  accuse  those  who 
did  not  before  so  much  as  retain  the  price 
of  their  coin,  which  was  found  in  their 
sacks,  but  brought  it  again,  though  nobody 
else  knew  of  any  such  thing,  so  far  were 
they  from  offering  any  injury  to  Joseph 
voluntarily.  But  still,  supposing  that  a 
search  would  be  a  more  sure  justification 
of  themselves  than  their  own  denial  of  the 
fact,  they  bid  him  search  them,  and  that 
if  any  of  them  had  been  guilty  of  the 
theft,  to  punish  them  all;  for  being  no 
way  conscious  themselves  of  any  crime, 
they  spake  with  assurance,  and,  as  they 
thought,  without  any  danger  to  themselves 
also.  The  servants  desired  thei*e  might  be 
a  search  made ;  but  they  said  the  punish- 
ment should  extend  to  him  alone  who 
should  be  found  guilty  of  the  theft.  So 
they  made  the  search ;  and,  having  searched 
all  the  rest,  they  came  last  of  all  to  Ben- 
jamin, as  knowing  it  was  Benjamin's  sack 
in  which  they  had  hidden  the  cup,  they 
having  indeed  searched  the  rest  only  for 
a  show  of  accuracy :  so  the  rest  wereout 
of  fear  for  themselves,  and  were  now 
only  concerned  about  Benjamin,  but  still 
were  well  assured  that  he  would  also  be 
found  innocent;  and  they  reproached 
those  that  came  after  them  for  their  hin- 
dering them,  while  they  might  in  the  mean 
while  have  gotten  a  good  way  on  their 
journey.  But  as  soon  as  they  had 
searched  Benjamin's  sack,  they  found  the 
cup,  and  took  it  from  him ;  and  all  was 
changed  into  mourning  and  lamentation. 
They  rent  their  garments,  and  wept  for 
the  punishment  which  their  brother  was 
to  undergo  for  his  theft,  and  for  the  delu- 
sion they  had  put  on  their  father,  when 
they  promised  they  would  bring  Benjamin 
safe  to  him.  What  added  to  their  misery 
was,  that  this  melancholy  accident  came 
anfortunately  at  a  time  when  they  thought 
they  had  gotten  off  clear:  but  they  con- 
fessed that  this  misfortune  of  their  brother, 
as  well  as  the  grief  of  their  father  for  him, 
was  owing  to  themselves,  since  it  was  they 
that  forced  their  father  to  send  him  with 
them,  when  he  was  averse  to  it. 


The  horsemen  therefore  took  Benjamin 
and  brought  him  to  Joseph,  his  brethren 
also  following  him ;  who,  when  he  saw 
him  in  custody,  and  them  in  the  habit  of 
mourners,  said,  "  How  came  you.  vile 
wretches  as  you  are,  to  have  such  a  strange 
notion  of  my  kindness  to  you,  and  of 
God's  providence,  as  impudently  to  do 
thus  to  your  benefactor,  who  in  such  an 
hospitable  manner  had  entertained  you?" 
Whereupon  they  gave  up  themselves  to 
be  punished,  in  order  to  save  Benjamin ; 
and  called  to  mind  what  a  wicked  enter- 
prise they  had  been  guilty  of  against  Jo- 
seph. They  also  pronounced  him  more 
happy  than  themselves,  if  he  were  dead, 
in  being  freed  from  the  miseries  of  this 
life ;  and  if  he  were  alive,  that  he  enjoyed 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  G-od's  vengeance 
upon  them.  They  said  further,  that  they 
were  the  plague  of  their  father,  since  they 
should  now  add  to  his  former  affliction  for 
Joseph,  this  other  affliction  for  Benjamin 
Reubel  also  was  large  in  cutting  them 
upon  this  occasion.  But  Joseph  dis- 
missed them ;  for  he  said  they  had  been 
guilty  of  no  offence,  and  that  he  would 
content  himself  with  the  lad's  punish- 
ment; for  he  said  it  was  not  a  fit  thing  to 
let  him  go  free,  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
had  not  offended ;  nor  was  it  a  fit  thing  to 
punish  them  together  with  him  who  had 
been  guilty  of  stealing.  And  when  he 
promised  to  give  them  leave  to  go  away 
in  safety,  the  rest  of  them  were  undei 
great  consternation,  aud  were  able  to  say 
nothing  on  this  sad  occasion.  But  Judas, 
who  had  persuaded  their  father  to  send 
the  lad  from  him,  being  otherwise  also  a 
very  bold  and  active  man,  determined  to 
hazard  himself  for  the  preservation  of  his 
brother.  "It  is  true."  said  he,*  "0  go- 
vernor, that  we  have  been  very  wicked 
with  regard  to  thee,  and  on  that  account 
deserve  puuishment;  even  all  of  us  may 
justly  be  punished,  although  the  theft 
was  not  committed  by  all,  but  only  by  one 
of  us,  and  he  the  youngest  also :  but  yet 
there  remains  some  hope  for  us,  who  other- 
wise must  be  undej  despair  on  his  account, 
and  this  from  thy  goodness,  which  pro- 
mises us  a  deliverance  out  of  our  present 


danger. 


And  now  I  beg  thou  wilt  not 


*  This  oration  seems  too  large,  and  too  unusual 
a  digression,  to  have  been  composed  by  Judas 
on  this  occasion.  It  seems  to  be  a  speech  or  de- 
claration composed  formerly  by  Josephus,  in  the 
person  of  Judas,  and  in  the  way  of  oratory,  that 
lay  by  him,  and  which  ho  thought  lit  U  inj  trt  or 
this  occasion. 


Chap.  VI.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


77 


look  at  us,  or  at  that  great  crime  we  have 
been  guilty  of,  but  at  thine  own  excellent 
nature,  and  take  advice  of  thine  own  vir- 
tue, instead  of  that  wrath  thou  hast  against 
us;  which  passion  those  that  otherwise  are 
of  lower  character  indulge,  as  they  do 
their  strength,  and  that  not  only  on  great, 
but  also  on  very  trifling  occasions.  Over- 
come, sir,  that  passion,  and  be  not  subdued 
by  it,  nor  suffer  it  to  slay  those  that  do 
not  otherwise  presume  upon  their  own 
safety,  but  are  desirous  to  accept  of  it  from 
thee;  for  this  is  not  the  first  time  that 
thou  wilt  bestow  it  on  us,  but  before,  when 
we  came  to  buy  corn,  thou  affordedst  us 
great  plenty  of  food,  and  gavest  us  leave 
to  carry  so  much  home  to  our  family  as 
has  preserved  them  from  perishing  by  fa- 
mine. Nor  is  there  any  difference  between 
not  overlooking  men  that  were  perishing 
for  want  of  necessaries,  and  not  punishing 
those  that  seem  to  be  offenders,  and  have 
been  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  the  advan- 
tage of  that  glorious  benefaction  which 
they  received  from  thee.  This  will  be  an 
instance  of  equal  favour,  though  bestowed 
after  a  different  manner;  for  thou  wilt 
save  those  this  way  whom  thou  didst  feed 
the  other ;  and  thou  wilt  hereby  preserve 
alive,  by  thine  own  bounty,  those  souls 
which  thou  didst  not  suffer  to  be  distressed 
by  famine ;  it  being  indeed  at  once  a  won- 
derful and  a  great  thing  to  sustain  our 
lives  by  corn,  and  to  bestow  on  us  that 
pardon,  whereby,  now  we  are  distressed, 
we  may  continue  those  lives.  And  I  am 
ready  to  suppose,  that  God  is  willing  to 
afford  thee  this  opportunity  of  showing 
thy  virtuous  disposition,  by  bringing  us 
into  this  calamity,  that  it  may  appear  thou 
canst  forgive  the  injuries  that  are  done  to 
thyself,  and  mayst  be  esteemed  kind  to 
others,  besides  those  who,  on  other  ac- 
counts, stand  in  need  of  thy  assistance; 
since  it  is  indeed  a  right  thing  to  do  well 
to  those  who  are  in  distress  for  want  of 
food,  but  still  a  more  glorious  thing  to 
save  those  who  deserve  to  be  punished, 
when  it  is  on  account  of  heinous  offences 
against  thyself;  for  if  it  be  a  thing  de- 
serving commendation  to  forgive  such  as 
have  been  guilty  of  small  offences,  that 
tend  to  a  person's  loss,  and  this  be  praise- 
worthy in  him  that  overlooks  such  offences, 
to  restrain  a  man's  passion  as  to  crimes 
which  are  capital  to  the  guilty,  is  to  be 
like  the  most  excellent  nature  of  God 
himself:  and  truly,  as  for  myself,  had  it 
not  been  thaf,  we  had  a  father,  who  had 


discovered,  on  occasion  of  the  death  of 
Joseph,  how  miserably  he  is  always  af- 
flicted at  the  loss  of  his  sons,  I  had  not 
made  any  words  on  account  of  the  saving 
of  our  own  lives;  I  mean  any  further  than 
as  that  would  be  an  excellent  character  for 
thyself,  to  preserve  even  those  that  would 
have  nobody  to  lament  them  when  they 
are  dead,  but  we  would  have  yielded  our- 
selves up  to  suffer  whatsoever  thou  pleas- 
edst;  but  now  (for  we  do  not  plead  for 
mercy  to  ourselves,  though  indeed,  if  we 
die,  it  will  be  while  we  are  young,  and 
before  we  have  had  the  enjoyment  of  life,) 
have  regard  to  our  father,  and  take  pity 
of  his  old  age,  on  whose  account  it  is  that 
we  make  these  supplications  to  thee.  We 
beg  thou  wilt  give  us  those  lives  which 
this  wickedness  of  ours  has  rendered  ob- 
noxious to  thy  punishment;  and  this  for 
his  sake  who  is  not  himself  wicked,  nor 
does  his  being  our  father  make  us  wicked. 
He  is  a  good  man,  and  not  worthy  to  have 
such  trials  of  his  patience;  and  now  we 
are  absent,  he  is  afflicted  with  care  for  us: 
but  if  he  hear  of  our  deaths,  and  what  was 
the  cause  of  it,  he  will  on  that  account 
die  an  immature  death  ;  and  the  reproach- 
ful manner  of  our  ruin  will  hasten  his  end, 
and  will  directly  kill  him  ;  nay,  will  bring 
him  to  a  miserable  death,  while  he  will 
make  haste  to  rid  himself  out  of  the 
world,  and  bring  himself  to  a  state  of  in- 
sensibility, before  the  sad  story  of  our  end 
come  abroad  into  the  rest  of  the  world. 
Consider  these  things  in  this  manner,  al- 
though our  wickedness  does  now  provoke 
thee  with  a  just  desire  of  punishing  that 
wickedness,  and  forgive  it  for  our  father's 
sake ;  and  let  thy  commiseration  of  him 
weigh  more  with  thee  than  our  wicked- 
ness. Have  regard  to  the  old  age  of  our 
father,  who,  if  we  perish,  will  be  very 
lonely  while  he  lives,  and  will  soon  die 
himself  also.  Grant  this  boon  to  the 
name  of  fathers,  for  thereby  thou  wilt 
honour  him  that  begat  thee,  and  will 
grant  it  to  thyself  also,  who  enjoyest  al- 
ready that  denomination  ;  thou  wilt  than, 
by  that  denomination,  be  preserved  of 
God,  the  Father  of  all,  by  showing  a  pioua 
regard  to  which,  in  the  case  of  our  father, 
thou  wilt  appear  to  honour  him  who  is 
styled  by  the  same  name  ;  I  mean,  if  thou 
wilt  have  this  pity  on  our  father,  upon 
this  consideration,  how  miserable  he  will 
be  if  he  be  deprived  of  his  sons !  It  is  thy 
part,  therefore,  to  bestow  on  us  what  God 
has  given  us,  when  it  is  in  thy  power  t' 


78 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Boo&  II. 


take  it  away,  and  so  to  resemble  him  en- 
tirely in  charity;  for  it  is  good  to  use  that 
power,  which  can  either  give  or  take  away 
on  the  merciful  side;  and  when  it  is  in 
thy  power  to  destroy,  to  forget  that  thou 
ever  hadst  that  power,  and  to  look  on  thy- 
self as  only  allowed  power  for  preserva- 
tion ;  and  that  the  more  any  one  extends 
this  power,  the  greater  reputation  does  he 
gain  to  himself.  Now,  by  forgiving  our 
brother  what  he  has  unhappily  committed, 
thou  wilt  preserve  us  all;  for  we  cannot 
think  of  living  if  he  be  put  to  death,  since 
we  dare  not  show  ourselves  alive  to  our 
father  without  our  brother,  but  here  must 
we  partake  of  one  and  the  same  catastrophe 
of  his  life ;  and  so  far  we  beg  of  thee,  0 
governor,  that  if  thou  condemnest  our 
brother  to  die,  thou  wilt  punish  us  together 
with  him,  as  partners  of  his  crime,  for  we 
shall  not  think  it  reasonable  to  be  reserved 
to  kill  ourselves  for  grief  of  our  brother's 
death,  but  so  to  die,  rather  as  equally 
guilty  with  him  of  this  crime  !  I  will  only 
leave  with  thee  this  one  consideration,  and 
then  will  say  no  more,  namely,  that  our 
brother  committed  his  fault  when  he  was 
young,  and  not  yet  of  confirmed  wisdom 
in  his  conduct;  and  that  men  naturally 
forgive  such  young  persons.  I  end  here, 
without  adding  what  more  I  have  to  say, 
that  in  case  thou  condemnest  us,  that 
omission  may  be  supposed  to  have  hurt  us, 
and  permitted  thee  to  take  the  severer 
tide ;  but  in  case  thou  settest  us  freepthat 
this  may  be  ascribed  to  thy  own  goodness, 
of  which  thou  art  inwardly  conscious,  that 
thou  freest  us  from  condemnation ;  and 
that  not  by  barely  preserving  us,  but  by 
granting  us  such  a  favour  as  will  make  us 
appear  more  righteous  than  we  really  are, 
and  by  representing  to  thyself  more  mo- 
tives tor  our  deliverance  than  we  are  able 
to  produce  ourselves.  If,  therefore,  thou 
resolvest  to  slay  him,  I  desire  thou  wilt 
slay  me  in  his  stead,  and  send  him  back 
to  his  father ;  or  if  thou  pleasest  to  retain 
him  with  thee  as  a  slave,  I  am  fitter  to 
labour  for  thy  advantage  in  that  capacity, 
and,  as  thou  seest,  am  better  prepared  for 
either  of  those  sufferings."*  So  Judas, 
being  very  willing  to  undergo  any  thing 
whatever  for  the  deliverance  of  his  brother, 
east  himself  down  at  Joseph's  feet,  and 
earnestly  laboured   to  assuage  and   pacify 

*  Id  all  this  speech  of  Judas,  Josephus  still  sup- 
posed that  death  wa.i  the  punishment  of  theft  in 

Egyp^  »n  tho  days  of  Joseph,  though  it  never  waif 
so  among  tho  Jews,  by  tbe  law  of  Moses. 


his  anger.*  All  his  brethreu  also  fell 
down  before  him,  weeping  and  delivering 
themselves  up  to  destruction  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  life  of  Benjamin. 

But  Joseph,  as  overcome  now  with  his 
affections,  and  no  longer  able  to  personate 
an  angry  man,  commanded  all  that  were 
present  to  depart,  that  he  might  make  him- 
self known  to  his  brethren  when  they  were 
alone ;  and  when  the  rest  were  gone  out,  he 
made  himself  known  to  his  brethren  ;  and 
said,  "I  commend  you  for  your  virtue, 
and  your  kindness  to  our  brother  :  I  find 
you  better  men  than  I  could  have  ex- 
pected from  what  you  contrived  about  me. 
Indeed,  I  did  all  this  to  try  your  love  to 
your  brother ;  so  I  believe  you  were  not 
wicked  by  nature  in  what  you  did  in  my 
case,  but  that  all  has  happened  according 
to  God's  will,  who  has  hereby  procurea 
our  enjoyment  of  what  good  things  we 
have  ;  and,  if  he  continue  in  a  favourable 
disposition,  of  what  we  hope  for  here- 
after. Since,  therefore,  I  know  that  our 
father  is  safe  and  well,  beyond  expecta- 
tion, and  I  see  you  so  well  disposed  to 
your  brother,  I  will  no  longer  remember 
what  guilt  you  seem  to  have  had  about 
me,  but  will  leave  off  to  hate  you  for 
that  your  wickedness ;  and  do  rather  re- 
turn you  my  thanks,  that  you  have  con' 
curred  with  the  intentions  of  God  tc 
bring  things  to  their  present  state.  I 
woujd  have  you  also  rather  to  forget  the 
same,  since  that  imprudence  of  yours  is 
come  to  such  a  happy  conclusion,  than  to 
be  uneasy  and  blush  at  those  your  of- 
fences. Do  not,  therefore,  let  your  evil 
intentions,  when  you  condemned  me,  and 
that  hitter  remorse  which  might  follow, 
be  a  grief  to  you  now,  because  those  in- 
tentions were  frustrated.  Go,  therefore, 
your  way,  rejoicing  iu  what  has  happened 
by  the  Divine  providence,  and  inform 
your  father  of  it,  lest  he  should  be  spent 
with  cares  for  you,  and  deprive  me  of  tho 
most  agreeable  part  of  my  felicity;  I 
mean,  lest  he  should  die  before  he  comes 
into  my  sight,  and  enjoys  the  good  things 
that  we  now  have.  Briug,  therefore, 
with  you  our  father,  aud  your  wives  and 
children,  and  all  your  kiudred,  and  re- 
move your  habitations  hither;  for  it  is 
not  proper- that  the  persons  dearest  to  me 
should  live  remote  from  me,  now  my  af- 
j  fairs  are  so    prosperous,  especially   when 

*  Herein  we  see  Joseph's  dreams  an  ply  fulfilled 

:  in  the  very  humiliating  and  singular  subraiwkm 

shown  to  him  by  his  brethron. 


CHAP    VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


79 


they  must  endure  five  more  years  of  fa- 
mine. "  When  Joseph  had  said  this,  he 
embraced  his  brethren,  who  were  in  tears 
and  sorrow ;  but  the  generous  kindness 
of  their  brother  seemed  to  leave  among 
them  no  room  for  fear,  lest  they  should 
be  punished  or:  account  of  what  they  had 
consulted  and  Lcted  against  him ;  and 
tiny  were  then  feasting.  Now  the  king, 
as  soon  as  he  heard  that  Joseph's  brethren 
were  come  to  him,  was  exceeding  glad  of 
it,  as  if  it  had  been  a  part  of  his  own 
good  fortune;  and  gave  them  wagons 
full  of  corn,  and  gold  and  silver,  to  be 
conveyed  to  his  father.  Now  when  they 
had  received  more  of  their  brother,  part 
to  be  carried  to  their  father,  and  part  as 
free  gifts  to  every  one  of  themselves, 
Benjamin  having  still  more  than  the  rest, 
they  departed. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Joseph's  father,  with  all  his  family,  remove  Into 
Egypt.  Gen.  xlvi.  xlvii.     B.  C.  1706. 

As  soon  as  Jacob  came  to  know,  by 
his  sons  returning  home,  in  what  state 
Joseph  was ;  that  he  had  not  only  escaped 
death,  for  which  yet  he  lived  all  along  in 
mourning,  but  that  he  lived  in  splendour 
and  happiness,  and  ruled  over  Egypt,  joint- 
ly with  the  king,  and  had  intrusted  to  his 
care  almost  all  his  affairs,  he  did  not  think 
any  thing  he  was  told  to  be  incredible,  con- 
sidering the  greatness  of  the  works  of  God, 
and  his  kindness  to  him,  although  that 
kindness  had,  for  some  late  times,  been 
iutermitted;  so  he  immediately  and  zeal- 
ously set  out  upon  his  journey  to  him. 

When  he  came  to  the  Well  of  the 
Oath,  (Beersheba,)  he  offered  sacrifice  to 
God ;  and  being  afraid  that  the  happiness 
there  was  in  Egypt  might  tempt  his  pos- 
terity to  fall  in  love  with  it  and  settle  in 
it,  and  no  more  think  of  removing  into 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  possessing  it,  as 
God  had  promised  them  ;  as  also  being 
afraid,  lest,  if  this  descent  into  Egypt  were 
made  without  the  will  of  God,  his  family 
might  be  destroyed  there;  out  of  fear, 
withal,  lest  he  should  depart  this  life  be- 
fore he  came  to  the  sight  of  Joseph,  he  fell 
asleep,  revolving  these  doubts  in  his  mind. 

But  God  stood  by  him,  and  called 
to  him  twice  by  his  name ;  and  when 
he  asked  who  he  was,  God  said,  "No, 
sure;  it  is  not  just  that  thou,  Jacob, 
should  be  unacquainted  with  that  God 
who   has    been  ever    a   protector  and   a 


helper  to  thy  forefathers,  and  after  them 
to  thyself;  for  when  thy  father  would 
have  deprived  thee  of  the  dominion,  I 
gave  it  thee;  and  by  my  kindness  it  was 
that,  when  thou  was  sent  into  Mesopo- 
tamia alone,  thou  obtained  good  wives, 
and  returned  with  many  children,  and 
much  wealth.  Thy  whole  family  also  has 
been  preserved  by  my  providence  ;  and  it 
was  I  who  conducted  Joseph,  thy  son, 
whom  thou  gave  up  for  lost,  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  great  prosperity.  I  also  made 
him  lord  of  Egypt,  so  that  he  differs  but 
little  from  a  king.  Accordingly,  I  come  now 
as  a  guide  to  thee  in  this  journey;  and 
foretell  to  thee,  that  thou  shalt  die  fn  the 
arms  of  Joseph  :  and  I  inform  thee,  that 
thy  posterity  shall  be  many  ages  in  autho- 
rity and  glory,  and  that  I  will  settle  them 
in  the  land  which  I  have  promised  them." 
Jacob,  encouraged  by  this  dream,  went 
on  more  cheerfully  for  Egypt  with  his 
sons,  and  all  belonging  to  them.  Now 
they  were  in  all  seventy.  I  once,  indeed, 
thought  it  best  not  to  set  down  the  names 
of  this  family,  especially  because  of  their 
difficult  pronunciation  [by  the  Greeks;] 
but,  upon  the  whole,  I  think  it  necessary 
to  mention  those  names,  that  I  may  dis- 
prove such  as  believe  that  we  came  not 
originally  from  Mesopotamia,  but  are 
Egyptians.  Now  Jacob  had  twelve  son3  ; 
of  these  Joseph  was  come  thither  before. 
We  will  therefore  set  down  the  names  of 
Jacob's  children  and  grandchildren.  Reu- 
bel  had  four  sons,  Anoch,  Phallu,  Assa- 
ron,  Charmi;  Simeon  had  six,  Jamucl, 
Jamin,  Avod,  Jachin,  Soar,  Saul ;  Levi 
had  three  sons,  Gersom,  Caath,  Merari  ; 
Judas  had  three  sons,  Sala,  Phares,  Ze- 
rah;  and  by  Phares  two  grandchildren, 
Esroin  and  Amar ;  Issaehar  had  four 
sons,  Thola,  Phua,  Jacob,  Samaron  ;  Za- 
bulon  had  with  him  three  sons,  Sarad, 
Helon,  Jalel.  So  far  is  the  posterity  of 
Lea;  with  whom  went  her  daughter 
Dinah.  These  are  thirty-three.  Rachel 
had  two  sons,  the  one  of  whom,  Joseph, 
had  two  sons  also,  Manasses  and  Ephraim. 
The  other,  Benjamin,  had  ten  sons,  Bo- 
lau,  Bacchar,  Asabel,  Geras,  Naamam 
Jes,  Ilos,  Momphis,  Opphis,  Arad.  These 
fourteen  added  to  the  thirty-three  before 
enumerated,  amount  to  the  number  forty  - 
seven;  and  this  was  the  legitimate  pos- 
terity of  Jacob.  He  had,  besides,  by 
Bilhah,  the  handmaid  of  Rachel,  Dan 
and  Nephthali  ;  which  last  had  four  sons 
that    followed    him,  Jesel,    Guni,  Issari, 


89 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  IL 


and  Sellim.  Dan  had  an  only  begotten 
son,  Usi.  If  these  be  added  to  those  be- 
fore mentioned,  they  complete  the  num- 
ber of  fifty-four.  Gad  and  Aser  were  the 
Bons  of  Zilpha,  who  was  the  handmaid  of 
Lea.  These  had  with  them,  Gad  seven, 
Saphoniah,  Augis,  Sunis,  Azabon,  Aerin, 
Eroed,  Ariel.  Aser  had  a  daughter,  Sa- 
rah, and  six  male  children,  whose  names 
were  Jomme,  Isus,  Isoui,  Baris,  Abar, 
and  Melchiel.  If  we  add  theae,  which 
are  sixteen,  to  the  h'fty-four,  the  fore- 
mentioned  number  [seventy]  is  com- 
pleted, Jacob  not  being  himyelf  included 
in  that  number. 

When  Joseph  understood  that  his  fa- 
ther was  coming,  for  Judas  his  brother 
had  come  before  him,  and  informed  him 
of  his  approach,  he  went  out  to  meet  him, 
and  they  met  together  at  Heroopolis.  But 
Jacob  almost  fainted  away  at  this  unex- 
pected and  great  joy;  however,  Joseph 
revived  him,  being  yet  not  himself  able 
to  contain  from  being  affected  in  the 
same  manner,  at  the  pleasure  he  now 
had ;  yet  was  he  not  wholly  overcome 
with  his  passion,  as  his  father  was.  After 
this  he  desired  Jacob  to  travel  on  slowly ; 
but  he  himself  took  five  of  his  brethren 
with  him,  and  made  haste  to  the  king,  to 
tell  him  that  Jacob  and  his  family  were 
come;  which  was  a  joyful  hearing  to 
him.  He  also  bid  Joseph  tell  him  what 
sort  of  life  his  brethren  loved  to  lead,  that 
he  might  give  them  leave  to  follow  phe 
same ;  who  told  him  they  were  good 
shepherds,  and  had  been  used  to  follow 
no  other  employment  but  this  alone. 
Whereby  he  provided  for  them,  that  they 
should  not  be  separated,  but  live  in  the 
same  place,  and  take  care  of  their  father ; 
as  also  hereby  he  provided,  that  they 
might  be  acceptable  to  the  Egyptians,  by 
doing  nothing  that  would  be  common  to 
them  with  the  Egyptians ;  for  the  Egyp- 
tians are  prohibited  to  meddle  with  feed- 
ing of  sheep.* 

When  Jacob  was  come  to  the  king, 
and  saluted  him,  and  wished  all  pros- 
perity to  his  government,  Pharaoh  asked 
him  how  old  he  now  was ;  upon  whose 
answer,  that  he  was  130  years  old,  he  ad- 
mired Jacob  on  account  of  the  great  length 


*  Josephus  thought  that  the  Egyptians  hated  or 
despised  the  employment  of  a  shepherd  in  the 
days  of  Joseph;  whereas  Bishop  Cumberland  has 
shown  that  they  rather  hated  such  Phoenician  or 
Canaanite  shepherds  that  had  long  enslaved  the 
Egyptians  <  f  old  time. 


of  his  life.  And  when  he  had  added, 
that  still  he  had  not  livt'd  so  long  as  hi? 
forefathers,  he  gave  him  leave  to  live  with 
his  children  in  Heliopulis ;  for  in  that 
city  the  king's  shepherds  had  their  pas- 
turage. 

However,  the  famine  increased  among 
the  Egyptians  ;  and  this  heavy  judgment 
grew  more  oppressive  to  them,  because 
neither  did  the  river  overflow  the  ground, 
for  it  did  not  rise  to  its  former  httght,  nor 
did  God  send  rain  upon  it;  nor  did  they 
indeed  make  the  least  provision  for  them- 
selves, so  ignorant  were  they  what  was  to 
be  done ;  but  Joseph  sold  them  corn  for 
their  money.  But  when  their  money 
failed  them,  they  bought  corn  with  their 
cattle  and  their  slaves;  and  if  any  of 
them  had  a  small  piece  of  land,  they  gave 
up  that  to  purchase  them  food,  by  which 
means  the  king  became  the  owner  of  all 
their  substance ;  and  they  were  removed, 
some  to  one  place  and  some  to  another, 
that  so  the  possession  of  their  country 
might  be  firmly  assured  to  the  king,  ex- 
cepting the  lands  of  the  priests ;  for  their 
country  continued  still  in  their  own  posses- 
sion. And  indeed  this  sore  famine  made 
their  minds  as  well  as  their  bodies  slaves  : 
and  at  length  compelled  them  to  procure  a 
sufficiency  of  food  by  such  dishonourable 
means.  But  when  this  misery  ceased,  and 
the  river  overflowed  the  ground,  and  the 
ground  brought  forth  its  fruits  plentifully, 
Joseph  came  to  every  city,  and  gathered 
the  people  thereto  belonging  together,  and 
gave  them  back  entirely  the  land  which, 
by  their  own  consent,  the  king  might  have 
possessed  alone,  and  alone  enjoyed  the 
fruits  of  it.  He  also  exhorted  them  to 
look  on  it  as  every  one's  own  possession, 
and  to  fall  to  their  husbandry  with  cheer- 
fulness; and  to  pay,  as  a  tribute  to  the 
king,  the  fifth  part*  of  the  fruits  for  the 
land  which  the  king,  when  it  was  his  own, 
restored  to  them.  These  men  rejoiced 
upon  their  becoming  unexpectedly  owners 
of  their  lands,  and  diligently  observed 
what  was  enjoined  them;  and  by  this 
means  Joseph  procured  to  himself  a  greater 
authority  among  the  Egyptians,  and  greater 

*  Josephus  supposes  that  Joseph  now  restored 
the  Egyptians  their  lands  again,  upon  the  payment 
of  a  fifth  part  as  tribute.  It  seems  rather  that  the 
land  was  now  considered  as  Pharaoh's  land,  and 
this  fifth  part  as  its  rent,  to  bo  paid  to  him,  as  he 
was  their  landlord,  and  they  his  tenants;  and  that 
the  lands  were  not  properly  restored,  and  this  fifth 
part  reserved  as  tribute  only,  till  the  days  of  Se- 
sostria. 


CHAP    IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


»1 


Jove  to  the  king  from  them.  Now  this 
law,  (hat  they  should  pay  the  fifth  part  of 
their  fruits  as  tribute,  continued  until  their 
later  kings. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Death  of  Jacob  and  of  Joseph.     B.  C.  1689-1635. 

Now  when  Jacob  had  lived  17  years  in 
Egypt,  he  fell  into  a  disease,  and  died  in 
the  presence  of  his  sons  j*  but  not  till  he 
made  his  prayers  for  their  enjoying  pros- 
perity, and  till  he  had  foretold  to  them 
prophetically  how  every  one  of  them  was 
to  dwell  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  But  this 
happened  many  years  afterward.  He  also 
enlarged  upon  the  praises  of  Joseph ;  how 
he  had  not  remembered  the  evil  doings  of 
his  brethren  tc  their  disadvantage;  nay, 
on  the  contrary,  was  kind  to  them,  be- 
stowing upon  them  so  many  benefits,  as 
seldom  are  bestowed  on  men's  own  bene- 
factors. He  then  commanded  his  own 
sons  that  they  should  admit  Joseph's  sons, 
Ephraim  and  Manasses,  into  their  number, 
and  divide  the  land  of  Canaan  in  common 
with  them ;  concerning  whom  we  shall 
treat  hereafter.  However,  he  made  it  his 
request  that  he  might  be  buried  at  Hebron. 
So  he  died,  when  he  had  lived  full  150 
years,  three  only  abated,  having  not  been 
behind  any  of  his  ancestors  in  piety  to- 
ward God,  and  having  such  a  recompense 
for  it  as  it  was  lit  those  should  have  who 
were  so  good  as  these  were.  But  Joseph, 
by  the  king's  permission,  carried  his  fa- 
ther's dead  body  to  Hebron,  and  there 
buried  it,  at  a  great  expense.  Now  his 
brethren  were  at  first  unwilling  to  return 
back  with  him,  because  they  were  afraid 
lest,  now  their  father  was  dead,  he  should 
punish  them  for  their  secret  practices 
against  him ;  since  he  was  now  gone  for 
whose  sake  he  had  been  so  gracious  to 
them.  But  he  persuaded  them  to  fear  no 
harm,  and  to  entertain  no  suspicions  of 
him  :  so  he  brought  them  along  with  him, 
and  gave  them  great  possessions,  and  never 
left  off  his  particular  concern  for  them. 

Joseph  also  died  when  he  had  lived 
110  years  ;f  having  been  a  man  of  admi- 
rable virtue,  and  conducting  all  his  affairs 
by  the  rules  of  reason ;  and  used  his  au- 
thority with  moderation,  which  was  the 
cause  of  his  great  felicity  among  the 
Egyptians,  even  when  he  came  from  an- 


*  Gen.  xlix.  33. 
6 


f  Gen.  1.  26. 


ther  country,  and  that  in  such  ill  circum- 
stances also,  as  we  have  already  described 
At  leugth  his  brethren  died,  after  they 
had  lived  happily  in  Egypt.  Now  the 
posterity  and  sons  of  these  men,  after 
some  time,  carried  their  bodies  and  buried 
them  at  Hebron ;  but  as  to  the  bones  of 
Joseph,  they  carried  them  into  the  land 
of  Canaan  afterward,  when  the  Hebrews 
went  out  of  Egypt,  for  so  had  Joseph 
made  them  promise  him  upon  oath  ;  but 
what  became  of  every  otjc  of  these  men, 
and  by  what  toils  they  got  trie  possession 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  shall  be  shown 
hereafter,  when  I  have  first  explained  upon 
what  account  it  was  that  they  left  Egypt. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Concerning  the  afflictions  that  befell  the  Hebrews 
in  Egypt,  during  400  years.    B.  C.  1635-1571. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  Egyptians 
grew  delicate  and  lazy,  as  to  pains-taking; 
and  gave  themselves  up  to  other  pleasures, 
and  in  particular  to  the  love  of  gain. 
They  also  became  very  ill  affected  toward 
the  Hebrews,  as  touched  with  envy  at 
their  prosperity;  for  when  they  saw  how 
the  nation  of  the  Israelites  flourished,  and 
were  become  eminent  already  in  plenty  of 
wealth,  which  they  had  acquired  by  their 
virtue  and  natural  love  of  labour,  they 
thought  their  increase  was  to  their  own 
detriment;  and  having,  in  length  of  time, 
forgotten  the  benefits  they  had  received 
from  Joseph,  particularly  the  crowu  being 
now  come  into  another  family,  they  be- 
came very  abusive  to  the  Israelites,  and 
contrived  many  ways  of  afflicting  them ; 
for  they  enjoined  them  to  cut  a  great  num- 
ber of  channels  for  the  river,  and  to  build 
walls  for  their  cities  and  ramparts,  that 
they  might  restrain  the  river,  and  hinder  its 
waters  from  stagnating,  upon  its  running 
over  its  own  bank.s  :  they  set  them  also  to 
build  pyramids,*  and  by  all  this  wore  them 
out ;  and  forced  them  to  learn  all  sorts  of 
mechanical  arts,  and  to  accustom  them- 
selves to  hard  labour.  And  400  years 
did  they  spend  under  these  afflictions; 
for  they  strove  one  against  the  other  which 
should  get  the  mastery,  the  Egyptians 
desiring  to  destroy  the  Israelites  by  these 


*  It  is  not  impossible  they  might  build  one  or 
more  of  the  small  ones ;  but  the  large  ones  seem 
much  later.  Only,  if  they  be  all  built  of  stone, 
this  does  not  so  well  agree  with  the  Israelites' 
labours,  which  are  said  to  have  been  in  brick,  and 
not  in  stone,  aa  Mr.  Sandys  observes  in  his  Travels, 
pp.  127,  128. 


82 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    TliE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


labours,  and  the  Israelites  desiring  to  hold 
out  to  the  end  under  them. 

While  the  affairs  of  the  Hebrews  were 
in  this  condition,  there  was  this  occasion 
offered  itself  to  the  Egyptians,  which  made 
tlietn  more  solicitous  for  the  extinction  of 
our  nation.  One  of  those  sacred  scribes, 
who  are  very  sagacious  in  foretelling  fu- 
ture events,  truly  told  the  king,  that  about 
this  time  there  would  a  child  be  born  to 
the  Israelites,  who,  if  he  were  reared, 
would  bring  the  Egyptian  dominiou  low, 
and  would  raise  the  Israelites  ;  that  he 
would  excel  all  men  in  virtue,  and  obtain 
a  glory  that  would  be  remembered  through 
all  ages.  Which  thing  was  so  feared  by 
the  king,  that,  according  to  this  man's 
opinion,  he  commanded  that  they  should 
cast  every  male  child,  which  was  born  to 
the  Israelites,  into  the  river,  and  destroy 
it;  that  besides  this,  the  Egyptian  mid- 
wives*  should  watch  the  labours  of  the 
Hebrew  women,  and  observe  what  is  born, 
for  those  were  the  women  who  were  en- 
joined to  do  the  office  of  mid  wives  to 
them  ;  and  by  reason  of  their  relation  to 
the  king,  would  not  transgress  his  com- 
mands. He  enjoined  also,  that  if  any 
parents  should  disobey  him,  and  venture 
to  save  their  male  children  alive,  they  and 
their  families  should  be  destroyed.  This 
was  a  severe  affliction  indeed  to  those  that 
suffered  it,  not  only  as  they  were  deprived 
of  their  sons,  and,  while  they  were-the 
parents  themselves,  they  were  obliged  to 
be  subservient  to  the  destruction  of  their 
own  children  j  but  as  it  was  to  be  supposed 
to  tend  to  the  extirpation  of  their  nation, 
while  upon  the  destruction  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  their  own  gradual  dissolution, 
the  calamity  would  become  very  hard  and 
inconsolable  to  them  :  and  this  was  the  ill 
state  they  were  in.  But  no  one  can  be  too 
hard  for  the  purpose  of  God,  though  he 
contrive  ten  thousand  subtle  devices  for 
that  end ;  for  this  child,  whom  the  sacred 
scribe  foretold,  was  brought  up  and  con- 
cealed from  the  observers  appointed  by 
the  king;  and  he  that  foretold  him  did 
not   mistake   in   the  consequences   of  his 


■*  Not  Israelites,  as  in  our  other  copies;  which  is 
very  probable,  it  not  being  easy  to  suppose  that 
Pharaoh  could  trust  the  Israelitish  midwives  to 
exocute  so  barbarous  a  command  against  their 
own  nation.  JosephllS  seems  to  have  had  much 
complete!  copies  of  the  Pentateuch,  or  other  au- 
thentic records  now  lost,  about  the  birth  and  actions 
of  Mioses,  than  either  our  Hebrew,  Samaritan,  or 
i;  Bibles  afford  us,  which  enabled  him  to  be  so 
large  aud  particular  abouf  him. 


preservation,  which  were  brought  to  pass 
after  the  manner  following:. 

A  man,  whose  name  was  Amrara,  one 
of  the  nobler  sort  of  the  Hebrews,  was 
afraid  for  his  whole  nation,  lest  it  should 
fail,  by  the  want  of  young  men  to  be 
brought  up  hereafter,  and  was  very  uneasy 
at  it,  his  wife  being  then  with  child,  and 
he  knew  not  what  to  do.  Hereupon  he 
betook  himself  to  prayer  to  God,  and  en- 
treated him  to  have  compassion  on  those 
men  who  had  nowise  transgressed  the  laws 
of  his  worship,  and  to  afford  them  deliver- 
ance from  the  miseries  they  at  that  time 
endured,  and  to  render  abortive  their  ene- 
mies' hopes  of  the  destruction  of  their  na- 
tion. Accordingly  God  had  mercy  on  him, 
and  was  moved  by  his  supplication.  He 
stood  by  him  in  his  sleep,  and  exhorted 
him  not  to  despair  of  his  future  favours. 
He  said  further,  that  he  did  not  forget 
their  piety  toward  him,  and  would  always 
reward  them  for  it,  as  he  had  formerly 
granted  his  favour  to  their  forefathers,  and 
made  them  increase  from  a  few  to  so  great 
a  multitude.  He  put  him  in  mind  that 
when  Abraham  had  come  alone  out  of 
Mesopotamia  into  Canaan,  he  had  been 
made  happy,  not  only  in  other  respects, 
but  that  when  his  wife  was  at  first  barren, 
she  was  afterward  by  him  enabled  to  con- 
ceive seed  and  bear  him  sons.  That  he 
left  to  Ismael  and  to  his  posterity  the 
country  of  Arabia  j  as  also  to  his  sons  by 
Keturah,  Troglodytis;  and  to  Isaac  Ca- 
naan. That  by  my  assistance,  said  he,  he 
did  great  exploits  in  war,  which,  unless 
you  be  yourselves  impious,  you  must  still 
remember.  As  for  Jacob,  he  became  well 
known  to  strangers  also,  by  the  greatness 
of  that  prosperity  in  which  he  lived,  and 
left  to  his  sons,  who  came  into  Egypt  with 
no  more  than  70  souls,  while  you  are  now 
become  above  600,000.  Know,  therefore, 
that  I  shall  provide  for  you  all  in  common 
what  is  for  your  good,  and  particularly 
for  thyself  what  shall  make  thee  famous ; 
for  that  child,  out  of  dread  of  whose  na- 
tivity the  Egyptians  have  doomed  the 
Israelite  children  to  destruction,  shall  be 
this  child  of  thine,  and  shall  be  concealed 
from  those  who  watch  to  destroy  him : 
and  when  he  is  brought  up  in  a  surprising 
way,  he  shall  deliver  the  Hebrew  nation 
from  the  distress  they  are  under  from  the 
Egyptians.  His  memory  shall  be  famous 
while  the  world  lasts;  and  this  not  only 
among  the  Hebrews,  but  foreigners  also : 
all  which  shall  be  the  effect  of  my  favoul 


Chap    IX.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


83 


to  thee,  and  to  thy  posterity  He  shall 
also  have  such  a  brother,  that  he  shall 
obtain  himself  my  priesthood,  and  his 
posterity  shall  have  it  after  him  to  the 
end  of  the  world. 

When  the  vision  had  informed  him  of 
these  things,  Amram  awaked  and  told  it 
to  Jochebed,  who  was  his  wife.  And  now 
the  fear  increased  upon  them  on  account 
of  the  prediction  in  Amram's  dream  ;  for 
they  were  under  concern,  not  only  for  the 
3hild,  but  on  account  of  the  great  happi- 
ness that  was  to  come  to  him  also.  How- 
ever, the  mother's  labour  was  such  as 
afforded  a  confirmation  of  what  was  fore- 
told by  God;  for  it  was  not  known  to 
those  that  watched  her,  by  the  easiness  of 
her  pains,  and  because  the  throes  of  her 
delivery  did  not  fall  upon  her  with  vio- 
lence. And  now  they  nourished  the  child 
at  home  privately  for  three  months ;  but 
after  that  time  Amram,  fearing  he  should 
be  discovered,  and,  by  falling  under  the 
king's  displeasure,  both  he  and  his  child 
should  perish,  and  so  he  should  make  the 
promise  of  God  of  none  effect,  he  deter- 
mined rather  to  intrust  the  safety  and 
care  of  the  child  to  God,  than  to  depend 
on  his  own  concealment  of  him,  which  he 
looked  upon  as  a  thing  uncertain,  and 
whereby  both  the  child,  so  privately  to  be 
nourished,  and  himself,  should  be  in  im- 
minent danger  ;  but  he  believed  that  God 
would  someway  for  certain  procure  the 
safety  of  the  child,  in  order  to  secure  the 
truth  of  his  own  predictions.  When  they 
had  thus  determined,  they  made  an  ark  of 
bulrushes,  after  the  manner  of  a  cradle, 
and  of  a  bigness  sufficient  for  an  infant  to 
be  laid  in,  without  being  too  straitened : 
they  then  daubed  it  over  with  slime,  which 
would  naturally  keep  out  the  water  from 
entering  between  the  bulrushes,  and  put 
the  infant  into  it,  and  setting  it  afloat 
upon  the  river,  they  left  its  preservation 
to  God :  so  the  river  received  the  child, 
and  carried  him  along.  But  Miriam,  the 
child's  sister,  passed  along  upon  the  bank 
over  against  him,  as  her  mother  had  bade 
her,  to  see  whither  the  ark  would  be  car- 
ried ;  where  God  demonstrated  that  human 
wisdom  was  nothing,  but  that  the  Supreme 
Being  is  able  to  do  whatsoever  he  pleases  : 
that  those  who,  in  order  to  their  own  se- 
curity, condemn  others  to  destruction,  and 
use  great  endeavours  about  it,  fail  of  their 
purpose ;  but  that  others  are  in  a  surpris- 
ing mamer  preserved,  and  obtain  a  pros- 
perous   condition    almost   from  the  very 


midst  of  their  calamities ;  those,  I  mean, 
whose  dangers  arise  by  the  appointment 
[permission]  of  God.  And,  indeed,  such 
a  providence  was  exercised  in  the  case  of 
this  child,  as  showed  the  power  of  God. 

Thermuthis  was  the  king's  daughter. 
She  was  now  diverting  herself  by  the 
banks  of  the  ri,ver;  and  seeing  a  cradle 
borne  along  by  the  current,  she  sent  some 
that  could  swim,  and  bade  them  bring  the 
cradle  to  her.  When  those  that  were 
sent  on  this  errand  came  to  her  with  the 
cradle,  and  she  saw  the  little  child,  she 
was  greatly  in  love  with  it,  on  account  of 
its  largeness  and  beauty;  for  God  had 
taken  such  care  in  the  formation  of  Moses, 
that  he  caused  him  to  be  thought  worthy 
of  bringing  up,  and  providing  for,  by  all 
those  that  had  taken  the  most  fatal  reso- 
lutions, on  account  of  the  dread  of  his 
nativity,  for  the  destruction  of  the  rest 
of  the  Hebrew  nation.  Thermuthis  bade 
them  bring  her  a  woman  that  might  afford 
her  breast  to  the  child ;  yet  would  not  the 
child  admit  of  her  breast,  but  turned 
away  from  it,  and  did  the  like  to  many 
other  women.  Now  Miriam  was  by  when 
this  happened,  not  appearing  to  be  there 
on  purpose,  but  only  as  staying  to  see  the 
child;  and  she  said,  "It  is  in  vain  that 
thou,  O  queen,  callest  for  these  women 
for  the  nourishing  of  the  child,  who  are 
no  way  of  kin  to  it;  but  still,  if  thou 
wilt  order  one  of  the  Hebrew  women  to 
be  brought,  perhaps  it  may  admit  the 
breast  of  one  of  its  own  nation."  Now 
since  she  seemed  to  speak  well,  Thermu- 
this bade  her  procure  such  an  one,  and  to 
bring  one  of  those  Hebrew  women  that 
gave  suck.  So  when  she  had  such  au- 
thority given  her,  she  came  back  and 
brought  the  mother,  who  was  known  to 
nobody  there.  And  now  the  child  gladly 
admitted  the  breast,  and  seemed  to  stick 
close  to  it;  and  so  it  was,  that,  at  the 
queen's  desire,  the  nursing  of  the  child 
was  entirely  intrusted  to  the  mother. 

Hereupon  Thermuthis  imposed  the 
name  of  Mouses  [Moses]  upon  him, 
from  what  had  happened  when  he  was 
put  into  the  river;  for  the  Egyptians  call 
water  by  the  name  of  Mo,  and  sueh  as 
are  saved  out  of  it,  by  the  name  of  Uses ; 
so,  by  putting  these  two  words  together, 
they  imposed  this  name  upon  him;  and 
he  was,  by  the  confession  of  all,  according 
to  God's  prediction,  as  well  for  his  great- 
ness of  mind  as  for  his  contempt  of  diffi- 
culties, the  best  of  all  the  Hebrews ;  foi 


84 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


TBoor  II. 


Abraham  wa ;  his  ancestor,  of  the  seventh 
generation.  For  Moses  was  the  son  of 
Amram,  who  was  the  son  of  Caath,  whose 
father,  Levi,  was  the  sou  of  Jacob,  who 
was  the  son  of  Isaac,  who  was  the  son  of 
Abraham.  Now  Moses's  understanding 
became  superior  to  his  age,  nay,  far  be- 
yond that  standard ;  and*  when  he  was 
taught,  he  discovered  greater  quickness 
of  apprehension  than  was  usual  at  his 
age;  and  his  actions  at  that  time  promised 
greater,  when  he  should  come  to  the  age 
of  a  man.  God  did  also  give  him  that 
tallness,  when  he  was  but  three  years  old, 
as  was  wonderful ;  and  as  for  his  beauty, 
there  was  nobody  so  unpolite  as,  when 
they  saw  Moses,  they  were  not  greatly 
surprised  at  the  beauty  of  his  countenance  : 
nay,  it  happened  frequently,  that  those 
that  met  him  as  he  was  carried  along  the 
road,  were  obliged  to  turn  again  upon  see- 
ing the  child,  that  they  left  what  they 
were  about,  and  stood  still  a  great  while 
to  look  on  him ;  for  the  beauty  of  the 
child  was  so  remarkable  and  natural  to 
him  on  many  accounts,  that  it  detained 
the  spectators,  and  made  them  stay  longer 
to  look  upon  him. 

Thermuthis,  therefore,  perceiving  him 
to  be  so  remarkable  a  child,  adopted  him 
for  her  son,  having  no  child  of  her  own. 
And  when  one  time  she  had  carried 
Moses  to  her  father,  she  showed  him  to 
him,  and  said  she  thought  to  make  him 
her  father's  successor,  if  it  should  please 
God  she  should  have  no  legitimate  child 
of  her  own;  and  said  to  him,  "I  have 
brought  up  a  child  who  is  of  a  divine 
form,*  and  of  a  generous  mind;  and  as 
I  have  received  him  from  the  bounty  of 
the  river,  in  a  wonderful  manner,  I  thought 
proper  to  adopt  him  for  my  son,  and  the 
heir  of  thy  kingdom."  And  when  she 
had  said  this,  she  put  the  infant  into  her 
father's  hands:  so  he  took  him,  and 
hugged  him  close  to  his  breast;  and  on 
tiis  daughter's  account,  in  a  pleasant  way, 
ptit  the  diadem  upon  his  head;  but  Moses 
threw  it  down  to  the  ground,  and,  in  a 
^uenJc  mood,  wreathed  it  round,  and  trod 
UfM>u  it  with  his  feet;  which  seemed  to 
brin*  aJobg  with  it  an  evil  presage  con- 
cerning tbc  kingdom  of  Egypt.  But 
when  the  aacrcd  scribe  saw  this,  (he  was 


*  What  1oticp]3Ue.  here  Fays  of  the  beauty  of 
Moses,  that  be  wa*  *-•>  a  divine  form,  is  very  like 
what  St.  Stephen  cayi  >f  the  same  beauty:  that 
Moses  was  be<jutiiui  in  the  sight,  of  (Jod.  Acts 
vii.  20. 


the  same  person  who  foretold  that  his 
nativity  would  bring  the  dominion  of  that 
kingdom  low,)  he  made  a  violent  attempt  to 
kill  him;  and  crying  out  in  a  frightful 
manner,  said,  "This  child,  0  king  !  is  he 
of  whom  [the  Gods]  foretold,  that  if  we 
kill  him  we  shall  be  in  no  danger;  he 
himself  affords  an  attestation  to  the  pre- 
diction of  the  same  thing,  by  his  tramp- 
ling upon  thy  government,  and  treading 
upon  thy  diadem.  Take  him,  therefore, 
out  of  the  way,  and  deliver  the  Egyptians 
from  the  fear  they  are  in  about  him;  and 
deprive  the  Hebrews  of  the  hope  they 
have  of  being  encouraged  by  him."  But 
Thermuthis  prevented  him,  and  snatched 
the  child  away.  And  the  king  was  not 
hasty  to  slay  him,  God  himself,  whose 
providence  protected  Moses,  inclining  the 
king  to  spare  him.  He  was,  therefore, 
educated  with  great  care.  So  the  He- 
brews depended  on  him,  and  were  of  good 
hopes  that  great  things  would  be  done  by 
him;  but  the  Egyptians  were  suspicious 
of  what  would  follow  his  education.  Yet 
because,  if  Moses  had  been  slain,  there 
was  no  one,  either  akin  or  adopted,  that 
had  any  oracle  on  his  side  for  pretending 
to  the  crown  of  Egypt,  and  likely  to  be 
of  greater  advantage  to  them,  they  ab- 
stained from  killing  him. 


CHAPTER  X. 

War  with  the  Ethiopians.* 

Moses,  therefore,  when  he  was  born, 
and  brought  up  in  the  foregoing  manner, 
and  came  to  the  age  of  maturity,  made 
his  virtue  manifest  to  the  Egyptians  ;  and 
showed  that  he  was  born  for  the  bringing 
them  down,  and  raising  the  Israelites; 
and  the  occasion  he  laid  hold  of  was  this  : 
The  Ethiopians,  who  are  next  neighbours 
to  the  Egyptians,  made  an  inroad  into 
their  country,  which  they  seized  upon, 
and  carried  off  the  effects  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, who,  in  their  rage,  fought  against 
them,  and  revenged  the  affronts  they  had 
received  from  them ;  but,  being  overcome 
in  battle,  some  of  them  were  slain,  and 
the  rest  ran  away  in  a  shameful  manner, 
and  by  that  means  saved  themselves; 
whereupon  the  Ethiopians  followed  after 
them  in  the  pursuit,  and  thinking  that  it 

*  This  history  of  Moses,  as  general  of  the  Egyp- 
tians against  the  Ethiopians,  is  wholly  omitted  il 
our  Bibles ;  but  is  found  in  Irenasus. 


Chap.  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


85 


would  be  a  mark  of  cowardice  if  they  did 
not  subdue  ail  Egypt,  they  went  on  to 
subdue  the  rest  with  greater  vehemence ; 
and  wh  m  they  had  tasted  the  sweets  of 
the  country,  they  never  left  off  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war;  and  as  the  nearest 
parts  had  not  courage  enough  at  first  to 
fight  with  them,  they  proceeded  as  far  as 
Memphis,  and  the  sea  itself;  while  not  one 
of  the  cities  was  able  to  oppose  them. 
The  Egyptians,  under  this  sad  oppression, 
betook  themselves  to  their  oracles  and 
prophecies;  and  when  God  had  given 
them  this  counsel,  to  make  use  of  Moses 
the  Hebrew,  and  take  his  assistance,  the 
king  commanded  his  daughter  to  produce 
him,  that  he  might  be  the  general  of  their 
army.  Upon  which,  when  she  had  made 
him  swear  he  would  do  him  no  harm,  she 
delivered  him  to  the  king,  and  supposed 
his  assistance  would  be  of  great  advan- 
tage to  them.  She  withal  reproached  the 
priests,  who,  when  they  had  before  ad- 
monished the  Egyptians  to  kill  him,  were 
not  ashamed  now  to  own  their  want  of 
his  help. 

So  Moses,  at  the  persuasion  both  of 
Thermuihis  and  the  king  himself,  cheer- 
fully undertook  the  business :  and  the 
sacred  scribes  of  both  nations  were  glad; 
those  of  the  Egyptians,  that  they  should 
at  once  overcome  their  enemies  by  his 
valour,  and  that  by  the  same  piece  of 
management  Moses  would  be  slain;  but 
those  of  the  Hebrews,  that  they  should 
escape  from  the  Egyptians,  because  Moses 
was  to  be  their  general;  but  Moses  pre- 
vented the  enemies,  and  took  and  led  his 
army  before  those  enemies  were  apprized 
of  his  attacking  them ;  for  he  did  not 
march  by  the  river,  but  by  land,  where 
he  gave  a  wonderful  demonstration  of  his 
sagacity ;  for  when  the  ground  was  diffi- 
cult to  be  passed  over,  because  of  the 
multitude  of  serpents,  (which  it  produces 
in  vast  numbers,  and  indeed  is  singular 
in  some  of  those  productions,  which  other 
countries  do  not  breed,  and  yet  such  as 
are  worse  than  others,  in  power  and  mis- 
chief, and  an  unusual  fierceness  of  sight, 
some  of  which  ascend  out  of  the  ground 
unseen,  and  also  fly  in  the  air,  and  so 
come  upon  men  at  unawares,  and  do  them 
a  mischief,)  Moses  invented  a  wonderful 
stratagem  to  preserve  the  army  safe,  aud 
without  hurt;  for  he  made  baskets,  like 
unto  arks,  of  sedge,  and  filled  them  with 
ibes,  and  carried  them  along  with  them; 
which  animal    is   the    greatest  enemy  to 


serpents  imaginable,  for  they  fly  from  them 
when  they  come  near  them;  and  as  they 
fly  they  are  caught  and  devoured  by  them, 
as  if  it  were  done  by  the  harts;  but  the 
ibes  are  tame  creatures,  and  only  enemies 
to  the  serpentine  kind:  but  about  these 
ibes  I  say  no  more  at  present,  since  the 
Greeks  themselves  are  not  acquainted  with 
this  sort  of  bird.*  As  soon,  therefore,  aa 
Moses  had  come  to  the  land  which  was 
the  breeder  of  these  serpents,  he  let  loose 
the  ibes,  and  by  their  means  repelled  the 
serpentine  kind,  and  used  them  for  his  as- 
sistants before  the  army  came  upon  that 
ground.  When  he  had  therefore  proceed- 
ed thus  on  his  journey,  he  came  upon  the 
Ethiopians  before  they  had  expected  him ; 
and,  joining  battle  with  them,  he  beat 
them,  and  deprived  them  of  the  hopes 
they  had  of  success  against  the  Egyptians, 
and  went  on  in  overthrowing  their  cities, 
and  indeed  made  a  great  slaughter  of  these 
Ethiopians.  Now  when  the  Egyptian 
army  had  once  tasted  of  this  prosperous 
success,  by  the  means  of  Moses,  they  did 
not  slacken  their  diligence,  insomuch  that 
the  Ethiopians  were  in  danger  of  being 
reduced  to  slavery,  and  all  sorts  of  de- 
struction; and  at  length  they  retired  to 
Saba,  which  was  a  royal  city  of  Ethiopia, 
which  Cambyses  afterward  named  Meroe, 
after  the  name  of  his  own  sister.  The 
place  was  to  be  besieged  with  very  great 
difficulty,  since  it  was  both  encompassed' 
by  the  Nile  quite  round,  and  the  other 
rivers,  Astapus  and  Astaboras,  made  it  a 
very  difficult  thing  for  such  as  attempted 
to  pass  over  them ;  for  the  city  was  situate 
in  a  retired  place,  and  was  inhabited  after 
the  manner  of  an  island,  being  encom- 
passed with  a  strong  wall,  and  having  the' 
rivers  to  guard  them  from  their  enemies, 
and  having  great  ramparts  between  the 
wall  and  the  rivers,  insomuch,  that  when, 
the  waters  come  with  the  greatest  violence 
it  can  never  be  drowned;  which  ramparts 
make  it  next  to  impossible  for  even  such 
as  are  gotten  over  the  rivers  to  take  the 
city.  However,  while  Moses  was  uneasy 
at  the  army's  lying  idle,  (for  the  enemies 
durst  not  come  to  a  battle,)  this  incident 
happened ; — Tharbis  was  the  daughter  of 
the  king  of  the  Ethiopians;  she  happened 
to  see  Moses  as  he  led  the  army  near  the 
walls,  and  fought  with  great  courage;  and 


*  Pliny  speaks  of  these  birds  called  ibes,  and 
says,  "The  Egyptians  invoked  them  again  )t  tb» 
serpents." 


86 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  il 


adm  ring  the  subtilty  of  his  undertakings, 
and  believing  him  to  be  the  author  of  the 
Egyptians'  success,  when  they  had  before 
despaired  of  recovering  their  liberty,  and 
to  be  the  occasion  of  the  great  danger  the 
Ethiopians  were  in,  when  they  had  before 
boasted  of  their  great  achievements,  she 
fell  deeply  in  love  with  him;  and  upon 
the  prevalcncy  of  that  passion,  sent  to 
him  the  most  faithful  of  all  her  servants 
to  discourse  with  him  about  their  mar- 
riage. '  He  thereupon  accepted  the  offer, 
on  condition  she  would  procure  the  de- 
livering up  of  the  city;  and  gave  her  the 
assurance  of  an  oath  to  take  her  to  his 
wife ;  and  that  when  he  had  once  taken 
possession  of  the  city,  he  would  not  break 
his  oath  to  her.  No  sooner  was  the  agree- 
ment made,  but  it  took  effect  immediately; 
and  when  Moses  had  cfct  off  the  Ethio- 
pians, he  gave  thanks  to  (rod,  and  con- 
summated his  marriage,  and  led  the 
Egyptians  back  to  their  own  land. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Egyptians  seek  the  life  of  Moses,  who  flies 
into  Midian. 

Now  the  Egyptians,  after  they  had 
been  preserved  by  Moses,  entertained  a 
hatred  to  him,  and  were  very  eager  in 
compassing  their  designs  against  him,  as 
suspecting  that  he  would  take  occasion, 
from  his  good  success,  to  raise  a  sedition, 
and  bring  innovations  into  Egypt ;  and 
told  the  king  he  ought  to  be  slain.  The 
king  had  also  some  intentions  of  himself 
to  the  same  purpose,  and  this  as  well  out 
of  envy  at  his  glorious  expedition  at  the 
head  of  his  army,  as  out  of  fear  of  being 
brought  low  by  him;  and  being  insti- 
gated by  the  sacred  scribes,  he  was  ready 
to  undertake  to  kill  Moses ;  but  when  he 
had  learned  beforehand  what  plots  there 
were  against  him,  he  went  away  pri- 
vately :  and  because  the  public  roads  were 
watched,  he  took  his  flight  through  the 
deserts,  and  where  his  enemies  could  not 
suspect  he  would  travel ;  and,  though  he 
was  destitute  of  food,  he  went  on,  and 
despised  that  difficulty  courageously  ;  and 
when  he  came  to  the  city  of  Midian, 
which  lay  upon  the  Red  Sea,  and  was  so 
denominated  from  one  of  Abraham's  sons 
by  Keturah,  he  sat  upon  a  certain  well, 
and  rested  himself  there  after  his  labo- 
rious journey,  and  the  affliction  he  had 
been  in.  It  was  not  far  from  the  city, 
and  the  time  of  the  day  was  noon,  where 


he  had  an  occasion  offered  him  by  the 
custom  of  the  country  of  doing  what  re- 
commended his  virtue,  and  afforded  him 
an  opportunity  of  bettering  his  circum- 
stances. 

For  that  country  having  but  little  water, 
the  shepherds  used  to  seize  on  the  wells 
before  others  came,  lest  their  flocks  should 
want  water,  and  lest  it  should  be  spent 
by  others  before  they  came.  There  were 
now  come,  therefore,  to  this  well,  seven 
sisters,  that  were  virgins,  the  daughters 
of  Raguel,  a  priest,  and  one  thought  wor- 
thy by  the  people  of  the  country  of  great 
honour.  These  virgins,  who  took  care  of 
their  father's  flocks,  which  sort  of  work 
it  was  customary  and  very  familiar  for 
women  to  do  in  the  country  of  the  Tro- 
glodytes, came  first  of  all,  and  drew  water 
out  of  the  well  in  a  quantity  sufficient  for 
their  flocks,  into  troughs,  which  were 
made  for  the  reception  of  that  water ; 
but  when  the  shepherds  came  upon  the 
maidens,  and  drove  them  away,  that  they 
might  have  the  command  of  the  water 
themselves,  Moses,  thinking  it  would  be  a 
terrible  reproach  upon  him  if  he  over- 
looked the  young  women  under  unjust 
oppression,  and  should  suffer  the  violence 
of  the  men  to  prevail  over  the  right  of 
the  maidens,  he  drove  away  the  men, 
who  had  a  mind  to  more  than  their  share, 
and  afforded  a  proper  assistance  to  the 
women ;  who,  when  they  had  received 
such  a  benefit  from  him,  came  to  their 
father,  and  told  him  how  they  had  been 
affronted  by  the  shepherds,  and  assisted 
by  a  stranger,  and  entreated  that  he 
would  not  let  this  generous  action  be 
done  in  vain,  nor  go  without  a  reward. 
Now  the  father  took  it  well  from  his 
daughters  that  they  were  so  desirous  to 
reward  their  benefactor ;  and  bade  them 
bring  Moses  into  his  presence,  that  he 
might  be  rewarded  as  he  deserved ;  and 
when  Moses  came,  he  told  him  what  tes- 
timony his  daughters  bare  to  him,  that 
he  had  assisted  them ;  and  that,  as  he  ad- 
mired him  for  his  virtue,  he  said  that 
Moses  had  bestowjed  such  his  assistance 
on  persons  not  insensible  of  benefits,  but 
where  they  were  both  able  and  willing  to 
return  the  kindness,  and  even  to  exceed 
the  measure  of  his  generosity.  So  he 
made  him  his  son,  and  gave  him  one  of 
his  daughters  in  marriage  j  and  appointed 
him  to  be  the  guardian  and  superintendent 
over  his  cattle ;  foivof  old,  all  the  wealth 
of  the  barbarians  was  in  those  cattle. 


LTHAP.   XII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


87 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  burning  bush,  and  the  rod  of  Moses.     Exod. 
iii.  2.     B.  C.  1491. 

Now  Moses,  when  he  had  obtained  the 
favour  of  Jethro,  for  that  was  one  of  the 
names  of  Raguel,  stayed  there  and  fed 
his  flock ;  but  some  time  afterward,  tak- 
ing his  station  at  the  mountain  called 
Sinai,  he  drove  his  flocks  thither  to  feed 
them.  Now  this  is  the  highest  of  all  the 
mountains  thereabout,  and  the  best  for 
pasturage,  the  herbage  being  there  good  ; 
and  it  had  not  before  been  fed  upon,  be- 
cause of  the  opinion  men  had  that  God 
dwelt  there,  the  shepherds  not  daring  to 
ascend  up  to  it ;  and  here  it  was  that  a 
wonderful  prodigy  happened  to  Moses; 
for  a  fire  fed  upon  a  thorn-bush,  yet  did 
the  green  leaves  and  the  flowers  continue 
untouched,  and  the  fire  did  not  at  all 
consume  the  fruit-branches,  although  the 
flame  was  great  and  fierce.  Moses  was 
affrighted  at  this  strange  sight,  as  it  was 
to  him ;  but  he  was  still  more  astonished 
when  the  fire  uttered  a  voice,  and  called 
to  him  by  name,  and  spake  words  to 
him,  by  which  it  signified  how  bold  he 
had  been  in  venturing  to  come  into  a 
place  whither  no  man  had  ever  come  be- 
fore, because  the  place  was  divine ;  and 
advised  him  to  remove  a  great  way  off 
from  the  flame,  and  to  be  contented  with 
what  he  had  seen;  and  though  he  were 
himself  a  good  man,  and  the  offspring  of 
great  men,  yet  that  he  should  not  pry 
any  further :  and  he  foretold  to  him,  that 
he  should  have  glory  and  honour  among 
men,  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  him. 
He  also  commanded  him  to  go  away 
thence  with  confidence  to  Egypt,  in  order 
to  his  being  the  commander  and  conduc- 
tor of  the  body  of  the  Hebrews,  and  to 
his  delivering  his  own  people  from  the 
injuries  they  suffered  there :  "  For,"  said 
God,  "  they  shall  inhabit  this  happy  land 
which  your  forefather  Abraham  inhabited, 
and  shall  have  the  enjoyment  of  all  sorts 
of  good  things  j  and  thou,  by  thy  pru- 
dence, shalt  guide  them  to  those  good 
things. "  But  still  he  enjoined  him,  when 
he  had  brought  the  Hebrews  out  of  the 
laud  of  Egypt,  to  come  to  that  place,  and 
to  offer  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving  there. 
Such  were  the  divine  oracles  which  were 
delivered  out  of  the  fire. 

But.  Moses  was  astonished  at  what  he 
3aw,  and  much  more  at  what  he  heard ; 
and  hs  said,  "  I  think  it  would  be  an  in- 


stance of  too  great  madness,  0  Lord,  for 
one  of  that  regard  I  bear  to  thee,  to  dis- 
trust thy  power,  since  I  myself  adore  it, 
and  know  that  it  has  been  made  manifest 
to  my  progenitors ;  but  I  am  still  in 
doubt,  how  I,  who  am  but  a  private  man, 
and  one  of  no  abilities,  should  either 
persuade  my  own  countrymen  to  leave 
the  country  they  now  inhabit,  and  to 
follow  me  to  a  land  whither  I  lead  them  ; 
or,  if  they  should  be  persuaded,  how  can 
I  force  Pharaoh  to  permit  them  to  de- 
part, since  they  augment  their  own  wealth 
and  prosperity  by  the  .labours  and  works 
they  put  upon  them  ?" 

But  God  persuaded  him  to  be  coura- 
geous on  all  occasions,  and  promised  to 
be  with  him,  and  to  assist  him  in  his 
words,  when  he  was  to  persuade  men  ; 
and  in  his  deeds,  when  he  was  to  perform 
wonders.  He  bade  him  also  to  take  a 
signal  of  the  truth  of  what  he  said,  by 
throwing  his  rod  upon  the  ground  ;  which 
when  he  had  done,  it  crept  along,  and 
was  become  a  serpent,  and  rolled  itself 
round  in  its  folds,  and  erected  its  head,  as 
ready  to  avenge  itself  on  such  as  should  as- 
sault it;  after  which  it  became  a  rod  again 
as  before.  After  this  God  bade  Moses  to 
put  his  right  hand  into  his  bosom  :  he 
obeyed,  and  when  he  took  it  out  it  was 
white,  and  in  colour  like  to  chalk,  but 
afterward  it  returned  to  its  wonted  colour 
again.  He  also,  upon  God's  command, 
took  some  of  the  water  that  was  near 
him,  and  poured  it  upon  the  ground,  and 
saw  the  colour  was  that  of  blood.  Upon 
the  wonder  that  Moses  showed  at  these 
signs,  God  exhorted  him  to  be  of  good 
courage  and  to  be  assured  that  he  would 
be  the  greatest  support  to  him ;  and  bade 
him  make  use  of  those  signs,  in  order  to 
obtain  belief  among  all  men,  "  that  thou 
art  sent  by  me,  aud  doest  all  things  ac- 
cording to  my  commands.  Accordingly 
I  enjoin  thee  to  make  no  more  delays, 
but  to  make  haste  to  Egypt,  and  to  travel 
'night  and  day,  and  not  to  draw  out  the 
time,  aud  so  make  the  slavery  of  the 
Hebrews  and  their  sufferings  to  last  the 
longer. " 

Moses  having  now  seen  and  heard  these 
wonders  that  assured  him  of  the  truth  of 
these  promises  of  God,  had  no  room  left 
him  to  disbelieve  them  :  he  entreated 
him  to  grant  him  that  power  when  he 
should  be  in  Egypt;  and  besought  God 
to  vouchsafe  him  the  knowledge  of  his 
own  name ;   and,  since  he  hal  heard  and 


88 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  H 


seen  him,  that  he  would  also  tell  him  his 
name,  that  when  he  offered  sacrifice  he 
might  invoke  him  by  such  his  name  in 
his  oblations.  Whereupon  God  declared 
to  him  his  holy  name,  which  had  never 
been  discovered  to  men  before;  concern- 
ing which  it  is  not  lawful  for  me  to  say 
any  more.  Now  these  signs  accompanied 
Moses,  not  then  only,  but  always  when  he 
prayed  for  them  :  of  all  which  signs  he 
attributed  the  firmest  assent  to  the  fire  in 
the  bush ;  and  believing  that  God  would 
be  a  gracious  supporter  to  him,  he  hoped 
he  should  be  able  to  deliver  his  own  na- 
tion, and  bring  calamities  on  the  Egyp- 
tians. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Moses  returns  into  Egypt.     Exod.  iv.    B.  C.  1491. 

So  Moses,  when  he  understood  that  the 
Pharaoh,  in  whose  reign  he  fled  away, 
was  dead,  he  asked  leave  of  Raguel  to  go 
to  Egypt,  for  the  benefit  of  his  own 
people  :  and  he  took  with  him  Zipporah, 
the  daughter  of  Raguel,  whom  he  had 
married,  and  the  children  he  had  by  her, 
Gersom  and  Eleazer,  and  made  haste  into 
Egypt.  Now  the  former  of  those  names, 
Gersom,  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  signifies 
"  that  he  was  in  a  strange  land  ;"  and 
Eleazer,  that,  "  by  the  assistance  of  the 
God  of  his  fathers,  he  had  escaped  from 
the  Egyptians."  Now  when  they  were 
near  the  borders,  Aaron  his  brother*  by 
the  command  of  God,  met  him,  to  whom 
he  declared  what  had  befallen  him  at  the 
mountain,  and  the  commands  that  God 
had  given  him.  But  as  they  were  going 
forward,  the  chief  men  among  the  He- 
brews, having  learned  that  they  were 
coming,  met  them  ;  to  whom  Moses  de- 
clared the  signs  he  had  seen;  and  while 
they  could  not  believe  them,,  he  made 
them  see  them.  So  they  took  courage  at 
these  surprising  and  unexpected  sights, 
and  hoped  well  of  their  entire  deliverance, 
as  believing  now  that  God  took  care  of 
their  preservation. 

Since  then  Moses  found  that  the  He- 
brews would  be  obedient  to  whatsoever 
he  should  direct,  as  they  promised  to  be, 
and  were  in  love  with  liberty,  he  came  to 
the  king,  who  had  indeed  but  lately  re- 
ceived the  government,  and  told  him  how 
much  he  had  done  for  the  good  of  the 
Egyptians,  when  they  were  despised  by 
ike  Ethiopians,  aud  their  country  laid 
yteaie  by   the*in ;    and  how  he  had  been 


the  commander  of  their  forces,  and  had 
laboured  for  them,  as  if  they  had  been 
his  own  people ;  and  he  informed  him  in 
what  danger  he  had  been  during  that  ex- 
pedition, without  having  any  proper  re- 
turns made  him  as  he  had  deserved.  He 
also  informed  him  distinctly  what  things 
happened  to  him  at  Mount  Sinai ;  and 
what  God  said  to  him  :  and  the  signs 
that  were  done  by  God,  in  order  to  assure 
him  of  the  authority  of  those  commands 
which  he  had  given  him.  He  also  ex- 
horted him  not  to  disbelieve  what  he 
told  him,  nor  to  oppose  the  will  of  God. 

But  when  the  king  derided  Moses,  he 
made  him  in  earnest  see  the  signs  that 
were  done  at  Mount  Sinai.  Yet  was  the 
king  very  angry  with  him,  and  called  him 
an  ill  man,  who  had  formerly  run  away 
from  his  Egyptian  slavery,  and  came  now 
back  with  deceitful  tricks,  and  wonders 
and  magical  arts,  to  astonish  him.  And 
when  he  had  said  this,  he  commanded  the 
priests  to  let  him  see  the  same  wonderful 
sights;  as  knowing  that  the  Egyptians 
were  skilful  in  this  kind  of  learning,  and 
that  he  was  not  the  only  person  who  knew 
them,  and  pretended  them  to  be  divine; 
as  also  he  told  him,  that  when  he  brought 
such  wonderful  sights  before  him,  he 
would  only  be  believed  by  the  unlearned. 
Now  when  the  priests  threw  down  their 
rods,  they  became  serpents.  But  Moses 
was  not  daunted  at  it ;  and  said,  "  0  king, 
I  do  not  myself  despise  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians,  but  I  say  that  what  I  do  is  so 
much  superior  to  what  these  do  by  magic 
arts  and  tricks,  as  Divine  power  exceeds 
the  power  of  man  :  but  I  will  demonstrate 
that  what  I  do  is  not  done  by  craft,  or 
counterfeiting  what  is  not  really  true,  but 
that  they  appear  by  the  providence  and 
power  of  God."  And  when  he  had  said 
this,  he  cast  his  rod  down  upon  the  ground, 
and  commanded  it  to  turn  itself  into  a 
serpent.  It  obeyed  him,  and  went  all 
round,  and  devoured  the  rods  of  the 
Egyptians,  which  seemed  to  be  dragons, 
until  it  had  consumed  them  all.  It  then 
returned  to  its  own  form,  and  Moses  took 
it  into  his  hand  again. 

However,  the  king  was  no  more  moved 
when  this  was  done  than  before;  and 
being  very  angry,  he  said  that  he  should 
gain  nothing  by  his  cunning  and  shrewd- 
ness against  the  Egyptians;  and  he  com- 
manded him  that  was  the  chief  task- 
master over  the  Hebrews,  to  give  them 
no  relaxation  from  their  labours,  but  to 


Chap.  X.V.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


89 


compel  them  to  submit  to  greater  op- 
pressions than  before;  and  though  he 
allowed  them  chaff  before  for  making 
their  bricks,  he  would  allow  it  them  no 
longer;  but  he  made  them  to  work  hard 
at  brickmaking  in  the  daytime,  and  to 
gather  chaff  in  the  night.  Now  when 
their  labour  was  thus  doubled  upon  them, 
they  laid  the  blame  upon  Moses,  because 
their  labour  and  their  misery  had  on  his 
account  become  more  severe  to  them ;  but 
Moses  did  not  let  his  courage  sink  for  the 
king's  threatenings;  nor  did  he  abate  of 
his  zeal  on  account  of  the  Hebrews'  com- 
plaints, but  he  supported  himself,  and  set 
his  soul  resolutely  against  them  both,  and 
used  his  own  utmost  diligence  to  procure 
liberty  to  his  countrymen.  So  he  went 
to  the  king,  and  persuaded  him  to  let  the 
Hebrews  go  to  Mount  Sinai,  and  there 
to  sacrifice  to  God,  because  God  had  en- 
joined them  so  to  do.  He  persuaded  him 
also  not  to  counterwork  the  designs  of 
God,  but  to  esteem  his  favour  above  all 
things,  and  to  permit  them  to  depart, 
lest,  before  he  be  aware,  he  lay  an  ob- 
struction in  the  way  of  the  Divine  com- 
mands, and  so  occasion  his  own  suffering 
such  punishments  as  it  was  probable  any 
one  that  counterworked  the  Divine  com- 
mands would  undergo,  since  the  severest 
afflictions  arise  from  every  object  to  those 
that  provoke  the  Divine  wrath  against 
them;  for  such  as  these  have  neither  the 
earth  nor  the  air  for  their  friends ;  nor 
are  the  fruits  of  the  womb  according  to 
nature,  but  every  thing  is  unfriendly  and 
adverse  toward  them.  He  said  further, 
that  the  Egyptians  should  know  this  by 
gad  experience ;  and  that,  besides,  the 
Hebrew  people  should  go  out  of  their 
country  without  their  consent. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  ten  plagues.     Exod.  iv.-x.     B.  C.  1491. 

But  when  the  king  despised  the  words 
of  Moses,  and  had  no  regard  at  all  to 
them,  grievous  plagues  seized  the  Egyp- 
tians ;  every  one  of  which  I  will  describe, 
both  because  no  such  plagues  did  ever 
happen  to  any  other  nation  as  the  Egyp- 
tians now  felt,  and  because  I  would  de- 
monstrate that  Moses  did  not  fail  in  any 
one  thing  that  he  foretold  them;  and 
because  it  is  for  the  good  of  mankind, 
that  they  may  learn  this  caution :  not  to 
do   any   thing   that  may  displease  God, 


lest  he  be  provoked  to  width,  and  avenge 
their  iniquities  upon  them.  For  the 
Egyptian  river  ran  with  bloody  water  at 
the  command  of  God,  insomuch  that  it 
?ould  not  be  drunk,  and  they  had  no  other 
spring  of  water  neither;  for  the  water  was 
not  only  of  the  colour  of  blood,  but  it 
brought  upon  those  that  ventured  to  drink 
of  it,  great  pains  and  bitter  torment. 
Such  was  the  river  to  the  Egyptians;  but 
it  was  sweet  and  fit  for  drinking  to  the 
Hebrews,  and  noway  different  from  what 
it  naturally  used  to  be.  As  the  king 
therefore  knew  not  what  to  do  in  these 
surprising  circumstances,  and  was  in  fear 
for  the  Egyptians,  he  gave  the  Hebrews 
leave  to  go  away;  but  when  the  plague 
ceased,  he  changed  his  mind  again,  and 
woaM  not  suffer  them  to  go. 

But  when  God  saw  that  he  was  un- 
grateful, and  upon  the  ceasing  of  this 
calamity  would  not  grow  wiser,  he  sent 
another  plague  upon  the  Egyptians:  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  frogs  consumed 
the  fruit  of  the  ground;  the  river  was 
also  full  of  them,  insomuch  that  those 
who  drew  water  had  it  spoiled  by  the 
blood  of  these  animals,  as  they  died  in, 
and  were  destroyed  by  the  water;  and 
the  country  was  full  of  filthy  slime,  as 
they  were  born  and  as  they  died;  they 
also  spoiled  their  vessels  in  their  houses, 
which  they  used,  and  were  found  among 
what  they  eat  and  what  they  drank,  and 
came  in  great  numbers  upon  their  beds. 
There  was  also  an  ungrateful  smell,  and 
a  stink  arose  from  them,  as  they  were 
born,  and  as  they  died  therein.  Now, 
when  the  Egyptians  were  under  the  op- 
pression of  these  miseries,  the  king  ordered 
Moses  to  take  the  Hebrews  with  him,  and 
be  gone.  Upon  which  the  whole  multi- 
tude of  the  frogs  vanished  away;  and 
both  the  land  and  the  river  returned  to 
their  former  natures.  But  as  soon  as 
Pharaoh  saw  the  land  freed  from  this 
plague,  he  forgot  the  cause  of  it,  and  re- 
tained the  Hebrews;  and,  as  though  he 
had  a  mind  to  try  the  nature  of  more 
such  judgments,  he  would  not  yet  suffer 
Moses  and  his  people  to  depart,  having 
granted  that  liberty  rather  out  of  fear 
than  out  of  any  good  consideration. 

Accordingly  God  punished  his  false- 
ness with  another  plague,  added  to  the 
former;  for  there  arose  out  of  the  bodies 
of  the  Egyptians  an  innumerable  quantity 
of  lice,  by  which,  wicked  as  they  were, 
they  miserably  perished,  as  not  able  to 


90 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  11 


destroy  this  sort  of  vermin  either  with 
washes  or  with  ointments.  At  which 
terrible  judgment  the  king  of  Egypt  was 
in  disoider,  upon  the  fear  into  which  he 
reasoned  himself,  lest  his  people  should 
be  destroyed,  and  that  the  manner  of  this 
death  was  also  reproachful,  so  that  he  was 
forced  in  part  to  recover  himself  from  his 
wicked  temper  to  a  sounder  mind,  for  he 
gave  leave  for  the  Hebrews  themselves  to 
depart.  But  when  the  plague  thereupon 
ceased,  he  thought  it  proper  to  require 
that  they  should  leave  their  children  and 
wives  behind  them,  as  pledges  of  their 
return;  whereby  he  provoked  God  to  be 
more  vehemently  angry  at  him,  as  if  he 
thought  to  impose  on  his  providence,  and 
as  if  it  was  only  Moses,  and  not  God,  who 
punished  the  Egyptians  for  the  sake  of 
the  Hebrews :  for  he  filled  that  country  full 
of  various  sorts  of  pestilential  creatures, 
with  their  various  properties,  such  indeed, 
as  had  never  come  in  the  sight  of  men 
before,  by  whose  means  the  men  perished 
themselves,  and  the  land  was  destitute  of 
husbandmen  for  its  cultivation;  but  if 
any  thing  escaped  destruction  from  them, 
it  was  killed  by  a  distemper  which  the 
men  underwent  also. 

But  when  Pharaoh  did  not  even  then 
yield  to  the  will  of  God,xbut,  while  he 
gave  leave  to  the  husbands  to  take  their 
wives  with  them,  yet  insisted  that  the 
children  should  be  left  behind,  God  pre- 
sently resolved  to  punish  his  wickedness 
with  several  sorts  of  calamities,  and  those 
worse  than  the  foregoing,  which  yet  had 
so  generally  afflicted  them;  for  their 
bodies  had  terrible  boils,  breaking  forth 
with  blains,  while  they  were  already  in- 
wardly consumed ;  and  a  great  part  of  the 
Egyptians  perished  in  this  manner.  But 
when  the  king  was  not  brought  to  reason 
by  this  plague,  hail  was  sent  down  from 
heaven;  and  such  hail  it  was,  as  the 
climate  of  Egypt  had  never  suffered  be- 
fore, nor  was  it  like  to  that  which  falls  in 
other  climates  in  winter  time,  but  was 
larger  than  that  which  falls  in  the  middle 
of  spring  to  those  that  dwell  in  the  north- 
ern and  north-western  regions.  This  hail 
broke  down  their  boughs  laden  with  fruit. 
After  this  a  tribe  of  locusts  consumed  the 
seed  which  was  not  hurt  by  the  kail;  so 
that  to  the  Egyptians  all  hopes  of  the 
future  fruits  of  the  ground  were  entirely 
lost. 

One  would  think  the  forementioned 
calamities  might  have  been  sufficient  for 


one  that  was  only  foolish,  without  wicked- 
ness, to  make  him  wise,  and  to  make  him 
sensible  what  was  for  his  advantage.  But 
Pharaoh,  led  not  so  much  by  his  folly  ad 
by  his  wickedness,  even  when  he  saw  the 
cause  of  his  miseries,  he  still  contested 
with  God,  and  wilfully  deserted  the  cause 
of  virtue;  so  he  bade  Moses  take  the 
Hebrews  away,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, but  to  leave  their  cattle  behind, 
since  their  own  cattle  were  destroyed. 
But  when  Moses  said  that  what  he  desired 
was  unjust,  since  they  were  obliged  to 
offer  sacrifices  to  God  of  those  cattle;  and 
the  time  being  prolonged  on  this  account. 
a  thick  darkness,  without  the  least  light, 
spread  itself  over  the  Egyptians,  whereby 
their  sight  being  obstructed,  and  their 
breathing  hindered  by  the  thickness  of 
the  air,  they  died  miserably,  and  under  a 
terror  lest  they  should  be  ,s  wallowed  up 
by  the  dark  cloud.  Besides  this,  when 
the  darkness,  after  three  days  and  as 
many  nights,  was  dissipated,  and  when 
Pharaoh  did  not  still  repent  and  let  the 
Hebrews  go,  Moses  came  tojhim  and  said, 
''How  long  wilt  thou  be 'disobedient  to 
the  command  of  God?  for  hfe  enjoins  thee 
to  let  the  Hebrews  go;  nop-. is  there  any 
other  way  of  being  freed  from  the  calami- 
ties you  are  under,  unless  you  do  so/'  But 
the  king  was  angry  at  what?  he  said,  and 
threatened  to  cut  off  his  head  if  he  came 
any  more  to  trouble  hina-  about  these 
matters.  Hereupon  Moses- said  he  would 
not  speak  to  him  any  more 'about  them, 
for  that  he  himself,  together  with  the 
principal  men  among  the  Egyptians, 
should  desire  the  Hebrews  to  go  away. 
So  when  Moses  had  said  thisr  he  went  his 
way. 

But  when  God  had  signified  that  with 
one  more  plague  he  would  compel  the 
Egyptians  to  let  the  Hebrews  go,  he  com- 
manded Moses  to  tell  the  people  that  they 
should  have  a  sacrifice  ready,  and  that 
they  should  prepare  themselves  on  the 
10th  day  of  the  month  Xanthicus  [April], 
against  the  14th,  (which  month  is  called 
by  the  Egyptians  Pharmuth,  and  Nisau 
by  the  Hebrews ;  ^but  the  Macedonians 
call  it  Xanthicus;)  and  that  he  should 
carry  away  the  Hebrews  with  all  they 
had.  x\ccordingly,  he  having  got  the 
Hebrews  ready  for  their  departure,  and 
having  sorted  the  people  into  tribes,  he 
kept  them  together  in  one  place :  but 
when  the  14th  day  was  come,  and  all 
were  ready   to  depart,   they  offeivd   the 


Uhap.  XV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


91 


sacrifice,  and  purified  their  houses  with 
the  blood,  using  bunches  of  hyssop  for 
that  purpose,  and  when  they  had  supped, 
they  burnt  the  remainder  of  the  flesh,  as 
just  ready  to  depart.  Whence  it  is  that 
we  do  still  offer  this  sacrifice  in  like  man- 
ner to  this  day,  and  call  this  festival 
Pascha,  which  signifies  the  "feast  of  the 
passover;"  because  on  that  day  God 
passed  us  over,  and  sent  the  plague  upon 
the  Egyptians;  for  the  destruction  of  the 
first-born  came  upon  the  Egyptians  that 
night,  so  that  many  of  the  Egyptians  who 
lived  near  the  king's  palace,  persuaded 
Pharaoh  to  let  the  Hebrews  go.  Accord- 
ingly he  called  for  Moses,  and  bade  them 
begone;  as  supposing,  that  if  once  the 
Hebrews  were  gone  out  of  the  country, 
Egypt  should  be  freed  from  its  miseries. 
They  also  honoured  the  Hebrews  with 
gifts;  some,  in  order  to  get  them  to  de- 
part quickly,  and  others  on  account  of 
their  neighbourhood,  and  the  friendship 
they  had  with  them. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Hebrews,  under  the  conduct  of  Moses,  leave 
Egypt.     Exod.  xii.     B.  C.  1491. 

So  the  Hebrews  went  out  of  Egypt, 
while  the  Egyptians  wept,  and  repented 
that  they  had  treated  them  so  hardly. 
Now  they  took  their  journey  by  Letopolis, 
a  place  at  that  time  deserted,  but  where 
Babylon  was  built  afterward,  when  Ca.m- 
byses  laid  Egypt  waste  :  but  as  they  went 
away  hastily,  on  the  third  day  they  came 
to  a  place  called  Baalzephon,  on  the  Red 
Sea ;  and  when  they  had  no  food  out  of 
the  land,  because  it  was  a  desert,  they  ate 
of  loaves  kneaded  of  flour,  only  warmed 
by  a  gentle  heat ;  and  this  food  they  made 
use  of  for  thirty  days;  for  what  they 
brought  with  them  out  of  Egypt  would 
not  suffice  them  any  longer  time  ;  and  this 
only  while  they  dispensed  it  to  each  per- 
son, to  use  so  much  only  as  would  serve 
for  necessity,  but  not  for  satiety.  Whence 
it  is  that,  in  memory  of  the  want  we  were 
then  in,  we  keep  a  feast  for  eight  days, 
which  is  called  the  "  feast  of  unleavened 
bread."  Now  the  entire  multitude  of 
those  that  went  out,  including  the  women 
and  children,  was  not  easy  to  be  num- 
bered ;  but  those  that  were  of  an  age  fit 
for  war,  were  600,000. 

They  left  Egypt  in  the  month  Xanthi- 
cue  [April],  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 


lunar  month;  430  years  after  our  forefa- 
ther Abraham  came  into  Canaan,  but  215 
years  only  after  Jacob  removed  into  Egypt. 
It  was  the  eightieth  year  of  the  age  of 
Moses,  and  of  that  of  Aaron  three  more. 
They  also  carried  out  the  bones  of  Joseph 
with  them,  as  he  had  charged  his  sons 
to  do. 

But  the  Egyptians  soon  repented  that 
the  Hebrews  were  gone ;  and  the  king 
also  was  mightily  concerned  that  this  had 
been  procured  by  the  magic  arts  of  Moses ; 
so  they  resolved  to  go  after  them.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  took  their  weapons  and 
other  warlike  furniture,  and  pursued  after 
them,  in  order  to  bring  them  back,  if  once 
they  overtook  them,  because  they  would 
now  have  no  pretence  to  pray  to  God 
against  them,  since  they  had  already  been 
permitted  to  go  out;  and  they  thought 
they  should  easily  overcome  them,  as  they 
had  no  armour,  and  would  be  weary  with 
their  journey ;  so  they  made  haste  in  their 
pursuit,  and  asked  of  every  one  they  met 
which  way  they  were  gone.  And,  indeed, 
that  land  was  difficult  to  be  travelled  over, 
not  only  by  armies,  but  by  single  persons 
Now  Moses  led  the  Hebrews  this  way, 
that  in  case  the  Egyptians  should  repent 
and  be  desirous  to  pursue  after  them,  they 
might  undergo  the  punishment  of  their 
wickedness,  and  of  the  breach  of  those 
promises  they  had  made  to  them.  As  also 
he  led  them  this  way  on  account  of  the 
Philistines,  who  had  quarrelled  with  them, 
and  hated  thorn  of  old,  that  by  all  means 
they  might  not  know  of  their  departure, 
I  for  their  country  is  near  to  that  of  Egypt ; 
and  thence  it  was  that  Moses  led  them  not 
along  the  road  that  tended  to  the  land  of 
the  Philistines,  but  he  was  desirous  that 
they  should  go  through  the  desert,  that  so, 
after  a  long  journey,  and  after  many  afflic- 
tions, they  might  enter  upon  the  land  of 
Canaan.  Another  reason  of  this  was,  that 
God  commanded  him  to  bring  the  people 
to  Mount  Sinai,  that  there  they  might 
offer  him  sacrifice.  N'owwhen  the  Egy)>- 
tians  had  overtaken  the  Hebrews,  they 
prepared  to  fight  them,  and  by  their  mul- 
titude they  drove  them  into  a  narrow 
place ;  for  the  number  that  pursued  after 
them  was  600  chariots,  with  50,000  horse- 
men, and  200,000  footmen,  all  armed. 
They  also  seized  on  the  passages  by  which 
they  imagined  the  Hebrews  might  fly, 
shutting  them  up  between  inaccessible 
precipices  and  the  sea ;  for  there  was  on 
each  side  a  ridge  of  mountains  that  ter- 


92 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IL 


minated  at  the  sea,  which  were  impassable 
by  reason  of  their  roughness,  and  obstructed 
their  flight ;  wherefore  they  there  pressed 
upon  the  Hebrews  with  their  army,  where 
[the  ridges  of]  the  mountains*  were  closed 
with  the  sea;  which  army  they  placed  at 
the  chops  of  the  mountains,  that  so  they 
might  deprive  them  of  any  passage  into 
the  plain. 

When  the  Hebrews,  therefore,  were 
neither  able  to  bear  up,  being  thus,  as  it 
were,  besieged,  because  they  wanted  pro- 
visions, nor  saw  any  possible  way  of  es- 
caping ;  and  if  they  should  have  thought 
of  fighting,  they  had  no  weapons;  they 
expected  an  universal  destruction,  unless 
they  delivered  themselves  up  to  the  Egyp- 
tians. So  they  laid  the  blame  on  Moses, 
and  forgot  all  the  signs  that  had  been 
wrought  by  God  for  the  recovery  of  their 
freedom  ;  and  this  so  far,  that  their  incre- 
dulity prompted  them  to  throw  stones  at 
the  prophet,  while  he  encouraged  them 
and  promised  them  deliverance ;  and  they 
resolved  that  they  would  deliver  them- 
selves Up  to  the  Egyptians.  So  there  was 
sorrow  and  lamentation  among  the  women 
and  children,  who  had  nothing  but  de- 
struction before  their  eyes,  while  they 
were  encompassed  with  mountains,  the 
sea,  and  their  enemies,  and  discerned  n© 
way  of  flying  from  them. 

But  Moses,  though  the  multitude  looked 
fiercely  at  him,  did  not,  however,  give  over 
the  care  of  them,  but  despised  all  dangers, 


*  "  A  traveller,"  says  Reland,  "  whose  name  was 
Eneinan,  when  he  returned  out  of  Egypt,  told  me 
that  he  went  the  same  way  from  Egypt  to  Mount 
Sinai,  which  he  supposed  the  Israelites  of  old  tra- 
velled ;  and  that  he  found  several  mountainous 
tracks  that  ran  down  toward  the  Red  Sea.  He 
thought  the  Israelites  had  proceeded  as  far  as  the 
desert  of  Etham  (Exod.  xiii.  20)  when  they  were 
commanded  by  God  to  return  back,  (Exod.  xiv.  2,) 
and  to  pitch  their  camp  between  Migdol  and  the 
«ea  ;  and  that  when  they  were  not  able  to  fly,  un- 
less by  sea,  they  were  shut  in  on  each  side  by 
mountains.  He  aflso  thought  we  might  evidently 
learn  hence,  how  it  might  be  said  that  the  Israel- 
ites wero  in  Etham  before  they  went  over  the  sea, 
*nd  yet  might  be  said  to  have  come  into  Etham 
after  they  had  passed  over  the  sea  also.  Besides, 
he  gave  me  an  account  how  he  passed  over  a 
river  in  a  boat  near  the  city  Suez,  which  he  says 
must  needs  be  the  Heroopolis  of  the  ancients,  since 
that  city  could  not  be  situate  anywhere  else  in  that 
neighbourhood." 

As  to  the  famous  passage  produced  here  by  Dr. 
Bernard,  out  of  Herodotus,  as  the  most  ancient  hea- 
then testimony  of  the  Israelites  coming  from  the 
Bed  Sea  into  Palestine,  Bishop  Cumberland  has 
shown  that  it  belongs  to  the  old  Canaanlte  or  Phoe- 
nician shepherds,  and  their  retiring  out  of  Egypt 
into  Canaan  or  Phoenicia,  long  before  the  days  of 
Moeea.     Sanchoniatho,  p.  37-1,  &o. 


out  of  his  trust  in  God,  who,  as  he  had 
afforded  them  the  several  steps  already 
taken  for  the  recovery  of  their  liberty, 
which  he  had  foretold  them,  would  not 
now  suffer  them  to  be  subdued  by  their 
enemies,  to  be  either  made  slaves  or  be 
slain  by  them;  and,  standing  in  the  midst 
of  them,  he  said,  "  It  is  not  just  of  us  to 
distrust  even  men,  when  they  have  hitherto 
well  managed  our  affairs,  as  if  they  would 
not  be  the  same  men  hereafter;  but  it  is 
no  better  than  madness,  at  this  time,  to 
despair  of  the  providence  of  God,  by 
whose  power  all  those  things  have  been 
performed  which  he  promised,  when  you 
expected  no  such  things :  I  mean  all  that 
I  have  been  concerned  in  for  your  deliver- 
ance and  escape  from  slavery.  Nay.  when 
we  are  in  the  utmost  distress,  as  you  see 
we  are,  we  ought  rather  to  hope  that  God 
will  succour  us,  by  whose  operation  it  is 
that  we  are  now  encompassed  within  this 
narrow  place,  that  he  may  deliver  us  out 
of  such  difficulties  as  are  otherwise  insur- 
mountable, and  out  of  which  neither  you 
nor  your  enemies  expect  you  can  be  de- 
livered, and  may  at  once  demonstrate  his 
own  power  and  his  providence  over  us. 
Nor  does  God  use  to  give  his  help  in  small 
difficulties  to  those  whom  he  favours;  but 
in  such  cases  where  no  one  can  see  how 
any  hope  in  man  can  better  their  condi- 
tion. Depend,  therefore,  upon  such  a  pro- 
tector as  is  able  to  make  small  things  great, 
and  to  show  that  this  mighty  force  against 
you  is  nothing  but  weakness ;  and  be  not 
affrighted  at  the  Egyptian  army,  nor  do 
you  despair  of  being  preserved,  because 
the  sea  before  y®u,  and  the  mountains 
behind,  afford  you  no  opportunity  for  fly- 
ing; for  even  these  mountains,  if  God  so 
please,  may  be  made  plain  ground  for  you, 
and  the  sea  become  dry  land." 


CHAPTER  XYT. 

Passage  of  the  Red  Sea.    Exod.  xiv  13.    B.C.  1491. 

When  Moses  had  said  this,  he  led  them 
to  the  sea,  while  the  Egyptians  looked  on ; 
for  they  were  within  sight.  Now  these 
were  so  distressed^by  the  toil  of  their  pur- 
suit, that  they- thought  proper  to  put  off 
fighting  till  the  next  day.  But  when 
Moses  had  come  to  the  seashore,  he  took 
his  rod,  and  made  supplication  to  God, 
and  called  upon  him  to  be  their  helper 
and  assistant;  and  said,  "  Thou  art  not 
ignorant,  0  Lord,  that  it  is  beyond  human 
strength  and  human  contrivance  to  avoid 


Chap.  XVI.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


93 


the  difficulties  we  are  now  under ;  but  it 
must  be  thy  work  altogether  to  procure 
deliverance  to  this  army,  which  has  left 
Egypt  at  thy  appointment.  We  despair 
of  any  other  assistance  or  contrivance, 
and  have  recourse  only  to  that  hope  we 
have  in  thee ;  apd  if  there  be  any  method 
th*at  can  promise  us  an  escape  by  thy 
providence,  we  look  up  to  thee  for  it. 
And  let  it  come  quickly,  and  manifest  thy 
power  to  us;  and  do  thou  raise  up  this 
people  unto  good  courage  and  hope  of  de- 
liverance, who  are  deeply  sunk  into  a  dis- 
consolate state  of  mind.  We  are  in  a 
helpless  place,  but  still  it  is  a  place  that 
thou  possessest ;  still  the  sea  is  thine,  the 
mountains  also  that  enclose  us  are  thine ; 
so  that  these  mountains  will  open  them- 
selves if  thou  commandest  them,  and  the 
sea  also,  if  thou  commandest  it,  will  be- 
come dry  land.  Nay,  we  might  escape 
by  a  flight  through  the  air,  if  thou  should- 
est  determine  we  should  have  that  way  of 
salvation." 

When  Moses  had  thus  addressed  him- 
self to  God,  he  smote  the  sea  with  his  rod, 
which  parted  asunder  at  the  stroke,  and 
receiving  those  waters  into  itself,  left  the 
ground  dry,  as  a  road  and  a  place  of  flight 
for  the  Hebrews.  Now  when  Moses  saw 
this  appearance  of  God,  and  that  the  sea 
went  out  of  its  own  place,  and  left  dry 
land,  he  went  first  of  all  into  it,  and  bade 
the  Hebrews  to  follow  him  along  that  di- 
vine road,  and  to  rejoice  at  the  danger  their 
enemies  that  followed  them  were  in;  and 
gave  thanks  to  God  for  this  so  surprising 
a  deliverance  which  appeared  from  him. 

Now,  while  these  Hebrews  made  no 
stay,  but  went  on  earnestly,  as  led  by 
God's  presence  with  them,  the  Egyptians 
supposed  at  first  that  they  were  distracted, 
and  were  going  rashly  upon  manifest  de- 
struction. But  when  they  saw  that  they 
were  going  a  great  way  without  any  harm, 
and  that  no  obstacle  or  difficulty  fell  in 
their  journey,  they  made  haste  to  pursue 
them,  hoping  that  the  sea  would  be  calm 
for  them  also.  They  put  their  horse  fore- 
most, and  went  down  themselves  into  the 
sea.  Now  the  Hebrews,  while  these  were 
putting  on  their  armour,  and  therein 
spending  their  time,  were  beforehand  with 
them,  and  escaped  them,  and  got  first  over 
to  the  land  on  the  other  side  without  any 
hurt  Whence  the  others  were  encouraged, 
and  more  courageously  pursued  them,  as 
hoping  no  harm  would  come  to  them 
neither :    but    the   Egyptians   were   not 


aware  that  they  went  into  a  road  made 
for  the  Hebrews,  and  not  for  others ;  that 
this  road  was  made  for  the  deliverance  of 
those  in  danger,  but  not  for  those  that 
were  earnest  to  make  use  of  it  for  the 
others'  destruction.  As  soon,  therefore, 
as  ever  the  whole  Egyptian  army  was 
within  it,  the  sea  flowed  to  its  own  place, 
and  came  down  with  a  torrent  raised  by 
storms  of  wind,  and  encompassed  the 
Egyptians.  Showers  of  rain  also  came 
down  from  the  sky,  and  dreadful  thunders 
and  lightning,  with  flashes  of  fire.  Thun- 
derbolts also  were  darted  upon  them ;  nor 
was  there  any  thing  which  used  to  be  sent 
by  God  upon  men,  as  indications  of  his 
wrath,  which  did  not  happen  at  this  time; 
for  a  dark  and  dismal  night  oppressed 
them.  And  thus  did  all  these  men  perish, 
so  that  there  was  not  one  man  left  to  be  a 
messenger  of  this  calamity  to  the  rest  of 
the  Egyptians. 

But  the  Hebrews  were  not  able  to  con- 
tain themselves  for  joy  at  their  wonderful 
deliverance,  and  destruction  of  their  ene- 
mies. Now,  indeed,  supposing  themselves 
firmly  delivered,  when  those  that  would 
have  forced  them  into  slavery  were  de- 
stroyed, and  when  they  found  they  had 
God  so  evidently  for  their  protector ;  and 
now  these  Hebrews  having  escaped  the 
danger  they  were  in,  after  this  manner, 
and  besides  that,  seeing  their  enemies 
punished  in  such  a  way  as  is  never  re- 
corded of  any  other  men  whomsoever, 
were  all  the  night  employed  in  singing  of 
hymns,  and  in  mirth.*  Moses  also  com- 
posed a  song  unto  God,  containing  his 
praises,  and  a  thanksgiving  for  his  kind- 
ness, in  hexameter  verse. 

As  for  myself,  I  have  delivered  every 
part  of  this  history  as  I  found  it  in  the 
sacred  books;  nor  let  any  one  wonder  at 
the  strangeness  of  the  narration,  if  a  way 
were  discovered  to  those  men  of  old  time, 

*  Some  have  objected  against  this  passage  of  the 
Israelites  over  the  Red  Sea  in  one  night,  as  impos- 
sible, the  common  maps  representing  this  sea  at 
about  thirty  miles  broad.  M.  Thevenot,  however, 
states  it  to  be  no  more  than  eight  or  nine  miles 
across;  and  De  Lisle' s  map  makes  it  in  one  place 
but  four  or  five  miles.  What  has  been  further  ob- 
jected against  this  passage  of  the  Israelites,  and 
drowning  of  the  Egyptians,  being  miraculous  also, 
viz.  that  Moses  might  carry  the  Israelites  over  at  a 
low  tide  without  any  miracle,  while  yet  the  Egyp- 
tians, not  knowing  the  tide  so  well  as  he,  might  be 
drowned  upon  the  return  of  the  tide,  is  a  strange 
story  indeed  !  That  Moses,  who  never  had  lived 
here,  should  know  the  quantity  and  time  of  the  flux 
and  reflux  of  the  Red  Sea  better  than  the  Egyptians 
themselves  in  its  neighbourhood  1 


94 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III 


who  wore  fre- ;  from  the  wickedness  of  the 
modern  ages,  whether  it  happened  by  the 
will  of  God,  or  whether  it  happened  of  its 
own  accord,  while,  for  the  sake  of  those 
that  accompanied  Alexander,  king  of  Ma- 
cedonia, who  yet  lived,  comparatively,  but 
a  little  while  ago,  the  Pamphylian  sea  re- 
tired and  afforded  them  a  passage  through 
itself,  when  they  had  no  other  way  to  go; 
I  mean,  when  it  was  the  will  of  God  to 
destroy  the  monarchy  of  the  Persians: 
and  this  is  confessed  to  be  true  by  all  that 
have  written  about  the  actions  of  Alexan- 
der :  but  as  to  these  events,  let  every  one 
determine  as  he  pleases. 


On  the  next  day  Moses  gathered  to- 
gether the  weapons  of  the  Egyptians, 
which  were  brought  to  the  camp  of  the 
Hebrews  by  the  current  of  the  sea,  and 
the  force  of  the  winds  assisting  it;  and  he 
conjectured  that  this  also  happened  by 
Divine  providence,  that  so  they  might  not 
be  destitute  of  weapons.  So  when  he  had 
ordered  the  Hebrews  to  arm  themselves 
with  them,  he  led  them  to  Mount  Sinai, 
in  order  to  offer  sacrifice  to  God,  and  to 
render  oblations  for  the  salvation  of  the 
multitude,  as  he  was  charged  to  do  before- 
hand. 


BOOK  III. 

CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL  OF  TWO  YEARS,  FROM  THE  EXODUS  OUT 
OF  EGYPT,  TO  THE  REJECTION  OF  THAT  GENERATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Moses  conducts  the  people  to  Mount  Sinai. 
Exod.  xv.  21. 

When  the  Hebrews  had  obtained  such 
a  wonderful  deliverance,  the  country  was 
a  great  trouble  to  them,  for  it  was  entire- 
ly a  desert,  and  without  all  sustenance-for 
them,  and  also  had  exceeding  little  water, 
so  that  it  not  only  was  not  at  all  sufficient 
for  the  men,  but  not  enough  to  feed  any 
of  the  cattle;  for  it  was  parched  up,  and 
had  no  moisture  that  might  afford  nutri- 
ment to  the  vegetables;  so  they  were 
forced  to  travel  over  this  country,  as 
having  no  other  country  but  this  to  travel 
in.  They  had  indeed  carried  water  along 
with  them,  from  the  land  over  which  they 
had  travelled  before,  as  their  conductor 
had  bade  them :  but  when  that  was  spent, 
they  were  obliged  to  draw  water  out  of 
wells,  with  pain,  by  reason  of  the  hard- 
ness of  the  soil.  Moreover,  what  water 
they  found  was  bitter,  and  not  fit  for 
drinking,  and  this  in  small  quantities  also ; 
and  as  they  thus  travelled,  they  came  late 
in  the  evening  to  a  place  called  Marah,* 


*  Dr.  Bernard  takes  notice  here,  that  this  place, 
"  Mar,"  where  the  waters  were  bitter,  is  called  by 
the  Syrians  and  Arabians  Mariri,  and  by  the 
Syrians  sometimes  Morath,  all  derived  from  the 
Hebrew  "  Mar."  Ho  also  takes  notice,  that  it  is 
called  "  The  Bitter  Fountain,"  by  Pliny  himself; 


which  had  that  name  from  the  badness  of 
its  water,  for  Mar  denotes  "  bitterness. " 
Thither  they  came,  afflicted  both  by  the 
tediousness  of  their  journey,  and  by  their 
want  of  food,  for  it  entirely  failed  them  at 
that  time.  Now  here  was  a  well,  which 
made  them  choose  to  stay  in  the  place, 
which,  although  it  was  not  sufficient  to 
satisfy  so  great  an  army,  did  yet  afford 
them  some  comfort,  as  found  in  such  de- 
sert places ;  for  they  heard  from  those 
who  had  been  to  search,  that  there  was 
nothing  to  be  found  if  they  travelled  on 
farther.  Yet  was  this  water  bitter,  and 
not  fit  for  men  to  drink ;  and  not  only  so, 
but  it  was  intolerable  even  to  the  cattle 
themselves. 

When  Moses  saw  how  much  the  people 
were  cast  down,  and  that  the  occasion  of 
it  could  not  be  contradicted,  for  the  peo- 
ple were  not  in  the  nature  of  a  complete 
army  of  men,  who  might  oppose  a  manly 
fortitude  to  the  necessity  that  distressed 
them  ;  the  multitude  of  the  children,  and 
of  the  women  also,  being  of  too  weak  ca- 
pacities to  be  persuaded  by  reason,  blunted 
the  courage  of  the  men  themselves,  he  was 
therefore  in  great  difficulties,  and  made 

which  waters  remain  there  to  this  day,  and  are  still 
bitter,  as  Thevenot  assures  us ;  and  that  there  ar« 
also  abundance  of  palm-trees. 


O'HAP.    I.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


95 


everybody's  calamity  his  own ;  for  they 
ran  all  of  them  to  him,  and  begged  of 
him  ;  the  women  begged  for  their  infants, 
and  the  men  for  the  women,  that  he  would 
not  overlook  them,  but  procure  some  way 
or  other  for  their  deliverance.  He  there- 
fore betook  himself  to  prayer  to  God,  that 
he  would  change  the  water  from  its  present 
badness  and  make  it  fit  for  drinking.  And 
W/hen  God  had  granted  him  that  favour, 
he  took  the  top  of  a  stick  that  lay  down 
at  his  feet,  and  divided  it  in  the  middle, 
and  made  the  section  lengthways.  He 
then  let  it  down  into  the  well,  and  per- 
suaded the  Hebrews  that  God  had  heark- 
ened to  his  prayers,  and  had  promised  to 
render  the  water  such  as  they  desired  it 
to  be,  in  case  they  would  be  subservieut 
to  him  in  what  he  should  enjoin  them  to 
do,  and  this  not  after  a  remiss  or  negli- 
gent manner.  And  when  they  asked  what 
they  were  to  do  in  order  to  have  the  water 
changed  for  the  better,  he  bade  the  strong- 
est men  among  them  that  stood  there,  to 
draw  up  water;  and  told  them,  that  when 
the  greatest  part  was  drawn  up,  the  re- 
mainder would  be  fit  to  drink :  so  they 
laboured  at  it  till  the  water  was  so  agitated 
and  purged  as  to  be  fit  to  drink. 

And  now  removing  from  thence  they 
came  to  Elim ;  which  place  looked  well 
at  a  distance,  for  there  was  a  grove  of 
palm-trees ;  but  when  they  came  near  to 
it,  it  appeared  to  be  a  bad  place,  for  the 
palm-trees  were  no  more  than  seventy; 
and  they  were  ill-grown  and  creeping 
trees,  by  the  want  of  water,  for  the  country 
about  was  parched ;  the  moisture  not  being 
sufficient  to  water  them,  and  make  them 
hopeful  and  useful,  was  derived  to  them 
from  the  fountains,  which  were  twelve  in 
number:  they  were  rather  a  few  moist 
places  than  springs,  which  not  breaking 
out  of  the  ground,  nor  runuing  over,  could 
not  sufficiently  water  the  trees.  And 
when  they  dug  into  the  sand,  they  met 
with  little  water;  and  if  they  took  a  few 
drops  of  it  into  their  hands,  they  found  it 
to  be  useless,  on  account  of  its  mud.  The 
trees  also  were  too  weak  to  bear  fruit,  for 
want  of  being  sufficiently  cherished  and 
enlivened  by  the  water.  So  they  laid  the 
blame  on  their  conductor,  and  made  heavy 
complaints  against  him ;  and  said,  that 
this  their  miserable  state,  and  the  expe- 
rience they  had  of  adversity,  were  owing 
to  him;  for  that  they  had  then  journeyed 
an  entire  thirty  days,  and  had  spent  all 
the   provisions    they    had    brought   with 


them  ;  and  meeting  with  no  relief,  they 
were  in  a  desponding  condition.  And  by 
fixing  their  attention  upon  nothing  but  their 
present  misfortunes,  they  were  hindered 
from  remembering  what  deliverances  they 
had  received  from  God,  and  those  by  the 
virtue  and  wisdom  of  Moses  also ;  so  they 
were  very  angry  at  their  conductor,  and 
were  zealous  in  their  attempt  to  stone  him, 
as  the  direct  occasion  of  their  present 
miseries. 

But  as  for  Moses  himself,  while  the 
multitude  were  irritated  and  bitterly  set 
against  him,  he  cheerfully  relied  upon 
God,  and  upon  his  consciousness  of  the 
care  he  had  taken  of  these  his  own  people  : 
and  he  came  into  the  midst  of  them,  even 
while  they  clamoured  against  him,  and 
had  stones  in  their  hands  in  order  to  de- 
spatch him.  Now  he  was  of  an  agreeable 
presence,  and  very  able  to  persuade  the 
people  by  his  speeches;*  accordingly  he 
began  to  mitigate  their  anger,  and  exhorted 
them  not  to  be  overmindful  of  their  pre- 
sent adversities,  lest  they  should  thereby 
suffer  the  benefits  that  had  formerly  been 
bestowed  on  them  to  slip  out  of  their 
memories;  and  he  desired  them  by  no 
means,  on  account  of  their  present  uneasi- 
ness, to  cast  those  great  and  wonderful 
favours  and  gifts,  which  they  had  obtained 
of  God,  out  of  their  minds,  but  to  expect 
deliverance  out  of  those  their  present 
troubles  which  they  could  not  free  them- 
selves from,  and  this  by  the  means  of  that 
Divine  Providence  which  watched  over 
them ;  seeing  it  is  probable  that  God  tries 
their  virtue,  and  exercises  their  patience 
by  these  adversities,  that  it  may  appear 
what  fortitude  they  have,  and  what  me- 
mory they  retain  of  his  former  wonderful 
works  in  their  favour,  and  whether  they 
will  not  think  of  them  upon  occasion  of 
the  miseries  they  now  feel.  He  told 
them,  it  appeared  they  were  not  really 
good  men,  either  in  patience,  or  in  remem- 
bering what  had  been,  successfully  done 
for  them,  sometimes  by  contemning  God 
and  his  commands,  when  by  those  com- 
mands they  left  the  land  of  Egypt;  and 
sometimes  by  behaving  themselves  ill  to- 
ward him,  who  was  the  servant  of  God, 
and  this  when  he  had  never  deceived  them, 
either  in  what  he  said,  or  had  ordered 
them  to  do  by  God's  command.  He  also 
put  them  in  mind  of  all  that  had  passed : 


*  Moses's  speech  must  have  been  through  the 
medium  of  Aaron:  he  was  not  eloquent  himself 
See  Exod.  iv.  10-16. 


96 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


("Book  III 


how  the  Egyptians  were  destroyed  when 
they  attempted  to  detain  them,  contrary 
to  the  command  of  God;  and  after  what 
manner  the  very  same  river  was  to  the 
others  bloody,  and  not  fit  for  drinking, 
but  was  to  them  sweet  and  fit  for  drink- 
ing; and  how  they  went  a  new  road 
through  the  sea,  which  fled  a  long  way 
from  them,  by  which  very  means  they  were 
themselves  preserved,  but  saw  their  ene- 
mies destroyed ;  and  that  when  they  were 
in  want  of  weapons,  God  gave  them  plenty 
of  them  :  and  so  he  recounted  all  the  par- 
ticular instances,  how,  when  they  were,  in 
appearance,  just  going  to  be  destroyed, 
God  had  saved  them  in  a  surprising  man- 
ner; that  he  had  still  the  same  power; 
and  that  they  ought  not  even  now  to  de- 
spair of  his  providence  over  them;  and 
accordiogly  he  exhorted  them  to  continue 
quiet,  and  to  consider  that  help  would  not 
come  too  late,  though  it  come  not  imme- 
diately, if  it  be  present  with  them  before 
they  suffer  any  great  misfortune ;  that 
they  ought  to  reason  thus :  that  God  de- 
lays to  assist  them,  not  because  he  has  no 
regard  to  them,  but  because  he  will  first 
try  their  fortitude,  and  the  pleasure  they 
take  in  their  freedom,  that  he  may  learn 
whether  they  have  souls  great  enough  to 
bear  want  of  food,  and  scarcity  of  water, 
on  its  account;  or  whether  they  rather 
love  to  be  slaves,  as  cattle  are  slaves  to 
such  as  own  them,  and  feed  them  liberally, 
but  only  in  order  to  make  them  more  use- 
ful in  their  service.  That  as  for  himself, 
he  should  not  be  so  much  concerned  for 
his  own  preservation ;  for  if  he  die  un- 
justly, he  should  not  reckon  it  any  afflic- 
tion; but  that  he  was  concerned  for  them, 
lest,  by  casting  stones  at  him,  they  should 
be  thought  to  condemn  God  himself. 

By  this  means  Moses  pacified  the  peo- 
ple, and  restrained  them  from  stoning 
him,  and  brought  them  to  repent  of  what 
they  were  going  to  do ;  and  because  he 
thought  the  necessity  they  were  under 
made  their  passion  less  unjustifiable,  he 
thought  he  ought  to  apply  himself  to  God 
by  prayer  and  supplication  ;  and  going  up 
to  an  eminence,  he  requested  of  God  for 
some  succour  for  the  people,  and  some  way 
of  deliverance  from  the  want  they  were  in, 
because  in  him,  and  in  him  alone,  was 
their  hope  of  salvation  :  and  hedebired  that 
he  would  forgive  what  necessity  had  forced 
the  people  to  do,  since  such  was  the  nature 
of  mankind,  hard  to  please,  and  very  com- 
plaining under  adversities.     Accordingly, 


God  promised  he  would  take  care  of  them, 
and  afford  them  the  succour  they  were 
desirous  of.  Now  when  Moses  had  heard 
this  from  God,  he  came  down  to  the  mul 
titude :  but  as  soon  as  they  saw  him  joyful 
at  the  promises  he  had  received  from  God, 
they  changed  their  sad  countenances  into 
gladness.  So  he  placed  himself  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  told  them  he  came  to 
bring  them  from  God  a  deliverance  from 
their  present  distresses.  Accordingly,  a 
little  after  came  a  vast  number  of  quails, 
which  is  a  bird  more  plentiful  in  the  Arabian 
gulf  than  anywhere  else,  flying  over  the 
sea,  and  hovered  over  them,  till  wearied 
with  their  laborious  flight,  and,  indeed,  as 
usual,  flying  very  near  to  the  earth,  they 
fell  down  upon  the  Hebrews,  who  caught 
them,  and  satisfied  their  hunger  with  them, 
and  supposed  that  this  was  the  method 
whereby  God  meant  to  supply  them  with 
food.  Upon  which  Moses  returned  thanks 
to  God  for  affording  them  his  assistance  so 
suddenly,  and  sooner  than  he  had  pro- 
mised them. 

But  presently  after  this  first  supply  of 
food,  he  sent  them  a  second;  for  as  Moses 
was  lifting  up  his  hands  in  prayer,  a  dew 
fell  down ;  and  Moses,  when  he  found  it 
stick  to  his  hands,  supposed  this  was  also 
come  for  food  from  God  to  them :  he 
tasted  it;  and  perceiving  that  the  people 
knew  not  what  it  was,  and  thought  it 
snowed,  and  that  it  was  what  usually  fell 
at  that  time  of  the  year,  he  informed 
them  that  this  dew  did  not  fall  from 
heaven  after  the  manner  they  imagined, 
but  came  for  their  preservation  and  sus- 
tenance. So  he  tasted  it,  and  gave  them 
some  of  it,  that  they  might  be  satisfied 
about  what  he  told  them.  They  also  imi- 
tated their  conductor,  and  were  pleased 
with  the  food,  for  it  was  like  honey  in 
sweetness  and  pleasant  taste,  but  like  in 
its  body  to  bdellium,  one  of  the  sweet 
spices,  and  in  bigness  equal  to  coriander 
seed.  And  very  earnest  they  were  in 
gathering  it;  but  they  were  enjoined  to 
gather  it  equally;  the  measure  of  an 
omer*  for  each  one  every  day,  because 
this  food  should  not  come  in  too  small  a 
quantity,  lest  the  weaker  might  not  be 
able  to  get  their  share,  by  reason  of  the 
overbearing  of  the  strong  in  collecting  it. 
However,  these   strong  men,  when   they 

*  This  manna  is  called  angels'  food  in  several 
parts  of  Scripture.  Pa.  lxzvii.  lJo  ;  John  vi.  31.  An 
omer  contains  about  three  pints  and  a  hall,  English 
measure. 


Cluir   II,] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


0 


had  gathered  more  than  the  measure  ap- 
pointed for  them,  had  no  more  than 
others,  but  only  tired  themselves  more  in 
gathering  it,  for  they  found  no  more  than 
an  oraer  apiece;  and  the  advantage  they 
got  by  what  was  superfluous  was  none  at 
all,  it  corrupting,  both  by  the  worms 
breeding  in  it,  and  by  its  bitterness.  So 
divine  and  wonderful  a  food  was  this  !  It 
also  supplied  the  want  of  other  sorts  of 
food  to  those  that  fed  on  it;  and  even 
now,  in  all  that  place,  this  manna  comes 
down  in  rain,  according  to  what  Moses 
then  obtained  of  God,  to  send  it  to  the 
people  for  their  sustenance.  Now  the 
Hebrews  call  this  food  "  manna  j"  for  the 
particle  "  man,"  in  our  language,  is  the 
asking  of  a  question,  "What  is  this?"  So 
the  Hebrews  were  very  joyful  at  what 
was  sent  them  from  heaven.  Now  they 
made  use  of  this  food  for  forty  years,  or  as 
long  as  they  were  in  the  wilderness. 

As  soon  as  they  were  removed  thence, 
they  came  to  Rephidim,  being  distressed 
to  the  last  degree  by  thirst;  and  while  in 
the  foregoing  days  they  had  met  with  a 
few  small  fountains,  but  no'w  found  the 
earth    entirely    destitute    of   water,   they 
were  in  an  evil  case.     They  again  turned 
their  anger  against  Moses ;   but  he  at  first 
avoided   the   fury  of  the  multitude,  and 
then   betook   himself   to  prayer  to  God, 
oeseeching    him,   that   as  he    had    given 
them  food  when  they  were  in  the  greatest 
want  of  it,  so  he  would  give  them  drink 
since  the  favour  of  giving  them  food  was 
of   no    value    to    them    while    they    had 
nothing  to  drink  :  and  God  did  not  long 
delay    to    give    it    them,    but    promised 
Moses    that    he    would    procure    them  a 
fountain,    and    plenty   of   water,    from  a 
place    they   did   not  expect  any ;    so    he 
commanded  him  to  smite  the  rock  which 
they  saw  lying  there,  with  his  rod,  and 
out  of  it  to  receive  plenty  of  what  they 
wanted;  for  he  had  taken  care  that  drink 
should  come  to  them  without  any  labour 
or    pains-taking.      When   Moses   had   re- 
ceived this  command  from  God,  he  came 
to  the  people,  who  waited  for  him,  and 
looked  upon  him;  for  they  saw  already 
that  he  was  coming  apace  from  his  emi- 
nence.    As  soon  as  he  was  come,  he  told 
them  that  God  would  deliver  them  from 
their    present  distress,  and   had    granted 
them  an  unexpected  favour ;  and  informed 
them,  that  a  river  should  run   for  their 
sakes   out  of   the    rock ;    but   they  were 
amazed  at  hearing  that,  supposing   they 
7 


were  of  necessity  to  cut  die  rock  in 
pieces,  now  they  were  distressed  by  their 
thirst,  and  by  their  journey;  while 
Moses,  only  smiting  the  rock  with  his 
rod,  opened  a  passage,  and  out  of  it  burst 
water,  and  that  in  great  abundance,  and  ' 
very  clear ;  but  they  were  astonished  at 
this  wonderful  effect,  and,  as  it  were, 
quenched  their-  thirst  by  the  very  sight 
of  it.  So  they  drank  this  pleasant,  this 
sweet  water;  and  such  it  seemed  to  be, 
as  might  well  be  expected  where  God 
was  the  donor.  They  were  also  in  admi- 
ration how  Moses  was  honoured  by  God ; 
and  they  made  grateful  returns  of  sacri- 
fices to  God  for  his  providence  toward 
them.  Now  that  Scripture  which  is  laid 
up  in  the  temple,  informs  us,  how  God 
foretold  to  Moses,  that  water  should  in 
this  manner  be  derived  out  of  the  rock. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Amalekites,  and  the  neighbouring  nations, 
make  war  on  the  Hebrews,  and  lose  a  great  part 
of  their  army.     Exod.  xvii.  8.    B.  C.  1491. 

The  name  of  the  Hebrews  began 
already  to  be  everywhere  renowned,  and 
rumours  about  them  ran  abroad.  This 
made  the  inhabitants  of  those  countries  to 
be  in  no  small  fear.  Accordingly  they 
sent  ambassadors  to  one  another,  and  ex- 
horted one  another  to  defend  themselves, 
and  to  endeavour  to  destroy  these  men. 
Those  that  induced  the  rest  to  do  so,  were 
such  as  inhabited  Gobolitis  and  Petra. 
They  were  called  Amalekites,  and  were 
the  most  warlike  of  the  nations  that  lived 
thereabout;  and  whose  kings  exhorted 
one  another  and  their  neighbours  to  go  to 
this  war  against  the  Hebrews;  telling 
them  that  an  army  of  strangers,  and  such 
an  one  as  had  run  away  from  slavery 
under  the  Egyptians,  lay  in  wait  to  ruin 
them ;  which  army  they  were  not,  in 
common  prudence  and  regard  to  their 
own  safety,  to  overlook,  but  to  crush 
them  before  they  gather  strength,  and 
come  to  be  in  prosperity ;  and  perhaps 
attack  them  first  in  a  hostile  manner,  as 
presuming  upon  our  indolence  in  not  at- 
tacking them  before;  and  that  we  ought 
to  avenge  ourselves  of  them  for  what  they 
have  done  in  the  wilderness ;  but  that  this 
cannot  be  so  well  done  when  they  have 
once  laid  their  hands  on  our  cities  and 
our  goods;  that  those  who  endeavour  to 
crush  a  power  in  its  first  rise,  are  wiser 
than  those  who  endeavour  to  put  a  stop  to 


03 


ANTIQUITIES    JF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IE!. 


its  progress  when  it  is  become  formidable; 
for  these  last  seem  to  be  angry  only  at  the 
flourishing  of  others,  but  the  former  do 
not  leave  any  room  for  their  enemies  to 
become  troublesome  to  them.  After  they 
had  sent  such  embassages  to  the  neigh- 
bouring nations,  and  among  one  another, 
they  resolved  to  attack  the  Hebrews  in 
battle. 

These  proceedings  of  the  people  of 
those  countries  occasioned  perplexity  and 
trouble  to  Moses,  who  expected  no  such 
warlike  preparations :  and  when  these 
nations  were  ready  to  fight,  and  the  mul- 
titude of  the  Hebrews  were  obliged  to  try 
the  fortune  of  war,  they  were  in  a  mighty 
disorder,  and  in  want  of  all  necessaries, 
and  yet  were  to  make  war  with  men  who 
were  thoroughly  well  prepared  for  it. 
Then,  therefore,  it  was  that  Moses  began 
to  encourage  them,  and  to  exhort  them  to 
have  a  good  heart,  and  rely  on  God's  assist- 
ance, by  which  they  had  been  advanced 
into  a  state  of  freedom,  and  to  hope  for 
victory  over  tho.se  who  were  ready  to 
fight  with  them,  in  order  to  deprive  them 
cf  that  blessing:  that  they  were  to  sup- 
pose their  own  army  to  be  numerous, 
wanting  nothing,  neither  weapons,  nor 
money,  nor  provisions,  nor  such  other 
conveniences  as,  when  men  are  in  posses- 
sion of,  they  fight  undauntedly;  and  that 
they  are  to  judge  themselves  to  have  all 
these  advantages  in  the  Divine  assistance. 
They  are  also  to  suppose  the  enemy  s 
army  to  be  small,  unarmed,  weak,  and 
such  as  want  those  conveniences  which 
they  know  must  be  wanted,  when  it  is 
God's  will  that  they  shall  be  beaten;  and 
how  valuable  God's  assistance  is,  they 
had  experienced  in  abundance  of  trials; 
and  those  such  as  were  more  terrible  than 
war,  for  that  is  only  against  men ;  but 
these  were  against  famine  and  thirst, 
things  indeed  that  are  in  their  own 
nature  insuperable ;  as  also  against  moun- 
tains, and  that  sea  which  afforded  them  no 
way  for  escaping;  yet  had  all  these  diffi- 
culties been  conquered  by  God's  gracious 
kindness  to  them.  So  he  exhorted  them 
to  be  courageous  at  this  time,  and  to 
look  upon  their  entire  prosperity  to  de- 
pend on  the  present  conquest  of  their 
enemies. 

And  with  these  words  did  Moses  en- 
courage the  multitude,  who  then  called 
together  the  princes  of  their  tribes  and 
their  chief  men ;  both  separately  and 
conjointly.     The  young  men  he  charged 


to  obey  their  elders,  and  the  elders  to 
hearken  to  their  leader.  So  the  people 
were  elevated  in  their  minds,  and  ready 
to  try  their  fortune  in  battle,  and  hoped 
to  be  thereby  at  length  delivered  from  all' 
their  miseries :  nay,  they  desired  that 
Moses  would  immediately  lead  them 
against  their  enemies  without  the  least 
delay,  that  no  backwardness  might,  be  a 
hinderance  to  their  present  resolution.  So 
Moses  sorted  all  that  were  fit  for  war  into 
different  troops,  and  set  Joshua,  the  son 
of  Nun,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  over 
them;  one  that  was  of  great  courage,  and 
patient  to  undergo  labours ;  of  great  abili- 
ties to  understand,  and  to  speak  what  was 
proper;  and  very  serious  in  the  worship 
of  God;  and  indeed  made,  like  another 
Moses,  a  teacher  of  piety  toward  God. 
He  also  appointed  a  small  party  of  the 
armed  men  to  be  near  the  water,  and  to 
take  care  of  the  children,  and  the  women, 
and  of  the  entire  camp.  So  that  whole 
night  they  prepared  themselves  for  the 
battle  ;  they  took  their  weapons,  if  any 
of  them  had  such  as  were  well  made,  and 
attended  to  their  commanders  as  ready  to 
rush  forth  to  the  battle  as  soon  as  Moses 
should  give  the  word  of  command.  Moses 
also  kept  awake,  teaching  Joshua  after 
what  manner  he  should  order  his  camp. 
But  when  the  day  began,  Moses  called 
for  Joshua  again,  and  exhorted  him  to 
approve  himself  in  deeds  such  an  one  as 
his  reputation  made  men  expect  from 
him;  and  to  gain  glory  b}^  the  present 
expedition,  in  the  opinion  of  those  under 
him,  for  his  exploits  in  this  battle.  He 
also  gave  a  particular  exhortation  to  the 
principal  men  of  the  Hebrews,  and  en- 
couraged the  whole  army  as  it  stood 
armed  before  him.  And  when  he  had 
thus  animated  the  army,  both  by  his 
words  and  works,  and  prepared  every 
thiDg,  he  retired  to  a  mountain,  and  com- 
mitted the  army  to  God  and  to  Joshua. 

So  the  armies  joined  battle;  and  it 
came  to  a  close  fight,  hand  to  hand,  both 
sides  showing  great  alacrity  and  encou- 
raging one  another.  And,  indeed,  while 
Moses  stretched  'out  his  hands  toward 
heaven,  the  Hebrews  were  too  hard  for 
the  Amalekites :  but  Moses  not  being 
able  to  sustain  his  hands,  thus  stretched 
out,  (for  as  often  as  he  let  down  his  hands, 
so  often  were  his  own  people  worsted,)  he 
bade  his  brother  Aaron,  and  Hur,  their 
sister  Miriam's  husband,  to  stand  on  each 
side  of  him,  and  take  hold  of  his  hands, 


C.IAP.   IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


99 


and  not  permit  his  weariness  to  prevent 
it,  but  to  assist  him  in  the  extension  of 
his  hands.  When  this  was  done,  the 
Hebrews  conquered  the  Amalekites  by 
main  force ;  and  indeed  they  had  all 
perished,  unless  the  approach  of  the 
night  had  obliged  the  Hebrews  to  desist 
from  killing  any  more.  So  our  fore- 
fathers obtained  a  mosj  signal  and  most 
seasonable  victory ;  for  they  not  only 
overcame  those  that  fought  against  them, 
but  terrified  also  the  neighbouring  nations, 
and  got  great  and  splendid  advantages, 
which  they  obtained  of  their  enemies  by 
their  hard  pains  in  this  battle  :  for  when 
they  had  taken  the  enemy's  camp,  they 
got  ready  booty  for  the  public,  and  for 
their  own  private  families,  whereas  till 
then  they  had  not  any  sort  of  plenty,  of 
even  necessary  food.  The  forementioned 
battle,  when  they  had  once  got  it,  was 
also  the  occasion  of  their  prosperity,  not 
only  for  the  present,  but  for  the  future 
also  ;  for  they  not  only  made  slaves  of  the 
bodies  of  their  enemies,  but  subdued  their 
minds  also,  and,  after  this  battle,  became 
terrible  to  all  that  dwelt  round  about 
them.  Moreover,  they  acquired  a  vast 
quantity  of  riches ;  for  a  great  deal  of 
silver  and  gold  was  left  in  the  enemy's 
camp;  as  also  brazen  vessels,  which  they 
made  common  use  of  in  their  families; 
many  utensils  also  that  were  embroidered, 
there  were  of  both  sorts,  that  is  of  what 
were  weaved,  and  what  were  the  orna- 
ments of  their  armour,  and  other  things 
that  served  for  use  in  the  family,  and  for 
the  furniture  of  their  rooms  [tents]  j  they 
got  also  the  prey  of  their  cattle,  and  of 
such  articles  as  are  used  in  camps,  when 
they  remove  from  one  place  to  another. 
So  the  Hebrews  now  valued  themselves 
upon  their  courage,  and  claimed  great 
merit  for  their  valour ;  and  they  per- 
petually inured  themselves  to  take  pains, 
by  which  they  deemed  every  difficulty 
might  be  surmounted.  Such  were  the 
consequences  of  this  battle. 

On  the  next  day,  Moses  stripped  the 
dead  bodies  of  their  enemies,  and  ga- 
thered together  the  army  of  those  that 
were  fled,  and  gave  rewards  to  such  as  had 
signalized  themselves  in  the  action ;  and 
highly  commended  Joshua,  their  general, 
who  was  attested  to  by  all  the  army,  on 
account  of  the  great  actions  he  had  done. 
Nor  was  any  one  of  the  Hebrews  slain ; 
but  the  slain  of  the  enemy's  army  was 
too  many  to  be  enumerated.     So  Moses 


offered  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving  to  God, 
and  built  an  altar,  which  he  named  "The 
Lord  the  Conqueror."  He  also  foretold 
that  the  Amalekites  should  utterly  be  de- 
stroyed ;  and  that  hereafter  none  of  them 
should  remain,  because  they  fought  against 
the  Hebrews,  and  this  when  they  were  in 
the  wilderness,  and  in  their  distress  also. 
Moreover,  he  refreshed  the  army  with 
feasting.  And  thus  did  they  fight  this 
first  battle  with  those  that  ventured  to  op- 
pose them,  after  they  were  gone  out  of 
Egypt.  But  when  Moses  had  celebrated 
this  festival  for  the  victory,  he  permitted 
the  Hebrews  to  rest  for  a  few  days,  and 
then  he  brought  them  out  after  the  fight, 
in  order  of  battle ;  for  they  had  now  many 
soldiers  in  light  armour.  And  going 
gradually  on,  he  came  to  Mount  Sinai,  in 
three  months'  time  after  they  were  re- 
moved out  of  Egypt;  on  which  mountain, 
as  we  have  before  related,  the  vision  of 
the  bush,  and  the  other  wonderful  ap- 
pearances, had  happened. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Moses  kindly  receives  his  father-in-law. 
Exod.  xviii.  1. 

Now  when  Raguel,  Moses's  father-in- 
law,  understood  in  what  a  prosperous  con- 
dition his  affairs  were,  he  willingly  came 
to  meet  him.  And  Moses  took  Zipporah, 
his  wife,  and  his  children,  and  pleased 
himself  with  their  coming.  And  when 
he  had  offered  sacrifice,  he  made  a  feast 
for  the  multitude,  near  the  bush  he  had 
formerly  seen ;  which  multitude,  every 
one,  according  to  their  families,  partook 
of  the  feast.  But  Aaron  and  his  family 
took  Raguel,  and  sung  hymns  to  God,  as 
to  him  who  had  been  the  author  and  pro- 
curer of  their  deliverance,  and  their  free- 
dom. They  also  praised  their  conductor, 
as  him  by  whose  virtue  it  was  that  all 
things  had  succeeded  so  well  with  them. 
Raguel  also,  in  his  eucharistical  oration 
to  Moses,  made  great  encomiums  upon 
the  whole  multitude;  and  he  could  not 
but  admire  Moses  for  his  fortitude,  and 
that  humanity  he  had  shown  in  the  de 
livery  of  his  friends. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Raguel  suggests  to  Moses,  to  set  the  people  in 
order,  under  rulers. 

The  next  day,  as  Raguel  saw  Moses  in 
the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  business,  (for  h 


100 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  m 


determined  the  differences  of  those  that 
referred  them  to  him,  every  one  still 
going  to  him,  and  supposing  that  they 
should  then  only  obtain  justice,  if  he 
were  the  arbitrator;  and  those  that  lost 
their  causes  thought  it  no  harm  while 
they  thought  they  lost  them  justly,  and 
not  by  partiality  ;)  Raguel,  however,  said 
nothing  to  him  at  that  time,  as  not  de- 
sirous to  be  any  hinderance  to  such  as  had 
a  mind  to  make  use  of  the  virtue  of  their 
conductor.  But  afterward  he  took  him 
to  himself,  and  when  he  had  him  alone, 
he  instructed  him  in  what  he  ought  to 
do ;  and  advised  him  to  leave  the  trouble 
of  lesser  causes  to  others,  but  himself  to 
take  care  of  the  greater,  and  of  the 
people's  safety;  for  that  certain  others  of 
the  Hebrews  might  be  found  that  were  fit 
to  determine  causes,  but  that  nobody  but 
a  Moses  could  take  care  of  the  safety  of 
so  many  thousands.  "  Be  not,  therefore/' 
says  he,  "  insensible  of  thine  own  virtue, 
and  what  thou  hast  done  by  ministering 
unto  God  to  the  people's  preservation. 
Permit,  therefore,  the  determination  of 
common  causes  to  be  done  by  others,  but 
do  thou  reserve  thyself  to  the  attendance 
on  God  only,  and  look  out  for  methods 
of  preserving  the  multitude  from  their 
present  distress.  Make  use  of  the  method 
I  suggest  to  you,  as  to  human  affairs  ; 
and  take  a  review  of  the  army,  and  ap- 
point' chosen  rulers  over  tens  of  thou- 
sands, and  then  over  thousands;  then 
divide  them  into  five  hundreds,  and  again 
into  hundreds,  and  into  fifties  ;  and  set 
rulers  over  each  of  them,  who  may  distin- 
guish them  into  thirties,  and  keep  them 
in  order,  and  at  last  number  them  by 
twenties  and  by  tens ;  and  let  there  be 
one  commander  over  each  number,  to  be 
denominated  from  the  number  of  those 
over  whom  they  are  rulers,  but  such  as 
the  whole  multitude  have  tried  and  do 
approve  of,  as  being  good  and  righteous 
men;  and  let  those  rulers  decide  the  con- 
troversies they  have  one  with  another. 
But  if  any  great  cause  arise,  let  them 
bring  the  cognizance  of  it  before  the 
rulers  of  a  higher  dignity  ;  but  if  any 
great  difficulty  arise  that  is  too  hard  for 
even  their  determination,  let  them  send 
it  to  thee.  By  these  means  two  advan- 
tages will  be  gained  :  the  Hebrews  will 
have  justice  done  them,  and  thou  wilt  be 
able  to  attend  constantly  on  God,  and 
procure  him  to  be  more  favourable  to  the 
people  " 


This  was  the  admonition  of  Raguel  ; 
and  Moses  received  his  advice  very  kindly, 
and  acted  according  to  his  suggestion. 
Nor  did  he  conceal  the  invention  of  this 
method,  nor  pretended  to  it  himself,  but 
informed  the  multitude  who  it  was  that 
invented  it :  nay,  he  has  named  Raguel 
in  the  books  he  wrote,  as  the  person  who 
invented  this  ordering  of  the  people,  as 
thinking  it  right  to  give  a  true  testimony 
to  worthy  persons,  although  he  might 
have  gotten  reputation  by  ascribing  to 
himself  the  inventions  of  other  men  j 
whence  we  may  learn  the  virtuous  dispo- 
sition of  Moses ;  but  of  such  his  dispo- 
sition, we  shall  have  proper  occasion  to" 
speak  in  other  places  of  these  books. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Moses  receives  laws  from  God,  and  delivers  them 
to  the  Hebrews.  Exod.  xix.  xx.     B.  C.  1491. 

Now  Moses  called  the  multitude  to- 
gether, and  told  them  that  he  was  going 
from  them  unto  Mouut  Sinai  to  converse 
with  God  ;  to  receive  from  him,  and  to 
bring  back  with  him,  a  certain  oracle; 
but  he  enjoined  them  to  pitch  their  tents 
near  the  mountain,  and  prefer  the  habi- 
tation that  was  nearest  to  God,  before 
one  more  remote.  When  he  had  said 
this,  he  ascended  up  to  Mount  Sinai, 
which  is  the  highest  of  all  the  mountains 
that  are  in  that  country,*  aud  is  not  only 
very  difficult  to  be  ascended  by  men,  on 
account  of  its  vast  altitude,  but  because 
of  the  sharpness  of  its  precipices  also ; 
nay,  indeed,  it  cannot  be  looked  at  witb 
out  pain  of  the  eyes :  and  besides  this,  it 
was  terrible  and  inaccessible,  on  accouut 
of  the  rumour  that  passed  about,  that  God 
dwelt  there.  But  the  Hebrews  removed 
their  tents  as  Moses  had  bidden  them, 
and  took  possession  of  the  lowest  parts  of 
the  mountain  ;  aud  were  elevated  in  their 
minds,  in  expectation  that  Moses  would 


*  Sinai  is  here  said  to  be  the  highest  of  all  the 
mountains  that  are  in  that  country:  it  must  be 
that  now  called  St.  Katharine's,  which  is  one-third 
higher  than  that  within  a  mile  of  it.  now  called 
Sinai.  The  other  name  of  it,  Horeb,  ia  never  used 
by  Joscphus,  and  perhaps  was  its  name  among  the 
Egyptians  only,  whence  the  Israelites  had  lately 
come,  as  Sinai  was  its  name  among  the  Arabians, 
Canaanites,  ami  other  nations.  Accordingly,  when 
(1  Kings  ix.  8)  the  Scripture  says  that  ame 

to  Horeb,  the  mount  of  God,  Josephus  justly  says 
that  he  came  to  the  mountain  called  Sinai  :  and 
Jerome,  here?  cited  by  Dr.  Hudson,  says  that  he 
took  this  mountain  to  have  two  names,  Sinai  an^ 
Choreb. 


tjHAP.   V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


101 


return  from  God  with  promises  of  the 
good  things  he  had  proposed  to  them.  So 
they  feasted  and  waited  for  their  conduc- 
tor, and  kept  themselves  pure  as  in  other 
respects,  and  not  accompanying  with  their 
wives  for  three  days,  as  he  had  before  or- 
dered them  to  do.  And  they  prayed  to 
God  that  he  would  favourably  receive 
Moses  in  his  conversing  with  him,  and 
bestow  some  such  gift  upon  them  by 
which  they  might  live  well.  They  also 
lived  more  plentifully  as  to  their  diet ; 
and  put  on  their  wives  and  children  more 
ornamental  and  decent  clothing  than  they 
usually  wore. 

So  they  passed  two  days  in  this  way  of 
feasting;  but  on  the  third  day,  before-  the 
sun  was  up,  a  cloud  spread  itself  over  the 
whole  camp  of  the  Hebrews,  such  an  one 
as  none  had  before  seeu,  and  encompassed 
the  place  where  they  had  pitched  their 
tents  ;  and  while  all  the  rest  of  the  air 
was  clear,  there  came  strong  winds,  that 
raised  up  large  showers  of  rain,  which  be- 
came a  mighty  tempest.  There  was  also 
such  lightning  as  was  terrible  to  those 
that  saw  it;  and  thunder,  with  its  thun- 
derbolts, were  sent  down,  and  declared 
God  to  be  there  present  in  a  gracious  way 
to  such  as  Moses  desired  he  should  be 
gracious.  Now,  as  to  these  matters,  every 
one  of  my  readers  may  think  as  he 
pleases;  but  I  am  under  a  necessity  of 
relating  this  history  as  it  is  described  in 
the  sacred  books.  This  sight,  and  the 
amazing  sound  that  came  to  their  ears, 
disturbed  the  Hebrews  to  a  prodigious 
degree,  for  they  were  not  such  as  they 
were  accustomed  to;  and  then  the  rumour 
that  was  spread  abroad,  how  God  fre- 
quented that  mountain,  greatly  astonished 
their  minds ;  so  they  sorrowfully  con- 
tained themselves  within  their  tents,  as 
both  supposing  Moses  to  be  destroyed  by 
the  Divine  wrath,  and  expecting  the  like 
destruction  for  themselves. 

While  they  were  under  these  apprehen- 
sions, Moses  appeared,  very  joyful  and 
greatly  exalted.  When  they  saw  him, 
they  were  freed  from  their  fear,  and  ad- 
mitted of  more  comfortable  hopes  as  to 
what  was  to  come.  The  air  also  had  be- 
come clear  and  pure  of  its  former  disor- 
ders, upon  the  appearance  of  Moses ; 
whereupon  he  called  together  the  people 
to  a  congregation,  in  order  to  their  hear- 
ing what  God  would  say  to  them  ;  and 
when  they  were  gathered  together,  he 
stood  on  an  eminence  whence  they  might 


all  hear  him,  and  said,  "  Goa  has  received 
me  graciously,  0  Hebrews,  as  he  has  for- 
merly done,  and  has  suggested  a  happy 
method  of  living  for  you,  and  an  order  of 
political  government,  and  is  now  present 
in  the  camp  :  I  therefore  charge  you,  for 
his  sake  and  the  sake  of  his  works,  and 
what  we  have  done  by  his  means,  that 
you  do  not  put  a  low  value  on  what  I  am 
going  to  say,  because  the  commands  have 
been  given  by  me  that  now  deliver  them 
to  you,  nor  because  it  is  the  tongue  of  a 
man  that  delivers  them  to  you ;  but  if 
you  have  a  due  regard  to  the  great  im- 
portance of  the  things  themselves,  you 
will  understand  the  greatness  of  him 
whose  institutions  they,  are,  and  who  has 
not  disdained  to  communicate  them  to 
me  for  our  common  advantage;  for  it 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  author  of 
these  institutions  is  barely  Moses,  the 
son  of  Amrarn  and  Jochebed,  but  he  who 
obliged  the  Nile  to  run  with  blood  for 
your  sakes,  and  tamed  the  hawghtiness 
of  the  Egyptians  by  various  sorts  of  judg- 
ments ;  he  who  provided  a  way  through 
the  sea  for  us  ;  he  who  contrived  a  method 
of  sending  us  food  from  heaven,  when  we 
were  distressed  for  waut  of  it;  he  who 
made  the  water  to  issue  out  of  a  rock. 
when  we  had  very  little  of  it  before ;  he 
by  whose  means  Adam  was  made  to  pa* 
take  of  the  fruits  both  of  the  land  and  ol 
the  sea;  he  by  whose  means  Noah  es- 
caped the  deluge ;  he  by  whose  means 
our  forefather  Abraham,  of  a  wandering 
pilgrim,  was  made  the  heir  of  the  land 
of  Canaan;  he  by  whose  means  Isaac 
was  born  of  parents  that  were  very  old ; 
he  by  whose  means  Jacob  was  adorned 
with  twelve  virtuous  [?]  sons ;  he  by 
whose  means  Joseph  became  a  potent  lord 
over  the  Egyptians  ;  he  it  is  who  conveys 
these  instructions  to  you  by  me  as  his 
interpreter.  And  let  them  be  to  you 
venerable,  and  contended  for  more  ear- 
nestly by  you  than  your  own  children  and 
your  own  wives  ;  for  if  you  will  follow 
them,  you  will  lead  a  happy  life  ;  you  will 
enjoy  the  land  fruitful,  the  sea  calm,  and 
the  fruit  of  the  womb  born  complete,  as 
nature  requires ;  you  will  be  also  terrible 
to  your  enemies :  for  I  have  been  ad- 
mitted into  the  presence  of  God,  and 
made  a  hearer  of  his  incorruptible  voice  : 
so  great  is  his  concern  for  your  nation, 
and  its  duration. " 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  brought  the 
people,  with  tneir  wives  and  children,  so 


/' 


102 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III. 


near  the  mountain,  that  they  might  hear 
God  himself  speaking  to  them  about  the 
precepts  which  they  were  to  practise ; 
that  the  energy  of  what  should  be  spoken 
might  not  be  hurt  by  its  utterance  by  the 
tongue  of  a  man,  which  could  but  imper- 
fectly deliver  it  to  their  understanding. 
And  they  all  heard  a  voice  that  came  to 
them  from  above,  insomuch  that  no  one 
of  ttesc  words  escaped  them,  which  Moses 
wro-ie  on  two  tables ;  which  it  is  not  law- 
ful for  us  to  set  down  directly,  but  their 
import  we  will  declare. 

The  first  commandment  teaches  us, 
That  there  is  but  one  God,  and  that  we 
ought  to  worship  him  only ;  the  second 
commands  us  not  to  make  the  image  of 
any  living  creature,  to  worship  it ;  the 
third,  That  we  must  not  swear  by  God  in 
a  false  matter ;  the  fourth,  That  we  must 
keep  the  seventh  day,  by  resting  from  all 
sorts  of  work  ;  the  fifth,  That  we  must 
honour  our  parents;  the  sixth,  That  we 
must  abstain  from  murder;  the  seventh, 
That  we  must  not  commit  adultery ;  the 
eighth,  That  we  must  not  be  guilty  of 
theft ;  the  ninth,  That  we  must  not  bear 
false  witness ;  the  tenth,  That  we  must 
Qot  admit  of  the  desire  of  any  thing  that 
is  another's. 

Now  when  the  multitude  had  heard 
God  himself  giving  those  precepts  which 
Moses  had  discoursed  of,  they  rejoiced  at 
what  was  said;  and  the  congregation  was 
dissolved  :  but  on  the  following  days  they 
came  to  his  tent,  and  desired  him  to  bring 
them,  besides,  other  laws  from  God.  Ac- 
cordingly he  appointed  such  laws,  and 
afterward  informed  them  in  what  manner 
they  should  act  in  all  cases;  which  laws 
I  shall  make  mention  of  in  their  proper 
time;  but  I  shall  reserve  most  of  those 
laws  for  another  work,  and  make  there  a 
distinct  explication  of  them. 

When  matters  were  brought  to  this 
stale,  Moses  went  up  again  to  Mount 
Sinai,  of  which  he  had  told  them  before- 
hand. He  made  his  ascent  in  their  sight: 
and  while  he  stayed  there  so  long  a  time, 
(for  he  was  absent  from  them  forty  days,) 
tear  seized  upon  the  Hebrews,  lest  Moses 
should  have  come  to  any  harm;  nor  was 
there  any  thing  else  so  sad,  and  that  so 
much  troubled  them,  as  this  supposal  that 
Moses  had  perished.  Now  there  was  a 
variety  in  their  sentiments  about  it;  some 
saying  that  he  had  fallen  among  wild 
beasts;  and  those  that  were  of  this  opi- 
nion were  chieily  such  as  were  ill-disposed 


to  him;  but  others  said  that  he  had  de« 
parted,  and  gone  to  God;  but  the  w.ser 
sort  were  led  by  their  reason  to  embrace 
neither  of  those  opinions  with  any  satis- 
faction, thinking,  that  as  it  was  a  thing 
that  sometimes  happens  to  men  to  fall 
among  wild  beasts,  and  perish  that  way, 
so  it  was  probable  enough  that  he  might 
depart  and  go  to  God,  on  account  of  his 
virtue;  they  therefore  were  quiet,  and 
expected  the  event :  yet  were  they  exceed- 
ingly sorry  upon  the  supposal  that  they 
were  deprived  of  a  governor  and  a  pro- 
tector, such  an  one  indeed  as  they  could 
never  recover  again;  nor  would  this  sus- 
picion give  them  leave  to  expect  any  com- 
fortable event  about  this  man,  nor  could 
they  prevent  their  trouble  and  melancholy 
upon  this  occasion.  However,  the  camp 
durst  not  remove  all  this  while,  because 
Moses  had  bidden  them  to  stay  there. 

But  when  the  forty  days  and  as  many 
nights  were  over,  Moses  came  down,  hav- 
ing tasted  nothing  of  food  usually  ap- 
pointed for  the  nourishment  of  men.  His 
appearance  filled  the  army  with  gladness, 
and  he  declared  to  them  what  care  God 
had  of  them,  and  by  what  manner  of  con- 
duct of  their  lives  they  might  live  happily  ; 
telling  them,  "  that  during  these  days  of 
his  absence  God  had  suggested  to  him 
also  that  he  would  have  a  tabernacle  built 
for  him,  into  which  he  would  descend 
when  he  came  to  them;  and  how  we 
should  carry  it  about  with  us  when  we 
remove  from  this  place;  and  that  there 
would  be  no  longer  any  occasion  for  going 
up  to  Mount  Sinai,  but  that  he  would 
himself  come  and  pitch  his  tabernacle 
among  us,  and  be  present  at  our  prayers; 
as  also,  that  the  tabernacle  should  be  of 
such  measures  and  construction  as  he  had 
shown  him;  and  that  we  are  to  fall  to  the 
work,  and  prosecute  it  diligently."  When 
he  had  said  this,  he  showed  them  the  two 
tables,  with  the  ten  commandments  en- 
graven upon  them,  five  upon  each  table ; 
and  the  writing  was  by  the  hand  of  God. 


CHAPTER,  VI. 

Description  of  the  Tabernacle  in  the  wildtrness. 

Hereupon  the  Israelites  rejoiced  at 
what  they  had  seen  and  heard  from  then 
conductor,  and  were  not  wanting  in  dili- 
gence according  to  their  ability;  for  they 
brought  silver,  and  gold,  and  brass,  and 
of  the  best  sorts  of  wood,  aud  such  as 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


103 


w:>uld  not  at  all  decay  by  putrefaction; 
camels'  hair  also,  and  sheep-skins,  some 
of  them  dyed  of  a  blue  colour,  and  some 
of  a  scarlet;  some  brought  the  flower  for 
the  purple  colour,  and  others  for  white, 
with  wool  dyed  by  the  flowers  before- 
mentioned,  and  fine  linen,  and  precious 
stones,  which  those  that  use  costly  orna- 
ments set  in  ouches*  of  gold;  they  brought 
also  a  great  quantity  of  spices :  for  of  these 
materials  did  Moses  build  the  tabernacle, 
which  did  not  all  differ  from  a  movable 
and  ambulatory  temple.  Now  when  these 
things  were  brought  together  with  great 
diligence,  (for  every  one  was  ambitious 
to  further  the  work  even  beyond  their 
ability,)  he  set  architects  over  the  works, 
and  this  by  the  command  of  God:  and 
indeed  the  very  same  which  the  people 
themselves  would  have  chosen,  had  the 
election  been  allowed  to  them.  Now 
their  names  are  set  down  in  writing  in 
the  sacred  books;  and  they  were  these  : — 
Besaleel  the  son  of  Uri,  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  the  grandson  of  Miriam,  the  sister 
of  their  conductor;  and  Aholiab,  the  son 
of  Ahisamach,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan.  Now 
the  people  went  on  with  what  they  had 
undertaken  with  such  great  alacrity,  that 
Moses  was  obliged  to  restrain  them,  by 
making  proclamation  that  what  had  been 
brought  was  sufficient,  as  the  artificers  had 
informed  him;  so  they  fell  to  work  upon 
the  building  of  the  tabernacle.  Moses 
also  informed  them,  according  to  the  di- 
rection of  God,  both  what  the  measures 
were  to  be,  and  its  largeness;  and  how 
many  vessels  it  ought  to  contain  for  the 
use  of  the  sacrifices.  The  women  also 
were  ambitious  to  do  their  parts,  about 
the  garments  of  the  priests,  and  about 
other  things  that  would  be  wanted  in  this 
work,  both  for  ornament  and  for  the 
Divine  service  itself. 

Now  when  all  things  were  prepared, 
the  gold,  and  the  silver,  and  the  brass, 
and  what  was  woven,  Moses,  when  he  had 
appointed  beforehand  that  there  should 
be  a  festival,  and  that  sacrifices  should  be 
offered  according  to  every  one's  ability, 
reared  up  the  tabernacle;  and  when  he  had 
measured  the  open  court,  fifty  cubits  broad 
and  a  hundred  long,  he  set  up  brazen  pil- 
lars, five  cubits  high,  twenty  on  each  of  the 
longer  sides,  and  ten  pillars  for  the  breadth 
behind;  every  one  of  the  pillars  also  had 
a  ring.     Their  chapiters  were  of  silver, 

*  Collars. 


but  their  bases  were  of  brass :  they  re- 
sembled the  sharp  ends  of  spears,  and 
were  of  brass,  fixed  in  the  ground.  Cords 
were  also  put  through  the  rings,  and  were 
tied  at  their  farther  ends  to  brass  nails, 
of  a  cubit  long,  which,  at  every  pillar, 
were  driven  into  the  floor,  and  would  keep 
the  tabernacle  from  being  shaken  by  the 
violence  of  the  winds;  but  a  curtain  of 
fine  soft  linen  went  round  all  the  pillars, 
and  hung  down  in  a  flowing  and  loose 
manner  from  their  chapiters,  and  enclosed 
the  whole  space,  and  seemed  not  at  all 
unlike  to  a  wall  about  it.  And  this  was 
the  structure  of  three  of  the  sides  of  this 
enclosure;  but  as  for  the  fourth  side, 
which  was  fifty  cubits  in  extent,  and  was 
the  front  of  the  whole,  twenty  cubits  of  it 
were  for  the  opening  of  the  gates,  wherein 
stood  pillars  on  each  side,  after  the 
resemblance  of  open  gates.  These  were 
made  wholly  of  silver,  and  polished,  and 
that  all  over,  excepting  the  bases,  which 
were  of  brass.  Now  on  each  side  of  the 
gates  there  stood  three  pillars,  which  were 
inserted  into  the  concave  bases  of  the 
gates,  and  were  suited  to  them ;  and  round 
them  was  drawn  a  curtain  of  fine  linen; 
but  to  the  gates  themselves,  which  were 
twenty  cubits  in  extent,  and  five  in  height, 
the  curtain  was  composed  of  purple,  and 
scarlet,  and  blue,  and  fine  linen,  em- 
broidered with  many  and  divers  sorts  of 
figures,  excepting  the  figures  of  animals. 
Within  these  gates  was  the  brazen  laver 
for  purification,  having  a  basin  beneath 
of  the  like  matter,  whence  the  priests 
might  wash  their  hands  and  sprinkle  their 
feet;  and  this  was  the  ornamental  con- 
struction of  the  enclosure  about  the  court 
of  the  tabernacle,  which  was  exposed  to 
the  open  air. 

As  to  the  tabernacle  itself,  Moses  placed 
it  in  the  middle  of  the  court,  with  its 
front  to  the  east,  that,  when  the  sun  arose, 
it  might  send  its  first  rays  upon  it.  Its 
length,  when  it  was  set  up,  was  thirty 
cubits,  and  its  breadth  was  twelve  [ten] 
cubits.  The  one  of  its  walls  was  on  the 
south,  and  the  other  was  exposed  to  the 
north,  and  the  back  part  of  it  remained 
to  the  west.  It  was  necessary  that  its 
height  should  be  equal  to  its  breadth 
[ten  cubits].  There  were  also  pillars 
made  of  wood,  twenty  on  each  side;  they 
were  wrought  in  a  quadrangular  figure, 
in  breadth  a  cubit  and  a  half,  but  the 
thickness  was  four  fingers:  they  had  thiu 
plates  of   gold   affixed   to   them  on  both 


104 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  111. 


Bides,  icvrardlj  and  outwardly:  they  had 
each  of  them  two  tenons  belonging  to 
them,  inserted  into  their  bases,  and  these 
were  of  silver,  in  each  of  which  bases 
there  was  a  socket  to  receive  the  tenon; 
but  the  pillars  on  the  west  wall  were  six. 
Now  all  these  tenons  and  sockets  ac- 
curately fitted  one  another,  insomuch  that 
the  joints  were  invisible,  and  both  seemed 
to  be  one  entire  and  united  wall.  It  was 
also  covered  with  gold  both  within  and  with- 
out. The  number  of  pillars  was  equal  on 
the  opposite  sides,  and  there  were  on  each 
part  twenty,  and  every  one  of  them  had 
the  third  part  of  a  span  in  thickness;  so 
that  the  number  of  thirty  cubits  were 
fully  made  up  between  them;  but  as  to 
the  wall  behind,  where  the  six  pillars 
made  up  together  only  nine  cubits,  they 
made  two  other  pillars,  and  cut  them  out 
of  one  cubit,  which  they  placed  in  the 
corners,  and  made  them  equally  fine  with 
the  others.  Now  every  one  of  the  pillars 
had  rings  of  gold  affixed  to  their  fronts 
outward,  as  if  they  had  taken  root  in  the 
pillars,  and  stood  one  row  over  against 
another  round  about,  through  which  were 
inserted  bars  gilt  over  with  gold,  each  of 
them  five  cubits  long,  and  these  bound 
together  the  pillars,  the  head  of  one  bar 
running  into  another,  after  the  nature  of 
one  tenon  inserted  into  another;  but  for 
the  wall  behind,  there  was  but  one  row 
of  bars  that  went  through  all  the  pillars, 
into  which  row  ran  the  ends  of  the  bars 
on  each  side  of  the  longer  walls;  the  male 
with  its  female  being  so  fastened  in  their 
joints,  that  they  held  the  whole  firmly 
together;  and  for  this  reason  was  all  this 
joined  so  fast  together,  that  the  tabernacle 
might  not  be  shaken,  either  by  the  winds, 
or  by  any  other  means,  but  that  it  might 
preserve  itself  quiet  and  immovable  con- 
tinually. 

As  for  the  inside,  Moses  parted  its 
length  into  three  partitions.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  ten  cubits  from  the  most  secret 
end,  Moses  placed  four  pillars,  the  work- 
manship of  which  was  the  very  same  with 
that  of  the  rest;  and  they  stood  upon  the 
like  bases  with  them,  each  a  small  matter 
distant  from  his  fellow.  Now  the  room 
within  hose  pillars  was  the  most  holy 
plac<  ,  bat  the  rest  of  the  room  was  the 
tabernacle,  which  was  open  for  the  priests. 
However,  this  proportion  of  the  measures 
of  the  tabernacle  proved  to  be  an  imita- 
tion ol"  the  system  of  the  world:  for  that 
third   part  thereof  which  was  within   the 


four  pillars,  to  which  the  priests  were  not 
admitted,  is,  as  it  wjre,  a  heaven  peculiar 
to  God;  but  the  space  of  the  twenty 
cubits,  is,  as  it  were,  sea  and  land,  on 
wThich  men  live,  and  so  this  part  is  pe- 
culiar to  the  priests  only  :  but  at  the  front, 
where  the  entrance  was  made,  they  placed 
pillars  of  gold  that  stood  on  bases  of  brass, 
seven  in  number;  but  then  they  spread 
over  the  tabernacle  vails  of  fine  linen, 
and  purple,  and  blue,  and  scarlet  colours, 
embroidered.  The  first  vail  was  ten  cu- 
bits every  way,  and  this  they  spread  over 
the  pillars  which  parted  the  temple,  and 
kept  the  most  holy  place  concealed  within; 
and  this  vail  was  that  which  made  this 
part  not  visible  to  any.  Now  the  whole 
temple  was  called  " The  Holy  Place;" 
but  that  part  which  was  within  the  four 
pillars,  and  to  which  none  were  admitted, 
was  called  "The  Holy  of  Holies."  This 
vail  was  very  ornamental,  and  embroidered 
with  all  sorts  of  flowers  which  the  earth 
produces;  and  there  were  interwoven  into 
it  all  sorts  of  variety  that  might  be  an 
ornament,  excepting  the  forms  of  animals. 
Another  vail  there  was  which  covered  the 
five  pillars  that  were  at  the  entrance.  It 
was  like  the  former  in  its  magnitude,  and 
texture,  and  colour;  and  at  the  corner  of 
every  pillar  a  ring  retained  it  from  the 
top  downward  half  the  depth  of  the  pillars, 
the  other  half  affording  an  entrance  for 
the  priests,  who  crept  under  it.  Over 
this  there  was  a  vail  of  linen,  of  the  same 
largeness  with  the  former:  it  wTas  to  be 
drawn  this  way  or  that  way  by  cords,  the 
rings  of  which,  fixed  to  the  texture  of  the 
vail,  and  to  the  cords  also,  were  subser- 
vient to  the  drawing  and  undrawing  of 
the  vail,  and  to  the  fastening  it  at  the 
corner,  that  then  it  might  be  no  hiuderance 
to  the  view  of  the  sanctuary,  especially  on 
solemn  days;  but  that  on  other  days,  and 
especially  when  the  weather  was  inclined 
to  snowT,  it  might  be  expanded,  and  afford 
a  covering  to  the  vail  of  divers  colours; 
whence  that  custom  of  ours  is  derived, 
of  having  a  fine  linen  vail,  after  the  temple 
has  been  built,  to  be  drawn  over  the  en- 
trances; but  the  ten  other  curtains  were 
four  cubits  in  breadth,  and  twenty-eight 
in  length;  and  had  golden  clasps,  in 
order  to  join  the  one  curtain  to  the  other, 
which  was  done  so  exactly  that  they 
seemed  to  be  one  entire  curtain.  These 
were  spread  over  the  temple,  and  covered 
all  the  top,  and  parts  of  the  walls,  on  the 
sides  and  behind,  so   far   as   withiu   one 


VdAV.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


105 


mbit  of  the  ground.  There  were  other 
curtains  of  the  same  breadth  with  these, 
but  one  more  in  number,  and  longer,  for 
they  were  thirty  cubits  long;  but  these 
were  woven  of  hair,  with  the  like  subtilty 
as  those  of  wool  were  made,  and  were  ex- 
tended loosely  down  to  the  ground,  ap- 
pearing like  a  triangular  front  and  eleva- 
tion at  the  gates,  the  eleventh  curtain 
being  used  for  this  very  purpose.  There 
were  also  other  curtains  made  of  skins 
above  these,  which  afforded  covering  and 
protection  to  those  that  were  woven,  both 
in  hot  weather  and  when  it  rained;  and 
great  was  the  surprise  of  those  who  viewed 
these  curtains  at  a  distance,  for  they 
seemed  not  at  all  to  differ  from  the  colour 
of  the  sky ;  but  those  that  were  made  of 
hair  and  of  skins,  reached  down  in  the 
same  manner  as  did  the  vail  at  the  gates, 
and  kept  off  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  what 
injury  the  rains  might  do;  and  after  this 
manner  was  the  tabernacle  reared. 

There  was  also  an  ark  made,  sacred  to 
God,  of  wood  that  was  naturally  strong, 
and  could  not  be  corrupted.  This  was 
called  "  Eron,"  in  our  own  language.  Its 
construction  was  thus:  its  length  was  five 
Bpans,  but  its  breadth  and  height  was  each 
of  them  three  spans.  It  was  covered  all 
over  with  gold,  both  within  and  without, 
so  that  the  wooden  part  was  not  seen.  It 
had  also  a  cover  united  to  it,  by  golden 
hinges,  after  a  wonderful  manner;  which 
cover  was  every  way  evenly  fitted  to  it, 
and  had  no  eminences  to  hinder  its  exact 
conjunction.  There  were  also  two  golden 
rings  belonging  to  each  of  the  longer 
boards,  and  passing  through  the  entire 
wood,  and  through  them  gilt  bars  passed 
along  each  board,  that  it  might  thereby 
be  moved  and  carried  about,  as  occasion 
should  require;  for  it  was  not  drawn  in 
a  cart  by  beasts  of  burden,  but  borne  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  priests.  Upon  this 
its  cover  were  placed  two  images,  which 
the  Hebrews  call  u  Cherubim  •/'  they  are 
flying  creatures,  but  their  form  is  not  like 
to  that  of  any  of  the  creatures  which  men 
have  seen,  though  Moses  said  he  had  seen 
such  beings  near  the  throne  of  God.  In 
this  ark  he  put  the  two  tables  whereon 
the  ten  commandments  were  written,  five 
on  each  table,  and  two  and  a  half  upon 
each  side  of  them  :  and  this  ark  he  placed 
in  the  most  holy  place. 

But  in  the  holy  place  he  placed  a  table, 
like  those  at  Delphi :  its  length  was  two 
cubits,  and  it«  breadth  one  cubit,  and  its 


height  three  spans.  It  had  feet  also,  the 
lower  half  of  which  were  complete  feet, 
resembling  those  which  the  Dorians  put 
to  their  bedsteads;  but  the  upper  parts 
toward  the  table  were  wrought  iuto  a 
square  form.  The  table  had  a  hollow 
toward  every  side,  having  a  ledge  of  four 
fingers'  depth,  that  went  round  about  like 
a  spiral,  both  on  the  upper  and  lower  part 
of  the  body  of  the  work.  Upon  every 
one  of  the  feet  there  was  also  inserted  a 
ring,  not  far  from  the  cover,  through 
which  went  bars  of  wood  beneath,  but 
gilded,  to  be  taken  out  upon  occasion, 
there  being  a  cavity  where  it  was  joined 
to  the  rings;  for  they  were  not  entire 
rings;  but  before  they  came  quite  round 
they  ended  in  acute  points,  the  one  of 
which  was  inserted  into  the  prominent 
part  of  the  table,  and  the  other  into  the 
foot;  and  by  these  it  was  carried  when 
they  journeyed.  Upon  this  table,  which 
was  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  tem- 
ple, not  far  from  the  most  holy  place, 
were  laid  twelve  unleavened  loaves  of 
bread,  six  upon  each  heap,  one  above 
another:  they  were  made  of  two  tenth- 
deals  of  the  purest  flour,  which  tenth- 
deal  [an  omer]  is  a  measure  of  the  He- 
brews, containing  seven  Athenian  cotylae ; 
and  above  those  loaves  were  put  two  vials 
full  of  frankincense.  Now  after  seven 
days  other  loaves  were  brought  in  their 
stead,  on  the  day  which  is  by  us  called 
the  Sabbath;  for  we  call  the  seventh  day 
the  Sabbath.  But  for  the  occasion  of 
this  invention  of  placing  loaves  here,  we 
will  speak  of  it  in  another  place. 

Over  against  this  table,  near  the 
southern  wall,  was  set  a  candlestick  of 
cast  gold,  hollow  within,  beiug  of  the 
weight  of  100  pounds,  which  the  He- 
brews call  "  Chinchares;"  if  it  be  turned 
into  the  Greek  language,  it  denotes  a 
"  talent."  It  was  made  with  its  knops, 
and  lilies,  and  pomegranates,  and  bowls, 
(which  ornaments  amounted  to  seventy  in 
all;)  by  which  means  the  shaft  elevated 
itself  on  high  from  a  single  base,  and 
spread  itself  into  as  many  branches  as 
there  are  planets,  including  the  sun  among 
them.  It  terminated  in  seven  heads,  in 
one  row,  all  standing  parallel  to  one  an- 
other; and  these  branches  carried  seven 
lamps,  one  by  one,  in  imitation  of  the 
number  of  the  planets.  These  lamps 
looked  to  the  east  and  to  the  south,  the 
candlestick  being  situate  obliquely. 

Now  between  this  candlestick  and  the 


106 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I1J 


table,  which,  as  we  said,  were  within  the 
sanctuary,  was  the  altar  of  incense,  made 
of  wood,  indeed,  but  of  the  same  wood 
of  which  the  foregoing  vessels  were  made, 

DO  7 

such  as  was  not  liable  to  corruption :  it 
was  entirely  crusted  over  with  a  golden 
plate.  Its  breadth  on  each  side  was  a 
cubit,  but  the  altitude  double.  Upon  it  was 
a  grate  of  gold,  that  was  extant  above  the 
altar,  which  had  a  golden  crown  encom- 
passing it  round  about,  whereto  belonged 
rings  and  bars,  by  which  the  priests  carried 
it  when  they  journeyed.  Before  this  taber- 
nacle there  was  reared  a  brazen  altar,  but 
it  was  within  made  of  wood,  five  cubits  by 
measure  on  each  side,  but  its  height  was 
but  three,  in  like  manner  adorned  with 
brass  plates  as  bright  as  gold.  It  had 
also  a  brazen  hearth  of  network ;  for  the 
ground  underneath  received  the  fire  from 
the  hearth,  because  it  had  no  basis  to  re- 
ceive it.  Hard  by  this  altar  lay  the  ba- 
sins, and  the  vials,  and  the  censers,  and 
the  caldrons,  made  of  gold;  but  the  other 
vessels,  made  for  the  use  of  the  sacrifices, 
were  all  of  brass.  And  such  was  the 
construction  of  the  tabernacle ;  and  these 
were  the  vessels  thereto  belonging. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  garments  of  the  High  Priest,  and  Priests. 

There  were  peculiar  garments  appoint- 
ed for  the  priests,  and  for  all  the  rest, 
which  they  call  "  Cahanaeae"  [priestly] 
garments,  as  also  for  the  high  priests, 
which  they  call  "  Cahanaeae  Rabbae,"  and 
denote  the  high  priest's  garments.  Such 
was  therefore  the  habit  of  the  rest;  but 
when  the  priest  approaches  the  sacrifices, 
he  purifies  himself  with  the  purification 
which  the  law  prescribes;  and,  in  the 
first  place,  he  puts  on  that  which  is  called 
"  Machanase,"  which  means  somewhat 
that  is  fast  tied.  It  is  a  girdle,  composed 
of  fine  twined  linen,  and  is  put  about  the 
privy  parts,  the  feet  being  to  be  inserted 
into  them,  in  the  nature  of  breeches;  but 
above  half  of  it  is  cut  off,  and  it  ends  at 
the  thighs,  and  is  there  tied  fast. 

Over  this  he  wore  a  linen  vestment, 
made  of  fine  flax  doubled;  it  is  called 
"  Chethone,"  and  denotes  linen,  for  we 
call  linen  by  the  name  of  Chethone. 
This  vestment  reaches  down  to  the  feet, 
and  sits  close  to  the  body ;  and  has 
sleeves  that  are  tied  fast  to  the  arms:  it 
Is  girded  to  the  breast  a  little  above  the 


elbows,  by  a  girdle  often  going  round 
four  fingers  broad,  but  so  loosely  woven, 
that  you  would  think  it  were  the  skin  of 
a  serpent.  It  is  embroidered  with  flowers 
of  scarlet,  and  purple,  and  blue,  and  fine 
twined  linen;  but  the  warp  was  nothing 
but  fine  linen.  The  beginning  of  its  cir- 
cumvolution is  at  the  breast;  and  wheu  it 
has  gone  often  round,  it  is  there  tied, 
and  hangs  loosely  there  down  to  the  an- 
kles :  I  mean  this,  all  the  time  the  priest 
is  not  about  any  laborious  service,  for  in 
this  position  it  appears  in  the  most  agree- 
able manner  to  the  spectators ;  but  wheu 
he  is  obliged  to  assist  at  the  offering  of 
sacrifices,  and  to  do  the  appointed  service, 
that  he  may  not  be  hindered  in  his  opera- 
tion by  its  motion,  he  throws  it  to  the 
left,  and  bears  it  on  his  shoulder.  Moses* 
indeed  calls  this  belt  "  Abaneth ;"  but 
we  have  learned  from  the  Babylonians  to 
call  it  "  Emia."  for  so  it  is  by  them 
called.  This  vestment  has  no  loose  or 
hollow  parts  anywhere  in  it,  but  only  a 
narrow  aperture  about  the  neck;  and  it 
is  tied  with  certain  strings  hanging  down 
from  the  edge  over  the  breast  and  back, 
and  is  fastened  above  each  shoulder  :  it  is 
called  "  Massabazanes." 

Upon  his  head  he  wears  a  cap,  not 
brought  to  a  conic  form  nor  encircling  the 
whole  head,  but  still  covering  more  than 
the  half  of  it,  which  is  called  "Masna- 
emphthes :"  and  its  make  is  such  that  it 
seems  to  be  a  crown,  being  made  of  thick 
swathes,  but  the  contexture  is  of  linen; 
and  it  is  doubled  round  many  times,  and 
sewed  together :  besides  which,  a  piece  of 
fine  linen  covers  the  whole  cap  from  the 
upper  part,  and  reaches  down  to  the  fore- 
head, and  hides  the  seams  of  the  swTathes, 
which  would  otherwise  appear  indecently ; 
this  adheres  closely  upon  the  solid  parts 
of  the  head,  and  is  thereto  so  firmly  fixed, 
that  it  may  not  fall  off  during  the  sacred 
service  about  the  sacrifices.  So  wre  nave 
now  shown  you  what  is  the  habit  of  the 
generality  of  the  priests. 

The  high  priest  is  indeed  adorned  with 
the  same  garments  that  we  have  described, 
without  abating  oncf;  only  over  these  he 
puts  on  a  vestment  of  blue.  This  also  is 
a  long  robe,  reaching  to  his  feet  [in  our 
language  it  is  called  "MeeLr"],  and  is 
tied  round  with  a  girdle,  embroidered  with 
the  same  colours  and  flowers  as  the  former, 
with  a  mixture  of  gold  interwoven.  Tc 
the  bottom  of  which  garment  are  hung 
fringes,  in  colour  like  pomegranates,  with 


Chap.  VII.  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


L07 


golden  bells,*  by  a  curious  arid  beautiful 
contrivance ;  so  that  between  two  bells 
hung  a  pomegranate,  and  between  two 
pomegranates  a  bell.  Now  this  vesture 
was  not  composed  of  two  pieces,  nor  was 
it  sewed  together  upon  the  shoulders  and 
the  sides,  but  it  was  one  long  vestment  so 
wov^n as  to  have  an  aperture  for  the  neck; 
not  an  oblique  one,  but  parted  all  along 
the  breast  and  the  back.  A  border  was 
also  sewed  to  it,  lest  the  aperture  should 
look  too  indecently  ;  it  was  also  parted 
where  the  hands  were  to  come  out. 

Besides  these,  the  high  priest  put  on 
a  third  garment,  which  is  called  the 
"Ephod,"  which  resembles  the  Epomis 
of  the  Greeks.  Its  make  was  after  this 
manner : — It  was  woven  to  the  depth  of  a 
cubit,  of  several  colours,  with  gold  inter- 
mixed, and  embroidered,  but  it  left  the 
middle  of  the  breast  uncovered :  it  was 
made  with  sleeves  also ;  nor  did  it  appear 
to  be  at  all  differently  made  from  a  short 
coat.  But  in  the  void  place  of  this  gar- 
ment there  was  inserted  a  piece  of  the 
bigness  of  a  span,  embroidered  with  gold, 
and  the  other  colours  of  the  ephod,  and 
was  called  "  Essen"  [the  breastplate], 
which,  in  the  Greek  language,  signifies  the 
"Oracle."  This  piece  exactly  filled  up 
the  void  space  in  the  ephod.  It  was  united 
to  it  by  golden  rings  at  every  corner,  the 
like  rings  being  annexed  to  the  ephod,  and 
a  blue  riband  was  made  use  of  to  tie  them 
together  by  those  rings:  and  that  the 
space  between  the  rings  might  not  appear 
empty,  they  contrived  to  fill  it  up  with 
stitches  of  blue  ribands.  There  were  also 
two  sardonyxes  upon  the  ephod,  at  the 
shoulders,  to  fasten  it,  in  the  nature  of 
buttons,  having  each  end  running  to  the 
sardonyxes  of  gold,  that  they  might  be 
buttoned   by  them.     On   these  were  en- 

•  The  use  of  these  golden  bells  at  the  bottom  of 
the  high  priest's  long  garments,  appears  to  have 
been  this :  that  by  shaking  his  garment  at  the 
time  of  hi3  offering  incense  in  the  temple,  on  the 
great  day  of  expiation,  or  at  other  proper  periods 
of  his  sacred  ministrations  there,  on  the  great 
festivals,  the  people  might  have  notice  of  it,  and 
might  fall  to  their  own  prayers  at  the  time  of  in- 
tense, or  other  proper  periods;  and  so  the  whole 
congregation  might  at  once  offer  those  common 
prayer.s,  jointly  with  the  high  priest  himself,  to  the 
Almighty.  See  Luke  i.  10;  lie  v.  viii.  3,  4.  Nor 
probably  is  the  son  of  Sirach  to  be  otherwise  un- 
derstood, when  he  says  of  Aaron,  the  first  high 
priest,  Ecclus.  xlv.  9,  "And  God  encompassed  Aaron 
with  pomegranates,  and  with  many  golden  bells 
round  abeut,  that  as  he  went  there  might  bo  a 
sound,  and  a  noise  made  that  might  be  heard  in 
the  temple,  for  a  memorial  to  the  children  of  his 
people ." 


graven  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  in 
our  own  country  letters  and  in  our  own 
tongue,  six  on  each  of  the  stones,  on  either 
side ;  and  the  elder  sons'  names  were  on 
the  right  shoulder.  Twelve  stones  also 
there  were  upon  the  breastplate,  extraor- 
dinary in  largeness  and  beauty;  and  they 
were  an  ornament  not  to  be  purchased  by 
men,  because  of  their  immense  value. 
These  stones,  however,  stood  in  three 
rows,  by  four  in  a  row,  and  were  inserted 
into  the  breastplate  itself,  and  they  were 
set  in  ouches  of  gold,  that  were  themselves 
inserted  in  the  breastplate,  and  were  so 
made  that  they  might  not  fall  out.  Now 
the  first  three  stones  were  a  sardonyx,  a 
topaz,  and  an  emerald.  The  second  row 
contained  a  carbuncle,  a  jasper,  and  a 
sapphire.  The  first  of  the  third  row  was 
a  ligure,  then  an  amethyst,  and  the  third 
an  agate,  being  the  ninth  of  the  whole 
number.  The  first  of  the  fourth  row  was 
a  chrysolite,  the  next  was  an  onyx,  and 
then  a  beryl,  which  was  the  last  of  all. 
Now  the  names  of  all  those  sons  of  Jacob 
were  engraven  in  these  stones,  whom  we 
esteem  the  heads  of  our  tribes,  each  stone 
having  the  honour  of  a  name,  in  the  order 
according  to  which  they  were  born.  And 
whereas  the  rings  were  too  weak  of  them- 
selves to  bear  the  weight  of  the  stones, 
they  made  two  other  rings  of  a  larger  she, 
at  the  edge  of  that  part  of  the  breastplate 
which  reached  to  the  neck,  and  inserted 
into  the  very  texture  of  the  breastplate, 
to  receive  chains  finely  wrought,  which 
connected  them  with  golden  bands  to  the 
tops  of  the  shoulders,  whose  extremity 
turned  backward,  and  went  into  the  ring, 
on  the  prominent  back  part  of  the  ephod; 
and  this  was  for  the  security  of  the  breast- 
plate, that  it  might  not  fall  out  of  its 
place.  There  was  also  a  girdle  sewed  to 
the  breastplate,  which  was  of  the  before- 
mentioned  colours,  with  gold  intermixed, 
which,  when  it  had  gone  once  round,  was 
tied  again  upon  the  .seam,  and  hung  dawn. 
There  were  also  golden  loops  that  admit- 
ted its  fringes  at  each  extremity  of  the 
girdle,  and  included  them  entirely. 

The  high  priest's  mitre  was  the  same 
that  we  described  before,  and  was  wrought 
like  that  of  all  the  other  priests;  above 
which  there  was  another,  with  swathes  of 
blue  embroidered,  and  round  it  was  a 
golden  crown  polished,  of  three  rows,  one 
above  another;  out  of  which  arose  a  cup 
of  gold,  which  resembled  the  herb  which 
we  call  "Saccharus;"  but  those  Greeks 


108 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  in. 


that  are  skilful  in  hot  any  call  it  "  llyo- 
scyamus."  Now,  lest  any  one  that  has 
seen  this  herb,  but  has  not  been  taught 
its  name,  and  is  unacquainted  with  its  na- 
ture, or,  having  known  its  name,  knows 
not  the  herb  when  he  sees  it,  I  shall  give 
such  as  these  a  description  of  it.  This 
herb  is  oftentimes  in  tallness  above  three 
spans,  but  its  root  is  like  that  of  a  turnip, 
(for  he  that  should  compare  it  thereto 
would  not  be  mistaken;)  but  its  leaves  are 
like  the  leaves  of  mint.  Out  of  its 
branches  it  sends  out  a  calyx,  cleaving  to 
the  branch  ;  and  a  coat  encompasses  it, 
which  it  naturally  puts  off  when  it  is 
changing,  in  order  to  produce  its  fruit. 
This  calyx  is  of  the  bigness  of  the  bone  of 
the  little  finger,  but  in  the  compass  of  its 
aperture  is  like  a  cup.  This  I  will  further 
describe,  for  the  use  of  those  that  are  un- 
acquainted with  it.  Suppose  a  sphere  be 
divided  into  two  parts,  round  at  the  bot- 
tom, but  having  another  segment  that 
grows  up  to  a  circumference  from  that 
bottom  ;  suppose  it  become  narrower  by 
degrees,  and  that  the  cavity  of  that  part 
grow  decently  smaller,  and  then  gradually 
grow  wider  again  at  the  brim,  such  as  we 
see  in  the  navel  of  a  pomegranate,  with 
its  notches.  And,  indeed,  such  a  coat 
grows  over  this  plant  as  renders  it  a  hemi- 
sphere, and  that,  as  one  may  say,  turned 
accurately  in  a  lathe,  and  having  its 
notches  extant  above  it,  which,  as  I  said, 
grow  like  a  pomegranate,  only  that  they 
are  sharp,  and  end  in  nothing  but 
prickles.  Now  the  fruit  is  preserved  by 
this  coat  of  the  calyx,  which  fruit  is  like 
the  seed  of  the  herb  Sideritis:  it  sends 
out  a  flower  that  may  seem  to  resemble 
that  of  p<»ppy.  Of  this  was  the  crown 
made,  as  far  as  from  the  hinder  part  of 
the  head  to  each  of  the  temples;  but  this 
"Ephielis,"  for  so  this  calyx  may  be 
called,  did  not  cover  the  forehead,  but  it 
was  covered  with  a  golden  {date,*  which 
had  inscribed  on  it  the  name  of  God  in 
sacred  characters.  And  such  were  the 
ornaments  of  the  high  priest. 

Now  here  one  may  wonder  at  the  ill- 
will  which  men  bear  to  us,  and  which  they 
profess  to  bear  on  account  of  our  despis- 
ing that  Deity  which  they  pretend  to 
honour;   fir  if  uny  one  do   but  consider 


*  The  Mosaic  Petalon,  or  golden  plate  for  the 

'orehead  of  the  Jewish  high  priest,  was  itself  pre- 
served, not  only  till  (lie  days  of  .J  jsephus,  but  of 
Origen  ;  its  inscription,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord," 
was  in  the  Samaritan  characters. 


the  fabric  of  the  tabernacle,  and  take  a 
view  of  the  garments  of  the  high  priest, 
and  of  those  vessels  which  we  make  use 
of  in  our  sacred  ministration,  he  will  find 
that  our  legislator  was  a  divine  man,  and 
that  we  are  unjustly  reproached  by  others: 
for  if  any  one  do  without  prejudice,  aod 
with  judgment,  look  upon  these  things, 
he  will  find  they  were  every  one  made  in 
way  of  imitation  and  representation  of  the 
universe.  When  Moses  distinguished  the 
tabernacle  into  three  parts,*  and  allowed 
two  of  them  to  the  priests,  as  a  place  ac- 
cessible and  common,  he  denoted  the  land 
and  the  sea,  these  being  of  general  access 
to  all;  but  he  set  apart  the  third  division 
for  God,  because  heaven  is  inaccessible  to 
men.  And  when  he  ordered  twelve 
loaves  to  be  set  on  the  table,  he  denoted 
the  year,  as  distinguished  into  so  many 
months.  By  branching  out  the  candlestick 
into  seventy  parts,  he  secretly  intimated 
the  Decani,  or  seventy  divisions  of  the 
planets;  and  as  to  the  seven  lamps  upon 
the  candlesticks,  they  referred  to  the 
course  of  the  planets,  of  which  that  is  the 
number.  The  vials,  too,  which  were  com- 
posed of  four  things,  they  declared  the 
four  elements;  for  the  tine  linen  was 
proper  to  signify  the  earth,  because  the 
flax  grows  out  of  the  earth  ;  the  purple 
signifies  the  sea,  because  that  colour  is 
dyed  by  the  blood  of  a  sea  shell-fish  ;  the 
blue  is  fit  to  signify  the  air;  and  the  scar- 
let will  naturally  be  an  indication  of  fire. 
Now  the  vestment  of  the  high  priest  being 
made  of  linen,  signified  the  earth;  the 
blue  denoted  the  sky,  being  like  lightning 
in  its  pomegranates,  and  in  the  noise  of 
the  bells  resembling  thunder.  And  for 
the  ephod,  it  showed  that  God  had  made 
the  universe  of  four  [elements];  and  as 
for  the  gold  interwoven,  I  suppose  it  re- 
lated to  the  splendour  by  which  all  things 
are  enlightened.  He  also  appointed  the 
breastplate  to  be  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  ephod,  to  resemble  the  earth,  for  that 
has  the  very  middle  place  of  the  world. 
And  the  girdle  which  encompassed  the 
high  priest  round,  signified  the  ocean,  for 
that  goes  round   about   and  includes  the 

*  When  Josephus  supposes  the  tabernacle  to  have 
been  parted  into  three  parts,  he  666009  to  esteem 
the  bare  entrance  to  he  a  third  division,  distinct 
from  the  holj  and  the  most  holy  places  J  and  this 
the  rather,  because  in  the  temple  afterward  there 
was  a.  leal  distinct  third  part,  which  was  called  the 
Porch  :  otherwise  Josephus  would  contradict  his 
own  description  of  the  tabernaole,  which  ^ives  m 
a  particular  account  of  no  more  than  two  pi  rta. 


Oeaf   VIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   .'EWS. 


109 


universe.  Each  of  the  sardonyxes  declare 
to  us  the  sun  and  the  moon;  those,  I 
mean,  that  were  in  the  nature  of  buttons 
on  the  high  priest's  shoulders.  And  for 
the  twelve  stones,  whether  we  understand 
by  them  the  months,  or  whether  we  un- 
derstand the  like  number  of  the  signs  of 
that  circle  which  the  Greeks  call  the  Zo- 
diac, we  shall  not  be  mistaken  in  their 
meaning.  And  for  the  mitre,  which  was 
of  a  blue  colour,  it  appears  to  mean 
heaven;  for  how  otherwise  could  the  name 
of  God  be  inscribed  upon  it  ?  That  it  was 
also  illustrated  with  a  crown,  and  that  of 
gold  also,  is  because  of  that  splendour 
with  which  God  is  pleased.  Let  this  ex- 
plication* suffice  at  present,  since  the 
course  of  my  narration  will  often,  and  on 
many  occasions,  afford  me  the  opportunity 
of  enlarging  upon  the  virtue  of  our  legis- 
lator. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Of  the  Priesthood  of  Aaron.     Lev.  viii. 

When  what  has  been  described  was 
brought  to  a  conclusion,  gifts  not  being 
yet  presented,  God  appeared  to  Moses,  and 
enjoined  him  to  bestow  the  high-priest- 
hood upon  Aaron  his  brother,  as  upon 
him  that  best  of  them  all  deserved  to  ob- 
tain that  honour,  on  account  of  his  virtue. 
And  when  he  had  gathered  the  multitude 
together,  he  gave  them  an  account  of 
Aaron's  virtue,  and  of  his  good-will  to 
them,  and  of  the  dangers  he  had  under- 
gone for  their  sakes.  Upon  which,  when 
they  had  given  testimony  to  him  in  all 
respects,  and  showed  their  readiness  to 
receive  him,  Moses  said  to  them,  "0  you 
Israelites,  this  work  is  already  brought  to 
a  conclusion,  in  a  manner  most  acceptable 
to  God,  and  according  to  our  abilities. 
And  now  since  you  see  that  he  is  received 
into  this  tabernacle,  we  shall  first  of  all 
stand  in  need  of  one  that  may  officiate  for 
us,  and  may  minister  to  the  sacrifices,  and 
to  the  prayers  that  are  to  be  put  up  for 
us;  and,  indeed,  had  the  inquiry  after 
such  a  person  been  left  to  me,  I  should 
have  thought  myself  worthy  of  this  ho- 
nour, both  because  all  men  are  naturally 
fond  of  themselves,  and  because  I  am  con- 
scious to  ie  ^self  that  I  have  taken  a  great 
deal  of  pains  for  your  deliverance;  but 
now   God    himself   has    determined    that 

*  This  explication  of  the  ujj  .stical  meaning  of  the 
Jewish  tnbernacle  and  its  vessels*  with  the  garments 
f^f  the  high  priest,  is  taken  nut  of  Philo. 


Aaron  is  worthy  of  this  honour,  and 
has  chosen  him  for  his  priest,  as  know- 
ing him  to  be  the  most  righteous  person 
among  you.  So  that  he  is  to  put  on  the 
vestments  which  are  consecrated  to  God; 
he  is  to  have  the  care  of  the  altars,  and  to 
make  provision  for  the  sacrifices;  and  he 
it  is  that  must  put  up  prayers  for  you  to 
God,  who  will  readily  hear  them,  not  only 
because  he  is  himself  solicitous  for  your 
nation,  but  also  because  he  will  receive 
them  as  offered  by  one  that  he  hath  him- 
self chosen  to  this  office/'  The  Hebrews 
were  pleased  with  what  was  said,  and  they 
gave  their  approbation  to  him  whom  God 
had  ordained  ;  for  Aaron  was,  of  them  ali, 
the  most  deserving  of  this  honour,  on  ac- 
count of  his  own  stock  and  gift  of  pro- 
phecy, and  his  brother's  virtue.  He  had 
at  that  time  four  sons,  Nadab,  Abihu, 
Eleazer,  and  Ithamar. 

Now  Moses  commanded  them  to  make 
use  of  all  the  utensils,  which  were  more 
than  were  necessary  to  the  structure  of 
the  tabernacle,  for  covering  the  tabernacle 
itself,  the  candlestick,  and  altar  of  incense, 
and  the  other  vessels,  that  they  might  not 
be  at  all  hurt  when  they  journeyed,  either 
by  the  rain,  or  by  the  rising  of  the  dust. 
And  when  he  had  gathered  the  multitude 
together  again,  he  ordained  that  they 
should  offer  half  a  shekel  for  every  man, 
as  an  oblation  to  God;  which  shekel  is  a 
piece  among  the  Hebrews,  and  is  equal  to 
four  Athenian  drachmae.*  Whereupon 
they  readily  obeyed  what  Moses  had 
commanded ;  and  the  number  of  the 
offerers  was  605,550.  Now  this  money 
that  was  brought  by  the  men  that  were 
free,  was  given  by  such  as  were  above 
twenty  years  old,  but  under  fifty ;  and 
what  was  collected  was  spent  in  the  uses 
of  the  tabernacle. 

Moses  now  purified  the  tabernacle  and 
the  priests;  which  purification  was  per- 
formed after  the  following  manner:  he 
commanded  them  to  take  500  shekels  of 
choice  myrrh,  an  equal  quantity  of  cassia, 
and  half  the  foregoing  weight  of  cinna- 
mon and  calamus ;   (this  last  is  a  sort  of 


*  This  weight  and  value  of  the  Jewish  shekel, 
in  the  days  of  Joscphus,  (equal  to  about  2«.  I0d. 
sterling  N  is,  by  the  learned  Jews,  owned  to  be  one- 
fifth  larger  than  were  their  own  shekels;  which  de- 
termination agrees  perfectly  with  the  remaining 
shekels  that  have  Samaritan  inscriptions,  coined 
generally  by  Simon  the  Maocabee,  about  230  years 
before  Josephus  published  his  Antiquities,  which 
never  weigh  more  thar  2».  i\d.,  and  (ommonly  but 
2a  \\d. 


110 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


CBook  III 


cweet  spice;)  to  beat  them  small,  and  wet 
them  with  a  hin  of  oil  of  olives;  (a  hin 
is  our  own  country  measure,  and  contains 
two  Athenian  choas,  or  congiuses ;)  then 
mix  them  together,  and  boil  them,  and 
prepare  them  after  the  art  of  the  apothe- 
cary, and  make  them  into  a  very  sweet 
ointment;  and  afterward  to  take  it  to 
anoint  and  to  purify  the  priests  themselves, 
and  all  the  tabernacle,  as  also  the  sacri- 
fices. There  were  also  many,  and  those 
of  various  kinds  of  sweet  spices,  that  be- 
longed to  the  tabernacle,  and  such  as  were 
of  very  great  price,  and  were  brought  to 
the  golden  altar  of  incense,  the  nature  of 
which  I  do  not  now  describe,  lest  it  should 
be  troublesome  to  my  readers;  but  in- 
cense* was  to  be  offered  twice  a  day,  both 
before  sun-rising  and  at  sun-setting.  They 
were  also  to  keep  oil  already  purified  for 
the  lamps;  three  of  which  were  to  give 
light  all  day  long,  upon  the  sacred  candle- 
stick, before  God,  and  the  rest  were  to  be 
lighted  at  the  evening. 

Now  all  was  finished.  Besaleel  and 
Aholiab  appeared  to  be  the  most  skilful 
of  tne  workmen;  for  they  invented  finer 
works  than  what  others  had  done  before 
them,  and  were  of  great  abilities  to  gain 
notions  of  what  the}'  were  formerly  igno- 
rant of;  and  of  these,  Besaleel  was  judged 
to  be  the  best.  Now  the  whole  time  they 
were  about  this  work  was  the  interval  of 
seven  months;  and  after  this  it  was, rthat 
was  ended  the  first  year  since  their  de- 
parture out  of  Egypt.  But  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  year,  on  the  month 
Xanthicus,  as  the  Macedonians  call  it,  but 
on  the  month  Nisan,  as  the  Hebrews  call 
it,  on  the  new  moon,  they  consecrated  the 
tabernacle,  and  all  its  vessels,  which  I 
have  already  described. 

Now  God  showed  himself  pleased  with 
the  work  of  the  Hebrews,  and  did  not 
permit  their  labours  to  be  in  vain;  nor 
did  he  disdain  to  make  use  of  what  they 
had  made,  but  he  came  and  sojourned  with 
them,  and  pitched  his  tabernacle  in  the 
aoly  house.  And  in  the  following  man- 
ner did  he  come  to  it :  the  sky  was  clear, 
but  there  was  a  mist  over  the  tabernacle 
only,  encompassing  it,  but  not  with  such 
a  very  deep  and  thick  cloud  as  is  seen  in 
the  winter  season,  nor  yet  in  so  thin  an 
one  as  men  might  be  able  to  discern  any 

*  The  incense  was  here  offered  before  sun-rising, 
and  at  sun-Betting  ;  but  in  the  days  of  Pompey,  the 
sacri fifes  were  offend  in  the  morning  and  at  the 
ainth  hour. 


thing  through  it;  but  from  it  there 
dropped  a  sweet  dew,  and  such  an  one  as 
showed  the  presence  of  God  to  those  that 
desired  and  believed  it. 

Now  when  Moses  had  bestowed  such 
honorary  presents  on  the  workmen  as  it 
was  fit  they  should  receive  who  had 
wrought  so  well,  he  offered  sacrifices  in  the 
open  court  of  the  tabernacle,  as  God  com- 
manded him :  a  bull,  a  ram,  and  a  kid  of 
the  goats,  for  a  sin-offering.  Now  I  shall 
speak  of  what  we  do  in  our  sacred  offices 
in  my  discourse  about  sacrifices ;  and 
therein  shall  inform  men  in  what  cases 
Moses  bade  us  offer  a  whole  burnt-offer- 
ing, and  in  what  cases  the  law  permits  us 
to  partake  of  them  as  of  food.  And  when 
Moses  had  sprinkled  Aaron's  vestments, 
himself,  and  his  sons,  with  the  blood  of 
the  beasts  that  were  slain,  and  had  puri- 
fied them  with  spring  waters  and  oint- 
ment, they  became  God's  priests.  After 
this  manner  did  he  consecrate  them  and 
their  garments  for  seven  days  together. 
The  same  he  did  to  the  tabernacle,  and 
the  vessels  thereto  belonging,  both  with 
oil  first  incensed,  as  I  said,  and  with  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  of  rams,  slain  day  by 
day  one,  according  to  its  kind.  But  on 
the  eighth  day  he  appointed  a  feast  for 
the  people,  and  commanded  them  to  offer 
sacrifice  according  to  their  abilities.  Ac- 
cordingly they  contended  one  with  another, 
and  were  ambitious  to  exceed  each  other 
in  the  sacrifices  which  they  brought,  and 
so  fulfilled  Moses's  injunctions.  But  as 
the  sacrifices  lay  upon  the  altar,  a  sudden 
fire  was  kindled  from  among  them  of  its 
own  accord,  and  appeared  to  the  sight  like 
fire  from  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  con- 
sumed whatsoever  was  upon  the  altar. 

Hereupon  an  affliction  befell  Aaron, 
considered  as  a  man  and  a  father,  but  was 
undergone  by  him  with  true  fortitude; 
for  he  had  indeed  a  true  firmness  of  soul 
in  such  accidents,  and  he  thought  this 
calamity  came  upon  him  according  to 
God's  will:  for  whereas  he  had  four  sons, 
as  I  said  before,  the  two  elder  of  them, 
Nadab  and  Abilyi,  did  not  bring  those 
sacrifices  which  Moses  bade  them  bring, 
but  which  they  used  to  offer  formerly, 
and  were  burnt  to  death.  Now  when  the 
fire  rushed  upon  them,  and  began  to  burn 
them,  nobody  could  quench  it.  Accord- 
ingly they  died  in  this  manner.  And 
Moses  bade  their  father  and  their  brethren 
to  take  up  their  bodies,  to  carry  them  out 
of  the  camp,  and   to   bury  them  magnify 


Chap  VIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   01   THE   JEWS. 


Ill 


cently.  Now  the  multitude  lamented 
them,  and  were  deeply  atfected  at  this 
their  death,  which  so  unexpectedly  befell 
them.  But  Moses  entreated  their  brethren 
and  their  father  not  to  be  troubled  for 
them,  and  to  prefer  the  honour  of  God 
before  their  grief  about  them  ;  for  Aaron 
had  already  put  on  his  sacred  garments. 

But  Moses  refused  all  that  honour 
which  he  saw  the  multitude  ready  to  be- 
stow upon  him,  and  attended  to  nothing 
else  but  the  service  of  God.  He  went  no 
more  up  to  Mount  Sinai;  but  he  went 
into  the  tabernacle,  and  brought  back  an- 
swers from  God  for  what  he  prayed  for. 
His  habit  was  also  that  of  a  private  man ; 
and  in  all  other  circumstances  he  behaved 
himself  like  one  of  the  common  people,  and 
was  desirous  to  appear  without  distinguish- 
ing himself  from  the  multitude,  but  would 
have  it  known  that  he  did  nothing  else  but 
to  take  care  of  them.  He  also  set  down 
in  writing  the  form  of  their  government, 
and  those  laws,  by  obedience  whereto  they 
would  lead  their  lives  so  as  to  please  God, 
and  so  as  to  have  no  quarrels  one  among 
another.  However,  the  laws  he  ordained 
were  such  as  God  suggested  to  him ;  so 
I  shall  now  discourse  concerning  that 
form  of  government,  and  those  laws. 

I  will  now  treat  of  what  I  before  omit- 
ted, the  garment  of  the  high  priest :  for  he 
[Moses]  left  no  room  for  the  evil  practices 
of  [false]  prophets  :  but  if  some  of  that 
sort  should  attempt  to  abuse  the  Divine 
authority,  he  left  it  to  God  to  be  present 
at  his  sacrifices  when  he  pleased,  and 
when  he  pleased  to  be  absent.  And  he 
was  willing  this  should  be  known,  not  to 
the  Hebrews  only,  but  to  those  foreigners 
also  who  were  there.  For  as  to  those 
stones,*  which  we  told  you  before  the 
high  priest  bare  on  his  shoulders,  which 
were  sardonyxes,  (and  I  think  it  needless 
to  describe  their  nature,  they  being  known 
to  everybody,)  the  one  of  them  shined 
out  when  God  was  present  at  their  sacri- 
fices; I  mean  that  which  was  in  the  na- 
ture of  a  button  on  his  right  shoulder, 
bright  rays  darting  out  thence,  and  be- 
ing seen  even  by  those  that  were  most  re- 
mote ;  which  splendour  yet  was  not  be- 
fore natural  to  the  stone.  This  has  ap- 
peared a  wonderful  thing  to  such  as  have 
not  so  far  indulged  themselves  in  philoso- 
phy as  to  despise  revelation.     Yet  will  I 

*  The  Uriru  and  Thumuiim,  which  words  signify 
"  light"  and  "  perfection,"  or,  as  the  Septuagint 
render  them,  "revelation"  and  "  truth." 


mention  what  is  still  more  wonderful  than 
this :  for  God  declared  beforehand  by 
those  twelve  stones  which  the  high  priest 
bare  on  his  breast,  and  which  were  in- 
serted into  his  breastplate,  when  they 
should  be  victorious  in  battle ;  for  so  great ' 
a  splendour  shone  forth  from  them  before 
the  army  began  to  march,  that  all  the 
people  were  sensible  of  God  being  present 
for  their  assistance.  Whence  it  came  to 
pass  that  those  Greeks  who  had  a  venera- 
tion for  our  laws,  because  they  could  not 
contradict  this,  called  that  breastplate 
"  The  Oracle/'  Now  this  breastplate, 
and  this  sardonyx,  left  off  shining  200 
years  before  I  composed  this  book,  God 
having  been  displeased  at  the  transgres- 
sions of  his  laws.  Of  which  things  we 
shall  further  discourse  on  a  fitter  opportu- 
nity; but  I  will  now  go  on  with  my  pro- 
posed narration. 

The  tabernacle  being  now  consecrated, 
and  a  regular  order  being;  settled  for  the 
priests,  the  multitude  judged  that  God 
now  dwelt  among  them,  and  betook  them- 
selves to  sacrifices  and  praises  to  God,  as 
being  now  delivered  from  all  expectation 
of  evils,  and  as  entertaining  a  hopeful 
prospect  of  better  times  hereafter.  They 
offered  also  gifts  to  God,  some  as  common 
to  the  whole  nation,  and  others  as  pecu- 
liar to  themselves,  and  these  tribe  by 
tribe  ;  for  the  heads  of  the  tribes  com- 
bined together,  two  by  two,  and  brought 
a  wagon  and  a  yoke  of  oxen.  These 
amounted  to  six,  and  they  carried  the 
tabernacle  when  they  journeyed.  Be- 
sides which,  each  head  of  a  tribe  brought 
a  bowl,  and  a  charger,  and  a  spoon,  of  ten 
darics,  full  of  incense.  Now  the  charger 
and  the  bowl  were  of  silver,  and  together 
they  weighed  200  shekels,  but  the  bowl 
cost  no  more  than  seventy  shekels ;  and 
these  were  full  of  fine  flour  mingled  with 
oil,  such  as  they  used  on  the  altar  about 
the  sacrifices.  They  brought  also  a  young 
bullock,  and  a  ram,  with  a  lamb  of  a  year 
old,  for  a  whole  burnt-offering;  as  also  a 
goat  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  Every 
one  of  the  heads  of  the  tribes  brought 
also  other  sacrifices,  called  "  peace-offer- 
ings," for  every  day  two  bulls,  and  five 
rams,  with  lambs  of  a  year  old,  and  lids 
of  the  goats.  These  heads  of  tribes  were 
twelve  days  in  sacrificing,  one  sacrificing 
every  day.  Now  Moses  went  no  longer 
up  to  Mount  Sinai,  but  went  into  the 
tabernacle,  and  learned  of  God  what  they 
were  to  do,  and  what  laws  should  be  made 


112 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III. 


which  laws  were  preferable  to  what  have 
been  devised  by  human  understanding, 
and  proved  to  be  firmly  observed  for  all 
time  to  come,  as  being  believed  to  be  the 
gift  of  God,  insomuch  that  the  Hebrews 
did  not  transgress  any  of  those  laws, 
either  as  tempted  in  times  of  pence  by 
luxury,  or  in  times  of  war  by  distress  of 
affairs.  But  I  say  no  more  here  concern- 
ing them,  because  I  have  resolved  to  com- 
pose another  Work  concerning  our  laws. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

The  manner  of  offering  Sacrifices.     Lev.  iii. 

T  will  now,  however,  make  mention  of 
a  few  of  our  laws  which  belong  to  purifi- 
cations, and  the  like  sacred  offices,  since  I 
have  accidentally  come  to  this  matter  of 
sacrifices.  These  sacrifices  were  of  two 
sorts  j  of  those  sorts  one  was  offered  for 
private  persons,  and  the  other  for  the 
people  in  general ;  and  they  are  done  in 
two  different  ways:  in  the  one  case,  what 
is  slain  is  burnt,  as  a  whole  burnt-offer- 
ing, whence  that  name  is  given  to  it;  but 
the  other  is  a  thank-offering,  and  is  de- 
signed for  feasting  those  that  sacrifice.  I 
will  speak  of  the  former.  Suppose  a 
private  man  offer  a  burnt-offering,  he 
must  slay  either  a  bull,  a  lamb,  or  a  kid 
of  the  goats,  and  the  two  latter  of  the 
first  year,  though  of  bulls  he  is  permi'tred 
to  sacrifice  those  of  a  greater  age;  but  all 
burnt-offerings  are  to  be  of  males.  When 
they  are  slain,  the  priests  sprinkle  the 
blood  round  about  the  altar :  they  then 
cleanse  the  bodies,  and  divide  them  into 
parts,  and  salt  them  with  salt,  and  lay 
them  upon  the  altar,  while  the  pieces  of 
wood  are  piled  one  upon  another,  and  the 
fire  is  burning;  they  next  cleanse  the 
feet  of  the  sacrifices  and  the  inwards  in 
an  accurate  manner,  and  so  lay  them  to 
rest  to  be  purged  by  the  fire,  while  the 
priests  receive  the  hides.  This  is  the  way 
of  offering  a  burnt-offering. 

But  those  that  offer  thank-offerings  do 
indeed  sacrifice  the  same  creatures,  but 
such  as  are  unblemished  and  above  a  year 
old ;  however,  they  may  take  either  males 
or  females.  They  also  sprinkle  the  altar 
with  their  blood ;  but  they  lay  upon  the 
altar  the  kidneys,  and  the  caul,  and  all  the 
fat,  and  tin;  lobe  of  the  liver,  together  with 
the  rump  of  the:  lamb;  then,  giving  the 
breast  and  the  right  shoulder  to  the  priests, 
the  offerers  feast  upon  the  remainder  of 


the  flesh  for  two  days;   and  what  remains 
they  burn. 

The  sacrifices  for  sins  are  offered  in  the 
snme  manner  as  is  the  th;ink-offering.  But 
those  who  are  unable  to  purchase  complete 
sacrifices,  offer  two  pigeons,  or  turtle- 
doves; the  one  of  which  is  made  a  burnt- 
offering  to  God,  the  other  they  give  as 
food  to  the  priests.  But  we  shall  treat 
more  accurately  about  the  oblation  of 
these  creatures  in  our  discourse  concerning 
sacrifices.  But  if  a  person  fall  into  sin  by 
ignorance,  he  offers  an  ewe  lamb,  or  a  fe- 
male kid  of  the  goats,  of  the  same  age; 
and  the  priests  sprinkle  the  blood  at  the 
altar,  not  after  the  former  manner,  but  at 
the  corners  of  it.  They  also  bring  the 
kidneys,  and  the  rest  of  the  fat,  together 
with  the  lobe  of  the  liver,  to  the  altar, 
while  the  priests  bear  away  the  hides  and 
the  flesh,  and  spend  it  in  the  holy  place 
on  the  same  day;  for  the  law  does  not 
permit  them  to  leave  of  it  until  the  morn- 
ing. But  if  any  one  sin,  and  is  conscious 
of  it  himself,  but  hath  nobody  that  can 
prove  it  upon  him,  he  offers  a  ram,  the 
law  enjoining  him  so  to  do;  the  flesh  of 
which  the  priests  eat,  as  before,  in  the 
holy  place,  on  the  same  day.  And  if  the 
rulers  offer  sacrifices  for  their  sins,  they 
bring  the  same  oblations  that  private  men 
do ;  only  they  so  far  differ,  that  they  are 
to  bring  for  sacrifices  a  bull  or  a  kid  of  the 
goats,  both  males. 

Now  the  law  requires,  both  in  private 
and  public  sacrifices,  that  the  finest  flour 
be  also  brought ;  for  a  lamb  the  measure 
of  one  tenth-deal,  for  a  ram  two,  and  for 
a  bull  three.  This  they  consecrate  upon 
the  altar,  when  it  is  mingled  with  oil ;  for 
oil  is  also  brought  by  those  that  sacrifice ; 
for  a  bull  the  half  of  a  hin,  and  for  a  ram 
the  third  part  of  the  same  measure,  and 
one-quarter  of  it  for  a  lamb.  This  hin  is 
an  ancient  Hebrew  measure,  and  is  equi- 
valent to  two  Athenian  choas,  (or  congi 
uses.)  They  bring  the  same  quantity  of 
oil  which  they  do  of  wine,  and  they  poui 
the  wine  about  the  altar ;  but  if  any  one 
does  not  offer  a  complete  sacrifice  of  ani- 
mals, but  brings  fine  flour  only  for  a  vow, 
he  throws  a  handful  upon  the  altar  as  its 
first  fruits,  while  the  priests  take  the  rest 
for  their  food,  either  boiled  or  mingled 
with  oil,  but  made  into  cakes  of  bread. 
But  whatsoever  it  be  that  a  priest  himself 
offers,  it  must  of  necessity  be  all  burnt. 
Now  the  law  forbids  us  to  sacrifice  any 
animal  at  the  same  time  with  its  dam  : 


•Jhap.  X-1 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


113 


and,  in  other  cases,  not  till  the  eighth  day 
after  its  birth.  Other  sacrifices  there  are 
also  appointed  for  escaping  distempers,  or 
for  other  occasions,  in  which  meat  offer- 
ings are  consumed,  together  with  the  ani- 
mals that  are  sacrificed  ;  of  which  it  is  not 
lawful  to  leave  any  part  till  the  next  day, 
only  the  priests  are  to  take  their  own 
share. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Concerning  the  Festivals.     Num.  xxriii.  xxix. 

The  law  requires,  that  out  of  the  pub- 
lic expenses  a  lamb  of  the  first  year  be 
killed  every  day,  at  the  beginning  and  at 
the  ending  of  the  day;  but  on  the  seventh 
day,  which  is  called  the  Sabbath,  they  kill 
two,  and  sacrifice  them  in  the  same  man- 
ner. At  the  new  moon,  they  both  per- 
form the  daily  sacrifices,  and  slay  two 
bulls,  with  seven  lambs  of  the  first  year, 
and  a  kid  of  the  goats  also,  for  the  expia- 
tion of  sins;  that  is,  if  they  have  sinned 
through  ignorance. 

But  on  the  seventh  month,  which  the 
Macedonians  call  "  Hyperberetseus,"  they 
make  an  addition  to  those  already  men- 
tioned, and  sacrifice  a  bull,  a  ram,  seven 
lambs,  and  a  kid  of  the  goats  for  sins. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  the  same  lunar 
month,  they  fast  till  the  evening;  and  to 
this  day  they  sacrifice  a  bull,  and  two  lambs, 
and  seven  lambs,  and  a  kid  of  the  goats, 
for  sins.  And,  besides  these,  they  bring 
two  kids  of  the  goats ;  the  one  of  which 
is  sent  alive  out  of  the  limits  of  the  camp 
into  the  wilderness  for  the  scape-goat,  and 
to  be  an  expiation  of  the  sins  of  the  whole 
multitude;  but  the  other  is  brought  into 
a  place  of  great  cleanness  within  the  limits 
of  the  camp,  and  is  there  burnt  with  its 
skin,  without  any  sort  of  cleansing.  With 
this  goat  was  burnt  a  bull,  not  brought  by 
the  people,  but  by  the  high  priest,  at  his 
own  charges;  which,  when  it  was  slain, 
he  brought  of  the  blood  into  the  holy  place, 
together  with  the  blood  of  the  kid  of  the 
goats,  and  sprinkled  the  ceiling  with  his 
finger  seven  times,  as  also  its  pavement, 
and  again  as  often  toward  the  most  holy 
place,  and  about  the  golden  altar:  he  also 
at  last  brings  it  into  the  open  court,  and 
sprinkles  it  about  the  great  altar.  Besides 
tnis,  they  set  the  extremities,  and  the  kid- 
neys, and  the  fat,  with  the  lobe  of  the. 
liver,  upon  the  altar.  The  high  priest 
likewise  presents  a  ram  to  God  as  a  burnt- 
offering. 

8 


Upon  the  15th  day  of  the  same  month, 
when  the  season  of  the  year  is  changed 
for  winter,  the  law  enjoins  us  to  pitch 
tabernacles  in  every  one  of  our  houses,  so 
that  we  preserve  ourselves  from  the  cold 
of  that  time  of  the  year  ;  as  also  that 
when  we  should  arrive  at  our  own  country, 
and  come  to  that  city  which  we  should 
have  then  for  our  metropolis,  because  of 
the  temple  therein  to  be  built,  and  keep  a 
festival  for  eight  days,  and  offer  burnt- 
offerings,  and  sacrifice  thank-offerings,  that 
we  should  then  carry  in  our  hands  a  branch 
of  myrtle,  and  willow,  and  a  bough  of  the 
palm-tree,  with  the  addition  of  the  pome- 
citron.  That  the  burnt-offering  on  the 
first  of  those  days  was  to  be  a  sacrifice  of 
thirteen  bulls,  fourteen  lambs,  and  fifteen 
rams,  with  the  addition  of  a  kid  of  the 
goats,  as  an  expiation  for  sins :  and  on  the 
following  days  the  same  number  of  lambs, 
and  of  rams,  with  the  kids  of  the  goats; 
but  abating  one  of  the  bulls  every  day 
till  they  amounted  to  seven  only.  On  the 
eighth  day  all  work  was  laid  aside,  and 
then,  as  we  said  before,  they  sacrificed  to 
God  a  bullock,  a  ram,  and  seven  lambs 
with  a  kid  of  the  goats,  for  an  expiation 
of  sins.  And  this  is  the  accustomed  so- 
lemnity of  the  Hebrews,  when  they  pitch 
their  tabernacles. 

In  the  month  of  Xauthicus,  which  is 
by  us  called  Nisan,  and  in  the  beginning 
of  our  year,  on  the  14th  day  of  the  lunar 
month,  when  the  sun  is  in  Aries,  (for  in 
this  month  it  was  that  we  were  delivered 
from  bondage  under  the  Egyptians,)  the 
law  ordained  that  we  should  every  year 
slay  that  sacrifice  which  I  before  told  you 
we  slew  when  we  came  out  of  Egypt,  and 
which  was  called  the  "  Passover;"  and  so 
we  do  celebrate  this  passoverin  companies, 
leaving  nothing  of  what  we  sacrifice  till 
the  day  following.  The  feast  of  unlea- 
vened bread  succeeds  that  of  the  passover, 
and  falls  on  the  15th  day  of  the  month, 
and  continues  seven  days,  wherein  they 
feed  on  unleavened  bread ;  on  every  one 
of  which  days  two  bulls  are  killed,  and 
one  ram,  and  seven  lambs.  Now  these 
lambs  are  entirely  burnt,  besides  the  kid 
of  the  goats,  which  is  added  to  all  the  rest 
for  sins ;  for  it  is  intended  as  a  feast  for 
the  priest  on  every  one  of  those  days. 
But  on  the  second  day  of  unleavened 
bread,  which  is  the  16th  day  of  the  month, 
they  first  partake  of  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  for  before  that  day  they  do  not 
touch  them.     And  wbi'e  they  suppose  if 


tit 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  III. 


proper  to  honour  God,  from  whom  they 
obtain  this  plentiful  provision,  in  the  first 
place,  they  offer  the  first  fruits  of  their 
barley,  and  that  in  the  manner  following: 
they  take  a  handful  of  the  ears,  and  dry 
them,  then  beat  them  small,  and  purge 
the  barley  from  the  bran  ;  they  then  bring 
one  tenth-deal  to  the  altar,  to  God;  and 
casting  one  handful  of  it  upon  the  fire, 
they  leave  the  rest  for  the  use  of  the 
priest;  and  after  this  it  is  that  they  may 
publicly  or  privately  reap  their  harvest. 
They  also  at  this  participation  of  the  first 
fruits  of  the  earth,  sacrifice  a  lamb,  as  a 
burnt-offering,  to  God. 

When  a  week  of  weeks  had  passed  over 
after  this  sacrifice,  (which  weeks  contain 
forty-nine  days,)  on  the  fiftieth  day,  which 
is  Pentecost,  but  is  called  by  the  Hebrews 
"  Asartha/'  which  signifies  Pentecost,  they 
briug  to  God  a  loaf,  made  of  wheat-flour, 
of  two  tenth-deals%  with  leaven  ;  and  for 
sacrifices  they  bring  two  lambs ;  and  when 
they  have  only  presented  them  to  God, 
they  are  made  ready  for  supper  for  the 
priests ;  nor  is  it  permitted  to  leave  any 
thing  of  them  till  the  day  following.  They 
also  slay  three  bullocks  for  a  burnt-offer- 
ing, and  two  rams  ;  and  fourteen  lambs, 
with  two  kids  of  the  goats,  for  sins ;  nor 
is  there  any  one  of  the  festivals,  but  in  it 
they  offer  burnt-offerings ;  they  also  allow 
themselves  to  rest  on  every  one  of  them. 
Accordingly,  the  law  prescribes  in  them 
all  what  kinds  they  are  to  sacrifice,  and 
how  they  are  to  rest  entirely,  and  must 
slay  sacrifices,  in  order  to  feast  upon  them. 

However,  out  of  the  common  charges, 
baked  bread  [was  set  upon  the  table  of  show- 
bread],  without  leaven,  of  twenty-four  tenth- 
deals  of  flour,  for  so  much  is  spent  upon 
this  bread;  two  heaps  of  these  were  baked; 
they  were  baked  the  day  before  the  Sab- 
bath, but  were  brought  into  the  holy  place 
on  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath,  and  set 
upon  the  holy  table,  six  on  a  heap,  one  loaf 
still  standing  over  against  another;  where 
two  golden  cups  full  of  frankincense  were 
also  set  upon  them,  and  there  they  remained 
till  another  Sabbath,  and  then  other  loaves 
were  brought  in  their  stead,  while  the 
loaves  were  given  to  the  priests  for  their 
food,  aud  the  frankincense  was  burnt  in 
that  sacred  fire  wherein  all  their  offerings 
were  burnt  also;  and  so  other  frankincense 
was  set  upon  the  loaves  instead  of  what 
was  there  before.  The  [high]  priest  also, 
of  his  own  charges,  offered  a  sacrifice,  and 
that   twice   every  day.      It  was  made  of 


flour  mingled  with  oil,  and  gently  baked 
by  the  fire ;  the  quantity  was  one  tenth- 
deal  of  flour;  he  brought  the  half  of  it 
to  the  fire  in  the  morning,  aud  the  other 
half  at  night.  The  account  of  these  sa- 
crifices I  shall  give  more  accurately  here- 
after; but  I  think  I  have  premised  what 
for  the  present  may  be  sufficient  concern- 
ing them. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Of  the  Purifications.     Num.  iii. 

Moses  took  out  the  tribe  of  Levi  from 
communicating  with  the  rest  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  set  them  apart  to  be  a  holy  tribe; 
and  purified  them  by  water  taken  from 
perpetual  springs,  and  with  such  sacrifices 
as  were  usually  offered  to  God  on  the  like 
occasions.  He  delivered  to  them  also  the 
tabernacle,  and  the  sacred  vessels,  and  the 
other  curtains,  which  were  made  for  cover- 
ing the  tabernacle,  that  they  might  minis- 
ter under  the  conduct  of  the  priests,  who 
had  been  already  consecrated  to  God. 

He  also  determined  concerning  animals, 
which  of  them  might  be  used  for  food, 
and  which  they  were  obliged  to  abstain 
from ;  which  matters,  when  this  work 
shall  give  me  occasion,  shall  be  further 
explained ;  and  the  causes  shall  be  added, 
by  which  he  was  moved  to  allot  some  of 
them  to  be  our  food,  and  enjoined  us  to 
abstain  from  others.  However,  he  en- 
tirely forbade  us  the  use  of  blood  for  food, 
and  esteemed  it  to  contain  the  soul  and 
spirit.  He  also  forbade  us  to  eat  the  flesh 
of  an  animal  that  died  of  itself,  as  also  the 
caul,  and  th^  fat  of  goats,  and  sheep,  and 
bulls. 

He  also  ordered,  that  those  whose  bodies 
were  afflicted  with  leprosy,  and  who  had  a 
gonorrhoea,  should  not  come  into  the  city;* 
nay,  he  removed  the  women,  when  they 
had  their  natural  purgations,  till  the  se- 
venth day;  after  which  he  looked  on  them 
as  pure,  and  permitted  them  to  come  in 
again.j"  The  law  permits  those  also  who 
have  taken  care  of  funerals  to  come  in 
after  the  same  manner,  wrhen  this  number 
of  days   is  over;    but  if  any  continued 


*  Josephus  frequently  calls  the  camp  "the  city,* 
and  tho  court  of  the  Mosaic  tabernacle  "a  temple," 
and  the  tabernacle  itself  "a  In  ly  house,"  with  allu- 
sion to  the  latter  city,  temj  le,  and  holy  house? 
which  he  knew  so  well  lon^  afterward.  LdV. 
xxiii.;  Num.  ix. ;  Deut.  xvi. 

•j-  Lev.  xiii.  I -A. 


Chap.  XII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


115 


longer  than  that  number  of  days  in  a  state 
of  pollution,  the  law  appointed  the  offer- 
ing two  lambs  for  a  sacrifice  ;  the  one  of 
which  they  are  to  purge  by  fire,  and  for 
the  other,  the  priests  take  it  for  them- 
selves. In  the  same  manner  do  those  sa- 
crifice who  have  had  the  gonorrhoea.  But 
he  that  sheds  his  seed  in  his  sleep,  if  he 
go  down  into  cold  water,  has  the  same  pri- 
vilege with  those  that  have  lawfully  ac- 
companied with  their  wives.  And  for  the 
lepers,  he  suffered  them  not  to  come  into 
the  city  at  all,  nor  to  live  with  any  others, 
as  if  they  were  in  effect  dead  persons;  but 
if  any  one  had  obtained,  by  prayer  to 
(rod,  the  recovery  from  that  distemper, 
and  had  gained  a  healthful  complexion 
again,  such  an  one  returned  thanks  to  God, 
with  several  sorts  of  sacrifices ;  concerning 
which  we  will  speak  hereafter. 

Whence  one  cannot  but  smile  at  those 
who  say  that  Moses  was  himself  afflicted 
with  the  leprosy  when  he  fled  out  of 
Egypt,  and  that  he  became  the  conductor 
of  those  who  on  that  account  left  that 
country,  and  led  them  into  the  land  of 
Canaan ;  for,  had  this  been  true,  Moses 
would  not  have  made  those  laws  to  his 
own  dishonour,  which  indeed  it  was  more 
likely  he  would  have  opposed,  if  others 
had  endeavoured  to  introduce  them  ;  and 
this  the  rather,  because  there  are  lepers 
in  many  nations,  who  yet  are  in  honour, 
and  not  only  free  from  reproach  and 
avoidance,  but  who  have  been  great  cap- 
tains of  armies,  and  been  intrusted  with 
high  offices  in  the  commonwealth,  and 
have  had  the  privilege  of  entering  into 
holy  places  and  temples;  so  that  nothing 
hindered,  but  if  either  Moses  himself,  or 
the  multitude  that  was  with  him,  had 
been  liable  to  such  a  misfortune  in  the 
colour  of  his  skin,  he  might  have  made 
laws  about  them  for  their  credit  and  ad- 
vantage, and  have  laid  no  manner  of  diffi- 
culty upon  them.  Accordingly,  it  is  a 
plain  case,  that  it  is  out  of  violent  preju- 
dice only  that  they  report  these  things 
about  us ;  but  Moses  was  pure  from  any 
such  distemper,  and  lived  with  country- 
men who  were  pure  of  it  also,  and  thence 
made  the  laws  which  concerned  others 
that  had  the  distemper.  He  did  this  for 
the  honour  of  God;  but  as  to  these  mat- 
ters, let  every  one  consider  them  after 
what  manner  he  pleases. 

As  to  the  women,  when  they  have 
borne  a  child,  Moses  forbade  them  to 
come  into  the  temple,  or  touch  the  sacri- 


fices, before  forty  days*  were  over,  sup- 
posing it  to  be  a  boy;  but  if  she  has 
borne  a  girl,  the  law  is  that  she  cannot  be 
admitted  before  twice  that  number  of  days 
be  over;  and  when,  after  the  before-men- 
tioned time  appointed  for  them,  they  per- 
form their  sacrifices,  the  priests  distribute 
them  before  God. 

But  if  any  one  suspect  that  his  wife  has 
been  guilty  of  adultery,  he  was  to  bring  a 
tenth-deal  of  barley  flour ;  they  then  cast 
one  handful  to  God,  and  gave  the  rest  of 
it  to  the  priests  for  food.  One  of  the 
priests  set  the  woman  at  the  gates  that 
are  turned  toward  the  temple,  and  took 
the  veil  from  her  head,  and  wrote  the 
name  of  GoD~j"  on  parchment,  and  en- 
joined her  to  swear  that  she  had  not  at 
all  iujured  her  husband;  and  to  wish 
that,  if  she  had  violated  her  chastity,  her 
right  thigh  might  be  put  out  of  joint ;  that 
her  belly  might  swell,  and  that  she  might 
die  thus  :  but  that  if  her  husband,  by  the 
violence  of  his  affection,  and  of  the  jea- 
lousy which  arose  from  it,  had  been 
rashly  moved  to  this  suspicion,  that  she 
might  bear  a  male  child  in  the  tenth 
month.  Now  when  these  oaths  were 
over,  the  priests  wiped  the  name  of  God 
out  of  the  parchment,  and  wrung  the 
water  into  a  phial.  He  also  took  somo 
dust  out  of  the  temple,  (if  any  happened 
to  be  there,)  and  put  a  little  of  it  into 
the  phial,  and  gave  it  her  to  drink ; 
whereupon  the  woman,  if  she  were  un- 
justly accused,  conceived  with  child,  and 
brought  it  to  perfection  in  her  womb; 
but  if  she  had  broken  her  faith  of  wed- 
lock to  her  husband,  and  had  sworn 
falsely  before  God,  she  died  in  a  re- 
proachful manner  ;  her  thigh  fell  off  from 
her,  and  her  belly  swelled  with  a  dropsy. 
And  these  are  the  ceremonies  about  sacri- 
fices, and  about  the  purifications  thereto 
belonging,  which  Moses  provided  for  his 
countrymen.  He  also  prescribed  the  fol- 
lowing laws  to  them. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Several  Laws. 

As  for  adultery,  Moses  forbade  it  en 
tirely,  as  esteeming  it  a  happy  thing  that 
men  should  be  wise  in  the  affairs  of  wed- 


*  Lev.  xii.  14. 

f  The  name  of  God  here  alluded  to  was  no  doubt 
that  of  Jehovah,  which  name  the  Hebrews  dared 
not  use  in  common. 


116 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III. 


lock  j  and  that  it  was  profitable  both  to 
cities  and  families  that  children  should 
be  known  to  be  geuuine.  He  also  ab- 
horred men's  lying  with  their  mothers,  as 
one  of  the  greatest  crimes;  and  the  like 
for  lying  with  the  father's  wife,  and  with 
aunts,  and  sisters,  and  sons'  wives,  as  all 
instances  of  abomiuable  wickedness.  He 
also  forbade  a  man  to  lie  with  his  wife 
when  she  was  defiled  by  her  natural  pur- 
gation :  and  not  to  come  near  brute 
beasts ;  nor  to  approve  of  the  lying  with 
a  male,  which  was  to  hunt  after  unlawful 
pleasures  on  account  of  beauty.  To  those 
who  were  guilty  of  such  insolent  be- 
haviour, he  ordained  death  for  their 
punishment. 

As  for  the  priests,  he  prescribed  to 
them  a  double  degree  of  purity :  for  he 
restrained  them  in  the  instances  above, 
and  moreover  forbade  them  to  marry 
harlots.  He  also  forbade  them  to  marry 
a  slave,  or  a  captive,  and  such  as  got  their 
living  by  cheating  trades,  and  by  keeping 
inns  :  as  also  a  woman  parted  from  her 
husband,  on  any  account  whatsoever. 
Nay,  he  did  not  think  it  proper  for  the 
high  priest  to  marry  even  the  widow  of 
one  that  was  dead,  though  he  allowed 
that  to  the  priests;  but  he  permitted  him 
only  to  marry  a  virgin  and  to  retain  her. 
Whence  it  is  that  the  high  priest  is  not 
to  come  near  to  one  that  is  dead,  although 
the  rest  are  not  prohibited  from  com-ing 
near  to  their  brethren,  or  parents,  or  chil- 
dren, when  they  are  dead ;  but  they  are 
to  be  unblemished  in  all  respects.  He 
ordered  that  the  priest,  who  had  any 
blemish,  should  have  his  portion  indeed 
among  the  priests ;  but  he  forbade  him 
to  ascend  the  altar,  or  to  enter  into  the 
holy  house.  He  also  enjoined  them,  not 
only  to  observe  purity  in  their  sacred 
ministrations,  but  in  their  daily  conversa- 
tion,  that  it  might  be  unblamable  also; 
and  on  this  account  it  is  that  those  who 
wear  the  sacerdotal  garments  are  without 
spot,  and  eminent  for  their  purity  and 
sobriety  :  nor  are  they  permitted  to  drink 
wine  so  long  as  they  wear  those  gar- 
ments. Moreover,  they  offer  sacrifices 
that  are  entire,  and  have  no  defect  what- 
soever. 

And  truly  Moses  gave  them  all  these 
precepts,  being  such  as  were  observed 
during  his  own  lifetime  ;  but  though  he 
lived  now  in  the  wilderness,  yet  did  he 
make  provision  how  they  might  observe 
the   same   laws  when    they   should    have 


taken  the  land  of  Canaan.  He  gave  them 
rest  to  the  land  from  ploughing  and  plant' 
ing  every  seventh  year,  as  he  had  pre« 
scribed  to  them  to  rest  from  working 
every  seventh  day ;  and  ordered,  that 
then  what  grew  of  its  own  accord  out  of 
the  earth,  should  in  common  belong  to  all 
that  pleased  to  use  it,  making  no  distinc- 
tion in  that  respect  between  their  own 
countrymen  and  foreigners  :  and  he  or- 
dained, that  they  should  do  the  same 
after  seven  times  seven  years,  which  in 
all  are  fifty  years ;  and  that  fiftieth  year 
is  called  by  the  Hebrews  "The  Jubilee," 
wherein  debtors  are  freed  from  their 
debts,  and  slaves  are  set  at  liberty  ;  which 
slaves  became  such,  though  they  were  of 
the  same  stock,  by  transgressing  some  of 
those  laws  the  punishment  of  which  was 
not  capital,  but  they  were  punished  by 
this  method  of  slavery.*  This  year  also 
restores  the  land  to  its  former  possessors, 
in  the  manner  following: — When  the  jubi- 
lee is  come,  which  name  denotes  "  liberty," 
he  that  sold  the  laud,  and  he  that  bought 
it,  meet  together,  and  make  an  estimate, 
on  one  hand,  of  the  fruits  gathered ;  and 
on  the  other  hand,  of  the  expenses  laid 
out,  he  that  sold  it  takes  the  laud  again  : 
but  if  the  expenses  prove  more  than  the 
fruits,  the  present  possessor  receives  of 
the  former  owner  the  difference  that  was 
wanting,  and  leaves  the  land  to  him  ;  and 
if  the  fruits  received,  and  the  expenses 
laid  out,  prove  equal  to  one  another,  the 
present  possessor  relinquishes  it  to  the 
former  owner.  Moses  would  have  the 
same  law  obtain  as  to  those  houses  also 
which  were  sold  in  villages;  but  he  made 
a  different  law  lor  such  as  were  sold  in  a 
city;  for  if  he  that  sold  it  tendered  the 
purchaser  his  money  again  within  a  year, 
he  was  forced  to  restore  it ;  but  in  case  a 
whole  year  had  intervened,  the  purchaser 
was  to  enjoy  what  he  had  bought.  This 
was  the  constitution  of  the  laws  which 
Moses  learned  of  God  when  the  camp  lay 
under  Mount  Sinai ;  and  this  he  delivered 
in  writing  to  the  Hebrews. 

Now  when  this  settlement  of  laws 
seemed  to  be  well  over,  Moses  thought  tit 
at  length  to  take  a  review  of  the  host,  as 
thinking  it  proper  to  settle  the  affairs  of 
war.  So  he  eharged  the  heads  of  the 
tribes,  excepting  the  tribe  of  Levi,  to  take 
an  exact  account  of  the  number  of  those 
that  were  able  to  go  to  war ;  for  as  to  the 

*  Lev.  xxv. 


*.:hap.  xiii.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


117 


Levites  they  were  holy,  and  free  from  all 
such  burdens.  Now  when  the  people  had 
beeu  numbered,  there  were  found  600,000 
that  were  able  to  go  to  war,  from  twenty 
to  fifty  years  of  age,  besides  3650.*  In- 
stead of  Levi,  Moses  took  Manasseh,  the 
son  of  Joseph,  among  the  heads  of  the 
tribes;  and  Ephraim  instead  of  Joseph. 
It  was  indeed  the  desire  of  Jacob  himself 
to  Joseph,  that  he  would  give  him  his 
sons  to  be  his  own  by  adoption,  as  I  have 
before  related. 

When  they  set  up  the  tabernacle,  they 
received  it  into  the  midst  of  their  camp, 
three  of  the  tribes  pitching  their  tents  on 
each  side  of  it;  and  roads  were  cut 
through  the  midst  of  these  tents.  It  was 
like  a  well-appointed  market;  and  every- 
thing was  there  ready  for  sale  in  due  or- 
der ;  and  all  sorts  of  artificers  were  in  the 
shops ;  and  it  resembled  nothing  so  much 
as  a  city  that  sometimes  was  movable, 
and  sometimes  fixed.  The  priests  had  the 
first  places  about  the  tabernacle;  then 
the  Levites,  who,  because  their  whole 
multitude  was  reckoned  from  thirty  days 
old,  were  23,880  males;  and  during  the 
time  that  the  cloud  stood  over  the  taber- 
nacle, they  thought  proper  to  stay  in  the 
6ame  place,  as  supposing  that  Grod  there 
inhabited  among  them;  but  when  that 
removed,  they  journeyed  also."j" 

Moreover,  Moses  was  the  inventor  of 
the  form  of  their  trumpet,  which  was 
made  of  silver.  Its  description  is  this  : — 
In  length  it  was  little  less  than  a  cubit. 
It  was  composed  of  a  narrow  cube,  some- 
what thicker  than  a  flute,  but  with  so 
much  breadth  as  was  sufficient  for  ad- 
mission of  the  breath  of  a  man's  mouth : 
it  ended  iu  the  form  of  a  bell,  like  com- 
mon trumpets.  Its  sound  was  called  in 
the  Hebrew  tongue  "  Asosra."  Two  of 
these  being  made,  one  of  them  was 
sounded  when  they  required  the  multi- 
tude to  come  together  to  congregations. 
When  the  first  of  them  gave  a  signal,  the 
heads  of  the  tribes  were  to  assemble,  and 
consult  about  the  affairs  to  them  properly 
belonging ;  but  when  they  gave  the  sig- 
nal by  both  of  them,  they  called  the  mul- 
titude together.  Whenever  the  taber- 
nacle  was  removed,   it  was  done  in  this 


solemn  order:  at  the  first  alarm  cf  the 
trumpet,  those  whose  tents  were  on  the 
east  quarter  were  prepared  to  remove ; 
when  the  second  signal  was  given,  those 
that  were  on  the  south  quarter  did  the 
like ;  in  the  next  place,  the  tabernacle 
was  taken  to  pieces,  and  was  carried  in 
the  midst  of  six  tribes  that  went  before, 
and  of  six  that  followed,  all  the  Levites 
assisting  about  the  tabernacle  ;  when  the 
third  signal  was  given,  that  part  which 
had  their  tents  toward  the  west  put  them- 
selves in  motion ;  and  at  the  fourth  sig- 
nal, those  on  the  north  did  so  likewise. 
They  also  made  use  of  these  trumpets  in 
their  sacred  ministrations,  when  they 
were  bringing  their  sacrifices  to  the  altar, 
as  well  on  the  Sabbaths  as  on  the  rest  of 
the  [festival]  days  ;  and  then  it  was  that 
Moses  offered  that  sacrifice  which  was 
called  the  u  Passover  in  the  Wilderness," 
as  the  first  he  had  offered  after  the  de- 
parture out  of  Egypt. 


*  The  whole  number  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
exclusive  of  women  and  children,  was  probably 
603,650;  viz.  600,000  between  twenty  and  fifty, 
and  3650  above  fifty  years  of  age.  In  Num. 
xxvi.  51,  it  is  stated  at  601.730. 

t  Exod.  xl.  36 


CHAPTER  xni. 

Moses  conducts  the  people  to  the  borders  of 
Canaan. 

A  little  while  afterward  he  rose  up, 
and  went  from  Mount  Sinai;  and,  having 
passed  through  several  mansions,  of  which 
we  will  speak  anon,  he  came  to  a  place 
called  "  Hazeroth,"  where  the  multitude 
began  again  to  be  mutinous,  and  to  blame 
Moses  for  the  misfortunes  they  had  suf- 
fered in  their  travels;  and  that  when  he 
had  persuaded  them  to  leave  a  good  land, 
they  at  once  had  lost  that  land,  and  in- 
stead of  that  happy  state  he  had  promised 
them,  they  were  still  wandering  in  their 
present  miserable  condition,  being  already 
in  want  of  water ;  and  if  the  manna  should 
happen  to  fail,  they  must  then  utterly 
perish.  Yet  while  they  generally  spake 
many  and  sore  things  against  the  man, 
there  was  one  of  them  who  exhorted  them 
not  to  be  unmindful  of  Moses,  and  of  what 
great  pains  he  had  been  at  about  their 
common  safety  ;  and  not  to  despair  of  as- 
sistance from  God.  The  multitude  there- 
upon became  still  more  unruly,  and  more 
mutinous  against  Moses  than  before. 
Hereupon  Moses,  although  he  was  so 
basely  abused  by  them,  encouraged  them 
in  their  despairing  condition,  and  pro- 
mised that  he  would  procure  them  a 
great  quantity  of  flesh-meat,  and  that  not 
for  a  few  days  only,  but  for  many  days. 
This    they   were   not  willing  to   believe ; 


ns 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  III. 


and  when  one  of  them  asked  whence  lie 
eould  obtain  such  vast  plenty  of  what  he 
promised,  lie  replied,  "Neither  God  nor 
],  although  wo  hear  such  opprobrious 
language  from  you,  will  leave  off  our 
labours  for  you;  and  this  shall  soon  ap- 
pear also."  As  soon  as  ever  he  had  said 
this,  the  whole  camp  was  filled  with 
quails,  and  they  stood  round  about  them, 
and  gathered  them  in  great  numbers. 
However,  it  was  not  long  ere  God  punish- 
ed the  Hebrews  for  their  insolence,  and 
those  reproaches  they  had  used  toward 
him,  for  no  small  number  of  them  died; 
and  still  to  this  day  the  place  retains  the 
memory  of  this  destruction  ;  and  is 
named  "  Kibroth-hattaavah,"  which  is, 
11  The  Graves  of  Lust." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  spies  sent  to  Canaan  make  a  false  report,  and 
cause  the  people  to  murmur.  Num.  xiii.  14. 

When  Moses  had  led  the  Hebrews 
away  from  thence  to  a  place  called  Paran, 
which  was  near  to  the  borders  of  the 
Oauaanites,  and  a  place  difficult  to  be 
continued  in,  he  gathered  the  multitude 
together  to  a  congregation ;  and  standing 
in  the  midst  of  them,  he  said,  "Of  the 
two  things  that  God  determined  to  bestow 
upon  us,  liberty  and  the  possession  of  a 
happy  country,  the  one  of  them  ye  already 
are  partakers  of,  by  the  gift  of  God,  and 
the  other  you  will  quickly  obtain  ;  for  we 
now  have  our  abode  near  the  borders  of 
the  Canaanites,  and  nothing  can  hinder 
the  acquisition  of  it,  when  we  now  at  last 
are  fallen  upon  it:  I  say,  not  only  no 
king  nor  city,  but  neither  the  whole  race 
of  mankind,  if  they  were  all  gathered 
together,  could  do  it.  Let  us  therefore 
prepare  ourselves  for  the  work,  for  the 
Canaanites  will  not  resign  up  their  land 
to  us  without  fighting,  but  it  must  be 
wrested  from  them  by  great  struggles  in 
war.  Let  us  then  send  spies,  who  may 
take  a  view  of  the  goodness  of  the  land, 
and  what  strength  it  is  of;  but,  above  all 
things,  let  us  be  of  one  mind,  and  let  us 
honour  God,  who  above  all  is  our  helper 
and  assister." 

When  Moses  had  said  thus,  the  multi- 
tude requited  him  with  marks  of  respect  J 
and  chose  twelve  spies,  of  the  most  emi- 
nent men,  one  out  of  each  tribe,  who, 
passing  over  all  the  land  of  Canaan,  from 
the  borders  of  Egypt,  came  to  the  city 
llamath,   and   to    Mount    Lebanon;    and 


having  learned  the  nature  of  the  land, 
and  of  its  inhabitants,  they  came  home, 
having  spent  forty  days  in  the  whole 
work.  They  also  brought  with  them  of 
the  fruits  which  the  land  bare;  they  also 
showed  them  the  excellency  of  those 
fruits,  and  gave  an  account  of  the  great 
quantity  of  the  good  things  that  land 
afforded,  which  were  motives  to  the  mul- 
titude to  go  to  war.  But  then  they  ter- 
rified them  again  with  the  great  difficulty 
there  was  in  obtaining  it;  that  the  rivers 
were  so  large  and  deep  that  they  could 
not  be  passed  over;  and  that  the  hills 
were  so  high  that  they  could  not  travel 
along  for  them :  that  the  cities  were 
strong  with  walls,  and  their  firm  fortifica- 
tions round  about  them.  They  told  them 
also,  that  they  found  at  Hebron  the  pos- 
terity of  the  giants.  Accordingly,  these 
spies,  who  had  seen  the  land  of  Canaan, 
when  they  perceived  that  all  these  diffi- 
culties were  greater  there  than  they  had 
met  with  since  they  came  out  of  Egypt, 
they  were  affrighted  at  them  themselves, 
and  endeavoured  to  affright  the  multitude 
also. 

So  they  supposed,  from  what  they  had 
heard,  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  the 
possession  of  the  country.  And  when 
the  congregation  was  dissolved,  they, 
their  wives  and  children,  continued  their 
lamentation,  as  if  God  would  not  indeed 
assist  them,  but  only  promised  them  fair. 
They  also  again  blamed  Moses,  and  made 
a  clamour  against  him  and  his  brother 
Aaron,  the  high-priest.  Accordingly, 
they  passed  that  night  very  ill,  and  with 
contumelious  language  against  them  ;  but 
in  the  morning  they  ran  to  a  congrega- 
tion, intending  to  stone  Moses  and  Aaron, 
and  so  to  return  back  into  Egypt. 

But  of  the  spies,  there  were  Joshua, 
the  son  of  Nun,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
and  Caleb  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  that 
were  afraid  of  the  consequence,  and  came 
into  the  midst  of  them,  and  stilled  the 
multitude,  and  desired  them  to  be  of 
good  courage ;  and  neither  to  condemn 
God,  as  having  told  them  lies,  nor  to 
hearken  to  those  who  had  affrighted 
them,  by  telling  them  what  was  not  true 
concerning  the  Canaanites,  but  to  those 
that  encouraged  them  to  hope  for  good 
success;  and  that  they  should  gain  pos- 
session (4'  the  happiness  promised  them, 
because  neither  the  height  of  mountains 
nor  the  depth  of  rivers  eould  hinder  men 
of   true    courage  from    attempting   them, 


Chap.  XV.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


119 


especially  while  God  would  take  care  of 
them  beforehand,  and  be  assistant  to 
them.  "  Let  us  then  go,"  said  they, 
"against  our  enemies,  and  have  no  sus- 
picion of  ill  success,  trusting  in  God  to 
conduct  us,  and  following  those  that  are 
to  be  our  leaders.  Thus  did  these  two 
exhort  them,  and  endeavour  to  pacify  the 
rage  they  were  in.  But  Moses  and 
Aaron  fell  on  the  ground,  and  besought 
God,  not  for  their  own  deliverance,  but 
that  he  would  put  a  stop  to  what  the 
people  were  unwarily  doing,  and  would 
bring  their  minds  to  a  quiet  temper, 
which  were  now  disordered  by  their 
present  passion.  The  cloud  also  did  now 
appear,  and  stood  over  the  tabernacle, 
and  declared  to  them  the  presence  of  God 
to  be  there. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  children  of  Israel  condemned  to  remain  in  the 
wilderness  for  forty  years,  as  a  punishment  for 
their  disobedience. 

Moses  came  now  boldly  to  the  multi- 
tude, and  informed  them  that  God  was 
moved  at  their  abuse  of  him,  and  would 
inflict  punishment  upon  them,  not  indeed 
such  as  they  deserved  for  their  sins,  but 
such  as  parents  inflict  on  their  children, 
in  order  to  their  correction :  for,  he  said, 
that  when  he  was  in  the  tabernacle,  and 
was  bewailing  with  tears  that  destruction 
which  was  coming  upon  them,  God  put 
him  in  mind  what  things  he  had  done  for 
them,  and  what  benefits  they  had  re- 
ceived from  him,  and  yet  how  ungrateful 
they  had  been  to  him;  that  just  now 
they  had  been  induced,  through  the 
cowardice  of  the  spies,  to  think  that  their 
words  were  truer  than  his  own  promise  to 
them ;  and  that  on  this  account,  though 
he  would  not  indeed  destroy  them  all,  nor 
utterly  exterminate  their  nation,  which 
he  had  honoured  more  than  any  other 
part  of  mankind,  yet  he  would  not  permit 
them  to  take  possession  of  the  land  of 
Canaan,  nor  enjoy  its  happiness;  but 
would  make  them  wander  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  live  without  a  fixed  habitation, 
and  without  a  city,  for  forty  years  toge- 
ther, as  a  punishment  for  this  their  trans- 
gression ;  but  that  he  had  promised  to 
give  that  land  to  their  children,  and  that 
he  would  make  them  the  possessors  of 
those  good  things  which,  by  their  un- 
governed  passions,  they  had  deprived 
themselves  of. 


"When  Moses  had  discoursed  thus  to 
them,  according  to  the  direction  of  God, 
the  multitude  grieved,  and  were  in  afflic- 
tion ;  and  entreated  Moses  to  procure 
their  reconciliation  to  God,  and  to  permit 
them  no  longer  to  wander  in  the  wilder- 
ness, but  to  bestow  cities  upon  them; 
but  he  replied,  that  God  would  not  admit 
of  any  such  trial,  for  that  God  was  not 
moved  to  this  determination  from  any 
human  levity  or  anger,  but  that  he  had 
judicially  condemned  them  to  that  pu- 
nishment. Now  we  are  not  to  disbelieve 
that  Moses,  who  was  but  a  single  person, 
pacified  so  many  ten  thousands  when 
they  were  in  anger,  and  converted  them 
to  a  mildness  of  temper;  for  God  was 
with  him,  and  prepared  the  way  to  his 
persuasions  of  the  multitude;  and  as 
they  had  often  been  disobedient,  they 
were  now  sensible  that  such  disobedience 
was  disadvantageous  to  them,  and  that 
they  had  still  thereby  fallen  into  calami- 
ties. 

But  this  man  was  admirable  for  his 
virtue,  and  powerful  in  making  men  give 
credit  to  what  he  delivered,  not  only  dur- 
ing the  time  of  his  natural  life,  but  even 
there  is  still  no  one  of  the  Hebrews  who 
does  not  act  even  now  as  if  Moses  was 
present,  and  ready  to  punish  him  if  he 
should  do  any  thing  that  is  indecent ; 
nay,  there  is  no  one  but  is  obedient  to 
what  laws  he  ordained,  although  they 
might  be  concealed  in  their  transgres- 
sions. There  are  also  many  other  de- 
monstrations that  his  power  was  more 
than  human,  for  still  some  there  have 
been,  who  have  come  from  the  parts 
beyond  Euphrates,  a  journey  of  four 
months,  through  many  dangers,  and  at 
great  expenses,  in  honour  of  our  temple ; 
and  yet,  when  they  had  offered  their  obla- 
tions, could  not  partake  of  their  own  sacri- 
fices, because  Moses  had  forbidden  it,  by 
somewhat  in  the  law  that  did  not  permit 
them,  or  somewhat  that  had  befallen 
them,  which  our  ancient  customs  made 
inconsistent  therewith;  some  of  these  did 
not  sacrifice  at  all,  and  others  left  their 
sacrifices  in  an  imperfect  condition;  nay, 
many  were  not  able,  even  at  first,  so  much 
as  to  enter  into  the  temple,  but  went  their 
ways  in  this  state,  as  preferring  a  submis- 
sion to  the  laws  of  Moses  before  the  ful- 
filling of  their  own  inclinations,  even  when 
they  had  no  fear  upon  them  that  anybody 
could  convict  them,  but  only  out  of  a  re- 
verence to  their  own    conscience.     Thus 


120 


ANTfQUITlES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV 


this  legislation,  which  appeared  to  be  Di- 
vine, made  this  man  to  be  esteemed  as 
one  superior  to  his  own  nature.  Nay, 
further,  a  little  before  the  beginning  of 
this  war,  when  Claudius  was  emperor  of 
the  Romans,  and  Ismael  was  our  high 
priest,  and  when  so  great  a  famine  had 
come  upon  us  that  one  tenth-deal  [of  wheat] 
was  sold  for  four  drachmae,  and  when  no 
less  than  seventy  cori  of  flour  were 
brought  into  the  temple,  at  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  (these  cori  are  thirty- 
one  Sicilian,  but  forty-one  Athenian  me- 
dirnni,)  not   one   of   the    priests  were  so 


hardy  as  to  eat  one  crumb  of  it,  eveu 
while  so  great  a  distress  was  upon  the 
laud;  and  this  out  of  a  dread  of  the  law. 
and  of  that  wrath  which  God  retains 
against  acts  of  wickedness,  even  when  no 
one  can  accuse  the  actors.  Whence  we 
are  not  to  wonder  at  what  was  then  done, 
while  to  this  very  day  the  writings  left 
by  Moses  have  so  great  a  force,  that  even 
those  who  hate  us  do  confess  that  he  whc 
established  this  settlement  was  God,  and 
that  it  was  by  the  means  of  Moses,  and 
of  his  virtue :  but  as  to  these  matters,  let 
every  one  take  them  as  he  thinks  fit. 


BOOK  IT. 


CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL   OF   THIRTY-EIGHT  YEARS,  FROM   THE   RE- 
JECTION OF  THAT  GENERATION,  UNTIL  THE  DEATH  OF  MOSES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Hebrews  defeated  by  the  Canaanites. 

Now  this  life  of  the  Hebrews  in  the 
wilderness  was  so  disagreeable  and  trouble- 
some to  them,  and  they  were  so  uneasy  at 
it,  that  although  God  had  forbidden  them 
to  meddle  with  the  Canaanites,  yet  could 
they  not  be  persuaded  to  be  obedient  to 
the  words  of  Moses,  and  to  be  quiet;  but 
supposing  they  should  be  able  to  beat 
their  enemies,  even  without  his  approba- 
tion, they  accused  him,  and  suspected  that 
he  made  it  his  business  to  keep  them  in  a 
distressed  condition,  that  they  might 
always  stand  in  need  of  his  assistance. 
Accordingly  they  resolved  to  fight  with 
the  Canaanites,  and  said  that  God  gave 
them  his  assistance,  not  out  of  regard  to 
Moses's  intercessions,  but  because  he 
took  care  of  their  entire  nation,  on  ac- 
count of  their  forefathers,  whose  affairs 
he  took  under  his  own  conduct;  as  also, 
that  it  was  on  account  of  their  own  virtue 
that  he  had  formerly  procured  them  their 
liberty,  and  would  be  assisting  to  them, 
now  they  were  willing  to  take  pains  for  it. 
They  also  said  that  they  were  possessed 
of  abilities  sufficient  for  the  conquest  of 
their  enemies,  although  Moses  should 
have  a  mind  to  alienate  God  from  them; 
that,  however,  it  was  for  their  advantage 


to  be  their  own  masters,  and  not  so 
far  to  rejoice  in  their  deliverance  from 
the  indignities  they  endured  under  the 
Egyptians,  as  to  bear  the  tyranny  of 
Moses  over  them,  and  to  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  deluded,  and  live  according 
to  his  pleasure,  as  though  God  did  only 
foretell  what  concerned  them  out  of  his 
kindness  to  him,  as  if  they  were  not  all 
the  posterity  of  Abraham  ;  had  God  made 
him  alone  the  author  of  all  the  know- 
ledge they  had,  and  must  they  still  learn 
it  from  him  ;  that  it  would  be  a  piece  of 
prudence  to  oppose  his  arrogant  pretences, 
and  to  put  their  confidence  in  God,  and 
to  resolve  to  take  possession  of  that  land 
which  he  had  promised  them,  and  not  to 
give  ear  to  him,  who,  on  this  account,  and 
under  the  pretence  of  Divine  authority, 
forbade  them  so  to  do.  Considering, 
therefore,  the  distressed  state  they  were 
in  at  present,  and  that  in  those  desert 
places  they  were  still  to  expect  things 
would  be  worse  with  them,  they  resolved 
to  light  with  the  Canaanites,  as  submitting 
only  to  God,  their  supreme  commander, 
and  not  waiting  for  any  assistance  from 
their  legislator. 

When,  therefore,  they  had  come  to  this 
resolution,  as  being  best  for  them,  they 
went  against  their  enemies;  but  those 
enemies  were  not  dismayed  either  at  the 


Chap.  II. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


121 


attack  itse  f,  01  at  the  great  number  that 
made  it,  and  received  them  with  great 
courage.  Many  of  the  Hebrews  were 
slain:  and  the  remainder  of  the  army, 
upon  the  disorder  of  their  troops,  were 
pursued,  and  fled,  after  a  shameful  man- 
ner, to  their  camp.*  Whereupon  this  un- 
expected misfortune  made  them  quite  de- 
spond; and  they  hoped  for  nothing  that 
was  good;  as  gathering  from  it,  that  this 
affliction  came  from  the  wrath  of  God, 
because  they  rashly  went  out  to  war  with- 
out his  approbation. 

But  when  Moses  saw  how  deeply  they 
were  affected  with  this  defeat,  and  being 
afraid  lest  their  enemies  should  grow  inso- 
lent upon  this  victory,  and  should  be  de- 
sirous of  gaining  still  greater  glory,  and 
should  attack  them,  he  resolved  that  it 
was  proper  to  withdraw  the  army  into  the 
wilderness  to  a  farther  distance  from  the 
Canaanites:  so  the  multitude  gave  them- 
selves up  again  to  his  conduct;  for  they 
were  sensible  that,  without  his  care  for 
them,  their  affairs  could  not  be  in  a  good 
condition  ;  and  he  caused  the  host  to  re- 
move, and  he  went  farther  into  the  wilder- 
ness, as  intending  there  to  let  them  rest, 
and  not  to  permit  them  to  fight  the 
Canaanites  before  God  should  afford  them 
a  more  favourable  opportunity. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

Sedition  of  Corah  and  the  multitude  against  Moses 
and  his  brother,  concerning  the  priesthood. 
B.  C.  1471. 

That  which  is  usually  the  case  of  great 
armies,  and  especially  upon  ill  success,  to 
be  hard  to  be  pleased,  and  governed  with 
difficulty,  did  now  befall  the  Jews;  for 
they  being  in  number  600,000,  and,  by 
reason  of  their  great  multitude,  not  readily 
subject  to  their  governors,  even  in  pros- 
perity, they  at  this  time  were  more  than 
usually  angry,  both  against  one  another, 
and  against  their  leader,  because  of  the 
distress  they  were  in,  and  the  calamities 
they  then  endured.  Such  a  sedition  over- 
took them,  as  we  have  not  the  like  ex- 
ample either  among  the  Greeks  or  the 
barbarians,  by  which  they  were  in  danger 
of  being  all  destroyed,  but  were  notwith- 
standing saved  by  Moses,  who  would  not 
remember  that  he  had  been  almost  stoned 
to  death  by  them.  Nor  did  God  neglect 
to  prevent  their  ruin ;   but,  notwithstand- 


*  Num.  xiv.  44,  45. 


ing  the  indignities  they  had  offered  theii 
legislator  and  the  laws,  and  their  diso- 
bedience to  the  commandments  which  he 
had  sent  them  by  Moses,  he  delivered 
them  from  those  terrible  calamities, 
which,  without  his  providential  care,  had 
been  brought  upon  them  by  this  sedition. 
So  I  will  first  explain  the  cause  whence 
this  sedition  arose,  and  then  will  give  an 
account  of  the  sedition  itself;  as  also  of 
what  settlements  Moses  made  for  their 
government,  after  it  was  over. 

Corah,*  a  Hebrew  of  principal  account, 
both  by  his  family  and  by  his  wealth,  one 
that  was  also  able  to  speak  well,  and  one 
that  could  easily  persuade  the  people  by 
his  speeches,  saw  that  Moses  was  in  an 
exceeding  great  dignity,  and  was  uneasy 
at  it,  and  envied  him  on  that  account,  (he 
was  of  the  same  tribe  with  Moses,  and  of 
kin  to  him,)  was  particularly  grieved, 
because  he  thought  he  better  deserved 
that  honourable  post  on  account  of  his 
great  riches,  and  not  inferior  to  him  in 
his  birth.  So  he  raised  a  clamour  against 
him  among  the  Levites,  who  were  of  the 
same  tribe,  and  especially  among  his 
kindred,  saying,  "That  it  was  a  very  sad 
thing  that  they  should  overlook  Moses, 
while  he  hunted  after,  and  paved  the 
way  to  glory  for  himself,  and  by  ill  arts 
should  obtain  it,  under  the  pretence  of 
God's  command,  while,  contrary  to  the 
laws,  he  had  given  the  priesthood  to 
Aaron,  not  by  the  common  suffrage  of  the 
multitude,  but  by  his  own  vote,  as  bestow- 
ing dignities  in  a  tyrannical  way  on  whom 
he  pleased/'  He  added,  "That  this  con- 
cealed way  of  imposing  on  them  was 
harder  to  be  borne  than  if  it  had  been 
done  by  an  open  force  upon  them,  because 
he  did  now  not  only  take  away  their 
power  without  their  consent,  but  even 
while  they  were  unapprized  of  bis  con- 
trivances against  them;  for  whosoever  is 
conscious  to  himself  that  be  deserves  any 
dignity,  aims  to  get  it  by  persuasion,  and 
not  by  an  arrogant  method  of  violence; 
but  those  who  believe  it  impossible  to  ob- 
tain those  honours  justly,  make  a  show 
of  goodness,  and  do  not  introduce  force 
but  by  cunning  tricks  grow  wickedly 
powerful :  that  it  was  proper  for  the 
multitude  to  punish  such  men,  even  while 
they  think  themselves  concealed  in  their 
designs,  and  not  suffer  them  to  gaiD 
strength    till    they   have   them  for    their 


*  Num.  xvi. 


122 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


TBook  rv. 


open  enemies.  For  what  account,"  added 
he,  "is  Moses  able  to  give,  why  he  has 
bestowed  the  priesthood  on  Aaron  and  his 
son?  for  if  God  hud  determined  to  bestow 
that  honour  on  one  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  I 
am  more  worthy  of  it  than  lie  is;  I  my- 
pelf  being  equal  to  Moses  by  my  family, 
and  superior  to  him  both  in  riches  and  in 
age  :  but  if  God  had  determined  to  bestow 
it  on  the  eldest  tribe,  that  of  Eeuben 
might  have  it  most  justly;  and  then 
Dathan,  and  Abiram,  and  [On,  the  son 
of]  Peleth,  would  have  it;  for  these  are 
the  oldest  men  of  that  tribe,  and  potent 
on  account  of  their  great  wealth  also." 

Now  Corah,  when  he  had  said  this,  had 
a  mind  to  appear  to  take  care  of  the  pub- 
lic welfare;  but  in  reality  he  was  en- 
deavouring to  procure  to  have  that  dignity 
transferred  by  the  multitude  to  himself. 
Thus  did  he,  out  of  a  malignant  design, 
but  with  plausible  words,  discourse  to 
those  of  his  own  tribe;  and  when  these 
words  did  gradually  spread  to  more  of  the 
people,  and  when  the  hearers  still  added 
to  what  tended  to  the  scandals  that  were 
cast  upon  Aaron,  the  whole  army  was  full 
of  them.  Now  of  those  that  conspired 
with  Corah,  there  were  250,  and  those  of 
the  principal  men  also,  who  were  eager  to 
have  the  priesthood  taken  away  from 
Moses's  brother,  and  to  bring  him  into  dis- 
grace :  nay,  the  multitude  themselves 
were  provoked  to  be  seditious,  and  (-at- 
tempted to  stone  Moses,  and  gathered 
themselves  together  after  an  indecent 
manner,  with  confusion  and  disorder. 
And  now  they  all  were,  in  a  tumultuous 
manner,  raising  a  clamour  before  the 
tabernacle  of  God,  to  prosecute  the  tyrant, 
and  to  relieve  the  multitude  from  their 
slavery  under  him  who,  under  colour  of 
the  Divine  commands,  laid  violent  injunc- 
tions upon  them;  for  that  had  it  been 
God  who  chose  one  that  was  to  perform 
the  office  of  a  priest,  he  would  have  raised 
a  worthy  person  to  that  dignity,  and 
would  not  have  produced  such  an  one  as 
*vas  inferior  to  many  others,  nor  have 
given  him  that  office;  and  that  in  case  he 
had  judged  it  fit  to  bestow  it  on  Aaron, 
he  would  have  permitted  it  to  the  multi- 
tude to  bestow  it,  and  not  have  left  it  to 
be  bestowed  by  his  own  brother. 

Now  although  Moses  had  a  great  while 
ago  foreseen  tliis  calumny  of  Corah,  and 
had  seen  that  the  people  wore  irritated, 
yet  was  ho  not,  affrighted  at  it;  but  being 
of  good   courage,    because    he   had   given 


them  right  advice  about  their  affairs,  and 
knowing  that  his  brother  had  been  made 
partaker  of  the  priesthood  at  the  command 
of  God,  and  not  by  his  own  favour  to  him. 
he  came  to  the  assembly;  and,  as  for  the 
multitude,  he  said  not  a  word  to  them, 
but  spake  as  loud  to  Corah  as  he  could 
and  being  very  skilful  in  making  speeches, 
and  having  this  natural  talent,  among 
others,  that  he  could  greatly  move  the 
multitude  with  his  discourses,  he  said, 
"0  Corah,  both  thou  .and  all  these  with 
thee  (pointing  to  the  250  men)  seem  to 
be  worthy  of  this  honour;  nor  do  I  pre- 
tend but  that  this  whole  company  may  be 
worthy  of  the  like  dignity,  although  they 
may  not  be  so  rich,  or  so  great  as  you 
are :  nor  have  I  taken  and  given  this  office 
to  my  brother,  because  he  excelled  others 
in  riches,  for  thou  exceedest  us  both  in 
the  greatness  of  thy  wealth;*  nor  indeed 
because  he  was  of  an  eminent  family,  for 
God,  by  giving  us  the  same  common  an- 
cestor, has  made  our  families  equal :  nay, 
nor  was  it  out  of  brotherly  affection, 
which  another  might  yet  have  justly  done; 
for  certainly,  unless  I  had  bestowed  this 
honour  out  of  regard  to  God,  and  to  his 
laws,  I  had  not  passed  by  myself,  and 
given  it  to  another,  as  being  nearer  of  kin 
to  myself  than  to  my  brother,  and  having 
a  closer  intimacy  with  myself  than  I  have 
with  him;  for  surely  it  would  not  be  a 
wise  thing  for  me,  to  expose  myself  to  the 
dangers  of  offending,  and  to  bestow  the 
happy  employment  on  this  account  upon 
another.  But  I  am  above  such  base 
practices:  nor  would  God  have  over- 
looked this  matter,  and  seen  himself  thus 
despised ;•  nor  would  he  have  suffered  you 
to  be  ignorant  of  what  you  were  to  do,  in 
order  to  please  him;  but  hath  himself 
chosen  one  that  is  to  perform  that  sacred 
office  to  him,  and  thereby  freed  us  from 
that   care.      So   that  it  was  not  a  thin** 

c 

that  I  pretended  to  give,  but  only  accord- 
ing to  the  determination  of  God;  1  there- 
fore propose  it  still  to  be  contended  for 
by  such  as  please  to  put  in  for  it,  only 
desiring  that  he  who  has  been  already 
preferred,  and  has  already  obtained  it, 
may  be  allowed  now  also  to  offer  himself 
for  a  candidate.'  He  prefers  your  peace, 
aud  your  living  without  sedition,  to  this 
honourable  employment,  although  iu  truth 


*  Our  Bible?  say  little  or  nothing  of  these  riches 
of  Corah,  jet  both  the  .lows  and  .Mohammedans 
us  well  us  Josenhus,  make  mention  of  iU 


Chap   IK  | 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


123 


it  was  with  jour  approbation  that  he  ob- 
tained it;  for  though  God  was  the  donor, 
yet  do  we  not  offend  when  we  think  fit  to 
accept  it  with  your  good-will;  yet  would 
it  have  been  an  instance  of  impiety  not  to 
have  taken  that  honourable  employment 
when  he  offered  it;  nay,  it  had  been  ex- 
ceedingly unreasonable,  when  God  had 
thought  fit  any  one  should  have  it  for  all 
time  to  come,  and  had  made  it  secure  and 
firm  to  him,  to  have  refused  it.  How- 
ever, he  himself  will  judge  again  who  it 
shall  be  whom  he  would  have  to  offer 
sacrifices  to  him,  and  to  have  the  direc- 
tion of  matters  of  religion;  for  it  is  ab- 
surd that  Corah,  who  is  ambitious  of  this 
honour,  should  deprive  God  of  the  power 
of  giving  it  to  whom  he  pleases.  Put  an 
end,  therefore,  to  your  sedition  and  dis- 
turbance on  this  account;  and  to-morrow 
morning  do  every  one  of  you  that  desire 
the  priesthood  bring  a  censer  from  home, 
and  come  hither  with  incense  and  fire; 
and  do  thou,  0  Corah,  leave  the  judgment 
to  God,  and  await  to  see  on  which  side 
he  will  give  his  determination  upon  this 
occasion,  but  do  not  thou  make  thyself 
greater  than  God.  Do  thou  also  come, 
that  this  coutest  about  this  honourable 
employment  may  receive  determination. 
And  I  suppose  we  may  admit  Aaron  with- 
out offence,  to  offer  himself  to  this  scrutiny, 
since  he  is  of  the  same  lineage  with  thy- 
self, and  has  done  nothing  in  his  priest- 
hood that  can  be  liable  to  exception. 
Come  ye,  therefore,  together,  and  offer 
your  incense  in  public  before  all  the  peo- 
ple; and  when  you  offer  it,  he  whose 
sacrifice  God  shall  accept  shall  be  ordained 
to  the  priesthood,  and  shall  be  clear  of 
the  present  calumny  on  Aaron,  as  if  I  had 
granted  him  that  favour  because  he  was 
my  brother." 

CHAPTER  III. 

Destruction  of  the  Seditionaries — Aaron  and  his 
posterity  retain  the  Priesthood.     Num.  xvi. 

When  Moses  had  said  this,  the  multi- 
tude left  off  the  turbulent  behaviour  they 
had  indulged  in,  and  the  suspicion  they 
had  of  Moses,  and  commended  what  he 
had  said;  for  those  proposals  were  good, 
and  were  so  esteemed  of  the  people.  At 
that  time,  therefore,  they  dissolved  the 
assembly;  but,  on  the  next  day,  they 
came  to  the  congregation,  in  order  to  be 
present  at  the  sacrifice,  and  at  the  deter- 
mination  that  was  to  be   made  between 


the  candidates  for  the  priesthood.  Now 
this  congregation  proved  a  turbulent  one, 
and  the  multitude  were  in  great  suspense 
in  expectation  of  what  was  to  be  done; 
for  some  of  them  would  have  been  pleased 
if  Moses  had  been  convicted  of  evil  prac- 
tices :  but  the  wiser  sort  desired  that  they 
might  be  delivered  from  the  present  dis- 
order and  disturbance;  for  they  were 
afraid,  that  if  this  sedition  went  on,  the 
good  order  of  their  settlement  would 
rather  be  destroyed;  but  the  whole  body 
of  the  people  do  naturally  delight  in 
clamours  against  their  governors,  and,  by 
changing  their  opinions  upon  the  ha- 
rangues of  every  speaker,  disturb  the  pub- 
lic tranquillity.  And  now  Moses  sent 
messengers  for  Abiram  and  Dathan,  and 
ordered  them  to  come  to  the  assembly, 
and  wait  there  for  the  holy  offices  that 
were  to  be  performed.  But  they  answered 
the  messenger,  that  they  would  not  obey  his 
summons;  nay,  would  not  overlook  Moses's 
behaviour,  who  was  growing  too  great  for 
them  by  evil  practices.  Now  when  Moses 
heard  of  this  their  answer,  he  desired  the 
heads  of  the  people  to  follow  him,  and  he 
went  to  the  factiou  of  Dathan,  not  think- 
ing it  any  fearful  thing  at  all  to  go  to 
these  insolent  people;  so  they  made  no 
opposition,  but  went  along  with  him. 
But  Dathan  and  his  associates,  when  they 
understood  that  Moses  and  the  principal 
of  the  people  were  coming  to  them,  came 
out  with  their  wives  and  children,  and 
stood  before  their  tents,  and  looked  to  see 
what  Moses  would  do.  They  had  also 
their  servants  about  them  to  defend  them- 
selves, in  case  Moses  should  use  force 
against  them. 

But  he  came  near,  and  lifted  up  his 
hands  to  heaven,  and  cried  out  with  a  loud 
voice,  in  order  to  be  heard  by  the  whole 
multitude,  and  said,  "O  Lord  of  the  crea- 
tures that  are  in  the  heaven,  in  the  earth, 
and  in  the  sea;  for  thou  art  the  most  au- 
thentic witness  to  what  I  have  done,  that 
it  has  all  been  done  by  thy  appointment, 
and  that  it  was  thou  that  didst  afford  us 
assistance  when  we  attempted  any  thing, 
and  didst  show  mercy  to  the  Hebrews  in 
all  their  distresses,  do  thou  come  now,  and 
hear  all  that  I  say,  for  no  action  or  thought 
escapes  thy  knowledge;  so  that  thou  wilt 
not  disdain  to  speak  what  is  true,  for  my 
vindication,  without  any  regard  to  the  un- 
grateful imputations  of  these  men.  Ah 
for  what  was  done  before  I  was  born,  thou 
knowest  best,  as  not  learning  them  by  ro 


124 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book.  TV. 


port,  but  seeing  them,  and  being  present 
with  them  when  they  were  done;   but  for 

what  has  been  done  of  late,  and  which 
these  turn,  although  they  know  them  well 
enough,  unjustly  pretend  to  suspect,  be 
thou  my  witness.  When  I  lived  a  pri- 
vate, quiet  life,  I  left  those  good  things, 
which  by  my  own  diligence,  and  by  thy 
counsel,  I  enjoyed  with  Raguel,  my  fa- 
ther-in-law ;  and  I  gave  myself  up  to  this 
people,  and  underwent  many  miseries  on 
their  account.  I  also  bore  great  labours 
it  first,  in  order  to  obtain  liberty  for  them, 
and  now,  in  order  to  their  preservation  ; 
and  have  always  sbowed  myself  ready  to 
assist  them  in  every  distress  of  theirs. 
Now,  therefore,  since  I  am  suspected  by 
those  very  men  whose  being  is  owing  to 
my  labours,  come  thou,  as  it  is  reasonable 
to  hope  thou  wilt;  thou  I  say,  who  show- 
edst  me  the  fire  at  Mount  Sinai,  and  made 
me  to  hear  its  voice,  and  to  see  the  several 
wonders  which  that  place  afforded  me ; 
thou  who  commandest  me  to  go  to'  Egypt, 
and  declare  thy  will  to  this  people ;  thou 
who  disturbedst  the  happy  estate  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  gave  us  the  opportunity 
of  flying  away  from  our  slavery  under 
them,  and  made  the  dominion  of  Pharaoh 
inferior  to  my  dominion ;  thou  who  didst 
make  the  sea  dry  land  for  us,  when  we 
knew  not  whither  to  go,  and  didst  over- 
whelm the  Egyptians  with  those  destruc- 
tive waves  which  had  been  divided  for  us; 
thou  who  didst  bestow  upon  us  the  security 
of  weapons  when  we  were  naked;  thou 
who  didst  make  the  fountains  that  were 
corrupted  to  flow,  so  as  to  be  fit  for  drink- 
ing, and  didst  furnish  us  with  water  that 
came  out  of  the  rocks,  when  we  were  in 
the  greatest  want  of  it;  thou  who  didst 
preserve  our  lives  with  [quails,  which  was] 
food  from  the  sea,  when  the  fruits  of  the 
ground  failed  us;  thou  who  didst  send  us 
such  food  from  heaven  as  had  never  been 
seen  before ;  thou  who  didst  suggest  to  us 
the  knowledge  of  thy  laws,  and  appoint  to 
us  a  form  of  government, — come  thou,  I 
say,  0  Lord  of  the  whole  world,  and  that 
as  such  a  Judge  and  a  Witness  to  me  as 
cannot  be  bribed,  and  show  how  I  have 
never  admitted  of  any  gift  against  just  ire 
from  any  of  the  Hebrews,  and  have  never 
condemned  a  poor  man  that  ought  to  have 
been  acquitted,  on  account  of  one  that 
was  rich;  and  have  never  attempted  to 
hurt  this  commonwealth.  I  am  now  here 
{•resent,  and  am  suspected  of  a  thing  the 
remotest  from  my  intentions,  as  if  1  had 


given  the  priesthood  to  Aaron,  not  at  thy 
command,  but  out  of  my  own  favour  tr 
him  ;  do  thou  at  this  time  demonstrate 
that  all  things  are  administered  by  thy 
providence,  and  that  nothing  happens  by 
chance,  but  is  governed  by  thy  will,  and 
thereby  attains  its  end  :  as  also  demon- 
strate that  thou  takest  care  of  those  that 
have  done  good  to  the  Hebrews ;  demon- 
strate this,  I  say,  by  the  punishment  of 
Abiram  and  Dathan,  who  condemn  theo 
as  an  insensible  Being,  and  one  overcome 
by  my  contrivances.  This  wilt  thou  do 
by  inflicting  such  an  open  punishment  on 
these  men  who  so  madly  fly  in  the  face  of 
thy  glory,  as  will  take  them  out  of  the 
world,  not  in  an  ordinary  manner,  but  so 
that  it  may  appear  they  do  not  die  after 
the  manner  of  other  men  :  let  that  ground 
upon  which  they  tread,  open  about  tbem 
and  consume  them,  with  their  families  and 
goods.  This  will  be  a  demonstration  of 
thy  power  to  all  men ;  and  this  method 
of  their  sufferings  will  be  an  instruction 
of  wisdom  to  those  that  entertain  profane 
sentiments  of  thee.  By  this  means,  I 
shall  be  found  a  good  servant,  in  the  pre- 
cepts thou  hast  given  by  me.  But  if  the 
calumnies  they  have  raised  against  me  be 
true,  mayest  thou  preserve  these  men  from 
every  evil  accident,  and  bring  all  that  de- 
struction on  me  which  I  have  imprecated 
upon  them.  And  when  thou  hast  inflict- 
ed punishment  on  those  that  have  endea- 
voured to  deal  unjustly  with  this  people, 
bestow  upon  them  concord  and  peace. 
Save  the  multitude  that  follow  thy  com- 
mandments, and  preserve  them  free  from 
harm,  and  let  them  not  partake  of  the 
punishment  of  those  that  have  sinned;  for 
thou  knowest  thyself  it  is  not  just  that  for 
the  wickedness  of  those  men,  the  whole 
body  of  the  Israelites  should  suffer  punish- 
ment. " 

When  Moses  had  said  this,  with  tears 
in  his  eyes,  the  ground  was  moved  ou  a 
sudden;  and  the  agitation  that  set  it  in 
motion  was  like  that  which  the  wind  pro- 
duces in  waves  of  the  sea.  The  people 
were  affrighted  ;  and  the  ground  that  was 
about  their  tents- sunk  down  at  the  great 
noise,  with  a  terrible  sound,  and  carried 
whatever  was  dear  to  the  seditious  into 
itself,  who  so  entirely  perished,  that  there 
was  not  the  least  appearance  that  any  man 
had  ever  been  seen  there,  the  earth  that 
had  opened  itself  about  them,  closing 
again,  and  becoming  entire  as  it  was  be- 
fore, insomuch,  that  such  as  saw  it,  after 


CHAP.  IV  ) 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


125 


ward  did  not  perceive  that  any  such  acci- 
dent had  happened  to  it.  Thus  did  these 
men  perish,  and  become  a  demonstration 
of  the  power  of  God.  And  truly,  any  one 
would  lament  them,  not  only  on  account 
of  this  calamity  that  befell  them,  which 
yet  deserves  our  commiseration,  but  also 
because  their  kindred  were  pleased  with 
their  sufferings;  for  they  forgot  the  rela- 
tion they  bare  to  them,  and  at  the  sight 
of  this  sad  accident  approved  of  the  judg- 
ment given  against  them ;  and  because 
they  looked  upon  the  people  about  Dathan 
as  pestilent  men,  they  thought  they 
perished  as  such,  and  did  not  grieve  for 
them. 

And  now  Moses  called  for  those  that 
contended  about  the  priesthood,  that  trial 
might  be  made  who  should  be  priest,  and 
that  he  whose  sacrifice  God  was  best 
pleased  with  might  be  ordained  to  that 
function.  There  attended  250  men,  who 
indeed  were  honoured  by  the  people,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  power  of  their  an- 
cestors, but  also  on  account  of  their  own, 
in  which  they  excelled  the  others;  Aaron 
also  and  Corah  came  forth,  and  they  all 
offered  incense,  in  those  censers  of  theirs 
which  they  brought  with  them,  before  the 
tabernacle.  Hereupon  so  great  a  fire 
shone  out  as  no  one  ever  saw  in  any  that 
was  made  by  the  hand  of  man,  neither  in 
those  eruptions  tmt  of  the  earth  that  are 
caused  by  subterraneous  burnings,  nor  in 
such  fires  as  arise  of  their  own  accord  in 
the  woods,  when  the  agitation  is  caused  by 
the  trees  rubbing  one  against  another:  but 
this  fire  was  very  bright,  and  had  a  terri- 
ble flame,  such  as  is  kindled  at  the  com- 
mand of  God ;  by  whose  irruption  on 
them,  all  the  company,  and  Corah  him- 
self, were  destroyed,*  and  this  so  entirely, 
that  their  very  bodies  left  no  remains  be- 
hind them.  Aaron  alone  was  preserved, 
and  not  at  all  hurt  by  the  fire,  because  it 
was  God  that  sent  the  fire  to  burn  those 
only  who  ought  to  be  burned.  Hereupon 
Moses,  after  these  men  were  destroyed, 
was  desirous  that  the  memory  of  this  judg- 
ment might  be  delivered  down  to  posterity, 
and  that  future  ages  might  be  acquainted 
with  it;  and  so  he  commanded  Eleazar, 


*  It  appears  here,  and  from  the  Samaritan  Pen- 
tateuch, and,  in  effect,  from  the  Psalmist,  as  also 
from  the  Apostolical  Constitutions,  from  Clement's 
first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  from  Ignatius'e 
Epistle  to  the  Magnesians,  and  from  Eusebius,  that 
Corah  was  not  swallowed  up  with  the  Ucubcnites, 
but  burned  with  the  Levitea  of  his  own  tribe. 


the  son  of  Aaron,  to  put  their  ccn^rs  near 
the  brazen  altar,  that  they  might  be  a 
memorial  to  posterity  of  what  these  men 
suffered  for  supposing  that  the  power  of 
God  might  be  eluded.  And  thus  Aaron 
was  now  no  longer  esteemed  to  have  the 
priesthood  by  the  favour  of  Moses,  but  by 
the  public  judgment  of  God  ;  and  thus  he 
and  his  children  peaceably  enjoyed  that 
honour  afterward. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Various  occurrences  which  befell  the  Hebrews  in 
the  desert  during  37  years.     B.  C.  1489-1451. 

However,  this  sedition  was  so  far  from 
ceasing  upon  this  destruction,  that  it  grew 
much  stronger,  and  became  more  intole- 
rable. And  the  occasion  of  its  growing 
worse  was  of  that  nature  as  made  it  likely 
the  calamity  would  never  cease,  but  last 
fo 


r  a 


long 


time ;  for  the  men,  believing 
already  that  nothing  was  done  without  the 
providence  of  God,  would  have  it  that 
these  things  came  thus  to  pass,  not  with- 
out God's  favour  to  Moses;  they  therefore 
laid  the  blame  upon  him,  that  God  was  so 
angry,  and  that  this  happened,  not  so 
much  because  of  the  wickedness  of  those 
that  were  punished,  as  because  Moses  pro- 
cured the  punishment;  and  that  these 
men  had  been  destroyed  without  any  sin 
of  theirs,  only  because  they  were  zealous 
about  the  divine  worship ;  as  also,  that  he 
who  had  been  the  cause  of  this  diminution 
of  the  people,  by  destroying  so  many  men, 
and  those  the  most  excellent  of  them  all, 
besides  his  escaping  any  punishment  him- 
self, had  now  given  the  priesthood  to  his 
brother  so  firmly,  that  nobody  could  any 
longer  dispute  it  with  him;  for  no  one 
else,  to  be  sure,  could  now  put  in  for  it, 
since  he  must  have  seen  those  that  first 
did  so  to  have  miserably  perished.  Nay, 
besides  this,  the  kindred  of  those  that 
were  destroyed  made  great  entreaties  to 
the  multitude  to  abate  the  arrogance  of 
Moses,  because  it  would  be  safest  for  then: 
so  to  do. 

Now  Moses,  upon  his  hearing  for  a  good 
while  that  the  people  were  tumultuous, 
was  afraid  that  they  would  attempt  some 
other  innovation,  and  that  some  great  and 
sad  calamity  would  be  the  consequence. 
He  called  the  multitude  to  a  congregation, 
and  patiently  heard  what  apology  they  had 
to  make  for  themselves,  without  opposing 
i  them,  and  this  lest  he  should  imbitter  the 
I  multitude  :  he  only  desired  the  heads  of 


126 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS 


[Book  IV. 


the  tribes  1o  bring  their  rods,  with  the 
names  of  their  tribes  inscribed  upon  tnem, 
and  that  he  should  receive  the  priesthood 
in  whose  rod  God  should  give  a  sign. 
This  was  agreed  to.  So  the  rest  brought 
their  rods,  as  did  Aaron  also,  who  had 
written  the  tribe  of  Levi  on  his  rod. 
These  rods  Moses  laid  up  in  the  taberna- 
cle of  God.  On  the  next  day  he  brought 
out  the  rods,  which  were  known  from  one 
another  by  those  who  brought  them,  they 
having  distinctly  noted  them,  as  had  the 
multitude  also;  and  as  to  the  rest,  in  the 
same  form  Moses  had  received  them,  in 
that  they  saw  them  still ;  but  they  also 
saw  buds  and  branches  grown  out  of 
Aaron's  rod,  with  ripe  fruits  upon  them  : 
they  were  almonds,  the  rod  having  been 
cut  out  of  that  tree.  The  people  were  so 
amazed  at  this  strange  sight,  that  though 
Moses  and  Aaron  were  before  under  some 
degree  of  hatred,  they  now  laid  that  hatred 
aside,  and  began  to  admire  the  judgment 
of  God  concerning  them  ;  so  that  hereafter 
they  applauded  what  God  had  decreed, 
and  permitted  Aaron  to  enjoy  the  priest- 
hood peaceably.  And  thus  God  ordained 
him  priest  three  several  times,  and  he  re- 
tained that  honour  without  further  dis- 
turbance. And  hereby  this  sedition  of  the 
Hebrews,  which  had  been  a  great  one,  and 
had  lasted  a  great  while,  was  at  last  com- 
posed. 

And  now  Moses,  because  the  tribe,  of 
Levi  was  made  free  from  war  and  warlike 
expeditions,  and  was  set  apart  for  the 
divine  worship,  lest  they  should  want  and 
seek  after  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  so 
neglect  the  temple,  commanded  the  He- 
brews according  to  the  will  of  God,  that 
when  they  should  gain  the  possession  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  they  should  assign 
forty-eight  good  and  fair  cities  to  the  Le- 
vites; and  permit  them  to  enjoy  their  sub- 
urbs, as  far  as  the  limit  of  2000  cubits 
would  extend  from  the  walls  of  the  city. 
And  besides  this,  he  appointed  that  the 
people  should  pay  the  tithe  of  their  annual 
fruits  of  the  earth,  both  to  the  Levites  and 
to  the  priests.  And  this  is  what  that  tribe 
receives  of  the  multitude ;  but  I  think  it 
necessary  to  set  down  what  is  paid  by  all, 
peculiarly  to  the  priests. 

Accordingly  he  commanded  the  Levites 
to  yield  up  to  the  priests  thirteen  of  their 
forty-eight  cities,  and  to  set  apart  for  them 
the  tenth  part  of  the  tithes  which  they 
every  year  receive  of  the  people ;  as  also, 
that  it  was  but  just  to  oiler  to  God  the 


first  fruits  of  the  entire  product  of  the 
ground ;  and  that  they  shoukb  offer  the 
firstborn  of  those  four-footed  beasts  that 
arc  appointed  for  sacrifices,  if  it  be  a  male, 
to  the  priests,  to  be  slain,  that  they  and 
their  entire  families  may  eat  them  in  the 
holy  city;  but  that  the  owners  of  those 
firstborn  which  are  not  appointed  for  sa- 
crifices in  the  laws  of  our  country,  should 
bring  a  shekel  and  a  half  in  their  stead  : 
but  for  the  firstborn  of  a  man,  five  she- 
kels :  that  they  should  also  have  the  first 
fruits  out  of  the  shearing  of  the  sheep; 
and  that  when  any  baked  bread-corn,  and 
made  loaves  of  it,  they  should  give  some- 
what of  what  they  had  baked  to  them. 
Moreover,  when  any  had  made  a  sacred 
vow,  I  mean  those  that  are  called  "  Naza- 
rites,"  that  suffer  their  hair  to  grow  long, 
and  use  no  wine  when  they  consecrate 
their  hair,  and  offer  it  for  a  sacrifice,  they 
are  to  allot  that  hair  for  the  priests  [to  be 
thrown  into  the  fire].  Such  also  as  dedi 
cate  themselves  to  God,  as  a  corban,  which 
denotes  what  the  Greeks  call  a  "  gift," 
when  they  are  desirous  of  being  freed 
from  that  ministration,  are  to  lay  down 
money  for  the  priests ;  thirty  shekels  if  it 
be  a  woman,  and  fifty  if  it  be  a  man ;  but 
if  any  be  too  poor  to  pay  the  appointed 
sum,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  priests  to 
determine  that  sum  as  they  think  fit.  And 
if  any  slay  beasts  at  hoitfe  for  a  private 
festival,  but  not  for  a  religious  one,  they 
are  obliged  to  bring  the  maw  and  the 
cheek  [or  breast]  and  the  right  shoulder 
of  the  sacrifice  to  the  priests.  With  these 
Moses  contrived  that  the  priests  should  be 
plentifully  maintained,  besides  what  they 
had  out  of  those  offerings  for  sins,  which 
the  people  gave  them,  as  I  have  set  it 
down  in  the  foregoing  book.  He  also  or- 
dered, that  out  of  every  thing  allotted  for 
the  priests,  their  servants  [their  sons], 
their  daughters,  and  their  wives,  should 
partake,  as  well  as  themselves,  excepting 
what  came  to  them  out  of  the  sacrifices 
that  were  offered  for  sins;  for  of  those 
none  but  the  males  of  the  family  of  the 
priests  might  eat,  and  this  in  the  temple 
also,  and  that  the  same  day  they  were 
offered. 

When  Moses  had  made  these  constitu- 
tions, after  the  sedition  was  over,  he  re- 
moved, together  with  the  whole  army,  and 
came  to  the  borders  of  Idumea.  He  then 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  king  of  the  Idu- 
maeans,  and  desired  him  to  give  him  a  pas- 
sage through  his  country ;  and  agreed  to 


OHAP.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


127 


send  him  what  hostages  he  should  desire, 
to  secure  him  from  an  injury.  He  desired 
him  also,  that  he  would  allow  his  army 
liberty  to  buy  provisions;  and,  if  he  in- 
sisted upon  it,  he  would  pay  down  a  price 
for  the  very  water  they  should  drink.  But 
the  king  was  not  pleased  with  this  em- 
bassy from  Moses;  nor  did  he  allow  a 
passage  for  the  army,  but  brought  his 
people  armed  to  meet  Moses,  and  to  hin- 
der tkem,  in  case  they  should  endeavour 
to  force  their  passage.  Upon  which,  Mo- 
ses consulted  God  by  the  oracle,  who 
would  not  have  him  begin  the  war  first ; 
and  so  he  withdrew  his  forces,  and  tra- 
velled round  about  through  the  wilder- 


ness. 


Then  it  was  that  Miriam,  the  sister  of 
Moses,  came  to  her  end,  having  completed 
her  fortieth  year  since  she  left  Egypt,  on 
the  first  day  of  the  lunar  month  Xanthi- 
cus  [March].  They  then  made  a  public 
funeral  for  her,  at  a  great  expense.  She 
was  buried  upon  a  certain  mountain,  which 
they  call  "  Sin  j"  and  when  they  had 
mourned  for  her  thirty  days,  Moses  puri- 
fied the  people  after  this  manner :  he 
brought  a  heifer  that  had  never  been  used 
to  the  plough  or  to  husbandry,  that  was 
complete  in  all  its  parts,  and  entirely  of  a 
red  colour,  at  a  little  distance  from  the 
camp,  into  a  place  perfectly  clean.  This 
heifer  was  slain  by  the  high  priest,  and 
her  blood  sprinkled  with  his  finger  seven 
times  before  the  tabernacle  of  God;  after 
this,  the  entire  heifer  was  burnt  in  that 
state,  together  with  its  skin  and  entrails ; 
and  they  threw  cedar-wood,  and  hyssop, 
and  scarlet  wool  into  the  midst  of  the 
fire ;  then  a  clean  man  gathered  all  her 
ashes  together,  and  laid  them  in  a  place 
perfectly  clean.  When,  therefore,  any 
persons  were  defiled  by  a  dead  body,  they 
put  a  little  of  these  ashes  into  spring 
water,  with  hyssop,  and,  dipping  part  of 
these  ashes  in  it,  they  sprinkled  them  with 
it,  both  on  the  third  day  and  on  the  se- 
venth, and  after  that  they  were  clean. 
This  he  enjoined  them  to  do  also  wheu 
the  tribes  should  come  into  their  own 
land. 

Now  when  this  purification,  which  their 
leader  made  upon  the  mourning  for  his 
sister,  as  it  has  been  now  described,  was 
over,  he  caused  the  army  to  remove,  and 
to  march  through  the  wilderness  and 
through  Arabia;  and  they  came  to  a  place 
which  the  Arabians  esteem  their  metropo- 
lis, which   was  formerly   called  "Arce," 


but  has  now  the  name  of  "  Petra;"  at  this 
place,  which  was  encompassed  with  high 
mountains,  Aaron  went  up  one  of  them 
in  the  sight  of  the  whole  army,  Moses 
having  before  told  him  that  he  was  to  die, 
for  this  place  was  over  against  them.  He 
put  off  his  pontifical  garments,  and  de- 
livered them  to  Eleazar  his  son,  to  whom 
the  high-priesthood  belonged,  because  he 
was  the  elder  brother;  and  died  while  the 
multitude  looked  upon  him.  He  died  in 
the  same  year  wherein  he  lost  his  sister, 
having  lived  in  all  123  years.  He  died  on 
the  first  day  of  that  lunar  month  which 
is  called  by  the  Athenians  "  Hecatom- 
baeon,"  by  the  Macedonians  "  Lous,"  but 
by  the  Hebrews  "Abba." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Moses  conquers  the  kings  of  the  Amorites — de- 
stroys their  army,  and  divides  their  land,  by  lot, 
to  two  tribes  and  a  half  of  the  Hebrews.  B.  C. 
1452.     Num.  xxi. 

The  people  mourned  for  Aaron  thirty 
days,  and  when  this  mourning  was  over, 
Moses  removed  the  army  from  that  place, 
and  came  to  the  river  Arnon,  which,  issu- 
ing out  of  the  mountains  of  Arabia,  and 
running  through  all  that  wilderness,  falls 
into  the  lake  Asphaltitis,  and  becomes  the 
limit  between  the  land  of  the  Moabites  and 
the  land  of  the  Amorites.  This  land  is 
fruitful,  and  sufficient  to  maintain  a  great 
number  of  men,  with  the  good  things  it 
produces.  Moses  therefore  sent  messen- 
gers to  Sihon,  the  king  of  this  country, 
desiring  that  he  would  grant  his  army  a 
passage,  upon  what  security  he  should 
please  to  require ;  he  promised  that  he 
should  be  no  way  injured,  neither  as  to 
that  country  which  Sihon  governed,  nor 
as  to  its  inhabitants ;  and  that  he  would 
buy  his  provisions  at  such  a  price  as  should 
be  to  their  advantage,  even  though  ho 
should  desire  to  sell  them  their  very  wa- 
ter. But  Sihon  refused  his  offer,  and  put 
his  army  into  battle  array,  and  was  pre- 
paring every  thiug  in  order  to  hinder  their 
passing  over  Arnon. 

When  Moses  saw  that  the  Amorite  king 
was  disposed  to  enter  upon  hostilities  with 
them,  he  thought  he  ought  not  to  bear 
that  insult;  and,  determining  to  wean  the 
Hebrews  from  their  indolent  temper,  and 
prevent  the  disorders  which  arose  thence, 
which  had  been  the  occasion  of  their 
former  sedition,  (nor   indeed  were   they 


128 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


now  thoroughly  easy  in  their  minds,)  he 
inquired  of  God,  whether  he  would  give 
him  leave  to  fight  ?  which,  when  he  had 
done,  and  God  had  also  promised  him  the 
victory,  he  was  himself  very  courageous, 
and  ready  to  proceed  to  fighting.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  encouraged  the  soldiers ; 
and  he  desired  of  them  that  they  would 
take  the  pleasure  of  fighting,  now  God 
gave  them  leave  so  to  do.  They  then, 
upon  the  receipt  of  this  permission,  which 
they  so  muc!i  longed  for,  put  on  their 
whole  armour,  and  set  about  this  work 
without  delay.  But  the  Amorite  king 
was  not  now  like  to  himself  when  the  He- 
brews were  ready  to  attack  him  ;  but  he 
himself  was  affrighted  at  the  Hebrews ; 
and  his  army,  which  before  had  showed 
themselves  to  be  of  good  courage,  were 
then  found  to  be  timorous ;  so  they  could 
not  sustain  the  first  onset,  nor  bear  up 
against  the  Hebrews,  but  fled  away,  as 
thinking  this  would  afford  them  a  more 
likely  way  for  their  escape  than  fighting  ; 
for  they  depended  upon  their  cities,  which 
were  strong,  but  from  which  they  reaped 
no  advantage  when  they  were  forced  to  fly 
to  them  ;  for  as  soon  as  the  Hebrews  saw 
them  giving  ground,  they  immediately 
pursued  them  close ;  and  when  they  had 
broken  their  ranks,  they  greatly  terrified 
them,  and  some  of  them  broke  off'  from 
the  rest,  and  ran  away  to  the  cities.  Now 
the  Hebrews  pursued  them  briskly,  and 
obstinately  persevered  in  the  labours  they 
had  already  undergone ;  and  being  very 
skilful  in  slinging,  and  very  dexterous  in 
throwing  of  darts,  or  any  thing  else  of 
that  kind,  and  also  having  nothing  but 
light  armour,  which  made  them  quick  in 
the  pursuit,  they  overtook  their  enemies ; 
and  for  those  that  were  most  remote,  and 
could  i.ot  be  overtaken,  they  reached  them 
with  their  slings  and  their  bows,  so  that 
many  were  slain  ;  and  those  that  escaped 
the  slaughter  were  sorely  wounded,  and 
these  were  more  distressed  with  thirst  than 
with  any  of  those  that  fought  against  them, 
for  it  was  the  summer  season;  and  when 
the  greatest  number  of  them  were  brought 
down  to  the  river  out  of  a  desire  to  drink, 
as  also  when  others  fled  away  by  troops,  the 
Hebrews  came  round  them,  and  shot  at 
them  ;  so  that,  what  with  darts  and  what 
with  arrows,  they  made  a  slaughter  of 
them  all.  Sihou  their  king  was  also 
slain.  So  the  Hebrews  spoiled  the  dead 
bodies,  and   took  their   prey.     The   land 


also  which  they  took  was  full  of  abun- 
dance of  fruits,  and  the  army  went  all 
over  it  without  fear,  and  fed  their  cattle 
upon  it;  and  they  took  the  enemies  pri- 
soners, for  they  could  noway  put  a  stop 
to  them,  since  all  the  fighting  men  were 
destroyed.  Such  was  the  destruction 
which  overtook  the  Amorites,  who  were 
neither  sagacious  in  counsel  nor  courage- 
ous in  action.  Hereupon  the  Hebrews 
took  possession  of  their  land,  which  is  a 
country  situate  between  three  rivers,  and 
naturally  resembling  an  island  :  the  river 
Arnon  being  its  southern  limit;  the  river 
Jabbok  determining  its  northern  side, 
which,  running  into  Jordan,  loses  its  own 
name,  and  takes  the  other ;  while  Jordan 
itself  runs  along  by  it,  on  its  western 
coast. 

When  matters  had  come  to  this  state, 
Og,  the  king  of  Gilead  and  Gaulanitis, 
fell  upon  the  Israelites.  He  brought  an 
army  with  him,  and  came  in  haste  to  the 
assistance  of  his  friend  Sihon ;  but  though 
he  found  him  already  slain,  yet  did  he  re- 
solve still  to  come  and  fiVht  the  Hebrews, 
supposing  he  should  be  too  hard  for  them, 
and  being  desirous  to  try  their  valour ;  but 
failing  of  his  hope,  he  was  both  himself 
slain  in  the  battle,  and  all  his  army  was 
destroyed.  So  Moses  passed  over  the 
river  Jabbok,  and  overran  the  kingdom 
of  Og.  He  overthrew  their  cities,  and 
slew  all  their  inhabitants,  who  yet  ex- 
ceeded in  riches  all  the  men  in  that  part 
of  the  continent,  on  account  of  the  good- 
ness of  the  soil,  and  the  great  quantity  of 
their  wealth  Now  Og  had  very  few 
equals,  either  in  the  largeness  of  his  body 
or  handsomeness  of  his  appearance.  He 
was  also  a  man  of  great  activity  in  the  use 
of  his  hands,  so  that  his  actions  were  not 
unequal  to  the  vast  largeness  and  hand- 
some appearance  of  his  body;  and  men 
could  easily  guess  at  his  strength  and 
magnitude  when  they  took  his  bed  at  Rab- 
bath,  the  royal  city  of  the  Amorites;  its 
structure  was  of  iron,  its  breadth  foui 
cubits,  and  its  length  a  cubit  more  than 
double  thereto.  However,  his  fall  did  not 
only  improve  the  circumstances  of  the 
Hebrews  for  the  present,  but,  by  his  death, 
he  was  the  occasion  of  further  good  suc- 
cess to  them;'  for  they  presently  took  those 
sixty  cities  which  were  encompassed  with 
excellent  walls,  and  had  been  subject  to 
him  ;  and  all  got  both  in  general  and  in 
particular  a  great  prey. 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   „EWS. 


129 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Transactions  between  Balak  and  Balaam — The  He- 
brews fall  into  idolatry. 

Now  Moses,  when  he  had  brought  his 
army  to  Jordan,  pitched  his  camp  in  the 
great  plain  over  against  Jericho.  This 
city  is  in  a  very  happy  situation,  and  very 
fit  for  producing  paim-trees  and  balsam; 
and  now  the  Israelites  began  to  be  very 
proud  of  themselves,  and  were  very  eager 
for  fighting.  Moses  then,  after  he  had 
offered  for  a  few  days  sacrifices  of  thanks- 
giving to  God,  and  feasted  the  people, 
sent  a  party  of  armed  men  to  lay  waste 
the  country  of  the  Midianites,  and  to  take 
their  cities.  Now  the  occasion  which  he 
took  for  making  war  upon  them  was  this 
that  follows. 

When  Balak,  the  king  of  the  Moabites, 
who  had  from  his  ancestors  a  friendship 
and  league  with  the  Midianites,  saw  how 
great  the  Israelites  were  grown,  he  was 
much  affrighted  on  account  of  his  own 
and  his  kingdom's  danger;  for  he  was  not 
acquainted  with  this,  that  the  Hebrews 
would  not  meddle  with  any  other  country, 
but  were  to  be  contented  with  the  pos- 
session of  the  land  of  Canaan,  God  hav- 
ing forbidden  them  to  go  any  farther. 
So  he,  with  more  haste  than  wisdom,  re- 
solved to  make  an  attempt  upon  them  by 
words:  but  he  did  not  judge  it  prudent 
to  fight  against  them,  after  they  had  such 
prosperous  successes,  and  even  became  out 
of  ill  successes  more  happy  than  before; 
but  he  thought  to  hinder  them,  if  he 
could,  from  growing  greater,  and  so  he 
resolved  to  send  ambassadors  to  the 
Midianites  about  them.  Now  these  Mi- 
dianites knowing  there  was  one  Balaam, 
who  lived  by  Euphrates,  and  was  the 
greatest  of  the  prophets  at  that  time,  and 
one  that  was  in  friendship  with  them, 
sent  some  of  their  honourable  princes 
along  with  the  ambassadors  of  Balak,  to 
entreat  the  prophet  to  come  to  them,  that 
he  might  imprecate  curses  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Israelites.  So  Balaam  received 
the  ambassadors,  and  treated  them  very 
kindly;  and  when  he  had  supped,  he  in- 
quired what  was  God's  will,  and  what  this 
matter  was  for  which  the  Midianites  en- 
treated him  to  come  to  them.  But  when 
God  opposed  his  going,  he  came  to  the 
ambassadors,  and  told  them  that  he  was 
himself  very  willing  and  desirous  to  com- 
ply with  their  request,  but  informed  them 
that  God  was  opposite  to  his  intentions, 
9 


even  that  God  who  had  raised  him  to 
great  reputation  on  account  of  the  truth 
of  his  predictions;  for  that  this  army, 
which  they  entreated  him  to  come  and 
curse,  was  in  the  favour  of  God;  on  which 
account  he  advised  them  to  go  home 
again,  and  not  to  persist  in  their  enmity 
against  the  Israelites:  and  when  he  had 
given  them  that  answer,  he  dismissed  the 
ambassadors. 

Now  the  Midianites,  at  the  earnest 
request  and  fervent  entreaties  of  Balak, 
sent  other  ambassadors  to  Balaam,  who, 
desiring  to  gratify  the  men,  inquired 
again  of  God;  but  he  was  displeased  at 
this  [second]  trial,*  and  bade  him  by  no 
means  to  contradict  the  ambassadors. 
Now  Balaam  did  not  imagine  that  God 
gave  this  injunction  in  order  to  deceive 
him,  so  he  went  along  with  the  ambassa- 
dors; but  when  the  divine  angel  met  him 
in  the  way,  when  he  was  in  a  narrow 
passage,  and  hedged  in  with  a  wall  on 
both  sides,  the  ass  on  which  Balaam  rode 
understood  that  it  was  a  divine  spirit 
that  met  him,  and  thrust  Balaam  to  one 
of  the  walls,  without  regard  to  the  stripes 
which  Balaam,  when  he  was  hurt  by  the 
wall,  gave  her;  but  when  the  ass,  upon  the 
angel's  continuing  to  distress  her,  and 
upon  the  stripes  which  were  given  her, 
fell  down,  by  the  will  of  God,  she  made 
use  of  the  voice  of  a  man,  and  complained 
of  Balaam  as  acting  unjustly  to  her,  that 
whereas  he  had  no  fault  to  find  with  her 
in  her  former  service  to  him,  he  now  in- 
flicted stripes  upon  her,  as  not  understand- 
ing that  she  was  hindered  from  serving 
him  in  what  he  was  now  going  about,  by 
the  providence  of  God.  And  when  ho 
was  disturbed  by  reason  of  the  voice  of 
the  ass,  which  was  that  of  a  man,  the 
angel  plainly  appeared  to  him,  and  blamed 
him  for  the  stripes  he  had  given  his  ass, 
and  informed  him  that  the  brute  creature 
was  not  in  fault,  but  that  he  had  himself 
come  to  obstruct  his  journey,  as  being 
contrary  to  the  will  of  God.  Upon  which 
Balaam  was  afraid,  and  was  preparing  to 
return  back  again :  yet  did  God  excite 
him  to  go  on  his  intended  journey,  but 
added  this  injunction,  that  he  should  de- 
clare nothing  but  what  he  himself  should 
suggest  to  his  mind. 

When  God  had  given  him  this  charge, 
he  came  to  Balak;  and  when  the  king 
had    entertained    him    in    a    magnificent 

*  Num.  xxiii.  20,  21. 


J  30 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JhEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


maimer,  he  desired  him  to  go  to  one  of 
the  mouutai  is  to  take  a  view  of  the  state 
of  the  camp  of  the  Hebrews.  Balak  him- 
self also  came  to  the  mountains,  and 
brought  the  prophet  along  with  him,  with 
a  royal  attendance.  This  mountain  lay 
over  their  heads,  and  was  distant  sixty 
furlongs  from  the  camp.  Now  when  he 
saw  them,  he  desired  the  king  to  build 
him  seven  altars,  and  to  bring  him  as 
many  bulls  and  rams ;  to  which  desire  the 
king  did  presently  conform.  He  then 
slew  the  sacrifices,  and  offered  them  as 
burnt-offerings,  that  he  might  observe 
Borne  signal  of  the  flight  of  the  Hebrews. 
Then  said  he,  "Happy  is  this  people  on 
whom  God  bestows  the  possession  of  in- 
numerable good  things,  and  grants  them 
his  own  providence  to  be  their  assistant 
and  their  guide;  so  that  there  is  not  any 
nation  among  mankind  but  you  will  be 
esteemed  superior  to  them  in  virtue,  and 
in  the  earnest  prosecution  of  the  best  rules 
of  life,  and  of  such  as  are  pure  from  wicked- 
ness, and  will  leave  those  rules  to  your 
excellent  children,  and  this  out  of  the  re- 
gard that  God  bears  to  you,  and  the  pro- 
vision of  such  things  for .  you  as  may 
render  you  happier  than  any  other  people 
under  the  sun.  You  shall  retain  that 
land  to  which  he  hath  sent  you,  and  it 
shall  ever  be  under  the  command  of  your 
children;  and  both  all  the  earth,  as  well 
as  the  sea,  shall  be  filled  with  your  glory: 
and  you  shall  be  sufficiently  numerousrto 
supply  the  world  in  general,  and  every 
region  of  it  in  particular,  with  inhabitants 
out  of  your  stock.  However,  0  blessed 
army!  wonder  that  you  have  become  so 
many  from  one  father:  and  truly,  the 
land  of  Canaan  can  now  hold  you,  as 
being  yet  comparatively  few;  but  know 
ye  that  the  whole  world  is  proposed  to  be 
your  place  of  habitation  for  ever.  The 
multitude  of  your  posterity  also  shall  live 
as  well  in  the  islands  as  on  the  continent, 
and  that  more  in  number  than  are  the 
stars  of  heaven.  And  when  you  have 
become  so  inany/  God  will  not  relinquish 
the  care  of  you,  but  will  afford  you  an 
abundance  of  all  good  things  in  times  of 
peace,  with  victory  and  dominion  in  times 
of  war.  May  the  children  of  your  ene- 
mies ha\T3  an  inclination  to  fight  against 
you,  and  may  they  be  so  hwdy  as  to  come 
to  arms,  and  to  assault  you  in  battle,  for 
they  will  not  return  with  victory,  nor  will 
their  return  be  agreeable  to  their  children 
and  wives;   to  so  great  a  degree  of  valour 


will  you  be  raised  by  the  providence  of 
God,  who  is  able  to  diminish  the  affluence 
of  some,  and  to  supply  the  wants  of 
others."* 

Thus  did  Balaam  speak  by  inspiration 
as  not  being  in  his  own  power,  but  moved 
to  say  what  he  did  by  the  Divine  Spirit. 
But  then  Balak  was  displeased,  and  said 
he  had  broken  the  contract  he  had  made, 
whereby  he  was  to  come,  as  he  and  hia 
confederates  had  invited  him,  by  the 
promise  of  great  presents:  for  whereas 
he  came  to  curse  their  enemies,  he  had 
made  an  encomium  upon  them,  and  had 
declared  that  they  were  the  happiest  of 
men.  To  which  Balaam  replied,  "0 
Balak,  if  thou  rightly  considerest  this 
whole  matter,  canst  thou  suppose  that  it 
is  in  our  power  to  be  silent,  or  to  say  any 
thing,  when  the  Spirit  of  God  seizes  upon 
us?  for  he  puts  such  words  as  he  pleases 
in  our  mouths,  and  such  discourses  as  we 
are  not  ourselves  conscious  of.  I  well 
remember  by  what  entreaties  both  you 
and  the  Midianites  so  joyfully  brought  me 
hither,  and  on  that  account  I  took  this 
journey.  It  was  my  prayer,  that  I  might 
not  put  any  affront  upon  you,  as  to  what 
you  desired  of  me;  but  God  is  more 
powerful, than  the  purposes  I  had  made  to 
serve  you;  for  those  that  take  upon  them 
to  foretell  the  affairs  of  mankind,  as  from 
their  own  abilities,  arc  entirely  unable  to 
do  it,  or  to  forbear  to  utter  what  God 
suggests  to  them,  or  to  offer  violence  to 
his  will;  for  when  he  prevents  us,  and 
enters  into  us,  nothing  that  we  say  is  our 
own.  I  then  did  not  intend  to  praise  this 
army,  nor  to  go  over  the  several  good 
things  which  God  intended  to  do  to  their 
race;  but  since  he  was  so  favourable  to 
them,  and  so  ready  to  bestow  upon  them 
a  happy  life  and  eternal  glory,  he  sug- 
gested the  declaration  of  those  good  things 
to  me:  but  now,  because  it  is  my  desire 
to  oblige  thee  thyself,  as  well  as  the 
Midianites,  whose  entreaties  it  is  not 
decent  for  me  to  reject,  go  to,  let  us  again 
rear  other  altars,  and  offer  the  like  sacri- 
fices that  we  did  before,  that  I  may  see 
whether  I  can  persuade  God  to  permit  me 
to  bind  these  men  with  curses."  Which, 
when  Balak  had  agreed  to,  God  would 
not,  even  upon  second  sacrifices,  consent 
to  his  cursing  the  Israelites.")*     Then  fell 

*  Num.  xxiv. 

■f-  Whether  JosephttS  had  in  his  copy  hut  two 
attempts  of  Balaam  in  all  to  curse  Israel;  or 
whether  by   this    his    twice  offering   sacrifice,  he 


Ciup.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


131 


Balaam  upon  his  face,  and  foretold  what 
calamities  would  befall  the  several  kings 
of  the  nations,  and  the  most  eminent 
cities,  some  of  which  of  old  were  not  so 
much  as  inhabited;  which  events  have 
come  to  pass  among  the  several  people 
concerned,  both  in  the  foregoing  ages, 
and  in  this,  till  my  own  memory,  both  by 
sea  and  by  land.  From  which  completion 
of  all  these  predictions  that  he  made,  one 
may  easily  guess  that  the  rest  will  have 
their  completion  in  time  to  come. 

But  Balak  being  very  angry  that  the 
Israelites  were  not  cursed,  sent  away 
Balaam  without  thinking  him  worthy  of 
any  honour.  Whereupon,  when  he  was 
just  upon  his  journey,  in  order  to  pass 
the  Euphrates,  he  sent  for  Balak,  and  for 
the  princes  of  the  Midianites,  and  spake 
thus  to  them: — "0  Balak,  and  you 
Midianites  that  are  here  present  (for  I 
am  obliged  even  without  the  will  of  God, 
to  gratify  you,)  it  is  true  no  entire  de- 
struction can  seize  upon  the  nation  of  the 
Hebrews,  neither  by  war,  nor  by  plague, 
nor  by  scarcity  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
nor  can  any  other  unexpected  accident  be 
their  entire  ruin;  for  the  providence  of 
God  is  concerned  to  preserve  them  from 
such  a  misfortune;  nor  will  it  permit  any 
such  calamity  to  come  upon  them  whereby 
they  may  all  perish;  but  some  small  mis- 
fortunes, and  those  for  a  short  time, 
whereby  they  may  appear  to  be  brought 
low,  may  still  befall  them;  but  after  that 
they  will  flourish  again,  to  the  terror  of 
those  that  brought  those  mischiefs  upon 
them.  So  that  if  you  have  a  mind  to 
gain  a  victory  over  them  for  a  short  space 
of  time,  you  will  obtain  it  by  following 
my  directions :  do  you  therefore  set  out 
the  handsomest*  of  such  of  your  daughters 
as  are  most  eminent  for  beauty,  and  proper 
to  force  and  conquer  the  modesty  of  those 
that  behold  them,  and  these  decked  and 
trimmed  to  the  highest  degree  you  are 
able.  Then  do  you  send  them  to  be  near 
the  Israelites'  camp,  and  give  them  in 
charge,  that  when  the  young  men  of  the 
Hebrews  desire  their  company,  they  allow 
it  them;  and  when  they  see  that  they  are 
enamoured  of  them,  let  them  take  their 
leaves;  and  if  they  entreat  them  to  stay, 
let  them  not  give  their  consent  till  they 

meant  twice  besides  that  first  time  already  men- 
tioned, which  yet  is  not  very  probable,  cannot  now 
be  certainly  determined.  In  the  mean  time,  all 
other  copies  have  three  such  attempts  of  Balaam 
to  curse  them  in  the  present  history. 


have  persuaded  them  to  leave  off  their 
obedience  to  their  own  laws  and  the 
worship  of  that  God  who  established 
them,  and  to  worship  the  gods  of  the 
Midianites  and  Moabites;  for  by  this 
means  God  would  be  angry  at  them." 
Accordingly,  when  Balaam  had  suggested 
this  counsel  to  them,  he  went  his  way. 

So  when  the  Midianites  had  sent  their 
daughters,  as  Balaam  had  exhorted  them, 
the  Hebrew  young  men  were  allured  by 
their  beauty,  and  came  to  discourse  with 
them,  and  besought  them  not  to  grudge 
them  the  enjoyment  of  their  beauty,  nor 
to  deny  them  their  conversation.  These 
daughters  of  the  Midianites  received  their 
words  gladly,  and  consentod  to  it,  and 
stayed  with  them  ;  but  when  they  had 
brought  them  to  be  enamoured  of  them, 
and  their  inclinations  to  them  were  grown 
to  ripeness,  they  began  to  think  of  de- 
parting from  them :  then  it  was  that 
these  men  became  greatly  disconsolate  at 
the  women's  departure,  and  they  were 
urgent  with  them  not  to  leave  them,  but 
begged  they  would  continue  there,  aud 
become  their  wives ;  and  they  promised 
them  that  they  should  be  ownod  as  mis- 
tresses of  all  they  had.  This  they  said 
with  an  oath,  and  called  God  for  the 
arbitrator  of  what  they  promised ;  and 
this  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  and  all  other 
such  marks  of  concern,  as  might  show 
how  miserable  they  thought  themselves 
without  them,  and  so  might  move  their 
compassion  for  them.  So  the  women,  as 
soon  as  they  perceived  they  had  made 
them  their  slaves,  and  had  caught  them 
with  their  conversation,  began  to  speak 
thus  to  them  : — 

"  0  you  illustrious  young  men  !  we 
have  houses  of  our  own  at  home,  and 
great  plenty  of  good  things  there,  to- 
gether with  the  natural  affectionate  love 
of  our  parents  and  friends  ;  nor  is  it  out 
of  our  want  of  any  such  things  that  we 
came  to  discourse  with  you,  nor  did  we 
admit  of  your  invitation  with  design  to 
prostitute  the  beauty  of  our  bodies  for 
gain ;  but  taking  you  for  brave  and  wor- 
thy men,  we  agreed  to  your  request,  that 
we  might  treat  you  with  such  honours  as 
hospitality  required  :  and  now  seeing  you 
say  that  you  have  a  great  affection  for  us, 
and  are  troubled  when  you  think  we  are 
departing,  we  are  not  averse  to  your  en- 
treaties ;  and  if  we  may  receive  such  as- 
surance of  your  good-will  as  we  think  can 
alone    be   sufficient,    we  will  be   glad    to 


i32 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


Vjad  our  lives  with  you  as  your  wives ; 
but  we  are  afraid  that  you  will  in  time  be 
weary  of  our  company,  and  will  then 
abuse  us,  and  send  us  back  to  our  pa- 
rents, after  an  ignominious  manner." 
And  they  desired  that  they  would  excuse 
them  in  their  guarding  against  that  dan- 
ger. But  the  young  men  professed  they 
would  give  them  any  assurance  they 
should  desire ;  nor  did  they  at  all  contra- 
dict what  they  requested,  so  great  was  the 
passion  they  had  for  them.  "  If,  then," 
said  they,  "this  be  your  resolution;  since 
you  make  use  of  such  customs  and  con- 
duct of  life  as  are  entirely  different  from 
all  other  men,  insomuch  that  vour  kinds 
of  food  are  peculiar  to  yourselves,  and 
your  kinds  of  drink  not  common  to 
others,  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary,  if 
you  would  have  us  for  your  wives,  that 
you  do  withal  worship  our  gods ;  nor  can 
there  be  any  other  demonstration  of  the 
kindness  which  you  say  you  already  have, 
and  promise  to  have  hereafter  to  us,  than 
this,  that  you  worship  the  same  gods  that 
we  do.  For  has  anyone  reason  to  complain, 
that  now  you  are  come  into  this  country, 
you  should  worship  the  proper  gods  of  the 
same  country  ?  especially  while  our  gods 
are  common  to  all  men,  and  yours  such  as 
belong  to  nobody  else  but  yourselves."  So 
they  said  they  must  either  come  into  such 
methods  of  divine  worship  as  all  others 
came  into,  or  else  they  must  look  out  for 
another  world,  wherein  they  may  live  by 
themselves,  according  to  their  own  laws. 

Now  the  young  men  were  induced  by 
the  fondness  they  had  for  these  women 
to  think  they  spake  very  well ;  so  they 
gave  themselves  up  to  what  they  per- 
suaded them,  and  transgressed  their  own 
laws ;  and  supposing  there  were  many 
gods,  and  resolving  that  they  would  sacri- 
fice to  them  according  to  the  laws  of  that 
country  which  ordained  them,  they  both 
were  delighted  with  their  strange  food, 
and  went  on  to  do  every  thing  that  the 
women  would  have  them  do,  though  in 
contradiction  to  their  own  laws  ;  so  far, 
indeed,  that  this  transgression  was  al- 
ready gone  through  the  whole  army  of 
the  young  men,  and  they  fell  into  a  sedi- 
tion that  was  much  worse  than  the  for- 
mer, and  into  danger  of  the  entire  aboli- 
tion of  their  own  institutions  ;  for  when 
once  the  youth  had  tasted  of  these  strange 
customs,  they  went  with  insatiable  in- 
clinations into  them ;  and  even  where 
borne  of  the  principal  men  were  illustrious 


on  account  of  the  virtues  of  their  fathers, 
they  also  were  corrupted  together  with 
the  rest. 

Even  Zimri,  the  head  of  the  tribe  of 
Simeon,  accompanied  with  Cozbi,  a  Mi- 
diwnitish  woman,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Sur,  a  man  of  authority  in  that  coun- 
try; and  being  desired  by  his  wife  to  dis- 
regard the  laws  of  Moses,  and  to  follow 
those  she  was  used  to,  he  complied 
with  her;  and  this  both  by  sacrificing 
after  a  manner  different  from  his  own, 
and  by  taking  a  stranger  to  wife.  When 
things  were  thus,  Moses  was  afraid  that 
matters  should  grow  worse,  and  called  the 
people  to  a  congregation,  but  then  ac- 
cused nobody  by  name,  as  unwilling  to 
drive  those  into  despair  who,  by  lying 
concealed,  might  come  to  repentance ; 
but  he  said  that  they  did  not  do  what 
was  either  worthy  of  themselves,  or  of 
their  fathers,  by  preferring  pleasure  to 
God,  and  to  the  living  according  to  his 
will :  that  it  was  fit  they  should  change 
their  courses  while  their  affairs  were  still 
in  a  good  state ;  and  think  that  to  be 
true  fortitude  which  offers  not  violence  to 
their  laws,  but  that  which  resists  their 
lusts.  And  besides  that,  he  said  it  was 
not  a  reasonable  thing,  when  they  had 
lived  soberly  in  the  wilderness,  to  act 
madly  now  when  they  were  in  prosperity; 
and  that  they  ought  not  to  lose,  now  they 
have  abundance,  what  they  had  gained 
when  they  had  little ;  and  so  did  he  en- 
deavour, by  saying  this,  to  correct  the 
young  men,  and  to  bring  them  to  repent- 
ance for  what  they  had  done. 

But  Zimri  arose  up  after  him,  and  said, 
"  Yes,  indeed,  Moses,  thou  art  at  liberty 
to  make  use  of  such  laws  as  thou  art  so 
fond  of,  and  hast,  by  accustoming  thyself 
to  them,  made  them  firm  ;  otherwise,  if 
things  had  not  been  thus,  thou  hadst 
often  been  punished  before  now,  and 
hadst  known  that  the  Hebrews  are  not 
easily  put  upon  ;  but  thou  shalt  not  have 
me  one  of  thy  followers  in  thy  tyrannical 
commands,  for  thou  dost  nothing  else 
hitherto  but,  under  pretence  of  laws,  and 
of  God,  wickedly  impose  on  us  slavery, 
and  gain  dominion  to  thyself,  while  thou 
deprivest  us  of  the  sweetness  of  life,  which 
consists  iii  acting  according  to  our  own 
wills,  and  is  the  right  of  free  men,  and  oi' 
those  that  have  no  lord  over  them.  Nay, 
indeed,  this  man  is  harder  upon  the  He- 
brews than  were  the  Egyptians  them- 
selves, as  pretending  tc  punish,  according 


»;hap.  vii.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


133 


to  his  laws,  every  one's  acting  what  is 
most  agreeable  to  himself;  but  thou  thy- 
self better  deservest  to  suffer  punishment, 
who  presumest  to  abolish  what  every  one 
acknowledges  to  be  what  is  good  for  him, 
and  aimest  to  make  thy  single  opinion  to 
have  more  force  than  of  the  rest ;  and 
what  I  now  do,  and  think  to  be  right,  I 
shall  not  hereafter  deny  to  be  according 
to  my  own  sentiments.  I  have  married, 
as  thou  sayest  rightly,  a  strange  woman, 
and  thou  hearest  what  I  do  from  myself 
as  from  one  that  is  free ;  for  truly  I  did 
not  intend  to  conceal  myself.  I  also  own 
that  I  sacrificed  to  those  gods  to  whom 
you  do  not  think  it  fit  to  sacrifice ;  and  I 
think  it  right  to  come  at  truth  by  in- 
quiring of  many  people,  and  not  like  one 
that  lives  under  tyranny,  to  suffer  the 
whole  hope  of  my  life  to  depend  upon 
one  man  ;  nor  shall  any  one  find  cause  to 
rejoice  who  declares  himself  to  have  more 
authority  over  my  actions  than  myself." 

Now  when  Zimri  had  said  the  things, 
about  what  he  and  some  others  had  wick- 
edly done,  the  people  held  their  peace, 
both  out  of  fear  of  what  might  come  upon 
them,  and  because  they  saw  that  their 
legislator  was  not  willing  to  bring  his  in- 
golence  before  the  public  any  further,  or 
openly  to  contend  with  him ;  for  he 
avoided  that,  lest  many  should  imitate 
the  impudence  of  his  language,  and  there- 
by disturb  the  multitude.  Upon  this  the 
assembly  was  dissolved.  However,  the 
mischievous  attempt  had  proceeded  fur- 
ther, if  Zimri  had  not  been  first  slain, 
which  came  to  pass  on  the  following  oc- 
casion : — Phineas,  a  man  in  other  respects 
better  than  the  rest  of  the  young  men, 
and  also  one  that  surpassed  his  contem- 
poraries in  the  dignity  of  his  father,  (for 
he  was  the  son  of  Eleazer  the  high  priest, 
and  the  grandson  of  [Aaron]  Moses's 
brother,)  who  was  greatly  troubled  at 
what  was  done  by  Zimri,  he  resolved  in 
earnest  to  inflict  punishment  on  him,  be- 
fore his  unworthy  behaviour  should  grow 
stronger  by  impunity,  and  in  order  to 
prevent  this  transgression  from  proceed- 
ing further,  which  would  happen  if  the' 
ringleaders  were  not  punished.  He  was 
of  so  great  magnanimity,  both  in  strength 
of  mind  and  body,  that  when  he  under- 
took any  very  dangerous  attempt,  he  did 
not  leave  it  off  till  he  overcame  it,  and 
got  an  entire  victory.  So  he  came  into 
Zimri's  tent,  and  slew  him  with  his  jave- 
lin, and  with  it  he  slew  Cozbi  also.    Upon 


which  all  those  young  men  that  had  a  re- 
gard to  virtue,  and  aimed  to  do  a  glorious 
action,  imitated  Phineas's  boldness,  and 
slew  those  that  were  found  to  be  guilty 
of  the  same  crime  with  Zimri.  Accord- 
ingly, many  of  those  that  had  transgressed 
perished  by  the  magnanimous  valour  of 
these  young  men,  and  the  rest  all  perished 
by  a  plague,  which  distemper  God  him- 
self inflicted  upon  them.  So  that  all  those 
their  kindred,  who,  instead  of  hindering 
them  from  such  wicked  actions,  as  they 
ought  to  have  done,  had  persuaded  them 
to  go  on,  were  esteemed  by  Grod  as  part- 
ners in  their  wickedness,  and  died.  Ac- 
cordingly, there  perished  out  of  the  army 
no  fewer  than  fourteen  [twenty-four]  thou- 
sand at  this  time.* 

This  was  the  cause  why  Moses  was  pro- 
voked to  send  an  army  to  destroy  the  Mi- 
dianites,  concerning  which  expedition  we 
shall  speak  presently,  when  we  have  first 
related  what  we  have  omitted  ;  for  it  is 
but  just  not  to  pass  over  our  legislator's 
due  encomium,  on  account  of  his  conduct 
here,  because,  although  this  Balaam,  who 
was  sent  for  by  the  Midianites  to  curse 
the  Hebrews,  and  when  he  was  hindered 
from  doing  it  by  Divine  providence,  did 
still  suggest  that  advice  to  them,  by 
making  use  of  which  our  enemies  had 
wellnigh  corrupted  the  whole  multitude 
of  the  Hebrews  with  their  wiles,  till  some 
of  them  were  deeply  infected  with  their 
opinions;  yet  did  he  do  him  great  ho- 
nour, by  setting  down  his  prophecies  in 
writing.  And  while  it  was  in  his  power 
to  claim  this  glory  to  himself,  and  make 
men  believe  they  were  his  own  predic- 
tions, there  being  no  one  that  could  be  a 
witness  against  him,  and  accuse  him  for 
so  doing,  he  still  gave  his  attestation  to 
him,  and  did  him  the  honour  to  make 
mention  of  him  on  this  account.  But  let 
every  one  think  of  these  matters  as  ho 
pleases. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Hebrews  war  with  the  Midianites,  and  otct- 
coine  them.     Num.  xxxi. 

Now  Moses  sent  an  army  against  thrt 
land  of  Midian,  for  the  causes  before  men- 
tioned, in  all  12,000  men,  taking  an  equal 
number  out  of  every  tribe,  and  appointed 
Phineas  for  their  commander :  of  whioh 
Phineas  we  made  mention  a  little  before, 


*  See  Num.  xxxi.  18;  2  Pet    ii.  15;  Jude  11  ; 
Rev.  ii.  14. 


134 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


ns  he  that  had  guarded  the  laws  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  had  inflicted  punishment 
on  Zimri  when  he  had  transgressed  them. 
Now  the  Midianites  perceived  beforehand 
how  ihe  Hebrews  were  coming,  and  would 
suddenly  be  upon  them  ;  so  they  assem- 
bled their  army  together,  and  fortified  the 
entrances  into  their  country,  and  there 
awaited  the  enemy's  coming.  When  they 
were  come,  and  they  had  joined  battle 
with  them,  an  immense  multitude  of  the 
Midianites  fell ;  nor  could  they  be  num- 
bered, they  were  so  very  many :  and 
among  them  fell  all  their  kings,  five  in 
number,  viz.  Evi,  Zur,  Reba,  Hur,  and 
Rekem,  who  was  of  the  same  name  with 
a  city,  the  chief  and  capital  of  all  Arabia, 
which  is  still  now  so  called  by  the  whole 
Arabian  nation,  "Arecem,"  from  the 
name  of  the  king  that  built  it;  but  is  by 
the  Greeks  called  "Petra."  Now  when 
the  enemies  were  discomfited,  the  He- 
brews spoiled  their  country,  and  took  a 
great  prey,  and  destroyed  the  men  that 
were  its  inhabitants,  together  with  the 
women;  only  they  let  the  virgins  alone, 
as  Moses  had  commanded  Phineas  to  do, 
who  indeed  came  back,  bringing  with  him 
an  army  that  had  received  no  harm,  and 
had  a  great  deal  of  prey;  52,000  oxen, 
75,600  sheep,  60,000  asses,  with  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  gold  and  silver  furni- 
ture, which  the  Midianites  made  use  of 
in  their  houses ;  for  they  were  so  wead-thy 
that  they  were  very  luxurious.  There 
were  also  led  captive  about  32,000  vir- 
gins. So  Moses  parted  the  prey  into 
parts,  and  gave  one-fiftieth  part  to  Eleazer 
and  to  the  priests,  and  another  fiftieth 
part  to  the  Levites ;  and  distributed  the 
rest  of  the  prey  among  the  people.  After 
which  they  lived  happily,  as  having  ob- 
tained an  abundance  of  good  things  by 
their  valour,  and  there  being  no  misfor- 
tune that  attended  them,  or  hindered 
their  enjoyment  of  that  happiness. 

But  Moses  was  now  grown  old,  and  ap- 
pointed Joshua  for  his  successor,  both  to 
receive  directions  from  God  as  a  prophet, 
and  for  a  commander  of  the  army,  if  they 
should  at  any  time  stand  in  need  of  such 
an  one;  and  this  was  done  by  command 
of  God,  that  to  him  the  care  of  the  pub- 
lic should  be  committed.  Now  Joshua 
had  been  instructed  in  all  those  kinds  of 
learning  which  concerned  the  laws  and 
God  himself,  and  Moses  had  been  his  in- 
structor. 

At  this  time  it  was  that  the  two  tribes 


of  Gad  and  Reuben,  and  the  half  tribe 
of  Manasseh,  abounded  in  a  multitude  o( 
cattle,  as  well  as  in  all  other  kinds  of  pros- 
perity ;  whence  they  had  a  meeting,  and 
in  a  body  came  and  besought  Moses  to 
give  them,  as  their  peculiar  portion,  that 
land  of  the  Amorites  which  th'^y  had 
taken  by  right  of  war,  because  it  was 
fruitful,  and  good  for  feeding  of  cattle ; 
but  Moses,  supposing  that  they  were 
afraid  of  fighting  with  the  Canaanites, 
and  invented  this  provision  for  their  cattle 
as  a  handsome  excuse  for  avoiding  that 
war,  he  called  them  "  arrant  cowards," 
and  said  they  had  only  contrived  a  decent 
excuse  for  that  cowardice  ;  and  that  they 
had  a  mind  to  live  in  luxury  aud  ease, 
while  all  the  rest  were  labouring  with 
great  pains  to  obtain  the  land  they  were 
desirous  to  have;  and  that  they  were  not 
willing  to  march  along,  and  undergo  the 
remaining  hard  service,  whereby  they 
were,  under  the  Divine  promise,  to  pass 
over  Jordan,  and  overcome  those  our  ene- 
mies which  Qod  had  .shown  them,  and  so 
obtain  their  land.  But  these  tribes,  when 
they  saw  that  Moses  was  angry  with 
them,  and  when  they  could  not  deny  but 
he  had  a  just  cause  to  be  displeased  at 
their  petition,  made  an  apology  for  them- 
selves ;  and  said,  that  it  was  not  on  ac- 
count of  their  fear  of  dangers,  nor  on  ac- 
count of  their  laziness,  that  they  made 
this  request  to  him,  but  that  they  might 
leave  the  prey  they  had  gotten  in  places 
of  safety,  and  thereby  might  be  more  ex- 
pedite and  ready  to  undergo  difficulties, 
and  to  fight  battles.  They  added  this 
also,  that  when  they  had  built  cities 
wherein  they  might  preserve  their  chil- 
dren, and  wives,  and  possessions,  if  he 
would  bestow  them  upon  them,  they  would 
go  along  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  Here- 
upon Moses  was  pleased  with  what  they 
said ;  so  he  called  for  Eleazer,  the  high 
priest,  and  Joshua,  and  the  chief  of  the 
tribes,  and  permitted  these  tribes  to  possess 
the  land  of  the  Amorites :  but  upou  this 
condition,  that  .they  should  join  with  their 
kinsmen  in  the  war  until  all  things  were 
settled.  Upon  which  couditiou  they  tcok 
possession  of  the  country,  and  built  thern 
strong  cities,  and  put  into  them  their 
children,  and  their  wives,  and  whatso- 
ever else  they  had  that  might  be  an  im- 
pediment to  the  labours  of  their  future 
marches. 

Moses  also  built  those  cities  which  were 
to  be  of  the   number  of  the   forty-eight 


Otap.  VIII. ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


13; 


[for  the  Levites] ;  three  of  which  he 
allotted  to  those  that  slew  any  person  in- 
voluntarily, and  fled  to  them  ;  and  he  as- 
signed the  same  time  for  their  banishment 
with  that  of  the  life  of  that  high  priest 
under  whom  the  slaughter  and  flight  hap- 
pened ;  after  which  death  of  the  high 
priest  he  permitted  the  slayer  to  return 
home.  During  the  time  of  his  exile,  the 
relations  of  him  that  was  slain  may,  by 
this  law,  kill  the  manslayer,  if  they 
caught  him  without  the  bounds  of  the 
city  to  which  he  fled,  though  this  permis- 
sion was  not  granted  to  any  other  person. 
Now  the  cities  which  were  set  apart  for 
this  flight  were  these  :  Bezer,  at  the  bor- 
ders of  Arabia ;  Ramoth,  of  the  land  of 
Gilead  ;  and  Golan,  in  the  land  of  Bashan. 
There  were  to  be  also,  by  Moses's  com- 
mand, three  other  cities  allotted  for  the 
habitation  of  these  fugitives  out  of  the 
cities  of  the  Levites,  but  not  till  after 
they  should  be  in  possession  of  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

At  this  time  the  chief  men  of  the  tribe 
of  Manasseh  came  to  Moses,  and  informed 
him  that  there  was  an  eminent  man  of 
their  tribe  dead,  whose  name  was  Zelo- 
phehad,  who  left  no  male  children,  but 
left  daughters;  and  asked  him  whether 
these  daughters  might  inherit  his  land  or 
not.  He  made  this  answer,  That  if  they 
shall  marry  into  their  own  tribe,  they 
shall  carry  their  estate  along  with  them; 
but  if  they  dispose  of  themselves  in  mar- 
riage to  men  of  another  tribe,  they  shall 
leave  their  inheritance  in  their  father's 
tribe.  And  then  it  was  that  Closes  or- 
dained,  that  py^y  one's  inherence  should 
continue  in  their  own  tribe. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  policy  of  Moses,  and  his  departure  from  man- 
kind.    B.  C.  1451. 

When  forty  years  were  completed, 
within  thirty  days,  Moses  gathered  the 
congregation  together  near  Jordan,  where 
the  city  Abila  now  stands,  a  place  full  of 
palm-trees ;  and  all  the  people  being  come 
together,  he  spake  thus  to  them  : — 

"0  you  Israelites  and  fellow-soldiers, 
who  have  been  partners  with  me  in  this 
long  and  uneasy  journey;  since  it  is  now 
the  will  of  God,  and  the  course  of  old 
age  at  120  requires  it,  that  I  should  de- 
part out  of  this  life ;  and  since  God  has 
forbidden  me  to  be  a  patron  or  an  assist- 


ant to  you  in  what  remains  to  be  done  be- 
yond Jordan,  I  thought  it  reasonable  not 
to  leave  off  my  endeavours  even  now  for 
your  happiness,  but  to  do  my  utmost  to 
procure  for  you  the  eternal  enjoyment  of 
good  things,  and  a  memorial  for  myself, 
when  you  shall  be  in  the  fruition  of  great 
plenty  and  prosperity:  come,  therefore, 
let  me  suggest  to  you  by  what  means  you 
may  be  happy,  and  may  leave  an  eternal 
prosperous  possession  thereof  to  your  chil- 
dren after  you,  and  then  let  me  thus  go 
out  of  the  world ;  and  I  cannot  but  de- 
serve to  be  believed  by  you,  both  on  ac- 
count of  the  great  things  I  have  already 
done  for  you,  and  because,  when  souls  are 
about  to  leave  the  body,  they  speak  with 
the  sincerest  freedom.  0  children  of 
Israel  !  there  is  but  one  source  of  happi- 
ness for  all  mankind,  the  favour  of  God;* 
for  he  alone  is  able  to  give  good  things  to 
those  that  deserve  them,  and  to  deprive 
those  of  them  that  sin  against  him ;  to- 
ward whom,  if  you  behave  yourselves 
according  to  his  will,  and  according  to 
what  I,  who  well  understand  his  mind, 
do  exhort  you  to,  you  will  both  be 
esteemed  blessed,  and  will  be  admired  by 
all  men ;  and  will  never  come  into  mis- 
fortunes, nor  cease  to  be  happy ;  you  will 
then  preserve  the  possession  of  the  good 
things  you  already  have,  and  will  quickly 
obtain  those  that  you  are  at  present  in 
want  of,  only  do  you  be  obedient  to  those 
whom  God  would  have  you  to  follow  :  nor 
do  you  prefer  any  other  constitution  of 
government  before  the  laws  now  given 
you ;  neither  do  you  disregard  that  way 
of  divine  worship  which  you  now  have, 
nor  change  it  for  any  other  form  :  and  if 
you  do  this,  you  will  be  the  most  courage- 
ous of  all  men,  in  undergoing  the  fa- 
tigues of  war,  and  will  not  be  easily  con- 
quered by  any  of  your  enemies ;  for 
while  God  is  present  with  you  to  assist 
you,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  you  will  be 
able  to  despise  the  opposition  of  all  man- 
kind; and  great  rewards  of  virtue  are 
proposed  for  you,  if  you  preserve  that 
virtue  through  your  whole  lives.  Virtue 
itself  is  indeed  the  principal  and  the  first 


•  Josephus  here,  in  this  one  sentence,  sums  up 
his  notion  of  Moses's  long  and  serious  exhortations 
in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  :  and  his  words  are  so 
true,  and  of  such  importance,  that  they  deserve  to 
be  had  in  constant  remembrance,  both  by  Jews  and 
by  Christians: — "  0  children  of  Israel!  there  is 
but  one  source  of  happiness  for  all  mankiud,  the 
spring  and  fountain  from  whence  alone  it  ca:i  itt 
derived, — the  favour  of  God." 


136 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV- 


reward,  and  after  that  it  bestows  abun- 
dance of  others ;  so  that  your  exercise  of 
virtue  toward  other  men  wil)  make  your 
own  lives  happy,  and  rendei  you  more 
glorious  than  foreigners  can  be,  and  pro- 
cure you  an  undisputed  reputation  with 
posterity  These  blessings  you  will  be 
able  to  obtain,  in  case  you  hearken  to  and 
observe  those  laws  which,  by  Divine  reve- 
lation; I  have  ordained  for  you :  that  is, 
in  case  you  withal  meditate  upon  the  wis- 
dom that  is  in  them.  I  am  going  from 
you  myself,  rejoicing  in  the  good  things 
you  enjoy;  and  I  recommend  you  to  the 
wise  conduct  of  your  law,  to  the  becoming 
order  of  your  polity,  and  to  the  virtues  of 
your  commanders,  who  will  take  care  of 
what  is  for  your  advantage ;  and  that  G-od, 
who  has  been  till  now  your  leader,  and  by 
whose  good-will  I  have  myself  been  use- 
ful to  you,  will  not  put  a  period  now  to 
his  providence  over  you,  but,  as  long  as 
you  desire  to  have  him  your  protector  in 
your  pursuits  after  virtue,  so  long  will 
you  enjoy  his  care  over  you.  Your  high 
priest  also,  Eleazer,  as  well  as  Joshua, 
with  the  senate,  and  chief  of  your  tribes, 
will  go  before  you,  and  suggest  the  best 
advices  to  you;  by  following  which  ad- 
vices you  will  continue  to  be  happy ;  to 
whom  do  you  give  ear  without  reluctance, 
as  sensible  that  ail  such  as  know  well  how 
to  be  governed,  will  also  know  how  to 
govern,  if  they  be  promoted  to  that  au- 
thority themselves ;  and  do  not  you  esteem 
liberty  to  consist  in  opposing  such  direc- 
tions as  your  governors  think  fit  to  give 
you  for  your  practice,  as  at  present  indeed 
you  place  your  liberty  in  nothing  else  but 
abusing  your  benefactors;  which  error, 
if  you  can  avoid  for  the  time  to  come, 
your  affairs  will  be  in  a  better  condition 
than  they  have  hitherto  been;  nor  do  you 
ever  indulge  such  a  degree  of  passion  in 
these  matters  as  you  have  oftentimes  done 
when  you  have  been  very  angry  at  me ; 
for  you  know  that  I  have  been  oftener  in 
danger  of  death  from  you  than  from  our 
enemies.  What  I  now  put  you  in  mind 
of,  is  not  done  in  order  to  reproach  you; 
for  I  do  not  think  it  proper,  now  I  am 
going  out  of  the  world,  to  bring  this  to 
your  remembrance,  in  order  to  leave  you 
offeuded  at  me,  since,  at  the  time  that  I 
underwent  those  hardships  from  you,  I 
was  not  angry  at  you ;  but  I  do  it  in 
order  to  make  you  wiser  hereafter,  and  to 
teach  you  that  this  will  be  for  your  se- 
curity:  I  mean,  that  you  never  be  inju- 


rious to  those  that  preside  over  you,  even 
when  you  have  become  rich,  as  you  will 
be  to  a  great  degree  when  you  have  passed 
over  Jordan,  and  are  in  possession  of  the 
land  of  Canaan.  Since,  when  you  shall 
have  once  proceeded  so  far  by  your  wealth, 
as  to  a  contempt  and  disregard  of  virtue, 
you  will  also  forfeit  the  favour  of  Grod ; 
and  when  you  have  made  him  your  ene- 
my, you  will  be  beaten  in  war,  and  will 
have  the  land  which  you  possess  taken 
away  again  from  you  by  your  enemies, 
and  this  with  great  reproaches  upon  your 
conduct.  You  will  be  scattered  over  the 
whole  world,  and  will,  as  slaves,  entirely 
fill  both  sea  and  land ;  and  when  once 
you  have  had  the  experience  of  what  I 
now  say,  you  will  repent  and  remember 
the  laws  you  have  broken,  when  it  is 
too  late.  Whence  I  would  advise  you, 
if  you  intend  to  preserve  these  laws,  to 
leave  none  of  your  enemies  alive  when 
you  have  conquered  them,  but  to  look 
upon  it  as  for  your  advantage  to  destroy 
them  all,  lest,  if  you  permit  them  to  live, 
you  taste  of  their  manners,  and  thereby 
corrupt  your  own  proper  institutions.  I 
also  do  further  exhort  you,  to  overthrow 
their  altars,  and  their  groves,  and  whatso* 
ever  temples  they  have  among  them,  and 
to  burn  all  such,  their  nation,  and  their 
very  memory,  with  fire ;  for  by  this 
means  alone  the  safety  of  your  own  hap- 
py constitution  can  be  firmly  secured  to 
you.  x\nd  in  order  to  prevent  your  igno- 
rance of  virtue,  and  the  degeneracy  of 
your  nature  into  vice,  I  have  also  ordained 
you  laws,  by  Divine  suggestion,  and  a 
form  of  government,  which  are  so  good, 
that,  if  you  regularly  observe  them,  you 
will  be  esteemed  of  all  men  the  most 
happy." 

When  he  had  spoken  thus,  he  gave 
them  the  laws  and  the  constitution  of  go- 
vernment written  in  a  book.  Upon  which 
the  people  fell  into  tears,  and  appeared 
already  touched  with  the  sense  that  they 
should  have  a  great  want  of  their  con- 
ductor, because  they  remembered  what  a 
number  of  dangers  he  had  passed  through, 
and  what  care  he  had  taken  of  their  pre- 
servation :  they  desponded  about  what 
would  come  upon  them  after  he  was  dead, 
and  thought  they  should  never  have  an- 
other governor  like  him  ;  and  feared  that 
God  would  then  take  less  care  of  them 
when  Moses  was  gone,  who  used  to  inter- 
cede for  them.  They  also  repented  of 
what  they  had  said  to   him  in   the  wil 


Chap.  VIII. ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS 


137 


derncss  when  they  were  angry;  and  were 
in  grief  on  those  accounts,  insomuch  that 
the  whole  body  of  the  people  fell  into 
tears  with  such  bitterness,  that  it  was  past 
the  power  of  words  to  comfort  them  in 
their  affliction.  However,  Moses  gave 
them  some  consolation ;  and  by  calling 
them  off  the  thought,  how  worthy  he  was 
of  their  weeping  for  him,  he  exhorted 
them  to  keep  to  that  form  of  government 
he  had  given  them  ;  and  then  the  congre- 
gation was  dissolved  at  that  time. 

Accordingly,  I  shall  now  first  describe 
this  form  of  government,  which  was  agree- 
able to  the  dignity  and  virtue  of  Moses; 
and  shall  thereby  inform  those  that  read 
these  "Antiquities/'  what  our  original 
settlements  were,  and  shall  then  proceed 
to  the  remaining  histories.  Now  those 
settlements  are  all  still  in  writing,  as  he 
left  them  ;  and  we  shall  add  nothing  by 
way  of  ornament,  nor  any  thing  besides 
what  Moses  left  us;  only  we  shall  so  far 
innovate,  as  to  digest  the  several  kinds  of 
laws  into  a  regular  system  :  for  they  were 
by  him  left  in  writing  as  they  were  acci- 
dentally scattered  in  their  delivery,  and 
as  he  upon  inquiry  had  learned  them  of 
God.  On  which  account  I  have  thought 
it  necessary  to  premise  this  observation 
beforehand,  lest  any  of  my  own  country- 
men should  blame  me,  as  having  been 
guilty  of  an  offence  herein.  Now  part  of 
our  constitution  will  include  the  laws  that 
belong  to  our  political  state.  As  for  those 
laws  which  Moses  left  concerning  our  com- 
mon conversation  and  intercourse  one  with 
another,  I  have  reserved  that  for  a  dis- 
course concerning  our  manner  of  life,  and 
the  occasions  of  those  laws,  which  I  pro- 
pose to  myself,  with  God's  assistance,  to 
write,  after  I  have  finished  the  work  I  am 
now  upon. 

"  When  you  have  possessed  yourselves 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  have  leisure  to 
enjoy  the  good  things  of  it,  and  when  you 
have  afterward  determined  to  build  cities, 
if  you  will  do  what  is  pleasing  to  God,  you 
will  have  a  secure  state  of  happiness.  Let 
there  be  then  one  city  of  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, and  this  situate  in  the  most  agree- 
able place  for  its  goodness,  and  very  emi- 
nent in  itself,  and  let  it  be  that  which 
God  shall  choose  for  himself  by  prophetic 
revelation.  Let  there  also  be  one  temple 
therein,  and  one  altar,  not  reared  of  hewn 
stones,  but  of  such  as  you  gather  together 
at  random ;  which  stones,  when  they  are 
whited  over  with  mortar,  will  have  a  hand- 


some appearance,  and  be  beautiful  to  the 
sight.  Let  the  ascent  to  it  be  not  by 
steps,  but  by  an  acclivity  of  raised  earth. 
And  let  there  be  neither  an  altar  nor  a 
temple  in  any  other  city ;  for  God  is  but 
one,  and  the  nation  of  the  Hebrews  is  but 
one. 

"  He  that  blasphemeth  God,  let  him  be 
stoned,  and  let  him  hang  upon  a  tree  all 
that  day,  and  then  let  him  be  buried  in 
an  ignominious  and  obscure  manner. 

"  Let  those  that  live  as  remote  as  the 
bounds  of  the  land  which  the  Hebrews 
shall  possess,  come  to  that  city  where  the 
temple  shall  be,  and  this  three  times  in  a 
year,  that  they  may  give  thanks  to  God 
for  his  former  benefits,  and  may  entreat 
him  for  those  they  shall  want  hereafter; 
and  let  them,  by  this  means,  maintain  a 
friendly  correspondence  with  one  another 
by  such  meetings  and  feastings  together; 
for  it  is  a  good  thing  for  those  that  are  of 
the  same  stock,  and  under  the  same  insti- 
tution of  laws,  not  to  be  unacquainted 
with  each  other ;  which  acquaintance  will 
be  maintained  by  thus  conversing  together, 
and  by  seeing  and  talking  with  one  an- 
other, and  so  renewing  the  memorials  of 
this  union ;  for  if  they  do  not  thus  con- 
verse together  continually,  they  will  ap- 
pear like  mere  strangers  to  one  another. 

"  Let  there  be  taken  out  of  your  fruita 
a  tenth,  besides  that  which  you  have  allot- 
ted to  give  to  the  priests  and  Levites. 
This  you  may  indeed  sell  in  the  country, 
but  it  is  to  be  used  in  those  feasts  and 
sacrifices  that  are  to  be  celebrated  in  the 
holy  city :  for  it  is  fit  that  you  should  en- 
joy those  fruits  of  the  earth  which  God 
gives  you  to  possess,  so  as  may  be  to  the 
honour  of  the  donor. 

"You  are  not  to  offer  sacrifices  out  of 
the  hire  of  a  woman  who  is  an  harlot,  for 
the  Deity  is  not  pleased  with  any  thing 
that  arises  from  such  abuses  of  nature; 
of  which  sort  none  can  be  worse  than  this 
prostitution  of  the  body.  In  like  manner 
no  one  may  take  the  price  of  the  covering 
of  a  bitch,  either  of  one  that  is  used  in 
hunting,  or  in  keeping  of  sheep,  and 
thence  sacrifice  to  God. 

"Let  no  one  blaspheme  those  gods 
which  other  cities  esteem  as  such;  nor 
may  any  one  steal  what  belongs  to  strange 
temples;  nor  take  away  the  gifts  that  are 
dedicated  to  any  god. 

"  Let  not  any  one  of  you  wear  a  gar- 
ment made  of  woollen  and  linen,  for  that 
is  appointed  to  be  for  the  priests  alone. 


138 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[B:dk1V. 


"When  the  multitude  are  assembled 
together  unto  the  hoiy  city  for  sacrificing, 
every  seventh  year,  at  the  Feast  of  Ta- 
bernacles, let  the  high  priest  stand  upon  a 
high  desk,  whence  he  may  be  heard,  and 
let  him  read  the  laws  to  all  the  people ; 
and  let  neither  the  women  nor  the  children 
be  hindered  from  hearing,  no,  nor  the 
servants  neither;  for  it  is  a  good  thing 
that  those  laws  should  be  engraven  in 
their  souls,  and  preserved  in  their  memo- 
ries, that  so  it  may  not  be  possible  to  blot 
them  out;  for  by  this  means  they  will  not 
be  guilty  of  sin,  when  they  cannot  plead 
ignorance  of  what  the  laws  have  enjoined 
them.  The  laws  also  will  have  a  greater 
authority  among  them,  as  foretelling  what 
they  will  suffer  if  they  break  them :  and 
imprinting  in  their  souls  by  this  hearing 
what  they  command  them  to  do,  that  so 
there  may  always  be  within  their  minds 
that  intention  of  the  laws  which  the}'  have 
despised  and  broken,  and  have  thereby 
been  the  causes  of  their  own  mischief. 
Let  the  children  also  learn  the  laws,  as  the 
first  thing  they  are  taught,  which  will  be 
the  best  thing  they  can  be  taught,  and 
will  be  the  cause  of  their  future  felicity. 

"  Let  every  one  commemorate  before 
God  the  benefits  which  he  bestowed  upon 
them  at  their  deliverance  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  this  twice  every  day,  both 
when  the  day  begins,  and  when  the  hour 
of  sleep  comes  on,  gratitude  being  inrits 
own  nature  a  just  thing,  and  serving  not 
only  by  way  of  return  for  past,  but  also 
by  way  of  invitation  of  future  favours. 
They  are  also  to  inscribe  the  principal 
blessings  they  have  received  from  God 
upon  their  doors,  and  show  the  same  re- 
membrance of  them  upon  their  arms ;  as 
also  they  are  to  bear  on  their  forehead 
and  their  arm  those  wonders  which  declare 
the  power  of  God,  and  his  good-will  to- 
ward them,  that  God's  readiness  to  bless 
them  may  appear  everywhere  conspicuous 
about  them. 

"  Let  there  be  seven  men  to  judge  in 
every  city,  and  these  such  as  have  been 
before  most  zealous  in  the  exercise  of  vir- 
tue and  righteousness.  Let  every  judge 
have  two  officers  allotted  him  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi.  Let  those  that  are  chosen 
to  judge  in  the  several  cities  be  had  in 
great  honour ;  and  let  none  be  permitted 
to  revile  any  others  when  these  are  present, 
nor  to  carry  themselves  in  an  insolent 
manner  to  them ;  it  being  natural  that 
reverence    toward    those   in    high   offices 


among  men  should  procure  men's  fear  and 
reverence  toward  God.  Let  those  that 
judge  be  permitted  to  determine  according 
as  they  think  to  be  right,  unless  any  one 
can  show  that  they  have  taken  bribes,  to 
the  perversion  of  justice,  or  can  allege  any 
other  accusation  against  them,  whereby  it 
may  appear  that  they  have  passed  an  un- 
just sentence ;  for  it  is  not  fit  that  causes 
should  be  openly  determined  out  of  regard 
to  gain,  or  to  the  dignity  of  the  suitors, 
but  that  the  judges  should  esteem  what  is 
right  before  all  other  things ;  otherwise 
God  will  by  that  means  be  despised,  and 
esteemed  inferior  to  those,  the  dread  of 
whose  power  has  occasioned  the  unjust 
sentence;  for  justice  is  the  power  of  God. 
He,  therefore,  that  gratifies  those  in  great 
dignity,  supposes  them  more  potent  than 
God  himself.  But  if  these  judges  be 
unable  to  give  a  just  sentence  about  the 
causes  that  come  before  them,  (which  case 
is  not  unfrequent  in  human  affairs,)  let 
them  send  the  cause  undetermined  to  the 
holy  city,  and  there  let  the  high  priest, 
the  prophet,  and  the  sanhedrim  determine 
as  it  shall  seem  good  to  them. 

"Let  not  a  single  witness  be  credited; 
but  three,  or  two  at  the  least,  and  those 
such  whose  testimony  is  confirmed  by 
their  good  lives.  But  let  not  the  testi- 
ny  of  women  be  admitted,  on  account  of 
the  levity  and  boldness  of  their  sex;*  nor 
let  servants  be  admitted  to  give  testimony, 
on  account  of  the  ignobility  of  their  soul; 
since  it  is  probable  that  they  may  not 
speak  truth,  either  out  of  hope  of  gain,  or 
fear  of  punishment.  But  if  any  one  be  be- 
lieved to  have  borne  false  witness,  let  him, 
when  he  is  convicted,  suffer  the  same 
punishments  which  the  man,  against 
whom  he  bore  witness,  was  to  have  suf- 
fered. 

"If  a  murder  be,  committed  in  any 
place,  and  he  thatjlid  it  be  not  found,  nor 
is  there  any  suspicion  upon  one  as  if  he 
had  hated  the  man,  and  so  had  killed  him, 
let  there  be  a  very  diligent  inquiry  made 
after  the  slayer,  and  rewards  proposed  to 
any  one  who  will^  discover  him ;  but  if 
still  no  information  can  be  procured, 
let  the  magistrates  and  senate  of  those 
cities  that  lie  near  the  place  in  which  the 


*  According  to  Josephus,  women  were  not  ad- 
mitted as  legal  witnesses  in  courts  of  justice.  None 
of  our  copies  of  the  Pentateuch  sny  a  word  of  it. 
It  is  very  probable,  however,  that  this  was  the  ex- 
position of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Jews  in  his  time. 


Chap.  VIII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


139 


murder  was  committed,  assemble  together, 
and  measure  the  distance  from  the  place 
where  the  dead  body  lies;  then  let  the 
magistrate?  of  the  nearest  city  thereto  pur- 
chase a  heifer,  and  bring  it  to  a  valley, 
and  to  a  place  therein  where  there  is  no 
land  ploughed  or  trees  planted,  and  let 
them  cut  the  sinews  of  the  heifer;  then 
the  priests  and  Levites,  and  the  senate  of 
that  city,  shall  take  water  and  wash  their 
hands  over  the  head  of  the  heifer ;  and 
they  shall  openly  declare  that  their  hands 
are  innocent  of  that  murder,  and  that  they 
have  neither  done  it  themselves,  nor  gave 
assistance  to  any  that  did  do  it.  They 
shall  also  beseech  God  to  be  merciful  to 
them,  that  no  such  horrid  act  may  any 
more  be  done  in  that  land. 

"  Aristocracy,  and  the  way  of  living 
under  it,  is  the  best  constitution ;  and 
may  you  never  have  any  inclination  to  any 
other  form  of  government;  and  may  you 
always  love  chat  form,  and  have  the  laws 
for  your  governors,  and  govern  all  your 
actions  according  to  them ;  for  you  need 
no  supreme  governor  but  God.  But  if 
you  shall  desire  a  king,  let  him  be  one  of 
your  own  nation  ;  let  him  be  always  care- 
ful of  justice  and  other  virtues  perpetual- 
ly; let  him  submit  to  the  laws,  and  esteem 
God's  commands  to  be  his  highest  wisdom ; 
but  let  him  do  nothing  without  the  high 
priest  and  the  votes  of  the  senators :  let 
him  not  have  a  great  number  of  wives, 
nor  pursue  after  abundance  of  riches,  nor 
a  multitude  of  horses,  whereby  he  may 
grow  too  proud  to  submit  to  the  laws. 
And  if  he  affect  any  such  things,  let  him 
be  restrained,  lest  he  become  so  potent 
that  his  state  be  inconsistent  with  your 
welfare. 

"  Let  it  not  be  esteemed  lawful  to  re- 
move boundaries,  neither  our  own,  nor  of 
those  with  whom  we  are  at  peace.  Have 
a  care  you  do  not  take  those  landmarks 
away  which  are,  as  it  were,  a  divine  and 
unshaken  limitation  of  rights  made  by 
God  himself,  to  last  for  ever;  since  this 
going  beyond  limits,  and  gaining  ground 
upon  others,  is  the  occasion  of  wars  and 
seditions;  for  those  that  remove  bounda- 
lies  are  net  far  off  an  attempt  to  subvert 
the  laws. 

"  He  that  plants  a  piece  of  land,  the 
trees  of  which  produce  fruit  before  the 
fourth  year,  is  not  to  bring  thence  any 
first  fruits  to  God,  nor  is  he  to  make  use 
of  that  fruit  himself,  for  it  is  not  produced 
in  its  proper  season ;  for  when  nature  has 


a  force  put  upon  her  at  an  unseasonable 
time,  the  fruit  is  not  proper  for  God,  nor 
for  the  master's  use;  but  let  the  owner 
gather  all  that  is  grown  on  the  fourth 
year,  for  then  it  is  in  its  proper  season ; 
and  let  him  that  has  gathered  it  carry  it 
to  the  holy  city,  and  spend  that,  together 
with  the  tithe  of  his  other  fruits,  in  feast- 
ing with  his  friends,  with  the  orphans,  and 
the  widows.  But  on  the  fifth  year  the 
fruit  is  his  own,  and  he  may  use  it  as  he 
pleases. 

"  You  are  not  to  sow  with  seed  a  piece 
of  land  which  is  planted  with  vines;  for 
it  is  enough  that  it  supplies  nourishment 
to  that  plant,  and  be  not  harassed  by 
ploughing  also.  You  are  to  plough  your 
land  with  oxen,  and  not  to  oblige  other 
animals  to  come  under  the  same  yoke 
with  them,  but  to  till  your  land  with  those 
beasts  that  are  of  the  same  kind  with  each 
other.  The  seeds  are  also  to  be  pure  and 
without  mixture,  and  not  to  be  compounded 
of  two  or  three  sorts,  since  nature  does 
not  rejoice  in  the  union  of  things  that  are 
not  in  their  own  nature  alike  :  nor  are  you 
to  permit  beasts  of  different  kinds  to 
gender  together,  for  there  is  reason  to  fear 
that  this  unnatural  abuse  may  extend 
from  beasts  of  different  kinds  to  men, 
though  it  takes  its  first  rise  from  evil  prac- 
tices about  such  smaller  things.  Nor  is 
any  thing  to  be  allowed,  by  imitation 
whereof  any  degree  of  subversion  may 
creep  into  the  constitution;  nor  do  the 
laws  neglect  small  matters, 'but  provide 
that  even  those  may  be  managed  after  an 
unblamable  manner. 

"  Let  not  those  that  reap  and  gather  in 
the  corn  that  is  reaped,  gather  in  the 
gleanings  also,  but  let  them  rather  leave 
some  handfuls  for  those  that  are  in  want 
of  the  necessaries  of  life,  that  it  may  be 
a  support  and  a  supply  to  them,  in  order 
for  their  subsistence.  In  like  manner, 
when  they  gather  their  grapes,  let  them 
leave  some  smaller  bunches  for  the  poor, 
and  let  them  pass  over  some  of  the  fruits 
of  the  olive-trees,  when  they  gather  them, 
and  leave  them  to  be  partaken  of  by  those 
that  have  none  of  their  own ;  for  the  ad- 
vantage arising  from  the  exact  collection 
of  all,  will  not  be  so  considerable  to  the 
owners  as  will  arise  from  the  gratitude  of 
the  poor;  and  God  will  provide  that  the 
land  shall  more  willingly  produce  what 
shall  be  for  the  nourishment  of  its  fruits, 
in  case  you  do  not  merely  take  care  of 
your  own  advantage,  but  have  regard  tc 


140 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


the  support  of  others  also :  nor  are  you  to 
muzzle  the  mouths  of  the  oxen  when  they 
tread  the  ears  of  corn  in  the  threshing- 
floor  ;  for  it  is  not  just  to  restrain  our  fel- 
low-labouring animals,  and  those  that  work 
in  order  to  its  production,  of  this  fruit  of 
their  labours :  nor  are  you  to  prohibit 
those  that  pass  by  at  the  time  when  your 
fruits  are  ripe,  to  touch  them,  but  to  give 
them  leave  to  fill  themselves  full  of  what 
you  have ;  and  this,  whether  they  be  of 
your  own  country  or  strangers,  as  being 
glad  of  the  opportunity  of  giving  them 
some  part  of  your  fruits  when  they  are 
ripe  ;  but  let  it  not  be  esteemed  lawful 
for  them  to  carry  any  away :  nor  let  those 
that  gather  the  grapes,  and  carry  them  to 
the  wine-presses,  restrain  those  whom  they 
meet  from  eating  of  them ;  for  it  is  un- 
just, out  of  envy,  to  hinder  those  that 
desire  it,  to  partake  of  the  good  things 
that  come  into  the  world  according  to 
God's  will,  and  this  while  the  season  is  at 
the  height,  and  is  hastening  away  as  it 
pleases  God.  Nay,  if  some,  out  of  bash- 
fulness,  are  unwilling  to  touch  these  fruits, 
let  them  be  encouraged  to  partake  of  them 
(I  mean  those  that  are  Israelites)  as  if 
they  w7ere  themselves  the  owners  and  lords, 
on  account  of  the  kindred  there  is  between 
them  :  nay,  let  them  desire  men  that  come 
from  other  countries,  to  partake  of  these 
tokens  of  friendship  which  God  has  given 
in  their  proper  season ;  for  that  it  is  net 
to  be  deemed  as  idly  spent,  which  any  one 
out  of  kindness  communicates  to  another, 
since  God  bestows  plenty  of  good  things 
on  men,  not  only  for  themselves  to  reap 
the  advantage,  but  also  to  give  to  others 
in  a  way  of  generosity ;  and  he  is  desir- 
ous, by  this  means,  to  make  known  to 
others  his  peculiar  kindness  to  the  people 
of  Israel,  and  how  freely  he  communicates 
happiness  to  them,  while  they  abundantly 
communicate  out  of  their  great  superflui- 
ties to  even  these  foreigners  also.  But 
for  him  that  acts  contrary  to  this  law,  let 
him  be  beaten  with  forty  stripes  save 
one,*  by  the  public  executioner ;  let  him 
undergo  this  punishment,  which  is  a  most 
ignominious  one  for  a  free  man,  and  this 
because  he  was  such  a  slave  to  gain  as  to 
lay  a  blot  upon  his  own  dignity ;  for  it  is 
proper  for  you  who  have  had  the  expe- 
rience of  the  afflictions  iu  Egypt,  and  of 


*  This  penalty  of  "forty  stripes  save  one,"  here 
mentioned,  was  live  times  inflicted  on  St.  Paul. 
2  Cor.  xi.  24. 


those  in  the  wilderness,  to  make  provision 
for  those  that  are  in  the  like  circumstances  j 
and  while  you  have  now  obtained  plenty 
yourselves,  through  the  mercy  and  pro- 
vidence of  God,  to  distribute  of  the  same 
plenty,  by  the  like  sympathy,  to  such  as 
stand  in  need  of  it. 

"  Besides  those  two  tithes,  which  I  have 
already  said  you  are  to  pay  every  year, 
the  one  for  the  Levites,  the  other  for  the 
festivals,  you  are  to  bring  every  third  year 
a  third  tithe  to  be  distributed  to  those 
that  want;*  to  women  also  that  are  wi- 
dows, and  to  children  that  are  orphans. 
But  as  to  the  ripe  fruits,  let  them  carry 
that  which  is  ripe  first  of  all  into  the  tem- 
ple; and  when  they  have  blessed  God  for 
that  land  which  bare  them,  and  which  he 
had  given  them  for  a  possession,  when 
they  have  also  offered  those  sacrifices, 
which  the  law  has  commanded  them  to 
bring,  let  them  give  the  first  fruits  to  the 
priests.  But  when  any  one  hath  done 
this,  and  hath  brought  the  tithe  of  all 
that  he  hath,  together  with  those  first 
fruits  that  are  for  the  Levites,  and  for  the 
festivals,  and  when  he  is  about  to  go  home, 
let  him  stand  before  the  holy  house  and 
return  thanks  to  God,  that  he  hath  de- 
livered them  from  the  injurious  treatment 
they  had  in  Egypt,  and  hath  given  them 
a  good  land,  and  a  large,  and  lets  them 
enjoy  the  fruits  thereof;  and  when  he  bath 
openly  testified  that  he  hath  fully  paid 
the  tithes  [and  other  dues]  according  to 
the  laws  of  Moses,  let  him  entreat  God 
that  he  will  be  ever  merciful  and  gracious 
to  him ;  and  continue  so  to  be  to  all  the 
Hebrews,  both  by  preserving  the  good 
things  which  he  hath  already  given  them, 
and  by  adding  what  it  is  still  in  his  power 
to  bestow  upon  them. 

"  Let  the  Hebrews  marry,  at  the  age  fit 
for  it,  virgins  that  are  free,  and  born  of 
good  parents.  And. he  that  does  not  marry 
a  virgin,  let  him  not  corrupt  another  man's 
wife,  and  marry  her,  nor  grieve  her 
former  husband  :  nor  let  free  men  marry 
slaves,  although  their  affections  should 
strongly  bias  any  of^them  so  to  do;  for  it 
is  decent,  and  for  the  dignity  of  the  per- 

*  Josephus's  plain  and  express  interpretation  of 
this  law  of  Moses,  Deut.  xiv.  28-29  ;  xxvi.  12,  <fcc., 
that  the  Jews  were  bound  every  third  year  to  pay 
three  tithes — that  to  the  Levites,  that  for  sacrifices 
at  Jerusalem,  and  this  for  the  indigent,  the  widow, 
and  the  orphans — is  fully  continued  by  the  practice 
of  good  old  Tobit,  even  when  he  was  a  captive  in 
Assyria,  against  the  opinions  of  the  Rabbins.  T^bil 
1,  6,  7,  8. 


\  I 


Chap    VIII  .J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


14 


sons  themselves,  to  govern  those  their  af- 
fections.    And  further,  no  one  ought  to 
marry  an  harlot,  whose  matrimonial  obla- 
tions, arising  from  the  prostitution  of  her 
body,  God  will  not  receive ;  for  by  these 
means  the  dispositions  of  the  children  will 
be    liberal    and   virtuous;  I  mean,  when 
they  are  not  born  of  base  parents,  and  of 
the  lustful  conjunction  of  such  as  marry 
women  that  are  not  free.     If  any  one  has 
been  espoused  to  a  woman  as  to  a  virgin, 
and  does  not  afterward  find  her  so  to  be, 
let  him  bring  his  action,  and  accuse  her, 
and  let  him  make  use  of  such  indications 
to  prove  his  accusation  as  he  is  furnished 
withal;   and  let  the  father  or  the  brother 
of  the  damsel,  or  some  one  that  is  after 
them  nearest  of  kin  to  her,  defend  her. 
If  the  damsel  obtain  a  sentence  in  her  fa- 
vour, that  she  had  not  been  guilty,  let  her 
live  with  her  husband  that  accused  her; 
and  let  him  not  have  any  further  power 
at  all  to  put  her  away,  unless  she  give  him 
very  great  occasions  of  suspicion,  and  such 
as  can  be    noway  contradicted ;    but    for 
him    that   brings    an   accusation   and  ca- 
lumny against   his  wife  in   an   impudent 
and  rash  manner,  let  him  be  punished  by 
receiving  forty  stripes  save  one,  and  let 
him  pay  fifty  shekels  to  her  father;  but  if 
the  damsel  be  convicted,  as  having  been 
corrupted,  and  is  one  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, let  her  be  stoned,  because  she  did  not 
preserve  her  virginity  till  she  was  lawfully 
married :  but  if  she  be  the  daughter  of  a 
priest,  let  her  be  burnt  alive.     If  any  one 
has  two  wives,  and  if  he  greatly  respect 
and  be  kind  to  one  of  them,  either  out  of 
affection  to  her,  or  for  her  beauty,  or  for 
some  other  reason,  while  the  other  is  of 
less  esteem  with  him ;  and  if  the  son  of 
her    that  is  beloved  be   the  younger  by 
birth  than  another  born  of  the  other  wife, 
but  endeavours  to  obtain  the  right  of  pri- 
mogeniture from  his  father's  kiudness  to 
his  mother,  and  would   thereby  obtain  a 
double  portion  of  his  father's  substance, 
for   that  double   portion  is  what  I  have 
allotted  him  in  the  laws,  let  not  this  be 
permitted ;  for  it  is  unjust  that  he  who  is 
the  eldest  by  birth  should  be  deprived  of 
what  is  due  to  him,  on  the  father's  dispo- 
sition of  his   estate,  because   his   mother 
was  not  equally  regarded  by  him.    He  that 
hath  corrupted  a  damsel  espoused  to  an- 
other man,  in  case  he  had  her  consent,  let 
both   him  and  her  be  put  to   death,  for 
they  are  both  equally  guilty;    the  man, 
because  he  persuaded  the  woman  willingly 


to  submit  to  a  most  impure  action,  and  to 
prefer  it  to  lawful  wedlock;  the  woman, 
because  she  was  persuaded  to  yield  herself 
to  be  corrupted,  either  for  pleasure  or  for 
gain.     However,  if  a  man  light  on  a  wo- 
man  when   she  is  alone,  and  forces  her, 
where  nobody  was  present  to  come  to  her 
assistance,  let  him  only  be  put  to  death. 
Let    him    that    hath   corrupted   a    virgin 
not  yet  espoused,  marry  her;  but  if  the 
father  of  the  damsel  be  not  willing  that 
she  should  be  his  wife,  let  him  pay  fifty 
shekels  as  the  price  of  her  prostitution. 
He  that  desires  to  be  divorced  from  his 
wife    for    any    cause*    whatsoever,    (and 
many  such  causes  happen   among  men,) 
let  him  in  writing  give  assurance  that  he 
will  never  use  her  as  his  wife  any  more; 
for  this  means  she  may  be  at  liberty  to 
marry  another  husband,  although  before 
this  bill  of  divorce  be  given,  she  is  not  to 
be  permitted  so  to  do :   but  if  she  be  mis- 
used by  him  also,  or  if,  when  he  is  dead, 
her  first  husband  would  marry  her  again, 
it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  her  to  return  to 
him.      If   a   woman's   husband  dies,   and 
leaves  her  without  children,  let  his  bro- 
ther marry  her ;  and  let  him  call  the  son 
that  is  born  to  him  by  his  brother's  name, 
and  educate  him  as  the  heir  of  his  inhe- 
ritance ;  for  this  procedure  will  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  public,  because  thereby  fa- 
milies will  not  fail,  and   the   estate   will 
continue  among  the  kindred :  and  this  will 
be  for  the  solace  of  wives  under  their  af- 
fliction, that  they  are  to  be  married  to  the 
next  relation  of  their  former  husbands; 
but  if  the  brother  will  not  marry  her,  let 
the  woman   come  before  the  senate,  and 
protest  openly  that  this  brother  will  not 
admit  her  for  his  wife,  but  will  injure  the 
memory   of    his    deceased   brother,  while 
she  is  willing  to  continue  in  the   family, 
and  to  bear  him  children  ;   and  when  the 
senate  have  inquired  of  him  for  what  rea- 
son it  is  that  he  is  averse  to  this  marriage, 
whether  he  gives  a  bad  or  a  good  reason, 
the  matter  must  come  to  this  issue,  that 
the  woman  shall  loose  the  sandals  of  the 
brother,  and  shall  spit  in  his  face,  and  say, 
he    deserves    this    reproachful    treatment 
from  her,  as  having  injured  the  memory 
of  the  deceased;  and  then  let  him  go  away 
out  of  the  senate,  and  bear  this  reproach 
upon    him    all  his  lifetime  :   and  let  her 


*  These  words  of  Josephus  are  very  like  those 
of  the  Pharisees  to  our  Saviour  upon  this  very  sub- 
ject, Matt.  xix.  3:  "Is  it  lawful  for  *  man  to  put 
away  his  wife  for  every  cause  V 


142 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


man*}  to  whom  slie  p' eases,  of  such  as 
geek  her  in  marriage.  But  now,  if  any 
man  take  captive,  either  a  virgin,  or  one 
that  hath  been  married,  and  has  a  mind 
to  marry  her,  let  him  not  be  allowed  to 
bring  her  to  bed  to  him,  or  to  live  with 
her  as  his  wife,  before  she  hath  her  head 
shaven,  and  hath  put  on  her  mourning 
habit,  and  lamented  her  relations  and 
friends  that  were  slain  in  the  battle,  that 
by  this  means  she  may  give  vent  to  her 
sorrow  for  them,  and  after  that  may  be- 
take herself  to  feasting  and  matrimony; 
for  it  is  good  for  him  that  takes  a  woman, 
in  order  to  have  children  by  her,  to  be 
complaisant  to  her  inclinations,  and  not 
merely  to  pursue  his  own  pleasure,  while 
he  hath  no  regard  to  what  is  agreeable  to 
her;  but  when  thirty  days  are  past,  as 
the  time  of  mourning,  for  so  many  are 
sufficient  to  prudent  persons  for  lamenting 
the  dearest  friends,  then  let  them  proceed 
to  the  marriage;  but  in  case,  when  he  hath 
satisfied  his  lust,  he  be  too  proud  to  retain 
her  for  his  wife,  let  him  not  have  it  in  his 
power  to  make  her  a  slave,  but  let  her  go 
away  whither  she  pleases,  and  have  that 
privilege  of  a  free  woman. 

•'  As  to  those  young  men  that  despise 
their  parents,  and  do  not  pay  them  ho- 
nour, but  offer  them  affronts,  either  be- 
cause they  are  ashamed  of  them,  or  think 
themselves  wiser  than  they,  in  the  first 
place  let  their  parents  admonish  them  in 
words,  (for  they  are  by  nature  of  autho- 
rity sufficient  for  becoming  their  judges,) 
and  let  them  say  to  them,  that  they  co- 
habited together,  not  for  the  sake  of  plea- 
sure, nor  for  the  augmentation  of  their 
riches,  by  joining  both  their  stocks  to- 
gether, but  that  they  might  have  children 
to  take  care  of  them  in  their  old  age,  and 
might  by  them  have  what  they  then 
ehould  want ;  and  say  further  to  him, 
4  That  when  thou  wert  born,  we  took  thee 
up  with  gladness,  and  gave  God  the 
greatest  thanks  for  thee,  and  brought 
thee  up  with  great  care,  and  spared  for 
nothing  that  appeared  useful  fur  thy  pre- 
servation, and  for  thy  instruction  in  what 
was  most  excellent ;  and  now,  since  it  is 
reasonable  to  forgive  the  sins  of  those 
that  are  young,  let  it  suffice  thee  to  have 
given  so  many  indications  of  thy  con- 
tempt of  us ;  reform  thyself,  and  act 
more  wisely  for  the  time  to  come ;  con- 
sidering that  God  is  displeased  with  those 
that  are  insolent  toward  their  parents, 
because  he  is  himself  the  Father  of  the 


whole  race  of  mankind,  and  seems  to 
bear  part  of  that  dishonour  which  falls 
upon  those  that  have  the  same  name, 
when  they  do  not  meet  with  due  returns 
from  their  children  ;  and  on  such  the  law 
inflicts  inexorable  punishment;  of  which 
punishment  mayest  thou  never  have  the 
experience  !'  Now  if  the  insolence  of 
young  men  be  thus  cured,  let  them  escape 
the  reproach  which  their  former  errors 
deserved  ;  for  by  this  means  the  law- 
giver will  appear  to  be  good,  and  parents 
happy,  while  they  never  behold  either  a 
son  or  a  daughter  brought  to  punishment; 
but  if  it  happen  that  these  words  and  in- 
structions, conveyed  to  them  in  order  to 
reclaim  the  man,  appear  to  be  useless, 
then  the  offender  renders  the  laws  impla- 
cable enemies  to  the  insolence  he  has 
offered  his  parents;  let  him  therefore  be 
brought  forth*  by  these  very  parents, 
out  of  the  city,  with  a  multitude  follow- 
ing him,  and  there  let  him  be  stoned  , 
and  when  he  has  continued  there  for  one 
whole  day,  that  all  the  people  may  see 
him,  let  him  be  buried  in  the  night;  and 
thus  it  is  that  ye  shall  bury  all  whom  the 
laws  condemn  to  die,  upon  any  account 
whatever.  Let  our  enemies  that  fall  in 
battle  be  also  buried,  nor  let  any  one 
dead  body  lie  above  the  ground,  or  suffer  a 
punishment  beyond  what  justice  requires. 

"  Let  no  one  lend  to  any  one  of  the 
Hebrews  upon  usury,  neither  usury  of 
what  is  eaten  or  what  is  drunken ;  for  it 
is  not  just  to  make  advantage  of  the  mis- 
fortunes of  one  of  thy  own  countrymen  ; 
but  when  thou  hast  been  assistant  to  his 
necessities,  think  it  thy  gain  if  thou  ob- 
tainest  their  gratitude  to  thee  ;  and  withal 
that  reward  which  will  come  to  thee 
from  God,  for  thy  humanity  toward  them. 

"  Those  who  have  borrowed  either  sil- 
ver or  any  sort  of  fruits,  whether  dry  or 
wet,  (I  mean  this,  when  the  Jewish  af- 
fairs shall,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  to 
their  own  mind,)  let  the  borrowers  bring 
them  again,  and  restore  them  with  plea- 
sure to  those  who  lent  them ;  laying 
them  up,  as  it  were,  in  their  own  trea-< 
suries,  and  justly  ^expecting  to  receive 
them  thence,  if  they  shall  want  them 
again  ;  but  if  they  be  without  shame,  and 
do  not  restore  it,  let  not  the  lender  go  to 
the  borrower's  house,  and  take  a  pledge 
himself,   before  judgment    be  given  con- 

*  See  Herod  the  Great  insisting  on  the  execution 
of  this  law,  with  relation  to  two  of  his  own  son* 
before  the  judges  at  Berytus,  b.  xvi.  chap.  xi. 


CxiAP.   VIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


143 


cermng  it;  but  let  him  require  the 
pledge,  and  let  the  debtor  bring  it  of 
himself,  without  the  least  opposition  to 
him  that  comes  upon  him  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  law  ;  and  if  he  that  gave 
the  pledge  be  rich,  let  the  creditor  retain 
it  till  what  he  lent  be  paid  him  again; 
but  if  he  be  poor,  let  him  that  takes  it 
return  it  before  the  going  down  of  the 
sun,  especially  if  the  pledge  be  a  gar- 
ment, that  the  debtor  may  have  it  for  a 
covering  in  his  sleep,  God  himself  natu- 
rally showing  mercy  to  the  poor.  It  is 
also  not  lawful  to  take  a  millstone,  nor 
any  utensil  thereto  belonging,  for  a 
pledge,  that  the  debtors  may  not  be  de- 
prived of  instruments  to  get  their  food 
withal,  and  lest  they  be  uudone  by  their 
necessity. 

"  Let  death  be  the  punishment  for 
stealing  a  man ;  but  he  that  hath  pur- 
loined gold  or  silver,  let  him  pay  double. 
If  any  one  kill  a  man  that  is  stealing 
something"  out  of  his  house,  let  him  be 
esteemed  guiltless,  although  the  man  was 
only  breaking  in  at  the  wall.  Let  him 
that  hath  stolen  cattle,  pay  fourfold  what 
is  lost,  excepting  the  case  of  an  ox,  for 
which  let  the  thief  pay  fivefold.  Let  him 
that  is  so  poor  that  he  cannot  pay  the 
mulct  [fine]  laid  upon  him,  be  his  ser- 
vant to  whom  he  was  adjudged  to 
pay  it. 

"  If  any  one  be  sold  to  one  of  his  own 
nation,  let  him  serve  him  six  years,  and 
on  the  seventh  let  him  go  free.  But  if 
he  have  a  son  by  a  woman-servant  in  his 
purchaser's  house,  and  if,  on  account  of 
his  good-will  to  his  master,  and  his  natu- 
ral affection  to  his  wife  and  children,  he 
will  be  his  servant  still,  let  him  be  set 
free  only  at  the  coming  of  the  year  of 
jubilee,  which  is  the  fiftieth  year,  and  let 
him  then  take  away  with  him  his  chil- 
dren and  his  wife,  and  let  them  be  free 
also. 

"  If  any  one  find  gold  or  silver  on  the 
road,  let  him  inquire  after  him  that  lost 
it,  and  make  proclamation  of  the  place 
where  he  found  it,  and  then  restore  it  to 
him  again,  as  not  thinking  it  right  to 
make  his  own  profit  by  the  loss  of  an- 
other. And  the  same  rule  is  to  be  ob- 
served in  cattle  found  to  have  wandered 
away  into  a  lonely  place.  If  the  owner 
be  not  presently  discovered,  let  him  that 
is  the  tinder  keep  it  with  himself,  and  ap- 
peal to  God  that  he  hath  not  purloined 
what  belongs  to  another. 


"  It  is  not  lawful  to  pass  by  any  beast 
that  is  in  distress,  when  in  a  storm  it  has 
fallen  down  in  the  mire,  but  endeavour  to 
preserve  it,  as  having  a  sympathy  with  it 
in  its  pain. 

"  It  is  also  a  duty  to  show  the  roads  to 
those  who  do  not  know  them,  and  not  to 
esteem  it  a  matter  for  sport,  when  we 
hinder  others'  advantages,  by  setting 
them  in  a  wrong  way. 

"  In  like  manner,  let  no  one  revile  a 
person  blind  or  dumb. 

"  If  men  strive  together,  and  there  be 
no  instrument  of  iron,  let  him  that  is 
smitten  be  avenged  immediately,  by  in- 
flicting the  same  punishment  on  him  that 
smote  him  :  but  if  when  he  is  carried 
home  he  lie  sick  many  days,  and  thee 
die,  let  him  that  smote  him  escape  punish 
ment;  but  if  he  that  is  smitten  escapi 
death,  and  yet  be  at  a  great  expense  foi 
his  cure,  the  smiter  shall  pay  for  all  that 
has  been  expended  during  the  time  of  hia 
sickness,  and  for  all  that  he  has  paid  the 
physician.  He  that  kicks  a  woman  with 
child,  so  that  the  woman  miscarry,  let 
him  pay  a  fine  in  money,  as  the  judges 
shall  determine,  as  having  diminished  the 
multitude  by  the  destruction  of  what  was 
in  her  womb ;  and  let  money  also  be 
given  the  woman's  husband  by  him  that 
kicked  her;  but  if  she  die  of  the  stroke, 
let  him  also  be  put  to  death,  the  law 
judging  it  equitable  that  life  should  go 
for  life. 

"Let  no  one  of  the  Israelites  keep  any 
poison*  that  may  cause  death,  or  any, 
other  harm ;  but  if  he  be  caught  with  it, 
let  him  be  put  to  death,  and  suffer  the 
very  same  mischief  that  he  would  have 
brought  upon  them  for  whom  the  poison 
was  prepared. 

"  He  that  maimeth  any  one,  let  him 
undergo  the  like  himself,  and  be  deprived 
of  the  same  member  of  which  he  hath 
deprived  the  other,  unless  he  that  is 
maimed  will  accept  of  money  instead  of 
it;-)*  for  the  law  makes  the  sufferer  the 
judge  of  the  va4ue  of  what  he  hath  suf- 
fered, and  permits  him  to  estimate  it;  un- 
less he  will  be  more  severe. 

"  Let  him  that  is  the  owner  cf  an  ox 


*  What  we  render  a  "witch,"  according  to  our 
modern  notions  of  witchcraft,  Exod.  xxii.  18,  Philo 
and  Josephus  understood  of  a  poisoner,  or  cne  who 
attempted,  by  secret  and  unlawful  drugs,  to  take 
away  the  senses  or  the  lives  of  men. 

f  This  permission  of  redeeming  this  penalty 
with  money  is  not  in  our  copies.  Exod.  xxi.  2\t 
25 ;  Lev.  xxiv.  20  j  l>eut.  xix.  21- 


144 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


which  pusheth  with  his  horn,  kill  him  : 
but  if  he  pushes  and  gores  any  one  in  the 
threshing-floor,  let  him  be  put  to  death 
by  stoning,  and  let  him  not  be  thought  fit 
for  food ;  but  if  his  owner  be  convicted  as 
having  known  what  his  nature  was,  and 
hath  not  kept  him  up,  let  him  also  be  put 
to  death,  as  being  the  occasion  of  the  ox 
bavin";  killed  a  man.  But  if  the  ox  has 
killed  a  man-servant,  or  a  maid-servant, 
let  him  be  stoned ;  and  let  the  owner  of 
the  ox  pay  thirty  shekels*  to  the  master 
of  him  that  was  slain  :  but  if  it  be  an  ox 
that  is  thus  smitten  and  killed,  let  both 
the  oxen,  that  which  smote  the  other, 
and  that  which  was  killed,  be  sold,  and 
let  the  owners  of  them  divide  their  price 
between  them. 

"  Let  those  that  dig  a  well  or  a  pit,  be 
careful  to  lay  planks  over  them,  and  so 
keep  them  shut  up,  not  in  order  to  hinder 
any  persons  from  drawing  water,  but  that 
there  may  be  no  danger  of  falling  into 
them ;  but  if  any  one's  beast  fall  into 
such  a  well  or  pit  thus  digged  and  not 
6hut  up,  and  perish,  let  the  owner  pay 
its  price  to  the  owner  of  the  beast.  Let 
there  be  a  battlement  round  the  tops  of 
your  houses  instead  of  a  wall,  that  may 
prevent  any  persons  from  rolling  down 
and  perishing. 

"  Let  him  that  has  received  any  thing 
in  trust  for  another,  take  care  to  keep  it 
as  a  sacred  and  divine  thing;  and  let, no 
one  invent  any  contrivance  whereby  to 
deprive  him  that  hath  intrusted  it  with 
him  of  the  same,  and  this  whether  he  be 
a  man  or  a  woman ;  no,  not  although  he 
or  she  were  to  gain  an  immense  sum  of 
gold,  and  this  where  he  cannot  be  con- 
victed of  it  by  anybody  ;  for  it  is  fit  that 
a  man's  own  conscience,  which  knows 
what  he  hath,  should,  in  all  cases,  oblige 
him  to  do  well.  Let  this  conscience  be 
his  witness,  and  make  him  always  act  so 
as  may  procure  him  commendation  from 
others  ;  but  let  him  chiefly  have  regard  to 
God,  from  whom  no  wicked  man  can  lie 
concealed  ;  but  if  he  in  whom  the  trust 
was  reposed,  without  any  deceit  of  his 
own,  lose  what  he  was  intrusted  with,  let 
him  come  before  the  seven  judges,  and 
swear  by  the  Lord  that  nothing  hath 
been  lost  willingly,  or  with  a  wicked  in- 
tention, and  that  he  hath  not  made  use 


*  Thirty  .shekels,  the  price  our  Saviour  was  sold 
for  by  Judas  to  the  Jews,  (Matt.  xxvi.  16,  and 
xxvii.  3,j  was  the  old  value  of  a  bought  servaut  or 
slave  among  that  people. 


of  any  part  thereof,  and  so  let  him  de- 
part without  blame  ;  but  if  he  have  made 
use  of  the  least  part  of  what  was  com- 
mitted to  him,  and  it  be  lost,  let  him  be 
condemned  to  repay  all  that  he  had  re- 
ceived. After  the  same  manner  as  in 
these  trusts,  it  is  to  be,  if  any  one  defraud 
those  that  undergo  bodily  labour  for  him. 
And  let  it  be  always  remembered,  that 
we  are  not  to  defraud  a  poor  man  of  his 
wages;  as  being  sensible  that  G-od  has 
allotted  these  wages  to  him  instead  of  land 
and  other  possessions  ;  nay,  this  payment 
is  not  at  all  to  be  delayed,  but  to  be 
made  that  very  day,  since  God  is  not 
willing  to  deprive  the  labourer  of  the  im- 
mediate use  of  what  he  hath  laboured  for. 

u  You  are  not  to  punish  children  for 
the  faults  of  their  parents,  but  on  account 
of  their  own  virtue  rather  vouchsafe  them 
commiseration,  because  they  were  born 
of  wicked  parents,  than  hatred,  because 
they  were  born  of  bad  ones;  nor  indeed 
ought  we  to  impute  the  sin  of  children  to 
their  fathers,  while  young  persons  indulge 
themselves  in  many  practices  different 
from  what  they  have  been  instructed  in, 
and  this  by  their  proud  refusal  of  such 
instruction. 

"  Let  those  that  have  made  themselves 
eunuchs  be  had  in  detestation ;  and  do 
you  avoid  any  conversation  with  them 
who  have  deprived  themselves  of  their 
manhood,  and  of  that  fruit  of  generation 
which  God  has  given  to  men  for  the  in- 
crease of  their  kind :  let  such  be  driven 
away,  as  if  they  had  killed  their  children, 
since  they  beforehand  have  lost  what 
should  procure  them ;  for  evident  it  is, 
that  while  their  soul  is  become  effeminate, 
they  have  withal  transfused  that  effemi- 
nacy to  their  body  also.  In  like  manner 
do  you  treat  all  that  is  of  a  monstrous  na- 
ture when  it  is  looked  on;  nor  is  it  lawful 
thus  to  injure  men  or  any  other  animals. 

"Let  this  be  the  constitution  of  your 
political  laws  in  time  of  peace,  and  God 
will  be  so  merciful  as  to  preserve  this  ex- 
cellent settlement  free  from  disturbance: 
and  may  that  time  never  come  which  may 
innovate  any  thhrg,  and  change  it  for  the 
contrary.  But  since  it  must  needs  hap- 
pen that  mankind  fall  into  troubles  and 
dangers,  either  undesignedly  or  intention- 
ally, let  us  make  a  few  constitutions  now 
concerning  them,  that  so  being  apprized 
beforehand  what  ought  to  be  done,  you 
may  have  salutary  counsels  ready  when 
you   want   them,   and    may  not    then  be 


Chap.  VIII. ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


145 


obliged  to  go  and  seek  what  is  to  be  done, 
and  so  be  unprovided,  and  fall  into  dan- 
gerous circumstances.  May  you  be  a  la- 
borious people,  and  exercise  your  souls  in 
virtuous  actions,  and  thereby  possess  and 
inherit  the  land  without  wars  ;  while  nei- 
ther any  foreigners  make  war  upon  it,  and 
bo  afflict  you,  nor  any  internal  sedition 
siize  upon  it,  whereby  you  may  do  things 
that  are  contary  to  your  fathers,  and  so 
lose  the  laws  which  they  have  established  : 
and  may  you  continue  in  the  observation 
of  those  laws  which  God  hath  approved  of, 
and  hath  delivered  to  you.  Let  all  sorts 
of  warlike  operations,  whether  they  befall 
you  now  in  your  own  time,  or  hereafter  in 
the  times  of  your  posterity,  be  done  out 
of  your  own  borders;  but  when  you  are 
about  to  go  to  war,  send  embassages  and 
heralds  to  those  who  are  your  voluntary 
enemies,  for  it  is  a  right  thing  to  make 
use  of  words  to  them  before  you  come  to 
your  weapons  of  war :  and  assure  them 
thereby,  that  although  you  have  a  nume- 
rous army,  with  horses  and  weapons,  and, 
above  these,  a  God  merciful  to  you,  and 
ready  to  assist  you,  you  do  however  desire 
them  not  to  compel  you  to  fight  against 
them,  nor  to  take  from  them  what  they 
have,  which  will  indeed  be  our  gain,  but 
what  they  will  have  no  reason  to  wish  we 
should  take  to  ourselves;  and  if  they 
hearken  to  you,  it  will  be  proper  for  you 
to  keep  peace  with  them  ;  but  if  they  trust 
in  their  own  strength  as  superior  to  yours, 
and  will  not  do  you  justice,  lead  your 
army  against  them,  making  use  of  God  as 
your  supreme  commander,  but  ordaining 
for  a  lieutenant  under  him,  one  that  is  of 
the  greatest  courage  among  you  ;  for  very 
many  commanders,  besides  their  being  an 
obstacle  to  actions  that  are  to  be  done  on 
the  sudden,  are  a  disadvantage  to  those 
that  make  use  of  them.  Lead  an  army 
pure,  and  of  chosen  men,  composed  of  all 
such  as  have  extraordinary  strength  of 
body  aud  hardiness  of  soul ;  but  do  you 
send  away  the  timorous  part,  lest  they  run 
away  in  the  time  of  action,  and  so  afford  an 
advantage  to  your  enemies.  Do  you  also 
give  leave  to  those  that  have  lately  built 
themselves  houses,  aud  have  not  yet  lived  in 
them  a  year's  time ;  and  to  those  that  have 
planted  themselves  vineyards, and  have  not 
yet  been  partakers  of  their  fruits,  to  con- 
tinue in  their  own  country;  as  well  as 
those  also  who  have  betrothed,  or  lately 
married  wives,  lest  they  have  such  an  af- 
fection for  these  things  that  thev  be  too 
10 


sparing  of  their  lives,  and,  by  reserving 
themselves  for  these  enjoyments,  they  be- 
come voluntary  [involuntary]  cowards,  on 
account  of  their  wives. 

"  When  you  have  pitched  your  camp, 
take  care  that  you  do  nothing  that  is  cruel ; 
and  when  you  are  engaged  in  a  siege,  and 
want  timber  for  the  making  of  warlike 
engines,  do  not  you  render  the  land  naked 
by  cutting  down  trees  that  bear  fruit,  but 
spare  them,  as  considering  that  they  were 
made  for  the  benefit  of  men  ;  and  that  if 
they  could  speak,  they  would  have  a  just 
plea  against  you,  because,  though  they  are 
not  occasions  of  the  war,  they  are  unjustly 
treated,  and  suffer  in  it;  and  would,  if 
they  were  able,  remove  themselves  into 
another  land.  When  you  have  beaten 
your  enemies  in  battle,  slay  those  that 
have  fought  against  you ;  but  preserve  the 
others  alive,  that  they  may  pay  you  tri- 
bute; excepting  the  nation  of  the  Canaan- 
ites ;  for  as  to  that  people,  you  must  en- 
tirely destroy  them. 

"Take  care,  especially  in  your  battles, 
that  no  woman  use  the  habit  of  a  man,  nor 
man  the  garment  of  a  woman." 

This  was  the  form  of  political  govern- 
ment which  was  left  us  by  Moses.  More- 
over, he  had  already  delivered  laws  in 
writing,  in  the  fortieth  year  [after  they 
came  out  of  Egypt],  concerning  which  we 
will  discourse  in  another  book.  But  now 
on  the  following  days  (for  he  called  them 
to  assemble  continually)  he  delivered  bless- 
ings to  them,  and  curses  upon  those  that 
should  not  live  according  to  the  laws,  but 
should  transgress  the  duties  that  were  de- 
termined for  them  to  observe.  After  this, 
he  read  to  them  a  poetic  song,  which  way 
composed  in  hexameter  verse ;  and  left  it 
to  them,  in  the  holy  book :  it  contained  a 
prediction  of  what  was  to  come  to  pass 
afterward;  agreeably  whereto  all  things 
have  happened  all  along,  and  do  still  hap- 
pen to  us;  and  wherein  he  has  not  at  all 
deviated  from  the  truth.  Accordingly,  he 
delivered  these  books  to  the  priests,  with 
j  the  ark;  into  which  he  also  put  the  Ten 
Commandments,  written  on  two  tablets. 
He  delivered  to  them  the  tabernacle  also; 
and  exhorted  the  people,  that  when  they 
had  conquered  the  land,  and  were  settled 
in  it,  they  should  not  forget  the  injuries 
of  the  Amalekites,  but  make  war  against 
them,  and  inflict  punishment  upon  them 
for  what  mischief  they  did  them  whjn  they 
were  in  the  wilderness ;  and  that,  when 
they  had  got  possession  of  the  land  of  the 


146 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


Canaanites,  and  when  they  had  destroyed 
the  whole  multitude  of  its  inhabitants,  as 
they  ought  to  do,  they  should  erect  an  altar 
that  should  face  the  rising  sun,  not  far 
from  the  city  of  Shechem,  between  the  two 
mountains,  that  of  Gerizzim,  situate  on 
the  right  hand,  and  that  called  Ebal,  on 
the  left ;  and  that  the  army  should  be  so 
divided,  that  six  tribes  should  stand  upon 
each  of  the  two  mountains,  and  with  them 
the  Levites  and  the  priests.  And  that 
first,  those  that  were  upon  Mount  Gerizzim 
should  pray  for  the  best  blessings  upon 
those  who  were  diligent  about  the  worship 
of  God,  and  the  observation  of  his  laws, 
and  who  did  not  reject  what  Moses  had  said 
to  them  ;  while  the  other  wished  them  all 
manner  of  happiness  also;  and  when  these 
last  put  up  the  like  prayers,  the  former 
praised  them.  After  this,  curses  were  de- 
nounced upon  those  that  should  transgress 
those  laws,  they  answering  one  another 
alternately,  by  way  of  confirmation  of 
what  had  been  said.  Moses  also  wrote 
their  blessings  and  their  curses,  that  they 
might  learn  them  so  thoroughly,  that  they 
might  never  be  forgotten  by  length  of 
time.  And  when  he  was  ready  to  die,  he 
wrote  these  blessings  and  curses  upon  the 
altar,  on  each  side  of  it ;  where  he  says 
also  the  people  stood,  and  then  sacrificed 
and  offered  burnt-offerings;  though  after 
that  day  they  never  offered  upon  it  any 
other  sacrifice,  for  it  was  not  lawful  so  to 
do.  These  are  the  constitutions  of  Mouses ; 
and  the  Hebrew  nation  still  live  according 
to  them. 

On  the  next  day,  Moses  called  the  peo- 
ple together,  with  the  women  and  children, 
to  a  congregation,  so  as  the  very  slaves 
were  present  also,  that  they  might  engage 
themselves  to  the  observation  of  these 
laws  by  oath  ;  and  that,  duly  considering 
the  meaning  of  God  in  them,  they  might 
not,  either  for  favour  of  their  kindred,  or 
out  of  fear  of  any  one,  or  indeed  for  any 
motive  whatever,  think  any  thing  ought 
to  be  preferred  to  these  laws,  and  so  might 
transgress  them  ;  that  in  case  any  one  of 
their  own  blood,  or  any  city,  should  at- 
tempt to  confound  or  dissolve  their  consti- 
tution of  government,  they  should  take 
vengeance  upon  them,  both  all  in  general, 
and  each  person  in  particular;  and  when 
they  had  conquered  them,  should  overturn 
their  city  to  the  very  foundations,  and,  if 
possible,  should  not  leave  the  least  foot- 
steps of  such  madness:  but  that  if  they 
were  not  abl°.   to   take   such  vengeance, 


they  should  still  demonstrate  that  what 
was  done  was  contrary  to  their  wills.  So 
the  multitude  bound  themselves  by  oath 
so  to  do. 

Moses  taught  them  also  by  what  means 
their  sacrifices  might  be  the  most  ac- 
ceptable to  God  ;  and  how  they  should  go 
forth  to  war,  making  use  of  the  stones  in 
the  high  priest's  breastplate  for  their  direc- 
tion, (as  I  have  before  signified.)  Joshua 
also  prophesied  while  Moses  was  present. 
And  when  Moses  had  recapitulated  what- 
ever he  had  done  for  the  preservation  of 
the  people,  both  in  their  wars  and  in 
peace,  and  had  composed  them  a  body  of 
laws,  and  procured  them  an  excellent  form 
of  government,  he  foretold,  as  God  had 
declared  to  him,  "  That  if  they  trans- 
gressed that  institution  for  the  worship  of 
God,  they  should  experience  the  following 
miseries  : — Their  land  should  be  full  of 
weapons  of  war  from  their  enemies,  and 
their  cities  should  be  overthrown,  and 
their  temples  should  be  burnt ;  that  they 
should  be  sold  for  slaves  to  such  men  as 
would  have  no  pity  on  them  in  their  af- 
flictions; that  they  would  then  repent, 
when  that  repentance  would  no  way  profit 
them  under  their  sufferings.  Yet/'  said 
he,  "will  that  God  who  founded  your  na- 
tion, restore  your  cities  to  your  citizens, 
with  their  temples  also ;  and  you  shall  lose 
these  advantages,  not  once  only,  but  often." 

Now  when  Moses  had  encouraged 
Joshua  to  lead  out  the  army  against  the 
Canaanites,  by  telling  him  that  God  would 
assist  him  in  all  his  undertakings,  and  had 
blessed  the  whole  multitude,  he  said, 
"  Since  I  am  going  to  my  forefathers,  and 
God  has  determined  that  this  should  be 
the  day  of  my  departure  to  them,  I  re- 
turn him  thanks  while  I  am  still  alive 
and  present  with  you,  for  that  providence 
he  hath  exercised  over  you,  which  hath  not 
only  delivered  us  from  the  miseries  we  lay 
under,  but  hath  -bestowed  a  state  of  pros- 
perity upon  us;  as  also,  that  he  hath  as- 
sisted me  in  the  pains  I  took,  and  in  all  the 
contrivances  I  had  in  my  care  about  you, 
in  order  to  better  your  condition,  and 
hath  on  all  occasions  shown  himself  fa- 
vourable to  us ;  or  rather  he  it  was  who 
first  conducted  our  affairs,  and  brought 
them  to  a  happy  conclusion,  by  making 
use  of  me  as  a  vicarious  general  under 
him,  and  as  a  minister  in  those  matters 
wherein  he  was  willing  to  do  you  good: 
on  which  account  I  think  it  proper  to  bless 
that  Divine  Power  which  will  take  care  of 


€hap   MIL] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


147 


you  for  the  time  to  come,  and  this  in  order 
to  repay  that  debt  which  I  owe  him,  and  to 
leave  behind  me  a  memorial  that  we  are 
obliged  to  worship  and  honour  him,  and 
to  keep  those  laws,  which  are  the  most  ex- 
cellent gift  of  all  those  he  hath  already 
bestowed  upon  us,  or  which,  if  he  continues 
favourable  to  us,  he  will  bestow  on  us  here- 
after. Certainly  a  human  legislator  is  a 
terrible  enemy  when  his  laws  are  affronted, 
and  are  made  to  no  purpose ;  and  may 
you  never  experience  that  displeasure  of 
God  which  will  be  the  consequence  of  the 
neglect  of  these  his  laws,  which  he,  who  is 
your  Creator,  hath  given  you!" 

When  Moses  had  spoken  thus  at  the 
end  of  his  life,  and  had  foretold  what 
would  befall  to  every  one  of  their  tribes* 
afterward,  with  the  addition  of  a  blessing 
to  them,  the  multitude  fell  into  tears, 
insomuch  that  even  the  women,  by  beating 
their  breasts,  made  manifest  the  deep 
concern  they  had  when  he  was  about  to 
die.  The  children  also  lamented  still 
more,  as  not  able  to  contain  their  grief; 
and  thereby  declared,  that  even  at  their 
age  they  were  sensible  of  his  virtue  and 
mighty  deeds ;  and  truly  there  seemed  to 
be  a  strife  betwixt  the  young  and  the  old, 
who  should  most  grieve  for  him.  The  old 
grieved,  because  they  knew  what  a  careful 
protector  they  were  to  be  deprived  of,  and 
so  lamented  their  future  state;  but  the 
young  grieved,  not  only  for  that,  but  also, 
because  it  so  happened  that  they  were  to 
be  left  by  him  before  they  had  well  tasted 
of  his  virtue.  Now  one  may  make  a  guess 
at  the  excess  of  this  sorrow  and  lamenta- 
tion of  the  multitude,  from  what  happened 
to  the  legislator  himself;  for  although  he 
was  always  persuaded  that  he  ought  not  to 
be  cast  down  at  the  approach  of  death, 
since  the  undergoing  it  was  agreeable  to 
the  will  of  God  and  the  law  of  nature, 
yet  what  the  people  did  so  overcame  him, 
that  he  wept  himself.  Now  as  he  went 
thence  to  the  place  where  he  was  to  vanish 
out  of  their  sight,  they  all  followed  after 
him  weeping;  but  Moses  beckoned  with 
his  hand  to  those  that  were  remote  from 
him,  and  bade  them  stay  behind  in  quiet, 
while  he  exhorted  those  that  were  near 
to  him  that  they  would  not  render  his  de- 
parture so  lamentable.     Whereupon  they 


*  Since  Josephus  assures  us  here,  as  is  most  na- 
turally to  be  supposed,  and  as  the  Septuagint  gives 
the  text,  (Deut.  xxxiii.  6,)  that  Moses  blessed  every 
one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  it  is  evident  that  Simeon 
was  not  omitted  in  his  copy,  as  it  unhappily  now 
ia»  both  in  our  Hebrew  and  Samaritan  copies. 


thought  they  ought  to  grant  him  that  fa- 
vour, to  let  him  depart,  according  as  he 
himself  desired ;  so  they  restrained  them- 
selves, though  weeping  still  toward  one 
another.  All  those  who  accompanied  him 
were  the  senate,  and  Eleazer  the  high 
priest,  and  Joshua  their  commander. 
Now  as  soon  as  they  had  come  to  the 
mountain  called  "Abarim,"  (which  is  a 
very  high  mountain,  situate  over  against 
Jericho,  and  one  that  affords,  to  such  as 
are  upon  it,  a  prospect  of  the  greatest  part 
of  the  excellent  land  of  Canaan,)  he  dis- 
missed the  senate,  and  as  he  was  going  to 
embrace  Eleazer  and  Joshua,  and  was  still 
discoursing  with  them,  a  cloud  stood  over 
him  on  the  sudden,  and  he  disappeared  in 
a  certain  valley,  although  he  wrote  in  the 
holy  books  that  he  died,  which  was  done 
out  of  fear,  lest  they  should  venture  to 
say  that,  because  of  his  extraordinary  vir- 
tue, he  went  to  God- 
Now  Moses  lived  in  all  120  years;  a 
third  part  of  which  time,  abating  one 
month,  he  was  the  people's  ruler;  and  he 
died  on  the  last  month  of  the  year,  which 
is  called  by  the  Macedonians  "  Dystrus," 
but  by  us  "Adar,"  [February,  B.  C.  1451,] 
on  the  first  day  of  the  month.  He  was 
one  that  exceeded  all  men  that  ever  were 
in  understanding,  and  made  the  best  use 
of  what  that  understanding  suggested  to 
him.  He  had  a  very  graceful  way  of 
speaking  and  addressing  himself  to  the 
multitude  :  and  as  to  his  other  qualifica- 
tions, he  had  such  a  full  command  of  his 
passions,  as  if  he  hardly  had  any  such  in 
his  soul,  and  only  knew  them  by  their 
names,  as  rather  perceiving  them  in 
other  men  than  in  himself.  He  was  also 
such  a  general  of  an  army  as  is  seldom 
seen,  as  well  as  such  a  prophet  as  was 
never  known,  and  this  to  such  a  degree, 
that  whatsoever  he  pronounced,  you  would 
think  you  heard  the  voice  of  God  him- 
self. So  the  people  mourned  for  him 
thirty  days;  nor  did  ever  any  grief  so 
deeply  affect  the  Hebrews  as  did  this 
upon  the  death  of  Moses ;  nor  were  those 
that  had  experienced  his  conduct  the  only 
persons  that  desired  him,  but  tlnse  also 
that  perused  the  laws  he  left  behind  him 
had  a  strong  desire  after  him,  and  by 
them  gathered  the  extraordinary  virtue 
he  was  master  of.  And  this  shall  suffice 
for  the  declaration  of  the  manner  of  the 
death  of  Moses.* 

*  See  Num.  xxxiv.  71-2. 


148 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


TBi>ok  V 


BOOK  Y. 

CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  476  YEARS,*  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF 
MOSES  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ELI. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Joshua  overcomes  the  Canaanites  and  divides  the 
land  among  the  children  of  Israel.  B.  C.  1451- 
1413. 

When  Moses  was  taken  away  from 
among  men,  in  the  manner  already  de- 
scribed, and  when  all  the  solemnities 
belonging  to  the  mourning  for  him  were 
finished,  and  the  sorrow  for  him  was 
over,  Joshua  commanded  the  multitude 
to  get  themselves  ready  for  an  expedi- 
tion. He  also  sent  spies  to  Jericho,  to 
discover  what  forces  they  hud,  and  what 
were  their  intentions;  but  he  put  his 
camp  in  order,  as  intending  soon  to  pass 
over  Jordan  at  a  proper  season.  And 
calling  to  him  the  rulers  of  the  tribe  of 
Reuben,  and  the  governors  of  the  tribe 
of  Gad,  and  [the  half-tribe  of]  Mauas- 
seh,  for  half  of  this  tribe  had  been  per- 
mitted to  have  their  habitation  in  the 
country  of  the  Amorites,  which  was  the 
seventh  part  of  the  land  of  Canaan, "j*  he 
put  them  iu  mind  what  they  had  promised 
Moses;  and  he  exhorted  them  that,  for 
the  sake  of  the  care  that  Moses  had  taken 
of  them,  who  had  never  been  weary  of 
taking  pains  for  them,  no,  not  when  he 
was  dying,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  public 
welfare,  they  would  prepare  themselves, 
and  readily  perform  what  they  had  pro- 
mised; so  he  took  50,000  of  those  who 
followed  him,  and  he  marched  from 
Abila  to  Jordan,  sixty  furlongs. 

Now  when  he  had  pitched  his  camp, 
the  spies  came  to  him  immediately,  well 
acquainted  with  the  whole  state  of  the 
Canaanites  ;  for  at  first  before  they  were 
all  discovered,  they  took  a  full  view  of 
the  city  of  Jericho  without  disturbance, 
and  saw  which  parts  of  the  walls  were 
Strong,  and  which  parts  were  otherwise, 
and  indeed,  insecure,  and  which  of  the 
gates  were  so  weak  as  might  afford  an 
entrance  to  their  army.  Now  those  that 
met  them  took  no  notice  of  them  when 
they  saw  them,  and  supposed  they  were 

•  Scripture  chronology,. 335  years. 
"j-  The  Ainoritcs  were  one  of  the  seven   nations 
;f  Canaan. 


only  strangers,  who  used  to  be  verj 
curious  in  observing  every  thing  in  the 
city,  and  did  not  take  them  for  enemies; 
but  at  even  they  retired  to  a  certain  inn 
that  was  near  to  the  wall,  whither  they 
went  to  eat  their  supper;  which  supper, 
when  they  had  done,  and  were  consider- 
ing how  to  get  away,  information  was 
given  to  the  king  as  he  was  at  supper, 
that  there  were  some  persons  come  from 
the  Hebrews'  camp  to  view  the  city  as 
spies,  and  that  they  were  in  the  inn  kept 
by  Ilahab,  and  were  very  solicitous  that 
they  might  not  be  discovered.  So  he 
sent  immediately  some  to  them,  and  com- 
manded to  catch  them,  and  bring  them  to 
him,  that  he  might  examine  them  by 
torture,  and  learn  what  their  business 
was  there.  As  soon  as  Ilahab  understood 
that  these  messengers  were  coming  she 
hid  the  spies  under  stalks  of  flax,  which 
were  laid  to  dry  on  the  top  of  her  house ; 
and  said  to  the  messengers  that  were 
sent  by  the  king,  that  certain  unknown 
strangers  had  supped  with  her  a  little 
before  sun-setting,  and  were  gone  away, 
and  might  easily  be  taken,  if  they  were 
any  terror  to  the  city,  or  likely  to  bring 
any  danger  to  the  king.  So  these  mes- 
sengers being  thus  deluded  by  the  woman, 
and  suspecting  uo  imposition,  went  their 
ways,  without  so  much  as  searching  the 
inn  ;  but  they  immediately  pursued  them 
along  those  roads  which  they  most  proba 
bly  supposed  them  to  have  gone,  and 
those  particularly  which  led  to  the  river, 
but  could  hear  no  tidings  of  them  ;  so 
they  left  off  the  pains  of  any  further  pur- 
suit. But  when  the  tumult  was  over, 
Ilahab  brought  the  men  down,  and  de- 
sired them,  as  soon  as  they  should  have 
obtained  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan, 
when  it  would  be  in  their  power  to  make 
her  amends  for  her  preservation  of  them, 
to  remember  what  danger  she  had  under- 
gone for  their  sakesj  for  that  if  she  had 
been  caught  concealing  them,  she  could 
not  have  escaped  a  terrible  destruction, 
she  and  all  her  family  with  her,  and  so 
bade  them  go  home;  and  desired  them  to 


Chap.  I  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    CF    THE    JEWS. 


149 


V 


Hwear  to  her  to  preserve  her  and  her 
family  when  they  should  take  the  city 
and  destroy  all  its  inhabitants,  as  they 
had  decreed  to  do ;  for  so  far  she  said  she 
had  been  assured  by  those  divine  miracles 
of  which  she  had  been  informed.  So 
these  spies  acknowledged  that  they  owed 
her  thanks  for  what  she  had  done  already, 
and  withal  swore  to  requite  her  kindness, 
not  only  in  words,  but  in  deeds;  but  they 
gave  her  this  advice :  that  when  she 
should  perceive  that  the  city  was  about  to 
be  taken,  she  should  put  her  goods,  and 
all  her  family,  by  way  of  security,  in  her 
inn,  and  to  hang  out  scarlet  threads 
before  her  doors  [or  windows],  that  the 
commander  of  the  Hebrews  might  know 
her  house,  and  take  care  to  do  her  no 
harm  ;  for,  said  they,  we  will  inform  him 
of  this  matter,  because  of  the  concern 
thou  hast  had  to  preserve  us ;  but  if  any 
one  of  thy  family  fall  in  the  battle,  do  not 
thou  blame  us;  and  we  beseech  that  God, 
by  whom  we  have  sworn,  not  then  to  be 
displeased  with  us,  as  though  we  had 
broken  our  oaths.  So  these  men,  when 
they  had  made  this  agreement,  went 
away,  letting-  themselves  down  by  a  rope 
from  the  wall,  and  escaped,  and  came 
and  told  their  own  people  whatever  they 
had  done  in  their  journey  to  this  city. 
Joshua  also  told  Eleazer  the  high  priest, 
and  the  senate,  what  the  spies  had  sworn 
to  Kahab ;  who  confirmed  what  had  been 
sworn. 

Now  while  Joshua,  the  commander, 
was  in  fear  about  their  passing  over 
Jordan,  for  the  river  ran  with  a  strong 
current,  and  could  not  be  passed  over 
with  bridges,  for  there  never  had  been 
bridges  laid  over  it  hitherto ;  and  while  he 
suspected,  that  if  he  should  attempt  to 
make  a  bridge,  that  their  enemies  would 
not  afford  him  time  to  perfect  it,  and  for 
ferry-boats  they  had  none,  God  promised 
so  to  dispose  of  the  river,  that  they  might 
pass  over  it,  and  that  by  taking  away  the 
main  part  of  its  waters.  So  Joshua,  after 
two  days,  caused  the  army  and  the  whole 
multitude  to  pass  over  in  the  manner 
following :  the  priests  went  first  of  all, 
having  the  ark  with  them;  then  went 
the  Levites  bearing  the  tabernacle  and 
the  vessels  which  belonged  to  the  sacri- 
fices; after  which  the  entire  multitude 
followed,  according  to  their  tribes,  having 
their  children  and  their  wives  in  the 
midst  of  them,  as  being  afraid  for  them, 
lest  they  should  be  borne  away  by  the 


stream.  But  as  soon  as  the  priests  had 
entered  the  river  first,  it  appeared  ford- 
able,  the  depth  of  the  water  being  re- 
strained, and  the  sand  appearing  at  the 
bottom,  because  the  current  was  neither 
so  strong  nor  so  swift  as  to  carry  it  away 
by  its  force;  so  they  all  passed  over  the 
river  without  fear,  finding  it  to  be  in  the 
very  same  state  as  God  had  foretold  he 
would  put  it  in ;  but  the  priests  stood 
still  in  the  midst  of  the  river  till  the  mul- 
titude should  be  passed  over,  and  should 
get  to  the  shore  in  safety ;  and  when  all 
were  gone  over,  the  priests  came  out  also, 
and  permitted  the  current  to  run  freely  as 
it  used  to  do  before.  Accordingly  the 
river,  as  soon  as  the  Hebrews  were  come 
out  of  it,  arose  again  presently,  and  came 
to  its  own  proper  magnitude  as  before- 

So  the  Hebrews  went  on  farther  fifty 
furlongs,  and  pitched  their  camp  at  the 
distance  of  ten  furlongs  from  Jericho: 
but  Joshua  built  an  altar  of  those  stones 
which  all  the  heads  of  the  tribes,  at  the 
command  of  the  prophet,  had  taken  out 
of  the  deep,  to  be  afterward  a  memorial 
of  the  division  of  the  stream  of  this  river, 
and  upon  it  offered  sacrifice  to  God ;  and 
in  that  place  celebrated  the  passover,  and 
had  great  plenty  of  all  the  things  which 
they  wanted  hitherto;  for  they  reaped 
the  corn  of  the  Canaanites,  which  was 
n o w  ripe,  ancPtoolT'ofher'things  as  prey]" 
for  then  it  was  that  their  former  food, 
which  was  manna,  and  of  which  they  had 
eaten  forty  years,  failed  them. 

Now  while  the  Israelites  did  this,  am 
the  Canaanites  did  not  attack  them,  but 
kept  themselves  quiet  within  their  own 
walls,  Joshua  resolved  to  besiege  them  ; 
so  on  thft  h'rst^  day  of  the  feas£  [of  the 
passover],  the  priests  carried  the  ark 
round  about,  with  some  part  of  the  armed 
men  to  be  a  guard  to  it.  These  priests 
went  forward,  blowing  with  their  seven 
trumpets;  and  exhorted  the  army  to  be 
of  good  courage,  and  went  round  about 
the  city,  with  the  senate  following  them  ; 
and  when  the  priests  had  only  blown 
with  the  trumpets,  for  they  did  nothing 
more  at  all,  they  returned  to  the  camp; 
and  when  they  had  done  this  for  six  days, 
on  the  seventh  Joshua  gathered  the  armed 
men,  and  all  the  people  together,  and  told 
them  these  good  tidings,  that  the  city 
should  now  be  taken,  since  God  would  on 
that  day  give  it  them,  by  the  falling  down 
of  the  walls,  and  this  of  their  own  accord, 
and  without  their  labour.     However,  he 


>o 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


charged  them  to  kill  every  one  they 
should  take,  and  not  to  abstain  from  the 
slaughter  of  their  enemies,  either  for 
weariness  or  for  pity,  and  not  to  fall  on 
the  spoil,  and  be  thereby  diverted  from 
pursuing  their  enemies  as  they  ran  away; 
but  to  destroy  all  the  animals,  and  to  take 
nothing  for  their  own  peculiar  advantage, 
tile  commanded  them  also  to  bring  toge- 
ther all  the  silver  and  gold,  that  it  might 
Jbe  set  apart  as  first  fruits  unto  God  out  j 
of  this  glorious  exploit,  as  having  gotten 
them  from  the  city  they  first  took  :  only 
that  they  should  save  Itahab  and  her 
kindred  alive,  because  of  the  oath  which 
the  spies  had  sworn  to  her. 

When  he  had  said  this,  and  had  set  his 
army  in  order,  he  brought  it  against  the 
city;  so  they  went  lound  the  city  again, 
the  ark  going  before  them,  and  the  priests 
encouraging  the  people  to  be  zealous  in 
the  work  ;  and  when  they  had  gone  round 
it  seven  times,  and  had  stood  still  a  little, 
the  wall  fell  down,  while  no  instruments 
of  war,  nor  any  other  force,  was  applied 
to  it  by  the  Hebrews. 

So  they  entered  into  Jericho,  and  slew 
all  the  men  that  were  therein  while  they 
were  affrighted  at  the  surprising  over- 
throw of  the  walls,  and  their  courage  was 
become  useless,  and  they  were  not  able  to 
defend  themselves  ;  so  they  were  slain, 
and  their  throats  cut,  some  in  the  ways, 
and  others  as  caught  in  their  houses;  no- 
thing afforded  them  assistance,  but  tfiey 
all  perished,  even  to  the  women  and  the 
children ;  and  the  city  was  filled  with 
dead  bodies,  and  not  one  persou  escaped. 
They  also  burnt  the  whole  city,  and  the 
country  about  it;  but  they  saved  alive 
llahab,  with  her  family,  who  had  fled  to 
her  inn;  and  when  she  was  brought  to 
the  camp,  Joshua  owned  that  they  owed 
her  thanks  for  her  preservation  of  the 
spies:  so  he  said  he  would  not  appear  to 
be  behind  her  in  his  benefaction  to 
her ;  whereupon  he  gave  her  certain  lands 
immediately,  and  had  her  in  great  esteem 
.ever  afterward. 

And  if  any  part  of  the  city  escaped  the 
fire,  he  overthrew  it  from  the  foundation; 
and  he  denounced  a  curse*  against  its  in- 
habitants, if  any  should  desire  to  rebuild 
it:  how,  upon  his  laying  the  foundation 
of  the  walls,  be  should  be  deprived  of  his 
eldest  son  ;  and  upon  finishing  it,  he  should 
lose    his   youngest   son.      ]>ut  what  hap- 


*  Josh.  vi.  26. 


pened  hereupon,  we  shall  speak  of  here- 
after. 

Now  there  was  an  immense  quantity 
of  silver  and  gold,  and  besides  those,  of 
brass  also,  that  was  heaped  together  out 
of  the  city  when  it  was  taken,  no  one 
transgressing  the  decree,  nor  purloining 
for  their  own  peculiar  advantage  ;  which 
spoils  Joshua  delivered  to  the  priests,  to 
be  laid  up  among  their  treasures.  And 
thus  did  Jericho  perish. 

But  there  was  one  Aehan,' the  son   [of 
Charmi,    the    son]    of   Zebedias,    of    the 
tribe  of  Judah,  who,  finding  a  royal  gar- 
ment woven  entirely  of  gold,  and  a  piece* 
of  gold  that  weighed  200   shekels  ;   and 
thinking    it   a  very  hard  case,  that  what 
spoils   he,  by  running  some   hazard,   had 
found,  he  must  give  away,  and  offer  it  to, 
God,  who  stood  in  no  need  of  it,  while  he  \ 
that  wanted  it  must  go  without  it,  made  a     > 
deep  ditch  in  his  own  tent   and  laid  them 
up    therein,  as   supposing  he   should   not  J 
only  conceal  them  from  his  fellow-soldiers^ 
but  from  God  himself  also.  <^' 

-'  Now  the  place  where  Joshua  pitched 
jnis  camp  was  called  Gilgal,  which  denotes 
V  liberty  j"  for  since  now  they  had  passed 
over  Jordan,  they  looked  on  themselves 
as  freed  from  the  miseries  which  they  had 
undergone  from  the  Egyptians,  and  in  the 
wilderness. 

Now,  a  few  days  after  the  calamity  that 
befell  Jericho,  Joshua  sent  3000  armed 
men  to  take  Ai,  a  city  situate  above  Jeri- 
cho ;  but,  upon  the  sight  of  the  people  of 
Ai,  the  Israelites  were  driven  back,  and 
lost  thirty-six  of  their  men  J  When  this 
was  told  the  Israelites,  it  nracle  them  very 
sad,  and  exceeding  disconsolate,  not  so 
much  because  of  the  relation  the  men 
that  were  destroyed  bare  to  them,  though 
those  that  were  destroyed  were  all  good 
men,  and  deserved  their  esteem,  as  by  the 
despair  it  occasioned;  for  while  they  be- 
lieved that  they  were  already,  in  effect,  in 
possession  of  the  land,  and  should  bring 
back  the  army  out  of  the  battles  without 
loss,  as  God  had  promised  beforehand, 
they  now  saw  unexpectedly  their  enemies 
bold  with  success  ;  so  they  put  sackcloth 
over  their  garments,  and  continued  in  tears 
and  lamentation  all  the  day,  without  the 
least  inquiry  after  food,  but  laid  what  had 
happened  greatly  to  heart. 

When  Joshua  saw  the  army  BO  much 
afflicted,  and  possessed  with  forebo  lings 
of  evil  as  to  their  whole  expedition,  he 
used  freedom  with  God,  and  said,  u  \\i 


Chap  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


151 


Rre  not  come  thus  far  out  of  auy  rashness 
of  our  own,  as  though  we  thought  our- 
selves able  to  subdue  this  land  with  our 
own  weapons,  but  at  the  instigation  of 
Moses  thy  servant  for  this  purpose,  be- 
cause thou  hast  promised  us,  by  many 
signs,  that  thou  wouldst  give  us  this  land 
for  a  possession,  and  that  thou  wouldst 
make  our  army  always  superior  in  war  to 
our  enemies,  and  accordingly  some  suc- 
cess has  already  attended  upon  us  agree- 
able to  thy  promises ;  but  because  we 
have  now  unexpectedly  been  foiled,  and 
have  lost  some  men  out  of  our  army,  we 
are  grieved  at  it,  as  fearing  what  thou  hast 
promised  us,  and  what  Moses  foretold  us, 
cannot  be  depended  on  by  us;  and  our 
future  expectation  troubles  us  the  more, 
because  we  have  met  with  such  a  disaster 
in  this  our  first  attempt;  but  do  thou,  0 
Lord,  free  us  from  these  suspicions,  for 
thou  art  able  to  find  a  cure  for  these  dis- 
orders, by  giving  us  victory,  which  will 
both  take  away  the  grief  we  are  in  at 
present,  and  prevent  our  distrust  as  to 
what  is  to  come." 

These  intercessions  Joshua  put  up  to 
God,  as  he  lay  prostrate  on  his  face  :  where- 
upon God  answered  him,  that  he  should 
rise  up,  and  purify  his  host  from  the 
'pollution  that  had  got  into  it  j  that 
"things  consecrated  to  me  have  been  im- 
pudently stolen  from  me,"  and  that  u  this 
has  been  the  occasion  why  this  defeat  had 
happened  to  them ;"}  and  that  when  they 
should  search  out  and  punish  the  offender, 
he  would  ever  take  care  they  should  have 
the  victory  over  their  enemies.  This 
Joshua  told  the  people :  and  calling  for 
Eleazer,  the  high  priest,  and  the  men  in 
authority,  he  cast  lots,  tribe  by  tribe;  and 
when  the  foTshowed  thaTTITis^wicked  ac- 
tion was  done  by  one  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  he  then  again  proposed  the  lot  to 
the  several  families  thereto  belonging;  so 
the  truth  of  this  wicked  action  was  found 
to  belong  to  the  family  of  Zachar;*  and 
when  the  inquiry  was  made,  man  by  man, 
they  took  Achan,  who,  upon  God's  re- 
ducing"T)iin  to  a  teTTrble  extremity,  could 
not  deny  the  fact :  so  he  confessed  the 
theft,  and  produced  what  he  had  taken  in 
the  midst  of  them,  whereurmn  he  was  im- 
mediately put  to  death  ;  and  attained   no 


*  According  to  the  English  version  of  the  Bible, 
Achan  belonged  to  the  Zarhites.  There  is  much 
difference  in  the  names  used  by  Josephus  and  those 
given  by  the  translators  of  the  Scriptures. — See  ex- 
planatory list  of  propei-  names  at  the  end  of  the 
f  Antiquities." 


Zre  than  to  be  buried  in  the  night  in  a 
graceful  manner,  and  such  as  was  suit- 
able to  a  condemned  malefactor. 

When  Joshua  had  thus  purified  the 
host,  he  led  them  against  Ai :  and  having 
by  night  laid  an  ambush  round  about  the 
city,  he  attacked  the  enemies  as  soon  as 
it  was  day ;  but  as  they  advanced  boldly 
against  the  Israelites,  because  of  their 
former  victory,  he  made  them  believe  he 
retired,  and  by  that  means  drew  them  a 
great  way  from  the  city,  they  still  sup- 
posing that  they  were  pursuing  their  ene- 
mies, and  despised  them,  as  though  the 
case  had  been  the  same  with  that  in  the 
former  battle  ;  after  which  Joshua  ordered 
his  forces  to  turn  about,  and  placed  them 
against  their  front :  he  then  made  the 
signals  agreed  upon  to  those  that  lay  in 
ambush,  and  so  excited  them  to  fight;  so 
they  ran  suddenly  into  the  city,  the  in- 
habitants being  upon  the  walls,  nay, 
others  of  them  being  in  perplexity,  and 
coming  to  see  those  that  were  without  the 
gates.  Accordingly,  these  men  took  the 
city;  and  slew  all  that  they  met  with  ;  but 
Joshua  forced  those  that  came  against 
him  to  come  to  a  close  fight,  and  discom- 
fited them,  and  made  them  run  away;  and 
when  they  were  driven  toward  the  city, 
and  thought  it  had  not  been  touched,  as 
soon  as  they  saw  it  was  taken,  and  per- 
ceived it  was  burnt,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  they  wandered  about  in  the  fields 
in  a  scattered  condition,  and  were  no  way 
able  to  defend  themselves,  because  they 
had  none  to  support  them.  Now  when 
this  calamity  was  come  upon  the  men  of 
Ai,  there  were  a  great  number  of  children, 
and  women,  and  servants,  and  also  an 
immense  quantity  of  furniture.  The  He- 
brews also  took  herds  of  cattle,  and  a 
great  deal  of  money,  for  this  was  a  rich 
country.  So  when  Joshua  came  to  Gilgal, 
he  divided  all  these  spoils  among  the  sol- 
diers. 

ut  the  Gibeonites,  who  inhabited  very 
near  to  Jerusalem,  when  they  saw  what 
miseries  had  happened  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Jericho,  and  to  those  of  Ai,  and 
suspected  that  the  like  sore  calamity 
would  come  as  far  as  themselves,  they  did 
not  think  fit  to  ask  for  mercy  of  Joshua; 
jor  they  supposed  they  should  find  little 
mercy  from  him,  who  made  war  that 
he  might  entirely  destroy  the  nation  of 
the  Canaanites ;  but  they  invited  the 
people  of  Cephirah  and  Kiriathjearim, 
who  were    their    neighbours,    to  join    iu 


152 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


lie  with  them  j  atid  told  them,  that 
neither  could  they  themselves  avoid  the 
danger  the}  were  all  in,  if  the  Israelites 
should  prevent  them,  aud  seize  upon 
them;  so  when  they  had  persuaded  them, 
they  resolved  to  endeavour  to  eseape  the 
forces  of  the  Israelites.  Accordingly,  upon 
tlnir  agreement  to  what  they  proposed, 
they  sent  ambassadors  to  Joshua  to  make 
a  league  of  friendship  with  him,  and  those 
such  of  the  citizens  as  were  best  approved 
of,  and  most  capable  of  doing  what  was 
most  advantageous  to  the  multitude.  Now 
these  ambassadors  thought  it  dangerous 
to  confess  themselves  to  be  Canaanites, 
but  thought  they  might,  by  this  contri- 
vance, avoid  the  danger,  namely,  by  say- 
ing that  they  bare  no  relation  to  the  Ca- 
naanites at  all,  but  dwelt  at  a  very  great 
distance  from  them  :  and  they  said  fur- 
ther, that  they  came  a  long  way,  on  ac- 
count of  the  reputation  he  had  gained 
for  his  virtue  :  and  as  a  mark  of  the  truth  of 
what  they  said,  they  showed  him  the  habit 
they  were  in,  for  that  their  clothes  were 
new  when  they  came  out,  but  were  great- 
ly worn  by  the  length  of  time  they  had 
been  on  their  journey;  for  indeed  they 
took  torn  garments,  on  purpose  that  they 
might  make  him  believe  so.  So  they 
stood  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  and  said 
that  they  were  sent  by  the  people  of  Gi- 
beon,  and  of  the  circumjacent  cities,  which 
were  very  remote  from  the  land  where 
they  now  were,  to  make  such  a  league  of 
friendship  with  them,  and  this  on  such 
conditions  as  were  customary  among  their 
forefathers :  for  when  they  understood 
that,  by  the  favour  of  God,  and  his  gift 
to  them,  they  were  to  have  the  possession 
of  the  land  of  Canaan  bestowed  upon 
them,  they  said  that  they  were  very  glad 
to  hear  it,  and  desired  to  be  admitted  into 
the  number  of  their  citizens.  Thus  did 
these  ambassadors  speak ;  and  showing 
them  the  marks  of  their  long  journey, 
they  entreated  the  Hebrews  to  make  a 
league  of  friendship  with  them.  Accord- 
ingly Joshua,  believing  what  they  said, 
that  they  were  not  of  the  nation  of  the 
Canaanites,  eutered  into  friendship  with 
them  ;  and  Eleazer  the  high  priest,  with 
the  senate,  sware  to  them  that  they  would 
esteem  them  their  friends  aud  associates, 
and  would  attempt  nothing  that  should 
be  unfair  against  them,  the  multitude 
also  assenting  to  the  oaths  that  were 
made  to  them.  So  these  men,  having  ob- 
tained  what  they   desired,   by   deceiving 


the  Israelites,  went  home :  but  when 
.Joshua  led  his  army  to  the  country  at 
the  bottom  of  the  mountains  of  this  pari 
of  Canaan,  he  understood  that  the  Gibe- 
onites  dwelt  not  far  from  Jerusalem,  and 
that  they  were  of  the  stock  of  the  Ca- 
naanites; so  he  sent  for  their  governors, 
and  reproached  them  with  the  cheat  they 
had  put  upon  him  ;  but  they  alleged  on 
their  own  behalf,  that  they  had  no  other 
way  to  save  themselves  but  that,  and  were 
therefore  forced  to  have  recourse  to  it. 
So  he  called  for  Eleazer  the  high  priest, 
and  for  the  senate,  who  thought  it  right 
to  make  them  public  servants,  that  they 
might  not  break  the  oath  they  had  made 
to  them;  and  they  ordained  them  to  be 
so  :  and  this  was  the  method  by  which 
these  men  found  safety  and  security  un- 
der the  calamity  that  was  ready  to  over- 
take them. 

But  the  king  of  Jerusalem  took  it  to 
heart  that  the  Gibeonites  had  gone  over 
to  Joshua;  so  he  called  upon  the  kings 
of  the  neighbouring  nations  to  join  to- 
gether, and  make  war  against  them.  Now 
when  the  Gibeonites  saw  these  kings,  four 
in  number,  besides  the  king  of  Jerusalem, 
and  perceived  that  they  had  pitchVd  their 
camp  at  a  certain  fountain  not  far  from 
their  city,  and  were  getting  ready  for  the 
siege  of  it,  they  called  upon  Joshua  to  as- 
sist them ;  for  such  was  their  case,  as  to 
expect  to  be  destroyed  by  these  Canaan- 
ites, but  to  suppose  they  should  be  saved 
by  those  that  came  for  the  destruction  of 
the  Canaanites,  because  of  the  league  of 
friendship  that  was  between  them.  Ac- 
cordingly, Joshua  made  haste  with  his 
whole  army  to  assist  them,  and  marching 
day  and  night,  in  the  morning  he  fell 
upon  the  enemies  as  they  were  going  up 
to  the  siege;  and  when  they  had  discom- 
fited them  he  followed  them,  and  pursued 
them  down  the  descent  of  the  hills.  The 
place  is  called  Beth-horou  ;  where  he  also 
understood  that  God  assisted  him,  which 
he  declared  by  thuuder  aud  thunderbolts, 
as  also  by  the  falling  of  hail  larger  than 
usual.  Moreover  it  happened  that  the  day 
was  lengthened,*  {hat  the  night  might  not 
come  on  too  soon,  aud  be  an  obstruction  to 
the  zeal  of  the  Hebrews  in  pursuing  their 
enemies;  insomuch,  that  Joshua  took  the 
kings,  who  were  hidden  in  a  certain  cave 
at  Makkedah,  and  put  them  to  death 
Now,  that  the  day  was  lengthened  at  this 


*  Josh.  x.  13. 


Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


153 


time,  and  was  longer  than  ordinary,  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  books  laid  up  in  the  tem- 
ple. 

These  kings  which  made  war  with,  and 
were  ready  to  fight  the  Gibeonites,  being 
thus  overthrown,  Joshua  returned  again 
to  the  mountainous  parts  of  Canaan ;  and 
when  he  had  made  a  great  slaughter  of 
the  people  there,  and  took  their  prey,  he 
came  to  the  camp  at  Gilgal.  And  now 
there  went  a  great  fame  abroad  among 
the  neighbouring  people,  of  the  courage 
of  the  Hebrews ;  and  those  that  heard 
what  a  number  of  men  were  destroyed, 
were  greatly  affrighted  at  it;  so  the  kings 
that  lived  about  Mount  Libanus,  who 
were  Canaanites,  and  those  Canaanites 
who  dwelt  in  the  plain  country,  with 
auxiliaries  out  of  the  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines, pitched  their  camp  at  Beroth,  a 
city  of  the  Upper  Galilee,  not  far  from 
Cadesh,  which  is  itself  also  a  place  in 
Galilee.  Now  the  number  of  the  whole 
army  was  300,000  armed  footmen,  and 
10,000  horsemen,  and  20,000  chariots; 
so  that  the  multitude  of  the  enemies 
affrighted  both  Joshua  himself  and  the 
Israelites ;  and  the}r,  instead  of  being 
full  of  hopes  of  good  success,  were  super- 
stitiously  timorous,  with  the  great  terror 
with  which  they  were  stricken.  Where- 
upon God  upbraided  them  with  the  fear 
they  were  in,  and  asked  them  whether 
they  desired  a  greater  help  than  he  could 
afford  them ;  and  promised  them  that 
they  should  overcome  their  enemies  ;  and 
withal  charged  them  to  make  their  ene- 
mies' horses  useless,  and  to  burn  their 
chariots.  So  Joshua  became  full  of  cou- 
rage upon  these  promises  of  God,  and 
went  out  suddenly  against  the  enemies; 
and  after  five  days'  march  he  came  upon 
them,  and  joined  battle  with  them,  and 
there  was  a  terrible  fight,  and  such  a 
number  were  slain  as  could  not  be  be- 
lieved by  those  that  heard  it.  He  also 
went  on  the  pursuit  a  great  way,  and  de- 
stroyed the  entire  army  of  the  enemies, 
few  only  excepted,  and  all  the  kings  fell 
in  the  battle;  insomuch,  that  when  there 
wanted  men  to  be  killed,  Joshua  slew 
their  horses,  and  burned  their  chariots, 
and  passed  all  over  their  country  without 
opposition,  no  one  daring  to  meet  him  in 
battle;  but  he  went  on,  taking  their  cities 
by  siege,  and  again  killing  whatever  he 
took. 

The  fifth  year  was  now  past,  and  there 
was  not  one  of  the  Canaanites  remained 


any  longer,  excepting  some  that  had  re- 
tired to  places  of  great  strength.  So 
Joshua  removed  his  camp  to  the  moun- 
tainous country,  and  placed  the  taber- 
nacle in  the  city  of  Shiloh,  for  that  seem- 
ed a  fit  place  for  it,  because  of  the  beauty 
of  its  situation,  until  such  time  as  their 
affairs  would  permit  them  to  build  a 
temple  ;  and  from  thence  he  went  to  She- 
chem,  together  with  all  the  people,  and 
raised  an  altar  where  Moses  had  before- 
hand directed ;  then  did  he  divide  the 
army,  and  placed  one  half  of  them  on 
Mount  Gerizzim,  and  the  other  half  on 
Mount  Ebal,  on  which  mountain  the 
altar  was ;  he  also  placed  there  the  tribe 
of  Levi,  and  the  priests.  And  when  they 
had  sacrificed,  and  denounced  the  bless- 
ings and  the  curses,  and  had  left  them 
engraven  upon  the  altar,  they  returned  to 
Shiloh. 

And  now  Joshua  was  old,  and  saw  that 
the  cities  of  the  Canaanites  were  not 
easily  to  be  taken,  not  only  because  they 
were  situate  in  such  strong  places,  but 
because  of  the  strength  of  the  walls  them- 
selves, which  being  built  round  about, 
the  natural  strength  of  the  places  on 
which  the  cities  stood,  seemed  capable  of 
repelling  their  enemies  from  besieging 
them,  and  of  making  those  enemies  de- 
spair of  taking  them ;  for  when  the  Ca- 
naanites had  learned  that  the  Israelites 
came  out  of  Egypt  in  order  to  destroy 
them,  they  were  busy  all  that  time  in 
making  their  cities  strong.  So  he  ga- 
thered the  people  together  to  a  congrega- 
tion at  Shiloh ;  and  when  they,  with 
great  zeal  and  haste,  were  come  thither, 
he  observed  to  them  what  prosperous 
successes  they  had  already  had,  and  what 
glorious  things  had  been  done,  and  those 
such  as  were  worthy  of  that  God  who 
enabled  them  to  do  those  things,  and 
worthy  of  the  virtue  of  those  laws  which 
they  followed.  He  took  notice  also,  that 
thirty-one  of  those  kings  that  ventured  to 
give  them  battle  were  overcome,  and 
every  army,  how  great  soever  it  was,  that 
confided  in  its  own  power,  and  fought 
with  them,  was  utterly  destroyed ;  so  that 
not  so  much  as  any  of  their  posterity  re- 
mained ;  and  as  for  the  cities,  since  some 
of  them  were  taken,  but  the  others  must 
be  taken  in  length  of  time,  by  long 
sieges,  both  on  account  of  the  strength  of 
their  walls,  and  of  the  confidence  tbe  in- 
habitants had  in  them  thereby,  he  thought 
it  reasonable  that  those  tribes  that  came 


154 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


alono  with  them  from  beyond  Jordan,  and 
had  partaken  of  the  dangers  they  had 
undergone,  being  their  own  kindred, 
should  now  be  dismissed  and  sent  home, 
and  should  have  thanks  for  the  pains 
they  had  taken  together  with  them.  As 
also,  he  thought  it  reasonable  that  they 
should  send  one  man  out  of  every  tribe, 
and  he  such  as  had  the  testimony  of  ex- 
traordinary virtue,  who  should  measure 
the  land  faithfully,  and  without  any  fal- 
lacy or  deceit  should  inform  them  of  its 
real  magnitude. 

Now  Joshua,  when  he  had  thus  spoken 
to  them,  found  that  the  multitude  ap- 
proved of  his  proposal.  So  he  sent  men 
to  measure  their  country,  and  sent  with 
them  some  geometricians,  who  could  not 
easily  fail  of  knowing  the  truth,  on  ac- 
count of  their  skill  in  that  art.  He  also 
gave  them  charge  to  estimate  the  measure 
of  that  part  of  the  land  that  was  most 
fruitful,  and  what  was  not  so  good  ;  for 
such  is  the  nature  of  the  land  of  Canaan, 
that  one  may  see  large  plains,  and  such 
as  are  exceeding  fit  to  produce  fruit, 
which  yet,  if  they  were  compared  to  other 
parts  of  the  country,  might  be  reckoned 
exceedingly  fruitful ;  yet  if  it  be  com- 
pared with  the  fields  about  Jericho,  and 
to  those  that  belong  to  Jerusalem,  will 
appear  to  be  of  no  account  at  all ;  and 
although  it  so  falls  out  that  these  people 
have  but  a  very  little  of  this  sort  of  laa<J, 
and  that  it  is,  for  the  main,  mountainous 
also,  yet  does  it  not  come  behind  other 
parts,  on  account  of  its  exceeding  good- 
ness and  beauty;  for  which  reason  Joshua 
thought  the  land  for  the  tribes  should  be 
divided  by  estimation  of  its  goodness, 
rather  than  the  largeness  of  its  measure, 
it  often  happening,  that  one  acre  of  some 
sort  of  the  hind  w;is  equivalent  to  a  thou- 
sand other  acres.  Now  the  men  that  were 
sent,  who  were  ten  in  number,  travelled 
all  about,  and  made  an  estimation  of  the 
land,  and  in  the  seventh  month  came  to 
Joshua  to  the  city  of  Shiloh,  where  they 
had  set  up  the  tabernacle. 

So  Joshua  took  both  Eleazer  and  the 
senate,  and  with  them  the  heads  of  the 
tribes,  and  distributed  the  land  to  the 
nine  tribes,  and  to  the  half  tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  appointing  the  dimensions  to  be 
according  to  the  largeness  of  each  tribe. 
So  when  he  had  cast  lots,  Judah  had  as- 
signed him  by  hit  the  upper  part  of  Ju- 
dea,  reaching  as  far  as  Jerusalem,  and  its 
breadth  extended   to  the  lake  of  Sodom. 


Now  in  the  lot  of  this  tribe  there  were 
the  cities  of  Askelon  and  Gaza.  The  lot 
of  Simeon,  which  was  the  second,  included 
that  part  of  Idumea  which  bordered  upon 
Egypt  and  Arabia.  As  to  the  Benja- 
mites,  their  lot  fell  so  that  its  length 
reached  from  the  river  Jordan  to  the  sea: 
but  in  breadth  it  was  bounded  by  Jerusa- 
lem and  Bethel;  and  this  lot  was  the  nar- 
rowest of  all,  by  reason  of  the  goodness 
of  the  land ;  for  it  included  Jericho  and 
the  city  of  Jerusalem.  The  tribe  of 
Ephraim  had  by  lot  the  land  that  ex- 
tended in  length  from  the  river  Jordan  to 
Gezer;  but  in  breadth  as  far  as  from 
Bethel,  till  it  ended  at  the  Great  Plain. 
The  half  tribe  of  Mauasseh  had  the  land 
from  Jordan  to  the  city  Dorah  ;  but  its 
breadth  was  at  Bethshan,  which  is  now 
called  Scythopolis ;  and  after  these  was 
Issachar,  which  had  for  its  limits  in 
length  Mount  Carmel  and  the  river,  but 
its  limit  in  breadth  was  Mount  Tabor. 
The  tribe  of  Zebulon's  lot  included  the 
land  which  lay  as  far  as  the  lake  of  Ge- 
nessareth,  and  that  which  belonged  tt 
Carmel  and  the  sea.  The  tribe  of  Aser 
had  that  part  which  was  called  the  "  Val- 
ley," for  such  it  was,  and  all  that  part 
which  lay  over  against  Sidon.  The  city 
Arce  belonged  to  their  share,  which  is 
also  named  Actipus.  The  Naphthalites 
received  the  eastern  parts,  as  far  as  the 
city  of  Damascus  and  the  Upper  Galilee, 
unto  Mount  Libanus,  and  the  fountains 
of  Jordan,  which  rise  out  of  that  moun 
tain  ;  that  is,  out  of  that  part  of  it  whose 
limits  belong  to  the  neighbouring  city  of 
Arce.  The  Danites'  lot  included  all  that 
part  of  the  valley  which  respects  the  sun- 
setting,  and  was  bounded  by  Azotus  and 
Dorah;  they  had  also  all  Jamnia  and 
Gath,  from  Ekron  to  that  mountain 
where  the  tribe  of  Judah  begins. 

After  this  manner  did  Joshua  divide 
the  six  nations  that  bear  the  name  of  the 
sons  of  Canaan,  with  their  land,  to  be 
possessed  by  the  nine  tribes  and  a  half; 
for  Moses  had  prevented  him,  and  had 
already  distributed  the  land  of  the  Aino- 
rites,  which  itself  was  so  called  also  from 
one  of  the  sons  of  Canaan,  to  the  two 
tribes  and  a  half,  as  we  have  shown  al- 
ready. But  the  parts  about  Sidon,  as 
also  those  that  belonged  to  the  Arkites, 
and  the  Amathites,  and  the  Aradians, 
were  not  yet  regularly  disposed  of. 

But  now  Joshua  was  hindered  by  his 
age  from  executing  what  he  intended  ia 


fiHAP.  I  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


55 


do,  (as  did  those  that  succeeded  him  in 
the  government  take  little  care  of  what 
was  for  the  advantage  of  the  public,)  so 
he  gave  it  in  charge  to  every  tribe  to 
leave  no  remainder  of  the  race  of  the  Ca- 
naanites  in  the  land  that  had  been  di- 
vided to  them  by  lot ;  that  Moses  had  as- 
sured them  beforehand,  and  that  they 
might  rest  fully  satisfied  about  it,  that 
their  own  security  and  their  observation 
of  their  own  laws  depended  wholly  upon 
it.  Moreover,  he  enjoined  them  to  give 
thirty-eight  cities  to  the  Levites,  for  they 
had  already  received  ten  in  the  country 
of  the  Amorites ;  and  three  of  these  he 
assigned  to  those  that  fled  from  the  man- 
slayers,  who  were  to  inhabit  there  ;  for 
he  was  very  solicitous  that  nothiug  should 
be  neglected  which  Moses  had  ordained. 
These  cities  were,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
Hebron ;  of  that  of  Ephraim,  Shechem  ; 
and  of  that  of  Naphthali,  Cadesh,  which 
is  a  place  of  the  Upper  Galilee.  He  also 
distributed  among  them  the  rest  of  the 
prey  not  yet  distributed,  which  was  very 
great ;  whereby  they  had  an  affluence  of 
great  riches,  both  all  in  general,  and 
every  one  in  particular ;  and  this  of  gold 
and  of  vestments,  and  of  other  furniture, 
besides  a  multitude  of  cattle,  whose  num- 
ber could  not  be  told. 

After  this  was  over,  he  gathered  the 
army  together  to  a  congregation,  and 
spake  thus  to  those  tribes  that  had  their 
settlement  in  the  land  of  the  Amorites, 
beyond  Jordan,  for  50,000  of  them  had 
armed  themselves,  and  had  gone  to  the 
war  along  with  them  : — "  Since  that  God, 
who  is  the  Father  and  Lord  of  the  He- 
brew nation,  has  now  given  us  this  land 
for  a  possession,  and  promised  to  preserve 
us  in  the  enjoyment  of  it  as  our  own  for 
ever;  and  since  you  have  with  alacrity 
offered  yourselves  to  assist  us,  when  we 
wanted  that  assistance,  on  all  occasions, 
according  to  his  command,  it  is  but  just, 
now  all  our  difficulties  are  over,  that  you 
should  be  permitted  to  enjoy  rest,  and 
that  we  should  trespass  on  your  alacrity 
to  help  us  no  longer ;  that  so,  if  we 
should  again  stand  in  need  of  it,  we  may 
readily  have  it  on  any  future  emergency, 
and  not  tire  you  out  so  much  now  as  to 
make  you  sljwar  in  assisting  us  another 
time.  We,  therefore,  return  you  our 
thanks  for  the  dangers  you  have  under- 
gone with  us,  and  we  do  it  not  at  this 
time  only,  but  we  shall  always  be  thus 
disposed,  and  be  so  good  as  to  remember 


our  friends,  and  to  preserve  in  mind  what 
advantages  we  have  had  from  them  ;  and 
how  you  have  put  off  the  enjoyment  of 
your  own  happiness  for  our  sakes,  and 
have  laboured  for  what  we  have  now,  by 
the  good-will  of  God,  obtained,  and  re- 
solved not  to  enjoy  your  own  prosperity 
till  you  had  afforded  us  that  assistance. 
However,  you  have,  by  joining  your  la- 
bour with  ours,  gotten  great  plenty  of 
riches,  and  will  carry  home  with  you 
much  prey,  with  gold  and  silver,  and, 
what  is  more  than  all  these,  our  good-will 
toward  you,  and  a  mind  willingly  dis- 
posed to  make  a  requital  of  your  kind- 
ness to  us,  in  what  ease  soever  you  shall 
desire  it;  for  you  have  not  omitted  any 
thing  which  Moses  beforehaud  required 
of  you,  nor  have  you  despised  him  be 
cause  he  was  dead  and  gone  from  you,  so 
that  there  is  nothing  to  diminish  that 
gratitude  which  we  owe  to  you.  We 
therefore  dismiss  you  joyful  to  your  own 
inheritances  ;  and  we  entreat  you  to  sup- 
pose, that  there  is  no  limit  to  be  set  to 
the  intimate  relation  that  is  between  us  ; 
and  that  you  will  not  imagine,  because 
this  river  is  interposed  between  us,  that 
you  are  of  a  different  race  from  us,  and 
not  Hebrews ;  for  we  are  all  the  posterity 
of  Abraham,  both  we  that  inhabit  here, 
and  you  that  inhabit  there;  and  it  is  the 
same  God  that  brought  our  forefathers 
and  yours  into  the  world,  whose  worship 
and  form  of  government  we  are  to  take 
care  of,  (which  he  has  ordained,)  and  are 
most  carefully  to  observe;  because,  while 
you  continue  in  those  laws,  God  will  also 
show  himself  merciful  and  assisting  to 
you  ;  but  if  you  imitate  the  other  na- 
tions, and  forsake  those  laws,  he  will  re- 
ject your  nation."  When  Joshua  had 
spoken  thus,  and  saluted  them  all,  both 
those  in  authority  one  by  one,  and  the 
whole  multitude  in  common,  he  himself 
stayed  where  he  was;  but  the  people  con- 
ducted these  tribes  on  their  journey,  and 
that  not  without  tears  in  their  eyes;  and 
indeed  they  hardly  knew  how  to  part  one 
from  the  other. 

Now  when  the  tribe  of  Keuben,  and 
that  of  Gad,  and  as  many  of  the  Manas- 
sites  as  followed  them,  were  passed  over 
the  river,  they  built  an  altar  on  the  banks 
of  Jordan,  as  a  monument  to  posterity, 
and  a  sign  of  their  relation  to  those  who 
should  inhabit  on  the  other  side.  But 
when  those  on  the  other  side  heard  that 
those  who  had  been  dismissed   had  built 


156 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


iiu  altar,  but  did  not  hear  with  what  in- 
tention they  bui.t  it,  but  supposed  it  to  be 
by  way  of  innovation,  and  for  the  intro- 
duction of  strange  gods,  they  did  not  in- 
cline to  disbelieve  it;  but  thinking  this 
defamatory  report,  as  if  it  was  built  for  di- 
vine worship,  was  credible,  they  appeared 
in  arms,  as  though  they  would  avenge 
themselves  on  those  that  built  the  altar; 
and  they  were  about  to  pass  over  the 
river,  and  to  punish  them  for  their  subver- 
sion of  the  laws  of  their  country;  for  they 
did  not  think  it  fit  to  regard  them  on  ac- 
count of  their  kindred,  or  the  dignity  of 
those  that  had  given  the  occasion,  but  to 
regard  the  will  of  God,  and  the  manner 
wherein  he  desired  to  be  worshipped;  so 
these  men  put  themselves  in  array  for  war. 
But  Joshua,  and  Eleazer  the  high  priest, 
and  the  senate,  restrained  them,  and  per- 
suaded them  first  to  make  trial  by  words 
of  their  intention,  and  afterward,  if  they 
found  that  their  intention  was  evil,  then 
only  to  proceed  to  make  war  upon  them. 
Accordingly,  they  sent  as  ambassadors  to 
them  Phineas  the  son  of  Eleazer,  and  ten 
more  persons  that  were  in  esteem  among 
the  Hebrews,  to  learn  of  them  what  was 
in  their  mind  when,  upon  passing  over  the 
river,  they  had  built  an  altar  upon  its 
banks ;  and  as  soon  as  these  ambassadors 
had  passed  over,  and  had  come  to  them, 
and  a  congregation  was  assembled,  Phineas 
stood  up  and  said,  that  the  offence  \hey 
had  been  guilty  of  was  of  too  heinous  a 
nature  to  be  punished  by  words  alone,  or 
by  them  only  to  be  amended  for  the  fu- 
ture, yet  that  they  did  not  so  look  at  the 
heinousness  of  their  transgression  as  to 
have  recourse  to  arms,  and  to  a  battle  for 
their  punishment  immediately;  but  on 
account  of  their  kindred,  aim  the  proba- 
bility there  was  that  they  might  be  re- 
claimed, they  took  this  method  of  sending 
an  embassy  to  them:  "That  when  we 
have  learned  the  true  reasons  by  which 
you  have  been  moved  to  bund  this  altar, 
we  may  neither  seem  to  have  been  too 
rash  in  assaulting  you  by  our  weapons  of 
war,  if  it  prove  that  you  made  the  altar 
for  justifiable  reasons,  and  ma)  then  justly 
punish  you  if  the  accusation  prove  true  ; 
I  jt  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  you,  who 
have  been  acquainted  with  (he  will  of 
God,  and  have  been  bearers  i  those  laws 
which  he  himself  hath  given  us,  now  you 
are  separated  from  us,  and  gone  to  that 
patrimony  of  yours,  which  you,  through 
the  grace   of    God,  and    thai    providence 


which  he  exercises  over  you,  have  obtained 
by  lot,  can  forget  him,  and  can  leave  that 
ark  and  that  altar  which  is  peculiar  to  us, 
and  can  introduce  strange  gods  and  imi- 
tate the  wicked  practices  of  the  Canaan- 
ites.  Now  this  will  appear  to  have  been  a 
small  crime  if  you  repent  now  and  pro- 
ceed no  further  in  your  madness,  but  pay 
a  due  reverence  to,  and  keep  in  mind  the 
laws  of  your  country  ;  but  if  you  persist 
in  your  sins,  we  will  not  grudge  our  pains 
to  preserve  our  laws ;  but  we  will  pass 
over  Jordan  and  defend  them,  and  defend 
God  also,  and  shall  esteem  of  you  as  of 
men  noway  differing  from  the  Canaanites, 
but  shall  destroy  you  in  the  like  manner 
as  we  destroyed  them;  for  do  not  you 
imagine  that,  because  you  have  got  over 
the  river,  you  have  got  out  of  the  reach 
of  God's  power;  you  are  everywhere  in 
places  that  belong  to  him,  and  impossible 
it  is  to  overrun  his  power,  and  the  punish- 
ment he  will  bring  on  men  thereby;  but 
if  you  think  that  your  settlement  here 
will  be  any  obstruction  to  your  conversion 
to  what  is  good,  nothing  need  hinder  us 
from  dividing  the  land  anew,  and  leaving 
this  old  land  to  be  for  the  feeding  of  sheep; 
but  you  will  do  well  to  return  to  your 
duty,  and  to  leave  off*  these  new  crimes; 
and  we  beseech  you,  by  your  children  and 
wives,  not  to  force  us  to  punish  you.  Take 
therefore  such  measures  in  this  assembly, 
as  supposing  that  your  own  safety,  and  the 
safety  of  those  that  are  dearest  to  you,  is 
therein  concerned,  and  believe  that  it  is 
better  for  you  to  be  conquered  by  words, 
than  to  continue  in  your  purpose,  and  to 
experience  deeds  and  war  therefore." 

AVhen  Phineas  had  discoursed  thus, 
the  governors  of  the  assembly,  and  the 
whole  multitude,  began  to  make  an  apo- 
logy for  themselves,  concerning  what  they 
were  accused  of;  and  they  said,  that  they 
neither  would  depart  from  the  relation  they 
bare  to  them,  nor  had  they  built  the  altar 
by  way  of  innovation  ;  that  they  owned 
one  and  the  same  God  in  common  with  all 
the  Hebrews,  aud  that  brazen  altar  which 
was  before  the  tabernacle,  on  which  they 
would  offer  their  sacrifices;  that  as  to  the 
altar  they  hail  raised,  on  account  of  which 
they  were  thus  suspected,  it  was  not  built 
for  worship,  "  but  that  it  might  be  a  sign 
and  a  monument  of  our  relation  to  you 
for  ever,  aud  a  necessary  caution  to  us  to 
act  wisely,  and  to  continue  in  the  laws  of 
our  country,  but  not  a  handle  for  trans- 
gressing  them,  as   you   suspect;    and  le« 


JHJ  P.  II  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    Or1    THE   JIWS. 


157 


God  be  our  authentic  witness,  that  this 
was  the  occasion  of  our  building  this  altar; 
whence  we  beg  you  will  have  a  better  opi- 
nion of  us,  and  do  not  impute  such  a  thing 
to  us  as  would  render  any  of  the  posterity 
of  Abraham  well  worthy  of  perdition,  in 
case  they  attempt  to  bring  in  new  rites, 
and  such  as  ar.e  different  from  our  usual 
practices/' 

When  they  had  made  this  answer,  and 
Phineas  had  commended  them  for  it,  he 
came  to  Joshua  and  explained  before  the 
people  what  answer  they  had  received. 
Now  Joshua  was  glad  that  he  was  under 
no  necessity  of  setting  them  in  array  or  of 
leading  them  to  shed  blood  and  make  war 
against  men  of  their  own  kindred ;  and 
accordingly  he  offered  sacrifices  of  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  the  same.  So  Joshua 
after  that  dissolved  this  great  assembly 
of  the  people,  and  sent  them  to  their  own 
inheritances,  while  he  himself  lived  in 
Shechem.  But  in  the  twentieth  year 
after  this,  when  he  was  very  old,  he  sent 
for  those  of  the  greatest  dignity  in  the 
several  cities,  with  those  in  authority,  and 
the  senate,  and  as  many  of  the  common 
people  as  could  be  present;  and  when 
they  were  come,  he  put  them  in  mind  of 
all  the  benefits  God  had  bestowed  on  them, 
which  could  not  but  be  a  great  many, 
since  from  a  low  estate  they  were  advanced 
to  so  great  a  degree  of  glory  and  plenty; 
and  exhorted  them  to  take  notice  of  the 
intentions  of  God,  which  had  been  so 
gracious  toward  them  ;  and  told  them  that 
Jehovah  would  continue  their  friend  by 
nothing  else  but  their  piety;  and  that  it 
was  proper  for  him,  now  that  he  was 
about  to  depart  out  of  this  life,  to  leave 
such  an  admonition  to  them ;  and  he  de- 
sired that  they  would  keep  in  memory 
this  his  exhortation  to  them. 

So  Joshua,  when  he  had  thus  discoursed 
to  them,  died,  having  lived  one  hundred 
and  ten  years  j*  forty  of  which  he  lived 
with  Moses,  in  order  to  learn  what  might 
be  for  his  advantage  afterward.  He  also 
became  their  commander  after  his  death 
tor  twTenty-five  years.  He  was  a  man  that 
wanted  neither  wisdom  nor  eloquence  to 
declare  his  intentions  to  the  people,  but 
very  eminent  on  both  accounts.  He  was 
of  great  courage  and  magnanimity  in  ac- 
tion and  in  dangers,  and  xery  sagacious  in 
procuring  the  peace  of  the  people,  and  of 


*  The  death  of  Joshua,  happened  B.  C.  1427.    See 
Josh.  xxiv.  29-33. 


great  virtue  at  all  proper  seasons.  He  was 
buried  in  the  city  of  Timnah,  of  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim.  About  the  same  time  died 
Eleazer  the  high  priest,  leaving  the  high- 
priesthood  to  his  son  Phineas.  His  mo- 
nument also,  and  sepulchre,  are  in  the 
city  of  Gabatha. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Israelites  transgress  the  laws  of  their  country? 
and  experience  great  afflictions.  B.  C.  1413- 
1404. 

After  the  death  of  Joshua  and,  Elea- 
zer, Phineas  prophesied,*  that  according 
to  God's  will  they  should  commit  the  go- 
vernment to  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  that 
this  tribe  should  destroy  the  race  of  the 
Canaanites ;  for  then  the  people  were  con- 
cerned to  learn  what  was  the  will  of  God. 
They  also  took  to  their  assistance  the  tribe 
of  Simeon ;  but  upon  this  condition,  that 
when  those  that  had  been  tributary  to  the 
tribe  of  Judah  should  be  slain,  they  should 
do  the  like  for  the  tribe  of  Simeon. 

But  the  affairs  of  the  Canaanites  were 
at  this  time  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and 
they  expected  the  Israelites  with  a  great 
army  at  the  city  Bezek ;  having  put  the 
government  into  the  hands  of  Adonibezek, 
which  name  denotes  the  "  Lord  of  Bezek," 
for  "Adorn,"  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  sig- 
nifies "  Lord."  Now  they  hoped  to  have 
been  too  hard  for  the  Israelites,  because 
Joshua  was  dead ;  but  when  the  Israel- 
ites had  joined  battle  with  them,  I  mean 
the  two  tribes  before  mentioned,  they  fought 
gloriously,  and  slew  above  10,000  of  them, 
and  put  the  rest  to  flight;  and  in  the  pur- 
suit they  took  Adonibezek,  who  when  his 
fingers  and  toes  were  cut  of  by  them,  said, 
"Nay,  indeed,  I  was  not  always  to  lie  con- 
cealed from  God,  as  I  find  by  what  I  now 
endure,  while  I  have  not  been  ashamed  to 


*  By  "  prophesying,"  when  spoken  of  a  high 
priest,  Josephus,  both  here,  and  frequently  else- 
where, means  no  more  than  consulting  God  by 
Urim,  which  the  reader  is  still  to  bear  in  mind 
upon  all  occasions.  And  if  St.  John,  who  was 
contemporary  with  Josephus,  and  of  the  same 
country,  made  use  of  this  style,  when  he  says  that 
"  Caiaphas  being  high  priest  that  year,  prophesied 
that  Jesus  should  die  lor  that  nation,  and  not  for 
that  nation  only,  but  that  also  he  should  gather 
together  in  one  the  children  of  God  that  were  scat- 
tered abroad,"  ,'xi.  51-52,)  he  may  possibly  mean, 
that  this  was  revealed  to  the  high  priest  by  an  ex- 
traordinary voice  from  between  the  cherubim,  when 
he  had  his  breastplate,  or  Urim  and  Thummim,  on 
before;  or  in  the  most  holy  place  of  the  temple, 
which  was  no  other  than  the  oracle  <>i'  Trim  a»i* 
Thummim. 


158 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


do  the  Name  to  seventy-two  kings."*  So 
they  carried  him  alive  as  far  as  Jerusalem  ; 
and  when  lie  was  dead,  they  buried  him  in 
the  earth,  and  went  on  still  in  taking  the 
cities :  and  when  they  had  taken  the 
greatest  part  of  them,  they  besieged  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  when  they  had  taken  the  lower 
city,  which  was  not  under  a  considerable 
time,  they  slew  all  the  inhabitants;  but 
the  upper  city  was  not  to  be  taken 
without  great  difficulty,  through  the 
strength  of  its  walls,  and  the  nature  of 
the  place. 

For  which  reason  they  removed  their 
camp  to  Hebron;  and  when  they  had 
taken  it,  they  slew  all  the  inhabitants. 
There  were  till  then  left  the  race  of  giants, 
who  had  bodies  so  large,  and  countenances 
so  entirely  different  from  other  men,  that 
they  were  surprising  to  the  sight,  and  ter- 
rible to  the  hearing.  The  bones  of  these 
men  are  still  shown  to  this  very  day,  un- 
like to  any  credible  relations  of  other 
men.  Now  they  gave  this  city  to  the 
Levites  as  an  extraordinary  reward,  with 
the  suburbs  of  two  thousand  cities;  but 
the  land  thereto  belonging  they  gave  as  a 
free  gift  to  Caleb,  according  to  the  injunc- 
tions of  Moses.  This  Caleb  was  one  of 
the  spies  which  Moses  sent  into  the  land 
of  Canaan.  They  also  gave  laud  for  ha- 
bitation to  the  posterity  of  Jethro,  the 
Midianite,  who  was  the  father-in-law  to 
Moses;     for   they    had    left     their  rown 


*  This  great  number  of  seventy-two  "reguli,"  or 
Mnall  kings,  over  whom  Adonibezek  had  tyrannized, 
and  for  which  he  was  punished  according  to  the 
"lex  talionis,"  as  well  as  the  thirty-one  kings  of  Ca- 
naan, subdued  by  Joshua,  and  named  in  one  chap- 
ter, (Josh,  xii.,)  and  thirty-two  kings,  or  royal  auxi- 
liaries to  Benhadad,  king  of  Syria,  (1  Kings  xx. 
1,)  intimate  to  us  what  was  the  ancient  form  of 
government  among  several  nations  before  the  mo- 
narchies began,  viz.  that  every  city  or  large  town, 
with  its  neighbouring  villages,  was  a  distinct  go- 
vernment by  itself;  which  i.--  tin1  more  remarkable, 
because  this  was  certainly  the  form  of  ecclesiastical 
government  that  was  settled  by  the  apostles,  and 
preserved  throughout  the  Christian  church  in  the 
first  ages  of  Christianity.  Mr.  Addison  is  of  opi- 
nion, "that  it  would  certainly  lie  for  the  good  of 
mankind  to  have  all  the  mighty  empires  and  mo- 
narchies of  the  world  cantoned  out,  into  petty  states 
and  principalities,  which,  like  so  many  large  fami- 
lies, might  lie  under  the  observation  of  their  pro- 
per governors,  so  that  the  care  of  the  prince  might 
extend  itself  to  every  individual  person  under  his 
protection  :  though  he  despairs  of  BUCh  a  scheme 
being  brought  about,  and  thinks  that  if  it  was,  it 
would  quickly  lie  destroyed."  Remarks  on  Italy, 
4to.  p.  151.  Nor  is  it  unfit  to  be  observed  here, 
that  the  Armenian  records,  though  they  give  us  the 
hUitory  of  thirty-nine  of  their  most  ancient  heroes 
or  governors,  before  the  days  of  Sardanapalus,  had 
HO  proper  king  till  the  fortieth,  l'iirujrus,. 


country,  and  followed  them,  and  accom- 
panied them  in  the  wilderm 

Now  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Simeon 
took  the  cities  which  were  in  the  moun- 
tainous part  of  Canaan,  as  a]  :elon 
and  Ashdod,  of  those  that  lay  near  the 
sea;  hut  Gaza  and  Kkron  escaped  them, 
for  they,  lying  in  a  flat  country,  and  having 
a 'great  number  of  chariots,  sorely  galled 
those  that  attacked  them  :  so  these  tribes, 
when  they  had  grown  very  rich  by  this 
war,  retired  to  their  own  cities,  and  laid 
aside  their  weapons  of  war. 

But  the  Benjamites,  to  whom  be- 
longed Jerusalem,  permitted  its  inhabit- 
ants to  pay  tribute.  So  they  all  left  off, 
the  one  to  kill,  and  the  other  to  expose 
themselves  to  danger,  and  had  time  to  cul- 
tivate the  ground.  The  rest  of  the  tribes 
imitated  that  of  Benjamin,  and  did  the 
same;  and,  contenting  themselves  with 
the  tributes  that  were  paid  them,  permit- 
ted the  Canaanites  to  live  in  peace. 

However,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  when 
they  besieged  Bethel,  made  no  advance, 
nor  performed  any  thing  worthy  of  the 
time  they  spent,  and  of  the  pains  they 
took  about  the  siege ;  yet  did  they  persist 
in  it,  still  sitting  down  before  the  city, 
though  they  endured  great  trouble  there- 
by :  but,  after  some  time,  they  caught  one 
of  the  citizens  that  came  to  them  to  get 
necessaries,  and  they  gave  him  some  as- 
surances, that,  if  he  would  deliver  up  the 
city  to  them,  they  would  preserve  him  and 
his  kindred  ;  so  he  sware  that,  upon  those 
terms,  he  would  put  the  city  into  their 
hands.  Accordingly,  he  that  thus  be- 
trayed the  city  was  preserved  with  his 
family;  and  the  Israelites  slew  all  the  in- 
habitants, and  retained  the  city  for  them- 
selves. 

After  this,  the  Israelites  grew  effeminate 
as  to  fighting  any  more  against  their  ene- 
mies, but  applied  themselves  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  land,  which,  producing  them 
great  plenty  and  riches,  they  neglected  the 
regular  disposition  of  their  settlement,  and 
indulged  themselves  in  luxury  and  plea- 
sures; nor  were  they  any  longer  careful 
to  hear  the  laws 'that  belonged  to  their 
political  government:  whereupon  God  was 
provoked  to  anger,  and  put  them  in  mind, 
first  how,  contrary  to  his  directions,  they 
had  spared  tip.  Canaanites;  and,  after 
that,  how  those  Canaanites,  as  opportunity 
served,  used  them  very  barbarously.  But 
the  Israelites,  though  they  were  in  heavi- 
ness at  these  admonitions  from  God,  je* 


Chap.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


159 


were  they  utill  very  unwilling  to  go  to 
war;  and  since  they  got  large  tributes 
from  the  Canaanitcs,  and  were  indisposed 
for  taking  pains  by  their  luxury,  they 
suffered  their  aristocracy  to  be  corrupted 
also,  and  did  not  ordain  themselves  a 
senate,  nor  any  other  such  magistrates  as 
their  laws  had  formerly  required,  but  they 
were  very  much  given  to  cultivating  their 
fields,  in  order  to  get  wealth  ;  which  great 
indolence  of  theirs  brought  a  terrible 
sedition  upon  them,  and  they  proceeded  so 
far  as  to  fight  one  against  another,  from 
the  following  occasion  : — 

There  was  a  Levite,*  a  man  of  a  vulgar 
family,  that  belonged  to  the  tribe  of 
Ephraim,  and  dwelt  therein  :  this  man 
married  a  wife  from  Bethlehem,  which  is 
a  place  belonging  to  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
Now  he  was  very  fond  of  his  wife,  and 
overcome  with  her  beauty;  but  he  was 
unhappy  in  this,  that  he  did  not  meet 
with  the  like  return  of  affection  from  her, 
for  she  was  averse  to  him,  which  did  more 
inflame  his  passion  for  her,  so  that  they 
quarrelled  one  with  another  perpetually; 
and  at  last,  the  woman  was  so  disgusted 
at  these  quarrels,  that  she  left  her  hus- 
band, and  went  to  her  parents  in  the 
fourth  month.  The  husband  being  very 
uneasy  at  this  her  departure,  and  that  out 
of  his  fondness  for  her,  came  to  his  father 
and  mother-in-law,  and  made  up  their 
quarrels,  and  was  reconciled  to  her,  and 
lived  with  them  there  four  days,  as  being 
kindly  treated  by  her  parents.  On  the 
fifth  day,  he  resolved  to  go  home,  and 
went  away  in  the  evening;  for  his  wife's 
parents  were  loth  to  part  with  their 
daughter,  and  delayed  the  time  till  the 
day  was  gone.  Now  they  had  one  servant 
that  followed  them,  and  an  ass  on  which 
the  woman  rode ;  and  when  they  were 
near  Jerusalem,  having  gone  already  thirty 
furlongs,  the  servant  advised  them  to  take 
up  their  lodgings  somewhere,  lest  some 
misfortune  should  befall  them  if  they 
travelled  in  the  night,  especially  since 
they  were  not  far  off  enemies,  that  season 
often  giving  reason  for  suspicion  of  dan- 
gers from  even  such  as  are  friends;  but 

*  Josephus's  early  date  of  this  history,  before  the 
beginning  of  the  Judges,  or  when  there  was  no  king 
(n  Israel,  (Judg.  xix.  1,)  is  strongly  confirmed  by 
the  large  number  of  Benjamites,  both  in  the  days 
of  Asa  and  Jeoshaphat,  (2  (Jhron.  xiv.  8,  andxvi.  17,) 
who  yet  were  here  reduced  to  600  men ;  nor  can 
those  numbers  be  at  all  supposed  genuine,  if  they 
were  reduced  so  late  as  the  end  of  the  Judges, 
where  our  other  copies  place  this  reduction. 


the  husband  was  not  pleased  with  this  ad- 
vice, nor  was  he  willing  to  take  up  his 
lodging  among  strangers,  for  the  city  be- 
longed to  the  Canaanites,  but  desired 
rather  to  go  twenty  furlongs  farther,  and 
so  to  take  their  lodgings  in  some  Israel- 
itish  city.  Accordingly,  he  obtained  his 
purpose,  and  came  to  Gibeah,  a  city  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  when  it  was  just  dark; 
and  while  no  one  that  lived  in  the  market- 
place invited  him  to  lodge  with  him,  there 
came  an  old  man  out  of  the  field,  one  that 
was  indeed  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  but 
resided  at  Gibeah,  and  met  him,  and  asked 
him  who  he  was,  and  for  what  reason  he 
came  thither  so  late,  and  why  he  was 
looking  out  for  provisions  for  supper  when 
it  was  dark?  To  which  he  replied,  that 
he  was  a  Levite,  and  was  bringing  his 
wife  from  her  parents,  and  was  going 
home ;  but  he  told  him  his  habitation 
was  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  :  so  the  old 
man,  as  well  because  of  their  kindred  as 
because  they  lived  in  the  same  tribe,  and 
also  because  they  had  thus  accidentally 
met  together,  took  them  in  to  lodge  with 
him.  Now  certain  young  men  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Gibeah,  having  seen  the  wo- 
man in  the  market-place,  and  admiring 
her  beauty,  when  they  understood  that 
she  lodged  with  the  old  man,  came  to  the 
doors,  as  contemning  the  weakness  and 
fewness  of  the  old  man's  family;  and 
when  the  old  man  desired  them  to  go 
away,  and  not  to  offer  any  violence  or 
abuse  there,  they  desired  him  to  yield 
them  up  the  strange  woman,  and  then  he 
should  have  no  harm  done  to  him. :  and 
when  the  old  man  alleged  that  the  Levite 
was  of  his  kindred,  and  that  they  would 
be  guilty  of  horrid  wickedness  if  they  suf- 
fered themselves  to  be  overcome  by  their 
pleasures,  and  so  offend  against  their  laws, 
they  despised  his  righteous  admouition, 
and  laughed  him  to  scorn.  They  also 
threatened  to  kill  him  if  he  became  an 
obstacle  to  their  inclinations;  whereupon, 
when  he  found  himself  in  great  distress, 
and  yet  was  not  willing  to  overlook  his 
guests,  and  see  them  abused,  he  produced 
his  own  daughter  to  them  ;  and  told  them 
that  it  was  a  smaller  breach  of  the  law  to 
satisfy  their  lust  upon  her,  than  to  abuse 
his  guests,  supposing  that  he  himself 
should  by  this  means  prevent  any  injury 
to  be  done  to  those  guests.  When  they 
no  way  abated  of  their  earnestness  for  the 
strange  woman,  but  insisted  absolutely  on 
their  desires   to   have    her,  he   entreated 


160 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Cook  V. 


them  not  to  perpetrate  any  such  act  of 
injustice;  but  they  proceeded  to  take  her 
away  by  force,  and  indulging  still  more 
the  violence  of  their  inclinations,  they 
took  the  woman  away  to  their  house,  and 
when  they  had  satisfied  their  lust  upon 
her  the  whole  night,  they  let  her  go 
about  daybreak.  So  she  came  to  the 
place  where  she  had  been  entertained, 
under  great  affliction  at  what  had  hap- 
pened ;  and  was  very  sorrowful  upon  oc- 
casion of  what  she  had  suffered,  and  durst 
not  look  her  husband  in  the  face  for 
Bhame,  for  she  concluded  that  he  would 
never  forgive  her  for  what  she  had  done : 
so  she  fell  down,  and  gave  up  the  ghost : 
but  her  husband  supposing  that  his  wife 
was  only  fast  asleep,  and,  thinking  nothing 
of  a  more  melancholy  nature  had  happened, 
endeavoured  to  raise  her  up,  resolving  to 
speak  comfortably  to  her,  since  she  did 
not  voluntarily  expose  herself  to  these 
men's  lust,  but  was  forced  awray  to  their 
house;  but  as  soon  as  he  perceived  she 
was  dead,  he  acted  as  prudently  as  the 
greatness  of  his  misfortunes  would  admit, 
and  laid  his  dead  wife  upon  the  beast,  and 
carried  her  home ;  and  cutting  her,  limb 
by  limb,  into  twelve  pieces,  he  sent  them 
to  every  tribe,  and  gave  it  in  charge  to 
those  that  carried  them,  to  inform  the 
tribes  of  those  that  were  the  cause  of  his 
wife's  death,  and  of  the  violence  they  had 
offered  to  her.  r 

Upon  this  the  people  were  greatly  dis- 
turbed at  what  they  saw,  and  at  what  they 
heard,  as  never  having  had  the  experience 
of  such  a  thing  before ;  so  they  gathered 
themselves  to  Shiloh,  out  of  a  prodigious 
and  a  just  anger,  and  assembling  in  a  great 
congregation  before  the  tabernacle,  they 
immediately  resolved  to  take  arms,  and  to 
treat  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeah  as  ene- 
but  the  senate  restrained  them  from 


niies 


doing  so,  and  persuaded  them,  that  they 
ought  not  so  hastily  to  make  war  upon 
the  people  of  the  same  nation  with  them- 
eelves,  before  they  acquainted  them  by 
words  concerning  the  accusation  laid 
against  them  ;  it  being  part  of  their  law, 
that  they  should  not  bring  an  army 
against  foreigners  themselves,  when  they 
appear  to  have  been  injurious,  without 
sending  an  embassy  first,  and  trying  there- 
by whether  they  will  repent  or  not:  and 
accordingly  they  exhorted  them  to  do  what 
they  ought,  to  do  in  obedience  to  their 
laws,  that  is,  to  scud  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Gibeah.  to  know  whether  they  would  de- 


liver up  the  offenders  to  them,  and,  if  they 
delivered  them  up,  to  rest  satisfied  with 
the  punishment  of  those  offenders  ;  but  if 
they  despised  the  message  that  was  sent 
them,  to  punish  them,  by  taking  up  arms 
against  them.  Accordingly,  they  sent  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Gibeah,  and  accusod 
the  young  men  of  the  crimes  committed 
in  the  affair  of  the  Levite's  wife,  and  re- 
quired of  them  those  that  had  done  what 
was  contrary  to  the  law,  that  they  might 
be  punished,  as  having  justly  deserved  to 
die  for  what  they  had  done  ;  but  the  in- 
habitants of  Gibeah  would  not  deliver  up 
the  young  men,  and  thought  it  too  re- 
proachful to  them,  out  of  fear  of  war,  to 
submit  to  other  men's  demands  upon 
them ;  vaunting  themselves  to  be  noway 
inferior  to  any  in  war,  neither  in  their 
number  nor  in  courage.  The  rest  of  their 
tribe  were  also  making  great  preparation 
for  war,  for  they  were  so  insolently  mad 
as  also  to  resolve  to  repel  force  by  force. 

When  it  was  related  to  the  Israelites 
what  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeah  had  re- 
solved upon,  they  took  their  oath  that  no 
one  of  them  would  give  his  daughter  in 
marriage  to  a  Benjamite,  but  make  war 
with  greater  fury  against  them  than  we 
have  learned  our  forefathers  made  war 
against  the  Canaanites;  and  sent  out  pre- 
sently an  army  of  4.00,000  men  against 
them,  while  the  Benjamites'  army  was 
25,600 ;  500  of  whom  were  excellent  at 
slinging  stones  with  their  left  hands,  inso- 
much that  when  the  battle  was  joined  at 
Gibeah,  the  Benjamites  beat  the  Israel- 
ites, and  of  them  there  fell  2000  men  ; 
and  probably  more  had  been  destroyed 
had  not  the  night  come  en  and  prevented 
it,  and  broken  off  the  fight ;  so  the  Ben- 
jamites returned  to  the  city  with  joy, 
and  the  Israelites  returned  to  their  camp 
in  a  great  fright  at  what  had  happened. 
On  the  next  day,  when  they  fought  again, 
the  Benjamites  beat  them;  and  18,000 
of  the  Israelites  were  slain,  and  the  rest 
deserted  their  camp  out  of  fear  of  a  great- 
er slaughter.  So  they  came  to  Bethel,* 
a  city  that  was  near  their  camp,  and  fasted 
on  the  next  day;  and  besought  God,  by 
Phineas  the  high   priest,  that  his  wrath 

*  Josephus  seems  here  to  have  made  a  small  mis- 
take, when  he  took  the  Hebrew  word  "Beth-EH," 
which  denotes  "the  house  of  God,"  or  "the  taher- 
Qacle,"Judg.  zz.  IS.  tor  the  proper  name  of  a  place, 
Bethel,  it  noway  appearing  that  the  tabernaola 
was  ever  at  Bethel  ;  only  so  tar  it  is  true,  that  Shi- 
loh, the  place  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  days  of  the 
judges,  was  not  far  from  Bethel. 


Chap.  II  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


161 


against  them  might  cease,  and  that  he 
would  be  satisfied  with  these  two  defeats, 
and  give  them  victory  and  power  over 
their  enemies.  Accordingly  God  pro- 
mised them  so  to  do,  by  the  prophesying 
of  Phineas. 

When  therefore  they  had  divided  the 
army  into  two  parts,  they  laid  the  one 
half  of  them  in  ambush  about  the  city 
Gibeah,  by  night,  while  the  other  half 
attacked  the  Benjamites,  and  retiring 
up3n  the  assault,  the  Benjamites  pursued 
them,  while  the  Hebrews  retired  by  slow 
degrees,  as  very  desirous  to  draw  them 
entirely  from  the  city;  and  the  others 
followed  them  as  they  retired,  till  both 
the  old  men  and  the  young  men  that 
were  left  in  the  city,  as  too  weak  to  fight, 
came  running  out  together  with  them,  as 
willing  to  bring  their  enemies  under. 
However,  when  they  were  a  great  way 
from  the  city,  the  Hebrews  ran  away  no 
longer,  but  turned  back  to  fight  them, 
and  lifted  up  the  signal  they  had  agreed 
on  to  those  that  lay  in  ambush,  who  rose 
up,  and  with  a  great  noise  fell  upon  the 
enemy.  Now,  as  soon  as  they  perceived 
themselves  to  be  deceived,  they  knew  not 
what  to  do;  and  when  they  were  driven 
into  a  certain  hollow  place  which  was  in 
a  valley,  they  were  shot  at  by  those  that 
encompassed  them,  till  they  were  all  de- 
stroyed, excepting  600  men,  who  formed 
themselves  into  a  close  body,  and  forced 
their  passage  through  the  midst  of  their 
enemies,  and  fled  to  the  neighbouring 
mountains,  and,  seizing  upon  them,  re- 
mained there;  but  the  rest  of  them,  being 
about  25,000,  were  slain.  f  Then  did  the 
Israelites  burn  Gibeah,  and  slew  the 
women,  and  the  males  that  were  under 
age;  and  did  the  same  also  to  the  other 
cities  of  the  Benjamites;  and,  indeed, 
they  were  enraged  to  that  degree,  that 
they  sent  12,000  men  out  of  the  army, 
and  gave  them  orders  to  destroy  Jabesh 
Gilead,  because  it  did  not  join  with  them 
in  fighting  against  the  Benjamites.  Ac- 
cordingly, those  that  were  sent  slew  the 
men  of  war,  with  their  children  and  wives, 
excepting  400  virgins.  To  such  a  degree 
had  they  proceeded  in  their  anger,  be- 
cause they  not  only  had  the  suffering  of 
the  Levite's  wife  to  avenge,  but  the 
slaughter  of  their  own  sol'diers.    • 

However,  they  afterward  were  sorry  for 

the  calamity  they  had  brought  upon  the 

Benjamites,  and  appointed  a  fast  on  that 

account,   although   they   supposed  those 

11 


men  had  suffered  justly  for  their  offeuee 
against  the  laws;  so  they  recalled  by  their 
ambassadors  those  600  who  had  escaped. 
These  had  seated  themselves  on  a  certain 
rock  called  "flimmon,"  which  was  in  the 
wilderness.  So  the  ambassadors  lamented 
not  only  the  disaster  that  had  befallen 
the  Benjamites,  but  themselves  also,  by 
this  destruction  of  their  kindred;  and  per- 
suaded them  to  take  it  patiently,  and  to 
come  and  unite  with  them,  and  not,  so 
far  as  in  them  lay,  to  give  their  suffrage 
to  the  utter  destruction  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin;  and  said  to  them,  "We  give 
you  leave  to  take  the  whole  land  of  Ben- 
jamin to  yourselves,  and  as  much  prey  as 
you  are  able  to  carry  away  with  you." 
So  these  men  with  sorrow  confessed  that 
what  had  been  done  was  according  to  the 
decree  of  God,  and  had  happened  for  their 
own  wickedness;  and  assented  to  those 
that  invited  them,  and  came  down  to  their 
own  tribe.  The  Israelites  also  gave  them 
the  400  virgins  of  Jabesh  Gilead  for 
wives;  but  as  to  the  remaining  200,  they 
deliberated  about  it  how  they  might  com- 
pass wives  enough  for  them,  and  that  they 
might  have  children  by  them;  and 
whereas  they  had,  before  the  war  began, 
taken  an  oath,  that  no  one  would  give  his 
daughter  to  wife  to  a  Benjamite,  some 
advised  them  to  have  no  regard  to  what 
they  had  sworn,  because  the  oath  had  not 
been  taken  advisedly  and  judiciously,  but 
in  a  passion,  and  thought  that  they  should 
do  nothing  against  God,  if  they  were  able 
to  save  a  whole  tribe  which  was  in  danger 
of  perishing;  and  that  perjury  was  then 
a  sad  and  dangerous  thing,  not  when  it  is 
done  out  of  necessity,  but  when  it  is  done 
with  a  wicked  intention.  But  when  the 
senate  were  affrighted  at  the  very  name 
of  perjury,  a  certain  person  told  them 
that  he  could  show  them  a  way  whereby 
they  might  procure  the  Benjamites  wives 
enough,  and  yet  keep  their  oath.  They 
asked  him  what  his  proposal  was.  He 
said,  "  That  three  times  in  a  year,  when  we 
meet  in  Shiloh,  our  wives  and  our  daugh- 
ters accompany  us:  let  then  the  Ben- 
jamites be  allowed  to  steal  away,  and 
marry  such  women  as  they  can  catch, 
while  we  will  neither  incite  them  nor  for- 
bid them;  and  when  their  parents  take  it 
ill.  and  desire  us  to  inflict  punishment 
upon  them,  we  will  tell  them,  that  they 
were  themselves  the  cause  of  what  had 
happened,  by  neglecting  to  guard  their 
daughters,  and  that  they  ought  not  to  be 


162 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


over  angry  at  the  Benjamites,  since  that 
ungcr  was  permitted  to  rise  too  high 
already."  So  the  Israelites  were  per- 
suaded to  follow  this  advice,  and  deoreed, 
that  the  Benjamites  should  be  allowed 
thus  to  steal  themselves  wives.  So  when 
the  festival  was  coming  on,  these  200 
Benjamites  lay  in  ambush  before  the  city, 
by  two  and  three  together,  and  waited  for 
the  coming  of  the  virgins,  in  the  vine- 
yards and  other  places  where  they  could 
lie  concealed.  Accordingly  the  viigins 
came  along  playing,  and  suspected  nothing 
of  what  was  coming  upon  them,  and  walked 
after  an  unguarded  manner,  so  those  that 
lay  scattered  in  the  road,  rose  up,  and 
caught  hold  of  them  :  by  this  means  these 
Benjamites  obtained  wives,  and  fell  to 
agriculture,  and  took  good  care  to  recover 
their  former  happy  state.  And  thus  was 
this  tribe  of  the  Benjamites,  after  they 
had  been  in  danger  of  entirely  perishing, 
saved  in  the  manner  before  mentioned, 
by  the  wisdom  of  the  Israelites :  and  ac- 
cordingly it  presently  flourished,  and  soon 
increased  to  be  a  multitude,  and  came  to 
enjoy  all  other  degrees  of  happiness. 
And  such  was  the  conclusion  of  this  war. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

The  Israelites  grow  wicked  and  serve  the  As- 
syrians ;  God  delivers  them  by  Othniel,  who 
rules  over  them  forty  years.     B.  C.  1-105-1342. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  tribe  of  Dan 
suffered  in  like  manner  with  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin;  and  it  came  to  do  so  on  the 
occasion  following: — When  the  Israelites 
had  already  left  off  the  exercise  of  their 
arms  for  war,  and  were  intent  upon  their 
husbandry,  the  Canaanites  despised  them, 
and  brought  together  an  army,  not  because 
they  expected  to  suffer  by  them,  but  be- 
cause they  had  a  mind  to  have  a  sure 
prospect  of  treating  the  Hebrews  ill  when 
they  pleased,  and  might  thereby  for  the 
time  to  come  dwell  in  their  own  eities  the 
more  securely;  they  prepared  therefore 
their  chariots,  and  gathered  their  soldiery 
together,  their  cities  also  tonibincd  to- 
gether, and  drew  over  to  them  Askelon 
and  Ekron,  which  were  within  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  manv  more  of  those  that 
lay  in  the  plain.  They  also  forced  the 
Danites  to  fly  into  the  mountainous 
country,  and  left  them  not  the  least  por- 
tion of  the  plain  country  to  set  their  foot 
on.  Since,  then,  these  Danites  were  not 
able    to    light    them,   and    had   not   laud 


enough  to  sustain  them,  they  sent  five  of 
their  men  into  the  midland  country  to  see 
for  a  land  to  which  they  might  remove 
their  habitation.  So  these  men  went  as 
far  as  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Li- 
banus,*  and  the  fountains  of  the  Les-<-r 
Jordan,  at  the  great  plain  of  Sidon,  a 
day's  journey  from  the  city;  and  when 
they  had  taken  a  view  of  the  land,  and 
found  it  exceedingly  fruitful,  they  ac- 
quainted their  tribe  with  it,  whereupon 
they  made  an  expeditiou  with  the  army, 
and  built  there  the  city  Dan,  of  the  same 
name  with  the  son  of  Jacob,  and  of  the 
same  name  with  their  own  tribe. 

The  Israelites  grew  so  indolent,  and 
unready  of  taking  pains,  that  misfortunes 
came  heavier  upon  them,  which  also  pro- 
ceeded in  part  from  their  contempt  of  the 
Diviue  worship;  for  when  they  had  once 
fallen  off  from  the  regularity  of  their  po- 
litical government,  they  indulged  them- 
selves further  in  living  according  to  their 
own  pleasure,  and  according  to  their  own 
will,  till  they  were  full  of  the  evil  doings 
that  were  common  among  the  Canaanites. 
God  therefore  was  angry  with  them,  and 
they  soon  lost  that  happy  state,  which 
they  had  obtained  by  innumerable  labours, 
by  their  luxury;  for  when  Cushan,  king 
of  the  Assyrians,  had  made  war  against 
them,  they  lost  many  of  their  soldiers  iu 
the  battle,  and  when  they  were  besieged, 
they  were  taken  by  force;  nay,  there  were 
some,  who,  out  of  fear,  voluntarily  sub- 
mitted to  him,  and  though  the  tribute 
laid  upon  them  was  more  than  they  could 
bear,  yet  did  they  pay  it,  and  underwent 
all  sorts  of  oppression  for  eight  years; 
after  which  time  they  were  freed  from 
them  in  the  following  manner: — 

There  was  one  whose  name  was  Othniel, 
the  son  of  Keuaz,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
an  active  man  and  of  great  courage.  He 
took  an  admonition  from  God,  not  to 
overlook  the  Israelites  in  such  a  distress 
as  they  were  now  in,  but  to  endeavour 
boldly  to  gain  them  their  liberty;  so  when 
he  had  procured  some  to  assist  him  in 
this  dangerous  undertaking,  (and  few  they 
were,  who,  either  out  of  shame  at  their 
present  circumstances,  or  out  of  a  desire 
of  changing  them,  could  be  prevailed  on 
to  assist  him,)  he  first  of  all  destroyed 
that  garrison  which  Cushan  had  set  over 
them;  but  when  it  was  perceived  that  he 
had  uot  failed  in  his  first  attempt,  more 

*  Mount  Libanus  separatee  Syria  l'rcui  Palestine. 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


163 


of  the  people  came  to  his  assistance;  so 
they  joined  battle  with  the  Assyrians, 
and  drove  them  entirely  before  them,  and 
compelled  them  to  pass  over  Euphrates. 
Hereupon  Othniel,  who  had  given  such 
proofs  of  his  valour,  received  from  the 
multitude  authority  to  judge  the  people: 
and  when  he  had  ruled  over  them  forty 
years,  he  died. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Israelites  serve  the  Moabites  eighteen  years, 
are  delivered  by  one  Ehud,  who  retains  the  do- 
minion eighty  years.     B.  C.  1343-1325. 

When  Othniel  was  dead,  the  affairs  of 
the  Israelites  fell  again  into  disorder:  and 
while  they  neither  paid  to  G-od  the  honour 
due  to  him,  nor  were  obedient  to  the  laws, 
their  afflictions  increased,  till  Eglon,  king 
of  the  Moabites,  did  so  greatly  despise 
them  on  account  of  the  disorders  of  their 
political  government,  that  he  made  war 
upon  them,  and  overcame  them  in  several 
battles,  and  made  the  most  courageous  to 
submit,  and  entirely  subdued  their  army, 
and  ordered  them  to  pay  him  tribute. 
Aud  when  he  had  built  him  a  royal 
palace  at  Jericho,  he  omitted  no  method 
whereby  he  might  distress  them;  and  in- 
deed he  reduced  them  to  poverty  for 
eighteen  years.  But  when  Gk>d  had  once 
taken  pity  of  the  Israelites,  on  account 
of  their  afflictions,  and  was  moved  to 
compassion  by  their  supplications  put  up 
to  him,  he  freed  them  from  the  hard  usage 
they  had  met  with  under  the  Moabites. 
This  liberty  he  procured  for  them  in  the 
following  manner: — 

There  was  a  young  man  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  whose  name  was  Ehud,  the 
son  of  Gera,  a  man  of  very  great  courage 
in  bold  undertakings,  and  of  a  very  strong 
body,  fit  for  hard  labour,  but  best  skilled 
in  using  his  left  hand,  in  which  was  his 
whole  strength;  and  he  also  dwelt  at 
Jericho.  Now  this  man  became  familiar 
with  Eglon,  and  that  by  means  of  presents, 
with  which  he  obtained  his  favour,  and 
insinuated  himself  into  his  good  opinion; 
whereby  he  was  also  beloved  of  those  that 
were  about  the  king.  '  Now,  when  on  a 
time  he  was  bringing  presents  to  the  king, 
and  had  two  servants  with  him,  he  put  a 
dagger  on  his  right  thigh  secretly,  and 
went  in  to  him  :  it  was  then  summer  time, 
and  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  the 
guards  were  not  strictly  on  their  watch, 
both   because  of   the   heat,   and    because 


they  were  gone  to  dinner.  So  the  young 
man,  when  he  had  offered  his  presents  to 
the  king,  who  then  resided  in  a  small 
parlour  that  stood  conveniently  to  avoid 
the  heat,  fell  into  discourse  with  him,  for 
they  were  now  alone,  the  king  having 
bade  his  servants  that  attended  him  to  go 
their  ways,  because  he  had  a  mind  to  talk 
with  Ehud.  He  was  then  sitting  on  his 
throne,  and  fear  seized  upon  Ehud  lest 
he  should  miss  his  stroke,  and  not  give 
him  a  deadly  wound;  so  ho  raised  him- 
self up,  and  said  he  had  a  dream  to  impart 
to  him  by  the  command  of  God;  upon 
which  the  king  leaped  out  of  his  throne 
for  joy  of  the  dream;  so  Ehud  smote  him 
to  the  heart,  and,  leaving  his  dagger  in 
his  body,  he  went  out  and  shut  the  door 
after  him.  Now  the  king's  servants  were 
very  still,  as  supposing  that  the  king  had 
composed  himself  to  sleep. 

Hereupon  Ehud  informed  the  people  of 
Jericho  privately  of  what  he  had  done, 
and  exhorted  them  to  recover  their  liberty; 
who  heard  him  gladly,  and  went  to  their 
arms,  and  sent  messengers  over  the  couu 
try,  that  should  sound  trumpets  of  rams 
horns;  for  it  was  our  custom  to  call  the 
people  together  by  them.  Now  the  at- 
tendants of  Eglon  were  ignorant  of  what 
misfortune  had  befallen  him  for  a  great 
while;  but,  toward  the  evening,  fearing 
some  uncommon  accident  had  happened, 
they  entered  into  his  parlour,  and  when 
they  found  him  dead,  they  were  in  great 
disorder,  and  knew  not  what  to  do;  and 
before  the  guards  could  be  got  together, 
the  multitude  of  the  Israelites  came  upon 
them,  so  that  some  of  them  were  slain  im- 
mediately, and  some  were  put  to  flight, 
and  ran  away  toward  the  country  of  Moab 
in  order  to  save  themselves.  Their  num- 
ber was  above  10,000.  The  Israelites 
seized  upon  the  ford  of  Jordan,  and  pur- 
sued them,  and  slew  them,  and  many  of 
them  they  killed  at  the  ford,  nor  did  one 
of  them  escape  out  of  their  hands;  and 
by  this  means  it  was  that  the  Hebrews 
freed  themselves  from  slavery  under  the 
Moabites.  Ehud  also  was  on  this  account 
dignified  with  the  government  over  all 
the  multitude,  and  died  after  he  had  held 
the  government  eighty  years.*     He  was 


*  These  eighty  years  for  the  government  ot 
Ehud  are  necessary  to  Josephus's  usual  large  niin- 
bers  between  the  Exodus  and  the  building  of  the 
temple,  of  592  or  612  years,  but  not  to  the  smallest 
number  of  480  years,  (1  Kngs,  vi.  1;)  which 
lesser  number  Josephus  seems  sometimes  to  hav« 


164 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


a  man  worthy  of  commendation,  even 
besides  what  he  deserved  for  the  fore- 
mentioned  act  of  his.  After  him,  Sham- 
gar,  the  son  of  Anath,  was  elected  go- 
vernor, but  died  in  the  first  year  of  his 
government. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Canaanites  bring  the  Israelites  under  slavery 
for  twenty  years ;  they  are  delivered  by  Barak 
and  Deborah,  who  rule  over  them  forty  years. 
B.  C.  1305-1285. 

And  now  it  was  that  the  Israelites, 
taking  no  warning  by  their  former  mis- 
fortunes to  amend  their  manners,  and 
neither  worshipping  God  nor  submitting 
to  the  laws,  were  brought  under  slavery 
by  Jabin  the  king  of  the  Canaanites,  and 
that  before  they  had  a  short  breathing 
time  after  the  slavery  under  the  Moabites; 
for  this  Jabin  came  out  of  Hazor,  a  city 
that  was  situate  over  the  lake  Semechoni- 
tis,  and  had  in  pay  300,000  footmen,  and 
10,000  horsemen,  with  no  fewer  than 
3000  chariots.  Sisera  was  the  com- 
mander of  all  his  army,  and  was  the  prin- 
cipal person  in  the  king's  favour.  He  so 
sorely  beat  the  Israelites  when  they  fought 
with  him,  that  he  ordered  them  to  pay 
tribute. 

So  they  continued  to  undergo  that 
hardship  for  twenty  years,  as  not  good 
enough  of  themselves  to  grow  wisfe  by 
their  misfortunes.  God  was  willing  also 
hereby  the  more  to  subdue  their  obstinacy 
and  ingratitude  toward  himself:  so  when 
at  length  they  were  become  penitent,  and 
were  so  wise  as  to  learn  that  their  calami- 
ties arose  from  their  contempt  of  the  laws, 
they  besought  Deborah,  a  certain  pro- 
phetess among  them,  (which  name  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  signifies  a  "Bee,")  to 
pray  to  God  to  take  pity  on  them,  and  not 
to  overlook  them,  now  they  were  ruined 
by  the  Canaanites.  So  God  granted  them 
deliverance,  and  chose  them  a  general, 
Barak,  one  that  was  of  i.he  tribe  of  Naph- 
tali.  Now  Barak,  in  the  Hebrew  tongue, 
signifies  "Lightning." 

So  Deborah  sent  for  Barak,  and  bade 
him  choose  out  10,000  y^ung  men  to  go 
against  the  enemy,  because  God  had  said 


followed.  And  since  in  the  beginning  of  the  next 
•eotion,  it  is  said  by  Josephus,  that  there  was 
hardly  a  breathing  time  for  the  Israelites  before 
Jabin  came  and  enslaved  them,  it  is  highly  proba- 
ble that  some  of  the  copies  in  his  time  had  hero 
only  eight  years  instead  of  eighty. 


that  that  number  was  sufficient,  and  pro 
mised  them  victory.  But  when  Barak 
said  that  he  would  not  be  the  general  un- 
less she  would  also  go  as  a  general  with 
him,  she  had  indignation  at  what  he  said, 
and  replied,  "Thou,  O  Barak,  deliverest 
up  meanly  that  authority  which  God  hath 
given  thee  into  the  hand  of  a  woman,  and 
I  do  not  reject  it!"  So  they  collected 
10,000  men,  and  pitched  their  camp  at 
Mount  Tabor,  where,  at  the  king's  com- 
mand, Sisera  met  them,  and  pitched  his 
camp  not  far  from  the  enemy;  whereupon 
the  Israelites,  and  Barak  himself,  were  so 
affrighted  at  the  multitude  of  those  ene- 
mies, that  they  were  resolved  to  march  off, 
had  not  Deborah  retained  them,  and  com- 
manded them  to  fight  the  enemy  that  very 
day,  for  that  they  should  conquer  them, 
and  God  would  be  their  assistance. 

So  the  battle  began ;  and  when  they 
were  come  to  a  close  fight,  there  came 
down  from  heaven  a  great  storm,  with  a 
vast  quantity  of  rain  and  hail,  and  the 
wind  blew  the  rain  full  in  the  face  of  the 
Canaanites,  and  so  darkened  their  eyes, 
that  their  arrows  and  slings  were  of  little 
or  no  advantage  to  them,  nor  would  the 
coldness  of  the  air  permit  the  soldiers  to 
make  use  of  their  swords;  while  this 
storm  did  not  so  much  incommode  the 
Israelites,  because  it  came  at  their  backs. 
They  also  took  such  courage,  upon  the 
apprehension  that  God  was  assisting  them, 
that  they  fell  upon  the  very  midst  of  their 
enemies,  and  slew  a  great  number  of 
them;  so  that  some  of  them  fell  by  the 
Israelites,  some  fell  by  their  own  horses, 
which  were  put  into  disorder,  and  not  a 
few  were  killed  by  their  own  chariots. 
At  last  Sisera,  as  soon  as  he  saw  himself 
beaten,  fled  away,  and  came  to  a  woman 
whose  name  was  Jael,  a  Kenite,  who  re- 
ceived him  when  he  desired  to  be  con- 
cealed; and  when  he  asked  for  somewhat 
to  drink,  she  gave  him  sour  milk,  of 
which  he  drank  so  unmeasurably  that  he 
fell  asleep;  but  when  he  was  asleep,  Jael 
took  an  iron  nail,  and  with  a  hammer 
drove  it  through  bis  temples  into  the  floor; 
and  when  Barak  came  a  little  afterward, 
she  showed  Sisera  nailed  to  the  ground: 
and  thus  was  this  victory  gained  by  a 
woman,  as  Deborah  had  foretold.  Barak 
also  fought  with  Jabin  at  Hazor;  and 
when  he  met  with  him,  he  slew  him:  and 
when  the  general  was  fallen,  Barak  over- 
threw the  city  to  the  foundation,  and  was  the 
commander  of  the  Israelites  for  forty  years. 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


165 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Midianites  and  other  nations  enslave  the  Is- 
raelites for  seven  years.  Gideon  delivers  them 
and  rules  over  them  forty  years.    B.  C.  1252-1245. 

Now  when  Barak  and  Deborah  were 
dead,  whose  deaths  happened  about  the 
game  time,  the  Midianites  called  together 
the  Amalekites  and  Arabians  to  their 
assistance,  and  made  war  against  the 
Israelites,  and  were  too  hard  for  those 
that  fought  against  them ;  and  when  they 
had  burnt  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  they 
carried  off  the  prey.  Now  when  they  had 
done  this  for  three  years,  the  multitude 
of  the  Israelites  retired  to  the  mountains, 
and  forsook  the  plain  country.  They  also 
made  themselves  hollows  under  ground, 
and  caverns,  and  thus  preserved  therein 
whatsoever  had  escaped  their  enemies; 
for  the  Midianites  made  expeditions  in 
harvest  time,  but  permitted  them  to 
plough  the  land  in  winter,  that  so,  when 
the  others  had  taken  the  pains,  they 
might  have  fruits  for  them  to  carry  away. 
Indeed,  there  ensued  a  famine  and  a 
scarcity  of  food;  upon  which  they  betook 
themselves  to  their  supplications  to  God, 
and  besought  him  to  save  them. 

Gideon  also,  the  son  of  Joash,  one  of 
the  principal  persons  of  the  tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  brought  his  sheaves  of  corn  pri- 
vately, and  threshed  them  at  the  wine- 
press; for  he  was  too  fearful  of  their 
enemies  to  thresh  them  openly  in  the 
threshing-floor.  At  this  time  somewhat 
appeared  to  him  in  the  shape  of  a  young 
man,  and  told  him  that  he  was  a  happy 
man,  and  beloved  of  God.  To  which  he 
immediately  replied,  "A  mighty  indication 
of  God's  favour  to  me,  that  I  am  forced 
to  use  this  wine-press  instead  of  a  thresh- 
ing-floor!" But  the  appearance  exhorted 
him  to  be  of  good  courage,  and  to  make 
an  attempt  for  the  recovery  of  their 
liberty.  He  answered,  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  recover  it,  because  the 
tribe  to  which  he  belonged  was  by  no 
means  numerous;  and  because  he  was 
but  young  himself,  and  too  inconsiderable 
to  think  of  such  great  actions;  but  the 
other  promised  him,  that  God  would  sup- 
ply what  he  was  defective  in,  and  would 
afford  the  Israelites  victory  under  his 
conduct. 

Now,  therefore,  as  Gideon  was  relating 
this  to  some  young  men,  they  believed 
him,  and  immediately  there  was  an  army 
of  10,000    men   got  ready  for  fighting. 


But  God  stood  by  Gideon  in  his  sleep, 
and  told  him,  that  mankind  were  too  fond 
of  themselves,  and  were  enemies  to  such 
as  excelled  in  virtue.*  Now  that  they 
might  not  pass  God  over,  but  ascribe  the 
victory  to  him,  and  might  not  fancy  it 
obtained  by  their  own  power,  because 
they  were  a  great  army,  and  able  of  them- 
selves to  fight  their  enemies,  but  might 
confess  that  it  was  owing  to  his  assistance, 
he  advised  him  to  bring  his  army  about 
noon,  in  the  violence  of  the  heat,  to  the 
river,  and  to  esteem  those  that  bent  down 
on  their  knees  and  so  drank,  to  be  men 
of  courage;  but  for  all  those  that  drank 
tumultously,  that  he  should  esteem  them 
to  do  it  out  of  fear,  and  as  in  dread  of 
their  enemies.  And  when  Gideon  had 
done  as  God  had  suggested  to  him,  there 
were  found  300  men  that  took  water  with 
their  hands  tumultously;  so  God  bade 
him  take  these  men,  and  attack  the 
enemy.  Accordingly,  they  pitched  their 
camp  at  the  river  Jordan,  as  ready  the 
next  day  to  pass  over  it. 

But  Gideon  was  in  great  fear,  for  God 
had  told  him  beforehand  that  he  should 
set  upon  his  enemies  in  the  night-time; 
but  God,  being  willing  to  free  him  from 
his  fear,  bade  him  take  one  of  his  soldiers. 
and  go  near  to  the  Midianites'  tents,  foi 
that  he  should  from  that  very  place  have 
his  courage  raised  and  grow  bold.  So 
he  obeyed,  and  went  and  took  his  servant 
Phurah  with  him;  and  as  he  came  near 
to  one  of  the  tents,  he  discovered  that 
those  that  were  in  it  were  awake,  and  one 
of  them  was  telling  to  his  fellow-soldier  a 
dream  of  his  own,  and  that  so  plainly, 
that  Gideon  could  hear  him.  The  dream 
was  this: — He  thought  he  saw  a  barley- 
cake,  such  an  one  as  could  hardly  be 
eaten  by  men,  it  was  so  vile,  rolling 
through  the  camp,  and  overthrowing  the 
royal  tent,  and  the  tents  of  all  the  soldiers. 
Now  the  other  soldier  explained  this  vision 
to  mean  the  destruction  of  the  army;  and 
told  him  what  his  reason  was  which  made 
him  so  conjecture,  viz.  that  the  seed 
called  u barley"  was  all  of  it  allowed  to 
be  of  the  vilest  sort  of  seed,  and  that  the 
Israelites  were  known  to  be  the  vilest 
people  of  Asia,  agreeably  to  the  seed  of 
barley,  and  that  what  seemed  to  look  big 
among  the  Israelites  was  this  Gideou  and 
the  army  that  was  with  him;  "and  since 
thou    sayest    thou    didst    see    the    cake 


*  See  Judg.  vii.  3  et  seq. 


166 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


overturning  our  tents,  I  am  afraid  lest 
God  hath  granted  the  victory  over  us 
to  Gideon." 

When  Gideon  had  heard  this  dream, 
good  hope  and  courage  came  upon  him; 
and  he  commanded  his  soldiers  to  arm 
themselves,  and  told  them  of  this  vision 
of  their  enemies.  They  also  took  courage 
at  what  was  told  them,  and  were  ready  to 
perform  what  he  should  enjoin  them;  so 
Gideon  divided  his  army  into  three  parts, 
and  brought  it  out  about  the  fourth  watch 
of  the  night,  each  part  containing  100 
men:  they  all  bare  empty  pitchers  and 
lighted  lamps  in  their  hands,  that  their 
onset  might  not  be  discovered  by  their 
enemies.  They  had  also  each  a  ram's 
horn  in  his  right  hand,  which  he  used 
instead  of  a  trumpet.  The  enemy's  camp 
took  up  a  large  space  of  ground,  for  it 
happened  that  they  had  a  great  many 
camels;  and  as  they  were  divided  into 
different  nations,  so  they  were  all  con- 
tained in  one  circle.  Now  when  the  He- 
brews did  as  they  were  ordered  before- 
hand, upon  their  approach  to  their  ene- 
mies, and,  on  the  signal  given,  sounded 
with  their  rams'  horns,  and  brake  their 
pitchers,  and  set  upon  their  enemies  with 
their  lamps,  and  a  great  shout,  and  cried, 
"Victory  to  Gideon,  by  God's  assistance," 
a  disorder  and  a  fright  seized  upon  the 
other  men  while  they  were  half  asleep, 
for  it  was  night-time,  as  God  would  have 
it;  so  that  a  few  of  them  were  slainr'by 
their  enemies,  but  the  greatest  part  by 
their  own  soldiers,  on  account  of  the  di- 
versity of  their  language ;  and  when  they 
were  once  put  into  disorder,  they  killed 
all  that  they  met  with,  as  thinking  them 
to  be  enemies  also.  Thus  there  was  a 
great  slaughter  made;  and  as  the  report 
of  Gideon's  victory  came  to  the  Israelites, 
they  took  their  weapons,  and  pursued 
their  enemies,  and  overtook  them  in  a 
certain  valley  encompassed  with  torrents, 
a  place  which  these  could  not  get  over; 
so  they  encompassed  them,  and  slew  them 
all  with  their  kings,  Oreb  and  Zeeb ;  but 
the  remaining  captains  led  those  soldiers 
that  were  left,  which  were  about  18,000, 
and  pitched  their  camp  a  great  way  off 
the  Israelites.  However,  Gideon  did  not 
grudge  his  pains,  but  pursued  them  with 
a!  I  his  army,  and  joining  battle  with  them, 
cut  off  the  whole  of  the  enemies'  army, 
mid  took  the  other  leaders,  Zebah  and 
Zalmuna,  and  made  them  captives.  Now 
there    were    slain    in    this    battle    of    the 


Midianites,  and  of  their  auxiliaries  the 
Arabians,  about  120,000;  and  the  He- 
brews took  a  great  prey,  gold,  and  silver, 
and  garments/  and  camels,  and  asses;  and 
when  Gideon  came  to  his  own  country  of 
Ophrah,  he  slew  the  kings  of  the  Mi- 
dianites. 

However,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  was  sc 
displeased  at  the  good  success  of  Gideon, 
that  they  resolved  to  make  war  against 
him,  accusing  him  because  he  did  not  tell 
them  of  his  expedition  against  their  ene- 
mies :  but  Gideon,  as  a  man  of  temper, 
and  who  excelled  in  every  virtue,  pleaded 
that  it  was  not  the  result  of  his  own  au- 
thority or  reasoning,  that  made  him  at- 
tack the  enemy  without  them,  but  that  it 
was  the  command  of  God,  and  still  the 
victory  belonged  to  them  as  well  as  those 
in  the  army  ;  and  by  this  method  of  cool- 
ing their  passions,  he  brought  more  ad- 
vantage to  the  Hebrews  than  by  the  suc- 
cess he  had  against  those  enemies,  for  he 
thereby  delivered  them  from  a  sedition 
which  was  arising  among  them ;  yet  did 
this  tribe  afterward  suffer  punishment  for 
their  injurious  treatment  of  Gideon,  of 
which  we  will  give  an  account  in  due 
time. 

Hereupon  Gideon  would  have  laid  down 
the  government,  but  was  over-persuaded 
to  take  it,  which  he  enjoyed  forty  years, 
and  distributed  justice  to  them,  as  the 
people  came  to  him  in  their  differences ; 
and  what  he  determined  was  esteemed 
valid  by  all ;  and  when  he  died,  he  was 
buried  in  his  own  country  of  Ophrah 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  judges  who  succeed  Gideon  make  war  with  the 
adjoining  nations.     B.C.  1245—1153. 

Now  Gideon  had  seventy  sons  that 
were  legitimate,  for  he  had  many  wives; 
but  he  had  also  one  that  was  spurious,  by 
his  concuhine  Drumah,  whose  name  was 
Abimelech,  who,  after  his  father's  death, 
retired  to  Shechem,  to  his  mother's  rela- 
tions, for  they  were  of  tl  at  place;  and 
when  he  had  got  money  of  such  of  them 
as  were  eminent  for  many  instances  of 
injustice,  he  came  with  them  to  his  fa- 
ther's house,  and  slew  all  his  brethren, 
except  Jotham,  for  he  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  escape  and  be  preserved ;  but 
Abimelech  made  the  government  tyran- 
nical, and  constituted  himself  a  lord,  to  do 
what  he  pleased,  instead  of  obeying  the 
laws;     and     he     aeted     most     rigorously 


Chap.  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


167 


against  those  that  were  patron  jf  jus- 
tice. 

Now  when,  on  a  certain  time,  there 
was  a  public  festival  at  Shechem,  and  all 
the  multitude  was  there  gathered  to- 
gether, Jotham  his  brother,  whose  escape 
we  before  related,  went  up  to  Mount 
Gerizzim,  which  hangs  over  the  city  She- 
chem, and  cried  out  so  as  to  be  heard  by 
the  multitude,  who  were  attentive  to  him. 
.  He  desired  they  would  consider  what  he 
was  going  to  say  to  them;  so  when  silence 
was  made,  he  said,  "  That  when  the  trees 
had  a  human  voice,  and  there  was  an  as- 
sembly of  them  gathered  together,  they 
desired  that  the  fig-tree  would  rule  over 
them  ;  but  when  that  tree  refused  so  to 
do,  because  it  was  contented  to  enjoy. that 
honour  which  belonged  peculiarly  to  the 
fruit  it  bare,  and  not  that  which  should 
be  derived  to  it  from  abroad,  the  trees 
did  not  leave  off  their  intentions  to  have 
a  ruler,  so  they  thought  proper  to  make 
the  offer  to  the  vine ;  but  when  the  vine 
was  chosen,  it  made  use  of  the  same 
words  which  the  fig-tree  had  used  before, 
and  excused  itself  from  accepting  the  go- 
vernment ;  and  when  the  olive-tree  had 
done  the  same,  the  brier,  whom  the  trees 
had  desired  to  take  the  kingdom,  (it  is  a 
sort  of  wood  good  for  firing,)  promised  to 
take  the  government,  and  to  be  zealous  in 
the  exercise  of  it;  but  then  they  must  sit 
down  under  its  shadow,  and  if  they  should 
plot  against  it  to  destroy  it,  the  principle 
of  fire  that  was  in  it  should  destroy  them. 
He  told  them,  that  what  he  had  said  was 
no  laughing  matter ;  for  that  when  they 
had  experienced  many  blessings  from  Gi- 
deon, they  overlooked  Abimelech,  when 
he  overruled  all,  and  had  joined  with  him 
in  slaying  his  brethren  ;  and  that  he  was 
no  better  than  a  fire  himself.*  So  when 
he  had  said  this,  he  went  away,  and  lived 
privately  in  the  mountains  for  three 
years,  out  of  fear  of  Abimelech. 

A  little  while  after  this  festival,  the 
Shechemites,  who  had  now  repented  them- 
selves of  having  slain  the  sons  of  Gideon, 
drove  Abimelech  awuy  both  from  their 
city  and  their  tribe  ;  whereupon  he  con- 
trived how  he  might  distress  their  city. 
Now  at  the  season  of  vintage,  the  people 
were   afraid    to  go  out  and  gather  their 

*  The  words  of  this  fable  convey  a  lively  image 
of  Abimelech's  ostentatious  spirit,  and  menaces  to 
take  severe  vengeance  on  the  nobles  of  Shechem, 
who  had  been  instrumental  in  his  promotion,  in 
case  they  should  desert  him. 


fruits,  for  fear  Abimelech  should  do  them 
some  mischief.  Now  it  happened  that 
there  had  come  to  them  a  man  of  autho- 
rity, one  Gaal,  that  sojourned  with  them, 
having  his  armed  men  and  his  kinsmen 
with  him ;  so  the  Shechemites  desired 
that  he  would  allow  them  a  guard  during 
their  vintage  ;  whereupon  he  accepted  of 
their  desires,  and  so  the  people  went  out, 
and  Gaal  with  them  at  the  head  of  his 
soldiery;  so  they  gathered  their  fruit  with 
safety ;  and  when  they  were  at  supper  in 
several  companies,  they  then  ventured  to 
curse  Abimelech  openly ;  and  the  magis- 
trates laid  ambushes  in  places  about  the 
city,  and  caught  many  of  Abimelech's 
followers,  and  destroyed  them. 

Now  there  was  one  Zebul,  a  magistrate 
of  the  Shechemites,  that  had  entertained 
Abimelech.  He  sent  messengers,  and 
informed  him  how  much  Gaal  had  irri- 
tated the  people  against  him,  and  excited 
him  to  lay  ambushes  before  the  city,  for 
that  he  would  persuade  Gaal  to  go  out 
against  him,  which  would  leave  it  in  his 
power  to  be  revenged  on  him  :  and  when 
that  was  once  done,  he  would  bring  him 
to  be  reconciled  to  the  city.  So  Abime- 
lech laid  ambushes,  and  himself  lay  with 
them.  Now  Gaal  abode  in  the  suburbs, 
taking  littie  care  of  himself;  and  Zebu!, 
was  with  him.  Now  as  Gaal  saw  the 
armed  men  coming  on,  he  said  to  Zebul, 
that  some  armed  men  were  coming;  but 
the  other  replied,  they  were  only  sha- 
dows of  huge  stones  :  and  when  they  had 
come  nearer,  Gaal  perceived  what  was  the 
reality,  and  said,  they  were  not  shadows, 
but  men  lying  in  ambush.  Then  said 
Zebul,  "Didst  not  thou  reproach  Abime- 
lech for  cowardice?  why  dost  thou  not 
then  show  how  very  courageous  thou  art 
thyself,  and  go  and  fight  him  V}  So 
Gaal,  being  in  disorder,  joined  battle  with 
Abimelech,  and  some  of  his  men  fell ; 
whereupon  he  fled  into  the  city,  and  took 
his  men  with  him.  But  Zebul  managed 
his  matters  so  in  the  city,  that  he  pro- 
cured them  to  expel  Gaal  out  of  the  city, 
and  this  by  accusing  him  of  cowardice  in 
this  action  with  the  soldiers  of  Abime- 
lech. But  Abimelech,  when  he  had 
learned  that  the  Shechemites  were  again 
coming  out  to  gather  their  grapes,  placed 
ambushes  before  the  city,  and  when  they 
were  coming  out,  the  third  part  of  his 
army  took  possession  of  the  gates,  to  hin- 
der the  citizens  from  returning  in  again, 
while  the   rest  pursued  those  that  wer<( 


168 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


scattered  abroad,  and  so  there  was  slaugh- 
ter everywhere ;  and  when  he  had  over- 
thrown the  city  to  the  very  foundations, 
for  it  was  not  able  to  bear  a  siege,  and 
bad  sown  its  ruins  with  salt,*  he  pro- 
ceeded on  with  his  army  till  all  the  She- 
chemites  were  slain.  As  for  those  that 
were  scattered  about  the  country,  and  so 
escaped  the  danger,  they  were  gathered 
together  unto  a  certain  strong  rock,  and 
settled  themselves  upon  it,  and  prepared 
to  build  a  wall  upon  it;  and  when  Abi- 
melech  knew  their  intentions  he  prevent- 
ed them,  and  came  upon  them  with  his 
forces,  and  laid  fagots  of  dry  wood  round 
the  place,  he  himself  bringing  some  of 
them,  and  by  his  example  encouraging 
the  soldiers  to  do  the  same.  And  when 
the  rock  was  encompassed  round  about 
with  these  fagots,  they  set  them  on  fire, 
aud  threw  in  whatsoever  by  nature  caught 
fire  the  most  easily  :  so  a  mighty  flame 
was  raised,  and  nobody  could  fly  away 
from  the  rock,  but  every  man  perished, 
with  their  wives  aud  children,  in  all  about 
1500  men,  and  the  rest  were  a  great  num- 
ber also.  And  such  was  the  calamity 
which  fell  upon  the  Shechemites ;  and 
men's  grief  on  their  account  had  been 
greater  than  it  was,  had  they  not  brought 
so  much  mischief  on  a  person  who  had  so 
well  deserved  of  them,  and  had  they  not 
themselves  esteemed  this  as  a  punishment 
for  the  same. 

Now  Abimelech,  when  he  had  affright- 
ed the  Israelites  with  the  miseries  he  had 
brought  upon  the  Shechemites,  seemed 
openly  to  affect  greater  authority  thau  he 
now  had,  and  appeared  to  set  no  bounds 
to  his  violence,  unless  it  were  with  the 
destruction  of  all.  Accordingly  he  march- 
ed to  Thebes,  aud  took  the  city  on  the 
sudden  j  and  there  being  a  great  tower 
therein,  whereunto  the  whole  multitude 
tied,  he  made  preparation  to  besiege  it. 
Now  as  he  was  rushing  with  violence  near 
the  gates,  a  woman  threw  a  piece  of  a 
millstone  upon  his  head,  upon  which  Abi- 
melech foil  down,  and  desired  his  armour- 
bearer  to  kill  him,  lest  his  death  should 
be  thought  to  be  the  work  of  a  woman  ; 
who  did  what  he  was  bade  to  do.  So  he 
underwent  this  death  as  a  punishment  for 
the  wickedness  he  had  perpetrated  agaiust 
his  brethren,  and  his  insolent  barbarity  to 


*  The  strewing  of  salt  was  an  old  custom  used 
t!io.>c  cities  whoso  inhabitants  had  been  guilt v 
of  *j^a-h«rv 


the  Shechemites.  Now  the  calamity  that 
happened  to  these  Shechemites  was  ac- 
cording to  the  prediction  of  Jotham. 
However,  the  army  that  was  with  Abi- 
melech, upon  his  fall,  was  scattered 
abroad,  and  went  to  their  own  homes. 

Now  it  was  that  Jair,  the  Gileadite  * 
of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  took  the  govern- 
ment. He  was  a  man  happy  in  other  re- 
spects also,  but  particularly  in  his  chil- 
dren, who  were  of  a  good  character.  They 
were  thirty  in  number,  aud  very  skilful 
iu  ridiug  on  horses,  aud  were  intrusted 
with  the  government  of  the  cities  of  Gi- 
lead.  He  kept  the  government  twenty 
two  years,  and  died  an  old  man  •  and  he 
was  buried  in  Camon,  a  city  of  Gilead. 

^.nd  now  all  the  affairs  of  the  Hebrews 
were  managed  uncertainly,  and  teuded  to 
disorder,  and  to  the  contempt  of  God  and 
of  the  laws.  So  the  Ammonites  and 
Philistines  had  them  in  contempt,  and 
laid  waste  the  country  with  a  great 
army;  and  when  they  had  taken  all  Pe- 
rea,  they  were  so  insolent  as  to  attempt  to 
gaiu  possession  of  all  the  rest ;  but  the 
Hebrews,  being  now  amended  by  the  cala- 
mities they  had  undergone,  betook  them- 
selves to  supplications  to  God;  and 
brought  sacrifices  to  him,  beseeching  him 
not  to  be  too  severe  upon  them,  but  to  be 
moved  by  their  prayers  to  leave  off  his 
anger  against  them.  So  God  became 
more  merciful  to  them,  and  was  ready  to 
assist  them. 

When  the  Ammonites  had  made  an 
expedition  into  the  land  of  Gilead,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  met  them  at  a 
certain  mountain,  but  wanted  a  com- 
mander. Now  there  was  one  whose  name 
was  Jephtha,  who,  both  on  account  of  his 
father's  virtue,  and  on  accouut  of  that 
army  which  he  maintained  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, was  a  potent  man  :  the  Israelites 
therefore  sent  to  him,  and  entreated  him 
to  come  to  their  assistance,  and  promised 
him  the  dominion  over  them  all  his  lite- 
time.  But  he  did  not  admit  of  their  en 
treaty ;  and  accused  them,  that  they  did 
not  come  to  his  assistance  when  he  wag 
unjustly  treated,  and  this  iu  an  open  man- 
ner by  his  brethren  ;  for  they  cast  him 


*  Our  present  copies  of  Josephus  all  omit  Tola 
among  tho  judges,  though  the  oiher  copies  have 
him  next  after  Abimelech,  and  allot  twenty  three 
years  to  his  administration!  (Judg.  x.  1,  2;)  yet 
all  Joaephus's  commentators  oonclude,  that  in  Jo- 
sephus's  sum  of  the  years  of  tho  judges,  Tola's 
twenty-lhreo  yearn  axe  included. 


Chap.  VII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


169 


off,  as  not  having  the  same  mother  with 
the  rest,  but  born  of  a  strange  mother, 
who  was  introduced  among  them  by  his 
father's  fondness  ;  and  this  they  did  out 
of  a  contempt  of  his  inability  [to  vindicate 
himself].  So  he  dwelt  in  the  country  of 
Gilead,  as  it  is  called,  and  received  all  that 
came  to  him,  let  them  come  from  what 
place  soever,  and  paid  them  wages.  How- 
ever, when  they  pressed  him  to  accept  the 
dominion,  and  sware  they  would  graut 
him  the  government  over  them  all  his 
life,  he  led  them  to  the  war. 

And  when  Jephtha  had  taken  imme- 
diate care  of  their  affairs,  he  placed  his 
army  at  the  city  Miseph,  and  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  the  Ammonite  king,  complaining 
of  his  unjust  possession  of  their  land. 
But  that  king  sent  a  contrary  message; 
and  complained  of  the  exodus  of  the  Is- 
raelites out  of  Egypt,  and  desired  him 
to  go  out  of  the  land  of  the  Amorites,  and 
yield  it  up  to  him,  as  at  first  his  paternal 
inheritance.  But  Jephtha  returned  this 
answer  :  "  That  he  did  not  justly  complain 
of  his  ancestors  about  the  land  of  the 
Amorites,  and  ought  rather  to  thank  them 
that  they  left  the  land  of  the  Ammonites 
to  them,  since  Moses  could  have  taken  it 
also ;  and  that  neither  would  he  recede 
from  that  land  of  their  own  which  God 
had  obtained  for  them,  and  they  had  now 
inhabited  above  300  years,  but  would 
fight  with  them  about  it. 

And  when  he  had  given  them  this  an- 
swer, he  sent  the  ambassadors  away.  And 
when  he  had  prayed  for  victory,  and  had 
vowed  to  perform  sacred  offices,  and  if 
he  came  home  in  safety,  to  offer  in  sacri- 
fice whatever  living  creature  should  first 
meet  him,  he  joined  battle  with  the  ene- 
my, and  gained  a  great  victory,  and  in  his 
pursuit  slew  the  enemies  all  along  as  far 
a.s  the  city  Minnith.  He  then  passed 
over  to  the  land  of  the  Ammonites,  and 
overthrew  many  of  their  cities,  and  took 
their  prey,  and  freed  his  own  people  from 
that  slavery  which  they  had  undergone  for 
eighteen  years.  But  as  he  came  back  he 
fell  into  a  calamity  noway  correspondent 
to  the  great  actions  he  had  done ;  for  it 
was  his  daughter  that  came. to  meet  him; 
ehe  was  also  an  only  child  and  a  virgin  : 
upon  this  Jephtha  heavily  lamented  the 
greatness  of  his  affliction,  and  blamed  his 
daughter  for  being  so  forward  in  meeting 
him,  for  he  had  vowed  to  sacrifice  her 
to  God.  However,  this  action  that  was 
to  befall  her  was  not  ungrateful  to  her, 


since  she  should  die  upon  occasion  of  her 
father's  victory,  and  the  liberty  of  her 
fellow-citizens:  she  only  desired  her  fa- 
ther to  give  her  leave,  for  two  months, 
to  bewail  her  youth  with  her  fellow- 
maidens  ;  and  then  she  agreed,  that  at 
the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  might  do 
with  her  according  to  his  vow.  Accord- 
ingly, when  that  time  was  over,  he  sacri- 
ficed his  daughter  as  a  burni-offering, 
offering  such  an  oblation  as  was  neither 
conformable  to  the  law  nor  acceptable 
to  God,  not  weighing  with  himself  what 
opinion  the  hearers  would  have  of  such 
a  practice. 

Now  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  fought 
against  him,  because  he  did  not  take 
them  along  with  him  in  his  expedition 
against  the  Ammonites,  and  because  he 
alone  had  the  prey,  and  the  glory  of  what 
was  done,  to  himself.  As  to  which  he 
said,  first,  that  they  were  not  ignorant 
how  his  kindred  had  fought  against  him, 
and  that  when  they  were  invited,  they  did 
not  come  to  his  assistance,  whereas  they 
ought  to  have  come  quickly,  even  before 
they  were  invited.  And  in  the  next 
place,  that  they  were  going  to  act  unjust- 
ly ;  for  while  they  had  not  courage  enough 
to  fight  their  enemies,  they  came  hastily 
against  their  own  kindred  :  and  he  threat- 
ened them  that,  with  God's  assistance,  he 
would  inflict  a  punishment  upon  them 
unless  they  would  grow  wiser.  But  when 
he  could  not  persuade  them,  he  fought 
with  them  with  those  forces  which  he  sent 
for  out  of  Gilead,  and  he  made  a  great 
slaughter  among  them ;  and  when  they 
were  beaten,  he  pursued  them,  and  seized 
on  the  passages  of  Jordan  by  a  part  of 
his  army  which  he  had  sent  before,  and 
slew  about  42,000  of  them. 

So  when  Jephtha  had  ruled  six  years, 
he  died,  and  was  buried  in  his  own  coun- 
try, Sebee,  which  is  a  place  in  the  land 
of  Gilead. 

Now,  when  Jephtha  was  dead,  Ibzan 
took  the  government,  being  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  of  the  city  of  Bethlehem. 
He  had  sixty  children,  thirty  of  them 
sons,  and  the  rest  daughters;  all  whom 
he  left  alive  behind  him,  giving  the 
daughters  in  marriage  to  husbands,  and 
taking  wives  for  his  sons.  He  did  no- 
thing in  the  seven  years  of  his  adminis- 
tration that  was  worth  recording,  or  de- 
served a  memorial.  So  he  died  an  old 
man,  and  was  turied  in  his  own  country. 

When  Ibzan  was  dead  after  this  man- 


170 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


ner,  neither  did  Helon,  who  succeeded 
him  in  the  government,  and  kept  it  ten 
years,  do  any  thing  remarkable  :  he  was 
of  the  tribe  of  Zebulon. 

Abdon  also,  the  son  of  Hilel,  of  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim,  and  born  at  the  city 
Pyrathon,  was  ordained  their  supreme  go- 
vernor after  Helon.  He  is  only  recorded 
to  have  been  happy  in  his  children  ;  for  the 
public  affairs  were  then  so  peaceable,  and 
in  such  security,  that  neither  did  he  per- 
form any  glorious  action.  He  had  forty 
sons,  and  by  them  left  thirty  grandchil- 
dren ;  and  he  marched  in  state  with  these 
seventy,  who  were  all  very  skilful  in 
riding  horses  ;  and  he  left  them  all  alive 
after  him.  He  died  an  old  man,  and  ob- 
tained a  magnificent  burial  in  Pyrathon. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

History  of  Samson.     Judg.  xiii.-xvi. 
B.C.  1155-1117. 

After  Abdon  was  dead,  the  Philistines 
overcame  the  Israelites,  and  received  tri- 
bute of  them  for  forty  years;  from  which 
distress  they  were  delivered  after  this 
manner: — 

There  was  one  Manoah,  a  person  of 
Buch  great  virtue  that  he  had  few  men 
his  equals,  and  without  dispute  the  prin- 
cipal person  of  his  country.  He  had  a 
wife  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  and  excel- 
ling her  contemporaries.  He  had  norchil- 
dren  ;  and,  being  uneasy  at  his  want  of 
posterity,  he  entreated  God  to  give  them 
seed  of  their  own  body  to  succeed  them; 
and  with  that  intent  he  came  constantly 
into  the  suburbs,  together  with  his  wife ; 
which  suburbs  were  in  the  Great  Plain. 
Now,  he  was  fond  of  his  wife  to  a  degree 
of  madness,  and  on  that  account  was  un- 
measurably  jealous  of  her.  Now,  when 
his  wife  was  once  alone,  an  apparition 
was  seen  by  her :  it  was  an  angel  of  God, 
and  resembled  a  young  man,  beautiful 
and  tall,  and  brought  her  the  good  news 
that  she  should  have  a  son,  born  of  God's 
providence,  who  should  be  a  goodly  child, 
of  great  strength ;  by  whom,  when  he 
had  grown  up  to  man's  estate,  the  Philis- 
tines should  be  afflicted.  He  exhorted 
her  also  not  to  poll  his  hair,  and  that  he 
should  avoid  all  kinds  of  strong  drink, 
(for  so  had  God  commanded,)  and  be  en- 
tirely contented  with  water.  So  the  an- 
gel, when  he  had  delivered  that  message, 
went  his  way,  his  coming  having  been  by 
the  will  of  God. 


Now  the  wife  informed  her  husband 
when  he  came  home  of  what  the  angel 
had  said,  and  showed  so  great  an  admira- 
tion of  the  beauty  and  tallness  of  the 
young  man  that  had  appeared  to  her,  that 
her  husband  was  astonished,  and  out  of 
himself  for  jealousy,  and  such  suspicions 
as  are  excited  by  that  passion  ;  but  she 
was  desirous  of  having  her  husband's  un- 
reasonable sorrow  taken  away ;  accord- 
ingly, she  entreated  God  to  send  the 
angel  again,  that  he  might  be  seen  by  her 
husband.  So  the  angel  came  again,  by 
the  favour  of  God,  while  they  were  in 
the  suburbs,  and  appeared  to  her  when 
she  was  al-one  without  her  husband.  She 
desired  the  angel  to  stay  so  long  till  she 
might  bring  her  husband  ;  and  that  re- 
quest being  granted,  she  went  to  call  Ma- 
noah. When  he  saw  the  angel  he  was 
not  yet  free  from  his  suspicion,  and  he 
desired  him  to  inform  him  of  all  that  he 
told  his  wife ;  but  when  he  said  it  was 
sufficient  that  she  alone  knew  what  he 
had  said,  he  then  requested  of  him  to 
tell  who  he  was,  that  when  the  child  was 
born,  they  might  return  him  thanks,  and 
give  him  a  present.  He  replied  that  h< 
did  not  want  any  present,  for  that  he  di< 
not  bring  them  the  good  news  of  the 
birth  of  a  son  out  of  the  want  of  any 
thing;  and  when  Manoah  had  entreated 
him  to  stay,  and  partake  of  his  hospitali- 
ty, he  did  not  give  his  consent.  How- 
ever, he  was  persuaded,  at  the  earnest  re- 
quest of  Manoah,  to  stay  so  long  as  while 
he  brought  him  one  mark  of  his  hospi- 
tality ;  so  he  slew  a  kid  of  the  goats,  and 
bade  his  wife  boil  it.  When  all  was 
ready,  the  angel  enjoined  him  to  set  the 
loaves  and  the  flesh,  but  without  the  ves- 
sels, upon  the  rock ;  which,  when  they 
had  done,  he  touched  the  flesh  with  the 
rod  which  he  had  in  his  hand,  which, 
upon  the  breaking  out  of  a  flame,  was 
consumed,  together  with  the  loaves;  and 
the  angel  ascended  openly,  in  their  sight, 
up  to  heaven,  by  means  of  the  smoke,  as 
by  a  vehicle.  Now  Manoah  was  afraid 
that  some  danger  would  come  to  them 
from  this  sight  of  God  ;  but  his  wife  bade 
him  be  of  good  courage,  for  that  God  ap- 
peared to  them  for  their  benefit. 

So  the  woman  proved  with  child,  and 
was  careful  to  observe  the  injunctions 
that  were  given  her;  and  they  called  the 
child,  when  he  was  born,  Samson,  which 
name  signifies  one  that  is  "strong."  So 
the   child   grew  apace ;    and  it  appeared 


Chap.  VIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


171 


evidently  that  he  would  be  a  prophet,* 
both  by  the  moderation  of  his  diet,  and 
the  permission  of  his  hair  to  grow. 

Now  when  he  once  came  with  his 
parents  to  Timnath,  a  city  of  the  Philis- 
tines, when  there  was  a  great  festival, 
he  fell  in  love  with  a  maid  of  that 
country,  and  he  desired  of  his  parents 
that  they  would  procure  him  the  damsel 
for  his  wife  :  but  they  refused  so  to  do, 
because  she  was  not  of  the  stock  of  Israel ; 
yet  because  this  marriage  was  of  God, 
who  intended  to  convert  it  to  the  benefit 
of  the  Hebrews,  he  over-persuaded  them 
to  procure  her  to  be  espoused  to  him ; 
and  as  he  was  continually  coming  to  his 
parents,  he  met  a  lion,  and  though  he 
was  naked,  he  received  his  onset,  and 
strangled  him  with  his  hands,  and  cast 
the  wild  beast  into  a  woody  piece  of 
ground  on  the  inside  of  the  road. 

And  when  he  was  going  another  time 
to  the  damsel,  he  lit  upon  a  swarm  of 
bees  making  their  combs  in  the  breast  of 
that  lion ;  and  taking  three  honey-combs 
away,  he  gave  them,  together  with  the 
rest  of  his  presents,  to  the  damsel.  Now 
the  people  of  Timnath,  out  of  a  dread  of 
the  young  man's  strength,  gave  him, 
during  the  time  of  the  wedding-feast,  (for 
he  then  feasted  them  all,)  thirty  of  the 
most  stout  of  their  youth,  in  pretence  to 
be  his  companions,  but  in  reality  to  be  a 
guard  upon  him,  that  he  might  not  at- 
tempt to  give  them  any  disturbance.  Now 
as  they  were  drinking  merrily  and  play- 
ing, Samson  said,  as  it  was  usual  at  such 
times,  "  Come,  if  I  propose  you  a  riddle, 
and  you  can  expound  it  in  seven  days' 
time,  I  will  give  you  every  one  a  linen 
shirt  and  a  garment,  as  the  reward  of 
your  wisdom. "  So  they  being  very  am- 
bitious to  obtain  the  glory  of  wisdom,  to- 
gether with  the  gains,  desired  him  to 
propose  his  riddle :  he  said,  "  That  a  de- 
vourer  produced  sweet  food  out  of  itself, 
though  itself  was  very  disagreeable :"  and 
when  they  were  not  able,  in  three  days' 
time,  to  find  out  the  meaning  of  the  rid- 
dle, they  desired  the  damsel  to  discover 
it  by  the  means  of  her  husband,  and  tell 
it  them ;  and  they  threatened  to  burn  her 
if  she  did  not  tell  it  them.     So  when  the 

*  Here,  by  a  "prophet,"  Josephug  seems  only  to 
mean  one  that  was  born  by  a  particular  providence, 
lived  after  the  manner  of  a  Nazarite  devoted  to 
God,  and  was  to  have  an  extraordinary  commission 
and  strength  from  God  for  the  judging  and  aveng- 
ing his  people  Israel,  without  any  proper  prophetic 
revelations  at  all. 


damsel  entreated  Samson  to  tell  it  her, 
he  at  first  refused  to  do  it ;  but  wheu  she 
lay  hard  at  him,  and  fell  into  tears,  and 
made  his  refusal  to  tell  it  a  sign  of  his 
unkindness  to  her,  he  informed  her  of 
his  slaughter  of  a  lion,  and  how  he  found 
bees  in  his  breast,  and  carried  away  three 
honey-combs,  and  brought  them  to  her.. 
Thus  he,  suspecting  nothing  of  deceit,  in- 1 
formed  her  of  all,  and  she  revealed  it  to 
those  that  desired  to  know  it.  Then  on 
the  seventh  day,  whereon  they  were  to 
expound  the  riddle  proposed  to  them,  they 
met  together  before  sun-setting,  and  said, 
"  Nothing  is  more  disagreeable  than  a 
lion  to  those  that  light  on  it;  and  no- 
thing is  sweeter  than  honey  to  those  that 
make  use  of  it."  To  which  Samson 
made  this  rejoinder :  "  Nothing  is  more 
deceitful  than  a  woman,  for  such  was  the 
person  that  discovered  my  interpretation 
to  you."  Accordingly  he  gave  them  the 
presents  he  had  promised  them,  making 
such  Askelonites  as  met  him  upon  the 
road  his  prey,  who  were  themselves 
Philistines  also.  But  he  divorced  this 
his  wife;  and  the  girl  despised  his  anger, 
and  was  married  to  his  companion,  who 
made  the  former  match  between  them. 

At  this  injurious  treatment  Samson  was 
so  provoked,  that  he  resolved  to  punish 
all  the  Philistines,  as  well  as  her  :  so  it 
being  then  summer  time,  and  the  fruits 
of  the  land  beiug  almost  ripe  enough  for 
reaping,  he  caught  300  foxes,  and  joining 
lighted  torches  to  their  tails,  he  sent  them 
into  the  fields  of  the  Philistines,  by  which 
means  the  fruits  of  the  fields  perished. 
Now  when  the  Philistines  knew  that  this 
was  Samson's  doing,  and  knew  also  for 
what  cause  he  did  it,  they  sent  their 
rulers  to  Timnath,  and  burnt  his  former 
wife,  and  her  relations,  considering  they 
had  been  the  occasion  of  their  misfor- 
tunes. 

Now  when  Samson  had  slain  many  of 
the  Philistines  in  the  plain  country,  he 
dwelt  at  Etam,  which  is  a  strong  rock  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  ;  for  the  Philistines  at 
that  time  made  an  expedition  against  that 
tribe :  but  the  people  of  Judah  said  that 
they  did  not  act  justly  with  them,  in 
inflicting  punishments  upon  them  while 
they  paid  their  tribute,  and  this  only 
on  account  of  Samson's  offences.  They 
answered,  that  in  case  they  would  not  be 
blamed  themselves,  they  must  deliver  up 
Samson,  and  put  him  into  their  power. 
So  they  being  desirous  not  to  be  blamed 


172 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


themselves,  came  to  the  rock  with  3000 
armed  men,  and  complained  to  Samson 
of  the  bold  insults  he  had  made  upon  the 
Philistines,  who  were  men  able  to  bring 
calamity  upon  the  whole  nation  of  the 
Hebrews;  and  they  told  him  they  were 
came  to  take  him,  and  to  deliver  him  up 
to  them,  and  put  him  into  their  power; 
so  they  desired  him  to  bear  this  willingly. 
Accordingly,  when  he  had  received  assur- 
ances from  them  upon  oath,  that  they 
would  do  him  no  other  harm  than  only  to 
deliver  him  into  his  enemies'  hands,  he 
came  down  from  the  rock,  and  put  him- 
self iuto  the  power  of  his  countrymen. 
Then  did  they  bind  him  with  two  cords, 
and  lead  him  on,  in  order  to  deliver  him 
to  the  Philistines;  and  when  they  came 
to  a  certain  place,  which  is  now  called  the 
"  Jaw-bone, "  on  account  of  the  great  ac- 
tion there  performed  by  Samson,  though 
of  old  it  had  no  particular  name  at  all,  the 
Philistines,  who  had  pitched  their  camp 
not  far  off,  came  to  meet  them  with  joy 
and  shouting,  as  having  done  a  great 
thing,  and  gained  what  they  desired ;  but 
Samson  broke  his  bonds  asunder,  and 
catching  up  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass  that 
lay  at  his  feet,  fell  upon  his  enemies,  and 
smiting  them  with  the  jaw-bone,  slew 
1000  of  them,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight 
and  to  great  disorder. 

Upon  this  slaughter  Samson  was  too 
proud  of  what  he  had  performed,  and 
said  that  this  did  not  come  to  pass  by  the 
assistance  of  God,  but  that  his  success 
was  to  be  ascribed  to  his  own  courage; 
and  vaunted  himself,  that  it  was  out  of  a 
dread  of  him  that  some  of  his  enemies 
fell,  and  the  rest  ran  away  upon  his  use 
of  the  jaw-bone;  but  when  a  great  thirst 
came  upon  him,  he  considered  that  human 
courage  is  nothing,  and  bare  his  testimony 
that  all  is  to  be  ascribed  to  God,  and  be- 
sought him  that  he  would  not  be  angry  at 
any  thing  he  had  said,  nor  give  him  up 
into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  but  afford 
him  help  under  his  affliction,  and  deliver 
him  from  the  misfortune  he  was  under. 
Accordingly,  God  was  moved  with  his 
entreaties,  and  raised  him  up  a  plentiful 
fountain  of  sweet  water  at  a  certaiu  rock ; 
wheuce  it  was  that  Samson  called  the 
place  the  "Jaw-bone,"  and  so  it  is  called 
to  this  day. 

After  this  fight,  Samson  held  the  Phi- 
listines in  contempt,  and  came  to  Gaza, 
arid  took  up  his  lodgings  in  a  certain  inn. 
Wheu   the  rulers  of  Gaza  were  informed 


of  his  coming  thither,  they  seized  upon 
the  gates,  and  placed  men  in  ambush 
about  them,  that  he  might  not  escape 
without  being  perceived ;  but  Samson. 
who  was  acquainted  with  their  contriv- 
ances against  him,  arose  about  mid- 
night, and  ran  by  force  upon  the  gates, 
with  their  posts  and  beams,  and  the  rest 
of  their  wooden  furniture,  and  carried 
them  away  on  his  shoulders,  and  bare 
them  to  the  mountain  that  is  ovei  Ho 
bron,  and  there  laid  them  down. 

However,  he  at  length  tranFgres-ed 
the  laws  of  his  country,  and  altered  his 
own  regular  way  of  living,  and  imitated 
the  strange  customs  of  foreigners,  which 
thing  was  the  beginning  of  his  miseries ; 
for  he  fell  in  love  with  a  woman  that  was 
au  harlot  among  the  Philistines ;  her 
name  was  Delilah,  and  he  lived  with  her. 
So  those  that  administered  the  public 
affairs  of  the  Philistines  came  to  her,  and 
with  promises  induced  her  to  get  out  of 
Samson  what  was  the  cause  of  that 
streugth  by  which  he  became  uncon- 
querable to  his  enemies.  Accordingly, 
when  they  were  driukiug,  and  had  the 
like  conversation  together,  she  pretended 
to  admire  the  actions  he  had  done,  and 
contrived  to  get  out  of  him  by  subtilty, 
by  what  means  he  so  much  excelled 
others  in  strength.  Samson,  in  order  to 
delude  Delilah,  for  he  had  not  yet  lost 
his  senses,  replied  that  if  he  was  bound 
with  seven  green  withes  of  a  vine,  such 
as  might  still  be  wreathed,  he  should  be 
weaker  than  any  other  man.  The  woman 
said  no  more  then,  but  told  this  to  the 
rulers  of  the  Philistines,  and  hid  certain 
of  the  soldiers  in  ambush  withiu  the 
house;  and  when  he  was  disordered  in 
drink  and  asleep,  she  bound  him  as  fast 
as  possible  with  the  withes;  and  then 
upon  her  awakeniug  him,  she  told  him 
some  of  the  people  were  upon  him ;  but 
he  broke  the  withes,  and  eudeavoured  to 
defend  himself,  as  though  some  of  the 
people  were  upon  him.  Now  this  woman, 
in  the  constant  conversation  Samson  had 
with  her,  pretended  that  she  took  it  very 
ill  that  he  had  stich  little  confidence  in 
her  affections  to  him,  that  he  would  not 
tell  her  what  she  desired,  as  if  she  would 
not  conceal  what  she  knew  it  was  for  his 
interest  to  have  concealed.  However,  he 
deluded  her  again,  and  told  her,  that  if 
they  bound  him  with  seven  cords,  he 
should  lose  his  strength.  And  when 
upon  doing  this,  she  gained  nothiug,  he 


Oitap  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    )F  THE   JEWS. 


173 


told  her  the  third  time,  that  his  hair 
should  be  woven  into  a  web;  but  when, 
upon  doing  this,  the  truth  was  not  yet 
discovered,  at  length  Samson,  upon  De- 
lilah's prayer,  (for  he  was  doomed  to  fall 
into  some  affliction,)  was  desirous  to 
please  her,  and  told  her  that  God  took 
care  of  him,  and  that  he  was  born  by  his 
providence,  and  that  "  thence  it  is  that 
I  suffer  my  hair  to  grow,  God  having 
charged  me  never  to  poll  my  head,  and 
thence  my  strength  is  according  to  the 
increase  and  continuance  of  my  hair/' 
When  she  had  learned  thus  much,  and 
had  deprived  him  of  his  hair,  she  de- 
livered him  up  to  his  enemies,  when  he 
was  not  strong  enough  to  defend  himself 
from  their  attempts  upon  him ;  so  they 
put  out  his  eyes,  and  bound  him,  and  had 
him  led  about  among  them. 

But  in  process  of  time,  Samson's  hair 
grew  again.  And  there  was  a  public 
festival  among  the  Philistines,  when  the 
rulers  and  those  of  the  most  eminent 
character  were  feasting  together  (now  the 
room  wherein  they  were  had  its  roof  sup- 
ported by  two  pillars;)  so  they  sent  for 
Samson,  and  he  was  brought  to  their 
feast,  that  they  might  insult  him  in  their 
cups.  Hereupon  he,  thinking  it  one  of 
the  greatest  misfortunes,  if  he  should  not 
be  able  to  revenge  himself  when  he  was 
thus  insulted,  persuaded  the  boy  that  led 
him  by  the  hand,  that  he  was  weary  and 
wanted  to  rest  himself,  and  desired  he 
would  bring  him  near  the  pillars ;  and  as 
soon  as  he  came  to  them,  \e  rushed  with 
force  against  them,  and  overthrew  the 
house,  by  overthrowing  its  pillars,  with 
3000  men  in  it,  who  were  all  slain,  and 
Samson  with  them.*  And  such  was  the 
end  of  this  man,  when  he  had  ruled  over 
the  Israelites  twenty  years.  And  indeed 
this  man  deserves  to  be  admired  for  his 
courage  and  strength,  and  magnanimity 


♦Pliny  mentions  two  theatres  built  at  Rome, 
which  were  large  enough  to  contain  the  whole 
Roman  people,  and  yet  of  so  singular  a  construc- 
tion as  to  depend  on  a  single  hinge  or  pivot.  And 
in  Tacitus  we  read  of  great  destruction  being  made 
by  the  fall  of  a  theatre  similar  to  this  occasioned 
by  Samson.  Si-r  Christopher  Wren  thus  describes 
what  he  considers  to  have  been  the  form  of  this 
temple,  thus  miraculously  destroyed  by  Samson  : — 
"  I  conceive  it  was  an  oval  amphitheatre,  the  scene 
in  the  middle,  where  a  vast  roof  of  cedar  beams, 
resting  round  on  the  walls,  centred  all  upon  one 
short  architrave,  that  united  two  cedar  pillars  in 
the  middle.  Now  if  Samson,  by  his  miraculous 
strength,  pressing  upon  these  pillars^  moved  them 
from  their  bases  the  whole  roof  must  of  necessity 
fall." 


at  his  death,  and  that  his  wrath  against 
his  enemies  went  so  far  as  to  die  himself 
with  them.  But  as  for  his  being  en- 
snared by  a  woman,  that  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  human  nature,  whicn  is  too  weak  to 
resist  the  temptations  to  that  sin  ;  but  we 
ought  to  bear  him  witness,  that  in  all 
other  respects  he  was  of  extraordinary 
virtue.  But  his  kindred  took  away  his 
body,  and  buried  it  in  Sarasat,  his  own 
country,  with  the  rest  of  his  family. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

History  of  Ruth.     Ruth  i.-iv.     1322-1312. 

Now  after  the  death  of  Samson,  Eli 
the  high  priest  was  governor  of  the  Is- 
raelites. Under  him,  when  the  country 
was  afflicted  with  a  famine,  Elimelech  of 
Bethlehem,  which  is  a  city  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  not  being  able  to  support  his 
family  under  so  sore  a  distress,  took  with 
him  Naomi  his  wife,  and  the  children 
that  were  born  to  him  by  her,  Chilion 
and  Mahlon,  and  removed  his  habitation 
into  the  land  of  Moab;  and  upon  the 
happy  prosperity  of  his  affairs  there,  he 
took  for  his  sons  wives  of  the  Moabites, 
Orpah  for  Chilion,  and  Buth  for  Mahlon. 
But  in  the  compass  of  ten  years  both 
Elimelech,  and  a  little  while  after  him, 
the  sons,  died;  and  Naomi  being  very 
uneasy  at  these  accidents,  and  not  being 
able  to  bear  her  lonesome  condition,  now 
those  that  were  dearest  to  her  were  dead, 
on  whose  account  it  was  that  she  had 
gone  away  from  her  own  country,  she  re- 
turned to  it  again,  for  she  had  been  in- 
formed it  was  now  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition. However,  her  daughters-in-law 
were  not  able  to  think  of  parting  with 
her;  and  when  they  had  a  mind  to  go 
out  of  the  country  with  her,  she  could 
not  dissuade  them  from  it;  but  when 
they  insisted  upon  it,  she  wished  them  a 
more  happy  wedlock  than  they  had  with 
her  sons,  and  that  they  might  have  pros- 
perity in  other  respects  also ;  and  seeing 
her  own  affairs  were  so  low,  she  exhorted 
them  to  stay  where  they  were,  and  not  to 
think  of  leaving  their  own  country,  and 
partaking  with  her  of  that  uncertainty 
under  which  she  must  return.  Accord- 
ingly Orpah  stayed  behind ;  but  she  took 
Buth  along  with  her,  as  not  to  be  per- 
suaded to  stay  behind  her,  but  would 
take  her  fortune  with  her,  whatsoever  it 
should  Drove. 


174 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  V. 


When  Rutti  had  come  with  her  mother- 
in-law  to  Bethlehem,  Boaz,  who  was  near 
of  kin  to  Elimelech,  entertained  her; 
and  when  Naomi  was  so  called  by  her 
fellow-citizens,  according  to  her  true 
name,  she  said,  "  You  might  more  truly 
call  me  Mara."  Now  Naomi  signifies  in 
the  Hebrew  tongue  "  happiness,"  and 
Mara,  "  sorrow."  It  was  now  reaping 
time ;  and  Ruth,  by  the  leave  of  her 
mother-in-law,  went  out  to  glean,  that 
they  might  get  a  stock  of  corn  for  their 
food.  Now  it  happened  that  she  came 
into  Boaz's  field ;  and  after  some,  time 
Boaz  came  thither,  and  when  he  saw  the 
damsel,  he  inquired  of  his  servant  that 
was  set  over  the  reapers,  concerning  the 
girl.  The  servant  had  a  little  before 
inquired  about  all  her  circumstances,  and 
told  them  to  his  master,  who  kindly  em- 
braced her,  both  on  account  of  her  affec- 
tion to  her  mother-in-law,  and  her  re- 
membrance of  that  son  of  hers  to  whom 
she  had  been  married,  and  wished  that 
she  might  experience  a  prosperous  con- 
dition ;  so  he  desired  her  not  to  glean, 
but  to  reap  what  she  was  able,  and  gave 
her  leave  to  carry  it  home.  He  also  gave 
a  charge  to  that  servant  who  was  over  the 
reapers,  not  to  hinder  her  when  she  took 
it  away,  and  bade  him  give  her  her 
dinner,  and  make  her  drink,  when  he 
did  the  like  to  the  reapers.  Now  what 
corn  Ruth  received  of  him,  she  kept- -for 
her  mother  in-law,  and  came  to  her  in  the 
evening,  and  brought  the  ears  of  corn 
with  her;  and  Naomi  had  kept  for  her  a 
part  of  such  food  as  the  neighbours  had 
plentifully  bestowed  upon  her.  Ruth 
also  told  her  mother-in-law  what  Boaz 
had  said  to  her ;  and  when  the  other  had 
informed  her  that  he  was  near  of  kin  to 
them,  and  perhaps  was  so  pious  a  man  as 
to  make  some  provision  for  them,  she 
went  out  again  on  the  days  following,  to 
gather  the  gleanings  with  Boaz's  maid- 
servants. 

It  was  not  many  days  before  Boaz,  after 
the  barley  was  winnowed,  slept  in  his 
threshing-floor.  When  Naomi  was  in- 
formed of  this  circumstance,  she  contrived 
it  so  that  Ruth  should  lie  down  by  him, 
for  she  thought  it  might  be  for  their  ad- 
vantage  that  he  should  discourse  with  the 
girl.  Accordingly,  she  sent  the  damsel 
to  sleep  at  his  feet;  who  went  as  she  bade 
her,  for  she  did  not  think  it  consistent 
with  her  duty  to  contradict  any  command 
of  her  mother-in-law.      And  at  first  she 


lay  concealed  from  Boaz,  as  he  was  fast 
asleep ;  but  when  he  awoke  about  mid- 
night, and  perceived  a  woman  lying  by 
him,  he  asked  who  she  was;  and  when 
she  told  him  her  name,  and  desired  that 
he  whom  she  owned  for  her  iufd  would 
excuse  her,  he  then  said  no  more;  but  in 
the  morning,  before  the  servants  began  to 
set  about  their  work,  he  awaked  her,  and 
bade  her  take  as  much  barley  as  she  was 
able  to  carry,  and  go  to  her  mother-in-laT 
before  anybody  there  should  see  that  she 
had  laid  down  by  him,  because  it  was  but 
prudent  to  avoid  any  reproach  that  might 
arise  on  that  account,  especially  when  there 
had  been  nothing  done  that  was  ill.  But 
as  to  the  main  point  she  aimed  at,  the 
matter  should  rest  here :  "  He  that  is 
nearer  of  kin  than  I  am,  shall  be  asked 
whether  he  wants  to  take  thee  to  wife;  if 
he  says  he  does,  thou  shalt  follow  him  ; 
but  if  he  refuse  it,  I  will  marry  thee,  ac- 
cording to  the  law." 

When  she  had  informed  her  mother-in- 
law  of  this,  they  were  very  glad  of  it,  out 
of  the  hope  that  they  had  that  Boaz  would 
make  provision  for  them.  Now  about^A 
^noon  Boaz  went  down  into  the  city,  and 
gathered  the  senate  together,  and  when  he 
had  sent  for  Ruth,  he  called  for  her  kins- 
man also ;  and  when  he  had  come,  he  said, 
"  Dost  thou  retain  the  inheritance  of  Eli- 
melech and  his  sons  ?"  He  confessed  that 
he  did  retain  it,  and  that  he  did  as  he  was 
permitted  to  do  by  the  laws,  because  he 
was  their  nearest  kinsman.  Then  said 
Boaz,  "  Thou  must  not  remember  the  law 
by  halves,  but  do  every  thing  according 
to  them ;  for  the  wife  of  Mahlon  is  come 
hither,  whom  thou  must  marry,  according 
to  the  law,  in  case  thou  wilt  retain  their 
fields."  So  the  man  yielded  up  both  the 
field  and  the  wife  to  Boaz,  who  was  him- 
self of  kin  to  those  that  were  dead,  as 
alleging  that  he  had  a  wife  already,  and 
children  also;  so  Boaz  called  the  senate  to 
witness,  and  bade  the  woman  to  loose  his 
shoe  and  spit  in  his  face,  according  to  the 
law;  and  when  this  was  done,  Boaz  mar- 
ried Ruth,  and  thpy  had  a  son  within  a 
year's  time.  Naomi  was  herself  a  nurse 
to  this  child;  and,  by  the  advice  of  the 
women,  called  him  "  Obed,"  as  being  to 
be  brought  up  in  order  to  be  subservient 
to  her  in  her  old  age,  for  "Obed,"  in  the 
Hebrew  dialect,  signifies  a  "  servant." 
The  son  of  Obed  was  Jesse,  and  David 
was  his  son,  who  was  king,  and  left  his 
dominion  to  his  sons  for  onc-aud-twenty 


Chap.  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


175 


generations.  I  was  therefore  obliged  to 
relate  this  history  of  Ruth,  because  I  had 
a  mind  to  demonstrate  the  power  of  God, 
who,  without  difficulty,  can  raise  those 
that  are  of  ordinary  parentage  to  dignity 
and  splendour,  to  which  he  advanced  Da- 
vid, though  he  was  born  of  such  mean 
parents. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Birth  of  Samuel.     1  Sam.  i.  20.     B.  C.  1171. 

And  now  upon  the  ill  state  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Hebrews,  they  made  war  again 
upon  the  Philistines.  The  occasion  was 
this : — Eli,  the  high  priest,  had  two  sons, 
Hophni  and  Phineas.  These  sons  of  Eli 
were  guilty  of  injustice  toward  men,  and 
impiety  toward  God,  and  abstained  from 
no  sort  of  wickedness.  Some  of  their 
gifts  they  carried  off,  as  belonging  to  the 
honourable  employment  they  had;  others 
of  them  they  took  away  by  violence. 
They  were  also  guilty  of  impurity  with 
the  women  that  came  to  worship  God  [at 
the  tabernacle],  obliging  some  to  submit 
to  their  lust  by  force,  and  enticing  others 
by  bribes ;  nay,  the  whole  course  of  their 
lives  was  no  better  than  tyranny.  Their 
father  therefore  was  angry  at  them  for 
such  their  wickedness,  and  expected  that 
God  would  suddenly  inflict  his  punish- 
ments upon  them  for  what  they  had  done. 
The  multitude  took  it  heinously  also:  and 
as  soon  as  God  had  foretold  what  calamity 
would  befall  Eli's  sons,  which  he  did  both 
to  Eli  himself  and  to  Samuel  the  prophet, 
who  was  yet  but  a  child,  he  openly  showed 
his  sorrow  for  his  sons'  destruction. 

I  will  first  despatch  what  I  have  to  say 
about  the  prophet  Samuel,  and  after  that 
will  proceed  to  speak  of  the  sons  of  Eli, 
and  the  miseries  they  brought;  on  the 
whole  people  of  the  Hebrews.  Elkanah, 
a  Levite,  one  of  a  middle  condition  among 
his  fellow-citizens,  and  one  that  dwelt  at 
Ramathaim,  a  city  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
married  two  wives,  Hannah  and  Peninnah. 
He  had  children  by  the  latter;  but  he 
loved  the  other  best,  although  she  was 
barren.  Now  Elkanah  came  with  his 
wives  to  the  city  Shiloh  to  sacrifice,  for 
there  it  was  that  the  tabernacle  of  God 
was  fixed,  as  we  have  formerly  said.  Now 
when,  after  he  had  sacrificed,  he  distri- 
buted at  that  festival  portions  of  the  flesh 
to  his  wives  and  children,  and  when  Han- 
nah saw  the  other  wife's  children  sitting 


round  about  their  mother,  she  fell  into 
tears,  and  lamented  herself  on  account  of 
her  barrenness  and  lonesomeness;  and 
suffering  her  grief  to  prevail  over  her  hus- 
band's consolations  to  her,  she  went  to 
the  tabernacle  to  beseech  God  to  give  her 
seed,  and  to  make  her  a  mother;  and  to 
vow  to  consecrate  the  first  son  she  should 
bear  to  the  service  of  God,  and  this  in 
such  a  way,  that  his  manner  of  living 
should  not  be  like  that  of  ordinary  men. 
And  as  she  Continued  at  her  prayers  a 
long  time,  Eli,  the  high  priest,  for  he  sat 
theie  before  the  tabernacle,  bade  her  go 
away,  thinking  she  had  been  disordered 
with  wine ;  but  when  she  said  she  had 
drunk  only  water,  but  was  in  sorrow  for 
want  of  children,  and  was  beseeching  God 
for  them ;  he  bade  her  be  of  good  cheer, 
and  told  her  that  God  would  send  her 
children. 

So  she  came  to  her  husband  full  of 
hope,  and  ate  her  meal  with  gladness. 
And  when  they  had  returned  to  their  own 
country  she  found  herself  with  child,  and 
they  had  a  son  born  to  them,  to  whom 
they  gave  the  name  of  Samuel,  which 
may  be  styled  one  that  was  "  asked  of 
God."  They  therefore  came  to  the  taber- 
nacle to  offer  sacrifice  for  the  birth  of  the 
child,  and  brought  their  tithes  with  them  ; 
but  the  woman  remembered  the  vow  she 
had  made  concerning  her  son,  and  deli- 
vered him  to  Eli,  dedicating  him  to  God, 
that  he  might  become  a  prophet.  Ac- 
cordingly, his  hair  was  suffered  to  grow 
long>  and  his  drink  was  water.  So  Sa- 
muel dwelt  and  was  brought  up  in  the 
temple.  But  Elkanah  had  other  sons  by 
Hannah,  and  three  daughters. 

Now  when  Samuel  was  twelve  years  old 
he  began  to  prophesy:  and  once  when  he 
was  asleep,  God  called  to  him  by  his  name; 
and  he,  supposing  he  had  been  called  by 
the  high  priest,  came  to  him  :  but  when 
the  high  priest  said  he  did  not  call  him, 
and  God  did  so  thrice,  Eli  was  so  far  illu- 
minated, that  he  said  to  him,  "  Indeed, 
Samuel,  I  was  silent  now  as  well  as  before ; 
it  is  God  that  calls  thee ;  do  thou  there- 
fore signify  it  to  him,  and  say,  I  am  here, 
ready."  So  when  he  heard  God  speak 
again,  he  desired  him  to  speak,  and  to  de- 
liver what  oracles  he  pleased  to  him,  for 
he  would  not  fail  to  perform  any  ministra* 
tion  whatsoever  he  should  make  use  of 
him  in ;  to  which  God  replied,  "  Since 
thou  art  here  ready,  learn  what  miseries 
are  coming  upon  the  Israelites,  such  indeed 


176 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V.  Citap   XL 


as  words  cannot  declare,  nor  faith  believe; 
for  the  sons  of  Eli  shall  die  on  one  day, 
and  the  priesthood  shall  be  transferred  into 
the  family  of  Eleazar;  for  Eli  hath  loved 
his  sons  more  than  he  hath  loved  my  wor- 
ship, and  to  such  a  degree  as  is  not  for 
their  advantage."  Which  message,  Eli 
obliged  the  prophet  by  oath  to  tell  him, 
for  otherwise  he  had  no  inclination  to 
afflict  him  by  telling  it.  And  now  Eli 
had  a  far  more  sure  expectation  of  the  per- 
dition of  his  sons;  but  the  glory  of  Samuel 
increased  more  and  more,  it  being  found 
by  experience  that  whatever  he  prophe- 
sied came  to  pass  accordingly. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Philistines  carry  away  the  Ark.    Death  of  Eli. 
B.  C.  1116. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  the  Philis- 
tines made  war  against  the  Israelites,  and 
pitched  their  camp  at  the  city  Aphek. 
Now  when  the  Israelites  had  expected 
them  a  little  while,  the  very  next  day  they 
joined  battle,  and  the  Philistines  were 
conquerors,  and  slew  above  4000  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  pursued  the  rest  of  the  mul- 
titude to  their  camp. 

So  the  Hebrews  being  afraid  of  the 
worst,  sent  to  the  senate,  and  to  the  high 
priest,  and  desired  that  they  would  bring 
the  ark  of  God,  that  by  putting  themselves 
in  array,  when  it  was  present  with  them, 
they  might  be  too  hard  for  their  enemies, 
as  not  reflecting  that  he  who  had  con- 
demned them  to  endure  these  calamities 
was  greater  than  the  ark,  and  for  whose 
sake  it  was  that  this  ark  came  to  be  ho- 
noured. So  the  ark  came,  and  the  sons 
of  the  high  priest  with  it,  having  received 
a  charge  from  their  father,  that  if  they 
pretended  to  survive  the  taking  of  the  ark, 
they  should  come  no  more  into  his  pre- 
sence; for  Phineas  officiated  already  as 
high  priest,  his  father  having  resigned  his 
office  to  him,  by  reason  of  his  great  age. 
So  the  Hebrews  were  full  of  courage,  as 
supposing  that,  by  the  coming  of  the  ark, 
they  should  be  too  hard  for  their  enemies: 
their  enemies  also  were  greatly  concerned, 
and  were  afraid  of  the  ark's  coining  to 
the  Israelites  :  however,  the  upshot  did 
jot  prove  agreeable  to  the  expectation  of 
both  sides;  but  when  the  battle  was  joined, 
that  victory  which  the  Hebrews  expected 
was  gained   by  the  Philistines,  and  that 


defeat  the  Philistines  were  afraid  of  fell 
to  the  lot  of  the  Israelites,  and  thereby 
they  found  that  they  had  put  their  trust 
in  the  ark  in  vain,  for  they  were  presently 
beaten  as  soon  as  they  came  to  a  close 
fight  with  their  enemies,  and  lost  about 
30,000  men,  among  whom  were  the  sons 
of  the  high  priest;  the  ark  also  was  car- 
ried away  by  their  enemies. 

When  the  news  of  this  defeat  came  to 
Shiloh,  with  that  of  the  captivity  of  the 
ark,  (for  a  certain  young  man,  a  Benja- 
mite,  who  was  in  the  action,  came  as  a 
messenger  thither,)  the  whole  city  was  full 
of  lamentations.  And  Eli,  the  high  priest, 
who  sat  upon  a  high  throne  at  one  of  the 
gates,  heard  their  mournful  cries,  and  sup- 
posed that  some  strange  thing  had  befallen 
his  family.  So  he  sent  for  the  young  man ; 
and  when  he  understood  what  had  hap- 
pened in  the  battle,  he  was  not  much  un- 
easy as  to  his  sons,  or  what  was  told  him 
withal  about  the  army,  as  having  before- 
hand known  hy  Divine  revelation  that 
those  things  would  happen,  and  having 
himself  declared  them  beforehand,  for 
what  sad  things  come  unexpectedly,  they 
distress  men  the  most ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
heard  the  ark  was  carried  captive  by  their 
enemies,  he  was  very  much  grieved  at  it, 
because  it  fell  out  quite  differently  from 
what  he  expected;  so  he  fell  down  from 
his  throne  and  died,  having  in  all  lived 
ninety-eight  years,  and  of  them  retained 
the  government  forty  years. 

On  the  same  day  his  son  Phineas's  wife 
died  also,  as  not  able  to  survive  the  mis- 
fortune of  her  husband  ;  for  they  told  her 
of  her  husband's  death  as  she  was  in  la- 
bour. However,  she  bare  a  son  at  seven 
months,  who  lived,  and  to  whom  they  gave 
the  name  of  Ichabod,  which  name  signi- 
fies "disgrace/'  and  this  because  the  army 
received  a  disgrace  at  this  time. 

Now  Eli  was  the  first  of  the  family  of 
Ithamar,  the  other  son  of  Aaron,  that  had 
the  government ;  for  the  family  of  Eleazar 
officiated  as  high  priest  at  first,  the  sou 
still  receiving  that  honour  from  the  father 
which  Eleazar  bequeathed  to  his  son 
Phineas;  after  whom  Abiezer  his  son  took 
the  honour,  and  delivered  it  to  his  sou, 
whose  son  was  Bukki,  from  whom  his  son 
Ozi  received  it;  after  whom  Eli,  of  whom 
we  have  been  speaking,  had  the  priest- 
hood, and  so  he  and  his  posterity  until  the 
time  of  Solomon's  reign ;  but  then  the 
posterity  of  Eleazar  reassumed  it. 


ft©  ox  VI    Chap.  I  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


177 


BOOK  VI. 


CONTAINING  THE   INTERVAL  OF  THIRTY-TWO  YEARS,*   FROM  THE 
DEATH  OF  ELI   TO   THE   DEATH   OF   SAUL. 


CHAPTER  L 

The  Philistines  restore  the  ark  in  consequence  of 
the  evils  that  befall  them.     B.  C.  1140. 

"When  the  Philistines  had  taken  the  ark 
of  the  Hebrews  captive,  as  I  said  a  little 
before,  they  carried  it  to  the  city  of  Ash- 
dod,  and  put  it  by  their  own  god,  who  was 
called  "  Dagon,,;j*  as  one  of  their  spoils; 
but  when  they  went  into  his  temple  the 
next  morning  to  worship  their  god,  they 
found  him  paying  the  same  worship  to  the 
ark,  for  he  lay  along,  as  having  fallen 
down  from  the  basis  whereon  he  had 
stood  :  so  they  took  him  up  and  set  him 
on  his  basis  again,  and  were  much  troubled 
at  what  had  happened;  and  as  they  fre- 
quently came  to  Dagon  and  found  him 
still  lying  along,  in  a  posture  of  adoration 
to  the  ark,  they  were  in  very  great  dis- 
tress and  confusion.  At  length  God  sent 
a  very  destructive  disease  upon  the  city 
and  country  of  Ashdod,  for  they  died  of 
the  dysentery  or  flux,  a  sore  distemper  that 
brought  death  upon  them  very  suddenly; 
for  before  the  soul  could,  as  usual  in  easy 
deaths,  be  well  loosed  from  the  body,  they 
brought  up  their  entrails,  and  vomited  up 
what  they  had  eaten,  and  what  was  en- 
tirely corrupted  by  the  disease.  And  as 
to  the  fruits  of  their  country,  a  great  mul- 
titude of  mice  arose  out  of  the  earth  and 
hurt  them,  and  spared  neither  the  plants 
nor  the  fruits.  Now  while  the  people  of 
Ashdod  were  under  these  misfortunes,  and 
were  not  able  to  support  themselves  under 
their  calamities,  they  perceived  that  they 
suffered  thus  because  of  the  ark,  and  that 
the  victory  they  had  gotten,  and  their 
having  taken  the  ark  captive,  had  not  hap- 
pened for  their  good ;  they  therefore  sent 
to  the  people  of  Askelon,  and  desired  that 
they  wuuld  receive  the  ark  among  them. 
This  desire  of  the  people  of  Ashdod  was 
not  disagreeable  to  those  of  Askelon,  so 

*  Scripture  chronology  about  eighty-five  years. 
See  1  Sam.  iv.  18  to  xxxi.  6.— Eli  died  E.  C.  11-41, 
and  Saul  E.  C.  1056. 
f" Dagon  his  name;  sea-monster!  upward  man, 
And  downward  fish."— Milton. 
12 


they  granted  them  that  favour.  But 
when  they  had  gotten  the  ark,  they  were 
in  the  same  miserable  condition;  for  the 
ark  carried  along  with  it  the  disasters  that 
the  people  of  Ashdod  had  suffered,  to 
those  who  received  it  from  them.  Those 
of  Askelon  also  sent  it  away  from  them- 
selves to  others;  nor  did  it  stay  among 
those  others  neither ;  for  since  they  were 
pursued  by  the  same  disasters,  they  still 
sent  it  to  the  neighbouring  cities;  so 
that  the  ark  went  round,  after  this  man- 
ner, to  the  five  cities  of  the  Philistines,  as 
though  it  exacted  these  disasters  as  a  tri- 
bute to  be  paid  it  for  its  coming  among 
them. 

When  those  that  had  experienced  these 
miseries  were  tired  out  with  them,  and 
when  those  that  heard  of  them  were  taught 
thereby  not  to  admit  the  ark  among  them, 
since  they  paid  so  dear  a  tribute  for  it, 
at  length  they  sought  for  some  contrivance 
and  method  how  they  might  get  free  from 
it :  so  the  governors  of  the  five  cities, 
Gath,  and  Ekron,  and  Askelon,  as  also  of 
Gaza  and  Ashdod,  met  together,  and  con- 
sidered what  was  fit  to  be  done ;  and  at 
first  they  thought  proper  to  send  the  ark 
back  to  its  own  people,  as  allowing  that 
God  had  avenged  its  cause ;  that  the  mise- 
ries they  had  undergone  came  along  with 
it,  and  that  these  were  sent  on  their  cities 
upon  its  account,  and  together  with  it. 
However,  there  were  those  that  said  they 
should  not  do  so,  nor  suffer  themselves  to 
be  deluded,  as  ascribing  the  cause  of  their 
miseries  to  it,  because  it  could  not  have 
such  power  and  force  upon  them  ;  for,  had 
God  had  such  a  regard  to  it,  it  would  not 
have  been  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men  : 
so  they  exhorted  them  to  be  quiet,  and  to 
take  patiently  what  had  befallen  them, 
and  to  suppose  there  was  no  other  cause 
of  it  but  nature,  which,  at  certain  revolu- 
tions of  time,  produces  such  mutations  in 
the  bodies  of  men,  in  the  earth,  in  plants, 
and  in  all  things  that  grow  out  of  the 
earth.  But  the  counsel  that  prevailed 
over  those  already  described,  was  that  of 
certain  men  who  were  believed  to  have 


178 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


distinguished  themselves  in  former  times 
for   their    understanding   and    prudence, 

and  who,  in  their  present  circumstances, 
seemed  above  all  the  rest  to  speak  pro- 
perly. These  men  said,  it  was  not  right 
either  to  send  the  ark  away,  or  to  retain 
it,  but  to  dedicate  five  golden  images,  one 
for  every  city,  as  a  thank-offering  to  God, 
on  account  of  his  having  taken  care  of 
their  preservation,  and  having  kept  them 
alive,  when  their  lives  were  likely  to  be 
taken  away  by  such  distempers  as  they 
were  not  able  to  bear  up  against.  They 
also  would  have  made  them  five  golden 
mice  like  to  those  that  devoured  and  de- 
stroyed their  country,  to  put  them  in  a 
bag,  and  lay  them  upon  the  ark;  to  make 
them  a  new  cart  also  for  it,  and  to  yoke 
milch  kine  to  it;  but  to  shut  up  their 
calves,  and  keep  them  from  them,  lest  by 
following  after  them,  they  should  prove  a 
hinderance  to  their  dams,  and  that  the 
dams  might  return  the  faster  out  of  a  de- 
sire of  those  calves ;  then  to  drive  these 
milch  kine  that  carried  the  ark,  and  leave 
it  at  a  place  where  three  ways  met,  and  to 
leave  it  to  the  kine  to  go  along  which  of 
those  ways  they  pleased ;  that  in  case  they 
went  the  way  to  the  Hebrews,  and  ascended 
to  their  country,  they  should  suppose  that 
the  ark  was  the  cause  of  their  misfortunes ; 
but  if  they  turned  into  another  road,  they 
paid,  "  We  will  pursue  after  it,  and  con- 
clude that  it  has  no  such  force  in  it.". 

So  they  determined  that  these  men 
spake  well ;  and  they  immediately  con- 
firmed their  opinion  by  doing  accordingly. 
And  when  they  had  done  as  has  been 
already  described,  they  brought  the  cart 
to  a  place  where  three  ways  met,  and  left 
it  there,  and  went  their  w?ays;  but  the 
kine  went  the  right  way,  and  as  if  some  per- 
son had  driven  them,  while  the  rulers  of 
the  Philistines  followed  after  them,  as  de- 
sirous to  know  where  they  would  stand 
still,  and  to  whom  they  would  go.  Now 
there  was  a  certain  village  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  the  name  of  which  was  Bethshe- 
mesh,  and  to  that  village  did  the  kine  go; 
and  though  there  was  a  great  and  good 
plain  before  them  to  proceed  in,  they  went 
no  farther,  but  stopped  the  cart  there. 
This  was  a  sight  to  those  of  that  village, 
and  they  were  very  glad;  for  it  being 
then  summer  time,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
being  then  in  the  fields  gathering  in  their 
fruits,  they  left  oft"  tht  labours  of  their 
hands  for  joy  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  ark, 
and   ran    to  the  cart,  an<J    taking   the  ark 


down,  and  the  vessel  that  had  the  images 
in  it,  and  the  mice,  they  set  them  upon  a 
certain  rock  which  was  on  the  plain;  and 
when  they  had  offered  a  splendid  sacrifice 
to  God,  and  feasted,  they  offered  the  cart 
and  the  kine  as  a  burnt-offering :  and  when 
the  lords  of  the  Philistines  saw  this,  they 
returned  back. 

But  now  it  was  that  the  wrath  of  God 
overtook  them,  and  struck  seventy  per- 
sons* of  the  village  of  Bethshemesh  dead, 
who,  not  being  priests,  and  so  not  worthy 
to  touch  the  ark,  had  approached  to  it. 
Those  of  that  village  wept  for  those  that 
had  thus  suffered,  and  made  such  a  la- 
mentation as  wras  naturally  to  be  expected 
on, so  great  a  misfortune  that  was  sent  from 
God  ;  and  every  one  mourned  for  his  own 
relation.  And  since  they  acknowledged 
themselves  unworthy  of  the  ark's  abode 
with  them,  they  sent  to  the  public  senate 
of  the  Israelites,  and  informed  them  that 
the  ark  was  restored  by  the  Philistines ; 
which,  when  they  knew,  they  brought  it 
away  to  Kirjathjearim,  a  city  in  .the 
neighbourhood  of  Bethshemesh.  In  this 
city  lived  one  Abinidab,  by  birth  a  Levite, 
and  who  was  greatly  commended  for  his 
righteous  and  religious  course  of  life  ;  so 
they  brought  the  ark  to  his  house,  as  a 
place  fit  for  God  himself  to  abide  in,  since 
therein  did  inhabit  a  righteous  man.  His 
sons  also  ministered  to  the  Divine  service 
at  the  ark,  and  were  the  principal  curators 
of  it  for  twenty  years  ;  for  so  many  years 
it  continued  in  Kirjathjearim,  having  been 
but  four  months  with  the  Philistines. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The   Philistines'  expedition  against  the   Hebrews 
defeated.     B.  C.  1140. 

Now  while  the  city  of  Kirjathjearim 
had  the  ark  with  them,  the  whole  body  of 
the  people  betook  themselves  all  that  time 
to  offer  prayers  and  sacrifices  to  God,  and 
appeared  greatly  concerned  and  zealous 
about  his  worship.  So  Samuel  the  pro- 
phet, seeing  how  ready  they  were  to  do 
their  duty,  thought  this  a  proper  time  to 
speak  to  them,  while  they  were  in  this 
good  disposition,  about  the  recovery  o:' 
their  liberty,  and  of  the  blessings  that  ac- 
companied   the   same.      Accordingly,   he 

•  The  English  translators  of  the  Bible  say  lifty 
thousand  and  three  score  and  ten;  but  as  Bethshe- 
mesh was  only  a  small  village,  there  is  little  doubt 
of  Josephus'a  enumeration  of  s»  i-cnty  persuus  being 
oorreot.     fc>ee  1  Sam.  vi.  ly. 


CHAP.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


179 


ased  such  words  to  them  as  he  thought 
were  most  likely  to  excite  that  inclination, 
and  to  persuade  them  to  attempt  it:  "  0 
you  Israelites/'  said  he,  "to  whom  the 
Philistines  are  still  grievous  enemies,  but 
to  whom  God  begins  to  be  gracious,  it 
behooves  you  not  only  to  be  desirous  of 
liberty,  but  to  take  the  proper  methods  to 
obtain  it.  Nor  are  you  to  be  contented 
with  an  inclination  to  get  clear  of  your 
lords  and  masters,  while  you  still  do  what 
will  procure  your  continuance  under  them. 
Be  righteous  then,  and  cast  wickedness 
out  of  your  souls,  and  by  your  worship 
supplicate  the  Divine  Majesty  with  all 
your  hearts,  and  persevere  iu  the  honour 
you  pay  to  him  ;  for  if  you  act  thus,  you 
will  enjoy  prosperity;  you  will  be  freed 
from  your  slavery,  and  will  get  the  victory 
aver  your  enemies:  which  blessing  it  is 
not  possible  you  should  attain,  either  by 
weapons  of  war,  or  by  the  strength  of 
your  bodies,  or  by  the  multitude  of  your 
assistants;  for  God  has  not  promised  to 
grant  these  blessings  by  those  means,  but 
by  being  good  and  righteous  men;  and  if 
you  will  be  such,  I  will  be  security  to  you 
for  the  performance  of  God's  promises/' 
When  Samuel  had  said  thus,  the  multi- 
tude applauded  his  discourse,  and  were 
pleased  with  his  exhortation  to  them,  and 
gave  their  consent  to  resign  themselves 
up  to  do  what  was  pleasing  to  God.  So 
Samuel  gathered  them  together  to  a  cer- 
tain city  called  Mizpeh,  which  in  the  He- 
brew tongue  signifies  a  "watch-tower;" 
there  they  drew  water,  and  poured  it  out 
to  God,  and  fasted  all  day,  and  betook 
themselves  to  their  prayers. 

This  their  assembly  did  not  escape  the 
notice  of  the  Philistines  :  so  when  they 
had  learned  that  so  large  a  company  had 
met  together,  they  fell  upon  the  Hebrews 
with  a  great  army  and  mighty  forces,  as 
hoping  to  assault  them  when  they  did  not 
expect  it,  nor  were  prepared  for  it.  This 
thing  affrighted  the  Hebrews,  and  put 
them  into  disorder  and  terror;  so  they 
came  running  to  Samuel,  and  said  that 
their  souls  were  sunk  by  their  fears,  and 
by  the  former  defeat  they  had  received, 
and  "  that  thence  it  was  that  we  lay  still, 
lest  we  should  excite  the  power  of  our 
enemies  against  us.  Now  while  thou  hast 
brought  us  hither  to  offer  up  our  prayers 
and  sacrifices,  and  take  oaths  [to  be  obe- 
dient], our  enemies  are  making  an  expe- 
dition against  us,  while  we  are  naked  and 
unarmed;  wherefore,  we  have   no  other 


hope  of  deliverance,  but  that  by  thy 
means,  and  by  the  assistance  God  shall 
afford  us  upon  thy  prayers  to  him,  we 
shall  obtain  deliverance  from  the  Philis- 
tines." Hereupon  Samuel  bade  them  be 
of  good  cheer,  and  promised  them  that 
God  would  assist  them ;  and  taking  a 
sucking  lamb,  he  sacrificed  it  for  the  mul- 
titude, and  besought  God  to  hold  his 
protecting  hand  over  them  when  they 
should  fight  with  the  Philistines,  and  not 
to  overlook  them,  nor  suffer  them  to 
come  under  a  second  misfortune.  Ac- 
cordingly, God  hearkened  to  his  prayers, 
and  accepting  their  sacrifice  with  a  gra- 
cious intention,  and  such  as  was  disposed 
to  assist  them,  he  granted  them  victory 
and  power  over  their  enemies.  Now 
while  the  altar  had  the  sacrifice  of  God 
upon  it,  and  had  not  yet  consumed  it 
wholly  by  its  sacred  fire,  the  enemy's 
army  marched  out  of  their  camp,  and  was 
put  in  order  of  battle,  and  this  in  hope 
that  they  should  be  conquerors,  since  the 
Jews  were  caught  in  distressed  circum- 
stances, as  neither  having  their  weapons 
with  them,  nor  being  assembled  there  in 
order  to  fight.  But  things  so  fell  out, 
that  they  would  hardly  have  been  credited 
though  they  had  been  foretold  by  any- 
body ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  God  dis- 
turbed their  enemies  with  an  earthquake, 
and  moved  the  ground  under,  them  to 
such  a  degree,  that  he  caused  it  to  tremble, 
and  made  them  to  shake,  insomuch  that 
by  its  trembling,  he  made  some  unable  to 
keep  their  feet,  and  made  them  fall  down, 
and,  by  opening  its  chasms,  he  caused 
that  others  should  be  hurried  down  into 
them  ;  after  which  he  caused  such  a  noise 
of  thunder  to  come  among  them,  and 
made  fiery  lightning  shine  so  terribly 
round  about  them,  that  it  was  ready  to 
burn  their  faces ;  and  he  so  suddenly 
shook  their  weapons  out  of  their  hands, 
that  he  made  them  fly  and  return  home 
naked.  So  Samuel  with  the  multitude 
pursued  them  to  Bethcar,  a  place  so  call- 
ed ;  and  there  he  set  up  a  stone  as  a 
boundary  of  their  victory  and  their  ene- 
mies' flight,  and  called  it  the  "stone  of 
power,"  as  a  sigual  of  that  power  God 
had  given  them  against  their  enemies. 

So  the  Philistines,  after  this  stroke, 
made  no  more  expeditions  against  the  Is- 
raelites, but  lay  still  out  of  fear,  and  out 
of  remembrance  of  what  had  befallen 
them  .  and  what  courage  the  Philistines 
had  formerly  against  the  Hebrews,  that, 


180 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


after  this  victory,  was  transferred  to  the 
Hebrews.  Samuel  also  made  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Philistines,  and  slew 
many  of  them,  and  entirely  humbled 
their  proud  hearts,  and  took  from  them 
that  country  which,  when  they  were  for- 
merly conquerors  in  battle,  they  had  cut 
off  from  the  Jews,  which  was  the  country 
that  extended  from  the  borders  of  Gath 
to  the  city  of  Ekron  ;  but  the  remaius  of 
the  Canaanitcs  were  at  this  time  in  friend- 
ship with  the  Israelites. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Israelites,  dissatisfied  with  the  government  of 
Samuel's  sons,  desire  a  king.     B.  C.  1095. 

But  Samuel  the  prophet,  when  he  had 
ordered  the  affairs  of  the  people  after  a 
convenient  manner,  and  had  appointed  a 
city  for  every  district  of  them,  he  com- 
manded them  to  come  to  such  cities,  to 
have  the  controversies  that  they  had  one 
with  another  determined  in  them,  he  him- 
self going  over  those  cities  twice  in  a 
year,  and  doing  them  justice  ;  and  by  that 
means  he  kept  them  in  very  good  order 
for  a  long  time.* 

But  afterward  he  found  himself  op- 
pressed with  old  age,  and  not  able  to  do 
what  he  used  to  do ;  so  he  committed  the 
government  and  the  care  of  the  multitude 
to  his  sons,  the  elder  of  whom  was  called 
Joel,  and  the  name  of  the  younger- was 
Abiah.  He  also  enjoined  them  to  reside 
and  judge  the  people,  the  one  at  the  city 
of  Bethel,  and  the  other  at  Beersheba, 
and  divided  the  people  into  districts  that 
should  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  each 
of  them.  Now  these  men  afford  us  an 
evident  example  and  demonstration  how 
some  children  are  not  of  the  like  disposi- 
tions with  their  parents;  but  sometimes 
perhaps  good  and  moderate,  though  born 
of  wicked  parents  ;  arid  sometimes  show- 
ing themselves  to  be  wicked,  though  born 
of  good  parents  ;  for  these  men,  turning 
aside  from  their  father's  good  courses, 
and  taking  a  course  that  was  contrary  to 
them,  perverted  justice  for  the  filthy 
lucre  of  gifts  and  bribes,  and  made  their 
determinations  not  according  to  truth, 
but  according  to  bribery,  and  turned 
aside  to  luxury,  and  a  costly  way  of  liv- 
ing; so  that  as,  in  the  first  place,  they 
practised  what  was  contrary  to  the  will 
of  God,  so  did  they,  iu  the  second  place, 

*  1  Sam.  viii. 


what  was  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  pro- 
phet their  father,  who  had  taken  a  great, 
deal  of  care,  and  made  a  very  careful 
provision  that  the  multitude  should  be 
righteous. 

But  the  people,  upon  these  injuries 
offered  to  their  former  constitution  and 
government  by  the  prophet's  sons,  were 
very  uneasy  at  their  actions,  and  came 
ruuning  to  the  prophet  who  then  lived  at 
the  city  Ramah,  and  informed  him  of  the 
transgressions  of  his  sons;  and  said,  that, 
as  he  was  himself  old  already,  and  too  in- 
firm by  that  age  of  his  to  oversee  their 
affairs  in  the  manner  he  used  to  do,  so 
they  begged  of  him,  and  entreated  him, 
to  appoint  some  person  to  be  king  over 
them,  who  might  rule  over  the  nation, 
and  avenge  them  of  the  Philistiues,  who 
ought  to  be  punished  for  their  former  op- 
pressions. These  words  greatly  afflicted 
Samuel,  on  account  of  his  infinite  love  of 
justice,  and  his  hatred  to  kingly  govern- 
ment, for  he  was  very  fond  of  an  aristo- 
cracy, as  making  the  men  that  used  it  of 
a  divine  and  happy  disposition ;  nor  could 
he  either  think  of  eating  or  sleeping,  out 
of  his  concern  and  torment  of  mind  at 
what  they  had  said,  but  all  the  night  long 
did  he  continue  awake,  and  resolved  these 
notions  in  his  mind. 

While  he  was  thus  disposed,  God  ap- 
peared to  him,  and  comforted  him,  say- 
ing, "  That  he  ought  not  to  be  uneasy  at 
what  the  multitude  desired,  because  it 
was  not  he,  but  Himself  whom  they  so 
iusolently  despised,  and  would  not  have 
to  be  alone  their  king :  that  they  had 
been  contriving  these  things  from  the 
very  day  that  they  came  out  of  Egypt ; 
that,  however,  in  no  long  time  they  would 
sorely  repent  of  what  they  did,  which  re- 
pentauce  Jet  could  not  undo  what  was 
thus  done  for  futurity:  that  they  would 
be  sufficiently  rebuked  for  their  con- 
tempt, and  the  ungrateful  conduct  they 
have  used  toward  me,  and  toward  thy 
prophetic  office.  So  I  command  thee  to 
ordain  them  such  an  one  as  I  shall  name 
beforehand  to  be  their  king,  when  thou 
hast  first  described  what  mischiefs  kingly 
government  will  bring  upon  them,  and 
openly  testify  before  them  into  what  a 
great  change  of  affairs  they  are  has- 
tening." 

When  Samuel  had  heard  this,  he  called 
the  Jews  early  in  the  morning,  and  cou- 
fessed  to  them  that  he  was  to  ordain  them 
a  king ;  but  he  said  that  he  was  first  to 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


181 


describe  to  them  what  would  follow,  what 
treatment  they  would  receive  from  their 
kings,  and  with  how  many  mischiefs  the}' 
must  struggle.  "  For  know  ye,"  said  he, 
"  that,  in  the  first  place,  they  will  take 
your  sons  away  from  you,  and  they  will 
command  some  of  them  to  be  drivers  of 
their  chariots,  and  some  to  be  their  horse- 
men, and  the  guards  of  their  body,  and 
others  of  them  to  be  runners  before  them, 
and  captains  of  thousands,  and  captains 
of  hundreds;  they  will  also  make  them 
their  artificers,  makers  of  armour,  and  of 
chariots,  and  of  instruments;  they  will 
make  them  their  husbandmen  also,  and 
the  curators  of  their  own  fields,  and  the 
diggers  of  their  own  vineyards,  nor  will 
there  be  any  thing  which  they  will  not 
do  at  their  commands,  as  if  they  were 
slaves  bought  with  money.  They  will 
also  appoint  your  daughters  to  be  confec- 
tioners, and  cooks,  and  bakers;  and*  these 
will  be  obliged  to  do  all  sorts,  of  work 
which  women  slaves  that  are  in  fear  of 
stripes  and  torments  submit  to.  They 
will,  besides  this,  take  away  your  posses- 
sions, and  bestow  them  upon  their  eunuchs, 
and  the  guards  of  their  bodies,  and  will 
give  the  herds  of  your  cattle  to  their  own 
servants  :  and  to  say  briefly  all  at  once, 
you,  and  all  that  is  yours,  will  be  servants 
to  your  kiug,  and  will  become  noway  su- 
perior to  his  slaves  ;  and  when  you  suffer 
thus,  you  will  thereby  be  put  in  mind  of 
what  I  now  say;  and  when  you  repent  of 
what  you  have  done,  you  will  beseech 
God  to  have  mercy  upon  you,  and  to 
grant  you  a  quick  deliverance  from  your 
kings;  but  he  will  not  accept  your 
prayers,  but  will  neglect  you,  and  permit 
vou  to  suffer  the  punishment  your  evil 
conduct  has  deserved." 

But  the  multitude  was  still  so  foolish 
as  to  be  deaf  to  these  predictions  of  what 
would  befall  them  ;  and  too  peevish  to 
suffer  a  determination  which  they  had  in- 
judiciously once  made,  to  be  taken  out 
of  their  mind ;  for  they  could  not  be 
turned  from  their  purpose,  nor  did  they 
regard  the  words  of  Samuel,  but  peremp- 
torily insisted  on  their  resolution,  and  de- 
aired  him  to  ordain  them  a  king  imme- 
diately, and  not  to  trouble  himself  with 
fears  of  what  would  happen  hereafter,  for 
that  it  was  necessary  they  should  have 
with  them  one  to  fight  their  battles,  and 
to  avenge  them  of  their  enemies,  and  that 
it  was  noway  absurd,  when  their  neigh- 
bours   were    under    kingly    government, 


that  they  should  have  the  same  form  of 
government  also.  So  when  Samuel  saw 
that  what  he  had  said  had  not  diverted 
them  from  their  purpose,  but  that  they 
continued  resolute,  he  said,  "  Go  you 
every  one  home  for  the  present ;  when  it 
is  fit  I  will  send  for  you,  as  soon  as  1 
shall  have  learned  from  God  who  it  i§ 
that  he  will  give  you  for  your  king." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Saul  appointed  king.     B.C.  1095. 

There  was  one  of  the  tribe  of  Benja- 
min, a  man  of  a  good  family,  and  a  vir- 
tuous disposition :  his  name  was  Kish.* 
He  had  a  son,  a  young  man  of  a  comely 
countenance,  and  of  a  tall  body,  but  his 
understanding  and  his  mind  were  prefer- 
able to  what  was  visible  in  him  :  they 
called  him  Saul.  Now  this  Kish  had 
some  fine  she-asses  that  had  wandered 
out  of  the  pasture  wherein  they  fed,  for 
he  was  more  delighted  with  these  than 
with  any  other  cattle  he  had  ;  so  he  sent 
out  his  son,  and  one  servant  with  him,  to 
search  for  the  beasts ;  but  when  he  had 
gone  over  his  own  tribe  in  search  after 
the  asses,"j"  he  went  to  other  tribes  ;  and 
when  he  found  them  not  there  neither,  ht 
determined  to  go  his  way  home,  lest  he 
should  occasion  any  concern  to  his  father 
about  himself;  but  when  his  servant  that 
followed  him  told  him  that  they  were 
near  the  city  of  Ramah,  that  there  was  a 
true  prophet  in  that  city,  and  advised 
him  to  go  to  him,  for  that  by  him  they 
should  know  the  upshot  of  the  affair  of 
their  asses,  he  replied,  that  if  they  should 
go  to  him,  they  had  nothing  to  give  him 
as  a  reward  for  his  prophecy,  for  their 
subsistence-money  was  spent.  The  ser- 
vant answered,  that  he  had  still  the 
fourth  part  of  a  shekel,  and  he  would  pre- 
sent him  with  that;  for  they  were  mis- 
taken out  of  ignorance,  as  not  knowing 
that  the  prophet  received  no  such  reward. 
So  they  went  to  him ;  and  when  they 
were  before  the  gates,  they  lit  upon  cer- 
tain maidens  that  were  going  to  fetch 
water;  and  they  asked  them  which  was 
the  prophet's  house.  They  showed  them 
which  it  was,  and  bade  them  make  haste 
before  he  sat  down  to  supper,  for  he  had 

*  1  Sam.  ix. 

f  The  Scriptures  speak  of  a  prince  descended 
from  Eiuu,  who  kept  the  asses  of  his  father.  Gen. 
xxxvi.  24.  In  Judea,  persons  of  the  firs'",  distinc- 
tion rod*'  upon  uses.     See  Judg.  v.  10 


182 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI 


invited  many  guests  to  a  feast,  and  that 
he  used  to  sit  down  before  those  that 
were  invited.  Now  Samuel  had  then 
gathered  many  together  to  feast  with  him 
on  this  very  account  ;  for  while  he  every 
day  prayed  to  God  to  tell  him  beforehand 
whom  he  would  make  king,  he  had  in- 
formed him  of  this  man  the  day  before, 
for  that  he  would  send  him  a  certain 
young  man  out  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin, 
abour  this  hour  of  the  day  ;  and  he  sat  on 
the  top  of  the  house  in  expectation  of 
that  time  being  come.  And  when  the 
time  was  completed,  he  came  down  and 
went  to  supper ;  so  he  met  with  Saul, 
and  God  discovered  to  him  that  this  was 
he  who  should  rule  over  them.  Then 
Saul  went  up  to  Samuel  and  saluted  him, 
and  desired  him  to  inform  him  which 
was  the  prophet's  house  ;  for  he  said  he 
was  a  stranger  and  did  not  know  it. 
When  Samuel  had  told  him  that  he  him- 
self was  the  person,  he  led  him  in  to 
supper,  and  assured  him  that  the  asses 
were  found  which  he  had  been  to  seek, 
and  that  the  greatest  of  good  things  were 
assured  to  him  :  he  replied,  "  I  am  too 
inconsiderable  to  hope  for  any  such  thing, 
and  of  a  tribe  too  small  to  have  kings 
made  out  of  it,  and  of  a  familv  smaller 
than  several  other  families ;  but  thou 
tellest  me  this  in  jest,  and  makest  me  an 
object  of  laughter,  when  thou  discoursest 
with  me  of  greater  matters  than  what  I 
stand  in  need  of."  However,  the  prophet 
led  him  in  to  the  feast,  and  made  him  sit 
down,  him  and  his  servant  that  followed 
him,  above  the  other  guests  that  wrere  in- 
vited, which  were  seventy  in  number;* 
and  he  gave  orders  to  the  servants  to  set 
the  royal  portion  before  Saul.  And  when 
the  time  of  going  to  bed  was  come,  the 
rest  rose  up,  and  every  one  of  them  went 
home;  but  Saul  stayed  wTith  the  prophet, 
he  and  his  servant,  and  slept  with  him. 

Now  as  poon  as  it  was  day,  Samuel 
raised  up  Saul  out  of  his  bed,  and  con- 
ducted him  homeward;  and  when  he  was 
out  of  the  ciiv,  he  desired  him  to  cause 
his  servant  to  go  before,  but  to  stay  be- 
hiud  himself,  for  that  he  had  somewhat 
to  say  to  him,  when  nobody  else  was  pre- 
sent.     Accordingly,  Saul  sent  away   his 


•  1 1  not   improbable  tbat  these  seventy 

guests  of  Samuel  formed  a  Jewish  sanhedrim,  ami 
that  hereby  Samuel  intimated  to  Saul  that  they 
were  to  he  his  constant  counsellors,  and  that  he 
wiu-  U)  U(  t  not  like  a  sole  monarch,  hut  with  the 
adviii.  dii  '  direction  of  this  hody. 


servant  that  followed  him ;  then  did  the 
prophet  take  a  vessel  of  oil,  and  poured 
it  upon  the  head  of  the  young  man,  and 
kissed  him,  and  said,  "  Be  thou  a  kinir, 
by  the  ordination  of  God,  against  the 
Philistines,  and  for  avenging  the  Hebrew)* 
for  what  they  have  suffered  by  them  ;  of 
this  thou  shalthave  a  sign,  which  I  would 
have  thee  take  notice  of:  as  soon  as  thou 
art  departed  hence,  thou  wilt  find  three 
men  upon  the  road,  going  to  worship  God 
at  Bethel  ;  the  first  of  whom  thou  wilt 
see  carrying  three  loaves  of  bread,  the 
second  carrying  a  kid  of  the  goats,  and 
the  third  will  followr  them  carrying  a  bot- 
tle of  wine.  These  three  men  will  salute 
thee,  and  speak  kindly  to  thee,  and  will 
give  thee  two  of  their  loaves,  which  thou 
shalt  accept  of.  And  thence  thou  shalt 
come  to  a  place  called  "  Rachel's  Monu- 
ment," where  thou  shalt  meet  with  those 
that  will  tell  thee  thy  asses  are  found; 
after  this,  when  thou  comest  to  Gabatha, 
thou  shalt  overtake  a  company  of  pro- 
phets, and  thou  shalt  be  seized  with  the 
Divine  spirit,  and  prophesy  along  with 
them,  till  every  one  that  sees  thee  shall 
be  astonished,  and  wonder,  and  say, 
"Whence  is  it  that  the  son  of  Kish  had 
arrived  at  this  degree  of  happiness  ?" 
And  when  these  signs  have  happened  to 
thee,  know  that  God  is  with  thee ;  then 
do  thou  salute  thy  father  and  thy  kindred. 
Thou  shalt  also  come  when  I  send  for 
thee  to  Gilgal,  that  we  may  offer  thank- 
offerings  to  God  for  these  blessings.* 
When  Samuel  had  said  this,  and  foretold 
these  things,  he  sent  the  young  man 
away.  Now  all  things  fell  out  to  Saul 
according  to  the  prophecy  of  Samuel. 

But  as  soon  as  Saul  came  into  the 
house  of  his  kinsman  Abner,  whom  in- 
deed he  loved  better  than  the  rest  of  his 
relations,  he  was  asked  by  him  concerning 
his  journey,  and  what  accidents  happened 
to  him  therein  ;  and  he  concealed  none 
of  the  other  things  from  him,  no,  not  his 
coming  to  Samuel  the  prophet,  nor  how 
he  told  him  the  asses  were  found;  but  he 
said  nothing  to  him  about  the  kingdom, 
and  what  belonged  thereto,  which  he 
thought  would  procure  him  envy,  and 
when  suclr  things  are  heard,  they  are  not 
easily  believed;  nor  did  he  think  it  pru- 
dent to  tell  those  things  to  him,  although 
he  appeared  very  friendly  to  him,  and 
one  whom  he  loved  above  the  rest  of  hid 


*  1  Sam.  x  l-S. 


Chap.  V.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


183 


reLtions;  considering,  I  suppose,  what 
human  nature  really  is,  that  no  one  is  a 
firm  friend,  neither  among  our  intimates 
nor  of  our  kindred ;  nor  do  they  preserve 
that  kind  disposition  when  God  advances 
men  to  great  prosperity,  but  they  are  still 
ill-natured  and  envious  at  those  that  are 
in  eminent  stations. 

Then  Samuel  called  the  people  together 
l-o  the  city  Mizpeh,  and  spake  to  them  in 
the  words  following,  which  he  said  he  was 
to  speak  by  the  command  of  God  : — "That 
when  he  had  granted  them  a  state  of  li- 
berty, and  brought  their  enemies  into 
subjection,  they  were  become  unmindful 
of  his  benefits,  and  rejected  God  that  he 
should  not  be  their  king,  as  not  consider- 
ing that  it  would  be  most  for  their  ad- 
vantage to  be  presided  over  by  the  best 
of  beings,  (for  God  is  the  best  of  beings,) 
and  they  chose  to  have  a  man  for  their 
king,  while  kings  will  use  their  subjects 
as  beasts,  according  to  the  violence  of 
their  own  wills  and  inclinations,  and 
other  passions,  as  wholly  carried  away 
with  the  lust  of  power,  but  will  not  en- 
deavour so  to  preserve  the  race  of  man- 
kind as  his  own  workmanship  and  crea- 
tion, which,  for  that  very  reason,  God 
would  taketcare  of.  But  since  you  have 
come  to  a  fixed  resolution,  and  this  in- 
jurious treatment  of  God  has  quite- pre- 
vailed over  you,  dispose  yourselves  by 
your  tribes  and  sceptres,  and  cast  lot3." 

When  the  Hebrews  had  so  done,  the 
lot  fell  upon  the  tribe  of  Benjamin ;  and 
when  the  lot  was  cast  for  the  single  per- 
sons of  that  family,  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish, 
was  taken  for  their  king.  When  the 
young  man  knew  this,  he  prevented  [their 
sending  for  him],  and  immediately  went 
away  and  hid  himself.  I  suppose  that  it 
was  because  he  would  not  have  it  thought 
that  he  willingly  took  the  government 
upon  him ;  nay,  he  showed  such  a  degree 
of  command  over  himself,  and  of  modesty, 
that  while  the  greatest  part  are  not  able 
to  contain  their  joy,  even  in  the  gaining 
of  small  advantages,  but  presently  show 
themselves  publicly  to  all  men,  this  man 
did  not  only  show  nothing  of  that  na- 
ture, when  he  was  appointed  to  be  lord 
of  so  many  and  so  great  tribes,  but  crept 
away  and  concealed  himself  out  of  the 
sight  of  those  he  was  to  reign  over,  and 
made  them  seek  him,  and  that  with  a 
good  deal  of  trouble.  So  when  the  peo- 
ple were  at  a  loss,  and  solicitous,  because 
Saul  disappeared,  the   prophet  besought 


God  to  show  where  the  young  man  was, 
and  to  produce  him  before  them.  So 
when  they  had  learned  of  God  the  place 
where  Saul  was  hidden,  they  sent  men  to 
bring  him ;  and  when  he  was  come,  they 
set  him  in  the  midst  of  the  multitude. 
Now  he  was  taller  than  any  of  them,  and 
his  stature  was  very  majestic. 

Then  said  the  prophet,  "  God  gives  you 
this  man  to  be  your  king :  see  how  he  is 
higher  than  any  of  the  people,  and  wor- 
thy of  this  dominion."  So  as  soon  as 
the  people  had  made  acclamation,  "  God 
save  the  king/'  the  prophet  wrote  down 
what  would  come  to  pass  in  a  book,  and 
read  it  in  the  hearing  of  the  king,  and 
laid  up  the  book  in  the  tabernacle  of  God, 
to  be  a  witness  to  future  generations  of 
what  he  had  foretold.  So  when  Samuel 
had  -finished  this  matter,  he  dismissed  the 
multitude,  and  came  himself  to  the  city 
Raman,  for  it  was  his  own  country.  Saul 
also  went  away  to  Gibeah,  where  he  was 
born;  and  many  good  men  there  were 
who  paid  him  the  respect  that  was  due  to 
him ;  but  the  greater  part  were  ill  men, 
who  despised  him  and  derided  the  others, 
who  neither  did  bring  him  presents,  nor 
did  they  in  affection,  or  even  in  words, 
regard  to  please  him. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Saul's  expedition  and  victory  against  the  nation  of 
the  Ammonites. 

After  one  month,  the  war  which  Saul 
had  with  Nahash,  the  king  of  the  Am- 
monites, obtained  him  respect  from  all 
the  people;  for  this  Nahash  had  done  a 
great  deal  of  mischief  to  the  Jews  that 
lived  beyond  Jordan,  by  the  expedition 
he  had  made  against  them  with  a  great 
and  warlike'army.  He  also  reduced  their 
cities  into  slavery,  and  that  not  only  by 
subduing  them  for  the  present,  which  he 
did  by  force  and  violence,  but  by  weak- 
ening them  by  subtilty  and  cunning,  that 
tiny  might  not  be  able  afterward  to  get 
clear  of  the  slavery  they  were  under  to 
him  :  for  he  put  out  the  right  eyes  of 
those  that  either  delivered  themselves  to 
him  upon  terms,  or  were  taken  by  him 
in  war;  and  this  he  did,  that  when  their 
left  eyes  were  covered  by  their  shields, 
they  might  be  wholly  useless  in  war. 
Now  when  the  king  of  the  Ammonites 
had  served  those  beyond  Jordan  in  this 
manner,   he   led   his  army  against  thow 


184 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VL 


that  were  called  "  Gileadites ;"  and  hav- 
ing pitched  his  camp  at  the  metropoli>  of 
his  enemies,  which  was  the  city  of  Ja- 
besh, he  sent  anihassadors  to  them,  com- 
manding them  either  to  deliver  themselves 
up,  on  condition  to  have  their  right  eyes 
plucked  out,  or  to  undergo  a  siege,  and  to 
have  their  cities  overthrown.  He  gave 
them  their  choice,  whether  they  would 
cut  off  a  small  member  of  their  body,  or 
universally  perish.  However,  the  Gilead- 
ites were  so  affrighted  at  these  offers, 
that  they  had  not  courage  to  say  any 
thing  to  either  of  them,  neither  that  they 
would  deliver  themselves  up,  nor  that 
they  would  fight  him ;  but  they  desired 
that  he  would  give  them  seven  days'  re- 
spite, that  they  might  send  ambassadors 
to  their  countrymen,  and  entreat  their 
assistance;  and  if  they  came  to  assist 
them  they  would  fight;  but  if  that  as- 
sistance was  impossible  to  be  obtained 
from  them,  they  would  then  deliver  them- 
selves to  suffer  whatever  he  pleased  to 
inflict  upon  them. 

So  Nahash,  contemning  the  multitude 
of  the  Gileadites  and  the  answer  they 
gave,  allowed  them  a  respite,  and  gave 
them  leave  to  send  to  whomsoever  they 
pleased  for  assistance.  So  they  imme- 
diately sent  to  the  Israelites,  city  by  city, 
and  informed  them  what  Nahash  had 
threatened  to  do  to  them,  and  what  great 
distress  they  were  in.  Now  the  people 
fell  into  tears  at  the  hearing  of  what  Che 
ambassadors  from  Jabesh  said ;  and  the 
terror  they  were  in  permitted  them  to  do 
nothing  more;  but  when  the  messengers 
had  come  to  the  city  of  King  Saul,  and 
declared  the  dangers  in  which  the  inha- 
bitants of  Jabesh  were,  the  people  were  in 
the  same  affliction  as  those  in  the  other 
cities,  for  they  lamented  the  calamity  of 
those  related  to  them  ;  and  when  Saul 
had  returned  from  his  husbandry  into 
the  city,  he  found  his  fellow-citizens 
weeping ;  and  when,  upon  inquiry,  he 
had  learned  the  cause  of  the  confusion 
and  sadness  they  were  in,  he  was  seized 
with  a  divine  fury,  and  sent  away  the 
ambassadors  from  the  inhabitants  of  Ja- 
besh, and  promised  them  to  come  to  their 
assistance  on  the  third  day,  and  to  beat 
their  enemies  before  sun-rising,  that  the 
jun  upon  its  rising  might  see  that  they 
had  already  conquered,  and  were  freed 
from  the  fears  they  were  under;  but  he 
bade  some  of  them  stay  to  conduet  them 
the  right  way  to  Jabesh. 


So  being  desirous  to  turn  the  people  to 
this  war  against  the  Ammonites  by  fear 
of  the  losses  they  should  otherwise  un- 
dergo, and  that  they  might  the  more  sud- 
denly be  gathered  together,  he  cut  the 
sinews  of  his  oxen,  and  threatened  to  do 
the  same  to  all  such  as  did  not  come  with 
their  armour  to  Jordan  the  next  day, 
and  follow  him  and  Samuel  the  prophet 
whithersoever  they  should  lead  them. 
So  they  came  together,  out  of  fear  of  the 
losses  they  were  threatened  with,  at  the 
appointed  time ;  and  the  multitude  were 
numbered  at  the  city  Bezck ;  and  he 
found  the  number  of  those  that  were 
gathered  together,  besides  that  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  to  be  700,000,  while 
those  of  that  tribe  were  70,000.  So  he 
passed  over  Jordan,  and  proceeded  in 
marching  all  that  night,  thirty  furlongs, 
and  came  to  Jabesh  before  sun-rising. 
So  he  divided  the  army  into  three  com- 
panies ;  and  fell  upon  their  enemies  on 
every  side  on  the  sudden,  and  when  they 
expected  no  such  thing;  and  joining  bat- 
tle with  them,  they  slew  a  great  many  of 
the  Ammonites,  as  also  their  king,  Nahash. 
This  glorious  action  was  done  by  Saul, 
and  was  related  with  great  commendation 
of  him  to  all  the  Hebrews  :  and  he  thence 
gaiued  a  wonderful  reputation  for  his 
valour;  for  although  there  were  some  of 
them  that  contemned  him  before,  they 
now  changed  their  minds,  and  honoured 
him,  and  esteemed  him  as  the  best  of 
men  :  for  he  did  not  content  himself  with 
having  saved  the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh 
only,  but  he  made  an  expedition  into  the 
country  of  the  Ammonites,  and  laid  it  all 
waste,  and  took  a  large  prey,  and  so  re- 
turned to  his  own  country  most  glorious- 
ly :  so  the  people  were  greatly  pleased 
at  these  excellent  performances  of  Saul, 
and  rejoiced  that  they  had  constituted 
him  their  king.  They  alro  made  a  cla- 
mour against  those  that  pretended  he 
would  be  of  no  advantage  to  their  affairs: 
and  they  said,  "  Where  now  are  these 
men  ?  let  them  be  brought  to  punish- 
ment, "  with  all  the  like  things  that  mul- 
titudes usually  say  when  they  are  elevated 
with  prosperity  against  those  that  lately 
had  despised  the  authors  cf  it;  but  Saul, 
although  he  took  the  good-will  and  the  af- 
fection of  these  men  very  kindly,  yet  did 
he  swear  that  he  would  not  see  any  of 
his  countrymen  slain  that  day,  since  it 
was  absurd  to  mix  this  victory,  which  God 
had    given    them,    with    the    blood   and 


Chap.  V  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


185 


slaughter  of  tho^e  that  were  of  the  same 
lineage  with  themselves ;  and  that  it  was 
more  agreeable  to  be  men  of  a  friendly 
disposition,  and  so  to  betake  themselves 
to  feasting. 

And  when  Samuel  had  told  them  that 
he  ought  to  confirm  the  kingdom  to  Saul 
by  a  second  ordination  of  him,  they  all 
came  together  to  the  city  of  Gilgal,  for 
thither  did  he  command  them  to  come. 
So  the  prophet  anointed  Saul  with  the 
holy  oil  in  the  sight  of  the  multitude,  and 
declared  him  to  be  king  the  second  time; 
and  so  the  government  of  the  Hebrews 
was  changed  into  a  regal  government; 
for  in  the  days  of  Moses,  and  his  disciple 
Joshua,  who  was  their  general,  they  con- 
tinued under  an  aristocracy;  but  after 
the  death  of  Joshua,  for  eighteen  years  in 
all,  the  multitude  had  no  settled  form  of 
government,  but  were  in  an  anarchy; 
after  which  they  returned  to  their  former 
government,  they  then  permitting  them- 
selves to  be  judged  by  him  who  appeared 
to  be  the  best  warrior  and  most  courageous, 
whence  it  was  that  they  called  this  inter- 
val of  their  government  the  "  Judges." 

Then  did  Samuel  the  prophet  call  ano- 
ther assembly  also,  and  said  to  them,  "I 
solemnly  adjure  you,  by  God  Almighty, 
who  brought  those  excellent  brethren,  I 
mean  Moses  and  Aaron,  into  the  world, 
and  delivered  our  fathers  from  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  from  the  slavery  they  endured 
under  them,  that  you  will  not  speak  what 
you  say  to  gratify  me,  nor  suppress  any 
thing  out  of  fear  of  me,  nor  be  overborne 
by  any  other  passion,  but  say,  "What 
have  I  ever  done  that  was  cruel  or  unjust? 
or  what  have  I  done  out  of  lucre  or  covet- 
ousness,  or  to  gratify  others?  bear  witness 
against  me,  if  I  have  taken  an  ox,  or  a 
sheep,  or  any  such  thing,  which  yet,  when 
they  are  taken  to  support  men,  it  is 
esteemed  blameless;  or  have  I  taken  an 
ass  for  mine  own  use  of  any  one  to  his 
grief?  lay  some  one  such  crime  to  my 
charge,  now  we  are  in  your  king's  pre- 
sence." But  they  cried  out,  that  no  such 
thing  had  been  done  by  him,  but  that  he 
had  presided  over  the  nation  after  a  holy 
and  righteous  manner. 

Hereupon  Samuel,  when  such  a  testi- 
mony had  been  given  him  by  them  all, 
said,  "  Since  you  grant  that  you  are  not 
able  to  lay  any  ill  thing  to  my  charge 
hitherto,  come  on  now,  and  do  you  hearken 
while  I  speak  with  great  freedom  to  you. 
You  have  been  guilty  of  great  impiety 


against  God,  in  asking  you  a  king.  It 
behooves  you  to  remember,  that  our  grand- 
father Jacob  came  down  into  Egypt,  by 
reason  of  a  famine,  with  seventy  souls 
only  of  our  family,  and  that  their  pos- 
terity multiplied  there  to  many  ten 
thousands,  whom  the  Egyptians  brought 
into  slavery  and  hard  oppression;  that 
God  himself,  upon  the  prayers  of  our 
fathers,  sent  Moses  and  Aaron,  who  were 
brethren,  and  gave  them  power  to  deliver 
the  multitude  out  of  their  distress,  and 
this  without  a  king.  These  brought  us 
into  this  very  land  which  you  now  possess; 
and  when  you  enjoyed  these  advantages 
from  God,  you  betrayed  his  worship  and 
religion;  nay,  moreover,  when  you  were 
brought  under  the  hands  of  your  enemies, 
he  delivered  you,  first  by  rendering  you 
superior  to  the  Assyrians  and  their  forces ; 
he  then  made  you  to  overcome  the  Am- 
monites, and  the  Moabites,  and  last  of  all 
the  Philistines;  and  these  things  have 
been  achieved  under  the  conduct  of  Jeph- 
tha  and  Gideon.  What  madness  there- 
fore possessed  you  to  fly  from  God,  and 
to  desire  to  be  under  a  king?  yet  have  I 
ordained  him  for  king  whom  he  chose  for 
you.  However,  that  I  may  make  it  plain 
to  you  that  God  is  angry  and  displeased 
at  your  choice  of  kingly  government,  I 
will  so  dispose  him  that  he  shall  declare 
this  very  plainly  to  you  by  strange  signals; 
for  what  none  of  you  ever  saw  here  be- 
fore, I  mean  a  winter  storm  in  the  midst 
of  harvest,*  I  will  entreat  of  God,  and  will 
make  it  visible  to  you."  Now,  as  soon 
as  he  had  said  this,  God  gave  such  great 
signals  by  thunder  and  lightning,  and  the 
descent  of  hail,  as  attested  the  truth  of  all 
that  the  prophet  had  said,  insomuch  that 
they  were  amazed  and  terrified,  and  con- 
fessed they  had  sinned,  and  had  fallen 
into  that  sin  through  ignorance ;  and 
besought  the  prophet,  as  one  that  was  a 
tender  and  gentle  father  to  them,  to  render 
God  so  merciful  as  to  forgive  this  theii 
sin,  which  they  had  added  to  those  other 
offences  whereby  they  had  affronted  him 
and  transgressed  against  him.  So  he 
promised  them  that  he  would  beseech 
God,  and  persuade  him  to  forgive  them 
these  their  sins.  However,  he  advised 
them  to  be  righteous,  and  to  be  good,  and 
ever  to  remember  the  miseries  that  had 


*  Mr.  Reland  observes,  that  although  thundej 
and  lightning  with  as  usually  happen  in  summer, 
yet  in  Palestine  and  Syria  they  art  chiefly  con- 
fined to  winter. 


18G 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


|Book  VI. 


befallen  them  on  account  of  their  de- 
parture from  virtue:  as  also  to  remember 
the  strange  signs  God  had  shown  them, 
and  the  body  of  laws  that  Moses  had 
given  them,  if  they  had  any  desire  of 
being  preserved  and  made  happy  with 
their  king;  but  he  said,  that  if  they  should 
grow  careless  of  these  things,  great  judg- 
ments would  come  from  God  upon  them, 
and  upon  their  king:  and  when  Samuel 
had  thus  prophesied  to  the  Hebrews,  he 
dismissed  them  k>  their  own  homes,  hav- 
ing confirmed  the  kingdom  to  Saul  the 
second  time. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Philistines,  in  their  second  expedition  against 
the  Hebrews,  again  defeated.     B.C.  10S7. 

Now  Saul  chose  out  of  the  multitude 
about  3000  men,*  and  he  took  2000  of 
them  to  be  guards  of  his  own  body,  and 
abode  in  the  city  Bethel,  but  he  gave  the 
rest  of  them  to  Jonathan  his  son,  to  be 
guards  of  his  body;  and  sent  him  to 
Gibeah,  where  he  besieged  and  took  a 
certain  garrison  of  the  Philistines,  not  far 
from  Gilgal;  for  the  Philistines  of  Gibeah 
had  beaten  the  Jews,  and  taken  their 
weapons  away,  and  had  put  garrisons  into 
the  strongest  places  of  the  country,  and 
had  forbidden  them  to  carry  any  instru- 
ment of  iron,  or  at  all  to  make  use  of  ^my 
iron  in  any  case  whatsoever;  and  on  ac- 
count of  this  prohibition  it  was  that  the 
husbandmen,  if  they  had  occasion  to 
sharpen  any  of  their  tools,  whether  it 
were  the  coulter  or  the  spade,  or  any  in- 
strument of  husbandry,  they  came  to  the 
Philistines  to  do  it.  Now  as  soon  as  the 
Philistines  heard  of  this  slaughter  of  their 
garrison,  they  were  in  a  rage  about  it, 
and,  looking  on  this  contempt  as  a  terri- 
ble atfront  offered  them,  they  made  war 
against,  the  Jews,  with  o00,000  footmen, 
and  80,000  chariots,  and  6000  horses; 
and  they  pitched  their  camp  at  the  city 
Michmash.  When  Saul,  the  king  of  the 
Hebrews,  was  informed  of  this,  he  went 
down  to  the  city  Gilgal,  and  made  procla- 
mation over  all  the  country,  that,  they 
should  try  to  regain  their  liberty;  and 
called  them  to  the  war  against  the 
Philistines,  diminishing  their  forces,  and 
despising  them  as  not  very  considerable, 
and  as  uot  so  gnat  but  they  might  hazard 

*  1  Sam.  xii. 


a  battle  with  them.  But  when  the  people 
about  Saul  observed  how  numerous  the 
Philistines  were,  they  were  under  a  great 
consternation;  and  some  of  them  hid 
themselves  in  caves,  and  in  dens  under 
ground;  but  the  greater  part  fled  into  the 
land  beyond  Jordan,  which  belonged  to 
Gad  and  Reuben. 

But  Saul  sent  to  the  prophet,  and 
called  him  to  consult  with  him  about  the 
war  and  the  public  affairs;  so  he  com- 
manded him  to  stay  there  for  him,  and  to 
prepare  sacrifices,  for  he  would  come  to 
him  within  seven  days,  that  they  might 
offer  sacrifices  on  the  seventh  day,  and 
might  then  join  battle  with  their  enemies. 
So  he  waited,  as  the  prophet  sent  to  him 
to  do;  yet  did  not  he,  however,  observe 
the  command  that  was  given  him,  but 
when  he  saw  that  the  prophet  tarried 
longer  than  he  expected,  and  that  he  was 
deserted  by  the  soldiers,  he  took  the  sacri- 
fices and  offered  them  ;  and  when  he  heard 
that  Samuel  had  come,  he  went  out  to 
meet  him.  But  the  prophet  said  he  had 
not  done  well  in  disobeying  the  injunc- 
tions he  had  sent  to  him,  and  had  not 
stayed  till  his  coming,  which  being  ap- 
pointed according  to  the  will  of  God,  he 
had  prevented  him  in  offering  up  those 
prayers  and  those  sacrifices  that  he  should 
have  made  for  the  multitude,  and  that  he 
therefore  had  performed  divine  offices  in 
an  ill  manner,  and  had  been  rash  in  per- 
forming them.  Hereupon  Saul  made  an 
apology  for  himself,  and  said  that  he  had 
waited  as  mauy  days  as  Samuel  had  ap- 
pointed him;  that  he  had  been  so  quiek 
in  offering  his  sacrifices,  upon  account  of 
the  necessity  he  was  in,  and  because  his 
soldiers  were  departing  from  him,  out  o1i 
their  fear  of  the  enemy's  camp  at  Mich- 
mash, the  report  having  gone  abroad  that 
they  were  coming  down  upon  him  to  Gil- 
gal. To  which  jSamuel  replied,  "Nay, 
certainly,  if  thou  hadst  been  a  righteous 
man,  and  hadst  not  disobeyed  me,  nor 
slighted  the  commands  which  God  sug- 
gested to  me  concerning  the  present  state 
of  affairs,  and  hadst  not  acted  more  hastily 
than  the  present  circumstances  required, 
;  thou  WOuldst  have  been  permitted  to  reigu 
a  long  time.,  and  thy  posterity  after  thee." 
So  Samuel,  being  grieved  at  what  hap- 
pened, returned  home;  but  Saul  came  to 
the  oitj  Gibeah,  with  his  son  Jonathan, 
having  only  600  men  with  him;  and  of 
these  the  greater  part  had  no  weapons, 
because   of  the   scarcity   of  iron    in    tint 


Chap.  VI. ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


187 


country,  as  well  as  of  those  that  could 
make  such  weapons:  for,  as  we  showed 
a  little  before,  the  Philistines  had  not 
Buffered  them  to  have  such  iron  or  such 
workmen.  Now  the  Philistines  divided 
their  army  into  three  companies,  and  took 
as  many  roads,  and  laid  waste  the  country 
of  the  Hebrews,  while  King  Saul  and  his 
son  Jonathan  saw  what  was  done,  but 
were  not  able  to  defend  the  land,  having 
no  more  than  600  men  with  them;  but 
as  he,  and  his  son,  and  Abiah  the  high 
priest,  who  was  of  the  posterity  of  Eli  the 
high  priest,  were  sitting  upon  a  pretty 
high  hill,  and  seeing  the  land  laid  waste, 
they  were  mightily  disturbed  at  it.  Now 
Saul's  son  agreed  with  his  armour-bearer, 
that  they  would  go  privately  to  the  ene- 
my's camp,  and  make  a  tumult  and  a  dis- 
turbance among  them;  and  when  the 
armour-bearer  had  readily  promised  to 
follow  him  whithersoever  he  should  lead 
him,  though  he  should  be  obliged  to  die 
in  the  attempt,  Jonathan  made  use  of  the 
young  man's  assistance,  and  descended 
from  the  hill,  and  went  to  their  enemies. 
Now  the  enemy's  camp  was  upon  a  preci- 
pice which  had  three  tops,  that  ended  in 
a  small  but  sharp  and  long  extremity, 
while  there  was  a  rock  that  surrounded 
them,  like  lines  made  to  prevent  the 
attacks  of  an  enemy.  There  it  so  hap- 
pened, that  the  outguards  of  the  camp 
were  neglected,  because  of  the  security 
that  here  arose  from  the  situation  of  the 
place,  and  because  they  thought  it  alto- 
gether impossible,  not  only  to  ascend  up 
to  the  camp  on  that  quarter,  but  so  much 
as  to  come  near  it.  As  soon,  therefore, 
as  they  came  to  the  camp,  Jonathan  en- 
couraged his  armour-bearer,  and  said  to 
him,  "Let  us  attack  our  enemies;  and  if, 
when  they  see  us,  they  bid  us  come  up  to 
them,  take  that  for  a  signal  of  victory; 
but  if  they  say  nothing,  as  not  intending 
to  invite  us  to  come  up,  let  us  return  back 
again. "  So  when  they  were  approaching 
to  the  enemy's  camp,  just  after  break  of 
day,  and  the  Philistines  saw  them,  they 
Baid  one  to  another,  "The  Hebrews  come 
out  of  their  dens  and  caves;"  and  they 
said  to  Jonathan  and  to  his  armour-bearer, 
"Come  on,  ascend  up  to  us,  that  we  may 
inflict  a  just  punishment  upon  you,  for 
your  rash  attempt  upon  us."  So  Saul's 
son  accepted  of  that  invitation,  as  what 
signified  to  him  victory,  and  he  imme- 
diately came  out  of  the  place  whence  they 
were  seen  by  their  enemies :  so  he  changed 


his  place,  and  came  to  the  rock  which  had 
none  to  guard  it,  because  of  its  own 
strength;  from  thence  they  crept  up  with 
great  labour  and  difficulty,  and  so  far 
overcame  by  force  the  nature  of  the  place 
till  they  were  able  to  fight  with  their  ene- 
mies. So  they  fell  upon  them  as  they 
were  asleep,  and  slew  about  twenty  of 
them,  and  thereby  filled  them  with  dis- 
order and  surprise,  insomuch  that  some 
of  them  threw  away  their  entire  armour 
and  fled;  but  the  greatest  part,  not  know- 
ing one  another,  because  they  were  of  dif- 
ferent nations,  suspected  one  another  to 
be  enemies  (for  they  did  not  imagine  there 
were  only  two  of  the  Hebrews  that  came 
up,)  and  so  they  fought  one  against  ano- 
ther; and  some  of  them  died  in  the  battle, 
and  some,  as  they  were  flying  away,  were 
thrown  down  from  the  rock  headlong.* 

Now  Saul's  watchmen  told  the  king 
that  the  camp  of  the  Philistines  was  in 
confusion;  then  he  inquired  whether  any- 
body had  gone  away  from  the  army;  and 
when  he  had  heard  that  his  son,  and  with 
him  his  armour-bearer,  were  absent,  he  bade 
the  high  priest  take  the  garments  of  his 
high-priesthood,  and  prophesy  to  him  what 
success  they  should  have;  who  said  that 
they  should  get  the  victory,  and  prevail 
against  their  enemies.  So  he  went  out 
after  the  Philistines,  and  set  upon  them 
as  they  were  slaying  one  another.  Those 
also  who  had  fled  to  dens  and  caves,  upon 
hearing  that  Saul  was  gaining  a  victory, 
came  running  to  him.  When,  therefore, 
the  number  of  the  Hebrews  that  came  to 
Saul  amounted  to  about  10,000,  he  pursued 
the  enemy,  who  were  scattered  all  over  the 
country;  but  then  he  fell  into  an  action, 
which  was  a  very  unhappy  one,  and  liable 
to  be  very  much  blamed ;  for,  whether 
out  of  ignorance,  or  whether  out  of  joy 
for  a  victory  gained  so  strangely,  (for  it 
frequently  happens  that  persons  so  for- 
tunate are  not  then  able  to  use  their  rea- 
son consistently,)  as  he  was  desirous  to 
avenge  himself,  and  to  exact  a  due  punish- 
ment of  the  Philistines,  he  denounced  a 
cursef  upon  the  Hebrews :  That  if  any 
one  put  a  stop  to  the  slaughter  of  the  ene- 
my, and  fell  on  eating,  and  left  off  the 


*  1  Sam.  xiv. 

f  This  rash  vow  of  Saul,  which  Joscphus  saya 
was  confirmed  by  the  people,  and  yet  not  executed, 
because  Jonathan  did  not  know  of  it,  is  very  re- 
markable :  it  being  the  essence  of  the  obligation 
of  all  laws,  that  they  be  sufficiently  known  and  prc- 
mulgated 


£88 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI 


slaughter  or  tho  pursuit  before  the  night 
came  on,  and  obliged  him  so  to  do,  he 
should  be  accursed.  Now  after  Saul  had 
denounced  this  curse,  since  they  were  now 
in  a  wood  belonging  to  the  tribe  of 
Ephraim,  which  was  thick  and  full  of 
bees,  Saul's  son,  who  did  not  hear  his 
father  denounce  that  curse,  nor  hear  of  the 
approbation  the  multitude  gave  to  it,  broke 
off  a  piece  of  a  honey-comb,  and  ate  part 
of  it.  But,  in  the  mean  time,  he  was  in- 
formed with  what  a  curse  his  father  had 
forbidden  them  to  taste  any  thing  before 
sun-setting  :  so  he  left  off  eating,  and  said 
his  father  had  not  done  well  by  this  pro- 
hibition, because,  had  they  taken  some 
food,  they  hud  pursued  the  enemy  with 
greater  vigour  and  alacrity,  and  had  both 
taken  and  slain  many  more  of  their  ene- 
mies. 

When,  therefore,  they  had  slain  many 
ten  thousands  of  the  Philistines,  they  fell 
upon  spoiling  the  camp  of  the  Philistines, 
but  nut  till  late  in  the  evening.  They 
also  took  a  great  deal  of  prey  and  cattle, 
and  killed  them,  and  ate  them  with  their 
blood.  This  was  told  to  the  king  by  the 
scribes,  that  the  multitude  were  sinning 
again-t  God  as  they  sacrificed,  and  were 
eating  before  the  blond  was  well  washed 
away,  and  the  flesh  was  made  clean.    Then 

did  Saul   give  order  that  a  great   stone 

should  be  rolled  into  the  midst  of  them, 
and  he  made  proclamation  that  they 
should  kill  their  sacrifices  upon  it,  and 
not  feed  upon  the  flesh  with  the  blood,  for 
that  was  not  acceptable  to  God.  And 
when  all  the  people  did  as  the  king  com- 
manded them,  Saul  erected  an  altar  there, 
and  offered  burnt-offerings  upon  it  to  God. 
This  was  the  first  altar  that  Saul  built. 

So  when  Saul  was  desirous  of  leading 
his  meu  to  the  enemy's  camp  before  it  was 
day,  in  order  to  plunder  it,  and  when  the 
soldiers  were  not  unwilling  to  follow  him, 
but  indeed  showed  great  readiness  to  do 
as  he  commanded  them,  the  king  called 
Ahitub  the  high  priest,  and  enjoined  him 
to  know  of  God  whether  he  would  graut 
them  the  favour  and  permission  to  go 
against  the  enemy's  camp,  in  order  to  de- 
stroy those  that  were  in  it;  and  when  the 
priest  said  that  God  did  not  give  any  an- 
swer, Saul  replied,  "And  not  without 
some  cause  does  God  refuse  to  answer 
wnat  we  inquire  of  him,  while  yet  a  little 
while  ago  he  declared  to  us  all  what  we 
desired  beforehand,  and  even  prevented  us 
in  his  answer.     To  be  sure,  there  is  some 


sin  against  him  that  is  concealed  from  us, 
which  is  the  occasion  of  \ri  silence.  Now 
I  swear  by  him  himself,  that  though  he 
that  hath  committed  this  sin  should  prove 
to  be  my  own  son  Jonathan,  I  will  slay 
him,  and  by  that  meaus  will  appease  the 
anger  of  God  against  us,  and  that  in  the 
very  same  manner  as  if  I  were  to  punish 
a  stranger,  and  one  not  at  all  related  to 
me,  for  the  same  offence."  So  when  the 
multitude  cried  out  to  him  to  do  so,  he 
presently  set  all  the  rest  on  one  side,  and 
he  and  his  son  stood  on  the  other  side, 
and  he  sought  to  discover  the  offender  by 
lot.  Now  the  lot  appeared  to  fall  upon 
Jonathan  himself.  So  when  he  was  asked 
by  his  father  what  sin  he  had  been  guilty 
of,  and  what  he  was  conscious  of  in  the 
course  of  his  life  that  might  be  esteemed 
instances  of  guilt  or  profaneness,  his  an- 
swer was  this: — "0  father,  I  have  dono 
nothing  more  than  that  yesterday,  without 
knowing  of  the  curse  and  oath  thou  hadsr, 
denounced,  while  I  was  in  pursuit  of  thr, 
enemy,  I  tasted  of  a  honey-comb."*  But 
Saul  sware  that  he  would  slay  him,  and 
prefer  the  observation  of  his  oath  beforo 
all  the  ties  of  birth  and  of  nature;  and 
Jonathan  was  not  dismayed  at  this  threat- 
ening of  death,  but,  offering  himself  to  it 
rously  and  undauntedly,  he  said, 
•r  do  I  desire  you,  father,  to  spare  me 
death  will  be  to  me  very  acceptable,  when 
it  proceeds  from  thy  piety,  and  after  a  glo- 
rious victory;  for  it  is  the  greatest  conso- 
lation to  me  that  I  leave  the  Hebrews 
victorious  over  the  Philistines."  Here- 
upon all  the  people  were  very  sorry,  and 
greatly  afflicted  for  Jonathan;  and  they 
sware  that  they  would  not  overlook  Jona- 
than, and  see  him  die,  who  was  the  author 
of  their  victory.  By  which  means  they 
snatched  him  out  of  the  danger  he  was  in 
from  his  father's  curse,  while  they  made 
their  prayers  to  God  also  for  the  young 
man,  that  he  would  remit  his  sin. 

So  Saul,  having  slain  about  00,000  of 
the  enemy,  returned  home  to  his  own  city, 
and  reigned  happily:  and  he  also  fought 
against  the  neighbouring  nations,  and  sub- 
dued the  Ammonites,  and  Moabites,  and 
Philistines,  and  Edomites,  and  Amalek- 
ites,  as  also  the  king  of  Zobah.  He  had 
three  male  children,  Jonathan,  and  Isui, 
and  Melchishua;  with  Merab  and  Michal, 
his  daughters.  He  had  also  Abner,  his 
uncle's  son,  for  the  captain  of  his  host : 

*  1  Sam.  xiv.  43. 


Chap.  VII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWrf. 


189 


that  uucle's  name  was  Ner.  Now  Ner, 
and  Kish  the  father  of  Saul,  were  brothers. 
Saul  had  also  a  great  many  chariots  and 
horsemen,  and  against  whomsoever  he 
made  war  he  returned  conqueror,  and  ad- 
vanced the  affairs  of  the  Hebrews  to  a 
great  degree  of  success  and  prosperity, 
and  made  them  superior  to  other  nations; 
and  he  made  such  of  the  young  men  as 
were  remarkable  for  tallness  and  comeli- 
ness the  guards  of  his  body. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Saul  defeats  the  Amalekites.     B.  C.  1079. 

Now  Samuel  came  to  Saul,  and  said  to 
him,  that  he  was  sent  by  God  to  put  him 
in  mind  that  God  had  preferred  him  be- 
fore all  others,  and  ordained  him  king; 
that  he  therefore  ought  to  be  obedient  to 
him,  and  to  submit  to  his  authority,  as  con- 
sidering, that  though  he  had  the  dominion 
over  the  other  tribes,  yet  that  God  had 
the  dominion  over  him,  and  over  all 
things;  that  accordingly  God  said  to  him, 
that  "  because  the  Amalekites  did  the  He- 
brews a  great  deal  of  mischief  while  they 
were  in  the  wilderness,  and  when,  upon 
their  coming  out  of  Egypt,  they  were 
making  their  way  to  that  country  which 
is  now  their  own,  I  enjoin  thee  to  punish 
the  Amalekites,  by  making  war  upon 
them;  and,  when  thou  hast  subdued  them, 
to  leave  none  of  them  alive,  but  to  pursue 
them  through  every  age,  and  to  slay  them, 
beginning  with  the  women  and  the  infants, 
and  to  require  this  as  a  punishment  to  be 
inflicted  upon  them  for  the  mischief  they 
did  to  our  forefathers :  to  spare  nothing, 
neither  asses  nor  other  beasts ;  nor  to  re- 
serve any  of  them  for  your  own  advantage 
and  possession,  but  to  devote  them  uni- 
versally to  God,  and,  in  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  Moses,  to  blot  out  the  name 
of  Amalek  entirely."* 

So  Saul  promised  to  do  what  he  was 
commanded;  and  supposing  that  his  obe- 
dience to  God  would  be  shown,  not  only  in 
making  war  against  the  Amalekites,  but 
more  fully  in  tne  readiness  and  quickness 
of  his  proceedings,  he  made  no  delay,  but 
immediately  gathered  all  his  forces ;  and 
when  he  had  numbered  them  in  Gilgal, 
he  found  them  to  be  about  400,000  of  the 
Israelites,  besides  the  tribe  of  Judah,  for 
that  tribe  contained  by  itself  30,000. 
Accordingly,  Saul  made  an  irruption  into 

*  1  Sam.  xv.  13 


the  country  of  the  Amalekites,  and  set 
many  men  in  several  parties,  in  ambush 
at  the  river,  that  so  he  might  not  only  do 
them  a  mischief,  by  open  fighting,  but 
might  fall  upon  them  unexpectedly  in  the 
ways,  and  might  thereby  compass  them 
round  about,  and  kill  them.  x\nd  when 
he  had  joined  battle  with  the  enemy,  he 
beat  them;  and  pursuing  them  as  they1 
fled,  he  destroyed  them  all.  And  when 
that  undertaking  had  succeeded,  according 
as  God  had  foretold,  he  set  upon  the  cities 
of  the  Amalekites ;  he  besieged  them,  and 
took  them  by  force,  partly  by  warlike  ma- 
chines, partly  by  mines  dug  under  ground, 
and  partly  by  building  walls  on  the  out- 
sides.  Some  they  starved  out  with  fa- 
mine, and  some  they  gained  by  other 
methods;  and  after  all,  he  betook  .himself 
to  slay  the  women  and  the  children,  and 
thought  he  did  not  act  therein  either  bar- 
barously or  inhumanly;  first,  because  they 
were  enemies  whom  he  thus  treated,  and, 
in  the  next  place,  because  it  was  done  by 
the  command  of  God,  whom  it  was  dan- 
gerous not  to  obey.  He  also  took  Agag, 
the  enemies'  king,  captive ;  the  beauty  and 
tallness  of  whose  body  he  admired  so  much, 
that  he  thought  him  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion :  yet  was  not  this  done,  however,  ac- 
cording to  the  will  of  God,  but  by  giving 
way  to  human  passions,  and  suffering  him- 
self to  be  moved  with  an  unseasonable 
commiseration,  in  a  point  where  it  was  not 
safe  for  him  to  indulge  it ;  for  God  hated 
the  nation  of  the  Amalekites  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  he  commanded  Saul  to  have  no 
pity  on  even  those  infants  which  we  by 
nature  chiefly  compassionate;  but  Saul 
preserved  their  king  and  governor  from 
the  miseries  which  the  Hebrews  brought 
on  the  people,  as  if  he  preferred  the  line 
appearance  of  the  enemy  to  the  memory 
of  what  God  had  sent  him  about.  The 
multitude  were  also  guilty,  together  with 
Saul ;  for  they  spared  the  herds  and  the 
flocks,  and  took  them  for  a  prey,  when 
God  had  commanded  they  should  not 
spare  them.  They  also  carried  off  with 
them  the  rest  of  their  wealth  and  riches; 
but  if  there  was  any  thing  that  was  not 
worthy  of  regard,  that  they  destroyed. 

But  when  Saul  had  conquered  all  these 
Amalekites  that  reached  from  Pelu^ium 
of  Egypt  to  the  lied  Sea,  he  laid  waste 
all  the  rest  of  the  enemy's  country :  but 
for  the  nation  of  the  Shechcmites,  he  did 
not  touch  them,  although  they  dwf  It  in 
the  very  middle  of  the  country  of  Midian ; 


L90 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


for  before  the  battle,  Saul  had  sent  to 
them,  and  jharged  them  to  depart  thence, 
lest  they  should  be  partakers  of  the  mise- 
ries of  the  Amalekites;  for  he  had  a  just 
occasion  for  saving  them,  since  they  were 
nf  the  kindred  of  Haguel,  Moses's  father- 
in-law. 

Hereupon  Saul  returned  home  with 
joy,  for  the  glorious  things  he  had  done, 
and  for  the  conquest  of  his  enemies,  as 
though  he  had  not  neglected  any  thing 
which  the  prophet  had  enjoined  him  to  do 
when  he  was  going  to  make  war  with  the 
Amalekites,  and  as  though  he  had  exactly 
observed  all  that  he  ought  to  have  done. 
But  God  was  grieved  that  the  king  of  the 
Amalekites  was. preserved  alive,  and  that 
the  multitude  had  seized  on  the  cattle  for 
a  prey,  because  these  things  were  done 
without  his  permission  ;  for  he  thought  it 
an  intolerable  thing  that  they  should  con- 
quer and  overcome  their  enemies  by  that 
power  which  he  gave  them,  and  then 
that  he  himself  should  be  so  grossly  de- 
spised and  disobeyed  by  them,  that  a  mere 
man  that  was  a  king  would  not  bear  it. 
He  therefore  told  Samuel  the  prophet, 
that  he  repented  that  he  had  made  Saul 
king,  while  he  did  nothing  that  he  had 
commanded  him,  but  indulged  his  own 
inclinations.  When  Samuel  heard  that, 
he  was  in  confusion  ;  and  began  to  beseech 
God  all  that  night  to  be  reconciled  to  Saul, 
and  not  to  be  angry  with  him ;  but  he  did 
not  grant  that  forgiveness  to  Saul  which 
the  prophet  asked  for,  as  not  deeming  it 
a  fit  thing  to  grant  forgiveness  of  [such] 
sins  at  his  entreaties,  since  injuries  do  not 
otherwise  grow  so  great  as  by  the  easy 
tempers  of  those  that  are  injured ;  for 
while  they  hunt  after  the  glory  of  being 
thought  gentle  and  good-natured,  before 
they  are  aware,  they  produce  other  sins. 
As  soon  therefore  as  God  had  rejected  the 
intercession  of  the  prophet,  and  it  plainly 
appeared  that  he  would  not  change  his 
miud,  at  break  of  day  Samuel  came  to 
Saul  at  Gilgal.  "When  the  king  saw  him, 
he  ran  to  him,  and  embraced  him,  and 
said,  ''I  return  thanks  to  God,  who  hath 
given  me  the  victory,  for  I  have  performed 
every  thing  that  he  hath  commanded  me." 
To  which  Samuel  replied,  uHow  is  it  then 
that  I  hear  the  bleating  of  the  sheep,  and 
the  lowing  of  the  greater  cattle  in  the 
oan.p?"  Saul  made  answer,  that  the  peo- 
ple had  reserved  them  for  sacrifices,  hut 
that,  as  to  the  nation  of  the  Amalekites, 
it  was  entirely  destroyed,  as  he  had  re- 


ceived it  in  command  to  see  done,  and 
that  no  one  man  was  left ;  but  that  he  had 
saved  alive  the  king  alone,  and  brought 
him  to  him,  concerning  whom  he  said  they 
would  advise  together  what  should  be 
done  with  him.  But  the  prophet  said, 
"God  is  not  delighted  with  sacrifices,  but 
with  good  and  with  righteous  men,  who 
are  such  as  follow  his  will  and  his  laws, 
and  never  think  that  any  thing  is  well 
done  by  them  but  when  they  do  it  as  God 
had  commanded  them :  that  he  then  looks 
upon  himself  as  affronted,  not  when  any 
one  does  not  sacrifice,  but  when  any  one 
appears  to  be  disobedient  to  him.  But 
that  from  those  who  do  not  obey  him,  nor 
pay  him  that  duty  which  alone  is  the  true 
and  acceptable  worship,  he  will  not  kindly 
accept  their  oblations,  be  those  they  offer 
ever  so  many  and  so  fat,  and  be  the  pre- 
sents they  make  him  ever  so  ornamental, 
nay,  though  they  were  made  of  gold  and 
silver  themselves,  yet  will  he  rt-ject  them, 
and  esteem  them  instances  of  wickedness, 
and  not  of  piety.  And  that  he  is  delight- 
ed with  those  that  still  bear  in  mind  this 
one  thing,  and  this  onty,  how  to  do  that, 
whatsoever  it  be,  which  God  pronounces 
or  commands  for  them  to  do,  and  to  choose 
rather  to  die  than  to  transgress  any  of 
those  commands ;  nor  does  he  require  so 
much  as  a  sacrifice  from  them.  And 
when  these  do  sacrifice,  though  it  be  a 
mean  oblation,  he  better  accepts  of  it  as 
the  honour  of  poverty,  than  such  oblations 
as  come  from  the  richest  men  that  offer 
them  to  him.  Wherefore  take  notice,  that 
thou  art  under  the  wrath  of  God,  for  thou 
hast  despised  and  neglected  what  he  com- 
manded thee.  How  dost  thou  then  sup- 
pose that  he  will  respect  a  sacrifice  out  of 
such  things  as  he  hath  doomed  to  destruc- 
tion? unless  perhaps  thou  dost  imagine 
that  it  is  almost  all  one  to  offer  it  in  sa- 
crifice to  God  as  to  destroy  it.  Do  thou 
therefore  expect  that  thy  kingdom  will  be 
taken  from  thee,  and  that  authority  which 
thou  hast  abused  by  such  insolent  beha- 
viour, as  to  neglect  that  God  who  bestowed 
it  upon  thee/'  Then  did  Saul  confess  that 
he  had  acted  unjustly,  and  did  not  deny 
that  he  had  sinned,  because  he  had  trans- 
gressed the  injunctions  of  the  prophet;  but 
he  said  that  it  was  out  of  a  dread  and  fear 
of  the  soldiers,  that  he  did  not  prohibit 
and  restrain  them  when  they  seized  on  the 
prey.  "But  forgive  me,"  said  he,  "and 
be  merciful  to  me,  for  I  will  be  cautious 
how  I  offend  for  the  time  to  come/'     He 


Chap.  VII]  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


191 


also  entreated  the  prophet  to  go  uack  with 
him,  that  he  might  offer  his  thank-offer- 
ings to  God  ;  but  Samuel  went  home,  be- 
cause he  saw  that  God  would  not  be  recon- 
ciled to  him. 

But  when  Saul  was  so  desirous  to  retain 
Samuel,  that  he  took  hold  of  his  cloak, 
and  because  the  vehemence  of  Samuel's 
departure  made  the  motion  to  be  violent, 
the  cloak  was  rent.  Upon  which  the  pro- 
phet said,  that  after  the  same  manner 
should  the  kingdom  be  rent  from  him, 
and  that  a  good  and  a  just  man  should 
take  it;  that  God  persevered  in  what  he 
had  decreed  about  him ;  that  to  be  muta- 
ble and  changeable  in  what  is  determined, 
is  agreeable  to  .human  passions  only,  but 
is  not  agreeable  to  the  Divine  Power. 
Hereupon  Saul  said  that  he  had  been 
wicked;  but  that  what  was  done  could  not 
be  undone  :  he  therefore  desired  he  would 
honour  him  so  far,  that  the  multitude 
might  see  that  he  would  accompany  him 
in  worshipping  God.  So  Samuel  granted 
him  that  favour,  and  went  with  him  and 
worshipped  God.  Agag  also,  the  king  of 
the  Amalekites,  was  brought  to  him  ;  and 
when  the  king  asked,  "  How  bitter  death 
was?"  Samuel  said,  "As  thou  hast  made 
many  of  the  Hebrew  mothers  to  lament 
and  bewail  the  loss  of  their  children,  so 
shalt  thou,  by  thy  death,  cause  thy  mo- 
ther to  lament  thee  also."  Accordingly 
he  gave  orders  to  slay  him  immediately  at 
Gilga],  and  then  went  away  to  the  city 
Ram  ah.* 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

David  named  as  the  successor  of  Saul.    B.  C.  1063. 

Now  Saul  being  sensible  of  the  mise- 
rable condition  he  had  brought  himself 
into,  and  that  he  had  made  God  to  be  his 
enemy,  went  up  to  his  royal  palace  at  Gi- 
beah,  which  name  denotes  a  "  hill,"  and 
after  that  day  he  came  no  more  into  the 
presence  of  the  prophet.  And  when  Sa- 
muel mourned  for  him,  God  bade  him  leave 
off  his  concern  for  him,  and  to  take  the 
holy  oil,  and  to  go  to  Bethlehem,  to  Jesse 
the  son  of  Obed,  and  to  anoint  such  of 
his  sons  as  he  should  show  him  for  their 
future  king.*  But  Samuel  said,  he  was 
afraid  lest  Saul,  when  he  came  to  know 
of  it,  should  kill  him,  either  by  some  pri- 
vate method  or  even  openly.  But  upon 
Go>l's   suggesting  to  him  a  safe  way  of 


*  1  Sam.  xvi 


going  thither,  he  came  to  the  forcmen- 
tioned  city;  and  when  they  all  saluted 
him,  and  asked  what  was  the  occasion  of 
his  coming,  he  told  them,  he  came  to 
sacrifice  to  God.  When,  therefore,  he  had 
gotten  the  sacrifice  ready,  he  called  Jesso 
and  his  sons  to  partake  of  those  sacrifices : 
and  when  he  saw  his  eldest  son  to  be  a 
tall  and  handsome  man,  he  guessed  by  his 
comeliness  that  he  was  the  person  who 
was  to  be  their  future  king.  But  he  was 
mistaken  in  judging  about  God's  provi- 
dence; for  when  Samuel  inquired  of  God 
whether  he  should  anoint  this  youth,  whom 
he  so  admired,  and  esteemed  worthy  of 
the  kingdom,  God  said,  "Men  do  not  see 
as  God  seeth.  Thou  indeed  hast  respect 
to  the  fine  appearance  of  this  youth,'  and 
thence  esteemest  him  worthy  of  the  king- 
dom, while  I  propose  the  kingdom  as  a 
reward,  not  of  the  beauty  of  bodies,  but 
of  the  virtue  of  souls,  and  I  inquire  after 
one  that  is  perfectly  comely  in  that  respect; 
I  mean  one  who  is  beautiful  in  piety,  and 
righteousness,  and  fortitude,  and  obedi- 
ence; for  in  them  consist  the  comeliness 
of  the  soul."  When  God  had  said  this,  Sa- 
muel bade  Jesse  to  show  him  all  his  sons. 
So  he  made  five  others  of  his  sons  come  to 
him  :  of  all  of  whom  Eliab  was  the  eldest, 
Aminadab  the  second,  Shammah  the  third, 
Nathaniel  the  fourth,  Rael  the  fifth,  and 
Asam  the  sixth.  And  when  the  prophet 
saw  that  these  were  noway  inferior  to  the 
eldest  in  their  countenances,  he  inquired 
of  God  which  of  them  it  was  whom  he 
chose  for  their  king;  and  when  God  said 
it  was  none  of  them,  he  asked  Jesse  whe- 
ther he  had  not  some  other  sons  besides 
these;  and  when  he  said  that  he  had  one 
more,  named  David,  but  that  he  was  a 
shepherd,  and  took  care  of  the  flocks, 
Samuel  bade  them  call  him  immediately, 
for  that  till  he  had  come  they  could  not 
possibly  sit  down  to  the  feast.  Now,  as 
soon  as  his  father  had  sent  for  David,  and 
he  had  come,  he  appeared  to  be  of  a  yellow 
complexion,  of  a  sharp  sight,  and  a  comely 
per.-on  in  other  respects  also.  This  is  he, 
said  Samuel  privately  to  himself,  whom  it 
pleases  God  to  make  our  king.  So  he  sat 
down  to  the  feast,  and  placed  the  youth 
under  him,  and  Jesse  also,  with  his  other 
sons;  after  which  he  took  oil  in  the  pre- 
sence of  David,  and  anointed  him,  and 
whispered  him  in  the  car,  and  acquainted 
him  that  God  chose  him  to  be  their  king; 
and  exhorted  him  to  be  righteous,  and 
obedient  to  his  commands,  for  that  by  this 


192 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VL 


means  his  kingdom  would  continue  for  a 
long  time,  and  that  his  house  should  be 
of  great  splendour,  and  celebrated  in  the 
world ;  that  he  should  overthrow  the  Phi- 
listines ;  and  that  against  what  nations 
soever  he  should  make  war,  he  should  be 
the  conqueror,  and  survive  the  fight ;  and 
that  while  he  lived  he  should  enjoy  a  glo- 
rious name,  and  leave  such  a  name  to  his 
posterity  also. 

So  Samuel,  when  he  had  given  him 
these  admonitions,  went  away.  But  the 
Divine  Power  departed  from  Saul,,  and 
removed  to  David,  who,  upon  this  removal 
of  the  Divine  Spirit  to  him,  began  to  pro- 
phesy ;  but  as  for  Saul,  some  strange  and 
demoniacal  disorders  came  upon  him,  and 
brought  upon  him  such  suffocations  as 
were  ready  to  choke  him ;  for  which  the 
physicians  could  find  no  other  remedy  but 
this  :  that  if  any  person  could  charm  those 
passions  by  singing,  and  playing  upon  the 
harp,  tbey  advised  them  to  inquire  for  such 
an  one,  and  to  observe  when  these  demons 
came  upon  him  and  disturbed  him,  and  to 
take  care  that  such  a  person  might  stand 
over  him,  and  play  upon  the  harp,  and 
recite  hymns  to  him.  Accordingly  Saul 
did  not  delay,  but  commanded  them  to 
seek  out  such  a  man ;  and  when  a  certain 
stander-by  said  that  he  had  seen  in  the 
city  of  Bethlehem  a  sou  of  Jesse,  who 
was  yet  no  more  than  a  child  in  age,  but 
comely  and  beautiful,  and  in  other  re- 
spects one  that  was  deserving  of  'great 
regard,  who  was  skilful  in  playing  on  the 
harp,  and  in  singing  of  hymns,  [and  an 
excellent  soldier  in  war,]  he  sent  to  Jesse, 
and  desired  him  to  take  David  away  from 
the  flocks,  and  send  him  to  him,  for  he 
had  a  mind  to  see  him,  as  having  heard 
an  advantageous  character  of  his  comeli- 
ness and  his  valour.  So  Jesse  sent  his 
son,  and  gave  him  presents  to  carry  to 
Saul ;  and  when  he  had  come,  Saul  was 
pleased  with  him,  and  made  him  his  ar- 
mour-bearer, and  had  him  in  very  great 
esteem ;  for  he  charmed  his  passion,  and 
was  the  only  physician  against  the  trouble 
he  had  from  the  demons,  whensoever  it 
was  that  it  came  upon  him,  and  this  by 
reciting  of  hymns,  and  playing  upon  the 
harp,  and  bringing  Saul  to  his  right  mind 
again.  However,  he  sent  to  Jesse,  the 
father  of  the  child,  and  desired  him  to 
permit  David  to  stay  with  him,  for  that 
he  was  delighted  with  his  sight  and  com- 
pany ;  which  stay,  that  he  might  not  con- 
tradict Saul,  he  granted. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


David  slays  Goliath,  and  thus  defeats  the  third  ex- 
pedition of  the  Philistines. 

Now  the  Philistines  gathered  themselves 
together  again,  no  very  long  time  after- 
ward ;  and  having  gotten  together  a  great 
army,  they  made  war  against  the  Israel- 
ites ;  and  having  seized  a  place  between 
Shochoh  and  Azekah,  they  there  pitched 
their  camp.*  Saul  also  drew  out  his  army 
to  oppose  them ;  and  by  pitching  his  owd 
camp  upon  a  certain  hill,  he  forced  the 
Philistines  to  leave  their  former  camp, 
and  to  encamp  themselves  upon  such  an- 
other hill,  over  against  that  on  which 
Saul's  army  lay,  so  that  a  valley  which 
was  between  the  two  hills  on  which  they 
lay,  divided  their  camps  asunder.  Now 
there  came  down  a  man  out  of  the  camp 
of  the  Philistines,  whose  name  was  Goli- 
ath, of  the  city  of  Gath,  a  man  of  vast 
bulk,  for  he  was  of  four  cubits  and  a  span 
in  tallness,  and  had  about  him  weapons 
suitable  to  the  largeness  of  his  body,  for 
he  had  a  breastplate  on  that  weighed 
5000  shekels:  he  had  also  a  helmet  and 
greaves  of  brass,  as  large  as  you  would 
naturally  suppose  might  cover  the  limbs 
of  so  vast  a  body.  His  spear  was  also 
such  as  was  not  carried  like  a  light  thing 
in  his  right  hand,  but  he  carried  it  as  lying 
on  his  shoulders.  He  had  also  a  lance  of 
600  shekels ;  and  many  followed  him  to 
carry  his  armour.  Wherefore  this  Go- 
liath stood  between  the  two  armies,  as 
they  were  in  battle  array,  and  sent  out  a 
loud  voice,  and  said  to  Saul  and  the  He- 
brews, "  I  will  free  you  from  fighting  and 
from  dangers ;  for  what  necessity  is  there 
that  your  army  should  fall  and  be  afflicted  ? 
Give  me  a  man  of  you  that  will  fight  with 
me,  and  he  that  conquers  shall  have  the 
reward  of  the  conqueror,  and  determine 
the  war ;  for  these  shall  serve  those  others 
to  whom  the  conqueror  shall  belong ;  and 
certainly  it  is  much  better  and  more  pru- 
dent to  gain  what  you  desire  by  the  hazard 
of  one  man,  than  of  all."  When  he  had 
said  this,  he  retired  to  his  own  camp ;  but 
the  next  day  he  came  again,  and  used  the 
same  words,  and  did  not  leave  off  for  forty 
days  together,  to  challenge  the  enemy  in 
the  same  words,  till  Saul  and  his  army 
were  therewith  terrified,  while  they  put 
themselves  in  array  as  if  they  would  fight, 
but  did  not  come  to  a  close  battle. 


*  1  Sam.  xvii 


CliAP.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


193 


Now  while  this  war  between  the  He- 
brews and  the  Philistines  was  going  on, 
Saul  sent  away  David  to  his  father  Jesse, 
and  contented  himself  with  those  three 
sons  of  his  whom  he  had  sent  to  his  as- 
sistance, and  to  be  pnrtners  in  the  dan- 
gers of  the  war  :  and  at  first  David  re- 
turned to  feed  his  sheep  and  his  flocks  ; 
but  after  no  long  time  he  came  to  the 
camp  of  the  Hebrews,  as  sent  by  his  fa- 
ther, to  carry  provisions  to  his  brethren, 
and  to  know  what  they  were  doing;  while 
Goliath  came  again,  and  challenged  them, 
and  reproached  them  that  they  had  no 
man  of  valour  among  them  that  durst 
come  down  to  fight  him;  and  as  David 
was  talking  with  his  brethren  about  the 
business  for  which  his  father  had  sent 
him,  he  heard  the  Philistines  reproaching 
and  abusing  the  army,  and  had  indigna- 
tion at  it,  and  said  to  his  brethren,  "  I  am 
ready  to  fight  a  single  combat  with  this 
adversary."  Whereupon  Eliab,  his  eldest 
brother,  reproved  him,  and  said  that  he 
spake  too  rashly  and  improperly  for  one 
of  his  age,  and  bade  him  go  to  his  flocks, 
and  to  his  father.  So  he  was  abashed  at 
his  brother's  words,  and  went  away,  but 
still  he  spake  to  some  of  the  soldiers,  that 
he  was  willing  to  fight  with  him  that 
challenged  them.  And  when  they  had 
informed  Saul  what  was  the  resolution  of 
the  young  man,  the  king  sent  for  him  to 
come  to  him  :  and  when  the  king  asked 
what  he  had  to  say,  he  replied,  "  0  king, 
be  not  cast  down,  nor  afraid,  for  I  will 
depress  the  insolence  of  this  adversary, 
and  will  go  down  and  fight  with  him,  and 
will  bring  him  under  me,  as  tall  and  as 
great  as  he  is,  till  he  shall  be  sufficiently 
laughed  at,  and  thy  army  shall  get  great 
glory  when  he  shall  be  slain  by  one  that 
is  not  yet  of  man's  estate,  neither  fit  for 
fighting,  nor  capable  of  being  intrusted 
with  the  marshalling  an  army,  or  ordering 
a  battle,  but  by  one  that  looks  like  a  child, 
and  is  really  no  older  in  age  than  a  child." 
Now  Saul  wondered  at  the  boldness 
and  alacrity  of  David,  but  durst  not  pre- 
sume on  his  ability,  by  reason  of  his 
age ;  but  said,  he  must  on  that  account 
be  too  weak  to  fight  with  one  that  was 
skilled  in  the  art  of  war.  "  I  undertake 
this  enterprise,"  said  David,  "  in  depend- 
ence on  God's  being  with  me,  for  I  have 
had  experience  already  of  his  assistance ; 
for  I  once  pursued  after  and  caught  a  lion 
that  assaulted  my  flocks,  and  took  away  a 
lamb  from  +hem,  and  I  snatched  the  lamb 
12 


out  of  the  wild  beast's  mouth,  and  when 
he  leaped  upon  me  with  violence,  I  took 
him  by  the  tail,  and  dashed  him  against 
the  ground.  In  the  same  manner  did  I 
avenge  myself  on  a  bear  also ;  and  let 
this  adversary  of  ours  be  esteemed  like 
one  of  these  wild  beasts,  since  he  has  a 
long  while  reproached  our  army  and  blas- 
phemed our  God,  who  will  yet  reduce 
him  under  my  power." 

However,  Saul  prayed  that  the  end 
might  be,  by  God's  assistance,  not  dis- 
agreeable to  the  alacrity  and  boldness  of 
the  child  ;  and  said,  "  Go  thy  way  to  the 
fight."  So  he  put  about  him  his  breast- 
plate, and  girded  on  his  sword,  and  fitted 
the  helmet  to  his  head,  and  sent  him 
away.  But  David  was  burdened  with  his 
armour,  for  he  had  not  been  exercised  to 
it,  nor  had  he  learned  to  walk  with  it ;  so 
he  said,  "  Let  this  armour  be  thine,  0 
king,  who  art  able  to  bear  it ;  but  give 
me  leave  to  fight  as  thy  servant,  and  as  1 
myself  desire."  Accordingly,  he  laid  by 
the  armour,  and  taking  his  staff  with 
him,  and  putting  five  stones  out  of  the 
brook  into  a  shepherd's  bag,  and  having 
a  sling  in  his  right  hand,  he  went  toward 
Goliath.  But  the  adversary  seeing  him 
come  in  such  a  manner,  disdained  him, 
and  jested  upon  him,  as  if  he  had  not 
such  weapons  with  him  as  are  usual  when 
one  man  fights  against  another,  but  such 
as  are  used  in  driving  away  and  avoiding 
of  dogs  ;  and  said,  "  Dost  thou  take  me 
not  for  a  man,  but  a  dog?"  To  which  he 
replied,  "  No,  not  for  a  dog,  but  for  a 
creature  worse  than  a  dog."  This  pro- 
voked Goliath  to  anger,  who  thereupon 
cursed  him  by  the  name  of  [his]  god,  and 
threatened  to  give  his  flesh  to  the  beasts 
of  the  earth,  and  to  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  them.  To  whom 
David  answered,  "  Thou  comest  to  me 
with  a  sword,  and  with  a  spear,  and  with 
a  breastplate  ;  but  I  have  God  for  my 
armour  in  coming  against  thee,  who  will 
destroy  thee  and  all  thy  anny  by  my 
hands;  for  I  will  this  day  cut  off  thy 
head,  and  cast  the  other  parts  of  thy 
body  to  the  dogs;  and  all  mem  shall  learn 
that  God  is  the  protector  of  the  Hebrews, 
aud  that  our  armour  and  our  strength  is. 
in  his  providence;  and  that  without  God's 
assistance,  all  other  warlike  preparations 
and  power  are  useless."  So  the  Philis- 
tine being  retarded  by  the  weight  of  his 
armour,  when  he  attempted  to  meet  David 
in  haste,  came  on  but  slowly,  as  despising 


104 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI 


him,  and  depending  upon  it  that  he 
should  slay  him,  who  was  both  unarmed 
and  a  child  also,  without  any  trouble 
at  all. 

But  the  youth  met  his  antagonist, being 
accompanied  with  an  invisible  assistant, 
who  was  no  other  than  God  himself. 
And  taking  one  of  the  stones  that  he  had 
out  of  the  brook,  and  had  put  it  into  his 
shepherd's  bag,  and  fitting  it  to  his  sling, 
he  slang  it  against  the  Philistine.  This 
stone  fell  upon  his  forehead,  and  sank 
into  his  brain,  insomuch  that  Goliath  was 
stunned,  and  fell  upon  his  face.  So  David 
ran,  and  stood  upon  his  adversary  as  he 
lay  down,  and  cut  off  his  head  with  his 
own  sword ;  for  he  had  no  sword  himself. 
And  upon  the  fall  of  Goliath,  the  Philis- 
tines were  beaten,  and  fled ;  for  when 
they  saw  their  champion  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  they  were  afraid  of  the  entire 
issue  of  their  affairs,  and  resolved  not  to 
stay  any  longer,  but  committed  them- 
selves to  an  ignominious  and  indecent 
flight,  and  thereby  endeavoured  to  save 
themselves  from  the  dangers  they  were 
in.  But  Saul,  and  the  entire  army  of  the 
Hebrews,  made  a  shout,  and  rushed  upon 
them,  and  slew  a  great  number  of  them, 
and  pursued  the  rest  to  the  borders  of 
Gatii,  and  to  the  gates  of  Ekron  ;  so  that 
there  were  slain  of  the  Philistines  30,000, 
and  twice  as  many  wounded.  But  Saul 
returned  to  their  camp,  and  pulled  their 
fortifications  to  pieces,  and  burnt  ii  ;  but 
David  carried  the  head  of  Goliath  into 
his  own  tent,  but  dedicated  his  sword  to 
God  [at  the  tabernacle]. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Saul  envies  David  his  success,  but  eventually  gives 
him  his  daughter  Michal. 

Now  the,  women  were  an  occasion  of 
Saul's  envy  and  hatred  to  David;  for 
they  came  to  meet  their  victorious  army 
with  cymbals  and  drums,  and  all  demon- 
strations of  joy,  and  sang  thus :  the  wives 
said,  that  tl  Saul  had  slain  his  many  thou- 
sands of  the  Philistines;"  the  virgins  re- 
plied, that  "  David  had  slain  his  ten 
thousands."*  Now,  when  the  king  heard 
them  singing  thus,  and  that  he  had  him- 
Eelf  the  smallest  share  in  their  commenda- 
tions,  and  the  greater  number,   the   ten 


*  1  Sam„  xviii. — It  was  common  in  ancient  times 
for  women  to  go  out  and  meet  the  conquerors,  and 
on  sucL  occasions  sang  songs  in  praise  of  their 
valour. 


thousands,  were  ascribed  to  the  young 
man ;  and  when  he  considered  with  him- 
self that  there  was  nothing  more  wanting 
to  David,  after  such  a  mighty  applause, 
but  the  kingdom,  he  began  to  be  afraid 
and  suspicious  of  David.  Accordingly, 
he  removed  him  from  the  station  he  was 
in  before,  for  he  was  his  armour-bearer, 
which,  out  of  fear,  seemed  to  him  much 
too  near  a  station  for  David ;  and  so  he 
made  him  captain  over  a  thousand,  and 
bestowed  on  him  a  post  better  indeed  in 
itself,  but,  as  he  thought,  more  for  his 
own  security ;  for  he  had  a  mind  to  send 
him  against  the  enemy,  and  into  battles, 
as  hoping  he  would  be  slain  in  such  dan- 
gerous conflicts. 

But  David  had  God  going  along  with 
him  whithersoever  he  went,  and  accord- 
ingly he  greatly  prospered  in  his  under- 
takings, and  it  was  visible  that  he  had 
mighty  success,  insomuch  that  Saul's 
daughter,  who  was  still  a  virgin,  fell  in 
love  with  him;  and  her  affection  so  far 
prevailed  over  her,  that  it  could  not  be 
concealed,  and  her  father  became  ac- 
quainted with  it.  Now  Saul  heard  this 
gladly,  as  intending  to  make  use  of  it  for 
a  snare  against  David,  and  he  hoped  that 
it  would  prove  the  cause  of  destruction 
and  of  hazard  to  him  ;  so  he  told  those 
that  informed  him  of  his  daughter's  affec- 
tion, that  he  would  willingly  give  David 
the  virgin  in  marriage,  and  said,  "  I  en- 
gage myself  to  marry  my  daughter  to 
him  if  he  will  bring  me  600  heads  of  my 
enemies,"*  (supposing  that  when  a  reward 
so  ample  was  proposed  to  him,  and  when 
he  should  aim  to  get  himself  great  glory, 
by  undertaking  a  thing  so  dangerous  and 
incredible,  he  would  immediately  set 
about  it,  and  so  perish  by  the  Philis- 
tines;) "  and  my  designs  about  him  will 
succeed  finely  to  my  mind,  for  I  shall  be 
freed  from  him,  and  get  him  slain,  not  by 
myself,  but  by  another  man."  So  he 
gave  orders  to  his  servants  to  try  how 
David  would  relish  this  proposal  of  mar- 
rying the  damsel.  Accordingly,  they  be- 
gan to  speak  thus  to  him  : — "  That  King 
Saul  loved  him,  as  well  as  did  all  the 
people,  and  that  he  was  desirous  of  his 
affinity  by  the  marriage  of  this  damsel." 
To  which  he  gave  this  answer  : — u  Seemeth 
it  to  you  a  light  thing  to  be  made  the 
king's  son-in-law  ?     It  does  not  seem  so 


*  This  account   differs   from   that   recorded   in 
1  Sam.  xviii.  25.     See  also  1  Sam    xxix.  4. 


I  HAP.  XI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


195 


to  me,  especially  when  I  am  one  of  a  fa- 
mily that  is  low,  and  without  any  glory 
or  honour."  Now  when  Saul  was  in- 
formed by  his  servants  what  answer  David 
had  made,  he  said,  "  Tell  him,  that  I  do 
not  want  any  money  nor  dowry  from 
him,  which  would  be  rather  to  set  my 
daughter  to  sale  than  to  give  her  in  mar- 
riage; but  I  desire  only  such  a  son-in-law 
as  hath  in  him  fortitude,  and  all  other 
kinds  of  virtue,"  of  which  he  saw  David 
was  possessed,  and  that  his  desire  was  to 
r°ceive  of  him,  on  account  of  his  marry- 
ing his  daughter,  neither  gold  nor  silver, 
nor  that  he  should  bring  such  wealth  out, 
of  his  father's  house,  but  only  some  re- 
venge on  the  Philistines,  and  indeed  600 
of  their  heads,  than  which  a  more  de- 
sirable or  a  more  glorious  present  could 
not  be  brought  him  ;  and  that  he  had 
much  rather  obtain  this  than  any  of  the 
accustomed  dowries  for  his  daughter, 
namely,  that  she  should  be  married  to  a 
man  of  that  character,  and  to  one  who  had  a 
testimony  as  having  conquered  his  enemies. 
When  these  words  of  Saul  were  brought 
to  David,  he  was  pleased  with  them,  and 
supposed  that  Saul  was  really  desirous  of 
this  affinity  with  him ;  so  that  without 
bearing  to  deliberate  any  longer,  or  cast- 
ing about  in  his  mind  whether  what  was 
proposed  was  possible,  or  was  difficult  or 
not,  he  and  his  companions  immediately 
set  upon  the  enemy,  and  went  about  doing 
what  was  proposed  as  the  condition  of  the 
marriage.  Accordingly,  because  it  was  God 
who  made  all  things  easy  and  possible  to 
David,  he  slew  many  [of  the  Philistines], 
and  cut  off  the  heads  of  600  of  them,  and 
came  to  the  king,  and  by  showing  him 
these  heads  of  the  Philistines,  required 
that  he  might  have  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage. Accordingly  Saul,  having  no  way 
of  getting  off  his  engagements,  as  thinking 
it  a  base  thing  either  to  seem  a  liar  when 
he  promised  him  this  marriage,  or  to  ap- 
pear to  have  acted  treacherously  by  him, 
in  putting  him  upon  what  was  in  a  man- 
ner impossible,  in  order  to  have  him 
slain,  he  gave  him  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage :  her  name  was  Michal. 


CHAPTER  XL 

David  rescued  from  the  machinations  of  Saul  by 
the  friendship  of  Jonathan,  and  by  the  con- 
trivances of  his  wife. 

However,   Saul  was  not  disposed   to 
persevere   long   in   the   «tate  wherein    he 


was ;  for  when  he  saw  that  David  was  in 
great  esteem  both  with  God  and  with  the 
multitude,  he  was  afraid  ;  and  not  being 
able  to  conceal  his  fear  as  concerning 
great  things,  his  kingdom  and  his  life,  to 
be  deprived  of  either  of  which  was  a  very 
great  calamity,  he  resolved  to  have  David 
slain ;  and  commanded  his  son  Jonathan 
and  his  most  faithful  servants  to  kill  him: 
but  Jonathan  wondered  at  his  father's 
change  with  relation  to  David,  that  it 
should  be  made  to  so  great  a  degree,  from 
showing  him  no  small  good-will,  to  con- 
trive how  to  have  him  killed.  Now,  be- 
cause he  loved  the  young  man,  and  re- 
verenced him  for  his  virtue,  he  informed 
him  of  the  secret  charge  his  father  had 
given,  and  what  his  intentions  were  con- 
cerning him.  However,  he  advised  him 
to  take  care  and  be  absent  the  next  day, 
for  that  he  would  salute  his  father,  and, 
if  he  met  with  a  favourable  opportunity, 
he  would  discourse  with  him  about  him, 
and  learn  the  cause  of  his  disgust,  and 
show  how  little  ground  there  was  for  it, 
and  that  for  it  he  ought  not  to  kill  a  man 
that  had  done  so  many  good  things  to  the 
multitude,  and  had  been  a  benefactor  to 
himself,  on  account  of  which  he  ought  in 
reason  to  obtain  pardon,  had  he  been 
guilty  of  the  greatest  crimes  :  and  "  I  will 
then  inform  thee  of  my  father's  resolu- 
tion." Accordingly,  David  complied  with 
such  an  advantageous  advice,  and  kept 
himself  then  out  of  the  king's  sight. 

On  the  next  day  Jonathan  came  to  Saul, 
as  soon  as  he  saw  him  in  a  cheerful  dispo- 
sition, and  began  to  introduce  a  discourse 
about  David:  "What  unjust  action,  0 
father,  either  little  or  great,  hast  thou 
found  so  exceptionable  in  David,  as  to  in- 
duce thee  to  order  us  to  slay  a  man  who 
hath  been  of  great  advantage  to  thy  own 
preservation,  and  of  still  greater  to  the 
punishment  of  the  Philistines?  A  man 
who  hath  delivered  the  people  of  the  He- 
brews from  reproach  and  derision,  which 
they  underwent  for  forty  days  together, 
when  he  alone  had  courage  enough  to  sus- 
tain the  challenge  of  the  adversary,  and 
after  that  brought  as  many  heads  of  uur 
enemies  as  he  was  appointed  to  bring,  and 
had,  as  a  reward  for  the  same,  my  sister 
in  marriage;  insomuch  that  his  death 
would  be  very  sorrowful  to  us,  not  only  on 
account  of  his  virtue,  but  on  account  of 
the  nearness  of  our  relation :  for  thy 
daughter  must  be  injured  at  the  same 
time  that  he  is  slain,  and  must  be  obliged 


196 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


'Book  VI. 


to  experience  widowhood  before  she  can  ' 
come  to  enjoy  any  advantage  from  their 
mutual  conversation.  Consider  these 
things,  and  change  your  mind  to  a  more 
merciful  temper,  and  do  no  mischief  to  a 
man  who,  in  the  first  place,  hath  done  us 
the  greatest  kindness  of  preserving  thee ; 
for  when  an  evil  spirit  and  demons  had 
seized  upon  thee,  he  cast  them  out,  and 
procured  rest  to  thy  soul  from  their  incur- 
sions :  and,  in  the  second  place,  hath 
avenged  us  of  our  enemies;  for  it  is  a 
base  thing  to  forget  such  benefits. "  So 
Saul  was  pacified  with  these  words  ;  and 
Bwnre  to  his  son  that  he  would  do  David 
no  harm;  for  a  righteous  discourse  proved 
too  hard  for  the  king's  anger  and  fear.  So 
Jonathan  sent  for  David,  and  brought  him 
good  news  from  his  father,  that  he  was  to 
be  preserved.  He  also  brought  him  to  his 
father;  and  David  continued  with  the  king 
as  formerly. 

About  this  time  it  was  that,  upon  the 
Philistines  making  a  new  expedition 
against  the  Hebrews,  Saul  sent  David 
with  an  army  to  fight  with  them;  and 
joining  battle  with  them  he  slew  many  of 
them,  and  after  his  victory  he  returned  to 
the  king.  But  his  reception  by  Saul  was 
not  as  he  expected  upon  such  success,  for 
he  was  grieved  at  his  prosperity,  because 
he  thought  he  would  be  more  dangerous 
to  him  by  having  acted  so  gloriously;  but 
when  the  demoniacal  spirit  came  upon  him, 
and  put  him  into  disorder,  and  disturbed 
him,  he  called  for  David  into  his  bed- 
chamber wherein  he  lay,  and  having  a 
spear  in  his  hand,  he  ordered  him  to  charm 
him  with  playing  on  his  harp,  and  with 
singing  hymns;  which  when  David  did  at 
his  command,  he  with  great  force  threw 
•the  spear  at  him;  but  David  was  aware 
of  it  before  it  came,  and  avoided  it,  and 
fled  to  his  own  house,  and  abode  there  all 
that  day. 

But  at  night  the  king  sent  officers,  and 
commanded  that  he  should  be  watched  till 
the  morning,  lest  he  should  get  quite  away, 
that  he  might  come  into  the  judgment- 
hall,  and  so  might  be  delivered  up,  and 
condemned  and  slain.  But  when  Michal, 
David's  wife,  the  king's  daughter,  under- 
stood what  her  father  designed,  she  came 
to  her  husband,  as  having  small  hopes  of 
his  deliverance,  and  as  greatly  concerned 
about  her  own  life  also,  for  she  could  not 
bear  to  live  in  case  she  was  deprived  of 
him;  and  she  said,  "Let  not,  the  sun  find 
thee  here  when  it  rises,  for  if  it  does,  that 


will  be  the  last  time  it  will  see  thee :  fly 
away  then  while  the  night  may  afford  the 
opportunity,  and  may  God  lengthen  it  for 
thy  sake !  for  know  this,  that  if  my  father 
find  thee,  thou  art  a  dead  man."  So  she 
let  him  down  by  a  cord  out  of  the  win- 
dow, and  saved  him ;  and  after  she  had 
done  so,  she  fitted  up  a  bed  for  him  as  if 
he  was  sick,  and  put  under  the  bedclothes 
a  goat's  liver;  and  when  her  father,  as 
soon  as  it  was  day,  sent  to  seize  David, 
she  said  to  those  that  were  there,  that  he 
had  not  been  well  that  night,  and  showed 
them  the  bed  covered,  and  made  them  be- 
lieve, by  the  leaping  of  the  liver,  which 
caused  the  bed-clothes  to  move  also,  that 
David  breathed  like  one  that  was  asthma- 
tic. So  when  those  that  were  sent  told 
Saul  that  David  had  not  been  well  in  the 
night,  he  ordered  him  to  be  brought  in 
that  condition,  for  he  intended  to  kill, him. 
Now  when  they  came,  and  uncovered  the 
bed,  and  found  out  the  woman's  contriv- 
ance, they  told  it  to  the  king;  and  when 
her  father  complained  of  her  that  she  had 
saved  his  enemy,  and  had  put  a  trick 
upon  himself,  she  invented  this  plausible 
defence  for  herself,  and  said,  that  when  he 
[David]  threatened  to  kill  her,  she  lent 
him  her  assistance  for  his  preservation, 
out  of  fear,  for  which  her  assistance  she 
ought  to  be  forgiven,  because  it  was  not 
done  for  her  own  free  choice,  but  out  of 
necessity:  "For,"  said  she,  "I  do  not 
suppose  that  thou  wast  so  zealous  to  kill 
thy  enemy,  as  thou  wast  that  I  should  be 
saved."  Accordingly,  Saul  forgave  the 
damsel ;  but  David,  when  he  had  escaped 
this  danger,  came  to  the  prophet  Samuel 
to  Ramah,  and  told  him  what  snares  the 
king  had  laid  for  him,  and  how  he  was 
very  near  to  death  by  Saul's  throwing  a 
spear  at  him,  although  he  had  been  no 
way  guilty  with  relation  to  him,  nor  had 
he  been  cowardly-  in  his  battles  with  his 
enemies,  but  had  succeeded  well  in  them 
all,  by  God's  assistance ;  which  thing  was 
indeed  the  cause  of  Saul's  hatred  to  David. 
When  the  prophet  was  made  acquainted 
with  the  unjust  proceedings  of  the  king, 
he  left  the  city  Ramah,  and  took  David 
with  him,  to  a  certain  place  called  Naioth, 
and  there  he  abode  with  him.  But  when 
it  was  told  Saul  that  David  was  with  the 
prophet,  he  sent  soldiers  to  him,  and  or- 
dered them  to  take  him,  and  bring  him  to 
him;  and  when  they  came  to  Samuel,  and 
found  there  a  congregation  of  prophets, 
they  became  partakers  of  the  Divine  Spi- 


t  HAP.   XL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


197 


tit,  and  began  to  propLesy;  which  when 
San1  heard  of,  he  sent  others  to  David, 
who  prophesying  in  like  manner  as  did  the 
first,  he  again  sent  others;  which  third 
sort  prophesying  also,  at  last  he  was  angry, 
and  went  thither  in  great  haste  himself; 
and  when  he  was  just  by  the  place,  Sa- 
muel, before  he  saw  him,  made  him  pro- 
phesy also.  And  when  Saul  came  to  him, 
be  was  disordered  in  mind,*  and  under 
the  vehement  agitation  of  a  spirit;  and, 
putting  off  his  garments,t  he  fell  down, 
and  lay  on  the  ground  all  that  day  and 
night,  in  the  presence  of  Samuel  and 
David. 

And  David  went  thence,  and  came  to 
Jonathan,  the  son  of  Saul,  and  lamented 
to  him  what  snares  were  laid  for  him  by 
his  father;  and  said,  that  though  he  had 
been  guilty  of  no  evil,  nor  had  offended 
against  him,  yet  he  was  very  zealous  to 
get  him  killed.  Hereupon  Jonathan  ex- 
horted him  not  to  give  credit  to  such  his 
own  suspicions,  nor  to  the  calumnies  of 
those  that  raised  those  reports,  if  there 
were  any  that  did  so,  but  to  depend  on 
him,  and  take  courage;  for  that  his  father 
had  no  such  intentions,  since  he  would 
have  acquainted  him  with  that  matter, 
and  have  taken  his  advice,  had  it  been  so, 
as  he  used  to  consult  with  him  in  common 
when  he  acted  in  other  affairs.  But  Da- 
vid sware  to  him  that  so  it  was;  and  he 
desired  him  rather  to  believe  him,  and  to 
provide  for  his  safety,  than  to  despise  what 
he,  with  great  sincerity,  told  him :  that  he 
would  believe  what  he  said,  when  he 
should  either  see  him  killed  himself,  or 
learn  it  upon  inquiry  from  others:  and 
that  the  reason  why  his  father  did  not 
tell  him  of  these  things,  was  this,  that  he 
knew  of  the  friendship  and  affection  that 
he  bore  toward  him. 

Hereupon,  when  Jonathan  found  that 
this  intention  of  Saul  was  so  well  attested, 
he  asked  him  what  he  would  have  him  do 
for  him  ?  To  which  David  replied,  "  I 
am  sensible  that  thou  art  willing  to  gra- 
tify me  in  every  thing,  and  procure  me 
what  I  desire.  Now,  to-morrow  is  the  New 
Moon,  and  I  am  accustomed  to  sit  down 
then  with  the  king  at  supper :  now,  if  it 
neem  good  to  thee,  I  will  go  out  of  the 
city,  and  conceal  myself  privately  there  ; 
and  if  Saul  inquires  why  I  am  absent,  tell 


*  See  1  Sam.  x.  9-12. 

f  Sam  xix.  21 — bis  upper  garments  or  royal  ap- 
parel. 


him  that  I  am  gone  to  my  own  city  Beth- 
lehem, to  keep  a  festival  with  my  own 
tribe ;  and  add  this  also,  that  thou  gavest 
me  leave  so  to  do.     And  if  he  says,  as  is 
usually  said  in  the  case   of  friends  that 
are  gone  abroad,  it  is  well  that  he  went, 
then  assure  thyself  that  no  latent  mischief 
or  enmity  may  be  feared  at  his  hand ;  but 
if  he  answer  otherwise,  that  will  be  a  sure 
sign  that  he  hath   some   designs  against 
me.     Accordingly,  thou  shalt  inform   me 
of  thy  father's  inclinations;  and  that,  out 
of  pity  to  my  case  and  out  of  thy  friend- 
ship for  me,  as  instances  of  which  friend- 
ship thou  hast  vouchsafed  to  accept  of  the 
assurances  of  my  love  to  thee,  and  to  give 
the  like  assurances  to  me,  that  is,  those  of 
a  master  to  his  servant;  but  if  thou  dis- 
coverest  any  wickedness  in  me,  do  thou 
prevent  thy  father,  and  kill  me  thyself." 
But  Jonathan  heard  these  last  words 
with  indignation,  and  promised  to  do  what 
he  desired  of  him,  and  to  inform  him  if 
his  father's  answers  implied  any  thing  of 
a    melancholy    nature,    and    any    enmity 
against   him.     And    that    he   might   the 
more   firmly  depend   upon   him,  he   took 
him  out  into  the  open  field,  into  the  pure 
air,  and  sware  that  he  would  neglect  no- 
thing that  might  tend  to  the  preservation 
of  David ;  and  he  said,  "  I  appeal  to  that 
God,  who,  as  thou  seest,  is  diffused  every- 
where, and  knoweth  this  intentiou  of  mine, 
before  I  explain  it  in  words,  as  the  wit- 
ness of  this  my  covenant  with  thee,  that 
I  will  not  leave  off  to  make  frequent  trials 
of  the  purpose  of  my  father  till  I  learn 
whether  there  be  any   lurking  distemper 
in  the  most  secret  parts  of  his  soul;  and 
when  I  have  learnt  it,  I  will  not  conceal 
it  from  thee,  but  will  discover  it  to  thee, 
whether    he    be   gently  or  peevishly  dis- 
posed; for  this  God  himself  knows,  that 
I  pray  he  may  always  be  with  thee,  for  he 
is  with   thee   now,  and   will   not  forsake 
thee,  and  will  make  thee  superior  to  thine 
enemies,  whether  my  father    be   one  of 
them,  or  whether  I  myself  be  such.     Do 
thou  only  remember  what  we  now  do;  and 
if  it  fall  out  that  I  die,  preserve  my  chil- 
dren alive,  and  requite  what  kindness  thou 
hast  now  received,  to  them."     When   ho 
bad  thus  sworn,  he  dismissed  David,  bid- 
ding him  go   to   a   certain  place  of  that 
plain  wherein  he  used   to  perform  his  ex- 
ercises;  for  that,  as  soon  as  he  knew  the 
mind  of  his  father,  he  would  come  thither 
to  him  with  one  servant  only ;   "  and  if," 
says  he,  "  I  shoot  three  darts  at  the  mark, 


198 


VNTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS 


[Book  VI. 


and  then  bid  my  servant  to  carry  these 
thre3  darts  away,  for  they  are  before  him, 
know  thou  that  there  is  no  mischief  to  be 
feared  from  my  father ;  but  if  thou  near- 
est me  say  the  contrary,  expect  the  con- 
trary from  the  king.  However,  thou  shalt 
gain  security  by  my  means,  and  shalt  by 
no  means  suffer  any  harm ;  but  see  thou 
dost  not  forget  what  I  have  desired  of  thee 
in  the  time  of  thy  prosperity,  and  be  ser- 
viceable to  my  children."  Now  David, 
when  he  had  received  these  assurances 
from  Jonathan,  went  his  way  to  the  place 
appointed. 

But  on  tne  next  day,  which  was  the 
New  Moon,  the  king,  when  he  had  puri- 
fied himself,  as  the  custom  was,  came  to 
supper;  and  when  there  sat  by  him  his 
son  Jonathan  on  his  right  hand,  and  Ab- 
ner  the  captain  of  his  host,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  saw  David's  seat  was  empty,  but 
said  nothing,  supposing  that  he  had  not 
purified  himself  since  he  had  accompanied 
with  his  wife,  and  so  could  not  be  present; 
but  when  he  saw  that  he  was  not  there 
the  second  day  of  the  month  neither,  he 
inquired  of  his  sou  Jonathan  why  the  son 
of  Jess*,  did  not  come  to  the  supper  and 
the  feast,  neither  the  day  before  nor  that 
day.  So  Jonathan  said  that  he  was  gone, 
according  to  the  agreement  between  them, 
to  his  own  city,  where  his  tribe  kept  a 
festival,  and  that  by  his  permission  ;  that 
he  also  invited  him  to  come  to  their  sacri- 
fice ;  "  and/'  says  Jonathan,  "  if  thou  wilt 
give  me  leave,  I  will  go  thither,  for  thou 
knowest  the  good-will  that  I  bear  him  j" 
and  then  it  was  that  Jonathan  understood 
his  father's  hatred  to  David,  and  plainly 
saw  his  entire  disposition ;  for  Saul  could 
not  restrain  his  anger,  but  reproached 
Jonathan,  and  called  him  the  son  of  a 
runagate,  and  an  enemy :  and  said  he  was 
a  partner  with  David,  and  his  assistant, 
and  that  by  his  behaviour  he  showed  he 
had  no  regard  to  himself,  or  to  his  mother, 
and  would  not  be  persuaded  of  this,  that 
while  David  was  alive,  their  kingdom  was 
nut  secure  to  them  ;  yet  did  he  bid  him 
send  *or  him,  that  he  might  be  punished : 
and  when  Jonathan  said,  in  answer,  "  What 
hath  he  done  that  thou  wilt  punish  him  V 
Saul  no  longer  contented  himself  to  express 
his  anger  in  bare  word*,  but  snatched  up 
his  spear,  and  leaped  upon  him,  and  was 
desirous  to  kill  him.  He  did  not  indeed 
do  what  he  intended,  because  he  was  hin- 
dered by  his  friends;  but  it  appeared 
plainly  to  his  son  that   he  hated  David, 


and  greatly  desired  to  despatch  him,  inso- 
much that  he  had  almost  slain  his  sod 
with  his  own  hands  on  his  account. 

And  then  it  was  that  the  king's  sou 
rose  hastily  from  supper;  and  being  un- 
able to  admit  any  thing  into  his  mouth 
for  grief,  he  wept  all  night,  both  because 
he  had  himself  been  near  destruction, 
and  because  the  death  of  David  was  de- 
termined; but  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  he 
went  out  into  the  plain  that  was  before 
the  city,  as  going  to  perform  his  exercises, 
but  in  reality  to  inform  his  friend  what 
disposition  his  father  was  in  toward  him, 
as  he  had  agreed  with  him  to  do;  and 
when  Jonathan  had  done  what  had  been 
thus  agreed,  he  dismissed  his  servant  that 
followed  him,  to  return  to  the  city;  but 
he  himself  went  into  the  desert,  and  came 
into  his  presence,  and  communed  with 
him.  So  David  appeared  and  fell  at 
Jonathan's  feet,  and  bowed  down  to  him, 
and  called  him  the  preserver  of  his  soul ; 
but  he  lifted  him  up  from  the  earth,  and 
they  mutually  embraced  one  another,  and 
made  a  long  greeting,  and  that  not  with- 
out tears.  They  also  lamented  their  age, 
and  that  familiarity  which  envy  would 
deprive  them  of,  and  that  separation 
which  must  now  be  expected,  which 
seemed  to  them  no  better  than  death  it- 
self. So  recollecting  themselves  at  length 
from  their  lamentation,  aud  exhorting  one 
another  to  be  mindful  of  the  oaths  they 
had  sworn  to  each  other,  they  parted 
asunder. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

David  flies  from  Saul,  and  sojourns  with  the  Icings 
of  the  Philistines  and  of  the  Moabites.  li.  C. 
1002. 

But  David  fled  from  the  king,  and  that 
death  he  was  in  danger  of  by  him,  and 
came  to  the  city- Nob,  to  Ahimeiech  the 
priest,  who,  when  he  saw  him  coming 
alone,  and  neither  a  friend  nor  a  servant 
with  him,  he  wondered  at  it,  and  desired 
to  learn  of  him  the  cause  why  there  was 
nobody  with  him.*  To  which  David 
answered,  thatjhe  king  had  commanded 
him  to  do  a  certain  thing  that  was  to  be 
kept  secret,- to  which,  if  he  had  a  mind 
to  know  so  much,  he  had  no  occasion  tor 
any  one  to  accompany  him;  "however, 


*  1  Sam.  xxii.  Ahimeiech  was  surprised  that 
David,  who  was  the  king's  son-in-law,  should  be 
unattended  by  guards  or  servants. 


Ohap   XII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


19G 


I  have  ordered  my  servants  to  meet  me 
at  such  and  such  a  place."  So  he  desired 
him  to  let  him  have  somewhat  to  eat;  and 
that  in  case  he  would  supply  him,  he 
would  act  the  part  of  a  friend,  and  be 
assisting  to  the  business  he  was  now 
about :  and  when  he  had  obtained  what 
he  desired,  he  also  asked  him  whether  he 
had  any  weapons  with  him,  either  sword 
or  spear.  Now  there  was  at  Nob  a  ser- 
.vant  of  Saul,  by  birth  a  Syrian,  whose 
name  was  Doeg,  one  that  kept  the  king's 
mules.  The  high  priest  said  that  he  had 
no  such  weapons;  but  added,  "Herk  is 
the  sword  of  Goliath,  which,  when  thou 
hadst  slain  the  Philistine,  thou  didst 
dedicate  to  God." 

When  David  had  received  the  sword, 
he  fled  out  of  the  country  of  the  Hebrews 
into  that  of  the  Philistines,  over  which 
Achish  reigned;  and  when  the  king's  ser- 
vants knew  him,  and  he  was  made  known 
to  the  king  himself,  the  servants  inform- 
ing him  that  he  was  that  David  who  had 
killed  many  ten  thousands  of  the  Philis- 
tines, David  was  afraid  lest  the  king 
should  put  him  to  death,  and  that  he 
should  experience  that  danger  from  him 
which  he  had  escaped  from  Saul;  so  he 
pretended  to  be  distracted  and  mad,  so 
that  his  spittle  ran  out  of  his  mouth;  and 
he  did  other  the  like  actions  before  the 
king  of  Gath,  which  might  make  him  be- 
lieve that  they  proceeded  from  such  a  dis- 
temper. Accordingly,  the  king  was  very 
angry  at  his  servants  that  they  had 
brought  him  a  madman,  and  he  gave 
orders  that  they  should  eject  David  im- 
mediately [out  of  the  city]. 

So  when  David  had  escaped  in  this 
manner  out  of  Gath,  he  came  to  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  abode  in  a  cave  by  the 
city  of  Adullam.  Then  it  was  that  he 
sent  to  his  brethren,  and  informed  them 
where  he  was,  who  then  came  to  him 
with  all  their  kindred:  and  as  many  others 
as  were  either  in  want,  or  in  fear  of  King 
Saul,  came  and  made  a  body  together, 
and  told  him  they  were  ready  to  obey  his 
orders;  they  were  iu  all  about  400. 
Whereupon  he  took  courage,  now  such  a 
force  and  assistance  had  come  to  him;  so 
he  removed  thence,  and  came  to  the  king 
of  the  Moabites,  and  desired  him  to  en- 
tertain his  parents  in  his  country  while 
the  issue  of  his  affairs  were  in  such  an  un- 
certain condition.  The  king  granted  him 
this  favour,  and  paid  great  respect  to  David's 
parents  all  the  time  they  were  with  him. 


As  for  himself,  upon  the  prophet  com- 
manding him  to  leave  the  desert,  and  to 
go  into  the  portion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  abide  there,  he  complied  therewith; 
and  coming  to  the  city  Hareth,  which  was 
in  that  tribe,  he  remained  there.  Now 
when  Saul  heard  that  David  had  been 
seen  with  a  multitude  about  him,  he  fell 
into  no  small  disturbance  and  trouble; 
but  as  he  knew  that  David  was  a  bold  and 
courageous  man,  he  suspected  that  some- 
what extraordinary  would  appear  from 
him,  and  that  openly  also,  which  would 
make  him  weep  and  put  him  into  dis- 
tress; so  he  called  together  to  him  his 
friends,  and  his  commanders,  and  the 
tribe  from  which  he  himself  was  derived, 
to  the  hill  where  his  palace  was;  and  sit- 
ting upon  a  place  called  Aroura,  his 
courtiers  that  were  in  dignities,  and  the 
guards  of  his  body,  being  with  him,  he 
spake  thus  unto  them: — "You  that  are 
men  of  my  own  tribe,  I  conclude  that  you 
remember  the  benefits  that  I  have  be- 
stowed upon  you,  and  that  I  have  made 
some  of  you  owners  of  land,  and  made 
you  commanders,  and  bestowed  posts  of 
honour  upon  you,  and  set  some  of  you 
over  the  common  people,  and  others  over 
the  soldiers;  I  ask  you,  therefore,  whether 
you  expect  greater  and  more  donations 
from  the  son  of  Jesse?  for  I  know  that 
you  are  all  inclinable  to  him  ;  (even  my 
own  son  Jonathan  himself  is  of  that  opi- 
nion, and  persuades  you  to  be  of  the 
same;)  for  I  am  not  unacquainted  with 
the  oaths  and  the  covenants  that  are  be- 
tween him  and  David,  and  that  Jonathan 
is  a  counsellor  and  an  assistant  to  those 
that  conspire  against  me,  and  none  of  you 
are  concerned  about  these  things,  but  you 
keep  silence  and  watch,  to  see  what  will 
be  the  upshot  of  these  things."  When 
the  king  had  made  this  speech,  not  one 
of  the  rest  that  were  present  made  any 
answer;  but  Doeg  the  Syrian,  who  fed 
his  mules,  said,  that  he  saw  David  when 
he  came  to  the  city  Nob  to  Ahimelech 
the  high  priest,  and  that  he  learned  future 
events  by  his  prophesying;  that  he  re- 
ceived food  from  him,  and  the  sword  of 
Goliath,  and  was  conducted  by  him  with 
security  to  such  as  he  desired  to  go  to. 

Saul,  therefore,  sent  for  the  high  priestt 
and  for  all  his  kindred,  and  said  to  them, 
"What  terrible  or  ungrateful  thing  hast 
thou  suffered  from  me,  that  thou  bast  re- 
ceived the  son  of  Jesse,  and  hast  bestowed 
on  him  both  food  and  weapons,  wheu  he 


200 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


was  contriving  to  get  the  kingdom !  and 
further,  why  didst  thou  deliver  oracles  to 
him  concerning  futurities  ?  for  thou  couldst 
not  be  unacquainted  that  he  had  fled  away 
from  me,  and  that  he  hated  my  family/' 
But  the  high  priest  did  not  betake  him- 
self to  deny  what  he  had  done,  but  con- 
fessed boldly  that  he  had  supplied  him 
with  these  things  not  to  gratify  David, 
but  Saul  himself:  and  he  said,  "I  did  not 
know  that  he  was  thy  adversary,  but  a 
servant  of  thine,  who  was  very  faithful  to 
thee,  and  a  captain  over  a  thousand  of 
thy  soldiers,  and,  what  is  more  than  these, 
thy  son-in-law  and  kinsman.  Men  do  not 
choose  to  confer  such  favours  on  their  ad- 
versaries, but  on  those  who  are  esteemed 
to  bear  the  highest  good-will  and  respect 
to  them.  Nor  is  this  the  first  time  that 
I  prophesied  for  him,  but  I  have  done  it 
often,  and  at  other  times  as  well  as  now. 
And  when  he  told  me  that  he  was  sent 
by  thee  in  great  haste  to  do  somewhat,  if 
I  had  furnished  him  with  nothing  that  he 
desired,  I  should  have  thought  that  it  was 
rather  in  contradiction  to  thee  than  to 
him ;  wherefore  do  not  thou  entertain 
any  ill  opinion  of  me,  nor  do  thou  have  a 
suspicion  of  what  I  then  thought  an  act 
of  humanity,  from  what  is  now  told  thee 
of  David's  attempts  agaiust  thee,  for  I  did 
then  to  him  as  to  thy  friend  and  son-in- 
law,  and  captain  of  a  thousand,  and  not 
as  to  thine  adversary."  r 

When  the  high  priest  had  spoken  thus, 
he  did  not  persuade  Saul :  his  fear  was  so 
prevalent,  that  he  could  not  give  credit  to 
an  apology  that  was  very  just.  So  he 
commanded  his  armed  men  that  stood 
about  him  to  kill  him  and  all  his  kindred; 
but  as  they  durst  not  touch  the  high 
priest,  and  were  more  afraid  of  disobeying 
God  than  the  king,  he  ordered  Doeg  the 
Syrian  to  kill  them.  Accordingly,  he 
took  to  his  assistance  such  wicked  men  as 
were  like  himself,  and  slew  Ahimelech 
aud  all  his  family,  who  were  in  all  385. 
Saul  also  sent  to  Nob,*  the  city  of  the 
priests,  and  slew  all  that  were  there,  with- 
out sparing  either  women  or  children,  or 
any  other  age,  and  burnt  it;  only  there 
was  one  son  of  Ahimelech,  whose  name 
was  Abiathar,  who  escaped.  However, 
these  things  came  to  pass  as  God  had  fore- 
told to  Eli  the  high  priest,  when  he  said 
that  his  posterity  should  be  destroyed,  on 
ac  ount  of  the  transgression  of  his  two  sons. 


*  1  Sain.  ii.  27-36;  iii.  11-18. 


Now  this  King  Saul — by  perpetrating 
so  barbarous  a  crime,  and  murdering  thr 
whole  family  of  the  high-priestly  dignity, 
by  having  no  pity  of  the  infants,  nor 
reverence  for  the  aged,  and  by  overthrow- 
ing the  city  which  God  had  chosen  foi 
the  property  and  for  the  support  of  the 
priests  and  prophets  which  were  there, 
and  had  ordained  as  the  only  city  allotted 
for  the  education  of  such  men — gives  all 
to  understand  and  consider  the  disposition 
of  men,  that  while  they  are  private  per- 
sons, and  in  a  low  condition,  because  it  is 
not  in  their  power  to  indulge  their  nature, 
nor  to  venture  upon  what  they  wish  for, 
they  are  equitable  and  moderate,  and 
pursue  nothing  but  what  is  just,  and  bend 
their  whole  minds  and  labours  that  way; 
then  it  is  that  they  have  this  belief  about 
God,  that  he  is  present  to  all  the  actions 
of  their  lives,  and  that  he  does  not  only 
see  the  actions  that  are  done,  but  clearly 
knows  those  their  thoughts  also,  whence 
those  actions  do  arise:  but  when  once 
they  are  advanced  into  power  and  au- 
thority, then  they  put  off  all  such  notions, 
and,  as  if  they  were  no  others  than  actors 
upon  a  theatre,  their  disguised  parts  and 
manners,  and  take  up  boldness,  insolence, 
and  a  contempt  of  both  human  and  divine 
laws,  and  this  at  a  time  when  they 
specially  stand  in  need  of  piety  and 
righteousness,  because  they  are  then  most 
of  all  exposed  to  envy,  and  all  they  think 
and  all  they  say  are  in  the  view  of  all 
men ;  then  it  is  that  they  become  so  inso- 
lent  in  their  actions,  as  though  God  saw 
them  no  longer,  or  were  afraid  of  them 
because  of  their  power:  and  whatsoever 
it  is  that  they  either  are  afraid  of  by  the 
rumours  they  hear,  or  they  hate  by  in- 
clination, or  they  love  without  reason, 
these  seem  to  them  to  be  authentic,  firm, 
and  true,  and  pleasing  both  to  men  and 
to  God;  but  as  to  what  will  come  here- 
after, they  have  not  the  least  regard  to  it. 
They  raise  those  to  honour  indeed  who 
have  been  at  a  great  deal  of  pains  for 
them,  and  after  that  honour  they  envy 
them;  and  when  they  have  brought  them 
into  high  dignity,  they  do  not  only  de- 
prive them  of  what  they  had  obtained, 
but  also,  on  that  very  account,  of  their 
lives  also,  and  that  on  wicked  accusations, 
and  such  as  on  account  of  their  extrava- 
gant nature  are  incredible.  They  also 
punish  men  for  their  actions,  not  such  as 
deserve  condemnation,  but  from  calumnies 
and    accusations    without    examination' 


JliAP    XIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


201 


and  this  extends  not  only  to  such  as  de- 
serve to  be  punished,  but  to  as  many  as 
they  are  able  to  kill.  This  reflection  is 
openly  confirmed  to  us  from  the  example 
of  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  who  was  the  first 
king  who  reigned,  after  our  aristocracy 
and  government  under  the  judges  were 
over;  and  that  by  his  slaughter  of  300 
priests  and  prophets,  on  occasion  of  his 
suspicion  about  Ahimelech,  and  by  the 
additional  wickedness  of  the  overthrow  of 
their  city,  and  this,  as  if  he  was  endea- 
vouring in  some  sort  to  render  the  temple 
[tabernacle]  destitute  both  of  priests  and 
prophets;  which  endeavour  he  showed  by 
slaying  so  many  of  them,  and  not  suffer- 
ing the  very  city  belonging  to  them  to 
remain,  that  so  others  might  succeed  them. 
But  Abiathar,  the  son  of  Ahimelech, 
who  alone  could  be  saved  out  of  the 
family  of  priests  slain  by  Saul,  fled  to 
David,  and  informed  him  of  the  calamity 
that  had  befallen  their  family,  and  of  the 
slaughter  of  his  father:  who  hereupon 
said,  he  was  not  unapprized  of  what  would 
follow  with  relation  to  them  when  he  saw 
Doeg  there;  for  he  had  then  a  suspicion 
that  the  high  priest  would  be  falsely  ac- 
cused by  him  to  the  king;  and  he  blamed 
himself  as  having  been  the  cause  of  this 
misfortune.  But  he  desired  him  to  stay 
there,  and  abide  with  him,  as  in  a  place 
where  he  might  be  better  concealed  than 
anywhere  else. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Saul  pursues  David — is  convinced  of  his  own 
wickedne-s  in  seeking  the  life  of  one  who  never 
injured  him — Death  of  Samuel.     B.  C.  1061. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  David 
heard  how  the  Philistines  had  made  an 
inroad  into  the  country  of  Keilah,  and 
robbed  it ;  so  he  offered  himself  to  fight 
against  tl  em,  if  God,  when  he  should  be 
consulted  by  the  prophet,  would  grant 
him  the  victory.  And  when  the  prophet 
said  that  (rod  gave  a  signal  of  victory,  he 
made  a  sudden  onset  upon  the  Philistines 
with  his  companions,  and  he  shed  a  great 
deal  of  their  blood,  and  carried  off  their 
prey,  and  stayed  with  the  inhabitants  of 
Keilah  till  they  had  securely  gathered  in 
their  corn  and  their  fruits.  However,  it 
was  told  Saul  the  king  that  David  was 
with  the  men  of  Keilah ;  for  what  had 
been  don«,  and  the  great  success  that  had 
attended  him,  were  not  confined  among 
the  people  where   the  things  were   done, 


but  the  fame  of  it  went  all  abroad,  and 
came  to  the  hearing  of  others,  and  both 
the  fact  as  it  stood,  and  the  author  of  the 
fact,  were  carried  to  the  king's  ears. 
Then  was  Saul  glad  when  he  heard  that 
David  was  in  Keilah:  and  he  said,  aGod 
hath  now  put  him  into  my  hands,  since 
he  hath  obliged  him  to  come  into  a  city 
that  hath  walls,  and  gates,  and  bars ;  so 
he  commanded  all  the  people  suddenly, 
and,  when  they  had  besieged  and  taken 
it,  to  kill  David.  But  when  David  per- 
ceived this,  and  learned  of  God  that  if  he 
stayed  there  the  men  of  Keilah  would 
deliver  him  up  to  Saul,  he  took  his  400 
men,  and  retired  into  a  desert  that  was 
over  against  a  city  called  Eugedi.  So 
that  when  the  king  heard  he  had  fled 
away  from  the  men  of  Keilah,  he  left  off 
his  expedition  against  him. 

Then  David  removed  thence,  and  came 
to  a  certain  place  called  the  New  Place, 
belonging  to  Ziph;  where  Jonathan,  the 
sou  of  Saul,  came  to  him,  and  saluted 
him,  and  exhorted  him  to  be  of  good 
courage,  and  to  hope  well  as  to  his  con- 
dition hereafter,  and  not  to  despond  at  his 
present  circumstances,  for  that  he  should 
be  king  and  have  all  the  forces  of  th6 
Hebrews  under  him :  he  told  him  that 
such  happiness  only  comes  with  great 
labour  and  pains :  they  also  took  oaths, 
that  they  would,  all  their  lives  long,  con- 
tinue in  good-will  and  fidelity  one  to  an- 
other; and  he  called  God  to  witness  as  to 
what  execrations  he  had  made  upon  him- 
self if  he  should  transgress  his  covenant, 
and  should  change  to  a  contrary  be- 
haviour. So  Jonathan  left  him  there, 
having  rendered  his  cares  and  fears  some- 
what lighter,  and  returned  home.  Now 
the  men  of  Ziph,  to  gratify  Saul,  in- 
formed him  that  David  abode  with  them, 
and  [assured  him]  that  if  he  would  come 
to  them,  they  would  deliver  him  up,  for 
that  if  the  king  would  seize  on  the  straita 
of  Ziph,  David  could  not  escape  to  any 
other  people.  So  the  king  commended 
them,  and  confessed  that  he  had  reason 
to  thank  them,  because  they  had  given 
him  information  of  his  enemy ;  and  he 
promised  them,  that  it  should  not  be 
long  ere  he  would  requite  their  kindness. 
He  also  sent  meu  to  seek  for  David,  and 
to  search  the  wilderness  wherein  he  was ; 
and  he  promised  that  he  himself  would 
follow  them.  Accordingly,  they  went 
before  the  king,  to  hunt  tor  and  to  catch 
David,  and  used  endeavours  not  only  to 


202 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VL 


show  their  good-will  to  Saul,  by  inform- 
ing him  where  his  enemy  was,  but  to 
evidence  the  same  more  plainly  by  de- 
livering him  up  into  his  power.  But 
these  men  failed  of  those  their  unjust 
and  wicked  desires,  who,  while  they 
underwent  no  hazard  by  not  discovering 
such  an  ambition  of  revealing  this  to 
Saul,  yet  did  they  falsely  accuse  and 
promise  to  deliver  up  a  man  beloved  of 
God,  and  one  that  was  unjustly  sought 
after  to  be  put  to  death,  and  one  that 
might  otherwise  have  lain  concealed,  and 
this  out  of  flattery,  and  expectation  of 
gain  from  the  king;  for  when  David  was 
apprized  of  the  malignant  intentions  of 
the  men  of  Ziph,  and  the  approach  of 
Saul,  he  left  the  straits  of  that  country, 
and  fled  to  the  great  rock  that  was  in  the 
wilderness  of  Maon. 

Hereupon  Saul  made  haste  to  pursue 
him  thither;  for,  as  he  was  marching,  he 
learned  that  David  had  gone  away  from 
the  straits  of  Ziph,  and  Saul  removed  to 
the  other  side  of  the  rock.  But  the  re- 
port that  the  Philistines  had  again  made 
an  incursion  iuto  the  country  of  the 
Hebrews,  called  Saul  another  way  from 
the  pursuit  of  David,  when  he  was  ready 
to  be  caught;  for  he  returned  back 
again  to  oppose  those  Philistines,  who 
were  naturally  their  enemies,  as  judging 
it  more  necessary  to  avenge  himself  of 
them  than  to  take  a  great  deal  of  pains 
to  catch  an  enemy  of  his  own,  and  to 
overlook  the  ravage  that  was  made  in  the 
land. 

And  by  this  means  David  unexpectedly 
escaped  out  of  the  danger  he  was  in,  and 
came  to  the  straits  of  Engedi;  and  when 
Saul  had  driven  the  Philistines  out  of  the 
land,  there  came  some  messengers,  who 
told  him  that  David  abode  within  the 
bounds  of  Engedi ;  so  he  took  8000 
chosen  men  that  were  armed,  and  made 
haste  to  him;  and  when  h.e  was  not  far 
from  those  places,  he  saw  a  deep  and 
hollow  cave  by  the  wayside ;  it  was  open 
to  a  great  length  and  breadth,  and  there 
it  was  that  David  with  his  400  men  were 
concealed.  When,  therefore,  he  had  oc- 
casion to  ease  nature,  he  entered  into  it 
by  himself  alone;  and  being  seen  by  one 
of  David's  companions,  and  he  that  saw 
him  saying  to  him  that  he  had  now,  by 
God's  providence,  an  opportunity  of 
avenging  himself  of  his  adversary;  and 
advising  him  to  cut  off  his  head,  and  so 
deliver  himself  out  of  that  tedious  wander- 


ing condition,  and  the  distress  he  was  in, 
David  rose  up  and  only  cut  off  the  skirt 
of  the  garment  which  Saul  had  on;  but 
he  soon  repented  of  what  he  had  done ; 
and  said  it  was  not  right  to  kill  him  that 
was  his  master,  and  one  whom  God  had 
thought  worthy  of  the  kingdom:*  "for 
that,  although  he  was  wickedly  disposed 
toward  us,  yet  does  it  not  behoove  me  to 
be  so  disposed  toward  him."  But  when 
Saul  had  left  the  cave,  David  came  near 
and  cried  out  aloud,  and  desired  Saul  to 
hear  him;  whereupon  the  king  turned  his 
face  back,  and  David,  according  to  custom, 
fell  down  on  his  face  before  the  king,  and 
bowed  to  him;  and  said,  uO  king,  thou 
oughtest  not  to  hearken  to  wicked  men, 
nor  to  such  as  forge  calumnies,  nor  to 
gratify  them  so  far  as  to  believe  what 
they  say,  nor  to  entertain  suspicions  of 
such  as  are  your  best  friends,  but  to  judge 
of  the  dispositions  of  all  men  by  their  ac- 
tions ;  for  calumny  deludes  men,  but 
men's  own  actions  are  a  clear  demonstra- 
tion of  their  kindness.  Words,  indeed, 
in  their  own  nature,  may  be  either  true 
or  false,  but  men's  actions  expose  their 
intentions  nakedly  to  our  view.  By 
these,  therefore,  it  wil'  De  well  for  thee 
to  believe  me,  as  to  my  regard  to  thee 
and  to  thy  house,  and  not  to  believe 
those  that  frame  such  accusations  against 
me  as  never  came  into  my  mind,  nor  are 
possible  to  be  executed,  and  do  this 
further  by  pursuing  after  my  life,  and 
have  no  concern  either  day  or  night,  but 
how  to  encompass  my  life  and  to  murder 
me,  which  thing  I  think  thou  dost  un- 
justly prosecute;  for  how  comes  it  about 
that  thou  hast  embraced  this  false  opinion 
about  me,  as  if  I  had  a  desire  to  kill  thee  ? 
or  how  canst  thou  escape  the  crime  cf 
impiety  toward  God,  when  thou  wishest 
thou  couldst  kill,  and  deemest  thine  ad- 
versary a  man  who  had  it  in  his  power 
this  day  to  avenge  himself,  and  to  punish 
thee,  but  would  not  do  it?  nor  make  use 
of  such  an  opportunity,  which,  if  it  had 
fallen  out  to  thee  against  me,  thou  hadst 
not  let  it  slip,  for  when  I  cut  off  the  skirt 
of  thy  garment,  I  could  have  done  the 
same  to  thy  head."  So  he  showed  him 
the  piece  of  his  garment,  and  thereby 
niadd  him  agree  to  what  he  said  to  be 
true;  and  added,  "I,  for  certain,  have 
abstained  from  taking  a  just  revenge 
upon  thee,  yet  art  thou  not  ashamed  to 


*  1  Sam.  xxiv. 


JUAI\  XIII] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS 


203 


prosecute  me  with  unjust  hatred.  May 
God  do  justice  and  determine  about  each 
of  our  dispositions  I"  But  Saul  was 
amazed  at  the  strange  delivery  he  had  re- 
ceived ;  and,  being  greatly  affected  with 
the  moderation  and  the  disposition  of  the 
young  man,  he  groaned  ;  and  when  David 
had  done  the  same,  the  king  answered, 
that  he  had  the  greatest  occasion  to  groan, 
"for  thou  hast  been  the  author  of  good  to 
me,  as  I  have  been  the  author  of  calamity 
to  thee ;  and  thou  hast  demonstrated  this 
day  that  thou  possessest  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  ancients,  who  determined  that 
men  ought  to  save  their  enemies,  though 
they  caught  them  in  a  desert  place.  I  am 
now  persuaded  that  God  reserves  the  king- 
dom for  thee,  and  that  thou  wilt  obtain 
the  dominion  over  all  the  Hebrews.  Give 
me  then  assurances  upon  oath,  that  thou 
wilt  not  root  out  my  family,  nor,  out  of 
remembrance  of  what  evil  I  have  done 
thee,  destroy  my  posterity,  but  save  and 
preserve  my  house."  So  David  sware  as 
he  desired,  and  sent  back  Saul  to  his  own 
kingdom ;  but  he,  and  those  that  were 
with  him,  went  up  the  straits  of  Masthe- 
roth. 

About  this  time  Samuel  the  prophet 
died.*  He  was  a  man  whom  the  Hebrews 
honoured  in  an  extraordinary  degree;  for 
that  lamentation  which  the  people  made 
for  him,  and  this  during  a  long  time, 
manifested  his  virtue,  and  the  affection 
which  the  people  bore  for  him ;  as  also 
did  the  solemnity  and  concern  that  ap- 
peared about  his  funeral,  and  about  the 
complete  observation  of  all  his  funeral 
rites.  They  buried  him  in  his  own  city 
of  llamah  ;  and  wept  for  him  a  very  great 
number  of  days,  not  looking  on  it  as  a 
sorrow  for  the  death  of  another  man,  but 
as  that  in  which  they  were  every  one 
themselves  concerned.  He  was  a  right- 
eous man,  and  gentle  in  his  nature;  and 
on  that  account  he  was  very  dear  to 
God.  Now  he  governed  and  presided 
over  the  people  alone,  after  the  death  of 
Eli  the  high  priest,  twelve  years,  and 
eighteen  years  together  with  Saul  the 
kiu'r.  And  thus  we  have  finished  the 
history  of  Samuel. 

There  was  a  man  that  was  a  Ziphite, 
of  the  city  of  Maon,  who  was  rich,  and 
had  a  vast  number  of  cattle ;  for  he  fed  a 
flock  of  3000  sheep,  and  another  flock 
of  1000  goats.     Now  David  had  charged 


his  associates  to  keep  these  flocks  without 
hurt  and  without  damage,  and  to  do  them 
no  mischief,  neither  out  of  covetousness, 
nor  because  they  were  in  want,  nor  be- 
cause they  were  in  the  wilderness,  and  so 
could  not  easily  be  discovered,  but  to 
esteem  freedom  from  injustice  above  all 
other  motives,  and  to  look  upon  the 
touching  of  what  belonged  to  another1 
man  as  a  horrible  crime,  and  contrary  to 
the  will  of  God.  These  were  the  instruc- 
tions he  gave,  thinking  that  the  favours 
he  granted  this  man  were  granted  to  a 
good  man,  and  one  that  deserved  to  have 
such  care  taken  of  his  affairs.  This  man 
was  Nabal,  for  that  was  his  name — a 
harsh  man,  and  of  a  very  wicked  life ; 
being  like  a  cynic  in  the  course  of  his 
behaviour,  but  still  had  obtained  for  his 
wife  a  woman  of  a  good  character,  wise 
and  handsome.  To  this  Nabal,  there- 
fore, David  sent  ten  men  of  his  attendants, 
at  the  time  when  he  sheared  his  sheep, 
and  by  them  saluted  him ;  and  also 
wished  he  might  do  what  he  now  did  for 
many  years  to  come,  but  desired  he 
would  make  him  a  present  of  what  he 
was  able  to  give  him,  since  he  had,  for 
certain,  learned  from  his  shepherds  that 
they  had  done  them  no  injury,  but  had 
been  their  guardians  a  long  time  together, 
while  they  continued  in  the  wilderness; 
and  he  assured  him  that  he  should  never 
repent  of  giving  any  thing  to  David. 
When  the  messengers  had  carried  this 
message  to  Nabal,  he  accosted  them  after 
an  inhuman  and  rough  manner;  for  he 
asked  them  who  David  was?  and  when 
he  heard  that  he  was  the  son  of  Jesse,  he 
said,  "Now  is  the  time  that  fugitives 
grow  insolent,  and  make  a  figure,  and 
leave  their  masters."  When  they  told 
David  this,  he  was  wroth,  and  commanded 
400  armed  men  to  follow  him,  and  left 
200  to  take  care  of  the  stuff,  (for  he  had 
already  600,*)  and  went,  against  Nabal : 
he  also  swore  that  he  would  that  night 
utterly  destroy  the  whole  house  and  pos- 
sessions of  Nabal;  for  that  he  was 
grieved,  not  only  that  he  had  proved 
ungrateful  to  them,  without  making  any 
return  for  the  humanity  they  had  shown 


*  1  Sam.  xxv. 


*  The  number  of  men  that  came  first  to  David, 
are  distinctly  in  Josephus  and  in  our  common 
copies,  but  400.  When  lie  was  at  Keilah  still  but 
400,  both  in  Josephus  and  in  the  LXX.,  but  GOO  in 
our  Hebrew  copies.  (1  Sain,  xxiii.  13  ;  seexxx.  0, 10.) 
Now  the  GOO  there  mentioned  are  here  estimated  bj 
Josephus  to  have  been  so  many,  only  by  an  au/> 
mentation  of  200  afterward. 


204 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


LBook  VI. 


him,  but  that  he  had  also  reproached 
them,  and  used  ill  language  to  them, 
when  he  had  received  no  cause  of  disgust 
from  them. 

Hereupon,  one  of  those  that  kept  the 
flocks  of  Nabal,  said  to  his  mistress,  Na- 
bal's  wife,  that  when  David  sent  to  her 
husband  he  had  received  no  civil  answer 
at  all  from  him ;  but  that  her  husband 
had  moreover  added  very  reproachful  lan- 
guage, while  yet  David  had  taken  extra- 
ordinary care  to  keep  his  flocks  from  harm, 
and  that  what  had  passed  would  prove 
very  injurious  to  his  master.  When  the 
servant  had  said  this,  Abigail,  for  that 
was  his  wife's  name,  saddled  her  asses, 
and  loaded  them  with  all  sorts  of  pre- 
sents :  and  without  telling  her  husband 
any  thing  of  what  she  was  about,  (for  he 
was  not  sensible  on  account  of  his  drunk- 
enness,) she  went  to  David.  She  was 
then  met  by  David  as  she  was  descending 
a  hill,  who  was  coming  against  Nabal  with 
400  men.  When  the  woman  saw  David, 
she  leaped  down  from  her  ass,  and  fell  on 
her  face,  and  bowed  down  to  the  ground  ; 
and  entreated  him  not  to  bear  in  mind 
the  words  of  Nabal,  since  he  knew  that 
he  resembled  his  name.  Now  Nabal,  in 
the  Hebrew  tongue,  signifies  "folly/'  So 
she  made  her  apology,  that  she  did  not 
see  the  messengers  whom  he  sent.  "  For- 
give me,  therefore,"  said  she,  "  and  thank 
God,  who  hath  hindered  thee  fromrshed- 
ding  human  blood;  for  so  long  as  thou 
keepest  thyself  innocent,  he  will  avenge 
thee  of  wicked  men,  for  what  miseries 
await  Nabal,  they  will  fall  upon  the 
heads  of  thine  enemies.  Be  thou  gracious 
to  me,  and  think  me  so  far  worthy  as  to 
accept  of  these  presents  from  me ;  and, 
out  of  regard  to  me,  remit  that  wrath  and 
that  anger  which  thou  hast  against  my 
husband  and  his  house,  for  mildness  and 
humanity  become  thee,  especially  as  thou 
art  to  be  our  king."  Accordingly,  David 
accepted  her  presents,  and  said,  "  Nay, 
but,  0  woman,  it  was  no  other  than  God's 
mercy  which  brought  thee  to  us  to-day; 
for,  otherwise,  thou  hadst  never  seen  an- 
other day,  I  having  sworn  to  destroy  Na- 
bal's  house  this  very  night,*  and  to  leave 
aiive  not  one  of  you  who  belonged  to  a 
man  that  was  wicked  and  ungrateful  to 
me  and  my  companions;  but  now  hast 
thou  prevented  me,  and  seasonably  soft- 
ened  my   anger,  as  being  thyself  under 

*  1  Sam.  xxv  32-34. 


the  care  of  God's  providence  :  but  as  for 
Nabal,  although  for  thy  sake  he  now 
escapes  punishment,  he  will  not  always 
avoid  justice;  for  his  evil  conduct,  on 
some  other  occasion,  will  be  his  ruin." 

When  David  had  said  this,  he  dismissed 
the  woman.  But  when  she  came  home, 
and  found  her  husband  feasting  with  a 
great  company,  and  oppressed  with  wine, 
she  said  nothing  to  him  then  about  what 
had  happened  ;  but  on  the  next  day,  when 
he  was  sober,  she  told  him  all  the  par- 
ticulars, and  made  his  whole  body  to  ap- 
pear like  that  of  a  dead  man  by  her 
words,  and  by  that  grief  which  arose 
from  them;  so  Nabal  survived  ten  days, 
and  no  more,  and  then  died.  And  when 
David  heard  of  his  death,  he  said  that 
God  had  justly  avenged  him  of  this  man, 
for  that  Nabal  had  died  by  his  own  wick- 
edness, and  had  suffered  punishment  on 
his  account,  while  he  had  kept  his  own 
hands  clean.  At  which  time  he  under- 
stood that  the  wicked  are  prosecuted  by 
God ;  that  he  does  not  overlook  any  man, 
but  bestows  on  the  good  what  is  suitable 
to  them,  and  inflicts  a  deserved  punish- 
ment on  the  wicked.  So  he  sent  to  Na- 
bal's  wife,  and  invited  her  to  come  to  him, 
to  live  with  him,  and  to  be  his  wife 
Whereupon  she  replied  to  those  thak 
came,  that  she  was  not  worthy  to  touch 
his  feet;  however,  she  came,  with  all  her 
servants,  and  became  his  wife,  having  re- 
ceived that  honour  on  account  of  her  wise 
and  righteous  course  of  life.  She  also 
obtained  the  same  honour  partly  on  ac- 
count of  her  beauty.  Now  David  had  a 
wife  before,  whom  he  married  from  the 
city  Abesar;  for  as  to  Michal,  the  daugh- 
ter of  King  Saul,  who  had  been  David's 
wife,  her  father  had  given  her  in  mar- 
riage to  Phalti,  the  son  of  Laish,  who 
was  of  the  city  of  Gallim. 

After  this,  came  certain  of  the  Ziphites, 
and  told  Saul  that  David  had  ceme  again 
into  their  country,  and,  if  he  would  afford 
them  his  assistance,  they  could  catch 
him.*  So  he  came  to  him  with  3000 
armed  men ;  and  upon  the  approach  of 
night,  he  pitched  his  camp  at  a  certain 
place  called  Hachilah.  But  when  David 
heard  that  Saul  was  coming  against  him, 
he  sent  spies,  and  bade  them  let  him 
know  to  what  place  of  the  country  Saul 
had  already  come ;  and  when  they  told 
him  at  Hachilah,  he  concealed  his  going 


*  1  Sain.  xxvi. 


LHAx      XIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


205 


away  from  his  companions,  and  came  to 
Saul's  camp,  having  taken  with  him 
Abishii,  his  sister  Zeruiah's  son,  and 
Ahimelech  the  Hittite.  Now  Saul  was 
asleep,  and  the  armed  men,  with  Abner 
their  commander,  lay  round  about  him  in 
a  circle  Hereupon  David  entered  into 
the  king's  tent;  but  he  did  neither  kill 
Saul,  though  he  knew  where  he  lay,  by 
the  spear  that  was  stuck  down  by  him, 
nor  did  he  give  leave  to  Abishai,  who 
would  have  killed  him,  and  was  earnestly 
bent  upon  it  so  to  do  :  for  he  said  it  was 
a  horrid  crime  to  kill  one  that  was  or- 
dained king  by  God,  although  he  was  a 
wicked  man;  for  that  he  who  gave  him 
the  dominion  would  in  time  inflict  puuish- 
ment  upon  him.  So  he  restrained  his 
eagerness :  but  that  it  might  appear  to 
have  been  in  his  power  to  have  killed 
him  when  he  refrained  from  it,  he  took 
his  spear,  and  the  cruise  of  water  which 
stood  by  Saul  as  he  lay  asleep,  without 
being  perceived  by  any  in  the  camp,  who 
were  all  asleep,  and  went  securely  away, 
having  performed  every  thing  among  the 
king's  attendants  that  the  opportunity  af- 
forded, and  his  boldness  encouraged  him 
to  do.  So  when  he  had  passed  over  a 
brook,  and  had  gotten  up  to  the  top  of 
a  hill,  whence  he  might  be  sufficiently 
heard,  he  cried  aloud  to  Saul's  soldiers, 
and  to  Abnor  their  commander,  and 
awakened  them  out  of  their  sleep,  and 
called  both  to  him  and  to  the  people. 
Hereupon  the  commander  heard  him,  and 
asked  who  it  was  that  called  him.  To 
whom  David  replied,  "  It  is  I,  the  son  of 
Jesse,  whom  you  make  a  vagabond.  But 
what  is  the  matter?  Dost  thou,  that  art 
a  man  of  so  great  dignity,  and  of  the 
first  rank  in  the  king's  court,  take  so  lit- 
tle care  of  thy  master's  body  ?  and  is 
Bleep  of  more  consequence  to  thee  than 
his  preservation  and  thy  care  of  him  ? 
This  negligence  of  yours  deserves  death, 
and  punishment  to  be  inflicted  on  you, 
who  never  perceived  when,  a  little  while 
ago,  some  of  us  entered  into  your  camp, 
nay,  as  far  as  to  the  king  himself,  and  to 
all  the  rest  of  you.  If  thou  look  for  the 
king's  -pear,  and  his  cruise  of  water,  thou 
wilt  learn  what  a  mighty  misfortune  was 
ready  to  overtake  you  in  your  very  camp 
without  your  knowing  it."  Now  when 
Saul  knew  David's  voice,  and  understood 
that  when  he  had  him  in  his  power  while 
he  was  asleep,  and  his  guards  took  no  care 
of  him,   yet   dk1    not    he    kill    him,   but 


spared  him,  when  he  might  justly  have 
cut  him  off,  he  said  that  he  owed  him 
thanks  for  his  preservation  ;  and  exhorted 
him  to  be  of  good  courage,  and  not  be 
afraid  of  suffering  any  mischief  from  him 
any  more,  and  to  return  to  his  own  home, 
for  he  was  now  persuaded  that  he  did  not 
love  himself  so  well  as  he  was  loved  by 
him  :  that  he  had  driven  away  him  that 
could  guard  him,  and  had  given  many  de- 
monstrations of  his  good-will  to  him : 
that  he  had  forced  him  to  live  so  long  in 
a  state  of  banishment,  and  in  great  fears 
of  his  life,  destitute  of  his  friends,  and 
his  kindred,  while  still  he  was  often  saved 
by  him,  and  frequently  received  his  life 
again  when  it  was  evidently  in  danger  of 
perishing.  So  David  bade  them  send  for 
the  spear  and  the  cruise  of  water,  and 
take  them  back;  adding  this  withal,  that 
God  would  be  the  judge  of  both  their 
dispositions,  and  of  the  actions  that  flowed 
from  the  same,  "  who  knows  that  when 
it  was  this  day  in  my  power  to  have 
killed  thee,  I  abstained  from  it." 

Thus  Saul  having  escaped  the  hands  of 
David  twice,  he  went  his  way  to  his  royal 
palace,  and  his  own  city :  but  David  was 
afraid  that  if  he  stayed  there  he  should 
be  caught  by  Saul ;  so  he  thought  it  bet- 
ter to  go  up  to  the  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines and  abide  there.  Accordingly,  he 
came  with  the  600  men  that  were  with 
him  to  Achish,  the  king  of  Gath,  which 
was  one  of  their  five  cities.  Now  the 
king  received  both  him  and  his  men,  and 
gave  them  a  place  to  inhabit  in.  He  had 
with  him  also  his  two  wives,  Ahinoam 
and  Abigail ;  and  he  dwelt  in  Gath.  But 
when  Saul  heard  this,  he  took  no  further 
care  about  sending  to  him,  or  going  after 
him,  because  he  had  been  twice  in  a  man- 
ner caught  by  him,  while  he  was  himself 
endeavouring  to  catch  him.  However, 
David  had  no  mind  to  continue  in  the 
city  of  Gath,  but  desired  the  king,  that 
since  he  had  received  him  with  such  hu- 
manity, that  he  would  grant  him  another 
favour,  and  bestow  upon  him  some  place 
of  that  country  for  his  habitation,  for  he 
was  ashamed,  by  living  in  the  city,  to  be 
grievous  and  burdensome  to  him.  So 
Achish  gave  him  a  certain  village  called 
Ziklag;  which  place  David  and  his  sous 
were  fond  of  when  he  was  king,  and  reck- 
oned it  to  be  their  peculiar  inheritance.* 
But    about    those   matters  we   shall   give 


*  1  Sam.  xivii. 


206 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  Yl. 


the  reader  further  information  elsewhere. 
Now  the  time  that  David  dwelt  in  Ziklag, 
in  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  was  four 
months  and  twenty  days.  And  now  he 
privately  attacked  those  Geshurites  and 
Amalekites  that  were  neighbours  to  the 
Philistines,  and  laid  waste  their  country, 
and  took  much  prey  of  their  beasts  and 
camels,  and  then  returned  home ;  but 
David  abstained  from  the  men,  as  fear- 
ing they  would  discover  him  to  King 
Achish ;  yet  did  he  send  part  of  the  prey 
to  him  as  a  free  gift.  And  when  the 
king  inquired  whom  they  had  attacked 
when  they  brought  away  the  prey,  he 
said,  those  that  lay  to  the  south  of  the 
Jews,  and  inhabited  in  the  plain  ;  where- 
by he  persuaded  Achish  to  approve  of 
what  he  had  done,  for  he  hoped  that  Da- 
vid had  fought  against  his  own  nation, 
and  that  now  he  should  have  him  for  his 
servant  all  his  life  long,  and  that  he  would 
stay  in  his  country. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

Sau.  .nquires  of  his  destiny  from  a  necromantic 
woman — The  Philistines  defeat  the  Israelites — 
Death  of  Saul  and  of  his  sons.     B.  C.  1056. 

About  the  same  time  the  Philistines 
resolved  to  make  war  against  the  Israel- 
ites,* and  sent  to  all  their  confederates 
that  they  would  go  along  with  them  to 
the  war  to  Reggan  [near  the  city  Shu- 
nem],  whence  they  might  gather  'them- 
selves together  and  suddenly  attack  the 
Hebrews.  Then  did  Achish,  the  king  of 
Gath,  desire  David  to  assist  them  with 
his  armed  men  against  the  Hebrews.  This 
he  readily  promised ;  and  said  that  the 
time  was  now  come  wherein  he  might  re- 
quite him  for  his  kindness  and  hospitality  • 
so  the  king  promised  to  make  him  the 
keeper  of  his  body  after  the  victory,  sup- 
posing that  the  battle  with  the  enemy 
succeeded  to  their  mind ;  which  promise 
of  honour  and  confidence  he  made  on  pur- 
pose to  increase  his  zeal  for  his  service. 

Now  Saul,  the  king  of  the  Hebrews, 
had  cast  out  of  the  country  the  fortune- 
tellers, and  the  necromancers,  and  all  such 
as  exercised  the  like  arts,  excepting  the  pro- 
phets; but  when  he  heard  that  the  Philis- 
tines were  already  come,  and  had  pitched 
their  camp  near  the  city  Shunem,  situate 
in  the  plain,  be  made  haste  to  oppose 
them  with  his  forces ;  and  wrhen  he  had 


*  1  Sam.  xxviii. 


come  to  a  certain  mountain  called  Gilboa, 
he  pitched  his  camp  over  against  the  ene- 
my ;  but  when  he  saw  the  enemy's  army, 
he  was  greatly  troubled,  because  it  ap- 
peared to  him  to  be  numerous,  and  su- 
perior to  his  own ;  and  he  inquired  of 
God  by  the  prophets  concerning  the  bat- 
tle, that  he  might  know  beforehand  what 
would  be  the  event  of  it  ;  and  when  God 
did  not  answer  him,  Saul  was  und^r  a 
still  greater  dread,  and  his  courage  fell, 
foreseeing,  as  was  but  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose, that  mischief  would  befall  him,  now 
God  was  not  there  to  assist  him;  yet  did 
he  bid  his  servants  to  inquire  out  for  him 
some  woman  that  was  a  necromancer,  and 
called  up  the  souls  of  the  dead,  that  so 
he  might  know  whether  his  affairs  would 
succeed  to  his  mind ;  for  this  sort  of  ne- 
cromantic women  that  bring  up  the  souls 
of  the  dead,  do  by  them  foretell  future 
events  to  such  as  desire  them.  And  one 
of  his  servants  told  him  that  there  was 
such  a  woman  in  the  city  Endor,  but  was 
known  to  nobody  in  the  camp  ;  hereupon 
Saul  put  off  his  royal  apparel,  and  took 
two  of  those  servants  with  him  whom  he 
knew  to  be  most  faithful  to  him,  and  came 
to  Endor  to  the  woman,  and  entreated  her 
to  act  the  part  of  a  fortune-teller,  and  to 
bring  up  such  a  soul  to  him  as  he  should 
name  to  her.  But  when  the  woman  op- 
posed his  motion,  and  said  she  did  not 
despise  the  king,  who  had  banished  this 
sort  of  fortune-tellers,  and  that  he  did 
not  do  well  himself,  when  she  had  done 
him  no  harm,  to  endeavour  to  lay  a  snare 
for  her,  and  to  discover  that  she  exercised 
a  forbidden  art,  in  order  to  procure  her  to 
be  punished,  he.  sware  that  nobody  should 
know  what  she  did ;  and  that  he  would 
not  tell  any  one  else  what  she  foretold, 
but  that  she  should  incur  no  danger.  As 
soon  as  he  had  induced  her  by  this  oath 
to  fear  no  harm,  he  bade  her  bring  up  to 
him  the  soul  of  Samuel.  She  not  know- 
ing who  Samuel  was,  called  him  out  of 
Hades.  When  he  appeared,  and  the  wo- 
man saw  one  that  was  venerable,  and  of 
a  divine  form,  she  was  in  disorder,  and, 
being  astonished  at  the  sight,  she  said, 
"Art  thou  not  King  Saul?"  for  Samuel 
had  informed  her  who  he  was.  When  he 
had  owned  that  to  be  true,  and  had  asked 
her  whence  her  disorder  arose,  she  said, 
that  she  saw  a  certain  person  ascend,  who 
in  his  form  was  like  to  a  god.  And  when 
he  bade  her  tell  him  what  he  resembled, 
in  what  habit  he  appeared,  and  of  wha* 


Chap.  XIV  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


207 


age  he  was,  she  told  him  he  was  an  old 
man  already,  and  of  a  glorious  personage, 
and  had  on  a  sacerdotal  mantle.  So  the 
king  discovered  by  these  signs  that  he 
was  Samuel;  and  he  fell  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  saluted  and  worshipped  him. 
And  when  the  soul  of.  Samuel  asked  him 
why  ho  had  disturbed  him,  and  caused 
him  to  be  brought  up,  he  lamented  the 
necessity  he  was  under;  for  he  said,  that 
his  enemies  pressed  heavily  upon  him  ; 
that  he  was  in  distress  what  to  do  in  his 
present  circumstances  ;  that  he  was  for- 
saken of  God,  and  could  obtain  no  pre- 
diction of  what  was  coming,  neither  by 
prophets  nor  by  dreams  ;  and  that  "  these 
are  the  reasons  why  I  have  recourse  to 
thee,  who  always  took  care  of  me/'  But 
Samuel,*  seeing  that  the  end  of  Saul's 
life  was  come,  said,  "It  is  in  vain  for  thee 
to  desire  to  learn  of  me  any  thing  further, 
when  God  hath  forsaken  thee  :  however, 
hear  what  I  say,  that  David  is  to  be  king, 
and  to  finish  this  war  with  good  success; 
and  thou  art  to  lose  thy  dominion  and  thy 
life,  because  thou  didst  not  obey  God  in 
the  war  with  the  Amalekites,  and  hast 
not  kept  the  commandments,  as  I  foretold 
thee  while  I  was  alive.  Know,  therefore, 
that  the  people  shall  be  made  subject  to 
their  enemies,  and  that  thou,  with  thy  sons, 
shall  fall  in  the  battle  to-morrow,  and 
thou  shalt  then  be  with  me  in  [Hades]." 
When  Saul  heard  this,  he  could  not 
speak  for  grief,  and  fell  down  on  the  floor, 
whether  it  was  from  the  sorrow  that  arose 
upon  what  Samuel  had  said,  or  from  his 
emptiness,  for  he  had  taken  no  food  the 
foregoing  day  or  night,  he  easily  fell  quite 
down :  and  when  with  difficulty  he  had 
recovered  himself,  the  woman  would  force 
him  to  eat,  begging  this  of  him  as  a  fa- 
vour on  account  of  her  concern  in  that  dan- 
gerous instance  of  fortune-telling,  which  it 
was  not  lawful  for  her  to  have  done,  be- 
cause of  the  fear  she  was  under  of  the  king, 
while  she  knew  not  who  he  was,  yet  did 
she  undertake  it,  and  go  through  with  it; 
en  which  account  she  entreated  him  to  ad- 
mit that  a  table  and  food  might  be  set 

*  This  history  of  Saul's  consultation,  not  with 
a  witch,  as  we  render  the  Hehrew  word  here,  but 
with  a  necromancer,  as  the  whole  history  shows,  is 
easily  understood,  by  the  following  sentence  from 
Ecclus.  xlvi.  20:  "And  after  his  death  he  (Samuel) 
prophesied  and  showed  the  king  his  end,  and  lifted 
up  his  voice  from  the  earth  in  prophecy,  to  blot 
out  the  wickedness  of  the  people."  Nor  does  the 
exactness  of  the  accomplishment  of  this  predic- 
tion, the  very  next  day,  permit  us  to  suppose  anj 
Imposition  upon  Saul  in  the  present  history. 


before  him,  that  he  might  recover  his 
strength,  and  so  get  safe  to  his  own  camp. 
And  when  he  opposed  her  motion,  and 
entirely  rejected  it,  by  reason  of  his  anx- 
iety, she  forced  him,  and  at  last  persuaded 
him  to  it.  Now  she  had  one  calf  that  she 
was  very  fond  of,  and  one  that  she  took  a 
great  deal  of  care  of,  and  fed  it  herself, 
for  she  was  a  woman  that  got  her  living 
by  the  labour  of  her  own  hands,  and  had 
no  other  possession  but  that  one  calf;  this 
she  killed,  and  made  ready  its  flesh,  and 
set  it  before  his  servants  and  himself.  So 
Saul  came  to  the  camp  while  it  was  yet 
night. 

Now  it  is  but  just  to  recommend  the 
generosity  of  this  woman,  because  when 
the  king  had  forbidden  her  to  use  that  art 
whence  their  circumstances  were  bettered 
and  improved,  and  when  she  had  never 
seen  the  king  before,  she  still  did  not  re- 
member to  his  disadvantage  that  he  had 
condemned  her  sort  of  learning,  and  did 
not  refuse  him  as  a  stranger,  and  one  that 
she  had  no  acquaintance  with;  but  she 
had  compassion  upon  him,  and  comforted 
him,  and  exhorted  him  to  do  what  he  was 
greatly  averse  to,  and  offered  him  the  only 
creature  she  had,  as  a  poor  woman,  and 
that  earnestly,  and  with  great  humanity, 
while  she  had  no  requital  made  her  for 
her  kindness,  nor  hunted  after  any  future 
favour  from  him,  for  she  knew  he  was  to 
die;  whereas  men  are  naturally  either 
ambitious  to  please  those  who  bestow  bene- 
fits upon  them,  or  are  very  ready  to  serve 
those  from  whom  they  may  receive  some 
advantage.  It  would  be  well,  therefore, 
to  imitate  the  example  of  this  woman,  and 
to  do  kindnesses  to  all  such  as  are  in 
want ;  and  to  think  that  nothing  is  better, 
nor  more  becoming  mankind,  than  such  a 
general  beneficence,  nor  what  will  sooner 
render  God  favourable,  and  ready  to  be- 
stow good  things  upon  us.  And  so  far 
may  suffice  to  have  spoken  concerning 
this  woman.  But  I  shall  speak  further 
upon  another  subject,  which  will  afford 
me  an  opportunity  of  discoursing  on  what 
is  for  the  advantage  of  cities,  and  people, 
and  nations,  and  suited  to  the  taste  of 
good  men,  and  will  encourage  them  all  in 
the  prosecution  of  virtue,  and  is  capable 
of  showing  the  method  of  acquiring  glory, 
and  an  everlasting  fame;  and  of  imprint- 
ing on  the  kings  of  nations,  and  the  rulers 
of  cities,  great  inclination  and  diligence 
of  doing  well ;  as  also  of  encouraging 
thern  to  undergo  dangers,  and  to  die  for 


208 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


their  countries,  and  of  instructing  them 
how  to  despise  all  the  most  terrible  adver- 
sities ;  and  I  have  a  fair  occasion  offered 
me  to  enter  on  such  a  discourse  by  Saul 
the  king  of  the  Hebrews ;  for  although  he 
knew  what  was  coming  upon  him,  and 
that  he  was  to  die  immediately  by  the 
prediction  of  the  prophet,  he  did  not  re- 
solve to  fly  from  death,  nor  so  far  to  in- 
dulge the  love  of  life  as  to  betray  his  own 
people  to  the  enemy,  or  to  bring  a  disgrace 
on  his  royal  dignity;  but,  exposing  him- 
self, as  well  as  all  his  family  and  children, 
to  dangers,  he  thought  it  a  brave  thing  to 
fall  together  with  them,  as  he  was  fighting 
for  his  subjects,  and  that  it  was  better  his 
sons  should  die  thus,  showing  their  cour- 


age. 


than  to  leave  them  to  their  uncertain 


conduct  afterward,  while,  instead  of  suc- 
cession and  posterity,  they  gained  com- 
mendation and  a  lasting  name.  Such  an 
one  alone  seems  to  me  to  be  a  just,  a 
courageous,  and  a  prudent  man ;  and 
when  any  one  has  arrived  at  these  dispo- 
sitions, or  shall  hereafter  arrive  at  them, 
he  is  the  man  that  ought  to  be  by  all 
honoured  by  the  testimony  of  a  virtuous 
or  courageous  man ;  for  as  to  those  that 
go  out  to  war  with  hopes  of  success,  and 
that  they  shall  return  safe,  supposing  they 
should  have  performed  some  glorious  ac- 
tion, I  think  those  do  not  do  well  who  call 
those  valiant  men,  as  so  many  historians, 
and  other  writers  who  treat  of  them  are 
wont  to  do,  although  I  confess  those 'do 
justly  deserve  some  commendation  also ; 
but  those  only  may  be  styled  courageous 
and  bold  in  great  undertakings,  and  de- 
spisers  of  adversities,  who  imitate  Saul ; 
for  as  for  those  that  do  not  know  what  the 
event  of  war  will  be  as  to  themselves,  and 
though  they  do  not  faint  in  it,  but  deliver 
themselves  up  to  uncertain  futurity,  and 
are  tossed  this  way  and  that  way,  this  is 
not  so  very  eminent  an  instance  of  a  gene- 
rous mind,  although  they  happen  to  per- 
form many  great  exploits :  but  when 
men's  mind's  expect  no  good  event,  but 
they  know  beforehand  they  must  die,  and 
that  they  must  undergo  that  death  in  the 
battle  also,  after  this,  neither  to  be  af- 
frighted nor  to  be  astonished  at  the  terri- 
ble fate  that  is  coming,  but  to  go  directly 
upon  it  when  they  know  it  beforehand, 
this  it  is  that  I  esteem  the  character  of  a 
man  truly  courageous.  Accordingly,  Saul 
iid  this,  and  thereby  demonstrated,  that 
all  men  who  desire  fame  after  they  are 
dtad,  are  so  to  act  as  they  may  obtain  the 


same  :  this  especially  concerns  kings,  who 
ought  not  to  think  it  enough  in  their  high 
stations  that  they  are  not  wicked  in  the 
government  of  their  subjects,  but  to  be  no 
more  than  moderately  good  to  them.  I 
could  say  more  than  this  about  Saul  and 
his  courage,  the  subject  affording  matter 
sufficient;  but  that  I  may  not  appear  to 
run  out  improperly  in  his  commendation, 
I  return  again  to  that  history  from  which 
I  made  this  digression. 

Now  when  the  Philistines,  as  T  said  be- 
fore, had  pitched  their  camp,  and  had 
taken  an  account  of  their  forces,  according 
to  their  nations,  and  kingdoms,  and  go- 
vernments, King  Achish  came  last  of  all 
with  his  own  army ;  after  whom  came 
David  with  his  600  armed  men.  And 
when  the  commanders  of  the  Philistines 
saw  him,  they  asked  the  king  whence 
these  Hebrews  came,  and  at  whose  invita- 
tion.* He  answered,  that  it  was  David, 
who  had  fled  away  from  his  master  Saul, 
and  that  he  had  entertained  him  when  he 
came  to  him,  and  that  now  he  was  will- 
ing to  make  him  this  requital  for  his  fa- 
vours, and  to  avenge  himself  upon  Saul, 
and  so  had  become  his  confederate.  The 
commanders  complained  of  this,  that  he 
had  taken  him  for  a  confederate  who  was 
an  enemy;  and  gave  him  counsel  to  send 
him  away,  lest  he  should  unawares  do  his 
friends  a  great  deal  of  mischief,  by  enter- 
taining him,  for  that  he  afforded  him  an 
opportunity  of  being  reconciled  to  his 
master,  by  doing  a  mischief  to  their  army. 
They  thereupon  desired  him,  out  of  a  pru- 
dent foresight  of  this,  to  send  him  away 
with  his  600  men,  to  the  place  he  had 
given  him  for  his  habitation  ;  for  that  this 
was  that  David  whom  the  virgins  cele- 
brated in  their  hymns,  as  having  destroyed 
many  ten  thousands  of  the  Philistines. 
When  the  king  of  Gath  heard  this,  he 
thought  they  spake  well;  so  he  called  Da- 
vid, and  said  to  him,  "  As  for  myself,  I 
can  bear  witness  that  thou  hast  shown 
great  diligence  and  kindness  about  me, 
and  on  that  account  it  was  that  I  took  thee 
for  my  confederate ;  however,  what  I  have 
done  does  not  please  the  commanders  of 
the  Philistines;  go,  therefore,  within  a 
day's  time,  to  the  place  I  have  given  thee, 
without  suspecting  any  harm,  and  there 
keep  my  country,  lest  any  of  our  enemies 
should  make  an  incursion  upon  it,  which 
will  be  one  part  of  that  assistance  which  1 


*  1  Sam.  xxix. 


Chap  XIV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


209 


expect  from  thee."  So  David  came  to 
Ziklag,  as  the  king  of  Gath  bade  him;  but 
it  happened,  that  while  he  had  gone  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Philistines,  the  Amalek- 
ites  had  made  an  incursion,  and  taken 
Ziklag  before,  and  had  burnt  it;  and  when 
they  had  taken  a  great  deal  of  other  prey 
out  of  that  place,  and  out  of  the  other 
parts  of  the  Philistines'  country,  they  de- 
parted.* 

Now  when  David  found  that  Ziklag  was 
laid  waste,  and  that  it  was  all  spoiled,  and 
that  as  well  his  own  wives,  who  were  two, 
as  the  wives  of  his  companions,  with  their 
children,  were  made  captives,  he  presently 
rent  his  clothes,  weeping  and  lamenting, 
together  with  his  friends;  and  indeed  he 
was  so  cast  down  with  these  misfortunes, 
that  at  length  tears  themselves  failed  him. 
He  was  also  in  danger  of  being  stoned  to 
death  by  his  companions,  who  were  greatly 
afflicted  at  the  captivity  of  their  wives  and 
children,  for  they  laid  the  blame  upon  him 
of  what  had  happened  ;  but  when  he  had 
recovered  himself  out  of  his  grief,  and 
had  raised  up  his  mind  to  God,  he  desired 
the  high  priest  Abiathar  to  put  on  his  sa- 
cerdotal garments,  and  to  inquire  of  God, 
and  to  prophesy  to  him,  whether  God 
would  grant,  that  if  he  pursued  after  the 
Amalekites,  he  should  overtake  them,  and 
save  their  wives  and  their  children,  and 
avenge  himself  on  the  enemies  ?  and  when 
the  high  priest  bade  him  to  pursue  after 
them,  he  marched  apace,  with  400  men, 
after  the  enemy ;  and  when  he  had  come 
to  a  certain  brook  called  Besor,  and  had 
lighted  upon  one  that  was  wandering 
about,  an  Egyptian  by  birth,  who  was 
almost  dead  with  want  and  famine,  (for  he 
had  continued  wandering  about  without 
food  in  the  wilderness  three  days,)  he  first 
of  all  gave  him  sustenance,  both  meat  and 
drink,  and  thereby  refreshed  him.  He 
then  asked  him  to  whom  he  belonged,  and 
whence  he  came.  Whereupon  the  man 
told  him  he  was  an  Egyptian  by  birth, 
and  was  left  behind  by  his  master,  because 
he  was  so  sick  and  weak  that  he  could  not 
follow  him.  He  also  informed  him  that 
he  was  one  of  those  who  had  burnt  and 
plundered,  not  only  other  parts  of  Judea, 
but  Ziklag  itself  also.  So  David  made 
use  of  him  as  a  guide  to  find  out  the 
Amalekites;  and  when  he  had  overtaken 
them,  as  they  lay  scattered  about  on  the 
ground,  some  at  dinner,  some  disordered, 


*  l  Sam.  xxx. 


14 


and  entirely  drunk  with  wine,  and  in  the 
fruition  of  their  spoils  and  their  prey,  he 
fell  upon  them  on  the  sudden,  and  made  a 
great  slaughter  among  them,  for  they  were 
naked,  and  expected  no  such  thing,  but 
had  betaken  themselves  to  drinking  and 
feasting,  and  so  they  were  all  easily  de- 
stroyed. Now  some  of  them  that  were 
overtaken  as  they  lay  at  the  table,  were 
slain  in  that  posture ;  and  their  blood 
brought  up  with  it  their  meat  and  their 
drink.  They  slew  others  of  them  as  they 
were  drinking  to  one  another  in  their  cups; 
and  some  of  them  when  their  bellies  had 
made  them  fall  asleep;  and  for  so  many 
as  had  time  to  put  on  their  armour,  they 
slew  them  with  the  sword,  with  no  less 
ease  than  they  did  those  that  were  naked; 
and  for  the  partisans  of  David,  they  con- 
tinued also  the  slaughter  from  the  first 
hour  of  the  day  till  the  evening,  so  that 
there  were  not  above  400  of  the  Amalek- 
ites left;  and  they  only  escaped  by  get- 
ting upon  their  dromedaries  and  camels. 
Accordingly,  David  recovered  not  only  all 
the  other  spoils  which  the  enemy  had  car- 
ried away,  but  his  wives  also,  and  the 
wives  of  his  companions;  but  when  they 
had  come  to  the  place  where  they  had  left 
the  200  men,  which  were  not  able  to  fol- 
low them,  but  were  left  to  take  care  of  the 
stuff,  the  400  men  did  not  think  fit  to  di- 
vide among  them  any  other  parts  of  what 
they  had  gotten  of  the  prey,  since  they 
did  not  accompany  them,  but  pretended  to 
be  feeble,  and  did  not  follow  them  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  enemy,  but  said  they  should 
be  contented  to  have  safely  recovered  their 
wives;  yet  did  David  pronounce  that  this 
opinion  of  theirs  was  evil  and  unjust,  and 
that  when  God  had  granted  them  such  a 
favour,  that  they  had  avenged  themselves 
on  their  enemies,  and  had  recovered  all 
that  belonged  to  themselves,  they  should 
make  an  equal  distribution  of  what  they 
had  gotten  to  all,  because  the  rest  had 
tarried  behind  to  guard  their  stuff;  and 
from  that  time  this  law  obtained  among 
them,  that  those  who  guarded  the  stuff 
should  receive  an  equal  share  with  those 
that  had  fought  in  the  battle.  Now  when 
David  had  come  to  Ziklag,  he  sent  por- 
tions of  the  spoils  to  all  that,  had  been 
familiar  with  him,  and  to  his  friends  in 
the  tribe  of  Judah ;  and  thus  ended  the 
affairs  of  the  plundering  of  Ziklag,  and 
of  the  slaughter  of  the  Amalekites. 

Now,  upon  the  Philistines  joining  bat- 
tle,  there  followed  a  sharp  engagement. 


210 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI.  Chap.  XIV. 


and  the  Philistines  became  the  conquerors, 
and  slew  a  great  number  of  their  enemies;* 
but  Saul,  the  king  of  Israel,  and  his  sons, 
fought  courageously,  and  with  the  utmost 
alacrity,  as  knowing  that  their  entire  glory 
lay  in  nothing  else  but  dying  honourably, 
and  exposing  themselves  to  the  utmost 
danger  from  the  enemy,  (for  they  had  no- 
thing else  to  hope  for ;)  so  they  brought  upon 
themselves  the  whole  power  of  the  enemy, 
till  they  were  encompassed  round  and 
slain,  but  not  before  they  had  killed  many 
of  the  Philistines.  Now  the  sons  of  Saul 
were  Jonathan,  and  Aminadab,  and  Mal- 
chisua;  and  when  these  were  slain,  the 
multitude  of  the  Hebrews  were  put  to 
flight,  and  all  was  disorder,  and  confusion, 
and  slaughter,  upon  the  Philistines  press- 
ing in  upon  them.  But  Saul  himself  fled, 
having  a  strong  body  of  soldiers  about 
him;  and  upon  the  Philistines  sending 
after  him  those  that  threw  javelins  and 
shot  arrows,  he  lost  all  his  company  ex- 
cept a  few.  As  for  himself  he  fought  with 
great  bravery ;  and  when  he  had  received 
so  many  wounds  that  he  was  not  able  to 
bear  up,  nor  to  oppose  any  longer,  and  yet 
was  not  able  to  kill  himself,  he  bade  his 
armour-bearer  to  draw  his  sword  and  run 
him  through,  before  the  enemy  should 
take  him  alive.  But  his  armour-bearer 
not  daring  to  kill  his  master,  he  drew  his 
own  sword,  and  placing  himself  over 
against  its  point,  he  threw  himselfriipon 
it;  and  when  he  could  neither  run  it 
through  him,  nor,  by  leaning  against  it, 
make  the  sword  pass  through  him,  he 
turned  himself  round,  and  asked  a  certain 
young  man  that  stood  by  who  he  was; 
and  when  he  understood  that  he  was  an 
Amalekite,  he  desired  him  to  force  the 
sword  through  him,  because  he  was  not 
able  to  do  it  with  his  own  hands,  and 
thereby  to  procure  him  such  a  death  as 
he  desired.  This  the  young  man  did  ac- 
cordingly; and  he  took  the  golden  bracelet 
that  was  on  Saul's  arm,  and  the  royal 
crown  that  was  on  his  head,  and  ran  away. 
And  when  Saul's  armour-bearer  saw  that 
he  was  slain,  he  killed  himself;  nor  did 
any  of  the  king's  guards  escape,  but  they 
all  fell  upon  the  mountain  called  Gilboa. 
But  when  those  Hebrews  that  dwelt  in  the 
valley  beyond  Jordan,  and  those  who  had 
their  cities  in  the  plain,  heard  that  Saul 
and  bis  sons  were  fallen,  and  that  the  mul- 
titude about  them   were  destroyed,  they 

*  1  Sam.  xxxi. 


left  their  own  cities,  and  fled  to  such  as 
were  the  best  fortified  and  fenced;  and 
the  Philistines,  finding  those  cities  de- 
serted, came  and  dwelt  in  them. 

On  the  next  day,  when  the  Philistines 
came  to  strip  their  enemies  that  were  slain, 
they  got  the  bodies  of  Saul  and  of  his 
sons,  and  stripped  them,  and  cut  off  their 
heads.  And  they  sent  messengers  all 
about  their  country,  to  acquaint  them  that 
their  enemies  were  fallen  ;  and  they  dedi- 
cated their  armour  in  the  temple  of  Astarte, 
but  hung  their  bodies  on  crosses  at  the 
walls  of  the  city  Bethshan,  which  is  now 
called  Scythopolis.  But  when  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Jabesh-Grilead  heard  that  they  had 
dismembered  the  dead  bodies  of  Saul  and 
of  his  sons,  they  deemed  it  so  horrid  a 
thing  to  overlook  this  barbarity,  and  to 
suffer  them  to  be  without  funeral  rites, 
that  the  most  courageous  and  hardy  among 
them  (and  indeed  that  city  had  in  it  men 
that  were  very  stout  both  in  body  and 
mind)  journeyed  all  night,  and  came  to 
Bethshan,  and  approached  to  the  enemy's 
walls,  and  taking  down  the  bodies  of  Saul 
and  of  his  sons,  they  carried  them  to  Ja- 
besh,  while  the  enemy  was  not  able  enough, 
nor  bold  enough,  to  hinder  them,  because 
of  their  great  courage ;  so  the  people  of 
Jabesh  wept  all  in  general,  and  buried 
their  bodies  in  the  best  place  of  their 
country,  which  was  called  Aroura;  and 
they  observed  a  public  mourning  for 
them  seven  days,  with  their  wives  and 
childreu,  beating  their  breasts,  and  la- 
menting the  king  and  his  sons,  without 
tasting  either  meat  or  drink*  [till  the 
evening]. 

To  this  sad  end  did  Saul  come,  accord- 
ing to  the  prophecy  of  Samuel,  because 
he  disobeyed  the  commands  of  God  about 

*  This  way  of  speaking  in  Josephus,  of  "  fasting 
seven  days  without  meat  or  drink,"  is  almost  like 
that  of  St.  Paul,  A-cts  xxvii.  33  :  "This  is  the  four- 
teenth day  that  ye  have  tarried  and  continued  fast- 
ing, having  tasted  nothing ;"  and  as  the  nature  of 
the  thing,  and  the  impossibility  of  strictly  fasting 
so  long,  require  us  here  to  understand  both  Jose- 
phus and  the  sacred  author  of  this  history,  1  Sam, 
xxx.  13,  from  whence  he  took  it,  of  only  fasting 
till  the  evening;  so^must  w.e  understand  St.  Paul, 
either  that  thia  was  really  the  fourteenth  day  of 
their  tempestuous  weather  in  the  Adriatic  Sea,  aa 
ver.  27,  and  that  on  this  fourteenth  day  alone  thej 
had  continued  fasting,  and  had  taken  nothing  be- 
fore the  evening.  The  mention  of  their  long  absti- 
nence, ver.  21,  inclines  me  to  believe  the  former  ex- 
plication to  be  the  truth,  and  that  the  case  was  tlieo 
for  a  fortnight  what  it  was  here  for  a  week,  that 
they  kept  all  those  days  entirely  as  fasts  till  the 
evening,  but  not  longer.  See  Judges  xx.  26;  xxi 
2;  1  Sam.  xiv.  21 ;  2  Sam.  i.  12. 


Book  VU.  Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


211 


the  Amalekitcs,  and  on  the  account  of 
his  destroying  the  family  of  Ahimelech, 
the  high  priest,  with  Ahimelech  himself, 
and  the  city  of  the  high  priests.     Now 


Saul,  when  he  had  reigned  eighteen  years 
while  Samuel  was  alive,  and  after  his 
death  two  [and  twenty],  ended  his  life  in 
this  manner. 


I  VII. 


CONTAINING   AN   INTERVAL   OF   FORTY   YEARS,  FROM    THE    DEATH    OF 

SAUL   TO   THE   DEATH   OF   DAVID. 


CHAPTER  I. 

David  reigns  over  one  tribe  at  Hebron,  and  the 
son  of  Saul  reigns  over  the  rest. 

This  fight  proved  to  be  on  the  same 
day  whereon  David  had  come  back  to 
Ziklag,  after  he  had  overcome  the  Ama- 
lekites.  Now  when  he  had  been  already 
two  days  at  Ziklag,  there  came  to  him  the 
man  who  slew  Saul,  which  was  on  the 
third  clay  after  the  fight.*  He  had  es- 
caped out  of  the  battle  which  the  Israel- 
ites had  with  the  Philistines,  and  had  his 
clothes  rent,  and  ashes  upon  his  head. 
And  when  he  made  his  obeisance  to  Da- 
vid, he  inquired  of  him  whence  he  came. 
He  replied,  from  the  battle  of  the  Israel- 
ites, and  he  informed  him  that  the  end  of 
it  was  unfortunate,  many  ten  thousands  of 
the  Israelites  having  been  cut  off,  and  Saul, 
together  with  his  sons,  slain.  He  also  said 
that  he  could  well  give  him  this  informa- 
tion, because  he  was  present  at  the  victory 
gained  over  the  Hebrews,  and  was  with 
the  king  when  he  fled.  Nor  did  he  deny 
that  he  had  himself  slain  the  king,  when 
he  was  ready  to  be  taken  by  the  enemy, 
and  he  himself  exhorted  him  to  do  it,  be- 
cause when  he  had  fallen  on  his  sword, 
his  great  wounds  had  made  him  so  weak 
that  he  was  not  able  to  kill  himself.  He 
also  produced  demonstrations  that  the  king 
was  slain,  which  were  the  golden  bracelets 
that  had  been  on  the  king's  arms,  and  his 
crown,  which  he  had  taken  away  from 
Saul's  dead  body,  and  had  brought  them 
to  him.  So  David  having  no  longer  room 
to  call  in  question  the  truth  of  what  he 
said,  but  seeing  most  evident  marks  that 
Saul  was  dead,  he  rent  his  garments,  and 


*  2  Sam.  i. 


continued  all  that  day,  with  his  compa- 
nions, in  weeping  and  lamentation.  This 
grief  was  augmented  by  the  consideration 
of  Jonathan,  the  son  of  Saul,  who  had 
been  his  most  faithful  friend,  and  the  oc- 
casion of  his  own  deliverance.  He  also 
demonstrated  himself  to  have  such  great 
virtue,  and  such  great  kindness  for  Saul, 
as  not  only  to  take  his  death,  to  heart, 
though  he  had  been  frequently  in  danger 
of  losing  his  life  by  his  means,  but  to 
punish  him  that  slew  him  :  for  when  Da- 
vid had  said  to  him,  that  he  had  become 
his  own  accuser,  as  the  very  man  who  had 
slain  the  king,  and  when  he  understood 
that  he  was  the  son  of  an  Amalekite,  he 
commanded  him  to  be  slain.  He  also 
committed  to  writing  some  lamentations 
and  funeral  commendations*  of  Saul  and 
Jonathan,  which  have  continued  to  my 
age. 

Now  when  David  had  paid  these  ho- 
nours to  the  king,  he  left  off  his  mourn- 
ing, and  inquired  of  God,  by  the  prophet, 
which  of  the  cities  of  the  tribe  of  Judah 
he  would  bestow  upon  him  to  dwell  in; 
who  answered,  that  he  bestowed  upon  him 
Hebron.  So  he  left  Ziklag  and  came  to 
Hebron,  and  took  with  him  his  wives, 
which  were  two  in  number,  and  his  armed 
men ;  whereupon  all  the  people  of  ths 
forementioned  tribe  came  to  him,  and  or- 
dained him  their  king.  But  when  he 
heard  that  the  inhabitants  of  Jabesh- 
Gilead  had  buried  Saul  and  his  eons 
[honourably],  he  sent  to  them  and  com- 
mended them,  and  took  what  they  had 
done  kindly,  and  promised  to  make  them 
amends  for  their  care  of  those  that  were 
dead;  and  at  the  same  time  he  informed 


*  See  2  Sana.  i.  17-27 


212 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


tbem  that  the  tribe  of  Judah  had  chosen 
him  for  their  king. 

But  as  soon  as  Aimer,  the  son  of  Ner, 
who  was  general  of  Saul's  army,  and  a 
very  active  man,  and  good-natured,  knew 
that  the  king  and  Jonathan,  and  his  two 
other  sons,  were  fallen  in  the  battle,  he 
made  haste  into  the  camp;  and,  taking 
away  with  him  the  remaining  son  of  Saul, 
whose  name  was  Ishbosheth,  he  passed 
over  to  the  land  bevond  Jordan,  aud  or- 
dained  him  the  king  of  the  whole  multi- 
tude, excepting  the  tribe  of  Judah ;  and 
made  his  royal  seat  in  a  place  called  in 
our  language  "  Mahanaim,"  but  in  the 
language  of  the  Grecians,  "  The  Camps ;" 
from  whence  Abner  made  haste  with  a 
select  body  of  soldiers,  to  fight  with  such 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah  as  were  disposed  to 
it,  for  he  was  angry  that  this  tribe  had 
set  up  David  for  their  king;  but  Joab, 
whose  father  was  Suri,  and  his  mother 
Zeruiah,  David's  sister,  who  was  general 
of  David's  army,  met  him,  according  to 
David's  appointment.  He  had  with  him 
his  brethren,  Abishai  aud  Asahel,  as  also 
all  David's  armed  men.  Now  when  he 
met  Abner  at  a  certain  fountain,  in  the 
city  of  Gibeon,  he  prepared  to  fight ;  and 
when  Abner  said  to  him  that  he  had  a 
mind  to  know  which  of  them  had  the 
more  valiaut  soldiers,  it  was  agreed  be- 
tween them  that  twelve  soldiers  of  each 
side  should  fight  together.  So  those'  that 
were  chosen  out  by  both  the  generals  for 
this  fight,  came  between  the  two  armies, 
and  throwing  their  lances  one  agaiust  the 
other,  they  drew  their  swords,  and  catch- 
ing one  another  by  the  head,  they  held 
one  another  fast,  and  ran  each  other's 
swords  into  their  sides  aud  groins,  until 
they  all,  as  it  were  by  mutual  agreement, 
perished  together.  When  these  had  falleu 
down  dead,  the  rest  of  the  army  came  to 
a  sore  battle,  and  Abuer's  men  were 
beaten ;  and  when  they  were  beaten,  Joab 
did  not  leave  off  pursuing  them,  but  he 
pressed  upon  them,  and  excited  the  sol- 
diers to  follow  them  close,  and  not  to 
grow  weary  of  killing  them.  His  brethren 
also  pursued  him  with  great  alacrity,  es- 
pecially the  younger,  Asahel,  who  was 
the  most  eminent  of  them.  He  was  very 
famous  for  his  swiftness  of  foot,  for  he 
could  not  only  be  too  hard  for  men,  but 
is  reported  to  have  overrun  a  horse,  when 
they  had  a  race  together.  This  Asahel 
ran  violently  after  Abucr,  aud  would  not 
turn  in  the  least  out  of  the  straight  way, 


either  to  the  one  side  or  to  the  other. 
Hereupon  Abner  turned  back,  and  at 
tempted  artfully  to  avoid  his  violence. 
Sometimes  he  bade  him  leave  off  the  pur- 
suit, and  take  the  armour  of  one  of  his 
soldiers;  and  sometimes,  when  he  could 
not  persuade  him  so  to  do,  he  exhorted 
him  to  restrain  himself,  and  not  to  pursue 
him  any  longer,  lest  he  should  be  forced 
to  kill  him,  and  he  should  then  not  be 
able  to  look  his  brother  in  the  face ;  but 
when  Asahel  would  not  admit  of  any  per- 
suasions, but  still  continued  to  pursue 
him,  Abner  smote  him  with  his  spear,  as 
he  held  it  in  his  flight,  and  that  by  a 
back  stroke,  and  gave  him  a  deadly 
wound,  so  that  he  died  immediately;  but 
those  that  were  with  him  pursuing  Abner, 
when  they  came  to  the  place  where  Asa- 
hel lay,  they  stood  round  about  the  dead 
body,  and  left  off  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
However,  both  Joab*  himself,  and  his 
brother  Abishai,  ran  past  the  dead  corpse, 
aud  making  their  anger  at  the  death  of 
Asahel  an  occasion  of  greater  zeal  against 
Abner,  they  went  on  with  incredible  haste 
and  alacrity,  and  pursued  Abner  to  a  cer- 
tain place  called  Amnah  :  it  was  about,  sun- 
set. Then  did  Joab  ascend  a  certain 
hill,  as  he  stood  at  that  place,  having  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin  with  him,  whence  he 
took  a  view  of  them,  and  of  Abner  also. 
Hereupon  Abner  cried  aloud,  and  said 
that  it  was  not  fit  that  they  should  irritate 
men  of  the  same  nation  to  fight  so  bitterly 
one  against  another ;  that  as  for  Asahel 
his  brother,  he  was  himself  in  the  wrong, 
when  he  would  not  be  advised  by  him 
not  to  pursue  him  any  farther,  which  was 
the  occasion  of  his  wounding  and  death. 
So  Joab  consented  to  what  he  said,  and 
accepted  these  words  as  an  excuse  [about 
Asahel],  and  called  the  soldiers  back  with 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  as  a  sigual  for 
their  retreat,  and  thereby  put  a  stop  to 
any  further  pursuit.  After  which  Joab 
pitched  his  camp  there  that  night ;  but 
Abner  marched  all  that  night,  and  passed 
over  the  river  Jordan,  and  came  to  Ish- 
bosheth, SauPs^son  to  Mahanaim.  On 
the  next  day,  Joab  counted  the  dead  men, 
and  took  care  of  all  their  funerals.  Now 
there  were  slain  of  Abner' s  soldiers  about 
360 ;    but    of  those    of  David    19,    and 


*  It  ought  to  be  here  noted  that  Joab,  Abisb»i, 
and  Asahel  were  all  three  David's  nephews,  the 
sons  of  his  sister  Zeruiah,  as  in  1  Chron.  ii.  i& 
and  that  Amasa  was  also  his  nephew  by  his  other 
sister,  Abigail,  ver.  17. 


UHA.P.  I.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


213 


Asahelj  whose  body  Joab  and  Abishai 
earned  to  Bethlehem ;  and  when  they 
had  buried  him  in  the  sepulchre  of  their 
fathers,  they  came  to  David  to  Hebron. 
From  this  time,  therefore,  they  began  an 
intestine  war,  which  lasted  a  long  while, 
in  which  the  followers  of  David  grew 
stronger  in  the  dangers  they  underwent ; 
and  the  servants  and  subjects  of  Saul's 
eon  almost  every  day  became  weaker. 

About  this  time,  David  had  become 
the  father  of  six  sons,  born  of  as  many 
mothers.  The  eldest  was  by  Ahinoam, 
and  he  was  called  Amnion  ;  the  second 
was  Daniel,  by  his  wife  Abigail ;  the 
name  of  the  third  was  Absalom,  by  Maa- 
cah,  the  daughter  of  Talmai,  king  of  G-e- 
shur;  the  fourth  he  named  Adouijah,  by 
his  wife  Haggith  ;  the  fifth  was  Shepha- 
tiah,  by  Abitail ;  the  sixth  he  called  Ith- 
ream,  by  Eglah.  Now  while  this  intes- 
tine war  went  on,  and  the  subjects  of  the 
two  kings  came  frequently  to  action  and 
to  fighting,  it  was  Abner,  the  general  of 
the  host  of  Saul's  son,  who,  by  his  pru- 
dence, and  the  great  interest  he  had 
among  the  multitude,  made  them  all  con- 
tinue with  Ishbosheth  ;  and  indeed  it  was 
a  considerable  time  that  they  continued 
of  his  party;  but  afterward,  Abner  was 
blamed,  and  an  accusation  was  laid 
against  him,  that  he  went  in  unto  Saul's 
concubine  :  her  name  was  Rispah,  the 
daughter  of  Aiah.  So  when  his  conduct 
was  complained  of  by  Ishbosheth,  he  was 
very  uneasy  and  angry  at  it,  because  he 
had  not  justice  done  him  by  Ishbosheth, 
to  whom  he  had  shown  the  greatest  kind- 
ness ;  whereupon  he  threatened  to  trans- 
l  r  the  kingdom  to  David,  and  demon- 
strate that  he  did  not  rule  over  the  people 
beyond  Jordan  by  his  own  abilities  and 
wisdom,  but  by  his  warlike  conduct  and 
fidelity  in  leading  his  army.  So  he  sent 
ambassadors  to  Hebron  to  David,  and  de- 
sired that  he  would  give  him  security 
upon  oath  that  he  would  esteem  him  his 
companion  and  his  frieud,  upon  condition 
that  he  should  persuade  the  people  to 
leave  Saul's  son,  and  choose  him  king  of 
the  whole  country;  and  when  David  had 
made  that  league  with  Abner,  for  he  was 
pleased  with  his  message  to  him,  he  de- 
sired that  he  would  give  this  as  the  first 
mark  of  performance  of  the  present  league, 
that  he  might  have  his  wife  Michal  re- 
stored to  him,  as  her  whom  he  had  pur- 
ihased  with  great  hazards,  and  with  the 
300  heads  of  the  Philistines  which  he  had 


brought  to  Saul  her  father.  So  Abner 
took  Michal  from  Pha'.tiel,  who  was  then 
her  husband,  and  sent  her  to  David,  Ish- 
bosheth himself  affording  him  his  assist- 
ance j  for  David  had  written  to  him  that 
of  right  he  ought  to  have  this  his  wife  re- 
stored to  him.  Abner  also  called  together 
the  elders  of  the  multitude,  the  commanders 
and  captains  of  thousands,  and  spake  thus 
to  them'  that  he  had  formerly  dissuaded 
them  from  their  own  resolution,  when 
they  were  ready  to  forsake  Ishbosheth, 
and  to  join  themselves  to  David;  that, 
however,  he  now  gave  them  leave  so  to 
do,  if  they  had  a  mind  to  it,  for  they 
knew  that  God  had  appointed  David  to 
be  king  of  all  the  Hebrews,  by  Samuel 
the  prophet;  and  had  foretold  that  he 
should  punish  the  Philistines,  and  over- 
come them,  and  bring  them  under.  Now 
when  the  elders  and  rulers  heard  this,  and 
understood  that  Abner  had  come  over  to 
those  sentiments  about  the  public  affairs 
which  they  were  of  before,  they  changed 
their  measures,  and  came  unto  David. 
When  these  men  had  agreed  to  Abner's 
proposal,  he  called  together  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  for  all  of  that  tribe  were  the 
guards  of  Ishbosheth's  body,  and  he  spake 
to  them  to  the  same  purpose;  and  wheu 
he  saw  that  they  did  uot  in  the  least 
oppose  what  he  said,  but  resigned  them- 
selves up  to  his  opinion,  he  took  about 
twenty  of  his  friends  and  came  to  David, 
in  order  to  receive  himself  security  upon 
oath  from  him;  for  we  may  justly  esteem 
those  things  to  be  firmer  which  every  one 
of  us  do  by  ourselves,  than  those  which 
we  do  by  another.  He  also  gave  him  au 
account  of  what  he  had  said  to  the  rulers, 
and  to  the  whole  tribe  of  Benjamin;  and 
when  David  had  received  him  in  a 
courteous  manner,  and  had  treated  him 
with  great  hospitality  for  many  days, 
Abner,  when  he  was  dismissed,  desired 
him  to  permit  him  to  bring  the  multitude 
with  him,  that  he  might  deliver  up  the 
government  to  him  when  David  himself 
was  present,  and  a  spectator  of  what  waa 
done. 

When  David  had  sent  Abner  awav, 
Joab,  the  general  of  his  army,  came  im- 
mediately to  Hebron;  and  when  he  had 
understood  that  Abner  had  been  with 
David,  and  had  parted  with  him  a  littlo 
before  under  leagues  and  agreements  that 
the  government  should  be  delivered  up  to 
David,  he  feared  lest  David  should  place 
Abner,  who  had  assisted  him  to  gain  the 


214 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


kingdom,  in  the  first  rank  of  dignity,  espe- 
cially since  he  was  a  shrewd  man  in  other 
respects,  in  understanding  affairs,  and  in 
managing  them  artfully,  as  proper  seasons 
should  require,  and  that  he  should  him- 
self be  put  lower,  and  deprived  of  the 
command  of  the  army;  so  he  took  a 
knavish  and  a  wicked  course.  In  the 
first  place,  he  enJeavoured  to  calumniate 
Abn/rr  to  the  kins;,  exhorting  him  to  have 
a  care  of  him,  and  not  to  give  attention 
to  what  he  had  engaged  to  do  for  him, 
because  ail  he  did  tended  to  confirm  the 
government  to  Saul's  son  :  that  he  came 
to  him  deceitfully,  and  with  guile,  and 
had  gone  away  in  hopes  of  gaining  his 
purpose  by  this  management;  but  when 
he  could  not  thus  persuade  David,  nor 
saw  him  at  all  exasperated,  he  betook 
himself  to  a  project  bolder  than  the 
former:  he  determined  to  kill  Abner; 
and  in  order  thereto,  he  sent  some  mes- 
sengers after  him,  to  whom  he  gave  in 
charge,  that  when  they  should  overtake 
him,  they  should  recall  him  in  David's 
name,  and  tell  him  that  he  had  somewhat 
to  say  to  him  about  his  affairs,  which  he 
had  not  remembered  to  speak  of  when  he 
was  with  him.  Now  when  Abner  heard 
what  the  messengers  said,  (for  they  over- 
took him  in  a  certain  place  called  Besira, 
which  was  distant  from  Hebron  twenty 
furlongs,)  he  suspected  none  of  the  mis- 
chief which  was  befalling  him,  andrcame 
back.  Hereupon  Joab  met  him  in  the 
gate,  and  received  him  in  the  kindest 
manner,  as  if  he  was  Abner's  most  be- 
nevolent acquaintance  and  friend :  for  such 
as  undertake  the  vilest  actions,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  suspicion  of  any  private 
mischief  intended,  do  frequently  make  the 
greatest  pretences  to  what  really  good 
men  sincerely  do.  So  he  took  him  aside 
from  his  own  followers,  as  if  he  would 
speak  with  him  in  private,  and  brought 
him  into  a  void  place  of  the  gate,  having 
himself  nobody  with  him  but  his  brother 
Abishai;  then  he  drew  his  sword,  and 
smote  him  in  the  groin ;  upon  which  Ab- 
ner died  by  this  treachery  of  Joab,  which, 
as  he  said  himself,  was  in  the  way  of 
punishment  for  nis  brother  Asahel,  whom 
Abner  smote  and  slew  as  he  was  pursuing 
after  him  in  the  battle  of  Hebron,  but  as 
the  truth  was,  out  of  his  fear  of  losing  his 
command  of  the  army,  and  his  dignity 
with  the  king,  and  lest  he  should  be  de- 
prived of  those  advantages,  and  Abner 
should   obtain  the  first   rank   in  David's 


court.  By  these  examples  any  one  may 
learn  how  many  and  how  great  instances 
of  wickedness  men  will  venture  upon  for 
the  sake  of  getting  money  and  authority, 
and  that  they  may  not  fail  of  either  of 
them;  for  as,  when  they  are  desirous  of 
obtaining  the  same,  they  acquire  them  by 
ten  thousand  evil  practices;  so,  when  they 
are  afraid  of  losing  them,  they  get  them 
confirmed  to  them  by  practices  much 
worse  than  the  former,  as  if  [no]  other 
calamity  so  terrible  could  befall  them  as 
the  failure  of  acquiring  so  exalted  an  au- 
thority; and  when  they  have  acquired  it, 
and  by  long  custom  found  the  sweetness 
of  it,  the  losing  it  again :  and  since  this 
last  would  be  the  heaviest  of  all  afflictions, 
they  all  of  them  contrive  and  venture 
upon  the  most  difficult  actions,  out  of  the 
fear  of  losing  the  same.  But  let  it  suffice, 
that  I  have  made  these  short  reflections 
upon  that  subject. 

When  David  heard  that  Abner  was 
slain,  if  grieved  him  to  his  soul :  and  he 
called  all  men  to  witness,  with  stretching 
out  his  hands  to  God,  and  crying  out  that 
he  was  not  a  partaker  in  the  murder  of 
Abner,  and  that  his  death  was  not  pro- 
cured by  his  command  or  approbation. 
He  also  wished  the  heaviest  curses  might 
light  upon  him  that  slew  him,  and  upon 
his  whole  house;  and  he  devoted  those 
that  had  assisted  him  in  this  murder  to 
the  same  penalties  on  its  account;  for  he 
took  care  not  to  appear  to  have  had  any 
hand  in  this  murder,  contrary  to  the 
assurances  he  had  given  and  the  oaths  he 
had  taken  to  Abner.  However,  he  com- 
manded all  the  people  to  weep  and  lament 
this  man,  and  to  honour  his  dead  body 
with  the  usual  solemnities;  that  is,  by 
rending  their  garments,  and  putting  on 
sackcloth,  and  that  this  should  be  the 
habit  in  which  they  should  go  before  the 
bier;  after  which  he  followed  it  himself, 
with  the  elders  and  those  that  were  rulers, 
lamenting  Abner,  and  by  his  tears  demon- 
strating his  good-will  toward  him  while 
he  was  alive,  and  his  sorrow  for  him  now 
he  was  dead,  an^  that  he  was  not  taken 
off  with  his  consent.  So  he  buried  him 
at  Hebron  in  a  magnificent  manner,  and 
indited  funeral  elegies  for  him ;  he  also 
stood  first  over  the  monument  weeping, 
and  caused  others  to  do  the  same;  nay, 
so  deeply  did  the  death  of  Abner  disorder 
him,  that  his  companions  could  by  no 
means  force  him  to  take  any  food,  for  he 
affirmed  with  an  oath  that  he  would  tasta 


Chap.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWfc. 


215 


nothing  till  the  sun  was  set.     This  pro- 
cedure gained  him    the   good-will  of  the 
multitude;    for  such  as  had  an  affection 
for   Abner   were    mightily   satisfied   with 
the    respect  he  paid   him   when   he   was 
dead,  and  the  observation  of  that  faith  he 
had  plighted  to  him,  which  was  shown  in 
his  vouchsafing  him   all   the   usual  cere- 
monies, as  if  he   had  been  his  kinsman 
and  his  friend,  and  not  suffering  him  to 
be   neglected    and    injured    with    a    dis- 
honourable burial,  as  if  he  had  been  his 
enemy ;  insomuch  that  the  entire  nation 
rejoiced  at  the  king's  gentleness  and  mild- 
ness of  disposition,  every  one  being  ready 
to    suppose    that    the    king    would    have 
taken  the  same  care  of  them  in  the  like 
circumstances,  which  they  saw  he  showed 
in  the  burial  of  the  body  of  Abner.     And 
indeed  David  principally  intended  to  gain 
a  good  reputation,  and  therefore  he  took 
care  to  do  what  was  proper  in  this  case, 
whence  none  had  any  .suspicion  that  he 
was    the   author  of  Abner's    death.      He 
also  said  this  to  the  multitude,   that  he 
was  greatly  troubled  at  the  death  of  so 
good  aman;   and  that  the  affairs  of  the 
Hebrews  had  suffered  great  detriment  by 
being  deprived  of  him,  who  was  of  such 
great  abilities  to  preserve  them  by  his  ex- 
cellent advice,  and  by  the  strength  of  his 
hands  in  war.     But  he  added,  that  "God, 
who  hath  a  regard  to  all   men's  actions, 
will  not  suffer  this  man  [Joab]  to  go  off 
unrevenged;   but  know  ye,  that  I  am  not 
able  to  do  any  thing  to  these  sons  of  Ze- 
ruiah,  Joab  and  Abishai,  who  have  more 
power  than  I  have;   but  God  will  requite 
their  insolent  attempts  upon   their  own 
heads."     And    this    was    the    fatal    con- 
clusion of  the  life  of  Abner. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ishbosheth  treacherously  slain — David  reigns  over 
the  whole  kingdom.     B.  C.  1048. 

j  When  Ishbosheth,  the  son  of  Saul,  had 
heard  of  the  death  of  Abner,  he  took  it  to 
heart  to  be  deprived  of  a  man  that  was  of 
his  kindred,  and  had  indeed  given  him 
the  kingdom,  but  was  greatly  afflicted, 
and  Abner's  death  very  much  troubled 
him;  nor  did  he  himself  outlive  any  long 
time,  but  was  treacherously  set  upon  by 
the  sons  of  Kimmon,  (Baanah  and  llechab 
were  their  names,)  and  was  slain  by  them ; 
for  these  being  of  a  family  of  the  Beu- 
jarnites,  and  of  the  first  rank  among  them, 


thought    that    if   they    should    slay   Ish- 
bosheth, they  should  obtain  large  presents 
from   David,   and   be   made   commanders 
by  him,  or,  however,  should   have  some 
other  trust  committed  to  them.     So  when 
they  once  found  him  alone,  and  asleep  at 
noon,  in   an  upper  room,  when  none  of 
his    guards    were    there,    and    when    the 
woman  that  kept  the  door  was  not  watch- 
ing, but  had  fallen  asleep  also,  partly  on 
account  of  the  labour  she  had  undergone, 
and  partly  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the 
day,   these   men  went  into  the   room   in 
which  Ishbosheth,  Saul's  son,  lay  asleep, 
and  slew  him;   they  also  cut  off  his  head, 
and  took  their  journey  all  that  night,  and 
the  next  day,  as  supposing  themselves  fly- 
ing away  from  those  they  had  injured,  to 
one  that  would  accept  of  this  action  as  a 
favour,  and  would  afford   them   security. 
So    they   came    to   Hebron,  and    showed 
David  the  head  of  Ishbosheth,  and  pre- 
sented   themselves    to    him   as   his   well- 
wishers,  and  such  as  had  killed  one  that 
was    his     enemy    and     antagonist.     Yet 
David  did  not  relish  what  they  had  done 
as  they  expected,  but  said  to  them,  "  You 
vile  wretches,  you  shall  immediately  re- 
ceive the  punishment  you  deserve.      Did 
not  you  know  what  vengeance  I  executed 
on  him  that  murdered  Saul,  and  brought 
me  his  crown  of  gold,  and  this  while  he 
who  made  this  slaughter  did  it  as  a  favour 
to  him,  that  he  might  not  be  caught  by 
his  enemies  ?     Or  do  you  imagine  that  I 
am    altered  in   my  disposition,  and   sup- 
pose that  I  am  not  the  same  man  I  then 
was,  but  am  nleased  with   men  that  are 
wicked  doers,  and  esteem  your  vile  actions, 
when  you  are  become  murderers  of  your 
master,  as  grateful  to  me,  when  you  have 
slain  a  righteous  man  upon  his  bed,  who 
never  did  evil  to  anybody,  and  treated  you 
with  great  good-will  and  respect  ?    Where- 
fore you  shall  suffer  the  punishment  due 
on  his  account,  and  the  vengeance  I  ought 
to  inflict  upon  you  for  killing  Ishbosheth, 
and  for  supposing  that  I  should  take  his 
death  kindly  at  your  hands;  for  you  could 
not  lay  a  greater  blot  on  my  honour  than 
by  making  such  a  supposition."     When 
David  had  said   this,  he  tormented  them 
with  all  sorts  of  torments,  and  then  put 
them  to  death;  and  he  bestowed  all  ac- 
customed rites  on  the  burial  of  the  head 
of  Ishbosheth,  and  laid  it  in  the  grave  of 
Abner. 

When    these    things   were   brought   to 
this  conclusion,  all  the  principal  men  of 


216 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VTL 


the  Hebrew  people  came  to  David  to 
Hebron,  with  the  heads  of  thousands,  and 
other  rulers,  and  delivered  themselves  up 
to  him,  putting  him  in  mind  of  the  good- 
will they  had  borne  to  him  in  Saul's  life- 
time, and  the  respect  they  then  had  not 
ceased  to  pay  him  when  he  was  captain 
of  a  thousand,  as  also  that  he  was  chosen 
of  God  by  Samuel  the  prophet,  he  and  his 
sons:*  and  declaring  besides,  how  Grod 
had  given  him  power  to  save  the  land  of 
the  Hebrews,  and  overcome  the  Philis- 
tines. Whereupon  he  received  kindly 
this  their  alacrity  on  his  account;  and 
exhorted  them  to  continue  in  it,  for  that 
they  should  have  no  reason  to  repent  of 
being  thus  disposed  to  him.  So  when  he 
had  feasted  them,  and  treated  them  kindly, 
he  sent  them  out  to  bring  all  the  people 
to  him ;  upon  which  there  came  to  him 
about  6800  armed  men  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  who  bare  shields  and  spears  for 
their  weapons,  for  these  had  [till  now] 
continued  with  Saul's  son,  when  the  rest 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah  had  ordained  David 
for  their  king.  There  came  also  7100 
out  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon.  Out  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  came  4700,  having  Jehoiada 
for  their  leader.  After  these  came  Zadok 
the  high  priest,  with  twenty-two  captains 
of  his  kindred.  Out  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin, the  armed  men  were  4000;  but 
the  rest  of  the  tribe  continued,  still  ex- 
pecting that  some  one  of  the  house  of 
Saul  should  reign  over  them.  Those  of 
the  tribe  of  Ephraim  were  20,800;  and 
these  mighty  men  of  valour,  and  eminent 
for  their  strength.  Out  of  the  half  tribe 
of  Manasseh,  came  18,000  of  the  most 
potent  men.  Out  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar 
came  200,  who  foreknew  what  was  to 
come  hereafter,*)"  but  of  armed  men 
20,000.  Of  the  tribe  of  Zebulon,  50,000 
chosen  men.  This  was  the  only  tribe 
that  came  universally  in  to  David;  and 
all  these  had  the  same  weapons  with  the 

*  This  may  be  a  true  observation  of  Josephus, 
that  Samuel,  by  command  from  God,  entailed  the 
crown  on  David  and  his  posterity ;  for  no  further 
did  that  entail  ever  reach,  Solomon  himself  having 
never  had  any  promise  made  him  that  his  pos- 
terity should  always  have  the  right  to  it. 

"("  These  words  of  Josephus,  concerning  the  tribe 
of  Issachar,  "who  foreknew  what  was  to  come 
hereafter,"  are  best  paraphrased  by  the  parallel 
text:  (1  Chron.  xii.  32:)  "Who  had  understanding 
of  the  times  to  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do ;" 
that  is,  "Who  had  so  much  knowledge  in  astronomy 
&s  to  make  calendars  for  the  Israelites,  that  they 
might  keep  their  festivals,  and  plough  and  sow, 
and  gather  in  their  harvests  and  vintage  in  due 
season." 


tribe  of  Gad.  Out  of  the  tribe  of  Naph- 
tali,  the  eminent  men  and  rulers  were 
1000,  whose  weapons  were  shields  and 
spears;  and  the  tribe  itself  followed  after, 
being  (in  a  manner)  innumerable  [37,000]. 
Out  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  there  were  of 
chosen  men,  27,600.  Out  of  the  tribe 
of  Asher,  were  40,000.  Out  of  the  two 
tribes  that  were  beyond  Jordan,  and  the 
rest  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  such  as 
used  shields,  and  spea»rs,  and  head-pieces, 
and  swords,  were  120,000.  The  rest  of 
the  tribes  also  made  use  of  swords.  This 
multitude  came  together  to  Hebron  to 
David,  with  a  great  quantity  of  corn  and 
wine,  and  all  other  sorts  of  food,  and  esta- 
blished David  in  his  kingdom  with  one 
consent;  and  when  the  people  had  re- 
joiced for  three  days  in  Hebron,  David 
and  all  the  people  removed  and  came  to 
Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  III. 

David  vanquishes  the  Cahaanite  inhabitants  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  takes  possession  of  the  city.  B.  C. 
1042. 

Now  the  Jebusites,  who  were  the  in- 
habitants of  Jerusalem,  and  were  by  ex- 
traction Canaanites,  shut  their  gates,  and 
placed  the  blind,  and  the  lame,  and  all 
their  maimed  persons,  upon  the  wall,  in 
way  of  derision  of  the  king;  and  said, 
that  the  very  lame  themselves  would 
hinder  his  entrance  into  it.  This  they 
did  out  of  contempt  of  his  power,  and  as 
depending  on  the  strength  of  their  walls. 
David  was  hereby  enraged,  and  began  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  employed  his  ut- 
most diligence  and  alacrity  therein,  as  in- 
tending, by  the  taking  of  this  place,  to 
demonstrate  his  power,  and  to  intimidate 
all  others  that  might  be  of  the  like  [evil] 
disposition  toward  him :  so  he  took  the 
lower  city  by  force,  but  the  citadel  held 
out  still;  whence  it  was  that  the  king, 
knowing  that  the  proposal  of  dignities 
and  rewards  would  encourage  the  soldiers 
to  greater  actions,  promised  that  he  wh< 
should  first  go  oyer  the  ditches  that  were 
beneath  the  citadel,  and  should  ascend  to 
the  citadel  itself,  and  take  it,  should  have 
the  command  of  the  entire  people  con- 
ferred upon  him.  So  they  all  were  am- 
bitious to  ascend,  and  thought  no  pains 
too  great  in  order  to  ascend  thither,  out 
of  their  desire  of  the  chief  command. 
However,  Joab,  the  son  of  Zeruiah,  pre- 
vented the  rest;  and  as  soon  as  he  had 


Chap.  IV  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


217 


got  up  to  the  citadel,  cried  out  to  the  king, 
and  claimed  the  chief  command. 

When  David  had  cast  the  Jebusites 
out  of  the  citadel,  he  also  rebuilt  Je- 
rusalem, and  named  it,  "The  City  of 
David,"  and  abode  there  all  the  time  of 
his  reign  :  but  for  the  time  that  he  reigned 
over  the  tribe  of  Judah  only  in  Hebron, 
it  was  seven  years  and  six  months.  Now 
when  he  had  chosen  Jerusalem  to  be  his 
royal  city,  his  affairs  did  more  and  more 
prosper,  by  the  providence  of  God,  who 
took  care  that  they  should  improve  and 
be  augmented.  Hiram  also,  the  king  of 
the  Tyrians,  sent  ambassadors  to  him,  and 
made  a  league  of  mutual  friendship  and 
assistance  with  him.  He  also  sent  him 
presents,  cedar-trees,  and  mechanics,  and 
men  skilful  in  building  and  architecture, 
that  they  might  build  him  a  royal  palace 
at  Jerusalem.  Now  David  made  build- 
ings round  about  the  lower  city :  he  also 
joined  the  citadel  to  it,  and  made  it  one 
body;  and  when  he  had  encompassed  all 
with  walls,  he  appointed  Joab  to  take  care 
of  them.  It  was  David,  therefore,  who 
first  cast  the  Jebusites  out  of  Jerusalem, 
and  called  it  by  his  own  name,  "The  City 
of  David  ;"  for  under  our  forefather  Abra- 
ham, it  was  called  (Salem  or)  Solyma; 
but  after  that  time,  some  say  that  Homer 
mentions  it  by  that  name  of  Solyma,  (for 
he  named  the  temple  Solyma,  according 
to  the  Hebrew  language,  which  denotes 
"security.")  Now  the  whole  time,  from 
the  warfare  under  Joshua  their  general, 
against  the  Canaanites,  and  from  that  war 
in  which  he  overcame  them,  and  dis- 
tributed the  land  among  the  Hebrews, 
nor  could  the  Israelites  ever  cast  the 
Janaanites  out  of  Jerusalem  until  this 
time,  when  David  took  it  by  siege,)  this 
whole  time  was  515  years. 

I  shall  now  make  mention  of  Araunah, 
who  was  a  wealthy  man  among  the  Jebu- 
sites, but  was  not  slain  by  David  in  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  because  of  the  good- 
will he  bore  to  the  Hebrews,  and  a  parti- 
cular benignity  and  affection  which  he  had 
to  the  king  himself;  which  I  shall  take  a 
more  seasonable  opportunity  to  speak  of 
a  little  afterward.  Now  David  married 
other  wives  besides  those  which  he  had 
before :  he  had  also  concubines.  The 
sons  whom  he  had  were  eleven  in  number, 
whose  names  were  Ammon,  Emnos,  Eban, 
Nathan,  Solomon,  Jeban,  Elien,  Phalna, 
Ennaphen,  Jenae,  Eliphale;  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Tamar      Nine  of  these  were  born  of 


legitimate  wives,  but  the  two  last  named, 
of  concubines;  and  Tamar  had  the  same 
mother  with  Absalom. 


8 


CHAPTER  IV. 

David  brings  the  Ark  to  Jerusalem.     B.  C.  1042. 

When  the  Philistines  understood  that 
David  was  made  king  of  the  Hebrews, 
they  made  war  against  him  at  Jerusalem; 
and  when  they  had  seized  upon  that  val- 
ley which  is  called  "The  Valley  of  the 
Giants,"  and  is  a  place  not  far  from  the 
city,  they  pitched  their  camp  therein  :  but 
the  king  of  the  Jews,  who  never  permitted 
himself  to  do  any  thing  without  prophecy 
and  the  command  of  God,  and  without  de- 
pending on  him  as  a  security  for  the  time 
to  come,  bade  the  high  priest  to  foretell 
to  him  what  was  the  will  of  God,  and 
what  would  be  the  event  of  this  battle. 
And  when  he  foretold  that  he  should  sain 
the  victory  and  the  dominion,  he  led  out 
his  army  against  the  Philistines;  and 
when  the  battle  was  joined,  he  came  him- 
self behind,  and  fell  upon  the  enemy  on 
the  sudden,  and  slew  some  of  them,  and 
put  the  rest  to  flight.  And  let  no  one 
suppose  that  it  was  a  small  army  of  the 
Philistines  that  came  against  the  Hebrews, 
as  guessing  so  from  the  suddenness  of 
their  defeat,  and  from  their  having  per- 
formed no  great  action,  or  that  was  worth 
recording,  from  the  slowness  of  their 
march  and  want  of  courage ;  but  let  him 
know  that  all  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  with 
many  other  nations  besides  them,  and 
those  warlike  nations  also,  came  to  their 
assistance,  and  had  a  share  in  this  war: — 
which  thing  was  the  only  cause  why,  when 
they  had  been  so  often  conquered,  and 
had  lost  so  many  ten  thousands  of  their 
men,  they  still  came  upon  the  Hebrews 
with  greater  armies ;  nay,  indeed,  when 
they  had  so  often  failed  of  their  purpose 
in  these  battles,  they  came  upon  David 
with  an  army  three  times  as  numerous  as 
before,  and  pitched  their  camp  on  the 
same  spot  of  ground  as  before.  The  king 
of  Israel  therefore  inquired  of  God  again 
concerning  the  event  of  the  battle;  and 
the  high  priest  prophesied  to  him,  that  he 
should  keep  his  army  in  the  groves,  called 
the  "Groves  of  Weeping,"  which  were 
not  far  from  the  enemy's  camp,  and  that 
he  should  not  move,  nor  begin  to  fight,  till 
the  trees  of  the  grove  should  be  in  motion 
without  the  wind's  blowing ;  but  as  aooc 


218 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VU 


as  these  trees  moved,  and  the  time  fore- 
told to  him  by  God  was  come,  he  should, 
without  delay*  go  out  to  gain  what  was  an 
already  prepared  and  evident  victory;  for 
the  several  ranks  of  the  enemy's  army  did 
not  sustain  him,  but  retreated  at  the  first 
onset,  whom  he  closely  followed,  and  slew 
them  as  he  went  along,  and  pursued  them 
to  the  city  of  Gaza,  (which  is  the  limit  of 
their  country:)  after  this,  he  spoiled  their 
camp,  in  which  he  found  great  riches;  and 
he  destroyed  their  gods. 

When  this  had  proved  the  event  of  the 
battle,  David  thought  it  proper,  upon  a 
consultation  with  the  elders  and  rulers, 
and  captains  of  thousands,  to  send  for 
those  that  were  in  the  flower  of  their  age 
out  of  all  his  countrymen,  and  out  of  the 
whole  land,  and  withal  for  the  priests  and 
the  Levites,  in  order  to  their  going  to 
Kirjathjearim,  to  bring  up  the  ark  of  God 
out  of  that  city,  and  to  carry  it  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  there  to  keep  it,  and  offer  be- 
fore it  those  sacrifices  and  those  other  ho- 
nours with  which  God  used  to  be  well 
pleased ;  for  had  they  done  thus  in  the 
reign  of  Saul,  they  had  not  undergone  any 
great  misfortunes  at  all.  So  when  the 
whole  body  of  the  people  were  come  to- 
gether, as  they  had  resolved  to  do,  the 
king  came  to  the  ark,  which  the  priests 
brought  out  of  the  house  of  Aminadab, 
and  laid  it  upon  a  new  cart,  and  permitted 
their  brethren  and  their  children  to  draw 
it,  together  with  the  oxen.  Before  it  went 
the  king,  and  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
people  with  him,  singing  hymns  to  God, 
and  making  use  of  all  sorts  of  songs  usual 
among  them,  with  variety  of  the  sounds 
of  musical  instruments,  and  with  dancing 
and  singing  of  psalms,  as  also  with  the 
sounds  of  trumpets  and  of  cymbals,  and 
so  brought  the  ark  to  Jerusalem.  But  as 
they  were  come  to  the  threshing-floor  of 
Chidon,  a  place  so  called,  Uzzah  was 
slain  by  the  anger  of  God ;  for  as  the 
oxen  shook  the  ark,  he  stretched  out  his 
hand,  and  would  needs  take  hold  of  it. 
Now  because  he  was  not  a  priest,  and  yet 
touched  the  ark,  God  struck  him  dead. 
Hereupon  both  the  king  and  the  people 
were  displeased  at  the  death  of  Uzzah; 
aud  the  place  where  he  died  is  still  called 
the  "  Breach  of  Uzzah,"  unto  this  day. 
So  David  was  afraid ;  and  supposing  that 
if  he  received  the  ark  to  himself  into  the 
city,  he  might  suffer  in  the  like  manner 
as  Uzzah  had  suffered,  who,  upon  his  bare 
putting  out  his  hand  to  the  ark,  died  in 


the  manner  already  mentioned,  he  did  no* 
receive  it  to  himself  into  the  city,  but  he 
took  it  aside  unto  a  certain  place  belong- 
ing to  a  righteous  man,  whose  name  was 
Obed-edom,  who  was  by  his  family  a  Le- 
vite,  and  deposited  the  ark  with  him;  and 
it  remained  there  three  entire  months. 
This  augmented  the  house  of  Obed-edom, 
and  conferred  many  blessings  upon  it  j 
and  when  the  king  heard  what  had  befal- 
len Obed-edom,  how  he  had  become,  of  a 
poor  man  in  a  low  estate,  exceedingly  hap- 
py, and  the  object  of  envy  to  all  those 
that  saw  or  inquired  after  his  house,  he 
took  courage,  and  hoping  that  he  should 
meet  with  no  misfortune  thereby,  he 
transferred  the  ark  to  his  own  house,  the 
priests  carrying  it,  while  seven  companies 
of  singers,  who  were  set  in  that  order  by 
the  king,  went  before  it,  and  while  he 
himself  played  upon  the  harp,  and  joined 
in  the  music,  insomuch  that  when  his 
wife  Michal,  the  daughter  of  Saul,  who 
was  our  first  king,  saw  him  so  doing,  she 
laughed  at  him ;  but  when  they  had 
brought  in  the  ark,  they  placed  it  under 
the  tabernacle  which  David  had  pitched 
for  it,  and  he  offered  costly  sacrifices  and 
peace-offerings,  and  treated  the'  whole 
multitude,  and  dealt  both  to  the  women, 
and  the  men,  and  the  infants,  a  loaf  of 
bread,  and  a  cake,  and  another  cake  baked 
in  a  pan,  with  a  portion  of  the  sacrifice. 
So  when  he  had  thus  feasted  the  people, 
he  sent  them  away,  and  he  himself  re- 
turned to  his  own  house. 

But  when  Michal  his  wife,  the  daughter 
of  Saul,  came  and  stood  by  him,  she  wished 
him  all  other  happiness;  and  entreated 
that  whatsoever  he  should  further  desire, 
to  the  utmost  possibility,  might  be  given 
him  by  God,  and  that  he  might  be  favour- 
able to  him ;  yet  did  she  blame  him,  that 
so  great  a  king  as  he  was  should  dance 
after  an  unseemly  manner,  and  in  his 
dancing  uncover  himself  among  the  ser- 
vants and  the  handmaidens;  but  he  re- 
plied, that  he  was  not  ashamed  to  do  what- 
ever was  acceptable  to  God,  who  had  pre- 
ferred him  before  her  father,  and  before 
all  others ;  that  he  would  play  frequently, 
and  dance,  without  any  regard  to  what 
the  handmaidens  and  she  herself  thought 
of  it.  So  this  Michal  had  no  children ; 
however,  when  she  was  afterward  married 
to  him  to  whom  Saul  her  father  had  given 
her,  (for  at  this  time  David  had  taken  her 
away  from  him,  and  had  her  himself,)  she 
bare  five  children      But  concerning  those 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


219 


matters,   I    shall    discourse   in    a  proper 
place. 

Now  when  the  king  saw  that  his  affairs 
grew  better  almost  every  day,  by  the  will 
of  God,  he  thought  he  should  offend  him, 
if,  while  he  himself  continued  in  houses 
made  of  cedar,  such  as  were  of  a  great 
height,  and  had  the  most  curious  works  of 
architecture  in  them,  he  should  overlook 
the  ark  while  it  was  laid  in  a  tabernacle, 
and  was  desirous  to  build  a  temple  to  God, 
as  Moses   had    predicted   such   a  temple 
should  be  built.     And  when  he  had  dis- 
coursed with  Nathan    the  prophet  about 
these  things,  and  had  been  encouraged  by 
him  to  do  whatsoever  he  had  a  mind  to  do, 
as  having  God  with  him,  and  his  helper 
in  all  things,  he  was  thereupon  the  more 
ready  to   set   about  that  building.     But 
God  appeared  to  Nathan  that  very  night, 
and  commanded  him  to  say  to  David,  that 
he  took  his  purpose  and  his  desires  kindly, 
since  nobody  had  before  now  taken  it  into 
their  head  to  build  him  a  temple,  although 
upon  his  having  such  a  notion  he  would 
not  permit  him  to  build  him  a  temple,  be- 
cause he  had  made  many  wars,  and  was 
defiled  with  the  slaughter  of  his  enemies; 
that,  however,  after  his  death,  in  his  old 
age,  and  when   he  had  lived  a  long  life, 
there  should  be  a  temple  built  by  a  son 
of  his,  who  should  take  the  kingdom  after 
him,  and  should  be  called  Solomon,  whom 
he  promised  to  provide  for,  as  a  father 
provides  for  his  son,  by  preserving  the 
kingdom  for  his  son's  posterity,  and  de- 
livering it  to  them ;    but  that  he  would 
still   punish  him,  if  he  sinned,  with  dis- 
eases and  barrenness  of  land.     When  Da- 
vid understood  this  from  the  prophet,  and 
was  overjoy ful  at  this  knowledge  of  the 
sure  continuance  of  the  dominion  of  his 
posterity,  and  that  his  house  should  be 
splendid,  and  very  famous,  he  came  to  the 
ark,  and  fell  down  on  his  face,  and  began 
to  adore  God,  and  to   return   thanks  to 
him  for  all  his  benefits,  as  well  for  those 
that  he  had  already  bestowed  upon  him, 
in  raising  him  from  a  low  state,  and  from 
the  employment  of  a  shepherd,  to  such  a 
groat  dignity  of  dominion  and  glory,  as 
for  those  also  which  he  had  promised  to 
his  posterity ;  and,  besides,  for  that  pro- 
vidence which  he  had  exercised  over  the 
Hebrews,  in  procuring  them  the  liberty 
they  enjoyed.       And  when  he  had   said 
thus,  and  had  sung  a  hymn  of  praise  to 
God,  he  went  his  way. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Wars  with  the  neighbouriog  nations.     B.  C.  1040. 

A  little  while  after  this,  he  considered 
that  he  ought  to  make  war  against  the 
Philistines,  and  not  to  see  any  idleness  or 
laziness  permitted  in  his  management,  that 
so  it  might  prove,  as  God  had  foretold  to 
him,  that,  when  he  had  overthrown  his 
enemies,  he  should  leave  his  posterity  to 
reign  in  peace  afterward :  so  he  called  to- 
gether his  army  again,  and  when  he  had 
charged  them  to  be  ready  and  prepared 
for  war,  and  when  he  thought  that  all 
things  in  his  army  were  in  a  good  state, 
he  removed  from  Jerusalem,  and  came 
against  the  Philistines:  and  when  he  had 
overcome  them  in  battle,  and  had  cut  off 
a  great  part  of  their  country,  and  joined 
it  to  the  country  of  the  Hebrews,  he  trans- 
ferred the  war  to  the  Moabites;  and  when 
he  had  overcome  two  parts  of  their  army  in 
battle,  he  took  the  remaining  part  captive, 
and  imposed  tribute  upon  them,  to  be  paid 
annually.  He  then  made  war  against 
Hadadezer,  the  son  of  Hehob,  king  of  So- 
phene;  and  when  he  had  joined  battle 
with  him  at  the  river  Euphrates,  he  de- 
stroyed 20,000  of  his  footmen,  and  about 
7000  of  his  horsemen ;  he  also  took  1000 
of  his  chariots,  and  destroyed  the  greatest 
part  of  them,  and  ordered  that  no  more 
than  100  should  be  kept. 

Now  when  Hadad,  king  of  Damascus 
and  of  Syria,  heard  that  David  fought 
against  Hadadezer,  who  was  his  friend,  he 
came  to  his  assistance  with  a  powerful 
army,  in  hopes  to  rescue  him ;  and  when 
he  had  joined  battle  with  David  at  the 
river  Euphrates,  he  failed  of  his  purpose, 
and  lost  in  the  battle  a  great  number  of 
his  soldiers;  for  there  were  slain  of  the 
army  of  Hadad  20,000,  and  all  the  rest 
fled.  Nicolaus  [of  Damascus]  also  makes 
mention  of  this  king  in  the  fourth  book 
of  his  histories;  where  he  speaks  thus: 
"  A  great  while  after  these  things  had 
happened,  there  was  one  of  that  country 
whose  name  was  Hadad,  who  had  become 
very  potent :  he  reigned  over  Damascus 
and  the  other  parts  of  Syria,  excepting 
Phoenicia.  He  made  war  against  David, 
the  king  of  Judea,  and  tried  his  fortune 
in  many  battles,  and  particularly  in  the 
last  battle  at  the  Euphrates,  wherein  he 
was  beaten.  He  seemed  to  have  been 
the  most  excellent  of  all  their  kings  in 
strength  and  manhood. "  Nay,  besides? 
this,  he  says  of  his  posterity,  that  "  they 


'J20 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


succeeded  one  another  in  his  kingdom, 
and  in  his  name;"  where  he  thus  speaks: 
"  When  Hadad  was  dead,  his  posterity 
reigned  for  ten  generations,  each  of  his 
successors  receiving  from  his  father  that 
his  dominion,  and  this  his  name ;  as  did 
the  Ptolemies  in  Egypt.  But  the  third 
was  the  most  powerful  of  them  all,  and 
was  willing  to  avenge  the  defeat  his  fore- 
father had  received:  so  he  made  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Jews,  and  laid  waste 
the  city  which  is  now  called  Samaria/' 
Nor  did  he  err  from  the  truth  ;  for  this  is 
that  Hadad  who  made  the  expedition 
against  Samaria,  in  the  reign  of  Ahab, 
king  of  Israel ;  concerning  whom  we  shall 
speak  in  due  place  hereafter. 

Now  when  David  had  made  an  expedi- 
tion against  Damascus  and  many  other 
parts  of  Syria,  and  had  brought  it  all  in- 
to subjection,  and  had  placed  garrisons  in 
the  country,  and  appointed  that  they 
should  pay  tribute,  he  returned  home. 
He  also  dedicated  to  God,  at  Jerusalem, 
the  golden  quivers,  the  eutire  armour 
which  the  guards  of  Hadad  used  to  wear; 
which  Shishak,  the  king  of  Egypt,  took 
away  when  he  fought  with  David's  grand- 
son, Eehoboam,  with  a  great  deal  of 
other  wealth  which  he  carried  out  of  Je- 
rusalem. However,  these  things  will 
come  to  be  explained  in  their  proper 
places,  hereafter.  Now  as  for  the  king  of 
the  Hebrews,  he  was  assisted  by  God, 
who  gave  him  great  success  in  his  wars; 
and  he  made  an  expedition  against  the 
best  cities  of  Hadadezer,  Betah  and  Ma- 
chon;  so  he  took  them  by  force,  and  laid 
them  waste.  Therein  was  found  a  great 
quantity  of  gold  and  silver,  besides  that 
sort  of  brass  which  is  said  to  be  more 
valuable  than  gold ;  of  which  brass,  Solo- 
mon made  that  large  vessel  which  was 
called  "The  [Brazen]  Sea,"  and  those 
most  curious  lavers,  when  he  built  the 
temple  for  God. 

But  when  the  king  of  Hamath  was  in- 
formed of  the  ill  success  of  Hadadezer, 
and  had  heard  of  the  ruin  of  his  army, 
he  was  afraid  on  his  own  account,  and  re- 
solved to  make  a  league  of  friendship  and 
fidelity  with  David,  before  he  should  come 
against  him  j  so  he  sent  to  him  his  son 
Joram,  and  professed  that  he  owed  him 
thanks  for  fighting  against  Hadadezer, 
who  was  his  enemy,  and  made  a  league 
with  him  of  mutual  assistance  and  friend- 
ship He  also  sent  him  presents,  vessels 
of  ancient   workmanship,    both   of  gold, 


of  silver,  and  of  brass.  So  when  David 
had  made  this  league  of  mutual  assist- 
ance with  Toi,  (for  that  was  the  name  of 
the  king  of  Hamath,)  and  had  received 
the  presents  he  sent  him,  he  dismissed  his 
son  with  that  respect  which  was  due  on 
both  sides ;  but  then  David  brought  those 
presents  that  were  sent  by  him,  as  also 
the  rest  of  the  gold  and  silver  which  he 
had  taken  of  the  cities  whom  he  had  con- 
quered, and  dedicated  them  to  God.  Nor 
did  God  give  victory  and  success  to  him 
only  when  he  went  to  the  battle  himself, 
and  led  his  own  army,  but  he  gave  victory 
to  Abishai,  the  brother  of  Joab,  general 
of  his  forces,  over  the  Idumeans,*  and  by 
him  to  David,  when  he  sent  him  with  an 
army  into  Idumea ;  for  Abishai  destroyed 
18,000  of  them  in  the  battle  ;  whereupou 
the  king  [of  Israel]  placed  garrisons 
through  all  Idumea,  and  received  the 
tribute  of  the  country,  and  of  every  head 
among  them.  Now  David  was  in  his  na- 
ture just,  and  made  his  determination  with 
regard  to  truth.  He  had  for  the  general 
of  his  whole  army,  Joab  ;  and  he  made 
Ji-hoshaphat,  the  son  of  Ahilud,  recorder  : 
he  also  appointed  Zadok,  of  the  family 
of  Phineas,  to  be  high  priest,  together 
with  Abiathar,  for  he  was  his  friend :  he 
also  made  Seisan  the  scribe;  and  commit- 
ted the  command  over  the  guards  of  his 
body  to  Benaiah,  the  son  of  Jehoiada. 
His  elder  sons  were  near  his  body,  and 
had  the  care  of  it  also. 

He  also  called  to  mind  the  covenants 
and  the  oaths  he  had  made  with  Jona- 
than, the  son  of  Saul,  and  the  friendship 
and  affection  Jonathan  had  for  him;  for 
besides  all  the  rest  of  his  excellent  quali- 
ties with  which  he  was  endowed,  he  was 
also  exceeding  mindful  of  such  as  had  at 
other  times  bestowed  benefits  upon  him. 
He  therefore  gave  order  that  inquiry 
should  be  made,  whether  any  of  Jona- 
than's lineage  were  living,  to  whom  he 
might  make  return  of  that  familiar  ac- 
quaintance which  Jonathan  had  had  with 
him,  and  for  which  he  was  still  debtor. 
And  when  one  of  Saul's  freedmen  was 
brought  to  him,  who  was  acquainted  with 
those  of  his  family  that  were  still  living, 
he  asked  him  whether  he  could  tell  him  of 


*  By  this  great  victory  over  the  posterity  of 
Esau,  and  by  the  consequent  tribute  paid  by  that 
nation  to  the  Jews,  the  prophecies  delivered  to 
Rebecca  before  Jacob  and  Esau  were  born,  and  by 
old  Isaac  before  his  death,  that  the  elder  should 
serve  the  younger,  and  that  Jacob  should  be  Esau's 
lord,  were  remarkably  fulfilled.     Gen.  xxv.  23, 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


221 


any  one  belonging  to  Jonathan  that  was 
now  alive,  and  capable  of  a  requital  of  the 
benefits  which  he  had  received  from  Jona- 
than. And  when  he  said  that  a  son  of 
his  was  remaining,  whose  name  was  Mephi- 
bosheth,  but  that  he  was  lame  of  his 
feet ;  for  that  when  his  nurse  heard  that 
the  father  and  the  grandfather  of  the 
child  were  fallen  in  the  battle,  she  snatched 
him  up,  and  fled  away,  and  let  him  fall 
from  her  shoulders,  and  his  feet  were 
lamed.  So  when  he  had  learned  where 
and  by  whom  he  was  brought  up,  he  sent 
messengers  to  Machir,  to  the  city  of 
Lodebar,  for  with  him  was  the  son  of 
Jonathan  brought  up,  and  sent  for  him  to 
come  to  him.  So  when  Mephibosheth 
came  to  the  king,  he  fell  on  his  face,  and 
worshipped  him  ;  but  David  encouraged 
him,  and  bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and 
expect  better  times.  So  he  gave  him 
his  father's  house,  and  all  the  estate  which 
his  grandfather  Saul  was  in  possession  of, 
and  bade  him  come  and  diet  with  him  at 
his  own  table,  and  never  to  be  absent  one 
day  from  that  table.  And  when  the  youth 
had  worshipped  him,  on  account  of  his 
words  and  gifts  given  to  him,  he  called  for 
Ziba,  and  told  him  that  he  had  given  the 
youth  his  father's  house,  and  all  Saul's 
estate.  He  also  ordered  that  Ziba  should 
cultivate  his  land,  and  take  care  of  it, 
and  bring  him  the  profits  of  all  to  Jeru- 
salem. Accordingly  David  brought  him 
to  his  table  every  day ;  and  bestowed 
upon  the  youth,  Ziba  and  his  sons,  who 
were  in  number  fifteen,  and  his  servants, 
who  were  in  number  twenty.  When  the 
king  had  made  these  appointments,  and 
Ziba  had  worshipped  him,  and  promised 
to  do  all  that  he  had  bidden  him,  he  went 
his  way ;  so  that  this  son  of  Jonathan 
dwelt  at  Jerusalem,  and  dieted  at  the 
king's  table,  and  had  the  same  care  that 
a  son  could  claim  taken  of  him.  He  also 
bad  himself  a  son  whom  he  named  Micha. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Conclusion  of  the  Ammonite  war.     B.  C.  1037. 

These  were  the  honours  that  such  as 
were  left  of  Saul's  and  Jonathan's  lineage 
received  from  David.  About  this  time 
diel  Nahash,  the  king  of  the  Ammonites, 
who  was  a  friend  of  David's ;  and  when 
his  son  had  succeceded  his  father  in 
the  kingdom,  David  sent  ambassadors  to 
him  to  comfort  him  ;   and  exhorted  him 


to  take  his  father's  death  patiently,  and 
to  expect  that  he  would  continue  the 
same  kindness  to  himself  which  he  had 
shown  to  his  father.  But  the  princes  of 
the  Ammonites  took  this  message  in  an 
evil  part,  and  not  as  David's  kind  dispo- 
sitions gave  reason  to  take  it;  and  they 
excited  the  king  to  resent  it;  and  said 
that  David  had  sent  men  to  spy  out  the1 
country,  and  what  strength  it  had,  under 
the  pretence  of  humanity  and  kindness. 
They  further  advised  him  to  have  a  care, 
and  not  to  give  heed  to  David's  words, 
lest  he  should  be  deluded  by  him,  and  so 
fall  into  an  inconsolable  calamity.  Ac- 
cordingly, Nahash's  [son],  the  king  of 
the  Ammonites,  thought  these  princes 
spake  what  was  more  probable  than  the 
truth  would  admit,  and  so  abused  the  am- 
bassadors after  a  very  harsh  manner ;  for 
he  shaved  the  one-half  of  their  beards, 
and  cut  off  one-half  of  their  garments, 
and  sent  his  answer  not  in  words,  but  in 
deeds.  When  the  king  of  Israel  saw  this, 
he  had  indignation  at  it,  and  showed 
openly  that  he  would  not  overlook  this 
injurious  and  contumelious  treatment,  but 
would  make  war  with  the  Ammonites  and 
would  avenge  this  wicked  treatment  of 
his  ambassadors  on  their  king.  So  that 
the  king's  intimate  friends  and  com- 
manders, understanding  that  they  had 
violated  their  league,  and  were  liable  to 
be  punished  for  the  same,  made  prepara- 
tions for  war;  they  also  sent  1000  talents 
to  the  Syrian  king  of  Mesopotamia,  and 
endeavoured  to  prevail  with  him  to  assist 
them  for  that  pay.  Now  these  kings  had 
20,000  footmen.  They  also  hired  the 
king  of  the  country  called  Maacah,  and  a 
fourth  king,  by  name  Ishtob;  which  last 
had  12,000  armed  men. 

But  David  was  under  no  consternation 
at  this  confederacy,  nor  at  the  forces  of 
the  Ammonites;  and  putting  his  trust  in 
God,  because  he  was  going  to  war  in  a 
just  cause,  on  account  of  the  injurious 
treatment  he  had  met  with,  he  immediate- 
ly sent  Joab,  the  captain  of  his  host, 
against  them,  and  gave  him  the  flower  of 
his  army,  who  pitched  his  camp  by  Rab- 
bah,  the  metropolis  of  the  Ammonites; 
whereupon  the  enemy  came  out,  and  set 
themselves  in  array,  not  all  of  them  to- 
gether, but  in  two  bodies;  for  the  auxili- 
aries were  set  in  array  in  the  plain  by 
themselves  but  the  army  of  the  Am- 
monites at  the  gates  over  against  the  He- 
brews.    When  Joab  saw  this,  he  opposed 


222 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Be  ok  VII. 


one  stratagem  against  another,  and  chose 
out  the  most  hardy  part  of  his  men,  and 
set  them  in  opposition  to  the  king  of 
Syria,  and  the  kings  that  were  with  him, 
and  gave  the  other  part  to  his  brother 
Abishai,  and  bade  him  set  them  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Ammonites;  and  said  to 
him,  that  in  case  he  should  see  that  the 
Syrians  distressed  him,  and  were  too  hard 
for  him,  he  should  order  his  troops  to 
turn  about  and  assist  him :  and  he  said, 
that  he  himself  would  do  the  same  to 
him,  if  he  saw  him  in  the  like  distress 
from  the  Ammonites.  So  he  sent  his 
brother  before,  and  encouraged  him  to  do 
every  thing  courageously  and  with  alacri- 
ty, which  would  teach  them  to  be  afraid 
of  disgrace,  and  to  fight  manfully;  and 
60  he  dismissed  him  to  fight  with  the  Am- 
monites, while  he  fell  upon  the  Syrians. 
And  though  they  made  a  strong  opposi- 
tion for  a  while,  Joab  slew  many  of  them, 
but  compelled  the  rest  to  betake  them- 
selves to  flight;  which,  when  the  Am- 
monites saw,  and  were  withal  afraid  of 
Abishai  and  his  army,  they  stayed  no 
longer,  but  imitated  their  auxiliaries,  and 
fled  to  the  city.  So  Joab,  when  he  had 
thus  overcome  the  enemy,  returned  with 
great  joy  to  Jerusalem  to  the  king. 

This  defeat  did  not  at  all  induce  the 
Ammonites  to  be  quiet,  nor  to  own  those 
that  were  superior  to  them  to  be  so,  and 
be  still,  but  they  sent  to  Chalaman,  t^e 
king  of  the  Syrians  beyond  Euphrates, 
and  hired  him  for  an  auxiliary.  He  had 
Shobach*  for  the  captain  of  his  host,  with 
80,000  footmen,  and  10,000  horsemen. 
Now  when  the  king  of  the  Hebrews  un- 
derstood that  the  Ammonites  had  again 
gathered  so  great  an  army  together,  he 
determined  to  make  war  with  them  no 
longer  by  his  generals,  but  he  passed  over 
the  river  Jordan  himself,  with  all  his 
army;  and  when  he  met  them,  he  joined 
battle  with  them,  and  overcame  them, 
and  slew  40,000  of  their  footmen,  and 
7000  of  their  horsemen.  He  also  wound- 
ed Shobach,  the  general  of  Chalaman's 
forces,  who  died  at  that  stroke ;  but  the 
people  of  Mesopotamia,  upon  such  a  con- 
clusion of  the  battle,  delivered  themselves 
up  to  David,  and  sent  him  presents,  who, 
at   winter    time    returned   to   Jerusalem. 


*  Probably  the  same  general  who  commanded 
in  the  preceding  war,  but  who  appears  then  to 
have  belonged  to  the  "  Syrian  king  of  Mesopo- 
tamia," and  not  to  the  "king  of  the  Syrians  be- 
j  jnd  the  Euphrates." 


But  at  the  beginning  of  spring,  he  sent 
Joab,  the  captain  of  his  host,  to  fight 
against  the  Ammonites,  who  overran  a]] 
their  country,  and  laid  it  waste,  and  shut 
them  up  in  their  metropolis  Kabbah,  and 
besieged  them  therein. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

David  seduces  Bathsheba — and  causes  the   death 
of  Uriah,  her  husband.     B.  C.  1035. 

But  David  fell  now  into  a  very  grievous 
sin,  though  he  was  otherwise  naturally  a 
righteous  and  a  religious  man,  and  one 
that  firmly  observed  the  laws  of  our  fa- 
thers ;  for  when  late  in  an  evening  he 
took  a  view  round  him  from  the  roof  of 
his  royal  palace,  where  he  used  to  walk  at 
that  hour,  he  saw  a  woman  washing  her- 
self in  her  own  house :  she  was  one  of  extra- 
ordinary beauty,  and  therein  surpassed  all 
other  women ;  her  name  was  Bathsheba. 
So  he  was  overcome  by  that  woman's 
beauty,  and  was  not  able  to  restrain  his 
desires,  but  sent  for  her,  and  lay  with  her. 
Hereupon  she  conceived  with  child,  and 
sent  to  the  king,  that  he  should  contrive 
some  way  for  concealing  her  sin,  (for,  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  their  fathers,  she 
who  had  been  guilty  of  adultery  ought  to 
be  put  to  death.)  So  the  king  sent  for 
Joab's  armour-bearer  from  the  siege;  who 
was  the  woman's  husband;  and  his  name 
was  Uriah :  and  when  he  had  come,  the 
king  inquired  of  him  about  the  army,  and 
about  the  siege ;  and  when  he  had  made 
answer,  that  all  their  affairs  went  accord- 
ing to  their  wishes,  the  king  took  some 
portions  of  meat  from  his  supper,  and 
gave  them  to  him,  and  bade  him  go  home 
to  his  wife,  and  take  his  rest  with  her. 
Uriah  did  not  do  so,  but  slept  near  the 
king  with  the  rest  of  his  armour-bearers. 
When  the  king  was  informed  of  this,  he 
asked  him  why  he  did  not  go  home  to  his 
house,  and  to  his  wife,  after  so  long  an 
absence;  which  is  the  natural  custom  of 
all  men,  when  they  come  from  a  long 
journey.  .He  replied,  that  it  was  not 
right,  while  his  fellow-soldiers,  and  the 
general  of  the  army,  slept  upon  the 
ground,  in  the  camp,  and  in  an  enemy's 
country,  that  he  should  go  and  take  his 
rest,  and  solace  himself  with  his  wife. 
So  when  he  had  thus  replied,  the  king 
ordered  him  to  stay  there  that  night, 
that  he  might  dismiss  him  the  next 
day  to  the  general.     So  the  king  invited 


t'HAl.   VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE  JEWS. 


223 


Uriah  to  supper,  and  after  a  cunning  and 
dexterous  manner  plied  him  with  drink  at 
supper  till  he  was  thereby  disordered  ;  yet 
did  he  nevertheless  sleep  at  the  king's 
gates,  without  any  inclination  to  go  to  his 
wife.  Upon  this  the  king  was  very  angry 
at  him,  and  wrote  to  Joab,  and  commanded 
him  to  punish  Uriah,  for  he  told  him  that 
he  had  offended  him  ;  and  he  suggested 
to  him  the  manner  in  which  he  would 
have  him  punished,  that  it  might  not  be 
discovered  that  he  was  himself  the  author 
of  this  his  punishment;  for  he  charged 
him  to  set  him  over  against  that  part  of 
the  enemy's  army  where  the  attack  would 
be  most  hazardous,  and  where  he  might 
be  deserted,  and  be  in  the  greatest  jeo- 
pardy; for  he  bade  him  order  his  fellow- 
soldiers  to  retire  out  of  the  fight.  When 
he  had  written  thus  to  him,  and  sealed 
the  letter  with  his  own  seal,  he  gave  it  to 
Uriah  to  carry  it  to  Joab.  When  Joab 
had  received  it,  and  upon  reading  it  un- 
derstood the  king's  purpose,  he  set  Uriah 
in  that  place  where  he  knew  the  enemy 
would  be  most  troublesome  to  them ;  and 
gave  him  for  his  partners  some  of  the  best 
soldiers  in  the  army ;  and  said  that  he 
would  also  come  to  their  assistance  with 
the  whole  army,  that  if  possible  they 
might  break  down  some  part  of  the  wall, 
and  enter  the  city.  And  he  desired  him 
to  be  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  exposing 
himself  to  such  great  pains,  and  not  to  be 
displeased  at  it,  since  he  was  a  valiant 
soldier,  and  had  a  great  reputation  for  his 
valour,  both  with  the  king  and  with  his 
countrymen.  And  when  Uriah  undertook 
the  work  he  was  set  upon  with  alacrity, 
he  gave  private  orders  to  those  who  were 
to  be  his  companions,  that  when  they  saw 
the  enemy  make  a  sally,  they  should  leave 
him.  When,  therefore,  the  Hebrews  made 
an  attack  upon  the  city,  the  Ammonites 
were  afraid  that  the  enemy  might  pre- 
vent them,  and  get  up  into  the  city,  and 
this  at  the  very  place  were  Uriah  was 
ordered ;  so  they  exposed  their  best  sol- 
diers to  be  in  the  forefront,  and  opened 
their  gates  suddenly,  and  fell  upon  the 
enemy  with  great  vehemence,  and  ran 
violently  upon  them.  When  those  that 
were  with  Uriah  saw  this,  they  all  re- 
treated backward,  as  Joab  had  directed 
them  beforehand ;  but  Uriah,  as  ashamed 
to  run  away  and  leave  his  post,  sustained 
the  enemy,  and  receiving  the  violence  of 
their  onset,  he  slew  many  of  them  ;  but 
being  encompassed  round,  and  caught  in 


the  midst  of  them,  he  was  slain,  and  some 
other  of  his  companions  were  slain  with 
him. 

When  this  was  done,  Joab  sent  mes- 
sengers to  the  king,  and  ordered  them  to 
tell  him  that  he  did  what  he  could  to  take 
the  city  soon ;  but  that  as  they  made  an 
assault  on  the  wall,  they  had  been  forced 
to  retire  with  great  loss ;  and  bade  them, 
if  they  saw  the  king  was  angry  at  it,  to 
add  this,  that  Uriah  was  slain  also.  When 
the  king  had  heard  this  of  the  messengers, 
he  took  it  heinously,  and  said  that  they 
did  wrong  when  they  assaulted  the  wall, 
whereas  they  ought,  by  undermining  and 
other  stratagems  of  war,  to  endeavour  the 
taking  of  the  city,  especially  when  they 
had  before  their  eyes  the  example  of  Abi- 
melech,  the  son  of  Gideon,  who  would 
needs  take  the  tower  in  Thebes  by  force, 
and  was  killed  by  a  large  stone  thrown  at 
him  by  an  old  woman ;  and,  although  he 
was  a  man  of  great  prowess,  he  died  igno- 
miniously  by  the  dangerous  manner  of  his 
assault.  That  they  should  remember  this 
accident,  and  not  come  near  the  enemy's 
wall,  for  that  the  best  method  of  making 
war  with  success  was  to  call  to  mind  the 
accidents  of  former  wars,  and  what  good 
or  bad  success  had  attended  them  in  the 
like  dangerous  cases,  that  so  they  might 
imitate  the  one,  and  avoid  the  other.  But 
when  the  king  was  in  this  disposition,  the 
messengers  told  him  that  Uriah  was  slain 
also;  whereupon  he  was  pacified.  So  he 
bade  the  messenger  go  back  to  Joab,  and 
tell  him,  that  this  misfortune  was  no  other 
than  what  is  common  among  mankind ; 
and  that  such  is  the  nature,  and  such  the 
accidents  of  war,  insomuch  that  sometimes 
the  enemy  will  have  success  therein,  and 
sometimes  others ;  but  that  he  ordered 
him  to  go  on  still  in  his  care  about  the 
siege,  that  no  ill  accident  might  befall 
him  in  it  hereafter :  that  they  should  raise 
bulwarks  and  use  machines  in  besieging 
the  city;  and  when  they  had  gotten  it,  to 
overturn  its  very  foundations,  and  to  de- 
stroy all  those  that  were  in  it.  Accord- 
ingly, the  messenger  carried  the  kiug's 
message  with  which  he  was  charged,  and 
made  haste  to  Joab.  But  Bathsheba, 
the  wife  of  Uriah,  when  she  was  informed 
of  the  death  of  her  husband,  mourned  for 
his  death  many  days ;  and  when  her 
mourning  was  over,  and  the  tears  which 
she  shed  for  Uriah  were  dried  up,  the 
king  took  her  to  wife  presently;  and  a 
sou  was  born  to  him  by  her. 


224 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


With  this  marriage  God  was  not  well 
pleased,  but  was  thereupon  angry  at  Da- 
vid ;  and  he  appeared  to  Nathan  the  pro- 
phet in  his  sleep,  and  complained  of  the 
king.  Now  Nathan  was  a  fair  and  pru- 
dent man ;  and  considering  that  kings, 
when  they  fall  into  a  passion,  are  guided 
more  by  that  passion  than  they  arc  by  jus- 
tice, he  resolved  to  conceal  the  threaten- 
ings  that  proceeded  from  God,  and  make 
a  good-natured  discourse  to  him,  and  this 
after  the  manner  following :  he  desired 
that  the  king  would  give  him  his  opinion 
in  the  following  case  : — "  There  were/'  said 
he,  "  two  men  inhabiting  the  same  city, 
the  one  of  them  was  rich,  and  [the  other 
poor].  The  rich  man  had  a  great  many 
flocks  of  cattle,  of  sheep,  and  of  kine ; 
but  the  poor  man  had  but  one  ewe-lamb. 
This  he  brought  up  with  his  children,  and 
let  her  eat  her  food  with  then) ;  and  he 
had  the  same  natural  affection  for  her 
which  any  one  might  have  for  a  daughter. 
Now  upon  the  coming  of  a  stranger  to 
the  rich  man,  he  would  not  vouchsafe  to 
kill  any  of  his  own  flocks,  and  thence 
feast  his  friend;  but  he  sent  for  the  poor 
man's  lamb,  and  took  her  away  from  him, 
and  made  her  ready  for  food,  and  thence 
feasted .  the  stranger."  This  discourse 
troubled  the  king  exceedingly;  and  he 
denounced  to  Nathan,  "  that  this  man  was 
a  wicked  man,  who  could  dare  to  do  such 
a  thing;  and  that  it  was  but  just  that  he 
should  restore  the  lamb  fourfold,  and  be 
punished  with  death  for  it  also."  Upon 
this,  Nathan  immediately  said,  that  he  was 
himself  the  man  who  ought  to  suffer  those 
punishments,  and  that  by  his  own  sen- 
tence ;  and  that  it  was  he  who  had  perpe- 
trated this  great  and  horrid  crime.  He 
also  revealed  to  him,  and  laid  before  him, 
the  anger  of  God  against  him,  who  had 
made  him  king  over  the  whole  army  of 
the  Hebrews,  and  lord  of  all  the  nations, 
and  those  many  and  great  nations  round 
about  him;  who  had  formerly  delivered 
him  out  of  the  hands  of  Saul,  and  had 
given  him  such  wives  as  he  had  justly  and 
legally  married;  and  now  this  God  was 
despised  by  him,  and  affronted  by  his  im- 
piety, when  he  had  married,  and  now  had, 
another  man's  wife;  ai.d  by  exposing  her 
husband  to  the  enemy,  had  really  slain 
him ;  that  God  would  inflict  punishments 
upon  him  on  account  of  those  instances  of 
wickedness ;  that  his  own  wives  should  be 
forced  by  one  of  his  own  sons;  and  that 
he  should  be  treacherously  supplanted  by 


the  same  son ;  and  that  although  he  had 
perpetrated  his  wickedness  secretly,  yet 
should  that  punishment  which  he  was  to 
undergo  be  inflicted  publicly  upon  him  ; 
"that  moreover,'*  said  he,  u  the  child  who 
was  born  to  thee  of  her  shall  soon  die." 
When  the  king  was  troubled  at  these  mes- 
sages, and  sufficiently  confounded,  and 
said,  with  tears  and  sorrow,  that  he  had 
sinned,  (for  he  was  without  controversy  a 
pious  man,  and  guilty  of  no  sin  at  all  in 
his  whole  life,  excepting  those  in  the  mat- 
ter of  Uriah,)  God  had  compassion  on  him, 
and  was  reconciled  to  him,  and  promised 
that  he  would  preserve  to  him  both  his 
life  and  his  kingdom ;  for  he  said,  that 
seeing  he  repented  of  the  things  he  had 
done,  he  was  no  longer  displeased  with 
him.  So  Nathan,  when  he  had  delivered 
this  prophecy  to  the  king,  returned  home. 
However,  God  sent  a  dangerous  distem- 
per upon  the  child  that  was  born  to  David 
of  the  wife  of  Uriah ;  at  which  the  king 
was  troubled,  and  did  not  take  any  food 
for  seven  days,  although  his  servants 
almost  forced  him  to  take  it;  but  he 
clothed  himself  in  a  black  garment,  and 
fell  down,  and  lay  upon  the  ground  in 
sackcloth,  entreating  God  for  the  recovery 
of  the  child,  for  he  vehemently  loved  the 
child's  mother;  but  when,  on  the  seventh 
day,  the  child  was  dead,  the  king's  ser- 
vants durst  not  tell  him  of  it,  as  supposing 
that  when  he  knew  it,  he  would  still  less 
admit  of  food  and  other  care  of  himself, 
by  reason  of  his  grief  at  the  death  of  his 
son,  since  when  the  child  was  only  sick, 
he  so  greatly  afflicted  himself,  and  grieved 
for  him ;  but  when  the  king  perceived 
that  his  servants  were  in  disorder,  and 
seemed  to  be  affected  as  those  are  who  are 
very  desirous  to  conceal  something,  he 
understood  that  the  child  was  dead ;  and 
when  he  had  called  one  of  his  servants  to 
him,  and  discovered  that  so  it  was,  he 
arose  up  and  washed  himself,  and  took  a 
white  garment,  and  came  into  the  taberna- 
cle of  God.  He  also  commanded  them  to 
set  supper  before  him,  and  thereby  greatly 
surprised  his  kindred  and  servants,  while 
he  did  nothing  of  this,  while  the  child 
was  sick,  but  did  it  all  when  he  was  dead. 
Whereupon,  having  first  begged  leave  to 
ask  him  a  question,  they  besought  him  to 
tell  them  the  reason  of  this  his  conduct; 
he  then  called  them  unskilful  people,  and 
instructed  them  how  he  had  hopes  of  the 
recovery  of  the  child  while  it  was  alive; 
and,  accordingly,  did  all  that  was  proper 


Chap.  VIIL] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


225 


for  him  to  do,  as  thinking  by  such  means 
to  render  God  propitious  to  him  ;  but  that 
when  the  child  was  dead,  there  was  no 
longer  any  occasion  for  grief,  which  was 
then  to  no  purpose.  When  he  had  said 
this,  they  commended  the  king's  wisdom 
and  understanding.  He  then  went  in  unto 
Bathsheba  his  wife,  and  she  conceived  and 
bare  a  son  ;  and,  by  the  command  of  Na- 
than the  prophet,  called  his  name  Solo- 
mon. 

But  Joab  sorely  distressed  the  Ammon- 
ites in  the  siege,  by  cutting  off  their  waters, 
and  depriving  them  of  other  means  of 
subsistence,  till  they  were  in  the  greatest 
want  of  meat  and  drink,  for  they  depended 
only  on  one  small  well  of  water,  and  this 
:hey  durst  not  drink  of  too  freely,  lest  the 
fountain  should  entirely  fail  them.  So 
he  wrote  to  the  king,  and  informed  him 
thereof:  and  persuaded  him  to  come  him- 
self to  take  the  city,  that  he  might  have 
the  honour  of  the  victory.  Upon  this 
letter  of  Joab's,  the  king  accepted  of  his 
good-will  and  fidelity,  and  took  with  him 
his  army,  and  came  to  the  destruction  of 
Ptabbah;  and  when  he  had  taken  it  by 
force,  he  gave  it  to  his  soldiers  to  plunder 
it;  but  he  himself  took  the  king  of  the 
Ammonites'  crown,  the  weight  of  which 
was  a  talent  of  gold  ;*  and  it  had  in  its 
middle  a  precious  stone  called  a  sardonyx; 
which  crown  David  ever  after  wore  on  his 
own  head.  He  also  found  many  other 
vessels  in  the  city,  and  those  both  splendid 
and  of  great  value ;  but  as  for  the  men, 
he  tormented  them,  and  then  destroyed 
them  :  and  when  he  had  taken  the  other 
cities  of  the  Ammonites  by  force,  he  treat- 
ed them  after  the  same  manner. 


CHAPTER  VIIT. 

Amnon  ill-treats  his  sister — is  slain  by  Absalom. 
B.  C    1032 

When  the  king  had  returned  to  Jeru- 
salem, a  sad  misfortune  befell  his  house, 
on  the  occasion  following : — He  had  a 
daughter,  who  was  yet  a  virgin,  and  very 
handsome,  insomuch  that  she  surpassed 
all  the  most  beautiful  women  ;  her  name 
was  Tamar ;  she  had  the  same  mother 
with  Absalom.  Now  Amnon,  David's 
eldest  son,  fell  in  love  with  her,  and  not 
being  able  to  obtain  his  desires,  on  account 
of  her  virginity,  and  the  custody  she  was 
under,  was  so  much  out  of  order,  nay,  his 

*  A  talent  of  gold  weighed  about  7  lbs. 
15 


grief  so  wasted  his  bodyy  that  he  grew 
lean,  and  his  colour  was  changed.  Now 
there  was  one  Jonadab,  a  kinsman  and 
friend  of  his,  who  discovered  this  his  pas- 
sion, for  he  was  an  extraordinary  wise 
man,  and  of  great  sagacity  of  mind. 
When,  therefore,  he  saw  that  every  morn- 
ing Amnon  was  not  in  body  as  he  ought 
to  be,  he  came  to  him,  and  desired  he 
would  tell  him  what  was  the  cause  of  it: 
however,  he  said  that  he  guessed  that  it 
arose  from  the  passion  of  love.  Amnon 
confessed  his  passion,  that  he  was  in  love 
with  a  sister  of  his,  who  had  the  same  fa- 
ther with  himself.  So  Jonadab  suggested 
to  him  by  what  method  and  contrivance 
he  might  obtain  his  desires ;  for  he  per- 
suaded him  to  pretend  sickness,  and  bade 
him,  when  his  father  should  come  to  him, 
to  beg  of  him  that  his  sister  might  come 
and  minister  to  him  ;  for,  if  that  was  done, 
he  should  be  better,  and  should  quickly 
recover  from  his  distemper.  So  Amnon 
lay  down  on  his  bed,  and  pretended  to  be 
sick,  as  Jonadab  had  suggested.  When 
his  father  came,  and  inquired  how  he  did, 
he  begged  of  him  to  send  his  sister  unto 
him.  Accordingly,  he  presently  ordered 
her  to  be  brought  to  him  ;  and  when  she 
had  come,  Amnon  bade  her  make  cakes 
for  him,  and  fry  them  in  a  pan,  and  do  it 
all  with  her  own  hands,  because  he  should 
take  them  better  from  her  hand  [than 
from  any  one's  else].  So  she  kneaded 
the  flour  in  the  sight  of  her  brother,  and 
made  the  cakes,  and  baked  them  in  a  pan, 
and  brought  them  to  him ;  but  at  that 
time  he  would  not  taste  them,  but  gave 
orders  to  his  servants  to  send  all  that  were 
there  out  of  his  chamber,  because  he  had 
a  mind  to  repose  himself,  free  from  tumult 
and  disturbance.  As  soon  as  what  he  had 
commanded  was  done,  he  desired  his  sister 
to  bring  his  supper  to  him  into  the  inner 
parlour;  which,  when  the  damsel  had 
done,  he  took  hold  of  her,  and  endeavourel 
to  persuade  her  to  lie  with  him.  Where- 
upon the  damsel  cried  out,  and  said, 
"Nay,  brother,  do  not  force  me,  nor  be 
so  wicked  as  to  transgress  the  laws,  and 
bring  upon  thyself  the  utmost  confusion. 
Curb  this  thy  unrighteous  and  impure  lust, 
from  which  our  house  will  get  nothing 
but  reproach  and  disgrace."  She  also  ad- 
vised him  to  speak  to  his  father  about  this 
affair;  for  he  would  permit  him  [to  marry 
her].  This  she  said,  as  desirous  to  avoid 
her  brother's  violent  passion  at  present. 
But  he  would  not  yield  to  her;   but,  in- 


226 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


flamed  with  love  and  blinded  with  the  vehe- 
mency  of  his  passion,  he  forced  his  sister: 
but  as  soon  as  Amnon  had  satisfied  his  lust, 
lie  hated  her  immediately,  and  giving  her 
reproachful  words,  bade  her  rise  up  and  be 
gone.  And  when  she  said  that  this  was  a 
more  injurious  treatment  than  the  former, 
if,  now  he  had  forced  her,  he  would  not  let 
her  stay  with  him  till  the  evening,  but  bid 
her  go  away  in  the  daytime,  and  while  it 
was  light,  that  she  might  meet  with  peo- 
ple who  would  be  witnesses  of  her  shame, 
he  commanded  his  servant  to  turn  her  out 
of  his  house.  Whereupon  she  was  sorely 
grieved  at  the  injury  and  violence  that  had 
been  offered  to  her,  and  rent  her  loose 
coat,  (for  the  virgins  of  old  time  wore  such 
loose  coats  tied  at  the  hands,  and  let  down 
to  the  ankles,  that  the  inner  coats  might 
not  be  seen,)  and  sprinkled  ashes  on  her 
head  ;  and  went  up  the  middle  of  the  city, 
crying  out  and  lamenting  for  the  violence 
that  had  been  offered  her.  Now  Absalom 
her  brother  happened  to  meet  her,  and 
asked  her  what  sad  thing  had  befallen 
her,  that  she  was  in  that  plight;  and 
when  she  had  told  him  what  injury  had 
been  offered  her,  he  comforted  her,  and 
desired  her  to  be  quiet,  and  take  all  pa- 
tiently, and  not  to  esteem  her  being  cor- 
rupted by  her  brother  as  an  injury.  So 
she  yielded  tc  his  advice,  and  left  off  her 
crying  out  and  discovering  the  force  of- 
fered her  to  the  multitude :  and  shercon- 
tinued  as  a  widow  with  her  brother  Absa- 
lom a  long  time. 

When  David  his  father  knew  this,  he 
was  grieved  at  the  actions  of  Amnon;  but 
because  he  had  an  extraordinary  affection 
for  him,  for  he  was  his  eldest  son,  he  was 
compelled  not  to  afflict  him  ;  but  Absalom 
watched  for  a  fit  opportunity  of  revenging 
this  crime  upon  him,  for  he  thoroughly 
hated  him.  Now  the  second  year  after 
this  wicked  affair  about  his  sister  was 
over,  and  Absalom  was  about  to  go  to 
shear  his  own  sheep  at  Baalhazor,  which 
is  a  city  in  the  portion  of  Ephraim,  he  be- 
sought his  father,  as  well  as  his  brethren, 
to  come  and  feast  with  him:  but  when 
David  excused  himself,  as  not  being  will- 
ing to  be  burdensome  to  him,  Absalom  de- 
sired h3  would  however  send  his  brethren; 
whom  he  did  send  accordingly.  Then 
Absalom  charged  his  own  servants,  that 
when  they  should  see  Amnon  disordered 
and  drowsy  with  wine,  and  he  should  give 
them  a  signal,  they  should  fear  nobody, 
but  kill  him. 


When  they  had  done  as  they  were  com- 
manded, the  rest  of  his  brethren  were 
astonished  and  disturbed,  and  were  afraid 
for  themselves,  so  they  immediately  got 
on  horseback,  and  rode  away  to  their  fa- 
ther: but  somebody  there  was  who  pro- 
vented  them,  and  told  their  father  they 
were  all  slain  by  Absalom  ;  whereupon  he 
was  overcome  with  sorrow,  as  for  so  many 
of  his  sons  that  were  destroyed  at  once, 
and  that  by  their  brother  also ;  and  by 
this  consideration,  that  it  was  their  brother 
that  appeared  to  have  slain  them,  he  ag- 
gravated his  sorrow  for  them.  So  he  nei- 
ther inquired  what  was  the  cause  of  this 
slaughter,  nor  stayed  to  hear  any  thing 
else,  which  yet  it  was  but  reasonable  to 
have  done,  when  so  very  great,  and  by 
that  greatness  so  incredible,  a  misfortune 
was  related  to  him,  but  rent  his  clothes, 
and  threw  himself  upon  the  ground,  and 
there  lay  lamenting  the  loss  of  all  his 
sons,  both  those  who,  as  he  was  informed, 
were  slain,  and  of  him  who  slew  them. 
But  Jonadab,  the  son  of  his  brother  She- 
meah,  entreated  him  not  to  indulge  his 
sorrow  so  far,  for  as  to  the  rest  of  his  sons 
he  did  not  believe  that  they  were  slain, 
for  he  found  no  cause  for  such  a  suspicion ; 
but  he  said  it  might  deserve  inquiry  as  to 
Amnon,  for  it  was  not  unlikely  that  Ab- 
salom might  venture  to  kill  him  on  account 
of  the  injury  he  had  offered  to  Tamar.  In 
the  mean  time,  a  great  noise  of  horses, 
and  a  tumult  of  some  people  that  were 
coming,  turned  their  attention  to  them : 
they  were  the  king's  sons,  who  had  fled 
away  from  the  feast.  So  their  father  met 
them  as  they  were  in  their  grief,  and  he 
himself  grieved  with  them ;  but  it  was 
more  than  he  expected  to  see  those  his 
sons  again,  whom  he  had  a  little  before 
heard  to  have  perished.  However,  there 
were  tears  on  both  sides;  they  lamenting 
their  brother  who  was  killed,  and  the  king 
lamenting  his  son,  who  was  killed  also; 
but  Absalom  fled  to  Geshur,  to  his  grand- 
father by  his  mother's  side,  who  was  king 
of  that  country,  and  he  remained  with  him 
three  whole  years, 

Now  David  had  a  design  to  send  to 
Absalom,  not  that  he  should  come  to  be 
punished,  but  that  he  might  be  with  him, 
for  the  effects  of  his  anger  were  abated  by 
length  of  time.  It  was  Joab,  the  captain 
of  his  host,  that  chiefly  persuaded  him  so 
to  do;  for  he  suborned  an  ordinary  woman, 
that  was  stricken  in  age,  to  go  to  the  king 
in   mourning  apparel,  who  said    thus  to 


Chap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


227 


him — That  two  of  her  sons,  in  a  coarse 
way,  had  seme  difference  between  them, 
and  that  in  the  progress  .of  that  difference, 
they  came  to  an  open  quarrel,  and  that  one 
was  smitten  by  the  other,  and  was  dead  ; 
and  she  desired  him  to  interpose  in  this 
case,  and  to  do  her  the  favour  to  save  this 
her  son  from  her  kindred,  who  were  very 
zealous  to  have  him  that  had  slain  his 
brother  put  to  death,  that  so  she  might 
not  be  further  deprived  of  the  hopes  she 
had  of  being  taken  care  of  in  her  old  age 
by  him  ;  and  that  if  he  would  hinder  this 
slaughter  of  her  son  by  those  that  wishod 
for  it,  he  would  do  her  a  great  favour, 
because  the  kindred  would  not  be  re- 
strained from  their  purpose  by  any  thing 
else  than  by  the  fear  of  him :  and  when 
the  king  had  given  his  consent  to  what  the 
woman  had  begged  of  him,  she  made  this 
reply  to  him — "  I  owe  thee  thanks  for  thy 
benignity  to  me  in  pitying  my  old  age, 
and  preventing  the  loss  of  my  only  re- 
maining child;  but  in  order  to  assure  me 
of  this  thy  kindness,  be  first  reconciled  to 
thine  own  son,  and  cease  to  be  angry  with 
him ;  for  how  shall  I  persuade  myself 
that  thou  hast  really  bestowed  this  favour 
upon  me,  while  thou  thyself  continuest 
after  the  like  manner  in  thy  wrath  to 
thine  own  son  ?  for  it  is  a  foolish  thing 
to  add  wilfully  another  to  thy  dead  son, 
while  the  death  of  the  other  was  brought 
about  without  thy  consent :"  and  now  the 
king  perceived  that  this  pretended  story 
was  a  subornation  derived  from  Joab,  and 
was  of  his  contrivance;  and  when,  upon 
inquiry  of  the  old  woman,  he  understood 
it  to  be  so  in  reality,  he  called  for  Joab, 
and  told  him  he  had  obtained  what  he 
requested,  according  to  his  own  mind; 
and  he  bade  him  bring  Absalom  back, 
for  he  was  not  now  displeased,  but  had 
already  ceased  to  be  angry  with  him.  So 
Joab  bowed  himself  down  to  the  king, 
and  took  his  words  kindly,  and  went  im- 
mediately to  Geshur,  and  took  Absalom 
with  him,  and  came  to  Jerusalem. 

However,  the  king  sent  a  message  to 
his  son  beforehand,  as  he  was  coming, 
and  commanded  him  to  retire  to  his  own 
house,  for  he  was  not  yet  in  such  a  dispo- 
sition as  to  think  fit  at  present  to  see  him. 
Accordingly,  upon  the  father's  command, 
he  avoided  coming  into  his  presence,  and 
contented  himself  with  the  respects  paid 
him  by  his  own  family  only.  Now  his 
beauty  was  not  impaired,  either  by  the  grief 
he  had  been  under,  or  by  the  want  of  such 


care  as  was  proper  to  be  taken  of  a  king's 
son,  for  he  still  surpassed  and  excelled  all 
men  in  the  tallness  of  his  body,  and  was 
more  eminent  [in  a  fine  appearance]  than 
those  that  dieted  the  most  luxuriously, 
and,  indeed,  such  was  the  thickness  of  the 
hair  of  his  head,  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
he  was  polled  every  eighth  day  ;  and  his> 
hair  weighed  200  shekels,  which  are  five 
pounds.*  However,  he  dwelt  in  Jerusa- 
lem two  years,  and  became  the  father  of 
three  sons,  and  one  daughter;  which 
daughter  was  of  very  great  beauty,  and 
which  llchoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon, 
took  to  wife  afterward,  and  had  by  her  a 
son  named  Abijah  ;  but  Absalom  sent  to 
Joab,  and  desired  him  to  pacify  his  father 
entirely  toward  him  ;  and  to  beseech  him 
to  give  him  leave  to  come  to  him  to  see 
him,  and  speak  with  him  ;  but  when  Joab 
neglected  so  to  do,  he  sent  some  of  his 
own  servants,  and  set  fire  to  the  field  ad- 
joining to  him  ;  which,  when  Joab  under- 
stood, he  came  to  Absalom,  and  accused 
him  of  what  he  had  done;  and  asked  him 
the  reason  why  he  did  so.  To  which  Ab- 
salom replied,  that  "I  have  found  out  this 
stratagem  that  might  bring  thee  to  us, 
while  thou  hast  taken  no  care  to  perform 
the  injunction  I  laid  upon  thee,  which  was 
this,  to  reconcile  my  father  to  me ;  and  I 
really  beg  it  of  thee,  now  thou  art  here, 
to  pacify  my  father  as  to  me,  since  I  es- 
teem my  coming  hither  to  be  more  griev- 
ous than  my  banishment,  while  my  father's 
wrath  against  me  continues."  Hereby 
Joab  was  persuaded,  and  pitied  the  dis- 
tress that  Absalom  was  in,  and  became  an 
intercessor  with  the  king  for  him  ;  and 
when  he  had  discoursed  with  his  father, 
he  soon  brought  him  to  that  amicable  dis- 
position toward  Absalom,  that  he  pre- 
sently sent  for  him  to  come  to  him  ;  and 
when  he  had  cast  himself  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  had  begged  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  his  offences,  the  king  raised  him  up, 
and  promised  him  to  forget  what  he  bad 
formerly  done. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Absalom's  insurrection  against  David.     B.  C.  1024. 

Now  Absalom,  upon  this  his  success 
with  the  king,  procured  to  himself  a  great 
many  horses,  and  many  chariots,  and 
that  in  a  little  time  also.  lie  had  more- 
over, fifty  armour-bearers  that  were  about 

*  2  Sam.  xiv.  26. 


228 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII 


him,  and  he  came  early  every  day  to 
the  king's  palace,  and  spake  what  was 
agreeable  to  such  as  came  for  justice  and 
lost  their  causes,  as  if  that  happened  for 
want  of  good  counsellors  about  the  king, 
or  perhaps  because  the  judges  mistook  in 
that  unjust  sentence  they  gave;  whereby 
he  gained  the  good-will  of  them  all.  He 
told  them,  that  had  he  but  such  authority 
committed  to  him,  he  would  distribute 
justiee  tz  them  in  a  most  equitable 
manner  When  he  had  made  himself  so 
popular  among  the  multitude,  he  thought 
he  had  already  the  good-will  of  the 
people  secured  to  him ;  but  when  four* 
years  had  passed  since  his  father's  recon- 
ciliation to  him,  he  came  to  him;  and 
besought  him  to  give  him  leave  to  go  to 
Hebron,  and  pay  a  sacrifice  to  God, 
because  he  vowed  it  to  him  when  he  fled 
out  of  the  country.  So  when  David  had 
granted  his  request,  he  went  thither,  and 
great  multitudes  came  running  together 
to  him,  for  he  had  sent  to  a  great  number 
so  to  do. 

Among  them  came  Ahithophel  the  Gi- 
lonite,  a  counsellor  of  David's,  and  200 
men  out  of  Jerusalem  itself,  who  knew 
not  his  intentions,  but  were  sent  for  as  to 
a  sacrifice.  So  he  was  appointed  king  by 
all  of  them,  which  he  obtained  by  this 
stratagem.  As  soon  as  this  news  was 
brought  to  David,  and  he  was  informed 
of  what  he  did  not  expect  from  his  son, 
he  was  affrighted  at  this  his  impious  and 
bold  undertaking,  and  wondered  that  he 
was  so  far  from  remembering  how  his 
offence  had  been  so  lately  forgiven  him, 
that  he  undertook  much  worse  and  more 
wicked  enterprises;  first,  to  deprive  him 
of  that  kingdom  which  was  given  him  of 
God ;  and,  secondly,  to  take  away  his 
own  father's  life.  He  therefore  resolved 
to  fly  to  the  parts  beyond  Jordan ;  so  he 
called  his  mo.st  intimate  friends  together, 
and  communicated  to  them  all  that  he 
had  heard  of  his  son's  madness.  He 
committed  himself  to  God,  to  judge  be- 
tween them  about  all  their  actions;  and 
left  the  care  of  his  royal  palace  to  his  ten 


*  This  is  one  of  the  best  corrections  that  Jose- 
phus's  copy  affords  us  of  a  text  that,  in  our  ordi- 
nary copies,  is  grossly  corrupted.  They  say  that 
this  rebellion  of  Absalom  was  forty  years  after 
what  went  before  (of  his  reconciliation  to  his 
father,)  whereas  the  series  of  the  history  shows  it 
could  not  be  more  than  four  years  after  it,  as  here 
in  Josephus,  whose  number  is  directly  confirmed 
by  that  copy  of  the  Septuagint  version  whence  the 
Armenian  translation  was  made,  which  gives  us 
the  same  small  number  of  four  years. 


concubines,  and  went  away  from  Jeru- 
salem, being  willingly  accompanied  by 
the  rest  of  the  multitude,  who  went 
hastily  away  with  him,  and  particularly 
by  those  600  armed  men,  who  had  been 
with  him  from  his  first  flight  in  the  days 
of  Saul.  But  he  persuaded  Abiathar  and 
Zadok,  the  high  priests,  who  had  de- 
termined to  go  away  with  him,  as  also  all 
the  Levites,  who  were  with  the  ark,  to 
stay  behind,  as  hoping  that  God  would 
deliver  him  without  its  removal;  but  he 
charged  them  to  let  him  know  privately 
how  all  things  went  on;  and  he  had  their 
sons,  Ahimaaz,  the  son  of  Zadok,  and 
Jonathan,  the  son  of  Abiathar,  for  faith- 
ful ministers  in  all  things;  but  Ittai  the 
Gittite,  went  -out  with  him,  whether 
David  would  let  him  or  not,  for  he  would 
have  persuaded  him  to  stay,  and  on  that 
account  he  appeared  the  more  friendly  to 
him ;  but  as  he  was  ascending  the  mount 
of  Olives  barefooted,  and  all  his  company 
were  in  tears,  it  was  told  that  Ahithophel 
was  with  Absalom,  and  was  of  his  side. 
This  hearing  augmented  his  grief;  and 
he  besought  God  earnestly  to  alienate  the 
mind  of  Absalom  from  Ahithophel,  for  he 
was  afraid  that  he  would  persuade  him  to 
follow  his  pernicious  counsel,  for  he  was 
a  prudent  man,  and  very  sharp  in  seeing 
what  was  advantageous.  When  David 
was  gotten  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
he  took  a  view  of  the  city ;  and  prayed 
to  God  with  abundance  of  tears,  as  hav- 
ing already  lost  his  kingdom  :  and  here 
it  was  that  a  faithful  friend  of  his,  whose 
name  was  Hushai,  met  him.  When  David 
saw  him,  with  his  clothes  rent,  and  hav- 
ing ashes  all  over  his  head,  and  in  lament- 
ation for  the  great  change  of  affairs,  he 
comforted  him,  and  exhorted  him  to  leave 
off  grieving;  nay,  at  length  he  besought 
him  to  go  back  to  Absalom,  and  appear 
as  one  of  his  party,  and  to  fish  out  the 
most  secret  counsels  of  his  mind,  and  to 
contradict  the  counsels  of  Ahithophel,  for 
that  he  could  not  do  him  so  much  good 
by  being  with  him  as  he  might  by  being 
with  Absalom.  So  he  was  prevailed  oc 
by  David,  and  left  him,  and  came  to 
Jerusalem,  whither  Absalom  himself  came 
also  a  little  while  afterward. 

When  David  had  gone  a  little  further, 
there  met  him  Ziba,  the  servant  of 
Mephibosheth,  (whom  he  had  sent  to  take 
care  of  the  possessions  which  had  been 
given  him,  as  the  son  of  Jonathan,  the 
son    of   Saul,)  with    a    couple    of   asses, 


Chap.  IX  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


229 


laden  with  provisions,  and  desired  him  to 
take  as  much  of  them  as  he  and  his  fol- 
lowers stood  in  need  of.  And  when  the 
king  asked  him  where  he  had  left  Mephi- 
bosheth,  he  said  he  had  left  him  in  Jeru- 
salem, expecting  to  be  chosen  king  in  the 
present  confusions,  in  remembrance  of  the 
benefits  Saul  had  conferred  upon  them. 
At  this  the  king  had  great  indignation, 
and  gave  to  Ziba  all  that  he  had  formerly 
bestowed  upon  Mephibosheth,  for  he  de- 
termined that  it  was  much  fitter  that  he 
should  have  them  than  the  other;  at 
which  Ziba  greatly  rejoiced. 

When  David  was  at  Bahurim,  a  place 
so  called,  there  came  out  a  kinsman  of 
Saul's,  whose  name  was  Shimei,  and 
threw  stones  at  him,  and  gave  him  re- 
proachful words ;  and  as  his  friends  stood 
about  the  king  and  protected  him,  he 
persevered  still  more  in  his  reproaches, 
and  called  him  a  bloody  man,  and  the 
author  of  all  sorts  of  mischief.  He  bade 
him  also  go  out  of  the  land  as  an  impure 
and  accursed  wretch ;  and  he  thanked 
God  for  depriving  him  of  his  kingdom, 
and  causing  him  to  be  punished  for  what 
injuries  he  had  done  to  his  master  [Saul], 
and  this  by  the  means  of  his  own  son. 
Now  when  they  were  all  provoked  against 
him,  and  angry  at  him,  and  particularly 
Abishai,  who  had  a  mind  to  kill  Shimei, 
David  restrained  his  anger.  "  Let  us 
not,"  said  he,  "  bring  upon  ourselves 
another  fresh  misfortune  to  those  we 
have  already,  for  truly  I  have  not  the 
least  regard  or  concern  for  this  dog  that 
raves  at  me :  I  submit  myself  to  God,  by 
whose  permission  this  man  treats  me  in 
such  a  wild  manner;  nor  is  it  any  wonder 
that  I  am  obliged  to  undergo  these  abuses 
from  him,  while  I  experience  the  like, 
from  an  impious  son  of  my  own;  but 
perhaps  God  will  have  some  commise- 
ration upon  us;  if  it  be  his  will,  we  shall 
overcome  them."  Sc  'he  went  on  his 
way  without  troubling  himself  with  Shi- 
mei, who  ran  along  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain,  and  threw  out  his  abusive 
language  plentifully.  But  when  David 
had  come  to  Jordan,  he  allowed  those 
that  were  with  him  to  refresh  themselves, 
for  they  were  weary. 

But  when  Absalom,  and  Ahithophel  his 
counsellor,  had  come  to  Jerusalem,  with 
all  the  people,  David's  friend,  Hushai, 
came  to  them ;  and  when  he  had  wor- 
shipped Absalom,  he  withal  wished  that 
his  kiugdom  might  last  a  long  time,  and 


continue  for  all  ages.  But  when  Absalom 
said  to  him,  "  How  comes  this,  that  he 
who  was  so  intimate  a  friend  of  my 
father's,  and  appeared  faithful  to  him  in 
all  things,  is  not  with  him  now,  but  hath 
left  him,  and  is  come  over  to  me  ?" 
Hushai's  answer  was  very  pertiuent  and 
prudent;  for  he  said,  "We  ought  to 
follow  God,  and  the  multitude  of  the 
people ;  while  these,  therefore,  my  lord 
and  master,  are  with  thee,  it  is  fit  that  I 
should  follow  them,  for  thou  hast  re- 
ceived the  kingdom  from  God.  I  will, 
therefore,  if  thou  believest  me  to  be  thy 
friend,  show  the  same  fidelity  and  kind- 
ness to  thee,  which  thou  knowest  I  have 
shown  to  thy  father :  nor  is  there  any 
reason  to  be  in  the  least  dissatisfied  with 
the  present  state  of  affairs,  for  the  king- 
dom is  not  transferred  into  another,  but 
remains  still  in  the  same  family,  by  the 
son's  receiving  it  after  his  father.  This 
speech  persuaded  Absalom,  who  before 
suspected  Hushai.  And  now  he  called 
Ahithophel,  and  consulted  with  him  what 
he  ought  to  do ;  he  persuaded  him  to  go 
in  unto  his  father's  concubines;  for  he 
said,  that  "  by  this  action  the  people 
would  believe  that  thy  difference  with 
thy  father  is  irreconcilable,  and  will 
thence  fight  with  great  alacrity  against 
thy  father,  for  hitherto  they  are  afraid  of 
taking  an  open  enmity  against  him,  out 
of  an  expectation  that  you  will  be  re- 
conciled again."  Accordingly,  Absalom 
was  prevailed  on  by  this  advice,  and  com- 
manded his  servants  to  pitch  him  a  tent 
upon  the  top  of  the  royal  palace,  in  the 
sight  of  the  multitude;  and  he  went  in 
and  lay  with  his  father's  concubines. 
Now  this  came  to  pass  according  to  the 
prediction  of  Nathan,  when  he  prophesied 
and  signified  to  him  that  his  sou  would 
rise  up  in  rebellion  against  him. 

And  when  Absalom  had  done  what  he 
was  advised  to  by  Ahithophel,  he  desired 
his  advice,  in  the  second  place,  about  the 
war  against  his  father.  Now  Ahithophel 
only  asked  him  to  let  him  have  10,000 
chosen  men,  and  he  promised  he  would 
slay  his  father,  and  bring  the  soldiers 
back  again  in  safety;  and  he  said,  that 
then  the  kingdom  would  be  firm  to  him 
when  David  wras  dead  [but  not  other- 
wise]. Absalom  was  pleased  with  this 
advice,  and  called  Hushai,  David's  friend, 
(for  so  did  he  style  him,)  and  informed 
him  of  the  opinion  of  Ahithophel :  ho 
asked,  further,  what  was  his  opinion  con- 


230 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


jerning  that  matter.  Now  he  was  sen- 
sible that  if  Ahithophel' s  counsel  was 
followed,  David  would  be  in  danger  of 
being  seized  on,  and  slain ;  so  he  at- 
tempted to  introduce  a  contrary  opinion, 
and  said,  u  Thou  art  not  unacquainted,  0 
king,  with  the  valour  of  thy  father,  and 
of  those  that  are  now  with  him  ;  that  he 
hath  made  many  wars,  and  hath  always 
come  on0  with  victory  :  though  probably  he 
now  abides  in  the  camp,  for  *he  is  very 
skilful  in  stratagems,  and  in  foreseeing 
the  deceitful  tricks  of  his  enemies,  yet 
will  he  leave  his  own  soldiers  in  the 
evening,  and  will  either  hide  himself  in 
some  valley,  or  will  place  an  ambush  at 
some  rock  ;  so  that,  when  our  army  joins 
battle  with  him,  his  soldiers  will  retire 
for  a  little  while,  but  will  come  upon  us 
again,  as  encouraged  by  the  king  being 
near  them;  and  in  the  mean  time  your 
father  will  show  himself  suddenly  in  the 
time  of  the  battle,  and  will  infuse  courage 
into  his  own  people  when  they  are  in  dan- 
ger, but  bring  consternation  to  thine. 
Consider,  therefore,  my  advice,  and  rea- 
son upon  it,  and  if  thou  canst  not  but 
acknowledge  it  to  be  the  best,  reject  the 
opinion  of  Ahithopbel.  Send  to  the  entire 
country  of  the  Hebrews,  and  order  them 
to  come  and  fight  with  thy  father ;  and 
do  thou  thyself  take  the  army,  and  be 
thine  own  general  in  this  war,  and  do  not 
trust  its  management  to  another;  then 
expect  to  conquer  him  with  ease,  When 
thou  overtakest  him  openly  with  his  few 
partisans,  but  hast  thyself,  many  ten 
thousands,  who  will  be  desirous  to  de- 
monstrate to  thee  their  diligence  and 
alacrity.  And  if  thy  father  shall  shut 
himself  up  in  some  city,  and  bear  a  siege, 
we  will  overthrow  that  city  with  machines 
of  war,  and  by  undermining  it."  When 
Hushai  had  said  this,  he  obtained  his 
point  against  Ahithophel,  for  his  opinion 
was  preferred  by  Absalom  before  the 
others :  however,  it  was  no  other  than 
God  who  made  the  counsel  of  Hushai 
appear  best  to  the  mind  of  Absalom. 

So  Hushai  made  haste  to  the  high 
priests,  Zadok  and  Abiathar,  and  told 
them  the  opinion  of  Ahithophel,  and  his 
own,  and  that  the  resolution  was  taken  to 
follow  this  latter  advice.  He  therefore 
bade  them  send  to  David,  and  tell  him  of 
it,  and  to  inform  him  of  the  counsels  that 
had  been  taken;  and  to  desire  him  further 
to  pass  quickly  over  Jordan,  lest  his  son 
should  change  his  mind,  and  make  haste 


to  pursue  him,  and  so  prevent  him,  and 
seize  upon  him  before  he  was  in  safety. 
Now  the  high  priests  had  their  sons  con 
cealed  in  a  proper  place  out  of  the  city, 
that  they  might  carry  news  to  David  of 
what  was  transacted.  Accordingly,  they 
sent  a  maid-servant  whom  they  could  trust, 
to  them,  to  carry  the  news  of  Absalom's 
counsels,  and  ordered  them  to  signify  the 
same  to  David  with  all  speed.  So  they 
made  no  excuse  nor  delay,  but,  taking 
along  with  them  their  father's  injunctions, 
because  pious  and  faithful  ministers;  and, 
judging  that  quickness  and  suddenness 
was  the  best  mark  of  faithful  service,  they 
made  haste  to  meet  David.  But  certain 
horsemen  saw  them  when  they  were  two 
furlongs  from  the  city,  and  informed  Ab- 
salom of  them,  who  immediately  sent 
some  to  take  them;  but  when  the  sons  of 
the  high  priests  perceived  this,  they  went 
out  of  the  road,  and  betook  themselves  to 
a  certain  village,  (that  village  was  called 
Bahurim ;)  there  they  desired  a  certain 
woman  to  hide  them,  and  afford  them 
security.  Accordingly,  she  let  the  young 
men  down  by  a  rope  into  a  well,  and  laid 
fleeces  of  wool  over  them;  and  when 
those  that  pursued  them  came  to  her,  and 
asked  her  whether  she  saw  them,  she  did 
not  deny  that  she  had  seen  them,  for  that 
they  stayed  with  her  some  time,  but  she 
said  they  then  went  their  ways;  and  she 
foretold,  that,  however,  if  they  would 
follow  them  directly,  they  would  catch 
them;  but  when,  after  a  long  pursuit, 
they  could  not  catch  them,  they  came 
back  again ;  and  when  the  woman  saw 
those  men  were  returned,  and  that  there 
was  no  longer  any  fear  of  the  young  men 
being  caught  fyy  them,  she  drew  them  up 
by  the  rope,  and  bade  them  go  on  their 
journey.  Accordingly,  they  used  great 
diligence  in  the  prosecution  of  that 
journey,  and  came  to  David  and  informed 
him  accurately  of  all  the  counsels  of  Ab- 
salom. So  he  commanded  those  that 
were  with  him  to  pass  over  Jordan  while 
it  was  night,  and  not  to  delay  at  all  on 
that  account. 

But  Ahithoph6l,  on  rejection  of  his 
advice,  got  upon  his  ass,  and  rode  away 
to  his  own  country,  Grilon ;  and,  calling 
his  family'  together,  he  told  them  dis- 
tinctly what  advice  he  had  given  Absalom ; 
and  since  he  had  not  been  persuaded  by 
it,  he  said  he  would  evidently  perish,  and 
this  in  no  lonis  time,  and  that  David 
would  overcome   him,  and  return   to  ni3 


Chap   X  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE    JEWS. 


231 


kingdom  asrnin;  so  he  said  it  was  better 
that  he  should  take  his  own  life  away  witli 
freedom  and  magnanimity,  than  expose 
himself  to  be  punished  by  David,  in  oppo- 
sition to  whom  he  had  acted  entirely  for 
Absalom.  When  he  had  discoursed  thus 
to  them,  he  went  into  the  inmost  room 
of  his  h  juse,  and  hanged  himself;  and 
thus  was  the  death  of  Ahithophel,  who 
was  self  condemned;  and  when  his  rela- 
tions had  taken  him  down  from  the  halter 
they  took  care  of  his  funeral.  Now,  as 
for  David,  he  passed  over  Jordan,  as  we 
have  said  already,  and  came  to  Mahanaim, 
a  very  fine  and  a  very  strong  city;  and 
all  the  chief  men  of  the  country  received 
him  with  great  pleasure,  both  out  of  the 
shame  they  had  that  he  should  be  forced 
to  flee  away  [from  Jerusalem],  and  out  of 
the  respect  they  bare  him  while  he  was 
in  his  former  prosperity.  These  were 
Barzillai  the  Gilcadite,  and  Siphar,  the 
ruler  among  the  Ammonites,  and  Machir, 
the  principal  man  of  G-ilead;  and  these 
furnished  him  with  plentiful  provisions 
for  himself  and  his  followers,  insomuch 
that  they  wanted  no  beds  nor  blankets  for 
them,  nor  loaves  of  bread,  nor  wine;  nay, 
they  brought  them  a  great  many  cattle 
for  slaughter,  and  afforded  them  what 
furniture  they  wanted  for  their  refresh- 
ment, when  they  were  weary,  and  for 
food,  with  plenty  of  other  necessaries. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Death  of  Absalom.     B.  C.  1023. 

And  this  was  the  state  of  David  and 
his  followers:  but  Absalom  got  together 
a  vast  army  of  the  Hebrews  to  oppose  his 
father,  and  passed  therewith  over  the 
river  Jordan,  and  sat  down  not  far  off 
Mahanaim,  in  the  country  of  Gilead.  He 
appointed  Amasa  to  be  cnptain  of  all  his 
host,  instead  of  Joab  his  kinsman :  his 
father  was  Ithra,  and  his  mother  Abigail: 
now  she  and  Zeruiah,  the  mother  of  Joab, 
were  David's  sisters;  but  when  David 
had  numbered  his  followers,  and  found 
them  to  be  about  4000,  he  resolved  not 
to  tarry  till  Absalom  attacked  him,  but 
set  over  his  men  captains  of  thousands, 
and  captains  of  hundreds,  and  divided  his 
army  into  three  parts;  the  one  part  he 
committed  to  Joab,  the  next  to  Abishai, 
Joab's  brother,  and  the  third  to  Ittai, 
David'-;  conipanioo  and  friend,  but  one 
that   came   from   the   city  of  Gath;    and 


when  he  was  desirous  of  fighting  himself 
among  them,  his  friends  would  not  let 
him  :  and  this  refusal  of  theirs  was 
founded  upon  very  wise  reasons  :  "  For," 
said  they,  "  if  we  be  conquered  when  he  is 
with  us,  we  have  lost  all  good  hopes  of 
recovering  ourselves  ;  but  if  we  should  be 
beaten  in  one  part  of  our  army,  the  other 
parts  may  retire  to  him,  and  may  there- 
by prepare  a  greater  force,  while  the 
enemy  will  naturally  suppose  that  he  hath 
another  army  with  him."  So  David  was 
pleased  with  this  advice,  and  resolved 
himself  to  tarry  at  Mahanaim;  and  as  he 
sent  his  friends  and  commanders  to  the 
battle,  he  desired  them  to  show  all  possi- 
ble alacrity  and  fidelity,  and  to  bear  in 
mind  what  advantages  they  had  received 
from  him,  which,  though  they  had  not 
been  very  great,  yet  had  they  not  been 
quite  inconsiderable;  and  he  begged  of 
them  to  spare  the  young  man  Absalom, 
lest  some  mischief  should  befall  himself, 
if  he  should  be  killed;  and  thus  did  he 
send  out  his  army  to  the  battle,  and 
wished  them  victory  therein. 

Then  did  Joab  put  his  army  in  battle 
array  over  against  the  enemy  in  the 
Great  Plain,  where  he  had  a  wood  behind 
him.  Absalom  also  brought  his  army 
into  the  field  to  oppose  him.  Upon  the 
joining  of  the  battle,  both  armies  showed 
great  actions  with  their  hands  and  their 
boldness;  the  one  side  exposing  them- 
selves to  the  greatest  hazards,  and  using 
their  utmost  alacrity,  that  David  might 
recover  his  kingdom ;  and  the  other  being 
no  way  deficient,  either  in  doing  or  suffer- 
ing, that  Absalom  might  not  be  deprived 
of  that  kingdom,  and  be  brought  to  pu- 
nishment by  his  father,  for  his  imprudent 
attempt  against  him.  Those  also  that 
were  the  most  numerous  were  solicitous 
that  they  might  not  be  conquered  by 
those  few  that  were  with  Joab,  and  with 
the  other  commanders,  because  that  would 
be  the  greatest  disgrace  to  them ;  while 
David's  soldiers  strove  greatly  to  over- 
come so  many  ten  thousands  as  the  enemy 
had  with  them.  Now  David's  men  were 
conquerors,  as  superior  in  strength  and 
skill  in  war;  so  they  followed  the  others 
as  they  fled  away  through  the  forests  and 
valleys;  some  they  took  prisoners,  and 
many  they  slew,  and  more  in  the  flight 
than  in  the  battle,  for  there  fell  about 
20,000  that  day.  But  all  David's  men 
ran  violently  upon  Absalom,  for  he  wag 
easily  known  by  his  beauty  and  tallness- 


232 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


He  was  bin.  self  also  afraid  lest  his  ene- 
mies should  seize  on  him,  so  he  got  upon 
the  king's  mule  and  fled;  but  as  he  was 
carried  with  violence,  and  noise,  and  a 
great  motion,  as  being  himself  light,  he 
entangled  his  hair  greatly  in  the  large 
boughs  of  a  knotty  tree  that  spread  a 
great  way,  and  there  he  hung,  after  a  sur- 
prising manner;  and  as  for  the  beast,  it 
went  on  farther,  and  that  swiftly,  as  if 
his  master  had  been  still  upon  his  back; 
but  he  hanging  in  the  air  upon  the 
boughs,  was  taken  by  his  enemies.  Now 
when  one  of  David's  soldiers  saw  this,  he 
informed  Joab  of  it;  and  when  the  gene- 
ral said,  that  if  he  had  shot  at  and  killed 
Absalom,  he  would  have  given  him  fifty 
shekels,  he  replied,  "I  would  not  have 
killed  my  master's  son  if  thou  wouldst 
have  given  me  1000  shekels,  especially 
when  he  desired  that  the  young  man 
might  be  spared,  in  the  hearing  of  us  all." 
But  Joab  bade  him  show  him  where  it 
was  that  he  saw  Absalom  hang;  where- 
upon he  shot  him  to  the  heart,  and  slew 
him,  and  Joab's  armour-bearers  stood 
round  the  tree,  and  pulled  down  his  dead 
body,  and  cast  it  into  a  great  chasm  that 
was  out  of  sight,  and  laid  a  heap  of  stones 
upon  him,  till  the  cavity  was  filled  up, 
and  had  both  the  appearance  and  the  big- 
ness of  a  grave.  Then  Joab  sounded  a 
retreat,  and  recalled  his  own  soldiers  from 
pursuing  the  enemy's  army,  in  order  to 
spare  their  countrymen. 

Now  Absalom  had  erected  for  himself 
a  marble  pillar  in  the  king's  dale,  two 
furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem,  which 
he  named  "Absalom's  Hand,"  saying, 
that  if  his  children  were  killed,  his  name 
would  remain  by  that  pillar;  for  he  had 
three  sons  and  one  daughter,  named 
Tamar,  as  we  said  before,  who,  when  she 
was  married  to  David's  grandson,  Re- 
hoboam,  bare  a  son,  Abijah  by  name, 
who  succeeded  his  father  in  the  kingdom; 
but  of  these  we  shall  speak  in  a  part  of 
our  history  which  will  be  more  proper. 
After  the  death  of  Absalom,  they  returned 
every  one  to  their  own  homes  respectively. 

But  now  Ahimaaz,  the  son  of  Zadok 
the  high  priest,  went  to  Joab,  and  desired 
he  would  permit  him  to  go  and  tell  David 
of  (his  victory,  and  to  bring  him  the  good 
news  that  God  had  afforded  his  assistance 
and  his  providence  to  him.  However,  he 
did  not  grant  his  request,  but  said  to  him, 
"Wilt  thou,  who  hast  always  been  the 
messenger    of  good    news,    now    go    and 


acquaint  the  king  that  his  son  is  dead?" 
So  he  desired  him  to  desist.  He  then 
called  Cushi,  and  committed  the  business 
to  him,  that  he  should  tell  the  king  what 
he  had  seen.  But  when  Ahimaaz  again 
desired  him  to  let  him  go  as  a  messenger, 
and  assured  him  that  he  would  only  relate 
what  concerned  the  victory,  but  not  con- 
cerning the  death  of  Absalom,  he  gave 
him  leave  to  go  to  David.  Now  he  took 
a  nearer  road  than  the  former  did,  for  no- 
body knew  it  but  himself,  and  he  cam z 
before  Cushi.  Now  as  David  was  sitting 
between  the  gates,  and  waiting  to  set 
when  somebody  would  come  to  him  from 
the  battle,  and  tell  him  how  it  went,  one 
of  the  watchmen  saw  Ahimaaz  running, 
and  before  he  could  discern  who  he  was, 
he  told  David  that  he  saw  somebody  com- 
ing to  him,  who  said,  that  he  was  a  good 
messenger.  A  little  while  after  he  in- 
formed him,  that  another  messenger 
followed  him;  whereupon  the  king  said, 
that  he  also  was  a  good  messenger:  but 
when  the  watchman  saw  Ahimaaz,  and 
that  he  was  already  very  near,  he  gave 
the  king  notice,  that  it  was  the  son  of 
Zadok  the  high  priest,  who  came  running. 
So  David  was  very  glad,  and  said  he  was 
a  messenger  of  good  tidings,  and  brought 
him  some  such  news  from  the  battle  as 
he  desired  to  hear. 

While  the  king  was  saying  thus,  Ahi- 
maaz appeared,  and  worshipped  the  king 
And  when  the  king  inquired  of  him 
about  the  battle,  he  said  he  brought  him 
the  good  news  of  victory  and  dominion. 
And  w'heu  he  inquired  what  he  had  to 
say  concerning  his  son,  he  said,  that  he 
came  away  on  the  sudden,  as  soon  as  the 
enemy  was  defeated,  but  that  he  heard  a 
great  noise  of  those  that  pursued  Absa- 
lom, and  that  he  could  learn  no  more,  be 
cause  of  the  haste  he  made  when  Joal 
sent  him  to  inform  him  of  the  victory. 
But  when  Cushi  had  come,  and  had  wor* 
shipped  him,  and  informed  him  of  the 
victory,  he  asked  him  about  his  son,  who 
replied,  "  May  the  like  misfortune  befall 
[all]  thine  enemies  as  hath  befallen  Absa- 
lom/' That  wordy-did  not  permit  either 
himself  or  his  soldiers  to  rejoice  at  the 
victory,  though  it  was  a  very  great  one ; 
but  David  went  up  to  the  highest  part  of 
the  city,  and  wept  for  his  son,  and  beat 
his  breast,  tearing  [the  hair  of]  his  head, 
tormenting  himself  all  manner  of  ways, 
and  crying  out,  "  0  my  son  !  I  wish  that 
I  had  died  myself,  and   ended  my   days 


Chap.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


233 


with  thee  !"  for  he  was  of  a  tender  na- 
tural affection,  and  had  extraordinary 
compassion  for  this  son  in  particular. 
But  when  the  army  of  Joab  heard  that 
the  king  mourned  for  his  son,  they  were 
ashamed  to  enter  the  city  in  the  habit  of 
conquerors,  but  they  all  came  in  as  cast 
down,  and  in  tears,  as  if  they  had  been 
b  *atcn.  Now  while  the  king  covered 
himself,  and  grievously  lamented  his  son, 
Joab  went  in  to  him,  and  said,  "  0  my 
lord  the  king,  thou  art  not  aware  that 
thou  layest  a  blot  on  thyself  by  what  thou 
now  doest ;  for  thou  now  seemest  to  hate 
those  that  love  thee  and  undergo  dangers 
for  thee;  nay,  to  hate  thyself  and  thy 
family,  and  to  love  those  that  are  thy 
bitter  enemies,  and  to  desire  the  company 
of  those  that  are  no  more,  and  who  have 
been  justly  slain ;  for  had  Absalom  ob- 
tained the  victory,  and  firmly  settled  him- 
self in  the  kingdom,  there  had  been  none 
of  us  left  alive,  but  all  of  us,  beginning 
with  thyself  and  thy  children,  had  misera- 
bly perished,  while  our  enemies  had  not 
wept  for  us,  but  rejoiced  over  us,  and  pu- 
nished even  those  that  pitied  us  in  our 
misfortunes;  and  thou  art  not  ashamed 
to  do  this  in  the  case  of  one  that  has 
been  thy  bitter  enemy,  who,  while  he  was 
thine  own  son,  hath  proved  so  wicked  to 
thee.  Leave  off,  therefore,  thy  unreason- 
able grief,  and  come  abroad  and  be  seen 
by  thy  soldiers,  and  return  them  thanks 
for  the  alacrity  they  showed  in  the  fight; 
for  I  myself  will  this  day  persuade  the 
people  to  leave  thee,  and  to  give  the 
kingdom  to  another,  if  thou  continuest  to 
do  thus ;  and  then  I  shall  make  thee  to 
grieve  bitterly  and  in  earnest."  Upon 
Joab's  speaking  thus  to  him,  he  made 
the  king  leave  off  his  sorrow,  and  brought 
him  to  the  consideration  of  his  affairs. 
So  David  changed  his  habit,  and  exposed 
himself  in  a  manner  fit  to  be  seen  by  the 
multitude,  and  sat  in  the  gates;  where- 
upon all  the  people  heard  of  it,  and  ran  to- 
gether to  him,  and  saluted  him.  And  this 
Wis  the  present  state  of  David's  affairs. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

David  returns  to  Jerusalem.     B.  C.  1023. 

Now  those  Hebrews  that  had  been 
with  Absalom,  and  had  retired  out  of  the 
battle,  when  they  were  all  returned  home, 
sent  messengers  to  every  city  to  put  them 
in  mind  of  what   benefits  David  had  be- 


stowed upon  them,  and  of  that  liberty 
which  he  had  procured  them,  by  deliver- 
ing them  from  many  and  great  wars. 
But  they  complained,  that  whereas  they 
had  ejected  him  out  of  his  kingdom,  and 
committed  it  to  another  governor,  which 
other  governor,  whom  they  had  set  up, 
was  already  dead ;  they  did  now  beseech 
David  to  leave  off  his  anger  at  them,  and 
to  become  friends  with  them,  and,  as 
he  used  to  do,  to  resume  the  care  of 
their  affairs,  and  take  the  kingdom  again. 
This  was  often  told  to  David.  And  this, 
notwithstanding,  David  sent  to  Zadok 
and  Abiathar,  the  high  priests,  that  they 
should  speak  to  the  rulers  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  after  the  manner  following: — That 
it  would  be  a  reproach  upou  them  to  per- 
mit the  other  tribes  to  choose  David  for 
their  king,  before  their  tribe,  and  this, 
said  he,  while  you  are  akin  to  him,  and 
of  the  same  common  blood.  He  com- 
manded them  also,  to  say  the  same  to 
Amasa,  the  captain  of  their  forces,  that 
whereas  he  was  his  sister's  son,  he  had 
not  persuaded  the  multitude  to  restore 
the  kingdom  of  David :  that  he  might 
expect  from  him  not  only  a  reconciliation, 
for  that  was  already  granted,  but  that 
supreme  command  of  the  army  also  which 
Absalom  had  bestowed  upon  him.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  high  priests,  when  they 
had  discoursed  with  the  rulers  of  the 
tribe,  and  said  what  the  king  had  ordered 
them,  persuaded  Amasa  to  undertake  the 
care  of  his  affairs.  So  he  persuaded  that 
tribe  to  send  immediately  ambassadors  to 
him,  to  beseech  him  to  return  to  his  own 
kingdom.  The  same  did  all  the  Israel- 
ites, at  the  like  persuasion  of  Amasa. 

When  the  ambassadors  came  to  him, 
he  came  to  Jerusalem;  and  the  tribe  of 
Judah  was  the  first  that  came  to  meet  the 
king  at  the  river  Jordan ;  and  Shirnei, 
the  son  of  Gera,  came  with  1000  men, 
which  he  brought  with  him  out  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin;  and  Ziba,  the  freed 
man  of  Saul,  with  his  sons,  fifteen  in 
number,  and  with  his  twenty  servants. 
All  these,  as  well  as  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
laid  a  bridge  [of  boats]  over  the  river, 
that  the  king,  and  those  that  were  with 
him,  might  with  ease  pass  over  it.  Now 
as  soon  as  he  had  come  to  Jordan,  the 
tribe  of  Judah  saluted  him.  Shirnei 
also  came  upon  the  bridge,  took  hold  of 
his  feet,  and  prayed  him  to  forgive  him 
;  what  he  had  offended,  and  not  to  be  too 
bitter  against    him,   nor  to  think    fit    to 


234 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V1L 


make  him  the  first  example  of  severity 
under  his  new  authority ;  but  to  consider 
that  he  had  repented  of  his  failure  of 
duty,  and  had  taken  care  to  come  first  of 
all  to  him.  While  he  was  thus  entreat- 
ing the  king,  and  moving  him  to  com- 
passion, Abishai,  Joab's  brother,  said : 
"And  shall- not  this  man  die  for  this,  that 
he  hath  cursed  that  king  whom  God  hath 
appointed  to  reign  over  us  ?"  But  David 
turned  himself  to  him,  and  said,  "  Will 
ye  never  leave  off,  ye  sons  of  Zeruiah  ? 
Do  not  you,  I  pray,  raise  new  troubles 
and  seditions  among  us,  now  the  former 
are  over;  for  I  would  not  have  you  igno- 
rant, that  I  this  day  begin  my  reign,  and 
therefore  swear  to  remit  to  all  offenders 
their  punishments,  and  not  to  animadvert 
on  any  one  that  has  sinned.  Be  thou, 
therefore,"  said  he,  "  0  Shimei,  of  good 
courage,  and  do  not  at  all  fear  being  put 
to  death."  So  he  worshipped  him,  and 
went  on  before  him. 

Mephibosheth  also,  Saul's  grandson, 
met  David  clothed  in  a  mean  garment, 
and  having  his  hair  thick  and  neglected; 
for  after  David  had  fled  away,  he  was  in 
such  grief  that  he  had  not  polled  his 
head,  nor  had  he  washed  his  clothes,  as 
dooming  himself  to  undergo  such  hard- 
ships, upon  occasion  of  the  change  of  the 
king's  affairs.  Now  he  had  been  unjustly 
calumniated  to  the  king  by  Ziba,  his 
steward.  When  he  had  saluted  the  king, 
and  worshipped  him,  the  king  began  to 
ask  him,  why  he  did  not  go  out  of  Jeru- 
salem with  him,  and  accompany  him 
during  his  flight?  He  replied,  that  this 
piece  of  injustice  was  owing  to  Ziba;  be- 
cause, when  he  was  ordered  to  get  things 
reo,dy  for  his  going  out  with  him,  he  took 
no  care  of  it,  but  regarded  him  no  more 
than  if  he  had  been  a  slave;  "and,  in- 
deed, had  I  had  my  feet  sound  and 
strong,  I  had  not  deserted  thee,  for  I 
could  then  have  made  use  of  them  in  my 
flight :  but  this  is  not  all  the  injury  that 
Ziba  has  done  me,  as  to  my  duty  to  thee, 
my  lord  and  master,  but  he  hath  calumni- 
ated me  besides,  and  told  lies  about  me  of 
his  own  invention ;  but  I  know  thy  mind 
will  not  admit  of  such  calumnies,  but  is 
righteously  disposed,  and  a  lover  of  truth, 
which  it  is  also  the  will  of  God  should 
prevail.  For  when  thou  wast  in  the 
greatest  danger  of  suffering  by  my  grand- 
father, and  when,  on  that  account,  our 
whole  family  might  justly  have  been  de- 
stroyed, thou  wast  moderate  and  merciful, 


and  didst  then  especially  forget  all  those 
injuries,  when,  if  thou  hadst  remembered 
them,  thou  hadst  the  power  of  punishing 
us  for  them  ;  but  thou  hast  judged  me  to 
be  thy  friend,  and  hast  set  me  every  day 
at  thine  own  table;  nor  have  I  wanted 
any  thing  which  one  of  thine  own  kins- 
men, of  greatest  esteem  with  thee,  could 
have  expected/'  When  he  had  said  this, 
David  resolved  neither  to  punish  Mephi- 
bosheth, nor  to  condemn  Ziba  for  having 
belied  his  master  ;  but  said  to  bim,  that 
as  he  had  [before]  granted  all  his  estate 
to  Ziba,  because  he  did  not  come  along 
with  him,  so  he  [now]  promised  to  forgive 
him,  and  ordered  that  the  one-half  of  his 
estate  should  be  restored  to  him.  Where- 
upon Mephibosheth  said,  "  Nay,  let  Ziba 
take  all ;  it  suffices  me  that  thou  hast  re- 
covered thy  kingdom." 

But  David  desired  Barzillai,  the  Gilead- 
ite,  that  great  and  good  man,  and  one 
that  had  made  a  plentiful  provision  foi 
him  at  Mahanaim,  and  had  conducted 
him  as  far  as  Jordan,  to  accompany  him 
to  Jerusalem,  for  he  promised  to  treat 
him  in  his  old  age  with  all  manner  of  re- 
spect— to  take  care  of  him,  and  provide 
for  him.  But  Barzillai  was  so  desirous 
to  live  at  home,  that  he  entreated  hire  to 
excuse  him  from  attendance  on  him;  and 
said  that  his  age  was  too  great  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  [of  a  court],  since  he  was 
fourscore  years  old,  and  was  therefore 
making  provision  for  his  death  and  bu- 
rial ;  so  he  desired  him  to  gratify  him  in 
this  request,  and  dismiss  him ;  for  he 
had  no  relish  of  his  meat  or  his  drink,  by 
reason  of  his  age ;  and  that  his  ears  were 
too  much  shut  up  to  hear  the  sound  of 
pipes,  or  the  melody  of  other  musical  in- 
struments, such  as  all  those  that  live  with 
kings  delight  in.  When  he  entreated  for 
this  so  earnestly,  the  king  said,  "  I  dis- 
miss thee ;  but  thou  shalt  grant  me  thy 
son  Chimham,  and  upon  him  I  will  be- 
stow all  sorts  of  good  things."  So  Bar- 
zillai left  his  son  with  him,  and  wor- 
shipped the  king,  and  wished  him  a  pros- 
perous conclusion  of  all  his  affairs  accord- 
ing to  his  own  mfnd,  and  then  returned 
home  :  but  David  came  to  Gilgal,  having 
about  him  half  the  people  [of  Israel],  and 
the  [whole]  tribe  of  Judah. 

N^w  the  principal  men  of  the  country 
came  to  Gilgal  to  him  with  a  great  mul- 
titude, and  complained  of  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah, that  they  had  come  to  him  in  a  pri- 
vate manner,  whereas  they  ought  all  con- 


Ohap.  XI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


235 


jointly,  and  with  one  and  the  same  inten- 
tion, to  have  given  him  the  meeting.  But 
f,be  rulers  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  desired 
chem  not  to  be  displeased  if  they  had 
been  prevented  by  them  :  for,  said  they, 
"  We  are  David's  kinsmen,  and  on  that 
account  we  the  rather  took  care  of  him, 
and  loved  him,  and  so  came  first  to  him;" 
;3t  had  they  not,  by  their  early  coming, 
received  any  gifts  from  him,  which  might 
give  them  who  came  last  any  uneasiness. 
When  the  rulers  of  the  tribe  of  Judah 
and  said  this,  the  rulers  of  the  other 
tribe  were  not  quiet,  but  said  further,  "0 
brethren,  we  cannot  but  wonder  at  you, 
when  you  call  the  king  your  kinsman 
alone,  whereas  he  that  hath  received  from 
God  the  power  over  all  of  us  in  common, 
ought  to  be  esteemed  a  kinsman  to  us 
all ;  for  which  reason  the  whole  people 
have  eleven  parts  in  him,  and  you  but 
one  part:*  we  are  also  elder  than  you; 
wherefore  you  have  not  done  justly  in 
coming  to  the  king  in  this  private  and 
concealed  manner." 

While  these  rulers  were  thus  disputing 
one  with  another,  a  certain  wicked  man, 
who  took  a  pleasure  in  seditious  practices, 
(his  name  was  Sheba,  the  son  of  Bichri, 
of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,)  stood  up  in 
the  midst  of  the.  multitude,  and  cried 
aloud,  and  spake  thus  to  them :  "  We 
have  no  part  in  David,  nor  inheritance 
in  the  son  of  Jesse."  And  when  he  had 
used  these  words,  he  blew  with  a  trumpet, 
and  declared  war  against  the  king;  and 
they  all  left  David,  and  followed  him ; 
the  tribe  of  Judah  alone  stayed  with  him, 
and  settled  him  at  his  royal  palace  at  Je- 
rusalem. But  as  for  his  concubines,  with 
whom  Absalom  his  son  had  accompanied, 
truly  he  removed  them  to  another  house; 
and  ordered  those  that  had  the  care  of 
them  to  make  a  plentiful  provision  for 
them  ;  but  he  came  not  near  them  any 
more.  He  also  appointed  Amasa  for  the 
captain  of  his  forces,  and  gave  him  the 
same  high  office  which  Joab  before  had; 
and  he  commanded  him  to  gather  to- 
gether,   out    of   the   tribe    of  Judah,    as 


*  Josephus's  reading  is  to  be  preferred  here,  when 
l!  supposes  eleven  tribes,  including  Benjamin,  to  be 
un  the  one  side,  and  th°  tribe  of  Judah  alone  on 
the  other,  since  Benjamin,  in  general,  had  been 
more  partial  to  the  house  of  Saul,  arid  less  firm  to 
l)avid  hitherto,  than  any  of  the  rest,  and  so  cannot 
be  supposed  to  be  joined  with  Judah  at  this  time, 
to  make  it  double,  especially  when  the  following 
rebellion  was  headed  by  a  Benjamite.  2  Sam 
xx.  2,  4. 


great  an  army  as  he  could,  and  omc  to 
him  within  three  days,  that  he  might  de- 
liver to  him  his  entire  army,  and  might 
send  him  to  fight  against  [Sheba]  the  son 
of  Bichri.  Now  while  Amasa  was  gone 
out,  and  made  some  delay  in  gathering 
the  army  together,  and  so  had  not  yet  re- 
turned, on  the  third  day  the  king  said  to 
Joab,  "  It  is  not  fit  we  should  make  any 
delay  in  this  affair  of  Sheba,  lest  he  get 
a  numerous  army  about  him,  and  be  the 
occasion  g>£  greater  mischief,  and  hurt  our 
affairs  more  than  did  Absalom  himself; 
do  not  thou  therefore  wait  any  longer, 
but  take  such  forces  as  thou  hast  at  hand, 
and  that  [old]  body  of  600  men  and  thy 
brother  Abishai  with  thee,  and  pursue 
after  our  enemy,  and  endeavour  to  fight 
him  wheresoever  thou  canst  overtake  him. 
Make  haste  to  prevent  him,  lest  he  seize 
upon  some  fenced  cities,  and  cause  us 
great  labour  and  pains  before  we  take 
him." 

So  Joab  resolved  to  make  no  delay,  but 
taking  with  him  his  brother,  and  those  600 
men,  and  giving  orders  that  the  rest  of 
the  army  which  was  at  Jerusalem  should 
follow  him,  he  inarched  with  great  speed 
against  Sheba;  and  when  he  had  come  to 
Gribeon,  which  is  a  village  forty  furlong? 
distant  from  Jerusalem,  Amasa  brought  a 
great  army  with  him,  and  met  Joab.  Now 
Joab  was  girded  with  a  sword,  and  his 
breastplate  on ;  and  when  Amasa  came 
near  him  to  salute  him,  he  took  particular 
care  that  his  sword  should  fall  out,  as  it 
were,  of  its  own  accord ;  so  he  took  it  up 
from  the  ground,  and  while  he  approached 
Amasa,  who  was  then  near  him,  as  though 
he  would  kiss  him,  he  took  hold  of  Ama- 
sa's  beard  with  his  other  hand,  and  he 
smote  him  in  his  belly  when  he  did  not 
foresee  it,  and  slew  him.  This  impious 
and  altogether  profane  action,  Joab  did  to 
a  young  man,  aud  his  kinsman,  and  one 
that  had  done  him  no  injury,  and  this  out 
of  jealousy  that  he  would  obtain  the  chief 
command  of  the  army,  and  be  in  equal 
dignity  with  himself  about  the  king:  and 
for  the  same  cause  it  was  that  he  killed 
Abner;  but  as  to  that  former  wicked 
action,  the  death  of  his  brother  Asahel, 
which  he  seemed  to  revenge,  afforded  him 
a  decent  pretence,  and  made  that  crime  a 
pardonable  one;  but  in  this  murder  of 
Amasa,  there  was  no  such  covering  for  it. 
Now  when  Joab  had  killed  this  general, 
he  pursued  after  Sheba,  having  left  a  man 
with  the  dead  body,  who  Mas  ordered  I/O 


236 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIL 


proclaim  aloud  to  the  army  that  Amasa 
was  justly  slain  and  deservedly  punished. 
"  But,"  said  he,  "  if  you  be  for  the  king, 
follow  Joab,  his  general,  and  Abishai, 
Joab's  brother :"  but  because  the  body  lay 
on  the  road,  and  all  the  multitude  came 
running  to  it,  and,  as  is  usual  with  the 
multitude,  stood  wondering  a  great  while 
at  it,  he  that  guarded  it  removed  it  thence, 
and  carried  it  to  a  certain  place  that  was 
very  remote  from  the  road,  and  there  laid 
it,  and  covered  it  with  his  garment.  When 
this  was  done,  all  the  people  followed  Joab. 
Now  as  he  pursued  Sheba  through  all  the 
country  of  Israel,  one  told  him  that  he 
was  in  a  strong  city,  called  Abelbeth- 
maachah.  Hereupon  Joab  went  thither, 
and  set  about  it  with  his  army,  and  cast 
up  a  bank  round  it,  and  ordered  his  sol- 
diers to  undermine  the  walls,  and  to  over- 
throw them  •  and  since  the  people  in  the 
city  did  not  admit  him,  he  was  greatly 
displeased  at  them. 

Now  there  was  a  woman  of  small  ac- 
count, and  yet  both  wise  and  intelligent, 
who,  seeing  her  native  city  lying  at  the 
last  extremity,  ascended  upon  the  wall, 
and,  by  means  of  the  armed  men,  called 
for  Joab;  and  when  he  came  to  her,  she 
began  to  say,  that  "God  ordained  kings 
and  generals  of  armies,  that  they  might 
cut  off  the  enemies  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
introduce  an  universal  peace  among  them  ; 
but  thou  art  endeavouring  to  overthrow 
and  depopulate  a  metropolis  of  the  Israel- 
ites, which  hath  been  guilty  of  no  offence." 
But  he  replied,  "God  continue  to  be  mer- 
ciful unto  me:  I  am  disposed  to  avoid 
killing  any  one  of  the  people,  much  less 
would  I  destroy  such  a  city  as  this  ;  and 
if  they  will  deliver  me  up  Sheba,  the  son 
of  Bichri,  who  hath  rebelled  against  the 
king,  I  will  leave  off  the  siege,  and  with- 
draw the  army  from  the  place."  Now  as 
soon  as  the  woman  heard  what  Joab  said, 
she  desired  him  to  intermit  the  siege  for 
a  little  while,  for  that  he  should  have  the 
head  of  his  enemy  thrown  out  to  him  pre- 
sently. So  she  went  down  to  the  citizens, 
and  said  to  them,  "Will  you  be  so  wicked 
as  to  perish  miserably,  with  your  children 
and  wives,  for  the  sake  of  a  vile  fellow, 
and  one  whom  nobody  knows  who  he  is  ? 
And  will  you  have  him  for  your  king  in- 
stead of  David,  who  hath  been  so  great  a 
benefactor  to  you,  and  oppose  your  city 
alone  to  such  a  mighty  and  strong  army?" 
So  she  prevailed  with  them,  and  they  cut 
off  the  head  of  Sheba,  and  threw  it  into 


Joab's  army.  When  this  was  done,  the 
king's  general  sounded  a  retreat,  and  raised 
the  siege.  And  when  he  had  come  lo  Je- 
rusalem, he  was  again  appointed  to  ba  the 
general  of  all  the  people.  The  khig  also 
constituted  Benaiah  captain  of  tie  gUcrcs, 
and  of  the  600  men.  He  also  set  Auc- 
ram  over  the  trioute,  and  Sabathss  and 
Achilaus  over  the  records.  lie  made 
Sheva  the  scribe ;  and  appointed  .Zadok 
and  Abiathar  the  high  priests 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

Wars  with  the  Philistines.     B.  C.  10:  8. 

After  this,  when  the  country  wa^ 
greatly  afflicted  with  a  famine,  David  be- 
sought God  to  have  mercy  on  the  people, 
and  to  discover  to  him  what  was  the  cause 
of  it,  and  how  a  remedy  might  be  found 
for  that  distemper.  And  when  the  pro- 
phet answered,  that  God  would  have  the 
Gibeonites  avenged,  whom  Saul  the  king 
was  so  wicked  as  to  betray  to  slaughter, 
and  had  not  observed  the  oath  which 
Joshua  the  general  and  the  senate  had 
sworn  to  them.  If,  therefore,  said  God, 
the  king  would  permit  such  vengeance  to 
be  taken  for  those  that  were  slain  as  the 
Gibeonites  should  desire,  he  promised  that 
he  would  be  reconciled  to  them,  and  free 
the  multitude  from  their  miseries.  As 
soon,  therefore,  as  the  king  understood 
that  it  was  this  which  God  sought,  he  sent 
for  the  Gibeonites,  and  asked  them  what 
it  was  they  would  have  j  and  when  they 
desired  to  have  seven  sons  of  Saul  deli- 
vered to  them  to  be  punished,  he  delivered 
them  up,  but  spared  Mephibosheth  the  son 
of  Jonathan.  So  when  the  Gibeonites 
had  received  the  men,  they  punished  them 
as  they  pleased ;  upon  which  God  began 
to  send  rain,  and  to  recover  the  earth  t  i 
bring  forth  its  fruits  as  usual,  and  to  fre: 
it  from  the  foregoing  drought;  sc  thai 
the  country  of  the  Hebrews  flourished 
again.  A  little  afterward,  the  king  made 
war  against  the  Philistines,  and  wh2n  he 
had  joined  battle  with  them,  and  put 
them  to  flight,  he  %as  left  alone,  as  he 
was  in  pursuit  of  them ;  and  when  he  was 
quite  tired  down,  he  was  seen  by  one  of 
the  enemy — his  name  was  Achmon,  the 
son  of  Araph  j  he  was  one  of  the  sous  of 
the  giants.  He  had  a  spear,  the  handle 
of  which  weighed  300  shekels,  and  a 
breastplate  of  chain-work,  and  a  sword. 
He  turned  back,  and  ran  violently  to  slay 


Chap.  XII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


237 


[David]  their  enemy's  king,  for  he  was 
quite  tired  out  with  labour  j  but  Abishai, 
Joab's  brother,  appeared  on  the  sudden, 
and  protected  the  king  with  his  shield,  as 
he  lay  down,  and  slew  the  enemy.  Now 
the  multitude  was  very  uneasy  at  these 
dangers  of  the  king,  and  that  he  was  very 
near  to  be  slain ;  and  the  rulers  made  him 
swear  that  he  would  no  more  go  out  with 
them  to  battle,  lest  he  should  come  to 
some  great  misfortune  by  his  courage  and 
boldness,  and  thereby  deprive  the  people 
of  the  benefits  they  now  enjoyed  by  his 
means,  and  of  those  that  they  might  here- 
after enjoy  by  his  living  a  long  time 
among  them. 

When  the  king  heard  that  the  Philis- 
tines were  gathered  together  at  the  city 
Gazara,  he  sent  an  army  against  them, 
when  Sibechai  the  Hittite,  one  of  David's 
most  courageous  men,  behaved  himself  so 
as  to  deserve  great  commendation,  for  he 
slew  many  of  those  that  boasted  they 
were  the  posterity  of  the  giants,  and 
vaunted  themselves  highly  on  that  account, 
and  thereby  was  the  occasion  of  victory  to 
the  Hebrews.  After  which  defeat,  the 
Philistines  made  war  again ;  and  when 
David  had  sent  an  army  against  them, 
Nephan  his  kinsman  fought  in  a  single 
combat  with  the  stoutest  of  all  the  Philis- 
tines, and  slew  him,  and  put  the  rest  to 
flight.  Many  of  them  also  were  slain  in 
the  fight.  Now  a  little  while  after  this, 
the  Philistines  pitched  their  camp  at  a  city 
which  lay  not  far  off  the  bounds  of  the 
country  of  the  Hebrews.  They  had  a 
man  who  was  six  cubits  tall,  and  had  on 
each  of  his  feet  and  hands  one  more  toe 
and  finger  than  men  naturally  have.  Now 
the  person  who  was  sent  against  them  by 
David  out  of  his  army,  was  Jonathan,  the 
son  of  Shimea,  who  fought  this  man  in 
single  combat,  and  slew  him  ;  and  as  he 
was  the  person  who  gave  the  turn  to  the 
battle,  he  gained  the  greatest  reputation 
Tor  courage  therein.  This  man  also 
Taunteu  himself  to  be  of  the  sons  of  the 
giants.  But  after  this  fight,  the  Philis- 
tines made  war  no  more  with  the  Israel- 
ites. 

And  now  David  being  freed  from  wars 
and  dangers,  and  enjoying  for  the  future 
a  profound  peace,  composed  songs  and 
hymns  to  God,  of  several  sorts  of  metre ; 
some  of  those  which  he  made  were  tri- 
meters, and  some  were  pentameters.  He 
also  made  instruments  of  music,  and  taught 
the  Levites  to  sing  hymns  to  God,  both 


on  that  called  the  Sabbath-day,  and  on 
other  festivals.  Now  the  construction  of 
the  instruments  was  thus  :  the  viol  was 
an  instrument  of  ten  strings,  it  was  played 
upon  with  a  bow;  the  psaltery  had  twelve 
musical  notes,  and  was  played  upon  by  the 
fingers;  the  cymbals  were  broad  and  large 
instruments,  and  were  made  of  brass. 
And  so  much  shall  suffice  to  be  spoken  by 
us  about  these  instruments,  that  the  read- 
ers may  not  be  wholly  unacquainted  with 
their  nature. 

Now  all  the  men  that  were  about  David 
were  men  of  courage.  Those  that  were 
most  illustrious  and  famous  for  their  ac- 
tions were  thirty-eight;  of  five  of  whom 
I  will  only  relate  the  performances,  for 
these  will  suffice  to  make  manifest  the 
virtues  of  the  others  also ;  for  these  were 
powerful  enough  to  subdue  countries,  and 
conquer  great  nations.  First,  therefore, 
was  Jessai,  the  son  of  Achimaas,  who 
frequently  leaped  upon  the  troops  of  the 
enemy,  and  did  not  leave  off  fighting  till 
he  overthrew  900  of  them.  After  him 
was  Elcazar,  the  son  of  Dodo,  who  was 
with  the  king  at  Arasam.  This  man, 
when  once  the  Israelites  were  under  a 
consternation  at  the  multitude  of  the  Phi- 
listines, and  were  running  away,  stood 
alone,  and  fell  upon  the  enemy,  and  slew 
many  of  them,  till  his  sword  clung  to  his 
hand  by  the  blood  he  had  shed,  and  till 
the  Israelites,  seeing  the  Philistines  retire 
by  his  means,  came  down  from  the  moun- 
tains, and  pursued  them,  and  at  that  time 
won  a  surprising  and  a  famous  victory, 
while  Eleazar  slew  the  men,  and  the  mul- 
titude followed  and  spoiled  their  dead  bo- 
dies. The  third  was  Sheba,  the  son  of 
Illus.  Now  this  man,  when  in  the  wars 
against  the  Philistines,  the}7  pitched  their 
camp  at  a  place  called  Lehi,  and  when  the 
Hebrews  were  again  afraid  of  their  army, 
and  did  not  stay,  he  stood  still  alone,  as 
an  army  and  a  body  of  men ;  and  some  of 
them  he  overthrew,  and  some  who  were  not 
able  to  abide  his  strength  and  force,  he 
pursued.  These  are  the  works  of  the 
hands,  and  of  fighting,  which  these  three 
performed.  Now  at  the  time  when  the 
king  was  once  at  Jerusalem,  aud  the  army 
of  the  Philistines  came  upon  him  to  fight 
him,  David  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  cita- 
del, as  we  have  already  said,  to  inquire  of 
God  concerning  the  battle,  while  the  ene- 
my's camp  lay  in  the  valley  that  extends 
to  the  city  of  Jiethlehem,  which  is  twenty 
furlongs    distant,   from   Jerufalem.     Now 


^33 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII, 


David  said  to  his  companions,  "We  have 
excellent  water  in  my  own  city,  especially 
that  which  is  in  the  pit  near  the  gate/' 
wondering  if  any  one  would  bring  him 
some  of  it  to  drink ;  but  he  said  that  he 
would  rather  have  it  than  a  great  deal  of* 
money.  When  these  three  men  heard 
what  he  said,  they  ran  away  immediately, 
and  burst  through  the  midst  of  their  ene- 
my's camp,  and  came  to  Bethlehem  ;  and 
when  they  had  drawn  the  water,  they  re- 
turned through  the  enemy's  camp  to  the 
kino;,  insomuch  that  the  Philistines  were 
so  surprised  at  their  boldness  and  alacrity, 
that  they  were  quiet,  and  did  nothing 
against  them,  as  if  they  despised  their 
small  number.  But  when  the  water  was 
brought  to  the  king,  he  would  not  drink 
it,  saying,  that  it  was  brought  by  the  dan- 
ger and  the  blood  of  men,  and  that  it  was 
not  proper  on  that  account  to  drink  it. 
But  he  poured  it  out  to  God,  and  gave 
him  thanks  for  the  salvation  of  the  men. 
Next  to  these  was  Abishai,  Joab's  brother; 
for  he  in  one  day  slew  600.  The  fifth  of 
these  was  Benaiah,  by  lineage  a  priest ; 
for  being  challenged  by  [two]  eminent  men 
in  the  country  of  Moab,  he  overcame  them 
by  his  valour.  Moreover  there  was  a  man, 
by  nation  an  Egyptian,  who  was  of  a  vast 
bulk,  and  challenged  him,  yet  did  he, 
when  he  was  unarmed,  kill  him  with  his 
own  spear,  which  he  threw  at  him,  for  he 
caught  him  by  force,  and  took  away  his 
weapons  while  he  was  alive  and  fighting, 
and  slew  him  with  his  own  weapons.  One 
may  also  add  this  to  tho  foremen tioned  ac- 
tions of  the  same  man,  either  as  the  prin- 
cipal of  them  in  alacrity,  or  as  resembling 
the  rest.  When  God  sent  a  snow,  there 
was  a  lion  who  slipped  and  fell  into  a  cer- 
tain pit,  and  because  the  pit's  mouth  was 
narrow,  it  was  evident  he  would  perish, 
beinf  enclosed  with  the  snow  ;  so  when 
be  saw  no  way  to  get  out  and  save  him- 
self, he  roared.  When  Benaiah  heard  the 
wild  beast,  he  went  toward  him,  and  com- 
ino-  at  the  noise  he  made,  he  went  down 
into  the  mouth  of  the  pit  and  smote  him, 
as  he  struggled,  with  a  stake  that  lay 
there,  and  immediately  slew  him.  The 
other  thirty-three  men  were  like  these  in 
valour  also. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

David   numbers    the  people — fatal  consequences 
arising  therefrom.     B.C.  101S. 

Now  King  David  was  desirous  to  know 
how  many  ten  thousands  there  were  of  the 


people,  but  forgot  the  commands  of  Moses, 
who  told  them  beforehand,  that  if  the  mul- 
titude were  numbered,  they  should  pay 
half  a  shekel  to  God  for  every  head.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  king  commanded  Joab,  the 
captain  of  his  host,  to  go  and  number  the 
whole  multitude;  but  when  he  said  there 
was  no  necessity  for  such  enumeration,  he 
was  not  persuaded  [to  countermand  it], 
but  he  enjoined  him  to  make  no  delay, 
but  to  go  about  the  numbering  of  the  He- 
brews immediately.  So  Joab  took  with 
him  the  heads  of  the  tribes,  and  the  scribes, 
and  went  over  the  country  of  the  Israel- 
ites, and  took  notice  how  numerous  the 
multitude  were,  and  returned  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  the  king,  after  nine  months  and 
twenty  days;  and  he  gave  in  to  the  king 
the  number  of  the  people,  without  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  for  he  had  not  yet 
numbered  that  tribe,  no  more  than  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  for  the  king  repented  of  his 
having  sinned  against  God.  Now  the 
number  of  the  rest  of  the  Israelites  was 
900,000  men,  who  were  able  to  bear  arms 
and  go  to  war  ;  but  the  tribe  of  Judah,  by 
itself,  wTas  400,000  men. 

Now  when  the  prophets  had  signified  to 
David  that  God  was  angry  at  him,  he  be- 
gan to  entreat  him,  and  to  desire  he  would 
be  merciful  to  him,  and  forgive  him  his 
sin.  But  God  sent  Nathan  the  prophet 
to  him,  to  propose  to  him  the  election  of 
three  things,  that  he  might  choose  which 
he  liked  best:  whether  he  would  have  a 
famine  come  upon  the  country  for  seven 
years,  or  would  have  a  wTar,  and  be  sub- 
dued three  months  by  his  enemies  ?  or, 
whether  God  should  send  a  pestilence  and 
a  distemper  upon  the  Hebrews  for  three 
days  ?  But  as  he  had  fallen  to  a  fatal 
choice  of  great  miseries,  he  was  in  trouble, 
and  sorely  confounded ;  and  when  the 
prophet  had  said  that^he  must  of  necessity 
make  his  choice,  and  had  ordered  him  to 
answer  quickly,  that  lie  might  declare 
what  he  had  chosen  to  God,  the  king  rea- 
soned with  himself,  that  in  case  he  should 
ask  for  famine,  he  would  appear  to  do  it 
for  others,  and  without  danger  to  himself, 
since  he  had  a  great  deal  of  corn  hoarded 
up,  but  to  the  harm  of  others;  that  iu 
case  he  should  choose  to  be  overcome  [by 
his  enemies],  for  three  months,  he  would 
appear  to  have  chosen  war,  because  he  had 
valiant  men  about  him,  and  strongholds, 
and  that  therefore  he  feared  nothing  there- 
from ;  so  he  chose  that  affliction  which  is 
'common   to  kings  and  to  their  subjects, 


Chap.  XIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF     THE    JEWS. 


239 


and  in  whicl.  the  danger  was  equal  on  all 
sides;  and  said  this  beforehand,  that  it 
was  much  better  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
God  than  into  those  of  his  enemies. 

When  the  prophet  had  heard  this,  he 
doelared  it  to  God  ;  who  thereupon  sent  a 
pestilence  and  a  mortality  upon  the  He- 
brews ;  nor  did  they  die  after  one  and 
the  same  manner,  nor  so  that  it  was  easy 
to  know  what  the  distemper  was.  Now, 
the  miserable  disease  was  one  indeed,  but 
it  carried  them  off  by  ten  thousand  causes 
and  occasions,  which  those  that  were  af- 
flicted could  not  understand  :  for  one  died 
upon  the  neck  of  another,  and  the  terrible 
malady  seized  them  before  they  were 
aware,  and  brought  them  to  their  end 
suddenly,  some  giving  up  the  ghost  im- 
mediately with  very  great  pains  and  bitter 
grief;  and  some  were  worn  away  by  their 
distempers,  and  had  nothing  remaining  to 
be  buried,  but  as  soon  as  ever  they  fell, 
were  entirely  macerated  ;  some  were 
choked,  and  greatly  lamented  their  case, 
as  being  also  stricken  with  a  sudden  dark- 
ness ;  some  there  were,  who,  as  they  were 
burying  a  relation,  fell  down  dead,*  with- 
out finishing  the  rites  of  the  funeral. 
Now  there  perished  of  this  disease,  which 
began  with  the  morning,  and  lasted  till 
the  hour  of  dinner,  70,000.  Nay,  the 
angel  stretched  out  over  Jerusalem,  as 
sending  this  terrible  judgment  upon  it; 
but  David  had  put  on  sackcloth,  and  lay 
upon  the  ground  entreating  God,  and 
begging  that  the  distemper  might  now 
cease,  and  that  he  would  be  satisfied  with 
those  that  had  already  perished  ;  and 
when  the  king  looked  up  into  the  air,  and 
saw  the  angel  carried  aloug  thereby  into 
Jerusalem,  with  his  sword  drawn,  he  said 
to  God,  that  he  might  justly  be  punished, 
who  was  their  shepherd ;  but  that  the 
sheep  ought  to  be  preserved,  as  not  having 
sinned  at  all  ;  and  he  implored  God  that 
he  would  send  his  wrath  upon  him,  and 
upon  all  his  family,  but  spare  the  people. 

When  God  heard  his  supplication,  he 
caused  the  .pestilence  to  cease  ;  and  sent 
Gad  the  prophet  to  him,  and  commanded 
him  to  go  up  immediately  to  the  thresh- 
ing-floor of  Araunah,  the  Jebusite,  and 
build  an  altar  there  to  God,  and  offer  sa- 

*  Whence  Josephus  took  these  distinct  and  me- 
lancholy accounts  of  the  particular  symptoms  and 
most  miserable  methods  of  dying,  in  this  terrible 
pestilence,  we  cannot  now  tell,  our  other  copies  af- 
fording no  such  accounts. 


crinces.  When  David  heard  that,  he  did 
not  neglect  his  duty,  but  made  haste  to 
the  place  appointed  him.  Now  Araunah 
was  threshing  wheat;  and  when  he  saw 
the  king  and  all  his  servants  coming  to 
him,  he  ran  before,  and  came  to  him,  and 
worshipped  him  :  he  was  by  his  lineage  a 
Jebusite,  but  a  particular  friend  of  Da- 
vid's; and  for  that  cause  was  that,  when 
he  overthrew  the  city,  he  did  him  no  harm, 
as  we  informed  the  reader  a  little  before. 
Now  Araunah  inquired,  Wherefore  is  my 
lord  come  to  his  servant  ?  He  answered, 
to  buy  of  him  the  threshing-floor,  that  he 
might  therein  build  an  altar  to  God,  and 
offer  a  sacrifice.  He  replied,  that  he 
freely  gave  him  both  the  threshing-floor, 
and  the  ploughs  and  the  oxen  for  a  burnt- 
offering  ;  and  he  besought  God  graciously 
to  accept  his  sacrifice.  But  the  king 
made  answer,  that  he  took  his  generosity 
and  magnanimity  kindly,  and  accepted 
his  good-will ;  but  he  desired  him  to  take 
the  price  of  them  all,  for  that  it  was  not 
just  to  offer  a  sacrifice  that  cost  nothing. 
And  when  Araunah  said,  he  should  do  as 
he  pleased,  he  bought  the  threshing-floor 
of  him  for  fifty  shekels  ;  and  when  he  had 
built  an  altar,  he  performed  divine  service, 
and  brought  a  burnt-offering,  and  offered 
peace-offerings  also.  With  these  God  was 
pacified,  and  became  gracious  to  them 
again.  Now  it  happened  that  Abraham* 
came  and  offered  his  son  Isaac  for  a  burnt- 
offering  at  that  very  place  ;  and  when  the 
youth  was  ready  to  have  his  throat  cut,  a 
ram  appeared  on  a  sudden,  standing  by 
the  altar,  which  Abraham  sacrificed  in  the 
stead  of  Iris  son,  as  we  have  before  related. 
Now  wheu  King  David  saw  that  God  had 
heard  his  prayer,  and  had  graciously  ac- 
cepted of  his  sacrifice,  he  resolved  to  call 
that  entire  place  "  The  Altar  of  all  the 
People/ '  and  to  build  a  temple  to  God 
there ;  which  words  he  uttered  very  posi- 
tively to  what  was  to  be  done  afterward; 
for  God  sent  the  prophet  to  him,  and  told 
him  that  there  should  his  son  build  him 
an  altar, — that  son  who  was  to  take  tho 
kingdom  after  him. 


-What  Josephua  adds  here  is  very  remarkable, 
that  this  Mount  Moriah  was  not  only  the  wry  place 
where  Abraham  offered  up  Isaac  Long  ago,  hut  that 
God  had  foretold  to  David  by  a  prophet,  that  hero 
his  son  should  build  him  a  temple;  which  is  not 
directly  in  any  of  our  other  copies,  though  very 
agreeable  to  what  is -in  them,  particularly  ii  1 
Chron.  xxi.  26,  2S,  and  xxii.  1. 


240 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Adonijah  attempts  to  gain  the  kingdom — Solomon 
named  as  successor.     B.  C.  1015. 

After  the  delivery  of  this  prophecy, 
the  king  commanded  the  strangers  to  be 
numbered,  and  they  were  found  to  be 
180,000;  of  these  he  appointed  80,000  to 
be  hewers  of  stone,  and  the  rest  of  the  mul- 
titude to  carry  the  stones,  and  of  them  he 
set  over  the  workmen  3500.  He  also 
prepared  a  great  quantity  of  iron  and 
brass  for  the  work,  with  many  (and  those 
exceedingly  large)  cedar-trees,  the  Tyrians 
and  Sidonians  sending  them  to  him,  for 
he  had  sent  to  them  for  a  supply  of  those 
trees  ;  and  he  told  his  friends  that  these 
things  were  now  prepared,  that  he  might 
leave  materials  ready  for  the  building  of 
the  temple  to  his  sou,  who  was  to  reign 
after  him,  and  that  he  might  not  have 
them  to  seek  then,  when  he  was  very 
young,  and,  by  reason  of  his  age,  unskilful 
in  such  matters,  but  might  have  them  ly- 
ing by  him,  and  so  might  the  more  readily 
complete  the  work. 

So  David  called  his  son  Solomon,  and 
charged  him,  when  he  had  received  the 
kingdom,  to  build  a  temple  to  God ;  and 
said,  "  I  was  willing  to  build  God  a  temple 
myself,  but  he  prohibited  me,  because  I 
was  polluted  with  blood  and  wars;  but  he 
hath  foretold  that  Solomon,  my  youngest 
son,  should  build  him  a  temple,  and 
should  be  called  by  that  name ;  over 
whom  he  hath  promised  to  take  the  like 
care  as  a  father  takes  over  his  son ;  and 
that  he  would  make  the  country  of  the 
Hebrews  happy  under  him,  and  that  not 
only  in  other  respects,  but  by  giving  it 
peace,  and  freedom  from  wars,  and  from 
internal  seditions,  which  are  the  greatest 
of  all  blessings.  "  Since,  therefore/'  said 
he,  "thou  wast  ordained  king  by  God 
himself  before  thou  wast  born,  endeavour 
to  render  thyself  worthy  of  this  his  pro- 
vidence, as  in  other  instances,  so  particu- 
larly in  being  religious,  and  righteous, 
and  couragoous.  Keep  thou  also  his 
commands  and  his  laws,  which  he  hath 
given  us  by  Moses,  and  do  not  permit 
others  to  break  them.  Be  zealous  also  to 
dedicate  to  God  a  temple,  which  he  hath 
chosen  to  be  built  under  thy  reign ;  nor 
be  thou  affrighted  by  the  vastness  of  the 
work,  nor  set  about  it  timorously,  for  I 
will  make  all  things  ready  before  I  die ; 
and  take  notice,  that  there  are  already 
10;000  talents  of  gold  and  100;000  talents 


of  silver  collected  together.  I  have  also 
laid  together  brass  and  iron  without  num- 
ber, and  an  immense  quantity  of  timber 
and  of  stones.  Moreover,  thou  hast  many 
ten  thousand  stonecutters  and  carpenters ; 
and  if  thou  shalt  want  any  thing  further, 
do  thou  add  somewhat  of  thine  own. 
Wherefore,  if  thou  performest  this  work, 
thou  wilt  be  acceptable  to  God,  and  have 
him  for  thy  patron."  David  also  further 
exhorted  the  rulers  of  the  people  to  assist 
his  son  in  this  building,  and  to  attend  to 
the  divine  service,  when  they  should  be 
free  from  all  their  misfortunes,  for  that 
they  by  this  means  should  enjoy,  instead 
of  them,  peace,  and  a  happy  settlement ; 
with  which  blessings  God  rewards  such 
men  as  are  religious  and  righteous.  He 
also  gave  orders,  that  when  the  temple 
should  be  once  built,  they  should  put  the 
ark  therein,  with  the  holy  vessels ;  and  ho 
assured  them,  that  they  ought  to  have  had 
a  temple  long  ago,  if  their  fathers  had  not 
been  negligent  of  God's  commands,  who 
had  given  it  in  charge,  that  when  they  had 
got  the  possession  of  this  land  they  should 
build  him  a  temple.  Thus  did  David  dis- 
course to  the  governors  and  to  his  son. 

Pavid  was  now  in  years,  and  his  body, 
by  length  of  time,  had  become  cold  and 
benumbed,  insomuch  that  he  could  get 
no  heat  by  covering  himself  with  many 
clothes;  and  when  the  physicians  came 
together,  they  agreed  to  this  advice,  that 
a  beautiful  virgin,  chosen  out  of  the  whole 
country,  should  sleep  by  the  king's  side, 
and  that  this  damsel  would  communicate 
heat  to  him,  and  be  a  remedy  against  his 
numbness.  Now  there  was  found  in  the 
city  one  woman,  of  a  superior  beauty  to 
all  other  women,  (her  name  was  Abishag,) 
who,  sleeping  with  the  king,  did  no  more 
than  communicate  warmth  to  him,  for  he 
was  so  old  that  he  could  not  know  her  as 
a  husband  knows  his  wife;  but  of  this 
woman  we  shall  speak  more  presently. 

Now  the  fourth  son  of  David  was  a 
beautiful  young  man,  and  tall,  born  to  him 
of  Haggith  his  wife.  He  was  named  Ado- 
nijah, and  was  in  his  disposition  like  to 
Absalom;  and  exalted  himself  as  hoping 
to  be  king,  and  'told  his  friends  that  he 
ought  to  take  the  government  upon  him. 
He  also  prepared  many  chariots,  and 
horses,  and  fifty  men  to  run  before  him. 
When  David  his  father  saw  this,  he  did 
not  reprove  him,  nor  restrain  him  from 
his  purpose,  nor  did  he  go  so  far  as  to  ask 
wherefore  he  did  so.     Now  Adonijah  had 


Cuap.  XIV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


241 


for  his  assistants  Joab,  the  captain  of  the 
army,  and  Abiathar  the  high  priest ;  and 
the  only  persons  that  opposed  him  were 
Zadok  the  high  priest,  and  the  prophet 
Nathan,  and  Benaiah,  who  was  captain  of 
the  guards,  and  Shimei,  David's  friend, 
with  all  the  other  most  mighty  men.  Now 
Adonijah  had  prepared  a  supper  out  of  the 
city,  near  the  fouutain  that  was  in  the 
king's  paradise,  and  had  invited  all  his 
brethren,  except  Solomon,  and  had  taken 
with  him  Joab,  the  captain  of  the  army, 
and  Abiathar,  and  the  rulers  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah  ;  but  had  not  invited  to  his  feast 
either  Zadok  the  high  priest,  or  Nathan 
the  prophet,  or  Benaiah,  the  captain  of  the 
guards,  nor  any  of  those  of  the  contrary 
party.  This  matter  was  told  by  Nathan 
the  prophet  to  Bathsheba,  Solomon's 
mother,  that  Adonijah  was  king,  and 
that  David  knew  nothing  of  it;  and  he 
advised  her  to  save  herself  and  her  son 
Solomon,  and  to  go  herself  to  David,  and 
say  to  him,  that  he  had  indeed  sworn  that 
Solomon  should  reign  after  him  :  but  that, 
in  the  mean  time,  Adonijah  had  already 
taken  the  kingdom.  He  said  that  he,  the 
prophet  himself,  would  come  after  her,  and 
when  she  had  spoken  thus  to  the  kin#, 
would  confirm  what  she  had  said.  Ac- 
cordingly, Bathsheba  agreed  with  Nathan, 
and  went  unto  the  king,  and  worshipped 
him ;  and  when  she  had  desired  leave  to 
speak  with  him,  she  told  him  al1  things 
in  the  manner  that  Nathan  had  suggested 
to  her;  and  related  what  a  supper  Adoni- 
jah had  made,  and  who  they  were  whom 
he  had  invited ;  Abiathar  the  high  priest, 
and  Joab  the  general,  and  David's  sons,  ex- 
cepting Solomon  and  his  intimate  friends. 
She  also  said,  that  all  the  people  had  their 
eyes  upon  him,  to  know  whom  he  would 
choose  for  their  king.  She  desired  him 
also  to  consider,  how,  after  his  departure, 
Adonijah,  if  he  was  king,  would  slay  her 
and  her  son  Solomon. 

Now,  as  Bathsheba  was  speaking,  the 
keeper  of  the  king's  chambers  told  him 
that  Nathan  desired  to  see  him ;  and 
when  the  king  had  commanded  that  he 
should  be  admitted,  he  came  in,  and  asked 
him  whether  he  had  ordained  Adonijah  to 
be  king,  and  delivered  the  government  to 
him,  or  not;  for  that  he  had  made  a 
splendid  supper,  and  invited  all  his  sons, 
except  Solomon;  as  also  that  he  had  in- 
vited Joab,  the  captain  of  his  host,  [and 
Abiathar  Hie  high  priest,]  who  are  feast- 
ing with  applauses,  and  many  joyful 
IP 


sounds  of  instruments,  and  wish  that  his 
kingdom  may  last  forever;  but  he  hath 
not  invited  me,  nor  Zadok  the  high  priest, 
nor  Benaiah  the  captain  of  the  guards; 
and  it  is  but  fit  that  all  should  know 
whether  this  be  done  by  thy  approbation 
or  not.  When  Nathan  had  said  thus,  the 
king  commanded  that  they  should  call 
Bathsheba  to  him,  for  she  had  gone  out 
of  the  room  when  the  prophet  came  ;  and 
when  Bathsheba  had  come,  David  said, 
"I  swear  by  Almighty  God,  that  thy  son 
Solomon  shall  certainly  be  king,  as  I  for- 
merly swore ;  and  that  he  shall  sit  upon 
my  throne,  and  that  this  very  day  also." 
So  Bathsheba  worshipped  him,  and  wished 
him  a  long  life ;  and  the  king  sent  for 
Zadok  the  high  priest,  and  Benaiah  the 
captain  of  the  guards;  and  when  they  had 
come,  he  ordered  them  to  take  with  them 
Nathan  the  prophet,  and  all  the  armed 
men  about  the  palace,  and  to  set  his  son 
Solomon  upon  the  king's  mule,  and  to 
carry  him  out  of  the  city  to  the  fountain 
called  Gihon,  and  to  anoint  him  with  the 
holy  oil,  and  to  make  him  king.  This  he 
charged  Zadok  the  high  priest  and  Nathan 
the  prophet  to  do;  and  commanded  them 
to  follow  Solomon  through  the  midst  of 
the  city,  and  to  sound  the  trumpets,  and 
to  wish  aloud  that  Solomon  the  king  may 
sit  upon  the  royal  throne  for  ever,  that  so 
all  the  people  may  know  that  he  is  or- 
dained king  of  his  father.  He  also  gave 
Solomon  a  charge  concerning  his  govern- 
ment, to  rule  the  whole  nation  of  the  He- 
brews, and  particularly  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
religiously  and  righteously.  And  when 
Benaiah  had  prayed  to  God  to  be  favour- 
able to  Solomon,  without  any  delay,  they 
set  Solomon  upon  the  mule,  and  brought 
him  out  of  the  city  to  the  fountain,  and 
anointed  him  with  oil,  and  brought  him 
into  the  city  again,  with  acclamations  and 
wishes  that  his  kingdom  might  continue 
a  long  time:  and  when  they  had  intro- 
duced him  into  the  king's  house,  they  set 
him  upon  the  throne:  whereupon  all  the 
people  betook  themselves  to  make  merry, 
and  to  celebrate  a  festival,  dancing  and 
delighting  themselves  with  musical  pipes, 
till  both  the  earth  and  the  air  echoed  with 
the  multitude  of  the  instruments  of  music. 
Now  when  Adonijah  and  his  guests  per- 
ceived this  noise,  they  were  in  disorder; 
and  Joab  the  captain  of  the  host  said,  he 
was  not  pleased  with  these  echoes,  and  the 
sound  of  these  trumpets.  And  when  sup- 
per was  set  before  them,  nobody  tasted  of 


242 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


[Bc~i  VIL 


it,  but  they  were  all  very  thoughtful  what 
would  be  the  matter.  Then  Jonathan, 
the  son  of  Abiathar  the  high  priest,  came 
running  to  them ;  and  when  Adonijah 
saw  the  young  man  gladly,  and  said  to 
him  that  he  was  a  good  messenger,  he  de- 
clared to  them  the  whole  matter  about 
Solomon,  and  the  determination  of  King 
David  ;  hereupou,  both  Adonijah  and  all 
his  guests  rose  hastily  from  the  feast,  and 
every  one  fled  to  their  own  homes.  Ado- 
nijah also,  as  afraid  of  the  king  for  what 
he  had  done,  became  a  suppliant  to  God, 
and  took  hold  of  the  horns  of  the  altar, 
which  were  prominent.  It  was  also  told 
Solutnon  that  he  had  so  done;  and  that 
he  desired  to  receive  assurances  from  him 
that  he  would  not  remember  the  injury 
he  had  done,  and  not  inflict  any  severe 
punishment  for  it.  Solomon  answered 
very  mildly  and  prudently,  that  he  for- 
gave him  this  his  offence;  but  said  withal, 
that  if  he  was  found  out  in  any  attempt 
for  new  innovations,  that  he  would  be  the 
author  of  his  own  punishment.  So  he 
sent  to  him,  and  raised  him  up  from  the 
place  of  his  supplication.  And -when  he 
had  come  to  the  king,  and  had  worshipped 
him,  the  king  bade  him  go  away  to  his 
own  house,  and  have  no  suspicion  of  any 
harm;  and  desired  him  to  show  himself  a 
worthy  man,  as  that  would  tend  to  his 
Own  advantage. 

But  David  being  desirous  of  ordaining 
his  son  king  of  all  the  people,  called  to- 
gether their  rulers  to  Jerusalem,  with  the 
priests  und  the  Levites;  and  having  first 
numbered  the  Levites,  he  found  them  to 
be  o8,000,  from  thirty  years  old  to  fifty; 
out  of  which  he  appointed  23,000  to  take 
care  of  the  building  of  the  temple,  and  out 
of  the  same,  6000  to  be  judges  of  the  peo- 
ple and  scribes;  4000  for  porters  to  the 
house  of  God,  and  as  many  for  singers, 
to  sing  to  the  instruments  which  David 
had  prepared,  as  we  have  said  already. 
He  divided  them  also  into  courses  :  and 
when  he  had  separated  the  priests  from 
them,  he  found  of  these  priests  twenty- 
four  courses,  sixteen  of  the  house  of  Elea- 
zar,  and  eight  of  that  of  Ithamar;  and  he 
ordained  that  one  course  should  minister 
to  God  eight  days,  from  Sabbath  to  Sab- 
bath. And  thus  were  the  courses  distri- 
buted by  lot,  in  the  presence  of  David, 
and  Zadok  and  Abiathar  the  high  priests, 
and  of  all  the  rulers  :  and  that  course 
which  came  up  first  was  written  down  as 
the  first,  and  accordingly  the  second,  and 


so  on  to  the  twenty-fourth;  anl  this  pay 
tition  hath  remained  to  this  day.  He 
also  made  twenty-four  parts  of  the  tribe 
of  Levi ;  and  when  they  cast  lots,  tkey 
came  up  in  the  same  manner  for  thci: 
courses  of  eight  days:  he  also  honoured 
the  posterity  of  Moses,  and  made  them 
the  keepers  of  the  treasures  of  Gel,  an  l 
of  the  donations  which  the  king  dedicated  : 
he  also  ordained,  that  all  the  tribe  of  Levi, 
as  well  as  the  priests,  should  serve  God 
night  and  day,  as  Moses  had  enjoiued 
them. 

After  this,  he  parted  the  entire  army 
into  twelve  parts,  with  their  leaders  [and 
captains  of  hundreds]  and  commanders. 
Now  every  part  had  24,000,  which  were 
ordered  to  wait  on  Solomon,  by  thirty 
days  at  a  time,  from  the  first  day  to  thu 
last,  with  the  captains  of  thousands,  and 
captains  of  hundreds :  he  also  set  rulers 
over  every  part,  such  as  he  knew  to  be 
good  and  righteous  men ;  he  set  others 
also  to  take  charge  of  the  treasures,  and 
of  the  villages,  and  of  the  fields,  and  of 
the  beasts,  whose  names  I  do  not  think  it 
necessary  to  mention.  When  David  had 
ordered  all  these  offices,  after  the  manner 
before  mentioned,  he  called  the  rulers  of 
the  Hebrews,  and  their  heads  of  tribes,  and 
the  officers  over  the  several  divisions,  and 
those  that  were  appointed  over  every  work 
and  every  possession  ;  and  standing  upon 
a  high  pulpit,  he  said  to  the  multitude  a? 
follows: — ''My  brethren  and  my  people, 
I  would  have  you  know  that  I  intended 
to  build  a  house  for  God,  and  prepared  a 
large  quantity  of  gold,  and  100,000  talents 
of  silver;  but  God  prohibited  me  by  the 
prophet  Nathan,  because  of  the  wars  I  had 
on  your  account,  and  because  my  right 
hand  was  polluted  with  the  slaughter  of 
our  enemies;  but  he  commanded  that  my 
son,  who  was  to  succeed  me  in  the  king- 
dom, should  build  a  temple  for  him. 
Now,  there forey  since  you  know  that  of 
the  twelve  sons  whom  Jacob  our  forefa- 
ther had,  Judah  was  appointed  to  be  king, 
and  that  I  was  preferred  before  my  six 
brethren,  and  received  the  government 
from  God,  and^that  none  of  them  were 
uueasy  at  it,  so  do  I  also  desire  that  my 
sons  be  not  seditious  one  against  another, 
now  Solomon  has  received  the  kingdom, 
but  to  bear  him  cheerfully  for  their  lord, 
as  knowing  that  God  hath  chosen  him ; 
for  it  is  not  a  grievous  thing  to  obey  even 
a  foreigner  as  a  ruler  if  it  be  God's  will, 
but  it  is  fit  to  rejoice  when  a  brother  hath 


JBAP.  XV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE    JEWS. 


243 


obtained  that  dignity,  since  the  rest  par- 
take of  it  with  him.  And  I  pray  that  the 
promises  of  God  may  be  fulfilled;  and 
that  this  happiness  which  he  hath  pro- 
mised to  bestow  upon  King  Solomon,  over 
all  the  country,  may  continue  therein  for 
all  time  to  come.  And  these  promises,  0 
son,  will  be  firm,  and  come  to  a  happy 
end,  if  thou  showest  thyself  to  be  a  reli- 
gious and  a  righteous  man,  and  an  observer 
of  the  laws  of  thy  country;  but  if  not,  ex- 
pect adversity  upon  thy  disobedience  to 
them." 

Now  when  the  king  had  said  this,  he 
left  off;  but  gave  the  description  and  pat- 
tern of  the  building  of  the  temple,  in  the 
<i*ht  of  them  all,  to  Solomon;  of  the 
xu_dations  and  of  the  chambers,  inferior 
■n.d  superior;  how  many  they  were  to  be, 
a^d  how  large  in  height  and  in  breadth ; 
.is  also  he  determined  the  weight  of  the 
golden  and  silver  vessels;  moreover,  he 
earnestly  excited  them  with  his  words,  to 
use  the  utmost  alacrity  about  the  work : 
he  exhorted  the  rulers  also,  and  particu- 
larly the  tribe  of  Levi,  to  assist  him,  both 
because  of  his  youth,  and  because  God 
had  chosen  him  to  take  care  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  temple,  and  of  the  government 
of  the  kingdom.  He  also  declared  to 
them  that  the  work  would  be  easy,  and 
not  very  laborious  to  them,  because  he 
had  prepared  for  it  many  talents  of  gold, 
and  more  of  silver,  with  timber,  and  a 
great  many  carpenters  and  stonecutters, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  emeralds,  and  all 
sorts  of  precious  stones :  and,  he  said, 
that  even  now  he  would  give  of  the  proper 
goods  of  his  own  dominion,  200  talents,  and 
300  other  talents  of  pure  gold,  for  the  most 
holy  place  ;  and  for  the  chariot  of  God, 
the  cherubim,  which  arc  to  stand  over 
and  cover  the  ark.  Now  when  David  had 
done  speaking,  there  appeared  great  ala- 
crity among  the  rulers,  and  the  priests, 
and  the  Levites,  who  now  contributed  and 
made  great  and  splendid  promises  for  a 
future  contribution ;  fur  they  undertook 
to  bring  of  gold,  5000  talents,  and  10,000 
drachms,  and  of  silver,  10,000  talents, 
and  many  ten  thousand  talents  of  iron  : 
and  if  any  one  had  a  precious  stone,  he 
brought  it,  and  bequeathed  it  to  be  put 
among  the  treasures  of  which  Jachiel,  one 
of  the  posterity  of  Moses,  had  the  care. 

Upon  this  occasion,  all  the  people  re- 
joiced, as  in  particular  did  David,  when 
he  saw  the  zeal  and  forward  ambition  of 
the  rulers,  and  the  priests,  and  of  all  the 


rest :  and  he  began  to  bless  God  with  a 
loud  voice,  calling  him  "  the  Father  and  the 
Parent  of  the  universe,  and  the  Author  of 
human  and  divine  things,  with  which  he 
had  adorned  Solomon,  the  patron  and 
guardian  of  the  Hebrew  nation,  and  of  its 
happiness,  and  of  that  kingdom  which  he 
hath  given  his  son.  Besides  this,  he 
prayed  for  happiness  to  all  the  people; 
and  to  Solomon  his  son,  a  sound  and  a 
righteous  mind,  and  confirmed  in  all  sorts 
of  virtue ;"  and  then  he  commanded  the 
multitude  to  bless  God.  Upon  which  they 
all  fell  down  upon  the  ground  and  wor- 
shipped him.  They  also  gave  thanks  to 
David,  on  account  of  all  the  blessings 
which  they  had  received  ever  since  he  had 
taken  the  kingdom.  On  the  next  day  he 
presented  sacrifices  to  God,  1000  bullocks, 
and  as  many  lambs,  which  they  offered  for 
burnt-offerings.  They  also  offered  peace- 
offerings;  and  slew  many  ten  thousand 
sacrifices;  and  the  king  feasted  all  day, 
together  with  the  people;  and  they 
anointed  Solomon  a  second  time  with  the 
oil,  and  appointed  him  to  be  king;  and 
Zadok  to  be  the  high  priest  of  the  whole 
multitude.  And  when  they  had  brought 
Solomon  to  the  royal  palace,  and  had  set 
him  upon  his  father's  throne,  they  were 
obedient  to  him  from  that  day. 


CHx\PTER  XV. 

David  dies,  and  is  succeeded  by  Solomon. 
B.  C. 1015. 

A  little  afterward,  David  also  fell 
into  a  distemper,  by  reason  of  .his  age ; 
and  perceiving  that  he  was  near  to  death, 
he  called  his  son  Solomon,  and  discoursed 
to  him  thus  : — "I  am  now,  O  my  son,  go- 
ing to  my  grave,  and  to  my  fathers,  which 
is  the  common  way  which  all  men  that 
now  are,  or  shall  be  hereafter,  must  go; 
from  which  way  it  is  no  longer  possible 
to  return,  and  to  know  any  thing  that  is 
done  in  this  world.  On  which  account  I 
exhort  thee,  while  I  am  still  alive,  though 
already  very  near  to  death,  in  the  same 
manner  as  I  have  formerly  said  in  my  ad- 
vice to  thee,  to  be  righteous  toward  thy 
subjects,  and  religious  toward  God,  that 
hath  given  thee  thy  kingdom;  to  observe 
his  commands,  and  his  laws,  which  he 
hath  sent  us  by  Moses  ;  and  neither  do 
thou,  out  of  favour  nor  flattery,  allow  any 
lust  or  other  passion  to  weigh  with  thee 
to  disregard  them;  for  if  thou  trans- 
gressest  his  laws,  thou  wilt  lose  the  fiv« 


2W 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII.  Chap.  XV. 


vour  of  God,  and  thou  wilt  turn  away  his 
providence  frova  thee  in  all  things;  but 
if  thou  behave  thyself  so  as  it  behooves 
thee,  and  as  I  exhort  thee,  thou  wilt  pre- 
serve thy  kingdom  to  our  family,  and  no 
other  house  will  bear  rule  over  the  He- 
brews, but  we  ourselves  for  all  ages.  Be 
thou  also  mindful  of  the  transgressions 
of  Joab,  the  captain  of  the  host,  who 
hath  slain  two  geneials  out  of  envy,  and 
those  righteous  and  good  men,  Abner,  the 
son  of  Ner,  and  Amasa,  the  son  of  Jether; 
whose  death  do  thou  avenge  as  shall  seem 
good  to  thee,  since  Joab  hath  been  too 
hard  for  me,  and  more  potent  than  my- 
self, and  so  hath  escaped  punishment 
hitherto.  I  also  commit  to  thee  the  son 
of  Barzillai,  the  Gileaditc,  whom,  in  order 
to  gratify  me,  thou  shalt  have  in  great 
honour,  and  take  great  care  of;  for  we 
have  not  done  good  to  him  first,  but  we 
only  repay  that  debt  which  we  owe  to  his 
father,  for  what  he  did  to  me  in  my  flight. 
There  is  also  Shimei,  the  son  of  Gera, 
of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  who,  after  he 
had  cast  many  reproaches  upon  me,  when, 
in  my  flight,  I  was  going  to  Mahanaim, 
met  me  at  Jordan,  and  received  assu- 
rances that  he  should  then  suffer  nothing. 
Do  thou  now  seek  out  for  some  just  oc- 
casion, and  punish  him." 

When  David  had  given  these  admoni- 
tions to  his  son  about  public  affairs,  and 
about  his  friends,  and  about  those  whom 
he  knew  to  deserve  punishment,  he-died, 
having  lived  seventy  years,  and  reigned 
seven  years  and  six  months  in  Hebron, 
over  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  thirty- 
three  years  in  Jerusalem,  over  all  the 
country.  This  man  was  of  an  excellent 
character,  and  was  endowed  with  all  the 
virtues  that  were  desirable  in  a  king,  and 
in  one  that  had  the  preservation  of  so 
many  tribes  committed  to  him ;  for  he 
was  a  man  of  valour  in  a  very  extra- 
ordinary degree,  and  went  readily  and 
first  of  all  into  dangers,  when  he  was  to 
tight  for  his   subjects,   thus  exciting  the 


soldiers  to  action  by  his  own  labours,  and 
fighting  for  them,  and  not  by  command- 
ing them  in  a  despotic  way.  He  was  also 
of  very  great  abilities  in  understanding, 
and  apprehension  of  present  and  future 
circumstances,  when  he  was  to  manage 
any  affairs.  He  was  prudent  and  mode- 
rate, and  kind  to  such  as  were  under  any 
calamities;  he  was  righteous  and  humane, 
which  are  good  qualities  peculiarly  fit  for 
kings;  nor  was  he  guilty  of  any  offence 
in  the  exercise  of  so  great  an  authority, 
but  in  the  business  of  the  wife  of  Uriah. 
He  also  left  behind  him  greater  wealth 
than  any  other  king,  cither  of  the  He- 
brews or  of  other  nations,  ever  did. 

He  was  buried  by  his  son  Solomon, 
in  Jerusalem,*  with  great  magnificence, 
and  with  all  the  other  funeral  pomp  which 
kings  use  to  be  buried  with  ;  moreover, 
he  had  great  and  immense  wealth  buried 
with  him,  the  vastness  of  which  may  be 
easily  conjectured  at  by  what  I  shall  now 
say:  for  1300  years  afterward,  Hyrcanus, 
the  high  priest,  when  he  was  besieged  by 
Antiochus,  that  was  called  the  Pious,  the 
son  of  Demetrius,  and  was  desirous  of 
giving  him  money  to  get  him  to  raise  the 
siege,  and  draw  off  his  army;  and  having 
no  other  method  of  compassing  the  mo- 
ney, opened  one  room  of  David's  se- 
pulchre, and  took  out  3000  talents,  and 
gave  part  of  that  sum  to  Antiochus,  and 
by  this  means  caused  the  siege  to  be 
raised,  as  we  have  informed  the  reader 
elsewhere.  Nay,  after  him,  and  that 
many  years,  Herod,  the  king,  opened  an- 
other room,  and  took  away  a  great  deal 
of  money,  and  yet  neither  of  them  came 
at  the  coffins  of  the  kings  themselves,  for 
their  bodies  were  buried  under  the  earth 
so  artfully,  that  they  did  not  appear  even 
to  those  that  entered  into  their  monu- 
ments; but  so  much  shall  suffice  us  to 
have  said  concerning  these  matters. 


*  The  exact   place  of  David's  sepulchre  if  no< 
known. 


BjokVIU.  Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


245 


BOOK  YIH. 


CONTAINING  AN   INTERVAL   OF   1G3   YEARS,    FROM   THE    DEATH  OF 
DAVID   TO  THE   DEATH   OF   AHAB. 


CHAPTER  I. 

S&.3&Q    succeeds  David — defeats  the  conspiracy 
formed  against  him.     B.  C.  1014. 

We  have  already  treated  of  David  and 
':is  virtue,  and  of  the  benefits  he  was  the 
iuthor  of  to  his  countrymen  ;  of  his  wars 
also  and  battles,  which  be  managed  with 
success,  and  then  died  an  old  man,  in  the 
foregoing  book.  Aud  when  Solomon  his 
son,  who  was  but  a  youth  in  age,  had 
vaken  the  kingdom,  and  whom  David  had 
a^clared,  while  he  was  alive,  the  lord  of 
jLat  people,  according  to  God's  will ;  when 
:e  sat  upon  the  throne,  the  whole  body 
:f  the  people  made  joyful  acclamations 
,o  him,  as  is  usual  at  the  beginning  of  a 
.reign ;  and  wished  that  all  his  affairs 
might  come  to  a  blessed  conclusion  ;  and 
that  he  might  arrive  at  a  great  age,  and 
at  the  most  happy  state  of  affairs  pos- 
sible. 

But  Adonijah,  who,  while  his  father 
was  living,  attempted  to  gain  possession 
of  the  government,  came  to  the  king's 
mother  Bathsheba,  and  saluted  her  with 
great  civility;  and  when  she  asked  him, 
whether  he  came  to  her  as  desiring  her 
assistance  in  any  tiling  or  not,  and  bade 
him  tell  her  if  that  was  the  case,  for  that 
she  would  cheerfully  afford  it  him ;  he 
began  to  say,  that  she  knew  herself  that 
the  kingdom  was  his,  both  on  account  of 
his  elder  age,  and  of  the  disposition  of 
the  multitude;  and  that  yet  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  Solomon  her  son,  according  to 
the  will  of  God.  He  also  said,  that  he 
was  contented  to  be  a  servant  under  him, 
and  was  pleased  with  the  present  settle- 
ment; but  he  desired  her  to  be  a  means 
of  obtaining  a  favour  from  his  brother  to 
him,  and  to  persuade  him  to  bestow  on 
him  in  marriage,  Abishag,  who  had  in- 
deed slept  by  his  father,  but,  because  his 
father  was  too  old,  he  did  not  lie  with 
her,  and  she  was  still  a  virgin.  So  Bath- 
sheba promised  to  afford  him  her  assist- 
ance very  earnestly,  and  bring  this  mar- 
riage about,  because  the  king  would  be 
willing  to  gratify  him   in  such  a  thing, 


and  because  she  would  press  it  to  him 
very  earnestly.  Accordingly,  he  went 
away,  in  hopes  of  succeeding  in  this 
match.  So  Solomon's  mother  went  pre- 
sently to  her  son,  to  speak  to  him  about 
what  she  had  promised,  upon  Adonijah's 
supplication  to  her.  And  when  her  son 
came  forward  to  meet  her,  and  embraced 
her,  and  when  he  had  brought  her  into 
the  house  where  his  royal  throne  was  set, 
he  sat  thereon,  and  bade  them  set  another 
throne  on  his  right  hrfnd  for  his  mother. 
When  Bathsheba  had  sat  down,  she  said, 
u  0  my  son,  grant  me  one  request  that  I 
make  of  thee,  and  do  not  any  thing  to 
me  that  is  disagreeable  or  ungrateful, 
which  thou  wilt  do  if  thou  deniest  me." 
And  when  Solomon  bade  her  to  lay  her 
commands  upon  him,  because  it  was 
agreeable  to  his  duty  to  grant  her  every 
thing  she  should  ask,  and  complained  that 
she  did  not  begin  her  discourse  with  a 
firm  expectation  of  obtaining  what  she  de- 
sired, but  had  some  suspicion  of  a  denial, 
she  entreated  him  to  grant  that  his  bro- 
ther  Adonijah  might  marry  Abishag. 

But  the  king  was  greatly  offended  at 
these  words,  and  sent  away  his  mother, 
and  said,  that  Adonijah  aimed  at  great 
things;  and  that  he  wondered  that  she 
did  not  desire  him  to  yield  up  the  king- 
dom to  him,  as  to  his  elder  brother,  sines 
she  desired  that  he  might  marry  Abishag; 
and  that  he  had  potent  friends,  Joab,  the 
captain  of  the  host,  and  Abiathar  the 
priest.  So  he  called  for  Benaiah,  the 
captain  of  the  guards,  and  ordered  him 
to  slay  his  brother  Adonijah;  he  also 
called  for  Abiathar  the  priest,  and  said  to 
him,  "I  will  not  put  thee  to  death,  be- 
cause of  those  other  hardships  which  thou 
hast  endured  with  my  father,  and  because 
of  the  ark  which  thou  hast  borne  along 
with  him;  but  I  will  inflict  this  following 
punishment  upon  thee,  beeause  thou  wast 
among  Adonijah's  followers,  and  wast  of 
his  party.  Do  not  thou  continue  here, 
nor  come  any  more  into  my  sight,  but  go 
to  thine  own  town,  and  live  on  thine  own 
fields,  and  there  abide  all  thy  life  j    for 


246 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII. 


thou  hast  offended  so  greatly,  that  it  is 
not  just  that  thou  shouldest  retain  thy  dig- 
nity any  longer. "  For  the  forementioned 
cause,  therefore,  it  was  that  the  house  of 
Ithaniar  was  deprived  of  the  sacerdotal 
dignity,  as  God  had  foretold  to  EH  the 
grandfather  of  Abiathar.  So  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  family  of  Phineas,  to  Zadok. 
Now  those  that  were  of  the  family  of 
Phineas,  but  lived  privately  during  the 
time  that  the  high-priesthood  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  house  of  Ithamar,  (of  which 
family  Eli  was  the  first  that  received  it,) 
were  these  that  follow  : — Bukki,  the  son 
of  Abishua  the  high  priest:  his  son  was 
Jotham ;  Jotham's  son  was  Meraioth ; 
Meraioth's  son  was  Arophaeus ;  Aro- 
phaeus's  son  was  Ahitub ;  and  Ahitub's 
son  was  Zadok,  who  was  first  made  high 
priest  in  the  reign  of  David. 

Now  when  Joajp,  the  captain  of  the 
Lost,  heard  of  the  slaughter  of  Adonijah, 
he  was  greatly  afraid,  for  he  was  a  greater 
friend  to  him  than  to  Solomon  ;  and  sus- 
pecting, not  without  reason,  that  he  was 
in  danger,  on  account  of  his  favour  to 
Adonijah,  he  fled  to  the  altar,  and  sup- 
posed he  might  procure  safety  thereby  to 
himself,  because  of  the  king's  piety  to- 
ward God.  But  when  some  told  the 
king  what  Joab's  supposition  was,  he  sent 
Benaiah,  and  commanded  him  to  raise 
him  up  from  the  altar,  and  bring  him  to 
the  judgment-seat,  in  order  to  make  his 
defence.  However,  Joab  said  he  (would 
not  leave  the  altar,  but  would  die  there 
rather  than  in  any  other  place.  And 
when  Benaiah  had  reported  his  answer  to 
the  king,  Solomon  commanded  him  to  cut 
off  his  head  there,*  and  let  him  take  that 
as  a  punishment  for  those  two  captains  of 
the  host  whom  he  had  wickedly  slain,  and 
to  bury  his  body,  that  his  sins  might 
never  leave  his  family,  but  that  himself 
and  his  father,  by  Joab's  death,  might  be 
guiltless;  and  when  Benaiah  had  done 
what  he  was  commanded  to  do,  he  was 
himself  appointed  to  be  captain  of  the 
vrholc  army.  The  king  also  made  Zadok 
to  be  alone  the  high  priest,  in  the  room 
of  Abiathar,  whom  he  had  removed. 

But  as  to  Shimei,  Solomon  commanded 
that  he  should  build  himself  a  house,  and 


*  This  execution  upon  Joab,  as  a  murderer,  by- 
slaying  him,  even  when  he  had  taken  sanctuary  at 
God's  altar,  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  which  enjoins,  that,  "if  a  man  come  pre- 
sumptuously upon  his  neighbour  to  slay  him  with 
guile,  thou  shalt  take  him  from  mine  altar,  that  he 
die."     Exod.  xxi.  14. 


stay  at  Jerusalem,  and  .attend  upon  him, 
and  should  not  have  authority  to  go  over 
the  brook  Cedron ;  and  that  if  he  dis- 
obeyed that  command,  death  should  be  his 
punishment.  He  also  threatened  him  so 
terribly,  that  he  compelled  him  to  take  an 
oath  that  he  would  obey.  Accordingly, 
Shimei  said,  that  he  had  rea:cn  to  thank 
Solomon  for  giving  him  such  an  injunc- 
tion; and  added  an  oath,  that  he  wculd  do 
as  he  bade  him;  and  leaving  his  own 
country,  he  made  his  abode  in  Jerusalem  : 
but  three  years  afterward,  when  he  heard 
that  two  of  his  servants  had  run  away 
from  him,  and  were  in  Gatb,  he  went  for 
his  servants  in  haste ;  and  when  he  had 
come  back  with  them,  the  king  perceived 
it,  and  was  much  displeased  that  he  had 
contemned  his  commands,  and,  what  was 
more,  had  no  regard  to  the  oaths  he  had 
sworn  to  God ;  so  he  called  him,  and  said 
to  him,  "  Didst  not  thou  swear  never  to 
leave  me,  nor  to  go  out  of  this  city  to  an- 
other? Thou  shalt  not  therefore  escape 
punishment  for  thy  perjury;  but  I  will 
punish  thee,  thou  wicked  wretch,  both  for 
this  crime,  and  for  those  wherewith  thou 
didst  abuse  my  father  when  he  was  in  his 
flight,  that  thou  mayest  know  that  wicked 
men  gain  nothing  at  last,  although  they 
be  not  punished  immediately  upon  their 
unjust  practices;  but  that  in  all  the  time 
wherein  they  think  themselves  secure,  be- 
cause they  have  yet  suffered  nothing,  their 
punishment  increases,  and  is  heavier  upon 
them,  and  that  to  a  greater  degree  than  if 
they  had  been  punished  immediately  upon 
the  commission  of  their  crimes/'  So  Be- 
naiah, on  the  king's  command,  slew  Shimei. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Solomon    marries   the   daughter  of   Pharaoh — his 
wisdom,  riches,  and  power.     B.C.  1014. 

Solomon  having  already  settled  him- 
self firmly  in  his  kingdom,  and  having 
brought  his  enemies  to  punishment,  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  king  of 
Egypt ;  and  he  also  built  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem much  larger  and  stronger  than  those 
that  had  been  before,*  and  thenceforward 
he  managed  public  affairs  very  peaceably : 
nor  was  his  youth  any  hinderance  in  the 


*  The  building  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  soott 
after  David's  death,  illustrates  the  conclusion  of  the 
51st  Psalm,  where  David  prays,  "Build  thou  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  ;"  they  being,  it  seems,  unflr 
nished  or  imperfect  at  that  time. 


Chap.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


247 


oxercise  of  justice,  or  in  the  observation 
of  the  laws,  or  in  remembrance  of  what 
charges  his  father  had  given  him  at  his 
death  ;  but  he  discharged  every  duty  with 
great  accuracy,  that  might  have  been  ex- 
pected from  such  as  are  aged,  and  of  the 
greatest  prudence.  He  now  resolved  to 
go  to  Hebron,  and  sacrifice  to  God  upon 
the  brazen  altar  that  was  built  by  Moses. 
Accordingly,  he  oifered  there  burnt-offer- 
ings, 1000  in  number:  and  when  he  had  : 
done  this,  he  thought  he  had  paid  great 
honour  to  God  ;  for,  as  he  was  asleep  that 
very  night,  God  appeared  to  him,  and 
commanded  him  to  ask  of  him  some  gifts 
which  he  was  ready  to  give  him  as  a  re 
ward  for  his  piety.  So  Solomon  asked  of 
God  what  was  most  excellent,  and  of  the 
greatest  worth  in  itself,  what  God  would 
bestow  with  the  greatest  joy,  and  what  it 
was  most  profitable  for  man  to  receive;  for 
he  did  not  desire  to  have  bestowed  upon 
him  either  gold  or  silver,  or  any  other 
riches,  as  a  man  and  a  youth  might  natu- 
rally have  done,  for  these  are  the  things 
that  generally  are  esteemed  by  most  men, 
as  alone  of  the  greatest  worth,  and  the 
best  gifts  of  God  j  "  but,"  said  he,  "  Give 
me,  0  Lord,  a  sound  mind  and  a  good  un- 
derstanding, whereby  I  may  speak  and 
judge  the  people  according  to  truth  and 
righteousness."  With  these  petitions  God 
was  well  pleased  ;  and  promised  to  give 
him  all  those  things  that  he  had  not  men- 
tioned in  his  option,  riches,  glory,  victory 
over  his  enemies;  and,  in  the  first  place, 
understanding  and  wisdom,  and  this  in 
such  a  degree,  as  no  other  mortal  man, 
neither  kings  nor  ordinary  persons,  ever 
had.  He  also  promised  to  preserve  the 
kingdom  to  his  posterity  for  a  very  long 
time,  if  he  continued  righteous  and  obe- 
dient to  him,  and  imitated  his  father  in 
those  things  wherein  he  excelled.  When 
Solomon  heard  this  from  God,  he  pre- 
sently leaped  out  of  his  bed;  and  when 
he  had  worshipped  him,  he  returned  to 
Jerusalem  ;  and  after  he  had  offered  great 
sacrifices  before  the  tabernacle,  he  feasted 
all  his  own  family. 

In  these  days  a  hard  cause  came  before 
him  in  judgment,  which  it  was  verv  diffi- 
cult  to  find  any  end  of,  and  I  think  it 
necessary  to  explain  the  fact  about  which 
the  contest  was,  that  such  as  light  upon 
my  writings  may  know  what  a  difficult 
cause  Solomon  was  to  determine;  and  those 
that  are  concerned  in  such  matters  may 
take  this  sagacity  of  the  king  for  a  pat- 


tern, that  they  may  the  more  easily  give 
sentence  about  such  questions.  There 
were  two  women,  who  were  harlots  in  the 
course  of  their  lives,  that  came  to  him,  of 
whom  she  that  seemed  to  be  injured  began 
to  speak  first,  and  said,  "0  king,  I  and 
this  other  woman  dwell  together  in  one 
room.  '  Now  it  came  to  pass  that  we  both 
bore  a  son  at  the  same  hour  of  the  same 
day ;  on  the  third  day  this  woman  over- 
laid her  son,  and  killed  it,  and  then  took 
my  son  out  of  my  bosom,  and  removed 
him  to  herself;  and  as  I  was  asleep  she 
laid  her  dead  son  in  mv  arms.  Now,  when 
in  the  morning  I  was  desirous  to  give  the 
breast  to  the  child,  I  did  not  .find  my  own, 
but  saw  the  woman's  dead  child  lying  by 
me;  for  I  considered  it  exactly,  and  found 
it  so  to  be.  Hence  it  was  that  I  demanded 
my  son,  and  when  I  could  not  obtain  him, 
I  have  recourse,  my  lord,  to  thy  assistance; 
for  since  we  were  alone,  and  there  was  no- 
body there  that  could  convict  her,  she 
cares  for  nothing,  but  perseveres  in  the 
stout  denial  of  the  fact."  When  this  wo- 
man had  told  this  her  story,  the  king 
asked  the  other  woman  what  she  had  t«* 
say  in  contradiction  to  that  story.  But 
when  she  denied  that  she  had  done  whai 
was  charged  upon  her,  and  said  that  it  was 
her  child  that  was  living,  and  that  it  wae 
her  antagonist's  child  that  was  dead,  and 
when  no  one  could  devise  what  judgment 
could  be  given,  aud  the  whole  court  were 
blind  in  their  understanding,  and  could 
not  tell  how  to  find  out  this  riddle,  the 
king  alone  invented  the  following  way  how 
to  discover  it :  He  bade  them  bring  in  both, 
the  dead  child  and  the  living  child :  and 
sent  one  of  his  guards,  and  commanded 
him  to  fetch  a  sword,  and  draw  it,  and  to 
cut  both  the  children  into  two  pieces,  thai 
each  of  the  women  might  have  half  the 
living  and  half  the  dead  child.  Here- 
upon, all  the  people  privately  laughed  at 
the  king,  as  no  more  than  a  youth.  But, 
in  the  mear  time,  she  that  was  the  real 
mother  of  the  living  child  cried  out,  that 
he  should  not  do  so,  but  deliver  that  child 
to  the  other  woman  as  her  own,  for  she 
would  be  satisfied  with  the  life  of  the  child, 
and  with  the  sight  of  it,  although  it  was 
esteemed  the  other's  child;  but  the  other 
woman  was  ready  to  see  the  child  divided, 
and  was  desirous,  moreover,  that  the  first 
woman  should  be  tormented.  When  the 
king  understood  that  both  their  worda 
proceeded  from  the  truth  of  their  passions, 
he  adjudged  the  child  to  her  that  cried  out 


us 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  VIII. 


to  save  it,  for  that  she  was  the  real  mother 
of  it;  and  he  condemned  the  other  as  a 
wiiked  woman,  who  had  not  only  killed 
her  own  child,  but  was  endeavouring  to 
see  her  friend's  child  destroyed  also.  Now 
the  multitude  looked  on  this  determination 
as  a  great  sign  and  demonstration  of  the 
king's  sagacity  and  wisdom ;  and  after  that 
day,  attended  to  him  as  to  one  that  had  a 
divine  mind. 

Now  the  captains  of  his  armies,  and  of- 
ficers appointed  over  the  whole  country, 
were  these  :  over  the  lot  of  Ep-hraim  was 
Ures ;  over  the  toparchy  [district]  of 
Bethlehem  was  Dioclerus ;  Abinidab,  who 
married  Solomon's  daughter,  had  the  re- 
gion of  Dora  and  the  seacoast  under  him ; 
the  Great  Plain  was  under  Benaiah,  the 
son  of  Achilus ;  he  also  governed  all  the 
country  as  far  as  Jordan ;  Gabaris  ruled 
over  Gilead  and  Gaulanitis,  and  had  under 
him  the  sixty  great  and  fenced  cities  [of 
Og]  ;  Achinadab  managed  the  affairs  of 
all  Galilee,  as  far  as  Sidon,  and  had  him- 
self also  married  a  daughter  of  Solomon's, 
whose  name  was  Basima;  Banacates  had 
the  seacoast  about  Arce  ;  as  had  Shaphot 
Mount  Tabor  and  Carmel,  and  [the  lower] 
Galilee,  as  far  as  the  river  Jordan  ;  one 
man  was  appointed  over  all  this  country; 
Shimei  was  intrusted  with  the  lot  of  Ben- 
jamin ;  and  Gabares  had  the  country  be- 
yond Jordan,  over  whom  there  was  again 
one  governor  appointed.  Now  the  people 
of  the  Hebrews,  and  particularly  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  received  a  wonderful  increase 
when  they  betook  themselves  to  husbandry 
and  the  cultivation  of  their  grounds;  for 
as  they  enjoyed  peace,  and  were  not  dis- 
tracted with  wars  and  troubles,  and  hav- 
ing besides  an  abundant  fruition  of  the 
most  desirable  liberty,  every  one  was  busy 
in  augmenting  the  product  of  their  own 
lands,  and  making  them  worth  more  than 
they  had  formerly  been. 

The  king  also  had  other  rulers,  who 
were  over  the  land  of  Syria  and  the  Phi- 
listines, which  reached  from  the  river 
Euphrates  to  Egypt,  and  these  collected 
his  tributes  of  the  nations.  Now  these 
contributed  to  the  king's  table,  and  to  his 
supper  every  day,*  thirty  cori  of  fine 
flour,  and  sixty  of  meal;  as  also  ten  fat 
oxen,  and  twenty  oxen  out  of  the  pastures, 
and  one  hundred  fat  lambs;  all  these  were 
besides  what  were  taken  by  hunting  harts 
and  buffaloes,  and  birds  and  fishes,  which 

*  1  Kings  iv,  22-23;  1  Sam.  viii.  11-18. 


were  brought  to  the  king  by  foreigners, 
day  by  day.  Solomon  had  also  so  great  a 
number  of  chariots,  that  the  stalls  of  his 
horses  for  those  chariots  were  40,000  ,  and 
besides  these  he  had  12,000  horsemen, 
the  one-half  of  whom  waited  upon  the 
king  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  rest  were  dis- 
persed abroad,  and  dwelt  in  the  royal  vil- 
lages ;  but  the  same  officer  who  provided 
for  the  king's  expenses  supplied  also  fod- 
der for  the  horses,  and  still  carried  it  to 
the  place  where  the  king  abode  at  that 
time. 

Now  the  sagacity  and  wisdom  which 
God  had  bestowed  upon  Solomon  was  so 
great,  that  he  exceeded  the  ancients,  inso- 
much that  he  was  no  way  inferior  to  the 
Egyptians,  who  are  said  to  have  been  be- 
yond all  men  in  understanding;  nay,  in- 
deed, it  is  evident  that  their  sagacity  was 
very  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  king's. 
He  also  excelled  and  distinguished  himself 
in  wisdom  above  those  that  were  most 
eminent  among  the  Hebrews  at  that  time 
for  shrewdness  :  those  I  mean  with  Ethan, 
and  Heman,  and  Chalcol,  and  Darda,  the 
sons  of  Mahol.  He  also  composed  books 
of  odes  and  songs,  1005;  of  parables  and 
similitudes,  30U0 ;  for  he  spake  a  parable 
upon  every  sort  of  tree,  from  the  hyssop 
to  the  cedar ;  and  in  like  manner  also 
about  beasts,  about  all  sorts  of  living  crea- 
tures, whether  upon  the  earth,  or  in  the 
seas,  or  in  the  air ;  for  he  was  not  unac- 
quainted with  any  of  their  natures,  nor 
omitted  inquiries  about  them,  but  described 
them  all  like  a  philosopher,  and  demon- 
strated his  exquisite  knowledge  of  their 
several  properties.  God  also  enabled  him 
to-  learn  that  skill  which  expels  demons, 
which  is  a  science  useful  and  sanative  to 
men.  He  composed  such  incantations 
also  by  which  distempers  are  alleviated. 
And  he  left  behind  him  the  manner  of 
using  exorcisms,  by  which  they  drive  away 
demons,  so  that  they  never  return,  and 
this  method  of  cure  is  of  great  force  unto 
this  day;  for  I  have  seen  a  certain  man 
of  my  own  country,  whose  name  was  Elea- 
zar,  releasing  people  that  were  demoni- 
acal in  the  presence  of  Vespasian,  and  his 
sons,  and  his  captains,  and  the  whole  mul- 
titude of  his  soldiers.  The  manner  of  the 
cure  was  this :  he  put  a  ring,  that  had  a 
root  of  one  of  those  sorts  mentioned  by 
Solomon,  to  the  nostrils  of  the  demoniac, 
after  which  he  drew  out  the  demon  through 
his  nostrils;  and  when  the  man  fell  down 
immediately,  he  abjured  him  to  return 


CfiAP.   II.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


2-in 


into  him  no  more,  making  still  mention  of 
Solomon,  and  recitating  the  incantation 
which  he  composed.  And  when  Eleazar 
would  persuade  and  demonstrate  to  the 
spectators  that  he  had  such  a  power,  he 
set  a  little  way  off"  a  cup  or  basin  full  of 
water,  and  commanded  the  demou,  as  he 
went  out  of  the  man,  to  overturn  it,  and 
thereby  to  let  the  spectators  know  that  he 
had  left  the  man  ;  and  when  this  was  done, 
the  skill  and  wisdom  of  Solomon  was  shown 
very  manifestly :  for  which  reason  it  is, 
that  all  men  may  know  the  vastness  of 
Solomon's  abilities,  and  how  he  was  be- 
loved of  God,  and  that  the  extraordinary 
virtues  of  every  kind  with  which  this  king 
was  endowed,  may  not  be  unknown  to  any 
people  under  the  sun;  for  this  reason,  I 
say,  it  is  that  we  have  proceeded  to  speak 
so  largely  of  these  matters. 

Moreover,  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  when 
he  had  heard  that  Solomon  succeeded  to 
his  father's  kingdom,  was  very  glad  of  it, 
for  he  was  a  friend  of  David's.  So  he 
sent  ambassadors  to  him,  and  saluted 
him,  and  congratulated  him  on  the 
present  happy  state  of  his  affairs.  Upon 
which  Solomon  sent  him  an  epistle,*  the 
contents  of  which  here  follow: — 

"SOLOMON  TO  KING  HIRAM. 

"  Know  thou  that  my  father  would 
have  built  a  temple  to  God,  but  was 
hindered  by  wars,  and  continual  expedi- 
tions ;  for  he  did  not  leave  off  to  over- 
throw his  enemies  till  he  made  them  all 
subject  to  tribute.  But  I  give  thanks  to 
God  for  the  peace  I  at  present  enjoy,  and 
on  that  account  I  am  at  leisure,  and 
design  to  build  a  house  to  God,  for  God 
foretold  to  my  father  that  such  a  house 
should  be  built  by  me ;  wherefore  I 
desire  thee  to  send  some  of  thy  subjects 
with  mine  to  Mount  Lebanon,  to  cut 
down  timber;  for  the  Sidoniaus  are  more 
skilful  than  our  people  in  cutting  of 
wood.  As  for  wages  to  the  hewers  of 
wood,  I  will  pay  whatsoever  price  thou 
ebalt  determine." 

When  Hiram  had  read  this  epistle,  he 
was  pleased  with  it,  and  wrote  back  this 
answer  to  Solomon  : — 

"HIRAM  TO  KINO  SOLOMON. 
"  It  is  fit  to  bless  God,  that  he  hath 
committed    thy    father's    government    to 

*  These  epistles  of  Solomon  and  Hiram  are 
those  in  1  Kings  v.  3-9,  and,  as  enlarged,  in 
2  Cbron.  ii.  3-16 ;  but  here  given  in  Josephus's 
own  words. 


thee,  who  art  a  wise  man,  and  enaowea 
with  all  virtues.  As  for  myself  I  rejo  >»j 
at  the  condition  thou  art  in,  and  will  \, 
subservient  to  thee  in  all  that  thou 
sendest  to  me  about;  for  when,  by  my 
subjects,  I  have  cut  down  many  anr) 
large  trees  of  cedar  and  cypress  wood,  f. 
will  send  them  to  sea,  and  will  order  rr.y 
subjects  to  make  floats  of  them,  and  %.o 
sail  to  what  place  soever  of  thy  country 
thou  shalt  desire,  and  leave  them  there 
after  which  thy  subjects  may  carry  them 
to  Jerusalem  :  but  do  thou  take  care  to 
procure  us  corn  for  this  timber,  which  we 
stand  in  need  of,  because  we  inhabit  in  an 
island."* 

The  copies  of  these  epistles  remain  at 
this  day,  and  are  preserved  not  only  in 


*  What  Josephus  here  puts  into  his  copy  of 
Hiram's  epistle  to  Solomon,  that  Tyre  was  now  an 
island,  is  not  in  any  of  the  three  other  copies,  viz. 
that  of  the  Kings,  Chronicles,  or  Eusebius;  nor  is  it 
in  any  other  than  his  own  conjectural  paraphrase. 
The  best  testimonies  hereto  relating,  imply,  that 
Palaetyrus,  or  Oldest  Tyre,  was  no  other  than  that 
most  ancient  smaller  fort  or  city  Tyre,  situated  on 
the  continent,  and  mentioned  in  Joshua  xix.  29, 
out  of  which  the  Canaanite  or  Phoenician  inhabit- 
ants were  driven  into  a  large  island,  that  lay  not 
far  off  in  the  sea,  by  Joshua;  that  this  island  was 
then  joined  to  the  continent,  at  the  present  remains 
of  Paloetyrus,  by  a  neck  of  land,  over  against  Solo- 
mon's cisterns,  still  so  called  ;  and  the  city's  fresh 
water,  probably,  was  carried  along  in  pipes  by  that 
neck  of  land  ;  and  that  this  island  was  therefore,  in 
strictness,  no  other  than  a  peninsula,  having  villages 
in  itn  fields,  (Ezek.  xxvi.  6,)  and  a  wall  about  it, 
(Amos  i.  10;)  and  the  city  was  not  of  so  great  re- 
putation as  Sidon  for  some  ages ;  that  it  was  at- 
tacked both  by  sea  and  land  by  Salmanasser,  and 
afterward  came  to  be  the  metropolis  of  Phoenicia  ; 
and  was  afterward  taken  and  destroyed  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, according  to  the  numerous  Scripture  pro- 
phecies, thereto  relating :  Isaiah  xxiii. ;  Jer.  xxv.  22  ; 
xxvii.  3  ;  xlvii.  3  4;  Ezek.  xxvi.  xxvii.  xxviii.  That 
seventy  years  after  that  destruction  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, this  city  was  in  some  measure  revived  and 
rebuilt,  (Isa.  xxiii.  17,  18,)  but  that  as  the  prophet 
Ezekiel  had  foretold,  (xxvi.  3,  4,  5,  14,  xxvii.  34,) 
the  sea  arose  higher  than  before,  till  at  last  it  over- 
flowed, not  only  the  neck  of  land,  but  the  main 
island  or  peninsula  itself,  and  destroyed  that  old 
and  famous  city  for  ever:  that,  however,  there  still 
remained  an  adjoining  small  island,  once  connected 
to  Old  Tyre  itself  by  Hiram,  which  was  afterward 
inhabited;  to  which  Alexander  the  Great,  with  in- 
credible pains,  raised  a  new  bank  or  causeway: 
and  that  it  plainly  appears  from  Maundrell,  a  most 
authentic  eyewitness,  that  the  old,  large,  and 
famous  city,  on  the  original  large  island,  is  now 
laid  so  generally  under  water,  that  scarce  more 
than  forty  acres  of  it,  or  rather  of  that  adjoining 
small  island,  remain  at  this  day  :  so  that,  perhaps, 
not  above  a  hundredth  part  of  the  first  island  and 
city  is  now  above  water.  This  was  foretold  in  the 
same  prophecies  of  Ezekiel ;  and,  according  to 
them,  as  Air.  Maundrell  distinctly  observes,  these 
poor  remains  of  Old  Tyre  are  now  "become  like  the 
top  of  a  rock  ;  a  place  for  the  spreading  of  neta  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea." —  Whieton. 


•250 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


our  books,  but  among  the  Tyrians  also; 
insomuch  that  if  any  one  would  know  the 
certainty  about  them,  he  may  desire  of 
the  keepers  of  the  public  records  of  Tyre 
to  show  him  them,  and  he  will  find  what 
is  there  set  down  to  agree  with  what  we 
have  said.  I  have  said  so  much  out  of  a 
desire  that  my  readers  may  know  that  we 
speak  nothing  but  the  truth,  and  do  not 
compose  a  history  out  of  some  plausible 
relations,  which  deceive  men  and  please 
them  at  the  same  time,  nor  attempt  to 
avoid  examination,  nor  desire  men  to 
believe  us  immediately;  nor  are  we  at 
liberty  to  depart  from  speaking  truth, 
which  is  the  proper  commendation  of  an 
historian,  and  yet  to  be  blameless.  But 
we  insist  upon  no  admission  of  what  we 
say,  unless  we  be  able  to  manifest  its 
truth  by  demonstration  and  the  strongest 
vouchers. 

Now  King  Solomon,  as  soon  as  this 
epistle  of  the  king  of  Tyre  was  brought 
to  him,  commended  the  readiness  and 
good-will  he  declared  therein,  and  repaid 
him  in  what  he  desired,  and  sent  him 
yearly  20,000  cori  of  wheat,  and  as  many 
baths  of  oil  :  now  the  bath  is  able  to 
contain  seventy-two  sextaries.  He  also 
sent  him  the  same  measure  of  wine.  So 
the  friendship  between  Hiram  and  Solo- 
mon hereby  increased  more  and  more ; 
and  they  swore  to  continue  it  for  ever. 
And  the  king  appointed  a  tribute  to  be 
laid  on  all  the  people,  of  30,000  labourers, 
whose  work  he  reudered  easy  to  them,  by 
prudently  dividing  it  among  them ;  for 
he  made  10,000  cut  timber  in  Mount 
Lebanon  for  one  month,  and  then  to 
come  home ;  and  the  rest  two  months, 
until  the  time  when  the  other  20,000  had 
finished  their  task  at  the  appointed  time; 
and  so  afterward  it  came  to  pass,  that  the 
first  10,000  returned  to  their  work  every 
fourth  month :  and  it  was  Adoram  who 
was  over  this  tribute.  There  were  also 
of  the  strangers  who  were  left  by  David, 
who  were  to  carry  the  stones  and  other 
materials,  70,000 ;  and  of  those  that  cut 
the  stones,  80,000.  Of  these,  3300  were 
rulers  over  the  rest.  He  also  enjoined 
th  mi  to  cut  out  large  stones  for  the 
foundations  of  the  temple,  and  that  they 
should  fit  them  and  unite  them  together 
in  the  mountain,  and  so  bring  them  to 
the  city.  This  was  done,  not  only  by 
our  own  country  workmen,  but  by  those 
workmen  whom  Hiram  sent  also. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Euilding  of  the  Temple.     B.  C.  1012-1004. 

Solomon  began  to  build  the  temple  in 
the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  on  the  second 
month,  which  the  Macedonians  call  "Ar- 
temisius,"  and  the  Hebrews  uJur;" 
592  years  after  the  exodus  out  of  Egypt, 
but  1020  years  from  Abraham's  coming 
out  of  Mesopotamia  into  Canaan ;  and 
after  the  Deluge  1140  years;  and  from 
Adam,  the  first  man  who  was  created, 
until  Solomon  built  the  temple,  there  had 
passed  in  all  31Q2  years.  Now  that  year 
on  which  the  temple  began  to  be  built, 
was  already  the  eleventh  year  of  the  reign 
of  Hiram  ;  but  from  the  building  of  Tyre 
to  the  building  of  the  temple,  there  had 
passed  240  years. 

Now,  therefore,  the  king  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  temple  very  deep  in 
the  ground,  and  the  materials  were  strong 
stones,  and  such  as  would  resist  the  force 
of  time :  these  were  to  unite  themselves 
with  the  earth,  and  become  a  basis  and  a 
sure  foundation  for  that  superstructure 
which  was  to  be  erected  over  it :  they 
were  to  be  so  strong,  in  order  to  sustain 
with  ease  those  vast  superstructures,  and 
precious  ornaments,  whose  own  weight 
was  to  be  not  less  than  the  weight  of 
those  other  high  and  heavy  buildings, 
which  the  king  designed  to  be  very  or- 
namental and  magnificent.  They  erected 
its  entire  body  quite  up  to  the  roof,  of 
white  stone :  its  height  was  sixty  cubits, 
and  its  length  was  the  same,  and  its 
breadth  twenty.  There  was  another  build- 
ing erected  over  it,  equal  to  it  in  its  mea- 
sures; so  that  the  entire  altitude  of  the 
temple  was  120  cubits.  Its  front  was  to 
the  east.  As  to  the  porch,  they  built  it 
before  the  temple :  its  length  was  twenty 
cubits,  and  it  was  so  ordered  that  it  might 
agree  with  the  breadth  of  the  house ;  and 
it  had  twelve  cubits  in  latitude,  and  its 
height  was  raised  as  high  as  120  cubits. 
He  also  built  round  about  the  temple 
thirty  small  rooms,  which  might  include 
the  whole  temple, Jby  their  closeness  one 
to  another,  and  by  their  number,  and 
outward  position  round  it.  He  also 
made  passages  through  them,  that  they 
might  come  into  one  through  another. 
Every  one  of  these  rooms  had  five  cubits 
in  breadth,  and  the  same  in  length,  but 
in  height  twenty.  Above  these  were 
other    rooms,    and    others    above    them, 


Chap.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


251 


squal,  both  in  their  measures  and  number; 
so  that  these  reached  to  a  height  equal  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  house;  for  the 
apper  part  had  no  buildings  about  it. 
The  roof  that  was  over  the  house  was  of 
3edai  and  truly  every  one  of  these 
rooms  had  a  roof  of  its  own,  that  was  not 
connected  with  the  other  rooms ;  but  for 
the  other  parts,  there  was  a  covered  roof 
common  to  them  all,  and  built  with  very 
long  beams,  that  passed  through  the  rest, 
and  through  the  whole  building,  that  so 
the  middle  walls,  being  strengthened  by 
the  same  beams  of  timber,  might  be 
thereby  made  firmer;  but  as  for  that 
part  of  the  roof  that  was  under  the 
beams,  it  was  made  of  the  same  materials, 
and  was  all  made  smooth,  and  had  orna- 
ments proper  for  roofs,  and  plates  of  gold 
nailed  upon  them ;  and  as  he  enclosed 
the  walls  with  boards  of  cedar,  so  he  fixed 
on  them  plates  of  gold,  which  had  sculp- 
tures upon  them ;  so  that  the  whole 
temple  shined,  and  dazzled  the  eyes  of 
such  as  entered,  by  the  splendour  of  the 
gold  (hat  was  on  every  side  of  them. 
Now  the  whole  structure  of  the  temple 
was  made,  with  great  skill,  of  polished 
stones,  and  those  laid  together  so  very 
harmoniously  and  smoothly,  that  there 
appeared  to  the  spectators  no  sign  of  any 
hammer,  or  other  instrument  of  archi- 
tecture, but  as  if,  without  any  use  of 
them,  the  entire  materials  had  naturally 
united  themselves  together,  that  the  agree- 
ment of  one  part  with  another  seemed 
rather  to  have  been  natural,  than  to  have 
arisen  from  the  force  of  tools  upon  them. 
The  kiug  also  had  a  fine  contrivance  for 
an  ascent  to  the  upper  room  over  the 
temple,  and  that  was  by  steps  in  the 
thickness  of  its  wall ;  for  it  had  no  large 
door  on  the  east  end,  as  the  lower  house 
had,  but  the  entrances  were  by  the  sides, 
through  very  small  doors.  He  also  over- 
laid the  temple,  both  within  and  without, 
with  boards  of  cedar,  that  were  kept  close 
together  by  thick  chains,  so  that  this  con- 
trivance was  in  the  nature  of  a  support 
and  a  strength  to  the  building. 

Now  when  the  king  had  divided  the 
temple  into  two  parts,  he  made  the  inner 
house  of  twenty  cubits  [every  way],  to  be 
the  most  secret  chamber,  but  he  appointed 
that  of  forty  cubits  to  be  the  sanctuary; 
and  when  he  had  cut  a  door-place  out  of 
the  wall,  he  put  therein  doors  of  cedar, 
and  overlaid  them  with  a  great  deal  of 
gold,  that  had  sculptures   upon    it.     He 


also  had  vails  of  blue,  and  purple,  and 
scarlet,  and  the  brightest  and  softest  of 
linen,  with  the  most  curious  flowers 
wrought  upon  them,  which  were  to  be 
drawn  before  those  doors.  He  also  dedi- 
cated for  the  most  secret  place,  whose 
breadth  was  twenty  cubits,  and  the  length 
the  same,  two  cherubim  of  solid  gold  : 
the  height  of  each  of  them  was  five 
cubits  :*  they  had  each  of  them  two 
wings  stretched  out  as  far  as  five  cubits; 
wherefore  Solomon  set  them  up  not  far 
from  each  other,  that  with  one  wing 
they  might  touch  the  southern  wall  of 
the  secret  place,  and  with  another  the 
northern;  their  other  wings,  which  joined 
to  each  other,  were  a  covering  to  the  ark, 
which  was  set  between  them  :  but  nobody 
can  tell,  or  even'  conjecture,  what  was  the 
shape  of  these  cherubim.  He  also  laid 
the  floor  of  the  temple  with  plates  of 
gold :  and  he  added  doors  to  the  gate  of 
the  temple,  agreeable  to  the  measure  of 
the  height  of  the  wall,  but  in  breadth 
twenty  cubits,  and  on  them  he  glued  gold 
plates;  and,  to  say  all  in  one  word,  he 
left  no  part  of  the  temple,  neither  internal 
nor  external,  but  what  was  covered  with 
gold.  He  also  had  curtains  drawn  ovei 
these  doors,  in  like  manner  as  they  were 
drawn  over  the  inner  doors  of  the  most 
holy  place ;  but  the  porch  of  the  temple 
had  nothing  of  that  sort. 

Now  Solomon  sent  for  an  artificer  out 
of  Tyre,  whose  name  was  Hiram  :  he  was 
by  birth  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  on  the 
mother's  side  (for  she  was  of  that  tribe ;) 
but  his  father  was  Ur,  of  the  stock  of  the 
Israelites.  This  man  was  skilful  in  all 
sorts  of  work,  but  his  chief  skill  lay  in 
working  in  gold,  in  silver,  and  brass ;  by 
whom  were  made  all  the  mechanical 
works  about  the  temple,  according  to  the 
will  of  Solomon.  Moreover,  this  Hiram 
made  two  [hollow]  pillars,  whose  outsides 
were  of  brass;  and  the  thickness  of  the 
brass  was  four  fingers'  breadth,  and  the 
height  of  the  pillars  was  eighteen  cubits,*)* 
and  their  circumference  twelve  cubits; 
but  there  was  cast  with  each  of  their 
chapiters  lily-work,  that  stood  upon  the 
pillar,  and    it  was    elevated  five   cubits, 

*  Josephus  says  here  that  the  cherubim  were  of 
solid  gold,  and  only  five  cubits  high ;  wbile  our 
Hebrew  copies  (1  Kings  vi.  23,  28)  say  they  were 
of  the  olive-tree;  and  the  LXXII.  of  the  cypress- 
tree,  and  only  overlaid  with  gold;  and  both  agree 
they  were  ten  cubits  high. 

|  Compare  1  Kings  vii.  15,  2  Kings  xxv.  17 
Jer.  iii.  21,  with  2  Cliron.  iii.  15. 


252 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII. 


round  about  which  there  was  network 
interwoven  with  small  palms,  made  of 
brass,  and  covered  the  lily-work.  To 
this  also  were  hung  200  pomegranates, 
in  two  rows.  The  one  of  these  pillars  he 
set  at  the  entrance  of  the  porch  on  the 
right  hand,  and  called  it  "  Jachin ;"  and 
the  other  at  the  left  hand,  and  called  it 
"  Boaz." 

Solomon  also  cast  a  brazen  sea,  the 
figure  of  which  was  that  of  a  hemisphere. 
This  brazen  vessel  was  called  a  u  sea" 
from  its  largeness,  for  the  laver  was  ten 
feet  in  diameter,  and  cast  of  the  thickness 
of  a  palm  :  its  middle  part  rested  on  a 
short  pillar,  that  had  ten  spirals  round  it, 
and  that  pillar  was  ten  cubits  in  diameter. 
There  stood  round  about  it  twelve  oxen, 
that  looked  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven, 
three  to  each  wind,  having  their  hinder 
parts  depressed,  that  so  the  hemispherical 
vessel  might  rest  upon  them,  which  itself 
was  also  depressed  round  about  inwardly. 
Now  this  sea  contained  3000  baths. 

He  also  made  ten  brazen  bases  for  so 
many  quadrangular  lavers:  the  length  of 
every  one  of  these  bases  was  five  cubits, 
and  the  breadth  four  cubits,  and  the  height 
six  cubits.  This  vessel  was  partly  turned, 
and  was  thus  contrived  : — There  were  four 
small  quadrangular  pillars,  that  stood  oue 
at  each  corner ;  these  had  the  sides  of  the 
base  fitted  to  them  on  each  quarter ;  they 
were  parted  into  three  parts;  every  inter- 
val had  a  border  fitted  to  support  [,the 
laver]  j  upon  which  was  engraven,  in  one 
place  a  lion,  and  in  another  place  a  bull, 
and  an  eagle.  Ths  small  pillars  had  the 
same  animals  engraven  tbat  were  engraven 
on  the  sides.  The  whole  work  was  ele- 
vated, and  stood  upon  four  wheels,  which 
were  also  cast,  which  had  also  naves  and 
felloes,  and  were  a  foot  and  a  half  in  dia- 
meter. Any  one  who  saw  the  spokes  of 
the  wheels,  how  exactly  they  were  turned, 
and  united  to  the  sides  of  the  bases,  and 
with  what  harmony  they  agreed  to  the  fel- 
loes, would  wonder  at  them.  However, 
tneir  structure  was  this  : — Certain  shoul- 
ders of  hands  stretched  out,  held  the 
corners  above,  upon  which  rested  a  short 
spiral  pillar,  that  lay  under  the  hollow 
part  of  the  laver,  resting  upon  the  fore 
part  of  the  eagle  and  the  lion,  which  were 
adapted  to  them,  insomuch,  that  those  who 
viewed  them  would  think  they  were  of  one 
piece  :  between  these  were  engravings  of 
palm-trees.  This  was  the  construction  of 
the   ten   bases :  he  also  made  ten  large 


round  brass  vessels,  which  were  the  lavers 
themselves,  each  of  which  contained  forty 
baths;  for  it  had  its  height  four  cubits, 
and  its  edges  were  as  much  distant  from 
each  other ;  he  also  placed  these  lavers 
upon  the  ten  bases  that  were  called  Me- 
chonoth  :  and  he  set  five  of  the  lavers  on 
the  left  side  of  the  temple,  which  was 
that  side  toward  the  north  wind,  and  as 
many  on  the  right  side,  toward  the  south, 
but  looking  toward  the  east ;  the  same 
[eastern]  way  he  also  set  the  sea.  Now 
he  appointed  the  sea  to  be  for  washing 
the  hands  and  the  feet  of  the  priests  when 
they  entered  into  the  temple,  and  were  to 
ascend  the  altar ;  but  the  lavers  to  cleanse 
the  entrails  of  the  beasts  that  were  to  be 
burnt  offerings,  with  their  feet  also. 

He  also  made  a  brazen  altar,  whose 
length  was  twenty  cubits,  and  its  breadth 
the  same,  and  its  height  ten,  for  the  burnt- 
offerings  :  he  also  made  all  its  vessels  of 
brass ;  the  pots,  and  the  shovels,  and  the 
basins,  and  besides  these,  the  snuffers  and 
the  toners,  and  all  its  other  vessels  he  made 
of  brass,  and  such  brass  as  was  in  splen- 
dour and  beauty  like  gold.  The  king  also 
dedicated  a  great  number  of  tables,  but 
one  that  was  large  and  made  of  gold,  upon 
which  they  set  the  loaves  of  God ;  and  he 
made  10,000  more  that  resembled  them, 
but  were  done  after  another  manner,  upon 
which  lay  the  vials  and  the  cups;  those 
of  gold  were  20,000,  those  of  silver  were 
40,000.  He  also  made  10,000  candle- 
sticks, according  to  the  command  of 
Moses,  one  of  which  he  dedicated  for  the 
temple,  that  it  might  burn  in  the  day- 
time, according  to  the  law;  and  one  table 
with  loaves  upon  it,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  temple,  over  against  the  candlestick ; 
for  this  he  set  on  the  south  side,  but  the 
golden  altar  stood  between  them.  All 
these  vessels  were  contained  in  that  part 
of  the  holy  house,  which  was  forty  cubits 
long,  and  were  before  the  vail  of  that  most 
secret  place  wherein  the  ark  was  to  be  set. 

The  king  also  made  pouring  vessels, 
80,000  in  number,  and  100,000  golden 
vials,  and  twice  as  many  silver  vials : 
of  golden  dishes,^  in  order  therein  to 
offer  kneaded  fine  flour  at  the  altar, 
there  were  80,000,  and  twice  as  many  of 
silver.  Of  large  basins  also,  wherein  they 
mixed  fine  flour  with  oil,  60,000  of  gold, 
and  twice  as  many  of  silver.  Of  the  mea- 
sures like  those  which  Moses  called  the 
"  Hin,"  and  the  "Assaron,"  (a  tenth-deal,) 
there  were  20,000  of  gold,  and  twice  as 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


253 


many  of  silver.  The  golden  censers,  in 
which  they  carried  the  incense  to  the  altar, 
were  20;000  :  the  other  censers,  in  which 
they  carried  fire  from  the  great  altar  to 
the  little  altar,  within  the  temple,  were 
50,000.  The  sacerdotal  garments  which 
belong  to  the  high  priest,  with  the  long 
rohes,  and  the  oracle,  and  the  precious 
stones,  were  1000  ;  but  the  crown  upon 
which  Moses  wrote  [the  name  of  God], 
was  only  one,  and  hath  remained  to  this 
very  day.  He  also  made  10,000  sacer- 
dotal garments  of  fine  linen,  with  purple 
girdles,  for  every  priest ;  and  200,000 
trumpets,  according  to  the  command  of 
Moses;  also  200,000  garments  of  fine 
linen  for  the  singers  that  were  Levites ; 
and  he  made  musical  instruments,  and 
such  as  were  invented  for  singing  of 
hymns  called  "  Nablse"  and  "  Cinyrae" 
[psalteries  and  harps],  which  were  made 
ofjfdectrum  [the  finest  brass],  40,000. 

Solomon  made  all  these  things  for  the 
honour  of  God,  with  great  variety  and 
magnificence,  sparing  no  cost,  but  using 
all  possible  liberality  in  adorning  the  tem- 
ple ;  and  these  things  he  dedicated  to  the 
treasures  of  God.H  He  also  placed  a  par- 
tition round  about  the  temple,  which,  in 
our  tongue,  we  call  "Gison,"  but  it  is 
called  "  Thrigeos"  by  the  Greeks,  and  he 
raised  it  up  to  the  height  of  three  cubits; 
and  it  was  for  the  exclusion  of  the  multi- 
tude from  coming  into  the  temple,  and 
showing  that  it  was  a  place  that  was 
free  and  open  only  for  the  priests.  He 
also  built  beyond  this  court  a  temple,  the 
figure  of  which  was  that  of  a  quadrangle, 
and  erected  for  it  great  and  broad  clois- 
ters; this  was  entered  into  by  very  high 
gates,  each  of  which  had  its  front  exposed 
to  one  of  the  [four]  winds,  and  were  shut 
by  golden  doors.  Into  this  temple  all 
the  people  entered  that  were  distinguished 
from  the  rest  by  being  pure,  and  observant 
of  the  laws ;  but  he  made  that  temple 
wtncb  was  beyond  this,  a  wonderful  one 
indeed,  and  such  as  exceeds  all  description 
in  words;  nay,  if  I  may  so  say,  is  hardly 
believed  upon  sight:  for  when  he  had 
filled  up  great  valleys  with  earth,  which, 
on  account  of  their  immense  depth,  could 
not  be  looked  on  when  you  bended  down 
to  see  them,  without  pain,  and  had  elevated 
the  ground  4000  cubits,  he  made  it  to  be 
on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  mountain 
on  which  the  temple  was  built,  and  by 
this  means  the  utmost  temple,  which  was 
expose!    to   the    air.   was   even   with  the 


temple  itself.  He  encompassed  this  also 
with  a  building  of  a  double  row  of  clois- 
ters, which  stood  on  high  upon  pillars  of 
native  stone,  while  the  roofs  were  of  cedar, 
and  were  polished  in  a  manner  prorer  fcr 
such  high  roofs;  but  he  made  all  the  doors 
of  this  temple  of  silver. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Solomon  removes  the  Ark  into  the  Temple — offers 
public  sacrifices  to  God.     B.  C.  1004. 

When  King  Solomon  had  finished  these 
works,  these  large  and  beautiful  buildings, 
and  had  laid  up  his  donations  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  all  this  in   the  interval  of  seven 
years,*  and  had  given  a  demonstration  of 
his  riches  and  alacrity  therein;  insomuch, 
that    any  one    who    saw    it,   would    have 
thought  it  must  have  been   an   immense 
time  ere  it  could  have  been  finished,  and 
[would  be  surprised]  that  so  much  should 
be  finished  in  so  short  a  time ; — short,  I 
mean,  if  compared  with  the  greatness  of 
the  work :   he  also  wrote  to  the  rulers  and 
elders  of   the   Hebrews,  and  ordered  all 
the  people  to  gather  themselves  together 
to  Jerusalem,  both  to  see  the  temple  which 
he  had  built,  and  to  remove   the  ark  of 
God  into  it;  and  when  this  invitation  of 
the  whole  body  of  the  people  to  come  to 
Jerusalem  was  everywhere  carried  abroad, 
it  was  the  seventh  month  before  they  came 
together;  which   month  is,  by  our  coun- 
trymen, called  "  Thisri ;"  but  by  the  Ma- 
cedonians, "Hyperberetseus."     The  Feast 
of   Tabernacles    happened    to  fall  at  the 
same  time,  which  was  kept  by  the  Hebrews 
as  a  most  holy  and   most  eminent  feast 
So  they  carried  the  ark  and  the  tabernacle 
which  Moses  had  pitched,  and  all  the  ves- 
sels that  were  for  ministration  to  the  sa- 
crifices of  God,  and  removed  them  to  the 
temple.     The   king  himself,  and  all  th<» 
people  and  the  Levites,  went  before,  ren- 
dering the  ground  moist  with   sacrifices, 
and   drink-offerings,   and  the   blood  of  a 
great  number  of   oblations,  and   burning 
an  immense  quantity  of  incense;  and  this 
till  the  very  air  itself  everywhere  round 
about  was  so  full  of  these  odours,  that  it 
met,  in  a  most  agreeable  manner,  persons 
at  a  great  distance,  and  was  an  indication 
of  God's  presence,  and,  as  men's  opinion 
was,  of  his  habitation  with   them  in  this 
newly  built  an:!  consecrated  place,  for  they 


*  I  Kings  v.  18. 


,*64 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VUL 


did  not  grow  weary,  either  of  singing 
hymns,  or  of  dancing,  until  they  came  to 
the  teruple ;  and  in  this  manner  did  they 
carry  i  he  ark :  but  when  they  should 
transfer  it  into  the  most  secret  places,  the 
rest  of  the  multitude  went  away,  and  only 
those  priests  that  carried  it  set  it  between 
the  two  cherubim,  which  embracing  it  with 
their  wings,  (for  so  they  were  framed  by 
the  artificer,)  they  covered  it,  as  under  a 
tent  or  a  cupola.  Now  the  ark  contained 
nothing  else  but  those  two  tables  of  stone 
that  preserved  the  ten  commandments, 
which  God  spake  to  Moses  in  Mount 
Sinai,  and  which  *  were  engraved  upon 
them ;  but  they  set  the  candlestick,  and 
the  table,  and  the  golden  altar,  in  the 
temple,  before  the  most  secret  place,  in 
the  very  same  places  wherein  they  stood 
till  that  time  in  the  tabernacle.  So  they 
offered  up  the  daily  sacrifices ;  but  for  the 
brazen  altar,  Solomon  set  it  before  the 
temple,  over  against  the  door,  and  when 
the  door  was  opened,  it  might  be  exposed 
to  sight,  and  the  sacred  solemnities,  and 
the  richness  of  the  sacrifices,  might  be 
thence  seen ;  and  all  the  rest  of  the  ves- 
sels they  gathered  together,  and  put  them 
within  the  temple. 

Now,  as  soon  as  the  priests  had  put  all 
things  in  order  about  the  ark,  and  were 
gone  out,  there  came  down  a  thick  cloud, 
and  stood  there ;  and  spread  itself  after  a 
gentle  manner,  into  the  temple  :  such  a 
cloud  it  was  as  was  diffused  and  temperate, 
not  such  a  rough  one  as  we  see  full  of  rain 
in  the  wrinter  season.  This  cloud  so  dark- 
ened the  place,  that  one  priest  could  not 
discern  another;  but  it  afforded  to  the 
minds  of  all  a  visible  image  and  glorious 
appearance  of  God's  having  descended 
into  this  temple,  and  of  his  having  gladly 
pitched  his  tabernacle  therein.  So  these 
men  were  intent  upon  this  thought ;  but 
Solomon  rose  up  (for  he  was  sitting  before) 
and  used  such  words  to  God  as  he  thought 
agreeable  to  the  Divine  nature  to  receive, 
and  fit  for  him  to  give ;  for  he  said,  "Thou 
hast  an  eternal  house,  0  Lord,  and  such 
an  one  as  thou  hast  created  for  thyself  out 
ul  thine  owr  works;  we  know  n  to  be  the 
heaven,  and  the  air,  and  the  earth,  and  the 
sea,  which  thou  pervadest,  nor  art  thou 
contained  within  their  limits.  I  have  in- 
deed built  this  temple  to  thee,  and  thy 
name,  that  from  thence,  when  we  sacrifice, 
and  perform  sacred  operations,  we  mav 
send  our  prayers  up  into  the  air,  and  may 
constantly  believe  that  thou  art  present, 


and  art  not  remote  from  what  is  thine 
own :  for  neither  when  thou  seest  all 
things,  and  hearest  all  things,  nor  now, 
when  it  pleases  thee  to  dwell  here,  dost 
thou  leave  off  the  care  of  all  men,  but 
rather  thou  art  very  near  to  them  all,  but 
especially  thou  art  present  to  those  that 
address  themselves  to  thee,  whether  by 
night  or  by  day."  When  he  had  thus 
solemnly  addressed  himself  to  God,  he 
converted  his  discourse  to  the  multitude, 
and  strongly  represented  the  power  and 
providence  of  God  to  them ;  how  he  had 
shown  all  things  that  had  come  to  pass  to 
David  his  father,  as  many  of  those  things 
had  already  come  to  pass,  and  the  rest 
would  certainly  come  to  pass  hereafter; 
and  how  he  had  given  him  his  name,  and 
told  to  David  what  he  should  be  called 
before  he  was  born ;  and  foretold  that 
when  he  should  be  king  after  his  fa- 
ther's death,  he  should  build  him  a  tem- 
ple, which  since  they  saw  accomplished, 
according  to  his  prediction,  he  required 
them  to  bless  God,  and  by  believing  him 
from  the  sight  of  what  they  had  seen  ac- 
complished, never  to  despair  of  any  thing 
that  he  had  promised  for  the  future,  in 
order  to  their  happiness,  or  suspect  that  it 
would  not  come  to  pass. 

When  the  king  had  thus  discoursed  to 
the  multitude,  he  looked  again  toward  the 
temple,  and  lifting  up  his  right  hand  to 
the  multitude,  he  said,  aIt  is  not  possible 
by  what  men  can  do  to  return  sufficient 
thanks  to  God  for  his  beuefits  bestowed 
upon  them,  for  the  Deity  stands  in  need 
of  nothing,  and  is  above  any  such  re- 
quital ;  but  so  far  as  we  have  been  made 
superior,  0  Lord,  to  other  animals  by  thee, 
it  becomes  us  to  bless  thy  Majesty,  and  it 
is  necessary  for  us  to  return  thee  thanks 
for  what  thou  hast  bestowed  upon  our 
house,  and  on  the  Plebrew  people  j  for 
with  what  other  instrument  can  we  better 
appease  thee,  when  thou  art  angry  at  us, 
or  more  properly  preserve  thy  favour,  than 
with  our  voice  ?  which,  as  we  have  it  from 
the  air,  so  do  we  know  that  by  that  air 
it  ascends  upward  [toward  thee].  I 
therefore  ought  niyself  to  return  thee 
thanks,  thereby,  in  the  first  place,  con- 
cerning my  father  whom  thou  hast  raised 
from  obscurity  unto  so  great  joy;  and,  in 
the  next  place,  concerning  niyself,  since 
thou  hast  performed  all  that  thou  hast 
promised  unto  this  very  day;  and  I  be- 
seech thee,  for  the  time  to  come,  to  afford 
us  whatsoever  thou,  0  God,  hast  power  to 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


255 


bestow  on  such  as  thou  dost  esteem ;  and 
to  augment  our  liouse  for  all  ages,  as  thou 
nast  promised  to  David  my  father  to  do, 
both  in  his  lifetime  and  at  his  death,  that 
our  kingdom  shall  continue,  and  that  his 
posterity  should  successively  receive  it  to 
ten  thousand  generations.  Do  not  thou, 
therefore,  fail  to  give  us  these  blessings, 
and  to  bestow  on  my  children  that  virtue 
in  which  thou  delightest!  and  besides  all 
this,  I  humbly  beseech  thee,  that  thou 
wilt  let  some  portion  of  thy  Spirit  come 
down  and  inhabit  in  this  temple,  that  thou 
may  est  appear  to  be  with  us  upon  earth. 
As  to  thyself,  the  entire  heavens,  and  the 
immensity  of  the  things  that  are  therein, 
are  but  a  small  habitation  for  thee,  much 
more  is  this  poor  temple  so ;  but  I  entreat 
thee  to  keep  it  as  thine  own  house,  from 
being  destroyed  by  our  enemies  for  ever, 
and  to  take  care  of  it  as  thine  own  pos- 
session; but  if  this  people  be  found  to 
have  sinned,  and  be  thereupon  afflicted 
by  thee  with  any  plague,  because  of  their 
sin,  as  with  dearth  or  pestilence,  or  any 
other  affliction  which  thou  usest  to  inflict 
on  those  that  transgress  any  of  thy  holy 
laws,  and  if  they  fly  all  of  them  to  this 
temple,  beseeching  thee,  and  begging  of 
thee  to  deliver  them,  then  do  thou  hear 
their  prayers,  as  being  within  thine  house, 
and  have  mercy  upon  them,  and  deliver 
them  from  their  afflictions !  nay,  more- 
over, this  help  is  what  I  implore  of  thee, 
not  for  the  Hebrews  only,  when  they  are 
in  distress,  but  when  any  shall  come  hither 
from  any  ends  of  the  world  whatsoever, 
and  shall  return  from  their  sins  and  im- 
plore thy  pardon,  do  thou  then  pardon 
them,  and  hear  their  prayers  !  for  hereby 
all  shall  learn  that  thou  thyself  was 
pleased  with  the  building  of  this  house 
for  thee ;  and  that  we  are  not  ourselves 
of  an  unsociable  nature,  nor  behave  our- 
selves like  enemies  to  such  as  are  not  of 
our  own  people,  but  are  willing  that  thy 
assistance  should  be  communicated  by 
thee  to  all  men  in  common,  and  that  they 
may  have  the  enjoyment  of  thy  benefits 
jestowed  upon  them/' 

When  Solomon  had  said  this,  and  had 
cast  himself  upon  the  ground,  and  wor- 
shipped a  long  time,  he  rose  up  and 
brought  sacrihees  to  the  aitar;  and  when 
he  had  tilled  it  with  unblemished  victims, 
he  most  evidently  discovered  that  God 
had  with  pleasure  accepted  of  all  that  he 
had  sacrihced  to  him,  for  there  came  a  lire 
running  out  of  the  air,  and  rushed  with 


violence  upon  the  altar,  in  the  sight  of  all, 
and  caught  hold  of  and  consumed  the  sa- 
crifices. Now,  when  this  divine  appear- 
ance was  seen,  the  people  supposed  it  to 
be  a  demonstration  of  God's  abode  in  the 
temple,  and  were  pleased  with  it,  and  fell 
down  upon  the  ground,  and  worshipped. 
Upon  which  the  king  began  to  bless  God, 
and  exhorted  the  multitude  to  do  the  same, 
as  now  having  sufficient  indications  of 
God's  favourable  disposition  to  them;  and 
to  pray  that  they  might  always  have  the 
like  indications  from  him,  and  that  he 
would  preserve  in  them  a  mind  pure  from 
all  wickedness,  in  righteousness  and  reli- 
gious worship,  and  that  they  might  con- 
tinue in  the  observation  of  those  precepts 
which  God  had  given  them  by  Moses,  be- 
cause by  that  means  the  Hebrew  nation 
would  be  happy,  and  indeed  the  most 
blessed  of  all  nations  among  all  mankind. 
He  exhorted  them  also  to  be  mindful, 
that  by  what  methods  they  had  attained 
their  present  good  things,  by  the  same 
they  must  preserve  them  sure  to  them- 
selves, and  make  them  greater,  and  more 
than  they  were  at  present ;  for  that  it  was 
not  sufficient  for  them  to  suppose  they  had 
received  them  on  account  of  their  piety 
and  righteousness,  but  that  they  had  no 
other  way  of  preserving  them  for  the  time 
to  come  ;  for  that  it  is  not  so  great  a  thing 
for  men  to  acquire  somewhat  which  they 
want,  as  to  preserve  what  they  have  ac- 
quired and  to  be  guilty  of  no  sin,  whereby 
it  may  be  hurt. 

So  when  the  king  had  spoken  thus  to 
the  multitude,  he  dissolved  the  congrega- 
tion, but  not  till  he  had  completed  his 
oblations,  both  for  himself  and  for  the 
Hebrews,  insomuch  that  he  sacrificed 
22,000  oxen,  and  120,000  sleep;  for 
then  it  was  that  the  temple  did  fiist  of  all 
taste  of  the  victims ;  and  all  the  Hebrews, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  feasted 
therein:  nay,  besides  this,  the  king  then 
observed  splendidly  and  magnificently  the 
feast  which  is  called  the  "  Feast  of  Taber 
nacles,"  before  the  temple,  for  twice  sever?, 
days,  and  he  then  feasted  together  with 
all  the  people. 

When  all  these  solemnities  were  abun- 
dantly satisfied,  and  nothing  was  omitted 
that  concerned  the  divine  worship,  the 
king  dismissed  them  ;  and  every  one  went 
to  their  own  homes,  giving  thanks  to  the 
king  for  the  care  he  had  taken  of  them, 
and  the  works  he  had  done  for  them  :  and 
,  praying  to  God  to  preserve  Solomon  to  be 


256 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VTT1. 


their  king  for  a  long  time.  They  also 
took  their  journey  home  with  rejoicing, 
and  making  merry,  and  singing  hymns  to 
God ;  and  indeed  the  pleasure  they  en- 
joyed took  away  the  sense  of  the  pains 
they  all  underwent  in  their  journey  home. 
So  when  they  had  brought  the  ark  into 
the  temple,  and  had  seen  its  greatness, 
and  how  line  it  was,  and  had  been  par- 
takers of  the  many  sacrifices  that  had  been 
offered,  and  of  the  festivals  that  had  been 
solemnized,  thev  everv  one  returned  to 
their  own  cities.  But  a  dream  that  ap- 
peared to  the  king  in  his  sleep,  informed 
him  that  God  had  heard  his  prayers ;  and 
that  he  would  not  only  preserve  the  tem- 
ple, but  would  always  abide  in  it;  that  is, 
in  case  his  posterity  and  the  whole  multi- 
tude would  be  righteous.  And  for  him- 
self, it  said,  that  if  he  continued  according 
to  the  admonitions  of  his  father,  he  would 
advance  him  to  an  immense  degree  of 
dignity  and  happiness,  and  that  then  his 
posterity  should  be  kings  of  that  country, 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  for  ever;  but  that 
still,  if  he  should  be  found  a  betrayer  of 
the  ordinances  of  the  law,  and  forget  them, 
and  turn  away  to  the  worship  of  strange 
gods,  he  would  cut  him  oif  by  the  roots, 
and  would  neither  suffer  any  remainder  of 
his  family  to  continue,  nor  would  overlook 
the  people  of  Israel,  or  preserve  them  any 
longer  from  afflictions,  but  would  bitterly 
destroy  them  with  ten  thousand  wars  and 
misfortunes;  would  cast  them  out  of' the 
land  which  he  had  given  their  fathers,  and 
make  them  sojourners  in  strange  lands ; 
and  deliver  that  temple  which  was  now 
built,  to  be  burnt  aud  spoiled  by  their 
enemies  :  and  that  city  to  be  utterly  over- 
thrown by  the  hands  of  their  enemies; 
and  make  their  miseries  deserve  to  be  a 
proverb,  and  such  as  should  very  hardly 
be  credited  for  their  stupendous  magni- 
tude, till  their  neighbours,  when  they 
should  hear  of  them,  should  wonder  at 
their  calamities,  aud  very  earnestly  in- 
quire for  the  occasion,  why  the  Hebrews, 
who  had  been  so  far  advanced  by  God  to 
such  glory  and  wealth,  should  then  be  so 
hated  by  him?  And  that  the  answer  that 
should  be  made  by  the  remainder  of  the 
people  should  be,  by  confessing  their  sins 
and  their  transgression  of  the  laws  of  their 
country.  Accordingly,  we  have  it  trans- 
mitted to  us  in  writing,  that  thus  did  God 
«peak  to  Solomon  in  his  sleep. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Solomon  erects  a  splendid  palace  for  his  own  resi- 
dence — solves  the  enigmas  sent  by  Hiram,  king 
of  Tyre.     B.  C.  992. 

After  the  building  of  the  temple, 
which,  as  we  have  before  said,  was  finished 
in  seven  years,  the  king  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  his  palace,  which  he  did  not  finish 
under  thirteen  years ;  for  he  was  not 
equally  zealous  in  the  building  of  this 
palace  as  he  had  been  about  the  temple; 
for  as  to  that,  though  it  was  a  great  work, 
and  required  wonderful  and  surprising  ap- 
plication, yet  God,  for  whom  it  was  made, 
so  far  co-operated  therewith,  that  it  was 
finished  in  the  forementioned  number  of 
years ;  but  the  palace,  which  was  a  build- 
ing much  inferior  in  dignity  to  the  temple, 
both  on  account  that  its  materials  had  not 
been  so  long  beforehand  gotten  ready,  nor 
had  been  so  zealously  prepared,  and  on 
account  that  this  was  only  a  habitation  for 
kings,  and  not  for  God,  it  was  longer  in 
finishing.  However,  this  building  was 
raised  so  magnificently,  as  suited  the 
happy  state  of  the  Hebrews,  and  of  the 
king  thereof:  but  it  is  necessary  that  I 
describe  the  entire  structure  and  disposi- 
tion of  the  parts,  that  so  those  that  light 
upon  this  book  may  thereby  make  a  con- 
jecture, and,  as  it  were,  have  a  prospect 
of  its  magnitude. 

This  house  was  a  large  and  curious 
building,  and  was  supported  by  many  pil- 
lars, which  Solomon  built  to  contain  a 
multitude,  for  hearing  causes  and  taking 
cognizance  of  suits.  It  was  sufficiently 
capacious  to  contain  a  great  body  of  men, 
who  would  come  together  to  have  their 
causes  determined.  It  was  100  cubits 
long,  and  fifty  broad,  and  thirty  high, 
supported  by  quadrangular  pillars,  which 
were  all  of  cedar ;  but  its  roof  was  accord- 
ing to  the  Corinthian  order  ;*  with  fold- 
ing doors,  and  their  adjoining  pillars  of 
equal  magnitude^  each  fluted  with  three 
cavities:  which  building  was  at  once  firm 
and  very  ornamental.  There  was  also 
another  house  so  ordered,  that  its  entire 
breadth  was  placed  in  the  middle  :  it  was 
quadrangular,  and^  its  breadth  thirty  cu- 
bits, having  a  temple  over  against  it, 
raised  upon  massy  pillars;  in  which  tem 
pie  there  was  a  large  and  very  glorious 


*  There  is  much  doubt  whether  the  Corinthian 
order  was  known  in  the  time  of  Solomon:  ono  of 
the  gates  of  "  Herod's  Temple"  probably  ws,s  oon 
structed  according  to  the  rules  of  this  order. 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


257 


room,  wherein  the  king  sat  in  judgment. 
To  this  was  joined  another  house,  that 
was  built  for  his  queen.  There  were  other 
smaller  edifices  for  diet,  and  for  sleep,  after 
public  matters  were  over:  and  these  were 
all  floored  with  boards  of  cedar.  Some  of 
these  Solomon  built  with  stones  of  ten 
cubits,  and  wainscoted  the  walls  with 
other  stones  that  were  sawed,  and  were  of 
great  value,  such  as  are  dug  out  of  the 
earth  for  the  ornaments  of  temples,  and 
to  make  fine  prospects  in  royal  palaces, 
and  which  make  the  mines  whence  they 
are  dug  famous.  Now  the  contexture  of 
the  curious  workmanship  of  these  stones 
was  in  three  rows,  but  the  fourth  row 
would  make  one  admire  its  sculptures, 
whereby  were  represented  trees,  and  all 
sorts  of  plants,  with  the  shades  that  arose 
from  their  branches,  and  leaves  that  hung 
down  from  them.  Those  trees  and  plants 
covered  the  stone  that  was  beneath  them, 
and  their  leaves  were  wrought  so  prodi- 
giously thin  and  subtile,  that  you  would 
think  they  were  in  motion  ;  but  the  other 
part,  up  to  the  roof,  was  plastered  over, 
and,  as  it  were,  embroidered  with  colours 
and  pictures.  He,  moreover,  built  other 
edifices  for  pleasure ;  as  also  very  long 
cloisters,  and  those  situate  in  an  agreeable 
place  of  the  palace;  and  among  them  a 
most  glorious  dining-room  for  feastings 
and  compotations,  and  full  of  gold,  and 
such  other  furniture  as  so  fine  a  room  ought 
to  have  for  the  conveniency  of  the  guests, 
and  where  all  the  vessels  were  made  of 
gold.  Now  it  is  very  hard  to  reckon  up 
the  magnitude  and  the  variety  of  the  royal 
apartments;  how  many  rooms  there  were 
of  the  largest  sort,  how  many  of  a  bigness 
inferior  to  those,  and  how  many  that  were 
subterraneous  and  invisible  ;  the  curiosity 
of  those  that  enjoyed  the  fresh  air;  and 
the  groves  for  the  most  delightful  pros- 
pect, for  the  avoiding  the  heat,  and  cover- 
ing of  their  bodies.  And  to  say  all  in 
brief,  Solomon  made  the  whole  building 
entirely  of  white  stone,  and  cedar-wood, 
and  gold,  and  silver.  He  also  adorned 
the  roofs  and  walls  with  stones  set  in  gold, 
and  beautified  them  thereby  in  the  same 
manner  as  he  had  beautified  the  temple  of 
God,  with  the  like  stones.  He  also  made 
himself  a  throne  of  prodigious  largeness, 
of  ivory,  constructed  as  a  seat  of  justice, 
and  having  six  steps  to  it;  on  every  one 
of  which  stood,  on  each  end  of  the  step, 
two  lions ;  two  other  lions  standing  above 
also ;  but  at  the  sitting-place  of  the 
17 


throne,  hands  came  out,  and  received  the 
king;  and  when  he  sat  backward,  he 
rested  on  half  a  bullock,  that  looked  to- 
ward his  back ;  but  still  all  was  fastened 
together  with  gold. 

When  Solomon  had  completed  all  this 
in  twenty  years'  time,  because  Hiram 
king  of  Tyre  had  contributed  a  great 
deal  of  gold,  and  more  silver  to  these 
buildings,  as  also  cedar-wood  and  pine- 
wood,  he  also  rewarded  Hiram  with  rich 
presents:  corn  he  sent  him  also  year  by 
year,  and  wine  and  oil,  which  were  the 
principal  things  that  he  stood  in  need  of, 
because  he  inhabited  an  island,  as  we  have 
already  said.  And  besides  these,  he 
granted  him  certain  cities  of  Galilee, 
twenty  in  number,  that  lay  not  far  from 
Tyre ;  which,  when  Hiram  went  to  and 
viewed,  and  did  not  like  the  gift,  he  sent 
word  to  Solomon  that  he  did  not  want 
such  cities  as  they  were ;  and  after  that 
time  those  cities  were  called  the  land  of 
Cabul;  which  name,  if  it  be  interpreted 
according  to  the  language  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians, denotes  "  what  does  not  please. " 
Moreover,  the  king  of  Tyre  sent  sophisms 
and  enigmatical  sayings  to  Solomon,  and 
desired  he  would  solve  them,  and  free 
them  from  the  ambiguity  that  was  in 
them.  Now  so  sagacious  and  understand- 
ing was  Solomon,  that  none  of  these  pro- 
blems were  too  hard  for  him;  but  he  con- 
quered them  all  by  his  reasonings,  and 
discovered  their  hidden  meaning,  and 
brought  it  to  light.  Menander  also,  one 
who  translated  the  Tyrian  archives  out 
of  the  dialect  of  the  Phoenicians  into  the 
Greek  language,  makes  mention  of  these 
two  kings,  where  he  says  thus  : — "  When 
Abibalus  was  dead,  his  son  Hiram  re- 
ceived the  kingdom  from  him,  who,  when 
he  had  lived  fifty-three  years,  reigned 
thirty-four.  He  raised  a  bank  in  the 
large  place,  and  dedicated  the  golden  pil- 
lar which  is  in  Jupiter's  temple.  He  also 
went  and  cut  down  materials  of  timber 
out  of  the  mountain  called  Libanus,  for 
the  roof  of  temples  ;  and  when  he  had 
pulled  down  the  aucient  temples,  he  both 
built  the  temple  of  Hercules  and  that  of 
Astarte ;  and  he  first  set  up  the  temple 
of  Hercules  in  the  month  Peritius;  he 
also  made  an  expedition  against  the  Eu- 
chii  [or  Titii],  who  did  not  pay  their  tri- 
bute ;  and  when  he  had  subdued  them 
to  himself  he  returned.  Under  this  king 
there  was  Abdemon,  a  very  youth  in  age, 
who  always  conquered    the   difficult  pro- 


258 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  V1I1 


blems  which  Solomon,  king  of  Jerusalem, 
commanded  him  to  explain."  Pius  also 
makes  mention  of  him,  where  he  says 
thus  : — "  When  Abibalus  was  dead,  his 
son  Hiram  reigned.  He  raised  the  east- 
ern parts  of  the  city  higher  and  made 
the  city  itself  larger.  He  also  joined  the 
temple  of  Jupiter,  which  before  stood  by 
itself,  to  the  city,  by  raising  a  bank  in 
the  middle  between  them  ;  and  he  adorned 
it  with  donations  of  gold.  Moreover,  he 
went  up  to  Mount  Libanus,  and  cut  down 
materials  of  wood  for  the  building  of  the 
temples."  He  says  also  that  "Solomon, 
who  was  then  King  of  Jerusalem,  sent 
riddles  to  Hiram,  and  desired  to  receive 
the  like  from  him  ;  but  that  he  who  could 
not  solve  them  should  pay  money  to  those 
that  did  solve  them ;  and  that  Hiram  ac- 
cepted the  conditions ;  and  when  he  was 
not  able  to  solve  the  riddles  [proposed  by 
Solomon],  he  paid  a  great  deal  of  money 
for  his  fine ;  but  that  he  afterward  did 
solve  the  proposed  riddles  by  means  of 
Abdemon,  a  man  of  Tyre;  and  that  Hi- 
ram proposed  other  riddles,  which,  when 
Solomon  could  not  solve,  he  paid  back  a 
great  deal  of  money  to  Hiram."  This  it 
is  which  Dius  wrote. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Solomon  fortifies  the  city  of  Jerusalem — builds 
great  cities — entertains  the  queen  of  Ethiopia. 
B.  C.  992.  r 

Now  when  the  king  saw  that  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem  stood  in  need  of  being  bet- 
ter secured  and  made  stronger,  (for  he 
thought  the  walls  that  encompassed  Je- 
rusalem ought  to  correspond  to  the  digni- 
ty of  the  city,)  he  both  repaired  them 
and  made  them  higher,  with  great  towers 
upon  them ;  he  also  built  cities  which 
might  be  counted  among  the  strongest, 
Hazor  and  Megiddo,  and  the  third  Gezer, 
which  had  indeed  belonged  to  the  Philis- 
tines; but  Pharaoh,  the  king  of  Egypt, 
had  made  an  expedition  against  it,  and 
besieged  it,  and  taken  it  by  force;  and 
when  he  had  slain  all  its  inhabitants,  he 
utterly  overthrew  it,  and  gave  it  as  a  pre- 
sent to  his  daughter,  who  had  been  mar- 
ried to  Solomon :  for  which  reason  the 
king  rebuilt  it,  as  a  city  that  was  na- 
turally strong,  and  might  be  useful  in 
wars,  and  the  mutations  of  affairs  that 
sometimes  happen.  Moreover,  he  built 
two  other  cities  not  far  from  it;  Beth- 
hoion  was  the  name  of  one  of  them,  and 


Balaath  of  the  other.  He  also  built  othei 
cities  that  lay  conveniently  for  these,  in 
order  to  the  enjoyment  of  pleasures  and 
delicacies  in  them,  such  as  were  naturally 
of  a  good  temperature  of  the  air,  and 
agreeable  for  fruits  ripe  in  their  proper 
season,  and  well  watered  with  springs. 
Nay,  Solomon  went  as  far  as  the  desert 
above  Syria,  and  possessed  himself  of  it, 
and  built  there  a  very  great  city,  which 
was  distant  two  days'  journey  from  the 
Upper  Syria,  and  one  day's  journey  from 
Euphrates,  and  six  long  days'  journey 
from  Babylon  the  Great.  Now  the  rea- 
son why  this  city  lay  so  remote  from  the 
parts  of  Syria  that  are  inhabited,  is 
this :  that  below  there  is  no  water  to 
be  had,  and  that  it  is  in  that  place  only 
that  there  are  pits  and  springs  of  water. 
When  he  had  therefore  built  this  city, 
and  encompassed  it  with  very  strong  walls, 
he  gave  it  the  name  of  Tadmor;  and  that 
is  the  name  it  is  still  called  by  at  this 
day  among  the  Syrians;  but  the  Greeks 
name  it  Palmyra. 

Now  Solomon  the  king  was  at  this  time 
engaged  in  building  these  cities.  But  if 
any  inquire  why  all  the  kings  of  Egypi 
from  Menes,  who  built  Memphis,  and  wag 
many  years  earlier  than  our  forefather 
Abraham,  until  Solomon,  where  the  in- 
terval was  more  than  1300  years,  wer: 
called  Pharaohs,  and  took  it  from  one 
Pharaoh  that  lived  after  the  kings  of  that 
interval,  I  think  it  necessary  to  inform 
them  of  it,  and  this,  in  order  to  cure  their 
ignorance,  and  to  make  the  occasion  of 
that  name  manifest.  Pharaoh,  in  the 
Egyptian  tongue,  signifies  a  u  king,"  but 
I  suppose  they  made  use  of  other  names 
from  their  childhood  ;  but  when  they  were 
made  kings,  they  changed  them  into  the 
name  which,  in  their  own  tongue,  de- 
noted their  authoity;  for  thus  it  was  also 
that  the  kings  of  Alexandria,  who  were 
called  formerly  by  other  names,  when 
they  took  the  kingdom,  where  named 
Ptolemies,  from  their  first  king.  The 
Roman  emperors  also  were,  from  their  na- 
tivity, called  by  other  names,  but  are 
styled  Caesars,  their  empire  and  their  dig- 
nity imposing  that  name  upon  them,  and 
not  suffering  them  to  continue  in  those 
names  which  their  fathers  gave  them.  I 
suppose  also  that  Herodotus  of  Halicar 
nassus,  when  he  said  there  were  330  kingfc 
of  Egypt  after  Menes,  who  built  Mem- 
phis, did  therefore  not  tell  us  their  names, 
because  they  were  in  common  called  Pha- 


(,'lfAV     VI] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


259 


raobs ;  for  when  after  their  death  there 
was  a  queen  reigned,  he  calls  her  by  her 
name  Nicaule,  as  thereby  declaring,  that 
while  the  kings  were  of  the  male  line, 
and  so  admitted  of  the  same  name,  while 
a  woman  did  not  admit  the  same,  he  did 
therefore  set  down  that  her  name,  which 
the  could  not  naturally  have.  As  for  my- 
self, I  have  discovered  from  our  own 
books,  that  after  Pharaoh,  the  father-in-law 
of  Solomon,  no  other  king  of  Egypt  did 
any  longer  use  that  name  ;*  and  that  it  was 
after  that  time  when  the  forenamed  queen 
of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  came  to  Solomon, 
concerning  whom  we  shall  inform  the 
reader  presently  ;  but  I  have  now  made 
mention  of  these  things,  that  I  may  prove 
that  our  books  and  those  of  the  Egyp- 
tians agree  together  in  many  things. 

But  King  Solomon  subdued  to  himself 
the  remnant  of  the  Canaanites  that  had 
not  before  submitted  to  him  ;  those,  I 
mean,  that  dwelt  in  Mount  Lebanon,  and 
as  far  as  the  city  Hamath ;  and  ordered 
them  to  pay  tribute.  He  also  chose  out 
of  them  every  year  such  as  were  to  serve 
him  in  the  meanest  offices,  and  to  do  his 
domestic  works,  and  to  follow  husbandry  ; 
for  none  of  the  Hebrews  were  servants 
[in  such  low  employments]  ;  nor  was  it 
reasonable  that,  when  God  had  brought 
so  many  nations  under  their  power,  they 
should  depress  their  own  people  to  such 
mean  offices  of  life,  rather  than  those  na- 
tions; but  all  the  Israelites  were  con- 
cerned in  warlike  affairs,  and  were  in 
armour,  and  were  set  over  the  chariots 
and  the  horses,  rather  than  leading  the 
life  of  slaves.  He  appointed  also  550 
rulers  over  those  Canaanites  who  were  re- 
duced to  such  domestic  slavery,  who  re- 
ceived the  entire  care  of  them  from  the 
king,  and  instructed  them  in  those  labours 
and  operations  wherein  he  wanted  their 
assistance. 

Moreover,  the  king  built  many  ships  in 
the  Egyptian  Bay  of  the  Bed  Sea,  in  a 
certain  place  called  Ezion-geber :  ic  is 
now  called  Berenice,  and  is  not  far  from 
the  city  Eioth.  This  country  belonged 
formerly  to  the  Jews,  and  became  useful 
for  shipping,  from  the  donations  of  Hi- 
ram, king  of  Tyre;  for  he  sent  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  men  thither  for  pilots, 
and  such  as  were  skilled  in   navigation  ; 


*  Josephus  is  in  error  on  this  point:  the  kings 
of  Egypt  were  called  Pharaoh  long  after  Solo- 
in  jn's  time.  See  King-  xxiii  2(J ;  Jer.  xliv.  '40, 
iivii.2 


to  whom  Solomon  gave  this  command  ; 
that  they  should  go  along  with  his  owu 
stewards  to  the  land  that  was  of  old 
called  Ophir,  but  now  the  Aurea  Cherso- 
nesus,  which  belongs  to  India,  to  fetch 
him  gold.  And  when  they  had  gathered 
400  talents  together,  they  returned  to  the 
king  again. 

There  was  then  a  woman,  queen  of 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia;*  she  was  inquisitive 
into  philosophy,  and  one  that  on  other  ac- 
counts also  was  to  be  admired.  When  this 
queen  heard  of  the  virtue  and  prudence 
of  Solomon,  she  had  a  great  mind  to  see 
him ;  and  the  reports  that  went  every 
day  abroad  induced  her  to  come  to  him, 
she  being  desirous  to  be  satisfied  by  her 
own  experience,  and  not  by  a  bare  hear- 
ing; (for  reports  thus  heard,  are  likely 
enough  to  comply  with  a  false  opinion, 
while  they  wholly  depend  on  the  credit 
of  the  relators;)  so  she  resolved  to  come 
to  him,  and  that  especially  in  order  to 
have  a  trial  of  his  wisdom,  while  she  pro- 
posed questions  of  very  great  difficulty, 
and  entreated  that  he  would  solve  their 
hidden  meaning.  Accordingly,  she  came 
to  Jerusalem  with  great  splendour  and 
rich  furniture  ;  for  she  brought  with  her 
camels  laden  with  gold,  with  several  sorts 
of  sweet  spices,  and  with  precious  stones. 
Now,  upon  the  king's  kind  reception  of 
her,  he  both  showed  a  great  desire  to 
please  her,  and  easily  comprehending  in 
his  mind  the  meaning  of  the  curious 
questions  she  propounded  to  him,  he  re- 
solved them  sooner  than  any  one  could 
have  expected.  So  she  was  amazed  at  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon,  and  discovered  that 
it  was  more  excellent  upon  trial  than 
what  she  had  heard  by  report  beforehand ; 
and  especially  she  was  surprised  at  the 
fineness  and  largeness  of  his  royal  palace, 
and  not  less  so  at  the  good  order  of  the 
apartments,  for  she  observed  that  the 
king  had  therein  shown  great  wisdom; 
but  she  was  beyond  measure  astonished  at 
the  house  which  was  called  the  "  Forest 
of  Lebanon,"  as  also  at  the  magnificence 
of  his  daily  table,  and  the  circumstances 
of  its  preparation  and  ministration,  with 


*  The  queen  of  Sheba  was  a  queen  of  Sabaea  in 
South  Arabia,  and  not  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia;  Sa- 
hara is  well  known  to  be  a  country  near  the  sea  in 
the  south  of  Arabia  Felix,  which  lay  south  from  Ju- 
dea  also;  our  Saviour  also  calls  this  queen,  "the 
queen  of  the  south,"  and  says,  "  she  came  from 
the  utmost  parts  of  the  earth,"  (Matt.  xxii.  42 
Luke  xi.  31  ;)  which  descriptions  agree  better  U 
this  Arabia  than  to  Egypt  aud  Ethiopia. 


260 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII. 


the  apparel  of  his  servants  that  waited, 
and  the  skilful  and  decent  management 
of  their  attendance  :  nor  was  she  less  af- 
fected with  those  daily  sacrifices  which 
were  offered  to  God,  and  the  careful  ma- 
nagement which  the  priests  and  Levites 
used  about  them.  When  she  saw  this 
done  every  day,  she  was  in  the  greatest 
admiration  imaginable,  insomuch  that  she 
was  not  able  to  contain  the  surprise  she 
was  in,  but  openly  confessed  how  wonder- 
fully she  was  affected ;  for  she  proceeded 
to  discourse  with  the  king,  and  thereby 
owned  that  she  was  overcome  with  admi- 
ration at  the  things  before  related;  and 
said,  "  All  things,  indeed,  0  king,  that 
came  to  our  knowledge  by  report,  came 
with  uncertainty  as  to  our  belief  of  them ; 
but  as  to  those  good  things  that  to  thee 
appertain,  both  such  as  thou  thyself  pos- 
sessest,  I  mean  both  wisdom  and  pru- 
dence, and  the  happiness  thou  hast  from 
thy  kingdom,  certainly  the  same  that 
came  to  us  was  no  falsity ;  it  was  not 
only  a  true  report,  but  it  related  thy  hap- 
piness after  a  much  lower  manner  than  I 
now  see  it  to  be  before  my  eyes.  For  as 
for  the  report,  it  only  attempted  to  per- 
suade our  hearing,  but  did  not  so  make 
known  the  dignity  of  the  things  them- 
selves as  does  the  sight  of  them,  and  be- 
ing present  among  them.  I,  indeed,  who 
did  not  believe  what  was  reported,  by  rea- 
son of  the  multitude  and  graudeur  of  the 
things  I  inquired  about,  do  see  them  to 
be  much  more  numerous  than  they  were 
reported  to  be.  Accordingly,  I  esteem 
the  Hebrew  people,  as  well  as  thy  ser- 
vants and  friends,  to  be  happy,  who  enjoy 
thy  presence  and  hear  thy  wisdom  every 
day  continually.  One  would,  therefore, 
bless  God,  who  hath  so  loved  this  country, 
and  those  that  inhabit  therein,  as  to  make 
thee  king  over  them." 

Now  when  the  queen  had  thus  demon- 
strated in  words  how  deeply  the  king  had 
affected  her,  her  disposition  was  kuown  by 
certain  presents,  for  she  gave  him  twenty 
talents  of  gold,  and  an  immense  quantity 
of  spices  and  precious  stones.  (They  say, 
also,  that  we  possess  the  root  of  that  bal- 
sam which  our  country  still  bears  by  this 
woman's  gift.)*  Solomon  also  repaid  her 
with  many  good  things,  aud  principally 
by  bestowing  upon  her  what  she  chose  of 
her  own  inclination,  for  there  was  nothing 
that  she  desired  which  he  denied  her;  and 

*  This  account  does  not  agree  with  Gen.  xxxvii. 
25.  and  xliii.  11. 


as  he  was  very  generons  and  liberal  in  his 
own  temper,  so  did  he  show  the  greatness 
of  his  soul  in  bestowing  on  her  what  she 
herself  desired  of  him.  So  when  this 
queen  of  Ethiopia  had  obtained  what  wo 
have  already  given  an  account  of,  and  had 
again  communicated  to  the  king  what  she 
brought  with  her,  she  returned  to  her  own 
kingdom. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Solomon  increases  in  wealth — becomes  addicted  to 
women — rebellion  of  Ader  and  Jeroboam — 
death  of  Solomon.    B.  C.  984-975. 

About  the  same  time  there  were 
brought  to  the  king  from  the  Aurea 
Chersonesus,  a  country  so  called,  pre- 
cious stones  and  pine-trees,  and  these 
trees  he  made  use  of  for  supporting  the 
temple  and  the  palace,  as  also  for  the  ma- 
terials of  musical  instruments,  the  harps, 
and  the  psalteries,  that  the  Levites  might 
make  use  of  them  in  their  hymns  to  Grod. 
The  wood  which  was  brought  to  him  at 
this  time  was  larger  and  finer  than  any 
that  had  ever  been  brought  before  ;  but  let 
no  one  imagine  that  those  pine-trees  were 
like  those  which  are  now  so  named,  and 
which  take  that  their  denomination  from 
the  merchants,  who  so  call  them,  that  they 
may  procure  them  to  be  admired  by  those 
that  purchase  them ;  for  those  we  speak 
of  were  to  the  sight  like  the  wood  of  the 
fig-tree,  but  were  whiter  and  more  shining. 
Now  we  have  said  this  much,  that  nobody 
may  be  ignorant  of  the  difference  between 
these  sorts  of  wood,  nor  unacquainted  with 
the  nature  of  the  genuine  pine-tree ;  and 
we  thought  it  both  a  seasonable  and  hu- 
mane thing  when  we  mentioned  it,  and 
the  uses  the  king  made  of  it,  to  explain 
this  difference  so  far  as  we  have  done. 

Now  the  weight  of  gold  that  was 
brought  him  was  666  talents,  not  includ- 
ing in  that  sum  what  was  brought  by  the 
merchants,  nor  what  the  toparchs*  and 
kings  of  Arabia  gave  him  in  presents.  He 
also  cast  200  targets  of  gold,  each  of  them 
weighing  600  shekels :  he  also  made  300 
shields,  every  one  weighing  three  pounds 
of  gold,  and  he  had  them  carried  and  put 
into  that  house  which  was  called  the 
"Forest  of  Lebanon."  He  also  made 
cups  of  gold,  and  of  [precious]  stones  for 
the  entertainment  of  his  guests,  and  had 
them  adorned  in  the  most  artificial  man- 
ner; and  he  contrived  that  all  his  othef 


*  Governors  of  small  districts. 


CllA\  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


261 


furniture  of  vessels  should  be  of  gold,  for 
there  was  nothing  then  to  be  sold  or 
bought  for  silver;  for  the  king  had  many 
ships  which  lay  upon  the  sea  of  Tarsus; 
these  he  commanded  to  carry  out  all  sorts 
of  merchandise  into  the  remotest  nations, 
by  the  sale  of  which  silver  and  gold  were 
brought  to  the  king,  and  a  great  quantity 
of  ivory,  and  Ethiopians  and  apes;  and 
they  finished  their  voyage,  going  and  re- 
turning, in  three  years'  time. 

Accordingly,  there  went  a  great  fame 
all  around  the  neighbouring  countries, 
which  proclaimed  the  virt"°  and  wisdom 
of  Solomon,  insomuch  that  all  the  kings 
everywhere  were  desirous  to  see  him,  as 
not  giving  credit  to  what  was  reported,  on 
account  of  its  being  almost  incredible  : 
they  also  demonstrated  the  regard  they 
had  for  him  by  the  presents  they  made 
him ;  for  they  sent  him  vessels  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  purple  garments,  and  many 
sorts  of  spices,  and  horses,  and  chariots, 
and  as  many  mules  for  his  carriages  as 
they  could  find  proper  to  please  the  king's 
eyes,  by  their  strength  and  beauty.  This 
addition  that  he  made  to  those  chariots  and 
horses  which  he  had  before  from  those  that 
were  sent  him,  augmented  the  number  of 
his  chariots  by  above  400,  for  he  had  1000 
before,  and  augmented  the  number  of  his 
horses  by  2000,  for  he  had  20,000  before. 
These  horses  also  were  so  much  exercised, 
in  order  to  their  making  a  fine  appearance, 
and  running  swiftly,  that  no  others  could, 
upon  the  comparison,  appear  either  finer 
or  swifter;  but  they  were  at  once  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  others,  and  their 
swiftness  was  incomparable  also.  Their 
riders  also  were  a  further  ornament  to 
them,  being,  in  the  first  place,  young  men 
in  the  most  delightful  flower  of  their  age, 
and  being  eminent  for  their  largeness,  and 
far  taller  than  other  men.  They  had  also 
very  long  heads  of  hair  hanging  down,  and 
were  clothed  in  garments  of  Tyrian  pur- 
ple. They  had  also  dust  of  gold  every 
day  spriakled  on  their  hair,  so  that  their 
heads  sparkled  with  the  reflection  of  the 
sunbeams  from  the  gold.  The  king  him- 
self rode  upon  a  chariot  in  the  midst  of 
these  men,  who  were  still  in  armour  and 
had  their  bows  fitted  to  them.  He  had 
on  a  white  garment,  and  used  to  take  his 
progress  out  of  the  city  in  the  morning. 
There  was  a  certain  place,  about  fifty  fur- 
longs distant  from  Jerusalem,  which  is 
called  Etham,  very  pleasant  it  is  in  fine 
gardens,  and  abounding  in  rivulets  of  wa- 


ter; thither  did  be  use  to  go  out  in   the 
morning,  sitting  high  [in  his  chariot]. 

Now  Solomon  had  a  divine  sagacity  in 
all  things,  and  was  very  diligent  and  stu- 
dious to  have  things  done  after  an  elegant 
manner;  so  he  did  not  neglect  the  care  of 
the  ways,  but  he  laid  a  causeway  of  black 
stone  along  the  roads  that  led  to  Jerusa- 
lem, which  was  the  royal  city,  both  to 
render  them  easy  for  travellers,  and  to 
manifest  the  grandeur  of  his  riches  and 
government.  He  also  parted  his  chariots, 
and  set  them  in  a  regular  order,  that  a  cer- 
tain number  of  them  should  be  in  every 
city,  still  keeping  a  few  about  him;  and 
those  cities  he  called  the  "  cities  of  his 
chariots ;"  and  the  king  made  silver  as 
plentiful  in  Jerusalem  as  the  stones  in  the 
street,  and  so  multiplied  cedar-trees  in  the 
plains  of  Judea,  which  did  not  grow  there 
before,  that  they  were  like  to  the  multi- 
tude of  common  sycamore-tiees.  He  also 
ordained  the  Egyptian  merchants  that 
brought  him  their  merchandise,  to  sell 
him  a  chariot,  with  a  pair  of  horses,  for 
600  drachmae  of  silver,  and  he  sent  them 
to  the  kings  of  Syria,  and  to  those  kings 
that  were  beyond  Euphrates. 

But  although  Solomon  was  become  the 
most  glorious  of  kings,  and  the  best  be- 
loved by  God,  and  had  exceeded  in  wis- 
dom and  riches  those  that  had  been  rulers 
of  the  Hebrews  before  him,  yet  did  he  not 
persevere  in  this  happy  state  till  he  died. 
Nay,  he  forsook  the  observation  of  the 
laws  of  his  father,  and  came  to  an  end  no 
way  suitable  to  our  foregoing  history  of 
him.  He  grew  mad  in  his  love  of  women, 
and  laid  no  restraint  on  himself  in  his 
lusts;  nor  was  he  satisfied  with  the  women 
of  his  country  alone,  but  he  married  many 
wives  out  of  foreign  nations  :  Sidonians, 
and  Tyrians,  and  Ammonites,  and  Edom- 
ites;  and  he  transgressed  the  laws  of 
Moses,  which  forbade  Jews  to  marry  any 
but  those  that  were  of  their  own  people. 
He  also  began  to  worship  their  gods, 
which  he  did  in  order  to  the  gratification 
of  his  wives,  and  out  of  his  affection  for 
them.  This  very  thing  our  legislator  sus- 
pected, and  so  admonished  us  beforehand, 
that  we  should  not  marry  women  of  other 
countries,  lest  we  should  be  entangled 
with  foreign  customs,  and  apostatize  from 
our  own ;  lest  we  should  leave  off  to  ho- 
nour our  own  God,  and  should  worship 
their  gods.  But  Solomon  had  fallen 
headlong  into  unreasonable  pleasures,  and 
regarded  not  those  admonitions  ;   for  wlieu 


262 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  YIIL 


be  had  married  700  wives,  the  daughters 
of  princes,  and  of  eminent  persons,  and 
300  concubines,  and  these  besides  the 
king  of  Egypt's  daughter,  he  soon  was 
governed  by  them,  till  he  came  to  imitate 
their  practices.  He  was  forced  to  give 
them  this  demonstration  of  his  kindness 
and  affection  to  them  to  live  according  to 
the  laws  of  their  countries.  And  as  he 
grew  into  years,  and  his  reason  became 
weaker  by  length  of  time,  it  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  recall  to  his  mind  the  institutions 
of  his  own  country ;  so  he  still  more  and 
more  contemned  his  own  God,  and  con- 
tinued to  regard  the  gods  that  his  mar- 
riages had  introduced  :  nay,  before  this 
happened,  he  sinned,  and  fell  into  an  error 
about  the  observation  of  the  laws,  when 
he  made  the  images  of  brazen  oxen  that 
supported  the  brazen  sea,  and  the  images 
of  lions  about  his  own  throne ;  for  these 
he  made,  although  it  was  not  agreeable 
to  piety  so  to  do;  and  this  he  did,  not- 
withstanding that  he  had  his  father  as  a 
most  excellent  and  domestic  pattern  of 
virtue,  and  knew  what  a  glorious  character 
he  had  left  behind  him,  because  of  his 
piety  toward  God ;  nor  did  he  imitate 
David,  although  God  had  twice  appeared 
to  him  in  his  sleep,  and  exhorted  him  to 
imitate  his  father:  so  he  died  ingloriously. 
There  came  therefore  a  prophet  to  him, 
who  was  sent  by  God,  and  told  him  that 
his  wicked  actions  were  not  concealed 
from  God ;  and  threatened  him  that-  he 
should  not  long  rejoice  in  what  he  had 
done  :  that  indeed  the  kingdom  should 
not  be  taken  from  him  while  he  was  alive, 
because  God  had  promised  to  his  father 
David  that  he  would  make  him  his  suc- 
cessor, but  that  he  would  take  care  that 
this  should  befall  his  son  when  he  was 
dead  ;  not  that  he  would  withdraw  all  the 
people  from  him,  but  that  he  would  give 
ten  tribes  to  a  servant  of  his,  and  leave 
only  two  tribes  to  David's  grandson,  for 
his  sake,  because  he  loved  God,  and  for 
the  sake  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  wherein 
he  should  have  a  temple. 

When  Solomon  heard  this,  he  was 
grieved,  and  greatly  confounded,  upon  this 
change  of  almost  all  that  happiness  which 
nad  made  him  to  be  admired  into  so  bad 
a  state ,  nor  had  there  much  time  passed 
after  the  prophet  had  foretold  what  was 
coming,  before  God  raised  up  an  enemy 
agaiust  him,  whose  name  was  Ader,  who 
took  the  following  occasion  of  his  enmity 
to  him  : — He  was  a  child  of  the  stock  of  the 


Edomites,  and  of  the  blood  royal ;  and 
when  Joab,  the  captain  of  David's  host, 
laid  waste  the  land  of  Edom,  and  destroyed 
all  that  were  men  grown,  and  able  to  bear 
arms,  for  six  months'  time,  this  Hadad 
fled  away,  and  came  to  Pharaoh,  the  king 
of  Egypt,  who  received  him  kindly,  and 
assigned  him  a  house  to  dwell  in,  and  a 
country  to  supply  him  with  food;  and 
when  he  was  grown  up  he  loved  him  ex- 
ceedingly, insomuch  that  he  gave  him  his 
wife's  sister,  whose  name  was  Tahpenes, 
to  wife,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  who  was 
brought  up  with  the  king's  children. 
When  Hadad  heard  in  Egypt  that  both 
David  and  Joab  were  dead,  he  came  to 
Pharaoh,  and  desired  that  he  would  per- 
mit him  to  go  to  his  own  country:  upon 
which  the  king  asked  what  it  was  that 
he  wanted,  and  what  hardship  he  had  met 
with,  that  he  was  so  desirous  to  leave  him  ; 
and  when  he  was  often  troublesome  to 
him,  and  entreated  him  to  dismiss  him, 
he  did  not  then  do  it.  But  at  the  time 
when  Solomon's  affairs  began  to  grow 
worse,  on  account  of  his  forementioned 
transgressions,  and  God's  anger  against 
him  for  the  same,  Hadad,  by  Pharaoh's 
permission,  came  to  Edom  ;  and  when  he 
was  not  able  to  make  the  people  forsake 
Solomon,  for  it  was  kept  under  by  many 
garrisons,  and  an  innovation  was  not  to  be 
made  with  safety,  he  removed  thence,  and 
came  into  Syria;  there  he  lighted  upon 
one  Ilezon,  who  had  run  away  from  Ha- 
dadezer,  king  of  Zobah,  his  master,  and 
had  become  a  robber  in  that  country,  and 
joined  fri<  ndship  with  him,  who  had  al- 
ready a  band  of  robbers  about  him.  So 
he  went  up,  and  seized  upon  that  part  of 
Syria,  and  was  made  king  thereof.  He 
also  made  incursions  into  the  land  of  Is- 
rael, and  did  it  no  small  mischief,  and 
spoiled  it,  and  that  in  the  lifetime  of  Solo- 
mon. And  this  was  the  calamity  which 
the  Hebrews  suffered  by  Hadad. 

There  was  also  one  of  Solomon's  own 
nation  that  made  an  attempt  against  him, 
Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  had  an 
expectation  of  rising,  from  a  prophecy 
that  had  been  ma^e  to  him  long  before. 
He  was  left  a  child  by  his  father,  and 
brought  up  by  his  mother ;  and  when  So- 
lomon saw  that  he  was  of  an  active  and 
bold  disposition,  he  made  him  the  curator 
of  the  walls  which  he  built  round  about 
Jerusalem  ;  and  he  took  such  care  of  those 
works,  that  the  king  approved  of  his  be- 
haviour, and    gave    him,  as  a  reward  for 


Chap.  VliL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


2(»3 


the  same,  the  charge  of  the  tribe  of  Jo- 
seph. And  when  about  that  time,  Jero- 
boam was  once  going  out  of  Jerusalem,  a 
prophet  of  the  city  Shilo,  whose  name 
was  Ahijah,  met  him  and  saluted  him; 
and  when  he  had  taken  him  a  little  aside, 
to  a  place  nut  of  the  way,  where  there 
was  no  other  person  present,  he  rent  the 
garment  he  had  on  into  twelve  pieces,  and 
bade  Jeroboam  take  ten  of  them;  and  told 
him  beforehand,  that  "  this  is  the  will  of 
God;  he  will  part  the  dominion  of  Solo- 
mon, and  give  one  tribe,  with  that  which 
is  next  it,  to  his  son,  because  of  the  pro- 
mise made  to  David  for  his  succession, 
and  will  give  ten  tribes  to  thee,  because 
Solomon  hath  sinned  against  him,  and  de- 
livered up  himself  to  women,  and  to  their 
gods.  Seeing,  therefore,  thou  knowest 
the  cause  for  which  God  hath  changed  his 
mind,  and  is  alienated  from  Solomon,  be 
thou  righteous  and  keep  the  laws,  because 
he  hath  proposed  to  thee  the  greatest  of 
all  rewards  for  thy  piety,  and  the  honour 
thou  shalt  pay  to  God,  namely,  to  be  as 
greatly  exalted  as  thou  knowest  David  to 
have  been." 

So  Jeroboam  was  elevated  by  these 
words  of  the  prophet;  and  being  a  young 
man,*  of  a  warm  temper,  and  ambitious 
of  greatness,  he  could  not  be  quiet ;  and 
when  he  had  so  great  a  charge  in  the  go- 
vernment, and  called  to  mind  what  had 
been  revealed  to  him  by  Ahijah,  he  en- 
deavoured to  persuade  the  people  to  for- 
sake Solomon,  to  make  a  disturbance,  and 
to  bring  the  government  over  to  himself; 
but  when  Solomon  understood  his  inten- 
tion and  treachery,  he  sought  to  catch  him 
and  kill  him  ;  but  Jeroboam  was  informed 
of  it  beforehand,  and  fled  to  Shishak,  the 
king  of  Egypt,  and  there  abode  till  the 
death  of  Solomon  ;  by  which  means  he 
gained  these  two  advantages,  to  suffer  no 
harm  from  Solomon,  and  to  be  preserved 
far  the  kingdom.  So  Solomon  died  when 
he  was  already  an  old  man,  having  reigned 
eighty  years,  and  lived  ninety-four.  He 
was  buried  in  Jerusalem,  having  been  su- 
perior to  all  other  kings  in  happiness,  and 
riches,  and  wisdom,  excepting  that  when 
he  was  growing  into  years,  he  was  deluded 
by  women,  and  transgressed  the  law;  con- 
cerning which  transgressions,  and  the  mi- 
series which  befell  the  Hebrews  thereby, 
I  think  proper  to  discourse  at  another  op- 
portunity. 

*  1  Kings  ix.  24. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Rehoboam  ascends  the  throne — Ten  Tribes  revolt, 
and  make  Jeroboam  king.     B.C.  975. 

Now  when  Solomon  was  dead,  and  his 
son  Rehoboam  (who  was  born  of  an  Am- 
monite wife,  whose  name  was  Naamah) 
had  succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom,  the 
rulers  of  the  multitude  sent  immediately 
into  Egypt,  and  called  back  Jeroboam ; 
and  when  he  had  come  to  them,  to  the 
city  Shechem,  Rehoboam  came  to  it  also, 
for  he  had  resolved  to  declare  himself 
king  to  the  Israelites,  while  they  were 
gathered  together.  So  the  rulers  of  the 
people,  as  well  as  Jeroboam,  came  to 
him,  and  besought  him,  and  said  that 
he  ought  to  relax,  and  to  be  gentler  thau 
his  father,  in  the  servitude  he  had  im- 
posed on  them,  because  they  had  borne 
a  heavy  yoke,  and  that  they  should  be 
better  affected  to  him,  and  be  well  con- 
tented to  feerve  him  under  his  moderate 
government,  and  should  do  it  more  out  of 
love  than  fear ;  but  Rehoboam  told  them 
they  should  come  to  him  again  in  three 
days'  time,  when  he  would  give  an  answer 
to  their  request.  This  delay  gave  occasion 
to  a  present  suspicion,  since  he  had  not 
jnven  them  a  favourable  answer  to  their 
mind  immediately,  for  they  thought  that 
he  should  have  given  them  a  humane  an- 
swer off-hand,  especially  since  he  was  but 
young.  However,  they  thought  that  this 
consultation  about  it,  and  that  he  did  not 
presently  give  them  a  denial,  afforded 
them  some  good  hopes  of  success. 

Rehoboam  now  called  his  father's 
friends,  and  advised  with  them  what  sort 
of  answer  he  ought  to  give  to  the  multi- 
tude :  upon  which  they  gave  him  the  ad- 
vice which  became  friends,  and  those  that 
knew  the  temper  of  such  a  multitude. 
They  advised  him  to  speak  in  a  way  more 
popular  than  suited  the  grandeur  of  a  king, 
because  he  would  thereby  oblige  them  to 
submit  to  him  with  good-will,  it  being  most 
agreeable  to  subjects  that  their  kings 
should  be  almost  upon  the  level  with  them  : 
but  Rehoboam  rejected  this  so  good,  and, 
in  general,  so  profitable  advice,  (it  was 
such  at  least,  at  that  time  when  he  was  to 
be  made  king,)  God  himself,  I  suppose, 
causing  what  was  most  advantageous  to  be 
condemned  by  him.  So  he  called  for  the 
young  men  who  were  brought  up  with 
him, fend  told  them  what  advice  the  elders 
had  given  him,  and  bade  them  speak  what 
they  thought  he  ought  to  do.     They  ad- 


j64 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


vised  him  to  give  the  following  answer  to 
the  people,  (for  neither  their  youth  nor 
God  himself  suffered  them  to  discern  what 
was  best  :)  that  his  little  finger  should  be 
thicker  than  his  father's  loins;  and  if  they 
had  met  with  hard  usage  from  his  father, 
they  should  experience  much  rougher 
treatment  from  him ;  and  if  his  father 
had  chastised  them  with  whips,  they  must 
expect  that  he  would  do  it  with  scorpions.* 
The  king  was  pleased  with  this  advice, 
and  thought  it  agreeable  to  the  dignity  of 
his  government  to  give  them  such  an  an- 
swer. Accordingly,  when  the  multitude 
were  come  together  to  hear  his  answer  on 
the  third  day,  all  the  people  were  in  great 
expectation,  and  very  intent  to  hear  what 
the  king  would  say  to  them,  and  supposed 
they  should  hear  somewhat  of  a  kind  na- 
ture ;  but  he  passed  by  his  friends,  and 
answered  as  the  young  men  had  given  him 
counsel.  Now  this  was  done  according  to 
the  will  of  God,  that  what  Ahijah  had 
foretold  might  come  to  pass. 

By  these  words  the  people  were  struck, 
as  it  were,  by  an  iron  hammer,  and  were 
so  grieved  at  the  words,  as  if  they  had 
already  felt  the  effects  of  them  ;  and  they 
had  great  indignation  at  the  king;  and  all 
cried  out  aloud,  and  said,  "We  will  have 
do  longer  any  relation  to  David  or  his 
posterity  after  this  day;"  and  they  said 
further,  "We  only  leave  to  Beboboam  the 
temple  which  his  father  built;"  and  they 
threatened  to  forsake  him.  Nay,  .they 
were  so  bitter,  and  retained  their  wrath  so 
long,  that  when  he  sent  Adoram,  who  was 
over  the  tribute,  that  he  might  pacify 
them,  and  render  them  milder,  and  per- 
suade them  to  forgive  him,  if  he  had  said 
any  thing  that  was  rash  or  grievous  to 
them  in  his  youth,  they  would  not  hear  it, 
but  threw  stones  at  him  and  killed  him. 
When  Behoboam  saw  this,  he  thought 
himself  aimed  at  by  those  stones  with 
which  they  had  killed  his  servant,  and 
feared  lest  he  should  undergo  the  last  of 
punishments  in  earnest;  so  he  got  imme- 
diately into  his  chariot,  and  fled  to  Jeru- 
salem, where  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  that 
of  Benjamin  ordained  him  king;  but  the 
rest  of  the  multitude  forsook  the  sons  of 
David  from  that  day,  and  appointed  Jero- 
boam   to    be    the    ruler   of   their  public 

*  iiy  "scorpions"  is  not  here  meant  that  small 
animal  sc  called,  which  was  never  used  in  «correc- 
tions ;  but  either  a  shrub  with  sharp  prickles,  like 
the  stings  of  scorpions,  such  as  our  furze-bush,  or 
else  soiiie  terrible  sort  of  whip  of  the  like  nature. 


affairs.  Upon  this,  Behoboam,  Solomon's 
son,  assembled  a  great  congregation  of 
those  two  tribes  that  submitted  to  him, 
and  was  ready  to  take  180,000  chosen  men 
out  of  the  army,  to  make  an  expedition 
against  Jeroboam  and  his  people,  that  he 
might  force  them  by  war  to  be  his  servants ; 
but  he  was  forbidden  of  God  by  the  prophet 
[Shemaiah]  to  go  to  war;  for  that  it  was 
not  just  that  brethren  of  the  same  coun- 
try should  fight  one  against  another.  He 
also  said,  that  this  defection  of  the  multi- 
tude was  according  to  the  purpose  of  God. 
So  he  did  not  proceed  in  this  expedition. 
And  now  I  will  relate  first  the  actions  of 
Jeroboam,  the  king  of  Israel,  after  which 
we  will  relate  what  are  therewith  con- 
nected, the  actions  of  Behoboam,  the  king 
of  the  two  tribes;  by  this  means  we  shall 
preserve  the  good  order  of  the  history 
entire. 

When,  therefore,  Jeroboam  had  built  a 
palace  in  the  city  Shechem,  he  dwelt  there. 
He  also  built  himself  another  at  Penuel, 
a  city  so  called;  and  now  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles  was  approaching  in  a  little 
time,  Jeroboam  considered,  if  he  should 
permit  the  multitude  to  go  to  worship  God 
at  Jerusalem,  and  there  to  celebrate  the 
festival,  they  would  probably  repent  of 
what  they  had  done,  and  be  enticed  by 
the  temple,  and  by  the  worship  of  God 
there  performed,  and  would  leave  him,  and 
return  to  their  first  king;  and  if  so,  he 
should  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  own  life; 
so  he  invented  this  contrivance :  he  made 
two  golden  heifers,  and  built  two  little  tem- 
ples for  them,  the  one  in  the  city  Bethel, 
and  the  other  in  Dan,  which  last  was  at  the 
fountains  of  the  Lesser  Jordan,  and  he  put 
the  heifers  into  both  the  little  temples,  in 
the  forementioned  cities.  And  when  he 
had  called  those  ten  tribes  together,  over 
whom  he  ruled,  he  made  a  speech  to  the 
people  in  these  words: — "I  suppose,  my 
countrymen,  that  you  know  this,  that 
every  place  hath  God  in  it;  nor  is  there 
any  one  determinate  place  in  which  he  is, 
but  he  everywhere  hears  and  sees  those  that 
worship  him ;  on  which  account  I  do  not 
think  it  right  for  you  to  go  so  long  a  jour- 
ney to  Jerusalem,  which  is  an  enemy's 
city  to  worship  him.  It  was  a  man  that 
built  the  temple  :  I  have  also  made  two 
golden  heifers,  dedicated  to  the  same  God; 
and  one  of  them  I  have  consecrated  in  the 
city  Bethel,  and  the  other  in  Dan,  to  the 
end  that  those  of  you  that  dwell  neaiest 
those  cities,  may  go  to  them,  and  worship 


trfAP    IX] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


265 


God  there  :  and  I  will  ordain  for  you  cer- 
tain priests  and  Levites  from  among  your- 
selves, that  you  may  have  no  want  of  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  or  of  the  sons  of  Aaron ; 
but  let  him  that  is  desirous  among  you  of 
being  a  priest,  bring  to  God  a  bullock  and 
a  ram,  which  they  say  Aaron  the  first 
priest  brought  also."  When  Jeroboam 
had  said  this,  he  deluded  the  people,  and 
made  them  to  revolt  from  the  worship  of 
their  forefathers,  and  to  transgress  their 
iaws.  This  was  the  beginning  of  miseries 
to  the  Hebrews,  and  the  cause  why  they 
were  overcome  in  war  by  foreigners,  and 
so  fell  into  captivity.  But  we  shall  relate 
those  things  in  their  proper  places  here- 
after. 

When  the  Feast  [of  Tabernacles]  was 
just  approaching,  Jeroboam  was  desirous 
to  celebrate  it  himself  in  Bethel,  as  did 
the  two  tribes  celebrate  it  in  Jerusalem. 
Accordingly,  he  built  an  altar  before  the 
heifer,  and  undertook  to  be  high  priest 
himself.  So  he  went  up  to  the  altar,  with 
his  own  priests  about  him ;  but  when  he 
was  going  to  offer  the  sacrifices,  and  the 
burnt-offerings  in  the  sight  of  all  the  peo- 
ple, a  prophet,  whose  name  was  Jadon, 
was  sent  by  God,  and  came  to  him  from 
Jerusalem,  who  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
multitude,  and  in  the  hearing  of  the  king, 
and  directing  his  discourse  to.  the  altar, 
eaid  thus : — "God  foretells  that  there  shall 
be  a  certain  man  of  the  family  of  David, 
Josiah  by  name,  who  shall  slay  upon  thee 
those  false  priests  that  shall  live  at  that 
time,  and  upon  thee  shall  burn  the  bones 
of  those  deceivers  of  the  people,  those 
impostors  and  wicked  wretches.  How- 
ever, that  this  people  may  believe  that 
these  things  shall  so  come  to  pass,  I  fore- 
tell a  sign  to  them  that  shall  come  to 
pass :  this  altar  shall  be  broken  to  pieces 
immediately,  and  all  the  fat  of  the  sacri- 
fices that  is  upon  it,  shall  be  poured  upon 
the  ground. "  When  the  prophet  had  said 
this,  Jeroboam  fell  into  a  passion,  and 
stretched  out  his  hand,  and  bade  them  lay 
hold  of  him :  but  the  hand  which  he 
stretched  out  was  enfeebled,  and  he  was 
not  able  to  pull  it  in  again  to  him,  for  it 
was  become  withered,  and  hung  down  as 
if  it  was  a  dead  hand.  The  altar  also 
was  broken  to  pieces,  and  all  that  was 
tapon  it  was  poured  out,  as  the  prophet 
had  foretold  should  come  to  pass.  So  the 
kiDg  understood  that  he  was  a  man  of  ve- 
racity, and  had  a  divine  foreknowledge; 
and  eutreated  him  to  pray  to  God  that  he 


would  restore  his  right  hand.  Accord 
ingly,  the  prophet  did  pray  to  God  tG 
grant  him  that  request.  So  the  king  hav- 
ing his  hand  restored  to  its  natural  state, 
rejoiced  at  it,  and  invited  the  prophet  to 
sup  with  him ;  but  Jadon  said,  that  he 
could  not  endure  to  come  into  his  house, 
nor  to  taste  of  bread  or  water  in  that  city, 
for  that  was  a  thing  God  had  forbidden 
him  to  do;  as  also  to  go  back  by  the  same 
way  which  he  came;  but  he  said  he  was 
to  return  by  another  way.  So  the  king 
wondered  at  the  abstinence  of  the  man ; 
but  was  himself  in  fear,  as  suspecting  a 
change  of  his  affairs  for  the  worse,  from 
what  had  been  said  to  him. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

False  Prophets.     B.  C.  975. 

Now  there  was  a  certain  wicked  man 
in  that  city,  who  was  a  false  prophet, 
whom  Jeroboam  had  in  great  esteem,  but 
was  deceived  by  him  and  his  flattering 
words.  This  man  was  bedrid  by  reason 
of  the  infirmities  of  old  age  :  however,  he 
was  informed  by  his  sons  concerning  the 
prophet  that  had  come  from  Jerusalem, 
and  concerning  the  signs  done  by  him ; 
and  how,  when  Jeroboam's  right  hand 
had  been  enfeebled,  at  the  prophet's 
prayer  he  had  it  revived  again.  Where- 
upon he  was  afraid  that  this  stranger  and 
prophet  should  be  in  better  esteem  with 
the  king  than  himself,  and  obtain  greater 
honour  from  him;  and  he -gave  order  to 
his  sons  to  saddle  his  ass  presently,  and 
make  all  ready  that  he  might  go  out. 
Accordingly,  they  made  haste  to  do  what 
they  were  commanded,  and  he  got  upon 
the  ass,  and  followed  after  the  prophet; 
and  when  he  had  overtaken  him,  as  he 
was  resting  himself  under  a  very  large 
oak-tree,  that  was  thick  and  shady,  he 
at  first  saluted  him,  but  presently  he  com- 
plained of  him,  because  he  had  not  come 
into  his  house,  and  partaken  of  his  hos- 
pitality. And  when  the  other  said,  that 
God  had  forbidden  him  to  taste  of  any 
one's  provision  in  that  city,  he  replied, 
that  "  for  certain  God  hath  not  forbidden 
that  I  should  set  food  before  thee,  for  I 
am  a  prophet  as  thou  art,  and  worship 
God  in  the  same  manner  that  thou  dost ; 
and  I  am  now  come  as  sent  by  him,  in 
order  to  bring  thee  into  my  house,  and 
make  thee  my  guest."  Now  Jadon  gave 
credit  to  this  lying  prophet,  and  returned 


266 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


back  with  him.  But  when  they  were  at 
dinner,  and  merry  together,  God  appeared 
to  Jadon,  and  said,  that  he  should  suffer 
punishment  for  transgressing  his  com- 
mands, and  be  told  him  what  that  punish- 
ment should  be;  for  he  said,  that  he 
should  meet  with  a  lion  as  he  was  going 
on  his  way,  by  which  lion  he  should  be 
torn  in  pieces,  and  be  deprived  of  burial 
in  the  sepulchres  of  his  fathers  :  which 
things  came  to  pass,  as  I  suppose,  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God,  that  so  Jeroboam 
might  not  give  heed  to  the  words  of  Ja- 
don, as  of  one  that  had  been  convicted  of 
lying.  However,  as  Jadon  was  again  go- 
ing to  Jerusalem,  a  lion  assaulted  him 
and  pulled  him  off  the  beast  he  rode  on, 
and  slew  him  ;  yet  did  he  not  at  all  hurt 
the  ass,  but  sat  by  him,  and  kept  him,  as 
also  the  prophet's  body.  This  continued 
till  some  travellers  that  saw  it  came  and 
told  it  in  the  city  to  the  false  prophet, 
who  sent  his  sons  and  brought  the  body 
into  the  city,  and  made  a  funeral  for  him 
at  great  expense.  He  also  charged  his 
sons  to  bury  himself  with  him  ;  and  said, 
that  all  which  he  had  foretold  against  that 
city,  and  the  altar,  and  the  priests,  and 
the  prophets,  would  -prove  true  j  and  that 
if  he  was  buried  with  him,  he  should  re- 
ceive no  injurious  treatment  after  his 
death,  the  bones  not  being  then  to  be  dis- 
tinguished asunder.  But  now  when  he  had 
performed  those  funeral  rites  to  the  pro- 
phet, and  had  given  that  charge  to  his 
sons,  as  he  was  a  wicked  and  impious 
man,  he  went  to  Jeroboam,  and  said  to 
him,  "  And  wherefore  is  it  now  that  thou 
art  disturbed  at  the  words  of  this  silly 
fellow  ?"  And  when  the  king  had  re- 
lated to  him  what  had  happened  about 
the  altar,  and  about  his  own  hand,  and 
gave  him  the  names  of  u  divine  man," 
and  u  an  excellent  prophet,"  he  eudea- 
voured,  by  a  wicked  trick,  to  weaken  that 
his  opinion;  and  by  using  plausible  words 
concerning  what  had  happened,  he  aimed 
to  injure  the  truth  that  was  in  them ; 
for  he  attempted  to  persuade  him  that 
his  hand  was  enfeebled  by  the  labour  it 
had  undergone  in  supporting  the  sacri- 
fices, and  that  upon  its  resting  awhile  it 
returned  to  its  former  nature  again :  and 
that  as  to  the  altar,  it  was  not  new,  and 
had  borne  abundance  of  sacrifices,  and 
those  large  ones  too,  and  was  accordingly 
broken  to  pieces,  and  fallen  down  by  the 
weight  of  what  had  been  laid  upon  it. 
He    al-o  informed   him   of  the   death   of 


him  that  had  foretold  those  things,  and 
how  he  perished;  [whence  he  concluded 
that]  he  had  not  any  thing  in  him  of  a 
prophet,  nor  spake  any  thing  like  one. 
When  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  persuaded 
the  king,  and  entirely  alienated  his  mind 
from  God,  and  from  doing  works  that 
were  righteous  and  holy,  and  encouraged 
him  to  go  on  in  his  impious  practices; 
aud  accordingly,  he  was  to  that  degree 
injurious  to  God,  and  so  great  a  trans- 
gressor, that  he  sought  for  nothing  else 
every  day  but  how  he  might  be  guilty  of 
pome  new  instances  of  wickedness,  and 
such  as  should  be  more  detestable  than 
what  he  had  been  so  insolent  as  to  do  be- 
fore. And  so  much  shall  at  present  suf- 
fice to  have  said  concerning  Jeroboam. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Shisbak  besieges  Jerusalem — Death  of  Rehoboam. 
B.  C. 971-958. 

Now  Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon, 
who,  as  we  have  said  before,  was  king  of 
the  two  tribes,  built  strong  and  large 
cities,  Bethlehem,  and  Etam,  and  Tekoa, 
and  Bethzur,  and  Shoco,  and  Adullam, 
and  Ipan,  aud  Maresha,  and  Ziph,  and 
Adoriam,  aud  Lachish,  and  Azekah,  and 
Zorah,  and  Aijalou,  and  Hebron  :  these 
he  built  first  of  all  in  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
He  also  built  other  large  cities,  in  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  aud  walled  them 
about,  and  put  garrisons  in  them  all,  and 
captains,  and  a  great  deal  of  corn,  and 
wine,  and  oil  ;  and  he  furnished  every 
one  of  them  plentifully  with  other  pro- 
visions that  were  necessary  for  suste- 
nance :  moreover,  he  put  therein  shields 
and  spears  for  many  ten  thousand  men. 
The  priests  also  that  were  in  all  Israel, 
and  the  Levites,  and  if  there  were  any  of 
the  multitude  that  were  good  and  right- 
eous men,  they-  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether to  him,  having  left  their  own  cities, 
that  they  might  worship  God  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  for  they  were  not  willing  to  be 
forced  to  worship  the  heifers  which  Jero- 
boam had  made  :^and  they  augmented  the 
kingdom  of  Rehoboam  for  three  years. 
And  after  he  had  married  a  woman  of  his 
own  kindred,  and  had  by  her  three  children 
born  to  him,  he  married  also  another  of 
his  own  kindred,  who  was  daughter  of 
Absalom  by  Tamar,  whose  name  was 
Maachah ;  and  by  her  he  had  a  son, 
whom  he  named  Abijah.     He  had  more- 


Chkp.  X.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


26? 


over,  many  other  children  by  other  wives, 
but  he  loved  Maachah  above  them  all. 
Now  he  had  eighteen  legitimate  wives, 
and  thirty  concubines,  and  he  had  born 
to  him  twenty-eight  sons  and  sixty  daugh- 
ters; but  he  appointed  Abijah,  whom 
he  had  by  Maachah,  to  be  his  successor 
in  the  kingdom,  and  intrusted  him  al- 
ready with  the  treasures  and  the  strongest 
cities* 

Now  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  great- 
ness of  a  kingdom,  and  its  change  into 
prosperity,  often  become  the  occasion  of 
mischief  and  of  transgression  to  men  ; 
for  when  Rehoboam  saw  that  his  king- 
dom was  so  much  increased,  he  went  out 
of  the  right  way  unto  unrighteousness 
and  irreligious  practices,  and  he  despised 
the  worship  of  God;  till  the  people  them- 
selves imitated  his  wicked  actions ;  for 
so  it  usually  happens,  that  the  manners 
of  subjects  are  corrupted  at  the  same 
time  with  those  of  their  governors  ;  which 
subjects  then  lay  aside  their  own  sober 
way  of  living,  as  a  reproof  of  their  go- 
vernors' intemperate  courses,  and  follow 
their  wickedness  as  if  it  was  virtue;  for 
it  is  not  possible  to  show  that  men  ap- 
prove of  the  actions  of  their  kings,  unless 
they  do  the  same  actions  with  them. 
Agreeably  whereto,  it  now  happened  to 
the  subjects  of  Rehoboam ;  for  when  he 
had  grown  impious,  and  a  transgressor 
himself,  they  endeavoured  not  to  offend 
him  by  resolving  still  to  be  righteous; 
but  God  sent  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  to 
punish  them  for  their  unjust  behaviour 
toward  him ;  concerning  whom,  Hero- 
dotus was  mistaken,  and  applied  his  ac- 
tions to  Sesostris ;  for  this  Shishak,  in 
the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Rehoboam, 
made  an  expedition  [into  Judea]  with 
many  ten  thousand  men;  for  he  had 
1200  chariots  in  number  that  followed 
him,  and  60,000  horsemen,  and  400,000 
footmen.  These  he  brought  with  him, 
and  they  were  the  greatest  part  of  them 
Libyans  and  Ethiopians.  Now,  therefore, 
wlen  lie  fell  upon  the  country  of  the  He- 
brews, he  took  the  strongest  cities  of  Re- 
hoboam's  kingdom  without  fighting;  and 
tv hen  he  had  put  garrisons  in  them,  he 
game  last  of  all  to  Jerusalem. 

Now  when  Rehoboam,  and  the  multi- 
tude with  him,  were  shut  up  in  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  means  of  the  army  of  Shi- 
ahak,  and  when  they  besought  God  to 
give  them  victory  and  deliverance,  they 
could   not  persuade   God    to  be  on  their 


side;  but  Shemaiah,  the  pr  tphet,  told 
them,  that  God  threatened  to  forsake 
then},  as  they  had  forsaken  his  worship. 
When  they  heard  this,  they  were  imme- 
diately in  a  consternation  of  mind,  and 
seeing  no  way  of  deliverance,  they  all 
earnestly  set  themselves  to  confess  that 
God  might  justly  overlook  them,  since 
they  had  been  guilty  of  impiety  toward 
him,  and  had  let  his  laws  lie  in  confusion. 
So  when  God  saw  them  in  that  disposition, 
and  that  they  acknowledged  their  sins; 
he  told  the  prophet  that  he  would  not  de- 
stroy them,  but  that  he  would,  however, 
make  them  servants  to  the  Egyptians, 
that  they  may  learn  whether  they  will 
suffer  less  by  serving  men  or  God.  So 
when  Shishak  had  taken  the  city  without 
fighting,  because  Rehoboam  was  afraid, 
and  received  him  into  it,  yet  did  not  Shi- 
shak stand  to  the  covenants  he  had  made, 
but  he  spoiled  the  temple,  and  emptied 
the  treasures  of  God  and  those  of  the 
king,  and  carried  off  innumerable  ten 
thousands  of  gold  and  silver,  and  left 
nothing  at  all  behind  him.  He  also  took 
away  the  bucklers  of  gold,  and  the  shields, 
which  Solomon  the  king  had  made;  nay, 
he  did  not  leave  the  golden  quivers  which 
David  had  taken  from  the  king  of  Zobah, 
and  had  dedicated  to  God;  and  when  he 
had  thus  done,  he  returned  to  his  own 
kingdom.  Now  Herodotus  of  Halicar- 
nassus  mentions  this  expedition,  having 
only  mistaken  the  king's  name;  and  [in 
saying  that]  he  made  war  upon  many 
other  nations  also,  and  brought  Syria  of 
Palestine  into  subjection,  and  took  the 
men  that  were  therein  prisoners  without 
fighting.  Now  it  is  manifest  that  he  in- 
tended to  declare  that  our  nation  was  sub- 
dued by  him  ;  for  he  saith,  that  he  left 
behind  him  pillars  in  the  land  of  those 
that  delivered  themselves  up  to  him  with- 
out fighting,  and  engraved  upon  them  the 
secret  parts  of  women.  Now  our  King 
Rehoboam  delivered  up  our  city  without 
righting.  He  says  withal,*  that  the  Ethi- 
opians learned  to  circumcise  their  privy 
parts  from  the  Egyptians ;  with  this  ad- 
dition, that  the  Phoenicians  and  Syrians 
that  live  in  Palestine,  confess  that  they 
learned  it  of  the  Egyptians;  yet  it  is  evi- 
dent that  no  other  of  the  Syrians  that 
live  in  Palestine,  besides  us  alone,  are 
circumcised.      But  as  to  such   matters,  let 


*  Compare  Jose  phus's   account  of  circumcif>iou 
with  Gen.  xvii.  9-14. 


268 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII. 


every  ote  speak  what  is  agreeable  to  his 
own  opinion. 

When  Shishak  had  gone  away,  King 
Iiehoboam  made  bucklers  and  shields  of 
brass,  instead  of  those  of  gold,  and  deli- 
vered the  same  number  of  them  to  the 
keepers  of  the  king's  palace :  so,  instead 
of  warlike  expeditions,  and  that  glory 
which  results  from  those  public  actions, 
he  reigned  in  great  quietness,  though  not 
without  fear,  as  being  always  an  enemy 
to  Jeroboam  ;  and  he  died  when  he  had 
lived  fifty-seven  years,  and  reigned  seven- 
teen. He  was  in  his  disposition  a  proud 
and  a  foolish  man,  and  lost  [part  of  his] 
dominions  by  not  hearkening  to  his  father's 
friends.  He  was  buried  in  Jerusalem,  in 
the  sepulchres  of  the  kings ;  and  his  son 
Abijam  succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom, 
and  this  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  Jero- 
boam's reign  over  the  ten  tribes  ;  and  this 
was  the  conclusion  of  these  affairs.  It 
must  be  now  our  business  to  relate  the 
affairs  of  Jeroboam,  and  how  he  ended 
his  life;  for  he  ceased  not,  nor  rested  to 
be  injurious  to  God,  but  every  day  raised 
up  altars  upon  high  mountains,  and  went 
on  making  priests  out  of  the  multitude. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Defeat  of  Jeroboam  by  Abijam — Death  of  Jero- 
boam, and  extirpation  of  his  whole  race. 

However,  God  was  in  no  long  time 
ready  to  return  Jeroboam's  wicked  actions, 
and  the  punishment  they  deserved,  upon 
his  own  head,  and  upon  the  heads  of  all 
his  house  :  and  whereas  a  son  of  his  lay 
sick  at  that  time,  who  was  called  Abijah, 
he  enjoined  his  wife  to  lay  aside  her  robes, 
and  to  take  the  garments  belonging  to  a 
private  person,  and  to  go  to  Ahijah  the 
prophet,  for  that  he  was  a  wonderful  man 
in  foretelling  futurities,  it  having  been 
"  he  who  told  me  that  I  should  be  king." 
He  also  enjoined  her,  when  she  came  to 
nim,  to  inquire  concerning  the  child,  as 
if  she  was  a  stranger,  whether  he  should 
escape  this  distemper.  So  she  did  as  her 
husband  bade  her,  and  changed  her  habit, 
and  came  to  the  city  Shiloh,  for  there  did 
Ahijah  live;  and  as  she  was  going  into 
his  house,  his  eyes  being  then  dim  with 
age,  God  appeared  to  him,  and  informed 
b^m  of  two  things;  that  the  wife  of  Jero- 
boam had  come  to  him,  and  what  answer 
he  should  make  to  her  inquiry.  Accord- 
ingly, as  the  woman  was  coming  into  the 


house  like  a  private  person  and  a  stranger, 
he  cried  out,  "  Come  in,  0  thou  wife  of 
Jeroboam  !  Why  concealest  thou  thyself? 
Thou  art  not  concealed  from  God,  who 
hath  appeared,  to  me,  and  informed  me 
that  thou  wast  coming,  and  hath  given 
me  in  command  what  I  shall  say  to  thee." 
So  he  said  that  she  should  go  away  to 
her  husband,  and  speak  to  him  thus  : — 
"  Since  I  made  thee  a  great  man  *vhen 
thou  wast  little,  or  rather  wast  nothing, 
and  rent  the  kingdom  from  the  house  of 
David,  and  gave  it  to  thee,  and  thou  hast 
been  unmindful  of  these  benefits,  hast 
left  off  my  worship,  hast  made  thee  molt- 
en gods,  and  honoured  them,  I  will  in 
like  manner  cast  thee  down  again,  and  de- 
stroy all  thy  house,  and  make  them  food 
for  the  dogs  and  the  fowls ;  for  a  certain 
king  is  rising  up  by  appointment,  over 
all  this  people,  who  shall  leave  none  of 
the  family  of  Jeroboam  remaining.  The 
multitude  also  shall  themselves  partake 
of  the  same  punishment,  and  shall  be 
cast  out  of  this  good  land,  and  shall  be 
scattered  into  the  places  beyond  Eu- 
phrates, because  they  have  followed  the 
wicked  practices  of  their  king,  and  have 
worshipped  the  gods  that  he  made,  and 
forsaken  my  sacrifices.  But  do  thou,  O 
woman,  make  haste  back  to  thy  husband, 
and  tell  him  this  message ;  but  thou  shalt 
then  find  thy  son  dead,  for  as  thou  en- 
terest  the  city  he  shall  depart  this  life  ; 
yet  shall  he  be  buried  with  the  lamenta- 
tion of  all  the  multitude,  and  honoured 
with  a  general  mourning,  for  he  is  the 
only  person  of  goodness  of  Jeroboam's 
family."  When  the  prophet  had  fore- 
told of  these  events,  the  woman  went 
hastily  away  with  a  disordered  mind,  and 
greatly  grieved  at  the  death  of  the  fore- 
named  child:  so  she  was  in  lamentation 
as  she  went  along  the  road,  and  mourned 
for  the  death  of  her  son,  that  was  just  at 
hand.  She  was  indeed  in  a  miserable 
condition,  at  the  unavoidable  misery  of 
his  death,  and  went  apace,  but  in  circum- 
stances very  unfortunate,  because  of  her 
son ;  for  the  greater  haste  she  made,  the 
sooner  she  would  see  her  son  dead,  yet 
was  she  forced  to  make  such  haste  on  ac- 
count of  her  husband.  Accordingly, 
when  she  had  come  back,  she  found  that 
the  child  had  given  up  the  ghost,  as  the 
prophet  had  said  ;  and  she  related  all  the 
circumstances  to  the  king. 

Yet  did  not  Jeroboam  lay  any  of  these 
things  to  heart,  but  he  brought  togethei 


Cut  p.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


209 


a  very  numerous  army,  and  made  a  war- 
like expedition  against  Abijam,  the  son 
of  Rehoboam,  who  had  succeeded  his  fa- 
ther in  the  kingdom  of   the  two  tribes ; 
for  he  despised   him  because  of  his  age. 
But  when  he  heard  of  the  expedition  of 
Jeroboam,  he  was  not  affrighted  at  it,  but 
proved  of  a  courageous  temper  of  mind, 
superior    both    to   his    youth   and  to   the 
hopes  of  his  enemy;  so  he  chose  himself 
an  army  out  of  the  two  tribes,  and  met 
Jeroboam  at  a  place  called  Mount  Zema- 
raim,    and    pitched    his    camp    near    the 
other,  and  prepared  every  thing  necessary 
for    the    fight.     His   army    consisted    of 
400,000,  but  the  army  of  Jeroboam  was 
double  to  it.     Now,  as  the  armies  stood 
in   array,  ready  for   action   and  dangers, 
and  were  just  going  to  fight,  Abijam  stood 
upon    an   elevated   place,  and,  beckoning 
with   his  hand,  he  desired   the  multitude 
and  Jeroboam  himself  to  hear  first  with 
silence  what  he  had  to  say.     And  when 
silence  was  made,  he  began  to  speak  and 
told  them,  "  God  had  consented  that  Da- 
vid   and    his    posterity    should    be    their 
rulers  for  all  time  to  come,  and  this  you 
yourselves  are  not  unacquainted  with ;  but 
J  cannot  but  wonder  how  you  should  for- 
sake   my  father,  and  join  yourselves  to 
his  servant  Jeroboam,  and  are  now  here 
with  him  to  fight  against  those  who,  by 
God's  own   determination,  are  to   reign, 
and    to    deprive   them   of  that  dominion 
which  they  have  still  retained  ;    for  as  to 
the  greater  part  of  it,  Jeroboam  is  unjust- 
ly in    possession   of  it.     However,   I  do 
not  suppose  he  will  enjoy  it  any  longer; 
but  when   he  hath  suffered  that  punish- 
ment which  God  thinks  due, to  him  for 
what  is  past,  he  will  leave  off  the  trans- 
gressions he  hath  been  guilty  of,  and  the 
injuries  he  hath  offered  to  him,  and  which 
he  hath  still  continued  to  offer,  and  hath 
persuaded  you  to  do  the  same ;    yet  when 
you  were  not  any  further  unjustly  treated 
by  my  father,  than  that  he  did  not  speak 
to  you  so  as  to  please  you,  and  this  only 
in  compliance  with  the  advice  of  wicked 
men,  you  in  anger  forsook  him,  as  you 
pretended,  but,  in  reality,  you  withdrew 
yourselves  from  God,  and  from  his  laws, 
although  it  had  been  right  for  you  to  have 
forgiven  a  man  that  was   young  in  age, 
and  not  used  to  govern  people,  not  only 
some  disagreeable  words,  but  if  his  youth 
and  his  unskilfulness  in  affairs   had  led 
hiin   into  some   unfortunate   actions,  and 
that  for  the  sake  of  his  father  Solomon, 


and  the  benefits  you  received  from  him  j 
for  men  ought  to  excuse  the  sins  of  pos- 
terity on  account  of  the  benefactions  of 
parents  :  but  you  considered  nothing  of 
all  this  then,  neither  do  you  consider  it 
now,  but  come  with  so  great  an  army 
against  us.  And  what  is  it  you  depend 
upon  for  victory  ?  Is  it  upon  these  gold- 
en heifers,  and  the  altars  that  you  have 
on  high  places,  which  are  demonstrations 
of  your  impiety,  and  not  of  religious 
worship?  Oris  it  the  exceeding  multi- 
tude of  your  army  which  gives  you  such 
good  hopes  ?  Yet  certainly  there  is  no 
strength  at  all  in  an  army  of  many  ten 
thousands,  when  the  war  is  unjust;  for  we 
ought  to  place  our  surest  hope  of  success 
against  our  enemies  in  righteousness  alone, 
and  in  piety  toward  God;  which  hope  we 
justly  have,  since  we  have  kept  the  laws 
from  the  beginning,  and  have  worshipped 
our  own>God,  who  was  not  made  by  hands, 
out  of  corruptible  matter ;  nor  was  he 
formed  by  a  wicked  king,  in  order  to  de- 
ceive the  multitude  :  but  who  is  his  own 
workmanship,  [or  self-existent,]  and  the 
beginning  and  the  end  of  all  things.  I 
therefore  give  you  counsel  even  now  to 
repent,  and  to  take  better  advice,  and  to 
leave  off  the  prosecution  of  the  war;  to 
call  to  mind  the  laws  of  your  country, 
and  to  reflect  what  it  hath  been  that  hath 
advanced  you  to  so  happy  a  state  as  you 
are  now  in." 

This  was  the  speech  which  Abijam  made 
to  the  multitude.  But,  while  he  was 
thus  speaking,  Jeroboam  sent  some  of 
his  soldiers  privately  to  encompass  Abi- 
jam round  about,  on  certain  parts  of  the 
camp  that  were  not  taken  notice  of;  and 
when  he  was  thus  within  the  compass  of 
the  enemy,  his  army  was  affrighted,  and 
their  courage  failed  them.  But  Abijam 
encouraged  them,  and  exhorted  them  to 
place  their  hopes  on  God,  for  that  he  was 
not  encompassed  by  the  enemy.  So  they 
all  at  once  implored  the  Divine  assistance, 
while  the  priests  sounded  with  a  trumpet, 
and  they  made  a  shout,  and  fell  upon 
their  enemies,  and  God  brake  the  courage 
and  cast  down  the  force  of  their  enemies, 
and  made  Abijam's  army  superior  to  them, 
for  God  vouchsafed  to  grant  them  a  won- 
derful and  very  famous  victory;  and  such 
a  slaughter  was  now  made  of  Jeroboam's 
army  as  is  never  recorded  to  have  hap- 
pened in  any  other  war,  whether  it  were 
of  the  Greeks  or  of  the  Barbarians,  for 
they   overthrew   [and    slew]    500,000  of 


270 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


their  enemies,  and  they  took  their  strong- 
est cities  by  force,  and  spoiled  them ;  and 
besides  these,  they  did  the  same  to  Bethel 
and  her  towns,  and  Jeshanah  and  her 
towns.  After  this  defeat,  Jeroboam  never 
recovered  himself  during  the  life  of  Abi- 
jam,  who  yet  did  not  long  survive,  for  he 
reigned  but  three  years,  and  was  buried 
in  Jerusalem,  in  the  sepulchres  of  his 
forefathers.  He  left  behind  him  twenty- 
two  sons  and  sixteen  daughters,  and  he 
had  also  those  children  by  fourteen  wives; 
and  Asa  his  son  succeeded  in  the  king- 
dom ;  and  the  young  man's  mother  was 
Maachah.  Under  his  reign  the  country  of 
the  Israelites  enjoyed  peace  for  ten  years. 
And  so  far  concerning  Abijah,  the  son' 
of  Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon,  as  his 
history  hath  come  down  to  us;  but  Jero- 
boam, the  king  of  the  ten  tribes,  died 
when  he  had  governed  them  twenty-two 
years;  whose  son  Nadab  succeeded  him, 
in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Asa. 
Now  Jeroboam's  son  governed  two  years, 
and  resembled  his  father  in  impiety  and 
wickedness.  In  these  two  years  he  made 
an  expedition  against  Gibbethon,  a  city 
of  the  Philistines,  and  continued  the 
siege  in  order  to  take  it;  but  he  was  con- 
spired against  while  he  was  there,  by  a 
friend  of  his,  whose  name  was  Baasha, 
the  son  of  Ahijam,*  and  was  slain ; 
which  Baasha  took  the  kingdom  after  the 
other's  death,  and  destroyed  the  whole 
house  of  Jeroboam.  It  also  came  to  pass, 
according  as  God  had  foretold,  that  some 
of  Jeroboam's  kindred,  that  died  in  the 
city,  were  torn  to  pieces  and  devoured  by 
dogs ;  and  that  others  of  them,  that  died 
in  the  fields,  were  torn  and  devoured  by 
the  fowls.  So  the  house  of  Jeroboam 
suffered  the  just  punishment  of  his  im- 
piety and  of  his  wicked  actions. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Destruction  of  the  Ethiopians  by  Asa — Zimri  and 
his  sons  successively  govern  the  ten  tribes. 
B.  C. 929. 

Now  Asa,  the  king  of  Jerusalem,  was 
of  an  excellent  character,  and  had  a  re- 
gard to  God,  and  neither  did  nor  designed 
any  thing  but  what  had  relation  to  the 
observation  of  the  laws.  He  made  a  re- 
formation of  his  kingdom,  and  cut  off 
whatsoever  was  wicked  therein,  and  puri- 
fied it  from  every  impurity.     Now  he  had 

*  1  Kings  xv.  27 


an  army  of  chosen  men,  that  were  armed 
with  targets  and  spears  :  out  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah  300,000 ;  and  out  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  that  bore  shields  and  drew 
bows,  250,000  ;  but  when  he  had  already 
reigned  ten  years,  Zerah,  king  of  Ethi- 
opia, made  an  expedition  against  him,  with 
a  great  army  of  900,000  footmen,  and 
100,000  horsemen,  and  300  chariots,  and 
came  as  far  as  Mareshah,  a  city  that  be- 
longed to  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Now  when 
Zerah  had  passed  so  far  with  his  own 
army,  Asa  met  him,  and  put  his  army 
in  array  over  against  him,  in  a  valley 
called  Zephathah,  not  far  from  the  city ; 
and  when  he  saw  the  multitude  of  the 
Ethiopians,  he  cried  out,  and  besought 
God  to  give  him  the  victory,  and  that  he 
might  kill  many  ten  thousands  of  the 
enemy :  "  For,''  said  he,  "  I  depend  on 
nothing  else  but  that  assistance  which  I 
expect  from  thee,,  which  is  able  to  make 
the  fewer  superior  to  the  more  numerous, 
and  the  weaker  to  the  stronger;  and 
thence  it  is  alone  that  I  venture  to  meet 
Zerah  and  fight  him." 

While  Asa  was  saying  this,  God  gave 
him  a  signal  of  victory,  and  joining  battle 
cheerfully  on  account  of  what  God  had 
foretold  about  it;  he  slew  a  great  many 
of  the  Ethiopians;  and  when  he  had  put 
them  to  flight  he  pursued  them  to  the 
country  of  Gerar;  and  when  they  left  off 
killing  their  enemies,  they  betook  them- 
selves to  spoiling  them,  (for  the  city 
Gerar  was  already  taken,)  and  to  spoiling 
their  camp,  so  that  they  carried  off  much 
gold,  and  much  silver,  and  a  great  deal 
of  [other]  prey,  and  camels,  and  great 
cattle,  and  flocks  of  sheep.  Accordingly, 
when  Asa  and  his  army  had  obtained 
such  a  victory,  and  such  wealth  from 
God,  they  returned  to  Jerusalem.  Now 
as  they  were  coming,  a  prophet,  whose 
name  was  Azariah,  met  them  on  the 
road,  and  bade  them  stop  their  journey  a 
little,  and  began  to  say  to  them  thus : 
that  the  reason  why  they  had  obtained 
this  victory  from  God  was  this,  that  they 
had  showed  themselves  righteous  and  re-» 
ligious  men,  and  had  done  every  thing 
according  to  the  will  of  God  ;  and  there- 
fore, he  said,  if  they  persevered  therein, 
God  would  grant  that  they  should  always 
overcome  their  enemies,  and  live  happily ! 
but  that  if  they  left  off  his  worship,  all 
things  should  fall  out  on  the  contrary , 
and  a  time  should  com?,  wherein  no  true 
prophet  shall  be  left  in  your  whole  multi- 


(HAP.   XII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


271 


tude,  nor  a  prkst  who  shall  deliver  you  a 
true  answer  from ,  the  oracle  :  but  your 
cities  shall  be  overthrown,  and  your  nation 
scattered  over  the  whole  earth,  and  live 
the  life  of  strangers  and  wanderers.  So 
he  advised  them,  while  they  had  time,  to 
be  good,  and  not  to  deprive  themselves 
of  the  favour  of  God.  When  the  king 
and  the  people  heard  this,  they  rejoiced; 
1  and  all  in  common,  and  every  one  in  par- 
ticular took  great  care  to  behave  them- 
selves righteously.  The  king  also  sent 
some  to  take  care  that  those  in  the 
country  should  observe  the  laws  also. 

And  this  was  the  state  of  Asa,  king  of 
the  two  tribes.  I  now  return  to  Baasha, 
the  king  of  the  multitude  of  the  Is- 
raelites, who  slew  Nadab,  the  sou  of 
Jeroboam,  and  retained  the  government. 
He  dwelt  in  tbe  city  Tirzah,  having  made 
that  his  habitation,  and  reigned  twenty- 
four  years.  He  became  more  wicked 
and  impious  than  Jeroboam  or  his  son. 
He  did  a  great  deal  of  mischief  to  the 
multitude,  and  was  injurious  to  God,  who 
sent  the  prophet  Jehu,  and  told  him 
beforehand  that  his  whole  family  should 
be  destroyed,  and  that  he  would  bring 
the  same  miseries  on  his  house  which 
had  brought  that  of  Jeroboam  to  ruin; 
because,  when  he  had  been  made  king  by 
him,  he  had  not  requited  his  kindness  by 
governing  the  multitude  righteously  and 
religiously ;  which  things,  in  the  first 
place,  teuded  to  their  own  happiness; 
and,  in  the  next  place,  were  pleasing  to 
God :  that  he  had  imitated  this  very 
wirked  king,  Jeroboam  ;  and  although 
that  man's  soul  had  perished,  yet  did  he 
express  to  the  life  his  wickedness;  and 
he  said  that  he  should  therefore  justly 
experience  the  like  calamity  with  him, 
since  he  had  been  guilty  of  the  like 
wickedness.  But  Baasha,  though  he 
heard  beforehand  what  miseries  would 
befall  him  and  his  whole  family  for  their 
insolent  behaviour,  yet  did  not  he  leave 
off  his  wicked  practices  for  the  time  to 
come,  nor  did  he  care  to  appear  to  be 
other  than  worse  and  worse  till  he  died ; 
nor  did  he  then  repent  of  his  past  actions, 
nor  endeavour  to  obtain  pardon  of  God 
for  them,  but  did  as  those  do  who  have 
rewards  proposed  to  them,  when  they 
have  once  in  earnest  set  about  their 
work,  they  do  not  leave  off  their  labours; 
for  thus  did  Baasha,  when  the  prophet 
foretold  to  him  what  would  come  to  pass, 
grow  worse,  as  if  what  were  threatened, 


the  perdition  of  his  family,  and  the  de- 
struction of  his  house,  (which  are  really 
among  the  greatest  of  evils,)  were  good 
things ;  and,  as  if  he  was  a  combatant 
for  wickedness,  he  every  day  took  more 
and  more  pains  for  it;  and  at  last  he  took 
his  army,  and  assaulted  a  certain  con- 
siderable city,  called  Ramah,  which  was 
forty  furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem ; 
and  when  he  had  taken  i(t,  he  fortified  it, 
having  determined  beforehand  to  leave  a 
garrison  in  it,  that  they  might  thence 
make  incursions,  and  do  mischief  to  the 
kingdom  of  Asa. 

Whereupon  Asa  was  afraid  of  the  at- 
tempts  the  enemy  might  make  upon 
him;  and  considering  with  himself  what 
mischiefs  this  army  that  was  left  in 
Ramah  might  do  to  the  country  over 
which  he  reigned,  he  sent  ambassadors  to 
the  king  of  the  Damascenes  with  gold 
and  silver,  desiring  his  assistance,  and 
putting  him  in  mind  that  we  have  had  a 
friendship  together  from  the  time  of  our 
forefathers.  So  he  gladly  received  that 
sum  of  money,  and  made  a  league  with 
him,  and  broke  the  friendship  he  had 
with  Baasha,  and  sent  the  commanders 
of  his  own  forces  unto  the  cities  that 
were  under  Baasha's  dominion,  and 
ordered  them  to  do  them  mischief.  So 
they  went  and  burnt  some  of  them,  and 
spoiled  others;  Ijon,  and  Dan,  and  Abel- 
main,  and  many  others.  Now  when  the 
king  of  Israel  heard  this,  he  left  off  build- 
ing and  fortifying  Ramah,  and  returned 
presently  to  assist  his  own  people  under 
the  distresses  they  were  in ;  but  Asa 
made  use  of  the  materials  that  were  pre- 
pared for  building  that  city,  for  building 
in  the  same  place  two  strong  cities,  the 
one. of  which  was  called  Geba,  and  the 
other  Mizpah  ;  so  that  after  this,  Baasha 
had  no  leisure  to  make  expeditions 
against  Asa,  for  he  was  prevented  by 
death,  and  was  buried  in  the  city  Tirzah; 
and  Elah,  his  son,  took  the  kingdom, 
who,  when  he  had  reigned  two  years, 
died,  being  treacherously  slain  by  Zimri, 
the  captain  of  half  his  army;  for  when 
he  was  at  Arza's  (his  steward)  house,  he 
persuaded  some  of  the  horsemen  that 
were  under  him  to  assault  Elah,*  and  by 
that  means  he  slew  him  when  he  was 
without  his  armed  men,  and  his  captains, 
for  they  were  all  busied  in  the  siege  of 
Gibbethon,  a  city  of  the  Philistines. 

*  1  Kings  xvi.  1 0. 


272 


ANTIQUITIES    OP   TRE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII. 


When  Zimri,  the  captain  of  the  army, 
had  killed  Elah,  he  took  the  kingdom 
himself,  and,  according  to  Jehu's  pro- 
phecy, slew  all  the  house  of  Baasha  :  for 
it  came  to  pass  that  Baasha's  house 
utterly  perished,  on  account  of  his  im- 
piety, in  the  same  manner  as  we  have 
already  described  the  destruction  of  the 
house  of  Jeroboam;  but  the  army  that 
was  besieging  Gibbethon,  when  they 
heard  what  had  befallen  the  king,  and 
that  when  Zimri  had  killed  him  he  had 
gained  the  kingdom,  they  made  Omri 
their  general  king,  who  drew  off  his  army 
from  Gibbethon,  and  came  to  Tirzah, 
where  the  royal  palace  was,  and  assaulted 
the  city,  and  took  it  by  force.  But 
when  Zimri  saw  that  the  city  had  none 
to  defend  it,  he  fled  into  the  inmost  part 
of  the  palace,  and  set  it  on  fire,  and  burnt 
himself  with  it,  when  he  had  reigned 
only  seven  days.  Upon  which  the  people 
of  Israel  were  presently  divided,  and 
part  of  them  would  have  Tibni  to  be 
king,  and  part  Omri;  but  when  those 
that  were  for  Omri's  ruling  had  beaten 
Tibni,  Omri  reigned  over  all  the  multi- 
tude. Now  it  was  in  the  thirtieth  year 
of  the  reign  of  Asa,  that  Omri  reigned 
for  twelve  years;  six  of  these  years  he 
reigned  in  the  city  of  Tirzah,  and  the 
rest  in  the  city  called  Semareon,  but 
named  by  the  Greeks  Samaria;  but  he 
himself  called  it  Semareon,  from  Senier, 
who  sold  him  the  mountain  whereon  he 
built  it.  Now  Omri  was  noway  different 
from  those  kings  that  reigned  before  him, 
but  that  he  grew  worse  than  they,  for 
they  all  sought  how  they  might  turn  the 
people  away  from  God,  by  their  daily 
wicked  practices;  and  on  that  account  it 
was  that  God  made  one  of  them  to  be 
slain  by  another,  and  that  no  oue  person 
of  their  families  should  remain.  This 
Omri  also  died  at  Samaria,  and  Ahab  his 
son  succeeded  him. 

Now  by  these  events  we  may  learn 
what  concern  God  hath  for  the  affairs  of 
mankind,  and  how  he  loves  good  men, 
and  hates  the  wicked,  and  destroys  them 
root  and  branch ;  for  many  of  these  kings 
of  Israel,  they  and  their  families,  were 
miserably  destroyed,  and  taken  away  one 
by  another,  in  a  short  time,  for  their 
transgression  and  wickedness;  but  Asa, 
who  was  king  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the 
two  tribes,  attained,  by  God's  blessing,  a 
long  and  a  blessed  old  age,  for  his  piety 
and  righteousness,  and  died  happily,  when 


he  had  reigned  forty-one  years;  and  when 
he  was  dead,  his  son  Jehoshaphat  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  government.  He  was 
born  of  Asa's  wife,  Azubah.  And  all 
men  allowed  that  he  followed  the  works 
of  David  his  forefather,  and  this  both  in 
courage  and  piety ;  but  we  are  not 
obliged  now  to  speak  any  more  of  th<* 
affairs  of  this  king. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Ahab  takes  Jezebel  to  wife,  and  becomes  more 
wicked  than  all  the  kings  that  had  preceded 
him — An  account  of  the  prophet  Elijah.  B  C. 
918-910. 

Now  Ahab,  the  king  of  Israel,  dwelt 
in  Samaria,  and  held  the  government  for 
twenty-two  years  ;  and  made  no  alteration 
in  the  conduct  of  the  kings  that  were  his 
predecessors,  but  only  in  such  things  as 
were  of  his  own  invention  for  the  worse, 
and  in  his  most  gross  wickedness.  He 
imitated  them  in  their  wicked  courses, 
and  in  their  injurious  behaviour  toward 
God;  and  more  especially  he  imitated 
the  trausgression  of  Jeroboam;  for  he 
worshipped  the  heifers  that  he  had  made; 
and  he  contrived  other  absurd  objects  of 
worship  besides  those  heifers;  he  also 
took  to  wife  the  daughter  of  Ethbaal, 
king  of  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians,  whose 
name  was  Jezebel,  of  whom  he  learned  to 
worship  her  own  gods.  This  woman  was 
active  and  bold,  and  fell  into  so  great  a 
degree  of  impurity  and  wickedness,  that 
she  built  a  temple  to  the  god  of  the 
Tyrians,  which  they  called  Belus,  and 
planted  a  grove  of  all  sorts  of  trees ;  she 
also  appointed  priests  and  false  prophets 
to  this  god.  The  king  himself  also  had 
many  such  about  him ;  and  so  exceeded 
in  madness  and  wickedness  all  [the 
kings]  that  went  before  him. 

There  was  now  a  prophet  ot  God 
Almighty,  of  Thesbon,  a  country  in 
Gilead,  that  came  to  Ahab,  and  said  to 
him  that  God  foretold  he  would  not  send 
rain  nor  dew  in  those  years  upon  the 
country  but  when  he  should  appear. 
And  when  be  had  confirmed  this  by  an 
oath,  he  departed  into  the  southern  parts, 
and  made  his  abode  by  a  brook,  out  of 
which  he  had  water  to  drink ;  for  as  for 
his  food,  ravens  brought  it  to  him  every 
day;  but  when  that  river  was  dried  up 
for  want  of  rain,  he  came  to  Zarephath,  a 
city  not  far  from  Sid  on  and  Tyre,  for  it 
lay  between  them,  and  this  at  the  com- 


Chap.  XIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


273 


mand  of  God,  for  [God  told  him]  that  he 
should  there  find  a  woman,  who  was  a 
widow,  that  should  give  him  sustenance  : 
so  when  he  was  not  far  off  the  city  he 
saw  a  woman  that  laboured  with  her  own 
hands,  gathering  of  sticks:  so  God  in- 
formed him  that  this  was  the  woman  who 
was  to  give  him  sustenance;  so  he  came 
and  saluted  her,  and  desired  her  to  bring 
him  some  water  to  drink  ;  but  as  she  was 
going  so  to  do,  he  called  to  her,  and 
would  have  her  to  bring  him  a  loaf  of 
bread  also ;  whereupon  she  affirmed  upon 
oath,  that  she  had  at  home  nothing  more 
than  one  handful  of  meal  and  a  little  oil, 
and  that  she  was  going  to  gather  some 
sticks,  that  she  might  knead  it,  and  make 
bread  for  herself  and  her  son  ;  after  which, 
she  said,  they  must  perish,  and  be  con- 
sumed by  the  famine,  for  they  had 
nothing  for  themselves  any  longer.  Here- 
upon, he  said,  "Go  on  with  good  courage, 
and  hope  for  better  things ;  and  first  of 
all  make  me  a  little  cake,  and  bring  it  to 
me,  for  I  foretell  to  thee  that  this  vessel 
of  meal  and  this  cruise  of  oil  shall  not 
fail  until  God  sends  rain."  When  the 
prophet  had  said  this,  she  came  to  him, 
and  made  him  the  before-named  cake : 
of  which  she  had  part  for  herself,  and 
gave  the  rest  to  her  son,  and  to  the  pro- 
phet also;  nor  did  any  thing  of  this  fail 
until  the  drought  ceased.  Now  Menander 
mentions  this  drought  in  his  account  of 
the  acts  of  Ethbaal,  king  of  the  Tyrians; 
where  he  says  thus:  u Under  him  there 
was  a  want  of  rain  from  the  month 
Hyperberetaeus  till  the  month  Hyperbe- 
retaeus  of  the  year  following ;  but  when 
he  made  supplications,  there  came  great 
thunders.  This  Ethbaal  built  the  city 
Botrys,  in  Phoenicia,  and  the  city  Auza, 
in  Libya."  By  these  words  he  designed 
the  want  of  rain  that  was  in  the  days  of 
Ahab;  for  at  that  time  it  was  that  Eth- 
baal also  reigned  over  the  Tyrians,  as 
Menander  informs  us. 

Now  this  woman  of  whom  we  spake 
before,  that  sustained  the  prophet,  when 
her  son  had  fallen  into  a  distemper  till  he 
gave  up  the  ghost,  and  appeared  to  be 
dead,  came  to  the  prophet  weeping,  and 
beating  her  breasts  with  her  hands,  and 
sending  out  such  expressions  as  her 
passions  dictated  to  her,  and  complained 
to  him  that  he  had  come  to  her  to  re- 
proach her  for  her  sins,  and  that  on  this 
account  it  was  that  her  son  was  dead. 
But  he  bade  her  be  of  good  cheer,  and 
18 


deliver  her  son  to  him,  for  that  he  would 
deliver  him  again  to  her  alive.  So  when 
she  had  delivered  her  son  up  to  him,  he 
carried  him  into  an  upper  room,  where  he 
himself  lodged,  and  laid  him  down  upon 
the  bed,  and  cried  unto  God,  and  said, 
that  God  had  not  done  well  in  rewarding 
the  woman  who  had  entertained  him  and 
sustained  him,  by  taking  away  her  son ; 
and  he  prayed  that  he  would  send  again 
the  soul  of  the  child  into  him,  and  bring 
him  to  life  again.  Accordingly,  God  took 
pity  on  the  mother,  and  was  willing  to 
gratify  the  prophet,  that  he  might  not 
seem  to  have  come  to  do  her  a  mischief; 
and  the  child,  beyond  all  expectation, 
came  to  life  again.  So  the  mother  re- 
turned the  prophet  thanks,  and  said  she 
was  then  clearly  satisfied  that  God  did 
converse  with  him. 

After  a  little  while  Elijah  came  to 
King  Ahab,  according  to  God's  will,  to 
inform  him  that  rain  was  coming.*  Now 
the  famine  had  seized  upon  the  whole 
country,  and  there  was  a  great  want  of 
what  was  necessary  for  sustenance,  inso- 
much that  it  was  not  only  men  that 
wanted  it,  but  the  earth  itself  also,  which 
did  not  produce  enough  for  the  horses 
and  the  other  beasts,  of  what  was  useful 
for  them  to  feed  on,  by  reason  of  ihu 
drought.  So  the  king  called  for  Obadiah, 
who  was  steward  over  his  cattle,  and  said 
to  him,  that  he  would  have  him  go  to  the 
fountains  of  water,  and  to  the  brooks,  that 
if  any  herbs  could  be  found  for  them, 
they  might  mow  it  down,  and  reserve  it 
for  the  beasts.  And  when  he  had  sent 
persons  all  over  the  habitable  earth, j"  to 
discover  the  prophet  Elijah,  and  they 
could  not  find  him,  he  bade  Obadiah  ac- 
company him ;  so  it  was  resolved  they 
should  make  a  progress,  and  divide  the 
ways  between  them;  and  Obadiah  took 
one  road,  and  the  king  another.  Now  it 
happened  that  the  same  time  when  Queen 
Jezebel  slew  the  prophets,  this  Obadiah 
had  hidden  one  hundred  prophets,  and 
had  fed  them  with  nothing  but  bread  and 
water.  But  when  Obadiah  was  alone, 
and  absent  from  the  king,  the  prophet 
Elijah  met  him;  and  Obadiah  asked  him 
who  he  was;  and  when  he  had  learned  it 
from  him,  he  worshipped  him.  Elijah 
then  bade  him  go  to  the  king,  and  tell 
him  that  he  was  ready  to  wait  on  him. 
But  Obadiah  replied,  "What  evil  have  1 


*  1  Kings  xviiL  1. 


|  Luke  iv.  25. 


274 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


done  to  thee,  that  thou  sendest  me  to  one 
who  seeketh  to  kill  thee,  and  hath  sought 
over  all  the  earth  for  thee  ?  Or  was  he 
bo  ignorant  as  not  to  know  that  the  king 
had  left  no  place  untouched  unto  which 
he  had  not  sent  persons  to  bring  him 
back,  in  order,  if  they  could  take  him,  to 
have  him  put  to  death  ?"  For  he  told 
him  he  was  afraid  lest  God  should  ap- 
pear to  him  again,  and  he  should  go 
away  into  another  place ;  and  that  when 
the  king  should  send  him  for  Elijah,  and 
he  should  miss  of  him,  and  not  be  able  to 
find  him  anywhere  upon  earth,  he  should 
be  put  to  death.  He  desired  him,  there- 
fore, to  take  care  of  his  preservation  ;  and 
told  him  how  diligently  he  had  provided 
for  those  of  his  own  profession,  and  had 
saved  one  hundred  prophets,  when  Jeze- 
bel slew  the  rest  of  them,  and  had  kept 
them  concealed,  and  that  they  had  been 
sustained  by  him.  But  Elijah  bade  him 
.fear  nothing,  but  go  to  the  king;  and  he 
assured  him  upon  oath,  that  he  would 
certainly  show  himself  to  Ahab  that  very 
day. 

So  when  Obadiah  had  informed  the 
king  that  Elijah  was  there,  Ahab  met 
him,  and  asked  him  in  anger  if  he  was 
the  man  that  afflicted  the  people  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  was  the  occasion  of  the 
drought  they  lay  under?  But  Elijah, 
without  any  flattery,  .said  that  he  was 
himself  the  man;  he  and  his  house, 
which  brought  such  afflictions  upon  them; 
and  that  by  introducing  strange  gods  into 
their  country,  and  w<>r>hipping  them,  and 
by  leaving  their  own,  who  was  the  only 
true  God,  and  having  no  manner  of  re- 
gard to  him.  However,  he  bade  him  go 
his  way,  and  gather  together  all  the 
people  to  him,  to  Mount  Car m el,  with 
his  own  prophets,  and  those  of  his  wife, 
telling  him  how  many  there  were  of 
them,  as  also  the  prophets  of  the  groves, 
about  400  in  number.  And  as  all  the 
men  whom  Ahab  sent  for  ran  away  to  the 
forenamed  mountain,  the  prophet  Elijah 
6tood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said, 
tl  How  long  will  you  live  thus  in  uncer- 
tainty of  mind  and  opinion  V  He  also 
exhorted  them,  that  in  ca^e  they  esteemed 
their  own  country  God  to  be  the  true 
and  only  God,  they  would  follow  him 
and  his  commandments;  but  in  case  they 
esteemed  him  to  be  nothing,  but  had  an 
opinion  of  the  strange  gods,  and  that 
they  ought  to  worship  them,  his  counsel 
was,  that  they  should  follow  them.     And 


when  the  multitude  made  no  answer  to 
what  he  said,  Elijah  desired,  that,  for  a 
trial  of  the  power  of  the  strange  gods  and 
of  their  own  God,  he,  wdio  was  his  only 
prophet,  while  they  had  400,  might  take 
a  heifer  and  kill  it  as  a  sacrifice,  and  lay 
it  upon  pieces  of  wood,  and  not  kindle 
any  fire,  and  that  they  should  do  the 
same  things,  and  call  upon  their  own 
gods  to  set  the  wood  on  fire,  for  if  that 
was  done,  they  would  thence  learn  the 
nature  of  the  true  God.  This  proposal 
pleased  the  people.  So  Elijah  bade  the 
prophets  to  choose  out  a  heifer  first,  and 
kill  it,  and  to  call  on  their  gods ;  but  when 
there  appeared  no  effect  of  the  prayer  or 
invocations  of  the  prophets  upon  their 
sacrifice,  Elijah  derided  them,  and  bade 
them  call  upon  their  gods  with  a  loud 
voice,  for  they  might  either  be  on  a 
journey  or  asleep;  aud  when  these  pro- 
phets had  done  so  from  morning  till 
noon,  and  cut  themselves  with  swords 
and  lances,*  according  to  the  customs  of 
their  country,  and  he  was  about  to  offer 
his  sacrifice,  he  bade  [the  prophets]  go 
away  ;  but  bade  [the  people]  come  near 
and  observe  what  he  did,  lest  he  should 
privately  hide  tire  among  the  pieces  of 
wood.  So,  upon  the  approach  of  the 
multitude,  he  took  twelve  stones,  one  for 
eaeh  tribe  of  the  people  of  the  Hebrew*, 
and  built  an  altar  with  them,  and  dug  a 
very  deep  trench ;  and  when  he  had  laid 
the  pieces  of  wood  upon  the  altar,  and 
upon  them  had  laid  the  pieces  of  the 
sacrifices,  he  ordered  them  to  fill  four 
barrels  with  the  water  of  the  fountain, 
and  pour  it  upon  the  altar,  till  it  ran 
over  it,  aud  till  the  trench  was  filled  with 
the  water  poured  into  it.  When  he  had 
done  this,  he  began  to  pray  to  God,  and 
to  invocate  him  to  make  manifest  his 
power  to  a  people  that  had  already  been 
in  an  error  a  long  time;  upon  which 
words  a  fire  came  on  a  sudden  from 
heaven,  in  the  sight  of  the  multitude, 
and  fell  upon  the  altar,  and  consumed 
the  sacrifice,  till  the  very  water  was  set 
on  fire,  and  the  place  had  become  dry 

Now  when  the  Israelites  saw  this, 
they  fell  down  upon  the  ground,  and 
worshipped  one  God,  and  called  him 
"The    great   and    the    only   true  God;" 


*  Mr.  Spanheim  takes  notice  here,  that  in  the 
worship  of  Mithra,  (the  god  of  the  Persians,)  the 
priests  cut  themselves  in  the  same  manner  as  did 
these  priests  in  their  invocation  of  Baal,  (the  god 
of  the  Phoenicians.) 


CHAl».  XIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


275 


but  they  called  the  others  mere  names, 
framed  by  the  evil  and  wild  opinions  of 
men  So  they  caught  their  prophets, 
and,  at  the  command  of  Elijah,  slew 
them.  Elijah  also  said  to  the  king,  that 
he  should  go  to  dinner  without  any 
further  concern,  for  that  in  a  little  time 
he  would  see  God  send  them  rain. 
Accordingly,  Ahab  went  his  way;  but 
Elijah  went  up  to  the  highest  top  of 
Mount  Carmel,  and  sat  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  leaned  his  head  upon  his 
knees,  and  bade  his  servant  go  up  to  a 
certain  elevated  place,  and  look  toward 
the  sea,  and  when  he  should  see  a  cloud 
rising  anywhere,  he  should  give  him 
notice  of  it,  for  till  that  time  the  air  had 
been  clear.  When  the  servant  had  gone 
up,  and  had  said  many  times  that  he  saw 
nothing,  at  the  seventh  time  of  his  going 
up,  he  said  that  he  saw  a  small  black 
thing  in  the  sky,  not  larger  than  a  man's 
foot.  When  Elijah  heard  that,  he  sent 
to  Ahab,  and  desired  him  to  go  away  to 
the  city  before  the  rain  came  down.  So 
he  came  to  the  city  Jezreel;  and  in  a 
little  time  the  air  was  all  obscured,  and 
covered  with  clouds,  and  a  vehement 
storm  of  wind  came  upon  the  earth,  and 
with  it  a  great  deal  of  rain ;  and  the  pro- 
phet was  under  a  divine  fury,  and  ran 
along  with  the  king's  chariot  into  Jezreel, 
a  city  of  Izar.    [Issachar  ?] 

When  Jezebel,  the  wife  of  Ahab,  un- 
derstood what  signs  Elijah  had  wrought, 
and  how  he  had  siain  her  prophets,  she 
was  angry,  and  sent  messengers  to  him, 
and  by  them  threatened  to  kill  him,  as 
he  had  destroyed  her  prophets.  At  this, 
Elijah  was  affrighted,  and  fled  to  the  city 
called  Beersbeba,  which  is  situate  at  the 
utmost  limits  of  the  country  belonging  to 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  toward  the  land  of 
Edom  ;  and  there  he  left  his  servant,  and 
went  away  into  the  desert.  He  prayed 
also  that  he  might  die,  for  that  he  was 
not  better  than  his  fathers,  nor  need  he 
be  very  desirous  to  live,  when  they  were 
dead ;  and  he  lay  and  slept  under  a 
certain  tree :  and  when  somebody  awoke 
him,  and  he  had  risen  up,  he  found  food 
set  by  him  and  water;  so  when  he  had 
eaten,  and  recovered  his  strength  by  that 
his  food,  he  came  to  that  mountain  which 
is  called  Sinai,  where  it  is  related  that 
Moses  received  his  laws  from  God;  and 
finding  there  a  certain  hollow  cave,  he  en- 
tered into  it,  and  continued  to  make  his 
abode  in  it.    But  when  a  certain  voice  came 


to  him,  but  from  whence  he  knew  not,  and 
asked  him,  why  he  had  come  thither,  and 
had  left  the  city  ?  he  said,  that  because  he 
had  slain  the  prophets  of  the  foreign 
gods,  and  had  persuaded  the  people  that 
he  alone  whom  they  had  worshipped  from 
the  beginning  was  God,  he  was  sought  for 
by  the  king's  wife  to  be  punished  for  so 
doing.  And  when  he  had  heard  another 
voice,  telling  him  that  he  should  come 
out  the  next  day  into  the  open  air,  aud 
should  thereby  know  what  he  was  to  do, 
he  came  out  of  the  cave  the  next  day 
accordingly,  when  he  both  heard  an 
earthquake,  and  saw  the  bright  splendour 
of  a  fire ;  and  after  a  silence  made,  a 
divine  voice  exhorted  him  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed with  the  circumstances  he  was  in, 
for  that  none  of  his  enemies  should  have 
power  over  him.  The  voice  also  com- 
manded him  to  return  home,  and  to 
ordain  Jehu,  the  son  of  Nimshi,  to  be 
king  over  their  own  multitude;  and 
Hazael,  of  Damascus,  to  be  over  the 
Syrians;  and  Elisha,  of  the  city  Abel,  to 
be  a  prophet  in  his  stead  :  and  that  of  the 
impious  multitude,  some  should  be  slain 
by  Hazael,  and  others  by  Jehu.  So 
Elijah,  upon  hearing  this  charge,  re 
turned  into  the  land  of  the  Hebrews. 
And  when  he  found  Elisha,  the  son  of 
Shaphat,  ploughing,  and  certain  other 
with  him,  driving  twelve  yoke  of  oxen, 
he  came  to  him  and  cast  his  own  garment 
upon  him ;  upon  which  Elisha  began  to 
prophesy  presently,  and  leaving  his  oxen, 
he  followed  Elijah.  And  when  he  de- 
sired leave  to  salute  his  parents,  Elijah 
gave  him  leave  so  to  do;  and  when  he 
had  taken  his  leave  of  them,  he  followed 
him  and  became  the  disciple  and  the 
servant  of  Elijah  all  the  days  of  his  life. 
And  thus  have  I  despatched  the  affairs  in 
which  this  prophet  was  concerned. 

Now  there  was  one  Naboth,  of  the  city 
Izar  [Jezreel],  who  had  a  field  adjoining 
to  that  of  the  king :  the  king  would  have 
persuaded  him  to  sell  him  that  his  field, 
which  lay  so  near  to  his  own  lands,  at 
what  price  he  pleased,  that  he  might  join 
them  together,  and  make  them  one  farm ; 
and  if  he  would  not  accept  of  money  for 
it,  he  gave  him  leave  to  choose  any  of 
his  other  fields  in  its  stead.  But  Naboth 
said  he  would  not  do  so,  but  would  keep 
the  possession  of  that  land  of  his  own, 
which  he  had  by  inheritance  from  his 
father.  Upon  this  the  king  was  grieved, 
as  if  he  had  received  an  injury,  when  ho 


276 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


could  not  get  another  man's  possession, 
and  he  would  neither  wash  himself,  nor 
take  any  food  ;  and  when  Jezebel  asked 
him  whafc  it  was  that  troubled  him,  and 
why  he  would  neither  wash  himself,  nor 
eat  either  dinner  or  supper,  he  related  to 
her  the  perverseness  of  Naboth  ;  and  how, 
when  he  had  made  use  of  gentle  words  to 
him,  and  such  as  were  beneath  the  royal 
authority,  he  had  been  affronted,  and  had 
not  obtained  what  he  desired.  However, 
she  persuaded  him  not  to  be  cast  down  at 
this  accident,  but  to  leave  off  his  grief, 
and  return  to  the  usual  care  of  his  body, 
for  that  she  would  tabe  care  to  have 
Naboth  punished ;  and  she  immediately 
sent  letters  to  the  rulers  of  the  Israelites 
[Jezreelites]  in  Ahab's  name,  and  com- 
manded them  to  fast,  and  to  assemble  a 
congregation,  and  to  set  Naboth  at  the 
head  of  them,  because  he  was  of  an  illus- 
trious family,  and  to  have  three  bold  men 
ready  to  bear  witness  that  he  had  blas- 
phemed God  and  the  king,  and  then  to 
stone  him,  and  slay  him  in  that  manner. 
Accordingly,  when  Naboth  had  been  thus 
testified  against,  as  the  queen  had  written 
to  them,  that  he  had  blasphemed  against 
God,  and  Ahab  the  king,  she  desired  him 
to  take  possession  of  Naboth's  vineyard 
on  free  cost.  So  Ahab  was  glad  at  what 
had  been  done,  and  rose  up  immediately 
from  the  bed  wherein  he  lay,  to  go  to  see 
Naboth's  vineyard ;  but  God  had  great 
indignation  at  it,  and  sent  Elijah  the  pro- 
phet to  the  field  of  Naboth,  to  speak  to 
Ahab,  and  say  to  him,  that  he  had  slain 
the  true  owner  of  that  field  unjustly. 
And  as  soon  as  he  came  to  him,  and  the 
king  had  said  that  he  might  do  with  him 
what  he  pleased,  (for  he  thought  it  a  re- 
proach to  be  thus  caught  in  his  sin,) 
Elijah  said,  that  in  that  very  place  in 
which  the  dead  body  of  Naboth  was  eaten 
by  dogs,  both  his  own  blood  and  that  of 
his  wife's  should  be  shed ;  and  that  all 
his  family  should  perish,  because  he  had 
been  so  insolently  wicked,  and  had  slain  a 
citizen  unjustly  and  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  his  country.  Hereupon,  Ahab  began 
to  be  sorry  for  the  things  he  had  done, 
and  to  repent  of  them ;  and  he  put  on 
sackcloth,  and  went  barefoot,*  and  would 
not  touch  any  food  :  he  also  confessed  his 
sins,  and  endeavoured  thus  to  appease 
God.  But  God  said  to  the  prophet,  that 
while  Ahab  was  living,  he  would  put  off 


*See  2  Sam.  xv.  30. 


the  punishment  of  his  faruiiy,  because  he 
repented  of  those  insolent  crimes  he  had 
been  guilty  of,  but  that  still  he  would 
fulfil  his  threatening  under  Ahab's  son. 
Which  message  the  prophet  delivered  to 
the  king. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Benhadad,  king  of  Damascus  and  of  Syria,  defeat- 
ed in  two  expeditions  against  Ahab.    B.  C.  901. 

When  the  affairs  of  Ahab  were  thus, 
at  that  very  time  the  son  of  Hadad  [Ben- 
hadad],  who  was  king  of  the  Syrians  and 
of  Damascus,  got  together  an  army  out  of 
all  his  country,  and  procured  thirty-two 
kings  beyond  Euphrates  to  be  auxiliaries : 
so  he  made  an  expedition  against  Ahab; 
but  because  Ahab's  army  was  not  like 
that  of  Bcnhadad,  he  did  not  set  it  in 
array  to  fight  him,  but  having  shut  up 
every  thing  that  was  in  the  country,  in 
the  strongest  cities  he  had,  he  abode  in 
Samaria  himself,  for  the  walls  about  it 
were  very  strong,  and  it  appeared  to  be 
not  easily  to  be  taken  in  other  respects 
also.  So  the  king  of  Syria  took  his  army 
with  him,  and  came  to  Samaria,  and  placed 
his  army  round  about  the  city,  and  be- 
sieged it.  He  also  sent  a  herald  to  Ahab. 
and  desired  he  would  admit  the  ambassa- 
dors he  would  send  him,  by  whom  he 
would  let  him  know  his  pleasures.  So 
upon  the  king  of  Israel's  permission  for 
him  to  send,  those  ambassadors  came,  and 
by  their  king's  command  spake  thus: — That 
Ahab's  riches,  and  his  children,  and  his 
wives,  were  Benhadad's,  and  if  he  would 
make  an  agreement,  and  give  him  leave 
to  take  as  much  of  what  he  had  as  he 
pleased,  he  would  withdraw  his  army,  and 
leave  off  the  siege.  Upon  this,  Ahab 
bade  the  ambassadors  to  go  back,  and 
tell  their  king,  that  both  he  himself,  and 
all  that  he  had,  w.ere  his  possessions.  And 
when  these  ambassadors  had  told  this  to 
Benhadad,  he  sent  to  him  again,  and  de- 
sired, since  he  confessed  that  all  he  had 
was  his,  that  he  would  admit  those  ser- 
vants of  his  which,  he  would  send  the  next 
day  ;  and  he  commanded  him  to  deliver 
to  those  whom  he  would  send,  whatsoever, 
upon  their,  searching  his  palace  and  the 
houses  of  his  friends  and  kindred,  they 
should  find  to  be  excellent  in  its  kind; 
but  that  what  did  not  please  them  they 
should  leave  to  him.  At  this  second  em- 
bassage of  the  king  of  Syria,  Ahab  was 
surprised,  and  gathered  together  the  mul 


ClJYF.XIV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


277 


titude  to  a  congregation,  and  told  them, 
that  for  himself  he  was  ready,  for  their 
safety  and  peace,  to  give  up  his  own  wives 
and  children  to  the  enemy,  and  to  yield 
to  him  all  his  own  possessions,  for  that 
was  what  the  Syrian  king  required  at  his 
first  embassage ;  but  that  now  he  desires 
to  send  his  servants  to  search  all  their 
houses,  and  in  them  to  leave  nothing  that 
is  excellent  in  its  kind,  seeking  an  occa- 
sion of  fighting  against  him,  "  as  knowing 
that  I  would  not  spare  what  is  mine  own 
for  your  sakes,  but  taking  a  handle  from 
the  disagreeable  terms  he  offers  concern- 
ing you  to  bring  a  war  upon  us;  how- 
ever, I  will  do  what  you  shall  resolve  is 
fit  to  be  done."  But  the  multitude  ad- 
vised him  to  hearken  to  none  of  his  pro- 
posals, but  to  despise  him,  and  be  in 
readiness  to  fight  him.  Accordingly, 
when  he  had  given  the  ambassadors  this 
answer  to  be  reported,  that  he  still  con- 
tinued in  the  mind  to  comply  with  what 
terms  he  at  first  desired,  for  the  safety  of 
the  citizens;  but  as  for  his  second  desires, 
he  could  not  submit  to  them,  he  dismissed 
them. 

Now  when  Benhadad  heard  this,  he 
had  indignation,  and  sent  ambassadors  to 
Ahab  the  third  time,  and  threatened  that 
his  army  would  raise  a  bank  higher  than 
those  walls,  in  confidence  of  whose  strength 
he  despised  him,  and  that  by  only  each 
man  of  his  army  taking  a  handful  of 
earth ;  hereby  making  a  show  of  the 
great  number  of  his  army,  and  aiming  to 
•affright  him.  Ahab  answered,  that  he 
ought  not  to  vaunt  himself  when  he  had 
only  put  on  his  armour,  but  when  he 
should  have  conquered  his  enemies  in  the 
battle.  So  the  ambassadors  came  back, 
and  found  the  king  at  supper  with  his 
thirty-two  kings,  and  informed  him  of 
Ahab's  answer  j  who  then  immediately 
gave  orders  for  proceeding  thus :  to  make 
lines  round  the  city,  and  raise  a  bulwark, 
and  to  prosecute  the  siege  all  manner  of 
ways.  Now,  as  this  was  doing,  Ahab  was 
in  a  great  agony,  and  all  his  people  with 
hi m  ;  but  he  took  courage,  and  was  freed 
from  his  fears,  upon  a  certain  prophet 
coming  to  him,  and  saying  to  him,  that 
God  h;id  promised  to  subdue  so  many  ten 
thousands  of  his  enemies  under  him;  and 
when  he  inquired  by  whose  means  the 
victory  was  to  be  obtained,  he  said,  "By 
the  sons  of  the  princes ;  but  under  thy 
conduct  as  their  leader,  by  reason  of  their 
unskilfulness  [in  war].      Upon  which  he 


called  for  the  sons  of  the  princes,  and 
found  them  to  be  232  persons.  So  when 
he  was  informed  that  the  king  of  Syria 
had  betaken  himself  to  feasting  and  re- 
pose, he  opened  the  gates,  and  sent  out 
the  princes'  sons.  Now  when  the  senti- 
nels told  Benhadad  of  it,  he  sent  some,  to 
meet  them,  and  commanded  them,  that  if 
these  men  had  come  out  for  fighting,  they 
should  bind  them,  and  bring  them  to 
him  ;  and  that  if  they  came  out  peace- 
ably, they  should  do  the  same.  Now 
Ahab  had  another  army  ready  within  the 
walls,  but  the  sons  of  the  princes  fell  up- 
on the  outguard,  and  slew  many  of  them, 
and  pursued  the  rest  of  them  to  the  camp; 
and  when  the  king  of  Israel  saw  that 
these  had  the  upper  hand,  he  sent  out  all 
the  rest  of  his  army,  which,  falling  sud- 
denly upon  the  Syrians,  beat  them,  for 
they  did  not  think  they  would  have  come 
out ;  on  which  account  it  was  that  they 
assaulted  them  when  they  were  naked* 
and  drunk,  insomuch  that  they  left  all 
their  armour  behind  them  when  they  fled 
out  of  the  camp,  and  the  king  himself 
escaped  with  difficulty,  by  flying  away  on 
horseback.  But  Ahab  went  a  great  way 
in  pursuit  of  the  Syrians;  and  when  he 
had  spoiled  their  camp,  which  contained  a 
great  deal  of  wealth,  and  moreover  a 
large  quantity  of  gold  aud  silver,  he  took 
Benhadad's  chariots  and  horses,  and  re- 
turned to  the  city  :  but  as  the  prophet 
told  him  he  ought  to  have  his  army  ready, 
because  the  Syrian  king  would  make  an 
other  expedition  against  him  the  next 
year,  Ahab  was  busy  in  making  provision 
for  it  accordingly. 

Now  Benhadad,  when  he  had  saved 
himself,  and  as  much  of  his  army  as  he 
could,  out  of  the  battle,  he  consulted  with 
his  friends  how  he  might  make  another 
expedition  against  the  Israelites.  Now 
those  friends  advised  him  not  to  fio;ht  with 
them  on  the  hills,  because  their  God  was 
potent  in  such  places,  and  thence  it  had 
come  to  pass  that  they  had  very  lately 
been  beaten  ;  but  they  said,  that  if  they 
joined  battle  with  them  in  the  plain 
they  should  beat  them.  They  also  gave 
him  this  further  advice,  to  send  home 
those  kings  whom  he  had  brought  as  auxi- 
liaries, but  to  retain  their  army,  and  to 
set  captains  over  it  instead  of  the  kings, 
and  to  raise  an  army  out  of  tin  ir  country, 


•  Not  entirely  naked,  nut  >rithou'.   their  uppei 
garments,  or  armour. 


278 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIII 


and  lot  them  be  in  the  place  of  the  for- 
mer who  perished  in  the  battle,  together 
with  horses  and  chariots.  So  he  judged 
their  counsel  to  be  good,  and  acted  ac- 
cording to  it  in  the  management  of  his 
army. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  spring,  Benba- 
dad  took  his  army  with  him,  and  led  it 
against  the  Hebrews;  and  when  he  had 
some  to  a  certain  city  which,  was  called 
Apliek,  he  pitched  his  camp  in  the  Great 
Plain.  Ahab  also  went  to  meet  him  with 
his  army,  and  pitched  his  camp  over 
against  him,  although  his  army  was  a  very 
small  one,  if  it  was  compared  with  the 
enemy's  ;  but  the  prophet  came  again  to 
him,  and  told  him,  that  God  would  give 
him  the  victory,  that  he  might  demon- 
strate his  own  power  to  be  not  only  on 
the  mountains,  but  on  the  plains  also ; 
which  it  seems  was  contrary  to  the  opinion 
of  the  Syrians.  So  they  lay  quiet  in  their 
camp  seven  days ;  but  on  the  last  of  those 
days,  when  the  enemies  came  out  of  their 
camp,  and  put  themselves  in  array  in 
order  to  fight,  Ahab  also  brought  out  his 
own  army ;  and  when  the  battle  had 
joined,  and  they  fought  valiantly,  he  put 
-the  enemy  to  fright,  and  pursued  them, 
and  pressed  upon  them,  and  slew  them; 
nay,  they  were  destroyed  by  their  own 
chariots,  and  by  one  another ;  nor  could 
.any  more  than  a  few  of  them  escape  to 
their  own  city  Aphek,  who  were  also 
ikilled  by  the  walls  falling  upon  them,  be- 
ing 27,000  in  number.  Now  there  were 
slain  in  this  battle  100,000  more;  but 
Benhadad,  the  king  of  the  Syrians,  fled 
away,  with  certain  others  of  his  most  faith- 
ful servants,  and  hid  himself  in  a  cellar 
under  ground;  and  when  these  told  him 
that  the  kings  of  Israel  were  humane  and 
merciful  men,  and  that  they  might  make 
use  of  the  usual  manner  of  supplication, 
and  obtain  deliverance  from  Ahab,  in  case 
■he  would  give  them  leave  to  go  to  him, 
Jie  gave  them  leave  accordingly.  So  they 
came  to  Ahab  clothed  in  sackcloth,  with 
ropes  about  their  heads,  (for  this  was  the 
ancient  manner  of  supplication  among 
the  Syrians,)  and  said, , that  Benhadad  de- 
sired he  would  save  him;  and  that  he 
would  ever  be  a  servant  to  him  for  that 
favour.  Ahab  replied  he  was  glad  that  he 
was  alive,  and  not  hurt  in  the  battle ;  and 
he  further  promised  him  the  same  honour 
and  kindness  that  a  man  would  show  to 
his  brother.  So  they  received  assurances 
upon  oath  from  him,  that  when   he  came 


to  him  he  should  receive  no  harm  from 
him,  and  then  went  and  brought  him  out 
of  the  cellar  wherein  he  was  hid,  and 
brought  him  to  Ahab  as  he  sat  in  his 
chariot.  So  Benhadad  worshipped  him ; 
and  Ahab  gave  him  his  hand,  and  made 
him  come  up  to  him  in  his  chariot,  and 
kissed  him,  and  bade  him  be  of  good 
cheer,  and  not  to  expect  that  any  mischief 
should  be  done  to  him.  So  Benhadad 
returned  him  thanks,  and  professed  that 
he  would  remember  his  kindness  to  him 
all  the  days  of  his  life;  and  promised  he 
would  restore  those  cities  of  the  Israelites 
which  the  former  kings  had  taken  from 
them,  and  grant  that  he  should  have  leave 
to  come  to  Damascus,  as  his  forefathers 
had  come  to  Samaria.  So  they  confirmed 
their  covenant  by  oaths;  and  Ahab  made 
him  many  presents,  and  sent  him  back 
to  his  own  kingdom.  And  this  was  the 
conclusion  of  the  war  that  Benhadad 
made  against  Ahab  and  the  Israelites 

But  a  certain  prophet,  whose  name  was 
Micaiah,*  came  to  one  of  the  Israelites, 
and  bade  him  smite  him  on  the  head,  for 
by  so  doing  he  would  please  God ;  but 
when  he  would  not  do  so,  he  foretold  to 
him,  that  since  he  disobeyed  the  com- 
mands of  God,  he  should  ?neet  with  a 
lion,  and  be  destroyed  by  him  When 
this  sad  accident  had  befallen  the  man, 
the  prophet  came  again  to  another,  and 
gave  him  the  same  injunction  ;  so  he 
smote  him,  and  wounded  his  skull:  upon 
which  he  bound  up  his  head,  and  came 
to  the  king,  and  told  him  that  he  had 
been  a  soldier  of  his,  and  had  the  custo- 
dy of  one  of  the  prisoners  committed  to 
him  by  an  officer,  and  that  the  prisoner 
having  run  away,  he  was  in  danger  of 
losing  his  own  life  by  the  means  of  that 
officer,  who  had  threatened  him,  that  if 
the  prisoner  escaped,  he  should  kill  him; 
and  when  Ahab  had  said  that  he  would 
justly  die,  he  took  off  the  binding  that 
was  about  his  head,  and  was  known  to  be 
Micaiah  the  prophet,  who  had  made  use 
of  this  artifice  as  a  prelude  to  the  follow- 
ing words ;  for  be  said  that  God  would 
punish  him  who  hacl  suffered  Benhadad, 
a  blasphemer  against  him,  to  escape  pu- 
nishment; and  that  he  would  so  bring  it 
about,  that  he  should  die  by  the  other's 
means,  and  his  people  by  the  other's 
army.  Upon  which  Ahab  was  very  an- 
gry at  the   prophet,  and  gave  command 


*  1  Kings  xxii.  8,  18. 


Chap.  XV] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


279 


raent  "hat  he  should  be  put  in  prison,  and 
there  kept ;  but  for  himself,  he  was  in 
confusion  at  the  words  of  Micaiah,  and 
returned  to  his  own  house. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Jerusalem — Ahab's  expedi- 
tion against  the  Syrians — is  assisted  by  Jehosha- 
phat—Death  of  Ahab.     B.  C.  897. 

And  these  were  the  circumstances  in 
which  Ahab  was.  But  I  now  return  to 
Jehoshaphat,  the  king  of  Jerusalem,  who, 
when  he  had  augmented  his  kingdom,  and 
had  set  garrisons  in  the  cities  of  the 
countries  belonging  to  his  subjects,  and 
had  put  such  garrisons  no  less  into  those 
cities  which  were  taken  out  of  the  tribe 
of  Ephraim,  by  his  grandfather  Abijam, 
when  Jeroboam  reigned  over  the  ten 
tribes  [than  he  did  into  the  other].  But 
then  he  had  God  favourable  and  assisting 
to  him,  as  being  both  righteous  and  reli- 
gious, and  seeking  to  do  somewhat  every 
day  that  should  be  agreeable  and  accept- 
able to  God.  The  kings  also  that  were 
round  about  him  honoured  him  with  the 
presents  they  made  him,  till  the  riches 
that  he  had  acquired  were  immensely 
great,  and  the  glory  he  had  gained  was 
of  a  most  exalted  nature. 

Now,  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  he 
called  together  the  rulers  of  the  country, 
and  the  priests,  and  commanded  them  to 
go  round  the  land,  and  teach  all  the  peo- 
ple that  were  under  him,  city  by  city,  the 
laws  of  Moses,  and  to  keep  them,  and  to 
be  diligent  in  the  worship  of  God.  With 
this  the  whole  multitude  was  so  pleased, 
that  they  were  not  so  eagerly  set  upon  or 
affected  with  any  thing  so  much  as  the 
observation  of  the  laws.  The  neighbour- 
ing nations  also  continued  to  love  Jeho- 
Bhaphat,  and  to  be  at  peace  with  him. 
The  Philistines  paid  their  appointed  tri- 
bute, and  the  Arabians  supplied  him 
every  year  with  860  lambs,  and  as  many 
kids  of  the  goats.  He  also  fortified  the 
great  cities,  which  were  many  in  number, 
and  )f  great  consequence.  He  prepared 
al<o  a  mighty  army  of  soldiers  and 
weapons  against  their  enemies.  Now  the 
army  of  men  that  wore  their  armour,  was 
800,000  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  of  whom 
Adnah  was  the  chief;  but  John  was 
chief  of  '200,000.  The  same  man  was 
chief  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  had 
-0' >,000  archers  under  him.  There  was 
another  chief  whose  name  was  Jehozabad, 


who  had  180,000  armed  men.  This  mul- 
titude was  distributed  to  be  ready  for  the 
king's  service,  besides  those  whom  he 
sent  to  the  best  fortified  cities. 

Jehoshaphat  took  for  his  son  Jeroboam 
to  wife,  the  daughter  of  Ahab,  the  king  of 
the  ten  tribes,  whose  name  was  Athaliah 
And  when,  after  some  time,  he  went  to 
Samaria,  Ahab  received  him  courteously, 
and  treated  the  army  that  followed  him 
in  a  splendid  manner,  with  great  plenty 
of  corn  and  wine,  and  of  slain  beasts ; 
and  desired  that  he  would  join  with  him 
in  his  war  against  the  king  of  Syria,  that 
he  might  recover  from  him  the  city  Ra- 
moth,  in  Gilead  ;  for  though  it  had  be- 
longed to  his  father,  yet  had  the  king  of 
Syria's  father  taken  it  away  from  him  ; 
and  upon  Jehoshaphat's  promise  to  afford 
him  his  assistance,  (for  indeed  his  army 
was  not  inferior  to  the  other,)  and  his 
sending  for  his  army  from  Jerusalem  to 
Samaria,  the  two  kinos  went  out  of  the 
city,  and  each  of  them  sat  on  his  own 
throne,  and  each  gave  their  orders  to 
their  several  armies.  Now  Jehoshaphat 
bade  them  call  some  of  the  prophets,  if 
there  were  any  there,  and  inquire  of  them 
concerning  this  expedition  against  the 
king  of  Syria,  whether  they  would  give 
them  counsel  to  make  that  expedition  at 
this  time,  for  there  was  peace  at  that  time 
between  Ahab  and  the  king  of  Syria, 
which  had  lasted  three  years,  from  the 
time  he  had  taken  him  captive  till  that 
day. 

So  Ahab  called  his  own  prophets,  be- 
ing in  number  about  400,  and  bade  them 
inquire  of  God  whether  he  would  grant 
him  the  victory,  if  he  made  an  expedition 
against  Beuhadad,  and  enable  him  to 
overthrow  that  city,  for  whose  sake  it  was 
that  he  was  going  to  war.  Now  these 
prophets  gave  their  counsel  for  making 
this  expedition;  and  said,  that  he  would 
beat  the  king  of  Syria,  and,  as  formerly, 
would  reduce  him  under  his  power.  But 
Jehoshaphat,  understanding  by  their  words 
that  they  were  false  prophets,  asked  Ahab 
whether  there  was  not  some  other  prophet, 
and  he  belonging  to  the  true  God,  that 
we  may  have  surer  information  concern- 
ing futurities.  Hereupon  Ahab  said, 
there  was  indeed  such  an  one,  but  that  he 
hated  him,  as  having  prophesied  evil  to 
hirn,  and  having  foretold  that  he  should 
be  overcome  and  slain  by  the  king  of 
Syria,  and  that  for  this  cause  he  had  hiro 
now  in   prison,  and    that    hip  name  was 


280 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS.  [Book  VIII.  Chap.  XV. 


Micaiah,  the  son  of  lmlah.  But  upon 
Jehoshaphat's  desire  that  he  might  be 
produced,  Ahab  sent  an  eunuch,  who 
brought  Micaiah  to  him.  Now  the  eu- 
nuch had  informed  him  by  the  way,  that 
all  the  other  prophets  had  foretold  that 
the  king  should  gain  the  victory ;  but  he 
said,  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  lie 
against  God;  but  that  he  must  speak 
what  he  should  say  to  him  about  the 
king,  whatsoever  it  was.  When  he  came 
to  Ahab,  and  he  had  adjured  him  upon 
oath  to  speak  the  truth  to  him,  he  said, 
that  God  had  shown  to  him  the  Israelites 
running  away,  and  pursued  by  the  Sy- 
rians, and  dispersed  upon  the  mountains 
by  them,  as  flocks  of  sheep  are  dispersed 
when  their  shepherd  is  slain.  He  said 
further,  that  God  signified  to  him  that 
those  Israelites  should  return  in  peace  to 
their  own  home,  and  that  he  only  should 
fall  in  the  battle.  When  Micaiah  had 
thus  spoken,  Ahab  said  to  Jehoshaphat, 
"  I  told  thee  a  little  while  ago  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  man  with  regard  to  me,  and 
that  he  uses  to  prophesy  evil  to  me." 
Upon  which  Micaiah  replied,  that  he 
ought  to  h^ar  all,  whatsoever  it  be,  that 
God  foretells;  and  that  in  particular, 
they  were  false  prophets,  that  encouraged 
him  to  make  this  war  in  hope  of  victory, 
whereas  he  must  fight  and  be  killed. 
Whereupon  the  king  was  in  suspense  with 
himself:  but  Zedekiah,  one  of  those  false 
prophets,  came  near,  and  exhorted  'him 
not  to  hearken  to  Micaiah,  for  he  did  not 
at  all  speak  truth  ;  as  a  demonstration  of 
which,  he  instanced  in  what  Elijah  had 
said,  who  was  a  better  prophet  in  foretell- 
ing futurities  than  Micaiah;  for  he  fore- 
told that  the  dogs  should  lick  his  blood 
in  the  city  of  Jezreel,  in  the  field  of  Na- 
both,  as  they  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth, 
who  by  his  means  was  there  stoned  to 
death  by  the  multitude ;  that  therefore  it 
was  plain  that  this  Micaiah  was  a  liar,  as 
contradicting  a  greater  prophet  than  him- 
self, and  saying  that  he  should  be  slain  at 
three  days'  journey  distance  :  "And  [said 
he]  you  shall  soon  know  whether  he  be  a 
true  prophet,  and  hath  the  power  of  the 
Divine  Spirit;  for  I  will  smite  him,  and 
let  him  then  hurt  my  hand,  as  Jadon 
caused  the  hand  of  Jeroboam  the  king  to 
wither  when  he  would  have  caught  him; 
for  I  suppose  thou  hast  certainly  heard  of 
ihat  accident."  So  when,  upon  his  smit- 
ing Micaiah,  no  harm  happened  to  him, 


Ahab  took  courage,  and  readily  led  his 
army  against  the  king  of  Syria;  for,  as  I 
suppose,  fate  was  too  hard  for  him,  and 
made  him  believe  that  the  false  prophets 
spake  truer  than  the  true  one,  that  it 
might  take  an  occasion  of  bringing  him 
to  his  end.  However,  Zedekiah  made 
horns  of  iron,  and  said  to  Ahab,  that  God 
made  those  horns  signals,  that  by  them 
he  should  overthrow  all  Syria.  But  Mi- 
caiah replied  that  Zedekiah,  in  a  few  days, 
should  go  from  one  secret  chamber  to  an- 
other, to  hide  himself,  that  he  might 
escape  the  punishment  of  his  lying.  Then 
did  the  king  give  orders  that  they  should 
take  Micaiah  away,  and  guard  him  to 
Anion,  the  governor  of  the  city,  and  to 
give  him  nothing  but  bread  and  water. 

Then  did  Ahab,  and  Jehoshaphat  the 
king  of  Jerusalem,  take  their  forces,  and 
marched  to  Bamoth,  a  city  of  Gilead; 
and  when  the  king  of  Syria  heard  of  this 
expedition,  he  brought  out  his  army  to 
oppose  them,  and  pitched  his  camp  not 
far  from  Bamoth.  Now  Ahab  and  Jeho- 
shaphat had  agreed  that  Ahab  should  lay 
aside  his  royal  robes,  but  that  the  king  of 
Jerusalem  should  put  on  his  [Ahab's] 
proper  habit,  and  stand  before  the  army, 
in  order  to  disprove,  by  this  artifice,  what 
Micaiah  had  foretold.  But  Ahab's  fate 
found  him  without  his  robes;  for  Benha- 
dad,  the  king  of  Assyria,  had  charged  his 
army,  by  means  of  their  commanders,  tG 
kill  nobody  else,  but  only  the  king  of  Is- 
rael. So  when  the  Syrians,  upon  their 
joining  battle  with  the  Israelites,  saw  Je- 
hoshaphat stand  before  the  army,  and  con- 
jectured that  he  was  Ahab,  they  fell  vio- 
lently upon  him,  and  encompassed  him 
round ;  but  when  they  were  near,  and 
knew  that  it  was  not  he,  they  all  returned 
back ;  and  while  the  fight  lasted  from  the 
morning  light  till  late  in  the  evening,  and 
the  Syrians  were  conquerors,  they  killed 
nobody,  as  their  king  had  commanded 
them;  and  when  they  sought  to  kill  Ahab 
alone,  but  could  not  find  him,  there  was 
a  young  nobleman  belonging  to  King 
Benhadad,  whose  name  was  Naaman ;  he 
drew  his  bow  against  the  enemy,  and 
wounded  the  king  through  his  breastplate., 
in  his  lungs.  Upon  this,  Ahab  resolved 
not  to  make  his  mischance  known  to  his 
army,  lest  they  should  run  away ;  but  he 
bade  the  driver  of  the  chariot  to  turn  it 
back,  and  carry  him  out  of  the  battle,  be- 
cause he  was  sorely  and  mortally  wound 


[liooK  IX.  Chap.  I  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


281 


ed.  However,  he  sat  in  his  chariot  and 
endured  the  pain  till  sunset,  and  then  he 
fainted  away  and  died. 

And  now  the  Syrian  army,  upon  the 
comiug  of  the  night,  retired  to  their  camp; 
and  when  the  herald  belonging  to  the 
camp  gave  notice  that  Ahab  was  dead, 
they  returned  home ;  and  they  took  the 
dead  body  of  Ahab  to  Samaria,  and 
buried  it  there;  but  when  they  had 
washed  his  chariot  in  the  fountain  of  Jez- 
reel,  which  was  bloody  with  the  dead 
body  of  the  king,  they  acknowledged  that 
the  prophecy  of  Elijah  was  true,  for  the 
dogs  licked  his  blood,  and  the  harlots  con- 
tinued afterward  to  wash  themselves  in 
that  fountain ;  but  still  he  died  at  Ra- 
moth,  as  Micaiah  had  foretold.  And  as 
what  things  were  foretold  should  happen 
to  Ahab  by  the  two  prophets  came  to 
pass,  we  ought  thence  to  have  high  no- 
tions of  God,  and  everywhere  to  honour 


and  worship  him,  and  never  to  suppose 
that  what  is  pleasant  and  agreeable  is 
worthy  of  belief  before  what  is  true;  and 
to  esteem  nothing  more  advantageous  than 
the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  that  foreknow- 
ledge of  future  events  which  is  derived 
from  it,  since  God  shows  men  thereby 
what  we  ought  to  avoid.  We  may  also 
guess,  from  what  happened  to  this  king, 
and  have  reason  to  consider  the  power  of 
fate,  that  there  is  no  way  of  avoiding  it, 
even  when  he  know  it.  It  creeps  upon 
human  souls,  and  flatters  them  with  pleas- 
ing hopes,  till  it  leads  them  about  to  the 
place  where  it  will  be  too  hard  for  them. 
Accordingly,  Ahab  appears  to  have  been 
deceived  thereby,  till  he  disbelieved  those 
that  foretold  his  defeat;  but  by  giving 
credit  to  such  as  foretold  what  was  grate- 
ful to  him,  was  slain;  and  his  son  Aha 
ziah  succeeded  him. 


BOOK  IX. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  157  YEARS,*  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  AHAB 
TO   THE  CAPTIVITY   OF   THE   TEN   TRIBES.     B.  C.  897-725. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Jehoshaphat  constitutes  judges — overcomes  his 
enemies. 

When  Jehoshaphat  the  king  had  come 
to  Jerusalem,  from  the  assistance  he  had 
afforded  Ahab,  the  king  of  Israel,  when 
he  fought  with  Benhadad,  king  of  Syria, 
the  prophet  Jehu  met  him,  and  accused 
him  for  assisting  Ahab,  a  man  both  im- 
pious and  wicked ;  and  said  to  him,  that 
God  was  displeased  with  him  for  so  doing, 
but  that  he  delivered  him  from  the  ene- 
my, notwithstanding  he  had  sinned,  be- 
cause of  his  own  proper  disposition,  which 
was  good.  Whereupon  the  king  betook 
himself  to  thanksgivings  and  sacrifices  to 
God;  after  which  he  presently  went  over 
all    that   country   which   he  ruled  round 

*  According  to  Scripture  chronology,  172  years. 
The  history  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  are  so  closely 
blended  by  Josephus  in  this  book,  that  separate 
dates  to  each  event  cannot  be  readily  furnished  :  at 
the  clone  of  the  Antiquities,  however,  a  Chrono- 
logical Synopsis,  from  the  time  of  Abraham  to 
the  termination  of  the  Jewish  monarchy,  will  be 
giv«n. 


about,  and  taught  the  people,  as  well  the 
laws  which  God  gave  them  by  Moses,  as 
that  religious  worship  was  due  to  him. 
He  also  constituted  judges  in  every  one 
of  the  cities  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  charged 
them  to  have  regard  to  nothing  so  much 
in  judging  the  multitude  as  to  do  justice, 
and  not  to  be  moved  by  bribes,  nor  by 
the  dignity  of  men  eminent  for  either  their 
riches  or  their  high  birth,  but  to  distri- 
bute justice  equally  to  all,  as  knowing 
that  God  is  conscious  of  every  secret  ac- 
tion of  theirs.  When  he  had  himself  in- 
structed them  thus,  and  gone  over  every 
city  of  the  two  tribes,  he  returned  to  Je- 
rusalem. He  there  also  constituted  judges 
out  of  the  priests  and  the  Levites,  and 
principal  persons  of  the  multitude,  and 
admonished  them  to  pass  all  their  sen- 
tences with  care  and  justice.*  And  that 
if  any  of  the  people  of  his  country  had 
differences    of    great    consequence,    they 


*  These  judges,  constituted  by  Jehoshaphat, 
were  a  kind  of  Jerusalem  sanhedrim,  chosen  out 
of  the  prie.-ts,  the  Levites,  and  the  principal  uf  th€ 
ueople.     See  2  Chron.  xix.  2—11. 


282 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Bt  ok  IX. 


should  send  them  out  of  the  other  cities 
to  these  judges,  who  would  be  obliged  to 
give  righteous  sentences  concerning  such 
causes;  and  this  with  the  greater  care, 
because  it  is  proper  that  the  sentences 
which  are  given  in  that  city  wherein  the 
temple  of  God  is,  and  wherein  the  king 
dwells,  be  given  with  great  care  and  the 
utmost  justice.  Now  he  set  over  them 
Amariah  the  priest,  and  Zebediah  [both] 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah :  and  after  this 
manner  it  was  that  the  king  ordered  these 
affairs. 

About  the  same  time  the  Moabites  and 
Ammonites  made  an  expedition  against 
Jehoshaphat,  and  took  with  them  a  great 
body  of  Arabians,  and  pitched  their  camp 
at  Engedi,  a  city  that  is  situate  at  the 
lake  Asphaltites,  and  distant  300  furlongs 
from  Jerusalem.  In  that  place  grows  the 
best  kind  of  palm-trees,  and  the  opobal- 
samum.  Now  Jehoshaphat  heard  that 
the  enemies  had  passed  over  the  lake, 
and  had  made  an  irruption  into  that  coun- 
try which  belonged  to  his  kingdom  ;  at 
which  news  he  was  affrighted,  and  called 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  to  a  congregation 
in  the  temple,  and  standing  over  against 
the  temple  itself,  he  called  upon  God  to 
afford  him  power  and  strength,  so  as  to 
inflict  punishment  on  those  that  made 
this  expedition  against  them  :  (for  that 
those  who  built  this  his  temple  had  prayed 
that  he  would  protect  that  city,  and  take 
vengeance  on  those  that  were  so  bold  as 
to  come  against  it;)  for  they  are  come 
to  take  from  us  that  land  which  thou  hast 
given  us  for  a  possession.  When  he  had 
prayed  thus,  he  fell  into  tears ;  and  the 
whole  multitude,  together  with  their  wives 
and  children,  made  their  supplications 
also ;  upon  which  a  certain  prophet,  Ja- 
haziel  by  name,  came  into  the  midst  of 
the  assembly,  and  cried  out,  and  spake 
both  to  the  multitude  and  to  the  king:, 
that  God  heard  their  prayers,  and  pro- 
mised to  fight  against  their  enemies.  He 
also  gave  order  that  the  king  should  draw 
his  forces  out  \he  next  day,  for  that  he 
should  find  them  between  Jerusalem  and 
the  ascent  of  Engedi,  at  a  place  called 
"  The  Eminence,"  and  that  he  should  not 
fight  against  them,  but  only  stand  still, 
and  see  how  God  would  fight  against  them. 
When  the  prophet  had  said  this,  both  the 
king  and  the  multitude  fell  on  their  faces, 
and  gave  thanks  to  God,  and  worshipped 
him  :  and  the  Levites  continued  singing 


hymns  to  God  with  their  instruments  of 
music. 

As  soon  as  it  was  day,  and  the  king  had 
come  into  that-  wilderness  which  was  un- 
der the  city  of  Tekoa,  he  said  to  the  mul- 
titude, "  That  they  ought  to  give  credit  to 
what  the  prophet  had  said,  and  not  to  set 
themselves  in  array  for  fighting;  but  to 
set  the  priests  with  their  trumpets,  and 
the  Levites  with  the  singers  of  hymns,  U 
give  thanks  to  God,  as  having  already  de- 
livered our  country  from  our  enemies/ 
This  opinion  of  the  king  pleased  fine  peo- 
ple], and  they  did  what  he  advised  then 
to  do.  So  God  caused  a  terror  and  < 
commotion  to  rise  among  the  Ammonites 
who  thought  one  another  to  be  enemies, 
and  slew  one  another,  insomucd  inat  no1.. 
one  man  out  of  so  great  an  army  escaped  f 
and  when  Jehoshaphat  looked  upon  thai 
valley  wherein  their  enemies  had  been  en- 
camped, and  saw  it  full  of  <*e?,d  men,  he 
rejoiced  at  so  surprising  an  e\ent  as  was 
this  assistance  of  God,  while  he  himself, 
by  his  own  power,  and  without  their  la- 
bour, had  given  them  the  vutory.  He 
also  gave  his  army  leave  to  tuke  the  prey 
of  the  enemy's  camp,  ana  to  spoil  their 
dead  bodies ;  and  indeed  so  Jiey  did  for 
three  days  together,  till  th\jy  were  weary, 
so  great  was  the  number  ol  tne  slain;  and 
on  the  fourth  day,  all  the  people  were 
gathered  together,  unto  a  certain  hollow 
place  or  valley,  and  blessed  God  for  his 
power  and  assistance ;  Irom  which,  the 
place  had  this  name  given  it,  "  The  Val- 
ley of  [Berachah,  or]  Blessing." 

And  when  the  king  had  brought  his 
army  back  to  Jerusalem,  he  betook  him- 
self to  celebrate  festivals,  and  other  sa- 
crifices, and  this  for  many  days;  and,  in- 
deed, after  this  destruction  of  their  ene- 
mies, and  when  it  came  to  the  ears  of  the 
foreign  nations,  they  were  all  greatly 
affrighted,  as  supposing  that  God  would 
openly  fight  for  him  hereafter.  So  Jeho- 
shaphat from  that  time  lived  in  great 
glory  and  splendour,  on  account  of  his 
righteousness,  and  his  piety  toward  God. 
He  was  also  in  friendship  with  Ahab's 
son,  who  was  kirig  of  Israel ;  and  he 
joined  with  him  in  the  building  of  ships 
that  were  to  sail  to  Pontus  and  the  traffic 
cities   of  Thrace  j*    but  he  failed   of  hia 

*  What  are  here  Pontus  and  Thrace,  as  the 
places  whither  Jehoshaphat's  fleet  sailed,  are  in  oui 
other  copies  Ophir  and  Tarshish,  and  the  place 
whence  it  sailed  is  in  them  Eziongeber,  which  )xj 


Chap.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


283 


gains,  for  the  ships  were  destroyed  by  be- 
ing so  great  and  [unwieldy] )  on  which 
account  he  was  no  longer  concerned  about 
shipping.  And  this  is  the  history  of  Je- 
hoshaphat,  the  king  of  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  n. 

Wickedness  of  Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel — The  pro- 
phet Elijah. 

And  now  Ahaziah,  the  son  of  Ahab, 
reigned  over  Israel,  and  made  his  abode 
in  Samaria.  He  was  a  wicked  man,  and 
in  all  respects  like  unto  both  his  parents, 
and  to  Jeroboam,  who  first  of  all  trans- 
gressed, and  began  to  deceive  the  people. 
In  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  the  king 
of  Moab  fell  off  from  his  obedience,  and 
left  off  paying  those  tributes  which  he 
before  paid  to  his  father  Ahab.  Now  it 
happened  that  Ahaziah,  as  he  was  coming 
down  from  the  top  of  his  house,  fell  down 
from  it,  and  in  his  sickness  sent  to  the 
Fly,  which  was  the  god  of  Ekron,  for 
that  was  this  god's  name,  to  inquire  about 
his  recovery;*  but  the  God  of  the  He- 
brews appeared  to  Elijah  the  prophet,  and 
commanded  him  to  go  and  meet  the  mes- 
sengers that  were  sent,  and  to  ask  them, 
whether  the  people  of  Israel  had  not  a 
God  of  their  own,  that  the  king  sent  to  a 
foreign  god  to  inquire  about  his  recover}'? 
and  to  bid  them  return  and  tell  the  king 
that  he  would  not  escape  this  disease.  And 
when  Elijah  had  performed  what  God  had 
commanded  him,  and  the  messengers  had 
heard  what  he  said,  they  returned  to  the 
king  immediately,  and  when  the  king 
wondered  how  they  could  return  so  soon, 
and  asked  them  the  reason  of  it,  they 
siid,  that  a  certain  man  met  them,  and 
forbade  them  to  go  on  any  farther;  but 
to  return  and  to  tell  thee  from  the  com- 
mand of  the  God  of  Israel,  that  this  dis- 

on  the  Red  Sea,  whence  it  was  impossible  for  any 
ships  to  sail  to  Pontus  or  Thrace  ;  so  that  Jose- 
phus's  copy  differed  from  our  other  copies,  as  is 
further  plain  from  his  own  words,  which  render 
"what  we  read,  that  "  the  ships  were  broken  at 
Eziongeber,  from  their  unwieldy  greatness."  But 
r  we  nay  conclude,  that  Josephus  thought  one 
Ophir  to  be  somewhere  in  the  Mediterranean,  and 
n« 't  in  the  South  Sea,  though  perhaps  there  might 
be  another  Ophir  in  that  South  Sea  also,  and  that 
fleets  might  then  sail  both  from  Phoenicia  and  from 
the  Red  .-\  a,  to  fetch  the  gold  of  Ophir. 

•This  "God  of  Flies"  seems  to  have  been  so 
called,  as  was  the  like  god  among  the  Gr<  eks,  from 
his  sup]  i  power  over  flies,  in  driving  them  away 
fr:mrhe  flesh  of  their  sacrifices,  which  otherwise 
W  uld  have  been  very  troublesome  to   them. 


ease  will  have  a  bad  end.  And  when 
the  king  bade  them  describe  the  man  that 
said  this  to  them,  they  replied,  that  he 
was  a  hairy  man,  and  was  girt  about  with 
a  girdle  of  leather.  So  the  king  under- 
stood by  this,  that  the  man  who  was  de- 
scribed by  the  messengers  was  Elijah  ; 
whereupon,  he  sent  a  captain  to  him,  with 
fifty  soldiers,  and  commanded  them  to 
bring  Elijah  to  him;  and  when  the  cap- 
tain that  was  sent  found  Elijah  sitting 
upon  the  top  of  a  hill,  he  commanded 
him  to  come  down,  and  to  come  to  the 
king,  for  so  had  he  enjoined :  but  that  in 
case  he  refused,  he  would  carry  him  by 
force.  Elijah  said  to  him,  "That  you 
may  have  a  trial  whether  I  be  a  true  pro- 
phet, I  will  pray  that  fire  may  fall  from 
heaven,  and  destroy  both  the  soldiers  and 
yourself."  So  he  prayed,  and  a  whirl- 
wind of  fire  fell  [from  heaven],  and  de- 
stroyed the  captain  and  those  that  were 
with  him.  And  when  the  king  was  in 
formed  of  the  destruction  of  these  men, 
he  was  very  angry,  and  sent  another  cap- 
tain with  the  like  number  of  armed  men 
that  were  sent  before.  And  when  this 
captain  also  threatened  the  prophet,  that 
unless  he  came  down  of  his  own  accord, 
he  would  take  him  and  carry  him  away ; 
upon  his  prayer  against  him,  the  fire  [from 
heaven]  slew  this  captain  as  well  as  the 
other.  And  when,  upon  inquiry,  the  king 
was  informed  of  what  had  happened  to 
him,  he  sent  out  a  third  captain.  But 
when  this  captain,  who  was  a  wise  man, 
and  of  a  mild  disposition,  came  to  the 
place  where  Elijah  happened  to  be,  and 
spake  civilly  to  him,  and  said,  that  he 
knew  that  it  was  without  his  own  consent, 
and  only  in  submission  to  the  king's  com- 
mand that  he  came  to  him ;  and  that 
those  that  came  before  did  not  come  will- 
ingly, but  on  the  same  account ;  he  there- 
fore desired  him  to  have  pity  on  those 
armed  men  that  were  with  him  ;  and  that 
he  would  come  down  and  follow  him  to 
the  king.  So  Elijah  accepted  of  his  dis- 
creet words  and  courteous  behaviour,  and 
came  down  and  followed  him.  And  when 
he  came  to  the  king,  he  prophesied  to 
him,  and  told  him,  that  God  said,  u  Since 
thou  hast  despised  him  as  not  being  God, 
and  so  unable  to  foretell  the  truth  about 
thy  distemper,  but  hast  sent  to  the  god  of 
Ekron  to  inquire  of  him  what  will  be  the 
end  of  this  thy  distemper,  know  this,  that 
thou  shalt  die." 

Accordingly,  the  king  in  a  very  iittl* 


284 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


ime  died,  as  Elijah  bad  foretold;  but  Je- 
lioram  his  brother  succeeded  him  in  the 
kingdom,  for  he  died  without  children  : 
but  for  this  Jehoram,  he  was  like  his  fa- 
ther Ahab  in  wickedness,  and  reigned 
twelve  years,  indulging  himself  in  all 
sorts  of  wickedness  and  impiety  toward 
God ;  for  leaving  off  his  worship,  he  wor- 
shipped foreign  gods  ;  but  in  other  respects 
he  was  an  active  man.  Now  at  this  time 
it  was  that  Elijah  disappeared  from  among 
men,  and  no  one  knows  of  his  death  to 
this  very  day;  but  he  left  behind  him 
his  disciple  Elisha,  as  we  have  formerly 
declared.  And  indeed,  as  to  Elijah,  and 
as  to  Enoch,  who  was  before  the  deluge, 
it  is  written  in  the  sacred  books  that  they 
disappeared  :  but  so  that  no  one  knew 
that  they  died. 


CHAPTER  in. 

Joram  and  Jehoshaphat  made  an  expedition  against 
the  Moabites — Death  of  Jehoshaphat. 

When  Joram  had  taken  upon  him  the 
kingdom,  he  determined  to  make  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  king  of  Moab,  whose 
name  was  Mesha;  for  as  we  told  you  be- 
fore, he  had  departed  from  his  obedience 
to  his  brother  [Ahaziah],  while  he  paid 
to  his  father  Ahab  200,000  sheep,  with 
their  fleeces  of  wool.  When,  therefore, 
he  had  gathered  his  own  army  together, 
he  sent  also  to  Jehoshaphat,  and  entreat- 
ed him,  that  since  he  had  from  the  be- 
ginning been  a  friend  to  his  father,  he 
would  assist  him  in  the  war  that  he  was 
entering  into  against  the  Moabites,  who 
had  departed  from  their  obedience,  who 
not  only  himself  promised  to  assist  him, 
but  would  also  oblige  the  king  of  Edom, 
who  was  under  his  authority,  to  make  the 
same  expedition  also.  When  Joram  had 
received  these  assurances  of  assistance 
from  Jehoshaphat,  he  took  his  army  with 
him  and  came  to  Jerusalem ;  and  when 
he  had  been  sumptuously  entertained  by 
the  king  of  Jerusalem,  it  was  resolved 
upon  by  them  to  take  their  march  against 
their  enemies  through  the  wilderness  of 
Edom :  and  when  they  had  taken  a  com- 
pass of  seven  days'  journey,  they  were  in 
distress  for  want  of  water  for  the  cattle 
and  for  the  army,  from  the  mistake  of 
their  roads  by  the  guides  that  conducted 
them,  insomuch  that  they  were  all  in  an 
agony,  especially  Joram ;  and  cried  to 
God,  by  reason  of  their  sorrow,  and  [de- 


sired to  know]  what  wickedness  had  been 
committed  by  them  that  induced  him  to 
deliver  three  kings  together  without  fight- 
ing, unto  the  king  of  Moab.  But  Jebo 
shaphat,  who  was  a  righteous  man,  en- 
couraged him,  and  bade  him  send  to  the 
camp,  and  know  whether  any  prophet  of 
God  had  come  along  with  them,  that  he 
might  by  him  learn  what  they  should  do. 
And  when  one  of  the  servants  of  Joram 
said  that  he  had  seen  there  Elisha,  the 
son  of  Shaphat,  the  disciple  of  Elijah, 
the  three  kings  went  to  him,  at  the  en- 
treaty of  Jehoshaphat;  and  when,  they 
had  come  to  the  prophet's  tent,  which  tent 
was  pitched  out  of  the  camp,  they  asked 
him,  what  would  become  of  the  army  ? 
and  Joram  was  particularly  very  pressing 
with  him  about  it.  And  when  he  replied 
to  him,  that  he  should  not  trouble  him, 
but  to  go  to  his  father's  and  his  mother's 
prophets,  for  they  [to  be  sure]  were  true 
prophets,  he  still  desired  him  to  prophesy, 
and  to  save  them.  So  he  swore  by  the 
Lord  that  he  would  not  answer  him,  un 
less  it  was  on  account  of  Jehoshaphat, 
who  was  a  holy  and  righteous  man :  and 
when,  at  his  desire,  they  brought  him  a 
man  that  could  play  on  the  psaltery,  the 
Divine  spirit  came  upon  him  as  the  music 
played,  and  he  commanded  them  to  dig 
many  trenches  in  the  valley ;  for,  said  he, 
"  though  there  appear  neither  cloud,  nor 
wind,  nor  storm  of  rain,  ye  shall  see  this 
river  full  of  water,  till  the  army  and  the 
cattle  be  saved  for  you  by  drinking  of  it ; 
nor  will  this  be  all  the  favour  that  ye 
shall  receive  from  God,  but  you  whall  also 
overcome  your  enemies,  and  take  the  best 
and  strongest  cities  of  the  Moabites,  and 
you  shall  cut  down  their  fruit-trees,  and 
lay  waste  their  country,  and  stop  up  their 
fountains  and  rivers.'' 

When  the  prophet  had  said  this,  the 
next  day,  before  the  sun-rising,  a  great 
torrent  ran  strongly ;  for  God  had  caused 
it  to  rain  very  plentifully  at  the  distance 
of  three  days'  journey  into  Edom,  so  that 
the  army  and  the  cattle  found  water  to 
drink  in  abundance.  But  when  the- 
Moabites  heard  that  the  three  kings  were 
coming  upon  them,  and  made  their  ap- 
proach through  the  wilderness,  the  king  , 
of  Moab  gathered  his  army  together  pre- 
sently, and  commanded  them  to  pitch 
their  camp  upon  the  mountains,  that 
when  the  enemy  should  attempt  to  enter 
their  country,  they  might  not  be  con- 
cealed   from    them      But    when,   at    thf 


CHAP.    [V.] 


ANlfQUITIES    OF  THE    JEWS 


285 


rising  of  the  sun,  they  saw  the  water  in 
the  torrent,  for  it  was  not  far  from  the 
land  of  Moan,  and  that  it  was  of  the 
colour  of  blood,  for  at  such  a  time  the 
water  especially  looks  red,  by  the  shining 
of  the  sun  upon  it,  they  formed  a  false 
notion  of  the  state  of  their  enemies,  as  if 
they  had  slain  one  another  from  thirst; 
and  that  the  river  ran  with  their  blood. 
However,  supposing  that  this  was  the 
case,  they  desired  their  king  would  send 
them  out  to  spoil  their  enemies;  where- 
upon, they  all  went  in  haste,  as  to  an  ad- 
vantage already  gained,  and  came  to  the 
enemy's  camp,  as  supposing  them  de- 
stroyed already ;  but  their  hope  deceived 
them,  for  as  their  enemies  stood  round 
about  them,  some  of  them  were  cut  to 
pieces,  aud  others  of  them  were  dis- 
persed, and  fled  to  their  own  country ; 
and  when  the  kings  fell  into  the  land  of 
Moab,  they  overthrew  the  cities  that  were 
in  it,  and  spoiled  their  fields,  and  marred 
them,  filling;  them  with  stones  out  of  the 
brooks,  and  cut  down  the  best  of  their 
trees,  and  stopped  up  their  fountains  of 
water,  and  overthrew  their  walls  to  their 
foundations ;  but  the  king  of  Moab,  when 
he  was  pursued,  endured  a  siege,  and 
seeing  his  city  in  danger  of  being  over- 
thrown by  force,  made  a  sally,  and  went 
out  with  700  men,  in  order  to  break 
through  the  enemy's  camp  with  his  horse- 
men, on  that  side  where  the  watch  seemed 
to  be  kept  most  negligently;  and  when, 
upon  trial,  he  could  not  get  away,  for  he 
lighted  upon  a  place  that  was  carefully 
watched,  he  returned  into  the  city,  and 
did  a  thing  that  showed  despair  and  the 
utmost  distress;  for  he  took  his  eldest 
son,  who  was  to  reign  after  him,  and 
lifting  him  up  upon  the  wall,  that  he 
might  be  visible  to  all  the  enemies,  he 
offered  him  as  a  whole  burnt- offering  to 
God,*  whom,  when  the  kings  saw,  they 
commiserated  the  distress  that  was  the 
occasion  of  it,  aud  were  so  affected,  in 
way  of  humanity  and  pity,  that  they 
raised  the  siege,  and  every  one  returned 
to  his  own  house.  So  Jehoshaphat  came 
to  Jerusalem,  and  continued  in  peace 
there,  and  outlived  this  expedition  but  a 
little  time,  and  then  died,  having  lived  in 
all  sixty  years,  and  of  them  reigned 
twenty-live.  He  was  buried  in  a  magni- 
ficent manner  in  Jerusalem,  for  he  had 
imitate'!  the  actions  of  David. 


*  This  was  an  idolatrous  act,  and  could  not  have 
been  an  offering  to  the  one  true  (»ud. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Jehoram  succeeds  Jehoshaphat — Jorara,  king  of 
Israel,  fights  with  the  Syrians. 

Jehoshaphat  had  a  good  number  of 
children ;  but  he  appointed  his  eldest 
son,  Jehoram,  to  be  his  successor,  who 
had  the  same  name  with  his  mother's 
brother,  that  was  king  of  Israel,  aud  the 
son  of  Ahab.  Now  when  the  king  of 
Israel  had  come  out  of  the  land  of  Moab 
to  Samaria,  he  had  with  him  Elisha  the 
prophet,  whose  acts  I  have  a  mind  to  go 
over  particularly,  for  they  were  illus- 
trious, and  worthy  to  be  related,  as  we 
have  them  set  down  in  the  sacred  books. 

For  they  say  that  the  widow  of  Oba- 
diah,  Ahab's  steward,  came  to  him,  and 
said,  that  he  was  not  ignorant  how  her 
husband  had  preserved  the  prophets  that 
were  to  be  slain  by  Jezebel,  the  wife  of 
Ahab ;  for  she  said  that  he  hid  one  hun- 
dred of  them,  and  had  borrowed  mouey 
for  their  maintenance,  and  that,  after  her 
husband's  death,  she  and  her  children 
were  carried  away  to  be  made  slaves  by 
the  creditors;  and  she  desired  of  him  to 
have  mercy  upon  her  on  account  of  what 
her  husband  did,  and  afford  her  some 
assistance.  And  when  he  asked  her 
what  she  had  in  the  house,  she  said, 
"Nothing,  but  a  very  small  quantity  of 
oil  in  a  cruise."  So  the  prophet  bade 
her  go  away,  and  borrow  a  great  many 
empty  vessels  of  her  neighbours,  and 
when  she  had  shut  her  chamber-door,  to 
pour  the  oil  into  them  all ;  for  that  God 
would  fill  them  full.  And  when  the 
woman  had  done  what  she  was  com- 
manded to  do,  and  bade  her  children 
bring  every  one  of  the  vessels,  and  all 
were  filled,  and  not  one  left  empty,  she 
came  to  the  prophet  and  told  him  that 
they  were  all  full;  upon  which  he  ad- 
vised her  to  go  away,  and  sell  the  oil, 
and  pay  the  creditors  what  was  owing  to 
them,  for  that  there  would  be  some  sur- 
plus of  the  price  of  the  oil,  which  she 
might  make  use  of  for  the  maintenance 

o  ... 

of  her  children  :  and  thus  did  Elisha  dis- 
charge the  woman's  debts,  aud  free  her 
from  the  vexation  of  her  creditors. 

Elisha  also  sent  a  hasty  message  to 
Joram,  and  exhorted  him  to  take  care  of 
that  place,  for  that  therein  were  some 
Syrians  lying  in  ambush  to  kill  him.  So 
the  king  did  as  the  prophet  exhorted  him, 
and  avoided  his  going  a-huuting,  and 
when  Benhadad  missed  of  the  suecess  o^ 


2bb 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


his  lying  in  ambush,  he  was  wroth  with 
his  own  servants,  as  if  they  had  betrayed 
his  anibushineut  to  Jorani ;  and  he  sent 
for  them,  and  said  they  were  the  be- 
trayers of  his  secret  counsels;  and  he 
threatened  that  he  would  put  them  to 
death,  since  such  their  practice  was  evi- 
dent, because  he  had  intrusted  this  secret 
to  none  but  them,  and  yet  it  was  made 
known  to  his  enemy  :  and  when  one  that 
was  present  said,  that  he  should  not  mis- 
take himself,  nor  suspect  that  they  had 
discovered  to  his  enemy  his  sending  men 
to  kill  him,  but  that  he  ought  to  know 
that  it  was  Elisha  the  prophet  who  dis- 
covered all  to  him,  and  laid  open  all  his 
counsels.  So  he  gave  order  that  they 
should  send  some  to  learn  in  what  city 
Elisha  dwelt.  Accordingly,  those  that 
were  sent  brought  word  that  he  was  in 
Dothan;  wherefore  Benhadad  sent  to 
that  city  a  great  army,  with  horses  and 
chariots,  to  take  Elisha ;  so  they  com- 
passed the  ;ity  round  about  by  night, 
and  kept  him  therein  confined;  but  when 
the  prophet's  servant  in  the  morning  per- 
ceived this,  and  that  his  enemies  sought 
to  take  Elisha,  he  came  running,  and 
crying  out  after  a  disordered  manner  to 
him,  and  told  him  of  it;  but  he  encou- 
raged him  and  bade  him  not  be  afraid, 
and  to  despise  the  enemy,  and  to  trust  in 
the  assistance  of  God,  and  was  himself 
without  fear;  and  he  besought  God  to 
make  manifest  to  his  servant  his  power 
and  presence,  so  far  as  was  possible,  in 
order  to  the  inspiring  him  with  hope  and 
courage.  Accordingly,  God  heard  the 
prayer  of  the  prophet,  and  made  the 
servant  see  a  multitude  of  chariots  and 
horses  encompassing  Elisha,  till  he  laid 
aside  his  fear,  and  his  courage  revived  at 
the  sight  of  what  he  supposed  had  come 
to  their  assistance.  After  this,  Elisha 
did  further  entreat  God,  that  he  would 
dim  the  eyes  of  their  enemies,  and  cast  a 
mist  before  them,  whereby  they  might 
not  discern  him.  When  this  was  done, 
he  went  into  the  midst  of  his  enemies, 
and  asked  them  who  it  was  that  they 
came  to  seek,  and  when  they  replied, 
"  The  prophet  Elisha, "  he  promised  he 
would  deliver  him  to  them,  if  they  would 
follow  him  to  the  city  where  he  was.  So 
Jiese  men  were  so  darkened  by  God  in 
their  sight  and  in  their  mind,  that  they 
followed  him  very  diligently ;  and  when 
Elisha  had  brought  them  to  Samaria,  he 
ordered  Joram  the  king  to  shut  the  gates, 


and  to  place  his  own  army  round  about 
them ;  and  prayed  to  God  to  clear  the 
eyes  of  these  their  enemies,  and  take  the 
mist  from  before  him.  Accordingly, 
when  they  were  freed  from  the  obscurity 
they  had  been  in,  they  saw  themselves  in 
the  midst  of  their  enemies;  and  as  the 
Syrians  were  strangely  amazed  and  dis- 
tressed, as  was  but  reasonable,  at  an 
action  so  divine  and  surprising;  and  an 
king  Joram  asked  the  prophet  if  he 
would  give  him  leave  to  shoot  at  them, 
Elisha  forbade  him  so  to  do;  and  said 
that  "  it  is  just  to  kill  those  that  are 
taken  in  battle;  but  that  these  men  had 
done  the  country  no  harm,  but,  without 
knowing  it,  had  come  thither  by  the 
Divine  Power;"  so  that  his  counsel"  was 
to  treat  them  in  an  hospitable  manner  at 
his  table,  and  then  send  them  away 
without  hurting  them.*  Wherefore  Jo- 
ram obeyed  the  prophet;  and  when  he 
had  feasted  the  Syrians  in  a  splendid  and 
magnificent  manner,  he  let  them  go  to 
Benhadad  their  king. 

Now  when  these  men  had  come  back, 
and  had  showed  Benhadad  how  strange 
an  accident  had  befallen  them,  and  what 
an  appearance  and  power  they  had  ex- 
perienced of  the  God  of  Israel,  he 
wondered  at  it  as  also  at  that  prophet  with 
whom  God  was  so  evidently  present;  so 
he  determined  to  make  no  more  secret  at- 
tempts upon  the  king  of  Israel,  out  of 
fear  of  Elisha,  but  resolved  to  make  open 
war  with  them,  as  supposing  he  could  be 
too  hard  for  his  enemies,  by  the  multitude 
of  his  army  and  power.  So  he  made  an 
expedition  with  a  great  army  against 
Joram,  who,  not  thinking  himself  a 
match  for  him,  shut  himself  up  in  Sa- 
maria, and  depended  on  the  strength  of 
its  walls ;  but  Benhadad  supposed  he 
should  take  the  city,  if  not  by  his  engines 
of  war,  yet  that  he  should  overcome  the 
Samaritans  by  famine  and  the  want  of 
necessaries,  and  brought  his  army  upon 
them,  and  besieged  the  city;  and  the 
plenty  of  necessaries  was  brought  so  low 
with  Joram,  thaj,  from  the  extremity  of 
want,  an  ass's  head  was  sold  in  Samaria 
for  eighty  pieces  of  silver;  and  the  He- 
brews bought  a  sextary  of  dovefs  dung, 


*  Upon  occasion  of  this  stratagem  of  Elisha,  wo 
may  take  notice,  that  although  Josephus  was  one 
of  the  greatest  lovers  of  truth  in  the  world,  yet, 
in  a  just  war,  he  seems  to  have  had  no  manner  of 
scruple  upon  him,  by  all  such  stratagems  possible 
to  deceive  public  enemies.     2  Sam.  xvL  16,  Ac. 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS 


287 


instead  of  salt,  for  five  pieces  of  silver. 
Now  Joram  was  in  fear  lest  somebody 
should  betray  the  city  to  the  enemy,  by 
reason  of  the  famine,  and  went  every  day 
round  the  walls  and  the  guards,  to  see 
whether  any  such  were  concealed  among 
them ;  and  by  being  thus  seen,  and 
taking  such  care,  he  deprived  them  of 
the  opportunity  of  contriviug  any  such 
thing;  and  if  they  had  a  mind  to  do  it, 
he  by  this  means  prevented  them ;  but 
upon  a  certain  woman  crying  out,  "  Have 
pity  on  me,  my  lord,"  while  he  thought 
that  she  was  about  to  ask  for  somewhat 
to  eat,  he  imprecated  God's  curse  upon 
her,  and  said,  he  had  neither  threshing- 
floor  nor  wine-press,  whence  he  might 
give  her  any  thing  at  her  petition.  Upon 
which  she  said,  she  did  not  desire  his  aid 
in  any  such  thing,  nor  trouble  him  about 
food,  but  desired  that  he  would  do  her 
justice  as  to  another  woman ;  and  when 
he  bade  her  say  on,  and  let  him  know 
what  she  desired,  she  said,  she  had  made 
an  agreement  with  the  other  woman,  who 
was  her  neighbour  and  her  friend,  that 
because  the  famine  and  the  want  was  in- 
tulerable,  they  should  kill  their  children, 
each  of  them  having  a  son  of  their  own, 
"  aud  we  will  live  upon  them  ourselves 
for  two  days,  the  one  day  upon  ,one  son, 
and  the  other  day  upon  the  other;  and," 
said  she,  "I  have  killed  my  son  the  first 
day,  and  we  lived  upon  my  son  yesterday; 
but  this  other  woman  will  uot  do  the  same 
thing,  but  hath  broken  her  agreement,  and 
hath  hid  her  son."  This  story  mightily 
grieved  Joram  when  he  heard  it ;  so  he 
rent  his  garment,  and  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  conceived  great  wrath 
against  Elisha  the  prophet,  and  set  him- 
self eagerly  to  have  him  slain,  because  he 
did  not  pray  to  God  to  provide  them  some 
exit  and  way  of  escape  out  of  the  miseries 
with  which  they  were  surrounded ;  and 
sent  one  away  immediately  to  cut  off  his 
head,  who  made  haste  to  kill  the  prophet; 
but  Elisha  was  not  unacquainted  with  the 
wrath  of  the  king  against  him;  for  as  he 
eat  in  his  house  by  himself,  with  none 
but  his  disciples  about  him,  he  told  them 
that  Joram,  who  was  the  son  of  a 
murderer,  had  sent  one  to  take  away  his 
head ;  "  but,"  said  he,  "  when  he  that  is 
commanded  to  do  this  comes,  take  care 
that  you  do  not  let  him  come  in,  but 
press  the  door  against  him,  aud  hold  him 
fast  there,  for  the  king  himself  will 
follow    him,    and    come    to    me,    having 


altered  his  mind."  Accordingly,  the} 
did  as  they  were  bidden,  when  he  that 
was  sent  by  the  king  to  kill  Elisha  came; 
but  Joram  repented  of  his  wrath  against 
the  prophet;  and  for  fear  he  that  was 
commanded  to  kill  him  should  have  done 
it  before  he  came,  he  made  haste  to 
hinder  his  slaughter,  and  to  save  the 
prophet:  and  when  he  came  to  him,  he 
accused  him  that  he  did  not  pray  to  God 
for  their  deliverance  from  the  miseries 
they  now  lay  under,  but  saw  them  so 
sadlj-  destroyed  by  them.  Hereupon 
Elisha  promised,  that  the  very  next  day, 
at  the  very  same  hour  in  which  the  king 
came  to  him,  they  should  have  great 
plenty  of  food,  and  that  two  seahs  of 
barley  should  be  sold  in  the  market  for  a 
shekel,  and  a  seah  of  fine  flour  should  be 
sold  for  a  shekel.  This  prediction  made 
Joram,  and  those  that  were  present,  very 
joyful,  for  they  did  not  scruple  believing 
what  the  prophet  said,  on  account  of  the 
experience  they  had  of  the  truth  of  his 
former  predictions;  and  the  expectation 
of  plenty  made  the  want  they  were  in 
that  day,  with  the  uneasiness  that  ac- 
companied it,  appear  a  light  thing  to 
them ;  but  the  captain  of  the  third  band, 
who  was  a  friend  of  the  king,  and  on 
whose  hand  the  king  leaned,  said,  "Thou 
talkest  of  incredible  things,  0  prophet  ! 
for  as  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  pour 
down  torrents  of  barley,  or  fine  flour  out 
of  heaven,  so  it  is  impossible  that  what 
thou  oeyest  should  come  to  pass."  To 
which  the  prophet  made  this  reply : 
"  Thou  shalt  see  these  things  come  to 
pass,  but  thou  shalt  not  in  the  least  be  a 
partaker  of  them." 

Now  what  Elisha  had  thus  foretold, 
came  to  pass  in  the  manner  following  : — 
There  was  a  law  at  Samaria,*  that  those 
that  had  the  leprosy,  and  whose  bodies 
were  not  cleansed  from  it,  should  abide 
without  the  city.  And  there  were  four 
men  that  on  this  account  abode  before  the 
gates,  while  nobody  gave  them  any  food, 
by  reason  of  the  extremity  of  the  famine; 
aud  as  they  were  prohibited  from  entering 
into  the  city  by  the  law,  and  they  con- 
sidered that  if  they  were  permitted  to 
enter,  they  would  miserably  perish  by  the 
famine ;  as  also  that  if  they  stayed  where 
hey  were,  they  should  suffer  in  the  same 
manner,  they  resolved  to  deliver  them- 
selves up  to  the  enemy,  that  in  case   they 


*  Lev.  xiii.  46  ;  Num.  v.  1-4. 


288 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


should  spare  them,  they  should  live;  but 
if  they  should  be  killed,  that  would  be  an 
easy  death.  So  when  they  had  confirmed 
this  their  resolution,  they  came  by  night 
to  the  enemy's  camp.  Now  God  had 
begun  to  affright  and  disturb  the  Syrians, 
and  to  bring  the  noise  of  chariots  and 
armour  to  their  ears,  as  though  an  army 
was  coming  upon  them,  and  had  made 
them  suspect  that  it  was  coming  nearer 
and  nearer  to  them.  In  short,  they 
were  in  such  a  dread  of  this  army,  that 
they  left  their  tents,  and  ran  together  to 
Benhadad,  and  said,  that  Jorarn,  the  king 
of  Israel,  had  hired  for  auxiliaries  both 
the  king  of  Egypt  and  the  king  of  the 
Islands,  and  led  them  against  them ;  for 
they  heard  the  noise  of  them  as  they 
were  coming;  and  Benhadad  believed 
what  they  said,  (for  there  came  the  same 
noise  to  his  ears  as  well  as  it  did  to 
theirs;)  so  they  fell  into  a  mighty  dis- 
order and  tumult,  and  left  their  horses 
and  beasts  in  their  camp,  with  immense 
riches  also,  and  betook  themselves  to 
flight.  And  those  lepers  who  had  de- 
parted from  Samaria,  and  were  gone  to 
the  camp  of  the  Syrians,  of  whom  we 
made  mention  a  little  before,  when  they 
were  in  the  camp,  saw  nothing  but  great 
quietness  and  silence ;  accordingly,  they 
entered  into  it,  and  went  hastily  into  one 
of  their  tents;  and  when  they  saw  nobody 
there,  they  ate  and  drank,  and  carried 
garments,  and  a  great  quantity  of  gold, 
and  hid  it  out  of  the  camp ;  after  which 
they  went  into  another  tent,  and  carried 
off  what  was  in  it,  as  they  did  at  the 
former,  and  this  did  they  for  several 
times,  without  the  least  interruption  from 
anybody ;  so  they  gathered  thereby  that 
the  enemies  were  departed ;  whereupon 
they  reproached  themselves  that  they  did 
not  inform  Joram  and  the  citizens  of  it. 
So  they  came  to  the  walls  of  Samaria,  and 
called  aloud  to  the  watchmen,  and  told 
them  in  what  state  their  enemies  were,  as 
did  these  tell  the  king's  guards,  by  whose 
means  Joram  came  to  know  of  it;  who 
then  sent  for  his  friends,  and  the  captains 
of  his  host,  and  said  to  them,  that  he  sus- 
pected that  this  departure  of  the  king 
of  Syria  was  by  way  of  ambush  and 
treachery;  "and  that  out  of  despair  of 
ruining  you  by  famine,  when  you  imagine 
them  to  be  fled  away,  you  may  come  out 
of  the  city  to  spoil  their  camp,  and  he 
may  then  fall  upon  you  on  a  sudden,  and 
may   both    kill   you,    and    take    the    city 


without  fighting;  whence  it  is  that  I  ex- 
hort  you  to  guard  the  city  carefully,  and 
by  no  means  to  go  out  of  it,  or  proudly 
to  despise  your  enemies,  as  though  they 
were  really  gone  away."  And  when  a 
certain  person  said,  that  he  did  very  weP 
and  wisely  to  admit  such  a  suspicion,  but 
that  he  still  advised  him  to  send  a  couple 
of  horsemen  to  search  all  the  country  as 
far  as  Jordan,  that  "if  they  were  seized 
by  an  ambush  of  the  enemy,  they  might 
be  a  security  to  your  army,  that  they 
may  not  go  out  as  if  they  suspected 
nothing,  nor  undergo  the  like  misfortune; 
and,"  said  he,  "  those  horsemen  may  be 
numbered  among  those  that  have  died  by 
the  famine,  supposing  they  be  caught  and 
destroyed  by  the  enemy."  So  the  king 
was  pleased  with  this  opinion,  and  sent 
such  as  might  search  out  the  truth,  who 
performed  their  journey  over  a  road  that 
was  without  any  enemies;  but  found  it 
full  of  provisions,  and  of  weapons,  that 
they  had  therefore  thrown  away,  and  left 
behind  them,  in  order  to  their  being  light 
and  expeditious  in  their  flight.  When 
the  king  heard  this,  he  sent  out  the  mul- 
titude to  take  the  spoils  of  the  camp; 
which  gains  of  theirs  were  not  things  of 
small  value ;  but  they  took  a  great 
quantity,  of  gold,  and  a  great  quantity  of 
silver,  and  flocks  of  all  kinds  of  cattle. 
They  also  possessed  themselves  of  [so 
many]  ten  thousand  measures  of  wheat 
and  barley  as  they  never  in  the  least 
dreamed  of;  aud  were  not  only  freed 
from  their  former  miseries,  but  had  such 
plenty,  that  two  seahs  of  barley  were 
bought  for  a  shekel,  and  a  seah  of  fine 
flour  for  a  shekel,  according  to  the  pro- 
phecy of  Elisha.  Now  a  seah  is  equal  to 
an  Italian  modius  and  a  half.  The 
captain  of  the  third  band  was  the  only 
man  that  received  no  benefit  by  this 
plenty;  for  as  he  was  appointed  by  the 
king  to  oversee  the  gate,  that  he  might 
prevent  the  too  great  crowd  of  the  multi- 
tude, that  they  might  not  endanger  one 
another  to  perish,  by  treading  on  one 
another  in  the  press,  he  suffered  himself 
in  that  very  way,  and  died  in  that  very 
manner,  as  Elisha  had  foretold  this  his 
death,  when  he  alone  of  them  all  dis- 
believed what  he  said  concerning  that 
plenty  of  provisions  which  they  should 
soon  have. 

Hereupon,  when  Benhadad,  the  king 
of  Syria,  had  escaped  to  Damascus,  and 
understood  that  it  was  God  himself  that 


i^UAP.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


289 


cast  all  his  army  into  fear  and  disorder, 
and  that  it  did  not  arise  from  the  in- 
vasion of  enemies,  he  was  mightily  cast 
down  at  his  having  God  so  greatly  tor  his 
enemy,  and  fell  into  a  distemper.  Now 
it  happened  that  Elisha  the  prophet,  at 
that  time,  had  gone  out  of  his  own 
country  to  Damascus,  of  which  Benhadad 
was  informed  :  he  sent  Hazael,  the  most 
faithful  of  all  his  servants,  to  meet  him, 
and  to  carry  him  presents  ;  and  bade  him 
inquire  of  him  about  his  distemper,  and 
whether  he  should  escape  the  danger  it 
threatened.  So  Hazael  came  to  Elisha 
with  forty  camels,  that  carried  the  best 
and  most  precious  fruits  that  the  country 
of  Damascus  afforded,  as  well  as  those 
which  the  king's  palace  supplied.  He 
fluted  him  kindly,  and  said,  that  he 
was  sent  to  him  by  King  Benhadad,  and 
brought  presents  with  him,  in  order  to 
inquire  concerning  his  distemper,  whether 
he  should  recover  from  it  or  not.  Where- 
upon, the  prophet  bade  him  tell  the  king 
do  melancholy  news;  but  still  he  said  he 
would  die.  So  the  king's  servant  was 
troubled  to  hear  it;  and  Elisha  wept 
also,  and  his  tears  ran  down  plenteously 
at  his  foresight  of  what  miseries  the 
people  would  undergo  after  the  death  of 
Benhadad;  and  when  Hazael  asked  him 
what  was  the  occasion  of  this  confusion 
he  was  in,  he  said,  that  he  wept  out  of 
commiseration  for  the  multitude  of  the 
Israelites,  and  what  terrible  miseries 
they  will  suffer  by  thee;  "  for  thou  wilt 
blay  the  strongest  of  them,  and  wilt  burn 
their  strongest  cities,  and  wilt  destroy 
their  children,  and  dash  them  against  the 
Stones,  and  wilt  rip  up  their  women  with 
child."  And  when  Hazael  said,  "  How 
can  it  be  that  I  should  have  power 
enough  to  do  such  things?"  the  prophet 
replied,  that  God  had  informed  him  that 
be  should  be  king  of  Syria.  So  when 
Hazael  had  come  to  Benhadad,  he  told 
him  good  news  concerning  his  distemper; 
but  on  the  next  day  he  spread  a  wet 
cloth,  in  the  nature  of  a  net,  over  him, 
and  strangled  him,  and  took  his  dominion. 
He  was  an  active  man,  and  had  the  good- 
will of  the  Syrians,  and  of  the  people  of 
Damascus,  to  a  great  degree;  by  whom 
both  Ijjgnhadad  himself,  and  Hazael,  who 
ruled  after  him,  are  honoured  to  this  day 
as  gods,  by  reason  of  their  benefactions, 
and  their  building  them  temples,  by 
which  they  adorned  the  city  of  the 
Damascenes.  They  also  every  day  do 
19 


with  great  pomp  pay  their  worship  to 
these  kings,  and  value  themselves  upon 
their  antiquity ;  nor  do  they  know  that 
these  kings  are  much  later  than  they 
imagine,  and  that  they  are  not  yet  1100 
years  old.  Now  when  Joram,  the  king 
of  Israel,  heard  that  Benhadad  was  dead, 
he  recovered  out  of  the  terror  and  dread 
he  had  been  in  on  his  account,  and  was 
very  glad  to  live  in  peace. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Wickedness  of  Jehoram,  king  of  Jerusalem — his 
defeat,  and  death. 

Now  Jehoram,  the  king  of  Jerusalem,  for 
we  have  said  before  that  he  had  the  same 
name  with  the  king  of  Israel,  as  soon  as 
he  had  taken  the  government  upon  him, 
betook  himself  to  the  slaughter  of  his 
brethren  and  his  father's  friends,  who 
were  governors  under  him,  and  thence 
made  a  beginning  and  a  demonstration  of 
his  wickedness;  nor  was  he  at  all  better 
than  those  kings  of  Israel  who  at  first 
transgressed  against  the  laws  of  their 
country,  and  of  the  Hebrews,  and  against 
God's  worship:  and  it  was  Athalia,  the 
daughter  of  Ahab,  whom  he  had  married, 
who  taught  him  to  be  a  bad  man  in  other 
respects,  and  also  to  worship  foreign  gods. 
Now  God  would  not  quite  root  out  this 
family,  because  of  the  promise  he  had 
made  to  David.  However,  Jehoram  did 
not  leave  off  the  introduction  of  new  sorts 
of  customs  to  the  propagation  of  impiety, 
and  to  the  ruin  of  the  customs  of  his  own 
country.  And  when  the  Edomites  about 
that  time  had  revolted  from  him,  and  slain 
their  former  king,  who  was  in  subjection 
to  his  father,  and  had  set  up  one  of  their 
own  choosing,  Jehoram  fell  upon  the  land 
of  Edom,  with  the  horsemen  that  were 
about  him,  and  the  chariots,  by  night, 
and  destroyed  those  that  lay  near  to  his 
own  kingdom;  but  did  not  proceed  farther. 
However,  this  expedition  did  him  no  ser- 
vice, for  they  all  revolted  from  him,  with 
those  that  dwelt  in  the  country  of  Libnah. 
lie  was  indeed  so  mad  as  to  compel  the 
people  to  go  up  to  the  high  places  of  the 
mountains,  and  worship  foreign  gods. 

As  he  was  doing  this,  and  had  entirely 
cast  his  own  country  laws  out  of  his  mind, 
there  was  brought  him  an  epistle  from 
Elijah  the  prophet,  which  declared  that 
Grod  would  execute  great  judgment  upon 
him,  because  he  had  not  imitated  his  own 


290 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


fathers,  but  had  followed  the  wicked 
courses  of  the  kings  of  Israel;  and  had 
compelled  the  tribe  of  Judah  and  the  citi- 
zens of  Jerusalem  to  leave  the  holy  wor- 
ship of  their  own  God,  and  to  worship 
idols,  as  Abab  had  compelled  the  Israel- 
ites to  do;  and  because  he  had  slain  his 
brethren,  and  the  men  that  were  good  and 
righteous.  And  the  prophet  gave  him 
notice  in  this  epistle  what  punishment  he 
should  undergo  for  these  crimes,  namely, 
the  destruction  of  his  people,  with  the 
corruption  of  the  king's  own  wives  and 
children;  and  that  he  should  himself  die 
of  a  distemper  in  his  bowels,  with  long 
torments,  those  his  bowels  falling  out  by 
the  violence  of  the  inward  rottenness  of 
the  parts,  insomuch  that,  though  he  see 
his  own  misery,  he  shall  not  be  able  at  all 
to  help  himself,  but  shall  die  in  that  man- 
ner. This  it  was  which  Elijah  denounced 
to  him  in  that  epistle. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  an  army 
of  those  Arabians  that  lived  near  to  Ethi- 
opia, and  of  the  Philistines,  fell  upon  the 
kingdom  of  Jehoram,  and  spoiled  the  coun- 
try and  the  king's  house;  moreover,  they 
S'lew  his  sons  and  his  wives ;  one  only  of 
his  sons  was  left  him,  who  escaped  the 
enemy;  his  name  was  Ahaziah;  after 
which  calamity,  he  himself  fell  into  that 
disease  which  was  foretold  by  the  prophet, 
and  lasted  a  great  while,  (for  God  inflicted 
this  punishment  upon  him  in  his  belly, 
•out  of  his  wrath  against  him,)  and  so  he 
died  miserably,  and  saw  his  own  bowels 
fall  out.  The  people  also  abused  his  dead 
body;  I  suppose  it  was  because  they 
thought  that  such  his  death  came  upon 
him  by  the  wrath  of  God,  and  that  there- 
fore he  was  not  worthy  to  partake  of  such 
a  funeral  as  became  kings.  Accordingly, 
they  neither  buried  him  in  the  sepulchres 
of  his  fathers,  nor  vouchsafed  him  any  ho- 
nours, but  buried  him  like  a  private  man, 
and  this  when  he  had  lived  forty  years, 
and  reigned  eight;  and  the  people  of 
Jerusalem  delivered  the  government  to 
his  son  Ahaziah. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Jehu  anointed  king— slays  Joram  and  Ahaziah. 

Now  Joram,  the  king  of  Israel,  after  the 
death  of  Benhadad,  hoped  that  he  might 
now  take  Ramoth,  a  city  of  Gilead,  from 
the  Syrians.  Accordingly,  he  made  an 
expedition  against  it,  with  a  great  army  ; 


but  as  he  was  besieging  it,  an  arrow  was 
shot  at  him  by  one  of  the  Syrians,  but 
the  wound  was  not  mortal;  so  he  returned 
to  have  his  wound  healed  in  Jezreel,  but 
left  his  whole  army  in  Ramoth,  and  Jehu, 
the  son  of  Nimshi,  for  their  general ;  for 
he  had  already  taken  the  city  by  force ; 
and  he  proposed,  after  he  was  healed,  to 
make  war  with  the  Syrians;  but  Elisha 
the  prophet  sent  one  of  his  disciples  to 
Ramoth,  and  gave  him  holy  oil  to  anoint 
Jehu,  and  to  tell  him  that  God  had 
chosen  him  to  be  their  king.  He  also 
sent  him  to  say  other  things  to  him,  and 
bade  him  to  take  his  journey  as  if  he  fled, 
that  when  he  came  away  he  might  escape 
the  knowledge  of  all  men.  So  when  he 
had  come  to  the  city,  he  found  Jehu  sit- 
ting in  the  midst  of  the  captains  of  the 
army,  as  Elisha  had  foretold  he  should 
rind  him.  So  he  came  up  to  him,  and 
said  that  he  desired  to  speak  with  him 
about  certain  matters;  and  when  he  had 
arisen,  and  had  followed  him  into  an  in- 
ward chamber,  the  young  man  took  the 
oil,  and  poured  it  on  his  head,  and  said 
that  God  ordained  him  to  be  king,  in  or- 
der to  his  destroying  the  house  of  Ahab, 
and  that  he  might  avenge  the  blood  of 
the  prophets  that  were  unjustly  slain  by 
Jezebel,  that  so  their  house  might  utterly 
perish,  as  those  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of 
Nebat  and  of  Baas  ha  had  perished  for 
their  wickedness,  and  no  seed  might  re- 
main of  Ahab's  family.  So  when  he  had 
said  this,  he  went  hastily  out  of  the  cham- 
ber, and  endeavoured  not  to  be  seen  by 
any  of  the  army. 

But  Jehu  came  out,  and  went  to  the 
place  where  he  before  sat  with  the  cap- 
tains; and  when  they  asked  him,  and  de- 
sired him  to  tell  them  wherefore  it  was 
that  this  young  man  came  to  him,  and 
added  withal,  that  he  was  mad,  he  replied, 
"You  guess  right;  for  the  words  he  spake 
were  the  words  of  a  madman :"  and  when 
they  were  eager  about  the  matter,  and 
desired  he  would  tell  them,  he  answered, 
that  God  had  said  he  had  chosen  him  to 
be  king  over  the  multitude.  When  he 
had  said  this,  every  one  of  them  put  off 
his  garment,  and  strewed  it  under  him, 
and  blew  with  trumpets,  and  gave  notice 
that  Jehu  was  king.  So  when  he  had 
gotten  the  army  together,  he  was^prepar- 
ing  to  set  out  immediataly  against  Joram, 
at  the  city  of  Jezreel,  in  which  city,  as 
we  said  before,  he  was  healing  of  the 
wound  which  he  had  received  in  the  siege 


Chap.  VI. ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


291 


of  Ramoth.  It  happened  also  that  Aha- 
ziah, the  king  of  Jerusalem,  had  now  come 
to  Joram,  for  he  was  his  sister's  son,  as 
we  have  said  already,  to  see  how  he  did 
after  his  wound,  and  this  upon  account  of 
their  kindred :  but  as  Jehu  was  desirous 
to  fall  upon  Joram  and  those  with  him  on 
t'he  sudden,  he  desired  that  none  of  the 
soldiers  might  run  away  and  tell  to  Joram 
what  had  happened,  for  that  this  would 
be  an  evident  demonstration  of  their  kind- 
ness to  him,  and  would  show  that  their 
real  inclinations  were  to  make  him  king. 

So  they  were  pleased  with  what  he  did, 
and  guarded  the  roads,  lest  somebody 
should  privately  tell  the  thing  to  those 
that  were  at  Jezreel.  Now  Jehu  took  his 
choice  horsemen,  and  sat  upon  his  chariot, 
and  went  toward  Jezreel;  and  when  he 
had  come  near,  the  watchman  whom  Joram 
had  set  there  to  spy  out  such  as  came  to 
the  city,  saw  Jehu  marching  on,  and  told 
Joram  that  he  saw  a  troop  of  horsemen 
marching  on.  Upon  which  he  immedi- 
ately gave  orders  that  one  of  his  horse- 
men should  be  sent  out  to  meet  them,  and 
r.o  know  who  it  was  that  was  coming.  So 
when  the  horseman  came  up  to  Jehu,  he 
asked  him  in  what  condition  the  army 
was,  for  that  the  king  wanted  to  know  it; 
but  Jehu  bade  him  not  at  all  to  meddle 
with  such  matters,  but  to  follow  him. 
When  the  watchman  saw  this,  he  told 
Joram  that  the  horseman  had  mingled 
himself  among  the  company,  and  came 
along  with  them.  And  when  the  king 
had  sent  a  second  messenger,  Jehu  com- 
manded him  to  do  as  the  former  did ;  and 
as  soon  as  the  watchman  told  this  also  to 
Joram,  he  at  last  got  upon  his  chariot 
himself,  together  with  Ahaziah,  the  king 
of  Jerusalem ;  for,  as  we  said  before,  he 
was  there  to  see  how  Joram  did,  after  he 
had  been  wounded,  as  being  his  relation. 
So  he  went  out  to  meet  Jehu,  who  marched 
slowly,*  and  in  good  order;  and  when 
Joram  met  him  in  the  field  of  Naboth,  he 
asked  him  if  all  things  were  well  in  the 
camp;  but  Jehu  reproached  him  bitterly, 
and  ventured  to  call  his  mother  a  witch 
and  a  harlot.  Upon  this  the  king  fearing 
what  he  intended,  and  suspecting  he  had 
no  good  meaning,  turned  his  chariot  about 
as  soon  as  he  could,  and  said  to  Ahaziah, 
4  We  are  fought  against  by  deceit  and 
treachery."    But  Jehu  drew  his  bow,  and 

*  The  account  in  2  Kings  ix.  20,  is  the  very  re- 
rcrse  of  this  given  by  Josephus. 


smote  him,  the  arrow  going  through  his 
heart:  so  Joram  fell  down  immediately 
on  his  knee,  and  gave  up  the  ghost.  Jehu 
also  gave  orders  to  Bidkar,  the  captain 
of  the  third  part  of  his  army,  to  cast  the 
dead  body  of  Joram  into  the  field  of 
Naboth,  putting  him  in  mind  of  the  pro- 
phecy which  Elijah  prophesied  to  Ahab, 
his  father,  when  he  had  slain  Naboth,  that 
both  he  and  his  family  should  perish  in 
that  place;  for  that,  as  they  sat  behind 
Ahab's  chariot,  they  heard  the  prophet 
say  so,  and  that  it  had  now  come  to  pass 
according  to  his  prophecy.  Upon  the  fall 
of  Joram,  Ahaziah  was  afraid  of  his  own 
life,  and  turned  his  chariot  into  another 
road,  supposing  he  should  not  be  seen  by 
Jehu;  but  he  followed  after  him,  and 
overtook  him  at  a  certain  acclivity,  and 
drew  his  bow,  and  wounded  him;  so  he 
left  his  chariot,  and  got  upon  his  horse, 
and  fled  from  Jehu  to  Megiddo;  and 
though  he  was  under  care,  in  a  little  time 
he  died  of  that  wound,  and  was  carried 
to  Jerusalem,  and  buried  there,  after  he 
had  reigued  one  year,  and  had  proved  a 
wicked  man,  and  worse  than  his  father. 

Now  when  Jehu  had  come  to  Jezreel, 
Jezebel  adorned  herself  and  stood  upon  a 
tower,  and  said,  he  was  a  fine  servant  that 
had  killed  his  master!  And  when  he 
looked  up  to  her,  he  asked  who  she  was, 
and  commanded  her  to  come  down  to  him. 
At  last  he  ordered  the  eunuchs  to  throw 
her  down  from*  the  tower;  and  being 
thrown  down,  she  besprinkled  the  wall 
with  her  blood,  and  was  trodden  upon  by 
the  horses,  and  so  died.  When  this  was 
done,  Jehu  came  to  the  palace  with  his 
friends,  and  took  some  refreshment  after 
his  journey,  both  with  other  things,  and 
by  eating  a  meal.  He  also  bade  his  ser- 
vants to  take  up  Jezebel  and  bury  her, 
because  of  the  nobility  of  her  blood,  for 
she  was  descended  from  kings;  but  those 
that  were  appointed  to  bury  her,  found 
nothing  else  remaining  but  the  extreme 
parts  of  her  body,  for  all  the  rest  were 
eaten  by  dogs.  When  Jehu  heard  thi*, 
he  admired  the  prophecy  of  Elijah,  for 
he  foretold  that  she  should  perish  in  this 
manner  at  Jezreel. 

Now  Ahab  had  seventy  sons  brought 
up  in  Samaria.  So  Jehu  sent  two  epis- 
tles, the  one  to  them  that  brought  up  the 
children,  the  other  to  the  rulers  of  Sama- 
ria, which  said,  that  they  should  set  up 
the  most  valiant  of  Ahab's  sons  for  king, 
for  that  they  had  abundance  of  chariots, 


292 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


and  horses,  and  armour,  and  a  great  army, 
:md  fenced  cities,  and  that  by  so  doing 
they  might  avenge  the  murder  of  Ahab. 
This  he  wrote  to  try  the  intentions  of  those 
of  Samaria.  Now  when  the  rulers,  and 
those  that  had  brought  up  the  children, 
had  read  the  letter,  they  were  afraid  ;  and 
considering  that  they  were  not  at  all  able 
to  oppose  him,  who  had  already  subdued 
two  very  great  kings,  they  returned  him 
this  answer:  that  they  owned  him  for 
their  lord,  and  would  do  whatsoever  he 
bade  them.  So  he  wrote  back  to  them 
such  a  reply  as  enjoined  them  to  obey 
what  he  gave  order  for,  and  to  cut  off  the 
heads  of  Ahab's  sons,  and  send  them  to 
him.  Accordingly,  the  rulers  sent  for 
those  that  brought  up  the  sons  of  Ahab, 
and  commanded  them  to  slay  them,  to 
cut  off  their  heads,  and  send  them  to 
Jehu,  So  they  did  whatsoever  they  were 
commanded,  without  omitting  any  thing 
at  all,  and  put  them  up  in  wicker  baskets, 
and  sent  them  to  Jezreel.  And  when 
Jehu,  as  he  was  at  supper  with  his  friends, 
was  informed  that  the  heads  of  Ahab's 
sons  were  brought,  he  ordered  them  to 
make  two  heaps  of  them,  one  before  each 
of  the  gates;  and  in  the  morning  he 
went  out  to  take  a  view  of  them,  and 
when  he  saw  them,  he  began  to  say  to 
the  people  that  were  present,  that  he  did 
himself  make  an  expedition  against  his 
master  [Joram],  and  slew  him ;  but  (that 
it  was  not  he  that  slew  all  these  :  and  he 
desired  them  to  take  notice,  that  as  to 
Ahab's  family,  all  things  had  come  to 
pass  according  to  God's  prophecy,  and  his 
house  had  perished,  according  as  Elijah 
had  foretold.  And  when  he  had  further 
destroyed  all  the  kindred  of  Ahab  that 
were  found  in  Jezreel,  he  went  to  Sa- 
maria; and  as  he  was  upon  the  road,  he 
met  the  relations  of  Ahaziah,  king  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  asked  them,  whither  they 
were  going  ?  They  replied,  that  they  came 
to  salute  Joram,  and  their  own  king  Aha- 
ziah, for  they  knew  not  that  he  had  slain 
them  both.  So  Jehu  gave  orders  that 
they  should  catch  these,  and  kill  them, 
being  in  number  forty-two  persons. 

After  these,  there  met  him  a  good  and 
a  righteous  man,  whose  name  was  Jeho- 
nadab,  and  who  had  been  his  friend  of 
old.  He  saluted  Jehu,  and  began  to  com- 
mend him,  because  he  had  done  every 
thing  according  to  the  will  of  God,  in  ex- 
tirpating the  house  of  Ahab.  So  Jehu 
desired  him  to  come  up  into  his  chariot, 


and  make  his  entry  with  him  into  Sa- 
maria; and  told  him  that  he  would  not 
spare  one  wicked  man,  but  would  punish 
the  false  prophets  and  false  priests,  and 
those  that  deceived  the  multitude,  and 
persuaded  them  to  leave  the  worship  of 
God  Almighty  and  to  worship  foreign  gods; 
and  that  it  was  a  most  excellent  and  a 
most  pleasing  sight  to  a  good  and  a  right- 
eous man  to  see  the  wicked  punished.  So 
Jehonadab  was  persuaded  by  these  argu- 
ments, and  came  up  into  Jehu's  chariot, 
and  came  to  Samaria.  And  Jehu  sought 
out  for  all  Ahab's  kindred,  and  slew 
them.  And  being  desirous  that  none  of 
the  false  prophets,  nor  the  priests  of 
Ahab's  god,  might  escape  punishment,  he 
caught  them  deceitfully  by  this  wile :  for 
he  gathered  all  the  people  together,  and 
said,  that  he  would  worship  twice  as 
many  gods  as  Ahab  worshipped,  and  de- 
sired that  his  priests,  and  prophets,  and 
servants  might  be  present,  because  he 
would  offer  costly  and  great  sacrifices  to 
Ahab's  god ;  and  that  if  any  of  his 
priests  were  wanting,  they  should  be  pu- 
nished with  death.  Now  Ahab's  god  was 
called  Baal :  and  when  he  had  appointed 
a  day  on  which  he  would  offer  these  sa- 
crifices, he  sent  messengers  through  all 
the  country  of  the  Israelites,  that  they 
might  bring  the  priests  of  Baal  to  him. 
So  Jehu  commanded  to  give  all  the  priests 
vestments;  and  when  they  had  received 
them,  he  went  into  the  house  [of  Baal], 
with  his  friend  Jehonadab,  and  gave  or- 
ders to  make  search  whether  there  was 
not  any  foreigner  or  stranger  among  them, 
for  he  would  have  no  one  of  a  different 
religion  to  mix  among  their  sacred  offices. 
And  when  they  said  that  there  was  no 
stranger  there,  and  they  were  beginning 
their  sacrifices,  he  set  eighty  men  with- 
out, they  being  such  of  his  soldiers  as  he 
knew  to  be  most  faithful  to  him,  and  bade 
them  slay  the  prophets,  and  now  vindicate 
the  laws  of  their  country,  which  had  been 
a  long  time  in  disesteem.  He  also  threat- 
ened, that  if  any  one  of  them  escaped, 
their  own  lives  should  go  for  them.  So 
they  slew  them  all  with  the  sword ;  and 
burnt  the  house  of  Baal,  and  by  that 
means  purged  Samaria  of  foreign  customs 
[idolatrous  worship].  Now  this  Baal  was 
the  god  of  the  Tyrian;  and  Ahab,  in  or- 
der to  gratify  his  father-in-law,  Ethbaal, 
who  was  the  king  of  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
built  a  temple  for  him  in  Samaria,  and 
appointed  him  prophets,  and  worshipped 


Cfl.u>.  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


293 


him  with  all  sorts  of  worship,  although, 
when  this  god  was  demolished,  Jehu  per- 
mitted the  Israelites  to  worship  the  golden 
heifers.  However,  because  he  had  done 
thus,  and  taken  care  to  punish  the  wicked, 
God  foretold  by  his  prophet  that  his  son 
should  reign  over  Israel  for  four  genera- 
tions: and  in  this  condition  was  Jehu  at 
this  time. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Athaliah  reigns  over  Jerusalem  five  [six]  years — 
Jeh.)iada  the  high  priest  kills  her,  and  makes 
Jehoash,  the  son  of  Ahaziah,  king. 

Now  when  Athaliah,*  the  daughter  of 
Ahab,  heard  of  the  death  of  her  brother 
Joram,  and  of  her  son  Ahaziah,  and  of 
the  royal  family,  she  endeavoured  that 
none  of  the  house  of  David  should  be  left 
alive,  but  that  the  whole  family  might  be 
exterminated,  that  no  king  might  arise 
out  of  it  afterward  j  and,  as  she  thought, 
she  had  actually  done  it ;  but  one  of  Aha- 
ziah's  sons  was  preserved,  who  escaped 
death  after  the  manner  following: — Aha- 
ziah had  a  sister  by  the  same  father, 
whose  name  was  Jehosheba,  and  she  was 
married  to  the  high  priest  Jehoiada.  She 
went  into  the  king's  palace,  and  found  Je- 
hoash,  for  that  was  the  little  child's  name, 
who  was  not  above  a  year  old,  among 
those  that  were  slain,  but  concealed  with 
his  nurse  ;  so  she  took  him  with  her  into 
a  secret  bedchamber,  and  shut  him  up 
there  ;  and  she  and  her  husband  Jehoiada 
brought  him  up  privately  in  the  temple 
six  years,  during  which  time  Athaliah 
reigned  over  Jerusalem  and  the  two  tribes. 

Now,  on  the  seventh  year,  Jehoiada 
communicated  the  matter  to  certain  of 
the  captains  of  hundreds,  five  in  number, 
and  persuaded  them  to  be  assisting  to 
what  attempts  he  was  making  against 
Athaliah,  and  to  join  with  him  in  assert- 
ing the  kingdom  to  the  child.  He  also 
received  such  oaths  from  them  as  are 
proper  to  secure  those  that  assist  one  an- 
other from  the  fear  of  discovery ;  and  he 
was  then  of  good  hope  that  they  should 
-lepose  Athaliah.  Now  those  men.whom 
Jehoiada  the  priest  had  taken  to  be  his 
partners,  went  into  all  the  country,  and 
gathered  together  the  priests,  and  the  Le- 
vitcs,  and  the  heads  of  the  tribes  out  of 
it,  and  came  and  brought  them  to  Jerusa- 
lem, to  the  high  priest.     So  he  demanded 


*  2  King*  U.  1-16. 


the  security  of  an  oath  of  them,  to  keep 
private  whatsoever  he  should  discover  to 
them,  which  required  both  their  silence 
and  their  assistance.  So  when  they  had 
taken  the  oath,  and  had  thereby  made  it 
safe  for  him  to  speak,  he  produced  the 
child  that  he  had  brought  up,  of  the  fa- 
mily of  David,  and  said  to  them,  "  This 
is  your  king,  of  that  house  which  you 
know  God  hath  foretold  should  reign  over 
you  for  all  time  to  come  :  I  exhort  you, 
therefore,  that  one-third  part  of  you  guard 
him  in  the  temple,  and  that  a  fourth  part 
keep  watch  at  all  the  gates  of  the  temple, 
and  that  the  next  part  of  you  keep  guard 
at  the  gate  which  opens  and  leads  to  the 
king's  palace,  and  let  the  rest  of  the  mul 
titude  be  unarmed  in  the  temple,  and  let 
no  armed  person  go  into  the  temple,  but 
the  priest  only."  He  also  gave  them  this 
order  besides,  "  That  a  part  of  the  priests 
and  the  Levites  should  be  about  the  king 
himself,  and  be  a  guard  to  him,  with  their 
drawn  swords,  and  to  kill  that  man  imme- 
diately, whoever  he  .be,  that  should  be  so 
bold  as  to  enter  armed  into  the  temple; 
and  bade  them  be  afraid  of  nobody,  but 
persevere  in  guarding  the  king."  So  these 
men  obeyed  what  the  high  priest  advised 
them  to,  and  declared  the  reality  of  their 
resolution  by  their  actions.  Jehoiada 
also  opened  that  armoury  which  David 
had  made  in  the  temple,  and  distributed 
to  the  captains  of  hundreds,  as  also  to  the 
priests  and  Levites,  all  the  spears  and 
quivers,  and  what  kind  of  weapons  soever 
it  contained,  and  set  them  armed  in  a 
circle  round  about  the  temple,  so  as  to 
touch  one  another's  hands,  and  by  that 
means  excluding  those  from  entering  thai 
ought  not  to  enter.  So  they  brought  the 
child  into  the  midst  of  them,  and  put  on 
him  the  royal  crown,  and  Jehoiada  anoint- 
ed  him  with  the  oil,  and  made  him  king; 
and  the  multitude  rejoiced,  and  made  a 
noise,  and  cried,  "  God  save  the  king !" 

When  Athaliah  unexpectedly  heard  the 
tumult  and  the  acclamations,  she  was 
greatly  disturbed  in  her  mind,  and  sud- 
denly issued  out  of  the  royal  palace  with 
her  own  army ;  and  when  she  had  cotno 
to  the  temple,  the  priests  received  her, 
but  as  for  those  that  stood  round  about 
the  temple,  as  they  were  ordered  by  the 
high  priest  to  do,  they  hindered  the  armed 
men  that  followed  her  from  going  in. 
But  when  Athaliah  saw  the  child  stand- 
ing upon  a  pillar,  with  the  royal  crown 
I  upon  his  head,  she  rent  her  clothes,  and 


294 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


cried  out  vehemently,  and  commanded 
[her  guards]  tc  kill  him  that  had  laid 
snares  for  her,  and  endeavoured  to  de- 
prive her  of  the  government:  but  Je- 
hoiada  called  for  the  captains  of  hundreds, 
and  commanded  them  to  bring  Athaliah 
to  the  valley  of  Cedron,  and  slay  her 
there,  for  he  would  not  have  the  temple 
defiled  with  the  punishment  of  this  per- 
nicious woman ;  and  he  gave  order,  that 
if  any  one  came  near  to  help  her,  he 
should  be  slain  also;  wherefore,  those 
that  had  the  charge  of  her  slaughter  took 
hold  of  her,  and  led  her  to  the  gate  of 
the  king's  mules,  and  slew  her  there. 

Now  as  soon  as  what  concerned  Atha- 
liah was,  by  this  stratagem,  after  this  man- 
ner, despatched,  Jehoiada  called  together 
the  people  and  the  armed  men  into  the 
temple,  and  made  them  take  an  oath  that 
they  would  be  obedient  to  the  king,  and 
take  care  of  his  safety,  and  of  the  safety 
of  his  government;  after  which  he  obliged 
the  king  to  give  security  [upon  oath]  that 
he  would  worship  God,  and  not  transgress 
the  laws  of  Moses.  They  then  ran  to  the 
house  of  Baal,  which  Athaliah  and  her 
husband  Jehoram  had  built,  to  the  dis- 
honour of  the  God  of  their  fathers,  and 
to  the  honour  of  Ahab,  and  demolished 
it,  and  slew  Mattan,  that  had  his  priest- 
hood. But  Jehoiada  intrusted  the  care 
and  custody  of  the  temple  to  the  priests 
and  Levites,  according  to  the  appointment 
of  King  David,  and  enjoined  them  to 
bring  their  regular  burnt-offerings  twice  a 
day,  and  to  offer  incense  according  to  the 
law.  He  also  ordained  some  of  the  Le- 
vites, with  the  porters,  to  be  a  guard  to 
the  temple,  that  no  one  that  was  defiled 
might  come  there. 

And  when  Jehoiada  had  set  these 
things  in  order,  he,  with  the  captains  of 
hundreds,  and  the  rulers,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple, took  Jehoash  out  of  the  temple  into 
the  kiDg's  palace,  and  when  he  had  set 
him  upon  the  king's  throne,  the  people 
shouted  for  joy,  and  betook  themselves 
to  feasting,  and  kept  a  festival  for  many 
days ;  but  the  city  was  quiet  upon  the 
death  of  Athaliah.  Now  Jehoash  was 
seven  years  old  when  he  took  the  king- 
dom :  his  mother's  name  was  Zibiah, 
of  the  city  Beersheba.  And  all  the  time 
that  Jehoiada  lived J jehoash  was  careful 
that  the  laws  should  be  kept,  and  very 
zealous  in  the  worship  of  God  ;  and  when 
he  was  of  age,  he  married  two  wives,  who 
were  given  to  him  by  the  high  priest,  by 


whom  were  born  to  him  both  sons  and 
daughters.  And  thus  much  shall  suffice 
to  have  related  concerning  King  Jehoash, 
how  he  escaped  the  treachery  of  Athaliah, 
and  how  he  received  the  kingdom. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Hazael's  expedition  against  Israel  and  Jerusalem 
— Jehu  dies — Jehoahaz  succeeds  hitn — Jehoash 
becomes  impious — Zechariah  stoned — Jehoash 
dies — Amaziah  succeeds  him. 


Now  Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  fought 
against  the  Israelites  and  their  king 
Jehu,*  and  spoiled  the  eastern  parts  of 
the  country  beyond  Jordan,  which  be- 
longed to  the  Reubenites  and  Gadites, 
and  to  the  [half-tribe  of]  Manassites;  as 
also  Gilead  and  Bashan,  burning  and 
spoiling,  and  offering  violence  to  all  that 
he  laid  his  hands  on,  and  this  without  im- 
peachment from  Jehu,  who  made  no  haste 
to  defend  the  country  when  it  was  under 
this  distress :  nay,  he  was  become  a  con- 
temner of  religion,  and  a  despiser  of  holi- 
ness, and  of  the  laws,  and  died  when  ho 
had  reigned  over  the  Israelites  twenty- 
seven  years.  He  was  also  buried  in  Sa- 
maria, and  left  Jehoahaz  his  son  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  government. 

Now  Jehoash,  king  of  Jerusalem,  had 
an  inclination  to  repair  the  temple  of 
God ;  so  he  called  Jehoiada,  and  bade 
him  send  the  Levites  and  priests  through 
all  the  country,  to  require  half  a  shekel 
of  silver  for  every  head,  toward  the  re- 
building and  repairing  of  the  temple, 
which  was  brought  to  decay  by  Jehoram, 
and  Athaliah  and  her  sons.  But  the 
high  priest  did  not  do  this,  as  concluding 
that  no  one  would  willingly  pay  that  mo- 
ney ;  but  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  Je- 
hoash's  reign,  when  the  king  sent  for  him 
and  the  Levites,  and  complained  that  they 
had  not  obeyed  what  he  enjoined  them, 
and  still  commanded  them  to  take  care  of 
the  rebuilding  the  temple,  he  used  this 
stratagem  for  collecting  the  money,  with 
which  the  multitude  was  pleased.  Ho 
made  a  \tooden  chest,  and  closed  it  up 
fast  oa  all  sides,  but  opened  one  hole  in 
it ;  he  then  set  it  in  the  temple  beside  the 
altar,  and  desired  every  one  to  cast  into 
it,  through  the  hole,  what  he  pleased,  for 
the  repair  of  the  temple.  This  contriv- 
ance was  acceptable  to  the  people ;  and 
they  strove  one  with  another,  and  brought 


2  Kings  xii.  17, 18. 


Chap.  VIII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


295 


in  jointly  large  quantities  of  silver  and 
go.d  ;  and  when  the  scribe  and  the  priest 
that  were  over  the  treasuries  had  emptied 
the  chest,  and  counted  the  money  in  the 
king's  presence,  they  then  set  it  in  its 
former  place,  and  thus  did  they  every 
day.  But  when  the  multitude  appeared 
to  have  cast  in  as  much  as  was  wanted, 
the  high  priest  Jehoiada  and  King  Je- 
Loash  sent  to  hire  masons  and  carpenters, 
and  to  buy  large  pieces  of  timber,  and  of 
the  most  curious  sort;  and  when  they 
had  repaired  the  temple,  they  made  use 
of  the  remaining  gold  and  silver,  which 
was  not  a  little,  for  bowls,  and  basins, 
and  cups,  and  other  vessels,  and  they 
went  on  to  make  the  altar  every  day  fat 
with  sacrifices  of  great  value.  And  these 
things  were  taken  suitable  care  of  as  long 
as  Jehoiada  lived. 

But  as  soon  as  he  was  dead,  (which  was 
when  he  had  lived  130  years,  having  been 
a  righteous,  and  in  every  respect  a  very 
good  man,  and  was  buried  in  the  king's 
sepulchres  at  Jerusalem,  because  he  had 
recovered  the  kingdom  to  the  family  of 
David,)  King  Jehoash  betrayed  his  [want 
of]  care  about  God.  The  principal  men 
of  the  people  were  corrupted  also  together 
with  him,  and  offended  against  their 
duty,  and  what  their  constitution  deter- 
mined to  be  most  for  their  good.  Here- 
upon God  was  displeased  with  the  change 
that  was  made  on  the  king,  and  on  the 
rest  of  the  people,  and  sent  prophets  to 
testify  to  them  what  their  actions  were, 
and  to  bring  them  to  leave  off  their  wick- 
edness :  but  they  had  gotten  such  a  strong 
affection  and  so  violent  an  inclination  to 
it,  that  neither  could  the  examples  of 
those  that  had  offered  affronts  to  the  laws, 
and  had  been  so  severely  punished,  they 
and  their  entire  families;  nor  couid  the 
fear  of  what  the  prophets  now  foretold, 
bring  them  to  repentance,  and  turn  them 
back  from  their  course  of  transgression 
to  their  former  duty.  But  the  king 
commanded  that  Zechariah,  the  son  of 
the  high  priest  Jehoiada,  should  be 
stoned  to  death  in  the  temple,  and  forgot 
the  kindnesses  he  had  received  from  his 
father;  for  when  God  had  appointed  him  to 
prophesy,  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
multitude,  and  gave  this  counsel  to  them 
and  to  the  king :  That  they  should  act 
righteously  ;  and  foretold  to  them,  that  if 
they  would  not  hearken  to  his  admoni- 
tions, they  should  suffer  a  heavy  punish- 
ment :  but  as  Zechariah  was  ready  to  die, 


he  appealed  to  God  as  a  witness  of  what 
he  suffered  for  the  good  counsel  he  had 
given  them,  and  how  he  perished,  after  a 
most  severe  and  violent  manner,  for  the 
good  deeds  his  father  had  done  to  Je- 
hoash. 

However,  it  was  not  long  before  the 
king  suffered  punishment  for  his  trans- 
gressions ;  for  when  Hazael,  king  of  Sy- 
ria, made  an  irruption  into  his  country, 
and  when  he  had  overthrown  Gath,  and 
spoiled  it,  he  made  an  expedition  against 
Jerusalem ;  upon  which  Jehoash  was 
afraid,  and  emptied  all  the  treasures  of 
God,  and  of  the  kings  [before  him],  and 
took  down  the  gifts  that  had  been  dedi- 
cated [in  the  temple],  and  sent  them  to 
the  king  of  Syria,  and  procured  so  much 
by  them,  that  he  was  not  besieged,  nor 
his  kingdom  quite  endangered ;  but  Ha- 
zael was  induced,  by  the  greatness  of  the 
sum  of  money,  not  to  bring  his  army 
against  Jei  usalem ;  yet  Jehoash  fell  into 
a  severe  distemper,  and  was  set  upon  by 
his  friends,  in  order  to  revenge  the  death 
of  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Jehoiada.  These 
laid  snares  for  the  king,  and  slew  him. 
He  was  indeed  buried  in  Jerusalem,  but 
not  in  the  royal  sepulchres  of  his  forefa- 
thers, because  of  his  impiety.  He  lived 
forty-seven  years;  and  Amaziah  his  son 
succeeded  hiin  in  the  kingdom. 

In  the  twenty-first  year  of  the  reign  of 
Jehoash,  Jehoahaz,  the  son  of  Jehu,  took 
the  government  of  the  Israelites  in  Sa- 
maria, and  held  it  seventeen  years.  He 
did  not  [properly]  imitate  his  father,  but 
was  guilty  of  as  wicked  practices  as  those 
that  first  had  God  in  contempt.  But  the 
king  of  Syria  brought  him  low,  and,  by 
expeditions  against  him,  did  so  greatly  re- 
duce his  forces,  that  there  remained  no 
more  of  so  great  an  army  than  10,000 
armed  men,  and  fifty  horsemen.  He  also 
took  away  from  him  his  great  cities,  ami 
many  of  them  also,  and  destroyed  his 
army.  And  these  were  the  things  that 
the  people  of  Israel  suffered,  according  to 
the  prophecy  of  Elisha,  when  he  foretold 
that  Hazael  should  kill  his  master,  and 
reign  over  the  Syrians  and  Damascenes. 
But  when  Jehoahaz  was  under  such  un- 
avoidable miseries,  he  had  recourse  to 
prayer  and  supplication  to  God,  and  be- 
sought him  to  deliver  him  out  of  the 
hands  of  Hazael,  and  not  overlook  him. 
and  give  him  up  into  his  hands.  Accord- 
ingly, God  accepted  uf  his  repentnn^e  in- 
stead of  virtue  :  and,  being  desirous  ranter 


296 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


to  admonish  those  that  might  repent,  and 
n  it  to  determine  that  they  should  be  ut- 
terly destroyed,  he  granted  him  deliver- 
ance from  war  and  dangers.  So  the  coun- 
try having  obtained  peace,  returned  again 
to  its  former  condition,  and  flourished  as 
before. 

Now  after  the  death  of  Jehoahaz,  his 
son  Joash  took  the  kingdom,  in  the  thir- 
tv-seventh  year  of  Jehoash,  the  king  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah.  This  Joash  then 
took  the  kingdom  of  Israel  in  Samaria, 
for  he  had  the  same  name  with  the  king 
of  Jerusalem,  and  he  retained  the  king- 
dom sixteen  years.  He  was  a  good  man,* 
and  in  his  disposition  was  not  at  all  like 
his  father.  Now  at  this  time  it  was,  that 
when  Elisha  the  prophet,  who  was  already 
verv  old,  and  had  now  fallen  into  a  dis- 
ease,  the  king  of  Israel  came  to  visit 
bun  ;  and  when  he  found  him  very  near 
death,  he  began  to  weep  in  his  sight,  and 
lament,  to  call  him  his  father,  and  his 
weapons,  because  it  was  by  his  means 
that  he  never  made  use  of  his  weapons 
against  his  enemies,  but  that  he  over- 
came his  own  adversaries  by  his  prophe- 
cies, without  fighting ;  and  that  he  was 
now  departing  this  life,  and  leaving  him 
to  the  Syrians,  that  were  already  armed, 
and  to  other  enemies  of  his  that  were 
under  their  power ;  so  he  said  it  was  not 
safe  for  him  to  live  any  longer,  but  that 
it  would  be  well  for  him  to  hasten  to,  his 
end,  and  depart  out  of  this  life  with  him. 
As  the  king  was  thus  bemoaning  himself, 
Elisha  comforted  him,  and  bajle  the  king 
bend  a  bow  that  was  brought  him  ;  and 
when  the  king  had  fitted  the  bow  for  shoot- 
ing, Elisha  took  hold  of  his  hands  and 
bade  him  shoot;  and  when  he  had  shot 
three  arrows,  and  then  left  off,  Elisha 
said,  u  If  thou  hadst  shot  more  arrows, 
thou  hadst  cut  the  kingdom  of  Syria  up 
by  the  roots ;  but  since  thou  hast  been 
satisfied  with  shooting  three  times  only, 
thou  shalt  fight,  and  beat  the  Syrians  no 
more  times  than  three,  that  thou  mayest  re- 
cover that  country  which  they  cut  off  from 
thy  kingdom  in  the  reign  of  thy  father/'  So 
when  the  king  had  heard  that,  he  depart- 
ed; and  a  little  while  after,  the  prophet 
died.  He  was  a  man  celebrated  for  right- 
eousness, and  in  eminent  favour  with 
\jrod.  He  also  performed  wonderful  and 
surprising  works  by  prophecy,  and  such 
as  were  gloriously  preserved  in  memory 

•  2  Kings  xLi.  11  contradicts  this  statement. 


by  the  Hebrews.  He  also  obtained  a 
magnificent  funeral,  such  an  one  indeed 
as  it  was  fit  a  person  so  beloved  of  God 
should  have.  It  also  happened,  that  at 
that  time  certain  robbers  cast  a  man, 
whom  they  had  slain,  into  Elisha' s  grave, 
and  upon  his  dead  body  coming  close  to 
Elisha's  body,  it  revived  again.  And 
thus  far  have  we  enlarged  about  the  ac- 
tions of  Elisha  the  prophet,  both  such  as 
he  did  while  he  was  alive,  and  how  ho 
had  a  divine  power  after  his  death  also. 

Now  upon  the  death  of  Hazael,  the 
king  of  Syria,  that  kingdom  came  to 
Adad,  his  son,  with  whom  Joash,  king  of 
Israel  made  war ;  and  when  he  had  beat- 
en him  in  three  battles,  he  took  from  him 
all  that  country,  and  all  those  cities  and 
villages  which  his  father  Hazael  had  taken 
from  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  which  came 
to  pass,  however,  according  to  the  pro- 
phecy of  Elisha.  But  when  Joash  hap- 
pened to  die,  he  was  buried  in  Samaria ; 
and  the  government  devolved  on  his  son 
Jeroboam. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Amaziah  conquers  the  Edomites  and  Amalekites 
— makes  war  against  Joash — is  defeated  and 
slain — Uzziah  succeeds  him. 

Now,  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign 
of  Joash  over  Israel,  Amaziah  reigned 
over  the  tribe  of  Judah  in  Jerusalem.* 
His  mother's  name  was  Jehoaddan,  who 
was  born  at  Jerusalem.  He  was  exceed- 
ing careful  of  doing  what  was  right,  and 
this  when  he  was  very  young;  but  when 
he  came  to  the  management  of  affairs, 
and  to  the  government,  he  resolved  that 
he  ought  first  of  all  to  avenge  his  father 
Jehoash,  and  to  punish  those  his  friends 
that  had  laid  violent  hands  upon  him ;  so 
he  seized  upon  them  all,  and  put  them  to 
death;  yet  did  he  execute  no  severity  on 
their  children,  out  acted  therein  according 
to  the  laws  of  Moses,  who  did  not  think 
it  just  to  punish  children  for  the  sins  of 
their  fathers.  After  this  he  chose  him- 
self au  army  out  of  the  tribe  of  Ju  lab 
and  Benjamin,  of  such  as  were  in  the 
flower  of  their  age,  and  about  twenty 
years  old ;  and  when  he  had  collected 
about  300,000  of  them  together,  he  set 
captains  of  hundreds  over  them.  He  also 
sent  to  the  king  of  Israel,  and  hired 
100,000  of  his  soldiers  for  100  talents  of 

*  2  Kings  xiv. 


Chai.TX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


297 


silver,  for  ho  had  resolved  to  make  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  nations  of  the  Ama- 
lekites,  and  Edomites,  and  GJ-eballites  :  but 
as  he  was  preparing  for  his  expedition, 
and  ready  to  go  out  to  the  war,  a  prophet 
gave  him  counsel  to  dismiss  the  army  of 
the  Israelites,  because  they  were  bad  men, 
and  because  God  foretold  that  he  should 
be  beaten,  if  he  made  use  of  them  as  auxi- 
liaries; but  that  he  should  overcome  Ins 
enemies,  though  he  had  but  a  few  sol- 
diers, when  it  so  pleased  God.  And  when 
the  king  grudged  at  his  having  already 
paid  the  hire  of  the  Israelites,  the  pro- 
phet exhorted  him  to  do  what  God  would 
have  him,  because  he  would  thereby  ob- 
tain much  wealth  from  God.  So  he  dis- 
missed them,  and  said,  that  he  still  freely 
gave  them  their  pay,  and  went  himself 
with  his  own  army,  and  made  war  with 
the  nations  before  mentioned  ;  and  when 
he  had  beaten  them  in  battle,  he  slew 
10,000  of  them  and  took  as  many  prison- 
ers alive,  whom  he  brought  to  the  great 
rock  which  is  in  Arabia,  and  threw  them 
dowu  from  it  headlong.  He  also  brought 
away  a  great  deal  of  prey  and  vast  riches 
from  those  nations;  but  while  Amaziah 
was  engaged  in  this  expedition,  those  Is- 
raelites whom  he  had  hired  and  then  dis- 
missed, were  very  uneasy  at  it,  and  tak- 
ing their  dismission  for  an  affront,  (as 
supposing  that  this  would  not  have  been 
done  to  them  but  out  of  contempt,)  they 
fell  upon  his  kingdom,  and  proceeded  to 
ppoil  the  counrry  as  far  as  Beth-horon, 
and  took  much  cattle,  and  slew  3000 
men. 

Now  upon  the  victory  which  Amaziah 
had  obtained,  and  the  great  acts  he  had 
done,  he  was  puffed  up,  and  began  to 
overlook  God,  who  had  given  him  the 
victory,  and  proceeded  to  worship  the 
gods  he  had  brought  out  of  the  country 
of  the  Amalekites.  So  a  prophet  came 
to  him,  and  said,  that  he  wondered  how 
he  could  esteem  those  to  be  gods,  who 
had  been  of  no  advantage  to  their  own 
people  who  paid  them  honours,  nor  had 
delivered  them  from  his  hands,  but  had 
overlooked  the  destruction  of  many  of 
them,  and  had  suffered  themselves  to  be 
carried  captive,  for  that  they  had  been 
carried  to  Jerusalem  in  the  same  manner 
as  any  one  might  have  taken  some  of  the 
enemy  alive,  and  led  them  thither.  This 
reproof  provoked  the  king  to  anger,  and 
he  commanded  the  prophet  to  hold  his 
peace,  and  threatened  to   punish   him  if 


he  meddled  with  his  conduct.  So  he  re« 
plied,  that  he  should  indeed  hold  hi? 
peace ;  but  foretold  withal,  that  God 
would  not  overlook  his  attempts  for  inno- 
vation ;  but  Amaziah  was  not  able  to 
contain  himself  under  that  prosperity 
which  God  had  given  him,  although  he 
had  affronted  God  thereupon  ;  but  in  a 
vein  of  insolence  he  wrote  to  Joash,  the 
king  of  Israel,  and  commanded  that  he 
and  all  his  people  should  be  obedient  to 
him,  as  they  had  formerly  been  to  his 
progenitors,  David  and  Solomon;  and  he 
let  him  know,  that  if  he  would  not  be  so 
wise  as  to  do  what  he  commanded  him, 
he  must  fight  for  his  dominion.  To 
which  message  Joash  returned  this  an- 
swer in  writing  : — "  King  Joash  to  King 
Amaziah.  There  was  a  vastly  tall  cy- 
press-tree in  Mount  Lebanon,  as  also  a 
thistle ;  this  thistle  sent  to  the  .cypress- 
tree  to  give  the  cypress-tree's  daughter  in 
marriage  to  the  thistle's  son ;  but  as  the 
thistle  was  saying  this,  there  came  a 
wild  beast,  and  trode  down  the  thistle  : 
and  this  may  be  a  lesson  to  thee,  not  to 
be  so  ambitious,  and  to  have  a  care,  lest, 
upon  thy  good  success  in  the  fight  against 
the  Amalekites,  thou  growest  so  proud, 
as  to  bring  dangers  upon  thyself,  and  up 
on  thy  kingdom. " 

When  Amaziah  had  read  this  letter,  he 
was  more  eager  upon  this  expedition : 
which,  I  suppose,  was  by  the  impulse  of 
God,  that  he  might  be  punished  for  his 
offence  against  him.  But  as  soon  as  he 
led  out  his  army  against  Joash,  and  they 
were  going  to  join  battle  with  him,  there 
came  such  a  fear  and  consternation  upon 
the  army  of  Amaziah,  as  God,  when  he  is 
displeased,  sends  upon  men,  and  discom- 
fited them,  even  before  they  came  to  a  close 
fight.  Now  it  happened,  that  as  they  were 
scattered  about  by  the  terror  that  wan 
upon  them,  Amaziah  was  left  alone,  and 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  enemy:  where- 
upon  Joash  threatened  to  kill  him,  unless 
he  would  persuade  the  people  of  Jerusalem 
to  open  their  gates  to  him,  and  receive 
him  and  his  army  into  the  city.  Accord- 
ingly, Amaziah  was  so  distressed,  and  in 
such  fear  of  his  life,  that  he  made  his  ene- 
my to  be  received  into  the  city.  So  Joa^h 
overthrew  a  part  of  the  wall,  of  the  length 
of  400  cubits,  and  drove  his  chariot 
through  the  breaeh  into  Jerusale?n,  aud 
led  Amaziah  captive  along  with  him ;  by 
which  means  he  became  master  of  Jerusa- 
lem   and  took  away  the  treasures  of  God, 


298 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


and  carried  off  ail  the  gold  and  silver  that 
was  in  the  king's  palace,  and  then  freed 
the  king  from  captivity,  and  returned  to 
Samaria.  Now  these  things  happened  to 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Amaziah,  who  after  this 
had  a  conspiracy  made  against  him  by  his 
friends,  and  fled  to  the  city  of  Lachish, 
and  was  there  slain  by  the  conspirators, 
who  sent  men  thither  to  kill  him.  So 
they  took  up  his  dead  body,  and  carried 
it  to  Jerusalem,  and  made  a  royal  funeral 
for  him.  This  was  the  end  of  the  life  of 
Amaziah,  because  of  his  innovations  in 
religion,  and  his  contempt  of  God,  when 
he  had  lived  fifty-four  years,  and  reigned 
twenty-nine.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  whose  name  was  Uzziah. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Jeroboam  II.  reigns  over  Israel — Death  of  Jero- 
boam— his  son  succeeds  him — Uzziah,  king  of 
Jerusalem,  subdues  the  nations  round  about. 

In  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Amaziah,  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Joash 
reigned  over  Israel  in  Samaria  forty  years. 
The  king  was  guilty  of  contumely  against 
Cod,*  and  became  very  wicked  in  wor- 
shipping of  idols,  and  in  many  undertak- 
ings that  were  absurd  and  foreign.  He 
was  also  the  cause  of  ten  thousand  misfor- 
tunes to  the  people  of  Israel.  Now  one 
Jonah,  a  prophet,  foretold  to  him  tjbat  he 
should  make  war  with  the  Syrians,  and 
conquer  their  army,  and  enlarge  the 
bounds  of  his  kingdom  on  the  northern 
parts  to  the  city  Hamath,  and  on  the 
southern  to  the  lake  Asphaltitis ;  for  the 
bounds  of  the  Canaanites  originally  were 
these,  as  Joshua  their  general  had  deter- 
mined them.  So  Jeroboam  made  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Syrians,  and  overran 
all  their  country,  as  Jonah  had  foretold. 

Now  I  cannot  but  think  it  necessary  for 
me,  who  have  promised  to  give  an  accurate 
account  of  our  afiairs,  to  describe  the  ac- 
tions of  this  prophet,  so  far  as  I  have 
found  them  written  down  in  the  Hebrew 
books.  Jonah  had  been  commanded  by 
God  to  go  to  the  kingdom  of  Nineveh ; 
end,  when  he  was  there,  to  publish  it  in 
that  city,  how  it  should  lose  the  dominion 
:t  had  over  the  nations.  But  he  went  not, 
">ut  of  feai ;  nay,  he  ran  away  from  God 
to  the  city  of  Joppa,  and  finding  a  ship 
there,  he  went  into  it,  and  sailed  to  Tar- 

*  See  2  Kings  xiv.  27. 


sus,  to  Cilicia  ;*  and  upon  the  rise  of  a 
most  terrible  storm,  which  was  so  great 
that  the  ship  was  in  danger  of  sinking,  the 
mariners,  the  master,  and  the  pilot  him- 
self, made  prayers  and  vows,  in  case  they 
escaped  the  sea.  But  Jonah  lay  still  and 
covered  [in  the  ship],  without  imitating 
any  thing  that  the  others  did;  but  as  the 
waves  grew  greater,  and  the  sea  became 
more  violent  by  the  winds,  they  suspected, 
as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  that  some  one  of 
the  persons  that  sailed  with  them  was  the 
occasion  of  this  storm,  and  agreed  to  dis- 
cover by  lot  which  of  them  it  was.  When 
they  had  cast  lots,  the  lot  fell  upon  the 
prophet ;  and  when  they  asked  him  whenco 
he  came,  and  what  he  had  done,  he  re- 
plied, that  he  was  an  Hebrew  by  nation, 
and  a  prophet  of  Almighty  God ;  and  he 
persuaded  them  to  cast  him  into  the  sea, 
if  they  would  escape  the  danger  they  were 
in,  for  that  he  was  the  occasion  of  the 
storm  which  was  upon  them.  Now  at  the 
first  they  durst  not  do  so,  as  esteeming  it 
a  wicked  thing  to  cast  a  man,  who  was  a 
stranger,  and  who  had  committed  his  life 
to  them,  into  such  manifest  perdition;  but 
at  last,  when  their  misfortunes  overbore 
them,  and  the  ship  was  just  going  to  [sink] 
be  drowned,  and  when  they  were  ani- 
mated to  do  it  by  the  prophet  himself,  and 
by  the  fear  concerning  their  own  safety, 
they  cast  him  into  the  sea ;  upon  which 
the  sea  became  calm.  It  is  also  related 
that  Jonah  was  swallowed  down  by  a 
whale  [or  large  fish],")"  and  that  when  he 
had  been  there  three  days,  and  as  many 
nights,  he  was  vomited  out  upon  the 
Euxine  Sea,  and  this  alive,  and  without 
any  hurt  upon  his  body;  and  there,  on  hig 
prayer  to  God,  he  obtained  pardon  for  his 
sins,  and  went  to  the  city  Nineveh,  where 
he  stood  so  as  to  be  heard;  and  preached, 
that  in  a  very  little  time  they  should  lose 


*  (Jonah  i.  3,)  Josephus  understood  that  he  went 
to  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  or  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
upon  which  Tarsus  lay  j  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
read  the  text,  1  Kings  xxii.  4S,  as  our  copies  do, 
that  ships  of  Tarshish  could  lie  at  Ezion  G-eber,  up- 
on the  Red  Sea ;  Josephus's  assertion,  that  Jonah's 
fish  was  carried  by  the  strength  of  the  current,  upon 
a  storm,  as  far  as  the  Euxine  Sea,  is  noway  im- 
possible ;  and  since  the  storm  might  have  driven 
the  ship,  while  Jonah  was  in  it,  near  to  that  Euxine 
Sea,  and  since  in  three  more  days,  while  he  was  in 
the  fish's  belly,  that  current  might  bring  him  to  the 
Assyrian  coast;  and  since  withal  that  coast  would 
bring  him  nearer  to  Nineveh  than  would  any  coast 
of  the  Mediterranean,  it  is  by  no  means  an  impro- 
bable (^termination  in  Josephus. 

f  Whales  have  never  been  found  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean ;  the  particular  sort  of  fish  is  not  known- 


Chap  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


299 


the  dominion  of  Asia;  and  when  he  had 
published  this,  he  returned.  Now,  I  have 
given  this  account  about  him,  as  I  found 
it  written  [in  our  books]. 

When  Jeroboam  the  king  had  passed 
his  life  in  great  happiness,  and  had  ruled 
forty  years,  he  died,  and  was  buried  in 
1  Samaria,  and  his  son  Zechariah  took  the 
kingdom.  After  the  same  manner  did 
Uzziah,  the  son  of  Amaziah,  begin  to  reign 
over  the  two  tribes  in  Jerusalem,  in  the 
fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam. 
He  was  born  of  Jecoliah,  his  mother,  who 
was  a  citizen  of  Jerusalem.  He  was  a 
good  man,  and  by  nature  righteous  and 
magnanimous,  and  very  laborious  in  taking 
care  of  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom.  He 
made  an  expedition  also  against  the  Phi- 
listines, and  overcame  them  in  battle,  and 
took  the  cities  of  Gath  and  Jabneh,  and 
brake  down  their  walls  ;  after  which  expe- 
dition, he  assaulted  those  Arabs  that  ad- 
joined to  Egypt.  He  also  built  a  city 
upon  the  Red  Sea,  and  put  a  garrison  into 
it.  Pie  after  this  overthrew  the  Ammon- 
ites, and  appointed  that  they  should  pay 
tribute.  He  also  overcame  all  the  coun- 
tries as  far  as  the  bounds  of  Egypt,  and 
then  began  to  take  care  of  Jerusalem  itself 
for  the  rest  of  his  life ;  for  he  rebuilt  and 
repaired  all  those  parts  of  the  wall  which 
had  either  fallen  down  by  length  of  time, 
or  by  the  carelessness  of  the  kings  his  pre- 
decessors, as  well  as  all  that  part  which 
had  been  thrown  down  by  the  king  of 
Israel,  when  he  took  his  father  Amaziah 
prisoner,  and  entered  with  him  into  the 
city.  Moreover,  he  built  a  great  many 
towers,  of  150  cubits  high,  and  built  walled 
towns  in  desert  places,  and  put  garrisons 
into  them,  and  dug  many  channels  for 
conveyance- of  water.  He  had  also  many 
beasts  for  labour,  and  an  immense  num- 
ber of  cattle ;  for  his  country  was  fit  for 
pasturage.  He  was  also  given  to  hus- 
bandry, and  took  care  to  cultivate  the 
ground,  and  planted  it  with  all  sorts  of 
plants,  and  sowed  it  with  all  sorts  of  seeds. 
He  had  also  about  him  an  army,  composed 
of  chosen  men,  in  number  370,000,  who 
were  governed  by  general  officers,  and 
captains  of  thousands,  who  were  men  of 
valour  and  of  unconquerable  strength, 
'2000  in  number.  He  also  divided  his 
whole  army  into  bands,  and  armed  them, 
giving  every  one  a  Sword,  with  brazen 
bucklers  and  breastplates,  with  bows  and 
slings  j  and  besides  these,  he  made  for 
theui  many  engines  of  war  for  besieging 


cities,  such  as  cast  stones  and  darts,  with 
grapplers,  and  other  instruments  of  that 
sort. 

While  Uzziah  was  in  this  state,  and 
making  preparations  [for  the  future],  he 
was  corrupted  in  his  mind  by  pride,  and 
became  insolent,  and  this  on  account  of 
that  abundance  which  he  had  of  things, 
that  will  soon  perish,  and  despised  that  * 
power  which  is  of  eternal  duration  (which 
consisted  in  piety  toward  God,  and  in  the 
observation  of  his  laws ;)  so  he  fell,  by  oc- 
casion of  the  good  success  of  his  affairs,, 
and  was  carried  headlong  into  those  sins 
of  his  father,  which  the  splendour  of  that 
prosperity  he  enjoyed,  and  the  glorious 
actions  he  had  done,  led  him  into,  while 
he  was  not  able  to  govern  himself  well 
about  them.  Accordingly,  when  a  re- 
markable day  was  come,  and  a  general 
festival  was  to  be  celebrated,  he  put  on 
the  holy  garment,  and  went  into  the  tem- 
ple to  offer  incense  to  God  upon  the  golden 
altar,  which  he  was  prohibited  to  do  by 
Azariah  the  high  priest,  who  had  eighty 
priests  with  him,  and  who  told  him  that  it 
was  not  lawful  for  him  to  offer  sacrifice, 
and  that  "none  besides  the  posterity  of 
Aaron  were  permitted  so  to  do."  And 
when  they  cried  out,  that  he  must  go  out 
of  the  temple,  and  not  transgress  against 
God,  he  was  wroth  at  them,  and  threat- 
ened to  kill  them,  unless  they  would  hold 
their  peace.  In  the  mean  time,  a  great 
earthquake  shook  the  ground,*  and  a  rent 
was  made  in  the  temple,  and  the  bright 
rays  of  the  sun  shone  through  it,  and  fell 
upon  the  king's  face,  insomuch  that  the 
leprosy  seized  upon  him  immediately  ;  and 
before  the  city,  at  a  place  called  Enroge, 
half  the  mountain  broke  off  from  the  rest 
on  the  west,  and  rolled  itself  four  furlongs, 
and  stood  still  at  the  east  mountain,  till  the 
roads,  as  well  as  the  king's  gardens,  were 
spoiled  by  the  obstruction.  Now,  as  soon 
as  the  priests  saw  that  the  king's  face  was 
infected  with  the  leprosy,  they  told  him 
of  the  calamity  he  was  under,  and  com- 
manded that  he  should  go  out  of  the  city 
as  a  polluted  person.  Hereupon  he  was 
so  confounded  at  the  sad  distemper,  and 
sensible  that  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  3on- 
tradict  that,  he  did  as  he  was  commanded, 


*  This  account  of  an  earthquake  At  Jerusalem  is 
entirely  wanting  in  our  other  '-.opios,  though  simi- 
lar to  a  prophecy  in  Ze^h.  xiv.  \,  b  ;  in  whi  :h  men- 
tion is  made  of  "  fleeing  fron  that  earthquake,  as 
they  tied  from  this  earthquake  in  the  ilaye  oC  U& 
ziah,  king  of  Judah." 


300 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


and  underwent  this  miserable  and  terrible 
punishment,  for  an  intention  beyond  what 
befitted  a  man  to  have,  and  for  that  im- 
piety against  God  which  was  implied 
therein.  So  he  abode  out  of  the  city  for 
some  time,  and  lived  a  private  life,  while 
his  son  Jotham  took  the  government ;  after 
which  he  died  with  grief  and  anxiety  at 
what  had  happened  to  him,  when  he  had 
lived  sixty-eight  years,  and  reigned  of 
them  fifty-two ;  and  was  buried  by  him- 
self in  his  own  gardens. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Zechariah,  Shallum,  Menahem,  Pekahiah,  and  Pe- 
kah  reign  over  Israel — Pul  and  Tiglath-Pileser 
war  against  the  Israelites — Jotham  reigns  over 
Judah — Nahuin  prophesies  against  the  Assyrians. 

Now  when  Zechariah,  the  son  of  Jero- 
boam, had  reigned  six  months  over  Israel, 
he  was  slain  by  the  treachery  of  a  certain 
friend  of  his,  whose  name  was  Shallum, 
the  son  of  Jabesh,  who  took  the  kingdom 
afterward,  but  kept  it  no  longer  than 
thirty  days ;  for  Menahem,  the  general  of 
his  army,  who  was  at  that  time  in  the  city 
of  Tirzah,  and  heard  of  what  had  befallen 
Zechariah,  removed  thereupon  with  all  his 
forces  to  Samaria,  and  joining  battle  with 
Shallum,  slew  him ;  and  when  he  had 
made  himself  king,  he  went  thence,  and 
came  to  the  city  Tiphsah ;  but  the  citi- 
eens  that  were  in  it  shut  their  gates,  and 
barred  them  against  the  king,  and  would 
not  admit  him  ;  but  in  order  to  be  avenged 
on  them,  he  burnt  the  country  round  about 
it,  and  took  the  city  by  force,  upon  a  siege; 
and  being  very  much  displeased  at  what 
the  inhabitants  of  Tiphsah  had  done,  he 
slew  them  all,  and  spared  not  so  much  as 
the  infants,  without  omitting  the  utmost 
instances  of  cruelty  and  barbarity;  for  he 
used  such  severity  upon  his  own  country- 
men, as  would  not  be  pardonable  with  re- 
gard to  strangers  who  had  been  conquered 
by  him.  And  after  this  manner  it  was 
that  this  Menahem  continued  to  reign  with 
cruelty  and  barbarity  for  ten  years :  but 
when  Pul,  king  of  Assyria,  had  made  an 
expedition  against  him,  he  did  not  think 
meet  to  fight  or  engage  in  battle  with  the 
Assyrians,  but  he  persuaded  hinj  to  accept 
of  1000  talents  of  silver,  and  to  go  away, 

d  so  put  an  end  to  the  war.  This  sum 
the  multitude  collected  for  Menahem,  by 
exacting  fifty  drachmas  as  poll-money  for 
every  head;  after  which  he  died,  and  was 
buried  in  Samaria,  and  left  his  son  Peka- 


|  hiah  his  successor  in  the  kingdom,  who 
followed  the  barbarity  of  his  father,  and 
so  ruled  but  two  years  only,  after  which 
he  was  slain  with  his  friends  at  a  feast,  by 
the  treachery  of  one  Pekah,  the  general  of 
his  horse,  and  the  son  of  Remaliah,  who 
had  laid  snares  for  him.  Now  this  Pekah 
held  the  government  twenty  years,  and  < 
proved  a  wicked  man  and  a  transgressor. 
But  the  king  of  Assyria,  whose  name  was 
Tiglath-Pileser,  when  he  had  made  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Israelites,  and  had 
overrun  all  the  land  of  Gilead,  and  the 
region  beyond  Jordan,  and  the  adjoining 
country,  which  is  called  Galilee,  and  Ka- 
desh,  and  Hazor,  he  made  the  inhabitants 
prisoners,  and  transplanted  them  into  his 
own  kingdom.  And  so  much  shall  suffice 
to  have  related  here  concerning  the  king 
of  Assyria. 

Now  Jotham,  the  son  of  Uzziah, 
reigned  over  the  tribe  of  Judah  in  Je- 
rusalem, being  a  citizen  thereof  by  his 
mother,  whose  name  was  Jerusha.  This 
king  was  not  defective  in  any  virtue,  but 
was  religious  toward  God,  and  righteous 
toward  men,  and  careful  of  the  good  of 
the  city;  (for  what  part  soever  wauted  to 
be  repaired  or  adorned,  he  magnificently 
repaired  and  adorned  them.)  He  also 
took  care  of  the  foundations  of  the 
cloisters  in  the  temple,  and  repaired  the 
walls  that  had  fallen  down,  and  built 
very  great  towers,  and  such  as  were 
almost  impregnable ;  and  if  any  thing 
else  in  his  kingdom  had  been  neglected, 
he  took  great  care  of  it.  He  also  made 
an  expedition  against  the  Ammonites, 
and  overcame  them  in  battle,  and  ordered 
them  to  pay  tribute,  one  hundred  talents, 
and  10,000  cori  of  wheat,  and  as  many 
of  barley,  every  year,  and  so  augmented 
his  kingdom  that  his  enemies  could  not 
despise  it;  and  his  own  people  lived 
happily. 

Now  there  was  at  that  time  a  prophet, 
whose  name  was  Nahum,  who  spake 
after  this  manner  concerning  the  over- 
throw of  the  Assyrians  and  of  Nineveh: 
"  Nineveh  shall^  be  a  pool  of  water  in 
motion;*    so    shall    all    her    people    be 


This  passage  is  taken  out  of  the  prophet  Nahum, 
ch.  ii.  8-13  and  is  the  principal,  or  rather  the  only 
one  that  is  given  us  almost  verbatim,  but  a  little 
abridged,  in  all  Josephus's  known  writings,  by 
which  quotation  we  learn  what  he  himself  always 
asserts,  viz.  that  he  made  use  of  the  Hebrew  ori- 
ginal [and  not  of  the  Greek  version] ;  as  also  we 
learn  that  his  Hebrew  copy  considerably  differed 
from  ours. 


CifAP.XIL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


301 


troulled,  and  tossed,  and  go  away  by 
flight,  while  they  say  one  to  another, 
Stand,  stand  still,  seize  their  gold  and 
silver,  for  there  shall  be  no  one  to  wish 
them  well,  for  they  will  rather  save  their 
lives  than  their  money;  for  a  terrible 
contention  shall  possess  them  one  with 
another,  and  lamentation,  and  loosing  of 
the  members,  and  their  countenances 
shall  be  perfectly  black  with  fear.  And 
there  will  be  the  den  of  the  lions,  and 
the  mother  of  the  young  lions !  God 
says  to  thee,  Nineveh,  that  they  shall 
deface  thee,  and  the  lion  shall  no  longer 
go  nut  from  thee  to  give  laws  to  the 
world. "  And  indeed,  this  prophet  pro- 
phesied many  other  thiugs  besides  these 
concerning  Nineveh,  which  I  do  not  think 
necessary  to  repeat,  and  I  here  omit  them, 
that  I  may  not  appear  troublesome  to  my 
readers;  all  which  things  happened  to 
Nineveh  about  115  years  afterward  :  so 
this  may  suffice  to  have  spoken  of  these 
matters. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Death  of  Jotham ;  Ahaz  reigns  in  his  stead — Re- 
en,  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah,  king  of  Israel, 
make  war — Tiglath-Pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  as- 
sists Ahaz — lays  Syria  waste — removes  the  Da- 
mascenes into  Media — places  other  nations  in 
their  room. 

Now  Jotham  died  when  he  had  lived 
forty-one  years,  and  of  them  reigned 
sixteen,  and  was  buried  in  the  sepulchres 
of  the  kings ;  and  the  kingdom  came  to 
his  son  Ahaz,  who  proved  most  impious 
toward  God,  and  a  transgressor  of  the 
laws  of  his  country.*  He  imitated  the 
kings  of  Israel,  and  reared  altars  in  Je- 
rusalem, and  offered  sacrifices  upon  them 
to  idols ;  to  which  also  he  offered  his  own 
son  as  a  burnt-offering,  according  to  the 
practices  of  the  Canaanites.  His  other 
actions  were  also  of  the  same  sort.  Now 
an  he  was  going  on  in  this  mad  course, 
Rezin,  the  king  of  Syria  and  Damascus, 
and  Pekah,  the  king  of  Israel,  who  were 
now  at  amity  with  one  another,  made  war 
with  him;  and  when  they  had  driven 
him  into  Jerusalem,  they  besieged  that 
city  a  long  while,  making  but  a  small 
progress,  on  account  of  the  strength  of 
it.s  walls ;  and  when  the  king  of  Syria 
had  taken  the  city  Elath,  upon  the  lied 
Sea,  and  had  slain  the  inhabitants,  he 
peopled   it  with   Syrians;   and    when    he 


*  2  Kings  xvi.  2  et  seq. 


had  slain  those  in  the  [other]  garrisons, 
and  the  Jews  in  their  neighbourhood,  and 
had  driven  away  much  prey,  he  returned 
with  his  army  back  to  Damascus.  Now 
when  the  king  of  Jerusalem  knew  that 
the  Syrians  had  returned  home,  he,  sup- 
posing himself  a  match  for  the  king  of 
Israel,  drew  out  his  army  against  him, 
and  joining  battle  with  him,  was  beaten; 
and  this  happened  because  God  was  angry 
with  him,  on  account  of  his  many  and 
great  enormities.  Accordingly,  there 
were  slain  by  the  Israelites  120,000  of 
his  men  that  day,  whose  general,  Ama- 
ziah  by  name,  slew  Zechariah  the  king's 
son  in  his  conflict  with  Ahaz,  as  well  as 
the  governor  of  the  kingdom,  whose  name 
was  Azricam.  He  also  carried  Elkanah, 
the  general  of  the  troops  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  into  captivity.  They  also  carried 
the  women  and  children  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin  captive;  and  when  they  had 
gotten  a  great  deal  of  prey,  they  returned 
to  Samaria. 

Now  there  was  one  Obed,  w?ho  was  a 
prophet  at  that  time  in  Samaria ;  he  met 
the  army  before  the  city  walls,  and  with 
a  loud  voice  told  them  that  they  had  got- 
ten the  victory  not  by  their  own  strength, 
but  by  reason  of  the  anger  of  God  against 
King  Ahaz.  And  he  complained,  that 
they  were  not  satisfied  with  the  good  suc- 
cess they  had  against  him,  but  were  so 
bold  as  to  make  captives  out  of  their  kins- 
men, the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin. 
He  also  gave  them  counsel  to  let  them  go 
home  without  doing  them  any  harm,  for 
that  if  they  did  not  obey  God  herein, 
they  should  be  punished.  So  the  people 
of  Israel  came  together  to  their  assembly, 
and  considered  of  these  matters,  when  a 
man  whose  name  was  Berechiah,  and  who 
was  one  of  chief  reputation  in  the  go- 
vernment, stood  up,  and  three  others  with 
him,  and  said,  "  We  will  not  suffer  the 
citizens  to  bring  these  prisoners  into  the 
city,  lest  we  be  all  destroyed  by  God ;  we 
have  sins  enough  of  our  own  that  we 
have  committed  against  him,  as  the  pro- 
phets assure  us ;  nor  ought  we,  therefore, 
to  introduce  the  practice  of  new  crimes. " 
When  the  soldiers  heard  that,  they  per- 
mitted them  to  do  what  they  thought 
best.  So  the  forenamed  men  took  the 
captives  and  let  them  go,  and  took  care 
of  them,  and  gave  them  provisions,  and 
Bent  them  to  their  own  country,  without 
doing  them  any  harm.  However,  these 
four  went  along  with  them  cud  conducted 


302 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IX. 


them  as  far  as  Jericho,  which  is  not  far 
from  Jerusalem,  and  returned  to  Samaria. 
Hereupon,  King  Ahaz,  having  been  so 
thoroughly  beaten  by  the  Israelites,  sent 
to  Tiglath-Pileser,  king  of  the  Assyrians, 
and  sued  for  assistance  from  him  in  his 
war  against  the  Israelites,  and  Syrians, 
and  Damascenes,  with  a  promise  to  send 
him  much  money;  he  sent  him  also  great 
presents  at  the  same  time.  Now  this 
king,  upon  the  reception  of  thos#  ambas- 
sadors, came  to  assist  Ahaz,  and^ade  war 
upon  the  Syrians,  and  laid  their  country 
waste,  and  took  Damascus  by  force,  and 
slew  Rezin  their  king,  and  transplanted 
the  people  of  Damascus  into  the  Upper 
Media,  and  brought  a  colony  of  Assyrians, 
and  planted  them  in  Damascus.  He  also 
afflicted  the  land  of  Israel,  and  took  many 
captives  out  of  it.  While  he  was  do- 
ing thus  with  the  Syrians,  King  Ahaz 
took  all  the  gold  that  was  in  the  king's 
treasures,  and  the  silver,  and  what  was  in 
the  temple  of  God,  and  what  precious 
gifts  were  there,  and  he  carried  them  with 
him,  and  came  to  Damascus,  and  gave  it 
to  the  king  of  Assyria,  according  to  his 
agreement.  So  he  confessed  that  he  owed 
him  thanks  for  all  that  he  had  done  for 
him,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem.  Now 
this  king  was  so  sottish  and  thoughtless 
of  what  was  for  his  own  good,  that  he 
would  not  leave  off  worshipping  the  Sy- 
rian gods  when  he  was  beaten  by  them, 
but  he  went  on  in  worshipping  them,  as 
though  they  would  procure  him  -the  vic- 
tory ;  and  when  he  was  beaten  again  he 
began  to  honour  the  gods  of  the  Assyri- 
ans ;  and  he  seemed  more  desirous  to  ho- 
nour any  other  gods  than  his  own  pater- 
nal and  true  God,  whose  anger  was  the 
cause  of  his  defeat :  nay,  he  proceeded  to 
such  a  degree  of  despite  and  contempt 
[of  God's  worship],  that  he  shut  up  the 
temple  entirely,  and  forbade  them  to  bring 
in  the  appointed  sacrifices,  and  took  away 
the  gifts  that  had  been  given  to  it.  And 
when  he  had  offered  these  indignities  to 
God,  he  died,  having  lived  thirty-six  years, 
and  out  of  them  reigned  sixteen ;  and  he 
left  his  son  Hezekiah  for  his  successor. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Pckah  dies  by  the  treachery  of  Hoshea — who  is 
subdued  by  Slmlmaneser — Hezekiah  succeeds, 
and  restores  the  true  religion. 

About  the  same  time  Pekah,  the  king 
of  Israel,    died,  by   the    treachery  of   a 


friend  of  his,  whose  name  was  Hoshea/ 
who  retained  the  kingdom  nine  years' 
time ;  but  was  a  wicked  man,  and  a  de* 
spiser  of  the  divine  worship:  and  Shal- 
maneser,  the  king  of  Assyria,  made  an 
expedition  against  him,  and  overcame 
him,  (which  must  have  been  because  he 
had  not  God  favourable  nor  assistant  to 
him,)  and  brought  him  to  submission, 
and  ordered  him  to  pay  an  appointed  tri- 
bute. Now  in  the  fourth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Hoshea,  Hezekiah,  the  son  of 
Ahaz,  began  to  reign  in  Jerusalem ;  and 
his  mother's  name  was  Abijah,  a  citizen 
of  Jerusalem.  His  nature  was  good,  and 
righteous,  and  religious;  for  when  he 
came  to  the  kingdom,  he  thought  that  no- 
thing was  prior  or  more  necessary,  or 
more  advantageous  to  himself  and  to  his 
subjects,  than  to  worship  God.  Accord- 
ingly, he  called  the  people  together,  and 
the  priests,  and  the  Levites,  and  made  a 
speech  to  them,  and  said,  "  You  are  not 
ignorant  how,  by  the  sins  of  my  father, 
who  transgressed  that  sacred  honour 
which  was  due  to  God,  you  have  had  ex- 
perience of  many  and  great  miseries, 
while  you  were  corrupted  in  your  mind 
by  him,  and  were  induced  to  worship 
those  which  he  supposed  to  be  gods :  I 
exhort  you,  therefore,  who  have  learned 
by  sad  experience  how  dangerous  a  thing 
impiety  is,  to  put  that  immediately  out  of 
your  memory,  and  to  purify  yourselves 
from  your  former  pollutions,  and  to  open 
the  temple  to  these  priests  and  Levites 
who  are  here  convened,  and  to  cleanse  it 
with  the  accustomed  sacrifices,  and  to  re-t 
cover  all  to  the  ancient  honour  which  our 
fathers  paid  to  it;  for  by  this  means  we 
may  render  God  favourable,  and  he  will 
remit  the  anger  he  hath  had  to  us." 

When  the  king  had  said  this,  the  priests 
opened  the  temple ;  and  when  they  had 
set  in  order  the  .vessels  of  God,  and  cast 
out  what  was  impure,  they  laid  the  ac- 
customed sacrifices  upon  the  altar.  The 
king  also  sent  to  the  countr}7  that  was  un- 
der him,  and  called  the  people  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  celebrate  ^.the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread,  for  it  had  been  intermitted  a  long 
time,  on  account  of  the  wickedness  of  the 
forementioned  kings.  He  also  sent  to 
the  Israelites,  and  exhorted  them  to  leave 
off  their  present  way  of  living,  and  to  re- 
turn to  their  ancient  practices,  and  to 
worship  God,  for  that  he  gave  them  leave 
to  come  to  Jerusalem,  and  to  celebrate, 
all  in  one  body,  the  feast  of  unleavened 


Chap.  XIV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


303 


bread ;  and  this  he  said  was  by  way  of 
invitation  only,  and  to  be  done  of  their 
own  good-will,  and  for  their  own  advan- 
tage, and  out  of  obedience  to  him,  be- 
cause it  would  make  them  happy.  But 
the  Israelites,  upon  the  coming  of  the 
ambassadors,  and  upon  their  laying  before 
them  what  they  had  in  charge  from  their 
own  king,  were  so  far  from  complying 
therewith,  that  they  laughed  the  ambas- 
sadors to  scorn,  and  mocked  them  as  fools : 
as  also  they  affronted  the  prophets  who 
gave  them  the  same  exhortations,  and 
foretold  what  they  would  suffer  if  they 
did  not  return  to  the  worship  of  God,  in- 
somuch, that  at  length  they  caught  them, 
and  slew  them ;  nor  did  this  degree  of 
transgressing  suffice  them,  but  they  had 
more  wicked  contrivances  than  what  have 
been  described :  nor  did  they  leave  off  be- 
fore God,  as  a  punishment  for  their  im- 
piety, brought  them  under  their  enemies  : 
but  of  that,  more  hereafter.  However, 
many-  there  were  of  the  tribe  of  Manas- 
seh,  and  of  Zebulon,  and  of  Issachar,  who 
were  obedient  to  what  the  prophets  ex- 
horted them  to  do,  and  returned  to  the 
worship  of  God.  Now  all  these  came 
running  to  Jerusalem,  to  Hezekiah,  that 
they  might  worship  God  [there]. 

When  these  men  were  come,  King  Heze- 
kiah went  up  into  the  temple,  with  the 
rulers,  and  all  the  people,  and  offered  for 
himself  seven  bulls,  and  as  many  rams, 
with  seven  lambs,  and  as  many  kids  of 
the  goats.  The  king  also  himself,  and 
the  rulers,  laid  their  hands  on  the  heads 
of  the  sacrifices,  and  permitted  the  priests 
to  complete  the  sacred  offices  about  them. 
So  they  both  slew  the  sacrifices  and  burnt 
the  burnt-offerings,  while  the  Levites  stood 
round  about  them,  with  their  musical  in- 
struments, and  sang  hymns  to  God,  and 
played  on  their  psalteries,  as  they  were 
instructed  by  David  to  do,  and  this  while 
the  rest  of  the  priests  returned  the  music, 
and  sounded  the  trumpets  which  they 
had  in  their  hands  :  and  when  this  was 
done,  the  king  and  the  multitude  threw 
themselves  down  upon  their  faces,  and 
worshipped  God.  He  also  granted  the 
multitude  sacrifices  to  feast  upon,  600  oxen, 
and  3000  other  cattle ;  and  the  priests 
performed  all  things  according  to  the  law. 
Now  the  king  was  so  pleased  herewith, 
that  he  feasted  with  the  people,  and  re- 
turned thanks  to  God  ;  but  as  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  was  now  come,  when 
they  had  offered   that   sacrifice  which  is 


called  the  passover,  they  after  that  offered 
other  sacrifices  for  seven  days.  When 
the  king  had  bestowed  on  the  multitude, 
besides  what  they  sanctified  of  themselves, 
2000  bulls,  and  7000  other  cattle,  the 
same  thing  was  done  by  the  rulers; 
for  they  gave  them  1000  bulls,  and  1040 
other  cattle.  Nor  had  this  festival  been 
so  well  observed  from  the  days  of  King 
Solomon,  as  it  was  now  observed,  with 
great  splendour  and  magnificence ;  and 
when  the  festival  was  ended,  they  went 
out  into  the  country,  and  purged  it;  and 
cleansed  the  city  of  all  the  pollution  of 
the  idols.  The  king  also  gave  order  that 
the  daily  sacrifices  should  be  offered,  at. 
his  own  charges,  and  according  to  the  law; 
and  appointed  that  the  tithes  and  the  first- 
fruits  should  be  given  by  the  multitude 
to  the  priests  and  Levites,  that  they  might 
constantly  attend  upon  divine  service,  and 
never  be  taken  off  from  the  worship  of 
God.  Accordingly,  the  multitude  brought 
together  all  sorts  of  their  fruits  to  the 
priests  and  the  Levites.  The  king  also 
made  garners  and  receptacles  for  these 
fruits,  and  distributed  them  to  every  one 
of  the  priests  and  Levites,  and  to  their 
children  and  wives ;  and  thus  did  they 
return  to  their  old  form  of  divine  wor- 
ship. Now  when  the  king  had  settled 
these  matters,  after  the  manner  already 
described,  he  made  war  upon  the  Philis- 
tines, and  beat  them,  and  possessed  him  • 
self  of  all  the  enemy's  cities,  from  Gaza 
to  Gath  ;  but  the  king  of  Assyria  sent  to 
him,  and  threatened  to  overturn  all  his 
dominions,  unless  he  would  pay  him  the 
tribute  which  his  father  paid  him  former- 
ly ;  but  King  Hezekiah  was  not  con- 
cerned at  his  threatenings,  but  depended 
on  his  piety  toward  God,  and  upon  Isaiah 
the  prophet,  by  whom  he  inquired  and 
accurately  knew  all  future  events  :  and 
thus  much  shall  suffice  for  the  present 
concerning  this  king  Hezekiah. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Shalmaneser  takes  Samaria  by  force — transplants 
the    Ten   Tribes  into  Media,   and  removes   tht 

Cutheans  into  Judea. 

i 

When  Shalmaneser,  the  king  of  Assy- 
ria, had  it  told  him  that  [Iloshea]  the, 
king  of  Israel  had  sent  privately  to  So, 
the  king  of  Egypt,  desiring  his  assistance 
against  him,  he  was  very  angry,  and  made 
an    expedition    against    Samaria,    in    the 


304 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IX.  Chap.  XIV. 


seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Hoshea  ;  but 
when  he  was  not  admitted  [into  the  city] 
by  the  king,  he  besieged  Samaria  three 
years,  and  took  it  by  force  in  the  ninth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Hoshea,  and  in  the 
seventh  year  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  quite  demolished  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Israelites,  and  transplanted 
all  the  people  into  Media  and  Persia, 
among  whom  he  took  King  Hoshea  alive : 
and  when  he  had  removed  these  people 
out  of  this  their  land,  he  transplanted 
other  nations  out  of  Cuthah,  a  place  so 
called,  (for  there  is  [still]  a  river  of  that 
name  in  Persia,)  into  Samaria,  and  into 
the  country  of  the  Israelites.  So  the  ten 
tribes  of  the  Israelites  were  removed  out 
of  Judea,  947  years  after  their  forefathers 
bad  come  out  of  Egypt  and  possessed 
themselves  of  this  country,  but  800  years 
after  Joshua  had  been  their  leader  ;  and, 
as  I  have  already  observed,  240  years, 
7  months,  and  7  days,  after  they  had 
revolted  from  Rehoboam,  the  grand- 
son of  David,  and  had  given  the  kingdom 
to  Jeroboam.  And  such  a  conclusion 
overtook  the  Israelites,  when  they  had 
transgressed  the  laws,  and  would  not 
hearken  to  the  prophets,  who  foretold  that 
this  calamity  would  come  upon  them,  if 
they  would  not  leave  off  their  evil  do- 
ings. What  gave  birth  to  these  evil  do- 
ings, was  that  sedition  which  they  raised 
against  Rehoboam,  the  grandson  of r  Da- 
vid, when  they  set  up  Jeroboam,  his  ser- 
vant, to  be  their  king,  who,  by  sinning 
against  God,  and  bringing  them  to  imitate 
his  bad  example,  made  God  to  be  their 
enemy,  while  Jeroboam  underwent  that 
punishment  which  he  justly  deserved. 

And  now  the  king  of  Assyria  invaded 
all  Syria  and  Phoenicia  in  a  hostile  man- 
ner. The  name  of  this  king  is  also  set 
down  in  the  archives  of  Tyre,  for  he 
made  an  expedition  against  Tyre  in  the 
reign  of  Eluleus ;  and  Menander  attests 
to  it,  who,  when  he  wrote  his  chronology, 
and  translated  the  archives  of  Tyre  into 
the  Greek  language,  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing history  : — "  One  whose  name  was 
Eluleus,  reigned  thirty-six  years :  this 
king,  upon  the  revolt  of  the  Citteans, 
sniled  to  them,  and  reduced  them  again 
to  a  submission.  Against  these  did  the 
king  of  Assyria  send  an  army,  and  in  a 
hostile  manner  overran  all  Phoenicia,  but 
soon  made  peace  with  them  all,  and  re- 
turned back ;  but  Sidou,  and  Ace,  and 
Palaetyrus,    revolted ;    and    many    other 


cities  there  were  which  delivered  them- 
selves up  to  the  king  of  Assyria.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  the  Tyrians  would  not 
submit  to  him,  the  king  returned,  and  fell 
upon  them  again,  while  the  Phoenicians 
had  furnished  him  with  sixty  ships,  and 
800  men  to  row  them ;  and  when  the  Ty- 
rians had  come  upon  them  in  twelve 
ships,  and  the  enemy's  ships  were  dis- 
persed, they  took  500  men  prisoners ;  and 
the  reputation  of  all  the  citizens  of  Tyre 
was  thereby  increased  ;  but  the  king  of 
\Assyria  returned,  and  placed  guards  at 
their  rivers  and  aqueducts,  who  should 
hinder  the  Tyrians  from  drawing  water. 
This  continued  for  five  years ;  and  still 
the  Syrians  bore  the  siege,  and  drank  of 
the  water  they  had  out  of  the  wells  they 
dug."  And  this  is  what  is  written  in  the 
Tyrinn  archives  concerning  Shalmaneser, 
the  king  of  Assyria. 

But  now  the  Cutheans,  who  removed 
into  Samaria,  (for  that  is  the  name  they 
have  been  called  by  to  this  time,  because 
they  were  brought  out  of  the  country 
called  Cuthah,  which  is  a  country  of  Per- 
sia, and  there  is  a  river  of  the  same  name 
in  it,)  each  of  them,  according  to  their 
nations,  which  were  five  in  number, 
brought  their  own  gods  into  Samaria,  and 
by  worshipping  them,  as  was  the  custom 
of  their  own  countries,  they  provoked  Al- 
mighty God  to  be  angry  and  displeased  at 
them,  for  a  plague  seized  upon  them,  by 
which  they  were  destroyed;  and  when 
they  found  no  cure  for  their  miseries,  they 
learned  by  the  oracle  that  they  ought  to 
worship  Almighty  God,  as  the  method  for  • 
their  deliverance.  So  they  sent  ambassa- 
dors to  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  desired 
him  to  send  them  some  of  those  priests 
of  the  Israelites  whom  he  had  taken  cap- 
tive. And  when  he  thereupon  sent  them, 
and  the  people  were  by  them  taught  the 
laws,  and  the  holy  worship  of  God,  they 
worshipped  him  in  a  respectful  manner, 
and  the  plague  ceased  immediately ;  and 
indeed  they  continue  to  make  use  of 
the  very  same  customs  to  this  very  time, 
and  are  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 
"Cutheans;"  but  in  the  Greek,  "Sama- 
ritans." And  when  they  see  the  Jews  in 
prosperity,  they  pretend  that  they  are 
changed,  and  allied  to  them,  and  call  them 
kinsmen,  as  though  they  were  derived 
from  Joseph,  and  had  by  that  means  an 
original  alliance  with  them :  but  when 
they  see  them  falling  into  low  condition, 
they  say  they  are  noway  related  to  them, 


BookX    Chap   I."] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


and  that  the  Jews  have  no  right  to  ex- 
pect any  kindness  or  marks  of  kindred 
from  them,  but  they  declare  that  they  are 
sojourners,    that  come   from   other  coun- 


tries. But  of  these  we  shall  have  a  more 
seasonable  opportunity  to  discourse  here- 
after. 


BOOK  X. 


CONTAINING   AN  INTERVAL  OF   182£  YEARS,  FROM   THE  CAPTIVITY   OF 
THE  TEN  TRIBES  TO  THE   FIRST   OF   CYRUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Sennacherib  makes  an  expedition  against  Hezekiah 
— Destruction  of  his  army — is  murdered  by  his 
cone.     B.  C.  710. 

It  was  now  the  fourteenth  year  of  the 
government  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  the  two 
tribes,  when  the  king  of  Assyria,  whose 
name  was  Sennacherib,  made  an  expedi- 
tion against  him  with  a  great  army,  and 
took  all  the  cities  of  the  tribes  of  Judah 
and  Benjamin  by  force;  and  when  he  was 
ready  to  bring  his  army  against  Jerusa- 
lem, Hezekiah  sent  ambassadors  to  him 
beforehand,  and  promised  to  submit,  and 
pay  what  tribute  he  should  appoint.  Here- 
upon Sennacherib,  when  he  heard  of  what 
offers  the  ambassadors  made,  resolved  not 
to  proceed  in  the  war,  but  to  accept  of  the 
proposals  that  were  made  to  him  :  and  if 
he  might  receive  300  talents  of  silver, 
and  thirty  talents  of  gold,  he  promised 
that  he  would  depart  in  a  friendly  manner; 
and  he  gave  security  upon  oath  to  the  am- 
bassadors that  he  would  then  do  him  no 
harm,  but  go  away  as  he  came.  So  Heze- 
kiah submitted,  and  emptied  his  treasures, 
and  sent  the  money,  as  supposing  he  should 
be  freed  from  his  enemy,  and  from  any 
further  distress  about  his  kingdom.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  Assyrian  king  took  it;  and 
yet  had  no  regard  to  what  he  had  pro- 
mised ;  but  while  he  himself  went  to  the 
War  against  the  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians, 
ho  left  his  general,  Rabshakeh,  and  two 
other  of  his  principal  commanders,  with 
great  forces,  to  destroy  Jerusalem.  The 
names  of  the  two  other  commanders  were 
Tartan  and  Rabsaris. 

Now  as  soon  as  they  had  come  before 
the  walls,  they  pitched  their  camp,  and 
sent  messengers  to  Hezekiah,  and  desired 
that  they  might  speak  with  him ;  but  he 
did  not  himself  come  out  to  them  for  fear, 
but  hr  bent  three  of  his  most  intimate 
20 


friends ;  the  name  of  the  one  was  Eliakim, 
who  was  over  the  kingdom,  and  Shebna, 
and  Joah  the  recorder.  So  these  men 
came  out,  and  stood  over  against  the  com- 
manders of  the  Assyrian  army;  and  when 
Rabshakeh  saw  them,  he  bade  them  go 
and  speak  to  Hezekiah  in  the  manner 
following: — That  Sennacherib,  the  great 
king,*  desires  to  know  of  him,  on  whom  it 
is  that  he  relies  and  depends,  in  flying 
from  his  lord,  and  will  not  hear  him,  nor 
admit  his  army  into  the  city  ?  Is  it  on 
account  of  the  Egyptians,  and  in  hopes 
that  his  army  would  be  beaten  by  them  ? 
Whereupon  he  lets  him  know,  that  if  this 
be  what  he  expects,  he  is  a  foolish  man, 
and  like  one  who  leans  on  a  broken  reed ; 
while  such  an  one  will  not  only  fall  down, 
but  will  have  his  hand  pierced  and  hurt 
by  it.  That  he  ought  to  know  he  makes 
this  expedition  against  him  by  the  will  of 
God,  who  hath  granted  this  favour  to  him, 
that  he  shall  overthrow  the  kingdom  of 
Israel,  and  that  in  the  very  same  manner 
he  shall  destroy  those  that  are  his  subjects 
also.  When  Rabshakeh  had  made  this 
speech  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  (for  he  was 
skilful  in  that  language,)  Eliakim  was 
afraid  lest  the  multitude  that  heard  him 
should  be  disturbed;  so  he  desired  him  to 
speak  in  the  Syrian  tongue.  But  the  ge- 
neral, understanding  what  he  meant,  and 
perceiving  the  fear  that  he  was  in,  he  made 
his  answer  with  a  greater  and  a  louder 
voice,  but  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  and  said, 
that  "  since  they  all  heard  what  were  the 
king's  commands,  they  would  consult  their 
own  advantage  in  delivering  up  themselves 
to  us ;  for  it  is  plain  that  both  you  and 
your  king  dissuade  the  people  from  sub- 
mitting by  vain  hopes,  and  so  induce  theui 
to  resist;  but  if  you  be  courageous,  and 


*2  Kings  xviii.  19;  Isaiah  xxxvi.  4. 


306 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XL 


think  to  drive  our  forces  away,  I  am  ready 
to  deliver  to  you  2000  of  these  horses  that 
are  with  me  for  your  use,  if  you  can  set  as 
many  horsemen  on  their  backs,  and  show 
your  strength ;  but  what  you  have  not, 
you  cannot  produce.  Why,  therefore,  do 
you  delay  to  deliver  yourselves  up  to  a 
superior  force,  who  can  take  you  without 
your  consent?  although  it  will  be  safer 
for  you  to  deliver  yourselves  up  volunta- 
rily, while  a  forcible  capture,  when  you 
are  beaten,  must  appear  more  dangerous, 
and  will  bring  further  calamities  upon 
you." 

When  the  people,  as  well  as  the  ambas- 
sadors, heard  what  the  Assyrian  com- 
mander said,  they  related  it  to  Hezekiah, 
who  thereupon  put  off  his  royal  apparel, 
and  clothed  himself  with  sackcloth,  and 
took  the  habit  of  a  mourner,  and,  after  the 
manner  of  his  country,  he  fell  upon  his 
face,  and  besought  God,  and  entreated 
him  to  assist  them,  now  they  had  no  other 
hope  of  relief.  He  also  sent  some  of  his 
friends,  and  some  of  the  priests,  to  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  and  desired  that  he  would 
pray  to  God,  and  offer  sacrifices  for  their 
common  deliverance,  and  so  put  up  sup- 
plications to  him,  that  he  would  have  in- 
dignation at  the  expectation  of  their  ene- 
mies, and  have  mercy  upon  his  people. 
And  when  the  prophet  had  done  accord- 
ingly, an  oracle  came  from  God  to  him, 
and  encouraged  the  king  and  his  friends 
that  were  about  him ;  and  foretold  that 
their  enemies  should  be  beaten  without 
lighting,  and  should  go  away  in  an  igno- 
minious manner,  and  not  with  that  inso- 
lence which  they  then  showed,  for  that 
God  would  take  care  that  they  should  be 
destroyed.  He  also  foretold  that  Senna- 
cherib, the  king  of  Assyria,  should  fail  of 
his  purpose  against  Egypt,  and  that  when 
he  came  home,  he  should  perish  by  the 
sword. 

About  the  same  time  also,  the  king  of 
Assyria  wrote  an  epistle  to  Hezekiah,  in 
which  he  said  he  was  a  foolish  man  in  sup- 
posing that  he  should  escape  from  being 
his  servant,  since  he  had  already  brought 
under  many  and  great  nations ;  and  he 
threatened,  that,  when  he  took  him,  he 
vould  utterly  destroy  him,  unless  he  now 
opened  the  gates,  and  willingly  received 
his  army  into  Jerusalem.  When  he  had 
read  this  epistle,  he  despised  it,  on  account 
of  the  trust  that  he  had  in  God ;  but  he 
rolled  up  ths  epistle,  and  laid  it  up  within 
the  tempV ;  and  as  he  made  his  further 


prayers  to  God  for  the  city,  and  for  the 
preservation  of  all  the  people,  the  prophet 
Isaiah  said  that  God  had  heard  his  prayer, 
and  that  he  should  not  at  that  time  be  be- 
sieged by  the  king  of  Assyria  ;*  that,  for 
the  future,  he  might  be  secure  of  not  be- 
ing at  all  disturbed  by  him  ;  and  that  the 
people  might  go  on  peaceably,  and  without 
fear,  with  their  husbandry  and  other  af- 
fairs ;  but  after  a  little  while,  the  king  of 
Assyria,  when  he  had  failed  of  his  treache- 
rous designs  against  the  Egyptians,  re- 
turned home  without  success  on  the  follow- 
ing occasion  : — He  spent  a  long  time  in  the 
siege  of  Pelusium ;  and  when  the  banks 
that  he  had  raised  over  against  the  walls 
were  of  a  great  height,  and  when  he  was 
ready  to  make  an  immediate  assault  upon 
them,  but  heard  that  Tirhaka,  king  of  the 
Ethiopians,  was  coming,  and  bringing 
great  forces  to  aid  the  Egyptians,  and  was 
resolved  to  march  through  the  desert,  and 
so  to  fall  directly  upon  the  Assyriaus,  this 
king  Sennacherib  was  disturbed  at  the 
news ;  and,  as  I  said  before,  left  Pelusium, 
and  returned  back  without  success.  Now 
concerning  this  Sennacherib,  Herodotus 
also  says,  in  the  second  book  of  his  histo- 
ries, how  "this  king  came  against  the 
Egyptian  king,  who  was  the  priest  of  Vul- 
can ;  and  that  as  he  was  besieging  Pelu- 
sium, he  broke  up  the  siege  on  the  follow- 
ing occasion : — This  Egyptian  priest  prayed 
to  God,  and  God  heard  his  prayer,  and 
sent  a  judgment  upon  the  Arabian  king." 
But  in  this,  Herodotus  was  mistaken,  when 
he  called  this  king  not  king  of  the  Assy- 
rians, but  of  the  Arabians;  for  he  saith, 
that  "a  multitude  of  mice  gnawed  to  pieces 
in  one  night  both  the  bows  and  the  rest  of 
the  armour  of  the  Assyrians ;  and  that  it 
was  on  that  account  that  the  king,  when 
he  had  no  bows  left,  drew  off  his  army 
from  Pelusium."  And  Herodotus  does 
indeed  give  us  this  history;  nay,  and  Be- 
rosus,  who  wrote  of  the  affairs  of  Chaldea, 
makes  mention  of  this  King  Sennacherib, 
and  that  he  ruled  over  the  Assyrians,  and 
that  he  made  an  expedition  against  all 
Asia,  and  Egypt,  and  says  thus: — 

"  Now  when  Sennacherib  was  returning 
from  his  Egyptian  war  to  Jerusalem,  he 
found  his  army  under  Babshakeh  his  geue- 
ral,  in  danger  [by  a  plague],  for  God  had 
sent  a  pestilential  distemper  upon  his 
army;  and  on  the  very  first  night  of  the 
siege,    185,000,   with  their  captains  and 

*  2  Kings  six.  20  ;    Isaiah  xxxvii.  30. 


Chap.  II.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


307 


generals,  were  destroyed.  So  the  king 
was  in  a  great  dread,  and  in  a  terrible 
agony  at  this  calamity;  and  being  in  great 
fear  for  the  whole  army,  he  fled  with  the 
rest  of  his  forces  to  hio  own  kingdom,  and 
to  his  city  Nineveh;  and  when  he  had 
abode  there  a  little  while,  he  was  treache- 
rously assaulted  and  died  by  the  hands  of 
his  elder  sons,  Adrammelech  and  Seraser, 
aud  was  slain  in  his  own  temple,  which 
was  called  Araske.  Now  these  sons  of  his 
were  driven  away,  on  account  of  the  mur- 
der of  their  father,  by  the  citizens,  and 
went  into  Armenia,  while  Assarachoddas 
took  the  kingdom  of  Sennacherib. "  And 
this  proved  to  be  the  conclusion  of  this 
Assyrian  expedition  against  the  peo- 
ple of  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Hezekiah's    sickness — restoration  to  health — The 
prophet  Isaiah.     B.C.  713. 

Now  Hezekiah  being  thus  delivered, 
after  a  surprising  manner,  from  the  dread 
he  was  in,  offered  thank-offerings  to  God, 
with  all  his  people ;  because  nothing  else 
had  destroyed  some  of  their  enemies,  and 
made  the  rest  so  fearful  of  undergoing  the 
same  fete,  that  they  departed  from  Jerusa- 
lem, but  that  divine  assistance  :  yet,  while 
he  was  very  zealous  and  diligent  about  the 
worship  of  God,  did  he  soou  afterward  fall 
into  a  severe  distemper,  insomuch  that  the 
physicians  despaired  of  him,  and  expected 
no  good  issue  of  his  sickness,  as  neither 
did  his  friends  :  and  besides  the  distemper 
itself,  there  was  a  very  melancholy  cir- 
cumstance that  disordered  the  king,  which 
was  the  consideration  that  he  was  child- 
less, and  was  going  to  die,  and  leave  his 
house  and  his  government  without  a  suc- 
cessor of  his  own  body :  so  he  was  troubled 
at  the  thoughts  of  this  his  condition,  and 
lamented  himself,  and  entreated  of  God 
that  he  would  prolong  his  life  for  a  little 
while  till  he  had  some  children,  and  not 
suffer  him  to  depart  this  life  before  he  had 
become  a  father.  Hereupon  God  had 
mercy  upon  him,  and  accepted  of  his  sup- 
plication, because  the  trouble  he  was  under 
at  his  supposed  death  was  not  because  he 
was  soon  to  leave  the  advantages  he  en- 
joyed in  the  kingdom ;  nor  did  he  on  that 
account  pray  that  he  might  have  a  longer 
life  afforded  him,  but  in  order  to  have 
sons,  that  might  receive  the  government 
after  him.  And  God  sent  Isaiah  the  pro- 
phet, and  commanded  him  to  inform  Heze- 


kiah, that  within  three  days'  time  he 
should  get  clear  of  his  distemper,  and 
should  survive  it  fifteen  years,  and  that  he 
should  have  children  also.  Now  upon  the 
prophet  saying  this,  as  God  had  command- 
ed him,  he  could  hardly  believe  it.  both 
on  account  of  the  distemper  he  was  under, 
which  was  very  sore,  and  by  reason  of  the 
surprising  nature  of  what  was  told  him ; 
so  he  desired  that  Isaiah  would  give  him 
some  sign  or  wonder,  that  he  might  be- 
lieve him  in  what  he  had  said,  and  be 
sensible  that  he  came  from  God:  for 
things  that  are  beyond  expectation,  and 
greater  than  our  hopes,  are  made  credible 
by  actions  of  the  like  nature.  And  when 
Isaiah  had  asked  him  what  sign  he  desired 
to  be  exhibited,  he  desired  that  he  would 
make  the  shadow  of  the  sun,  which  he  had 
already  made  to  go  down  ten  steps  [or  de- 
grees] in  his  house,  to  return  again  to  the 
same  place,  and  to  make  it  as  it  was  be- 
fore.* And  when  the  prophet  prayed  to 
God  to  exhibit  this  sign  to  the  king,  he 
saw  what  he  desired  to  see,  and  was  freed 
from  his  distemper,  and  went  up  to  the 
temple,  where  he  worshipped  God,  and 
made  vows  to  him. 

At  this  time  it  was  that  the  dominion 
of  the  Assyrians  was  overthrown  by  the 
Medes;  but  of  these  things  I  shall  treat 
elsewhere.  But  the  king  of  Babylon, 
whose  name  was  Baladan,  sent  ambassa- 
dors to  Hezekiah  with  presents,  and  de- 
sired he  would  be  his  ally  and  his  friend. 
So  he  received  the  ambassadors  gladly,  and 
made  them  a  feast,  and  showed  them  his 
treasures,  and  his  armory,  and  the  other 
wealth  he  was  possessed  of,  in  precious 
stones,  and  in  gold,  and  gave  them  presents 
to  be  carried  to  Baladan,  and  sent  them 
back  to  him.  Upon  which  the  prophet 
Isaiah  came  to  him,  and  inquired  of  him 
whence  those  ambassadors  came :  to  which 
he  replied,  that  they  came  from  Babylon, 
from  the  king,  and  that  he  had  showed 
them  all  he  had,  that  by  the  sight  of  his 
riches  and  forces  he  might  thereby  guess 
at  [the  plenty  he  was  in],  and  be  able  to 
inform  the  king  of  it.  But  the  prophet 
rejoined,  and  said,  "  Know  thou,  that  after 
a  little  while,  these  riches  of  thine  shall  be 
carried  away  to  Babylon,  and  thy  posterity 
shall  be  made  eunuchs  there,  and  lose 
their  manhood,  and  be  servants  to  the  king 
of  Babylon ;  for  that  God  foretold  such 
things  would  come  to  pass."     Upon  which 

*  2  Chron.  xxxii.  31. 


308 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  X. 


words  Hezekiah  was  troubled,  and  said, 
that  lie  was  himself  unwilling  that  his  na- 
tion should  fall  into  such  calamities ;  yet, 
since  it  is  not  possible  to  alter  what  God 
has  determined,  he  prayed  that  there 
might  be  peace  while  he  lived.  Berosus 
also  makes  mention  of  this  Baladan,  king 
of  Babylon.  Now  as  to  this  prophet 
[Isaiah],  he  was,  by  the  confession  of  all, 
a  divine  and  wonderful  man  in  speaking 
truth  ;  and  out  of  the  assurance  that  he 
had  never  written  what  was  false,  he  wrote 
down  all  his  prophecies,  and  left  them  be- 
hind him  in  books,  that  their  accomplish- 
ment might  be  judged  of  from  the  events 
by  posterity.  Nor  did  this  prophet  do  so 
alone  ;  but  the  others,  which  were  twelve 
in  number,  did  the  same.  And  what- 
soever is  done  among  us,  whether  it  be 
good,  or  whether  it  be  bad,  comes  to 
pass  according  to  their  prophecies;  but  of 
every  one  of  these  we  shall  speak  here- 
after. 


CHAPTER  in.       . 

Death  of  Hezekiah — is  succeeded  by  his  son. 
B.  C.  698-643. 

When  King  Hezekiah  had  survived  the 
interval  of  time  already  mentioned,  and 
had  dwelt  all  that  time  in  peace,  he  died, 
having  completed  fifty-four  years  of  his 
life,  and  reigned  twenty-nine.  But  when 
his  son  Manasseh,  whose  mother's  name 
was  Hephzibah,  of  Jerusalem,  had  taken 
the  kingdom,  he  departed  from  the  con- 
duet  of  his  father,  and  fell  into  a 'course 
of  life  quite  contrary  thereto,  and  showed 
himself  in  his  manners  most  wicked  in  all 
respects,  and  omitted  no  sort  of  impiety, 
but  imitated  those  transgressions  of  the 
Israelites  by  the  commission  of  which 
against  God  they  had  been  destroyed; 
for  he  was  so  hardy  as  to  defile  the  temple 
of  God,  and  the  city,  and  the  whole 
country ;  for,  by  setting  out  from  a  con- 
tempt of  God,  he  barbarously  slew  all  the 
righteous  men  that  were  among  the  He- 
brews; nor  would  he  spare  the  prophets, 
for  he  every  day  slew  some  of  them,  till 
Jerusalem  was  overflown  with  blood.  So 
God  was  angry  at  these  proceedings,  and 
sent  prophets  to  the  king,  and  to  the  mul- 
titude, by  whom  he  threatened  the  very 
game  calamities  to  them  which  their  bre- 
thren the  Israelites,  upon  the  like  affronts 
offered  to  God,  were  now  under.  But 
these  men  would  not  believe  their  words, 


by  which  belief  they  might  have  reaped 
the  advantage  of  escaping  all  those  mise- 
ries; yet  did  they  in  earnest  learn  that 
what  the  prophets  had  told  them  was 
true. 

And  when  they  persevered  in  the  same 
course  of  life,  God  raised  up  war  against 
them  from  the  king  of  Babylon  and  Chal- 
dea,  who  sent  an  army  against  Judea,  and 
laid  waste  the  country;  and  caught  King 
Manasseh  by  treachery,  and  ordered  him 
to  be  brought  to  him,  and  had  him  under 
his  power  to  inflict  what  punishment  be 
pleased  upon  him.  But  then  it  was  that 
Manasseh  perceived  what  a  miserable  con- 
dition he  was  in,  and  esteeming  himself 
the  cause  of  all,  he  besought  God  to  render 
his  enemy  humane  and  merciful  to  him 
Accordingly,  God  heard  his  prayer,  and 
granted  him  what  he  prayed  for.  So  Ma- 
nasseh was  released  by  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon, and  escaped  the  danger  he  was  in  ; 
and  when  he  had  come  to  Jerusalem,  he 
endeavoured,  if  it  was  possible,  to  cast 
out  of  his  memory  those  his  former  sins 
against  God,  of  which  he  now  repented, 
and  to  apply  himself  to  a  very  religious 
life.  He  sanctified  the  temple,  and 
purged  the  city,  and  for  the  remainder  of 
his  days  he  was  intent  on  nothing  but  to 
return  his  thanks  to  God  for  his  deliver- 
ance, and  to  preserve  him  propitious  to  him 
all  his  life  long.  He  also  instructed  the 
multitude  to  do  the  same,  as  having  very 
nearly  experienced  what  a  calamity  he  bad 
fallen  into  by  a  contrary  conduct.  He 
also  rebuilt  the  altar,  and  offered  the  legal 
sacrifices,  as  Moses  commanded ;  and  when 
he  had  re-established  what  concerned  the 
divine  worship,  as  it  ought  to  be,  he  took 
care  of  the  security  of  Jerusalem  :  he  did 
not  only  repair  the  old  walls  with  great 
diligence,  but  added  another  wall  to  the 
former.  He  also  built  very  lofty  towers, 
and  the  garrisoned  places  before  the  city 
he  strengthened,  not  only  in  other  respects, 
but  with  provisions  of  all  sorts  that  they 
wanted ;  and,  indeed,  when  he  had  changed 
his  former  course,  he  so  led  his  life  for  the 
time  to  come,  that  from  the  time  of  his 
return  to  piety  toward  God,  he  was  deemed 
a  happy  man,  and  a  pattern  for  imitatiou. 
When,  therefore,  he  had  lived  sixty-seven 
years,  he  departed  this  life,  having  reigned 
fifty-five  years,  and  was  buried  in  his  own 
garden ;  and  the  kingdom  came  to  his  sod 
Anion,  whose  mother's  name  wa«  Meshule* 
meth,  of  the  city  of  Jotbath. 


Chap  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE    JEWS. 


309 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Amon — Josiah.     B.  C.  641. 

This  Amon  imitated  those  works  of  his 
father  which  he  insolently  did  when  he 
was  young :  so  he  had  a  conspiracy  made 
against  him  by  his  own  servants,  and  was 
slain  in  his  own  house,  when  he  had  lived 
twenty-four  years,  and  of  them  had  reigned 
two;  but  the  multitude  punished  those 
(hat  slew  Amon,  and  buried  him  with  his 
father,  and  gave  the  kingdom  to  his  son 
•Josiah,  who  was  eight  years  old.  His 
mother  was  of  the  city  of  Boscath,  and  her 
name  was  Jedidah.  He  was  of  a  most 
excellent  disposition,  and  naturally  virtu- 
ous, and  followed  the  actions  of  King 
David,  as  a  pattern  and  a  rule  to  him  in 
the  whole  conduct  of  his  life  ;  and  when  he 
was  twelve  years  old  he  gave  demonstra- 
tions of  his  religious  and  righteous  beha- 
viour; for  he  brought  the  people  to  a  sober 
way  of  living,  and  exhorted  them  to  leave 
off  the  opinion  they  had  of  their  idols,  be- 
cause they  were  not  gods,  but  to  worship 
their  own  God ;  and  by  reflecting  on  the 
actions  of  his  progenitors,  he  prudently 
corrected  what  they  did  wrong,  like  a  very 
elderly  man,  and  like  one  abundantly  able 
to  understand  what  was  fit  to  be  done ; 
and  what  he  found  they  had  well  done,  he 
observed  all  the  country  over,  and  imitated 
the  same ;  and  thus  he  acted  in  following 
the  wisdom  and  sagacity  of  his  own  na- 
ture, and  in  compliance  with  the  advice 
and  instruction  of  the  elders ;  for  by  fol- 
lowing the  laws  it  was  that  he  succeeded 
BO  well  in  the  order  of  his  government, 
and  in  piety  with  regard  to  the  divine 
worship ;  and  this  happened  because  the 
transgressions  of  the  former  kings  were 
seen  no  more,  but  quite  vanished  away; 
for  the  king  went  about  the  city,  and  the 
whole  country,  and  cut  down  the  groves, 
which  were  devoted  to  strange  gods,  and 
overthrew  their  altars :  and  if  there  were 
any  gifts  dedicated  to  them  by  his  forefa- 
thers, he  made  them  ignominious,  and 
plucked  them  down;  and  by  this  means 
be   brought  the   people   back   from  their 

•pinion  about  them  to  the  worship  of  God. 
lie  also  offered  his  accustomed  sacrifices 
and  burnt-offerings  upon  the  altar.    More- 

)vcr,  he  ordained  certain  judges  and  over- 
seers, that  they  might  order  the  matters 
to  them  severally  belonging,  and  have  re- 
gard to  justice  above  all  things,  and  dis- 
liibute  it  with  the  same  concern  they 
would   have   about   their  own   soul.      He 


also  sent  over  all  the  country,  and  desired 
such  as  pleased  to  bring  gold  and  silver 
for  the  repairs  of  the  templ«e,  according  to 
every  one's  inclinations  and  abilities  :  and 
when  the  money  was  brought  in,  he  made 
one  Maaseiah,  the  governor  of  the  city, 
and  Shaphan  the  scribe,  and  Joah  the  re- 
corder, and  Eliakim  the  high  priest,  cu- 
rators of  the  temple,  and  of  the  charges 
contributed  thereto;  who  made  no  delay, 
nor  put  the  work  off  at  all,  but  prepared 
architects,  and  whatsoever  was  proper  for 
those  repairs,  and  set  closely  about  the 
work.  So  the  temple  was  repaired  by  this 
means,  and  became  a  public  demonstration 
of  the  king's  piety. 

But  when  he  was  now  in  the  eighteenth 
year  of  his  reign,  he  sent  to  Eliakim  the 
high  priest,  and  gave  order,  that  out  of 
what  money  was  overplus,  he  should  cast 
cups,  and  dishes,  and  vials,  for  ministra- 
tion [in  the  temple];  and  besides,  that 
they  should  bring  all  the  gold  or  silver 
which  was  among  the  treasures,  and  ex- 
pend that  also  in  making  cups  and  the 
like  vessels;  but  as  the  high  priest  was 
bringing  out  the  gold,  he  lighted  upon  the 
holy  books  of  Moses  that  were  laid  up  in 
the  temple ;  and  when  he  had  brought 
them  out,  he  gave  them  to  Shaphan  the 
scribe,  who,  when  he  had  read  them,  came 
to  the  king,  and  informed  him  that  all  was 
finished  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  done. 
He  also  read  over  the  books  to  him,  who, 
when  he  had  heard  them  read,  rent  his 
garments,  and  called  for  Eliakim  the  high 
priest,  and  for  [Shaphan]  the  scribe,  and 
for  certain  [other]  of  his  most  particular 
friends,  and  sent  them  to  Huldah  the  pro- 
phetess, the  wife  of  Shallum,  (which  Shal- 
lum  was  a  man  of  dignity,  and  of  an  emi- 
nent family,)  and  bade  them  go  to  her 
and  say  that  [he  desired]  she  would  ap- 
pease God,  and  endeavour  to  render  him 
propitious  to  them,  for  that  there  was 
cause  to  fear  lest,  upon  the  transgression 
of  the  laws  of  Moses  by  their  forefathers, 
they  should  be  in  peril  of  going  into  cap- 
tivity, and  of  being  cast  out  of  their  own 
country;  lest  they  should  be  in  want  of 
all  things,  and  so  end  their  days  misera- 
bly. When  the  prophetess  had  heard 
this  from  the  messengers  that  were  sent 
to  her  by  the  king,  she  bade  them  go  back 
to  the  king,  and  say,  that  God  had  ahead}' 
given  sentence  against  them,  to  destroy 
the  people,  and  cast  them  out  of  their 
country,  and  deprive  them  of  all  the  hap- 
piness they  enjoyed  ;  which  sentence  none 


$10 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEW* 


[Book  X. 


could  set  aside  by  any  prayers  of  theirs, 
since  it  was  passed  on  account  of  their 
transgressions  of  the  laws,  and  of  their 
n)t  having  repented  in  so  long  a  time, 
whilo  the  prophets  had  exhorted  them  to 
amend,  and  had  foretold  the  punishments 
that  would  ensue  on  their  impious  prac- 
tices ;  which  threatening,  God  would  cer- 
tainly execute  upon  them,  that  they  might 
be  persuaded  that  he  is  God,  and  had  not 
deceived  them  in  any  respect  as  to  what 
he  had  denounced  by  his  prophets;  that 
yet,  because  Josiah  was  a  righteous  man, 
he  would  at  present  delay  those  calamities, 
but  that,  after  his  death,  he  would  send  on 
the  multitude  what  miseries  he  had  deter- 
mined for  them. 

So  these  messengers,  upon  this  prophecy 
of  the  woman,  came  and  told  it  to  the 
king,  whereupon  he  sent  to  the  people 
everywhere,  and  ordered  that  the  priests 
and  the  Levites  should  come  together  to 
Jerusalem ;  and  commanded  that  those  of 
every  age  ^should  be  present  also;  and 
when  they  were  gathered  together,  he  first 
read  to  them  the  holy  books ;  after  which 
he  stood  upon  a  pulpit,  in  the  midst  of  the 
multitude,  and  obliged  them  to  make  a 
covenant,  with  an  oath,  that  they  would 
worship  God,  and  keep  the  laws  of  Moses. 
Accordingly,  they  gave  their  assent  will- 
ingly, and  undertook  to  do  what  the  king 
had  recommended  to  them.  So  they  im- 
mediately offered  sacrifices,  and  that  after 
an  acceptable  manner,  and  besought  God 
to  be  gracious  and  merciful  to  them.  He 
also  enjoined  the  high  priest,  that  if  there 
remained  in  the  temple  any  vessel  that 
was  dedicated  to  idols,  or  to  foreign  gods, 
they  should  cast  it  out;  so  when  a  great 
number  of  such  vessels  were  got  together, 
he  burned  them,  and  scattered  their  ashes 
abroad,  and  slew  the  priests  of  the  idols 
that  were  not  of  the  family  of  Aaron. 

And  when  he  had  done  thus  in  Jerusa- 
lem, he  came  into  the  country,  and  utterly 
destroyed  what  buildings  had  been  made 
therein  by  King  Jeroboam,  in  honour  of 
strange  gods ;  and  he  burnt  the  bones  of 
the  false  prophets  upon  that  altar  which 
Jeroboam  first  built ;  and  as  the  prophet 
[Jadon],  who  came  to  Jeroboam  when  he 
was  offering  sacrifice,  and  when  all  the 
people  heard  him,  foretold  what  would 
come  to  pass,  namely,  that  a  certain  man 
of  the  house  of  David,  Josiah  by  name, 
should  do  what  is  here  mentioned.  And 
it  happened  that  these  predictions  took 
effect  361  years  after. 


After  these  things,  Josiah  went  also  to 
such  other  Israelites  as  had  escaped  cap- 
tivity and  slavery  under  the  Assyrians, 
and  persuaded  them  to  desist  from  their 
impious  practices,  and  to  leave  off  the  ho- 
nours they  paid  to  strange  gods,  but  to 
worship  rightly  their  own  Almighty  God, 
and  to  adhere  to  him.  He  also  searched 
the  houses,  and  the  villages,  and  the  cities, 
out  of  a  suspicion  that  somebody  might 
have  one  idol  or  other  in  private ;  nay, 
indeed,  he  took  away  the  chariots  [of  the 
sun]  that  were  set  up  in  his  royal  palace,* 
which  his  predecessors  had  framed,  and 
what  thing  soever  there  was  besides  which 
they  worshipped  as  a  god.  And  when  he 
had  thus  purged  all  the  country,  he  called 
the  people  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  cele- 
brated the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  and 
that  called  the  Passover.  He  also  gave 
the  people,  for  paschal  sacrifices,  young 
kids  of  the  goats,  and  lambs,  30,000,  and 
3000  oxen  for  burnt-offerings.  The  prin- 
cipal of  the  priests,  also,  gave  to  the  priests, 
against  the  passover,  2600  lambs ;  the 
principal  of  the  Levites,  also,  gave  to  the 
Levites  5000  lambs,  and  500  oxen,  by 
which  means  there  was  great  plenty  of 
sacrifices ;  and  they  offered  these  sacrifices 
according  to  the  laws  of  Moses,  while  every 
priest  explained  the  matter,  and  ministered 
to  the  multitude.  And  indeed  there  had 
been  no  other  festival  thus  celebrated  by 
the  Hebrews  from  the  times  of  Samuel  the 
prophet :  and  the  plenty  of  sacrifices  now 
was  the  occasion  that  all  things  were  per- 
formed according  to  the  laws,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  their  forefathers.  So 
when  Josiah  had  after  this  lived  in  peace, 
nay,  in  riches  and  reputation  also,  among 
all  men,  he  ended  his  life  in  the  manner 
following. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Josiah  wars  with  the  king  of  Egypt — Death  of  Jo- 
siah— Captivity  of  Jehoahaz — Jehoiakini — Jere- 
miah—Ezekiel.     B.  C.  641-610. 

Now  Neco,  king  of  Egypt,  raised  an 
army,  and  marched  to  the  river  Euphra- 
tes, in  order  to  fight  with  the  Medes  and 
Babylonians,  who  had  overthrown  the  do- 
minion of  the  Assyrians,  for  he  had  a  de- 
sire to  reign  over  Asia.  Now  when  he  had 
come  to  the  city  Mendes,  which  belonged 
to  the  kingdom  of  Josiah,  he  brought  an 
army  to  hinder  him  from  passing  through 


*  2  Kings  xxiii.  11. 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


311 


his  own  country,  in  his  expedition  against 
the  Medes.  Now  Neco  sent  a  herald  to 
Josiah,  and  told  him  that  he  had  not 
made  this  expedition  against  him,  but 
was  making  haste  to  Euphrates;  and  de- 
sired thai  he  would  not  provoke  him  to 
fight  against  him,  because  he  obstructed 
his  march  to  the  place  whither  he  had  re- 
solved to  go.  But  Josiah  did  not  admit 
of  this  advice  of  Neco,  but  put  himself  in 
a  posture  to  hinder  him  from  his  intended 
march.  I  suppose  it  was  fate  that  pushed 
him  on  to  this  conduct,  that  it  might  take 
an  occasion  against  him ;  for  as  he  was 
setting  his  army  in  array,  and  rode  about 
in  his  chariot,  from  one  wing  of  his  army 
to  another,  one  of  the  Egyptians  shot  an 
arrow  at  him,  and  put  an  end  to  his  eager- 
ness for  fighting ;  for,  being  sorely  wound- 
ed,  he  commanded  a  retreat  to  be  sounded 
for  his  army,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
and  died  of  that  wound ;  and  was  magni- 
ficently buried  in  the  sepulchre  of  his  fa- 
thers, when  he  had  lived  thirty-nine  years, 
and  of  them  had  reigned  thirty-one.  But 
all  the  people  mourned  greatly  for  him, 
lamenting  and  grieving  on  his  account 
nmny  days;  and  Jeremiah  the  prophet 
composed  an  elegy  to  lament  him,*  which 
is  extant  to  this  time  also.  Moreover,  this 
prophet  denounced  beforehand  the  sad  ca- 
lamities that  were  coming  upon  the  city. 
He  also  left  behind  him  in  writing  a  de- 
scription of  that  destruction  of  our  nation 
which  has  lately  happened  in  our  days, 
and  the  taking  of  Babylon;  nor  was  he 
the  only  prophet  who  delivered  such  pre- 
dictions beforehand  to  the  multitude  ;  but 
so  did  Ezekiel  also,  who  was  the  first  per- 
son that  wrote,  and  left  behind  him  in 
writing,  two  books,  concerning  these 
events.  Now  these  two  prophets  were 
priests  by  birth,  but  of  them  Jeremiah 
dwelt  in  Jerusalem,  from  the  thirteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Josiah,  until  the  city 
and  temple  were  utterly  destroyed.  How- 
ever, as  to  what  befell  this  prophet,  we 
will  relate  it  in  its  proper  place. 

Upon  the  death  of  Josiah,  which  we 
have  already  mentioned,  his  son,  Jehoahaz 
by  name,  took  the  kingdom,  being  about 
twenty-three  years  old.  He  reigned  in 
Jerusalem;  and  his  mother  was  Hamutal, 
of  the  city  Libnah.  He  was  an  impious 
man,  and  impure  in  his  course  of  life; 
but  as  the  king  of  Egypt  returned  from 

*  Whether  Josephus  means  the  book  of  the  La- 
mentations of  Jeremiah,  still  extant,  or  any  other, 
cannct  now  be  determined. 


the  battle,  he  sent  for  Jehoahaz  to  come 
to  him  to  the  city  called  Hamath,  which 
belongs  to  Syria;  and  when  he  had  come, 
he  put  him  in  bands,  and  delivered  tho 
kingdom  to  a  brother  of  his  by  the  father's 
side,  whose  name  was  Eliakim,  and  changed 
his  name  to  Jehoiakim,  and  laid  a  tribute 
upon  the  land  of  one  hundred  talents  of 
silver,  and  a  talent  of  gold ;  and  this  sum 
of  money  Jehoiakim  paid  by  way  of 
tribute ;  but  Neco  carried  away  Jehoahaz 
into  Egypt,  where  he  died,  when  he  had 
reigned  three  months  and  ten  days.  Now 
Jehoiakim's  mother  was  called  Zebudah, 
of  the  city  Rumah.  He  was  of  a  wicked 
disposition,  and  ready  to  do  mischief :  nor 
was  he  either  religious  toward  God  or 
good-natured  toward  men. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Nebuchadnezzar  makes  an  expedition  against  the 
Jews.     B.  C.  607-600. 

Now  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Jehoiakim,  one  whose  name  was  Nebu- 
chadnezzar took  the  government  over  the 
Babylonians,  who  at  the  same  time  went 
up  with  a  great  army  to  the  city  Carche- 
mish,  which  was  at  Euphrates,  upon  a 
resolution  he  had  taken  to  fight  with 
Neco,  king  of  Egypt,  under  whom  all 
Syria  then  was.  And  when  Neco  under- 
stood the  intention  of  the  king  of 
Babylon,  and  that  this  expedition  was 
made  against  him,  he  did  not  despise  his 
attempt,  but  made  haste  with  a  great 
band  of  men  to  Euphrates  to  defend  him- 
self from  Nebuchadnezzar;  and  when 
they  had  joined  battle,  he  was  beaten, 
and  lost  many  ten  thousands  [of  his 
soldiers]  in  the  battle.  So  the  king  of 
Babylon  passed  over  Euphrates,  and  took 
all  Syria,  as  far  as  Pelusium,  excepting 
Judea.  But  when  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
already  reigned  four  years,  which  was  the 
eighth  of  Jehoiakim's  government  over 
the  Hebrews,  the  king  of  Babylon  made 
au  expedition  with  mighty  forces  against 
the  Jews,  and  required  tribute  of  Jehoia- 
kim, and  threatened,  on  his  refusal,  to 
make  war  against  him.  He  was  af- 
frighted at  his  threatening,  and  bought 
his  peace  with  money,  and  brought  the 
tribute  he  was  ordered  to  bring  for  three 
years. 

But  on  the  third  year,  upon  hearing 
that  the  king  of  the  Babylonians  made 
an  expedition  against  the  Egyptians,  he 
did  not  pay  his  tribute;  yet  was  he  dis- 


312 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X 


appointed  of  his  hope,  for  the  Egyptians 
durst  not  light  at  this  time.  And  indeed 
the  prophet  Jeremiah  foretold  every  day 
how  vainly  they  relied  on  their  hopes 
from  Egypt,  and  how  the  city  would  be 
overthrown  by  the  king  of  Babylon,  and 
Jehoiakim  the  king  would  be  subdued  by 
him.  But  what  he  thus  spake  proved  to 
be  of  no  advantage  to  them,  because  there 
were  none  that  should  escape;  for  both 
the  multitude,  and  the  rulers,  when  they 
heard  him,  had  no  concern  about  what 
they  heard ;  but  being  displeased  at  what 
was  said,  as  if  the  prophet  was  a  diviner 
against  the  king,  they  accused  Jeremiah ; 
and  bringing  him  before  the  court,  they 
required  that  a  sentence  and  a  punish- 
ment might  be  given  against  him.  Now 
all  the  rest  gave  their  votes  for  his  con- 
demnation, but  the  elders  refused,  who 
prudently  sent  away  the  prophet  from  the 
court  [of  the  prison],  and  persuaded  the 
rest  to  do  Jeremiah  no  harm;  for  they 
said  that  he  was  not  the  only  person  who 
foretold  what  would  come  to  the  city,  but 
that  Micah  signified  the  same  before  him, 
as  well  as  many  others,  none  of  whom 
suffered  any  thing  of  the  kings  that  then 
reigned,  but  were  honoured  as  the  pro- 
phets of  God.  So  they  pacified  the  mul- 
titude with  these  words,  and  delivered 
Jeremiah  from  the  punishment  to  which 
he  was  condemned.  Now  when  this  pro- 
phet had  written  all  his  prophecies,rand 
the  people  were  fasting,  and  assembled  at 
the  temple,  on  the  ninth  month  of  the 
hfth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  he  read  the  book 
he  had  composed  of  his  predictions  of 
what  was  to  befall  the  city,  and  the 
temple,  and  the  multitude;  and  when 
the  rulers  heard  of  it,  they  took  the  book 
from  him,  and  bade  him  and  Baruch  the 
scribe  to  go  their  ways,  lest  they  should 
be  discovered  by  one  or  other;  but  they 
carried  the  book  and  gave  it  to  the  king ; 
so  he  gave  order  in  the  presence  of  his 
friends,  that  his  scribe  should  take  it  and 
read  it.  When  the  king  heard  what  it 
contained,  he  was  angry,  and  tore  it,  and 
cast  it  into  the  fire,  where  it  was  con- 
sumed. He  also  commanded  that  they 
should  seek  for  Jeremiah  and  Baruch  the 
scribe  and  bring  them  to  him,  that  they 
might  be  punished.  However,  they  es- 
caped his  anger. 

Now  a  little  time  afterward,  the  king 
of  Babylon  made  an  expedition  against 
Jehoiakim,  whom  he  received  [into  the 
cityj,  and  this  out  of  fear  of  the  fore- 


going predictions  of  this  prophet,  as  sup- 
posing that  he  should  suffer  nothing  that 
was  terrible,  because  he  neither  shut  the 
gates,  nor  fought  against  him ;  yet  when 
he  had  come  into  the  city,  he  did  not 
observe  the  covenants  he  had  made;  but 
he  slew  such  as  were  in  the  flower  of 
their  age,  and  such  as  were  of  the 
greatest  dignity,  together  with  their  king, 
Jehoiakim,  whom  he  commanded  to  be 
thrown  before  the  walls,  without  any 
burial;  and  made  his  son  Jehoiachin 
king  of  the  country  and  of  the  city :  he 
also  took  the  principal  persons  in  dig- 
nity for  captives,  3000  in  number,  and 
led  them  away  to  Babylon;  among  whom 
was  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  who  was  then 
but  young.  And  this  was  the  end  of 
King  Jehoiakim,  when  he  had  lived 
thirty-six  years,  and  of  them  reigned 
eleven.  But  Jehoiachin  succeeded  him 
in  the  kingdom,  whose  mother's  name 
was  Nehusta;  she  was  a  citizen  of  Jeru- 
salem. He  reigned  three  months  and 
ten  days. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Captivity  of  the  Jews.     B.  C.  599. 

But  a  terror  seized  on  the  king  of 
Babylon,  who  had  given  the  kingdom  to 
Jehoiachin,  and  that  immediately;  he 
was  afraid  that  he  should  bear  him  a 
grudge,  because  he  had  killed  his  father, 
and  thereupon  should  make  the  country 
revolt  from  him ;  wherefore,  he  sent  an 
army,  and  besieged  Jehoiachin  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  but  because  he  was  of  a  gentle 
and  just  disposition,  he  did  not  desire  to 
see  the  city  endangered  on  his  account, 
but  he  took  his  mother  and  kindred,  and 
delivered  them  to  the  commanders  sent 
by  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  accepted  of 
their  oaths,  that  neither  should  they 
suffer  any  harm,  nor  the  city;  which 
agreement  they  did  not  observe  for  a 
single  year,  for  the  king  of  Babylon  did 
not  keep  it,  but  gave  orders  to  his 
generals  to  take  all  that  were  in  the  city 
captives,  both  the  youth  and  the  handi- 
craftsmen, and  bring  them  bound  to  him ; 
their  number  was  10,832 ;  as  also  Je- 
hoiachin, and  his  mother  and  friends; 
and  when  these  were  brought  to  him,  he 
kept  them  in  custody,  and  appointed 
Jehoiachin's  uncle,  Zedekiah,  to  be  king; 
and  made  him  take  an  oath  that  he  would 
certainly  keep  the  kingdom  for  him,  and 


Chap.  VII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


313 


make  no  iLLOvation,  nor  have  any  league 
of  friendship  with  the  Egyptians. 

Now  Zedekiah  was  twenty-one  years 
old  when  he  took  the  government;  and 
had  the  same  mother  with  his  brother 
Jehoiakim,  but  was  a  despiser  of  justice 
and  of  his  duty,  for  truly  those  of  the 
same  age  with  him  were  wicked  about 
him,  and  the  whole  multitude  did  what 
unjust  and  insolent  things  they  pleased; 
for  which  reason  the  prophet  Jeremiah 
came  often  to  him,  and  protested  to  him, 
and  insisted  that  he  must  leave  off  his 
impieties  and  transgressions,  and  take 
care  of  what  was  right,  and  neither  give 
ear  to  the  rulers  (among  whom  were 
wicked  men)  nor  give  credit  to  their  false 
prophets  who  deluded  them,  as  if  the 
king  of  Babylon  would  make  no  more 
war  against  him,  and  as  if  the  Egyptians 
would  make  war  against  him,  and  con- 
quer him,  since  what  they  said  was  not 
true;  and  the  events  would  not  prove 
such  [as  they  expected].  Now  as  to 
Zedekiah  himself,  while  he  heard  the 
prophet  speak,  he  believed  him,  and 
agreed  to  every  thing  as  true,  and  sup- 
posed it  was  for  his  advantage ;  but  then 
his  friends  perverted  him,  and  dissuaded 
him  from  what  the  prophet  advised,  and 
obliged  him  to  do  what  they  pleased. 
Ezekiel  also  foretold  in  Babylon  what 
calamities  were  coming  upon  the  people, 
which,  when  he  heard,  he  sent  accounts 
of  them  unto  Jerusalem ;  but  Zedekiah 
did  not  believe  their  prophecies,  for  the 
reason  following  : — It  happened  that  the 
two  prophets  agreed  with  one  another  in 
what  they  said  as  in  all  other  things, 
that  the  city  should  be  taken,  and  Zede- 
kiah himself  should  be  taken  captive ; 
but  Ezekiel  disagreed  with  him,  and 
said,  that  Zedekiah  should  not  see  Baby- 
lon ;  while  Jeremiah  said  to  him,  that 
the  king  of  Babylon  should  carry  him 
away  thither  in  bunds;  and  because  they 
did  not  both  say  the  same  things  as  to 
this  circumstance,  he  disbelieved  what 
they  both  appeared  to  agree  in,  and  con- 
demned them  as  not  speaking  truth 
therein,  although  all  the  things  foretold 
him  did  come  to  paBS  according  to  their 
prophecies,  as  we  shall  show  upon  a 
titter  opportunity. 

Now  when  Zedekiah  had  preserved  the 
league  of  mutual  assistance  he  had  made 
wi.h  the  Babylonians  for  eight  years,  he 
brake  it,  and  revolted  to  the  Egyptians, 
in   hopes,   by   their   assistance,   of  over- 


coming the  Babylonians.  When  tho 
king  of  Babylon  knew  this,  he  made  war 
against  him  :  he  laid  his  country  waste, 
and  took  his  fortified  towns,  and  came  to 
the  city  Jerusalem  itself  to  besiege  it : 
but  when  the  king  of  Egypt  heard  what 
circumstance  Zedekiah  his  ally  was  in,  he 
took  a  great  army  with  him,  and  came 
into  Judea,  as  if  he  would  raise  the 
siege ;  upon  which  the  king  of  Babylon 
departed  from  Jerusalem,  and  met  the 
Egyptians,  and  joined  battle  with  them, 
and  beat  them;  and  when  he  had  put 
them  to  flight,  he  pursued  them,  and 
drove  them  out  of  all  Syria.  Now  as 
soon  as  the  king  of  Babylon  had  departed 
from  Jerusalem,  the  false  prophets  de- 
ceived Zedekiah,  and  said  that  the  king 
of  Babylon  would  not  any  more  make 
war  against  him  or  his  people,  nor  re- 
move them  out  of  their  own  country  into 
Babylon ;  and  that  those  then  in  cap- 
tivity would  return,  with  all  those  vessels 
of  the  temple,  of  which  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon had  despoiled  that  temple.  But  Jere- 
miah came  among  them,  and  prophesied 
what  contradicted  those  predictions,  and 
what  proved  to  be  true,  that  they  did  ill, 
and  deluded  the  king ;  that  the  Egyptiaus 
would  be  of  no  advantage  to  them,  buf: 
that  the  'king  of  Babylon  would  renew 
the  war  against  Jerusalem,  and  besiege  it 
again,  and  would  destroy  the  people  by 
famine,  and  carry  away  those  that  re- 
mained into  captivity,  and  would  take 
away  what  they  had  as  spoils,  and  would 
carry  off  those  riches  that  were  in  the 
temple ;  nay,  that,  besides  this,  he  would 
burn  it,  and  utterly  overthrow  the  city, 
and  that  they  should  serve  him  and  his 
posterity  seventy  years ;  and  that  then 
the  Persians  and  the  Medes  should  put  an 
end  to  their  servitude,  and  overthrow  the 
Babylonians;  "  and  that  we  shall  be  dis- 
missed, and  return  to  this  land,  and  re- 
store Jerusalem,  and  rebuild  the  temple." 
When  Jeremiah  said  this,  the  greater 
part  believed  him;  but  the  rulers  and 
those  that  were  wicked  despised  him,  as 
one  disordered  in  his  senses.  Now  he 
had  resolved  to  go  elsewhere,  to  his  own 
country,  which  was  called  Anathoth,  and 
was  twenty  furlongs  distant  from  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  as  he  was  going,  one  of  tho 
rulers  met  him,  and  seized  upon  him,  and 
accused  him  falsely,  as  though  he  wag 
going  as  a  deserter  to  the  Babylonians; 
but  Jeremiah  said  that  he  accused  him 
falsely,    and    added,    that   he    was    only 


814 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X. 


going  to  his  owt  country;  but  the  other 
would  not  believe  him,  but  seized  upon 
him,  and  led  him  away  to  the  rulers,  and 
laid    an    accusation    against    him,   under 


whom  he  endured  all  sorts  of  torments 
and  tortures,  and  was  reserved  to  be  pu- 
nished ;  and  this  was  the  condition  he 
was  in  for  some  time,  while  he  suffered 
what  I  have  already  described,  unjustly. 

Now,  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Zedekiah,  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  tenth 
month,  the  king  of  Babylon  made  a  se- 
cond expedition  against  Jerusalem,  and 
lay  before  it  eighteen  months,  and  be- 
sieged it  with  the  utmost  application. 
There  came  upon  them  also  two  of  the 
greatest  calamities,  at  the  same  time  that 
Jerusalem  was  besieged,  a  famine  and  a 
pestilential  distemper,  and  made  great  ha- 
voc of  them  :  and  though  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  was  in  prison,  he  did  not  rest, 
but  cried  out,  and  proclaimed  aloud,  and 
exhorted  the  multitude  to  open  their  gates, 
and  admit  the  king  of  Babylon,  for  that, 
if  they  did  so,  they  should  be  preserved, 
and  their  whole  families ;  but  if  they  did 
not  so,  they  should  be  destroyed ;  and  he 
foretold,  that  if  any  one  stayed  in  the 
city,  he  should  certainly  perish  by  one  of 
these  ways,  either  be  consumed  by  the  fa- 
mine or  slain  by  the  enemy's  sword ;  but 
that  if  he  would  fly  to  the  enemy,  he 
should  escape  death  :  yet  did  not  these 
rulers  who  heard  him  believe,  even  when 
they  were  in  the  midst  of  their  sore  ca- 
lamities ;  but  they  came  to  the  king,  and, 
in  their  anger,  informed  him  what  Jere- 
miah said,  and  accused  him,  and  com- 
plained of  the  prophet  as  of  a  madman, 
and  one  that  disheartened  their  minds, 
and,  by  the  denunciation  of  miseries, 
weakened  the  alacrity  of  the  multitude, 
who  were  otherwise  ready  to  expose  them- 
selves to  dangers  for  him,  and  for  their 
country,  while  he,  in  a  way  of  threaten- 
ing, warned  them  to  fly  to  the  enemy,  and 
told  them  that  the  city  should  certainly 
be  taken,  and  be  utterly  destroyed. 

But  for  the  king  himself,  he  was  not  at 
all  irritated  against  Jeremiah,  such  was 
his  gentle  and  righteous  disposition;  yet, 
that  he  might  not  be  engaged  in  a  quar- 
rel with  those  rulers  at  such  a  time,  by 
opposing  what  they  intended,  he  let  them 
do  with  the  prophet  whatsoever  they 
would:  whereupon,  when  the  king  had 
granted  them  such  a  permission,  they  pre- 
sently came  into  the  prison  and  took  him, 
and  let  him  down  with  a  cord  into  a  pit 


full  of  mire,  that  he  might  be  suffocated, 
and  die  of  himself.  So  he  stood  up  to 
the  neck  in  the  mire,  which  was  all  about 
him,  and  so  continued :  but  there  was 
one  of  the  king's  servants,  who  was  in 
esteem  with  him,  an  Ethiopian  by  descent, 
who  told  the  king  what  a  state  the  pro- 
phet was  in,  and  said,  that  his  friends 
and  his  rulers  had  done  evil  in  putting 
the  prophet  into  the  mire,  and  by  that 
means  contriving  against  him  that  he 
should  suffer  a  death  more  bitter  than 
that  by  his  bonds  only.  When  the  king 
heard  this,  he  repented  of  his  having  deli- 
vered up  the  prophet  to  the  rulers,  and 
bade  the  Ethiopian  take  thirty  men  of  the 
king's  guards,  and  cords  with  them,  and 
whatsoever  else  they  understood  to  be  ne- 
cessary for  the  prophet's  preservation,  and 
to  draw  him  up  immediately.  So  the 
Ethiopian  took  the  men  that  he  was  or- 
dered to  take,  and  drew  up  the  prophet 
out  of  the  mire,  and  left  him  at  liberty 
in  the  prison. 

But  when  the  king  had  sent  to  call 
him  privately,  and  inquired  what  he  could 
say  to  him  from  God,  which  might  bo 
suitable  to  his  present  circumstances,  and 
desired  him  to  inform  him  of  it,  Jeremiab 
replied  that  he  had  somewhat  to  say; 
but  he  said  withal,  he  should  not  be  be- 
lieved, nor,  if  he  admonished  them,  should 
be  hearkened  to  :  "  For/'  said  he,  "  thy 
friends  have  determined  to  destroy  me,  as 
though  I  had  been  guilty  of  some  wick- 
edness :  and  where  are  now  those  men 
who  deceived  us,  and  said  that  the  king 
of  Babylon  would  not  come  and  fight 
against  us  any  more  ?  but  I  am  afraid 
now  to  speak  the  truth,  lest  thou  shouldest 
condemn  me  to  die."  And  when  the 
king  had  assured  him  upon  oath  that  he 
would  neither  himself  put  him  to  death, 
nor  deliver  him  up  to  the  rulers,  he  be- 
came bold  upon  that  assurance  that  was 
given  him,  and  gave  him  this  advice  : — ■ 
That  he  should  deliver  the  city  up  to  the 
Babylonians;  and  he  said,  that  it  was 
God  who  prophesied  this  by  him,  that  [he 
must  do  so]  if  he  would  be  preserved  ond 
escape  out  of  the  ^danger  he  was  in,  and 
that  then  neither  should  the  city  fall  to 
the  ground,  nor  should  the  temple  be 
burned;  but  that  [if  he  disobeyed]  he 
would  be  the  cause  of  these  miseries  com- 
ing upon  the  citizens,  and  of  the  calami- 
ty that  would  befall  his  whole  house 
When  the  king  heard  this,  he  said,  that 
he  would  willingly  do  what  he  persuaded 


Chap.  VII]  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


315 


him  to,  and  what  he  declared  would  be  to 
his  advantage,  but  that  he  was  afraid  of 
those  of  his  own  country  that  had  fallen 
away  to  the  Babylonians,  lest  he  should 
be  accused  by  tnem  to  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon, and  be  punished.  But  the  prophet 
encouraged  him,  and  said  he  had  no  cause 
to  fear  such  punishment,  for  that  he 
should  not  have  the  experience  of  any 
misfortune,  if  he  would  deliver  all  up  to 
the  Babylonians;  neither  himself,  nor  his 
children,  nor  nis  wives,  and  that  the  tem- 
ple should  then  continue  unhurt.  So 
when  Jeremiah  had  said  this,  the  king  let 
him  go,  and  charged  him  to  betray  what 
they  had  resolved  on  to  none  of  tne  citi- 
zens, nor  to  tell  any  of  these  matters  to 
any  of  the  rulers,  if  they  should  have 
learned  that  he  had  been  sent  for,  and 
should  inquire  of  him  what  it  was  that 
he  was  sent  for,  and  what  he  had  said  to 
him ;  but  to  pretend  to  them  that  he  be- 
sought him  that  he  might  not  be  kept  in 
bonds  and  in  prison.  And  indeed  he  said 
so  to  them,  for  they  came  to  the  prophet, 
and  asked  him  what  advice  it  was  that 
he  came  to  give  the  king  relating  to  them : 
and  thus  I  have  finished  what  concerns 
this  matter. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Destruction  of  the  Temple  by  the  Kings  of  Baby- 
lon.    B.  C.  588. 

Now  the  king  of  Babylon  was  very  in- 
tent and  earnest  upon  the  siege  of  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  he  erected  towers  upon  great 
banks  of  earth,  and  from  them  repelled 
those  that  stood  upon  the  walls :  he  also 
made  a  great  number  of  such  banks 
round  about  the  whole  city,  the  height  of 
which  was  equal  to  those  walls.  How- 
ever, those  that  were  within  bore  the 
siege  with  courage  and  alacrity,  for  they 
were  not  discouraged,  either  by  the  fa- 
mine or  by  the  pestilential  distemper,  but 
were  of  cheerful  minds  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  war,  although  those  miseries  with- 
in oppressed  them  also ;  and  they  did  not 
*uffer  themselves  to  be  terrified,  either  by 
the  contrivances  of  the  enemy,  or  by 
their  engines  of  war,  but  contrived  still 
different  engines  to  oppose  all  the  other 
withal,  till  indeed  there  seemed  to  be  an 
entire  struggle  between  the  Babylonians 
and  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  who  had 
the  greater  sagacity  and  skill;  the  former 
party  supposing  they  should  be  thereby 


too  hard  for  the  other,  for  the  destruction 
of  the  city  ;  the  latter,  placing  their  hopes 
of  deliverance  in  nothing  else  but  in  per- 
severing in  such  inventions,  in  opposition 
to  the  other,  as  might  demonstrate  the 
enemy's  engines  were  useless  to  them; 
and  this  siege  they  endured  for  eighteen 
months,  until  they  were  destroyed  by  the 
famine,  and  by  the  darts  which  the  ene- 
my threw  at  them  from  the  towers. 

Now  the  city  was  taken  on  the  ninth 
day  of  the  fourth  month,  in  the  eleventh 
year  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah.  They 
were  indeed  only  generals  of  the  king  of 
Babylon,  to  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  com- 
mitted the  care  of  the  siege,  for  he  abode 
himself  in  the  city  of  Riblah.  The 
names  of  these  generals  who  ravaged  and 
subdued  Jerusalem,  if  any  one  desires  to 
know  them,  were  these  : — Nergal,  Share- 
zer,  Samgar,  Nebo,  Rabsaris,  Sarsechim, 
and  Rabmag.  And  when  the  city  was 
taken  about  midnight,  and  the  enemy's 
generals  had  entered  into  the  temple,  and 
when  Zedekiah  was  sensible  of  it,  he  took 
his  wives  and  his  children,  and  his  cap- 
tains and  friends,  and  with  them  fled  out 
of  the  city,  through  the  fortified  ditch, 
and  through  the  desert;  and  when  certain 
of  the  deserters  had  informed  the  Babylo- 
nians of  this,  at  break  of  day,  they  made 
haste  to  pursue  after  Zedekiah,  and  over- 
took him,  not  far  from  Jericho,  and  en- 
compassed him  about.  But  for  those 
friends  and  captains  of  Zedekiah  who  had 
fled  out  of  the  city  with  him,  when  they 
saw  their  enemies  near  them,  they  left 
him  and  dispersed  themselves,  some  one 
way,  and  some  another,  and  every  one  re- 
solved to  save  himself;  so  the  enemy  took 
Zedekiah  alive,  when  he  was  deserted  by. 
all  but  a  few,  with  his  children  and  his 
wives,  and  brought  him  to  the  king. 
When  he  had  come,  Nebuchadnezzar  be- 
gan  to  call  him  a  wicked  wretch,  and  a 
covenant-breaker,  and  one  that  had  for- 
gotten his  former  words  when  he  pro- 
mised to  keep  the  country  for  him.  He 
also  reproached  him  for  his  ingratitude, 
that  when  he  had  received  the  kingdom 
from  him,  who  had  taken  it  from  Jehoia 
chin,  and  given  it  him,  he  had  made  use 
of  the  power  he  gave  him  against  him 
that  gave  it :  "  But,"  said  he,  "  God  is 
great,  who  hateth  that  conduct  of  thine, 
and  hath  brought  thee  under  us."  And 
when  he  had  used  these  words  to  Zede- 
kiah, he  commanded  his  sons  and  his 
friends  to  be  slain,  while   Zedekiah  and 


316 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[BOuK  2L 


the  rest  of  the  captains  looked  on;  after 
which  he  put  out  the  eyes  of  Zedekiah, 
and  bound  ir.rn,  and  carried  him  to  Ba- 
bj'lon.  And  these  things  happened  to 
him,*  as  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  had  fore- 
told to  him,  that  he  should  be  caught,  and 
brought  before  the  king  of  Babylon,  and 
should  speak  to  him  face  to  face,  and 
should  see  his  eyes  with  his  own  eyes; 
and  thus  far  did  Jeremiah  prophesy.  But 
he  was  also  made  blind,  and  brought  to 
Babylon,  but  did  not  see  it,  according  to 
the  prediction  of  Ezekiel. 

We  have  said  thus  much,  because  it 
was  sufficient  to  show  the  nature  of  Glod 
to  such  as  are  ignorant  of  it,  that  it  is  va- 
rious, and  acts  many  different  ways,  and 
that  all  events  happen  after  a  regular 
manner,  in  their  proper  season,  and  that 
it  foretells  what  must  come  to  pass.  It 
i3  also  sufficient  to  show  the  ignorance 
and  incredulity  of  men,  whereby  they  are 
not  permitted  to  foresee  any  thing  that  is 
future,  and  are,  without  any  guard,  ex- 
posed to  calamities,  so  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  avoid  the  experience  of 
those  calamities. 

And  after  this  manner  have  the  kings 
of  David's  race  ended  their  lives,  being 
twenty-one  in  number,  (until  the  last 
king,)  who  altogether  reigned  514  years, 
and  6  months,  and  10  days;  of  whom 
Saul,  who  wras  their  first  king,  retained 
the  government  twenty-nine  years,  though 
he  was  not  of  the  same  tribe  with  the 
rest. 

And  now  it  was  that  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon sent  Nebuzaradan,  the  general  of  his 
army,  to  Jerusalem,  to  pillage  the  temple ; 
who  had  it  also  in  command  to  burn  it  and 
the  royal  palace,  and  to  lay  the  city  even 
with  the  ground,  and  to  transplant  the 
people  into  Babylon.  Accordingly,  he 
came  to  Jerusalem  in  the  eleventh  year 
of  King  Zedekiah,  and  pillaged  the  tem- 
ple, and  carried  out  the  vessels  of  God, 
both  gold  and  silver,  and  particularly  that 
large  laver  which  Solomun  dedicated,  as 
also  the  pillars  of  brass,  and  their  chapi- 
ters, with  the  golden  tables  and  the  can- 
dlesticks :  and  when  he  had  carried  these 
off,  he  set  fire  to  the  temple  in  the  fifth 
month,  the  first  day  of  the  month,  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah, 


*  This  observation  of  Josephus  about  the  seem- 
ing disagreement  of  Jeremiah,  (ch.  xxxii.  4,  and 
xxxiv.  3,  and  Ezek.  xil.  13,)  but  real  agreement 
at  last,  concerning  the  fate  of  Zedekiah,  is  very 
true  and  very  remarkable. 


and  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  Nebuchad 
nezzar ;  he  also  burnt  the  palace,  and  over- 
threw the  city.  Now  the  temple  was 
burnt  470  years  6  months  and  10  days 
after  it  was  built.  It  was  then  1062  years 
6  months  and  10  days  from  the  departure 
out  of  Egypt;  and  from  the  Deluge  to 
the  destruction  of  the  temple  the  whole 
interval  was  1957  years  6  months  and 
10  days;  but  from  the  generation  of 
Adam,  until  this  befell  the  temple,  there 
were  3513  years  6  months  and  10  days, 
so  great  was  the  number  of  years  hereto 
belonging ;  and  what  actions  were  done 
during  these  years,  we  have  particularly 
related.  But  the  general  of  the  Babylo- 
nian king  now  overthrew  the  city  to  the 
very  foundations,  and  removed  all  the 
people,  and  took  for  prisoners  the  high 
priest  Seraiah,  and  Zephaniah  the  priest 
that  was  next  to  him,  and  the  rulers  that 
guarded  the  temple,  who  were  three  in 
number,  and  the  eunuch  who  was  over 
the  armed  men,  and  seven  friends  of  Zede- 
kiah, and  his  scribe,  and  sixty  other  rulers; 
all  whom,  together  with  the  vessels  they 
had  pillaged,  he  carried  to  the  king  of 
Babylon  to  Riblah,  a  city  of  Syria.  So 
the  king  commanded  the  heads  of  the  high 
priest  and  of  the  rulers  to  be  cut  off  there; 
but  he  himself  led  all  the  captives  and 
Zedekiah  to  Babylon.  He  also  led  Jose- 
dek  the  high  priest  away  bound.  lie 
was  the  son  of  Seraiah  the  high  priest, 
whom  the  king  of  Babylon  had  slain  in 
Riblah,  a  city  of  Syria,  as  we  just  now 
related. 

And  now,  because  we  have  enumerated 
the  succession  of  the  kings,  and  who  they 
were,  and  how  lono;  thev  reigned,  I  think 
it  necessary  to  set  down  the  names  of  the 
high  priests,  and  who  they  were  that  suc- 
ceeded one  another  in  the  high-priesthood 
under  the  kings.  The  first  high  priest 
then,  at  the  temple  which  Solomon  built, 
was  Zadok;  after  him  his  son  Achimas 
received  that  dignity ;  after  Achimas  was 
Azarias ;  his  son  was  Joram,  and  Joram's 
son  was  Isus ;  after  him  was  Axioramus ; 
his  son  was  Phineas,  and  Phineas's  son 
was  Sudeas,  and  Sudeas's  son  was  Juelus, 
and  Juelus's  son  was  Jotham,  and  Jo- 
tham's  son  was  Urias,  and  Unas' s  son  was 
Nerias,  and  Nerias's  son  was  Odeas,  and 
his  son  was  Sallumus,  and  Sallumus's  son 
was  Elcias,  and  his  son  [was  Azarias,  and 
his  son]  was  Sareas,  and  his  son  was  Jo- 
sedek,  who  was  carried  captive  to  Baby- 
lon.    All  these  received  the  high-]  riest- 


CtlAt      II    J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


817 


tuod  by  succession,  the  sons  from  their 
father. 

When  the  king  had  come  to  Babylon, 
he  kept  Zedekiah  in  prison  until  he  died, 
and  buried  him  magnificently,  and  dedi- 
cated the  vessels  he  had  pillaged  out  of 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem  to  his  own  gods, 
and  planted  the  people  in  the  country  of 
Babylon,  but  freed  the  high  priest  from 
his  bonds. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Rulers  set  over  the  captive  Jews. 

Now  the  general  of  the  army,  Ncbuza- 
radan,  when  he  had  carried  the  people  of 
the  Jews  into  captivity,  left  the  poor,  and 
those  that  had  deserted,  in  the  country; 
and  made  one,  whose  name  was  Gedaliah, 
the  son  of  Ahikam,  a  person  of  a  noble 
family,  their  governor;  which  Gedaliah 
was  of  a  gentle  and  righteous  disposition. 
He  also  commanded  them  that  they  should 
cultivate  the  ground,  and  pay  an  appointed 
tribute  to  the  king.  He  also  took  Jere- 
miah the  prophet  out  of  prison,  and  would 
have  persuaded  him  to  go  along  with  him 
to  Babylon,  for  that  he  had  been  enjoined 
by  the  king  to  supply  hiin  with  whatsoever 
he  wanted ;  and  if  he  did  not  like  to  do 
so,  he  desired  him  to  inform  him  where  he 
resolved  to  dwell,  that  he  might  signify 
the  same  to  the  king.  But  the  prophet 
had  no  mind  to  follow  him,  nor  to  dwell 
anywhere  else,  but  would  gladly  live  in 
the  ruins  of  his  country,  and  in  the  mise- 
rable remains  of  it.  When  the  general 
understood  what  his  purpose  was,  he  en- 
joined Gedaliah,  whom  he  left  behind,  to 
take  all  possible  care  of  him,  and  to  sup- 
ply him  with  whatsoever  he  wanted:  so 
when  he  had  given  him  rich  presents,  he 
dismissed  him.  Accordingly,  Jeremiah 
abode  in  a  city  of  that  country,  which  was 
called  Mispah ;  and  desired  of  Nebuzara- 
dan  that  he  would  set  at  liberty  his  disci- 
ple Baruch,  the  son  of  Neriah,  one  of  a 
very  eminent  family,  and  exceedingly  skil- 
ful in  the  language  of  his  country. 

When  Nebuzaradan  had  done  thus,  he 
made  haste  to  Babylon;  but  as  to  those 
that  fled  away  during  the  siege  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  had  been  scattered  over  the 
country,  when  they  heard  that  the  Baby- 
lonians had  gone  away,  and  had  left  a  rem- 
nant in  the  laud  of  Jerusalem,  and  those 
buch  as  were  to  cultivate  the  same,  they 
came  together  from  all  parts  to  Gedaliah 
to  Mispah.     Now  the  rulers  that  were  over 


them  were  Johanan,  the  son  of  Kareah, 
and  Jezaniah,  and  Seraiah,  and  others  be- 
sides them.  Now  there  was  of  the  royal 
family  one  Ishmael,  a  wicked  man,  and 
very  crafty,  who,  during  the  siege  of  Jeru- 
salem, fled  to  Baalis,  king  of  the  Ammon- 
ites, and  abode  with  him  during  that  time; 
and  Gedaliah  persuaded  them,  now  they 
were  there,  to  stay  with  him,  and  to  have1 
no  fear  of  the  Babylonians,  for  that  if 
they  would  cultivate  the  country,  they 
should  suffer  no  harm.  This  he  assured 
them  of  by  oath;  and  said,  that  they 
should  have  him  for  their  patron,  and  that 
if  any  disturbance  should  arise,  they  should 
find  him  ready  to  defend  them.  He  also 
advised  them  to  dwell  in  any  city,  as  every 
one  of  them  pleased;  and  that  they  would 
send  men  along  with  his  own  servants, 
and  rebuild  their  houses  upon  the  old 
foundations,  and  dwell  there ;  and  he  ad- 
monished them  beforehand,  that  they 
should  make  preparation,  while  the  season 
lasted,  of  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil,  that  they 
might  have  whereon  to  feed  during  the 
winter.  When  he  had  thus  discoursed  to 
them,  he  dismissed  them,  that  every  one 
might  dwell  in  what  part  of  the  country 
he  pleased. 

Now  when  this  report  was  spread  abroad 
as  far  as  the  nations  that  bordered  on 
Judea,  that  Gedaliah  kindly  entertained 
those  that  came  to  him,  after  they  had 
fled  away,  upon  this  [only]  condition,  that 
they  should  pay  tribute  to  the  king  of 
Babylon,  they  also  came  readily  to  Geda- 
liah, and  inhabited  the  country.  And 
when  Johanan,  and  the  rulers  that  were 
with  him,  observed  the  country,  and  the 
humanity  of  Gedaliah,  they  were  exceed- 
ingly in  love  with  him,  and  told  him  that 
Baalis,  the  king  of  the  Ammonites,  had 
sent  Ishmael  to  kill  him  by  treachery,  and 
secretly,  that  he  might  have  the  dominion 
over  the  Israelites,  as  being  of  the  royal 
family;  and  they  said  that  he  might  do- 
liver  himself  from  this  treacherous  design, 
if  he  would  give  them  leave  to  slay  Ish- 
mael, and  nobody  should  know  it,  for  they 
told  him  they  were  afraid  that  when  he 
was  killed  by  the  other,  the  entire  ruin  of 
the  remaining  strength  of  the  Israelites 
would  ensue.  But  he  professed  that  he 
did  not  believe  what  they  said,  when  they 
told  him  of  such  a  treacherous  design,  in 
a  man  that  had  been  well  treated  by  him; 
beeause  it  was  not  probable  that  ime  who, 
under  such  a  want  of  all  things,  had  failed 
of   nothing   that  wTas  necessary   t'oi    him. 


31? 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X. 


should  be  found  so  wicked  and  ungrateful 
toward  his  benefa  ctor,  that  when  it  would  be 
an  instance  of  wickedness  in  him  not  to  save 
him,  had  he  been  treacherously  assaulted 
by  others,  to  endeavour,  and  that  earnest- 
ly, to  kill  him  with  his  own  hand  :  that, 
however,  if  he  ought  to  suppose  this  in- 
formation to  be  true,  it  was  better  for 
himself  to  be  slain  by  the  other,  than  de- 
stroy a  man  who  fled  to  him  for  refuge, 
and  intrusted  his  own  safety  to  him,  and 
committed  himself  to  his  disposal 

So  Johanan,  and  the  rulers  that  were 
with  him,  not  being  able  to  persuade 
Gedaliah,  went  away  :  but  after  the  inter- 
val of  thirty  days  were  over,  Ishmael  came 
again  to  Gedaliah,  to  the  city  Mispah,  aud 
ten  men  with  him :  and  when  he  had 
feasted  Ishmael,  and  those  that  were  with 
him,  in  a  splendid  manner  at  his  table, 
and  had  given  them  presents,  he  became 
disordered  in  drink,  while  he  endeavoured 
to  be  very  merry  with  them :  and  when 
Ishmael  saw  him  in  that  case,  and  that  he 
was  drowned  in  his  cups  to  that  degree  of 
insensibility,  and  fallen  asleep,  he  rose  up 
on  a  sudden,  with  his  ten  friends,  and  slew 
Gedaliah  and  those  that  were  with  him  at 
the  feast;  and  when  he  had  slain  them,  he 
went  out  by  night,  and  slew  all  the  Jews 
that  were  in  the  city,  and  those  soldiers 
also  which  were  left  therein  by  the  Baby- 
lonians; but  the  next  day,  eighty  men 
came  out  of  the  country  with  presents  to 
Gedaliah,  none  of  them  knowing  what?  bad 
befallen  him  ;  when  Ishmael  saw  them,  he 
invited  them  in  to  Gedaliah,  and  when 
they  had  come  in,  he  shut  up  the  court 
and  slew  them,  and  cast  their  dead  bodies 
into  a  certain  deep  pit,  that  they  might 
not  be  seen ;  but  of  these  eighty  men, 
Ishmael  spared  those  that  entreated  him 
not  to  kill  them,  till  they  had  delivered 
up  to  him  what  riches  they  had  concealed 
in  the  fields,  consisting  of  their  furniture, 
and  garments,  and  corn  :  but  he  took  cap- 
tive the  people  that  were  in  Mispah,  with 
their  wives  and  children ;  among  whom 
were  the  daughters  of  King  Zedekiah, 
whom  Nebuzaradan,  the  general  of  the 
army  of  Babylon,  had  left  with  Gedaliah; 
and  when  he  had  done  this,  he  came  to 
the  king  of  the  Ammonites. 

But  when  Jonahan  and  the  rulers  with 
him  heard  of  what  was  done  at  Mispah  by 
Ishmael,  and  of  the  death  of  Gedaliah, 
they  had  indignation  at  it,  and  every  one 
of  them  took  his  own  armed  men,  and 
came  suddenly  to  fight  with  Ishmael,  and 


overtook  him  at  the  fountain  in  Hebron ; 
and  when  those  that  were  carried  away 
captives  by  Ishmael,  saw  Johanan  and 
the  rulers,  they  were  very  glad,  and  looked 
upon  them  as  coining  to  their  assistance  * 
so  they  left  him  that  had  carried  them 
captives,  and  came  over  to  Jonahan  :  then 
Ishmael,  with  eight  meu,  fled  to  the  king 
of  the  Ammonites ;  but  Johanan  took 
those  whom  he  had  rescued  out  of  the 
hands  of  Ishmael,  and  the  eunuchs,  and 
their  wives  and  children,  and  came  to  a 
certain  place  called  Mandara,  and  there 
they  abode  that  day,  for  they  had  deter- 
mined to  remove  from  thence  and  go  into 
Egypt,  out  of  fear  lest  the  Babylonians 
should  slay  them,  in  case  they  continued 
in  the  country,  and  that  out  of  anger  at 
the  slaughter  of  Gedaliah,  who  had  been 
by  them  set  over  it  for  governor. 

Now  while  they  were  under  this  delibe- 
ration, Johanan,  the  son  of  Kareah,  and 
the  rulers  that  were  with  him,  came  to  Je- 
remiah the  prophet,  and  desired  that  he 
would  pray  to  God,  that  because  they 
were  in  an  utter  loss  about  what  they 
ought  to  do,  he  would  discover  it  to  them, 
and  they  sware  that  they  would  do  what- 
soever Jeremiah  should  say  to  them  :  and 
when  the  prophet  said  that  he  would  be 
their  intercessor  with  God,  it  came  to  pass, 
that  after  ten  days  God  appeared  to  him, 
and  said,  that  he  should  inform  Johanan 
and  the  other  rulers  and  all  the  people, 
that  he  would  be  with  them  while  they 
continued  in  that  country,  and  take  care 
of  them,  and  keep  them  from  being  hurt 
by  the  Babylonians,  of  whom  they  were 
afraid ;  but  that  he  would  desert  them  if 
they  went  into  Egypt ;  and,  out  of  his 
wrath  against  them,  would  inflict  the  same 
punishments  upon  them  which  they  knew 
their  brethren  had  already  endured.  So 
when  the  prophet  had  informed  Johanan 
and  the  people  that  God  had  foretold  these • 
thiugs,  he  was  not  believed,  when  he  said 
that  God  commanded  them  to  continue  in 
that  country;  but  they  imagined  that  he 
said  so  to  gratify  Baruch,  his  own  disci- 
ple, and  belied  God,  and  that  he  persuaded 
them  to  stay  there,  that  they  might  be 
destroyed  by  the  Babylonians.  Accord- 
ingly, both  the  people  and  Johanan  dis- 
obeyed the  counsel  of  God,  which  he  gave 
them  by  the  prophet,  and  removed  into 
Egypt,  and  carried  Jeremiah  and  Baruch 
along  with  them. 

And  when  they  were  there,  God  signi- 
fied to  the  prophet  that  th  e  king  of  Baby- 


Ohap.  IX.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


319 


Ion  was  about  making  an  expedition 
against  the  Egyptians,  and  commanded 
him  to  foretell  to  the  people  that  Egypt 
should  be  taken,  and  the  king  of  Babylon 
should  slay  some  of  them,  and  should  take 
others  captive,  and  bring  them  to  Baby- 
lon ;  which  things  came  to  pass  accord- 
ingly; for  on  the  fifth  year  after  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  which  was  the 
twenty-third  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, he  made  an  expedition  against  Cele- 
syria;  and  when  he  had  possessed  himself 
of  it,  he  made  war  against  the  Ammonites 
and  Moabites;  and  when  he  had  brought 
all  those  nations  under  subjection,  he  fell 
upon  Egypt,  in  order  to  overthrow  it;  and 
he  slew  the  king  that  then  reigned,  and 
set  up  another :  and  he  took  those  Jews 
that  were  there  captives,  and  led  them 
away  to  Babylon;  and  such  was  the  end 
of  the  nation  of  the  Hebrews,  as  it  hath 
been  delivered  down  to  us,  it  having  twice 
gone  beyond  Euphrates ;  for  the  people 
of  the  ten  tribes  were  carried  out  of  Sama- 
ria by  the  Assyrians  in  the  days  of  King 
Hoshea ;  after  which  the  people  of  the  two 
tribes  that  remained  after  Jerusalem  was 
taken  [were  carried  away]  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, the  king  of  Babylon  and  Chaldea. 
Now  as  to  Shalmanezer,  he  removed  the 
Israelites  out  of  their  country,  and  placed 
therein  the  nation  of  the  Outheaus,  who 
had  formerly  belonged  to  the  inner  parts 
of  Persia  and  Media,  but  were  then  called 
Samaritans,  by  taking  the  name  of  the 
country  to  which  they  were  removed;  but 
the  king  of  Babylon,  who  brought  out  the 
two  tribes,  placed  no  other  nation  in  their 
country,  by  which  means  all  Judea  and 
Jerusalem  and  the  temple  continued  to  be 
a  desert  for  seventy  years ;  but  the  entire 
interval  of  time  which  passed  from  the 
captivity  of  the  Israelites,  to  the  carrying 
away  of  the  two  tribes,  proved  to  be  130 
years,  6  months,  and  10  days. 


CHAPTER  X 

History  of  DanieL     B.  C.  607-563. 

But  now  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of 
Babylon,  took  some  of  the  most  noble 
of  the  Jews  that  were  children,  and  the 
kinsmen  of  Zedekiah  their  king,  such  as 
were  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  their 
bodies  and  the  comeliness  of  their  counte- 
nances, and  delivered  them  into  the  hands 
of  tutors,  and  to  the  improvement  to  be 
made  by  them.     He  also  made  some  of 


them  to  be  eunuchs ;  which  course  he 
took  also  with  those  of  other  nations  whom 
he  had  taken  in  the  flower  of  their  age, 
and  afforded  them  their  diet  from  his  own 
table,  and  had  them  instructed  ic  the  in- 
stitutes of  the  country,  and  taught  the 
learning  of  the  Chaldeans;  and  they  had 
now  exercised  themselves  sufficiently  in 
that  wisdom  which  he  had  ordered  they 
should  apply  themselves  to.  Now  among 
these  there  were  four  of  the  family  of 
Zedekiah,  of  most  excellent  dispositions ; 
the  one  of  whom  was  called  Daniel,  an- 
other was  called  Ananias,  another  Misael, 
and  the  fourth  Azarias :  and  the  king  of 
Babylon  changed  their  names,  and  com- 
manded that  they  should  make  use  of 
other  names.  Daniel,  he  called  Belte- 
shazzar ;  Ananias,  Shadrach ;  Misael,  Me- 
shach ;  and  Azarias,  Abednego.  These 
the  king  had  in  esteem,  and  continued  to 
love,  because  of  the  very  excellent  tem- 
per they  were  of,  and  because  of  their  ap- 
plication to  learning,  and  the  progress 
they  had  made  in  wisdom. 

Now  Daniel  and  his  kinsmen  had  re- 
solved to  use  a  severe  diet,  and  to  abstain 
from  those  kinds  of  food  which  came  from 
the  king's  table,  and  entirely  to  forbear 
to  eat  of  all  living  creatures :  so  he  came 
to  Ashpenaz,  who  was  that  eunuch  to 
whom  the  care  of  them  was  committed,* 
and  desired  him  to  take  and  spend  what 
was  brought  for  them  from  the  king;  but 
to  give  them  pulse  and  dates  for  their 
food,  and  any  thing  else,  besides  the  flesh 
of  living  creatures,  that  he  pleased,  for 
that  their  inclinations  were  to  that  sort 
of  food,  and  that  they  despised  the  other. 
He  replied  that  he  was  ready  to  serve 
them  in  what  they  desired,  but  he  suspect- 
ed that  they  would  be  discovered  by  the 
king,  from  their  meagre  bodies,  and  the 
alteration  of  their  countenances;  because 
it  could  not  be  avoided  but  their  bodies 
and  colours  must  be  changed  with  their 
diet,  especially  while  they  would  be  clear- 
ly discovered  by  the  finer  appearance  of 
the  other  children,  who  would  fare  better, 
and  thus  they  should  bring  him  into  dan- 
ger, and  occasion  him  to  be  punished : 
yet  did  they  persuade  Ashpenaz,  who 
was  thus  fearful,  to  give  them  what  food 
they  desired  for  ten  days,  by  way  of  trial; 
aud  in  case  the  habit  of  their  bodies  were 
not  altered,  to  go  on  in  the  same  way,  as 
expecting  that  they  should  not  be    hurt 

*  Isa.  xxxix.  7;  DaD.  i.  3,  6,  7,  11,  18. 


320 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS 


thereby  afterward ;  but  if  he  saw  them 
look  meagre,  and  worse  than  the  rest,  he 
should  reduce  them  to  their  former  diet. 
Now  when  it  appeared  that  they  were  so 
far  from  becoming  worse  by  the  use  of 
this  food,  that  they  grew  plumper  and 
fuller  in  body  than  the  rest,  insomuch 
that  he  thought  those  who  fed  on  what 
came  from  the  king's  table  seemed  less 
.plump  and  full,  while  those  that  were 
with  Daniel  looked  as  if  they  had  lived 
in  plenty,  and  in  all  sorts  of  luxury, 
Ashpenaz,  from  that  time,  securely  took 
himself  what  the  king  sent  every  day 
from  his  supper,  according  to  custom,  to 
the  children,  but  gave  them  the  foremen- 
tioned  diet,  while  they  had  their  souls  in 
some  measure  more  pure,  and  less  bur- 
dened, and  so  fitter  for  learning,  and  had 
their  bodies  in  better  tune  for  hard  la- 
bour ;  for  they  ueither  had  the  former  op- 
pressed and  heavy  with  variety  of  meats, 
nor  were  the  other  effeminate  on  the  same 
account ;  so  they  readily  understood  all 
the  learning  that  was  among  the  Hebrews, 
and  among  the  Chaldeans,  as  especially 
did  Daniel,  who,  being  already  sufficiently 
skilled  in  wisdom,  was  very  busy  about 
thi:  interpretation  of  dreams  :  and  God 
manifested  himself  to  him. 

Now  two  years  after  the  destruction  of 
Egypt,  King  Nebuchadnezzar  saw  a  won- 
derful dream,  the  accomplishment  of 
which  God  showed  him  in  his  sh:ep ;  but 
when  he  arose  out  of  his  bed,  he  forgot 
the  accomplishment :  so  he  sent  for  the 
Chaldeans  and  magicians,  and  the  pro- 
phets, and  told  them  that  he  had  seen  a 
dream,  and  informed  them  that  he  had 
forgotten  the  accomplishment  of  what  he 
had  seen,  aud  he  enjoined  them  to  tell 
him  both  what  the  dream  was,  and  what 
was  its  signification ;  and  they  said  that 
this  was  a  thing  impossible  to  be  disco- 
vered by  men  ;  but  they  promised  him, 
that  if  he  would  explain  to  them  what 
dream  he  had  seen,  they  would  tell 
him  its  signification.  Hereupon  he  threat- 
ened to  put  them  to  death,  unless  they 
told  him  his  dream  :  and  he  gave  com- 
mand to  have  them  all  put  to  death,  since 
thay  confessed  they  could  not  do  what 
they  were  commanded  to  do.  Now  when 
Daniel  heard  that  the  king  had  given  a 
command  that  all  the  wise  men  should  be 
put  to  death,  and  that  among  them  hiin- 
Belf  and  his  three  kinsmen  were  in  dan- 
ger, he  went  to  Arioch,  who  was  captain 
of  the  king's  guards,  and  desired  to  know 


[Book  X 

of  him  what  was  the  reason  why  the  king 
had  given  command  that  all  the  wise  men, 
and  Chaldeans,  and  magicians  should  be 
slain.  So  when  he  had  learned  that  the 
king  had  had  a  dream,  and  had  forgotten 
it,  and  that  when  they  were  enjoined  to 
inform  the  king  of  it,  they  had  said  they 
could  not  do  it,  and  had  thereby  provoked 
him  to  anger,  he  desired  of  Arioch  that 
he  would  go  unto  the  king,  and  desire 
respite  for  the  magicians  for  ona  night, 
and  to  put  off  their  slaughter  so  long,  for 
that  he  hoped  within  that  time  to  obtain, 
by  prayer  to  God,  the  knowledge  of  the 
dream.  Accordingly,  Arioch  informed 
the  king  of  what  Daniel  desired :  so  the 
king  bade  them  delay  the  slaughter  of 
the  magicians  until  he  knew  what  Daniel's 
promise  would  come  to ;  but  the  young 
man  retired  to  his  own  house,  with  his 
kinsmen,  and  besought  God  that  whole 
night  to  discover  the  dream,  and  thereby 
deliver  the  magicians  and  Chaldeans,  with 
whom  they  were  themselves  to  perish, 
from  the  king's  anger,  by  enabling  him 
to  declare  his  vision,  and  to  make  mani- 
fest what  the  king  had  seen  the  night  be- 
fore in  his  sleep,  but  had  forgotten  it. 
Accordingly,  God,  out  of  pity  to  those 
that  were  in  danger,  and  out  of  regard  to 
the  wisdom  of  Daniel,  made  known  to 
him  the  dream  and  its  interpretation,  that 
so  the  king  might  understand  by  him  its 
signification  also.  When  Daniel  had  ob- 
tained this  knowledge  from  God,  he  arose 
very  joyful,  and  told  it  his  brethren,  and 
made  them  glad,  and  to  hope  well  that 
they  should  now  preserve  their  lives,  of 
which  they  despaired  before,  and  had 
their  minds  full  of  nothing  but  the 
thoughts  of  dying.  So  when  he  had 
with  them  returned  thanks  to  God,  who 
had  commiserated  their  youth,  when  it 
was  day  he  came  to  Arioch,  and  desired 
he  would  bring  him  to  the  king,  because 
he  would  discover  to  him  that  dream 
which  he  had  seen  the  night  before. 

When  Daniel  had  come  in  to  the  king, 
he  excused  himself  first,  that  he  did  not 
pretend  to  be  wiser  than  the  other  Chal- 
deans and  magicians,  when,  upon  their 
entire  inability  to  discover  his  dream,  he 
was  undertaking  to  inform  him  of  it ;  for 
this  was  not  by  his  own  skill,  »r  on  ac- 
count of  his  having  better  cultivated  his 
understanding  than  the  rest;  but  he  said, 
"  God  hath  had  pity  upon  us,  when  we 
were  in  danger  of  death,  and,  when  1 
prayed  for  the  life  of  myself,  and  of  those 


Chap.  X.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


321 


of  my  own  nation,  hath  made  manifest,  to 
mo  both  the  dream  and  the  interpretation 
thereof;  for  I  was  not  less  concerned  for 
thy  glory  than  for  the  sorrow  that  we 
were  by  thee  condemned  to  die,  while 
thou  didst  so  unjustly  command  men, 
both  good  and  excellent  in  themselves,  to 
be  put  to  death,  when  thou  enjoinedst 
them  to  do  what  was  entirely  above  the 
reach  of  human  wisdom,  and  requiredst 
of  them  what  was  only  the  work  of  God. 
Wherefore,  as  thou  in  thy  sleep  was  soli- 
citous concerning  those  that  should  suc- 
ceed thee  in  the  government  of  the  whole 
world,  God  was  desirous  to  show  thee  all 
those  that  should  reign  after  thee,  and  to 
that  end  exhibited  to  thee  the  following 
dream  : — Thou  seemedst  to  see  a  great 
image  standing  before  thee,  the  head  of 
which  proved  to  be  of  gold,  the  shoulders 
and  arms  of  silver,  and  the  belly  and  the 
thighs  of  brass,  but  the  legs  and  the  feet 
of  iron  ;  after  which  thou  sawest  a  stone 
broken  off  from  a  mountain,  which  fell 
upon  the  image  and  threw  it  down,  and 
brake  it  to  pieces,  and  did  not  permit  any 
part  of  it  to  remain  whole  ;  but  the  gold, 
the  silver,  the  brass,  and  the  iron  became 
smaller  than  meal,  which,  upon  the  blast 
of  a  violent  wind,  was  by  force  carried 
away,  and  scattered  abroad;  but  the  stone 
did  increase  to  such  a  degree,  that  the 
whole  earth  beneath  it  seemed  to  be  filled 
therewith.  This  is  the  dream  which  thou 
sawest,  and  its  interpretation  is  as  fol- 
lows : — The  head  of  gold  denotes  thee, 
and  the  kings  of  Babylon  that  have  been 
before  thee ;  but  the  two  hands  and  arms 
signify  this,  that  your  government  shall 
be  dissolved  by  two  kings;  but  another 
king  that  shall  come  fronl  the  west,  armed 
with  brass,  shall  destroy  that  government; 
and  another  government,  that  shall  be 
like  unto  iron,  shall  put  an  end  to  the 
power  of  the  former,  and  shall  have  do- 
minion over  all  the  earth,  on  account  of 
the  nature  of  iron,  which  is  stronger  than 
that  of  gold,  of  silver,  and  of  brass." 
Daniel  did  also  declare  the  meaning  of 
the  stone  to  the  king ;  but  I  do  not  think 
proper  to  relate  it,  since  I  have  only  un- 
dertaken to  describe  things  past  or  things 
present,  but  not  things  that  are  future ;  yet 
if  any  one  be  so  very  desirous  of  know- 
ing truth,  as  not  to  waive  such  points  of 
curiosity,  and  cannot  curb  his  inclination 
for  understanding  the  uncertainties  of  fu- 
turity, and  whether  they  will  happen  or 
not,  let  him  be  diligent  in  reading  the 
21 


Book  of  Daniel,  which  he  will  find  among 
the  sacred  writings. 

When  Nebuchadnezzar  heard  this,  and 
recollected  his  dream,  he  was  astonished 
at  the  nature  of  Daniel,  and  fell  upon  his 
face,  and  saluted  Daniel  in  the  manner 
that  men  worship  God,  and  gave  com- 
mand that  he  should  be  sacrificed  to  as  a 
god.  And  this  was  not  all,  for  he  also 
imposed  the  name  of  his  own  god  upon 
him  [Belteshazzar],  and  made  him  and 
his  kinsmen  rulers  of  his  whole  kingdom  ; 
which  kinsmen  of  his  happened  to  fall 
into  great  danger  by  the  envy  and  malice 
[of  their  enemies] ;  for  they  offended  the 
king  upon  the  occasion  following : — He 
made  an  image  of  gold,  the  height  of 
which  was  sixty  cubits,  and  its  breadth  six 
cubits,  and  set  it  in  the  great  plain  of 
Babylon  ;  and  when  he  was  going  to  dedi- 
cate the  image,  he  invited  the  principal 
men  out  of  all  the  earth  that  were  under 
his  dominions,  and  commanded  them,  in 
the  first  place,  that  when  they  should  hear 
the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  they  should 
then  fall  down  and  worship  the  image; 
and  he  threatened,  that  those  who  did  not 
so  should  be  cast  into  a  fiery  furnace. 
When,  therefore,  all  the  rest,  upon  the 
hearing  of  the  sound  of  the  trumpet, 
worshipped  the  image,  they  relate  that 
Daniel's  kinsmen  did  not  do  it,  because 
they  would  not  transgress  the  laws  of 
their  country ;  so  these  men  were  con- 
victed, and  cast  immediate^  into  the  fire, 
but  were  saved  by  Divine  Providence,  and 
after  a  surprising  manner  escaped  death, 
for  the  fire  did  not  touch  them  :  and  I 
suppose  that  it  touched  them  not,  as  if  it 
reasoned  with  itself  that  they  were  cast 
into  it  without  any  fault  of  theirs,  and 
that  therefore  it  was  too  weak  to  burn 
the  young  men  when  they  were  in  it.  This 
was  done  by  the  power  of  God,  who  made 
their  bodies  so  far  superior  to  the  fire 
that  it  could  not  consume  them.  This  it 
was  which  recommended  them  to  the 
king  as  righteous  men,  and  men  beloved  of 
God  ;  on  which  account  they  continued  in 
great  esteem  with  him. 

A  little  after  this,  the  king  saw  in  his 
sleep  again  another  vision ;  how  he 
should  fall  from  his  dominion,  and  feed 
among  the  wild  beasts;  and  that,  when 
he  had  lived  in  this  manner  in  the  deserft 
for  seven  years,*  he  should  recover  his 
dominion  again.     When  he  had  seen  thia 


*  Dan.  iv.  16 


822 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X 


dream,  be  called  the  magicians  together 
again,  and  inquired  of  them  about  it,  and 
desired  them  to  tell  him  what  it  signified; 
buf,  when  none  of  them  could  find  out  the 
meaning  of  the  dream,  nor  discover  it  to 
the  king,  Daniel  was  the  only  person  that 
explained  it;  and  as  he  foretold,  so  it 
came  to  pass ;  for  after  he  had  continued 
in  the  wilderness  the  forementioued  in- 
terval of  time,  while  no  one  durst  attempt 
to  seize  his  kingdom  during  those  seven 
years,  he  prayed  to  God  that  he  might 
recover  his  kingdom,  and  he  returned  to 
it.  But  let  no  one  blame  me  for  writing 
down  every  thing  of  this  nature,  as  I  find 
it  in  our  ancient  books;  for  as  to  that 
matter,  I  have  plainly  assured  those  that 
think  me  defective  in  any  such  point,  or 
complain  of  my  management,  and  have 
told  them,  in  the  beginning  of  this  history, 
that  I  intended  to  do  no  more  than  trans- 
late the  Hebrew  books  into  the  Greek 
language,  and  promised  them  to  explain 
those  facts,  without  adding  any  thing  to 
them  of  my  own,  or  taking  any  thing 
away  from  them. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Nebuchadnezzar  dies — his  successors — their  go- 
vernment is  dissolved  by  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians.    B.  C.  538. 

Now  when  King  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
reigned  forty-three  years,  he  ended  his 
life.  He  was  an  active  man,  and  more 
fortunate  than  the  kings  that  were  before 
him.  Now  Berosus  makes  mention  of 
his  actions  in  the  third  book  of  his 
Chaldaic  History,  where  he  says  thus : 
"  When  his  father  Nebuchodonosor  [Na- 
bopollassar]  heard  that  the  governor 
whom  he  had  set  over  Egypt,  and  the 
places  about  Celesyria  and  Phoenicia,  had 
revolted  from  him,  while  he  was  not  him- 
self able  any  longer  to  undergo  the  hard- 
ships [of  war],  he  committed  to  his  son 
Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was  still  but  a 
youth,  some  parts  of  his  army,  and  sent 
them  against  him.  So  when  Nebuchad- 
nezzar had  given  battle,  and  fought  with 
the  rebel,  he  beat  him,  and  reduced  the 
country  from  under  his  subjection,  and 
made  it  a  branch  of  his  own  kingdom ; 
but  about  that  time  it  happened  that  his 
father  Nebuchodonosor  [Nabopollassar] 
fell  ill,  and  ended  his  life  in  the  city  of 
Babylon,  when  he  had  reigned  twenty- 
one  years;  and  when  he  was  made  sensi- 
ble, as   he  was  in  a  little  time,  that  his 


father  Nebuchodonosor  [Nabopollassar] 
was  dead,  and  having  settled  the  affairs 
of  Egypt,  and  the  other  countries,  as  also 
those  that  concerned  the  captive  Jews, 
and  Phoenicians,  and  Syrians,  and  those 
of  the  Egyptian  nations,  and  having  com 
mitted  the  conveyance  of  them  to  Baby- 
lon to  certain  of  his  friends,  together 
with  the  gross  of  his  army,  and  the  rest 
of  their  ammunition  and  provisions,  he 
went  himself  hastily,  accompanied  by  a 
few  others,  over  the  desert,  and  came  to 
Babylon.  So  he  took  upon  him  the 
management  of  public  affairs,  and  of  the 
kingdom  which  had  been  kept  for  him  by 
one  that  was  the  principal  of  the  Chal- 
deans, and  he  received  the  entire  domi- 
nions of  his  father,  and  appointed,  that 
when  the  captives  came,  they  should  be 
placed  as  colonies  in  the  most  proper 
places  of  Babylonia;  but  he  adorned 
the  temple  of  Belus,  and  the  rest  of  the 
temples,  in  a  magnificent  manner,  with 
the  spoils  he  had  taken  in  the  war.  He 
also  added  another  city  to  that  which  was 
there  of  old,  and  rebuilt  it,  that  such  as 
would  besiege  it  hereafter  might  no  more 
turn  the  course  of  the  river,  and  thereby 
attack  the  city  itself:  he  therefore  built 
three  walls  round  about  the  inner  city, 
and  three  others  about  that  which  was 
the  outer,  and  this  he  did  with  burnt 
brick.  And  after  he  had,  after  a  be- 
coming manner,  walled  the  city,  and 
adorned  its  gates  gloriously,  he  built 
another  palace  before  his  father's  palace, 
but  so  that  they  joined  to  it;  to  describe 
the  vast  height  and  immense  riches  of 
which  it  would  perhaps  be  too  much  for 
me  to  attempt;  yet,  as  large  and  lofty  as 
they  were,  they  were  completed  in  fifteen 
days.  He  also  erected  elevated  places 
for  walking,  of  stone,  and  made  them  re- 
semble mountains,  and  built  them  so  that 
they  might  be  planted  with  all  sorts  of 
trees.  He  also  erected  what  was  called  a 
pensile  paradise,  because  his  wife  was  de- 
sirous to  have  things  like  her  own  coun- 
try, she  having  been  bred  up  in  the 
palaces  of  Media."  Megasthenes  also,  in 
his  fourth  book  of  his  Accounts  of  India, 
makes  mention  of  these  things,  and 
thereby  endeavours  to  show  that  thi? 
king  [Nebuchadnezzar]  exceeded  Her- 
cules in  fortitude,  and  in  the  greatness 
of  his  actions;  for  he  saith,  that  he  con- 
quered a  great  part  of  Libya  and  Iberia 
Diocles  also,  in  the  second  book  of  hii 
Accounts  of  Persia,  mentions  this  king 


Uhap.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


323 


as  does  Philostratus,  in  his  Accounts 
both  of  India  and  Phoenicia,  say,  that 
this  king  besieged  Tyre  thirteen  years, 
while  at  the  same  time  Ethbaal  reigned 
at  Tyre.  These  are  all  the  histories  that 
I  have  met  with  concerning  this  king. 

But  now,  after  the  death  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, Evil-Merodach,  his  son,  succeeded 
in  the  kingdom,  who  immediately  set 
Jeconiah  at  liberty,  and  esteemed  him 
among  his  most  intimate  friends.  He 
also  gave  him  many  presents,  and  made 
him  honourable  above  the  rest  of  the 
kings  that  were  in  Babylon ;  for  his 
father  hud  not  kept  his  faith  with  Jeco- 
niah, when  he  voluntarily  delivered  up 
himself  to  him,  with  his  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  his  whole  kindred,  for  the  sake 
of  his  country,  that  it  might  not  be  taken 
by  siege,  and  utterly  destroyed,  as  we 
said  before.  When  Evil-Merodach  was 
dead,  after  a  reign  of  eighteen  years, 
Neglissar  his  son  took  the  government, 
and  retained  it  forty  years,  and  then 
ended  his  life;  and  after  him  the  succes- 
sion in  the  kingdom  came  to  his  son 
Labosordacus,  who  continued  in  it  in  all 
but  nine  months ;  and  when  he  was  dead, 
it  came  to  Baltasar,  who  by  the  Baby- 
lonians was  called  Naboandelus :  against 
him  did  Cyrus,  the  king  of  Persia,  and 
Darius,  the  king  of  Media,  make  war; 
and  when  he  was  besieged  in  Babylon, 
there  happened  a  wonderful  and  prodi- 
gious vision.  He  was  sitting  down  at 
supper  in  a  large  room,  and  there  were  a 
great  many  vessels  of  silver,  such  as  were 
made  for  royal  entertainments,  and  he 
had  with  him  his  concubines  and  his 
friends;  whereupon  he  came  to  a  reso- 
lution, and  commanded  that  those  vessels 
of  God  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  plun- 
dered out  of  Jerusalem,  and  had  not 
made  use  of,  but  had  put  them  into  his 
own  temple,  should  be  brought  out  of 
that  temple.  He  also  grew  so  haughty 
as  to  proceed  to  use  them  in  the  midst  of 
his  cups,  drinking  out  of  them,  and  blas- 
pheming against  God.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  saw  a  hand  proceed  out  of  the 
wall,  and  writing  upon  the  wall  certaiu 
syllables;  at  which  sight,  being  dis- 
turbed, he  called  the  magicians  and 
Chaldeans  together,  and  all  that  sort  of 
men  that  are  among  the>e  barbarians, 
and  were  able  to  interpret  signs  and 
dreams,  that  they  might  explain  the 
writing  to  him.  But  when  the  magi- 
cians  sdid    they    could   discover   nothing, 


nor  did  understand  it,  the  king  was  in 
great  disorder  of  mind,  and  under  great 
trouble,  at  this  surprising  accident ;  so 
he  caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  through  all 
the  country,  and  promised,  that  to  him 
who  could  explain  the  writing,  and  give 
the  signification  couched  therein,  he  would 
give  him  a  golden  chain  for  his  neck,  and 
leave  to  wear  a  purple  garment,  as  did 
the  kings  of  Chaldea,  and  would  bestow 
on  him  the  third  part  of  his  own  domi- 
nions. When  this  proclamation  was  made, 
the  magicians  ran  together  more  earnestly, 
and  were  very  ambitious  to  find  out  the 
importance  of  the  writing  ;  but  still  hesi- 
tated about  it  as  much  as  before.  Now 
when  the  king's  grandmother  saw  him 
cast  down  at  this  accideut,*  she  began  to 
encourage  him,  and  to  say  that  there  was 
a  certaiu  captive  who  came  from  Judea,  a 
Jew  by  birth,  but  brought  away  thence 
by  Nebuchadnezzar  when  he  had  de- 
stroyed Jerusalem,  whose  name  was 
Daniel,  a  wise  man,  and  one  of  great 
sagacity  in  finding  out  what  was  impos- 
sible for  others  to  discover,  and  what  was 
known  to  God  alone ;  who  brought  to 
light  and  answered  such  questions  to 
Nebuchadnezzar  as  no  one  else  was  able 
to  answer  when  they  were  consulted. 
She  therefore  desired  that  he  would  send 
for  him,  and  inquire  of  him  concerning 
the  writing,  and  to  condemn  the  unskil- 
fulness  of  those  that  could  not  find  their 
meaning,  and  this,  although  what  God 
signified  thereby  should  be  of  a  melan- 
choly nature. 

When  Baltasar  heard  this,  he  called 
for  Daniel :  and  when  he  had  discoursed 
to  him  what  he  had  learned  concerning 
him  and  his  wisdom,  and  how  a  diviue 
spirit  was  with  him,  and  that  he  alone 
was  fully  capable  of  finding  out  what 
others  would  never  have  thought  of,  he 
desired  him  to  declare  to  him  what  this 
writing  meant :  that  if  he  did  so,  he 
would  give  him  leave  to  wear  purple,  and 
to  put  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck,  and 
would  bestow  on  him  the  third  part  of  his 
dominion,  as  an  honorary  reward  for  his 
wisdom,  that  thereby  he  might  become 
illustrious  to  those  who  saw  hi  in,  and 
who  inquired  upon  what  occasion  he  ob- 
tained such  honours.  But  Daniel  de- 
sired that  he  would  keep  his  gifts  to 
himself;  for  what  is  the  effect  of  wisdom 
and    of    divine    revelation    admits   of   no 

*  Dan.  v.  10-23. 


324 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X. 


gifts,  and  bestows  its  advantages  on  peti- 
tioners freely;  but  that  still  he  would 
explain  the  writing  to  him ;  which  de- 
noted that  he  should  soon  die,  and  this 
because  he  had  not  learned  to  honour 
God,  and  not  to  admit  things  above 
human  nature,  by  what  punishments  his 
progen.tor  had  undergone  for  the  injuries 
he  had  offered  to  God;  and  because  he 
had  quite  forgotten  how  Nebuchadnezzar 
was  removed  to  feed  among  wild  beasts 
for  his  impieties,  and  did  not  recover  his 
former  life  among  men  and  his  kingdom, 
but  upou  God's  mercy  to  him,  after  many 
supplications  and  prayers;  who  did  there- 
upon praise  God  all  the  days  of  his  life, 
as  one  of  almighty  power,  and  who  takes 
care  of  mankind.  [He  also  put  him  in 
mind]  how  he  had  greatly  blasphemed 
against  God,  and  had  made  use  of  his 
vessels  among  his  concubines  :  that  there- 
fore  God  saw  this,  and  was  angry  with 
him,  and  declared  by  this  writing  before- 
hand what  a  sad  conclusion  of  his  life  he 
should  come  to.  And  he  explained  the 
writing  thus  :  "  Maneh.  This,  if  it  be 
expounded  in  the  Greek  language,  may 
signify  a  '  Number,'  because  God  hath 
numbered  so  long  a  time  for  thy  life,  and 
for  thy  government,  and  that  there  re- 
mains but  a  small  portion.  Thekel. 
This  signifies  a  '  Weight,'  and  means 
that  God  hath  weighed  thy  kingdom  in  a 
balance,  and  finds  it  going  down  already. 
Phares.  This  also,  in  the  Greek  tongue, 
denotes  a  'Fragment/  God  will  there- 
fore break  thy  kingdom  in  pieces,  and 
divide  it  among  the  Medes  and  Persians." 
When  Daniel  had  told  the  king  that 
the  writing  upon  the  wall  signified  these 
events,  Baltasar  was  in  great  sorrow  and 
affliction,  as  was  to  be  expected,  when 
the  interpretation  was  so  heavy  upon  him. 
However,  he  did  not  refuse  what  he 
had  promised  Daniel,  although  he  had 
become  a  foreteller  of  misfortunes  to  him  : 
but  bestowed  it  all  upon  him,  as  reasoning 
thu3,  that  what  he  was  to  suffer  was  pe- 
culiar to  himself,  and  to  fate,  and  did  not 
belong  to  the  prophet,  but  that  it  was 
the  part  of  a  good  and  a  just  man  to  give 
what  he  had  promised,  although  the 
events  wer«  of  a  melancholy  nature. 
Accordingly,  the  king  determined  so  to 
do.  Now,  after  a  little  while,  both  him- 
self and  the  city  were  taken  by  Cyrus, 
the  king  of  Persia,  who  fought  against 
him  :  for  it  was  Baltasar  under  whom 
Babylon  was  taken  when  he  had  reigned 


seventeen  years.  And  this  is  the  end  of 
the  posterity  of  King  Nebuchadnezzar,  as 
history  informs  us;  but  when  Babylon 
was  taken  by  Darius,  and  when  he,  with 
his  kinsman  Cyrus,  had  put  an  end  to 
the  dominion  of  the  Babylonians,  he  was 
sixty-two  years  old.  He  was  the  son  of 
Astyages,  and  had  another  name  among 
the  Greeks.  Moreover,  he  took  Daniel 
the  prophet,  and  carried  him  with  him  into 
Media,  and  honoured  him  very  greatly, 
and  kept  him  with  him;  for  he  was  one 
of  the  three  presidents  whom  he  sent  over 
his  360  provinces,  for  into  so  many  did 
Darius  part  them. 

However,  while  Daniel  was  in  so  great 
dignity,  and  in  so  great  favour  with  Da- 
rius, and  was  alone  intrusted  with  every 
thing  by  him,  as  having  somewhat  divine 
in  him,  he  was  envied  by  the  rest :  for 
those  that  see  others  in  greater  honour 
than  themselves  with  kiiws,  envv  them  : 
and  when  those  that  were  grieved  at  the 
great  favour  Daniel  was  in  with  Darius, 
sought  for  an  occasion  against  him,  he 
afforded  them  no  occasion  at  all,  for  he 
was  above  all  the  temptations  of  money, 
and  despised  bribery,  aud  esteemed  it  a 
very  base  thing  to  take  any  thing  by  way 
of  reward,  even  when  it  might  be  justly 
given  him  :  he  afforded  those  that  envied 
him  not  the  least  handle  for  an  accusation. 
So  when  they  could  find  nothing  for  which 
they  might  calumniate  him  to  the  king, 
nothing  that  was  shameful  or  reproachful, 
and  thereby  deprive  him  of  the  honour 
he  was  in  with  him,  they  sought  for  some 
other  method  whereby  they  might  destroy 
him.  When,  therefore,  they  saw  that 
Daniel  prayed  to  God  three  times  a  day, 
they  thought  they  had  gotten  an  occasion 
by  which  they  might  ruin  him ;  so  they 
came  to  Darius,  and  told  him,  that  "  the 
princes  and  governors  had  thought  proper 
to  allow  the  multitude  a  relaxation  for 
thirty  days,  that  no  one  might  offer  a  pe- 
tition or  prayer  either  to  himself,  or  to 
the  gods,  but  that  he  who  shall  transgress 
this  decree  shall  be  cast  into  a  den  of  lions, 
and  there  perish." 

Whereupon  the  king,  not  being  ac- 
quainted with  their  wicked  design,  nor 
suspecting  that  it  was  a  contrivance  of 
theirs  against  Daniel,  said  ho  was  pleased 
with  this  decree  of  theirs,  and  he  pro- 
mised to  confirm  what  they  desired  :  he 
also  published  an  edict  to  promulgate  to 
the  people  that  decreo  which  the  princes 
had  made.     Accordingly,  all  the  rest  took 


Chap.  XI. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


325 


care  not  to  transgress  those  injunctions, 
and  rested  in  quiet;  but  Daniel  had  no 
regard  to  them,  but,  as  he  was  wont,  he 
stood  and  pnyed  to  God  in  the  sight  of 
them  all :  but  the  princes  having  met  with 
the  occasion  they  so  earnestly  sought  to 
find  against  Daniel,  came  presently  to  the 
king,  and  informed  him  that  Daniel  was 
the  only  person  that  transgressed  the  de- 
cree, while  not  one  of  the  rest  durst  pray 
to  their  gods.  This  discovery  they  made, 
oot  because  of  his  impiety,  but  because 
they  had  watched  him,  and  observed  him 
out  of  envy ;  for  supposing  that  Darius 
did  thus  out  of  a  greater  kindness  to  him 
than  they  expected,  and  that  he  was  ready 
to  grant  him  a  pardon  for  this  contempt 
of  his  injunctions,  and  envying  this  very 
pardon  to  Daniel,  they  did  not  become 
more  favourable  to  him,  but  desired  he 
might  be  cast  into  the  den  of  lions,  ac- 
cording to  the  law.  So  Darius,  hoping 
that  God  would  deliver  him,  and  that  he 
would  undergo  nothing  that  was  terrible 
by  the  wild  beasts,  bade  him  bear  this 
accident  cheerfully;  and  when  lie  was  cast 
into  the  den,  he  put  his  seal  to  the  stone 
that  lay  upon  the  mouth  of  the  den,  and 
went  his  way,  but  he  passed  all  the  night 
without  food  and  without  sleep,  being  in 
great  distress  for  Daniel :  but  when  it  was 
day,  he  got  up,  and  went  to  the  den,  and 
found  the  seal  entire,  which  he  had  left 
the  stone  sealed  withal;  he  also  opened 
the  seal,  and  cried  out,  and  called  to  Da- 
niel, and  asked  him  if  he  was  alive;  and 
as  soon  as  he  heard  the  king's  voice,  and 
said  that  he  had  suffered  no  harm,  the 
king  gave  order  that  he  should  be  drawn 
up  out  of  the  den.  Now  when  his  ene- 
mies saw  that  Daniel  had  suffered  uothing 
which  was  terrible,  they  would  not  own 
that  he  was  preserved  by  God,  and  by  his 
providence ;  but  they  said,  that  the  lions 
had  been  filled  full  with  food,  and  on  that 
account  it  was,  as  they  supposed,  that  the 
lions  would  not  touch  Daniel,  nor  come  to 
him ;  and  this  they  alleged  to  the  king ; 
but  the  king,  out  of  an  abhorrence  of  their 
wickedness,  gave  order  that  they  should 
throw  in  a  great  deal  of  flesh  to  the  lions ; 
and  when  they  had  filled  themselves,  he 
gave  further  order  that  Daniel's  enemies 
should  be  cast  into  the  den,  that  he  might 
learn  whether  the  lions,  now  they  were 
full,  would  touch  them  or  not;  and  it 
appeared  plain  to  Darius,  after  the  princes 
had  beejr   cast  in  the  wild   beasts,  that  it 


was  God  who  preserved  Daniel,*  for  the 
lions  spared  none  of  them,  but  tore  them 
all  to  pieces,  as  if  they  had  been  very 
hungry,  and  wanted  food.  I  suppose, 
therefore,  it  was  not  their  hunger,  which 
had  been  a  little  before  satisfied  with 
abundance  of  flesh,  but  the  wickedness 
of  these  men  that  provoked  them  [to  de- 
stroy the  princes]  :  for  if  it  so  please  God, 
that  wickedness  might,  by  even  those  ir- 
rational creatures,  be  esteemed  a  plain 
foundation  for  their  punishment. 

When,  therefore,  those  that  had  in- 
tended thus  to  destroy  Daniel  by  treach- 
ery, were  themselves  destroyed,  King  Da- 
rius sent  [letters]  over  all  the  country, 
and  praised  that  God  whom  Daniel  wor- 
shipped, and  said  that  he  was  the  only 
true  God,  and  had  all  power.  He  had  also 
Daniel  in  very  great  esteem,  and  made 
him  the  principal  of  his  friends.  Now 
when  Daniel  had  become  so  illustrious  and 
famous,  on  account  of  the  opinion  men 
had  that  he  was  beloved  of  God,  he  built 
a  tower  at  Ecbatana,  in  Media:  it  was  a 
most  elegant  building,  and  wonderfully 
made,  and  it  was  still  remaining,  and  pre- 
served to  this  day ;  and  to  such  as  see  it, 
it  appears  to  have  been  lately  built,  and 
to  have  been  no  older  than  that  very  day, 
when  any  one  looks  upon  it,  it  is  so  fresh, 
flourishing,  and  beautiful,  and  noway 
grown  old  in  so  long  time ;  for  buildings 
suffer  the  same  as  men  do,  they  grow  old 
as  well  as  they,  and  by  numbers  of  years 
their  strength  is  dissolved,  and  their 
beauty  withered.  Now  they  bury  the 
kings  of  Media,  of  Persia,  and  Parthia,  in 
this  tower,  to  this  day ;  and  he  who  was 
intrusted  with  the  care  of  it  was  a  Jewish 
priest ;  which  thing  is  also  observed  to 
this  day.  But  it  is  fit  to  give  an  account 
of  what  this  man  did,  which  is  most  ad- 
mirable to  hear ;  for  he  was  so  happy  as 
to  have  strange  revelations  made  to  him, 
and  those  as  to  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
prophets,  insomuch,  that  while  he  was 
alive  he  had  the  esteem  and  applause  both 
of  the  kings  and  of  the  multitude ;  and 
now  he  is  dead,  he  retains  a  remembrance 
that  will  never  fail,  for  the  several  books 
that  he  wrote  and  left  behind  him  are  still 
read  by  ue  to  this  time;  and  from  them 
we  believe  that  Daniel  conversed  with 
God;  for  he  did  not  only  prophesy  of 
future  events,  as  did  the  oiher  prophets, 


*  Dan.  vi.  24. 


32o 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X.  Chap.  XL 


but  he  also  determined  the  time  of  their 
accomplishment;  and  while  the  prophets 
used  to  foretell  misfortunes,  and  on  that 
account  were  disagreeable  both  to  the 
kings  and  to  the  multitude,  Daniel  was 
to  them  a  prophet  of  good  things,  and 
this  to  such  a  degree,  that,  by  the  agree- 
able nature  of  his  predictions,  he  procured 
the  good-will  of  all  men ;  and  by  the  ac- 
complishment of  them,  he  procured  the 
belief  of  their  truth,  and  the  opinion  of 
[a  sort  of]  divinity  for  himself  among  the 
multitude.  He  also  wrote  and  left  behind 
him  what  made  manifest  the  accuracy  and 
undeniable  veracity  of  his  predictions; 
for  he  saith,  that  when  he  was  in  Susa, 
the  metropolis  of  Persia,  and  went  out 
into  the  field  with  his  companions,  there 
was  on  the  sudden  a  motion  and  concus- 
sion of  the  earth,  and  that  he  was  left 
alone  by  himself,  his  friends  flying  away 
from  him,  and  that  he  was  disturbed,  and 
fell  on  his  face,  and  on  his  two  hands,  and 
that  a  certain  person  touched  him,  and  at 
the  same  time  bade  him  rise,  and  see  what 
would  befall  his  countrymen  after  many 
generations.  He  also  related,  that  when 
he  stood  up,  he  was  shown  a  great  ram, 
with  many  horns  growing  out  of  his  head, 
and  that  the  last  was  higher  than  the 
rest:  that  after  this  he  looked  to  the 
west,  and  saw  a  he-goat  carried  through 
the  air  from  that  quarter;  that  he  rushed 
upon  the  ram  with  violence,  and  smote 
him  twice  with  his  horns,  aud  overthrew 
him  to  the  ground,  and  trampled  upon 
him  :  that  afterward  he  saw  a  very  great 
norn  growing  out  of  the  head  of  the  he- 
goat;  and  that  when  it  .was  broken  off, 
four  horns  grew  up  that  were  exposed  to 
each  of  the  four  winds,  and  he  wrote  that 
out  of  them  arose  another  lesser  horn, 
which,  as  he  said,  waxed  great ;  and  that 
God  showed  to  him  that  it  should  fight 
against  his  nation,  and  take  their  city  by 
force,  and  bring  the  temple-worship  to 
confusion,  and  forbid  the  sacrifices  to  be 
offered  for  1296  days.  Daniel  wrote  that 
he  saw  these  visions  in  the  plain  of  Susa ; 
and  he  hath  informed  us  that  God  inter- 
preted the  appearance  of  this  vision  after 
the  following  manner : — He  said,  "  that 
the  ram  signified  the  kingdoms  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  and  the  horns  those 
kings  that  were  to  reign  in  them ;  and 
that  the  last  horn  signified  the  last  king, 
and  that  he  should  exceed  all  the  kings 
in  riches  and  glory;  that  the  he-goat  signi- 
fied that  one  should  come  and  reign  from 


the  Greeks,  who  should  twice  fight  with  the 
Persian,  and  overcome  him  in  battle,  and 
should  receive  his  entire  dominion  ;  that 
by  the  great  horn  which  sprang  out  of  the 
forehead  of  the  he-goat  was  meant  the 
first  king;  and  that  the  springing  up  of 
four  horns  upon  its  falling  off,  aud  the 
conversion  of  every  one  of  them  to  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth,  signified  the 
successors  that  should  arise  after  the 
death  of  the  first  king,  and  the  partition 
of  the  kingdom  among  them,  and  that 
they  should  be  neither  his  children  nor 
of  his  kindred  that  should  reign  over  the 
habitable  earth  for  many  years ;  and  that 
from  among  them  there  should  arise  a 
certain  king  that  should  overcome  our 
nation  and  their  laws,  and  should  take 
away  our  political  government,  and  should 
spoil  the  temple,  and  forbid  the  sacrifices 
to  be  offered  for  three  years'  time."  And 
indeed  it  so  came  to  pass,  that  our  nation 
suffered  these  things  under  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  according  to  Daniel's  vision, 
and  what  he  wrote  many  years  before  they 
came  to  pass.  In  the  very  same  manner 
Daniel  also  wrote  concerning  the  Roman 
government,  and  that  our  country  should 
be  made  desolate  by  them.  All  these 
things  did  this  man  leave  in  writing,  as 
God  had  showed  them  to  him,  insomuch, 
that  such  as  read  his  prophecies,  and  see 
how  they  have  been  fulfilled,  would  won- 
der at  the  honour  wherewith  God  ho- 
noured Daniel ;  and  may  thence  discover 
how  the  Epicureans  are  in  error,  who  cast 
providence  out  of  human  life,  and  do  not 
believe  that  God  takes  care  of  the  affairs 
of  the  world,  nor  that  the  universe  is 
governed  and  continued  in  being  by  that 
blessed  and  immortal  nature,  but  say  that 
the  world  is  carried  along  of  its  own  ac- 
cord, without  a  ruler  and  a  curator; 
which,  were  it  destitute  of  a  guide  to  con- 
duct, as  they  imagine,  it  would  be  like 
ships  without  pilots,  which  we  see  drowned 
by  the  winds,  or  like  chariots  without 
drivers,  which  are  overturned;  so  wouk 
the  world  be  dashed  to  pieces  by  its  being 
carried  without  a  Providence,  and  so  pe- 
rish, and  come  t6  nought.  So  that,  by 
the  forementioned  predictions  of  Daniel, 
those  men  seem  to  me  very  much  to  err 
from  the  truth,  who  determine  that  Goc 
exercises  no  providence  over  human  af- 
fairs ;  for  if  that  was  the  case,  that  the 
world  went  on  by  mechanical  necessity, 
we  should  not  see  that  all  things  would 
come  to  pass  according  to  his  prophecy. 


6/)jk  XL  Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


827 


Now,  as  to  myself,  I  have  so  described 
these  matters  as  I  have  found  them  and 
read  them ;  but  if  any  one  is  inclined  to 


another  opinion  about  them,  let  him  en- 
joy his  different  sentiments  without  any 
blame  from  me.    , 


BOOK  XI. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  253   YEARS  5  MONTHS,  FROM   THE  FIRST 
OF   CYRUS  TO   THE   DEATH   OF  ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Restoration  of  the  Jews  by  Cyrus.     B.  C.  536. 

In  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Cyrus,* 
which  was  the  seventieth  from  the  day 
that  our  people  were  removed  out  of  their 
own  land  into  Babylon,  God  commiserated 
the  captivity  and  calamity  of  these  poor 
people,  according  as  he  had  foretold  to 
them  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  before 
the  destruction  of  the  city,  that  after  they 
had  served  Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  poste- 
rity, and  after  they  had  undergone  that 
servitude  seventy  years,  he  would  restore 
them  again  to  the  land  of  their  fathers, 
and  they  should  build  their  temple,  and 
enjoy  their  ancient  prosperity ;  and  these 
things  God  did  afford  them  ;  for  he  stirred 
up  the  mind  of  Cyrus,  and  made  him 
write  this  throughout  all  Asia  : — "  Thus 
saith  Cyrus  the  King :  Since  God  Al- 
mighty hath  appointed  me  to  be  king  of 
the  habitable  earth,  I  believe  that  he  is 
that  God  which  the  nation  of  the  Israel- 
ites worship ;  for  indeed  he  foretold  my 
name  by  the  prophets,  and  that  I  should 
build  him  a  house  at  Jerusalem,  in  the 
country  of  Judea." 

This  was  known  to  Cyrus  by  his  reading 
the  book  which  Isaiah  left  behind  him  of 
his  prophecies;  for  this  prophet  said  that 
God  had  spoken  thus  to  him  in  a  secret  vi- 
sion : — "  My  will  is,  that  Cyrus,  whom  1 
have  appointed  to  be  king  over  many  and 
great  nations,  send  back  my  people  to 
their  own  land,  and  build  my  temple." 
This  was  foretold  by  Isaiah  140  years 
before  the  temple  was  demolished.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  Cyrus  read  this,  and  ad- 
mired the  divine  power,  an  earnest  desire 
and  ambition  seized  upon  him  to  fulfil 
what  was  so  written  ;  so  he  called  for  the 
most  eminent  Jews  that  were  in  Babylon, 

*This  Cyrus  is  called  God's  shepherd  by  Xeno- 
pho:i,  as  well  as  by  Isaiah.     (Isa.  xliv.  28.) 


and  said  to  them,  that  he  gave  them  leave 
to  go  back  to  their  own  country,  and  to 
rebuild  their  city  Jerusalem,  and  the  tem- 
ple of  God,  for  that  he  would  be  their  as- 
sistant, and  that  he  would  write  to  the 
rulers  and  governors  that  were  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  their  country,  Judea, 
that  they  should  contribute  to  them  gold 
and  silver  for  the  building  of  the  tem- 
ple, and,  besides  that,  beasts  for  their  sa- 
crifice. 

When  Cyrus  had  said  this  to  the  Is- 
raelites, the  rulers  of  the  two  tribes  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin,  with  the  Levites 
and  priests,  went  in  haste  to  Jerusalem; 
yet  did  many  of  them  stay  at  Babylon, 
as  not  willing  to  leave  their  possessions; 
and  when  they  had  come  thither,  all  the 
king's  friends  assisted  them,  and  brought 
in  for  the  building  of  the  temple,  some 
gold,  and  some  silver,  and  some  a  great 
many  cattle  and  horses.  So  they  per- 
formed their  vows  to  God,  and  offered  the 
sacrifices  that  had  been  accustomed  of  old 
time.  I  mean  this  upon  the  rebuilding 
of  their  city,  and  the  revival  of  the  an- 
cient practices  relating  to  their  worship. 
Cyrus  also  sent  back  to  them  the  vessels 
of  God  which  King  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
pillaged  out  of  the  temple,  and  carried  to 
Babylon.  So  he  committed  these  things 
to  Mithridates,  the  treasurer,  to  be  sent 
away,  with  an  order  to  give  them  to  Sa- 
nabassar,  that  he  might  keep  them  until 
the  temple  was  built:  and  when  it  was 
finished,  he  might  deliver  them  to  the 
priests  and  rulers  of  the  multitude,  in 
order  to  their  being  restored  to  the  tem- 
ple. Cyrus  also  sent  an  epistle  to  the  go- 
vernors that  were  in  Syria,  the  contents 
whereof  here  follow  : — 

"  KING  CYRUS  TO  SISINNES  AND  SATIIRA- 
BUZANES,    SENDETH    GREETING. 

u  I  have  given  leave  to  as  many  of  thf 


328 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI 


Jews  that  dwell  in  my  country  as  please 
to  return  to  their  own  country,  and  to  re- 
build their  city,  and  to  build  the  temple 
of  God  at  Jerusalem,  on  the  same  place 
where  it  was  before.  I  have  also  sent  my 
treasurer,  Mithridates,  and  Zorobabel,  the 
governor  of  the  Jews,  that  they  may  lay 
the  foundations  of  the  temple,  and  may 
build  it  sixty  cubits  high,  and  of  the  same 
latitude,  making  three  edifices  of  polished 
6tones,  and  one  of  the  wood  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  same  order  extends  to  the 
altar  whereon  they  offer  sacrifices  to  God. 
I  require  also,  that  the  expenses  for  these 
things  may  be  given  out  of  my  revenues. 
Moreover,  I  have  also  sent  the  vessels 
which  King  Nebuchadnezzar  pillaged  out 
of  the  temple,  and  have  given  them  to 
Mithridates,  the  treasurer,  and  to  Zoro- 
babel the  governor  of  the  Jews,  that  they 
may  have  them  carried  to  Jerusalem,  and 
may  restore  them  to  the  temple  of  God. 
Now  their  number  is  as  follows : — 50 
chargers  of  gold,  and  500  of  silver;  40 
Thericlean  cups  of  gold,  and  500  of  sil- 
ver; 50  basins  of  gold,  and  500  of  sil- 
ver ;  30  vessels  for  pouring  [the  drink- 
offerings],  and  300  of  silver;  30  vials  of 
gold,  and  2400  of  silver;  with  1000 
other  large  vessels.  I  permit  them  to 
have  the  same  honour  which  they  were 
used  to  have  from  their  forefathers,  as 
also  for  their  small  cattle,  and  for  wine 
and  oil,  205,500  drachmae ;  and  for  wheat- 
flour,  20,500  artabaa :  and  I  give  order 
that  these  expenses  shall  be  allowed  them 
out  of  the  tributes  due  from  Samaria. 
The  priests  shall  also  offer  these  sacrifices 
according  to  the  laws  of  Moses,  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  when  they  offer  them,  they 
shall  pray  to  God  for  the  preservation  of 
the  king  and  of  his  family,  that  the  king- 
dom of  Persia  may  continue.  But  my 
will  is,  that  those  who  disobey  these  in- 
junctions, and  make  them  void,  shall  be 
hung  upon  a  cross,  and  their  substance 
brought  into  the  king's  treasury." 

And  such  was  the  import  of  this  epis- 
tle. Now  the  number  of  those  that  came 
out  of  captivity  to  Jerusalem,  were 
42,462. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Death  of  Cyrus — Consequences  thereof.  B.  C.  529. 

When  the  foundations  of  the  temple 
were  laying,  and  when  the  Jews  were 
very  zeabua  about  building  it,  the  neigh- 


bouring nations,  and  especially  the  Cu- 
theans,  whom  Shalmaneser,  king  of  As- 
syria, had  brought  out  of  Persia  and  Me- 
dia, and  had  planted  in  Samaria,  when  he 
carried  the  people  of  Israel  captive,  be- 
sought the  governors,  and  those  that  had 
the  care  of  such  affairs,  that  they  would 
interrupt  the  Jews,  both  in  the  rebuilding 
of  their  city,  and  in  the  building  of  their 
temple.  Now  as  these  men  were  corrupt- 
ed by  them  with  money,  they  sold  the 
Cutheans  their  interest  for  rendering  this 
building  a  slow  and  a  careless  work,  for 
Cyrus,  who  was  busy  about  other  wars, 
knew  nothing  of  all  this ;  and  it  so  hap- 
pened, that  when  he  had  led  his  army 
against  the  Messagetae,  he  ended  his  life. 
But  when  Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus, 
had  taken  the  kingdom,  the  governors  in 
Syria,  and  Phoenicia,  and  in  the  countries 
of  Ammon,  and  Moab,  and  Samaria, 
wrote  an  epistle  to  Cambyses,  whose  con- 
tents were  as  follows : — "  To  our  Lord 
Cambyses.  We,  thy  servants,  Rathumus, 
the  historiographer,  and  Semellius,  the 
scribe,  and  the  rest  that  are  thy  judges 
in  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  send  greeting : 
It  is  fit,  O  king,  that  thou  shouldest  know 
that  those  Jews  who  were  carried  to  Ba- 
bylon have  come  into  our  country,  and 
are  building  that  rebellious  and  wicked 
city,  and  its  market-places,  and  setting  up 
its  walls,  and  raising  up  the  temple : 
know,  therefore,  that  when  these  things 
are  finished,  they  will  not  be  willing  to 
pay  tribute,  nor  will  they  submit  to  thy 
commands,  but  will  resist  kings,  and  will 
choose  rather  to  rule  over  others  than  be 
ruled  over  themselves.  We,  therefore, 
thought  it  proper  to  write  to  thee,  O 
king,  while  the  works  about  the  temple 
are  going  on  so  fast,  and  not  to  overlook 
this  matter,  that  thou  mayest  search  into 
the  books  of  Jhy  fathers,  for  thou  wilt  find 
in  them  thai;  the  Jews  have  been  rebels, 
and  enemies  to  kings,  as  hath  their  city 
been  also,  which,  for  that  reason,  hath 
been  till  now  laid  waste.  We  thought 
proper  also  to  inform  thee  of  this  matter, 
because  thou  mayest  otherwise  perhaps  be 
ignorant  of  it,  that  if  this  city  be  once 
inhabited,  and  be  entirely  encompassed 
with  walls,  hou  wilt  be  excluded  from 
the  passage  jO  Celesyria  and  Phoenicia." 

When  Cambyses  had  read  the  epistle, 
being  naturally  wicked,  he  was  irritated 
at  what  they  told  him  ;  and  wrote  back 
to  them  as  follows  : — "  Cambyses  the  king, 
to  Rathumus  the  historiographer,  to  Beet 


Chap.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


329 


tethmus,  to  Semellius  the  scribe,  and  the 
rest  that  are  in  commission,  and  dwelling 
in  Samaria  and  Phoenicia,  after  this  man- 
ner :  I  have  read  the  epistle  that  was  sent 
from  you;  and  I  gave  order  that  the  books 
of  my  forefathers  should  be  searched  into; 
and  it  is  there  found,  that  this  city  hath 
always  been  an  enemy  to  kings,  and  its 
inhabitants  have  raised  seditions  and 
wars.  We  also  are  sensible  that  their 
kings  have  been  powerful  and  tyrannical, 
and  have  exacted  tribute  of  Celesyria  and 
Phoenicia :  wherefore  I  give  order,  that 
the  Jews  shall  not  be  permitted  to  build 
that  city,  lest  such  mischief  as  they  used 
to  bring  upon  kings  be  greatly  augment- 
ed." When  this  epistle  was  read,  Ra- 
thumus,  and  Semellius  the  scribe,  and 
their  associates,  got  suddenly  on  horse- 
back, and  made  haste  to  Jerusalem ;  they 
also  brought  a  great  company  with  them, 
and  forbade  the  Jews  to  build  the  city 
and  the  temple.  Accordingly,  these 
works  were  hindered  from  going  on  until 
the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Darius, 
for  nine  years  more ;  for  Cambyses 
reigned  six  years,  and  within  that  time 
overthrew  Egypt,  and  when  he  had  come 
back,  he  died  at  Damascus. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Death  of  Cambyses — Darius  grants  permission  to 
the  Jews  to  rebuild  the  Temple.     B.C.  520. 

After  the  slaughter  of  the  magi,  who, 
upon  the  death  of  Cambyses,  attained  the 
government  of  the  Persians  for  a  year, 
those  families  who  were  called  the  seven 
families  of  the  Persians,  appointed  Da- 
rius, the  son  of  Hystaspes,  to  be  their 
king.  Now  he,  while  he  was  a  private 
man,  had  made  a  vow  to  God,  that  if  he 
came  to  be  king,  he  would  send  all  the 
vessels  of  God  that  were  in  Babylon  to 
the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  Now  it  so  fell 
out,  that  about  this  time  Zorobabel,  who 
had  been  made  governor  of  the  Jews  that 
had  been  in  captivity,  came  to  Darius, 
from  Jerusalem  ;  for  there  had  been  an 
old  friendship  between  him  and  the  king. 
He  was  also,  with  two  others,  thought 
worthy  to  be  guard  of  the  king's  body; 
and  obtained  that  honour  which  he  hoped 
for. 

Now,  in  the  first  year  of  the  king's 
reign,  Darius  feasted  those  that  were  about 
him,  and  those  born  in  his  house,  with  the 
lulers  of  the  Modes,  and  princes  of  the  Per- 


sians, and  the  toparchs  of  India  and  Tithi- 
opia,  and  the  generals  of  the  armies,  of  his 
127  provinces  ;  but  when  they  had  eaten 
and  drunken  to  satiety  and  abundantly, 
they  every  one  departed  to  go  to  bed  at 
their  own  houses,  and  Darius  the  king 
went  to  bed;  but  after  he  had  rested  a 
little  part  of  the  night,  he  awaked,  and 
not  being  able  to  sleep  any  more,  he  fell 
into  conversation  with  the  three  guards 
of  his  body,  and  promised,  that  to  him 
who  should  make  an  oration  about  points 
that  he  should  inquire  of,  such  as  should 
be  most  agreeable  to  truth,  and  to  the 
dictates  of  wisdom,  he  would  grant  it,  as 
a  reward  of  his  victory,  to  put  on  a  pur- 
ple garment,  and  to  drink  in  cups  of  gold, 
and  to  sleep  upon  gold,  and  to  have  a 
chariot  with  bridles  of  gold,  and  a  head- 
tire  of  fine  linen,  and  a  chain  of  gold 
about  his  neck,  and  to  sit  next  to  himself 
on  account  of  his  wisdom  :  "And,"  said 
he,  "he  shall  be  called  my  cousin." 
Now  when  he  had  promised  to  give  them 
these  gifts,  he  asked  the  first  of  them, 
u  Whether  wine  was  not  the  strongest?" 
the  second,  "  Whether  kings  were  not 
such?"  and  the  third,  "Whether  women 
were  not  such?"  or  "Whether  truth 
was  not  the  strongest  of  all  ?"  When 
he  had  proposed  that  they  should  make 
their  inquiries  about  these  problems,  he 
went  to  rest;  but  in  the  morning  he  sent 
for  his  great  men,  his  princes,  and  to- 
parchs of  Persia  and  Media,  and  set  him- 
self down  in  the  place  where  he  used  to 
give  audience,  and  bade  each  of  the  guards 
of  his  body  tc  declare  what  they  thought 
proper  concerning  the  proposed  questions, 
in  the  hearing  of  them  all. 

Accordingly,  the  first  of  them  began  to 
speak  of  the  strength  of  wine;  and  de- 
monstrated it  thus: — "When,"  said  he, 
"  I  am  to  give  my  opinion  of  wine,  0  you 
men,  I  find  that  it  exceeds  every  thing, 
by  the  following  indications :  it  deceives 
the  minds  of  those  that  drink  it,  and  re- 
duces that  of  the  kin^  to  the  same  state 
with  that  of  the  orphan,  and  he  who 
stands  in  need  of  a  tutor;  and  erects  that 
of  the  slave  to  the  boldness  of  him  that 
is  free;  and  that  of  the  needy  becomes 
like  that  of  the  rich  man,  for  it  changes 
and  renews  the  souls  of  men  when  it  gets 
into  them ;  and  it  quenches  the  sorrow  of 
those  that  are  under  calamities,  and  make** 
men  forget  the  debts  they  owe  to  others, 
and  makes  them  think  themselves  to  be  of 
all  men  the  richest;  it  makes  them  talk 


330 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


"Boor  XI. 


of  no  small  things,  but  of  talents,  and 
such  other  things  as  become  wealthy  men 
only;  nay  more,  it  makes  them  insensible 
of  their  commanders  and  of  their  kings, 
and  takes  away  the  remembrance  of  their 
friends  and  companions,  for  it  arms  men 
even  against  those  that  are  dearest  to 
them,  and  makes  them  appear  the  greatest 
strangers  to  them  j  and  when  they  have 
become  sober,  and  they  have  slept  out 
their  wine  in  the  night,  they  arise  without 
knowing  any  thing  they  have  done  in  their 
cups.  I  take  these  for  signs  of  power, 
and  by  them  discover  that  wine  is  the 
strongest  and  most  insuperable  of  all 
things." 

As  soon  as  the  first  had  given  the  fore- 
mentioned  demonstrations  of  the  strength 
of  wine,  he  left  off;  and  the  next  to  him 
began  to  speak  about  the  strength  of  a 
king,  and  demonstrated  that  it  was  the 
strongest  of  all,  and  more  powerful  than 
any  thing  else  that  appears  to  have  any 
force  or  wisdom.  He  began  his  demon- 
stration after  the  following  manner ;  and 
said,  "  They  are  men  who  govern  all 
things:  they  force  the  earth  and  the  sea 
to  become  profitable  to  them  in  what  they 
desire,  and  over  these  men  do  kings  rule, 
and  over  them  they  have  authority.  Now 
those  who  rule  over  that  animal  which  is 
of  all  the  strongest  and  most  powerful, 
must  needs  deserve  to  be  esteemed  insu- 
perable in  power  and  force.  For  example, 
when  these  kings  command  their  subjects 
to  make  wars,  and  undergo  dangers,  they 
are  hearkened  to;  and  when  they  send 
them  against  their  enemies,  their  power  is 
so  great  that  they  are  obeyed.  They  com- 
mand men  to  level  mountains,  and  to  pull 
down  walls  and  towers ;  nay,  when  they 
are  commanded  to  be  killed  and  to  kill, 
they  submit  to  it,  that  they  may  not  -ap- 
pear to  transgress  the  king's  commands ; 
and  when  they  have  conquered,  they  bring 
what  they  have  gained  in  the  war  to  the 
king.  Those  also  who  are  not  soldiers, 
but  cultivate  the  ground,  and  plough  it, 
after  they  have  endured  the  labour,  and 
all  the  inconveniences  of  such  works  of 
husbandry,  when  they  have  reaped  and 
gathered  in  their  fruits,  they  bring  tri- 
butes to  the  king;  and  whatsoever  it  is 
which  the  king  says  or  commands,  it  is 
done  of  necessity,  and  that  without  any 
delay,  while  he  in  the  mean  time  is  sa- 
tiated with  all  sorts  of  food  and  pleasures, 
and  sleeps  in  quiet.  He  is  guarded  by 
euch  as  watch,  and  such  as  are,  as  it  were, 


fixed  down  to  the  place  through  fear;  for 
no  one  dares  leave  him,  even  when  he  is 
asleep,  nor  does  any  one  go  away  and  take 
care  of  his  own  affairs,  but  he  esteems 
this  one  thing  the  only  work  of  necessity, 
to  guard  the  king;  and,  accordingly,  to 
this  he  wholly  addicts  himself.  How  then 
can  it  be  otherwise,  but  that  it  must  ap- 
pear that  the  king  exceeds  all  in  strength, 
while  so  great  a  multitude  obeys  his  in- 
junctions?" 

Now  when  this  man  had  held  his  peace, 
the  third  of  them,  who  was  Zorobabel, 
began  to  instruct  them  about  women,  and 
about  truth,  who  said  thus  : — "  Wine  is 
strong,  as  is  the  king  also,  whom  all  men 
obey,  but  women  are  superior  to  them  in 
power;  for  it  was  a  woman  that  brought 
the  king  into  the  world ;  and  for  those 
that  plant  the  vines  and  make  the  wine, 
they  are  women  who  bear  them,  and  bring 
them  up ;  nor  indeed  is  there  any  thing 
which  we  do  not  receive  from  them ;  for 
these  women  weave  garments  for  us,  and 
our  household  affairs  are  by  their  means 
taken  care  of,  and  preserved  in  safety; 
nor  can  we  live  separate  from  women; 
and  when  we  have  gotten  a  great  deal  of 
gold,  and  silver,  and  any  other  thing  that 
is  of  great  value,  and  deserving  regard, 
and  see  a  beautiful  woman,  we  leave  all 
these  things,  and  with  open  mouth  fix  our 
eyes  upon  her  countenance,  and  are  will- 
ing to  forsake  what  we  have,  that  we  may 
enjoy  her  beauty,  and  procure  it  to  our- 
selves. We  also  leave  father,  and  mother, 
and  the  earth  that  nourishes  us,  and  fre- 
quently forget  our  dearest  friends,  for  tho 
sake  of  women ;  nay,  we  are  so  hardy  aa 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  them ;  but  what 
will  chiefly  make  you  take  notice  of  the 
strength  of  women  is  this  that  follows* 
do  not  we  take  pains,  and  endure  a  great 
deal  of  trouble,  and  that  both  by  land  and 
sea,  and  when  we  have  procured  somewhat 
as  the  fruit  of  our  labours,  do  not  we 
bring  them  to  the  women,  as  to  our  mis- 
tresses, and  bestow  them  upon  them  ?  Nay, 
I  once  saw  the  king,  who  is  lord  of  so 
many  people,  smitten  on  the  face  by 
Apame,  the^  daughter  of  Rabsases  The- 
masius,  his  concubine,  and  his  diadem 
taken  from  him,  and  put  upon  her  own 
head,  while  he  bore  it  patiently;  and  when 
she  smiled  he  smiled,  and  when  she  was 
angry  he  was  sad;  and  according  to  the 
change  of  her  passions,  he  flattered  his 
wife,  and  drew  her  to  reconciliation  by 
the  great  humiliation  of  himself  to  her, 


cnAP.  ill.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


331 


if  at  any  time  he  saw  her  displeased  at 
him." 

And  when  the  princes  and  rulers  looked 
one  upon  another,  he  began  to  speak 
about  truth ;  and  he  said,  "I  have  already 
demonstrated  how  powerful  women  are ; 
but  both  these  women  themselves,  and  the 
kini*  himself,  are  weaker  than  truth  :  for 
although  the  earth  be  large,  and  the 
heaven  high,  and  the  course  of  the  sun 
swift,  yet  are  all  these  moved  according  to 
the  will  of  God,  who  is  true  and  righteous, 
for  which  cause  we  ought  also  to  esteem 
truth  to  be  the  strongest  of  all  things,  and 
that  what  is  unrighteous  is  of  no  force 
against  it.  Moreover,  all  things  else  that 
have  any  strength  are  mortal,  and  short- 
lived, but  truth  is  a  thing  that  is  immortal 
and  eternal.  It  affords  us,  not  indeed 
such  a  beauty  as  will  wither  away  by  time, 
nor  such  riches  as  may  be  taken  away  by 
fortune,  but  righteous  rules  and  laws.  It 
distinguishes  them  from  injustice,  and 
puts  what  is  unrighteous  to  rebuke." 

So  when  Zorobabel  had  left  off  his  dis- 
course about  truth,  and  the  multitude  had 
cried  out  aloud  that  he  had  spoken  the 
most  wisely,  and  that  it  was  truth  alone 
that  had  immutable  strength,  and  such  as 
never  would  wax  old,  the  king  commanded 
that  he  should  ask  for  somewhat  over  and 
above  what  he  had  promised,  for  that  he 
would  give  it  him  because  of  his  wisdom, 
and  that  prudence  wherein  he  exceeded 
the  rest;  "and  thou  shalt  sit  with  me," 
said  the  king,  "and  shalt  be  called  my 
cousin."  When  he  had  said  this,  Zoroba- 
bel put  him  in  mind  of  the  vow  he  had 
made  in  case  he  should  ever  have  the 
kingdom.  Now  this  vow  was,  "to  rebuild 
Jerusalem,  and  to  build  therein  the  tem- 
ple of  God,  as  also  to  restore  the  vessels 
which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  pillaged,  and 
carried  to  Babylon.  And  this,"  said  he, 
"  is  that  request  which  thou  now  permit- 
test  me  to  make,  on  account  that  I  have 
been  judged  to  be  wise  and  understand- 
ing." 

So  the  king  was  pleased  with  what  he 
had  said,  and  arose  and  kissed  him ;  and 
wrote  to  the  toparchs,  and  governors,  and 
enjoined  them  to  conduct  Zorobabel  and 
those  that  were  going  with  him  to  build 
the  temple.  He  also  sent  letters  to  those 
rulers  that  were  in  Syria  and  Phoenicia  to 
cut  dowu  and  carry  cedar-trees  from  Leba- 
non to  Jerusalem,  and  to  assist  him  in 
bui'.ding  the  city.  He  also  wrote  to  them, 
that  all  the  captives  who  should  go  to  Ju- 


dea  should  be  free ;  and  he  prohibited   his 
deputies  and  governors  to  lay  any  king's 
taxes  upon  the  Jews:  he  also  permitted 
that  they  should  have  all  the  land  which 
they  could  possess  themselves  of  without 
tributes.     He  also  enjoined  the  Idumeans 
and    Samaritans,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Celesyria,  to  restore  those  villages  which 
they  had  taken  from  the  Jews ;  and  that, 
besides  all  this,  fifty  talents  should  be  given 
them  for  the  building  of  the  temple.     He 
also  permitted  them  to  offer  their  appointed 
sacrifices,  and    that  whatsoever*  the  high 
priest  wanted,  and  those  sacred  garments 
wherein  they  used  to  worship  God,  should 
be  made  at  his  own  charges;  and  that  the 
musical    instruments    which    the    Levites 
used  in  singing  hymns  to.  God  should  be 
given  them.    Moreover,  he  charged  them, 
that  portions  of  land  should  be  given  to 
those  that  guarded  the  city  and  the  tem- 
ple, as  also  a  determinate  sum  of  money 
every  year    for    their   maintenance :  and 
withal  he  sent  the  vessels.     And  all  that 
Cyrus  intended  to  do  before  him,  relating 
to   the  restoration   of.  Jerusalem,  Darius 
also  ordained  should  be  done  accordingly. 
Now  when  Zorobabel  had  obtained  these 
grants  from  the  king,  he  went  out  of  the 
palace,  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he  be- 
gan to  return  thanks  to  God  for  the  wis- 
dom he  had  given  him,  and  the  victory  be 
had  gained  thereby,  even  in  the  presence 
of   Darius    himself;    "for,"  said  he,  "I 
had  not  been  thought  worthy  of  these  ad- 
vantages, 0  Lord,  unless  thou  hadst  been 
favourable  to  me."     When,  therefore,  he 
had  returned  these  thanks  to  God  for  the 
present  circumstance  he  was  in,  and  had 
besought  him  to  afford  him  the  like  favour 
for  the  time  to  come,  he  came  to  Babylon, 
and  brought  the  good  news  to  his  country- 
men of  what  grants  he  had  procured  for 
them    from   the    king;    who,  when    they 
heard  the  same,  gave  thanks  also  to  God 
that  he  restored  the  land  of  their  forefa- 
thers  to    them    again.      So   they  betook 
themselves    to   drinking  and   eating,  and 
for  seven   days   they  continued  feasting, 
and  kept  a  festival,  for  the  rebuilding  and 
restoration    of   their  country :  after  this, 
they  chose  themselves  rulers,  who  should 
go  up  to  Jerusalem,  out  of  the  tribes  of 
their   forefathers,    with    their  wives,  and 
children,  and  cattle,  who  travelled  to  Je- 
rusalem with  joy  and  pleasure,  under  the 
conduct  of  those  whom  Darius  sent  along 
with  them,  and  making  a  noise  with  songs 
and  pipes  and  cymbals.     The  rest  of  thu 


332 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  Xi 


Jewish  multitude  also  accompanied  them 
rejoicing. 

And  thus  did  these  men  go,  a  certain 
and  determinate  number  out  of  every  fa- 
mily, though  I  do  not  think  it  proper  to 
recite  particularly  the  names  of  those  fa- 
milies, that  1  may  not  take  off  the  minds 
of  my  readers  from  the  connection  of  the 
historical  facts,  and  make  it  hard  for  them 
to  follow  the  coherence  of  my  narration; 
but  the  sum  of  those  that  went  up,  above 
the  age  of  twelve  years,  01  the  tribe  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin,  was  402,080,000  ;* 
the  Levites  were  74 ;  the  number  of  the 
women  and  children,  mixed  together,  was 
40,742 ;  and  besides  these,  there  were 
singers  of  the  Levites  128,  and  porters 
110,  and  of  the  sacred  ministers  392; 
there  were  also  others  besides  these,  who 
said  they  were  Israelites,  but  were  not 
able  to  show  their  genealogies,  662 ;  some 
there  were  also,  who  were  expelled  out  of 
the  number  and  honour  of  the  priests,  as 
having  married  wives  whose  genealogies 
they  could  not  produce,  nor  were  they 
found  in  the  genealogies  of  the  Levites 
and  priests ;  they  were  about  525 ;  the 
multitude  also  of  servants,  who  followed 
those  that  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  7337; 
the  singing-men  and  singing-women  were 
245 ;  the  camels  were  435 ;  the  beasts 
used  to  the  yoke  were  5525 ;  and  the 
governors  of  all  this  multitude  thus  num- 
bered, were  Zorobabel,  the  son  of  <Sala- 
thiel,  of  the  posterity  of  David,  and  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  ;  and  Jeshua,  the  son 
of  Josedek  the  high  priest;  and  besides 
these,  there  were  Mordecai  and  Serebeus, 
who  were  distinguished  from  the  multi- 
tude, and  were  rulers,  who  also  contri- 
buted 100  pounds  of  gold  and  5000  of 
silver.  By  this  means,  therefore,  the 
priests  and  the  Levites,  and  a  certain  part 
of  the  entire  people  of  the  Jews  that  were 
in  Babylon,  came  and  dwelt  in  Jerusalem ; 
but  the  rest  of  the  multitude  returned 
every  one  to  their  own  countries. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Building  of  the  Temple.  B.  C.  620. 
Now  in  the  seventh  month  after  they 
Lad  departed  out  of  Babylon,  both  Jeshua 
the  high  priest,  and  Zorobabel  the  go- 
vernor, cent  messengers  every  way  round 
about,  and  gathered  those  that  were  in  the 


*  This  \s  an  error — 42,360  is  the  number  men- 
tioned in  Neh.  vii.  66 


country  together  to  Jerusalem  universally, 
who  came  very  gladly  thither.     He  then 
built  the  altar  on  the  same  place  it  had 
formerly  been  built,  that  they  might  offer 
the  appointed  sacrifices  upon  it  to  God, 
according  to  the  law  of  Moses.    But  while 
they  did   this,   they  did    not    please   the 
neighbouring   mations,  who  all  of  them 
bore  an  ill  will  to  them.     They  also  cele- 
brated the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  at  that 
time,  as  the  legislator  had   ordained  con- 
cerning it;  and  after  that  they  offered  sa- 
crifices, and  what  were  called  the  daily  sa- 
crifices, and  the  oblations  proper  for  the 
Sabbaths,  and  for  all   the  holy  festivals. 
Those  also  that  had  made  vows  performed 
them,  and  offered  their  sacrifices  from  the 
first  day   of   the  seventh  month.     They 
also  began  to  build  the  temple,  and  gave 
a  great  deal  of  money  to  the  masons  and 
to  the  carpenters,  and  what  was  necessary 
for    the    maintenance    of   the    workmen. 
The  Sidonians  also  were  very  willing  and 
ready  to  bring  the  cedar-trees  from  Liba- 
nus,  to  bind  them  together,  and  to  make 
an  united  float  of  them,  and  to  bring  them 
to  the  port  of  Joppa,  for   that  was  what 
Cyrus  had  commanded  at  first,  and  what 
was  now  done  at  the  command  of  Darius. 
In  the  second  year  of  their  coming  to 
Jerusalem,  as  the  Jews  were  there,  in  the 
second  month,  the  building  of  the  temple 
went  on  apace;  and  when  they  had  laid 
its  foundations   on   the   first   day  of  the 
second  month  of  that  second  year,  they 
set,  as  overseers  of  the  work,  such  Levites 
as    were    full    twenty    years    old ;    and 
Jeshua,  and   his   sons  and  brethren,  and 
Codmiel,  the   brother  of  Judas,  the   sou 
of  Aminadab,  with    his    sons;    and    the 
temple,   by  the   great   diligence  of  those 
that    had    the    care    of    it,    was   finished 
sooner  than  any  one  would  have  expected. 
And  when  the   temple  was  finished,  the 
priests,   adorned    with    their   accustomed 
garments,    stood     with     their    trumpets, 
while  the  Levites,  and  the  sons  of  Asaph, 
stood  and  sang  hymns  to  God,  according 
as  David  first  of  all  appointed   them  to 
bless  God.     Now,  the  priests  and  Levites, 
and  the  elder  part  of  the  families,  recol 
lecting  with  themselves  how  much  greater 
and  more  sumptuous  the  old  temple  had 
been,  seeing  that  now  made,  how  much 
inferior  it  was,  on  account  of  their  poverty, 
to  that  which  had  been  built  of  old,  con- 
sidered with  themselves  how  much  their 
happy  state  had  sunk  below  what  it  had 
been    of    old,  as    well    as    their    temple 


JlTAP.  IV. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


333 


Hereupon  they  were  disconsolate,  and  not 
ible  to  contain  their  grief,  and  proceeded 
30  far  as  to  lament  and  shed  tears  on  those 
iccounts;  but  the  people  in  general  were 
cntented  with  their  present  condition ; 
and  because  they  were  allowed  to  build 
themselves  a  temple,  they  desired  no 
more,  and  neither  regarded  nor  remem- 
bered, nor  indeed  at  all  tormented  them- 
selves with  the  comparison  of  that  and 
the  former  temple,  as  if  this  were  below 
their  expectations.  But  the  wailing  of 
the  old  men,  and  of  the  priests,  on  ac- 
count of  the  deficiency  of  this  temple,  in 
their  opinion,  if  compared  with  that  which 
had  been  demolished,  overcame  the  sounds 
of  the  trumpets  and  the  rejoicing  of  the 
people. 

But  when  the  Samaritans,  who  were 
<till  enemies  to  the  tribes  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin,  heard  the  sound  of  the  trum- 
pets, they  came  running  together,  and  de- 
sired to  know  what  was  the  occasion  of 
this  tumult;  and  when  they  perceived 
that  it  was  from  the  Jews  who  had  been 
carried  captive  to  Babylon,  and  were  re- 
building their  temple,  they  came  to  Zoro- 
babel  and  to  Jeshua,  and  to  the  heads  of 
the  families,  and  desired  that  they  would 
give  them  leave  to  build  the  temple  with 
them,  and  to  be  partners  with  them  in 
building  it;  for  they  said,  "  We  worship 
their  God,  and  especially  pray  to  him, 
and  are  desirous  of  their  religious  settle- 
ment, and  this  ever  since  Shalmaneser, 
the  king  of  Assyria,  transplanted  us  out 
of  Cuthah  and  Media  to  this  place. " 
When  they  said  thus,  Zorobabel,  and  Je- 
shua the  high  priest,  and  the  heads  of  the 
families  of  the  Israelites  replied  to  them, 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  permit 
them  to  be  their  partners,  while  the}' 
[only]  had  been  appointed  to  build  that 
temple  at  first  by  Cyrus,  and  now  by  Da- 
rius, although  it  was  indeed  lawful  for 
them  to  come  and  worship  there  if  they 
pleased,  and  that  they  could  allow  them 
nothing,  but  that  in  common  with  them, 
which  was  common  to  them  with  all  other 
men,  to  come  to  their  temple  and  worship 
G>i  there. 

When  the  Cutheans  heard  this,  for  the 
Samaritans  have  that  appellation,  they 
had  indignation  at  it,  and  persuaded  the 
nations  of  Syria  to  desire  of  the  governors, 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  had  done 
formerly  in  the  days  of  Cyrus,  and  again 
in  the  days  of  Cam  by  sea  afterward,  to 
pur  a  stop  to  the  building  of  the  temple, 


and  to  endeavour  to  delay  and  protract 
the  Jews  in  their  zeal  about  it.  Now  at 
this  time  Sisinnes,  the  governor  of  Syria 
and  Phoenicia,  and  Sathrabuzanes,  with 
certain  others,  came  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 
asked  the  rulers  of  the  Jews,  by  whose 
grant  it  was  that  they  built  the  temple  in 
this  manner,  since  it  was  more  like  to  a 
citadel  than  a  temple  ?  and  for  what  rea- 
son it  was  that  they  built  cloisters  and 
walls,  and  those  strong  ones  too,  about  the 
city  ?  To  which  Zorobabel  and  Jeshua 
the  high  priest  replied,  that  they  were  the 
servants  of  God  Almighty ;  that  this  tern 
pie  was  built  to  him  by  a  king  of  theirs 
that  lived  in  great  prosperity,  and  one 
that  exceeded  all  men  in  virtue  ;  and  that 
it  continued  a  long  time,  but  that  because 
of  their  fathers'  impiety  toward  God, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  the  Babylonians 
and  of  the  Chaldeans,  took  their  city  by 
force,  and  destroyed  it,  and  pillaged  the 
temple,  and  burnt  it  down,  and  trans- 
planted the  people  whom  he  had  made 
captives,  and  removed  them  to  Babylon; 
that  Cyrus,  who,  after  him,  was  king  of 
Babylonia  and  Persia,  wrote  to  them  to 
build  the  temple,  aud  committed  the  gifts 
and  vessels,  and  whatsoever  Nebuchad- 
nezzar had  carried  out  of  it,  to  Zorobabel, 
and  Mithridates  the  treasurer ;  and  gave 
order  to  have  them  carried  to  Jerusalem, 
and  to  have  them  restored  to  their  own 
temple  when  it  was  built;  for  he  had 
sent  to  them  to  have  it  done  speedily,  and 
commanded  Sanabassar  to  go  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  to  take  care  of  the  building 
of  the  temple ;  who,  upon  receiving  that 
epistle  from  Cyrus,  came  and  immediately 
laid  its  foundations :  "  and  although  it 
hath  been  in  building  from  that  time  to 
this,  it  hath  not  yet  been  finished,  by 
reason  of  the  malignity  of  our  enemies. 
If,  therefore,  you  have  a  mind,  and  think 
it  proper,  write  this  account  to  Darius, 
that  when  he  hath  consulted  the  records 
of  the  kings,  he  may  find  that  we  have 
told  you  nothing  that  is  false  about  this 
matter." 

When  Zorobabel  and  the  high  priest 
had  made  this  answer,  Sisinnes,  and  those 
that  were  with  him,  did  not  resolve  to 
hinder  the  building,  until  they  had  in- 
formed King  Darius  of  all  this.  So  they 
immediately  wrote  to  him  about  these 
affairs ;  but  as  the  Jews  were  now  under 
terror,  and  afraid  lest  the  king  should 
change  his  resolutions  as  to  the  buildiue: 
of  Jerusalem  and    of  the   temple,    there 


331 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI 


were  two  prophets  at  that  time  among 
them,  Haggai  and  Zechariah,  who  en- 
couraged them,  and  bade  them  be  of  good 
cheer,  and  to  suspect  no  discouragement 
from  the  Persians,  for  that  God  foretold 
this  to  them.  So,  in  dependence  on  those 
prophets,  they  applied  themselves  earn- 
estly to  building,  and  did  not  intermit 
one  day. 

Now  Darius,  when  the  Samaritans  had 
written  to  him,  and  in  their  epistle  had 
accused  the  Jews  how  they  fortified  the 
city,  and  built  the  temple  more  like  to  a 
citadel  than  a  temple ;  and  said,  that  their 
doings  were  not  expedient  for  the  king's 
affairs;  and  besides,  they  showed  the 
epistle  of  Cambyses,  wherein  he  forbade 
them  to  build  the  temple ;  and  when  Da- 
rius thereby  understood  that  the  restora- 
tion of  Jerusalem  was  not  expedient  for 
his  affairs,  and  when  he  had  read  the 
epistle  that  was  brought  him  from  Sisin- 
nes  and  those  that  were  with  him,  he  gave 
order  that  what  concerned  these  matters 
should  be  sought  for  among  the  royal  re- 
cords. Whereupon  a  book  was  found  at 
Ecbatana,  in  the  tower  that  was  in  Media, 
wherein  was  written  as  follows  : — "  Cyrus 
the  king,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign, 
commanded  that  the  temple  should  be 
built,  in  Jerusalem;  and  the  altar  in 
height  sixty  cubits,  and  its  breadth  of  the 
same,  with  three  edifices  of  polished  stone, 
and  one  edifice  of  stone  of  their  own  cpun- 
try  ;  and  he  ordained  that  the  expenses 
of  it  should  be  paid  out  of  the  king's 
revenue.  He  also  commanded  that  the 
vessels  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  pil- 
laged [out  of  the  temple],  and  had  carried 
to  Babylon,  should  be  restored  to  the 
people  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  that  the  care 
of  these  things  should  belong  to  Sanabas- 
sar,  the  governor  and  president  of  Syria 
and  Phoenicia,  and  to  his  associates,  that 
they  may  not  meddle  with  that  place,  but 
may  permit  the  servants  of  God,  the  Jews 
aud  their  rulers,  to  build  the  temple.  He 
also  ordained  that  they  should  assist  them 
in  the  work  ;  and  that  they  should  pay  to 
♦he  Jews,  out  of  the  tribute  of  the  coun- 
try where  they  were  governors,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sacrifices,  bulls,  and  rams, 
^nd  lambs,  and  kids  of  the  goats,  and  fine 
tiour,  and  oil,  and  wine,  and  all  other 
things  that  the  priests  should  suggest  to 
them  ;  and  that  they  should  pray  for  the 
preservation  of  the  king,  and  of  the  Per- 
sians :  and  that  for  such  as  transgressed 
•*ny  of  these  orders  thus  sent  to  them,  he 


commanded  that  they  should  be  caught, 
and  hung  upon  a  cross,  and  their  sub- 
stance confiscated  to  the  king's  use.  He 
also  prayed  to  God  against  them,  that  if 
any  one  attempted  to  hinder  the  building 
of  the  temple,  God  would  strike  him  dead, 
and  thereby  restrain  his  wickedness." 

When  Darius  had  found  this  book 
among  the  records  of  Cyrus,  he  wrote  aD 
answer  to  Sisinnes  and  his  associates, 
whose  contents  were  these  : — u  King  Da- 
rius to  Sisinnes  the  governor,  and  to 
Sathrabuzanes,  sendeth  greeting.  Having 
found  a  copy  of  this  epistle  among  tho 
records  of  Cyrus,  I  have  sent  it  to  you ; 
and  I  will  that  all  things  be  done  as 
therein  written.  Farewell."  So  when 
Sisinnes,  and  those  that  were  with  him, 
understood  the  intention  of  the  king,  they 
resolved  to  follow  his  directions  entirely 
for  the  time  to  come.  So  they  forwarded 
the  sacred  works,  and  assisted  the  elders 
of  the  Jews,  and  the  princes  of  the  san- 
hedrim ;  and  the  structure  of  the  temple 
was  with  great  diligence  brought  to  a  con- 
clusion by  the  prophecies  of  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  according  to  God's  commands, 
and  by  the  injunctions  of  Cyrus  and  Da- 
rius the  kings.  Now  the  temple  was  built 
in  seven  years'  time  :  and  in  the  ninth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Darius,  on  the  twenty- 
third  day  of  the  twelfth  month,  which  is 
by  us  called  "  Adar,"  but  by  the  Mace- 
donians "  Dystrus,"  the  priests  and  the 
Levites,  and  the  other  multitude  of  the 
Israelites,  offered  sacrifices,  as  the  renova- 
tion of  their  former  prosperity  after  their 
captivity,  and  because  they  had  now  the 
temple  rebuilt,  100  bulls,  200  rams,  400 
lambs,  and  twelve  kids  of  the  goats,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  their  tribes,  (for 
so  many  are  the  tribes  of  the  Israelites ;) 
and  this  last  for  the  sins  of  every  tribe. 
The  priests  also,  and  the  Levites,  set  the 
porters  at  every  gate,  according  to  the 
laws  of  Moses.  The  Jews  also  built  the 
cloisters  of  the  inner  temple  that  were 
round  about  the  temple  itself. 

And  as  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread 
was  at  hand,  in  the  first  month,  which, 
according  to  the  Macedonians,  is  called 
"  Xanthicus,"  "but  according  to  us  "Ni- 
san,"  all  the  people  ran  together  out  of 
the  villages  to  the  city,  and  celebrated  the 
festival,  having  purified  themselves,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  according  tu 
the  law  of  their  country ;  and  they  offered 
the  sacrifice  which  was  called  the  "  Pass 
over,"  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  same 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


335 


month,  and  feasted  seven  days,  and  spared 
for  no  cost,  but  offered  whole  burnt-offer- 
ings to  G-od,  and  performed  sacrifices  of 
thanksgiving,  because  God  had  led  them 
again  to  the  land  of  their  fathers,  and  to 
the  laws  thereto  belonging,  and  had  ren- 
dered the  mind  of  the  king  of  Persia  fa- 
vourable to  them.     So  these  men  offered 

the  largest  sacrifices  on  these  accounts, 

•  •  •      t 

and  used  great  magnificence  in  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  dwelt  in  Jerusalem,  and 
made  use  of  a  form  of  government  that 
was  aristocratical,  but  mixed  with  an  oli- 
garchy, for  the  high-priests  were  at  the 
head  of  their  affairs,  until  the  posterity 
of  the  Asamoneans  set  up  kingly  govern- 
ment ;  for  before  their  captivity  and  the 
dissolution  of  their  polity,  they  at  first 
had  kingly  government  from  Saul  and 
David  for  532  years  6  months  and  10 
days  :  but  before  those  kings,  such  rulers 
governed  them  as  were  called  judges  and 
monarchs.  Under  this  form  of  govern- 
ment, they  continued  for  more  than  500 
years,  after  the  death  of  Moses,  and  of 
Joshua  their  commander.  And  this  is 
the  account  I  had  to  give  of  the  Jews 
who  had  been  carried  into  captivity,  but 
were  delivered  from  it  in  the  time  of 
Cyrus  and  Darius. 

*But  the  Samaritans  being  evil  and 
enviously  disposed  toward  the  Jews, 
wrought  them  many  mischiefs,  by  re- 
liance on  their  riches,  and  by  their  pre- 
tence that  they  were  allied  to  the  Per- 
sians, on  account  that  thence  they  came ; 
and  whatsoever  it  was  that  they  were  en- 
joiued  to  pay  the  Jews  by  the  king's  or- 
der, out  of  their  tributes,  for  the  sa- 
crifices, they  would  not  pay  it.  They 
had  also  the  governors  favourable  to  them, 
and  assisting  them  for  that  purpose ;  nor 
did  they  spare  to  hurt  them,  either  by 
themselves  or  by  others,  as  far  as  they 
were  able.  So  the  Jews  determined  to 
send  an  embassage  to  King  Darius,  in  fa- 
vour of  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  and  in 
order  to  accuse  the  Samaritans.  The  am- 
bassadors were  Zorobabel,  and  four  others 
of  the  rulers ;  and  as  soon  as  the  king 
kn?w  from  the  ambassadors  the  accusa- 
tion* and  complaints  they  brought  against 
the  Samaritans,  he  gave  them  an  epistle 
to  be  carried  to  the  governors  and  council 
<>f  Samaria;  the  contents  of  which  epistle 
were  these  : — "  King  Darius  to  Tangauas 


*  The  history  contained  in  this  section  is  en- 
tirely wanting  in  all  our  copies,  both  of  Ezra  and 
Esdras. 


and  Sambabas,  the  governors  of  the  Sama- 
tans  j  to  Sadraces  and  Bobelo,  and  the  rest  of 
their  fellow-servants  that  are  in  Samaria : 
"  Zorobabel,  Ananias,  and  Mordecai,  the 
ambassadors  of  the  Jews,  complain  of 
you,  that  you  obstruct  them  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  temple,  and  do  not  supply  them 
with  the  expenses  which  I  commanded 
you  to  do  for  the  offering  of  their  sacri- 
fices. My  will  therefore  is  this  :  that 
upon  the  reading  of  this  epistle,  you  sup- 
ply them  with  whatsoever  they  want  for 
their  sacrifices,  and  that  out  of  the  royal 
treasury,  of  the  tributes  of  Samaria,  as 
the  priest  shall  desire,  that  they  may  not 
leave  off  their  offering  daily  sacrifices,  nor 
praying  to  God  for  me  and  the  Persians ;" 
and  these  were  the  contents  of  that 
epistle. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Xerxes,  son   of  Darius,  well-disposed   toward  the 
Jews — Esdras  and  Nehemiah.    B.  C.  467-455. 

Upon  the  death  of  Darius,  Xerxes  his 
son  took  the  kingdom  •  who,  as  he  inhe- 
rited his  father's  kingdom,  so  did  he  in- 
herit his  piety  toward  G-od,  and  honour 
of  him  j  for  he  did  all  things  suitably  to 
his  father,  relating  to  divine  worship,  and 
he  was  exceedingly  friendly  to  the  Jews. 
New  about   this   time   a   son   of  Jeshua, 
whose  name   was   Joacim,  was  the   high 
priest.     Moreover,  there  was  now  in  Ba- 
bylon a  righteous  man,  and  one  that  en- 
joyed a  great  reputation  among  the  mul- 
titude;  he  was  the  principal  priest  of  the 
people,  aud  his  name   was  Esdras.      He 
was  very  skilful  in  the  laws  of  Moses,  and 
was  well   acquainted  with  King  Xerxes. 
He  had  determined  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem, 
and  to  take  with  him  some  of  those  Jews 
that  were  in  Babylon  ;  and  he  desired  that 
the  king  would  give  him  an  epistle  to  the 
governors  of  Syria,  by  which  they  might 
know  who  he  was.     Accordingly,  the  king 
wrote  the  following  epistle   to  those  go- 
vernors : — "  Xerxes,    king    of    kings,    to 
Esdras   the  priest,  and  reader  of  the  di- 
vine law,  greeting.    I  think  it  agreeable  to 
that  love  which   I    bear  to   mankind,  to 
permit   those   of  the  Jewish   nation   who 
are   so   disposed,  as  well   as  those  of  the 
priests  and  Levites  that  are  in  our  king- 
dom,  to  go  together  to  Jerusalem.      Ac- 
cordingly, I  have  given  command  for  that 
purpose ;  and  let  every  one  that  hath  a 
mind,    go,    according   as    it    hath    seemed 
good  to  me,  and  to  my  seven  counsellors, 
and  this  in  order  to  their  revuw  of  the 


336 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI. 


affairs  of  Judea,  to  see  whether  they  be 
agreeable  to  the  law  of  God.  Let  them 
also  take  with  them  those  presents  which 
I  and  my  friends  have  vowed,  with  all 
that  silver  and  gold  which  is  found  in  the 
country  of  the  Babylonians,  as  dedicated 
to  God,  and  let  all  this  be  carried  to  Je- 
rusalem, to  God  for  sacrifices.  Let  it 
also  be  lawful  for  thee  and  thy  brethren 
to  make  as  many  vessels  of  silver  and  gold 
as  thou  pleasest.  Thou  shalt  also  dedicate 
those  holy  vessels  which  have  been  given 
thee,  and  as  many  more  as  thou  hast  a 
mind  to  make,  and  shalt  take  the  ex- 
penses out  of  the  king's  treasury.  I 
have  moreover  written  to  the  treasurers 
of  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  that  they  take 
care  of  those  affairs  that  Esdras  the  priest, 
and  reader  of  the  laws  of  God,  is  sent 
about;  and  that  God  may  not  be  at  all 
angry  with  me,  or  with  my  children,  I 
grant  all  that  is  necessary  for  sacrifices  to 
Goa,  according  to  the  law,  as  far  as  100 
cori  of  wheat;  and  I  enjoin  you  not  to 
lay  any  treacherous  imposition,  or  any 
tributes,  upon  their  priests  or  Levites,  or 
sacred  singers,  or  porters,  or  sacred  ser- 
vants, or  scribes  of  the  temple  ;  and  do 
thou,  0  Esdras,  appoint  judges  according 
to  the  wisdom  [given  thee]  of  God,  and 
those  such  as  understand  the  law,  that 
they  may  judge  in  all  Syria  and  Phoe- 
nicia; and  do  thou  instruct  those  also 
who  are  ignorant  of  it,  that  if  any  one 
of  thy  countrymen  transgress  the  law  of 
God,  or  that  of  the  king,  he  may  be  pu- 
nished, as  not  transgressing  it  out  of  igno- 
rance, but  as  one  that  knows  it  indeed, 
but  boldly  despises  and  contemns  it ;  and 
such  may  be  punished  by  death,  or  by 
paying  fines.     Farewell. " 

When  Esdras  had  received  this  epistle, 
he  was  very  joyful,  and  began  to  worship 
God,  and  confessed  that  he  had  been  the 
cause  of  the  king's  great  favour  to  him, 
and  that  for  the  same  reason  he  gave  all 
the  thanks  to  God.  So  he  read  the  epis- 
tle at  Babylon  to  those  Jews  that  were 
there ;  but  he  kept  the  epistle  itself,  and 
sent  a  copy  of  it  to  all  those  of  his  own 
nation  that  were  in  Media;  and  when 
these  Jews  had  understood  what  piety  the 
king  had  toward  God,  and  what  kindness 
he  had  for  Esdras,  they  were  all  greatly 
pleased ;  nay,  many  of  them  took  their 
effects  with  them,  and  came  to  Babylon, 
as  very  desirous  of  going  down  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  but  then  the  entire  body  of  the 
people  of   Israel  remained  in   that  coun- 


try ;  wherefore  there  are  but  two  tribes 
in  Asia  and  Europe  subject  to  the  Ro- 
man«.  while  the  ten  tribes  are  beyond  Eu- 
phrates till  now,  and  are  an  immense  mul- 
titude, and  not  to  be  estimated  by  num- 
bers. Now  there  came  a  great  number 
of  priests,  and  Levites,  and  porters,  and 
sacred  singers,  and  sacred  servants,  to 
Esdras.  So  he  gathered  those  that  were 
in  the  captivity  together  beyond  Eu- 
phrates, and  stayed  there  three  days,  and 
ordained  a  fast  foi  them,  that  they  might 
make  their  prayers  to  God  for  their  pre- 
servation,  that  they  might  suffer  no  mis- 
fortunes by  the  way,  either  from  their  ene- 
mies, or  from  any  other  ill  accident;  for 
Esdras  had  said  beforehand,  that  he  had 
told  the  king  how  God  would  preserve 
them,  and  so  he  had  not  thought  fit  to 
request  that  he  would  send  horsemen  to 
conduct  them.  So  when  they  had  finished 
their  prayers,  they  removed  from  Eu- 
phrates, on  the  twelfth  day  of  the  first 
month  of  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign 
of  Xerxes,  and  they  came  to  Jerusalem 
on  the  fifth  month  of  the  same  year. 
Now  Esdras  presented  the  sacred  money 
to  the  treasurers,  who  were  of  the  family 
of  the  priests,  of  silver  650  talents,  ves- 
sels of  silver  100  talents,  vessels  of  gold 
20  talents,  vessels  of  brass,  that  was  more 
precious  than  gold,*  12  talents  by  weight; 
for  these  presents  had  been  made  by  the 
king  and  his  counsellors,  and  by  all  the 
Israelites  that  stayed  in  Babylon.  So 
when  Esdras  had  delivered  these  things 
to  the  priests,  he  gave  to  God,  as  the  ap- 
pointed sacrifices  of  whole  burnt-offerings, 
12  bulls  on  account  of  the  common  pre- 
servation of  the  people,  90  rams,  72 
lambs,  and  12  kids  of  the  goats,  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  He  also  delivered  the 
king's  epistle  to  the  king's  officers,  and 
to  the  governors  of  Celesyria  and  Phoe- 
nicia ;  and  as  they  were  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  doing  what  was  enjoined  by 
him,  they  honoured  our  nation,  and  wero 
assistant  to  them  in  all  their  necessities. 

Now  these  things  were  truly  done  under 
the  conduct  of  Esdras;  and  he  succeeded 
in  them,  because  God  esteemed  him  wor- 
thy of  the  success  of  his  conduct,  on  ao» 
count  of  his  goodness  and  righteousness. 
But  some  time  afterward  there  came  some 
persons  to  him,  and  brought  an  accusa- 
tion against  certain  of  the  multitude,  and 


*  A  mixture  of  gold  and  brass  or  copper,  called 
"  aurichalcum." 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


337 


of  the  priests  and  Levites,  who  had  trans- 
gressed their  settlement,  and  dissolved 
the  laws  of  their  country,  by  marrying 
strange  wives,  and  had  brought  the  fami- 
ly of  the  priests  into  confusion.  These 
persons  desired  him  to  support  the  laws, 
lest  God  should  take  up  a  general  anger 
against  them  all,  and  reduce  them  to  a 
calamitous  condition  again.  Hereupon, 
he  rent  his  garment  immediately,  out  of 
grief,  and  pulled  off  the  hair  of  his  head 
and  beard,  and  cast  himself  upon  the 
ground,  because  this  crime  had  reached 
the  principal  men  among  the  people  ;  and 
considering  that  if  he  should  enjoin  them 
to  cast  out  their  wives,  and  the  children 
they  had  by  them,  he  should  not  be 
hearkened  to,  he  continued  lying  upon  the 
ground.  However,  all  the  better  sort 
came  running  to  him,  who  also  themselves 
wept,  and  partook  of  the  grief  he  was 
under  for  what  had  been  done.  So  Es- 
dras  rose  up  from  the  ground,  and 
stretched  out  his  hands  toward  heaven, 
and  said  that  he  was  ashamed  to  look  to- 
ward it,  because  of  the  sins  which  the 
people  had  committed,  while  they  had 
cast  out  of  their  memories  what  their  fa- 
thers had  undergone  on  account  of  their 
wickedness;  and  he  besought  God,  who 
had  saved  a  seed  and  a  remnant  out  of 
the  calamity  and  captivity  they  had  been 
in,  and  had  restored  them  again  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  to  their  own  land,  and  had 
obliged  the  king  of  Persia  to  have  com- 
passion on  them,  that  he  would  also  for- 
give them  their  sins  they  had  now  com- 
mitted, which,  though  they  deserved 
death,  yet  was  it  agreeable  to  the  mercy 
of  God  to  remit  even  to  these  the  pu- 
nishment due  to  them. 

After  Esdras  had  said  this,  he  left  off 
praying;  and  when  all  those  that  came  to 
him  with  their  wives  and  children  were 
under  lamentation,  one,  whose  name  was 
Jechonias,  a  principal  man  in  Jerusalem, 
came  to  him,  and  said,  that  they  had 
sinued  in  marrying  strange  wives ;  and  he 
persuaded  him  to  adjure  them  all  to  cast 
those  wives  out,  and  the  children  born  of 
them ;  and  that  those  should  be  punished 
who  would  not  obey  the  law.  So  Esdras 
hearkened  to  this  advice,  and  made  the 
heads  of  the  priests,  and  of  the  Levites, 
and  of  the  Israelites,  swear  that  they 
would  put  away  those  wives  and  children, 
according  to  the  advice  of  Jechonias;  and 
when  he  had  received  their  oaths,  he  went 
in  haste  out  of  the  temple  into  the  chaui- 
22 


ber  of  Johanan,  the   son  of  Eliasib,  and 
as  he  had  hitherto  tasted  nothing   at  all 
for  grief,  so  he  abode  there  that  day ;  and 
when    proclamation    was    made,    that    all 
those  of  the  captivity  should  gather  them- 
selves together  to  Jerusalem,  and   those 
that  did  not  meet  there  in  two  or  three 
days  should  be  banished  from  the  multi- 
tude, and  that  their  substance  should  be 
appropriated  to  the  use3  of   the  temple, 
according  to  the  sentence  of  the  elders, 
those   that  were  of   the  tribes  of  Judah 
and    Benjamin    came    together    in    three 
days,  namely,  on  the  twentieth  day  of  the 
ninth  month,  which,  according  to  the  He- 
brews, is  called  "Tebcth,"  and  according 
to  the  Macedonians,  "Apelleius."     Now, 
as  they  were  sitting  in  the  upper  room  of 
the   temple,  where   the  elders   also  were 
present,  but  were  uneasy  because  of  the 
cold,  Esdras  stood  up,  and  accused  them, 
and  told  them  that  they  had  sinned    in 
marrying  wives   that  were    not    of   their 
own  nation ;  but  that  now  they  would  do 
a  thing  both  pleasing  to  God  and  advan- 
tageous to  themselves,  if  they  would  put 
those  wives  away.     Accordingly,  they  all 
cried  out  that  they  would  do  so.     That, 
however    the    multitude    was    great,    ai4 
that  the  season   of  the  year  was  winter, 
and   that  this  work  would   require    more 
than  one  or  two  days.      "  Let  their  rulers, 
therefore,  [said  they,]  and  those  that  have 
married  strange  wives,  come   hither  at  a 
proper    time,   while   the   elders   of  every 
place,  that  are  in  common,  to  estimate  the 
number  of  those  that  have  thus  married, 
are  to  be  there  also."     Accordingly,  this 
was  resolved  on  by  them  ;  and  they  be- 
gan the  inquiry  after  those  that  had  mar- 
ried strange  wives  on  the  first  day  of  the 
tenth  month,  and  continued  the  inquiry 
to  the  first  day  of  the  next  month,  and 
found  a  great   many  of   the  posterity  of 
Jeshua  the  high  priest,  and  of  the  priests 
and   Levites,   and   Israelites,  who  had    a 
greater  regard  to  the  observation   ol  the 
law   than   to  their   natural   affectiou,  and 
immediately  cast  out  their  wives,  and   the 
children  which  were  born  of  them  ;    and 
in  order  to  appease  God,  they  offered  sa- 
erifices,   and  slew   rams,   as  oblations    to 
him;   but  it  does  not  seem   to   me   to    be 
necessary  to  set  down  the  names  of  these 
men.     So  when  Esdras  had  reformed  this 
sin  about  the  marriages  of  the  foremen 
tioned   persons,   he   reduced  that  practice 
to   purity,  so  that   it   continued   in    that 
state  for  the  time  to  come. 


338 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XL 


Now  when  they  *ept  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles  in  the  seventh  month,  and 
almost  all  the  people  had  come  together 
to  it,  they  went  up  to  the  open  part  of 
the  temple,  to  the  gate  which  looked 
eastward,  and  desired  of  Esdras  that  the 
laws  of  Moses  might  be  read  to  them. 
Accordingly,  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
multitude  and  read  them ;  and  this  he 
did  from  morning  till  noon.  Now,  by 
hearing  the  laws  read  to  them,  they  were 
instructed  to  be  righteous  men  for  the 
present  and  for  the  future ;  but  as  for 
their  past  offences,  they  were  displeased 
at  themselves  and  proceeded  to  shed  tears 
on  their  account,  as  considering  with 
themselves,  that  if  they  had  kept  the 
law,  they  had  endured  none  of  those 
miseries  which  they  had  experienced ; 
but  when  Esdras  saw  them  in  that  dis- 
position, he  bade  them  go  home  and  not 
weep,  for  that  it  was  a  festival,  and  that 
they  ought  not  to  weep  thereon,  for  that 
it  was  not  lawful  so  to  do.  He  exhorted 
them  rather  to  proceed  immediately  to 
feasting,  and  to  do  what  was  suitable  to  a 
feast,  and  what  was  agreeable  to  a  day  of 
ioy;  but  to  let  their  repentance  and 
"now  for  their  former  sins  be  a  security 
and  a  guard  to  them,  that  they  fall  no 
more  into  the  like  offences.  So  upon 
Esdras's  exhortation  they  began  to  feast; 
and  when  they  had  so  done  for  eight 
days,  in  their  tabernacles,  they  departed 
to  their  own  homes,  singing  hymn's  to 
God,  and  returning  thanks  to  Esdras  for 
his  reformation  of  what  corruptions  had 
been  introduced  into  their  settlement.  So 
it  came  to  pass,  that  after  he  had  ob- 
tained this  reputation  among  the  people, 
he  died  an  old  man,  and  was  buried  in  a 
maguificent  manner  at  Jerusalem.  About 
the  same  time  it  happened  also  that  Joa- 
cim,  the  high  priest,  died;  and  his  son 
Eliasib  succeeded  in  the  high-priest- 
hood. 

Now  there  was  one  of  those  Jews  who 
had  been  carried  captive,  who  was  cup- 
bsarer  to  King  Xerxes ;  his  name  was 
NehemiiV  As  this  man  was  walking 
before  Susa,  the  metropolis  of  the  Per- 
sians, he  heard  some  strangers  that  were 
entering  the  city,  after  a  long  journey, 
speaking  to  one  another  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue ;  so  he  went  to  them  and  asked 
from  whence  they  came  ;  and  when  their 
answer  was,  that  they  came  from  Judea, 
he  began  to  inquire  of  them  again  in 
what    state    the    multitude    was,  and    in 


what  condition  Jerusalem  was  :  and  when 
they  replied  that  they  were  in  a  bad 
state,  for  that  their  walls  were  throwr 
down  on  the  ground,  and  that  the  neigh- 
bouring nations  did  a  great  deal  of  mis- 
chief to  the  Jews,  while  in  the  daytime 
they  overran  the  country  and  pillaged  it, 
and  in  the  night  did  them  mischief,  inso- 
much that  not  a  few  were  led  away  cap- 
tive out  of  the  country,  and  out  of  Jeru- 
salem itself,  and  that  the  roads  were  in 
the  daytime  found  full  of  dead  men. 
Hereupon  Nehemiah  shed  tears,  out  of 
commiseration  of  the  calamities  of  his 
countrymen  ;  and,  looking  up  to  heaven, 
he  said,  "  How  long,  0  Lord,  wilt  thou 
overlook  our  nation,  while  it  suffers  so 
great  miseries,  and  while  we  are  made 
the  prey  and  the  scorn  of  all  men?"  And 
while  he  stayed  at  the  gate,  and  lamented 
thus,  one  told  him  that  the  king  wTas 
going  to  sit  down  to  supper;  so  he  made 
haste,  and  went  as  he  was,  without  wash- 
ing himself,  to  minister  to  the  king  in 
his  office  of  cup-bearer :  but  as  the  king 
was  very  pleasant  after  supper,  and  more 
cheerful  than  usual,  he  cast  his  eyes  on 
Nehemiah,  and  seeing  him  look  sad,  he 
asked  him  why  he  was  sad.  Whereupon 
he  prayed  to  God  to  give  him  favour,  and 
afford  him  the  power  of  persuading  by 
his  words;  and  said,  "  How  can  I,  0 
king,  appear  otherwise  than  thus,  and  not 
be  in  trouble,  while  I  hear  that  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem,  the  city  where  are  the 
sepulchres  of  my  fathers,  are  thrown 
down  to  the  ground,  and  that  its  gates 
are  consumed  by  fire?  But  do  thou 
grant  me  the  favour  to  go  and  build  its 
wall,  and  to  finish  the  building  of  the 
temple."  Accordingly,  the  king  gave 
him  a  signal,  that  he  freely  granted  him 
what  he  asked;  and  told  him,  that  he 
should  carry  an  epistle  to  the  governors, 
that  they  might  pay  him  due  honour,  and 
afford  him  whatever  assistance  he  wanted, 
and  as  he  pleased.  "  Leave  off  thy 
sorrow  theu,"  said  the  king,  "  and  be 
cheerful  in  the  performance  of  thy  office 
hereafter."  So  Nehemiah  worshipped 
God,  and  gave  the  king  thanks  for  his 
promise,  and-  cleared  up  his  sad  and 
cloudy  countenance,  by  the  pleasure  he 
had  from  the  king's  promises.  Accord- 
ingly, the  king  called  for  him  the  next 
day,  and  gave  him  an  epistle  to  be 
carried  to  Adeus,  the  governor  of  Syria, 
and  Phoenicia,  and  Samaria;  wherein  ho 
sent  to  him  to  pay  due  honour  to  Nehe- 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


339 


miah,  and  to  supply  h.m  with  what  he 
wanted  for  his  building. 

Now  when  ho  had  come  to  Babylon, 
and  had  taken  with  him  many  of  his 
countrymen,  who  voluntarily  followed 
him,  he  came  to  Jerusalem,  in  the 
twenty  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Xerxes; 
and  when  he  had  shown  the  epistles  to 
. God,*  he  gave  them  to  Adeus,  and  to  the 
other  governors.  He  also  called  together 
all  the  people  to  Jerusalem,  and  stood  in 
the  midst  of  the  temple,  and  made  the 
following  speech  to  them  : — "  You  know, 
0  Jews,  that  God  hath  kept  our  fathers, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  mind  con- 
tinually; and  for  the  sake  of  their  right- 
eousness hath  not  left  off  the  care  of  you. 
Indeed,  he  hath  assisted  me  in  gaining 
this  authority  of  the  king  to  raise  up  our 
wall,  and  finish  what  is  wanting  of  the 
temple.  I  desire  you,  therefore,  who 
well  know  the  ill-will  our  neighbouring 
nations  bear  to  us,  and  that  when  once 
they  are  made  sensible  that  we  are  in 
earnest  about  building,  they  will  come 
upon  us,  and  contrive  many  ways  of 
obstructing  our  works,  that  you  will,  in 
the  first  place,  put  your  trust  in  God,  as 
in  him  that  will  assist  us  against  their 
hatred,  and  to  intermit  building  neither 
night  nor  day,  but  to  use  all  diligence, 
and  to  hasten  on  the  work,  now  we  have 
this  especial  opportunity  for  it."  When 
he  had  said  this,  he  gave  order  that  the 
rulers  should  measure  the  wall,  and  part 
the  work  of  it  among  the  people,  accord- 
ing to  their  villages  and  cities,  as  every 
one's  ability  should  require.  And  when 
he  had  added  this  promise,  that  he  him- 
self, with  his  servants,  would  assist  them, 
he  dissolved  the  assembly.  So  the  Jews 
prepared  for  the  work ;  that  is  the  name 
they  are  called  by  from  the  day  that  they 
came  up  from  Babylon,  and  is  taken  from 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  which  came  first  to 
these  places,  and  thence  both  they  and 
the  country  gained  that  appellation. 

But  now,  when  the  Ammonites,  and 
rdoabites,  aud  Samaritans,  and  all  that 
inhabited  Celesyria,  heard  that  the  build- 
ing went  on  apace,  they  took  it  heinously, 
and  proceeded  to  lay  snares  for  them,  and 

"*This  showing  King  Xerxes'  epistles  to  God,  or 
laying  them  open  before  God  in  the  temple,  is  very 
like  the  laying  open  the  epistles  of  Sennacherib 
before  him  also  by  liezekiah,  (2  Kings  xix.  14; 
I.-a.  xxxvii.  14;)  although  this  last  was  for  a  me- 
morial, to  put  him  in  mind  of  enemies,  in  order 
to  move  the  Divine  compassion,  and  the  present  us 
a  token  of  gratitude  for  mercies  alrea  'v  received. 


to  hinder  their  intentions.  They  also 
slew  many  of  the  Jews,  and  sought  how 
they  might  destroy  Nehemiah  himself,  by 
hiring  some  of  the  foreigners  to  kill  him 
They  also  put  the  Jews  in  fear,  and  dis 
turbed  them,  and  spread  abroad  rumours, 
as  if  many  nations  were  ready  to  make 
an  expedition  against  them,  by  which 
means  they  were  harassed,  and  had 
almost  left  off  the  building.  But  none 
of  these  things  could  deter  Nehemiah 
from  being  diligent  about  the  work;  he 
ouly  set  a  number  of  men  about  him  as  a 
guard  to  his  body,  and  so  unweariedly 
persevered  therein,  and  was  insensible  of 
any  trouble,  out  of  his  desire  to  perfect 
this  work.  And  thus  did  he  attentively, 
and  with  great  forecast,  take  care  of  his 
own  safety ;  not  that  he  feared  death,  but 
of  this  persuasion,  that  if  he  was  dead, 
the  walls  for  his  citizens  would  never  be 
raised.  He  also  gave  orders  that  the 
builders  should  keep  their  ranks,  and 
have  their  armour  on  while  they  were 
building.  Accordingly,  the  mason  had 
his  sword  on  as  well  as  he  that  brought 
the  materials  for  building.  He  also  ap- 
pointed that  their  shields  should  lie  very 
near  them;  and  he  placed  trumpeters  at 
every  500  feet,  and  charged  them,  that  if 
their  enemies  appeared,  they  should  give 
notice  of  it  to  the  people,  that  they  might 
fight  in  their  armour,  and  their  enemies 
might  not  fall  upon  them  naked.  He 
also  weut  about  the  compass  of  the  city 
by  night,  being  never  discouraged,  neither 
about  the  work  itself,  nor  about  his  own 
diet  aud  sleep,  for  he  made  no  use  of 
those  things  for  his  pleasure,  but  out  of 
necessity.  And  this  trouble  he  under- 
went for  two  years  aud  four  months;  for 
in  so  long  a  time  was  the  wall  built,  in 
the  twenty -eighth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Xerxes,  in  the  ninth  month.  Now  when 
the  walls  were  finished,  Nehemiah  aud 
the  multitude  offered  sacrifices  to  God 
for  the  building  of  them  ;  and  they  con- 
tinued in  feasting  eight  days.  However, 
when  the  nations  which  dwelt  in  Syria 
heard  that  the  building  of  the  wall  was 
finished,  they  had  indignation  at  it;  but 
when  Nehemiah  saw  that  the  city  was 
thin  of  people,  he  exhorted  the  priest? 
and  the  Levites,  that  they  would  leave 
the  country,  and  remove  themselves  to 
the  city,  and  there  continue;  and  he 
built  them  houses  at  his  own  expense; 
and  he  commanded  that  part  of  the 
people  who  were  employed   in   cultivating 


S40 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


[Book  XI 


the  land,  to  bring  the  tithes  of  their  fruits 
to  Jerusalem,  that  the  priests  and  Levites 
having  whereof  they  might  live  perpe- 
tually, might  not  leave  the  divine  worship  ; 
who  willingly  hearkened  to  the  constitu- 
tions of  Nehemiah,  by  which  means  the 
city  Jerusalem  came  to  be  fuller  of  people 
than  it  was  before.  So  when  Nehemiah 
had  done  many  other  excellent  things, 
and  things  worthy  of  commendation  in  a 
glorious  manner,  he  came  to  a  great  age, 
and  then  died.  He  was  a  man  of  a  good 
and  a  righteous  disposition,  and  very  am- 
bitious to  make  his  own  nation  happy ; 
and  he  hath  left  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
as  an  eternal  monument  for  ,himself. 
Now  this  was  done  in  the  days  of  Xerxes. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

History  of  Esther.    B.  C.  510. 

After  the  death  of  Xerxes,  the  king- 
dom came  to  be  transferred  to  his  son 
Cyrus,  whom  the  Greeks  called  Arta- 
xerxes.  When  this  man  had  obtained 
the  government  over  the  Persians,  the 
whole  nation  of  the  Jews,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  were  in  danger  of 
perishing;  the  occasion  whereof  we  shall 
declare  in  a  little  time ;  for  it  is  proper 
in  the  first  place  to  explain  somewhat  re- 
lating to  this  king,  and  how  he  came  to 
marry  a  Jewish  wife,  who  was  herself  of 
the  royal  family  also,  and  who  is  related 
to  have  saved  our  nation ;  for  when  Ar- 
taxerxes  had  taken  the  kingdom,  and 
had  set  governors  over  the  127  provinces, 
from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,  in  the 
third  year  of  his  reign  he  made  a  costly 
feast  for  his  friends,  and  for  the  nations 
of  Persia  and  for  their  governors,  such  an 
one  as  was  proper  for  a  king  to  make, 
when  he  had  a  mind  to  make  a  public 
demonstration  of  his  riches,  and  this  for 
ISO  days;  after  which  he  made  a  feast 
for  other  nations,  and  for  their  ambas- 
sadors, at  Shushan,  for  seven  days.  Now 
this  feast  was  ordered  after  the  manner 
foil .  ving : — He  caused  a  tent  to  be  pitched, 
which  was  supported  by  pillars  of  gold 
and  silver,  with  curtains  of  linen  and 
purple  spread  over  them,  that  it  might 
afford  room  for  many  ten  thousands  to  sit 
down.  The  cups  with  which  the  waiters 
ministered  were  of  gold,  and  adorned 
with  precious  stones,  for  pleasure  and  for 
sight.  He  also  gave  order  to  the  servants 
that  they  should  not  force  them  to  drink, 


by  bringing  them  wine  continually,  as  is 
the  practice  of  the  Persians,  but  to  permit 
every  one  of  the  guests  to  enjoy  himself 
according  to  his  own  inclination.  More- 
over, he  sent  messengers  through  the 
country,  and  gave  order  that  they  should 
have  a  remission  of  their  labours,  and 
should  keep  a  festival  many  days,  on 
account  of  his  kingdom.  In  like  manner- 
did  Vashti  the  queen  gather  her  guests 
together,  and  made  them  a  feast  in  the 
palace.  Now  the  king  was  desirous  to 
show  her,  who  exceeded  all  other  women 
in  beauty,  to  those  that  feasted  with  him, 
and  he  sent  some  to  command  her  to 
come  to  his  feast.  But  she,  out  of  re- 
gard to  the  laws  of  the  Persians,  which 
forbade  the  wives  to  be  seen  by  strangers, 
did  not  go  to  the  king;  and  though  he 
oftentimes  sent  the  eunuchs  to  her,  she  did 
nevertheless  stay  away,  and  refused  to 
come,  till  the  king  was  so  much  irritated, 
that  he  brake  up  the  entertainment,  and 
rose  up,  and  called  for  those  seven  who 
had  the  interpretation  of  the  laws  com- 
mitted to  them,  and  accused  his  wife,  and 
said,  that  he  had  been  affronted  by  her, 
because  that  when  she  was  frequently 
called  by  him  to  his  feast,  she  did  not 
obey  him  once.  He  therefore  gave  order 
that  they  should  inform  him  what  could 
be  done  -by  the  law  against  her.  So  one 
of  them,  whose  name  was  Memucan,  said 
that  this  affront  was  offered  not  to  him 
alone,  but  to  all  the  Persians,  who  were 
in  danger  of  leading  their  lives  very  ill 
with  their  wives,  if  they  must  be  thus  de- 
spised by  them ;  for  that  none  of  their 
wives  would  have  any  reverence  for  their 
husbands,  if  they  have  "  such  an  example 
of  arrogance  in  the  queen  toward  thee, 
who  rulest  over  all."  Accordingly,  he 
exhorted  him  to  punish  her,  who  had 
been  guilty  of  so  great  an  affront  to  him, 
after  a  severe  manner;  and  when  he  had 
so  done,  to  publish  to  the  nations  what 
had  been  decreed  about  the  queen.  Sc 
the  resolution  was  to  put  Vashti  away, 
and  to  give  her  dignity  to  another 
woman. 

But  the  king  having  been  fond  of  her, 
he  did  not  well  bear  a  separation,  and  yet 
by  the  law  he  could  not  admit  of  a  recon- 
ciliation, so  he  was  under  trouble,  as  not 
having  it  iu  his  power  to  do  what  he  de- 
sired to  do  :  but  when  his  friends  saw  him 
so  uneasy,  they  advised  him  to  cast  the 
memory  of  his  wife,  and  his  love  for  her, 
out  of  his  mind,  but  to  send  abroad  over 


Chap.  Vl.J 


ANTIQUITIES    UF    THE   JEWS. 


34] 


all  the  habitable  earth,  and  to  search  out 
for  comely  virgins,  and  to  take  her  whom 
he  should  best  like  for  his  wife,  because 
his  passion  for  his  former  wife  would  be 
quenched  by  the  introduction   of  another, 
and  the  kindness  he  had  for  Vashti  would 
be  withdrawn  from  her,  and  be  placed  on 
her  that  was  with  him.     Accordingly,  he 
was  persuaded  to  follow  this  advice,  and 
gave  order  to  certain   persons  to   choose 
out  of  the  virgins  that  were  in  his  king- 
dom, those  that  were  esteemed  the  most 
comely.    So  when  a  great  number  of  these 
virgins  were  gathered  together,  there  was 
found  a  damsel  in  Babylon,  whose  parents 
were  both  dead,  and  she  was  brought  up 
with  her  uncle  Mordecai,  for  that  was  her 
uncle's    name.     This    uncle    wa3    of    the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  was   one    of   the 
principal  persons  among  the  Jews.     Now 
it  proved  that  this  damsel,  whose   name 
wras  Esther,  was  the  most  beautiful  of  all 
the  rest,  and  that  the  grace  of  her  coun- 
tenance drew  the  eyes  of  the  spectators 
principally  upon  her  :  so  she  was  commit- 
ted to  one  of  the  eunuchs  to  take  the  care 
of  her:  and  she  was  very  exactly  provided 
with   sweet   odours   in   great  plenty,  and 
with  costly  ointments,  such  as  her  body 
required  to  be  anointed  withal ;  and  this 
was  used  for  six  months  by  the  virgins, 
who  were  400  in  number ;  and  when  the 
eunuch  thought  the  virgins  had  been  suf- 
ficiently   purified,    in    the    forementioned 
time,  and  were  now  fit  to  go  to  the  king's 
bed,  he  sent  one  to  be  with  the  king  every 
day.     So  when  he  had  accompanied  with 
her,  he  sent  her  back  to  the  eunuch;  and 
when   Esther   had  come  to  him,  he  was 
pleased  with  her,  and  fell  in  love  with  the 
damsel,  and  married  her,  and  made  her  his 
lawful  wife,  and  kept  a  wedding-feast  for 
her  on  the  twelfth  month   of  the  seventh 
year  of  his  reign,  which  was  called  Adar. 
He  also  sent  "  angari,"  as  they  are  called, 
or  messengers,  unto  every  nation,  and  gave 
orders  that  they  should  keep  a  feast  for 
his  marriage,  while  he  himself  treated  the 
Persians  and  the  Medes,  and  the  principal 
men  of  the  nations,  for  a  whole   month, 
on   account    of    this    his   marriage.     Ac- 
cordingly,  Esther  came  to  his  royal  pa- 
lace, and  he  set  a  diadem   on    her   head ; 
and    thus    was    Esther    married,   without 
making  known  to  the  king  what  nation 
phe   was   derived    from.     Her  uncle  also 
removed   from   Babylon    to   Shushan,  and 
dwelt   there,   being    every   day  about  the 
palace,  and  inquiring  bow  the  damsel  did, 


for  he  loved  her  as  though  she  had  been 
his  own  daughter. 

Now  the  king  had  made  a  law,  that 
none  of  his  own  people  should  approach 
him  unless  they  were  called,  when  he  sat 
upon  his  throne;  and  men,  with  axes  in 
their  hands,  stood  round  about  his  throne, 
in  order  to  punish  such  as  approached  to 
him  without  being  called.  However,  the 
king  sat  with  a  golden  sceptre  in  his 
hand,  which  he  held  out  when  he  had  a 
mind  to  save  any  one  of  those  that  ap- 
proached to  him  without  being  called; 
and  he  who  touched  it  was  free  from  dan- 
ger.  But  of  this  matter  we  have  dis- 
coursed sufficiently. 

Some  time  after  this,  [two  eunuchs,] 
Bigthan  and  Teresh  plotted  against  the 
king;  and  Barnabazus,  the  servant  of  one 
of  the  eunuchs,  being  by  birth  a  Jew,  was 
acquainted  with  their  conspiracy,  and  dis- 
covered it  to  the  queen's  uncle ;  and  Mor- 
decai, by  means  of  Esther,  made  the  con- 
spirators known  to  the  king.  This  troubled 
the  king;  but  he  discovered  the  truth, 
and  hanged  the  eunuchs  upon  a  cross, 
while  at  that  time  he  gave  no  reward  to 
Mordecai,  who  had  been  the  occasion  of 
his  preservation.  He  onlfy  bade  the  scribes 
to  set  down  his  name  in  the  records,  and 
bade  him  stay  in  the  palace,  as  an  iutimate 
friend  of  the  king. 

Now  there  was*  one  Haman,  the  son  of 
Amedatha,  by  birth  an  AmaU'kite,  that 
used  to  go  in  to  the  king ;  and  the  fo- 
reigners and  Persians  worshipped  him,  as 
Artaxerxes  had  commanded  that  such 
honour  should  be  paid  to  him  :  but  Mor- 
decai was  so  wise,  and  so  observant  of  his 
own  country's  laws,  that  he  would  not 
worship  the  man.*  When  Haman  ob- 
served this,  he  inquired  whence  he  came; 
and  when  he  understood  that  he  was  a 
Jew,  he  had  indignation  at  him,  and  said 
within  himself,  that  whereas  the  Persians, 
who  were  free  men,  worshipped  him,  thie 
man,  who  was  no  better  than  a  slave,  does 
not  vouchsafe  to  do  so.  And  when  he 
desired  to  punish  Mordecai,  he  thought  it 
too  small  a  thing  to  request  of  the  king 
that  he  alone  might  be  punished  ;  be  ra- 
ther determined  to  abolish  the  whole  na- 
tion, for  he  was  naturally  an  enemy  to  the 


•  Whether  this  adoration  required  of  Mordecai 
to  Haman  was  by  him  deemed  too  like  the  adora- 
tion due  only  to  God,  or  whether  he  thought  ho 
ought  to  pay  no  sort  of  adoration  to  an  Amalekito, 
or  whether  both  causes  concurred,  cannot  now  be 
certainly  determined. 


342 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XI 


Jews,  because  the  nation  of  the  Amalek- 
ites,  of  which  he  was,  had  been  destroyed 
by  them.  Accordingly,  he  came  to  the 
king,  and  accused  them,  saying,  "  There 
is  a  certain  wicked  nation,  and  it  is  dis- 
persed over  all  the  habitable  earth  under 
my  dominion ;  a  nation  separate  from 
others,  unsociable,  neither  admitting  the 
6ame  sort  of  divine  worship  that  others  do, 
nor  using, laws  like  to  the  laws  of  others, 
at  enmity  with  thy  people,  and  with  all 
men,  both  in  their  manners  and  practices. 
Now,  if  thou  wilt  be  a  benefactor  to  thy 
subjects,  thou  wilt  give  order  to  destroy 
them  utterly,  and  not  leave  the  least  re- 
mains of  them,  nor  preserve  any  of  them, 
either  for  slaves  or  for  captives."  But 
that  the  king  might  not  be  injured  by  the 
loss  of  the  tributes  which  the  Jews  paid 
him,  Haman  promised  to  give  him  out  of 
his  own  estate  40,000  talents  whensoever 
he  pleased ;  and  he  said  he  would  pay  this 
money  very  willingly,  that  the  kingdom 
might  be  freed  from  such  a  misfortune. 

When  Haman  had  made  this  petition, 
the  king  both  forgave  him  the  money, 
and  .granted  him  the  men,  to  do  what  he 
would  with  them.  So  Haman,  having 
gained  what  he  desired,  sent  out  imme- 
diately a  decree,  as  from  the  king,  to  all 
nations,  the  contents  whereof  were  these  : 
"  Artaxerxes,  the  great  king,  to  the  rulers 
of  the  127  provinces,  from  India  to  Ethio- 
pia, sends  this  writing.  Whereas,  I<  have 
governed  many  nations,  and  obtained  the 
dominions  of  all  the  habitable  earth,  ac- 
cording to  my  desire,  and  have  not  been 
obliged  to  do  any  thing  that  is  insolent  or 
cruel  to  my  subjects,  by  such  my  power, 
but  have  showed  myself  mild  and  gentle, 
by  taking  care  of  their  peace  and  good 
order,  and  have  sought  how  they  might 
enjoy  those  blessings  for  all  time  to  come ; 
and  whereas  I  have  been  kindly  informed 
by  Haman,  who,  on  account  of  his  pru- 
dence and  justice,  is  the  first  in  my  es- 
teem, and  in  dignity,  and  only  second  to 
myself  for  his  fidelity  and  constant  good- 
will to  me,  that  there  is  an  ill-natured  na- 
tion intermixed  with  all  mankind,  that  is 
averse  to  our  laws,  and  not  subject  to 
Kings,  and  of  a  different  conduct  of  life 
from  others,  that  hateth  monarchy,  and  of 
a  disposition  that  is  pernicious  to  our  af- 
fairs ;  I  give  order  that  these  men,  of 
whom  Haman,  our  second  father,  hath  in- 
formed us,  be  destroyed,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  and  that  none  of  them  be 
spared,  and  that  none  prefer  pity  to  them 


before  obedience  to  this  decree ;  and  this 
I  will  to  be  executed  on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  twelfth  month  in  this  present 
year,  so  that  when  all  that  have  enmity 
to  us  are  destroyed,  and  this  in  one  day, 
we  may  be  allowed  to  lead  the  rest  of  our 
lives  in  peace  hereafter."  Now  when  this 
decree  was  brought  to  the  cities,  and  to 
the  country,  all  were  ready  for  the  de- 
struction and  entire  abolishment  of  the 
Jews,  against  the  day  before  mentioned; 
and  they  were  very  hasty  about  it  at  Shu- 
shan  in  particular.  Accordingly,  the  king 
and  Haman  spent  their  time  in  feasting 
together,  with  good  cheer  and  wine ;  but 
the  city  was  in  disorder. 

Now  when  Mordecai  was  informed  of 
what  was  done,  he  rent  his  clothes,  and 
put  on  sackcloth,  and  sprinkled  ashes  upon 
his  head,  and  went  about  the  city,  cry- 
ing out  that  " a  nation  that  had  been  in- 
jurious to  no  man,  was  to  be  destroyed." 
And  he  went  on  saying  thus  as  far  as  to 
the  king's  palace,  and  there  he  stood,  for 
it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  go  into  it  in 
that  habit.  The  same  thing  was  done  by 
all  the  Jews  that  were  in  the  several  cities 
wherein  this  decree  was  published,  with 
lamentation  and  mourning,  on  account  of 
the  calamities  denounced  against  them. 
But  as  soon  as  certain  persons  had  told 
the  queen  that  Mordecai  stood  before  the 
court  in  a  mourning  habit,  she  was  dis- 
turbed at  this  report,  and  sent  out  such 
as  should  change  his  garments ;  but  when 
he  could  not  be  induced  to  put  off  his 
sackcloth,  because  the  sad  occasion  that 
forced  him  to  put  it  on  had  not  yet  ceased, 
she  called  the  eunuch  Acratheus,  for  he 
was  then  present,  and  sent  him  to  Mor- 
decai, in  order  to  know  of  him  what  sad 
accident  had  befallen  him,  for  which  he 
was  in  mourning,  and  would  not  put  off 
the  habit  he  had  put  on,  at  her  desire. 
Then  did  Mordecai  inform  the  eunuch  of 
the  occasion  of  his  mourning,  and  of  th« 
decree  which  was  sent  by  the  king  intc 
all  the  country,  and  of  the  promise  of 
money  whereby  Haman  bought  the  de 
struction  of  theirs  nation.  He  also  gavt 
him  a  copy  of  what  was  proclaimed  al 
Shushan,  to  be  carried  to  Esther;  and  h<; 
charged  her  to  petition  the  king  about 
this  matter,  and  not  to  think  it  a  disho- 
nourable thing  in  her  to  put  on  an  humble 
habit,  for  the  safety  of  her  nation,  wrherein 
she  might  deprecate  the  ruin  of  the  Jews, 
who  were  in  danger  of  it ;  for  that  Ha- 
man, whose  dignity  was  only  inferior  to 


CilAP     VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


343 


Miat  of  the  king,  had  accused  the  Jews, 
and  had  irritated  the  king  against  them. 
When  she  was  informed  of  this,  she  sent 
to  Mordecai  again,  and  told  him  that  she 
was  not  called  by  the  king,  and  that  he 
who  goes  in  to  him  without  being  called 
is  to  be  slain,  unless  when  he  is  willing  to 
6ave  any  one,  he  holds  out  his  golden 
sceptre  to  him  ;  but  that  to  whomsoever 
he  does  so,  although  he  go  in  without 
being  called,  that  person  is  so  far  from 
being  slain,  that  he  obtains  pardon,  and  is 
entirely  preserved.  Now  when  the  eunuch 
carried  this  message  from  Esther  to  Mor- 
decai, he  bade  him  also  tell  her  that  she 
must  not  only  provide  for  her  own  pre- 
servation, but  for  the  common  preserva- 
tion of  her  nation,  for  that  if  she  now 
neglected  this  opportunity,  there  would 
certainly  arise  help  to  them  from  God 
some  other  way :  but  she  and  her  fa- 
ther's house  would  be  destroyed  by  those 
whom  she  now  despised.  But  Esther  sent 
the  very  same  eunuch  back  to  Mordecai, 
[to  desire  him]  to  go  to  Shushan,  and  to 
gather  the  Jews  that  were  there  together, 
to  a  congregation,  and  to  fast,  and  abstain 
from  all  sorts  of  food,  on  her  account,  and 
[to  let  him  know  that]  she  with  her  maid- 
ens would  do  the  same ;  and  then  she  pro- 
mised that  she  would  go  to  the  king, 
though  it  was  against  the  law,  and  that  if 
she  must  die  for  it,  she  would  not  refuse  it. 
Accordingly,  Mordecai  did  as  Esther 
had  enjoined  him,  and  made  the  people 
fast;  and  he  besought  God,  together  with 
them,  not  to  overlook  his  nation,  particu- 
larly at  this  time,  when  it  was  going  to  be 
destroyed  ;  but  that,  as  he  had  often  be- 
fore provided  for  them,  and  forgiven  them 
when  they  had  sinned,  so  he  would  now 
deliver  them  from  that  destruction  which 
was  denounced  against  them  ;  for  although 
U  was  not  all  the  nation  that  had  offended, 
yet  must  they  so  ingloriously  be  slain, 
and  that  he  was  himself  the  occasion  of 
the  wrath  of  Haman,  "because,"  said  he, 
"  I  did  not  worship  him,  nor  could  1 
endure  to  pay  that  honour  to  him  which 
I  used  to  pay  to  thee,  0  Lord ;  for  upon 
that  his  anger  hath  he  contrived  this 
present  mischief  against  those  that  have 
not  transgressed  thy  laws."  The  same 
supplications  did  the  multitude  put  up; 
and  entreated  that  God  would  provide 
for  their  deliverance,  and  free  the  Israel- 
ites that  were  iu  all  the  earth  from  this 
calamity  which  was  now  coming  upon 
them,  for  they  had  it  before  their  eyes, 


and  expected  its  coming.  Accordingly, 
Esther  made  supplication  to  God  after  the 
manner  of  her  country,  by  casting  herself 
down  upon  the  earth,  and  putting  on  her 
mourning  garments,  and  bidding  farewell 
to  meat  and  drink,  and  all  delicacies,  for 
three  days'  time ;  and  she  entreated  God 
to  have  mercy  upon  her,  and  make  her 
words  appear  persuasive  to  the  king,  and 
render  her  countenance  more  beautiful 
than  it  was  before,  that  both  by  her  words 
and  beauty  she  might  succeed,  for  the 
averting  of  the  king's  anger,  in  case  he 
were  at  all  irritated  against  her,  and  for  the 
consolation  of  those  of  her  own  country, 
now  they  were  in  the  utmost  danger  of 
perishing:  as  also  that  he  would  excite  a 
hatred  iu  the  king  against  the  enemies  of 
the  Jews,  and  those  that  had  contrived 
their  future  destruction,  if  they  proved  to 
be  contemned  by  him. 

When  Esther  had  used  this  supplication 
for  three  days,  she  put  off  those  garments, 
and  changed  her  habit,  and  adorned  her- 
self as  became  a  queen,  and  took  two  of 
her  handmaids  with  her,  the  one  of  whom 
supported  her,  as  she  gently  leaned  upon 
her,  and  the  other  followed  after,  and 
lifted  up  her  large  train  (which  swept 
along  the  ground)  with  the  extremities  of 
her  lingers :  and  thus  she  came  to  the 
king,  having  a  blushing  redness  in  her 
countenance,  with  a  pleasant  agreeable- 
ness  in  her  behaviour;  yet  did  she  go  in 
to  him  with  fear;  and  as  soon  as  she  had 
come  over  against  him,  as  he  was  sitting 
on  his  throne,  in  his  royal  apparel,  which 
was  a  garment  interwoven  with  gold  and 
precious  stones,  which  made  him  seem  to 
her  more  terrible,  especially  when  he 
looked  at  her  somewhat  severely,  and  with 
a  countenance  on  fire  with  anger,  her 
joints  failed  her  immediately,  out  of  the 
dread  she  was  in,  and  she  fell  down  side- 
ways in  a  swoon  :  but  the  king  changed 
his  mind,  which  happened,  as  I  suppose, 
by  the  will  of  God,  and  was  concerned  for 
his  wife,  lest  her  fear  should  bring  some 
very  evil  thing  upon  her,  and  he  leaped 
from  his  throne,  and  took  her  in  his  arras, 
and  recovered  her,  by  embracing  her,  and 
speaking  comfortably  to  her,  and  exhort- 
ing her  to  be  of  good  cheer,  and  not  to 
suspect  any  thing  that  was  sad  on  account 
of  her  coming  to  him  without  being  called, 
because  that  law  was  made  for  subjects, 
but  that  she,  who  was  a  queen,  as  well  as 
he  a  king,  might  be  entirely  secure  :  and 
as   he   said    this,  he    put   the   sceptre 


!44 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XL 


her  hand,  and  laid  his  rod  upon  her  neck, 
on  account  of  the  law ;  and  so  freed  her 
from  her  fear.  And  after  she  had  recovered 
herself  by  these  encouragements,  she  said, 
"  My  lord,  it  is  not  easy  for  me,  on  the 
sudden,  to  say  what  hath  happened,  for 
so  soon  as  I  saw  thee  to  be  great,  and 
comely,  and  terrible,  my  spirit  departed 
from  me,  and  I  had  no  soul  left  in  me." 
And  while  it  was  with  difficulty,  and  in  a 
low  voice,  that  she  could  say  thus  much, 
the  king  was  in  great  agony  and  disorder, 
and  encouraged  Esther  to  be  of  good 
cheer,  and  to  expect  better  fortune,  since 
he  was  ready,  if  occasion  should  require 
it,  to  grant  to  her  the  half  of  his  kingdom. 
Accordingly,  Esther  desired  that  he  and 
his  friend  Haman  would  come  to  her  to  a 
banquet,  for  she  said  she  had  prepared  a 
supper  for  him.  He  consented  to  it;  and 
when  they  were  there,  as  they  were  drink- 
ing, he  bade  Esther  to  let  him  know  what 
she  had  desired;  for  that  she  should  not 
be  disappointed,  though  she  should  desire 
the  half  of  his  kingdom.  But  she  put  off 
the  discovery  of  her  petition  till  the  next 
day,  if  he  would  come  again,  together  with 
Haman,  to  her  banquet. 

Now  when  the  king  had  promised  so  to 
do,  Haman  went  away  very  glad,  because 
he  alone  had  the  honour  of  supping  with 
the  king  at  Esther's  banquet,  and  because 
no  one  else  partook  of  the  same  honour 
with  kings  but  himself;  yet  when  hersaw 
Mordecai  in  the  court,  he  was  very  much 
displeased,  for  he  paid  him  no  manner  of 
respect  when  he  saw  him.  So  he  went 
home  and  called  for  his  wife  Zeresh,  and 
his  friends,  and  when  they  had  come,  he 
showed  them  what  honour  he  enjoyed,  not 
only  from  the  king,  but  from  the  queen 
also,  for  aa  he  alone  had  that  day  supped 
with  her,  together  with  the  king,  so  was 
he  also  invited  again  for  the  next  day; 
•'  yet,"  said  he,  "  am  I  not  pleased  to  see 
Mordecai  the  Jew  in  the  court."  Here- 
upon his  wife  Zeresh  advised  him  to  give 
order  that  a  gallows  should  be  made  fifty 
cubits  high,  and  that  in  the  morning  he 
should  ask  it  of  the  king  that  Mordecai 
might  be  hanged  thereon.  So  he  com- 
mended he:  advice,  and  gave  order  to  his 
servants  to  prepare  the  gallows,  and  to 
place  it  in  the  court,  for  the  punishment 
of  Mordecai  thereon,  which  was  accord- 
ingly prepared.  But  God  laughed  to 
scorn  the  wicked  expectations  of  Haman ; 
and  as  he  knew  what  the  event  would  be, 
he  was  delighted  at  it,  for  that  night  he 


took  away  the  king's  sleep  :  and  as  the 
king  was  not  willing  to  lose  the  time  of 
his  lying  awake,  but  to  spend  it  in  some- 
thing that  might  be  of  advantage  to  his 
kingdom,  he  commanded  the  scribe  to 
bring  him  the  chronicles  of  the  former 
kings,  and  the  records  of  his  own  actions  ; 
and  when  he  had  brought  them,  and  was 
reading  them,  one  was  found  to  have  re- 
ceived a  country  on  account  of  his  excel- 
lent management  on  a  certain  occasion, 
and  the  name  of  the  country  was  set 
down ;  another  was  found  to  have  had  a 
present  made  him  on  account  of  his 
fidelity  :  then  the  scribe  came  to  Bigthan 
and  Teresh,  the  eunuchs  that  had  made 
a  conspiracy  against  the  king,  which 
Mordecai  had  discovered ;  and  when  the 
scribe  said  no  more  but  that,  and  was  go- 
ing on  to  another  history,  the  king  stop- 
ped him,  and  inquired,  "  whether  it  was 
not  added  that  Mordecai  had  a  reward 
given  him  ?"  and  when  he  said  there  was 
no  such  addition,  he  bade  him  leave  off; 
and  he  inquired  of  those  that  were  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose,  what  hour  of  the 
night  it  was;  and  when  he  was  informed 
that  it  was  already  day,  he  gave  order 
that,  if  they  found  any  one  of  his  friends 
already  come,  and  standing  before  the 
court,  they  should  tell  him.  Now  it  hap- 
pened that  Haman  was  found  there,  for 
he  had  come  sooner  than  ordinary,  to  pe- 
tition the  king  to  have  Mordecai  put  to 
death  :  and  when  the  servants  said,  that 
Haman  was  before  the  court,  he  bade 
them  call  him  iu  ;  and  when  he  had  come 
in,  he  said,  "  Because  I  know  that  thou 
art  my  only  fast  friend,  I  desire  thee  to 
give  me  advice  how  I  may  honour  one 
that  I  greatly  love,  and  after  a  manner 
suitable  to  my  magnificence. "  Now  Ha- 
man reasoned  with  himself,  that  what 
opinion  he  should  give  it  would  be  for 
himself,  since  it  was  he  alone  who  was 
beloved  by  the  king ;  so  he  gave  that  ad- 
vice which  he  thought  of  all  others  the 
best;  for  he  said,  "  If  thou  wouldest  truly 
honour  a  man  whom  thou  sayest  thou  dost 
love,  give  order  that  he  may  ride  on  horse- 
back, with  the  same  garment  which  thou 
wearest,  and  with  a  gold  chain  about  his 
neck,  and  let  one  of  thy  intimate  friends 
go  before  him,  and  proclaim  through  the 
whole  city,  that  whosoever  the  king  ho- 
noureth,  obtaineth  this  mark  of  his  ho- 
nour." This  was  the  advice  wThich  Ha- 
man gave,  out  of  a  supposition  that  such 
reward  would   come   to   himself.      Here- 


Chap   VI. ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE    JEWS. 


345 


upon  the  king  was  pleased  with  the  ad- 
vice, and  said,  "  Go  thou,  therefore,  for 
thou  hast  the  horse,  the  garment,  and  the 
chain,  ask  for  Mordeeai  the  Jew,  and  give 
him  those  things,  and  go  before  his  horse 
and  proclaim  accordingly;  for  thou  art," 
said  he,  "  my  intimate  friend,  and  hast 
given  me  good  advice;  be  thou  then  the 
minister  of  what  thou  hast  advised  me  to. 
This  shall  be  his  reward  from  us,  for  pre- 
serving my  life."  When  he  heard  this 
order,  which  was  entirely  unexpected,  he 
was  confounded  in  his  mind,  and  knew 
not  what  to  do.  However,  he  went  out 
and  led  the  horse,  and  took  the  purple 
garment,  and  the  golden  chain  for  the 
neck,  and  finding  Mordeeai  before  the 
court,  clothed  in  sackcloth,  he  bade  him 
put  that  garment  off,  and  put  the  purple 
garment  on  :  but  Mordeeai,  not  knowing 
the  truth  of  the  matter,  but  thinking  that 
it  was  done  in  mockery,  said,  "  0  thou 
wretch,  the  vilest  of  all  mankind,  dost 
thou  thus  laugh  at  our  calamities  V  But 
when  he  was  satisfied  that  the  king  be- 
stowed this  honour  upon  him,  for  the  de- 
liverance he  had  procured  him  when  he 
convicted  the  eunuchs  who  had  conspired 
against  him,  he  put  on  that  purple  gar- 
ment which  the  king  always  wore,  and 
put  the  chain  about  his  neck,  and  got 
upon  horseback,  and  went  round  the  city, 
while  Haman  went  before,  and  proclaimed, 
11  This  shall  be  the  reward  which  the  king 
will  bestow  on  every  one  whom  he  loves, 
and  esteems  worthy  of  honour."  And 
when  they  had  gone  round  the  city,  Mor- 
deeai went  in  to  the  king  j  but  Haman 
went  home,  out  of  shame,  and  informed 
his  wife  and  friends  of  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  this  with  tears :  who  said,  that 
he  would  never  be  able  to  be  revenged  of 
Mordeeai,  for  that  God  was  with  him. 

Now  while  these  men  were  thus  talking 
one  to  another,  Esther's  eunuchs  hastened 
Hainan  away  to  come  to  supper  :  but  one 
of  the  eunuchs  named  Sabuchadas,  saw 
the  gallows  that  was  fixed  in  Hainan's 
house,  and  inquired  of  one  of  his  servants 
for  what  purpose  they  had  prepared  it. 
So  he  knew  that  it  was  for  the  queen's 
uncle,  because  Haman  was  about  to  peti- 
tion the  king  that  he  might  be  punished  ; 
but  at  present  he  held  his  peace.  Now 
when  the  king,  with  Hainan,  were  at  the 
banquet,  he  desired  the  queen  to  tell  him 
what  gift  she  desired  to  obtain,  and  as- 
sured her  that  she  should  have  whatsoever 
she  had  a  mind  to.     She  then  lamented 


the  danger  her  people  were  in ;  and  said, 
that  "  she  and  her  nation  were  given  up 
to  be  destroyed,  and  that  she,  on  that  ac- 
count, made  this  her  petition  :  that  she 
would  not  have  troubled  him  if  he  had 
only  given  order  that  they  should  be  sold 
into  bitter  servitude,  for  such  a  misfor- 
tune would  not  have  been  intolerable  \ 
but  she  desired  that  they  might  be  de- 
livered from  such  destruction."  And 
when  the  king  inquired  of  her  who  was 
the  author  of  this  misery  to  them,  she 
then  openly  accused  Haman,  and  con- 
victed him,  that  he  had  been  the  wicked 
instrument  of  this,  and  had  formed  this 
plot  against  them.  When  the  king  was 
hereupon  in  disorder,  and  had  gone 
hastily  out  of  the  banquet  into  the  gar- 
dens, Haman  began  to  intercede  with 
Esther,  and  to  beseech  her  to  forgive 
him,  as  to  what  he  had  offended,  for  he 
perceived  that  he  was  in  a  very  bad  case. 
And  as  he  had  fallen  upon  the  queen's 
bed,  and  was  making  supplications  to  her, 
the  king  came  in,  and  being  still  more 
provoked  at  what  he  saw,  u  0  thou 
wretch,"  said  he,  "  thou  vilest  of  man- 
kind, dost  thou  aim  to  force  my  wife  V 
And  when  Haman  was  astonished  at  this, 
and  not  able  to  speak  one  word  more, 
Sabuchadas  the  eunuch  came  in,  and  ac- 
cused Haman,  and  said,  "  He  found  a 
gallows  at  his  house,  prepared  for  Morde- 
eai ;  for  that  the  servant  told  him  so 
much,  upon  his  inquiry,  when  he  was 
sent  to  him  to  call  him  to  supper:"  he 
said  further,  that  the  gallows  was  fifty 
cubits  high  :  which,  when  the  king  heard, 
he  determined  that  Haman  should  be 
punished  after  no  other  manner  than  that 
which  had  been  devised  by  him  against 
Mordeeai ;  so  he  gave  order  immediately 
that  he  should  be  hung  upon  that  gal- 
lows, and  be  put  to  death  after  that  man- 
ner. And  from  hence  I  cannot  forbear 
to  admire  God,  and  to  learn  hence  his 
wisdom  and  his  justice,  not  only  in  pu- 
nishing the  wickedness  of  Hainan,  but  in 
so.  disposing  it,  that  he  should  undergo 
the  very  same  punishment  which  he  had 
contrived  for  another ;  as  also,  because 
thereby  he  teaches  others  this  lesson,  that 
what  mischiefs  any  one  prepares  against 
another,  he,  without  knowing  of  it,  first 
contrives  it  against  himself. 

Wherefore  Hainan,  who  had  immode- 
rately abused  the  honour  he  had  from  the 
king,  was  destroyed  after  this  manner; 
and  the   king  granted    his   estate   to  the 


346 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI. 


queen.  Pie  also  called  for  Mordecai,  (for 
Esther  had  informed  him  that  she  was 
akin  to  him,)  and  gave  that  ring  to  Mor- 
decai which  he  had  before  given  to  Ha- 
inan. The  queen  also  gave  Hainan's  es- 
tate to  Mordecai ;  and  prayed  the  king  to 
deliver  the  nation  of  the  Jews  from  the 
fear  of  death,  and  showed  him  what  had 
been  written  over  all  the  country  by  Ha- 
man, the  son  of  Ammedatha;  for  that  if 
her  country  were  destroyed,  and  her 
countrymen  were  to  perish,  she  could  not 
bear  to  live  herself  any  longer.  So  the 
king  promised  her  that  he  would  not  do 
any  thing  that  should  be  disagreeable  to 
her,  nor  contradict  what  she  desired  j  but 
he  bade  her  write  what  she  pleased  about 
the  Jews,  in  the  king's  name,  and  seal  it 
with  his  seal,  and  send  it  to  all  his  king- 
dom, for  that  those  who  read  epistles 
whose  authority  is  secured  by  having  the 
king's  seal  to  them,  would  noway  con- 
tradict what  was  written  therein.  So  he 
commanded  the  king's  scribes  to  be  sent 
for,  and  to  write  to  the  nations,  on  the 
Jews'  behalf,  and  to  his  lieutenants  and 
governors,  that  were  over  his  127  pro- 
vinces, from  India  to  Ethiopia.  Now  the 
contents  of  this  epistle  were  these : — 
"The  great  King  Artaxerxes  to  our 
rulers,  and  those  that  are  our  faithful 
subjects,  sendeth  greeting*  Many  men 
there  are  who,  on  account  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  benefits  bestowed  on  them, 
and  because  of  the  honour  which  they 
have  obtained  from  the  wonderful  kind 
treatment  of  those  that  bestowed  it,  are 
not  only  injurious  to  their  inferiors,  but 
do  not  scruple  to  do  evil  to  those  that 
have  been  their  benefactors,  as  if  they 
would  take  away  gratitude  from  among 
men,  and  by  their  insolent  abuse  of  such 
benefits  as  they  never  expected,  they  turn 
the  abundance  they  have  against  those 
that  are  the  authors  of  it,  and  suppose 


*  The  true  reason  why  King  Artaxerxes  did  not 
fiers  properly  revoke  his  former  barbarous  decree 
for  the  universal  slaughter  of  the  Jews,  but  only 
empowered  and  encouraged  the  Jews  to  fight  for 
tneir  lives,  and  to  kill  their  enemies,  if  they  at- 
tempted their  destruction,  seems  to  have  been  that 
old  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  not  yet  laid 
aside,  that  whatever  decree  was  signed  both  by  the 
.ting  and  his  lords,  could  not  be  changed,  but  re- 
main unalterable.  Dan.  vi.  7,  8,  9,  12,  15,  17  :  Esth. 
i.  19,  and  viii.  8.  And  Haman  having  engrossed 
the  royal  favour,  might  perhaps  have  himself 
signed  this  decree  for  the  Jews'  slaughter  instead 
of  the  ancient  lords,  and  so  might  have  rendered 
H  by  their  ruler  irrevocable. 


that  they  shall  lie  concealed  from  God 
in  that  case,  and  avoid  that  vengeance 
which  comes  from  him.  Some  of  these 
men,  when  they  have  had  the  manage- 
ment of  affairs  committed  to  them  by 
their  friends,  and  bearing  private  malic* 
of  their  own  against  some  others,  by  de- 
ceiving those  that  have  the  power,  per- 
suade them  to  be  angry  at  such  as  have 
done  them  no  harm,  till  they  are  in 
danger  of  perishing,  and  this  by  laying 
accusations  and  calumnies :  nor  is  this 
state  of  things  to  be  discovered  by  ancient 
examples,  or  such  as  we  have  learned  by 
report  only,  but  by  some  examples  of 
such  impudent  attempts  under  our  own 
eyes,  so  that  it  is  not  fit  to  attend  any 
longer  to  calumnies  and  accusations,  nor 
to  the  persuasion  of  others,  but  to  deter- 
mine what  any  one  knows  of  himself  to 
have  been  really  done,  and  to  punish  what 
justly  deserves  it,  and  to  grant  favours  to 
such  as  are  innocent.  This  hath  been 
the  case  of  Haman,  the  son  of  Amme- 
datha,  by  birth  an  Amalekite,  and  alien 
from  the  blood  of  the  Persians,  who,  when 
he  was  hospitably  entertained  by  us,  and 
partook  of  that  kindness  which  we  bear 
to  all  men  to  so  great  a  degree,  as  to  be 
called  my  father,  and  to  be  all  along  wor- 
shipped, and  to  have  honour  paid  him  by 
all  in  the  second  rank  after  the  royal 
honour  due  to  ourselves,  he  could  net 
bear  his  good  fortune,  nor  govern  the 
magnitude  of  his  prosperity  with  sound 
reason ;  nay,  he  made  a  conspiracy  against 
me  and  my  life,  who  gave  him  his  au- 
thority, by  endeavouring  to  take  away 
Mordecai,  my  benefactor  and  my  saviour, 
and  by  basely  and  treacherously  requiring 
to  have  Esther,  the  partner  of  my  life 
and  of  my  dominion,  brought  to  destruc- 
tion ;  for  he  contrived  by  this  means  to 
deprive  me  of  my  faithful  friends,  and 
transfer  the  government  to  others  :  but 
since  I  perceived  that  these  Jews,  that 
were  by  this  pernicious  fellow  devoted  to 
destruction,  were  not  wicked  men,  but 
conducted  their  lives  after  the  best  man- 
ner, and  were  men  dedicated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  that  God  who  hath  preserved  the 
kingdom  to  me  and  to  my  ancestors,  I  did 
not  only  free  them  from  the  punishment 
which  the  former  epistle,  which  was  sent 
by  Haman,  ordered  to  be  inflicted  on 
them,  to  which  if  you  refuse  obedience 
you  shall  do  well ;  but  I  will  that  they 
have  all  honour  paid  them.     Accordingly 


Ohap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


317 


I  have  hanged  up  the  man  that  contrived 
such  things  against  them,  with  his  family, 
before  the  gates  of  Shushan  ;  that  punish- 
ment being  sent  upon  him  by  God,  who 
seeth  all  things.  And  I  give  you  in 
charge,  that  you  publicly  propose  a  copy 
of  this  epistle  through  all  my  kingdom, 
that  the  Jews,  may  be  permitted  peaceably 
to  use  their  own  laws,  and  that  you  assist 
them,  that  at  the  same  season  whereto 
their  miserable  estate  did  belong,  they 
may  defend  themselves  the  very  same  day 
from  unjust  violence,  the  thirteenth  day 
of  the  twelfth  month,  which  is  Adar,  for 
God  hath  made  that  day  a  day  of  salva- 
tion, instead  of  a  day  of  destruction  to 
them  ;  and  may  it  be  a  good  day  to  those 
that  wish  us  well,  and  a  memorial  of  the 
punishment  of  the  conspirators  against 
us  :  and  I  will  that  you  take  notice,  that 
every  city,  and  every  nation,  that  shall 
disobey  any  thing  that  is  contained  in 
this  epistle,  shall  be  destroyed  by  fire  8T».j 
sword.  However,  let  this  epistle  be  pub- 
lished through  all  the  country  that  is  un- 
der our  obedience,  and  let  all  the  Jews, 
by  all  means,  be  ready  against  the  day 
before  mentioned,  that  they  may  avenge 
themselves  upon  their  enemies," 

Accordingly,  the  horsemen  who  carried 
the  epistles  proceeded  on  the  ways  which 
they  were  to  go  with  speed ;  but  as  for 
Mordecai,  as  soon  as  he  had  assumed  the 
royal  garments,  and  the  crown  of  gold, 
and  had  put  the  chain  of  gold  about  his 
neck,  he  went  forth  in  a  public  proces- 
sion ;  and  when  the  Jews  who  were  at 
Shushan  saw  him  in  so  great  honour  with 
the  king,  they  thought  his  good  fortune 
was  common  to  themselves  also;  and  joy 
and  a  beam  of  salvation  encompassed  the 
Jews,  both  those  that  were  in  the  cities, 
and  those  that  were  in  the  countries, 
upon  the  publication  of  the  king's  letters, 
insomuch  that  many  of  other  nations  cir- 
cumcised their  foreskin  for  fear  of  the 
Jews,  that  they  might  procure  safety  to 
themselves  thereby  ;  for  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  the  twelfth  month,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  Hebrew,  is  called  "Adar,"  but, 
according  to  the  Macedonians,  "Dystrus," 
those  that  carried  the  king's  epistle  gave 
them  notice,  that  the  same  day  wherein 
their  danger  was  to  have  been,  on  that 
very  day  they  should  destroy  their  ene- 
mies. But  now  the  rulers  of  the  pro- 
vinces, and  the  tyrauts,  and  the  kiugs, 
and  the  scribes  had  the  Jews  in  esteem ; 


for  the  fear  they  were  in  of  Mordecai 
forced  them  to  act  with  discretion.  Now 
when  the  royal  decree  was  known  to  all 
the  country  that  was  subject  to  the  king, 
it  fell  out  that  the  Jews  at  Shushan  slew 
500  of  their  enemies  :  and  when  the  king 
had  told  Esther  the  number  of  those  that 
were  slain  in  that  city,  but  did  not  well 
know  what  had  been  done  in  the  pro- 
vinces, he  asked  her  whether  she  would 
have  any  thing  further  done  against  them, 
for  that  it  should  be  done  accordingly  : 
upon  which  she  desired  that  the  Jews 
might  be  permitted  to  treat  their  remain- 
ing enemies  in  the  same  manner  the  next 
day ;  as  also,  that  they  might  hang  the 
ten  sons  of  Ham  an  upon  the  gallows.  So 
the  king  permitted  the  Jews  so  to  do,  as 
desirous  not  to  contradict  Esther.  So 
they  gathered  themselves  together  again 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month  Dys- 
trus, and  slew  about  300  of  their  ene- 
mies, but  touched  nothing  of  what  riches 
they  had.  Now  there  were  slain  by  the 
Jews  that  were  in  the  country,  and  in  the 
other  cities,  75,000  of  their  enemies,  and 
these  were  slain  on  the  thirteenth  day  of 
the  month,  and  the  next  day  they  kept  as 
a  festival.  In  like  manner  the  Jews  that 
were  in  Shushan  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether, and  feasted  on  the  fourteenth  day, 
and  that  which  followed  it;  whence  it  is, 
that  even  now  all  the  Jews  that  are  in 
the  habitable  earth  keep  these  days  festi- 
vals, and  send  portions  to  one  another. 
Mordecai  also  wrote  to  the  Jews  that  lived 
in  the  kingdom  of  Artaxerxes  to  observe 
these  days,  and  to  celebrate  them  as  festi- 
vals, and  to  deliver  them  down  to  posteri- 
ty, that  this  festival  might  contiuue  for 
all  time  to  come,  and  that  it  might  never 
be  buried  in  oblivion  ;  for  since  they  were 
about  to  be  destroyed  on  those  days  by 
Haman,  they  would  do  a  right  thing, 
upon  escaping  the  danger  in  them,  and  on 
their  inflicting  punishment  on  their  ene 
mies,  to  observe  those  days,  and  give 
thanks  to  God  on  them  :  for  which  cause 
the  Jews  still  keep  the  forementioned 
days,  and  call  them  days  of  Phurim  [or 
Purim].  And  Mordecai  became  a  great 
and  illustrious  person  with  the  king,  and 
assisted  him  in  the  government  of  the 
people.  He  also  lived  with  the  queen ; 
so  that  the  affairs  of  the  Jews  were,  by 
their  means,  better  than  they  could  have 
hoped  for.  And  this  was  the  state  of  the 
Jews  under  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes 


348 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


|_l300K  XI. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

John  slays  his  brother  in  the  Temple — Sanballat. 
B.  C.  332. 

When  Eliashib  the  high  priest  was 
dead,  his  son  Judas  succeeded  in  the  high- 
priesthood  :  and  when  he  was  dead,  his 
son  John  took  that  dignity ;  on  whose  ac- 
count it  was  also  that  Bagoses,  the  gene- 
ral of  another  Artaxerxes's  army,  polluted 
the  temple,  and  imposed  tributes  on  the 
Jews,  that  out  of  the  pubWc  stock,  before 
they  offered  the  daily  sacrifices,  they 
should  pay  for' every  lamb  fifty  shekels. 
Now  Jesus  was  the  brother  of  John,  and 
was  a  friend  of  Bagoses,  who  had  pro- 
mised to  procure  him  the  high-priesthood. 
In  confidence  of  whose  support,  Jesus 
quarrelled  with  John  in  the  temple,  and 
so  provoked  his  brother,  that  in  his  anger 
his  brother  slew  him.  Now  it  was  a  hor- 
rible thing  for  John,  when  he  was  high 
priest,  to  perpetrate  so  great  a  crime,  and 
so  much  the  more  horrible,  that  there 
never  was  so  cruel  and  impious  a  thing 
done,  neither  by  the  Greeks  nor  Barba- 
rians. However,  God  did  not  neglect  its 
punishment;  but  the  people  were  on  that 
very  account  enslaved,  and  the  temple  was 
polluted  by  the  Persiaus.  Now  when  Ba- 
goses, the  general  of  Artaxerxes*  army, 
knew  that  John,  the  high  priest  of  the 
Jews,  had  slain  his  own  brother  Jesus  in 
the  temple,  he  came  upon  the  Jews  Im- 
mediately, and  began  in  anger  to  say  to 
them,  "Have  you  had  the  impudence  to 
perpetrate  a  murder  in  your  temple  V 
And  as  he  was  aiming  to  go  into  the  tem- 
ple, they  forbade  him  so  to  do ;  but  he 
said  to  them,  "Am  not  I  purer  than  he 
that  was  slain  in  the  temple  ?"  And 
when  he  had  said  these  words,  he  went 
into  the  temple.  Accordingly,  Bagoses 
made  use  of  this  pretence,  and  punished 
the  Jews  seven  years  for  the  murder  of 
Jesus. 

Now  when  John  had  departed  this  life, 
his  son  Jaddua  succeeded  in  the  high- 
priesthood.  He  had  a  brother  whose 
Lame  was  Manasseh.  Now  there  was  one 
Sanballat,  who  was  sent  by  Darius,  the 
last  king  [of  Persia],  into  Samaria.  He 
was  a  Cuthean  by  birth ;  of  which  stock 
were  the  Samaritans  also.  This  man 
knew  that  the  city  Jerusalem  was  a  famous 
city,  and  that  their  kings  had  given  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  to  the  Assyrians, 
and  the  people  of  Celesyria;  so  that  he 
willingly  gave  his  daughter,  whose  name 


was  Nicaso,  in  marriage  to  Manasseh,  as 
thinking  this  alliance  by  marriage  would 
be  a  pledge  and  security  that  the  nation 
of  the  Jews  should  continue  their  good- 
will to  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Sanballat  and  Manasseh  build  a  temple  on  Mount 
Gerizzim — Alexander  the  Great  enters  Jerusu- 
lein.     B.  C.  335-323. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Philip, 
king  of  Macedon,  was  treacherously  as- 
saulted and  slain  at  Egae  by  Pausanias, 
the  son  of  Cerastes,  who  was  derived  from 
the  family  of  Orestae,  and  his  son  Alex- 
ander succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom ; 
who,  passing  over  the  Hellespont,  over- 
came the  generals  of  Darius's  armj,  in  a 
battle  fought  at  Granicum.  So  he  marched 
over  Lydia,  and  subdued  Ionia,  and  over- 
ran Caria,  and  fell  upon  the  places  of 
Pamphylia,  as  has  been  related  else- 
where. 

But  the  elders  of  Jerusalem  being  very 
uneasy  that  the  brother  of  Jaddua,  the 
high  priest,  though  married  to  a  foreigner, 
should  be  a  partner  with  him  in  the  high- 
priesthood,  quarrelled  with  him  ;  for  they 
esteemed  this  man's  marriage  a  step  to 
such  as  should  be  desirous  of  transgressing 
about  the  marriage  of  [strange]  wives,  and 
that  this  would  be  the  beginning  of  a 
mutual  society  with  foreigners,  although 
the  offence  of  some  a^out  marriages,  and 
their  having  married  wives  that  were  not 
of  their  own  country,  had  been  an  occa- 
sion of  their  former  captivity,  and  of  the 
miseries  they  then  underwent;  so  they 
commanded  Manasseh  to  divorce  his  wife, 
or  not  to  approach  the  altar,  the  high 
priest  himself  joining  with  the  people  in 
their  indignation  against  his  brother,  and 
driving  him  away  from  the  altar.  Where- 
upon Manasseh  came  to  his  father-in-law, 
Sanballat,  and  told  him,  that  although  he 
loved  his  daughter  Nicaso,  yet  was  he  not 
willing  to  be  deprived  of  his  sacerdotal 
dignity  on  her  account,  which  was  the' 
principal  dignity  in  their  nation,  and 
always  continued  in  the  same  family. 
And  then  Sanballat  promised  him  not 
only  to  preserve  to  him  the  honour  of  his 
priesthood,  but  to  procure  for  him  the 
power  and  dignity  of  a  high  priest,  and 
would  make  him  governor  of  all  the 
places  he  himself  now  ruled,  if  he  would 
keep  his  daughter  for  his  wife.  He  also 
told    him   further,   that    he   would   build 


Chap.  VII I.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


349 


him  i  temple  like  that  at  Jerusalem,  upon 
Mount  G-erizzim,  which  is  the  highest  of 
ill  the  mountains  that  are  in  Samaria; 
and  he  promised  that  he  would  do  this 
with  the  approbation  of  Darius  the  king. 
Manasseh  was  elevated  with  these  pro- 
mises, and  stayed  with  Sanballat,  upon  a 
supposition  that  he  should  gain  a  high- 
priesthood,  as  bestowed  on  him  by  Darius, 
tor  it  happened  Sanballat  was  then  in 
years.  But  there  was  now  a  great  dis- 
turbance among  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
because  many  of  those  priests  and  Levites 
were  entangled  in  such  matches;  for, they 
all  revolted  to  Manasseh,  and  Sanballat 
afforded  them  money,  and  divided  among 
them  land  for  tillage,  and  habitations 
also;  and  all  this  in  order  every  way  to 
gratify  his  son-in-law. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Darius 
heard  how  Alexander  had  passed  over 
rhe  Hellespont,  and  had  beaten  his  lieu- 
tenants in  the  battle  at  Granicum,  and 
was  proceeding  further;  whereupon  he 
gathered  together  an  army  of  horse  and 
foot,  and  determined  that  he  would  meet 
the  Macedonians-  before  they  should  as- 
sault and  conquer  all  Asia.  So  he  passed 
over  the  river  Euphrates  and  came  over 
Taurus,  the  Cilician  mountain ;  and  at 
Issus  of  Cilicia  he  waited  for  the  enemy, 
as  ready  there  to  give  him  battle.  Upon 
which  Sanballat  was  glad  that  Darius  had 
come  down ;  and  told  Manasseh  that  he 
would  suddenly  perform  his  promises  to 
him,  and  this  as  soon  as  ever  Darius  should 
come  back,  after  he  had  beaten  his  ene- 
mies; for  not  he  only,  but  all  those  that 
were  in  Asia  also,  were  persuaded  that 
the  Macedonians  would  not  so  much  as 
come  to  a  battle  with  the  Persians,  on  ac- 
count of  their  multitude ;  but  the  event 
proved  otherwise  than  they  expected,  for 
the  king  joined  battle  with  the  Macedo- 
nians, and  was  beaten,  and  lost  a  great 
part  of  his  army.  His  mother  also,  and 
his  wife  and  children,  were  taken  cap- 
tives, and  he  fled  into  Persia.  So  Alex- 
ander came  into  Syria,  and  took  Damas- 
cus ;  and  when  he  had  obtained  Sidon, 
he  besieged  Tyre,  when  he  sent  an  epistle 
to  the  Jewish  high  priest,  to  send  him 
sonic  auxiliaries,  and  to  supply  his  army 
with  provisions;  and  that  what  presents 
he  formerly  sent  to  Darius,  he  would 
now  send  to  him,  and  choose  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Macedonians,  and  that  he 
tihould  never  repent  of  so  doing ;  but  the 
high  priest  answered  the  messengers  that 


he  had  given  his  oath  to  Darius  not  to 
bear  arms  against  him  ;  and  he  said  that 
he  would  not  transgress  this  while  Darius 
was  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Upon 
hearing  this  answer,  Alexander  was  very 
angry ;  and  though  he  determined  not  to 
leave  Tyre,  which  was  just  ready  to  be 
taken,  yet,  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  it, 
he  threatened  that  he  would  make  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  Jewish  high  priest, 
and  through  him  teach  all  men  to  whom 
they  must  keep  their  oaths.  So  when  he 
had,  with  a  good  deal  of  pains  during  the 
siege,  taken  Tyre,  and  had  settled  its 
affairs,  he  came  to  the  city  of  Gaza,  and 
besieged  both  the  city  and  him  that  was 
governor  of  the  garrison,  whose  name  was 
Babemeses. 

But  Sanballat  thought  he  had  now 
gotten  a  proper  opportunity  to  make  his 
attempt,  so  he  reuounced  Darius,  and 
taking  with  him  7000  of  his  own  sub- 
jects, he  came  to  Alexander;  and  finding 
him  beginning  the  siege  of  Tyre,  he  said 
to  him,  that  he  delivered  up  to  him, 
these  men,  who  came  out  of  places  under 
his  dominion,  and  did  gladly  accept  of 
him  for  their  lord  instead  of  Darius.  Sr 
when  Alexander  had  received  him  kindly, 
Sanballat  thereupon  took  courage,  and 
spake  to  him  about  his  present  affair. 
He  told  him,  that  he  had  a  son-in-law, 
Manasseh,  who  was  brother  to  the  high- 
priest  Jaddua;  and  that  there  were  many 
others  of  his  own  nation  now  with  him, 
that  were  desirous  to  have  a  temple  in 
the  places  subject  to  him ;  that  it  would 
be  for  the  king's  advantage  to  have  the 
strength  of  the  Jews  divided  into  two 
parts,  lest  when  the  nation  is  of  one  mind 
and  united,  upon  any  attempt  for  innova- 
tion, it  prove  troublesome  to  kings,  as  it 
had  formerly  proved  to  the  kings  of  As- 
syria. Whereupon  Alexander  gave  San- 
ballat leave  so  to  do ;  who  used  the  utmost 
diligence,  and  built  the  temple,  and  made 
Manasseh  the  priest,  and  deemed  it  a 
great  reward  that  his  daughter's  children 
should  have  that  dignity;  but  when  the 
seven  months  of  the  siege  of  Tyre  were 
over,  and  the  two  months  of  the  siege  of 
Gaza,  Sanballat  died.  Now  Alexander, 
when  he  had  taken  Gaza,  made  haste  to 
go  up  to  Jerusalem;  and  Jaddua  the  high 
priest,  when  he  heard  that,  was  in  an 
agony,  and  under  terror,  as  not  knowing 
how  he  should  meet  the  Macedonians, 
since  the  king  was  displeased  at  his 
foregoing    disobedience.       He     therefore 


£50 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI.  Chap.  VIII 


ordained  that  the  people  should  make 
supplications,  and  should  join  with  him 
in  offei.ng  sacrifices  to  God,  whom  he 
besought  to  protect  that  nation,  and  to 
deliver  tlum  from  the  perils  that  were 
coming  upon  them ;  whereupon  God 
warned  him  in  a  dream,  which  came 
upon  him  after  he  had  offered  sacrifice, 
that  he  should  take  courage,  and  adorn 
the  city,  and  open  the  gates :  that  the 
rest  should  appear  in  white  garments,  but 
that  he  and  the  priests  should  meet  the 
king  in  the  habits  proper  to  their  order, 
without  the  dread  of  any  ill  consequences, 
which  the  providence  of  God  would  pre- 
vent. Upon  which,  when  he  rose  from 
his  sleep,  he  greatly  rejoiced;  and  de- 
clared to  all  the. warning  he  had  received 
from  God.  According  to  which  dream 
he  acted  entirely,  and  so  waited  for  the 
coming  of  the  king. 

And  when  he  understood  that  he  was 
not  far  from  the  city,  he  went  out  in  pro- 
cession with  the  priests  and  the  multitude 
of  the  citizens.  The  procession  was  vene- 
rable, and  the  manner  of  it  different  from 
that  of  other  nations.  It  reached  to  a 
place  called  Sapha  •  which  name,  trans- 
lated into  Greek,  signifies  a  "  prospect/' 
for  you  have  thence  a  prospect  both  of 
Jerusalem  and  of  the  temple;  and  when 
the  Phoenicians  and  the  Chaldeans  that 
followed  him  thought  they  should  have 
liberty  to  plunder  the  city,  and  torment 
the  high  priest  to  death,  which  the  king's 
displeasure  fairly  promised  them,  the 
verjr  reverse  of  it  happened ;  for  Alex- 
ander, when  he  saw  the  multitude  at  a 
distance,  in  white  garments,  while  the 
priests  stood  clothed  in  fine  linen,  and 
the  high  priest  in  purple  and  scarlet 
clothing,  witn  his  mitre  on  his  head,  hav- 
ing the  golden  plate  whereon  the  name 
of  God  was  engraved,  he  approached  by 
himseif,  and  adored  that  name,  and  first 
•saluted  the  high  priest.  The  Jews  also 
did  altogether,  with  one  voice,  salute 
Alexander,  and  encompass  him  about ; 
whereupon  the  kings  of  Syria  and  the 
rest  were  surprised  at  what  Alexander 
had  done,  and  supposed  him  disordered 
in  his  mind.  However,  Parmenio  alone 
went  up  to  him,  and  asked  him  how  it 
came  to  pass  that,  when  all  others 
adored  him,  he  should  adore  the  high- 
priest  of  the  Jews  ?  To  whom  he  re- 
replied,  "  I  did  not  adore  him,  but  that 
God  who  hath  honoured  him  with  his 
high-priesthood;  for  I  saw  this  very  per- 


son in  a  dream,  in  this  very  habit,  when 
I  was  at  Dios  in  Macedonia,  a  ho,  when  1 
was  considering  with  myself,  how  I  might 
obtain  the  dominion  of  Asia,  exhorted 
me  to  make  no  delay,  but  boldly  to  pass 
over  the  sea  thither,  for  that  he  would 
conduct  my  army,  and  would  give  me 
the  dominion  over  the  Persians;  whence 
it  is,  that  having  seen  no  other  in  that 
habit,  and  now  seeing  this  person  in  it, 
and  remembering  that  vision,  and  the  ex- 
hortation which  I  had  in  my  dream,  1  be- 
lieve that  I  bring  this  army  under  the  di- 
vine conduct,  and  shall  therewith  conquer 
Darius,  and  destroy  the  power  of  the  Per- 
sians, and  that  all  things  will  succeed  ac- 
cording to  what  is  in  my  own  mind.  And 
when  he  had  said  this  to  Parmenio,  and  had 
given  the  high  priest  his  right  hand,  the 
priests  ran  along  by  him,  and  he  came 
into  the  city;  and  when  he  went  up  into 
the  temple,  he  offered  sacrifice  to  God, 
according  to  the  high  priest's  direction, 
and  magnificently  treated  both  the  high 
priest  and  the  priests.  And  when  the 
book  of  Daniel  was  showed  him,*  wherein 
Daniel  declared  that  one  of  the  Greeks 
should  destroy  the  empire  of  the  Persians, 
he  supposed  that  himself  was  the  person 
intended ;  and  as  he  was  then  glad,  be 
dismissed  the  multitude  for  the  present, 
but  the  next  day  he  called  them  to  him, 
and  bade  them  ask  what  favours  they 
pleased  of  him ;  whereupon  the  high 
priest  desired  that  they  might  enjoy  the 
laws  of  tfheir  forefathers,  and  might  pay 
no  tribute  on  the  seventh  year.  He 
granted  all  they  desired;  and  when  they 
entreated  him  that  he  would  permit  the 
Jews  in  Babylon  and  Media  to  enjoy 
their  own  laws  also,  he  willingly  promised 
to  do  hereafter  what  they  desired  :  and 
when  he  said  to  the  multitude,  that  if 
any  of  them  would  enlist  themselves  in 
his  army  on  this  condition,  that  they 
should  continue  under  the  laws  of  their 
forefathers,  and  live  according  to  theni. 
he  was  willing  to  take  them  with  him, 
many  were  ready  to  accompany  him  in 
his  wars. 

So  when  Alexander  had  thus  settled 
matters  at  Jerusalem,  he  led  his  army 
into  the  neighbouring  cities;  and  when 
all  the  inhabitants,  to  whom  he  came, 
received  him  with  great  kindness,  the 
Samaritans,  who  had   then    Shechem  for 


*  The    place   showed  Alexander  might  be  Dan 
vii.  6  ,    vi.i.  3-3,  20,  21,  22  ;   xi.  3. 


Book  XII.  Cuap.  L] 


ANTIQUIHES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


351 


their  metropolis,  (a  city  situate  at  Mount 
Gerizzim,  and  inhabited  by  apostates  of 
the  Jewish  nation,)  seeing  that  Alexan- 
der had  so  greatly  honoured  the  Jews, 
determined  to  profess  themselves  Jews; 
for  such  is  the  disposition  of  the  Samari- 
tans, as  we  have  already  elsewhere  de- 
clared, that  when  the  Jews  are  in  adver- 
sity, they  deny  that  they  are  of  kin  to 
them,  and  then  they  confess  the  truth  ; 
but  when  they  perceive  that  some  good 
fortune  hath  befallen  them,  they  imme- 
diately pretend  to  have  communion  with 
them,  saying,  that  they  belong  to  them, 
and  derive  their  genealogy  from  the 
posterity  of  Joseph,  Ephraim,  and  Ma- 
uasseh.  Accordingly,  they  made  their 
address  to  the  king  with  splendour,  and 
showed  great  alacrity  in  meeting  him  at 
a  little  distance  from  Jerusalem ;  and 
when  Alexander  had  commended  them, 
the  Shechemites  approached  to  him, 
takino*  with  them  the  troops  that  San- 
ballat  had  sent  him,  and  they  desired 
that  he  would  come  to  their  city,  and  do 
honour  to  their  temple  also ;  to  whom  he 
promised,  that  when  he  returned  he 
would  come  to  them;  and  when  they 
petitioned  that  he  would  remit  the  tribute 
if  the  seventh  year  to  them,  because 
they  did  not  now  sow  thereon,  he  asked 


who  they  were  that  made  such  a  peti- 
tion ;  and  when  they  said  that  thev  were 
Hebrews,  but  had  the  name  of  Sidonians, 
living  at  Shechem,  he  asked  them  again 
whether  they  were  Jews  :  and  when  they 
said  they  were  not  Jews,  "  It  was  to  the 
Jews,"  said  he,  "  that  I  granted  that 
privilege ;  however,  when  I  return,  and 
am  thoroughly  informed  by  you  of  this 
matter,  I  will  do  what  I  shall  think 
proper."  And  in  this  manner,  he  took 
leave  of  the  Shechemites;  but  ordered 
that  the  troops  of  Sanballat  should  follow 
him  into  Egypt,  because  there  he  designed 
to  give  them  lands,  which  he  did  a  little 
after  in  Thebais,  when  he  ordered  them 
to  guard  that  country. 

Now  when  Alexander  was  dead,  the 
government  was  parted  among  his  suc- 
cessors; but  the  temple  upon  Mount  Ge- 
rizzim remained;  and  if  any  one  was  ac- 
cused by  those  of  Jerusalem  of  having 
eaten  things  common,  or  of  having  broken 
the  Sabbath,  or  of  any  other  crime  of  the 
like  nature,  he  fled  away  to  the  Shechem- 
ites, and  said  that  he  was  accused  unjust- 
ly. About  this  time  it  was  that  Jaddua 
the  high  priest  died,  and  Onias  his  son 
took  the  high-priesthood.  This  was  the 
state  of  the  affairs  of  the  people  of  Jeru- 
salem at  this  time. 


BOOK  XII. 

CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  170   YEARS,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  ALEX- 
ANDER THE  GREAT  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  JUDAS  MACCABEUS. 

B.  C.  320-161. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Ptolemy  takes  Jerusalem  and  Judea  by  treachery. 
B.  C.  320. 

Now  when  Alexander,  king  of  Mace- 
don,  had  put  an  end  to  the  dominion  of 
the  Persians,  and  had  settled  the  affairs 
of  Judea  after  the  forementioned  man- 
ner, he  ended  his  life;  and  as  his  govern- 
ment fell  among  many,  Antigonus  ob- 
tained j^siaj  Seleucus,  Babylon;  and  of 
the  other  nations  which  were  there,  Ly- 
Bimachus  governed  the  Hellespont,  and 
Cassander   possessed   Macedonia ;    as   did 


Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus,  seize  upon 
Egypt :  and  while  these  princes  ambitious- 
ly strove  one  against  another,  every  one 
for  his  own  principality,  it  came  to  pass 
that  there  were  continual  wars,  and  those 
lasting  wars  too ;  and  the  cities  were  suf- 
ferers, and  lost  a  great  many  of  their  in- 
habitants in  these  times  of  distress,  inso- 
much that  all  Syria,  by  the  means  of 
Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus,  underwent 
the  reverse  of  that  denomination  of  Sa- 
viour which  he  then  had.  He  also  seized 
upon  Jerusalem,  and  for  that  end   made 


352 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII, 


use  of  deceit  and  treachery  ;  for  as  he 
came  into  the  city  on  a  Sabbath-day,  as 
if  he  would  offer  sacrifice,  he,  without  any 
trouble,  gained  the  city,  while  the  Jews 
did  not  oppose  him,  for  they  did  not  sus- 
pect him  to  be  thus  their  enemy ;  and  he 
gained  it  thus,  because  they  were  free 
from  suspicion  of  him,  and  because  on 
that  day  they  were  at  rest  and  quietness ; 
and  when  he  had  gained  it,  he  reigned 
over  it  in  a  cruel  manner.  Nay,  Aga- 
tharchides  of  Cnidus,  who  wrote  the  acts 
of  Alexander's  successors,  reproaches  us 
with  superstition,  as  if  we,  by  it,  had  lost 
our  liberty ;  where  he  says  thus  : — "  There 
is  a  nation,  called  the  nation  of  the  Jews, 
who  inhabit  a  city  strong  and  great, 
named  Jerusalem.  These  men  took  no 
care,  but  let  it  come  into  the  hands  of 
Ptolemy,  as  not  willing  to  take  arms,  and 
thereby  they  submitted  to  be  under  a 
hard  master,  by  reason  of  their  unseason- 
able superstition."  This  is  what  Aga- 
tharchides  relates  of  our  nation.  But 
when  Ptolemy  had  taken  a  great  many 
captives,  both  from  the  mountainous  parts 
of  Judea,  and  from  the  places  about  Je- 
rusalem and  Samaria,  and  the  places 
near  Mount  Gerizziin,  he  led  them  all 
into  Egypt,  and  settled  them  there.  And 
as  he  knew  that  the  people  of  Jerusalem 
were  most  faithful  in  the  observation  of 
oaths  and  covenants;  and  this  from  the 
answer  they  made  to  Alexander,  when  he 
sent  an  embassage  to  them,  after  He  had 
beaten  Darius  in  battle ;  so  he  distributed 
many  of  them  into  garrisons,  and  at 
Alexandria  gave  them  equal  privileges  of 
citi-zens  with  the  Macedonians  themselves; 
and  required  of  them  to  take  their  oaths 
that  they  would  keep  their  fidelity  to  the 
posterity  of  those  who  committed  these 
places  to  their  care.  Nay,  there  were 
not  a  few  other  Jews  who,  of  their  own 
accord,  went  into  Egypt,  as  invited  by 
the  goodness  of  the  soil,  and  by  the  libe- 
rality of  Ptolemy.  However,  there  were 
disorders  among  their  posterity,  with  re- 
lation to  the  Samaritans,  on  account  of 
their  resolution  to  preserve  that  conduct 
of  life  which  was  delivered  to  them  by 
their  forefathers,  and  they  thereupon  con- 
tended one  with  another,  while  those  of 
Jerusalem  said  that  their  temple  was 
holy,  and  resolved  to  send  their  sacrifices 
thither ;  but  the  Samaritans  were  resolved 
r,hat  they  should  be  sent  to  Mount  Ge- 
rizzim. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ptolemy  Philadelphus  causes  the  Jewish  Laws  to 
be  translated  into  Greek.     B.  C.  277. 

When  Alexander  had  reigned  twelve 
years,  and  after  him  Ptolemy  Soter  forty 
years,  Philadelphus  then  took  the  king- 
dom of  Egypt,  and  held  it  forty  years 
within  one.  He  procured  the  law  to  be 
interpreted,  and  set  free  those  that  had 
come  from  Jerusalem  into  Egypt,  and 
were  in  slavery  there,  who  were  120,000. 
The  occasion  was  this  : — Demetrius  Phale- 
rius,  who  was  library-keeper  to  the  king, 
was  now  endeavouring,  if  jt  were  possi- 
ble, to  gather  together  all  the  books  that 
were  in  the  habitable  earth,  and  buying 
whatsoever  was  anywhere  valuable,  or 
agreeable  to  the  king's  inclination,  (who 
was  very  earnestly  set  upon  collecting  of 
books ;)  to  which  inclination  of  his,  De- 
metrius was  zealously  subservient.  And 
when  once  Ptolemy  asked  him  how  many 
ten  thousands  of  books  he  had  collected, 
he  replied  that  he  had  already  about  twen- 
ty times  ten  thousand ;  but  that  in  a  lit- 
tle time  he  should  have  fifty  times  ten 
thousand.  But  he  said,  he  had  been  in- 
formed that  there  were  many  books  of 
laws  among  the  Jews  worthy  of  inquiring 
after,  and  worthy  of  the  king's  library, 
but  which,  being  written  characters,  and 
in  a  dialect  of  their  own,  will  cause  no 
small  pains  in  getting  them  translated  in- 
to the  Greek  tougue  :  that  the  character 
in  which  they  are  written  seems  to  be 
like  to  that  which  is  the  proper  character 
of  the  Syrians,  and  that  its  sound,  when 
pronounced,  is  like  to  theirs  also ;  and 
that  this  sound  appears  to  be  peculiar  to 
themselves.  Wherefore  he  said,  that  no- 
thing hindered  why  they  might  not  get 
those  books  to  be  translated  also;  for 
while  nothing  is  wanting  that  is  necessary 
for  that  purpose,  we  may  have  their  books 
also  in  this  library.  So  the  king  thought 
that  Demetrius  was  very  zealous  to  pro- 
cure him  abundance  of  books,  and  that 
he  suggested  what  was  exceedingly  pro- 
per for  him  to  do  ;  and  therefore  he  wrote 
to  the  Jewish  high  priest  that  he  should 
act  accordingly. 

Now  there  was  one  Aristeus,  who  was 
among  the  king's  most  intimate  friends, 
and,  on  account  of  his  modesty ,#  very  ac- 
ceptable to  him.  This  Aristeus  resolved 
frequently,  and  that  before  now,  to  peti- 
tion the  king  that  he  would  set  all   the 


Chap.  IL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


353 


captive  Jews  in  his  inngdom  free ;  and  he 
thought  this  to  be  a  convenient  opportu- 
nity for  the  making  that  petition.  So  he 
discoursed  in  the  first  place  with  the  cap- 
tains of  the  king's  guards,  Sosibius  of 
Tarentum,  and  Andreas,  and  persuaded 
them  to  assist  him  in  what  he  was  going 
to  intercede  with  the  king  for.  Accord- 
ingly, Aristeus  embraced  the  same  opinion 
with  those  that  have  been  before  men- 
tioned, and  went  to  the  king  and  made 
the  following  speech  to  him: — "  It  is  not 
fit  for  us,  0  king,  to  overlook  things 
hastily,  or  to  deceive  ourselves,  but  to  lay 
the  truth  open  :  for  since  we  have  deter- 
mined not  only  to  get  the  laws  of  the 
Jews  transcribed,  but  interpreted  also, 
for  thy  satisfaction,  by  what  means  can 
we  do  this,  while  so  many  of  the  Jews 
are  now  slaves  in  thy  kingdom  ?  Do  thou 
then  what  will  be  agreeable  to  thy  mag- 
nanimity, and  to  thy  good  nature  :  free 
them  from  the  miserable  condition  they 
are  in,  because  that  God,  who  supporteth 
thy  kingdom,  was  the  author  of  their 
laws,  as  I  have  learned  by  particular  in- 
quiry; for  both  this  people  and  we  also 
worship  the  same  God,  the  framer  of  all 
things.  We  call  him,  and  that  truly,  by 
the  name  of  "  Zena,"  [or  life,  or  Jupiter,] 
because  he  breathes  life  into  all  men. 
Wherefore,  do  thou  restore  these  men  to 
their  own  country ;  and  this  do  to  the  ho- 
nour of  God,  because  these  men  pay  a 
peculiarly  excellent  worship  to  him.  And 
know  this  further,  that  though  I  be  not 
of  kin  to  them  by  birth,  nor  one  of  the 
same  country  with  them,  yet  do  I  desire 
these  favours  to  be  done  them,  since  all 
men  are  the  workmanship  of  God;  and  I 
am  sensible  that  he  is  well  pleased  with 
those  that  do  good.  I  do  therefore  put 
up  this  petition  to  thee,  to  do  good  to 
them." 

When  Aristeus  was  saying  thus,  the 
king  looked  upon  him  with  a  cheerful  and 
joyful  countenance,  and  said,  "  How  many 
ten  thousands  dost  thou  suppose  there  are 
who  want  to  be  made  free  V9  To  which 
Andreas  replied,  as  he  stood  by,  and  said, 
u  A  few  more  than  ten  times  ten  thou- 
sand." The  king  made  answer,  "And  is 
this  a  small  gift  that  thou  askest,  Aris- 
teus?" But  Sosibius,  and  the  rest  that 
stood  by,  said,  that  he  ought  to  offer  such 
a  thank-offering  as  was  worthy  of  his 
greatness  of  soul,  to  that  God  who  had 
given  him  his  kingdom.  With  this  an- 
swer he  was  much  pleased  ;  and  gave  or- 
23 


der,  that  when  they  paid  the  soldiers  their 
wages,  they  should  lay  down  [a  hundred 
and]  twenty  drachmae  for  every  one  of 
the  slaves.  And  he  promised  to  publish 
a  magnificent  decree,  about  what  they  re- 
quested, which  should  confirm  what  Aris- 
teus had  proposed,  and  especially  what 
God  willed  should  be  done ;  whereby,  he 
he  said,  he  would  not  only  set  those  free 
who  had  been  led  away  captive  by  his  fa- 
ther and  his  army,  but  those  who  were  in 
his  kingdom  before,  and  those  also,  if  any 
such  there  were,  who  had  been  brought 
away  since.  And  when  they  said  that 
their  redemption-money  would  amount  to 
above  400  talents,  he  granted  it.  A  copy 
of  which  decree  I  have  determined  to  pre- 
serve, that  the  magnanimity  of  this  king 
may  be  made  known.  Its  contents  were 
as  follows : — "  Let  all  those  who  were 
soldiers  under  our  father,  and  who,  when 
they  overran  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  and 
laid  waste  Judea,  took  the  Jews  captives, 
and  made  them  slaves,  and  brought  them 
into  our  cities,  and  into  this  country,  and 
then  sold  them ;  as  also  all  those  that 
were  in  my  kingdom  before  them,  and  if 
there  be  any  that  have  lately  been  brought 
thither,  be  made  free  by  those  that  pos- 
sess them ;  and  let  them  accept  of  [a 
hundred  and]  twenty  drachmas  for  every 
slave.  And  let  the  soldiers  receive  this 
redemption-money  with  their  pay,  but  the 
rest  out  of  the  king's  treasury  :  for  I  sup 
pose  that  they  were  made  captives  with- 
out our  father's  consent,  and  against  equi- 
ty ;  and  that  their  country  was  harassed 
by  the  insolence  of  the  soldiers,  and  that, 
by  removing  them  into  Egypt,  the  soldiers 
have  made  a  great  profit  by  them.  Out 
of  regard,  therefore,  to  justice,  and  out 
of  pity  to  those  that  have  been  tyrannized 
over,  contrary  to  equity,  I  enjoin  those 
that  have  such  Jews  in  their  service  to 
set  them  at  liberty,  upon  the  receipt  of 
the  forementioned  sum  ;  and  that  no  one 
use  any  deceit  about  them,  but  obey  what 
is  here  commanded.  And  I  will,  that 
they  give  in  their  names  within  three 
days  after  the  publication  of  this  edict, 
to  such  as  are  appointed  to  execute  the 
same,  and  to  produce  the  slaves  before 
them  also,  for  I  think  it  will  be  for  the 
advantage  of  my  affairs :  and  let  every 
one  that  will,  inform  against  those  that 
do  not  obey  this  decree ;  and  I  will,  that 
their  estates  be  confiscated  into  the  king's 
treasury."  When  this  decree  was  read 
to  the  king,  it  at  first  contained  the  rest 


351 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII 


that  is  here  inserted,  and  only  omitted 
those  Jews  that  had  formerly  been  brought, 
and  those  brought  afterward,  which  had 
not  been  distinctly  mentioned ;  so  he  add- 
ed those  clauses  out  of  his  humanity,  and 
with  great  generosity.  He  also  gave  or- 
der that  the  payment,  which  was  likely 
to  be  done  in  a  hurry,  should  be  divided 
among  the  king's  ministers,  and  among 
the  officers  of  his  treasury.  When  this 
was  over,  what  the  king  had  decreed  was 
quickly  brought  to  a  conclusion  ;  and  this 
in  no  more  than  seven  days'  time,  the 
number  of  the  talents  paid  for  the  cap- 
tives being  above  460,  and  this,  because 
their  masters  required  [a  hundred  and] 
twenty  drachmae  for  the  children  also,  the 
king  having,  in  effect,  commanded  that 
these  should  be  paid  for,  when  he  said,  in 
his  decree,  that  they  should  receive  the 
foremen tioned  sum  for  every  slave. 

Now  when  this  had  been  done  after  so 
magnificent  a  manner,  according  to  the 
king's  inclinations,  he  gave  order  to  De- 
metrius to  give  him  in  writing  his  senti- 
ments concerning  the  transcribing  of  the 
Jewish  books;  for  no  part  of  the  admi- 
nistration was  done  rashly  by  these  kings, 
but  all  things  were  managed  with  great 
circumspection.  On  which  account  I  have 
subjoined  a  copy  of  these  epistles,  and 
set  down  the  multitude  of  the  vessels  sent 
as  gifts  [to  Jerusalem],  and  the  construc- 
tion of  every  one,  that  the  exactness  of 
the  artificers'  workmanship,  as  it  appeared 
to  those  that  saw  them,  and  which  work- 
men made  every  vessel,  may  be  made  ma- 
nifest, and  this  on  account  of  the  excel- 
lency of  the  vessels  themselves.  Now 
the  copy  of  the  epistle  was  to  this  pur- 
pose : — "  Demetrius  to  the  great  king. 
When  thou,  0  king,  gavest  me  a  charge 
concerning  the  collection  of  books  that 
were  wanting  to  fill  your  library,  and  con- 
cerning the  care  that  ought  to  be  taken 
about  such  as  are  imperfect,  I  have  used 
the  utmost  diligence  about  those  matters. 
And  I  let  you  know,  that  we  want  the 
books  of  the  Jewish  legislation,  with  some 
others;  for  they  are  written  in  the  He- 
brew characters,  and  being  in  the  lan- 
guage of  that  nation,  are  to  us  unknown. 
It  hath  also  happened  to  them,  that  they 
have  been  transcribed  more  carelessly 
than  they  should  have  been,  because  they 
have  not  had  hitherto  royal  care  taken 
about  them.  Now  it  is  necessary  that 
thou  shouldest  have  accurate  copies  of 
them      And  indeed  this  legislation  is  full 


of  hidden  wisdom,  and  entirely  blameless, 
as  being  the  legislation  of  God  :  for  which 
cause  it  is,  as  Hecateus  of  Abdera  says, 
that  the  poets  and  historians  make  no 
mention  of  it,  nor  of  those  men  who  lead 
their  lives  according  to  it,  since  it  is  a 
holy  law,  and  ought  not  to  be  published 
by  profane  mouths.  If  then  it  please 
thee,  0  king,  thou  mayest  write  to  the 
high  priest  of  the  Jews,  to  send  six  of 
the  elders  out  of  every  tribe,  and  those 
such  as  are  most  skilful  of  the  laws,  that 
by  their  means  we  may  learn  the  clear 
and  agreeing  sense  of  these  books,  and 
may  obtain  an  accurate  interpretation  of 
their  contents,  and  so  may  have  such  a 
collection  of  these  as  may  be  suitable  to 
thy  desire." 

When  this  epistle  was  sent  to  the  king, 
he  commanded  that  an  epistle  should  be 
drawn   up  for  Eleazar,  the  Jewish  high 
priest,    concerning    these    matters ;    and 
that  they  should  inform   him   of  the   re- 
lease of  the  Jews  that  had  been  in  slavery 
among  them.     He   also  sent  fifty  talents 
of  gold  for  the   making  of  large  basins, 
and    vials,    and    cups,    and   an    immense 
quantity    of    precious    stones.      He   also 
gave  order  to  those  who  had  the  custody 
of  the  chests  that  contained  those  stones, 
to  give  the  artificers  leave  to  choose  out 
what  sorts   of   them    they   pleased.     He 
withal    appointed,    that    100    talents    in 
money  should  be  sent  to  the  temple  for 
sacrifices,  and  for  other  uses.     Now  I  will 
give  a  description  of  these  vessels,  and 
the  manner  of  their  construction,  but  not 
till  after  I  have  set  down  a  copy  of  the 
epistle  which  was  written  to  Eleazar  the 
high  priest,  who  had  obtained   that  dig- 
nity on   the  occasion  following  : — When 
Onias  the  high  priest  was  dead,  his  son 
Simon    became    his    successor.     He   was 
called  Simon  the  Just,*  because  of  both 
his  piety  toward  G-od,  and  his  kind  dis- 
position   to    those    of    his    own    nation. 
When  he  was  dead,  and  had  left  a  young 
son,    who    was    called    Onias,    Simon's 
brother  Eleazar,  of  whom  we  were  speak- 
ing, took  the  high  priesthood ;  and  he  it 
was  to  whom  Ptolemy  wrote,  and  that  in 
the  manner  following  : — "  King  Ptolemy 
to  Eleazar  the  high  priest,  sendeth  greet- 
ing.    There    are    many  Jews    who    now 
dwell    in    my  kingdom,  whom   the   Per- 
sians, when  they  were   in   power,  carried 
captives.     These  were   honoured   by  my 

*  Ecclesiasticus  1.  1  et  seq. 


Chai    II. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


355 


father;  some  of  whom  he  placed  in  the 
army,  and  gave  them  greater  pay  than 
ordinary;  to  others  of  them,  when  they 
came  with  him  into  Egypt,  he  committed 
his  garrisons,  and  the  guarding  of  them, 
that  they  might  be  a  terror  to  the  Egyp- 
tians ;  and  when  I  had  taken  the  govern- 
ment, I  treated  all  men  with  great  hu- 
manity, and  especially  those  that  are  thy 
fellow-citizens,  of  whom  I  have  set  free 
above  100,000  that  were  slaves,  and  paid 
the  price  of  their  redemption  to  their 
masters,  out  of  my  own  revenues ;  and 
those  that  are  of  a  fit  age  I  have  admit- 
ted into  the  number  of  my  soldiers ;  and 
for  such  as  are  capable  of  being  faithful 
to  me,  and  proper  for  my  court,  I  have 
put  them  in  such  a  post,  as  thinking  this 
[kindness  done  to  them]  to  be  a  very 
great  and  an  acceptable  gift,  which  I  de- 
vote to  God  for  his  providence  over  me ; 
and  as  I  am  desirous  to  do  what  will  be 
grateful  to  these,  and  to  all  the  other 
Jews  in  the  habitable  earth,  T  have  deter- 
mined to  procure  an  interpretation  of 
your  law,  and  to  have  it  translated  out  of 
Hebrew  into  Greek,  and  to  be  deposited 
in  my  library.  Thou  wilt  therefore  do 
well  to  choose  out  and  send  to  me  men 
of  a  good  character,  who  are  now  elders 
in  age,  and  six  in  number  out  of  every 
tribe.  These,  by  their  age,  must  be  skil- 
ful in  the  laws,  and  of  abilities  to  make 
an  accurate  interpretation  of  them ;  and 
when  this  shall  be  finished,  I  shall  think 
that  I  have  done  a  work  glorious  to  my- 
self; and  I  have  sent  to  thee  Andreas, 
the  captain  of  my  guard,  and  Aristeus, 
men  whom  I  have  in  very  great  esteem ; 
by  whom  I  have  sent  those  first-fruits 
which  I  have  dedicated  to  the  temple,  and 
to  the  sacrifices,  and  to  other  uses,  to  the 
value  of  100  talents;  and  if  thou  wilt 
1  to  us,  to  let  us  know  what  thou 
wouldest  have  further,  thou  wilt  do  a 
thing  acceptable  to  me." 

When  this  epistle  of  the  king  was 
brought  to  Eleazar,  he  wrote  an  answer 
to  it  with  all  the  respect  possible : — 
11  Eleazar  the  high  priest  to  King  Ptole- 
my, sendeth  greeting.  If  thou  and  thy 
queen  Arsinoe,*  and  thy  children,  be 
well,  we  are  entirely  satisfied.  When  we 
received  thy  epistle,  we  greatly  rejoiced 
at  thy  intentions;  and  when  the   multi- 


*  Arsinoe  was  both  his  sister  and  his  wife,  ac- 
cording to  the  old  custom  of  Persia.  We  have, 
upon  the  coins  of  Philadelphus  this  inscription  ■ 
"lie  divine  Brother  and  Sister." 


tude  were  gathered  together,  we  read  it 
to  them,  and  thereby  made  them  sensible 
of  the  piety  thou  hast  toward  God.  We 
also  showed  them  the  twenty  vials  of 
gold,  and  thirty  of  silver,  and  the  five 
large  basins,  and  the  table  for  the  shew- 
bread ;  as  also  the  100  talents  for  the 
sacrifices,  and  for  the  making  what  shall 
be  needful  at  the  temple  :  which  things, 
Andreas  and  Aristeus,  those  most  ho- 
noured friends  of  thine,  have  brought  us  ; 
and  truly  they  are  persons  of  an  excellent 
character,  and  of  great  learning,  and 
worthy  of  thy  virtue.  Know  then,  that 
we  will  gratify  thee  in  what  is  for  thy 
advantage,  though  we  do  what  we  used 
not  to  do  before  ;  for  we  ought  to  make  a 
return  for  the  numerous  acts  of  kindness 
which  thou  hast  done  to  our  countrymen. 
We  immediately,  therefore,  offered  sacri- 
fices for  thee  and  thy  sister,  with  thy 
children  and  friends;  and  the  multitude 
made  prayers,  that  thy  affairs  might  be 
to  thy  mind;  and  that  thy  kingdom 
might  be  preserved  in  peace,  and  that  the 
translation  of  our  Law  might  come  to  the 
conclusion  thou  desirest,  and  be  for  thy 
advantage.  We  have  also  chosen  six 
elders  out  of  every  tribe,  whom  we  have 
sent,  and  the  Law  with  them.  It  will  be 
thy  part,  out  of  thy  piety  and  justice,  to 
send  back  the  Law  when  it  hath  been 
translated ;  and  to  return  those  to  us  that 
bring  it  in  safety.     Farewell." 

This  was  the  reply  which  the  high 
priest  made ;  but  it  does  not  seem  to  me 
to  be  necessary  to  set  down  the  names  of 
the  seventy  [two]  elders  who  were  sent 
by  Eleazar,  and  carried  the  Law,  which 
yet  were  subjoined  at  the  end  of  the  epis- 
tle. However,  I  thought  it  not  improper 
to  give  an  account  of  those  very  valuable 
and  artificially  contrived  vessels  which 
the  king  sent  to  God,  that  all  may  see 
how  great  a  regard  the  king  had  for  God ; 
for  the  king  allowed  a  vast  deal  of  ex- 
penses for  these  vessels,  and  came  often 
to  the  workmen,  and  viewed  their  works, 
and  suffered  nothing  of  carelessness  or 
negligence  to  be  any  damage  to  their 
operations;  and  I  will  relate  how  rich 
they  were  as  well  as  I  am  able,  although, 
perhaps,  the  nature  of  this  history  may 
not  require  such  a  description ;  but  I 
imagine  I  shall  thereby  recommend  the 
elegant  taste  and  magnanimity  of  this 
king  to  those  that  read  this  history. 

At  first  I  will  describe  what  belongs  to 
the  table.     It  was  indeed  in   the  king'p 


356 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII. 


mind  to  make  this  table  vastly  large  in 
its  dimensions  ;  but  then  he  gave  orders 
that  they  should  learn  what  was  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  table  which  was  already  at 
Jerusalem,  and  how  large  it  was,  and 
whether  there  was  a  possibility  of  making 
one  larger  than  it :  and  when  he  was  in- 
formed how  large  that  was  which  was  al- 
ready there,  and  that  nothing  hindered 
but  a  larger  might  be  made,  he  said  that 
he  was  willing  to  have  one  made  that 
should  be  five  times  as  large  as  the  pre- 
sent table ;  but  his  fear  was  that  it  might 
be  then  useless  in  their  sacred  ministra- 
tions by  its  too  great  largeness ;  for  he 
desired  that  the  gifts  he  presented  them 
should  not  only  be  there  for  show,  but 
should  be  useful  also  in  their  sacred  mi- 
nistrations. According  to  which  reason- 
ing, that  the  former  table  was  made  of  so 
moderate  a  size  for  use,  and  not  for  want 
of  gold,  he  resolved  that  he  would  not 
exceed  the  former  table  in  largeness,  but 
would  make  it  exceed  it  in  the  variety 
and  elegancy  of  its  materials;  and  as  he 
was  sagacious  in  observing  the  nature  of 
all  things,  and  having  a  just  notion  of- 
what  was  new  and  surprising,  and  where 
there  were  no  sculptures,  he  would  invent 
such  as  were  proper  by  his  own  skill,  and 
would  show  them  to  the  workmen,  he 
commanded  that  such  sculptures  should 
then  be  made ;  and  that  those  which 
were  delineated  should  be  most  accurately 
formed,  by  a  constant  regard  to  their  de- 
lineation. 

When,  therefore,  the  workmen  had  un- 
dertaken to  make  the  table,  they  framed 
it  in  length  two  cubits  [and  a  half],  in 
breadth  one  cubit,  and  in  height  one 
cubit  and  a  half;  and  the  entire  structure 
of  the  work  was  of  gold.  They  withal 
made  a  crown  of  a  handbreadth  round 
it,  with  wave-work  wreathed  about  it, 
and  with  an  engraving  which  imitated 
a  cord,  and  was  admirably  turned  on  its 
three  parts;  for  as  they  were  of  a  trian- 
gular figure,  every  angle  had  the  same 
disposition  of  its  sculptures,  that  when 
you  turned  them  about,  the  very  same 
form  of  them  was  turned  about  without 
any  variation.  Now  that  part  of  the 
crown-work  that  was  enclosed  under  the 
table,  had  its  sculptures  very  beautiful ; 
but  that  part  which  went  round  on  the 
outside  was  more  elaborately  adorned 
with  most  beautiful  ornaments,  because 
it  was  exposed  to  sight,  and  to  the  view 
of  the  spectators ;  for  which  reason  it  was 


that  both  those  sides  which  were  extant 
above  the  rest  were  acute,  and  none  of 
the  angles,  which  we  before  told  you  wore 
there,  appeared  less  than  another  when 
the  table  was  turned   about.     Now  into 
the  cord-work  thus  turned  were  precious 
stones  inserted,  in  rows  parallel   one   to 
the    other,   enclosed    in   golden   buttons, 
which  had  ouches  in  them ;  but  the  parts 
which  were  on  the  side  of  the  crown,  and 
were  exposed  to  the  sight,  were  adorned 
with    a   row   of    oval    figures    obliquely 
placed,  of  the  most  excellent  sorts  of  pre- 
cious   stones,   which    imitated    rods    laid 
close,  and   encompassed  the  table  round 
about;  but  under  these  oval  figures  thus 
engraven,  the  workmen  had  put  a  crown 
all  round  it,  where  the  nature  of  all  sorts 
of  fruit  was  represented,  insomuch    that 
the    bunches   of   grapes    hung   up;    and 
when  they  had  made  the  stones  to  repre- 
sent all  the  kinds  of  fruit  before  men- 
tioned, and  that  each  in  its  proper  colour, 
they  made  them  fast  with  gold  round  the 
whole  table.     The  like  disposition  of  the 
oval  figures,  and   of  the   engraved  rods, 
was  framed   under   the    crown,  that   the 
table  might  on  each  side  show  the  same 
appearance  of  variety  and  elegancy  of  its 
ornaments,  so  that   neither   the  position 
of  the  wave-work  nor  of  the  crown  might 
be    different,    although    the    table    were 
turned  on  the   other  side,  but   that  the 
prospect  of  the  same  artificial  contrivances 
might  be  extended  as  far  as  the  feet ;  for 
there    was    made    a    plate    of  gold   four 
fingers  broad,  through  the  entire  breadth 
of  the  table,  into  which  they  inserted  the 
feet,  and  then  fastened  them  to  the  table 
by  buttons  and  button-holes,  at  the  place 
where  the  crown  was  situate,  that  so  oa 
what  side  soever  of  the  table  one  should 
stand,   it  might  exhibit  the   very   same 
view  of  the  exquisite  workmanship,  and 
of  the  vast  expenses  bestowed  upon  it; 
but  upon  the  table  itself  they  engraved  a 
meander,  inserting  into  it  very  valuable 
stones  in  the  middle,  like  stars  of  various 
colours ;  the  carbuncle  and  the  emerald, 
each  of  which^sent  out  agreeable  rays  of 
light  to  the  spectators ;  with  such  stones 
of  other  sorts  also  as  were  most  curious 
and  best  esteemed,  as  being  most  precious 
in  their  kind.     Hard  by  this  meander,  a 
texture    of   network    ran    round    it,   the 
middle  of  which  appeared  like  a  rhombus, 
into    which    were    inserted    rock-crystal 
and   amber,  which,  by  the  great   resem- 
blance of  the  appearance  they  made,  gave 


Chap.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


357 


wonderful  delight  to  those  that  saw  them. 
The  chapiters  of  the  feet  imitated  the  first 
budding  of  lilies,  while  their  leaves  were 
bent  and  laid  under  the  table,  but  so  that 
the   chives  were   seen    standing  upright 
within  them.     Their  bases  were  made  of 
a  carbuncle ;  and  the  place  at  the  bottom, 
which  rested  on  that  carbuncle,  was  one 
palm  deep,  and  eight  fingers  in  breadth. 
Now  they  had  engraven  upon  it,  with  a 
very  fine  tool,  and  with  a  great  deal  of 
pains,  a  branch  of  ivy,  and  tendrils  of  the 
vine,  sending  forth  clusters  of  grapes,  that 
you  would  guess   they  were   nowise   dif- 
ferent from   the   real  tendrils;   for   they 
were  so  very  thin,  and   so  very  far  ex- 
tended at  their  extremities,  that  they  were 
moved  with  the  wind,  and  made  one  be- 
lieve that  they  were  the  product  of  na- 
ture, and  not   the   representation  of  art. 
They  also  made  the  entire  workmanship 
of  the  table  appear  to  be  threefold,  while 
the  joints   of  the   several  parts  were   so 
united   together  as   to  be  invisible,  and 
the  places  where  they  joined  could  not 
be  distinguished.     Now  the  thickness  of 
the  table  was  not  less  than   half  a  cubit. 
So   that    this   gift,    by  the   king's   great 
generosity,  by  the  great  value  of  the  ma- 
terials, and   the  variety  of  its   exquisite 
structure,  and  the  artificer's  skill  in  imi- 
tating nature  with  graving-tools,  was   at 
length   brought  to  perfection,  while  the 
king  was  very  desirous,  that  though   in 
largeness  it  was  not  to  be  different  from 
that  which  was  already  dedicated  to  God, 
yet  that  in  exquisite  workmanship,  and 
the  novelty  of  the  contrivances,  and  in 
the  splendour  of  its  construction,  it  should 
far  exceed  it,  and  be  more  illustrious  than 
that  was. 

Now  of  the  cisterns  of  gold  there  were 
two,  whose  sculpture  was  of  scale-work, 
from  its  base  to  its  belt-like  spiral  circle, 
with  various  sorts  of  stones  enchased  in 
the  circles.  Next  to  which  there  was 
upon  it  a  meander,  of  a  cubit  in  height : 
it  was  composed  of  stones  of  all  sorts  of 
colours;  and  next  to  this  was  the  rod- 
work  engraven ;  and  next  to  that  was  a 
rhombus  in  a  texture  of  network,  drawn 
out  to  the  brim  of  the  basin,  while  small 
shields,  made  of  stones,  beautiful  in  their 
kind,  and  of  four  fingers'  depth,  filled  up 
the  middle  parts.  About  the  top  of  the 
basin  were  wreathed  the  leaves  of  lilies, 
and  of  the  convolvulus,  and  the  tendrils 
of  vines  in  a  circular  manner;  and  this 
was  the  construction  of  the  two  cisterns 


of  gold,  each  containing  two  firkins:  hut 
those  which  were  of  silver  were  much 
more  bright  and  splendid  than  looking- 
glasses  ;  and  you  might  in  them  see 
images  that  fell  upon  them  more  plainly 
than  in  the  other.  The  king  also  ordered 
thirty  vials;  those  of  which  the  parts 
that  were  of  gold,  and  filled  up  with  pre- 
cious stones,  were  shadowed  over  with 
the  leaves  of  ivy  and  vines,  artificially 
engraven ;  and  these  were  the  vessels 
that  were,  after  an  extraordinary  manner, 
brought  to  this  perfection,  partly  by  the 
skill  of  the  workmen,  who  were  admi- 
rable in  such  fine  work,  but  much  more 
by  the  diligence  and  generosity  of  the 
king,  who  not  only  supplied  the  artificers 
abundantly,  and  with  great  generosity, 
with  what  they  wanted,  but  he  forbade 
public  audiences  for  the  time,  and  came 
and  stood  by  the  workmen,  and  saw  the 
whole  operation ;  and  this  was  the  cause 
why  the  workmen  were  so  accurate  in 
their  performance,  because  they  had  re- 
gard to  the  king,  and  to  his  great  concern 
about  the  vessels,  and  so  the  more  inde- 
fatigably  kept  close  to  the  work. 

And  these  were  what  gifts  were  sent 
by  Ptolemy  to  Jerusalem,  and  dedicated 
to  God  there.  But  when  Eleazar  the 
high  priest  had  devoted  them  to  God, 
and  had  paid  due  respect  to  those  that 
brought  them,  and  had  given  them  pre- 
sents to  be  carried  to  the  king,  he  dis- 
missed them.  And  when  they  had  come 
to  Alexandria,  and  Ptolemy  heard  that 
they  had  come,  and  that  the  seventy  el- 
ders had  come  also,  he  presently  sent  for 
Andreas  and  Aristeus,  his  ambassadors, 
who  came  to  him,  and  delivered  him  the 
epistle  which  they  brought  him  from  the 
high  priest,  and  made  answer  to  all  the 
questions  he  put  to  them  by  word  of 
mouth.  He  then  made  haste  to  meet  the 
elders  that  came  from  Jerusalem  for  the 
interpretation  of  the  Laws ;  and  he  gave 
command,  that  everybody  who  came 
upon  other  occasions  should  be  sent 
away,  which  was  a  thing  surprising,  and 
what  he  did  not  use  to  do ;  for  those  that 
were  drawn  thither  upon  such  occasions 
used  to  come  to  him  on  the  fifth  day,  but 
ambassadors  at  the  month's  end.  But 
when  he  had  sent  those  away,  he  waited 
for  these  that  were  sent  by  Eleazar;  but 
as  the  old  men  came  in  with  the  presents, 
which  the  high  priest  had  given  them  to 
bring  to  the  king,  and  with  the  mem- 
branes, upon  which  they  had  their  Law? 


85% 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII 


written  in  golden  letters,*  he  put  ques- 
tions to  them  concerning  those  books; 
and  when  they  had  taken  off  the  covers 
wherein  they  were  wrapped  up,  they 
showed  him  the  membranes.  So  the 
king  stiod  admiring  the  thinness  of  those 
membranes,  and  the  exactness  of  the 
junctures,  which  could  not  be  perceived, 
(so  exactly  were  they  connected  one  with 
another ;)  and  this  he  did  for  a  consider- 
able time.  He  then  said  that  he  returned 
them  thanks  for  coming  to  him,  and  still 
greater  thanks  to  him  that  sent  them,  and, 
above  all,  to  that  God  whose  laws  they 
appeared  to  be.  Then  did  the  elders, 
and  those  that  were  present  with  them, 
cry  out  with  one  voice,  and  wished  all 
happiness  to  the  king.  Upon  which  he 
fell  into  tears  by  the  violence  of  the  plea- 
sure he  had,  it  being  natural  to  men  to 
afford  the  same  indications  in  great  joy 
that  they  do  under  sorrow.  And  when 
he  had  bidden  them  deliver  the  books  to 
those  that  were  appointed  to  receive 
them,  he  saluted  the  men,  and  said  that 
it  was  but  just  to  discourse,  in  the  first 
place,  of  the  errand  they  were  sent  about, 
and  then  to  address  himself  to  them- 
selves. He  promised,  however,  that  he 
would  make  this  day  on  which  they  came 
to  him  remarkable  and  eminent  every 
year  through  the  whole  course  of  his  life  ; 
for  their  coming  to  him,  and  the  victory 
which  he  gained  over  Antigonus  by  -sea, 
proved  to  be  on  the  very  same  day.  He 
also  gave  orders  that  they  should  sup  with 
him ;  and  gave  it  in  charge  that  they 
should  have  excellent  lodgings  provided 
for  them  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 

Now  he  that  was  appointed  to  take  care 
of  the  reception  of  strangers,  Nicanor  by 
name,  called  for  Dorotheus,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  make  provision  for  them,  and 
bade  him  prepare  for  every  one  of  them 
what  should  be  requisite  for  their  diet 
and  way  of  living :  which  thing  was  or- 
dered by  the  king  after  this  manner :  he 
took  care  that  those  that  belonged  to 
every  city,  which  did  not  use  the  same 
way  of  living,  that  all  things  should  be 
prepared  for  them  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  those  that  came  to  him,  that, 
being  feasted  according  to  the  usual 
method  of  their  own  way  of  living,  they 
might  be  the  better  pleased,  and  might 
not  be  uneasy  at  any  thing  done  to  them 

*  The  Talmudists  say,  that  it  is  not  lawful  to 
write  the  Law  in  letters  of  gold,  contrary  to  this 
certain  and  very  ancient  example. 


from  which  they  were  naturally  averse. 
And  this  was  now  done  in  the  case  of 
these  men  by  Dorotheus,  who  was  put 
into  this  office  because  of  his  great  skill 
in  such  matters  belonging  to  common 
life  :  for  he  took  care  of  all  such  matters 
as  concerned  the  reception  of  strangers, 
aad  appointed  them  double  seats  for  them 
to  sit  on,  according  as  the  king  had  com- 
manded him  to  do;  for  he  had  com- 
manded that  half  of  their  seats  should  be 
set  at  his  right  hand,  and  the  other  half 
behind  his  table,  and  took  care  that  no 
respect  should  be  omitted  that  could  be 
shown  them.  And  when  they  had  thus 
sat  down,  he  bade  Dorotheus*  to  minister 
to  all  those  that  had  come  to  him  from 
Judea,  after  the  manner  they  used  to  be 
ministered  to  :  for  which  cause  he  sent 
away  their  sacred  heralds,  and  those  that 
slew  the  sacrifices,  and  the  rest  that  used 
to  say  grace ;  but  called  to  one  of  those 
that  had  come  to  him,  whose  name  was 
Eleazar,  who  was  a  priest,  and  desired 
him  to  say  grace;*  who  then  stood  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  prayed,  that  all  pros- 
perity might  attend  the  king,  and  those 
that  were  his  subjects.  Upon  which  an 
acclamation  was  made  by  the  whole  com- 
pany, with  joy  and  a  great  noise ;  and 
when  that  was  over,  they  fell  to  eating 
their  supper,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of 
what  was  set  before  them.  And  at  a  lit- 
tle interval  afterward,  when  the  king 
thought  a  sufficient  time  had  been  inter- 
posed, he  began  to  talk  philosophically  to 
them,  and  he  asked  every  one  of  them  a 
philosophical  question, *f"  and  such  an  one 
as  might  give  light  in  those  inquiries; 
and  when  they  had  explained  all  the  pro- 
blems that  had  been  proposed  by  the 
king  about  every  point,  he  was  well 
pleased  with  their  answers.  This  took 
up  the  twelve  days  in  which  they  were 
treated ;  and  ha  that  pleases  may  learn 
the  particular  questions  in  that  book  of 
Aristeus  which  he  wrote  on  this  very  oc- 
casion. 

And  while  not  the  king  only,  but  the 
philosopher  Menedemus  also,  admired 
them,  and  said,  that  all  things  were  go- 
verned by  Providence,  and  that  it  was 
probable  that  thence  it  was  that  such  force 
or  beauty  was  discovered  in  these  men's 


*  This  is  the  most  ancient  example  we  have  of  a 
grace,  or  short  prayer  or  thanksgiving  before  meat. 

-j-  They  were  rather  political  questions  and  an- 
swers, tending  to  the  good  and  religious  govern 
inent  of  mankind. 


Chap.  IT.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


«S*359 


words,  they  then  left  off  asking  any  more 
questions.  But  the  king  said  that  he  had 
gained  very  great  advantages  by  their 
coming,  for  that  he  had  received  this  pro- 
fit from  them,  that  he  had  learned  how 
he  ought  to  rule  his  subjects.  And  he 
gave  order  that  they  should  have  every 
one  three  talents  given  them ;  and  that 
those  that  were  to  conduct  them  to  their 
lodging  should  do  it.  Accordingly,  when 
three  days  were  over,  Demetrius  took 
them,  and  went  over  the  causeway  seven 
furlongs  long;  it  was  a  bank  in  the  sea 
to  an  island.  And  when  they  had  gone 
over  the  bridge,  he  proceeded  to  the 
northern  parts,  and  showed  them  where 
they  should  meet,  which  was  in  a  house 
that  was  built  near  the  shore,  and  was  a 
quiet  place,  and  fit  for  their  discoursing 
together  about  their  work.  When  he 
had  brought  them  thither,  he  entreated 
them  (now  they  had  all  things  about 
them  which  they  wanted  for  the  interpre- 
tation of  their  Law)  that  they  would  suf- 
fer nothing  to  interrupt  them  in  their 
work.  Accordingly,  they  made  an  ac- 
curate interpretation,  with  great  zeal  and 
great  pains;  and  this  they  continued  to 
do  till  the  ninth  hour  of  the  day ;  after 
which  time  they  relaxed  and  took  care  of 
their  body,  while  their  food  was  provided 
for  them  in  great  plenty  :  besides,  Doro- 
theus,  at  the  king's  command,  brought 
them  a  great  deal  of  what  was  provided 
for  the  king  himself.  But  in  the  morn- 
ing they  came  to  the  court,  and  saluted 
Ptolemy,  and  then  went  away  to  their 
former  place,  where,  when  they  had 
washed  their  hands,*  and  purified  them- 
selves, they  betook  themselves  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  Laws.  Now  when  the 
Law  was  transcribed,  and  the  labour  of 
interpretation  was  over,  which  came  to 
its  conclusion  in  seventy-two  days,  De- 
metiius  gathered  all  the  Jews  together 
to  the  place  where  the  Laws  were  trans- 
lated, and  where  the  interpreters  were, 
and  read  them  over.  The  multitude  did 
also  approve  of  those  elders  that  were 
the  interpreters  of  the  Law.  They  withal 
commended  Demetrius  for  his  proposal, 
as  the  inventor  of  what  was  greatly  for 
thair  happiness;  and  they  desired  that 
he  would  give  leave  to  their  rulers  also 

*  This  purification  of  the  interpreters,  by  wash- 
ing in  the  sea,  before  they  prayed  to  God  every 
morning,  and  before  they  set  about  translating, 
may  be  compared  to  the  like  practice  of  Peter  the 
Apostle.     Acts  xvi.  13,  16. 


to  read  the  Law.  Moreover,  they  all; 
both  the  priests  and  the  most  ancient  of 
the  elders,  and  the  principal  men  of  their 
commonwealth,  made  it  their  request, 
that  since  the  interpretation  was  happily 
finished;  it  might  continue  in  the  state  it 
now  was,  and  might  not  be  altered.  And 
when  they  all  commended  that  determi- 
nation of  theirs,  they  enjoined,  that  if  any 
one  observed  either  any  thing  superfluous, 
or  any  thing  omitted,  that  he  would  take 
a  view  of  it  again,  and  have  it  laid  before 
them,  and  corrected ;  which  was  a  wise 
action  of  theirs,  and  when  the  thing  was 
judged  to  have  been  well  done,  it  might 
continue  for  ever. 

So  the  king  rejoiced  when  he  saw  that 
his  design  of  this  nature  was  brought  to 
perfection,  to  so  great  advantage  :  and  he 
was  chiefly  delighted  with  hearing  the 
Laws  read  to  him  ;  and  was  astonished  at 
the  deep  meaning  and  wisdom  of  the  le- 
gislator. And  he  began  to  discourse  with 
Demetrius,  "  How  it  came  to  pass  that, 
when  this  legislation  was  so  wonderful, 
no  one,  either  of  the  poets  or  of  the  his- 
torians, had  made  mention  of  it."  De- 
metrius made  answer,  "  that  no  one  durst 
be  so  bold  as  to  touch  upon  the  descrip- 
tion of  these  laws,  because  they  were  di- 
vine and  venerable,  and  because  some 
that  had  attempted  it  were  afflicted  by 
God."  He  also  told  him,  that  "  Theo- 
pompus  was  desirous  of  writing  somewhat 
about  them,  but  was  thereupon  disturbed 
in  his  mind  for  above  thirty  days'  time ; 
and  upon  some  intermission  of  his  dis- 
temper, he  appeased  God  [by  prayer],  as 
suspecting  that  his  madness  proceeded 
from  that  cause."  Nay,  indeed,  he  fur- 
ther saw  in  a  dream,  that  his  distemper 
befell  him  while  he  indulged  too  great  a 
curiosity  about  divine  matters,  and  was 
desirous  of  publishing  them  among  com- 
mon men ;  but  when  he  left  off  that  at- 
tempt, he  recovered  his  understanding 
again.  Moreover,  he  informed  him  of 
Theodectes,  the  tragic  poet,  concerning 
whom  it  was  reported,  that  when  in  a 
certain  dramatic  representation,  he  was 
desirous  to  make  mention  of  things  that 
were  contained  in  the  sacred  books,  he 
was  afflicted  with  a  darkness  in  his  eyes ; 
and  that  upon  his  being  conscious  of  the 
occasion  of  his  distemper,  and  appeasing 
God  [by  prayer],  he  was  freed  from  that 
affliction. 

And  when  the  king  had  received  these 
books  from  Demetrius,  as  we  have  said 


360 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII. 


already,  lie  adored  them ;  and  gave  or- 
der that  great  care  should  be  taken  of 
them,  that  they  might  remain  uncor- 
rupted.  He  also  desired  that  the  inter- 
preters would  come  often  to  him  out  of 
Judea,  and  that  both  on  account  of  the 
respects  that  he  would  pay  them,  and  on 
account  of  the  presents  he  would  make 
them  ;  for  he  said,  it  was  now  but  just  to 
send  them  away,  although  if,  of  their  own 
accord,  they  would  come  to  him  hereafter, 
they  should  obtain  all  that  their  own  wis- 
dom might  justly  require,  and  what  his 
generosity  was  able  to  give  them.  So  he 
sent  them  away,  and  gave  to  every  one 
of  them  three  garments  of  the  best  sort, 
and  two  talents  of  gold,  and  a  cup  of  the 
value  of  one  talent,  and  the  furniture  of 
the  room  wherein  they  were  feasted.  And 
these  were  the  things  he  presented  to 
them.  But  by  them  he  sent  to  Eleazar 
the  high  priest  ten  beds,  with  feet  of  sil- 
ver, and  the  furniture  to  them  belonging, 
and  a  cup  of  the  value  of  thirty  talents ; 
and  besides  these,  ten  garments,  and  pur- 
ple, and  a  very  beautiful  crown,  and  100 
pieces  of  the  finest  woven  linen;  as  also 
vials  and  dishes,  and  vessels  for  pouring, 
and  two  golden  cisterns,  to  be  dedicated 
to  God.  He  also  desired  him,  by  an 
epistle,  that  he  would  give  these  inter- 
preters leave,  if  any  of  them  were  de- 
sirous, of  coming  to  him ;  because  he 
highly  valued  a  conversation  with  'men 
of  such  learning,  and  should  be  very  will- 
ing to  lay  out  his  wealth  upon  such  men. 
And  this  was  what  came  to  the  Jews, 
and  was  much  to  their  glory  and  honour, 
from  Ptolemy  Philadelphus. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Kings  of  Asia  honour  the  Jews. 

The  Jews  also  obtained  honours  from 
the  kings  of  Asia  when  they  became  their 
auxiliaries;  for  Seleucus  Nicator  made 
them  citizens  in  those  cities  which  he 
built  in  Asia,  and  in  the  Lower  Syria,  and 
in  the  metropolis  itself,  Antioch ;  and 
gave  them  privileges  equal  to  those  of  the 
Macedonians  and  Greeks,  who  were  the 
inhabitants,  insomuch  that  these  privileges 
continue  to  this  very  day;  an  argument  for 
which  you  have  in  this,. that  whereas  the 
Jews  do  not  make  use  of  oil  prepared  by 
foreigners,  they  receive  a  certain  sum  of 
money  from  the  proper  officers  belonging 
to  their  exercises  as  the  value  of  that  oil ; 


which  money,  when  the  people  of  Anti- 
och would  have  deprived  them  of,  in  the 
last  war,  Mucianus,  who  was  then  pre- 
sident of  Syria,  preserved  it  to  them. 
And  when  the  people  of  Alexandria  and 
Antioch  did  after  that,  at  the  time  that 
Vespasian  and  Titus  his  son  governed 
the  habitable  earth,  pray  that  these  pri- 
vileges of  citizens  might  be  taken  away, 
they  did  not  obtain  their  request.  In 
which  behaviour  any  one  may  discern  the 
equity  and  generosity  of  the  Romans, 
especially  of  Vespasian  and  Titus,  who, 
although  they  had  been  at  a  great  deal  of 
pains  in  the  war  against  the  Jews,  and 
were  exasperated  against  them,  because 
they  did  not  deliver  up  their  weapons  to 
them,  but  continued  the  war  to  the  very 
last,  yet  did  not  they  take  away  any  of 
the  forementioned  privileges  belonging  to 
them  as  citizens,  but  restrained  their  an- 
ger, and  overcame  the  prayers  of  the  Alex- 
andrians and  Antiochians,  who  were  a 
very  powerful  people,  insomuch  that  they 
did  not  yield  to  them,  neither  out  of  their 
favour  to  these  people,  nor  out  of  thei: 
old  grudge  at  those  whose  wicked  opposi- 
tion they  had  subdued  in  the  war;  nor 
would  they  altar  any  of  the  ancient  fa- 
vours granted  to  the  Jews,  but  said,  that 
those  who  had  borne  arms  against  them, 
and  fought  them,  had  suffered  punish- 
ment already,  and  that  it  was  not  just 
to  deprive  those  that  had  not  offended  of 
the  privileges  they  enjoyed. 

We  also  know  that  Marcus  Agrippa 
was  of  the  like  disposition  toward  the 
Jews:  for  when  the  people  of  Ionia  were 
very  angry  at  them,  and  besought  Agrip- 
pa that  they,  and  they  only,  might  have 
those  privileges  of  citizens,  which  Anti 
ochus,  the  grandson  of  Seleucus,  (who  by 
the  Greeks  was  called  "  the  god,")  had 
bestowed  on  them  ;  and  desired  that,  if 
the  Jews  were  to  be  joint  partakers  with 
them,  they  might  be  obliged  to  worship 
the  gods  they  themselves  worshipped :  but 
when  these  matters  were  brought  to  trial, 
the  Jews  prevailed,  and  obtained  leave  tc 
make  use  of  their-  own  customs,  and  this 
under  the  patronage  of  Nicolaus  of  Da- 
mascus ;  for  Agrippa  gave  sentence  that 
he  could  not  innovate.  And  if  any  one 
hath  a  mind  to  know  this  matter  accurate- 
ly, let  him  peruse  the  123d  and  124th 
books  of  the  history  of  this  Nicolaus. 
Now  as  to  this  determination  of  Agrippa, 
it  is  not  so  much  to  be  admired ;  for  at 
that  time  our  nation  had  not  made  wa* 


CHAP.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


361 


against  the  Romans.  But  one  may  well 
oe  astonished  at  the  generosity  of  Vespa- 
sian and  Titus,  that  after  so  many  great 
wars  and  contests  which  they  had  from 
us,  they  should  use  such  moderation. 
But  I  will  now  return  to  that  part  of  my 
history  whence  I  made  the  present  di- 
gression. 

Now  it  happened  that  in  the  reign  of 
Antiochus  the  Great,  who  ruled  over  all 
Asia,  that  the  Jews,  as  well  as  the  inha- 
bitants of  Celesyria,  suffered  greatly,  and 
their  land  was  sorely  harassed  ;  for  while 
he  was  at  war  with  Ptolemy  Philopater, 
and  with  his  son,  who  was  called  Epi- 
phanes,  it  fell  out  that  these  nations  were 
equally  sufferers,  both  when  he  was  beat- 
en and  when  he  beat  the  others  :  so  that 
they  were  very  like  to  a  ship  in  a  storm, 
which  is  tossed  by  the  waves  on  both 
sides  :  and  just  thus  were  they  in  their 
situation  in  the  middle  between  Anti- 
ochus's  prosperity  and  its  change  to  ad- 
versity. But  at  length,  when  Antiochus 
had  beaten  Ptolemy,  he  seized  upon  Ju- 
dea :  and  when  Philopater  was  dead,  his 
son  sent  out  a  great  army  under  Scopas, 
the  general  of  his  forces,  against  the  in- 
habitants of  Celesyria,  who  took  many 
of  their  cities,  and  in  particular  our  na- 
tion ;  which,  when  he  fell  upon  them, 
went  over  to  him.  Yet  was  it  not  long 
afterward  when  Antiochus  overcame  Sco- 
pas, in  a  battle  fought  at  the  fountains  of 
Jordan,  and  destroyed  a  great  part  of  his 
army.  But  afterward,  when  Antiochus 
subdued  those  cities  of  Celesyria  which 
Scopas  had  gotten  into  his  possession,  and 
Samaria  with  them,  the  Jews,  of  their 
own  accord,  went  over  to  him,  and  re- 
ceived him  into  the  city  [Jerusalem],  and 
gave  plentiful  provision  to  all  his  army,  and 
to  his  elephants,  and  readily  assisted  him 
when  he  besieged  the  garrison  which  was 
in  the  citadel  in  Jerusalem.  Wherefore, 
Antiochus  thought  it  but  just  to  requite 
the  Jews'  diligence  and  zeal  in  his  ser- 
vice :  so  he  wrote  to  the  generals  of  his 
urmies,  and  to  his  friends,  and  gave  testi- 
mony to  the  good  behaviour  of  the  Jews 
toward  him,  and  informed  them  what  re- 
wards he  had  resolved  to  bestow  on  them 
for  that  their  behaviour.  I  will  set  down 
presently  the  epistles  themselves  which 
he  wrote  to  the  generals  concerning  them, 
but  will  first  produce  the  testimony  of 
Polybius  of  Megalopolis ;  for  thus  does 
he  speak,  in  the  sixteenth  book  of  his 
history — "Now  Scopas,  the  general   of 


Ptolemy's  army,  went  in  haste  to  the  su< 
perior  parts  of  the  country,  and  in  the 
winter  time  overthrew  the  nation  of  the 
Jews."  He  also  saith,  in  the  same  book, 
that  "  when  Scopas  was  conquered  by  An- 
tiochus, Antiochus  received  Batanea  and 
Samaria,  and  Abila  and  G-adara;  and 
that,  a  while  afterward,  there  came  in  to 
him  those  Jews  that  inhabited  near  that 
temple  which  was  called  Jerusalem  ;  con- 
cerning which,  although  I  have  more  to 
say,  and  particularly  concerning  the  pre- 
sence of  God  about  that  temple,  yet  do  I 
put  off  that  history  until  another  opportu- 
nity." This  it  is  which  Polybius  relates; 
but  we  will  return  to  the  series  of  the 
history,  when  we  have  first  produced  the 
epistles  of  King  Antiochus. 

"  King  Antiochus  to  Ptolemy,  sendeth 
greeting  : — Since  the  Jews,  upon  our  first 
entrance  on  their  country,  demonstrated 
their  friendship  toward  us ;  and  when  we 
came  to  their  city  [Jerusalem],  received 
us  in  a  splendid  manner,  and  came  to 
meet  us  with  their  senate,  and  gave  abun- 
dance of  provision  to  our  soldiers,  and  to 
the  elephants,  and  joined  with  us  in  eject- 
ing the  garrison  of  the  Egyptians  that 
were  in  the  citadel,  we  have  thought  fit 
to  reward  them,  and  to  retrieve  the  con- 
dition of  their  city,  which  hath  been 
greatly  depopulated  by  such  accidents  as 
have  befallen  its  inhabitants,  and  to  bring 
those  that  have  been  scattered  abroad 
back  to  the  city  ;  and,  in  the  first  place,  we 
have  determined,  on  account  of  their 
piety  toward  God,  to  bestow  on  them,  as 
a  pension,  for  their  sacrifices  of  animals 
that  are  fit  for  sacrifice,  for  wine  and  oil, 
and  frankincense,  the  value  of  20,000 
pieces  of  silver,  and  [six]  sacred  artabrae 
of  fine  flour,  with  1460  mendimni  of 
wheat,  and  375  mendimni  of  salt;  and 
these  payments  I  would  have  fully  paid 
them,  as  I  have  sent  orders  to  you.  I 
would  also  have  the  work  about  the  tem- 
ple finished,  and  the  cloisters,  and  if  there 
be  any  thing  else  that  ought  to  be  re- 
built; and  for  the  materials  of  wood,  let 
it  be  brought  them  out  of  Judea  itself, 
and  out  of  the  other  countries,  and  out 
of  Libanus,  tax  free ;  and  the  same  I 
would  have  observed  as  to  those  other 
materials  which  will  be  necessary,  in  or- 
der to  render  the  temple  more  glorious; 
and  let  all  of  that  nation  live  according 
to  the  laws  of  their  own  country;  and  let 
the  senate  and  the  priests,  and  the  scribes 
of  the  temple,  and  the  sacred  singers,  be 


862 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII. 


discharged  from  poll-money  and  the  crown 
tax,  and  other  taxes  also;  and  that  the 
city  may  the  sooner  recover  its  inhabit- 
ants, I  grant  a  discharge  from  taxes 
for  three  years  to  its  present  inhabitants, 
and  to  such  as  shall  come  to  it,  until 
che  month  Hyperberetus.  We  also  dis- 
charge them  for  the  future  from  a  third 
part  of  their  taxes,  that  the  losses  they 
nave  sustained  may  be  repaired ;  and  all 
those  citizens  that  have  been  carried  away, 
and  have  become  slaves,  we  grant  them 
and  their  children  their  freedom ;  and 
give  order  that  their  substance  be  restored 
to  them." 

And  these  were  the  contents  of  this 
epistle.  He  also  published  a  decree, 
through  all  his  kingdom,  in  honour  of  the 
temple,  which  contained  what  follows : 
"It  shall  be  lawful  for  no  foreigner  to 
come  within  the  limits  of  the  temple 
round  about;  which  thing  is  forbidden 
also  to  the  Jews,  unless  to  those  who,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  custom,  have  purified 
themseves.  Nor  let  any  flesh  of  horses, 
or  of  mules,  or  of  asses  be  brought  into 
the  city,  whether  they  be  wild  or  tame ; 
nor  that  of  leopards,  or  foxes,  or  hares ; 
and,  in  general,  that  of  any  animal  which 
is  forbiddan  for  the  Jews  to  eat.  Nor  let 
their  skins  be  brought  into  it;  nor  let 
any  such  animal  be  bred  up  in  the  city. 
Let  them  only  be  permitted  to  use  the 
sacrifices  derived  from  their  forefathers, 
with  which  they  have  been  obliged  to 
make  acceptable  atonements  to  God.  And 
he  that  transgresseth  any  of  these  orders, 
let  him  pay  to  the  priest  3000  drachmae 
of  silver."  Moreover,  this  Antiochus 
bare  testimony  to  our  piety  and  fidelity, 
in  an  epistle  of  his,  written  when  he  was 
informed  of  a  sedition  in  Phrygia  and 
Lydia,  at  which  time  he  was  in  the  supe- 
rior provinces,  where  he  commanded 
Zeuxis,  the  general  of  his  forces,  and  his 
most  intimate  friend,  to  send  some  of  our 
nation  out  of  Babylon  into  Phrygia.  The 
epistle  was  this  : — 

"  King  Antiochus  to  Zeuxis,  his  father, 
sendeth  greeting.  If  you  are  in  health  it 
is  well.  I  also  am  in  health.  Having 
been  informed  that  a  sedition  hath  arisen 
in  Lydia  and  Phrygia,  I  thought  that 
matter  required  great  care  ;  and  upon  ad- 
vising with  my  friends  what  was  fit  to  be 
done,  it  hath  been  thought  proper  to  re- 
move 2000  families  of  Jews,  with  their 
effects,  out  of  Mesopotamia  and  Babylon, 
onto  the  castles  and  places  that  lie  most 


convenient ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  they 
will  be  well-disposed  guardians  of  our 
possessions,  because  of  their  piety  toward 
God,  and  because  I  know  that  my  prede- 
cessors have  borne  witness  to  them  that 
they  are  faithful,  and  with  alacrity  do 
what  they  are  desired  to  do.  I  will,  there- 
fore, though  it  be  a  laborious  work,  that 
thou  remove  these  Jews  ;  under  a  promise 
that  they  shall  be  permitted  to  use  their 
own  laws ;  and  when  thou  shalt  have 
brought  them  to  the  places  before  men- 
tioned, thou  shalt  give  every  one  of  their 
families  a  place  for  building  their  houses, 
and  a  portion  of  land  for  their  husbandry, 
and  for  the  plantation  of  their  vines;  and 
thou  shalt  discharge  them  from  paying 
taxes  of  the  fruits  of  thfi;  earth  for  ten 
years ;  and  let  them  have  a  proper  quan- 
tity of  wheat  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
servants,  until  they  receive  bread-corn  out 
of  the  earth ;  also  let  a  sufficient  share  be 
given  to  such  as  minister  to  them  in  the 
necessaries  of  life,  that  by  enjoying  the 
effects  of  our  humanity,  they  may  show 
themselves  the  more  willing  and  read}' 
about  our  affairs.  Take  care  likewise  of 
that  nation,  as  far  as  thou  art  able,  that 
they  may  not  have  any  disturbance  given 
them  by  any  one."  Now  these  testimo- 
nials, which  I  Jiave  produced,  are  sufficient 
to  declare  the  friendship  that  Antiochus 
the  Great  bore  to  the  Jews. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Antiochus  makes  a  league  with  Ptolemy. 

After  this  Antiochus  made  a  friend- 
ship and  a  league  with  Ptolemy,  and 
gave  him  his  daughter  Cleopatra  to  wife, 
and  yielded  up  to  him  Celesyria,  and 
Samaria,  and  Judea,  and  Phoenicia,  by 
way  of  dowry;  and,  upon  the  division  of 
the  taxes  between  the  two  kings,  all  the 
principal  men  farmed  the  taxes  of  their 
several  countries,  and  collecting  the  sum 
that  was  settled  for  them,  paid  the  same 
to  the  [two]  kings.  Now  at  this  time 
the  Samaritans  were  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition, and  much  distressed  the  Jews, 
cutting  off  parts  of  their  land,  and 
carrying  off  slaves.  This  happened  when 
Onias  was  high  priest ;  for  after  Eleazar's 
death,  his  uncle  Manasseh  took  the 
priesthood,  and  after  he  had  ended  his 
life,  Onias  received  that  dignity.  He 
was  the  son  of  Simon,  who  was  called 
"The    Just;"     which    Simon    was    the 


O'ilAP     IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


363 


brother  of  Eleazar,  as  I  said  before. 
This  Onias  was  one  of  a  little  soul,  and 
a  great  lover  of  money;  and  for  that 
reason,  because  he  did  not  pay  that  tax 
of  twenty  talents  of  silver,  which  his 
forefathers  paid  to  these  kings,  out  of 
their  own  estates,  he  provoked  King 
Ptolemy  Euergetes  to  anger,  who  was 
the  father  of  Philopater.  Euergetes  sent 
an  ambassador  to  Jerusalem,  and  com- 
plained that  Onias  did  not  pay  his  taxes, 
and  threatened,  that  if  he  did  not  receive 
them,  he  would  seize  upon  their  land, 
and  send  soldiers  to  live  upon  it.  When 
the  Jews  heard  this  message  of  the  king, 
they  were  confounded ;  but  so  sordidly 
covetous  was  Onias,  that  nothing  of  this 
nature  made  him  ashamed. 

There  was  now  one  Joseph,  young  in 
age,  but  of  great  reputation  among  the 
people  of  Jerusalem,  for  gravity,  prudence, 
and  justice.  His  father's  name  was 
Tobias;  and  his  mother  was  the  sister  of 
Onias,  the  high  priest,  who  informed  him 
of  the  coming  of  the  ambassador;  for  he 
was  then  sojourning  at  a  village  named 
Phicol,  where  he  was  born.  Hereupon 
he  came  to  the  city  [Jerusalem],  and  re- 
proved Onias  for  not  taking  care  of  the 
preservation  of  his  countrymen,  but  bring- 
ing the  nation  into  dangers,  by  not  paying 
this  money.  For  which  preservation  of 
them,  he  told  him,  he  had  received  the 
authority  over  them,  and  had  been  made 
high  priest;  but  that,  in  case  he  was  so 
great  a  lover  of  money,  as  to  endure  to 
see  his  country  in  danger  ou  that  ac- 
count, and  his  countrymen  suffer  the 
greatest  damages,  he  advised  him  to  go 
to  the  king,  and  petition  him  to  remit 
either  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  sum  de- 
manded. Onias's  answer  was  this :  that 
he  did  not  care  for  his  authority,  and  that 
he  was  ready,  if  the  thing  were  practi- 
cable, to  lay  down  his  high-priesthood ; 
and  that  he  would  not  go  to  the  king, 
because  he  troubled  not  himself  at  all 
about  such  matters.  Joseph  then  asked 
him  if  he  would  not  give  him  leave  to  go 
ambassador  on  behalf  of  the  nation  ;  he 
replied,  that  he  would  give  him  leave. 
Upon  which  Joseph  went  up  into  the 
temple,  and  called  the  multitude  toge- 
ther to  a  congregation,  and  exhorted 
them  not  to  be  disturbed  nor  affrighted 
because  of  his  uncle  Onias's  carelessness, 
but  desired  them  to  be  at  rest,  and  not 
terrify  themselves  with  fear  about  it;  for 
he  promised  them  that  he  would  be  their 


ambassador  to  the  king,  and  persuade 
him  that  they  had  done  him  no  wrong; 
and  when  the  multitude  heard  this,  they 
returned  thanks  to  Joseph.  So  he  went 
down  from  the  temple,  and  treated  Ptole- 
my's ambassador  in  an  hospitable  manner. 
He  also  presented  him  with  rich  gifts,  and 
feasted  him  magnificently  for  many  days, 
and  then  sent  him  to  the  king  before  him, 
and  told  him  that  he  would  soon  follow 
him ;  for  he  was  now  more  willing  to  go 
to  the  king,  by  the  encouragement  of  the 
ambassador,  who  earnestly  persuaded  him 
to  come  into  Egypt,  and  promised  him 
that  he  would  take  care  that  he  should 
obtain  every  thing  that  he  desired  of 
Ptolemy;  for  he  was  highly  pleased  with 
his  frank  and  liberal  temper,  and  with 
the  gravity  of  his  deportment. 

When  Ptolemy's  ambassador  had  come 
into  Egypt,  he  told  the  king  of  the 
thoughtless  temper  of  Onias;  and  in- 
formed him  of  the  goodness  of  the  dis- 
position of  Joseph ;  and  that  he  was 
coining  to  him,  to  excuse  the  multitude, 
as  not  having  done  him  any  harm,  for 
that  he  was  their  patron.  In  short,  he 
was  so  very  large  in  his  encomiums  upon 
the  young  man,  that  he  disposed  both 
the  king  and  his  wife  Cleopatra  to  have  a 
kindness  for  him  before  he  came.  So 
Joseph  sent  to  his  friends  at  Samaria, 
and  borrowed  money  of  them ;  and  got 
ready  what  was  necessary  for  his  journey, 
garments  and  cups,  and  beasts  for  burden, 
which  amounted  to  about  20,000  drachmae, 
and  went  to  Alexandria.  Now  it  happened 
that  at  this  time  all  the  principal  men 
and  rulers  wTent  up  out  of  the  cities  of 
Syria  and  Phoenicia,  to  bid  for  their 
taxes  ;  for  every  year  the  king  sold  them 
to  the  men  of  the  greatest  power  in  every 
city.  So  these  men  saw  Joseph  journey- 
ing on  the  way,  and  laughed  at  him  for 
his  poverty  and  meanness;  but  when  he 
came  to  Alexandria,  and  heard  that  King 
Ptolemy  was  at  Memphis,  he  went  up 
thither  to  meet  with  him ;  which  hap- 
pened as  the  king  was  sitting  in  his  cha- 
riot, with  his  wife,  and  with  his  friend 
Athenion,  who  was  the  very  person  who 
had  been  ambassador  at  Jerusalem,  and 
had  been  entertained  by  Joseph.  Aa 
soon,  therefore,  as  Athenion  saw  him,  he 
presently  made  him  known  to  the  king, 
how  good  and  generous  a  young  man  he 
was.  So  Ptolemy  saluted  him  first,  and 
desired  him  to  come  up  into  his  chariot; 
and    as   Joseph    sat   there,  he   began   to 


364 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII. 


complain  of  the  management  of  Onias : 
to  which  he  answered,  "  Forgive  him  on 
account  of  his  age ;  for  thou  canst  not 
certainly  be  unacquainted  with  this,  that 
old  men  and  infants  have  their  minds 
exactly  alike;  but  thou  shalt  have  from 
us,  who  are  young  men,  every  thing  thou 
desirest,  and  shalt  have  no  cause  to  com- 
plain. "  With  this  good-humour  and 
pleasantry  of  the  young  man,  the  king 
was  so  delighted,  that  he  began  already, 
as  though  he  had  had  long  experience 
of  him,  to  have  a  still  greater  affection 
for  him,  insomuch  that  he  bade  him  take 
his  diet  in  the  king's  palace,  and  be  a 
guest  at  his  own  table  every  day ;  but 
when  the  king  had  come  to  Alexandria, 
the  principal  men  of  Syria  saw  him  sitting 
with  tho  king,  and  were  much. offended 
at  it. 

And  when  the  day  came  on  which  the 
king  was  to  let  the  taxes  of  the  cities  to 
farm,  and  those  that  were  the  principal 
men  of  dignity  in  their  several  countries 
were  to  bid  for  them,  the  sum  of  the 
taxes  together,  of  Celesyria  and  Phoenicia, 
and  Judea,  with  Samaria,  [as  they  were 
bidden  for,]  came  to  8000  talents.  Here- 
upon Joseph  accused  the  bidders,  as  hav- 
ing agreed  together  to  estimate  the  value 
of  the  taxes  at  too  low  a  rate;  and  he 
promised  that  he  would  himself  give 
twice  as  much  for  them  ;  but  for  those 
who  did  not  pay,  he  would  send  the  king 
home  their  whole  substance ;  for  this  pri- 
vilege was  sold  together  with  the  taxes 
themselves.  The  king  was  pleased  to 
hear  that  offer ;  and,  because  it  aug- 
mented his  revenues,  he  said  he  would 
3onfirm  the  sale  of  the  taxes  to  him ;  but 
when  he  asked  him  this  question,  whether 
he  had  any  sureties  that  would  be  bound 
for  the  payment  of  the  money;  he  an- 
swered very  pleasantly,  "I  will  give  such 
security,  and  those  of  persons  good  and 
responsible,  and  which  you  shall  have  no 
reason  to  distrust;"  and  when  he  bade 
him  name  them,  who  they  were,  he  re- 
plied, "  I  give  thee  no  other  persons,  G 
king,  for  my  sureties,  than  thyself,  and 
this  thy  wife ;  and  you  shall  be  security 
for  both  parties."  So  Ptolemy  laughed 
ut  the  proposal,  and  granted  him  the 
farming  of  the  taxes  without  any  sureties. 
This  procedure  was  a  sore  grief  to  those 
that  came  from  the  cities  into  Egypt, 
who  were  utterly  disappointed;  and  they 
returned  every  one  to  their  own  country 
with  shame. 


But  Joseph  took  with  him  2000  foot- 
soldiers  from  the  king,  for  he  desired  he 
might  have  some  assistance,  in  order  to 
force  such  as  were  refractory  in  the  citiep 
to  pay.  And  borrowing  of  the  king  a 
friends  at  Alexandria  500  talents,  he 
made  haste  back  into  Syria.  And  when 
he  was  at  Askelon,  and  demanded  the 
taxes  of  the  people  of  Askelon,  they  re- 
fused to  pay  any  thing,  and  affronted  him 
also :  upon  which  he  seized  upon  about 
twenty  of  the  principal  men,  and  slew 
them,  and  gathered  what  they  had  toge- 
ther, and  sent  it  all  to  the  king; 
and  informed  him  what  he  had  done. 
Ptolemy  admired  the  prudent  conduct  of 
the  man,  and  commended  him  for  what 
he  had  done ;  and  gave  him  leave  to  do 
as  he  pleased.  When  the  Syrians  heard 
of  this,  they  were  astonished;  and  hav- 
ing before  them  a  sad  example  in  the 
men  of  Askelon  that  were  slain,  they 
opened  their  gates,  and  willingly  ad- 
mitted Joseph,  and  paid  their  taxes. 
And  when  the  inhabitants  of  Scythopolis 
attempted  to  affront  him,  and  would  not 
pay  him  those  taxes  which  they  formerly 
used  to  pay,  without  disputing  about 
them,  he  slew  also  the  principal  men  of 
that  city,  and  sent  their  effects  to  the 
king.  By  this  means  he  gathered  great 
wealth  together,  and  made  vast  gains  by 
this  farming  of  the  taxes;  and  he  made 
use  of  what  estate  he  had  thus  gotten,  in 
order  to  support  his  authority,  as  thinking 
it  a  piece  of  prudence  to  keep  what  had 
been  the  occasion  and  foundation  of  his 
present  good  fortune ;  and  this  he  did  by 
the  assistance  of  what  he  was  already 
possessed  of,  for  he  privately  sent  many 
presents  to  the  king,  and  to  Cleopatra, 
and  to  their  friends,  and  to  all  that  were 
powerful  about  the  court,  and  thereby 
purchased  their  good-will  to  himself. 

This  good  fortune  he  enjoyed  for 
twenty-two  years,  and  had  become  the 
father  of  seven  sons  by  one  wife ;  he  had 
also  another  son,  whose  name  was  Hyr- 
canus,  by  his  brother  Solymius's  daughter, 
whom  he  married:  on  the  following  occa 
sion  : — He  once  came  to  Alexandria  with 
his  brother,  who  had  along  with  him  a 
daughter  already  marriageable,  in  order 
to  give  her  in  wedlock  to  some  of  the 
Jews  of  chief  dignity  there.  He  then 
supped  with  the  king,  and  falling  in  love 
with  an  actress  that  was  of  great  beauty, 
and  came  into  the  room  where  they 
feasted,  he  told  his  brother  of  it,  and  en- 


CdAP.  rv.i 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


365 


treated  him,  because  a  Jew  is  forbidden 
by  their  law  to  come  near  to  a  foreigner, 
to  conceal  his  offence,  and  to  be  kind  and 
subservient  to  him,  and  to  give  him  an 
opportunity  of  fulfilling  his  desires.  Upon 
which  his  brother  willingly  entertained 
the  proposal  of  serving  him,  and  adorned 
his  own  daughter,  and  brought  her  to 
him  by  night,  and  put  her  into  his  bed. 
And  Joseph  being  disordered  with  drink, 
knew  not  who  she  was,  and  so  lay  with 
his  brother's  daughter;  and  this  did  he 
many  times,  and  loved  her  exceedingly; 
and  said  to  his  brother,  that  he  loved  this 
actress  so  well,  that  he  should  run  the 
hazard  of  his  life  [if  he  mw;t  part  with 
her],  and  yet  probably  the  king  would 
not  give  him  leave  [to  take  her  with 
him].  But  his  brother  bade  him  be  of 
no  concern  about  that  matter,  and  told 
him  he  might  enjoy  her  whom  he  loved 
without  any  danger,  and  might  have  her 
for  his  wife ;  and  opened  the  truth  of  the 
matter  to  him,  and  assured  him  that  he 
chose  rather  to  have  his  own  daughter 
abused,  than  to  overlook  him,  and  see 
him  come  to  [public]  disgrace.  So  Joseph 
commended  him  for  this  his  brotherly  love, 
and  married  his  daughter,  and  by  her  begat 
a  son  whose  name  was  Hyrcanus,  as  we 
3aid  before.  And  when  this  his  youngest 
son  showed,  at  thirteen  years  old,  a  mind 
that  was  both  courageous  and  wise,  and 
was  greatly  envied  by  his  brethren,  as 
being  of  a  genius  much  above  them,  and 
such  an  one  as  they  might  well  envy, 
Joseph  had  once  a  mind  to  know  which 
of  his  sons  had  the  best  disposition  to 
virtue ;  and  when  he  sent  them  severally 
to  those  that  had  then  the  best  reputation 
for  instructing  youth,  the  rest  of  his  chil- 
dren, by  reason  of  their  sloth,  and  un- 
willingness to  take  pains,  returned  to  him 
foolish  and  unlearned.  After  them  he 
sent  out  the  youngest,  Hyrcanus,  and 
gave  him  300  yoke  of  oxen,  and  bid  him 
go  two  days'  journey  into  the  wilderness, 
and  sow  the  land  there,  and  yet  kept  back 
privately  the  yokes  of  the  oxen  that 
coupled  them  together.  When  Hyrcanus 
came  to  the  place,  and  found  he  had  no 
yokes  with  him,  he  contemned  the  drivers 
of  the  oxen,  who  advised  him  to  send  some 
to  his  father,  to  bring  them  some  yokes; 
but  he  thinking  that  he  ought  not  to  lose 
his  time  while  they  should  be  sent  to 
bring  him  the  yokes,  he  invented  a  kind 
of  stratagem,  and  what  suited  an  age 
elder  than  his  own  ;  for  he  slew  ten  yoke 


of  the  oxen,  and  distributed  their  flesh 
among  the  labourers,  and  cut  their  hides 
into  several  pieces,  and  made  him  yokes, 
and  yoked  the  oxen  together  with  them ; 
by  which  means  he  sowed  as  much  land 
as  his  father  had  appointed  him  to  sow, 
and  returned  to  him.  And  when  he  was 
come  back,  his  father  was  mightily 
pleased  with  his  sagacity,  and  commended 
the  sharpness  of  his  understanding,  and 
his  boldness  in  what  he  did.  And  he 
still  loved  him  the  more,  as  if  he  were  his 
only  genuine  son,  while  his  brethren 
were  much  troubled  at  it. 

But  when  one  told  him  that  Ptolemy 
had  a  son  just  born,  and  that  all  the  prin- 
cipal men  of  Syria,  and  the  other  coun- 
tries subject  to  him,  were  to  keep  a  festival 
on  account  of  the  child's  birthday,  and 
went  away  in  haste  with  great  retinues  to 
Alexandria,  he  was  himself  indeed  hin- 
dered from  going  by  old  age;  but  he  mado 
trial  of  his  sons,  whether  any  of  them 
would  be  willing  to  go  to  the  king.  And 
when  the  elder  sons  excused  themselves 
from  going,  and  said  they  were  not  cour- 
tiers good  enough  for  such  conversation, 
and  advised  him  to  send  their  brother 
Hyrcanus,  he  gladly  hearkened  to  that 
advice,  and  called  Hyrcanus,  and  asked 
him,  whether  he  would  go  to  the  king; 
and  whether  it  was  agreeable  to  him  to  go 
or  not.  And  upon  his  promise  that  he 
would  go,  and  his  saying  that  he  should 
not  want  much  money  for  his  journey, 
because  he  would  live  moderately,  and 
that  10,000  drachmae  would  be  sufficient, 
he  was  pleased  with  his  son's  prudence 
After  a  little  while,  the  son  advised  his 
father  not  to  send  his  presents  to  the  king 
from  thence,  but  to  give  him  a  letter  to 
his  steward  at  Alexandria,  that  he  might 
furnish  him  with  money,  for  purchasing 
what  should  be  most  excellent  and  most 
precious.  So  he,  thinking  that  the  ex- 
pense of  ten  talents  would  be  enough  for 
presents  to  be  made  to  the  king,  and  com- 
mending his  son,  as  giving  him  good  ad- 
vice, wrote  to  Arion  his  steward,  that 
managed  all  his  money  matters  at  Alex- 
andria; which  money  was  not  less  than 
3000  talents  on  his  account,  for  Joseph 
sent  the  money  he  received  in  Syria  to 
Alexandria.  And  when  the  day  appointed 
for  the  payment  of  the  taxes  to  the  king 
came,  he  wrote  to  Arion  to  pay  them.  So 
when  the  son  had  asked  his  father  for  a 
letter  to  this  steward,  and  had  received  it, 
he  made  haste  to  Alexandria.    And  wher 


366 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII 


he  was  gone,  iis  brethren  wrote  to  all  the 
king's  friends  that  they  should  destroy 
him. 

But  when  he  had  come  to  Alexandria, 
he  delivered  his  letter  to  Arion,  who  asked 
him  how  many  talents  he  would  have, 
(hoping  he  would  ask  for  no  more  than 
ten,  or  a  little  more ;)  he  said,  he  wanted 
1000  talents.  At  which  the  steward  was 
angry,  and  rebuked  him,  as  one  that  in- 
tended to  live  extravagantly;  and  he  let 
him  know  how  his  father  had  gathered 
together  his  estate  by  pains-taking  and 
resisting  his  inclinations,  and  wished  him 
to  imitate  the  example  of  his  father :  he 
assured  him  withal,  that  he  would  give 
him  but  ten  talents,  and  that  for  a  present 
to  the  king  also.  The  son  was  irritated 
at  this,  and  threw  Arion  into  prison.  But 
when  Arion's  wife  had  informed  Cleopatra 
of  this,  with  her  entreaty,  that  she  would 
rebuke  the  child  for  what  he  had  done, 
(for  Arion  was  in  great  esteem  with  her,) 
Cleopatra  informed  the  king  of  it.  And 
Ptolemy  sent  for  Hyrcanus,  and  told  him 
that  he  wondered,  when  he  was  sent  to 
him  by  his  father,  that  he  had  not  yet 
come  into  his  presence,  but  had  laid  the 
steward  in  prison.  And  he  gave  order, 
therefore,  that  he  should  come  to  him,  and 
give  an  account  of  the  reason  of  what  he 
had  done.  And  they  report  that  the  an- 
swer he  made  to  the  king's  messenger  was 
this  : — That  "  there  was  a  law  of  his  ^hat 
forbade  a  child  that  was  born  to  taste  of 
the  sacrifice  before  he  had  been  at  the 
temple  and  sacrificed  to  God.  According 
to  which  way  of  reasoning,  he  did  not 
himself  come  to  him,  in  expectation  of  the 
present  he  was  to  make  him,  as  to  one 
who  had  been  his  father's  benefactor ;  and 
that  he  had  punished  the  slave  for  dis- 
obeying his  commands,  for  that  it  mat- 
tered not  whether  a  master  was  little  or 
great :  so  that  unless  we  punish  such  as 
these,  thou  mayest  also  expect  to  be  de- 
spised by  thy  subjects/'  Upon  hearing 
this  his  answer,  he  fell  laughing,  and  won- 
dered at  the  great  soul  of  the  child. 

When  Arion  was  apprized  that  this  was 
the  king's  disposition,  and  that  he  had  no 
way  to  help  himself,  he  gave  the  child 
1000  talents,  and  was  let  out  of  prison. 
So  after  three  days  were  over,  Hyrcanus 
came  and  saluted  the  king  and  queen. 
They  saw  him  with  pleasure,  and  feasted 
him  in  an  obliging  manner,  out  of  the 
respect  they  bore  to  his  father.  So  he 
came   to    the    merchants   privately,  and 


bought  one  hundred  boys,  that  had  learn- 
ing, and  were  in  the  flower  of  their  ages, 
for  a  talent  each ;  as  also  he  bought  one. 
hundred  maidens,  each  at  the  same  price 
as  the  other.  And  when  he  was  invited 
to  feast  with  the  king  among  the  principal 
men  of  the  country,  he  sat  down  the  low- 
est of  them  all,  because  he  was  little  re- 
garded, as  a  child  in  age  still ;  and  this  by 
those  who  placed  every  one  according  to 
their  dignity.  Now  when  all  those  that 
sat  with  him  had  laid  the  bones  of  the 
several  parts  in  a  heap  before  Hyrcanus, 
(for  they  had  themselves  taken  away  the 
flesh  belonging  to  them,)  till  the  table 
where  he  sat  was  filled  full  with  them, 
Trypho,  who  was  the  king's  jester,  and 
was  appointed  for  jokes  and  laughter  at 
festivals,  was  now  asked  by  the  guests 
that  sat  at  the  table  [to  expose  him  to 
laughter].  So  he  stood  by  the  king,  and 
said,  "Dost  thou  not  see,  my  lord,  the 
bones  that  lie  by  Hyrcanus?  by  this  simi- 
litude thou  mayest  conjecture  that  his  fa- 
ther made  .all  Syria  as  bare  as  he  hath 
made  these  bones."  And  the  king  laugh- 
ing at  what  Trypho  said,  and  asking  of 
Hyrcanus  how  he  came  to  have  so  many 
bones  before  him  ?  he  replied,  "  Very 
rightfully,  my  lord ;  for  they  are  dogs  that 
eat  the  flesh  and  the  bones  together,  as 
these  thy  guests  have  done,  (looking  in 
the  mean  time  at  those  guests,)  for  there 
is  nothing  before  them ;  but  they  are  men 
that  eat  the  flesh  and  cast  away  the  bones, 
as  I,  who  am  also  a  man,  have  now  done.' 
Upon  which  the  king  admired  at  his  an 
swer,  which  was  so  wisely  made )  and 
bade  them  all  make  an  acclamation,  as  a 
mark  of  their  approbation  of  his  jest, 
which  was  truly  a  facetious  one.  On  the 
next  day  Hyrcanus  went  to  every  one  of 
the  king's  friends,  and  of  the  men  power- 
ful at  court,  and  saluted  them ;  but  still 
inquired  of  the  servants  what  present 
they  would  make  the  king  on  his  son's 
birthday;  and  when  some  said  that  they 
would  give  twelve  talents,  and  that  others 
of  greater  dignity  would  every  one  give 
according  to  the  quantity  of  their  riches, 
he  pretended  to  every  one  of  them  to  be 
grieved  that  he  was  not  able  to  bring  so 
large  a  present ;  for  that  he  had  no  more 
then  five  talents.  And  when  the  servants 
heard  what  he  said,  they  told  their  mas- 
ters ;  and  they  rejoiced  in  the  prospect 
that  Joseph  would  be  disapproved,  and 
would  make  the  king  angry,  by  the 
smallness  of  his  present.     When  the  day 


Chap.  IV.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


367 


came,  the  others,- even  those  that  brought 
the  most,  offered  the  king  not  above  twenty 
talents ;  but  Hyrcanus  gave  to  every  one 
of  the  hundred  boys  and  hundred  maid- 
ens that  be  had  bought,  a  talent  each,  for 
them  to  carry,  and  introduced  them,  the 
boys  to  the  king,  and  the  maidens  to 
Cleopatra:  everybody  wondering  at  the 
unexpected  richness  of  the  presents,  even 
the  king  and  queen  themselves.  He  also 
presented  those  that  attended  about  the 
king  with  gifts  to  the  value  of  a  great 
number  of  talents,  that  he  might  escape 
the  danger  he  was  in  from  them ;  for  to 
these  it  was  that  Hyrcanus' s  brethren  had 
written  to  destroy  him.  Now  Ptolemy 
admired  at  the  young  man's  magnanimity, 
and  commanded  him  to  ask  what  gift  he 
pleased.  But  he  desired  nothing  else  to 
be  done  for  him  by  the  king  than  to  write 
to  his  father  and  brethren  about  him.  So 
when  the  king  had  paid  bim  very  great 
respects,  and  had  given  him  very  large 
gifts,  and  had  written  to  his  father  and 
his  brethren,  and  all  his  commanders  and 
officers,  about  him,  he  sent  him  away. 
But  when  his  brethren  heard  that  Hyrca- 
nus had  received  such  favours  from  the 
king,  and  was  returning  home  with  great 
honour,  they  went  out  to  meet  him,  and 
to  destroy  him,  and  that  with  the  privity 
of  their  father:  for  he  was  angry  at  him 
for  the  [large]  sum  of  money  that  he  be- 
stowed tor  presents,  and  so  had  no  concern 
for  his  preservation.  However,  Joseph 
concealed  the  anger  he  had  at  his  son,  out 
of  fear  of  the  king.  And  when  Hyrca- 
nus's  brethren  came  to  fight  him,  he  slew 
many  others  of  those  that  were  with  them, 
as  also  two  of  his  brethren  themselves ; 
but  the  rest  of  them  escaped  to  Jerusalem 
to  their  father.  But  when  Hyrcanus  came 
to  the  city,  where  nobody  would  receive 
him,  he  was  afraid  for  himself,  and  retired 
beyond  the  river  Jordan,  and  abode  there; 
but  obliging  the  Barbarians  to  pay  their 
taxes. 

At  this  time  Seleucus,  who  was  called 
Soter,  reigned  over  Asia,  being  the  son  of 
Antiochus  the  Great.  And  [now]  Hyr- 
canus's  father,  Joseph,  died.  He  was  a 
good  man,  and  of  great  magnanimity;  and 
brought  the  Jews  out  of  a  state  of  poverty 
and  meanness,  to  one  that  was  more  splen- 
did. He  retained  the  farm  of  the  taxes 
of  Syria,  and  Phoenicia,  and  Samaria, 
twenty-two  years.  His  uncle  also,  Onias, 
died  [about  this  time],  and  left  the  high- 
priesthood  to  his  son  Simon.     And  when 


he  was  dead,  Onias  his  son  succeeded  him 
in  that  dignity.  To  him  it  was  that  Areus, 
king  of  the  Lacedemonians,  sent  an  em- 
bassage, with  an  epistle,  the  copy  whereof 
here  follows  : — 

"  Areus,  the  king  of  the  Lacedemo- 
nians, to  Onias,  sendeth  greeting.  We 
have  met  with  a  certain  writing,  whereby 
we  have  discovered  that  both  the  Jews 
and  the  Lacedemonians  are  of  me  stock, 
and  are  derived  from  the  kindred  of  Abra- 
ham. It  is  but  just,  therefore,  that  you, 
who  are  our  brethren,  should  send  to  us 
about  any  of  your  concerns  as  you  please. 
We  will  also  do  the  same  thing,  and  es- 
teem your  concerns  as  our  own,  and  will 
look  upon  our  concerns  as  in  common 
with  yours.  Demotoles,  who  brings  you 
this  letter,  will  bring  your  answer  back  to 
us.  This  letter  is  four-square ;  and  the 
seal  is  an  eagle,  with  a  dragon  in  his 
claws." 

And  these  were  the  contents  of  the 
epistle  which  was  sent  from  the  king  of 
the  Lacedemonians.  But  upon  the  death 
of  Joseph,  the  people  grew  seditious,  on 
account  of  his  sons;  for  whereas  the  elder 
sons  made  war  against  Hyrcanus,  who  was 
the  youngest  of  Joseph's  sons,  the  multi- 
tude was  divided,  but  the  greater  part 
joined  with  the  elders  in  this  war;  as  did 
Simon  the  high  priest,  by  reason  he  was 
of  kin  to  them.  However,  Hyrcanus  de- 
termined not  to  return  to  Jerusalem  any 
more,  but  seated  himself  beyond  Jordan, 
and  was  at  perpetual  war  with  the  Ara- 
bians, and  slew  many  of  them,  and  took 
many  of  them  captives.  He  also  drew 
round  it  a  great  and  deep  canal  of  water. 
He  also  made  caves  of  many  furlongs  in 
length,  by  hollowing  a  rock  that  was  over 
against  him;  and  then  he  made  large 
rooms  in  it,  some  for  feasting,  and  some 
for  sleeping  and  living  in.  He  introduced 
also  a  vast  quantity  of  waters  which  ran 
along  it,  and  which  were  very  delightful 
and  ornamental  in  the  court.  But  still 
he  made  the  entrances  at  the  mouth  of 
the  cave  so  narrow,  that  no  more  than  one 
person  could  enter  by  them  at  once.  And 
the  reason  why  he  built  them  after  that 
manner  was  a  good  one ;  it  was  for  his 
own  preservation,  lest  he  should  be  be- 
siegjd  by  his  brethren,  and  run  the  hazard 
of  being  caught  by  them.  Moreover,  he 
built  courts  of  greater  magnitude  than 
ordinary,  which  he  adorned  with  vastly 
large  gardens.  And  when  he  had  brought 
the  place  to  this  state,  he  named  it   Tyre. 


3G8 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII. 


This  place  is  between  Arabia  and  Judea, 
beyond  Jordan,  not  far  from  the  country 
of  Heshbon.  And  he  ruled  over  those 
parts  for  seven  years,  even  all  the  time 
that  Seleucus  was  king  of  Syria.  But 
when  he  was  dead,  his  brother  Antiochus, 
who  was  called  Epiphanes,  took  the  king- 
dom. Ptolemy  also,  the  king  of  Egypt, 
died,  who  was  besides  called  Epiphanes. 
He  left  two  sons,  and  both  young  in  age ; 
the  elder  of  whom  was  called  Philometer, 
and  the  younger  Physcon.  As  for  Hyr- 
canus,  when  he  saw  that  Antiochus  had  a 
great  army,  and  feared  lest  he  should  be 
caught  by  him,  and  brought  to  punishment 
for  what  he  had  done  to  the  Arabians,  he 
ended  his  life,  and  slew  himself  with  his 
own  hand ;  while  Antiochus  seized  upon 
all  his  substance. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Dissensions  among  the  Jews — Consequences 
thereof.     B.  C.  170-167. 

About  this  time,  upon  the  death  of 
Onias  the  high  priest,  they  gave  the  high- 
priesthood  to  Jesus  his  brother ;  for  that 
son  which  Onias  left  [or  Onias  IV.]  was 
yet  but  an  infant;  and,  in  its  proper 
place,  we  will  inform  the  reader  of  all  the 
circumstances  that  befell  this  child.  But 
this  Jesus,  who  was  the  brother  of  Onias, 
was  deprived  of  the  high-priesthood  by 
the  king,  who  was  angry  with  him,  and 
gave  it  to  his  younger  brother,  whose 
name  also  was  Onias;  for  Simon  had 
these  three  sons,  to  each  of  whom  the 
priesthood  came,  as  we  have  already  in- 
formed the  reader.  This  Jesus  changed 
his  name  to  Jason ;  but  Onias  was  called 
Menelaus.  Now  as  the  former  high 
priest,  Jesus,  raised  a  sedition  against 
Menelaus,  who  was  ordained  after  him, 
the  multitude  were  divided  between  them 
both.  And  the  sons  of  Tobias  took  the 
part  of  Menelaus,  but  the  greater  portion 
of  the  people  assisted  Jason  :  and  by  that 
means  Menelaus  and  the  sons  of  Tobias 
were  distressed,  and  retired  to  Antiochus, 
and  informed  him,  that  they  were  de- 
sirous to  leave  the  laws  of  their  country, 
and  the  Jewish  way  of  living  according 
to  thc;m,  and  to  follow  the  king's  laws, 
and  the  Grecian  way  of  living  :  where- 
fore they  desired  his  permission  to  build 
themselves  a  gymnasium  at  Jerusalem. 
And  when  he  had  given  them  leave,  they 
also  hid  the  circumcision  of  their  genitals, 
that   even   when    they  were    naked   they 


might  appear  to  be  Greeks.  Accordingly 
they  left  off  all  the  customs  that  belonged 
to  their  own  country,  and  imitated  the 
practices  of  the  other  nations. 

Now  Antiochus,  upon  the  agreeable 
situation  of  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom, 
resolved  to  make  an  expedition  against 
Egypt,  both  because  he  had  a  desire  to 
gain  it,  and  because  he  contemned  the 
son  of  Ptolemy  as  now  weak,  and  not  yet 
of  abilities  to  manage  affairs  of  such  con- 
sequence ;  so  he  came  with  great  forces 
to  Pelusium,  and  circumvented  Ptolemy 
Philometer  by  treachery,  and  seized  upon 
Egypt.  He  then  came  to  the  places 
about  Memphis ;  and  when  he  had  taken 
them,  he  made  haste  to  Alexandria,  in 
hopes  of  taking  it  by  siege,  and  of  sub- 
duing Ptolemy,  who  reigned  there.  But 
he  was  driven  not  only  from  Alexandria, 
but  out  of  all  Egypt,  by  the  declaration 
of  the  Romans,  who  charged  him  to  let 
that  country  alone.  Accordingly,  as  I 
have  elsewhere  formerly  declared,  I  will 
now  give  a  particular  account  of  what 
concerns  this  king,  how  he  subdued  Ju- 
dea and  the  temple;  for  in  my  former 
work  I  mentioned  those  things  very 
briefly,  and  have  therefore  now  thought 
it  necessary  to  go  over  that  history  again, 
and  that  with  great  accuracy. 

King    Antiochus,    returning    out    of 
Egypt,*  for  fear  of  the  Romans,  made  an 
expedition  against  the  city  of  Jerusalem  ; 
and  when  he  was  there,  in  the  143d  year 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  Seleucidse,  he  tool 
the  city  without  fighting,  those  of  his  owi 
party  opening   the   gates   to   him.     An( 
when  he  had  gotten  possession  of  Jerusa- 
lem, he  slew  many  of  the  opposite  party 
and  when  he  had  plundered  it  of  a  great 
deal  of  money,  he  returned  to  Antioch. 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  after  two  years, 
in  the  145th  year,  on  the  25th  day  of 
that  month  which  is  by  us  called  Chasleu, 
and  by  the  Macedonians  Appeleus,  in  the 
153d  Olympiad,  that  the  king  came  up 
to  Jerusalem,  and,  pretending  peace,  he 
got  possession  of  the  city  by  treachery : 
at  which  time  he  spared  not  so  much  as 


*  Hereabout  Josephus  begins  to  follow  the  first 
book  of  the  Maccabees,  a  most  excellent  and  au- 
thentic history;  and  accordingly  it  is  here  with 
great  fidelity  and  exactness  abridged  by  him :  be- 
tween whose  present  copies  there  seem  to  be  fewer 
variations  than  in  any  other  sacred  Hebrew  book 
of  the  Old  Testament  whatever,  (for  this  book  also 
was  originally  written  in  Hebrew,)  which  is  very 
natural,  because  it  was  written  so  much  neaier  to 
the  time  of  Josephus  than  the  rest  were 


Chap.  V] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


'M 


those  that  admitted  him  into  it,  on  ac- 
count of  the  riches  that  lay  in  the  temple  : 
but,  led  by  his  covetous  inclination,  (for  he 
saw  there  was  in  it  a  great  deal  of  gold, 
and  many  ornaments  that  had  been  dedi- 
cated to  it  of  very  great  value,)  and  in 
order  to  plunder  its  wealth,  he  ventured 
to  break  the  league  he  had  made.  So  he 
left  the  temple  bare,  and  took  away  the 
golden  candlesticks,  and  the  golden  altar 
[of  incense],  and  table  [of  show-bread], 
and  the  altar  [of  burnt-offerings] ;  and  did 
not  abstain  from  even  the  vails,  which 
were  made  of  fine  linen  and  scarlet.  He 
also  emptied  it  of  its  secret  treasures,  and 
left  nothing  at  all  remaining;  and  by  this 
means  cast  the  Jews  into  great  lamenta- 
tion, for  he  forbade  them  to  offer  those 
daily  sacrifices  which  they  used  to  offer  to 
God,  according  to  the  Law.  And  when 
he  had  pillaged  the  whole  city,  some  of  the 
inhabitants  he  slew,  and  some  he  carried 
captive,  together  with  their  wives  and 
children,  so  that  the  multitude  of  those 
captives  that  were  taken  alive  amounted 
to  about  10,000.  He  also  burnt  down 
the  finest  buildings;  and  when  he  had  over- 
thrown the  city-walls,  he  built  a  citadel  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  city,  for  the  place 
was  high,  and  overlooked  the  temple,  on 
which  account  he  fortified  it  with  high 
walls  and  towers,  and  put  into  it  a  garri- 
son of  Macedonians.  However,  in  that 
citadel  dwelt  the  impious  and  wicked  part 
of  the  [Jewish]  multitude,  from  whom  it 
proved  that  the  citizens  suffered  many  and 
sore  calamities.  And  when  the  king  had 
built  an  idol  altar  upon  God's  altar,  he 
slew  swine  upon  it,  and  so  offered  a  sacri- 
fice, neither  according  to  the  Law,  nor  the 
Jewish  religious  worship  in  that  country. 
He  also  compelled  them  to  forsake  the 
worship  which  they  paid  their  own  God, 
and  to  adore  those  whom  he  took  to  be 
gods;  and  made  them  build  temples,  and 
raise  idol  altars,  in  every  city  and  village, 
and  offer  swine  upon  them  every  day.  He 
also  commanded  them  not  to  circumcise 
their  sons,  and  threatened  to  punish  any 
that  should  be  found  to  transgress  this  in- 
junction. He  also  appointed  overseers, 
who  should  compel  them  to  do  what  he 
commandc-d.  And,  indeed,  many  Jews 
there  were  who  complied  with  the  king's 
commands,  either  voluntarily,  or  out  of 
fear  of  the  penalty  that  was  denounced  : 
but  the  best  men,  and  those  of  the  noblest 
souls,  did  not  regard  him,  but  did  pay  a 
greater  respect  to  the  customs  of  their 
24 


country  than  concern  as  to  the  punishment 
which  he  threatened  to  the  disobedient ; 
on  which  account  they  every  day  under, 
went  great  miseries  and  bitter  torments  j 
for  they  were  whipped  with  rods,  and  their 
bodies  were  torn  to  pieces,  and  were  cruci 
fied  while  they  were  still  alive  and  breathed: 
they  also  strangled  those  women  and  their 
sons  whom  they  had  circumcised,  as  the 
king  had  appointed,  hanging  their  sons 
about  their  necks  as  they  were  upon  the 
crosses.  And  if  there  were  any  sacred 
books  of  the  Law  found,  they  were  de- 
stroyed ;  and  those  with  whom  they  were 
found  miserably  perished  also. 

When  the  Samaritans  saw  the  Jews 
under  these  sufferings,  they  no  longer  con- 
fessed that  they  were  of  their  kindred,  nor 
that  the  temple  on  Mount  Gerizzim  be- 
longed to  Almighty  God.  This  was  ac- 
cording to  their  nature,  as  we  have  already 
shown.  And  they  now  said  that  they 
were  a  colony  of  Medes  and  Persians  • 
and,  indeed,  they  were  a  colony  of  theirs. 
So  they  sent  ambassadors  to  Antiochus, 
and  an  epistle,  whose  contents  were  these  : 
"  To  King  Antiochus,  the  god  Epiphanes, 
a  memorial  from  the  Sidonians,  who  live 
at  Shechem.  Our  forefathers,  upon  cer- 
tain frequent  plagues,  and  as  following  a 
certain  ancient  superstition,  had  a  custom 
of  observing  that  day  which  by  the  Jews 
is  called  the  sabbath.*  And  when  they 
had  erected  a  temple  at  the  mountain  called 
Gerizzim,  though  without  a  name,  they 
offered  upon  it  the  proper  sacrifices.  Now, 
upon  the  just  treatment  of  these  wicked 
Jews,  those  that  manage  their  affairs,  sup- 
posing that  we  were  of  kin  to  them,  and 
practised  as  they  do,  make  us  liable  to 
the  same  accusations,  although  we  were 
originally  Sidonians,  as  is  evident  from 
the  public  records.  We  therefore  beseech 
thee,  our  benefactor  and  saviour,  to  give 
order  to  Apollonius,  the  governor  of  this 
part  of  the  country,  and  to  Nicanor,  the 
procurator  of  thy  affairs,  to  give  us  no  dis- 
turbance, nor  to  lay  to  our  charge  what 
the  Jews  are  accused  for,  since  we  are 
aliens  from  their  nation  and  from  their 
customs ;  but  let  our  temple,  which  at  pre- 
sent hath  no  name  at  all,  be  named  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter  Hellenius.  if  this 
were  once  done,  we  should  be  no  longer 


*  This  allegation  of  the  Samaritans  is  remarka- 
ble, that  though  they  were  not  Jews,  yet  did  they, 
from  ancient  times,  observe  the  Sabbath-day, 
and,  as  they  elsewhere  pretend,  the  sabbatic  year 

also. 


370 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  Xli. 


disturbed,  but  should  be  more  intent  on 
our  own  occupation  with  quietness,  and 
so  bring  in  a  greater  revenue  to  thee." 
When  the  Samaritans  had  petitioned  for 
this,  the  king  sent  them  back  the  following 
answer  in  an  epistle  : — "  King  Antiochus 
to  Nicanor.  The  Sidonians,  who  live  at 
Shechem,  have  sent  me  the  memorial  en- 
closed. When,  therefore,  we  were  advis- 
ing with  our  friends  about  it,  the  messen- 
gers sent  by  them  represented  to  us  that 
they  are  no  way  concerned  with  accusa- 
tions which  belong  to  the  Jews,  but  choose 
to  live  after  the  customs  of  the  Greeks. 
Accordingly,  we  declare  them  free  from 
such  accusations,  and  order  that  agreeably 
to  their  petition  their  temple  be  named 
the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Hellenius."  He 
also  sent  the  like  epistle  to  Apollonius, 
the  governor  of  that  part  of  the  country, 
in  the  46th  year,  and  the  18th  day  of  the 
month  Hecatombeon. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Jews  prohibited  from  following  their  religion 
by  Antiochus.     B.  C.  166. 

Now  at  this  time  there  was  one  whose 
name  was  Mattathias  who  dwelt  at  Modin, 
the  son  of  John,  the  son  of  Simeon,  the 
eon  of  Asmodeus,  a  priest  of  the  order  of 
Joarib,  and  a  citizen  of  Jerusalem.  He 
had  five  sons  :  John,  who  was  called  Gad- 
dis,  and  Simon,  who  was  called  Matthes, 
and  Judas,  who  was  called  Maccabeus, 
and  Eleazar,  who  was  called  Auran,  and 
Jonathan,  who  was  called  Apphus.  Now 
this  Mattathias  lamented  to  his  children 
the  sad  state  of  their  affairs,  and  the  ra- 
vage made  in  the  city,  and  the  plundering 
of  the  temple,  and  the  calamities  the  mul- 
titude were  under ;  and  he  told  them  that 
it  was  better  for  them  to  die  for  the  laws 
of  their  country,  than  to  live  so  inglori- 
ously  as  they  then  did. 

But  when  those  that  were  appointed  by 
the  king  had  come  to  Modin,  that  they 
might  compel  the  Jews  to  do  what  they 
were  commanded,  and  to  enjoin  those 
that  were  there  to  offer  sacrifice,  as  the 
king  had  commanded,  they  desired  that 
Mattathias,  a  person  of  the  greatest  cha- 
racter among  them,both  on  other  accounts, 
and  particularly  on  account  of  such  a 
numerous  and  so  deserving  a  family  of 
children,  would  begin  the  sacrifice,  because 
his  fellow-citizens  would  follow  his  exam- 
ple, and  because  such  a  procedure  would 
make  him  honoured  by  the  king.  But 
Mattathias  said  that  he  would  not  do  it; 


and  that  if  all  the  other  nations  would 
obey  the  commands  of  Antiochus,  either 
out  of  fear,  or  to  please  him,  yet  would 
not  he  nor  his  sons  leave  the  religious 
worship  of  their  country ;  but  as  soon  as 
he  had  ended  his  speech,  there  came  one 
of  the  Jews  into  the  midst  of  them,  and 
sacrificed  as  Antiochus  had  commanded 
At  which  Mattathias  had  great  indigna- 
tion, and  ran  upon  him  violently  with  his 
sons  who  had  swords  with  them,  and  slew 
both  the  man  himself  that  sacrificed,  and 
Apelles,  the  king's  general,  who  compelled 
them  to  sacrifice,  with  a  few  of  his  soldiers 
He  also  overthrew  the  idol  altar,  and  cried 
out,  " If,"  said  he,  "any  one  be  zealous  for 
the  laws  of  his  country,  and  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  let  him  follow  me ;"  and 
when  he  had  said  this,  he  made  haste  into 
the  desert  with  his  sons,  and  left  all  his 
substance  in  the  village.  Many  others 
did  the  same  also,  and  fled  with  thei> 
children  and  wives  into  the  desert,  and 
dwelt  in  caves ;  but  when  the  king's  gene- 
rals heard  this,  they  took  all  the  forces 
they  then  had  in  the  citadel  at  Jerusalem, 
and  pursued  the  Jews  into  the  desert;  and 
when  they  had  overtaken  them,  they  in 
the  first  place  endeavoured  to  persuade 
them  to  repent,  and  to  choose  what  was 
most  for  their  advantage,  and  not  put 
them  to  the  necessity  of  using  them  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  war ;  but  when  they 
would  not  comply  with  their  persuasions, 
but  continued  to  be  of  a  different  mind, 
they  fought  against  them  on  the  Sabbath- 
day,  and  they  burnt  them  as  they  were  in 
the  caves,  without  resistance,  and  without 
so  much  as  stopping  up  the  entrances  of 
the  caves.  And  they  avoided  to  defend 
themselves  on  that  day,  because  they  were 
not  willing  to  break  in  upon  the  honour 
they  owed  the  Sabbath,  even  in  such  dis- 
tresses ;  for  our  law  requires  that  we  rest 
upon  that  day.  There  were  about  1000, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  who  were 
smothered  and  died  in  these  caves;  but 
many  of  those  that  escaped  joined  them- 
selves to  Mattathias,  and  appinted  him  to 
be  their  ruler,  whp  taught  them  to  fighj 
even  on  the  Sabbath-day ;  and  told  them, 
that  unless  they  would  do  so,  they  would 
become  their  own  enemies,  by  observing 
the  Law  [so  rigorously],  while  their  adver- 
saries would  still  assault  them  on  this  dayf 
and  they  would  not  then  defend  them 
selves;  and  that  nothing  could  then  hin 
der  but  they  must  all  perish  without  fight- 
ing.    This  speech    persuaded  them,  and 


Chap.  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


371 


this  rule  continues  among  us  to  this  day, 
that  if  there  be  a  necessity,  we  may  fight 
even  on  Sabbath-days.  So  Mattathias  got 
a  great  army  about  him,  and  overthrew 
their  idol  altars,  and  slew  those  that  broke 
the  laws,  even  all  that  he  could  get  under 
his  power,  for  many  of  them  were  dis- 
persed among  the  nations  round  about 
them  for  fear  of  him.  He  also  command- 
ed that  those  boys  who  were  not  yet  cir- 
cumcised should  be  circumcised  now  ;  and 
he  drove  those  away  that  were  appointed 
to  prevent  such  their  circumcision. 

But  when  he  had  ruled  one  year,  and 
was  fallen  into  a  distemper,  he  called  for 
his  sons  and  bet  them  round  about  him, 
and  said,  "  O  my  sons,  I  am  going  the 
way  of  all  the  earth  ;  and  I  recommend 
to  you  my  resolution,  and  I  beseech  you 
not  to  be  negligent  in  keeping  it,  but  to 
be  mindful  of  the  desires  of  him  who  be- 
gat you  and  brought  you  up,  and  to  pre- 
serve the  customs  of  your  country,  and  to 
recover  your  ancient  form  of  government, 
which  is  in  danger  of  being  overturned, 
and  not  to  be  carried  away  with  those 
that,  either  by  their  own  inclination,  or 
out  of  necessity,  betray  it,  but  to  become 
such  sons  as  are  worthy  of  me  ;  to  be 
above  all  force  and  necessity,  and  so  to 
dispose  your  souls  as  to  be  ready,  when 
it  shall  be  necessary,  to  die  for  your  laws ; 
as  sensible  of  this,  by  just  reasoning,  that 
if  God  sees  that  you  are  so  disposed,  he 
will  not  overlook  you,  but  will  have  a 
great  value  for  your  virtue,  and  will  re- 
store to  you  again  what  you  have  lost, 
and  will  return  to  you  that  freedom  in 
which  you  shall  live  quietly,  and  enjoy 
your  own  customs.  Your  bodies  are  mor- 
tal, and  subject  to  fate  ;  but  they  receive 
a  sort  of  immortality,  by  the  remem- 
brance of  what  actions  they  have  done ; 
and  I  would  have  you  so  in  love  with  this 
immortality,  that  you  may  pursue  after 
glory,  and  that,  when  you  have  undergone 
the  greatest  difficulties,  you  may  not  scru- 
ple, for  such  things,  to  lose  your  lives.  I 
exhort  you,  especially,  to  agree  one  with 
another ;  and  in  what  excellency  any  one 
of  you  exceeds  another,  to  yield  to  him 
bo  far,  and  by  that  means  to  reap  the  ad- 
vantage of  every  one's  own  virtues.  Do 
you  then  esteem  Simon  as  your  father, 
because  he  is  a  man  of  extraordinary  pru- 
dence, and  be  governed  by  him  in  what 
counsels  he  gives  you.  Take  Maccabeus 
for  the  general  of  your  army,  because  of 
his   courage    and    strength,    for   he    will 


avenge  your  nation,  and  will  bring  ven- 
geance on  your  enemies.  Admit  among 
you  the  righteous  and  religious,  and  aug- 
ment their  power." 

AVhen  Mattathias  had  thus  discoursed  to 
his  sons,  and  had  prayed  to  Grod  to  be 
their  assistant,  and  to  recover  to  the  peo- 
ple their  former  constitution,  he  died  a 
little  afterward,  and  was  buried  at  Mod  in; 
all  the  people  making  great  lamentation 
for  him.  Whereupon  his  son  Judas  took 
upon  himself  the  administration  of  public 
affairs,  in  the  146th  year;  and  thus,  by 
the  ready  assistance  of  his  brethren,  and 
of  others,  Judas  cast  their  enemies  out  of 
their  country,  and  put  those  of  their  own 
country  to  death  who  had  transgressed  its 
laws,  and  purified  the  land  of  all  the  pol- 
lutions that  were  in  it. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Judas  overthrows  the  forces  of  Apollonius  and  Seron, 
and  purifies  the  temple.     B.  C.  166-165. 

When  Apollonius,  the  general  of  the 
Samaritan  forces,  heard  this,  he  took  his 
army,  and  made  haste  to  go  against  Judas, 
who  met  him,  and  joined  battle  with  him, 
and  beat  him,  and  slew  many  of  his  men, 
and  among  them  Apollonius  himself 
their  general,  whose  sword,  being  that 
which  he  happened  then  to  wear,  he 
seized  upon  and  kept  for  himself;  but  he 
wounded  more  than  he  slew,  and  took  a 
great  deal  of  prey  from  the  enemy's  camp 
and  went  his  way ;  but  when  Seron,  who 
was  general  of  the  army  of  Celesyria, 
heard  that  many  had  joined  themselves 
to  Judas,  and  that  he  had  about  him  an 
army  sufficient  for  fighting,  and  for  mak- 
ing war,  he  determined  to  make  an  ex- 
pedition against  him,  as  thinking  it  be- 
came him  to  endeavour  to  punish  those 
that  transgressed  the  king's  injunctions 
He  then  got  together  an  army,  as  large 
as  he  was  able,  and  joined  to  it  the  rene- 
gade and  wicked  Jews,  and  came  against 
Judas.  He  then  came  as  far  as  Bethoron, 
a  village  of  Judea,  and  there  pitched  hi* 
camp ;  upon  which  Judas  met  him,  and 
when  he  intended  to  give  him  battle,  he 
saw  that  his  soldiers  were  backward  tc 
fight,  because  their  number  was  small, 
and  because  they  wanted  food,  for  they 
were  fasting:  he  encouraged  them,  and 
said  to  them,  that  victory  and  conquest  of 
enemies  are  not  derived  from  the  multi- 
tude in  armies,  but  in  the  excrete  of  piety 
toward    God;    and    that    they    had   the 


372 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV 


plainest  instances  in  their  forefathers,  who, 
by  their  righteousness  and  exerting  them- 
selves on  behalf  of  their  own  laws,  and 
their  own  children,  had  frequently  con- 
quered many  ten  thousands ;  for  inno- 
cence is  the  strongest  army.  By  this 
speech  he  induced  his  men  to  coDtemn  the 
multitude  of  the  enemy,  and  to  fall  upon 
Seron  ;  and,  upon  joining  battle  with  him, 
he  beat  the  Syrians  ;  and  when  their  gene- 
ral fell  among  the  rest,  they  all  ran  away 
with  speed,  as  thinking  that  to  be  the  best 
way  of  escaping.  So  he  pursued  them 
unto  the  plain,  and  slew  about  800  of  the 
enemy;  but  the  rest  escaped  to  the  region 
which  lay  near  to  the  sea. 

When  King  Antiochus  heard  of  these 
things,  he  was  very  angry  at  what  had 
happened  ;  so  he  got  together  all  his  own 
army,  with  many  mercenaries,  whom  he 
had  hired  from  the  islands,  and  took  them 
with  him,  and  prepared  to  break  into  Ju- 
dea  about  the  beginning  of  the  spring; 
but  when,  upon  his  mustering  his  soldiers, 
he  perceived  that  his  treasures  were  defi- 
cient, and  there  was  a  want  of  money  in 
them,  for  all  the  taxes  were  not  paid,  by 
reason  of  the  seditions  there  had  been 
among  the  nations,  he  having  been  so 
magnanimous  and  so  liberal,  that  what  he 
had  was  not  sufficient  for  him,  he  there- 
fore resolved,  first  to  go  into  Persia,  and 
collect  the  taxes  of  that  country.  Here- 
upon, he  left  one  whose  name  was  Lysias, 
who  was  in  great  repute  with  him,  go- 
vernor of  the  kingdom,  as  far  as  the  bounds 
of  Egypt,  and  of  the  Lower  Asia,  and 
reaching  from  the  river  Euphrates,  and 
committed  to  him  a  certain  part  of  his 
forces,  and  of  his  elephants,  and  charged 
him  to  bring  up  his  son  Antiochus  with 
all  possible  care,  until  he  came  back ;  and 
that  he  should  conquer  Judea,  and  take 
its  inhabitants  for  slaves,  and  utterly  de- 
stroy Jerusalem,  and  abolish  the  whole 
nation  ;  and  when  King  Antiochus  had 
given  these  things  in  charge  to  Lysias,  he 
went  into  Persia;  and,  in  the  147th  year, 
he  passed  over  Euphrates,  and  went  to  the 
superior  provinces. 

Upon  this,  Lysias  chose  Ptolemy,  the 
son  of  Dorymenes,  and  Nicanor,  and  Gor- 
gias,  very  potent  men  among  the  king's 
friends,  and  delivered  to  them  40,000 
foot-soldiers,  and  7000  horsemen,  and 
sent  them  against  Judas,  who  came  as 
far  as  the  city  of  Emmaus,  and  pitched 
their  camp  in  the  plain  country.  There 
came  also  to  them  auxilliaries  out  of  Sy- 


ria, and  the  country  round  about ;  as  also 
many  of  the  renegade  Jews ;  and  besides 
these,  came  some  merchants  to  buy  those 
that  should  be   carried   captive,   (having 
bonds  with  them  to  bind  those  that  should 
be  made  prisoners,)  with  that  silver  and 
gold  which   they   were   to  pay  for  their 
price ;  and  when  Judas  saw  their  camp, 
and   how  numerous  their  enemies  were, 
he   persuaded   his   own   soldiers  to  be  of 
good  courage ;  and  exhorted  them  to  place 
all  their  hopes  of  victory  in  God,  and  to 
make  supplication  to   him,  according  to 
the  custom  of  their  country,  clothed  in 
saekcloth ;  and  to  show  what  was  their 
usual  habit  of  supplication  in  the  greatest 
dangers,  and  thereby  to  prevail  with  God 
to  grant  you  the   victory  over  your  ene- 
mies.    So  he  set  them  in   the  ancient  or- 
der of  battle  used  by  their  forefathers, 
under  their  captains   of  thousands,    and 
other  officers,  and  dismissed  such  as  were 
newly  married,  as  well  as  those  that  had 
newly  gained  possessions,  that  they  might 
not  fight  in  a  cowardly  manner,  out  of  an 
inordinate  love  of  life,  in  order  to  enjoy 
those  blessings.      When  he  had  thus  dis- 
posed his  soldiers,  he  encouraged  them  to 
fight  by  the  following  speech,  which  he 
made  to  them  : — "  O  my  fellow-soldiers, 
no  other  time  remains   more   opportune 
than  the  present  for  courage  and  contempt 
of  dangers ;  for  if  you  now  fight  manfully 
you  may  recover  your  liberty,  which,  as 
it  is  a  thing  of  itself  agreeable  to  all  men, 
so  it  proves  to  be  to  us  much  more  desir- 
able, by   its   affording  us   the  liberty  of 
worshipping  God.     Since,  therefore,  you 
are  in  such  circumstances  at  present,  you 
must  either  recover   that  liberty,  and  so 
regain  a  happy  and  blessed  way  of  living, 
which  is  that  according  to   our  laws,  and 
the  customs  of  our  country,  or  to  submit 
to  the  most  opprobrious  sufferings ;  nor 
will  any  seed  of  your  nation   remain,  if 
you   be    beaten  in    this    battle.      Fight, 
therefore,  manfully ;    and   suppose    that 
you  must  die,  though  you  do   not  fight ; 
but  believe  that,  besides  such  glorious  re 
wards    as   those  #f   the    liberty  of  youi 
country,  of  your  laws,  of  your  religion 
you  shall  then   obtain  everlasting  glory 
Prepare    yourselves,  therefore,   and    put 
yourselves  into  such  an  agreeable  posture, 
that  you  may  be  ready  to  fight  with  the 
enemy  as  soon  as  it  is  day  to-morrow  morn- 
iug." 

And  this  was  the  speech  which  Judas 
made  to  encourage  them.     But  when  th<» 


Chap   VII  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


373 


enemy  sent  Gorgias,  with  5000  foot  and 
1000  horse,  that  he  might  fall  upon  Ju- 
das by  night,  and  had  for  that  purpose 
certain  of  the  renegade  Jews  as  guides, 
the  son  of  Mattathias  perceived  it,  and 
resolved  to  fall  upon  those  enemies  that 
were  in  the  camp,  now  their  forces  were 
divided.  When  they  had  therefore  sup- 
ped in  good  time,  and  had  left  many  fires 
in  their  camp,  he  marched  all  night  to 
those  enemies  that  were  at  Emmaus ;  so  that 
when  Gorgias  found  no  enemy  in  their 
camp,  but  suspected  that  they  had  retired 
and  had  hidden  themselves  among  the 
mountains,  he  resolved  to  go  and  seek 
them,  wheresoever  they  were.  But  about 
break  of  day  Judas  appeared  to  those 
enemies  that  were  at  Emmaus,  with  only 
3000  men,  and  those  ill  armed,  by  reason 
of  their  poverty ;  and  when  he  saw  the 
enemy  very  well  and  skilfully  fortified  in 
their  camp,  he  encouraged  the  Jews,  and 
told  them  that  they  ought  to  fight,  though 
it  were  with  their  naked  bodies,  for  that 
God  had  sometimes  of  old  given  such  men 
strength,  and  that  against  such  as  were 
more  in  number,  and  were  armed  also,  out 
of  regard  to  their  great  courage.  So  he 
commanded  the  trumpeters  to  sound  for 
the  battle ;  and  by  thus  falling  upon  the 
enemy  when  they  did  not  expect  it  and 
thereby  astonishing  and  disturbing  their 
minds,  he  slew  many  of  those  that  resisted 
him,  and  went  on  pursuing  the  rest  as  far 
as  Gadara,  and  the  plains  of  Idumea,  and 
Ashdod,  and  Jamnia )  and  of  these  there 
fell  about  3000.  Yet  did  Judas  exhort 
his  soldiers  not  to  be  too  desirous  of  the 
spoils,  for  that  still  they  must  have  a 
contest  and  battle  with  Gorgias,  and  the 
forces  that  were  with  him ;  but  that  when 
they  had  once  overcome  them,  then  they 
might  securely  plunder  the  camp,  because 
they  were  the  only  enemies  remaining, 
and  they  expected  no  others.  And  just 
as  he  was  speaking  to  his  soldiers,  Gor- 
gias's  men  looked  down  into  that  army 
which  they  left  in  their  camp,  and  saw 
that  it  was  overthrown,  and  the  camp 
burnt  \  for  the  smoke  that  arose  from  it 
showed  them,  even  when  they  were  a 
great  way  off,  what  had  happened.  When, 
therefore,  those  that  were  with  Gorgias 
understood  that  things  were  in  this  pos- 
ture, and  perceived  that  those  that  were 
with  Judas  were  ready  to  fight  them,  they 
also  were  affrighted  and  put  to  flight ;  but 
then  Judas,  as  though  he  had  already 
beaten  Gorgias's  soldiers  without  fighting, 


returned  and  seized  on  the  spoils.  He 
took  a  great  quantity  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  purple  and  blue,  and  then  returned 
home  with  joy,  and  singing  hymns  to  God 
for  their  good  success ;  for  this  victory 
greatly  contributed  to  the  recovery  of  their 
liberty. 

Hereupon  Lysias  was  confounded  at  the 
defeat  of  the  army  which  he  had  sent,  and 
the  next  year  he  got  together  60,000 
chosen  men.  He  also  took  5000  horsemen, 
and  fell  upon  Judea ;  and  he  went  up  to 
the  hill  country  of  Bethsur,  a  village  of 
Judea,  and  pitched  his  camp  there,  where 
Judas  met  him  with  10,000  men;  and 
when  he  saw  the  great  number  of  his  ene- 
mies he  prayed  to  God  that  he  would  as- 
sist him,  and  joined  battle  with  the  first 
of  the  enemy  that  appeared,  and  beat  them, 
and  slew  about  5000  of  them,  and  there- 
by became  terrible  to  the  rest  of  them. 
Nay,  indeed,  Lysias  observing  the  great 
spirit  of  the  Jews,  how  they  were  prepared 
to  die  rather  than  lose  their  liberty,  and 
being  afraid  of  their  desperate  way  of 
fighting,  as  if  it  was  real  strength,  he  took 
the  rest  of  the  army  back  with  him,  and 
returned  to  Antioch,  where  he  listed  fo- 
reigners into  the  service,  and  prepared  to 
fall  upon  Judea  with  a  greater  army. 

When  therefore,  the  generals  of  Antio- 
chus;s  armies  had  been  beaten  so  often, 
Judas  assembled  the  people  together,  and 
tcld  them,  that  after  these  many  victories 
which  God  had  given  them,  they  ought 
to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  purify  the 
temple,  and  offer  the  appointed  sacrifices. 
But  as  soon  as  he,  with  the  whole  multi- 
tude, had  come  to  Jerusalem,  and  found 
the  temple  deserted,  and  its  gates  burnt 
down,  and  plants  growing  in  the  temple  of 
their  own  accord,  on  account  of  its  deser- 
tion, he  and  those  that  were  with  him  be- 
gan to  lament,  and  were  quite  confounded 
at  the  sight  of  the  temple ;  so  he  chose 
out  some  of  his  soldiers,  and  gave  them 
order  to  fight  against  those  guards  that 
were  in  the  citadel,  until  he  should  have 
purified  the  temple.  When,  therefore,  he 
had  carefully  purged  it,  and  had  brought 
in  new  vessels,  the  candlestick,  the  table 
[of  show-bread],  and  the  altar  [of  incense], 
which  were  made  of  gold,  he  hung  up  the 
vails  at  the  gates,  and  added  doors  to  them 
He  also  took  down  the  altar  [of  burnt 
offering],  and  built  a  new  one  of  stones 
that  he  gathered  together,  and  not  of  such 
as  were  hewn  with  iron  tools.  So  on  the 
25th  day  of  the  month  Casleu,  which  the 


374 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII 


Macedonians  call  Apelleus,  they  lighted 
the  lamps  that  were  on  the  candlestick, 
and  offered  incense  upon  the  altar  [of  in- 
cense], and  laid  the  loaves  upon  the  table 
[of  show-bread],  and  offered  burnt-offer- 
ings upon  the  new  altar  [of  burnt-offering]. 
Now  it  so  fell  out,  that  these  things  were 
done  on  the  very  same  day  on  which  their 
divine  worship  had  fallen  off,  and  was  re- 
duced to  a  profane  and  common  use,  after 
three  years'  time ;  for  so  it  was,  that  the 
temple  was  made  desolate  by  Antiochus, 
and  so  continued  for  three  years.  This 
desolation  happened  to  the  temple  in  the 
145th  year,  on  the  25th  day  of  the  month 
Apelleus,  and  on  the  153d  Olympiad : 
but  it  was  dedicated  anew,  on  the  same 
day,  the  25th  of  the  month  Apelleus,  in 
the  148th  year,  and  on  the  154th  Olympiad. 
And  this  desolation  came  to  pass  according 
to  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  which  was  given 
408  years  before ;  for  he  declared  that 
the  Macedonians  would  dissolve  that  wor- 
ship [for  some  time]. 

Now  Judas  celebrated  the  festival  of 
the  restoration  of  the  sacrifices  of  the 
temple  for  eight  days;  and  omitted  no 
sort  of  pleasures  thereon  :  but  he  feasted 
them  upon  very  rich  and  splendid  sacri- 
fices ;  and  he  honoured  God,  and  delighted 
them  by  hymns  and  psalms.  Nay,  they 
were  so  very  glad  at  the  revival  of  their 
customs,  when  after  a  long  time  of  inter- 
mission they  unexpectedly  had  regained 
the  freedom  of  their  worship,  that  they 
make  it  law  for  their  posterity  that  they 
should  keep  a  festival,  on  account  of  the 
restoration  of  their  temple  worship,  for 
eight  days.  And  from  that  time  to  this 
we  celebrate  this  festival,  and  call  it 
"  Lights."  I  suppose  the  reason  was,  be- 
cause this  liberty  beyond  our  hopes  ap- 
peared to  us;  and  that  thence  was  the 
name  given  to  that  festival.  Judas  also 
rebuilt  the  walls  round  about  the  city, 
and  reared  towers  of  great  height  against 
the  incursion  of  enemies,  and  set  guards 
therein.  He  also  fortified  the  city  Beth- 
sura,  that  it  might  serve  as  a  citadel 
against  any  distresses  that  might  come 
from  our  enemies. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Judas  subdues  the  nations  round  abouv—  overthrows 
Timotheus.     B.  C.  165. 

When  these  things  were  over,  the  na- 
tions round  about  the  Jews  were  very 
uneasy  at  the  revival  of  their  power, 
and  rose  up  together,  and  destroyed  many 


of  them,  as  gaining  advantage  over  them 
by  laying  snares  for  them,  and  mak- 
ing secret  conspiracies  against  them.  Ju« 
das  made  perpetual  expeditions  against 
these  men,  and  endeavoured  to  restrain, 
them  from  those  incursions,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  mischiefs  they  did  to  the  Jews 
So  he  fell  upon  the  Idumeans,  the  poste- 
rity of  Esau,  at  Acrabattene,  and  slew  a 
great  many  of  them  and  took  their  spoils. 
He  also  shut  up  the  sons  of  Bean,  that 
laid  wait  for  the  Jews;  and  he  sat  down 
about  them,  and  besieged  them,  and  burnt 
their  towers,  and  destroyed  the  men  [that 
were  in  them].  After  this,  he  went  thence 
in  haste  against  the  Ammonites,  who  had 
a  great  and  a  numerous  army,  of  which 
Timotheus  was  the  commander.  And 
when  he  had  subdued  them,  he  seized  on 
the  city  Jazer,  and  took  their  wives  and 
their  children  captive,  and  burnt  the  city, 
and  then  returned  into  Judea.  But  when 
the  neighbouring  nations  understood  that 
he  had  returned,  they  got  together  in 
great  numbers  in  the  land  of  Gilead,  and 
came  against  those  Jews  that  were  at  their 
borders,  who  then  fled  to  the  garrison  of 
Dathema;  and  sent  to  Judas,  to  inform 
him  that  Timotheus  was  endeavouring  to 
take  the  place  whither  they  had  fled. 
And  as  these  epistles  were  reading,  there, 
came  other  messengers  out  of  Galilee, 
who  informed  him  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Ptolemais,and  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  stran- 
gers of  Galilee,  were  assembled  together. 

Accordingly,  Judas,  upon  considering 
what  was  fit  to  be  done  with  relation  to 
the  necessity  both  these  cases  required, 
gave  order  that  Simon  his  brother  should 
take  3000  chosen  men,  and  go  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Jews  in  Galilee,  while 
he  and  another  of  his  brothers,  Jonathan, 
made  haste  into  the  land  of  Gilead  with 
8000  soldiers.  And  he  left  Joseph,  the 
son  of  Zacharias,  and  Azarias,  to  be  over 
the  rest  of  the  forces;  and  charged  them 
to  keep  Judea  very  carefully,  and  to  fight 
no  battles  with  any  persons  whomsoever 
until  his  return.  Accordingly,  Simon 
went  into  Galilee,  and  fought  the  enemy, 
and  put  thein  to  flight,  and  pursued  them 
to  the  very  gates  of  Ptolemais,  and  slew 
about  3000  of  them,  and  took  the  spoils  of 
those  that  were  slain,  and  those  Jews 
whom  they  had  made  captives,  with  their 
baggage,  and  then  returned  home. 

Now  as  for  Judas  Maccabeus  and  bis 
brother  Jonathan,  they  passed  over  the 
river  Jordan;  and  when  they  had  g^ne 


CHAP.    VIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


375 


three  days'  journey,  they  lighted  upon  the 
Nabateans,  who  came  to  meet  them  peace- 
ably, and  who  told  them  how  the  affairs  of 
those  in  the  land  of  Galilee  stood,  and 
how  many  of  them  were  in  distress,  and 
driven  into  garrisons,  and  into  the  cities 
of  Galilee;  and  exhorted  him  to  make 
haste  to  go  against  the  foreigners,  and  to 
endeavour  to  save  his  own  countrymen  out 
of  their  hands.  To  this  exhortation  Judas 
hearkened,  and  returned  into  the  wilder- 
ness ;  and,  in  the  first  place,  fell  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  Bosor,  and  took  the  city, 
and  beat  the  inhabitants  and  destroyed  all 
the  males,  and  all  that  were  able  to  fight, 
and  burnt  the  city.  Nor  did  he  stop  even 
when  night  came  on,  but  he  journeyed  in 
it  to  the  garrison  where  the  Jews  happened 
to  be  then  shut  up,  and  where  Timotheus 
lay  round  the  place  with  his  army :  and  Ju- 
das came  upon  the  city  in  the  morning;  and 
when  he  found  that  the  enemy  were  mak- 
ing an  assault  upon  the  walls,  and  that 
some  of  them  brought  ladders,  by  which 
they  might  get  upon  those  walls,  and  that 
others  brought  engines  [to  batter  them], 
he  bade  the  trumpeter  to  sound  his  trum- 
pet, and  he  encouraged  his  soldiers  to 
undergo  dangers  cheerfully  for  the  sake  of 
their  brethren  and  kindred;  he  also  part- 
ed his  army  into  three  bodies,  and  fell 
upon  the  backs  of  their  enemies.  But 
when  Timotheus's  men  perceived  that  it 
was  Maccabeus  that  was  upon  them,  of 
both  whose  courage  and  good  success  in 
war  they  had  formerly  had  sufficient  expe- 
rience, they  were  put  to  flight ;  but  Judas 
followed  them  with  his  army,  and  slew 
about  8000  of  them.  He  then  turned 
aside  to  a  city  of  the  foreigners,  called 
Malle,  and  took  it,  and  slew  all  the  males, 
and  burnt  the  city  itself.  He  then  re- 
moved from  thence,  and  overthrew  Caph- 
som  and  Bosor,  and  many  other  cities  of 
the  land  of  Gilead. 

But  not  long  after  this,  Timotheus  pre- 
pared a  great  army,  and  took  many  others 
as  auxiliaries;  and  induced  some  of  the 
Arabians,  by  the  promise  of  rewards,  to 
go  with  him  in  this  expedition,  and  came 
with  his  army  beyond  the  brook,  over 
against  the  city  ltaphon :  and  he  encour- 
aged his  soldiers,  if  it  came  to  a  battle 
with  the  Jews,  to  fight  courageously,  and 
to  hinder  their  passing  over  the  brook; 
for  he  said  to  them  beforehand,  that,  "if 
they  come  over  it,  we  shall  be  beaten." 
And  when  Judas  heard  that  Timotheus 
prepared  himself  to  fight,  he  took  all  his 


own  army,  and  went  in  haste  against  Timo- 
theus his  enemy ;  and  when  he  had  passed 
over  the  brook,  he  fell  upon  his  enemies, 
and  some  of  them  met  him,  whom  he  slew, 
and  others  of  them  he  so  terrified  that 
he  compelled  them  to  throw  down  their 
arms  and  fly;  and  some  of  them  escaped, 
but  others  of  them  fled  to  what  was  called 
the  temple  of  Carnaim,  and  hoped  there- 
by to  preserve  themselves ;  but  Judas  took 
the  city,  and  slew  them,  and  burnt  the 
temple,  and  so  used  several  ways  of  de- 
stroying his  enemies. 

When  he  had  done  this,  he  gathered 
the  Jews  together,  with  their  children, 
and  wives,  and  the  substance  that  belonged 
to  them,  and  was  going  to  bring  them 
back  into  Judea.  But  as  soon  as  he  had 
come  to  a  certain  city,  the  name  of  which 
was  Ephron,  that  lay  upon  the  road,  (and 
as  it  was  not  possible  for  him  to  go  any 
other  way,  so  he  was  not  willing  to  go 
back  again,)  he  then  sent  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, and  desired  that  they  would  open 
their  gates,  and  permit  them  to  go  on 
their  way  through  the  city ;  for  they  had 
stopped  up  the  gates  with  stones,  and  cut 
off  their  passage  through  it.  And  when 
the  inhabitants  of  Ephron  would  not  agree 
to  this  proposal,  he  encouraged  those  that 
were  with  him,  and  encompassed  the  city 
round,  and  besieged  it,  and,  lying  round 
it,  by  day  and  night,  took  the  city,  and 
slew  every  male  in  it,  and  burnt  it  all 
down,  and  so  obtained  a  way  through  it; 
and  the  multitude  of  those  that  were  slain 
was  so  great,  that  they  went  over  the  dead 
bodies.  So  they  came  over  Jordan,  and 
arrived  at  the  great  plain,  over  against 
which  is  situate  the  city  Bethshan,  which 
is  called  by  the  Greeks  Scythopolis.  And 
going  away  hastily  from  thence,  they 
came  into  Judea,  singing  psalms  and 
hymns  as  they  went,  and  indulging  such 
tokens  of  mirth  as  are  usual  in  triumphs 
upon  victory.  They  also  offered  thank- 
offerings,  both  for  their  good  success,  and 
for  the  preservation  of  their  army,  for 
not  one  of  the  Jews  was  slain  in  these 
battles. 

But  as  to  Joseph,  the  son  of  Zaeha- 
rias,  and  Azarias,  whom  Judas  left  gene- 
rals [of  the  rest  of  his  forces],  at  the  same 
time  when  Simon  was  in  Galilee,  fighting 
against  the  people  of  Ptolemais,  and  Judas 
himself  and  his  brother  Jonathan  were  in 
the  land  of  Gilead,  did  these  men  also 
affect  the  glory  of  being  courageous  gene- 
rals in  war,   in   order   whereto   they  ton]* 


376 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS 


(Book  XI. 


the  army  that  was  under  their  command, 
and  came  to  Jamnia.  There  G-orgias,  the 
general  of  the  forces  of  Jamnia,  met  them ; 
and  upon  joining  battle  with  him,  they 
lost  2000  of  their  army,*  and  fled  away, 
and  were  pursued  to  the  very  borders  of 
Judea.  And  this  misfortune  befel  them 
for  their  disobedience  to  those  injunctions 
Judas  had  given  them,  not  to  fight  with 
any  one  before  his  return.  For  besides 
the  rest  of  Judas's  sagacious  counsels,  one 
may  well  wonder  at  this  concerning  the 
misfortune  that  befel  the  forces  command- 
ed by  Joseph  and  Azarias,  which  he 
understood  would  happen  if  they  broke 
any  of  the  injunctions  he  had  given  them. 
But  Judas  and  his  brethren  did  not  leave 
off  fighting  with  the  Idumeans,  but  pressed 
upon  them  on  all  sides,  and  took  from 
them  the  city  of  Hebron,  and  demolished 
all  its  fortifications,  and  set  all  its  towns  on 
fire,  and  burnt  the  country  of  the  foreign- 
ers, and  the  city  of  Marissa.  They  came 
also  to  Ashdod,  and  took  it,  and  laid  it 
waste,  and  took  away  a  great  deal  of  the 
spoils  and  prey  that  were  in  it,  and  re- 
turned to  Judea. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Death  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes — Antiochus  Eupator 
besieges  Judas  in  the  Temple.     B.  C.  164-162. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  King 
Antiochus,  as  he  was  going  over  (the 
upper  countries,  heard  that  there  was  a 
very  rich  city  in  Persia,  called  Elymais; 
and  therein  a  very  rich  temple  of  Diana, 
and  that  it  was  full  of  all  sorts  of  dona- 
tions dedicated  to  it ;  as  also  weapons  and 
breastplates,  which,  upon  inquiry,  he 
found  had  been  left  there  by  Alexander, 
the  son  of  Philip,  king  of  Macedonia; 
and  being  incited  by  these  motives,  he 
went  in  haste  to  Elymais,  and  assaulted 
it,  and  besieged  it.  But  as  those  that 
were  in  it  were  not  terrified  at  his  assault, 
nor  at  his  siege,  but  opposed  him  very 
courageously,  he  was  beaten  oif  his  hopes; 
for  they  drove  him  away  from  the  city, 
ttnd  went  out  and  pursued  after  him, 
insomuch  that  he  fled  away  as  far  as 
Babylon,  and  lost  a  great  many  of  his 
army;  and  when  he  was  grieving  for 
this  disappointment,  some  persons  told 
him  of  the  defeat  of  his  commanders, 
whom  he  had  left  behind  him  to  fight 
against   Judea,    and    what    strength    the 

S«e  1  Mac.  v.  61.  62. 


Jews  had  already  gotten.  When  this 
concern  about  these  affairs  was  added  to 
the  former,  he  was  confounded,  and  by 
the  anxiety  he  was  in,  fell  into  a  dis- 
temper, which,  as  it  lasted  a  great  while, 
and  as  his  pains  increased  upon  him,  «o 
he  at  length  perceived  he  should  die  in  a 
little  time;  so  he  called  his  friends  to 
him,  and  told  them  that  his  distemper 
was  severe  upon  him,  and  confessed 
withal  that  this  calamity  was  sent  upon 
him  for  the  miseries  he  had  brought  upon 
the  Jewish  nation,  while  he  plundered 
their  temple  and  contemned  their  God ; 
and  when  he  had  said  this,  he  gave  up 
the  ghost.  Whence  one  may  wonder  at 
Polybius  of  Megalopolis,  who,  though 
otherwise  a  good  man,  yet  saith  that 
"  Antiochus  died,  because  he  had  a  pur- 
pose to  plunder  the  temple  of  Diana  in 
Persia ;"  for  the  purposing  to  do  a  thing, 
but  not  actually  doing  it,  is  not  worthy 
of  punishment.  But  if  Polybius  could 
think  that  Antiochus  thus  lost  his  life  on 
that  account,  it  is  much  more  probable 
that  this  king  died  on  account  of  his 
sacrilegious  plundering  of  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem.  But  we  will  not  contend 
about  this  matter  with  those  who  may 
think  that  the  cause  assigned  by  this 
Polybius  of  Megalopolis  is  nearer  the 
truth  than  that  assigned  by  us. 

However,  Antiochus  before  he  died 
called  for  Philip,  who  was  one  of  his  com- 
panions, and  made  him  the  guardian  of 
his  kingdom;  and  gave  him  his  diadem, 
and  his  garment,  and  his  ring,  and 
charged  him  to  carry  them,  and  de- 
liver them  to  his  son  Antiochus;  and 
desired  him  to  take  care  of  his  education, 
and  to  preserve  the  kingdom  for  him. 
This  Antiochus  died  in  the  149th  year : 
but  it  was  Lysias  that  declared  his  death 
to  the  multitude,  and  appointed  his  sou 
Antiochus  to  be  king,  (of  whom  at  present 
he  had  the  care,)  and  called  him  Eu- 
pator. 

At  this  time  it  was  that  the  garrison 
in  the  citadel  at  Jerusalem,  with  the 
Jewish  renegades,^  did  a  great  deal  of 
harm  to  the  Jews ; '  for  the  soldiers  that 
were  in  that  garrison  rushed  out  upon 
the  sudden,  and  destroyed  such  as  were 
going  up  to  the  temple  in  order  to  offer 
their  sacrifices,  for  this  citadel  adjoined 
to  and  overlooked  the  temple.  When 
these  misfortunes  had  often  happened 
to  them,  Judas  resolved  to  destroy  that 
garrison ;    whereupon    he    got    all    the 


CilAP.   IX.  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


377 


people  together,  and  vigorously  besieged 
those  that  were  in  the  citadel.  This  was 
in  the  150th  year  of  the  dominion  of  the 
Selucidae.  So  he  made  engines  of  war, 
and  erected  bulwarks,  and  very  zealously 
pressed  on  to  take  the  citadel.  But 
there  were  not  a  few  of  the  renegades, 
who  were  in  the  place,  that  went  out  by 
night  into  the  country,  and  got  together 
some  other  wicked  men  like  themselves, 
and  went  to  Antiochus  the  king,  and  de- 
sired of  him  that  he  would  not  suffer 
them  to  be  neglected,  under  the  great 
hardships  that  lay  upon  them  from  those 
of  their  own  nation;  and  this  because 
their  sufferings  were  occasioned  on  his 
father's  account,  while  they  left  the  re- 
ligious worship  of  their  fathers,  and  pre- 
ferred that  which  he  had  commanded 
them   to   follow :    that  there  was  danger 

o 

lest  the  citadel,  and  those  appointed  to 
garrison  it  by  the  king,  should  be  taken 
by  Judas  and  those  that  were  with  him, 
unless  he  would  send  them  succours. 
When  Antiochus,  who  was  but  a  child, 
heard  this,  he  was  angry,  and  sent  for  his 
captains  and  his  friends,  and  gave  order 
that  they  should  get  an  army  of  merce- 
naries together,  with  such  men  also  of 
his  own  kingdom  as  were  of  an  age  fit  for 
war.  Accordingly,  an  army  was  collected 
of  about  100,000  footmen,  and  20,000 
horsemen,  and  thirty-two  elephants. 

So  the  king  took  this  army,  and 
marched  hastily  out  of  Antioch,  with 
Lysias,  who  had  the  command  of  the 
whole,  and  came  to  Idumea,  and  thence 
went  up  to  the  city  Bethsura,  a  city  that 
was  strong,  and  not  to  be  taken  without 
great  difficulty.  He  set  about  this  city, 
and  besieged  it ;  and  while  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Bethsura  courageously  opposed 
him,  and  sallied  out  upon  him,  and  burnt 
his  engines  of  war,  a  great  deal  of  time 
was  spent  in  the  siege ;  but  when  Judas 
heard  of  the  king's  coming,  he  raised  the 
siege  of  the  citadel,  and  met  the  king,  and 
pitched  his  camp  in  certain  straits,  at  a 
place  called  Bethzachariah,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  seventy  furlongs  from  the  enemy; 
but  the  king  soon  drew  his  forces  from 
Bethsura,  and  brought  them  to  those 
straits ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  he  put 
his  men  in  battle  array,  and  made  his 
elephants  follow  one  another  through  the 
narrow  passes,  because  they  could  not  be 
set  sideways  by  one  another.  Now  round 
about  every  elephant  there  were  1000 
footmen    and    500    horsemen.     The   ele- 


phants also  had  high  towers  [upon  their 
backs],  and  archers  [in  them] ;  and  he 
also  made  the  rest  of  his  army  to  go  up 
the  mountains,  and  put  his  friends  before 
the  rest;  and  gave  orders  for  the  army 
to  shout  aloud,  and  so  he  attacked  the 
enemy.  He  also  exposed  to  sight  their 
golden  and  brazen  shields,  so  that  a 
glorious  splendour  was  sent  from  them; 
and  when  they  shouted,  the  mountains 
echoed  again.  When  Judas  saw  this,  he 
was  not  terrified,  but  received  the  enemy 
with  great  courage,  and  slew  about  600 
of  the  first  ranks.  But  when  his  brother 
Eleazar,  whom  they  called  Auran,  saw 
the  tallest  of  all  the  elephants  armed  with 
royal  breastplates,  and  supposed  that  the 
king  was  upon  him,  he  attacked  him 
with  great  quickness  and  bravery.  He 
also  slew  many  of  those  that  were  about 
the  elephant,  and  scattered  the  rest,  and 
then  went  under  the  belly  of  the  elephant, 
and  smote  him,  and  slew  him ;  so  the 
elephant  fell  upon  Eleazar,  and  by  his 
weight  crushed  him  to  death.  And  thus 
did  this  man  come  to  his  end,  when  he 
had  first  courageously  destroyed  many  of 
his  enemies. 

But  Judas,  seeing  the  strength  of  the 
enemy,  retired  to  Jerusalem,  and  pre- 
pared to  endure  a  siege.  As  for  Antio- 
chus, he  sent  part  of  his  army  to  Beth- 
sura, to  besiege  it,  and  with  the  rest  of 
his  army  he  came  against  Jerusalem ; 
but  the  inhabitants  of  Bethsura  were 
terrified  at  his  strength ;  and  seeing  that 
their  provisions  grew  scarce,  they  de- 
livered themselves  up  on  the  security  of 
oaths  that  they  should  suffer  no  hard 
treatment  from  the  king.  And  when 
Antiochus  had  thus  taken  the  city,  he 
did  them  no  other  harm  than  sending 
them  out  naked.  He  also  placed  a  gar- 
rison of  his  own  in  the  city;  but  as  for 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  he  lay  at  its 
siege  a  long  time,  while  they  within 
bravely  defended  it;  for  whatsoever  en- 
gines the  king  set  against  them,  they  set 
other  engines  again  to  oppose  them.  But- 
then  their  provisions  failed  them ;  what 
fruits  of  the  ground  they  had  laid  up 
were  spent,  and  the  land  not  being 
ploughed  that  year,  continued  unsown, 
because  it  was  the  seventh  year,  on 
which,  by  our  laws,  we  are  obliged  to  let 
it  lie  uncultivated.  And  withal,  so 
many  of  the  besieged  ran  away  for  want 
of  necessaries,  that  but  a  few  only  wen 
left  in  the  temple. 


61$ 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


lBook  XII. 


And  these  happened  to  be  the  circum- 
stances of  such  as  were  besieged  in  the 
temple.  But  then,  because  Lysias,  the 
general  of  the  army,  and  Antiochus,  the 
king,  were  informed  that  Philip  was 
coming  upon  them  out  of  Persia,  and  was 
endeavouring  to  get  the  management  of 
public  affairs  to  himself,  they  came  into 
these  sentiments,  to  leave  the  siege,  and 
to  make  haste  to  go  against  Philip ;  yet 
did  they  resolve  not  to  let  this  be  known 
to  the  soldiers  or  the  officers ;  but  the 
king  commanded  Lysias  to  speak  openly 
to  the  soldiers  and  the  officers,  without 
saying  a  word  about  the  business  of 
Philip;  and  to  intimate  to  them  that  the 
siege  would  be  very  long ;  that  the  place 
was  very  strong ;  that  they  were  already 
in  want  of  provisions;  that  many  affairs 
of  the  kingdom  wanted  regulation ;  and 
that  it  was  much  better  to  make  a  league 
with  the  besieged,  and  to  become  friends 
to  their  whole  nation,  by  permitting 
them  to  observe  the  laws  of  their  fathers, 
while  they  broke  out  into  this  war  only 
because  they  were  deprived  of  them,  and 
so  to  depart  home.  When  Lysias  had 
discoursed  thus  with  them,  both  the  army 
and  the  officers  were  pleased  with  this 
resolution. 

Accordingly,  the  king  sent  to  Judas, 
and  to  those  that  were  besieged  with  him, 
and  promised  to  give  them  peace,  and  to 
permit  them  to  make  use  of  and  live-  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  their  fathers ;  and 
they  gladly  received  his  proposals;  and 
when  they  had  gained  security  upon  oath 
for  their  performance,  they  went  out  of 
the  temple  :  but  when  Antiochus  came 
into  it,  and  saw  how  strong  the  place 
was,  he  broke  his  oaths,  and  ordered  his 
army  that  was  there  to  pluck  down  the 
walls  to  the  ground ;  and  when  he  had  so 
done,  he  returned  to  Antioch.  He  also 
carried  with  him  Onias  the  high  priest, 
who  was  also  called  Menelaus ;  for  Lysias 
advised  the  king  to  slay  Menelaus,  if  he 
would  have  the  Jews  be  quiet,  and  cause 
him  no  further  disturbance,  for  that  this 
man  was  the  origin  of  all  the  mischief  the 
Jews  had  done  them,  by  persuading  his 
father  to  compel  the  Jews  to  leave  the 
religion  of  their  fathers ;  so  the  king  sent 
Menelaus  to  Berea,  a  city  of  Syria,  and 
there  had  him  put  to  death,  when  he  had 
been  high  priest  ten  years.  He  had  been 
a  wicked  and  an  impious  man ;  and,  in 
order  to  get  the  government  to  himself, 
had   compelled  his  nation  to  transgress 


their  own  laws.  After  the  death  of  Me- 
nelaus, Alcimus,  who  was  also  called 
Jacimus,  was  made  hign  priest.  Bu* 
when  King  Antiochus  found  that  Philip 
had  already  possessed  himself  of  the 
government,  he  made  war  against  him, 
and  subdued  him,  and  took  him,  and 
slew  him.  Now,  as  to  Onias,  the  son  of 
the  high  priest,  who,  as  we  before  in- 
formed you,  was  left  a  child  when  his 
father  died,  when  he  saw  that  the  king 
had  slain  his  uncle  Menelaus,  and  given 
the  high-priesthood  to  Alcimus,  who  was 
not  of  the  high-priest  stock,  but  was 
induced  by  Lysias  to  translate  that  dig- 
nity from  his  family  to  another  house,  he 
fled  to  Ptolemy,  king  of  Egypt;  and 
when  he  found  he  was  in  great  esteem 
with  him,  and  with  his  wife  Cleopatra, 
he  desired  and  obtained  a  place  in  the 
Nomus  of  Heliopolis,  wherein  he  built  a 
temple  like  to  that  at  Jerusalem;  of 
which,  therefore,  we  shall  hereafter  give 
an  account,  in  a  place  more  proper  for  it. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Demetrius  sends  an  expedition  against  Judea — 
Death  of  Alcimus — Succession  of  Judas.  B.  C. 
162-160. 

About  the  same  time,  Demetrius,  the 
son  of  Seleucus,  fled  away  from  Rome,  and 
took  Tripoli,  a  city  of  Syria,  and  set  the 
diadem  on  his  own  head.  He  also 
gathered  certain  mercenary  soldiers  toge- 
ther, and  entered  into  his  kingdom,  and 
was  joyfully  received  by  all,  who  de- 
livered themselves  up  to  him ;  and  when 
they  had  taken  Antiochus,  the  king,  and 
Lysias,  they  brought  them  to  him  alive ; 
both  of  whom  were  immediately  put  to 
death  by  the  command  of  Demetrius, 
when  Antiochus  had  reigned  two  years, 
as  we  have  already  elsewhere  related ; 
but  there  were  now  many  of  the  wicked 
Jewish  renegades  that  came  together  to 
him,  and  with  them  Alcimus  the  high 
priest,  who  accused  the  whole  nation,  and 
particularly  Judas  and  his  brethren ; 
and  said  that  they  had  slain  all  his 
friends;  and  that  those  in  his  kingdom 
that  were  of  his  party,  and  waited  for  his 
return,  were  by  them  put  to  death ;  that 
these  men  had  ejected  them  out  of  their 
own  country,  and  caused  them  to  be 
sojourners  in  a  foreign  land;  and  they 
desired  that  he  would  send  some  one  of 
his  own  friends,  and  know  from  him  what 
mischief  Judas's  party  had  done. 


Chap.  X.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


379 


At  this,  Demetrius  was  very  angry,  and 
sent  Bacchides,  a  friend  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  a  good  man,  and  one  that  had 
been  intrusted  with  all  Mesopotamia,  and 
gave  him  an  army,  and  committed  Alci- 
mus,  the  high  priest,  to  his  care ;  and 
gave  him  charge  to  slay  Judas,  and  those 
that  were  with  him.  So  Bacchides  made 
haste,  and  went  out  of  Antioch  with  his 
army;  and  when  he  had  come  into  Judea, 
he  sent  to  Judas  and  his  brethren,  to  dis- 
course with  him  about  a  league  of  friend- 
ship and  peace,  for  he  had  a  mind  to  take 
him  by  treachery ;  but  Judas  did  not  give 
credit  to  him,  for  he  saw  that  he  came 
with  so  great  an  army  as  men  do  not 
bring  when  they  come  to  make  peace,  but 
to  make  war.  However,  some  of  the  peo- 
ple acquiesced  in  what  Bacchides  caused 
to  be  proclaimed ;  and  supposing  they 
should  undergo  no  considerable  harm 
from  Alcimus,  who  was  their  countryman, 
they  went  over  to  them ;  and  when  they 
had  received  oaths  from  both  of  them, 
that  neither  they  themselves  nor  those  of 
the  same  sentiments  should  come  to  any 
harm,  they  intrusted  themselves  with 
them  ;  but  Bacchides  troubled  not  him- 
self about  the  oaths  he  had  taken,  but 
slew  sixty  of  them,  although  by  not  keep- 
ing his  faith  with  those  that  first  went 
over,  he  deterred  all  the  rest,  who  had 
intentions  to  go  over  to  him,  from  doing 
it;  but  as  he  had  gone  out  of  Jerusalem, 
and  was  at  the  village  called  Bethzetho, 
he  sent  out  and  caught  many  of  the  de- 
serters, and  some  of  the  people  also,  and 
slew  them  all;  and  enjoined  all  that  lived 
in  the  country  to  submit  to  Alcimus.  So 
he  left  him  there,  with  some  part  of  the 
army,  that  he  might  have  wherewith  to 
keep  the  country  /in  obedience,  and  re- 
turned to  Antioch  to  King  Demetrius. 

But  Alcimus  was  desirous  to  have  the 
dominion  more  firmly  assured  to  him ; 
and  understanding  that,  if  he  could  bring 
it  about  that  the  multitude  should  be  his 
friends,  he  should  govern  with  greater 
security,  he  spake  kind  words  to  them  all, 
and  discoursed  to  each  of  them  after  an 
agreeable  and  pleasant  manner;  by  which 
means  he  quickly  had  a  great  body  of  men 
and  an  army  about  him,  although  the 
greater  part  of  them  were  of  the  wicked 
and  the  deserters.  With  these,  whom  he 
used  as  his  servants  and  soldiers,  he  went 
all  over  the  country,  and  slew  all  that  he 
could  find  of  Judas's  party ;  but  when 
Judas  saw  that   Alcimus  had  already  be- 


come great,  and  had  destroyed  many  of 
the  good  and  holy  men  of  the  country, 
he  also  went  all  over  the  country  and  de- 
stroyed those  that  were  of  the  other  party; 
but  when  Alcimus  saw  that  he  was  not 
able  to  oppose  Judas,  nor  was  equal  to 
him  in  strength,  he  resolved  to  apply  him- 
self to  King  Demetrius  for  his  assistance  ; 
so  he  came  to  Antioch,  and  irritated  him 
against  Judas,  and  accused  him,  alleging 
that  he  had  undergone  a  great  many  mise- 
ries by  his  means,  and  that  he  would  do 
more  mischief  unless  he  were  prevented 
and  brought  to  punishment,  which  must 
be  done  by  sending  a  powerful  force 
against  him. 

So  Demetrius,  being  already  of  opinion 
that  it  would  be  a  thing  pernicious  to  his 
own  affairs  to  overlook  Judas,  now  he  was 
so  great,  sent  against  him  Nicanor,  the 
most  kind  and  most  faithful  of  all  his 
friends ;  for  he  it  was  who  fled  away  with 
him  from  the  city  of  Rome.  He  also  gave 
him  as  many  forces  as  he  thought  suffi- 
cient for  him  to  conquer  Judas  withal, 
and  bade  him  not  to  spare  the  nation  at 
all.  When  Nicanor  had  come  to  Jerusa- 
lem, he  did  not  resolve  to  fight  Judas  im- 
mediately, but  judged  it  better  to  get  him 
into  his  power  by  treachery;  so  he  sent 
him  a  message  of  peace,  and  said  there 
was  no  manner  of  necessity  for  them  to 
fight  and  hazard  themselves ;  and  that  he 
would  give  him  his  oath  that  he  would  do 
him  no  harm,  for  that  he  only  came  with 
some  friends,  in  order  to  let  him  know 
what  King  Demetrius' s  intentions  were, 
and  what  opinion  he  had  of  their  nation. 
When  Nicanor  had  delivered  this  message, 
Judas  and  his  brethren  complied  with 
him,  and,  suspecting  no  deceit,  they  gave 
him  assurances  of  friendship,  and  received 
Nicanor  and  his  army ;  but  while  he  was 
saluting  Judas,  and  they  were  talking  to- 
gether, he  gave  a  certain  signal  to  his  own 
soldiers,  upon  which  they  were  to  seize 
upon  Judas ;  but  he  perceived  the  treach- 
ery, and  ran  back  to  his  own  soldiers  and 
fled  away  with  them.  So  upon  this  dis- 
covery of  his  purpose,  and  of  the  snares 
laid  for  Judas,  Nicanor  determined  to 
make  open  war  with  him,  and  gathered 
his  army  together,  and  prepared  for  fight- 
ing him;  and  upon  joining  battle  with 
him  at  a  certain  village  called  Capharsa- 
lama,  he  beat  Judas,  and  forced  him  to  fly 
to  that  citadel  which  was  at  Jerusalem. 

And  when  Nicanor  came  down  ft  om  the 
citadel  into  the  temple,  some  of  tb*  priest* 


380 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[BookXIL 


and  elders  met  him,  and  saluted  him  ;  and 
showed  him  the  sacrifices,  which  they  said 
they  offered  to  God  for  the  king,  upon 
which  he  blasphemed,  and  threatened  them 
that  unless  the  people  would  deliver  up 
Judas  to  him,  upon  his  return  he  would 
pull  down  their  temple.  And  when  he 
had  thus  threatened  them,  he  departed 
from  Jerusalem  :  but  the  priests  fell  into 
tears  out  of  grief  at  what  he  had  said,  and 
besought  God  to  deliver  them  from  their 
enemies.  But  now  Nicanor,  when  he  had 
gone  out  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  at  a  cer- 
tain village  called  Bethoron,  he  there 
pitched  his  camp,  another  army  out  of 
Syria  having  joined  him.  And  Judas 
pitched  his  camp  at  Adasa,  another  vil- 
lage, which  was  thirty  furlongs  distant 
from  Bethoron,  having  no  more  than 
1000  soldiers.  And  when  he  had  en- 
couraged them  not  to  be  dismayed  at  the 
multitude  of  their  enemies,  nor  to  regard 
how  many  they  were  against  whom  they 
were  going  to  fight,  but  to  consider  who 
they  themselves  were,  and  for  what  great 
rewards  they  hazarded  themselves,  and  to 
attack  the  enemy  courageously,  he  led 
them  out  to  fight,  and  joining  battle  with 
Nicanor,  which  proved  to  be  a  severe  one, 
he  overcame  the  enemy  and  slew  many  of 
them ;  and  at  last  Nicanor  himself,  as  he 
was  fighting  gloriously,  fell ;  upon  whose 
fall  the  army  did  not  stay ;  but  when  they 
had  lost  their  general,  they  were  pu^fe  to 
flight,  and  threw  down  their  arms.  Ju- 
das also  pursued  them,  and  slew  them  ; 
and  gave  notice  by  the  sound  of  his  trum- 
pets to  the  neighbouring  villages  that  he 
had  conquered  the  enemy;  which  when 
the  inhabitants  heard,  they  put  on  their 
armour  hastily,  and  met  their  enemies  in 
the  face  as  they  were  running  away,  and 
slew  them,  insomuch  that  not  one  of  them 
escaped  out  of  this  battle,  who  were  9000 
in  number.  This  victory  happened  to  fall 
on  the  13th  day  of  that  month  which  by 
the  Jews  is  called  Adar,  and  by  the  Mace- 
donians Dvstrus;  and  the  Jews  therein 
celebrate  this  victory  every  year,  and  es- 
teem it  as  a  festival  day.  After  which 
the  Jewish  nation  were,  for  a  while,  free 
from  wars,  and  enjoyed  peace;  but  after- 
ward they  returned  into  their  former 
state  of  wars  and  hazards. 

But  now,  as  the  high  priest  Alcimus 
was  resolving  to  pull  down  the  wall  of  the 
sanctuary,  which  had  been  there  of  old 
time,  and  had  been  built  by  the  holy 
prophets,    he   was   smitten    suddenly  by 


God  and  fell  down.*  This  stroke  made 
him  fall  down  speechless  upon  the  ground; 
and  undergoing  torments  for  many  days, 
he  at  length  died,  when  he  had  been 
high  priest  four  years.  And  when  he 
was  dead,  the  people  bestowed  the  high- 
priesthood  on  Judas ;  who,  hearing  of  the 
power  of  the  Bomans,  and  that  they  had 
conquered  in  war  Galatia,  and  Iberia,  and 
Carthage,  and  Lybia;  and  that,  besides 
these,  they  had  subdued  Greece,  and  her 
kings,  Perseus,  and  Philip,  and  Antiochua 
the  Great  also,  he  resolved  to  enter  into  a 
league  of  friendship  with  them.  He 
therefore  sent  to  Borne  some  of  his  friends, 
Eupolemus,  the  son  of  John,  and  Jason, 
the  son  of  Eleazar,  and  by  them  desired 
the  Romans  that  they  would  assist  them, 
and  be  their  friends,  and  would  write  to 
Demetrius  that  he  would  not  fight  against 
the  Jews.  So  the  senate  received  the 
ambassadors  that  came  from  Judas  to 
Borne,  and  discoursed  with  them  about 
the  errand  on  which  they  came,  and  then 
granted  them  a  league  of  assistance. 
They  also  made  a  decree  concerning  it, 
and  sent  a  copy  of  it  into  Judea.  It  was 
also  laid  up  in  the  capital,  and  engraven 
in  brass.  The  decree  itself  was  this : 
"The  decree  of  the  senate  concerning  a 
league  of  assistance  and  friendship  with 
the  nation  of  the  Jews.  It  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  any  that  are  subject  to  the  Bo- 
mans  to  make  war  with  the  nation  of  the 
Jews,  nor  to  assist  those  that  do  so,  either 
by  sending  them  corn,  or  ships,  or  money. 
And  if  any  attack  be  made  upon  the  Jews, 
the  Bomans  shall  assist  them,  as  far  as 
they  are  able;  and  again,  if  any  attack 
be  made  upon  the  Bomans,  the  Jews  shall 
assist  them.  And  if  the  Jews  have  a 
mind  to  add  to,  or  to  take  away  any  thing 
from  this  league  of  assistance,  that  shall 
be  done  with  the  common  consent  of  the 
Bomans.  And  whatsover  addition  shall 
thus  be  made,  it  shall  be  of  force. "  This 
decree  was  made  by  Eupolemus,  the  son 
of  John,  and  by  Jason,  the  son  of  Elea- 
zar, when  Judas  was  high  priest  of  the 
nation,  and  Simon  his  brother  was  sene- 
ral  of  the  army.  And  this  was  the  first 
league  that  the  Bomans  made  with  the 
Jews,  and  was  managed  after  this  manner. 


*  This  account  of  the  death  of  Alcimus,  the  wick- 
ed high  priest,  (the  first  that  was  not  of  the  family 
of  high  priests,)  before  the  death  of  Judas,  and  of 
Judas's  succession  to  him  as  high  priest,  both  here 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  this  book,  directly  contra- 
dicts 1  Mac.  ix.  54-57,  which  places  his  deatl» 
after  the  death  of  Judas. 


JflAP.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


331 


CHAPTER  XL 


Death  of  Judas  Maccabeus.     B.  C.  160. 

But  when  Demetrius  was  informed  of 
the  death  of  Nicanor,  and  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  army  that  was  with  him,  he 
sent  Bacchides  again  with  an  army  into 
Judea,  who  marched  out  of  Antioch,  and 
came  into  Judea,  and  pitched  his  camp  at 
Arbela,  a  city  of  Galilee ;  and  having  be- 
sieged and  taken  those  that  were  in  caves, 
(for  many  of  the  people  fled  into  such 
places,)  he  removed,  and  made  all  the 
haste  he  could  to  Jerusalem.  And  when 
he  had  learned  that  Judas  had  pitched  his 
camp  at  a  certain  village,  whose  name 
was  Bethzetho,  he  led  his  army  against 
him :  they  were  20,000  footmen,  and 
2000  horsemen.  Now  Judas  had  no 
more  soldiers  than  1000.*  When  these 
saw  the  multitude  of  Bacchides's  men, 
they  were  afraid,  and  left  their  camp,  and 
fled  all  away,  excepting  800.  Now  when 
Judas  was  deserted  by  his  own  soldiers, 
and  the  enemy  pressed  upon  him,  and 
gave  him  no  time  to  gather  his  army  to- 
gether, he  was  disposed  to  fight  with  Bac- 
chides's army,  though  he  had  but  800  men 
with  him ;  so  he  exhorted  these  men  to 
undergo  the  danger  courageously,  and  en- 
couraged them  to  attack  the  enemy.  And 
when  they  said  they  were  not  a  body  suf- 
ficient to  fight  so  great  an  army,  and  ad- 
vised that  they  should  retire  now  and  save 
themselves,  and  that  when  he  had  gathered 
his  own  men  together,  then  he  should  fall 
upon  the  euemy  afterward,  his  answer 
was  this  : — "Let  not  the  sun  ever  see  such 
a  thing,  that  I  should  show  my  back  to  the 
enemy ;  and  although  this  be  the  time 
that  will  bring  me  to  my  end,  and  I  must 
die  in  this  battle,  I  will  rather  stand  to  it 
courageously,  and  bear  whatsoever  comes 
upon  me,  than  by  now  running  away, 
bring  reproach  upon  my  former  great  ac- 
tions, or  tarnish  their  glory."  This  was 
the  speech  he  made  to  those  that  remained 
with  him,  and  whereby  he  encouraged 
them  to  attack  the  enemy. 

But  Bacchides  drew  his  army  out  of  the 
camp,  and  put  them  in  array  for  the  bat- 


*  That  this  copy  of  Josephus,  as  he  wrote  it,  had 
here  not  1000  but  3000,  with  1  Mac.  ix.  5,  is  very 
plain ;  because,  though  the  main  part  ran  away  at 
first,  even  in  Josephus,  as  well  as  in  Mac.  ix.  6,  yet 
as  there,  so  here,  800  are  said  to  have  remained 
with  Judas  ;  which  would  be  absurd,  if  the  whole 
number  had  been  no  more  than  1000. 


tie.  He  set  horsemen  on  beth  the  wings, 
and  the  light  soldiers  and  the  archers  he 
placed  before  the  whole  army,  but  was 
himself  on  the  right  wing.  And  when  he 
had  thus  put  his  army  in  order  of  battle, 
and  was  going  to  join  battle  with  the  ene- 
my, he  commanded  the  trumpeter  to  give 
a  signal  of  battle,  and  the  army  to  make 
a  shout,  and  to  fall  on  the  enemy.  And 
when  Judas  had  done  the  same,  he  joined 
battle  with  them  ;  and  as  both  sides  fought 
valiantly,  and  the  battle  continued  till 
sunset,  Judas  saw  that  Bacchides  and 
the  strongest  part  of  the  army  was  in  the 
right  wing,  and  thereupon  took  the  most 
courageous  men  with  him,  and  ran  upon 
that  part  of  the  army,  and  fell  upon  those 
that  were  there,  and  broke  their  ranks, 
and  drove  them  into  the  middle,  and  forced 
them  to  run  away,  and  pursued  them  as 
far  as  to  a  mountain  called  Aza  :  but  when 
those  of  the  left  wing  saw  that  the  right 
wing  was  put  to  flight,  they  encompassed 
Judas,  and  pursued  him,  and  came  behind 
him,  and  took  him  into  the  middle  of 
their  army ;  so  not  being  able  to  fly,  but 
encompassed  round  about  with  enemies, 
he  stood  still,  and  he  and  those  that  were 
with  him  fought ,  and  when  he  had  slain 
a  great  many  of  those  that  came  against 
him,  he  at  last  was  himself  wounded,  and 
fell,  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died  in 
a  way  like  to  his  former  actions.  When 
Judas  was  dead,  those  that  were  with  him 
had  no  one  whom  they  could  regard  [as 
their  commander] ;  but  when  they  saw 
themselves  deprived  of  such  a  general, 
they  fled.  But  Simon  and  Jonathan,  Ju- 
das's  brethren,  received  his  dead  body  by 
a  treaty  from  the  enemy,  and  carried  it  to 
the  village  of  Modin,  where  their  father 
had  been  buried,  and  there  buried  him  ; 
while  the  multitude  lamented  him  many 
days,  and  performed  the  usual  solemn  rites 
of  a  funeral  to  him.  And  this  was  the 
end  that  Judas  came  to.  He  had  been  a 
man  of  valour  and  a  great  warrior,  and 
mindful  of  all  the  commands  of  their  fa- 
ther Mattathias;  and  had  undergone  all 
difficulties,  both  in  doing  and  suffering, 
for  the  liberty  of  his  countrymen.  And 
when  his  character  was  so  excellent  [while 
he  was  alive],  he  left  behind  him  a  glori- 
ous reputation  and  memorial,  by  gaining 
freedom  for  his  nation,  and  delivering 
them  from  slavery  under  the  Macedonian?. 
And  when  he  had  retained  the  high-priest- 
hood three  years,  ho  died. 


382 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  X1I1 


BOOK  XIII. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  82  YEARS,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  JUDAS 
MACCABEUS  TO  QUEEN  ALEXANDRA'S  DEATH. 


CHAPTER  I 

Jonathan  succeeds  Judas  Maccabeus.      B.  C.  160. 

By  what  means  the  nation  of  the  Jews 
recovered  their  freedom,  when  they  had 
been  brought  into  slavery  by  the  Mace- 
donians, and  what  struggles,  and  how 
many  great  battles  Judas,  the  general  of 
their  army,  ran  through,  till  he  was  slain 
as  he  was  fighting  for  them,  hath  been  re- 
lated in  the  foregoing  book  :  but  after  he 
was  dead,  all  the  wicked,  and  those  that 
transgressed  the  laws  of  their  forefathers, 
sprang  up  again  in  Judea,  and  grew  upon 
them,  and  distressed  them  on  every  side. 
A  famine  als*o  assisted  their  wickedness, 
and  afflicted  the  country,  till  not  a  few, 
who  by  reason  of  their  want  of  necessaries, 
and  because  they  were  not  able  to  bear  up 
against  the  miseries  that  both  the  famine 
and  their  enemies  brought  upon  them, 
deserted  their  country  and  went  to  the 
Macedonians.  And  now  Bacchides  gather- 
ed those  Jews  together  who  had  aposta- 
tized from  the  accustomed  way  of  living 
of  their  forefathers,  and  chose  to  live*  like 
their  neighbours,  and  committed  the  care 
of  the  country  to  them ;  who  also  caught 
the  friends  of  Judas,  and  those  of  his 
party,  and  delivered  them  up  to  Bacchides, 
who,  when  he  had,  in  the  first  place,  tor- 
tured and  tormented  them  at  his  pleasure, 
he,  by  that  means,  at  length  killed  them. 
And  when  this  calamity  of  the  Jews  had 
become  so  great,  as  they  never  had  expe- 
rience of  the  like  since  their  return  out  of 
Babylon,  those  that  remained  of  the  com- 
panions of  Judas,  seeing  that  the  nation 
was  about  to  be  destroyed  after  a  miserable 
manner,  came  to  his  brother  Jonathan, 
and  desired  him  that  he  would  imitate  his 
brother,  and  that  care  which  he  took  of 
his  countrymen,  for  whose  liberty  in  gene- 
ral he  died  also ;  and  that  he  would  not 
permit  the  nation  to  be  without  a  governor, 
especially  in  those  destructive  circum- 
stances wherein  it  now  was.  And  when 
Jonathan  said  that  he  was  ready  to  die  for 
them,  and  was  indeed  esteemed  noway 
inferior  to  his  brother,  he  was  appointed 
to  be  the  general  of  the  Jewish  army. 


Wh  n  Bacchides  heard  this,  and  was 
afraid  that  Jonathan  might  be  very  trouble- 
some to  the  king  and  the  Macedonians,  as 
Judas  had  been  before  him,  he  sought  how 
he  might  slay  him  by  treachery ;  but  this 
intention  of  his  was  not  unknown  to  Jona- 
than, nor  his  brother  Simon;  but  when 
these  two  were  apprized  of  it,  they  took 
all  their  companions,  and  presently  fled 
into  that  wilderness  which  was  nearest  lo 
the  city ;  and  when  they  had  come  to  a 
lake  called  Asphar,  they  abode  there.  But 
when  Bacchides  was  sensible  that  they 
were  in  a  low  state,  and  were  in  that  place, 
he  hasted  to  fall  upon  them  with  all  his 
forces,  and  pitching  his  camp  beyond  Jor- 
dan, he  recruited  his  army ;  but  when 
Jonathan  knew  that  Bacchides  was  coming 
upon  him,  he  sent  his  brother  John,  who 
was  also  called  Gaddis,  to  the  Nabatean 
Arabs,  that  he  might  lodge  his  baggage 
with  them,  until  the  battle  with  Bacchides 
should  be  over,  for  they  were  the  Jews' 
friends.  And  the  sons  of  Ambri  laid  an 
ambush  for  John,  from  the  city  Medaba. 
and  seized  upon  him,  and  upon  those  that 
were  with  him,  and  plundered  all  that 
they  had  with  them  :  they  also  slew  John 
and  all  his  companions.  However,  they 
were  sufficiently  punished  for  what  they 
now  did  by  John's  brethren,  as  we  shall 
relate  presently. 

But  when  Bacchides  knew  that  Jona- 
than had  pitched  his  camp  among  the 
lakes  of  Jordan,  he  observed  when  their 
Sabbath-day  came,  and  then  assaulted  him, 
as  supposing  that  he  would  not  fight  be- 
cause of  the  law  [for  resting  on  that  day] . 
but  he  exhorted  his  companions  [to  fight]  j 
and  told  them  that  their  lives  were  ai 
stake,  since  they  were  encompassed  by  the 
river,  and  by  their  enemies,  and  had  no 
way  to  escape,  for  that  their  enemies 
pressed  upon  them  before,  and  the  river 
was  behind  them.  So,  after  he  had  prayed 
to  God  to  give  them  the  victory,  he  joined 
battle  with  the  enemy,  of  whom  he  over- 
threw many;  and  as  he  saw  Bacchides 
coming  up  boldly  to  him,  he  stretched  out 
his  right  hand  to  smite  him ;  but  the  othei 
foreseeing  and  avoiding  the  stroke,  Jona- 


Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


383 


than  with  his  companions  leaped  into 
the  river,  and  swam  over  it,  and  by  that 
means  escaped  beyond  Jordan,  while  the 
enemy  did  not  pass  over  that  river ;  but 
Bacchides  returned  presently  to  the  cita- 
del of  Jerusalem,  having  lost  about  2000 
of  his  army.  He  also  fortified  many  cities 
of  Judea  whose  walls  had  been  demolished  : 
Jericho,  and  Emmaus,  and  Bethoron,  and 
Bethel,  and  Timna,  and  Pharatho,  and 
Tecoa,  and  G-azara:  and  built  towers  in 
every  one  of  these  cities,  and  encompassed 
them  with  strong  walls  that  were  very 
large  also,  and  put  garrisons  into  them, 
that  they  might  issue  out  of  them,  and  do 
mischief  to  the  Jews.  He  also  fortified 
the  citadel  at  Jerusalem  more  than  all  the 
rest.  Moreover,  he  took  the  sons  of  the 
principal  Jews  as  pledges,  and  shut  them 
up  in  the  citadel,  and  in  that  manner 
guarded  it. 

About  the  same  time,  one  came  to  Jona- 
than, and  to  his  brother  Simon,  and  told 
them  that  the  sons  of  Ambri  were  cele- 
brating a  marriage,  and  bringing  the 
bride  from  the  city  Gabatha,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  one  of  the  illustrious  men 
among  the  Arabians,  and  that  the  damsel 
was  to  be  conducted  with  pomp  and  splen- 
dour and  much  riches  :  so  Jonathan  and 
Simon,  thinking  that  this  appeared  to  be 
the  fittest  time  for  them  to  avenge  the 
death  of  their  brother,  and  that  they  had 
forces  sufficient  for  receiving  satisfaction 
from  them  for  his  death,  they  made  haste 
to  Medaba,  and  lay  in  wait  among  the 
mountains  for  the  coming  of  their  enemies; 
and  as  soon  as  they  saw  them  conducting 
the  virgin  and  the  bridegroom,  and  such  a 
great  company  of  their  friends  with  them 
as  was  to  be  expected  at  this  wedding,  they 
sallied  out  of  their  ambush  and  slew  them 
all,  and  took  their  ornaments,  and  all  the 
prey  that  then  followed  them,  and  so 
returned,  and  received  this  satisfaction 
for  their  brother  John  from  the  sons  of 
Ambri ;  for  as  well  these  sons  themselves 
as  their  friends,  and  wives,  and  children, 
that  followed  them,  perished,  being  about 
400  in  number. 

However,  Simon  and  Jonathan  returned 
to  the  lakes  of  the  river,  and  abode  there; 
but  Bacchides,  when  he  had  secured  all 
Judea  with  his  garrisons,  returned  to  the 
king;  and  then  it  was  that  the  affairs  of 
Judea  were  quiet  for  two  years ;  but  when 
the  deserters  and  the  wicked  saw  that 
Jonathan  and  those  that  were  with  him 
lived  in  the  country  very  quietly,  by  rea- 


son of  the  peace,  they  sent  to  King  Deme- 
trius, and  excited  him  to  send  Bacchides 
to  seize  upon  Jonathan,  which  they  said 
was  to  be  done  without  any  trouble,  and 
in  one  night's  time ;  and  that  if  they  fell 
upon  them  before  they  were  aware,  they 
might  slay  them  all.  So  the  king  sent 
Bacchides,  who,  when  he  had  come  into 
Judea,  wrote  to  all  his  friends,  both  Jews 
and  auxiliaries,  that  they  should  seize 
upon  Jonathan,  and  bring  him  to  him ; 
and  when,  upon  all  their  endeavours  they 
were  not  able  to  seize  upon  Jonathan,  for 
he  was  sensible  of  the  snares  they  laid  for 
him,  and  very  carefully  guarded  against 
them,  Bacchides  was  angry  at  these  de- 
serters, as  having  imposed  upon  him,  and 
upon  the  king,  and  slew  fifty  of  their  lead- 
ers ;  whereupon  Jonathan,  with  his  brother, 
and  those  that  were  with  him,  retired  to 
Bethagla,  a  village  that  lay  in  the  wilder- 
ness, out  of  his  fear  of  Bacchides.  He 
also  built  towers  in  it,  and  encompassed  it 
with  walls,  and  took  care  that  it  should 
be  safely  guarded.  Upon  the  hearing  of 
which,  Bacchides  led  his  own  army  along 
with  him,  and  besides,  took  his  Jewish 
auxiliaries,  and  came  against  Jonathan, 
and  made  an  assault  upon  his  fortifications, 
and  besieged  him  many  days ;  but  Jona- 
than did  not  abate  of  his  courage  at  the 
zeal  Bacchides  used  in  the  siege,  but 
courageously  opposed  him  ;  and  while  he 
left  his  brother  Simon  in  the  city  to  fight 
with  Bacchides,  he  went  privately  out 
himself  into  the  country,  and  got  a  great 
body  of  men  together  of  his  own  party, 
and  fell  upon  Bacchides's  camp  in  the  night- 
time, and  destroyed  a  great  many  of  them. 
His  brother  Simon  knew  also  of  this  his 
falling  upon  them,  because  he  perceived 
that  the  enemies  were  slain  by  him;  so  he 
sallied  out  upon  them,  and  burnt  the 
engines  which  the  Macedonians  used,  and 
made  a  great  slaughter  of  them ;  and  when 
Bacchides  saw  himself  encompassed  with 
enemies,  and  some  of  them  before,  and 
some  behind  him,  he  fell  into  despair  and 
trouble  of  mind,  as  confounded  at  the  un- 
expected ill  success  of  this  siege.  How- 
ever, he  vented  his  displeasure  at  these 
misfortunes  upon  those  deserters  who  sent 
for  him  from  the  king,  as  having  deluded 
him.  So  he  had  a  mind  to  put  an  end  to 
this  siege  after  a  decent  manner,  if  it  were 
possible  for  him  so  to  do,  and  then  to  re- 
turn home. 

When  Jonathan  understood  these   hia 
intentions,  he    sent  ambassadors   to  him 


S84 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIII 


about  a  league  of  friendship  and  mutual 
assistance,  and  that  they  might  restore  those 
they  had  taken  captive  on  both  sides.  So 
Bacchides  thought  this  a  pretty  decent 
way  of  retiring  home,  and  made  a  league 
of  friendship  with  Jonathan,  when  the}7 
sware  that  they  would  not  any  more  make 
war  against  one  another.  Accordingly, 
he  restored  the  captives,  and  took  his  own 
men  with  him,  and  returned  to  the  king 
at  Antioch ;  and  after  this  his  departure, 
he  never  came  into  Judea  again.  Then 
did  Jonathan  take  the  opportunity  of  this 
quiet  state  of  things,  and  went  and  lived 
in  the  city  of  Michmash;  and  there  go- 
verned the  multitude,  and  punished  the 
wicked  and  ungodly,  and  by  that  means 
purged  the  nation  of  them. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Alexander  Bala  and  Demetrius  seek  the  friend- 
ship of  Jonathan — Death  of  Demetrius.  B.  C. 
158-150. 

Now  in  the  160th  year,  it  fell  out  that 
Alexander,  the  son  of  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes,*  came  up  into  Syria,  and  took  Ptole- 
mais,  the  soldiers  having  betrayed  it  to 
him,  for  they  were  at  enmity  with  Deme- 
trius, on  account  of  his  insolence  and  diffi- 
culty of  access;  for  he  shut  himself  up  in 
a  palace  of  his  that  had  four  towers,  which 
he  had  himself  built,  not  far  from  Antioch, 
and  admitted  nobody.  He  was,  withal, 
slothful  and  negligent  about  the  public 
affairs,  whereby  the  hatred  of  his  subjects 
was  the  more  kindled  against  him,  as  we 
have  elsewhere  already  related.  When, 
therefore,  Demetrius  heard  that  Alexander 
was  in  Ptolemais,  he  took  his  whole  army 
and  led  it  against  him;  he  also  sent  am- 
bassadors to  Jonathan,  about  a  league  of 
mutual  assistance  and  friendship,  for  he 
resolved  to  be  beforehand  with  Alexander, 
lest  the  other  should  treat  with  him  first,  and 
gain  assistance  from  him ;  and  this  he  did 
out  of  the  fear  he  had  lest  Jonathan  should 
remember  how  ill  Demetrius  had  formerly 
treated  him,  and  should  join  with  him  in 
this  war  against  him.  He  therefore  gave 
orders  that  Jonathan  should  be  allowed  to 
raise  an  army,  and  should  get  armour  made, 


*  This  Alexander  Bala,  who  certainly  pretended 
to  he  the  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  was 
owned  for  such  by  the  Jews  and  Bomans,  and  many 
others,  and  yet  is  by  several  historians  deemed  to 
be  a  counterfeit,  and  of  no  family  at  all,  is,  how- 
ever, by  Josephus,  believed  to  have  been  the  real 
eon  of  that  Antiochus,  and  by  him  always  spoken 
of  accordingly 


and  should  receive  back  those  hostages  of 
the  Jewish  nation  whom  Bacchides  had 
shut  up  in  the  citadel  of  Jerusalem.  When 
this  good  fortune  had  befallen  Jonathan, 
by  the  concession  of  Demetrius,  he  came 
to  Jerusalem,  and  read  the  king's  letter  in 
the  audience  of  the  people,  and  of  those 
that  kept  the  citadel.  When  these  were 
read,  these  wicked  men  and  deserters,  who 
were  in  the  citadel,  were  greatly  afraid, 
upon  the  king's  permission  to  Jonathan 
to  raise  an  army,  and  to  receive  back  the 
hostages :  so  he  delivered  every  one  of 
them  to  his  own  parents;  and  thus  did 
Jonathan  make  his  abode  at  Jerusalem, 
renewing  the  city  to  a  better  state,  and 
reforming  the  buildings  as  he  pleased;  for 
he  gave  orders  that  the  walls  of  the  city 
should  be  rebuilt  with  square  stones,  that 
it  might  be  more  secure  from  their  ene- 
mies; and  when  those  that  kept  the  gar- 
risons that  were  in  Judea  saw  this,  they 
all  left  them,  and  fled  to  Antioch,  except- 
ing those  that  were  in  the  city  Bethsura, 
and  those  that  were  in  the  citadel  of  Jeru- 
salem, for  the  greater  part  of  these  were 
of  the  wicked  Jews  and  deserters,  and  on 
that  account  tfcese  did  not  deliver  up  their 
garrisons. 

When  Alexander  knew  what  promises 
Demetrius  had  made  Jonathan,  and  withal 
knew  his  courage,  and  what  great  things 
he  had  done  when  he  fought  the  Macedo- 
nians, and  besides  what  hardships  he  had 
undergone  by  the  means  of  Demetrius, 
and  of  Bacchides,  the  general  of  Demetri- 
us's  army,  he  told  his  friends  that  he 
could  not  at  present  find  any  one  else 
that  might  afford  him  better  assistance 
than  Jonathan,  who  was  both  courageous 
against  his  enemies,  and  had  a  particular 
hatred  against  Demetrius,  as  having  both 
suffered  many  hard  things  from  him,  and 
acted  many  hard  things  against  him.  If; 
therefore,  they  were  of  opinion  that  they 
should  make  him  their  friend  against 
Demetrius,  it  was  more  for  their  advantage 
to  invite  him  to  assist  them  now  than  at 
another  time.  It  being  therefore  de- 
termined by  hirn  and  his  friends  to  send 
to  Jonathan,  he  wrote  to  him  this  epistle  : 
"  King  Alexander  to  his  brother  Jonathan, 
sendeth  greeting.  We  have  long  ago 
heard  of  thy  courage  and  thy  fidelity,  and 
for  that  reason  have  sent  to  thee,  to  make 
with  thee  a  league  of  friendship  and  mu- 
tual assistance.  We,  therefore,  do  ordain 
thee  this  day  the  high  priest  of  the  Jews, 
and  that  thou  be  called  my  friend.     I  have 


JrJAP.    II.] 


AiNTlQUlTU&S   OH    THE  JUiVYb. 


385 


also  sent  thee,  as  presents,  a  purple  robe 
and  a  golden  crown,  and  desire  that,  now 
thou  art  honoured  by  us,  thou  wilt  in  like 
manner  respect  us  also/' 

When  Jonathan  had  received  this  letter, 
he  put  on  the  pontifical  robe  at  the  time  of 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  four  years  after 
the  death  of  his  brother  Judas,  for  at  that 
time  no  high  priest  had  been  made.  So 
he  raised  great  forces,  and  had  abundance 
of  armour  got  ready.  This  greatly  grieved 
Demetrius,  when  he  heard  of  it,  and  made 
him  blame  himself  for  his  slowness,  that 
he  had  not  prevented  Alexander,  and  got 
the  good-will  of  Jonathan,  but  had  given 
him  time  so  to  do.  However,  he  also 
himself  wrote  a  letter  to  Jonathan,  and 
to  the  people,  the  contents  whereof  are 
these: — "King  Demetrius  to  Jonathan, 
and  to  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  sendeth 
greeting.  Since  you  have  preserved  your 
friendship  for  us,  and  when  you  have  been 
tempted  by  our  enemies,  you  have  not 
joined  yourselves  to  them ;  I  both  com- 
mend you  for  this  your  fidelity,  and  ex- 
hort you  to  continue  in  the  same  disposi- 
tion ;  for  which  you  shall  be  repaid,  and 
receive  rewards  from  us:  ftr  I  will  free 
you  from  the  greatest  part  of  the  tributes 
and  taxes  which  you  formerly  paid  to  the 
kings  my  predecessors,  and  to  myself; 
and  I  do  now  set  you  free  from  those  tri- 
butes which  you  have  ever  paid ;  and  be- 
sides, I  forgive  you  the  tax  upon  salt,  and 
the  value  of  the  crowns  which  you  used 
to  offer  me  :*  and  instead  of  the  third 
part  of  the  fruits  [of  the  field],  and  the 
half  of  the  fruits  of  the  trees,  I  relinquish 
my  part  of  them  from  this  day  :  and  as 
to  the  poll-money,  which  ought  to  be  given 
me  for  every  head  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Jadea,  and  of  the  three  toparchies  that 
adjoin  to  Judea,  Samaria,  and  Galilee,  and 
Perea,  that  I  relinquish  to  you  for  this 
time,  and  for  all  time  to  come.  I  will 
also,  that  the  city  of  Jerusalem  be  holy 
and  inviolable,  and  free  from  the  tithes, 
and  from  the  taxes,  unto  its  utmost  bounds : 
*nd  I  so  far  recede  from  my  title  to  the 
citadel,  as  to  permit  Jonathan  your  high 
priest  to  possess  it,  that  he  may  place  such 
a  garrison  in  it  as  he  approves  of  for  fidelity 
and  good-will  to  himself,  that  they  may 


*  Take  Grotius's  note  here  : — "The  Jews,"  says 
he,  "  were  wont  to  present  crowns  to  the  kings  [of 
Byria]j  afterward  that  gold  which  was  paid  in- 
stead of  those  crowns,  or  which  was  expended  in 
making  them,  was  called  the  crown-gold  and 
crown -tax. 

25 


keep  it  for  us.  I  also  make  free  all  those 
Jews  who  have  been  made  captives  and 
slaves  in  my  kingdom.  I  also  give  order 
that  the  beasts  of  the  Jews  be  not  pressed 
for  our  service  :  and  let  their  Sabbaths, 
and  all  their  festivals,  and  three  days  be- 
fore each  of  them,  be  free  from  any  im- 
position. In  the  same  manner,  I  set  free 
the  Jews  that  are  inhabitants  in  my  king- 
dom, and  order  that  no  injury  be  done  to 
them.  I  also  give  leave  to  such  of  them 
as  are  willing  to  list  themselves  in  my 
army,  that  they  may  do  it,  and  those  as  far 
as  30,000;  which  Jewish  soldiers,  where- 
soever they  go,  shall  have  the  same  pay 
that  my  own  army  hath ;  and  some  of 
them  I  will  place  in  my  garrisons,  and 
some  as  guards  about  my  own  body,  and 
as  rulers  over  those  that  are  in  my  court. 
I  give  them  leave  also  to  use  the  laws  of 
their  forefathers,  and  to  observe  them; 
and  I  will  that  they  have  power  over  the 
three  toparchies  that  are  added  to  Judea; 
and  it  shall  be  in  the  power  of  the  high- 
priest  to  take  care  that  no  one  Jew  shall 
have  any  other  temple  for  worship  but 
only  that  at  Jerusalem.  I  bequeath  also, 
out  of  my  own  revenues,  yearly,  for  the 
expenses  about  the  sacrifices,  150,000 
[drachmae] ;  and  what  money  is  to  spare, 
I  will  that  it  shall  be  your  own.  I  also 
release  to  you  those  10,000  drachmae 
which  the  kings  received  from  the  temple, 
because  they  appertain  to  the  priests  that 
minister  in  that  temple.  And  whosoever 
shall  fly  to  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  or  to 
the  places  thereto  belonging,  or  who  owe 
the  king  money,  or  are  there  on  any  other 
account,  let  them  be  set  free,  and  let  their 
goods  be  in  safety.  I  also  give  you  leave 
to  repair  and  rebuild  your  temple,  and 
that  all  be  done  at  my  expenses.  I  also 
allow  you  to  build  the  walls  of  your  city, 
and  to  erect  high  towers,  and  that  they  be 
erected  at  my  charge.  And  if  there  bo 
any  fortified  town  that  would  be  conve- 
nient for  the  Jewish  country  to  have  very 
strong,  let  it  be  so  built  at  my  expense. " 
This  was  what  Demetrius  promised  and 
granted  to  the  Jews  by  this  letter.  But 
King  Alexander  raised  a  great  army  of 
mercenary  soldiers,  and  of  those  that  de- 
serted to  him  out  of  Syria,  and  made  an 
expedition  against  Demetrius.  Aud  when 
it  had  come  to  a  battle,  the  left  wing  of 
Demetrius  put  those  who  opposed  them  to 
flight,  aud  pursued  them  a  great  way,  and 
slew  many  of  them,  and  spoiled  their 
camp;   but  the  right  wing,  where  Demo- 


386 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIII. 


trius  happened  to  be,  was  beaten ;  and  as  for 
all  the  rest,  they  ran  away.  But  Deme- 
trius fought  courageously,  and  slew  a  great 
many  of  the  enemy ;  but  as  he  was  in 
pursuit  of  the  rest,  his  horse  carried  him 
into  a  deep  bog,  where  it  was  hard  to  get 
out,  and  there  it  happened,  that  upon  his 
horse's  falling  down,  he  could  not  escape 
being  killed ;  for  when  his  enemies  saw 
what  had  befallen  him,  they  returned  back, 
and  encompassed  Demetrius  round,  and 
they  all  threw  their  darts  at  him  ;  but  he, 
being  now  on  foot,  fought  bravely.  But 
at  length  he  received  so  many  wounds, 
that  he  was  not  able  to  bear  up  any  longer, 
but  fell.  And  this  is  the  end  that  Deme- 
trius came  to,  when  he  had  reigned  eleven 
years,*  as  we  have  elsewhere  related. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Onia3  erects  a  Temple  in  Egypt  similar  to  the  one 
in  Jerusalem. 

But  then  the  son  of  Onias  the  high 
priest,  who  was  of  the  same  name  with 
his  father,  and  who  fled  to  King  Ptolemy, 
who  was  called  Philometor,  lived  now  at 
Alexandria,,  as  we  have  said  already. 
When  this  Onias  saw  that  Judea  was  op- 
pressed by  the  Macedonians  and  their 
kings,  out  of  a  desire  to  purchase  to 
himself  a  memorial  and  eternal  fame, 
he  resolved  to  send  to  King  Ptolemy 
and  Queen  Cleopatra,  to  ask  leave  of  ,them 
that  he  might  build  a  temple  in  Egypt 
like  to  that  at  Jerusalem,  and  might  ordain 
Levites  and  priests  out  of  their  own  stock. 
The  chief  reason  why  he  was  desirous  so 
to  do,  was,  that  he  relied  upon  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  who  lived  about  600  years  before, 
and  foretold  that  there  certainly  was  to 
be  a  temple  built  to  Almighty  God  in 
Egypt,  by  a  man  that  was  a  Jew.  Onias 
was  elevated  with  this  prediction,  and  wrote 
the  following  epistle  to  Ptolemy  and  Cleo- 
patra : — "  Having  done  many  and  great 
things  for  you  in  the  affairs  of  the  war, 
by  the  assistance  of  God,  and  that  in  Cele- 
syria  and  Phoenicia,  I  came  at  length  with 
the  Jews  to  Leontopolis,  and  to  other  places 
of  your  nation,  where  I  found  that  the 
greatest  part  of  your  people  had  temples 
in  an  improper  manner,  and  that  on  this 
account  they  bore  ill-will  one  against 
another,  which  happens  to  the  Egyptains 

*  Since  the  rest  of  the  historians  now  extant 
give  this  Demetrius  13  years,  and  Josephus  only 
il  years,  Dean  Prideaux  does  not  amiss  in  ascrib- 
ing to  him  tho  mean  number,  12. 


by  reason  of  the  multitude  of  their  tem- 
ples, and  the  difference  of  opinions  about 
divine  worship.  Now  I  found  a  very  lit 
place  in  a  castle  that  hath  its  name  from 
the  country,  Diana;  this  place  is  full  of  ma- 
terials of  several  sorts,  and  replenished  with 
sacred  animals :  I  desire,  therefore,  that 
you  will  grant  me  leave  to  purge  this  holy 
place,  which  belongs  to  no  master,  and  is 
fallen  down,  and  to  build  there  a  temple 
to  Almighty  God,  after  the  pattern  of  that 
in  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  same  dimensions, 
that  may  be  for  the  benefit  of  thyself,  and 
thy  wife  and  children,  that  those  Jews 
who  dwell  in  Egypt  may  have  a  place 
whither  they  may  come  and  meet  together, 
in  mutual  harmony  one  with  another,  and 
be  subservient  to  thy  advantages;  for  the 
prophet  Isaiah  foretold  that  *  there  should 
be  an  altar  in  Egypt  to  the  Lord  God;' 
and  many  other  such  things  did  he  pro- 
phecy relating  to  that  place." 

And  this  was  what  Onias  wrote  to  King 
Ptolemy.  Now  any  one  may  observe  his 
piety,  and  that  of  his  sister  and  wife  Cleo- 
patra, by  that  epistle  which  they  wrote  in 
answer  to  it;  for  they  laid  the  blame  and 
the  transgression  of  the  law  upon  the  head 
of  Onias.  And  this  was  their  reply: — 
"King  Ptolemy  and  Queen  Cleopatra  to 
Onias,  send  greeting.  We  have  read  thy 
petition,  wherein  thou  desirest  leave  to  be 
given  to  thee  to  purge  that  temple  which 
has  fallen  down  at  Leontopolis,  in  the 
Nomus  of  Heliopolis,  and  which  is  named 
from  the  country  Bubastis ;  on  which  ac- 
count we  cannot  but  wonder  that  it  should 
be  pleasing  to  God  to  have  a  temple  erect- 
ed in  a  place  so  unclean,  and  so  full  oi 
sacred  animals.  Bnt  since  thou  sayest 
that  Isaiah  the  prophet  foretold  this  long 
ago,  we  give  thee  leave  to  do  it,  if  it  may 
be  done  according  to  your  law,  and  so 
that  we  may  not  appear  to  have  at  all  of- 
fended God  herein.' ' 

So  Onias  took  the  place,  and  built  a 
temple,  and  an  altar  to  God,  like  indeed 
to  that  in  Jerusalem,  but  smaller  and 
poorer.  I  do  not  think  it  proper  for  me 
now  to  describe  its  dimensions,  or  its  ves- 
sels, which  have  been  already  described  in 
my  seventh  book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Jews. 
However,  Onias  found  other  Jews  like  to 
himself,  together  with  priests  and  Levites, 
that  there  performed  divine  service.  But 
we  have  said  enough  about  this  temple. 

Now  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Alexan- 
drian Jews,  and  those  Samaritans  who 
paid  their  worship  to  the  temple  that  was 


Chap  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEW'S. 


387 


built  in  the  days  of  A.exander  at  Mount 
Gerizzim,  did  now  make  a  sedition  one 
against  another,  and  disputed  about  their 
temples  before  Ptolemy  himself,  the  Jews 
saying  that,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
the  temple  was  to  be  built  at  Jerusalem  ; 
and  the  Samaritans  saying  that  it  was  to  be 
built  at  Gerizzim.  They  desired,  there- 
fore, the  king  to  sit  with  his  friends  and 
hear  the  debates  about  these  matters,  and 
punish  those  with  death  who  were  baffled. 
Now  Sabbeus  and  Theodosius  managed  the 
argument  for  the  Samaritans,  and  Andro- 
nicus,  the  son  of  Messalamus,  for  the  peo- 
ple of  Jerusalem ;  and  they  took  an  oath 
by  God  and  the  king,  to  make  their  demon- 
strations according  to  the  law ;  and  they 
desired  of  Ptolemy,  that  whosoever  he 
should  find  that  transgressed  what  they 
had  sworn  to,  he  would  put  him  to  death. 
Accordingly,  the  king  took  several  of  his 
friends  into  the  council,  and  sat  down,  in 
order  to  hear  what  the  pleaders  said. 
Now  the  Jews  that  were  at  Alexandria 
were  in  great  concern  for  those  men,  whose 
lot  it  was  to  contend  for  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem;  for  they  took  it  very  ill  that 
any  should  take  away  the  reputation  of 
that  temple,  which  was  so  ancient  and  so 
celebrated  all  over  the  habitable  earth. 
Now  when  Sabbeus  and  Theodosius  had 
given  leave  to  Andronicus  to  speak  first, 
he  began  to  demonstrate  out  of  the  law, 
and  out  of  the  successions  of  the  high 
priests,  how  they  every  one  in  succession 
from  his  father  had  received  that  dignity, 
and  ruled  over  the  temple;  and  how  all 
the  kings  of  Asia  had  honoured  that  temple 
with  their  donations,  and  with  the  most 
splendid  gifts  dedicated  thereto :  but  as 
for  that  at  Gerizzim,  he  made  no  account 
of  it,  and  regarded  it  as  if  it  had  never  had 
a  being.  By  this  speech  and  other  argu- 
ments, Andronicus  persuaded  the  king  to 
determine  that  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 
was  built  according  to  the  laws  of  Moses, 
and  to  put  Sabbeus  and  Theodosius  to  death. 
And  these  were  the  events  that  befell  the 
Jews  at  Alexandria,  in  the  days  of  Pto- 
lemy Philometor. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Alexander  honours  Jonathan — is  defeated  by  De- 
metrius II.,  \vho  makes  a  league  with  Jonathan. 
B.  C.  150-145. 

Demetrius  being  thus  slain  in  battle, 
as  we  have  before  related,  Alexander  took 
the    kingdom    of   Syria;    and   wrote    to 


Ptolemy  Philometor,  and  desired  his 
daughter  in  marriage ;  and  said  it  was 
but  just  he  should  be  joined  in  affinity  to 
one  that  had  now  received  the  principality 
of  his  forefathers,  and  had  been  promoted 
to  it  by  God's  providence,  and  had  con- 
quered Demetrius ;  and  that  was  on  other 
accounts  not  unworthy  of  being  related  to 
him.  Ptolemy  received  this  proposal  of 
marriage  gladly;  and  wrote  him  an 
answer,  saluting  him  on  account  of  his 
having  received  the  principality  of  his 
forefathers;  and  promising  him  that  he 
would  give  him  his  daughter  in  marriage; 
and  assured  him  that  he  was  coming  to 
meet  him  at  Ptolemais,  and  desired  that 
he  would  there  meet  him,  for  that  he 
would  accompany  her  from  Egypt  so  far, 
and  would  there  marry  his  child  to  him. 
When  Ptolemy  had  written  thus,  he  came 
suddenly  to  Ptolemais,  and  brought  his 
daughter  Cleopatra  along  with  him ;  and 
as  he' found  Alexander  there  before  him, 
as  he  desired  him  to  come,  he  gave  him 
his  child  in  marriage,  and  for  her  portion 
gave  her  as  much  silver  and  gold  as  be- 
came such  a  king  to  give. 

When  the  wedding  was  over,  Alexan- 
der wrote  to  Jonathan,  the  high  priest,, 
and  desired  him  to  come  to  Ptolemais. 
So  when  he  came  to  these  kings,  and  had 
made  them  magnificent  presents,  he  was 
honoured  by  them  both.  Alexander  com 
pelled  him  also  to  put  off  his  own  garment, 
and  to  take  a  purple  garment,  and  made 
him  sit  with  him  on  his  throne;  and  com- 
manded his  captains  that  they  should  go 
with  him  into  the  middle  of  the  city,  and 
proclaim  that  it  was  not  permitted  to 
any  one  to  speak  against  him,  or  to  give 
him  any  disturbance.  And  when  the 
captains  had  thus  done,  those  that  were 
prepared  to  accuse  Jonathan,  and  who 
bore  him  ill-will,  when  they  saw  the 
honour  that  was  done  him  by  proclama- 
tion, and  that  by  the  king's  order,  ran 
away,  and  were  afraid  lest  some  mischief 
should  befall  them.  Nay,  King  Alexander 
was  so  very  kind  to  Jonathan,  that  he  set 
him  down  as  the  principal  of  his  friends. 

But  then,  upon  the  165th  year,  De- 
metrius, the  son  of  Demetrius,  came  from 
Crete  with  a  great  number  of  mercenary 
soldiers,  which  Lasthenes  the  Cretan 
brought  him,  and  sailed  to  Cilicia.  This 
thing  cast  Alexander  into  great  concern 
and  disorder  when  he  heard  it;  so  he 
made  haste  immediately  out  of  Phoenicia 
and  came  to  Antioch,  that  he  might  put 


388 


AJNT1QU1T1ES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  Xlll. 


matters  in  a  safe  posture  there  before 
Demetrius  should  come.  He  also  left 
Apollonius  Daus  governor  of  Celesyria, 
who,  coming  to  Jamnia  with  a  great 
army,  sent  to  Jonathan,  the  high  priest, 
and  told  him  that  it  was  not  right  that 
he  alone  should  live  at  rest,  and  with 
authority,  and  not  be  subject  to  the 
king ;  that  this  thing  had  made  him  a 
reproach  among  all  men,  that  he  had  not 
yet  made  him  subject  to  the  king.  "Do 
not  thou,  therefore,  deceive  thyself,  and 
sit  still  among  the  mountains,  and  pre- 
tend to  have  forces  with  thee ;  but  if  thou 
hast  any  dependence  on  thy  strength, 
come  down  into  the  plain  and  let  our 
armies  be  compared  together,  and  the 
event  of  the  battle  will  demonstrate 
which  of  us  is  the  most  courageous. 
However,  take  notice,  that  the  most 
valiant  men  of  every  city  are  in  my 
army,  and  that  these  are  the  very  men 
who  have  always  beaten  thy  progenitors ; 
but  let  us  have  the  battle  in  such  a  place 
of  the  country  where  we  may  fight  with 
weapons,  and  not  with  stones,  and  where 
there  may  be  no  place  whither  those  that 
are  beaten  may  fly." 

With  this,  Jonathan  was  irritated; 
and  choosing  himself  out  10,000  of  his 
soldiers,  he  went  out  of  Jerusalem  in 
haste,  with  his  brother  Simon,  and  came 
to  Joppa,  and  pitched  his  camp  on  the 
outside  of  the  city,  because  the  people  of 
Joppa  had  shut  their  gates  against  him, 
for  they  had  a  garrison  in  the  city  put 
there  by  Apollonius.  But  when  Jona- 
than was  preparing  to  besiege  them,  they 
were  afraid  he  would  take  them  by  force, 
and  so  they  opened  the  gates  to  him. 
But  Apollonius,  when  he  heard  that 
Joppa  was  taken  by  Jonathan,  took  3000 
horsemen,  and  8000  footmen,  and  came 
to  Ashdod ;  and  removing  thence,  he 
made  his  journey  silently  and  slowly,  and 
going  up  to  Joppa,  he  made  as  if  he  was 
retiring  from  the  place,  and  so  drew 
Jonathan  into  the  plain,  as  valuing  him- 
self highly  upon  his  horsemen,  and  hav- 
ing his  hopes  of  victory  principally  in 
them.  However,  Jonathan  sallied  out, 
and  pursued  Apollonius  to  Ashdod;  but 
as  soon  as  Apollonius  perceived  that  his 
enemy  was  in  the  plain,  he  came  back 
and  gave  him  battle.  But  Apollonius 
had  laid  1000  horsemen  in  ambush  in  a 
valley,  that  they  might  be  seen  by  their 
enemies  as  behind  them;  which,  when 
Jonathan   perceived,   he    was    under    no 


consternation,  but,  ordering  his  army  to 
stand  in  a  square  battle  array,  he  gave 
them  a  charge  to  fall  on  the  enemy  on 
both   sides,  and   set   them   to  face   those 
that  attacked  them  both  before  and  be- 
hind ;  and  while  the  fight  lasted  till  the 
evening,  he  gave  part  of  his  forces  to  his 
brother  Simon,  and  ordered  him  to  attack 
the  enemies ;   but  for  himself  he  charged 
those  that  were  with  him  to  cover  them- 
selves with  their  armour,  and  receive  the 
darts  of  the  horsemen,  who  did  as  they 
were  commanded;    so  that   the  enemy's 
horsemen,  while    they  threw   their    darts 
till  they  had  no  more  left,  did  them  no 
harm,  for  the  darts  that  were  thrown  did 
not  enter  into  their  bodies,  being  thrown 
upon   the    shields   that  were  united   and 
conjoined  together,  the  closeness  of  which 
easily  overcame  the  force  of  the  darts,  and 
they  flew  about  without  any  effect.     But 
when  the  enemy  grew  remiss  in  throwing 
their    darts,   from    morning    till    late    at 
night,   Simon    perceived  their  weariness, 
and  fell  upon   the   body  of   men   before 
him;    and    because    his    soldiers   showed 
great  alacrity,  he  put  the  enemy  to  flight: 
and  when  the  horsemen  saw  that  the  foot- 
men ran  away,  neither  did  they  stay  them- 
selves; but  they  being  very  weary,  by  the 
duration  of  the  fight  till  the  evening,  and 
their  hope  from  the  footmen  being  quite 
gone,  they  basely  ran  away,  and  in  great 
confusion    also,  till    they  were   separated 
one  from  another,  and  scattered  over  all 
the    plain.     Upon   which  Jonathan   pur- 
sued them  as  far  as  Ashdod,  and  slew  a 
great  many  of  them,  and  compelled  the 
rest,  in  despair  of  escaping,  to  fly  to  the 
temple  of  Dagon,  which  was  at  Ashdod : 
but  Jonathan  took  the  city  on  the  first 
onset,    and    burnt    it,    and    the    villages 
about  it;    nor  did   he   abstain  from   the  . 

temple  of  Dagon  itself,  but  burnt  it  also, 
and  destroyed  those  that  had  fled  to  it. 
Now  the  entire  multitude  of  the  enemies 
that  fell  in  the  battle,  and  were  consumed 
in  the  temple,  were  8000.  When  Jona- 
than, therefore,  had  overcome  so  great  an 
army,  he  removed  from  Ashdod,  and 
came  to  Askelon :  and  when  he  had 
pitched  his  camp  without  the  city,  the 
people  of  Askelon  came  out  and  met 
him,  bringing  him  hospitable  presents, 
and  honouring  him ;  so  he  accepted  of 
their  kind  intentions,  and  returned  thence 
to  Jerusalem  with  a  great  deal  of  prey, 
which  he  brought  thence  when  he  con- 
quered his  enemies.     But  when  Alexan- 


<;hap.  IV. 


ANTIQUITIES  OB1   THE   JEW  a. 


389 


der  heard  that  Apollonius,  the  general  of 
his  army,  was  beaten,  he  pretended  to  be 
glad  of  it,  because  he  had  fought  with 
Jonathan,  his  friend  and  ally,  against  his 
directions.  Accordingly,  he  sent  to  Jo- 
nathan, and  gave  testimony  to  his  worth ; 
and  gave  him  honorary  rewards,  as  a 
golden  button,*  which  it  is  the  custom  to 
give  the  king's  kinsmen,  and  allowed  him 
Ekron  and  its  toparchy  for  his  own  in- 
heritance. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  King 
Ptolemy,  who  was  called  Philometor,  led 
an  army,  part  by  sea  and  part  by  land, 
and  came  to  Syria,  to  the  assistance  of 
Alexander,  who  was  his  son-in-law;  and 
accordingly  all  the  cities  received  him 
willingly,  as  Alexander  had  commanded 
them  to  do,  and  conducted  him  as  far  as 
Ashdod;  where  they  all  made  loud  com- 
plaints about  the  temple  of  Dagon,  which 
was  burnt,  and  accused  Jonathan  of  hav- 
ing laid  it  waste,  and  destroyed  the 
country  adjoining  with  fire,  and  slain  a 
great  number  of  them.  Ptolemy  heard 
these  accusations,  but  said  nothing.  Jo- 
nathan also  went  to  meet  Ptolemy  as  far 
as  Joppa,  and  obtained  from  him  hospitable 
presents,  and  those  glorious  in  their 
kinds,  with  all  the  marks  of  honour;  and 
when  he  had  conducted  him  as  far  as  the 
river  called  Eleutherus,  he  returned  again 
to  Jerusalem. 

But  as  Ptolemy  was  at  Ptolemais,  he 
was  very  near  to  a  most  unexpected  de- 
struction; for  a  treacherous  design  was 
laid  for  his  life  by  Alexander,  by  the 
means  of  Ammonius,  who  was  his  friend  : 
and  as  the  treachery  was  very  plain, 
Ptolemy  wrote  to  Alexander,  and  re- 
quired of  him  that  he  should  bring  Am- 
monius to  condign  punishment,  informing 
him  what  snares  had  been  laid  for  him  by 
Ainnionius,  and  desiring  that  he  might 
be  accordingly  punished  for  it;  but  when 
Alexander  did  not  comply  with  his  de- 
mands, he  perceived  that  it  was  he  him- 
Belf  who  laid  the  design,  and  was  very 
angry  at  him.  Alexander  had  also  for- 
merly been  on  very  ill  terms  with  the 
people  of  Antioch,  for  they  had  suffered 
very  much  by  this  means;  yet  did  Am- 
monius at  length  undergo  the  punishment 
his  insolent  crimes  had  deserved,  for  he 
was  killed  in  an  opprobrious  manner,  like 
a  woman,  while  he  endeavouied  to  con- 


*  The  Phoenicians  and  Romans  used  to  reward 
luch  as  had  deserved  well  of  them,  by  presenting 
to  them  a  gold  button." — Br.  Muduou. 


ceal  himself  in  a  feminine  habit,  &s  we 
have  elsewhere  related. 

Hereupon  Ptolemy  blamed  himself  for 
having  given  his  daughter  in  marriage  tr 
Alexander,   and    for  the    league  he   had 
made  with  him  to  assist  him  against  De- 
metrius; so  he  dissolved  his  relation  to 
him,  and   took   his   daughter  away  from 
him,  and  immediately  sent  to  Demetrius, 
and  offered  to  make  a  league  of  mutual 
assistance  and  friendship  with   him,  and 
agreed  with  him  to  give  him  his  daughter 
in   marriage,  and  to  restore   him   to  the 
principality    of   his    fathers.     Demetrius 
was  well    pleased    with   this    embassage, 
and  accepted  of  his  assistance,  and  of  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter;  but  Ptolemy 
had  still  one  more  hard  task  to  do,  and 
that  was  to  persuade  the  people  of  An- 
tioch to  receive  Demetrius,  because  they 
were  greatly  displeased  at  him,  on  account 
of  the  injuries  his  father  Demetrius  had 
done  them ;  yet  did  he  bring  this  about ; 
for  as  the  people  of  Antioch  hated  Alex- 
ander on  Ammonius's  account,  as  we  have 
shown  already,  they  were  easily  prevailed 
with   to  cast  him  out  of  Antioch ;  who, 
thus  expelled  out  of  Antioch,  came  into 
Cilicia.     Ptolemy  came  then  to  Antioch, 
and  was   made  king  by  its  inhabitants, 
and  by  the  army ;  so  that  he  was  forced 
to  put  on  his  own  two  diadems,  the  one  of 
Asia,   the    other    of    Egypt;    but   being 
naturally   a  good   and  a  righteous  man, 
and   not   desirous    of   what   belonged    to 
others,   and   besides    these    dispositions, 
being  also  a  wise  man  in  reasoning  about 
futurities,    he    determined    to   avoid    the 
envy   of  the   Romans,  so   he   called   the 
people  of  Antioch  together  to  an  assembly, 
and  persuaded  them  to  receive  Demetrius; 
and  assured  them  that  he  would  not  be 
mindful  of  what  they  did  to  his  father  in 
case  he  should  be  now  obliged  by  them ; 
and  he  undertook  that  he  would  himself 
be  a  good  monitor  and  governor  to  him ; 
and   promised  that  he  would  not  permit 
him  to  attempt  any  bad  actions ;  but  that, 
for  his  own  part,  he  was  contented  with 
the  kingdom  of  Egypt.     By  which  dis- 
course he  persuaded  the  people  of  An- 
tioch to  receive  Demetrius. 

But  now  Alexander  made  haste,  with  a 
numerous  and  great  army,  and  came  ou* 
of  Cilicia  into  Syria,  and  burnt  the 
country  belonging  to  Antioch,  and  pil- 
laged it;  whereupon  Ptolemy,  and  his 
son-in-law  Demetrius,  brought  their  army 
against   him,  (for  he   had   already  given 


890 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


[Book  X1I1. 


him  his  daughter  in  marriage,)  and  beat 
Alexander,  and  put  him  to  flight;  and 
iccordingly  he  fled  into  Arabia.  Now, 
it  happened  in  the  time  of  the  battle  that 
Ptolemy's  horse,  upon  hearing  the  noise 
of  an  elephant,  cast  him  off  his  back,  and 
threw  him  on  the  ground;  upon  the 
sight  of  which  accident  his  enemies  fell 
upon  him,  and  gave  him  many  wounds 
upon  his  head,  and  brought  him  into 
danger  of  death,  for  when  his  guards 
caught  him  up,  he  was  so  very  ill,  that 
for  four  days'  time  he  was  not  able  either 
to  understand  or  to  speak  However, 
Zabdiel,  a  prince  among  the  Arabians, 
cut  off  Alexander's  head  and  sent  it  to 
Ptolemy,  who  recovering  of  his  wounds, 
and  returning  to  his  understanding,  on 
the  fifth  day,  heard  at  once  a  most 
agreeable  hearing,  and  saw  a  most  agree- 
able sight,  which  were  the  death  and  the 
head  of  Alexander;  yet,  a  little  after 
this  his  joy  for  the  death  of  Alexander, 
with  which  he  was  so  greatly  satisfied,  he 
also  departed  this  life.  Now  Alexander, 
who  was  called  Balas,  reigned  over 
Asia  five  years,  as  we  have  elsewhere  re- 
lated. 

But  when  Demetrius,  who  was  styled 
Nicator,*  had  taken  the  kingdom,  he 
was  so  wicked  as  to  treat  Ptolemy's 
soldiers  very  hardly,  neither  remembering 
the  league  of  mutual  assistance  that  was 
between  them,  nor  that  he  was  his  son- 
in-law  and  kin>man,  by  Cleopatra's  mar- 
riage to  him  ;  so  the  soldiers  fled  from 
his  wicked  treatment  to  Alexandria;  but 
Demetrius  kept  his  elephants.  But  Jo- 
nathan the  high  priest  levied  an  army  out 
of  all  Judea,  and  attacked  the  citadel  at 
Jerusalem,  and  besieged  it.  It  was  held 
by  a  garrison  of  Macedonians,  and  by 
some  of  those  men  who  had  deserted  the 
customs  of  their  forefathers.  These  men 
at  first  despised  the  attempts  of  Jonathan 
for  taking  the  place,  as  depending  on  its 
strength ;  but  some  of  those  wicked  men 
went  out  by  night,  and  came  to  Deme- 
trius, and  informed  him  that  the  citadel 
was  besieged ;  who  was  irritated  with 
what  he  heard,  and  took  his  army,  and 
came  from  Antioch,  against  Jonathan. 
And  when  he  was  at  Antioch,  he  wrote 
to    him,  and   commanded    him    to    come 

*  This  name,  Demetrius  Nicator,  or  Demetrius 
toe  Conqueror,  is  so  written  on  his  coins,  still  ex- 
tant, as  Hudson  and  Spanheim  inform  us ;  the 
latter  of  whom  gives  us  the  entire  inscription — 
M  King  Demetrius  the  god,  Philadelphus,  Nica- 
tor.*' 


to  him  quickly  to  Ptolemais :  upon  which 
Jonathan  did  not  intermit  the  siege  of 
the  citadel,  but  took  with  him  the  elders 
of  the  people,  and  the  priests,  and  carried 
with  him  gold,  and  silver,  and  garments, 
and  a  great  number  of  presents  of  friend- 
ship, and  came  to  Demetrius,  and  pre- 
sented him  with  them,  and  thereby 
pacified  the  king's  anger.  So  he  was 
honoured  by  him,  and  received  from  him 
the  confirmation  of  his  high-priesthood, 
as  he  had  possessed  it  by  the  grants  of 
the  kings  his  predecessors.  And  when 
the  Jewish  deserters  accused  him,  Deme- 
trius was  so  far  from  giving  credit  to 
them,  that  when  he  petitioned  him  that 
he  would  demand  no  more  than  300 
talents  for  the  tribute  of  all  Judea,  and 
the  three  toparchies  of  Samaria,  and 
Perea,  and  Galilee,  he  complied  with  the 
proposal,  and  gave  him  a  letter  con- 
firming those  grants;  the  contents  of 
which  were  as  follows  : — u  King  Deme- 
trius to  Jonathan  his  brother,  and  to  the 
nation  of  the  Jews,  sendeth  greeting. 
We  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  that  epistle 
which  we  have  written  to  Lasthenes  our 
kinsman,  that  you  may  know  its  con- 
tents. 'King  Demetrius  to  Lasthenes 
our  father,  sendeth  greeting.  I  have  de- 
termined to  return  thanks,  and  to  show 
favour  to  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  who 
have  observed  the  rules  of  justice  in  our 
concerns.  Accordingly,  I  remit  to  them 
the  three  prefectures,  Apherima,  aud 
Lydda,  and  llamatha,  which  have  been 
added  to  Judea,  out  of  Samaria,  with 
their  appurtenances :  as  also  what  the 
kings  my  predecessors  received  from 
those  that  offered  sacrifices  in  Jerusalem, 
and  what  are  due  from  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  and  of  the  trees,  and  what  else 
belongs  to  us;  with  the  saltpits,  and  the 
crowns  that  used  to  be  presented  to  us. 
Nor  shall  they  be  compelled  to  pay  any 
of  those  taxes  from  this  time  to  all 
futurity.  Take  care,  therefore,  that  a 
copy  of  this  epistle  be  taken,  and  given 
to  Jonathan,  aud  be  set  up  in  an  eminent 
place  of  their  holy^temple.'  "  And  these 
were  the  contents  of  this  writing.  A.nd 
now  when  Demetrius  saw  that  there  was 
peace  everywhere,  and  that  there  was  no 
danger,  nor  fear  of  war,  he  disbanded  the 
greatest  part  of  his  army,  and  diminished 
their  pay,  and  even  retained  in  pay  no 
others  than  such  foreigners  as  came 
up  with  him  from  Crete,  and  from 
the  other   islands.     However,   this  pro- 


Chap  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


391 


cured  him  ill-will  and  hatred  from  the 
soldiers,  on  whom  he  bestowed  nothing 
from  this  time,  while  the  kings  before 
him  used  to  pay  them  in  time  of  peace, 
as  they  did  before,  that  they  might  have 
their  good-will,  and  that  they  might  be 
very  ready  to  undergo  the  difficulties  of 
war,  if  any  occasion  should  require  it. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Demetrius  is  defeated  by  Trypho,  who  gives  the 
kingdom  to  Antiochus.     B.  C.  144. 

Now  there  was  a  certain  commander 
of  Alexander's  forces,  an  Apanemian  by 
birth,  whose  name  was  Diodotus,  and 
was  also  called  Trypho,  took  notice  of  the 
ill-will  the  soldiers  bore  to  Demetrius, 
and  went  to  Malchus  the  Arabian,  who 
brought  up  Antiochus,  the  sou  of  Alex- 
ander, and  told  him  what  ill-will  the 
army  bore  Demetrius,  and  persuaded  him 
to  give  him  Antiochus,  because  he  would 
make  him  king,  and  recover  to  him  the 
kingdom  of  his  father.  Malchus  at  first 
opposed  him  in  this  attempt,  because  he 
could  not  believe  him ;  but  when  Trypho 
lay  hard  at  him  for  a  long  time,  he  over- 
persuaded  him  to  comply  with  Trypho's 
intentions  and  entreaties.  And  this  was 
the  state  Trypho  was  now  in. 

But  Jonathan  the  high  priest  being  de- 
sirous to  get  clear  of  those  that  were  in  the 
citadel  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  Jewish 
deserters  and  wicked  men,  as  well  as 
those  in  all  the  garrisons  in  the  country, 
sent  presents  and  ambassadors  to  Deme- 
trius, and  entreated  him  to  take  away  his 
soldiers  out  of  the  strongholds  of  Judea. 
Demetrius  made  answer,  that  after  the 
war  which  he  was  now  deeply  engaged  in 
was  over,  he  would  not  only  grant  him 
that,  but  greater  things  than  that  also  : 
and  he  desired  that  he  would  send  him 
sume  assistance;  and  informed  him  that 
his  army  had  deserted  him.  So  Jona- 
than chose  out  3000  of  his  soldiers,  and 
sent  them  to  Demetrius. 

Now  the  people  of  Antioch  hated  De- 
metrius, both  on  account  of  what  mis- 
chief he  had  himself  done  thorn,  and 
because  they  were  his  enemies  also  on 
account  of  his  father  Demetrius,  who  had 
greatly  abused  them ;  so  they  watched 
sume  opportunity  which  they  might  lay 
hold  on,  to  fall  upon  him.  And  when 
they  were  informed  of  the  assistance  that 
was  coming  to  Demetrius  from  Jonathan, 


and  considered  at  the  same  time  that  he 
would  raise  a  numerous  army,  unless 
they  prevented  him  and  seized  upon  him, 
they  took  their  weapons  immediately,  and 
encompassed  his  palace  in  the  way  of  a 
siege,  and  seizing  upon  all  the  ways  of 
getting  out,  they  sought  to  subdue  their 
king.  And  when  he  saw  that  the  people 
of  Antioch  had  become  his  bitter  enemies, 
and  that  they  were  thus  in  arms,  he  took 
the  mercenary  soldiers  which  he  had  with 
him,  and  those  Jews  who  were  sent  by 
Jonathan,  and  assaulted  the  Antiochians: 
but  he  was  overpowered  by  them,  for 
they  were  many  ten  thousands,  and  was 
beaten.  But  when  the  Jews  saw  that  the 
Antiochians  were  superior,  they  went  up 
to  the  top  of  the  palace,  and  shot  at  them 
from  thence ;  and  because  they  were  so 
remote  from  them  by  their  height,  that 
they  suffered  nothing  on  their  side,  but 
did  great  execution  on  the  others,  as 
fighting  from  such  an  elevation,  they 
drove  them  out  of  the  adjoining  houses, 
and  immediately  set  them  on  fire,  where- 
upon the  flame  spread  itself  over  the 
whole  city,  and  burnt  it  all  down.  This 
happened  by  reason  of  the  closeness  of 
the  houses,  and  because  they  were  gene- 
rally built  of  wood  :  so  the  Antiochians, 
when  they  were  not  able  to  help  them- 
selves, nor  to  stop  the  fire,  were  put  to 
flight.  And  as  the  Jews  leaped  from  the 
top  of  one  house  to  the  top  of  another, 
and  pursued  them  after  that  manner,  it 
thence  happened  that  the  pursuit  was 
very  surprising.  But  when  the  king  saw 
that  the  Antiochians  were  very  busy  in 
saving  their  children  and  their  wives,  and 
so  did  not  fight  any  longer,  he  fell  upon 
them  in  the  narrow  passages,  and  fought 
them,  and  slew  a  great  number  of  them, 
till  at  last  they  were  forced  to  throw 
down  their  arms,  and  to  deliver  them- 
selves up  to  Demetrius.  So  he  forgave 
this  their  insolent  behaviour,  and  put  an 
end  to  the  sedition  :  and  when  he  had 
given  rewards  to  the  Jews  out  of  the  rich 
spoils  he  had  gotten,  and  had  returned 
them  thanks,  as  the  cause  of  his  victory, 
he  sent  them  away  to  Jerusalem  to  Jona- 
than, with  an  ample  testimony  of  the 
assistance  they  had  afforded  him.  Yet 
did  he  prove  an  ill  man  to  Jonathan 
afterward,  and  broke  the  promises  he  had 
made  :  and  he  threatened  that  he  would 
make  war  upon  him,  unless  he  would  pay 
all  that  tribute  which  the  Jewish  nation 
owed  to  the  first  kings  [of  Syria}      And 


392 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIII 


this  he  had  done,  if  Trypho  had  not 
hindered  him,  and  diverted  his  prepara- 
tions against  Jonathan  to  a  concern  for 
his  own  preservation ;  for  he  now  re- 
turned out  of  Arabia  into  Syria,  with  the 
child  Antiochus,  for  he  was  yet  in  age 
but  a  youth,  and  put  the  diadem  on  his 
head ;  and  as  the  whole  forces  that  had 
left  Demetrius,  because  they  had  no  pay, 
came  to  his  assistance,  he  made  war  upon 
Demetrius,  and  joining  battle  with  him, 
overcame  him  in  the  fight,  and  took  from 
him  both  his  elephants  and  the  city  of 
Antioch. 

Demetrius,  upon  this  defeat,  retired 
into  Cilicia ;  but  the  child  Antiochus  sent 
ambassadors  and  an  epistle  to  Jonathan, 
and  made  him  his  friend  and  confederate, 
and  confirmed  to  him  the  high-priest- 
hood, and  yielded  up  to  him  the  four  pre- 
fectures, which  had  been  added  to  Judea. 
Moreover,  he  sent  him  vessels  and  cups 
of  gold,  and  a  purple  garment,  and  gave 
him  leave  to  use  them.  He  also  pre- 
sented him  with  a  golden  button,  and 
styled  him  one  of  his  principal  friends; 
and  appointed  his  brother  Simon  to  be 
the  general  over  the  forces,  from  the 
Ladder  of  Tyre  unto  Egypt.  So  Jona- 
than was  so  pleased  with  these  grants 
made  him  by  Antiochus,  that  he  sent 
ambassadors  to  him  and  to  Trypho,  and 
professed  himself  to  be  their  friend  and 
confederate,  and  said  he  would  join  with 
him  in  a  war  against  Demetrius,  inform- 
ing him  that  he  had  made  no  proper  re- 
turns for  the  kindnesses  he  had  done  him : 
for  that  when  he  had  received  many 
marks  of  kindness  from  him,  when  he 
stood  in  great  need  of  them,  he,  for  such 
good  turns,  had  requited  him  with  further 
injuries. 

So  Antiochus  gave  Jonathan  leave  to 
raise  himself  a  numerous  army  out  of 
Syria  and  Phoenicia,  and  to  make  war 
against  Demetrius' s  generals ;  whereupon 
he  went  in  haste  to  the  several  cities, 
which  received  him  splendidly  indeed, 
but  put  no  forces  into  his  hands.  And 
when  he  had  come  thence  to  Askelon, 
the  inhabitants  of  Askelon  came  and 
brought  him  presents,  and  met  him  in  a 
splendid  manner.  He  exhorted  them, 
and  every  one  of  the  cities  of  Celesyria, 
to  forsake  Demetrius,  and  to  ioin  with 
Antiochus,  and  in  assisting  him,  to  en- 
deavour to  punish  Demetrius  for  what 
offences  he  had  been  guilty  of  against 
themselves;    and  told  them    there   were 


many  reasons  for  that  their  procedure,  if 
they  had  a  mind  so  to  do.  And  when  he 
had  persuaded  those  cities  to  promise 
their  assistance  to  Antiochus,  he  came  to 
Ga«a,  in  order  to  induce  them  also  to  be 
friends  to  Antiochus ;  but  he  found  the 
inhabitants  of  Gaza  much  more  alienated 
from  him  than  he  expected,  for  they  had 
shut  their  gates  against  him ;  ana  al- 
though they  had  deserted  Demetrius,  thej 
had  not  resolved  to  join  themselves  to 
Antiochus.  This  provoked  Jonathan  to 
besiege  them,  and  to  harass  their  coun 
try;  for  as  he  set  a  part  of  his  army 
round  about  Gaza  itself,  so  with  the  rest 
he  overran  their  land,  and  spoiled  it,  and 
burnt  what  was  in  it.  When  the  in- 
habitants of  Graza  saw  themselves  in  this 
state  of  affliction,  and  that  no  assistance 
came  to  them  from  Demetrius,  that  what 
distressed  them  was  at  hand,  but  what 
should  profit  them  was  still  at  a  great 
distance,  and  it  was  uncertain  whether  it 
would  come  at  all  or  not,  they  thought  it 
would  be  prudent  conduct  to  leave  off  any 
longer  continuance  with  him,  and  to  cul- 
tivate friendship  with  the  other;  so  they 
sent  to  Jonathan,  and  professed  they 
would  be  his  friends,  and  afford  him  as- 
sistance ;  for  such  is  the  temper  of  men, 
that  before  they  have  had  the  trial  of 
great  afflictions,  they  do  not  understand 
what  is  for  their  advantage ;  but  when 
they  find  themselves  under  such  afflictions, 
they  then  change  their  minds,  and  what 
it  had  been  better  for  them  to  have  done 
before  they  had  been  at  all  damaged,  they 
choose  to  do,  but  not  till  after  they  have 
suffered  such  damages.  However,  he 
made  a  league  of  friendship  with  them 
and  took  from  them  hostages  for  their 
performance  of  it,  and  sent  these  hostages 
to  Jerusalem,  while  he  went  himself  over 
all  the  country,  as  far  as  Damascus. 

But  when  he  heard  that  the  generals  of 
Demetrius' s  forces  had  come  to  the  city 
of  Cadesh,  with  a  numerous  army,  (the 
place  lies  between  the  land  of  the  Tyrians 
and  Galilee,)  for  they  supposed  they 
should  hereby  draw  him  out  of  Syria,  in 
order  to  preserve  Galilee,  and  that  he 
would  not  overlook  the  Galileans,  who 
were  his  own  people,  when  war  was  made 
upon  them,  he  went  to  meet  them,  having 
left  Simon  in  Judea,  who  raised  as  great 
an  army  as  he  was  able  out  of  the  country, 
and  then  sat  down  before  Bethsura,  and 
besieged  it,  that  being  the  strongest  place 
in  all  Judea ;  and  a  garrison  of  Demetrius'? 


Chap.  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


393 


kept  it,  as  we  have  already  related.  But 
as  Simon  was  raising  banks,  and  bringing 
his  engines  of  war  against  Bethsura,  and 
was  very  earnest  about  the  siege  of  it,  the 
garrison  was  afraid  lest  the  place  should 
be  taken  of  Simon  by  force,  and  put  to  the 
sword ;  so  they  sent  to  Simon,  and  desired 
the  security  of  his  oath,  that  they  should 
come  to  no  harm  from  him,  and  that  they 
would  leave  the  place  and  go  away  to  De- 
metrius. Accordingly,  he  gave  them  his 
oath,  and  ejected  them  out  of  the  city,  and 
he  put  therein  a  garrison  of  his  own. 

But  Jonathan  removed  out  of  Galilee, 
and  from  the  waters  which  are  called  Gen- 
nesar,  for  there  he  was  before  encamped, 
and  came  into  the  plain  that  is  called  Asor, 
without  knowing  that  the  enemy  was  there. 
When,  therefore,  Demetrius's  men  knew  a 
day  beforehand  that  Jonathan  was  coming 
against  them,  they  lay  in  ambush  in  the 
mountain,  who  were  to  assault  him  on  the 
sudden,  while  they  themselves  met  him 
with  an  army  in  the  plain ;  which  army, 
when  Jonathan  saw  ready  to  engage  him, 
he  also  got  ready  his  own  soldiers  for  the 
battle  as  well  as  he  was  able.  But  those 
that  were  laid  in  ambush  by  Demetrius's 
generals  being  behind  them,  the  Jews 
were  afraid  lest  they  should  be  caught  in 
the  midst  between  two  bodies,  and  perish; 
so  they  ran  away  in  haste,  and  indeed  all 
the  rest  left  Jonathan,  but  a  few  that  were 
in  number  about  fifty,  who  stayed  with 
him,  and  with  them  Mattathias,  the  son  of 
Absalom,  and  Judas,  the  son  of  Ohapseus, 
who  were  commanders  of  the  whole  army. 
These  marched  boldly,  and  like  men  des- 
perate, against  the  enemy,  and  so  pushed 
them,  that  by  their  courage  they  daunted 
them,  and  with  their  weapons  in  their 
hands,  they  put  them  to  flight.  And 
when  those  soldiers  of  Jonathan  that  had 
retired,  saw  the  enemy  giving  way,  they 
got  together  after  their  flight,  and  pursued 
them  with  great  violence;  and  this  did 
they  as  far  as  Cadesh,  where  the  camp  of 
the  enemy  lay. 

Jonathan  having  thus  gotten  a  glorious 
victory,  and  slain  2000  of  the  enemy,  re- 
turned to  Jerusalem.  So  when  he  saw 
that  all  his  affairs  prospered  according  to 
his  mind,  by  the  providence  of  God,  he 
sent  ambassadors  to  the  Iiomans,  being 
desirous  of  renewing  that  friendship  which 
their  nation  had  with  them  formerly.  He 
enjoined  the  same  ambassadors,  that,  as 
they  came  back,  they  should  go  to  the 
Spaimus,  and  put  them  in  mind  of  their 


friendship  and  kindred.  So  when  the 
ambassadors  came  to  Borne,  they  went  in 
to  their  senate,  and  said  what  they  were 
commanded  by  Jonathan  their  high  priest 
to  say,  how  he  had  sent  them  to  confirm 
their  friendship.  The  senate  then  con- 
firmed what  had  been  formerly  decreed 
concerning  their  friendship  with  the  Jews, 
and  gave  them  letters  to  carry  to  all  the 
kings  of  Asia  and  Europe,  and  to  the  go- 
vernors of  the  cities,  that  they  might  safe- 
ly conduct  them  to  their  own  country. 
Accordingly,  as  they  returned,  they  came 
to  Sparta,  and  delivered  the  epistle  which 
they  had  received  of  Jonathan  to  them ; 
a  copy  of  which  here  follows : — "  Jonathan, 
the  high  priest  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and 
the  senate,  and  the  body  of  the  people  of 
the  Jews,  to  the  ephori  and  senate,  and 
body  of  the  people  of  the  Lacedemonians, 
send  greeting.  If  you  be  well,  and  both 
your  public  and  private  affairs  be  agree- 
able to  your  mind,  it  is  according  to  our 
wishes.  We  are  well  also.  When  in  for- 
mer times  an  epistle  was  brought  to  Onias, 
who  was  then  our  high  priest,  from  Areus, 
who  at  that  time  was  your  king,  by  De- 
moteles,  concerning  the  kindred  that  was 
between  us  and  you,  a  copy  of  which  is 
here  subjoined,  we  both  joyfully  received 
the  epistle,  and  were  well  pleased  with 
Demoteles  and  Areus,  although  we  did  not 
need  such  a  demonstration,  because  we 
were  well  satisfied  about  it  from  the  sacred 
writings,*  yet  did  not  we  think  fit  first  to 
begin  the  claim  of  this  relation  to  you, 
lest  we  should  seem  too  early  in  taking  to 
ourselves  the  glory  which  is  now  given  us 
by  you.  It  is  a  long  time  since  this  rela- 
tion of  ours  to  you  hath  been  renewed ;  and 
when  we  upon  holy  and  festival  days,  offer 
sacrifices  to  God,  we  pray  to  him  for  your 
preservation  and  victory.  As  to  ourselves, 
although  we  have  had  many  wars  that 
have  compassed  us  ardund,  by  reason  of 
the  covetousness  of  our  neighbours,  yet  did 
not  we  determine  to  be  troublesome  either 
to  you  or  to  others  that  were  related  to 
us ;  but  since  we  have  now  overcome  our 
enemies,  and  have  occasion  to  send  Nuuie- 
nius,  the  son  of  Antiochus,  and  Antipater, 
the  son  of  Jason,  who  are  both  honourable 
men,  belonging  to  our  senate,  to  the  lio- 
mans,  we  gave  them  this  epistle  to  you 
also,  that  they  might  renew  that  friend- 

*  This  clause  is  otherwise  rendered  in  the  first 
book  of  Maccabees,  xii.  9  : — "  For  that  we  have  the 
holy  books  of  Scriptures  in  our  hands  to  cumft>r> 
us." 


394 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIIL 


ship  which  is  between  us.  You  will, 
therefore,  do  well  yourselves  to  write  to 
us,  and  send  us  an  account  of  what  you 
stand  in  need  of  from  us,  since  we  are  in 
all  things  disposed  to  act  according  to  your 
desires."  So  the  Lacedemonians  received 
the  ambassadors  kindly,  and  made  a  decree 
of  friendship  and  mutual  assistance,  and 
sent  it  to  them. 

At  this  time  there  were  three  sects 
among  the  Jews,  who  had  different  opi- 
nions concerning  human  actions  :  the  one 
was  called  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  an- 
other the  sect  of  the  Sadducees,  and  the 
other  the  sect  of  the  Essenes.  Now  for 
the  Pharisees,  they  say  that  some  actions, 
but  not  all,  are  the  work  of  fate,  and  some 
of  them  are  in  our  own  power,  and  that 
they  are  liable  to  fate,  but  are  not  caused 
by  fate.  But  the  sect  of  the  Essenes  af- 
firm that  fate  governs  all  things,  and  that 
nothing  befalls  men  but  what  is  according 
to  its  determination.  And  for  the  Saddu- 
cees, they  take  away  fate,  and  say  there  is 
no  such  thing,  and  that  the  events  of  hu- 
man affairs  are  not  at  its  disposal*  but 
they  suppose  that  all  our  actions  are  in 
our  own  power,  so  that  we  are  ourselves 
the  causes  of  what  is  good,  and  receive 
what  is  evil  from  our  own  folly.  How- 
ever, I  have  given  a  more  exact  account 
of  these  opinions  in  the  second  book  of  the 
Jewish  War. 

But  now  the  generals  of  Demetrius, 
being  willing  to  recover  the  defeat  they 
had  had,  gathered  a  greater  army  together 
than  they  had  before,  and  came  against 
Jonathan ;  but  as  soon  as  he  was  informed 
of  their  coming,  he  went  suddenly  to  meet 
them,  to  the  country  of  Hamath,  for  he 
resolved  to  give  them  no  opportunity  of 
coming  into  Judea;  so  he  pitched  his 
camp  at  fifty  furlongs'  distance  from  the 
enemy,  and  sent  out  spies  to  take  a  view 
of  their  camp,  and  after  what  manner  they 
were  encamped.  When  his  spies  had 
given  him  full  information,  and  had  seized 
upon  some  of  them  by  night,  who  told  him 
the  enemy  would  soon  attack  him,  he,  thus 
apprized  beforehand,  provided  for  his  se- 
curity, and  placed  watchmen  beyond  his 
camp,  and  kept  all  his  forces  armed  all 
night ;  and  he  gave  them  a  charge  to  be 
of  good  courage,  and  to  have  their  minds 
prepared  to  fight  in  the  night-time,  if  they 
should  be  obliged  so  to  do,  lest  their  ene- 
my's designs  should  seem  concealed  from 
them.  But  when  Demetrius's  command- 
ers   were  informed  that   Jonathan  knew 


what  they  intended,  their  counsels  were 
disordered,  and  it  alarmed  them  to  fin'1 
that  the  enemy  had  discovered  those  their 
intentions;  nor  did  they  expect  to  over- 
come them  any  other  way,  now  they  had 
failed  in  the  snares  they  had  laid  for  them  ; 
for  should  they  hazard  an  open  battle, 
they  did  not  think  they  would  be  a  match 
for  Jonathan's  army,  so  they  resolved  to 
fly :  and  having  lighted  many  fires,  that 
when  the  enemy  saw  them,  they  might 
suppose  they  were  there  still,  they  retired. 
But  when  Jonathan  came  to  give  them 
battle  in  the  morning  in  their  camp,  and 
found  it  deserted,  and  understood  they 
were  fled,  he  pursued  them  ;  yet  he  could 
not  overtake  them,  for  they  had  already 
passed  over  the  river  Eleutherus,  and  were 
out  of  danger.  So  when  Jonathan  had 
returned  thence,  he  went  into  Arabia,  and 
fought  against  the  Nabateans,  and  drove 
away  a  great  deal  of  their,  prey,  and  took 
[many]  captives,  and  came  to  Damascus, 
and  there  sold  off  what  he  had  taken. 
About  the  same  time  it  was  that  Simon, 
his  brother,  went  over  all  Judea  and  Pa- 
lestine, as  far  as  Askelon,  and  fortified  the 
strongholds:  and  when  he  had  made  them 
very  strong,  both  in  the  edifices  erected, 
and  in  the  garrisons  placed  in  them,  he 
came  to  Joppa ;  and  when  he  had  taken 
it,  he  brought  a  great  garrison  into  it,  for 
he  heard  that  the  people  of  Joppa  were 
disposed  to  deliver  up  the  city  to  Deme- 
trius's generals. 

When  Simon  and  Jonathan  had  finished 
these  affairs,  they  returned  to  Jerusalem, 
where  Jonathan  gathered  all  the  people 
together,  and  took  counsel  to  restore  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  rebuild  the 
wall  that  encompassed  the  temple,  which 
had  been  thrown  down,  and  to  make  the 
places  adjoining  stronger  by  very  high 
towers ;  and  besides  that  to  build  another 
wall  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  in  order  to 
exclude  the  market-place  from  the  garri- 
son which  was  in  the  citadel,  and  by  that 
means  to  hinder  them  from  any  plenty  of 
provisions;  and,  moreover,  to  make  the 
fortresses  that  were  in  the  country  much 
stronger,  and  more  defensible  than  they 
were  before.  And  when  these  things  were 
approved  by  the  multitude,  as  rightly 
proposed,  Jonathan  himself  took  care  of 
the  building  that  belonged  to  the  city, 
and  sent  Simon  away  to  make  the  fortresses 
in  the  country  more  secure  than  formerly. 
But  Demetrius  passed  over  [Euphrates], 
and  came  into  Mesopotamia,  as  desirous 


Cdap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


395 


to  retain  that  country  still,  as  well  as  Ba- 
bylon; and  when  he  should  have  obtained 
the  dominion  of  the  upper  provinces,  to 
lay  a  foundation  for  recovering  his  entire 
kingdom  ;  for  these  Greeks  and  Macedo- 
nians who  dwelt  there  frequently  sent 
ambassadors  to  him,  and  promised  that  if 
lie  would  come  to  them,  they  would  de- 
liver themselves  up  to  him,  and  assist  him 
in  fighting  against  Arsaces,*  the  king  of 
the  Parthians.  So  he  was  elevated  with 
these  hopes,  and  came  hastily  to  them,  as 
having  resolved  that,  if  he  had  once  over- 
thrown the  Parthians,  and  gotten  an  army 
of  his  own,  he  would  make  war  against 
Trypho,  and  eject  him  out  of  Syria;  and 
the  people  of  that  country  received  him 
with  great  alacrity.  So  he  raised  forces, 
with  which  he  fought  against  Arsaces,  and 
lost  all  his  army ;  and  was  himself  taken 
alive,  as  we  have  elsewhere  related. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Jonathan  treacherously  slain — is  succeeded  by  Si- 
mon Maccabeus.     B.  C.  141,  142. 

Now  when  Trypho  knew  what  had  be- 
fallen Demetrius,  he  was  no  longer  firm  to 
Antiochus,  but  contrived  by  subtilty  to 
kill  him,  and  then  take  possession  of  his 
kingdom ;  but  the  fear  that  he  was  in  of 
Jonathan  was  an  obstacle  to  this  his  de- 
sign ;  for  Jonathan  was  a  friend  to  Antio- 
chus, for  which  cause  he  resolved  first  to 
take  Jonathan  out  of  the  way,  and  then  to 
set  about  his  design  relating  to  Antiochus; 
but,  he  judging  it  best  to  take  him  off  by 
deceit  and  treachery,  came  from  Antioch 
to  Bethshan,  which  by  the  Greeks  is  called 
Scythopolis,  at  which  place  Jonathan  met 
him  with  40,000  chosen  men,  for  he 
thought  that  he  came  to  fight  him  ;  but 
when  he  perceived  that  Jonathan  was 
ready  to  fight,  he  attempted  to  gain  him  by 
presents  and  kind  treatment,  and  gave 
order  to  his  captains  to  obey  him,  and  by 
these  means  was  desirous  to  give  assurance 
of  his  good-will,  and  to  take  away  all  sus- 
picions out  of  his  mind,  that  so  he  might 
make  him  careless  and  inconsiderate,  and 
might  take  him  when  he  was  unguarded. 
H3  also  advised  him  to  dismiss  his  army, 

•The  kin£,  who  was  of  the  famous  race  of  Ar- 
saces, is  both  here  and  1  Mac.  xiv.  2  called  by  the 
family  name,  Arsaces;  but  Appian  says  his  proper 
name  wan  Phraates.  He  is  here  also  culled  by  Jo- 
sephus  the  king  of  the  Parthians,  as  the  Greeks  used 
to  call  them  ;  but  by  the  elder  author  of  the  First 
Maccabees,  the  king  of  the  Persians  and  Medes, 
according  to  the  language  of  the  Eastern  nations. 


because  there  was  no  occasion  for  bringing 
it  with  him,  when  there  was  no  war,  but 
all  was  in  peace.  However,  he  desired  him 
to  retain  a  few  about  him,  and  go  with 
him  to  Ptolemais,  for  that  he  would  de- 
liver the  city  up  to  him,  and  would  bring 
all  the  fortresses  that  were  in  the  country 
under  his  dominion ;  and  he  told  him 
that  he  came  with  those  very  designs. 

Yet  did  not  Jonathan  suspect  any  thing 
at  all  by  this  his  management,  but  be- 
lieved that  Trypho  gave  this  advice  out  of 
kindness,  and  with  a  sincere  design.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  dismissed  his  army,  and  re- 
tained no  more  than  3000  of  them  with  him, 
and  left  2000  in  Galilee;  and  he  himself 
with  1000  came  with  Trypho  to  Ptolemais  : 
but  when  the  people  of  Ptolemais  had  shut 
their  gates,  as  it  had  been  commanded 
by  Trypho  to  do,  he  took  Jonathan  alive, 
and  slew  all  that  were  with  him.  He 
also  sent  soldiers  against  those  2000  that 
were  left  in  Galilee,  in  order  to  destroy 
them  :  but  those  men  having  heard  the 
report  of  what  had  happened  to  Jonathan, 
they  prevented  the  execution,  and  before 
those  that  were  sent  by  Trypho  came,  they 
covered  themselves  with  their  armour, 
and  went  away  out  of  the  country.  Now 
when  those  that  were  sent  against  them 
saw  that  they  were  ready  to  fight  for  their 
lives,  they  gave  them  no  disturbance,  but 
returned  back  to  Trypho. 

But  when  the  people  of  Jerusalem 
heard  that  Jonathan  was  taken,  and  that 
the  soldiers  who  were  with  him  were  de- 
stroyed, they  deplored  his  sad  fate;  and 
there  was  earnest  inquiry  made  about  him 
by  everybody,  and  a  great  and  just  fear 
fell  upon  them,  and  made  them  sad,  lest 
now  they  were  deprived  of  the  courage 
and  conduct  of  Jonathan,  the  nations  about 
them  should  bear  them  ill-will ;  and  as 
they  were  before  quiet  on  account  of  Jona- 
than, they  should  now  rise  up  against 
them,  and  by  making  war  with  them, 
should  force  them  into  the  utmost  dan- 
gers. And,  indeed,  what  they  suspected 
really  befell  them  ;  for  when  those  na- 
tions heard  of  the  death  of  Jonathan,  they 
began  to  make  war  with  the  Jews,  as  now 
destitute  of  a  governor;  Trypho  himself 
got  an  army  together  and  had  an  inten- 
tion to  go  up  to  Judea,  and  make  war 
against  its  inhabitants.  But  when  Simon 
saw  that  the  people  of  Jerusalem  were 
terrified  at  the  ciicumstances  they  were 
in,  he  desired  to  mike  a  speech  to  them, 
and  thereby  to  rentier  them  more  resolute 


396 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI a 


in  opposing  Trypho  when  he  should  come 
against  them.  He  then  called  the  peo- 
ple together  into  the  temple,  and  thence 
began  thus  to  encourage  them: — "0  my 
countrymen,  you  are  not  ignorant  that 
our  father,  myself,  and  my  brethren  have 
ventured  to  hazard  our  lives,  and  that 
willingly,  for  the  recovery  of  your  liberty  ; 
since  I  have,  therefore,  such  plenty  of 
examples  before  me,  and  we  of  our  family 
have  determined  with  ourselves  to  die  for 
our  laws  and  our  divine  worship,  there 
shall  no  terror  be  so  great  as  to  banish 
this  resolution  from  our  souls,  nor  to  in- 
troduce in  its  place  a  love  of  life  and  a 
contempt  of  glory.  Do  you,  therefore, 
follow  me  with  alacrity  whithersoever  I 
lead  you,  as  not  destitute  of  such  a  cap- 
tain as  is  willing  to  suffer,  and  to  do  the 
greatest  things  for  you ;  for  neither  am  I 
better  than  my  brethren  that  I  should  be 
sparing  of  my  own  life,  nor  so  far  worse 
than  they  as  to  avoid  and  refuse  what 
they  thought  the  most  honourable  of  all 
things  ;  I  mean,  to  undergo  death  for  your 
laws,  and  for  that  worship  of  God  which  is 
peculiar  to  you ;  I  will  therefore  give  such 
proper  demonstrations  as  will  show  that  I 
am  their  own  brother;  and  I  am  so  bold 
as  to  expect  that  I  shall  avenge  their  blood 
upon  our  enemies,  and  deliver  you  all, 
with  your  wives  and  children,  from  the 
injuries  they  intend  against  you,  and  with 
God's  assistance,  to  preserve  your  temple 
from  destruction  by  them;  for  I  see  that 
these  nations  have  you  in  contempt,  as 
being  without  a  governor,  and  that  they 
thence  are  encouraged  to  make  war  against 
you/' 

By  this  speech  of  Simon's,  the  mul- 
titude was  inspired  with  courage ;  and  as 
they  had  before  been  dispirited  through 
fear,  they  were  now  raised  to  a  good  hope 
of  better  things,  insomuch  that  the  whole 
multitude  of  the  people  cried  out  all  at 
once,  that  Simon  should  be  leader;  and 
that  instead  of  Judas  and  Jonathan  his 
brethren,  he  should  have  the  government 
over  them  :  and  they  promised  that  they 
would  readily  obey  him  in  whatsoever  he 
should  command  them.  So  he  got  to- 
gether immediately  all  his  own  soldiers  that 
were  fit  for  war,  and  made  haste  in  re- 
building the  walls  of  the  city,  and  strength- 
ening them  by  very  high  and  strong  tow- 
ers, and  sent  a  friend  of  his,  one  Jona- 
than, the  son  of  Absalom,  to  Joppa,  and 
gave  him  order  to  eject  the  inhabitants 
out  of   the   city,  fox  he  was   afraid  lest 


they  should  deliver  up  the  city  to  Trypho ; 
but  he  himself  stayed  to  secure  Jerusalem. 

But  Trypho  removed  from  Ptolemais 
with  a  great  army,  and  came  into  Judea, 
and  brought  Jonathan  with  him  in  bonds. 
Simon  also  met  him  with  his  armv  at  the 
city  of  Adida,  which  is  upon  a  hill,  and 
beneath  it  lie  the  plains  of  Judea.  And 
when  Trypho  knew  that  Simon  was  by 
the  Jews  made  their  governor,  he  sent  to 
him,  and  would  have  imposed  upon  him 
by  deceit  and  treachery,  and  desired,  if 
he  would  have  his  brother  Jonathan  re- 
leased, that  he  would  send  him  100  ta- 
lents of  silver,  and  two  of  Jonathan's  sons 
as  hostages,  "that  when  he  shall  be  re- 
leased, he  may  not  make  Judea  revolt 
from  the  king;  for  that  at  present  he  was 
kept  in  bonds  on  account  of  the  money 
he  had  borrowed  of  the  king,  and  now 
owed  it  to  him."  But  Simon  was  aware  of 
the  craft  of  Trypho ;  and  although  he 
knew  that  if  he  gave  him  the  money 
he  should  lose  it,  and  that  Trypho  would 
not  set  his  brother  free,  and  withal  should 
deliver  the  sons  of  Jonathan  to  the  enemy, 
yet,  because  he  was  afraid  that  he  should 
have  a  calumny  raised  against  him  among 
the  multitude  as  the  cause  of  his  brother's 
death,  if  he  neither  gave  the  money,  nor 
sent  Jonathan's  sons,  he  gathered  his 
army  together,  and  told  them  what  offers 
Trypho  had  made;  and  added  this,  that 
the  offers  were  ensnaring  and  treacherous, 
and  yet  that  it  was  more  eligible  to  send 
the  money  and  Jonathan's  sons,  than  to 
be  liable  to  the  imputation  of  not  com- 
plying with  Trypho's  offers,  and  thereby 
refusing  to  save  his  brother.  Accordingly, 
Simon  sent  the  sons  of  Jonathan  and  the 
money  ;  but  when  Trypho  had  received 
them,  he  did  not  keep  his  promise,  nor 
set  Jonathan  free,  but  took  his  army,  and 
went  about  all  the  country,  and  resolved 
to  go  afterward- to  Jerusalem,  by  the  way 
of  Idumea,  while  Simon  went  over  against 
him  with  his  army,  and  all  along  pitched 
his  camp  over  against  his. 

But  when  those  that  were  in  the  citadel 
had  sent  to  Trypho,  and  besought  him  to 
make  haste  _and  come  to  them,  and  to 
send  them  provisions,  he  prepared  his  ca- 
valry as  though  he  would  be  at  Jerusalem 
that  very  night ;  but  so  great  a  quantity 
of  snow  fell  in  the  night,  that  it  covered 
the  roads,  and  made  them  so  deep,  that 
there  was  no  passing,  especially  for  the 
cavalry.  This  hindered  him  from  coming 
to  Jerusalem ;  whereupon  Trypho  removo.' 


CJHAt    VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE    TEWS. 


397 


thence,  and  came  into  Celesyria,  and  fall- 
ing vehemently  upon  the  land  of  Gilead, 
he  slew  Jonathan  there;  and  when  he 
had  given  order  for  his  burial,  he  returned 
himself  to  Antioch.  However,  Simon  sent 
some  to  the  city  Basca  to  bring  away  his 
brother's  bones,  and  buried  them  in  their 
own  city,  Modin,  and  all  the  people  made 
great  lamentation  over  him.  Simon  also 
erected  a  very  large  monument  for  his 
father,  and  his  brethren,  of  white  and  po- 
lished stone,  and  raised  it  a  great  height, 
and  so  as  to  be  seen  a  long  way  off,  and 
made  cloisters  about  it,  and  set  up  pillars, 
which  /were  of  one  stone  each  pillar  ;  a 
work  it  was  wonderful  to  see.  Moreover, 
he  built  seven  pyramids  also  for  his  pa- 
rents and  brethren,  one  for  each  of  them, 
which  were  made  very  surprising,  both 
for  their  largeness  and  beauty,  and  which 
have  been  preserved  to  this  day ;  and  we 
know  that  it  was  Simon  who  bestowed  so 
much  zeal  about  the  burial  of  Jonathan, 
and  the  building  of  these  monuments  for 
his  relations.  Now  Jonathan  died  when 
he  had  been  high  priest  four  years,*  and 
had  been  also  the  governor  of  his  nation. 
And  these  were  the  circumstances  that 
concerned  his  death. 

But  Simon,  who  was  made  high  priest 
by  the  multitude,  on  the  very  first  year 
of  his  high-priesthood  set  his  people  free 
from  their  slavery  under  the  Macedonians, 
and  permitted  them  to  pay  tribute  to 
them  no  longer;  which  liberty  and  free- 
dom from  tribute  they  obtained,  after  170 
years  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Assyrians, 
which  was  after  Seleucus,  who  was  called 
Nicator,  got  the  dominion  over  Syria. 
Now  the  affection  of  the  multitude  toward 
Simon  was  so  great,  that  in  their  contracts 
one  with  another,  and  in  their  public  re- 
cords, they  wrote,  "in  the  first  year  of  Si- 
mon, the  benefactor  and  ethnarch  of  the 
Jews;"  for  under  him  they  were  very 
happy,  and  overcame  the  enemies  that 
were  round  about  them ;  for  Simon  over- 
threw  the    city    Gazara,  and   Joppa,  and 


*  There  is  some  error  in  the  copies  here,  when 
no  more  than  four  years  are  ascribed  to  the  high- 
priesthood  of  Jonathan.  We  know  by  Josephus's 
last  Jewish  chronology,  Antiq.  b.  xx.  ch.  x.  that  there 
was  an  interval  of  seven  years  between  the  death 
of  Alcimus,  the  last  high  priest,  and  the  real  high- 
priesthood  of  Jonathan,  to  whom  yet  those  seven 
years  seem  here  to  be  ascribed,  as  a  part  ol  them 
were  to  Judas  before,  Antiq.  b.  xii  ch.  x.  Now  since, 
resides  these  seven  year's  interregnum  in  the  pontifi- 
cate, we  are  told,  Antiq.  b.  xx.  ch.x.,  that  Jonathan's 
'eal  high-priesthood  lusted  seven  years  more,  these 
wo  seven  years  will  make  up  fourteen  years. 


Jamnia.  He  also  took  the  citadel  of 
Jerusalem  by  siege,  and  cast  it  down  to 
the  ground,  that  it  might  not  be  any  more 
a  place  of  refuge  to  their  enemies  when 
they  took  it,  to  do  them  a  mischief,  as  it 
had  been  till  now.  And  when  he  had 
done  this,  he  thought  it  their  best  way, 
and  most  for  their  advantage,  to  level  the 
very  mountain  itself  upon  which  the  cita- 
del happened  to  stand,  that  so  the  temple 
might  be  higher  than  it.  And,  indeed, 
when  he  had  called  the  multitude  to  an 
assembly,  he  persuaded  them  to  have  it  so 
demolished,  and  this  by  putting  them  in 
mind  what  miseries  they  had  suffered  by 
its  garrison  and  the  Jewish  deserters ; 
and  what  miseries  they  might  hereafter 
suffer  in  case  any  foreigner  should  obtain 
the  kingdom,  and  put  a  garrison  into  that 
citadel.  This  speech  induced  the  multi- 
tude to  a  compliance,  because  he  exhorted 
them  to  do  nothing  but  what  was  for 
their  own  good ;  so  they  all  set  themselves 
to  the  work,  and  levelled  the  mountain, 
and  in  that  work  spent  both  day  and  night 
without  intermission,  which  cost  them 
three  whole  years  before  it  was  removed 
and  brought  to  an  entire  level  with  the 
plain  of  the  rest  of  the  city.  After  which, 
the  temple  was  the  highest  of  all  the  build- 
ings, now  the  citadel,  as  well  as  the  moun- 
tain whereupon  it  stood,  were  demolished. 
And  these  actions  were  thus  performed 
under  Simon. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Simon  joins  Antiochus  Pius  against  Trypho  and 
Cendebeus — is  treacherously  -murdered  by  hia 
brother-in-law — Death  of  Antiochus.  B.  C.  142 
-135. 

Now  a  little  while  after  Demetrius  had 
been  carried  into  captivity,  Trypho  his 
governor  destroyed  Antiochus,*  the  son 
of  Alexander  who  was  also  called  "the 
god,f  and  this  when  he  had  reigned  four 
years,  though  he  gave  it  out  that  he  died 
under  the  hands  of  the  surgeons.  He 
then  sent  his  friends,  and  those  that  were 
most  intimate  with  him,  to  the  soldiers, 


*  How  Trypho  killed  this  Antiochus,  the  epitome 
of  Livy  informs  us,  ch.  63,  namely,  that  he  cor- 
rupted his  physicians  or  surgeons,  who,  falsely  pre- 
tending to  the  people  that  he  was  perishing  with 
the  stone,  as  they  cut  him  for  it,  killed  him  ;  which 
exactly  agrees  with  Josephus. 

f  That  this  Antiochus,  the  son  of  Alexander  Balas, 
was  called  "  the  god,"  is  evident  from  his  coins,  which 
Spanheim  assures  i  b  bore  this  inscription  :  "  King 
Antiochus  the  #od  j  Epiphanes  the  victorious." 


898 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIII 


and  promised  that  he  would  give  them  a 
great  deal  of  money  if  they  would  make 
him  king.  He  intimated  to  them  that 
Demetrius  was  made  a  captive  by  the  Par- 
thians ;  and  that  Demetrius's  brother,  An- 
tiochus, if  he  came  to  be  king,  would  do 
them  a  great  deal  of  mischief,  in  way  of 
revenge,  for  revolting  from  his  brother. 
So  the  soldiers,  in  expectation  of  the 
wealth  they  should  get  by  bestowing  the 
kingdom  upon  Trypho,  made  him  their 
ruler.  However,  when  Trypho  had  gained 
the  management  of  affairs,  he  demon- 
strated his  disposition  to  be  wicked;  for 
while  he  was  a  private  person,  he  cultivated 
a  familiarity  with  the  multitude,  and  pre- 
tended to  great  moderation,  and  so  drew 
them  on  artfully  to  whatsoever  he  pleased ; 
but  when  he  had  once  taken  the  kingdom, 
he  laid  aside  any  further  dissimulation, 
and  was  the  true  Trypho;  which  behaviour 
made  his  enemies  superior  to  him;  for  the 
soldiers  hated  him,  and  revolted  from  him 
to  Cleopatra,  the  wife  of  Demetrius,  who 
was  then  shut  up  in  Seleucia  with  her  chil- 
dren; but  as  Antiochus,  the  brother  of 
Demetrius  who  was  called  Soter,  was  not 
admitted  by  any  of  the  cities,  on  account 
of  Trypho,  Cleopatra  sent  to  him,  and  in- 
vited him  to  marry  her,  and  to  take  the 
kingdom.  The  reasons  why  she  made  this 
invitation  were  these:  that  her  friends 
persuaded  her  to  it;  and  that  she  was 
afraid  for  herself,  in  case  some  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Seleucia  should  deliver  up  the  city 
to  Trypho. 

As  Antiochus  was  now  come  to  Se- 
leucia, and  his  forces  increased  every 
day,  he  marched  to  fight  Trypho;  and 
having  beaten  him  in  the  battle,  he 
ejected  him  out  of  the  Upper  Syria  into 
Phoenicia,  and  pursued  him  thither,  and 
besieged  him  in  Dora,  which  was  a 
fortress  hard  to  be  taken,  whither  he  had 
fled.  He  also  sent  ambassadors  to  Simon 
the  Jewish  high  priest,  about  a  league  of 
friendship  and  mutual  assistance ;  who 
readily  accepted  of  the  invitation,  and 
gent  to  Antiochus  great  sums  of  money 
and  provisions  for  those  that  besieged 
Dora,  and  thereby  supplied  them  very 
plentifully,  so  that  for  a  little  while  he 
was  looked  upon  as  one  of  his  most  inti- 
mate friends;  but  still  Trypho  fled  from 
Dora  to  Apamia,  where  he  was  taken 
during  the  siege,  and  put  to  death,  when 
he  had  reigned  three  years. 

However,  Antiochus  forgot  the  kind 
assistance  that  Simon  had  afforded  him 


in  his  necessity,  by  reason  of  his  covetous 
and  wicked  disposition,  and  committed  an 
army  of  soldiers  to  his  friend  Cendebtus, 
and  sent  him  at  once  to  ravage  Judea, 
and  to  seize  "Simon.  When  Simon  heard 
of  Antiochus' s  breaking  his  league  with 
him,  although  he  was  now  in  years,  yet, 
provoked  with  the  unjust  treatment  he 
had  met  with  from  Antiochus,  and  taking 
a  resolution  brisker  than  his  age  could 
well  bear,  he  went  like  a  young  man  to 
act  as  general  of  his  army.  He  also  sent 
his  sons  before  among  the  most  hardy  of 
his  soldiers,  and  he  himself  marched  on 
with  his  army  another  way,  and  laid 
many  of  his  men  in  ambushes  in  the 
narrow  valleys  between  the  mountains; 
nor  did  he  fail  of  success  in  any  one  of 
his  attempts,  but  was  too  hard  for  his 
enemies  in  every  one  of  them.  So  he  led 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  peace,  and  did  also 
himself  make  a  league  with  the  Romans. 
Now  he  was  ruler  of  the  Jews  in  all 
eight  years,  but  came  to  his  end  at  a 
feast.  It  was  caused  by  the  treachery 
of  his  son-in-law  Ptolemy,  who  caught 
also  his  wife,  and  two  of  his  sons,  and 
kept  them  in  bonds.  He  also  sent  some 
to  kill  John,  the  third  son,  whose  name 
was  Hyrcanus :  but  the  young  man  per- 
ceiving them  coming,  he  avoided  the 
danger  he  was  in  from  them,*  and  made 
haste  into  the  city  [Jerusalem],  as  re- 
lying on  the  good-will  of  the  multitude, 
because  of  the  benefits  they  had  received 
from  his  father,  and  because  of  the 
hatred  the  same  multitude  bore  to 
Ptolemy;  so  that  when  Ptolemy  was  en- 
deavouring to  enter  the  city  by  another 
gate,  they  drove  him  away,  as  having 
already  admitted  Hyrcanus. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

Hyrcanus  receives  the  high-priesthood — and  ejects 
Ptolemy  out  of  the  country — Antiochus  makes 
war  against  Hyrcanus.     B.  C.  130. 

So  Ptolemy  retired  to  one  of  the 
fortresses  that  was  above  Jericho,  which 
was  called  Dagon.  But  Hyrcanus  hav- 
ing taken  the  high-priesthood  that  had 
been  his  father's  before,  and  in  the  first 
place  propitiated  God  by  sacrifices,  he  then 


*  Here  Josephus  begins  to  follow  and  abridge 
the  next  sacred  Hebrew  book,  styled  in  the  end  of 
the  first  book  of  Maccabees,  "  The  Chronicle  of 
John's  [Hyrcanus]  high-priesthood ;"  but  in  soinf 
of  the  Greek  copies,  "the  fourth  book  of  Mac 
cabee*." 


CfcAP.  VIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


399 


made  an  expedition  against  Ptolemy;  and 
when  he  had  made  his  attacks  upon  the 
place,  in  other  points  he  was  too  hard  for 
him,  but  was  rendered  weaker  than  he, 
by  the  commiseration  he  had  for  his 
mother  and  his  brethren,  and  by  that 
only,  for  Ptolemy  brought  them  upon  the 
wall,  and  tormented  them  in  the  sight  of 
all,  and  threatened  that  he  would  throw 
them  down  headlong,  unless  Hyrcanus 
would  leave  off  the  siege ;  and  as  he 
thought  that,  so  far  as  he  relaxed  to  the 
siege  and  taking  of  the  place,  so  much 
favour  did  he  show  to  those  that  were 
dearest  to  him  by  preventing  their  misery, 
his  zeal  about  it  was  cooled.  However, 
his  mother  spread  out  her  hands,  and 
begged  of  him  that  he  would  not  grow 
remiss  on  her  account,  but  indulge  his 
indignation  so  much  the  more,  and  that 
he  would  do  his  utmost  to  take  the  place 
quickly,  in  order  to  get  their  enemy 
under  his  power,  and  then  to  avenge 
upon  him  what  he  had  done  to  those  that 
were  dearest  to  himself;  for  that  death 
would  be  to  her  sweet,  though  with  tor- 
ment, if  that  enemy  of  theirs  might  be 
brought  to  punishment  for  his  wicked 
dealings  to  them.  Now  when  his  mother 
said  so,  he  resolved  to  take  the  fortress 
immediately;  but  when  he  saw  her 
beaten,  and  torn  to  pieces,  his  courage 
failed  him,  and  he  could  not  but  sympa- 
thize wit]i  what  his  mother  suffered,  and 
was  thereby  overcome ;  and  as  the  siege 
was  drawn  out  into  length  by  this  means, 
that  year  on  which  the  Jews  used  to  rest, 
came  on ;  for  the  Jews  observe  this  rest 
every  seventh  year,  as  they  do  every 
seventh  day ;  so  that  Ptolemy  being  for 
this  cause  released  from  the  war,  he  slew 
the  brethren  of  Hyrcanus  and  his  mother : 
and  when  he  had  so  done,  he  fled  to  Zeno, 
who  was  called  Cotylas,  who  was  then  the 
tyrant  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

But  Antiochus,  being  very  uneasy  at 
.the  miseries  that  Simon  had  brought 
upon  him,  invaded  Judea  in  the  fourth 
year  of  his  reign,  and  the  first  year  of  the 
principality  of  Hyrcanus,  in  the  162d 
Olympiad.  And  when  he  had  burnt 
the  country,  he  shut  up  Hyrcanus  in  the 
city,  which  he  encompassed  round  with 
seven  encampments;  but  did  nothing  at 
first,  because  of  the  strength  of  the  walls, 
and  because  of  the  valour  of  the  besieged, 
although  they  were  once  in  want  of  water 
which  yet  they  were  delivered  from  by  a 
large  shower  of  rain,   flinch  fell   at   the 


setting  of  the  Pleiades.*  However, 
about  the  north  part  of  the  wall,  where 
it  happened  the  city  was  upon  a  level 
with  the  outward  ground,  the  king  raised 
one  hundred  towers,  of  three  stories  high, 
and  placed  bodies  of  soldiers  upon  them ; 
and  as  he  made  his  attacks  every  day,  he 
cut  a  double  ditch,  deep  and  broad,  and 
confined  the  inhabitants  within  it  as 
within  a  wall ;  but  the  besieged  contrived 
to  make  frequent  sallies  out;  and  if  the 
enemy  were  not  anywhere  upon  their 
guard,  they  fell  upon  them,  and  did  them 
a  great  deal  of  mischief;  and  if  they  per- 
ceived them,  they  then  retired  into  the 
city  with  ease.  But  because  Hyrcanus 
discerned  the  inconvenience  of  so  great  a 
number  of  men  in  the  city,  while  the  pro- 
visions were  the  sooner  spent  by  them,  and 
yet,  as  is  natural  to  suppose,  those  great 
numbers  did  nothing,  he  separated  the 
useless  part,  and  excluded  them  out  of 
the  city,  and  retained  that  part  only  who 
were  in  the  flower  of  their  age,  and  fit  for 
war.  However,  Antiochus  would  not  let 
those  that  were  excluded  go  away;  who, 
therefore,  wandering  about  between  the 
walls,  and  consuming  away  by  famine, 
died  miserably ;  but  when  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles  was  at  hand,  those  that  were 
within  commiserated  their  condition,  and 
received  them  in  again.  And  when 
Hyrcanus  sent  to  Antiochus,  and  desired 
there  might  be  a  truce  for  seven  days, 
because  of  the  festival,  he  gave  way  to 
this  piety  toward  God,  and  made  that 
truce  accordingly;  and  besides  that,  he 
sent  in  a  magnificent  sacrifice,  bulls  with 
their  horns  gilded,*)"  with  all  sorts  of 
sweet  spices,  and  with  cups  of  gold  and 
silver.  So  those  that  were  at  the  gates 
received  the  sacrifices  from  those  that 
brought  them,  and  led  them  to  the 
temple,  Antiochus  the  meanwhile  feast- 
ing his  army,  which  was  a  quite  different 
conduct  from  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  who, 
when    he    had    taken    the    city,    offered 

*  This  heliacal  setting  of  the  Pleiades,  or  seven 
stars,  was,  in  the  days  of  John  Hyrcanus  and 
Josephus,  early  in  the  .spring,  or  abuut  February, 
the  time  of  the  latter  rain  in  Judea :  and  this  is 
the  only  astronomical  character  of  time,  besides 
one  eclipse  of  the  moon  in  the  reign  of  Hered,  that 
wo  meet  with  in  all  Josephus :  the  Jews  being 
little  accustomed  to  astronomical  observations,  any 
further  than  for  the  uses  of  their  calendar;  and 
utterly  forbidden  those  astrological  uses  which  the 
heathen  commonly  made  of  them. 

f  Dr.  Hudson  tells  us  here,  that  this  custom  of 
gilding  the  horns  of  the  oxen  that  were  to  be 
sacrificed,  is  a  known  thing  both  in  the  poets  and 
orators. 


400 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIIT 


swine  upon  the  altar,  and  sprinkled  the 
temple  with  the  broth  of  their  flesh,  in 
order  to  violate  the  laws  of  the  Jews,  and 
the  religion  they  derived  from  their  fore- 
fathers ;  for  which  reason  our  nation 
made  war  with  him,  and  would  never  be 
reconciled  to  him ;  but  for  this  Antio- 
chus, all  men  called  him  "Antiochus  the 
Pious,"  for  the  great  zeal  he  had  about 
religion. 

Accordingly,  Hyrcanus  took  this  mode- 
ration of  his  kindly;  and  when  he  under- 
stood how  religious  he  was  toward  the 
deity,  he  sent  an  embassage  to  him,  and 
desired  that  he  would  restore  the  settle- 
ments they  received  from  their  fore- 
fathers. So  he  rejected  the  counsel  of 
those  that  would  have  him  utterly  de- 
stroy the  nation,*  by  reason  of  their  way 
of  living,  which  was  to  others  unsociable, 
and  did  not  regard  what  they  said.  But 
being  persuaded  that  all  they  did  was  out 
of  a  religious  mind,  he  answered  the 
ambassadors,  that  if  the  besieged  would 
deliver  up  their  arms,  and  pay  tribute  for 
Joppa,  and  the  other  cities  which  bor- 
dered upon  Judea,  and  admit  a  garrison 
of  his,  on  these  terms  he  would  make 
war  against  them  no  longer.  But  the 
Jews,  although  they  were  content  with 
the  other  conditions,  did  not  agree  to 
admit  the  garrison,  because  they  could 
not  associate  with  other  people,  nor  con- 
verse with  them ;  yet  were  they  wiling, 
instead  of  the  admission  of  the  garrison, 
to  give  him  hostages,  and  500  talents  of 
silver;  of  which  they  paid  down  300,  and 
sent  the  hostages  immediately,  which 
King  Antiochus  accepted.  One  of  these 
hostages  was  Hyrcanus's  brother.  But 
still  he  broke  down  the  fortifications  that 
encompassed  the  city.  And  upon  these 
conditions  Antiochus  broke  up  the  siege, 
and  departed. 

But  Hyrcanus  opened  the  sepulchre 
of  David,  who  excelled  all  other  kings  in 
riches,  and  took  out  of  it  3000  talents. 
He  was  also  the  first  of  the  Jews  that, 
relying  on  this  wealth,  maintained  foreign 
troops.  There  was  also  a  league  of  friend- 
ship and  mutual  assistance  made  between 
them ;  upon  which  Hyrcanus  admitted 
him  into  the  city,  and  furnished  him 
with    whatsoever    his    army    wanted    in 


*  This  account  in  Josephus,  that  the  present  An- 
tiochus was  persuaded,  though  in  vain,  not  to  make 
peace  with  the  Jews,  but  to  cut  them  off  utterly,  is 
fully  confirmed  by  Diodorus  Siculus,  in  Photius's 
extracts  out  of  his  thirty-fourth  book. 


great  plenty,  and  with  great  generosity, 
and  marched  along  with  him  when  he 
made  an  expedition  against  the  Parthians, 
of  which  Nicolaus  of  Damascus  is  a  wit- 
ness for  us;  who  in  his  history  writes 
thus: — "When  Antiochus  had  erected  a 
trophy  at  the  river  Lycus,  upon  his  con- 
quest of  Indates,  the  general  of  the  Par- 
thians, he  stayed  there  two  days.  It  was 
at  the  desire  of  Hyrcanus  the  Jew,  be- 
cause it  was  such  a  festival  derived  to 
them  from  their  forefathers,  whereon  the 
law  of  the  Jews  did  not  allow  them  to 
travel."  And  truly  he  did  not  speak 
falsely  in  saying  so;  for  that  festival, 
which  we  call  "Pentecost,"  did  then  fall 
out  to  be  the  next  day  to  the  Sabbath  : 
nor  is  it  lawful  for  us  to  journey,  either 
on  the  Sabbath-day,  or  on  a  festival  day.* 
But  when  Antiochus  joined  battle  with 
Arsaces,  the  king  of  Parthia,  he  lost  a 
great  part  of  his  army,  and  was  himself 
slain,  and  his  brother  Demetrius  suc- 
ceeded in  the  kingdom  of  Syria,  by  the 
permission  of  Arsaces,  who  freed  him 
from  his  captivity  at  the  same  time  that 
Antiochus  attacked  Parthia,  as  we  have 
formerly  related  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Death  of  Antiochus — Hyrcanus  wars  against  Syria, 
and  makes  a  league  with  the  Romans — Death  of 
Demetrius. 

But  when  Hyrcanus  heard  of  the  death 
of  Antiochus,  he  presently  made  an  expe- 
dition against  the  cities  of  Syria,  hoping 
to  find  them  destitute  of  fighting  men,  and 
of  such  as  were  able  to  defend  them. 
However,  it  was  not  till  the  sixth  month 
that  he  took  Medaba,  and  that  not  with- 
out the  greatest  distress  of  his  army. 
After  this  he  took  Samega,  and  the  neigh- 
bouring places;  and,  besides  these,  She- 
chem  and  Gerizzim,  and  the  nation  of  the 
Cutheans,  who  dwelt  at  the  temple  which 
resembled  that  temple  which  was  at  Jeru-, 
salem,  and  which  Alexander  permitted 
Sauballat,  the  general  of  his  army,  to  build 
for  the  sake  of  Manasseh,  who  was  son- 
in-law  to  Jadua,  the  high  priest,  as  we 
have  formerly  related;  which  temple  was 
now  deserted,  200  years  after  it  was  built. 
Hyrcanus  also  took  Dora  and  Merissa, 
cities  of  Idumea,  and  subdued  all  the  Idu- 


*  The  Jews  were  not  to  march  or  journey  on  the 
Sabbath,  or  on  such  a  great  festival  as  was  equiva- 
lent to  the  Sabbath,  any  further  than  a  Sabbath- 
day's  journey,  or  2000  cubits. 


Chap.  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


401 


means;  aud  permitted  them  to  stay  in 
that  country,  if  they  would  submit  to  cir- 
cumcision, and  make  use  of  the  laws  of 
the  Jews;  and  they  were  so  desirous  of 
living  in  the  country  of  their  forefathers, 
that  they  submitted  to  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision, and  the  rest  of  the  Jewish  ways  of 
living,  at  which  time,  therefore,  this  befell 
them,  that  they  were  hereafter  no  other 
than  Jews. 

But  Hyrcanus,  the  high  priest,  was  de- 
sirous to  renew  the  league  of  friendship 
they  had  with  the  Romans:  accordingly, 
he  sent  an  embassage  to  them;  and  when 
the  senate  had  received  their  epistle,  they 
made  a  league  of  friendship  with  them, 
after  the  manner  following  : — "  Fanius, 
the  son  of  Marcus,  the  praetor,  gathered 
the  senate  together  on  the  eighth  day  be- 
fore the  ides  of  February,  in  the  senate 
house,  when  Lucius  Manlius,  the  son  of 
Lucius,  of  the  Mentine  tribe,  and  Caius 
Sempronius,  the  son  of  Caius  of  the  Fa- 
leruian  tribe,  were  present.  The  occasion 
was,  that  the  ambassadors  sent  by  the 
people  of  the  Jews,*  Simon,  the  son  of 
Dositheus,  and  Apollonius,  the  son  of 
Alexander,  and  Diodorus,  the  son  of  Jason, 
who  were  good  and  virtuous  men,  had 
somewhat  to  propose  about  that  league  of 
friendship  and  mutual  assistance  which 
subsisted  between  them  and  the  Romans, 
and  about  other  public  affairs,  who  desired 
that  Joppa,  and  the  havens,  and  Gazara, 
and  the  springs  [of  Jordan],  and  the  seve- 
ral other  cities  and  countries  of  theirs, 
which  Antiochus  had  taken  from  them  in 
the  war,  contrary  to  the  decree  of  the  se- 
nate, might  be  restored  to  them ;  and  that 
it  might  not  be  lawful  for  the  king's  troops 
to  pass  through  their  country,  and  the 
countries  of  those  that  are  subject  to  them ; 
and  that  what  attempts  Antiochus  had 
made  during  that  war,  without  the  decree 
of  the  senate,  might  be  made  void  :  and 
that  they  would  send  ambassadors,  who 
should  take  care  that  restitution  be  made 
'them  of  what  Antiochus  had  taken  from 
tlum,  and  that  they  should  make  an  esti- 
mate }f  the  country  that  had  been  laid 
waste  in  the  war;  and  that  they  would 
grant  them  letters  of  protection  to  the 
kings  and  free  people,  in  order  to  their 
quiet  return  home.  It  was  therefore  de- 
creed  as  to  these  points,  to  renew  their 


*In  this*  decree  of  the  Roman  senate,  it  seems 
that  these  ambassadors  were  sent  from  the  "people 
of  the  Jews,"  as  well  as  from  their  prince  or  high 
priest,  John. 

26 


league  of  friendship  and  mutual  assistance 
with  these  good  men,  and  who  were  sent 
by  a  good  and  friendly  people/'  But  as 
to  the  letters  desired,  their  answer  was 
that  the  senate  would  consult  about  that 
matter  when  their  own  affairs  would  give 
them  leave,  and  that  they  would  endeavour, 
for  the  time  to  come,  that  no  like  injury 
should  be  done  them  :  and  that  their  pras- 
tor,  Fanius,  should  give  them  money  out 
of  the  public  treasury  to  bear  their  ex- 
penses home.  And  thus  did  Fanius  dismiss 
the  Jewish  ambassadors,  and  gave  them 
money  out  of  the  public  treasury ;  and 
gave  the  decree  of  the  senate  to  those  that 
were  to  conduct  them,  and  to  take  care 
that  they  should  return  home  in  safety. 

And  thus  stood  the  affairs  of  Hyrcanus 
the  high  priest.  But  as  for  King  Deme- 
trius, who  had  a  mind  to  make  war  against 
Hyrcanus,  there  was  no  opportunity  nor 
room  for  it,  while  both  the  Syrians  and 
the  soldiers  bore  ill-will  to  him,  because 
he  was  an  ill  man.  But  when  they  had 
sent  ambassadors  to  Ptolemy,  who  was 
called  Physcon,  that  he  would  send  them 
one  of  the  family  of  Seleucus,  in  order 
to  take  the  kingdom,  and  he  sent  them 
Alexander,  who  was  called  Zebina,  with 
an  army,  and  there  had  been  a  battle  be- 
tween them,  Demetrius  was  beaten  in  the 
fight,  and  fled  to  Cleopatra,  his  wife,  to 
Ptolemais;  but  his  wife  would  not  receive 
him.  He  went  thence  to  Tyre,  and  was 
there  caught;  and  when  he  had  suffered 
much  from  his  enemies  before  his  death, 
he  was  slain  by  them.  So  Alexander  took 
the  kingdom,  and  made  a  league  with 
Hyrcanus.  Yet,  when  he  afterward  fought 
with  Antiochus,  the  son  of  Demetrius,  who 
was  called  Grypus,  he  was  also  beaten  in 
the  fight,  and  slain. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Hyrcanus  destroys  Samaria — joins  the  Sadducoes. 

When  Antiochus  had  taken  the  king- 
dom, he  was  afraid  to  make  war  against 
Judea,  because  he  heard  that  his  brother 
by  the  same  mother,  who  was  called  Antio- 
chus, was  raising  an  army  against  him  out 
of  Cyzicum  ;  so  he  stayed  in  his  own  land, 
and  resolved  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
attack  he  expected  from  his  brother,  who 
was  called  Cyzicenus,  because  he  had  been 
brought  up  in  that  city.  He  was  the  son 
of  Antiochus  that  was  called  Soter,  who 
died  in  Parthia.  He  was  the  brother  of 
Demetrius,  the   father  of  Grypus;  for  it 


102 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIII. 


had  so  happened,  that  one  and  the  same 
Cleopatra  was  married  to  two  who  were 
brethren,  as  we  have  related  elsewhere. 
But  Antiochus  Cyzicenus  coming  into 
Syria,  continued  many  years  at  war  with 
his  brother.  Now  Hyrcanus  lived  all  this 
while  in  peace;  for  after  the  death  of 
Antiochus,  he  revolted  from  the  Mace- 
donians, nor  did  he  any  longer  pay  them 
the  least  regard,  either  as  their  subject  or 
their  friend,  but  his  affairs  were  in  a  very 
improving  and  flourishing  condition*  in 
the  times  of  Alexander  Zebina,  and  espe- 
cially under  these  brethren,  for  the  war 
which  they  had  with  one  another  gave 
Hyrcanus  the  opportunity  of  enjoying 
himself  in  Judea  quietly,  insomuch  that 
he  got  an  immense  quantity  of  money. 
However,  when  Antiochus  Cyzicenus  dis- 
tressed his  land,  he  then  openly  showed 
what  he  meant.  And  when  he  saw  that 
Antiochus  was  destitute  of  Egyptian  aux- 
iliaries, and  that  both  he  and  his  brother 
were  in  an  ill  condition  in  the  struggles 
they  had  one  with  another,  he  despised 
them  both. 

So  he  made  an  expedition  against  Sa- 
maria, which  was  a  very  strong  city;  of 
whose  present  name,  Sebaste,  and  its  re- 
building by  Herod,  we  shall  speak  at  a 
proper  time;  but  he  made  his  attack 
against  it,  and  besieged  it  with  a  great 
deal  of  pains;  for  he  was  greatly  dis- 
pleased with  the  Samaritans  for  the  injuries 
they  had  done  to  the  people  of  Marissa,  a 
colony  of  the  Jews,  and  confederate  with 
tii  ii,  and  this  in  compliance  to  the  kings 
of  Syria.  When  he  had,  therefore,  drawn 
a  ditch,  and  built  a  double  wall  round  the 
city,  which  was  eighty  furlongs  long,  he 
set  his  sons,  Antigonus  and  Aristobulus, 
over  the  siege :  which  brought  the  Sama- 
ritans to  that  great  distress  by  famine  that 
they  were  forced  to  eat  what  used  not  to 
be  eaten,  and  to  call  for  Antiochus  Cyzi- 
cenus to  help  them,  who  came  readily  to 
their  assistance,  but  was  beaten  by  Aris- 
tobulus; and  when  he  was  pursued  as  far 
as  Scythopolis  by  the  two  brethren,  he  got 
away :  so  they  returned  to  Samaria,  and 
shut  them  again  within  the  wall,  till  they 
were  forced  to  send  for  the  same  Antiochus 
a  second  time  to  help  them,  who  procured 


"  The  power  of  the  Jews  was  now  (B.  C.  130) 
grown  so  great,  that  after  this  Antiochus,  they 
would  not  hear  any  Macedonian  king  over  them ; 
and  that  they  set  up  a  government  of  their  own, 
and  infested  Syria  witr  great  wars." — Dean,  Pri- 
deaux. 


about  6000  men  from  Ptolemy  Lathyrus, 
which  were  sent  them  without  his  mother's 
consent,  who  had  then  in  a  manner  turned 
him  out  of  his  government.  With  these 
Egyptians,  Antiochus  did  at  first  overrun 
and  ravage  the  country  of  Hyrcanus  after 
the  manner  of  a  robber,  for  he  durst  not 
meet  him  in  the  face  to  fight  with  him,  as 
not  having  an  army  sufficient  for  that  pur- 
pose, but  only  from  this  supposition,  that 
by  thus  harassing  his  land,  he  should 
force  Hyrcanus  to  raise  the  siege  of  Sa- 
maria ;  but  because  he  fell  into  snares,  and 
lost  many  of  his  soldiers  therein,  he  went 
away  to  Tripoli,  and  committed  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war  against  the  Jews  to 
Callimander  and  Epicrates. 

But  as  to  Callimander,  he  attacked  the 
enemy  too  rashly,  and  was  put  to  flight, 
and  destroyed  immediately;  and  as  to 
Epicrates,  he  was  such  a  lover  of  money, 
that  he  openly  betrayed  Scythopolis,  and 
other  places  near  it,  to  the  Jews;  but  was 
not  able  to  make  them  raise  the  siege  of 
Samaria.  And  when  Hyrcanus  had  taken 
the  city,  which  was  not  done  till  after  a  year's 
siege,  he  was  not  contented  with  doing 
that  only,  but  he  demolished  it  entirely, 
and  brought  rivulets  to  it  to  drown  it,  for 
he  dug  such  hollows  as  might  let  the 
waters  run  under  it;  nay,  he  took  away 
the  very  marks  that  there  ever  had  been 
such  a  city  there.  Now  a  very  surprising 
thing  is  related  of  this  high  priest  Hyrca- 
nus, how  God  came  to  discourse  with  him; 
for  they  say  that  on  the  very  same  day  on 
which  his  sons  fought  with  Antiochus 
Cyzicenus,  he  was  alone  in  the  temple,  as 
high  priest,  offering  incense,  and  heard  a 
voice,  that  his  sons  had  just  then  over- 
come Antiochus.  And  this  he  openly 
declared  before  all  the  multitude  on  his 
coming  out  of  the  temple ;  and  it  accord- 
ingly proved  true;  and  in  this  posture 
were  the  affairs  of  Hyrcanus. 

Now  it  happened  at  this  time,  that  not 
only  those  Jews  who  were  at  Jerusalem 
and  in  Judea  were  in  prosperity,  but  also 
those  of  them  that  were  at  Alexandria, 
and  in  Egypt,  and  Cyprus,  for  Cleopatra, 
the  queen,  was  at  variance  with  her  son, 
Ptolemy,  who  was  called  Lathyrus,  and 
appointed  for  her  generals,  Chelcias  and 
Ananias,  the  sons  of  that  Onias  who  built 
the  temple  in  the  prefecture  of  Heliopolis, 
like  that  at  Jerusalem,  as  we  have  else- 
where related.  Cleopatra  intrusted  these 
men  with  her  army;  and  did  nothing 
without  their  advice,  as  Strabo  of  Cappa- 


i 


Chap.  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


403 


docia  attests,  when  he  saith  thus: — "Now 
the  greater  part,  both  those  that  came  to 
Cyprus  with  us,  and  those  that  were  sent 
thither  afterward,  revolted  to  Ptolemy  im- 
mediately ;  only  those  that  were  called 
Ouias's  party,  being  Jews,  continued  faith- 
ful, because  their  countrymen,  Chelcias 
and  Ananias,  were  in  chief  favour  with  the 
queen."     These  are  the  words  of  Strabo. 

However,  this  prosperous  state  of  affairs 
moved  the  Jews  to  envy  Hyrcanus ;  but 
they  that  were  the  worst  disposed  to 
him  were  the  Pharisees,*  who  are  one  of 
the  sects  of  the  Jews,  as  we  have  informed 
you  already.  These  have  so  great  a  power 
over  the  multitude,  that  when  they  say 
any  thing  against  the  king,  or  against  the 
high  priest,  they  are  presently  believed. 
Now  Hyrcanus  was  a  disciple  of  theirs, 
and  greatly  beloved  by  them.  And  when 
he  once  invited  them  to  a  feast,  and  en- 
tertained them  very  kindly,  when  he  saw 
them  in  a  good  humour,  he  began  to  say 
to  them,  that  they  knew  he  was  desirous 
to  be  a  righteous  man,  and  to  do  all  things 
whereby  he  might  please  God,  which  was 
the  profession  of  the  Pharisees  also.  How- 
ever, he  desired,  that  if  they  observed  him 
offending  in  any  point,  and  going  out  of 
the  right  way,  they  would  call  him  back 
and  correct  him.  On  which  occasion  they 
attested  to  his  being  entirely  virtuous; 
with  which  commendation  he  was  well 
pleased;  but  still  there  was  one  of  his 
guests  there,  whose  name  was  Eleazar,  a 
man  of  an  ill  temper,  and  delighting  in 
seditious  practices.  This  man  said,  "  Since 
thou  desirest  to  know  the  truth,  if  thou 
wilt  be  righteous  in  earnest,  lay  down  the 
high-priesthood,  and  content  thyself  with 
the  civil  government  of  the  people."  And 
when  he  desired  to  know  for  what  cause 
he  ought  to  lay  down  the  high-priesthood, 
the  other  replied,  "  We  have  heard  it  from 
old  men,  that  thy  mother  had  been  a  cap- 

*  "Hyrcanus  went  over  to  the  party  of  the  Sad- 
ducees,  that  is,  by  embracing  their  doctrine  against 
the  traditions  of  the  elders,  added  to  the  written 
law,  and  made  of  equal  authority  with  it,  but  not 
their  doctrine  against  the  resurrection  and  a  future 
state ;  for  this  cannot  be  supposed  of  so  good  and 
righteous  a  man  as  John  Hyrcanus  is  said  to  have 
been.  It  is  most  probable  that,  at  this  time,  the 
Sadducees  had  gone  no  further  in  the  doctrines  of 
that  sect  than  to  deny  all  their  unwritten  traditions, 
which  the  Pharisees  were  so  fond  of  j  for  Josephus 
mentions  no  other  difference,  at  this  time,  between 
them :  neither  doth  he  say  that  Hyrcanus  went  over 
to  the  Sadducees  in  any  other  particular  than  in  the 
abolishing  of  all  the  traditionary  constitutions  of 
the  Pharisees,  which  our  Saviour  condemned  as 
well  =us  they."  [At  the  year  108."1— Dean  Prideaux. 


tive  under  the  reign  of  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes."  This  story  was  false,  and  Hyrcanus 
was  provoked  against  him ;  and  all  the 
Pharisees  had  a  very  great  indignation 
against  him. 

Now  there  was  one  Jonathan,  a  very 
great  friend  of  Hyrcanus,  but  of  the  sect 
of  the  Sadducees,  whose  notions  are  quite 
contrary  to  those  of  the  Pharisees.      He 
told  Hyrcanus  that  Eleazar  had  cast  such 
a   reproach  upon    him,  according   to   the 
common  sentiments  of  all  the  Pharisees, 
and  that  this  would  be  made  manifest  if 
he  would  but  ask  them  the  question,  What 
punishment   they  thought  this   man   de- 
served ?  for  that  he  might  depend  upon 
it,  that  the  reproach  was  not  laid  on  him 
with  their  approbation,  if  they  were  for 
punishing  him  as  his  crime  deserved.    So 
the  Pharisees  made  answer,  that  he  de- 
served stripes  and  bonds ;  but  that  it  did 
not  seem  right  to  punish  reproaches  with 
death ;    and   indeed   the   Pharisees,  even 
upon  other  occasions,  are  not  apt  to  be 
severe  in   punishments.     At  this   gentle 
sentence,  Hyrcanus  was  very  angry,  and 
thought  that  this  man  reproached  him  by 
their  approbation.     It  was  this  Jonathan 
who  chiefly  irritated  him,  and  influenced 
him  so  far,  that  he  made  him  leave  the 
party  of  the  Pharisees,  and  abolish  the 
decrees  they  had  imposed  on  the  people, 
and    punish    those    that    observed   them. 
From  this  source  arose  that  hatred  which 
he  and  his  sons  met  with  from  the  multi- 
tude :  but  of  these  matters  we  shall  speak 
hereafter.     What  I  would  now  explain  is 
this,  that  the  Pharisees  have  delivered  to 
the  people  a  great  many  observances  by 
succession  from  their  fathers,  which  are 
not  written  in  the  law  of  Moses;  and  for 
that  reason  it  is  that  the  Sadducees  reject 
them,  and  say  that  we  are  to  esteem  those 
observances  to  be  obligatory  which  are  in 
the  written  word,  but  are  not  to  observe 
what  are  derived   from   the   tradition  of 
our   forefathers ;     and    concerning    these 
things  it  is  that  great  disputes  and  dif- 
ferences have  arisen  among  them,  while 
the  Sadducees  are  able  to  persuade  none 
but  the  rich,  and  have  not  the  populace 
obsequious  to    them,  but    the   Pharisees 
have   the   multitude    of   their   side  :    but 
about  these   two   sects,  and   that  of  the 
Essenes,  I  have  treated  accurately  in  the 
second  book  of  Jewish  affairs. 

But  when  Hyrcanus  had  put  an  er<l  to 
this  sedition,  he  after  that  lived  happily, 
and  administered  the  government  in  th* 


404 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIIL 


best  manner  for  thirty-one  years,  and 
then  died,*  leaving  behind  him  five  sons. 
He  was  esteemed  by  God  worthy  of  the 
three  privileges,  the  government  of  his 
nation,  the  dignity  of  the  high-priesthood, 
and  prophecy;  for  God  was  with  him,  and 
enabled  him  to  know  futurities  :  and  to 
foretell  this  in  particular,  that,  as  to  his 
two  eldest  sons,  he  foretold  that  they 
would  not  long  continue  in  the  govern- 
ment of  public  affairs;  their  unhappy 
catastrophe  will  be  worth  our  description, 
that  we  may  thence  learn  how  very  much 
they  were  inferior  to  their  father's  hap- 
piness. 

CHAPTEK  XL 

Aristobulus   seizes   the   government — his    cruelty 
and  death. 

Now  when  their  father  Hyrcanus  was 
dead,  the  eldest  son,  Aristobulus,  intend- 
ing to  change  the  government  into  a 
kingdom,  for  so  he  resolved  to  do,  first  of 
all  put  a  diadem  on  his  head,  481  years 
and  three  months  after  the  people  had 
been  delivered  from  the  Babylonish 
slavery,  and  had  returned  to  their  own 
country  again.  This  Aristobulus  loved 
his  next  brother  Antigonus,  and  treated 
him  as  his  equal ;  but  the  others  he  held 
in  bonds.  He  also  cast  his  mother  into 
prison,  because  she  disputed  the  govern- 
ment with  him ;  for  Hyrcanus  had,,  left 
her  to  be  mistress  of  all.  He  also  pro- 
ceeded to  that  degree  of  barbarity  as  to 
kill  her  in  prison  with  hunger;  nay,  he 
was  alienated  from  his  brother  Antigonus 
by  calumnies,  and  added  him  to  the  rest 
whom  he  slew;  yet  he  seemed  to  have  an 
affection  for  him,  and  made  him  above 
ths  rest  a  partner  with  him  in  the  king- 
dom. Those  calumnies  he  at  first  did 
not  give  credit  to,  partly  because  he  loved 


*  Here  ends  the  high-priesthood  and  the  life  of 
this  excellent  person  John  Hyrcanus  ;  and  together 
with  him  the  holy  theocracy,  or  divine  government 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  its  concomitant  oracle  by 
Urini.  Now  follows  the  profane  and  tyrannical 
Jewish  monarchy,  first,  of  the  Asamoneans  or  Mac- 
cabees, and  then  of  Herod  the  Great,  the  Idumean, 
till  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ.  "Those  that  suc- 
ceeded Moses,  continued  for  some  time  in  earnest, 
both  in  righteous  actions  and  in  piety :  but  after  a 
while,  there  were  others,  that  took  upon  themselves 
the  high-priesthood  ;  at  first  superstitious  and  after- 
ward tyrannical  persons.  Such  a  prophet  was 
Mosess  and  those  that  succeeded  him,  beginning  in 
a  way  not  to  be  blamed,  but  changing  for  the  worse. 
And  when  it  openly  appeared  that  the  government 
had  become  tyrannical,  Alexander  was  the  first  that 
set  up  himself  for  a  king  instead  of  a  priest ;  and 
his  sons  were  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus." — Strabo. 


him,  and  so  did  not  give  heed  to  what  was 
said  against  him,  and  partly  because  he 
thought  the  reproaches  were  derived  from 
the  envy  of  the  relaters.  But  when  An- 
tigonus had  once  returned  from  the  army; 
and  that  feast  was  then  at  hand  when  they 
make  tabernacles  to  [the  honour  of]  God, 
it  happened  that  Aristobulus  had  fallen 
sick,  and  that  Antigonus  went  up  most 
splendidly  adorned,  and  with  his  soldiers 
about  him  in  their  armour,  to  the  temple 
to  celebrate  the  feast,  and  to  put  up 
prayers  for  the  recovery  of  his  brother, 
when  some  wicked  persons,  who  had  a 
great  mind  to  raise  a  difference  between 
the  brethren,  made  use  of  this  oppor- 
tunity of  the  pompous  appearance  of  An- 
tigonus, and  of  the  great  actions  which 
he  had  done,  and  went  to  the  king,  and 
spitefully  aggravated  the  pompous  show 
at  the  feast,  and  pretended  that  all  these 
circumstances  were  not  like  those  of  a 
private  person ;  that  these  actions  were 
indications  of  an  affection  of  royal  autho- 
rity; and  that  his  coming  with  a  strong 
body  of  men  must  be  with  an  intention  to 
kill  him ;  and  that  his  way  of  reasoning 
was  this :  that  it  was  a  foolish  thing  in 
him,  while  it  was  in  his  power  to  reign 
himself,  to  look  upon  it  as  a  great  favour 
that  he  was  honoured  with  a  lower  dig- 
nity by  his  brother. 

Aristobulus  yielded  to  these  imputa- 
tions, but  took  care  that  his  brother 
should  not  suspect  him,  and  that  he  him- 
self might  uot  run  the  hazard  of  his  own 
safety ;  so  he  ordered  his  guards  to  lie  in 
a  certain  place  that  was  under  ground, 
and  dark,  (he  himself  then  lying  sick  in 
the  tower  which  was  called  Antonia;) 
and  he  commanded  them,  that  in  case 
Antigonus  came  in  to  him  unarmed,  they 
should  not  touch  anybody,  but  if  armed, 
they  should  kill  him ;  yet  did  he  send  to 
Antigonus,  and  desired  that  he  would 
come  unarmed :  but  the  queen,  and  those 
that  joined  with  her  in  the  plot  against 
Antigonus,  persuaded  the  messenger  to 
tell  him  the  direct  contrary :  how  his 
brother  had  heard  that  he  had  made  him- 
self a  fine  suit^of  armour  for  war,  and 
desired  he  would  come  to  him  in 
that  armour,  that  he  might  see  how  fine 
it  was.  So  Antigonus,  suspecting  no 
treachery,  but  depending  on  the  good- 
will of  his  brother,  came  to  Aristobulus 
armed,  as  he  used  to  be,  with  his  entire 
armour,  in  order  to  show  it  to  him ;  but 
when  he  had  once  come  to  a  place  which 


Chap.  XII. ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


405 


was  called  Strata's  Tower,  where  the 
passage  happened  to  be  exceedingly  dark, 
the  guards  slew  him;  which  death  de- 
monstrates that  nothing  is  stronger  than 
envy  and  calumny,  and  that  nothing 
does  more  certainly  divide  the  good-will 
and  natural  affections  of  men  than  those 
passions.  But  here  one  may  take  occasion 
to  wonder  at  one  Judas,  who  was  of  the 
sect  of  the  Essenes,  and  who  never 
missed  the  truth  in  his  predictions ;  for 
this  man,  when  he  saw  Antigonus  passing 
by  the  temple,  cried  to  his  companions 
and  friends,  who  abode  with  him  as  his 
scholars,  in  order  to  learn  the  art  of  fore- 
telling things  to  come,*  u  That  it  was 
good  for  him  to  die  now,  since  he  had 
spoken  falsely  about  Antigonus  who  is 
still  alive,  and  I  see  him  passing  by,  al- 
though he  had  foretold  that  he  should 
die  at  the  place  called  Strato's  Tower 
that  very  day,  while  yet  the  place  is  600 
furlongs  off  where  he  had  foretold  he 
should  be  slain ;  and  still  this  day  is  a 
great  part  of  it  already  past,  so  that  he 
was  in  danger  of  proving  a  false  prophet." 
As  he  was  saying  this,  and  that  in  a 
melancholy  mood,  the  news  came  that 
Antigonus  was  slain  in  a  place  under 
ground,  which  itself  was  called  also 
Strato's  Tower,  or  of  the  same  name  with 
that  Cesarea  which  is  seated  at  the  sea. 
This  event  put  the  prophet  into  a  great 
disorder. 

But  Aristobulus  repented  immediately 
of  this  slaughter  of  his  brother;  on  which 
account  his  disease  increased  upon  him, 
and  he  was  disturbed  in  his  mind,  upon 
the  guilt  of  such  wickedness,  insomuch 
that  his  entrails  were  corrupted  by  his 
intolerable  pain,  and  he  vomited  blood  : 
at  which  time  one  of  the  servants  that 
attended  upon  him,  and  was  carrying  his 
blood  away,  did,  by  Divine  Providence, 
as  I  cannot  but  suppose,  slip  down,  and 
shed  part  of  his  blood  at  the  very  place 
where  there  were  spots  of  Antigonus's 
blood  there  slain,  still  remaining ;  and 
when  there  was  a  cry  made  by  the  spec- 
tators, as  if  the  servant  had  on  purpose 
shed  the  blood  on  that  place,  Aristobulus 


*  Hence  we  learn  that  the  Essenes  pretended  to 
have  rules  whereby  men  might  foretell  things  to 
come,  and  that  this  Judas  the  Essene,  taught  those 
rules  to  his  scholars;  but  whether  their  pretences 
were  of  an  astrological  or  magical  nature,  which 
yet,  in  such  religious  Jews,  who  were  utterly  for- 
bidden such  aits,  is  noway  probable,  or  to  any 
Bath  Col,  spoken  of  by  the  later  Rabbins,  or  other- 
wise, we  cannot  tell. 


heard  it,  and  inquired  what  the  matter 
was ;  and  as  they  did  not  answer  him,  he 
was  the  more  earnest  to  know  what  it 
was,  it  being  natural  to  men  to  suspect 
that  what  is  thus  concealed  is  very  bad  : 
so  upon  his  threatening,  and  forcing  them 
by  terrors  to  speak,  they  at  length  told 
him  the  truth ;  whereupon  he  shed  many 
tears,  in  that  disorder  of  mind  which 
arose  from  his  consciousness  of  what  he 
had  done,  and  gave  a  deep  groan,  and 
said,  "  I  am  not,  therefore,  I  perceive,  to 
be  concealed  from  God,  in  the  impious 
and  horrid  crimes  I  have  been  guilty  of; 
but  a  sudden  punishment  is  coming  upon 
me  for  the  shedding  the  blood  of  my  re- 
lations. And  now,  0  thou  most  im- 
pudent body  of  mine,  how  long  wilt  thou 
retain  a  soul  that  ought  to  die,  in  order 
to  appease  the  ghost  of  my  brother  and 
of  my  mother  ?  Why  dost  thou  not  give 
it  up  all  at  once  ?  And  why  do  I  deliver 
up  my  blood,  drop  by  drop,  to  those 
whom  I  have  so  wickedly  murdered  V  In 
saying  which  last  words  he  died,  having 
reigned  a  year.  He  was  called  a  lover 
of  the  Grecians ;  and  had  conferred  many 
benefits  on  his  own  country,  and  made 
war  against  Iturea,  and  added  a  great 
part  of  it  to  Judea,  and  compelled  the 
inhabitants,  if  they  would  continue  in 
that  country,  to  be  circumcised,  and  to 
live  according  to  the  Jewish  laws.  He 
was  naturally  a  man  of  candour,  and  of 
great  modesty,  as  Strabo  bears  witness 
in  the  name  of  Timagenes:  who  says 
thus  : — "  This  man  was  a  person  of  can- 
dour,  and  very  serviceable  to  the  Jews, 
for  he  added  a  country  to  them,  and  ob- 
tained a  part  of  the  nation  of  the  Itureans 
for  them,  and  bound  them  to  them  by  the 
bond  of  their  circumcision." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Alexander's  Expedition  against  Ptolemais. 

When  Aristobulus  was  dead,  his  wife 
Salome,  who  by  the  Greeks  was  called 
Alexandria,  let  his  brethren  out  of  prison, 
(for  Aristobulus  had  kept  them  in  bonds, 
as  we  have  said  already,)  and  made  Alex- 
ander Janneus  king,  who  was  the  superior 
in  age  and  in  moderation  This  child 
happened  to  be  hated  by  his  father  as 
soon  as  he  was  born,  and  could  never  be 
permitted  to  come  into  his  father's  sight 
till  he  died.  The  occasion  of  which 
hatred  is  thus  reported  : — When  Hyrcani* 


406 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIII 


chiefly  loved  the  two  eldest  of  his  sons, 
Antigonus  and  Aristobulus,  God  appeared 
to  him  in  his  sleep,  of  whom  he  inquired 
which  of  his  uons  should  be  his  successor. 
Upon  God's  representing  to  him  the  coun- 
tenance of  Alexander,  he  was  grieved  that 
he  was  to  be  the  "heir  of  all  his  goods,  and 
suffered  l./m  to  be  brought  up  in  Galilee.* 
However,  God  did  not  deceive  Hyrcanus, 
for  after  the  death  of  Aristobulus,  he 
certainly  took  the  kingdom ;  and  one  of 
his  brethren  who  affected  the  kingdom  he 
slew;  and  the  other,  who  chose  to  live  a 
private  and  quiet  life,  he  had  in  esteem. 

When  Alexander  Janneus  had  settled 
the  government  in  the  manner  that  he 
judged  best,  he  made  an  expedition  against 
Ptolemais;  and  having  overcome  the  men 
in  battle,  he  shut  them  up  in  the  city, 
and  sat  round  about  it,  and  besieged  it; 
for  of  the  maritime  cities  there  remained 
only  Ptolemais  and  Gaza  to  be  conquered, 
besides  Strato's  Tower  and  Dora,  which 
were  held  by  the  tyrant  Zoilus.  Now 
while  Antiochus  Philometer,  and  Antio- 
chus  who  was  called  Cyzicenus,  were 
making  war  against  one  another,  and  de- 
stroying one  another's  armies,  the  people 
of  Ptolemais  could  have  no  assistance 
from  them ;  but  when  they  were  dis- 
tressed with  this  siege,  Zoilus,  who  pos- 
sessed Strato's  Tower  and  Dora,  and 
maintained  a  legion  of  soldiers,  and,  on 
occasion  of  the  contest  between  the  kings, 
affected  tyranny  himself,  came  and  brought 
some  small  assistance  to  the  people  of 
Ptolemais ;  nor  indeed  had  the  kings 
such  a  friendship  for  them  as  that  they 
should  hope  for  any  advantage  from  them. 
Both  those  kings  were  in  the  case  of 
wrestlers,  who,  finding  themselves  de- 
ficient in  strength,  and  yet  being  ashamed 
to  yield,  put  off  the  fight  by  laziness,  and 
by  lying  still  as  long  as  they  can.  The 
only  hope  they  had  remaining  was  from 
the  kings  of  Egypt,  and  from  Ptolemy 
Lathyrus,  who  now  held  Cyprus,  and 
who  came  to  Cyprus  when  he  was  driven 
from  the  government  of  Egypt  by  Cleo- 
patra his  mother  :  so  the  people  of  Ptole- 
mais sent  to  this  Ptolemy  Lathyrus,  and 


*  The  reason  why  Hyrcanus  suffered  not  this  son 
of  his  whom  he  did  not  love  to  come  into  Judea, 
but  ordered  him  to  be  brought  up  in  Galilee,  is 
suggested  by  Dr.  Hudson,  that  Galilee  was  not 
esteemed  so  happy  and  well-cultivated  a  country 
as  Judea,  (Matt.  xvi.  73  ;  John  vii.  52 ;  Acts  ii.  7;) 
although  another  obvious  reason  occurs  also,  that 
he  was  farther  out  of  his  sight  in  Galilee  than  he 
would  have  been  in  Tudea. 


desired  him  to  come  as  a  confederate,  to 
deliver  them,  now  they  were  in  such  dan- 
ger, out  of  the  hands  of  Alexander.  And 
as  the  ambassadors  gave  him  hopes,  that 
if  he  would  pass  over  into  Syria,  he  would 
have  the  people  of  Gaza  on  the  side  of 
those  of  Ptolemais ;  as  they  also  said  that 
Zoilus,  and  besides  these,  the  Sidonians 
and  many  others  would  assist  them,  so  he 
was  elevated  at  this,  and  got  his  fleet 
ready  as  soon  as  possible. 

But  in  this  interval  Demenetus,  one 
that  was  of  abilities  to  persuade  men  to 
do  as  he  would  have  them,  and  a  leader 
of  the  populace,  made  those  of  Ptolemais 
change  their  opinions;  and  said  to  them, 
that  it  was  better  to  run  the  hazard  of 
being  subject  to  the  Jews  than  to  admit 
of  evident  slavery  by  delivering  them- 
selves up  to  a  master;  and  besides  that, 
to  have  not  only  a  war  at  present,  but  to 
expect  a  much  greater  war  from  Egypt; 
for  that  Cleopatra  would  not  overlook  an 
army  raised  by  Ptolemy  for  himself  out 
of  the  neighbourhood,  but  would  come 
against  them  with  a  great  army  of  her 
own,  and  this  because  she  was  labouring 
to  eject  her  son  out  of  Cyprus  also :  that 
as  for  Ptolemy,  if  he  fail  of  his  hopes,  he 
can  still  retire  to  Cyprus;  but  that  they 
will  be  left  in  the  greatest  danger  pos 
sible.  Now  Ptolemy,  although  he  had 
heard  of  the  change  that  was  made  in  the 
people  of  Ptolemais,  yet  did  he  still  go  on 
with  his  voyage,  and  came  to  the  country 
called  Sycamine,  and  there  set  his  army 
on  shore.  This  army  of  his,  in  the  whole, 
horse  and  foot  together,  were  about 
30,000,  with  which  he  marched  near  to 
Ptolemais,  and  there  pitched  his  camp  : 
but  when  the  people  of  Ptolemais  neither 
received  his  ambassadors,  nor  would  hear 
what  they  had  to  say,  he  was  under  a 
very  great  concern. 

But  when  Zoilus  and  the  people  of 
Gaza  came  to  him,  and  desired  his  as- 
sistance, because  their  country  was  laid 
waste  by  the  Jews,  and  by  Alexander, 
Alexander  raised  the  siege,  for  fear  of 
Ptolemy;  and  when  he  had  drawn  off  his 
army  into  his  own  country,  he  used 
a  stratagem  afterward,  by  privately  in- 
viting Cleopatra  to  come  against  Ptolemy, 
but  publicly  pretending  to  desire  a  league 
of  friendship  and  mutual  assistance  with 
him ;  and  promising  to  give  him  400 
talents  of  silver,  he  desired  that,  by  way 
of  requital,  he  would  take  off  Zoilus  the 
tyrant,  and  give  his  country  to  the  Jews. 


Chap.  XIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


407 


And  thm  indeed  Ptolemy,  with  pleasure, 
made  such  a  league  of  friendship  with 
Alexander,  and  subdued  Zoilus;  but 
when  he  afterward  heard  that  he  had 
privily  sent  to  Cleopatra  his  mother,  he 
broke  the  league  with  him,  which  yet  he 
had  confirmed  with  an  oath,  and  fell 
upon  him,  and  besieged  Ptoleniais,  be- 
cause it  would  not  receive  him.  How 
ever,  leaving  his  generals,  with  some  part 
of  his  forces,  to  go  on  with  the  siege,  he 
went  himself  immediately  with  the  rest 
to  lay  Judea  waste  :  and  when  Alexander 
understood  this  to  be  Ptolemy's  intention, 
ne  also  got  together  about  50,000  soldiers 
out  of  his  own  country ;  nay,  as  some 
writers  have  said,  80,000.*  He  then 
took  his  army,  and  went  to  meet  Pto- 
lemy; but  Ptolemy  fell  upon  Asochis, 
a  city  of  Galilee,  and  took  it  by  force  on 
the  Sabbath-day,  and  there  he  took  about 
10,000  slaves,  and  a  great  deal  of  other 
prey. 

He  then  tried  to  take  Sepphoris,  which 
was  a  city  not  far  from  that  which  was 
destroyed,  but  lost  many  of  his  men  ;  yet 
did  he  then  go  to  fight  with  Alexander. 
Alexander  met  him  at  the  river  Jordan, 
near  a  certain  place  called  Saphoth,  [not 
far  from  the  river  Jordan,]  and  pitched 
his  camp  near  to  the  enemy.  He  had 
however  8000  in  the  first  rank,  which  he 
styled  Hecatontomachi,  having  shields 
of  brass.  Those  in  the  first  rank  of 
Ptolemy's  soldiers  also  had  shields  covered 
with  brass :  but  Ptolemy's  soldiers  in 
other  respects  were  inferior  to  those  of 
Alexander,  and  therefore  were  most 
fearful  of  running  hazards;  but  Philo- 
stephanus,  the  camp-master,  put  great 
cmrage  into  them,  and  ordered  them  to 
pass  the  river,  which  was  between  their 
camps  :  nor  did  Alexander  think  fit  to 
hinder  their  passage  over  it:  for  he 
thought,  that  if  the  enemy  had  once 
gotten  the  river  on  their  back,  that  he 
should  the  easier  take  them  prisoners, 
when  they  could  not  flee  out  of  the  battle : 
in  the  beginning  of  which,  the  acts  on 
both   sides,  with   their    hands,  and  with 


*  From  these  and  other  occasional  expressions 
dropped  by  Josephus,  we  may  learn,  that  where 
the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews  were  deficient,  he 
had  several  other  histories  then  extant  (but  now 
most  of  them  lost)  which  he  faithfully  followed  in 
his  own  history;  nor  indeed  have  we  any  other 
records  of  those  times  relating  to  Judea,  that  can 
be  compared  to  these  accounts  of  Josephus ;  though 
when  we  do  meet  with  authentic  fragments  of  such 
original  records,  they  almost  always  confirm  his 
history. 


their  alacrity,  were  alike,  and  a  great 
slaughter  was  made  by  both  the  armies; 
but  Alexander  was  superior,  till  Philo- 
stephanus  opportunely  brought  up  the 
auxiliaries,  to  help  those  that  were  giving 
way;  but  as  there  were  no  auxiliaries  to 
afford  help  to  that  part  of  the  Jews  that 
gave  way,  it  fell  out  that  they  fled,  and 
those  near  them  did  not  assist  them, 
but  fled  along  with  them.  However, 
Ptolemy's  soldiers  acted  quite  otherwise ; 
for  they  followed  the  Jews,  and  killed 
them,  till  at  length  those  that  slew  them 
pursued  after  them  when  they  had  made 
them  all  run  away,  and  slew  them  so 
long,  that  their  weapons  of  iron  were 
blunted,  and  their  hands  quite  tired  with 
the  slaughter;  for  the  report  was,  that 
30,000  men  were  then  slain.  Timagenes 
says,  there  were  50,000.  As  for  the 
rest,  they  were  part  of  them  taken  cap- 
tive ;  and  the  other  part  ran  away  to 
their  own  country. 

After  this  victory,  Ptolemy  overran  all 
the  country;  and  when  night  came  on, 
he  abode  in  certain  villages  of  Judea, 
which,  when  he  found  full  of  women  and 
children,  he  commanded  his  soldiers  to 
strangle  them,  and  to  cut  them  in  pieces5 
and  then  to  cast  them  into  boiling  cauldrons, 
and  then  to  devour  their  limbs  as  sacri- 
fices. This  commandment  was  given, 
that  such  as  fled  from  the  battle,  and 
came  to  them,  might  suppose  their  ene- 
mies were  cannibals,  and  ate  men's  flesh, 
and  might  on  that  account  be  still  more 
terrified  at  them  upon  such  a  sight.  And 
both  Strabo  and  Nicolaus  [of  Damascus] 
affirin,  that  they  used  these  people  after 
this  manner,  as  I  have  already  related. 
Ptolemy  also  took  Ptolemais  by  force,  as 
we  have  declared  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Alexander  makes  an  expedition  against  Celesyria — 
overthrows  Gaza,  and  destroys  many  thousands 
of  the  Jews. 

When  Cleopatra  saw  that  her  son  had 
grown  great,  and  laid  Judea  waste  without 
disturbance,  and  had  gotten  the  city  of 
Gaza  under  his  power,  she  resolved  no 
longer  to  overlook  what  he  did,  when  he 
was  almost  at  her  gates;  and  she  con- 
cluded that,  now  he  was  so  much  stronger 
than  before,  he  would  be  very  desirous  of 
the  dominion  over  the  Egyptians ;  but 
she    immediately    marched   against    him 


408 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


|"Book  XIIL 


with  a  fleet  at  sea  and  an  army  of  foot  on 
land,  and  made  Chelcias  and  Ananias, 
the  Jews,  generals  of  her  whole  army, 
while  she  sent  the  greatest  part  of  her 
riches,  her  grandchildren,  and  her  testa- 
ment to  the  people  of  Cos.*  Cleopatra 
also  ordered  her  son  Alexander  to  sail 
with  a  great  fleet  to  Phoenicia :  and  when 
that  country  had  revolted,  she  came  to 
Ptolemais;  and  because  the  people  of 
Ptolemais  did  not  receive  her,  she  be- 
sieged the  city;  but  Ptolemy  went  out 
of  Syria,  and  made  haste  to  Egypt,  sup- 
posing that  he  should  find  it  destitute  of 
an  army,  and  soon  take  it,  though  he 
failed  of  his  hopes.  At  this  time  Chel- 
cias, one  of  Cleopatra's  generals,  hap- 
pened to  die  in  Celesyria,  as  he  was  in 
pursuit  of  Ptolemy. 

When  Cleopatra  heard  of  her  son's 
attempt,  and  that  his  Egyptian  expedition 
did  not  succeed  according  to  his  expecta- 
tions, she  sent  thither  part  of  her  army, 
and  drove  him  out  of  that  country ;  so 
when  he  had  returned  out  of  Egypt  again, 
he  abode  during  the  winter  at  Gaza,  in 
which  time  Cleopatra  took  the  garrison 
that  was  in  Ptolemais  by  siege,  as  well  as 
the  city;  and  when  Alexander  came  to 
ner,  he  gave  her  presents,  and  such 
marks  of  respect  as  were  but  proper, 
since,  under  the  miseries  he  endured  by 
Ptolemy,  he  had  no  other  refuge  but  her. 
Now  there  were  some  of  her  friends  who 
persuaded  her  to  seize  Alexander,  and  to 
overrun  and  take  possession  of  the  coun- 
try, and  not  to  sit  still  and  see  such  a 
multitude  of  brave  Jews  subject  to  one 
man ;  but  Ananias's  counsel  was  con- 
trary to  theirs,  who  said  that  she  would 
do  an  unjust  action  if  she  deprived  a  man 
that  was  her  ally  of  that  authority  which 
belonged  to  him,  and  this  a  man  who 
is  related  to  us ;  "  for  (said  he)  I  would 
not  have  thee  ignorant  of  this,  that  what 
injustice  thou  dost  to  him  will  make  all 
us  that  are  Jews  to  be  thy  enemies." 
This  desire  of  Ananias,  Cleopatra  com- 
plied with ;  and  did  no  injury  to  Alex- 
ander, but  made  a  league  of  mutual  as- 
sistance with  him  at  Scythopolis,  a  city 
of  Celesyria. 

So  when  Alexander  was  delivered  from 
the  fear  he  was  in  of  Ptolemy,  he  pre- 
sently made  an  expedition  against  Cele- 

*  This  city,  or  island  of  Cos,  is  not  that  remote 
island  in  the  Egean  Sea,  famous  for  the  birth  of 
the  great  Hippocrates,  but  a  city  or  inland  of  the 
itame  name  adjoining  to  Egypt. 


Syria.  He  also  took  Gadara,  after  a  siege 
of  ten  months.  He  also  took  Amathus,  a 
very  strong  fortress,  belonging  to  the  in- 
habitants above  Jordan,  where  Theodorus 
the  son  of  Zeno,  had  his  chief  treasure, 
and  what  he  esteemed  most  precious.  This 
Zeno  fell  unexpectedly  upon  the  Jews, 
and  slew  10,000  of  them,  and  seized  upon 
Alexander's  baggage :  yet  did  not  this 
misfortune  terrify  Alexander ;  but  he 
made  an  expedition  upon  the  maritime 
parts  of  the  country,  Baphia  and  Anthe- 
don,  (the  name  of  which  King  Herod  after- 
ward changed  to  Agrippias,)  and  took  even 
that  by  force.  But  when  Alexander  saw 
that  Ptolemy  had  retired  from  Gaza  to 
Cyprus,  and  his  mother  Cleopatra  had  re- 
turned to  Egypt,  he  grew  angry  at  the 
people  of  Gaza,  because  they  had  invited 
Ptolem}?-  to  assist  them,  and  besieged  their 
city  and  ravaged  their  country.  But  as 
Apollodotus,  the  general  of  the  army  of 
Gaza,  fell  upon  the  camp  of  the  Jews  by 
night,  with  2000  foreign  and  10,000  of 
his  own  forces,  while  the  night  lasted, 
those  of  Gaza  prevailed,  because  the 
enemy  was  made  to  believe  that  it  was 
Ptolemy  who  attacked  them ;  but  when 
day  had  come  on,  and  that  mistake  was 
corrected,  and  the  Jews  knew  the  truth  of 
the  matter,  they  came  back  again,  and  fell 
upon  those  of  Gaza,  and  slew  about  1000 
of  them.  But  as  those  of  Gaza  stoutly 
resisted  them,  and  would  not  yield  for 
either  their  want  of  any  thing,  nor  for 
the  great  multitude  that  were  slain,  (for 
they  would  rather  suffer  any  hardship 
whatever,  than  come  under  the  power  of 
their  enemies,)  Aretas,  king  of  the  Ara- 
bians, a  person  then  very  illustrious, 
encouraged  them  to  go  on  with  alacrity, 
and  promised  them  that  he  would  come  to 
their  assistance ;  but  it  happened  that  be- 
fore he  came  Apollodotus  was  slain ;  for 
his  brother  Lysimachus,  envying  him  for 
the  great  reputation  he  had  gained  among 
the  citizens,  slew  him,  and  got  the  army 
together  and  delivered  up  the  city  to 
Alexander ;  who,  when  he  came  in  at  first, 
lay  quiet,  but  afterward  set  his  army 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  Gaza,  and  gave 
them  leave  to-punish  them  ;  so  some  went 
one  way,  and  some  went  another,  and  slew 
the  inhabitants  of  Gaza ;  yet  were  not 
they  of  cowardly  hearts,  but  opposed  those 
that  came  to  slay  them,  and  slew  as  many 
of  the  Jews;  and  some  of  them,  when 
they  saw  themselves  deserted,  burnt  their 
own  houses,   that    the  enemy  might  get 


Omap.  XIV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


409 


Done  uf  their  spoils  :  nay,  some  of  them, 
with  their  own  hands,  slew  their  children 
and  their  wives,  having  no  other  way  but 
this  of  avoiding  slavery  for  them ;  but 
the  senators,  who  were  in  all  500,  fled  to 
Apollo's  temple,  (for  this  attack  happened 
to  be  made  as  they  were  sitting,)  whom 
Alexander  slew ;  and  when  he  had  utterly 
overthrown  their  city,  he  returned  to  Je- 
rusalem, having  spent  a  year  in  that 
siege. 

About  this  very  time,  Antiochus,  who 
was  called  Grypus,  died.  His  death  was 
caused  by  Heracleon's  treachery,  when 
he  had  lived  45  years,  and  had  reigned 
29.  His  son  Seleucus  succeeded  him  in 
the  kingdom,  and  made  war  with  Antio- 
chus, his  father's  brother,  who  was  called 
Antiochus  Cyzicenus,  and  beat  him,  and 
took  him  prisoner,  and  slew  him  ;  but 
after  a  while  Antiochus,  the  son  of  Cyzi- 
cenus, who  was  called  Pius,  came  to 
Aradus,  and  put  the  diadem  on  his  own 
head,  and  made  war  with  Seleucus,  and 
beat  him,  and  drove  him  out  of  all  Syria. 
But  when  he  fled  out  of  Syria,  he  came 
to  Mopsuestia  again,  and  levied  money 
upon  them;  but  the  people  of  Mopsuestia 
had  indignation  at  what  he  did,  and  burnt 
down  his  palace,  and  slew  him,  together 
with  his  friends.  But  when  Antiochus, 
the  son  of  Cyzicenus,  was  king  of  Syria, 
Antiochus,  the  brother  of  Seleucus,  made 
war  upon  him,  and  was  overcome  and  de- 
stroyed, he  and  his  army.  After  him,  his 
brother  Philip  put  on  the  diadem,  and 
reigned  over  some  part  of  Syria ;  but 
Ptolemy  Lathy rus  sent  for  his  fourth 
brother,  Demetrius,  who  was  called  Eu- 
cerus,  from  Cnidus,  and  made  him  king 
of  Damascus.  Both  these  brothers  did 
Antiochus  vehemently  oppose,  but  pre- 
sently died ;  for  when  he  had  come  as  an 
auxiliary  to  Laodice,  queen  of  the  Gilead- 
ites,*  when  she  was  making  war  against 
the  Parthians,  and  he  was  fighting  cou- 
rageously, he  fell,  while  Demetrius  and 
Philip  governed  Syria,  as  hath  been  else- 
where related. 

As  to  Alexander,  his  own  people  were 
seditious  against  him;  for  at  a  festival 
which  was  then  celebrated,  when  he  stood 
upon  the  altar,  and  was  going  to  sacrifice, 
the  nation  rose  upon  him,  and  pelted  him 
with  citrons,  [which  they  then  had  in  their 

*  Laodicea  was  a  city  of  Gilead,  beyond  Jordan. 
Porplsyry  says,  that  this  Antiochus  Pius  did  not  die 
in  this  battle ;  but,  running  away,  was  drowned  in 
the  river  Orontes 


hands,  because]  the  law  of  the  Jews  re- 
quired, that  at  the  feast  of  tabernacles, 
every  one  should  have  branches  of  the 
palm-tree  and  citron-tree ;  which  thing 
we  have  elsewhere  related.  They  also 
reviled  him,  as  derived  from  a  captive,* 
and  so  unworthy  of  his  dignity  and  of 
sacrificing.  At  this  he  was  in  a  rage,  and 
slew  about  6000  of  them.  He  also  built 
a  partition-wall  of  wood  round  the  altar 
and  the  temple,  as  far  as  that  partition 
within  which  it  was  only  lawful  for  the 
priest  to  enter;  and  by  this  means  he  ob- 
structed the  multitude  from  coming  at 
him.  He  also  maintained  foreigners  of 
Pisidiae  and  Cilicia ;  for  as  to  the  Syrians, 
he  was  at  war  with  them,  and  so  made  no 
use  of  them.  He  also  overcame  the  Ara- 
bians, such  as  the  Moabites  and  Gileadites, 
and  made  them  bring  tribute.  Moreover, 
he  demolished  Amathus,  while  Theodoras 
durst  not  fight  with  him ;  but  as  he  had 
joined  battle  with  Obedas,  king  of  the 
Arabians,  and  fell  into  an  ambush  in  the 
places  that  were  rugged  and  difficult  to  be 
travelled  over,  he  was  thrown  down  into  a 
deep  valley,  by  the  multitude  of  the  ca- 
mels, at  Gadara,  a  village  of  Gilead,  and 
hardly  escaped  with  his  life.  From  thence 
he  fled  to  Jerusalem,  where,  besides  his 
other  ill  success,  the  nation  insulted  him. 
and  he  fought  against  them  for  six  years, 
and  slew  no  fewer  than  50,000  of  them ; 
and  when  he  desired  that  they  would  de- 
sist from  their  ill-will  toward  him,  they 
hated  him  so  much  the  more,  on  account 
of  what  had  already  happened ;  and  when 
he  had  asked  them  what  he  ought  to  do, 
they  all  cried  out  that  he  ought  to  kill 
himself.  They  also  sent  to  Demetrius 
Eucerus,  and  desired  him  to  make  a  league 
of  mutual  defence  with  them. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Demetrius  Eucerus  overcomes  Alexanler — retires 
out  of  the  country  for  fear  of  the  Jews — Death 
of  Demetrius. 

So  Demetrius  came  with  an  army,  and 
took  those  that  invited  him,  and  pitched 
his  camp  near  the  city  Shechem ;  upon 
which  Alexander,  with  his  6200  mercena- 
ries and  about  20,000  Jews,  who  were  of 
his  party,  went  against  Demetrius,  who 
had  3000  horsemen  and  40,000  footmen 
Now  there  were  great  endeavours  used  on 

*  This  reproach  upon  Alerande  ,  that  he  had 
sprung  from  a  captive,  seems  only  the  repetition  of 
the  old  Pharisaical  calumny  uj.on  his  father. 


410 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XI 11. 


both  sides,  Demetrius  trying  to  bring  off 
the  mercenaries  that  were  with  Alexander, 
because  they  were  Greeks;  and  Alexander 
tried  to  bring  off  the  Jews  that  were  with 
Demetrius.  However,  when  neither  of 
them  could  persuade  them  so  to  do,  they 
came  to  a  battle,  and  Demetrius  was  the 
conqueror  ;  in  which  all  Alexander's  mer- 
cenaries were  killed,  when  they  had  given 
demonstration  of  their  fidelity  and  cou- 
rage. A  great  number  of  Demetrius's 
soldiers  were  slain  also. 

Now  as  Alexander  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains, 6000  of  the  Jews  hereupon  came 
together  [from  Demetrius]  to  him  out  of 
pity  at  the  change  of  his  fortune;  upon 
which  Demetrius  was  afraid,  and  retired 
out  of  the  country;  after  which  the  Jews 
fought  against  Alexander,  and  being 
beaten,  were  slain  in  great  numbers  in 
the  several  battles  which  they  had;  and 
when  he  had  shut  up  the  most  powerful 
of  them  in  the  city  Bethome,  he  besieged 
them  therein  ;  and  when  he  had  taken  the 
city,  and  gotten  the  men  into  his  power, 
he  brought  them  to  Jerusalem,  and  did 
one  of  the  most  barbarous  actions  in  the 
world  to  them ;  for  as  he  was  feasting 
with  his  concubines,  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  city,  he  ordered  about  800  of  them  to 
be  crucified ;  and  while  they  were  living, 
he  ordered  the  throats  of  their  children  and 
wives  to  be  cut  before  their  eyes.  This  was 
indeed  by  way  of  revenge  for  the  injuries 
they  had  done  him;  which  punishment 
yet  was  of  an  inhuman  nature,  though  we 
suppose  that  he  had  been  ever  so  much 
distressed,  as  indeed  he  had  been,  by  his 
wars  with  them,  for  he  had  by  their 
means  come  to  the  last  degree  of  hazard, 
both  of  his  life  and  of  his  kingdom,  while 
they  were  not  satisfied  by  themselves  only 
to  fight  against  him,  but  introduced  fo- 
reigners also  for  the  same  purpose ;  nay, 
at  length  they  reduced  him  to  that  degree 
of  necessity,  that  he  was  forced  to  deliver 
back  to  the  king  of  Arabia  the  land  of 
Moab  and  Gilead,  which  he  had  subdued, 
and  the  places  that  were  in  them,  that 
ihey  might  not  join  with  them  in  the  war 
against  him,  as  they  had  done  ten  thou- 
sand other  things  that  tended  to  affront 
and  reproach  him.  However,  this  bar- 
barity seems  to  have  been  without  any 
necessity,  on  which  account  he  bore  the 
name  of  a  Thracian    among  the  Jews  ;* 


*  This  tame  Thracida,  which  the  Jews   gave 
Alexander,  jauat,  by  the  coherence,  denote  "  as  bar- 


whereupon  the  soldiers  that  had  fought 
against  him,  being  about  8000  in  number, 
ran  away  by  night,  and  continued  fugi- 
tives all  the  time  that  Alexander  lived  ; 
who  being  now  freed  from  any  further 
disturbance  from  them,  reigned  the  rest 
of  his  time  in  the  utmost  tranquillity. 

But  when  Demetrius  had  departed  out 
of  Judea,  he  went  to  Berea,  and  besieged 
his  brother  Philip,  having  with  him  10,000 
footmen,  and  1000  horsemen.  How- 
ever, Strato,  the  tyrant  of  Berea,  the 
confederate  of  Philip,  called  in  Zizon,  the 
ruler  of  the  Arabian  tribes,  and  Mithri- 
dates  Sinax,  the  ruler  of  the  Parthians, 
who  coming  with  a  great  number  of 
forces,  and  besieging  Demetrius  in  his 
encampment,  into  which  they  had  driven 
him  with  their  arrows,  they  compelled 
those  that  were  with  him,  by  thirst,  to  de- 
liver up  themselves.  So  they  took  a  great 
many  spoils  out  of  that  country,  and  De- 
metrius himself,  whom  they  sent  to 
Mithridates,  who  was  then  king  of  Par- 
thia ;  but  as  to  those  whom  they  took 
captives  of  the  people  of  Antioch,  they 
restored  them  to  the  Antiochians  without 
any  reward.  Now  Mithridates,  the  king 
of  Parthia,  had  Demetrius  in  great  honour/ 
till  Demetrius  ended  his  life  by  sickness. 
So  Philip,  presently  after  the  fight  was 
over,  came  to  Antioch,  and  took  it,  and 
reigned  over  Syria. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Antiochus  Dionysius  and  Aretas  make  expeditions 
into  Judea — Death  of  Alexander. 

After  this,  Antiochus,  who  was  called 
Dionysius,  and  was  Philip's  brother,  aspired 
to  the  dominion,  and  came  to  Damascus, 
and  got  the  power  into  his  hands,  and 
there  he  reigned ;  but  as  he  was  making 
war  against  the  Arabians,  his  brother 
Philip  heard  of  it,  and  came  to  Damascus, 
where  Milesius,  who  had  been  left  governor 
of  the  citadel,  and  the  Damascenes  them- 
selves delivered  up  the  city  to  him:  yet, 
because  Philip  had  become  ungrateful  to 
him,  and  had  bestowed  upon  him  nothing 
of  that  in  hopes  whereof  he  had  received 
him  into  the  city,  but  had  a  mind  to  have 
it  believed  that  it  was  rather  delivered  up 
out  of  fear  than  by  the  kindness  of  Mi- 
lesius, and  because  he  had  not  rewarded 
him  as  he  ought  to  have  done,  he  became 


barous  as  a  Thracian,"  or  somewhat  like  it;  bul 
what  it  properly  signifies  is  not  known. 


UHAP    XV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


411 


suspeoted  by  him,  and  so  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  Damascus  again ;  for  Milesius 
caught  him  marching  out  of  the  Hippo- 
drome, and  shut  him  up  in  it,  and  kept 
Damascus  for  Antiochus  [Eucerus],  who, 
hearing  how  Philip's  affairs  stood,  came 
back  out  of  Arabia.  He  also  came  im- 
mediately and  made  an  expedition  against 
Judea,  with  8000  armed  footmen,  and 
800  horsemen.  So  Alexander,  out  of 
fear  of  his  coming,  dug  a  deep  ditch,  be- 
ginning at  Chabarzaba,  which  is  now 
called  Antipatris,  to  the  sea  of  Joppa,  on 
which  part  only  his  army  could  be  brought 
against  him.  He  also  raised  a  wall,  and 
erected  wooden  towers,  and  intermediate 
redoubts,  for  150  furlongs  in  length,  and 
there  expected  the  coming  of  Antiochus; 
but  he  soon  burnt  them  all,  and  made  his 
army  pass  by  that  way  into  Arabia.  The 
Arabian  king  [Aretas]  at  first  retreated, 
but  afterward  appeared  on  the  sudden 
with  10,000  horsemen.  Antiochus  gave 
them  the  meeting,  and  fought  desperately; 
and,  indeed,  when  he  had  gotten  the  vic- 
tory, and  was  bringing  some  auxiliaries  to 
that  part  of  his  army  that  was  in  distress, 
he  was  slain.  When  Antiochus  had  fallen, 
his  army  fled  to  the  village  Cana,  where  the 
greatest  part  of  them  perished  by  famine. 

After  him,*  Aretas  reigned  over  Cele- 
syria,  being  called  to  the  government  by 
those  that  held  Damascus,  by  reason  of 
the  hatred  they  bore  to  Ptolemy  Menneus. 
He  also  made  thence  an  expedition  against 
Judea,  and  beat  Alexander  in  battle,  near 
a  place  called  Adida;  yet  did  he,  upon 
certain  conditions  agreed  on  between  them, 
retire  out  of  Judea. 

But  Alexander  marched  again  to  the 
city  Dios,  and  took  it,  and  then  made  an 
expedition  against  Essa,  where  was  the  best 
part  of  Zeno's  treasures,  and  there  he  en- 
compassed the  place  with  three  walls ; 
and  when  he  had  taken  the  city  by  fight- 
ing, he  marched  to  Golan  and  Seleucia ; 
and  when  he  had  taken  these  cities,  he, 
besides  them,  took  that  valley  which  is 
called  "The  Valley  of  Antiochus/'  as  also 
the  fortress  of  Gauiala.  He  also  accused 
Demetrius,  who  was  governor  of  those 
places,  of  many  crimes,  and  turned  him 
out;  and  after  he  had  spent  three  years 


*  This  Aretas  was  the  first  king  of  the  Arabians 
who  took  Damascus  and  reigned  there;  which 
name  became  afterward  common  to  such  Arabian 
kirrgs,  both  at  Petra  and  at  Damascus,  as  we  learn 
from  Josephus  in  many  places;  and  from  St.  Paul, 
in  2  Cor.  xi.  32. 


in  this  war,  he  returned  to  his  own  coun- 
try ',  when  the  Jews  joyfully  received 
him  upon  this  his  good  success. 

Now  at  this  time  the  Jews  were  in 
possession  of  the  following  cities  that  had 
belonged  to  the  Syrians,  and  Idumeans, 
and  Phoenicians :  at  the  seaside,  Strato's 
Tower,  Appollonia,  Joppa,  Jamnia,  Ash- 
dod,  Gaza,  Anthedon,  Raphia,  and  Rhi- 
nocolura ;  in  the  middle  of  the  country, 
near  to  Idumea,  Adora,  and  Marissa ; 
near  the  country  of  Samaria,  Mount  Car- 
mel,  and  Mount  Tabor,  Scythopolis,  and 
Gadara;  of  the  country  of  the  Gaulo- 
nites,  Seleucia,  and  Gabala  ;  in  the 
country  of  Moab,  Heshbon,  and  Medaba, 
Lemba,  and  Oronas,  Gelithon,  Zara,  the 
valley  of  the  Cilices,  and  Pella;  which 
last  they  utterly  destroyed,  because  its 
inhabitants  would  not  bear  to  change 
their  religious  rites  for  those  peculiar  to 
the  Jews.  The  Jews  also  possessed  others 
of  the  principal  cities  of  Syria,  which 
had  been  destroyed. 

After  this,  King  Alexander,  although 
he  fell  into  a  distemper  by  hard  drinking, 
and  had  a  quartan  ague  which  held  him 
three  years,  yet  would  not  leave  off  going 
out  with  his  army,  till  he  was  quite  spent 
with  the  labours  he  had  undergone,  and 
died  in  the  bounds  of  Ragaba,  a  fortress 
beyond  Jordan.  But  when  his  queen 
saw  that  he  was  ready  to  die,  and  had  no 
longer  any  hopes  of  surviving,  she  came 
to  him  weeping  and  lamenting,  and  be- 
wailed herself  and  her  sons  on  the  desolate 
condition  they  should  be  left  in  ;  and  said 
to  him,  "  To  whom  dost  thou  leave  me 
and  my  children,  who  are  destitute  of  all 
other  supports,  and  this  when  thou  know- 
est  how  much  ill-will  thy  nation  bears 
thee?"  But  he  gave  her  the  following 
advice  : — That  she  need  but  follow  what 
he  would  suggest  to  her  in  order  to  retain 
the  kingdom  securely,  with  her  children : 
that  she  should  conceal  his  death  from  the 
soldiers  till  she  should  have  taken  that 
place )  after  this,  she  should  go  in  tri- 
umph, as  upon  a  victory,  to  Jerusalem,  and 
put  some  of  her  authority  into  the  hands 
of  the  Pharisees ;  for  that  they  would 
commend  her  for  the  honour  she  had  done 
them,  and  would  reconcile  the  nation  to 
her;  for  he  told  her  they  had  great  au- 
thority among  the  Jews,  both  to  do  hurt 
to  such  as  they  hated,  and  to  bring  ad- 
vantages to  those  to  whom  they  were 
friendly  disposed  ;  for  that  they  are  then 
believed  best  of  all  by  the  mblti'ude  when 


112 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XIIL 


they  speak  any  severe  things  against 
others,  though  it  be  only  out  of  envy  at 
them.  And  he  said,  that  it  was  by  their 
means  that  he  had  incurred  the  displea- 
sure of  the  nation,  whom  indeed  he  had 
injured.  "  Do  thou,  therefore,"  said  he, 
"when  thou  art  come  to  Jerusalem,  send 
for  the  leading  men  among  them,  and 
show  them  my  body,  and  with  great  ap- 
pearance of  sincerity,  give  them  leave  to 
use  it  as  they  themselves  please,  whether 
they  will  dishonour  the  dead  body  by  re- 
fusing it  burial,  as  having  severely  suffered 
by  my  means,  or  whether  in  their  anger 
they  will  offer  any  other  injury  to  that 
body.  Promise  them,  also,  that  thou  wilt 
do  nothing  without  them  in  the  affairs  of 
the  kingdom.  If  thou  dost  but  say  this 
to  them,  I  shall  have  the  honour  of  a 
more  glorious  funeral  from  them  than 
thou  couldst  have  made  for  me :  and  when 
it  is  in  their  power  to  abuse  my  dead 
body,  they  will  do  it  no  injury  at  all,  and 
thou  wilt  rule  in  safety."  So  when  he 
had  given  his  wife  this  advice,  he  died, 
after  he  had  reigned  27  years,  and  lived 
50  years  within  one. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Alexandra  retains  the  kingdom  nine  years — her 
death. 

So  Alexandra,  when  she  had  taken  the 
fortress,  acted  as  her  husband  had  sug- 
gested to  her,  and  spake  to  the  Pharisees, 
and  put  all  things  into  their  power,  both 
as  to  the  dead  body,  and  as  to  the  affairs 
of  the  kingdom,  and  thereby  pacified  their 
anger  against  Alexander,  and  made  them 
bear  good-will  and  friendship  to  him ; 
who  then  came  among  the  multitude,  and 
made  speeches  to  them,  and  laid  before 
them  the  actions  of  Alexander,  and  told 
them  that  they  had  lost  a  righteous  king ; 
and  by  the  commendation  they  gave  him, 
they  brought  them  to  grieve,  and  to  be 
in  heaviness  for  him,  so  that  he  had  a 
funeral  more  splendid  than  had  any  of  the 
kings  before  him.  Alexander  left  behind 
him  two  sons,  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus, 
but  committed  the  kingdom  to  Alexandra. 
Now,  as  to  these  two  sons,  Hyrcanus  was 
indeed  unable  to  manage  public  affairs, 
and  delighted  rather  in  a  quiet  life ;  but 
the  younger,  Aristobulus,  was  an  active 
and  a  bold  man ;  and  for  this  woman  her- 
self, Alexandra,  she  was  loved  by  the 
multitude,  because  she  seemed  displeased 


at   the    offences  her   husband   had  been 
guilty  of. 

So  she  made  Hyrcanus  high-priest,  be- 
cause he  was  the  elder,  but  much  more 
because  he  cared  not  to  meddle  with  poli- 
tics, and  permitted  the  Pharisees  to  do 
every  thing;  to  whom  also  she  ordered 
the  multitude  to  be  obedient.  She  also 
restored  again  those  practices  which  the 
Pharisees  had  introduced,  according  to  the 
traditions  of  their  forefathers,  and  which 
her  father-in-law  Hyrcanus  had  abrogated 
So  she  had  indeed  the  name  of  the  re- 
gent ;  but  the  Pharisees  had  the  authority; 
for  it  was  they  who  restored  such  as  had 
been  banished,  and  set  such  as  were  pri- 
soners at  liberty,  and,  to  say  all  at  once, 
they  differed  in  nothing  from  lords.  How- 
ever, the  queen  also  took  care  of  the  af- 
fairs of  the  kingdom,  and  got  together  a 
great  body  of  mercenary  soldiers,  and  in- 
creased her  own  army  to  such  a  degree, 
that  she  became  terrible  to  the  neighbour- 
ing tyrants,  and  took  hostages  of  them : 
and  the  country  was  entirely  at  peace,  ex- 
cepting the  Pharisees ;  for  they  disturbed 
the  queen,  and  desired  that  she  would  kill 
those  who  persuaded  Alexander  to  slay  the 
800  men;  after  which  they  cut  the  throat 
of  one  of  them,  Diogenes ;  and  after  him 
they  did  the  same  to  several,  one  after 
another,  till  the  men  that  were  the  most  po- 
tent came  into  the  palace,  and  Aristobulus 
with  them,  for  he  seemed  to  be  displeased 
at  what  was  done ;  and  it  appeared  openly 
that,  if  he  had  an  opportunity,  he  would 
not  permit  his  mother  to  go  on  so.  These 
put  the  queen  in  mind  what  great  dan- 
gers they  had  gone  through,  and  great 
things  they  had  done,  whereby  they  had 
demonstrated  the  firmness  of  their  fidelity 
to  their  master,  insomuch  that  they  had 
received  the  greatest  marks  of  favour 
from  him ;  and  they  begged  of  her,  that 
she  would  not  utterly  blast  their  hopes, 
as  it  now  happened,  that  when  they  had 
escaped  the  hazards  that  arose  from  their 
[open]  enemies,  they  were  to  be  cut  off  at 
home,  by  their  [private]  enemies,  like 
brute  beasts,  without  any  help  whatsoever. 
They  said  also,  that  if  their  adversaries 
would  be  satisfied  with  those  that  had 
been  slain, already,  they  would  take  what 
had  been  done  patiently,  on  account  of 
their  natural  love  to  their  governors ;  but 
if  they  must  expect  the  same  for  the  fu- 
ture also,  they  implored  of  her  a  dismission 
from  her  service ;  for  they  could  not  bear 
to   think  of  attempting  any  method  for 


OiiAP.  XVI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


413 


their  deliverance  without  her,  but  would  ra- 
ther die  willingly  before  the  palace-gate, 
in  case  she  would  not  forgive  them.  And 
that  it  was  a  great  shame,  both  for  them- 
selves and  for  the  queen,  that  when  they 
were  mglected  by  her,  they  should  come 
under  the  lash  of  her  husband's  enemies; 
for  that  Aretas,  the  Arabian  king,  and  the 
monarchs,  would  give  any  reward,  if  they 
could  get  such  men  as  foreign  auxiliaries, 
to  whom  their  very  names,  before  their 
voices  be  heard,  may  perhaps  be  terrible; 
but  if  they  could  not  obtain  this  their  se- 
cond request,  and  if  she  had  determined 
to  prefer  the  Pharisees  before  them,  they 
still  insisted  that  she  would  place  them 
every  one  in  her  fortresses ;  for  if  some 
fatal  demon  hath  a  constant  spite  against 
Alexander's  house,  they  would  be  more 
prilling  to  bear  their  part,  and  to  live  in  a 
private  station  there. 

As  these  men  said  thus,  and  called 
lpon  Alexander's  ghost  for  commisera- 
tion of  those  already  slain,  and  those  in 
langer  of  it,  all  the  bystanders  brake 
>ut  into  tears :  but  Aristobulus  chiefly 
cade  manifest  what  were  his  sentiments, 
md  used  many  reproachful  expressions  to 
lis  mother,  [saying,]  "  Nay,  indeed,  the 
5ase  is  this,  that  they  have  been  them- 
selves the  authors  of  their  own  calamities, 
who  have  permitted  a  woman  who,  against 
reason,  was  mad  with  ambition,  to  reign 
over  them,  when  there  were  sons  in  the 
flower  of  their  age  fitter  for  it.  So  Alex- 
andra, not  kuowing  what  to  do  with  any 
decency,  committed  the  fortresses  to  them, 
all  but  Hyrcania  and  Alexandrium,  and 
Macherus,  where  her  principal  treasures 
were.  After  a  little  while  also,  she  sent 
her  son  Aristobulus  with  an  army  to 
Damascus  against  Ptolemy,  who  was  called 
Menneus,  who  was  such  a  bad  neighbour 
to  the  city;  but  he  did  nothing  consider- 
able there,  and  so  returned  home. 

About  this  time  news  was  brought  that 
Tigranes,  the  king  of  Armenia,  had  made 
an  irruption  into  Syria  with  500,000  sol- 
diers,* and  was  coming  against  Judea. 
This  news,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  terri- 
fied the  queen  and  the  nation.  According- 
ly they  sent  him  many  and  very  valuable 
presents,  as  also  ambassadors,  and  that  as 

*  The  number  of  500,000,  or  even  300,000,  as 
one  Greek  copy,  with  the  Latin  copies,  have  it,  for 
Tigranes's  army,  that  came  out  of  Armenia  into 
Syria  and  Judea,  seems  much  too  large.  We  have 
had  already  several  such  extravagant  numbers  in 
Joeephus's  present,  copies,  which  are  not  to  be  at 
all  ascribed  to  him. 


he  was  besieging  Ptolemais :  for  Selene; 
the  queen,  the  same  that  was  also  called 
Cleopatra,  ruled  then  over  Syria,  who  had 
persuaded  the  inhabitants  to  exclude 
Tigranes.  So  the  Jewish  ambassadors 
interceded  with  him,  and  entreated  him 
that  he  would  determine  nothing  that  was 
severe  about  their  queen  or  nation.  He 
commended  them  for  the  respects  they 
paid  him  at  so  great  a  distance :  and  gave 
them  good  hopes  of  his  favour.  But  as 
soon  as  Ptolemais  was  taken,  news  came 
to  Tigranes,  that  Lucullus,  in  his  pursuit 
of  Mithridates,  could  not  light  upon  him, 
who  had  fled  into  Iberia,  but  was  laying 
waste  Armenia  and  besieging  its  cities. 
Now  when  Tigranes  knew  this  he  returned 
home. 

After  this,  when  the  queen  had  fallen 
into  a  dangerous  distemper,  Aristobulus 
resolved  to  attempt  the  seizing  of  the  go- 
vernment; so  he  stole  away  secretly  by 
night,  with  only  one  of  his  servants,  and 
went  to  the  fortresses,  wherein  his  friends, 
that  were  such  from  the  days  of  his  fa- 
ther, were  settled ;  for  as  he  had  been  a 
great  while  displeased  at  his  mother's 
conduct,  so  he  was  now  much  more  afraid, 
lest,  upon  her  death,  their  whole  family 
should  be  under  the  power  of  the  Phari- 
sees; for  he  saw  the  inability  of  his 
brother,  who  was  to  succeed  in  the  govern- 
ment :  nor  was  any  one  conscious  of  what 
he  was  doing  but  only  his  wife,  whom  he 
left  at  Jerusalem  with  their  children.  He 
first  of  all  came  to  Agaba,  where  was 
Galestes,  one  of  the  potent  men  before 
mentioned,  and  was  received  by  him. 
When  it  was  day,  the  queen  perceived  that 
Aristobulus  had  fled;  and  for  some  time 
she  supposed  that  his  departure  was  not 
in  order  to  make  any  innovation ;  but 
when  messengers  came  one  after  another 
with  the  news  that  he  had  secured  the 
first  place,  the  second  place,  and  all  the 
places,  for  as  soon  as  one  had  begun,  they 
all  submitted  to  his  disposal,  then  it  was 
that  the  queen  and  the  nation  were  in  the 
greatest  disorder,  for  they  were  aware  that 
it  would  not  be  long  ere  Aristobulus 
would  be  able  to  settle  himself  firmly  in 
the  government.  What  they  were  prin- 
cipally afraid  of  was  this,  that  he  would 
inflict  punishment  upon  them  for  the  mad 
treatment  his  house  had  had  from  them  : 
so  they  resolved  to  take  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren into  custody,  and  keep  them  in  the 
fortress  that  was  over  the  temple.  Now 
there  was  a  mighty  conflux  of  people  that 


414 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


came  to  Aristobulus  from  all  parts,  in- 
somuch that  he  had  a  kind  of  royal 
attendance  about  him ;  for  in  little  more 
than  fifteen  days,  he  got  twenty-two  strong 
places,  which  gave  him  the  opportunity  of 
raising  an  army  from  Libanus  and  Tra- 
chonitis,  and  the  monarchs;  for  men  are 
easily  led  by  the  greater  number,  and 
easily  submit  to  them.  And  besides  this, 
that  by  affording  him  their  assistance, 
when  he  could  not  expect  it,  they  as  well 
as  he  should  have  the  advantages  that 
would  come  by  his  being  king,  because 
they  had  been  the  occasion  of  his  gaining 
the  kingdom.  Now  the  elders  of  the 
Jews,  and  Hyrcanus  with  them,  went  in 
unto  the  queen,  and  desired  that  she 
would  give  them  her  sentiments  about  the 
present  posture  of  affairs,  for  that  Aristo- 
bulus was  in  fact  lord  of  almost  all  the 
kingdom  by  possessing  of  so  many  strong- 
holds, and  that  it  was  absurd  for  them  to 
take  any  counsel  by  themselves,  how  ill 
soever  she  were,  while  she  was  alive,  and 
that  the  danger  would  be  upon  them  in 
no  long  time.  But  she  bade  them  to  do 
what  they  thought  proper  to  be  done : 
that  they  had  many  circumstances  in  their 
favour  still  remaining ;  a  nation  in  good 
heart,  an  army,  and  money  in  their  several 
treasuries  ;  for  that  she  had  small  concern 
about  public  affairs  now,  when  the  strength 
of  her  body  already  failed  her. 

Now  a  little  while  after  she  had   said 


this  to  them,  she  died,  when  she  had 
reigned  nine  years,  and  had  in  all  lived 
73.  A  woman  she  was  who  showed  no 
signs  of  the  weakness  of  her  sex,  for  she 
was  sagacious  to  the  greatest  degree  in  her 
ambition  of  governing,  and  demonstrated 
by  her  doings  at  once  that  her  mind  was 
fit  for  action,  and  that  sometimes  men 
themselves  show  the  little  understanding 
they  have  by  the  frequent  mistakes  they 
make  in  point  of  government ;  for  she  al- 
ways preferred  the  present  to  futurity,  and 
preferred  the  power  of  an  imperious  do- 
minion above  all  things,  and  in  comparison 
of  that,  had  no  regard  to  what  was  good 
or  what  was  right.  However,  she  brought 
the  affairs  of  her  house  to  such  an  unfor- 
tunate condition,  that  she  was  the  occasion 
of  taking  away  that  authority  from  it,  and 
that  in  no  long  time  afterward,  which  she 
had  obtained  by  a  vast  number  of  hazards 
and  misfortunes,  and  this  out  of  a  desire 
of  what  does  not  belong  to  a  woman,  and 
all  by  a  compliance  in  her  sentiments  with 
those  that  bore  ill-will  to  their  family,  and 
by  leaving  the  administration  destitute  of 
a  proper  support  of  great  men  ;  and,  in^ 
deed,  her  management  during  her  admi- 
nistration, while  she  was  alive,  was  such  aa 
filled  the  palace  after  her  death  with  calami- 
ties and  disturbance.  However,  although 
this  had  been  her  way  of  governing,  she 
preserved  the  nation  in  peace  :  and  this  ia 
the  conclusion  of  the  affairs  of  Alexandra. 


BOOK  XIV. 

CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  32  YEARS,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  QUEEN 
ALEXANDRA  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ANTIGONUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Aristobulus  ascends  the  throne — Hyrcanus  flies  to 
Aretas. 

We  have  related  the  affairs  of  Queen 
Alexandra,  and  her  death,  in  the  forego- 
ing book,  and  will  now  speak  of  what 
followed,  and  was  connected  with  those 
histories ;  declaring,  before  we  proceed, 
that  we  have  nothing  so  much  at  heart  as 
this,  that  we  may  omit  no  facts,*  either 


*  Reland  takes  notice  here,  very  justly,  how  Jo- 
eephus's  declaration,  that  it  was  his  great  concern 
not  only  to  write  "  an  agreeable,  an  accurate,"  and 
ft  "  true"   history,    but   also    distinctly :    "  not   to 


through  ignorance  or  laziness ;  for  we  are 
upon  the  history  and  explication  of  such 
things  as  the  greatest  part  are  unac- 
quainted withal,  because  of  their  distance 
from  our  times  )  and  we  aim  to  do  it  with 
a  proper  beauty  of  style,  so  far  as  that  ia 
derived  from  proper  words  harmonically 
disposed,  and  from  such  ornaments  of 
speech  also  as  may  contribute  to  the  plea- 
sure of  our  readers,  that  they  may  enter- 
omit  any  thing,"  either  through  "  ignorance  or 
laziness,"  implies  that  he  could  not,  consistently 
with  that  resolution,  omit  the  mention  of  "  Jesu.« 
Christ." 


(HAP.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


415 


tain  the  knowledge  of  what  we  write  with 
some  agreeable  satisfaction  and  pleasure. 
But  the  principal  scope  that  authors  ought 
to  aim  at,  above  all  the  rest,  is  to  speak 
accurately,  and  to  speak  truly,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  those  that  are  otherwise  un- 
acquainted with  such  transactions,  and 
obliged  to  believe  what  these  writers  in- 
form them  of. 

Hyrcanus  then  began  his  high-priest- 
hood on  the  third  year  of  the  177th 
Olympiad,  when  Quintus  Hortensius  and 
Quintus  Metellus,  who  was  called  Metellus 
of  Crete,  were  consuls  at  Rome ;  when 
presently  Aristobulus  began  to  make  war 
against  him,  and  as  it  came  to  a  battle 
with  Hyrcanus  at  Jericho,  many  of  his 
soldiers  deserted  him,  and  went  over  to 
his  brother,  upon  which  Hyrcanus  fled 
into  the  citadel,  where  Aristobulus's  wife 
and  children  were  imprisoned  by  his  mo- 
ther, as  we  have  said  already,  and  attacked 
and  overcame  those  his  adversaries  that 
had  fled  thither,  and  lay  within  the  walls 
of  the  temple.  So  when  he  had  sent  a 
message  to  his  brother,  about  agreeing 
the  matter  between  them,  he  laid  aside  his 
enmity  to  him  on  these  conditions,  that 
Aristobulus  should  be  king,  that  he  should 
live  without  intermeddling  with  public 
affairs,  and  quietly  enjoy  the  estate  he 
had  acquired.  When  they  had  agreed 
upon  these  terms  in  the  temple,  and  had 
confirmed  the  agreement  with  oaths  and 
the  giving  one  another  their  right  hands, 
and  embracing  one  another  in  the  sight 
of  the  multitude,  they  departed;  Aris- 
tobulus to  the  palace,  and  Hyrcanus, 
as  a  private  man,  to  the  former  house  of 
Aristobulus. 

But  there  was  a  certain  friend  of  Hyr- 
canus, an  Idumean,  called  Antipater,  who 
was  very  rich,  and  in  his  nature  an  active 
and  a  seditious  man ;  who  was  at  enmity 
with  Aristobulus,  and  had  differences 
with  him  on  account  of  his  good-will  to 
Hyrcanus.  It  is  true  that  Nicolaus  of 
Damascus'  says  that  Antipater  was  of  the 
stock  of  the  principal  Jews  who  came  out 
of  Babylon  into  Judea  ;  but  that  assertion 
of  his  was  to  gratify  Herod,  who  was  his 
son,  and  who,  by  certain  revolutions  of 
fortune,  came  afterward  to  be  king  of  the 
Jews,  whose  history  we  shall  give  you  in 
its  proper  place  hereafter.  However,  this 
Antipater   was  at   first   called  Antipas,* 


*  That  the  famous  Antipater's  or  Antipas's  fa- 
ther was  also  Antipater  or  Antipas,  (which  two 
niay  justly  be  esteemed  one  and  the  same  name ; 


and  that  was  his  father's  name  also,  of 
whom  they  relate  this  :  that  King  Alex- 
ander and  his  wife  made  him  general  of 
all  Idumea,  and  that  he  made  a  league  of 
friendship  with  those  Arabians,  and  Ga- 
zites,  and  Ascalonites,  that  were  of  his 
own  party,  and  had,  by  many  and  large 
presents,  made  them  his  fast  friends ;  but 
now  this  younger  Antipater  was  suspicious 
of  the  power  of  Aristobulus,  and  was 
afraid  of  some  mischief  he  might  do  him, 
because  of  his  hatred  to  him;  so  he  stirred 
up  the  most  powerful  of  the  Jews,  and 
talked  against  him  to  them  privately,  and 
said,  that  it  was  unjust  to  overlook  the 
conduct  of  Aristobulus,  who  had  gotten  the 
government  unrighteously,  and  ejected  his 
brother  out  of  it,  who  was  the  elder,  and 
ought  to  retain  what  belonged  to  him  by 
prerogative  of  his  birth  ;  and  the  same 
speeches  he  perpetually  made  to  Hyrca- 
nus ;  and  told  him  that  his  own  life  would 
be  in  danger  unless  he  guarded  himself, 
and  got  quit  of  Aristobulus;  for  he  said 
that  the  friends  of  Aristobulus  omitted  no 
opportunity  of  advising  him  to  kill  him, 
as  being  then,  and  not  before,  sure  to  re- 
tain his  principality.  Hyrcanus  gave  no 
credit  to  these  words  of  his,  as  being  of  a 
gentle  disposition,  and  one  that  did  not 
easily  admit  of  calumnies  against  other 
men.  This  temper  of  his,  not  disposing 
him  to  meddle  with  public  affairs,  and 
want  of  spirit,  occasioned  him  to  appear 
to  spectators  to  be  degenerate  and  un- 
manly; while  Aristobulus  was  of  a  contrary 
temper,  an  active  man,  and  one  of  a  great 
and  generous  soul. 

Since,  therefore,  Antipater  saw  that 
Hyrcanus  did  not  attend  to  what  he  said, 
he  never  ceased,  day  by  day,  to  charge 
feigned  crimes  upon  Aristobulus,  and  to 
calumniate  him  before  him  as  if  he  had  a 
mind  to  kill  him ;  and  so,  by  urging  him 
perpetually,  he  advised  him  and  per- 
suaded him  to  fly  to  Aretas,  the  king  of 
Arabia;  and  promised,  that  if  he  would 
comply  with  his  advice,  he  would  also 
himself  assist  him,  [and  go  with  him.] 
When  Hyrcanus  heard  this,  he  said  that 
it  was  for  his  advantage  to  fly  away  to 
Aretas.  Now  Arabia  is  a  country  that 
borders  upon  Judea.  However,  Hyrcanus 
sent  Antipater  first  to  the  king  of  Arabia, 
in  order  to  receive  assurances  from  him, 
that  when  he  should  come  in  the  manner 


the  former  with  a  Greek  or  Gentile,  the  latter1  with 
a  Hebrew  or  Jewish  termination,)  Josephue  her? 
assures  us,  though  Eusebius  says  it  was  lierod. 


41(5 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV 


of  a  supplicant  to  him,  he  would  not  de- 
liver him  up  to  his  enemies.  So  Antipater, 
having  received  such  assurances,  returned 
to  Hyrcanus  to  Jerusalem.  A  while  af- 
terward he  took  Hyrcanus,  and  stole  out 
of  the  city  by  night,  and  went  a  great 
journey,  and  came  and  brought  him  to 
the  city  called  Petra,  where  the  palace  of 
Aretas  was ;  and  as  he  was  a  very  familiar 
friend  of  that  king,  he  persuaded  him  to 
bring  back  Hyrcanus  into  Judea;  and 
this  persuasion  he  continued  every  day 
without  any  intermission.  He  also  pro- 
posed to  make  him  presents  on  that 
account.  At  length  he  prevailed  with 
Aretas  in  his  suit.  Moreover,  Hyrcanus 
promised  him,  that  when  he  had  been 
brought  thither,  and  had  received  his 
kingdom,  he  would  restore  that  country, 
and  those  twelve  cities  which  his  father 
Alexander  had  taken  from  the  Arabians  ; 
which  were  these  :  Medaba,  Naballo,  Lib- 
yas,  Tharbasa,  Agala,  Athone,  Zoar, 
Orone,  Marissa,  Rudda,  Lussa,  and  Oruba. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Aretas  and  Hyrcanus  make  an  expedition  against 
Aristobulus,  and  besiege  Jerusalem — Death  of 
Onias — the  Roman  general  raises  the  siege. 

After  these  promises  had  been  given 
to  Aretas,  he  made  an  expedition  against 
Aristobulus  with  an  army  of  50,000  horse 
and  foot,  and  beat  him  in  the  battle. 
And  when  after  that  victory  many  went 
over  to  Hyrcanus  as  deserters,  Aristobulus 
was  left  desolate,  and  fled  to  Jerusalem ; 
upon  which  the  king  of  Arabia  took  all 
his  army  and  made  an  assault  upon  the 
temple,  and  besieged  Aristobulus  therein, 
the  people  still  supporting  Hyrcanus,  and 
assisting  him  in  the  siege,  while  none  but 
the  priests  continued  with  Aristobulus.  So 
Aretas  united  the  forces  of  the  Arabians 
and  of  the  Jews  together,  and  pressed  on 
the  siege  vigorously.  As  this  happened 
at  the  time  when  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread  was  celebrated,  which  we  call  the 
Passover,  the  principal  men  among  the 
Jews  left  the  country,  and  fled  into  Egypt. 
Now  there  was  one,  whose  name  was 
Onias,  a  righteous  man  he  was,  and  be- 
loved of  God,  who,  in  a  certain  drought, 
had  prayed  to  God  to  put  an  end  to 
the  intense  heat,  and  whose  prayers  God 
had  heard,  and  had  sent  them  rain.  This 
man  had  hid  himself,  because  he  saw  that 
this  sedition  would  last  a  great  while. 
However,  they  brought  him  to  the  Jewish 


camp,  and  desired,  that  as  by  his  prayers 
he  had  once  put  an  end  to  the  drought, 
so  he  would  in  like  manner  make  impre- 
cations on  Aristobulus  and  those  of  his 
faction.  And  when,  upon  his  refusal, 
and  the  excuses  that  he  made,  he  was 
still  by  the  multitude  compelled  to  speak, 
he  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  them,  and 
said,  "  0  God,  the  King  of  the  whole 
world  !  since  those  that  stand  now  with 
me  are  thy  people,  and  those  that  are  be- 
sieged are  also  thy  priests,  I  beseech  thee 
that  thou  wilt  neither  hearken  to  the 
prayers  of  those  against  these,  nor  bring 
to  effect  what  these  pray  against  those. " 
Whereupon  such  wicked  Jews  as  stood 
about  him,  as  soon  as  he  had  made  this 
prayer,  stoned  him  to  death. 

But  God  punished  them  immediately 
tor  this  their  barbarity,  and  took  vengeance 
on  them  for  the  murder  of  Onias,  in  the 
manner  following  : — While  the  priest  and 
Aristobulus  were  besieged,  it  happened 
that  the  feast  called  the  Passover  had 
come,  at  which  it  is  our  custom  to  offer  a 
great  number  of  sacrifices  to  God ;  but  those 
that  were  with  Aristobulus  wanted  sacri- 
fices, and  desired  that  their  countrymen 
without  would  furnish  them  with  such 
sacrifices,  and  assured  them  they  should 
have  as  much  money  for  them  as  they 
should  desire ;  and  when  they  required 
them  to  pay  1000  drachmae  for  each  head 
of  cattle,  Aristobulus  and  the  priests 
willingly  undertook  to  pay  for  them  ac- 
cordingly )  and  those  within  let  down  the 
money  over  the  walls  and  gave  it  them.. 
But  when  the  others  had  received  it,  they 
did  not  deliver  the  sacrifices,  but  arrived 
at  that  height  of  wickedness  as  to  break 
the  assurances  they  had  given,  and  to  be 
guilty  of  impiety  toward  God,  by  not 
furnishing  those  that  wanted  them  with 
sacrifices.  And  when  the  priests  found 
they  had  been  cheated,  and  that  the  agree- 
ments they  had  made  had  been  violated, 
they  prayed  to  God  that  he  would  avenge 
them  on  their  countrymen.  Nor  did  he 
delay  that  their  punishment,  but  sent  a 
strong  and  vehement  storm  of  wind,  that 
destroyed  the  fruits  of  the  whole  country; 
till  a  modius  of  wheat  was  then  bought 
for  eleven  drachmse. 

In  the  mean  time,  Pompey  sent  Scaurus 
into  Syria,  while  he  was  himself  in  Ar 
menia,  and  making  war  with  Tigranesj 
but  when  Scaurus  had  come  to  Damascus, 
and  found  that  Lollius  and  Metellus  had 
newly   taken    the   city,   he  came  himself 


«.'HAP    III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


417 


hastily  into  Judea.  And  when  he  had 
come  thither,  ambassadors  came  to  him 
both  from  Aristobulus  and  Hyrcanus,  and 
both  desired  he  would  assist  them  ;  and 
when  both  of  them  promised  to  give  him 
money,  Aristobulus  400  talents,  and  Hyr- 
canus  no  less,  he  accepted  of  Aristobulus's 
promise,  for  he  was  rich,  and  had  a  great 
soul,  and  desired  to  obtain  nothing  but 
what  was  moderate ;  whereas  the  other 
was  poor  and  tenacious,  and  made  in- 
credible promises  in  hopes  of  greater  ad- 
vantages j  for  it  was  not  the  same  thing 
♦o  take  a  city  that  was  exceedingly  strong 
and  powerful,  as  it  was  to  eject  out  of  the 
country  some  fugitives,  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  Nabateahs,  who  were  no  very 
warlike  people.  He  therefore  made  an 
ao-reement  with  Aristobulus,  for  the  rea- 
son  before  mentioned,  and  took  his  money, 
and  raised  the  siege,  and  ordered  Aretas 
to  depart,  or  else  he  should  be  declared 
an  enemy  to  the  Romans.  So  Scaurus 
returned  to  Damascus  again ;  and  Aristo- 
bulus, with  a  great  army,  made  war  with 
Aretas  and  Hyrcanus,  and  fought  them  at 
a  place  called  Papyron,  and  beat  them  in 
the  battle,  and  slew  about  6000  of  the 
enemy,  with  whom  fell  Phalion  also,  the 
brother  of  Antipater. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Aristobulus  and  Hyrcanus  appeal  to  Pompey — 
I  light  of  Aristobulus — Pompey  leads  an  army 
against  him. 

A  little  afterward  Pompey  came  to 
Damascus,  and  marched  over  Celesyria; 
at  which  time  there  came  ambassadors  to 
him  from  all  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  out  of 
Judea  also,  for  Aristobulus  had  sent  him 
a  great  present,  which  was  a  golden  vine,* 

*  This  "  golden  vine,"  or  "  garden,"  seen  by 
Strabo  at  Rome,  has  its  inscription  here  as  if  it 
were  the  gift  of  Alexander,  the  father  of  Aristobulus, 
and  not  of  Aristobulus  himself,  to  whom  yet  Joso- 
phus  ascribes  it,  and,  in  order  to  prove  the  truth 
of  that  part  of  his  history,  introduces  this  testi- 
mony of  Strabo;  so  that  the  ordinary  copies  seem 
to  be  hero  either  erroneous  or  defective,  and  the 
original  reading  seems  to  have  been  either  Aristo- 
bulus, instead  of  Alexander,  with  one  Greek  copy, 
or  else  "  Aristobulus  the  son  of  Alexander,"  with 
hatin  copies;  which  last  seems  to  be  the  most 
proliable  ;  for  as  to  Archbishop  Usher's  conjectures, 
that  Alexander  made  it,  and  dedicated  it  to  God  in 
the  temple,  and  that  thence  Aristobulus  took  it, 
and  sent  it  to  Pompey,  they  are  both  very  im- 
probable, and  noway  agreeable  to  Joscphus,  who 
would  hardly  have  avoided  the  recording  both 
these  uncommon  points  of  history,  had  he  known 
any  thing  of  them :  nor  would  either  the  Jewish 
nation,  nor  even  Pompey  himself,  then  have  re- 
lished such  a  flagrant  instance  of  sacrilege. 
27 


of  the  value  of  500  talents.  Now  Strabo 
of  Cappadocia  mentions  this  present  in 
these  words  : — "  There  came  also  an  em- 
bassage out  of  Egypt,  and  a  crown  of  the 
value  of  4000  pieces  of  gold  ;  and  out  of 
Judea  there  came  another,  whether  you 
call  it  a  '  vine'  or  a  *  garden/  they 
called  the  thing  Terpole,  'the  Delight/ 
However,  we  ourselves  saw  that  present 
deposited  at  Rome,  in  the  temple  of  Ju- 
piter Capitolinus,  with  this  inscription  : 
'  The  gift  of  Alexander,  the  king  of  the 
Jews.'  It  was  valued  at  500  talents; 
and  the  report  is,  that  Aristobulus,  the 
governor  of  the  Jews,  sent  it." 

In  a  little  time  afterward  ambassadors 
came  again  to  him,  Antipater  from  Hyr- 
canus, and  Nicodemus  from  Aristobulus; 
which  last  also  accused  such  as  had  taken 
bribes ;  first  Gabinius,  and  then  Scaurus, 
the  one  300  talents,  and  the  other  400; 
by  which  procedure  he  made  these  two 
his  enemies,  besides  those  he  had  before ; 
and  when  Pompey  had  ordered  those  that 
had  controversies  one  with  another  to  come 
to  him  in  the  beginning  of  the  spring,  he 
brought  his  army  out  of  their  winter  quar- 
ters, and  marched  into  the  country  of  Da- 
mascus; and  as  he  went  along  he  den*olish- 
ed  the  citadel  that  was  at  Apamea,  which 
Antiochus  Cyzicenus  had  built,  and  took 
cognizance  of  the  country  of  Ptolemy 
Menneus,  a  wicked  man,  and  not  less  so 
than  Dionysius  of  Tripoli,  who  had  been 
beheaded,  who  was  also  his  relation  by 
marriage  ;  yet  did  he  buy  off  the  punish- 
ment of  his  crimes  for  1000  talents,  with 
which  money  Pompey  paid  the  soldiers 
their  wages.  He  also  conquered  the  place 
called  Lysias,  of  which  Silas  a  Jew  was 
tyrant ;  and  when  he  had  passed  over  tin 
cities  of  Heliopolis  and  Chalcis,  and  got 
over  the  mountain  which  is  on  the  limit 
of  Celesyria,  he  came  from  Pella  to  Da- 
mascus ;  and  there  it  was  that  he  heard 
the  causes  of  the  Jews,  and  of  their  go- 
vernors, Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus,  who 
were  at  difference  one  with  another,  as 
also  of  the  nation  against  them  both, 
which  did  not  desire  to  be  under  kingly 
government,  because  the  form  of  govern- 
ment they  received  from  their  forefathers 
was  that  of  subjection  to  the  priests  of 
that  God  whom  they  worshipped ,  and 
[they  complained]  that  though  these  two 
were  the  posterity  of  the  priests,  yet  did 
they  seek  to  change  the  government  of 
their  nation  to  another  form,  in  order  to 
enslave  them.   Hyrcanus  complained,  that 


418 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


although  he  was  the  elder  brother,  he  was 
deprived  of  the  prerogative  of  his  birth 
by  Aristobulus,  and  that  he  had  but  a 
Bmall  part  of  the  country  under  him, 
Aristobulus  having  taken  away  the  rest 
from  him  by  force.  He  also  accused 
trim,  that  the  incursions  which  had  been 
made  into  their  neighbours'  countries,  and 
the  piracies  that  had  been  at  sea,  were 
owing  to  him  ;  and  that  the  nation  would 
not  have  revolted,  unless  Aristobulus  had 
been  a  man  given  to  violence  and  disor- 
der ;  and  there  were  no  fewer  than  1000 
Jews,  of  the  best  esteem  among  them, 
who  confirmed  this  accusation  ;  which 
confirmation  was  procured  by  Antipater ; 
but  Aristobulus  alleged  against  him,  that 
it  was  Hyrcanus's  own  temper,  which  was 
inactive,  and  on  that  account  contempti- 
ble, which  caused  him  to  be  deprived  of 
the  government ;  and  that  for  himself  he 
was  necessitated  to  take  it  upon  him,  for 
fear  lest  it  should  be  transferred  to  others; 
and  that  as  to  his  title  [of  king],  it  was 
no  other  than  what  his  father  had  taken 
[before  him].  He  also  called,  for  wit- 
nesses of  what  he  said,  some  persons  who 
were  both  young  and  insolent ;  whose 
purple  garments,  fine  heads  of  hair,  and 
ether  ornaments,  were  detested  [by  the 
court],  and  which  they  appeared  in,  not 
as  though  they  were  to  plead  their  cause 
in  a  court  of  justice,  but  as  if  they  were 
marching  in  a  pompous  procession. 

When  Pompey  had  heard  the  (causes 
of  these  two,  and  had  condemned  Aristo- 
bulus for  his  violent  procedure,  he  then 
spake  civilly  to  them,  and  sent  them 
away  ;  and  told  them,  that  when  he  came 
again  into  their  country  he  would  settle 
all  their  affairs,  after  he  had  first  taken  a 
view  of  the  affairs  of  the  Nabateans.  In 
the  mean  time,  he  ordered  them  to  be 
quiet :  and  treated  Aristobulus  civilly, 
lest  he  should  make  the  nation  revolt,  and 
hinder  his  return  ;  which  yet  Aristobulus 
did;  for  without  expecting  any  further  de- 
termination which  Pompey  had  promised 
them,  he  went  to  the  city  Delius,  and 
thence  marched  into  Judea. 

At  this  behaviour  Pompey  was  angry; 
and  taking  with  him  that  army  which  he 
?r&3  leading  against  the  Nabateans,  and 
the  auxiliaries  that  came  from  Damascus 
and  the  other  parts  of  Syria,  with  the 
other  Roman  legions  which  he  had  with 
nim,  he  made  an  expedition  against  Aris- 
tobulus ;  but  as  he  passed  by  Pella  and 
Scythopolis.  he  came  to  Coreae,  which  is 


the  first  entrance  into  Judea  when  one 
passes  over  the  midland  countries,  where 
he  came  to  a  most  beautiful  fortress,  that 
was  built  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  called 
Alexandrium,  whither  Aristobulus  had 
fled ;  and  thence  Pompey  sent  his  com- 
mands to  him,  that  he  should  come  to  him. 
Accordingly,  at  the  persuasion  of  many 
that  he  would  not  make  war  with  the  Ro- 
mans, he  came  down ;  and  when  he  had 
disputed  with  his  brother  about  the  right 
to  the  government,  he  went  up  again  to 
the  citadel,  as  Pompey  gave  him  leave  to 
do ;  and  this  he  did  two  or  three  times,  as 
flattering  himself  with  the  hopes  of  having 
the  kingdom  granted  him ;  so  that  he 
still  pretended  he  would  obey  Pompey  in 
whatsoever  he  commanded,  although  at  the 
same  time  he  retired  to  his  fortress,  that 
he  might  not  depress  himself  too  low,  and 
that  he  might  be  prepared  for  a  war,  in 
case  it  should  prove  as  he  feared,  that 
Pompey  would  transfer  the  government 
to  Hyrcanus  :  but  when  Pompey  enjoined 
Aristobulus  to  deliver  up  the  fortresses 
he  held,  and  to  send  an  injunction  to  their 
governors  under  his  own  hand  for  that 
purpose,  for  they  had  been  forbidden  to 
deliver  them  up  upon  any  other  com- 
mands, he  submitted  indeed  to  do  so ;  but 
still  he  retired  in  displeasure  to  Jerusalem, 
and  made  preparation  for  war.  A  little 
after  this,  certain  persons  came  out  of 
Pontus,  and  informed  Pompey,  as  he  waa 
on  the  way,  and  conducting  his  army 
against  Aristobulus,  that  Mithridates  wa3 
dead,  and  was  slain  by  his  son  Pharnaces. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Pompey  besieges  Jerusalem,  and  takes  it  by  force. 

Now  when  Pompey  had  pitched  his 
camp  at  Jericho,  (where  the  palm-tree 
grows,  and  that  balsam  which  is  an  oint- 
ment of  all  the  most  precious,  which  upon 
any  incision  made  in  the  wood  with  a  sharp 
stone,  distils  out  thence  like  a  juice,)  he 
marched  in  the  morning  to  Jerusalem. 
Hereupon  Aristobulus  repented  of  what 
he  was  doing,  and  came  to  Pompey,  and 
[promised  to]  give  him  money,  and  re- 
ceived him  into  Jerusalem,  and  desired 
that  he  would  leave  off  the  war,  and  do 
what  he  pleased  peaceably.  So  Pom- 
pey, upon  his  entreaty,  forgave  him,  and 
sent  Gabinius,  and-  soldiers  with  him,  to 
receive  the  money  and  the  city  :  yet  was 
no  part  of  this  performed ;  but  Gabinius 
came   back,  being  both  excluded  out  of 


VRA*.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


419 


the  city,  and  receiving  none  of  the  money 
promised,  because  Aristobulus's  soldiers 
would  not  permit  the  agreements  to  be 
executed.  At  this  Pompey  was  very 
angry,  and  put  Aristobulus  into  prison, 
and  came  himself  to  the  city,  which  was 
strong  on  every  side,  excepting  the  north, 
which  was  not  so  well  fortified,  for  there 
was  a  broad  and  deep  ditch,  that  encom- 
passed the  city,  and  included  within  it 
the  temple,  which  was  itself  encompassed 
about  with  a  very  strong  stone  wall. 

Now  there  was  a  sedition  of  the  men 
that  were  within  the  city,  who  did  not 
agree  what  was  to  be  done  in  their  pre- 
sent circumstances,  while  some  thought  it 
best  to  deliver  up  the  city  to  Pompey ; 
but  Aristobulus's  party  exhorted  them  to 
shut  the  gates,  because  he  was  kept  in 
prison.  Now  these  prevented  the  others, 
and  seized  upon  the  temple,  and  cut  off 
the  bridge  which  reached  from  it  to  the 
city,  and  prepared  themselves  to  abide  a 
siege ;  but  the  others  admitted  Pompey's 
army  in,  and  delivered  up  both  the  city 
and  the  king's  palace  to  him.  So  Pompey 
sent  his  lieutenant  Piso  with  an  army, 
and  placed  garrisons  both  in  the  city  and 
in  the  palace,  to  secure  them,  and  forti- 
fied the  houses  that  joined  to  the  temple, 
and  all  those  which  were  more  distant, 
and  without  it.  And,  in  the  first  place, 
he  offered  terms  of  accommodation  to 
those  that  were  within ;  but  when  they 
would  not  comply  with  what  was  desired, 
he  encompassed  all  the  places  thereabout 
with  a  wall,  wherein  Hyrcanus  did  gladly 
assist  him  on  all  occasions ;  but  Pompey 
pitched  his  camp  within  [the  wall],  on  the 
north  part  of  the  temple,  where  it  was 
most  practicable  ;  but  even  on  that  side 
there  were  great  towers,  and  a  ditch  had 
been  dug,  and  a  deep  valley  begirt  it 
round  about,  for  on  the  parts  toward  the 
city  were  precipices,  and  the  bridge  on 
which  Pompey  had  gotten  in  was  broken 
down.  However,  a  bank  was  raised,  day 
by  day,  with  a  great  deal  of  labour,  while 
the  Romans  cut  down  materials  for  it 
from  the  places  round  about;  and  when 
this  bank  was  sufficiently  raised,  and  the 
ditch  filled  up,  though  but  poorly,  by 
reason  of  its  immense  depth,  he  brought 
his  mechanical  engines  and  battering- 
rams  from  Tyre,  and  placing  them  on  the 
bank,  he  battered  the  temple  with  the 
stone3  that  were  thrown  against  it;  and 
had  it  not  been  our  practice,  from  the 
days  of  our   forefathers,  to   rest   on   the 


seventh  day,  this  bank  could  never  have 
been  perfected,  by  reason  of  the  opposi- 
tion the  Jews  would  have  made ;  for 
though  our  law  gives  us  leave  then  to  de- 
fend ourselves  against  those  that  begin  to 
fight  with  us  and  assault  us,  yet  does  it 
not  permit  us  to  meddle  with  our  enemies 
while  they  do  any  thing  else. 

Which  thing  when  the  Romans  under- 
stood, on  those  days  which  we  call 
Sabbaths  they  threw  nothing  at  the  Jews, 
nor  came  to  any  pitched  battle  with  them, 
but  raised  up  their  earthen  banks,  and 
brought  their  engines  into  such  forward- 
ness, that  they  might  do  execution  the 
next  days ;  and  any  one  may  hence  learn 
how  very  great  piety  we  exercise  toward 
Grod,  and  the  observance  of  his  laws, 
since  the  priests  were  not  at  all  hindered 
from  their  sacred  ministrations,  by  their 
fear  during  this  siege,  but  did  still  twice 
each  day,  in  the  morning  and  about  the 
ninth  hour,  offer  their  sacrifices  on  the  al- 
tar :  nor  did  they  omit  those  sacrifices,  if 
any  melancholy  accident  happened,  by  the 
stones  that  were  thrown  among  them ; 
for  although  the  city  was  taken  on  the 
third  month,  on  the  day  of  the  fast,* 
upon  the  179th  Olympiad,  when  Caius 
Antonius  and  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero  were 
consuls,  and  the  enemy  then  fell  upon 
them,  and  cut  the  throats  of  those  that 
were  in  the  temple,  yet  could  not  those 
that  offered  the  sacrifices  be  compelled  to 
run  away,  neither  by  the  fear  they  were 
in  of  their  own  lives,  nor  by  the  number 
that  were  already  slain,  as  thinking  it 
better  to  suffer  whatever  came  upon  them, 
at  their  very  altars,  than  to  omit  any 
thing  that  their  laws'  required  of  them ; 
and  that  this  is  not  a  mere  boast,  or  an 
encomium  to  manifest  a  degree  of  our 
piety  that  was  false,  but  was  the  real 
truth,  I  appeal  to  those  that  have  written 
of  the  acts  of  Pompey;  and  among  them, 
to  Strabo  and  Nicolaus  [of  Damascus]  ; 
and  besides  these,  to '  Titus  Livius,  the 
writer  of  the  Roman  History,  who  will 
bear  witness  of  this  thing. 

But  when  the  battering-engine  was 
brought  near,  the  greatest  of  the  towers 
was  shaken  by  it,  and  fell  down,  and 
broke  down  a  part  of  the  fortifications,  so 
the  enemy  poured  in  apace ;  and  Cornelius 

*  That  is,  on  the  23d  of  Sivan,  the  annual  fast 
for  the  defection  and  idolatry  of  Jeroboam,  "  who 
made  Israel  to  sin ;"  or  possibly  some  other  fast 
might  fall  into  that  month,  before  and  in  the  day* 
of  Josephus. 


4!iO 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


Faustus,  the  son  of  Sylla,  with  his  sol- 
diers, first  of  all  ascended  the  wall,  and 
next  to  him  Furius  the  centurion,  with 
those  that  followed,  on  the  other  part; 
while  Fabius,  who  was  also  a  centurion, 
ascended  it  in  the  middle  with  a  great 
body  of  men  after  him ;  but  now  all  was 
full  of  slaughter;  some  of  the  Jews  be- 
ing slain  by  the  Komans,  and  some  by 
one  another ;  nay,  some  there  were  who 
threw  themselves  down  the  precipices,  or 
put  fire  to  their  houses,  and  burnt  them, 
as  not  able  to  bear  the  miseries  they 
were  under.  Of  the  Jews  there  fell 
12,000 ;  but  of  the  Komans  very  few. 
Absalom,  who  was  at  once  both  uncle 
and  father-in-law  to  Aristobulus,  was 
taken  captive;  and  no  small  enormities 
were  committed  about  the  temple  itself, 
which,  in  former  ages,  had  been  inacces- 
sible, and  seen  by  none;  for  Pompeywent 
into  it,  and  not  a  few  of  those  that  were 
with  him  also,  and  saw  all  that  which  it  was 
unlawful  for  any  other  men  to  see,  but 
only  for  the  high  priests.  There  were  in 
that  temple  the  golden  table,  the  holy 
candlestick,  and  the  pouring  vessels,  and 
a  great  quantity  of  spices ;  and  besides 
these,  there  were  among  the  treasures  2000 
talents  of  sacred  money  ;  yet  did  Pompey 
touch  nothing  of  all  this,*  on  account  of 
his  regard  to  religion ;  and  in  this  point 
also  he  acted  in  a  manner  that  was  worthy 
of  his  virtue.  The  next  day  he  gave  or- 
ders to  those, that  hap!  the  charge  of  the 
temple  to  cleanse  it,  and  to  bring  what  of- 
ferings the  law  required  to  God ;  and  re- 
stored the  high-priesthood  to  Hyrcanus, 
both  because  he  had  been  useful  to  him 
in  other  respects,  and  because  he  hindered 
the  Jews  in  the  country  from  giving  Aris- 
tobulus any  assistance  in  his  war  against 
him.  He  also  cut  off  those  that  had  been 
the  authors  of  that  war;  and  bestowed 
proper  rewards  on  Faustus,  and  those 
others  that  mounted  the  wall  with  such 
alacrity  ;  and  he  made  Jerusalem  tribu- 
tary to  the  Romans  ;  and  took  away  those 
cities  of  Celesyria  which  the  inhabitants 
of  Judea  had  subdued,  and  put  them 
under  the  government  of  the  Roman  pre- 
sident, and  confined  the  whole  nation, 
which  had  elevated  itself  so  high  before, 
within  its  own  bounds.     Moreover  he  re- 


*  This  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  Ci- 
cero, who  says,  in  his  oration  for  Flaccus,  that 
"  Cneius  Pompeius,  when  he  was  conqueror,  and 
had  taken  Jerusalem,  did  not  touch  any  thing  be- 
'onging  to  that  temple" 


built  Gadara,  which  had  been  demolished 
a  little  before,  to  gratify  Demetrius  of 
Gadara,  who  was  his  freedman,  and  re- 
stored the  rest  of  the  cities,  Hippos  and 
Scythopolis,  and  Pella,  and  Dios,  and 
Samaria,  as  also  Marissa,  and  Ashdod, 
and  Jamnia,  and  Arethusa,  to  their  own 
inhabitants  :  these  were  in  the  inland 
parts.  Besides  those  that  had  been  de- 
molished, and  also  of  the  maritime  cities, 
Gaza,  and  Joppa,  and  Dora,  and  Strato's 
Tower  :  which  last  Herod  rebuilt  after  a 
glorious  manner,  and  adorned  with  havens 
and  temples ;  and  changed  its  name  to 
Csesarea.  All  these  Pompey  left  in  a  state 
of  freedom,  and  joined  them  to  the  pro- 
vince of  Syria. 

Now  the  occasions  of  this  misery  which 
came  upon  Jerusalem  were  Hyrcanus  and 
Aristobulus,  by  raising  a  sedition  one 
against  the  other;  for  now  we  lost  our 
liberty,  and  became  subject  to  the  Ro- 
mans, and  were  deprived  of  that  country 
which  we  had  gained  by  our  arms  from 
the  Syrians,  and  were  compelled  to  re- 
store it  to  the  Syrians.  Moreover,  the 
Romans  exacted  of  us,  in  a  little  time, 
above  10,000  talents;  and  the  royal  au- 
thority, which  was  a  dignity  formerly 
bestowed  on  those  that  were  high  priests, 
by  the  right  of  their  family,  became  the 
property  of  private  men ;  but  of  these 
matters  we  shall  treat  in  their  proper 
places. 

Now  Pompey  committed  Celesyria,  as 
far  as  the  river  Euphrates  and  Egypt,  to 
Scaurus,  with  two  Roman  legions,  and 
then  went  away  to  Cilicia,  and  made  haste 
to  Rome.  He  also  carried  bound  along 
with  him  Aristobulus  and  his  children; 
for  he  had  two  daughters,  and  as  many 
sons;  the  one  of  whom  ran  away;  but 
the  younger,  Antigonus,  was  carried  to 
Rome,  together  with  his  sisters. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Roman  general  enters  into  a  league  with  Are- 
tas — Alexander  invades  Judea — is  defeated  by 
the  Romans. 

Scaurus  made  now  an  expedition 
against  Petrea,  in  Arabia,  and  set  on  fire 
all  the  places  round  about  it,  because  of 
the  great  -difficulty  of  access  to  it ;  and  as 
his  army  was  pinched  by  famine,  Antipater 
furnished  him  with  corn  out  of  Judea,  and 
with  whatever  else  he  wanted,  and  this 
at  the  command  of  Hyrcanus  ;  and  when 
he  was  sent  to  Aretas  as  an   ambassador, 


v!UAP.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


421 


by  Scaurus,  because  he  had  lived  with  him 
formerly,  he  persuaded  Aretas  to  give 
Scaurus  a  sum  of  money,  to  prevent  the 
burning  of  his  countr}T  ;  and  undertook 
to  be  his  surety  for  300  talents.  So  Scau- 
rus, upon  these  terms,  ceased  to  make  war 
any  longer ;  which  was  done  as  much  at 
Scaurus's  desire  as  at  the  desire  of  Aretas. 

Some  time  after  this,  when  Alexander, 
the  son  of  Aristobulus,  made  an  incursion 
into  Judea,  Gabinius  came  from  Rome  to 
Syria,  as  commander  of  the  Roman 
forces.  He  did  many  considerable  ac- 
tions ;  and  particularly  made  war  with 
Alexander,  since  Hyrcanus  was  not  yet 
able  to  oppose  his  power,  but  was  al- 
ready attempting  to  rebuild  the  wall  of 
Jerusalem,  which  Pompey  had  over- 
thrown, although  the  Romans  who  were 
there  restrained  him  from  that  his  design. 
However,  Alexander  went  over  all  the 
country  round  about,  and  armed  many 
of  the  Jews,  and  suddenly  got  together 
10,000  armed  footmen,  and  1500  horse- 
men, and  fortified  Alexandrium,  a  for- 
tress near  to  Coreae,  and  Macherus,  near 
the  mountains  of  Arabia.  Gabinius 
therefore  came  upon  him,  having  sent 
Marcus  Antonius,  with  other  commanders, 
before.  These  armed  such  Romans  as 
followed  them  ;  and,  together  with  them, 
such  Jews  as  were  subject  to  them,  whose 
leaders  were  Pitholaus  and  Malichus ; 
and  they  took  with  them  also  their  friends 
that  were  with  Antipater,  and  met  Alex- 
ander, while  Gabinius  himself  followed 
with  his  legion.  Hereupon  Alexander 
retired  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Jeru- 
salem, where  they  fell  upon  one  another, 
and  it  came  to  a  pitched  battle ;  in  which 
the  Romans  slew  of  their  enemies  about 
3000,  and  took  a  like  number  alive. 

At  which  time  Gabinius  came  to  Alex- 
andrium, and  invited  those  that  were  in 
it  to  deliver  it  up  upon  certain  conditions, 
and  promised  that  then  their  former 
offences  should  be  forgiven;  but  as  a 
great  number  of  the  enemy  had  pitched 
their  camp  before  the  fortress,  whom  the 
Romans  attacked,  Marcus  Antonius  fought 
bravely,  and  slew  a  great  number,  and 
stemed  to  come  off  with  the  greatest 
honour.  So  Gabinius  left  part  of  his 
army  there,  in  order  to  take  the  place, 
and  he  himself  went  into  the  other  parts 
of  Judea,  and  gave  order  to  rebuild  all 
the  cities  that  he  met  with  that  had  been 
demolished;  at  which  time  were  rebuilt 
Samaria,  Ashdod,  Scythopolis,  Anthedon, 


Raphia,  and  Dora ;  Marissa  also,  and 
Gaza,  and  not  a  few  others  besides;  and 
as  the  men  acted  according  to  Gabinius's 
command,  it  came  to  pass  that  at  this 
time  these  cities  were  securely  inhabited, 
which  had  been  desolate  for  a  long  time. 

When  Gabinius  had  done  thus  in  the 
country,  he  returned  to  Alexandrium ; 
and  when  he  urged  on  the  siege  of  the 
place,  Alexander  sent  an  embassage  to 
him,  desiring  that  he  would  pardon  him 
his  former  offences ;  he  also  delivered  up 
the  fortresses,  Hyrcania  and  Macherus, 
and  at  last  Alexandrium  itself,  which  for- 
tresses Gabinius  demolished;  but  when 
Alexander's  mother,  who  was  of  the  side 
of  the  Romans,  as  having  her  husband 
and  other  children  at  Rome,  came  to  him, 
he  granted  her  whatsoever  she  asked ; 
and  when  he  had  settled  matters  with 
her,  he  brought  Hyrcanus  to  Jerusalem, 
and  committed  the  care  of  the  temple  to 
him ;  and  when  he  had  ordained  five 
councils,  he  distributed  the  nation  into 
the  same  number  of  parts :  so  these 
councils  governed  the  people ;  the  first 
was  at  Jerusalem,  the  second  at  Gadara, 
the  third  at  Amathus,  the  fourth  at  Je- 
richo, and  the  fifth  at  Sepphoris,  in  Gali- 
lee. So  the  Jews  were  now  freed  from 
monarchic  authority,  and  were  governed 
by  an  aristocracy.* 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Aristobulus  flees  from  Rome — sent  back  by  Gabi- 
nius, who  overcomes  Alexander  and  the  Naba- 
teans. 

Now  Aristobulus  ran  away  from  Rome 
to  Judea,  and  set  about  the  rebuilding  of 
Alexandrium,  which  had  been  newly  de- 
molished :  hereupon  Gabinius  sent  soldiers 
against  him,  and  for  their  commanders 
Sisenna,  and  Antonius,  and  Servilius,  in 
order  to  hinder  him  from  getting  posses- 
sion of  the  country,  and  to  take  him 
again  ;  and,  indeed,  many  of  the  Jews  ran 
to  Aristobulus  on  account  of  his  former 
glory,  as  also  because  they  should  be  glad 
of  an  innovation.  Now,  there  was  one 
Pitholaus,  a  lieutenant  at  Jerusalem,  who 
deserted  to  him  with  1000  men,  although 
a  great  number  of  those  that  came  to  him 
were    unarmed ;    and    when    Aristobulus 

*  Dean  Prideaux  observes,  u  That  notwithstand- 
ing the  clamour  against  Gabinius  at  Rome,  Jose- 
ph u-s  gives  him  a  laudable  character,  as  if  ho  had 
acquitted  himself  with  honour  in  the  charge  com- 
mitted to  him  [in  Judea]."     See  at  the  year  65- 


422 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


had  resolved  to  go  to  Macherus,  he  dis- 
missed those  people,  because  they  were 
unarmed,  for  they  could  not  be  useful 
to  him  in  what  actions  he  was  going 
about;  but  he  took  with  him  8000 
that  were  armed,  and  marched  on ;  and 
as  the  Romans  fell  upon  them  severely, 
the  Jews  fought  valiantly,  but  were  beaten 
in  the  battle;  and  when  they  had  fought 
with  alacrity,  but  were  overborne  by  the 
enemy,  they  were  put  to  flight;  of  whom 
were  slain  about  5000,  and  the  rest  being 
dispersed,  tried,  as  well  as  they  were  able, 
to  save  themselves.  However,  Aristo- 
bulus  had  with  him  still  above  1000,  and 
with  him  he  fled  to  Macherus,  and  for- 
tified the  place ;  and  though  he  had  had 
ill  success,  he  still  had  good  hope  of  his 
affairs;  but  when  he  had  struggled 
against  the  siege  for  two  days'  time,  and 
had  received  many  wounds,  he  was 
brought  as  a  captive  to  Gabinius,  with 
his  son  Antigonus,  who  also  fled  with 
him  from  Rome ;  and  this  was  the  for- 
tune of  Aristobulus,  who  was  sent  back 
again  to  Rome,  and  was  there  retained  in 
bonds,  having  been  both  king  and  high 
priest  for  three  years  and  six  months; 
and  was  indeed  an  eminent  person,  and 
one  of  a  great  soul.  However,  the  senate 
let  his  children  go,  upon  Gabinius's 
writing  to  them  that  he  had  promised 
their  mother  so  much  when  she  delivered 
up  the  fortresses  to  him ;  and  accord- 
ingly, they  then  returned  into  Judea. 

Now  when  Gabinius  was  making  an 
expedition  against  the  Parthians,  and  had 
already  passed  over  the  Euphrates,  he 
changed  his  mind,  and  resolved  to  return 
into  Egypt,  in  order  to  restore  Ptolemy 
to  his  kingdom.*  This  hath  also  been 
related  elsewhere.  However,  Antipater 
supplied  his  army,  which  he  sent  against 
jirchelaus,  with  corn,  and  weapons,  and 
money.  He  also  made  those  Jews  who 
were  above  Pelusium  his  friends  and  con- 
federates, and  had  been  the  guardians  of 
the  passes  that  led  into  Egypt.  But 
when  he  came  back  out  of  Egypt,  he 
found  Syria  in  disorder  with  seditions 
and  troubles;  for  Alexander,  the  son  of 
Aristobulus,  having  seized  on  the  govern- 
ment a  second  time  by  force,  made  many 
of  the  Jews  revolt  to  him;    and  so  he 

*  This  history  is  best  illustrated  by  Dr.  Hudson 
out  of  Livy,  who  says,  that  "  A.  Gabinius,  the  pro- 
consul, restored  Ptolemy  to  his  kingdom  of  Egypt, 
and  ejected  Archelaus,  whom  they  had  set  up  for  a 
king  "  &c.     See  Prideaux  at  the  years  61  and  65. 


marched  over  the  country  with  a  gr«at 
army,  and  slew  all  the  Romans  he  could 
light  upon,  and  proceeded  to  besiege  the 
mountain  called  Gerizzim,  whither  they 
had  retreated 

But  when  Gabinius  found  Syria  in 
such  a  state,  he  sent  Antipater',  who  was 
a  prudent  man,  to  those  that  were  sedi- 
tious, to  try  whether  he  could  cure  threm 
of  their  madness,  and  persuade  them  to 
return  to  a  better  mind;  and  when  he 
came  to  them,  he  brought  many  of  them 
to  a  sound  mind,  and  induced  them  to  do 
what  they  ought  to  do.  But  he  could 
not  restrain  Alexander,  for  he  had  an 
army  of  30,000  Jews,  and  met  Gabinius, 
and,  joining  battle  with  him,  was  beaten, 
and  lost  10,000  of  his  men  about  Mount 
Tabor. 

So  Gabinius  settled  the  affairs  which 
belonged  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  as  was 
agreeable  to  Antipater's  inclination,  and 
went  against  the  Nabateans,  and  over- 
came them  in  battle.  He  also  sent  away, 
in  a  friendly  manner,  Mithridates  and 
Orsanes,  who  were  Parthian  deserters, 
and  came  to  him,  though  the  report  went 
abroad  that  they  had  run  away  from  him. 
And  when  Gabinius  had  performed  great 
and  glorious  actions,  in  his  management 
of  the  affairs  of  war,  he  returned  to  Rome, 
and  delivered  the  government  to  Crassus. 
Now,  Nicolaus  of  Damascus,  and  Strabc 
of  Cappadocia,  both  describe  the  expe- 
ditions of  Pompey  and  Gabinius  against 
the  Jews,  while  neither  of  them  say  any 
thing  new  which  is  not  in  the  other. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Crassus  pillages  the  temple — marches  against  the 
Parthians — perishes  with  his  whole  army — Cas- 
sius  obtains  Syria. 

Now  Crassus,  as  he  was  going  upor 
his  expedition .  against  the  Parthians, 
came  into  Judea,  and  carried  off  the 
money  that  was  in  the  temple,  which 
Pompey  had  left,  being  2000  talents,  and 
was  disposed  to  spoil  it  of  all  the  gold 
belonging  to  it,  j^hich  was  8000  talents. 
He  also  took  a  beam,  which  was  made  of 
solid  beaten  gold,  of  the  weight  of  300 
minae,  each  of  which  weighed  two  pounds 
and  a  half.  It  was  the  priest  who  was 
guardian  of  the  sacred  treasures,  and 
whose  name  was  Eleazar,  that  gave  him 
this  beam,  not  out  of  a  wicked  design, 
for  he  was  a  good  and  a  righteous  man ; 
but  being  intrusted  with  the  custody  of 


JHAP.    VII. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


423 


the  vails  belonging  to  the  temple,  which 
were  of  admirable  beauty,  and  of  very 
costly  workmanship,  and  hung  down  from 
this  beam,  when  he  saw  that  Crassus  was 
busy  in  gathering  money,  and  was  in  fear 
for  the  entire  ornaments  of  the  temple,  he 
gave  him  this  beam  of  gold  as  a  ransom 
for  the  whole,  but  this  not  till  he  had 
given  his  oath  that  he  would  remove 
nothing  else  out  of  the  temple,  but  be 
satisfied  with  this  only,  which  he  should 
give  him,  being  worth  many  ten  thou- 
sand [shekels].  Now,  this  beam  was 
contained  in  a  wooden  beam  that  was 
hollow,  but  was  known  to  no  others ;  but 
Eleazar  alone  knew  it;  yet  did  Crassus 
take  away  this  beam,  upon  the  condition 
of  touching  nothing  else  that  belonged  to 
the  temple,  and  then  brake  his  oath,  and 
carried  away  all  the  gold  that  was  in  the 
temple.  • 

And  let  no  one  wonder  that  there  was 
so  much  wealth  in  our  temple,  since  all 
the  Jews  throughout  the  habitable  earth, 
and  those  that  worshipped  God,  nay,  even 
those  of  Asia  and  Europe,  sent  their  con- 
tributions to  it,  and  this  from  very  ancient 
times.  Nor  is  the  largeness  of  these  sums 
without  its  attestation ;  nor  is  that  great- 
ness owing  to  our  vanity,  as  raising  it 
without  ground  to  so  great  a  height : 
but  there  are  many  witnesses  to  it,  and 
particularly  Strabo  of  Cappadocia,  who 
says  thus : — "  Mithridates  sent  to  Cos, 
and  took  the  money  which  queen  Cleo- 
patra had  deposited  there;  as  also  800 
talents  belonging  to  the  Jews/'  Now 
we  have  no  public  money  but  only  what 
appertains  to  God;  and  it  is  evident  that 
the  Asiatic  Jews  removed  this  money, 
out  of  fear  of  Mithridates;  for  it  is  not 
probable  that  those  of  Judea,  who  had  a 
strong  city  and  temple,  should  send  their 
money  to  Cos;  nor  is  it  likely  that  the 
Jews  who  are  inhabitants  of  Alexandria, 
should  do  so  either,  since  they  were  in  no 
fear  of  Mithridates.  And  Strabo  himself 
bears  witness  to  the  same  thing  in  another 
place;  that  at  the  same  time  that  Sylla 
passed  over  into  Greece,  in  order  to  fight 
against  Mithridates,  he  sent  Lucullus  to 
put  an  end  to  a  sedition  that  our  nation, 
of  whom  the  habitable  earth  is  full,  had 
raised  in  Cyrene :  where  he  speaks  thus : — 
"  There  were  four  classes  of  men  among 
those  of  Cyrene ;  that  of  citizens,  that  of 
husbandmen,  the  third  of  strangers,  and 
the  fourth  of  Jews.  Now  these  Jews 
have  already  gotten  into  all  cities ;   and  it 


is  hard  to  find  a  place  in  the  habitable 
earth  that  hath  not  admitted  this  tribe  of 
men,  and  is  not  possessed  by  them :  and 
it  hath  come  to  pass  that  Egypt  and 
Cyrene,  as  having  the  same  governors, 
and  a  great  number  of  other  nations, 
imitate  their  way  of  living,  and  maintain 
great  bodies  of  these  Jews  in  a  peculiar 
manner,  and  grow  up  to  a  greater  pros- 
perity with  them,  and  make  use  of  the 
same  laws  with  that  nation  also.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  Jews  have  places  assigned 
them  in  Egypt,  wherein  they  inhabit, 
besides  what  is  peculiarly  allotted  to  this 
nation  at  Alexandria,  which  is  a  large 
part  of  that  city.  There  is  also  an 
ethnarch  allowed  them,  who  governs  the 
nation,  and  distributes  justice  to  them, 
and  takes  care  of  their  contracts,  and  of 
the  laws  to  them  belonging,  as  if  he  were 
the  ruler  of  a  free  republic.  In  Egypt, 
therefore,  this  nation  is  powerful,  because 
the  Jews  were  originally  Egyptians,  and 
because  the  land  wherein  they  inhabit, 
since  they  went  thence,  is  near  to  Egypt. 
They  also  removed  into  Cyrene,  because 
that  this  land  adjoined  to  the  government 
of  Egypt,  as  well  as  does  Judea,  or  rather 
was  formerly  under  the  same  govern- 
ment."    And  this  is  what  Strabo  says. 

So  when  Crassus  had  settled  all  things 
as  he  himself  pleased,  he  marched  into 
Parthia,  where  both  he  himself  and  all 
his  army  perished,  as  hath  been  related 
elsewhere.  But  Cassius,  as  he  fled  from 
Home  to  Syria,  took  possession  of  it,  and 
was  an  impediment  to  the  Parthians,  who, 
by  reason  of  their  victory  over  Crassus, 
made  incursions  upon  it :  and  as  he  came 
back  to  Tyre,  he  went  up  into  Judea  also, 
and  fell  upon  Tarichase,  and  presently 
took  it,  and  carried  about  30,000  Jews 
captive;  and  slew  Pitholaus,  who  suc- 
ceeded Aristobulus  in  his  seditious  prac- 
tices, and  that  by  the  persuasion  of  An- 
tipater,  who  proved  to  have  great  interest 
in  him,  aud  was  at  that  time  in  great  re- 
pute with  the  Idumeans  also :  out  of 
which  nation  he  married  a  wife,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  one  of  their  eminent  men, 
and  her  name  was  Cypros,  by  whom  ho 
had  four  sons,  Phasacl,  and  llerod,  who 
was  afterwards  made  king,  and  Joseph 
and  Pheroras;  and  a  daughter,  named 
Salome.  This  Antipater  cultivated  also 
a  friendship  and  mutual  kindness  with 
other  potentates,  but  especially  with  the 
king  of  Arabia,  to  whom  he  committed 
his    children,    while    bs    fought    again** 


424 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


Aristobulus.  So  Cassius  removed  his 
camp,  and  marched  to  Euphrates,  to  meet 
those  that  were  coming  to  attack  him,  as 
hath  been  related  by  others. 

But  some  time  afterward,  Caesar,  when 
he  had  taken  Rome,  and  after  Pompey 
and  the  senate  had  fled  beyond  the  Ionian 
Sea,  freed  Aristobulus  from  his  bonds, 
and  resolved  to  send  him  into  Syria,  and 
delivered  two  legions  to  him,  that  he 
might  set  matters  right,  as  being  a  potent 
man  in  that  country :  but  Aristobulus 
had  no  enjoyment  of  what  he  hoped  for 
from  the  power  that  was  given  him  by 
Caesar;  for  those  of  Pompey's  party  pre- 
vented it,  and  destroyed  him  by  poison ; 
and  those  of  Caesar's  party  buried  him. 
His  dead  body  also  lay  for  a  good  while  em- 
balmed in  honey,  till  Antony  afterward 
sent  it  to  Judea,  and  caused  him  to  be 
buried  in  the  royal  sepulchre.  But  Scipio, 
"pon  Pompey's  sending  to  him  to  slay 
Alexander,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  be- 
cause the  young  man  was  accused  of  what 
offences  he  had  been  guilty  of  at  first 
against  the  Romans,  cut  off  his  head ; 
and  thus  did  he  die  at  Antioch.  But 
Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Menneus,  who  was 
the  ruler  of  Chalcis,  under  Mount  Liba- 
nus,  took  his  brethren  to  him,  and  sent 
ais  son  Philippion  to  Askelon  to  Aristo- 
bulus's  wife,  and  desired  her  to  send  back 
with  him  her  son  Antigonus  and  her 
daughters  :  the  one  of  whom,  whose  name 
was  Alexandra,  Philippion  fell  in  love 
with,  and  married  her;  though  after- 
ward his  father  Ptolemy  slew  him,  and 
married  Alexandra,  and  continued  to  take 
care  of  her  brethren. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Jews  become   confederates  with  Caesar — Ac- 
tions of  Antipater — his  friendship  with  Caesar. 

Now  after  Pompey  was  dead,  and  after 
that  victory  Caesar  had  gained  over  him, 
Antipater,  who  managed  the  Jewish 
affairs,  became  very  useful  to  Caesar  when 
he  made  war  against  Egypt,  and  that  by 
the  order  of  Hyrcanus ;  for  when  Mithri- 
dates of  Pergamus  was  bringing  his  auxili- 
aries, and  was  not  able  to  continue  his 
march  through  Pelusium,  but  obliged  to 
stay  at  Askelon,  Antipater  came  to  him, 
conducting  3000  of  the  Jews,  armed 
men  :  he  also  had  taken  care  the  principal 
men  of  the  Arabians  should  come  to  his 
assistance;  and  on  his  account  it  was  that 
all  the  Syrians  assisted  him  also,  as  not 


willing  to  appear  behindhand  in  their 
alacrity  for  Caesar,  namely,  Jamblicus  the 
ruler,  and  Ptolemy  his  son,  and  Tholomj 
the  son  of  Sohemus,  who  dwelt  at  Mount 
Libanus,  and  almost  all  the  cities.  So 
Mithridates  marched  out  of  Syria,  and 
came  to  Pelusium ;  and  when  its  inhabit- 
ants would  not  admit  him,  he  besieged 
the  city.  Now  Antipater  signalized  him- 
self here,  and  was  the  first  who  plucked 
down  a  part  of  the  wall,  and  so  opened  a 
way  to  the  rest,  whereby  they  might  enter 
the  city,  and  by  this  means  Pelusium  was 
taken.  But  it  happened  that  the  Egyptian 
Jews,  who  dwelt  in  the  country  called 
Onion,  would  not  let  Antipater  and  Mithri- 
dates, with  their  soldiers,  pass  to  Caesar; 
but  Antipater  persuaded  them  to  come 
over  to  their  party,  because  he  was  of  the 
^ame  people  with  them,  and  that  chiefly 
by  showicg  them  the  epistles  of  Hyrcanus 
the  high  priest,  wherein  he  exhorted  them 
to  cultivate  friendship  with  Caesar;  and 
to  supply  his  army  with  money,  and  all 
sorts  of  provisions  which  they  wanted; 
and  accordingly,  when  they  saw  Antipater 
and  the  high  priest  of  the  same  senti- 
ments, they  did  as  they  were  desired. 
And  when  the  Jews  about  Memphis 
heard  that  these  Jews  had  come  ovo-r  to 
Caesar,  they  also  invited  Mithridates  to 
come  to  them  ;  so  he  came  and  received 
them  also  into  his  army. 

And  when  Mithridates  had  gone  over 
all  Delta,  as  the  place  is  called,  he  came 
to  a  pitched  battle  with  the  enemy,  near 
the  place  called  the  Jewish  Camp.  Now 
Mithridates  had  the  right  wing,  and  An- 
tipater the  left;  and  when  it  came  to  a 
fi^ht,  that  win£  where  Mithridates  was 
gave  way,  and  was  likely  to  suffer  ex- 
tremely, anless  Antipater  had  come  run- 
ning to  him  with  his  own  soldiers  along 
the  shore,  when  he  had  already  beaten  the 
enemy  that  opposed  him ;  so  he  delivered 
Mithridates,  and  put  those  Egyptians  who 
had  been  too  hard  for  him  to  flight.  He 
also  took  their  camp,  and  continued  in  the 
pursuit  of  them.  He  also  recalled  Mi- 
thridates, who  had  been  worsted,  and  had 
retired  a  great  way  off,  of  whose  soldiers 
8000  fell;  but  of  Antipater' s  fifty.  So 
Mithridates  sent  an  account  of  this  battle 
to  Caesar,  and  openly  declared  that  Anti- 
pater was  the  author  of  this  victory,  and 
of  his  own  preservation;  insomuch  that 
Caesar  commended  Antipater  then,  and 
made  use  of  him  all  the  re?t  of  that  war 
in  the  most  hazardous  undertakings  :  he 


GAAP.  VIII.  J 


ANTIQUITIES     OF  THE  JEWS. 


425 


happened  also  to  be  wounded  in  one  of 
those  engagements. 

However,  when  Caesar,  after  some  time, 
had  finished  that  war,  and  had  sailed 
away  for  Syria,  he  honoured  Antipater 
greatly,  and  confirmed  Hyrcanus  in  the 
high-priesthood ;  and  bestowed  on  Anti- 
pater the  privilege  of  a  citizen  of  Rome, 
and  a  freedom  from  taxes  everywhere ; 
and  it  is  reported  by  many,  that  Hyrcanus 
went  along  with  Antipater  in  this  expe- 
dition, and  came  himself  into  Egypt. 
And  Strabo  of  Cappadocia  bears  witness 
to  this,  when  he  says  this,  in  the  name  of 
Asinius  : — "  After  Mithridates  had  in- 
vaded Egypt,  and  with  him  Hyrcanus, 
the  high  priest  of  the  Jews."  Nay,  the 
same  Strabo  says  thus  again,  in  another 
place,  in  the  name  of  Hypsicrates,  that 
"Mithridates  at  first  went  out  alone;  but 
that  Antipater,  who  had  the  care  of  the 
Jewish  affairs,  was  called  by  him  to 
Askelon,  and  that  he  had  gotten  ready 
3000  soldiers  to  go  along  with  him,  and 
encouraged  other  governors  of  the  country 
to  go  along  with  him  also;  and  that 
Hyrcanus  the  high  priest  was  also  present 
in  this  expedition. "  This  is  what  Strabo 
says. 

But  Antigonus,  the  son  of  Aristobulus, 
came  at  this  time  to  Caesar,  and  lamented 
his  father's  fate  ;  and  complained,  that  it 
was  by  Antipater's  means  that  Aristo- 
bulus was  taken  off  by  poison,  and  his 
brother  was  beheaded  by  Scipio,  and  de- 
sired that  he  would  take  pity  of  him  who 
had  been  ejected  out  of  that  principality 
which  was  due  to  him.  He  also  accused 
Hyrcanus  and  Antipater,  as  governing 
the  nation  by  violence,  and  offering  in- 
juries to  himself.  Antipater  was  present, 
and  made  his  defence  as  to  the  accusa- 
tions that  were  laid  against  him.  He 
demonstrated,  that  Antigonus  and  his 
party  were  given  to  innovation,  and  were 
seditious  persons.  He  also  put  Caesar  in 
mind  what  difficult  services  he  had  under- 
gone when  he  assisted  him  in  his  wars, 
and  discoursed  about  what  he  was  a  wit- 
ness of  himself.  He  added,  that  Aristo- 
bulus was  justly  carried  away  to  Home, 
»s  one  that  was  an  enemy  to  the  Romans, 
and  could  never  be  brought  to  be  a  friend 
to  them,  and  that  his  brother  had  no 
more  than  he  deserved  from  Scipio,  as 
being  seized  in  committing  robberies ;  and 
that  this  punishment  was  not  inflicted  on 
him  in  a  way  of  violence  or  injustice  by 
him  that  did  it. 


When  Antipater  had  made  this  speech, 
Caesar  appointed  Hyrcanus  to  be  high 
priest,  and  gave  Antipater  what  princi- 
pality he  himself  should  choose,  leaving 
the  determination  to  himself;  so  he  made 
him  procurator  of  Judea.  He  also  gave 
Hyrcanus  leave  to  raise  up  the  walls  of 
his  own  city,  upon  his  asking  that  favour 
of  him,  for  they  had  been  demolished  by 
Pompey.  And  this  grant  he  sent  to  the 
consuls  of  Rome,  to  be  engraven  in  the 
capitol.  The  decree  of  the  senate  was 
this  that  follows  :*  "  Lucius  Valerius,  the 
son  of  Lucius  the  praetor,  referred  this  to 
the  senate,  upon  the  ides  of  December,  in 
the  temple  of  Concord.  There  were  pre- 
sent at  the  waiting  of  this  decree,  Lucius 
Coponius,  the  son  of  Lucius  of  the  Colline 
tribe,  and  Papirius  of  the  Quirine  tribe, 
concerning  the  affairs  which  Alexander, 
the  son  of  Jason,  and  Numenius,  the  son 
of  Antiochus,  and  Alexander,  the  son  of 
Dositheus,  ambassadors  of  the  Jews,  good 
and  worthy  men,  proposed,  who  came  to 
renew  that  league  of  good-will  and  friend- 
ship with  the  Romans  which  was  in  being 
before.  They  also  brought  a  shield  ot 
gold,  as  a  mark  of  confederacy,  valued  at 
50,000  pieces  of  gold;  and  desired  thai 
letters  might  be  given  them,  directed  both 
to  the  free  cities  and  to  the  kings,  that 
their  country  and  their  havens  might  be 
at  peace,  and  that  no  one  among  them 
might  receive  any  injury.  It  therefore 
pleased  [the  senate]  to  make  a  league  of 
friendship  and  good-will  with  them,  and 
to  bestow  on  them  whatsoever  they  stood 
in  need  of,  and  to  accept  of  the  shield 
which  was  brought  by  them.  This  was 
done  in  the  ninth  year  of  Hyrcanus 
the  high  priest  and  ethnarch,  in  the 
month  Panenms."  Hyrcanus  also  re- 
ceived honours  from  the  people  of  Athens 
as  having  been  useful  to  them  on  many 
occasions;  and  when  they  wrote  to  him, 


*  "  Here  is  some  mistake  in  Josephus ;  for  when 
he  had  promised  us  a  decree  for  the  restoration  of 
Jerusalem,  he  brings  in  a  decree  of  far  greater 
antiquity,  and  that  a  league  of  friendship  and 
union  only.  One  may  easily  believe  that  Josephus 
gave  order  for  one  thing,  and  his  amanuensis  per- 
formed another,  by  transposing  decrees  that  con- 
cerned the  Hyrcanii,  and  as  deluded  by  the  same- 
ness of  their  names ;  for  that  belongs  to  the  firs 
high  priest  of  this  name  [John  Hyrcanus],  which 
Josephus  here  ascribes  to  one  that  lived  later 
[Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander  Janneus].  How- 
ever, the  decree  which  he  proposed  to  set  down 
follows  a  little  lower,  in  the  collection  of  the  I  oman 
decrees  that  concerned  the  Jews,  and  is  dated  Whe/ 
Caesar  was  consul  the  fifth  time." — Hudson 


•tuts 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV 


they  sent  him  this  decree,  as  it  here 
follows  : — "  Under  the  prutaneia  and 
priesthood  of  Dionysius,  the  son  of  Escu- 
iapius,  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  latter  part 
of  the  month  Panemus,  this  decree  of  the 
Athenians  was  given  to  their  commanders, 
when  Agathocles  was  archon,  and  Eucles, 
the  son  of  Menander  of  Alimusia,  was  the 
scribe.  In  the  month  Munychion,  on  the 
eleventh  day  of  the  prutaneia,  a  council 
af  the  presidents  was  held  in  the  theatre. 
Dorotheus  the  high  priest,  and  the  fellow- 
presidents  with  him,  put  it  to  the  vote  of 
the  people.  Dionysius,  the  son  of  Diony- 
sius,  gave  the  sentence.  Since  Hyrcanus, 
the  son  of  Alexander,  the  high  priest  and 
ethnarch  of  the  Jews,  continues  to  bear 
good-will  to  our  people  in  general,  and 
to  every  one  of  our  citizens  in  particular, 
and  treats  them  with  all  sorts  of  kindness ; 
and  when  any  of  the  Athenians  come  to 
him,  either  as  ambassadors,  or  on  any 
occasion  of  their  own,  he  receives  them  in 
an  obliging  manner,  and  sees  that  they 
are  conducted  back  in  safety,  of  which  we 
have  had  several  former  testimonies  :  it  is 
now  also  decreed,  at  the  report  of  Theo- 
dosius,  the  son  of  Theodorus,  and  upon 
his  putting  the  people  in  mind  of  the 
virtue  of  this  man,  and  that  his  purpose 
is  to  do  us  all  the  good  that  is  in  his 
power,  to  houour  him  with  a  crown  of 
gold,  the  usual  reward  according  to  the 
law,  and  to  erect  his  statue  iu  brass  in  the 
temple  of  Demus  and  of  the  Graces ;  and 
that  this  present  of  a  crown  shall  be  pro- 
claimed publicly  in  the  theatre,  in  the 
Dionysian  shows,  while  the  new  tragedies 
are  acting ;  and  in  the  Panathenean,  and 
Eleusinian,  and  Gymnical  shows  also ; 
and  that  the  commanders  shall  take  care, 
while  he  continues  in  his  friendship,  and 
preserves  his  good-will  to  us,  to  return  all 
possible  honour  and  favour  to  the  man, 
for  his  affection  and  generosity;  that  by 
this  treatment  it  may  appear  how  our 
people  receive  the  good  kindly,  and  repay 
them  a  suitable  reward;  and  he  may  be 
induced  to  proceed  in  his  affection  toward 
us,  by  the  honours  we  have  already  paid 
him.  That  ambassadors  be  also  chosen 
out  of  all  the  Athenians,  who  shall  carry 
this  decree  to  him,  and  desire  him  to 
accept  of  the  honours  we  do  him,  and  to 
endeavour  always  to  be  doing  some  good 
to  our  city/'  And  this  shall  suffice  us  to 
have  spoken  as  to  the  honours  that  were 
paid  by  the  Komans  and  the  people  of 
Athens  to  Hyrcanus. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Antipater  commits  the  care  of  Galilee  to  Herod, 
and  Jerusalem  to  Phasaelus. 

Now  when  Caesar  had  settled  the  affairs 
of  Syria,  he  sailed  away;  and  as  soon  as 
Antipater  had  conducted  Caesar  out  of 
Syria,  he  returned  to  Judea.  He  then 
immediately  raised  up  the  wall  which  had 
been  thrown  down  by  Pompey;  and,  by 
coming  thither,  he  pacified  that  tumult 
which  had  been  in  the  country,  and  this 
by  both  threatening  and  advising  them  to 
be  quiet;  for  that,  if  they  would  be  of 
Hyrcanus' s  side,  they  would  live  happily, 
and  lead  their  lives  without  disturbance, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  their  own  possessions; 
but  if  they  were  addicted  to  the  hopes  of 
what  might  come  by  innovation,  and 
aimed  to  get  wealth  thereby,  they  should 
have  him  a  severe  master,  instead  of  a 
gentle  governor,  and  Hyrcanus  a  tyrant 
instead  of  a  king,  and  the  Komans,  toge- 
ther with  Caesar,  their  bitter  enemies, 
instead  of  rulers,  for  that  they  would 
never  bear  him  to  be  set  aside  whom  they 
had  appointed  to  govern.  And  when 
Antipater  had  said  this  to  them,  he  him- 
self settled  the  affairs  of  this  country. 

And  seeing  that  Hyrcanus  was  of  a 
slow  and  slothful  temper,  he  made  Pha- 
saelus, his  eldest  son,  governor  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  of  the  places  that  were  about 
it,  but  committed  Galilee  to  Herod,  his 
next  son,  who  was  then  a  very  young 
man,  for  he  was  but  fifteen  years  of  age;* 
but  that  youth  of  his  was  no  impediment 
to  him;  but  as  he  was  a  youth  of  great 
mind,  he  presently  met  with  an  oppor- 
tunity of  signalizing  his  courage;  for 
finding  there  was  one  Hezekiah,  a  captain 
of  a  band  of  robbers,  who  overran  the 
neighbouring  parts  of  Syria  with  a  great 
troop  of  them,  he  seized  him  and  slew 
him,  as  well  as  a  great  number  of  tho 
other  robbers  that  were  with  him;  for 
which  action  he  was  greatly  beloved  by 
the  Syrians;  for  when  they  were  very 
desirous  to  have  their  country  freed  from 
this  nest  of  robbers,  he  purged  it  of 
them  :  so  they  sung  songs  in  his  com- 
mendation in  their  villages  and  cities,  as 
having    procured    them    peace    and    the 

*  Those  who  will  carefully  observe  the  several 
occasional  numbers  and  chronological  characters 
in  the  life  and  death  of  this  Herod,  and  of  his  chil- 
dren, hereafter  noted,  will  see,  that  twenty-five 
years,  and  not  fifteen,  must  for  certain  have  been 
here  Josephus's  own  number  for  the  age  of  Herod 
when  he  was  made  governor  of  Galilee. 


Ojap.  IX.  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


427 


secure  enjoyment  of  their  possessions; 
and  on  this  account  it  was  that  he  became 
known  to  Sextus  Caesar,  who  was  a  re- 
lation of  the  great  Caesar,  and  was  now 
president  of  Syria.  Now  Phasaelus, 
He-rod's  brother,  was  moved  with  emu- 
lation at  his  actions,  and  envied  the  fame 
he  had  thereby  gotten,  and  became  ambi- 
tious not  to  be  behindhand  with  him  in 
deserving  it :  so  he  made  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem  bear  him  the  greatest  good- 
will while  he  held  the  city  himself,  but 
did  neither  manage  its  affairs  improperly, 
nor  abuse  his  authority  therein.  This 
conduct  procured  from  the  nation  to  An- 
tipater  such  respect  as  is  due  to  kings, 
and  such  honours  as  he  might  partake  of 
if  he  were  an  absolute  lord  of  the  country. 
Yet  did  not  this  splendour  of  his,  as  fre- 
quently happens,  in  the  least  diminish  in 
him  that  kindness  and  fidelity  which  he 
owed  to  Hyrcanus. 

But  now  the  principal  men  among  the 
Jews,  when  they  saw  Antipater  and  his 
sons  to  grow  so  much  in  the  good-will  the 
nation  bore  to  them,  and  in  the  revenues 
which  they  received  out  of  Judea,  and 
out  of  Hyrcanus's  own  wealth,  they  be- 
came ill  disposed  to  him;  for  indeed  An- 
tipater had  contracted  a  friendship  with 
the  Roman  emperors;  and  when  he  had 
prevailed  with  Hyrcanus  to  send  them 
money,  he  took  it  to  himself,  and  pur- 
loined the  present  intended,  and  sent  it  as 
if  it  were  his  own,  and  not  Hyrcanus's 
gift  to  them.  Hyrcanus  heard  of  this  his 
management,  but  took  no  care  about  it; 
nay,  he  rather  was  very  glad  of  it :  but 
the  chief  men  of  the  Jews  were  therefore 
in  fear,  because  they  saw  that  Herod  was 
a  violent  and  bold  man,  and  very  de- 
sirous of  acting  tyrannically;  so  they 
came  to  Hyrcanus,  and  now  accused  An- 
tipater openly,  and  said  to  him,  "How 
long  wilt  thou  be  quiet  under  such  actions 
as  are  now  done  ?  Or  dost  thou  not  see 
that  Antipater  and  his  sons  have  already 
seized  upon  the  government,  and  that  it  is 
only  the  name  of  a  king  which  is  given 
thee  ?  But  do  not  thou  suffer  these 
things  to  be  hidden  from  thee;  nor  do 
thou  think  to  escape  danger  by  being  so 
careless  of  thyself  and  of  thy  kingdom ; 
for  Antipater  and  his  sons  are  not  now 
stewards  of  thine  affairs ;  do  not  thou  de- 
ceive thyself  with  such  a  notion;  they 
are  evidently  absolute  lords ;  for  Herod, 
Antipater' s  son,  hath  slain  Hezekiah  and 
those    that    were    with    him,    and    hath 


thereby  transgressed  our  law,*  which 
hath  forbidden  to  slay  any  man,  even 
though  he  were  a  wicked  man,  unless  he 
had  been  first  condemned  to  suffer  death 
by  the  sanhedrim ;  yet  hath  he  been  so 
insolent  as  to  do  this,  and  that  without 
any  authority  from  thee/' 

Upon  Hyrcanus  hearing  this  he  com- 
plied with  them.  The  mothers  also  of 
those  that  had  been  slain  by  Herod  raised 
his  indignation ;  for  those  women  con- 
tinued every  day  in  the  temple,  per- 
suading the  king  and  the  people  that 
Herod  might  undergo  a  trial  before  tho 
sanhedrim  for  what  he  had  done.  Hyr- 
canus was  so  moved  by  these  complaints, 
that  he  summoned  Herod  to  come  to  his 
trial  for  what  was  charged  upon  him. 
Accordingly  he  came ;  but  his  father  had 
persuaded  him  to  come  not  like  a  private 
man,  but  with  a  guard,  for  the  security 
of  his  person ;  and  that  when  he  had 
settled  the  affairs  of  Galilee  in  the  best 
manner  he  could  for  his  own  advantage, 
he  should  come  to  his  trial,  but  still  with 
a  body  of  men  sufficient  for  his  security 
on  his  journey,  yet  so  that  he  should  not 
come  with  so  great  a  force  as  might  look 
like  terrifying  Hyrcanus,  but  still  such 
an  one  as  might  not  expose  him  naked 
and  unguarded  [to  his  enemies].  How- 
ever, Sextus  Caesar,  president  of  Syria, 
wrote  to  Hyrcanus,  and  desired  him  to 
clear  Herod,  and  dismiss  him  at  his  trial, 
and  threatened  him  beforehand  if  he  did 
not  do  it.  Which  epistle  of  his  was  the 
occasion  of  Hyrcanus  delivering  Herod 
from  suffering  any  harm  from  the  sanhe- 
drim, for  he  loved  him  as  his  own  son ; 
but  when  Herod  stood  before  the  sanhe- 
drim, with  his  body  of  men  about  him,  he 
affrighted  them  all,  and  no  one  of  his 
former  accusers  durst  after  that  bring 
any  charge  against  him,  but  there  was  a 
deep  silence,  and  nobody  knew  what  was 
to  be  done.  When  affairs  stood  thus,  one 
whose  name  was  Sameas,  a  righteous  man 
he  was,  and  for  that  reason  above  all  fear, 
rose  up,  and  said,  "0  you  that  are  asses- 
sors  with  me,  and  0  thou  that  art   our 


*  It  is  here  worth  our  while  to  remark,  that  none 
could  be  put  to  death  in  Judea  but  by  tho  approba- 
tion of  the  Jewish  sanhedrim,  there  being  an  ex- 
cellent provision  in  the  law  of  Muses,  that  even  in 
criminal  causes,  and  particularly  where  life  waa 
concerned,  an  appeal  shouLi  lie  fr<>ni  the  lesser 
councils  of  seven  in  the  other  cities,  10  the  supreme 
council  of  LXXI.  at  Jerusalem;  and  this  is  exactly 
according  to  Christ's  words  wh(  n  he  saya,  "  It 
could  not  bo  that  a  prophet  should  perish  out  of 
Jerusalem."     Luke  xiii.  33- 


428 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


king,  I  neither  have  ever  myself  known 
such  a  case,  nor  do  I  suppose  that  any 
one  of  you  can  name  its  parallel,  that  one 
who  is  called  to  take  his  trial  by  us,  ever 
stood  in  such  a  manner  before  us;  but 
every  one,  whosoever  he  be,  that  comes  to 
be  tried  by  this  sanhedrim,  presents  him- 
self in  a  submissive  manner,  and  like  one 
that  is  in  fear  of  himself,  and  that  endea- 
vours to  move  us  to  compassion,  with  his 
hair  dishevelled,  and  in  a  black  and 
mourning  garment :  but  this  admirable 
man  Herod,  who  is  accused  of  murder, 
and  called  to  answer  so  heavy  an  accusa- 
tion, stands  here  clothed  in  purple,  and 
with  the  hair  of  his  head  finely  trimmed, 
and  with  his  armed  men  about  him,  that 
if  we  shall  condemn  him  by  our  law,  he 
may  slay  us,  and  by  overbearing  justice 
may  himself  escape  death;  yet  do  not  I 
make  this  complaint  against  Herod  him- 
self: for  he  is  to  be  sure  more  concerned 
for  himself  than  for  the  laws ;  but  my 
complaint  is  against  yourselves  and  your 
king,  who  gave  him  a  license  so  to  do. 
However,  take  you  notice,  that  God  is 
great,  and  that  this  very  man,  whom  you 
are  going  to  absolve  and  dismiss,  for  the 
sake  of  Hyrcanus,  will  one  day  punish 
both  you  and  your  king  also."  Nor  did 
Sameas  mistake  in  any  part  of  this  pre- 
diction; for  when  Herod  had  received 
the  kingdom,  he  slew  all  the  members  of 
this  sanhedrim,  and  Hyrcanus  himself 
also,  excepting  Sameas,  for  he  had  a  great 
honour  for  him  on  account  of  his  right- 
eousness, and  because,  when  the  city  was 
afterward  besieged  by  Herod  and  Sosius, 
he  persuaded  the  people  to  admit  Herod 
into  it;  and  told  them,  that  for  their  sins 
they  would  not  be  able  to  escape  his 
hands ;  which  things  will  be  related  by 
us  in  th3ir  proper  places. 

But  when  Hyrcanus  saw  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  sanhedrim  were  ready  to  pro- 
nounce the  sentence  o'f  death  upon  Herod, 
he  put  off  the  trial  to  another  day,  and 
sent  privately  to  Herod,  and  advised  him 
to  fly  out  of  the  city;  for  that  by  this 
means  he  might  escape.  So  he  retired  to 
Damascus,  as  though  he  fled  from  the 
king;  and  when  he  had  been  with  Sextus 
Caesar,  and  had  put  his  own  affairs  in  a 
•jure  posture,  he  resolved  to  do  thus : 
that  in  case  he  were  again  summoned 
before  the  sanhedrim  to  take  his  trial,  he 
would  not  obey  that  summons.  Here- 
upon the  members  of  the  sanhedrim  had 
great  indignation  at  this  posture  of  affairs, 


and   endeavoured    to    persuade  Hyrcanus 
that   all  these  things  were  against  him  ; 
which  state  of  matters  he  was  not  ignoranl 
of;  but  his  temper  was  so  unmanly  and 
so  foolish,  that  he  was  able  to  do  nothing 
at  all ;  but  when'  Sextus  had  made  Herod 
general  of  the  army  of  Celesyria,  for  he 
sold  him  that  post  for  money,  Hyrcanus 
was  in  fear  lest  Herod  should  make  war 
upon  him ;  nor  was  the  effect  of  what  he 
feared     long   in    coming   upon     him,    for 
Herod  came,  and  brought  an  army  along 
with  him  to  fight  with  Hyrcanus,  as  being 
angry  at  the  trial  he  had  been  summoned 
to    undergo    before    the    sanhedrim ;    but 
his    father    Antipater,    and    his    brother 
[Phasaelus]  met  him,  and  hindered  him 
from    assaulting   Jerusalem.     They    also 
pacified   his   vehement   temper,   and   per- 
suaded  him   to   do   no  overt  action,    but 
only  to  affright  them  with   threatenings, 
and   to  proceed    no    further  against    one 
who  had  given  him  the  dignity  he  had  : 
they   also   desired    him,    not    only   to    be 
angry  that  he  was  summoned,  and  obliged 
to  come    to   his   trial,   but   to   remember 
withal  how  he  was  dismissed  without  con- 
demnation,  and    how    he   ought    to    give 
Hyrcanus  thanks  for  the  same ;  and  that 
he  was  not  to  regard  only  what  was  dis- 
agreeable to  him,  and  be  unthankful  for 
his  deliverance.     So  they  desired  him  to 
consider,  that  since  it  is  God  that  turns 
the    scales    of  war,    there    is    great    un- 
certainty in  the  issue  of  battles,  and  that 
therefore    he    ought    not    to    expect    the 
victory   when    he    should   fight   with   his 
king,  and  him   that  had  supported  him, 
and   bestowed  many   benefits    upon  him, 
and    had    done    nothing    of    itself  very 
severe  to  him ;    for    that    his  accusation, 
which  was  derived  from  evil  counsellors, 
and  not  from  himself,  had  rather  the  sus- 
picion of  some  severity,  than  any  thing 
really  severe  in  it.     Herod  was  persuaded 
by  these  arguments,  and  believed  that  it 
was  sufficient  for  his  future  hopes  to  have 
made  a  show  of  his  strength  before  the 
nation,  and  done  no  more  to  it;  and  in 
this  state  were  the  affairs  of  Judea  at  this 
time. 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Jews  enter  into  a  league  with  the  Romans. 

Now  when  Caesar  had  come  to  Rome, 
he  was  ready  to  sail  into  Africa,  to  fight 
against  Scipio  and  Cato,  when  Hyrcanu? 
sent    ambassadors  to  him,  and   by  them 


Chap.  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


429 


desired  that  he  would  ratify  that  league 
of  friendship  and  mutual  alliance  which 
was  between  them ;  and  it  seems  to  me 
to  be  necessary  here  to  give  an  account 
of  all  the  honours  that  the  Romans  and 
their  emperors  paid  to  our  nation,  and  of 
the  leagues  of  mutual  assistance  they  have 
made  with  it,  that  all  the  rest  of  mankind 
may  know  what  regard  the  kings  of  Asia 
and  Europe  have  had  to  us,  and  that  they 
have  been  abundantly  satisfied  of  our 
courage  and  fidelity ;  for  whereas  many 
will  not  believe  what  hath  been  written 
about  us  by  the  Persians  and  Macedo- 
nians, because  those  writings  are  not 
everywhere  to  be  met  with,  nor  do  lie  in 
public  places,  but  among  us  ourselves, 
and  certain  other  barbarous  nations,  while 
there  is  no  contradiction  to  be  made 
against  the  decrees  of  the  Romans,  for 
they  are  laid  up  in  the  public  places  of 
the  cities,  and  are  extant  still  in  the 
capitol,  and  engraven  upon  pillars  of 
brass;  nay,  besides  this,  Julius  Caesar 
made  a  pillar  of  brass  for  the  Jews  at 
Alexandria,  and  declared  publicly  that 
i  they  were  citizens  of  Alexandria.  Out 
of  these  evidences  will  I  demonstrate 
what  I  say;  and  will  now  set  down  the 
decrees  made  both  by  the  senate  and  by 
Julius  Caesar,  which  relate  to  Hyrcanus 
and  to  our  nation. 

"Caius  Julius  Caesar,  imperator  and 
high  priest,  and  dictator  the  second  time, 
to  the  magistrates,  senate,  and  people  of 
Sidon,  sendeth  greeting.  If  you  be  in 
health,  it  is  well.  I  also  and  the  army 
are  well.  I  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  that 
decree,  registered  on  the  tables,  which 
concerns  Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander, 
the  high  priest  and  ethnarch  of  the  Jews, 
that  it  may  be  laid  up  among  the  public 
records ;  and  I  will,  that  it  be  openly  pro- 
posed in  a  table  of  brass,  both  in  Greek 
and  in  Latin.  It  is  as  follows  : — I,  Julius 
Caesar,  imperator  the  second  time,  and 
high  priest,  have  made  this  decree,  with 
the  approbation  of  the  senate  : — Whereas 
Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander,  the  Jew, 
hath  demonstrated  his  fidelity  and  dili- 
gence about  our  affairs,  and  this  both 
now  and  in  former  times,  both  in  peace 
and  in  war,  as  many  of  our  generals  have 
borne  witness,  and  came  to  our  assistance 
in  the  last  Alexandrian  war,*  with  1,500 


_*  That  Hyrcanus  was  himself  in  Egypt,  along 
with  Antipater,  at  this  time,  to  whom  accordingly 
the  bold  and  prudent  actions  of  his  deputy  Anti- 
pater  are  here  ascribed    as  this  decree  of  Julius 


soldiers;  and  when  he  was  sent  by  me  to 
Mithridates,  showed  himself  superior  in 
valour  to  all  the  rest  of  that  army;  for 
these  reasons  I  will,  that  Hyrcanus,  the 
son  of  Alexander,  and  his  children,  be 
ethnarchs  of  the  Jews,  and  have  the  high- 
priesthood  of  the  Jews  for  ever,  according 
to  the  customs  of  their  forefathers,  and 
that  he  and  his  son  be  our  confederates ; 
and  that  besides  this,  every  one  of  them 
be  reckoned  among  our  particular  friends. 
I  also  ordain,  that  he  and  his  children 
retain  whatsoever  privileges  belong  to  the 
office  of  high  priest,  or  whatsoever  favours 
have  been  hitherto  granted  them ;  and  if 
at  any  time  hereafter  there  arise  any 
questions  about  the  Jewish  customs,  I 
will  that  he  determine  the  same ;  and  I 
think  it  not  proper  that  they  should  be 
obliged  to  find  us  winter  quarters,  or  that 
any  money  should  be  required  of  them." 

"  The  decrees  of  Caius  Caesar,  consul, 
containing  what  hath  been  granted  and 
determined,  are  as  follows : — That  Hyrca- 
nus and  his  children  bear  rule  over  the 
nation  of  the  Jews,  and  have  the  profits 
of  the  places  to  them  bequeathed ;  and 
that  he,  as  himself  the  high  priest  and 
ethnarch  of  the  Jews,  defend  those  that 
are  injured ;  and  that  ambassadors  be 
sent  to  Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander, 
the  high  priest  of  the  Jews,  that  may 
discourse  with  him  about  a  league  of 
friendship  and  mutual  assistance :  and 
that  a  table  of  brass,  containing  the  pre- 
mises, be  openly  proposed  in  the  capitol, 
and  at  Sidon,  and  Tyre,  and  Askelon, 
and  in  the  temple,  engraven  in  Roman 
and  Greek  letters :  that  this  decree  may 
also  be  communicated  to  the  quaestors 
and  praetors  of  the  several  cities,  and  to 
the  friends  of  the  Jews  :  and  that  the 
ambassadors  may  have  presents  made 
them,  and  that  these  decrees  be  sent 
everywhere." 

"  Caius  Caesar,  imperator,  dictator,  and 
consul,  hath  granted,  that  out  of  regard 
to  the  honour,  and  virtue,  and  kindness 
of  the  man,  and  for  the  advantage  of  the 
senate,  and  of  the  people  of  Rome,  Hyr- 
canus, the  son  of  Alexander,  both  he  and 
his  children,  be  high  priests  and  priests 
of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  Jewish  nation 
by  the  same  right,  and  according  to  the 
same  laws,  by  which  their  progenitors  have 
held  the  priesthood." 

Caesar  supposes,  we  are  further  assured  by  the  tes- 
timony of  Strato,  ilready  produced  by  Josephug. 
ch.  viii. 


430 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


"Caius  Csesar,  consul  the  fifth  time, 
hath  decreed,  that  the  Jews  shall  possess 
Jerusalem,  and  may  encompass  that  city 
with  walls ;  and  that  Hyrcanus,  the  son 
of  Alexander,  the  high  priest  and  ethnarch 
of  the  Jews,  retain  it,  in  the  manner  he 
himself  pleases;  and  the  Jews  be  allowed 
to  deduct  out  of  their  tribute,  every 
second  year  the  land  is  let  [in  the  Sab- 
batic period],  a  corus  of  that  tribute ;  and 
that  the  tribute  they  pay  be  not  let  to 
farm,  nor  that  they  pay  always  the  same 
tribute." 

"  Caius  Caesar,  imperator  the  second 
time,  hath  ordained,  that  all  the  country 
of  the  Jews,  excepting  Joppa,  do  pay  a 
tribute  yearly  for  the  city  Jerusalem, 
excepting  the  seventh,  which  they  call 
the  Sabbatic  year,  because  thereon  they 
neither  receive  the  fruits  of  their  trees, 
nor  do  they  sow  their  land ;  and  that 
they  pay  their  tribute  in  Sidon  on  the 
second  year  [of  that  Sabbatic  period],  the 
fourth  part  of  what  was  sown :  and, 
besides  this,  they  are  to  pay  the  same 
tithes  to  Hyrcanus  and  his  sons,  which 
they  paid  to  their  forefathers.  And  that 
no  one,  neither  president,  nor  lieutenant, 
nor  ambassadors,  raise  auxiliaries  within 
the  bounds  of  Judea,  nor  may  soldiers 
exact  money  of  them  for  winter  quarters, 
or  under  any  other  pretence,  but  that 
they  be  free  from  all  sorts  of  injuries : 
and  that  whatsoever  they  shall  hereafter 
have,  and  are  in  possession  of,  or  have 
bought,  they  shall  retain  them  all.  It  is 
also  our  pleasure  that  the  city  of  Joppa, 
which  the  Jews  had  originally,  when  they 
made  a  league  of  friendship  with  the 
Romans,  shall  belong  to  them,  as  it  for- 
merly did;  and  that  Hyrcanus,  the  son 
of  Alexander,  and  his  sons,  have  as 
tribute  of  that  city,  from  those  that  oc- 
cupy the  land,  for  the  country,  and  for 
what  they  export  every  year  to  Sidon, 
20,675  modii  every  year,  the  seventh 
year,  which  they  call  the  Sabbatic  year, 
excepted;  whereon  they  neither  plough, 
nor  receive  the  product  of  their  trees.  It 
is  also  the  pleasure  of  the  senate,  that  as 
to  the  villages  which  are  in  the  great 
plain,  which  Hyrcanus  and  his  forefathers 
formerly  possessed,  Hyrcanus  and  the 
Jews  have  them,  with  the  same  privileges 
with  which  they  formerly  had  them  also ; 
and  that  the  same  original  ordinances 
remain  still  in  force  which  concern  the 
Jews  with  regard  to  their  high  priests; 
and    that   they    enjoy  the  same   benefits 


which  they  have  had  formerly  by  the  con- 
cession of  the  people,  and  of  the  senate : 
and  let  them  enjoy  the  like  privileges  in 
Lydda.  It  is  the  pleasure  also  of  the 
senate,  that  Hyrcanus  the  ethnarch,  and 
the  Jews,  retain  those  places,  countries, 
and  villages,  which  belonged  to  the  kings 
of  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  the  confederate^ 
of  the  Romans,  and  which  they  had 
bestowed  on  them  as  their  free  gifts.  It 
is  also  granted  to  Hyrcanus,  and  to  hia 
sons,  and  to  the  ambassadors  by  them 
sent  to  us,  that  in  the  fights  between 
single  gladiators,  and  in  those  with  beasts, 
they  shall  sit  among  the  senators  to  see 
those  shows;  and  that  when  they  desire 
an  audience,  they  shall  be  introduced  into 
the  senate  by  the  dictator,  or  by  the 
general  of  the  horse;  and  when  they 
have  introduced  them,  their  answers  shall 
be  returned  them  in  ten  days  at  the 
furthest,  after  the  decree  of  the  senate  is 
made  about  their  affairs/' 

"  Caius  Caesar,  imperator,  dictator  the 
fourth  time,  and  consul  the  fifth  time,  de- 
clared to  be  perpetual  dictator,  made  this 
speech  concerning  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  Hyrcanus,  the  son  of  Alexander, 
the  high  priest  and  ethnarch  of  the  Jews. 
Since  those  imperators*  that  have  been  in 
the  provinces  before  me  have  borne  witness 
to  Hyrcanus,  the  high  priest  of  the  Jews, 
and  to  the  Jews  themselves,  and  this 
before  the  senate  and  people  of  Rome, 
when  the  people  and  senate  returned 
their  thanks  to  them,  it  is  good  that  we 
now  also  remember  the  same,  and  provide 
that  a  requital  be  made  to  Hyrcanus,  to 
the  nation  of  the  Jews,  and  to  the  sons 
of  Hyrcanus,  by  the  senate  and  people  of 
Rome,  and  that  suitably  to  what  good- 
will they  have  shown  us,  and  to  the 
benefits  they  have  bestowed  upon  us." 

"  Julius  Caius,  praetor  [consul]  of 
Rome,  to  the  magistrates,  senate,  and 
people  of  the  Parians,  sendeth  greeting. 
The  Jews  of  Delos,  and  some  other  Jews 
that  sojourn  there,  in  the  presence  of 
your  ambassadors,  signified  to  us,  that,  by 
a  decree  of  yours,  you  forbid  them  to 
make  use  of  the  customs  of  their  fore- 
fathers, and  their  way  of  sacred  worship. 

*Dr.  Hudson  justly  supposes,  that  the  Roman 
imperators,  or  generals  of  armies,  meaDt  here,  who 
gave  testimony  to  Hyrcanus's  and  the  Jews'  faith- 
fulness and  good-will  to  the  Romans  before  the 
senate  and  people  of  Rome,  were  principally 
Pompey,  Scaurus,  and  Gabinius  :  of  all  of  whom 
Josephus  had  already  given  us  the  history  so  lai 
as  the  Jews  were  concerned  with  them. 


CB.AP.  X.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS 


431 


Now  it  does  not  please  me  that  such  de- 
crees should  be  made  against  our  friends 
and  confederates,  whereby  they  are  for- 
bidden to  live  according  to  their  own 
customs,  or  to  bring  in  contributions  for 
common  suppers  and  holy  festivals,  while 
they  are  not  forbidden  so  to  do  even  at 
Rome  itself;  for  even  Caius  Caesar,  our 
imperator  and  consul,  in  that  decree 
wherein  he  forbade  the  Bacchanal  rioters 
to  meet  in  the  city,  did  yet  permit  these 
Jews,  and  these  only,  both  to  bring  in 
their  contributions,  and  to  make  their 
common  suppers.  Accordingly,  when  I 
forbid  other  Bacchanal  rioters,  I  permit 
these  Jews  to  gather  themselves  together, 
according  to  the  customs  and  laws  of 
their  forefathers,  and  to  persist  therein. 
It  will  be  therefore  good  for  you,  that  if 
you  have  made  any  decree  against  these 
our  friends  and  confederates,  to  abrogate 
the  same,  by  reason  of  their  virtue,  and 
kind  disposition  toward  us." 

Now  after  Caius  was  slain,  when 
Marcus  Antonius  and  Publius  Dolabella 
were  consuls,  they  both  assembled  the 
senate,  and  introduced  Hyrcanus's  ambas- 
sadors into  it,  and  discoursed  of  what  they 
desired,  and  made  a  league  of  friendship 
with  them,  The  senate  also  decreed,  to 
grant  them  all  they  desired.  I  add  the 
decree  itself,  that  those  who  read  the 
present  work  may  have  ready  by  them  a 
demonstration  of  the  truth  of  what  we 
say.     The  decree  was  this : — 

"  The  decree  of  the  senate,  copied  out 
of  the  treasury,  from  the  public  tables 
belonging  to  the  quaestors,  when  Quintus 
Rutilius  and  Caius  Cornelius  were  quaes- 
tors, and  taken  out  of  the  second  table  of 
the  first  class,  on  the  third  day  before  the 
ides  of  April,  in  the  temple  of  Concord. 
There  were  present  at  the  writing  of  this 
decree,  Lucius  Calpurnius  Piso,  of  the 
Menenian  tribe,  Servius  Papinius  Potitus, 
of  the  Lemonian  tribe,  Caius  Caninius 
Rebilius,  of  the  Terentine  tribe,  Publius 
Tidetius,  Lucius  Apulinus,  the  son  of 
Lucius,  of  the  Sergian  tribe,  Flavius,  the 
son  of  Lucius,  of  the  Lemonian  tribe, 
Publius  Platius,  the  son  of  Publius,  of 
the  Papyrian  tribe,  Marcus  Acilius,  the 
Bon  of  Marcus,  of  the  Mecian  tribe,  Lucius 
Erucius,  the  son  of  Lucius,  of  the  Stella- 
tine  tribe,  Marcus  Quintus  Plancillus,  the 
son  of  Marcus,  of  the  Pollian  tribe,  and 
Publius  Serius.  Publius  Dolabella  and 
Marcus  Antonius,  the  consuls,  made  this 
reference  to  the  senate,  that  as  to  those 


things  which,  by  the  decree  of  the  senatd, 
Caius  Caesar  had  adjudged  about  the 
Jews,  and  yet  had  not  hitherto  that  de- 
cree been  brought  into  the  treasury,  it  is 
our  will,  as  it  is  also  the  desire  of  Publiua 
Dolabella  and  Marcus  Antonius,  our  con- 
suls, to  have  these  decrees  put  into  the 
public  tables,  and  brought  to  the  city 
quaestors;  that  they  may  take  care  to  have 
them  put  upon  the  double  tables.  This 
was  done  before  the  fifth  of  the  ides  of 
February,  in  the  temple  of  Conccrd. 
Now  the  ambassadors  from  Hyrcanus  the 
high  priest  were  these  :  Lysimachus,  the 
son  of  Pausanias,  Alexander,  the  son  of 
Theodorus,  Patroclus,  the  son  of  Chereas, 
and  Jonathan,  the  son  of  Onias." 

Hyrcanus  sent  also  one  of  these  ambas- 
sadors to  Dolabella,  who  was  then  the 
prefect  of  Asia,  and  desired  him  to  dis- 
miss the  Jews  from  military  services,  and 
to  preserve  to  them  the  customs  of  their 
forefathers,  and  to  permit  them  to  live 
according  to  them.  And  when  Dolabella 
had  received  Hyrcanus's  letter,  without 
any  further  deliberation,  he  sent  an 
epistle  to  all  the  Asiatics,  and  particularly 
to  the  city  of  the  Ephesians,  the  metropo- 
lis of  Asia,  about  the  Jews;  a  copy  of 
which  epistle  here  follows  : — 

"  When  Artemon  was  prytanis,  on  tne 
first  day  of  the  month  Leneon,  Dolabella, 
imperator,  to  the  senate  and  magistrates, 
and  people  of  the  Ephesians,  sendeth 
greeting.  Alexander,  the  son  of  Theo- 
dorus, the  ambassador  of  Hyrcanus,  the 
son  of  Alexander,  the  high  priest  and 
ethnarch  of  the  Jews,  appeared  before 
me,  to  show  that  his  countrymen  could 
not  go  into  their  armies,  because  they 
are  not  allowed  to  bear  arms,  or  to  travel 
on  the  Sabbath-days,  nor  there  to  procure 
themselves  those  sorts  of  food  which  they 
have  been  used  to  eat  from  the  times  of 
their  forefathers,  I  do  therefore  grant 
them  a  freedom  from  going  into  the 
army,  as  the  former  prefects  have  done, 
and  permit  them  to  use  the  customs  of 
their  forefathers,  in  assembling  together 
for  sacred  and  religious  purposes,  as  their 
law  requires,  and  for  collecting  oblations 
necessary  for  sacrifices;  and  my  will  is, 
that  you  write  this  to  the  several  cities 
under  your  jurisdiction." 

And  these  were  the  concessions  that 
Dolabella  made  to  our  nation,  when  Hyr- 
canus sent  an  embassy  to  him;  but  the 
consul  Lucius's  decree  ran  thus  : — "  I 
have  at  my  tribunal  set  these  Jews,  who 


432 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


are  citizens  of  Rome,  and  follow  the 
Jewish  religious  rites,  and  yet  live  at 
Ephesus,  free  from  going  into  the  army, 
on  account  of  the  superstition  they  are 
under.  This  was  done  before  the  12th 
of  the  calends  of  October,  when  Lucius 
Lentulus  and  Caius  Marcellus  were  con- 
suls, in  the  presence  of  Titus  Appius 
Balgus,  the  son  of  Titus,  and  lieutenant 
of  the  Horatian  tribe;  of  Titus  Tongius, 
the  son  of  Titus,  of  the  Crustumine  tribe; 
of  Quintus  Resius,  the  son  of  Quintus; 
of  Titus  Pompeius  Longinus,  the  son  of 
Titus;  of  Caius  Servilius,  the  son  of 
Caius,  of  the  Terentine  tribe;  of  Brac- 
chus,  the  military  tribune;  of  Publius 
Lucius  Gallus,  the  son  of  Publius,  of  the 
Veturian  tribe;  of  Caius  Sentius,  the 
son  of  Caius,  of  the  Sabbatine  tribe ;  of 
Titus  Atilius  Balbus,  the  son  of  Titus, 
lieutenant  and  vice-praetor  to  the  magis- 
trates, senate,  and  people  of  the  Ephe- 
sians,  sendeth  greeting.  Lucius  Lentulus 
the  consul  freed  the  Jews  that  are  in 
Asia  from  going  into  the  armies,  at  my 
intercession  for  them;  and  when  I  had 
made  the  same  petition  some  time  after- 
ward to  Phanius,  the  imperator,  and  to 
Lucius  Antonius,  the  vice-quaestor,  I  ob- 
tained the  privilege  of  them  also;  and  my 
will  is,  that  you  take  care  that  no  one 
give  them  any  disturbance. " 

The  decree  of  the  Delians  : — "  The 
answer  of  the  praetors,  when  Beotu^  was 
arch  on,  on  the  20th  day  of  the  month 
Thargeleon.  While  Marcus  Piso,  the  lieu- 
tenant, lived  in  our  city,  who  was  also  ap- 
pointed over  the  choice'  of  the  soldiers,  he 
called  us,  and  many  others  of  the  citizens, 
and  gave  order,  that  if  there  be  here  any 
Jews  who  are  Roinan  citizens,  no  one  is 
to  give  them  any  disturbance  about  going 
into  the  army,  because  Cornelius  Lentulus, 
the  consul,  freed  the  Jews  from  going  into 
the  army,  on  account  of  the  superstition 
they  are  under,  you  are  therefore  obliged 
to  submit  to  the  praetor :"  and  the  like 
decree  was  made  by  the  Sardinians  about 
us  also. 

"Caius  Phanius,  the  son  of  Caius,  im- 
perator and  consul,  to  the  magistrates  of 
Cos,  sendeth  greeting.  I  would  have  you 
know  that  the  ambassadors  of  the  Jews 
nave  been  with  me,  and  desired  they 
might  have  those  decrees  which  the 
senate  had  made  about  them  :  which  de- 
crees are  here  subjoined.  My  will  is, 
that  you  have  a  regard  to  and  take  care 
of  these  men,  according  to  the  senate's 


decree,  that  they  may  be  safely  conveyed 
home  through  your  country. " 

The  declaration  of  Lucius  Lentulus,  the 
consul : — "  I  have  dismissed  those  Jews 
who  are  Roman  citizens,  and  who  appear 
to  me  to  have  their  religious  rites,  and  to 
observe  the  laws  of  the  Jews  at  Ephesus, 
on  account  of  the  superstition  they  are 
under.  This  act  was  done  before  the 
13th  of  the  calends  of  October.'" 

"Lucius  Antonius,  the  son  of  Marcus, 
vice-quaestor,  and  vice-praetor,  to  the  ma- 
gistrates, senate,  and  people  of  the  Sar- 
dians,  sendeth  greeting.  Those  Jews  that 
are  our  fellow-citizens  of  Rome,  came  to 
me,  and  demonstrated  that  they  had  an 
assembly  of  their  own,  according  to  the 
laws  of  their  forefathers,  and  this  from 
the  beginning,  as  also  a  place  of  their 
own,  wherein  they  determined  their  suits 
and  controversies  with  one  another.  Upon 
their  petition  therefore  to  me,  that  these 
might  be  lawful  for  them,  I  give  order, 
that  these  their  privileges  be  preserved, 
and  they  be  permitted  to  do  accordingly." 

The  declaration  of  Marcus  Publius,  the 
son  of  Spurius,  and  of  Marcus,  the  son  of 
Marcus,  and  of  Lucius,  the  son  of  Pub- 
lius:— "We  went  to  the  proconsul,  and 
informed  him  of  what  Dositheu-s,  the  son 
of  Cleopatrida  of  Alexandria,  desired, 
that,  if  he  thought  good,  he  would  dis- 
miss those  Jews  who  were  Roman  citi- 
zens, and  were  wont  to  observe  the  rights 
of  the  Jewish  religion,  on  account  of  the 
superstition  they  were  under.  Accord- 
ingly, he  did  dismiss  them.  This  was 
done  before  the  13th  of  the  calends  of 
October." 

"  In  the  month  Quintilis,  when  Lucius 
Lentulus  and  Caius  Marcellus  were  con- 
suls ;  and  there  were  present  Titus  Appius 
Balbus,  the  son  of  Titus,  lieutenant  of  the 
Horatian  tribe,  Titus  Tongius,  of  the 
Crustumine  tribe,  Quintus  Resius,  the  son 
of  Quintus,  Titus  Pompeius,  the  son  of 
Titus,  Cornelius  Longinus,  Caius  Ser- 
vilius Bracchus,  the  son  of  Caius,  a  mili- 
tary tribune,  of  the  Terentine  tribe,  Pub- 
lius Clu.sius  Gallus,  the  son  of  Publius,  of 
the  Veturian  tribe,  Caius  Tentius,  the 
son  of  Caius,  a  military  tribune,  of  the 
Emilian  tribe,  Sextus  Atilius  Serranus, 
the  son  of  Sextus,  of  the  Esquiline  tribe, 
Caius  Pompeius,  the  son  of  Caius,  of  the 
Sabbatine  tribe,  Titus  Appius  Menander, 
the  son  of  Titus,  Publius  Servilius  Strabo, 
the  son  of  Publius,  Lucius  Paccius  Capito, 
the  son  of  Lucius,  of  the  Colline  tribe, 


J  HAP.   X.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


433 


Aulus  Furiua  Tertius,  the  son  of  Aulus, 
and  Appius  Menas.  In  the  presence  of 
these  it  was  that  Lentulu3  pronounced 
this  decree  : — I  have  before  the  tribunal 
dismissed  those  Jews  that  are  Roman 
citizens,  and  are  accustomed  to  observe  the 
sacred  rights  of  the  Jews  at  Ephesus,  on 
account  of  the  superstitions  they  are  under." 

"  The  magistrates  of  the  Laodiceans  to 
Caius  Rubilius,  the  son  of  Caius,  the 
consul,  sendeth  greeting.  Sopater,  the 
ambassador  of  Hyrcanus  the  high  priest, 
hath  delivered  us  an  epistle  from  thee, 
whereby  he  lets  us  know  that  certain 
ambassadors  have  come  from  Hyrcanus, 
the  high  priest  of  the  Jews,  and  brought 
an  epistle  written  concerning  their  nation, 
wherein  they  desire  that  the  Jews  may 
be  allowed  to  observe  their  Sabbaths  and 
other  sacred  rites,  according  to  the  laws 
of  their  forefathers,  and  that  they  may  be 
under  no  command,  because  they  are  our 
friends  and  confederates;  and  that  nobody 
may  injure  them  in  our  provinces.  Now, 
although  the  Trallians  there  present  con- 
tradicted them,  and  were  not  pleased  with 
these  decrees,  yet  didst  thou  give  order 
that  they  should  be  observed,  and  in- 
formed us  that  thou  hadst  been  desired 
to  write  this  to  us  about  them.  We, 
therefore,  in  obedience  to  the  injunctions 
we  have  received  from  thee,  have  re- 
ceived the  epistle  which  thou  didst  send 
us,  and  have  laid  it  up  by  itself  among 
our  public  records :  and  as  to  the  other 
things  about  which  thou  didst  send  to  us, 
we  will  take  care  that  no  complaint  be 
made  against  us." 

"  Publius  Servilius,  the  son  of  Publius, 
of  the  Galban  tribe,  the  proconsul,  to  the 
magistrates,  senate,  and  people  of  the 
Milesians,  sendeth  greeting.  Prytanes, 
the  son  of  Hermes,  a  citizen  of  yours, 
came  to  me,  when  I  was  at  Tralles,  and 
held  a  court  there,  and  informed  me  that 
you  used  the  Jews  in  a  way  different  from 
my  opinion,  and  forbade  them  to  celebrate 
their  Sabbaths,  and  to  perform  the  sacred 
rites  received  from  their  forefathers,  and 
to  manage  the  fruits  of  the  earth  according 
to  their  ancient  custom ;  and  that  he  had 
himself  been  the  promulgator  of  your  de- 
cree, according  as  your  laws  require  ;  I 
would  therefore  have  you  know,  that  upon 
hearing  the  pleadings  on  both  sides,  I 
gave  sentence  that  the  Jews  should  not 
be  prohibited  to  make  use  of  their  own 
customs." 

The   decree   o<*  those   of  Pergamus  : — 
28 


"  When  Cratippus  was  prytanis,  on  the 
first  day  of  the  month  Desius,  the  decree 
of  the  praetors  was  this  : — 'Since  the 
Romans,  following  the  conduct  of  their 
ancestors,  undertake  dangers  for  the 
common  safety  of  all  mankind,  and  are 
ambitious  to  settle  their  confederates  and 
friends  in  happiness,  and  in  firm  peace, 
and  since  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  and 
their  high  priest  Hyrcanus,  sent  as  am- 
bassadors to  them,  Strato,  the  son  of 
Theodatus,  and  Apollonius,  the  son  of 
Alexander,  and  Eneas,  the  son  of  Anti- 
pater,  and  Aristobulus,  the  son  of  Amyn- 
tas,  and  Sosipater,  the  son  of  Philip, 
worthy  and  good  men,  who  gave  a  par- 
ticular account  of  their  affairs,  the  senate 
thereupon  made  a  decree  about  what  they 
had  desired  of  them,  that  Antiochus  the 
king,  the  son  of  Antiochus,  should  do  no 
injury  to  the  Jews,  the  confederates  of  the 
Romans ;  and  that  the  fortresses  and  the 
havens,  and  the  country,  and  whatsoever 
else  he  had  taken  from  them,  should  be  re- 
stored to  them ;  and  that  it  may  be  lawful 
for  them  to  export  their  goods  out  of  their 
own  havens  ;  and  that  no  king  nor  people 
may  have  leave  to  export  any  goods,  either 
out  of  the  country  of  Judea,  or  out  of  their 
havens,  without  paying  customs,  but  only 
Ptolemy,  the  king  of  Alexandria,  because 
he  is  our  confederate  and  friend  :  and  that, 
according  to  their  desire,  the  garrison  that 
is  in  Joppa  may  be  ejected.  Now  Lucius 
Pettius,  one  of  our  senators,  a  worthy  and 
good  man,  gave  order  that  we  should  take 
care  that  these  things  should  be  done  ac- 
cording to  the  senate's  decree ;  and  that 
We  should  take  care  also  that  their  ambas- 
sadors might  return  home  in  safety.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  admitted  Theodorus  into  our 
senate  and  assembly,  and  took  the  epistle 
out  of  his  hands,  as  well  as  the  decree  of 
the  senate  :  and  as  he  discoursed  with 
great  zeal  about  the  Jews,  and  described 
Hyrcanus's  virtue  and  generosity,  and  how 
he  was  a  benefactor  to  all  men  in  common, 
and  particularly  to  everybody  that  came 
to  him,  we  laid  up  the  epistle  in  our  pub- 
lic records ;  and  made  a  decree  ourselves, 
that  since  we  also  are  in  confederacy  with 
the  Romans,  we  would  do  every  thing  we 
could  for  the  Jews,  according  to  the  senate's 
decree.  Theodorus,  also,  who  brought 
the  epistle,  desired  of  our  praetors,  that 
they  would  send  Hyrcanus  a  copy  of  that 
decree,  as  also  ambassadors  to  signify  to 
him  the  affection  of  the  people  to  him. 
and  to  exhort  them  to  preserve  and  aug- 


134 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


ment  their  friendship  for  us,  and  be  ready 
to  bestow  other  benefits  upon  us,  as  justly 
expecting  to  receive  proper  requitals  from 
us;  and  desiring  them  to  remember  that 
our  ancestors  were  friendly  to  the  Jews, 
even  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  who  was  the 
father  of  all  the  Hebrews,  as  we  have  [also] 
found  it  set  down  in  our  public  records/'* 
The  decree  of  those  of  Halicarnassus  : — 
"  When  Memnon,  the  son  of  Orestidas  by 
descent,  but  by  adoption  of  Euonymus, 
was  priest,  on  the  ***  day  of  the  month 
of  Aristerion,  the  decree  of  the  people, 
upon  the  representation  of  Marcus  Alex- 
ander, was  this  : — Since  we  have  ever  a 
great  regard  to  piety  toward  God,  and  to 
holiness  ;  and  since  we  aim  to  follow  the 
people  of  the  Romans,  who  are  the  bene- 
factors of  all  men,  and  what  they  have 
written  to  us  about  a  league  of  friendship 
and  mutual  assistance  between  the  Jews 
and  our  city,  and  that  their  sacred  offices 
and  accustomed  festivals  and  assemblies 
may  be  observed  by  them ;  we  have  de- 
creed, that  as  many  men  and  women  of 
the  Jews  as  are  willing  so  to  do,  may  cele- 
brate their  Sabbaths,  and  perform  their 
holy  offices,  according  to  the  Jewish  laws ; 
and  may  make  their  proseuchae  at  the  sea- 
side, according  to  the  customs  of  their 
forefathers;  and  if  any  one,  whether  he 
be  a  magistrate  or  a  private  person,  hinder- 
eth  them  from  so  doing,  he  shall  be  liable  to 
a  fine,  to  be  applied  to  the  uses  of  the  city." 
The  decree  of  the  Sardians: — "This  decree 
was  made  by  the  senate  and  people,  upon  the 
representation  of  the  praetors  : — Whereas, 
those  Jews  who  are  our  fellow-citizens, 
and  live  with  us  in  the  city,  have  ever  had 
great  benefits  heaped  upon  them  by  the 
people,  and  have  come  now  into  the  se- 
nace;  and  desired  of  the  people,  that  upon 
the  restitution  of  their  law  and  their  liber- 
ty, by  the  senate  and  people  of  Rome, 
they  may  assemble  together,  according  to 
their  ancient  legal  custom,  and  that  we 
will  not  bring  any  suit  against  them  about 
it ;  and  that  a  place  may  be  given  them 
where  they  may  have  their  congregations, 
and  their  wives  and  children,  and  may  offer, 
as  did  their  forefathers,  their  prayers  and  sa- 
crifices to  God.  Now  the  senate  and  people 
have  decreed  to  permit  them  to  assemble 
together,  on  the  days  formerly  appointed, 

*  We  have  here  a  most  remarkable  and  authen- 
tic attestation  of  the  citizens  of  Pergamus,  that 
Abraham  was  the  father  of  all  the  Hebrews ;  that 
their  ancestors  were,  in  the  oldest  times,  the  friends 
of  those  Hebrews ;  and  that  the  public  acts  of  their 
dtv,  then  extint,  confirmed  the  same. 


and  to  act  according  to  their  own  laws; 
and  that  such  a  place  be  set  apart  for  them 
by  the  praetors,  for  the  building  and  inha- 
biting the  same,  as  they  shall  esteem  fit  for 
that  purpose  :  and  that  those  that  take  care 
of  the  provisions  for  the  city,  shall  take  care 
that  such  sorts  of  food  as  they  esteem  fit  for 
their  eating,  maybe  imported  into  the  city." 

The  decree  of  the  Ephesians  : — "  When 
Menophilus  was  prytanis,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  month  Artemisius,  this  decree  was 
made  by  the  people  : — Nicanor,  the  son  of 
Euphemus,  pronounced  it,  upon  the  re- 
presentation of  the  praetors.  Since  the 
Jews  that  dwell  in  this  city  have  petitioned 
Marcus  Julius  Pompeius,  the  son  of  Bru- 
tus, the  proconsul,  that  they  might  be  al- 
lowed to  observe  their  Sabbaths,  and  to 
act  in  all  things  according  to  the  customs 
of  their  forefathers,  without  impediment 
from  anybody,  the  praetor  hath  granted 
their  petition.  Accordingly,  it  was  decreed 
by  the  senate  and  people,  that  in  this  affair 
that  concerned  the  Romans,  no  one  of 
them  should  be  hindered  from  keeping 
the  Sabbath-day,  nor  be  fined  for  so  doing; 
but  that  they  may  be  allowed  to  do  all 
things  according  to  their  own  laws." 

Now,  there  are  many  such  docrees  of 
the  senate  and  imperators  of  the  Romans, 
and  those  different  from  these  before  us, 
which  have  been  made  in  favour  of  Hyr- 
canus,  and  of  our  nation  ;  as,  also,  there 
have  been  more  decrees  of  the  cities,  and 
rescripts  of  the  praetors  to  such  epistles  as 
concerned  our  rights  and  privileges :  and 
certainly,  such  as  are  not  ill-disposed  to 
what  we  write,  may  believe  that  they  are 
all  to  this  purpose,  and  that  by  the  speci- 
mens we  have  inserted  :  for  since  we  have 
produced  evident  marks  that  may  still  be 
seen,  of  the  friendship  we  have  had  with 
the  Romans,  and  demonstrated  that  those 
marks  are  engraven  upon  columns  and 
tables  of  brass  in  the  capitol,  that  are 
still  in  being,  and  preserved  to  this  day, 
we  have  omitted  to  set  them  all  down,  as 
needless  and  disagreeable;  for  I  cannot 
suppose  any  one  so  perverse  as  not  to  be- 
lieve the  friendship  we  have  had  with  the 
Romans,  while  they  have  demonstrated  the 
same  by  such  a  great  number  of  their  de- 
crees relating  to  us;  nor  will  they  doubt 
of  our  fidelity  as  to  the  rest  of  these  de- 
crees, since  we  have  shown  the  same  in 
those  we  have  produced.  And  thus  have 
we  sufficiently  explained  that  friendship 
and  confederacy  we  at  those  times  had 
with  the  Romans. 


Chap.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS 


485 


CHAPTER  XL 


M/ircus*  succeeds  Sextus — On  the  death  of  Caesar, 
Cassius  distresses  Judea — Malichus  kills  Anti- 
pater,  and  is  himself  slain  by  Herod. 

Now,  it  so  fell  out,  that  about  this  very 
time  the  affairs  of  Syria  were  in  great  dis- 
order, and  this  on  the  occasion  following  : 
Cecilius  Bassus,  one  of  Pompey's  party, 
laid  a  treacherous  design  against  Sextus 
Caesar,  and  slew  him,  and  then  took  his 
army,  and  got  the  management  of  public 
affairs  into  his  own  hand ;  so  there  arose 
a  great  war  about  Apamia,  while  Caesar's 
generals  came  against  him  with  an  army 
of  horsemen  and  footmen  ;  to  these  An- 
tipater  sent  also  succours,  and  his  sons 
with  them,  as  calling  to  mind  the  kind- 
nesses they  had  received  from  Caesar,  and 
on  that  account  he  thought  it  but  just  to 
require  punishment  for  him,  and  to  take 
vengeance  on  the  man  that  had  murdered 
him.  And  as  the  war  was  drawn  out  into 
a  great  length,  Marcus  came  from  Rome 
to  take  Sextus's  government  upon  him  : 
but  Caesar  was  slain  by  Cassius  and  Brutus 
in  the  senate-house,  after  he  had  retained 
the  government  three  years  and  six  months. 
This  fact,  however,  is  related  elsewhere. 

As  the  war  that  arose  upon  the  death 
of  Caesar  was  now  begun,  and  the  princi- 
pal men  had  all  gone,  some  one  way,  and 
some  another,  to  raise  armies,  Cassius  came 
from  Rome  into  Syria,  in  order  to  receive 
the  [army  that  lay  in  the]  camp  at  Apa- 
mia ;  and  having  raised  the  siege,  he 
brought  over  both  Bassus  and  Marcus  to 
his  party.  He  then  went  over  the  cities, 
and  got  together  weapons  and  soldiers,  and 
laid  great  taxes  upon  those  cities;  and  he 
chiefly  oppressed  Judea,  and  exacted  of 
it  700  talents;  but  Antipater,  when  he 
saw  the  state  to  be  in  so  great  consterna- 
tion and  disorder,  he  divided  the  collection 
of  that  sum,  and  appointed  his  sons  to 
gather  it;  and  so  that  part  of  it  was  to  be 
exacted  by  Malichus,  who  was  ill-disposed 
to  him,  and  part  by  others.  And  because 
Herod  did  exact  what  was  required  of  him 
from  Galilee,  before  others,  he  was  in  the 
greatest  favour  with  Cassius;  for  he  thought 
it  a  part  of  prudence  to  cultivate  a  friend- 
ship with  the  Romans,  and  to  gain  their 
good-will  at  the  expense  of  others  ;  where- 
as the  curators  of  the  other  cities,  with 
their  citizens,  were  sold  for  slaves ;  and 
Cassius  reduced  four  cities  into  a  state  of 

*  For  Marcus,  this  president  of  Syria,  sent  as 
successor  to  Sextus  Caasar,  the  Roman  historians 
require  us  to  read,  '  Marcus'  in  Josephus. 


slavery,  tr.e  two  most  potent  of  which  were 
G-ophna  and  Emmaus ;  and,  besides  these, 
Lydia  and  Thamna.  Nay,  Cassius  was  so 
very  angry  at  Malichus,  that  he  had  kill- 
ed him,  (for  he  assaulted  him,)  had  not 
Hyrcanus,  by  the  means  of  Antipater 
sent  him  100  talents  of  his  own,  and  there- 
by pacified  his  anger  against  him. 

But  after  Cassius  had  gone  out  of  Judea, 
Malichus  laid  snares  for  Antipater,  as 
thinking  that  his  death  would  be  the  pre- 
servation of  Hyrcanus's  government ;  but 
his  design  was  not  unknown  to  Antipater, 
which,  when  he  perceived,  he  retired  be- 
yond Jordan,  and  got  together  an  army, 
partly  of  Arabs,  and  partly  of  his  own 
countrymen.  However,  Malichus  being 
one  of  great  cunning,  denied  that  he  had 
laid  any  snares  for  him,  and  made  his  de- 
fence with  an  oath,  both  to  himself  and 
his  sons  ;  and  said,  that  while  Phasaelus 
had  a  garrison  in  Jerusalem,  and  Herod 
had  the  weapons  of  war  in  his  custody,  he 
could  never  have  thought  of  any  such  thing. 
So  Antipater,  perceiving  the  distress  that 
Malichus  was  in,  was  reconciled  to  him, 
and  made  an  agreement  with  him  :  this 
was  when  Marcus  was  president  of  Syria  x 
who  yet  perceiving  that  this  Malichus  was 
making  a  disturbance  in  Judea,  proceeded 
so  far  that  he  had  almost  killed  him  ;  but 
still,  at  the  intercession  of  Antipater,  he 
saved  him. 

However,  Antipater  little  thought  that 
by  saving  Malichus,  he  had  saved  his  own 
murderer :  for  now  Cassius  and  Marcus 
had  got  together  an  army,  and  intrusted 
the  entire  care  of  it  with  Herod,  and  made 
him  general  of  the  forces  of  Celesyria,  and 
gave  him  a  fleet  of  ships,  and  an  army  of 
horsemen  and  footmen  ;  and  promised  him, 
that  after  the  war  was  over,  they  would 
make  him  king  of  Judea;  for  a  war  had 
already  begun  between  Antony  and  the 
younger  Caesar;  but  as  Malichus  was  most 
afraid  of  Antipater,  he  took  him  out  of 
the  way ;  and  by  the  offer  of  money,  pel 
suaded  the  butler  to  Hyrcanus,  with  whom 
they  were  both  to  feast,  to  kill  him  by  poison. 
This  being  done,  and  he  having  armed 
men  with  him,  settled  the  affairs  of  the 
city.  But  when  Antipater's  sons,  Herod 
and  Phasaelus,  were  acquainted  with  this 
conspiracy  against  their  father,  and  had 
indignation  at  it,  Malichus  denied  ail,  and 
utterly  renounced  any  knowledge  of  che 
murder.  And  thus  died  Antipater,  a  man 
that  had  distinguished  himself  for  piety 
and  justice,  and  love  to  his  country.   And 


436 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


whereas  one  of  his  sons,  Herod,  resolved 
immediately  to  revenge  their  father's  death, 
and  was  coming  upon  Malichus  with  an 
army  for  that  purpose,  the  elder  of  his 
sons,  Phasaelus,  thought  it  best  rather  to 
get  this  man  into  their  hands  by  policy, 
lest  they  should  appear  to  begin  a  civil 
war  in  the  country ;  so  he  accepted  of 
Malichus' s  defence  for  himself,  and  pre- 
tended to  believe  him,  that  he  had  had  no 
hand  in  the  violent  death  of  Antipater,  his 
father,  but  erected  a  fine  monument  for 
him.  Herod  also  went  to  Samaria :  and 
when  he  found  them  in  great  distress,  he 
revived  their  spirits,  and  settled  their  dif- 
ferences. 

However,  a  little  after  this,  Herod,  upon 
the  approach  of  the  festival,  came  with  his 
soldiers  into  the  city;  whereupon  Mali- 
chus was  affrighted,  and  persuaded  Hyr- 
canus  not  to  permit  him  to  come  into  the 
city.  Hyrcanus  complied;  and,  for  a  pre- 
tence of  excluding  him,  alleged,  that  a 
rout  of  strangers  ought  not  to  be  admitted 
while  the  multitude  were  purifying  them- 
selves. But  Herod  had  little  regard  to 
the  messengers  that  were  sent  to  him,  and 
entered  the  city  in  the  night  time,  and 
affrighted  Malichus,  yet  did  he  remit  no- 
thing of  his  former  dissimulation,  but  wept 
for  Antipater,  and  bewailed  him  as  a 
friend  of  his,  with  a  loud  voice;  but 
Herod  and  his  friends  thought  it  proper 
not  openly  to  contradict  Malichus's  hypo- 
crisy, but  to  give  him  tokens  of  mutual 
friendship,  in  order  to  prevent  his  suspi- 
cions of  them. 

However,  Herod  sent  to  Cassius,  and 
informed  him  of  the  murder  of  his  father; 
who,  knowing  what  sort  of  man  Malichus 
was  as  to  his  morals,  sent  him  back  word, 
that  he  should  revenge  his  father's  death  ; 
and  also  sent  privately  to  the  command- 
ers of  his  army  at  Tyre,  with  orders  to 
assist  Herod  in  the  execution  of  a  very 
just  design  of  his.  Now  when  Cassius 
had  taken  Laodicea,  they  went  together 
to  him,  and  carried  him  garlands  and 
money  :  and  Herod  thought  that  Malichus 
might  be  punished  while  he  was  there ; 
but  he  was  somewhat  apprehensive  of  the 
thing,  and  designed  to  make  some  great 
attempt,  and  because  his  son  was  then  an 
hostage  at  Tyre,  ne  went  to  that  city,  and 
resolved  to  steal  him  away  privately,  and 
to  march  thence  into  Judea ;  and  as  Cas- 
sius was  in  haste  to  march  against  Antony, 
he  thought  to  bring  the  country  to  a  re- 
voltj  and  to  procure  the  government  for 


himself.  But  Providence  opposed  his 
counsels;  and  Herod  being  a  shrewd  man. 
and  perceiving  what  his  intention  was,  he 
sent  thither  beforehand  a  servant,  in  ap- 
pearance indeed  to  get  a  supper  ready,  for 
he  had  said  before,  that  he  would  feast 
them  all  there,  but  in  reality  to  the  com- 
manders of  the  army,  whom  he  persuaded 
to  go  out  against  Malichus,  with  their 
daggers.  So  they  went  out  and  met  the 
man  near  the  city,  upon  the  seashore, 
and  there  stabbed  him.  Whereupon  Hyr 
canus  was  so  astonished  at  what  had  hap- 
pened,  that  his  speech  failed  him ;  and 
when,  after  some  difficulty,  he  had  reco- 
vered himself,  he  asked  Herod  what  the 
matter  could  be,  and  who  it  was  that  slew 
Malichus :  and  when  he  had  said  that  it 
was  done  by  the  command  of  Cassius,  he 
commended  the  action;  for  that  Malichus 
was  a  very  wicked  man,  and  one  that  con 
spired  against  his  own  country.  And  this 
was  the  punishment  that  was  inflicted  on 
Malichus  for  what  he  wickedly  did  to 
Antipater. 

But  when  Cassius  had  marched  out  of 
Syria,  disturbances  arose  in  Judea;  for 
Felix,  who  was  left  at  Jerusalem  with  an 
army,  made  a  sudden  attempt  against 
Phasaelus,  and  the  people  themselves  rose 
in  arms ;  but  Herod  went  to  Fabius,  the 
prefect  of  Damascus,  and  was  desirous  to 
run  to  his  brother's  assistance,  but  wae 
hindered  by  a  distemper  that  seized  upon 
him,  till  Phasaelus  by  himself  had  been 
too  hard  for  Felix,  and  had  shut  him  up 
in  the  tower,  and  there,  on  certain  condi- 
tions, dismissed  him.  Phasaelus  also  com- 
plained of  Hyrcanus,  that  although  he  had 
received  a  great  many  benefits  from  them, 
yet  did  he  support  their  enemies;  for 
Malichus's  brother  had  made  many  places 
to  revolt,  and  kept  garrisons  in  them,  and 
particularly  Masada,  the  strongest  fortress 
of  them  all.  In  the  mean  time,  Herod 
had  recovered  of  his  disease,  and  came 
and  took  from  Felix  all  the  places  he  had 
gotten ;  and,  upon  certain  conditions,  dis- 
missed him  also. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Herod  ejects'  Antigonus  out  of  Judea,  and  gains 
the  friendship  of  Antony  by  presents. 

Now*   Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Menneus, 

*  In  this  and  the  following  sections  the  reader 
will  easily  remark,  how  truly  Gronovius  observes 
in  his  notes  on  the  Roman  decrees  in  favor  frf  the 
Jews,  that  their  rights  and  privileges  wer*»  com- 
monly purchased  of  the  Romans  with  monej   M*nj 


Chap.  XII  ] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


437 


brought  back  into  Judea,  Antigonus,  the 
son  of  Aristobulus,  who  had  already  raised 
an  army,  and  had,  by  money,  made  Fa- 
bins  to  be  his  friend,  and  this  beoause  he 
was  of  kin  to  him.  Marion  also  gave  him 
assistance.  He  had  been  left  by  Cassius 
to  tyrannize  over  Tyre  ;  for  this  Cassius 
was  a  man  that  seized  on  Syria,  and  then 
kept  it  under,  in  the  way  of  a  tyrant. 
Marion  also  marched  into  Galilee,  which 
lay  in  his  neighbourhood,  and  took  three  of 
its  fortresses,  and  put  garrisons  into  them 
to  keep  them.  But  when  Herod  came,  he 
took  all  from  him ;  but  the  Tyrian  garri- 
son he  dismissed  in  a  very  civil  manner; 
nay,  to  some  of  the  soldiers  he  made  pre- 
sents, out  of  the  good-will  he  bore  to  that 
city.  When  he  had  despatched  these  af- 
fairs, and  had  gone  to  meet  Antigonus,  he 
joined  battle  with  him,  and  beat  him,  and 
drove  him  out  of  Judea  presently,  when 
he  had  just  come  into  its  borders;  but 
when  he  had  come  to  Jerusalem,  Hyrca- 
nus  and  the  people  put  garlands  about  his 
head ;  for  he  had  already  contracted  an 
affinity  with  the  family  of  Hyrcanus  by 
having  espoused  a  descendant  of  his,  and 
for  that  reason  Herod  took  the  greater 
care  of  him,  as  being  to  marry  the  daugh- 
ter of  Alexander,  the  son  of  Aristobulus, 
and  the  grand-daughter  of  Hyrcanus ;  by 
which  wife  he  became  the  father  of  three 
male,  and  two  female  children.  He  had 
also  married  before  this  another  wife,  out 
of  a  lower  family  of  his  own  nation,  whose 
name  was  Doris,  by  whom  he  had  his 
eldest  son  Antipater. 

iSow  Antonius  and  Caesar  had  beaten 
Cassius  near  Philippi,  as  others  have  re- 
lated; but  after  the  victory,  Caesar  went 
into  Graul  [Italy],  and  Antony  marched 
for  Asia,  who,  when  he  had  arrived  at 
Bithynia,  he  had  ambassadors  that  met 
him  from  all  parts.  The  principal  men 
also  of  the  Jews  came  thither,  to  accuse 
Phasaelus  and  Herod,  and  they  said,  that 
Hyrcanus  had  indeed  the  appearance  of 
reigning,  but  that  these  men  had  all  the 
power;  but  Antony  paid  great  respect  to 
Herod,  who  had  come  to  him  to  make  his 

examples  of  this  sort,  both  as  to  the  Romans  and 
others  in  authority,  will  occur  in  our  Josephus, 
both  now  and  hereafter,  and  need  not  be  taken 
particular  notice  of  on  the  several  occasions  in 
these  notes.  Accordingly,  the  chief  captain  con- 
f asses  to  St.  Paul,  that,  'with  a  great  sum  he  had 
obtained  his  freedom/  (Acts  xxii.  28 ;)  as  had  St. 
Paul's  ancestors,  very  probably,  purchased  the  like 
freedom  for  their  family  by  money,  as  the  same 
aut ior  justly  concludes  also. 


defence  against  his  accusers,  on  which 
account  his  adversaries  could  not  so  much 
as  obtain  a  hearing;  which  favour  Herod 
had  gained  of  Antony  by  money ;  but 
still,  when  Antony  had  come  to  Ephesus, 
Hyrcanus,  the  high  priest,  and  our  nation, 
sent  an  embassy  to  him,  which  carried  a 
crown  of  gold  with  them,  and  desired  that 
he  would  write  to  the  governors  of  the 
provinces,  to  set  those  Jews  free  who  had 
been  carried  captive  by  Cassius,  and  this 
without  their  having  fought  against  him, 
and  to  restore  them  that  country  which, 
in  the  days  of  Cassius,  had  been  taken 
from  them.  Antony  thought  the  Jews' 
desires  were  just,  and  wrote  immediately 
to  Hyrcanus,  and  to  the  Jews.  He  also 
sent,  at  the  same  time,  a  decree  to  the 
Tyrians;  the  contents  of  which  were  to 
the  same  purpose. 

"  Marcus  Antonius,  imperator,  to  Hyr- 
canus the  high  priest  and  ethnarch  of  the 
Jews,  sendeth  greeting.  If  you  be  in 
health,  it  is  well;  I  also  am  in  health, 
with  the  army.  Lysimachus,  the  son  of 
Pausanias,  and  Josephus,  the  son  of  Men- 
neus,  and  Alexander,  the  son  of  Theodo- 
ras, your  ambassadors,  met  me  at  Ephesus, 
and  have  renewed  the  embassy  which  they 
had  formerly  been  upon  at  Rome,  and 
have  diligently  acquitted  themselves  of 
the  present  embassy,  which  thou  and  thy 
nation  have  intrusted  to  them,  and  have 
fully  declared  the  good-will  thou  hast  for 
us.  I  am  therefore  satisfied,  both  by 
your  actions  and  your  words,  that  you  are 
well  disposed  to  us;  and  I  understand 
that  your  conduct  and  life  is  constant  and 
religious ;  so  I  reckon  you  as  our  own ; 
but  when  those  that  were  adversaries  to 
you,  and  to  the  Roman  people,  abstained 
neither  from  cities  nor  temples,  and  did 
not  observe  the  agreement  they  had  con- 
firmed by  oath,  it  was  not  only  on  account 
di  our  contest  with  them,  but  on  account 
of  all  mankind  in  common,  that  we  have 
taken  vengeance  on  those  who  have  been 
the  authors  of  great  injustice  toward 
men,  and  of  great  wickedness  toward  the 
gods ;  for  the  sake  of  which  we  suppose 
that  it  was  that  the  sun  turned  away  his 
light  from  us,*  as  unwilling  to  view  the 
horrid  crime  they  were  guilty  of  in  the 
case  of  Caesar.     We  have  also  overcome 


*  This  clauso  plainly  alludes  to  that  well  known 
but  unusual  and  very  long  darkness  of  the  sunr 
which  happened  upon  the  murder  of  Julius  Caesar 
by  Brutus  and  Cassius;  which  is  greatly  taken  no- 
tice of  by  Virgil,  Pliny,  an  1  other  Roman  autluw* 


138 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV 


their  conspiracies,  which  threatened  the 
gods  themselves,  which  Macedonia  re- 
ceived, as  it  is  a  clin  ate  peculiarly  im- 
proper for  impious  and  insolent  attempts; 
and  we  have  overcome  that  confused  rout 
of  men,  half  mad  with  spite  against  us, 
which  they  got  together  at  Philippi,  in 
Macedonia,  when  they  seized  on  the  pa- 
laces that  were  proper  for  their  purpose, 
and,  as  it  were,  walled  them  round  with 
mountains  to  the  very  sea,  and  where  the 
passage  was  open  only  through  a  single 
gate.  This  victory  we  gained,  because  the 
gods  had  condemned  those  men  for  their 
wicked  enterprises.  Now  Brutus,  when 
he  had  fled  as  far  as  Philippi,  was  shut 
up  by  us,  and  became  a  partaker  of  the 
same  perdition  with  Cassius ;  and  now 
these  have  received  their  punishment,  we 
suppose  that  we  may  enjoy  peace  for  the 
time  to  come,  and  that  Asia  may  be  at 
rest  from  war.  We  therefore  make  that 
peace  which  God  hath  given  us  common 
to  our  confederates  also,  insomuch  that 
the  body  of  Asia  has  now  recovered  out 
of  that  distemper  it  was  under  by  means 
of  our  victory.  I,  therefore,  bearing  in 
mind  both  you  and  your  nation,  shall 
take  care  of  what  may  be  for  your  advan- 
tage. I  have  also  sent  epistles  in  writing 
to  the  several  cities,  that  if  any  persons, 
whether  freemen  or  bondmen,  have  been 
sold  under  the  spear  by  Caius  Cassius,  or 
his  subordinate  officers,  they  may  be  set 
free;  and  I  will,  that  you  kindly  make 
use  of  the  favours  which  I  and  Dolabella 
have  granted  you.  I  also  forbid  the  Ty- 
rians  to  use  any  violence  with  you ;  and 
for  what  places  of  the  Jews  they  now  pos- 
sess, I  order  them  to  restore  them.  I  have 
withal  accepted  of  the  crown  which  thou 
sentest  me." 

"Marcus  Antonius,  imperator,  to  the 
magistrates,  senate,  and  people  of  Tyre, 
sendeth  greeting.  The  ambassadors  ot 
Hyrcanus,  the  high-priest  and  ethnarch 
[of  the  Jews],  appeared  before  me  at 
Ephesus,  and  told  me  that  you  are  in 
possession  of  part  of  their  country,  which 
you  entered  upon  under  the  government 
of  our  adversaries.  Since,  therefore,  we 
have  undertaken  a  war  for  the  obtaining 
the  government,  and  have  taken  care  to 
do  what  was  agreeable  to  piety  and  jus- 
tice, and  have  brought  to  punishment 
those  that  had  neither  any  remembrance 
of  the  kindness  they  had  received,  nor 
have  kept  their  oaths,  I  will,  that  you  be 
at  peace  with  those    that  are   our  confe- 


derates; as  also,  that  what  you  have  taken 
by  the  means  of  our  adversaries  shall  not 
be  reckoned  your  own,  but  be  returned  to 
those  from  whom  you  took  them ;  for  none 
of  them  took  their  provinces  or  their  ar- 
mies by  the  gift  of  the  senate,  but  they 
seized  them  by  force,  and  bestowed  them 
by  violence  upon  such  as  became  useful 
to  them  in  their  unjust  proceedings.  Since, 
therefore,  those  men  have  received  the 
punishment  due  to  them,  we  desire  that 
our  confederates  may  retain  whatsoever 
it  was  that  they  formerly  possessed,  with- 
out disturbance,  and  that  you  restore  all 
the  places  which  belong  to  Hyrcanus, 
the  ethnarch  of  the  Jews,  which  you 
have  had,  though  it  were  but  one  day 
before  Caius  Cassius  began  an  unjustifia- 
ble war  against  us,  and  entered  into  our 
province ;  nor  do  you  use  any  force  against 
him,  in  order  to  weaken  him,  that  he  may 
not  be  able  to  dispose  of  that  which  is  his 
own;  but  if  you  have  any  contest  with 
him  about  your  respective  rights,  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  you  to  plead  your  cause 
when  we  come  upon  the  places  concerned, 
for  we  shall  alike  preserve  the  rights, 
and  hear  all  the  causes,  of  our  confede- 
rates. " 

"Marcus  Antonius,  imperator,  to  the 
magistrates,  senate,  and  people  of  Tyre, 
sendeth  greeting.  I  have  sent  you  my 
decree,  of  which  I  will,  that  you  take 
care  that  it  be  engraven  on  the  public 
tables,  in  Roman  and  Greek  letters,  and 
that  it  stand  engraven  in  the  most  illus- 
.  trious  places,  that  it  may  be  read  by  all. 
Marcus  Antonius,  imperator,  oue  of  the 
triumvirate  over  the  public  affairs,  made 
this  declaration  : — Since  Caius  Cassius,  in 
this  revolt  he  hath  made,  hath  pillaged 
that  province  which  belonged  not  to  him, 
and  was  held  by  garrisons  there  encamped, 
while  they  were  our  confederates,  and 
hath  spoiled  that  nation  of  the  Jews  which 
was  in  friendship  with  the  Roman  people, 
as  in  war;  and  since  we  have  overcome 
his  madness  by  arms,  we  now  correct,  by 
our  decrees  and  judicial  determinations, 
what  he  hath  laid  waste,  that  those  things 
may  be  restored  to'  our  confederates ;  and 
as  for  what  hath  been  sold  of  the  Jewish 
possessions,  whether  they  be  bodies  or 
possessions, let  them  be  released ;  the  bodies 
into  that  state  of  freedom  they  were  ori- 
ginally in,  and  the  possessions  to  their 
former  owners.  I  also  will,  that  he  who 
shall  not  comply  with  this  decree  of  mine, 
shall   be   punished  for  his   disohedbuce; 


flAP     XIII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS 


439 


and  If  such  an  one  be  caught,  I  will  take 
care  that  the  offenders  suffer  condign  pu- 
nishment." 

The  same  thing  did  Antony  write  to 
the  Sidonians,  and  the  Antiochians,  and 
the  Arabians.  We  have  produced  these 
decrees,  therefore,  as  marks  for  futurity 
of  the  truth  of  what  we  have  said,  that 
the  Romans  had  a  great  concern  about 
our  nation. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Herod  and  Phasaelus  made  tetrarchs  by  Antony — 
Herod's  flight. 

When,  after  this,  Antony  came  into 
Syria,  Cleopatra  met  him  in  Cilicia,  and 
brought  him  to  fall  in  love  with  her. 
And  there  came  now  also  100  of  the  most 
potent  of  the  Jews  to  accuse  Herod  and 
those  about  him,  and  set  the  men  of  the 
greatest  eloquence  among  them  to  speak. 
But  Messala  contradicted  them,  on  behalf 
of  the  young  men,  arid  all  this  in  the 
presence  of  Hyrcanus,  who  was  Herod's 
father-in-law*  already.  When  Antony 
had  heard  both  sides  at  Daphne,  he  asked 
Hyrcanus  who  they  were  that  governed 
the  nation  best  ?  He  replied,  Herod  and 
his  friends.  Hereupon  Antony,  by  reason 
of  the  old  hospitable  friendship  he  had 
made  with  his  father  [Antipater],  at  that 
time  when  he  was  with  Gabinius,  he  made 
both  Herod  and  Phasaelus  tetrarchs,  and 
committed  the  public  affairs  of  the  Jews 
to  them,  and  wrote  letters  to  that  pur- 
pose. He  also  bound  fifteen  of  their  ad- 
versaries, and  was  going  to  kill  them,  but 
that  Herod  obtained  their  pardon. 

Yet  did  not  these  men  continue  quiet 
when  they  had  come  back,  but  1000  of 
the  Jews  came  to  Tyre  to  meet  him  there, 
whither  the  report  was  that  he  would 
come.  But  Antony  was  corrupted  by  the 
money  which  Herod  and  his  brother  had 
given  him;  and  so  he  gave  order  to  the 
governor  of  the  place  to  punish  the  Jew- 
ish ambassadors,  who  were  for  making  in- 
novations, and  to  settle  the  government 
upon  Herod :  but  Herod  went  out  hastily 
to  them,  and  Hyrcanus  was  with  him,  (for 
they  stood  upon  the  shore  before  the  city;) 
and  h?  charged  them   to  go  their  ways, 

*  We  m;iy  here  take  notice  that  espousals  alone 
w.jre  of  old  esteemed  a  sufficient  foundation  for 
affinity,  Hyrcanus  being  here  called  "father-in-law" 
to  Herod,  because  his  grand-daughter  Mariamne 
was  betrothed  to  hi  in,  although  the  marriage  was 
not  completed  till  fo  lr  years  afterward.  See  Matt. 
L16. 


because  great  mischief  would  befall  them 
if  they  went  on  with  their  accusation. 
But  they  did  not  acquiesce:  whereupon 
the  Romans  ran  upon  them  with  their 
daggers,  and  slew  some,  and  wounded 
more  of  them,  and  the  rest  fled  away,  and 
went  home,  and  lay  still  in  great  con- 
sternation :  and  when  the  people  made  a 
clamour  against  Herod,  Antony  was  so 
provoked  at  it,  that  he  slew  the  pri- 
soners. 

Now,  in  the  second  year,  Pacorus,  the 
king  of  Parthia's  son,  and  Barzapharnes, 
a  commander  of  the  Parthians,  possessed 
themselves  of  Syria.  Ptolemy,  the  son 
of  Menneus,  also  was  now  dead,  and  Ly- 
sanias  his  son  took  his  government,  and 
made  a  league  of  friendship  with  Antigo- 
nus,  the  sou  of  Aristobulus :  and  in  order 
to  obtain  it,  made  use  of  that  commander, 
who  had  a  great  interest  in  him.  Now 
Antigonus  had  promised  to  give  the  Par- 
thians 1000  talents,  and  500  women,  upon 
condition  that  they  would  take  the  govern- 
ment away  from  Hyrcanus,  and  bestow  ifc 
upon  him,  and  withal  kill  Herod.  And 
although  he  did  not  give  them  what  he 
had  promised,  yet  did  the  Parthians  make 
an  expedition  into  Judea  on  that  account, 
and  carried  Antigonus  with  them.  Paco- 
rus  went  along  the  maritime  parts;  but 
the  commander,  Barzapharnes,  through 
the  midland.  Now  the  Tyrians  excluded 
Pucorus;  but  the  Sidonians,  and  those  of 
Ptolemais,  received  him.  However,  Pa- 
corus  sent  a  troop  of  horsemen  into  Judea, 
to  take  a  view  of  the  state  of  the  country, 
and  to  assist  Antigonus;  and  sent  also  the 
king's  butler,  of  the  same  name  with  him- 
self. So  when  the  Jews  that  dwelt  about 
Mount  Carmel  came  to  Antigonus,  and 
were  ready  to  march  with  him  into  Judea, 
Antigonus  hoped  to  get  some,  part  of  the 
country  by  their  assistance.  The  place  is 
called  Drymi ;  and  when  some  others 
came  and  met  them,  the  men  privately 
fell  upon  Jerusalem;  and  when  some 
more  had  come  to  them,  they  got  together 
in  great  numbers,  and  came  against  the 
king's  palace,  and  besieged  it.  But  as 
Phasaelus's  and  Herod's  party  came  to 
the  others'  assistance,  and  a  battle  hap- 
pened between  thern  in  the  market-place, 
the  young  men  beat  their  enemies,  and 
pursued  them  into  the  temple,  and  sent 
some  armed  men  into  the  adjoining  houses, 
to  keep  them  in,  who  yet,  being  destitute 
of  such  as  should  support  them,  were 
burnt,  and  the  houses  with  them,  by  the 


440 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


people  who  rose  up  against  them.  But 
Herod  was  revenged  on  these  seditious 
adversaries  of  his  a  little  afterward,  for 
this  injury  they  had  offered  him,  when  he 
fought  with  them,  and  slew  a  great  num- 
ber of  them. 

But  while  there  were  daily  skirmishes, 
the  enemy  waited  for  the  coming  of  the 
multitude  out  of  the  country,  to  Pentecost, 
a  feast  of  ours  so  called;  and  when  that 
day  had  come,  many  ten  thousands  of  the 
people  were  gathered  together  about  the 
temple,  some  in  armour,  and  some  with- 
out. Now  those  that  came,  guarded  both 
the  temple  and  the  city,  excepting  what 
belonged  to  the  palace,  which  Herod 
guarded  with  a  few  of  his  soldiers;  and 
Phasaelus  had  the  charge  of  the  wall, 
while  Herod,  with  a  body  of  his  men, 
sallied  out  upon  the  enemy,  who  lay  in 
the  suburbs,  and  fought  courageously,  and 
put  many  ten  thousands  to  flight,  some 
flying  into  the  city,  and  some  into  the 
temple,  and  some  into  the  outer  fortifica- 
tions, for  some  such  fortifications  there 
were  in  that  place.  Phasaelus  came  also 
to  his  assistance;  yet  was  Pacorus,  the 
general  of  the  Parthians,  at  the  desire  of 
Antigonus  admitted  into  the  city,  with  a 
few  of  his  horsemen,  under  pretence,  in- 
deed, as  if  he  would  still  the  sedition,  but 
in  reality  to  assist  Antigonus  in  obtaining 
the  government.  And  when  Phasaelus 
met  him,  and  received  him  kindly,  Paco- 
rus persuaded  him  to  go  himself  ars  am- 
bassador to  Barzapharnes,  which  was  done 
fraudulently.  Accordingly,  Phasaelus, 
suspecting  no  harm,  complied  with  his  pro- 
posal, while  Herod  did  not  give  his  con- 
sent to  what  was  done,  because  of  the  per- 
fidiousness  of  those  barbarians,  but  desired 
Phasaelus  rather  to  fight  those  that  had 
come  into  the  city. 

So,  both  Hyrcanus  and  Phasaelus  went 
on  the  embassy;  but  Pacorus  left  with 
Herod  200  horsemen,  and  ten  men,  who 
were  called  the  "  freemen  j"  and  conducted 
the  others  on  their  journey;  and  when 
they  were  in  Galilee,  the  governors  of  the 
cities  there  met  them  in  their  arms.  Bar- 
zapharnes, also,  received  them  at  first 
with  cheerfulness,  and  made  them  pre- 
sents, though  he  afterward  conspired 
against  them;  and  Phasaelus,  with  his 
horsemen,  were  conducted  to  the  seaside '. 
but  when  they  heard  that  Antigonus  had 
promised  to  give  the  Parthians  1000 
talents,  and  500  women  to  assist  him 
Against  them,  they  soon  had  a  suspicion 


of  the  barbarians.  Moreover,  there  was 
one  who  informed  them  that  snares  were 
laid  for  them  by  night,  while  a  guard 
came  about  them  secretly;  and  they  had 
tnen  been  seized  upon,  had  they  not  waited 
for  the  seizure  of  Herod  by  the  Parthians 
that  were  about  Jerusalem,  lest,  upon  the 
slaughter  of  Hyrcanus  and  Phasaelus,  he 
should  have  an  intimation  of  it,  and  escape 
out  of  their  hands.  And  these  were  the 
circumstances  they  were  now  in;  and  they 
saw  who  they  were  that  guarded  them. 
Some  persons,  indeed,  would  have  per- 
suaded Phasaelus  to  fly  immediately  on 
horseback,  and  not  to  stay  any  longer; 
and  there  was  one  Ophelius,  who,  above 
all  the  rest,  was  earnest  with  him  to  do 
so,  for  he  had  heard  of  this  treachery  from 
Saramalla,  the  richest  of  all  the  Syrians 
at  that  time,  who  also  promised  to  provide 
him  ships  to  carry  him  off:  for  the  sea 
was  just  by  them  :  but  he  had  no  mind  to 
desert  Hyrcanus,  nor  bring  his  brother 
into  danger;  but  he  went  to  Barzapharnes, 
and  told  him  that  he  did  not  act  justly 
when  he  made  such  a  contrivance  against 
them,  for  that  if  he  wanted  money,  he 
would  give  him  more  than  Antigonus  ;  and 
besides,  that  it  was  a  horrible  thing  tc 
slay  those  that  came  to  him  upon  the  se- 
curity of  their  oaths,  and  that  when  they 
had  done  them  no  injury.  But  the  bar* 
barran  swore  to  him  that  there  was  nc 
truth  in  any  of  his  suspicions,  but  that 
he  was  troubled  with  nothing  but  false 
proposals,  and  then  went  away  to  Paco- 
rus. 

But  as  soon  as  he  had  gone  away,  some 
men  came  and  bound  Hyrcanus  and  Pha- 
saelus; while  Phasaelus  greatly  reproached 
the  Parthians  for  their  perjury.  How- 
ever, that  butler  who  was  sent  against 
Herod  had  it  in  command  to  get  without 
the  walls  of  the  city,  and  seize  upon  him; 
but  messengers  had  been  sent  by  Phasaelus 
to  inform  Herod  of  the  perfidiousness  of 
the  Parthians;  and  when  he  knew  that 
the  enemy  had  seized  upon  them,  he  went 
to  Pacorus,  and  to  the  most  potent  of  the 
Parthians,  as  to  the  lords  of  the  rest,  who, 
although  they  knew  the  whole  matter,  dis- 
sembled with  him  in  a  deceitful  way;  and 
said  that  he  ought  to  go  out  with  them 
before  the  walls,  and  meet  those  who  were 
bringing  him  his  letters,  for  that  they 
were  not  taken  by  his  adversaries,  but 
were  coming  to  give  him  an  account  of  the 
good  success  Phasaelus  had  had.  Herod 
did  not  give  credit  to  wha ;  they  said;  for 


Chap.  XIII 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


441 


he  had  heard  that  his  brother  was  seized 
upon  by  others  also;  and  the  daughter  of 
Hyrcanus,  whose  daughter  he  had  es- 
poused, was  his  monitor  also  [not  to  credit 
them],  which  made  him  still  more  sus- 
picious of  the  Parthians;  for  although 
•jther  people  did  not  give  heed  to  her,  yet 
did  he  believe  her,  as  a  woman  of  very 
great  wisdom. 

Now  while  the  Parthians  were  in  con- 
sultation what  was  fit  to  be  done ;  for  they 
did  not  think  it  proper  to  make  an  open 
attempt  upon  a  person  of  his  character; 
and  as  they  put  off  the  determination  to 
the  next  day,  Herod  was  under  great  dis- 
turbance of  mind;  and  rather  inclined  to 
believe  the  reports  he  heard  about  his 
brother  and  the  Parthians,  than  to  give 
heed  to  what  was  said  on  the  other  side, 
he  determined,  that  when  the  evening 
jame  on,  he  would  make  use  of  it  for  his 
jight,  and  not  make  any  longer  delay,  as 
if  the  dangers  from  the  enemy  were  not 
yet  certain.  He  therefore  removed  with 
the  armed  men  whom  he  had  with  him; 
and  set  his  wives  upon  the  beasts,  as  also 
his  mother,  and  sister,  and  her  whom 
he  was  about  to  marry,  [Mariamne,  the 
daughter  of  Alexander,  the  son  of  Aris- 
tobulus,]  with  her  mother,  the  daughter  of 
Hyrcanus,  and  his  youngest  brother,  and 
all  their  servants,  and  the  rest  of  the  multi- 
tude that  was  with  him,  and  without  the 
enemy's  privity  pursued  his  way  to  Idu- 
mea :  nor  could  any  enemy  of  his  who  saw 
him  in  this  case,  be  so  hardhearted,  but 
would  have  commiserated  his  misfortune, 
while  the  women  drew  along  their  infant 
children,  and  left  their  own  country,  and 
their  friends  in  prison,  with  tears  in  their 
eyes,  and  sad  lamentations,  and  in  expecta- 
tion of  nothing  but  what  was  of  a  melan- 
choly nature. 

But  for  Herod  himself,  he  raised  his 
mind  above  the  miserable  state  he  was  in, 
and  was  of  good  courage  in  the  midst  of 
his  misfortunes;  and,  as  he  passed  along, 
he  bade  them  every  one  to  be  of  good 
cheer,  and  not  to  give  themselves  up  to 
lorrow,  because  that  would  hinder  them 
in  their  flight,  which  was  now  the  only 
hope  of  safety  that  they  had.  Accord- 
ingly, they  tried  to  bear  with  patience  the 
calamity  they  were  under,  as  he  exhorted 
them  to  do;  yet  he  was  ence  almost  going 
to  kill  himself,  upon  the  overthrow  of  a 
fragon,  and  the  danger  his  mother  was 
then  in  of  being  killed;  and  this  on  two 
accounts,  because  he  was   afraid  lest,  by 


this  delay,  the  enemy  should  overtake  him 
in  the  pursuit;  but  as  he  was  drawing  his 
sword,  and  going  to  kill  himself  therewith, 
those  that  were  present  restrained  him, 
and  being  so  many  in  number,  were  too 
hard  for  him;  and  told  him  that  he  ought 
not  to  desert  them,  and  leave  them  a  prey 
to  their  enemies,  for  that  it  was  not  the 
part  of  a  brave  man  to  free  himself  from 
the  distresses  he  was  in,  and  to  overlook 
his  friends  that  were  in  the  same  distress 
also.  So  he  was  compelled  to  let  that 
horrid  attempt  alone,  partly  out  of  shame 
at  what  they  said  to  him,  and  partly  out 
of  regard  to  the  great  number  of  those 
that  would  not  permit  him  to  do  what  he 
intended.  So  he  encouraged  his  mother, 
and  took  all  the  care  of  her  the  time  would 
allow,  and  proceeded  on  the  way  he  pro- 
posed to  go  with  the  utmost  haste,  and 
that  was  to  the  fortress  of  Masada.  And 
as  he  had  many  skirmishes  with  such  of 
the  party  as  attacked  him  and  pursued 
him,  he  was  conqueror  in  them  all. 

Nor,  indeed,  was  he  free  from  the  Jews 
all  along  as  he  was  in  his  flight:  for  by 
the  time  he  had  gotten  sixty  furlongs  out 
of  the  city,  and  was  upon  the  road,  they 
fell  upon  him,  and  fought  hand  to  hand 
with  him,  whom  he  also  put  to  flight,  and 
overcame,  not  like  one  that  was  in  dis- 
tress and  in  necessity,  but  like  one  that 
was  excellently  prepared  for  war,  and  had 
what  he  wanted  in  great  plenty.  And  in 
this  very  place,  where  he  overcame  the 
Jews,  it  was  that  he  some  time  afterward 
built  a  most  excellent  palace,  and  a  city 
round  about  it,  and  called  it  Herodium. 
And  when  he  had  come  to  Idumea,  at  a 
place  called  Thressa,  his  brother  Joseph 
met  him,  and  he  then  held  a  council  to 
take  advice  about  all  his  affairs,  and  what 
was  fit  to  be  done  in  his  circumstances, 
since  he  had  a  great  multitude  that 
followed  him,  besides  his  mercenary  sol- 
diers, and  the  place  Masada,  whither  he 
proposed  to  fly,  was  too  small  to  contain 
so  great  a  multitude;  so  he  sent  away  the 
greater  part  of  his  company,  being  above 
9000,  and  bade  them  go,  some  one  way 
and  some  another,  and  so  save  themselves 
in  Idumea,  and  gave  them  what  would  buy 
them  provisions  on  their  journey.  But 
he  took  with  him  those  that  were  the  least 
encumbered,  and  were  most  intimate  with 
him,  and  came  to  the  fortress,  and  placed 
there  his  wives  and  his  followers,  being 
800  in  number,  there  being  in  the  place 
a  sufficient  quantity   of  corn   and   water, 


442 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


JBook  XIV. 


and  other  necessaries,  and  went  directly 
for  Petra,  in  Arabia.  But  when  it  was 
day,  the  Parthians  plundered  all  Jeru- 
salem, and  the  palace,  and  abstained  from 
nothing  but  Hyrcanus's  money,  which 
was  300  talents.  A  great  deal  of  Herod's 
money  escaped,  and  principally  all  that 
the  man  had  been  so  provident  as  to  send 
into  Idumea  beforehand :  nor,  indeed,  did 
what  was  in  the  city  suffice  the  Parthians ; 
but  they  went  out  into  the  country,  and 
plundered  it,  and  demolished  the  city 
Marissa. 

And  thus  was  Antigonus  brought  back 
into  Judea  by  the  king  of  the  Parthians, 
and  received  Hyrcanus  and  Phasaelus  for 
his  prisoners;  but  he  was  greatly  cast 
down  because  the  women  had  escaped, 
whom  he  intended  to  have  given  the 
enemy,  as  having  promised  they  should 
have  them,  with  the  money,  for  their  re- 
ward ;  but  being  afraid  that  Hyrcanus, 
who  was  under  the  guard  of  the  Par- 
thians, might  have  his  kingdom  restored 
to  him  by  the  multitude,  he  cut  off  his 
ears,  and  thereby  took  care  that  the  high- 
priesthood  should  never  come  to  him  any 
more,  because  he  was  maimed,  while  the 
law  required  that  this  dignity  should 
belong  to  none  but  such  as  had  all  their 
members  entire.*  But  now  one  cannot 
but  here  admire  the  fortitude  of  Phasae- 
lus, who,  perceiving  that  he  was  to  be  put 
to  death,  did  not  think  death  any  terrible 
thing  at  all ;  but  to  die  thus  by  the  means 
of  his  enemy,  this  he  thought  a  most  piti- 
able and  dishonourable  thing,  and,  there- 
fore, since  he  had  not  his  hands  at  liberty, 
for  the  bonds  he  was  in  prevented  him 
from  killing  himself  thereby,  he  dashed 
his  head  against  a  great  stone,  and  thereby 
took  away  his  own  life,  which  he  thought 
to  be  the  best  thing  he  could  do  in  such  a 
distress  as  he  was  in,  and  thereby  put  it 
out  of  the  power  of  the  enemy  lo  bring 
him  to  any  death  he  pleased.  It  is  also 
reported,  that  when  he  had  made  a  great 
wound  in  his  head,  Antigonus  sent  physi- 
cians to  cure  it,  and,  by  ordering  them  to 
infuse  poison  into  the  wound,  killed  him. 
However,  Phasaelus  hearing,  before  he 
v?as  quite  dead,  by  a  certain  woman,  that 
his  brother  Herod  had  escaped  the  enemy, 
underwent  his  death  cheerfully,  since  he 
now  left  behind  him  one  who  would  re- 
venge his  death,  and  who  was  able  to 
inflict  punishment  on  his  enemies, 

*  See  Lev.  xxL  17-24. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Herod  visits  Egypt  and  Rome — Obtains  the  sove- 
reignty  of  Judea  by  means  of  presents  to  Antony. 

As  for  Herod,  the  great  miseries  he 
was  in  did  not  discourage  him,  but  made 
him  sharp  in  discovering  surprising  under- 
takings )  for  he  went  to  Malchus,  king  of 
Arabia,  whom  he  had  formerly  been  very 
kind  to,  in  order  to  receive  somewhat  by 
way  of  requital,  now  he  was  in  more  than 
ordinary  want  of  it,  and  desired  he  would 
let  him  have  some  money,  either  by  way 
of  loan,  or  as  his  free  gift,  on  account  of 
the  many  benefits  he  had  received  from 
him ;  for  not  knowing  what  had  become 
of  his  brother,  he  was  in  haste  to  redeem 
him  out  of  the  hand  of  his  enemies,  as 
willing  to  give  300  talents  for  the  price 
of  his  redemption.  He  also  took  with 
him  the  son  of  Phasaelus,  who  was  a  child 
of  but  seven  years  of  age ;  for  this  very 
reason,  that  he  might  be  an  hostage  for 
the  repayment  of  the  money.  But  there 
came  messengers  from  Malchus  to  meet 
him,  by  whom  he  was  desired  to  be  gone, 
for  that  the  Parthians  had  laid  a  charge 
upon  him  not  to  entertain  Herod.  This 
was  only  a  pretence  which  he  made  use 
of,  that  he  might  not  be  obliged  to  repay 
him  what  he  owed  him ;  and  this  he  was 
further  induced  to  by  the  principal  men 
among  the  Arabians,  that  they  might 
cheat  him  of  what  sums  they  had  received 
from  [his  father]  An ti pater,  and  which  he 
had  committed  to  their  fidelity.  He  made 
answer,  that  he  did  not  intend  to  be  trouble- 
some to  them  by  his  coming  thither,  but 
that  he  desired  only  to  discourse  with 
them  about  certain  affairs  that  were  to 
him  of  the  greatest  importance. 

Hereupon,  he  resolved  to  go  away,  and 
did  go  very  prudently  the  road  to  Egypt ; 
and  then  it  was  that  he  lodged  in  a  cer- 
tain temple ;  for  he  had  left  a  great  many 
of  his  followers  there.  On  the  next  day 
he  came  to  Rhinocolura,  and  there  it  was 
that  he  heard  what  had  befallen  hi* 
brother;  though  Malchus  soon  repented 
of  what  he  had  done,  and  came  running 
after  Herod ;  but  with  no  manner  of  suc- 
cess, for  he  had  gotten  a  very  great  way 
off,  and  made  haste  into  the  road  to  Pelu- 
sium;  and  when  the  stationary  ships  that 
lay  there  hindered  him  from  sailing  to 
Alexandria,  he  went  to  their  captains,  by 
whose  assistance,  and  that  out  of  much 
reverence  of,  and  great  regard  to  him,  h( 
was  conducted  into  the  city  [Alexandria], 


Dhap.  XIV.  j 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


143 


and  was  retained  there  by  Cleopatra,  yet 
was  she  not  anle  to  prevail  with  him  to 
stay  there,  because  he  was  making  haste 
to  Rome,  even  though  the  weather  was 
stormy,  and  he  was  informed  that  the 
affairs  of  Italy  were  very  tumultuous,  and 
in  great  disorder. 

80  he  set  sail  from  thence  to  Pam- 
phylia,  and  falling  in  with  a  violent 
storm,  he  had  much  ado  to  escape  to 
Rhodes,  with  the  loss  of  the  ship's  bur- 
den ;  and  there  it  was  that  two  of  his 
friends,  Sappinas  and  Ptolemeus,  met  with 
him :  and  as  he  found  that  city  very 
much  damaged  in  the  war  against  Cassius, 
though  he  were  in  necessity  himself,  he 
neglected  not  to  do  it  a  kindness,  but  did 
what  he  could  to  recover  it  to  its  former 
state.  He  also  built  there  a  three-decked 
ship,  and  set  sail  thence,  with  his  friends, 
for  Italy,  and  came  to  the  port  of  Brun- 
dusium :  and  when  he  had  come  from 
thence  to  Rome,  he  first  related  to  Antony 
what  had  befallen  him  in  Judea,  and  how 
Phasaelus,  his  brother,  was  seized  on  by 
the  Parthians,  and  put  to  death  by  them ; 
and  how  Hyrcanus  was  detained  captive 
by  them,  and  how  they  had  made  Anti- 
gonus  king,  who  had  promised  them  a 
sum  of  money,  no  less  than  1000  talents, 
with  500  women,  who  were  to  be  of  the 
principal  families,  and  of  the  Jewish 
stock;  and  that  he  had  carried  off  the 
women  by  night;  and  that,  by  under- 
going a  great  many  hardships,  he  had 
escaped  the  hands  of  his  enemies;  as  also, 
that  his  own  relations  were  in  danger  of 
being  besieged  and  taken,  and  that  he 
had  sailed  through  a  storm,  -and  con- 
temned all  these  terrible  dangers,  in  order 
to  come,  as  soun  as  possible,  to  him  who 
was  his  hope  and  only  succour  at  that 
time. 

This  account  made  Antony  commiserate 
the  change  that  had  happened  in  Herod's 
condition;  and  reasoning  with  himself 
that  this  was  a  common  case  among  those 
that  are  placed  in  such  great  dignities, 
and  that  they  are  liable  to  the  mutations 
that  come  from  fortune,  he  was  very  ready 
to  give  him  the  assistance  he  desired ; 
and  this,  because  he  called  to  mind  the 
friendship  he  had  had  with  Antipater, 
because  Herod  offered  him  money  to 
iiake  him  king,  as  he  had  formerly  given 
ft  to  him  to  make  him  tetrarch,  and 
chiefly,  because  of  his  hatred  to  Anti- 
gonus, fur  he  took  him  to  be  a  seditious 
person,  and   an  enemy   to   the    Romans. 


Caesar  was  also  the  forwarder  to  raise 
Herod's  dignity,  and  to  give  him  the 
assistance  in  what  he  desired,  on  account 
of  the  toils  of  war  which  he  had  himself 
undergone  with  Antipater,  his  father,  in 
Egypt,  and  of  the  hospitality  wherewith 
he  had  treated  him,  and  the  kindness  he 
had  always  shown  him,  and  also  to  gratify 
Antony,  who  was  very  zealous  for  Herod. 
So  a  senate  was  convocated;  and  Messala 
first,  and  then  Atratinus,  introduced 
Herod  into  it,  and  enlarged  upon  the 
benefits  they  had  received  from  his  father, 
and  put  them  in  mind  of  the  good-will  he 
had  borne  to  the  Romans.  At  the  same 
time,  they  accused  Antigonus,  and  de- 
clared him  an  enemy,  not  only  because 
of  his  former  opposition  to  them,  but  that 
he  had  now  overlooked  the  Romans,  and 
taken  the  government  from  the  Parthians. 
Upon  this,  the  senate  was  irritated ;  and 
Antony  informed  them  further,  that  it 
was  for  their  advantage  in  the  Parthian 
war,  that  Herod  should  be  king.  This 
seemed  good  to  all  the  senators;  and  so 
they  made  a  decree  accordingly. 

And  this  was  the  principal  instance  of 
Antony's  affection  for  Herod,  that  he  not 
only  procured  him  a  kingdom  which  he 
did  not  expect,  (for  he  did  not  come  with 
an  intention  to  ask  the  kingdom  for  him- 
self, which  he  did  not  suppose  the  Romans 
would  grant  him,  who  used  to  bestow  it 
on  some  of  the  royal  family,  but  intended 
to  desire  it  for  his  wife's  brother,  who 
was  grandson  by  his  father  to  Aristo- 
bulus,  and  to  Hyrcanus  by  his  mother,) 
but  that  he  procured  it  for  him  so  sud- 
denly, that  he  obtained  what  he  did  not 
expect,  and  departed  out  of  Italy  in  so 
few  days  as  seven  in  all.  This  young 
man  [the  grandson]  Herod  afterward  took 
care  to  have  slain,  as  we  shall  show  in  its 
proper  place.  But  when  the  senate  was 
dissolved,  Antony  and  Caesar  went  out  of 
the  senate-house,  with  Herod  between 
them,  and  with  the  consuls  and  other 
magistrates  before  them,  in  order  to  offer 
sacrifices,  and  to  lay  up  their  decrees  in 
the  capitol.  Antony  also  feasted  Herod 
the  first  day  of  his  reign.  And  thus  did 
this  man  receive  the  kingdom,  having  ob- 
tained it  on  the  184th  Olympiad,  when 
Caius  Domitius  Calvinus  was  consul  the 
second  time,  and  Caius  Asinius  Pcllio 
[the  first  time]. 

All  this  while  Antigonus  besieged  those 
that  were  in  Masada,  who  had  plenty  of 
all    other    necessaries,  but  were    only  io 


444 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


want  of  water,  insomuch  that  on  this  oc- 
casion Joseph,  Herod's  brother,  was  con- 
triving to  run  away  from  it,  with  200  of 
his  dependants,  to  the  Arabians;  for  he 
had  heaid  that  Malchus  repented  of  the 
offences  he  had  been  guilty  of  with  regard 
to  Herod;  but  God,  by  sending  rain  in 
the  night-time,  prevented  his  departure, 
for  their  cisterns  were  thereby  filled,  and 
he  was  under  no  necessity  of  running 
away  on  that  account :  but  they  were  now 
of  good  courage,  and  the  more  so,  because 
the  sending  that  plenty  of  water  which 
they  had  been  in  want  of,  seemed  a  mark 
of  Divine  Providence ;  so  they  made  a 
sally,  and  fought  hand  to  hand  with  Anti- 
gonus's  soldiers,  (with  some  openly,  wkh 
some  privately,)  and  destroyed  a  great 
number  of  them.  At  the  same  time 
Ventidius,  the  general  of  the  Romans, 
was  sent  out  of  Syria,  to  drive  the  Par- 
thians  out  cr  it,  and  marched  after  them 
into  Judea,  on  pretence,  indeed,  to  suc- 
cour Joseph ;  but  in  reality,  the  whole 
affair  was  no  more  than  a  stratagem,  in 
order  to  get  money  out  of  Antigonus;  so 
they  pitched  their  camp  very  near  to  Je- 
rusalem, and  stripped  Antigonus  of  a 
great  deal  of  money,  and  then  he  retired 
himself  with  the  greater  part  of  the  army; 
but,  that  the  wickedness  he  had  been 
guilty  of  might  not  be  found  out,  he  left 
Silo  there,  with  a  certain  part  of  his 
soldiers,  with  whom  also  Antigonus  cul- 
tivated an  acquaintance,  that  he  might 
cause  him  no  disturbance,  and  was  still  in 
hopes  that  the  Parthians  would  come 
again  and  defend  him. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Herod  sails  from  Italy  to  Judea. 
By  this  time  Herod  had  sailed  out  of 
Italy  to  Ptolemais,  and  had  gotten  toge- 
ther no  small  army,  both  of  strangers  and 
of  his  own  countrymen,  and  marched 
through  Galilee  against  Antigonus.  Silo, 
also,  and  Ventidius,  came  and  assisted 
him,  being  persuaded  by  Delius,  who 
was  sent  by  Antony  to  assist  in  bringing 
back  Herod.  Now,  for  Ventidius,  he 
was  employed  in  composing  the  disturb- 
ances that  had  been  made  in  the  cities  by 
the  means  of  the  Parthians;  and  for  Silo, 
he  was  indeed  in  Judea,  but  corrupted  by 
Antigonus.  However,  as  Herod  went 
along,  his  army  increased  every  day,  and 
all  Galilee,  with  some  small  exception, 
joined  him  ;  but  as  he  was  marching  to 


those  that  were  in  Masada,  (for  he  was 
obliged  to  endeavour  to  save  those  that 
were  in  that  fortress,  now  they  were  be- 
sieged, because  they  were  his  relations,) 
Joppa  was  a  hinderance  to  him,  for  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  take  that  place  first, 
it  being  a  city  at  variance  with  him,  thai 
no  stronghold  might  be  left  in  the  ene- 
mies' hands  behind  him  when  he  should 
go  to  Jerusalem.  And  when  Silo  made 
this  a  pretence  for  rising  up  from  Jeru- 
salem, and  was  thereupon  pursued  by  the 
Jews,  Herod  fell  upon  them  with  a  small 
body  of  men,  and  both  put  the  Jews  to 
flight  and  saved  Silo,  when  he  wa?  very 
poorly  able  to  defend  himself;  but  when 
Herod  had  taken  Joppa,  he  made  haste  to 
set  free  those  of  his  family  that  were  in 
Masada.  Now  of  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try, some  joined  him  because  of  the  friend- 
ship they  had  had  with  his  father,  and 
some  because  of  the  splendid  appearance 
he  made,  and  others  by  way  of  requital 
for  the  benefits  they  had  received  from 
both  of  them;  but  the  greatest  number 
came  to  him  in  hopes  of  getting  some- 
what from  him  afterward,  if  he  were  once 
firmly  settled  in  the  kingdom. 

Herod  had  now  a  strong  army;  and  as 
he    marched   on,   Antigonus    laid    snares 
and  ambushes  in  the  passes  most  proper 
for  them;    but  in   truth   he   thereby  did 
little   or   no    damage  to   the    enemy :    so 
Herod  received  those  of  his  family  out  of 
Masada,  and  the  fortress  of  Ressa,  and 
then  went  on  for  Jerusalem.    The  soldiery, 
also,  that  was  with  Silo,  accompanied  him 
all  along,   as   did   many   of  the   citizens, 
being  afraid  of  his  power;  and  as  soon  as 
he  had  pitched  his  camp  on  the  west  side 
of  the  city,  the  soldiers  that  were  set  to  ! 
guard   that   part   shot    their   arrows    and 
threw  their  darts  at  him;  and  when  some 
sallied  out  in  a  crowd,  and  came  to  fight 
hand  to  hand  with  the  first  ranks  of  Herod's 
army,  he  gave  orders  that  they  should,  ia  ! 
the  first  place,  make  proclamation   about 
the  wall,  that  he  came  for  the  good  of  the 
people,  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  city, 
and  not  to  bear  any  old  grudge  at  even  his 
most  open  enemies,  but  ready  to  forget  the 
offences  which  his  greatest  adversaries  had 
done  him ;  but  Antigonus,  by  way  of  re- 
ply to  what  Herod  had  caused  to  be  pro- 
claimed, and  this  before  the  Romans,  and 
before  Silo  also,  said,  that  they  would  not 
do  justly  if  they  gave  the  kingdom   to 
Herod,  who  was  no  more  than  a  private 
man,  and  ar>  Idumean,  that  is,  half  a  Jew, , 


Cjap.  XV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


445 


whereas  they  ouglit  t>  bestow  it  on  one  of 
the  royal  family  as  their  custom  was;  for, 
that  in  case  thoy  at  present  bore  an  ill- 
will  to  him,  and  had  resolved  to  deprive 
him  of  the  kingdom,  as  having  received  it 
from  the  Parthians,  yet  were  there  many 
others  of  his  family  that  might  by  their 
law  take  it,  and  these,  such  as  had  noway 
offended  the  Romans;  and  being  of  the 
sacerdotal  family,  it  would  be  an  unworthy 
thing  to  put  them  by.  Now  while  they 
said  thus  one  to  another,  and  fell  to  re- 
proaching each  other  on  both  sides,  An- 
tigonus  permitted  his  own  men  that  were 
upon  the  wall  to  defend  themselves;  who, 
using  their  bows,  and  showing  great  ala- 
crity against  their  enemies,  easily  drove 
them  away  from  the  towers. 

And  now  it  was  that  Silo  discovered 
that  he  had  taken  bribes :  for  he  set  a 
great  number  of  his  soldiers  to  complain 
aloud  of  the  want  of  provisions  they  were 
in,  and  to  require  money  to  buy  them 
food;  and  that  it  was  fit  to  let  them  go 
into  places  proper  for  winter  quarters,  since 
the  places  near  the  city  were  a  desert,  by 
reason  that  Antigonus's  soldiers  had  carried 
all  away;  so  he  set  his  army  upon  re- 
moving, and  endeavoured  to  march  away; 
but  Herod  pressed  Silo  not  to  depart,  and 
exhorted  Silo's  captains  and  soldiers  not 
to  desert  him,  when  Caesar  and  Antony, 
and  the  senate,  had  sent  him  thither,  for 
that  he  would  provide  them  plenty  of  all 
the  things  they  wanted,  and  easily  procure 
them  a  great  abundance  of  what  they  re- 
quired; after  which  entreaty,  he  imme- 
diately went  into  the  country,  and  left 
not  the  least  pretence  to  Silo  for  his  de- 
parture, for  he  brought  an  unexpected 
quantity  of  provisions,  and  sent  to  those 
friends  of  his  who  inhabited  about  Samaria, 
to  bring  down  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil,  and 
cattle,  and  all  other  provisions,  to  Jericho, 
that  there  might  be  no  want  of  a  supply 
for  the  soldiers  for  the  time  to  come. 
Antigonus  was  sensible  of  this,  and  sent 
presently  over  the  country  such  as  might 
restrain  and  lie  in  ambush  for  those  that 
Vent  out  for  provisions.  So  these  men 
obeyed  the  orders  of  Antigonus,  and  got 
together  a  great  number  of  armed  men 
about  Jericho,  and  sat  upon  the  moun- 
tains, and  watched  those  that  brought  the 
provisions.  However,  Herod  was  not  idle 
in  the  mean  time,  for  he  took  ten  bands 
of  soldiers,  of  whom  five  were  of  the  lio- 
inans,  and  five  of  the  Jews,  with  some 
mercenaries  among  them,  and  with  some 


few  horsemen,  and  came  to  Jericho;  and 
as  they  found  the  city  deserted,  but  that 
500  of  them  had  settled  themselves  on  the 
tops  of  the  hills,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  those  he  took  and  sent  away; 
but  the  Romans  fell  upon  the  city,  and 
plundered  it,  and  found  the  houses  full  of 
all  sorts  of  good  things.  So  the  king  left 
a  garrison  at  Jericho,  and  came  back  again, 
and  sent  the  Roman  army  to  take  thei; 
winter  quarters  in  the  countries  that  had 
come  over  to  him,  Judea,  and  Galilee,  and 
Samaria.  And  so  much  did  Antigonus  gain 
of  Silo  from  the  bribes  he  gave  him  that  part 
of  the  army  should  be  quartered  at  Lydda, 
in  order  to  please  Antony.  So  the  Romans 
laid  their  weapons  aside,  and  lived  in 
plenty  of  all  things. 

But  Herod  was  not  pleased  with  lying 
still,  but  sent  out  his  brother  Joseph 
against  Idumea  with  2000  armed  footmen, 
and  400  horsemen,  while  he  himself  came 
to  Samaria,  and  left  his  mother  and  his 
other  relations  there,  for  they  had  already 
gone  out  of  Masada,  and  went  into  Gali- 
lee,  and  took  certain  places  which  were 
held  by  the  garrisons  of  Antigonus;  and 
he  passed  on  to  Sepphoris,  as  God  sent  a 
snow,  while  Antigonus's  garrisons  with- 
drew themselves,  and  had  great  plenty  of 
provisions.  He  also  went  thence,  and  re 
solved  to  destroy  those  robbers  that  dwelt 
in  the  caves,  and  did  much  mischief  in  the 
country;  so  he  sent  a  troop  of  horsemen 
and  three  companies  of  armed  footmen 
against  them.  They  were  very  near  to  a 
village  called  Arbela;  and  on  the  fortieth 
day  after,  he  came  himself  with  his  whole 
army :  and  as  the  enemy  sallied  out  boldly 
upon  him,  the  left  wing  of  his  army  gave 
way;  but  he  appearing  with  a  body  of 
men,  put  those  to  flight  who  were  already 
conquerors,  and  recalled  his  men  that  ran 
away.  He  also  pressed  upon  his  enemies, 
and  pursued  them  as  far  as  the  river  Jor- 
dan, though  they  ran  away  by  different 
roads.-  So  he  brought  over  to  him  all 
Galilee,  excepting  those  that  dwelt  in  the 
caves,  and  distributed  money  to  every  one 
of  his  soldiers,  giving  each  of  them  150 
drachmae,  and  much  more  to  their  cap- 
tains, and  sent  them  into  winter  quarters; 
at  which  time  Silo  came  to  him,  and  hia 
commanders  with  him,  because  Antigonus 
would  not  give  them  provisions  any  longer; 
for  he  supplied  them  for  no  more  than  one 
month;  nay,  he  had  sent  to  all  the  r,ountry 
round  about,  and  ordered  them  to  carry 
off  the  provisions  that  were  there,  and  re- 


446 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV, 


tired  to  the  mountains,  that  the  Romans 
might  have  no  provisions  to  live  upon,  and 
bo  might  perish  by  famine;  but  Herod  com- 
mitted the  care  of  that  matter  to  Pheroras, 
his  youngest  brother,  and  ordered  him  to 
repair  Alexandrium  also.  Accordingly,  he 
quickly  made  the  soldiers  abound  with  great 
plenty  of  provisions,  and  rebuilt  Alexan- 
drium,  which  before  had  been  desolate. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Antony 
continued  some  time  at  Athens,  and  that 
Ventidius,  who  was  now  in  Syria,  sent  for 
Silo,  and  commanded  him  to  assist  Herod, 
in  the  first  place,  to  finish  the  present  war, 
and  then  to  send  for  their  confederates  for 
the  war  they  were  themselves  engaged  in ; 
but  as  for  Herod,  he  went  in  haste  against 
the  robbers  that  were  in  the  caves,  and 
sent  Silo  away  to  Ventidius,  while  he 
marched  against  them.  These  caves  were 
in  mountains  that  were  exceeding  abrupt, 
and  in  their  middle  were  no  other  than 
precipices,  with  certain  entrances  into  the 
caves,  and  those  caves  were  encompassed 
with  sharp  rocks,  and  in  these  did  the 
robbers  lie  concealed,  with  all  their  families 
about  them ;  but  the  king  caused  certain 
chests  to  be  made,  in  order  to  destroy 
them,  and  to  be  huug  down,  bound  about 
with  iron  chains,  by  an  engine,  from  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  it  being  impossible 
to  get  up  to  them,  by  reason  of  the  sharp 
ascent  of  the  mountains,  nor  to  creep  down 
to  them  from  above.  Now  these  chests 
were  filled  with  armed  men,  who  had  long 
hooks  in  their  hands,  by  which  they  might 
pull  out  such  as  resisted  them,  and  then 
tumble  them  down,  and  kill  them  by  so 
doing;  but  the  letting  the  chests  down 
proved  to  be  a  matter  of  great  danger, 
because  of  the  vast  depth  they  were  to  be 
let  down,  although  they  had  their  pro- 
visions in  the  chests  themselves;  but 
when  the  chests  were  let  down,  and  not 
one  of  those  in  the  mouths  of  the  caves 
durst  come  near  them,  but  lay  still  out  of 
fear,  some  of  the  armed  men  girt  on  their 
armour,  and  by  both  their  hands  took  hold 
of  the  chain  by  which  the  chests  were  let 
down,  and  went  into  the  mouths  of  the 
caves,  because  they  fretted  that  such  de- 
lay was  made  by  the  robbers  not  daring 
to  come  out  of  the  caves;  and  when  they 
were  at  any  of  those  mouths,  they  first 
killed  many  of  those  that  were  in  the 
mouths,  with  their  darts,  and  afterward 
polled  those  to  them  that  resisted  them 
with  their  hooks,  and  tumbled  them  down 
the   precipices,  and   afterward   went   into 


the  caves,  and  killed  many  more,  and  then 
went  into  their  chests  again,  and  lay  still 
there;  but,  upon  this,  terror  seized  the 
rest,  when  they  heard  the  lamentations 
that  were  made,  and  they  despaired  of 
escaping;  however,  when  the  night  came 
on,  that  put  an  end  to  the  whole  work; 
and  as  the  king  proclaimed  pardon  by  a 
herald  to  such  as  delivered  themselves  up 
to  him,  many  accepted  of  the  offer.  The 
same  method  of  assault  was  made  use  of 
the  next  day;  and  they  went  farther,  and 
got  out  in  baskets  to  fight  them,  and 
fought  them  at  their  doors,  and  sunt  fire 
among  them,  and  set  their  caves  on  fire, 
for  there  was  a  great  deal  of  combustible 
matter  within  them.  Now  there  was  one 
old  man  who  was  caught  within  one  of 
these  caves,  with  seven  children  and  a 
wife;  these  prayed  him  to  give  them  leave 
to  go  out,  and  yield  themselves  up  to  the 
enemy;  but  he  stood  at  the  cave's  mouth, 
and  always  slew  that  child  of  his  who 
went  out,  till  he  had  destroyed  them 
every  one,  and  after  that  he  slew  his  wife, 
and  cast  their  dead  bodies  down  the  preci- 
pice, and  himself  after  them,  and  so  under 
went  death  rather  than  slavery :  but,  be 
fore  he  did  this,  he  greatly  reproached 
Herod  with  the  meanness  of  his  family, 
although  he  was  then  king.  Herod  also 
saw  what  he  was  doing,  and  stretched  out 
his  hand,  and  offered  him  all  manner  of  secu- 
rity for  his  life;  by  which  means  all  these 
caves  were  at  length  subdued  entirely. 

And  when  the  king  had  set  Ptolemy 
over  these  parts  of  the  country  as  his  gene- 
ral, he  went  to  Samaria  with  600  horse- 
men and  3000  armed  footmen,  as  intend- 
ing to  fight  Antigonus;  but  still  this  com- 
mand of  the  army  did  not  succeed  well 
with  Ptolemy,  but  those  that  had  been 
troublesome  to  Galilee  before,  attacked 
him,  and  slew  him;  and  when  they  had 
done  this,  they  fled  among  the  lakes  and 
places  almost  inaccessible,  laying  waste 
and  plundering  whatsoever  they  could 
come  at  in  those  places;  but  Herod  soon 
returned,  and  punished  them  for  what 
they  had  done*  for  some  of  those  rebels 
he  slew,  and  others  of  them,  who  had  fled 
to  the  strongholds,  he  besieged,  and  both 
slew  them  and  demolished  their  strong- 
holds ;  and  when  he  had  thus  put  an  <md 
to  their  rebellion,  he  laid  a  fine  upon  the 
cities  of  100  talents. 

In  the  mean  time  Pacorus  had  fallen  in 
a  battle,  and  the  Parthians  were  defeated, 
when  Ventidius  sent  Macheray  to  the  ^ 


Chap.  XV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


447 


sistance  of  Herjd,  with  two  legions  and 
1000  horsemen,  while  Antony  encouraged 
him  to  make  haste;  but  Macheras,  at  the 
instigation  of  Antigonus,  without  the  ap- 
probation of  Herod,  as  being  corrupted  by 
money,  went  about  to  take  a  view  of  his 
affairs;  but  Antigonus,  suspecting  this  in- 
tention of  his  coming,  did  not  admit  him 
into  the  city,  but  kept  him  at  a  distance, 
with  throwing  stones  at  him,  and  plainly 
showed  what  he  himself  meant ;  but  when 
Macheras  was  sensible  that  Herod  had 
given  him  good  advice,  and  that  he  had 
made  a  mistake  himself  in  not  hearken- 
ing to  that  advice,  he  retired  to  the  city 
of  Emmaus  ;  and  what  Jews  he  met  with, 
he  slew  them,  whether  they  were  enemies 
or  friends,  out  of  the  rage  he  was  in  at 
what  hardships  he  had  undergone.  The 
king  was  provoked  at  this  conduct  of  his, 
and  went  to  Samaria,  and  resolved  to  go 
to  Antony  about  these  affairs,  and  to  in- 
form him  that  he  stood  in  no  need  of  such 
helpers,  who  did  him  more  mischief  than 
they  did  his  enemies;  and  that  he  was 
able  of  himself  to  .  beat  Antigonus.  But 
Macheras  followed  him,  and  desired  that 
he  would  not  go  to  Antony;  or,  if  he  was 
resolved  to  go,  that  he  would  join  his 
brother  Joseph  with  them,  and  let  them 
fight  against  Antigonus.  So  he  was  re- 
conciled to  Macheras,  upon  his  earnest 
entreaties.  Accordingly,  he  left  Joseph 
there  with  his  army,  but  charged  him  to 
run  no  hazards,  nor  to  quarrel  with 
Macheras. 

But  for  his  own  part,  he  made  haste  to 
Antony,  (who  was  then  at  the  siege  of 
Samosata,  a  place  upon  the  Euphrates,) 
with  his  troops,  both  horsemen  and  foot- 
men, to  be  auxiliaries  to  him ;  and  when 
he  came  to  Antioch,  and  met  there  a  great 
number  of  men  gotten  together  that  were 
desirous  to  go  to  Antony,  but  durst  not 
venture  to  go,  out  of  fear,  because  the 
barbarians  fell  upon  men  on  the  road, 
and  slew  many,  so  he  encouraged  them, 
and  became  their  conductor  upon  the 
road.  Now  when  they  were  within  two 
days'  march  of  Samosata,  the  barbarians 
had  laid  an  ambush  there  to  disturb  those 
that  came  to  Antony,  and  where  the 
woods  made  the  passes  narrow,  as  they 
led  to  the  plains,  there  they  laid  not  a 
few  of  their  horsemen,  who  were  to  lie 
still  until  those  passengers  had  gone  by 
into  the  wide  place.  Now,  as  soon  as  the 
first  ranks  were  gone  by,  (for  Herod 
brought  on  the   rear,)  those  that  lay  in 


ambush,  who  were  about  500,  fell  upon 
them  on  the  sudden,  and  when  they  had 
put  the  foremost  to  flight,  the  king  came 
riding  hard,  with  the  forces  that  were 
about  him,  and  immediately  drove  back 
the  enemy;  by  which  means  he  made  the 
minds  of  his  own  men  courageous,  and 
emboldened  them  to  go  on,  insomuch 
that  those  who  ran  away  before,  now  re- 
turned back,  and  the  barbarians  were  slain 
on  all  sides.  The  king  also  went  on  kill- 
ing them,  and  recovered  all  the  baggage, 
among  which  were  a  great  number  of 
beasts  for  burden,  and  of  slaves,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  in  his  march ;  and  whereas 
there  were  a  great  number  of  those  in  the 
woods  that  attacked  them,  and  were  near 
the  passage  that  led  into  the  plain,  he 
made  a  sally  upon  these  also  with  a  strong 
body  of  men ;  and  put  them  to  flight,  and 
slew  many  of  them,  and  thereby  rendered 
the  way  safe  for  those  that  came  after ; 
and  these  called  Herod  their  saviour  and 
protector. 

And  when  he  was  near  to  Samosata, 
Antony  sent  out  his  army  in  all  their 
proper  habiliments  to  meet  him,  in  order 
to  pay  Herod  this  respect,  and  because 
of  the  assistance  he  had  given  him ;  for 
he  had  heard  what  attacks  the  barbarians 
had  made  upon  him  [in  Judea.]  He  also 
was  very  glad  to  see  him  there,  as  having 
been  made  acquainted  with  the  great 
actions  he  had  performed  upon  the  road ; 
so  he  entertained  him  very  kindly,  and 
could  not  but  admire  his  courage.  Antony 
also  embraced  him  as  soon  as  he  saw  him, 
and  saluted  him  after  a  most  affectionate 
manner,  and  gave  him  the  upper  hand,  as 
having  himself  lately  made  him  a  king; 
and  in  a  little  time  Antiochus  delivered 
up  the  fortress,  and  on  that  account  this 
war  was  at  an  end  ;  then  Antony  com- 
mitted the  rest  to  Sosius,  and  gave  him 
orders  to  assist  Herod,  and  went  himself 
to  Egypt.  Accordingly,  Sosius  sent  two 
legions  before  him  into  Judea  to  the  as- 
sistance of  Herod,  and  he  followed  him- 
self with  the  body  of  the  army. 

Now  Joseph  was  already  slain  in  Judea, 
in  the  manner  following  : — He  forgot  what 
charge  his  brother  Herod  had  given  him 
when  he  went  to  Antony ;  and  when  he 
had  pitched  his  camp  among  the  moun- 
tains, for  Macheras  had  lent  him  five  re- 
giments, with  these  he  went  hastily  to 
Jericho,  in  order  to  reap  the  corn  thereto 
belonging;  and  as  the  Bonian  regiments 
were  but  newly  raised,  and  were  unskilful 


448 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XIV. 


in  war,  for  they  were  in  great  part  collected 
out  of  Syria,  he  was  attacked  by  the  enemy, 
and  caught  in  those  places  of  difficulty,  and 
was  himself  slain,  as  he  was  fighting 
bravely,  and  the  whole  army  was  lost,  for 
there  were  six  regiments  slain.  So  when 
Antigonus  had  got  possession  of  the  dead 
bodies,  he  cut  off  Joseph's  head,  although 
Pheroras,  his  brother,  would  have  re- 
deemed it  at  the  price  of  fifty  talents. 
After  which  defeat,  the  Galileans  revolted 
from  their  commanders,  and  took  those  of 
Herod's  party,  and  drowned  them  in  the 
lake;  and  a  great  part  of  Judea  became 
seditious :  but  Macheras  fortified  the  place 
Gitta  [in  Samaria]. 

At  this  time,  messengers  came  to 
Herod,  and  informed  him  of  what  had 
been  done  :  and  when  he  had  come  to 
Daphne  by  Antioch,  they  told  him  of  the 
ill  fortune  that  had  befallen  his  brother, 
which  yet  he  expected,  from  certain 
visions  that  appeared  to  him  in  his 
dreams,  which  clearly  foreshowed  his 
brother's  death.  So  he  hastened  his 
march;  and  when  he  came  to  Mount 
Libanus,  he  received  about  800  of  the 
men  of  that  place,  having  already  with 
him  also  one  Roman  legion,  and  with 
these  he  came  to  Ptolemais.  He  also 
marched  thence  by  night  with  his  army, 
aud  proceeded  along  Galilee.  Here  it 
was  that  the  enemy  met  him,  and  fought 
him,  and  were  beaten,  and  shut  up  in  the 
same  place  of  strength  whence  they  had 
sallied  out  the  day  before.  So  he  at- 
tacked the  place  in  the  morning;  but,  by 
reason  of  a  great  storm  that  was  then 
very  violent,  he  was  able  to  do  nothing, 
but  drew  off  his  army  into  the  neigh- 
bouring villages;  yet,  as  soon  as  the  other 
legion  that  Antony  sent  him  had  come  to 
his  assistance,  those  that  were  in  garrison 
in  the  place  were  afraid,  and  deserted  it 
in  the  night-time.  Then  did  the  king 
march  hastily  to  Jericho,  intending  to 
avenge  himself  on  the  enemy  for  the 
slaughter  of  his  brother;  and  when  he 
had  pitched  his  tents,  he  made  a  feast  for 
the  principal  commanders,  and  after  this 
collation  was  over,  and  he  had  dismissed 
his  guests,  he  retired  to  his  own  chamber : 
and  here  may  one  see  what  kindness  God 
had  for  the  king,  for  the  upper  part  of  the 
house  fell  down  when  nobody  was  in  it, 
and  so  killed  none,  insomuch  that  all  the 
people  believed  that  Herod  was  beloved 
of  God,  since  he  had  escaped  such  a  great 
and  surprising  danger. 


But  the  next  day,  6000  of  the  enemy 
came  down  from  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
to  fight  the  Romans,  which  greatly  ter- 
rified them ;  and  the  soldiers  that  were  in 
light  armour  came  near,  and  pelted  the 
king's  guards  that  had  come  out  with 
darts  and  stones,  and  one  of  them  smote 
him  on  the  side  with  a  dart.  Antigonus 
also  sent  a  commander  against  Samaria, 
whose  name  was  Pappus,  with  some 
forces,  being  desirous  to  show  the  enemy 
how  potent  he  was,  and  that  he  had  men 
to  spare  in  his  war  with  them  :  he  sat 
down  to  oppose  Macheras ;  but  Herod, 
when  he  had  taken  five  cities,  took  such 
as  were  left  in  them,  being  about  2000, 
and  slew  them,  and  burnt  the  cities  them- 
selves, and  then  returned  to  go  against 
Pappus,  who  was  encamped  at  a  village 
called  Isanas :  and  there  ran  in  to  him 
many  out  of  Jericho  and  Judea,  near  to 
which  places  he  was,  and  the  enemy  fell 
upon  his  men,  so  stout  were  they  at  this 
time,  and  joined  battle  with  them,  but 
they  beat  them  in  the  fight ;  and  in  order 
to  be  revenged  on  them  for  the  slaughter 
of  his  brother,  he  pursued  them  sharply, 
and  killed  them  as  they  ran  away ;  and 
as  the  houses  were  full  of  armed  men,  and 
many  of  them  ran  as  far  as  the  tops  of  the 
houses,  he  got  them  under  his  power,  and 
pulled  down  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  and 
saw  the  lower  rooms  full  of  soldiers  that 
were  caught,  and  lay  all  on  a  heap ;  so 
they  threw  stones  down  upon  them  as 
they  lay  piled  one  upon  another,  and 
thereby  killed  them :  nor  was  there  a 
more  frightful  spectacle  in  all  the  war 
than  this,  where,  beyond  the  walls,  an 
immense  multitude  of  dead  men  lay 
heaped  one  upon  another.  This  action 
it  was  which  chiefly  broke  the  spirits  of 
the  enemy,  who  expected  now  what  would 
come ;  for  there  appeared  a  mighty  num- 
ber of  people  that  came  from  places  far 
distant,  that  were  now  about  the  village, 
but  then  ran  away ;  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  depth  of  winter,  which  then  re- 
strained them,  the  king's  army  bad  pre- 
sently gone  to  Jerusalem,  as  being  very 
courageous  at  this  good  success,  and  the 
whole  work  had  been  done  immediately; 
for  Antigonus  was  already  looking  about 
how  he  might  fly  away  and  leave  the  city. 

At  this  time  the  king  gave  order  that 
the  soldiers  should  go  to  supper,  for  it 
was  late  at  night,  while  he  went  into  a 
chamber  to  use  the  bath,  for  he  was  very 
weary :  and  here  it  was  that  he  was  ifl 


Chap   XVI.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


419 


the  greatest  danger,  which  yet,  by  God's 
piovidence,  he  escaped;  for  as  he  was 
naked,  and  had  but  one  servant  that 
followed  him,  to  be  with  him  while  he 
was  bathing  in  an  inner  room,  certain  of 
the  enemy,  who  were  in  their  armour, 
and  had  fled  thither  out  of  fear,  were  then 
in  the  place ;  and  as  he  was  bathing,  the 
first  of  them  came  out  with  his  naked 
sword,  and  went  out  at  the  doors,  and 
after  him,  a  second,  and  a  third,  armed 
in  like  manner,  and  were  under  such  a 
consternation,  that  they  did  no  hurt  to  the 
king,  and  thought  themselves  to  have 
come  off  very  well  in  suffering  no  harm 
themselves  in  their  getting  out  of  the 
house.  However,  on  the  next  day,  he 
cut  off  the  head  of  Pappus,  for  he  was 
already  slain,  and  sent  it  to  Pheroras,  as 
a  punishment  of  what  their  brother  had 
suffered  by  his  means,  for  he  was  the  man 
that  slew  him  with  his  own  hand. 

When  the  rigour  of  winter  was  over, 
Herod  removed  his  army,  and  came  near 
to  Jerusalem,  and  pitched  his  camp  hard 
by  the  city.  Now  this  was  the  third 
year  since  he  had  been  made  king  at 
Rome;  and  as  he  removed  his  camp,  and 
came  near  that  part  of  the  wall  where  it 
could  be  most  easily  assaulted,  he  pitched 
that  camp  before  the  temple,  intending  to 
make  his  attacks  in  the  same  manner  as 
did  Pompey.  So  he  encompassed  the 
place  with  three  bulwarks,  and  erected 
towers,  and  employed  a  great  many  hands 
about  the  work,  and  cut  down  the  trees 
that  were  round  about  the  citv ;  and 
when  he  had  appointed  proper  persons  to 
oversee  the  works,  even  while  the  army 
lay  before  the  city,  he  himself  went  to 
Samaria,  to  complete  his  marriage,  and  to 
take  to  wife  the  daughter  of  Alexander, 
the  son  of  Aristobulus;  for  he  had  be- 
trothed her  already,  as  I  have  before  re- 
lated. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Herod  marries  Mariamne — takes  Jerusalem  by 
force — Termination  of  the  Asamonean  govern- 
ment. 

After  the  wedding  was  over,  came 
Sosius  through  Phoenicia,  having  sent  out 
his  army  before  him  over  the  midland 
parts.  He  also,  who  was  their  com- 
mander, came  himself,  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  horsemen  and  footmen.  The  king 
ilso  came  himself  from  Samaria,  and 
wrought  with  him  no  small  army,  besides 
29 


that  which  was  there  before,  for  they  were 
about  30,000  ;  and  they  all  met  together 
at  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  encamped 
at  the  north  wall  of  the  city,  being  now 
an  army  of  eleven  legions,  armed  men  on 
foot,  and  6000  horsemen,  with  other  auxi- 
liaries out  of  Syria.  The  generals  were 
two :  Sosius,  sent  by  Antony  to  assist 
Herod,  and  Herod  on  his  own  account,  in 
order  to  take  the  government  from  Anti- 
gonus,  who  was  declared  an  enemy  to 
Rome,  and  that  he  might  himself  be  king, 
according  to  the  decree  of  the  senate. 

Now  the  Jews  that  were  enclosed  within 
the  walls  of  the  city  fought  against  Herod 
with  great  alacrity  and  zeal,  (for  the  whole 
nation  were  gathered  together ;)  they  also 
gave  out  many  prophecies  about  the  temple, 
and  many  things  agreeable  to  the  people, 
as  if  God  would  deliver  them  out  of  the 
dangers  they  were  in ;  they  had  also 
carried  off  what  was  out  of  the  city,  that 
they  might  not  leave  any  thing  to  afford 
sustenance  either  for  men  or  for  beasts; 
and,  by  private  robberies,  they  made  the 
want  of  necessaries  greater.  When  Herod 
understood  this,  he  opposed  ambushes  iD 
the  fittest  places  against  their  private 
robberies,  and  he  sent  legions  of  armed 
men  to  bring  in  provisions,  and  that  from 
remote  places,  so  that  in  a  little  time  they 
had  great  plenty  of  provisions.  Now  the 
three  bulwarks  were  easily  erected,  be- 
cause so  many  hands  were  continually  at 
work  upon  it,  for  it  was  summer  time, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  them  in 
raising  their  works;  neither  from  the  air 
nor  from  the  workmen  :  so  they  brought 
their  engines  to  bear,  and  shook  the  walls 
of  the  city,  and  tried  all  manner  of  ways 
to  get  in :  yet  did  not  those  within  dis- 
cover any  fear,  but  they  also  contrived 
not  a  few  engines  to  oppose  their  engines 
withal.  They  also  sallied  out,  and  burnt 
not  only  those  engines  that  were  not  yet 
perfected,  but  those  that  were ;  and  when 
they  came  hand  to  hand,  their  attempts 
were  not  less  bold  than  those  of  the 
Romans,  though  they  were  behind  them 
in  skill.  They  also  erected  new  works 
when  the  former  were  ruined,  and  making 
mines  under  ground,  they  met  each  other, 
and  fought  there;  and  making  use  of 
brutish  courage  rather  than  prudent  valour 
they  persisted  in  this  war  to  the  very  last: 
and  this  they  did  while  a  mighty  army 
lay  round  about  them,  and  while  they 
were  distressed  by  famine  and  the  want 
of  necessaries,  for  this  happened  to  be  h 


450 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIV.  Chap.  XVI. 


Sabbatic  year.  The  first  that  scaled  the 
walls  were  twenty  chosen  men ;  the  next 
were  Sosius's  centurions;  for  the  first 
wall  was  taken  in  forty  days,  and  the 
second  in  fifteen  more,  when  some  of  the 
cloisters  that  were  about  the  temple  were 
burnt,  which  Herod  gave  out  to  have 
been  burnt  by  Antigonus,  in  order  to 
expose  him  to  the  hatred  of  the  Jews. 
And  when  the  outer  court  of  the  temple, 
and  the  lower  city,  were  taken,  the  Jews 
fled  into  the  inner  court  of  the  temple, 
and  into  the  upper  city;  but  now,  fearing 
lest  the  Romans  should  hinder  them  from 
offering  their  daily  sacrifices  to  God,  they 
sent  an  embassy,  and  desired  that  they 
would  only  permit  them  to  bring  in  beasts 
for  sacrifices,  which  Herod  granted,  hoping 
they  were  going  to  yield;  but  when  he 
saw  that  they  did  nothing  of  what  he  sup- 
posed, but  bitterly  opposed  him,  in  order 
to  preserve  the  kingdom  to  Antigonus,  he 
made  an  assault  upon  the  city,  and  took 
it  by  storm ;  and  now  all  parts  were  full 
of  those  that  were  slain,  by  the  rage  of 
the  Romans  at  the  long  duration  of  the 
siege,  and  by  the  zeal  of  the  Jews  that 
were  on  Herod's  side,  who  were  not 
willing  to  leave  one  of  their  adversaries 
alive;  so  they  were  murdered  continually 
in  the  narrow  streets  and  the  houses  by 
crowds,  and  as  they  were  flying  to  the 
temple  for  shelter,  and  there  was  no  pity 
taken,  of  either  infants  or  the  aged,  nor 
did  they  spare  so  much  as  the  weaker 
sex ;  nay,  although  the  king  sent  about, 
and  besought  them  to  spare  the  people, 
yet  nobody  restrained  their  hands  from 
slaughter,  but,  as  if  they  were  a  company 
of  madmen,  they  fell  upon  persons  of  all 
ages,  without  distinction ;  and  then  Anti- 
gonus, without  regard  to  either  his  past 
or  present  circumstances,  came  down  from 
the  citadel,  and  fell  down  at  the  feet  of 
Sosius,  who  took  no  pity  on  him,  in  the 
change  of  his  fortune,  but  insulted  him 
beyond  measure,  and  called  him  Antigone 
[that  is,  a  woman,  and  not  a  man]  :  yet 
did  he  not  treat'  him  as  if  he  were  a 
woman,  by  letting  him  go  at  liberty,  but 
put  him  into  bonds,  and  kept  him  in  close 
custody. 

And  now  Herod  having  overcome  his 
enemies,  his  care  was  to  govern  those 
foreigners  who  had  been  his  assistants,  for 
the  crowd  of  strangers  rushed  to  see  the 
temple,  and  the  sacred  things  in  the  tem- 
ple ;  but  the  king  thinking  a  victory  to  be 
a  more  severe  affliction  than  a  defeat,  if 


any  of  those  things  which  it  was  not  law- 
ful  to  see  should  be  seen  by  them,  used 
entreaties  and  threatenings,  and  some- 
times even  force  itself,  to  restrain  them. 
He  also  prohibited  the  ravage  that  was 
made  in  the  city,  and  many  times  asked 
Sosius  whether  the  Romans  would  empty 
the  city  both  of  money  and  men,  and  leave 
him  king  of  a  desert;  and  told  him,  that 
he  esteemed  the  dominion  over  the  whole 
habitable  earth  as  by  no  means  an  equiva- 
lent satisfaction  for  such  a  murder  of  his 
citizens ;  and  when  he  said  that  this  plun- 
der was  justly  to  be  permitted  the  soldiers 
for  the  siege  they  had  undergone,  he  re- 
plied, that  he  would  give  every  one  his 
reward  out  of  his  own  money,  and  by  this 
means,  he  redeemed  what  remained  of  the 
city  from  destruction;  and  he  performed 
what  he  had  promised  him,  for  he  gave  a 
noble  present  to  ever}7  soldier,  and  a 
proportionable  present  to  their  command- 
ers; but  a  most  royal  present  to  Sosius 
himself,  till  they  all  went  away  full  of 
money. 

This  destruction  befell  the  city  of  Jeru- 
salem when  Marcus  Agrippa  and  Cani« 
nius  Gallus  were  consuls  at  Rome,  on  the 
185th  Olympiad,  on  the  third  month,  on 
the  solemnity  of  the  fast,  as  if  a  periodical 
revolution  of  calamities  had  returned  since 
that  which  befell  the  Jews  under  Pompey ; 
for  the  Jews  were  taken  by  him  on  the  same 
day,  and  this  was  after  twenty-seven  years* 
time.  So  when  Sosius  had  dedicated  a 
crown  of  gold  to  God,  he  marched  away 
from  Jerusalem,  and  carried  Antigonus 
with  him  in  bonds  to  Antony;  but  Herod 
was  afraid  lest  Antigonus  should  be  kept 
in  prison  [only]  by  Antony,  and  that 
when  he  was  carried  to  Rome  by  him,  he 
might  get  his  cause  to  be  heard  by  the 
senate,  and  might  demonstrate,  as  he  was 
himself  of  the  royal  blood,  and  Herod  but 
a  private  man,  that  therefore  it  belonged 
to  his  sons,  however,  to  have  the  kingdom, 
on  account  of  the  family  they  were  of,  in 
case  he  had  himself  offended  the  Romans 
by  what  he  had  done.  Out  of  Herod's 
fear  of  this  it  was  that  he,  by  giving  An- 
tony a  great  deal  of  money,  endeavoured 
to  persuade  him  to  have  Antigonus  slain, 
which,  if  it  were  once  done,  he  should  be 
free  from  that  fear.  And  thus  did  the 
government  of  the  Asamoneans  cease,  126 
years  after  it  was  first  set  up.  This  family 
was  a  splendid  and  an  illustrious  one,  both 
on  account  of  the  nobility  of  their  stock, 
and  of  the  dignity  of  the  high-priesthood, 


rfooK  XV.  Chap.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


451 


as  also  for  the  glorious  actions  their  ances- 
tors had  performed  for  our  nation ;  but 
these  men  lost  the  government  by  their 
dissensions  one  with  another,  and  it  came 
to  Herod,  the  son  of  Antipater,  who  was 


of  no  more  than  a  vulgar  family,  and  of 
no  eminent  extraction,  but  one  that  was 
subject  to  other  kings.  And  this  is  what 
history  tells  us  was  the  end  of  the  Asa- 
monean  family. 


BOOK  XV. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OP  EIGHTEEN  YEARS,  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF 
ANTIGONUS  TO  THE  FINISHING  OF  THE  TEMPLE   BY  HEROD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Pollio  and  Sameas — Herod  slays  the  principal  of 
Antigouus's  friends — spoils  the  city — Antony  be- 
heads Antigonus. 

How  Sosius  and  Herod  took  Jerusalem 
by  force;  and  besides  that,  how  they  took 
Antigonus  captive,  has  been  related  by  us 
in  the  foregoing  book.  We  will  now  pro- 
ceed in  the  narration.  And  since  Herod 
had  now  the  government  of  all  Judea  put 
into  his  hands,  he  promoted  such  of  the 
private  men  of  the  city  as  had  been  of  his 
party,  but  never  left  off  avenging  and 
punishing  every  day  those  that  had  chosen 
to  be  of  the  party  of  his  enemies;  but 
Pollio,  the  Pharisee,  and  Sameas,  a  disci- 
ple of  his,  were  honoured  by  him  above  all 
the  rest;  for  when  Jerusalem  was  be- 
sieged, they  advised  the  citizens  to  receive 
Herod;  for  which  advice  they  were  well 
requited.  But  this  Pollio,  at  the  time 
when  Herod  was  once  upon  his  trial  of 
life  and  death,  foretold,  in  way  of  reproach, 
to  Hyrcanus  and  the  other  judges,  how 
this  Herod,  whom  they  suffered  now  to 
escape,  would  afterward  inflict  punishment 
on  them  all ;  which  had  its  completion  in 
time,  while  God  fulfilled  the  words  he  had 
spoken. 

At  this  time  Herod,  now  he  had  Jeru- 
salem under  his  power,  carried  off  all  the 
royal  ornaments,  and  spoiled  the  wealthy 
men  of  what  they  possessed ;  and  when, 
by  these  means,  he  had  heaped  together  a 
great  quantity  of  silver  and  gold,  he  gave 
it  all  to  Antony,  and  his  friends  that  were 
about  him.  He  also  slew  forty-five  of  the 
principal  men  of  Antigonus's  party,  and 
set  guards  at  the  gates  of  the  city,  that 
nothing  might  be  carried  out  togother 
with  the  dead  bodies.  They  also  searched 
the  dead,  and  whatsoever  was  found,  either 


of  silver  or  gold,  or  other  treasure,  it  was 
carried  to  the  king;  nor  was  there  any 
end  of  the  miseries  he  brought  upon 
them ;  and  this  distress  was  in  part  occa- 
sioned by  the  covetousness  of  the  prince 
regent,  who  was  still  in  want  of  more, 
and  in  part  by  the  Sabbatic  year,  which 
was  still  going  on,  and  forced  the  country 
to  lie  still  uncultivated,  since  we  are  for- 
bidden to  sow  the  land  in  that  year.  Now 
when  Antony  had  received  Antigonus  as 
his  captive,  he  determined  to  keep  him 
against  his  triumph ;  but  when  he  heard 
that  the  nation  grew  seditious,  and  that, 
out  of  their  hatred  to  Herod,  they  con- 
tinued to  bear  good-will  to  Antigonus,  he 
resolved  to  behead  him  at  Antioch,  for 
otherwise  the  Jews  could  noway  be 
brought  to  be  quiet.  And  Strabo  of  Cap- 
padocia  attests  to  what  I  have  said,  when 
he  thus  speaks: — "Antony  ordered  Anti- 
gonus the  Jew,  to  be  brought  to  Antioch, 
and  there  to  be  beheaded;  and  this  An 
tony  seems  to  me  to  have  been  the  verj 
first  man  who  beheaded  a  king,  as  suppos- 
ing he  could  no  other  way  bend  the  minds 
of  the  Jews  so  as  to  receive  Herod,  wh<^m 
he  had  made  king  in  his  stead ;  for  by  no 
torments  could  they  be  forced  to  call  him 
king,  so  great  a  fondness  they  had  for 
their  former  king;  so  he  thought  that  this 
dishonourable  death  would  diminish  the 
value  they  had  for  Antigonus's  memory, 
and  at  the  same  time  would  diminish  the 
hatred  they  bore  to  Herod."  Thus  far 
'  Strabo. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Hyrcanus  set  at  liberty  by  the  Parthians — returns 
to  Herod. 

Now  after  Herod  was  in  possession  of 
the  kingdom,  Hyrcanus,  the  high-priest. 


452 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


who  was  then  a  captive  among  the  Par- 
thians,  came  to  him  again,  and  was  set 
free  from  his  captivity  in  the  manner  fol- 
lowing : — Barzapharnes  and  Pacorus,  the 
generals  of  the  Parthians,  took  Hyrcanus, 
who  was  first  made  high  priest,  and  after- 
ward king,  and  Herod's  brother,  Phasae- 
lus,  captives,  and  were  carrying  them 
away  into  Parthia.  Phasaelus,  indeed, 
could  not  bear  the  reproach  of  being  in 
bonds )  and  thinking  that  death  with  glory 
was  better  than  any  life  whatsoever,  he 
became  his  own  executioner,  as  I  have 
formerly  related. 

But  when  Hyrcanus  was  brought  into 
Parthia,  the  king,  Phraates,  treated  him  af- 
ter a  very  gentle  manner,  as  having  already 
learned  of  what  an  illustrious  family  he 
was;  on  which  account  he  set  him  free 
from  his  bonds,  and  gave  him  a  habitation 
at  Babylon,*  where  there  were  Jews  in 
great  numbers.  These  Jews  honoured 
Hyrcanus  as  their  high  priest  and  king, 
as  did  all  the  Jewish  nation  that  dwelt  as 
far  as  Euphrates,  which  respect  was  very 
much  to  his  satisfaction.  But  when  he 
was  informed  that  Herod  had  received  the 
kingdom,  new  hopes  came  upon  him,  as 
having  been  himself  still  of  a  kind  dispo- 
sition toward  him ;  and  expecting  that 
Herod  would  bear  in  mind  what  favour 
he  had  received  from  him,  and  when  he 
was  upon  his  trial,  and  when  he  was  in 
danger  that  a  capital  sentence  would  be 
pronounced  against  him,  he  delivered  him 
from  that  danger,  and  from  all  punish- 
ment. Accordingly  he  talked  of  that 
mattei  with  the  Jews  that  came  often  to 
him  with  great  affection ;  but  they  en- 
deavoured to  retain  him  among  them,  and 
desired  that  he  would  stay  with  them, 
putting  him  in  mind  of  the  kind  offices 
and  honours  they  did  him,  and  that  those 
honours  they  paid  him  were  not  at  all  in- 
ferior to  what  they  could  pay  either  to 
their  high  priests  or  their  kings :  and 
what  was  a  greater  motive  to  determine 
him,  they  said,  was  this,  that  he  could  not 
iiave  those  dignities  [in  Judea],  because 
of  that  maim  in  his  body,  which  had  been 
inflicted  on  him  by  Antigonus ;  and  that 
kings  do  not  use  to  requite  men  for  those 
kindnesses  which  they  received  when  they 

*  The  city  here  called  "Babylon"  by  Josephus, 
seems  to  be  one  which  was  built  by  some  of  the 
Seieucidae,  upon  the  Tigris;  which,  long  after  the 
Utter  desolation  of  Old  Babylon,  was  commonly  so 
called,  and  not  far  from  Seleuoia;  just  as  the  later 
adjoining  city,  Bagdat,  has  been  and  is  often  called 
by  the  same  old  name  of  Babylon  till  this  very  day. 


were  private  persons,  the  height  of  their 
fortune  making  usually  no  small  changes 
in  them. 

Now,  although  they  suggested  these  ar- 
guments to  him  for  his  own  advantage, 
yet  did  Hyrcanus  still  desire  to  depart. 
Herod  also  wrote  to  him,  and  persuaded 
him  to  desire  Phraates,  and  the  Jews  that 
were  there,  that  they  should  not  grudge 
him  the  royal  authority,  which  he  should 
have  jointly  with  himself,  for  that  now 
was  the  proper  time  for  himself  to  make 
him  amends  for  the  favours  he  had  re- 
ceived from  him,  as  having  been  brought 
up  by  him,  and  saved  by  him  also,  as  well 
as  for  Hyrcanus  to  receive  it.  And  as  he 
wrote  thus  to  Hyrcanus,  so  did  he  send  also 
Saramallas,  his  ambassador,  to  Phraates, 
and  many  presents  with  him,  and  desired 
him  in  the  most  obliging  way,  that  he 
would  be  no  hinderance  to  his  gratitude  to- 
ward his  benefactor.  But  this  zeal  of 
Herod's  did  not  flow  from  that  principle, 
but  because  he  had  been  made  governor 
of  that  country  without  having  auy  just 
claim  to  it,  he  was  afraid,  and  that  upon 
reasons  good  enough,  of  a  change  in  his 
condition,  and  so  made  what  haste  he 
could  to  get  Hyrcanus  into  his  power,  or 
indeed  to  put  him  quite  out  of .  the  way; 
which  last  thing  he  effected  afterward. 

Accordingly,  when  Hyrcanus  came,  full 
of  assurance,  by  the  permission  of  the  king 
of  Parthia,  and  at  the  expense  of  the  Jews, 
who  supplied  him  with  money,  Herod  re- 
ceived him  with  all  possible  respect,  and 
gave  him  the  upper  place  at  public  meet- 
ings, and  set  him  above  all  the  rest  at 
feasts,  and  thereby  deceived  him.  He 
called  him  his  father,  and  endeavoured,  by 
all  the  ways  possible,  that  he  might  have 
no  suspicion  of  any  treacherous  design 
against  him.  He  also  did  other  things,  in 
order  to  secure  his  government,  which  yet 
occasioned  a  sedition  in  his  own  family; 
for  being  cautious  how  he  made  any  illus- 
trious person  the  high  priest  of  God,  he 
sent  for  an  obscure  priest  out  of  Babylon, 
whose  name  was  Ananelus,  and  bestowed 
the  high-priesthood  upon  him. 

However,  Alexandra,  the  daughter  of 
Hyrcanus,  and  wife,  of  Alexander,  the  sou 
of  Aristobulus  the  king,  who  had  also 
brought  Alexander  [two]  children,  could 
not  bear  this  indignity.  Now  this  son  was> 
one  of  the  greatest  comeliness,  and  wa& 
called  Aristobulus;  and  the  daughter, 
Mariamne,  was  married  to  Herod,  and 
eminent  for  her  beauty  also.     This  Alex 


Jfl.4P.  II.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


453 


andra  was  much  disturbed,  and  took  this 
indignity  offered  to  her  son  exceeding  ill, 
that  while  he  was  alive,  any  one  else  should 
be  sent  for  to  have  the  dignity  of  the  high- 
priesthood  conferred  upon  him.  Accord- 
ingly, she  wrote  to  Cleopatra  (a  musician 
assisting  her  in  taking  care  to  have  her 
letters  carried)  to  desire  her  intercession 
with  Antony,  in  order  to  gain  the  high- 
priesthood  for  her  son. 

'  But  as  Antony  was  slow  in  granting 
this  request,  his  friend  Dellius  came  into 
Judea  upon  some  affairs,  and  when  he 
saw  Aristobulus,  he  stood  in  admiration  at 
the  tallness  and  handsomeness  of  the  child, 
and  no  less  at  Mariamne,  the  king's  wife, 
and  was  open  in  his  commendations  of 
Alexandra,  as  the  mother  of  most  beauti- 
ful children  :  and  when  she  came  to  dis- 
course with  him,  he  persuaded  her  to  get 
pictures  drawn  of  them  both,  and  to  send 
them  to  Antony,  for  that  when  he  saw 
them,  he  would  deny  her  nothing  that  she 
would  ask.  Accordingly,  Alexandra  was 
elevated  with  these  words  of  his,  and  sent 
the  pictures  to  Antony.  Dellius  also 
talked  extravagantly,  and  said,  that  these 
children  seemed  not  derived  from  men, 
but  from  some  god  or  other.  His  design 
in  doing  so  was  to  entice  Antony  into 
lewd  pleasures  with  them,  who  was  ashamed 
to  send  for  the  damsel,  as  being  the  wife 
of  Herod,  and  avoided  it,  because  of  the 
reproaches  he  should  have  from  Cleopatra 
on  that  account;  but  he  sent,  in  the  most 
decent  manner  he  could,  for  the  young 
man;  but  added  this  withal,  unless  he 
thought  it  hard  upon  him  so  to  do.  When 
this  letter  was  brought  to  Herod,  he  did 
not  think  it  safe  for  him  to  send  one  so 
handsome  as  was  Aristobulus,  in  the  prime 
of  his  life,  for  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  of  so  noble  a  family,  and  particularly 
not  to  Antony,  the  principal  man  among 
the  Romans,  and  one  that  would  abuse 
him  in  his  amours,  and  besides,  one  that 
openly  indulged  himself  in  such  pleasures 
as  his  power  allowed  him,  without  control. 
He  therefore  wrote  back  to  him,  that  if 
this  boy  should  only  go  out  of  the  coun- 
try, all  would  be  in  a  state  of  war  and  up- 
roar; because  the  Jews  were  in  hopes  of  a 
change  in  the  government,  and  to  have 
another  king  over  them. 

When  Herod  had  thus  excused  himself 
to  Antony,  he  resolved  that  he  would  not 
entirely  permit  the  child  of  Alexandra  to 
be  treated  dishonourably :  but  his  wife 
Mariamne  lay  vehemently  a-   him  to  re- 


store the  high-priesthood  to  ner  brother; 
and  he  judged  it  was  for  his  advantage  so 
to  do,  because,  if  he  once  had  that  dignity,, 
he  could  not  go  out  of  the  country.  So 
he  called  all  his  friends  together,  and  told 
them  that  Alexandra  privately  conspired 
against  his  royal  authority,  and  en- 
deavoured, by  the  means  of  Cleopatra,  so 
to  bring  it  about,  that  he  might  be  de- 
prived of  the  government,  and  that  by 
Antony's  means  this  youth  might  have 
the  management  of  public  affairs  in  his 
stead;  and  that  this  procedure  of  hers  was 
unjust,  since  she  would  at  the  same  time 
deprive  her  daughter  of  the  dignity  she 
now  had,  and  would  bring  disturbances 
upon  the  kingdom,  for  which  he  had  taken 
a  great  deal  of  pains,  and  had  gotten  it 
with  extraordinary  hazards:  that  yet, 
while  he  well  remembered  her  wicked 
practices,  he  would  not  leave  off  doing 
what  was  right  himself,  but  would  even 
now  give  the  youth  the  high-priesthood: 
and  that  he  formerly  set  up  Ananelus,  be- 
cause Aristobulus  was  then  so  very  young 
a  child.  Now  when  he  had  said  this,  not 
at  random,  but  as  he  thought  with  the 
best  discretion  he  had,  in  order  to  deceive 
the  women,  and  those  friends  whom  be 
had  taken  to  consult  withal,  Alexandra, 
out  of  the  great  joy  she  had  at  this  unex 
pected  promise,  and  out  of  fear  from  the 
suspicions  she  lay  under,  fell  to  weeping , 
and  made  the  following  apology  for  her- 
self, aud  said,  that  as  to  the  [high]  priest- 
hood, she  was  very  much  concerned  for 
the  disgrace  her  son  was  under,  and  so  did 
her  utmost  endeavours  to  procure  it  for 
him,  but  that  as  to  the  kingdom,  she  had 
made  no  attempts,  and  that  if  it  were 
offered  her  [for  her  son],  she  would  not 
accept  it;  and  that  now  she  would  be 
satisfied  with  her  son's  dignity,  while  he 
himself  held  the  civil  government,  and 
she  had  thereby  the  security  that  arose 
from  his  peculiar  ability  in  governing,  to 
all  the  remainder  of  her  family :  that  she 
was  now  overcome  by  his  benefits,  and 
thankfully  accepted  of  this  honour  shown 
by  him  to  her  son,  and  that  she  would  here- 
after be  entirely  obedient ;  and  she  desired 
him  to  excuse  her,  if  the  nobility  of  her 
family,  and  that  freedom  of  acting  which 
she  thought  that  allowed  her,  had  made 
her  act  too  precipitately  and  imprudently 
in  this  matter.  So  when  they  had  spoken 
thus  to  one  another  they  came  to  an  agree- 
ment; and  all  suspicions,  so  far  a?  ap- 
peared, were  vanished  away. 


154 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XT- 


CHAPTER  III. 

Herod  makes  Aristobulus  high  priest — causes  him 
to  be  murdered — excuses  himself  to  Antony — 
Joseph  and  Mariamne. 

So  King  Herod  immediately  took  the 
high-priesthood  away  from  Ananelus,  who, 
as  we  said  before,  was  not  of  this  country, 
but  one  of  those  Jews  that  had  been  carried 
captive  beyond  Euphrates ;  for  there  were 
not  a  few  ten  thousands  of  this  people  that 
had  been  carried  captives,  and  dwelt  about 
Babylonia,  whence  Ananelus  came.  He 
was  one  ot  the  stock  of  the  high  priests, 
and  had  been  of  old  a  particular  friend  of 
Herod;  and  when  he  was  first  made  king, 
he  conferred  that  dignity  upon  him,  and 
now  put  him  out  of  it  again,  in  order  to 
quiet  the  troubles  in  his  family,  though 
what  he  did  was  plainly  unlawful,  for  at 
no  other  time  [of  old]  was  any  one  that 
had  once  been  in  that  dignity  deprived  of 
it.  It  was  Antiochus  Epiphanes  who  first 
broke  that  law,  and  deprived  Jesus,  and 
made  his  brother  Onias  high  priest  in  his 
stead.  Aristobulus  was  the  second  that 
did  so,  and  took  that  dignity  from  his 
brother  [Hyrcanus];  and  this  Herod  was 
*he  third  who  took  that  high  office  away 
[from  Ananelus],  and  gave  it  to  this  young 
man,  Aristobulus,  in  his  stead. 

And  now  Herod  seemed  to  have  healed 
the  divisions  in  his  family ;  yet  was  he 
not  without  suspicion,  as  is  frequency  the 
case  of  people  seeming  to  be  reconciled  to 
one  another,  but  thought  that,  as  Alex- 
andra had  already  made  attempts  tending 
to  innovations,  so  did  he  fear  that  she 
would  go  on  therein,  if  she  found  a  fit 
opportunity  for  so  doing ;  so  he  gave  a 
command  that  she  should  dwell  in  the 
palace,  and  meddle  with  no  public  affairs: 
her  guards  also  were  so  careful,  that  no- 
thing she  did  in  private  life  every  day  was 
concealed.  All  these  hardships  put  her 
out  of  patience,  by  little  and  little,  and 
she  began  to  hate  Herod;  for  as  she  had 
the  pride  of  a  woman  to  the  utmost  de- 
gree, she  had  great  indignation  at  this 
suspicious  guard  that  was  about  her,  as 
desirous  rather  to  undergo  any  thing  that 
could  befall  her  than  to  be  deprived  of  her 
liberty  of  speech,  and,  under  the  notion 
of  an  honorary  guard,  to  live  in  a  state  of 
slavery  and  terror.  She  therefore  sent  to 
Cleopatra,  and  made  a  long  complaint  of 
the  circumstances  she  was  in,  and  entreated 
her  to  do  her  utmost  for  her  assistance. 
Cleopatra  hereupon  advised  her  to  take 


her  son  with  her,  and  come  away  imme* 
diately  to  her  into  Egypt.  This  advicf 
pleased  her;  and  she  had  this  contrivance 
for  getting  away :  she  got  two  coffins  made, 
as  if  they  were  to  carry  away  two  dead 
bodies,  and  put  herself  into  one  and  her 
son  into  the  other,  and  gave  orders  to  such 
of  her  servants  as  knew  of  her  intentions, 
to  carry  them  away  in  the  night-time. 
Now  their  road  was  to  be  thence  to  the 
seaside ;  and  there  was  a  ship  ready  to 
carry  them  into  Egypt.  "Now  iEsop, 
one  of  her  servants,  happened  to  fall  upon 
Sabion,  one  of  her  friends,  and  spake  of 
this  matter  to  him,  as  thinking  he  had 
known  of  it  before.  When  Sabion  knew 
this,  (who  had  formerly  been  an  enemy 
to  Herod,  and  had  been  esteemed  one  of 
those  that  laid  snares  for  and  gave  the 
poison  to  [his  father]  Antipater,)  he  ex- 
pected that  this  discovery  would  change 
Herod's  hatred  into  kindness;  so  he  told 
the  king  of  this  private  stratagem  of  Alex- 
andra: whereupon  he  suffered  her  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  execution  of  her  project,  and 
caught  her  in  the  very  fact;  but  still  he 
passed  by  her  offence :  and  though  he  had 
a  great  mind  to  do  it,  he  durst  not  inflict 
any  thing  that  was  severe  upon  her,  for 
he  knew  that  Cleopatra  would  not  bear 
that  he  should  have  her  accused,  on  accouut 
of  her  hatred  to  him;  but  made  a  show  as 
if  it  were  rather  the  generosity  of  his  soul, 
and  his  great  moderation,  that  made  him 
forgive  them.  However,  he  fully  pro- 
posed to  himself  to  put  this  young  man 
out  of  the  way,  by  one  means  or  other; 
but  he  thought  he  might  in  all  probability 
be  better  concealed  in'  doing  it,  if  he  did 
it  not  presently  nor  immediately  after  what 
had  lately  happened. 

And  now,  upon  the  approach  of  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  which  is  a  festival 
very  much  observed  among  us,  he  let  those 
days  pass  over,  and  both  he  and  the  rest 
of  the  people  were  therein  very  merry; 
yet  did  the  envy  which  at  this  time  arose 
in  him,  cause  him  to  make  haste  to  do 
what  he  was  about,  and  provoke  him  to  it; 
for  when  this  youth,  Aristobulus,  who  was 
now  in  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  age, 
went  up  to  the  altar,  according  to  the  law, 
to  offer .  the  sacrifices,  and  this  with  the 
ornaments  of  his  high-priesthood,  and 
when  he  performed  the  sacred  offices,*  he 
seemed  to  be  exceeding  comely,  and  taller 

*  This  entirely  confutes  the  Talmudists,  who 
pretenu  that  no  one  under  twenty  years  of  age  covii 
officiate  as  high  priest  among  the  Jews. 


LHA1.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


455 


than  men  usually  were  at  that  age,  and  to 
exhibit  in  his  countenance  a  great  deal  of 
that  high  family  he  had  sprung  from,  a 
warm  zeal  and  affection  toward  him  ap- 
peared among  the  people,  and  the  memory 
of  the  actions  of  his  grandfather  Aristobu- 
lus  was  fresh  in  their  minds;  and  their 
affections  got  so  far  the  mastery  of  them, 
that  they  could  not  forbear  to  show  their 
inclinations  to  him.  They  at  once  re- 
joiced and  were  confounded,  and  mingled 
with  good  wishes  their  joyful  acclamations 
which  they  made  to  him,  till  the  good-will 
of  the  multitude  was  made  too  evident; 
and  they  more  rashly  proclaimed  the  hap- 
piness they  had  received  from  his  family 
than  was  fit  under  a  monarchy  to  have 
done.  Upon  all  this,  Herod  resolved  to 
complete  what,  he  had  intended  against 
the  young  man.  When,  therefore,  the 
festival  was  over,  and  he  was  feasting  at 
Jericho  with  Alexandra,  who  entertained 
him  there,  he  was  then  very  pleasant  with 
the  young  man,  and  drew  him  into  a  lonely 
place,  and,  at  the  same  time,  played  with 
him  in  a  juvenile  and  ludicrous  manner. 
Now,  the  nature  of  that  place  was  hotter 
than  ordinary ;  so  they  went  out  in  a  body, 
and  of  a  sudden,  and  in  a  vein  of  madness ; 
and  as  they  stood  by  the  fish-ponds,  of 
which  there  were  large  ones  about  the 
house,  they  went  to  cool  themselves  [by 
bathing],  because  it  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
hot  day.  At  first  they  were  only  specta- 
tors of  Herod's  servants  and  acquaintance 
as  they  were  swimming ;  but  after  a  while, 
the  young  man,  at  the  instigation  of  Herod, 
went  into  the  water  among  them,  while 
such  of  Herod's  acquaintance  as  he  had 
appointed  to  do  it,  dipped  him  as  he  was 
swimming,  and  plunged  him  under  water, 
in  the  dark  of  the  evening,  as  if  it  had 
been  done  in  sport  only;  nor  did  they 
desist  till  he  was  entirely  suffocated.  And 
thus  was  Aristobulus  murdered,  having 
lived  no  more  in  all  than  eighteen  years, 
and  kept  the  high-priesthood  one  year 
only ;  which  high-priesthood  Ananelus 
now  recovered  again. 

When  this  sad  accident  was  told  the 
women,  their  joy  was  soon  changed  into 
lamentation,  at  the  sight  of  the  dead  body 
that  lay  before  them,  and  their  sorrow 
was  immoderate.  The  city  also  [of  Jeru- 
salem], upon  the  spreading  of  this  news, 
was  in  very  great  grief,  every  family  look- 
ing on  this  calamity  as  if  it  had  not  be- 
longed to  another,  but  that  one  of  them- 
selves   was    slain :    but    Alexandra    was 


more  deeply  affected,  upon  her  knowledge 
that  he  had  been  destroyed  [on  purpose] 
Her  sorrow  was  greater  than  that  of 
others,  by  her  knowing  how  the  murder 
was  committed;  but  she  was  under  the 
necessity  of  bearing  up  under  it,  out  of 
her  prospect  of  a  greater  mischief  that 
might  otherwise  follow ;  and  she  some- 
times came  to  an  inclination  to  destroy 
herself  with  her  own  hand,  but  still  she 
restrained  herself,  in  hopes  she  might  live 
long  enough  to  revenge  the  unjust  murder 
thus  privately  committed ;  nay,  she  fur- 
ther resolved  to  endeavour  to  live  longer, 
and  to  give  no  occasion  to  think  she  sus- 
pected that  her  son  was  slain  on  purpose, 
and  supposed  that  she  might  thereby  be 
in  a  capacity  of  revenging  it  at  a  proper 
opportunity.  Thus  did  she  restrain  her- 
self, that  she  might  not  be  noted  for  en- 
tertaining any  such  suspicion.  However, 
Herod  endeavoured  that  none  abroad 
should  believe  that  the  child's  death  was 
caused  by  any  design  of  his;  and  for  this 
purpose  he  did  not  only  use  the  ordinary 
signs  of  sorrow,  but  fell  into  tears  also, 
and  exhibited  a  real  confusion  of  soul; 
and  perhaps  his  affections  were  overcome 
on  this  occasion,  when  he  saw  the  child's 
countenance  so  young  and  so  beautiful, 
although  his  death  was  supposed  to  tend 
to  his  own  security.  So  far  at  least  this 
grief  served  as  to  make  some  apology  for 
him ;  and  as  for  his  funeral,  that  he  took 
care  should  be  very  magnificent,  by 
making  great  preparation  for  a  sepulchre 
to  lay  his  body  in,  and  providing  a  great 
quantity  of  spices,  and  burying  many 
ornaments  together  with  him,  till  the 
very  women,  who  were  in  such  deep 
sorrow,  were  astonished  at  it,  and  re- 
ceived in  this  way  some  consolation. 

However,  no  such  things  could  over- 
come Alexandra's  grief;  but  the  remem- 
brance of  this  miserable  case  made  her 
sorrow  both  deep  and  obstinate.  Accord- 
ingly, she  wrote  an  account  of  this  treach- 
erous scene  to  Cleopatra,  and  how  her  son 
was  murdered ;  but  Cleopatra,  as  she  had 
formerly  been  desirous  to  give  her  what 
satisfaction  she  could,  and  commiserating 
Alexandra's  misfortunes,  made  the  case 
her  own,  and  would  not  let  Antony  be 
quiet,  but  excited  him  to  punish  the 
child's  murder :  for  that  it  was  an  un- 
worthy thing  that  Herod,  who  had  by 
him  been  made  a  king  of  a  kingdom  that 
noway  belonged  to  him,  should  be  guilty 
of  such  horrid  crimes  against  those  that 


156 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


were  of  the  royal  blood  in  reality.  Antony 
was  persuaded  by  these  arguments;  and 
when  he  came  to  Laodicea,  he  sent  and 
commanded  Herod  to  come  and  make  his 
defence  as  to  what  he  had  done  to  Aristo- 
bulus,  for  that  such  a  treacherous  design 
was  not  well  done,  if  he  had  any  hand  in 
it.  Herod  was  now  in  fear,  both  of  the 
accusation  and  of  Cleopatra's  ill-will  to 
him,  which  was  such  that  she  was  ever 
endeavouring  to  make  Antony  hate  him. 
He  therefore  determined  to  obey  his  sum- 
mons, for  he  had  no  possible  way  to  avoid 
it :  so  he  left  his  uncle  Joseph  procurator 
for  his  government  and  for  the  public 
affairs,  and  gave  him  a  private  charge, 
that  if  Antony  should  kill  him,  he  also 
should  kill  Mariamne  immediately ;  for 
that  he  had  a  tender  affection  for  his  wife, 
and  was  afraid  of  the  injury  that  should 
be  offered  him,  if,  after  his  death,  she, 
for  her  beauty,  should  be  engaged  to 
some  other  man :  but  his  intimation  was 
nothing  but  this  at  the  bottom,  that 
Antony  had  fallen  in  love  with  her,  when 
he  had  formerly  heard  somewhat  of  her 
beauty.  So  when  Herod  had  given 
Joseph  this  charge,  and  had  indeed  no 
sure  hopes .  of  escaping  with  his  life,  he 
went  away  to  Antony. 

But  as  Joseph  was  administering  the 
public  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  and  for  that 
reason  was  very  frequently  with  Mariamne, 
both  because  his  business  required  i^  aud 
because  of  the  respects  he  ought  to  pay  to 
the  queen,  he  frequently  let  himself  into 
discourses  abuut  Herod's  kindness  and 
great  affection  toward  her;  and  when  the 
women,  especially  Alexandra,  used  to  turn 
his  discourses  into  feminine  raillery, 
Joseph  was  so  over  desirous  to  demon- 
strate the  king's  inclinations,  that  he  pro- 
ceeded so  far  as  to  mention  the  charge  he 
had  received,  and  thence  drew  his  demon- 
stration, that  Herod  was  not  able  to  live 
without  her;  and  that  if  he  should  come 
to  any  ill  end,  he  could  not  endure  a  sepa- 
ration from  her,  even  after  he  was  dead. 
Thus  spake  Joseph.  But  the  women,  as 
was  natural,  did  not  take  this  to  be  an 
instance  of  Herod's  strong  affection  for 
them,  but  of  his  severe  usage  of  them, 
that  they  could  not  escape  destruction, 
nor  a  tyrannical  death,  even  when  he  was 
dead  himself:  and  this  saying  [of  Joseph] 
was  a  foundation  for  the  women's  seyere 
suspicions  about  him  afterward. 

At  this  time  a  report  went  about  the 
?ity  of  Jerusalem,  among  Herod's  enemies, 


that  Antony  had  tortured  Herod,  and  put 
him  to  death.  This  report,  as  is  natural, 
disturbed  those  that  were  about  the  palace, 
but  chiefly  the  women ;  upon  which  Alex- 
andra endeavoured  to  persuade  Joseph  tc 
go  out  of  the  palace,  and  fly  away  with 
them  to  the  ensigns  of  the  Roman  legion, 
which  then  lay  encamped  about  the  city, 
as  a  guard  to  the  kingdom,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Julius ;  for  that  by  this  means,  if 
any  disturbance  should  happen  about  the 
palace,  they  should  be  in  greater  security, 
as  having  the  Romans  favourable  to  them ; 
and  that  besides,  they  hoped  to  obtain  the 
highest  authority,  if  Antony  did  but  once 
see  Mariamne,  by  whose  means  they 
should  recover  the  kingdom,  and  want 
nothing  which  was  reasonable  for  them  to 
hope  for,  because  of  their  royal  extraction. 
But,  as  they  were  in  the  midst  of  these 
deliberations,  letters  were  brought  from 
Herod  about  all  his  affairs,  and  proved 
contrary  to  the  report,  and  of  what  they 
before  expected ;  for  when  he  had  come 
to  Antony  he  soon  recovered  his  interest 
with  him,  by  the  presents  he  made  him, 
which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  Je- 
rusalem :  and  he  soon  induced  him,  upon 
discoursing  with  him,  to  leave  off  his  in- 
dignation at  him,  so  that  Cleopatra's  per- 
suasions had  less  force  than  the  arguments 
and  presents  he  brought  to  regain  his 
friendship :  for  Antony  said,  that  it  was 
not  good  to  require  an  account  of  a  king 
as  to  the  affairs  of  his  government,  for  at 
this  rate  he  could  be  no  king  at  all,  but 
that  those  who  had  given  him  that  autho- 
rity, ought  to  permit  him  to  make  use  of 
it.  He  also  said  the  same  things  to  Cleo- 
patra, that  it  would  be  best  for  her  not 
busily  to  meddle  with  the  acts  of  the 
king's  government.  Herod  wrote  an  ac- 
count of  these  things;  and  enlarged  upon 
the  other  honours  which  he  had  received 
from  Antony :  how  he  sat  by  him  at  his 
hearing  causes,  and  took  his  diet  with  him 
every  day,  and  that  he  enjoyed  those 
favours  from  him,  notwithstanding  the 
reproaches  that  Cleopatra  so  severely  laid 
against  him,  who,  having  a  great  desire 
of  his  country,  and  earnestly  entreating 
Antony  that  the  kingdom  might  be  given 
to  her,  lab.oured  with  her  utmost  diligence 
to  have  him  out  of  the  way;  but  that  be 
still  found  Antony  just  to  him,  and  had 
no  longer  any  apprehensions  of  hard  treat- 
ment from  him ;  and  that  he  was  soon 
upon  his  return,  with  a  firmer  additional 
assurance   of  his   favour   to  him,   in   Lis 


oiiAP.  n  j 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


457 


reigning  and  managing  public  affairs; 
and  that  there  was  no  longer  any  hope  for 
Cleopatra's  covetous  temper,  since  Antony 
had  given  her  Celesyria  instead  of  what 
she  desired;  by  which  means  he  had  at 
once  pacified  her,  and  got  clear  of  the  en- 
treaties which  she  made  him  to  have 
Judea  bestowed  upon  her. 

When  these  letters  were  brought,  the 
women  left  off  their  attempt  for  flying  to 
the  Romans,  which  they  thought  of  while 
Herod  was  supposed  to  be  dead;  yet  was 
not  that  purpose  of  theirs  a  secret;  but 
when  the  king  had  conducted  Antony  on 
his  way  against  the  Parthians,  he  returned 
to  Judea,  when  both  his  sister  Salome  and 
his  mother  informed  him  of  Alexandra's 
intentions.  Salome  also  added  somewhat 
further  against  Joseph,  though  it  was  no 
more  than  a  calumny,  that  he  had  often 
had  criminal  conversation  with  Mariamne. 
The  reason  of  her  saying  so  was  this,  that 
she  for  a  long  time  bore  her  ill-will;  for 
when  they  had  differences  with  one 
another,  Mariamne  took  great  freedoms, 
and  reproached  the  rest  for  the  meanness 
of  their  birth.  But  Herod,  whose  affec- 
tion to  Mariamne  was  always  very  warm, 
was  presently  disturbed  at  this,  and  could 
not  bear  the  torments  of  jealousy,  but  was 
still  restrained  from  doing  any  rash  thing 
to  her  by  the  love  he  had  for  her;  yet  did 
his  vehement  affection  and  jealousy  toge- 
ther make  him  ask  Mariamne  by  herself 
about  this  matter  of  Joseph;  but  she  de- 
nied it  upon  her  oath,  and  said  all  that 
an  innocent  woman  could  possibly  say  in 
her  own  defence ;  so  that  by  little  and 
little  the  king  was  prevailed  upon  to  drop 
the  suspicion,  and  left  off  his  anger  at  her; 
and  being  overcome  with  his  passion  for 
his  wife,  he  made  an  apology  to  her  for 
having  seemed  to  believe  what  he  had 
heard  about  her,  and  returned  her  a  great 
many  acknowledgments  of  her  modest 
behaviour,  and  professed  the  extraordinary 
affection  and  kindness  he  had  for  her,  till 
at  last,  as  is  usual  between  lovers,  they 
both  fell  into  tears,  and  embraced  one 
another  with  the  most  tender  affection. 
But  as  the  king  gave  more  and  more 
lances  of  his  belief  of  her  fidelity, 
and  endeavoured  to  draw  her  to  a  like 
confidence  in  him,  Mariamne  said,  "  Yet 
was  not  that  command  thou  gavest,  that 
if  any  harm  come  to  thee  from  Antony, 
I,  who  had  been  no  occasion  of  it,  should 
perish  with  thee,  a  sign  of  thy  love  to 
roe."      When    these    words    had    fallen 


from  her,  the  king  was  shocked  at  them, 
and  presently  let  her  go  out  of  his  arms, 
and  cried  out,  and  tore  his  hair  with  his 
own  hands,  and  said,  that  now  he  had  an 
evident  demonstration  that  Joseph  had 
had  criminal  conversation  with  his  wife ; 
for  that  he  would  never  have  uttered  what 
he  had  told  him  alone  by  himself,  unless 
there  had  been  such  a  great  familiarity 
and  firm  confidence  between  them.  And 
while  he  was  in  this  passion  he  had  liked 
to  have  killed  his  wife ;  but  being  still 
overborne  by  his  love  to  her,  he  restrained 
this  his  passion,  though  not  without  a 
lasting  grief  and  disquietude  of  mind. 
However,  he  gave  order  to  slay  Joseph, 
without  permitting  him  to  come  into  his 
sight;  and  as  for  Alexandra,  he  bound 
her  and  kept  her  in  custody  as  the  cause 
of  all  this  mischief. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Cleopatra  obtains  from  Antony  parts  of  Judea 
and  Arabia — visits  Judea — receives  many  pre- 
sents from  Herod. 

Now,  at  this  time  the  affairs  of  Syria 
were  in  confusion  by  Cleopatra's  constant 
persuasions  to  Antony  to  make  an  attempt 
upon  everybody's  dominions ;  for  she  per- 
suaded him  to  take  those  dominions  away 
from    their    several    princes,  and    bestow 
them  upon  her;    and  she  had  a  mighty 
influence    upon    him,    by    reason    of    his 
being  enslaved  to   her  by  his  affections. 
She   was    also    by  nature  very   covetous, 
and    hesitated    at    no   wickedness.     She 
had  already  poisoned  her  brother,  because 
she  knew  he  was  to  be  king  of  Egypt,  and 
this  when  he  was  but  fifteen  years  old; 
and  she  got  her  sister  Arsinoe  to  be  slain, 
by  the  means  of  Antony,  when  she  was  a 
supplicant  at  Diana's  temple  at  Ephesus; 
for  if  there  were  but  any  hopes  of  getting 
money,  she  would   violate    both    temples 
and  sepulchres.     Nor  was  there  any  holy 
place  that  was  esteemed  the  most  invio- 
lable, from  which  she  would  not  fetch  the 
ornaments  it  had  in  it ;  nor  any  place  so 
profane,  but  was  to  suffer  the  most  flagi- 
tious treatment  possible  from   her,  if   it 
could    but   contribute    somewhat    to    the 
covetous  humour  of  this  wicked  creature; 
yet  did  not  all  this  suffice  so  extravagant 
a  woman,  who  was  a  slave  to  her  lusts, 
but    she   still  imagined    that  she  wanted 
every  thing  she  could  think  of,  and  did 
her  utmost  to  gain  it;  for  which  reason 
she  hurried  Antony  on  perpetually  to  de« 


458 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV 


prive  others  of  their  dominions,  and  give 
them  to  her ;  and  as  she  went  over  Syria 
with  him,  she  contrived  to  get  it  into  her 
possession;  so  he  slew  Lysanias,  the  son 
of  Ptolemy,  accusing  him  of  his  bringing 
the  Parthians  upon  those  countries.  She 
also  petitioned  Antony  to  give  her  Judea 
and  Arabia,  and,  in  order  thereto,  desired 
him  to  take  these  countries  away  from 
their  present  governors.  As  for  Antony, 
he  was  so  entirely  overcome  by  this 
woman,  that  one  would  not  think  her 
conversation  only  could  do  it,  but  that  he 
was  some  way  or  other  bewitched  to  do 
whatsoever  she  would  have  him ;  yet  did 
the  grossest  parts  of  her  injustice  make 
him  so  ashamed,  that  Le  would  not  always 
hearken  to  her  to  do  those  flagrant  enor- 
mities she  would  have  persuaded  him  to. 
That,  therefore,  he  might  not  totally  deny 
her,  nor  by  doing  every  thing  which  she 
enjoined  him  appear  openly  to  be  an  ill 
man,  he  took  some  parts  of  each  of  those 
countries  away  from  their  former  gover- 
nors, and  gave  them  to  her.  Thus  he 
gave  her  the  cities  that  were  within  the 
river  Eleutherus,  as  far  as  Egypt,  ex- 
cepting Tyre  and  Sidon,  which  he  knew 
to  have  been  free  cities  from  their  ances- 
tors, although  she  pressed  him  very  often 
to  bestow  those  on  her  also. 

When  Cleopatra  had  obtained  thus 
much,  and  had  accompanied  Antony  in 
his  expedition  to  Armenia,  as  far  as  the 
Euphrates,  she  returned  back,  and  came 
to  Apainia  and  Damascus,  and  passed  on 
to  Judea;  where  Herod  met  her,  and 
farmed  oil'  her  parts  of  Arabia,  and  those 
revenues  that  came  to  her  from  the  region 
about  Jericho.  This  country  bears  that 
balsam,  which  is  the  most  precious  drug 
that  is  there,  and  grows  there  alone. 
The  place  bears  also  palm-trees,  both 
many  in  number,  and  those  excellent  in 
their  kind.  When  she  was  there,  and 
was  very  often  with  Herod,  she  endea- 
voured to  have  criminal  conversation  with 
the  king;  nor  did  she  affect  secrecy  in  the 
indulgence  of  such  sort  of  pleasures ;  and 
perhaps  she  had  in  some  measure  a  passion 
of  love  to  him,  or  rather,  what  is  most  pro- 
bable, she  laid  a  treacherous  snare  for  him, 
by  aiming  to  obtain  such  adulterous  con- 
versation from  him;  however,  upon  the 
whole,  she  seemed  overcome  with  love  to 
him.  Now  Herod  had  a  great  while  borne 
no  good-will  to  Cleopatra,  as  knowing  that 
she  was  a  woman  irksome  to  all ;  and 
a*  ^hat  time  he  thought  her  particularly 


worthy  of  his  hatred,  if  this  attempt  pro- 
ceeded out  of  lust :  he  had  also  though* 
of  preventing  her  intrigues,  by  putting 
her  to  death,  if  such  were  her  endeavours. 
However,  he  refused  to  comply  with  her 
proposals,  and  called  a  council  of  his 
friends  to  consult  with  them  whether  he 
should  not  kill  her,  now  he  had  her  in 
his  pow.r;  for  that  he  should  thereby 
deliver  all  those  from  a  multitude  of  evils 
to  whom  she  had  already  become  irksome, 
and  was  expected  to  be  still  so  for  the 
time  to  come;  and  that  this  very  thing 
would  be  much  for  the  advantage  of  An- 
tony himself,  since  she  would  certainly 
not  be  faithful  to  him,  in  case  any  such 
season  or  necessity  should  come  upon  him 
as  that  he  should  stand  in  need  of  her 
fidelity.  But  when  he  thought  to  follow 
this  advice,  his  friends  would  not  let  him ; 
and  told  him,  that,  in  the  first  place,  it 
was  not  right  to  attempt  so  great  a  thing, 
and  run  himself  thereby  into  the  utmost 
danger;  and  they  laid  hard  at  him,  aud 
begged  of  him  to  undertake  nothing  rash, 
ly,  for  that  Antony  would  never  bear  it, 
no,  not  though  any  one  should  evidently 
lay  before  his  eyes  that  it  was  for  his  own 
advantage ;  and  that  the  appearance  of 
depriving  him  of  her  conversation,  by  this 
violent  and  treacherous  method,  would  pro- 
bably set  his  affections  more  on  a  flame  than 
before.  Nor  did  it  appear  that  he  could 
offer  any  thing  of  tolerable  weight  in  his 
defence;  this  attempt  being  against  such 
a  woman  as  was  of  the  highest  dignity  of 
any  of  her  sex  at  that  time  in  the  world; 
and  as  to  any  advantage  to  be  expected 
from  such  an  undertaking,  if  any  such 
could  be  supposed  in  this  case,  it  would 
appear  to  deserve  condemnation  on  account 
of  the  insolence  he  must  take  upon  him 
in  doing  it :  which  considerations  made  it 
very  plain,  that  in  so  doing  he  would  find 
his  government  filled  with  mischiefs,  both 
great  and  lasting,  both  to  himself  and  his 
posterity,  whereas  it  was  still  in  his  power  to 
reject  that  wickedness  she  would  persuade 
him  to,  and  to  come  off  honourably  at  the 
same  time.  So^  by  thus  affrighting  He- 
rod, and  representing  to  him  the  hazards 
he  must  in  all  probability  run  by  this 
undertaking,  they  restrained  him  from  it 
So  he  treated  Cleopatra  kindly,  and  made 
her  presents,  and  conducted  her  on  her 
way  to  Egypt. 

But  Antony  subdued  Armenia,  and 
sent  Artabazes,  the  son  of  Tigranes,  in 
bonds,  with  his  children  and  procurator 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


459 


to  Egypt,  and  made  t»  present  of  them, 
and  of  all  the  royal  ornaments  which  he 
had  taken  out  of  that  kingdom,  to  Cleo- 
patra; and  Artaxias,  the  eldest  of  his  sons, 
who  had  escaped,  at  that  time,  took  the 
kingdom  of  Armenia;  who  yet  was  ejected 
by  Archelaus  and  Nero  Caesar,  when  they 
restored  Tigranes,  his  younger  brother, 
to  that  kingdom ;  but  this  happened  a 
good  while  afterward. 

But  then,  as  to  the  tributes  which  He- 
rod was  to  pay  Cleopatra  for  that  country 
which  Antony  had  given  her,  he  acted 
fairly  with  her,  as  not  deeming  it  safe  for 
him  to  afford  any  cause  for  Cleopatra  to 
hate  him.  As  for  the  king  of  Arabia, 
whose  tribute  Herod  had  undertaken  to 
pay  her,  for  some  time,  indeed,  he  paid 
him  as  much  as  came  to  200  talents;  but 
he  afterward  became  very  niggardly  and 
slow  in  his  payments,  and  could  hardly  be 
brought  to  pay  some  parts  of  it,  and  was 
not  willing  to  pay  even  them  without 
some  deductions. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Herod  conquers  the  king  of  Arabia,  and  is  chosen 
governor  by  the  Arabs. 

Hereupon  Herod  held  himself  ready 
to  go  against  the  king  of  Arabia,  because 
of  his  ingratitude  to  him,  and  because, 
after  all,  he  would  do  nothing  that  was 
just  to  him,  although  Herod  made  the 
Roman  war  an  occasion  of  delaying  his 
own ;  for  the  battle  of  Actium  was  now 
expected,  which  fell  into  the  187th  Olym- 
piad, where  Caesar  and  Antony  were  to 
fight  for  the  supreme  power  of  the  world ; 
but  Herod  having  enjoyed  a  country  that 
was  very  fruitful,  and  that  now  for  a  long 
time,  and  having  received  great  taxes,  and 
raised  great  armies  therewith,  got  together 
a  body  of  men  and  carefully  furnished 
them  with  all  necessaries,  and  designed 
them  as  auxiliaries  for  Antony ;  but  An- 
tony said  he  had  no  want  of  his  assistance ; 
but  he  commanded  him  to  punish  the 
king  of  Arabia,  for  he  had  heard,  both 
from  him  and  Cleopatra,  how  perfidious 
he  was:  for  this  was  what  Cleopatra  de- 
sired, who  thought  it  for  her  own  advan- 
tage that  these  two  kings  should  do  one 
another  as  great  mischief  as  possible. 
Upon  this  message  from  Antony,  Herod 
returned  back,  but  kept  his  army  with 
him,  in  order  to  invade  Arabia  imme- 
diately. So  when  his  army  of  horsemen 
*nd  footmen  was   ready,   he  marched  to 


Diospolis,  whither  the  Arabians  came  also 
to    meet   them,  foi    they  were  not    unap- 
prized  of  this  war  that  was  coming  upon 
them ;  and  after  a  great  battle  had  been 
fought,   the  Jews   had    the  victory;    but 
afterward  there  were  gotten  together  an 
other  numerous  army  of  the  Arabians,  at 
Cana,  which  is  a  place  of  Celesyria.     He- 
rod was  informed  of  this  beforehand :   so 
he  marched  against  them  with  the  great- 
est part  of  the  forces  he  had ;  and  when 
he  had  come  near  to  Cana,  he  resolved  to 
encamp    himself;  and  he  cast  up  a  bul- 
wark, that  he  might  take  a  proper  season 
for  attacking  the  enemy ;  but  as  he  was 
giving  those  orders,  the   multitude  of  the 
Jews  cried  out  that  he  should   make  no 
delay,  but  lead  them  against  the  Arabians. 
They  went  with  great  spirit,  as  believing 
they  were  in  very  good  order;  and  those 
especially  were  so  that   had  been  in  the 
former  battle,  and  had  been  conquerors, 
and   had  not  permitted   their  enemies  so 
much  as  to   come  to  a  close    fight    with 
them ;  and  when  they  were  so  tumultu- 
ous, and  showed  such  great  alacrity,  the 
king  resolved  to  make  use  of  that  zeal  the 
multitude  then   exhibited;  and  when  he 
had  assured  them  he  would  not  be  behind- 
hand with  them  in  courage,  he  led  them 
on,  and  stood  before  them  all  in   his  ar- 
mour, all  the  regiments  following  him  in 
their  several  ranks  ;  whereunon  a  conster- 
nation  fell  upon  the  Arabians;  for  when 
they  perceived  that  the  Jews  were  not  to 
be  conquered,  and  were  full  of  spirit,  the 
greater  part  of  them  ran  away,  and  avoided 
fighting;    and  they    had   been  quite  de- 
stroyed, had  not  Athenio  fallen  upon  the 
Jews,  and  distressed  them ;  for  this  man 
was  Cleopatra's  general  over  the  soldiers 
she  had  there,    and  was  at  enmity   with 
Herod,  and  very  wistfully  looked   on  to 
see  what  the  event  of  the  battle  would  be. 
He    had  also  resolved,    that  in    case  the 
Arabians  did    any  thing  that  was   brave 
and  successful,  he  would  lie  still;  but  in 
case  they  were  beaten,  as  it  really  hap- 
pened,  he   would   attack   the  Jews  with 
those  forces  he  had  of  his  own,  and  with 
those  that  the  country  had  gotten  together 
for  him  :  so  he  fell  upon  the  Jews  unex- 
pectedly,  when  they  were  fatigued,    and 
thought  they  had  already  vanquished  the 
enemy,  and    made  a    great  slaughter  of 
them ;    for  as  the  Jews  had  spent  their 
courage  upon  their  known  enemies,  and 
were  about  to  enjoy  themselves  in  quiet- 
ness after  their  victory    \hey  were  ea,silv 


400 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV 


beaten  by  these  that  attacked  them  afresh; 
and  in  particular  received  a  great  loss  in 
places  where  the  horses  could  not  be  of 
any  service,  and  which  were  very  stony, 
and  where  those  that  attacked  them  were 
better  acquainted  with  the  places  than 
themselves ;  and  when  the  Jews  had  suf- 
fered this  loss,  the  Arabians  raised  their 
spirits  after  their  defeat,  and  returning 
back  again,  slew  those  that  were  already 
put  to  flight;  and,  indeed,  all  sorts  of 
slaughter  were  now  frequent,  and  of  those 
that  escaped,  a  few  only  returned  into  the 
camp.  So  King  Herod,  when  he  despaired 
of  the  battle,  rode  up  to  them  to  bring 
them  assistance,  yet  did  he  not  come  time 
enough  to  do  them  any  service,  though  he 
laboured  hard  to  do  it;  but  the  Jewish 
camp  was  taken,  so  that  the  Arabians  had 
unexpectedly  a  most  glorious  success,  hav- 
ing gained  that  victory  which  of  them- 
selves they  were  noway  likely  to  have 
gained,  and  slaying  a  great  part  of  the 
enemy's  army;  whence  afterward  Herod 
could  only  act  like  a  private  robber,  and 
make  excursions  upon  many  parts  of 
Arabia,  and  distress  them  by  sudden  in- 
cursions, while  he  encamped  among  the 
mountains,  and  avoided  by  any  means  to 
come  to  a  pitched  battle ;  yet  did  he  greatly 
harass  the  enemy  by  his  assiduity,  and 
the  hard  labour  he  took  in  this  matter. 
He  also  took  great  care  of  his  own  forces, 
and  used  all  the  means  he  could  to  rest6re 
his  affairs  to  their  old  state. 

At  this  time  it  was  that  the  fight  hap- 
pened at  Actium,  between  Octavius  Caesar 
and  Antony,  in  the  seventh  year  of  the 
reign  of  Herod;*  and  then  it  was  also 
that  there  was  an  earthquake  in  Judea, 
such  an  one  as  had  not  happened  at 
any  other  time,  and  which  earthquake 
brought  a  great  destruction  upon  the  cat- 
tle in  that  country.  About  10,000  men 
also  perished  by  the  fall  of  houses ;  but 
the  army,  which  lodged  in  the  field,  re- 
ceived no  damage  by  this  sad  accident. 
When  the  Arabians  were  informed  of 
this,  and  when  those  that  hated  the  Jews, 
and  pleased  themselves  with  aggravating 
the  reports,  told  them  of  it,  they  raised 


*  The  reader  is  here  to  take  notice,  that  this 
seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Herod,  and  all  the 
other  years  of  his  reign,  in  Josephus,  are  dated 
from  the  death  of  Antigonus,  or,  at  the  soonest, 
from  the  conquest  of  Antigonus,  and  the  taking  of 
Jerusalem,  a  few  months  before,  and  never  from 
his  first  obtaining  the  kingdom  at  Rome,  above 
three  years  before,  as  some  have  very  weakly  and 
injudiciously  done. 


their  sprrits,  as  if  their  enemy's  country 
was  quite  overthrown,  and  the  men  were 
utterly  destroyed,  and  thought  there  now 
remained  nothing  that  could  oppose  them. 
Accordingly,  they  took  the  Jewish  am- 
bassadors who  came  to  them  after  all  this 
had  happened,  to  make  peace  with  them, 
and  slew  them,  and  came  with  great  ala- 
crity against  their  army;  but  the  Jews 
durst  not  withstand  them,  and  were  so 
cast  down  by  the  calamities  they  wero 
under,  that  they  took  no  care  of  theL 
affairs,  but  gave  themselves  up  to  despair, 
for  they  had  no  hope  that  they  should  be 
upon  a  level  again  with  them  in  battles, 
nor  obtain  any  assistance  elsewhere,  while 
their  affairs  at  home  were  in  such  great 
distress  also.  When  matters  were  in  this 
condition,  the  king  persuaded  the  com- 
manders by  his  words,  and  tried  to  raise 
their  spirits,  which  were  quite  sunk :  and 
first  he  endeavoured  to  encourage  and  em- 
bolden some  of  the  better  sort  beforehand, 
and  then  ventured  to  make  a  speech  to  the 
multitude,  which  he  had  before  avoided 
to  do,  lest  he  should  find  them  uneasy 
thereat,  because  of  the  misfortunes  which 
had  happened  ;  so  he  made  a  consolatory 
speech  to  the  multitude,  in  the  manner 
following :— • 

"You  are  not  unacquainted,  my  fellow- 
soldiers,  that  we  have  had,  not  long  since, 
many  accidents  that  have  put  a  stop  to 
what  we  are  about;  and  it  is  probable, 
that  even  those  that  are  most  distinguished 
above  others  for  their  courage,  can  hardly 
keep  up  their  spirits  in  such  circum- 
stances; but  since  we  cannot  avoid  fighting, 
and  nothing  that  hath  happened  is  of  such 
a  nature  but  it  may  by  ourselves  be  re- 
covered into  a  good  state,  and  this  by  one 
brave  action  only  well  performed,  I  have 
proposed  to  myself  both  to  give  you  some 
encouragement,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
some  information;  both  which  parts  of 
my  design  will  tend  to  this  point,  that 
you  may  still  continue  in  your  own  proper 
fortitude.  I  will  then  in  the  first  place, 
demonstrate  to  you,  that  this  war  is  a  just 
one  on  our  side,  and  that  on  this  account 
it  is  a  war  of  necessity,  and  occasioned  by 
the  injustice  of  our  adversaries;  for,  if 
you  be  once  satisfied  of  this,  it  will  be  a  real 
cause  of  alacrity  to  you;  after  which  I 
will  further  demonstrate,  that  the  misfor- 
tunes we  are  under  are  of  no  great  conse' 
quence,  and  that  we  have  the  greatest 
reason  to  hope  for  victory.  I  shall  begin 
with  the  first,  and  appeal  to  yourselves  w 


Crap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


4(51 


witnesses  tc  what  1  shall  say.  You  are 
not  ignorant,  certainly,  of  the  wickedness 
of  the  Arabians,  which  is  to  that  degree 
as  to  appear  incredible  to  all  other  men, 
and  to  include  somewhat  that  shows  the 
grossest  barbarity  and  ignorance  of  God. 
The  chief  things  wherein  they  have  af- 
fronted ug,  have  arisen  from  covetousness 
and  envy  ;  and  they  have  attacked  us  in 
an  insidious  manner,  and  on  the  sudden. 
And  what  occasion  is  there  for  me  to  men- 
tion many  instances  of  such  their  pro- 
cedure ?  When  they  were  in  danger  of 
losing  their  own  government  of  themselves, 
and  of  being  slaves  to  Cleopatra,  w7hat 
others  were  they  that  freed  them  from 
that  fear  ?  for  it  was  the  friendship  I  had 
with  Antony,  and  the  kind  disposition  he 
was  in  toward  us,  that  hath  been  the  oc- 
casion that  even  these  Arabians  have  not 
been  utterly  undone,  Antony  being  un- 
willing to  undertake  any  thing  which 
might  be  suspected  by  us  of  unkindness : 
but  when  he  had  a  mind  to  bestow  some 
parts  of  each  of  our  dominions  on  Cleo- 
patra, I  also  managed  that  matter  so,  that 
by  giving  him  presents  of  my  own,  I 
might  obtain  a  security  to  both  nations, 
while  I  undertook  myself  to  answer  for 
the  money,  and  gave  him  200  talents,  and 
became  surety  for  those  200  more  which 
were  imposed  upon  the  land  that  was  sub- 
let to  this  tribute  :  and  this  they  have 
defrauded  us  of,#  although  it  was  not  rea- 
sonable that  Jews  should  pay  tribute  to 
any  man  living,  or  allow  part  of  their  land 
to  be  taxable  :  but  although  that  was  to 
be,  yet  ought  we  not  to  pay  tribute  for 
these  Arabians,  whom  we  have  ourselves 
preserved;  nor  is  it  fit  that  they  who  have 
professed  (and  that  with  great  integrity 
and  sense  of  our  kindness)  that  it  is  by 
our  means  that  they  keep  their  principal- 
ity, should  injure  us,  and  deprive  us  of 
what  is  our  due,  and  this  while  we  have 
been  still  not  their  enemies,  but  their 
friends.  And  whereas  observation  of  co- 
venants takes  place  among  the  bitterest 
enemies,  but  among  fiiends  is  absolutely 
necessary,  this  is  not  observed  among  these 
men,  who  think  gain  to  be  the  best  of  all 
things,  let  it  be  by  any  means  whatsoever, 
md  that  injustice  is  no  harm,  if  they  may 
out  get  money  by  it :  it  is  therefore  a 
question  with  you,  whether  the  unjust 
may  yet  be  punished  or  not?  when  God 
himself  hath  declared  his  mind  that  so  it 
ought  to  be,  and  hath  commanded  that 
we  ever  should  hate  injuries  and  injustice, 


which  is  not  only  just  but  necessary  in 
wars  between  several  nations;  for  these 
Arabians  have  done  what  both  the  Greeks 
and  barbarians  own  to  be  an  instance  of 
the  grossest  wickedness,  with  regard  to  our 
ambassadors,  whom  they  have  beheaded; 
while  the  Greeks  declare  that  such  ambas- 
sadors are  sacred  and  inviolable.  And  for 
ourselves,  we  have  learned  from  God  the 
most  excellent  of  our  doctrines,  and  the 
most  holy  part  of  our  law,  by  angels  or 
ambassadors,  for  this  name  brings  God  to 
the  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  is  suffi- 
cient to  reconcile  enemies  one  to  another. 
What  wickedness  then  can  be  greater  than 
the  slaughter  of  ambassadors,  who  come 
to  treat  about  doing  what  is  right  ?  And 
when  such  have  been  their  actions,  how 
is  it  possible  they  can  either  live  securely 
in  common  life,  or  be  successful  in  war? 
In  my  opinion,  this  is  impossible.  But 
perhaps  some  will  say,  that  what  is  holy 
and  what  is  righteous  is  indeed  on  our 
side,  but  that  the  Arabians  are  either 
more  courageous  or  more  numerous  than 
we  are.  Now,  as  to  this,  in  the  first  place, 
it  is  not  fit  for  us  to  say  so,  for  with  whom 
is  what  is  righteous,  with  them  is  God 
himself;  now,  where  God  is,  there  is  both 
multitude  and  courage.  But  to  examine 
our  own  circumstances  a  little,  we  were 
conquerors  in  the  first  battle;  and  when 
we  fought  again,  they  were  not  able  to 
oppose  us,  but  ran  away,  and  could  not 
endure  our  attacks  or  our  courage;  but 
when  we  had  conquered  them,  then  came 
Athenion,  and  made  war  against  us  with- 
out declaring  it;  and  pray,  is  this  an  in- 
stance of  their  manhood,  or  is  it  not  a 
second  instance  of  their  wickedness  and 
treachery  ?  Why  are  we,  therefore,  of 
less  courage,  on  account  of  that  which 
ought  to  inspire  us  with  stronger  hopes  ? 
and  why  are  we  terrified  at  these,  whe 
when  they  fight  upon  a  level  are  continu- 
ally beaten,  and  when  they  seem  to  be 
conquerors,  they  gain  it  by  wickedness? 
and  if  we  suppose  that  any  one  should 
deem  them  to  be  men  of  real  courage,  will 
not  he  be  excited  by  that  very  consideration 
to  do  his  utmost  against  them  ?  for  true 
valour  is  not  shown  by  fighting  against 
weak  persons,  but  in  being  able  to  over- 
come the  most  hardy.  But  then,  if  the 
distresses  we  are  ourselves  under,  and  the 
miseries  that  have  come  by  the  earth- 
quake, have  affrighted  any  one,  let  him 
consider,  in  the  first  place,  that  this  very 
thing  will  de<"e:ve  the  Arabians,  by  tl?\i 


4612 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


supposition  that  what  hath  befallen  us  is 
greater  than  it  really  is.  Moreover,  it  is 
not  right  that  the  same  thing  that  em- 
boldens them  should  discourage  us;  for 
these  men,  you  see,  do  not  derive  their 
alacrity  from  any  advantageous  virtue  of 
their  own,  but  from  their  hope,  as  to  us, 
that  we  are  quite  cast  down  by  our  misfor- 
tunes; but  when  we  boldly  march  against 
them,  we  shall  soon  pull  down  their  inso- 
lent conceit  of  themselves,  and  shall  gain 
this  by  attacking  them,  that  they  will  not 
be  so  insolent  when  we  come  to  the  battle; 
for  our  distresses  are  not  so  great,  nor  is 
what  hath  happened  an  indication  of  the 
anger  of  God  against  us,  as  some  imagine; 
for  such  things  are  accidental  and  adver- 
sities that  come  in  the  usual  course  of 
things;  and  if  we  allow  that  this  was  done 
by  the  will  of  God,  we  must  allow  that  it 
is  now  over  by  his  will  also,  and  that  he 
is  satisfied  with  what  hath  already  hap- 
pened; for  had  he  been  willing  to  afflict 
us  still  more  thereby,  he  had  not  changed 
his  mind  so  soon.  And  as  for  the  war  we 
are  engaged  in,  he  hath  himself  demon- 
strated that  he  is  willing  it  should  go  on, 
and  that  he  knows  it  to  be  a  just  war; 
for  while  some  of  the  people  in  the  coun- 
try have  perished,  all  you  who  were  in 
arms  have  suffered  nothing,  but  are  all 
preserved  alive;  whereby  God  makes  it 
plain  to  us,  that  if  you  had  universally, 
with  your  children  and  wives,  been  inrthe 
army,  it  had  come  to  pass  that  you  had 
not  undergone  any  thing  that  would  have 
much  hurt  you.  Consider  these  things, 
and,  what  is  more  than  all  the  rest,  that 
you  have  God  at  all  times  for  your  pro- 
tector; and  prosecute  these  men  with  a 
just  bravery,  who,  in  point  of  friendship 
are  unjust,  in  their  battles  perfidious,  to- 
ward ambassadors  impious,  and  always  in- 
ferior to  you  in  valour." 

When  the  Jews  heard  this  speech,  they 
were  much  raised  in  their  minds,  and 
more  disposed  to  fight  than  before.  So 
Herod,  when  he  had  offered  the  sacrifices 
appointed  by  the  law,  made  haste,  and 
took  them,  and  led  them  against  the  Ara- 
bians; and  in  order  to  that,  passed  over 
Jordan,  and  pitched  his  camp  near  to  that 
of  the  enemy.  He  also  thought  fit  to 
seize  upon  a  certain  castle  that  lay  in  the 
midst  of  them,  as  hoping  it  would  be  for 
his  advantage,  and  would  the  sooner  pro- 
duce a  battle ;  and  that  if  there  were  oc- 
casion for  delay,  he  should  by  it  have  his 
camp  fortified;  and  as  the  Arabians  had 


the  same  intentions  upon  that  place,  a 
contest  arose  about  it;  at  first  there  were 
but  skirmishes,  after  which  there  came 
more  soldiers,  and  it  proved  a  sort  of  fight, 
and  some  fell  on  both  sides,  till  those  of 
the  Arabian  side  were  beaten,  and  re- 
treated. This  was  no  small  encourage- 
ment to  the  Jews  immediately ;  and  when 
Herod  observed  that  the  enemy's  army 
was  disposed  to  any  thing  rather  than  tc 
come  to  an  engagement,  he  ventured  boldly 
to  attempt  the  bulwark  itself,  and  to  pull 
it  to  pieces,  and  so  to  get  nearer  to  their 
camp,  in  order  to  fight  them ;  for  when 
they  were  forced  out  of  theiv  trenches, 
they  went  out  in  disorder,  and  had  not  the 
least  alacrity  or  hope  of  victory ;  yet  did 
they  fight  hand  to  hand,  because  they  were 
more  in  number  than  the  Jews,  and  be- 
cause they  were  in  such  a  disposition  of 
war  that  they  were  under  a  necessity  of 
coming  on  boldly ;  so  they  came  to  a  ter- 
rible battle,  while  not  a  few  fell  on  each 
side.  However,  at  length  the  Arabians 
fled ;  and  so  great  a  slaughter  was  made 
upon  their  being  routed,  that  they  were 
not  only  killed  by  their  enemies,  but  be- 
came the  authors  of  their  own  deaths  also, 
and  were  trodden  down  Ly  the  multitude, 
and  the  great  current  of  people  in  disor- 
der, and  were  destroyed  by  their  own  ar- 
mour; so  5000  men  lay  dead  upon  the 
spot,  while  the  rest  of  the  multitude  soon 
ran  within  the  bulwark  [for  safety],  but 
had  no  firm  hope  of  safety,  by  reason  of 
their  want  of  necessaries,  and  especially 
of  water.  The  Jews  pursued  them,  but 
could  not  get  in  with  them,  but  sat  round 
about  the  bulwark,  and  watched  any  as- 
sistance that  would  get  into  them,  and 
prevented  any  there,  that  had  a  mind  to 
it,  from  running  away. 

When  the  Arabians  were  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, they  sent  ambassadors  to  He- 
rod, in  the  first  place  to  propose  terms  of 
accommodation,  and  after  that  to  offer 
him,  so  pressing  was  their  thirst  upon 
them,  to  undergo  whatsoever  he  pleased, 
if  he  would  free  them  from  their  present 
distress ;  but  he  would  admit  of  no  am- 
bassadors,  of  no  price  of  redemption,  nor 
of  any  other  moderate  terms  whatever, 
being  very  desirous  to  revenge  those  un- 
just actions  which  they  had  been  guilty 
of  toward  his  nation.  So  they  were  ne- 
cessitated by  other  motives,  and  particu- 
larly by  their  thirst,  to  come  out,  and 
deliver  themselves  up  to  him,  to  be  carried 
away  captive;  and  in  five  days'  time,  the 


JHAP    VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


463 


number  of  4000  were  taken  prisoners, 
while  all  the  rest  resolved  to  make  a  sally 
upon  their  enemies,  and  to  fight  it  out 
with  them,  choosing  rather,  if  so  it  must 
be,  to  die  therein,  than  to  perish  gradu- 
ally and  ingloriously.  When  they  had 
taken  this  resolution,  they  came  out  of 
their  trenches,  but  could  noway  sustain 
the  fight,  being  too  much  disabled,  both 
in  mind  and  body,  and  having  not  room 
to  exert  themselves,  and  thought  it  an 
advantage  to  be  killed,  and  a  misery  to 
survive ;  so  at  the  first  onset  there  fell 
about  7000  of  them,  after  which  stroke 
they  let  all  the  courage  they  had  put  on 
before  fall,  and  stood  amazed  at  Herod's 
warlike  spirit  under  his  own  calamities ;  so 
for  the  future  they  yielded,  and  made  him 
ruler  of  their  nation ;  whereupon  he  was 
greatly  elevated  at  so  seasonable  a  success, 
and  returned  home,  taking  great  authority 
upon  him,  on  account  of  so  bold  and  glo- 
rious an  expedition  as  he  had  made. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Herod  kills  Hyrcanus — obtains  the  kingdom — en- 
tertains Caesar. 

Herod's  other  affairs  were  now  very 
prosperous,  and  he  was  not  to  be  easily 
assaulted  on  any  side.  Yet  did  there  come 
upon  him  a  danger  that  would  hazard  his 
entire  dominions,  after  Antony  had  been 
beaten  at  the  battle  of  Actium,  by  Caesar 
[Octavian]  ;  for  at  that  time  both  Herod's 
enemies  and  friends  despaired  of  his  af- 
fairs, for  it  was  not  probable  that  he  would 
remain  without  punishment,  who  had 
shown  so  much  friendship  for  Antony.  So 
it  happened  that  his  friends  despaired,  aud 
had  no  hopes  of  his  escape ;  but  for  his 
enemies,  they  all  outwardly  appeared  to 
be  troubled  at  his  case,  but  were  privately 
very  glad  of  it,  as  hoping  to  obtain  a 
change  for  the  better.  As  for  Herod  him- 
self, he  saw  there  was  no  one  of  royal 
dignity  left  but  Hyrcanus,  and  therefore 
he  thought  it  would  be  for  his  advantage 
not  to  suffer  him  to  be  an  obstacle  in  his 
way  any  longer;  for  that  in  case  he  him- 
self survived,  and  escaped  the  danger  he 
was  in,  he  thought  it  was  the  safest  way 
to  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  such  a  man 
to  make  any  attempt  against  him  at  such 
junctures  of  affairs,  as  was  more  worthy 
of  the  kingdom  than  himself;  and  in  case 
he  should  be  slain  by  Caesar,  his  envy 
prompted  him  to  desire  to  slay  him  that 
would  otherwise  be  king  after  him. 


While  Herod  had  these  things  in  his 
mind,  there  was  a  certain  occasion  offered 
him ;  for  Hyrcanus  was  of  so  mild  a  tem- 
per, both  then,  and  other  times,  that  he 
desired  not  to  meddle  with  public  affairs, 
nor  to  concern  himself  with  innovations, 
but  left  all  to  fortune,  and  contented  him- 
self with  what  that  afforded  him :  but 
Alexandra  [his  daughter]  was  a  lover  of 
strife,  and  was  exceeding  desirous  of,  a 
change  of  the  government;  and  spoke  to 
her  father  not  to  bear  for  ever  Herod's  in- 
jurious treatment  of  their  family,  but  to 
anticipate  their  future  hopes,  as  he  safely 
might;  and  desired  him  to  write  about 
these  matters  to  Malchus,  who  was  then 
governor  of  Arabia,  to  receive  them,  and 
to  secure  them  [from  Herod],  for  that  if 
they  went  away,  and  Herod's  affairs  proved 
to  be  as  it  was  likely  they  would  be  by 
reason  of  Caesar's  enmity  to  him,  they 
should  then  be  the  only  persons  that  could 
take  the  government;  and  this,  both  on 
account  of  the  royal  family  they  were  of, 
and  on  account  of  the  good  disposition  of 
the  multitude  toward  them.  While  she 
used  these  persuasions,  Hyrcanus  put  off 
her  suit;  but  as  she  showed  that  she  was  a 
woman,  and  a  contentious  woman  too,  and 
would  not  desist  either  night  or  day,  but 
would  always  be  speaking  to  him  about 
these  matters,  and  about  Herod's  treach- 
erous designs,  she  at  last  prevailed  with 
him  to  intrust  Dositheus,  one  of  his  friends, 
with  a  letter,  wherein  his  resolution  was 
declared;  and  he  desired  the  Arabian  go- 
vernor to  send  him  some  horsemen,  who 
should  receive  him,  and  conduct  him  to 
the  lake  Asphaltites,  which  is  from  the 
bounds  of  Jerusalem  300  furlongs :  and  he 
did  therefore  trust  Dositheus  with  his  let- 
ter, because  he  was  a  careful  attendant  on 
him,  and  on  Alexandra,  and  had  no  small 
occasion  to  bear  ill-will  to  Herod ;  for  he 
was  a  kinsman  of  one  Joseph,  whom  he 
had  slain,  and  a  brother  of  those  that  were 
formerly  slain  at  Tyre  by  Antony  :  yet 
could  not  these  motives  induce  Dositheus 
to  serve  Hyrcanus  in  this  affair ;  for,  pre- 
ferring the  hopes  he  had  from  the  present 
king  to  those  be  had  from  him,  he  gave 
Herod  the  letter.  So  he  took  his  kind- 
ness in  good  part,  and  bade  him  besides 
do  what  he  had  already  done,  that  is,  go 
on  in  serving  him,  by  rolling  up  the  epis- 
tle and  sealing  it  again,  and  delivering  it 
to  Malchus,  and  then  to  bring  back  the 
letter  in  answer  to  it;  for  it  would  be 
much  better  if  he  could  know  Malchus's 


164 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


intentions  also.  And  when  Dositheus  was 
very  ready  to  serve  him  in  this  point  also, 
the  Arabian  governor  returned  back  for 
answer,  that  he  would  receive  Hyrcanus, 
and  all  that  should  come  with  him,  and 
even  all  the  Jews  that  were  of  his  party; 
that  he  would,  moreover,  send  forces  suffi- 
cient to  secure  them  in  their  journey ;  and 
that  he  should  be  in  no  want  of  any  thing 
he  should  desire.  Now,  as  soon  as  Herod 
had  received  this  letter,  he  immediately 
sent  for  Hyrcanus,  and  questioned  him 
about  the  league  he  had  made  with  Mal- 
chus ;  and  when  he  denied  it,  he  showed 
his  letter  to  the  sanhedrim,  and  put  the 
man  to  death  immediately. 

And  this  account  we  give  the  reader,  as 
it  is  contained  in  the  commentaries  of  King 
Herod  :  but  other  historians  do  not  agree 
with  them,  for  they  suppose  that  Herod 
did  not  find,  but  rather  made,  this  an  oc- 
casion for  thus  putting  him  to  death,  and 
that  by  treacherously  laying  a  snare  for 
him;  for  thus  do  they  write,  that  Herod 
and  he  were  once  at  a  treat,  and  that  He- 
rod had  given  no  occasion  to  suspect  [that 
he  was  displeased  at  him],  but  put  this 
question  to  Hyrcanus,  whether  he  had  re- 
ceived any  letters  from  Malchus  ?  and 
when  he  answered  that  he  had  received 
letters,  but  those  of  salutation  only;  and 
when  he  asked  further,  whether  he  had 
received  any  presents  from  him  ?  and 
when  he  had  replied,  that  he  had  received 
no  more  than  four  horses  to  ride  on,  'which 
Malchus  had  sent  him,  they  pretended  that 
Herod  charged  these  upon  him  as  the 
crimes  of  bribery  and  treason,  and  gave 
order  that  he  should  be  led  away  and  slain. 
And  in  order  to  demonstrate  that  he  had 
been  guilty  of  no  offence,  wThen  he  was 
thus  brought  to  his  end,  they  allege  how 
mild  his  temper  had  been;  and  that  even 
in  his  youth  he  had  never  given  any  de- 
monstration of  boldness  or  rashness,  and 
that  the  case  was  the  same  when  he  came 
to  the  king,  but  that  he  even  then  com- 
mitted the  management  of  the  greatest 
part  of  public  affairs  to  Antipater :  and 
that  he  w7as  now  above  eighty  years  old, 
and  knew  that  Herod's  government  was 
in  a  secure  state.  He  also  came  over 
Euphrates,  and  left  those  who  greatly 
honoured  him  beyond  that  river,  though 
he  were  to  be  entirely  under  Herod's  go- 
vernment; and  that  it  was  a  most  incredi- 
ble thing  that  he  should  enterprise  any 
thing  by  way  of  innovation,  and  not  at 
all    agreeable    to    his    temper,    but    that 


this  was  a  plot  of  Herod's  own  contri- 
vance. 

And  this  was  the  fate  of  Hyrcanus; 
and  thus  did  he  end  his  life,  after  he  had 
endured  various  and  manifold  turns  of  for- 
tune in  his  lifetime ;  for  he  was  made 
high  priest  of  the  Jewish  nation  in  the  be- 
ginning of  his  mother  Alexandra's  reign, 
who  held  the  government  nine  years ;  and 
when,  after  his  mother's  death,  he  took 
the  kingdom  himself,  and  held  it  three 
months,  he  lost  it,  by  the  means  of  his 
brother  Aristobulus.  He  was  then  re- 
stored by  Pompey,  and  received  all  sorts 
of  honour  from  him,  and  enjoyed  them 
forty  years;  but  when  he  was  again  de- 
prived by  Antigonus,  and  was  maimed  in 
his  body,  he  was  made  a  captive  by  the 
Partbians,  and  thence  returned  home  again 
after  some  time,  on  account  of  the  hopes 
that  Herod  had  given  him ;  none  of  which 
came  to  pass  according  to  his  expectation, 
but  he  still  conflicted  with  many  misfor- 
tunes through  the  whole  course  of  his  life; 
and,  what  was  the  heaviest  calamity  of  all, 
as  we  have  related  already,  he  came  to  an 
end  which  was  undeserved  by  him.  His 
character  appeared  to  be  that  of  a  man  of 
a  mild  and  moderate  disposition,  who  suf- 
fered the  administration  of  affairs  to  be 
generally  done  by  others  under  him.  He 
was  averse  to  much  meddling  with  the 
public,  nor  had  shrewdness  enough  to  go- 
vern a  kingdom:  and  both  Antipater  and 
Herod  came  to  their  greatness  by  reason 
of  his  mildness;  and  at  last  he  met  with 
such  an  end  from  them  as  was  not  agree- 
able either  to  justice  or  piety. 

Now  Herod,  as  soon  as  he  had  put  Hyr- 
canus out  of  the  way,  made  haste  to  Caesar; 
and  because  he  could  not  have  any  hopes 
of  kindness  from  him,  on  account  of  the 
friendship  he  had  for  Antony,  he  had  a 
suspicion  of  Alexandra,  lest  she  should 
take  this  opportunity  to  bring  the  multi- 
tude to  a  revolt,  and  introduce  a  sedition 
into  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom ;  so  he 
committed  the  care  of  every  thing  to  his 
brother  Pheroras,  and  placed  his  mother 
Cypros,  and  his  sister  [Salome],  and  the 
whole  family,  at-Massada,  and  gave  him  a 
charge,  that- if  he  should  hear  any  sad 
news  about  him,  he  should  take  care  of 
the  government :  but  as  to  Mariamne  his 
wife,  because  of  the  misunderstanding  be- 
tween her  and  his  sister,  and  his  sister's 
mother,  which  made  it  impossible  for  them 
to  live  together,  he  placed  her  at  Alexau- 
drium,  with  Alexandra  her  mother,   and 


CllAP.  VI.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE    JEWS. 


465 


left  his  treasurer,  Joseph,  and  Sohemus 
of  Iturea,  to  take  care  of  that  fortress. 
These  two  had  been  very  faithful  to  him 
from  the  beginning,  and  were  now  left  as 
a  guard  to  the  women.  They  also  had  it 
in  charge,  that  if  they  should  hear  any 
mischief  had  befallen  him,  they  should  kill 
them  both  ;  and,  as  far  as  they  were  able, 
to  preserve  the  kingdom  for  his  sons,  and 
for  his  brother  Pheroras. 

.  When  he  had  given  them  this  charge, 
he  made  haste  to  Rhodes,  to  meet  Caesar ; 
and  when  he  had  sailed  to  that  city,  he 
took  off  his  diadem,  but  remitted  nothing 
else  of  his  usual  dignity:  and  when,  upon 
his  meeting  him,  he  desired  that  he  would 
let  him  to  speak  to  him,  he  therein  ex- 
hibited a  much  more  noble  specimen  of  a 
great  soul,  for  he  did  not  betake  himself 
to  supplications,  as  men  usually  do  upon 
such  occasions,  nor  offered  him  any  peti- 
tion, as  if  he  were  an  offender;  but,  after 
an  undaunted  manner,  gave  an  account  of 
what  he  had  done ;  for  he  spake  thus  to 
Caesar:  that  he  had  the  greatest  friendship 
for  Antony,  and  did  every  thing  he  could 
that  he  might  attain  the  government;  that 
he  was  not,  indeed,  in  the  army  with  him, 
because  the  Arabians  had  diverted  him, 
but  that  he  had  sent  him  both  money  and 
corn,  which  was  but  too  little  in  compari- 
son of  what  he  ought  to  have  done  for  him ; 
ufor,  if  a  man  owns  himself  to  be  another's 
friend,  and  knows  him  to  be  a  benefactor, 
he  is  obliged  to  hazard  every  thing,  to  use 
every  faculty  of  his  soul,  every  member 
of  his  body,  and  all  the  wealth  he  hath, 
for  him ;  in  which  I  confess  I  have  been 
too  deficient.  However,  I  am  conscious 
to  myself,  that  so  far  I  have  done  right, 
that  I  have  not  deserted  him  upon  his  de- 
feat at  Actium  :  nor  upon  the  evident 
change  of  his  fortune  have  I  transferred 
my  hopes  from  him  to  another,  but  have 
preserved  myself,  though  not  as  a  valu- 
able fellow-soldier,  yet  certainly  as  a  faith- 
ful counsellor,  to  Antony,  when  I  demon- 
strated to  him  that  the  only  way  he  had 
to  save  himself,  and  not.  lose  all  his  autho- 
rity, was  to  slay  Cleopatra ;  for  when  she 
was  once  dead,  there  would  be  room  for 
him  to  retain  his  authority,  and  rather  to 
bring  thee  to  make  a  composition  with 
him,  than  to  continue  at  enmity  any  longer. 
None  of  such  advices  would  he  attend  to, 
but  preferred  his  own  rash  resolutions  be- 
fore them,  which  have  happened  unprofit- 
ably  for  him,  but  profitably  for  thee.  Now, 
therefore,  in  case  thou  determinest  abcut 
30 


me,  and  my  alacrity  in  serving  Antony, 
according  to  thy  anger  at  him,  I  own  there 
is  no  room  for  me  to  deny  what  I  have 
done,  nor  will  I  be  ashamed  to  own,  and 
that  publicly,  too,  that  I  had  a  great 
kindness  for  him ;  but  if  thou  wilt  put 
him  out  of  the  case,  and  only  examine 
how  I  behave  myself  to  my  benefactors  in 
general,  and  what  sort  of  friend  I  am, 
thou  wilt  find  by  experience  that  we  shall 
do  and  be  the  same  to  thyself,  for  it  is 
but  changing  the  names,  and  the  firmness 
of  friendship  that  we  shall  bear  to  thee 
will  not  be  disapproved  by  thee." 

By  this  speech,  and  by  his  behaviour, 
which  showed  Caesar  the  frankness  of  his 
mind,  he  greatly  gained  upon  him,  who 
was  himself  of  a  generous  and  magnificent 
temper,  insomuch  that  those  very  actions, 
which  were  the  foundation  of  the  accusa- 
tion against  him,  procured  him  Caesar's 
good-will.  Accordingly,  he  restored  him 
his  diadem  again ;  and  encouraged  him  to 
exhibit  himself  as  great  a  friend  to  him- 
self as  he  had  been  to  Antony,  and  then 
had  him  in  great  esteem.  Moreover,  he 
added  this,  that  Quintus  Didius  had  writ- 
ten to  him  that  Herod  had  very  readily 
assisted  him  in  the  affair  of  the  gladiators. 
So  when  he  had  obtained  such  a  kind  re- 
ception, and  had,  beyond  all  his  hopes, 
procured  his  crown  to  be  more  entirely 
and  firmly  settled  upon  him  than  ever,  by 
Caesar's  donation,  as  well  as  by  that  de- 
cree of  the  Romans,  which  Caesar  took 
care  to  procure  for  his  greater  security, 
he  conducted  Caesar  on  his  way  to  Egypt, 
and  made  presents,  even  beyond  his  ability, 
to  both  him  and  his  friends;  and  in  gene- 
ral behaved  himself  with  great  magna- 
nimity. He  also  desired  that  Caesar  would 
not  put  to  death  one  Alexander  who  had 
been  a  companion  of  Antony;  but  Caesar 
had  sworn  to  put  him  to  death,  and  so 
he  could  not  obtain  that  his  petition  :  and 
now  he  returned  to  Judea  again  with  greater 
honour  and  assurance  than  ever,  and  af- 
frighted those  that  had  expectations  to  the 
contrary,  as  still  acquiring  from  his  very 
dangers  greater  splendour  than  before,  by 
the  favour  of  Grod  to  him.  So  he  prepared 
for  the  reception  of  Caesar  as  he  was  go- 
ing out  of  Syria  to  invade  Egypt;  and 
when  he  came,  he  entertained  him  at  Ptole- 
mais  with  all  royal  magnificence.  He  also 
bestowed  presents  on  the  army,  and  brought 
them  provisions  in  abundance.  He  also 
proved  to  be  one  of  Caesar's  most  cordial 
friends,  and  put  the  army  in  array,  and 


466 


AXTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XV, 


rode  along  with  Caesar,  and  had  150  men, 
well  appointed  in  all  respects,  after  a  rich 
and  sumptuous  maimer,  for  the  better  re- 
ception of  him  and  his  friends.  He  also 
provided  them  with  what  they  should  want, 
as  they  passed  over  the  dry  desert,  inso- 
much that  they  lacked  neither  wine  nor 
water,  which  last  the  soldiers  stood  in  the 
greatest  need  of;  and  besides,  he  presented 
Caesar  with  800  talents,  and  procured  to 
himself  the  good-will  of  them  all,  because 
he  was  assisting  to  them  in  a  much  greater 
and  more  splendid  degree  than  the  king- 
dom he  had  obtained  could  afford ;  by  which 
he  more  and  more  demonstrated  to  Caesar 
the  firmness  of  his  friendship,  and  his  rea- 
diness to  assist  him  :  and  what  was  of  the 
greatest  advantage  to  him  was  this,  that 
his  liberality  came  at  a  seasonable  time 
also;  and  when  they  returned  again  out  of 
Egypt,  his  assistances  were  noway  inferior 
to  the  good  offices  he  had  formerly  done 
them.  

CHAPTER  VII. 

Herod  kills  Sohemus  and  Mariamne,  and  afterward 
Alexandra  and  Costobarus,  and  his  most  intimate 
friends,  and  the  sons  of  Baba  also. 

However,  when  he  came  into  his  king- 
dom again,  he  found  his  house  all  in  dis- 
order, and  his  wife  Mariamne  and  her  mo- 
ther Alexandra  very  uneasy;  for,  as  they 
supposed  (what  was  easy  to  be  supposed) 
that  they  were  not  put  into  that  fortress 
[Alexandrium]  for  the  security  of  their 
persons,  but  as  into  a  garrison  for  their 
imprisonment,  and  that  they  had  no  power 
over  any  thing,  either  of  others  or  of  their 
own  affairs,  they  were  very  uneasy;  and 
Mariamne,  supposing  that  the  king's  love 
to  her  was  but  hypocritical,  and  rather 
pretended  (as  advantageous  to  himself) 
than  real,  she  looked  upon  it  as  fallacious. 
She  also  was  grieved  that  he  would  not 
allow  her  any  hopes  of  surviving  him,  if 
he  should  come  to  any  harm  himself. 
She  also  recollected  what  commands  he 
had  formerly  given  to  Joseph,  inasmuch 
that  she  endeavoured  to  please  her  keepers, 
and  especially  Sohemus,  as  well  apprized 
how  all  was  in  his  power;  and  at  the  first 
Sohemus  was  faithful  to  Herod,  and  neg- 
lected none  of  the  things  he  had  given 
him  in  charge.  But  when  the  women,  by 
kind  words  and  liberal  presents,  had  gained 
his  affections  over  them,  he  was  by  degrees 
overcome,  and  at  length  discovered  to  them 
ail  the  king's  injunctions,  and  this  on  that 
account  principally,  that   he  did   not  s" 


much  as  hope  he  would  come  back  with 
the  same  authority  he  had  before,  so  that 
he   thought   he   should   both  escape   any 
danger  from  him,  and  supposed  that  he 
did  hereby  much  gratify  the  women,  who 
were  likely  not  to  be  overlooked  in  the 
settling  of  the  government;  nay,  that  they 
would    be    able    to    make   him   abundant 
recompense,  since  they  must  either  reign 
themselves,  or  be  very  near  to  him  that 
should  reign.     He  had  a  further  ground 
of  hope  also,  that  though  Herod  should 
have  all  the  success  he  could  wish  for,  and 
should  return  again,  he  could  not  contra- 
dict his  wife  in  what  she  desired,  for  he 
knew  that  the  king's  fondness  for  his  wifa 
was  inexpressible.  These  were  the  motives 
that  drew  Sohemus  to  discover  what  in- 
junctions had  been  given  him.     So  Mari- 
amne was  greatly  displeased  to  hear  that 
there  was  no  end  of  the  dangers  she  was 
under  from  Herod,  and  was  greatly  uneasy 
at  it,  and  wished  that  he  might  obtain  no  fa- 
vours [from  Caesar],  and  esteemed  it  almost 
an  insupportable  task  to  live  with  him  any 
longer;  and  this  she  afterward  openly  de- 
clared, without  concealing  her  resentment. 
And  now  Herod  sailed  home  with  joy 
at  the  unexpected  good  success  he  had, 
and  went  first  of  all,  as  was  proper,  to  this 
his  wife,  and  told  her,  and  her  only,  the 
good  news,  as  preferring  her  before  the 
rest,  on  account  of  his  fondness  for  her 
and  the  intimacy  there  had  been  between 
them,  and  saluted  her;  but  so  it  happened, 
that  as  he  told  her  of  the  good  success  he 
had  had,  she  was  so  far  from  rejoicing  at 
it,  that  she  was  rather  sorry  for  it :  nor 
was  she  able  to  conceal  her  resentments; 
but,  depending   on   her  dignity  and   the 
nobility  of  her  birth,   in  return   for  his 
salutations  she  gave  a  groan,  and  declared 
evidently  that  she  rather  grieved  than  re- 
joiced at  his  success;  and  this  till  Herod 
was  disturbed  at  her,  as  affording  him  not 
only  marks  of  her  suspicion,  but  evident 
signs  of  her  dissatisfaction.     This  much 
troubled  him,  to  see  that  this  surprising 
hatred  of  his  wife  to  him  was  not  conceal- 
ed, but  open;  and  he  took  this  so  ill,  and 
yet  was  so  unable  to  bear  it  on  account  of 
the  fondness  he  had  for  her,  that  he  could 
not  continue  long  in  any  one  mind,  but 
sometimes  was  angry  at  her,  and   some 
times  reconciled  himself  to  her;  but  by 
always  changing  one  passion  for  another, 
he  was  still  in  great  uncertainty,  and  thus 
was  entangled  between  hatred  and  love, 
and  was  frequently  disposed  to  inflict  pu- 


OlIAP.  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


467 


nishment  on  her  for  her  insolence  toward 
him ;  but  being  deeply  in  love  with  her 
in  his  soul,  he  was  not  able  to  get  quit  of 
this  woman.  In  short,  as  he  would  gladly 
have  her  punished,  so  was  he  afraid  lest, 
ere  he  was  aware,  be  should,  by  putting 
her  to  death,  bring  a  heavier  punishment 
upon  himself  at  the  same  time. 

When  Herod's  sister  and  mother  per- 
ceived that  he  was  in  this  temper  with  re- 
gard to  Mariamne,  they  thought  they  had 
now  got  an  excellent  opportunity  to  exer- 
cise their  hatred  against  her,  and  provoked 
Herod  to  wrath  by  telling  him  such  long 
stories  and  calumnies  about  her  as  might 
at  once  excite  his  hatred  and  his  jealousy. 
Now,  though  he  willingly  enough  heard 
their  words,  yet  had  not  he  courage  enough 
to  do  any  thing  to  her  as  if  he  believed 
them ;  but  still  he  became  worse  and  worse 
disposed  to  her,  and  these  ill  passions  were 
more  and  more  inflamed  on  both  sides, 
while  she  did  not  hide  her  disposition  to- 
ward him,  and  he  turned  his  love  to  her 
into  wrath  against  her;  but  when  he  was 
just  going  to  put  this  matter  past  all  re- 
medy, he  heard  the  news  that  Caesar  was 
the  victor  in  the  war,  and  that  Antony 
and  Cleopatra  were  both  dead,  and  that 
he  had  conquered  Egypt ;  whereupon  he 
made  haste  to  go  to  meet  Caesar,  and  left 
the  affairs  of  his  family  in  their  present 
state.  However,  Mariamne  recommended 
Sohemus  to  him  as  he  was  setting  out  on 
his  journey,  and  professed  that  she  owed 
him  thanks  for  the  care  he  had  taken  of 
her,  and  asked  of  the  king  for  him  a  place 
in  the  government;  upon  which  an  ho- 
nourable employment  was  bestowed  upon 
him  accordingly.  Now,  when  Herod  had 
come  into  Egypt,  he  was  introduced  to 
Caesar  with  great  freedom  as  already  a 
friend  of  his,  and  received  very  great  fa- 
vours from  him;  for  he  made  him  a  pre- 
sent of  those  four  hundred  Galatians  who 
iad  been  Cleopatra's  guards,  and  restored 
hat  country  to  him  again,  which,  by  her 
rieans,  had  been  taken  away  from  him. 
^e  also  added  to  his  kingdom  Gadara, 
hippos,  and  Samaria;  and  besides  those, 
he  maritime  cities — Gaza,  Anthedon, 
foppa,  and  Strato's  Tower. 

Upon  these  new  acquisitions  he  grew 
oore  magnificent,  and  conducted  Caesar  as 
Jr  as  Antioch;  but  upon  his  return,  as 
auch  as  his  prosperity  was  augmented  by 
be  foreign  additions  that  had  been  made 
ina,8o  much  the  greater  were  the  distresses 
bat  came  upon  him  in  his  own  family, 


and  chiefly  in  the  affairs  of  his  wife,  where- 
in he  formerly  appeared  to  have  been  most 
of  all  fortunate;  for  the  affection  he  had 
for  Mariamne  was  noway  inferior  to  the 
affections  of  such  as  are  on  that  account 
celebrated  in  history,  and  this  very  justly. 
As  for  her,  she  was  in  other  respects  a 
chaste  woman,  and  faithful  to  him;  yet 
had  she  somewhat  of  a  woman  rough  by 
nature,  and  treated  her  husband  imperi- 
ously enough,  because  she  saw  he  was  so 
fond  of  her  as  to  be  enslaved  to  her.  She 
did  not  also  consider  seasonably  with  her- 
self that  she  lived  under  a  monarchy,  and 
that  she  was  at  another's  disposal,  and 
accordingly  would  behave  herself  after  an 
insolent  manner  to  him,  which  yet  he 
usually  put  off  in  a  jesting  way,  and  bore 
with  moderation  and  good  temper.  She 
would  also  expose  his  mother  and  his  sis- 
ter openly,  on  account  of  the  meanness  of 
their  birth,  and  would  speak  unkindly  of 
them,  insomuch  that  there  was  before  this 
a  disagreement  and  unpardonable  hatred 
among  the  women;  and  it  was  now  come 
to  greater  reproaches  of  one  another  than 
formerly,  which  suspicions  increased,  and 
lasted  a  whole  year  after  Herod  returned 
from  Caesar. 

However,  these  misfortunes,  which  had 
been  kept  under  some  decency  for  a  great 
while,  burst  out  all  at  once  upon  such  an 
occasion  as  was  now  offered :  for  as  the 
king  had  one  day  about  noon  laid  down 
on  his  bed  to  rest  himself,  he  called  for 
Mariamne,  out  of  the  great  affection  he 
had  always  for  her.  She  came  in  accord- 
ingly, but  would  not  lie  down  by  him; 
and  when  he  was  very  desirous  of  her 
company,  she  showed  her  contempt  of  him, 
and  added,  by  way  of  reproach,  that  he 
had  caused  her  father  and  her  brother  to 
be  slain;*  and  when  he  took  this  injury 
very  unkindly,  and  was  ready  to  use  vio- 
lence to  her  in  a  precipitate  manner,  the 
king's  sister,  Salome,  observing  that  he 
was  more  than  ordinarily  disturbed,  sent 
in  to  the  king  his  cupbearer,  who  had 
been  prepared  long  beforehand  for  such  a 
design,  and  bade  him  tell  the  king  how 
Mariamne  had  persuaded  him  to  give  his 


*  Whereas  Mariamne  is  here  represented  as 
reproaching  Herod  with  the  murder  of  her  father 
[Alexander],  as  well  as  her  brother  [Aristohulus], 
while  it  was  her  grandfather  Hyrcanua,  and  not 
bur  lather  Alexander,  whom  he  caused  to  be  slaiUj 
we  must  either  take  Zonara's  reading,  which  is 
here  "grandfather,"  rightly,  or  else  we  must  allow 
a  slip  of  Josephus's  pen  or  memory  in  the  pla.°© 
before  us. 


468 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEtt  8. 


[Book  XV. 


assistance  in  preparing  a  love-potion  for 
him;  and  if  he  appeared  to  be  greatly 
concerned,  and  to  ask  what  that  love- 
potion  was,  to  tell  him  that  she  had  the 
potion,  and  that  he  was  desired  only  to 
give  it  him;  but  in  case  he  did  not  appear 
to  be  much  concerned  at  this  potion,  to  let 
the  thing  drop;  and  that  if  he  did  so,  no 
harm  would  thereby  come  to  him.  When 
she  had  given  him  these  instructions,  she 
sent  him  in  at  this  time  to  make  such  a 
speech.  So  he  went  in,  after  a  composed 
manner,  to  gain  credit  to  what  he  should 
say,  and  yet  somewhat  hastily;  and  said 
that  Mariamne  had  given  him  presents, 
and  persuaded  him  to  give  him  a  love- 
potion;  and  when  this  moved  the  king, 
he  said  that  this  love-potion  was  a  compo- 
sition that  she  had  given  him,  whose  ef- 
fects he  did  not  know,  which  was  the  rea- 
son of  his  resolving  to  give  him  this  in- 
formation, as  the  safest  course  he  could 
take,  both  for  himself  and  for  the  king. 
When  Herod  heard  what  he  said,  and  was 
in  an  ill  disposition  before,  his  indignation 
grew  more  violent;  and  he  ordered  that 
eunuch  of  Mariamne  who  was  most  faith- 
ful to  her,  to  be  brought  to  torture  about 
this  potion,  as  well  knowing  it  was  not 
possible  that  any  thing,  small  or  great, 
could  be  done  without  him;  and  when  the 
man  was  under  the  utmost  agonies,  he 
could  say  nothing  concerning  the  thiDg  he 
was  tortured  about;  but,  so  far  as  he  knew, 
that  Mariamne's  hatred  against  him  was 
occasioned  by  somewhat  that  Sohemus 
had  said  to  her.  Now,  as  he  was  saying 
this,  Herod  cried  out  aloud,  and  said  that 
Sohemus,  who  had  been  at  all  other  times 
tho  most  faithful  to  him  and  to  his  govern- 
ment, would  not  have  betrayed  what  in- 
junctions he  had  given  him,  unless  he  had 
had  a  nearer  conversation  than  ordinary 
with  Mariamne.  So  he  gave  orders  that 
Sohemus  should  be  seized  on  and  slain 
immediately;  but  he  allowed  his  wife  to 
take  her  trial,  and  got  together  those  that 
were  most  faithful  to  him,  and  laid  an 
elaborate  accusation  against  her  for  this 
love-potion  and  composition,  which  had 
been  charged  upon  her  by  way  of  calumny 
only.  However,  he  kept  no  temper  in 
what  he  said,  and  was  in  too  great  a  pas- 
sion for  judging  well  about  this  matter. 
Accordingly,  when  the  court  was  at  length 
satisfied  that  he  was  so  resolved,  they 
passed  the  sentence  of  death  upon  her; 
but  when  the  sentence  was  passed  upon 
her,  this  temper  was  suggested  by  himself, 


and  by  some  others  of  the  court,  that  she 
should  not  be  thus  hastily  put  to  death, 
but  be  laid  in  prison  in  one  of  the  for- 
tresses belonging  to  the  kingdom;  but  Sa- 
lome and  her  party  laboured  hard  to  have 
the  woman  put  to  death;  and  they  pre- 
vailed with  the  king  to  do  so,  and  advised 
this  out  of  caution,  lest  the  multitude 
should  be  tumultuous  if  she  were  suffered 
to  live;  and  thus  was  Mariamne  led  to 
execution. 

When  Alexandra  observed  how  things 
went,  and  that  there  were  small  hopes  that 
she  herself  should  escape  the  like  treat- 
ment from  Herod,  she  changed  her  beha- 
viour to  quite  the  reverse  of  what  might 
have  been  expected  from  her  former  bold- 
ness, and  this  after  a  very  indecent  man- 
ner; for  out  of  her  desire  to  show  how 
entirely  ignorant  she  was  of  the  crimes 
laid  against  Mariamne,  she  leaped  out  of 
her  place,  and  reproached  her  daughter  in 
the  hearing  of  all  the  people;  and  cried 
out  that  she  tad  been  an  ill  woman  and 
ungrateful  to  ner  husband,  and  that  her 
punishment  came  justly  upon  her  for  such 
her  insolent  behaviour,  for  that  she  had 
not  made  proper  returns  to  him  who  had 
been  their  common  benefactor.  And  when 
she  had  for  some  time  acted  after  this 
hypocritical  manner,  and  had  been  so  out- 
rageous as  to  tear  her  hair,  this  indecent 
and  dissembling  behaviour,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  was  greatly  condemned  by  tbe 
rest  of  the  spectators,  as  it  was  principally 
by  the  poor  woman  who  was  to  suffer;  for 
at  the  first  she  gave  her  not  a  word,  nor 
was  discomposed  at  her  peevishness,  and 
only  looked  at  her;  yet  did  she,  out  of  a 
greatness  of  soul,  discover  her  concern  for 
her  mother's  offence,  and  especially  for 
her  exposing  herself  in  a  manner  so  unbe- 
coming her;  but  as  for  herself,  she  went 
to  her  death  with  an  unshaken  firmness 
of  mind,  and  without  changing  the  colour 
of  her  face,  and  thereby  evidently  disco- 
vered the  nobility  of  her  descent  to  the 
spectators,  even  in  the  last  moments  of 
her  life. 

And  thus  plied  Mariamne,  a  woman  of 
an  excellent  character,  both  for  chastity 
and  greatness  of  soul;  but  she  wanted 
moderation,  and  had  too  much  of  conten- 1 
tion  in  her  nature,  yet  had  she  all  that  ( 
can  be  said  in  the  beauty  of  her  body,  and 
her  majestic  appearance  in  conversation; 
and  thence  arose  the  greatest  part  of  the 
occasions  why  she  did  not  prove  so  agreea- 
ble to  the  king,  nor  live  so  pleasantly  witi 


JHAP.   VfL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


469 


Aim  as   she  might  otherwise  have  done; 
for  while  she  was  most  indulgently  used 
by  the  king,  out  ot'  his  fondness  for  her, 
and  did  not  expect  that  he  could  do  any 
thing  too  hard  for  her,  she  took  too  un- 
bounded a  liberty.     Moreover,  that  which 
most  afflicted  her  was  what  he  had  done 
to  her  relations ;  and  she  ventured  to  speak 
of  all  they  had  suffered  by  him,  and  at  last 
greatly  provoked  both  the  king's  mother 
and  sister,  till  they  became  enemies  to  her; 
and  even  he  himself  also  did  the  same,  on 
whom  alone  she  depended  for  her  expecta- 
tions of  escaping  the  last  of  punishments. 
But  when  she  was  once  dead,  the  king's 
affections  for  her  were  kindled  in  a  more 
outrageous  manner  than  before,  whose  old 
passion  for  her  we  have  already  described; 
for  his  love  to  her  was  not  of  a  calm  nature, 
nor  such  as  we  usually  meet  with  among 
other  husbands;  for  at  its  commencement 
it  was  of  an  enthusiastic  kind  ;  nor  was  it, 
by  their  long  cohabitation  and  free  con- 
versation together,  brought  under  his  power 
to  manage ;   but  at  this  time  his  love  to 
Mariamne  seemed  to  seize  him  in  such  a 
peculiar    manner,   as   looked   like    divine 
vengeance  upon  him  for  the  taking  away 
her  life;  for  he  would  frequently  call  for 
her,  and  frequently  lament  for  her  in  a 
most  indecent  manner.     Moreover,  he  be- 
thought him  of  every  thing  he  could  make 
use  of  for  diverting  his  mind  from  think- 
ing of  her,  and  contrived  feasts  and  assem- 
blies for  that  purpose,  but  nothing  would 
suffice :    he    therefore   laid   aside   the   ad- 
ministration of  public  affairs,  and  was  so 
far    concerned    by    his    passion,    that    he 
would  order  his  servants  to  call  for  Ma- 
riamne, as  if  she  were  still  alive,  and  could 
still  hear  them ;  and  when  he  was  in  this 
way,  there  arose  a  pestilential  disease,  and 
carried  off  the  greatest  part  of  the  multi- 
ude,  and  of  his  best  and  most  esteemed 
friends,  and  made  all  men  suspect  that 
his  was  brought  upon  them  by  the  anger 
)f  God,  for  the  injustice  that  had  been 
lone    to    Mariamne.     This    circumstance 
iffectcd  the  king  still  more,  till  at  length 
le  forced  himself  to  go  into  desert  places, 
md  there,  under   pretence  of  going   out 
mnting,  bitterly  afflicted  himself;  yet  had 
ie  not  borne  his  grief  there   many  days, 
>efore  he  fell  into  a  most  dangerous  dis- 
cmper  himself;   he  had  an  inflammation 
tpon  him,  and  a  pain  in  the  hinder  part 
t  his  head,  joined  with  madness;  and  for 
he  remedies  that  were  used,  they  did  him 
10  good  at  all,  hut  proved  contrary  to  bis 


case,  and  so  at  length  brought  him  to  de- 
spair. All  the  physicians,  also,  that  were 
about  him,  partly  because  the  medicines 
they  brought  for  his  recovery  could  not  at 
all  conquer  the  disease,  and  partly  because 
his  diet  could  be  no  other  than  what  his 
disease  inclined  him  to,  desired  him  to 
eat  whatever  he  had  a  mind  to,  and  so 
left  the  small  hopes  they  had  of  his  re- 
covery in  the  power  of  that  diet,  and  com- 
mitted him  to  fortune.  And  thus  did  his 
distemper  go  on,  while  he  was  at  Samaria, 
now  called  Sebaste. 

Now  Alexandra  abode  at  this  time  at 
Jerusalem  ;  and  being  informed  what  con- 
dition Herod  was  in,  she  endeavoured  to 
get  possession  of  the  fortified  places  that 
were  about  the  city,  which  were  two,  the 
one  belonging  to  the  city  itself,  the  other 
belonging  to  the  temple ;  and  those  that 
could    get    them    into    their    hauds    had 
the  whole  nation  under  their  power,  for 
without  the  command  of  them  it  was  not 
possible  to  offer  their   sacrifices;   and  to 
think  of  leaving  off  those  sacrifices,  is,  to 
every  Jew,    plainly   impossible,   who   are 
still  more  ready  to  lose  their  lives  than  to 
leave  off  that  divine  worship  which  they 
have  been  wont  to  pay  unto  God.     Alex- 
andra,   therefore,    discoursed    with    those 
that  had  the  keeping  of  these  strongholds, 
that  it  was  proper  for  them  to  deliver  the 
same  to  her,  and  to  Herod's   sons,  lest, 
upon  his  death,  any  other  person  should 
seize    upon    the    government;    and    that, 
upon  his  recovery,  none  could  keep  them 
more  safely  for  him  than  those  of  his  own 
family.     These  words  were  not  by  them 
at  all  taken  in  good  part;  and,  as  they 
had    been   in    former    times    faithful    [to 
Herod],  they  resolved  to  continue  so  more 
than  ever,  both  because  they  hated  Alex- 
andra, and  because   they  thought  it  a  sort 
of  impiety  to  despair  of  Herod's  recovery 
while  he  was  yet  alive,  for  they  had  been 
his  old  friends ;  and  one  of  them,  whose 
name  was  Achiabus,  was  his  cousin-ger- 
man.     They  sent   messengers,    therefore, 
to  acquaint  him  with  Alexandra's  design  ; 
so  he   made   no    longer  delay,   but   gave 
orders  to  have  her  slain ;  yet  was  it  with 
difficulty,  and  after  he  had  endured  great 
pain,  that  he  got  clear  of  his  distemper. 
He  was  still  sorely  afflicted,  both  in  mind 
and   body,   and   made   very   uneasy,   and 
readier  than  ever  upon  all  occasions  to  h> 
flict  punishment  upon  those  that  fell  under 
his  hand.      He  also  slew  the  most  inti- 
mate of  his  friends.  Costobarus,  and  Lysi- 


470 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


machus,  and  Gadias,  who  was  also  called 
Antipater ;  as  also  Dositheus,  and  that 
upon  the  following  occasion. 

Costobarus  was  an  Idumean  by  birth, 
and  one  of  principal  dignity  among  them, 
and  one  whose  ancestors  had  been  priests 
to  the  Koze,  whom  the  Idumeans  had 
[formerly]  esteemed  as  a  god ;  but  after 
Hyrcanus  had  made  a  change  in  their  po- 
litical government,  and  made  them  receive 
the  Jewish  customs  and  law,  Herod  made 
Costobarus  governor  of  Idumea  and  G-aza, 
and  gave  him  his  sister  Salome  to  wife ; 
and  this  was  upon  his  slaughter  of  [his 
uncle]  Joseph,  who  had  that  government 
before,  as  we  have  related  already.  When 
Costobarus  had  gotten  to  be  so  highly  ad- 
vanced, it  pleased  him,  and  was  more  than 
he  hoped  for,  and  he  was  more  and  more 
puffed  up  by  his  good  success,  and  in  a 
little  while  he  exceeded  all  bounds,  and 
did  not  think  fit  to  obey  what  Herod,  as 
their  ruler,  commanded  him,  or  that  the 
Idumeans  should  make  use  of  the  Jewish 
customs,  or  be  subject  to  them.  He  there- 
fore sent  to  Cleopatra,  and  informed  her 
that  the  Idumeans  had  been  always  under 
his  progenitors,  and  that  for  the  same 
reason  it  was  but  just  that  she  should  de- 
sire that  country  for  him  of  Antony,  for 
that  he  was  ready  to  transfer  his  friend- 
ship to  her :  and  this  he  did,  not  because 
he  was  better  pleased  to  be  under  Cleo- 
patra's government,  but  because  he  thought 
tnat,  upon  the  diminution  of  Herod's 
power,  it  would  not  be  difficult  for  him  to 
obtam  himself  the  entire  government  over 
the  Idumeans,  and  somewhat  more  also ; 
for  he  raised  his  hopes  still  higher,  as  hav- 
ing no  small  pretences,  both  by  his  birth 
and  by  those  riches  which  he  had  gotten 
by  his  constant  attention  to  filthy  lucre; 
and,  accordingly,  it  was  not  a  small  matter 
that  he  aimed  at.  So  Cleopatra  desired 
this  country  of  Antony,  but  failed  of  her 
purpose.  An  account  of  this  was  brought 
to  Herod,  who  was  thereupon  ready  to 
kill  Costobarus;  yet,  upon  the  entreaties 
of  his  sister  and  mother,  he  forgave  him, 
and  vouchsafed  to  pardon  him  entirely, 
though  he  still  had  a  suspicion  of  him 
afterward  for  this  his  attempt. 

But  some  iime  afterward,  when  Salome 
happened  to  quarrel  with  Costobarus ;  she 
sent  him  a  bill  of  divorce,  and  dissolved 
her  marriage  with  him,  though  this  was 
not  according  to  the  Jewish  laws ;  for  with 
us  it  is  lawful  for  a  husband  to  do  so ;  but 
a  wife,  if  she  departs  from  her  husband, 


cannot  of  herself  be  married  to  another, 
unless  her  former  husband  put  her  away. 
However,  Salome  chose  not  to  follow  the 
law  of  her  country,  but  the  law  of  her  au- 
thority, and  so  renounced  her  wedlock; 
and  told  her  brother  Herod,  that  she  left 
her  husband  out  of  her  good-will  to  him, 
because  she  perceived  that  he,  with  An- 
tipater, and  Lysimachus,  and  Dositheus, 
were  raising  a  sedition  against  him  :  as  an 
evidence  whereof,  she  alleged  the  case  of 
the  sons  of  Babas,  that  they  had  been  by 
him  preserved  alive  already  for  the  inter- 
val of  twelve  years,  which  proved  to  be 
true.  But  when  Herod  thus  unexpectedly 
heard  of  it,  he  was  greatly  surprised  at  it, 
and  was  the  more  surprised,  because  the 
relation  appeared  incredible  to  him.  As 
for  the  fact  relating  to  these  sons  of  Babas, 
Herod  had  formerly  taken  great  pains  to 
bring  them  to  punishment,  as  being  ene- 
mies to  his  government;  but  they  were 
now  forgotten  by  him,  on  account  of  the 
length  of  time  [since  he  had  ordered  them 
to  be  slain].  Now,  the  cause  of  his  ill- 
will  and  hatred  to  them  arose  hence  :  that 
while  Antigonus  was  king,  Herod,  with 
his  army,  besieged  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
where  the  distress  and  miseries  which  the 
besieged  endured  were  so  pressing,  that 
the  greater  number  of  them  invited  Herod 
into  the  city,  and  already  placed  their 
hopes  on  him.  Now,  the  sons  of  Babas 
were  of  great  dignity,  and  had  power 
among  the  multitude,  and  were  faithful 
to  Antigonus,  and  were  always  raising 
calumnies  against  Herod,  and  encouraged 
the  people  to  reserve  the  government  to 
that  royal  family  which  held  it  by  inherit- 
ance. So  these  men  acted  thus  politically, 
and,  as  they  thought  for  their  own  advan- 
tage ;  but  when  the  city  was  taken,  and 
Herod  had  gotten  the  government  into 
his  own  hands,  and  Costobarus  was  ap- 
pointed to  hinder  men  from  passing  out 
at  the  gates,  and  to  guard  the  city,  that 
those  citizens  that  were  guilty,  and  of  the 
party  opposite  to  the  king,  might  not  get 
out  of  it,  Costobarus  being  seusible  that 
the  sons  of  Babas  were  had  in  respect  and 
honour  by  the  whole  multitude,  and  sup- 
posing that  their  preservation  might  be 
of  great,  advantage  to  him  in  the  changes 
of  government  afterward,  he  sent  them  by 
themselves,  and  concealed  them  in  his  own 
farms,  and  when  the  thing  was  suspected, 
he  assured  Herod  upon  oath  that  he  really 
knew  nothing  of  that  matter,  and  so  over 
came  the  suspicions  that  lay  upon  him, 


Chap   VIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


471 


nay,  ifter  that,  when  the  king  had  pub- 
licly proposed  a  reward  for  the  discovery, 
and  had  put  in  practice  all  sorts  of  methods 
for  searching  out  this  matter,  he  would  not 
confess  it ;  but  being  persuaded  that  when 
he  had  at  first  denied  it,  if  the  men  were 
found,  he  should  not  escape  unpunished, 
he  was  forced  to  keep  them  secret,  not 
only  out  of  his  good-will  to  them,  but  out 
of  a  necessary  regard  to  his  own  preserva- 
tion also.  Eut  when  the  king  knew  the 
thing,  by  his  sister's  information,  he  sent 
men  to  the  places  where  he  had  the  inti- 
mation they  were  concealed,  and  ordered 
both  them  and  those  that  were  accused, 
as  guilty  with  them,  to  be  slain,  insomuch 
that  there  were  now  none  at  all  left  of  the 
kindred  of  Hyrcanutf;  and  the  kingdom 
was  entirely  in  Herod's  own  power,  and 
there  was  nobody  remaining  of  such  dig- 
nity as  could  put  a  stop  to  what  he  did 
against  the  Jewish  laws. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ten  of  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem  enter  into  a  con- 
spiracy against  Herod. 

On  this  account  it  was  that  Herod  re- 
volted from  the  laws  of  his  country,  and 
corrupted  their  ancient  constitution,  by 
the  introduction  of  foreign  practices,  which 
constitution  yet  ought  to  have  been  pre- 
served inviolable;  by  which  means  we 
became  guilty  of  great  wickedness  after- 
ward, while  those  religious  observances 
which  used  to  lead  the  multitude  to  piety 
were  now  neglected :  for,  in  the  first  place, 
he  appointed  solemn  games  to  be  cele- 
brated every  fifth  year,  in  honour  of 
Caesar,  and  built  a  theatre  at  Jerusalem, 
as  also  a  very  great  amphitheatre  in  the 
plain.  Both  of  them  were  indeed  costly 
works,  but  opposite  to  the  Jewish  customs; 
for  we  have  had  no  such  shows  delivered 
down  to  us  as  fit  to  be  used  or  exhibited 
by  us ;  yet  did  he  celebrate  these  games 
every  five  years,  in  the  most  solemn  and 
splendid  manner.  He  also  made  procla- 
mation to  the  neighbouring  countries,  and 
called  men  together  out  of  every  nation. 
Tho  wrestlers,  and  the  rest  that  strove 
for  the  prizes  in  such  games,  were  invited 
out  of  every  land,  both  by  the  hopes  of  the 
rewards  there  to  be  bestowed,  and  by  the 
glory  of  victory  to  be  there  gained.  So 
the  principal  persons  that  were  the  most 
eminent  in  these  sorts  of  exercises  were 
gotten  together,  for  there  were  very  great 
rewards  for  victory  proposed,  not  only  to 


those  that  performed  their  exercises  naked, 
but  to  those  that  played  as  musicians 
also,  and  were  called  "Th/melici;"  and 
he  spared  no  pains  to  induce  all  persons, 
the  most  famous  for  such  exercises,  to 
come  to  this  contest  for  victory.  He  also 
proposed  no  small  rewards  to  those  who 
ran  for  the  prizes  in  chariot-races,  when 
they  were  drawn  by  two  or  three  or  four 
pair  of  horses.  He  also  imitated  every 
thing,  though  ever  so  costly  or  magnifi- 
cent, in  other  nations,  out  of  an  ambition 
that  he  might  give  most  public  demon- 
stration of  his  grandeur.  Inscriptions, 
also,  of  the  greatest  actions  of  Caesar,  and 
trophies  of  those  nations  which  he  had 
conquered  in  his  wars,  and  all  made  of  the 
purest  gold  and  silver,  encompassed  the 
theatre  itself:  nor  was  there  any  thing 
that  could  be  subservient  to  his  design, 
whether  it  were  precious  garments,  or 
precious  stones  set  in  order,  which  was 
not  also  exposed  to  sight  in  these  games. 
He  had  also  made  a  great  preparation  of 
wild  beasts,  and  of  lions  themselves  in 
great  abundance,  and  of  such  other  beasts 
as  were  either  of  uncommon  strength,  cr 
of  such  sort  as  were  rarely  seen.  These 
were  prepared  either  co  fight  with  one 
another,  or  that  men  who  were  condemned 
to  death  were  to  fight  with  them.  And 
truly  foreigners  were  greatly  surprised  and 
delighted  at  the  vastness  of  the  expenses 
here  exhibited,  and  at  the  great  dangers 
that  were  here  seen;  but  to  natural  Jews, 
this  was  no  better  than  a  dissolution  of 
those  customs  for  which  they  had  so  great 
a  veneration.  It  appeared  also  no  better 
than  an  instance  of  barefaced  impiety  to 
throw  men  to  wild  beasts  for  the  afford- 
ing delight  to  the  spectators ;  and  it  ap- 
peared an  instance  of  no  less  impiety  to 
change  their  own  laws  for  such  foreign 
exercises  :  but,  above  all  the  rest,  the  tro- 
phies gave  most  distaste  to  the  Jews ;  for 
as  they  imagined  them  to  be  images,  en- 
closed within  the  armour  that  hung  round 
about  them,  they  were  sorely  displeased 
at  them,  because  it  was  not  the  custom  of 
their  country  to  pay  honours  to  such 
images. 

Nor  was  Herod  unacquainted  with  the 
disturbance  they  were  under;  and,  as  he 
thought  it  unseasonable  to  use  violence 
with  them,  so  he  spake  to  some  of  them 
by  way  of  consolation,  and  in  order  to 
free  them  from  that  super&tttious  fear  they 
were  under ;  yet  could  noi  he  satisfy  them, 
but  they  cr:'ed  out  with  one  accord,  ou' 


472 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS 


^Book  XV. 


of  their  great  uneasiness  at  the  offences 
they  thought  he  had  been  guilty  of,  that 
although  they  should  think  of  bearing 
all  the  rest,  yet  would  they  never  bear 
images  of  men  in  their  city,  meaning  the 
trophies,  because  this  was  disagreeable  to 
the  laws  of  their  country.  Now  when 
Herod  saw  them  in  such  a  disorder,  and 
that  they  would  not  easily  change  their 
resolution  unless  they  received  satisfaction 
in  this  point,  he  called  to  him  the  most 
eminent  men  among  them,  and  brought 
them  upon  the  theatre,  and  showed  them 
the  trophies,  and  asked  them  what  sort  of 
things  they  took  these  trophies  to  be; 
and  when  they  cried  out  that  they  were 
the  images  of  men,  he  gave  order  that 
they  should  be  stripped  of  these  outward 
ornaments  which  were  about  them,  and 
showed  them  the  naked  pieces  of  wood, 
which  pieces  of  wood,  now  without  any 
ornament,  became  matter  of  great  sport 
and  laughter  to  them,  because  they  had 
before  always  had  the  ornaments  of  images 
themselves  in  derision. 

When,  therefore,  Herod  had  thus  got 
clear  of  the  multitude,  and  had  dissipated 
the  vehemency  of  passion  under  which 
they  had  been,  the  greatest  part  o**  the 
people  were  disposed  to  change  their  con- 
duct, and  not  to  be  displeased  at  him  any 
longer ;  but  still  some  of  them  continued 
in  their  displeasure  against  him  for  his 
introduction  of  new  customs,  and  esteemed 
the  violation  of  the  laws  of  their  country 
as  likely  to  be  the  origin  of  very  great 
mischiefs  to  them,  so  that  they  deemed  it 
an  instance  of  piety  rather  to  hazard 
themselves  [to  be  put  to  death],  than  to 
seem  as  if  they  took  no  notice  of  Herod, 
who,  upon  the  change  he  had  made  in 
their  government,  introduced  such  cus- 
toms, and  that  in  a  violent  manner,  which 
they  had  never  been  used  to  before,  as 
indeed  in  pretence  a  king,  but  in  reality 
one  that  showed  himself  an  enemy  to  their 
whole  nation ;  on  which  account  ten  men 
that  were  citizens  [of  Jerusalem]  con- 
spired together  against  him,  and  swore  to 
©ne  anotner  to  undergo  any  dangers  in  the 
attempt,  and  took  daggers  with  them 
under  their  garments  [for  the  purpose  of 
killing  Herod],  Now  there  was  a  certain 
blind  man  among  those  conspirators  who 
had  thus  sworn  to  one  another,  on  account 
of  the  indignation  he  had  against  what  he 
heard  to  have  been  done;  he  was  not, 
indeed',  able  to  afford  the  rest  any  assist- 
ance in  tin  undertaking,  but  was  ready  to 


undergo  any  suffering  with  them,  if  they 
should  come  to  any  harm,  insomuch  that 
he  became  a  very  great  encourager  of  the 
rest  of  the  undertakers. 

When  they  had  taken  this  resolution, 
and  that  by  common  consent,  they  went 
into  the  theatre,  hoping  that,  in  the  first 
place,  Herod    himself   could   not    escape 
them,  as  they  should  fall  upon  him  unex- 
pectedly ;    and  supposing,  however,  that 
if  they    missed  him,  they   should  kill  a 
great  many  of  those  that  were  about  him ; 
and  this  resolution  they  took,  though  they 
should  die  for  it,  in  order  to  suggest  to 
the  king  what  injuries  he  had  done  to  the 
multitude.     These  conspirators,  therefore, 
standing  thus  prepared  beforehand,  went 
about    their  design   with  great    alacrity; 
but  there  was  one  of  those  spies  of  He- 
rod's that  were  appointed  for  such  pur- 
poses, to  fish  out  and  inform  him  of  any 
conspiracies  that  should  be  made  against 
him,  who  found  out  the  whole  affair,  and 
told  the  king  of  it,  as   he  was  about  to 
go  into  the  theatre.     So  when  he  reflected 
on  the  hatred  which  he  knew  the  greatest 
part  of  the  people  bore  him,  and  on  the 
disturbances  that  arose  on  every  occasion, 
he  'nought  this  plot  against  him  not  to  be 
improbable.     Accordingly,  he  retired  into 
his  palace,  and  called  those  that  were  ac- 
cused of  this  conspiracy  before  him  by 
their  several  names  ;    and   as,  upon   the 
guards  falling  upon  them,  they  were  caught 
in  the  very  fact,  and  knew  that  they  could 
not  escape,  they  prepared  themselves  for 
their  end  with  all  the  decency  they  could, 
and  so  as  not  at  all  to  recede  from  their 
resolute   behaviour,  for   they  showed   no 
shame  for  what  they  were  about,  nor  de- 
nied it;  bat  when  they  vere  seized,  they 
showed  their   daggers,  and  professed  that 
the  conspiracy  they  had  sworn  to  was  a 
holy  and   pious  action;    that  what  they 
intended  to  do  was  not  for  gain,  or  out  of 
any    indulgence    to    their    passions,    but 
principally  for  those  common  customs  of 
their  country,   which  all  the  Jews  were 
obliged  to  observe,  or  to  die   for  them. 
This  was  what  these  men  said,  out  of  their 
undaunted  courage  in  this  conspiracy.    So 
they  were  led  away   to  execution   by  the 
king's  guards  that  stood  about  them,  and 
patiently  underwent  all  the  torments  in- 
flicted on  them,  till  they  died.     Nor  was 
it  long  before  that  spy  who  had  discovered 
them,  was  seized  on  by  some  of  the  people, 
out  of  the  hatred  they  bore  to  him;   and 
was  not  only  slain  by  them,  but  pulled  to 


Chap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


473 


pieces,  limL  from  limb,  and  given  to  the 
dogs.  This  execution  was  seen  by  many 
of  the  citizens,  yet  would  not  one  of  them 
discover  the  doers  of  it,  till,  upon  Herod's 
making  a  strict  scrutiny  after  them,  by 
bitter  and  severe  tortures,  certain  women 
fchat  were  tortured  confessed  what  they 
had  seen  done;  the  authors  of  which  fact 
were  so  terribly  punished  by  the  king, 
that  their  entire  families  were  destroyed 
for  this  their  rash  attempt ;  yet  did  not  the 
obstinacy  of  the  people,  and  the  undaunted 
constancy  they  showed  in  the  defence  of 
their  laws,  make  Herod  any  easier  to 
them,  but  he  still  strengthened  himself 
after  a  more  secure  manner,  and  resolved 
to  encompass  the  multitude  every  way, 
lest  such  innovations  should  end  in  an 
open  rebellion. 

Since,  therefore,  he  had  now  the  city 
fortified  by  the  palace  in  which  he  lived, 
and  by  the  temple  which  had  a  strong 
fortress  by  it,  called  Antonia,  and  was  re- 
built by  himself,  he  contrived  to  make 
Samaria  a  fortress  for  himself  also,  against 
all  the  people,  and  called  it  Sebaste,  sup- 
posing that  this  place  would  be  a  strong 
hold  against  the  country,  not  inferior  to 
the  former.  So  he  fortified  that  place, 
which  was  a  day's  journey  distant  from 
Jerusalem,  and  which  would  be  useful  to 
him  in  common,  to  keep  both  the  country 
and  the  city  in  awe.  He  also  built  another 
fortress  for  the  whole  nation :  it  was  of 
old  called  Strato's  Tower;  but  was  by 
him  named  Csesarea.  Moreover,  he  chose 
out  some  select  horsemen,  and  placed  them 
in  the  great  plain ;  and  built  [for  them] 
a  place  in  Galilee,  called  Gaba,  with  Hese- 
bonitis,  in  Perea;  and  these  were  the 
places  which  he  particularly  built,  while 
he  always  was  inventing  somewhat  further 
for  his  own  security,  and  encompassing 
the  whole  nation  with  guards,  that  they 
might  by  no  means  get  from  under  his 
power,  nor  fall  into  tumults,  which  they 
did  continually,  upon  any  small  commo- 
tion ;  and  that  if  they  did  make  any  com- 
motions, he  might  know  of  it,  while  some 
of  his  spies  might  be  upon  them  from  the 
neighbourhood,  and  might  both  be  able 
to  know  what  they  were  attempting,  and 
to  prevent  it;  and  when  he  went  about 
building  the  wall  of  Samaria,  he  contrived 
to  bring  thither  many  of  those  that  had 
been  assisting  to  him  in  his  wars,  and 
many  of  the  people  in  that  neighborhood 
alsc,  whom  he  made  fellow-citizens  with 
the  rest.     This  he  did,  out  of  an  ambi- 


tious desire  of  building  a  temple,  and  out 
of  a  desire  to  make  the  city  more  eminent 
than  it  had  been  before,  but  principally 
because  he  contrived  that  it  might  at  once 
be  for  his  own  security,  and  a  monument 
of  his  magnificence.  He  also  changed  its 
name,  and  called  it  Sebaste.  Moreover, 
he  parted  the  adjoining  country,  which 
was  excellent  in  its  kind,  among  the  inha- 
bitants of  Samaria,  that  they  might  be  in 
a  happy  condition,  upon  their  first  coming 
to  inhabit.  Besides  all  which,  he  encom- 
passed the  city  with  a  wall  of  great  strength, 
and  made  use  of  the  acclivity  of  the  place 
for  making  its  fortifications  stronger;  nor 
was  the  compass  of  the  place  made  now 
so  small  as  it  had  been  before,  but  was 
such  as  rendered  it  not  inferior  to  the 
most  famous  cities;  for  it  was  twenty  fur- 
longs in  circumference.  Now  within,  and 
about  the  middle  of  it,  he  built  a  sacred 
place,  of  a  furlong  and  a  half  [in  circuit], 
and  adorned  it  with  all  sorts  of  decora- 
tions, and  therein  erected  a  temple,  which 
was  illustrious,  on  account  of  both  its 
largeness  and  beauty ;  and  as  to  the  seve- 
ral parts  of  the  city,  he  adorned  them  with 
decorations  of  all  sorts  also;  and  as  to 
what  was  necessary  to  provide  for  his  own 
security,  he  made  the  walls  very  strong 
for  that  purpose,  and  made  it  for  the 
greatest  part  a  citadel;  and  as  to  the  ele- 
gance of  the  buildings,  it  was  taken  care 
of  also,  that  he  might  leave  monuments 
of  the  fineness  of  his  taste,  and  of  his 
beneficence,  to  future  ages. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Famine  in  Judea  and  Syria — He/od  marries 
again — rebuilds  Cassarea,  and  other  Grecian 
cities. 

Now  on  this  very  year,  which  was  the 
thirteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Herod, 
very  great  calamities  came  upon  the  coun- 
try ;  whether  they  were  derived  frcm  the 
anger  of  God,  or  whether  this  misery  re- 
turns again  naturally  in  certain  periods  of 
time ;  *  for,  in  the  first  place,  there  were 


*  Here  we  have  an  eminent  example  of  the  lan- 
guage of  Josephus  in  his  writing  to  Gentiles,  dif- 
ferent from  that  when  he  wrote  to  Jews  j  in  hia 
writing  to  whom  he  still  derives  all  such  judgments 
from  the  anger  of  God ;  but  because  he  knew  many 
of  the  Gentiles  thought  they  might  naturally  come 
in  certain  periods,  he  complies  with  them  in  the 
following  sentence. 

This  famine  for  two  years,  that  affected  Judea 
and  Syria,  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  years  of 
Herod,  which  are  the  twenty- third  and  twenty 
fourth  years  before  the  Christian  era.  sei-mg  to  have 


474 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    .  EWS. 


[Book  XV. 


perpetual  droughts,  and  for  that  reason 
the  ground  was  barren,  and  did  not  bring 
forth  the  same  quantity  of  fruits  that  it 
used  to  produce  ;  and  after  this  barrenness 
of  the  soil,  that  change  of  food  which  the 
want  of  corn  occasioned  produced  dis- 
tempers in  the  bodies  of  men,  and  a  pesti- 
lential disease  prevailed,  one  misery  fol- 
lowing upon  the  back  of  another;  and 
these  circumstances,  that  they  were  desti- 
tute both  of  methods  of  cure  and  of  food, 
made  the  pestilential  distemper,  which 
began  after  a  violent  manner,  the  more 
lasting.  The  destruction  of  men  also, 
after  such  a  manner,  deprived  those  that 
survived  of  all  their  courage,  because  they 
had  no  way  to  provide  remedies  sufficient 
for  the  distresses  they  were  in.  When, 
therefore,  the  fruits  of  that  year  were 
spoiled,  and  whatsoever  they  had  laid  up 
beforehand  was  spent,  there  was  no  found- 
ation of  hope  for  relief  remaining,  but 
the  misery,  contrary  to  what  they  ex- 
pected, still  increased  upon  them;  and 
this,  not  only  on  that  year,  while  they 
had  nothing  for  themselves  left  [at  the 
end  of  it],  but  what  seed  they  had  sown 
perished  also,  by  reason  of  the  ground  not 
yielding  its  fruits  on  the  second  year. 
This  distress  they  were  in  made  them 
also,  out  of  necessity,  to  eat  many  things 
that  did  not  use  to  be  eaten  :  nor  was  the 
king  himself  free  from  this  distress  any 
more  than  other  men,  as  being  deprived 
of  that  tribute  he  used  to  have  from  the 
fruits  of  the  ground ;  and  having  already 
expended  what  money  he  had,  in  his  libe- 
rality to  those  whose  cities  he  had  built ; 
nor  had  he  any  people  that  were  worthy 
of  his  assistance,  since  this  miserable  state 
of  things  had  procured  him  the  hatred  of 
his  subjects;  for  it  is  a  common  rule,  that 
misfortunes  are  still  laid  to  the  account  of 
those  that  govern. 

In  these  circumstances,  he  considered 
with  himself  how  to  procure  some  season- 
able help ;  but  this  was  a  hard  thing  to 


been  more  terrible  during  tbis  time  tban  was  tbat 
in  the  days  of  Jacob.  Gen.  xli.  xlii.  And  what 
makes  the  comparison  more  remarkable  is  this — 
that  now,  as  well  as  then,  the  relief  they  had  was 
from  Egypt  also ;  then  from  Joseph,  the  governor 
of  Egypt,  under  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt;  and  now 
from  Petronius,  the  prefect  of  Egypt,  under  Au- 
gustus, the  Roman  emperor.  It  is  also  well  worth 
observation  here,  that  these  two  years  were  a 
Sabbatic  year,  and  a  year  of  jubilee,  for  which 
Providence,  during  the  theocracy,  used  to  provide 
a  triple  crop  beforehand;  but  which  became  the 
greatest  years  of  famine  to  them  ever  since  the 
day?  of  Ahab.   1  Kings,  xvii.  xviii 


be  done,  while  their  neighbours  had  no 
food  to  sell  them ;  and  their  money  also 
was  gone,  had  it  been  possible  to  purchase 
a  little  food  at  a  great  price.  However, 
he  thought  it  his  best  way,  by  all  means, 
not  to  leave  off  his  ende'avours  to  assisj 
his  people  ;  so  he  cut  off  the  rich  furniture 
that  was  in  his  palace,  both  of  silver  and 
gold,  insomuch  that  he  did  not  spare  the 
finest  vessels  he  had,  or  those  that  were 
made  with  the  most  elaborate  skill  of  the 
artificers,  but  sent  the  money  to  Petronius, 
who  had  been  made  prefect  of  Egypt  by 
Caesar ;  and  as  not  a  few  had  already  flea 
to  him  under  their  necessities,  and  as  he 
was  particularly  a  friend  to  Herod,  and 
desirous  to  have  his  subjects  preserved, 
he  gave  leave  to  them,  in  the  first  place, 
to  export  corn,  and  assisted  them  every 
way,  both  in  purchasing  and  exporting 
the  same ;  so  that  he  was  the  principal, 
if  not  the  only  person,  who  afforded  them 
what  help  they  had.  And  Herod,  taking 
care  the  people  should  understand  that 
this  help  came  from  himself,  did  thereby 
not  only  remove  the  ill  opinion  of  those 
that  formerly  hated  him,  but  gave  them 
the  greatest  demonstration  possible  of  his 
good-will  to  them,  and  care  of  them  :  for, 
in  the  first  place,  as  for  those  who  were 
able  to  provide  their  own  food,  he  dis- 
tributed to  them  their  proper  portion  of 
corn  in  the  exactest  manner ;  but  for  those 
many  that  were  not  able,  either  by  reason 
of  their  old  age,  or  any  other  infirmity,  to 
provide  food  for  themselves,  he  made  tbis 
provision  for  them,  that  the  bakers  should 
make  their  bread  ready  for  them.  He 
also  took  care  that  they  might  not  be 
hurt  by  the  dangers  of  winter,  since  thev 
were  in  great  want  of  clothing  also,  by 
reason  of  the  utter  destruction  and  con- 
sumption of  their  sheep  and  goats,  till 
they  had  no  wool  to  make  use  of,  nor  aLy 
thing  else  to  cover  themselves  withal. 
And  when  he  had  procured  these  things 
for  his  own  subjects,  he  went  further, 
in  order  to  provide  necessaries  for  their 
neighbours,  and  gave  seed  to  the  Syrians; 
which  things  turned  greatly  to  his  own 
advantage  also,  this  charitable  assistance 
being  afforded  most  seasonably  to  then 
fruitful  soil,  so  that  every  one  had  now  a 
plentiful  provision  of  food.  Upon  the 
whole,  when  the  harvest  of  the  land  was 
approaching,  he  sent  no  fewer  than  50.000 
men,  whom  he  had  sustained,  into  the 
country;  by  which  means  he  both  re- 
paired  the  afflicted  condition  of  his  owu 


Chap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


475 


kingdom  with  great  generosity  and  dili- 
gence, and  lightened  the  afflictions  of  his 
neighbours,  who  were  under  the  same 
calamities ;  for  there  was  nobody  who  had 
been  in  want,  that  was  left  destitute  of  a 
suitable  assistance  by  him  :  nay,  further, 
there  were  neither  any  people,  nor  any 
cities,  nor  any  private  men,  who  were  to 
make  provision  for  the  multitudes;  and 
on  that  account  were  in  want  of  support, 
and  had  recourse  to  him,  but  received 
what  they  stood  in  need  of,  insomuch 
that  it  appeared,  upon  a  computation, 
that  the  number  of  cori  of  wheat,  of  ten 
Attic  medimni  each,  that  were  given  to 
foreigners,  amounted  to  10,000;  and  the 
number  that  was  given  in  his  own  king- 
dom was  80,000.  Now  it  happened  that 
this  care  of  his,  and  this  seasonable  bene- 
faction, had  such  influence  on  the  Jews, 
and  was  so  extolled  among  other  nations, 
as  to  wipe  off  that  old  hatred  which  his 
violation  of  some  of  their  customs,  during 
his  reign,  had  procured  him  among  all  the 
nation,  and  that  this  liberality  of  his 
assistance,  in  this  their  greatest  necessity, 
was  full  satisfaction  for  all  that  he  had 
done  of  that  nature,  as  it  also  procured 
him  great  fame  among  foreigners ;  a,nd  it 
looked  as  if  these  calamities  that  afflicted 
his  land  to  a  degree  plainly  incredible, 
came  in  order  to  raise  his  glory,  and  to 
be  to  his  great  advantage  :  for  the  great- 
ness of  his  liberality  in  these  distresses, 
which  he  now  demonstrated  beyond  all 
expectation,  did  so  change  the  disposition 
of  the  mutitude  toward  him,  that  they 
were  ready  to  suppose  he  had  been  from 
the  beginning  not  such  an  one  as  they 
had  found  him  to  be  by  experience,  but 
such  an  one  as  the  care  he  had  taken  of 
them  in  supplying  their  necessities  proved 
him  now  to  be. 

Abut  this  time  it  was  that  he  sent 
500  chosen  men  out  of  the  guards  of  his 
body,  as  auxiliaries  to  Caesar,  whom  iElius 
Gallus  led  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  who  were 
of  great  service  to  him  there.  When, 
therefore,  his  affairs  were  thus  improved, 
and  were  again  in  a  flourishing  condition, 
he  built  himself  a  palace  in  the  upper 
city,  raising  the  rooms  to  a  very  great 
height,  and  adorning  them  with  the  most 
costly  furniture  of  gold,  and  marble  seats, 
and  beds ;  and  these  were  so  large  that 
they  could  contain  very  many  companies 
of  men.  These  apartments  were  also  of 
distinct  magnitudes,  and  had  particular 
names    given    them;    for   one   apartment 


was  called  Caesar's,  another  Agrippa's. 
He  also  fell  in  love  again,  and  married 
another  wife,  not  suffering  his  reason  to 
hinder  him  from  living  as  he  pleased. 
The  occasion  of  this  marriage,  was  as 
follows : — There  was  one  Simon,  a  citizen  of 
Jerusalem,  the  son  of  one  Bcethus,  a  citi- 
zen of  Alexandria,  and  a  priest  of  great 
note  there :  this  man  had  a  daughter,  who 
was  esteemed  the  most  beautiful  woman 
of  that  time ;  and  when  the  people  of  Je- 
rusalem began  to  speak  much  in  her  com- 
mendation, it  happened  that  Herod  was 
much  affected  with  what  was  said  of  her : 
and  when  he  saw  the  damsel,  he  was 
smitten  with  her  beauty,  yet  did  he  en- 
tirely reject  the  thoughts  of  using  his 
authority  to  abuse  her;  as  believing, 
what  was  the  truth,  that  by  so  doing  he 
should  be  stigmatized  for  violence  and 
tyranny :  so  he  thought  it  best  to  take 
the  damsel  to  wife.  And  while  Simon 
was  of  a  dignity  too  inferior  to  be  allied 
to  him,  but  still  too  considerable  to  be 
despised,  he  governed  his  inclinations 
after  the  most  prudent  manner,  by  aug- 
menting the  dignity  of  the  family,  and 
making  them  more  honourable ;  so  he 
immediately  deprived  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Phabet,  of  the  high-priesthood,  and  con- 
ferred that  dignity  on  Simon,  and  so 
joined  in  affinity  with  him  [by  marrying 
his  daughter]. 

When  this  wedding  was  over,  he  built 
another  citadel  in  that  place  where  he 
had  conquered  the  Jews,  when  he  was 
driven  out  of  his  government,  and  Anti- 
gonus  enjoyed  it.  This  citadel  is  distant 
from  Jerusalem  about  sixty  furlongs.  It 
was  strong  by  nature,  and  fit  for  such  a 
building.  It  is  a  sort  of  a  moderate  hill, 
raised  to  a  further  height  by  the  hand  of 
man,  till  it  was  of  the  shape  of  a  woman's 
breast.  It  is  encompassed  with  circular 
towers,  and  hath  a  strait  ascent  up  to  it, 
which  ascent  was  composed  of  steps  of 
polished  stones,  200  in  number.  Within 
it  are  royal  and  very  rich  apartments,  of 
a  structure  that  provided  both  for  secu- 
rity and  for  beauty.  About  the  bottom 
there  are  habitations  of  such  a  structure 
as  are  well  worth  seeing,  both  on  other 
accounts,  and  also  on  account  of  the  water, 
which  is  brought  thither  from  a  great  way 
off,  and  at  vast  expenses;  for  the  place 
itself  is  destitute  of  water.  The  plain  that 
is  about  this  citadel  is  full  ot  edifices,  not  in- 
ferior to  any  city  in  largeness,  and  having 
the  hill  above  ?t  in  the  nature  of  a  castlp 


476 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


And  now,  when  all  Herod's  designs 
bad  succeeded  according  to  his  hopes,  he 
had  not  the  least  suspicion  that  any 
troubles  could  arise  in  his  kingdom,  be- 
cause he  kept  his  people  obedient,  as  well 
by  the  fear  they  stood  in  of  him,  for  he 
was  implacable  in  the  infliction  of  his 
punishments,  as  by  the  provident  care  he 
had  shown  toward  them,  after  the  most 
magnanimous  manner,  when  they  were 
under  their  distresses :  but  still  he  took 
care  to  have  external  security  for  his 
government,  as  a  fortress  against  his  sub- 
jects ;  for  the  orations  he  made  to  the 
cities  were  very  fine,  and  full  of  kindness; 
and  he  cultivated  a  seasonable  good  under- 
standing with  their  governors,  and  bestowed 
presents  on  every  one  of  them,  inducing 
them  thereby  to  be  more  friendly  to  him, 
and  using  his  magnificent  disposition  so 
as  his  kingdom  might  be  the  better 
secured  to  him,  and  this  till  all  his  affairs 
were  every  way  more  and  more  aug- 
mented. But  then,  this  magnificent  tem- 
per of  his,  and  that  submissive  behaviour 
and  liberality  which  he  exercised  toward 
Caesar,  and  the  most  powerful  men  of 
Rome,  obliged  him  to  transgress  the 
customs  of  his  nation,  and  to  set  aside 
many  of  their  laws,  by  building  cities 
after  an  extravagant  manner,  and  erecting 
temples,  not  in  Judea,  indeed,  for  that 
would  not  have  been  borne,  it  being  for- 
bidden for  us  to  pay  any  honour  to 
images,  or  representation  of  animals, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Greeks ;  but  sUll 
he  did  this  in  the  country  [properly]  out 
of  our  bounds,  and  in  the  cities  thereof. 
The  apology  which  he  made  to  the  Jews 
for  these  things  was  this:  that  all  was 
done,  not  out  of  his  own  inclinations,  but 
by  the  commands  and  injunctions  of 
others,  in  order  to  please  Caesar  and  the 
Romans;  as  though  he  had  not  the 
Jewish  customs  so  much  in  his  eye  as  he 
had  the  honour  of  those  Romans,  while 
yet  he  had  himself  entirely  in  view  all 
the  while,  and,  indeed,  was  very  ambi- 
tious to  leave  great  monuments  of  his 
government  to  posterity;  whence  it  was 
that  he  was  so  zealous  in  building  such 
fine  cities,  and  spent  such  vast  sums  of 
money  upon  them. 

Now,  upon  his  observation  of  a  place 
near  the  sea,  which  was  very  proper  for 
containing  a  3ity,  and  was  before  called 
Strata's  Tower,  he  set  about  getting  a 
plan  for  a  magnificent  city  there,  and 
erected  many  edifices  with  great  diligence 


all  over  it,  and  this  of  white  stone.  Ho 
also  adorned  it  with  most  sumptuous 
palaces,  and  large  edifices  for  containing 
the  people ;  and  what  was  the  greatest 
and  most  laborious  work  of  all,  he  adorned 
it  with  a  haven,  that  was  always  free  from 
the  waves  of  the  sea.  Its  largeness  was 
not  less  than  the  Pyraeum  [at  Athens] ; 
and  had,  toward  the  city,  a  double  station 
for  the  ships.  It  was  of  excellent  work- 
manship; and  this  was  the  more  re- 
markable for  its  being  built  in  a  place 
that  of  itself  was  not  suitable  to  such 
noble  structures,  but  was  to  be  brought 
to  perfection  by  materials  from  other 
places,  and  at  very  great  expenses.  This 
city  is  situate  in  Phoenicia,  in  the  passage 
by  sea  to  Egypt,  between  Joppa  and 
Dora,  which  are  lesser  maritime  cities, 
and  not  fit  for  havens  on  account  of  the 
impetuous  south  winds  that  beat  upon 
them,  which,  rolling  the  sands  that  come 
from  the  sea  against  the  shores,  do  not 
admit  of  ships  lying  in  their  station  ;  but 
the  merchants  are  generally  there  forced 
to  ride  at  their  anchors  in  the  sea  itself. 
So  Herod  endeavoured  to  rectify  this  in- 
convenience, and  laid  out  such  a  compass 
toward  the  land,  as  might  be  sufficient 
for  a  haven,  wherein  the  great  ships 
might  lie  in  safety;  and  this  he  effected 
by  letting  down  vast  stones  of  above  fifty 
feet  in  length,  not  less  than  eighteen  in 
breadth,  and  nine  in  depth,  into  twenty 
fathoms  deep;  and  as  some  were  less,  sc 
were  others  larger,  than  those  dimensions. 
This  mole  which  he  built  by  the  seaside 
was  200  feet  wide,  the  half  of  which  was 
opposed  to  the  current  of  the  waves,  so  as 
to  keep  off  those  waves  which  were  to 
break  upon  them,  and  so  was  called  Pro- 
cymatia,  or  the  first  breaker  of  the  waves; 
but  the  other  half  had  upon  it  a  wall, 
with  several  towers,  the  largest  of  which 
was  named  Drusus,  and  was  'a  work  of 
very  great  excellence,  and  had  its  name 
from  Drusus,  the  son-in-law  of  Caesar, 
who  died  young.  There  were  also  a 
great  number  of  arches,  where  the  mari- 
ners dwelt ;  there  was  also  before  them  a 
quay  [or  landing-place],  which  ran  round 
the  entire  haven,  and  was  a  most  agree- 
able walk  to  such  as  had  a  mind  to  that 
exercise;  but  the  entrance  or  mouth  of 
the  port  was  made  on  the  north  quarter, 
on  which  side  was  the  stillest  of  all  the 
winds  in  this  place :  and  the  basis  of  the 
whole  circuit  on  the  left  hand,  as  you  en- 
tered the  port,  supported  a  round  turret 


Chip.  X.'j 


ANTIQUITIES    DF    THE   JEWS. 


477 


which  was  made  very  strong  in  order  to 
resist  the  greatest  waves;  while,  on  the 
right  hand,  as  you  enter,  stood  two  vast 
stones,  and  those  each  of  them  larger  than 
the  turret,  which  was  over  against  them  : 
these  stood  upright,  and  were  joined  toge- 
ther. Now,  there  were  edifices  all  along 
the  circular  haven,  made  of  the  most 
polished  stone,  with  a  certain  elevation, 
whereon  was  erected  a  temple,  that  was 
seen  a  great  way  off,  by  those  that  were 
sailing  for  that  haven,  and  had  in  it  two 
statues,  the  one  of  Rome,  the  other  of 
Caesar.  The  city  itself  was  called  Caesarea, 
which  was  also  itself  built  of  fine  materials, 
and  was  of  a  fine  structure  ;  nay,  the  very 
subterranean  vaults  and  cellars  had  no  less 
of  architecture  bestowed  on  them  than  had 
the  buildings  above  ground.  Some  of 
these  vaults  carried  things  at  even  dis- 
tances to  the  haven  and  to  the  sea;  but 
one  of  them  ran  obliquely,  and  bound  all 
the  rest  together,  that  both  the  rain  and 
the  filth  of  the  citizens  were  together 
carried  off  with  ease;  and  the  sea  itself, 
upon  the  flux  of  the  tide  from  without, 
came  into  the  city,  and  washed  it  all 
clean.  Herod  also  built  therein  a  theatre 
of  stone;  and  on  the  south  quarter,  behind 
the  port,  an  amphitheatre  also,  capable  of 
holding  a  vast  number  of  men,  and  con- 
veniently situated  for  a  prospect  to  the 
sea.  So  this  city  was  thus  finished  in 
twelve  years;  during  which  time  the  king 
did  not  fail  both  to  go  on  with  the  work, 
and  to  pay  the  charges  that  were  necessary. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Herod  sends  his  sons  to  Rome — is  accused  by  the 
Gadarenes — is  acquitted,  and  gains  the  good-will 
of  Caesar. 

When  Herod  was  engaged  in  such  mat- 
ters, and  when  he  had  already  re-edified 
Sebaste  [Samaria],  he  resolved  to  send 
his  sons,  Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  to 
Rome,  to  enjoy  the  company  of  Caesar; 
who,  when  they  came  thither,  lodged  at 
the  house  of  Pollio,  who  was  very  fond  of 
Herod's  friendship :  and  they  had  leave 
to  lodge  in  Caesar's  own  palace,  for  he  re- 
ceived these  sons  of  Herod  with  all  hu- 
manity, and  gave  Herod  leave  to  give  his 
kingdom  to  which  of  his  sons  he  pleased; 
and,  besides  all  this,  he  bestowed  on  him 
Trachon,  and  Batanea,  and  Auranitis,  which 
he  gave  him  on  the  occasion  following : — 
One  Zenodorus  had  hired  what  was  called 
the  house  of  Lysanias,  who,  as  he  was  not 


satisfied  with  its  revenues,  became  a  part- 
ner with  the  robbers  that  inhabited  the 
Trachonites,  and  so  procured  himself  a 
larger  income ;  for  the  inhabitants  of  those 
places  lived  in  a  mad  way,  and  pillaged 
the  country  of  the  Damascenes,  while  Ze- 
nodorus did  not  restrain  them,  but  partook 
of  the  prey  they  acquired.  Now,  as  the 
neighbouring  people  were  hereby  great 
sufferers,  they  complained  to  Varro,  who 
was  then  president  [of  Syria],  and  en- 
treated him  to  write  to  Caesar  about  the 
injustice  of  Zenodorus.  When  these  mat- 
ters  were  laid  before  Caesar,  he  wrote  back 
to  Varro  to  destroy  those  nests  of  robbers, 
and  to  give  the  land  to  Herod,  that  by 
his  care  the  neighbouring  countries  might 
be  no  longer  disturbed  with  these  doings 
of  the  Trachonites,  for  it  was  not  an  easy 
thing  to  restrain  them,  since  this  way  of 
robbery  had  been  their  usual  practice,  and 
they  had  no  other  way  to  get  their  living, 
because  they  had  neither  any  city  of  their 
own,  nor  lands  in  their  possession,  but 
only  some  receptacles  and  dens  in  the  earth, 
and  there  they  and  their  cattle  lived  in 
common  together  :  however,  they  had 
made  contrivances  to  get  pools  of  water, 
and  laid  up  corn  in  granaries  for  them- 
selves, and  were  able  to  make  great  resist- 
ance, by  issuing  out  on  the  sudden  against 
any  that  attacked  them ;  for  the  entrances 
of  their  caves  were  narrow,  in  which  but 
one  could  come  in  at  a  time,  and  the  places 
within  incredibly  large,  and  made  very 
wide;  but  the  ground  over  their  habita- 
tions was  not  very  high,  but  rather  on  a 
plain,  while  the  rocks  are  altogether  hard 
and  difficult  to  be  entered  upon,  unless 
any  one  gets  into  the  plain  road  by  the 
guidance  of  another,  for  these  roads  are 
not  straight,  but  have  several  revolutions. 
But  when  these  men  are  hindered  from 
their  wicked  preying  upon  their  neigh- 
bours, their  custom  is  to  prey  one  upon 
another,  insomuch  that  no  sort  of  injus- 
tice comes  amiss  to  them.  But  when 
Herod  had  received  this  grant  from  Caesar, 
and  had  come  into  this  country,  he  pro- 
cured skilful  guides,  and  put  a  stop  tc 
their  wicked  robberies,  and  procured  peace 
and  quietness  to  the  neighbouring  people. 
Hereupon  Zenodorus  was  grieved,  in 
the  first  place,  because  his  principality 
was  taken  away  from  him,  and  still  more 
so,  because  he  envied  Herod,  who  had 
gotten  it;  so  he  went  up  to  Rome  to  ac- 
cuse him,  but  returned  back  again  without 
success      Now  Agrippa  was  [*bout  thii» 


478 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


time]  sent  to  succeed  Caesar  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  countires  beyond  the  Ionian 
Sea,  upon  whom  Herod  lighted  when  he 
was  wintering  about  Mitylene,  for  he  had 
been  his  particular  friend  and  companion, 
and  then  returned  into  Judea  again.  How- 
ever, some  of  the  Gadarenes  came  to 
Agrippa,  and  accused  Herod,  whom  he 
sent  back  bound  to  the  king,  without  giv- 
ing them  the  hearing :  but  still  the  Ara- 
bians, who  of  old  bore  ill-will  to  Herod's 
government,  were  nettled,  and,  at  that 
time,  attempted  to  raise  a  sedition  in  his 
dominions,  and,  as  they  thought,  upon  a 
more  justifiable  occasion ;  for  Zenodorus, 
despairing  already  of  success  as  to  his  own 
affairs,  prevented  [his  enemies],  by  selling 
to  those  Arabians  a  part  of  his  principal- 
ity, called  Auranitis,  for  the  value  of  fifty 
talents;  but  as  this  was  included  in  the 
donations  of  Caesar,  they  contested  the 
point  with  Herod,  as  unjustly  deprived  of 
what  they  had  bought.  Sometimes  they 
did  this  by  making  incursions  upon  him, 
and  sometimes  by  attempting  force  against 
him,  and  sometimes  by  going  to  law  with 
him.  Moreover,  they  persuaded  the  poorer 
soldiers  to  help  them,  and  were  trouble- 
some to  him,  out  of  a  constant  hope  that 
they  should  reduce  the  people  to  raise  a 
sedition;  in  which  designs  those  that  are 
in  the  most  miserable  circumstances  of  life 
are  still  the  most  earnest:  and  although 
Herod  had  been  a  great  while  apprized  of 
these  attempts,  yet  did  he  not  indulge  any 
severity  to  them,  but  by  rational  methods 
aimed  to  mitigate  things,  as  not  willing 
to  give  any  handle  for  tumults. 

Now,  when  Herod  had  already  reigned 
seventeen  years,  Caesar  came  into  Syria ; 
at  which  time  the  greatest  part  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Gadara  clamoured  against 
Herod,  as  one  that  was  heavy  in  his  injunc- 
tions, and  tyrannical.  These  reproaches 
they  mainly  ventured  upon  by  the  encou- 
ragement of  Zenodorus,  who  took  his  oath 
that  he  would  never  leave  Herod  till  he 
had  procured  that  they  should  be  severed 
from  Herod's  kingdom,  and  joined  to 
Caesar's  province.  The  Gadarenes  were 
induced  hereby,  and  made  no  small  cry 
against  him;  and  that  the  more  boldly, 
because  those  that  had  been  delivered  up 
by  Agrippa  were  not  punished  by  Herod, 
who  let  them  go,  and  did  them  no  harm; 
for  indeed  he  was  the  principal  man  in 
the  world  who  appeared  almost  inexorable 
in  punishing  crimes  in  his  own  family, 
but  very  generous  in  remitting  the  offences 


that  were  committed  elsewhere.  And  whiln 
they  accused  Herod  of  injuries  and  plun- 
derings,  and  subversion  of  temples,  he 
stood  unconcerned,  and  was  ready  to  make 
his  defence.  However,  Caesar  gave  him 
his  right  hand,  and  remitted  nothing  of 
his  kindness  to  him,  upon  this  disturbance 
by  the  multitude;  and,  indeed,  these  things 
were  alleged  the  first  day,  but  the  hearing 
proceeded  no  further;  for  as  the  Gada- 
renes saw  the  inclination  of  Caesar  and  of 
his  assessors,  and  expected,  as  they  had 
reason  to  do,  that  they  should  be  delivered 
up  to  the  king,  some  of  them,  out  of  a 
dread  of  the  torments  they  might  under- 
go, cut  their  own  throats  in  the  night- 
time, and  some  of  them  threw  themselves 
down  precipices,  and  others  of  them  cast 
themselves  into  the  river,  and  destroyed 
themselves  of  their  own  accord ;  which 
accidents  seemed  a  sufficient  condemna- 
tion of  the  rashness  and  crimes  they  had 
been  guilty  of;  whereupon  Caesar  made  no 
longer  delay,  but  cleared  Herod  from  the 
crimes  he  was  accused  of.  Another  happy 
accident  there  was,  which  was  a  further 
great  advantage  to  Herod  at  this  time :  for 
Zenodorus' s  belly  burst,  and  a  g?eat  quan- 
tity of  blood  issued  from  him  in  his  sick- 
ness, and  he  thereby  departed  this  life  at 
Antioch  in  Syria;  so  Caesar  bestowed  his 
country,  which  was  no  small  one,  upon 
Herod;  it  lay  between  Trachon  and  Gali- 
lee, and  contained  Ulatha,  and  Paneas, 
and  the  country  round  about.  He  also 
made  him  one  of  the  procurators  of  Syria, 
and  commanded  that  they  should  do  every 
thing  with  his  approbation ;  and,  in  short, 
he  arrived  at  that  pitch  of  felicity,  that 
whereas  there  were  but  two  men  that 
governed  the  vast  Roman  empire,  first 
Caesar  and  then  Agrippa,  who  was  his 
principal  favourite,  Caesar  preferred  no 
one  to  Herod  besides  Agrippa;  and  Agrip 
pa  made  no  one  his  greater  friend  than 
Herod  besides  Caesar;  and  when  he  had 
acquired  such  freedom,  he  begged  of  Caesar 
a  tetrarchy*  for  his  brother  Pheroras,  while 
he  did  himself  bestow  upon  him  a  revenue 
of  100  talents  out  of  his  own  kingdom, 
that  in  case  he  came  to  any  harm  himself, 
his  brother  might  be  in  safety,  and  that 
his  sons  might   not  have  dominion  over 


*  A  "  tetrarchy"  properly  and  originally  denoted 
the  fourth  part  of  an  entire  kingdom  or  country, 
and  a  "  tetrarch"  one  that  was  ruler  of  such  a  fourth 
part,  which  always  implies  somewhat  less  extent 
of  dominion  and  power  than  b  long  to  a  kingdom 
and  to  a  king. 


Cbxt.  X  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


479 


him.  So  when  he  had  conducted  Caesar 
to  the  sea,  and  had  returned  home,  he 
built  him  a  most  beautiful  temple,  of  the 
whitest  stone  in  Zenodorus's  country,  near 
the  place  called  Panium.  This  is  a  very 
tine  cave  in  a  mountain,  under  which  there 
is  a  great  cavity  in  the  earth,  and  the 
cavern  is  abrupt,  and  prodigiously  deep, 
and  full  of  a  still  water ;  over  it  hangs  a 
vast  mountain;  and  under  the  caverns 
arise  the  springs  of  the  river  Jordan.  He- 
rod adorned  this  place,  which  was  already 
a  very  remarkable  one,  still  further  by  the 
erection  of -this  temple,  which  he  dedicated 
to  Caesar. 

At  which  time  Herod  released  to  his 
subjects  the  third  part  of  their  taxes,  un- 
der pretence,  indeed,  of  relieving  them, 
after  the  dearth  they  had  had ;  but  the 
main  reason  was,  to  recover  their  good- 
will, which  he  now  wanted ;  for  they  were 
uneasy  at  him,  because  of  the  innovations 
he  had  introduced  in  their  practices,  of  the 
dissolution  of  their  religion,  and  of  the 
disuse  of  their  own  customs ;  and  the  peo- 
ple everywhere  talked  against  him,  like 
those  that  were  still  more  provoked  and 
disturbed  at  his  procedure ;  against  which 
discontents  he  greatly  guarded  himself, 
and  took  away  the  opportunities  they 
might  have  to  disturb  him,  and  enjoined 
them  to  be  always  at  work ;  nor  did  he 
permit  the  citizens  either  to  meet  together, 
or  to  walk,  or  eat  together,  but  watched 
every  thing  they  did,  and  when  any  were 
caught,  they  were  severely  punished;  and 
many  there  were  who  were  brought  to  the 
citadel  of  Hyrcania,  both  openly  and  se- 
cretly, and  were  there  put  to  death ;  and 
there  were  spies  set  everywhere,  both  in 
the  city  and  in  the  roadh,  who  watched 
those  that  met  together;  nay,  it  is  re- 
ported, that  he  did  not  himself  neglect 
this  part  of  caution,  but  that  he  would 
oftentimes  himself  take  the  habit  of  a 
private  man,  and  mix  among  the  multi- 
tude, in  the  night-time,  and  make  trial 
what  opinion  they  had  of  his  government : 
and  as  for  those  who  could  noway  be  re- 
duced to  acquiesce  under  his  scheme  of 
government,  he  persecuted  them  all  man- 
ner of  ways;  but  for  the  rest  of  the  mul- 
titude, he  required  that  they  should  be 
obliged  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  him, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  compelled  them  to 
swear  that  they  would  bear  him  good-will, 
and  continue  3ertainly  so  to  do,  in  his 
management  of  the  government ;  and,  in- 
deed,   a   great  many  of   them,  either  to 


please  him,  or  out  of  fear  of  him,  yielded 
to  what  he  required  of  them ;  but  for  such 
as  were  of  a  more  open  and  generous  dis- 
position, and  had  indignation  at  the  force 
he  used  to  them,  he  by  one  means  or 
other  made  away  with  them.  He  endea- 
voured, also,  to  persuade  Pollio,  the  Pha- 
risee, and  Sameas,  and  the  greatest  part 
of  their  scholars,  to  take  the  oath ;  but 
these  would  neither  submit  so  to  do,  nor 
were  they  punished  together  with  the  rest, 
out  of  the  reverence  he  bore  to  Pollio. 
The  Essenes,  also,  as  we  call  a  sect  of 
ours,  were  excused  from  this  imposition. 
These  men  live  the  same  kind  of  life  as 
do  those  whom  the  Greeks  call  Pythago- 
reans; concerning  whom  I  shall  discourse 
more  fully  elsewhere.  However,  it  is  but 
fit  to  set  down  here  the  reasons  wherefore 
Herod  had  these  Essenes  in  such  honour, 
and  thought  higher  of  them  than  their 
mortal  nature  required;  nor  will  this  ac- 
count be  unsuitable  to  the  nature  of  this 
history,  as  it  will  show  the  opinion  men 
had  of  these  Essenes. 

Now  there  was  one  of  these  Essenes, 
whose  name  was  Manahem,  who  had  this 
testimony,  that  he  not  only  conducted  his 
life  after  an  excellent  manner,  but  had 
the  foreknowledge  of  future  events  given 
him  by  Grod,  also.  This  man  once  saw 
Herod  when  he  was  a  child,  and  going  to 
school,  and  saluted  him  as  king  of  the 
Jews;  but  he,  thinking  that  either  he  did 
not  know  him,  or  that  he  was  in  jest,  put 
him  in  mind  that  he  was  but  a  private 
man;  but  Manahem  smiled  to  himself, 
and  clapped  him  on  the  back  with  his 
hand,  and  said,  u  However  that  be,  thou 
wilt  be  king,  and  wilt  begin  thy  reign 
happily,  for  God  finds  thee  worthy  of  it ; 
and  do  thou  remember  the  blows  that 
Manahem  hath  given  thee,  as  being  a  sig- 
nal of  the  change  of  thy  fortune ;  and 
truly  this  will  be  the  best  reasoning  for 
thee,  that  thou  love  justice  [toward  men], 
and  piety  toward  God,  and  clemency  to- 
ward thy  citizens;  yet  do  I  know  how 
thy  whole  conduct  will  be,  that  thou  wilt 
not  be  such  an  one,  for  thou  wilt  excel  all 
men  in  happiness,  and  obtain  an  ever- 
lasting reputation,  but  wilt  forget  piety 
and  righteousness;  and  these  crimes  will 
not  be  concealed  from  God  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  thy  life,  when  thou  wilt  find  that 
he  will  be  mindful  of  them,  and  punish 
thee  for  them/'  Now  at  that  time  Herod 
did  not  at  all  attend  to  what  Manahem 
said,  as  having  no  hopes  of  such  advance 


ISO 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


ment;  but  a  little  afterward,  when  he 
was  so  fortunate  as  to  be  advanced  to  the 
dignity  of  king,  and  was  in  the  height  of 
his  dominion,  he  sent  for  Manahem,  and 
asked  him  how  long  he  should  reign. 
Manahem  did  not  tell  him  the  full  length 
of  his  reign;  wherefore,  upon  that  silence 
of  his,  he  asked  him  further,  whether  he 
r.hould  reign  ten  years  or  not?  He  re- 
plied, "  Yes,  twenty,  nay,  thirty  years ;" 
but  did  not  assign  the  just  determinate 
limit  of  his  reign.  Herod  was  satisfied 
with  these  replies,  and  gave  Manahem  his 
hand,  and  dismissed  him  ;  and  from  that 
time  he  continued  to  honour  all  the  Es- 
Benes.  We  have  thought  it  proper  to  relate 
these  facts  to  our  readers,  how  strange 
soever  they  be,  and  to  declare  what  hath 
happened  among  us,  because  many  of 
these  Essenes  have,  by  their  excellent 
virtue,  been  thought  worthy  of  this  know- 
ledge of  divine  revelations. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Herod  rebuilds  the  temple. 

And  now  Herod,  in  the  eighteenth  year 
of  his  reign,  and  after  the  acts  already 
mentioned,  undertook  a  very  great  work, 
that  is,  to  build  of  himself  the  temple  of 
God,*  and  make  it  larger  in  compass,  and 
to  raise  it  to  a  most  magnificent  altitude, 
as  esteeming  it  to  be  the  most  glorious  of 
all  his  actions,  as  it  really  was,  to-bfing  it 
to  perfection,  and  that  this  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  an  everlasting  memorial  of  him; 
but  as  he  knew  the  multitude  were  not 
ready  nor  willing  to  assist  him  in  so  vast 
a  design,  he  thought  to  prepare  them  first 
by  making  a  speech  to  them,  and  then  set 
about  the  work  itself;  so  he  called  them 
together,  and  spake  thus  to  them: — "I 
think  I  need  not  speak  to  you,  my  country- 
men, about  such  other  works  as  I  have 
done  since  I  came  to  the  kingdom,  although 
I  may  say  they  have  been  performed  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  bring  more  security 
to  you  than  glory  to  myself;  for  I  have 
neither  been  negligent  in  the  most  diffi- 
cult times  about  what  tended  to  ease  your 

*  We  may  here  observe,  that  the  fancy  of  the 
modern  Jews,  in  calling  this  temple,  which  was 
really  the  third  of  their  temples,  the  second  temple, 
followed  so  long  by  later  Christians,  seems  to  be 
without  any  solid  foundation.  The  reason  why  the 
ChristiaDS  here  follow  the  Jews  is,  because  of  the 
prophecy  of  Haggai,  (ii.  6,  9,)  which  they  expound 
of  the  Messiah's  coming  to  the  second  or  Zoroba- 
bel's  temple,  of  which  they  suppose  this  of  Herod's 
tc  be  only  a  continuation. 


necessities,'  nor  have  the  buildings  I  hav* 
made  been  so  proper  to  preserve  me  as 
yourselves  from  injuries;  and  I  imagine 
that,  with  God's  assistance,  I  have  ad- 
vanced the  nation  of  the  Jews  to  a  degree 
of  happiness  which  they  never  had  before ; 
and  for  the  particular  edifices  belonging 
to  your  own  country,  and  to  your  own 
cities,  as  also  to  those  cities  that  we  have 
lately  acquired,  which  we  have  erected 
and  greatly  adorned,  and  thereby  aug- 
mented the  dignity  of  your  nation,  it  seems 
to  me  a  needless  task  to  enumerate  them 
to  you,  since  you  well  know  -them  your- 
selves ;  but  as  to  that  undertaking  which 
I  have  a  mind  to  set  about  at  present,  and 
which  will  be  a  work  of  the  greatest  piety 
and  excellence  that  can  possibly  be  under- 
taken by  us,  I  will  now  declare  it  to  you. 
Our  fathers,  indeed,  when  they  had  re- 
turned from  Babylon,  built  this  temple  to 
God  Almighty,  yet  does  it  want  sixty 
cubits  of  its  largeness  in  altitude  ;  for  so 
much  did  that  first  temple  which  Solo- 
mon built  exceed  this  temple :  nor  let 
any  one  condemn  our  fathers  for  their 
negligence  or  want  of  piety  herein,  for  it 
was  not  their  fault  that  the  temple  was  no 
higher ;  for  they  were  Cyrus,  and  Darius, 
the  son  of  Hystaspes,  who  determined  the 
measures  for  its  rebuilding;  and  it  hath 
been  by  reason  of  the  subjection  of  those 
fathers  of  ours  to  them  and  to  their  pos- 
terity, and  after  them  to  the  Macedonians, 
that  they  had  not  the  opportunity  to  fol- 
low the  original  model  of  this  sacred 
edifice,  nor  could  raise  it  to  its  ancient 
altitude;  but  since  I  am  now,  by  God's 
will,  your  governor,  and  I  have  had  peace 
a  long  time,  and  have  gained  great  riches 
and  large  revenues,  and,  what  is  the  prin- 
cipal thing  of  all,  I  am  at  amity  with,  and 
well  regarded  by,  the  Romans,  who,  if  1 
may  so  say,  are  the  rulers  of  the  whole 
world,  I  will  do  my  endeavours  to  correct 
that  imperfection,  which  hath  arisen  from 
the  necessity  of  our  affairs,  and  the  slavery 
we  have  been  under  formerly,  and  to  make 
a  thankful  return,  after  the  most  pious 
manner,  to  God,  for  what  blessings  I  have 
received  from  Kim,  by  giving  me  this 
kingdom,  and  that  by  rendering  his  tem- 
ple as  complete  as  I  am  able." 

And  this  was  the  speech  which  Herod 
made  to  them :  but  still  this  speech  af- 
frighted many  of  the  people,  as  being  un- 
expected by  them ;  and  because  it  seemed 
incredible,  it  did  not  encourage  them,  but 
put  a  damp  upon    them,^for  they  were 


Chap.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


481 


afraid  that  he  would  pull  down  the  whole 
edifice,  and  not  be  able  to  bring  his  inten- 
tions to  perfection  for  its  rebuilding;  and 
this  danger  appeared  to  them  to  be  very 
great,  and  the  vastness  of  the  undertaking 
to  be  such  as  could  hardly  be  accomplished?! 
But  while  they  were  in  this  disposition, 
the  king  encouraged  them,  and  told  them 
he  would  not  pull  down  their  temple  till 
all  things  were  gotten  ready  for  building 
it  up  entirely  again.  And  as  he  promised 
them  this  beforehand,  so  he  did  not  break 
his  word  with  them,  but  got  ready  1000 
wagons,  that  were  to  bring  stones  for  the 
building,  and  chose  out  10,000  of  the 
most  skilful  workmen,  and  bought  1000 
6acerdotal  garments  for  as  many  of  the 
priests,  and  had  some  of  them  taught  the 
arts  of  stonecutters,  and  others  of  car- 
penters,  and  then  began  to  build ;  but  this 
not  till  every  thing  was  well  prepared  for 
the  work. 

So  Herod  took  away  the  old  founda- 
tions, and  laid  others,  and  erected  the 
temple  upon  them,  being  in  length  100 
cubits,  and  in  height  twenty  additional 
cubits,  which  [twenty],  upon  the  sinking 
of  their  foundations,  fell  down :  and  this 
part  it  was  that  we  resolved  to  raise  again 
in  the  days  of  Nero.  Now  the  temple 
was  built  of  stones  that  were  white  and 
strong,  and  each  of  their  length  was  twenty- 
five  cubits,  thtir  height  was  eight,  and 
their  breadth  about  twelve ;  and  the  whole 
structure,  as  also  the  structure  of  the  royal 
cloister,  was  on  each  side  much  lower,  but 
the  middle  was  much  higher,  till  they 
were  visible  to  those  that  dwelt  in  the 
country  for  a  great  many  furlongs,  but 
chiefly  to  such  as  lived  over  against  them 
and  those  that  approached  to  them.  The 
temple  had  doors  also  at  the  entrance,  and 
lintels  over  them,  of  the  same  height  with 
the  temple  itself.  They  were  adorned 
with  embroidered  vails,  with  their  flowers 
of  purple,  and  pillars  interwoven ;  and 
over  these,  but  under  the  crown-work,  was 
spread  out  a  golden  vine,  with  its  branches 
hanging  down  from  a  great  height,  the 
largeness  and  fine  workmanship  of  which 
was  a  surprising  sight  to  the  spectators, 
to  see  what  vast  materials  there  were,  and 
with  what  great  skill  the  workmanship 
was  done.  He  also  encompassed  the  entire 
temple  with  very  large  cloisters,  contriving 
them  to  be  in  a  due  proportion  thereto; 
and  he  laid  out  larger  sums  of  money 
upon  them  than  had  been  done  before 
him,  till  it  seemed  that  no  one  else  had 
3] 


so  greatly  adorned  the  temple  as  he  had 
done.  There  was  a  large  wall  to  both  the 
cloisters;  which  wall  was  itself  the  most 
prodigious  work  that  was  ever  heard  of 
by  man.  The  hill  was  a  rocky  ascent, 
that  declined  by  degrees  toward  the  east 
parts  of  the  city,  till  it  came  to  an  elevated 
level.  This  hill  it  was  which  Solomon, 
who  was  the  first  of  our  kings  by  divine 
revelation,  encompassed  with  a  wall;  it 
was  of  excellent  workmanship  upward, 
and  round  the  top  of  it.  He  also  built 
a  wall  below,  beginning  at  the  bottom, 
which  was  encompassed  by  a  deep  valley ; 
and,  at  the  south  side  he  laid  rocks  toge- 
ther, and  bound  them  one  to  another  with 
lead,  and  included  some  of  the  inner  parts, 
till  it  proceeded  to  a  great  height,  and  till 
both  the  largeness  of  the  square  edifice 
and  its  altitude  were  immense,  and  till  the 
vastness  of  the  stones  in  the  front  were 
plainly  visible  on  the  outside,  yet  so  that 
the  inward  parts  were  fastened  together 
with  iron,  and  preserved  the  joints  im- 
movable for  all  future  times.  When  this 
work  [for  the  foundation]  was  done  in  this 
manner,  and  joined  together  as  part  of  the 
hill  itself  to  the  very  top  of  it,  he  wrought 
it  all  into  one  outward  surface,  and  filled 
up  the  hollow  places  which  were  about 
the  wall,  and  made  it  a  level  on  the  ex- 
ternal upper  surface,  and  a  smooth  level 
also.  This  hill  was  walled  all  round,  and 
in  compass  four  furlongs,  [the  distance 
of]  each  angle  containing  in  length  a  fur- 
long; but  within  this  wall,  and  on  the 
very  top  of  all,  there  ran  another  wall  of 
stone  also,  having  on  the  east  quarter  a 
double  cloister,  of  the  same  length  with 
the  wall;  in  the  midst  of  which  was  the 
temple  itself.  This  cloister  looked  to  the 
gates  of  the  temple;  and  it  had  been 
adorned  by  many  kings  in  former  times ; 
and  round  about  the  entire  temple  were 
fixed  the  spoils  taken  from  barbarous  na- 
tions; all  these  had  been  dedicated  to  the 
temple  by  Herod,  with  the  addition  of 
those  he  had  taken  from  the  Arabians. 

Now,  on  the  north  side  [of  the  temple] 
was  built  a  citadel,  whose  walls  were 
square,  and  strong,  and  of  extraordinary 
firmness.  This  citadel  was  built  by  the 
kings  of  the  Asamonean  race,  who  were 
also  high  priests  before  Herod,  and  they 
called  it  the  Tower,  in  which  were  depo- 
sited the  vestments  of  the  high  priest, 
which  the  high  priest  only  put  on  at  the 
time  when  he  was  to  offer  sacrifice.  These 
vestments  King  Herod  kept  in  that  place; 


482 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV. 


and  after  his  death  they  were  under  the 
power  of  the  Romans,  until  the  time  of 
Tiberius  Caesar ;  under  whose  reign  Vitel- 
lius,  the  president  of  Syria,  when  he  once 
came  to  Jerusalem,  and  had  been  most 
magnificently  received  by  the  multitude, 
he  had  a  mind  to  make  them  some  re- 
quital for  the  kindness  they  had  shown 
him ;  so,  upon  their  petition  to  have  those 
holy  vestments  in  their  own  power,  he 
wrote  about  them  to  Tiberius  Caesar,  who 
granted  his  request;  and  this  their  power 
over  the  sacerdotal  vestments  continued 
with  the  Jews  till  the  death  of  King 
Agrippa ;  but  after  that,  Cassius  Longinus, 
who  was  president  of  Syria,  and  Cuspius 
Fadus,  who  was  procurator  of  Judea,  en- 
joined the  Jews  to  deposit  those  vestments 
in  the  Tower  of  Antonia,  for  that  they 
ought  to  have  them  in  their  power  as  they 
formerly  had.  However,  the  Jews  sent 
ambassadors  to  Claudius  Caesar,  to  inter- 
cede with  him  for  them ;  upon  whose 
coming,  King  Agrippa,  junior,  being  then 
at  Home,  asked  for  and  obtained  the  power 
over  them  from  the  emperor;  who  gave 
command  to  Vitellius,  who  was  then  com- 
mander in  Syria,  to  give  them  it  accord- 
ingly. Before  that  time,  they  were  kept 
under  the  seal  of  the  high  priest,  aud  of 
the  treasurers  of  the  temple ;  which  trea- 
surers, the  day  before  a  festival,  went  up 
to  the  Roman  captain  of  the  temple-guards, 
and  viewed  their  own  seal,  and  received 
the  vestments;  and  again  when  the  festi- 
val was  over,  they  brought  it  to  the  same 
place,  and  showed  the  captain  of  the  tem- 
ple-guards their  seal,  which  corresponded 
with  his  seal,  and  deposited  them  there. 
And  that  these  things  were  so,  the  afflic- 
tions that  happened  to  us  afterward  [about 
them]  are  sufficient  evidence ;  but  for  the 
tower  itself,  when  Herod,  the  king  of  the 
Jews,  had  fortified  it  more  firmly  than  be- 
fore, in  order  to  secure  and  guard  the 
temple,  he  gratified  Antonius,  who  was 
bis  friend,  and  the  Roman  ruler,  and 
then  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Tower  of 
Antonia. 

Now,  in  the  western  quarters  of  the  en- 
closures of  the  temple  there  were  four 
gates;  the  first  led  to  the  king's  palace, 
and  went  to  a  passage  over  the  interme- 
diate valley;  two  more  led  to  the  suburbs 
of  the  city;  and  the  last  led  to  the  other 
city,  where  the  road  descended  down  into 
the  valley  by  a  great  number  of  steps, 
and  thence  up  again  by  the  ascent;  for 
the  C'cy  jay  over  against  the  temple  in  the 


manner  of  a  theatre,  and  was  encompassed 
with  a  deep  valley  along  the  entire  south 
quarter;  but  the  fourth  front  of  the  tem- 
ple, which  was  southward,  had  itself,  in- 
deed, gates  in  its  middle,  as  also  it  had 
the  royal  cloisters,  with  three  walks,  which 
reached  in  length  from  the  east  valley  unto 
that  on  the  west,  for  it  was  impossible  it 
should  reach  any  farther  :  and  this  cloister 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  better  than  any 
other  under  the  sun ;  for  while  the  valley 
was  very  deep,  and  its  bottom  could  not 
be  seen,  if  you  looked  from  above  into  the 
depth,  this  farther  vastly  high  elevation 
of  the  cloister  stood  upon  that  height, 
insomuch,  that  if  any  one  looked  down 
from  the  top  of  the  battlements,  or  down 
both  those  altitudes,  he  would  be  giddy, 
while  his  sight  could  not  reach  to  such  an 
immense  fclepth.  This  cloister  had  pillars 
that  stood  in  four  rows,  one  over  againrt 
the  other  all  along,  for  the  fourth  row  was 
interwoven  into  the  wall  [which  also  was 
built  of  stone ;]  and  the  thickness  of  each 
pillar  was  such,  that  three  men  might, 
with  their  arms  extended,  fathom  it  round, 
and  join  their  hands  again,  while  its  length 
was  twenty-seven  feet,  with  a  double  spiial 
at  its  basis;  and  the  number  of  all  the 
pillars  [in  that  court]  was  162.  Their 
chapiters  were  made  with  sculptures  after 
the  Corinthian  order,  and  caused  an  amaze- 
ment [to  the  spectators,]  by  reason  of  the 
grandeur  of  the  whole.  These  four  rows 
of  pillars  included  three  intervals  for 
walking  in  the  middle  of  this  clcistei; 
two  of  which  walks  were  made  parallel  to 
each  other,  and  were  contrived  after  the 
same  manner;  the  breadth  of  each  of 
them  was  thirty  feet,  the  length  was  a 
furlong,  and  the  height  fifty  feet :  but  the 
breadth  of  the  middle  part  of  the  cloister 
was  one  and  a  half  of  the  other,  and  the 
height  was  double,  for  it  was  much  higher 
than  those  on  each  side :  but  the  roofs 
were  adorned  with  deep  sculptures  in 
wood,  representing  many  sorts  of  figures : 
the  middle  was  much  higher  than  the 
rest,  and  the  wall  of  the  front  was  adorned 
with  beams,  resting  upon  pillars,  that 
were  interwoven  into  it,  and  that  front  was 
all  of  polished  stone,  insomuch  that  its 
fineness,  to  such  as  had  not  seen  it,  was 
incredible,  and  to  such  as  had  seen  it,  was 
greatly  amazing.  Thus  was  the  first  en- 
closure. In  the  midst  of  which,  and  not 
far  from  it,  was  the  second,  to  be  gone  up 
to  by  a  few  steps :  this  was  encompassed 
by  a  stone  wall  for  a  partition,  with  an 


Chap.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


483 


inscription,  which  forbade  any  foreigner 
to  go  in,  under  pain  of  death.  Now  this 
inner  enclosure  had  on  its  southern  and 
northern  quarters,  three  gates  [equally] 
distant  from  one  another;  but  on  the 
eastern  quarter,  toward  the  sun-rising, 
there  was  one  large  gate  through  which 
such  as  were  pure  came  in,  together  with 
their  wives;  but  the  temple  further  inward 
in  that  gate,  was  not  allowed  to  the 
women;  but  still  more  inward,  there  was 
a  third  [court  of  the]  temple,  whereinto 
it  was  not  lawful  for  any  but  the  priests 
alone  to  enter.  The  temple  itself  was 
within  this;  and  before  that  temple  was 
the  altar,  upon  which  we  offer  our  sacri- 
fices and  burnt-offerings  to  God.  Into 
none  of  these  three  did  King  Herod  enterf 
for  he  was  forbidden,  because  he  was  not 
a  priest.  However,  he  took  care  of  the 
cloisters  and  the  outer  enclosures;  and 
these  he  built  in  eight  years. 

But  the  temple  itself  was  built  by  the 
priests  in  a  year  and  six  months,  upon 
which  all  the  people  were  full  of  joy; 
and  presently  they  returned  thanks,  in 
the  first  place,  to  God;  and,  in  the  next 
place,  for  the  alacrity  the  king  had 
shown.  They  feasted  and  celebrated  this 
rebuilding   of  the    temple :    and  for  the 


king,  he  sacrificed  300  oxon  to  God,  as 
did  the  rest,  every  one  according  to  his 
ability :  the  number  of  which  sacrifices  is 
not  possible  to  set  down ;  for  it  cannot  be 
that  we  should  truly  relate  it ;  for  at  the 
same  time  with  this  celebration  for  the 
work  about  the  temple,  fell  also  the  day 
of  the  king's  inauguration,  which  he  kept 
of  an  old  custom  as  a  festival,  and  it  now 
coincided  with  the  other;  which  coinci- 
dence of  them  both  made  the  festival 
most  illustrious. 

There  was  also  an  occult  passage  built 
for  the  king :  it  led  from  Antonia  to  the 
inner  temple,  at  its  eastern  gate;  over 
which  he  also  erected  for  himself  a  tower, 
that  he  might  have  the  opportunity  of  a 
subterraneous  ascent  to  the  temple,  in 
order  to  guard  against  any  sedition  which 
might  be  made  by  the  people  against 
their  kings.  It  is  also  reported,t  that, 
during  the  time  that  the  temple  was 
building,  it  did  not  rain  in  the  daytime, 
but  that  the  showers  fell  in  the  nights,  so 
that  the  work  was  not  hindered.  And 
this  our  fathers  have  delivered  to  us ;  nor 
is  it  incredible,  if  any  have  regard  to  the 
manifestations  of  God.  And  thus  was 
performed  the  work  of  the  rebuilding  of 
the  temple,  t 


*  "  Into  none  of  these  did  King  Herod  enter," 
t.  e.  1.  Not  into  the  court  of  the  priests ;  2.  Nor 
into  the  holy  house  itself;  3.  Nor  into  the  separ- 
ate place  belonging  to  the  altar,  as  the  words  fol- 
lowing imply ;  for  none  but  priests,  or  their  attend- 
ants the  Levites,  might  come  into  any  of  them. 
See  Antiq.  b.  xvi.  ch.  iv.  sect.  6,  wbere  Herod  goes 
into  the  temple,  and  makes  a  speech  in  it  to  the 

?eople ;  but  that  could  only  be  into  the  court  of 
srael,  whither  the  people  could  come  to  hear  him. 
f  The  tradition  which  Josephus  here  mentions, 
as  delivered  down  from  fathers  to  their  children, 
of  this  particular  remarkable  circumstance  re- 
lating to  the  building  of  Herod's  temple,  is  a 
demonstration  that  such  its  building  was  a  known 
thing  in  Judea  at  this  time.  He  was  born  but 
forty-six  years  after  it  is  related  to  have  been 
finished,  and  might  himself  have  seen  and  spoken 
with  some  of  the  builders  themselves,  and  with 
a  great  number  of  those  who  had  seen  its  build- 
ing. The  doubt  therefore  about  the  truth  of  this 
history  of  the  pulling  down  and  rebuilding  this 
temple  by  Herod,  which  some  weak  people  have 
indulged,  was  not  then  much  greater  than  it 
soon  may  be,  whether  or  not  St.  Paul's  church 
in  London  was  burnt  down  in  the  fire  of  London, 


A.  D.  1666,  and  rebuilt  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren 
a  little  afterward. 

J  Some  of  our  modern  students  in  architecture 
have  made  a  strange  blunder  here,  when  they 
imagine  that  Josephus  affirms  in  this  chapter  the 
entire  foundation  of  the  temple  or  holy  house 
sunk  down  into  the  rocky  mountain  on  which 
it  stood,  no  less  than  twenty  cubits,  whereas  he 
is  clear  that  they  were  the  foundations  of  the  ad- 
ditional twenty  cubits  only  above  the  hundred 
(made  perhaps  weak  on  p  irpose,  and  only  for 
show  and  grandeur),  that  sunk  or  fell  down,  as 
Dr.  Hudson  rightly  understands  him  :  nor  is  the 
thing  itself  possible  in  the  other  sense.  Agrip- 
pa''s  preparation  for  building  the  inner  parts  of 
the  temple  twenty  cubits  higher  (History  of  the 
War,  b.  v.  ch.  i.  sect.  5)  must  in  all  probability 
refer  to  this  matter,  since  Josephus  says  here, 
that  this  which  had  fallen  down  was  designed  to 
be  raised  up  again  under  Nero,  under  whom 
Agrippa  made  that  preparation.  But  what  Jo- 
sephus says  presently,  that  Solomon  was  the 
first  king  of  the  Jews,  appears  by  the  parallel 
place,  Antiq.  b.  xx.  ch.  ix.  sect.  7,  and  other 
places,  to  be  meant  only  the  first  of  David's  poa- 
terity.  and  the  first  builder  of  the  temple. 


m 
!=> 

pa 

-3 


'W "', 


Ohap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


485 


BOOK  XVI. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  TWELVE  YEARS,  FROM  THE  FINISHING 
OF  THE  TEMPLE  BY  HEROD  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ALEXANDER  AND 
ARISTOBULUS 


CHAPTER  I. 

Herod's  law  concerning  Thieves — Salome  and  Phe- 

roras  calumniate  Alexander  and  Aristobulus  upon 

their  return  from  Rome. 
i 

As  King  Herod  was  very  zealous  in  the 
administration  of  his  entire  government, 
and  desirous  to  put  a  stop  to  particular 
acts  of  injustice  which  were  done  by 
criminals  about  the  city  and  country,  he 
made  a  law,  noway  like  our  original 
laws,  and  which  he  enacted  of  himself,  to 
expose  housebreakers  to  be  ejected  out  of 
his  kingdom ;  which  punishment  was  not 
only  grievous  to  be  borne  by  the  offenders, 
but  contained  in  it  a  dissolution  of  the 
customs  of  our  forefathers ;  for  this  slavery 
to  foreigners,  and  such  as  did  not  live  after 
the  manner  of  Jews,  and  this  necessity  that 
they  were  under  to  do  whatsoever  such 
men  should  command,  was  an  offence 
against  our  religious  settlement,  rather 
than  a  punishment  to  such  as  were  found 
to  have  offended,  such  a  punishment 
being  avoided  in  our  original  laws;  for 
those  laws  ordain,  that  the  thief  shall  re- 
store fourfold;  and  that  if  he  have  not  so 
much,  he  shall  be  sold,  indeed,  but  not  to 
foreigners,  nor  so  that  he  be  under  per- 
petual slavery,  for  he  must  have  been  re- 
leased after  six  years.  But  this  law,  thus 
enacted,  in  order  to  introduce  a  severe 
and  illegal  punishment,  seemed  to  be  a 
piece  of  insolence  in  Herod,  when  he  did 
not  act  as  a  king  but  as  a  tyrant,  and  thus 
contemptuously,  and  without  any  regard 
to  his  subjects,  venture  to  introduce  such 
a  punishment.  Now,  this  penalty  thus 
brought  into  practice,  was  like  Herod's 
other  actions,  and  became  a  part  of  his 
iccusation,  and  an  occasion  of  the  hatred 
tie  lay  under. 

•  In  this  Book  xvi.,  Josephus  gives  his  testi- 
mony to  the  ancient  practice  of  the  Jews,  of  dedi- 
cating the  sabbath-day,  not  to  idleness,  but  to 
the  learning  their  sacred  rites  and  religious  cus- 
toms, and  to  the  meditation  on  the  law  of  Moses, 
which  testimony  is  reiterated  in  Against  Apion, 
b.  i.  sect.  22. 

In  chapter  4th,  Josephus'  account  of  Herod's 
meeting  of  Augustus  at  Aquilei  requires  further 
elucidation;  though  he  met  him  at  Aquilei,  yet 
was  the  accusation  of  his  sons  deferred  till  they 


Now,  at  this  time  it  was  that  he  sailed 
to  Italy,  as  very  desirous  to  meet  with 
Caesar,  and  to  see  his  sons,  who  lived  at 
Rome:  and  Caesar  was  not  only  very 
obliging  to  him  in  other  respects,  but 
delivered  him  his  sons  again,  that  he 
might  take  them  home  with  him,  as  hav- 
ing already  completed  themselves  in  the 
sciences;  but  as  soon  as  the  young  men 
were  come  from  Italy,  the  multitude  were 
very  desirous  to  see  them,  and  they  be- 
came conspicuous  among  them  all,  as 
adorned  with  great  blessings  of  fortune, 
and  having  the  countenances  of  persons 
of  royal  dignity.  So  they  soon  appeared 
to  be  the  objects  of  envy  to  Salome,  the 
king's  sister,  and  to  such  as  had  raised 
calumnies  against  Mariamne ;  for  they 
were  suspicious  that  when  these  came  to 
the  government,  they  should  be  punished 
for  the  wickedness  they  had  been  guilty 
of  against  their  mother;  so  they  made 
this  very  fear  of  theirs  a  motive  to  raise 
calumnies  against  them  also.  They  gave 
it  out  that  they  were  not  pleased  with 
their  father's  company,  because  he  had 
put  their  mother  to  death,  as  if  it  were 
not  agreeable  to  piety  to  appear  to  con- 
verse with  their  mother's  murderer.  Now, 
by  carrying  these  stories,  that  had  indeed 
a  true  foundation  [in  the  fact,]  but  wero 
only  built  on  probabilities  as  to  the  pre- 
sent accusation,  they  were  able  to  do  them 
mischief,  and  to  make  Herod  take  away 
that  kindness  from  his  sons  which  he  had 
before  borne  to  them,  for  they  did  not  say 
these  things  to  him  openly,  but  scattered 
abroad  such  words  among  the  rest  of  the 
multitude;  from  which  words  when  carried 
to  Herod,  he  was  induced  [at  last]  to  hate 
them,  and  which  natural  affection   itself, 


came  to  Rome,  as  we  are  particularly  informed 
in  History  of  the  War,  b.  i.  ch.  23,  sect.  3  ;  though 
what  he  in  chap.  4th  says  belonged  distinctly  to 
Alexander,  the  elder  brother,  that  is  his  being 
brought  to  Home,  is  there  justly  extended  to 
both  the  brothers ;  nor  is  there  reason  to  doubt 
but  they  were  both  at  this  solemn  hearing  by 
"  Augustus,  although  the  defence  was  made  by 
Alexander  alone,  who  was  the  clde.t  bf  Dtl  er,  and 
one  that  could  speak  very  well. 


186 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVI 


even  in  length  of  time,  was  not  able  to 
overcome ;  yet  was  the  king  at  that  time 
in  a  condition  to  prefer  the  natural  affec- 
tion of  a  father  before  all  the  suspicions 
and  calumnies  his  sons  lay  under;  so  he 
respected  them  as  he  ought  to  do,  and 
married  them  to  wives,  now  the}'  were  of 
an  age  suitable  thereto.  To  Aristobulus 
he  gave  for  a  wife  Bernice,  Salome's 
daughter;  and  to  Alexander,  Glaphyra, 
the  daughter  of  Archelaus,  king  of  Cap- 
padocia. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Agrippa  visits  Herod — Herod  sails  after  Agrippa, 
who  confirms  the  laws  of  the  Ionian  Jews. 

When  Herod  had  despatched  these 
affairs,  and  he  understood  that  Marcus 
Agrippa  had  sailed  again  out  of  Italy  into 
Asia,  he  made  haste  to  him,  and  besought 
him  to  come  to  him  into  his  kingdom,  and 
to  partake  of  what  he  might  justly  expect 
from  one  that  had  been  his  guest,  and 
was  his  friend.  This  request  he  greatly 
pressed,  and  to  it  Agrippa  agreed,  and 
came  into  Judea :  whereupon  Herod 
omitted  nothing  that  might  please  him. 
He  entertained  him  in  his  newly  built 
cities,  and  showed  him  the  edifices  he 
had  built,  and  provided  all  sorts  of  the 
best  and  most  costly  dainties  for  him  and 
his  friendb,  and  that  at  Sebaste  and 
Caesarea,  about  that  port  that  he7'  had 
built,  and  at  the  fortresses  which  he  had 
erected  at  great  expenses,  Alexaudrium, 
and  Herodium,  and  Hyrcania.  He  also 
conducted  him  to  the  city  Jerusalem, 
where  all  the  people  met  him  in  their 
festival  garments,  and  received  him  with 
acclamations.  Agrippa,  also,  offered  a 
hecatomb  of  sacrifices  to  God ;  and  feasted 
the  people,  without  omitting  any  of  the 
greatest  dainties  that  could  be  gotten. 
He  also  took  so  much  pleasure  there,  that 
he  abode  many  days  with  them,  and  would 
willingly  have  stayed  longer,  but  that  the 
season  of  the  year  made  him  haste  away; 
for,  as  winter  was  coming  on,  he  thought 
it  not  safe  to  go  to  sea  later,  and  yet  he 
was  of  necessity  to  return  again  to  Ionia. 

So  Agrippa  went  away,  when  Herod 
nad  bestowed  on  him,  and  on  the  prin- 
cipal of  those  that  were  with  him,  many 
presents;  but  King  Herod,  when  he  had 
passed  the  winter  in  his  own  dominions, 
made  haste  to  get  to  him  again  in  the 
spring,  when  he  knew  he  designed  to  go  a 
■•ampaign  at  the  Bosphorus.     So  when  he 


had  sailed  by  Rhodes  and  by  Cos,  he 
touched  at  Lesbos,  as  thinking  he  should 
have  overtaken  Agrippa  there ;  but  he 
was  taken  short  here  by  a  north  wind, 
which  hindered  his  ship  from  going  to 
the  shore ;  so  he  continued  many  days  at 
Chius,  and  there  he  kindly  treated  a  great 
many  that  came  to  him,  and  obliged  them 
by  giving  them  royal  gifts.  And  when 
he  saw  that  the  portico  of  the  city  had 
fallen  down,  which  as  it  was  overthrown 
in  the  Mithridatic  war,  and  was  a  very 
large  and  fine  building,  so  was  it  not  so 
easy  to  rebuild  that  as  it  was  the  rest,  yet 
did  he  furnish  a  sum  not  only  large 
enough  for  that  purpose,  but  what  was 
more  than  sufficient  to  finish  the  building; 
and  ordered  them  not  to  overlook  that 
portico,  but  to  rebuild  it  quickly,  that  so 
the  city  might  recover  its  proper  orna- 
ments. And  when  the  high  winds  were 
laid,  he  sailed  to  Mitylene,  and  thence  to 
Byzantium;  and  when  he  heard  that 
Agrippa  had  sailed  beyond  the  Cyanean 
rocks,  he  made  all  the  haste  possible  to 
overtake  him,  and  came  up  with  him 
about  Sinope,  in  Pontus.  He  was  seen 
sailing  by  the  shipmen  most  unexpectedly, 
but  appeared  to  their  great  joy;  and  many 
friendly  salutations  there  were  between 
them,  insomuch  that  Agrippa  thought  he 
had  received  the  greatest  marks  of  the 
king's  kindness  and  humanity  toward  him 
possible,  since  the  king  had  come  so  long 
a  voyage,  and  at  a  very  proper  season  for 
his  assistance,  and  had  left  the  govern- 
ment of  his  own  dominions,  and  thought 
it  more  worth  his  while  to  come  to  him. 
Accordingly,  Herod  was  all  in  all  to 
Agrippa,  in  the  management  of  the  war, 
and  a  great  assistant  in  civil  affairs,  and 
in  giving  him  counsel  as  to  particular 
matters.  He  was  also  a  pleasant  com- 
panion for  him  when  he  relaxed  himself, 
and  a  joint  partaker  with  him  in  all 
things;  in  troubles,  because  of  his  kind- 
ness; and  in  prosperity,  because  of  the 
respect  Agrippa  had  for  him.  Now,  as 
soon  as  those  affairs  of  Pontus  were 
finished,  for  whose  sake  Agrippa  was  sent 
thither,  they  did  not  think  fit  to  return 
by  sea,  but  passed  through  Paphlagonia 
and  Cappadocia;  they  then  travelled 
thence  over  great  Phrygia,  and  came  to 
Ephesus,  and  then  they  sailed  from 
Ephesus  to  Samos.  And,  indeed,  the 
king  bestowed  a  great  many  benefits  on 
every  city  that  he  came  to,  according  as 
they  stood  in  need  of  them;  for,  as  foi 


Chai  .  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


487 


those  that  wanted  either  money  or  kind 
treatment,  he  was  not  wauting  to  them  ; 
but  he  supplied  the  former  himself  out  of 
his  own  expenses :  he  also  became  an 
intercessor  with  Agrippa  for  all  such  as 
sought  after  his  favour,  and  he  brought 
things  so  about,  that  the  petitioners  failed 
in  none  of  their  suits  to  him,  Agrippa 
being  himself  of  a  good  disposition,  and 
of  great  generosity,  and  ready  to  grant  all 
such  requests  as  might  be  advantageous  to 
the  petitioners,  provided  they  were  not  to 
the  detriment  of  others.  The  inclination 
of  the  king  was  of  great  weight  also,  and 
still  excited  Agrippa,  who  was  himself 
ready  to  do  good ;  for  he  made  a  recon- 
ciliation between  the  people  of  Ilium,  at 
whom  he  was  angry,  and  paid  what 
money  the  people  of  Chius  owed  Caesar's 
procurators,  and  discharged  them  of  their 
tributes;  and  helped  all  others,  according 
as  their  several  necessities  required. 

But  now,  when  Agrippa  and  Herod 
were  in  Ionia,  a  great  multitude  of  Jews, 
who  dwelt  in  their  cities,  came  to  them, 
and  laying  hold  of  the  opportunity  and 
the  liberty  now  given  them,  laid  before 
them  the  injuries  which  they  suffered, 
while  they  were  not  permitted  to  use  their 
own  laws,  but  were  compelled  to  prosecute 
their  lawsuits,  by  the  ill  usuage  of  the 
judges,  upon  their  holy  days,  and  were 
deprived  of  the  money  they  used  to  lay 
up  at  Jerusalem,  and  were  forced  into  the 
army,  and  upon  such  other  offices  as 
obliged  them  to  spend  their  sacred  money  ; 
from  which  burdens  they  always  used  to 
be  freed  by  Romans,  who  had  still  per- 
mitted them  to  live  according  to  their  own 
laws.  When  this  clamour  was  made,  the 
king  desired  of  Agrippa  that  he  would 
hear  their  cause,  and  assigned  Nicolaus, 
one  of  his  friends,  to  plead  for  those  their 
privileges.  Accordingly,  when  Agrippa 
had  called  the  principal  of  the  Romans, 
and  such  of  the  kings  and  rulers  as  were 
there,  to  be  his  assessors,  Nicolaus  stood 
up,  and  pleaded  for  the  Jews,  as  follows : — 
It  is  of  necessity  incumbent  on  such  as 
are  in  distress  to  have  recourse  to  those 
that  have  it  in  their  power  to  free  them 
from  those  injuries  they  lie  under;  and  for 
those  that  now  are  complainants,  they  ap- 
proach you  with  great  assurance;  for  as 
they  have  formerly  often  obtained  your 
favour,  so  far  as  they  have  even  wished  to 
have  it,  they  now  only  entreat  that  you, 
who  have  been  the  donors,  will  take  care 
that  those  favours  you  have  already  granted 


them  may  not  be  taken  away  from  ihem. 
We  have  received  these  favours  from  youf 
who  alone  have  power  to  grant  them,  but 
have  them  taken  from  us  by  such  as  are 
no  greater  than  ourselves,  and  by  such  as 
we  know  are  as  much  subjects  as  we  are ; 
and  certainly,  if  we  have  been  vouchsafed 
great  favours,  it  is  to  our  commendation 
who  have  obtained  them,  as  having  been 
found  deserving  of  such  great  favours ; 
and  if  those  favours  be  but  small  ones,  it 
would  be  barbarous  for  the  donors  not  to 
confirm  them  to  us;  and  for  those  that  are 
the  hinderance  of  the  Jews,  and  use  them 
reproachfully,  it  is  evident  that  they  affront 
both  the  receivers,  while  they  will  not 
allow  those  to  be  worthy  men  to  whom 
their  excellent  rulers  themselves  have 
borne  their  testimony,  and  the  donors, 
while  they  desire  those  favors  already 
granted  may  be  abrogated.  Now  if  any 
one  should  ask  these  Gentiles  themselves, 
which  of  the  two  things  they  would  choose 
to  part  with,  their  lives,  or  the  customs  of 
their  forefathers,  their  solemnities,  their 
sacrifices,  their  festivals,  which  they  cele- 
brate in  honor  of  those  they  suppose  to  be 
gods,  I  know  very  well  that  they  would 
choose  to  suffer  any  thing  whatsoever  rather 
than  a  dissolution  of  any  of  the  customs 
of  their  forefathers;  for  a  great  many  of 
them  have  rather  chosen  to  go  to  war  on 
that  account,  as  very  solicitous  not  to 
transgress  in  those  matters  :  and,  indeed, 
we  take  an  estimate  of  that  happiness 
which  all  mankind  do  now  enjoy  by  your 
means  from  this  very  thing,  that  we  are 
allowed  every  one  to  worship  as  our  own 
institutions  require,  and  yet  to  live  [in 
peace] ;  and  although  they  would  not  be 
thus  treated  themselves,  yet  do  they  en- 
deavour to  compel  others  to  comply  with 
them,  as  if  it  were  not  as  great  an  instance 
of  impiety,  profanely  to  dissolve  the  reli- 
gious solemnities  of  any  others,  as  to  be 
negligent  in  the  observation  of  their  own 
toward  their  gods.  And  let  us  now  con- 
sider the  one  of  these  practices :  is  there 
any  people,  or  city,  or  community  of  men, 
to  whom  your  government  and  the  Roman 
power  does  not  appear  to  be  the  greatest 
blessing?  Is  there  any  one  that  can  de- 
sire to  make  void  the  favours  they  havo 
granted  ?  No  one,  certainly,  is  so  mad  ; 
for  there  are  no  men  but  such  as  have 
been  made  partakers  of  their  favours,  both 
public  and  private;  and,  indeed,  those  that 
take  away  what  you  have  granted,  can  have 
no  assurance,  but  every  ona  of  their  nwr 


488 


ANTIQUITIES   OP   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVI 


grants  made  them  by  you  may  be  taken 
from   them   also;  which  grants   of  yours 
can   never  be   sufficiently  valued ;  for  if 
they  consider  the  old  governments  under 
kings,  together  with  your  present  govern- 
ment, besides  the  great  number  of  benefits 
which  this  government  hath  bestowed  on 
them,  in  order  to  their  happiness,  this  is 
instead  of  all  the  rest,  that  they  appear  to 
be  no  longer  in  a  state  of  slavery,  but  of 
freedom.     Now,  the  privileges  we  desire, 
even  when  we   are    in    the    best  circum- 
stances, are  not  such  as  deserve  to  be  en- 
vied, for  we  are,  indeed,  in  a  prosperous 
state  by  your  means,  but  this  is  only  in 
common  with  others;  and  it  is  no  more 
than  this  which  we  desire,  to  preserve  our 
religion   without  any   prohibition,  which, 
as  it  appears  not  in  itself  a  privilege  to  be 
envied   us,  so  it  is  for  the  advantage  of 
those  that  grant  it  to  us;  for  if  the  Di- 
vinity delights  in  being  honoured,  he  must 
delight  in   those   that   permit   him  to  be 
honoured.     And  there    are    none  of   our 
customs  which  are  inhuman,  but  all  tend- 
ing to  piety,  and  devoted  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  justice ;  nor  do  we  conceal  those 
injunctions  of  ours  by  which  we   govern 
our  lives,  they  being  memorials  of  piety, 
and  of  a  friendly  conversation  among  men. 
And   the   seventh  day  we  set  apart  from 
labour;  and  it  is  dedicated  to  the  learning 
of  our  customs  and  laws,  we  think  it  pro- 
per to  reflect  on  them,  as  well  as  on(Jiny 
[good]  thing  else,  in   order  to  our  avoid- 
ing of  sin.     If  any  one,  therefore,  examine 
into  our  observances,  he  will  find  they  are 
good  in  themselves,  and  that  they  are  an- 
cient also,  though   some  think  otherwise, 
insomuch  that  those   who   have  received 
them  cannot  easily  be  brought  to  depart 
from  them,  out  of  that  honour  they  pay  to 
the  length  of  time  they  have  religiously 
enjoyed  them  and  observed  them.     Now, 
our  adversaries  take  these  our  privileges 
away  in   the  way  of  injustice ;  they  vio- 
lently seize  upon  that  money  of  ours  which 
is  offered  to  G-od,  and  called  sacred  money, 
and  this  openly,  after  a  sacrilegious  man- 
ner; and  they  impose  tributes  upon  us, 
and  bring  us  before  tribunals  on  holy  days, 
and  then  require  other  like  debts  of  us, 
not  because  the  contracts  require  it,  and 
for  their  own  advantage,  but  because  they 
would  put  an  affront  on  our  religion,  of 
which  they  are  conscious  as  well  as  we, 
and  have  indulged  themselves  in  an  unjust, 
and  to  them  involuntary  hatred ;  for  your 
government  over  all  is  one,  tending  to  the 


establishing  of  benevolence,  and  abolish- 
ing of  ill-will  among  such  as  are  disposed 
to  it.    This  is,  therefore,  what  we  implore 
from  thee,  most  excellent  Agrippa,  that 
we  may  not  be  ill  treated ;  that  we  may 
not  be  abused;  that  we  may  not  be  hin- 
dered from  making  use  of  our  own  cus- 
toms, nor  be  despoiled  of  our  goods;  nor 
be  forced  by  these   men  to  do  what  we 
ourselves   force  nobody  to  do :  for  these 
privileges  of  ours  are  not  only  according 
to  justice,  but  have  formerly  been  granted 
us  by  you ;  and  we   are   able   to  read  to 
you  many  decrees  of  the  senate,  and  the 
tables  that  contain  them,  which  are  still 
extant   in    the    capitol,  concerning   these 
things,  which  it   is  evident  were  granted 
after  you  had  experience  of  our  fidelity 
toward  you,  which   ought  to  be  valued, 
though  no  such  fidelity  had  been ;  for  you 
have  hitherto  preserved  what  people  were 
in  possession  of,  not  to  us  only,  but  almost 
to  all  men,  and  have  added  greater  advan- 
tages than  they  could  have  hoped  for,  and 
thereby  your  government  has  become  a 
greater  advantage  to  them.     And  if  any 
one  were  able  to  enumerate  the  prosperity 
you  have  conferred  on  every  nation,  which 
they  possess  by  your  means,  he  could  never 
put  an  end  to  his  discourse;  but  that  we 
may  demonstrate  that  we  are  not  unworthy 
of  all  those  advantages  we  have  obtained, 
it  will  be  sufficient  for  us  to  say  nothing 
of  other  things,  but  to  speak  freely  of  this 
king  who  now  governs  us,  and  is  now  one 
of  thy  assessors;  and,  indeed,  in  what  in- 
stance of  good-will  hath  he  been  deficient? 
What  mark  of  fidelity  to  it  hath  he  omit- 
ted ?     What  token  of  honour  hath  he  not 
devised?   What  occasion  for  his  assistance 
of  you  hath  he  not  regarded  at  the  very 
first  ?    What  hindereth,  therefore,  but  that 
your  kindnesses  may  be  as  numerous  as 
his  so  great  benefits  to  you  have  been? 
It  may  also,    perhaps,  be  fit  not  here  to 
pass  over  in  silence  the  valour  of  his  father, 
Antipater,  who,  when  Caesar  made  an  ex- 
pedition  into    Egypt,   assisted  him   with 
2000  armed  men,  and  proved  inferior  to 
none,  neither  in  the  battles  on  land,  nor 
in  the  management  of  the  navy ;  and  what 
need  we  say  any  thing  of  how  great  weight 
those  soldiers  were  at  that  juncture;  or 
how  many,  and  how  great  presents  they 
were  vouchsafed  by  Caesar  ?     And  truly, 
we  ought  before  now  to  have  mentioned 
the    epistles    which    Caesar  wrote  to    the 
senate ;  and  how  Antipater  had  honours, 
and  the  freedom  of  the  city  of  Rome,  be* 


Chap.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


489 


stowed  upon  him;  for  these  are  demon- 
strations both  that  we  have  received  these 
favours  by  our  own  deserts,  and  do  on 
that  account  petition  thee  for  thy  con- 
firmation of  them,  from  whom  we  had 
reason  to  hope  for  them,  though  they  had 
not  been  given  us  before,  both  out  of  re- 
gard to  our  king's  disposition  toward  you, 
and  your  disposition  toward  him;  and 
further,  we  have  been  informed  by  those 
Jews  that  were  there,  with  what  kindness 
thou  earnest  into  our  country,  and  how 
thou  didst  offer  the  most  perfect  sacrifices 
to  God,  and  didst  honour  him  with  re- 
markable vows,  and  how  thou  gavest  the 
people  a  feast,  and  didst  accept  of  their 
own  hospitable  presents  to  thee.  We  ought 
to  esteem  all  these  kind  entertainments 
made  both  by  our  nation  and  our  city,  to 
a  man  who  is  the  ruler  and  manager  of  so 
much  of  the  public  affairs,  as  indications 
of  that  friendship  which  thou  hast  re- 
turned to  the  Jewish  nation,  and  which 
hath  been  procured  them  by  the  family  of 
Herod.  So  we  put  thee  in  mind  of  these 
things  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  now 
sitting  by  thee,  and  make  our  request  for 
no  more  but  this,  that  what  you  have  given 
us  yourselves,  you  will  not  see  taken 
away  by  others  from  us." 

When  Nicolaus  had  made  this  speech, 
there  was  no  opposition  made  to  it  by  the 
Greeks,  for  this  was  not  an  inquiry  made, 
as  in  a  court  of  justice,  but  an  interces- 
sion to  prevent  violence  to  be  offered  to 
the  Jews  any  longer ;  nor  did  the  Greeks 
make  any  defence  of  themselves,  or  deny 
what  it  was  supposed  they  had  done. 
Their  pretence  was  no  more  than  this,  that 
while  the  Jews  inhabited  in  their  country, 
they  were  entirely  unjust  to  them  [in  not 
joining  in  their  worship] ;  but  they  de- 
monstrated their  generosity  in  this,  that 
though  they  worshipped  according  to  their 
own  institutions,  they  did  nothing  that 
ought  to  grieve  them.  So,  when  Agrippa 
perceived  that  they  had  been  oppressed  by 
violence,  he  made  this  answer :  that,  on 
account  of  Herod's  good-will  and  friend- 
ship, he  was  ready  to  grant  the  Jews  what- 
soever they  should  ask  him,  and  that  their 
requests  seemed  to  him  in  themselves  just; 
and  that  if  they  requested  any  thing  fur- 
ther, he  should  not  scruple  to  grant  it 
them,  provided  they  were  noway  to  the 
detriment  of  the  Roman  government;  but 
that,  while  their  request  was  no  more  than 
this,  that  what  privileges  they  had  already 
given  them  might   not  be  abrogated,  he 


confirmed  this  to  them,  that  they  might 
continue  in  the  observation  of  their  own 
customs,  without  any  one  offering  them 
the  least  injury;  and  when  he  had  said 
thus,  he  dissolved  the  assembly ;  upon 
which  Herod  stood  up  and  saluted  him, 
and  gave  him  thanks  for  the  kind  dispo- 
sition he  showed  to  them.  Agrippa,  also, 
took  this  in  a  very  obliging  manner,  and 
saluted  him  again,  and  embraced  him  in 
his  arms;  after  which  he  went  away  from 
Lesbos;  but  the  king  determined  to  sail 
from  Samos  to  his  own  country ;  and  when 
he  had  taken  his  leave  of  Agrippa,  he 
pursued  his  voyage,  and  landed  at  (Jaesarea 
in  a  few  days'  time,  as  having  favourable 
winds;  from  whence  he  went  to  Jerusa- 
lem, and  there  gathered  all  the  people  to- 
gether to  an  assembly,  not  a  few  being 
there  out  of  the  country  also.  So  he 
came  to  them,  and  gave  them  a  par- 
ticular account  of  all  his  journey,  and  of 
the  affairs  of  all  the  Jews  in  Asia,  how 
by  his  means  they  would  live  without  in- 
jurious treatment  for  the  time  to  come. 
He  also  told  them  of  the  entire  good  for- 
tune he  had  met  with,  and  how  he  had 
administered  the  government,  and  had  not 
neglected  any  thing  which  was  for  their 
advantage;  and,  as  he  was  very  joyful, 
he  now  remitted  to  them  the  fourth  part 
of  their  taxes  for  the  last  year.  Accord- 
ingly, they  were  so  pleased  with  his  favour 
and  speech  to  them,  that  they  went  their 
ways  with  great  gladness,  and  wished  the 
king  all  manner  of  happiness. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Disturbances  in  Herod's  family  on  his  preferring 
Antipater  before  the  rest. 

But  now  the  affairs  in  Herod's  family 
were  in  more  and  more  disorder,  and 
became  more  severe  upon  him,  by  the 
hatred  of  Salome  to  the  young  men 
[Alexander  and  Aristobulus],  which  de- 
scended as  it  were  by  inheritance  [from 
their  mother  Mariamne]  :  and  as  she  had 
fully  succeeded  against  their  mother,  so 
she  proceeded  to  that  degree  of  madness 
and  insolence,  as  to  endeavour  that  none 
of  her  posterity  might  be  left  alive,  who 
might  have  it  in  their  power  t<  revenge 
her  death.  The  young  men  had  also 
somewhat  of  a  bold  and  uneasy  disposition 
toward  their  father,  occasioned  by  the  re- 
membrance of  what  their  mother  had  un- 
justly suffered,  and  by  their  own  affec- 
tation of  dominion.     The  old  grudge  wai 


490 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVL 


also  renewed;  and  they  cast  reproaches 
on  Salome  and  Pheroras,  who  requited  the 
young  men  with  malicious  designs,  and 
actually  laid  treacherous  snares  for  them. 
Now,  as  for  this  hatred,  it  was  equal  on 
both  sides,  but  the  manner  of  exerting 
that  hatred  was  different;  for,  as  for  the 
young  men,  they  were  rash,  reproaching 
and  affronting  the  others  openly,  and 
were  inexperienced  enough  to  think  it  the 
most  generous  to  declare  their  minds  in 
.hat  undaunted  manner;  but  the  others 
did  not  take  that  method,  but  made  use 
of  calumnies,  after  a  subtile  and  a  spiteful 
manner,  still  provoking  the  young  men, 
and  imagining  that  their  boldness  might 
m  time  turn  to  the  offering  violence  to 
their  father;  for,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
not  ashamed  of  the  pretended  crimes  of 
their  mother,  nor  thought  she  suffered 
justly,  these  supposed  that  they  might  at 
length  exceed  all  bounds,  and  induce  them 
to  think  they  ought  to  be  avenged  on  their 
father,  though  it  were  by  despatching 
him  with  their  own  hands.  At  length  it 
came  to  this,  that  the  whole  city  was  full 
of  their  discourses,  and,  as  is  usual  in 
such  contests,  the  unskilfulness  of  the 
young  men  was  pitied ;  but  the  con- 
trivance of  Salome  was  too  hard  for  them, 
and  what  imputations  she  laid  upon  them 
came  to  be  believed,  by  means  of  their 
own  conduct;  for  they  were  so  deeply 
affected  with  the  death  of  their  m6ther, 
that  while  they  said  both  she  and  them- 
selves were  in  a  miserable  case,  they 
vehemently  complained  of  her  pitiable 
end,  which  indeed  was  truly  such,  and 
said  that  they  were  themselves  in  a  piti- 
able case  al^o,  because  they  were  forced  to 
live  with  those  that  had  been  her  mur- 
derers,  and  to  be  partakers  with  them. 

These  disorders  increased  greatly,  and 
the  king's  absence  abroad  had  afforded  a 
fit  opportunity  for  that  increase;  but  as 
soon  as  Herod  had  returned,  and  had 
made  the  forementioned  speech  to  the 
multitude,  Pheroras  and  Salome  let  fall 
words  immediately,  as  if  he  were  in  great 
danger,  and  as  if  the  young  men  openly 
threatened  that  they  would  not  spare  him 
any  longer,  but  revenge  their  mother's 
death  upon  hi-m.  They  also  added  another 
circumstance,  that  their  hopes  were  fixed 
on  Archelaus,  the  king  of  Cappadocia, 
that  they  should  be  able  by  his  means  to 
come  to  Caesar  and  accuse  their  father. 
Upon  hearing  such  things,  Herod  was 
immediately  disturbed ;  and,  indeed,  was 


the  more  astonished,  because  the  same 
things  were  related  to  him  by  some  others 
also.  He  then  called  to  mind  his  former 
calamity,  and  considered  that  the  dis- 
orders in  his  family  had  hindered  him 
from  enjoying  any  comfort  from  those 
that  were  dearest  to  him,  or  from  his 
wife,  whom  he  loved  so  well ;  and  sus- 
pecting that  his  future  troubles  would 
soon  be  heavier  and  greater  than  those 
that  were  past,  he  was  in  great  confusion 
of  mind,  for  Divine  Providence  had,  in 
reality,  conferred  upon  him  a  great  many 
outward  advantages  for  his  happiness, 
even  beyond  his  hopes,  but  the  troubles 
he  had  at  home  were  such  as  he  never 
expected  to  have  met  with,  and  rendered 
him  unfortunate;  nay,  both  sorts  came 
upon  him  to  such  a  degree  as  no  one  could 
imagine,  and  made  it  a  doubtful  question, 
whether,  upon  the  comparison  of  both,  he 
ought  to  have  exchanged  so  great  a  success 
of  outward  good  things  for  so  great  mis- 
fortune at  home,  or  whether  he  ought  not 
to  have  chosen  to  avoid  the  calamities  re- 
lating to  his  family,  though  he  had,  for  a 
compensation,  never  been  possessed  of  the 
admired  grandeur  of  a  kingdom. 

As  he  was  thus  disturbed  and  afflicted, 
in  order  to  depress  these  young  men,  he 
brought  to  court  another  of  his  sons,  that 
was  born  to  him  when  he  was  a  private 
man ;  his  name  was  Antipater ;  yet  did 
he  not  then  indulge  him  as  he  did  after- 
ward, when  he  was  quite  overcome  by 
him,  and  let  him  do  every  thing  as  he 
pleased,  but  rather  with  a  design  of  de- 
pressing the  insolence  of  the  sons  of 
Mariamne,  and  managing  this  elevation 
of  his  son  that  it  might  be  a  warning  to 
them;  for  this  bold  behaviour  of  theirs 
[he  thought]  would  not  be  so  great,  if 
they  were  once  persuaded  that  the  suc- 
cession to  the  kingdom  did  not  appertain 
to  them  alone,  or  must  of  necessity  come 
to  them.  So  he  introduced  Antipater  as 
their  antagonist,  and  imagined  that  he 
had  made  a  good  provision  for  discou- 
raging their  pride,  and  that  after  this  was 
done  to  the  young  men,  there  might  be  a 
proper  season-  for  expecting  these  to  be  of 
a  better  disposition :  nut  the  event  proved 
otherwise  than  he  intended,  for  the  young 
men  thought  he  did  them  a  very  great 
injury;  and  as  Antipater  was  a  shrewd 
man,  when  he  had  once  obtained  this  de- 
gree of  freedom,  and  began  to  expect 
greater  things  than  he  had  before  hoped 
for,  he  had   but  one  single  design  in  bis 


t'lMP.   IV.  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEW*. 


491 


bead,  and  that  was  to  distress  his  brethren, 
and  not  at  all  to  yield  to  them  the  pre- 
eminence, but  to  keep  close  to  his  father, 
who  was  already  alienated  from  them  by 
the  calumnies  he  had  heard  about  them, 
and  ready  to  be  wrought  upon  in  any  way 
his  zeal  against  them  should  advise  him  to 
pursue,  that  he  might  be  continually  more 
and  more  severe  against  them.  Accord- 
ingly, all  the  reports  that  were  spread 
abroad  came  from  him,  while  he  avoided 
himself  the  suspicion,  as  if  those  dis- 
coveries proceeded  from  him  :  but  he 
rather  chose  to  make  use  of  those  persons 
for  his  assistants  that  were  unsuspected, 
and  such  as  might  be  believed  to  speak 
truth  by  reason  of  the  good-will  they  bore 
to  the  king;  and,  indeed,  there  were 
already  not  a  few  who  cultivated  a  friend- 
ship with  Antipater,  in  hopes  of  gaining 
somewhat  by  him,  and  these  were  the  men 
who  most  of  all  persuaded  Herod,  because 
they  appeared  to  speak  thus  out  of  their 
good-will  to  him  :  and  while  these  joint 
accusations,  which,  from  various  founda- 
tions, supported  one  another's  veracity, 
the  young  men  themselves  afforded  fur- 
ther occasions  to  Antipater  also;  for  they 
were  observed  to  shed  tears  often,  on 
account  of  the  injury  that  was  offered 
them,  and  had  their  mother  in  their 
mouths;  and  among  their  friends  they 
ventured  to  reproach  their  father,  as  not 
acting  justly  by  them  ;  all  which  things 
were,  w#ith  an  evil  intention,  reserved  in 
memory  by  Antipater  against  a  proper 
opportunity;  and  when  they  were  told  to 
Herod,  with  aggravations,  the  disorder 
increased  so  much,  that  it  brought  a  great 
tumult  into  the  family;  for  while  the 
king  was  very  angry  at  imputations  that 
were  laid  upon  the  sons  of  Mariamne,  and 
was  desirous  to  humble  them,  he  still 
increased  the  honour  that  he  had  bestowed 
on  Antipater,  and  was  at  last  so  overcome 
by  his  persuasions,  that  he  brought  his 
mother  to  court  also.  He  also  wrote  fre- 
quently to  Caesar  in  favour  of  him,  and 
more  earnestly  recommended  him  to  his 
care  particularly.  And  when  Agrippa 
had  returned  to  Rome,  after  he  had 
finished  his  ten  year's  government  in 
Asia,*  Herod  sailed  from  Judea;  and 
when  he  had  met  with  him,  he  had  none 
with    him   but   Antipater,   whom   he   de- 

*  This  interval  of  ten  years  for  the  duration  of 
Marcus  Agrippa's  government  in  Asia,  seems  to  be 
true,  and  agreeable  to  the  Hou.au  history.  See 
Ushor's  Annals  at  A  M.3392 


livered  to  Agrippa,  that  he  might  take 
him  along  with  him,  together  with  many 
presents,  that  so  he  might  become  Caesar's 
friend,  insomuch  that  things  already 
looked  as  if  he  had  all  his  father's  favour, 
and  that  the  young  men  were  already  en- 
tirely rejected  from  any  hopes  of  the 
kingdom. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Herod  brings  Alexander  and  Aristobulus  before 
Caesar — Alexander's  defence,  and  reconciliation 
to  his  father. 

And  now  what  happened  during  Anti- 
pater's  absence  augmented  the  honour  to 
which  he  had  been  promoted,  and  his 
apparent  eminence  above  his  brethren ; 
for  he  had  made  a  great  figure  in  Rome, 
because  Herod  had  sent  recommendations 
of  him  to  all  his  friends  there;  only  he 
was  grieved  that  he  was  not  at  home,  nor 
had  proper  opportunities  of  perpetually 
calumniating  his  brethren ;  and  his  chief 
fear  was,  lest  his  father  should  alter  his 
mind,  and  entertain  a  more  favourable 
opinion  of  the  sons  of  Mariamne;  and  as 
he  had  this  in  his  mind,  he  did  not  desist 
from  his  purpose,  but  continually  sent 
from  Rome  any  such  stories  as  he 
hoped  might  grieve  and  irritate  his  father 
against  his  brethren,  under  pretence,  in- 
deed, of  a  deep  concern  for  his  preserva- 
tion, but  in  truth,  such  as  his  malicious 
mind  dictated,  in  order  to  purchase  a 
greater  hope  of  the  succession,  which  yet 
was  already  great  in  itself:  and  thus  he 
did  till  he  had  excited  such  a  degree  of 
anger  in  Herod,  that  he  had  already  be- 
come very  ill  disposed  toward  the  young 
men ;  but  still  while  he  delayed  to  ex- 
ercise so  violent  a  disgust  against  them, 
and  that  he  might  not  either  be  too  re- 
miss or  too  rash,  and  so  offend,  he  thought 
it  best  to  sail  to  Rome,  and  there  accuse 
his  sons  before  Caesar,  and  not  indulge 
himself  in  any  such  crime  as  might  be 
heinous  enough  to  be  suspected  of  im- 
piety. But,  as  he  was  going  up  to  Rome, 
it  happened  that  he  made  such  haste  as  to 
meet  Caesar  at  the  city  of  Aquilei;  so 
when  he  came  to  the  speech  of  Caesar,  he 
asked  for  a  time  for  hearing  this  great 
cause,  wherein  he  thought  himself  very 
miserable,  and  presented  his  sous  there, 
and  accused  them  of  their  mad  actions, 
and  of  their  attempts  against  him;  that 
they  were  enemies  to  him  ;  and,  by  all  the 
means   they  were    fcble,  did   their  endea- 


*92 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Boof.  XY1 


rours  to  show  their  hatred  to  their  own 
father,  and  would  take  away  his  life,  and 
so  obtain  his  kingdom,  after  the  most 
barbarous  manner:  that  he  had  power 
from  Caesar  to  dispose  of  it,  not  by  neces- 
sity, but  by  choice,  to  him  who  shall  ex- 
ercise the  greatest  piety  toward  him; 
while  these  his  sons  are  not  so  desirous  of 
ruling,  as  they  are,  upon  a  disappointment 
thereof,  to  expose  their  own  life,  if  so 
be  they  may  but  deprive  their  father  of 
his  life;  so  wild  and  polluted  has  their 
mind  by  time  become,  out  of  their  hatred 
to  him :  that  whereas  he  had  a  long  time 
borne  this  his  misfortune,  he  was  now 
compelled  to  lay  it  before  Caesar,  and  to 
pollute  his  ears  with  such  language,  while 
he  himself  wanted  to  know  what  severity 
they  have  ever  suffered  from  him,  or  what 
hardships  he  had  ever  laid  upon  them  to 
make  them  complain  of  him ;  and  how 
they  can  think  it  just  that  he  should  not 
be  lord  of  that  kingdom  which  he,  in  a 
long  time,  and  with  great  danger,  had 
gained,  and  not  allow  him  to  keep  it  and 
dispose  of  it  to  him  who  should  deserve 
best;  and  this,  with  other  advantages,  he 
proposes  as  a  reward  for  the  piety  of  such 
an  one  as  will  hereafter  imitate  the  care 
he  had  taken  of  it,  and  that  such  an  one 
may  gain  so  great  a  requital  as  that  is : 
and  that  it  is  an  impious  thing  for  them 
to  pretend  to  meddle  with  it  beforehand, 
for  he  who  hath  ever  the  kingdom  Hi  his 
view,  at  the  same  time  reckons  upon  pro- 
curing the  death  of  his  father,  because 
otherwise  he  cannot  come  at  the  govern- 
ment :  that  as  for  himself,  he  had  hitherto 
given  them  all  that  he  was  able,  and  what 
was  agreeable  to  such  as  are  subject  to  the 
royal  authority,  and  the  sons  of  a  king; 
what  ornaments  they  wanted,  with  ser- 
vants and  delicate  fare;  and  had  married 
them  into  the  most  illustrious  families, 
the  one  [Aristobulus]  to  his  sister's 
daughter,  but  Alexander  to  the  daughter 
of  King  Archelaus;  and,  what  was  the 
greatest  favour  of  all,  when  their  crimes 
were  so  very  bad,  and  he  had  authority  to 
punish  them,  yet  had  he  not  made  use  of 
it  against  them,  but  had  brought  them 
before  Caesar,  their  common  benefactor, 
and  had  not  used  the  severity  which 
either  as  a  father  who  had  been  impiously 
abused,  or  as  a  king  who  had  been  as- 
saulted treacherously,  he  might  have 
done,  but  made  them  stand  upon  the 
Jevel  with  him  in  judgment :  that,  how- 
sver,  it  was  necessary  that  all  this  should 


not  be  passed  over  without  punishment 
nor  himself  live  in  the  greatest  fears ; 
nay,  that  it  was  not  for  their  own  ad- 
vantage to  see  the  light  of  the  sun  after 
what  they  had  done,  although  they  should 
escape  at  this  time,  since  they  had  done 
the  vilest  things,  and  would  certainly 
suffer  the  greatest  punishments  that  ever 
were  known  among  mankind. 

These  were  the  accusations  which  Herod 
laid  with  great  vehemency  against  his 
sons  before  Caesar.  Now  the  young  menP 
both  while  he  was  speaking,  and  chiefly 
at  his  concluding,  wept,  and  were  in  con- 
fusion. Now  as  to  themselves,  they  knew 
in  their  own  consciences  they  were  inno- 
cent, but  because  they  were  accused  by 
their  father,  they  were  sensible,  as  the 
truth  was,  that  it  was  hard  for  them  to 
make  their  apology,  since,  though  they 
were  at  liberty  to  speak  their  minds  freely, 
as  the  occasion  required,  and  might  with 
force  and  earnestness  refute  the  accusation, 
yet  was  it  not  now  decent  so  to  do.  There 
was,  therefore,  a  difficulty  how  they  should 
be  able  to  speak  ;  and  tears,  and  at  length 
a  deep  groan  followed,  while  they  were 
afraid,  that  if  they  said  nothing,  they 
should  seem  to  be  in  this  difficulty  from  a 
consciousness  of  guilt,  nor  had  they  any 
defence  ready,  by  reason  of  their  youth, 
and  the  disorder  they  were  under'  yet 
was  not  Caesar  unapprized,  when  he  *ooked 
upon  them  in  the  confusion  they  were  in, 
that  their  delay  to  make  their  defence  did 
not  arise  from  any  consciousness  of  their 
great  enormities,  but  from  their  unskil- 
fulness  and  modesty.  They  were  also 
commiserated  by  those  that  were  there  in 
particular;  and  they  moved  their  father's 
affections  in  earnest,  till  he  had  much  ado 
to  conceal  them. 

But  when  they  saw  there  was  a  kind 
disposition  arisen  both  in  him  and  in  Caesar, 
and  that  every  one  of  the  rest  did  either 
shed  tears,  or  at  least  did  all  grieve  with 
them,  the  one  of  them,  whose  name  was 
Alexander,  called  to  his  father,  and,  at- 
tempted to  answer  his  accusation,  and  said, 
"  0  father,  the^  benevolence  thou  hast 
showed  to  us-  is  evident,  even  in  this  very 
judicial  procedure,  for  hadst  thou  any 
pernicious  intentions  about  us,  thou  hadst 
not  produced  us  here  before  the  common 
saviour  of  all,  for  it  was  in  thy  power, 
both  as  a  king  and  as  a  father,  to  punish 
the  guilty ;  but  by  thus  bringing  us  to 
Rome,  and  making  Caesar  himself  a  wit- 
ness to  what  is  done,  thou  intimatest  thai 


Chap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


493 


thou  intendest  to  save  us ;  for  no  one  that 
hath  a  design  to  slay  a  man  will  bring  him 
to  the  ternples,  and  to  the  altars ;  yet  are 
our  circumstances  still  worse,  for  we  can- 
not endure  to  live  ourselves  any  longer,  if 
it  be  believed  that  we  have  injured  such  a 
father;  nay,  perhaps  it  would  be  worse 
for  us  to  live  with  this  suspicion  upon  us, 
that  we  have  injured  him,  than  to  die 
without  such  guilt :  and  if  our  open  de- 
fence may  be  taken  to  be  true,  we  shall 
be  happy,  both  in  pacifying  thee,  and  in 
escaping  the  danger  we  are  in ;  but  if 
this  calamity  so  prevails,  it  is  more  than 
enough  that  we  have  seen  the  sun  this 
jay ;  which,  why  should  we  see,  if  this 
suspicion  be  fixed  upon  us  ?  Now  it  is 
easy  to  say  of  young  men,  that  they  desired 
to  reign ;  and  to  say  further,  that  this  evil 
proceeds  from  the  case  of  our  unhappy 
mother.  This  is  abundantly  sufficient  to 
produce  our  present  misfortune  out  of  the 
former;  but  consider  well,  whether  such 
an  accusation  does  not  suit  all  such  young 
men,  and  may  not  be  said  of  them  all 
promiscuously ;  for  nothing  can  hinder 
him  that  reigns,  if  he  have  children,  and 
their  mother  be  dead,  but  the  father  may 
have  a  suspicion  upon  all  his  sons,  as  in- 
tending some  treachery  to  him :  but  a 
suspicion  is  not  sufficient  to  prove  such  an 
impious  practice.  Now  let  any  man  say, 
whether  we  have  actually  and  insolently 
attempted  any  such  thing,  whereby  actions 
otherwise  incredible  used  to  be  made  credi- 
ble ?  Can  anybody  prove  that  poison 
hath  been  prepared  ?  or  prove  a  conspi- 
racy of  our  equals,  or  the  corruption  of 
servants,  or  letters  written  against  thee  ? 
though,  indeed,  there  are  none  of  those 
things  but  have  sometimes  been  pretended 
by  way  of  calumny,  when  they  were  never 
done ;  for  a  royal  family  that  is  at  variance 
with  itself  is  a  terrible  thing;  and  that 
which  thou  callest  a  reward  of  piety,  often 
becomes,  among  very  wicked  men,  such  a 
foundation  of  hope,  as  makes  them  leave 
no  sort  of  mischief  untried.  Nor  does 
any  one  lay  any  wicked  practices  to  our 
charge ;  but  as  to  calumnies  by  hearsay, 
how  can  he  put  an  end  to  them,  who  will 
not  hear  what  we  have  to  say?  have  we 
talked  with  too  great  freedom;  yes,  but 
not  against  thee,  for  that  would  be  unjust, 
but  against  those  that  never  conceal  any 
thing  that  is  spoken  to  them.  Hath 
either  of  us  lamented  our  mother?  yes; 
but  not  because  she  is  dead,  but  because 
6he  was  svil  spoken  of  by  those  that  had 


no  reason  so  to  do.  Are  we  desirous  of 
that  dominion  which  we  know  our  father 
is  possessed  of?  For  what  reason  can  we 
do  so?  If  we  already  have  royal  ho- 
nours, as  we  have,  should  not  we  labour  in 
vain  ?  And  if  we  have  them  not,  yet  are 
not  we  in  hopes  of  them  ?  Or,  supposing 
that  we  had  killed  thee,  could  we  expect 
to  obtain  thy  kingdom  ?  while  neither  the 
earth  would  let  us  tread  upon  it,  nor  the 
sea  let  us  sail  upon  it,  after  such  an  action 
as  that :  nay,  the  religion  of  all  youi 
subjects,  and  the  piety  of  the  whole  nation, 
would  have  prohibited  parricides  from  as- 
suming the  government,  and  from  entering 
into  that  most  holy  temple  which  was 
built  by  thee.  *  But  suppose  we  had 
made  light  of  other  dangers,  can  any 
murderer  go  off  unpunished  while  Caesar 
is  alive?  We  are  thy  sons,  and  not  so 
impious  or  so  thoughtless  as  that  comes 
to,  though,  perhaps,  more  unfortunate  than 
is  convenient  for  thee.  But  in  case  thou 
neither  findest  any  causes  of  complaint, 
nor  any  treacherous  designs,  what  suf- 
ficient evidence  hast  thou  to  make  such  a 
wickedness  of  ours  credible  ?  Our  mother 
is  dead,  indeed,  but  then  what  befell  her 
might  be  an  instruction  to  us  to  caution, 
and  not  an  incitement  to  wickedness.  We 
are  willing  to  make  a  larger  apology  for 
ourselves  ;  but  actions  never  done  do  not 
admit  of  discourse ;  nay,  we  will  make 
this  agreement  with  thee,  and  that  before 
Cassar,  the  lord  of  all,  who  is  now  a  medi- 
ator between  us,  if  thou,  0  father,  canst 
bring  thyself  by  the  evidence  of  truth,  to 
have  a  mind  free  from  suspicion  concerning 
us,  let  us  live,  though  even  then  we  shall 
live  in  an  unhappy  way,  for  to  be  accused 
of  great  acts  of  wickedness,  though  falsely, 
is  a  terrible  thing;  but  if  thou  hast  any 
fear  remaining,  continue  thou  on  in  thy 
pious  life,  we  will  give  this  reason  for  our 
own  conduct ;  our  life  is  not  so  desirable 
to  us  as  to  desire  to  have  it,  if  it  tend  to 
the  harm  of  our  father  who  crave  it  us.,; 


*  Since  some  prejudiced  men  have  indulged  a 
wild  suspicion,  that  Josephus's  history  of  Herod's 
rebuilding  the  temple  is  no  better  than  a  fable, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  take  notice  of  this  occa- 
sional clause  in  the  speech  of  Alexander  before  hit 
lather  Herod,  in  his  and  his  brother's  vindication, 
which  mentions  the  temple  as  known  by  everybody 
to  have  been  built  by  iierod.  See  John  ii.  20.  See 
also  another  speech  of  Herod's  own  to  the  foung 
men  that  pulled  down  his  golden  eagle  from  the 
front  of  the  temple,  where  he  takes  notice  how  the 
building  of  the  temple  cost  him  a  vast  sum;  and 
that  the  Asamoneans,  in  those  125  years  they  held 
the  government,  were  not  able  to  perform  so  great 
a  work  to  the  honour  of  God  as  this  was. 


494: 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XVI 


When  Alexander  had  thus  spoken,  Cae- 
sar, who  did  not  believe  so  gross  a  calumny, 
was  still  more  moved  by  it,  and  looked 
intently  upon  Herod,  and  perceived  he 
was  a  little  confounded  :  the  persons  there 
present  were  under  an  anxiety  about  the 
young  men,  and  the  fame  that  was  spread 
abroad  made  the  king  hated,  for  the  very 
incredibility  of  the  calumny,  and  the  com- 
miseration of  the  flower  of  youth,  the 
beauty  of  body,  which  were  in  the  young 
men,  pleaded  strongly  for  assistance,  and 
the  more  so  on  this  account,  that  Alex- 
ander had  made  their  defence  with  dexte- 
rity and  prudence :  nay,  they  did  not 
themselves  any  longer  continue  in  their 
former  countenances,  which  had  been  be- 
dewed with  tears  and  cast  downward  to 
the  ground,  but  now  there  arose  in  them 
hope  of  the  best :  and  the  king  himself 
appeared  not  to  have  had  foundation 
enough  to  build  such  an  accusation  upon, 
he  having  no  real  evidence  wherewith  to 
convict  them.  Indeed,  he  wanted  some 
apology  for  making  the  accusation ;  but 
Caesar,  after  some  delay,  said,  that  although 
the  young  men  were  thoroughly  innocent 
of  that  for  which  they  were  calumniated, 
yet  had  they  been  so  far  to  blame,  that 
they  had  not  demeaned  themselves  toward 
their  father  so  as  to  prevent  that  suspicion 
which  was  spread  abroad  concerning  them. 
He  also  exhorted  Herod  to  lay  all  such 
suspicions  aside,  and  to  be  reconciled  to 
his  sons :  for  that  it  was  not  just  to  give 
any  credit  to  such  reports  concerning  his 
own  children ;  and  that  this  repentance 
on  both  sides  might  heal  those  breaches 
that  had  happened  between  them,  and 
might  improve  their  good-will  toward  one 
another,  whereby  those  on  both  sides,  ex- 
cusing the  rashness  of  their  suspicions, 
might  resolve  to  bear  a  greater  degree  of 
aftection  toward  each  other  than  they  had 
before.  After  Caesar  had  given  them  this 
admonition,  he  beckoned  to  the  young 
men.  When,  therefore,  they  were  dis- 
posed to  fall  down,  to  make  intercession 
to  their  father,  he  took  them  up,  and  em- 
braced them,  as  they  were  in  tears,  and 
took  each  of  them  distinctly  in  his  arms, 
till  not  one  of  those  that  were  present, 
whether  freeman  or  slave,  but  was  deeply 
affected  at  what  they  saw. 

Tnen  did  they  return  thanks  to  Caesar, 
and  went  away  together;  and  with  them 
went  Antipater,  with  an  hypocritical  pre- 
tence that  he  rejoiced  at  this  reconciliation. 
And  in  the  last  days  they  were  with  Caesar, 


Herod  made  him  a  present  of  300  talents, 
as  he  was  then  exhibiting  shows  and 
largesses  to  the  people  of  Rome :  and 
Caesar  made  him  a  present  of  half  the 
revenue  of  the  copper-mines  in  Cyprus, 
and  committed  the  care  of  the  other  half 
to  him,  and  honoured  him  with  other  gifts 
and  incomes  :  and  as  to  his  own  kingdom, 
he  left  it  in  his  power  to  appoint  which 
of  his  sons  he  pleased  for  his  successor, 
or  to  distribute  it  in  parts  to  every  one, 
that  the  dignity  might  thereby  come  to 
them  all;  and  when  Herod  was  disposed 
to  make  such  a  settlement  immediately, 
Caesar  said  he  would  not  give  him  leave 
to  deprive  himself,  while  he  was  alive,  of 
the  power  over  his  kingdom,  or  over  his 
sons. 

After  this,  Herod  returned  to  Judea 
again;  but  during  his  absence,  no  small 
part  of  his  dominions  about  Trachon  had 
revolted,  whom  yet  the  commanders  he 
left  there  had  vanquished,  and  compelled 
to  a  submission  again.  Now,  as  Herod 
was  sailing  with  his  sons,  and  had  come 
over  against  Cilicia,  to  [the  island]  Eleusa, 
which  had  now  changed  its  name  for  Se- 
baste,  he  met  with  Archelaus,  king  of 
Cappadocia,  who  received  him  kindly,  as 
rejoicing  that  he  was  reconciled  to  his 
sons,  and  that  the  accusation  against  Alex- 
ander, who  had  married  his  daughter,  was 
at  an  end.  They  also  made  one  another 
such  presents  as  it  became  kings  to  make. 
From  thence  Herod  came  to  Judea  and 
to  the  temple,  where  he  made  a  speech  to 
the  people  concerning  what  had  been  done 
in  this  his  journey :  he  also  discoursed 
to  them  about  Caesar's  kindness  to  him, 
and  about  as  many  of  the  particulars  he 
had  done  as  he  thought  it  for  his  advantage 
other  people  should  be  acquainted  with. 
At  last  he  turned  his  speech  to  the  admo- 
nition of  his  sons;  and  exhorted  those 
that  lived  at  court,  and  the  multitude,  to 
concord:  and  informed  them  that  his  sons 
were  to  reigu  after  him ;  Antipater  first 
and  then  Alexander  and  Aristcbulus 
the  sons  of  Maiiamne ;  but  he  desired 
that  at  present  thiey  should  all  have  re- 
gard to  himself,  and  esteem  him  king  and 
lord  of  all,  since  he  was  not  yet  hindered 
by  old  age,  but  was  in  that  period  of  life 
wThen  he  must  be  the  most  skilful  in  go- 
verning ;  and  that  he  was  not  deficient  in 
other  arts  of  management  that  might 
enable  him  to  govern  the  kingdom  well, 
and  to  rule  over  his  children  also.  He 
further  told  the  rulers  under  him,  and  th» 


CfiAP.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


495 


soldiery,  that  in  case  they  would  look  upon 
him  alone,  their  life  would  be  led  in  a 
peaceable  manner,  and  they  would  make 
one  another  happy  ;  and  when  he  had  said 
this,  he  dismissed  the  assembly.  Which 
speech  was  acceptable  to  the  greatest  part 
of  the  audience,  but  not  so  to  them  all ; 
for  the  contention  among  his  sons,  and 
the  hopes  he  had  given  them,  occasioned 
thoughts  and  desires  of  innovations  among 
them 


CHAPTER  V. 

Herod  celebrates  the  games  that  were  to  return 
every  fifth  year  on  the  building  of  Ciesarea. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Caesarea 
Sebaste,  which  he  had  built,  was  finished. 
The  entire  building  being  accomplished  in 
the  tenth  year,  the  solemnity  of  it  fell 
into  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  Herod's 
reign,  and  into  the  192d  Olympiad ; 
there  was  accordingly  a  great  festival,  and 
most  sumptuous  preparations  made  pre- 
sently, in  order  to  its  dedication;  for  he 
had  appointed  a  contention  in  music,  and 
games  to  be  performed  naked ;  he  had 
also  gotten  ready  a  great  number  of  those 
that  fight  single  combats,  aud  of  beasts  for 
the  like  purpose;  horse-races  also,  and  the 
most  chargeable  of  such  sports  and  shows 
as  used  to  be  exhibited  at  Rome,  and  in 
other  places.  He  consecrated  this  combat 
to  Caesar,  and  ordered  it  to  be  celebrated 
every  fifth  year.  He  also  sent  all  sorts  of 
ornaments  for  it  out  of  his  own  furniture, 
that  it  might  want  nothing  to  make  it  de- 
cent; nay,  Julia,  Caesar's  wife,  sent  a 
great  part  of  her  most  valuable  furniture 
[from  Rome],  insomuch,  that  he  had  no 
want  of  any  thing ;  the  sum  of  them  all 
was  estimated  at  500  talents.  Now,  when 
a  great  multitude  had  come  to  that  city 
to  see  the  shows,  as  well  as  the  ambassa- 
dors whom  other  people  sent,  on  account 
of  the  benefits  they  had  received  [from 
Herod],  he  entertained  them  all  in  the 
public  inns,  and  at  public  tables,  and  with 
perpetual  feasts;  this  solemnity  having  in 
the  day-time  the  diversions  of  the  fights, 
aud  in  the  night-time  such  merry  meet- 
ings as  cost  vast  sums  of  money,  and  pub- 
licly demonstrated  the  generosity  of  his 
soul;  for  in  all  his  undertakings  he  was 
ambitious  to  exhibit  what  exceeded  what- 
soever had  been  done  before  of  the  same 
kind,  and  it  is  related  that  Caesar  and 
A-grippa  often  said,  that  the  dominions  of 
Herod  were  too  «mall  for  the  greatness  of 


his  soul;  for  that  he  deserved  to  have 
both  all  the  kingdom  of  Syria,  and  that 
of  Egypt  also. 

After  this  solemnity  and  these  festivals 
were  over,  Herod  erected  another  city  in 
the  plain  called  Capharsaba,  where  he 
chose  out  a  fit  place,  both  for  plenty  of 
water  and  goodness  of  soil,  and  proper  fo. 
the  production  of  what  was  there  planted, 
where  a  river  encompassed  the  city  itself, 
and  a  grove  of  the  best  trees  for  magnitude 
was  round  about  it :  this  he  named  Anti 
patris,  from  his  father,  Antipater.  He 
also  built  upon  another  spot  of  ground 
above  Jericho,  of  the  same  name  with  his 
mother,  a  place  of  great  security,  and  very 
pleasant  for  habitation,  aud  called  it  Cy- 
prus. He  also  dedicated  the  finest  monu- 
ments to  his  brother  Phasaelus,  on  account 
of  the  great  natural  affection  there  had 
been  between  them,  by  erecting  a  tower 
in  the  city  itself,  not  less  than  the  tower 
of  Pharos,  which  he  named  Phasaelus, 
which  was  at  once  a  part  of  the  stroug 
defences  of  the  city,  and  a  memorial  for 
him  that  was  deceased,  because  it  bore  his 
name.  He  also  built  a  city  of  the  same 
in  the  valley  of  Jericho,  as  you  go  from 
it  northward,  whereby  he  rendered  the 
neighbouring  country  more  fruitful,  by 
the  cultivation  its  inhabitants  introduced  ; 
and  this  also  he  called  Phasaelus. 

But  as  for  his  other  benefits,  it  is  im- 
possible to  reckon  them  up,  those  which 
he  bestowed  on  cities,  both  in  Syria  and 
in  Greece,  and  in  all  the  places  he  came 
to  in  his  voyages :  for  he  seems  to  havs 
conferred,  and  that  after  a  most  plentiful 
manner,  what  would  minister  to  many 
necessities,  and  the  building  of  public 
works,  and  gave  them  the  money  that  was 
necessary  to  such  works  as  wanted  it,  to 
support  them  upon  the  failure  of  their 
other  revenues;  but  what  was  the  greatest 
aud  most  illustrious  of  all  his  works,  he 
erected  Apollo's  temple  at  Rhodes,  at  his 
own  expense,  and  gave  them  a  great  num- 
ber of  talents  of  silver  for  the  repairs  ot 
their  fleet.  He  also  built  the  greatest 
part  of  the  public  edifices  for  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Nicopolis,  at  Actium  j*  and  for 
the   Antiochians,  the    inhabitants  of  the 


*  Dr.  Hudson  bere  gives  us  the  words  of  Sueto- 
nius concerning  this  Nicopolis,  when  Augustus  re 
built  it: — "And  that  the  memory  of  the  victory  at 
Actium  might  be  celebrated  the  more  afterward, 
he  built  Nicopolis  at  Actium,  and  appointed  public 
shows  to  be  there  exhibited  every  fifth  yeaj ,"  In 
Augus.  sect.  18. 


496 


AJNTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVI 


principal  city  of  Syria,  where  a  broad 
street  cuts  through  the  place  lengthways, 
re  built  cloisters  along  it  on  both  sides, 
and  laid  the  open  road  with  polished  stone, 
which  was  of  very  great  advantage  to  the 
inhabitants ;  and  as  to  the  Olympic  games, 
which  were  in  a  very  low  condition,  by 
reason  of  the  failure  of  their  revenues,  he 
recovered  their  reputation,  and  appointed 
revenues  for  their  maintenance,  and  made 
that  solemn  meeting  more  venerable,  as 
to  the  sacrifices  and  other  ornaments ;  and 
by  reason  of  this  vast  liberality,  he  was 
generally  declared  in  their  inscriptions  to 
be  one  of  the  perpetual  managers  of  those 
games. 

Now  some  there  are,  who  stand  amazed 
at  the  diversity  of  Herod's  nature  and 
purposes ;  for  when  we  have  respect  to  his 
magnificence,  and  the  benefits  which  he 
bestowed  on  all  mankind,  there  is  no  pos- 
sibility for  even  those  who  had  the  least 
respect  for  him  to  deny,  or  not  openly  to 
confess,  that  he  had  a  nature  vastly  bene- 
ficent ;  but  when  any  one  looks  upon  the 
punishments  he  inflicted,  and  the  injuries 
he  did,  not  only  to  his  subjects,  but  to  his 
nearest  relations,  and  takes  notice  of  his 
severe  and  unrelenting  disposition  there, 
he  will  be  forced  to  allow  that  he  was 
brutish,  and  a  stranger  to  all  humanity; 
insomuch  that  these  men  suppose  his  na- 
ture to  be  different,  and  sometimes  at 
contradictions  with  itself;  but  I  &m  my- 
self of  another  opinion,  and  imagine  that 
the  occasion  of  both  these  sorts  of  actions 
was  one  and  tne  same ;  for,  being  a  man 
ambitious  of  honour,  and  quite  overcome 
by  that  passion,  he  was  induced  to  be 
magnificent,  wherever  there  appeared  any 
hopes  of  a  future  memorial,  or  of  reputa- 
tion at  present ;  and,  as  his  expenses  were 
beyond  his  abilities,  he  was  necessitated 
to  be  harsh  to  his  subjects;  for  the  per- 
sons on  whom  he  expended  his  money, 
were  so  many,  that  they  made  him  a  very 
bad  procurer  of  it;  and  because  he  was 
conscious  that  he  was  hated  by  those  un- 
der him,  for  the  injuries  he  did  them,  he 
thought  it  not  an  easy  thing  to  amend  his 
offences,  for  that  was  inconvenient  for  his 
revenue  \  he  therefore  strove  on  the  other 
side  to  make  their  ill-will  an  occasion  of 
his  gains.  As  to  his  own  court,  therefore, 
if  any  one  was  not  very  obsequious  to  him 
in  his  language,  and  would  not  confess 
himself  to  be  his  slave,  or  but  seemed  to 
think  of  any  innovation  in  his  govern- 
ment, he  was  not  able  to  contain  himself, 


but  prosecuted  his  very  kindred  ano 
friends,  and  punished  them  as  if  they  were 
enemies;  and  this  wickedness  he  under- 
took out  of  a  desire  that  he  might  be 
himself  alone  honoured.  Now  for  this 
my  assertion  about  that  passion  of  his,  we 
have  the  greatest  evidence,  by  what  he 
did  to  honour  Caesar  and  Agrippa,  and 
his  other  friends ;  for  with  what  honours 
he  paid  his  respects  to  them  who  were  his 
superiors,  the  same  did  he  desire  to  be 
paid  to  himself;  and  what  he  thought 
the  most  excellent  present  he  could  make 
another,  he  discovered  an  inclination  to 
have  the  like  presented  to  himself;  but 
now  the  Jewish  nation  is  by  their  law 
a  stranger  to  all  such  things,  and  ac- 
customed to  prefer  righteousness  to  glo- 
ry ;  for  which  reason  that  nation  was  not 
agreeable  to  him,  because  it  was  out  of 
their  power  to  flatter  the  king's  ambi- 
tion with  statues  or  temples,  or  any  other 
such  performances ;  and  this  seems  to  me 
to  have  been  at  once  the  occasion  of  He- 
rod's crimes  as  to  his  own  courtiers  and 
counsellors,  and  of  his  benefactions  as  to 
foreigners  and  those  that  had  no  relation 
to  him. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The    Jews    in   Asia  complain    of  the   Greeks  to 
Cassar. 

Now  the  cities  ill  treated  the  Jews  in 
Asia,  and  all  those  also  of  the  same  na-  j 
tion  who  lived  in  Libya,  which  joins  to  jj 
Cyrene,  while  the  former  kings  had  given 
them  equal  privileges  with  the  other  citi- 
zens :  but  the  Greeks  affronted  them  at 
this  time,  and  that  so  far  as  to  take  away 
their  sacred  money,  and  to  do  them  mis- 
chief on  other  particular  occasions.  When, 
therefore,  they  were  thus  afflicted,  and 
found  no  end  of  the  barbarous  treatment 
they  met  with  among  the  Greeks,  they 
sent  ambassadors  to  Caesar  on  those  ac- 
counts; who  gave  them  the  same  privi- 
leges as  they  had  before,  and  sent  letters 
to  the  same  purpose  to  the  governors  of 
the  provinces, copies  of  which  I  subjoin 
here,  as  testimonials  of  the  ancient  fa- 
vourable disposition  the  Roman  emperors 
had  toward  us. 

"  Caesar  Augustus,  high  priest  and  tri- 
bune of  the  people,  ordains  thus  : — Since 
the  nation  of  the  Jews  have  been  found 
grateful  to  the  Roman  people,  not  only  at 
this  time,  but  in  times  past  also,  and 
chiefly  Hyrcanus  the  high  priest,  under 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


497 


my  father,*  Cassar  the  emperor,  it  seemed 
good  to  me  and  my  counsellors,  according 
to  the  sentence  and  oath  of  the  people  of 
Rome,  that  the  Jews  have  liberty  to  make 
use  of  their  own  customs,  according  to 
the  Jaws  of  their  forefathers,  as  they  made 
use  of  them  under  Hyrcanus,  the  high 
priest  of  Almighty  God;  and  that  their 
sacred  money  be  not  touched,  but  be  sent 
to  Jerusalem,  and  that  it  be  committed 
to  the  care  of  the  receivers  at  Jerusalem; 
and  that  they  be  not  obliged  to  go  before 
any  judge  on  the  Sabbath-day,  nor  on  the 
day  of  the  ^preparation  to  it,  after  the 
ninth  hour, j"  but  if  any  be  caught  stealing 
their  holy  books,  or  their  sacred  money, 
whether  it  be  out  of  the  synagogue  or 
public  school,  he  shall  be  deemed  a  sacri- 
legious person,  and  his  goods  shall  be 
brought  into  the  public  treasury  of  the 
Romans.  And  I  give  order,  that  the  tes- 
timonial which  they  have  given  me,  on 
account  of  my  regard  to  that  piety  which 
1  exercise  toward  all  mankind,  and  out  of 
regard  to  Caius  Marcus  Censorinus,  toge- 
ther with  the  present  decree,  be  proposed 
in  that  most  eminent  place  which  hath 
been  consecrated  to  me  by  the  communit}^ 
of  Asia  at  Ancyra.  And  if  any  one  trans- 
gress any  part  of  what  is  above  decreed, 
he  shall  be  severely  punished."  This  was 
inscribed  upon  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of 
Caesar. 

"Caesar  to  Norbanus  Flaccus,  sendeth 
greeting.  Let  those  Jews,  how  many  so- 
ever they  be,  who  have  been  used,  accord- 
ing to  their  ancient  custom,  to  send  their 
Bacred  money  to  Jerusalem,  do  the  same 
freely."     These  were  the  decrees  of  Caesar. 

Agrippa  also  did  himself  write,  after 
the  manner  following,  on  behalf  of  the 
Jews: — "  Agrippa,  to  the  magistrates,  se- 
nate, and  people  of  the  Ephesians,  send- 
eth greeting.  I  will  that  the  care  and 
custody  of  the  sacred  money  that  is  carried 
to  th»  temple  at  Jerusalem  be  left  to  the 
Jews  of  Asia,  to  do  with  it  according  to 
their  ancient  custom ;  and  that  such  as 
Steal  that  sacred  money  of  the  Jews,  and 
fly  to  a  sanctuary,  shall  be  taken  thence 
and  delivered  to  the  Jews,  by  the  same 
law   that   sacrilegious   persons   are    taken 

*  Augustus  here  calls  Julius  Csesar  his  "  father," 
though  by  birth  he  was  only  his  "  uncle,"  on  ac- 
count of  his  adoption  by  him. 

f  This  is  authentic  evidence  that  the  Jews,  in 
the  days  of  Augustus,  began  to  prepare  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Sabbath  at  the  ninth  hour  on  Friday, 
as  the  tradition  of  the  elders  did,  it  seems,  then  re- 
I  quire  of  them. 

32 


thence.  I  have  also  written  to  Sylvanus 
the  prastor,  that  no  one  compel  the  Jews 
to  come  before  a  judge  on  the  Sabbath- 
day." 

"Marcus  Agrippa  to  the  magistrates, 
senate,  and  people  of  Cyrene,  sendeth 
greeting.  The  Jews  of  Cyrene  have  in- 
terceded with  me  for  the  performance  of 
what  Agustus  sent  orders  about  to  Flavius, 
the  then  praetor  of  Libya,  and  to  the  other 
procurators  of  that  province,  that  the 
sacred  money  may  be  sent  to  Jerusalem 
freely,  as  hath  been  their  custom  from 
their  forefathers,  they  complaining  that 
they  are  abused  by  certain  informers,  and 
under  pretence  of  taxes  which  were  not 
due,  are  hindered  from  sending  them ; 
which  I  command  to  be  restored  without 
any  diminution  or  disturbance  given  to 
them  :  and  if  any  of  that  sacred  money  in 
the  cities  be  taken  from  their  proper  re- 
ceivers, I  further  enjoin  that  the  same  be 
exactly  returned  to  the  Jews  in  that 
place." 

"Caius  Norbanus  Flaccus,  proconsul, 
to  the  magistrates  of  the  Sardians,  sendeth 
greeting.  Cassar  hath  written  to  me,  and 
commanded  me  not  to  forbid  the  Jews, 
how  many  soever  they  be,  from  assembling 
together,  according  to  the  custom  of  their 
forefathers,  nor  from  sending  their  money 
to  Jerusalem :  I  have  therefore  written  to 
you,  that  you  may  know  that  both  Caesar 
and  I  would  have  you  act  accordingly." 

Nor  did  Julius  Antonius,  the  proconsul, 
write  otherwise.  "  To  the  magistrates, 
senate,  and  people  of  the  Ephesians; 
sendeth  greeting.  As  1  was  dispensing 
justice  at  Ephesus,  on  the  ides  of  Fe- 
bruary, the  Jews  that  dwell  in  Asia  de- 
monstrated to  me  that  Augustus  and 
Agrippa  had  permitted  them  to  use  their 
own  laws  and  customs,  and  to  offer  those 
their  first  fruits,  which  every  one  of  them 
freely  offers  to  the  Deity  on  account  of 
piety,  and  to  carry  them  in  a  company 
together  to  Jerusalem  without  disturbance. 
They  also  petitioned  me,  that  I  would  con- 
firm what  had  been  granted  by  Augustus 
and  Agrippa  by  my  own  sanction.  [ 
would,  therefore,  have  you  take  notice, 
that  according  to  the  will  of  Augustus 
and  Agrippa,  I  permit  them  to  use  and 
do  according  to  the  customs  of  their  fore- 
fathers, without  disturbance." 

I  have  been  obliged  to  set  down  these 
decrees,  because  the  present  history  of  uur 
own  acts  will  go  generally  among  the 
Greeks ;  and  I  have  hereby  demonstrated 


498 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVI 


lo  them,  that  we  have  formerly  been  in 
great  esteem,  and  have  not  been  pro- 
hibited by  those  governors  we  were  under 
from  keeping  any  of  the  laws  of  our  fore- 
fathers; nay,  that  we  have  been  sup- 
ported by  them,  while  we  followed  our 
own  religion,  and  the  worship  we  paid  to 
God  :  and  I  frequently  make  mention  of 
these  decrees,  in  order  to  reconcile  other 
people  to  us,  and  to  take  away  the  causes 
of  that  hatred  which  unreasonable  men 
bear  to  us.  As  for  our  customs,  there  is 
no  nation  which  always  makes  use  of  the 
same,  and  in  every  city  almost  we  meet 
with  them  different  from  one  another; 
but  natural  justice  is  most  agreeable  to 
the  advantage  of  all  men  equally,  both 
Greeks  and  barbarians,  to  which  our  laws 
have  the  greatest  regard,  and  thereby 
render  us,  if  we  abide  in  them  after  a 
pure  manner,  benevolent  and  friendly  to 
all  men :  on  which  account  we  have  rea- 
son to  expect  the  like  return  from  others, 
and  to  inform  them  that  they  ought  not 
to  esteem  difference  of  positive  institutions 
a  sufficient  cause  of  alienation,  but  [join 
with  us  in]  the  pursuit  of  virtue  and  pro- 
bity, for  this  belongs  to  all  men  in  com- 
mon, and  of  itself  alone  is  sufficient  for 
the  preservation  of  human  life.  I  now 
return  to  the  thread  of  my  history.* 


CHAPTER  VII. 


i 


Herod  removes  part  of  the  riches  from  the  tomb  of 
David — Sedition  consequent  thereon. 

As  for  Herod,  he  had  spent  vast  sums 
about  the  cities,  both  without  and  within 
his  own  kingdom  :  and  as  he  had  before 
heard  that  Hyrcanus,  who  had  been  king 
before  him,  had  opened  David's  sepulchre, 
and  taken  out  of  it  3000  talents  of  silver, 
and  that  there  was  a  much  greater  number 
left  behind,  and,  indeed,  enough  to  suffice 
all  his  wants,  he  had  a  great  while  an  in- 
tention to  make  the  attempt;  and  at  this 
time  he  opened  that  sepulchre  by  night, 
and  went  into  it,  and  endeavoured  that  it 
should  not  be  at  all  known  in  the  city, 


*  The  concluding  part  of  this  chapter  is  re- 
aaarkable,  as  justly  distinguishing  natural  justice, 
religion,  and  morality,  from  positive  institutions, 
in  all  countries,  and  evidently  preferring  the  former 
before  the  latter,  as  did  the  true  prophets  of  God 
always  under  the  Old  Testament,  and  Christ  and 
his  apostles  always  under  the  New:  whence  our 
Josephus  seems  to  have  been  at  this  time  nearer 
Christianity  than  were  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
of  his  age ;  who,  as  we  know  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment. were  entirely  of  a  different  opinion  and 
practice. 


but  took  only  his  most  faithful  friends  with 
him.  As  for  any  money,  he  found  none, 
as  Hyrcanus  had  done,  but  that  furnituie 
of  gold,  and  those  precious  goods  that 
Were  laid  up  there ;  all  which  he  took 
away.  However,  he  had  a  great  desire  to 
make  a  more  diligent  search,  and  to  go 
further  in,  even  as  far  as  the  very  bodies 
of  David  and  Solomon,  where  two  of  his 
guards  were  slain,  by  a  flame  that  burst 
out  upon  those  that  went  in,  as  the  report 
was.  So  he  was  terribly  affrighted,  and 
went  out,  and  built  a  propitiatory  monu- 
ment of  that  fright  he  had  been  in  ;  and 
this  of  white  stone,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
sepulchre,  and  that  at  a  great  expense 
also.  And  even  Nicolaus*  his  historio- 
grapher, makes  mention  of  this  monument 
built  by  Herod,  though  he  does  not 
mention  his  going  down  into  the  sepul- 
chre, as  knowing  that  action  to  be  of  ill 
repute ;  and  many  other  things  he  treats 
of  in  the  same  manner  in  his  book ;  for 
he  wrote  in  Herod's  lifetime,  and  under 
his  reign,  and  so  as  to  please  him,  and  as 
a  servant  to  him,  touching  upon  njthing 
but  what  tended  to  his  glory,  and  openly 
excusing  many  of  his  notorious  crimes, 
and  very  diligently  concealing  them. 
And  as  he  was  desirous  to  put  handsome 
colours  on  the  death  of  Mariamne  and  her 
sons,  which  were  barbarous  actions  in  the 
king,  he  tells  falsehoods  about  the  incon- 
tinence of  Mariamne,  and  the  treacherous 
designs  of  his  sons  upon  him;  and  thus 
he  proceeded  in  his  whole  work,  making 
a  pompous  encomium  upon  what  just  actions 
he  had  done,  but  earnestly  apologizing  for 
his  unjust  ones.  Indeed,  a  man,  as  I 
said,  may  have  a  great  deal  to  say  by  way 
of  excuse  for  Nicolaus,  for  he  did  not  so 
properly  write  this  as  a  history  for  others, 
as  somewhat  that  might  be  subservient  to 
the  king  himself.  As  for  ourselves,  who 
come  of  a  family  nearly  allied  to  the 
Asamonean  kings,  and  on  that  account 
have  an  honourable  place,  which  is  the 
priesthoood,  we  think  it  indecent  to  say 
any  thing  that  is  false  about  them,  and 
accordingly,  w-e  have  described  their 
actions  after  an  unblemished  and  upright 


*  It  is  here  worth  our  observation,  how  careful 
Josephus  was  as  to  the  discovery  of  truth  in  Herod'a 
history,  since  he  woidd  not  follow  Nicolaus  of  Da- 
mascus himself,  so  great  an  historian,  where  there 
was  great  reason  to  suspect  that  he  had  flattered 
Herod ;  which  impartiality  in  history  Josephus  here 
solemnly  professes,  and  of  which  impartiality  he 
has  given  more  demonstrations  than  almost  any 
other  historian. 


IflAF.  VIL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


499 


manner  And  although  we  reverence 
many  )f  Herod's  posterity,  who  still 
reign,  yet  do  we  pay  a  greater  regard  to 
truth  than  to  them,  and  this  though  it 
Sometimes  happens  that  we  incur  their  dis- 
oleasure  by  so  doing. 

And,  indeed,  Herod's  troubles  iL  his 
family  seemed  to  be  augmented,  by  rea- 
son of  this  attempt  he  made  upon  David's 
sepulchre ;  whether  Divine  vengeance  in- 
creased the  calamities  he  lay  under,  in 
order  to  make  them  incurable,  or  whether 
fortune  made  an  assault  upon  him,  in 
those  cases,  wherein  the  seasonableness  of 
the  cause  made  it  strongly  believed  that 
the  calamities  came  upon  him  for  his  im- 
piety; for  the  tumult  was  like  a  civil  war 
in  his  palace ;  and  their  hatred  toward 
one  another  was  like  that  where  each  one 
strove  to  exceed  another  in  calumnies. 
However,  Antipater  used  stratagems  per- 
petually against  his  brethren,  and  that 
very  cunningly  :  while  abroad  he  loaded 
them  with  accusations,  but  still  took  upon 
him  frequently  to  apologize  for  them,  that 
his  apparent  benevolence  to  them  might 
make  him  be  believed,  and  forward  his 
attempts  against  them  ;  by  which  means 
he,  after  various  manners,  circumvented 
his  father,  who  believed  that  all  he  did 
was  for  his  preservation.  Herod  also 
recommended  Ptolemy,  who  was  a  great 
director  of  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom,  to 
Antipater  ;  and  consulted  with  his  mother 
about  the  public  affairs  also.  And,  indeed, 
these  were  all  in  all,  and  did  what  they 
pleased,  and  made  the  king  angry  against 
any  other  persons,  as  he  thought  it  might 
be  to  their  own  advantage  :  but  still  the 
sons  of  Mariamue  were  in  a  worse  and 
worse  condition  perpetually;  and  while 
they  were  thrust  out,  and  set  in  a  more 
dishonourable  rank,  who  yet  by  birth 
were  the  most  noble,  they  could  not  bear 
the  dishonour.  And  for  the  women, 
Glaphyra,  Alexander's  wife,  the  daughter 
of  Archelaus,  hated  Salome,  both  because 
of  her  love  to  her  husband,  and  because 
Glaphyra  seemed  to  behave  herself  some- 
what insolently  toward  Salome's  daughter, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Aristobulus,  which 
equality  of  hers  to  herself  Glaphyra  took 
very  impatiently. 

Now,  be.-ides  this  second  contention 
that  had  fallen  among  them,  neither  did 
the  king's  brother  Pheroras  keep  himself 
out  of  trouble,  but  had  a  particular  found- 
ation for  suspicion  and  hatred ;  for  he  was 
overcome  with  the  charms  of  his  wife,  to 


such  a  degree  of  madness,  that  he  despised 
the  king's  daughter,  to  whom  he  had  beer 
betrothed,  and  wholly  bent  his  mind  tc 
the  other,  who  had  been  but  a  servant. 
Herod  also  was  grieved  by  the  dishonour 
that  was  done  him,  because  he  had  be- 
stowed many  favours  upon  him,  and  had 
advanced  him  to  that  height  of  power  that 
he  was  almost  a  partner  with  him  in  the 
kingdom ;  and  saw  that  he  had  not  made 
him  a  due  return  for  his  favours,  and 
esteemed  himself  unhappy  on  that  ac- 
count. So,  upon  Pheroras's  unworthy 
refusal,  he  gave  the  damsel  to  Phasaelus'* 
son ;  but  after  some  time,  when  he 
thought  the  heat  of  his  brother's  affection 
was  over,  he  blamed  him  for  his  former 
conduct,  and  desired  him  to  take  his 
second  daughter,  whose  name  was  Gypros. 
Ptolemy,  also,  advised  him  to  leave  off 
affronting  his  brother,  and  to  forsake  her 
whom  he  had  loved,  for  that  it  was  a  base 
thing  to  be  so  enamoured  of  a  servant,  as 
to  deprive  himself  of  the  king's  good-will 
to  him,  and  become  an  occasion  of  his 
trouble,  and  make  himself  hated  bv  him. 
Pheroras  knew  that  this  advice  would  be 
for  his  own  advantage,  particularly  be- 
cause he  had  been  accused  before,  and 
forgiven ;  so  he  put  his  wife  away, 
although  he  already  had  a  son  by  her, 
and  engaged  to  the  king  that  he  would 
take  his  second  daughter,  and  agreed  that 
the  thirtieth  day  after  should  be  the  day 
of  marriage;  and  swore  he  would  have  no 
further  conversation  with  her  whom  he 
had  put  away ;  but  when  the  thirty  days 
were  over,  he  was  such  a  slave  to  his 
affections,  that  he  no  longer  performed 
any  thing  he  had  promised,  but  continued 
still  with  his  former  wife.  This  oc- 
casioned Herod  to  grieve  openly,  and 
made  him  angry,  while  the  king  dropped 
one  word  or  other  against  Pheroras  per- 
petually; and  many  made  the  king's 
anger  an  opportunity  for  raising  calumnies 
against  him.  Nor  had  the  king  any 
longer  a  single  quiet  day  or  hour,  but 
occasions  of  one  fresh  quarrel  or  another 
arose  among  his  relations,  and  those  that 
were  dearest  to  him;  for  Salome  was  of  a 
harsh  temper,  and  ill-natured  to  Mariamne's 
sons;  nor  would  she  suffer  her  own 
daughter,  who  was  the  wife  of  Aristo- 
bulus, one  of  those  young  men,  to  bear  a 
good-will  to  her  husband,  but  persuaded 
her  to  tell  her  if  he  said  any  thing  to  her 
in  private,  and  when  any  misunderstand- 
ings happened,  as  is  common,  she  raised 


500 


\NTlQUITiES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


Book  XVI 


a  great  many  suspicions  out  of  it :  by 
which  means  she  learned  all  their  con- 
cerns, and  made  the  damsel  ill-natured  to 
the  young  man.  And  in  order  to  gratify 
her  mother,  she  often  said  that  the  young 
men  used  to  mention  Mariamne  when 
they  were  by  themselves;  and  that  they 
hated  their  father,  and  were  continually 
threatening,  tnat  if  they  had  once  got  the 
kingdom,  they  would  make  Herod's  sons 
by  his  other  wives  country  schoolmasters, 
for  that  the  present  education  which  was 
given  them,  and  their  diligence  in  learn- 
ing, fitted  them  for  such  an  employment. 
And  as  for  the  women,  whenever  they 
saw  them  adorned  with  their  mother's 
clothes,  they  threatened,  that  instead  of 
their  present  gaudy  apparel,  they  should 
be  clothed  in  sackcloth,  and  confined  so 
closely  that  they  should  not  see  the  light 
of  the  sun.  These  stories  were  presently 
carried  by  Salome  to  the  king,  who  was 
troubled  to  hear  them,  and  endeavoured 
to  make  up  matters  :  but  these  suspicions 
afflicted  him,  and  becoming  more  and 
more  uneasy,  he  believed  everybody  against 
everybody.  However,  upon  his  rebuking 
his  sons,  and  hearing  the  defence  they 
made  for  themselves,  he  was  easier  for  a 
while,  though  a  little  afterward  much 
worse  accidents  came  upon  him. 

For  Pheroras  came  to  Alexander,  the 
husband  of  Grlaphy ra,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Archelaus,  as  we  have  already  told,you, 
and  said  that  he  had  heard  from  Salome, 
that  Herod  was  enamoured  of  Glaphyra, 
and  that  his  passion  for  her  was  incurable. 
When  Alexander  heard  that,  he  was  all 
on  fire,  from  his  youth  and  jealousy;  and 
he  interpreted  the  instances  of  Herod's 
obliging  behaviour  to  her,  which  were 
very  frequent,  for  the  worse,  which  came 
from  those  suspicions  he  had  on  account 
of  that  word  which  fell  from  Pheroras; 
nor  could  he  conceal  his  grief  at  the 
thing,  but  informed  him  what  words  Phe- 
roras had  said.  Upon  which  Herod  was 
in  a  greater  disorder  than  ever ;  and  not 
bearing  such  a  false  calumny,  which  was 
to  his  shame,  was  much  disturbed  at  it, 
and  often  did  he  lament  the  wickedness 
of  his  domestics,  and  how  good  he  had 
been  to  them,  and  how  ill  the  requitals 
they  had  made  him.  So  he  sent  for  Phe- 
roras, and  reproached  him,  and  said, 
"  Thou  vilest  of  all  men  !  art  thou  come 
to  that  unmeasurable  and  extravagant 
degree  of  ingratitude,  as  not  only  to  sup- 
pose such  things  of  me,  but  to  speak  of 


them  ?  I  now,  indeed,  perceive  what  thv 
intentions  are  :  it  is  not  only  thy  aim  to 
reproach  me,  when  thou  usest  such  words 
to  my  son,  but  thereby  to  persuade  him 
to  plot  against  me,  and  get  me  destroyed 
by  poison ;  and  who  is  there,  if  he  had 
not  a  good  genius  at  his  elbow,  as  hath 
my  son,  that  would  bear  such  a  suspicion 
of  his  father,  but  would  revenge  himself 
upon  him  ?  I)ost  thou  suppose  that  thou 
hast  only  dropped  a  word  for  him  to  think 
of,  and  not  rather  hast  put  a  sword  into 
his  hand  to  slay  his  father  ?  And  what 
dost  thou  mean,  when  thou  really  hatest 
both  him  and  his  brother,  to  pretend 
kindness  to  them,  only  in  order  to  raise  a 
reproach  against  me,  and  talk  of  such 
things  as  no  one  but  such  an  impious 
wretch  as  thou  art  could  either  devise  in 
their  mind,  or  declare  in  their  words  ? 
Begone,  thou  that  art  such  a  plague  to  thy 
benefactor  and  thy  brother;  and  may  that 
evil  conscience  of  thine  go  along  with 
thee ;  while  I  still  overcome  my  relations 
by  kindness,  and  am  so  far  from  avenging 
myself  of  them,  as  they  deserve,  that  I 
bestow  greater  benefits  upon  them  than 
they  are  worthy  of." 

Thus  did  the  king  speak.  Whereupon 
Pheroras,  who  was  caught  in  the  very  act 
of  his  villany,  said  that  "it  was  Salome 
who  was  the  framer  of  this  plot,  and  that 
the  words  came  from  her;"  but  as  soon 
as  she  heard  that,  for  she  was  at  hand, 
she  cried  out,  like  one  that  would  be 
believed,  that  no  such  thing  ever  came 
out  of  her  mouth ;  that  they  all  earnestly 
endeavoured  to  make  the  king  hate  her, 
and  to  make  her  away,  because  of  the 
good-will  she  bore  to  Herod,  and  because 
she  always  foresaw  the  dangers  that  were 
coming  upon  him,  and  that  at  present 
there  were  more  plots  against  him  than 
usual :  for  while  she  was  the  only  person 
who  persuaded  her  brother  to  put  away 
the  wife  he  now  had,  and  to  take  the 
king's  daughter,  it  was  no  wonder  if  she 
was  hated  by  him.  As  she  said  this,  and 
often  tore  her  hair,  and  often  beat  her 
breast,  her  countenance  made  her  detail 
to  be  believed,  but  the  perverseness  of  her 
manners  declared  at  the  same  time  her 
dissimulation  in  these  proceedings;  but 
Pheroras  was  caught  between  them,  and 
had  nothing  plausible  to  offer  in  his  own 
defence,  while  he  confessed  that  he  had 
said  what  was  charged  up3n  him,  but  was 
not  believed  when  he  said  he  had  heard  it 
from    Salome ;  so    the    confusion    among 


Cpap   VIII  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


501 


them  was  increased,  and  their  quarrelsome 
words  one  to  another.  At  last  the  king, 
out  of  his  hatred  to  his  brother  and  sister, 
sent  them  both  away ;  and  when  he  had 
commended  the  moderation  of  his  son, 
and  that  he  had  himself  told  him  of  the 
report,  he  went  in  the  evening  to  refresh 
himself.  After  such  a  contest  as  this  had 
fallen  out  among  them,  Salome's  reputa- 
tion suffered  greatly,  since  she  was  sup- 
posed to  have  first  raised  the  calumny ; 
and  the  king's  wives  were  grieved  at  her, 
as  knowing  she  was  a  very  ill-natured 
woman,  and  would  sometimes  be  a  friend, 
and  sometimes  an  enemy,  at  different  sea- 
sons; so  they  perpetually  said  one  thing 
or  another  against  her;  and  somewhat 
that  now  fell  out,  made  them  the  bolder 
in  speaking  against  her. 

There  was  one  Obodas,  king  of  Arabia, 
an  inactive  and  slothful  man  in  his  nature ; 
but  Sy Ileus  managed  most  of  his  affairs 
for  him.  He  was  a  shrewd  man,  although 
ne  was  but  young,  and  was  handsome 
withal.  This  Sylleus,  upon  some  occasion 
coming  to  Herod,  and  supping  with  him, 
saw  Salome,  and  set  his  heart  upon  her : 
and  understanding  that  she  was  a  widow, 
he  discoursed  with  her.  Now,  because 
Salome  was  at  this  time  less  in  favour 
with  her  brother,  she  looked  upon  Sylleus 
with  some  passion,  and  was  very  earnest 
to  be  married  to  him ;  and  on  the  days 
following  there  appeared  many ^ and  those 
very  great,  indications  of  their  agreement 
together.  Now  the  women  carried  this 
news  to  the  king,  and  laughed  at  the  in- 
decency of  it;  whereupon  Herod  inquired 
about  it  further  of  Pheroras,  and  desired 
him  to  observe  them  at  supper,  how  their 
behaviour  was  one  toward  another;  who 
told  him,  that  by  the  signals  that  came 
from  their  heads  and  their  eyes,  they  both 
were  evidently  in  love.  After  this,  Syl- 
leus the  Arabian,  being  suspected,  went 
away,  but  came  again  in  two  or  three 
months  afterward,  as  it  were  on  that  very 
design,  and  spoke  to  Herod  about  it,  and 
desired  that  Salome  might  be  given  him 
to  wife;  for  that  his  affinity  might  not 
be  disadvantageous  to  his  affairs,  by  a 
union  with  Arabia,  the  government  of 
which  country  was  already  in  effect  under 
his  power  and  more  evidently  would  be 
his  hereafter.  Accordingly,  when  Herod 
discoursed  with  his  sister  about  it,  and 
asked  her  whether  she  was  disposed  to 
this  match,  she  immediately  agreed  to  it; 
but  when   Sylleus   was  desired    to   come 


over  to  the  Jewish  religion,  and  then  he 
should  marry  her,  and  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  do  it  on  any  other  terms,  he  could 
not  bear  that  proposal,  and  went  his  way ; 
for  he  said,  that  if  he  should  do  so,  ho 
should  be  stoned  by  the  Arabs.  Then 
did  Pheroras  reproach  Salome  for  her  in- 
con  tinency,  as  did  the  women  much  more; 
and  said  that  Sylleus  had  debauched  her. 
As  for  that  damsel  which  the  king  had 
betrothed  to  his  brother  Pheroras,  but  he 
had  not  taken  her,  as  I  have  before  related, 
because  he  was  enamoured  of  his  former 
wife,  Salome  desired  of  Herod  she  might 
be  given  to  her  son  by  Costobarus  :  which 
match  he  was  very  willing  to,  but  was 
dissuaded  from  it  by  Pheroras,  who  plead- 
ed, that  this  young  man  would  not  be 
kind  to  her,  since  her  father  had  been 
slain  by  him,  and  that  it  was  more  just 
that  his  son,  who  was  to  be  his  successor 
in  the  tetrarchy,  should  have  her;  so  he 
begged  his  pardon,  and  persuaded  him  to 
do  so.  Accordingly  the  damsel,  upon  this 
change  of  her  espousals,  was  disposed  of 
to  this  young  man,  the  son  of  Pheroras, 
the  king  giving  for  her  portion  100  talents. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Continued  dissensions  in  Herod's  family. 

But  still  the  affairs  of  Herod's  family 
were  no  better,  but  perpetually  more  trou- 
blesome. Now  this  accident  happened, 
which  arose  from  no  decent  occasion,  but 
proceeded  so  far  as  to  bring  great  difficul- 
ties upon  him.  There  were  certain  eu- 
nuchs which  the  king  had,  and  on  account 
of  their  beauty  was  very  fond  of  them  ; 
and  the  care  of  bringing  him  drink  was 
intrusted  to  one  of  them ;  of  bringing 
him  his  supper,  to  another;  and  of  put- 
ting him  to  bed,  to  a  third,  who  also 
managed  the  principal  affairs  of  the  go- 
vernment; and  there  was  one  told  the  king 
that  these  eunuchs  were  corrupted  by- 
Alexander,  the  king's  son,  by  great  sums 
of  money;  and  when  they  were  asked 
whether  Alexander  had  had  criminal  con- 
versation with  them,  they  confessed  it, 
but  said  they  knew  of  no  further  mischief 
of  his  against  his  father;  but  when  they 
were  more  severely  tortured,  and  were  in 
the  utmost  extremity,  and  the  tormentors, 
out  of  compliance  with  Antipater,  stretch- 
ed the  rack  to  the  very  utmost,  they  said 
that  Alexander  bore  great  ill-will  and  in- 
nate  hatred   to   his   father ;  and  that  he 


602 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Bock  XVI 


told  them  that  Herod  despaired  to  live 
much  longer;  and  that,  in  order  to  cover 
his  great  age,  he  coloured  his  hair  black, 
and  endeavoured  to  conceal  what  would 
discover  how  old  he  was ;  but  that  if  he 
would  apply  himself  to  him,  when  he 
should  attain  the  kingdom,  which,  in  spite 
of  his  father  could  come  to  no  one  else,  he 
should  quickly  have  the  first  place  in  that 
kingdom  under  him,  for  that  he  was  now 
ready  t>^  take  the  kingdom,  not  only  as 
his  birthright,  but  by  the  preparations  he 
had  made  for  obtaining  it,  because  a  great 
many  of  the  rulers,  and  a  great  many  of 
his  friends,  were  of  his  side,  and  those  no 
ill  men  either,  ready  both  to  do  and  to 
suffer  whatsoever  should  come  on  that  ac- 
count. 

When  Herod  heard  this  confession,  he 
was  all  over  anger  and  fear,  some  parts 
seeming  to  him  reproachful,  and  some 
made  him  suspicious  of  dangers  that  at- 
tended him,  insomuch,  that  on  both  ac- 
counts he  was  provoked,  and  bitterly 
afraid,  lest  some  more  heavy  plot  was  laid 
against  him  than  he  should  be  then  able 
to  escape  from ;  whereupon  he  did  not 
now  make  an  open  search,  but  sent  about 
spies  to  watch  such  as  he  suspected,  for 
he  was  now  overrun  with  suspicion  and 
hatred  against  all  about  him ;  and  in- 
dulging abundance  of  those  suspicions,  in 
order  to  his  preservation,  he  continued  to 
suspect  those  that  were  guiltless :  nor  did 
he  set  any  bounds  to  himself;  but  sup- 
posing that  those  who  stayed  with  him 
had  the'  most  power  to  hurt  him,  they 
were  to  him  very  frightful ;  and  for  those 
that  did  not  use  to  come  to  him,  it  seemed 
enough  to  name  them  [to  make  them  sus- 
pected], and  he  thought  himself  safer 
when  they  were  destroyed  :  and  at  last 
his  domestics  were  come  to  that  pass,  that 
being  noway  secure  of  escaping  them- 
selves, they  fell  to  accusing  one  another, 
and  imagining  that  he  who  first  accused 
another,  was  most  likely  to  save  himself; 
yet  when  any  had  overthrown  others, 
they  were  hated ;  and  they  were  thought 
to  suffer  justly,  wno  unjustly  accused 
others ;  and  they  only  thereby  prevented 
their  own  accusation ;  nay,  they  now  ex- 
ecuted their  own  private  enmities  by  this 
means,  and  when  they  were  caught,  they 
were  punished  in  the  same  way.  Thus 
these  men  contrived  to  make  use  of  this 
opportunity  as  an  instrument  and  a  snare 
against  their  enemies ;  yet  when  they  tried 
U,    were   themselves   caught  also   in   the 


same  snare  which  they  laid  for  others : 
and  the  king  soon  repented  of  what  he  had 
done,  because  he  had  no  clear  evidence  ot 
the  guilt  of  those  whom  he  had  slain ;  and 
yet  what  was  still  more  severe  in  him,  he 
did  not  make  use  of  his  repentance,  in 
order  to  leave  off  doing  the  like  again,  but 
in  order  to  inflict  the  same  punishment 
upon  their  accusers. 

And  in  this  state  of  disorder  were  the 
affairs  of  the  palace  ;  and  he  had  already 
told  many  of  his  friends  directly,  that 
they  ought  not  to  appear  before  him,  noi 
come  into  the  palace ;  and  the  reason  of 
this  injunction  was,  that  [when  they  were 
there]  he  had  less  freedom  of  acting,  or  a 
greater  restraint  on  himself  on  their  ac- 
count; for  at  this  time  it  was,  that  he 
expelled  Andromachus  and  Gemellus,  men 
who  had  of  old  been  his  friends,  and  been 
very  useful  to  him  in  the  affairs  of  hia 
kingdom,  and  been  of  advantage  to  his 
family,  by  their  embassies  and  counsels; 
and  had  been  tutors  to  his  sons,  and  had  in 
a  manner  the  first  degree  of  freedom  with 
him.  He  expelled  Andromachus,  because 
his  son  Demetrius  was  a  companion  to 
Alexander ;  and  Gemellus,  because  he 
knew  that  he  wished  him  well,  which 
arose  from  his  having  been  with  him  in 
his  youth,  when  he  was  at  school,  and 
absent  at  Rome.  These  he  expelled  out 
of  his  palace,  and  was  willing  enough  to 
have  don*  worse  by  them  ;  but  that  he 
might  not  seem  to  take  such  liberty  against 
men  of  so  great  reputation,  he  contented 
himself  with  depriving  them  of  their  dig- 
nity, and  of  their  power  to  hinder  his 
wicked  proceedings. 

Now,  it  was  Antipater  who  was  the 
cause  of  all  this;  who,  when  he  knew 
what  a  mad  and  licentious  way  of  acting 
his  father  was  in,  and  had  been  a  great 
while  one  of  his  counsellors,  he  hurried 
him  on,  and  then  thought  he  should  bring 
him  to  do  somewhat  to  the  purpose,  when 
every  one  that  could  oppose  him  was  taken 
away.  When,  therefore,  Andromachus 
and  his  friends  were  driven  away,  and  had 
no  discourse  nor  freedom  with  the  king 
any  longerT  the  king,  in  the  first  place, 
examined  by  torture  all  whom  he  thought 
to  be  faithful  to  Alexander,  whether  they 
knew  any  of  his  attempts  against  him; 
but  these  died  without  having  any  thing 
to  say  to  that  matter,  which  made  the  ling 
more  zealous  [after  discoveries],  when  hd 
could  not  find  out  what  evil  proceedings 
he  suspected  them  of.     As  for  Antipater, 


tfHAP.     VIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


503 


he  was  very  sagacious  to  raise  a  calumny 
against  those  that  were  really  innocent,  as 
if  their  denial  was  only  their  constancy 
and  fidelity  [to  Alexander],  and  thereupon 
provoked  Herod  to  discover  by  the  torture 
of  great  numbers,  what  attempts  were  still 
concealed.  Now,  there  was  a  certain  per- 
son among  the  many  that  were  tortured, 
who  said  that  he  knew  that  the  young 
man  had  often  said,  that  when  he  was 
commended  as  a  tall  man  in  his  body, 
and  a  skilful  marksman,  and  that  in  his 
other  commendable  exercises  he  exceeded 
all  men,  these  qualifications,  given  him  by 
nature,  though  good  in  themselves,  were 
not  advantageous  to  him,  because  his 
father  was  grieved  at  them,  and  envied 
him  for  them ;  and  that  when  he  walked 
along  with  his  father,  he  endeavoured 
to  depress  and  shorten  himself,  that  he 
might  not  appear  too  tall;  and  that  when 
he  shot  at  any  thing  as  he  was  hunt- 
ing, when  his  father  was  by,  he  miss- 
ed his  mark  on  purpose ;  for  he  knew 
how  ambitious  his  father  was  of  being  su- 
perior in  such  exercises.  So  when  the 
man  was  tormented  about  this  saying,  and 
had  ease  given  his  body  after  it,  he  added, 
that  he  had  his  brother  Aristobulus  for 
his  assistance,  and  contrived  to  lie  in  wait 
for  their  father,  as  they  were  hunting,  and 
kill  him;  and  when  they  had  done  so,  to 
fly  to  Rome,  and  desire  to  have  the  king- 
dom given  them.  There  were  also  letters 
of  the  young  man  found,  written  to  his 
brother;  wherein  he  complained  that  his 
father  did  not  act  justly  in  giving  Anti- 
pater  a  country,  whose  [yearly]  revenues 
amounted  to  1000  talents.  Upon  these 
confessions  Herod  presently  thought  he 
had  somewhat  to  depend  on,  in  his  own 
opinion,  as  to  his  suspicion  about  his  sons  : 
so  he  took  up  Alexander,  and  bound  him; 
yet  did  he  still  continue  to  be  uneasy, 
and  was  not  quite  satisfied  of  the  truth  of 
\i hat  he  had  heard;  and  when  he  came  to 
recollect  himself,  he  found  that  they  had 
only  made  juvenile  complaints  and  con- 
tentions, and  that  it  was  an  incredible 
thing,  that  when  his  son  should  have 
slain  him,  he  should  openly  go  to  Home 
[to  beg  the  kingdom];  so  he  was  desirous 
to  have  some  surer  mark  of  his  son's 
wickedness,  and  was  very  solicitous  about 
it,  that  he  might  not  appear  to  have 
condemned  him  to  be  put  in  prison  too 
rashly;  so  he  tortured  the  principal  of 
Alexander's  friends,  and  put  not  a  few  of 
them  to  death,  without  getting  any  of  the 


things  out  of  them  which  he  suspected. 
And  while  Herod  was  very  busy  about  this 
matter,  and  the  palace  was  full  of  terror 
and  trouble,  one  of  the  younger  sort,  when 
he  was  in  the  utmost  agony,  confessed  that 
Alexander  had  sent  to  his  friends  at 
Rome,  and  desired  that  he  might  be 
quickly  invited  thither  by  Caesar,  and  that 
he  could  discover  a  plot  against  him;  that 
Mithridates,  the  king  of  Parthia,  was 
joined  in  friendship  with  his  father  against 
the  Romans;  and  that  he  had  a  poisonous 
potion  ready  prepared  at  Askelon. 

To  these  accusations  Herod  gave  credit, 
and  enjoyed  hereby,  in  his  miserable  case, 
some  sort  of  consolation,  in  excuse  of  his 
rashness,  as  flattering  himself  with  finding 
things  in  so  bad  a  condition ;  but  as  for 
the  poisonous  potion,  which  he  laboured 
to  find,  he  could  find  none.  As  for  Alex- 
ander, he  was  very  desirous  to  aggravate 
the  vast  misfortunes  he  was  under,  so  he 
pretended  not  to  deny  the  accusations,  but 
punished  the  rashness  of  his  father  with 
a  greater  crime  of  his  own;  and  perhaps 
he  was  willing  to  make  his  father  ashamed 
of  his  easy  belief  of  such  calumnies :  he 
aimed  especially,  if  he  could  gain  belief 
to  his  story,  to  plague  him  and  his  whole 
kingdom ;  for  he  wrote  four  letters  and 
sent  them  to  him,  that  "he  did  not  need 
to  torture  any  more  persons,  for  he  had 
plotted  against  him ;  and  that  he  had  for 
his  partners,  Pheroras  and  the  most  faith- 
ful of  his  friends;  and  that  Salome  came 
in  to  him  by  night,  and  that  she  lay  with 
him  whether  he  would  or  not;  and  that 
all  men  were  come  to  be  of  one  mind  to 
make  away  with  him  as  soon  as  they  could, 
and  so  get  clear  of  the  continual  fear  they 
were  in  from  him  Among  these  were 
accused  Ptolemy  and  Sapinnius,  who  were 
the  most  faithful  friends  to  the  king.  And 
what  more  can  be  said,  but  that  those  who 
before  were  the  most  intimate  friends, 
were  become  wild  beasts  to  one  another, 
as  if  a  certain  madness  had  fallen  upon 
them,  while  there  was  no  room  for  defence 
or  refutation,  in  order  to  the  discovery  of 
the  truth,  but  all  were  at  random  doomed 
to  destruction!  so  that  some  lamented 
those  that  were  in  prison,  some  those  that 
were  put  to  death,  and  others  lamented 
that  they  were  in  expectation  of  the  same 
miseries;  and  a  melancholy  solitude  ren- 
dered the  kingdom  deformed,  and  quite 
the  reverse  to  that  happy  state  it  was 
formerly  in.  Herod's  own  life  also  wan 
entirely  disturbed;  and,  because  he  could 


504 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XY1 


trust  nobody,  he  was  sorely  punished  by 
the  expectation  of  further  misery;  for  he 
often  fancied  in  his  imagination,  that  his 
son  had  fallen  upon  him,  or  stood  by  him 
with  a  sword  in  his  hand;  and  thus  was 
his  mind  night  and  day  intent  upon  this 
thing,  and  revolved  it  over  and  over,  and 
no  otherwise  than  if  he  were  under  a  dis 
traction.  And  this  was  the  sad  condition 
Herod  wa*  now  in. 

But  when  Archelaus,  king  of  Cappado- 
cia,  heard  of  the  state  that  Herod  was  in, 
and  being  in  great  distress  about  his 
daughter,  and  the  young  man  [her  hus- 
band], and  grieving  with  Herod,  as  with 
a  man  that  was  his  friend,  on  account  of 
so  great  a  disturbance  as  he  was  under, 
he  came  [to  Jerusalem]  on  purpose  to 
compose  their  differences;  and,  when  he 
found  Herod  in  such  a  temper,  he  thought 
it  wholly  unseasonable  to  reprove  him,  or 
to  pretend  that  he  had  done  any  thing 
rashly,  for  that  he  should  thereby  natu- 
rally bring  him  to  dispute  the  point  with 
him,  and  by  still  more  and  more  apolo- 
gizing for  himself  to  be  the  more  irritated : 
he  went,  therefore,  another  way  to  work, 
in  order  to  correct  the  former  misfortunes, 
and  appeared  angry  at  the  young  man, 
and  said  that  Herod  had  been  so  very 
mild  a  man  that  he  had  not  acted  a  rash 
part  at  all.  He  also  said  he  would  dis- 
solve his  daughter's  marriage  with  Alex- 
ander, nor  could  in  justice  spare  his  own 
daughter,  if  she  were  conscious  of' any 
thing,  and  did  not  inform  Herod  of  it. 
When  Archelaus  appeared  to  be  of  this 
temper,  and  otherwise  than  Herod  ex- 
pected or  imagined,  and  for  the  main  took 
Herod's  part,  and  was  angry  on  his  ac- 
count, the  king  abated  of  his  harshness, 
and  took  occasion  from  his  appearing  to 
have  acted  justly  hitherto,  to  come  by 
degrees  to  put  on  the  affection  of  a  father, 
and  was  on  both  sides  to  be  pitied;  for 
when  some  persons  refuted  the  calumnies 
that  were  laid  on  the  young  man,  he  was 
thrown  into  a  passion;  but  when  Arche- 
laus joined  in  the  accusation,  he  was  dis- 
solved into  tears  and  sorrow  after  an 
affectionate  manner.  Accordingly,  he  de- 
sired that  he  would  not  dissolve  his  son's 
marriage,  and  became  not  so  angry  as 
before  for  his  offences.  So  when  Arche- 
laus had  brought  him  to  a  more  moderate 
temper,  he  transferred  the  calumnies  upon 
his  friends;  and  said  it  must  be  owing  to 
them  that  so  young  a  man,  and  one  un- 
acquainted with   malice,  was    corrupted; 


and  he  supposed  that  there  was  more  rea 
son  to  suspect  the  brother  than  the  son 
Upon  which,  Herod  was  very  much  dis 
pleased  at  Pheroras,  who,  indeed,  had  now 
no  one  that  could  make  a  reconciliation 
between  him  and  his  brother.  So,  when 
he  saw  that  Archelaus  had  the  greatest 
power  with  Herod,  he  betook  himself  to 
him  in  the  habit  of  a  mourner,  and  like 
one  that  had  all  the  signs  upon  him  of  an 
undone  man.  Upon  this,  Archelaus  did 
not  overlook  the  intercession  he  made  to 
him,  nor  yet  did  he  undertake  to  change 
the  king's  disposition  toward  him  imme- 
diately ;  and  he  said  that  it  was  better  for 
him  to  come  himself  to  the  king,  and  con- 
fess himself  the  occasion  of  all ;  that  this 
would  make  the  king's  anger  not  so  ex- 
travagant toward  him,  and  that  then  he 
would  be  present  to  assist  him.  When 
he  had  persuaded  him  to  this,  he  gained 
his  point  with  both  of  them ;  and  the 
calumnies  raised  against  the  young  man 
were,  beyond  all  expectation,  wiped  off. 
And  Archelaus,  as  soon  as  he  had  made 
the  reconciliation,  went  then  away  to  Cap- 
padocia,  having  proved  at  this  juncture  of 
time  the  most  acceptable  person  to  Herod 
in  the  world;  on  which  account  he  gave 
him  the  richest  presents,  as  tokens  of  his 
respect  to  him,  and  being  on  other  occa- 
sions magnanimous,  he  esteemed  him  one 
of  his  dearest  friends.  He  also  made  an 
agreement  with  him  that  he  would  go  to 
Rome,  because  he  had  written  to  Caesar 
about  these  affairs;  so  they  went  together 
as  far  as  Antioch,  and  there  Herod  made 
a  reconciliation  between  Archelaus  and 
Titus,  the  president  of  Syria,  who  had 
been  greatly  at  variance,  and  so  returned 
back  to  Judea. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Trachonites  revolt — Sylleus  accuses  Herod  be- 
fore Caesar. 

When  Herod  had  been  at  Rome,  and 
was  come  back  again,  a  war  arose  between 
him  and  the  Arabians,  on  the  occasion  fol- 
lowing : — The  inhabitants  of  Trachonitis, 
after  Caesar  had  >taken  the  country  away 
from  Zenodorus,  and  added  it  to  Herod, 
had  not  now  power  to  rob,  but  were  forced 
to  plough  the  land,  and  to  live  quietly, 
which  was  a  thing  they  did  not  like;  and 
when  they  did  take  that  pains,  the  ground 
did  not  produce  much  fruit  for  them. 
However,  at  the  first  the  king  would  not 
permit  them  to  rob ;  and  so  they  abstained 


Chap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS 


505 


from  that  unjust  way  of  living  upon  their 
neighbours,  which  procured  Herod  a  great 
reputation  for  his  care.  But  when  he  was 
sailing  to  Rome,  it  was  at  that  time  when 
he  went  to  accuse  his  son  Alexander,  and 
to  commit  Antipater  to  Caesar's  protec- 
tion, the  Trachonites  spread  a  report  as 
if  he  were  dead,  and  revolted  from  his 
dominion,  and  betook  themselves  again  to 
their  accustomed  way  of  robbing  their 
neighbours;  at  which  time  the  king's 
commanders  subdued  them  during  his 
absence  :  but  about  forty  of  the  principal 
robbers,  being  terrified  by  those  that  had 
been  taken,  left  the  country,  and  retired 
into  Arabia,  Sylleus  entertaining  them, 
after  he  had  missed  of  marrying  Salome, 
and  gave  them  a  place  of  strength,  in 
which  they  dwelt.  So  they  overran  not 
only  Judea,  but  all  Celesyria  also,  and 
carried  off  the  prey,  while  Sylleus  afforded 
them  places  of  protection  and  quietness 
during  their  wicked  practices.  But  when 
Herod  came  back  from  Home,  he  per- 
ceived that  his 'dominions  had  greatly  suf- 
fered by  them,  and  since  he  could  not 
reach  the  robbers  themselves,  because  of 
the  secure  retreat  they  had  in  that  coun- 
try, and  which  the  Arabian  government 
afforded  them,  and  yet,  being  very  uneasy 
at  the  injuries  they  had  done  him,  he 
went  all  over  Trachonitis,  and  slew  their 
relations;  whereupon  these  robbers  were 
more  angry  than  before,  it  being  a  law 
among  them  to  be  avenged  on  the  mur- 
derers of  their  relations  by  all  possible 
means ;  so  they  continued  to  tear  and 
rend  every  thing  under  Herod's  dominion 
with  impunity ;  then  did  he  discourse 
about  these  robberies  to  Saturninus  and 
Volumnius,  and  required  that  they  should 
be  punished;  upon  which  occasion  they 
still  the  more  confirmed  themselves  in 
their  robberies,  and  became  more  nume- 
rous, and  made  very  great  disturbances, 
laying  waste  the  countries  and  villages 
that  belonged  to  Herod's  kingdom,  and 
killing  those  men  whom  they  caught,  till 
these  unjust  proceedings  came  to  be  like  a 
real  war,  for  the  robbers  were  now  become 
above  1000;  at  which  Herod  was  sore  dis- 
pleased, and  required  the  robbers,  as  well 
as  the  mouey  which  he  had  lent  Obodas, 
by  Sylleus,  which  was  sixty  talents,  and 
since  the  time  of  payment  was  now  past, 
he  desired  to  have  it  paid  him :  but  Syl- 
leus, who  had  laid  Obodas  aside,  and 
managed  all  by  himself,  denied  that  the 
robbers  were  in  Arabia,  and  put  off  the 


payment  of  the  money ;  about  which 
there  was  a  hearing  before  Saturninus 
and  Volumnius,  who  were  then  the  presi- 
dents of  Syria.*  At  last,  he,  by  their 
means,  agreed,  that  within  thirty  days' 
time  Herod  should  be  paid  his  money,  and 
that  each  of  them  should  deliver  up  the 
other's  subjects  reciprocally.  Now,  as  to 
Herod,  there  was  not  one  of  the  other's 
subjects  found  in  his  kingdom,  either  as 
doing  any  injustice,  or  on  any  other  ac- 
count ;  but  it  was  proved  that  the  Ara- 
bians had  the  robbers  among  them. 

When  the  day  appointed  for  payment 
of  the  money  was  past,  without  Sylleus's 
performing  any  part  of  his  agreement,  and 
he  was  gone  to  Rome,  Herod  demanded 
the  payment  of  the  money,  and  that  the 
robbers  that  were  in  Arabia  should  be 
delivered  up ;  and,  by  the  permission  of 
Saturninus  and  Volumnius,  executed  the 
judgment  himself  upon  those  that  were 
refractory.  He  took  an  army  that  he  had, 
and  led  it  into  Arabia,  and  in  three  days' 
time  marched  seven  mansions;  and  when 
he  came  to  the  garrison  wherein  the  rob- 
bers were,  he  made  an  assault  upon  them, 
and  took  them  all,  and  demolished  the 
place,  which  was  called  Raepta,  but  did 
no  harm  to  any  others.  But  as  the  Ara- 
bians came  to  their  assistance,  under  Na- 
ceb  their  captain,  there  ensued  a  battle, 
wherein  a  few  of  Herod's  soldiers,  and 
Naceb,  the  captain  of  the  Arabians,  and 
about  twenty  of  his  soldiers  fell,  while  the 
rest  betook  themselves  to  flight.  So  when 
he  had  brought  them  to  punishment,  he 
placed  3000  Idumeans  in  Trachonitis,  and 
thereby  restrained  the  robbers  that  were 
there.  He  also  sent  an  account  to  the 
captains  that  were  about  Phoenicia,  and 
demonstrated  that  he  had  done  nothing 
but  what  he  ought  to  do,  in  punishing  the 
refractory  Arabians,  which,  upon  an  exact 
inquiry,  they  found  to  be  no  more  than 
what  was  true. 

However,  messengers  were  hasted  away 
to  Sylleus,  to  Rome,  and  informed  him 
what  had  been  done,  and,  as  is  usual,  ag- 
gravated every  thing.  Now  Sylleus  had 
already  insinuated  himself  into  the  know- 
ledge of  Caesar,  and  was  then  about  the 
palace;  and  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  these 
things,  he  changed  his  habit  to  black,  and 
went  in,  and  told  Caesar  that  Arabia  was 

*  These  joint  presidents  of  Syria,  Saturninua 
and  Volumnius,  were  not,  perhaps,  of  equal  au- 
thority, hut  the  latter  like  a  procurator  under  tha 
former. 


506 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


lBook  XVI 


afflicted  with  war,  and  that  all  his  king- 
dom was  in  great  confusion,  upon  Herod's 
laying  it  waste  with  his  army  j  and  he 
said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  2500  of 
the  principal  men  among  the  Arabians 
had  been  destroyed,  and  that  their  cap- 
tain, Nacebus,  his  familiar  friend  and 
kinsman,  was  slain  ;  and  that  the  riches 
that  were  at  Raepta  were  carried  oif;  and 
that  Obodas  was  despised,  whose  infirm 
state  of  body  rendered  him  unfit  for  war ; 
on  which  account  neither  he  nor  the 
Arabian  army  were  present.  When 
Sylleus  said  so,  and  added  invidiously, 
that  he  would  not  himself  have  come  out 
of  the  country,  unless  he  believed  that 
Caesar  would  have  provided  that  they 
should  all  have  peace  one  with  another, 
and  that,  had  he  been  there,  he  would 
have  taken  care  that  the  war  should  not 
have  been  to  Herod's  advantage.  Caesar 
was  provoked  when  this  was  said,  and 
asked  no  more  than  this  one  question,  both 
of  Herod's  friends  that  were  there,  and  of 
his  own  friends  who  were  come  from  Syria, 
whether  Herod  had  led  an  army  thither  ? 
And  when  they  were  forced  to  confess  so 
much,  Caesar,  without  staying  to  hear  for 
what  reason  he  did  it,  and  how  it  was  done, 
grew  very  angry,  and  wrote  to  Herod 
sharply.  The  sum  of  his  epistle  was 
this,  that  whereas  of  old  he  had  used  him 
as  his  friend,  he  should  now  use  him  as  his 
subject.  Sylleus  also  wrote  an  account 
of  this  to  the  Arabians ;  who  were  so 
elevated  with  it,  that  they  neither  deliver- 
ed up  the  robbers  that  had  fled  to  them, 
nor  paid  the  money  that  was  due  ;  they  re- 
tained those  pastures  also  which  they 
had  hired,  and  kept  them  without  paying 
their  rent,  and  all  this  because  the  king 
of  the  Jews  was  now  in  a  low  condition, 
by  reason  of  Caesar's  anger  at  him.  Those 
of  Trachonitis,  also,  made  use  of  this  op- 
portunity, and  rose  up  against  the  Idumean 
garrison,  and  followed  the  same  way  of  rob- 
bing with  the  Arabians,  who  had  pillaged 
their  country,  and  were  more  rigid  in  their 
unjust  proceedings,  not  only  in  order  to  get 
by  it,  but  by  way  of  revenge  also. 

Now  Herod  was  forced  to  bear  all  this, 
that  confidence  of  his  being  quite  gone 
with  which  Caesar's  favour  used  to  inspire 
him ;  for  Caesar  would  not  admit  so  much 
as  an  embassy  from  him,  to  make  an 
apology  for  him ;  and  when  they  came 
again,  he  sent  them  away  without  success : 
bo  he  was  cast  into  sadness  and  fear;  and 
Sylleua's  circumstances  grieved  him   ex- 


ceedingly, who  was  now  believed  bj 
Caesar,  and  was  present  at  Rome,  nay, 
sometimes  aspiring  higher.  Now  it  came 
to  pass  that  Obodas  was  dead  :  and  iEneas. 
whose  name  was  afterward  changed  to 
Aretas,*  took  the  government,  for  Sylleus 
endeavoured  by  calumnies  to  get  him 
turned  out  of  his  principality,  that  he 
might  himself  take  it ;  with  which  de- 
sign he  gave  much  money  to  the  cour- 
tiers,  and  promised  much  money  to  Caesar, 
who,  indeed,  was  angry  that  Aretas  had 
not  sent  to  him  first  before  he  took  the 
kingdom,  yet  did  iEneas  send  an  epistle 
and  presents  to  Caesar,  and  a  crown  of 
gold,  of  the  weight  of  many  talents.  Now 
that  epistle  accused  Sylleus  as  having  boeu 
a  wicked  servant,  and  having  killed  Obo- 
das by  poison  ;  and  that  while  he  was 
alive,  he  had  governed  him  as  he  pleased; 
and  had  also  debauched  the  wives  of  the 
Arabians;  and  had  borrowed  money,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  dominion  for  himself: 
yet  did  not  Caesar  give  heed  to  these  accu- 
sations, but  sent  his  ambassadors  back, 
without  receiving  any  of  his  presents.  But 
in  the  mean  time,  the  affairs  of  Judea  and 
Arabia  became  worse  and  worse,  partly 
because  of  the  anarchy  they  were  under, 
and  partly  because,  bad  as  they  were, 
nobody  had  power  to  govern  them ;  for  of 
the  two  kings,  the  one  was  not  yet  con- 
firmed in  his  kingdom,  and  so  had  not 
authority  sufficient  to  restrain  the  evil- 
doers ;  and  as  for  Herod,  Caesar  was 
immediately  angry  at  him  for  having 
avenged  himself,  and  so  he  was  compelled 
to  bear  all  the  injuries  that  were  offered 
him.  At  length,  when  he  saw  no  end  of 
the  mischief  that  surrounded  him,  he  re- 
solved to  send  ambassadors  to  Rome  again, 
to  see  whether  his  friends  had  prevailed  to 
mitigate  Caesar,  and  to  address  themselves 
to  Caesar  himself;  and  the  ambassador  he 
sent  thither  was  Nicolaus  of  Damascus. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Eurycles  falsely  accuses  Herod's  sons. 

The  disorders -about  Herod's  family  and 
children  about-  this  time  grew  much  worse; 
for  it  now  appeared  certain,  nor  was  it  un« 
foreseen  beforehand,  that  fortune  threaten- 
ed  the    greatest  and   most  insupportable 

*  This  name  of  Aretas  had  now  become  so  es- 
tablished for  the  kings  of  Arabia  [at  Petra  and 
Damascus],  that  when  the  crown  came  to  ihi* 
iEneas,  he  changed  his  name  to  Aretas. 


Chap   JL] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS 


507 


calamities  possible  to  bis  kingdom.  Its 
progress  and  augmentation  at  tbis  time 
arose  on  tbe  occasion  following : — One 
Eurycles,  a  Lacedemonian,  (a  person  of 
note  tbere,  but  a  man  of  perverse  mind, 
and  so  cunning  in  bis  ways  of  voluptuous- 
ness and  flattery,  as  to  indulge  both,  and 
yet  seem  to  indulge  neitber  of  tbem,)came 
in  bis  travels  to  Herod,  and  made  bim 
presents,  but  so  tbat  be  received  more 
presents  from  bim.  He  also  took  sucb 
proper  seasons  for  insinuating  himself 
into  his  friendship,  tbat  he  became  one 
of  the  most  intimate  of  the  king's  friends. 
He  had  bis  lodging  in  Antipater's  bouse; 
but  he  had  not  only  access,  but  free  con- 
versation with  Alexander,  as  pretending 
to  him  that  he  was  in  great  favour  with 
Archelaus,  the  king  of  Cappadocia ; 
whence  he  pretended  much  respect  to 
Glaphyra,  and,  in  an  occult  manner,  culti- 
vated a  friendship  with  them  all,  but  al- 
ways attending  to  what  was  said  and  done, 
that  he  might  be  furnished  with  calumnies 
to  please  them  all.  In  short,  he  behaved 
himself  so  to  everybody  in  bis  conversation, 
as  to  appear  to  be  his  particular  friend,  and 
he  made  others  believe  tbat  his  beiug  any- 
where was  for  that  person's  advantage. 
So  he  won  upon  Alexander,  who  was  but 
young ;  and  persuaded  him  that  he  might 
open  bis  grievances  to  him,  with  assurance, 
and  with  nobody  else.  So  he  declared 
his  grief  to  him,  how  his  father  was  alien- 
ated from  him.  He  related  to  him  also 
the  affairs  of  his  mother,  and  of  Antipater; 
that  he  had  driven  them  from  their  proper 
dignity,  and  bad  the  power  over  every  thing 
himself;  tbat  no  part  of  this  was  tolera- 
ble, since  his  father  had  already  come  to 
bate  them;  and  he  added,  that  he  would 
neither  admit  them  to  his  table  nor  to 
his  conversation.  Such  were  the  com- 
plaints, as  was  but  natural,  of  Alexander 
about  the  things  that  troubled  him  :  and 
these  discourses  Eurycles  carried  to  Anti- 
pater,  and  told  him  he  did  not  inform 
him  of  this  on  his  own  account,  but  tbat 
being  overcome  by  his  kindness,  the  great 
importance  of  the  thing  obliging  him  to 
do  it :  and  he  warned  him  to  have  a  care 
of  Alexander,  for  that  what  be  said  was 
spoken  with  vehemency,  and  tbat,  in  con- 
sequence of  what  he  said,  he  would  cer- 
tainly kill  him  with  his  own  hand. 
Whereupon,  Antipater,  thinking  him  to 
be  his  friend  by  tbis  advice,  gave  him 
presents  upon  all  occasions,  and  at  length 
persuaded  him  to  inform  Herod  of  what 


he  bad  heard.  So  when  he  related  to  the 
king  Alexander's  ill  temper,  as  discovered 
by  tbe  words  he  had  beard  him  sp^ak, 
he  was  easily  believed  by  him ;  ana  he 
thereby  brought  the  king  to  that  pass, 
turning  him  about  by  his  words,  and  irri- 
tating him,  till  he  increased  his  hatrea  to 
him,  and  made  him  implacable,  which  he 
showed  at  that  very  time,  for  he  im; me- 
diately gave  Eurycles  a  present  of  i  fty 
talents ;  who,  when  he  had  gotten  thv  m, 
went  to  Archelaus,  king  of  Cappado  .ia, 
and  commended  Alexander  before  h  m, 
and  told  him  that  he  had  been  many  w.ys 
of  advantage  to  him,  in  making  a  ret  >n- 
ciliation  between  him  and  his  father.  So 
he  got  money  from  him  also,  and  ^  :nt 
away,  before  his  pernicious  practices  vi  jre 
found  out;  but  when  Eurycles  had  re- 
turned to  Lacedemon,  he  did  not  U  ive 
off  doing  mischief;  and  so,  for  his  m  *ny 
acts  of  injustice,  he  was  banished  i.  om 
his  own  country. 

But  as  for  the  king  of  the  Jews,  he 
was  not  now  in  the  temper  he  wap  in 
formerly  toward  Alexander  and  Ansto- 
bulus,  when  he  had  been  content  with 
the  hearing  their  calumnies  when  others 
told  him  of  them,  but  he  was  now  come 
to  that  pass  as  to  hate  them  himself,  and 
to  urge  men  to  speak  against  them,  though 
they  did  not  do  it  of  themselves.  He 
also  observed  all  that  was  said,  and  put 
questions,  and  gave  ear  to  every  orie  that 
would  but  speak,  if  they  could  but  say 
any  thing  against  them,  till  at  length  he 
heard  that  Euaratus  of  Cos  was  a  con- 
spirator with  Alexander ;  which  thing  to 
Herod  was  the  most  agreeable  and  sweet- 
est news  imaginable. 

But  still  a  greater  misfortune  came 
upon  the  young  men  ;  while  the  calumnies 
against  them  were  continually  increased, 
and,  as  a  man  may  say,  one  would  think 
it  was  every  one's  endeavour  to  lay  some 
grievous  thing  to  their  charge,  which 
might  appear  to  be  for  the  king's  preserva- 
tion. There  were  two  guards  of  Herod's 
body,  who  were  in  great  esteem  for  their 
great  strength  and  tallness,  Jucundus  and 
Tyrannus ;  these  men  had  been  cast  off  by 
Herod,  who  was  displeased  at  them , 
these  now  used  to  ride  along  with  Alex- 
ander, and  for  their  skill  in  their  exercises 
were  in  great  esteem  with  him,  and  had 
some  gold  and  other  gifts  bestowed  upon 
them.  Now  the  king,  having  an  imme- 
diate suspicion  of  these  men,  had  them 
tortured ;    who  endured  the  torture  cou- 


508 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS 


[Book  XVI 


rageously  for  a  long  time ;  but  at  last 
confessed  that  Alexander  would  have  per- 
suaded them  to  kill  Herod  when  he  was 
in  pursuit  of  the  wild  beasts,  that  it 
might  be  said  he  fell  from  his  horse,  and 
was  run  through  with  his  own  spear,  for 
that  he  had  once  ouch  a  misfortune  for- 
merly. They  also  showed  where  there 
was  money  hidden  in  the  stable,  under 
ground;  and  these  convicted  the  king's 
chief  hunter,  that  he  had  given  the  young 
men  the  royal  hunting-spears  and  weapons 
to  Alexander's  dependants,  and  at  Alex- 
ander's command. 

After  these,  the  commander  of  the 
garrison  of  Alexandrium  was  caught  and 
tortured ;  for  he  was  accused  to  have  pro- 
mised to  receive  the  young  men  into  his 
fortress,  and  to  supply  them  with  that 
money  of  the  king's  which  was  laid  up  in 
that  fortress,  yet  did  not  he  acknowledge 
any  thing  of  it  himself,  but  his  son  came 
in,  and  said  it  was  so,  and  delivered  up 
the  writing,  which,  so  far  as  could  be 
guessed,  was  in  Alexander's  hand.  Its 
contents  were  these : — u  When  we  have 
finished,  by  God's  help,  all  that  we  have 
proposed  to  do,  we  will  come  to  you ;  but 
do  your  endeavours,  as  you  have  promised, 
to  receive  us  into  your  fortress."  After  this 
writing  was  produced,  Herod  had  no  doubt 
about  the  treacherous  designs  of  his  sons 
against  him ;  but  Alexander  said  that 
Diophantus,  the  scribe,  had  imitated. his 
hand,  and  that  the  paper  was  maliciously 
drawn  up  by  Antipater;  for  Diophantus 
appeared  to  be  very  cunning  in  such  prac- 
tices ;  and  as  he  was  afterward  convicted 
of  forging  other  papers,  he  was  put  to 
death  for  it. 

So  the  king  produced  those  that  had  been 
tortured  before  the  multitude  at  Jericho,  in 
order  to  have  them  accuse  the  young  men, 
which  accusers  many  of  the  people  stoned  to 
death ;  and  when  they  were  going  to  kill 
Alexander  and  Aristobulus  likewise,  the 
king  would  not  permit  them  to  do  so,  but 
restrained  the  multitude  by  means  of  Pto- 
lemy and  Pheroras.  However,  the  young 
men  were  put  under  a  guard,  and  kept  in 
custody,  that  nobody  might  come  at  them ; 
and  all  that  they  did  or  said  was  watched, 
and  the  reproach  and  fear  they  were 
in  was  little  or  nothing  different  from 
those  of  condemned  criminals ;  and  one  of 
them,  who  was  Aristobulus,  was  so  deeply 
affected,  that  he  brought  Salome,  who  was 
his  aunt,  and  his  mother-in-law,  to  lament 
with  him  for  his  calamities,  and  to  hate 


him  who  had  suffered  things  to  come  to 
that  pass ;  when  he  said  to  her,  u  Art  thou 
not  in  danger  of  destruction  also,  while 
the  report  goes  that  thou  hadst  disclosed 
beforehand  all  our  affairs  to  Sylleus,  when 
thou  wast  in  hopes  of  being  married  to 
him  V  But  she  immediately  carried  those 
words  to  her  brother  :  upon  this  he  was 
out  of  patience,  as-d  gave  command  to 
bind  him  ;  and  enjoined  them  both,  now 
they  were  k<jpt  separate  one  from  the 
other,  to  write  down  all  the  ill  things  they 
had  done  against  their  father,  and  bring 
their  writings  to  him.  So  when  this  was 
enjoined  them,  they  wrote  this  :  that  they 
had  laid  no  treacherous  designs,  nor  made 
any  preparations  against  their  father,  but 
that  they  had  intended  to  fly  away  :  and 
that  by  the  distress  they  were  in,  their 
lives  being  now  uncertain  and  tedious  to 
them. 

About  this  time,  there  came  an  ambas- 
sador out  of  Cappadocia  from  Archelaus, 
whose  name  was  Mel  as:  he  was  one  of 
the  principal  rulers  under  him.  So  Herod 
being  desirous  to  show  Archelaus's  ill- 
will  to  him,  called  for  Alexander,  as  he 
was  in  his  bonds,  and  asked  him  again 
concerning  his  flight,  whether  and  how 
they  had  resolved  to  retire.  Alexander 
replied,  to  Archelaus,  who  had  promised 
to  send  them  away  to  Rome;  but  that 
they  had  no  wicked  or  mischievous  designs 
against  their  father,  and  that  nothing  of 
that  nature  which  their  adversaries  had 
charged  upon  them  was  true ;  and  that 
their  desire  was,  that  he  might  have  ex- 
amined Tyrannus  and  Jucundus  more 
strictly,  but  that  they  had  been  suddenly 
slain  by  the  means  of  Antipater,  who  put 
his  own  friends  among  the  multitude  [for 
that  purpose]. 

When  this  was  said,  Herod  commanded 
that  both  Alexander  and  Melas  should  be 
carried  to  Grlaphyra,  Archelaus's  daughter, 
and  that  she  should  be  asked,  whether  she 
did  not  know  somewhat  of  Alexander's 
treacherous  designs  against  Herod  ?  Now 
as  soon  as  they  were  come  to  her,  and  she 
saw  Alexander  in  bonds,  she  beat  her 
head,  and  in  great  consternation,  gave  a 
deep  and  moving  groan.  The  young  man, 
also,  fell  into  tears.  This  was  so  mi 
serable  a  spectacle  to  those  present,  that, 
for  a  great  while,  they  were  not  able  to 
say  or  to  do  any  thing;  but  at  length 
Ptolemy,  who  was  ordered  to  bring  Alex- 
ander, bade  him  say  whether  his  wife  was 
conscious    of  his   actions.      He   replied, 


Chap.  X.] 


<vNTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JE\YS. 


509 


"  How  is  it  possible  .hat  she,  whom  I 
love  bettor  than  my  own  soul,  and  by 
whom  I  have  had  children,  should  not 
know  what  I  do  V  Upon  which  she  cried 
out,  that  she  knew  of  no  wicked  designs 
of  his;  but  that  yet,  if  her  accusing  her- 
self falsely  would  tend  to  his  preserva- 
tion, she  would  confess  it  all.  Alexan- 
der replied,  "  There  is  no  such  wick- 
edness as  those  (who  ought  the  least  of 
all  so  to  do)  suspect,  which  either  I  have 
imagined,  or  thou  knowest  of,  but  this 
only,  that  we  had  resolved  to  retire  to 
Archelaus,  and  thence  to  Rome."  Which 
she  also  confessed.  Upon  which  Herod, 
supposing  that  Archelaus' s  ill-will  to  him 
was  fully  proved,  sent  a  letter  by  Olympus 
and  Volumnius;  and  bade  them,  as  they 
sailed  by,  to  touch  at  Eleusa  of  Cilicia, 
and  give  Archelaus  the  letter.  And  that 
when  they  had  expostulated  with  him, 
that  he  had  a  hand  in  his  sous'  treacherous 
design  against  him,  they  should  from 
thence  sail  to  Rome ;  and  that,  in  case  they 
found  Nicolaus  had  gained  any  ground, 
and  that  Caesar  was  no  longer  displeased 
at  him,  he  should  give  him  his  letters, 
and  the  proof  which  he  had  ready  to  show 
against  the  young  men.  As  to  Archelaus, 
he  made  this  defence  for  himself,  that  he 
had  promised  to  receive  the  young  men 
because  it  was  both  for  their  own  and 
their  father's  advantage  so  to  do,  lest 
some  too  severe  procedure  should  be  gone 
upon  in  that  anger  and  disorder  they  were 
in,  on  occasion  of  the  present  suspicions; 
but  that  still  he  had  not  promised  to  send 
them  to  Caesar,  and  that  he  had  not  pro- 
mised any  thing  else  to  the  young  men 
that  could  show  any  ill-will  to  him. 

When  these  ambassadors  had  come  to 
Rome,  they  had  a  fit  opportunity  of  de- 
livering their  letters  to  Caesar,  because 
they  found  him  reconciled  to  Herod;  for 
the  circumstances  of  Nicolaus's  embassy 
had  been  as  follows : — As  soon  as  he  had 
come  to  Rome,  and  was  about  the  court, 
he  did  not  first  of  all  set  about  what  he 
was  come  for  only,  but  he  thought  fit  also 
to  accuse  Sylleus.  Now,  the  Arabians, 
even  before  he  came  to  talk  with  them, 
were  quarrelling  one  with  another ;  and 
some  of  them  left  Sylleus's  party,  and 
joining  themselves  to  Nicolaus,  informed 
him  of  all  the  wicked  things  that  had  been 
done;  and  produced  to  him  evident  de- 
monstrations of  the  slaughter  of  a  great 
number  of  Obodas's  friends  by  Sylleus; 
for  when  these  men  left  Sylleus,  they  had 


carried  off  with  them  those  letters  whereby 
they  could  convict  him.  \Vh<m  Nicolaus 
saw  such  an  opportunity  afforded  him,  he 
made  use  of  it,  in  order  to  gain  his  own 
point  afterward,  and  endeavoured  imme- 
diately to  make  a  reconciliation  between 
Caesar  and  Herod;  for  he  was  fully  sa- 
tisfied that  if  he  should  desire  to  make  a 
defence  for  Herod  directly,  he  should  not 
be  allowed  that  liberty;  but  that  if  he 
desired  to  accuse  Sylleus,  there  would  an 
occasion  present  itself  of  speaking  on  He- 
rod's behalf.  So  when  the  cause  was 
ready  for  a  hearing,  and  the  day  was 
appointed,  Nicolaus,  while  Aretas's  am- 
bassadors were  present,  accused  Sylleus, 
and  said  that  he  imputed  to  him  the  de- 
struction of  the  king  [Obodas],  and  of 
many  others  of  the  Arabians:  that  he 
had  borrowed  money  for  no  good  design ; 
and  he  proved  that  he  had  been  guilty  of 
adultery,  not  only  with  the  Arabian,  but 
Roman  women  also.  And  he  added,  that 
above  all  the  rest,  he  had  alienated  Caesar 
from  Herod ;  and  that  all  that  he  had  said 
about  the  actions  of  Herod  were  falsities. 
When  Nicolaus  had  come  to  this  topic, 
Caesar  stopped  him  from  going  on,  and 
desired  him  only  to  speak  to  this  affair  of 
Herod,  and  to  show  that  he  had  not  led 
an  army  into  Arabia,  nor  slain  2500  men 
there,  nor  taken  prisoners,  nor  pillaged 
the  country.  To  which  Nicolaus  made 
this  answer: — "I  shall  principally  de* 
monstrate,  that  either  nothing  at  all,  or 
but  a  very  little,  of  those  imputations  are 
true,  of  which  thou  hast  been  informed; 
for  had  they  been  true,  thou  mightest 
justly  be  still  more  angry  at  Herod."  At 
this  strange  assertion,  Caesar  was  very  at- 
tentive; and  Nicolaus  said,  that  there  was 
a  debt  due  to  Herod  of  500  talents,  and  a 
bond,  wherein  was  written,  that  if  the 
time  appointed  be  elapsed,  it  should  be 
lawful  to  make  a  seizure  out  of  any  part 
of  his  country.  "As  for  the  pretended 
army/'  he  said,  "it  was  no  army,  but  a 
party  sent  out  to  require  the  just  payment 
of  the  money  :  that  this  was  not  sent  im- 
mediately, nor  so  soon  as  the  bond  allow- 
ed, but  that  Sylleus  had  frequently  come 
before  Saturninus,  and  Volumnius,  the 
presidents  of  Syria :  and  that  at  last  he 
had  sworn  at  Berytus,  by  thy  fortune,* 
that  he  would  certainly  pay  the   money 

*  This  oath,  "by  the  fortune  of  Csosar,"  was  put 
to  Polycarp,  a  bishop  of  Smyrna,  by  the  Roman 
governor,  to  try  whether  he  was  a  Christian,  as  they 
were  then  esteemed  who  refused  to  swear  that  ot>th 


510 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVI. 


ffithin  thirty  days,  and  deliver  up  the  fu- 
gitives that  were  under  his  dominion. 
And  that  when  Sylleus  had  performed 
nothing  of  this,  Herod  came  again  before 
the  presidents;  and  upon  their  permission 
co  make  a  seizure  for  his  money,  he,  with 
difficulty,  went  out  of  his  country  with  a 
party  of  soldiers  for  that  purpose.  And 
this  is  all  the  war  which  these  men  so 
tragically  describe;  and  this  is  the  affair 
of  the  expedition  into  Arabia.  And  how 
can  this  be  called  a  war,  when  thy  presi- 
dents permitted  it,  the  covenants  allowed 
it,  and  it  was  not  executed  till  thy  name, 
0  Caesar,  as  well  as  that  of  the  other 
gods,  had  been  profaned  ?  And  now  I 
must  speak  in  order  about  the  captives. 
There  were  robbers  that  dwelt  in  Tracho- 
nitis :  at  first  their  number  was  no  more 
than  forty,  but  they  became  more  after- 
ward, and  they  escaped  the  punishment 
Herod  would  have  inflicted  on  them,  by 
making  Arabia  their  refuge.  Sylleus  re- 
ceived them,  and  supported  them  with 
food,  that  they  might  be  mischievous  to 
all  mankind;  and  gave  them  a  country  to 
inhabit,  and  himself  received  the  gains 
they  made  by  robbery;  yet  did  he  promise 
that  he  would  deliver  up  these  men,  and 
that  by  the  same  oaths  and  same  time 
that  he  swore  and  fixed  for  payment  of  his 
debt :  nor  can  he  by  any  means  show  that 
any  other  persons  have  at  this  time  been 
taken  out  of  Arabia  besides  these,_and, 
indeed,  not  all  these  either,  but  only  so 
many  as  could  not  conceal  themselves. 
And  thus  does  the  calumny  of  the  captives, 
which  hath  been  so  odiously  represented, 
appear  to  be  no  better  than  a  fiction  and 
a  lie,  made  on  purpose  to  provoke  thy  in- 
dignation; for  I  venture  to  affirm,  that 
when  the  forces  of  the  Arabians  came  upon 
us,  and  one  or  two  of  Herod's  party  fell, 
he  then  only  defended  himself,  and  there 
fell  Nacebas  their  general,  and  in  all  about 
twenty-five  others,  and  no  more;  when 
Sylleus,  by  multiplying  every  single  sol- 
dier to  a  hundred,  he  reckons  the  slain  to 
have  been  two  thousand  five  hundred. 

This  provoked  Caesar  more  than  ever: 
60  he  turned  to  Sylleus  full  of  rage,  and 
asked  him  how  many  of  the  Arabians  were 
elain  Hereupon  he  hesitated,  and  said 
he  had  been  imposed  upon.  The  cove- 
nants were  aiso  read  about  the  money  he 
had  borrowed,  and  the  letters  of  the  presi- 
dents of  Syria,  and  the  complaints  of  the 
several  cities,  so  many  as  had  been  injured 
by  the  robbers.     The  conclusion  was  this, 


that  Sylleus  was  condemned  to  die,  and 
that  Caesar  was  reconciled  to  Herod,  and 
owned  his  repentance  for  what  severe 
things  he  had  written  to  him,  occasioned 
by  calumny,  insomuch  that  he  told  Syl- 
leus, that  he  had  compelled  him,  by  hi* 
lying  account  of  things,  to  be  guilty  ol 
ingratitude  against  a  man  that  was  his 
friend.  At  the  last,  all  came  to  this, 
Sylleus  was  sent  away  to  answer  Herod's 
suit,  and  to  repay  the  debt  that  he  owed, 
and  after  that  to  be  punished  [with  death] ; 
but  still  Caesar  was  offended  with  Aretas, 
that  he  had  taken  upon  himself  the  govern- 
ment, without  his  consent  first  obtained, 
for  he  had  determined  to  bestow  Arabia 
upon  Herod  ;  but  that  the  letters  he  had 
sent  hindered  him  from  so  doing ;  for 
Olympus  and  Volumnius,  perceiving  that 
Caesar  had  now  become  favourable  to  He- 
rod, thought  fit  immediately  to  deliver  him 
the  letters  they  were  commanded  by  He- 
rod to  give  him  concerning  his  sons. 
When  Caesar  had  read  them,  he  thought 
it  would  not  be  proper  to  add  another 
government  to  him,  now  he  was  old,  and 
in  an  ill  state  with  relation  to  his  sons,  so 
he  admitted  Aretas's  ambassadors;  and 
after  he  had  just  reproved  him  for  his 
rashness,  in  not  tarrying  till  he  received 
the  kingdom  from  him,  he  accepted  of  his 
presents,  and  confirmed  him  in  his  go- 
vernment.   

CHAPTER  XI. 

Herod,  by  permission  from  Caesar,  accuses  his  #ods 
before  an  assembly  of  judges  at  Berytus — Death 
of  the  young  men,  and  their  burial  at  Alexan 
drium. 

So  Caesar  was  now  reconciled  to  Herod, 
and  wrote  thus  to  him  :  that  he  was  griev- 
ed for  him  on  account  of  his  sons;  and 
that  in  case  they  had  been  guilty  of  any 
profane  and  insolent  crimes  against  him, 
it  would  behoove  him  to  punish  them  as 
parricides,  for  which  he  gave  him  power 
accordingly ;  but  if  they  had  only  con- 
trived to  fly  away,  he  would  have  him 
give  them  an  admonition,  and  not  proceed 
to  extremity  with  them.  He  also  advised 
him  to  get  an  assembly  together,  and  to 
appoint  some  place  near  JBerytus,  which 
is  a  city  belongiug  to  the  Romans,  and  to 
take  the  presidents  of  Syria,  and  Arche- 
laus,  king  of  Cappadocia,  and  as  many 
more  as  he  thought  to  be  illustrious  for 
their  friendship  to  him,  and  the  dignities 
they  were  in,  and  determine  what  should 
be  done  by  their  approbation.     These  were 


Chap.  XL] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 


511 


the  directions  that  Caesar  gave  him.  Ac- 
cordingly Herod,  when  the  letter  was 
brought  to  him,  was  immediately  very 
glad  of  Caesar's  reconciliation  to  him,  and 
very  glad  also  that  he  had  a  complete 
authority  given  him  over  his  sous.  And 
it  strangely  came  about,  that  whereas  be- 
fore, in  his  adversity,  though  he  had, 
indeed,  shown  himself  severe,  yet  had  he 
not  been  very  rash,  nor  hasty,  in  procur- 
ing the  destruction  of  his  sons  ;  he  now, 
in  his  prosperity,  took  advantage  of  this 
change  for  the  better,  and  the  freedom  he 
now  had,  to  exercise  his  hatred  against 
them,  after  an  unheard-of  manner;  he 
therefore  sent  and  called  as  many  as  he 
thought  fit  to  this  assembly,  excepting 
Archelaus;  for  as  for  him,  he  either  hated 
him,  so  that  he  would  not  invite  him,  or 
thought  he  would  be  an  obstacle  to  his 
designs. 

YA'hen  the  presidents,  and  the  rest  that 
belonged  to  the  cities,  had  come  to  Be- 
rytus,  he  kept  his  sons  in  a  certain  village 
belonging  to  Sidon,  called  Platana,  but 
near  to  this  city,  that  if  they  were  called 
he  might  produce  them,  for  he  did  not 
think  tit  to  bring  them  before  the  assem- 
bly :  and  when  there  were  150  assessors 
present,  Herod  came  by  himself  alone, 
and  accused  his  sons,  and  in  such  a  way 
as  if  it  were  not  a  melancholy  accusation, 
and  not  made  but  out  of  necessity,  and 
upon  the  misfortunes  he  was  under;  in- 
deed, in  such  a  way  as  was  very  indecent 
for  a  father  to  accuse  his  sons,  for  he  was 
very  vehement  and  disordered  when  he 
came  to  the  demonstration  of  the  crime 
they  were  accused  of,  and  gave  the  great- 
est signs  of  passion  and  barbarity :  nor 
would  he  suffer  the  assessors  to  consider 
of  the  weight  of  the  evidence,  but  asserted 
them  to  be  true  by  his  own  authority, 
after  a  manner  most  indecent  in  a  father 
against  his  sons,  and  read  himself  what 
they  themselves  had  written,  wherein  there 
was  no  confession  of  any  plots  or  contri- 
vances against  him,  but  only  how  they 
had  contrived  to  fly  away,  and  containing 
withal  certain  reproaches  against  him,  on 
account  of  the  ill-will  he  bore  them;  and 
when  he  came  to  those  reproaches,  he 
cried  out  most  of  all,  and  exaggerated 
what  they  said,  as  if  they  had  confessed 
the  design  against  him,  and  took  his  oath 
that  he  would  rather  lose  his  life  than 
hear  such  reproachful  words.  At  last  he 
baid  that  he  had  sufficient  authority,  both 
by  nature  and  by  Caesar's  grant  to  him, 


[to  do  what  he  thought  fit].  He  also 
added  an  allegation  of  a  law  of  their  coun- 
try, which  enjoined  this: — that  if  parents 
laid  their  hands  on  the  head  of  him  that 
was  accused,  the  standers-by  were  obliged 
to  cast  stones  at  him,  aud  thereby  to  slay 
him  ;  which  though  he  were  ready  to  do 
in  his  own  country  and  kingdom,  yet  did 
he  wait  for  their  determination ;  and  yet 
they  came  thither  not  so  much  as  judges, 
to  condemn  them  for  such  manifest  designs 
against  him,  whereby  he  had  almost  pe- 
rished  by  his  sons'  means,  but  as  persons 
that  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  their 
detestation  of  such  practices,  and  declaring 
how  unworthy  a  thing  it  must  be  in  any, 
even  the  most  remote,  to  pass  over  such 
treacherous  designs  [without  punishment]. 
When  the  king  had  said  this,  and  the 
young  men  had  not  been  produced  to 
make  any  defence  for  themselves,  the  as- 
sessors perceived  there  was  no  room  for 
equity  and  reconciliation,  so  they  con- 
firmed his  authority.  And  in  the  first 
place,  Saturninus,  a  person  that  had  been 
consul,  and  one  of  great  dignity,  pro- 
nounced his  sentence,  but  with  great 
moderation  and  trouble;  and  said  that  he 
condemned  Herod's  sons;  but  did  not 
think  they  should  be  put  to  death.  Ho 
had  sons  of  his  own ;  and  to  put  one's  son 
to  death  is  a  greater  misfortune  than  any 
other  that  could  befall  him  by  their  means. 
After  him  Saturninus's  sons,  for  he  had 
three  sons  that  followed  him,  and  were 
his  legates,  pronounced  the  same  sentence 
with  their  father.  On  the  contrary, 
Volumnius's  sentence  was  to  inflict  death 
on  such  as  had  been  so  impiously  undu- 
tiful  to  their  father;  and  the  greatest  part 
of  the  rest  said  the  same,  insomuch  that 
the  conclusion  seemed  to  be,  that  the 
young  men  were  condemned  to  die.  Im- 
mediately after  this,  Herod  came  away 
from  thence,  and  took  his  sons  to  Tyre, 
where  Nicolaus  met  him  in  his  voyage 
from  Rome;  of  whom  he  inquired,  after 
he  had  related  to  him  what  had  passed  at 
Berytus,  what  his  sentiments  were  about 
his  sons,  and  what  his  friends  at  Home 
thought  of  that  matter.  His  answer 
was — "That  what  they  had  determined 
to  do  to  thee  was  impious,  and  that  thou 
oughtest  to  keep  them  in  prison  :  and  if 
thou  thinkest  any  thing  further  necessary, 
thou  may  est,  indeed,  so  punish  them,  that 
thou  mayest  not  appear  to  indulge  thy 
anger  more  than  to  govern  thyself  by 
judgment;    but   if  thou    ineliiK bt   to   the 


512 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XVI 


milder  side,  thou  mayest  absolve  them, 
lest,  perhaps,  thy  misfortunes  be  rendered 
incurable :  and  this  is  the  opinion  of  the 
greatest  part  of  thy  friends  at  Rome  also." 
Whereupon  Herod  was  silent,  and  in  great 
thoughtfulness,  and  bade  Nicolaus  sail 
along  with  him. 

Now  as  they  came  to  Caesarea,  every- 
body was  there  talking  of  Herod's  sons ; 
and  the  kingdom  was  in  suspense,  and  the 
people  in  great  expectation  of  what  would 
become  of  them,  for  a  terrible  fear  seized 
upon  all  men,  lest  the  ancient  disorders  of 
the  family  should  come  to  a  sad  con- 
clusion, and  they  were  in  great  trouble 
about  their  sufferings;  nor  was  it  without 
danger  to  say  any  rash  thing  about  this 
matter,  nor  even  to  hear  another  saying 
it,  but  men's  pity  was  forced  to  be  shut 
up  in  themselves,  which  rendered  the 
excess  of  their  sorrow  very  irksome,  but 
very  silent ;  yet  was  there  an  old  soldier 
of  Herod's,  whose  name  was  Tero,  who 
had  a  son  of  the  same  age  as  Alexander, 
and  his  friend,  who  was  so  very  free  as 
openly  to  speak  out  what  others  silently 
thought  about  that  matter;  and  was  forced 
to  cry  out  often  among  the  multitude,  and 
said,  in  the  most  unguarded  maimer,  that 
truth  was  perished,  and  justice  taken  away 
from  men,  while  lies  and  ill-will  prevailed, 
and  brought  such  a  mist  before  public 
affairs,  that  the  offenders  were  not  able  to 
see  the  greatest  mischiefs  that  can  befall 
men.  And  as  he  was  so  bold,  he  seremed 
not  to  have  kept  himself  out  of  danger, 
by  speaking  so  freely ;  but  the  reasonable- 
ness of  what  he  said  moved  men  to  regard 
him  as  having  behaved  himself  with  great 
manhood,  and  this  at  a  proper  time  also, 
for  which  reason  every  one  heard  what  he 
said  with  pleasure :  and  although  they 
first  took  care  of  their  own  safety  by  keep- 
ing silent  themselves,  yet  did  they  kindly 
receive  the  great  freedom  he  took ;  for  the 
expectation  they  were  in  of  so  great  an 
affliction,  put  a  force  upon  them  to  speak 
of  Tero  whatsoever  they  pleased. 

This  man  had  thrust  himself  into  the 
king's  presence  with  the  greatest  freedom, 
and  desired  to  speak  with  him  by  himself 
alone,  which  the  king  permitted  him  to 
do;  where  he  said  this: — "  Since  I  am 
not  able,  0  king,  to  bear  up  under  so 
great  a  concern  as  I  am  under,  I  have 
preferred  the  use  of  this  bold  liberty  that 
I  now  take,  which  may  be  for  thy  ad- 
vantage, if  thou  mind  to  get  any  profit  by 
it,  before  my  own  safety.     Whither  is  thy 


understanding  gone  and  left  thy  soul  empty? 
Whither  is  that  extraordinary  sagacity  of 
thine  gone,  whereby  thou  hast  performed 
so  many  and  such  glorious  actions  ? 
Whence  comes  this  solitude,  and  de- 
sertion of  thy  friends  and  relations  ?  Of 
which  I  cannot  but  determine  that  they 
are  neither  thy  friends  nor  relations, 
while  they  overlook  such  horrid  wicked- 
ness in  thy  once  happy  kingdom.  Dost 
thou  not  perceive  what  is  doing  ?  Wilt 
thou  slay  these  two  young  men,  born  of 
thy  queen,  who  are  accomplished  with 
every  virtue  in  the  highest  degree,  and 
leave  thyself  destitute  in  thy  old  age,  but- 
exposed  to  one  son,  who  hath  very  ill 
managed  the  hopes  thou  hast  given  him, 
and  to  relations,  whose  death  thou  hast  so 
often  resolved  on  thyself?  Dost  thou  not 
take  notice,  that  the  very  silence  of  the 
multitude  at  once  sees  the  crime,  and 
abhors  the  fact?  The  whole  army  and 
the  officers  have  commiseration  on  th< 
poor  unhappy  youths,  and  hatred  to  thcs* 
who  are  the  actors  in  this  matter."  These 
words  the  king  heard,  and,  for  some  time, 
with  good  temper.  But  what  can  one 
say  ?  When  Tero  plainly  touched  upon 
the  bad  behaviour  and  perfidiousness  of 
his  domestics,  he  was  moved  at  it;  but 
Tero  went  on  further,  and,  by  degrees, 
used  an  unbounded  military  freedom  of 
speech,  nor  was  he  so  well  disciplined  as 
to  accommodate  himself  to  the  time :  so 
Herod  was  greatly  disturbed,  and  seemed 
to  be  rather  reproached  by  this  speech, 
than  to  be  hearing  what  was  for  his  ad- 
vantage, while  he  learned  thereby  that 
both  the  soldiers  abhorred  the  thing  he 
was  about,  and  the  officers  had  indig- 
nation at  it,  he  gave  order  that  all  whom 
Tero  had  named,  and  Tero  himself,  should 
be  bound,  and  kept  in  prison. 

When  this  was  over,  one  Trypho,  who 
was  the  king's  barber,  took  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  came  and  told  the  king  that 
Tero  would  often  have  persuaded  him, 
when  he  trimmed  him  with  a  razor,  to  cut 
his  throat,  for  that  by  this  means  he 
should  be  among  the  chief  of  Alexander's 
friends,  and  receive  great  rewards  from 
him.  When  he  had  said  this,  the  king 
gave  order  that  Tero,  and  his  son,  and 
the  barber  should  be  tortured,  which  was 
done  accordingly;  but  while  Tero  bore  up 
himself,  his  son,  seeing  his  father  already 
in  a  sad  case,  and  with  no  hope  of  deliver- 
ance, and  perceiving  what  would  be  the 
consequence    of    his    terrible    sufferings, 


rtooK  XVI     Chap.  XI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


513 


said,  that  if  the  king  would  free  him  and 
his  father  from  these  torments  for  what 
he  should  say,  he  would  tell  the  truth. 
And  when  the  king  had  given  his  word 
to  do  so,  he  said  that  there  was  an  agree- 
ment made,  that  Tero  should  lay  violent 
hands  on  the  king,  because  it  was  easy 
for  him  to  come  when  he  was  alone ;  and 
that  if,  when  he  had  done  the  thing,  he 
should  suffer  death  for  it,  as  was  not  un- 
likely, it  would  be  an  act  of  generosity 
done  in  favour  of  Alexander.  This  was 
what  Tero's  son  said,  and  thereby  freed 
his  father  from  the  distress  he  was  in ; 
but  uncertain  it  is  whether  he  had  been 
thus  forced  to  speak  what  was  true,  or 
whether  it  were  a  contrivance  of  his  in 
order  to  procure  his  own  and  his  father's 
deliverance  from  their  miseries. 

As  for  Herod,  if  he  before  had  any 
doubt  about  the  slaughter  of  his  sons, 
there  was  now  no  longer  any  room  left  in 
his  soul  for  it ;  but  he  had  banished  away 
whatsoever  might  afford  him  the  least  sug- 
gestion of  reasoning  better  about  this 
matter,  so  he  already  made  haste  to  bring 
his  purpose  to  a  conclusion.  He  also 
brought  out  300  of  the  officers  that  were 
under  an  accusation,  as  also  Tero  and  his 
son,  and  the  barber  that  accused  them, 
before  an  assembly,  and  brought  an  ac- 
cusation against  them  all ;  whom  the 
multitude  stoned  with  whatsoever  came 
to  hand,  and  thereby  slew  them.  Alex- 
ander, also,  and  Aristobulus  were  brought 
to  Sebaste,  by  their  father's  command, 
and  there  strangled ;  but  their  dead 
bodies  were,  in  the  night-time,  carried  to 
Alexandrium,  where  their  uncle  by  their 
mother's  side,  and  the  greatest  part  of 
their  ancestors,  had  been  deposited. 

*And  now,  perhaps,  it  may  not  seem 
unreasonable  to  some,  that  such  an  inve- 
terate hatred  might  increase  so  much  [on 
both  sides],  as  to  proceed  further,  and 
overcome  nature;  but  it  may  justly  de- 
serve consideration,  whether  it  be  to  be 
laid  to  the  charge  of  tbe  young  men,  that 
they  gave  such  an  occasion  to  their  father's 
anger,  and  led  him  to  do  what  he  did,  and 
by  going  on  long  in  the  same  way,  put 
things  past  remedy,  and  brought  him  to 
use  them  so  unmercifully ;  or  whether  it 
be  to  be  laid  to  the  father's  charge,  that 


*This  portion  is  entirely  wanting  in  the  old 
Latin  version,  nor  is  there  any  other  reason  for  it, 
than  the  great  difficulty  of  an  exact  translation. 
Whiston,  however,  preserves  it  entire  in  his  trans- 
lation. 


he  was  so  hard-hearted,  and  so  very  tender 
in  the  desire  of  government,  and  of  other 
things  that  would  tend  to  his  glory,  that 
he  would  take  no  one  into  a  partnership 
with  him,  that  so,  whatsoever  he  would 
have    done   himself  might    continue   im- 
movable;    or,    indeed,    whether    fortune 
has   not  greater  power  than   all   prudent 
reasonings  :  whence  we  are  persuaded  that 
human    actions    are    thereby    determined 
beforehand  by  an  inevitable  necessity,  and 
we  call  her  Fate,  because  there  is  nothing 
which  is  not  done  by  her;  wherefore,  I 
suppose,  it  will  be   sufficient  to   compare 
this    notion    with    that    other,   which    at- 
tributes somewhat  to  ourselves,  and  ren- 
ders men  not  unaccountable  for  the  dif- 
ferent   conducts    of    their   lives ;    which 
notion  is  no  other  than  the  philosophical 
determination   of   our  ancient   law.     Ac- 
cordingly, of  the  two  other  causes  of  this 
sad  event,  anybody  may  lay  the  blame  on 
the   young   men,  who  acted  by  youthful 
vanity,    and    pride  of   their    royal  birth, 
that    they    should    bear   to    hear   the  ca- 
lumnies   that   were    raised    against    their 
father,    while    certainly    they    were    not 
equitable  judges  of  the  actions  of  his  life, 
but  ill-natured  in  suspecting,  and  intem- 
perate in    speaking   of   it,  and,   on   both 
accounts,    easily    caught    by    those    that 
observed  them,  and  revealed  them  to  gain 
favour ;  yet  cannot  their  father  be  thought 
worthy  of  excuse,  as  to  that  horrid  im- 
piety which  he  was  g-uilty  of  about  them, 
while  he  ventured,    without    any  certain 
evidence     of    their     treacherous     designs 
against  him,  and  without  any  proofs  that 
they  had  preparations  for  such  an  attempt, 
to  kill  his  own  sons,  who  were  of  very 
comely  bodies,  and  the  great  darlings  of 
other  men,  and  noway  deficient  in  their 
conduct,   whether  it  were  in  huuting,  or 
in  warlike  exercises,  or  in  speaking  upon 
occasional  topics  of  discourse;  for  in  all 
these   they  were   very   skilful,   and   espe- 
cially Alexander,  who  was  the  eldest ;  for 
certainly    it    had     been    sufficient,    even 
though  he  had  condemned  them,  to  have 
kept  them  alive  in  bonds,  or  to  let  them 
live  at  a  distance  from  his  domiuions  in 
banishment,  while  he  was  surrounded  by 
the  Roman    forces,  which  were  a  strong 
security  to  him,  whose  help  would  prevent 
his  suffering  any  thing  by  a  sudden  onset, 
or  by  open  force  ;   but  for  him  to  kill  them 
on  the  sudden,  in  order  to  gratify  a  passion 
that  governed   him,  was  a  demonstration 
of    insufferable    impiety.      He    also    was 


514 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVII.    Ch^p.  i 


guilty  of  as  great  a  crime  in  his  older 
age  :  nor  will  the  delays  that  he  made, 
and  the  length  of  time  in  which  the  thing 
was  done,  plead  at  all  for  his  excuse ;  for 
when  a  man  is  on  a  sudden  amazed,  and 
in  commotion  of  mind,  and  then  commits 
a  wicked  action,  although  this  be  a  heavy 
crime,  yet  it  is  a  thing  that  frequently 
happens ;  but  to  do  it  upon  deliberation, 
and  after  frequent  attempts,  and  as  fre- 
quent puttings-off,  to  undertake  it  at  last, 
and  accomplish  it,  was  the   action   of  a 


murderous  mind,  and  such  as  was  not 
easily  moved  from  that  which  was  evil : 
and  this  temper  he  showed  in  what  he  did 
afterward,  when  he  did  not  spare  those 
that  seemed  to  be  the  best  beloved  of  hie 
friends  that  were  left,  wherein,  though 
the  justice  of  the  punishment  caused  those 
that  perished  to  be  the  less  pitied,  yet  wag 
the  barbarity  of  the  man  here  equal,  in 
that  he  did  not  abstain  from  their  slaughter 
also.  But  of  those  persons  we  shall  have 
occasion  to  discourse  more  hereafter 


BOOK  XYII. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  FOURTEEN  YEARS,  FROM  ALEXANDER  ANT 
ARISTOBULUS'S  DEATHS  TO  THE  BANISHMENT  OF  ARCHELAUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Antipater,  hated  by  the  Jewish  nation,  endeavours 
to  gain  the  good-will  of  the  Romans  and  Syrians 
by  presents. 

When  Antipater  had  thus  taken  off 
his  brethren,  and  had  brought  his  father 
into  the  highest  degree  of  impiety,  till  he 
was  haunted  with  furies  for  what  he  had 
done,  his  hopes  did  not  succeed  (to  his 
mind,  as  to  the  rest  of  his  life ;  for  al- 
though he  was  delivered  from  the  fear  of 
his  brethren  being  his  rivals  as  to  the 
government,  yet  did  he  find  it  a  very  hard 
thing,  and  almost  impracticable  to  come 
at  the  kingdom,  because  the  hatred  of  the 
nation  against  him  on  that  account  had 
become  very  great;  and,  besides  this  very 
disagreeable  circumstance,  the  affairs  of 
the  soldiery  grieved  him  still  more,  who 
were  alienated  from  him,  from  which  yet 
these  kings  derived  all  the  safety  which 
they  had,  whenever  they  found  the  nation 
desirous  of  innovation  :  and  all  this  danger 
was  drawn  upon  him  by  the  destruction 
of  his  brethren.  However,  he  governed 
the  nation  jointly  with  his  father,  being, 
indeed,  no  other  than  a  king  already;  and 
he  was  for  that  very  reason  trusted,  and 
the  more  firmly  depended  on,  for  which 
he  ought  himself  to  have  been  put  to 
death,  as  appearing  to  have  betrayed  his 
brethren  out  of  his  concern  for  the  pre- 
servation of  Herod,  and  not  rather  out  of 
is  ill-will  to  them,  and,  before  them,  to 


his  father  himself;  and  this  was  the  ac- 
cursed state  he  was  in.  Now,  all  Antipa- 
ter's  contrivances  tended  to  make  his  way 
to  take  off  Herod,  that  he  might  have 
nobody  to  accuse  him  in  the  vile  practices 
he  was  devising;  and  that  Herod  might 
have  no  refuge,  nor  any  to  afford  him 
their  assistance,  since  they  must  thereby 
have  Antipater  for  their  open  enemy;  in- 
somuch, that  the  very  plots  he  had  laid 
against  his  brethren,  were  occasioned  by 
the  hatred  he  bore  his  father.  But  at 
this  time,  he  was  more  than  ever  set  upon 
the  execution  of  his  attempts  against 
Herod,  because,  if  he  were  once  dead,  the 
government  would  then  be  firmly  secured 
to  him;  but  if  he  were  suffered  to  live  any 
longer,  he  should  be  in  danger,  upon  a 
discovery  of  that  wickedness  of  which  he 
had  been  the  contriver,  and  his  father 
would  then  of  necessity  become  his  enemy. 
And  on  this  very  account  it  was,  that  he 
became  very  bountiful  to  his  father's 
friends,  and  bestowed  great  sums  on  se- 
veral of  them,  in  order  to  surprise  men 
with  his  good  deeds,  and  take  off  their 
hatred  against  £hem.  And  he  sent  great 
presents  to  his  friends,  at  Rome  particu- 
larly, to  gain  their  good-will;  and,  above 
all,  to  Saturninus,  the  president  of  Syria. 
He  also  hoped  to  gain  the  favour  of  Satur- 
ninus's  brother  with  the  large  presents  he 
bestowed  on  him;  as  also  he  used  the 
same  art  to  [Salome]  the  king's  sister, 
who  had  married    one    of   Herod's  chief 


Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


515 


friends.  And,  when  he  counterfeited 
friendship  to  those  with  whom  he  con- 
versed, he  was  very  subtle  in  gaining  their 
belief,  and  very  cunning  to  hide  his  hatred 
against  and  that  he  really  did  hate.  But 
he  could  not  impose  upon  his  aunt,  who 
understood  him  of  a  long  time,  and  was  a 
woman  not  easily  to  be  deluded,  especially 
while  she  bad  already  used  all  possible 
caution  in  preventing  his  pernicious  de- 
signs. Although  Antipater's  uncle,  by 
the  mother's  side,  was  married  to  her 
daughter,  and  this  by  his  own  connivance 
and  management,  while  she  had  before 
been  married  to  Aristobulus,  and  while 
Salome's  other  daughter  by  that  husband 
was  married  to  the  son  of  Calleas;  yet 
that  marriage  was  no  obstacle  to  her,  who 
knew  how  wicked  he  was,  in  her  discover- 
ing his  designs,  as  her  former  kindred  to 
him  could  not  prevent  her  hatred  of 
him.  Now  Herod  had  compelled  Salome, 
while  she  was  in  love  with  Sylleus,  the 
Arabian,  and  had  taken  a  fondness  to  him, 
to  marry  Alexas;  which  match  was  by  her 
submitted  to  at  the  instance  of  Julia,  who 
persuaded  Salome  not  to  refuse  it,  lest  she 
should  herself  be  their  open  enemy,  since 
Herod  had  sworn  that  he  would  never  be 
friends  with  Salome  if  she  would  not  ac- 
cept of  Alexas  for  her  husband ;  so  she 
submitted  to  Julia,  as  being  Caesar's  wife; 
and  besides  that,  she  advised  her  to  nothing 
but  what  was  very  much  for  her  own  ad- 
vantage. At  this  time,  also,  it  was,  that 
Herod  sent  back  King  Archelaus's  daugh- 
ter, who  h-ad  been  Alexander's  wife,  to 
her  father,  returning  the  portion  he  had 
with  her  out  of  his  own  estate,  that  there 
might  be  no  dispute  between  them  about  it. 
Now  Herod  brought  up  his  sons'  chil- 
dren with  great  care;  for  Alexander  had 
two  sons  by  Grlaphyraj  and  Aristobulus 
had  three  sons  by  Bernice,  Salome's  daugh- 
ter, and  two  daughters ;  and,  as  his  friends 
were  once  with  him,  he  presented  the 
children  before  them  ;  and  deploring  the 
hard  fortune  of  his  own  sons,  he  prayed 
that  no  such  ill  fortune  would  befall  these 
who  were  their  children,  but  that  they 
might  improve  in  virtue,  and  obtain  what 
they  justly  deserved,  and  might  make  him 
amends  for  his  care  of  their  education. 
He  also  caused  them  to  be  betrothed 
against  they  should  come  to  the  proper 
age  of  marriage ;  the  elder  of  Alexander's 
sons  to  Pheroras's  daughter,  and  Antipa- 
ter's daughter  to  Aristobulus's  eldest  son. 
He  also  allotted  one  of  Aristobulus's  daugh- 


ters to  Antipater's  son,  and  Aristobulus's 
other  daughter  to  Herod,  a  son  of  his  own, 
who  was  born  to  him  by  the  high  priest's 
daughter:  for  it  is  the  ancient  practice 
among  us  to  have  many  wives  at  the  same 
time.  Now,  the  king  made  these  espou- 
sals for  the  children,  out  of  commiseration 
of  them  now  they  were  fatherless,  as  en- 
deavouring to  render  Antipater  kind  to 
them  by  these  intermarriages.  But  Anti- 
pater did  not  fail  to  bear  the  same  temper 
of  mind  to  his  brother's  children  which 
he  had  borne  to  his  brothers  themselves; 
and  his  father's  concern  about  them  pro- 
voked his  indignation  against  them  upon 
his  supposition  that  they  would  become 
greater  than  ever  his  brothers  had  been ; 
while  Archelaus,  a  king,  would  support 
his  daughter's  sons,  and  Pheroras,  a  te- 
trarch,  would  accept  of  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters as  a  wife  to  his  son.  What  provoked 
him,  also,  was  this,  that  all  the  multitude 
would  so  commiserate  these  fatherless 
children,  and  so  hate  him  [for  making 
them  fatherless],  that  all  would  come  out, 
since  they  were  no  strangers  to  his  vilo 
disposition  toward  his  brethren.  He  con- 
trived, therefore,  to  overturn  his  father's 
settlements,  as  thinking  it  a  terrible  thing 
that  they  should  be  so  related  to  him,  and 
be  so  powerful  withal.  So  Herod  yielded 
to  him,  and  changed  his  resolution  at  his 
entreaty;  and  the  determination  now  was, 
that  Antipater  himself  should  marry  Aris- 
tobulus's daughter,  and  Antipater's  son 
should  marry  Pheroras's  daughter.  So 
the  espousals  for  the  marriages  were 
changed  after  this  manner,  even  without 
the  king's  real  approbation. 

Now  Herod,  the  king,  had  at  this  time 
nine  wives;  one  of  them  Antipater's 
mother,  and  another  the  high  priest's 
daughter,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  of  his 
own  name.  He  had,  also,  one  who  was 
his  brother's  daughter,  and  another  his 
sister's  daughter;  which  two  had  no 
children.  One  of  his  wives,  also,  was  of 
the  Samaritan  nation,  whose  sous  were 
Antipas  and  Archelaus,  and  whose  daugh- 
ter was  Olympias;  which  daughter  was 
afterward  married  to  Joseph,  the  king's 
brother's  son ;  but  Archelaus  and  Antipas 
were  brought  up  with  a  certain  private 
man  at  Home.  Herod  had  also  to  wife 
Cleopatra  of  Jerusalem,  and  by  her  he  had 
his  sons  Herod  and  Philip;  which  last, 
was  also  brought  up  at  Home:  Pallas 
also,  was  one  of  his  wives  who  bore  him 
his  son  Phasaelus;   and  besides  these,  bn 


S16 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  £  VII 


bad  for  his  wives,  Phedra  and  Elpis,  by 
whom  he  had  his  daughters  Roxana  and 
Salome.  As  for  his  eldest  daughters  by 
the  same  mother  with  Alexander  and 
Aristobulus,  and  whom  Pheroras  neglected 
to  marry,  he  gave  the  one  in  marriage  to 
Antipater,  the  king's  sister's  son,  and  the 
other  to  Phasaelus,  his  brother's  son;  and 
this  was  the  posterity  of  Herod. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Zamaris,  a  Babylonish  Jew,  assumes  the  govern- 
ment of  Batanea — his  death — Antipater  plots 
against  Herod. 

And  now  it  was  that  Herod,  being  de- 
sirous to  secure  himself  on  the  side  of  the 
Trachonites,  resolved  to  build  a  village  as 
large  as  a  city  for  the  Jews,  in  the  middle 
of  that  country,  which  might  make  his 
own  country  difficult  to  be  assaulted,  and 
whence  he  might  be  at  hand  to  make  sal- 
lies upon  them,  and  do  them  a  mischief. 
Accordingly,  when  he  understood  that 
there  was  a  man  that  was  a  Jew  come  out 
of  Babylon,  with  500  horsemen,  all  of 
whom  could  shoot  their  arrows  as  they 
rode  on  horseback,  and  with  100  of  his 
relations  had  passed  over  Euphrates,  and 
now  abode  at  Antioch  by  Daphne  of  Syria, 
where  Saturninus,  who  was  then  president, 
had  given  them  a  place  for  habitation, 
called  Valatha,  he  sent  for  this  man,  with 
the  multitude  that  followed  him,  and  pro- 
mised to  give  him  land  in  the  toparchy* 
called  Batanea,  which  country  is  bounded 
with  Trachonitis,  as  desirous  to  make  that 
his  habitation  a  guard  to  himself.  He 
also  engaged  to  let  him  hold  the  country 
free  from  tribute,  and  that  they  should 
dwell  entirely  without  paying  such  cus- 
toms as  used  to  be  paid,  and  gave  it  him 
tax  free. 

The  Babylonian  was  induced  by  these 
offers  to  come  thither;  so  he  took  posses- 
sion of  the  land,  and  built  in  it  fortresses 
and  a  village,  and  named  it  Bathyra. 
Whereby  this  man  became  a  safeguard  to 
the  inhabitants  against  the  Trachonites, 
and  preserved  those  Jews  who  came  out 
of  Babylon,  to  offer  their  sacrifices  at 
Jerusalem,  from  being  hurt  by  the  Tracho- 
nite  robbers ;  so  that  a  great  number  came 
to  him  from  all  those  parts  where  the 
ancient  Jewish  laws  were  observed,  and 
the  country  became  full  of  people,  by  rea- 
son of  their  universal  freedom  from  taxes. 


*  A  small  district. 


This  continued  during  the  life  of  Herod ; 
but  when  Philip,  who  was  [tetrarch]  aftei 
him,  took  the  government,  he  made  them 
pay  some  small  taxes,  and  that  for  a  little 
while  only;  and  Agrippa  the  Great,  and 
his  son  of  the  same  name,  although  they 
harassed  them  greatly,  yet  would  they  not 
take  their  liberty  away.  From  whom, 
when  the  Romans  had  now  taken  the 
governments  into  their  own  hands,  they 
still  gave  them  the  privilege  of  their  frec« 
dom,  but  oppress  them  entirely  with  the 
imposition  of  taxes.  Of  which  matter  1 
shall  treat  more  accurately  in  the  progress 
of  this  history.* 

At  length  Zamaris  the  Babylonian,  to 
whom  Herod  had  given  the  country  for  a 
possession,  died;  having  lived  virtuously, 
and  left  children  of  a  good  character  be- 
hind him;  one  of  whom  was  Jacim,  who 
was  famous  for  his  valour,  and  taught  his 
Babylonians  how  to  ride  their  horses;  and 
a  troop  of  them  were  guards  to  the  fore- 
mentioned  kings;  and  when  Jacim  was 
dead  in  his  old  age,  he  left  a  son,  whose 
name  was  Philip,  one  of  great  strength 
in  his  hands,  and  in  other  respects  also 
more  eminent  for  his  valour  than  any  of 
his  contemporaries ;  on  which  account 
there  was  a  confidence  and  firm  friendship 
between  him  and  King  Agrippa.  He  had 
also  an  army  which  he  maintained,  as 
great  as  that  of  a  king ;  which  he  exer- 
cised and  led  wheresoever  he  had  occasion 
to  march. 

When  the  affairs  of  Herod  were  in  the 
condition  I  have  described,  all  the  public 
affairs  depended  upon  Antipater;  and  his 
power  was  such,  that  he  could  do  good 
turns  to  as  many  as  he  pleased,  and  this 
by  his  father's  concession,  in  hopes  of  his 
good-will  and  fidelity  to  him ;  and  this 
till  he  ventured  to  use  his  power  still 
further,  because  his  wicked  designs  were 
concealed  from  his  father,  and  he  made 
him  believe  every  thing  he  said.  He  was 
also  formidable  to  all,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  power  and  authority  he  had, 
as  for  the  shrewdness  of  his  vile  attempts 
beforehand ;  bui  he  who  principally  culti- 
vated a  friendship  with  him  was  Pheroras, 
who  received  the  like  marks  of  his  friend- 
ship ;  while  Antipater  had  cunningly  en- 
compassed him  about  by  a  company  of 
women,  whom  heoplaced  as  guards  about 
him ;  for  Pheroras  was  greatly  enslaved 
to  his  wife,  and  to  her  mother,  and  to  her 

*  This  is  now  wanting. 


Ohap.  ID] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


517 


sister;  and  this,  notwithstanding  the  ha- 
tred   he    bore    them    for   the    indignities 
they  had  offered  to  his  virgin  daughters. 
5Tet  did  he  bear  them ;   and  nothing  was 
to  be  done  without  the  women,  who  had 
got  this   man  into  their  circle,  and  con- 
tinued   still    to   assist    each  other   in   all 
things,  insomuch  that  Antipater  was  en- 
tirely addicted  to  them,  both  by  himself 
j;nd  by  his  mother;  for  these  four  women* 
said  all  one  and  the  same  thing;   but  the 
opinions  of  Pheroras  and  Antipater  were 
different  in  some  points  of  no  consequence. 
But  the  king's  sister  [Salome]  was  their 
antagonist,    who   for    a    good    while   had 
looked  about    all    their  affairs,   and  was 
apprized  that  this    their    friendship   was 
made,  in  order  to  do  Herod  some  mischief, 
and  was  disposed  to  inform  the  king  of  it ; 
and  since   these   people   knew  that   their 
friendship  was  very  disagreeable  to  Herod, 
as  tending  to  do  him  a  mischief,  they  con- 
trived that  their  meetings  should  not  be 
discovered ;  so  they  pretended  to  hate  one 
another,  and  abuse  one  another  when  time 
served,  and    especially  when   Herod  was 
present,  or  when  any  one  was  there  that 
would  tell  him ;  but  still  their   intimacy 
was  firmer  than   ever,    when    they   were 
private ;    and  this   was    the    course   they 
took.     But  they  could  not  conceal  from 
Salome    neither    their    first    contrivance, 
when  they  set  about  these  their  intentions, 
nor  when  they  had  made  some  progress  in 
them ;  but  she  searched  out  every  thing, 
and,  aggravating  the  relations  to  her  bro- 
ther, declared  to  him,  as  well  their  secret 
assemblies    and     compotations,    as    their 
counsels  taken  in   a  clandestine  manner, 
which,  if  they  were  not  in  order  to  de- 
stroy him,  they  might  well  enough   have 
been   open  and  public;  but  "to  appear- 
ance they  are  at  variance,  and  speak  about 
one  another  as  if  tbey  intended  one  an- 
other a  mischief,  but  agree  so  well  toge- 
ther when  they  are  out  of  the  sight  of  the 
multitude;  for  when   they  are  alone   by 
themselves  they  act  in  concert,  and  pro- 
fess that  they  will   never  leave  off  their 
friendship,  but    will   fight   against  those 
from  whom    they  conceal  their  designs :" 
and  thus  did  she  search  out  these  things, 
and  get  a  perfect  knowledge  of  them,  and 
then  told  her  brother  of  them,  who  under- 
stood also  of  himself  a  great  deal  of  what 
she  said,  but  still  durst  not  depend  upon 
it,  because  of  the  suspicions  he  had  of  his 

Pheroras' 8  wife,   and   her  mother   and   sister, 
ami  Doris,  Antipater's  mother. 


sister's  calumnies;  for  there  was  a  certain 
sect  of  men  that  were  Jews,  who  valued 
themselves  highly  upon  the  exact  skill 
they  had  in  the  law  of  their  fathers,  and 
made  men  believe  they  were  highly  fa- 
voured by  God,  by  whom  this  set  of  women 
were  inveigled.  These  are  those  that  are 
called  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  who  were 
in  a  capacity  of  greatly  opposing  kings. 
A  cunuing  sect  they  were,  and  soon  ele- 
vated to  a  pitch  of  open  fighting  and  doing 
mischief.  Accordingly,  when  all  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Jews  gave  assurance  of  their 
good-will  to  Caesar,  and  to  the  king's  go- 
vernment, these  very  men  did  not  swear, 
being  above  6000;  and  when  the  king 
imposed  a  fine  upon  them,  Pheroras's  wife 
paid  their  fine  for  them.  In  order  to  re- 
quite which  kinduess  of  hers,  since  they 
were  believed  to  have  the  foreknowledge 
of  things  to  come  by  divine  inspiration, 
they  foretold  how  Grod  had  decreed  that 
Herod's  government  should  cease,  and  his 
posterity  should  be  deprived  of  it;  but 
that  the  kingdom  should  come  to  her  and 
Pheroras,  and  to  their  children.  These 
predictions  were  not  concealed  from  Sa- 
lome, but.  were  told  the  king;  as  also  how 
they  had  perverted  some  persons  about 
the  palace  itself.  So  the  king  slew  such 
of  the  Pharisees  as  were  principally  ac 
cused,  and  Bagoas  the  eunuch,  and  one 
Carus,  who  exceeded  all  men  of  that  time 
in  comeliness,  and  much  beloved  by  He- 
rod. He  slew  also  all  those  of  his  own 
family  who  had  consented  to  what  the 
Pharisees  foretold ;  and  for  Bagoas,  he 
had  been  puffed  up  by  them,  as  though 
he  should  be  named  the  father  and  the 
benefactor  of  him  who,  by  the  prediction, 
was  foretold  to  be  their  appointed  king; 
for  that  this  king  would  have  all  things 
in  his  power,  and  would  enable  Bagoas  to 
marry,  and  to  have  children  of  his  own 
body  begotten. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Enmity  between  Herod  and  Pheroras — Herod  sends 
Antipater  to  Caesar — Death  of  Pheroras. 

When  Herod  had  punished  those  Pha- 
risees who  had  been  convicted  of  the  fore- 
going crimes,  he  gathered  an  assembly 
together  of  his  friends,  and  accused 
Pheroras's wife;  and  ascribing  the  abuses 
of  the  virgins  to  the  impudence  of  that 
woman,  brought  an  accusation  against  her 
for  the  dishonour  she  had  brouont   up"i 


518 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XV  ft, 


them  :  that  she  had  studiously  introduced 
a  quarrel  between  him  and  his  brother; 
and,  by  her  ill  temper,  had  brought  them 
into  a  state  of  war,  both  by  her  words  and 
actions  :  that  the  fines  which  he  had  laid 
had  not  been  paid,  and  the  offenders  had 
escaped  punishment  by  her  means ;  and 
that  nothing  which  had  of  late  been 
done,  had  been  done  without  her  :  "for 
which  reason  Pheroras  would  do  well,  if 
he  would  of  his  own  accord,  and  by  his 
own  command,  and  not  at  my  entreaty, 
or  as  following  my  opinion,  put  this  his 
wife  away,  as  one  that  will  still  be  the  oc- 
casion of  war  between  thee  and  me.  And 
now,  Pheroras,  if  thou  valuest  thy  relation 
tome,  put  this  wife  of  thine  away;  for 
by  this  means  thou  wilt  continue  to  be  a 
brother  to  me,  and  wilt  abide  in  thy  love 
to  me."  Then  said  Pheroras,  (although 
he  was  pressed  hard  by  the  former  words,) 
that  as  he  would  not  do  so  unjust  a  thing 
as  to  renounce  his  brotherly  relation  to 
him,  so  would  he  not  leave  off  his  affec- 
tion for  his  wife ;  that  he  would  rather 
choose  to  die,  than  to  live  and  be  deprived 
of  a  wife  that  was  so  dear  unto  him. 
Hereupon  Herod  put  off  his  anger  against 
Pheroras  on  these  accounts,  although  he 
himself  thereby  underwent  a  very  uneasy 
punishment.  However,  he  forbade  An- 
tipater  and  his  mother  to  have  any  con- 
versation with  Pheroras,  and  bade  them 
to  take  care  and  avoid  the  assemblies  of 
the  women  :  which  they  promised  to  do, 
but  still  got  together  when  occasion 
served;  and  both  Pheroras  and  Antipater 
had  their  own  merry  meetings.  The  re- 
port went  also,  that  Antipater  had  crimi- 
nal conversation  with  Phero'ras's  wife,  and 
that  they  were  brought  together  by  An- 
tipater's  mother. 

But  Antipater  had  now  a  suspicion  of 
his  father,  and  was  afraid  that  the  effects  f 
of  his  hatred  to  him  might  increase ;  so 
he  wrote  to  his  friends  at  Rome,  and 
bade  them  send  to  Herod,  that  he  would 
immediately  send  Antipater  to  Caesar ; 
which,  when  it  was  done,  Herod  sent  An- 
tipater thither,  and  sent  most  noble 
presents  along  with  him  :  as  also  his  tes- 
tament, wherein  Antipater  was  appointed 
to  be  his  successor  :  and  that  if  Antipater 
should  die  first,  his  son  [Herod  Philip], 
uy  the  high-priest's  daughter,  should  suc- 
ceed. And,  together  with  Antipater, 
there  went  to  Koine,  Sylleus  the  Arabian, 
although  he  had  done  nothing  of  all  that 
Caesar  had  enjoined  him.     Antipater  also 


accused  him  of  the  same  crimes  of  which 
he  had  been  formerly  accused  by  Herod. 
Sylleus  was  also  accused  by  Aretas, 
that  without  his  consent  he  had  slain 
many  of  the  chief  of  thf  Arabians  at 
Petra;  and  particularly  Soemus,  a  man 
that  deserved  to  be  honoured  by  all  men, 
and  that  he  had  slain  Fabatus,  a  servant  of 
Caesar.  These  were  the  things  of  which  Syl 
leus  was  accused,  and  that  on  the  occasion 
following: — There  was  one  Corinthus,  be* 
longing  to  Herod,  of  the  guards  of  the  king's 
body,  and  one  who  was  greatly  trusted  by 
him.  Sylleus  had  persuaded  this  man, 
with  the  offer  of  a  great  sum  of  money,  to 
kill  Herod,  and  he  had  promised  to  do  it. 
When  Fabatus  had  been  made  acquainted 
with  this,  for  Sylleus  had  himself  told 
him  of  it,  he  informed  the  king  of  it ; 
who  caught  Corinthus,  and  put  him  to 
the  torture,  and  thereby  got  out  of  him 
the  whole  conspiracy.  He  also  caught 
two  other  Arabians,  who  were  discovered 
by  Corinthus  ;  the  one  the  head  of  a 
tribe,  and  the  other  a  friend  to  Sylleus, 
who  both  were  by  the  king  brought  to 
the  torture,  and  confessed  that  they  were 
come  to  encourage  Corinthus  not  to  fail 
of  doing  what  he  had  undertaken  to  do; 
and  to  assist  him  with  their  own  hands  in 
the  murder,  if  need  should  require  their 
assistance.  So  Saturninus,  upon  Herod's 
discovering  the  whole  to  him,  sent  them 
to  Rome. 

At  this  time,  Herod  commanded  Phe- 
roras, that  since  he  was  so  obstinate  in  his  af- 
fection for  his  wife,  he  should  retire  into  his 
own  tetrarchy ;  which  he  did  very  willingly, 
and  sware  many  oaths  that  he  would  not 
come  again  till  he  heard  that  Herod  was 
dead.  And  indeed,  when,  upon  a  sickness 
of  the  king,  he  was  desired  to  come  to 
him  before  he  died,  that  he  might  intrust 
him  with  some  of  his  injunctions,  he  had 
such  a  regard  to  his  oath,  that  he  would 
not  come  to  him  ;  yet  did  not  Herod  so 
retain  his  hatred  to  Pheroras,  but  remitted 
of  his  purpose  [not  to  see  him]  which  he 
before  had,  and  that  for  such  great  causes 
as  have  been  already  mentioned  :  but  as 
soon  as  he  began  to  be  ill,  he  came  to  him, 
and  this  without  being  sent  for;  and  when 
he  was  dead  he  took  care  of  his  funeral, 
and  had  his  body  brought  to  Jerusalem, 
and  buried  there,  and  appointed  a  solemn 
mourning  for  him.  This  death  [of  Phe- 
roras] became  the  origin  of  Antipater's 
misfortunes,  although  he  had  already 
sailed  for  Rome,  Grod  now  being  about  t" 


f'HAP.  TV  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


519 


punish  him  for  the  murder  of  his  brethren. 
I  will  explain  the  history  of  this  matter 
very  distinctly,  that  it  may  be  for  a  warn- 
ing to  mankind,  that  they  take  care  of 
•inducting  their  whole  lives  by  the  rules 
if  virtue 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Ph.  iTZTus'c  wife  accused  of  poisoning  her  husband — 
Consequences  of  the  accusation. 

As  soon  as  Pheroras  was  dead,  and  his 
funeral  was  over,  two  of  Pheroras's  freed- 
men,  who  were  much  esteemed  by  him, 
came  to  Herod,  and  entreated  him  not  to 
leave  the  murder  of  his  brother  without 
avenging  it;  but  to  examine  into  such  an 
unreasonable  and  unhappy  death.  When 
he  was  moved  with  these  words,  for  they 
seemed  to  him  to  be  true,  they  said  that 
Pheroras  supped  with  his  wife  the  day 
before  he  fell  sick,  and  that  a  certain 
potion  was  brought  him  in  such  a  sort  of 
food  as  he  was  not  used  to  eat;  but  that 
when  he  had  eaten  he  died  of  it:  that  this 
potion  was  brought  out  of  Arabia  by  a 
woman,  under  pretence,  indeed,  as  a  love- 
potion,  for  that  was  its  name,  but  in 
reality  to  kill  Pheroras;  for  that  the 
Arabian  women  are  skilful  in  making 
such  poisons;  and  the  woman  to  whom 
they  ascribe  this  was  confessedly  a  most 
intimate  friend  of  one  of  Sylleus's  mis- 
tresses; and  that  both  the  mother  and  the 
sister  of  Pheroras's  wife  had  been  at  the 
place  where  she  lived,  and  had  persuaded 
her  to  sell  them  this  potion,  and  had  come 
back  and  brought  it  with  them  the  day 
before  that  of  his  supper.  Hereupon  the 
king  was  provoked,  and  put  the  women- 
slaves  to  the  torture,  and  some  that  were 
free  with  them ;  and  as  the  fact  did  not 
yet  appear,  because  none  of  them  would 
confess  it,  at  length  one  of  them,  under 
the  utmost  agonies,  said  no  more  but 
this,  that  she  prayed  that  God  would  send 
the  like  agonies  upon  Antipater' s  mother, 
who  had  been  the  occasion  of  these 
miseries  to  all  of  them.  This  prayer  in- 
duced Herod  to  increase  the  women's  tor- 
tures, till  thereby  all  was  discovered: 
their  merry  meetings,  their  secret  assem- 
blies, and  the  disclosing  of  what  he  had 
said  to  his  son  alone  unto  Pheroras's* 
women.  (Now  what  Herod  had  charged 
Antipater  to  conceal,  was  the  gift  of  one 
hundred  talents  to  him,  not  to  have 
any  conversation    with   Pheroras.)     And 


*  His  wife,  her  mother,  and  sidter. 


what  hatred  he  bore  to  his  father;  and 
that  he  complained  to  his  mother  how 
very  long  his  father  lived;  and  that  he 
was  himself  almost  an  old  man,  inso- 
much, that  if  the  kingdom  should  come 
to  him,  it  would  not  afford  him  any  great 
pleasure ;  and  that  there  were  a  great 
many  of  his  brothers,  or  brothers'  chil- 
dren, bringing  up,  that  might  have  hopes 
of  the  kingdom  as  well  as  himself;  all 
which  made  his  own  hopes  of  it  uncertain; 
for  that  even  now,  if  he  should  himself 
not  live,  Herod  had  ordained  that  the  go- 
vernment should  be  conferred,  not  on  his 
son,  but  rather  on  a  brother.  He  also 
accused  the  king  of  great  barbarity,  and 
of  the  slaughter  of  his  sons;  and  that  it 
was  out  of  the  fear  he  was  under,  lest  he 
should  do  the  like  to  him,  that  made  him 
contrive  this  his  journey  to  Rome,  and 
Pheroras  contrive  to  go  to  his  own 
tetrarchy.* 

These  confessions  agreed  with  what  his 
sister  had  told  him,  and  tended  greatly  to 
corroborate  her  testimony,  and  to  free  her 
from  the  suspicion  of  her  unfaithfulness 
to  him.  So  the  king  having  satisfied  him- 
self of  the  spite  which  Doris,  Antipater' 3 
mother,  as  well  as  himself,  bore  to  him, 
took  away  from  her  all  her  fine  ornaments, 
which  were  worth  many  talents,  and  then 
sent  her  away,  and  entered  into  friendship 
with  Pheroras's  women.  But  he  who 
most  of  all  irritated  the  king  against  his 
son,  was  one  Antipater,  the  procurator  of 
Antipater,  the  king's  son,  who,  when  he 
was  tortured,  among  other  things,  said 
that  Antipater  had  prepared  a  deadly  po- 
tion, and  given  it  to  Pheroras,  with  his 
desire  that  he  would  give  it  to  his  father 
during  his  absence,  and  when  he  was  too 
remote  to  have  the  least  suspicion  cast 
upon  him  thereto  relating;  that  Anti- 
philus,  one  of  Antipater's  friends,  brought 
that  potion  out  of  Egypt;  and  that  it  was 
sent  to  Pheroras  by  Theudion,  the  brother 
of  the  mother  of  Antipater,  the  kflbg's 
son,  and  by  that  means  came  to  Pheroras's 

*  It  seems  by  this  whole  story  put  together,  that 
Pheroras  was  not  himself  poisoned,  as  is  commonly 
supposed;  for  Antipater  had  persuaded  him  to  poison 
Herod,  (chap.  v.,j  which  would  fall  to  the  ground  if 
he  were  himself  poisoned:  nor  could  the  poisoning 
of  Pheroras  serve  any  design  that  appears  now 
going  forward  :  it  was  only  the  supposition  of  two 
of  his  freedmen,  that  this  love-potion,  or  poison, 
which  they  knew  wis  brought  to  Pheroras's  wifo, 
was  made  use  of  fjr  poisoning  him;  whereas  it 
appears  to  have  benn  brought  for  her  hue  band  to 
poison  Herod  withal,  as  the  futu' e  exaininatKW 
demonstrate. 


520 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVI] 


wife,  her  husband  having  given  it  her  to 
keep.  And  when  the  king  asked  her 
about  it,  she  confessed  it ;  and  as  she  was 
running  to  fetch  it,  she  threw  herself 
down  from  the  house-top,  yet  did  she  not 
till  herself,  because  she  fell  upon  her  feet : 
by  which  means,  when  the  king  had  com- 
forted her,  and  had  promised  her  and  her 
domestics  pardon,  upon  condition  of  their 
concealing  nothing  of  the  truth  from  him, 
but  had  threatened  her  with  the  utmost 
miseries  if  she  proved  ungrateful  [and 
concealed  any  thing];  so  she  promised 
him,  and  swore  that  she  would  speak  out 
every  thing,  and  tell  after  what  manner 
every  thing  was  done;  and  said  what 
many  took  to  be  entirely  true,  that  the 
potion  was  brought  out  of  Egypt  by  An- 
tiphilus,  and  that  his  brother,  who  was  a 
physician,  had  procured  it;  and  that, 
"  when  Theudion  brought  it  us,  I  kept  it, 
upon  Pheroras's  committing  it  to  me; 
and  that  it  was  prepared  by  Antipater 
for  thee.  When,  therefore,  Pheroras  had 
fallen  sick,  and  thou  earnest  to  him  and 
tookest  care  of  him,  and  when  he  saw  the 
kindness  thou  hadst  for  him,  his  mind 
was  overborne  thereby.  So  he  called  me 
to  him,  and  said  to  me,  '  O  woman !  An- 
tipater hath  circumvented  me  in  this  affair 
of  his  father  and  my  brother,  by  per- 
suading me  to  have  a  murderous  intention 
to  him,  and  procuring  a  potion  to  be  sub- 
servient thereto  :  do  thou,  therefore,  go 
and  fetch  my  potion  (since  my  birother 
appears  to  have  still  the  same  virtuous 
disposition  toward  me  which  he  had  for- 
merly, and  I  do  not  expect  to  live  long 
myself,  and  that  I  may  not  defile  my  fore- 
fathers by  the  murder  of  a  brother)  and 
burn  it  before  my  face  :'  that,  accordingly, 
she  immediately  brought  it,  and  did  as 
her  husband  bade  her;  and  that  she  burnt 
the  greatest  part  of  the  potion ;  but  that 
a  little  of  it  was  left,  that  if  the  king, 
after  Pheroras's  death,  should  treat  her 
ill,  she  might  poison  herself,  and  thereby 
get  clear  of  her  miseries. "  Upon  her 
saying  thus,  she  brought  out  the  potion, 
and  the  box  in  which  it  was,  before  them 
all.  Nay,  there  was  another  brother  of 
Antiphilus,  and  his  mother  also,  who,  by 
the  extremity  of  pain  and  torture,  con- 
fessed the  same  things,  and  owned  the 
box  [to  be  that  which  had  been  brought 
out  of  Egypt].  The  high  priest's  daugh- 
ter also,  who  was  the  king's  wife,  was 
accused  to  have  been  conscious  of  all  this, 
and  had  resolved  to  conceal  it;   for  which 


reason  Herod  divorced  her,  and  blotted 
her  son  out  of  his  testament,  wherein  he 
had  been  mentioned  as  one  that  was  to 
reign  after  him;  and  he  took  the  high- 
priesthood  away  from  his  father-in-law, 
Simeon,  the  son  of  Boethus,  and  appointed 
Matthias,  the  son  of  Theophilus,  who  was 
born  at  Jerusalem,  to  be  high  Driest  in 
his  room. 

While  this  was  doing,  Bathyllus  also 
Antipater's  freedman,  come  from  Borne, 
and,  upon  the  torture,  was  found  to  have 
brought  another  potion,  to  give  it  into  the 
hands  of  Antipater's  mother,  and  of  Phe- 
roras, that  if  the  former  potion  did  not 
operate  upon  the  king,  this  at  least  might 
carry  him  off.  There  came  also  letters 
from  Herod's  friends  at  Borne,  by  the  ap- 
probation and  at  the  suggestion  of  Anti- 
pater, to  accuse  Archelaus  and  Philip,  as 
if  they  calumniated  their  father  on  account 
of  the  slaughter  of  Alexander  and  Aristo- 
bulus,  and  as  if  they  commiserated  theii 
deaths,  and  as  if,  because  they  were  sent  for 
home,  (for  their  father  had  already  recalled 
them,)  they  concluded  they  were  them- 
selves also  to  be  destroyed.  These  letters 
had  been  procured  by  great  rewards,  by 
Antipater's  friends;  but  Antipater  him- 
self wrote  to  his  father  about  them,  and 
laid  the  heaviest  things  to  their  charge; 
yet  did  he  entirely  excuse  them  of  any 
guilt,  and  said  they  were  but  young  men, 
and  so  imputed  their  words  to  their  youth. 
But  he  said,  that  he  had  himself  been 
very  busy  in  the  affair  relating  to  Sylleus, 
and  iu  getting  interest  among  the  great 
men ;  and,  on  that  account,  he  had  bought 
splendid  ornaments  to  present  them  withal, 
which  cost  him  200  talents.  Now,  one 
may  wonder  how  it  came  about,  that  while 
so  many  accusations  were  laid  against  him 
in  Judea,  during  seven  months  before  this 
time,  he  was  not  made  acquainted  with 
any  of  them.  The  causes  of  which  were, 
that  the  roads  Were  exactly  guarded,  and 
that  men  hated  Antipater;  for  there  was 
nobody  who  would  run  any  hazard  him- 
self, to  gain  him  any  advantage. 


CHTAPTEB  v. 

Antipater  returns  from  Ptome — accused  by  Nico- 
laus  of  Damascus — condemned  to  die  by  Herod 
and  Quintilius  Varus. 

Now  Herod,  upon  Antipater's  writing 

to  him  that  having  done  all  that  he  was 

to  do,  and  this  in  the  manner  he  was  to 

do  it,  he  would  suddenly   come  to  him, 

concealed  his  anger  against  him,  and  wrote 


Chap.  V.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


621 


back  to  him,  and  bade  him  not  delay  his 
journey,  lest  any  harm  should  befall  him- 
self in  his  absence.      At  the  same  time, 
also,  he  made  some  little  complaint  about 
his  mother,  but  promised  that  he  would 
lay  those  cc  mplaints  aside  when  he  should 
return.     He  withal  expressed  his  entire 
affection  for  him,  as  fearing  lest  he  should 
have  some  suspicion  of  him,  and  defer  his 
journey  to  him;   and  lest,  while  he  lived 
at  Rome,  he  should  lay  plots  for  the  king- 
dom, and,  moreover,  do  somewhat  against 
himself.     This  letter  Antipater  met  with 
in   Cilicia;    but  had  received  an  account 
of  Pheroras's  death  before  at  Tarentum. 
This  last  news  affected  him  deeply;  not 
out  of  any  affection  for  Pheroras,  but  be- 
cause he  was  dead  without  having  mur- 
dered his  father,  which  he  had  promised 
him  to  do.     And  when  he  was  at  Celen- 
dris  in  Cilicia,  he  began  to  deliberate  with 
himself  about  his  sailing  home,  as  being 
much  grieved    with   the    ejection    of   his 
mother.    Now,  some  of  his  friends  advised 
him  that  he  should  tarry    awhile  some- 
where, in  expectation  of  further  informa- 
tion.     But    others    advised  him    to    sail 
home  without  delay;  for  that  if  he  were 
once  come  thither,  he  would  soon  put  an 
end  to  all  accusations,  and  that  nothing 
afforded   any    weight    to  his    accusers  at 
present  but    his  absence.     He  was   per- 
suaded by  these  last,  and  sailed  on,  and 
ianded  at  the  haven  called  Sebastus,  which 
Herod  had  built  at  vast  expenses  in  ho- 
nour of  Caesar,  and  called  Sebastus.     And 
now  was  Antipater  evidently  in  a  miserable 
condition,  while  nobody  came  to  him  nor 
saluted  him,  as  they  did  at  his  going  away, 
with  good  wishes  or  joyful  acclamations; 
nor  was  there  any  thing  to  hinder  them 
from  entertaining  him,  on  the  contrary, 
with  bitter  curses,  while  they  supposed  he 
was  come  to  receive  his  punishment  for 
the  murder  of  his  brethren. 

Now  Quintilius  Varus  was  at  this  time 
at  Jerusalem,  being  sent  to  succeed  Sa- 
turninus  as  president  of  Syria,  and  had 
come  as  an  assessor  to  Herod,  who  had 
desired  his  advice  in  his  present  affairs; 
and  as  they  were  sitting  together,  Anti- 
pater came  upon  them,  without  knowing 
any  thing  of  the  matter;  so  he  came  into 
the  place  clothed  in  purple.  The  porters, 
indeed,  received  him  in,  but  excluded  his 
friends.  And  now  he  was  in  great  dis- 
order, and  presently  understood  the  con- 
dition he  was  in,  while,  upon  his  going  to 
salute  his  father,  he  was  repulsed  by  him, 


who  called  him  a  murderer  of  his  bre- 
thren, and  a  plotter  of  destruction  against 
himself,  and  told  him  that  Varus  should 
be  his  auditor  and  his  judge  the  very  next 
day;  so  he  found  that  what  misfortunes 
he  now  heard  of  was  already  upon  him, 
with  the  greatness  of  which  he  went  away 
in  confusion;  upon  which  his  mother  and 
his  wife  met  him,  (which  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  Antigonus,  who  was  king  of 
the  Jews  before  Herod,)  from  whom  ho 
learned  all  circumstances  which  concerned 
him,  and  then  prepared  himself  for  his 
trial. 

On  the  next  day  Varus  and  the  king 
sat  together  in  judgment,  and  both  their 
friends   were  also   called  in,   as  also  the 
king's  relations,   with  his  sister  Salome, 
and  as  many  as  could  discover  any  thing, 
and  such  as  had  been  tortured;  and  be- 
sides   these,  some    slaves    of   Antipater's 
mother,  who  were  taken  up  a  little  before 
Antipater's    coming,    and    brought    with 
them  a  written  letter,  the  sum  of  which 
was  this :  that  he  should  not  come  back, 
because  all  had  come  to  his  father's  know- 
ledge :  and  that  Caesar  was  the  only  refuge 
he  had  left  to  prevent  both  his  and  hei 
delivery   into  his  father's   hands.     Then 
did  Antipater  fall    down    at  his  father's 
feet,  and  besought  him  not  to  prejudge 
his  cause,  but  that  he  might  be  first  heard 
by  his  father,  and  that  his  father  would 
keep  himself  still  unprejudiced.     So  He- 
rod ordered  him  to  be   brought  into  the 
midst,  and  then  lamented  himself  about 
his  children,  from  whom  he  had  suffered 
such  great  misfortunes;  and  because  An- 
tipater fell  upon  him  in  his  old  age.     He 
also  reckoned  up  what  maintenance,  and 
what  education  he  had  given  them  ;  and 
what  seasonable  supplies  of  wealth  he  had 
afforded  them,  according  to  their  own  de- 
sires ;  none  of  which  favours  had  hindered 
them   from    contriving    against  him,  and 
from  bringing  his  very  life  into  danger  in 
order  to  gain  his  kingdom,  after  an  im- 
pious  manner,  by    taking    away  his    life 
before  the  course  of  nature,  their  father's 
wishes,  or  justice  required  that  the  king- 
dom should  come  to  them;  and  that  he 
wondered  what  hopes  could  elevate  Anti- 
pater to  such  a  pass  as  to  be  hardy  enough 
to  attempt  such  things;   that  he  had   by 
his  testament  in  writing  declL:i3d  him  his 
successor  in  the  government;  and  while 
he  was  alive,  he  was  in  no  respect  inferior 
to  him,  either  in  hif»  illustrious  dignity,  01 
in  power  and  autlx  nty,  he  having  no  law 


522 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XVII. 


than  fifty  talents  for  his  yearly  income, 
and  had  received  for  his  journey  to  Rome 
no  fewer  than  thirty  talents.  He  also 
objected  to  him  the  case  of  his  brethren 
whom  he  had  accused ;  and  if  they  were 
guilty,  he  had  imitated  their  example; 
and  if  not,  he  had  brought  him  ground- 
less accusations  against  his  near  relations; 
for  that  he  had  been  acquainted  with  all 
those  things  by  him,  and  by  nobody  else, 
and  had  done  what  was  done  by  his  ap- 
probation, and  whom  he  now  absolved 
from  all  that  was  criminal,  by  becoming 
the  inheritor  of  the  guilt  of  such  their 
parricide. 

When  Herod  had  thus  spoken,  he  fell 
weeping,  and  was  not  able  to  say  any 
more ;  but  at  his  desire  Nicolaus  of 
Damascus,  being  the  king's  friend,  and 
always  conversant  with  him,  and  acquaint- 
ed with  whatsoever  he  did,  and  with  the 
circumstances  of  his  affairs,  proceeded  to 
what  remained,  and  explained  all  that 
concerned  the  demonstrations  and  evi- 
dences of  the  facts.  Upon  which  Anti- 
pater,  in  order  to  make  his  legal  defence, 
turned  himself  to  his  father,  and  enlarged 
upon  the  many  indications  he  had  given 
of  his  good-will  to  him;  and  instanced  in 
the  honours  that  had  been  done  him, 
which  yet  had  not  been  done,  had  he  not 
deserved  them  by  his  virtuous  concern 
about  him ;  for  that  he  had  made  pro- 
vision for  every  thing  that  was  fit  (to  be 
foreseen  beforehand,  as  to  giving  him  his 
wisest  advice;  and  wheuever  there  was 
occasion  for  the  labour  of  his  own  hands, 
he  had  not  grudged  any  such  pains  for 
him.  And  that  it  was  almost  impossible 
that  he,  who  had  delivered  his  father 
from  so  many  treacherous  contrivances 
laid  against  him,  should  be  himself  in  the 
plot  against  him,  and  so  lose  all  the  re- 
putation he  had  gained  for  his  virtue,  by 
his  wickedness  which  succeeded  it;  and 
this,  while  he  had  nothing  to  prohibit 
him,  who  was  already  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor, to  enjoy  the  royal  honour  with  his 
father  also  at  present;  and  that  there  was 
no  likelihood  that  a  person  who  had  the 
one-half  of  that  authority  without  any 
danger,  and  with  a  good  character,  should 
hunt  after  the  whole  with  infamy  and 
danger,  and  this  when  it  was  doubtful 
whether  he  could  obtain  it  or  not;  and 
when  he  saw  the  sad  example  of  his 
brethren  before  him,  and  was  both  the 
informer  and  the  accuser  against  them,  at 
a   time  when  they   might  not  otherwise 


have  been  discoveied;  nay,  was  the  au- 
thor of  the  punishment  inflicted  upon 
them,  when  it  appeared  evidently  thai 
they  were  guilty  of  a  wicked  attempt 
against  their  father;  and  that  even  the 
contentions  that  were  in  the  king's  family 
were  indications  that  he  had  ever  managed 
affairs  out  of  the  sincerest  affection  to  his 
father.  And  as  to  what  he  had  done  at 
Rome,  Csesar  was  a  witness  thereto,  who 
was  yet  no  more  to  be  imposed  npon  than 
God  himself;  of  whose  opinions  his  let- 
ters sent  hither  are  sufficient  evidence : 
and  that  it  was  not  reasonable  to  prefer 
the  calamities  of  such  as  proposed  to  raise 
disturbances,  before  those  letters ;  the 
greatest  part  of  which  calumnies  had  been 
raised  during  his  absence,  which  gave 
scope  to  his  enemies  to  forget  them,  which 
they  had  not  been  able  to  do  if  he  had 
been  there.  Moreover,  he  showed  the 
weakness  of  the  evidence  obtained  by  tor- 
ture, which  was  commonly  false;  because 
the  distress  men  are  in  under  such  tor- 
tures, naturally  obliges  them  to  say  many 
things  in  order  to  please  those  that  govern 
them.  He  also  offered  himself  to  the 
torture. 

Hereupon  there  was  a  change  observed 
in  the  assembly,  while  they  greatly  pitied 
Antipater,  who,  by  weeping,  and  putting 
on  a  countenance  suitable  to  his  sad  case, 
made  them  commiserate  the  same;  inso- 
much that  his  very  enemies  were  moved 
to  compassion ;  and  it  appeared  plainly 
that  Herod  himself  was  affected  in  his 
own  mind,  although  he  was  not  willing  it 
should  be  taken  notice  of.  Then  did 
Nicolaus  begin  to  prosecute  what  the  king 
had  begun,  and  that  with  great  bitter- 
ness; and  summed  up  all  the  evidence 
which  arose  from  the  tortures,  or  from  the 
testimonies.  He  principally  and  largely 
commended  the  king's  virtues,  which  he 
had  exhibited  in  the  maintenance  and 
education  of  his  sons;  while  he  never 
could  gain  any  advantage  thereby,  but 
still  fell  from  one  misfortune  to  another. 
Although  he  owned  that  he  was  not  so 
much  surprised  with  that  thoughtless 
behaviour  of  his  former  sons,  who  were 
but  young,  and  were  besides  corrupted  by 
wicked  counsellors,  who  were  the  occasion 
of  their  wiping  out  of  their  minds  all  the 
righteous  dictates  of  nature,  and  this  out 
of  a  desire  of  coming  to  the  government 
sooner  than  they  ought  to  do;  yet  that  he 
could  not  but  justly  stand  amazed  at  the 
horrid    wickedness    of    Antipater,    who. 


Chap.  V.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


590 


although  he  had  not  only  had  great  bene- 
fits bestowed  on  nim  by  his  father,  enough 
to  tame  his  reason,  yet  could  not  be  more 
tamed  than  the  most  envenomed  serpents; 
whereas,  even  those   creatures    admit   of 
6ome  mitigation,  and  will  not  bite  their 
benefactors,  while  Antipater  hath  not  let 
the  misfortunes  of  his  brethren  be  any  hin- 
derance  to  him,  but  he  hath  gone  on  to  imi- 
tate their  barbarity  notwithstanding.    "  Yet 
wast  thou,  0  Antipater  !  (as  thou  hast  thy- 
self confessed)  the   informer  as   to  what 
wicked   actions   they  had  done,  and    the 
searcher  out  of  the  evidence  against  them, 
and  the   author  of  the  punishment   they 
underwent  upon  their  detection.     Nor  do 
we  say  this  as  accusing  thee  for  being  so 
zealous  in   thy  anger   against  them,   but 
are  astonished  at  thy  endeavours  to  imi- 
tate  their   profligate  behaviour;    and  we 
discover  thereby,  that  thou  didst  not  act 
thus  for  the  safety  of  thy  father,  but  for 
the  destruction  of  thy  brethren,  that  by 
such  outside  hatred  of  their  impiety  thou 
mightest  be  believed  a  lover  of  thy  father, 
and    mightest    thereby    get    thee    power 
enough  to  do  mischief  with  the  greatest 
impunity;   which  design,  thy  actions,  in- 
deed, demonstrate.     It  is  true,  thou  tookest 
thy  brethren  off,  because  thou  didst  con- 
vict them  of  their  wicked   designs;    but 
thou  didst  not  yield  up  to  justice  those 
who    were    their    partners;    and    thereby 
didst  make  it  evident  to  all  men  that  thou 
niadest  a  covenant  with  them  against  thy 
father,  when  thou  chosest  to  be  the  accuser 
of  thy   brethren,  as  desirous   to   gain   to 
thyself   alone    this    advantage    of   laying 
plots  to  kill  thy  father,  and  so  to  enjoy 
double  pleasure,  which  is  truly  worthy  of 
thy    evil    disposition,    which     thou     hast 
openly  shown    against   thy  brethren;  on 
which  account  thou  didst  rejoice,  as  hav- 
ing done  a  most  famous  exploit,  nor  was 
that  behaviour  unworthy  of  thee;  but  if 
thy   intention   were    otherwise,   thou    art 
worse   than    they:   while  thou  didst  con- 
trive  to   hide   thy   treachery   against   thy 
father,    thou    didst    hate    them ;     not    as 
plotters    against    thy   father,  for   in    that 
case  thou   hadst   not   thyself  fallen  upon 
th3  like  crime,  but  as  successors   of  his 
dominions,  and  more  worthy  of  that  suc- 
ion  than  thyself.     Thou  wouldst  kill 
thy  father  after  thy  brethren,  lest  thy  lies 
raised  against    them  might  be  detected ; 
and  lest  thou  shouldst  suffer  what  punish- 
ment thou   hast   deserved,   thou   hadst   a 
mind  to  exact  that  punishment  of  thv  un- 


happy father,  and  didst  devise  such  a  sort 
of  uncommon  parricide  as  the  world  never 
yet  saw;  for  thou  who  art  his  son  didst  not 
only  lay  a  treacherous  design  against  thy 
father,  and  didst  it  while  he  loved  thee, 
and   had  been  thy  benefactor,  had   made 
thee  in  reality  his  partner  in  the  kingdom, 
and  had  openly  declared  thee  his  successor, 
while  thou  was  not  forbidden  to  taste  the 
sweetness  of  authority  already,  and  hadsl 
the  firm  hope  of  what  was  future  by  thv 
father's  determination,  and   the   security 
of  a  written  testament;   but  for  certain 
thou  didst  not  measure   these  things  ac- 
cording to  thy  father's  various  dispositions, 
but  according  to  thy  own  thoughts  and  in 
clinations;  and  wast  desirous  to  take  the 
part   that   remained    away   from   thy   toe 
indulgent  father,  and  soughtest  to  destroy 
him  with  thy  deeds,  whom  thou  in  words 
pretendest  to    preserve.     Nor   wast  thou 
content   to  be   wicked    thyself,    but  thou 
filledst  thy  mother's  head  with    thy   de 
vices,  and  raisedst  disturbance  among  thy 
brethren,  and  hadst  the  boldness  to  call 
thy  father  a  wild  beast ;   while  thou  hadsl 
thyself  a  mind  more  cruel  than  any  ser 
pent,  whence  thou  sentest  out  that  poison 
among  thy  nearest  kindred  and  greatesl 
benefactors,  and  invitedst  them  to  assisl 
thee  and  guard  thee,  and  didst  hedge  thy 
self  in  on  all  sides  by  the  artifices  of  both 
men  and  women,  against  an  old  man,  as 
though  that  mind  of  thine  was  not  suffi 
cient  of  itself  to  support  so  great  a  hatred 
as   thou   barest   to  him ;    and   here  thou 
appearest,  after  the  torture  of  freemen,  oi 
domestics,  of  mem  and  women,  which  have 
been  examined  on  thy  account,  and  aftei 
the  informations  of  thy  fellow-conspirators 
as  making  haste  to  contradict  the  truth 
and  hast  thought  on  ways  not  only  how  te 
take  thy  father  out  of  the  world,  but  te 
disannul  that  written  law  which  is  against 
thee,  and   the   virtue  of  Varus,  and  the 
nature  of  justice;  nay,  such  is  that  impu 
dence  of  thine  on  which  thou   confidest 
that  thou  desirest  to  be  put  to  the  torture 
thyself,  while  thou  allegest  that  the  tor- 
tures of  those  already  examined  thereby 
have  made  them  tell  lies;   that  those  that 
have  been  the  deliverers  of  thy  father  may 
not  be  allowed  to  have  spoken  the  truth  ; 
but  that  thy  tortures  may  be  esteemed  the 
discoverers  of  truth.     Wilt  not  thou,   0 
Varus!  deliver  the  king  from  the  injuries 
of  his  kindred  ?     Wilt  not  thou  destroy 
this  wicked  wild  beast,  which  hath  pre 
tended  kindness  to  his  fath  ;r,  in  order  U 


524 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVII 


destroy  his  brethren ;  while  yet  he  is  him- 
self alone  ready  to  carry  off  the  kingdom 
immediately,  and  appears  to  be  the  most 
bloody  butcher  to  him  of  them  all?  for 
thou  art  sensible  that  parricide  is  a  gene- 
ral injury  both  to  nature  and  to  common 
life;  and  that  the  intention  of  parricide  is 
Dot  inferior  to  its  perpetration ;  and  he 
who  does  not  punish  it,  is  injurious  to 
nature  itself." 

Nicolaus  added  further  what  belonged 
to  Antipater's  mother,  and  whatsoever  she 
had  prattled  like  a  woman ;  as  also  about 
the  predictions  and  the  sacrifices  relat- 
ing to  the  king;  and  whatsoever  Anti- 
pater  had  done  lasciviously  in  his  cups, 
and  his  amours  among  Pheroras's  women; 
the  examination  upon  torture ;  and  what- 
soever concerned  the  testimonies  of  the 
witnesses,  which  were  many,  and  of  various 
kinds;  some  prepared  beforehand,  and 
others  were  sudden  answers,  which  further 
declared  and  confirmed  the  foregoing  evi- 
dence. For  those  meu  who  were  not 
acquainted  with  Antipater's  practices,  but 
had  concealed  them  out  of  fear,  when  they 
saw  that  he  was  exposed  to  the  accusations 
of  the  former  witnesses,  and  that  his  great 
good  fortune,  which  had  supported  him 
hitherto,  had  now  evidently  betrayed  him 
into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  who  were 
now  insatiable  in  their  hatred  to  him,  told 
all  they  knew  of  him ;  and  his  ruin  was 
now  hastened,  not  so  much  by  the  enmity 
of  those  who  were  his  accusers,  as  by  his 
gross,  impudent,  and  wicked  contrivances, 
and  by  his  ill-will  to  his  father  and  his 
brethren;  while  he  had  filled  their  house 
with  disturbance,  and  caused  them  to 
murder  one  another;  and  was  neither 
fair  in  his  hatred  nor  kind  in  his  friend- 
ship, but  just  so  far  as  served  his  own 
turn.  Now,  there  were  a  great  number 
who  for  a  long  time  beforehand  had  seen 
all  this,  and  especially  such  as  were 
naturally  disposed  to  judge  of  matters  by 
the  rules  of  virtue,  because  they  were 
used  to  determine  about  affairs  without 
passion,  but  had  been  restrained  from 
making  any  open  complaints  before ; 
these,  upon  the  leave  now  given  them, 
produced  all  that  they  knew  before  the 
public.  The  demonstrations,  also,  of 
these  wicked  facts  could  noway  be  dis- 
proved; because  the  many  witnesses  there 
were,  did  neither  speak  out  of  favour  to 
Herod,  nor  were  they  obliged  to  keep 
what  thsy  had  to  say  silent,  out  of  sus- 
picion of  any  danger  they  were  in;  but 


they  spake  what  they  knew,  because  they 
thought  such  actions  very  wicked,  ana 
that  Antipater  deserved  the  greatest  pu- 
nishment; and,  indeed,  not  so  much  for 
Herod's  safety,  as  on  account  of  the  man'* 
own  wickedness.  Many  things  were  also 
said,  and  those  by  a  great  number  of 
persons,  who  were  noway  obliged  to  say 
them :  insomuch  that  Antipater,  who 
used  generally  to  be  very  shrewd  in  his 
lies  and  impudence,  was  not  able  to  say 
one  word  to  the  contrary.  When  Nicolaus 
had  left  off  speaking,  and  had  produced  the 
evidence,  Varus  bade  Antipater  to  betake 
himself  to  the  making  of  his  defence,  if 
he  had  prepared  any  thing  whereby  it 
might  appear  that  he  was  not  guilt}'-  of 
the  crimes  he  was  accused  of;  for  that,  as 
he  was  himself  desirous,  so  did  he  know 
that  his  father  was  in  like  manner  de- 
sirous also  to  have  him  found  entirely 
innocent;  but  Antipater  fell  down  on  his 
face,  and  appealed  to  God  and  to  all  men, 
for  testimonials  of  his  innocency,  desiring 
that  God  would  declare,  by  some  evident 
signals,  that  he  had  not  laid  any  plot 
against  his  father.  This  being  the  usual 
method  of  all  men  destitute  of  virtue,  that, 
when  they  set  about  any  wicked  under- 
takings, they  fall  to  work  according  to 
their  own  inclinations,  as  if  they  believed 
that  God  was  unconcerned  in  human 
affairs;  but  when  once  they  are  found 
out,  and  are  in  danger  of  undergoing  the 
punishment  due  to  their  crimes,  they  en- 
deavour to  overthrow  all  the  evidence 
against  them,  by  appealing  to  God;  which 
was  the  very  thing  which  Antipater  now 
did  ;  for  whereas  he  had  done  every  thing 
as  if  there  was  no  God  in  the  world,  when 
he  was  on  all  sides  distressed  by  justice, 
and  when  he  had  no  other  advantage  to 
expect  from  any  legal  proofs,  by  which 
he  might  disprove  the  accusations  laid 
against  him,  he  impudently  abused  the 
majesty  of  God,  and  ascribed  it  to  his 
power,  that  he  had  been  preserved  hither- 
to; and  produced  before  them  all  what 
difficulties  he  had  ever  undergone  in  hid 
bold  acting  for  his  father's  preservation. 

So  when  Vaius,  upon  asking  Antipater 
what  he  had  to  say  fpr  himself,  found  that 
he  had  nothing  to  say  besides  his  appeal 
to  God,  and  saw  that  there  was  no  end  of 
that,  he  bade  them  bring  the  potion 
before  the  court,  that  he  might  see  what 
virtue  still  remained  in  it;  and  when  it 
was  brought,  and  one  that  was  condemned 
to  die  had  druuk  it  by  Varus'' s  conmand, 


Cha?  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


525 


he  died  pr3sently.  Then  Varus  got  up, 
and  departed  out  of  the  court,  and  went 
away  the  day  following  to  Antioch,  where 
his  usual  residence  was,  because  that  was 
the  place  of  the  Syrians;  upon  which 
Herod  laid  his  son  in  bonds ;  but  what 
were  Varus's  discourses  to  Herod,  was 
not  known  to  the  generality,  and  upon 
what  words  it  was  that  he  went  away; 
though  it  was  also  generally  supposed,  that 
whatsoever  Herod  did  afterward  about 
his  son,  was  done  with  his  approbation  : 
but  when  Herod  had  bound  his  son,  he 
sent  letters  to  Rome  to  Caesar  about  him, 
and  such  messengers  withal  as  should,  by 
word  of  mouth,  inform  Caesar  of  Anti- 
pater's  wickedness.  Now,  at  this  very 
time,  there  was  seized  a  letter  of  Anti- 
philus,  written  to  Antipater  out  of  Egypt, 
(for  he  lived  there ;)  and,  when  it  was 
opened  by  the  king,  it  was  found  to  con- 
tain what  follows: — "I  have  sent  thee 
Acme's  letter,  and  hazarded  my  own  life ; 
for  thou  knowest  that  I  am  in  danger 
from  two  families  if  I  be  discovered.  I 
wish  thee  good  success  in  thy  affair." 
These  were  the  contents  of  this  letter; 
but  the  king  made  inquiry  about  the 
other  letter  also,  for  it  did  not  appear ; 
and  Antiphilus's  slave,  who  brought  that 
letter  which  had  been  read,  denied  that  he 
had  received  the  other :  but  while  the 
king  was  in  doubt  about  it,  one  of  Herod's 
friends,  seeing  a  seam  upon  the  inner  coat 
of  the  slave,  and  a  doubling  of  the  cloth, 
(for  he  had  two  coats  on,)  he  guessed  that 
the  letter  might  be  within  that  doubling; 
which  accordingly  proved  to  be  true.  So 
they  took  out  the  letter ;  and  its  contents 
were  these: — "Acme  to  Antipater.  I 
have  written  such  a  letter  to  thy  father 
as  thou  desirest  me.  I  have  also  taken  a 
copy  and  sent  it,  as  if  it  came  from  Salome, 
t  my  lady  [Livia] ;  which  when  thou 
st,  I  know  that  Herod  will  punish 
Saloi  ie,  as  plotting  against  him."  Now, 
this  i  tended  letter  of  Salome  to  her 
lady  was  composed  by  Antipater,  in  the 
name  of  Salome,  as  to  its  meaning,  but  in 
the  words  of  Acme.  The  letter  was 
this: — "Acme  to  King  Herod.  I  have 
done  my  endeavour  that  nothing  that  is 
done  against  thee  should  be  concealed 
from  thee.  So,  upon  my  finding  a  letter 
of  Salome's,  written  to  my  lady  against 
thee,  I  have  written  out  a  copy  and  sent 
it  to  thee ;  with  hazard  to  thyself,  but  for 
thy  advantage.  The  reason  why  she  wrote 
it  was  this,  that   she  had  a  mind  to  he 


married  to  Sylleus.  Do  thou,  therefore, 
tear  this  letter  in  pieces,  that  I  may  not 
come  into  danger  of  my  life."  Now  Acme 
had  written  to  Antipater  himself,  and 
informed  him,  that  in  compliance  with 
his  command,  she  had  both  herself  written 
to  Herod,  as  if  Salome  had  laid  a  sudden 
plot  entirely  against  him,  and  had  herself 
sent  a  copy  of  an  epistle,  as  coming  from 
Salome  to  he'r  lady.  Now,  Acme  was  a 
Jew  by  birth,  and  a  servant  to  Julia, 
Caesar's  wife,  and  did  this  out  of  her 
friendship  for  Antipater,  as  having  been 
corrupted  by  him  with  a  large  present  of 
money,  to  assist  in  his  pernicious  designs 
against  his  father  and  his  aunt. 

Hereupon  Herod  was  so  amazed  at  the 
prodigious  wickedness  of  Antipater,  that 
he  was  ready  to  have  ordered  him  to  be 
slain  immediately,  as  a  turbulent  person 
in  the  most  important  concerns,  and  as 
one  that  had  laid  a  plot  not  only  against 
himself,  but  against  his  sister  also  ;  and 
even  corrupted  Caesar's  own  domestics. 
Salome  also  provoked  him  to  it,  beating 
her  breast,  and  bidding  him  kill  her,  if 
he  could  produce  any  credible  testimony 
that  she  had  acted  in  that  manner.  Herod 
also  sent  for  his  son,  and  asked  him  about 
this  matter,  and  bade  him  contradict  it  if 
he  could,  and  not  suppress  any  thing  he 
had  to  say  for  himself;  and  when  he  had 
not  one  word  to  say,  he  asked  him,  since 
he  was  every  way  caught  in  his  villany, 
that  he  would  make  no  further  delay,  but 
discover  his  associates  in  these  his  wicked 
designs.  So  he  laid  all  upon  Antiphilus; 
but  discovered  nobody  else.  Hereupon 
Herod  was  in  such  great  grief,  that  he 
was  ready  to  send  his  son  to  Rome  to 
Caesar,  there  to  give  an  account  of  these 
his  wicked  contrivances.  But  he  soon 
became  afraid,  lest  he  might  there,  by  the 
assistance  of  his  friends,  escape  the  danger 
he  was  in  :  so  he  kept  him  bound  as  be 
fore,  and  sent  more  ambassadors  and  let- 
ters [to  Rome]  to  accuse  his  son,  and  an 
account  of  what  assistance  Acme  had 
given  him  in  his  wicked  designs,  with 
copies  of  the  epistles  before  mentioned 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Illness  of  Herod — The  Jews  raise  a  sedition  there- 
on— are  discovered  and  punished. 

Now  Herod's  ambassadors  made  hasto 
to  Rome;  but  sent,  as  instructed  before- 
hand, what  answers  they  wore  to  make  to 
the   questions   put   to    them      They   als<i 


526 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVII 


cairied  the  epistles  with  them.  But  He- 
rod now  fell  into  a  distemper,  and  made 
his  will,  and  bequeathed  his  kingdom  to 
[Antipas,]  his  youngest  son ;  and  this  out 
of  that  hatred  to  Archelaus  and  Philip 
which  the  calumnies  of  Antipater  had 
raised  against  them.  He  also  bequeathed 
1000  talents  to  Caesar,  and  500  to  Julia, 
Caesar's  wife,  to  Caesar's  children,  and 
friends  and  freedmen.  He  also  distributed 
among  his  sons  and  their  sons,  his  money, 
his  revenues,  and  his  lands.  He  also 
made  Salome,  his  sister,  very  rich,  be- 
cause she  had  continued  faithful  to  him 
in  all  his  circumstances,  and  was  never  so 
rash  as  to  do  him  any  harm.  And  as  he 
despaired  of  recovering,  for  he  was  about 
the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  he  grew 
fierce,  and  indulged  the  bitterest  anger 
upon  all  occasions;  the  cause  whereof  was 
this,  that  he  thought  himself  despised, 
and  that  the  nation  was  pleased  with  his 
misfortunes;  besides  which,  he  resented  a 
sedition  which  some  of  the  lower  sort  of 
men  excited  against  him,  the  occasion  of 
which  was  as  follows  : — 

There  was  one  Judas,  the  son  of  Sari- 
pheus,  and  Matthias,  the  son  of  Margalo- 
thus,  two  of  the  most  eloquent  men  among 
the  Jews,  and  the  most  celebrated  inter- 
preters of  the  Jewish  laws,  and  men  well 
beloved  by  the  people,  because  of  their 
education  of  their  youth ;  for  all  those 
that  were  studious  of  virtue  frequented 
their  lectures  every  day.  These'  men, 
when  they  found  that  the  king's  distemper 
was  incurable,  excited  the  young  men  that 
they  would  pull  down  all  those  works 
which  the  king  had  erected  contrary  to 
the  law  of  their  fathers,  and  thereby  ob- 
tain the  rewards  which  the  law  will  confer 
on  them  for  such  actions  of  piety  :  for  that 
it  was  truly  on  account  of  Herod's  rash- 
ness in  making  such  things  as  the  law  had 
forbidden,  that  his  other  misfortunes,  and 
this  distemper  also,  which  was  so  unusual 
among  mankind,  and  with  which  he  was 
now  afflicted,  came  upon  him :  for  Herod 
had  caused  such  things  to  be  made,  which 
were  contrary  to  the  law,  of  which  he  was 
accused  by  Judas  and  Matthias;  for  the 
king  had  erected  over  the  great  gate  of 
the  temple  a  large  golden  eagle,  of  great 
value,  and  had  dedicated  it  to  the  temple. 
Now,  the  law  forbids  those  that  propose 
to  live  according  to  it,  to  erect  images,  or 
representations  of  any  living  creature.  So 
thise  wise  men  persuaded  [their  scholars] 
to  pull  down  the  golden  eagle :  alleging, 


that  although  they  should  incur  any  dangei 
which  might  bring  them  to  their  deaths} 
the  virtue  of  the  action  now  proposed  to 
them  would  appear  much  more  advan- 
tageous to  them  than  the  pleasures  of  life; 
since  they  would  die  for  the  preservation 
and  observation  of  the  law  of  their  fathers  ' 
since  they  would  also  acquire  an  everlast- 
ing fame  and  commendation ;  since  they 
would  be  both  commended  by  the  present 
generation,  and  leave  an  example  of  life 
that  would  never  be  forgotten  to  posterity ; 
since  that  common  calamity  of  dying  can- 
not be  avoided  by  our  living  so  as  to  es- 
cape any  such  dangers :  that,  therefore,  it 
is  a  right  thing  for  those  who  are  in  love 
with  a  virtuous  conduct,  to  wait  for  that 
fatal  hour  by  such  a  behaviour  as  may 
carry  them  out  of  the  world  with  praise 
and  honour;  and  that  this  will  alleviate 
death  to  such  a  degree,  thus  to  come  at  it 
by  the  performance  of  brave  actions,  which 
bring  us  into  danger  of  it ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  leave  that  reputation  behind 
them  to  their  children,  and  to  all  their 
relations,  whether  they  be  men  or  women, 
which  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  them 
afterward. 

And  with  such  discourses  as  this  did 
these  men  excite  the  young  men  to  this 
action;  and  a  report  being  come  to  them 
that  the  king  was  dead,  this  was  an  addi- 
tion to  the  wise  men's  persuasions ;  so,  in 
the  very  middle  of  the  day,  they  got  upon 
the  place,  they  pulled  down  the  eagle,  and 
cut  it  into  pieces  with  axes,  while  a  great 
number  of  the  people  were  in  the  temple. 
And  now  the  king's  captain,  upon  hearing 
what  the  undertaking  was,  and  supposing 
it  was  a  thing  of  a  higher  nature  than  it 
proved  to  be,  came  up  thither,  having  a 
great  band  of  soldiers  with  him,  such  as 
was  sufficient  to  put  a  stop  to  the  multi- 
tude of  those  who  pulled  down  what  was 
dedicated  to  God :  so  he  fell  upon  them 
unexpectedly,  and  as  they  were  upon  this 
bold  attempt,  in  a  foolish  presumption 
rather  than  a  cautious  circumspection,  as 
is  usual  with  the  multitude,  and  while 
they  were  in  disorder,  and  incautious  of 
what  was  for  their  advantage,  so  he  caught 
no  fewer  than  forty  of  the  young  men, 
who  had  the  courage  to  stay  behind  when 
the  rest  ran  away,  together  with  the  au- 
thors of  this  bold  attempt,  Judas  and 
Matthias,  who  thought  it  an  ignominious 
thing  to  retire  upon  his  approach,  and  led 
them  to  the  king.  And  when  they  had 
come  to  the  king,  and  he  had  asked  them 


Chap.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


527 


if  they  had  been  so  bold  as  to  pull  down 
what  he  had  dedicated  to  God,  "Yes, 
(said  they,)  what  was  contrived  we  con- 
trived, and  what  hath  been  performed,  we 
performed  it;  and  that  with  such  a  virtu- 
ous courage  as  becomes  men ;  for  we  have 
given  our  assistance  to  those  things  which 
were  dedicated  to  the  majesty  of  God,  and 
we  have  provided  for  what  we  have  learned 
by  hearing  the  law  :  and  it  ought  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  if  we  esteem  those  laws 
which  Moses  had  suggested  to  him,  and 
were  taught  him  by  God,  and  which  he 
wrote  and  left  behind  him,  more  worthy 
of  observation  than  thy  commands.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  will  undergo  death,  and  all 
sorts  of  punishments  which  thou  canst 
rnflict  upon  us,  with  pleasure,  since  we 
are  conscious  to  ourselves  that  we  shall 
die,  not  for  any  unrighteous  actions,  but 
for  our  love  to  religion. "  And  thus  they 
all  said,  and  their  courage  was  still  equal 
to  their  profession,  and  equal  to  that  with 
which  they  readily  set  about  this  under- 
taking. And  when  the  king  had  ordered 
them  to  be  bound,  he  sent  them  to  Jeri- 
cho, and  called  together  the  principal  men 
among  the  Jews;  and  when  they  were 
come,  he  made  them  assemble  in  the  thea- 
tre, and  because  he  could  not  himself 
stand,  he  *ay  upon  a  couch,  and  enume- 
rated the  many  labours  that  he  had  long 
endured  on  their  account,  and  his  build- 
ing of  the  temple,  and  what  a  vast  charge 
that  was  to  him;  while  the  Asamoneans, 
during  the  125  years  of  their  government, 
had  not  been  able  to  perform  any  so  great 
a  work  for  the  honour  of  God  as  that  was  : 
that  he  had  also  adorned  it  with  very 
valuable  donations :  on  which  account  he 
hoped  that  he  had  left  himself  a  memorial, 
and  procured  himself  a  reputation  after 
his  death.  He  then  cried  out,  that  these 
men  had  not  abstained  from  affronting 
him,  even  in  his  lifetime,  but  that,  in  the 
very  daytime,  and  in  the  sight  of  the 
multitude,  they  had  abused  him  to  that 
degree,  as  to  fall  upon  what  he  had  dedi- 
cated, and  in  that  way  of  abuse,  had  pulled 
it  down  to  the  ground.  They  pretended, 
indeed,  that  they  did  it  to  affront  him ; 
but  if  any  one  consider  the  thing  truly, 
they  will  find  that  they  were  guilty  of 
sacrilege  against  God  therein. 

But  the  people,  on  account  of  Herod's 

barbarous  temper,  and  for  fear  he  should 

be  so  cruel  as  to    inflict  punishment  on 

them,  said,  what  was  done,  was  done  with- 

>ut  approbation,  and   that  it  se3med  to 


them  that  the  actors  might  well  be  pu- 
nished for  what  they  had  done.  But  as 
for  Herod,  he  dealt  more  mildly  with 
others  [of  the  assembly] ;  but  he  deprived 
Matthias  of  the  high-priesthood,  as  in  part 
an  occasion  of  this  action,  and  made  Joa- 
zer,  who  was  Matthias's  wife's  brother, 
high  priest  in  his  stead.  Now  it  happened, 
that  during  the  time  of  the  high-priest- 
hood of  this  Matthias,  there  was  another 
person  made  high  priest  for  a  single  day, 
that  very  day  which  the  Jews  observed  as 
a  fast.  The  occasion  was  this : — This 
Matthias  the  high  priest,  on  the  night 
before  that  day  when  the  fast  was  to  be 
celebrated,  seemed,  in  a  dream,*  to  have 
conversation  with  his  wife;  and  because 
he  could  not  officiate  himself  on  that  ac- 
count, Joseph,  the  son  of  Ellemus,  his 
kinsman,  assisted  him  in  that  sacred  office. 
But  Herod  deprived  this  Matthias  of  the 
high-priesthood,  and  burnt  the  other  Mat- 
thias, who  had  raised  the  sedition,  with 
his  companions,  alive.  And  that  very 
night  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon.f 

But  now  Herod's  distemper  greatly  in- 
creased upon  him  after  a  severe  manner, 
and  this  by  God's  judgment  upon  him 
for  his  sins :  for  a  fire  glowed  in  him 
slowly,  which  did  not  so  much  appear  to 
the  touch  outwardly,  as  it  augmented  his 
pains  inwardly ;  for  it  brought  upon  him 
a  vehement  appetite  for  eating,  which  he 
could  not  avoid  to  supply  with  one  sort  of 
food  or  other.  His  intestines  were  also 
ulcerated,  and  the  chief  violence  of  his 
pain  lay  on  the  colon;  an  aqueous  and 
transparent  liquor  had  likewise  settled 
itself  about  his  feet,  and  a  like  matter 
afflicted  him  at  the  bottom  of  his  belly. 
Nay,  further,  his  privy  member  was  putre- 
fied, and  produced  worms;  and  when  be 
sat  upright  he  had  a  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing, which  was  very  loathsome,  on  account 
of  the  stench  of  his  breath,  and  the 
quickness  of  its  returns;  he  had  also 
convulsions  in  all  parts  of  his  body,  which 

*  This  fact,  that  one  Joseph  was  made  high 
priest  for  a  single  day,  on  occasion  of  the  action 
here  specified,  that  befell  Matthias,  the  real  high 
priest,  in  his  sleep,  the  night  before  the  great  iay 
of  expiation,  is  attested  to  both  in  the  Mishna  and 
Talmud,  as  I)r.  Hudson  here  informs  us. 

f  This  eclipse  of  the  moon  (which  is  the  only 
eclipse  of  either  of  the  luminaries  mentioned  by 
our  Josephus  in  any  of  his  writings)  is  of  the  great- 
est consequence  for  the  determination  of  the  time 
for  the  death  of  Herod  and  Antipater,  and  for  the 
birth  and  entire  chronology  of  Jesus  Christ.  It 
happened  March  13th,  in  the  year  of  the  Juliar 
period  4710,  and  the  fourth  year  before  the  Chris- 
tian era. 


528 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIi. 


increased  his  stench  to  an  insufferable 
degree.  It  wi\r,  said  by  those  who  pre- 
tended to  divine,  and  who  were  endued 
with  wisdom  to  foretell  such  things,  that 
God  inflicted  this  punishment  on  the  king 
on  account  of  his  great  impiety-  yet  was 
he  still  in  hope^  of  recovering,  although 
his  afflictions  seemed  greater  than  any  one 
could  bear.  He  also  sent  for  physicians, 
and  did  not  refuse  to  follow  what  they 
prescribed  for  his  assistance;  and  went 
beyond  the  river  Jordan,  and  bathed  him- 
self in  warm  baths  that  were  at  Callirrhoe, 
which,  besides  their  other  general  virtues, 
were  also  fit  to  drink;  which  water  runs 
into  the  lake  called  Asphaltitis.  And 
when  the  physicians  once  thought  fit  to 
have  him  bathed  in  a  vessel  full  of  oil,  it 
was  supposed  that  he  was  just  dying ;  but 
upon  the  lamentable  cries  of  his  domes- 
tics, he  revived;  and  having  no  longer  the 
least  hopes  of  recovering,  he  gave  order 
that  every  soldier  should  be  paid  fifty 
drachmae;  an<J  he  also  gave  a  great  deal 
to  their  commanders,  and  to  his  friends, 
and  came  again  to  Jericho,  where  he  grew 
£0  choleric,  that  it  brought  him  to  do  all 
things  like  a  madman;  and,  though  he 
was  near  his  death,  he  contrived  the  fol- 
lowing wicked  designs.  He  commanded 
that  all  the  principal  men  of  the  entire 
Jewish  nation,  wheresoever  they  lived, 
should  be  called  to  him.  Accordingly, 
there  were  a  great  number  that  came,  be- 
cause the  whole  nation  was  called,  and  all 
men  heard  of  this  call,  and  death  was  the 
penalty  of  such  as  should  despise  the 
epistles  that  were  sent  to  call  them.  And 
now  the  king  was  in  a  wild  rage  against 
them  all,  the  innocent  as  well  as  those  that 
afforded  him  ground  for  accusations;  and 
when  they  had  come,  he  ordered  them  all 
to  be  shut  up  in  the  hippodrome,*  and 
sent  for  his  sister  Salome,  and  her  husband 
Alexas,  and  spake  thus  to  them  : — "  I  shall 
die  in  a  little  time,  so  great  are  my  pains; 
which  death  ought  to  be  cheerfully  borne, 
and  to  be  welcomed  by  all  men;  but  what 
principally  troubles  me  is  this,  that  I  shall 
die  without  being  lamented,  and  without 
such  mourning  as  men  usually  expect  at  a 
kind's  death/'  For  that  he  was  not  un- 
acquainted  with  the  temper  of  the  Jews, 
that  his  death  would  be  a  thing  very  de- 
sirable, and  exceedingly  acceptable  to 
them;  because  during  his  lifetime  they 
were  ready  to    revolt   from   him,  and  to 

*  A  place  for  the  horse-races. 


abuse  the  donations  he  had  dedicated  to 
God :  "that  it,  therefore,  was  their  business 
to  resolve  to  afford  him  some  alleviation  of 
his  great  sorrows  on  this  occasion ;  for  that 
if  they  do  not  refuse  him  their  consent  in 
what  he  desires,  he  shall  have  a  great 
mourning  at  his  funeral,  and  such  as  never- 
any  king  had  before  him;  for  then  the 
whole  nation  would  mourn  from  their  very 
soul,  which  otherwise  would  be  done  in 
sport  and  mockery  only.  He  desires, 
therefore,  that  as  soon  as  they  see  he  hath 
given  up  the  ghost,  they  shall  place  soldiers 
round  the  hippodrome,  while  they  do  not 
know  that  he  is  dead ;  and  that  they  shall 
not  declare  his  death  to  the  multitude  till 
this  is  done,  but  that  they  shall  give  orders 
to  have  those  that  are  in  custody  shot  with 
their  darts;  and  that  this  slaughter  of 
them  all  will  cause  that  he  shall  not  miss 
to  rejoice  on  a  double  account;  that  as  he 
is  dying,  they  will  make  him  secure  that 
his  will  shall  be  executed  in  what  he 
charges  them  to  do;  and  that  he  shall 
have  the  honour  of  a  memorable  mourning 
at  his  funeral. "  So  he  deplored  his  con- 
dition, with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  obtested 
them  by  the  kindness  due  from  them,  as 
of  his  kindred,  and  by  the  faith  they  owed 
to  God,  and  begged  of  them  that  they  would 
not  hinder  him  of  this  honourable  mourn- 
ing at  his  funeral.  So  they  promised  him 
not  to  transgress  his  commands. 

Now,  any  one  may  easily  discover  the  tem- 
per of  this  man's  mind,  which  not  only  took 
pleasure  in  doing  what  he  had  done  for- 
merly against  his  relations,  out  of  the  love 
of  life,  but  by  those  commands  of  his  which 
savoured  of  no  humanity;  since  he  took 
care,  when  he  was  departing  out  of  this 
life,  that  the  whole  nation  should  be  put 
into  mourning,  and,  indeed,  made  desolate 
of  their  dearest  kindred,  when  he  gave 
order  that  one  out  of  every  family  should 
be  slain,  although  they  had  done  nothing 
that  was  unjust  or  against  him,  nor  were 
they  accused  of  any  other  crimes;  while 
it  is  usual  for  those  who  have  any  regard 
to  virtue,  to  lay  aside  their  hatred  at  such 
a  time,  even  with  respect  to  those  thev 
justly  esteemed  their  enemies. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Herod  contemplates  self-destruotion — orders  Anti- 
pater  to  be  slain. 

As  he  was  giving  these  commands  to  hisl 
relations,  there  came  letters  from  his  am- 
bassadors, who  had  been  sent  to  Rome,  unto 


Chap.  VIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


529 


Caesar,  which,  when   they  were  read,  their 
purport  was  this:  that  Acme  was  slain  by 
Caesar,  out  of  his  indignation  at  what  hand 
she  had  in  Antipater' s  wicked  practices ; 
and  that,  as  to  Antipater  himself,  Csesar 
left  it  to  Herod  to  act  as  became  a  father 
and  a  king,  and  either  to  banish  him  or  to 
take  away  his  life,  which  he  pleased.  When 
Herod  heard  this,  he  was  somewhat  better, 
out  of  the  pleasure  he  had  from  the  con- 
tents of  the  letters,  and  was  elevated  at  the 
death  of  Acme,  and  at  the  power  that  was 
ffiven  him  over  his  son;  but  as  his  pains 
had  become  very  great,  he  was  now  ready 
to  faint  for  want  of  something  to  eat;   so 
he  called  for  an  apple  and  a  knife;  for  it 
was  his  custom  formerly  to  pare  the  apple 
himself,  and  soon  afterward  to  cut  it,  and 
eat  it.     When   he  had  got  the  knife,  he 
looked  about,  and  had  a  mind  to  stab  him- 
self with  it;  and  he  had  done  it,  had  not 
his  first  cousin,  Achiabus,  prevented  him, 
and  held  his  hand,  and  cried  out  loudly. 
Whereupon   a  woful    lamentation    echoed 
through    the  palace,   and  a    great  tumult 
was  made,  as  if  the  king  were  dead.    Upon 
which  Antipater,  who  verily  believed  his 
father  was  deceased,  grew  bold  in  his  dis- 
course, as  hoping  to  be  immediately  and 
entirely  released  from  his  bonds,  and  to 
take  the  kingdom  into  his  hands,  without 
any  more  ado:  so  he  discoursed  with  the 
jailer  about  letting  him  go,  and,  in  that 
ease,  promised  him  great  things,  both  now 
ind  hereafter,  as  if  that  were  the  only  thing 
low  in   question;   but  the  jailer  did   not 
>nly  refuse  to  do  what  Antipater  would  have 
lira,  but  informed  the  king  of  his  inten- 
ions,  and  how  many  solicitations  he  had 
iad  from  him  [of  that  nature].    Hereupon 
[erod,  who  had  formerly  no  affection  nor 
;  '"d-will  toward  his  son  to  restrain   him, 
rhen   he   heard   what    the  jailer  said,  he 
ried  out,  and  beat  his  head,  although   he 
rag  at  .death's  door,   and   raised   himself 
pen  his  elbow,  and  sent  for  some  of  his 
oards,  and  commanded  them  to  kill  An- 
pater  without  any  further  delay,  and   to 
o  it  presently,  and  to  bury  him  in  an  ig- 
oble  manner  at  Hyrcania 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Herod's  death— his  testament — burial. 

And  now  Herod  altered  his  testament 

xm  the  alteration   of  his  mind;  for  he 

pointed  Antipas,  to  whom  he  had  before 

ft  the  kingdom,   to    be   tetrarcb  of  Ga- 

34 


lilee  and  Berea,  and  granted  the  kingdom 
to  Archelaus.  He  also  gave  Gaulonitis, 
and  Trachonitis,  and  Paneas  to  Philip, 
who  was  his  son,  but  own  brother  to  Ar- 
chelaus, by  the  name  of  a  tetrarchy;  and 
bequeathed  Jamnia,  and  Ashdod,  and 
Phasaelis,  to  Salome,  his  sister,  with 
500,000  [drachmae]  of  silver  that  was 
coined.  He  also  made  provision  for  all 
the  rest  of  his  kindred,  by  giving  them 
sums  of  money  and  annual  revenues,  and 
so  left  them  all  in  a  wealthy  condition. 
He  bequeathed  also  to  Caesar  10,000,000 
[of  drachmae]  of  coined  money;  besides 
both  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  and  gar- 
ments exceedingly  costly,  to  Julia,  Caesar's 
wife;  and  to  certain  others,  5,000,000. 
When  he  had  done  those  things,  he  died, 
the  fifth  day  after  he  had  caused  Antipater 
to  be  slain;  having  reigned,  since  he  had 
procured  Antigonus  to  be  slain,  thirty-four 
years;  but  since  he  had  been  declared  king 
by  the  Romans,  thirty-seven  years.  A  man 
he  was  of  great  barbarity  toward  all  men 
equally,  and  a  slave  to  his  passions;  but 
above  the  consideration  of  what  was  right; 
yet  was  he  favoured  by  fortune  as  much  as 
any  man  ever  was,  for,  from  a  private  man. 
he  became  a  king;  and  though  he  was  en- 
compassed with  ten  thousand  dangers,  he 
got  clear  of  them  all,  and  continued  his 
life  till  a  very  old  age;  but  then,  as  to  the 
affairs  of  his  family  and  children,  in  which, 
indeed,  according  to  his  own  opinion,  he 
was  also  very  fortunate,  because  he  was 
able  to  conquer  his  enemies;  yet,  in  my 
opinion,  he  was  herein  very  unfortunate. 

But  then  Salome  and  Alexas,  before  the 
king's  death  was  made  known,  dismissed 
those  that  were  shut  up  in  the  hippodrome, 
and  told  them  that  the  king  ordered  them 
to  go  away  to  their  own  lands,  and  take- 
care  of  their  own  affairs,  which  was  esteem- 
ed by  the  nation  a  great  benefit;  and  now 
the  king's  death  was  made  public,  when 
Salome  and  Alexas  gathered  the  soldiery 
together  in  the  amphitheatre  at  Jericho; 
and  the  first  thing  they  did  was,  they  read 
Herod's  letter,  written  to  the  soldiery, 
thanking  them  for  their  fidelity  and  good- 
will to  him,  and  exorting  them  to  afford 
his  son  Archelaus,  whom  he  had  appointed 
for  their  king,  like  fidelity  and  good- will. 
After  which  Ptolemy,  who  had  the  king's 
seal  intrusted  to  him,  read  the  king's  tes- 
i  tament,  which  was  to  be  of  force  no  other- 
wise than  as  it  should  stand  when  Caesar 
had  inspected  it;  so  there  was  presently 
an  acclamation  made  to  Archelaus.  as  king. 


530 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XVII 


and  the  soldiers  came  by  bands,  and  their 
commanders  with  them,  and  promised  the 
same  good-will  to  him,  and  readiness  to 
serve  him,  which  they  had  exhibited  to 
Herod;  and  they  prayed  God  to  be  assist- 
ant to  him. 

After  this  was  over,  they  prepared  for 
his  funeral,  'it  being  Archelaus' s  care  that 
the  procession  to  his  father's  sepulchre 
should  be  very  sumptuous.  Accordingly, 
he  brought  out  all  his  ornaments  to  adorn 
the  pomp  of  the  funeral.  The  body  was 
carried  upon  a  golden  bier,  embroidered 
with  very  precious  stcnes  of  great  variety, 
and  it  was  covered  over  with  purple,  as 
well  as  the  body  itself;  he  had  a  diadem 
upon  his  head,  and  above  it  a  crown  of 
gold;  he  also  had  a  sceptre  in  his  right 
hand.  About  the  bier  were  his  sons,  and 
his  numerous  relations ;  next  to  these  were 
the  soldiery,  distinguished  according  to  their 
several  countries  and  denominations;  and 
they  were  put  in  the  following  order :  first 
of  all  went  his  guards;  then  the  band  of 
Tnracians;  and  after  them  the  Germans; 
and  next,  the  band  of  Galatians,  every 
one  in  their  habiliments  of  war;  and  be- 
nind  these  marched  the  whole  army  in 
the  same  manner  as  they  used  to  go  out  to 
war,  and  as  they  used  to  be  put  in  array 
by  their  muster-masters  and  centurions : 
these  were  followed  by  five  hundred  of  his 
domestics,  carrying  spices.  So  they  went 
eight  furlongs,*  to  Herodium;  for*  .there, 
by  his  own  command,  he  was  to  be  buried; 
— and  thus  did  Herod  end  his  life. 

Now  Archelaus  paid  him  so  much  re- 
spect as  to  continue  his  mourning  till  the 
seventh  day;  for  so  many  days  are  ap- 
pointed for  it  by  the  law  of  our  fathers ; 
and  when  he  had  given  a  treat  to  the 
multitude,  and  left  off  his  mourning,  he 
went  up  into  the  temple;  he  had  also  ac- 
clamations and  praises  given  him,  which 
way  soever  he  went,  every  one  striving 
with  the  rest  who  should  appear  to  use 
the  loudest  acclamations.  So  he  ascended 
a  high  elevation  made  for  him,  and  took 
his  seat  on  a  throne  made  of  gold,  and 
spake  kindly  to  the  multitude,  and  de- 
clared with  what  joy  he  received  their 
acclamations,  and  the  marks  of  the  good- 
will they  showed  to  him  :  and  returned 
them  thanks  that  they  did  not  remember 

*  At  eight  stadia  (or  furlong,-)  a  day,  as  here, 
Herod's  funeral,  conducted  to  Herodium,  (which  lay 
at  the  distance  from  Jericho,  where  he  died,  of  200 
stadia,  or  furlongs,)  must  have  taken  up  no  less  than 
kwenty-five  days 


the  injuries  his  father  had  done  them,  to 
his  disadvantage ;  and  promised  them  he 
would  endeavour  not   to  be  behindhand 
with  them  in  rewarding  their  alac^ty  in 
his  service,  after  a  suitable  manner;  but 
that  he  should  abstain  at  present  from  the 
name  of  king;  and  that  he  should  have 
the    honour    of    that    dignit}7,    if    Csesar 
should  confirm  and  settle  that  testament 
which  his  father  had  made;  and  that  it 
was  on  this  account,  that  when  the  arm> 
would   have   put   the    diadem  on   bin   a 
Jericho,  he  would  not  accept  of  that  ht 
nour,  which  is  so  usually  so  much  desired, 
because  it    was  not  yet  evident   that  he 
who  was  to  be  principally  concerned  in 
bestowing  it  would  give  it  him;  although, 
by  his  acceptance  of  the  government,  he 
should  not  want  the  ability  of  rewarding 
their  kindness  to  him;  and  that  it  should 
be  his  endeavour,  as  to  all  things  wherein 
they  were    concerned,  to  prove    in  every 
respect  better  than  his   father.      Where- 
upon the  multitude,  as  it  is  usual  witb 
them,  supposed  that  the  first  days  of  those 
that  enter  upon  such  governments,  declare 
the  intentions  of  those  that  accept  them;  j 
and  so,  by  how  much  Archelaus  spake  the  j 
more   gently  and  civilly  to   them,  by  so 
much  did  they  more  highly  commend  him, 
and  made  application  to  him  for  the  grant 
of  what  they  desired.      Some  made  a  cla- 
mour that  he  would  ease  them  of  some  of 
their  annual  payments ;  but  others  desired 
him  to  release  those  that  were  put  into 
prison   by  Herod,   who   were   many,  and 
had    been    put    there    at    several    times , 
others  of  them  required    that  he   would 
take  away  those    taxes  which   had    been 
severely  laid  upon  what  was  publicly  sold 
and  bought.     So   Archelaus  contradicted: 
them  in  nothing,  since  he  pretended  to  do 
all  things  so  as  to  get  the  good-will  of  the 
multitude  to  him,  as  looking  upon  that 
good-will   to  be  a  great  step   toward  his 
preservation   of  the   government.     Here- 
upon he  went  and  offered  sacrifice  to  Goa,i 
and  then  betook  himself  to  feast  with  hi*| 
friends. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  people  raise  a  sedition  against  Archelaafl>  wh< 
sails  to  Rome. 

At  this  time  also  it  was,  that  some  0 
the  Jews  got  together,  out  of  a  desire  ol 
innovation.  They  lamented  Matthias,  an<| 
those  that  were  slain  with  him  by  Herooj 
who  had  not  any  respect  paid  them  by 


Cfap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


531 


funeral  mourning,  out  of  the  fear  men 
were  in  of  that  man;  they  were  those  who 
had  been  condemned  for  pulling  down  the 
golden  eagle.  The  people  made  a  great 
clamour  and  lamentation  hereupon,  and 
cast  out  some  reproaches  against  the  king 
also,  as  if  that  tended  to  alleviate  the 
miseries  of  the  deceased.  The  people  as- 
sembled together,  and  desired  of  Arche- 
laus  that,  in  way  of  revenge  on  their 
account,  he  would  inflict  punishment  on 
those  who  had  been  honoured  by  Herod; 
and  that,  in  the  first  and  principal  place, 
he  would  deprive  that  high-priest  whom 
Herod  had  made,  and  would  choose  one 
more  agreeable  to  the  law,  and  of  greater 
purity,  to  officiate  as  high-priest.  This 
was  granted  by  Archelaus,  although  he 
was  mightily  offended  at  their  importunity, 
because  he  proposed  to  himself  to  go  to 
Rome  immediately,  to  look  after  Csesar's 
determination  about  him.  However,  he 
sent  the  general  of  his  forces  to  use  per- 
suasions, and  to  tell  them  that  the  death 
which  was  inflicted  on  their  friends,  was 
according  to  the  law ;  and  to  represent  to 
them,  that  their  petitions  about  these 
things  were  carried  to  a  great  height  of 
injury  to  him  ;  that  the  time  was  not  now 
proper  for  such  petitions,  but  required 
their  unanimity  until  such  time  as  he 
should  be  established  in  the  government 
by  the  consent  of  Caesar,  and  should  then 
be  come  back  to  them ;  for  that  he  would 
then  consult  with  them  in  common  con- 
cerning the  purport  of  their  petitions; 
but  that  they  ought  at  present  to  be  quiet, 
lest  they  should  seem  seditious  persons. 

So  when  the  king  had  suggested  these 
things,  and  instructed  his  general  in  what 
he  was  to  say,  he  sent  him  away  to  the 
people;  but  they  made  a  clamour,  and 
would  not  give  him  leave  to  speak,  and  put 
him  in  danger  of  his  life,  and  as  many  more 
as  were  desirous  to  venture  upon  saying 
openly  any  thing  which  might  reduce  them 
to  a  sober  mind,  and  prevent  their  going 
on  in  their  present  courses,  because  they 
had  more  concern  to  have  all  their  own 
wills  performed  than  to  yield  obedience  to 
their  governors;  thinking  it  to  be  a  thing 
insufferable  that,  while  Herod  was  alive, 
they  should  lose  those  that  were  the  most 
dear  to  them,  and  that  when  he  was  dead 
they  could  not  get  the  actors  to  be  pu- 
nished. So  they  went  on  with  their  de- 
igns after  a  violent  manner,  and  thought 
ill  to  be  lawful  and  right  which  tended  to 
>lease  them,  and  being  unskilful  in  fore- 


seeing what  dangers  they  incurred;  and 
when  they  had  suspicion  of  such  a  thing, 
yet  did  the  present  pleasure  they  took  in 
the  punishment  of  those  they  deemed 
their  enemies  overweigh  all  such  consi- 
derations ;  and  although  Archelaus  sent 
many  to  speak  to  them,  yet  they  treated 
them  not  as  messengers  sent  by  him,  but 
as  persons  that  came  of  their  own  accord 
to  mitigate  their  anger,  and  would  not  let 
one  of  them  speak.  The  sedition,  also, 
was  made  by  such  as  were  in  a  great  pas- 
sion ;  and  it  was  evident  that  they  were 
proceeding  further  in  seditious  practices,  by 
the  multitude  running  so  fast  upon  them. 

Now,  upon  the  approach  of  that  feast 
of  unleavened  bread,  which  the  law  of 
their  fathers  had  appointed  for  the  Jews 
at  this  time,  which  feast  is  called  the 
Passover,*  and  is  a  memorial  of  their  de- 
liverance out  of  Egypt,  (when  they  offer 
sacrifices  with  great  alacrity ;  and  when 
they  are  required  to  slay  more  sacrifices 
in  number  than  at  any  other  festival;  and 
when  an  innumerable  multitude  came 
thither  out  of  the  country,  nay,  from 
beyond  its  limits  also,  in  order  to  worship 
God,)  the  seditious  lamented  Judas  and 
Matthias,  those  teachers  of  the  law,  and 
kept  together  in  the  temple,  and  had 
plenty  of  food,  because  these  seditious 
persons  were  not  ashamed  to  beg  it.  And 
as  Archelaus  was  afraid  lest  some  terrible 
thing  should  spring  up  by  means  of  these 
men's  madness,  he  sent  a  regiment  of 
armed  men,  and  with  them  a  captain  of  a 
thousand,  to  suppress  the  violent  efforts 
of  the  seditious,  before  the  whole  multi- 
tude should  be  infected  with  the  like 
madness;  and  gave  them  this  charge,  that 
if  they  found  any  much  more  openly 
seditious  than  others,  and  more  busy  in 
tumultuous  practices,  they  should  bring 
them  to  him.  But  those  that  were  sedi- 
tious on  account  of  those  teachers  of  the 
law,  irritated  the  people  by  the  noise  and 
clamour  they  used  to  encourage  the  people 
in  their  designs ;  so  they  made  an  assault 
upon  the  soldiers,  and  came  up  to  them, 
and  stoned  the  greatest  part  of  them,  al- 
though some  of  them  ran  away  wounded, 
and  their  captain  among  them;  and  when 
they  had  thus  done,  they  returned  to  the 
sacrifices  which  were  already  in  theii 
hands.     Now,    Archelaus    thought   there 

*  This  passovcr,  when  the  sedition  here  men 
tioned  was  moved  against  Archelaus,  urns  not  one. 
but  thirteen  months,  alter  the  eclipBo  of  the  moon 
already  mentioned. 


532 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


8ook  XVII 


was  no  way  to  preserve  the  entire  go- 
vernment, but  by  cutting  off  those  who 
made  this  attempt  upon  it;  so  he  sent  out 
the  whole  army  upon  them  ;  and  sent  the 
horsemen  to  prevent  those  that  had  their 
tents  without  the  temple,  from  assisting 
those  that  were  within  the  temple,  and  to 
kill  such  as  ran  away  from  the  footmen 
when  they  thought  themselves  out  of  dan- 
ger ;  which  horsemen  slew  8000  men, 
while  the  rest  went  to  the  neighbouring 
mountains.  Then  did  Archelaus  order 
proclamation  to  be  made  to  them  all,  that 
they  should  retire  to  their  own  homes;  so 
they  went  away,  and  left  the  festival,  out 
of  fear  of  somewhat  worse  which  would 
follow,  although  they  had  been  so  bold  by 
reason  of  their  want  of  instruction.  So 
Archelaus  went  down  to  the  sea  with  his 
mother,  and  took  with  him  Nicolaus  and 
Ptolemy,  and  many  others  of  his  friends, 
and  left  Philip,  his  brother,  as  governor  of 
all  things  belonging  both  to  his  own  family 
and  to  the  public.  There  went  out  also  with 
him  Salome,  Herod's  sister,  who  took  with 
her  her  children,  and  many  of  her  kindred 
were  with  her;  which  kindred  of  hers  went, 
as  they  pretended,  to  assist  Archelaus  in 
gaining  the  kingdom,  but  in  reality  to 
oppose  him,  and  chiefly  to  make  loud  com- 
plaints of  what  he  had  done  in  the  temple. 
But  Sabinus,  Caesar's  steward  for  Syrian 
affairs,  as  he  was  making  haste  into  Judea, 
to  preserve  Herod's  effects,  met  with-  Ar- 
chelaus at  Caesarea;  but  Varus  (presi- 
dent of  Syria)  came  at  that  time,  and 
restrained  him  from  meddling  with  them, 
for  he  was  there  as  sent  for  by  Archelaus, 
by  the  means  of  Ptolemy.  And  Sabinus, 
out  of  regard  to  Varus,  did  neither  seize 
upon  any  of  the  castles  that  were  among 
the  Jews,  nor  did  he  seal  up  the  treasures 
in  them,  but  permitted  Archelaus  to  have 
them,  until  Caesar  should  declare  his  reso- 
lution about  them;  so  that,  upon  this  his 
promise,  he  tarried  still  at  Caesarea.  But 
after  Archelaus  had  sailed  for  Kome,  and 
Varus  had  removed  to  Antioch,  Sabinus 
.vent  to  Jerusalem,  and  seized  on  the 
king's  palace.  He  also  sent  for  the  keep- 
ers of  the  garrisons,  and  for  all  those  that 
had  the  charge  of  Herod's  effects,  and 
declared  publicly  that  he  should  require 
them  to  give  an  account  of  what  they  had; 
and  he  disposed  of  the  castles  in  the  man- 
ner he  pleased  :  but  those  who  kept  them 
did  not  neglect  what  Archelaus  had  given 
them  in  command,  but  continued  to  keep 
all  ithings  in  the  manner  that  had  been 


enjoined  them;    and  their   pretence  was 
that  they  kept  them  all  for  Caesar. 

At  the  same  time  also,  did  Antipas. 
another  of  Herod's  sons,  saa  to  Kome,  in 
order  to  gain  the  government;  being 
buoyed  up  by  Salome  with  promises  that 
he  should  take  that  government;  and  that 
he  was  a  much  more  honest  and  more  nt 
man  than  Archelaus  for  that  authority, 
since  Herod  had,  in  his  former  testament, 
deemed  him  the  worthiest  to  be  made 
king ;  which  ought  to  be  esteemed  more 
valid  than  his  latter  testament.  Antipas 
also  brought  with  him  his  mother,  and 
Ptolemy,  the  brother  of  Nicolaus,  one  that 
had  been  Herod's  most  honoured  friend, 
and  was  now  zealous  for  Antipas;  but  it 
was  Ireneus  the  orator,  and  one  who,  on 
account  of  his  reputation  for  sagacity,  was 
intrusted  with  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom, 
who  most  of  all  encouraged  him  to  at- 
tempt to  gain  the  kingdom;  by  whose 
means  it  was  that,  when  some  advised  him 
to  yield  to  Archelaus,  as  to  his  elder  bro- 
ther, and  who  had  been  deelared  king  by 
their  father's  last  will,  he  would  not  sub- 
mit so  to  do.  And  when  he  had  come  to 
Rome,  all  his  relations  revolted  to  him  • 
not  out  of  their  good-will  to  him,  but  out 
of  their  hatred  to  Archelaus;  though,  in- 
deed, they  were  most  of  all  desirous  of  gain- 
ing their  liberty,  and  to  be  put  under  a  Bo- 
man  governor;  but  if  there  were  too  great 
an  opposition  made  to  that,  they  thought 
Antipas  preferable  to  Archelaus,  and  so 
joined  with  him,  in  order  to  procure  the 
kingdom  for  him.  Sabinus  also,  by  let- 
ters, accused  Archelaus  to  Caesar. 

Now  when  Archelaus  had  sent  in  his 
papers  to  Caesar,  wherein  he  pleaded  his 
right  to  the  kingdom  and  his  father's  tes- 
tament,   with    the    accounts    of    Herod's 
money,  and   with   Ptolemy,  who  brought 
Herod's  seal,  he  so  expected  the  event; 
but  when  Caesar  had  read  these  papers, 
and   Varus's  and   Sabinus's  letters,  with 
the  accounts  of  the  money,  and  what  were 
the  annual  incomes  of  the  kingdom,  and 
understood   that   Antipas    had    also  sent 
letters  to  lay  claim  to  the  kingdom,  he 
summoned  his  friends  together,  to  know 
their  opinions,  and  with  them   Caius,  the 
son  of  Agrippa,  and  of  Julia  his  daugh- 
ter, whom  he  had  adopted,  and  took  him, 
and  made  him  sit  first  of  all,  and  desired 
such    as    pleased    to    speak    their    minda 
about  the  affairs  now  before  them.     Now 
Antipater,  Salome's    son,  a    very    subtle 
orator,  and    bitter   enemy    to   Archelaus. 


I?fal4  LX.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


533 


cpake  first  to  this  purpose :  that  it  was 
ridiculous  in  Archelaus  to  plead  now  to 
have  the  kingdom  given  him,  since  he 
'-ad,  in  reality,  taken  already  the  power 
:v3r  it  to  himself,  before  Caesar  had  grant- 
ed it  to  him ;  and  appealed  to  those  bold 
actions  of  his,  in  destroying  so  many  at 
the  Jewish  festival;  and,  if  the  men  had 
acted  unjustly,  it  was  but  fit  the  punish- 
ing of  them  should  be  reserved  to  those 
that  were  out  of  the  country,  but  had  the 
->ower  to  punish  them,  and  not  been  exe- 
cuted by  a  man  that,  if  he  pretended  to  be 
a  king,  he  did  an  injury  to  Caesar,  by 
usurping  that  authority  before  it  was  de- 
termined for  him  by  Caesar;  but,  if  he 
owned  himself  to  be  a  private  person,  his 
case  was  much  worse,  since  he  who  was 
putting  in  for  the  kingdom,  could  by  no 
means  expect  to  have  that  power  granted 
him  of  which  he  had  already  deprived 
Caesar  [by  taking  it  to  himself].  He  also 
touched  sharply  upon  him,  and  appealed 
to  his  changing  the  commanders  in  the 
army,  and  his  sitting  in  the  royal  throne 
beforehand,  and  his  determination  of  law- 
suits ;  all  done  as  if  he  were  no  other 
than  a  king.  He  appealed  also  to  his 
concessions  to  those  that  petitioned  him 
on  a  public  account,  and,  indeed,  doing 
such  things,  than  which  he  could  devise 
no  greater  if  he  had  been  already  settled 
in  the  kingdom  by  Caesar.  He  also  as- 
cribed to  him  the  releasing  of  the  prison- 
ers that  were  in  the  hippodrome,  and 
many  other  things,  that  either  had  been 
certainly  done  by  him,  or  were  believed  to 
be  done,  and  easily  might  be  believed  to 
have  been  done,  because  they  were  of  such 
a  nature  as  to  be  usually  done  by  young 
men,  and  by  such  as,  out  of  a  desire  of 
ruling,  seize  upon  the  government  too 
soon.  He  also  charged  him  with  his 
neglect  of  the  funeral  mourning  for  his 
lather,  and  with  having  merry  meetings 
the  very  night  in  which  he  died;  and 
that  it  was  thence  the  multitude  took  the 
handle  of  raising  a  tumult;  and  if  Arche- 
laus could  thus  requite  his  dead  father, 
who  had  bestowed  such  great  benefits 
upon  him,  and  bequeathed  such  great 
things  to  mm,  by  pretending  to  weep  for 
him  in  ihe  daytime,  like  an  actor  on  the 
stage,  but  every  night  making  mirth  for 
having  gotten  the  government,  he  would 
appear  to  be  the  same  Archelaus  with  re- 
gard to  Cccsar,  it  he  granted  him  the 
kingdom,  which  he  had  been  to  his  father; 
since,  he  had  then  dancing  and  singing,  as 


though  an  enemy  of  his  were  fallen,  and 
not  as  though  a  man  were  carried  to  his 
funeral  that  was  so  nearly  related,  and 
had  been  so  great  a  benefactor  to  him. 
But  he  said  that  the  greatest  crime  of  all 
was  this,  that  he  came  now  before  Caesar 
to  obtain  the  government  by  his  grant, 
while  he  had  before  acted  in  all  things  as 
he  could  have  acted  if  Caesar  himself,  who 
ruled  all,  had  fixed  him  firmly  iu  the 
government  And  what  he  most  aggra- 
vated in  his  pleading,  was  the  slaughter 
of  those  about  the  temple,  and  the  impiety 
of  it,  as  done  at  the  festival ;  and  how 
they  were  slain  like  sacrifices  themselves, 
some  of  whom  were  foreigners,  and  others 
of  their  own  country,  till  the  temple  was 
full  of  dead  bodies:  and  all  this  was  done, 
not  by  an  alien,  but  by  oue  who  pre- 
tended to  the  lawful  title  of  a  king,  that 
he  might  complete  the  wicked  tyranny 
which  his  nature  prompted  him  to,  and 
which  is  hated  by  all  men.  On  which 
account,  his  father  never  so  much  as 
dreamed  of  making  him  his  successor  in 
the  kingdom,  when  he  was  of  a  sound 
mind,  because  he  knew  his  disposition  ; 
and,  in  his  former  and  more  authentic 
testament,  he  appointed  his  antagonist 
Antipas  to  succeed;  but  that  Archelaus 
was  called  by  his  father  to  that  dignity, 
when  he  was  in  a  dying  condition,  both 
of  body  and  mind;  while  Antipas  was 
called  when  he  was  ripest  in  judgment, 
and  of  such  strength  of  body  as  made  him 
capable  of  managing  his  own  affairs  :  and 
if  his  father  had  the  like  notion  of  him 
formerly  that  he  had  now  shown,  yet  hath 
he  given  a  sufficient  specimen  what  a  king 
he  is  likely  to  be  when  he  hath  [in  effect] 
deprived  Caesar  of  that  power  of  disposing 
of  the  kingdom,  which  he  justly  hath,  and 
hath  not  abstained  from  making  a  terrible 
slaughter  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  tem- 
ple, while  he  was  but  a  private  person. 

So  when  Antipater  had  made  this 
speech,  and  had  confirmed  what  he  hai 
said  by  producing  many  witnesses  fvo'Ji 
among  Archelaus's  own  relations,  he  road 3 
an  end  of  his  pleading.  Upon  whic  . 
Nicolaus  arose  up  to  plead  for  Archelaus, 
and  said,  "  That  what  had  been  done  at 
the  temple  was  rather  to  be  attributed  to 
the  mind  of  those  that  had  been  killed, 
than  to  the  authority  of  Archelaus;  for 
that  those  wrho  were  the  authors  of  such 
things,  are  not  only  wicked  in  the  injuries 
they  do  of  themselves,  but  in  forcing 
sober  persons  to  averge  themselves  upoi* 


o34 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  THE  JEWS 


[Book  XVII. 


them.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  what  these 
did  in  way  of  opposition  was  done  under 
pretence,  indeed  against  Archelaus,  but  in 
reality  against  Caesar  himself,  for  they, 
after  an  injurious  manner,  attacked  and 
slew  those  who  were  sent  by  Archelaus, 
and  who  came  only  to  put  a  stop  to  their 
doings.  They  had  no  regard,  either  to 
God  or  to  the  festival,  whom  Antipater 
yet  is  not  ashamed  to  patronize,  whether 
it  be  out  of  his  indulgence  of  an  enmity 
to  Archelaus,  or  out  of  his  hatred  of  virtue 
and  justice.  For  as  to  those  who  begin 
such  tumults,  and  first  set  about  such  un- 
righteous actions,  they  are  the  men  who 
force  those  that  punish  them  to  betake 
themselves  to  arms  even  against  their 
will.  So  that  Antipater  in  effect  ascribes 
the  rest  of  what  was  done  to  all  those  who 
were  of  counsel  to  the  accusers;  for  nothing 
which  is  here  accused  of  injustice  has  been 
done,  but  what  was  derived  from  them  as 
its  authors:  nor  are  those  things  evil  in 
themselves,  but  so  represented  only,  in 
order  to  do  harm  to  Archelaus.  Such  is 
these  men's  inclination  to  do  an  injury  to 
a  man  that  is  of  their  kindred,  their 
father's  benefactor,  and  familiarly  ac- 
quainted with  them,  and  that  hath  ever 
lived  in  friendship  with  them ;  for  that, 
as  to  this  testament,  it  was  made  by  the 
kiner  when  he  was  of  a  sound  mind,  and 
so  ought  to  be  of  more  authority  than  his 
former  testament;  and  that  for  this  reason, 
because  Caesar  is  therein  left  to  be  judge 
and  disposer  of  all  therein  contained;  and 
for  Caesar,  he  will  not,  to  be  sure,  at  all 
imitate  the  unjust  proceedings  of  those 
men,  who,  during  Herod's  whole  life,  had 
on  all  occasions  been  joint  partakers  of 
power  with  him,  and  yet,  do  zealously 
endeavour  to  injure  his  determination, 
while  they  have  not  themselves  had  the 
same  regard  to  their  kinsman  [which 
Archelaus  had].  Caesar  will  not  there- 
fore disannul  the  testament  of  a  man 
whom  he  had  entirely  supported,  of  his 
'fiend  and  confederate,  and  that  which  is 
committed  to  him  in  trust  to  ratify;  nor 
will  Caesar  s  virtuous  and  upright  dis- 
position, which  is  known  and  uncontested 
through  all  the  habitable  world,  imitate 
the  wickedness  of  these  men  in  condemn- 
ing a  king  as  a  madman,  and  as  having 
lost  his  reason,  while  he  hath  bequeathed 
«,he  suecession  to  a  good  son  of  his,  and  to 
one  who  flies  to  Caesar's  upright  deter- 
mination for  refuge.  Nor  can  Herod  at 
any  time  have  been  nristaken  in  his  judg- 


ment about  a  successor,  while  he  showed 
so  much  prudence  as  to  submit  all  to 
Caesar's  determination. 

Now  when  Nicolaus  had  laid  these 
things  before  Caesar,  he  ended  his  plea-, 
whereupon  Caesar  was  so  obliging  to 
Archelaus,  that  he  raised  him  up  when 
he  had  cast  himself  down  at  his  feet,  and 
said,  that  he  well  deserved  the  kingdom  : 
and  he  soon  let  them  know  that  he  was  so 
far  moved  in  his  favour,  that  he  would 
not  act  otherwise  than  his  father's  testa- 
ment directed,  and  that  was  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  Archelaus.  However,  while 
he  gave  this  encouragement  to  Archelauc 
to  depend  on  him  securely,  he  made  no 
full  determination  about  him ;  and,  when 
the  assembly  was  broken  up,  he  con- 
sidered by  himself  whether  he  should  con- 
firm the  kingdom  to  Archelaus,  or  whether 
he  should  part  it  among  all  Herod's  pos- 
terity; and  this  because  they  all  stood  in 
need  of  much  assistance  to  support  them. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Sedition  of  the  Jews  against  Sabinus. 

But  before  these  things  could  be 
brought  to  a  settlement,  Malthace,  Arche- 
laus's  mother,  fell  into  a  distemper,  and 
died  of  it;  and  letters  came  from  Varus, 
the  president  of  Syria,  which  informed 
Caesar  of  the  revolt  of  the  Jews ;  for  after 
Archelaus  was  sailed,  the  whole  nation 
was  in  a  tumult.  So  Varus,  since  he  wa3 
there  himself,  brought  the  authors  of  the 
disturbance  to  punishment;  and  when  ho 
had  restrained  them  for  the  most  part 
from  this  sedition,  which  was  a  great  one, 
he  took  his  journey  to  Antioch,  leaving 
one  legion  of  his  army  at  Jerusalem  to 
keep  the  Jews  quiet,  who  were  now  very 
fond  of  innovation.  Yet  did  not  this  at 
all  avail  to  put  an  end  to  that  their  sedi- 
tion, for,  after  Varus  was  gone  away, 
Sabinus,  Caesar's  procurator,  stayed  behind, 
and  greatly  distressed  the  Jews,  relying 
on  the  forces  that  were  left  there,  that 
they  would  by  their  multitude  protect 
him  ;  for  he  made  use  of  them,  and  armed 
them  as  his  .guards,  thereby  so  oppressing 
the  Jews,  and  giving  them  so  great  dis- 
turbance,- that  at  length  they  rebelled; 
for  he  used  force  in  seizing  the  citadels, 
and  zealously  pressed  on  the  search  aftei 
the  king's  money,  in  order  to  seize  upon 
it  by  force,  on  accouut  of  his  love  of  gain 
and  his  extraordinary  covetousness. 

But    on    the    approach    of    Pentecostg 


Chap.  X.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


535 


which  is  a  festival  of  ours,  so  called  from 
the  days  of  our  forefathers,  a  great  many 
ten  thousands  of  men  got  together;  nor 
did  they  come  only  to  celebrate  the  fes- 
tival, but  out  of  their  indignation  at  the 
madness  of  Sabinus,  and  at  the  injuries  he 
offered  them.  A  great  number  there  was 
of  Galileans,  and  Idumeans,  and  many 
men  from  Jericho,  and  others  who  had 
passed  over  the  river  Jordan,  and  in- 
habited those  parts.  This  whole  multi- 
tude joined  themselves  to  all  the  rest,  and 
were  more  zealous  than  the  others  in 
making  an  assault  on  Sabinus,  in  order  to 
be  avenged  on  him  ;  so  they  parted  them- 
selves into  three  bands,  and  encamped 
themselves  into  the  places  following: — 
some  of  them  seized  on  the  hippodrome ; 
and  of  the  other  two  bands,  one  pitched 
themselves  from  the  northern  part  of  the 
temple  to  the  southern,  on  the  east 
quarter;  but  the  third  band  held  the 
western  part  of  the  city,  where  the  king's 
palace  was.  Their  work  tended  entirely 
to  besiege  the  Romans,  and  to  enclose 
them  on  all  sides.  Now  Sabinus  was 
afraid  of  the  number  of  men,  and  of 
their  resolution,  who  had  little  regard  to 
their  lives,  but  were  very  desirous  not  to 
be  overcome,  while  they  thought  it  a  point 
of  puissance  to  overcome  their  enemies; 
so  he  sent  immediately  a  letter  to  Varus, 
and,  as  he  used  to  do,  was  very  pressing 
with  him,  and  entreated  him  to  come 
quickly  to  his  assistance;  because  the 
forces  he  had  left  were  in  imminent  dan- 
-,  and  would  probably,  in  no  long  time, 


be  seized 


and  cut  to 


while 


upon,  ana  cut  to  pieces, 
he  did  himself  get  up  to  the  highest  tower 
of  the  fortress  Phasaelus,  which  had  been 
built  iu  honour  of  Phasaelus,  Herod's 
brother,  and  called  so  when  the  Parthians 
had  brought  him  to  his  death.  So  Sabi- 
nus gave  thence  a  signal  to  the  Ilomans 
to  fall  upon  the  Jews,  although  he  did 
QOt  himself  venture  so  much  as  to  come 
down  to  his  friends,  and  thought  he  might 

xpect  that  the  others  should  expose  them- 

elves  first  to  die  on  account  of  his  avarice, 
owever,  the  Romans  ventured  to  make 
Bally  out  of  the  place,  and  a  terrible 

)attle  ensued 

he   Romans 


place,  a 
;  wherein,  though  it  is  true 
beat  their  adversaries,  yet 
vere  not  the  Jews  daunted  in  their  reso- 
utions,  even  when  they  had  the  sight  of 
hat  terrible  slaughter  that  was  made  of 
hem;  but  they  went  round  about,  and 
:ot  upon  those  cloisters  which  encom- 
ussed   the  '  outer   court    of    the    temple, 


where  a  great  fight  was  still  coutinued, 
and  they  cast  stones  at  the  Romans,  partly 
with  their  hands,  and  partly  with  slings, 
as  being  much  used  to  those  exercises. 
All  the  archers  also  in  array  did  the 
Romans  a  great  deal  of  mischief,  because 
they  used  their  hands  dexterously  from  a 
place  superior  to  the  others,  and  because 
the  others  were  at  an  utter  loss  what  to 
do;  for  when  they  tried  to  shoot  their 
arrows  against  the  Jews  upward,  these 
arrows  could  not  reach  them,  insomuch 
that  the  Jews  were  easily  too  hard  for 
their  enemies.  And  this  sort  of  fight 
lasted  a  great  while,  till  at  last  the 
Romans,  who  were  greatly  distressed  by 
what  was  done,  set  fire  to  the  cloisters  so 
privately,  that  those  who  were  gotten 
upon  them  did  not  perceive  it.  This 
fire,  being  fed  by  a  great  deal  of  com- 
bustible matter,  caught  hold  immediately 
on  the  roof  of  the  cloisters;  so  the  wood, 
which  was  full  .of  pitch  and  wax,  and 
whose  gold  was  laid  on  it  with  wax, 
yielded  to  the  flame  presently,  and  those 
vast  works,  which  were  of  the  highest 
value  and  esteem,  were  destroyed  utterly, 
while  those  that  were  on  the  roof  unex- 
pectedly perished  at  the  same  time ;  for 
as  the  roof  tumbled  down,  some  of  these 
men  tumbled  down  with  it,  and  others  of 
them  were  killed  by  their  enemies  who 
encompassed  them.  There  was  a  great 
number  more,  who  out  of  despair  of  saving 
their  lives,  and  out  of  astonishment  at  the 
misery  that  surrounded  them,  did  either 
cast  themselves  into  the  fire,  or  threw 
themselves  upon  their  own  swords,  and  so 
got  out  of  their  misery.  But  as  to  those 
that  retired  behind  the  same  way  by 
which  they  ascended,  and  thereby  escaped, 
they  were  all  killed  by  the  Romans,  as 
being  unarmed  men,  and  their  courage 
failing  them  ;  their  wild  fury  being  now 
not  able  to  help  them,  because  they  were 
destitute  of  armour,  insomuch  that  of 
those  that  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  roof, 
not  one  escaped.  The  Ilomans  also 
rushed  through  the  fire,  where  it  gave 
them  room  so  to  do,  and  seized  on  that 
treasure  where  the  sacred  money  was  de- 
posited ;  a  great  part  of  which  was  stolep 
by  the  soldiers;  and  Sabinus  got  openly 
400  talents. 

But  this  calamity  of  the  Jew^'  friends, 
who.  fell  in  this  battle,  grieved  them,  aa 
did  also  this  plundering  of  the  money 
dedicated  to  God  in  the  temple.  Accord- 
ingly, that  body  of  them  which  continued 


536 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS 


[bOOK  XVII 


best  together,  and  was  the  most  warlike, 
encompassed  the  palace,  and  threatened 
to  set  fire  to  it,  and  kill  all  that  were  in 
it.  Yet  still  they  commanded  them  to 
go  out  presently,  and  promised  that  if 
they  would  do  so,  they  would  not  hurt 
them,  nor  Sabinus  neither ;  at  which  time 
the  greatest  part  of  the  king's  troops  de- 
serted to  them,  while  Rufus  and  Gratus, 
who  had  3000  of  the  most  warlike  of 
Herod's  army  with  them,  who  were  men 
of  active  bodies,  went  over  to  the  Romans. 
There  was  also  a  band  of  horsemen  under 
the  command  of  Rufus,  which  itself  went 
over  to  the  Romans  also.  However,  the 
Jews  went  on  with  the  siege,  and  dug 
mines  under  the  palace  walls,  and  be- 
sought those  that  were  gone  over  to  the 
other  side,  not  to  be  their  hinderance, 
now  they  had  such  a  proper  opportunity 
for  the  recovery  of  their  country's  ancient 
liberty :  and  for  Sabinus,  truly  he  was 
desirous  of  going  away  with  his  soldiers, 
but  was  not  able  to  trust  himself  with  the 
enemy,  on  account  of  what  mischief  he 
had  already  done  them ;  and  he  took  this 
great  [pretended]  lenity  of  theirs  for  an 
argument  why  he  should  not  comply 
with  them ;  and  so,  because  he  expected 
that  Varus  was  coming,  he  still  bore  the 
siege. 

Now,  at  this  time  there  were  ten  thou- 
sand other  disorders  in  Judea,  which  were 
like  tumults,  because  a  great  number  put 
themselves  into  a  warlike  posture,  either 
out  of  hopes  of  gain  to  themselves,  or  out 
of  enmity  to  the  Jews.  In  particular, 
2000  of  Herod's  old  soldiers,  who  had 
been  already  disbanded,  got  together  in 
Judea  itself,  and  fought  against  the  king's 
troops,  although  Achiabus,  Herod's  first 
cousin,  opposed  them ;  but  as  he  was 
driven  out  of  the  plains  into  the  moun- 
tainous parts  by  the  military  skill  of 
those  men,  he  kept  himself  in  the  fast- 
nesses that  were  there,  and  saved  what  he 
could. 

There  was  also  Judas,  the  son  of  that 
Ezekias  who  had  been  head  of  the  robbers; 
which  Ezekias  was  a  very  strong  man,  and 
had  with  great  difficulty  been  caught  by 
Herod.  This  Judas,  having  gotten  to- 
gether a  multitude  of  men  of  a  profligate 
character  about  Sepphoris  in  Galilee, 
made  an  assault  upon  the  palace  [there], 
and  seized  upon  all  the  weapons  that  were 
laid  up  in  it,  and  with  them  armed  every 
one  of  those  that  were  with  him,  and  car- 
ried away  what  money  was  left  there;  and 


he  became  terrible  to  all  men,  by  tearing 
and  rending  those  that  came  near  him  ; 
and  all  this  in  order  to  raise  himself,  and 
out  of  an  ambitious  desire  of  the  royal 
dignity;  and  he  hoped  to  obtain  that  as 
the  reward,  not  of  his  virtuous  skill  in 
war,  but  of  his  extravagance  in  doing  in- 
juries. 

There  was  also  Simon,  who  had  been  a 
slave  to  Herod  the  king,  but  in  other  re- 
spects a  comely  person,  of  a  tall  and  robust 
body;  he  was  one  that  was  much  superior 
to  others  of  his  order,  and  had  had  great 
things  committed  to  his  care.  This?  man 
was  elevated  at  the  disorderly  state  of 
things,  and  was  so  bold  as  to  put  a  diadem 
on  his  head,  while  a  certain  number  of 
the  people  stood  by  him,  and  by  them  he 
was  declared  to  be  a  king,  and  thought 
himself  more  worthy  of  that  dignity  than 
any  one  else.  He  burnt  down  the  royal 
palace  at  Jericho,  and  plundered  what  was 
left  in  it.  He  also  set  fire  to  many  others 
of  the  king's  houses  in  several  places  of 
the  country,  and  utterly  destroyed  them, 
and  permitted  those  that  were  with  him 
to  take  what  was  left  in  them  for  a  prey ; 
and  he  would  have  done  greater  things, 
unless  care  had  been  taken  to  repress  him 
immediately;  for  Gratus,  when  he  had 
joined  himself  to  some  Roman  soldiers, 
took  the  forces  he  had  with  him,  and  met 
Simon,  and  after  a  great  and  a  long  fight, 
no  small  part  of  those  that  came  from 
Perea,  who  were  a  disordered  body  of  men, 
and  fought  rather  in  a  bold  than  in  a  skil- 
ful manner,  were  destroyed;  and  although 
Simon  had  saved  himself  by  flying  away 
through  a  certain  valley,  yet  Gratus  over- 
took him,  and  cut  off  his  head.  The  royal 
palace  also,  at  Amathus,  by  the  river 
Jordan,  was  burnt  down  by  a  party  of 
men  that  were  got  together,  as  were  those 
belonging  to  Simon.  And  thus  did  a 
great  and  wild  fury  spread  itself  over  the 
nation,  because  they  had  no  king  to  keep 
the  multitude  in  good  order;  and  because 
those  foreigners,  who  came  to  reduce  the 
seditious  to  sobriety,  did,  on  the  contrary, 
set  them  more  jn  a  flame,  because  of  the 
injuries  they  offered  them,  and  the  avari- 
cious management  of  their  affairs. 

But  because  Athronges,  a  person  neither 
eminent  by  the  dignity  of  progenitors,  nor 
for  any  great  wealth  he  was  possessed  of, 
but  one  that  had  in  all  respects  been  a 
shepherd  only,  and  was  not  known  by  any- 
body; yet,  because  he  was  a  tall  man,  and 
excelled    others   in    the    strength   of  hi" 


Oh  up.  XX  J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


537 


hands,  he  was  so  bold  as  to  set  up  for 
king.  This  man  thought  it  so  sweet  a 
thing  to  do  more  than  ordinary  injuries 
to  others,  that  although  he  should  be 
killed,  he  did  not  much  care  if  he  lost  his 
life  in  so  great  a  design.  He  had  also 
four  brethren,  who  were  tall  men  them- 
selves, and  were  believed  to  be  superior 
to  others  in  the  strength  of  their  hands, 
and  thereby  were  encouraged  to  aim  at 
great  things,  and  thought  that  strength 
of  theirs  would  support  them  in  retaining 
the  kingdom.  Each  of  these  ruled  over 
a  band  of  men  of  their  own ;  for  those 
that  got  together  to  them  were  very  nu- 
merous. They  were  every  one  of  them 
also  commanders;  but,  when  they  came 
to  fight,  they  were  subordinate  to  him, 
and  fought  for  him,  while  he  put  a  diadem 
about  his  head,  and  assembled  a  council  to 
debate  about  what  things  should  be  done ; 
and  all  things  were  done  according  to  his 
pleasure.  And  this  man  retained  his 
power  a  great  while;  he  was  also  called 
king,  and  had  nothing  to  hinder  him  from 
doing  what  he  pleased.  He  also,  as  well 
as  his  brethren,  slew  a  great  many,  both 
of  his  Romans  and  of  the  king's  forces, 
and  managed  matters  with  the  like  hatred 
to  each  of  them.  The  king's  forces  they 
fell  upon,  because  of  the  licentious  con- 
duct they  had  been  allowed  under  Herod's 
government ;  and  they  fell  upon  the  Ro- 
mans, because  of  the  injuries  they  had  so 
lately  received  from  them.  But  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  they  grew  more  cruel  to  all 
sorts  of  men ;  nor  could  any  one  escape 
from  one  or  other  of  these  seditions,  since 
they  slew  some  out  of  the  hopes  of  gain, 
and  others  from  a  mere  custom  of  slaying 
men.  They  once  attacked  a  company  of 
Romans  at  Emmaus,  who  were  bringing 
corn  and  weapons  to  the  army,  and  fell 
upon  Arius,  the  centurion,  who  command- 
ed the  company,  and  shot  forty  of  the  best 
of  his  foot-soldiers;  but  the  rest  of  them 
were  affrighted  at  their  slaughter,  and  left 
their  dead  behind  them,  but  saved  them- 
selves by  the  means  of  Gratus,  who  came 
with  the  king's  troops  that  were  about 
him  to  their  assistance.  Now  these  four 
brethren  continued  the  war  a  long  while 
by  such  sort  of  expeditions,  and  much 
grieved  the  Romans,  (but  did  their  own 
nation  also  a  great  deal  of  mischief;)  yet 
were  they  afterward  subdued ;  one  of 
them  in  a  fight  with  Gratus,  another  with 
Ptolemy ;  Archelaus  also  took  the  eldest 
of  them  prisoner;  while  the  last  of  them 


was  so  dejected  at  the  others'  misfortune, 
and  saw  so  plainly  that  he  had  no  way  now 
left  to  save  himself,  his  army  being  worn 
away  with  sickness  and  continual  labours 
that  he  also  delivered  himself  up  to  Arche- 
laus, upon  his  promise  and  oath  to  God  to 
[preserve  his  life.]  But  these  things  came 
to  pass  a  good  while  afterward. 

And  now  Judea  was  full  of  robberies ; 
and,  as  the  several  companies  of  the  sedi- 
tious lighted  upon  any  one  to  head  them, 
he  was  created  a  king  immediately,  in 
order  to  do  mischief  to  the  public.  They 
were  in  some  small  measure  indeed,  and 
in  small  matters,  hurtful  to  the  Romans, 
but  the  murders  they  committed  upon 
their  own  people  lasted  a  long  while. 

As  soon  as  Varus  was  once  informed 
of  the  state  of  Judea,  by  Sabinus's  writ- 
ing to  him,  he  was  afraid  for  the  legion 
he  had  left  there ;  so  he  took  the  two 
other  legions  (for  there  were  three  legions 
in  all  belonging  to  Syria)  and  four  troops 
of  horsemen,  with  the  several  auxiliary 
forces  which  either  the  kings  or  certain 
of  the  tetrarchs  afforded  him,  and  made 
what  haste  he  could  to  assist  those  that 
were  then  besieged  in  Judea.  He  also 
gave  order,  that  all  that  were  sent  out  for 
this  expedition  should  make  haste  to 
Ptolemais.  The  citizens  of  Berytus  also 
gave  him  1500  auxiliaries,  as  he  passed 
through  their  city.  Aretas  also,  the  king 
of  Arabia  Petrea,  out  of  his  hatred  to 
Herod,  and  in  order  to  purchase  the  fa- 
vour of  the  Romans,  sent  him  no  small 
assistance,  besides  their  footmen  and 
horsemen :  and,  when  he  had  now  col- 
lected all  his  forces  together,  he  committed 
part  of  them  to  his  son,  and  to  a  friend 
of  his,  and  sent  them  upon  an  expedition 
into  Galilee,  which  lies  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Ptolemais;  who  made  an  attack 
upon  the  enemy,  and  put  them  to  flight, 
and  took  Sepphoris  and  made  its  inhabit- 
ants slaves,  and  burnt  the  city.  But 
Varus  himself  pursued  his  march  to  Sa- 
maria with  his  whole  army :  yet  did  not 
he  meddle  with  the  city  of  that  name,  be- 
cause it  had  not  at  all  joined  with  the  sedi- 
tious, but  pitched  his  camp  at  a  certain 
village  that  belonged  to  Ptolemy,  whose 
name  was  Arus,  which  the  Arabians  burnt, 
out  of  their  hatred  to  Herod,  and  out  of 
the  enmity  they  bore  to  his  friends; 
whence  they  marched  to  another  village, 
whose  name  was  Sampho,  which  the  Ara- 
bians plundered  and  burnt,  although  it 
was  a  fortified  and  strong  place :  and  aLi 


638 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Boo*  XVTSL 


along  this  march  nothing  escaped  them, 
but  all  places  were  full  of  fire  and  slaugh- 
ter. Emmnus  was  also  burnt  by  Varus* s 
order,  after  its  inhabitants  had  deserted 
it,  that  he  might  avenge  those  that  had 
there  been  destroyed.  From  thence  he 
now  marched  to  Jerusalem  :  whereupon 
those  Jews  whose  camp  lay  there,  and 
who  had  besieged  the  Roman  legion,  not 
bearing  the  coming  of  this  army,  left  the 
siege  imperfect :  but  as  to  the  Jerusalem 
Jews,  when  Varus  reproached  them  bit- 
terly for  what  had  been  done,  they  cleared 
themselves  of  the  accusation  ;  and  alleged 
that  the  conflux  of  the  people  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  feast;  that  the  war  was  not 
made  with  their  approbation,  but  by  the 
rashness  of  the  strangers;  while  they 
were  on  the  side  of  the  Romans,  and  be- 
sieged together  with  them,  rather  than 
having  any  inclination  to  besiege  them. 
There  also  came  beforehand  to  meet  Varus, 
Toseph,  the  cousin  german  of  King  Herod, 
as  also  Gratus  and  Rufus,  who  brought 
their  soldiers  along  with  them,  together 
with  those  Romans  who  had  been  be- 
sieged: but  Sabinus  did  not  come  into 
Varus's  presence,  but  stole  out  of  the  city 
privately,  and  went  to  the  seaside. 

Upon  this,  Varus  sent  a  part  of  his 
army  into  the  country,  to  seek  out  those 
that  had  been  the  authors  of  the  revolt; 
and  when  they  were  discovered,  he  pu- 
nished some  of  them  that  were  most  guilty, 
and  some  he  dismissed;  now  the  number 
of  those  that  were  crucified  on  this  ac- 
count were  2000 :  after  which  he  disband- 
ed his  army,  which  he  found  nowise  useful 
to  him  in  the  affairs  he  came  about;  for 
they  behaved  themselves  very  disorderly, 
and  disobeyed  his  orders,  and  what  Varus 
desired  them  to  do :  and  this  out  of  regard 
to  that  gain  which  they  made  by  the  mis- 
chief they  did.  As  for  himself,  when  he 
was  informed  that  10,000  Jews  had  got- 
ten together,  he  made  haste  to  catch  them; 
but  they  did  not  proceed  so  far  as  to  fight 
him,  but,  by  the  advice  of  Achiabus,  they 
came  together,  and  delivered  themselves 
up  to  him  :  hereupon  Varus  forgave  the 
irime  of  revolting  to  the  multitude,  but 
*ent  their  several  commanders  to  Caesar, 
many  of  whom  Caesar  dismissed ;  but 
for  the  several  relations  of  Herod  who 
had  been  among  these  men  in  this  war, 
tney  wer)  the  only  persons  whom  he 
punished,  who,  without  the  least  regard 
to  justice,  fought  against  their  own  kin- 
dred. 


CHAPTER  XL 

An  Embassage  of  the  Jews  to  Caesar  —Caesar  con 
firms  Herod's  testament. 

So  when  Varus  had  settled  these  affairs, 
and  had  placed  the  former  legion  at  Jeru- 
salem, he  returned  back  to  Antioch  ;  but 
as  for  Archelaus,  he  had  new  sources  of 
trouble  come  upon  him  at  Rome,  on  the 
occasions  following  : — For  an  embassage 
of  the  Jews  was  come  to  Rome,  Varus 
having  permitted  the  nation  to  send  it, 
that  they  might  petition  for  the  liberty  of 
living  by  their  own  laws.  Now,  the  num- 
ber of  the  ambassadors  that  were  sent  by 
the  authority  of  the  nation  were  fifty,  to 
which  they  joined  above  8000  of  the  Jews 
that  were  at  Rome  already.  Hereupon 
Caesar  assembled  his  friends,  and  the  chief 
men  among  the  Romans,  in  the  temple  of 
Apollo,  which  he  had  built  at  a  vast  charge ; 
whither  the  ambassadors  came,  and  a  mul- 
titude of  the  Jews  that  were  there  already 
came  with  them,  as  did  also  Archelaus 
and  his  friends;  but  as  for  the  several 
kinsmen  which  Archelaus  had,  they  would 
not  joiu  themselves  with  him,  out  of  their 
hatred  to  him;  and  yet  they  thought  it 
too  gross  a  thing  for  them  to  assist  the 
ambassadors  [against  him],  as  supposing 
it  would  be  a  disgrace  to  them  in  Caesar's 
opinion  to  think  of  thus  acting  in  oppo- 
sition to  a  man  of  their  own  kindred : 
Philip*  also  was  come  hither  out  of  Syria, 
by  the  persuasion  of  Varus,  with  this 
principal  intention  to  assist  his  brother 
[Archelaus] ;  for  Varus  was  his  great 
friend :  but  still  so,  that  if  there  should 
any  change  happen  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, (which  Varus  suspected  there  would,) 
and  if  any  distribution  should  be  made  on 
account  of  the  number  that  desired  the 
liberty  of  living  by  their  own  laws,  that 
he  might  not  be  disappointed,  but  might 
have  his  share  in  it. 

Now,  upon  the  liberty  that  was  given  to 
the  Jewish  ambassadors  to  speak,  they  who 
hoped  to  obtain  a  dissolution  of  kingly 
government,  betook  themselves  to  accuse 
Herod  of  his  iniquities;  and  they  declared 
that  he  was  indeed  in  name  a  king,  but 
that  he  had  taken  to  himself  that  uncon- 
trollable authority  which  tyrants  exercise 
over  their  subjects,  and  had  made  use  of 
that  authority  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Jews,  and  did  not  abstain  from  making 
many  innovations    among    them    besides, 


*  He  was  tetrarch  afterward 


C'fap.  XI  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


539 


according  to  his    own    inclinations;    and 
that  whereas  there  were  a  great  many  who 
perished  by  that  destruction  he  brought 
upon  them,  so  many  indeed  as  no  other 
history  relates,   they   that    survived  were 
far  more  miserable  than    those  that   suf- 
fered under  him,  not  only  by  the  anxiety 
they  were  in  from  his  looks  and  disposition 
toward  them,  but  from  the  danger  their 
estates  were  in  of  being  taken  away  by  him. 
That  he  did  never  leave  off  adorning  these 
cities  that  lay  in  their  neighbourhood,  but 
were  inhabited  by  foreigners;  but  so  that 
the  cities  belonging  to  his  own  government 
were  ruined,  and  utterly  destroyed :  that 
whereas,  when  he  took  the  kingdom,   it 
was  in  an  extraordinary  flourishing  condi- 
tion, he  had  filled  the  nation  with  the  ut- 
most degree  of  poverty;  and  when,  upon 
unjust  pretences,  he  had  slain  any  of  the 
nobility,  he  took  away  their  estates :   and 
when  he  permitted  any  of  them  to  live,  he 
condemned  them  to  the  forfeiture  of  what 
they  possessed.     And,  besides  the  annual 
impositions  which  he  laid  upon  every  one 
of  them,  they  were  to  make  liberal  presents 
to  himself,  to  his  domestics  and  friends  and 
to  such  of  his  slaves  as  were  vouchsafed  the 
favour  of  being  his  tax-gatherers;  because 
there  was  no  way  of  obtaining  a  freedom 
from  unjust  violence,  without  giving  either 
gold  or  silver  for  it.    That  they  would  say 
nothing  of   the  corruption  of  the  chastity 
of  their  virgins,  and  the  reproach  laid  on 
their  wives  for    incontinency,   and    those 
things  acted  after  an  insolent  and  inhuman 
manner;    because   it    was   not    a    smaller 
pleasure   to    the    sufferers    to    have    such 
things  concealed,  than  it  would  have  been 
not  to  have  suffered  them.     That  Herod 
had  put  such  abuses  upon  them  as  a  wild 
beast  would  not  have  put  on  them,  if  he 
had  power  given  him  to  rule  over  us :  and 
that    although    their   nation    had    passed 
through  many  subversions  and  alterations 
of  government,  their  history  gave  no  ac- 
count of  any  calamity  they  had  ever  been 
under,  that  could  be  compared  with  this 
which    Herod    had    brought    upon     their 
nation ;  that  it  was  for  this  reason  that  they 
thought  they  might  justly  and  gladly  salute 
Archelaus  as  king,  upon   this  supposition, 
that  whosoever  should   be  set  over  their 
kingdom,   he  would  appear  more  mild  to 
them  than  Herod  had  been;  and  that  they 
had  joined  with  him  in  the  mourning  for 
his  father,   in  order  to  gratify  him,  and 
were  ready  to  oblige  him  in  other  points 
also,  if  they  could  meet  with  any  degree 


of  moderation  from  him;  but  that  he 
seemed  to  be  afraid  lest  he  should  not  be 
deemed  Herod's  own  sou;  and  so,  without 
any  delay,  he  immediately  let  the  nation 
understand  his  meaning,  and  this  before 
his  dominion  was  well  established,  since 
the  power  of  disposing  of  it  belonged  to 
Caesar,  who  could  either  give  it  to  him  or 
not  as  he  pleased.  That  he  had  given  a 
specimen  of  his  future  virtue  to  his  sub- 
jects, and  with  what  kind  of  moderation 
and  good  administration  he  would  govern 
them,  by  that  his  first  action  which  con- 
cerned them,  his  own  citizens,  and  God 
himself  also,  when  he  made  the  slaughter 
of  3000  of  his  own  countrymen  at  the 
temple.  How,  then,  could  they  avoid  the 
just  hatred  of  him,  who,  to  the  rest  of  his 
barbarity,  hath  added  this  as  one  of  our 
crimes,  that  we  have  opposed  and  contra- 
dicted him  in  the  exercise  of  his  autho- 
rity? Now,  the  main  thing  they  desired 
was  this :  that  they  might  be  delivered 
from  kingly  and  other  forms  of  govern- 
ment, and  might  be  added  to  Syria,  and 
be  put  under  the  authority  of  such  presi- 
dents of  theirs  as  should  be  sent  to  them; 
for  that  it  would  thereby  be  made  evident, 
whether  they  be  really  a  seditious  people, 
and  generally  fond  of  innovations,  or 
whether  they  would  live  in  an  orderly 
manner,  if  they  might  have  governors  of 
any  sort  of  moderation  set  over  them. 

Now  when  the  Jews  had  said  this,  Ni- 
colaus  vindicated  the  kings  from  those  ac- 
cusations, and  said,  that  as  for  Herod,  since 
he  had  never  been  thus  accused  all  the 
time  of  his  life,  it  was  not  fit  for  those  that 
might  have  accused  him  of  lesser  crimes 
than  those  now  mentioned,  and  might 
have  procured  him  to  be  punished  during 
his  lifetime,  to  bring  an  accusation  against 
him  now  he  is  dead.  He  also  attributed 
the  actions  of  Archelaus  to  the  Jews'  in- 
juries to  him,  who,  affecting  to  govern 
contrary  to  the  laws,  and  going  about  to 
kill  those  that  would  have  hindered  them 
from  acting  unjustly,  when  they  were  by 
him  punished  for  what  they  had  done, 
made  their  complaints  against  him;  so  he 
accused  them  of  their  attempts  for  inno- 
vation, and  of  the  pleasure  they  took  in 
sedition,  by  reason  of  their  not  having 
learned  to  submit  to  justice  and  to  tho 
laws,  but  still  desiring  to  be  superior  in 
all  things.  This  was  the  substance  of 
what  Nicolaus  said. 

When  Cyesar  had  heard  these  pleadings, 
ho.  dissolved  the  assembly;   but  a  few  days 


640 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVTi 


afterward  he  appointed  Archelaus,  not  in- 
deed to  be  the  king  of  the  whole  country, 
but  ethnarch  of  one-half  of  that  which  had 
been  subject  to  Herod,  and  promised  to  give 
him  the  royal  dignity  hereafter,  if  he  go- 
verned his  part  virtuously.  But  as  for  the 
other  half,  he  divided  it  into  two  parts,  and 
gave  it  to  two  other  of  Herod's  sons,  to 
Philip  and  to  Antipas;  that  Antipas  who 
disputed  with  Archelaus  for  the  whole  king- 
dom. Now,  to  him  it  was  that  Perea  and 
Galilee  paid  their  tribute,  which  amounted 
annually  to  two  hundred  talents,*  while  Ba- 
tanea  with  Trachonitis,  as  well  as  Aurani- 
tis,  with  a  certain  part  of  what  was  called 
the  House  of  Zenodorus,  paid  the  tribute 
of  one  hundred  talents  to  Philip;  but 
Idumea,  and  Judea,  and  the  country  of 
Samaria,  paid  tribute  to  Archelaus,  but 
had  now  a  fourth  part  of  that  tribute  taken 
off  by  the  order  of  Caesar,  who  decreed 
them  that  mitigation,  because  they  did  not 
join  in  this  revolt  with  the  rest  of  the 
multitude.  There  were  also  certain  of  the 
cities  which  paid  tribute  to  Archelaus : — 
Strato's  Tower  and  Sebaste,  with  Joppa 
and  Jerusalem  ;  for  as  to  Gaza,  Gadara, 
and  Hippos,  they  were  Grecian  cities, 
which  Caesar  separated  from  his  govern- 
ment, and  added  them  to  the  province  of 
Syria.  Now  the  tribute-money  that  came 
to  Archelaus  every  year  from  his*  own  do- 
minions amounted  to  six  hundred  talents. 
And  so  much  came  to  Herod's  sons 
from  their  father's  inheritance;  but  Sa- 
lome, besides  what  her  brother  left  her 
by  his  testament,  which  were  Jamnia, 
Ashdod,    and    Phasaelis,    and     500,000 


*  Josepbus  here  informs  us  that  Archelaus  had 
one-half  of  the  kingdom  of  Herod,  and  presently 
informs  us  further,  that  Archelaus's  annual  income, 
after  an  abatement  of  one-quarter  for  the  present, 
was  six  hundred  talents:  we  may  therefore  gather 
pretty  nearly  Herod's  yearly  income — about  1600 
talents,  which  at  the  known  value  of  3000  shekels 
to  a  talent,  and  about  2s.  lOd.  to  a  shekel,  amounts 
to  £680,000  sterling  per  annum;  which  income, 
though  great  in  itself,  bearing  no  proportion  to  his 
vast  expenses  everywhere  visible  in  Josephus,  and 
to  the  vast  sums  he  left  behind  him  in  his  will,  the 
lest  must  have  risen  either  from  his  confiscation  of 
those  great  men's  estates  whom  he  put  to  death,  or 
made  to  pay  fine  for  the  saving  of  their  lives,  or  from 
some  other  heavy  method  of  oppression  which  such 
savage  tyrants  usually  exercise  upon  their  misera- 
ble subjects;  or  rather  from  these  several  methods 
put  together,  all  which  yet  seem  very  much  too 
email  for  his  expenses,  being  drawn  from  no  larger 
nation  than  that  of  the  Jews,  which  was  very  popu- 
'dus,  but  without  the  advantage  of  trade  to  bring 
Miem  riches  :  leaving  room  to  suspect  ttmt  no  small 
part  of  this  wealth  arose  from  another  source  ;  pro- 
bably from  the  vast  sums  he  took  out  of  David's 
•epulchre,  but  concealed  from  the  people. 


[drachmae]  of  coined  silver,  Caesar  made 
her  a  present  of  a  royal  habitation  at  As- 
kelon :  in  all,  her  revenues  amounted  to 
sixty  talents  by  tbte  year,  and  her  dwell- 
ing house  was  within  Archelaus's  govern- 
ment. The  rest  also  of  the  king's  relations 
received  what  his  testament  allotted  them. 
Moreover,  Caesar  made  a  present  to  each 
of  Herod's  two  virgin  daughters,  besides 
what  their  father  left  them,  of  250,000 
[drachmae]  of  silver,  and  married  them  to 
Pheroras's  sons:  he  also  granted  all  that 
was  bequeathed  to  himself  to  the  king's 
sons,  which  was  1500  talents,  excepting  a 
few  of  the  vessels,  which  he  reserved  for 
himself;  and  they  were  acceptable  to  him, 
not  so  much  for  the  great  value  they  were 
of,  as  because  they  were  memorials  of  the 
king  to  him. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Concerning  a  spurious  Alexander. 

When  these  affairs  had  been  thus  settled 
by  Caesar,  a  certain  young  man,  by  birth 
a  Jew,  but  brought  up  by  a  Roman  freed- 
man  in  the  city  of  Sidon,  ingrafted  him- 
self into  the  kingdom  of  Herod,  by  the 
resemblance  of  his  countenance,  whicb 
those  that  saw  him  attested  to  be  that  of 
Alexander,  the  son  of  Herod,  whom  he 
had  slain ;  and  this  was  an  incitement  to 
him  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the  govern- 
ment; so  he  took  to  him  as  an  assistant 
a  man  of  his  own  country,  Cone  that  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  affairs  of  the 
palace,  but,  on  other  accounts,  an  ill  man, 
and  one  whose  nature  made  h'im  capable  of 
causing  great  disturbances  to  the  public, 
and  one  that  became  a  teacher  of  such  a 
mischievous  contrivance  to  the  other,)  and 
declared  himself  to  be  xilexander,  and  the 
son  of  Herod,  but  stolen  away  by  one  of 
those  that  were  sent  10  slay  him,  who,  in 
reality,  slew  other  men,  in  order  to  de- 
ceive the  spectators,  but  saved  both  him 
and  his  brother  Aristobulus.  Thus  was 
this  man  elated,  and  able  to  impose  on 
those  that  came  to  him  ;  and  when  he  had 
come  to  Crete,  he  made  all  the  Jews  that 
came  to  discourse  with  him  believe  him  to 
be  [Alexander].  And  when  he  had  gotten 
much  money  which  had  been  presented  to 
him  there,  he  passed  over  co  Melos,  where 
he  got  much  more  money  than  he  had 
before,  out  of  the  belief  they  had  that  he 
was  of  the  royal  family,  and  their  hopes 
that  he  would  recover  his  father's  princi- 
pality, and  reward  his  benefactors;   so  he 


Chap  XIII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


541 


made  haste  to  Rome,  and  was  conducted 
thither  by  those  strangers  who  entertained 
him.  He  was  also  so  fortunate  as,  upon 
his  landing  at  Dicearchia,  to  bring  the 
Tews  that  were  there  into  the  same  delu- 
sion; and  not  only  other  people,  but  also 
all  those  who  had  been  great  with  Herod, 
or  had  a  kindness  for  him,  joined  them- 
selves to  this  man  as  to  their  king.  The 
cause  of  it  was  this,  that  men  were  glad 
of  his  pretences,  which  were  seconded  by 
the  likeness  of  his  countenance,  which 
made  those  that  had  been  acquainted  with 
Alexander  strongly  to  believe  that  he  was 
no  other  but  the  very  same  person,  which 
they  also  confirmed  to  others  by  oath ;  in- 
somuch that  when  the  report  went  about 
him  that  he  was  coming  to  Rome,  the 
whole  multitude  of  the  Jews  that  were 
there  went  out  to  meet  him,  ascribing  it 
to  Divine  Providence  that  he  had  so  un- 
expectedly escaped,  and  being  very  joyful 
on  account  of  his  mother's  family.  And 
when  he  was  come,  he  was  carried  in  a 
royal  litter  through  the  streets ;  and  all 
the  ornaments  about  him  were  such  as 
kings  are  adorned  withal ;  and  this  was 
at  the  expense  of  those  that  entertained 
him.  The  multitude  also  flocked  about 
him  greatly,  and  made  mighty  acclama- 
tions to  him,  and  nothing  was  omitted 
which  could  be  thought  suitable  to  such 
as  had  been  so  unexpectedly  preserved. 

When   this   thing  was  told  Caesar,   he 
did  not  believe  it,  because  Herod  was  not 
easily  to  be  imposed  upon  in  such  affairs 
as  were    of   great   concern    to  him ;   yet, 
haviug  some  suspicion  it  might  be  so,  he 
sent  one  Celadus,  a  freedman  of  his,  and 
one  that  had   conversed  with  the  young 
men  themselves,  and  bade  him  bring  Alex- 
ander   into   his  presence :    so  he  brought 
him,  being  no  more  accurate  in  judgment 
about  him  than  the  rest  of  the  multitude. 
Yet  did   not   he   deceive   Caesar;   for  al- 
though there  was  a  resemblance  between 
him    and  Alexander,  yet  it    was   not   so 
?xact  as  to  impose  on  such  as  were  pru- 
lent  in  discerning;  for  this  spurious  Alex- 
ander had  his  hands  rough,  by  the  labours 
le  had  been  put  to ;  and  instead  of  that 
softness  of  body  which  the  other  had,  and 
his  as  derived  from   his  delicate  and  ge- 
lerous  education,  this  man,  for  the  con- 
rary  reason,  had  a  rugged  body.     When, 
herefore,  Caesar  saw  how  the  master  and 
he  scholar  agreed  in  this  lying  story,  and 
a   a    bold   way  of   talking,   he    inquired 
bout  Ari.-»tobulus,  and  asked  what  became 


of  him,  who  (it  seems)  was  stolen  away 
together  with  him,  and  for  what  reason  it 
was  that  he  did  not  come  along  with  him, 
and  endeavour  to  recover  that  dominion 
which  was  due  to  his  high  birth  also. 
And  when  he  said  that  he  had  been  left 
in  the  Isle  of  Crete,  for  fear  of  the  dangers 
of  the  sea,  that,  in  case  any  accident  should 
come  to  himself,  the  posterity  of  Mariamne 
might  not  utterly  perish,  but  that  Aristo- 
bulus  might  survive,  and  punish  those 
that  laid  such  treacherous  designs  against 
them ;  and  when  he  persevered  in  his 
affirmations,  and  the  author  of  the  impos- 
ture agreed  in  supporting  it,  Caesar  took 
the  young  man  by  himself,  and  said  to 
him,  "If  thou  wilt  not  impose  upon  me, 
thou  shalt  have  this  for  thy  reward,  that 
thou  shalt  escape  with  thy  life ;  tell  me, 
then,  who  thou  art,  and  who  it  was  that 
had  boldness  enough  to  contrive  such  a 
cheat  as  this.  For  this  contrivance  is  too 
considerable  a  piece  of  villany  to  be  under- 
taken by  one  of  thy  age."  Accordingly, 
because  he  had  no  other  way  to  take,  he 
told  Caesar  the  contrivance,  and  after  what 
manner,  and  by  whom,  it  was  laid  toge- 
ther. So  Caesar,  upon  observing  the 
spurious  Alexander  to  be  a  strong,  active 
man,  and  fit  to  work  with  his  hands,  that 
he  might  not  break  his  promise  to  him, 
put  him  among  those  that  were  to  row 
among  the  mariners,  but  slew  him  that 
induced  him  to  do  what  he  had  done ;  for 
as  for  the  people  of  Melos,  he  thought 
them  sufficiently  punished,  in  having 
thrown  away  so  much  of  their  money 
upon  this  spurious  Alexander.  And  such 
was  the  ignominious  conclusion  of  this 
bold  contrivance  about  the  spurious  Alex- 
ander. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Archelaus,  upon  a  second  accusation,  banished  to 
Vienna. 

When  Archelaus  had  entered  on  his 
ethnarchy,  and  had  come  into  Judea,  he 
accused  Joazar,  the  son  of  Boethus,  of  as- 
sisting the  seditious,  and  took  away  the 
high-priesthood  from  him,  and  put  Eleazar 
his  brother  in  his  place.  He  also  magnifi- 
cently rebuilt  the  royal  palace  that  had 
been  at  Jericho,  and  he  diverted  half  the 
water  with  which  the  village  of  Neara  used 
to  be  watered,  and  drew  off  that  water 
into  the  plain,  to  water  those  palm-trees 
which  he  had  there  planted  :  he  also  built 


542 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS.        [Bock  XVII.  Chap.  XIII. 


a  village,  and  p  it  his  own  name  upon  it, 
and  called  it  Archelais.  Moreover,  he 
transgressed  the  law  of  our  fathers,  and 
married  Glaphyra,  the  daughter  of  Arche- 
laus, who  had  been  the  wife  of  his  brother 
Alexander,  which  Alexander  had  three 
children  by  her,*  while  it  was  a  thing 
detestable  among  the  Jews  to  marry  the 
brother's  wife.  Nor  did  this  Eleazar 
abide  long  in  the  high-priesthood,  Jesus, 
the  son  of  Sie,  being  put  in  his  room 
while  he  was  still  living. 

But  m  the  tenth  year  of  Archelaus's 
government,  both  his  brethren  and  the 
principal  men  of  Judea  and  Samaria,  not 
being  able  to  bear  his  barbarous  and  ty- 
rannical usage  of  them,  accused  him  be- 
fore Caesar,  and  that  especially  because 
they  knew  he  had  broken  the  commands 
of  Csesar,  which  obliged  him  to  behave 
himself  with  moderation  among  them. 
Whereupon  Csesar,  when  he  heard  it,  was 
very  angry,  and  called  for  Archelaus's 
steward,  who  took  care  of  his  affairs  at 
Rome,  and  whose  name  was  Archelaus 
also  ;  and  thinking  it  beneath  him  to  write 
to  Archelaus,  he  bade  him  sail  away  as 
soon  as  possible,  aud  bring  him  to  Rome; 
so  the  man  made  haste  in  his  voyage,  and 
when  he  came  into  Judea  he  found  Arche- 
laus feasting  with  his  friends;  so  he  told 
him  what  Caesar  had  sent  him  about,  and 
hastened  him  away.  And  when  he  had 
come  [to  Rome],  to  Caesar,  upon  hearing 
what  certain  accusers  of  his  had  to  say, 
and  what  reply  he  could  make,  both  ba- 
nished him,  and  appointed  Vienna,  a  city 
of  Gaul,  to  be  the  place  of  his  habitation, 
and  took  his  money  away  from  him. 

Now,  before  Archelaus  was  gone  up  to 
Rome  upon  this  message,  he  related  this 
dream  to  his  friends :  that  he  saw  ears  of 
corn,  in  number  ten,  full  of  wheat,  per- 
fectly ripe ;  which  ears,  as  it  seemed  to 
him,  were  devoured  by  oxen.  And  when 
he  was  awake  anl  gotten  up,  because  the 
vision  appeared  to  be  of  great  importance 
to  him,  he  sent  ilur  the  diviners,  whose 
study  was  employed  about  dreams.  And 
while  some  were  of  one  opinion  and  some 
of  another,  (for  all  their  interpretations 
did  not  agree.)  Simon,  a  man  of  the  sect 
of  the  Essenes,  desired  leave  to  speak  his 
jaind  freely,  and  said,  that  the  vision  de- 


*  Spanheim  seasonably  observes  here,  that  it 
was  forbidden  the  Jews  to  marry  their  brother's 
wife  when  she  had  children  by  her  first  husband : 
and  that  Zenoras  (cites,  or)  interprets  the  clause 
befortt  u>  accordingly. 


noted  a  change  in  the  affairs  of  Archelaus, 
and  that  not  for  the  better;  that  oxen, 
because  that  animal  takes  uneasy  pains  in 
his  labours,  denoted  afflictions;  and  indeed 
denoted,  further,  a  change  of  affairs,  be- 
cause that  land  which  is  ploughed  by  oxen 
cannot  remain  in  its  former  state ;  and 
that  the  ears  of  corn  being  ten,  determined 
the  like  number  of  years,  because  an  ear 
of  corn  grows  in  one  year;  and  that  the 
time  of  Archelaus's  government  was  over. 
And  thus  did  this  man  expound  the  dream. 
Now,  on  the  fifth  day  after  this  dream 
came  first  to  Archelaus,  the  other  Arche- 
laus, that  was  sent  to  Judea  by  Caesar  to 
call  him  away,  came  hither  also. 

The  like  accident  befell  Glaphyra  his 
wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  King  Ar- 
chelaus, who,  as  I  said  before,  was  mar- 
ried, while  she  was  a  virgin,  to  Alexander, 
the  son  of  Herod,  and  brother  of  Arche- 
laus; but  since  it  fell  out  so  that  Alex- 
ander was  slain  by  his  father,  she  wag 
married  to  Juba,  the  king  of  Libya ;  and 
when  he  was  dead,  and  she  lived  in  widow- 
hood in  Cappadocia  with  her  father,  Arche- 
laus divorced  his  former  wife  Maviamne, 
and  married  her,  so  great  was  his  affection 
for  her;  who,  during  her  marriage  to  him, 
saw  the  following  dream  : — She  thought 
she  saw  Alexander  standing  by  her;  at 
which  she  rejoiced,  and  embraced  him 
with  great  affection;  but  that  he  com- 
plained of  her,  and  said,  "  0  Glaphyra ! 
thou  provest  that  saying  to  be  true,  which 
assures  us  that  women  are  not  to  be  trusted. 
Didst  thou  not  pledge  thy  faith  to  me? 
and  wast  thou  not  married  to  me  when 
thou  wast  a  virgin  ?  and  had  we  not  chil- 
dren between  us  ?  Yet  hast  thou  forgotten 
the  affection  I  bare  to  thee,  out  of  desire 
of  a  second  husband.  Nor  hast  thou  been 
satisfied  with  that  injury  thou  didst  me, 
but  thou  hast  been  so  bold  as  to  procure 
thee  a  third  husband  to  lie  by  thee,  aud 
in  an  indecent  and  imprudent  manner 
hast  entered  into  my  house,  and  hast  been 
married  to  Archelaus,  thy  husband  and 
my  brother.  However,  I  will  not  forget 
thy  former  kin4 affection  for  me;  but  will 
set  thee  free  from  every  such  reproachtul 
action,  and  cause  thee  to  be  mine  again, 
as  thou  once  wert."  When  she  had  re- 
lated this  to  her  female  companions,  in  a 
few  days'  time  she  departed  this  life. 

Now,  I  did  not  think  these  histories 
improper  for  the  present  discourse,  both 
because  my  discourse  now  is  concerning 
kings,  and   otherwise  also  on   account  o1 


rtooK  XVIII.     Chap.  I.]  ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


5-K-J 


the  advantage  hence  to  be  drawn,  as  well 
for  the  confirmation  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  as  of  the  providence  of  God  over 
human  affairs,  T  thought  them  fit  to  be 
get  down ;  but  if  any  one  does  not  believe 
such  relations,  let  him  indeed  enjoy  his 
own  opinion,  but  let  him  not  hinder  an- 


other that  would  thereby  encourage  him- 
self in  virtue.  So  Archelaus's  country 
was  laid  to  the  province  of  Syria;  and 
Cyrenius,  one  that  had  been  consul,  was 
sent  by  Caesar  to  take  account  of  people's 
effects  in  Syria,  and  to  sell  the  house  of 
Archelaus. 


BOOK  XVIII. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  THIRTY-TWO  YEARS,  FROM  THE  BANISH- 
MENT OF  ARCHELAUS  TO  THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM 
BABYLON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Cyrenius  sent  by  Caesar  to  tax  Syria  and  Judea; 
Coponius  sent  as  procurator  of  Judea — Judas  of 
Galilee — Sects  among  the  Jews. 

Now  Cyrenius,  a  Roman  senator,  and 
one  who  had  gone  through  other  magis- 
tracies, and  had  passed  through  them  till 
he  had  been  consul,  and  one  who,  on  other 
accounts,  was  of  great  dignity,  came  at 
this  time  into  Syria,  with  a  few  others, 
being  sent  by  Caesar  to  be  a  judge  of  that 
nation,  and  to  take  an  account  of  their 
substance:  Coponius  also,  a  man  of  the 
equestrian  order,  was  sent  together  with 
him,  to  have  the  supreme  power  over  the 
Jews.  Moreover,  Cyrenius  came  himself 
into  Judea,  which  was  now  added  to  the 
province  of  Syria,  to  take  an  account  of 
their  substance,  and  to  dispose  of  Arche- 
laus's money;  but  the  Jews,  although  at 
the  beginning  they  took  the  report  of  a 
taxation  heinously,  yet  did  they  leave  off 
any  further  opposition  to  it,  by  the  per- 
suation  of  Joazar,  who  was  the  son  of 
Boethus,  and  high  priest.  So  they,  being 
overpersuaded  by  Joazar's  words,  gave 
an  account  of  their  estates,  without  any 
dispute  about  it ;  yet  there  was  one  Judas, 
a  Gaulonite,  of  a  city  whose  name  was 
Garnala,  who,  taking  with  him  Sadduc,* 
a  Pharisee,  became  zealous  to  draw  them 
to  a  revolt,  who  both  said  that  this  taxa- 
tion was  no   better  than   an  introduction 


*  It  seems  not  very  improbable  that  this  Sadduc, 
the  Pharisee,  was  the  very  same  man  of  whom  the 
rabbins  speak,  as  the  unhappy  but  undesigning  oc- 
casion of  the  impiety  or  infidelity  of  the  Sadducees  ; 
nor  perhaps  had  the  men  this  name  of  Sadducees 
till  this  very  time,  though  they  were  a  distinct  sect 
Ions  before. 


to  slavery,  and  exhorted  the  nation  to 
assert  their  liberty ;  as  if  they  could  pro- 
cure them  happiness  and  security  for  what 
they  possessed,  and  an  assured  enjoyment 
of  a  still  greater  good,  which  was  that  of 
the  honour  and  glory  they  would  thereby 
acquire  for  magnanimity.  They  also  said 
that  God  would  not  otherwise  be  assisting 
to  them,  than  upon  their  joining  with  one 
another  in  such  counsels  as  might  be  suc- 
cessful, and  for  their  own  advantage ;  and 
this  especially,  if  they  would  set  about 
great  exploits,  and  not  grow  weary  in 
executing  the  same;  so  men  received  what 
they  said  with  pleasure,  and  this  bold  at- 
tempt proceeded  to  a  great  height.  All 
sorts  of  misfortunes  also  sprang  from 
these  men,  and  the  nation  was  infected 
with  this  doctrine  to  an  incredible  degree; 
one  violent  war  came  upon  us  after  another, 
and  we  lost  our  friends  who  used  to  alle- 
viate our  pains ;  there  were  also  very  great 
robberies  and  murders  of  our  principal 
men.  This  was  done  in  pretence  indeed 
for  the  public  welfare,  but  in  reality  for 
the  hopes  of  gain  to  themselves;  whence 
arose  seditions,  and  from  them  murders  of 
men,  which  sometimes  fell  on  those  of  their 
own  people,  (by  the  madness  of  these  men 
toward  one  another,  while  their  desire  was 
that  none  of  the  adverse  party  might  be 
left,)  and  sometimes  on  their  enemies ;  a 
famine  also  coming  upon  us,  reduced  us 
to  the  last  degree  of  despair,  as  did  also 
the  taking  and  demolishing  of  cities  ;  nay, 
the  sedition  at  last  increased  so  high,  that 
the  very  temple  of  God  was  burnt  down 
by  their  enemies'  fire.  Such  were  the 
consequences  of  this,  that  the  customs  of 
our  fathers  were  altered,  and  such  a  chango 


544 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII 


was  made,  as  added  a  mighty  weight  to- 
ward bringing  all  to  destruction,  which 
these  men  occasioned  by  thus  conspiring 
together ;  for  Judas  and  Sadduc,  who  ex- 
cited a  fourth  philosophic  sect  among  us, 
and  had  a  great  many  followers  therein, 
filled  our  civil  government  with  tumults 
at  present,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  oui 
future  miseries,  by  this  system  of  philo- 
sophy, which  we  were  before  unacquainted 
withal;  concerning  which  I  shall  discourse 
a  little,  and  this  the  rather,  because  the 
infection  which  spread  thence  among  the 
younger  sort,  who  were  zealous  for  it, 
brought  the  public  to  destruction. 

The  Jews  had  for  a  great  while  three 
sects  of  philosophy  peculiar  to  themselves  ; 
the  sect  of  the  Essenes,  and  the  sect  of 
the  Sadducees,  and  the  third  sort  of  opi- 
nions was  that  of  those  called  Pharisees; 
of  which  sects,  although  I  have  already 
spoken  in  the  second  book  of  the  Jewish 
War,  yet  will  I  a  little  touch  upon  them 
now. 

Now,  for  the  Pharisees,  they  live  mean- 
ly, and  despise  delicacies  in  diet ;  and  they 
follow  the  conduct  of  reason,  and  what 
that  prescribes  to  them  as  good  for  them, 
they  do;  and  they  think  they  ought  earn- 
estly to  strive  to  observe  reason's  dictates 
for  practice.  They  also  pay  a  respect  to 
such  as  are  in  years ;  nor  are  they  so  bold 
as  to  contradict  them  in  any  thing  which 
they  have  introduced ;  and,  when  they 
determine  that  all  things  are  done  by  fate, 
they  do  not  take  away  from  men  the  free- 
dom of  acting  as  they  think  fit;  since 
their  notion  is,  that  it  hath  pleased  God 
to  make  a  temperament  whereby  what  he 
wills  is  done,  but  so  that  the  will  of  men 
can  act  virtuously  or  viciously.  They  also 
believe  that  souls  have  an  immortal  vigour 
in  them,  and  that  under  the  earth  there 
will  be  rewards  or  punishments,  according 
as  they  have  lived  virtuously  or  viciously 
in  this  life ;  and  the  latter  are  to  be  de- 
tained in  an  everlasting  prison,  but  that 
the  former  shall  have  power  to  revive  and 
live  again ;  on  account  of  which  doctrines, 
they  are  able  greatly  to  persuade  the  body 
of  the  people ;  and  whatsoever  they  do 
about  divine  worship,  prayers,  and  sacri- 
fices, they  perform  them  according  to  their 
direction ;  insomuch  that  the  cities  gave 
great  attestations  to  them  on  account  of 
their  entire  virtuous  conduct,  both  in  the 
actions  of  their  lives  and  their  discourses 
also. 

But  the   doctrine  of  the  Sadducees  is 


this : — That  souls  die  with  the  bodies  ;  noi 
do  they  regard  the  observation  of  any 
thing  besides  what  the  law  enjoins  them, 
for  they  think  it  an  instance  of  virtue  to 
dispute  with  those  teachers  of  philosophy 
whom  they  frequent;  but  this  doctrine  is 
received  but  by  a  few,  yet  by  those  of  the 
greatest  dignity ;  but  they  are  able  to  do 
almost  nothing  of  themselves;  for  when 
they  become  magistrates,  as  they  are  un- 
willingly and  by  force  sometimes  obliged 
to  be,  they  addict  themselves  to  the  no- 
tions of  the  Pharisees,  because  the  multi- 
tude would  not  otherwise  bear  them. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Essenes  is  this : — 
That  all  things  are  best  ascribed  to  God. 
They  teach  the  immortality  of  souls,  and 
esteem  that  the  rewards  of  righteousness 
are  to  be  earnestly  striven  for ;  and  when 
they  send  what  they  have  dedicated  to 
God  into  the  temple,  they  do  not  oifer 
sacrifices,  because  they  have  more  pure 
lustrations  of  their  own ;  on  which  ac- 
count they  are  excluded  from  the  common 
court  of  the  temple,  but  offer  their  sacri- 
fices themselves;  yet  is  their  course  of 
life  better  than  that  of  other  men;  and 
they  entirely  addict  themselves  to  hus- 
bandry. It  also  deserves  our  admiration, 
how  much  they  exceed  all  other  men  that 
addict  themselves  to  virtue,  and  this  in 
righteousness :  and  indeed  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  as  it  hath  never  appeared  among 
any  other  men,  neither  Greeks  nor  bar- 
barians, no,  not  for  a  little  time,  so  hath 
it  endured  a  long  time  among  them.  This 
is  demonstrated  by  that  institution  of 
theirs,  which  will  not  suffer  any  thing  to 
hinder  them  from  having  all  things  in 
common;  so  that  a  rich  man  enjoys  no 
more  of  his  own  wealth  than  he  who  hath 
nothing  at  all.  There  are  about  4000  men 
that  live  in  this  way,  and  neither  marry 
wives,  nor  are  desirous  to  keep  servants; 
as  thinking  the  latter  tempts  men  to  be 
unjust,  and  the  former  gives  the  handle 
to  domestic  quarrels ;  but  as  they  live  by 
themselves,  they  minister  one  to  another. 
They  also  appoint  certain  stewards  to  re- 
ceive the  incomes  of  their  revenues,  and 
of  the  fruits  of  the  ground;  such  as  are 
good  men  and  priests,  who  are  to  get  their 
corn  and  their  food  ready  for  them.  They 
none  of  them  differ  from  others  of  the 
Essenes  in  their  way  of  living,  but  do  the 
most  resemble  those  Dacae  who  are  called 
Polistae  [dwellers  in  cities]. 

But  of  the  fourth  sect  of  Jewish  philo- 
sophy, Judas  the  Galilean  was  the  author* 


CllAP.    II.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


545 


These  men  agree  in  all  other  things  with 
the  Pharisaic  notions;  but  they  have  an 
invioiable  attachment  to  liberty  ;  and  say 
that  God  is  to  be  their  only  Ruler  and 
Lord.  They  also  do  not  value  dying  any 
kinds  of  death,  nor  indeed  do  they  heed 
the  deaths  of  their  relations  and  friends, 
nor  can  any  such  fear  make  them  call  any 
man  lord;  and  since  this  immovable  reso- 
lution of  theirs  is  well  known  to  a  great 
many,  I  shall  speak  no  further  about  that 
matter;  nor  am  I  afraid  that  any  thing  I 
have  said  of  them  should  be  disbelieved, 
but  rather  fear  that  what  I  have  said  is 
beneath  the  resolution  they  show  when 
they  undergo  pain ;  and  it  was  in  Gessius 
Florus's  time  that  the  nation  began  to 
grow  mad  with  this  distemper,  who  was 
our  procurator,  and  who  occasioned  the 
Jews  to  go  wild  with  it  by  the  abuse  of 
his  authority,  and  to  make  them  revolt 
from  the  Romans ;  and  these  are  the  sects 
of  Jewish  philosophy. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Herod  and  Philip  build  several  cities  in  honour  of 
Caesar. 

When  Cyrenius  had  now  disposed  of 
Arehelaus's  money,  and  when  the  taxings 
were  come  to  a  conclusion,  which  were 
made  in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  Caesar's 
victory  over  Antony  at  Actium,  he  de- 
prived Joazar  of  the  high-priesthood,  which 
dignity  had  been  conferred  on  him  by  the 
multitude,  and  he  appointed  Ananus,  the 
of  Seth,  to  be  high  priest;  while 
Herod  and  Philip  had  each  of  them  re- 
ceived their  own  tetrarchy,  and  settled  the 
affairs  thereof.  Herod  also  built  a  wall 
about  Sepphoris,  (which  is  the  security  of 
all  Galilee,)  and  made  it  the  metropolis 
of  the  country.  He  also  built  a  wall 
round  Betharamphtha,  which  was  itself  a 
city  also,  and  called  it  Julias,  from  the 
name  of  the  emperor's  wife.  When  Philip, 
also,  had  built  Paneas,  a  city  at  the  foun- 
3  of  Jordan,  he  named  it  Cesarea.  He 
also  advanced  the  village  Bethsaida,  situate 
at  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  unto  the  dig- 
nity of  a  city,  both  by  the  number  of 
inhabitants  it  contained,  and  its  other 
grandeur,  and  called  it  by  the  name  of 
Julias,  the  same  name  with  Caesar's  daugh- 
ter. 

As  Coponius,  who  we  told  you  was  sent 
along  with  Cyrenius,  was  exercising  his 
'jffice  of  procurator,  and  governing  Judea, 
the  following  accidents  happened  : — As 
35 


the  Jews  were  celebrating  the  feast  of  un- 
leavened bread,  which  we  call  the  Pass- 
over, it  was  customary  for  the  priests  to 
open  the  temple-gates  just  after  midnight. 
When,  therefore,  those  gates  were  first 
opened,  some  of  the  Samaritans  came 
privately  into  Jerusalem,  and  threw  about 
dead  men's  bodies  in  the  cloisters;  on 
which  account  the  Jews  afterward  ex- 
cluded them  out  of  the  temple,  which 
they  had  not  used  to  do  at  such  festivals ; 
and  on  other  accounts  also  they  watched 
the  temple  more  carefully  than  they  had 
formerly  done.  A  little  after  which  ac- 
cident, Coponius  returned  to  Rome,  and 
Marcus  Ambivius  came  to  be  his  successor 
in  that  government;  under  whom  Salome, 
the  sister  of  King  Herod,  died,  and  left 
to  Julia  [Caesar's  wife],  Jamnia,  all  its 
toparchy,  and  Phasaelis  in  the  plain,  and 
Archelaus,  where  is  a  great  plantation  of 
palm-trees,  and  their  fruit  is  excellent  in 
its  kind.  After  him  came  Annius  Rufus, 
under  whom  died  Caesar,  the  second  em- 
peror of  the  Romans,  the  duration  of 
whose  reign  was  fifty-seven  years,  besides 
six  months  and  two  days,  (of  which  time 
Antonius  ruled  together  with  him  four 
teen  years;  but  the  duration  of  his  life 
was  seventy-seven  years;)  upon  whose 
death  Tiberius  Nero,  his  wife  Julia's  son, 
succeeded.  He  was  now  the  third  em- 
peror; and  he  sent  Valerius  Gratus  to  be 
procurator  of  Judea,  and  to  succeed  An- 
nius Rufus.  This  man  deprived  Ananus 
of  the  high-priesthood,  and  appointed  Is- 
mael,  the  son  of  Phabi,  to  be  high  priest. 
He  also  deprived  him  in  a  little  time,  and 
ordained  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Ananus,  who 
had  been  high  priest  before,  to  be  high 
priest :  which  office,  when  he  had  held  for 
a  year,  Gratus  deprived  him  of  it,  and 
gave  the  high-priesthood  to  Simon,  the 
son  of  Camithus ;  and,  when  he  had  pos- 
sessed that  dignity  no  longer  than  a  year, 
Joseph  Caiaphas  was  made  his  successor. 
When  Gratus  had  done  those  things,  he 
went  back  to  Rome,  after  he  had  tarried 
in  Judea  eleven  years,  when  Pontius  Pi- 
late came  as  his  successor. 

And  now  Ilerod  the  tetrarch,  who  was 
in  great  favour  with  Tiberius,  built  a  city 
of  the  same  name  with  him,  and  called  it 
Tiberias.  He  built  it  in  the  best  part  of 
Galilee,  at  the  lake  of  Gennesareth.  There 
are  warm  baths  at  a  little  distance  from 
it,  in  a  village  named  Emmaus.  Strangers 
came  and  inhabited  this  city;  a  great 
number  of  the  inhabitants  were  Galileav." 


54.6 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII. 


also;  and  many  were  necessitated  by  He- 
rod to  come  thither  out  of  the  country 
beLonging  to  him,  and  were  by  force  com- 
pelled to  be  its  inhabitants ;  some  of  them 
were  persons  of  condition.  He  also  ad- 
mitted poor  people,  such  as  those  that 
were  collected  from  all  parts,  to  dwell  in 
it.  Nay,  some  of  them  were  not  quite 
freemen ;  and  these  he  was  a  benefactor 
to,  and  made  them  free  in  great  numbers; 
but  obliged  them  not  to  forsake  the  city, 
by  building  them  very  good  houses  at  his 
own  expenses,  and  by  giving  them  land 
also;  for  he  was  sensible,  that  to  make 
this  place  a  habitation  was  to  transgress 
the  Jewish  ancient  laws,  because  many 
sepulchres  were  to  be  here  taken  away,  in 
order  to  make  room  for  the  city  Tiberias  ;* 
whereas  our  law  pronounces,  that  such 
inhabitants  are  unclean  for  seven  days.*j* 

About  this  time  died  Phraates,  king  of 
the  Parthians,  by  the  treachery  of  Phra- 
ataces,  his  son,  upon  the  occasion  follow- 
ing : — When  Phraates  had  had  legitimate 
sous  of  his  own,  he  had  also  an  Italian 
maidservant  whose  name  was  Thermusa, 
who  had  formerly  been  sent  to  him  by 
Julius  Caesar,  among  other  presents.  He 
lirst  made  her  his  concubine;  but  he  being 
a  great  admirer  of  her  beauty,  in  process 
of  time  having  a  son  by  her,  whose  name 
was  Phraataces,  he  made  her  his  legiti- 
mate wife,  and  had  a  great  respect  for 
her.  Now  she  was  able  to  persuade  him 
to  do  any  thing  that  she  said,  arid  was 
earnest  in  procuring  the  government  of 
Parthia  for  her  son ;  but  still  she  saw  that 
her  endeavours  would  not  succeed,  unless 
she  could  contrive  how  to  remove  Phra- 
ates's  legitimate  sons  [out  of  the  king- 
dom] ;  so  she  persuaded  him  to  send  those 
his  sons  as  pledges  of  his  fidelity  to  Rome; 
and  they  were  sent  to  Rome  accordingly, 
because  it  was  not  easy  for  him  to  con- 
tradict her  commands.  Now,  while  Phra- 
ataces was  alone  brought  up  in  order  to 
succeed  in  the  government,  he  thought  it 
very  tedious  to  expect  that  government 
by  his  father's  donation  [as  his  successor]  ; 
he  therefore  formed  a  treacherous  design 
against  his  father,  by  his  mother's  assist- 
ance, with  whom,  as  the  report  went,  he 
had  criminal  conversation  also.  So  he 
was  hated  for  both  these  vices,  while  his 
subjects  esteemed  this   [wicked]   love  of 


*  After  the  death  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  the 
euccession  of  Archelaus,  Josephus  is  very  brief  in 
his  accounts  of  Judea,  till  near  his  own  time. 

|  Num.  xix.  11-14. 


his  mother  to  be  noway  inferior  to  his 
parricide ;  and  he  was  by  them,  in  a  sedi- 
tion, expelled  out  of  the  country  before 
he  grew  too  great,  and  died.  But,  as  the 
best  sort  of  Parthians  agreed  together 
that  it  was  impossible  they  should  be  go 
verned  without  a  king,  while  also  it  was 
their  constant  practice  to  choose  one  of 
the  family  of  Arsaces  [nor  did  their  law 
allow  of  any  others;  and  they  thought 
this  kingdom  had  been  sufficiently  injured 
already  by  the  marriage  with  an  Italian 
concubine,  and  by  her  issue],  they  sent 
ambassadors,  and  called  Orodes  [to  take 
the  crown] ;  for  the  multitude  would  not 
otherwise  have  borne  them;  and  though 
he  was  accused  of  very  great  cruelty,  and 
was  of  an  untractable  temper,  and  prone 
to  wrath,  yet  still  he  was  one  of  the  family 
of  Arsaces.  However,  they  made  a  con- 
spiracy against  him,  and  slew  him,  and 
that,  as  some  say,  at  a  festival,  and  among 
their  sacrifices,  (for  it  is  the  universal 
custom  there  to  carry  their  swords  with 
them  ;)  but  as  the  more  general  report  is, 
they  slew  him  when  they  had  drawn  him 
out  a-huuting.  So  they  sent  ambassadors 
to  Rome  and  desired  they  would  send  one 
of  those  that  were  there  as  pledges,  to  be 
their  king.  Accordingly,  Vonones  was 
preferred  before  the  rest,  and  sent  to  them, 
(for  he  seemed  capable  of  such  great  for- 
tune, which  two  of  the  greatest  kingdoms 
under  the  sun  now  offered  him,  his  own 
and  a  foreign  one.)  However,  the  bar- 
barians soon  changed  their  minds,  they 
being  naturally  of  a  mutable  disposition, 
upon  the  supposition  that  this  man  was 
not  worthy  to  be  their  governor ;  for  they 
could  not  think  of  obeying  the  commands 
of  one  that  had  been  a  slave,  (for  so  they 
called  those  that  had  been  hostages,)  nor 
could  they  bear  the  ignominy  of  that 
name;  and  this  was  the  more  intolerable, 
because  then  the  Parthians  must  have 
such  a  king  set  over  them,  not  by  right 
of  war,  but  in  time  of  peace.  So  they 
presently  invited  Artabanus,  king  of  Me- 
dia, to  be  their  king,  he  being  also  of  the 
race  of  Arsaces.  Artabanus  complied  with 
the  offer  that  was  made  him,  and  came  to 
them  with  -an  army.  So  Vonones  met 
him,  and  at  first  the  multitude  of  the 
Parthians  stood  on  his  side,  and  he  put 
his  army  in  array;  but  Artabanus  was 
beaten,  and  fled  to  the  mountains  of  Media. 
Yet  did  he  a  little  after  gather  a  great 
army  together,  and  fought  with  Vonones, 
and  beat  him;  whereupon  Vonones  fled 


Chap.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF   THE   JEWS. 


547 


away  on  horseback,  with  a  few  of  his  at- 
tendants about  him,  to  Selucia  [upon  Ti- 
gris]. So  when  Artabanus  had  slain  a 
great  number,  and  this,  after  he  had  gotten 
the  victory  by  reason  of  the  very  great 
dismay  the  barbarians  were  in,  he  retired 
to  Ctesiphon  with  a  great  number  of  his 
people ;  and  so  he  now  reigned  over  the 
Parthians.  But  Vonones  fled  away  to 
Armenia;  and  as  soon  as  he  came  thither, 
he  had  an  inclination  to  have  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country  given  him,  and  sent 
ambassadors  to  Rome  [for  that  purpose]. 
But,  because  Tiberius  refused  it  him,  and, 
because  he  wanted  courage,  and  because 
the  Parthian  king  threatened  him,  and 
sent  ambassadors  to  him  to  denounce  war 
against  him  if  he  proceeded,  and  because 
be  had  no  way  to  take  to  regain  any  other 
kingdom,  (for  the  people  of  authority 
among  the  Armenians  about  Niphates 
joined  themselves  to  Artabanus,)  he  de- 
livered up  himself  to  Silanus,  the  presi- 
dent of  Syria,  who,  out  of  regard  to  his 
education  at  Rome,  kept  him  in  Syria, 
while  Artabanus  gave  Armenia  to  Orodes, 
one  of  his  own  sons. 

At  this  time  died  Antiochus,  the  king 
of  Commagene ;  whereupon  the  multitude 
contended  with  the  nobility,  and  both  sent 
ambassadors  [to  Rome] ;  for  the  men  of 
power  were  desirous  that  their  form  of 
government  might  be  changed  into  that 
of  a  [Roman]  province  ;  as  were  the  mul- 
titude desirous  to  be  under  kings,  as  their 
fathers  had  been.  So  the  senate  made  a 
decree,  that  Germanicus  should  be  sent  to 
settle  the  affairs  of  the  east,  fortune  here- 
by taking  a  proper  opportunity  for  de- 
priving him  of  his  life;  for  when  he  had 
been  in  the  east,  and  settled  all  affairs 
there,  his  life  was  taken  away  by  the 
poison  which  Piso  gave  him,  as  hath  been 
related  elsewhere.* 


CHAPTER  III. 

Sedition  of  the  Jews  against  Pontius  Pilate. 

But  now  Pilate,  the  procurator  of  Ju- 
dea,  removed  the  army  from  Cesarea  to 
Jerusalem,  to  take  their  winter  quarters 
there,  in  order  to  abolish  the  Jewish  laws. 
So  he  introduced  Caesar's  effigies,  which 
were  upon  the  ensigns,  and  brought  them 
into  the  city;  whereas  our  law  forbids  us 
the   very    making  of   images;   on   which 

*  Ihig  citation  is  now  wanting. 


account  the  former  procurators  were  wont 
to  make  their  entry  into  the  city  with 
such  ensigns  as  had  not  those  ornaments. 
Pilate  was  the  first  who  brought  those 
images  to  Jerusalem,  and  set  them  up 
there;  which  was  done  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  people,  because  it  was  done 
in  the  night-time;  but  as  soon  as  they 
knew  it,  they  came  in  multitudes  to  Ce- 
sarea, and  interceded  with  Pilate  many 
days,  that  he  would  remove  the  images ; 
and  when  he  would  not  grant  their  re- 
quests, because  it  would  tend  to  the 
injury  of  Caesar,  while  yet  they  perse verod 
in  their  request,  on  the  sixth  day  ho 
ordered  his  soldiers  to  have  their  weapons 
privately,  while  he  came  and  sat  upon 
his  judgment-seat,  which  seat  was  so 
prepared  in  the  open  place  of  the  city, 
that  it  concealed  the  army  that  lay  ready 
to  oppress  them ;  and  when  the  Jews 
petitioned  him  again,  he  gave  a  signal  to 
the  soldiers  to  encompass  them  round, 
and  threatened  that  their  punishment 
should  be  no  less  than  immediate  death, 
unless  they  would  leave  off  disturbing 
him,  and  go  their  ways  home.  But  they 
threw  themselves  upon  the  ground,  and 
laid  their  necks  bare,  and  said  they  would 
take  their  death  very  willingly,  rather 
than  the  wisdom  of  their  laws  should  be 
transgressed ;  upon  which  Pilate  was  deep- 
ly affected  with  their  firm  resolution  to 
keep  their  laws  inviolable,  and  presently 
commanded  the  images  to  be  carried  back 
from  Jerusalem  to  Cesarea. 

But  Pilate  undertook  to  bring  a  cur- 
rent of  water  to  Jerusalem,  and  did  it 
with  the  sacred  money,  and  derived  the 
origin  of  the  stream  from  the  distance  of 
200  furlongs.     However,  the  Jews*  were 


*  These  Jews,  as  they  are  here  called,  whose 
blood  Pilate  shed  on  this  occasion,  may  very  well 
be  those  very  Galilean  Jews,  "  whose  blood  Pilato 
had  mingled  with  their  sacrifices,"  (Luke  xiii.  1,  2:) 
these  tumults  being  usually  excited  at  some  of  the 
Jews'  great  festivals,  when  they  slew  abundance  of 
sacrifices,  and  the  Galileans  being  commonly  much 
more  busy  in  such  tumults  than  those  of  Judea  and 
Jerusalem,  as  we  learn  from  the  history  of  Arche- 
laus,  (Antiq.  b.  xvii.  chap.  ix.  and  chap,  x;)  though, 
indeed,  Josephus's  present  copies  say  not  one  word 
of  "  those  eighteen  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam 
fell,  and  slew  them,"  which  the  4th  verse  of  the 
same  13th  chapter  of  St.  Luke  informs  us  of:  but 
since  the  gospel  teaches  us  (Luke  xxiii.  6,  7)  that 
"when  Pilate  heard  of  Galilee,  he  asked  whether 
Jesus  was  a  Galilean  ?  And  as  soon  as  he  knew 
that  he  belonged  to  Herod's  jurisdiction,  ho  sen 
him  to  Herod  ;"  and  (ver.  12)  "the  same  day  Pilate 
and  Herod  were  made  friends  together;  for  beforo 
they  had  been  at  enmity  between  themselves;"  take 
the  very  probable  key  of  this  matter  in  the  worda 
of  the  learned  KoldiuSj  do  Herod   No.  249.     "  The 


548 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII. 


not  pleased  with  what  had  been  done 
about  this  water;  and  many  ten  thou- 
sands of  the  people  got  together,  and 
made  a  clamour  against  him,  and  insisted 
that  he  should  leave  off  that  design. 
Some  of  them,  also,  used  reproaches,  and 
abused  the  man,  as  crowds  of  such  people 
usually  do.  So  he  habited  a  great  num- 
ber of  his  soldiers  in  their  habit,  who 
carried  daggers  under  their  garments,  and 
sent  them  to  a  place  where  they  might 
surround  them.  So  he  bade  the  Jews 
himself  go  away;  but  they  boldly  casting 
reproaches  upon  him,  he  gave  the  soldiers 
that  signal  which  had  been  beforehand 
agreed  on ;  who  laid  upon  them  much 
greater  blows  than  Pilate  had  commanded 
them,  and  equally  punished  those  that 
were  tumultuous  and  those  that  were  not, 
nor  did  they  spare  them  in  the  least ;  and 
since  the  people  were  unarmed,  and  were 
caught  by  men  prepared  for  what  they 
were  about,  there  were  a  great  number  of 
them  slain  by  this  means,  and  others  of 
them  ran  away  wounded ;  and  thus  an  end 
was  put  to  this  sedition. 

Now,  there  was  about  this  time  Jesus, 
a  wise  man,  if  it  be  lawful  to  call  him  a 
man,  for  he  was  a  doer  of  wonderful 
works, — a  teacher  of  such  men  as  receive 
the  truth  with  pleasure.  He  drew  over 
to  him  both  many  of  the  Jews  and  many 
of  the  Gentiles.  He  was  [the]  Christ; 
and  when  Pilate,  at  the  suggestion  (of  the 
principal  men  among  us,  had  condemned 
him  to  the  cross,*  those  that  loved  him 
at  the  first  did  not  forsake  him,  for  he 
appeared  to  them  alive  again  the  third 
day,-)"  as  the  divine  prophets  had  foretold 
these  and  ten  thousand  other  wonderful 
things  concerning  him ;  and  the  tribe  of 
Christians,  so  named  from  him,  are  not 
extinct  at  this  day. 

About  the  same  time,  also,  another  sad 
calamity  put  the  Jews  into  disorder;  and 
certain  shameful  practices  happened  about 
the  temple  of  Isis  that  was  at  Rome.  I 
will  now  first  take  notice  of  the  wicked  at- 
tempt about  the  temple  of  Isis,  and  will 
then  give  an  account  of  the  Jewish  affairs. 
There  was  at  Rome  a  woman  whose  name 
was  Paulina — one  who,  on  account  of  the 

cause  of  the  enmity  between  Herod  and  Pilate 
'says  he)  seems  to  have  been  this,  that  Pilate  had 
\ntermeddled  with  the  tetrarch's  jurisdiction,  and 
had  slain  some  of  his  Galilean  subjects,  (Luke  xiii. 
1 ;)  and,  as  he  was  willing  to  correct  that  error,  he 
sent  Christ  to  Herod  at  this  time," 

*  A.  D.  33,  April  3. 

t  April  3. 


dignity  of  her  ancestors,  and  by  the  regu- 
lar conduct  of  a  virtuous  life,  had  a  great 
reputation  :  she  was  also  very  rich ;  and, 
although  she  was  of  a  beautiful  counte- 
nance, and  in  that  flower  of  her  age 
wherein  women  are  the  most  gay,  yet  did 
she  lead  a  life  of  great  modesty.  She 
was  married  to  Saturninus,  one  that  was 
every  way  answerable  to  her  in  an  excel- 
lent character.  Decius  Mundus  fell  in 
love  with  this  woman,  who  was  a  man 
very  high  in  the  equestrian  order ;  and  as 
she  was  of  too  great  dignity  to  be  caught 
by  presents,  and  had  alieady  rejected 
them,  though  they  had  been  sent  in  great 
abundance,  he  was  still  more  inflamed  with 
love  to  her,  insomuch  that  he  promised 
to  give  her  200,000  Attic  drachmae  for 
one  night's  lodging;  and  when  this  would 
not  prevail  upon  her,  and  he  was  not  able 
to  bear  this  misfortune  in  his  amours,  he 
thought  it  the  best  way  to  famish  himself 
to  death  for  want  of  food,  on  account  of 
Paulina's  sad  refusal ;  and  he  determined 
with  himself  to  die  after  such  a  manner, 
and  he  went  on  with  his  purpose  accord- 
ingly. Now,  Mundus  had  a  freed-woman, 
who  had  been  made  free  by  his  father, 
whose  name  was  Ide,  one  skilful  in  all 
sorts  of  mischief.  This  woman  was  very 
much  grieved  at  the  young  man's  resolu- 
tion to  kill  himself,  (for  he  did  not  conceal 
his  intentions  to  destroy  himself  from 
others,)  and  came  to  him,  and  encouraged 
him  by  her  discourse,  and  made  him  to 
hope,  by  some  promises  she  gave  him, 
that  he  might  obtain  a  night's  lodging 
with  Paulina;  and  when  he  joyfully 
hearkened  to  her  entreaty,  she  said  she 
wanted  no  more  than  50,000  drachmae 
for  the  entrapping  of  the  woman.  So 
when  she  had  encouraged  the  young  man, 
and  gotten  as  much  money  as  she  re- 
quired, she  did  not  take  the  same  methods 
as  had  been  taken  before,  because  she 
perceived  that  the  woman  was  by  no 
means  to  be  tempted  by  money ;  but  as 
she  knew  that  she  was  very  much  given 
to  the  worship  of  the  goddess  Isis,  she 
devised  the  following  stratagem  :  she  went 
to  some  of  Isis' s  priests,  and,  upon  the 
strongest  assurances  of  [concealment],  she 
persuaded  them  by  words,  but  chiefly  by 
the  offer  of  money,  of  25,000  drachmae  in 
hand,  and  as  much  more  when  the  thing 
had  taken  effect;  and  told  them  the  pas- 
sion of  the  young  man,  and  persuaded 
them  to  use  all  means  possible  to  beguile 
the  woman.      So  they  we.Te  drawn  in  to 


UflAP.  III.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


549 


pr  )iuise  so  to  do,  by  that  large  sum  of 
gold  they  were  to  have.  Accordingly, 
the  oldest  of  them  went  immediately  to 
Paulina;  and,  upon  his  admittance,  he 
desired  to  speak  with  her  by  herself. 
When  that  was  granted  him,  he  told  her 
that  he  was  sent  by  the  god  Anubis,  who 
had  fallen  in  love  with  her,  and  enjoined 
her  to  come  to  him.  Upon  this,  she  took 
the  message  very  kindly,  and  valued  her- 
self greatly  upon  this  condescension  of 
Anubis ;  and  told  her  husband  that  she 
had  a  message  sent  her,  and  was  to  sup 
and  lie  with  Anubis ;  so  he  agreed  to  her 
acceptance  of  the  offer,  as  fully  satisfied 
with  the  chastity  of  his  wife.  Accord- 
ingly, she  went  to  the  temple ;  and  after 
ghe  had  supped  there,  and  it  was  the  hour 
to  go  to  sleep,  the  priest  shut  the  doors  of 
the  temple;  when,  in  the  holy  part  of  it, 
the  lights  were  also  put  out.  Then  did 
Mundus  leap  out  (for  he  was  hidden 
therein)  and  did  not  fail  of  enjoying  her, 
who  was  at  his  service  all  the  night  long, 
as  supposing  he  was  the  god;  and  when 
he  had  gone  away,  which  was  before  those 
priests  who  knew  nothing  of  this  strata- 
gem were  stirring,  Paulina  came  early  to 
her  husband,  and  told  him  how  the  god 
Anubis  had  appeared  to  her.  Among 
her  friends,  also,  she  declared  how  great 
a  value  she  put  upon  this  favour,  who 
partly  disbelieved  the  thing,  when  they 
reflected  on  its  nature,  and  partly  were 
amazed  at  it,  as  having  no  pretence  for 
not  believing  it,  when  they  considered 
the  modesty  and  the  dignity  of  the  per- 
son ;  but  now,  on  the  third  day  after 
what  had  been  done,  Mundus  met  Pau- 
lina, and  said,  "Nay,  Paulina,  thou  hast 
saved  me  200,000  drachmae,  which  sum 
thou  mightest  have  added  to  thy  own 
family ;  yet  hast  thou  not  failed  to  be  at 
my  service  in  the  manner  I  invited  thee. 
As  for  the  reproaches  thou  hast  laid  upon 
Mundus,  I  value  not  the  business  of 
names;  but  I  rejoice  in  the  pleasure  I 
reaped  by  what  I  did,  while  I  took  to 
myself  the  name  of  Anubis/'  When  he 
had  said  this,  he  went  his  way  :  but  now 
she  began  to  come  to  the  sense  of  the  gross- 
nesg  of  what  she  had  done,  and  rent  her 
garments,  and  told  her  husband  of  the 
horrid  nature  of  this  wicked  contrivance, 
and  prayed  him  not  to  neglect  to  assist 
her  in  this  case.  So  ho  discovered  the 
fact  to  the  emperor;  whereupon  Tiberius 
inquired  into  the  matter  thoroughly,  by 
examining  the  priests  about  it,  and  order- 


ed them  to  be  crucified,  as  well  as  Ide, 
who  was  the  occasion  of  their  perdition, 
and  who  had  contrived  the  whole  matter, 
which  was  so  injurious  to  the  woman. 
He  also  demolished  the  temple  of  Isis, 
and  gave  order  that  her  statue  should  b6 
thrown  into  the  river  Tiber;  while  he 
only  banished  Mundus,  but  did  no  more 
to  him,  because  he  supposed  that  what 
crime  he  had  committed  was  done  out  of 
the  passion  of  love ;  and  these  were  the 
circumstances  which  concerned  the  temple 
of  Isis,  and  the  injuries  occasioned  by  her 
priests.  I  now  return  to  the  relation  of 
what  happened  about  this  time  to  the 
Jews  at  Rome,  as  I  formerly  told  you  I 
would. 

There  was  a  man  who  was  a  Jew,  but 
had  been  driven  away  from  his  owu  couu- 
try  by  an  accusation  laid  against  him  for 
transgressing  their  laws,  and  by  the  fear 
he  was  under  of  punishment  for  the  same  ; 
but  in  all  respects  a  wicked  man  : — he  then 
living  at  Rome,  professed  to  instruct  men 
in  the  wisdom  of  the  laws  of  Moses.  He 
procured  also  three  other  men,  entirely  of 
the  same  character  with  himself,  to  be  his 
partners.  These  men  persuaded  Fulvia, 
a  woman  of  great  dignity,  and  one  that 
had  embraced  the  Jewish  religiou,  to 
send  purple  and  gold  to  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem;  and,  when  they  had  gotten 
them,  they  employed  them  for  their  own 
uses,  and  spent  the  money  themselves; 
on  which  account  it  was  that  they  at 
first  required  it  of  her.  Whereupon  Ti- 
berius, who  had  been  informed  of  the 
thing  by  Saturninus,  the  husband  of 
Fulvia,  who  desired  inquiry  might  be 
made  about  it,  ordered  all  the  Jews  to  be 
banished  out  of  Rome ;  at  which  time 
the  consuls  listed  4000  men  out  of  them, 
and  sent  them  to  the  island  Sardinia;  but 
punished  a  greater  number  of  them,  who 
were  unwilling  to  become  soldiers  on  ac- 
count of  keeping  the  laws  of  their  fore- 
fathers.*    Thus  were  the  Jews  banished 


*  Of  the  banishment  of  these  4000  Jews  into 
Sardinia  by  Tiberius,  see  Suetonius  in  Tiber,  sect. 
36.  But  as  for  Mr.  Reland's  note  here,  which  sup- 
poses that  Jews  could  not,  consistently  with  their 
laws,  be  soldiers,  it  is  contradicted  by  ono  branch 
of  the  history  before  us,  and  contrary  to  innumera- 
ble instances  of  their  fighting,  and  proving  excel- 
lent soldiers  in  war;  and,  indeed,  many  of  the  best 
of  them,  and  even  under  heathen  kings  themselves, 
did  so;  tho.se  who  allowed  them  their  rest  on  the 
Sabbath-day  and  other  solemn  festivals,  and  let 
them  live  according  to  their  own  laws,  as  Alexan- 
der the  Great  and  the  Ptolemies  of  Kg>pt  did.  Ij 
is  tree,  they  could  not  always  obtain  UX-se  nriv: 


650 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVT1I 


out  ot  the  city  try  the  wickedness  of  four 
men.  

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Samaritans  make  a  tumult — Pilate  destroys 
many  of  them — Pilate  is  accused. 

But  the  nation  of  the  Samaritans  did 
not  escape  without  tumults.  The  man  who 
excited  them  to  it  was  one  who  thought 
lying  a  thing  of  little  consequence,  and 
who  contrived  every  thing  so,  that  the 
multitude  might  be  pleased  ;  so  he  bade 
them  get  together  upon  Mount  Gerizzim, 
which  is  by  them  looked  upon  as  the  most 
holy  of  all  mountains,  and  assured  them 
that  when  they  had  come  thither,  he 
would  show  them  those  sacred  vessels 
which  were  laid  under  that  place,  because 
Moses  put  them  there.  So  they  came 
thither  armed,  and  thought  the  discourse 
of  the  man  probable;  and  as  they  abode 
at  a  certain  village,  which  was  called 
Tirathaba,  they  got  the  rest  together  to 
them,  and  desired  to  go  up  the  mountain 
in  a  great  multitude  together.  But  Pilate 
prevented  their  going  up,  by  seizing  upon 
the  roads  with  a  great  band  of  horsemen 
and  footmen,  who  fell  upon  those  that  had 
gotten  together  in  the  village  ;  and  when 
they  came  to  an  action,  some  of  them 
they  slew,  and  others  of  them  they  put 
to  flight,  and  took  a  great  many  alive,  the 
principal  of  whom,  and  also  the  (most 
potent  of  those  that  fled  away,  Pilate  or- 
dered to  be  slain. 

But  when  this  tumult  was  appeased,  the 
Samaritan  senate  sent  an  embassy  to  Vi- 
tellius,  a  man  that  had  been  consul,  and 
who  was  now  president  of  Syria,  and  ac- 
cused Pilate  of  the  murder  of  those  that 
were  killed  ;  for  that  they  did  not  go  to 
Tirathaba  in  order  to  revolt  from  the 
Romans,  but  to  escape  the  violence  of 
Pilate.  So  Vitellius  sent  Marcellus,  a 
friend  of  his,  to  take  care  of  the  affairs  of 
Judea,  and  ordered  Pilate  to  go  to  Rome, 
%o  answer  before  the  emperor  to  the  accu- 
sation of  the  Jews.  So  Pilate,  when  he 
had  tarried  ten  years  in  Judea,  made 
haste  to  Rome,  and  this,  in  obedience  to 
the  orders  of  Vitellius,  which  he  durst 
not  contradict;  but,  before  he  could  get 
to  Rome,  Tiberius  was  dead. 

leges,  and  then  they  got  excused  as  well  as  they 
could,  or  sometimes  absolutely  refused  to  fight, 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  case  here,  as  to  the 
major  part  of  the  Jews  now  banished,  but  nothing 
more.  See  several  of  the  lloman  decrees  in  their 
favour  as  to  such  matters,  b.  xiv.  chap.  x. 


But  Vitellius  came  into  Judea,  and 
went  up  to  Jerusalem;  it  was  at  the  time 
of  that  festival  which  is  called  the  Pass- 
over. Vitellius  was  there  magnificently 
received,  and  released  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem  from  all  the  taxes  upon  the 
fruits  that  were  bought  and  sold,  and 
gave  them  leave  to  have  the  care  of  the 
high  priest's  vestments,  with  all  their 
ornaments,  and  to  have  them  under  the 
custody  of  the  priests  in  the  temple ; 
which  power  they  used  to  have  formerly, 
although  at  this  time  they  were  laid  up  in 
the  tower  of  Antonia,  the  citadel  so 
called,  and  that  on  the  occasion  follow- 
ing : — There  was  one  of  the  [high]  priests, 
named  Hyreanus,  and  as  there  were  many 
of  that  name,  he  was  the  first  of  them ; 
this  man  built  a  tower  near  the  temple, 
and  when  he  had  so  done,  he  generally 
dwelt  in  it,  and  had  these  vestments  with 
him ;  because  it  was  lawful  for  him  alone 
to  put  them  on,  and  he  had  them  there 
deposited  when  he  went  down  into  the 
city,  and  took  his  ordinary  garments;  the 
same  things  were  continued  to  be  done  by 
his  sons,  and  by  their  sons  after  them  ;  but 
when  Herod  came  to  be  king,  he  rebuilt  this 
tower,  which  was  very  conveniently  situ- 
ated, in  a  magnificent  manner ;  and  be- 
cause he  was  a  friend  to  Antonius,  he 
called  it  by  the  name  of  Antonia,  and  as 
he  found  these  vestments  lying  there,  he 
retained  them  in  the  same  place,  as  be- 
lieving that,  while  he  had  them  in  his 
custody,  the  people  would  make  no  in- 
novations against  him.  The  like  to  what 
Herod  did  was  done  by  his  son  Archelaus, 
who  was  made  king  after  him ;  after 
whom  the  Romans,  when  they  entered  on 
the  government,  took  possession  of  these 
vestments  of  the  high  priest,  and  had 
them  deposited  in  a  stone  chamber,  under 
the  seal  of  the  priests,  and  of  the  keepers 
of  the  temple,  the  captain  of  the  guard 
lighting  a  lamp  there  every  day;  and, 
seven  days  before  a  festival*  they  were 
delivered  to  them  by  the  captain  of  the 
guard,  when  the  high  priest  having  puri- 
fied them,  and  made  use  of  them,  laid 
them  up  again  in  the  same  chamber  where 
they  had  been  laid  up  before,  and  this, 
the  very  next  day  after  the  feast  was 
over.     This  was  the  practice  at  the  three 


*  This  mention  of  the  high  priest's  sacred  gar- 
ments, received  seven  days  before  a  festival,  and 
purified  in  those  days  against  a  festival,  as  having 
been  polluted  by  being  in  the  custody  of  heathens, 
in  Josephus,  agrees  with  the  traditions  of  thf  Tal« 
mudists. 


Cbap.  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


551 


yearly  festivals,  and  on  the  fast-day; 
but  Vitellius  put  those  garments  into  our 
own  power,  as  in  the  days  of  our  fore- 
fathers, and  ordered  the  captain  of  the 
guard  not  to  trouble  himself  to  inquire 
where  they  were  laid,  or  when  they  were 
to  be  used  ;  and  this  he  did  as  an  act  of 
kindness  to  oblige  the  nation  to  him. 
Besides  which,  he  also  deprived  Joseph, 
who  was  called  Caiaphas,  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  and  appointed  Jonathan,  the 
son  of  Ananus,  the  former  high  priest,  to 
succeed  him.  After  which,  he  took  his 
journey  back  to  Antioch. 

Moreover,  Tiberius  sent  a  letter  to  Vi- 
tellius, and  commanded  him  to  make  a 
league  of  friendship  with  Artabanus,  the 
king  of  Parthia ;  for,  while  he  was  his 
enemy,  he  terrified  him  because  he  had 
taken  Armenia  away  from  him,  lest  he 
should  proceed  farther,  and  told  him  he 
should  not  otherwise  trust  him  than  upon 
his  giving  him  hostages,  and  especially  his 
son  Artabanus.  Upon  Tiberius's  writing 
thus  to  Vitellius,  by  the  offer  of  great 
presents  of  money,  he  persuaded  both  the 
king  of  Iberia  and  the  king  of  Albania  to 
make  no  delay,  but  to  fight  against  Arta- 
banus :  and,  although  they  would  not  do 
it  themselves,  yet  did  they  give  the  Scy- 
thians a  passage  through  their  country, 
and  opened  the  Caspian  gates  to  them, 
and  brought  them  upon  Artabanus.  So 
Armenia  was  ajjain  taken  from  the  Par- 
thians,  and  the  country  of  Parthia  was 
filled  with  war,  and  the  principal  of  their 
men  were  slain,  and  all  things  were  in 
disorder  among  them  :  the  king's  son  also 
himself  fell  in  these  wars,  together  with 
many  ten  thousands  of  his  army.  Vitel- 
lius had  also  sent  such  great  sums  of 
money  to  Artabanus's  father's  kinsmen 
and  friends,  that  he  had  almost  procured 
him  to  be  slain  by  the  means  of  those 
bribes  which  they  had  taken.  And  when 
Artabanus  perceived  that  the  plot  laid 
against  him  was  not  to  be  avoided,  because 
it  was  laid  by  the  principal  men,  and 
those  a  great  many  in  number,  and  that 
it  would  certainly  take  effect, — when  he 
had  estimated  the  number  of  those  that 
were  truly  faithful  to  him,  as  also  of 
those  who  were  already  corrupted,  but 
were  deceitful  in  the  kindness  they  pro- 
fessed to  him,  and  were  likely,  upon 
trial,  to  go  over  to  his  enemies,  lie  made 
his  escape  to  the  upper  provinces,  where 
he  afterward  raised  a  great  army  nut 
of  the  Dahae  and  Sacae,  and  fought  with 


his    enemies,    and     retained    his    princi- 
pality. 

When  Tiberius  had  heard  of  these 
things,  he  desired  to  have  a  league  of 
friendship  made  between  him  and  Artaba- 
nus;  and  when,  upon  this  invitation,  he 
received  the  proposal  kindly,  Artabanus 
and  Vitellius  went  to  Euphrates,  and,  as 
a  bridge  was  laid  over  the  river,  they  each 
of  them  came  with  their  guards  about 
them,  and  met  one  another  on  the  midst 
of  the  bridge.  And  when  they  had  agreed 
upon  the  terms  of  peace,  Herod  the  te- 
trach  erected  a  rich  tent  on  the  midst  of 
the  passage,  and  made  them  a  feast  there. 
Artabanus  also,  not  long  afterward,  sent 
his  son  Darius  as  an  hostage,  with  many 
presents,  among  which  there  was  a  man 
seven  cubits  tall — a  Jew  he  was  by  birth, 
and  his  name  was  Eleazar,  who,  for  hi? 
tallness,  was  called  a  giant.  After  which 
Vitellius  went  to  Antioch,  and  Artabanus 
to  Babylon;  but  Herod  [the  tetrarch], 
being  desirous  to  give  Caesar  the  first 
information  that  they  had  obtained  host- 
ages, sent  posts  with  letters,  wherein  he 
had  accurately  described  all  the  particu- 
lars, and  had  left  nothing  for  the  consular 
Vitellius  to  inform  him  of.  But  when 
Vitellius's  letters  were  sent,  and  Caesar 
had  let  him  know  that  he  was  acquainted 
with  the  affairs  already,  because  Herod 
had  given  him  an  account  of  them  before, 
Vitellius  was  very  much  troubled  at  it; 
and  supposing  that  he  had  been  thereby 
a  greater  sufferer  than  he  really  was,  he 
kept  up  a  secret  anger  upon  this  occasion, 
till  he  could  be  revenged  on  him,  which 
he  was  after  Caius  had  taken  the  govern- 
ment. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Philip, 
Herod's  brother,  departed  this  life,  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius,* 
after  he  had  been  tetrarch  of  Trachonitis, 
and  Gaulouitis,  and  of  the  nation  of  the 
Bataneans  also,  thirty-seven  }rears.  Ho 
had  shown  himself  a  person  of  modera 
tion  and  quietness  in  the  conduct  of  his 
life  and  government;  he  constantly  lived 
in  that  country  which  was  subject  to  him; 
he  used  to  make  his  progress  with  a  few 
chosen  friends;  his  tribunal  also,  on  which 
he  sat  in  judgment,  followed  him  in  his 
progress;  and  when  any  one  met  him  who 
wanted  his  assistance,  he  made  no  delay, 
but  had  his  tribunal  set  down  immediately, 

::  Herod  died  about  September,  in  tbe  fourtb 
year  before  the  Christian  era,  and  Tiberius  begar 
to  reign  August  19,  A.  D.  14. 


552 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XV ID. 


wheresoever  lie  happened  to  be,  and  sat 
down  upon  it,  and  heard  the  complaint; 
he  there  ordered  the  guilty  that  were  con- 
victed to  be  punished,  and  absolved  those 
that  were  accused  unjustly.  He  died  at 
Julias;  and  when  he  was  carried  to  that 
monument  which  he  had  already  erected 
for  himself  beforehand,  he  was  buried 
with  great  pomp.  His  principality  Ti- 
berius took  (for  he  left  no  sons  behind 
him)  and  added  it  to  the  province  of 
Syria,  but  gave  order  that  the  tributes 
which  arose  from  it  should  be  collected, 
and  laid  up  in  his  tetrarchy. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Herod  the  tetrarch  makes  war  with  Aretas,  king  of 
Arabia — is  beaten  by  him — Death  of  John  the 
Baptist. 

About  this  time  Aretas  (the  king  of 
Arabia  Petrea)  and  Herod  had  a  quarrel, 
on  the  account  following : — Herod  the  te- 
trarch had  married  the  daughter  of  Aretas, 
and  had  lived  with  her  a  great  while; 
but  when  he  was  once  at  Rome,  he  lodged 
with  Herod,  who  was  his  brother,  indeed, 
but  not  by  the  same  mother;  for  this 
Herod  was  the  son  of  the  high-priest 
Simon's  daughter.  However,  he  fell  in 
love  with  Herodias,  this  last  Herod's  wife, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Aristobulus  their 
brother,  and  the  sister  of  Agrippa  the 
Great.  This  man  ventured  to  talk  to  her 
about  a  marriage  between  them  ;  which 
address  when  she  admitted,  an  agreement 
was  made  for  her  to  change  her  habita- 
tion, and  come  to  him  as  soon  as  he 
should  return  from  Rome:  one  article  of 
this  marriage  also  was  this,  that  he  should 
divorce  Aretas's  daughter.  So  Antipas, 
when  he  had  made  this  agreement,  sailed 
to  Rome ;  but  when  he  had  done  there 
the  business  he  went  about,  and  had  re- 
turned again,  his  wife  having  discovered 
the  agreement  he  had  made  with  Herodias, 
and  having  learned  it  before  he  had  notice 
of  her  knowledge  of  the  whole  design, 
she  desired  him  to  send  her  to  Macherus, 
which  is  a  place  on  the  borders  of  the  do- 
minions of  Aretas  and  Herod,  without 
informing  him  of  any  of  her  intentions. 
Accordingly  Herod  sent  her  thither,  as 
thinking  his  wife  had  not  perceived  any 
thing ;  now  she  had  sent  a  good  while 
Before  to  Macherus,  which  was  subject  to 
her  father,  and  so  all  things  necessary  for 
her  journey  were  made  ready  for  her  by 


the  general  of  Aretas's  army;  and  by 
that  means  she  soon  came  into  Arabia, 
under  the  conduct  of  the  several  generals, 
who  carried  her  from  one  another  suc- 
cessively ;  and  she  soon  came  to  her 
father,  and  told  him  of  Herod's  intentions. 
So  Aretas  made  this  the  first  occasion  of 
his  enmity  between  him  and  Herod,  who 
had  also  some  quarrel  with  him  about 
their  limits  at  the  country  of  Gamalitis. 
So  they  raised  armies  on  both  sides,  and 
prepared  for  war,  and  sent  their  general? 
to  fight  instead  of  themselves;  and,  when 
they  had  joined  battle,  all  Herod's  army 
was  destroyed  by  the  treachery  of  some 
fugitives,  who,  though  they  were  of  the 
tetrarchy  of  Philip,  joined  with  Aretas's 
army.  So  Herod  wrote  about  these  affairs 
to  Tiberius;  who,  being  very  angry  at 
the  attempt  made  by  Aretas,  wrote  to  Vi- 
tellius  to  make  war  upon  him,  and  either 
to  take  him  alive,  and  bring  him  to  him 
in  bonds,  or  to  kill  him,  and  send  him 
his  head.  This  was  the  charge  that  Ti- 
berius gave  to  the  president  of  Syria. 

Now  some  of  the   Jews    thought  that 
the  destruction  of  Herod's  army  came  from 
God,  and  that  very  justly,  as  a  punish- 
ment of  what  he  did  against  John,  that 
was  called  the   Baptist;  for    Herod  slew 
him,  who  was  a  good  man,  and  commanded 
the  Jews  to    exercise  virtue,   both  as  to 
righteousness    toward    one    another,  and 
piety  toward  God,  and  so  to  come  to  bap- 
tism; for  that  the  washing  [with  water] 
would  be  acceptable  to  him,  if  they  made 
use  of  it,  not  in  order  to  the  putting  away 
[or  the  remission]*of  some  sins  [only],  but 
for  the  purification  of  the  body  :  suppos 
ing  still  that  the  soul  was  thoroughly  pu- 
rified beforehand  by  righteousness.     Now, 
when  [many]  others  came  in  crowds  about 
him,   for    they   were   greatly    moved    [or 
pleased]  by  hearing  his  words,  Herod,  who 
feared  lest  the  great  influence  John  had 
over  the  people  might  put  it  into  his  power 
and  inclination  to    raise  a  rebellion,  (for 
they    seemed  ready    to   do  any  thing  he 
should   advise,)  thought  it  best,  by  put- 
ting   him  to  death,  to  prevent  any  mis- 
chief   he    might^  cause,    and   not    briug 
himself  into  difficulties,  by  sparing  a  man 
who  might  make  him  repent  of  it  when 
it   should  be   too  late.     Accordingly,  he 
was  sent  a  prisoner,  out  of  Herod's  sus- 
picious temper,  to  Macherus,  the  castle  I 
before  mentioned,  and  was  there  put  to 
death.     Now  the  Jews  had  an  opinion  that 
the  destruction  of  this  army  was  sent  as  9 


Chap.  V 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


053 


punishment  upon  Herod,  and  a  mark  of 
God's  displeasure  against  him. 

So  Vitellius  prepared  to  make  war  with 
Aretas,  having  with  him  two  legions  of 
armed    men ;   he  also  took    with   him  all 
those  of  light  armature,  and  of  the  horse- 
men which  belonged  to  them,  and  were 
drawn  out  of  those  kingdoms  which  were 
under  the  Romans,  and  made   haste    for 
Petra,  and  came  to  Ptolemais.     But  as  he 
was  marching  very  busily,  and  leading  his 
army  through  Judea,  the  principal    men 
met  him,  and  desired  that  he  would  not 
thus  march  through  their  land ;  for  that 
the  laws  of  their  country  would  not  per- 
mit them  to  overlook  those  images  which 
were  brought  into  it,  of  which  there  were 
a  great  many  in  their  ensigns ;  so  he  was 
persuaded  by  what  they  said,  and  changed 
that  resolution  of  his,  which  he  had  before 
taken    in    this    matter.       Whereupon    he 
ordered    the    army    to    march    along   the 
Great  Plain,  while  he  himself,  with  Herod 
the  tetrarch,  and  his  friends,  went  up  to 
Jerusalem    to    offer    sacrifice   to   God,  an 
ancient  festival  of   the  Jews   being  then 
just  approaching;  and  when  he  had  been 
there,  and  been  honourably  entertained  by 
the  multitude  of  the  Jews,  he  made  a  stay 
there  for  three  days,  within  which  time  he 
deprived  Jonathan  of  the  high-priesthood, 
and  gave  it  to   his   brother   Theophilus; 
but  when  on  the  fourth  day  letters  came 
to  him,  which  informed  him  of  the  death 
of  Tiberius,  he  obliged  the  multitude  to 
take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  Caius ;  he  also 
recalled  his  army,  and  made  them  every 
one  go  home,  and  take  their  winter-quar- 
ters there,  since,  upon  the  devolution  of 
the  empire  upon  Caius,  he  had  not    the 
like  authority  of  making  this  war  which 
be  had  before.     It  was  also  reported,  that 
when  Aretas  heard  of  the  coming  of  Vitel- 
lius to  fight  him,  he  said,  upon  his  consult- 
ing the  diviners,  that  it  was   impossible 
that  this  army  of  Vitellius's  could  enter 
Petra;  for  that  one  of  the  rulers  would 
lie,  either  he  that  gave  orders  for  the  war, 
)r  he  that  was   marching  ,at   the  other's 
lesire,  in  order  to  be  suteervieut  to  his 
will,  or  else  he  against  whom  this  army  is 
)repared.     So  Vitellius    truly   retired    to 
kntioch;  but  Agrippa,  the  son  of  Aristo- 
bulus, went  up   to  Rome,  a  year  before 
he  death  of  Tiberius,  in  order  to  treat  of 
bme  affairs  with  the  emperor,  if  he  might 
>e  permitted  so  to  do.     I  have  now  a/uiud 
J  describe  Herod  and  his  family,  how  it 
ired  with  them,  partly  because  it  is  suit- 


able to  this  history  to  #peak  of  that  matter, 
and  partly  because  this  thing  is  a  demon- 
stration of  the  interposition  of  Providence; 
how  a  multitude  of  children  is  of  no 
advantage,  no  more  than  any  other  strength 
that  mankind  set  their  hearts  upon,  besides 
those  acts  of  piety  which  are  done  toward 
God ;  for  it  happened,  that  within  the 
revolution  of  100  years,  the  posterity  of 
Herod,  who  were  a  great  many  in  number, 
were,  excepting  a  few,  utterly  destroyed. 
One  may  well  apply  this  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  mankind,  and  learn  thence  how 
unhappy  they  were  :  it  will  also  show  us 
the  history  of  Agrippa,  who,  as  he  was  a 
person  most  worthy  of  admiration,  so  was 
he  from  a  private  man,  beyond  all  the 
expectation  of  those  that  knew  him,  ad- 
vanced to  great  power  and  authority.  I 
have  said  something  of  them  formerly; 
but  I  shall  .now  also  speak  accurately 
about  them. 

Herod  the  Great  had  two  daughters  by 
Mariamne,  the  [grand]  daughter  of  Hyr- 
canus;  the  one  was  Salampsio,  who  was 
married  to  Phasaelus,  her  first  cousin,  who 
was  himself  the  son  of  Phasaelus,  Herod's 
brother,  her  father  making  the  match : 
the  other  was  Cypros,  who  was  herself 
married  also  to  her  first  cousin  Autipater, 
the  son  of  Salome,  Herod's  sister.  Pha- 
saelus had  five  children  by  Salampsio — 
Antipater,  Herod,  and  Alexander,  and 
two  daughters,  Alexandra  and  Cypros ; 
which  last,  Agrippa,  the  son  of  Aristobu- 
lus,  married ;  and  Timius  of  Cyprus  mar- 
ried Alexandra;  he  was  a  man  of  note, 
but  had  by  her  no  children.  Agrippa  had 
by  Cypros  two  sons  and  three  daughters, 
which  daughters  were  named  Bernice,  Ma- 
riamne, and  Drusilla;  but  the  names  of  the 
sons  were  Agrippa  and  Drusus,  of  which 
Drusus  died  before  he  came  to  the  years 
of  puberty;  but  their  father,  Agrippa, 
was  brought  up  with  his  other  brethren, 
Herod  and  Aristobulus,  for  these  were 
also  the  sons  of  the  son  of  Herod  the 
Great  by  Bernice;  but  Bernice  was  the 
daughter  of  Costobarus  and  of  Salome, 
who  was  Herod's  sister.  Aristobulus  left 
these  infants  when  he  was  slain  by  his 
father,  together  with  his  brother  Alexan- 
der, as  we  have  already  related  ;  but  when 
they  had  arrived  at  the  years  of  puberty, 
this  Herod,  the  brother  of  Agrippa,  mar- 
ried Mariamne,  the  daughter  of  Olympias, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Herod  the  king, 
and  of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Joseph,  who 
was  brother  to  Herod  the  king,  and  had 


554 


AMTIQUlTtES    OF    THE   JEWS 


[Book  XVIII, 


by  her  a  son,  Aristobulus  •  but  Aristobu- 
lus, the  third  brother  of  Agrippa,  married 
Jotape,  the*  daughter  of  Sampsigeramus, 
king  of  Emesa;*  they  had  a  daughter 
who  was  deaf,  whose  name  also  was  Jo- 
tape  ;  and  these  hitherto  were  the  children 
of  the  male  line ;  but  Herodias,  their 
sister,  was  married  to  Herod  [Philip],  the 
son  of  Herod  the  Great,  who  was  born  of 
Mariamne,  the  daughter  of  Simon  the 
high  priest,  who  had  a  daughter,  Salome; 
after  whose  birth  Herodias  took  upon  her 
to  confound  the  laws  of  our  country,  and 
divorce  herself  from  her  husband  while  he 
was  alive,  and  was  married  to  Herod  [An- 
tipas],  her  husband's  brother  by  the  fa- 
ther's side ;  he  was  tetrarch  of  Galilee ; 
but  her  daughter,  Salome,  was  married  to 
Philip,  the  son  of  Herod,  and  tetrarch  of 
Trachonitis ;  and,  as  he  died  childless, 
Aristobulus,  the  son  of  Herod,  the  brother 
of  Agrippa,  married  her;  they  had  three 
sons,  Herod,  Agrippa,  and  Aristobulus ; 
and  this  was  the  posterity  of  Phasaelus 
and  Salampsio;  but  the  daughter  of  An- 
tipater  by  Cypros,  was  Cypros,  whom 
Alexas  Selcias,  the  son  of  Alexas,  married ; 
they  had  a  daughter,  Cypros ;  but  Herod 
and  Alexander,  who  as  we  told  you  were 
the  brothers  of  Antipater,  died  childless. 
As  to  Alexander,  the  son  of  Herod  the 
king,  who  was  slain  by  his  father,  he  had 
two  sons,  Alexander  and  Tigranes,  by  the 
daughter  of  Archelaus,  king  of  Cappado- 
cia.  Tigranes,  who  was  king  of  Armenia, 
was  accused  at  Rome,  and  died  childless; 
Alexander  had  a  son  of  the  same  name 
with  his  brother  Tigranes,  and  was  sent  to 
take  possession  of  the  kingdom  of  Arme- 
nia by  Nero ;  he  had  a  son,  Alexander, 
who  married  Jotape, f  the  daughter  of 
Antiochus,  the  king  of  Commagena;  Ves- 
spasian  made  him  king  of  an  island  in 
Cilicia.  But  these  descendants  of  Alex- 
ander, soon  after  their  birth,  deserted  the 
Jewish  religion,  and  went  over  to  that  of 
the  Greeks ;  but  for  the  rest  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Herod  the  king,  it  happened  that 
they  died  childless;  and  as  these  descend- 
ants of  Herod,  whom  we  have  enume- 
rated, were  in  being  at  the  same  time  that 
Agrippa  the  Great  took  the  kingdom,  and 
x  have  now  given  an  account  of  them,  it 
now  remains  that  I  relate  the  several  hard 
fortunes  which   befell  Agrippa,  and  how 

*  There  are  coins  still  extant  of  this  Eniesa. 

t  Spanhoim  also  informs  us  of  a  coin  still  ex 
tant  of  this  Jotape,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Com- 
magena.. 


he  got  clear  of  them,  and  was  advanced  to 
the  greatest  height  of  dignity  and  power. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Agrippa  visits  Home — accused  before  Tiberius  Cae- 
sar— imprisoned — is  set  at  liberty  by  Caius,  after 
the  death  of  Tiberius. 

A  little  before  the  death  of  Herod 
the  king,  Agrippa  lived  at  Rome,  and  was 
generally  brought  up  and  conversed  with 
Drusus,  the  Emperor  Tiberius's  son,  and 
contracted  a  friendship  with  Antonia,  the 
wife  of  Drusus  the  Great,  who  had  his 
mother  Bernice  in  great  esteem,  and  was 
very  desirous  of  advancing  her  son.  Now, 
as  Agrippa  was  by  nature  magnanimous 
and  generous  in  the  presents  he  made 
while  his  mother  was  alive,  this  inclination 
of  his  mind  did  not  appear,  that  he  might 
be  able  to  avoid  her  anger  for  such  his 
extravagance;  but  when  Bernice  was  dead, 
and  he  was  left  to  his  own  conduct,  he 
spent  a  great  deal  extravagantly  in  his 
daily  way  of  living,  and  a  great  deal  in 
the  immoderate  presents  he  made,  and 
those  chiefly  among  Caesar's  freed-men,  in 
order  to  gain  their  assistance,  insomuch 
that  he  was  in  a  little  time  reduced  to 
poverty,  and  could  not  live  at  Rome 
any  longer.  Tiberius,  also,  forbade  the 
friends  of  his  deceased  son  to  come  into 
his  sight,  because,  on  seeing  them,  he 
should  be  put  in  mind  of  his  son,  and  his 
grief  would  thereby  be  revived. 

For  these  reasons,  he  went  away  from 
Rome  and  sailed  to  Judea,  but  in  evil  cir- 
cumstances, being  dejected  with  the  loss 
of  that  money  which  he  once  had,  and 
because  he  had  not  wherewithal  to  pay  his 
creditors,  who  were  many  in  number,  and 
such  as  gave  no  room  for  escaping  them. 
Whereupon  he  knew  not  what  to  do ;  so, 
for  shame  of  his  present  condition,  he  re- 
tired to  a  certain  tower,  at  Malatha,  in 
Idumea,  and  had  thoughts  of  killing  him- 
self; but  his  wife  Cypros  perceived  his 
iutentions,  and-  tried  all  sorts  of  methods 
to  divert  him  "from  his  taking  such  a 
course :  so,  she^sent  a  letter  to  his  sister 
Herodias,  who  was  now  the  wife  of  Herod 
the  tetrarch,  and  let  her  know  Agrippa's 
present  design,  and  what  necessity  it  was 
which  drove  him  thereto,  and  desired  her,  j 
as  a  kinswoman  of  his,  to  give  him  her 
help,  and  to  engage  her  husband  to  do  the 
same,  since  she  saw  how  she  alleviated 
these  her  husband's  troubles  all  she  could. 


Chap   VI. J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   jEWS. 


555 


although  she  had  not  the  like  wealth  to  do 
it  withal.  So  they  sent  for  him,  and 
allotted  him  Tiberias  for  his  habitation, 
and  appointed  him  some  income  of  money 
for  his  maintenance,  and  made  him  a  ma- 
gistrate of  that  city,  by  way  of  honour  to 
him.  Yet  did  not  Herod  long  continue  in 
that  resolution  of  supporting  him,  though 
even  that  support  was  not  sufficient  for 
him ;  for,  as  once  they  were  at  a  feast  at 
Tyre,  and  in  their  cups,  and  reproaches 
were  cast  upon  one  another,  Agrippa 
thought  that  was  not  to  be  borne,  while 
Herod  hit  him  in  the  teeth  with  his  po- 
verty, and  with  his  owing  his  necessary 
food  to  him.  So  he  went  to  Flaccus,  one 
that  had  been  consul,  and  had  been  a  very 
great  friend  to  him  at  Rome  formerly,  and 
was  now  president  of  Syria. 

Hereupon  Flaccus  received  him  kindly, 
and  he  lived  with  him.  Flaccus  had  also 
with  him  there  Aristobulus,  who  was 
indeed  Agrippa's  brother,  but  was  at  vari- 
ance with  him  ;  yet  did  not  their  enmity 
to  one  another  hinder  the  friendship  of 
Flaccus  to  them  both;  but  still  they  were 
honourably  treated  by  him.  However, 
Aristobulus  did  not  abate  of  his  ill-will  to 
Agrippa,  till  at  length  he  brought  him 
into  ill  terms  with  Flaccus;  the  occasion 
of  bringing  on  which  estrangement  was 
this  : — The  Damascenes  were  at  difference 
with  the  Sidonians  about  their  limits,  and 
when  Flaccus  was  about  to  hear  the 
cause  between  them,  they  understood  that 
Agrippa  had  a  mighty  influence  upon 
him;  so  they  desired  that  he  would  be 
of  their  side,  and  for  that  favour  pro- 
mised him  a  great  deal  of  money;  so 
that  he  was  zealous  in  assisting  the  Dama- 
scenes as  far  as  he  was  able.  Now,  Aris- 
tobulus had  gotten  intelligence  of  this 
promise  of  money  to  him,  and  accused 
him  to  Flaccus  of  the  same ;  and  when, 
upon  a  thorough  examination  of  the  mat- 
ter, it  appeared  plainly  so  to  be,  he  rejected 
Agrippa  out  of  the  number  of  his  friends. 
80  he  was  reduced  to  the  utmost  necessity, 
and  came  to  Ptolemais ;  and,  because  he 
knew  not  where  else  to  get  a  livelihood, 
be  thought  to  sail  to  Italy ;  but  as  he  was 
restrained  from  so  doing  by  want  of  money, 
he  desired  Marsyas,  who  was  his  freed- 
man,  to  find  some  method  for  procuring 
him  so  much  as  he  wanted  for  that 
purpose,  by  borrowing  such  a  sum  of  some 
person  or  other.  So  Marsyas  desired  of 
Peter,  who  was  the  freed  man  of  Bernice, 
A-grippa's  mother,  and  by  the  right  of  her 


testament  was  bequeathed  to  Antonia,  to 
lend  so  much  upon  Agrippa's  own  bond 
and  security :  but  he  accused  Agrippa  of 
having  defrauded  him  of  certain  sums  of 
money,  and  so  obliged  Marsyas,  when  he 
made  the  bond  of  20,000  Attic  drachmae, 
to  accept  of  2500  drachmae  less  than 
what  he  desired  ;  which  the  other  allowed 
of,  because  he  could  not  help  it.  Upon 
the  receipt  of  this  money,  Agrippa  came 
to  Anthedon,  and  took  shipping,  and  was 
going  to  set  sail ;  but  Herennius  Capito, 
who  was  the  procurator  of  Jamnia,  sent 
a  band  of  soldiers  to  demand  of  him 
300,000  drachmae  of  silver,  which  were 
by  him  owing  to  Caesar's  treasury  while 
he  was  at  Rome,  and  so  forced  him  to 
stay.  He  then  pretended  he  would  do  as 
he  bade  him;  but  when  night  came  on, 
he  cut  his  cables,  and  went  off,  and  sailed 
to  Alexandria,  where  he  desired  Alexan- 
der the  alabarch  to  lend  him  200,000 
drachmae;  but  he  said  he  would  not  lend 
it  to  him,  but  would  not  refuse  it  to  Cy- 
pres, as  greatly  astonished  at  her  affection 
to  her  husband,  and  at  the  other  instances 
of  her  virtue ;  so  she  undertook  to  repay 
it.  Accordingly,  Alexander  paid  them 
five  talents  at  Alexandria,  and  promised  to 
pay  them  the  rest  of  that  sum  atDicearchia 
[Puteoli];  and  this  he  did  out  of  the  fear 
he  was  in  that  Agrippa  would  soon  spend 
it.  So  this  Cypros  set  her  husband  free, 
and  dismissed  him  to  go  on  with  his  navi- 
gation to  Italy,  while  she  and  her  chil- 
dren departed  for  Judea. 

And  now  Agrippa  came  to  Puteoli, 
whence  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Tiberius 
Caesar,  who  then  lived  at  Capreae,  and 
told  him  that  he  had  come  so  far,  in 
order  to  wait  on  him,  and  to  pay  him  a 
visit;  and  desired  that  he  would  give  him 
leave  to  come  over  to  Capreae :  so  Tibe- 
rius made  no  difficulty,  but  wrote  to  him 
in  an  obliging  way  in  other  respects;  and 
withal  told  him  he  was  glad  of  his  safe 
return,  and  desired  him  to  come  to 
Capreae:  and  when  he  had  come,  he  did 
not  fail  to  treat  him  as  kindly  as  he  had 
promised  him  in  his  letter  to  do.  But 
the  next  day  came  a  letter  to  Caesar  from 
Herennius  Capito,  to  inform  him  that 
Agrippa  had  borrowed  800,000  drachmae, 
and  not  paid  it  at  the  time  appointed ; 
but,  when  it  was  demanded  of  him,  he 
ran  away  like  a  fugitive,  out  of  the 
places  under  his  government,  and  put  it 
out  of  his  power  to  get  the  money  of  him 
When  Caesar  had  read  this  letter,  he  win 


55<) 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIIL 


much  troubled  at  it,  and  gave  order  that 
Agrippa  should  be  excluded  from  his  pre- 
sence until  he  had  paid  that  debt :  upon 
which  he  was  noway  daunted  at  Caesar's 
anger,  but  entreated  Antonia,  the  mother 
of  Germanicus,  and  of  Claudius,  who  was 
afterward  Caesar  himself,  to  lend  him 
those  300,000  drachmae,  that  he  might 
not  be  deprived  of  Tiberius' s  friendship ; 
so,  out  of  regard  to  the  memory  of  Ber- 
nice  his  mother,  (for  those  two  women 
were  very  familiar  with  one  another,) 
and  out  of  regard  of  his  and  Claudius's 
education  together,  she  lent  him  the 
money;  and,  upon  the  payment  of  this 
debt,  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  Tibe- 
rius's  friendship  to  him.  After  this, 
Tiberius  Caesar  recommended  to  him  his 
grandson,*  and  ordered  that  he  should 
always  accompany  him  when  he  went 
abroad.  But,  upon  Agrippa's  kind  re- 
ception by  Antonia,  he  betook  himself  to 
pay  his  respects  to  Caius,  who  was  her 
grandson,  and  in  very  high  reputation  by 
reason  of  the  good-will  they  bore  his 
father.")*  Now,  there  was  one  Thallus,  a 
freedman  of  Caesar,  of  whom  he  borrowed 
1,000,000  of  drachmae,  and  thence  repaid 
Antonia  the  debt  he  owed  her;  and  by 
spending  the  overplus  in  paying  his  court 
to  Caius,  became  a  person  of  great  autho- 
rity with  him. 

Now,  as  the  friendship  which  Agrippa 
had  for  Caius  had  come  to  a  great  height, 
there  happened  some  words  to  pass  be- 
tween them,  as  they  once  were  in  a 
chariot  together,  concerning  Tiberius; 
Agrippa  praying  [to  God]  (for  they  two 
sat  by  themselves)  that  Tiberius  might 
soon  go  off  the  stage,  and  leave  the 
government  to  Caius,  who  was  in  every 
respect  more  worthy  of  it.  Now,  Euty- 
chus,  who  was  Agrippa's  freedman,  and 
drove  his  chariot,  heard  these  words,  and 
at  that  time  said  nothing  of  them ;  but 
when  Agrippa  accused  him  of  stealing 
some  garments  of  his,  (which  was  cer- 
tainly true,)  he  ran  away  from  him ;  but 
when  he  was  caught,  and  brought  before 
Piso,  who  was  governor  of  the  city,  and 
the  man  was  asked  why  he  ran  away,  he 
replied,  that  he  had  somewhat  to  say  to 
Caesar,  that  tended  to  his  security  and 
presei  ration :  so  Piso  bound  him,  and 
sent  him  to  Capreae.  But  Tiberius,  ac- 
cording to  his  usual  custom,  kept  him 
still  in  bonds,  being  a  delayer  of  affairs, 


*  Tihe-ius  junior. 


t  Germanicus.  ' 


if  ever  there  was  any  cither  king  or  tyrant 
that  was  so ;  for  he  did  not  admit  ambas- 
sadors quickly,    and    no   successors  were 
despatched  away  to    governors  or  procu- 
rators   of   the    provinces    that   had    been 
formerly    sent,    unless    they  were    dead ; 
whence  it  was  that  he  was  so  negligent 
in  hearing  the  causes  of  prisoners ;  inso- 
much   that  when    he  was    asked  by    his 
friends  what  was  the  reason  of  his  delay 
in  such  cases,  he  said  that  he  delayed  to 
hear  ambassadors,  lest,  upon  their  quick 
dismission,  other  ambassadors  should  be 
appointed,  and  return  upon  him  ;  and  so 
he  should  bring  trouble  upon  himself  in 
the  public  reception  and  dismission  :  that 
he    permitted    those    governors  who   had 
been  sent  once  to  their  governments,  [to 
stay  there  a  great  while,]  out   of  regard 
to  the   subjects   that  were   under  them ; 
for  that  all  governors  are  naturally  dis- 
posed to  get  as  much  as  they  can;  and 
that  those  who  are  not  to  fix  there,  but  to 
stay  a  short  time,  and  that  at  an  uncer- 
tainty when  they  shall  be  turned  out,  do 
the  more  severely  hurry  themselves  on  to 
fleece  the  people;    but  that,  if  their  go- 
vernment   be    long    continued    to    them, 
they  are  at  last  satiated  with  the  spoils, 
as  having  gotten  a  vast  deal,  and  so  be- 
come  at   length  less  sharp  in    their   pil- 
laging;   but  that,  if   successors  are  sent 
quickly,   the  poor  subjects   who    are    ex- 
posed to  them  as  a  prey  will  not   be  able 
to  bear  the  new  ones,  while   they   shall 
not   have  the   same    time    allowed    them 
wherein    their    predecessors     had     filled 
themselves,    and    so    grow    more    uncon- 
cerned about  getting  more ;  and  this  be- 
cause they  are  removed  before  they  have 
had    time    [for    their    oppressions].      He 
gave  them  an  example  to  show  his  mean- 
ing:— A  great  number  of  flies  came  about 
the  sore  places  of  a  man  that  had  been 
wounded ;   upon  which  one  of  the  standers- 
by  pitied  the  man's  misfortune,  and  think- 
ing he  was  not  able  to  drive  away  those 
flies    himself,   was  going   to  drive    them 
away  for  him;  but  he  prayed  him  to  let 
them  alone.     The  other,  by  way  of  reply, 
asked   him  the  ^reason  of  such   a  prepos- 
terous   proceeding,    in    preventing    relief 
from    his    present   misery ;    to   which   he 
answered,     "If   thou    drivest    these   flies 
away,  thou   wilt  hurt  me   worse;   for  as 
these  are  already  full  of  my  blood,  they 
do  not  crowd  about  me,  nor  pain  me  so 
much  as  before,  but  are  sometimes  more 
remiss,  while   the  fresh  ones   that  come  , 


UBAP   VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS, 


557 


almost  famished,  and  find  me  quite  tired 
down  already,  will  be  my  destruction. 
For  this  cause,  therefore,  it  is  that  I  am 
myself  careful  not  to  send  such  new 
governors  perpetually  to  those  my  sub- 
jects, who  are  already  sufficiently  harassed 
by  many  oppressions,  as  may,  like  these 
flies,  further  distress  them  :  and  so,  be- 
sides their  natural  desire  of  gain,  may 
have  this  additional  incitement  to  it,  that 
they  expect  to  be  suddenly  deprived  of 
that  pleasure  which  they  take  in  it."  And, 
as  a  further  attestation  to  what  I  say  of 
the  dilatory  nature  of  Tiberius,  I  appeal 
to  this  his  practice  itself;  for,  although  he 
was  emperor  twenty-two  years,  he  sent 
in  all  but  two  procurators  to  govern 
the  nation  of  the  Jews, — G-ratus,  and  his 
successor  in  the  government,  Pilate.  Nor 
was  he  in  one  way  of  acting  with  respect 
to  the  Jews,  and  in  another  with  respect 
to  the  rest  of  his  subjects.  He  further 
informed  them,  that  even  in  the  hearing 
of  the  causes  of  prisoners,  he  made  such 
delays,  because  immediate  death  to  those 
that  must  be  condemned  to  die  would  be 
an  alleviation  of  their  present  miseries, 
while  those  wicked  wretches  have  not  de- 
served any  favour ;  but  I  do  it,  "  that  by 
being  harassed  with  the  present  calamity, 
they  may  undergo  greater  misery/' 

On  this  account  it  was  that  Eutychus 
could  not  obtain  a  hearing,  but  was  kept 
still  in  prison.  However,  some  time  after- 
ward, Tiberius  came  from  Caprese  to  Tus- 
culanum,  which  is  about  100  furlongs 
from  Rome.  Agrippa  then  desired  of 
Antonia  that  she  would  procure  a  hearing 
for  Eutychus,  let  the  matter  whereof  he 
accused  him  prove  what  it  would.  Now, 
Antonia  was  greatly  esteemed  by  Tiberius 
on  all  accounts,  from  the  dignity  of  her 
relation  to  him,  who  had  been  his  brother 
Drusus's  wife,  and  from  her  eminent  chas- 
tity ;  for  though  she  was  still  a  young 
woman,  she  continued  in  her  widowhood, 
and  refused  all  other  matches,  although 
Augustus  had  enjoined  her  to  be  married 
to  somebody  else;  yet  did  she  all  along 
preserve  her  reputation  free  from  reproach. 
Sbe  had  also  been  the  greatest  benefactress 
to  Tiberius;  when  there  was  a  very  dan- 
gerous plot  laid  against  him  by  Sejanus, 
i  man  who  had  been  her  husband's  friend, 
rod  who  had  the  greatest  authority,  because 
ie  was  general  of  the  army,  and  when 
nany  members  of  the  senate,  and  many 
>f  the  freed  men,  joined  with  him,  and 
he  soldiery  were  corrupted,  and  the  plot 


had  come  to  a  great  height.  Now,  Seja- 
nus  had  certainly  gained  his  point,  had 
not  Antonia's  boldness  been  more  wisely 
conducted  than  Sejanus's  malice ;  for, 
when  she  had  discovered  his  designs 
against  Tiberius,  she  wrote  him  an  exact 
account  of  the  whole,  and  gave  the  letter 
to  Pallas,  the  most  faithful  of  her  servants, 
and  sent  him  to  Capreae  to  Tiberius,  who, 
when  he  understood  it,  slew  Sejanus  and 
his  confederates ;  so  that  Tiberius,  who 
had  her  in  great  esteem  before,  now  looked 
upon  her  with  still  greater  respect,  and  de- 
pended upon  her  in  all  things.  So,  when 
Tiberius  was  desired  by  this  Antonia  to 
examine  Eutychus,  he  answered,  "  If, 
indeed,  Eutychus  hath  falsely  accused 
Agrippa  in  what  he  hath  said  of  him,  he 
hath  had  sufficient  punishment  by  what 
I  have  done  to  him  already;  but,  if  upon 
examination,  the  accusation  appears  to  be 
true,  let  Agrippa  have  a  care,  lest,  out  of 
desire  of  punishing  this  freedman,  he 
does  not  rather  bring  a  punishment  upon 
himself."  Now,  when  Antonia  told  Agrip- 
pa of  this,  he  was  still  much  more  press- 
ing that  the  matter  might  be  examined 
into;  so  Antonia,  upon  Agrippa's  lying 
hard  at  her  continually  to  beg  this  favour, 
took  the  following  opportunity  : — As  Tibe- 
rius lay  once  at  his  ease  upon  his  sedan, 
and  was  carried  about,  and  Caius,  her 
grandson,  and  Agrippa,  were  before  him 
after  dinner,  she  walked  by  the  sedan,  and 
desired  him  to  call  Eutychus,  and  have 
him  examined ;  to  which  he  replied, 
"0  Antonia!  the  gods  are  my  witnesses 
that  I  am  induced  to  do  what  I  am  going 
to  do,  not  by  my  own  inclination,  but 
because  I  am  forced  to  do  it  by  thy 
prayers."  When  he  had  said  this,  he 
ordered  Marco,  who  succeeded  Sejanus, 
to  bring  Eutychus  to  him ;  accordingly, 
without  any  delay,  he  was  brought  Then 
Tiberius  asked  him  what  he  had  to 
say  against  a  man  who  had  given  him  his 
liberty.  Upon  which  he  said,  "  0  my 
lord!  this  Caius,  and  Agrippa  with  him, 
were  once  riding  in  a  chariot,  when  I  sat 
at  their  feet,  and,  among  other  discourses 
that  passed,  Agrippa  said  to  Caius, { Oh  t  hat 
the  day  would  once  come  when  this  old 
fellow  will  die,  and  name  thee  for  the 
governor  of  the  habitable  earth :  for  then 
this  Tiberius,  his  grandson,  would  be  nc 
hinderance,  but  would  be  taken  oft"  by  thee, 
and  that  earth  would  be  happy,  and  I 
happy  also.' "  Now,  Tiberius  took  these 
to  be  truly  Agrippa's  words,  and  bearing 


$58 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII 


a  grudge  withal  at  Agrippa,  because,  when 
he  had  commanded  him  to  pay  his  respects 
to  Tiberius,  his  grandson,  and  the  son  of 
Drusus,  Agrippa  had  not  paid  him  that 
respect,  but  had  disobeyed  his  commands, 
and  transferred  all  his  regard  to  Caius; 
he  said  to  Marco,  "Bind  this  man."  But 
Marco,  not  distinctly  knowing  which  of 
them  it  was  whom  he  bade  him  bind,  and 
not  expecting  that  he  would  have  any  such 
thing  done  to  Agrippa,  he  forbore,  and 
came  to  ask  more  distinctly  what  it  was  that 
he  said.  But  when  Caesar  had  gone  round 
the  hippodrome,  he  found  Agrippa  stand- 
ing.  "For  certain, "  said  he,  "Marco, 
this  is  the  man  I  meant  to  have  bound  j" 
and  when  he  still  asked,  "  Which  of  these 
is  to  be  bound?"  he  said  Agrippa.  Upon 
which  Agrippa  betook  himself  to  make 
supplication  for  himself,  putting  him  in 
mind  of  his  son,  with  whom  he  was 
brought  up,  and  of  Tiberius  [his  grand- 
son], whom  he  had  educated,  but  all  to  no 
purpose,  for  they  led  him  about  bound  even 
in  his  purple  garments.  It  was  also  very 
hot  weather,  and  they  had  but  little  wine 
to  their  meal,  so  that  he  was  very  thirsty ; 
he  was  also  in  a  sort  of  agony,  and  took 
this  treatment  of  him  heinously :  as  he 
therefore  saw  one  of  Caius's  slaves,  whose 
name  was  Thaumastus,  carrying  some 
water  in  a  vessel,  he  desired  that  he  would 
let  him  drink;  so  the  servant  gave  him 
some  water  to  drink  ;  and  he  drank  heart- 
ily, and  said :  "  0  thou  boy  !  this  service 
of  thine  to  me  will  be  for  thy  advantage ; 
for,  if  I  once  get  clear  of  these  bonds,  I 
will  soon  procure  thee  thy  freedom  from 
Caius,  who  has  not  been  wanting  to  minis- 
ter to  me  now  I  am  in  bonds,  in  the  same 
manner  as  when  I  was  in  my  former  state 
and  dignity."  Nor  did  he  deceive  him  in 
what  he  promised  him,  but  made  him 
amends  for  what  he  had  now  done ;  for, 
when  afterward  Agrippa  had  come  to  the 
kingdom,  he  took  particular  care  of  Thau- 
jjtiastus,  and  got  hitn  his  liberty  from  Caius, 
and  made  him  the  steward  over  his  own 
estate ;  and  when  he  died,  he  left  him  to 
Agrippa  his  son,  and  to  Bernice  his 
daughter,  to  minister  to  them  in  the  same 
capacity.  The  man  also  grew  old  in  that 
honourable  post,  and  therein  died.  But 
all  this  happened  a  good  while  later. 

Now,  Agrippa  stood  in  his  bonds  be- 
fore the  royal  palace,  and  leaned  on  a 
certain  tree  for  grief,  with  many  others, 
who  were  in  bonds  also ;  and  as  a  certain 
bird  sat  upon  the  tree  on  which  Agrippa 


leaned,  (the  Romans  called  this  bird  bu< 
bo,)  [an  owl],  one  of  those  that  were 
bound,  a  German  by  nation,  saw  him,  and 
asked  a  soldier  who  that  man  in  purple 
was  ;  and  when  he  was  informed  that  his 
name  was  Agrippa,  and  that  he  was  by 
nation  a  Jew,  and  one  of  the  principal 
men  of  that  nation,  he  asked  leave  of  the 
soldier  to  whom  he  was  bound,*  to  let 
him  come  near  to  him,  to  speak  with  him ; 
for  that  he  had  a  mind  to  inquire  of  him 
about  some  things  relating  to  his  country; 
which  liberty,  when  he  had  obtained,  as 
he  stood  near  him,  he  said  thus  to  him  by 
an  interpreter: — "This  sudden  change  of 
thy  condition,  0  young  man !  is  grievous 
to  thee,  as  bringing  on  thee  a  manifold 
and  very  great  adversity ;  nor  wilt  thou 
believe  me,  when  I  foretell  how  thou  wilt 
get  clear  of  this  misery  which  thou  art 
now  under,  and  how  Divine  Providence 
will  provide  for  thee.  Know,  therefore, 
(and  I  appeal  to  my  own  country  gods,  as 
well  as  to  the  gods  of  this  place,  who 
have  awarded  these  bonds  to  us,)  that  all 
I  am  going  to  say  about  thy  concerns 
shall  neither  be  said  for  favour  nor  bribe- 
ry, nor  out  of  any  endeavour  to  make 
thee  cheerful  without  cause;  for  such 
predictions,  when  they  come  to  fail,  make 
the  grief  at  last,  and  in  earnest,  more 
bitter  than  if  the  party  had  never  heard 
of  any  such  thing.  However,  though  I 
run  the  hazard  of  my  ownself,  I  think  it 
fit  to  declare  to  thee  the  prediction  of  the 
gods.  It  cannot  be  that  thou  shouldst 
long  continue  in  these  bonds;  but  thou 
wilt  soon  be  delivered  from  them,  and 
wilt  be  promoted  to  the  highest  dignity 
and  power,  and  thou  wilt  be  envied  by  all 
those  who  now  pity  thy  hard  fortune;  and 
thou  wilt  be  happy  till  thy  death,  and 
wilt  leave  thine  happiness  to  the  children 
whom  thou  shalt  have.  But,  do  thou 
remember,  when  thou  seest  this  bird 
again,  that  thou  wilt  then  live  but  five 
days  longer.  This  event  will  be  brought 
to  pass  by  that  God  who  hath  sent  this 
bird  hither  to  be  a  sign  unto  thee.  And 
I  cannot  but  think  it  unjust  to  concea1  from 
thee  what  I  know  concerning  thee,  that, 
by  thy  knowing  beforehand  what  happiness 
is  coming  upon  thee,  thou  mayest  not  re- 
gard thy  present  misfortunes.  But,  when 
this  happiness  shall  actually  befall  thee,  do 


*  Dr.  Hudson  here  takes  notice,  out  of  Seneca, 
epistle  v.,  that  this  was  the  custom  of  Tiberius,  to 
couple  the  prisoner  and  the  soldier  that  guarded 
him  together  in  the  same  chain. 


ClJAP.  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE    JEWS. 


559 


not  forget  what  misery  I  am  in  myself,  but 
endeavour  to  deliver  me."  So  when  the 
German  had  said  this,  he  made  Agrippa 
laugh  at  him,  as  much  as  he  afterward  ap- 
peared worthy  of  admiration.  But  now 
Antonia  took  Agrippa's  misfortune  to 
heart;  however,  to  speak  to  Tiberius  on 
his  behalf,  she  took  to  be  a  very  difficult 
thing,  and,  indeed,  quite  impracticable,  as 
to  any  hope  of  success  ;  yet  did  she  procure 
of  Marco  that  the  soldiers  that  kept  him 
should  be  of  a  gentle  nature,  and  that  the 
centurion  who  was  over  them,  and  was  to 
diet  with  him,  should  be  of  the  same  dis- 
position, and  that  he  might  have  leave  to 
bathe  himself  every  day,  and  that  his 
frecdmen  and  friends  might  come  to 
him,  and  that  other  things  that  tended 
to  ease  him  might  be  indulged  him.  So 
his  friend  Silas  came  in  to  him,  and  two 
of  his  freedmen,  Marsyas  and  Stechus, 
brought  him  such  sorts  of  food  as  he  was 
fond  of,  and,  indeed,  took  great  care  of 
him;  they  also  brought  him  garments, 
under  pretence  of  selling  them,  and,  when 
night  came  on,  they  laid  them  under  him; 
and  the  soldiers  assisted  them,  as  Marco 
had  given  them  order  to  do  beforehand. 
And  this  was  Agrippa's  condition  for  six 
months'  time;  and  in  this  case  were  his 
affairs. 

But  as  for  Tiberius,  upon  his  return  to 
Capreoe,  he  fell  sick.  At  first  his  distem- 
per was  but  gentle ;  but,  as  that  distemper 
increased  upon  him,  he  had  small  or  no 
hopes  of  recovery.  Hereupon  he  bade 
Euodus,  who  was  the  freedman  whom  he 
most  of  all  respected,  to  bring  the  children 
to  him,  for  that  he  wanted  to  talk  to 
them  before  he  died.  Now,  he  had  at 
present  no  sons  of  his  own  alive ;  for 
Drusus,  who  was  his  only  sou,  was  dead  : 
but  Drusus' s  son  Tiberius  was  still  living, 
whose  additional  name  was  Gemellus; 
there  was  also  living  Caius,  the  son  of 
Germanicus,  who  was  the  son  of  his  bro- 
ther [Drusus].  He  was  now  grown  up, 
and  had  had  a  liberal  education,  and 
was  well  improved  by  it,  and  was  in 
esteem  and  favour  with  the  people,  on 
account  of  the  excellent  character  of  his 
father  Germanicus,  who  had  attained  the 
highest  honour  among  the  multitude,  by 
the  firmness  of  his  virtuous  behaviour,  by 
the  easiness  and  agreeableness  of  his  con- 
versing with  the  multitude,  and  because 
the  dignity  he  was  in  did  not  hinder  his 
familiarity  with  them  all,  as  if  they  were 
his  equals;  by  which  behaviour  he  was 


not  only  greatly  esteemed  by  the  people 
and  the  senate,  but  by  every  one  of  those 
nations  that  were  subject  to  the  Romans ; 
some  of  whom  were  affected,  when  they 
came  to  him,  with  the  gracefulness  of 
their  reception  by  him;  and  others  were 
affected  in  the  same  manner  by  the  report 
of  the  others  that  had  been  with  him ; 
and,  upon  his  death,  there  was  a  lamenta- 
tion made  by  all  men ;  not  such  an  one 
as  was  to  be  made  in  way  of  flattery  to 
their  rulers,  while  they  did  but  counter- 
feit sorrow,  but  such  as  was  real ;  while 
everybody  grieved  at  his  death,  as  if  they 
had  lost  one  that  was  near  to  them.  And, 
truly,  such  had  been  his  easy  conversation 
with  men,  that  it  turned  greatly  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  his  son  among  all ;  and,  among 
others,  the  soldiery  were  so  peculiarly  af- 
fected to  him,  that  they  reckoned  it  an  eli- 
gible thing,  if  need  were,  to  die  themselves, 
if  he  might  but  attain  to  the  government. 
But  when  Tiberius  had  given  order  to 
Euodus  to  bring  the  children  to  him  the 
next  day  in  the  morning,  he  prayed  to 
his  country  gods  to  show  him  a  manifest 
signal  which  of  those  children  should 
come  to  the  government;  being  very  de- 
sirous to  leave  it  to  his  son's  son,  but  still 
depending  upon  what  God  would  fore- 
show concerning  them,  more  than  upon 
his  own  opinion  and  inclination ;  so  he 
made  this  to  be  the  omen,  that  the  go- 
vernment should  be  left  to  him  who 
should  come  to  him  first  the  next  day. 
When  he  had  thus  resolved  within  him- 
self, he  sent  to  his  grandson's  tutor,  and 
ordered  him  to  bring  the  child  to  him 
early  in  the  morning,  as  supposing  that 
God  would  permit  him  to  be  made  em- 
peror. But  God  proved  opposite  to  his 
designation;  for,  while  Tiberius  was  thus 
contriving  matters,  and,  as  soon  as  it  was 
at  all  day,  he  bade  Euodus  to  call  in  that 
child  which  should  be  there  ready.  So 
he  went  out,  and  found  Caius  before  the 
door,  for  Tiberius  had  not  yet  come,  but 
stayed  waiting  for  his  breakfast ;  for  Euo- 
dus knew  nothing  of  what  his  lord  in- 
tended; so  he  said  to  Caius,  "Thy  father 
calls  thee,"  and  then  brought  him  in. 
As  soon  as  Tiberius  saw  Cams,  aud  not 
before,  he  reflected  on  the  power  of  God, 
aud  how  the  ability  of  bestowing  the 
government  on  whom  he  would  was  en- 
tirely taken  from  him ;  and  thence  he 
was  not  able  to  establish  what  he  had 
intended.  So  he  greatly  lamented  thai 
his    power  of  establishing   what   he  had 


560 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS 


[Book  XVIII. 


before  contrived  was  taken  from  him,  and 
that  his  grandson  Tiberius  was  not  only 
to  lose  the  Roman  empire  by  his  fatality, 
but  his  own  safety  also;  because  his 
preservation  would  now  depend  upon  such 
as  would  be  more  potent  than  himself, 
who  would  think  it  a  thing  not  to  be 
borne  that  a  kinsman  should  live  with 
them,  and  so  his  relation  would  not  be 
able  to  protect  him :  but  he  would  be 
feared  and  hated  by  him  who  had  the 
supreme  authority,  partly  on  account  of 
his  being  next  to  the  empire,  and  partly 
on  account  of  his  perpetually  contriving 
to  get  the  government,  both  in  order  to 
preserve  himself,  and  to  be  at  the  head  of 
affairs  also.  Now,  Tiberius  had  been  very 
much  given  to  astrology,*  and  the  calcula- 
tion of  nativities;  and  had  spent  his  life 
in  the  esteem  of  what  predictions  had 
proved  true,  more  than  those  whose  pro- 
fession it  was.  Accordingly,  when  he 
once  saw  Galba  coming  in  to  him,  he  said 
to  his  most  intimate  friends,  that  there 
came  in  a  man  that  would  one  day  have 
the  dignity  of  the  Roman  empire.  So 
"■-hat  this  Tiberius  was  more  addicted  to  all 
ouch  sorts  of  diviners  than  any  other  of 
the  Roman  emperors,  because  he  had 
found  them  to  have  told  the  truth  in  his 
own  affairs;  and,  indeed,  he  was  now  in 
great  distress  upon  this  accident  that  had 
befallen  him,  and  was  very  much  grieved 
at  the  destruction  of  his  son's  son,  which 
he  foresaw,  and  complained  of  himself, 
that  he  should  have  made  use  of  such  a 
method  of  divination  beforehand,  while  it 
was  in  his  power  to  have  died  without 
grief  by  this  knowledge  of  futurity ; 
whereas  he  was  now  tormented  by  his 
foreknowledge  of  the  misfortune  of  such 
as  were  dearest  to  him,  and  must  die 
under  that  torment.  Now,  although  he 
was  disordered  at  this  unexpected  revolu- 
tion of  the  government  to  those  for  whom 
he  did  not  intend  it,  he  spake  thus  to 
Caius,  though  unwillingly,  and  against 
his  own  inclination  : — "  0  child,  although 
Tiberius  be  nearer  related  to  me  than 
thou  art,  I  by  my  own  determination,  and 
the  conspiring  suffrage  of  the  gods,  do 
give,  and  put  into  thine  hand,  the  Roman 
empire;  and  I  desire  thee  never  to  be  un- 
mindful when  thou  comest  to  it,  either  of 
my  kindness  to  thee,  who  set  thee  in  so 
high    a    dignity,    or    of    thy    relation    to 


*  This  is  a  known  thing  among  the  Roman  histo- 
rians and  poets,  that  Tiberius  was  greatly  given  to 
astrology  and  divinatif  u. 


Tiberius:  but  as  thou  knowest  that  I  am, 
together  with  and  after  the  gods,  tho 
procurer  of  so  great  happiness  to  thee,  sc 
I  desire  that  thou  wilt  make  me  a  return 
for  my  readiness  to  assist  thee,  and  wilt 
take  care  of  Tiberius,  because  of  his  near 
relation  to  thee.  Besides  which,  thou  art 
to  know,  that,  while  Tiberius  is  alive,  he 
will  be  a  security  to  thee,  both  as  to  em- 
pire and  as  to  thy  own  preservation;  but, 
if  he  die,  that  will  be  but  a  prelude  to  thy 
own  misfortunes;  for  to  be  alone  under 
the  weight  of  such  vast  affairs,  is  very 
dangerous;  nor  will  the  gods  suffer  those 
actions  which  are  unjustly  done,  contrary 
to  that  law  which  directs  men  to  do  other- 
wise, to  go  off  unpunished/'  This  was 
the  speech  which  Tiberius  made;  which 
did  not  persuade  Caius  to  act  accordingly, 
although  he  had  promised  so  to  do;  but, 
when  he  was  settled  in  the  government, 
he  took  off  this  Tiberius,  as  was  predicted 
by  the  other  Tiberius;  as  he  was  also 
himself,  in  no  long  time  afterward,  slain 
by  a  secret  plot  laid  against  him. 

So  when  Tiberius  had  at  this  time  ap- 
pointed Caius  to  be  his  successor,  he  out- 
lived but  a  few  days,  and  then  died,  after 
he  had  held  the  government  twenty-two 
years,  five  months,  and  three  days.  Now 
Caius  was  the  fourth  emperor ;  but  when 
the  Romans  understood  that  Tiberius  was 
dead,  they  rejoiced  at  the  good  news,  but 
had  not  courage  to  believe  it ;  not  be- 
cause they  were  unwilling  it  should  be 
true,  for  they  would  have  given  large 
sums  of  money  that  it  might  be  so,  but 
because  they  were  afraid  that,  if  they  had 
showed  their  joy  when  the  news  proved 
false,  their  joy  should  be  openly  known, 
and  they  should  be  accused  for  it,  and  be 
thereby  undone;  for  this  Tiberius  had 
brought  a  vast  number  of  miseries  on  the 
best  families  of  the  Romans,  since  he  was 
easily  inflamed  with  passion  in  all  cases, 
and  was  of  such  a  temper  as  rendered  his 
anger  irrevocable,  till  he  had  executed 
the  same,  although  he  had  taken  a  hatred 
against  men  without  reason;  for  he  was 
by  nature  fierce^  in  all  the  sentences  he 
gave,  and  made  death  the  penalty  for  the 
slightest  offences;  insomuch,  that  wheii 
the  Romans  heard  the  rumour  about  his 
death  gladly,  they  were  restrained  from 
the  enjoyment  of  that  pleasure  by  the 
dread  of  such  miseries  as  they  foresaw 
would  follow,  if  their  hopes  proved  ill- 
grounded.  Now  Marsyas,  Agrippa's  freed- 
man,  as  soon  as   he  heard  of  Tiberius'i 


Chap.  VII.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


561 


death,  came  running  to  tell  Agrippa  the 
news;  and  finding  him  going  out  to  the 
bath,  he  gave  him  a  nod,  and  said,  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue,  "  The  lion  is  dead;" 
who,  understanding  his  meaning,  and 
being  overjoyed  at  the  news,  "Nay," 
said  he,  "but  all  sorts  of  thanks  and  hap- 
piness attend  thee  for  this  news  of  thine : 
only  I  wish  that  what  thou  sayest  may 
prove  true."  Now  the  centurion  who 
was  set  to  keep  Agrippa,  when  he  saw 
with  what  haste  Marsyas  came,  and  what 
joy  Agrippa  had  from  what  he  said,  he 
had  a  sudden  suspicion  that  his  words 
implied  some  great  innovation  of  affairs, 
and  he  asked  them  about  what  was  said. 
They  at  first  diverted  the  discourse ;  but 
upon  his  further  pressing,  Agrippa,  with- 
out more  ado,  told  him,  for  he  had  al- 
ready become  his  friend;  so  he  joined 
with  him  in  that  pleasure  which  this  news 
occasioned,  because  it  would  be  fortunate 
to  Agrippa,  and  made  him  a  supper:  but, 
as  they  were  feasting,  and  the  cups  went 
about,  there  came  out  one  who  said,  that 
Tiberius  was  still  alive,  and  would  return 
to  the  city  in  a  few  days.  At  which  news 
the  centurion  was  exceedingly  troubled, 
because  he  had  done  what  might  cost  him 
his  life,  to  have  treated  so  joyfully  a 
prisoner,  and  this  upon  the  news  of  the 
death  of  Caesar;  so  he  thrust  Agrippa 
from  the  couch  whereon  he  h*y,  and  said, 
"Dost  thou  think  to  cheat  me  by  a  lie 
about  the  emperor  without  punishment? 
and  shalt  not  thou  pay  for  this  thy  mali- 
cious report  at  the  price  of  thine  head?" 
When  he  had  so  said,  he  ordered  Agrippa 
to  be  bound  again,  (for  he  had  loosed  him 
before,)  and  kept  a  more  severe  guard  over 
him  than  formerly,  and  in  that  evil  condi- 
tion was  Agrippa  that  night;  but  the 
next  day  the  rumour  increased  in  the  city, 
and  confirmed  the  news  that  Tiberius  was 
certainly  dead  ;  insomuch,  that  men  durst 
now  openly  and  freely  talk  about  it;  nay 
some  offered  sacrifices  on  that  account. 
Several  letters  also  came  from  Caius;  one 
of  them  to  the  senate,  which  informed 
them  of  the  death  of  Tiberius,  and  of  his 
own  entrance  on  the  government;  another 
to  Piso,  the  governor  of  the  city,  which 
told  him  the  same  thing.  He  also  gave 
order  that  Agrippa  should  be  removed 
out  of  the  camp,  and  go  to  that  house 
where  he  lived  before  he  was  put  in 
prison;  so  that  he  was  now  out  of  fear  as 
to  his  own  affairs;  for,  although  he  was 
still  in  custody,  yet,  if  was  with  ease  to 
36 


his  own  affairs.  Now,  as  soon  as  Caius 
had  come  to  Rome,  and  had  brought  Tibe- 
rius's  dead  body  with  him,  and  had  made 
a  sumptuous  funeral  for  him,  according  to 
the  laws  of  his  country,  he  was  much  dis- 
posed to  set  Agrippa  at  liberty  that  very 
day;  but  Antonia  hindered  him,  not  out 
of  any  ill-will  to  the  prisoner,  but  out  of 
regard  to  decency  in  Caius,  lest  that 
should  make  men  believe  that  he  received 
the  death  of  Tiberius  with  pleasure,  when 
he  loosed  one  whom  he  had  bound  imme- 
diately. However,  there  did  not  many 
days  pass  ere  he  sent  for  him  to  his 
house,  and  had  him  shaved,  and  made 
him  change  his  raiment;  after  which  he 
put  a  diadem  upon  his  head,  and  ap- 
pointed him  to  be  king  of  the  tetrarchy 
of  Philip.  He  also  gave  him  the  te- 
trarchy of  Lysanias,*  and  changed  his 
iron  chain  for  a  golden  one  of  equal 
weight.  He  also  sent  Marullus  to  be 
procurator  of  Judea. 

Now,  in  the  second  yea1  of  the  reign 
of  Caius  Caesar,  Agrippa  desired  leave  to 
be  given  him  to  sail  home  and  settle  the 
affairs  of  his  government;  and  he  pro- 
mised to  return  again  when  he  had  put 
the  rest  in  order,  as  it  ought  to  be  put. 
So,  upon  the  emperor's  permission,  he 
came  into  his  own  country,  aud  appeared 
to  them  all  unexpectedly  as  a  king,  and 
thereby  demonstrated  to  the  men  that  saw 
him,  the  power  of  fortune,  when  they 
compared  his  former  poverty  with  his 
present  happy  affluence;  so  some  called 
him  a  happy  man;  and  others  could  not 
well  believe  that  things  were  so  much 
changed  with  him  for  the  better. 


.  CHAPTER  VII. 

Herod  the  tetrarch  banished. 

But  Herodias,  Agrippa's  sister,  who 
now  lived  as  wife  to  that  Herod  who  was 
tetrarch  of  Galilee  and  Perea,  took  this 
authority  of  her  brother  in  an  envious 
manner,  particularly  when  she  saw  that 
he  had  a  greater  dignity  bestowed  on  him 
than  her  husband  had;  since,  when  he 
ran  away,  he  was  not  able  to  pay  his 
debts;  and  now  he  had  come  back,  it  was 
because  he  was  in  a  way  of  dignity  and 
of  great  fortune.  She  was  therefore  griev- 
ed and    much   displeased    at    so    great    a 


*  Although  Caius  now  promised  to  give  Agrippa 
the  tetrarchy  of  Lysanias,  yet  it  was  not  actually 
conferred  upon  him  till  the  reign  of  Claudius. 


ot)2 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIJ1 


mutation  of  his  affairs;  and  chiefly  when 
she  saw  him  marching  among  the  multitude 
with  the  usual  ensigns  of  royal  authority, 
she  was  not  able  to  conceal  how  miserable 
she  was  by  reason  of  the  envy  she  had 
toward  him;  but  she  excited  her  hus- 
band, and  desired  that  he  would  sail  to 
Rome,  to  court  honours  equal  to  his;  for 
she  said,  that  she  could  not  bear  to  live 
any  longer,  while  Agrippa,  the  son  of  that 
Aristobulus  who  was  condemned  to  die 
by  his  father,  one  that  came  to  her  hus- 
band in  such  extreme  poverty,  that  the 
necessaries  of  life  were  forced  to  be  en- 
tirely supplied  him  day  by  day;  and 
when  he  fled  away  from  his  creditors  by 
sea,  he  now  returned  a  king :  while  he 
was  himself  the  son  of  a  king,  and  while 
the  near  relation  he  bore  to  royal  autho- 
rity called  upon  him  to  gain  the  like 
dignity,  he  sat  still,  and  was  contented 
with  a  more  private  life.  "But  then, 
Herod,  although  thou  wast  formerly  not 
concerned  to  be  in  a  lower  condition  than 
thy  father,  from  whom  thou  wast  derived, 
had  been,  yet  do  thou  now  seek  after  the 
dignity  which  thy  kinsman  hath  attained 
to;  and  do  not  thou  bear  this  contempt, 
that  a  man  who  admired  thy  riches  should 
be  in  greater  honour  than  thyself,  nor 
suffer  his  poverty  to  show  itself  able  to 
purchase  greater  things  than  our  abun- 
dance ;  nor  do  thou  esteem  it  other  than  a 
shameful  thing  to  be  inferior  to  onerwho, 
the  other  day,  lived  upon  thy  charity. 
But  let  us  go  to  Rome,  and  let  us  spare 
no  pains  nor  expenses,  either  of  silver  or 
goid,  since  they  cannot  be  kept  for  any 
better  use  than  for  the  obtaining  of  a 
kingdom." 

But  for  Herod,  he  opposed  her  request  at 
this  time,  out  of  the  love  of  ease,  and  hav- 
ing a  suspicion  of  the  trouble  he  should 
have  at  Rome;  so  he  tried  to  instruct  her 
better.  But  the  more  she  saw  him  draw 
back,  the  more  she  pressed  him  to  it,  and 
desired  him  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  in 
order  to  be  king :  and,  at  last,  she  left 
not  off  till  she  engaged  him,  whether  he 
would  or  not,  to  be  of  her  sentiments, 
because  he  could  no  otherwise  avoid  her 
importunity.  So,  he  got  all  things  ready, 
alter  as  sumptuous  a  manner  as  he  was 
able,  and  spared  for  nothing,  and  went  up 
to  Rome,  and  took  Herodias  along  with 
him.  But  Agrippa,  when  he  was  made 
sensible  of  their  intentions  and  prepara- 
tions, he  also  prepared  to  go  thither;  and, 
as  soon  as  he  heard  they  set  sail,  he  sent 


Fortunatus,  one  of  his  freedmen,  to 
Rome,  to  carry  presents  to  the  emperor, 
and  letters  against  Herod,  and  to  give 
Caius  a  particular  account  of  those  mat 
ters,  if  he  should  have  any  opportunity. 
This  man  followed  Herod  so  quick,  and 
had  so  prosperous  a  voyage,  and  came  so 
little  after  Herod,  that  while  Herod  was 
with  Caius,  he  came  himself,  and  deli- 
vered his  letters ;  for  they  both  sailed  to 
Dicearchia,  and  found  Caius  at  Baiae, 
which  is  itself  a  little  city  of  Campania,  at 
the  distance  of  about  five  furlongs  from 
Dicearchia.  There  are  in  that  place  royal 
places,  with  sumptuous  apartments,  every 
emperor  still  endeavouring  to  outdo  his 
predecessor's  magnificence ;  the  palace 
also  affords  warm  baths,  that  spring  out 
of  the  ground  of  their  own  accord,  which 
are  of  advantage  for  the  recovery  of  the 
health  of  those  that  make*  use  of  them; 
and,  besides,  they  minister  to  men's 
luxury  also.  Now  Caius  saluted  Herod, 
for  he  first  met  with  him,  and  then  look- 
ed upon  the  letters  which  Agrippa  had 
sent  him,  and  which  were  written  in 
order  to  accuse  Herod;  wherein  he  ac- 
cused him,  that  he  had  been  in  confe- 
deracy with  Sejanus,  against  Tiberius's 
government,  and  that  he  was  now  confe- 
derate with  Artabanus,  the  king  of  Parthia, 
in  opposition  to  the  government  of  Caius; 
as  a  demonstration  of  which,  he  alleged 
that  he  had  armour  sufficient  for  70,000 
men,  ready  in  his  armoury.  Caius  was 
moved  at  this  information,  and  asked 
Herod  whether  what  was  said  about  the 
armour  was  true;  and  when  he  confessed 
there  was  such  armour  there,  for  he  could 
not  deny  the  same,  the  truth  of  it  being 
too  notorious,  Caius  took  that  to  be  a 
sufficient  proof  of  the  accusation  that  he 
intended  to  revolt.  So  he  took  away 
from  him  his  tetrarchy,  and  gave  it  by 
way  of  addition  to  Agrippa's  kingdom; 
he  also  gave  Herod's  money  to  Agrippa, 
and,  by  way  of  punishment,  awarded  him 
a  perpetual  banishment,  and  appointed 
Lyons,  a  city  of  Gaul,  to  be  his  place  of 
habitation.  But  when  he  was  informed 
that  Herodias  was  Agrippa's  sister,  he 
made  her  a  present  of  what  money  was 
her  own,  and  told  her  that  it  was  her 
brother  who  prevented  her  being  put 
under  the  same  calamity  with  her  hus- 
band. But  she  made  this  reply  :— 
"Thou,  indeed,  0  emperor!  actest  after 
a  magnificent  manner,  and  as  becomes 
thyself,  in  what    thou   offerest   me;   but 


Chap.  VIII.  1 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE    JEWS. 


503 


the  kindness  which  I  have  for  my  hus- 
band hinders  me  from  partaking  of  the 
favour  of  thy  gift:  for  it  is  not  just  that 
I,  who  have  been  made  a  partner  in  his 
prosperity,  should  forsake  him  in  his 
misfortunes. "  Hereupon  Caius  was  an- 
gry at  her,  and  sent  her  with  Herod 
into  banishment,  and  gave  her  estate  to 
Agrippa.  And  thus  did  God  punish  He- 
rodias  for  her  envy  at  her  brother,  and 
Herod  also  for  giving  ear  to  the  vain 
discourses  of  a  woman.  Now,  Caius 
managed  public  affairs  with  great  mag- 
nanimity during  the  first  and  second 
years  of  his  reign,  and  behaved  himself 
with  such  moderation  that  he  gained  the 
good-will  of  the  Romans  themselves,  and 
of  his  other  subjects.  But,  in  process  of 
time,  he  went  beyond  the  bounds  of 
human  nature  in  his  conceit  of  himself, 
and,  by  reason  of  the  vastness  of  his  do- 
minions, made  himself  a  god,  and  took 
upon  himself  to  act  in  all  things  to  the 
reproach  of  the  Deity  itself. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Embassy  of  the  Jews  to  Caius — Caius  sends  Petro- 
nius into  Syria  to  make  war  against  the  Jews. 

There  was  now  a  tumult  arisen  at  Alex- 
andria, between  the  Jewish  inhabitants 
and  the  Greeks;  and  three  ambassadors 
were  chosen  out  of  each  party  that  were 
at  variance,  who  came  to  Caius.  Now, 
one  of  these  ambassadors  from  the  people 
of  Alexandria  was  Apion,  who  uttered 
many  blasphemies  against  the  Jews;  and, 
among  other  things  that  he  said,  he 
charged  them  with  neglecting  the  ho- 
nours that  belonged  to  Caesar;  for  that 
while  all  who  were  subject  to  the  Roman 
empire  built  altars  and  temples  to  Caius, 
and,  in  other  regards,  universally  received 
him  as  they  received  the  gods,  these  Jews 
alone  thought  it  a  dishonourable  thing 
for  them  to  erect  statues  in  honour  of 
him,  as  well  as  to  swear  by  his  name. 
Many  of  these  severe  things  were  said  by 
Apion,  by  which  he  hoped  to  provoke 
Caius  to  anger  at  the  Jews,  as  he  was 
likely  to  be.  But  Philo,  the  principal  of 
the  Jewish  embassy,  a  man  eminent  on 
all  accounts,  brother  to  Alexander  the 
alabarch,  and  one  not  unskilful*  in  philo- 

*  Alexander,  the  alabarch,  or  governor  of  the 
Jews,  at  Alexandria,  and  brother  to  Philo,  is 
supposed,  by  Bishop  Pearson,  to  be  the  same  with 
that  Alexander  who  is  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  as 
of  the  kindrf  d  of  the  high  priests.     Acta  iv.  6. 


sophy,  was  ready  to  betake  himself  to 
make  his  defence  against  those  accusa- 
tions; but  Caius  prohibited  him,  and  bade 
him  begone  :  he  was  also  in  such  a  rage, 
that  it  openly  appeared  he  was  about  to 
do  them  some  very  great  mischief.  So 
Philo,  being  thus  affronted,  went  out,  and 
said  to  those  Jews  who  were  about  him, 
that  they  should  be  of  good  courage, 
since  Caius's  words  indeed  showed  anger 
at  them,  but  in  reality  had  already  set 
God  against  himself. 

Hereupon  Caius,  taking  it  very  hei- 
nously that  he  should  be  thus  despised 
by  the  Jews  alone,  sent  Petronius  to  be 
president  of  Syria,  and  successor  in  the 
government  to  Vitellius,  and  gave  him 
order  to  make  an  invasion  into  Judea,  with 
a  great  body  of  troops,  and,  if  they  would 
admit  of  his  statue  willingly,  to  erect  it 
in  the  temple  of  God ;  but,  if  they  were 
obstinate,  to  conquer  them  by  war,  and 
then  to  do  it.  Accordingly,  Petronius 
took  the  government  of  Syria,  and  made 
haste  to  obey  Caesar's  epistle.  He  got 
together  as  great  a  number  of  auxiliaries 
as  he  possibly  could,  and  took  with  him 
two  legions  of  the  Roman  army,  and  came 
to  Ptolemais,  and  there  wintered,  as  in- 
tending to  set  about  the  war  in  the  spring. 
He  also  wrote  word  to  Caius  what  he  had 
resolved  to  do ;  who  commended  him  for 
his  alacrity,  and  ordered  him  to  go  on,  and 
to  make  war  with  them,  in  case  they  would 
not  obey  his  commands.  But  there  came 
many  ten  thousands  of  the  Jews  to  Petro- 
nius, to  Ptolemais,  to  offer  their  petitions 
to  him,  that  he  would  not  compel  them  to 
transgress  and  violate  the  law  of  their 
forefathers;  "but  if,"  said  they,  "thou 
art  entirely  resolved  to  bring  this  statue, 
and  erect  it,  do  thou  first  kill  us,  and  then 
do  what  thou  hast  resolved  on;  for,  while 
we  are  alive,  we  cannot  permit  such  things 
as  are  forbidden  us  to  be  done  by  the  au- 
thority of  our  legislator,  and  by  our  fore- 
fathers' determination  that  such  prohibi- 
tions are  instances  of  virtue."  But  Petro- 
nius was  angry  at  them,  and  said,  "If, 
indeed,  I  were  myself  emperor,  and  were 
at  liberty  to  follow  my  own  inclination, 
and  then  had  designed  to  act  thus,  these 
your  words  would  be  justly  spoken  to  me  ; 
but  now  Caesar  hath  sent  to  me,  I  am 
under  the  necessity  of  being  subservient 
to  his  decrees,  because  a  disobedience 
to  them  will  bring  upon  me  inevitable 
destruction."  Then  the  Jews  replied, 
"Since,  therefore,  thou  art  so  disposed,  0 


564 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII. 


Petronius!  that  thou  wilt  not  disobey 
Caius's  epistles,  neither  will  we  transgress 
the  commands  of  our  law;  and  as  we  de- 
pend upon  the  excellency  of  our  laws,  a*id, 
by  the  labours  of  our  ancestors,  have  con- 
tinued hitherto  without  suffering  them  to 
bo  transgressed,  we  dare  not  by  any  means 
suffer  ourselves  to  be  so  timorous  as  to 
transgress  those  laws  out  of  the  fear  of 
death,  which  God  hath  determined  are  for 
our  advantage;  and,  if  we  fall  into  mis- 
fortunes, we  will  bear  them,  in  order  to 
preserve  our  laws,  as  knowing  that  those 
who  expose  themselves  to  dangers  have 
good  hope  of  escaping  them,  because  God 
will  stand  on  our  side  when,  out  of  regard 
to  him,  we  undergo  afflictions,  and  sus- 
tain the  uncertain  turns  of  fortune.  But, 
if  we  should  submit  to  thee,  we  would 
be  greatly  reproached  for  our  cowardice, 
as  thereby  showing  ourselves  ready  to 
transgress  our  law;  and  we  should  incur 
the  great  anger  of  God  also,  who,  even  thy- 
self being  judge,  is  superior  to  Cams." 

When  Petronius  saw  by  their  words 
that  their  determination  was  hard  to  be 
removed,  and  that,  without  a  war,  he 
should  not  be  able  to  be  subservient  to 
Caius  in  the  dedication  of  his  statue,  and 
that  there  must  be  a  great  deal  of  blood- 
shed, he  took  his  friends,  and  the  servants 
that  were  about  him,  and  hasted  to  Tibe- 
rias, as  wanting  to  know  in  what  posture 
the  affairs  of  the  Jews  were;  and  many 
ten  thousands  of  the  Jews  met  Petronius 
again,  when  he  had  come  to  Tiberias. 
These  thought  they  must  run  a  mighty 
hazard  if  they  should  have  a  war  with  the 
Romans,  but  judged  that  the  transgression 
of  the  law  was  of  much  greater  conse- 
quence, and  made  supplication  to  him 
that  he  would  by  no  means  reduce  them 
to  such  distresses,  nor  defile  their  city  with 
the  dedication  of  the  statue.  Then  Petro- 
nius said  to  them,  "Will  you  then  make 
war  with  Caesar,  without  considering  his 
great  preparations  for  war,  and  your  own 
weakness F"  They  replied,  "We  will  not 
by  any  means  make  war  with  him;  but 
gtill  we  will  die  before  we  see  our  laws 
transgressed."  So  they  threw  themselves 
down  upon  their  faces,  and  stretched  out 
their  throats,  and  said  they  were  ready  to 
oe  slain ;  and  this  they  did  for  forty  days 
together,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  left  off 
the  tilling  of  their  ground,  and  that  while 
the  season  of  the  year  required  them  to 
sow  it.  Thus  they  continued  firm  in  their 
resolution,  and  proposed  to  themselves  to 


die  willingly,  rather  than  to  see  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  statue. 

When  matters  were  in  this  state,  Aris- 
tobulus, King  Agrippa'u  brother,  and 
Helcias  the  Great,  and  the  other  principal 
men  of  that  family  with  them,  went  in 
unto  Petronius,  and  besought  him,  that, 
since  he  saw  the  resolution  ^f  the  multi- 
tude, he  would  not  make  any  alteration, 
and  thereby  drive  them  to  despair;  but 
would  write  to  Caius,  that  the  Jews  had 
an  insuperable  aversion  to  the  reception 
of  the  statue,  and  how  they  contiuued  with 
him,  and  left  off  the  tillage  of  their  ground : 
that  they  were  not  willing  to  go  to  war 
with  him,  because  they  were  not  able  to 
do  it,  but  were  ready  to  die  with  pleasure, 
rather  than  suffer  their  laws  to  be  trans- 
gressed :  and  how,  upon  the  land's  con- 
tinuing unsown,  robberies  would  grow  up, 
on  the  inability  they  would  be  under  of 
paying  their  tributes;  and  that  perhaps 
Caius  might  be  thereby  moved  to  pity, 
and  not  order  any  barbarous  action  to  be 
done  to  them,  nor  think  of  destroying  the 
nation  :  that  if  he  continues  inflexible  in 
his  former  opinion  to  bring  a  war  upon 
them,  he  may  then  set  about  it  himself. 
And  thus  did  Aristobulus,  and  the  rest 
with  him,  supplicate  Petronius.  So  Pe- 
tronius,* partly  on  account  of  the  pressing 
instances  which  Aristobulus  and  the  rest 
with  him  made,  and  because  of  the  great 
consequence  of  what  they  desired,  and  the 
earnestness  wherewith  they  made  their 
supplication,  partly  on  account  of  the  firm- 
ness of  the  opposition  made  by  the  Jews, 
which  he  saw,  while  he  thought  it  a  hor- 
rible thing  for  him  to  be  such  a  slave  to 
the  madness  of  Caius,  as  to  slay  so  many 
ten  thousand  men,  only  because  of  their 
religious  disposition  toward  God,  and  after 
that  to  pass  his  life  in  expectation  of  pu- 
nishment ;  Petronius,  I  say,  thought  it 
much  better  to  send  to  Caius,  and  to  let 
him  know  how  intolerable  it  was  to  him 
to  bear  the  anger  he  might  have  against 
him  for  not  serving  him  sooner,  in  obe- 
dience to  his  epistle,  for  that  perhaps  he 
might  persuade  hjm ;  and  that  if  this  mad 
resolution  continued,  he  might  then  begin 
the  war  against  them ;  nay,  that  in  case 
he  should  turn  his  hatred  against  himself, 


*  This  Publius  Petronius  was  after  this  still  pre- 
sident of  Syria,  under  Claudius,  and,  at  the  desire 
of  Agrippa,  published  a  severe  decree  against  the 
inhabitants  of  Dora,  who,  in  a  sort  of  imitation  of 
Caius,  had  set  up  a  statue  of  Claudius  in  a  Jewish 
synagogue  there. 


ullAP.  Vlll.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


565 


it  was  fit  for  virtuous  persons  even  to  die 
for  the  sake  of  such  vast  multitudes  of 
Accordingly,    he    determined    to 


men. 


hearken  to  the  petitioners  in  this  matter. 

He  then  called  the  Jews  together  to 
Tiberias,  who  came  many  ten  thousands 
in  number;  he  also  placed  that  army  he 
now  had  with  him  opposite  to  them ;  but 
did  not  discover  his  own  meaning,  but  the 
commands  of  the  emperor,  and  told  them 
that  his  wrath  would,  without  delay,  be 
executed  on  such  as  had  the  courage  to 
disobey  what  he  had  commanded,  and  this 
immediately ;  and  that  it  was  fit  for  him 
who  had  received  so  great  a  dignity  by 
his  grant,  not  to  contradict  him  in  any 
thing:  "Yet  (said  he)  I  do  not  think  it 
just  to  have  such  a  regard  to  my  own 
safety  and  honour,  as  to  refuse  to  sacrifice 
them  for  your  preservation,  who  are  so 
many  in  number,  and  endeavour  to  pre- 
serve the  regard  that  is  due  to  your  law ; 
which,  as  it  hath  come  down  to  you  from 
your  forefathers,  so  do  you  esteem  it 
worthy  of  your  utmost,  contention  to  pre- 
serve it :  nor,  with  the  supreme  assistance 
and  power  of  God,  will  I  be  so  hardy  as 
to  suffer  your  temple  to  fall  into  contempt 
by  the  means  of  the  imperial  authority. 
I  will  therefore  send  to  Caius,  and  let 
him  know  what  your  resolutions  are,  and 
will  assist  your  suit  as  far  as  I  am  able, 
that  you  may  not  be  exposed  to  suffer  on 
account  of  the  honest  designs  you  have 
proposed  to  yourselves;  and  may  God  be 
your  assistant,  for  his  authority  is  beyond 
all  the  contrivances  and  power  of  men  ; 
and  may  he  procure  you  the  preservation 
of  your  ancient  laws,  and  may  not  he  be 
deprived,  though  without  your  consent, 
of  his  accustomed  honours.  But  if  Caius 
be  irritated,  and  turn  the  violence  of  his 
rage  against  me,  I  will  rather  undergo  all 
that  danger  and  affliction  that  may  come 
either  on  my  body  or  my  soul,  than  see  so 
many  of  you  perish,  while  you  are  acting 
in  so  excellent  a  manner.  Do  you,  there- 
fore, every  one  of  you,  go  your  way  about 
your  own  occupations,  and  fall  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  your  ground ;  I  will  myself 
send  to  Rome,  and  will  not  refuse  to  serve 
you  in  all  things,  both  by  myself  and  by 
my  friends. " 

When  Petronius  had  said  this,  and  had 
dismissed  the  assembly  of  the  Jews,  he 
desired  the  principal  of  them  to  take  care 
of  their  husbandry,  and  to  speak  kindly 
to  the  people,  and  encourage  them  to  have 
good  hope  of  their  affairs.     Thus  did  he 


readily  bring  the  multitude  to  be  cheerful 
again.  And  now  did  God  show  his  pre- 
sence to  Petronius,  and  signify  to  him 
that  he  would  afford  him  his  assistance  in 
his  whole  design ;  for  he  had  no  sooner 
finished  the  speech  that  he  made  to  the 
Jews,  but  God  sent  down  great  showers 
of  rain,  contrary  to  human  expectation ; 
for  that  day  was  a  clear  day,  and  gave  no 
sign,  by  the  appearance  of  the  sky,  of  any 
rain ;  nay,  the  whole  year  had  been  sub- 
ject to  a  great  drought,  and  made  men 
despair  of  any  water  from  above,  even 
when  at  any  time  they  saw  the  heavens 
overcast  with  clouds ;  insomuch,  that 
when  such  a  great  quantity  of  rain  came, 
and*  that  in  an  unusual  manner  and  with- 
out any  other  expectation  of  it,  the  Jews 
hoped  that  Petronius  would  by  no  means 
fail  in  his  petition  for  them.  But  as  to 
Petronius,  he  was  mightily  surprised  when 
he  perceived  that  God  evidently  took  care 
of  the  Jews,  and  gave  very  plain  signs 
of  his  appearance,  and  this  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  those  that  were  in  earnest  much 
inclined  to  the  contrary,  had  no  power 
left  to  contradict  it.  This  was  also  among 
those  other  particulars  which  he  wrote  to 
Caius,  which  all  tended  to  dissuade  him, 
and  by  all  means  to  entreat  him  not  to 
make  so  many  ten  thousands  of  these  men 
go  distracted;  whom,  if  he  should  slay, 
(for  without  war  they  would  by  no  means 
suffer  the  laws  of  their  worship  to  be  set 
aside,)  he  would  lose  the  revenue  they 
paid  him,  and  would  be  publicly  cursed 
by  them  for  all  future  ages.  Moreover, 
that  God  who  was  their  governor,  had 
shown  his  power  most  evidently  on  their 
account,  and  that  such  a  power  of  his  as 
left  no  room  for  doubt  about  it; — and 
this  was  the  business  that  Petronius  was 
now  engaged  in. 

But  King  Agrippa,  who  now  lived  at 
Borne,  was  more  and  more  in  the  favour 
of  Caius ;  and  whea  he  had  once  made 
him  a  supper,  and  was  careful  to  exceed 
all  others,  both  in  expenses  and  in  such 
preparations  as  might  contribute  most  to 
his  pleasure ;  nay,  it  was  so  far  from  the 
ability  of  others,  that  Caius  himself  could 
never  equal,  much  less  exceed  it,  /such 
care  had  he  taken  beforehand  to  exceed  all 
men,  and  particularly  to  make  all  agreea- 
ble to  Caesar ;)  hereupon  Caius  admired 
his  understanding  and  magnificence,  that 
he  should  force  himself  to  do  all  to  please 
him,  even  beyond  such  expenses  as  he 
could  bear,  and  was  desirous  not  to    be 


t>6(5 


ANTIQUITIES   OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII. 


behind  Agrippa  in  that  generosity  which 
he  exerted,  in  order  to  please  him.  So 
Caius,  when  he  had  drunk  w{ne  plenti- 
fully, and  was  merrier  than  ordinary,  said 
thus  during  the  feast,  when  Agrippa  had 
drunk  to  him  : — "  I  knew  before  now  how 
great  a  respect  thou  hast  had  for  me,  and 
how  great  kindness  thou  hast  shown  me, 
though  with  those  hazards  to  thyself, 
which  thou  underwentest  under  Tiberius 
on  that  account;  nor  hast  thou  omitted 
any  thing  to  show  thy  good-will  toward 
us,  even  beyond  thy  ability;  whence  it 
would  be  a  base  thing  for  me  to  be  con- 
quered by  thy  affection.  I  am,  therefore, 
desirous  to  make  these  amends  for  every 
thing  in  which  I  have  been  formerly  de- 
ficient; for  all  that  I  have  bestowed  on 
thee,  that  may  be  called  my  gifts,  is  but 
little.  Every  thing  that  may  contribute 
to  thy  happiness  shall  be  at  thy  service, 
and  that  cheerfully,  and  so  far  as  my 
ability  will  reach  ;  * — and  this  was  what 
Caius  said  to  Agrippa,  thinking  he  would 
ask  for  some  large  country,  or  the  reve- 
nues of  certain  cities;  but,  although  he 
had  prepared  beforehand  what  he  would 
ask,  yet  had  he  not  discovered  his  inten- 
tions, but  made  this  answer  to  Caius  im- 
mediately, that  it  was  not  out  of  any 
expectation  of  gain  that  he  formerly  paid 
his  respects  to  him,  contrary  to  the  com- 
mands of  Tiberius,  nor  did  he  now  do  any 
thing  relating  to  him  out  of  regard  to  his 
own  advantage,  and  in  order  to  receive 
any  thing  from  him  :  that  the  gifts  he  had 
already  bestowed  upon  him  were  great, 
and  beyond  the  hopes  of  even  a  craving 
man;  for,  although  they  may  be  beneath 
thy  power  [who  art  the  donor],  yet  are 
they  greater  than  my  inclination  and 
dignity,  who  am  the  receiver; — and,  as 
Caius  was  astonished  at  Agrippa' s  incli- 
nations, and  still  the  more  pressed  him  to 
make  his  request  for  somewhat  which  he 
might  gratify  him  with,  Agrippa  replied, 
"  Since  thou,  0  my  lord,  declarest  such 
is  thy  readiness  to  grant,  that  I  am  worthy 
ot  thy  gifts,  I  will  ask  nothing  relating  to 
my  own  felicity ;  for  what  thou  hast  al- 
ready bestowed  on  me  has  made  me  excel 
therein ;  but  1  desire  somewhat  which 
may  make  thee  glorious  for  piety,  and 
render  the  Divinity  assistant  to  thy  de- 
signs, and  may  be   for  an    honour  to  me 

*  This  behaviour  of  Caius  to  Agrippa  is  very 
like  that  of  Herod  Antipas,  his  uncle,  to  Herodias, 
Agrippa's  sister,  about  John  the  Baptist.  Matt. 
xiv.  6-11. 


among  those  that  inquire  about  it,  as 
showing  that  I  never  once  fail  of  obtain- 
ing what  I  desire  of  thee ;  for  my  petition 
is  this,  that  thou  wilt  no  longer  think  of 
the  dedication  of  that  statue  which  thou 
hast  ordered  to  be  set  up  in  the  Jewish 
temple  by  Petronius." 

And  thus  did  Agrippa  venture  to  cast 
the  die  upon  this  occasion,  so  great  was 
the  affair  in  his  opinion,  and  in  reality, 
though  he  knew  how  dangerous  a  thing 
it  was  to  speak;    for,  had  not  Caius  ap- 
proved it,  it  had  tended  to  no  less  than 
the  loss  of  his  life.     So  Caius,  who  was 
mightily   taken   with  Agrippa's    obliging 
behaviour,  and,  on  other  accounts,  think- 
ing it  a  dishonourable  thing  to  be  guilty 
of  falsehood  before  so  many  witnesses,  in 
points  wherein  he  had  with  such  alacrity 
forced    Agrippa  to   become   a   petitioner, 
and    that  it  would    look    as    if    he    had 
already   repented    of  what    he   had    said, 
and,  because  he  greatly  admired  Agrippa's 
virtue,  in   not  desiring  him  at  all  to  aug- 
ment   his    own     dominions,    either    with 
larger    revenue    or  other    authority,    but 
took  care  of  the  public  tranquillity,  of  the 
laws,  and  of  the  Divinity  itself,  he  granted 
him  what  he  requested.     He  also  wrote 
thus  to  Petronius,  commending  him   for 
his  assembling  his  army,   and   then   con- 
sulting   him    about    these    affairs.     "  If, 
therefore,"   said  he,    "  thou   hast  already 
erected  my  statue,  let  it  stand  ;  but  if  thou 
hast  not  yet  dedicated  it,  do  not  trouble 
thyself  further  about  it,  but  dismiss  thy 
army,  go   back,  and    take    care  of  those 
affairs  which  I  sent  thee  about  at  first;  for 
I  have  now  no  occasion  for  the   erection 
of  that  statue.     This  I  have  granted  as  a 
favour  to  Agrippa,  a  man  whom  I  honour 
so  very  greatly,  that  I  am  not  able  to  con- 
tradict what  he  would  have,  or  what  he 
desired    me  to    do   for  him."     And   this 
was  what  Caius^  wrote  to  Petronius,  which 
was  before  he  received  his  letter  inform- 
ing him  that  the  Jews  were  very  ready  to 
revolt   about   this  statue,    and    that   they 
seemed  resolved  to  threaten   war  against 
the   Romans,  and    nothing  else.     When, 
therefore,  Caius  was  much  displeased  that 
any  attempt  should  be  made  against  his 
government,  as  he  was  a  slave  to  base  and 
vicious  actions  on  all  occasions,  and  had 
no     regard     to    what    was    virtuous    and 
honourable,  and   against   whomsoever   he 
resolved   to  show  his  anger,  and  that  for 
any    cause    whatsoever,    he    suffered    not 
jaimself   to  be   restrained    by   any   admo- 


Chap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


567 


nition,  but  thought  the  indulging  his 
anger  to  be  a  real  pleasure,  he  wrote  thus 
to  Petronius  :--"  Seeing  thou  esteemest 
the  presents  made  thee  by  the  Jews  to 
be  of  greater  value  than  my  commands, 
and  art  grown  insolent  enough  to  be  sub- 
servient to  their  pleasure,  I  charge  thee 
to  become  thy  own  judge,  and  to  consider 
what  thou  art  to  do,  now  thou  art  under 
my  displeasure,  for  I  will  make  thee  an 
example  to  the  present  and  to  all  future 
ages,  that  they  may  not  dare  to  contradict 
the  commands  of  their  emperor." 

This  was  the  epistle  which  Caius  wrote 
to  Petronius ;  but  Petronius  did  not  re- 
ceive it  while  Caius  was  alive,  that  ship 
which  carried  it  sailed  so  slow,  the  other 
letters  came  to  Petronius  before  this,  by 
which  he  understood  that  Caius  was  dead, 
for  God  would  not  forget  the  dangers  Pe- 
tronius had  undertaken  on  account  of  the 
Jews,  and  of  his  own  honour.  But  when 
he  had  taken  Caius  away,  out  of  his  indig- 
nation of  what  he  had  so  insolently  at- 
tempted, in  assuming  to  himself  divine 
worship,  both  Rome  and  all  that  dominion 
conspired  with  Petronius,  especially  those 
that  were  of  the  senatorian  order,  to  give 
Caius  his  due  reward,  because  he  had 
been  unmercifully  severe  to  them ;  for  he 
died  not  long  after  he  had  written  to  Pe- 
tronius that  epistle  which  threatened  him 
with  death.  But  as  for  the  occasion  of 
his  death,  and  the  nature  of  the  plot 
against  him,  I  shall  relate  them  in  the 
progress  of  this  narration.  Now,  that 
epistle  which  informed  Petronius  of  Caius's 
death  came  first ;  and,  a  little  afterward, 
came  that  which  commanded  him  to  kill 
himself  with  his  own  hands.  Whereupon 
he  rejoiced  at  this  coincidence  as  to  the 
death  of  Caius,  and  admired  God's  pro- 
vidence, who,  without  the  least  delay, 
and  immediately,  gave  him  a  reward  for 
the  regard  he  had  to  the  temple,  and  the 
assistance  he  afforded  the  Jews  for  avoid- 
ing the  dangers  they  were  in.  And  by 
this  means  Petronius  escaped  that  danger 
of  death  which  he  could  not  foresee. 


CHAP.  IX. 

Sedition  among  the  Babylonian  Jews. 

A  very  sad  calamity  now  befell  the 
Jews  that  were  in  Mesopotamia,  and 
especially  those  that  dwelt  in  Babylonia. 
Inferior  it  was  to  none  of  the  calamities 
which   had  gone   before,   and  came  toge- 


ther with  a  great  slaughter  of  them,  and 
that  greater  than  any  upon  record  before; 
concerning  all  which  I  shall  speak  more 
accurately,  and  shall  explain  the  occasions 
whence  these  miseries  came  upon  them. 
There  was  a  city  of  Babylonia  called 
Neerda;  not  only  a  very  populous  one, 
but  one  that  had  a  good  and  large  ter- 
ritory about  it;  and,  besides  its  other  ad- 
vantages, full  of  men  also.  It  was, 
besides,  not  easily  to  be  assaulted  by 
enemies,  from  the  river  Euphrates  en- 
compassing it  all  round,  and  from  the 
walls  that  were  built  about  it.  There 
was  also  the  city  Nisibis,  situate  on  the 
same  current  of  the  river.  For  which 
reason  the  Jews,  depending  on  the  natural 
strength  of  these  places,  deposited  in 
them  that  half  shekel  which  every  one, 
by  the  custom  of  our  country,  offers  unto 
God,  as  well  as  they  did  other  things  de- 
voted to  him  ;  for  they  made  use  of  these 
cities  as  a  treasury,  whence,  at  a  proper 
time,  they  were  transmitted  to  Jerusa- 
lem; and  many  ten  thousand  men  under- 
took the  carriage  of  those  donations,  out 
of  fear  of  the  ravages  of  the  Parthians,  to 
whom  the  Babylonians  were  then  subject. 
Now,  there  were*  two  men,  Asineus  amJ 
Anileus,  of  the  city  Neerda  by  birth,  and 
brethren  to  one  another.  They  were  des- 
titute of  a  father;  and  their  mother  put 
them  to  learn  the  art  of  weaviug  curtains, 
it  not  being  esteemed  a  disgrace  among 
them  for  men  to  be  weavers  of  cloth. 
Now,  he  that  taught  them  that  art,  and 
was  set  over  them,  complained  that  they 
came  too  late  to  their  work,  and  punished 
them  with  stripes;  but  they  took  this  just 
punishment  as  an  affront,  and  carried  off 
all  the  weapons  which  were  kept  in  that 
house,  which  were  not  a  few,  and  went 
into  a  certain  place  where  was  a  partition 
of  the  rivers,  and  was  a  place  naturally 
very  fit  for  the  feeding  of  cattle,  and  for 
preserving  such  fruits  as  are  usually  laid 
up  against  winter.  The  poorest  sort  of 
the  young  men  also  resorted  to  them, 
whom  they  armed  with  the  weapons  they 
had  gotten,  and  became  their  captains, 
and  nothing  hindered  them  from  being 
their  leaders  into  mischief;  for,  as  soon 
as  they  had  become  invincible,  and  had 
built  themselves  a  citadel,  they  sent  to 
such  as  fed  cattle,  and  ordered  them  to 
pay  them  so  much  tribute  out  of  them  as 
might  be  sufficient  for  their  maintenance, 
proposing  also,  that  they  would  be  their 
friends,  if  they  would  submit  to  them. 


56$ 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XVIII 


and  that  they  would  defend  them  from  all 
their  other  enemies  on  every  side;  but 
that  they  would  kill  the  cattle  of  those 
that  refused  to  obey  them.  So,  they 
hearkened  to  their  proposals,  (for  they 
could  do  nothing  else,)  and  sent  them  as 
many  sheep  as  were  required  of  them; 
whereby  their  forces  grew  greater,  and 
they  became  lords  over  all  they  pleased, 
because  they  marched  suddenly,  and  did 
them  a  mischief,  insomuch  that  every- 
body who  had  to  do  with  them  chose  to 
pay  them  respect/  and  they  became  for- 
midable to  such  as  came  to  assault  them, 
until  the  report  about  them  came  to  the 
ears  of  the  king  of  Parthia  himself. 

But  when  the  governor  of  Babylonia 
understood  this,  and  had  a  mind  to  put  a 
stop  to  them  before  they  grew  greater, 
and  before  greater  mischiefs  should  arise 
from  them,  he  got  together  as  great  an 
army  as  he  could,  both  of  Parthians  and 
Babylonians,  and  marched  against  them, 
thinking  to  attack  them  and  destroy  them, 
before  any  one  should  carry  them  the 
news  that  he  had  got  an  army  together. 
He  then  encamped  at  a  lake,  and  lay 
still ;  but,  on  the  next  day  (it  was  the 
Sabbath,  which  is  among  the  Jews  a  day 
of  rest  from  ail  sorts  of  work)  he  supposed 
that  the  enemy  would  not  dare  to  fight 
him  thereon,  but  that  he  would  take  them 
and  carry  them  away  prisoners,  without 
fighting.  He  therefore  proceeded  gradu- 
ally, and  thought  to  fall  upon  them  on 
the  sudden.  Now  Asineus  was  sitting 
with  the  rest,  and  their  weapons  lay  by 
them ;  upon  which  he  said,  "  Sirs,  I  hear 
a  neighing  of  horses;  not  of  such  as  are 
feeding,  but  such  as  have  men  on  their 
backs;  I  also  hear  such  a  noise  of  their 
bridles,  that  I  am  afraid  that  some 
enemies  are  coming  upon  us  to  encompass 
us  round.  However,  let  somebody  go  to 
iook  about,  and  make  report  of  what 
reality  there  is  in  the  present  state  of 
things;  and  may  what  I  have  said  prove 
a  false  alarm  1"  And  when  he  had  said 
this,  some  of  them  went  to  spy  out  what 
was  the  matter;  and  they  came  again 
immediately,  and  said  to  him,  that 
''neither  hast  thou  been  mistaken  in 
telling  us  what  our  enemies  were  doing, 
nor  will  those  enemies  permit  us  to  be 
injurious  to  people  any  longer.  We  are 
caught  by  their  intrigues  like  brute  beasts, 
and  there  is  a  large  body  of  cavalry  march- 
ing upon  us,  while  we  are  destitute  of 
hands  to  defend  ourselves  withal,  because 


we  are  restrained  from  doing  it,  by  the 
prohibition  of  our  law,  which  obliges  us 
to  rest  [on  this  day].  But  Asineus  did 
not  by  any  means  agree  with  the  opinion 
of  his  spy  as  to  what  was  to  be  done,  but 
thought  it  more  agreeable  to  the  law  to 
pluck  up  their  spirits  in  this  necessity 
they  had  fallen  into,  and  break  their  law 
by  avenging  themselves,  although  they 
should  die  in  the  action,  than,  by  doing 
nothing,  to  please  their  enemies  in  sub- 
mitting to  be  slain  by ,  them.  Accord- 
ingly, he  took  up  his  weapons,  and  in- 
fused courage  into  those  that  were  with 
him,  to  act  as  courageously  as  himself. 
So  they  fell  upon  their  enemies,  and  slew 
a  great  many  of  them,  because  they  de- 
spised them,  and  came  as  to  a  certain 
victory,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight. 

But  when  the  news  of  this  fight  came 
to  the  king  of  Parthia,  he  was  surprised 
at  the  boldness  of  these  brethren,  and  was 
desirous  to  see  them,  and  speak  with 
them.  He  therefore  sent  the  most  trusty 
of  all  his  guards  to  say  thus  to  them  : — 
"  The  King  Artabanus,  although  he  had 
been  unjustly  treated  by  you,  who  have 
made  an  attempt  against  his  government, 
yet  hath  he  more  regard  to  your  courage- 
ous behaviour  than  to  the  anger  he  bears 
to  you,  and  hath  sent  me  to  give  you  hip 
right  hand*  and  security;  and  he  permits 
you  to  come  to  him  safely,  and  without 
any  violence  upon  the  road,  as  he  wants 
to  have  you  address  yourselves  to  him  as 
friends,  without  meaning  any  guile  or 
deceit  to  you.  He  also  promises  to  make 
you  presents,  and  to  pay  you  those  re- 
spects which  will  make  an  addition  of  his 
power  to  your  courage,  and  thereby  be  of 
advantage  to  you."  Yet  did  Asineus 
himself  put  off  his  journey  thither,  but 
sent  his  brother  Anileus  with  all  such 
presents  as  he  could  procure.  So  he 
went,  and  was  admitted  to  the  king's 
presence;  and  when  Artabanus  saw  Ani- 
leus coining  along,  he  inquired  into  the 
reason  why  Asineus  avoided  to  come  along 
with  him ;  and  when  he  understood  that 
he  was  afraid,  and  stayed  by  the  lake,  he 
took  an  oath  by  the  gods  of  his  country, 
that  he  would  do  them  no  harm,  if  they 
came  to  him  upon  the  assurances  he  gave 
them,  and  gave  him  his  right  hand.  This 
is  of  the  greatest  force  there  with  all  these 
barbarians,  and  affords  a  firm  security  to 

*  The  joining  of  the  right  hands  was  esteemed 
among  the  Persians  [and  Parthians]  in  particular 
a  most  inviolable  obligation  to  fidelity. 


Chap.  IX. J 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


569 


those  who  converse  with  them;  for  none 
of  them  will  deceive  you  when  once  they 
have  given  you  their  right  hands,  nor 
will  any  one  doubt  their  fidelity,  when 
that  is  once  given,  even  though  they 
were  before  suspected  of  injustice.  When 
Artaba*ius  had  done  this,  he  sent  away 
Anileus  to  persuade  his  brother  to  come 
to  him.  Now  this  the  king  did,  because 
he  wanted  to  curb  his  own  governors  of 
provinces  by  the  courage  of  these  Jewish 
brethren,  lest  they  should  make  a  league 
with  them ;  for  they  were  ready  for  a  re- 
volt, and  were  disposed  to  rebel,  had  they 
been  sent  on  an  expedition  against  them. 
He  was  also  afraid,  lest,  when  he  was 
engaged  in  a  war,  in  order  to  subdue 
those  governors  of  provinces  that  had  re- 
volted, the  party  of  Asineus  and  those  in 
Babylonia  should  be  augmented,  and 
either  make  war  upon  him  when  they 
should  hear  of  that  revolt,  or,  if  they 
should  be  disappointed  in  that  case,  they 
would  not  fail  of  doing  further  mischief 
to  him. 

When  the  king  had  these  intentions, 
ne  sent  away  Anileus ;  and  Anileus  pre- 
vailed on  his  brother  [to  come  to  the  king], 
when  he  had  related  to  him  the  king's 
good-will,  and  the  oath  that  he  had  taken. 
Accordingly,  they  made  haste  to  go  to 
Artabanus,  who  received  them,  when  they 
had  come,  with  pleasure,  and  admired 
Asineus's  courage  in  the  actions  he  had 
done,  and  this,  because  he  was  a  little  man 
to  see  to,  and,  at  first  sight,  appeared  con- 
temptible also,  and  such  as  one  might 
deem  a  person  of  no  value  at  all.  He  also 
said  to  his  friends,  how,  upon  the  compa- 
rison, he  showed  his  soul  to  be,  in  all  re- 
spects, superior  to  his  body  ;  and  when, 
as  they  were  drinking  together,  he  once 
showed  Asineus  to  Abdagases,  one  of  the 
generals  of  his  army,  and  told  him  his 
name,  and  described  the  great  courage  he 
was  of  in  war,  and  Abdagases  had  desired 
leave  to  kill  him,  and  thereby  to  inflict 
upon  him  a  punishment  for  those  injuries 
he  had  done  to  the  Parthian  government, 
the  king  replied,  "I  will  never  give  thee 
leave  to  kill  a  man  who  hath  depended  on 
Bay  faith,  especially  not,  after  I  have  sent 
him  my  right  hand,  and  endeavoured  to 
gain  his  belief  by  oaths  made  by  the  gods. 
But,  if  thou  be  a  truly  warlike  man,  thou 
standest  not  in  need  of  my  perjury.  Go 
thou,  then,  and  avenge  the  Parthian  go- 
vernment- attack  this  man,  when  he  has 
returned  back,  and  conquer  him  by  the 


forces  that  are  under  thy  command,  with- 
out my  privity. "  Hereupon  the  king  called 
for  Asineus,  and  said  to  him,  "It  is  time 
for  thee,  0  thou  young  man !  to  return 
home,  and  not  provoke  the  indignation  of 
my  generals  in  this  place  any  further,  lest 
they  attempt  to  murder  thee,  and  that 
without  my  approbation.  I  commit  tc 
thee  the  country  of  Babylonia  in  trust, 
that  it  may,  by  thy  care,  be  preserved  free 
from  robbers,  and  from  other  mischiefs. 
I  have  kept  my  faith  inviolable  to  thee, 
and  that  not  in  trifling  affairs,  but  in  those 
that  concerned  thy  safety,  and  do  there- 
fore deserve  thou  shouldst  be  kind  to  rae." 
When  he  had  said  this,  and  given  Asineus 
some  presents,  he  sent  him  away  imme- 
diately; who,  when  he  had  come  home, 
built  fortresses,  and  became  great  in  a 
little  time,  and  managed  things  with  such 
courage  and  success,  as  no  other  person, 
that  had  no  higher  a  beginning,  ever  did 
before  him.  Those  Parthian  governors, 
also,  who  were  sent  that  way,  paid  him 
great  respect;  and  the  honour  that  was 
paid  him  by  the  Babylonians  seemed  to 
them  too  small,  and  beneath  his  deserts, 
although  he  was  in  no  small  dignity  and 
power  there  :  nay,  indeed,  all  the  affairs 
of  Mesopotamia  depended  upon  him ;  and 
he  more  and  more  flourished  in  this  happy 
condition  of  his  for  fifteen  years. 

But  as  their  affairs  were  in  so  flourish- 
ing a  state,  there  sprang  up  a  calamity 
among  them  on  the  following  occasion : — 
When  once  they  had  deviated  from  that 
course  of  virtue  whereby  they  had  gained 
so  great  power,  they  affronted  and  trans- 
gressed the  laws  of  their  forefathers,  and 
fell  under  the  dominion  of  their  lusts  and 
pleasures.  A  certain  Parthian,  who  came 
as  general  of  an  army  into  those  parts, 
had  a  wife  following  him,  who  had  a  vast 
reputation  for  other  accomplishments,  and 
particularly  was  admired  above  all  other 
women  for  her  beauty.  Anileus,  the 
brother  of  Asineus,  either  heard  of  that 
her  beauty  from  others,  or  perhaps  saw 
her  himself  also,  and  so  became  at  once 
her  lover  and  her  enemy ;  partly  because 
he  could  not  hope  to  enjoy  this  woman 
but  by  obtaining  power  over  her  as  a  cap- 
tive, and  partly  because  he  thought  ho 
could  not  conquer  his  inclinations  for  her. 
As  soon,  therefore,  as  her  husband  had 
been  declared  an  enemy  to  them,  and  had 
fallen  in  the  battle,  the  widow  of  the  de- 
ceased was  married  to  this  her  lover. 
However,  this  woman  did  not  come  intr 


570 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEW&. 


[Book  XV1IL 


their  house  without  producing  great  mis- 
fortunes, both  to  Anileus  himself,  and  to 
Asineus  also ;  but  brought  great  misehiefs 
upon  them,  on  the  occasion  following: — 
Since  she  was  led  away  captive,  on  the 
death  of  her  husband,  she  concealed  the 
images  of  those  gods  which  were  their 
country  gods,  common  to  her  husband 
and  to  herself:  now,  it  is  the  custom*  of 
that  country,  for  all  to  have  the  idols  they 
worship  hi  their  own  houses,  and  to  carry 
them  along  with  them  when  they  go  into 
a  foreign  land;  agreeably  to  which  custom 
of  theirs,  she  carried  her  idols  with  her. 
Now,  at  first  she  performed  her  worship 
to  them  privately,  but  when  she  had  be- 
come Anileus's  married  wife,  she  wor- 
shipped them  in  her  accustomed  manner, 
and  with  the  same  appointed  ceremonies 
which  she  used  in  her  former  husband's 
days;  upon  which  their  most  esteemed 
friends  blamed  him  at  first,  that  he  did 
not  act  after  the  manner  of  the  Hebrews, 
nor  perform  what  was  agreeable  to  their 
laws,  in  marrying  a  foreign  wife,  and  one 
that  transgressed  the  accurate  appoint- 
ments of  their  sacrifices  and  religious 
ceremonies;  that  he  ought  to  consider, 
lest,  by  allowing  himself  in  many  pleasures 
of  the  body,  he  might  lose  his  principality, 
on  account  of  the  beauty  of  a  wife,  and 
that  high  authority  which,  by  God's  bless- 
ing, he  had  arrived  at.  But  when  they 
prevailed  not  at  all  upon  him,  he  slew 
one  of  them  for  whom  he  had  the  greatest 
respect,  because  of  the  liberty  he  took  with 
him ;  who,  when  he  was  dying,  out  of  re- 
gard to  the  laws,  imprecated  a  punishment 
upon  his  murderer  Anileus,  and  upon 
Asineus  also,  and  that  all  their  compa- 
nions might  come  to  a  like  end  from  their 
enemies ;  upon  the  two  first  as  the  prin- 
cipal actors  of  this  wickedness,  and  upon 
the  rest  as  those  that  would  not  assist  him 
when  he  suffered  in  the  defence  of  their 
laws.  Now  these  latter  were  sorely  grieved, 
yet  did  they  tolerate  these  doings,  because 
they  remembered  that  they  had  arrived  at 
their  present  happy  state  by  no  other 
moans  than  their  fortitude.  But  when 
they  also  heard  of  the  worship  of  those 
gods  whom  the  Parthians  adore,  they 
thought  the  injury  that  Anileus  offered  to 
their  laws  was  to  be  borne  no  longer;  and 
a  greater  number  of  them  came  to  Asi- 

*  This  custom  of  the  Mesopotamians  to  carry 
their  household  gods  along  with  them  wherever 
they  travelled,  is  as  old  as  the  days  of  Jacob.  Gen. 
xxxi.  19,  30-35 


neus,  and  loudly  complained  of  Anileus, 
and  told  him,  that  it  had  been  well  that 
he  had  of  himself  seen  what  was  advan- 
tageous to  them ;  but  that,  however,  it 
was  now  high  time  to  correct  what  had 
been  done  amiss,  before  the  crime  that 
had  been  committed  proved  the  ruin  of 
himself  and  all  the  rest  of  them.  They 
added,  that  the  marriage  of  this  woman 
was  made  without  their  consent,  and  with- 
out a  regard  to  their  old  laws;  and  that 
the  worship  which  this  woman  paid  [to 
her  gods]  was  a  reproach  to  the  God 
whom  they  worshipped.  Now  was  Asineus 
sensible  of  his  brother's  offence,  that  it 
had  been  already  the  cause  of  great  mis- 
chiefs, and  would  be  so  for  the  time  to 
come ;  yet  did  he  tolerate  the  same  from 
the  good-will  he  had  to  so  near  a  relation, 
and  forgiving  it  to  him,  on  account  that 
his  brother  was  quite  overborne  by  his 
wicked  inclinations.  But  as  more  and 
more  still  came  about  him  every  day,  and 
the  clamours  about  it  became  greater,  he 
at  length  spoke  to  Anileus  about  these 
clamours,  reproving  him  for  his  former 
actions,  and  desiring  him  for  the  future 
to  leave  them  off,  and  send  the  woman 
back  to  her  relations.  But  nothing  was 
gained  by  these  reproofs;  for,  as  the 
woman  perceived  what  a  tumult  was  made 
among  the  people  on  her  account,  and  was 
afraid  for  Anileus,  lest  he  should  come  to 
any  harm  for  his  love  to  her,  she  infused 
poison  into  Asineus' s  food,  and  thereby 
took  him  off,  and  was  now  secure  of  pre- 
vailing, when  her  lover  was  to  be  judge 
of  what  should  be  done  about  her. 

So  Anileus  took  the  government  upon 
himself  alone,  and  led  his  army  against 
the  villages  of  Mithridates,  who  was  a 
man  of  principal  authority  in  Parthia,  and 
had  married  King  Artabanus's  daughter: 
he  also  plundered  them,  and  among  that 
prey  was  found  much  money,  and  many 
slaves,  as  also  a  great  number  of  sheep, 
and  many  other  things,  which,  when 
gained,  make  men's  condition  happy. 
Now,  when  Mithridates,  who  was  there  at 
this  time,  heard  that  his  villages  were 
taken,  he  was  very  much  displeased  to 
find  that  Anileus  had  first  begun  to  injure 
him,  and  to  affront  him  in  his  present 
dignity,  when  he  had  not  offered  any  in- 
jury to  him  beforehand ;  and  he  got  to- 
gether the  greatest  body  of  horsemen  he 
was  able,  and  those  out  of  that  number 
which  were  of  an  age  fit  for  war,  and  came 
to  fight  Anileus;  and  when  he  had  arrived 


Chap.  IX.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


571 


at  a  certain  village  of  his  own,  he  lay  still 
there,  as  intending  to  fight  him  on  the  day 
following,  because  it  was  the  Sabbath,  the 
day  on  which  the  Jews  rest.  And  when 
Anileus  was  informed  of  this  by  a  Syrian 
stranger  of  another  village,  who  not  only 
gave  him  an  exact  account  of  other  cir- 
cumstance^ but  told  him  where  Mithri- 
dates  would  have  a  feast,  he  took  his 
supper  at  a  proper  time,  and  marched  by 
night,  with  an  intent  of  falling  upon  the 
Parthians  while  they  were  unapprized 
what  they  should  do;  so  he  fell  upon 
them  about  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night; 
and  some  of  them  he  slew  while  they  were 
asleep,  and  others  he  put  to  flight,  and 
took  Mithridates  alive,  and  set  him  naked 
upon  an  ass,*  which,  among  the  Parthians, 
is  esteemed  the  greatest  reproach  possible. 
And  when  he  had  brought  him  into  a 
wood  with  such  a  resolution,  and  his 
friends  desired  him  to  kill  Mithridates, 
he  soon  told  them  his  own  mind  to  the 
contrary,  and.  said,  that  it  was  not  right 
to  kill  a  man  who  was  one  of  the  princi- 
pal families  among  the  Parthians,  and 
greatly  honoured  with  matching  into  the 
royal  family ;  that  so  far  as  they  had 
hitherto  gone  was  tolerable;  for,  although 
they  had  injured  Mithridates,  yet,  if  they 
preserved  his  life,  this  benefit  would  be 
remembered  by  him  to  the  advantage  of 
those  that  gave  it  him ;  but  that  if  he 
wore  once  put  to  death,  the  king  would 
net  be  at  rest  till  he  had  made  a  great 
slaughter  of  the  Jews  that  dwelt  at  Baby- 
lon; uto  whose  safety  we  ought  to  have 
a  regard,  both  on  account  of  our  relation 
to  them,  and  because,  if  any  misfortune 
befall  us,  we  have  no  other  place  to  retire 
to,  since  he  hath  gotten  the  flower  of  their 
youth  under  him."  By  this  thought,  and 
this  speech  of  his  made  in  council,  he  per- 
suaded them  to  act  accordingly;  so  Mith- 
ridates was  let  go.  But,  when  he  had 
got  away,  his  wife  reproached  him,  that 
although  he  was  son-in-law  to  the  king, 
he  neglected  to  avenge  himself  on  those 
that  had  injured  him,  while  he  took  no 
care  about  it,  but  was  contented  to  have 
been  made  a  captive  by  the  Jews,  and  to 
have  escaped  them;  and  she  bade  him 
either  to  go  back  like  a  man  of  courage, 
or  else  she  sware   by   the  gods  of  their 

*  This  custom  in  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  of  set- 
ting men  upon  an  ass,  by  way  of  disgrace,  is  still 
kept  up  at  Damascus  in  Syria;  where,  in  order  to 
Bhow  their  despite  against  the  Christians,  the  Turks 
will  not  suffer  them  to  hire  horses,  but  asses  only. 


royal  family,  that  she  would  certainly  dis- 
solve her  marriage  with  him.  Upon  which, 
partly  because  he  could  not  bear  the  daily 
trouble  of  her  taunts,  and  partly  because 
he  was  afraid  of  her  insolence,  lest  she 
should  in  earnest  dissolve  their  marriage, 
he  unwillingly,  and  against  his  inclina- 
tions,  got  together  again  as  great  an  army 
as  he  could,  and  marched  along  with 
them,  as  himself  thinking  it  a  thing  not 
to  be  borne  any  longer,  that  he,  a  Par- 
thian, should  owe  his  preservation  to  the 
Jews,  when  they  had  been  too  hard  for 
him  in  the  war. 

But,  as  soon  as  Anileus  understood 
that  Mithridates  was  marching  with  a 
great  army  against  him,  he  thought  it  too 
ignominious  a  thing  to  tarry  about  the 
lakes,  and  not  to  take  the  first  opportu- 
nity of  meeting  his  enemies,  and  he  hoped 
to  have  the  same  success,  and  to  beat 
their  enemies  as  they  did  before ;  as  also 
he  ventured  boldly  upon  the  like  at- 
tempts. Accordingly,  he  led  out  his 
army;  and  a  great  many  more  joined 
themselves  to  that  army,  in  order  to 
betake  themselves  to  plunder  the  people, 
and  in  order  to  terrify  the  enemy  again 
by  their  numbers.  But  when  they  had 
marched  ninety  furlongs,  while  the  road 
had  been  through  dry  [and  sandy]  places, 
and  about  the  midst  of  the  day,  they 
were  become  very  thirsty ;  and  Mithri- 
dates appeared,  and  fell  upon  them,  as 
they  were  in  distress  for  want  of  water, 
on  which  account,  and  on  account  of  the 
time  of  the  day,  they  were  not  able  to 
bear  their  weapons.  So  Anileus  and  his 
men  were  put  to  an  ignominious  rout, 
while  men  in  despair  were  to  attack  those 
that  were  fresh,  and  in  good  plight:  so  a 
great  slaughter  was  made,  and  many  ten 
thousand  men  fell.  Now  Anileus,  and 
all  that  stood  firm  about  him,  ran  away, 
as  fast  as  they  were  able,  into  a  wood, 
and  afforded  Mithridates  the  pleasure  of 
having  gained  a  great  victory  over  them. 
But  there  now  came  unto  Anileus  a  con- 
flux of  bad  men,  who  regarded  their  own 
lives  very  little,  if  they  might  but  gain 
some  present  ease,  insomuch  that  they, 
by  thus  coming  to  him,  compensated  the 
multitude  of  those  that  perished  in  the 
fight.  Yet  were  not  these  men  like  to 
those  that  fell  because  they  were  ra^h, 
and  unexercised  in  war;  however,  with 
these  he  came  upon  the  villages  of  the 
Babylonians,  and  a  mighty  devastation  of 
all  things  was  made  there  by  the  injurie* 


572 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS.         [Book  XVIII    Chat.  IX. 


that  Anileus  did  them.  So  the  Babylo- 
nians, and  those  that  had  already  been  in 
the  war,  sent  to  Neerda  to  the  Jews  there, 
and  demanded  Anileus.  But,  although 
they  did  not  agree  to  their  demands,  (for 
if  they  had  been  willing  to  deliver  him 
up,  it  was  not  in  their  power  so  to  do,) 
yet  did  they  desire  to  make  peace  with 
them.  To  which  the  other  replied,  that 
they  also  wanted  to  settle  conditions  of 
peace  with  them,  and  sent  men  together 
with  the  Babylonians,  who  discoursed 
with  Anileus  about  them.  But  the  Baby- 
lonians, upon  taking  a  view  of  his  situa- 
tion, and  having  learned  where  Anileus 
and  his  men  lay,  fell  secretly  upon  them 
as  they  were  drunk  and  fallen  asleep, 
and  slew  all  that  they  caught  of  them, 
without  any  fear,  and  killed  Anileus 
himself  also. 

.  The  Babylonians  were  now  freed  from 
Anileus's  heavy  incursions,  which  had 
been  a  great  restraint  to  the  effects  of 
that  hatred  they  bore  to  the  Jews;  for 
they  were  almost  always  at  variance,  by 
reason  of  the  contrariety  of  their  laws; 
and  which  party  soever  grew  boldest  be- 
fore the  other,  they  assaulted  the  other : 
and  at  this  time  in  particular  it  was,  that 
upon  the  ruin  of  Anileus's  party,  the 
Babylonians  attacked  the  Jews;  which 
made  these  Jews  so  vehemently  to  resent 
the  injuries  they  received  from  the  Baby- 
lonians, that,  being  neither  able  tor  fight 
them,  nor  bearing  to  live  with  them,  they 
went  to  Seleucia,  the  principal  city  of 
those  parts,  which  was  built  by  Seleucus 
Nicator.  It  was  inhabited  by  many  of 
the  Macedonians,  but  by  more  of  the 
Grecians;  not  a  few  of  the  Syrians  also 
dwelt  there  ;  and  thither  did  the  Jews 
fly,  and  lived  there  five  years  without  any 
misfortunes.  But,  on  the  sixth  year,  a 
pestilence  came  upon  these  at  Babylon, 
which  occasioned  new  removals  of  men's 
habitations  out  of  that  city;  and  because 
they  came  to  Seleucia,  it  happened  that  a 
still  heavier  calamity  came  upon  them  on 
that  account,  which  I  am  going  to  relate 
immediately. 

Now,  the  way  of  living  of  the  people  of 


Seleucia,  who  were  Greeks  and  Syrians, 
was  commonly  quarrelsome,  and  full  ot 
discords,    though    the    Greeks    were    too 
hard  for  the  Syrians.     When,  therefore, 
the    Jews   had    come   thither,  and  dwelt 
among  them,  there  arose  a  sedition;  and 
the  Syrians  were  too  hard  for  the  other, 
by  the    assistance  of  the    Jews,  who  are 
men  that  despise  dangers,  and  very  ready 
to  fight  upon  any  occasion.     Now,  when 
the  Greeks  had  the  worst  in  this  sedition, 
and  saw  that  they  bad   but  one   way  of 
recovering    their    former    authority,    and 
that  was,  if  they  could  prevent  the  agree- 
ment between  the  Jews  and  Syrians,  they 
every  one    discoursed    with    such  of   the 
Syrians    as    were    formerly    of    their    ac- 
quaintance, and  promised  they  would  be 
at  peace  and  friendship  with  them.     Ac- 
cordingly, they  gladly  agreed   so  to  do; 
and  when  this  was  done  by  the  principal 
men  of  both  nations,  they  soon  agreed  to 
a  reconciliation;  and  when  they  were  so 
agreed,  they  both    knew   that   the  great 
design    of    such    their    union   would    be 
their  common  hatred  to  the  Jews.     Ac- 
cordingly, they  fell  upon  them,  and  slew 
about    50,000    of   them;  nay,  the    Jews 
were  all  destroyed,  excepting  a  few  who 
escaped,  either  by  the  compassion  which 
their  friends  or  neighbours  afforded  them 
in   order  to   let    them   fly   away.     These 
retired  to  Ctesiphon,  a  Grecian  city,  and 
situated  near  to  Seleucia,  where  the  king 
[of  Parthia]  lives  in  winter  every  year, 
and  where  the  greatest  part  of  his  riches 
are  deposited;  but  the  Jews  had  here  no 
certain  settlement,  those  of  Seleucia  hav- 
ing little  concern  for  the  king's  honour. 
Now  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews  were 
in   fear  both  of  the  Babylonians  and  of 
the   Seleucians,  because   all    the   Syrians 
that  live  in  those  places  agreed  with  the 
Seleucians  in   the  war  against  the  Jews; 
so  the  most  of  ±hem  gathered  themselves 
together,  and  went  to  Neerda  and  Nisibis, 
and  obtained  security  there  by  the  strength 
of  those   cities;   besides  which,  their  in- 
habitants, who  were  a  great  many,  were 
all  warlike  men.^    And  this  was  the  state 
of  the  Jews  at  this  time  in  Babylon. 


Book  XIX.  Chap.  I.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


573 


BOOK  XIX. 


CONl  AINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  THREE  YEARS  AND  A  HALF,  FROM  THE 
JEWS'  DEPARTURE  OUT  OF  BABYLON  TO  FADUS,  THE  ROMAN  PRO- 
CURATOR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Caius  (Caligula)  slain  by  Cherea. 

Now  this  Caius  did  not  demonstrate 
his  madness  in  offering  injuries  only  to 
the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  or  to  those  that 
dwelt  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  suffered 
it  to  extend  itself  through  all  the  earth  and 
sea,  so  far  as  it  was  in  subjection  to  the 
Romans,  and  filled  it  with  ten  thousand 
mischiefs;  so  many,  indeed,  in  number, 
as  no  former  history  relates.  But  Rome 
itself  felt  the  most  dismal  effects  of  what 
he  did,  while  he  deemed  that  not  to  be 
any  more  honourable  than  the  rest  of  the 
cities;  but  he  pulled  and  hauled  its  other 
citizens,  but  especially  the  senate,  and 
particularly  the  nobility,  and  such  as  had 
been  dignified  by  illustrious  ancestors; 
he  also  had  ten  thousand  devices  against 
such  of  the  equestrian  order,  as  it  was 
styled,  who  were  esteemed  by  the  citi- 
zens equal  in  dignity  and  wealth  with  the 
senators,  because  out  of  them  the  senators 
were  themselves  chosen;  these  he  treated 
after  an  ignominious  manner,  and  re- 
moved them  out  of  his  way,  while  they 
were  at  once  slain,  and  their  wealth  plun- 
dered ;  because  he  slew  men  generally,  in 
ordjr  to  seize  on  their  riches.  He  also 
asserted  his  own  divinity,  and  insisted  on 
greater  honours  to  be  paid  him  by  his 
subjects  than  are  due  to  mankind.  He 
also  frequented  that  temple  of  Jupiter 
which  they  style  the  Capitol,  which  is 
with  them  the  most  holy  of  all  temples, 
and  had  boldness  enough  to  call  himself, 
the  brother  of  Jupiter.  And  other  pranks 
be  did  like  a  madman;  as  when  he  laid  a 
bridge  from  the  city  of  Dicearchia,  which 
belongs  to  Campauia,  to  Misenum,  ano- 
ther city  upon  the  seaside,  from  one 
promontory  to  another,  of  the  length  of 
thirty  furlongs,  as  measured  over  the  sea. 
And  this  was  done,  because  he  esteemed 
it  to  be  a  most  tedious  thing  to  row 
over  in  a  small  ship,  and  thought  withal 
that  it  became  him  to  make  that  bridge, 


as  he  was  lord  of  the  sea,  and  might 
oblige  it  to  give  marks  of  obedience  aa 
well  as  the  earth;  so  he  enclosed  the 
whole  bay  within  his  bridge,  and  drove 
his  chariot  over  it;  and  thought,  that 
as  he  was  a  god,  it  was  fit  for  him 
to  travel  over  such  roads  as  this  was. 
Nor  did  he  abstain  from  the  plunder  of 
any  of  the  Grecian  temples,  and  gave 
order  that  all  the  engravings  and  sculp- 
tures, and  the  rest  of  the  ornaments  of 
the  statues  and  donations  therein  dedi- 
cated, should  be  brought  to  him,  saying, 
that  the  best  things  ought  to  be  set  no- 
where but  in  the  best  place,  and  that  the 
city  of  Rome  was  that  best  place.  He 
also  adorned  his  own  house  and  his  gar- 
dens with  the  curiosities  brought  from 
those  temples,  together  with  the  houses 
he  lay  at  when  he  travelled  all  over  Italy  t 
whence  he  did  not  scruple  to  give  a  com- 
mand that  the  statue  of  Jupiter  Olympus, 
so  called  because  he  was  honoured  at  the 
Olympian  games  by  the  Greeks,  which 
was  the  work  of  Phidias,  the  Athenian, 
should  be  brought  to  Rome.  Yet  did  he 
not  compass  his  end,  because  the  archi- 
tects told  Memmius  Regulus,  who  was 
commanded  to  remove  that  statue  of 
Jupiter,  that  the  workmanship  was  such 
that  would  be  spoiled,  and  would  not  bear 
removal.  It  was  also  reported  that  Mem- 
mius, both  on  that  account,  and  on  ac- 
count of  some  such  mighty  prodigies  as 
are  of  an  incredible  nature,  put  off  the 
taking  down,  and  wrote  to  Caius  those 
accounts  as  an  apology  for  not  having 
done  what  his  epistle  required  of  him; 
and  that  when  he  was  thence  in  danger 
of  perishing,  he  was  saved  by  Caius  being 
dead  himself,  before  he  had  put  him  to 
death. 

Nay,  Caius's  madness  came  to  this 
height,  that  when  he  had  a  daughter  born, 
he  carried  her  into  the  capitol,  and  put 
her  upon  the  knees  of  the  statue,  and  said 
that  the  child  was  common  to  him  and  to 
Jupiter,  and  determined  that  she  had  two 


574 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX. 


fathers,  but  which   of   these  fathers  was 
the  greatest,   he  left  undetermined;   and 
yet  mankind  bore  him  in  such  his  pranks. 
He  also  gave    leave  to  slaves    to  accuse 
their    masters    of  any  crimes  whatsoever 
they    pleased;    for    all    such    accusations 
were  terrible,  because  they  were  in  great 
part  made  to  please  him,  and  at  his  sug- 
gestion, insomuch  that  Pollux,  Claudius's 
slave,  had  the  boldness  to  lay  an  accu- 
sation    against    Claudius     himself;     and 
Caius  was  not  ashamed  to  be  present  at 
his  trial  of  life  and  death,  to  hear  that 
trial  of  his  own  uncle,  in  hopes  of  being 
able  to  take  him  off,  although  he  did  not 
succeed  to  his   mind :    but  when   he  had 
tilled    the   whole    habitable  world  which 
he  governed,  with  false  accusations  and 
miseries,  and  had  occasioned  the  greatest 
insults   of   slaves  against    their    masters, 
who,  indeed,  in    a  great    measure,  ruled 
them,  there  were  many  secret  plots  now 
laid  against  him ;  some  in  anger,  and  in 
order  for  men  to  revenge  themselves,  on 
account  of  tho   miseries  they  had  already 
undergone  from    him ;    and    others  made 
attempts  upon   him,  in  order  to  take  him 
oft'  before  they  should  fall  into  such  great 
miseries,  while  his  death  came  very  for- 
tunately for  the  preservation  of  the  laws 
of  all  men,  and  had  a  great  influence  upon 
the   public    welfare :  aud    this    happened 
most  happily  for  our  nation  in  particular, 
which  had  almost  utterly  perished  if  he 
had  not  been  suddenly  slain;  and  I  con- 
fess I  have  a  mind   to  give  a  full  account 
of  this  matter  particularly,  because  it  will 
afford    great  assurance  of   the   power  of 
God,  and  great  comfort  to  those  that  are 
under  afflictions,  and  wise  caution  to  those 
who  think  their  happiness  will  never  end, 
nor  bring   them    at   length   to  the   most 
lasting  miseries,  if  they  do  not  conduct 
their  lives  by  the  principles  of  virtue. 

Now,  there  were  three  several  con- 
spiracies made,  in  order  to  take  off  Caius, 
and  each  of  these  three  were  conducted 
by  excellent  persons.  Emilius  Hegulus, 
born  at  Corduba  in  Spain,  got  some  men 
together,  and  was  desirous  to  take  Caius 
off,  either  by  them  or  by  himself.  Ano- 
ther conspiracy  there  was  laid  by  them, 
under  the  conduct  of  Cherea  Cassius,  the 
iribune  [of  the  praetorian  baud];  Minu- 
cianus  Annius  was  also  one  of  great  conse- 
quence among  those  that  were  prepared 
to  oppose  his  tyranny.  Now  the  several 
occasions  of  these  men's  several  hatred  and 
conspiracy  against  Caius  were  these  : — Re- 


gulus  had  indignation  and  hatred  against 
all  injustice,  for  he  had  a  mind  naturally 
angry,  and   bold,  and   free,  which  made 
him  not  conceal  his  counsels;  so  he  com- 
municated them   to  many   of  his  friends, 
and    to  others  who  seemed    to    him  per- 
sons of  activity  aud  vigour.     Minucianus 
entered  into  this  conspiracy,  because  of 
the  injustice  done  to  Lepidus,  his  particu 
lar  friend,  and  one  of  the  best  character 
of  all  the  citizens,  whom  Caius  had  slain, 
as  also  because  he  was  afraid  of  himsolf, 
since  Caius's  wrath  tended  to  the  slaugh- 
ter of  all  alike :  and  for  Cherea,  he  came 
in,  because  he  thought  it  a  deed  worthy 
of  a  free,  ingenious  man  to  kill  Caius,  and 
was   ashamed   of   the   reproaches    he    lay 
under  from  Caius,  as  though  he  were  a 
coward;  as  also  because  he  was  himself 
in  danger  every  day  from  his  friendship 
with  him,  and  the  observance  he  paid  him. 
These  men  proposed   this  attempt  to  all 
the  rest  that  were  concerned,  who  saw  the 
injuries  that  were  offered  them,  and  were 
desirous  that  Caius's  slaughter  might  suc- 
ceed   by  their  mutual   assistance  of   one 
another,     that    they     might     themselves 
escape    being   killed    by    the    taking   off 
Caius;    that    perhaps    they    should    gain 
their  point,  and  that  it  would  be  a  happy 
thing  if  they  should  gain  it,  to  approve 
themselves  to  so  many  excellent  persons  as 
earnestly    wished    to    be    partakers    with 
them  in    their  design,  for   their  delivery 
of  the  city  and  of  the  government,  even 
at    the    hazard   of   their  own   lives ;    but 
still  Cherea  was  the  most  zealous  of  them 
all,  both  out  of  a  desire  of  gaining  him- 
self the  greatest  name,  and  also  by  reason 
of  his  access  to  Caius's  presence  with  less 
danger,  because  he  was  tribune,  and  could 
therefore  the  more  easily  kill  him. 

Now,  at  this  time  came  on  the  horse- 
races [Circensian  games] ;  the  view  of 
which  games  was  eagerly  desired  by  the 
people  of  Rome,  for  they  come  with  great 
alacrity  into  the  hippodrome  [circus]  at 
such  times,  and  petition  their  emperors, 
in  great  multitudes,  for  what  they  stand 
in  need  of;  whp  usually  did  not  think  fit 
to  deny  them  their  requests,  but  readily 
and  gratefully  granted  them.  Accord-  I 
ingly,  they  most  importunately  desired 
that  Caius  would  now  ease  them  in  their 
tributes,  and  abate  somewhat  of  the 
rigour  of  the  taxes  imposed  upon  them; 
but  he  would  not  hear  their  petition;  i 
and,  when  their  clamours  increased,  he 
sent   soldiers,   some    one   way  and   some 


Ohap.  I.  I 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


575 


another,,  and  gave  order  that  they  should 
lay  hold  on  those  that  made  the  clamours, 
and  without  any  more  ado,  bring  them 
out  and  put  them  to  death.  These  were 
Caius's  commands,  and  those  who  were 
commanded  executed  the  same ;  and  the 
number  of  those  who  were  slain  on  this 
occasion  was  very  great.  Now,  the  people 
saw  this,  and  bore  it  so  far,  that  they  left 
off  clamouring,  because  they  saw  with 
their  own  eyes,  that  this  petition  to  be 
relieved,  as  to  the  payment  of  their 
money,  brought  immediate  death  upon 
them.  These  things  made  Cherea  more 
resolute  to  go  on  with  his  plot,  in  order  to 
put  an  end  to  this  barbarity  of  Caius 
against  men.  He  then,  at  several  times, 
thought  to  fall  upon  Caius  as  he  was  feast- 
ing, yet  did  he  restrain  himself  by  some 
considerations;  not  that  he  had  any 
doubt  on  him  about  killing  him,  but  as 
watching  for  a  proper  season,  that  the  at- 
tempt might  not  be  frustrated,  but  that 
he  might  give  the  blow  so  as  might  cer- 
tainly gain  his  purpose. 

Cherea  had  been  in  the  army  a  long 
time,  yet  was  he  not  pleased  with  con- 
versing so  much  with  Caius :  but  Caius 
had  set  him  to  require  the  tributes,  and 
other  dues,  which,  when  not  paid  in  due 
time,  were  forfeited  to  Caesar's  treasury; 
and  he  had  made  some  delays  in  requiring 
them,  because  those  burdens  had  been 
doubled ;  and  had  rather  indulged  his 
own  mild  disposition  than  performed 
Caius's  command  ;  nay,  indeed,  he  pro- 
voked Caius  to  anger  by  his  sparing  men, 
and  pitying  the  hard  fortunes  of  those 
from  whom  he  demanded  the  taxes;  and 
Caius  upbraided  him  with  his  sloth  and 
effeminacy  in  being  so  long  about  collect- 
ing the  taxes;  and,  indeed,  he  did  not 
only  affront  him  in  other  respects,  but 
when  he  gave  him  the  watchword  of  the 
day,  to  whom  it  was  to  be  given  by  his 
place,  he  gave  him  feminine  words,  and 
those  of  a  nature  very  reproachful ;  and 
these  watchwords  he  gave  out,  as  having 
been  initiated  in  the  secrets  of  certain 
mysteries,  which  he  had  been  himself  the 
author  of.  Now,  although  he  had  some- 
times put  on  women's  clothes,  and  had 
been  wrapt  in  some  embroidered  garments 
to  them  belonging,  and  done  a  great  many 
other  things  in  order  to  make  the  com- 
pany mistake  him  for  a  woman  ;  yet  did 
ne,  by  way  of  reproach,  object  to  the  like 
womanish  behaviour  to  Cherea.  But  when 
Cherea  received  the  watchword  from  him, 


he  had  indignation  at  it,  but  had  greater 
indignation  at  the  delivery  of  it  to  others, 
as  being  laughed  at  by  those  that  received 
it;  insomuch,  that  his  fellow-tribunes 
made  him  the  subject  of  their  drollery; 
for  they  would  foretell  that  he  would  bring 
them  some  of  his  usual  watchwords  when 
he  was  about  to  take  the  watchword  from 
Caesar,  and  would  thereby  make  him 
ridiculous ;  on  which  account  he  took  the 
courage  of  assuming  certain  partners  to 
himself,  as  having  just  reasons  for  his 
indignation  against  Caius.  Now  there 
was  one  Pompedius,  a  senator,  and  one 
who  had  gone  through  almost  all  posts  in 
the  government,  but  otherwise  an  Epi- 
curean, and  for  that  reason,  loved  to  lead 
an  inactive  life.  Now  Timidius,  an 
enemy  of  his,  had  informed  Caius  that  he 
had  used  indecent  reproaches  against  him, 
and  he  made  use  of  Quintilia  for  a  witness 
to  them  :  a  woman  she  was,  much  beloved 
by  many  that  frequented  the  theatre,  and 
particularly  by  Pompedius,  on  account  of 
her  great  beauty.  Now,  this  woman 
thought  it  a  horrible  thing  to  attest  to  an 
accusation  that  touched  the  life  of  her 
lover,  which  was  also  a  lie.  Timidius, 
however,  wanted  to  have  her  brought  to 
the  torture.  Caius  was  irritated  at  this 
reproach  upon  him,  and.  commanded 
Cherea,  without  any  delay,  to  torture 
Quintilia,  as  he  used  to  employ  Cherea  in 
such  bloody  matters,  and  those  that  re- 
quired the  torture,  because  he  thought  he 
would  do  it  the  more  barbarously,  in 
order  to  avoid  that  imputation  of  effemi- 
nacy which  he  laid  upon  him.  But 
Quintilia,  when  she  was  brought  to  the 
rack,  trod  upon  the  foot  of  one  of  her  asso- 
ciates, and  let  him  know  that  he  might  be 
of  good  courage,  and  not  be  afraid  of  the 
consequences  of  her  tortures,  for  that  she 
would  bear  them  with  magnanimity. 
Cherea  tortured  this  woman  after  a  cruel 
manner;  unwillingly,  indeed,  but  because 
he  could  not  help  it.  He  then  brought 
her,  without  being  in  the  least  moved  at 
what  she  had  suffered,  into  the  presence 
of  Caius,  and  that  in  such  a  state  as  was 
sad  to  behold ;  and  Caius,  being  some- 
what affected  with  the  sight  of  Quintilia, 
who  had  her  body  miserably  disordered 
by  the  pains  she  had  undergone,  freed 
both  her  and  Pompedius  of  the  crime  laid 
to  their  charge.  He  also  gave  her  money 
to  make  her  an  honourable  amends,  and 
comfort  her  for  that  maiming  of  her  body 
which    she    had    suffered,    and     for    her 


576 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX 


glorious  patience  under  such  unsufferable 
torments. 

This  matter  sorely  grieved  Cherea,  as 
having  been  the  cause,  as  far  as  he  could, 
or  the  instrument,  of  those  miseries  to 
men,  which  seemed  worthy  of  consolation 
to  Caius  himself;  on  which  account  he 
said  to  Clement  and  to  Papinius,  (of 
whom  Clement  was  general  of  the  army, 
and  Papinius  was  a  tribune  :) — "  To  be 
sure,  0  Clement,  we  have  no  way  failed 
in  our  guarding  the  emperor;  for  as  to 
those  that  have  made  conspiracies  against 
his  government,  some  have  been  slain  by 
our  care  and  pains,  and  some  have  been 
by  us  tortured,  and  this  to  such  a  degree, 
that  he  hath  himself  pitied  them.  How 
great  then  is  our  virtue  in  submitting  to 
conduct  his  armies  !"  Clement  held  his 
peace,  but  showed  the  shame  he  was 
under  in  obeying  Caius's  orders,  both  by 
his  eyes  and  his  blushing  countenance, 
while  he  thought  it  by  no  means  right  to 
accuse  the  emperor  in  express  words,  lest 
their  own  safety  should  be  endangered 
thereby.  Upon  which  Cherea  took  cou- 
rage, and  spake  to  him  without  fear  of 
the  dangers  that  were  before  him,  and 
discoursed  largely  of  the  sore  calamities 
under  which  the  city  and  the  government 
then  laboured,  and  said,  "We  may  indeed 
pretend  in  words,  that  Caius  is  the  person 
Unto  whom  the  cause  of  such  miseries 
ought  to  be  imputed ;  but,  in  the  opinion 
of  such  as  are  able  to  judge  uprightly,  it 
is  I,  0  Clement !  and  this  Papinius,  and, 
before  us,  thou  thyself,  who  bring  these 
tortures  upon  the  Romans,  and  upon  all 
mankind.  It  is  not  done  by  our  being 
subservient  to  the  commands  of  Caius, 
but  it  is  done  by  our  own  consent;  for 
whereas  it  is  in  our  power  to  put  an  end 
to  the  life  of  this  man,  who  hath  so  ter- 
ribly injured  the  citizens,  and  his  subjects, 
we  are  his  guard  in  mischief,  and  his  exe- 
cutioners, instead  of  his  soldiers,  and  are 
the  instruments  of  his  cruelty.  We  bear 
these  weapons,  not  for  our  liberty,  not  for 
the  Roman  government,  but  only  for  his 
preservation,  who  hath  enslaved  both  their 
bodies  and  their  minds;  and  we  are  every 
day  polluted  with  the  blood  that  we  shed, 
and  the  torments  we  inflict  upon  others; 
and  this  we  do,  till  somebody  becomes 
Caius's  instrument  in  bringing  the  like 
miseries  upon  ourselves.  Nor  does  he 
thus  employ  us  because  he  hath  a  kind- 
ness for  us,  but  rather  because  he  hath  a 
suspicion   of   us ;   as  also  because,   when 


abundance  more  have  been  killed,  (foi 
Caius  will  set  no  bounds  to  his  wrath, 
since  he  aims  to  do  all,  not  out  of  regard 
to  justice,  but  to  his  own  pleasure,)  we 
shall  also  ourselves  be  exposed  to  hi? 
cruelty;  whereas  we  ought  to  be  the 
means  of  confirming  the  security  and 
liberty  of  all,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
resolve  to  free  ourselves  from  dangers. " 

Hereupon,  Clement  openly  commended 
Cherea's  intentions,  but  bade  him  hold 
his  tongue ;  for,  in  that  case  his  words 
would  get  out  among  many,  and  such 
things  would  be  spread  abroad  as  were  fit 
to  be  concealed,  the  plot  would  come  to 
be  discovered  before  it  was  executed,  and 
they  should  be  brought  to  punishment; 
but  that  they  should  leave  all  to  futurity, 
and  the  hope  which  thence  arose  that 
some  fortunate  event  would  come  to  their 
assistance:  that,  as  for  himself,  his  age 
would  not  permit  him  to  make  any  at- 
tempt in  that  case.  "However,  although 
perhaps  I  could  not  suggest  what  may  be 
safer  thau  what  thou,  Cherea,  hast  con- 
trived and  said,  yet,  how  is  it  possible  for 
any  one  to  suggest  what  is  more  for  thy 
reputation  V  So  Clement  went  his  way 
home  with  deep  reflections  on  what  he  had 
heard,  and  what  he  had  himself  said. 
Cherea  also  was  under  a  concern,  and  went 
quickly  to  Cornelius  Sabinus,  who  was 
himself  one  of  the  tribunes,  and  whom, 
he  otherwise  knew  to  be  a  worthy  mar, 
and  a  lover  of  liberty,  and,  on  that  ac- 
count, very  uneasy  at  the  present  manage- 
ment of  public  affairs,  he  being  desirous 
to  come  immediately  to  the  execution  of 
what  had  been  determined,  and  thinking 
it  right  for  him  to  propose  it  to  the  other, 
and  afraid  lest  Clement  should  discover 
them,  and,  besides,  looking  upon  delays 
and  puttings  off  to  be  the  next  to  desisting 
from  the  enterprise. 

But  as  all  was  agreeable  to  Sabinus, 
who  had  himself,  equally  with  Cherea, 
the  same  design,  but  had  been  silent  for 
want  of  a  person  to  whom  he  could  safely 
communicate  that  design;  so,  having  now 
met  with  one,  who  not  only  promised  to 
conceal  what  he  heard,  but  who  had  al- 
ready opened  his  mind  to  him,  he  was 
much  more  encouraged,  and  desired  of 
Cherea  that  no  delay  might  be  made 
therein.  Accordingly,  they  went  to  Mi- 
nucianus,  who  was  as  virtuous  a  man  and 
as  zealous  to  do  glorious  actions  as  them- 
selves, and  suspected  by  Caius  on  occasion 
of  the  slaughter  of  Lepidus;    for   Minu- 


(.:hap  I.J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


577 


ciamis  and  Lepidus  were  intimate  friends, 
and  both  in  fear  of  the  dangers  that  they 
were  under;  for  Caius  was  terrible  to  all 
the  great  men,  as  appearing  ready  to  act 
a  mad  part  toward  each  of  them  in  par- 
ticular, and  toward  all  of  them  in  general  j 
and  these  men  were  afraid  of  one  another, 
while  they  were  yet  uneasy  at  the  posture 
of  affairs,  but  avoided  to  declare  their 
mind  and  their  hatred  against  Caius  to 
one  another,  out  of  fear  of  the  dangers 
they  might  be  in  thereby,  although  they 
perceived  by  other  means  their  mutual 
hatred  against  Caius,  and,  on  that  account, 
were  not  averse  to  a  mutual  kindness  one 
toward  another. 

When  Minucianus  and  Cherea  had  met 
together,  and  saluted  one  another,  (as  they 
had  been  used  in  former  conversations  to 
give  the  upper  hand  to  Minucianus,  both 
on  account  of  his  eminent  dignity,  for  he 
was  the  noblest  of  all  the  citizens,  and 
highly  commended  by  all  men,  especially 
when  he  made  speeches  tc  them,)  Minu- 
cianus began  first,  and  asked  Cherea, 
what  was  the  watchword  he  had  received 
that  day  from  Caius  ?  for  the  affront  which 
was  offered  Cherea  in  giving  the  watch- 
words was  famous  over  the  city.  But 
Cherea  made  no  delay  so  long  as  to  reply 
to  that  question,  out  of  the  joy  he  had 
that  Minucianus  would  have  such  confi- 
dence in  him  as  to  discourse  with  him. 
"But  do  thou,"  said  he,  "give  me  the 
watchword  of  liberty.  And  I  return  thee 
my  thanks  that  thou  hast  so  greatly  en- 
couraged me  to  exert  myself  after  an  ex- 
traordinary manner;  nor  do  I  stand  in 
need  of  many  words  to  encourage  me, 
since  both  thou  and  I  are  of  the  same 
mind,  and  partakers  of  the  same  resolu- 
tions, and  this  before  we  have  conferred 
together.  I  have,  indeed,  but  one  sword 
girt  on,  but  this  one  will  serve  us  both. 
Come  on,  therefore,  let  us  set  about  the 
work.  Do  thou  go  first,  if  thou  hast  a 
mind,  and  bid  me  follow  thee;  or  else  I 
will  go  first,  and  thou  shalt  assist  me,  and 
we  will  assist  one  another,  and  trust  one 
another.  Nor  is  there  a  necessity  for  even 
one  sword  to  such  as  have  a  mind  disposed 
to  -uch  works,  by  which  mind  the  sword 
uses  to  be  successful.  I  am  zealous  about 
this  action,  nor  am  I  solicitous  for  what  I 
may  myself  undergo;  for  I  am  not  at 
leisure  to  consider  the  danger  that  may 
come  upon  myself,  so  deeply  am  I  trou- 
bled at  the  slavery  our  once  free  country 
IB  now  under,  and  at  the  contempt  cast 
37 


upon  our  excellent  laws,  and  at  the  de- 
struction which  hangs  over  all  men,  by 
the  means  of  Caius.  I  wish  that  I  may 
be  judged  by  thee,  and  that  thou  mayest 
esteem  me  worthy  of  credit  in  these  mat- 
ters, seeing  we  are  both  of  the  same  opi- 
nion, and  there  is  herein  no  difference 
between  us/' 

When  Minucianus  saw  the  vehemency 
with  which  Cherea  delivered  himself,  he 
gladly  embraced  him,  and  encouraged  him 
in  his  bold  attempt,  commending  him, 
and  embracing  him  ;  so  he  let  him  go  with 
his  good  wishes ;  and  some  affirm  that  he 
thereby  confirmed  Minucianus  in  the  pro- 
secution of  what  had  been  agreed  among 
them ;  for,  as  Cherea  entered  into  the 
court,  the  report  runs,  that  a  voice  came 
from  among  the  multitude  to  encourage 
him,  which  bade  him  finish  what  he  was 
about,  and  take  the  opportunit}'  that  Pro- 
vidence offered ;  and  that  Cherea  at  first 
suspected  that  some  one  of  the  conspira- 
tors had  betrayed  him,  and  he  was  caught ; 
but  at  length  perceived  that  it  was  by  way 
of  exhortation.  Whether  somebody,  that 
was  conscious  of  what  he  was  about,  gave 
a  signal  for  his  encouragement,  or  whether 
it  was  God  himself,  who  looks  upon  the 
actions  of  men,  that  encouraged  him  to  go 
on  boldly  in  his  design,  is  uncertain.  The 
plot  was  now  communicated  to  a  great 
many,  and  they  were  all  in  their  armour; 
some  of  the  conspirators  being  senators, 
and  some  of  the  equestrian  order,  and  as 
many  of  the  soldiery  as  were  made  ac- 
quainted with  it ;  for  there  was  not  one 
of  them  who  would  not  reckon  it  a  part  of 
his  happiness  to  kill  Caius;  and,  on  that 
account,  they  were  all  very  zealous  in  the 
affair,  by  what  means  soever  any  one  could 
come  at  it,  that  he  might  not  be  behind- 
hand in  these  virtuous  designs,  but  might 
be  ready  with  all  his  alacrity  or  power, 
both  by  words  and  actions,  to  complete 
this  slaughter  of  a  tyrant.  And  besides 
these,  Callistus  also,  who  was  a  freedman 
of  Caius's,  and  was  the  only  man  that  had 
arrived  at  the  greatest  degree  of  power 
under  him, — such  a  power,  iudeed,  as  was 
in  a  manner  equal  to  the  power  of  the 
tyrant  himself;  by  the  dread  that  all  men 
had  of  him,  and  by  the  great  riches  he 
had  acquired  ;  for  he  took  bribes  most 
plenteously,  and  committed  injuries  with- 
out bounds  ;  and  was  more  extravagant  in 
the  use  of  his  power  in  unjust  proceedings 
than  any  other.  lie  also  knew  the  dispo- 
sition of  Caius  to  be  implacable,  and  never 


578 


ANTIQUITIES    OE    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX. 


to  be  turned  from  what  he  had  resolved 
on.  He  had  withal  many  other  reasons 
why  he  thought  himself  in  danger,  and 
the  vastness  of  his  wealth  was  not  one  of 
the  least  of  them  :  on  which  account,  he 
privately  ingratiated  himself  with  Clau- 
dius, and  transferred  his  courtship  to  him, 
out  of  this  hope,  that  in  case,  upon  the 
removal  of  Caius,  the  government  should 
come  to  him,  his  interest  in  such  changes 
should  lay  a  foundation  for  his  preserving 
his  dignity  under  him,  since  he  laid  in 
beforehand  a  stock  of  merit,  and  did 
Claudius  good  offices  in  his  promotion. 
He  also  had  the  boldness  to  pretend  that 
he  had  been  persuaded  to  make  away  with 
Claudius,  by  poisoning  him ;  but  had  still 
invented  ten  thousand  excuses  for  delay- 
ing to  do  it.  But  it  seems  probable  to 
me  that  Callistus  only  counterfeited  this, 
in  order  to  ingratiate  himself  with  Clau- 
dius ;  for  if  Caius  had  been  in  earnest 
resolved  to  take  off  Claudius,  he  would 
not  have  admitted  Callistus's  excuses,  nor 
would  Callistus,  if  he  had  been  enjoined 
to  do  such  an  act  as  was  desired  by  Caius, 
have  put  it  off,  nor,  if  he  had  disobeyed 
those  injunctions  of  his  master,  had  he 
escaped  immediate  punishment;  while 
Claudius  was  preserved  from  the  madness 
of  Caius  by  a  certain  divine  providence, 
and  Callistus  pretended  to  such  a  piece 
of  merit  as  he  no  way  deserved. 

However,  the  execution  of  Cherea' s  de- 
sign was  put  off  from  day  to  day,  by  the 
sloth  of  many  therein  concerned ;  for  as  to 
Cherea  himself,  he  would  not  willingly 
make  any  delay  in  that  execution,  think- 
ing every  time  a  fit  time  for  it,  for  fre- 
quent opportunities  offered  themselves; 
as  when  Caius  went  up  to  the  capitol  to 
sacrifice  for  his  daughter,  or  when  he  stood 
upon  his  royal  palace,  and  threw  gold  and 
silver  pieces  of  money  among  the  people, 
he  might  be  pushed  down  headlong,  be- 
cause the  top  of  the  palace,  that  looks  to- 
ward the  market-place,  was  ver}r  high ; 
and  also  when  he  celebrated  the  mysteries, 
which  he  had  appointed  at  that  time ;  for 
he  was  then  noway  secluded  from  the  peo- 
ple, but  solicitous  to  do  every  thing  care- 
fully and  decently ;  and  was  free  from  all 
suspicion  that  he  should  be  then  assaulted 
by  anybody ;  and,  although  the  gods 
should  afford  him  no  divine  assistance  to 
enable  him  to  take  away  his  life,  yet  had 
he  strength  himself  sufficient  to  despatch 
Caius,  even  without  a  sword.  Thus  was 
Cherea  angry  at  his    fellow-conspirators, 


for  fear  they  should  suffer  a  proper  oppor- 
tunity to  pass  by ;  and  they  were  them- 
selves sensible  that  he  had  just  cause  to 
be  angry  at  them,  and  that  his  eagerness 
was  for  their  advantage ;  yet  did  they 
desire  he  would  have  a  little  longer  pa- 
tience, lest,  upon  any  disappointment  they 
might  meet  with,  they  should  put  the  city 
into  disorder,  and  an  inquisition  should 
be  made  after  the  conspiracy,  and  should 
render  the  courage  of  those  that  were  to 
attack  Caius  without  success,  while  he 
would  then  secure  himself  more  carefully 
than  ever  against  them ;  that  it  would, 
therefore,  be  the  best  to  set  about  the 
work  when  the  shows  were  exhibited  in 
the  palace.  These  shows  were  acted  in 
honour  of  that  Caesar*  who  first  of  all 
changed  the  popular  government,  and 
transferred  it  to  himself;  galleries  being 
fixed  before  the  palace,  where  the  Romans 
that  were  patricians  became  spectators, 
together  with  their  children  and  their 
wives,  and  Caesar  himself  was  also  to  be  a 
spectator ;  and  they  reckoned,  among  those 
many  ten  thousands  who  would  there  be 
crowded  into  a  narrow  compass,  they 
should  have  a"  favourable  opportunity  to 
make  their  attempt  upon  him  as  he  came 
in  ;  because  his  guards  that  should  protect 
him,  if  any  of  them  should  have  a  mind 
to  do  it,  would  not  here  be  able  to  give 
him  any  assistance. 

Cherea  consented  to  this  delay;  and 
when  the  shows  were  exhibited,  it  was 
resolved  to  do  the  work  the  first  day.  But 
fortune,  which  allowed  a  further  delay  to 
his  slaughter,  was  too  hard  for  their  fore- 
going resolution  :  and,  as  three  days  of  the 
regular  time  for  these  shows  were  now 
over,  they  had  much  ado  to  get  the  busi- 
ness done  on  the  last  day.  Then  Cherea 
called  the  conspirators  together,  and  spake 
thus  to  them: — "So  much  time  passed 
away  without  effect  is  a  reproach  to  us,  as 
delaying  to  go  through  such  a  virtuous 
design  as  we  are  engaged  in;  but  more 
fatal  will  this  delay  prove  if  we  be  dis- 
covered, and  the  design  be  frustrated ;  for 
Caius  will  thenjbecome  more  cruel  in  his 
unjust  proceedings.  Do  not  we  see  how 
long  we  deprive  all  our  friends  of  their 
liberty,  and  give  Caius  leave  still  to  ty- 
rannize over  them  ?  while  we  ought  to 
have  procured  them  security  for  the  fu- 
ture, and,  by  laying  a  foundation  for  the 


*  Josephus  supposes  that  it  was  Augustus,  and  not 
Julius  Caesar,  who  first  changed  ths  Roman  com- 
monwealth into  a  monarchy. 


Uhap.  L] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


579 


happiness  of  others,  gain  to  ourselves 
great  admiration  and  honour  for  all  time 
to  come."  Now,  while  the  conspirators 
had  nothing  tolerable  to  say  by  way  of 
contradiction,  and  yet  did  not  quite  relish 
what  they  were  doing,  but  stood  silent 
and  astonished,  he  said  further,  uO  my 
brave  comrades !  why  do  we  make  such 
delays  ?  Do  not  you  see  that  this  is  the 
last  day  of  these  shows,  and  that  Caius  is 
about  to  go  to  sea?  for  he  is  preparing  to 
sail  to  Alexandria,  in  order  to  see  Egypt. 
Is  it,  therefore,  for  your  honour  to  let  a 
man  go  out  of  your  hands  who  is  a  re- 
proach to  mankind,  and  to  permit  him  to 
go  after  a  pompous  manner,  triumphing 
both  at  land  and  sea?  Shall  not  we  be 
justly  ashamed  of  ourselves  if  we  give 
leave  to  some  Egyptian  or  other,  who 
shall  think  his  injuries  insufferable  to 
freemen,  to  kill  him  ?  As  for  myself,  I 
will  no  longer  bear  your  slow  proceedings, 
but  will  expose  myself  to  the  dangers  of 
the  enterprise  this  very  day,  and  bear 
cheerfully  whatsoever  shall  be  the  conse- 
quence of  the  attempt ;  nor,  let  them  be 
ever  so  great,  will  I  put  them  off  any 
longer:  for,  to  a  wise  and  courageous 
man,  what  can  be  more  miserable  than 
that,  while  I  am  alive,  any  one  else  should 
kill  Caius,  and  deprive  me  of  the  honour 
of  so  virtuous  an  action  ?" 

When  Cherea  had  spoken  thus,  he  zeal- 
ously set  about  the  work,  and  inspired 
courage  into  the  rest  to  go  on  with  it ;  and 
they  were  all  eager  to  fall  to  it  without 
further  delay.  So  he  was  at  the  palace 
in  the  morning,  with  his  equestrian  sword 
girt  on  him ;  for  it  was  the  custom  that 
the  tribunes  should  ask  for  the  watchword 
with  their  swords  on,  and  this  was  the  day 
on  which  Cherea  was  by  custom  to  receive 
the  watchword ;  and  the  multitude  were 
already  come  to  the  palace,  to  be  soon 
enough  for  seeing  the  shows,  and  that  in 
great  crowds,  and  one  tumultously  crush- 
ing another;  while  Caius  was  delighted 
with  this  eagerness  of  the  multitude ;  for 
which  reason  there  was  no  order  observed 
in  the  seating  men,  nor  was  any  peculiar 
place  appointed  for  the  senators,  or  for 
the  equestrian  order ;  but  they  sat  at  ran- 
dom, men  and  women  together,  and  free- 
men were  mixed  with  the  slaves.  So 
Caius  came  out  in  a  solemn  manner,  and 
offered  sacrifice  to  Augustus  Caesar,  in 
whose  honour,  indeed,  these  shows  were 
celebrated.  Now  it  happened,  upon  the 
tall  of  a  certain  priest,  that  the  garment 


of  Asprenas,  a  senator,  was  filled  with 
blood,  which  made  Caius  laugh,  although 
this  was  an  evident  omen  to  Asprenas,  foi 
he  was  slain  at  the  same  time  with  Caius. 
It  is  also  related,  that  Caius  was  that  day, 
contrary  to  his  usual  custom,  so  very 
affable  and  good-natured  in  his  conversa- 
tion, that  every  one  of  those  that  were 
present  were  astonished  at  it.  After  the 
sacrifice  was  over,  Caius  betook  himself  to 
see  the  shows,  and  sat  down  for  that  pur- 
pose, as  did  also  the  principal  of  his  friends 
sit  near  him.  Now,  the  parts  of  the 
theatre  were  so  fastened  together,  as  it 
used  to  be  every  year,  in  the  manner  fol- 
lowing : — It  had  two  doors ;  the  one  led 
to  the  open  air,  the  other  was  for  going 
into,  or  going  out  of,  the  cloisters,  that 
those  within  the  theatre  might  not  be 
thereby  disturbed ;  but  out  of  one  gallery 
there  went  an  inward  passage,  parted  into 
partitions  also,  which  led  into  another 
gallery,  to  give  room  to  the  combatants 
and  to  the  musicians  to  go  out  as  occasion 
served.  When  the  multitude  were  set 
down,  and  Cherea,  with  the  other  tribunes, 
were  set  down  also,  and  the  right  corner 
of  the  theatre  was  allotted  to  Caesar,  one 
Yatinius,  a  senator,  commander  of  the 
praetorian  band,  asked  of  Cluvius,  one 
that  sat  by  him,  and  was  of  consulai 
dignity  also,  whether  he  had  heard  any 
thing  of  the  news  or  not?  but  took  care 
that  nobody  should  hear  what  he  said  ; 
and  when  Cluvius  replied  that  he  had 
heard  no  news — "Know,  then,"  (said 
Vatinius,)  "that  the  game  of  the  slaugh- 
ter of  tyrants  is  to  be  played  this  day." 
But  Cluvius  replied,  "0  brave  comrade  ! 
hold  thy  peace,  lest  some  other  of  the 
Achaians  hear  thy  tale."  And  as  there 
was  abundance  of  autumnal  fruit  thrown 
among  the  spectators,  and  a  great  number 
of  birds,  that  were  of  great  value  to  such 
as  possessed  them,  on  account  of  their 
rarity,  Caius  was  pleased  with  the  birds 
fighting  for  the  fruits,  and  with  the  vio- 
lence wherewith  the  spectators  seized  upcu 
them :  and  here  he  perceived  two  prodigies 
that  happened  there;  for  an  actor  was 
introduced,  by  whom  a  leader  of  robbers 
was  crucified,  and  the  pantomime  brought 
in  a  play  called  Cinyras,  wherein  he  him- 
self was  to  be  slain,  as  well  as  his  daughter 
Myrrha,  and  wherein  a  great  deal  of  ficti- 
tious blood  was  shed,  both  about  him  that 
was  crucified,  and  also  about  Cinyras.  It 
is  also  confessed,  that  this  was  the  same 
day  wherein  Pausanias,  a  friend  of  Philip, 


580 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XIX. 


the  son  of  Amyntas,  who  was  king  of 
Macedonia,  slew  him  as  he  was  entering 
into  the  theatre.  And  now  Caius  was  in 
loubt  whether  he  should  tarry  to  the  end 
of  the  shows,  because  it  was  the  last  day, 
or  whether  he  should  not  go  first  to  the 
bath,  and  to  dinner,  and  then  return  and 
sit  down  as  before.  Hereupon  Minucia- 
nus,  who  sat  over  Caius,  and  was  afraid 
that  the  opportunity  should  fail  them,  got 
up,  because  he  saw  Cherea  had  already 
gone  out,  and  made  haste  out,  to  confirm 
him  in  his  resolution  ;  but  Caius  took  hold 
of  his  garment  in  an  obliging  way,  and 
said  to  him,  "0  brave  man!  whither  art 
thou  going  ?"  Whereupon,  out  of  reve- 
rence to  Caesar,  as  it  seemed,  he  sat  down 
again;  but  his  fear  prevailed  over  him, 
and,  in  a  little  time,  he  got  up  again,  and 
then  Caius  did  no  way  oppose  his  going 
out,  as  thinking  that  he  went  out  to  per- 
form some  necessities  of  nature.  And 
Asprenas,  who  was  one  of  the  confede- 
rates, persuaded  Caius  to  go  out  to  the 
bath,  and  to  dinner,  and  then  to  come  in 
again ;  as  desirous  that  what  had  been 
resolved  on  might  be  brought  to  a  conclu- 
sion immediately. 

So  Cherea's  associates  placed  them- 
selves in  order,  as  the  time  would  permit 
them,  and  they  were  obliged  to  labour 
hard,  that  the  place  which  was  appointed 
them  should  not  be  left  by  them;  but 
they  had  an  indignation  at  the  fedious- 
ness  of  the  delays,  and  that  wrhat  they 
were  about  should  be  put  oft'  any  longer, 
for  it  was  already  about  the  ninth*  hour 
of  the  day;  and  Cherea,  upon  Caius\s 
tarrying  so  long,  had  a  great  mind  to  go 
in,  and  fall  upon  him  in  his  seat,  although 
he  foresaw  that  this  could  not  be  done 
without  much  bloodshed,  both  of  the 
senators  and  of  those  of  the  equestrian 
order  that  were  present;  and  although  he 
knew  this  must  happen,  yet  had  he  a 
great  mind  to  do  so,  as  thinking  it  a 
right  thing  to  procure  security  and  free- 
dom to  all,  at  the  expense  of  such  as 
might  perish  at  the  same  time.  And  as 
they  were  just  going  back  into  the  en- 
trance to  the  theatre,  word  was  brought 
them  that  Caius  had  arisen,  whereby  a 
tumult  was  made :  hereupon  the  conspira- 
tors thrust  away  the  crowd,  under  pre- 
tence as  if  Caius  was  angry  at  them, 
but  in  reality  as  desirous  to  have  a  quiet 

*  Suetonius  says  Caius  was  slain  about  the  se- 
venth hour  of  the  day  ;  Josephus,  about  the  ninth. 
The  series  of  the  narration  favours  Josephus. 


place,  that  should  have  none  in  it  to  de- 
fend  him,  while   they   set  about   Caius's 
slaughter.     Now  Claudius,  his  uncle,  had 
gone  out  before,  and  Marcus  Vinicius,  his 
sister's  husband,  as  also  Valerius  of  Asia; 
whom,  though  they  had  had  such  a  mind 
to  put  out  of  their  places,  the  reverence 
to  their  dignity  hindered  them  so  to  do; 
then  followed  Caius,  with  Paulus  Arrun- 
tius:  and  because  Caius  had  now  gotten 
within  the  palace,  he  left  the  direct  road, 
along    which    those    servants    stood    that 
were  in  waiting,  and  by  which  road  Clau- 
dius had   gone  out  before;   Caius  turned 
aside    into  a  private    narrow  passage,  in 
order  to  go  to  the  place  for  bathing,  as 
also  to  take  a  view  of  the  boys  that  came 
out  of  Asia,  who  were  sent  thence  partly 
to  sing  hymns  in  these  mysteries  which 
were  now  celebrated,  and  partly  to  dance 
in  the  Pyrrhic  way  of  dancing  upon  the 
theatres.     So  Cherea  met  him,  and  asked 
him  for  the  watchword;  upon  Caius's  giv- 
ing him  one  of  his  ridiculous  words,  he 
immediately   reproached    him,  and    drew 
his  sword  and  gave  him  a  terrible  stroke 
with  it :  yet  was  not  this  stroke  mortal. 
And  although  there  be  those  that  say  it 
was  so  contrived  on  purpose  by  Cherea, 
that   Caius   should   not  be  killed  at  one 
blow,  but  should   be  punished  more  se- 
verely by  a  multitude  of  wounds,  yet  does 
this   story   appear    to   be  incredible;    be- 
cause  the  fear    men  are    under  in    such 
actions  does  not  allow  them  to  use  their 
reason.     And  if  Cherea  was  of  that  mind, 
I  esteem  him  the  greatest  of  all  fools,  io 
pleasing  himself  in  his  spite  against  Caius, 
rather  than  immediately  procuring  safety 
to  himself  and  his  confederates  from   the 
dangers    they    were    in;    because    there 
might  many  things  still  happen  for  help- 
ing Caius's  escape,  if  he  had  not  already 
given  up  the  ghost;  for  certainly  Cherea 
would  have  regard,  not  so  much    to   the  , 
punishment  of  Caius,  as  to  the  affliction 
himself  and  his  friends  were  in,  while  it  was 
in  his  power,  after  such  success,  to  keep 
silent,  and  to  escape  the  wrath  of  Caius's 
defenders,  ancV'not  leave  it  to  uncertainty 
whether  he  should  gain  the  end  he  aimed 
at    or    not,    and    after    an    unreasonable 
manner  to  act  as  if  he  had  a  mind  to  ruin 
himself,  and  lose  the  opportunity  that  lav 
before  him.     But  everybody  may  guess  as 
he  pleases  about  this  matter.     However, 
Caius   was   staggered  with  the  pain  that 
the  blow  gave  him;  for  the  stroke  of  the 
sword,  falling  in  the  middle,  between  thr 


CflAP.  I  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


II 


shoulder  anl  the  neck,  was  hindered  by 
the  first  bone  of  the  breast  from  proceed- 
ing any  farther.  Nor  did  he  either  cry 
out,  (in  such  astonishment  was  he,)  nor 
did  he  call  out  for  any  of  his  friends; 
whether  it  was  that  he  had  no  confidence 
in  them,  or  that  his  mind  was  otherwise 
disordered,  but  he  groaned  under  the  pain 
he  endured,  and  presently  went  forward 
and  fled,  when  Cornelius  Sabinus,  who 
was  already  prepared  so  to  do,  thrust  him 
down  upon  his  knee,  where  many  of  them 
stood  round  about  him,  and  struck  him 
with  their  swords,  and  they  cried  out,  and 
encouraged  one  another  all  at  once  to 
strike  him  again;  but  all  agreed  that 
Aquila  gave  him  the  finishing  stroke, 
which  directly  killed  him.  But  one  may 
justly  ascribe  this  act  to  Cherea;  for 
although  many  concurred  in  the  act  itself, 
yet  was  he  the  first  contriver  of  it,  and 
began  long  before  all  the  rest  to  prepare 
for  it;  and  was  the  first  man  that  boldly 
spake  of  it  to  the  rest;  and  upon  their 
admission  of  what  he  said  about  it,  he  got 
the  dispersed  conspirators  together;  he 
prepared  every  thing  after  a  prudent 
manner,  and,  by  suggesting  good  advice, 
showed  himself  far  superior  to  the  rest, 
aud  made  obliging  speeches  to  them, 
insocnuch  that  he  even  compelled  them 
all  to  go  on,  who  otherwise  had  not  cou- 
rage enough  for  that  purpose;  and,  when 
opportunity  served  to  use  his  sword  in 
hand,  he  appeared  first  of  all  ready  so  to 
do,  and  gave  the  first  blow  in  this  virtu- 
ous slaughter;  he  also  brought  Caius 
easily  into  the  power  of  the  rest,  and 
almost  killed  him  himself,  insomuch  that 
it  is  but  just  to  ascribe  all  that  the  rest 
did  to  the  advice,  and  bravery,  and 
labours  of  the  hands  of  Cherea. 

Thus  did  Caius  come  to  his  end,  and 
lay  dead,  by  the  many  wounds  which  had 
been  given  him.  Now  Cherea  and  his 
associates,  upon  Caius's  slaughter,  saw 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  save 
themselves,  if  they  should  all  go  the  same 
way,  partly  on  account  of  the  astonish- 
ment they  were  under;  for  it  was  no 
Email  danger  they  had  incurred  by  killing 
an  emperor,  who  was  honoured  and  loved 
by  the  madness  of  the  people,  especially 
when  the  soldiers  were  likely  to  make  a 
bloody  inquiry  after  his  murderers.  The 
passages  also  were  narrow  wherein  the  work 
was  done,  which  were  also  crowded  with 
a  great  multitude  of  Caius's  attendants, 
and  of  such  of  the  soldiers  as  were  of  the 


emperor's  guard  that  day;  whence  it  was 
that  they  went  by  other  ways,  and  came 
to  the  house  of  Germanicus,  the  father  of 
Caius,  whom  they  had  now  killed,  (which 
house  adjoined  to  the  palace;  for  while 
the  edifice  was  one,  it  was  bui!t  in  its 
several  parts  by  those  particular  persons 
who  had  been  emperors,  and  those  parts 
bore  the  names  of  those  that  built  them, 
or  the  name  of  him  who  had  begun  to 
build  any  of  its  parts.)  So  they  got  away 
from  the  insults  of  the  multitude,  and 
then  were  for  the  present  out  of  danger, 
that  is,  so  long  as  the  misfortune  which 
had  overtaken  the  emperor  was  not  known 
The  Germans  were  the  first  who  perceived 
that  Caius  was  slain.  These  Germans 
were  Caius's  guard,  and  carried  the  .name 
of  the  country  whence  they  were  chosen, 
and  composed  the  Celtic  legion.  The 
men  of  that  country  are  naturally  passion- 
ate, which  is  commonly  the  temper  of 
some  other  of  the  barbarous  nations  also, 
as  being  not  used  to  consider  much  about 
what  they  do;  they  are  of  robust  bodies, 
and  fall  upon  their  enemies  as  soon  as 
ever  they  are  attacked  by  them ;  and 
which  way  soever  they  go,  they  perform 
great  exploits.  When,  therefore,  these 
German  guards  understood  that  Caius 
was  slain,  they  were  very  sorry  for  it, 
because  they  did  not  use  their  reason  in 
judging  about  public  affairs,  but  measured 
all  by  the  advantages  they  received,  Caius 
being  beloved  by  them  because  of  the 
money  he  gave  them,  by  which  he  had 
purchased  their  kindness  to  him  ;  so  they 
drew  their  swords,  and  Sabinus  led  them 
on.  He  was  one  of  the  tribunes,  not 
by  the  means  of  the  virtuous  actions  of 
his  progenitors,  for  he  had  been  a  gladia- 
tor, but  he  had  obtained  that  post  in  the 
army  by  his  having  a  robust  body.  So 
these  Germans  marched  along  the  houses 
in  quest  of  Caesar's  murderers,  and  cut 
Aspenas  to  pieces,  because  he  was  the 
first  man  they  fell  upon,  and  whose  gar- 
ment it  was  that  the  blood  of  the  sacri- 
fices stained,  as  I  have  said  already,  and 
which  foretold  that  this  his  meeting  the 
soldiers  would  not  be  for  his  good.  Then 
did  Norbanus  meet  them,  who  was  one  of 
the  principal  nobility  of  the  city,  and 
could  show  many  generals  of  armies 
among  his  ancestors;  but  they  paid  no 
regard  to  his  dignity;  yet  was  he  of  such 
great  strength,  that  he  wrested  the  sword 
of  the  first  of  those  that  assaulted  him  out 
of  his  hands,  and  appeared  plainly  not  tc 


582 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XII 


be  willing  to  die  without  a  struggle  for 
his  life,  until  he  was  surrounded  by  a 
great  number  of  assailants,  and  died  by 
the  multitude  of  the  wounds  which  they 
gave  him.  The  third  man  was  Anteius,  a 
senator,  and  a  few  others  with  him.  He 
did  not  meet  with  these  Germans  by 
chance,  as  the  rest  did  before,  but  came 
to  show  his  hatred  to  Caius,  and  because 
he  loved  to  see  Caius  lie  dead  with  his 
own  eyes,  and  took  a  pleasure  in  that 
sight ,  for  Caius  had  banished  Anteius's 
father,  who  was  of  the  same  name  with 
himself,  and,  being  not  satisfied  with  that, 
he  sent  out  his  soldiers,  and  slew  him  ;  so 
he  had  come  to  rejoice  at  the  sight  of  him, 
now  he  was  dead.  But  as  the  house  was 
now  all  in  a  tumult,  when  he  was  aiming 
to  hide  himself,  he  could  not  escape  that 
accurate  search  which  the  Germans  made, 
while  they  barbarously  slew  those  that 
were  guilty,  and  those  that  were  not 
guilty,  and  this  equally  also.  And  thus 
were  these  [three]  persons  slain. 

But  when  the  rumour  that  Caius  was 
slain  reached  the  theatre,  they  were  asto- 
nished at  it,  and  could  not  believe  it; 
even  some  that  entertained  his  destruction 
with  great  pleasure,  and  were  more  desi- 
rous of  its  happening  than  almost  any 
other  satisfaction  that  could  come  to  them, 
were  under  such  a  fear,  that  they  could 
not  believe  it.  There  were  also  those 
who  greatly  distrusted  it,  because  they 
were  unwilling  that  any  such  thing  should 
come  to  Caius,  nor  could  believe  it,  though 
it  were  ever  so  true,  because  they 
thought  no  man  could  possibly  have  so 
much  power  as  to  kill  Caius.  These  were 
the  women,  and  the  children,  and  the 
slaves,  and  some  of  the  soldiery.  This 
iast  sort  had  taken  his  pay,  and,  in  a 
manner,  tyrannized  with  him,  and  had 
abused  the  best  of  the  citizens,  in  being 
subservient  to  his  unjust  commands,  in 
order  to  gain  honours  and  advantages  to 
themselves;  but  for  the  women  and  the 
youth,  they  had  been  inveigled  with 
ehows,  and  the  fightings  of  the  gladiators, 
and  certain  distributions  of  flesh-meat 
among  them,  which  things  in  pretence 
were  designed  for  the  pleasing  of  the 
multitude,  but  in  reality  to  satiate  the 
barbarous  cruelty  and  madness  of  Caius. 
The  slaves  also  were  sorry,  because  they 
<vere  by  Caius  allowed  to  accuse  and  to 
iespise  their  masters,  as  they  could  have 
recourse  to  his  assistance  when  they  had 
unjus^v  affronted  them ;  for  he  was  very 


easy  in  believing  them  against  their  mas- 
ters, even  when  they  accused  them  falsely  j 
and,  if  they  would  discover  what  ni >»ney 
their  masters  had,  they  might  soon  obtain 
both  riches  and  liberty,  as  the  rewards  of 
their  accusations,  because  the  reward  of 
these  informers  was  the  eighth*  part  of  the 
criminal's  substance.  As  to  the  nobles, 
although  the  report  appeared  credible  to 
some  of  them,  either  because  they  knew 
of  the  plot  beforehand,  or  because  they 
wished  it  might  be  true;  however,  they 
concealed  not  only  the  joy  they  had  at 
the  relation  of  it,  but  that  they  had  heard 
any  thing  at  all  about  it.  These  last 
acted  so,  out  of  the  fear  they  had  that  if 
the  report  proved  false,  they  should  be 
punished  for  having  so  soon  let  men 
know  their  minds.  But  those  that  knew 
Caius  was  dead,  because  they  were  part- 
ners with  the  conspirators,  they  concealed 
all  still  more  cautiously,  as  not  knowing 
one  another's  minds;  and  fearing  lest 
they  should  speak  of  it  to  some  of  those 
to  whom  the  continuance  of  tyranny  was 
advantageous ;  and,  if  Caius  should  prove 
to  be  alive,  they  might  be  informed 
against,  and  punished.  And  another  re- 
port went  about,  that  although  Caius  had 
been  wounded  indeed,  yet  was  not  he 
dead,  but  alive  still,  and  under  the  phy- 
sician's hands.  Nor  was  any  one  looked 
upon  by  another  as  faithful  enough  to  be 
trusted,  and  to  whom  any  one  would  open 
his  mind ;  for  he  was  either  a  friend  to 
Caius,  and  therefore  suspected  to  favour 
his  tyranny,  or  he  was  one  that  hated  him, 
who  therefore  might  be  suspected  to  de- 
serve the  less  credit,  because  of  his  ill-will 
to  him.  Nay,  it  was  said  by  some  (and 
this  indeed  it  was  that  deprived  the  no- 
bility of  their  hopes,  and  made  them  sad) 
that  Caius  was  in  a  condition  to  despise 
the  dangers  he  had  been  in,  and  took  no 
care  of  healing  his  wounds,  but  had  gotten 
away  into  the  market-place,  and,  bloody 
as  he  was,  was  making  an  harangue  to  the 
people.  And  these  were  the  conjectural 
reports  of  those  that  were  so  unreasonable 
as  to  endeavour  to  raise  tumults,  which 
they  turned  different  ways,  according  to 
the  opinions  of  the  hearers.  Yet  did 
they  not  leave  their  seats,  for  fear  of  being 
accused,  if  they  should  go  out  before  the 
rest;  for  they  should  not  be  sentenced 
according  to  the  real  intention  with  which 


*  This  reward  proposed  by  the  Roman  laws  to 
informers  was  sometimes  an  eighth  part  of  the 
criminal's  goods,  and  sometimes  a  fourth  part. 


Chap   I.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


583 


they  went  out,  but  according  to  the 
suppositions  of  the  accusers,  and  of  the 
judges. 

But  now  a  multitude  of  Germans  had 
surrounded  the  theatre  with  their  swords 
drawn  :  all  the  spectators  looked  for  no- 
thing but  death;  and  at  everyone's  coming 
in,  a  fear  seized  upon  them,  as  if  they 
were  to  be  cut  in  pieces  immediately;  and 
in  great  distress  they  were,  as  neither 
having  courage  enough  to  go  out  of  the 
theatre,  nor  believing  themselves  safe 
from  dangers  if  they  tarried  there.  And 
when  the  Germans  came  upon  them,  the 
cry  was  so  great,  that  the  theatre  rang 
again  with  the  entreaties  of  the  spectators 
to  the  soldiers,  pleading  that  they  were 
entirely  ignorant  of  every  thing  that  re- 
lated to  such  seditious  contrivances,  and 
if  there  were  any  sedition  raised,  they 
knew  nothing  of  it;  they  therefore  begged 
that  they  would  spare  them,  and  not  pu- 
nish those  that  had  not  the  least  hand  in 
such  bold  crimes  as  belonged  to  other 
persons,  while  they  neglected  to  search 
after  such  as  had  really  done  whatsoever 
it  be  that  hath  been  done.  Thus  did 
these  people  appeal  to  God,  and  deplore 
their  infelicity  with  shedding  of  tears  and 
beating  their  faces,  and  said  every  thing 
that  the  most  imminent  danger  and  the 
utmost  concern  for  their  lives  could  dic- 
tate to  them.  This  brake  the  fury  of  the 
soldiers,  and  made  them  repent  of  what 
they  minded  to  do  to  the  spectators,  which 
would  have  been  the  greatest  instance  of 
cruelty.  And  so  it  appeared  to  even  these 
savages,  when  they  had  once  fixed  the 
heads  of  those  that  were  slain  with  As- 
prenas  upon  the  altar;  at  which  sight  the 
spectators  were  sorely  afflicted,  both  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  dignity  of  the 
persons,  and  out  of  a  commiseration  of 
their  sufferings;  nay,  indeed,  they  were 
almost  in  as  great  disorder  at  the  prospect 
of  the  danger  themselves  were  in,  seeing 
it  was  still  uncertain  whether  they  should 
entirely  escape  the  like  calamity.  Whence 
it  was  that  such  as  thoroughly  and  justly 
hated  Caius,  could  yet  noway  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  his  death,  because  they  were 
themselves  in  jeopardy  of  perishing  to- 
gether with  him;  nor  h*id  they  hitherto 
any  firm  assurance  of  surviving. 

There  was  at  this  time,  one  Euaristus 
Arruutius,  a  public  crier  in  the  market, 
and  therefore  of  a  strong  and  audible 
voice,  who  vied  in  wealth  with  the  richest 
of  the  llomans,  and  was  able  to  do  what 


he  pleased  in  the  city,  both  then  and  after- 
ward.  This  man  put  himself  into  the 
most  mournful  habit  he  could,  although 
he  had  a  greater  hatred  against  Caius  than 
any  one  else :  his  fear  and  his  wise  con- 
trivance to  gain  his  safety  taught  him  so 
to  do,  and  prevailed  over  his  present  plea- 
sure;  so  he  put  on  such  a  mournful  dress 
as  he  would  have  done  had  he  lost  his 
dearest  friends  in  the  world :  this  man 
came  into  the  theatre,  and  informed  them 
of  the  death  of  Caius,  and  by  this  means 
put  an  end  to  that  state  of  ignorance  the 
men  had  been  in.  Arruntius  also  went 
round  about  the  pillars,  and  called  out  to 
the  Germans,  as  did  the  tribunes  with 
him,  bidding  them  put  up  their  swords, 
and  telling  them  that  Caius  wis  dead; 
and  this  proclamation  it  was  plainly  which 
saved  those  that  were  collected  together  in 
the  theatre,  and  all  the  rest  who  anyway 
met  the  Germans ;  for  while  they  had 
hopes  that  Caius  had  still  any  breath  in 
him,  they  abstained  from  no  sort  of  mis- 
chief; aud  such  an  abundant  kindness 
they  still  had  for  Caius,  that  they  would 
willingly  have  prevented  the  plot  against 
him,  and  procured  his  escape  from  so  sad 
a  misfortune,  at  the  expense  of  their  own 
lives;  but  now  they  left  off  the  warm  zeal 
they  had  to  punish  his  enemies,  now  they 
were  fully  satisfied  that  Caius  was  dead, 
because  it  was  now  in  vain  for  them  to 
show  their  zeal  and  kindness  to  him,  when 
he  who  should  reward  them  had  perished. 
They  were  also  afraid  that  they  should  be 
punished  by  the  senate,  if  they  should  go 
on  in  doing  such  injuries,  that  is,  in  case 
the  authority  of  the  supreme  governor 
should  revert  to  them  ;  and  thus  at  length 
a  stop  was  put,  though  not  without  diffi- 
culty, to  that  rage  which  possessed  the 
Germans  on  account  of  Caius's  death. 

But  Cherea  was  so  much  afraid  for 
Minucianus,  lest  he  should  light  upon  the 
Germans,  now  they  were  in  their  i'ury, 
that  he  went  and  spake  to  every  one  of 
the  soldiers,  and  prayed  them  to  take  care 
of  his  preservation,  and  made  himself 
great  inquiry  about  him,  lest  he  should 
have  beeu  slain  :  and  for  Clement,  he  let 
Minucianus  go  when  he  was  brought  to 
him,  and,  with  many  other  of  the  senators, 
affirmed  the  action  was  right,  and  com- 
mended the  virtue  of  those  that  contrived 
it,  and  had  courage  enough  to  execute  it; 
and  said,  "  that  tyrants  do  indeed  please 
themselves  and  look  big  for  a  while,  upon 
having  the  power  to  act  unjustly;  bnl  dr 


584 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX 


not,  however,  go  happily  out  of  the  world, 
because  they  are  hated  by  the  virtuous ; 
and  that  Caius,  together  with  all  his  un- 
happiness,  had  become  a  conspirator  against 
himself,  before  these  other  men  who  at- 
tacked him  did  so;  and,  by  becoming  in- 
tolerable, in  setting  aside  the  wise  provi- 
sion the  laws  had  made,  taught  his  dearest 
friends  to  treat  him  as  an  enemy;  inso- 
much, that  although  in  common  discourse 
these  conspirators  were  those  that  slew 
Caius,  yet  that,  in  reality,  he  lies  now 
dead  as  perishing  by  his  own  self." 

Now  by  this  time  the  people  in  the 
theatre  had  arisen  from  their  seats,  and 
those  that  were  within  made  a  very  great 
disturbance  :  the  cause  of  which  was  this, 
that  the  spectators  were  too  hasty  in  get- 
ting away.  There  was  also  one  Alcyon, 
a  physician,  who  hurried  away,  as  if  to 
cure  those  that  were  wounded,  and,  under 
that  pretence,  he  sent  those  that  were  with 
him  to  fetch  what  things  were  necessary 
for  the  healing  of  the  wounded  persons, 
but  in  reality  to  get  them  clear  of  the 
present  dangers  they  were  in.  Now  the 
senate,  during  this  interval,  had  met,  and 
the  people  also  assembled  together  in  the 
accustomed  form,  and  were  both  employed 
in  searching  after  the  murderers  of  Caius. 
The  people  did  it  very  zealously,  but  the 
senate  in  appearance  only ;  for  there  was 
present  Valerius  of  Asia,  one  that  had 
been  consul ;  this  man  went  to  the  pepple, 
as  they  were  in  disorder,  and  very  uneasy 
that  they  could  not  yet  discover  who  they 
were  that  had  murdered  the  emperor;  he 
was  then  earnestly  asked  by  them  all,  who 
it  was  that  had  done  it?  He  replied,  "I 
wish  I  had  been  the  man."  The  consuls* 
also  published  an  edict,  wherein  they  ac- 
cused Caius,  and  gave  order  to  the  people 
then  got  together,  and  to  the  soldiers,  to 
go  home,  and  gave  the  people  hopes  of  the 
abatement  of  the  oppressions  they  lay 
under;  and  promised  the  soldiers,  if  they 
lay  quiet  as  they  used  to  do,  and  would 
not  go  abroad  to  do  mischief  unjustly, 
that  they  would  bestow  rewards  upon 
them;  for  there  was  reason  to  fear  lest 
the  city  might  suffer  harm  by  their  wild 
and  ungovernable  behaviour,  if  they  should 
once  betake  themselves  to  spoil  the  citi- 
zens, or  plunder  the  temples.  And  now 
the  whole  multitude  of  the  senators  were 
assembled  together,   and  especially  those 

*  These  consuls  are  named  in  the  War  of  the 
Jews,  Sentius  Saturninus  and  Pomponius  Secun- 
dum 


that  had  conspired  to  take  away  the  life 
of  Caius,  who  put  on  at  this  time  an  air 
of  great  assurance,  and  appeared  with 
great  magnanimity,  as  if  the  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs  had  already  devolved 
upon  them. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  senators  attempt  the  re-establishment  of  a 
democracy — Claudius  chosen  emperor  by  the 
soldiers — Death  of  the  wife  and  daughter  of 
Caius. 

When  the  public  affairs  were  in  this 
posture,  Claudius  was  on  the  sudden  hur- 
ried away  out  of  his  house ;  for  the  sol- 
diers had  a  meeting  together;  and,  when 
they  had  debated  about  what  was  to  be 
done,  they  saw  that  a  democracy  was  in- 
capable of  managing  such  a  vast  weight 
of  public  affairs ;  and  that  if  it  should  be 
set  up,  it  would  not  be  for  their  advan- 
tage ;  and,  in  case  any  one  of  those  already 
in  the  government  should  obtain  the  su- 
preme power,  it  would  in  all  respects  be 
to  their  grief,  if  they  were  not  assisting 
to  him  in  this  advancement :  that  it  would, 
therefore,  be  right  for  them,  while  the 
public  affairs  were  unsettled,  to  choose 
Claudius  emperor,  who  was  uncle  to  the 
deceased  Caius,  and  of  a  superior  dignity 
and  worth  to  every  one  of  those  who  were 
assembled  together  in  the  senate,  both  on 
account  of  the  virtues  of  his  ancestors, 
and  of  the  learning  he  had  acquired  in  his 
education ;  and  who,  if  once  settled  in  the 
empire,  would  reward  them  according  to 
their  deserts,  and  bestow  largesses  upon 
them.  These  were  their  consultations, 
and  they  executed  the  same  immediately. 
Claudius  was  therefore  seized  upon  sud- 
denly by  the  soldiery.  But  Cneus  Sen- 
tius Saturninus,  although  he  understood 
that  Claudius  was  seized,  and  that  he  in- 
tended to  claim  the  government,  unwil- 
lingly, indeed,  in  appearance,  but  in  real- 
ity by  his  own  free  consent,  stood  up  in 
the  senate,  and,  without  being  dismayed, 
made  an  exhortatory  oration  to  them,  and 
such  an  one,  indeed,  as  was  fit  for  men  of 
freedom  and  generosity,  and  spake  thus : 

"  Although  it  be  a  thing  incredible,  0 
Romans !  because  of  the  great  length  of 
time,  that  so  unexpected  an  event  hath 
happened,  yet  are  we  now  in  possession 
of  liberty.  How  long  indeed  this  will 
last  is  uncertain,  and  lies  at  the  disposal 
of  the  gods,  whose  grant  it  is;  yet  such 
it  is  as  is  sufficient  to  make  us  rejoice, 
and  be  happy  for   the  present,  although 


jhap.  n  j 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


585 


we  may  soon  be  deprived  of  it;  for  one 
hour  is  sufficient  to  those  who  are  exer- 
cised in  virtue,  wherein  we  may  live  with 
a  mind  accountable  only  to  ourselves,  in 
our  own  country,  now  free,  and  governed 
by  such  laws  as  this  country  once  flou- 
rished under.  As  for  myself,  I  cannot 
remember  our  former  time  of  liberty,  as 
being  born  after  it  was  gone;  but  I  am 
beyond  measure  filled  with  joy  at  the 
thoughts  of  our  present  freedom.  I  also 
esteem  those  that  were  born  and  brought 
up  in  that  our  former  liberty,  happy  men, 
and  that  those  men  are  worthy  of  no  less 
esteem  than  the  gods  themselves,  who 
have  given  us  a  taste  of  it  in  this  age; 
and  I  heartily  wish  that  this  quiet  enjoy- 
ment of  it,  which  we  have  at  present, 
might  continue  to  all  ages.  However,  this 
single  day  may  suffice  for  our  youth,  as 
well  as  for  us  that  are  in  years.  It  will 
Beem  an  age  to  our  old  men,  if  they  might 
die  during  its  happy  duration  :  it  may  also 
be  for  the  instruction  of  the  younger  sort, 
what  kind  of  virtue  those  men,  from 
whose  loins  we  are  derived,  were  exercised 
in.  As  for  ourselves,  our  business  is, 
during  the  space  of  time,  to  live  virtu- 
ously, than  which,  nothing  can  be  more 
to  our  advantage;  which  course  of  virtue 
it  is  alone  that  can  preserve  our  liberty; 
for,  as  to  our  ancient  state,  I  have  heard 
of  it  from  the  relations  of  others ;  but  as  to 
our  later  state,  during  my  lifetime,  I  have 
known  it  by  experience,  and  learned  there- 
by what  mischief  tyrannies  have  brought 
upon  this  commonwealth,  discouraging  all 
virtue,  and  depriving  persons  of  magna- 
nimity of  their  liberty,  and  proving  the 
teachers  of  flattery  and  slavish  fear,  be- 
cause it  leaves  the  public  administration 
not  to  be  governed  by  wise  laws,  but  by 
the  humour  of  those  that  govern.  For 
since  Julius  Caesar  took  it  into  his  head 
to  dissolve  our  democracy,  and,  by  over- 
bearing the  regular  system  of  our  laws,  to 
bring  disorders  into  our  administration, 
and  to  get  above  right  and  justice,  and  to 
be  a  slave  to  his  own  inclinations,  there 
is  no  kind  of  misery  but  what  hath  tended 
to  the  subversion  of  this  city;  while  all 
those  that  have  succeeded  him  have  striven 
one  with  another,  to  overthrow  the  ancient 
laws  of  their  country,  and  have  left  it  des- 
titute of  such  citizens  as  were  of  generous 
principles;  because  they  thought  it  tended 
to  their  safety  to  have  vicious  men  to  con- 
verse withal,  and  not  only  to  break  the 
spirits  of  those  that  were   best  esteemed 


for  their  virtue,  but  to  resolve  upon  their 
utter  destruction.  Of  all  which  emperors, 
who  have  been  many  in  number,  and  who 
laid  upon  us  insufferable  hardships,  during 
the  times  of  their  government,  this  Caius, 
who  hath  been  slain  to-day,  hath  brought 
more  terrible  calamities  upon  us  than  did 
all  the  rest,  not  only  by  exercising  his 
ungoverned  rage  upon  his  fellow-citizens, 
but  also  upon  his  kindred  and  friends, 
and  alike  upon  all  others,  and  by  inflicting 
still  greater  miseries  upon  them,  as  pu- 
nishments, which  they  never  deserved,  he 
being  equally  furious  against  men  and 
against  the  gods;  for  tyrants  are  not  con- 
tent to  gain  their  sweet  pleasure,  and  this 
by  acting  injuriously,  and  in  the  vexation 
they  bring  both  upon  men's  estates  and 
their  wives,  but  they  look  upon  that  to  be 
their  principal  advantage,  when  they  can 
utterly  overthrow  the  entire  families  of 
their  enemies;  while  all  lovers  of  liberty 
are  the  enemies  of  tyranny.  Nor  can 
those  that  patiently  endure  what  miseries 
they  bring  on  them  gain  their  friendship; 
for  as  they  are  conscious  of  the  abundant 
mischiefs  they  have  brought  on  these  men/ 
and  how  magnanimously  they  have  borne 
their  hard  fortunes,  they  cannot  but  be 
sensible  what  evils  they  have  done,  and 
thence  only  depend  on  security  from  what 
they  are  suspicious  of,  if  it  may  be  in  their 
power  to  take  them  quite  out  of  the  world. 
Since,  then,  we  are  now  gotten  clear  of 
such  great  misfortunes,  and  are  only  ac- 
countable to  one  another,  (which  form  of 
government  affords  us  the  best  assurance 
of  our  present  concord,  and  promises  us 
the  best  security  from  all  evil  designs,  and 
will  be  most  for  our  own  glory  in  settling 
the  city  in  good  order,)  you  ought,  every 
one  of  you  in  particular,  to  make  provi- 
sion for  his  own,  and  in  general  for  the 
public  utility :  or,  on  the  contrary,  they 
may  declare  their  dissent  to  such  things 
as  have  been  proposed,  and  this  without 
any  hazard  of  danger  to  come  upon  them, 
because  they  have  now  no  lord  set  over 
them,  who,  without  fear  of  punishment, 
could  do  mischief  to  the  city,  and  had  au 
uncontrollable  power  to  take  off  those  that 
freely  declared  their  opinions.  Nor  has 
any  thing  so  much  contributed  to  this  in- 
crease of  tyranny  of  late  as  sloth,  and  a 
timorous  forbearance  of  contradicting  the 
emperor's  will;  while  men  had  an  over- 
great  inclination  to  the  sweetness  of  peace, 
and  had  learned  to  live  like  slaves;  and  as 
manj7  of  us  as  either  heard  of  intolerable 


586 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX 


calamities  that  happened  at  a  distance 
from  us,  or  saw  the  miseries  that  were 
near  us,  out  of  the  dread  of  dying  virtu- 
ously, endured  a  death  joined  with  the 
utmost  infamy.  We  ought,  then,  in  the 
first  place,  to  decree  the  greatest  honours 
wa  are  able  to  those  that  have  taken  off 
the  tyrant,  especially  to  Cherea  Cassius; 
for  this  one  man,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  gods,  hath,  by  his  counsel  and  by  his 
actions,  been  the  procurer  of  our  liberty. 
Nor  ought  we  to  forget  him  now  we  have 
recovered  our  liberty,  who,  under  the  fore- 
going tyranny,  took  counsel  beforehand, 
and  beforehand  hazarded  himself  for  our 
liberties;  but  ought  to  decree  him  proper 
honours,  and  thereby  freely  declare,  that 
he,  from  the  beginning,  acted  with  our 
approbation.  And  certainly  it  is  a  very 
excellent  thing,  and  what  becomes  free- 
men, to  requite  their  benefactors,  as  this 
man  hath  been  a  benefactor  to  us  all, 
although  not  at  all  like  Cassius  and  Brutus, 
who  slew  Caius  Julius  [Caesar]  ;  for  those 
men  laid  the  foundations  of  sedition  and 
civil  wars  in  our  city; — but  this  man,  to- 
gether with  his  slaughter  of  the  tyrant, 
hath  set  our  city  free  from  all  those  sad 
miseries  which  arose  from  the  tyranny."* 
Aud  this  was  the  purport  of  Sentius's 
oration,  which  was  received  with  pleasure 
by  the  senators,  and  by  as  many  of  the 
equestrian  order  as  were  present.  And 
now  one  Trebellius  Maximus  rose  up 
hastily,  and  took  from  Sentius's  linger  a 
ring,  which  had  a  stone,  with  the  image 
of  Caius  engraven  upon  it,  aud  which,  in 
his  zeal  in  speaking,  and  his  earnestness 
in  doing  what  he  was  about,  as  it  was 
supposed,  he  had  forgotten  to  take  off 
himself.  This  sculpture  was  broken  im- 
mediately. But  as  it  was  now  far  in  the 
night,  Cherea  demanded  of  the  consuls 
the  watchword,  who  gave  him  this  word, 
''Liberty."  These  facts  were  the  subjects 
of  admiration  to  themselves,  and  almost 
incredible ;  for  it  was  100  years')"  since  the 

*  In  this  oration  of  Sentius  Satuminus's,  we  may 
»ee  the  great  value  virtuous  men  put  upon  public 
liberty,  and  the  sad  misery  they  underwent  while 
they  were  tyrannized  over  by  such  emperors  as 
Caius.  See  Josephus's  own  short  but  pithy  reflec- 
tion at  the  end  of  the  chapter :  "  So  difficult,"  says 
be,  "  it  is  for  those  to  obtain  the  virtue  that  is  ne- 
cessary to  a  wise  man,  who  have  the  absolute  power 
to  do  what  they  please  without  control." 

f  Hence  we  learn  that,  in  the  oj)inion  of  Satur- 
ninus,  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  consuls  and 
senate  had  been  taken  away  just  100  years  before 
the  death  >f  Caius,  A.  D.  41 ;  or  the  sixtieth  year 
before  the  Christ!  an  era,  when  the  first  triumvirate 
began  under  Caesar,  Pompey,  and  Crassus. 


democracy  had  been  laid  aside,  when  this 
giving  the  watchword  returned  to  the  con- 
suls; for,  before  the  city  was  subject  to 
tyrants,  they  were  the  commanders  of  the 
soldiers.  But  when  Cherea  received  the 
watchword,  he  delivered  it  to  those  on  the 
senate's  side,  which  were  four  regiments, 
who  esteemed  the  government  without 
emperors  to  be  preferable  to  tyranny.  So 
these  went  away  with  their  tribunes.  The 
people  also  now  departed  very  joyful,  full 
of  hope  and  of  courage,  as  having  recovered 
their  former  democracy,  and  no  longer 
under  an  emperor:  and  Cherea  was  in 
very  great  esteem  with  them. 

And  now  Cherea  was  very  uneasy  that 
Caius's  daughter  and  wife  were  still  alive, 
and  that  all  his  family  did  not  perish  with 
him,  since  whosoever  was  left  of  them 
must  be  left  for  the  ruin  of  the  city  and 
of  the  laws.  Moreover,  in  order  to  finish 
this  matter  with  the  utmost  zeal,  and,  in 
order  to  satisfy  his  hatred  of  Caius,  he 
sent  Julius  Lupus,  one  of  the  tribunes,  to 
kill  Caius's  wife  and  daughter.  They  pro- 
posed this  office  to  Lupus,  as  to  a  kinsman 
of  Clement,  that  he  might  be  so  far  a 
partaker  of  this  murder  of  the  tyrant,  and 
might  rejoice  in  the  virtue  of  having  as- 
sisted his  fellow-citizens,  and  that  be 
might  appear  to  have  been  a  partaker  with 
those  that  were  first  in  their  designs  against 
him ;  yet  did  this  action  appear  to  some 
of  the  conspirators  to  be  too  cruel,  as  to 
this  using  such  severity  to  a  woman,  be- 
cause Caius  did  more  indulge  his  own  ill 
nature  than  use  her  advice  in  all  that  he 
did;  from  which  ill  nature  it  was  that  the 
city  was  in  so  desperate  a  condition  with 
the  miseries  that  were  brought  on  it,  and 
the  flower  of  the  city  was  destroyed;  but 
others  accused  her  of  giving  her  consent 
to  these  things;  nay,  they  ascribed  all 
that  Caius  had  done  to  her  as  the  cause 
of  it,  and  said  she  had  given  a  potion  to 
Caius,  which  had  made  him  obnoxious  to 
her,  and  had  tied  him  down  to  love  her 
by  such  evil  methods;  insomuch  that  she, 
having  rendered  him  distracted,  had  be- 
come the  author  of  all  the  m:schiefs  that 
had  befallen  the' Romans  and  that  habita- 
ble world  which  was  subject  to  them.  So 
that  at  length  it  was  determined  that  she 
must  die;  nor  could  those  of  the  contrary 
opinion  at  all  prevail  to  have  her  saved; 
and  Lupus  was  sent  accordingly.  Nor 
was  there  any  delay  made  in  executing 
what  he  went  about,  but  he  was  subser- 
vient to  those  that  sent  him   on  the  first 


Chap.  11.  J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


587 


opportunity,  as  desirous  to  be  noway 
blamable  in  what  might  be  done  for  the 
,  advantage  of  the  people.  So,  when  he 
had  come  into  the  palace,  he  found  Ceso- 
nia,  who  was  Caius's  wife,  lying  by  her 
husband's  dead  body,  which  also  lay  on 
the  ground,  and  destitute  of  all  such  things 
as  the  law  allows  to  the  dead,  and  all  over 
herself  besmeared  with  the  blood  of  her 
husband's  wounds,  and  bewailing  the  great 
affliction  she  was  under,  her  daughter  lying 
by  her  also;  and  nothing  else  was  heard 
in  these  her  circumstances  but  her  com- 
plaint of  Caius,  as  if  he  had  not  regarded 
what  she  had  often  told  him  of  before- 
hand ;  which  words  of  hers  were  taken  in 
a  different  sense  even  at  that  time,  and 
are  now  esteemed  equally  ambiguous  by 
those  that  hear  of  them,  and  are  still  in- 
terpreted according  to  the  different  incli- 
nations of  people.  Now  some  said  that 
the  words  denoted  that  she  had  advised 
him  to  leave  off  his  mad  behaviour  and 
his  barbarous  cruelty  to  the  citizens,  and 
to  govern  the  public  with  moderation  and 
virtue,  lest  he  should  perish  by  the  same 
way,  upon  their  using  him  as  he  had  used 
them.  But  some  said,  that  as  certain 
words  had  passed  concerning  the  conspira- 
tors, she  desired  Caius  to  make  no  delay, 
but  immediately  to  put  them  all  to  death ; 
and  this,  whether  they  were  guilty  or  not, 
and  that  thereby  he  would  be  out  of  the 
fear  of  any  danger;  and  that  this  was 
what  she  reproached  him  for  when  she 
advised  him  so  to  do,  but  he  was  too  slow 
and  tender  in  the  matter.  And  this  was 
what  Cesonia  said;  and  what  the  opinions 
of  men  were  about  it.  But  when  she  saw 
Lupus  approach,  she  showed  him  Caius's 
dead  body,  and  persuaded  him  to  come 
nearer,  with  lamentation  and  tears;  and, 
as  she  perceived  that  Lupus  was  in  dis- 
order, and  approached  her  in  order  to 
execute  some  design  disagreeable  to  him- 
self, she  was  well  aware  for  what  purpose 
he  came,  and  stretched  out  her  naked 
throat,  and  that  very  cheerfully  to  him, 
bewailing  her  case,  like  one  utterly  de- 
spairing of  her  life,  and  bidding  him  not 
to  waver  at  finishing  the  tragedy  they  had 
resolved  upon  relating  to  her.  So  she 
boldly  received  her  death's  wound  at  the 
hand  of  Lupus,  as  did  the  daughter  after 
her.  So  Lupus  made  haste  to  inform 
Cherea  of  what  he  had  done. 

This  was  the  end  of  Caius,  after  he  had 
reigned  four  years,  within  four  months. 
He  was,  even  before  he  came  to  be  em- 


peror, ill  natured,  and  one  that  had  arrived 
at  the  utmost  pitch  of  wickedness;  a  slave 
to  his  pleasures,  and  a  lover  of  calumny ; 
greatly  affected  by  every  terrible  accident, 
and,  on  that  account,  of  a  very  murderous 
disposition  where  he  durst  show  it.  He 
enjoyed  his  exorbitant  power  to  this  only 
purpose,  to  injure  those  who  least  de- 
served it,  with  unreasonable  insolence,  and 
got  his  wealth  by  murder  and  injustice. 
He  laboured  to  appear  above  regarding 
either  what  was  divine  or  agreeable  to  the 
laws,  but  was  a  slave  to  the  commenda- 
tions of  the  populace;  and  whatsoever  the 
laws  determined  to  be  shameful,  and  pu- 
nished, that  he  esteemed  more  honourable 
than  what  was  virtuous.  He  was  unmind- 
ful of  his  friends,  how  intimate  soever, 
and  though  they  were  persons  of  the  high- 
est character;  and,  if  he  was  once  angry 
at  any  of  them,  he  would  inflict  punish- 
ment upon  them  on  the  smallest  occasions; 
and  esteemed  every  man  that  endeavoured 
to  lead  a  virtuous  life  his  enemy  !  And 
whatsoever  he  commanded,  he  would  not 
admit  of  any  contradiction  to  his  inclina- 
tions; whence  it  was  that  he  had  criminal 
conversation  with  his  own  sister;  from 
which  occasion  chiefly  it  was  also  that  a 
bitter  hatred  first  sprang  up  against  him 
among  the  citizens,  that  sort  of  incest  not 
having  been  known  of  a  long  time ;  and 
so  this  provoked  men  to  distrust  him,  and 
to  hate  him  that  was  guilty  of  it.  And 
for  any  great  or  royal  work  that  he  ever 
did,  which  might  be  for  the  present  and 
for  future  ages,  nobody  can  name  any 
such,  but  only  the  haven  that  he  made 
about  Iihegium  and  Sicily,  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  ships  that  brought  corn  from 
Egypt ;  which  was,  indeed,  a  work  with- 
out dispute  very  great  in  itself,  and  of  very 
great  advantage  to  the  navigation.  Yet 
was  not  this  work  brought  to  perfection 
by  him,  but  was  the  one-half  of  it  left 
imperfect,  by  reason  of  his  want  of  appli- 
cation to  it;  the  cause  of  which  was  this, 
that  he  employed  his  studies  about  use- 
less matters,  and  that,  by  spending  his 
money  upon  such  pleasures  as  concerned 
no  one's  benefit  but  his  own,  he  could  not 
exert  his  liberality  in  things  that  were 
undeniably  of  great  consequence.  Other- 
wise, he  was  an  excellent  orator,  and 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Greek 
tongue,  as  well  as  with  his  own  country 
or  Roman  language.  He  was  also  able, 
offhand  and  readily,  to  give  answers  to 
comnositions  made  by  others,  of  consider 


588 


ANTIQUITIES   OP  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX 


able  length  and  accuracy.  He  was  also 
more  skilful  in  persuading  others  to  very 
great  things  than  any  one  else,  and  this 
from  a  natural  affability  of  temper,  which 
had  been  improved  by  much  exercise  and 
painstaking :  for  as  he  was  the  grandson* 
of  the  brother  of  Tiberius,  whose  suc- 
cessor he  was,  this  was  a  strong  induce- 
ment to  his  acquiring  of  learning,  because 
Tiberius  aspired  after  the  highest  pitch 
of  that  sort  of  reputation:  and  Caius  as- 
pired after  the  like  glory  for  eloquence, 
being  induced  thereto  by  the  letters  of 
his  kinsman  and  his  emperor.  He  was 
also  among  the  first  rank  of  his  own  citi- 
zens. But  the  advantages  he  received 
from  his  learning  did  not  countervail  the 
mischief  he  brought  upon  himself  in  the 
exercise  of  his  authority ;  so  difficult  it  is 
for  those  to  obtain  the  virtue  that  is  ne- 
cessary for  a  wise  man,  who  have  the 
absolute  power  to  do  what  they  please 
without  control.  At  the  first  he  got  him- 
self such  friends  as  were  in  all  respects 
the  most  worthy,  and  was  greatly  beloved 
by  them,  while  he  imitated  their  zealous 
application  to  the  learning  and  to  the  glo- 
rious actions  of  the  best  men ;  but  when 
he  became  insolent  toward  them,  they  laid 
aside  the  kindness  they  had  for  him,  and 
began  to  hate  him ;  from  which  hatred 
came  that  plot  which  they  raised  against 
him,  and  wherein  he  perished. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Claudius  seized  on,  and  brought  to  the  camp — The 
senate  send  an  embassy  to  him. 

Now  Claudius,  as  I  said  before,  went 
out  of  that  way  along  which  Caius  had 
gone )  and,  as  the  family  was  in  a  mighty 
disorder  upon  the  sad  accident  of  the 
murder  of  Caius,  he  was  in  great  distress 
how  to  save  himself,  and  was  found  to 
have  hidden  himself  in  a  certain  narrow 
place,  though  he  had  no  other  occasion  for 
suspicion  of  any  dangers  besides  the 
dignity  of  his  birth ;  for  while  he  was  a 
private  man  he  behaved  himself  with 
moderation,  and  was  contented  with  his 
present  fortune,  applying  himself  to  learn- 
ing, and  especially  to  that  of  the  Greeks, 
and  keeping  himself  entirely  clear  from 
<ivery  thing  that  might  bring  on  any  dis- 
turbance.    But  at  this  time  the  multitude 

*  This  Caius  was  the  son  of  Germanicus,  who 
was  the  son  of  Drusus,  the  brother  cf  Tiberius  the 
toaperor. 


were  under  a  consternation,  and  the  whole 
palace  was  full  of  the  soldiers'  madness, 
and  the  very  emperor's  guards  seemed  , 
under  the  like  fear  and  disorder  with 
private  persons,  the  band  called  Praetorian, 
which  was  the  purest  part  of  the  army, 
was  in  consultation  what  was  to  be  done 
at  this  juncture.  Now  all  those  that  were 
at  this  consultation  had  little  regard  to 
the  punishment  Caius  had  suffered,  be- 
cause he  justly  deserved  such  his  fortune; 
but  they  were  rather  considering  their  own 
circumstances,  how  they  might  take  the 
best  care  of  themselves,  especially  while 
the  Germans  were  busy  in  punishing  the 
murderers  of  Caius  \  which  yet  was  rather 
done  to  gratify  their  own  savage  temper, 
than  for  the  good  of  the  public ;  all.  which 
things  disturbed  Claudius,  who  was  afraid 
of  his  own  safety,  and  this  particularly 
because  he  saw  the  heads  of  Asprenas  and 
his  partners  carried  about.  His  station 
had  been  on  a  certain  elevated  place, 
whither  a  few  steps  led  him,  and  whither 
he  had  retired  in  the  dark  by  himself. 
But  when  Gratus,  who  was  one  of  the 
soldiers  that  belonged  to  the  palace,  saw 
Vim,  but  did  not  well  know  by  his  coun- 
tenance who  he  was,  because  it  was  dark, 
though  he  could  well  judge  that  it  was  a 
man  who  was  privately  there  on  some 
design,  he  came  near  to  him ;  and  when 
Claudius  desired  that  he  would  retire,  he 
discovered  who  he  was,  and  owned  him  to 
be  Claudius.  So  he  said  to  his  followers, 
"This  is  a  Germanicus;*  come  on,  let  ms 
choose  him  for  our  emperor !"  But  when 
Claudius  saw  they  were  making  prepara- 
tions for  taking  him  away  by  force,  and 
was  afraid  they  would  kill  him,  as  they 
had  killed  Caius,  he  besought  them  to 
spare  him,  putting  them  in  mind  how 
quietly  he  had  demeaned  himself,  and 
that  he  was  unacquainted  with  what  had 
been  done.  Hereupon  Gratus  smiled 
upon  him,  and  took  him  by  the  right 
hand,  and  said,  "  Leave  off,  sir,  these  low 
thoughts  of  saving  yourself,  while  you 
ought  to  have  greater  thoughts,  even  of 
obtaining  the  empire,  which  the  gods,  out 
of  their  concern  lor  the  habitable  world, 
by  taking  Caius  out  of  the  way,  commit 
to'  thy  virtuous  conduct.  Go  to,  therefore1, 
and  accept  of  the  throne  of  thy  ancestors. " 
So  they  took  him  up  and  carried  him,  be- 
cause he  was  not  then  able  to  go  on  foot, 


*  The   surname   of  Germanicus  was   bestowed 
upon  Drusus,  and  his  posterity  also. 


Chap   III.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


589 


surb  was  his  dread  and  his  joy  at  what 
wa^  toid  him. 

Now  there  was  already  gathered  toge- 
ther about  G-ratus,  a  great  number  of  the 
guards;  and  when  they  saw  Claudius 
carried  off,  they  looked  with  a  sad  counte- 
nance, as  supposing  that  he  was  carried 
to  execution  for  the  mischiefs  that  had 
been  lately  done;  while  yet  they  thought 
him  a  man  who  never  meddled  with  pub- 
lic affairs  all  his  life  long,  and  one  that 
had  met  with  no  contemptible  dangers 
under  the  reign  of  Caius ;  and  some  of 
them  thought  it  reasonable  that  the  con- 
suls should  take  cognisance  of  these  mat- 
ters; and,  as  still  more  and  more  of  the 
soldiery  got  together,  the  crowd  about  him 
ran  away,  and  Claudius  could  hardly  go 
on,  his  body  was  then  so  weak ;  and  those 
who  carried  his  sedan,  upon  an  inquiry 
that  was  made  about  his  being  carried  off, 
ran  away,  and  saved  themselves,  as  de- 
spairing of  their  lord's  preservation.  But, 
when  they  had  come  into  the  large  court 
of  the  palace,  (which,  as  the  report  goes 
about  it,  was  inhabited  first  of  all  the 
parts  of  the  city  of  Home,)  and  had  just 
reached  the  public  treasury,  many  more 
soldiers  came  about  him,  as  glad  to  see 
Claudius's  face,  and  thought  it  exceeding 
right  to  make  him  emperor  on  account  of 
their  kindness  for  Germanicus,  who  was 
nis  brother,  and  had  left  behind  him  a 
vast  reputation  among  all  that  were  ac- 
quainted with  him.  They  reflected,  also, 
on  the  covetous  temper  of  the  leadiug  men 
of  the  senate,  and  what  great  errors  they 
had  been  guilty  of  when  the  senate  had 
the  government  formerly;  they  also  con- 
sidered the  impossibility  of  such  an  under- 
taking, as  also  what  dangers  they  should 
be  in  if  the  government  should  come  to 
c  single  person,  and  that  such  an  one 
should  possess  it  as  they  had  no  hand  in 
advancing,  and  not  to  Claudius,  who 
would  take  it  as  their  grant,  and  as  gained 
by  their  good-will  to  him,  and  would  re- 
member the  favours  they  had  done  him, 
and  would  make  them  a  sufficient  recom- 
pense for  the  same. 

These  were  the  discourses  the  soldiers 
had  one  with  auother  by  themselves,  and 
they  communicated  them  to  all  such  as 
came  in  to  them.  Now  those  that  in- 
quired about  this  matter,  willingly  em- 
braced the  invitation  that  was  made  them 
to  join  with  the  rest :  go  they  carried 
Claudius  into  the  camp,  crowding  about 
him  as  his  guard,  and  encompassing  him 


about,  one  chairman  still  succeeding  an- 
other, that  their  vehement  endeavours 
might  not  be  hindered.  But  as  to  the 
populace  and  senators,  they  disagreed  in 
their  opinions.  The  latter  were  very  de- 
sirous to  recover  their  former  dignity,  and 
were  zealous  to  get  clear  of  the  slavery 
that  had  been  brought  on  them  by  the 
injurious  treatment  of  the  tyrants,  which 
the  present  opportunity  afforded  them ; 
but  for  the  people,  who  were  envious 
against  them,  and  knew  that  the  emperors 
were  capable  of  curbing  their  covetous 
temper,  and  were  a  refuge  from  them, 
they  were  very  glad  that  Claudius  had 
been  seized  upon,  and  brought  to  them, 
and  thought,  that  if  Claudius  were  made 
emperor,  he  would  prevent  a  civil  war, 
such  as  there  was  in  the  days  of  Pompey. 
But  whea  the  senate  knew  that  Claudius 
was  brought  into  the  camp  by  the  soldiers, 
they  sent  to  him  those  of  their  body 
which  had  the  best  character  for  their 
virtues,  that  they  might  inform  him  that 
he  ought  to  do  nothing  by  violence,  in 
order  to  gain  the  government;  that  he 
who  was  a  single  person,  one  either  al- 
ready, or  hereafter  to  be  a  member  of 
their  body,  ought  to  yield  to  the  senate, 
which  consisted  of  so  great  a  number; 
that  he  ought  to  let  the  law  take  place  in 
the  disposal  of  all  that  related  to  the  pub- 
lic order,  and  to  remember  how  greatly 
the  former  tyrants  had  afflicted  their  city, 
and  what  dangers  both  he  and  they  had 
escaped  under  Caius ;  and  that  he  ought 
not  to  hate  the  heavy  burden  of  tyranny, 
when  the  injury  is  done  by  others,  while 
he  did  himself  wilfully  treat  his  country 
after  a  mad  and  insolent  manner;  that  if 
he  would  comply  with  them,  and  demon- 
strate that  his  firm  resolution  was  to  live 
quietly  and  virtuously,  he  would  have  the 
greatest  honours  decreed  to  him  that  a 
free  people  could  bestow;  and,  by  sub- 
jecting himself  to  the  law,  would  obtain 
this  branch  of  commendation,  that  he 
acted  like  a  man  of  virtue,  both  as  a  ruler 
and  a  subject;  but  that  if  he  would  act 
foolishly,  and  learn  no  wisdom  by  Caius's 
death,  they  would  not  permit  him  to  go 
on;  that  a  great  part  of  the  army  was  got 
together  for  them,  with  plenty  of  weapons, 
and  a  great  number  of  slaves,  which  they 
could  make  use  of;  that  good  hope  was  a 
great  matter  in  such  cases,  as  was  also 
good  fortune ;  and  that  the  gods  would 
never  assist  any  others  but  those  that  un- 
dertook to  act  with  virtue  and  goodness^ 


590 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  XVIfL 


who  can  be  no  other  than  such  as  fight  for 
the  liberty  of  their  country. 

Now  the  ambassadors,  Veranius  and 
Brocchus,  who  were  both  of  them  tribunes 
of  the  people,  made  this  speech  to  Clau- 
dius ;  and  falling  down  upon  their  knees, 
they  begged  of  him  that  he  would  not 
throw  the  city  into  wars  and  misfortunes ; 
but  when  they  saw  what  a  multitude  of 
soldiers  encompassed  and  guarded  Clau- 
dius, and  that  the  forces  that  were  with 
the  consuls  were,  in  comparison  of  them, 
perfectly  inconsiderable,  they  added,  that 
if  he  did  desire  the  government,  he  should 
accept  of  it  as  given  by  the  senate ;  that 
he  would  prosper  better,  and  be  happier 
if  he  came  to  it,  not  by  the  injustice,  but 
by  the  good-will  of  those  that  would  be- 
stow it  upon  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Claudius,  assisted  by  Agrippa,  obtains  the  sove- 
reignty of  Rome — executes  the  murderers  of 
Caius. 

Now  Claudius,  though  he  was  sensible 
after  what  an  insolent  manner  the  senate 
had  sent  to  him,  yet  did  he,  according  to 
their  advice,  behave  himself  for  the  pre- 
sent with  moderation ;  but  not  so  far  that 
he  could  not  recover  himself  out  of  his 
fright;  so  he  was  encouraged  [to  claim 
the  government]  partly  by  the  boldness 
of  the  soldiers,  and  partly  by  the  'per- 
suasion of  King  Agrippa,  who  exhorted 
him  not  to  let  such  a  dominion  slip  out  of 
his  hands,  when  it  came  thus  to  him  of 
its  own  accord.  Now  this  Agrippa,  with 
relation  to  Caius,  did  what  became  one 
that  had  been  so  much  honoured  by  him; 
for  he  embraced  Cams' s  body  after  it  was 
dead,  and  laid  it  upon  a  bed,  and  covered 
it  as  well  as  he  could,  and  went  out  to  the 
guards,  and  told  them  that  Caius  was  still 
alive ;  but  he  said  that  they  should  call 
for  physicians,  since  he  was  very  ill  of  his 
wounds.  But  when  he  had  learned  that 
Claudius  was  carried  away  violently  by 
the  soldiers,  he  rushed  through  the  crowd 
to  him,  and  when  he  found  that  he  was  in 
Jisorder,  and  ready'  to  resign  up  the  go- 
vernment to  the  senate,  he  encouraged  him, 
and  desired  him  to  keep  the  government; 
but  when  he  had  said  this  to  Claudius,  he 
retired  home.  And,  upon  the  senate's 
sending  for  him,  he  anointed  his  head 
with  ointment,  as  if  he  had  lately  accom- 
panied with  his  wife,  and  had  dismissed 
her,  and  then  came  to  them  :  he  also  asked 


of  the  senators  what  Claudius  did;  who 
told  him  the  present  state  of  affairs,  and 
then  asked  his  opinion  about  the  settle 
ment  of  the  public.  He  told  them  in 
words,  that  he  was  ready  to  lose  his  life  for 
the  honour  of  the  senate,  but  desired  them 
to  consider  what  was  for  their  advantage, 
without  any  regard  to  what  was  most  agree- 
able to  them;  for  that  those  who  grasp  at 
government  will  stand  in  need  of  weapons 
and  soldiers  to  guard  them,  unless  they  will 
set  up,  without  any  preparation  for  it,  and 
so  fall  into  danger.  And  when  the  senate 
replied,  that  they  would  bring  in  weapons 
in  abundance,  and  money,  and  that  as  to 
an  army,  a  part  of  it  was  already  collect- 
ed together  for  them,  and  they  would 
raise  a  larger  one  by  giving  the  slaves  their 
liberty,  Agrippa  made  answer,  "0  sena- 
tors !  may  you  be  able  to  compass  what 
you  have  a  mind  to ;  yet  will  I  imme- 
diately tell  you  my  thoughts,  because  they 
tend  to  your  preservation.  Take  notice, 
then,  that  the  army  which  will  fight  for 
Claudius  hath  been  long  exercised  in 
warlike  affairs;  but  our  army  will  be  no 
better  than  a  rude  multitude  of  raw  men, 
and  those  such  as  have  been  unexpectedly 
made  free  from  slavery,  and  ungovernable ; 
we  must  then  fight  against  those  that  are 
skilful  in  war,  with  men  who  know  not  so 
much  as  how  to  draw  their  swords.  So 
that  my  opinion  is,  that  we  should  send 
some  persons  to  Claudius,  to  persuade  him 
to  lay  down  the  government;  and  I  am 
ready  to  be  one  of  your  ambassadors." 

Upon  this  speech  of  Agrippa's,  the  se- 
nate complied  with  him,  and  he  was  sent 
among  others,  and  privately  informed 
Claudius  of  the  disorder  the  senate  was 
in,  and  grave  him  instructions  to  answer 
them  in  a  somewhat  commanding  strain, 
and  as  one  invested  with  dignity  and  au- 
thority. Accordingly,  Claudius  said  to 
the  ambassadors  that  he  did  not  wondei 
the  senate  had  no  mind  to  have  an  empero* 
over  them,  because  they  had  been  harass- 
ed by  the  barbarity  of  those  that  had 
formerly  been  at  the  head  of  their  affairs; 
but  that  they  should  taste  of  an  equitable 
government  under  him,  and  moderate 
times,  while  he  should  only  be  their  ruler 
in  name,  but  the  authority  should  be 
equally  common  to  them  all;  and  since  he 
had  passed  through  many  and  various 
scenes  of  life  before  their  eyes,  it  would 
be  good  for  them  not  to  distrust  him.  So 
the  ambassadors,  upon  their  hearing  this 
his  answer,  were  dismissed.     But  Claudius 


Chap   IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


591 


discoursed  with  the  army  which  was  there 
gathered  together,  who  took  oaths  that 
they  would  persist  in  their  fidelity  to  him; 
upon  which  he  gave  the  guards,  to  every 
man  5000*  drachmae,  and  a  proportiona- 
ble quantity  to  their  captains,  and  promised 
to  give  the  same  to  the  rest  of  the  armies, 
wheresoever  they  were. 

And  now  the  consuls  called  the  senate 
together  into  the  temple  of  Jupiter  the 
Conqueror,  while  it  was  still  night;  but 
some  of  those  senators  concealed  them- 
selves in  the  city,  being  uncertain  what  to 
do,  upon  the  hearing  of  this  summons ; 
and  some  of  them  went  out  of  the  city  to 
their  own  farms,  as  foreseeing  whither  the 
public  affairs  were  going,  and  despairing 
of  liberty;  nay,  these  supposed  it  much 
better  for  them  to  be  slaves  without  dan- 
ger to  themselves,  and  to  live  a  lazy  and 
inactive  life,  thau,  by  claiming  the  dignity 
of  their  forefathers,  to  run  the  hazard  of 
their  own  safety.  However,  100,  and 
no  more,  had  gotten  together;  and  as  they 
were  in  consultation  about  the  present 
posture  of  affairs,  a  sudden  clamour  was 
made  by  the  soldiers  that  were  on  their 
side,  desiring,  that  the  senate  would 
choose  them  an  emperor,  and  not  bring  the 
government  into  ruin  by  setting  up  a  mul- 
titude of  rulers.  So,  they  fully  declared 
themselves  to  be  for  the  giving  of  the 
government  not  to  all,  but  to  one;  but 
they  gave  the  senate  leave  to  look  out  for 
a  person  worthy  to  set  over  them,  inso- 
much, that  now  the  affairs  of  the  senate 
were  much  worse  than  before ;  because 
they  had  not  only  failed  in  the  recovery 
of  their  liberty,  which  they  boasted  them- 
selves of,  but  were  in  dread  of  Claudius 
also.  Yet  there  were  those  that  hankered 
after  the  government,  both  on  account  of 
the  dignity  of  their  families,  and  that  ac- 
cruing to  them  by  their  marriages;  for 
cus  Minucianus  was  illustrious,  both 
by  his  own  nobility,  and  by  his  having 
married  Julia,  the  sister  of  Caius,  who, 
accordingly,  was  very  ready  to  claim  the 
government,  although  the  consuls  dis- 
couraged him,  and  made  one  delay  after 
another  in  proposing  it :  that  Minucianus 
also,  who  was  one  of  Cams' s  murderers, 
restrained  Valerius  of  Asia  from  thinking 
of  such  things;  and  a  prodigious  slaughter 

*  This  number  of  drachmae  to  be  distributed  to 
oach  private  soldier,  5000  drachmae,  equal  to  20,000 
Besterces,  or  £161  sterling,  seems  much  too  large, 
and  directly  contradicts  Suetonius,  who  makes 
them  in  all  but  15  sestercer,  or  2«.  4rf. 


there  had  been,  if  leave  had  been  given  to 
these  men  to  set  up  for  themselves,  and 
oppose  Claudius.  There  were  also  a  con- 
siderable number  of  gladiators  besides, 
and  those  soldiers  who  kept  watch  by  night 
in  the  city,  and  rowers  of  ships,  who  all 
ran  into  the  camp;  insomuch,  that  of 
those  who  put  in  for  the  government,  some 
left  off  their  pretensions  in  order  to  spare 
the  city,  and  others  out  of  fear  for  their 
own  persons. 

But  as  soon  as  ever  it  was  day,  Cherea, 
and  those  that  were  with  him,  came  into 
the  senate,  and  attempted  to  make  speeches 
to  the  soldiers.  However,  the  multitude 
of  those  soldiers,  when  they  saw  that  they 
were  making  signals  for  silence  with  their 
hands,  and  were  ready  to  begin  to  speak 
to  them,  grew  tumultuous,  and  would  not 
let  them  speak  at  all,  because  they  were 
all  zealous  to  be  under  a  monarchy;  and 
they  demanded  of  the  senate  one  for  their 
ruler,  as  not  enduring  any  longer  delays. 
But  the  senate  hesitated  about  either  their 
own  governing,  or  how  they  should  them- 
selves be  governed,  while  the  soldiers 
would  not  admit  them  to  govern;  and  the 
murderers  of  Caius  would  not  permit  the 
soldiers  to  dictate  to  them.  When  they 
were  in  these  circumstances,  Cherea  was 
not  able  to  contain  the  anger  he  had,  and 
promised  that  if  they  desired  an  emperor, 
he  would  give  them  one,  if  any  one  would 
bring  him  the  watchword  from  Eutychus. 
Now,  this  Eutychus  was  charioteer  of  the 
green-band  faction,  styled  Prasine,  and  a 
great  friend  of  Caius,  who  used  to  harass 
the  soldiery  with  building  stables  for  the 
horses,  and  spent  his  time  in  ignominious 
labours,  which  occasioned  Cherea  to  re- 
proach them  with  him,  and  to  abuse*  them 
with  much  other  scurrilous  language;  and 
told  them  that  he  would  bring  them  the 
head  of  Claudius;  and  that  it  was  an 
amazing  thing  that,  after  their  former 
madness,  they  should  commit  their  go- 
vernment to  a  fool.  Yet  were  they  not 
moved  with  his  words,  but  drew  their 
swords,  and  took  up  their  ensigns,  and 
went  to  Claudius,  to  join  in  taking  the 
oath  of  fidelity  to  him.  So,  the  senate 
were  left  without  anybody  to  defend 
them ;  and  the  very  consuls  differed  no- 
thing from  private  persons.  They  were 
also  under  consternation  and  sorrow,  men 
not  knowing  what  would  become  of  them 
because  Claudius  was  very  angry  at  them  ; 
so  they  fell  to  reproaching  one  another, 
and  repented  of  what  they  had  done.     At 


592 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS, 


[Book  XIX. 


which  juncture,  Sabinus,  one  of  Caius's 
murderers,  threatened  that  he  would  soon- 
er come  into  the  midst  of  them  and  kill 
himself,  than  consent  to  make  Claudius 
emperor,  and  see  slavery  returning  upon 
them ;  he  also  abused  Cherea  for  loving 
his  life  too  well,  while  he  who  was  the  first 
in  his  contempt  of  Caius,  could  think  it  a 
good  thing  to  live,  when  even  by  all  that 
they  had  done  for  the  recovery  of  their 
liberty,  they  had  found  it  impossible  to 
do  it.  But  Cherea  said  he  had  no  manner 
of  doubt  upon  him  about  killing  himself; 
yet  he  would  first  sound  the  intentions  of 
Claudius  before  he  did  it. 

These  were  the  debates  [about  the  se- 
nate] ;  but  in  the  camp  everybody  was 
crowding  on  all  sides  to  pay  their  court  to 
Claudius ;  and  the  other  consul,  Quintus 
Pomponius,  was  reproached  by  the  soldiery 
as  having  rather  exhorted  the  senate  to 
recover  their  liberty^ ;  whereupon  they 
drew  their  swords,  and  were  going  to 
assault  him,  and  they  had  done  it,  if 
Claudius  had  not  hindered  them,  who 
snatched  the  consul  out  of  the  danger  he 
was  in,  and  set  him  by  him.  But  he  did 
not  receive  that  part  of  the  senate  which 
was  with  Quintus  in  the  like  honourable 
manner;  nay,  some  of  them  received 
blows,  and  were  thrust  away  as  they  came 
to  salute  Claudius;  nay,  Aponius  went 
away  wounded,  and  they  were  all  in  dan- 
ger. However,  King  Agrippa  went  up  to 
Claudius,  and  desired  he  would  treat  the 
senators  more  gently;  for  if  any  mischief 
should  come  to  the  senate,  he  would  have 
no  others  over  whom  to  rule.  Claudius 
complied  with  him,  and  called  the  senate 
together  into  the  palace,  and  was  carried 
thither  himself  through  the  city,  while 
the  soldiery  conducted  him,  though  this 
was  to  the  great  vexation  of  the  multi- 
tude; for  Cherea  and  Sabinus,  two  of 
Caius's  murderers,  went  in  the  forefront 
of  them,  in  an  open  manner,  while  Pollio, 
whom  Claudius,  a  little  before,  had  made 
captain  of  his  guards,  had  sent  them 
an  epistolary  edict,  to  forbid  them  to 
appear  in  public.  Then  did  Claudius, 
upon  his  coming  to  the  palace,  get  his 
friends  together,  and  desired  their  suffrages 
about  Cherea.  They  said  that  the  work 
he  had  done  was  a  glorious  one ;  but  they 
accused  him  that  he  did  it  of  perfidious- 
ness,  and  thought  it  just  to  inflict  the 
punishment  [of  death]  upon  him,  to  dis- 
countenance such  actions  for  the  time 
to  come.     So  Cherea  was  led  to  his  execu- 


tion, and  Lupus  and  many  other  Romans 
with  him.  Now,  it  is  reported  that  Che 
rea  bore  his  calamity  courageously;  and 
this  not  only  by  the  firmness  of  his  own 
behaviour  under  it,  but  by  the  reproaches 
he  laid  upon  Lupus,  who  fell  into  tears; 
for  when  Lupus  had  laid  his  garment 
aside,  and  complained  of  the  cold,*  he 
said,  that  cold  was  never  hurtful  to  Lupus 
[that  is,  a  wolf].  And  as  a  great  many 
men  went  along  with  them  to  see  the  sight, 
when  Cherea  came  to  the  place,  he  asked 
the  soldier  who  was  to  be  their  executioner, 
whether  this  office  was  what  he  was  used 
to,  or  whether  this  was  the  first  time  of 
his  using  his  sword  in  that  manner;  and 
desired  him  to  bring  him  that  very  sword 
with  which  he  himself  slew  Caius.  So 
he  was  happily  killed  at  one  stroke.  But 
Lupus  did  not  meet  with  such  good  for- 
tune in  going  out  of  the  world,  since  he 
was  timorous,  and  had  many  blows  levelled 
at  his  neck,  because  he  did  not  stretch  it 
out  boldly  [as  he  ought  to  have  done]. 

Now,  a  few  dayr.  after  this,  as  the  Pa 
rental  Solemnities  were  just  at  haud,  the 
Roman  multitude  made  their  usual  obla- 
tions to  their  several  ghosts,  and  put 
portions  into  the  fire  in  honour  of  Cherea, 
and  besought  him  to  be  merciful  to  them, 
and  not  continue  his  anger  against  them 
for  their  ingratitude.  And  this  was  the 
end  of  the  life  that  Cherea  came  to.  But 
for  Sabinus,  although  Claudius  not  only 
set  him  at  liberty,  but  gave  him  leave  to 
retain  his  former  command  in  the  army, 
yet  did  he  think  it  would  be  unjust  in  hirr 
to  fail  of  performing  his  obligations  to  his 
fellow-confederates;  so  he  fell  upon  his 
sword,  and  killed  himself,  the  wound 
reaching  up  to  the  very  hilt  of  the  sword. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Claudius  restores  to  Agrippa  his  grandfather's 
kingdoms — augments  his  dominions;  and  pub- 
lishes an  edict  in  behalf  of  the  Jews. 

Now,  when  Claudius  had  taken  out  of 
the  way  all  those  soldiers  whom  he  sus- 
pected, which  ^he  did  immediately,  he 
published  an  edict,  and  therein  confirmed 
that  kingdom  to  Agrippa  which  Caius  had 
given  him,  and    therein  commended    the 


*  This  piercing  cold  here  complained  of  by  Lu- 
pus, agrees  well  to  the  time  of  the  year  that 
Claudius  began  his  reign ;  it  being  for  certain 
about  the  months  of  November,  December,  or 
January,  and  most  probably  a  few  days  after  the 
24th  of  January,  and  a  few  days  before  the  Ro. 
n\an   Parentalia. 


Chap.  v\] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


593 


king  highly.  Ho  also  made  an  addition 
to  it  of  all  that  country  over  which  Herod, 
who  was  his  grandfather,  had  reigned, 
that  is,  Judea  and  Samaria;  and  this  he 
restored  to  him  as  due  to  his  family.  But 
for  Abila  of  Lysanias,  and  all  that  lay  at 
Mount  Libanus,  he  bestowed  them  upon 
him,  as  out  of  his  own  territories.  He 
also  made  a  league  with  this  Agrippa,  con- 
firmed by  oaths,  in  the  middle  of  the 
forum,  in  the  city  of  Rome:  he  also  took 
away  from  Antiochus  that  kingdom  which 
he  was  possessed  of,  but  gave  him  a  certain 
part  of  Cilicia  and  Commagena  :  he  also 
set  Alexander  Lysimachus,  the  alabarch, 
at  liberty,  who  had  been  his  old  friend, 
and  steward  .to  his  mother  Antonia,  but 
had  been  imprisoned  by  Caius,  whose  son 
[Marcus]  married  Bernice,  the  daughter 
of  Agrippa.  But  when  Marcus,  Alexan- 
der's son,  was  dead,  who  had  married  her 
when  she  was  a  virgin,  Agrippa  gave  her 
in  marriage  to  his  brother  Herod,  and 
begged  for  him  of  Claudius  the  kingdom 
of  Chalcis. 

Now,  about  this  time  there  was  a  sedition 
between  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks,  at  the 
city  of  Alexandria ;  for,  when  Caius  was 
dead,  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  which  had 
been  very  much  mortified  under  the  reign 
of  Caius,  and  reduced  to  very  great  dis- 
tress by  the  people  of  Alexandria,  reco- 
vered itself,  and  immediately  took  up  arms 
to  fight  for  themselves.  So  Claudius  sent 
an  order  to  the  president  of  Egypt  to 
quiet  that  tumult;  he  also  sent  an  edict, 
at  the  request  of  King  Agrippa  and  King 
Herod,  both  to  Alexandria  and  to  Syria, 
whose  contents  were  as  follows: — " Tibe- 
rius Claudius  Caesar  Augustus  Germani- 
cus.  high  priest  and  tribune  of  the  people, 
ordains  thus :  Since  I  am  assured  that  the 
Jews  at  Alexandria,  called  Alexandrians, 
have  been  joint  inhabitants  in  the  earliest 
times  with  the  Alexandrians,  and  have 
obtained  from  their  kings  equal  privileges 
with  them,  as  is  evident  by  the  public 
records  that  are  in  their  possession,  and 
the  edicts  themselves;  and  that  after 
Alexandria  had  been  subjected  to  our 
empire  by  Augustus,  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges have  been  preserved  by  those  presi- 
dents who  have  at  divers  times  been  sent 
thither;  and  that  no  dispute  had  been 
raised  about  these  rights  and  privileges, 
even  when  Aquila  was  governor  of  Alex- 
andria; and  that  when  the  Jewish  ethnarch 
was  dead,  Augustus  did  not  prohibit  the 
making  such  ethnarchs,  as  willing  that  all 
38 


men  should  be  so  subject  [to  the  Romansj 
as  to  continue  in  the  observation  of  their 
own  customs,  and  not  to  be  forced  to 
transgress  the  ancient  rules  of  their  owu 
country  religion;  but  that,  in  the  time  of 
Caius,  the  Alexandrians  became  insolent 
toward  the  Jews  that  were  among  them, 
which  Caius,  out  of  his  great  madness  and 
want  of  understanding,  reduced  the  nation 
of  the  Jews  very  low,  because  they  would 
not  transgress  the  religious  worship  of 
their  country,  and  call  him  a  god  :  I  will, 
therefore,  that  the  nation  of  the  Jews  be 
not  deprived  of  their  rights  and  privileges, 
on  account  of  the  madness  of  Caius ;  but 
that  those  rights  and  privileges,  which 
they  formerly  enjoyed,  be  preserved  to 
them,  and  that  they  may  continue  in  their 
own  customs.  And  I  charge  both  parties 
to  take  very  great  care  that  no  troubles 
may  arise  after  the  promulgation  of  this 
edict." 

And  such  were  the  contents  of  this  edict 
on  behalf  of  the  Jews,  that  were  sent  to 
Alexandria.  But  the  edict  that  was  sent 
into  the  other  parts  of  the  habitable  earth 
was  this  which  follows: — "  Tiberius  Clau- 
dius Caesar  Augustus  Germanicus,  high 
priest,  tribune  of  the  people,  chosen  consul 
the  second  time,  ordains  thus :  Upou  the 
petition  of  King  Agrippa  and  King  Herod, 
who  are  persons  very  dear  to  me,  that 
I  would  grant  the  same  rights  and  privi- 
leges should  be  preserved  to  the  Jews 
which  are  in  all  the  Roman  empire,  which 
I  have  granted  to  those  of  Alexandria,  I 
very  willingly  comply  therewith;  and  this 
grant  I  make,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the 
petitioners,  but  as  judging  those  Jews  for 
whom  I  have  been  petitioned,  worthy  of 
such  a  favour,  on  account  of  their  fidelity 
and  friendship  to  the  Romans.  I  think  it 
also  very  just  that  no  Grecian  city  should 
be  deprived  of  such  rights  and  privileges, 
since  they  were  preserved  to  them  under 
the  great  Augustus.  It  will,  therefore, 
be  fit  to  permit  the  Jews,  who  are  in  all 
the  world  under  us,  to  keep  their  ancient 
customs  without  being  hindered  so  to  do. 
And  I  do  charge  them  also  to  use  this  my 
kindness  to  them  with  moderation,  aud 
not  to  show  a  contempt  of  the  superstitious 
observances  of  other  nations,  but  to  keep 
their  own  laws  only.  And  I  will,  that 
this  decree  of  mine  be  engraven  on  tables 
by  the  magistrates  of  the  cities  and  colo- 
nies, and  municipal  places,  both  those 
within  Italy  and  those  without  it,  both 
kings  and  governors,  by  the  means  of  the 


504 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX 


ambassadors,  and  to  have  them  exposed  to 
the  public  for  full  30  days,  in  such  a 
place,  whence  it  may  be  plainly  read  from 
the  ground."* 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Conduct  of  Agrippa — Petronius  writes  to  the  inha- 
bitants of  Doris  on  behalf  of  the  Jews. 

Now  Claudius  Caesar,  by  these  decrees 
of  his  which  were  sent  to  Alexandria  and 
to   all   the  habitable  earth,  made  known 
what  opinion  he  had  of  the  Jews.     So, 
he  soon  sent  away  Agrippa  to   take   his 
kingdom,  now  he  was  advanced  to  a  more 
illustrious  dignity  than  before,  and  sent 
letters  to  the  presidents  and  procurators  of 
the  provinces,  that  they  should  treat  him 
very  kindly.     Accordingly,  he  returned  in 
haste,  as   was   likely  he  would,  now   he 
returned  in  much  greater  prosperity  than 
he  had  before.     He  also  came  to  Jerusa- 
lem, and  offered  all  the  sacrifices  that  be- 
longed to  him,  and  omitted  nothing  which 
the  law  required;  on  which  account,  he 
ordered  that  many  of  the  Nazarites  should 
have   their   heads    shorn.     And    for    the 
golden   chain  which  had   been  given  him 
by  Caius,  of  equal  weight  with   that  iron 
chain  wherewith  his  royal  hands  had  been 
bound,  he  hung  it  up  within  the  limits  of 
the    temple,    over    the   treasury, f  that  it 
may  be  a    memorial  of  the   severe    fate 
he  had  lain  under,  and  a  testimonyrof  his 
change  for  the  better;  that  it  might  be  a 
demonstration  how  the  greatest  prosperity 
may  have  a  fall,  and  that  God  sometimes 
raises  what  is  fallen  down;  for  this  chain 
thus  dedicated  afforded  a  document  to  all 
men,  that  King  Agrippa  had   been  once 
bound  in  a  chain  for  a  small  cause,  but 
recovered  his   former  dignity  again,  and, 
a   little    while  afterward,  got    out  of  his 
bonds,  and  was  advanced  to    be  a  more 
illustrious    king    than     he     was    before. 
Whence   men    may   understand,  that  all 
that  partake  of  human  nature,  how  great 
soever  they  are,  may  fall;  and  that  those 
that  fall  may  gain  their  former  illustrious 
dignity  again. 

*  This  form  was  so  known  and  frequent  among 
the  Romans,  that  it  used  to  be  represented  at  the 
bottom  of  their  edicts  by  the  initial  letters  only, 
U.  D.  P.  R.  L.  P.,  TJnde  De  Piano  Recte  Lege 
Poasit :  "  Whence  it  may  be  plainly  read  from  the 
ground." 

j"  This  treasury-chamber  seems  to  have  been 
the  same  in  which  Christ  taught,  and  where  the 
people  offered  their  charity-money  for  the  repairs 
or  other  uses  of  the  temple.  Mark  xii.  41,  <fcc.  j 
Luke  x.xii.  1 ;    John  viii.  20. 


And  when  Agrippa  had  entirely  finished 
all  the  duties  of  the  divine  worship,  he 
removed  Theophilus,  the  son  of  Anauus, 
from  the  high-priesthood,  and  bestowed 
that  honour  on  his  son  Simon,  the  son  of 
Boethus,  whose  name  was  also  Cantheras, 
whose  daughter  King  Herod  had  married, 
as  I  have  related  before.  Simon,  there- 
fore, had  the  [high]  priesthood  with  his 
brethren,  and  with  his  father,  in  like 
manner  as  the  sons  of  Simon,  the  son  of 
Onias,  who  were  three,  had  it  formerly 
under  the  government  of  the  Macedonians 
as  we  have  related  in  a  former  book. 

When  the  king  had  settled   the  high- 
priesthood  after  this  manner,  he  returned 
the  kindness    which    the    inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem  had  shown  him;  for  he  released 
them  from  the  tax  upon  houses,  every. one 
of  whom  paid  it  before,  thinking  it  a  good 
thing  to  requite  the  tender  affection  of 
those    that    loved    him.     He    also    made 
Silas  the  general  of  his  forces,  as  a  man 
who  had  partaken  with  him  in   many  of 
his  troubles.     But  after  a  very  little  while 
the  young  men  of  Doris,  preferring  a  rash 
attempt  before  piety,  and  being  naturally 
bold   and  insolent,    carried    a    statue   oi 
Caesar  into  a  synagogue  of  the  Jews,  and 
erected  it  there.     This  procedure  of  theirs 
greatly  provoked  Agrippa;  for  it  plainly 
tended  to  the  .dissolution  of  the  laws  of 
his  country.     So  he  came  without  delay 
to  Publius  Petronius,  who  was  then  presi- 
dent of  Syria,  and  accused  the  people  of 
Doris.     Nor  did  he  less  resent  what  was 
done  than    did  Agrippa;  for    he  judged 
it   a  piece  of  impiety   to   transgress   the 
laws    that  regulate    the  actions  of  men. 
So,  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the 
people  of  Doris,    in  an    angry  strain  :- 
"Publius  Petronius,  the  president  under 
Tiberius  Claudius  Caesar  Augustus  Ger- 
manicus,    to    the    magistrates    of   Doris, 
ordains    as    follows:  Since    some  of  you 
have  had  the  boldness,  or  madness  rather, 
after  the  edict  of  Claudius  Caesar  Augustus 
Grermanicus  was  published  for  permitting 
the  Jews   to    observe    the    laws  of  their 
country,  not  to  obey  the  same,  but  have 
acted  in  entire  ^opposition  thereto,  as  for 
bidding  the  Jews  to  assemble  together  in 
the    synagogue,    by    removing    Caesar's 
statue,    and    setting    it   up    therein,  and 
thereby  have  offended  not  only  the  Jews, 
but  the  emperor  himself,  whose  statue  is 
more   commodiously    placed  in    his   own 
temple  than  in  a  foreign   one,  where  is 
the  place  of  assembling  together;  while 


Chap.  VII.  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


595 


it  is  but  a  part  of  natural  justice,  that 
every  one  should  have  the  power  over  the 
place  belonging  peculiarly  to  themselves, 
according  to  the  determination  of  Caesar, 
to  say  nothing  of  my  own  determination, 
which  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  mention 
after  the  emperor's  edict,  which  gives  the 
Jews  leave  to  make  use  of  their  own  cus- 
toms, as  also  gives  order  that  they  enjoy 
equally  the  rights  of  citizens  with  the 
Greeks  themselves,  I  therefore  ordain, 
that  Proculus  Vitellius,  the  centurion, 
bring  those  men  to  me,  who,  contrary  to 
Augustus's  edict,  have  been  so  insolent 
as  to  do  this  thing,  at  which  those  very 
men  who  appear  to  be  of  principal  repu- 
tation among  them  have  an  indignation 
also,  and  allege  for  themselves,  that  -  it 
was  not  done  with  their  consent,  but  by^ 
the  violence  of  the  multitude,  that  they 
may  give  an  account  of  what  hath  been 
done.  I  also  exhort  the  principal  magis- 
trates among  them,  unless  they  have  a 
mind  to  have  this  action  esteemed  to  be 
done  with  their  consent,  to  inform  the 
centurion  of  those  that  were  guilty  of  it, 
and  take  care  that  no  handle  be  hence 
taken  for  raising  a  sedition  or  quarrel 
•.m-ong  them ;  which  those  seem  to  me  to 
hunt  after,  who  encourage  such  doings ; 
while  both  I  myself,  and  King  Agrippa, 
for  whom  I  have  the  highest  honour,  have 
nothing  more  under  our  care  than  that  the 
nation  of  the  Jews  may  have  no  occasion 
given  them  of  getting  together,  under  the 
pretence  of  avenging  themselves,  and  be- 
come tumultuous.  And  that  it  may  be 
more  publicly  known  what  Augustus  hath 
resolved  about  this  whole  matter,  I  have 
subjoined  those  edicts  which  he  hath  lately 
caused  to  be  published  at  Alexandria,  and 
which,  although  they  may  be  well  known 
to  all,  yet  did  King  Agrippa,  for  whom  I 
have  the  highest  honour,  read  them  at  that 
time  before  my  tribuual,  and  pleaded  that 
the  Jews  ought  not  to  be  deprived  of 
those  rights  which  Augustus  hath  granted 
them.  I  therefore  charge  you,  that  you 
do  not,  for  the  time  to  come,  seek  for  any 
occasion  of  sedition  or  disturbance,  but 
that  every  one  be  allowed  to  follow  their 
own  religious  customs." 

Thus  did  Petronius  take  care  of  this 
matter,  that  such  a  breach  of  the  law 
might  be  corrected,  and  that  no  such 
thing  might  be  attempted  afterward 
against  the  Jews.  And  now  King  Agrippa 
took  the  [high]  priesthood  away  from  Si- 
mon  Cantheras,   and    put  Jonathan,   the 


son  of  Ananus,  into  it  again,  and  owned 
that  he  was  more  worthy  of  that  dignity 
than  the  other.  But  this  was  not  a  thing 
acceptable  to  him,  to  recover  that  his 
former  dignity.  So  he  refused  it,  and 
said,  "  0  king !  I  rejoice  in  the  honour  that 
thou  hast  for  me,  and  take  it  kindly  that 
thou  wouldst  give  me  such  a  dignity  of 
thy  own  inclinations,  although  God  hath 
judged  that  I  am  not  at  all  worthy  of  the 
high-priesthood.  lam  satisfied  with  hav- 
ing once  put  on  the  sacred  garments;  foi 
I  then  put  them  on  after  a  more  holy 
manner  than  I  should  now  receive  them 
again.  But,  if  thou  desirest  that  a  person 
more  worthy  than  myself  should  have 
this  honourable  employment,  give  me 
leave  to  name  thee  such  an  one.  I  have 
a  brother  that  is  pure  from  all  sin  against 
God,  and  of  all  offences  against  thyself; 
I  recommend  him  to  thee,  as  one  that  is 
fit  for  this  dignity."  So  the  king  was 
pleased  with  these  words  of  his,  and 
passed  by  Jonathan,  and,  according  to 
his  brother's  desire,  bestowed  the  high- 
priesthood  upon  Matthias.  Nor  was  it 
long  before  Marcus  succeeded  Petronius 
as  president  of  Syria. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Silas  imprisoned  by  Agrippa — Jerusalem  encom- 
passed by  a  wall — Benefits  conferred  on  the  in- 
habitants of  Berytus  by  Agrippa. 

Now  Silas,  the  general  of  the  king's 
horse,  because  he  had  been  faithful  to  him 
under  all  his  misfortunes,  and  had  never 
refused  to  be  a  partaker  with  him  in  any 
of  his  dangers,  but  had  oftentimes  under- 
gone the  most  hazardous  dangers  for  him, 
was  full  of  assurance,  and  thought  he 
might  expect  a  sort  of  equality  with  the 
king,  on  account  of  the  firmness  of  the 
friendship  he  had  shown  to  him.  Accord- 
ingly, he  would  nowhere  let  the  king  sit 
as  his  superior,  and  took  the  like  liberty 
in  speaking  to  him  upon  all  occasions,  till 
he  became  troublesome  to  the  king,  when 
they  were  merry  together,  extolling  him- 
self beyond  measure,  and  often  putting 
the  king  in  mind  of  the  severity  of  for- 
tune he  had  undergone,  that  he  might,  by 
way  of  ostentation,  demonstrate  what 
zeal  he  had  shown  in  his  service;  and  was 
continually  harping  upon  this  string, 
what  pains  he  had  taken  for  him,  and 
much  enlarged  still  upon  that  subject 
The  repetition  of  this  so  frequently 
seemed  to  reproach  the  king,  insomuch, 
that  he  took  this  ungovernal  le  liberty  of 


596 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS 


[Book  XIX. 


talking  very  ill  at  his  hands.  For  the 
commemoration  of  times,  when  men  have 
been  under  ignominy,  is  by  no  means 
agreeable  to  them;  and  he  is  a  very  silly 
man  who  is  perpetually  relating  to  a  per- 
son what  kindness  he  had  done  him.  At 
last,  therefore,  Silas  had  so  thoroughly 
provoked  the  king's  indignation,  that  he 
acted  rather  out  of  passion  than  good  con- 
sideration, and  did  not  only  turn  Silas 
out  of  his  place,  as  general  of  his  horse, 
but  sent  him  in  bonds  to  his  own  country. 
But  the  edge  of  his  anger  wore  off  by 
length  of  time,  and  made  room  for  more 
just  reasonings  as  to  his  judgment  about 
this  man;  and  he  considered  how  many 
labours  he  had  undergone  for  his  sake. 
So  when  Agrippa  was  solemnizing  his 
birthday,  and  he  gave  festival  entertain- 
ments to  all  his  subjects,  he  sent  for 
Silas,  on  the  sudden,  to  be  his  guest. 
But,  as  he  was  a  very  frank  man,  he 
thought  he  had  now  a  just  handle  given 
him  to  be  angry ;  which  he  could  not 
conceal  from  those  that  came  for  him,  but 
said  to  them,  "What  honour  is  this  the 
king  invites  me  to,  which  I  conclude  will 
soon  be  over !  For  the  king  hath  not  let 
me  keep  those  original  marks  of  the  good- 
will I  bore  him,  which  I  once  had  from 
him;  but  he  hath  plundered  me,  and  that 
uujustly  also.  Does  he  think  that  I  can 
leave  off  that  liberty  of  speech,  which, 
upon  the  consciousness  of  my  deserts,  I 
shall  use  more  loudly  than  before,  and 
shall  relate  how  many  misfortunes  I  have 
delivered  him  from?  how  many  labours  I 
have  undergone  for  him,  whereby  I  pro- 
cured hirn  deliverance  and  respect?  as  a 
reward  for  which  I  have  borne  the  hard- 
ships of  bonds  and  a  dark  prison !  I 
shall  never  forget  this  usage.  Nay,  per- 
haps, my  very  soul,  when  it  is  departed 
out  of  my  body,  will  not  forget  the  glori- 
ous actions  I  did  on  his  account."  This 
was  the  clamour  he  made ;  and  he  ordered 
the  messengers  to  tell  it  to  the  king.  So 
he  perceived  that  Silas  was  incurable  in 
his  folly,  and  still  suffered  him  to  lie  in 
prison. 

As  for  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  that 
were  adjoining  to  the  new  city  [Bezetha], 
he  repaired  them  at  the  expense  of  the 
public,  and  built  them  wider  in  breadth 
and  higher  in  altitude;  and  he  had  made 
them  too  strong  for  all  human  power  to 
demolish,  unless  Marcus,  the  then  presi- 
dent of  Syria,  had  by  letter  informed 
Claudius  Caesar  of  what  he    was  doing. 


And  when  Claudius  had  some  suspicion 
of  attempts  for  innovation,  he  sent  to 
Agrippa  to  leave  off  the  building  of  those 
walls  presently.  So  he  obeyed,  as  not 
thinking  it  proper  to  contradict  Claudius 

Now  this  king  was  by  nature  very 
beneficent,  and  liberal  in  his  gifts,  and 
very  ambitious  to  oblige  people  with  such 
large  donations;  and  he  made  himself 
very  illustrious  by  the  many  chargeable 
presents  he  made  them.  He  took  delight 
in  giving,  and  rejoiced  in  living  with  good 
reputation.  He  was  not  at  all  like  that 
Herod  who  reigned  before  him  ;  for  that 
Herod  was  ill-natured,  and  severe  in  his 
punishments,  and  had  no  mercy  on  them 
that  he  hated;  and  every  one  perceived 
that  he  was  more  friendly  to  the  Greeks 
than  to  the  Jews;  for  he  adorned  foreign 
cities  with  large  presents  in  money;  with 
building  them  baths  and  theatres  besides; 
nay,  in  some  of  those  places,  he  erected 
temples,  and  porticos  in  others;  but  he 
did  not  vouchsafe  to  raise  one  of  the  least 
edifices  in  any  Jewish  city,  or  make  them 
any  donation  that  was  worth  mentioning. 
But  Agrippa's  temper  was  mild,  and 
equally  liberal  to  all  men.  He  was  hu- 
mane to  foreigners,  and  made  them  sensi- 
ble of  his  liberality.  He  was  in  like 
manner  rather  of  a  gentle  and  compas- 
sionate temper.  Accordingly,  he  loved 
to  live  continually  at  Jerusalem,  and  was 
exactly  careful  in  the  observances  of  the 
laws  of  his  country.  He  therefore  kepi 
himself  entirely  pure;  nor  did  any  day 
pass  over  his  head  without  its  appointee 
sacrifice. 

However,  there  was  a  certain  man  of 
the  Jewish  nation  at  Jerusalem,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  very  accurate  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  law.  His  name  was  Simon 
This  man  got  together  an  assembly, 
while  the  king  was  absent  at  Cesarea,  and 
had  the  insolence  to  accuse  him  as  not 
living  holily,  and  that  he  might  justly  be 
excluded  out  of  the  temple,  since  it  be- 
longed only  to  native  Jews.  But  the 
general  of  Agrippa's  army  informed  him 
that  Simon  had  made  such  a  speech  to 
the  people.  So  the  king  sent  for  him; 
and,  as  he  was  then  sitting  in  the  theatre, 
he  bade  him  sit  down  by  him,  and  said  to 
him  with  a  low  and  gentle  voice,  "  What 
is  there  done  in  this  place  that  is  contrary 
to  the  law?"  But  he  had  nothing  to  say 
for  himself,  but  begged  his  pardon.  So 
the  king  was  more  easily  reconciled  to 
him    than    one    could    have  imagined,  aa 


UIAP.  VIII. J 


ANTIQUITIES   OF   THE   JEWS. 


597 


esteeming  mildness  a  better  quality  in  a 
king  than  anger;  and  knowing  that  mode- 
ration is  more  becoming  in  great  men 
than  passion.  So  he  made  Simon  a  small 
present,  and  dismissed  him. 

Now,  ajs  Agrippa  was  a  great  builder 
in  many  places,  he  paid  a  peculiar  regard 
to  the  people  of  Berytus:  for  he  erected 
a  theatre  for  them,  superior  to  many 
others  of  that  sort,  both  in  sumptuous- 
ness  and  elegance,  as  also  an  amphithea- 
tre, built  at  vast  expense ;  and,  besides 
these,  he  built  them  baths  and  porticos, 
and  spared  for  no  costs  in  any  of  his  edi- 
fices, to  render  them  both  handsome  and 
large.  He  also  spent  a  great  deal  upon 
their  dedication,  and  exhibited  shows  upon 
them,  and  brought  thither  musicians  of  all 
sorts,  and  such  as  made  the  most  delight- 
ful music,  of  the  greatest  variety.  He 
also  showed  his  magnificence  upon  the 
theatre,  in  his  great  number  of  gladiators; 
and  there  it  was  that  he  exhibited  the 
several  antagonists,  in  order  to  please  the 
spectators;  no  fewer,  indeed,  than  700 
men  to  fight  with  700  other  men;*  and 
allotted  all  the  malefactors  he  had  for  this 
exercise,  that  both  the  malefactors  might 
receive  their  punishment,  and  that  this 
operation  of  war  might  be  a  recreation  in 
peace.  And  thus  were  these  criminals  all 
destroyed  at  once. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Death  of  Agrippa. 

When  Agrippa  had  finished  what  I 
have  above  related,  at  Berytus,  he  removed 
to  Tiberias,  a  city  of  Galilee.  Now,  he 
was  in  great  esteem  among  other  kings. 
Accordingly  there  came  to  him  Antiochus, 
king  of  Commagena,  Sampsigeramus,  king 
of  Emesa,  and  Cotys,  who  was  king  of 
the  Lesser  Armenia,  and  Polemo,  who 
was  king  of  Pontus,  as  also  Herod  his 
brother,  who  was  king  of  Chalcis.  All 
these  he  treated  with  agreeable  entertain- 
ments, and  after  an  obliging  manner,  and 
bo  us  to  exhibit  the  greatness  of  his  mind, 
and  so  as  to  appear  worthy  of  those 
respects  which  the  kings  paid  to  him  by 
coming  thus  to  see  him.  However,  while 
these  kings  stayed  with  him,  Marcus,  the 
president  of  Syria,  came  thither.  So  the 
king,  in  order  to  preserve  the  respect  that 

*  A  strange  number  of  condemned  criminals  to 
lie  under  sentence  of  death  at  once;  no  fewer,  it 
seems,  than  U00 ! 


was  due  to  the  Romans,  wc?nt  out  of  the 
city  to  meet  him,  as  far  as  seven  furlongs. 
But  this  proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  a 
difference  between  him  and  Marcus;  for 
he  took  with  him  in  his  chariot  those 
other  kings  as  his  assessors.  But  Marcus 
had  a  suspicion  what  the  meaning  could 
be  of  so  great  a  friendship  of  these  kings 
one  with  another,  and  did  not  think  so 
close  an  agreement  of  so  many  potentates 
to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  Romans.  He 
therefore  sent  some  of  his  domestics  to 
every  one  of  them,  and  enjoined  them  to 
go  their  ways  home  without  further  delay. 
This  was  very  ill  taken  by  Agrippa,  who, 
after  that,  became  his  enemy.  And  now 
he  took  the  high-priesthood  away  from 
Matthias,  and  made  Elioneus,  the  son  of 
Cantheras,  high  priest  in  his  stead. 

Now  when  Agrippa  had  reigned  three 
years  over  all  Judea,  he  came  to  the  city 
of  Cesarea,  which  was  formerly  called 
Strato's  Tower;  and  there  he  exhibited 
shows  in  honour  of  Caesar,  upon  his  being 
informed  that  there  was  a  certain  festival 
celebrated  to  make  vows  for  his  safety. 
At  which  festival,  a  great  multitude  had 
gotten  together  of  the  principal  persons,, 
and  such  as  were  of  dignity  through  hi& 
province.  On  the  second  day  of  which 
shows,  he  put  on  a  garment  made  wholly 
of  silver,  and  of  a  contexture  truly  won- 
derful, and  came  into  the  theatre  early  in 
the  morning ;  at  which  time  the  silver  of 
his  garment  being  illuminated  by  the 
fresh  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays  upon  it, 
shone  out  after  a  surprising  manner,  and 
was  so  resplendent  as  to  spread  a  horror 
over  those  that  looked  intently  upon  him : 
and  presently  his  flatterers  cried  out,  one 
from  one  place,  and  another  from  another, 
(though  not  for  his  good,)  that  he  was  a 
god  :  and  they  added,  "  Be  thou  merciful 
to  us;  for  although  we  have  hitherto 
reverenced  thee  only  as  a  man,  yet  shall 
we  henceforth  own  thee  as  superior  to  mor- 
tal nature."  Upon  this  the  king  did  nei- 
ther rebuke  them  nor  reject  their  impious 
flattery.  But,  as  he  presently  afterward 
looked  up,  he  saw  an  owl  sitting  upon  a 
certain  rope  over  his  head,  and  imme- 
diately understood  that  this  bird  was  the 
messenger  of  ill  tidings,  as  it  had  once 
been  the  messenger  of  good  tidings  to 
him;  and  fell  into  the  deepest  sorrow. 
A  severe  pain  also  arose  in  his  belly,  and 
began  in  a  most  violent  manner.  He 
therefore  looked  upon  his  friends  and  said, 
"I,  whom  you  call  a  god,  am  commanded 


598 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XIX.  Chap.   IX. 


presently  to  depart  this  life ;  while  Pro- 
vidence thus  reproves  the  lying  words  you 
have  just  now  said  to  ine;  and  I,  who  was 
by  you  called  immortal,  am  immediately 
to  be  hurried  away  by  death.  But  I  am 
bound  to  accept  of  what  Providence  allots, 
as  it  pleases  God :  for  we  have  by  no 
means  lived  ill,  but  in  a  splendid  and  hap- 
py manner/'  When  he  had  said  this,  his 
pain  had  become  violent.  Accordingly, 
he  was  carried  into  the  palace;  and  the 
rumour  went  abroad  everywhere  that  he 
would  certainly  die  in  a  little  time.  But 
the  multitude  presently  sat  in  sackcloth, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  after  the 
law  of  their  country,  and  besought  God 
for  the  king's  recovery.  All  places  were 
also  full  of  mourning  and  lamentations. 
Now,  the  king  rested  in  a  high  chamber, 
and  as  he  saw  them  below  lying  prostrate 
on  the  ground,  he  could  not  himself  for- 
bear weeping.  And  when  he  had  been 
quite  worn  out  by  the  pain  in  bis  belly 
for  five  days,  he  departed  this  life,  being 
in  the  54th  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the 
seventh  year  of  his  reign ;  for  he  reigned 
four  years  under  Caius  Caesar,  three  of 
them  were  over  Philip's  tetrarchy  only, 
and,  on  the  fourth,  he  had  that  of  Herod 
added  to  it ;  and  he  reigned,  besides  those, 
three  years  under  the  reign  of  Claudius 
Caesar :  in  which  time  he  reigned  over 
the  forementioned  couutries,  and  had  Ju- 
dea  added  to  them,  as  also  Samaria  and 
Cesarea.  The  revenues  that  he  received 
out  of  them  were  very  great,  no  less  than 
12,000,000  of  drachmae.*  Yet  did  he 
borrow  great  sums  from  others;  for  he 
was  so  very  liberal,  that  his  expenses  ex- 
ceeded his  incomes;  and  his  generosity 
was  boundless. f 

But  before  the  multitude  were  made 
acquainted  with  Agrippa's  being  expired, 
Herod,  the  king  of  Chalcis,  and  Helcias, 
the  master  of  the  horse,  and  the  king's 
friend,  sent  xAristo,  one  of  the  king's  most 
faithful  servants,  and  slew  Silas,  who  had 
been  their  enemy,  as  if  it  had  been  done 
by  the  king's  own  command. 


*  This  sum  of  12,000,000  of  drachmae,  which  is 
equal  to  3,000,000  of  shekels,  i.  e.  at  2*.  lOd.  a 
rhekel,  equal  to  £425,000  sterling,  was  Agrippa's 
yearly  income,  or  about  three-fourths  of  his  grand- 
father Herod's  income,  he  having  abated  the  tax 
«pon  houses  a*  Jerusalem;  neither  was  he  so  tyran- 
nical as  Heroci  had  been  to  the  Jews. 

f  Reland  takes  notice  here,  that  Josephus  omits 
the  reconciliation  of  this  Herod  Agrippa  to  the  Ty- 
rlans  and  Sidonians,  by  the  means  of  Blastus  the 
•i  trig's  chamberlain.     Acts  xh.  20. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The    Emperor  Claudius    appoints  Cuspius  Fadua 
procurator  of  Judea. 

And  thus  did  King  Agrippa  depart  thih 
life.  But  he  left  behind  him  a  son,  Agrip- 
pa by  name,  a  youth  in  the  seventeenth 
year  of  his  age,  -and  three  daughters,  one- 
of  whom,  Bernice,  was  married  to  Herod, 
his  father's  brother,  and  was  sixteen  years 
old;  the  other  two,  Mariamne  and  Dru- 
silla,  were  still  virgins;  the  former  was 
ten  years  old,  and  Drusilla  six.  Now, 
these  his  daughters  were  thus  espoused  by 
their  father:  Mariamne  to  Julius  Arche- 
laus  Epiphanes,  the  son  of  Antiochus,  the 
son  of  Chelcias;  and  Drusilla  to  the  king 
of  Commagena.  But  when  it  was  known 
that  Agrippa  had  departed  this  life,  the  in- 
habitants of  Cesarea  and  of  Sebaste  forgot 
the  kindnesses  he  had  bestowed  on  them, 
and  acted  the  part  of  the  bitterest  ene- 
mies; for  they  cast  such  reproaches  upon 
the  deceased  as  are  not  fit  to  be  spoken  of: 
and  so  many  of  them  as  were  then  sol- 
diers, which  were  a  great  number,  went 
to  bis  bouse,  and  hastily  carried  off  the 
statues*  of  the  king's  daughters,  and  all 
at  once  carried  them  into  the  brothel- 
houses,  and  when  they  had  set  them  on 
the  tops  of  those  houses,  they  abused 
them  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  and  did 
such  things  to  them  as  are  too  indecent  to 
be  related.  They  also  laid  themselves 
down  in  public  places,  and  celebrated  ge- 
neral feastings  with  garlands  on  their 
heads,  and  with  ointments  and  libations 
to  Charon,  and  drinking  to  one  another 
for  joy  that  the  king  had  expired.  Nay, 
they  were  not  only  unmindful  of  Agrippa, 
who  had  extended  his  liberality  to  them 
in  abundance,  but  of  his  grandfather  He- 
rod also,  who  had  himself  rebuilt  their 
cities,  and  had  raised  them  havens  and 
temples  at  vast  expense. 

Now  Agrippa,  the  son  of  the  deceased, 
was  at  Rome,  and  brought  up  with  Clau- 
dius Caesar.  And  when  Caesar  was  in- 
formed that  Agrippa  was  dead,  and  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Sebaste  and  Cesarea 
had  abused  him,  he  was  sorry  for  the  first 
news,  and  was  displeased  with  the  ingrati- 
tude of  those  cities.  He  was  therefore 
disposed  to  send  Agrippa  junior  away 
presently  to  succeed  his  father  in  the  king- 
dom, and  was  willing  to  confirm  him  in 


*  Photius  says,  they  were  not  the  statues  or 
images,  but  the  ladies  themselves,  who  were  tliui 
basely  abused  by  the  soldiers. 


Buok  XX    Chap.  1.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


599 


it  by  his  oath.  But  those  freednien  and 
friends  of  his  who  had  the  greatest  au- 
thority with  him,  dissuaded  him  from  it, 
and  said  that  k  was  a  dangerous  experi- 
ment to  permit  so  large  a  kingdom  to  come 
under  the  government  of  so  very  young  a 
man,  and  one  hardly  yet  arrived  at  the 
years  of  discretion,  who  would  not  be  able 
to  take  sufficient  care  of  its  administration; 
while  the  weight  of  a  kingdom  is  heavy 
enough  for  a  grown  man.  So  Caesar 
thought  what  they  said  to  be  reasonable 
Accordingly,  he  sent  Cuspius  Fadus  to  be 
procurator  of  Judea,  and  of  the  entire  king- 
dom, and  paid  that  respect  to  the  deceased, 
as  not  to  introduce  Marcus,  who  had  been 
at  variance  with  him,  into  his  kingdom. 
But  he  determined,  in  the  first  place,  to 
send  orders  to  Fadus,  that  he  should  chas- 
tise the  inhabitants  of  Cesarea  and  Sebaste 
for  those  abuses  they  had  offered  to  him 


that  was  deceased,  and  their  madness 
toward  his  daughters  that  were  still  alive; 
and  that  he  should  remove  that  body  of 
soldiers  that  were  at  Cesarea  and  Sebaste, 
with  the  five  regiments,  into  Pontus,  that 
they  might  do  their  military  duty  therev 
and  that  he  should  choose  an  equal  num- 
ber of  soldiers  out  of  the  Roman  legions 
that  were  in  Syria,  to  supply  their  place. 
Yet  were  not  those  that  had  such  orders 
actually  removed;  for  by  sending  ambas- 
sadors to  Claudius,  they  pacified  him,  and 
got  leave  to  abide  in  Judea  still;  and 
these  were  the  very  men  that  became  the 
source  of  very  great  calamities  to  the 
Jews  in  after  times,  and  sowed  the  seeds 
of  that  war  which  began  under  Florus; 
whence  it  was  that,  when  Vespasian  had 
subdued  the  country,  he  removed  them 
out  of  his  provinces,  as  we  shall  relate 
hereafter.* 


BOOK  XX. 


CONTAINING  THE    INTERVAL  OF    TWENTY-TWO    YEARS,    FROM 

THE   PROCURATOR  TO  FLORUS. 


FADUS 


CHAPTER  I. 

Sedition  of  the  Philadelphians  against  the  Jews. 

Upon  the  death  of  King  Agrippa,  which 
we  have  related  in  the  foregoing  book, 
Claudius  Caesar  sent  Cassius  Longinus  as 
successor  to  Marcus,  out  of  regard  to  the 
memory  of  King  Agrippa,  who  had  often, 
desired  of  him  by  letters,  while  he  was 
alive,  that  he  would  not  suffer  Marcus  to 
be  any  longer  president  of  Syria.  But 
Fadus,  as  soon  as  he  had  come  as  procura- 
tor in  Judea,  found  quarrelsome  doings 
between  the  Jews  that  dwelt  in  Pereaand 
the  people  of  Philadelphia,  about  their 
borders,  at  a  village  called  Mia,  that  was 
filled  with  men  of  a  warlike  temper;  for 
the.  Jews  of  Perea  had  taken  up  arms 
without  the  consent  of  their  principal  men, 
and  had  destroyed  many  of  the  Philadel- 
phians. When  Fadus  was  informed  of 
this  procedure,  it  provoked  him  very  much 
that  they  had  not  left  the  determination 
of  the  matter  to  him,  if  they  thought  that 
the  Philadelphians  had  done  them  any 
wrong,  but    had    rashly    taken    up    arms 


against  them.  So  he  seized  upon  three  of 
their  principal  men,  who  were  also  the 
causes  of  this  sedition,  and  ordered  them 
to  be  bound,  and  afterward  had  one  of 
them  slain,  whose  name  was  Hannibal ; 
and  he  banished  the  other  two,  Amram 
and  Eleazar ;  Tholomy  also,  the  arch-rob- 
ber, was,  after  some  time,  brought  to  him 
bound,  and  slain,  but  not  till  he  had  done 
a  world  of  mischief  to  Idumea  and  the 
Arabians.  And  indeed,  from  that  time, 
Judea  was  cleared  of  robberies  by  the 
care  and  providence  of  Fadus.  He  also 
at  this  time  sent  for  the  high  priests  and 
the  principal  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  and 
this  at  the  command  of  the  emperor,  and 
admonished  them,  that  they  should  lay  up 
the  long  garment  and  the  sacred  vestment, 
which  it  is  •ustomary  for  nobody  but  the 
high  priest  to  wear,  in  the  tower  of  Anto- 
nia,  that  it  might  be  under  the  power  of 
the  Romans,  as  it  had  been  formerly. 
Now,  the  Jews  durst  not  contradict  what 
he  had  said,  but  desired  Fabius,  however, 


This  history  is  now  wanting. 


600 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  XX. 


and  Longinus,  (which  last  had  come  to 
Jerusalem,  and  had  brought  a  great  army 
with  him,  out  of  a  fear  that  the  [rigid] 
injunctions  of  Fadus  should  force  the  Jews 
to  rebel,)  that  they  might,  in  the  first 
place,  have  leave  to  send  ambassadors  to 
Caesar,  to  petition  him  that  they  might 
have  the  holy  vestments  under  their  own 
power;  and  that,  in  the  next  place,  they 
would  tarry  till  they  knew  what  answer 
Claudius  would  give  to  their. request.  So 
they  replied,  that  they  would  give  them 
leave  to  send  their  ambassadors,  pro- 
vided they  would  give  them  their  sons  as 
pledges  [for  their  peaceable  behaviour]. 
And  when  they  had  agreed  so  to  do,  and 
had  given  them  the  pledges  they  desired, 
the  ambassadors  were  sent  accordingly. 
But  when,  upon  their  coming  to  Rome, 
Agrippa  junior,  the  son  of  the  deceased, 
understood  the  reason  why  they  came,  (for 
he  dwelt  with  Claudius  Caesar,  as  we  said 
before),  he  besought  Caesar  to  grant  the 
Jews  their  request  about  the  holy  vest- 
ments,  and  to  send  a  message  to  Fadus 
accordingly. 

Hereupon  Claudius  called  for  the  am- 
bassadors, and  told  them  that  he  granted 
their  request;  and  bade  them  to  return 
their  thanks  to  Agrippa  for  this  favour, 
which  had  been  bestowed  on  them  upon 
his  entreaty.  And,  besides  these  answers 
of  his,  he  sent  the  following  letter  by 
them: — " Claudius  Caesar  Gernianicus,  tri- 
bune of  the  people  the  fifth  time,  and 
designed  consul  the  fourth  time,  and  im- 
perator  the  tenth  time,  the  father  of  his 
country,  to  the  magistrates,  senate,  and 
people,  and  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews, 
sendeth  greeting.  Upon  the  representa- 
tion of  your  ambassadors  to  me  by  Agrip- 
pa my  friend,  whom  I  have  brought  up, 
and  have  now  with  me,  and  who  is  a  per- 
son of  very  great  piety,  who  are  come  to 
give  me  thanks  for  the  care  I  have  taken 
of  your  nation,  and  to  entreat  me,  in  an 
earnest  and  obliging  manner,  that  they 
may  have  the  holy  vestments,  with  the 
crown  belonging  to  them,  under  their 
power,  I  grant  their  request,  as  that  excel- 
lent person  Vitelline,  who  is  very  dear  to 
me,  had  done  before  me.  And  I  have 
comjOied  with  your  desire,  in  the  first 
place,  out  of  regard  to  that  piety  which 
1  profess,  and  because  I  would  have  every 
one  worship  God  according  to  the  laws  of 
their  own  country ;  and  this  I  do  also,  be- 
cause I  shall  hereby  highly  gratify  King- 
Herod  and  Agrippa  junior,  whose  sacred 


regards  to  me,  and  earnest  good-will  to 
you  I  am  well  acquainted  with,  and  with 
whom  I  have  the  greatest  friendship,  and 
whom  I  highly  esteem,  and  look  on  as  a 
person  of  the  best  character.  Now,  I  have 
written  about  these  affairs  to  Cuspius  Fa- 
dus my  procurator.  The  names  of  those 
that  brought  me  your  letter  are  Cornelius, 
the  son  of  Cero,  Trypho,  the  son  of  Theu- 
dio,  Dorotheus,  the  son  of  Nathaniel,  and 
John,  the  son  of  John.  This  is  dated  be- 
fore the  fourth  of  the  calends  of  July, 
when  llufus  and  Pompeius  Sylvanus  are 
consuls. " 

Herod  also,  the  brother  of  the  deceased 
Agrippa,  who  was  then  possessed  of  the 
royal  authority  over  Chalcis,  petitioned 
Claudius  Caesar  for  the  authority  over  the 
temple,  and  the  money  of  the  sacred  trea- 
sure, and  the  choice  of  the  high  priests, 
and  obtained  all  that  he  petitioned  for. 
So  after  that  time  this  authority  continued 
among  all  his  descendants  till  the  end  of 
the  war.*  Accordingly,  Herod  removed 
the  last  high  priest,  called  Cantheras,  and 
bestowed  that  dignity  on  his  successor 
Joseph,  the  son  of  Cananus. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Helena,  queen  of  Adiabene,  and  her  son  Izates, 
embrace  the  Jewish  religion — Helena  supplies 
the  poor  with  corn  during  a  great  famine  at 
Jerusalem. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Helena, 
queen  of  Adiabene,  and  her  son  Izates, 
changed  their  course  of  life,  and  embraced 
the  Jewish  customs,  and  this  on  the  occa- 
sion following : — Monobazus,  the  king  of 
Adiabene,  who  had  also  the  name  of  Ba- 
zeus,  fell  in  love  with  his  sister  Helena, 
and  took  her  to  be  his  wife,  and  begat  her 
with  child.  But  as  he  was  in  bed  with  her 
one  night,  he  laid  his  hand  upon  his  wife, 
and  fell  asleep,  and  seemed  to  hear  a  voice, 
which  bade  him,  take  his  hand  from  off  of 
her,  and  not  to  hurt  the  infant  that  was 
within  the  womb,  and  which  by  God's  pro- 
vidence, would  be  safely  born,  and  have  a 
happy  end.  This  voice  put  him  into  dis- 
order; so  he  awaked  immediately,  and  told 
the  story  to  his  wife;  and  when  his  son 
was  born,  he  called  him  Izates.  He  had 
indeed  Monobazus,  his  elder  brother,  by 


*  Here  is  some  error  in  the  copies,  or  mistakes 
in  Josephusj  for  the  power  of  appointing  high 
priests,  after  Herod  king  of  Chalcis  was  dead,  and 
Agrippa  junior  was  made  king  of  Chalcis  in  his 
room,  belonged  to  him  ;  and  he  exercised  the  same 
all  along  till  Jerusalem  was  destroyed. 


CflAP.  II.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


601 


Selena  also,  and  he  had  other  sons  by 
other  wives  besides.  Yet  did  he  openly 
place  all  his  affections  on  this  only  begot- 
ten* son  Izates,  which  was  the  origin  of 
that  envy  which  his  other  brethren,  by 
the  same  father,  bore  to  him ;  while  on 
this  account  they  hated  him  more  and 
more,  and  were  all  under  great  affliction 
that  their  father  should  prefer  Izates  be- 
fore them  all.  Now,  although  their  father 
was  very  sensible  of  these  their  passions, 
yet  did  he  forgive  them,  as  not  indulging 
those  passions  out  of  an  ill  disposition, 
but  out  of  a  desire  each  of  them  had  to 
be  beloved  by  their  father.  However,  he 
sent  Izates,  with  many  presents,  to  Aben- 
nerig,  the  king  of  Charax-Spasini,  and 
that  out  of  the  great  dread  he  was  in 
about  him,  lest  he  should  come  to  some 
misfortune  by  the  hatred  his  brethren  bore 
him;  and  committed  his  son's  preserva- 
tion to  him.  Upon  which  Abennerig 
gladly  received  the  young  man,  and  had  a 
great  affection  for  him,  and  married  him  to 
his  own  daughter,  whose  name  was  Sama- 
cha  :  he  also  bestowed  a  country  upon  him, 
from  which  he  received  large  revenues. 

But  when  Monobazus  had  grown  old, 
and  saw  that  he  had  but  a  little  time  to 
live,  he  had  a  mind  bo  come  to  the  sight 
of  his  son  before  he  died.  So  he  sent  for 
him,  and  embraced  him  after  the  most 
affectionate  manner,  and  bestowed  on  him 
the  country  called  Carrae :  it  was  a  soil 
that  bore  ammonium  in  great  plenty  :  there 
are  also  in  it  the  remains  of  that  ark, 
wherein  it  is  related  that  Noah  escaped 
the  deluge,  and  where  they  are  still  shown 
to  such  as  are  desirous  to  see  them.  Ac- 
cordingly, Izates  abode  in  that  country 
until  his  father's  death.  But  the  very 
day  that  Monobazus  died,  Queen  Helena 
sent  for  all  the  grandees  and  governors  of 
the  kingdom,  and  for  those  that  had  the 
armies  committed  to  their  command ;  and 
when  they  had  come,  she  made  the  fol- 
lowing speech  to  them  : — "  I  believe  you 
are  not  unacquainted  that  my  husband 
was  desirous  that  Izates  should  succeed 
him  in  the  government,  and  I  thought 
him  worthy  so  to  do.  However,  I  wait 
your  determination;  for  happy  is  he  who 
receives  a  kingdom,  not  from  a  single 
person  only,  but  from  the  willing  suffrages 
of  a  great  many."  This  she  said,  in  order 
to  try  those  that  were  invited,  and  to  dis- 
cover their  sentiments.     Upon  the  hearing 

*  Or  best  beloved. 


of  which,  they  first  of  all  paid  their 
homage  to  the  queen,  as  their  custom  was, 
and  then  they  said  that  they  confirmed 
the  king's  determination,  and  would  sub 
mit  to  it;  and  they  rejoiced  that  Izates's 
father  had  preferred  him  before  the  rest 
of  his  brethren,  as  being  agreeable  to  all 
their  wishes  :  but  that  they  were  desirous, 
first  of  all,  to  slay  his  brethren  and  kins- 
men, that  so  the  government  might  come 
securely  to  Izates ;  because  if  they  were 
once  destroyed,  all  that  fear  would  be  over 
which  might  arise  from  their  hatred  and 
envy  to  him.  Helena  replied  to  this,  that 
she  returned  them  her  thanks  for  their 
kindness  to  herself  and  to  Izates;  but 
desired  that  they  would,  however,  defer 
the  execution  of  this  slaughter  of  Izates's 
brethren,  till  he  should  be  there  himself, 
aud  give  his  approbation  to  it.  So  since 
these  men  had  not  prevailed  with  her 
when  they  advised  her  to  slay  them,  they 
exhorted  her  at  least  to  keep  them  in 
bonds  till  he  should  come,  and  that  for 
their  own  security;  they  also  gave  her 
counsel  to  set  up  some  one  whom  she 
could  put  the  greatest  trust  in,  as  governor 
of  the  kingdom  in  the  mean  time.  So 
Queen  Helena  complied  with  this  counsel 
of  theirs,  and  set  up  Monobazus,  the  eldest 
son,  to  be  king,  and  put  the  diadem  upon 
his  head,  and  gave  him  his  father's  ring, 
with  its  signet;  as  also  the  ornament 
which  they  called  Sampser,  and  exhorted 
him  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  king- 
dom till  his  brother  should  come;  who 
came  suddenly,  upon  hearing  that  his 
father  was  dead,  and  succeeded  his  bro- 
ther Monobazus,  who  resigned  up  the 
government  to  him. 

Now,  during  the  time  that  Izates  abode 
at  Charax-Spasini,  a  certain  Jewish  mer- 
chant, whose  name  was  Ananias,  got 
among  the  women  that  belonged  to  the 
king,  and  taught  them  to  worship  God 
according  to  the  Jewish  religion.  He, 
moreover,  by  their  means  became  known 
to  Izates ;  and  persuaded  him,  in  like 
manner,  to  embrace  that  religion;  he  also, 
at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  Izates,  accom- 
panied him  when  he  was  sent  for  by  his 
father  to  come  to  Adiabene;  it  also  hap- 
pened that  Helena,  about  the  same  time, 
was  instructed  by  a  certain  other  Jew,  and 
went  over  to  them.  But  when  Izates 
had  taken  the  kingdom,  and  had  come  to 
Adiabene,  and  there  saw  his  brethren  and 
other  kinsmen  in  bonds,  he  was  displeased 
at  it;  and  as  he  thought  it  an  instance  cf 


602 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX 


impiety  either  to  slay  or  imprison  them, 
but  still  thought  it  a  hazardous  thing  for 
to  let  them  have  their  liberty,  with  the 
remembrance  of  the  injuries  that  had  been 
offered  them,  he  sent  some  of  them  and 
their  children  for  hostages  to  Rome,  to 
Claudius  Caesar,  and  sent  the  others  to 
Artabanus,  the  king  of  Parthia,  with  the 
like  intentions. 

And  when  he  perceived  that  his  mother 
was  highly  pleased  with  the  Jewish  cus- 
toms, he  made  haste  to  change,  and  to 
embrace  them  entirely ;  and  as  he  sup- 
posed that  he  could  not  be  thoroughly  a 
Jew  unless  he  were  circumcised,  he  was 
ready  to  have  it  done.  But  when  his  mo- 
ther understood  what  he  was  about,  she 
endeavoured  to  hinder  him  from  doing  it, 
and  said  to  him  that  this  thing  would 
bring  him  into  danger;  and  that  as  he 
was  a  king,  he  would  hereby  bring  him- 
self into  great  odium  among  his  subjects, 
when  they  should  understand  that  he  was 
so  fond  of  rites  that  were  to  them  strange 
and  foreign ;  and  that  they  would  never 
bear  to  be  ruled  over  by  a  Jew.  This  it 
was  that  she  said  to  him,  and,  for  the  pre- 
sent, persuaded  him  to  forbear.  And 
when  he  had  related  what  she  had  said  to 
Ananias,  he  confirmed  what  his  mother 
had  said ;  and  when  he  had  also  threat- 
ened to  leave  him,  unless  he  complied 
with  him,  he  went  away  from  him;  and 
said  that  he  was  afraid  lest  such  an  action 
being  once  become  public  to  all,  he  should 
himself  be  in  danger  of  punishment  for 
having  been  the  occasion  of  it,  and  having 
been  the  king's  instructor  in  actions  that 
were  of  ill  reputation  ;  and  he  said,  that 
he  might  worship  God  without  being  cir- 
cumcised, even  though  he  did  resolve  to 
follow  the  Jewish  law  entirely ;  which 
worship  of  God  was  of  a  superior  nature 
to  circumcision.  He  added,  that  God 
would  forgive  him,  though  he  did  not  per- 
form the  operation,  while  it  was  omitted 
out  of  necessity,  and  for  fear  of  his  sub- 
jects. So  the  king  at  that  time  complied 
with  these  persuasions  of  Ananias.  But 
afterward,  as  he  had  not  quite  left  off  his 
desire  of  doing  this  thing,  a  certain  other 
Jew  that  came  out  of  Galilee,  whose  name 
was  Eleazar,  and  who  was  esteemed  very 
skilful  in  the  learning  of  his  country,  per- 
suaded him  to  do  the  thing ;  for  as  he 
entered  into  his  palace  to  salute  him,  and 
found  him  reading  the  law  of  Moses,  he 
said  to  him,  "Thou  dost  not  consider,  0 
king      that   thou    unjustly    breakest    the 


principal  of  those  laws,  and  art  injurious 
to  God  himself  [by  omitting  to  be  cir- 
cumcised]; for  thou  oughtest  not  only  to 
read  them,  but  chiefly  to  practise  what 
they  enjoin  thee.  How  long  wilt  thou 
continue  uncircumcised  ?  but,  if  thou  hast 
not  yet  read  the  law  about  circumcision, 
and  dost  not  know  how  great  impiety  thou 
art  guilty  of  by  neglecting  it,  read  it 
now."  When  the  king  had  heard  what 
he  said,  he  delayed  the  thing  no  longer, 
but  retired  to  another  room,  and  sent  for 
a  surgeon,  and  did  what  he  was  command- 
ed to  do.  He  then  sent  for  his  mother, 
and  Ananias  his  tutor,  and  informed  them 
that  he  had  done  the  thing ;  upon  which 
they  were  presently  struck  with  astonish- 
ment and  fear,  and  that  to  a  great  degree, 
lest  the  thing  should  be  openly  discovered 
and  censured,  and  the  king  should  hazard 
the  loss  of  his  kingdom,  while  his  subjects 
would  not  bear  to  be  governed  by  a  man 
who  was  so  zealous  in  another  religion ; 
and  lest  they  should  themselves  run  some 
hazard,  because  they  would  be  supposed 
the  occasion  of  his  so  doing.  But  it  was 
God  himself  who  hindered  what  they 
feared  from  taking  effect ;  for  he  preserved 
both  Izates  himself  and  his  sons  when  they 
had  fallen  into  many  dangers,  and  pro- 
cured their  deliverance  when  it  seemed  to 
be  impossible,  and  demonstrated  thereby 
that  the  fruit  of  piety  does  not  perish  as 
to  those  that  have  regard  to  him,  and  fix 
their  faith  upon  him  only  :  but  the  events 
we  shall  relate  hereafter. 

But  as  to  Helena,  the  king's  mother, 
when  she  saw  that  the  affairs  of  Izates's 
kingdom  were  in  peace,  and  that  her  son 
was  a  happy  man,  and  admired  among  all 
men,  and  even  among  foreigners,  by  the 
means  of  God's  providence  over  him,  she 
had  a  mind  to  go  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
in  order  to  worship  at  that  temple  of  God 
which  was  so  very  famous  among  all  men, 
and  to  offer  her  thank-offerings  there.  So 
she  desired  her  son  to  give  her  leave  to 
go  thither :  upon  which  he  gave  his  con- 
sent to  what  she  desired  very  willingly, 
and  made  preparations  for  her  dismission, 
and  gave  her  a  great  deal  of  money,  and 
she  went  down  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
her  son  conducting  her  on  her  journey  a 
great  way.  Now,  her  coming  was  of  very 
great  advantage  to  the  people  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  for  whereas  a  famine  did  oppress 
them  at  that  time,  and  many  people  died 
for  want  of  what  was  necessary  to  procure 
food  withal,  Queen   Helena  sent  some  of 


Jhap.  Ill  ] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


603 


her  servants  to  Alexandria  ;vith  money  to 
buy  a  great  quantity  of  corn,  and  others  of 
them  to  Cyprus,  to  bring  a  cargo  of  dried 
figs ,  and  as  soon  as  they  had  come  back, 
and  had  brought  those  provisions,  which 
was  done  very  quickly,  she  distributed 
food  to  those  that  were  in  want  of  it,  and 
left  a  most  excellent  memorial  behind  her 
of  this  benefaction,  which  she  bestowed  on 
our  whole  nation ;  and  when  her  son 
Izates  was  informed  of  this  famine,  he 
sent  great  sums  of  money  to  the  principal 
men  in  Jerusalem.  However,  what  fa- 
vours this  queen  and  king  conferred  upon 
our  city  Jerusalem  shall  be  further  related 
hereafter.* 


CHAPTER  III. 

Artabanus,  king  of  Parthia,  reinstated  in  his  go- 
vernment by  Izates — Bardanes  denounces  war 
against  Izates. 

But  now  Artabanus,  king  of  the  Par- 
thians,  perceiving  that  the  governors  of 
the  provinces  had  framed  a  plot  against 
him,  did  not  think  it  safe  for  him  to  con- 
tinue among  them  ;  but  resolved  to  go  to 
Izates,  in  hopes  of  finding  some  way  for 
his  preservation  by  his  means,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, for  his  return  to  his  own  dominions. 
So  he  came  to  Izates,  and  brought  1000 
of  his  kindred  and  servants  with  him,  and 
met  him  upon  the  road,  while  he  well 
knew  Izates,  but  Izates  did  not  know  him. 
When  Artabanus  stood  near  him,  and,  in 
the  first  place,  worshipped  him  according 
to  the  custom,  he  then  said  to  him,  "0 
king !  do  not  thou  overlook  me  thy  ser- 
vant, nor  do  thou  proudly  reject  the  suit 
I  make  thee ;  for  as  I  am  reduced  to  a  low 
estate,  by  the  change  of  fortune,  and,  of  a 
king,  am  become  a  private   man,  I  stand 

*  This  further  account  of  the  benefactions  of 
Izates  and  Helena  to  the  Jerusalem  Jews  which 
Josephus  here  promises,  is  nowhere  performed  by 
him  in  his  present  works  ;  hut  of  this  terrible  fa- 
mine itself  in  Judea,  Dr.  Hudson  says  this  is  that 
famine  foretold  by  Agabus,  Acts  xi.  28;  which 
happened  when  Claudius  was  consul  the  fourth  time  ; 
and  not  that  other  which  happened  when  Claudius 
was  consul  the  second  time,  and  Carina  was  his 
colleague.  Now,  when  Josephus  has  said  a  little 
afterward,  that  "Tiberius  Alexander  succeeded 
Cuspius  Fadus  as  procurator,"  lie  immediately  sub- 
joins, that  "under  these  procurators  there  happened 
a  ^reat  famine  in  Judea."  Whence  it  is  plain  that 
this  famine  continued  for  many  years,  on  account 
of  its  duration  under  those  two  procurators.  Now, 
Fadus  was  not  seat  to  Judea  till  after  the  death  of 
King  Agrippa,  i.  e.  toward  the  latter  end  of  the  4th 
year  of  Claudius:  so  that  this  famine  foretold  by 
Agabus  happened  upon  the  5th,  6th,  and  7th  years 
of  Claudius. 


in  need  of  thy  assistance.  Have  regard, 
therefore,  unto  the  uncertainty  of  fortune, 
and  esteem  the  care  thou  shalt  take  of  me 
to  be  taken  of  thyself  also;  for  if  I  be 
neglected,  and  my  subjects  go  off  unpu- 
nished, many  other  subjects  will  become 
the  more  insolent  toward  other  kings 
also."  And  this  speech  Artabanus  made 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  with  a  dejected 
countenance.  Now,  as  soon  as  Izates 
heard  Artabanus' s  name,  and  saw  him 
stand  as  a  supplicant  before  him,  ho 
leaped  down  from  his  horse  immediately, 
and  said  to  him,  "Take  courage,  0  king! 
nor  be  disturbed  at  thy  present  calamity, 
as  if  it  were  incurable;  for  the  change  of 
thy  sad  condition  shall  be  sudden  ;  for 
thou  shalt  find  me  to  be  more  thy  friend 
and  thy  assistant  than  thy  hopes  can  pro- 
mise thee ;  for  I  will  either  re-establish 
thee  in  the  kingdom  of  Parthia,  or  lose 
my  own." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  set  Artaba- 
nus upon  his  horse,  and  followed  him  on 
foot,  in  honour  of  a  king  whom  he  owned 
as  greater  than  himself;  which,  when 
Artabanus  saw,  he  was  very  uneasy  at  it, 
and  sware  by  his  present  fortune  and 
honour,  that  he  would  get  down  from  his 
horse,  unless  Izates  would  get  upon  h\n 
horse  and  go  before  him.  So  he  complied 
with  his  desire,  and  leaped  upon  his  horse; 
and,  when  he  had  brought  him  to  his 
royal  palace,  he  showed  him  all  sorts  of 
respect  when  they  sat  together,  and  he 
gave  him  the  upper  place  at  festivals  also, 
as  regarding  not  his  present  fortune,  but 
his  former  dignity;  and  that  upon  this 
consideration  also,  that  the  changes  of  for- 
tune are  common  to  all  men.  He  also 
wrote  to  the  Parthian s,  to  persuade  them 
to  receive  Artabanus  again ;  and  gave 
them  his  right  hand  and  his  faith,  that  he 
should  forget  what  was  past  and  done,  and 
that  he  would  undertake  for  this  as  a  medi- 
ator between  them.  Now  the  Parthians 
did  not  themselves  refuse  to  receive  him 
again,  but  pleaded  that  it  was  not  now  in 
their  power  so  to  do,  because  they  had 
committed  the  government  to  another  per- 
son, who  had  accepted  of  it,  and  whose 
Dame  was  Cinnamus;  and  that  they  were 
afraid  lest  a  civil  war  should  arise  on  this 
account.  When  Cinnamus  understood 
their  intentions,  he  wrote  to  Artabanus 
himself,  for  he  had  been  brought  up  by 
him,  and  was  of  a  nature  good  and  gentle 
also,  and  desired  him  to  put  confidence  in 
him,  and  to  come  and  take  his  own   do 


604 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX. 


minions  again.  Accordingly,  Artabanus 
trusted  him,  and  returned  home,  when 
Cmnamus  met  him,  worshipped  him,  and 
saluted  him  as  a  king,  and  took  the  dia- 
dem off  his  own  head,  and  put  it  on  the 
head  of  Artabanus. 

And  thus  was  Artabanus  restored  to  his 
kingdom  again  by  the  means  of  Izates, 
when  he  had  lost  it  by  the  means  of  the 
grandees  of  the  kingdom.  Nor  was  he 
mrnindful  of  the  benefits  he  had  conferred 
apon  him,  but  rewarded  him  with  such 
conourg  as  were  of  the  greatest  esteem 
among  them ;  for  he  gave  him  leave  to 
wear  his  tiara  upright,  and  to  sleep  upon 
a  golden  bed,  which  are  privileges  and 
marks  of  honour  peculiar  to  the  kings  of 
Parthia.  He  also  cut  off  a  large  and 
fruitful  country  from  the  king  of  Armenia, 
and  bestowed  it  upon  him.  The  name  of 
the  country  is  Nisibis,  wherein  the  Mace- 
donians had  formerly  built  that  city  which 
they  called  Antioch  of  Mygodonia.  And 
these  were  the  honours  that  were  paid 
Izates  by  the  king  of  the  Parthians.  But 
in  no  long  time  Artabanus  died,  and  left 
his  kingdom  to  his  son  Bardanes.  Now, 
this  Bardanes  came  to  Izates,  and  would 
have  persuaded  him  to  join  him  with  his 
army,  and  to  assist  him  in  the  war  he  was 
preparing  to  make  with  the  Romans;  but 
he  could  not  prevail  with  him.  For  Izates 
so  well  knew  the  strength  and  good  for- 
tune of  the  Romans,  that  he  took  fBar- 
danes  to  attempt  what  was  impossible  to 
be  done;  and  having  besides  sent  his  sons, 
five  in  number,  and  they  but  young  also, 
to  learn  accurately  the  language  of  our 
nation,  together  with  our  learning,  as  well 
as  he  had  sent  his  mother  to  worship  at 
our  temple,  as  I  have  said  already,  was 
the  more  backward  to  a  compliance ;  and 
restrained  Bardanes,  telling  him  perpe- 
tually of  the  great  armies  and  famous 
actions  of  the  Romans,  and  thought  there- 
by to  terrify  him,  and  desired  thereby  to 
hinder  him  from  the  expedition.  But  the 
Parthian  king  was  provoked  at  this  his 
behaviour,  and  denounced  war  immediate- 
ly against  Izates.  Yet  did  he  gain  no 
advantage  by  this  war,  because  God  cut 
off  all  his  hopes  therein  ;  for  the  Par- 
thians, perceiving  Bardanes's  intention, 
and  how  he  had  determined  to  make  war 
with  the  Romans,  slew  him,  and  gave  his 
kingdom  to  his  brother  Gotarzes.  He 
also,  in  no  long  time,  perished  by  a  plot 
made  against  him,  and  Vologases,  his 
brother,  succeeded  him,  who  committed 


two  of  his  provinces  to  two  of  his  brothers 
by  the  same  father ;  that  of  the  Medes  to 
the  elder,  Pacorus;  and  Armenia  to  the 
younger,  Tiridates. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Izates  betrayed  by  his  subjects,  and  is  attacked  by 
the  Arabians,  but  eventually  subdues  them. 

New,  when  the  king's   brother,  Mono- 
zabus,    and  his    other    kindred,  saw  how 
Izates,  by  his  piety  to  God,  had  become 
greatly    esteemed  by  all    men,  they  also 
had  a  desire  to  leave  the  religion  of  their 
country,  and  to  embrace  the  customs  of 
the  Jews;  but  that  act  of  theirs  was  disco- 
vered by  Izates's  subjects.  Whereupon  the 
grandees  were  much  displeased,  and  could 
not  contain  their  anger  at  them,  but  had 
an   intention,  when    they    should    find  a 
proper  opportunity,  to    inflict   a   punish- 
ment   upon    fehem.       Accordingly,    they 
wrote  to  Abia,  king  of  the  Arabians,  and 
promised  him  great   sums  of  money,    if 
he  would  make  an  expedition  against  their 
king :   and    they   further    promised    him, 
that,  on  the  first  onset,  they  would  desert 
their  king,  because  they  were  desirous  to 
punish  him,  by  reason  of  the  hatred  he 
had  to  their  religious  worship ;  then  they 
obliged  themselves  by  oaths  to  be  faithful 
to  each  other,  and  desired  that  he  would 
make  haste  in  his  design.     The  king  of 
Arabia  complied  with   their  desires,  and 
brought  a  great  army  into  the  field,  and 
marched  against  Izates;  and,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  first  onset,  and  before  they 
came  to  a  close  fight,  those  grandees,  as  if 
they   had  a  panic  terror  upon    them,  all 
deserted  Izates,  as  they  had  agreed  to  do, 
and,  turning  their  backs  upon  their  ene- 
mies, ran  away.     Yet  was  not  Izates  dis- 
mayed at  this ;  but  when  he  understood 
that  the   grandees  had  betrayed  him,  he 
also    retired    into    his    camp,    and    made 
inquiry  into  the  matter;  and,  as  soon  as 
he   knew  who  they  were    that  made  this 
conspiracy  with   the    king  of  Arabia,  he 
cut  off  those  that  were  found  guilty ;  and, 
renewing   the  fight   on   the  next  day,  he 
slew  the  greatest  part  of  his  enemies,  and 
forced  all  the  rest  to  betake  themselves  to 
flight.     He  also  pursued  their  king,  and 
drove  him  into  a  fortress  called  Arsamus, 
and,  following  on  the  siege  vigorously,  he 
took  that  fortress.     And,  when   he  had 
plundered  it  of  all  the  prey  that  was  in  it, 
which  was  not  small,  he  returned  to  Adia« 
bene;  yet  did  not  he   take  Abia  alive; 


Chap  IV.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


605 


because,  when   he  found   himself  encom- 
passed upon  every  side,  he  slew  himself. 

But  although  the  grandees  of  Adiabene 
had  failed  in  their  first  attempt,  as  being 
delivered  up  by  God  iuto  their  king's 
hands,  yet  would  they  not  even  then  be 
quiet,  but  wrote  again  to  Vologases,  who 
was  then  king  of  Parthia,  and  desired 
that  he  would  kill  Izates,  and  set  over 
them  some  other  potentate,  who  should  be 
of  a  Parthian  family  j  for  they  said  that 
they  hated  their  own  king  for  abrogating 
the  laws  of  their  forefathers,  and  embrac- 
ing foreign  customs.  When  the  king  of 
Parthia  heard  this,  he  boldly  made  war 
upon  Izates;  and,  as  he  had  no  just 
pretence  for  this  war,  he  sent  to  him,  and 
demanded  back  those  honourable  privileges 
which  had  been  bestowed  on  him  by  his 
father,  and  threatened,  on  his  refusal,  to 
make  war  upon  him.  Upon  hearing  of 
this,  Izates  was  under  no  small  trouble  of 
mind,  as  thinking  it  would  be  a  reproach 
upon  him  to  appear  to  resign  those  pri- 
vileges that  had  been  bestowed  upon  him 
out  of  cowardice,  yet,  because  he  knew, 
that  though  the  king  of  Parthia  should 
receive  back  those  honours,  yet  would  he 
not  be  quiet,  he  resolved  to  commit  himself 
to  God,  his  protector,  in  the  present 
danger  he  was  in  of  his  life;  and,  as  he 
esteemed  him  to  be  his  principal  assistant, 
he  intrusted  his  children  and  his  wives  to 
a  very  strong  fortress,  and  laid  up  his  corn 
in  citadels,  and  set  the  hay  and  the  grass 
on  fire.  And  when  he  had  thus  put  things 
in  order,  as  well  as  he  could,  he  awaited 
the  coming  of  the  enemy.  And  when  the 
king  of  Parthia  had  come  with  a  great 
armv  of  footmen  and  horsemen,  which  he 
did  sooner  than  was  expected,  (for  he 
marched  in  great  haste,)  and  had  cast  up 
a  bank  at  the  river  that  parted  Adiabene 
from  Media,  Izates  also  pitched  his  camp 
not  far  off,  having  with  him  6000  horse- 
men. But  there  came  a  messenger  to 
Izates,  sent  by  the  king  of  Parthia,  who 
told  him  how  large  his  dominions  were,  as 
reaching  from  the  river  Euphrates  to 
Bactria,  and  enumerated  the  king's  sub- 
jects; he  also  threatened  him  that  he 
should  be  punished,  as  a  person  ungrateful 
to  his  lords  ;  and  said  that  the  God  whom 
he  worshipped  could  not  deliver  him  out 
of  the  king's  hands.  When  the  messen- 
ger had  delivered  this  his  message,  Izates 
replied,  that  he  knew  the  king  of  Parthia' s 
power  was  much  greater  than  his  own ; 
but  that  he  knew  also  that  God  was  much 


more  powerful  than  all  men.  And  when 
he  had  returned  him  this  answer,  he  betook 
himself  to  make  supplications  to  God,  and 
threw  himself  on  the  ground,  and  put 
ashes  upon  his  head,  in  testimony  of  his 
confession,  and  fasted,  together  with  his 
wives  and  children.*  Then  he  called  upon 
God,  and  said,  "  0  Lord  and  Governor, 
if  I  have  not  in  vain  committed  myself  to 
thy  goodness,  but  have  justly  determined 
that  thou  only  art  the  Lord  and  Principal 
of  all  beings,  come  now  to  my  assistance, 
and  defend  me  from  my  enemies,  not  only 
on  my  own  account,  but  on  account  of 
their  insolent  behaviour  with  regard  to 
thy  power,  while  they  have  not  feared  to 
lift  up  their  proud  and  arrogant  tongue 
against  thee."  Thus  did  he  lament  and 
bemoan  himself,  with  tears  in  his  eyes ; 
whereupon  God  heard  his  prayer.  And 
immediately  that  very  night  Vologases 
received  letters,  the  contents  of  which 
were  these,  that  a  great  band  of  Dahas  and 
Sacae,  dQspising  him,  now  he  was  gone  so 
long  a  journey  from  home,  had  made  an 
expedition,  and  laid  Parthia  waste ;  so  that 
he  [was  forced  to]  retire  back,  without 
doing  any  thing.  And  thus  it  was  that 
Izates  escaped  the  threatenings  of  the 
Parthians,  by  the  providence  of  God. 

It  was  not  long  ere  Izates  died,  when 
he  had  completed  55  years  of  his  life,  and 
had  ruled  his  kingdom  24  years.  He  left 
behind  him  24  sons  and  24  daughters. 
However,  he  gave  order  that  his  brother 
Monobazus  should  succeed  in  the  govern- 
ment, thereby  requiting  him,  because  while 
he  was  himself  absent,  after  their  father's 
death,  he  had  faithfully  preserved  the 
government  for  him.  But  when  Helena, 
his  mother,  heard  of  her  son's  death,  she 
was  in  great  heaviness,  as  was  but  natural, 
upon  her  loss  of  such  a  most  dutiful  son ; 
yet  was  it  a  comfort  *o  her  that  she  heard 
the  succession  came  to  her  eldest  son. 
Accordingly,  she  went  to  him  in  haste  j 
and  when  she  had  come  into  Adiabene> 
she  did  not  long  outlive  her  son  Izates. 
But  Monobazus  sent  her  bones,  as  well  as 
those  of  Izates,  his  brother,  to  Jerusalem, 
and  gave  order  that  they  should  be  buried 
at  the  pyramids")"  which  their  mother  had 


•  This  mourning,  and  fasting,  and  praying,  used 
by  Izates,  with  prostration  of  his  body,  and  ashed 
upon  bis  head,  are  plain  signs  that  he  had  become 
cither  a  Jew  or  an  Ebionite  Christian,  who,  indeed, 
differed  not  much  from  proper  Jews. 

|"  These  pyramids  or  pillars,  erected  by  Helena, 
queen  of  Adiabene,  nea*    Jerusalem,  three  in  nu'ii- 


006 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX 


erected ;  they  were  three  in  number,  and 
distant  no  more  than  three  furlongs  from 
the  city  Df  Jerusalem.  But  for  the  actions 
of  Monobazus  the  king,  which  he  did 
during  the  rest  of  his  life,  we  will  relate 
them  hereafter.* 


CHAPTER  V. 

Concerning  Theudas  and  the  sons  of  Judas  the 
Galilean — calamity  of  the  Jews  on  the  day  of 
the  Passover. 

Now,  it  came  to  pass,  while  Fadus  was 
procurator  of  Judea,  that  a  certain  ma- 
gician, whose  name  was  Theudas,f  per- 
suaded a  great  part  of  the  people  to  take 
their  effects  with  them,  and  follow  him  to 
the  river  Jordan ;  for  he  told  them  he 
was  a  prophet,  and  that  he  would,  by  his 
own  command,  divide  the  river,  and  afford 
them  an  easy  passage  over  it;  and  many 
were  deluded  by  his  words.  However, 
Fadus  did  not  permit  them  to  make  any 
advantage  of  his  wild  attempt,  but  sent  a 
troopof  horsemen  out  against  them  ;  who, 
falling  upon  them  unexpectedly,  slew  many 
of  them  and  took  man}r  of  them  alive. 
They  also  took  Theudas  alive,  and  cut  off 
his  head,  and  carried  it  to  Jerusalem. 
This  was  what  befell  the  Jews  in  the  time 
of  Cuspius  Fadus' s  government. 

Then  came  Tiberius  Alexander,  as  suc- 
cessor to  Fadus;  he  was  the  son  of 
Alexander,  the  alabarch  of  Alexandria ; 
which  Alexander  was  a  principal  person 
among  all  his  contemporaries,  both  for 
his  family  and  wealth  ;  he  was  also  more 
eminent  for  his  piety  than  this  his  son 
Alexander,  for  he  did  not  continue  in  the 
religion  of  his  country.  Under  these 
procurators  that  great  famine  happened  in 
Judea,  in  which  Queen  Helena  bought 
corn  iu  Egypt  at  a  great  expense,  and 
distributed  it  to  those  that  were  in  want, 
as  I  have  related  already  ;  and,  besides 
this,  the  sons  of  Judas  of  Galilee  were  now 
slain ;  I  mean  of  that  Judas  who  caused 
the  people  to  revolt,  when  Cyrenius  came 
to  take  an  account  of  the  estates  of  the 
Jews,  as  we  have  shown  in  a  foregoing 
book.  The  names  of  those  sons  were 
James  and  Simon,  whom  Alexander  com- 
ber, are  mentioned  by  Eusebius.  They  are  also 
mentioned  by  Pausanias.  Roland  guesses  that  that 
now  called  Absalmn's  pillar  may  be  one  of  them. 

*  This  account  is  now  wanting. 

7  This  Theudas  who  arose  under  Fadus  the 
procurator,  about  A.  D.  45  or  46,  could  not  be  that 
Theudas  who  arose  in  the  days  of  the  taxing,  under 
Cyjeniu?  ;  or  about  A.  D.  7.    Acts  v.  36,  37. 


manded  to  be  crucified;  but  now  Herod/ 
king  of  Chalcis,  removed  Joseph,  the  son 
of  Camydus,  from  the  high-priesthood, 
and  made  Ananias,  the  son  of  Nebedeus, 
his  successor  ;  and  now  it  was  that  Cumanus 
came  as  successor  to  Tiberius  Alexander; 
as  also  that  Herod,  brother  cf  Agrippa 
the  great  king,  departed  this  life  in  the 
eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  Caesar. 
He  left  behind  him  three  sons,  Aristobulus, 
whom  he  had  by  his  first  wife,  with 
Bernicianus  and  Hyrcanus,  both  of  whom 
he  had  by  Bernice,  his  brother's  daughter; 
but  Claudius  Caesar  bestowed  his  domi- 
nions on  Agrippa  junior. 

Now,  while  the  Jewish  affairs  were 
under  the  administration  of  Cumanus, 
there  happened  a  great  tumult  at  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  and  many  of  the  Jews 
perished  therein ;  but  I  shall  first  explain 
the  occasion  whence  it  was  derived.  When 
that  feast  which  is  called  the  Passover 
was  at  hand,  at  which  time  our  custom 
is  to  use  unleavened  bread,  and  a  great 
multitude  were  gathered  together  from  all 
parts  to  that  feast,  Cumanus  was  afraid 
lest  some  attempt  of  innovation  should 
then  be  made  by  them  ;  so  he  ordered  that 
one  regiment  of  the  army  should  take  their 
arms,  and  stand  in  the  temple  cloisters,  to 
repress  any  attempts  at  innovation,  if 
perchance  any  such  should  begin ;  and 
this  was  no  more  than  what  the  former 
procurators  of  Judea  did  at  such  festivals; 
but  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  feast,  a 
certain  soldier  let  down  his  breeches,  and 
exposed  his  privy  members  to  the  multi- 
tude, which  put  those  that  saw  him  into 
a  furious  rage,  and  made  them  cry  out  that 
this  impious  action  was  not  done  to  repoach 
them,  but  God  himself;  nay,  some  of  them 
reproached  Cumanus,  and  pretended  that 
the  soldier  was  set  on  by  him  ;  which, 
when  Cumanus  heard,  he  was  also  himself 
not  a  little  provoked  at  such  reproaches 
laid  upon  him;  yet  did  he  exhort  them  to 
leave  off  such  seditious  attempts,  and  not 
to  raise  a  tumult  at  the  festival;  but  when 
he  could  not  induce  them  to  be  quiet,  for 
they  still  went  on  in  their  reproaches  to 
him,  he  gave  order  that  the  whole  army 
should  take  their  entire  armour,  and  come 
to  Antonia,  which  was  a  fortress,  as  we 
have  said  already,  which  overlooked  the 
temple;  but  when  the  multitude  saw  the 
soldiers  there,  they  were  affrighted  at 
them,  and  ran  away  hastily ;  but  as  the 
passages  out  were  but  narrow,  and  as  they 
thought  their  enemies  followed  them,  thev 


Chap  VI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


607 


were  crowded  together  in  their  flight,  and 
a  great  number  were  pressed  to  death  in 
those  narrow  passages;  nor,  indeed,  was 
the  number  fewer  than  20.000  that  pe- 
rished in  this  tumult,  So,  instead  of  a 
festival,  they  had  at  last  a  mournful  day 
of  it;  and  they  all  of  them  forgot  their 
prayers  and  sacrifices,  and  betook  them- 
selves to  lamentation  and  weeping;  so 
great  an  affliction  did  the  impudent  obscene- 
ness  of  a  single  soldier  bring  upon  them.* 
Now,  before  this  their  first  mourning 
was  over,  another  mischief  befell  them 
also;  for  some  of  those  that  raised  the 
foregoing  tumult,  when  they  were  travel- 
ling along  the  public  road,  about  100 
furlongs  from  the  city,  robbed  Stephanus, 
a  servant  of  Caesar,  as  he  was  journeying, 
and  plundered  him  of  all  .that  he  had  with 
him;  which  things  when  Cumanus  heard 
of,  he  sent  soldiers  immediately,  and 
ordered  them  to  plunder  the  neighbouring 
villages,  and  to  bring  the  most  emineut 
persons  among  them  in  bonds  to  him. 
Now,  as  this  devastation  was  making,  one 
of  the  soldiers  seized  the  Laws  of  Moses, 
that  lay  in  one  of  those  villages,  and 
brought  them  out  before  the  eyes  of  all 
present,  and  tore  them  to  pieces;  and  this 
was  done  with  reproachful  language,  and 
much  scurrility ;  which  things  when  the 
Jews  heard  of,  they  ran  together,  and 
that  in  great  numbers,  and  came  down  to 
Caasarea,  where  Cumanus  then  was,  and 
besought  him  that  he  would  avenge,  not 
themselves,  but  God  himself,  whose  laws 
had  been  affronted;  for  that  they  could 
not  bear  to  live  any  longer,  if  the  laws  of 
their  forefathers  must  be  affronted  after 
this  manner.  Accordingly,  Cumanus,  out 
of  fear  lest  the  multitude  should  go  into 
a  sedition,  and  by  the  advice  of  his  friends 
also,  took  care  that  the  soldier  who  had 
offered  the  affront  to  the  laws  should  be 
beheaded ;  and  thereby  put  a  stop  to  the 
sedition  which  was  ready  to  be  kindled  a 
second  time. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  quarrel  between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans — 
Claudius  puts  an  end  to  their  differences. 

Now,  there  arose  a  quarrel  between  the 
Samaritans  and  the  Jews  on  the  occasion 


*  This  and  many  more  tumults  and  seditions, 
which  arose  at  the  Jewish  festivals,  in  Josephus, 
illustrate  the  cautious  procedure  of  the  Jewish 
governors,  when  they  said — Matt.  xxvi.  5 — "  Let  us 
not  take  Jesus  on  the  feast-day,  lest  ther^  be  an 
uproar  among  the  people." 


following: — Tt  was  the  custom  of  the  Gali- 
leans, when  they  came  to  the  holy  city  at 
the  festivals,  to  take  their  journeys  through 
the  country  of  the  Samaritans;*  and  at 
this  time  there  lay,  in  the  road  they  took, 
a  village  that  was  called  Ginea,  which 
was  situated  in  the  limits  of  Samaria  and 
the  great  plain,  where  certain  persons 
thereto  belonging  fought  with  the  Gali- 
leans, and  killed  a  great  many  of  them  ; 
but  when  the  principal  of  the  Galileans 
were  informed  of  what  had  been  done, 
they  came  to  Cumanus,  and  desired  him 
to  avenge  the  murder  of  those  that  were 
killed ;  but  he  was  induced  by  the  Sama- 
ritans, with  money,  to  do  nothing  in  the 
matter;  upon  which  the  Galileans  were 
much  displeased,  and  persuaded  the  mul- 
titude of  the  Jews  to  betake  themselves 
to  arms,  and  to  regain  their  liberty,  saying, 
that  slavery  was  in  itself  a  bitter  thing, 
but  that,  when  it  was  joined  with  direct 
injuries,  it  was  perfectly  intolerable.  And 
when  their  principal  men  endeavoured  to 
pacify  them,  and  promised  to  endeavour  to 
persuade  Cumanus  to  avenge  those  that 
were  killed,  they  would  not  hearken  to 
them,  but  took  their  weapons,  and  entreat- 
ed the  assistance  of  Eleazar,  the  son  of 
Dineus,  a  robber,  who  had  many  years 
made  his  abode  in  the  mountains,  with 
which  assistance  they  plundered  many 
villages  of  the  Samaritans.  When  Cuma- 
nus heard  of  this  action  of  theirs,  he  took 
the  band  of  Sebaste,  with  four  regiments 
of  footmen,  and  armed  the  Samaritans, 
and  marched  out  against  the  Jews,  and 
caught  them,  and  slew  many  of  them, 
and  took  a  great  number  of  them  alive; 
whereupon  those  that  were  the  most  emi- 
nent persons  at  Jerusalem,  and  that  both 
in  regard  to  the  respect  that  was  paid 
them,  and  the  families  they  were  of,  as 
soon  as  they  saw  to  what  a  height  things 
were  gone,  put  on  sackcloth,  and  heaped 
ashes  upon  their  heads,  and  by  all  possible 
means  besought  the  seditious,  and  per- 
suaded them  that  they  would  set  before 
their  eyes  the  utter  subversion  of  their 
country,  the  conflagration  of  their  temple, 
and  the  slavery  of  themselves,  their  wives, 
and  children,  which  would  be  the  conse- 
quences of  what  they  were  doing,  and 
would  alter  their  minds,  would  cast  away 
their  weapons,  and  for  the  future  be  quiet, 


*  This  constant  passage  of  the  Galileans  through 
the  country  of  Samaria,  as  they  went  to  Jndea  and 
Jerusalem,  illustrates  several  passages  in  the  Gos- 
pels to  the  same  purpose.   See  Luke  xv ii.;  Johniv.  4, 


608 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Bock  XX. 


and  return  to  their  own  homes.  These 
persuasions  of  theirs  prevailed  upon  them. 
So  the  people  dispersed  themselves,  and 
the  robbers  went  away  again  to  their 
places  of  strength ;  and,  after  this  time, 
all  Judea  was  overrun  with  robberies. 

But  the  principal  of  the  Samaritans 
went  to  Ummidius  Quadratus,  the  presi- 
dent of  Syria,  who  at  that  time  was  at 
Tyre,  and  accused  the  Jews  of  setting 
their  villages  on  fire,  and  plundering  them  ; 
and  said  withal,  that  they  were  not  so 
much  displeased  at  what  they  had  suffered, 
as  they  were  at  the  contempt  thereby 
shown  to  the  Romans;  while  if  they  had 
received  any  injury,  they  ought  to  have 
made  them  the  judges  of  what  had  been 
done,  and  not  presently  to  make  such 
devastation,  as  if  they  had  not  the  Ro- 
mans for  their  governors ;  on  which  ac- 
count they  came  to  him,  in  order  to  obtain 
that  vengeance  they  wanted.  This  was 
the  accusation  which  the  Samaritans 
brought  against  the  Jews.  But  the  Jews 
affirmed  that  the  Samaritans  were  the 
authors  of  this  tumult  and  fighting;  and 
that,  in  the  first  place,  Cumanus  had  been 
corrupted  by  their  gifts,  and  passed  over 
the  murder  of  those  that  were  slain  in 
silence ;  which  allegations  when  Quadra- 
tus heard,  he  put  off  the  hearing  of  the 
cause,  and  promised  that  he  would  give 
sentence  when  he  should  come  into  Judea, 
and  should  have  a  more  exact  knowledge 
of  the  truth  of  that  matter.  So  these 
men  went  away  without  success.  Yet  was 
it  not  long  ere  Quadratus  came  to  Sa- 
maria; where  upon  hearing  the  cause,  he 
supposed  that  the  Samaritans  were  the 
authors  of  that  disturbance.  But  when 
he  was  informed  that  certain  of  the  Jews 
were  making  innovations,  he  ordered 
those  to  be  crucified  whom  Cumanus  had 
taken  captives.  From  whence  he  came  to 
a  certain  village  called  Lydda,  which  was 
not  less  than  a  city  in  largeness,  and  there 
heard  the  Samaritan  cause  a  second  time 
before  his  tribunal,  and  there  learned  from 
a  certain  Samaritan,  that  one  of  the  chief 
of  the  Jews,  whose  name  was  Dortus,  and 
some  other  innovators  with  him,  four  in 
number,  persuaded  the  multitude  to  a 
revolt  from  the  Romans;  whom  Quadra- 
tus ordered  to  be  put  to  death  :  but  still 
he  sent  away  Ananias  the  high  priest,  and 
Ananus  the  commander  [of  the  temple], 
in  bonds  to  Rome,  to  give  an  account  of 
what  they  had  done  to  Claudius  Caesar. 
He  also  ordered  the  principal  men,  both  of 


the  Samaritans  and  of  the  Jews,  as  also 
Cumanus,  the  procurator,  and  Celer,  the 
tribune,  to  go  to  Italy  to  the  emperor, 
that  he  might  hear  their  cause,  and  de- 
termine their  differences  one  with  another. 
But  he  came  again  to  the  city  of  Jerusa- 
lem, out  of  his  fear  that  the  multitude  of 
the  Jews  should  attempt  some  innova 
tions;  but  he  found  the  city  in  a  peace- 
able state,  and  celebrating  one  of  the  usual 
festivals  of  their  country  to  God.  So  he 
believed  that  they  would  not  attempt  any 
innovations,  and  left  them  at  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  festival,  and  returned  to 
Antioch. 

Now  Cumanus  and  the  principal  of  the 
Samaritans,  who  were  sent  to  Rome,  had 
a  day  appointed  them  by  the  emperor, 
whereon  they  were  to  have  pleaded  their 
cause  about  the  quarrels  they  had  one 
with  another.  But  now  Caesar's  freedmen 
and  his  friends  were  very  zealous  on  the 
behalf  of  Cumanus  and  the  Samaritans ; 
and  they  had  prevailed  over  the  Jews, 
unless  Agrippa  junior,  who  was  then  at 
Rome,  had  seen  the  principal  of  the  Jews 
hard  set,  and  had  earnestly  entreated 
Agrippina,  the  emperor's  wife,  to  persuade 
her  husband  to  hear  the  cause,  so  as  was 
agreeable  to  his  justice,  and  to  condemn 
those  to  be  punished  who  were  really  the 
authors  of  this  revolt  from  the  Roman 
government:  whereupon  Claudius  was  so 
well  disposed  beforehand,  that  when  he 
had  heard  the  cause,  and  found  that  the 
Samaritans  had  been  the  ringleaders  in 
those  mischievous  doings,  he  gave  order 
that  those  who  came  up  to  him  should  be 
slain,  and  that  Cumanus  should  be  banish- 
ed. He  also  gave  order  that  Celer  the 
tribune  should  be  carried  back  to  Jerusa- 
lem, and  should  be  drawn  through  the 
city  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  and 
then  should  be  slain. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Felix  made   procurator  of  Judea — Concerning  the 
younger  Agrippa  and  his  sisters. 

So  Claudius  sent  Felix,  the  brother  of 
Pallans,  to  take  care  of  the  affairs  of 
Judea;  and  when  he  had  already  com- 
pleted the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign,  he  be- 
stowed upon  Agrippa  the  tetrarchy  of 
Philip,  and  Batanea,  and  added  thereto 
Trachonitis,  with  Abila;  which  last  had 
been  the  tetrarchy  of  Lysanius;  but  he 
took  from  him  Chalcis,  when  he  had  been 
governor  thereof  four  years.     And  when 


Chap.  VIII. ] 


ANTIQUITIES  OF    THE   JEWS. 


609 


Agrippa  had  received  these  countries  as 
the  gift  of  Csesar,  he  gave  his  sister  Dru- 
silia  in  marriage  to  Azizus,  king  of  Emesa, 
upon  his  consent  to  be  circumcised;  for 
Epiphanes,  the  son  of  King  Antiochus, 
had  refused  to  marry  her,  because,  after 
he  had  promised  her  father  formerly  to 
come  over  to  the  Jewish  religion,  he 
would  not  now  perform  that  promise.  He 
also  gave  Mariamne  in  marriage  to  Ar- 
chelaus,  the  son  of  Helcias,  to  whom  she 
had  formerly  been  betrothed  by  Agrippa 
her  father;  from  which  marriage  was  de- 
rived a  daughter,  whose  name  was  Bernice. 

But  for  the  marriage  of  Drusilla  with 
Azizus,  it  was  in  no  long  time  afterward 
dissolved,  upon  the  following  occasion : 
While  Felix  was  procurator  of  Judea,  he 
saw  this  Drusilla,  and  fell  in  love  with 
her;  for  she  did  exceed  all  other  women 
in  beauty ;  and  he  sent  to  her  a  person 
whose  name  was  Simon,*  one  of  his 
friends;  a  Jew  he  was,  and  by  birth  a 
Cypriot,  and  one  who  pretended  to  be  a 
magician ;  and  endeavoured  to  persuade 
her  to  forsake  her  present  husband,  and 
marry  him ;  and  promised  that  if  she 
would  not  refuse  him,  he  would  make  her 
a  happy  woman.  Accordingly,  she  acted 
ill,  and,  because  she  was  desirous  to  avoid 
her  sister  Bernice's  envy,  for  she  was  very 
ill  treated  by  her  on  account  of  her 
beauty,  was  prevailed  upon  to  transgress 
the  law's  of  her  forefathers,  and  to  marry 
Felix;  and  when  he  had  had  a  son  by  her, 
he  named  him  Agrippa.  But  after  what 
manner  that  young  man,  with  his  wife, 
perished  at  the  conflagration  of  the  moun- 
tain Vesuvius,  in  the  days  of  Titus  Caesar, 
shall  be  related  hereafter. f 

But  as  for  Bernice,  she  lived  a  widow  a 
long  while  after  the  death  of  Herod,  [king 
of  Chalcis,]  who  was  both  her  husband 
and  her  uncle.  But,  when  the  report 
went  that  she  had  criminal  conversation 
with  her  brother,  [Agrippa  junior,]  she 
persuaded  Polemo,  who  was  king  of  Cili- 
cia,  to  be  circumcised,  and  to  marry  her, 
as  supposing  that  by  this  means  she  should 
prove  those  calumnies  upon  her  to  be  false; 
and  Polemo  was  prevailed  upon,  and  that 
chiefly  on  account  of  her  riches.     Yet  did 


*  This  Simon,  a  friend  of  Felix,  a  Jew,  born  in 
Cyprus,  though  he  pretended  to  be  a  magieian, 
could  hardly  be  that  famous  Simon  the  magician, 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  (viii.  9,  &c.)  The  Si- 
mon mentioned  in  the  Acts  was  not  properly  a  Jew, 
but  a  Samaritan,  of  the  town  of  Gittse,  in  the 
Country  of  Samaria. 

"f"  This  ig  noW  wanting. 


not  this  matrimony  endure  long;  but  Ber 
nice  left  Polemo,  and,  as  was  said,  with 
impure  intentions.  So  he  forsook  at  once 
this  matrimony  and  the  Jewish  religion : 
and,  at  the  same  time,  Mariamne  put  away 
Archelaus,  and  was  married  to  Demetrius, 
the  principal  man  among  the  Alexandrian 
Jews,  both  for  his  family  and  his  wealth; 
and,  indeed,  he  was  then  their  alabarch. 
So  she  named  her  son  whom  she  had  by 
him  Agrippinus.  But  of  all  these  par- 
ticulars we  shall  hereafter  treat  more 
exactly.* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Nero  succeeds  to  the  Roman  government — his  cru- 
elties— Felix  and  Festas  procurators  of  Judea. 

Now,  Claudius  Cassar  died  when  he 
had  reigned  thirteen  year«,  eight  months, 
and  twenty  days  ;  and  a  report  went  about 
that  he  was  poisoned  by  his  wife  Agrip- 
pina.  Her  father  was  Germanicus,  the 
brother  of  Cassar.  Her  husband  was 
Domitius  iEnobarbus,  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  persons  that  were  in  the  city  of 
Borne;  after  whose  death,  and  her  long 
continuance  in  widowhood,  Claudius  took 
her  to  wife.  She  brought  along  with  her 
a  son,  Domitius,  of  the  same  name  with  his 
father.  He  had  before  this  slain  his  wife 
Messalina,  out  of  jealousy,  by  whom  he 
had  his  children  Britannicus  and  Octavia; 
their  eldest  sister  was  Antonia,  whom  he 
had  by  Pelina  his  first  wife.  He  also 
married  Octavia  to  Nero ;  for  that  was  the 
name  that  Caesar  gave  him  afterward, 
upon  his  adopting  him  for  his  son. 

But  now  Agrippina  was  afraid,  lest, 
when  Britannicus  should  come  to  man's 
estate,  he  should  succeed  his  father  in  the 
government,  and  desired  to  seize  upon  the 
principality  beforehand  for  her  own  son 
[Nero] ;  upon  which  the  report  went  that 
she  thence  compassed  the  death  of  Clau- 
dius. Accordingly,  she  sent  Burrhus,  the 
general  of  the  army,  immediately,  and 
with  him  the  tribunes,  and  such  also  of 
the  freedmen  as  were  of  the  greatest  au- 
thority, to  bring  Nero  away  into  the  camp, 
and  to  salute  him  emperor.  And  whet 
Nero  had  thus  obtaiued  the  government, 
he  got  Britannicus  to  be  so  poisoned  that 
the  multitude  should  not  perceive  it: 
although  he  publicly  put  his  own  mother 
to  death  not  long  afterward,  making  hci 
this  requital,  not  only  for  being   born 


*  Thia  also  ie  nov/  wantinp 


610 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Eook  XX. 


her,  but  for  bringing  it  so  about  by  ber 
contrivances  that  he  obtained  the  Roman 
empire.  He  also  slew  Octavia.  his  own 
wife,  and  many  other  illustrious  persons, 
under  this  pretence,  that  they  plotted 
against  him. 

But  I  omit  any  further  discourse  about 
these  affairs ;  for  there  have  been  a  great 
many  who  have  composed  the  history  of 
Nero;  some  of  whom  have  departed  from 
the  truth  of  facts,  out  of  favour,  as  having 
received  benefits  from  him  ;  while  others, 
out  of  hatred  to  him,  and  the  great  ill-will 
which  they  bore  him,  have  so  impudently 
raved  against  him  with  their  lies,  that 
they  justly  deserve  to  be  condemned. 
Nor  do  I  wonder  at  such  as  have  told  lies 
of  Nero,  since  they  have  not  in  their 
writings  preserved  truth  of  history  as  to 
those  facts  that  were  earlier  than  his  time, 
even  when  the  actors  could  have  noway 
incurred  their  hatred,  since  those  writers 
lived  a  long  time  after  them;  but  as  to 
those  that  have  no  regard  to  truth,  they 
may  write  as  they  please,  for  in  that  they 
take  delight :  but  as  to  ourselves,  who 
have  made  the  truth  our  direct  aim,  we 
shall  briefly  touch  upon  what  only  belongs 
remotely  to  this  undertaking,  but  shall 
relate  what  hath  happened  to  us  Jews 
with  great  accuracy,  and  shall  not  grudge 
our  pains  in  giving  an  account  both  of  the 
calamities  we  have  suffered  and  of  the 
crimes  we  have  been  guilty  of.  I  will 
now,  therefore,  return  to  the  relation  of 
our  own  affairs. 

For,  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of 
Nero,  upon  the  death  of  Azizus,  king  of 
Emesa,  Soemus,  his  brother,  succeed- 
ed in  his  kingdom,  and  Aristobulus, 
the  son  of  Herod,  king  of  Chalcis,  was 
intrusted  by  Nero  with  the  government 
of  the  Lesser  Armenia.  Caesar  also  be- 
stowed on  Agrippa  a  certain  part  of  Gali- 
lee, Tiberias  and  Tarichene,  and  ordered 
them  to  submit  to  his  jurisdiction.  He 
gave  him  also  Julias,  a  city  of  Perea,  with 
fourteen  villages  that  lay  about  it. 

Now,  as  for  the  affairs  of  the  Jews,  they 
grew  worse  and  worse  continually ;  for 
the  country  was  again  filled  with  robbers 
and  impostors,  who  deluded  the  multitude. 
Yet  did  Felix  catch  and  put  to  death 
many  of  those  impostors  every  day,  to- 
gether with  the  robbers.  He  also  caught 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Dineus,  who  had 
g;  >tten  together  a  company  of  robbers  ;  and 
this  he  did  by  treachery ;  for  he  gave  him 
assurance  that  be  should  suffer  no  harm, 


and  thereby  persuaded  him  to  come  tc 
him;  but  when  he  came,  he  bound  him, 
and  sent  him  to  Rome.  Felix  also  bore 
an  ill-will  to  Jonathan,  the  high  priest, 
because  he  frequently  gave  him  admoni- 
tions about  governing  the  Jewish  affairs 
better  than  he  did,  lest  he  should  himself 
have  complaints  made  of  him  by  the 
multitude,  since  he  it  was  who  had  de- 
sired Gsesar  to  send  him  as  procurator  of 
Judea.  So  Felix  contrived  a  method 
whereby  he  might  get  rid  of  him,  now  he 
had  become  so  continually  troublesome  to 
him ;  for  such  continual  admonitions  ars 
grievous  to  those  who  are  disposed  to  act 
unjustly.  "Wherefore  Felix  persuaded  one 
of  Jonathan's  most  faithful  friends,  a 
citizen  of  Jerusalem,  whose  name  was 
Doras,  to  bring  the  robbers  upon  Jonathan, 
in  order  to  kill  him ;  and  this  he  did  bv 
promising  to  give  him  a  great  deal  of 
money  for  so  doing.  Doras  complied  with 
the  proposal,  and  contrived  matters  so, 
that  the  robbers  might  murder  him  after 
the  following  manner : — Certain  of  those 
robbers  went  up  to  the  city,  as  if  they 
were  going  to  worship  God,  while  they 
had  daggers  under  their  garments;  and, 
by  thus  mingling  themselves  among  the 
multitude,  they  slew  Jonathan  ;  and,  as 
this  murder  was  never  avenged,  the  rob- 
bers went  up  with  the  greatest  security  at 
the  festivals  after  this  time;  and  having 
weapons  concealed  in  like  manner  as  be- 
fore, and  mingling  themselves  among  the 
multitude,  they  slew  certain  of  their  own 
enemies,  and  were  subservient  to  other 
men  for  money;  and  slew  others  not  only 
in  remote  parts  of  the  city,  but  in  the 
temple  itself  also;  for  they  had  the  bold- 
ness to  murder  men  there,  without  think- 
ing of  the  impiety  of  which  they  were 
guilty.  And  this  seems  to  have  been  the 
reason  why  God,  out  of  his  hatred  to  these 
men's  wickedness,  rejected  our  city ;  and 
as  for  the  temple,  he  no  longer  esteemed 
it  sufficiently  pure  for  him  to  inhabit 
therein,  but  brought  the  Romans  upon  us, 
and  threw  a  fire  upon  the  city  to  purge 
it ;  and  brought,  upon  us,  our  wives,  and 
children,  slavery,  as  desirous  to  make  us 
wiser  by  our  calamities.* 


*  This  treacherous  and  barbarous  murder  of  tha 
high  priest  Jonathan,  by  the  contrivance  of  Felix, 
was  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  ensuing  murder? 
by  the  "  sicarii/'  or  ruffians,  and  one  great  cause 
of  the  horrid  cruelties  and  miseries  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  Subjoined  is  a  list  of  the  last  twenty-e'ghl 
high  priests : — 


Chap.  VII M 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


611 


These  works  that  were  done  by  the 
robbers,  filled  the  city  with  impiety.  And 
now  these  impostors  and  deceivers  per- 
suaded the  multitude  to  follow  them  into 
the  wilderness,  and  pretended  that  they 
would  exhibit  manifest  wonders  and  signs, 
that  should  be  performed  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God.  And  many  that  were 
prevailed  on  by  them  suffered  the  punish- 
ments of  their  folly;  for  Felix  brought 
them  back,  and  then  punished  them. 
Moreover,  there  came  out  of  Egypt  about 
this  -time  to  Jerusalem,  one  that  said  he 
was  a  prophet,  and  advised  the  multitude 
of  the  common  people  to  go  along  with 
him  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  as  it  was 
called,  which  lay  over  against  the  city, 
and  at  the  distance  of  five  furlongs.  He 
said  further,  that  he  would  show  them 
from  hence,  how  at  his  command,  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  would  fall  down;  and 
he  promised  them  that  he  would  procure 
them  an  entrance  into  the  city  through 
those  walls,  when  they  had  fallen  down. 
Now  when  Felix  was  informed  of  these 
things,  he  ordered  his  soldiers  to  take 
their  weapons,  and  came  against  them 
with  a  great  number  of  horsemen  and 
footmen,  from  Jerusalem,  and  attacked 
the  Egyptian  and  the  people  that  were 
with  him.  He  also  slew  400  of  them, 
and  took  200  alive.  But  the  Egyptian 
himself  escaped  out  of  the  fight,  but  did 
not  appear  any  more.  And  again  the 
robbers  stirred  up  the  people  to  make  war 
with  the  Romans,  and  said  they  ought  not 
to  obey  them  at  all;  and  when  any  persons 
would  not  comply  with  them,  they  set 
fire  to  their  villages,  and  plundered  them. 

And  now  it  was  that  a  great  sedition 


Ananelus. 

Aristobulus. 

Jesus,  son  of  Fabus. 

Simon,  son  of  Boethus. 

Matthias,  son  of  Theo- 
philus. 

J'>;i7.ar,  son  of  Boethus. 

Eleazai,  son  of  Boethus. 

Jesus,  son  of  Hie. 

[Annas,  or]  Ananus,  son 
of  Seth. 

I.-mael,  son  of  Fabus. 

Eleazar,  son  of  Ananus. 

Simon,  son  of  Camithus. 

Joseph  us  Caiaphas,  son- 
in-law  to  Ananus. 

Jonathan,  son  of  Ananus. 

Theophilus,  his  brother, 
and  son  of  Ananus. 


Simon,  son  of  Boethus. 

Matthias,  brother  of  Jo- 
nathan, and  son  of 
Ananus. 

Aljoneus. 

Josephus,  son  of  Camy- 
dus. 

Ananias,  son  of  Nebe- 
deus. 

Jonathas. 

Ismael,  son  of  Fabi. 

Joseph  Cabi,  son  of  Si- 
mon. 

Ananus,  son  of  Ananus. 
.  son  of  DamneuA. 

Jesus,  son  of  Gamaliel. 

.Matthias,  son  of  Theo- 
philus. 

Phannias,  son  of  Samuel. 


Ananus  and  Joseph  Caiaphas  were  the  Annas 
and  Caiaphas  so  often  mentioned  in  the  four  Cos- 
pels  :  and  Ananias,  the  son  of  Nebedeua,  was  the 
h  ^h  priest  before  whom  St.  Paul  pleaded  his  own 
oaus^.  Acts  xx iv. 


arose  between  the  Jews  that  inhabited 
Cesarea,  and  the  Syrians  who  dwelt  there 
also,  concerning  their  equal  right  to  the 
privileges  belonging  to  the  citizens;  for  tho 
Jews  claimed  the  pre-eminence,  because 
Herod  their  king  was  the  builder,  of 
Cesarea,  and  because  he  was  by  birth  a 
Jew.  Now  the  Syrians  did  not  deny  what 
was  alleged  about  Herod;  but  they  said 
that  Cesarea  was  formerly  called  Strato's 
Tower,  and  that  then  there  was  not  one 
Jewish  inhabitant.  When  the  presidents 
of  that  country  heard  of  these  disorders, 
they  caught  the  authors  of  them  on  both 
sides,  and  tormented  them  with  stripes, 
and,  by  that  means,  put  a  stop  to  the 
disturbance  for  a  time.  But  the  Jewish 
citizens,  depending  on  their  wealth,  and, 
on  that  account,  despising  the  Syrians, 
reproached  them  again,  and  hoped  to  pro- 
voke them  by  such  reproaches.  However, 
the  Syrians,  though  they  were  inferior 
in  wealth,  yet  valuing  themselves  highly 
on  this  account,  that  the  greatest  part  of 
the  Roman  soldiers  that  were  there,  were 
either  of  Cesarea  or  Sebaste,  they  also  for 
some  time  used  reproachful  language  to 
the  Jews  also;  and  thus  it  was,  till  at 
length  they  came  to  throwing  stones  at 
one  another;  and  several  were  wounded, 
and  fell  on  both  sides,  though  still  the 
Jews  were  the  conquerors.  But  when 
Felix  saw  that  this  quarrel  had  become  a 
kind  of  war,  he  came  upon  them  on  the 
sudden,  and  desired  the  Jews  to  desist; 
and  when  they  refused  so  to  do,  he  armed 
his  soldiers,  and  sent  them  out  upon  them, 
and  slew  many  of  them,  and  took  more 
of  them  alive,  and  permitted  his  soldiers 
to  plunder  some  of  the  houses  of  the 
citizens,  which  were  full  of  riches.  Now, 
those  Jews  that  were  more  moderate,  and 
of  principal  dignity  among  them,  were 
afraid  of  themselves,  and  desired  of  Felix 
that  he  would  sound  a  retreat  to  his 
soldiers,  and  spare  them  for  the  future, 
and  afford  them  room  for  repentance  for 
what  they  had  done  ;  and  Felix  was  pre- 
vailed upon  to  do  so. 

About  this  time  King  Agrippa  gave  the 
high-priesthood  to  Ismael,  who  was  the 
son  of  Fabi.  And  now  arose  a  sedition 
between  the  high  priests  and  the  principal 
men  of  the  multitude  of  Jerusalem;  each 
of  whom  got  them  a  company  of  the 
boldest  sort  of  men,  and  of  those  that 
loved  innovations,  about  them,  and  became 
leaders  to  them;  and  when  they  struggled 
together,  they  did  it  by  casting  reproach- 


612 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX. 


ful  words  against  one  another,  and  by 
throwing  stones  also.  And  there  was 
nobody  to  reprove  them ;  but  these  dis- 
orders were  done  after  a  licentious  manner 
in  the  city,  as  if  it  had  no  government 
over  it  And  such  was  the  impudence 
and  boldness  that  had  seized  on  the  high- 
priests,  that  they  had  the  hardness  to 
send  their  servants  into  the  threshing- 
floors,  to  take  away  those  tithes  that  were 
due  to  the  priests,  insomuch  that  it  so 
fell  out  that  the  poorer  sort  of  the  priests 
died  for  want.  To  this  degree  did  the 
violence  of  the  seditious  prevail  over  all 
right  and  justice. 

Now,  when  Porcius  Festus  was  sent  as 
successor  to  Felix  by  Nero,  the  principal 
of  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  Cesarea  went 
up  to  Rome  to  accuse  Felix ;  and  he  had 
certainly  been  brought  to  punishment, 
unless  Nero  had  yielded  to  the  importunate 
solicitations  of  his  brother  Pallas,  who 
was  at  that  time  held  in  the  greatest 
honour  by  him.  Two  of  the  principal 
Syrians  in  Cesarea  persuaded  Burrhus, 
who  was  Nero's  tutor,  and  secretary  for 
his  Greek  epistles,  by  giving  him  a  great 
sum  of  money,  to  disannul  that  equality 
of  the  Jewish  privileges  of  citizens  which 
they  hitherto  enjoyed.  So  Burrhus,  by 
bis  solicitations,  obtained  leave  of  the 
emperor  that  an  epistle  should  be  written 
.to  that  purpose.  This  epistle  became 
the  occasion  of  the  following  miseries  that 
befell  our  nation ;  for,  when  the  Jews  of 
•Cesarea  were  informed  of  the  contents 
of  this  epistle  to  the  Syrians,  they  were 
more  disorderly  than  before,  till  a  war 
was  kindled. 

Upon  Festus's  coming  into  Judea,  it 
happened  that  Judea  was  afflicted  by  the 
robbers,  while  all  the  villages  were  set  on 
fire,  and  plundered  by  them.  And  then  it 
was  that  the  "  sicarii,"  as  they  were  called, 
who  were  robbers,  grew  numerous.  They 
.made  use  of  small  swords,  not  much 
different  in  length  from  the  Persian 
"acinacoe,"  but  somewhat  crooked,  and 
like  the  Roman  "  sicae"  [or  sickles],  as 
they  were  called;  and  from  these  weapons 
these  robbers  got  their  denomination;  and 
with  these  weapons  they  slew  a  great 
many ;  for  they  mingled  themselves  among 
the  multitude  at  their  festivals,  when  they 
were  come  up  in  crowds  from  all  parts  to 
the  city  to  worship  God,  as  we  said  before, 
and  easily  slew  those  that  they  had  a 
mind  to  slay.  They  also  came  frequently 
upon  the  villages  belonging  to  their  ene- 


mies, with  their  weapons,  and  plundered 
them,  and  set  them  on  fire.  So  Festuk 
sent  forces,  both  horsemen  and  footmen, 
to  fall  upon  those  that  had  been  seducea 
by  a  certain  impostor,  who  promised  them 
deliverance  and  freedom  from  the  miseries 
they  were  under,  if  they  would  but  fol- 
low him  as  far  as  the  wilderness.  Ac- 
cordingly, these  forces  that  were  sent 
destroyed  both  him  that  had  deluded  them, 
and  those  that  were  his  followers  also. 

About  the  same  time  King  Agrippa 
built  himself  a  very  large  dining-room  iu 
the  royal  palace  at  Jerusalem,  near  to 
the  portico.  Now,  this  palace  had  been 
erected  of  old  by  the  children  of  Asamo- 
neus,  and  was  situate  upon  an  elevation, 
and  afforded  a  most  delightful  prospect  to 
those  that  had  a  mind  to  take  a  view  of 
the  city,  which  prospect  was  desired  by 
the  king;  and  there  he  could  lie  down, 
and  eat,  and  thence  observed  what  was 
done  in  the  temple :  which  thing,  when 
the  chief  men  of  Jerusalem  saw,  they 
were  very  much  displeased  at  it ;  for  it 
was  not  agreeable  to  the  institutions  of 
our  country  or  law  that  what  was  done  in 
the  temple  should  be  viewed  by  others, 
especially  what  belonged  to  the  sacrifices. 
They  therefore  erected  a  wall  upon  the 
uppermost  building  which  belonged  to  the 
inner  court  of  the  temple  toward  the 
west ;  which  wall,  when  it  was  built,  did 
not  only  intercept  the  prospect  of  the 
dining-room  in  the  palace,  but  also  of  the 
western  cloisters  that  belonged  to  the 
outer  court  of  the  temple  also,  where  it 
was  the  Romans  kept  guards  for  th( 
temple  at  the  festivals.  At  these  doings 
both  King  Agrippa,  and  principally  Festus 
the  procurator,  were  much  displeased ; 
and  Festus  ordered  them  to  pull  the  wall 
down  again :  but  the  Jews  petitioned  him 
to  give  them  leave  to  send  an  embassy 
about  this  matter  to  Nero;  for  they  said 
they  could  not  endure  to  live  if  any  part 
of  the  temple  should  be  demolished;  and 
when  Festus  had  given  them  leave  so  to 
do,  they  sent  ten  of  their  principal  men 
to  Nero,  as  also-  Ismael  the  high  priest, 
and  Helcias,  the  keeper  of  the  sacred 
treasure.  And  when  Nero  had  heard 
what  they  had  to  say,  he  not  only  forgave 
them  what  they  had  already  done,  but 
also  gave  them  leave  to  let  the  wall  they 
had  built  stand.  This  was  granted  them 
in  order  to  gratify  Poppea,  Nero's  wife, 
who  was  a  religious  woman,  and  had  re- 
quested these  favours  of  Nero,  and  whe 


jhap.  IX.] 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE   JEWS. 


613 


gave  order  to  the  ten  ambassadors  to  go 
their  way  home;  bat  retained  Helcias 
and  Ismael  as  hostages  with  himself.  As 
soon  as  the  king  heard  this  news,  he  gave 
the  high-priesthood  to  Joseph,  who  was 
called  Cabi,  the  son  of  Simon,  formerly 
high  priest. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

.Albinus  procurator  of  Judea — the  Apostle  James 
slain — Edifices  built  by  Agrippa. 

And  now  Caesar,  upon  hearing  of  the 
death  of  Festus,  sent  Albinus  into  Judea, 
as  procurator;  bui  the  king  deprived  Jo- 
seph of  the  high-priesthood,  and  bestowed 
the  succession  to  that  dignity  on  the  son 
of  Ananus,  who  was  also  himself  called 
Ananus.  Now  the  report  goes,  that  this 
elder  Ananus  proved  a  most  fortunate 
man ;  for  he  had  five  sons,  who  had  all 
performed  the  office  of  a  high  priest  to 
Gud,  and  he  had  himself  enjoyed  that 
dignity  a  long  time  formerly,  which  had 
never  happened  to  any  other  of  our  high 
priests;  but  this  younger  Ananus,  who, 
as  we  have  told  you  already,  took  the 
high-priesthood,  was  a  bold  man  in  his 
temper,  and  very  insolent;  he  was  also 
of  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees,*  who  are 
very  rigid  in  judging  offenders,  above  all 
the  rect  of  the  Jews,  as  we  have  already 
observed;  when,  therefore,  Ananus  was 
of  this  disposition,  he  thought  he  had 
now  a  proper  opportunity  [to  exercise  his 
authority].  Festus  was  now  dead,  and 
Albinus  was  but  upon  the  road ;  so  he 
assembled  the  sanhedrim  of  judges,  and 
brought  before  them  the  brother  of  Je- 
sus, who  was  called  Christ,  whose  name 
was  James,  and  some  others  [or  some  of 
his  companions];  and,  when  he  had  form- 
ed an  accusation  against  them  as  breakers 
of  the  law,  he  delivered  them  to  be 
stoned  :  but  as  for  those  who  seemed  the 
most  equitable  of  the  citizens,  and  such 
as  were  the  most  uneasy  at  the  breach 
of  the  laws,  they  disliked  what  was  done; 
they  also  sent  to  the  king  [Agrippa],  de- 
siring him  to  send  to  Ananus  that  he 
should  act  so  no  more,  for  that  what  he 
had  already  done  was  not  to  be  justified; 
nay,  some  of  them  went  also  to  meet  Al- 
binus  as  he  was*,  upon   his  journey  from 


*  It  appears  that  Sadducees  might  be  high 
priests  in  the  days  of  Josephus,  and  that  these 
Sa'lducees  were  usually  very  .severe  and  inexo- 
rable judges,  while  the  Pharisees  were  much  mild- 
er and  more  merciful. 


Alexandria,  and  informed  him  that  it  was 
not  lawful  for  Ananus  to  assemble  a  san- 
hedrim without  his  consent  :*  whereupon 
Albinus  complied  with  what  they  said, 
and  wrote  in  anger  to  Ananus,  and  threat- 
tened  that  he  would  bring  him  to  punish- 
ment for  what  he  had  done;  on  which 
King  Agrippa  took  the  high-priesthood 
from  him,  when  he  had  ruled  but  three 
months,  and  made  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Damneus,  high  priest. 

Now,  as  soon  as  Albinus  had  come  to 
the  city  of  Jerusalem,  he  used  all  his  en- 
deavours and  care  that  the  country  might 
be  kept  in  peace,  and  this  by  destroying 
many  of  the  "sicarii;"  but  as  for  the 
high  priest  Ananias,  he  increased  in  glory 
every  day,  and  this  to  a  great  degree, 
and  had  obtained  the  favour  and  esteem 
of  the  citizens  in  a  signal  manner;  for 
he  was  a  great  hoarder  up  of  money . 
he  therefore  cultivated  the  friendship  of 
Albinus,  and  of  the  high  priest  [Jesus], 
by  making  them  presents;  he  also  had 
servants  who  were  very  wicked,  who  join- 
ed themselves  to  the  boldest  sort  of  the 
people,  and  went  to  the  threshing-floors, 
and  took  away  the  tithes  that  belonged 
to  the  priests  by  violence,  and  did  not 
refrain  from  beating  such  as  would  not 
give  these  tithes  to  them.  So  the  other 
high  pnests  acted  in  like  manner,  as  did 
those  his  servants,  without  any  one  being 
able  to  prohibit  them;  so  that  [some  of 
the]  priests,  that  of  old  were  wont  to  be 
supported  with  those  tithes,  died  for  want 
of  food. 

But  now  the  "sicarii"  went  into  the 
city  by  night,  just  before  the  festival, 
which  was  now  at  hand,  and  took  the 
scribe  belonging  to  the  governor  of  the 
temple,  whose  name  was  Eleazar,  who 
was  the  son  of  Auanus  (Ananias)  the 
high  priest,  and  bound  him,  and  carried 
him  away  with  them;  after  which  they 
sent  to  Ananias,  and  said  they  would  send. 
the  scribe  to  him,  if  he  would  persuade 
Albinus  to  release  ten  of  those  prisor -?rs 
which  he  had  caught  of  their  party;  so 
Ananias  was  plainly  forced  to  persuade 
Albinus,  and  gained  his  request  of  him 
This  was  the  beginning  of  greater  calami- 
ties; for  the  robbers  perpetually  contrived 


•  The  .sanhedrim  condemned  Christ,  but  could 
not  put  him  to  death  without  the  approbation  of 
the  Roman  procurator;  nor  could,  therefore,  An- 
anias and  his  sanhedrim  do  more  here,  since  they 
never  had  Albinus's  approbation  for  jutting  thil 
James  to  death. 


614 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX 


to  catch  some  of  Ananias's  servants ;  and 
when  they  had  taken  them  alive,  they 
would  not  let  them  go  till  they  thereby 
recovered  some  of  their  own  "  sicarii :" 
and  as  they  were  again  become  no  small 
number,  they  grew  bold,  and  were  a  great 
affliction  to  the  whole  country. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Agrippa 
built  Cesarea  Philippi  larger  than  it  was 
before,  and,  in  honour  of  Nero,  named  it 
Ncronias;  and,  when  he  had  built  a 
theatre  at  Berytus,  with  vast  expenses, 
he  bestowed  on  them  shows,  to  be  exhibit- 
ed every  year,  and  spent  therein  many 
ten  thousand  [drachmae];  he  also  gave 
the  people  a  largess  of  corn,  and  dis- 
tributed oil  among  them,  and  adorned  the 
entire  city  with  statues  of  his  own  dona- 
tion, and  with  original  images  made  by 
ancient  hands;  nay,  he  almost  transferred 
all  that  was  most  ornamental  in  his  own 
kingdom  thither.  This  made  him  more 
than  ordinarily  hated  by  his  subjects ; 
because  he  took  those  things  away  that 
belonged  to  them,  to  adorn  a  foreign  city; 
and  now  Jesus,  the  son  of  Gamaliel,  be- 
came the  successor  of  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Damneus,  in  the  high-priesthood,  which 
the  king  had  taken  from  the  other;  on 
which  account  a  sedition  arose  between 
the  high  priests,  with  regard  to  one  an- 
other; for  they  got  together  bodies  of 
the  boldest  sort  of  the  people,  and  fre- 
quently came,  from  reproaches,  to  trow- 
ing of  stones  at  each  other;  but  Ananias 
was  too  hard  for  the  rest,  by  his  riches, 
which  enabled  him  to  gain  those  that 
were  most  ready  to  receive.  Costobarus, 
.  lso,  and  Saulus,  did  themselves  get  to- 
gether a  multitude  of  wicked  wretches, 

nd  this  because  they  were  of  the  royal 
family ;     and    so     they    obtained    favour 

mong  them  because  of  their  kindred  to 
Agrippa :  but  still  they  used  violence 
with  the  people,  and  were  very  ready  to 
plunder  those  that  were  weaker  than 
themselves.  And  from  that  time  it 
principally  came  to  pass,  that  our  city 
was  greatly  disordered,  and  that  all 
things  grew  worse  and  worse  among  us. 
But  when  Albinus  heard  that  Gessius 

l:rus  was  coming  to  succeed  him,  he 
pas  desirous  to  appear  to  do  somewhat 
that  i  -ight  be  grateful  to  the  people  of 
Jerusalem;  so  he  brought  out  all  those 
prisoners  who  seemed  to  him  to  be  the 
most  plainly  worthy  of  death,  and  order- 
ed them  to  be  put  to  death  accordingly. 
But  as   to  those  who  had  been  put  into 


prison  on  some  trifling  occasion,  he  took 
money  of  them,  and  dismissed  them ;  by 
which  means  the  prisons  were  indeed 
emptied,  but  the  country  was  filled  with 
robbers. 

Now,  as  many  of  the  Levites,*  which 
is  a  tribe  of  ours,  as  were  singers  of 
hymns,  persuaded  the  king  to  assemble 
a  sanhedrim,  and  to  give  them  leave  fcc 
wear  linen  garments,  as  well  as  the 
priests;  for  they  said  that  this  would  be 
a  work  worthy  the  times  of  his  govern- 
ment, that  he  might  have  a  memorial  of 
such  a  novelty,  as  being  his  doing.  Nor 
did  they  fail  of  obtaining  their  desire; 
for  the  king,  with  the  suffrages  of  those 
that  came  into  the  sanhedrim,  granted 
the  singers  of  hymns  this  privilege,  that 
they  might  lay  aside  their  former  gar- 
ments, and  wear  such  a  linen  one  as  they 
desired;  and  as  a  part  of  this  tribe  mi- 
nistered in  the  temple,  he  also  permitted 
them  to  learn  those  hymns  as  they  had 
besought  him  for.  Now  all  this  was  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  our  country,  which, 
whenever  they  have  been  transgressed, 
we  have  never  been  able  to  avoid  the 
punishment  of  such  transgressions. 

And  now  it  was  that  the  temple  was 
finished.  So  when  the  people  saw  thai; 
the  workmen  were  unemployed,  who 
were  above  18,000,  and  that  they,  receiv- 
ing no  wages,  were  in  want,  because  they 
had  earned  their  bread  by  their  labours 
about  the  temple;  and  while  they  were 
unwilling  to  keep  them  by  the  treasures 
that  were  there  deposited,  out  of  fear 
of  [their  being  carried  away  by]  the  Ro- 
mans; and  while  they  had  a  regard  to 
the  making  provision  for  the  workmen, 
they  had  a  mind  to  expend  those  treasures 
upon  them ;  for  if  any  one  of  them  did 
but  labour  for  a  single  hour,  he  received 
his  pay  immediately ;  so  they  persuaded 
him  to  rebuild  the  eastern  cloisters. 
These  cloisters  belonged  to  the  outer 
court,  and  were  situated  in  a  deep  valley, 
and  had  walls  that  reached  400  cubits 
[in  length],  and  were  built  of  square  and 
very  white  stones^  the  length  of  each  of 
which  stones  was  twenty  cubits,  and  their 
height  six  cubits.  This  was  the  work  of 
King  Solomon,  who  first  of  all  built  the 


*  This  insolent  petition  of  some  of  the  Levites 
to  wear  the  sacerdotal  garments  when  they  sung 
hymns  to  God  in  the  temple,  was  very  probably 
owing  to  the  great  depression  and  contempt  th<! 
haughty  high  priests  had  now  brought  their  br» 
thren  the  priests  into. 


JlIAP.  JC.J 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE    JEWS. 


015 


entire  temple  But  King  Agrippa,  who 
had  the  care  of  the  temple  committed  to 
him  by  Claudius  Caesar,  considering  that 
it  is  easy  to  demolish  any  building,  but 
hard  to  build  it  up  again,  and  that  it  was 
particularly  hard  to  do  it  in  those  clois- 
ters, which  would  require  a  considerable 
time,  and  great  sums  of  money,  he  de- 
nied the  petitioners  their  request  about 
that  matter;  but  he  did  not  obstruct  them 
when  they  desired  the  city  might  be 
paved  with  white  stone.  He  also  de- 
prived Jesus,  the  son  of  Gamaliel,  of  the 
higli-priesthood,  and  gave  it  to  Matthias, 
the  son  of  Theophilus,  under  whom  the 
Jews'  war  with  the  Romans  took  its  be- 
ginning. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Enumeration  of  the  High  Priests. 

And  now  I  think  it  proper,  and  agree- 
able to  this  history,  to  give  an  account 
of  our  high  priests;  how  they  began,  who 
those  are  that  are  capable  of  that  dignity, 
and  how  many  of  them  there  had  been 
at  the  end  of  the  war.  In  the  first  place, 
therefore,  history  informs  us  that  Aaron, 
the  brother  of  Moses,  officiated  to  God 
as  a  high  priest;  and  that,  after  his  death, 
his  sons  succeeded  him  immediately;  and 
that  this  dignity  hath  been  continued 
down  from  them  all  to  their  posterity. 
Whence  it  is  a  custom  of  our  country, 
that  no  one  should  take  the  high-priest- 
hood of  God,  but  he  who  is  of  the  blood 
of  Aaron,  while  every  one  that  is  of  an- 
other stock,  though  he  were  a  king,  can 
never  obtain  that  high-priesthood.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  number  of  all  the  high 
priests  from  Aaron,  of  whom  we  have 
spoken  already  as  of  the  first  of  them, 
until  Phanas,  who  was  made  high  priest 
during  the  war  by  the  seditious,  was 
eighty-three;  of  whom  thirteen  officiated 
as  high  priests  in  the  wilderness,  from 
the  days  of  Moses,  while  the  tabernacle 
was  standing,  until  the  people  came  into 
Judea,  when  King  Solomon  erected  the 
temple  to  God;  for  at  first  they  held  the 
high-priesthood  till  the  end  of  their  life, 
although  afterward  they  had  successors 
while  they  were  alive.  Now,  these  thir- 
teen, who  were  the  descendants  of  two 
of  the  sons  of  Aaron,  received  this  digni- 
ty by  succession,  one  after  another;  for 
their  form  of  government  was  an  aristo- 
cracy, and  after  that  a  monarchy,  and,  in 
the  third  place,  the  government  was  regal. 


Now,  the  number  of  years  during  the 
rule  of  these  thirteen,  from  the  day  when 
our  fathers  departed  out  of  Egypt,  under 
Moses  their  leader,  until  the  building  of 
the  temple  which  King  Solomon  erected 
at  Jerusalem,  were  six  hundred  and 
twelve.  After  those  thirteen  high  priests, 
eighteen  took  the  high-priesthood  at  Je- 
rusalem, one  in  succession  to  another, 
from  the  days  of  king  Solomon  until 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  made 
an  expedition  against  that  city,  and  burnt 
the  temple,  and  removed  our  nation  into 
Babylon,  and  then  took  Josadek,  the 
high  priest,  captive;  the  times  of  these 
high  priests  were  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
six  years  six  months  and  ten  days,  while 
the  Jews  were  still  under  the  regal  go- 
vernment. But  after  the  term  of  seventy 
years'  captivity  under  the  Babylonians, 
Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  sent  the  Jews 
from  Babylon  to  their  own  land  again, 
and  gave  them  leave  to  rebuild  their 
temple;  at  which  time  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Josadek,  took  the  high-priesthood  over 
the  captives  when  they  had  returned 
home.  Now  he  and  his  posterity,  who 
were  in  all  fifteen,  until  King  Antiochus 
Eupator,  were  under  a  democratical  go- 
vernment for  four  hundred  and  fourteen 
years;  and  then  the  foreraentioned  An- 
tiochus, and  Lysias  the  general  of  his 
army,  deprived  Onias,  who  was  also  call- 
ed Menelaus,  of  the  high-priesthood,  and 
slew  him  at  Berea;  and,  driving  away 
the  son  [of  Onias  the  third],  put  Jacimus 
into  the  high  priest's  place,  one  that  was, 
indeed,  of  the  stock  of  Aaron,  but  not 
of  the  family  of  Onias.  On  which  ac- 
count Onias,  who  was  the  nephew  of 
Onias  that  was  dead,  and  bore  the  same 
name  with  his  father,  came  into  Egypt, 
and  got  into  the  friendship  of  Ptolemy 
Philometor,  and  Cleopatra  his  wife,  and 
persuaded  them  to  make  him  the  high 
priest  of  that  temple  which  he  built  to 
God  in  the  prefecture  of  Heliopolis,  and 
this  in  imitation  of  that  at  Jerusalem ; 
but  as  for  that  temple  which  was  built  in 
Egypt,  we  have  spoken  of  it  frequently 
already.  Now,  wheu  Jacimus  had  re- 
tained the  priesthood  three  years,  he 
died,  and  there  was  no  one  that  succeeded 
him,  but  the  city  continued  seven  years 
without  a  high  priest.  But  then  the 
posterity  of  the  sons  of  Asamoneus,  who 
had  the  government  of  the  nation  con- 
ferred upon  them,  when  they  had  beaten 
the  Macedonians  in  war,  appointed  Jomv- 


616 


ANTIQUITIES    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX 


than  to  be  their  high  priest,  who  ruled 
over  them  seven  years.  And  when  he 
had  been  slain  by  the  treacherous  con- 
trivance of  Trypho,  as  we  have  related 
somewhere,  Simon  his  brother  took  the 
high-priesthood;  and  when  he  was  de- 
stroyed at  a  feast  by  the  treachery  of  his 
son-in-law,  his  own  son,  whose  name  was 
Hyrcanus,  succeeded  him,  after  he  had 
held  the  high-priesthood  one  year  longer 
than  his  brother.  This  Hyrcanus  en- 
joyed that  dignity  thirty  years,  and  died 
an  old  man,  leaving  the  succession  to 
Judas,  who  was  also  called  Aristobulus, 
whose  brother,  Alexander,  was  his  heir ; 
which  Judas  died  of  a  sore  distemper, 
after  he  had  kept  the  priesthood,  together 
with  the  royal  authority,  (for  this  Judas 
was  the  first  that  put  on  his  head  a 
diadem),  for  one  year.  And  when  Alex- 
ander had  been  both  king  and  high- 
priest  twenty-seven  years,  he  departed 
this  life,  and  permitted  his  wife  Alexan- 
dra to  appoint  him  that  should  be  high 
priest;  so  she  gave  the  high-priesthood 
to  Hyrcanus,  but  retained  the  kingdom 
herself  nine  years,  and  then  departed 
this  life.  The  like  duration  [and  no 
longer]  did  her  son  Hyrcanus  enjoy  the 
high-priesthood.;  for  after  her  death  his 
brother  Aristobulus  fought  agaiust  him, 
and  beat  him,  and  deprived  him  of  his 
principality ;  and  he  did  himself  both 
reign  and  perform  the  office  of  high'priest 
to  Grod.  But  when  he  had  reigued  three 
years,  and  as  many  months,  Pompey  came 
upon  him,  and  not  only  took  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  by  force,  but  put  him  and  his 
children  in  bonds,  and  sent  them  to 
Rome.  He  also  restored  the  high-priest- 
hood to  Hyrcanus,  and  made  him  govern- 
or of  the  nation,  but  forbade  him  to  wear 
a  diadem.  This  Hyrcanus  ruled,  besides 
his  first  nine  years,  twenty-four  years 
more,  when  Barzapharnes  and  Pacorus, 
the  generals  of  the  Paithians,  passed 
over  Euphrates,  and  fought  with  Hyrca- 
nus, and  took  him  alive,  and  made  Anti- 
gonus,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  king;  and 
when  he  had  reigned  three  years  and 
three  months,  Sosius  and  Herod  besieged 
him,  and  took  him,  when  Antony  had 
him  brought  to  Antioch,  and  slain  there. 
Herod  was  then  made  king  by  the  Bo- 
mans,  but  did  no  longer  appoint  high 
priests  out  of  the  family  of  Asamoneus ; 
but  made  certain  men  to  be  so  that  were 
of  no  eminent  families,  but  barely  of 
those    that   were   priests,   excepting   that 


he  p-ave  tbat  dignity  to  Aristobulus;  for 
when  he  had  made  this  Aristobulus,  the 
grandson  of  that  Hyrcanus  who  was  then 
taken  by  the  Parthians,  and  had  taken  his 
sister  Mariamne  to  wife,  he  thereby  aimed 
to  win  the  good-will  of  the  people,  whc 
had  a  kind  remembrance  of  Hyrcanus 
[his  grandfather].  Yet  did  he  afterward, 
out  of  his  fear  lest  they  should  all  bend 
their  inclinations  to  Aristobulus,  put  him 
to  death,  and  that  by  contriving  how  to 
have  him  suffocated,  as  he  was  swimming 
at  Jericho,  as  we  have  already  related 
that  matter;  but,  after  this  man,'  he 
never  intrusted  the  high-priesthood  to  th^ 
posterity  of  the  sons  of  Asamoneus. 
Archelaus,  also,  Herod's  son,  did  like 
his  father  in  the  appointment  of  the  high 
priests,  as  did  the  Romans  also,  who  took 
the  government  over  the  Jews  into  their 
hands  afterward.  Accordingly,  the  num- 
ber of  the  high  priests,  from  the  days  of 
Herod  until  the  day  when  Titus  took  the 
temple  and  the  city,  and  burnt  them, 
were  in  all  twenty-eight;  the  time,  also, 
that  belonged  to  them  was  107  years 
Some  of  these  were  the  political  govern- 
ors of  the  people  under  the  reign  of  He- 
rod, and  under  the  reign  of  Archelaus 
his  son,  although,  after  their  death,  the 
government  became  an  aristocracy,  and 
the  high  priests  were  intrusted  witb  a  do- 
minion over  the  nation.  And  thus  much 
may  suffice  to  be  said  concerning  our 
high  priests. 

• 
CHAPTER  XI. 

Floras  the  procurator  compels  the  Jews  to  take  up 
arms  against  the  Humans — Conclusion. 

Now,  Gessius  Florus,  who  was  sent  as 
successor  to  Albinus  by  Nero,  filled  Ju- 
dea  with  abundauce  of  miseries.  He  was 
by  birth  of  the  city  of  Clazomense,  and 
brought  along  with  him  his  wife  Cleopa- 
tra, (by  whose  friendship  with  Poppea, 
Nero's  wife,  he  obtained  this  govern- 
ment,) who  was  by  no  way  different  from 
him  in  wickedness.  This  Florus  was  so 
wicked,  and  so  violent  in  the  use  of  his 
authority,  that  the  Jews  took  Albinus  to 
have  been  [comparatively]  their  benefac- 
tor; so  excessive  were  the  mischiefs  that 
he  brought  upon  them.  For  Albinus  con- 
cealed his  wickedness,  and  wag  careful 
that  it  might  not  be  discovered  to  all  men ; 
but  Gessius  Florus,  as  though  he  had 
been  sent  on  purpose  to  show  his  crimes 
to  everybody,  made  a  pompous  ostenta 


Chap.  AI.] 


ANTIQUITIES    OF  THE   JEWS. 


617 


tion  of  them  to  our  nation,  as  never  omit- 
ting any  sort  of  violence,  nor  any  sort  of 
unjust  punishment;  for  he  was  not  to  be 
moved  by  pity,  and  never  was  satisfied 
with  any  degree  of  gain  that  came  in  his 
way ;  nor  had  he  any  more  regard  to  great 
than  to  small  acquisitions,  but  became  a 
partner  with  the  robbers  themselves;  for 
a  great  many  fell  then  into  that  practice 
without  fear,  as  having  him  for  their  se- 
curity, and  depending  on  him  that  he 
would  save  them  harmless  in  their  particu- 
lar robberies;  so  that  there  were  no  bounds 
set  to  the  nation's  miseries;  but  the  un- 
happy  Jews,  when  they  were  not  able  to 
bear  the  devastations  which  the  robbers 
made  among  them,  were  all  under  a  ne- 
cessity of  leaving  their  own  habitations, 
and  of  flying  away,  as  hoping  to  dwell 
more  easily  anywhere  else  in  the  world 
among  foreigners  (than  in  their  own  coun- 
try.) And  what  need  I  say  more  upon 
this  head?  since  it  was  this  Florus  who 
compelled  us  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Romans,  while  we  thought  it  better  to  be 
destroyed  at  once,  than  by  little  and  little. 
Now  this  war  began  in  the  second  year  of 
the  government  of  Florus,  and  the  twelfth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Nero.  But  then 
what  actions  we  were  forced  to  do,  or 
what  miseries  we  were  enabled  to  suffer, 
may  be  accurately  known  by  such  as  will 
peruse  those  books  which  I  have  written 
about  the  Jewish  war. 

I  shall  now,  therefore,  make  an  end 
here  of  my  Antiquities;  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  which  events,  I  began  to  write 
that  account  of  the  War ;  and  these  Antiqui- 
ties contain  what  hath  been  delivered 
down  to  us  from  the  original  creation  cf 
man,  until  the  twelfth  year  of  the  reign 
of  Nero,  as  to  what  hath  befallen  the 
Jews,  as  well  in  Egypt  as  in  Syria  and 
in  Palestine,  and  what  we  have  suffered 
from  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  and 
what  afflictions  the  Persians  and  Macedo- 
nians, and  after  them  the  Romans,  have 
brought  upon  us;  for  I  thiuk  I  may  say 
that  1  have  composed  this  history  with 
sufficient  accuracy  in  all  things.  I  have 
attempted  to  enumerate  those  high  priests 
that  we  have  had  during  the  interval  of 
2000  years ;  I  have  also  carried  down  the 
succession  of  our  kings,  and  related  their 
actions  and  political  administration,  with- 
out [considerable]  errors;  as  also  the 
power  of  our  nionarchs;  and  all  according 
to  what  is  written  in  our  saered  books;  for 
thL«  it  was  ttat  I  promised  to  do  in  the 


beginning  of  this  history.  And  T  am  so 
bold  as  to  say,  now  I  have  so  completely 
perfected  the  work  I  proposed  to  myself 
to  do,  that  no  other  person,  whether  he 
were  a  Jew  or  a  foreigner,  had  he  ever 
so  great  an  inclination  to  it,  could  so  ac- 
curately deliver  these  accounts  to  the 
Greeks  as  is  done  in  these  bookf*  For 
those  of  my  own  nation  freely  acknow- 
ledge that  I  far  exceed  t'nem  in  the  learn- 
ing belonging  to  the  Jews:  I  have  also 
taken  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  obtain  the 
learning  of  the  Greeks,  and  understand 
the  elements  of  the  Greek  language,  al- 
though I  have  so  long  accustomed  myself 
to  speak  our  own  tongue,  that  I  cannot 
pronounce  Greek  with  sufficient  exact- 
ness; for  our  nation  does  not  encourage 
those  that  learn  the  languages  of  many 
nations,  and  so  adorn  their  discourses 
with  the  smoothness  of  their  periods:  be- 
cause they  look  upon  this  sort  of  accom- 
plishment t,s  common,  not  only  to  all 
sorts  of  freemen,  but  to  as  many  of  the 
servants  as  please  to  learn  them.  But 
they  give  him  the  testimony  of  being  a 
wise  man  who  is  fully  acquainted  with 
our  laws,  and  is  able  to  interpret  their 
meaning;  on  which  account,  as  there  have 
been  many  who  have  done  their  endea- 
vours with  great  patience  to  obtain  this 
learning,  there  have  yet  hardly  been  so 
many  as  two  or  three  that  have  succeeded 
therein,  who  were  immediately  well  re- 
warded for  their  paius. 

And  now  lv  will  be,  perhaps,  an  in- 
vidious thing,  if  I  treat  briefly  of  my  own 
I  family,  ana  of  the  actions  of  my  own 
•  life,*  while  there  are  still  living  such  as 
j  can  either  prove  what  I  say  to  be  false, 
I  or  can  attest  that  it  is  true ;  with  which 
:  accounts  I  shall  put  an  end  to  these  An- 
.  tiquities,  which  are  contained  in  20  books, 
and  60,000  verses.     And,  if  God|  permit 

i 

*  The  Life  of  Josephus  will  bo  found  at  the  be- 

j  ginning  of  the  volume. 

f  What  Josephus  here  declares  his  intention  to 

!  do,  "  if  God  permitted,"  to  give  th<j  public  "  again  an 
abridgment  of  the  Jewish  War,"  "  and  to  add  what 
befell  them  further  to  that  very  day,"  the  13th  ot 
Dumitian,  or  A.  D.  93,  is  not  taken  distinct  notice 
of  by  any  one;    nor  do  we  hear  of  it  elsewhere, 

;  whether  he  performed  what  he  now  intended  or  not. 
Some  of  the  reasons  of  this  design  of  his  might 
possibly  be,  his  observation  of  the  many  errors  he 
hail  been  guilty  of,  in  the  two  first  books  of  those 
seven  books  of  the  War  which  was  written  when 
he  was  comparatively  young,  and  less  acquainted 
with  the  Jewish  antiquities  than  he  now  was,  and 

,  in  which  abridgment  we  might  have  hoped  to  find 

j  those  many  passages  which  himself,  as  well  as 
those  several   passages   which  others    refei  to,   as 

I  written   by  him,  but  which  nr<-j  not    extant  in   his 


618 


ANTIQUITIES    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  XX 


me,  1  will  briefly  run  over  this  war  again, 
with  what  befell  us  therein  to  this  very 
day,  which  is  the  13th  year  of  the  reign 
of  Caesar  Domitian,  and  the  56th  of  my 
own  life.     I    have  also    an  intention    to 

present  works.  However,  since  many  of  his  own 
references  to  what  he  had  written  elsewhere,  as 
well  as  most  of  his  own  errors,  belong  to  such 
early  times  as  could  not  well  come  into  this  abridg- 
ment of  the  Jewish  War;  and  since  none  of  those 
that  quote  things  not  now  extant  in  his  work,  in- 
cluding himself  as  well  as  others,  ever  cite  any 
such  abridgment,  I  am  forced  rather  to  suppose  that 
he  never  did  publish  any  such  work  at  all ;  I  mean, 
as  distinct  from  bis  own  Life,  written  by  himself, 
for  an  appendix  to  these  Antiquities,  and  this  at 
least  seven  years  after  these  Antiquities  were 
finished.  Nor,  indeed,  does  it  appear  that  Josephus 
ever  published  that  other  work  here  mentioned,  as 
faatended  by  him  for  the  public  also.     I  mean  the 


write  three  books  concerning  our  Jewish 
opinions  about  God  and  his  essence,  and 
about  our  laws;  why,  according  to  them, 
some  things  are  permitted  us  to  do,  and 
others  are  prohibited. 

three  or  four  books  "concerning  God  and  his  Es 
sence,"  and  concerning  the  "Jewish  Laws  ;"  "  why, 
according  to  them,  some  things  were  permitted  the 
Jews,  and  others  prohibited •"  which  last  seems  to 
be  the  same  work  which  Josephus  had  also  pro- 
mised, "  if  God  permitted,"  at  the  conclusion  of  his 
Preface  to  these  Antiquities  ;  nor  do  I  suppose  that 
he  ever  published  any  of  them.  The  death  of  all 
his  friends  at  court,  Vespasian,  Titus,  and  Domitian, 
and  the  coming  of  those  he  had  no  acquaintance 
with  to  the  crown,  I  mean  Nerva  and  Trajan,  to- 
gether with  his  removal  from  Rome  to  Judea,  with 
what  followed  it,  might  easily  interrupt  such  his  iit 
tentions,  and  prevent  his  publication  of  thoso 
works. — Whistom. 


r 


WARS  OF  THE  JEWS ; 


OR, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  JERUSALEM. 


PREFACE. 


♦Whereas  the  war  which  the  Jews 
made  with  the  Romans  hath  been  the 
greatest  of  all  those,  not  only  that  have 
been  in  our  times,  but,  in  a  manner,  of 
those  that  ever  were  heard  of;  both  of 
those  wherein  cities  have  fought  against 
cities,  or  nations  against  natious;  while 
60tne  men,  who  were  not  concerned  in  the 
affairs  themselves,  have  gotten  together 
vain  and  contradictory  stories  by  hearsay, 
and  have  written  them  down  after  a  so- 
phistical manner;  and  while  those  that 
were  there  present  have  given  false  ac- 
counts of  things,  and  this  either  out  of  a 
humour  of  flattery  to  the  Romans,  or  of 
hatred  toward  the  Jews ;  and  while  their 
writings  contain  sometimes  accusations, 
and  sometimes  encomiums,  but  nowhere 
the  accurate  truth  of  the  facts,  1  have 
proposed  to  myself,  for  the  sake  of  such 
as  live  under  the  government  of  the  Ro- 
mans, to  translate  those  books  into  the 
Greek  tongue,  which  I  formerly  composed 
in  the  language  of  our  country,  and  sent 


*  The  History  of  the  Jewish  War  was  Joso- 
phus's  first  work,  and  published  about  A.  D.  75, 
when  he  was  but  thirty-eight  years  of  age;  at  that 
tirua  he  was  not  thoroughly  acquainted  with  seve- 
ral circumstances  of  history,  from  the  days  of 
Antioehus  Epiphanes,  with  which  it  begins,  till 
near  his  own  times,  contained  in  the  first  and 
former  part  of  the  second  book,  and  thus  commit- 
ted many  involuntary  errors  therein.  He  pub- 
lished his  Antiquities  eighteen  years  afterward,  in 
the  thirteenth  of  Domitian,  A.  D.  93,  when  he  was 
more  completely  acquainted  with  those  ancient 
times,  and  after  he  had  perused  the  first  book  of 
Maecabees,  and  the  Chronicles  of  the  Priesthood 
ol  John  Hyrcanus,  &e.  He  then  reviewed  those 
parts  of  this  work,  and  gave  the  public  a  more 
faithful,  complete,  and  accurate  account  of  the 
facta  therein  related,  and  honestly  corrected  the 
errors  he  had  before  run  into. 


to  the  Upper  Barbarians;*  1,  Joseph,  the 
son  of  Matthias,  by  birth  a  Hebrew,  a 
priest  also,  and  one  who  at  first  fought 
against  the  Romans  myself,  and  was  forced 
to  be  present  at  what  was  done  afterward, 
[am  the  author  of  this  work.] 

Now,  at  the  time  when  this  great  con- 
cussion of  affairs  happened,  the  affairs  of 
the  Romans  themselves  were  in  great  dis- 
order. Those  Jews,  also,  who  were  for 
innovations,  then  arose  when  the  times 
were  disturbed ;  they  were  also  in  a  flou- 
rishing condition  for  strength  and  riches, 
insomuch  that  the  affairs  of  the  East  were 
then  exceeding  tumultuous,  while  some 
hoped  for  gain,  and  others  were  afraid  of 
loss  in  such  troubles ;  for  the  Jews  hoped 
that  all  of  their  nation  which  were  beyond 
Euphrates  would  have  raised  an  insurrec- 
tion together  with  them.  The  Ghmls  also, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Romans,  were 
in  motion,  and  the  Celtae  were  not  quiet; 
but  all  was  in  disorder  after  the  death  of 
Nero.  And  the  opportunity  now  offered 
induced  many  to  aim  at  the  royal  power ; 
and  the  soldiery  affected  change,  out  of 
the  hopes  of  getting  money.  I  thought 
it,  therefore,  an  absurd  thing  to  see  the 
truth  falsified  in  affairs  of  such  great  con- 
sequence, and  to  take  no  notice  of  it; 
but  to  suffer  those  Greeks  and  Romans 
that  were  not  in  the  wars  to  be  ignorant 
of  these  things,  and  to  read  either  flatte- 
ries or  fictions,  while  the  Parthians,  and 
the  Babylonians,  and  the  remotest  Ara- 
bians,  and    those   of   our   nation   beyond 

*  These  Upper  Barbarians,  remote  from  the  se'\, 
were  the  Parthians  and  Babylonians,  and  remote 
Arabians  [or  the  Jews  among  them]  ;  besides  tb* 
Jews  beyond  Euphrates,  and  the  Assyrian." 


620 


PREFACE. 


Euphrates,  with  the  Adiabeni,  by  my 
means,  knew  accurately  both  whence  the 
war  began,  what  miseries  it  brought  upon 
us,  and  after  what  manner  it  ended. 

It  is  true,  these  writers  have  the  con- 
fidence to  call  their  accounts  histories ; 
wherein  yet  they  seem  to  me  to  fail  of 
their  own  purpose,  as  well  as  to  relate 
nothing  that  is  sound ;  for  they  have  a 
mind  to  demonstrate  the  greatness  of  the 
Romans,  while  they  still  diminish  and 
lessen  the  actions  of  the  Jews,  as  not  dis- 
cerning how  it  cannot  be  that  those  must 
appear  to  be  great  who  have  only  con- 
quered those  that  were  little  j  nor  are 
they  ashamed  to  overlook  the  length  of 
the  war,  the  multitude  of  the  Roman 
forces  who  so  greatly  suffered  in  it,  or  the 
might  of  the  commanders,  whose  great 
labours  about  Jerusalem  will  be  deemed 
inglorious,  if  what  they  achieved  be  reck- 
oned but  a  small  matter. 

However,  I  will  not  go  to  the  other  ex- 
treme, out  *of  opposition  to  those  men 
who  extol  the  Romans,  nor  will  I  deter- 
mine to  raise  the  actions  of  my  country- 
men too  high ;  but  I  will  prosecute  the 
actions  of  both  parties  with  accuracy. 
Yet  shall  I  suit  my  language  to  the  pas- 
sions I  am  under,  as  to  the  affairs  I  de- 
scribe, and  must  be  allowed  to  indulge 
some  lamentations  upon  the  miseries  un- 
dergone by  my  own  country ;  for  that 
it  was  a  seditious  temper  of  our  own  that 
destroyed  it;  and  that  they  were  the  ty- 
rants among  the  Jews  who  brought  the 
Roman  power  upon  us,  who  unwillingly 
attacked  us,  and  occasioned  the  burning 
of  our  holy  temple  ;  Titus  Csesar,  who  de- 
stroyed it,  is  himself  a  witness,  who,  dur- 
ing the  entire  war,  pitied  the  people  who 
were  kept  under  by  the  seditious,  and  did 
often  voluntarily  delay  the  taking  of  the 
city,  and  allowed  time  to  the  siege,  in 
order  to  let  the  authors  have  opportunity 
for  repentance.  But  if  any  one  makes 
an  unjust  accusation  against  us,  when  we 
speak  so  passionately  about  the  tyrants, 
or  the  robbers,  or  sorely  bewail  the  mis- 
fortunes of  our  country,  let  him  indulge 
my  affections  herein,  though  it  be  contrary 
t,o  the  rules  for  writing  history  ;  because 
it  had  so  come  to  pass,  that  our  city  Jeru- 
salem had  arrived  at  a  higher  degree  of 
"felicity  than  any  other  city  under  the 
R:man  government,  and  yet  at  last  fell 
into  the  sorest  of  calamities  again.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  appears  to  me  that  the  mis- 
fortunes of  all  men  from   the  beginning 


of  the  world,  if  they  be  compared  to  these 
of  the  Jews,*  are  not  so  considerable  ai 
they  were ;  while  the  authors  of  them 
were  not  foreigners  either.  This  makee 
it  impossible  for  me  to  contain  my  la« 
mentations.  But,  if  any  one  be  inflexi. 
ble  in  his  censures  of  me,  let  him  attri- 
bute the  facts  themselves  to  the  historical 
part,  and  the  lamentations  to  the  writei 
himself  only. 

However,  I  may  justly  blame  the 
learned  men  among  the  Greeks,  who, 
when  such  great  actions  have  been  done 
in  their  own  times,  which,  upon  the  com- 
parison, quite  eclipse  the  old  wars,  do  yet 
sit  as  judges  of  those  affairs,  and  pass  bit- 
ter censures  upon  the  labours  of  the  bost 
writers  of  antiquity;  which  moderns,  al- 
though they  may  be  superior  to  the  old 
writers  in  eloquence,  yet  are  they  inferior 
to  them  in  the  execution  of  what  they 
intended  to  do.  While  these  also  write 
new  histories  about  the  Assyrians  and 
Medes,  as  if  the  ancient  writers  had  not 
described  their  affairs  as  they  ought  to 
have  done ;  although  these  be  as  far  in- 
ferior to  them  in  abilities  as  they  are  dif- 
ferent in  their  notions  from  them  ;  for  of 
old  every  one  took  upon  them  to  write 
what  happened  in  his  own  time,  where 
their  immediate  concern  in  the  actions 
made  their  promises  of  value,  and  where 
it  must  be  reproachful  to  write  lies,  when 
they  must  be  known  by  the  readers  to  be 
such.  But  then,  an  undertaking  to  pre- 
serve the  memory  of  what  hath  not  been 
before  recorded,  and  to  represent  the  af- 
fairs of  one's  own  time  to  those  that  coine 
afterward,  is  really  worthy  of  praise  and 
commendation.  Now,  he  is  to  be  esteemed 
to  have  taken  good  pains  in  earnest,  not 
who  does  no  more  than  change  the  dispo- 
sition and  order  of  other  men's  works, 
but  he  who  not  ouly  relates  what  had  not 
been  related  before,  but  composes  an  en- 
tire body  of  history  of  his  own  :  accord- 
ingly, I  have  been  at  great  charges,  and 
have  taken  very  great  pains  [about  this 
history],  though  I  be  a  foreigner  ;  and 
so  dedicate  this  work,  as  a  memorial  of 
great  actions,  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to 
the  Barbarians.  But,  for  some  of  our 
own  principal  men,  their  mouths  arc  wide 
open,  and  their  tongues  loosed  presently 
for  gain  and  lawsuits,  but  quite  muzzled 
up  when  they  are  to  write  history,  where 
they  must   speak  truth  and  gather  facts 

*  See  Matt.  xxiv.  21  ;  Mark  xiii.  19  ;  Luke  xxi. 
23,  24. 


PREFACE. 


621 


together  with  x  great  deal  of  pains  ;  and 
bo  they  leave  the  writing  such  histories  to 
weaker  people,  and  to  such  as  are  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  actions  of  princes.  Yet 
•shall  the  real  truth  of  historical  facts  be 
preferred  by  us,  how  much  soever  it  be 
neglected  among  the  Greek  historians. 

To  write  concerning  the  Antiquities 
of  the  Jews,  who  they  were  [originally], 
and  how  they  revolted  from  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  what  countries  they  travelled 
over,  and  what  countries  they  seized  upon 
afterward,  and  how  they  were  removed 
out  of  them,  I  think  this  not  to  be  a  fit 
opportunity,  and,  on  other  accounts,  also 
superfluous ;  and  this,  because  many  Jews 
before  me  have  composed  the  histories  of 
our  ancestors  very  exactly;  as  have  some 
of  the  Greeks  done  it  also,  and  have  trans- 
lated our  histories  into  their  own  tongue, 
and  have  not  much  mistaken  the  truth 
in  their  histories.  But  then,  where  the 
writers  of  these  affairs  and  our  prophets 
leave  off,  thence  shall  I  take  my  rise  and 
begin  my  history.  Now,  as  to  what  con- 
cerns that  war  which  happened  in  my 
own  time,  I  will  go  over  it  very  largely, 
and  with  all  the  diligence  I  am  able;  but, 
what  preceded  mine  own  age,  that  I  shall 
run  over  briefly. 

[For  example,  I  shall  relate]  how  An- 
tiochus,  who  was  named  Epiphanes,  took 
Jerusalem  by  force,  and  held  it  three 
years  and  three  months,  and  was  then 
ejected  out  of  the  country  by  the  sons  of 
Asamoneus;  after  that,  how  their  pos- 
terity quarrelled  about  the  government, 
and  brought  upon  their  settlement  the 
Romans  and  Pompey;  how  Herod  also, 
the  son  of  Antipater,  dissolved  their  go- 
vernment, and  brought  Socius  upon  them; 
as  also  how  our  people  made  a  sedition 
upon  Herod's  death,  while  Augustus  was 
the  Roman  emperor,  and  Quintilius  Va- 
rus was  in  that  country  ;  and  how  the  war 
broke  out  in  the  twelfth  year  of  Nero, 
with  what  happened  to  Cestius  ;  and 
what  places  the  Jews  assaulted  in  a  hos- 
tile manner  in  the  first  sallies  of  the  war. 

As  also,  [I  shall  relate]  how  they  built 
walls  about  the  neighbouring  cities;  and 
how  Nero,  upon  Cestius's  defeat,  was  in 
fear  of  the  entire  event  of  the  war,  and 
thereupon  made  Vespasian  general  in  this 
war ;  and  how  thio  Vespasian,  with  the 
elder  of  his  sons  [Titus],  made  an  ex- 
pedition into  the  country  of  Judea;  what 
was  the  number  of  the  Roman  army  that 
be  made  use  of;  and  how  many  of  his 


auxiliaries  were  cut  off  in  all  Galilee  : 
and  how  he  took  some  of  its  cities  en- 
tirely, and  by  force,  and  others  of  them 
by  treaty,  and  on  terms.  Now,  when  1 
am  come  so  far,  I  shall  describe  the  good 
order  of  the  Romans  in  war,  and  the 
discipline  of  their  legions:  the  amplitude 
of  both  the  G-alilees,  with  its  nature,  and 
the  limits  of  Judea.  And,  besides  this, 
I  shall  particularly  go  over  what  is  pecu- 
liar to  the  country,  the  lakes  and  foun- 
tains that  are  in  them,  and  what  miseries 
happened  to  every  city  as  they  were 
taken  ;  and  all  this  with  accuracy,  as  I 
saw  the  things  done,  or  suffered  in  them; 
for  I  shall  not  conceal  any  of  the  calami- 
ties I  myself  endured,  since  I  relate  them 
to  such  as  know  the  truth  of  them. 

iVfter  this  [I  shall  relate]  how,  when 
the  Jews'  affairs  had  become  very  bad, 
Nero  died;  and  Vespasian,  when  he  wa" 
going  to  attack  Jerusalem,  was  called 
back  to  take  the  government  upon  him; 
what  signs  happened  to  him  relating  to 
his  gaining  that  government,  and  what 
mutations  of  government  then  happened 
at  Rome,  and  how  he  was  unwillingly 
made  emperor  by  his  soldiers ;  and  how, 
upon  his  departure  to  Egypt,  to  take  upon 
him  the  government  of  the  empire,  the 
affairs  of  the  Jews  became  very  tumul- 
tuous; as  also  how  the  tyrants  rose  up 
against  them,  and  fell  into  dissensions 
among  themselves. 

Moreover,  [I  shall  relate]  how  Titus 
marched  out  of  Egypt  into  Judea  the 
second  time;  as  also  how  and  where,  and 
how  many  forces  he  got  together ;  and  in 
what  state  the  city  was,  by  means  of  the 
seditious,  at  his  coming;  what  attacks  he 
made,  and  how  many  ramparts  he  cast 
up;  of  the  three  walls  that  encompassed 
the  city,  and  of  their  measures;  of  the 
strength  of  the  city,  and  the  structures 
of  the  temple  and  holy  house;  and  besides, 
the  measures  of  those  edifices,  and  of  the 
altar,  and  all  accurately  determined.  A 
description,  also,  of  certain  of  their  fes- 
tivals, and  seven  purifications  or  days  of 
purity,  and  the  sacred  miuistrations  of  the 
priests,  with  tne  garments  of  the  priests, 
and  of  the  high-priests;  and  of  tho  nature 
of  the  most  holy  place  of  the  temple; 
without  concealing  any  thing,  or  adding 
any  thing  to  the  known  truth  of  things. 

After  this,  I  shall  relate  the  barbarity 
of  the  tyrants  toward  the  people  of  their 
own  nation,  as  well  as  the  indulgence  of 
the  Romans,  in  sparing  foreigners ;  and 


622 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


how  oft3n  Titus,  out  of  his  desire  to  pre- 
serve the  city  and  the  temple,  invited  the 
seditious  to  come  to  terms  of  accommo- 
dation. I  shall  also  distinguish  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  people,  and  their  calamities; 
how  far  they  were  afflicted  by  the  sedition, 
and  how  far  by  the  famine,  and  at  length 
were  taken.  Nor  shall  I  omit  to  mention 
the  misfortunes  of  the  deserters,  nor  the 
punishment  inflicted  on  the  captives;  as 
also,  how  the  temple  was  burnt,  against 
the  consent  of  Caesar;  and  how  many 
sacred  things  that  had  been  laid  up  in  the 
temple  were  snatched  out  of  the  fire ;  the 
destruction  also  of  the  entire  city,  with 
the  signs  and  wonders  that  went  before 
it ;  and  the  taking  the  tyrants  captive,  and 
the  multitude  of   those   that    were   made 


slaves,  and  into  what  different  misfortunes 
they  were  every  one  distributed.  More- 
over, what  the  Romans  did  to  the  remains 
of  the  wall;  and  how  they  demolished  the 
strongholds  that  were  in  the  country;  and 
how  Titus  went  over  the  whole  country, 
and  settled  its  affairs ;  together  with  hia 
return  to  Italy,  and  his  triumph. 

I  have  comprehended  all  these  things 
in  seven  books,  and  have  left  no  occasion 
for  complaints  or  accusation  to  such  as 
have  been  acquainted  with  this  war;  and 
I  have  written  it  dowa  for  the  sake  of 
those  that  love  truth,  but  not  for  thosa 
that  please  themselves  [with  fictitious 
relations].  And  I  will  begin  my  account 
of  these  things,  wUh  that  I  call  my  first 
chapter. 


BOOK  I. 


CONTAINING  AN  INTERVAL  OF  1G7  YEARS,  FROM  THE  TAKING  OP 
JERUSALEM  BY  ANTIOCHUS  EPIPIIANES  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  HEROD 
THE  GREAT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Jerusalem  taken,  and  the  temple  pillaged  [by  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes] — Actions  of  the  Maccabees, 
Matthias  and  Judas — Death  of  Judas.r 

At  the  same  time  that  Antiochus,  who 
was  called  Epiphanes,  had  a  quarrel  with 
the  sixth  Ptolemy  about  his  right  to  the 
whole  country  of  Syria,  a  great  sedition 
fell  among  the  men  of  power  in  Judea, 
and  they  had  a  contention  about  obtain- 
ing the  government;  while  each  of  those 
that  were  of  dignity  could  not  endure  to 
be  subject  to  their  equals.  However, 
Onias,  one  of  the  high  priests,  got  the 
better,  and  cast  the  sous  of  Tobias  out  of 
the  city;  who  fled  to  Antiochus,  and 
besought  him  to  make  use  of  them  for 
his  leaders,  and  to  make  an  expedition 
into  Judea.  The  king  being  thereto  dis- 
posed beforehand,  complied  with  them, 
and  came  upon  the  Jews  with  a  great 
army,  and  took  their  city  by  force,  and 
slew  a  great  multitude  of  those  that  fa- 
Toured  Ptolemy,  and  sent  out  his  soldiers 
to  plunder  them,  without  mercy.  He 
also  spoiled  the  temple,  and  put  a  stop  to 
the  constant  practice  of  offering  a  daily 
sacrifice  of  expiation,  for  three  years 
and  six  months.     But   Onias,    the    high 


priest,  fled  to  Ptolemy,  and  received  a 
place  from  him  in  the  Nomus  of  Helio- 
polis,  where  he  built  a  city  resembling 
Jerusalem,  and  a  temple  that  was  like  its 
temple ;  concerning  which  we  shall  speak 
more  in  its  proper  place  hereafter. 

Now,  Antiochus  was  not  satisfied  either 
with  his  unexpected  taking  the  city,  or 
with  its  pillage,  with  the  great  slaughter 
he  had  made  there;  but  being  overcome 
with  his  violent  passions,  and  remember- 
ing what  he  had  suffered  during  the  siege, 
he  compelled  the  Jews  to  dissolve  the 
laws  of  their  country,  and  to  keep  their 
infants  uncircumcised,  and  to  sacrifice 
swine's  flesh  upon  the  altar;  agunst 
which  they  all  opposed  themselves,  and 
the  most  approved  among  them  were  put 
to  death.  Bacchides  also,  who  was  sent 
to  keep  the  fortresses,  having  these  wicked 
commands,  joined  to  his  own  natural 
barbarity,  indulged  all  sorts  of  the  extrem- 
est  wickedness,  and  tormented  the  woi- 
thiest  of  the  inhabitants,  man  by  man,  and 
threatened  their  city  every  day  with  open 
destruction;  till  at  length  he  provoked 
the  poor  sufferers,  by  the  extremity  of  his 
wicked  doings,  to  avenge  themselves. 

Accordingly,  Matthias,  the  son  of  Asa- 


Chap.  II.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


623 


moneus,  one  of  the  priests,  who  lived  in 
a  village  called  Modin,  armed  himself, 
together  with  his  whole  family,  which  had 
.five  sons  of  his  in  it,  and  slew  Bacchides 
with  daggers;  and  thereupon,  out  of  the 
fear  of  the  many  garrisons  [of  the  enemy], 
he  fled  to  the  mountains ;  and  so  many 
of  the  people  followed  him,  that  he  was 
encouraged  to  come  down  from  the  moun- 
tains, and  to  give  battle  to  Antiochus's 
generals,  when  he  beat  them,  and  drove 
them  out  of  Judea.  So  he  came  to  the 
government  by  this  his  success,  and  be- 
came the  prince  of  his  own  people  by 
their  own  free  consent,  and  then  died, 
leaving  the  government  to  Judas,  hie 
eldest  son. 

Now  Judas,  supposing  that  Antiochus 
would  not  lie  still,  gathered  an  army  out 
of  his  own  countrymen,  and  was  the  first 
that  made  a  league  of  friendship  with  the 
Romans,  and  drove  Epiphanes  out  of  the 
country  when  he  had  made  a  second 
expedition  into  it,  and  this  by  giving 
him  a  great  defeat  there ;  and  when  he 
was  warmed  b}7  this  great  success,  he 
made  an  assault  upon  the  garrison  that 
was  in  the  city,  for  it  had  not  been  cut 
off  hitherto*  so  he  ejected  them  out  of 
the  upper  city,  and  drove  the  soldiers  into 
the  lower,  which  part  of  the  city  was 
called  the  citadel.  He  then  gut  the 
temple  under  his  power,  and  cleansed  the 
whole  place,  and  walled  it  round  about, 
and  made  new  vessels  for  sacred  ministra- 
tions, and  brought  them  into  the  temple, 
because  the  former  vessels  had  been  pro- 
faned. He  also  built  another  altar,  and 
began  to  offer  the  sacrifices;  and  when 
the  city  had  already  received  its  sacred 
constitution  again,  Antiochus  died  ;  whose 
son  Antiochus  succeeded  him  in  the  king- 
dom, and  in  his  hatred  to  the  Jews  also. 

So  that  Antiochus  got  together  50,000 
footmen,  and  5000  horsemen,  and  80 
elephants,  and  marched  through  Judea 
into  the  mountainous  parts.  He  then 
took  Bethsura,  which  was  a  small  city; 
but  at  a  place  called  Bethzacharias,  where 
the  passage  was  narrow,  Judas  met  him 
with  his  army.  However,  before  the  forces 
joined  battle,  Judas's  brother,  Eleazar, 
seeing  the  very  highest  of  the  elephants 
adorned  with  a  large  tower,  and  with  mili- 
tary trappings  of  gold  to  guard  him,  and 
supposing  that  Antiochus  himself  was 
upon  him,  he  ran  a  great  way  before  his 
own  army,  and,  cutting  his  way  through 
the    enemies'    troops,   he  got   up   to    the 


elephant;  yet  could  not  reach  him  whe 
seemed  to  be  the  king,  by  reason  of  his 
being  so  high  ;  but  still  he  ran  his  weapon 
into  the  belly  of  the  beast,  and  brought 
him  down  upon  himself,  and  was  crushed 
to  death,  having  done  no  more  than  at- 
tempted great  things,  and  showed  that  he 
preferred  glory  before  life.  Now,  he  that 
governed  the  elephant  was  but  a  private 
man  ;  but  had  he  proved  to  be  Antiochus, 
Eleazar  had  done  nothing  more  by  this 
bold  stroke  than  it  might  appear  he 
chose  to  die,  when  he  had  the  bare  hope 
of  thereby  doing  a  glorious  action  ;  nay, 
this  disappointment  proved  an  omen  to 
his  brother  [Judas]  how  the  entire  battle 
would  end.  It  is  true  that  the  Jews 
fought  it  out  bravely  for  a  long  time ;  bur 
the  king's  forces,  being  superior  in  num 
ber,  and  having  fortune  on  their  side, 
obtained  the  victory  ;  and  when  a  great 
many  of  his  men  were  slain,  Judas  took 
the  rest  with  him,  and  fled  to  the  toparchy 
of  Gophna.  So  Antiochus  went  to  Je- 
rusalem, and  stayed  there  but  a  few  days, 
for  he  wanted  provisions,  and  so  he  went 
his  way.  He  left,  indeed,  a  garrison  be- 
hind him,  such  as  he  thought  sufficient 
to  keep  the  place ;  but  drew  the  rest  of 
his  army  off,  to  take  their  winter-quartera 
in  Syria. 

Now,  after  the  king  had  departed, 
Judas  was  not  idle ;  for  as  many  of  his 
own  nation  came  to  him,  so  did  he  gather 
those  that  had  escaped  out  of  the  battle 
together,  and  gave  battle  again  to  Anti- 
ochus's generals  at  a  village  called  Adasa  ; 
and,  being  too  hard  for  his  enemies  in 
the  battle,  and  killing  a  great  number  of 
them,  he  was  at  last  himself  slain  also. 
Nor  was  it  many  days  afterward  that  his 
brother  John  had  a  plot  laid  against  him 
by  Antiochus's  party,  and  was  slain  by 
them. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Jonathan,  Simeon,  and   John  Hyrcanus  succeed 
Judas  Maccabeus. 

When  Jonathan,  who  was  Judas's  bro- 
ther, succeeded  him,  he  behaved  himself 
with  great  circumspection  in  other  re- 
spects, with  relation  to  his  own  people ; 
and  he  corroborated  his  authority  by  pre- 
serving his  friendship  with  the  Romans. 
He  also  made  a  league  with  Antiochus 
the  sun.  Yet  all  this  was  not  sufficient 
for  his  security;  for  the  tyrant  Trypho, 
who    was   guardian   to    Antiochus's    son, 


624 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  1 


laid  a  plot  against  him  ;  and,  besides  that, 
endeavoured  to  take  off  his  friends,  and 
caught  Jonathan  by  a  wile,  as  he  was 
going  to  Ptolemais  to  Antiochus,  with  a 
few  persons  in  his  company,  and  put 
them  in  bonds,  and  then  made  an  expe- 
dition against  the  Jews ;  but  when  he 
was  afterward  driven  away  by  Simeon, 
who  was  Jonathan's  brother,  and  was 
enraged  at  his  defeat,  he  put  Jonathan  to 
death. 

However,  Simeon  managed  the  public 
affairs  after  a  courageous  manner,  and 
took  Gazara  and  Joppa,  and  Jamnia,  which 
were  cities  in  the  neighbourhood.  He 
also  got  the  garrison  under,  and  demo- 
lished the  citadel.  He  was  afterwars  an 
auxiliary  to  Antiochus,  against  Trypho, 
whom  he  besieged  at  Dora,  before  he 
went  on  his  expedition  against  the  Medes; 
yet  could  not  he  make  the  king  ashamed 
of  his  ambition,  though  he  had  assisted 
him  in  killing  Trypho;  for  it  was  not 
long  ere  Antiochus  sent  Cendebeus,  his 
general,  with  an  army,  to  lay  waste  Judea, 
and  to  subdue  Simeon ;  yet  he,  though 
he  was  now  in  years,  conducted  the  war 
as  if  he  were  a  much  younger  man.  He 
also  sent  his  sons  wiTh  a  band  of  strong 
men  against  Antiochis,  while  he  took 
part  of  the  army  with  him,  and  fell  upon 
him  from  another  quarter;  he  also  laid  a 
great  many  men  in  ambush  in  many 
places  of  the  mountains,  and  was  superior 
in  all  his  attacks  upon  them.  And  when 
he  had  been  conqueror  after  so  glorious  a 
manner,  he  was  made  high  priest,  and 
also  freed  the  Jews  from  the  dominion  of 
the  Macedonians;  after  170  years  of  the 
empire  [of  Seleucus]. 

This  Simeon  had  also  a  plot  laid  against 
him,  and  was  slain  at  a  feast  by  his  son- 
in-law,  Ptolemy,  who  put  his  wife  and 
two  sons  into  prison,  and  sent  some  per- 
sons to  kill  John,  who  was  also  called 
Hyrcanus.  But  when  the  young  man 
was  informed  of  their  coming  beforehand, 
he  made  much  haste  to  get  to  the  city,  as 
having  a  very  great  confidence  in  the 
people  there,  both  on  account  of  the 
memory  of  the  glorious  actions  of  his 
father,  and  of  the  hatred  they  could  not 
but  bear  to  the  injusti^  of  Ptolemy. 
Ptolemy  also  made  an  attempt  to  get  into 
the  city  by  another  gate,  but  was  repelled 
by  the  people,  who  had  just  then  admitted 
Hyrcanus ;  so  he  retired  presently  to  one 
jf  the  fortresses  that  was  above  Jericho, 
which    was    called   Dagon.     Now,    when 


Hyrcanus  had  received  the  high-priest- 
hood, which  his  father  had  held  before, 
and  offered  sacrifice  to  God,  he  made 
great  haste  to  attack  Ptolemy,  that  he 
might  afford  relief  to  his  mother  and 
brethren. 

So  he  laid  siege  to  the  fortress,  and 
was  superior  to  Ptolemy  in  other  respects, 
but  was  overcome  by  him  as  to  the  just 
affection  [he  had  for  his  relations] ;  for 
when  Ptolemy  was  distressed,  he  brought 
forth  his  mother  and  his  brethren,  and 
set  them  upon  the  wall,  and  beat  them 
with  rods  in  everybody's  sight,  and 
threatened,  that,  unless  he  would  go 
away  immediately,  he  would  throw  them 
down  headlong;  at  which  sight,  Hyrca- 
nus's  commiseration  and  concern  were  too 
hard  for  his  anger.  But  his  mother  was 
not  dismayed,  neither  at  the  stripes  she 
received,  nor  at  the  death  with  which  she 
was  threatened,  but  stretched  out  her 
hands,  and  prayed  her  son  not  to  be 
moved  with  the  injuries  that  she  suffered, 
to  spare  the  wretch ;  since  it  was  to  her 
better  to  die  by  the  means  of  Ptolemy 
than  to  live  ever  so  long,  provided  he 
might  be  punished  for  the  injuries  he 
had  done  to  their  family.  Now,  John's 
case  was  this :  when  he  considered  the 
courage  of  his  mother,  and  heard  her 
entreaty,  he  set  about  his  attacks;  but 
when  he  saw  her  beaten,  and  torn  to 
pieces  with  the  stripes,  he  grew  feeble, 
and  was  entirely  overcome  by  his  affeo- 
tions.  And  as  the  siege  was  delayed  by 
this  means,  the  year  of  rest  came  on, 
upon  which  the  Jews  rest  every  seventh 
year  as  they  do  on  every  seventh  day 
On  this  year,  therefore,  Ptolemy  was 
freed  from  being  besieged,  and  slew  the 
brethren  of  John,  with  their  mother,  and 
fled  to  Zeno,  who  was  also  called  Cotylas, 
who  was  the  tyrant  of  Philadelphia. 

And  now  Antiochus  was  so  angry  at 
what  he  had  suffered  from  Simeon,  that 
be  made  an  expedition  into  Judea,  and 
sat  down  before  Jerusalem,  and  besieged 
Hyrcanus;  but  Hyrcanus  opened  the  se- 
pulchre of  Davjd,  who  was  the  richest  of 
all  kings,  and  took  thence  about  3000 
talents  in  money,  and  induced  Antiochus 
by  the  promise  of  three  thousand  talents. 
to  raise  the  siege.  Moreover,  he  was  the 
first  of  the  Jews  that  had  money  enough, 
and  began  to  hire  foreign  auxiliaries  also. 
However,  at  another  time,  when  Antio- 
jhus  had  gone  upon  an  expedition  agains 
the    Medes,    and    so    gave    Hyrcanus  ao 


Jhap.  III.] 


WARS    OF    TffE   JEWS. 


625 


opportunity  of  being  avenged  upon  him, 
he  immediately  made  an  attack  upon  the 
cities  of  Syria,  as  thinking,  what  proved 
to  be  the  case  with  them,  that  he  should 
find  them  empty  of  good  troops.  So  he 
took  Medaba  and  Samea,  with  the  towns 
in  their  neighbourhood,  as  also  Shechem 
and  Gerizzim ;  and  besides  these,  [he 
subdued]  the  nation  of  the  Cutheans,  who 
dwelt  round  about  that  temple  which  was 
built  in  imitation  of  the  temple  at  Jeru- 
salem :  he  also  took  a  great  many  other 
cities  of  Idumea,  with  Adoreon  and 
Marissa. 

He  also  proceeded  as  far  as  Samaria, 
where  is  now  the  city  Sebaste,  which  was 
built  by  Herod  the  king,  and  encompassed 
it  all  round  with  a  wall,  and  set  his  sons, 
Aristobulus  and  Antigonus,  over  the 
siege;  who  pushed  it  on  so  hard,  that  a 
famine  so  far  prevailed  within  the  city, 
that  they  were  forced  to  eat  what  never 
was  esteemed  food.  They  also  invited 
Antiochus,  who  was  called  Cyzicenus,  to 
come  to  their  assistance;  whereupon  he 
got  ready,  and  complied  with  their  invita- 
tiou,  but  was  beaten  by  Aristobulus  aud 
Antigonus;  and,  indeed,  he  was  pursued 
as  far  as  Scythopolis  by  these  brethren, 
and  fled  away  from  them.  So  they  re- 
turned back  to  Samaria,  and  shut  the 
multitude  again  within  the  wall ;  and 
when  they  had  taken  the  city  they  de- 
molished it,  and  made  slaves  of  its  in- 
habitants. And,  as  they  had  still  great 
success  in  their  undertakings,  they  did 
not  suffer  their  zeal  to  cool,  but  marched 
with  an  army  as  far  as  Scythopolis,  and 
made  an  incursion  upon  it,  and  laid  waste 
all  the  country  that  lay  within  Mount 
Carmel. 

But  then,  these  successes  of  John  and 
of  his  sons  made  them  be  envied,  and  oc- 
casioned a  sedition  in  the  country;  and 
many  there  were  who  got  together,  and 
would  not  be  at  rest  till  they  broke  out 
into  open  war,  in  which  war  they  were 
Deaten.  So  John  lived  the  rest  of  his 
life  very  happily,  and  administered  the 
government  after  a  most  extraordinary 
manner,  and  this  for  thirty-three  entire 
years  together.  He  died,  leaving  five 
sons  behind  him.  He  was  certainly  a 
very  happy  man,  and  afforded  no  occasion 
to  have  any  complaint  made  of  fortune 
on  his  account.  He  it  was,  who  alone 
had  three  of  the  most  desirable  things  in 
the  world, — the  government  of  his  nation, 
and  the  high-priesthood,  and  the  gift  of 
40 


prophecy;  for  the  Deity  conversed  with 
him,  and  he  was  not  ignorant  of  any 
thing  that  was  to  come  afterward  ;  inso- 
much that  he  foresaw  and  foretold  that 
his  two  eldest  sons  would  not  continue 
masters  of  the  government :  and  it  will 
highly  deserve  our  narration  to  describe 
their  catastrophe,  and  how  far  inferior 
these  men  were  to  their  father  in  felicity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Aristobulus  changes  the  government  into  a  king- 
dom— destroys  his  mother  and  brother — reigns 
one  year. 

For,  after  the  death  of  their  father, 
the  elder  of  them,  Aristobulus,  changed 
the  government  into  a  kingdom,  and  was 
the  fjrst  that  put  a  diadem  upon  his  head, 
four  hundred  and  seventy-one  years  and 
three  months  after  our  people  came  down 
into  this  country,  when  they  were  set  free 
from  the  Babylonian  slavery.  Now,  of 
his  brethren,  he  appeared  to  have  an  af- 
fection for  Antigonus,  who  was  next  to 
him,  and  made  him  his  equal ;  but,  for 
the  rest,  he  bound  them  and  put  them  in 
prison.  He  also  put  his  mother  in  bonds 
for  her  contesting  the  government  with 
him  ;  for  John  had  left  her  to  be  the  go- 
verness of  public  affairs.  He  also  pro- 
ceeded to  that  degree  of  barbarity  as  to 
cause  her  to  pine  to  death  in  prison. 

But  vengeance  circumvented  him  in 
the  affair  of  his  brother  Antigonus,  whom 
he  loved,'  and  whom  he  made  his  partner 
in  the  kingdom;  for  he  slew  him  by  the 
means  of  the  calumnies  which  ill  men 
about  the  palace  contrived  against  him. 
At  first,  indeed,  Aristobulus  would  not 
believe  their  reports,  partly  out  of  the 
affection  he  had  for  his  brother,  and 
partly  because  he  thought  that  a  great 
part  of  these  tales  were  owing  to  the  envy 
of  their  relaters  :  however,  as  Antigonus 
came  once  in  a  splendid  manner  from  the 
army  to  that  festival  wherein  our  ancient 
custom  is  to  make  tabernacles  for  God,  it 
happened  in  those  days  that  Aristobulus 
was  sick,  and  that,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  feast,  Antigonus  came  up  to  it,  with 
his  armed  men  about  him,  and  this  when 
he  was  adorned  in  the  finest  manner  pos- 
sible; and  that,  in  a  great  measure,  to 
pray  to  God  on  the  behalf  of  his  brother. 
Now,  at  this  very  time  it  was  that  these 
ill  men  came  to  the  king,  and  told  him  in 
what  a  pompous  manner  the  armed  men 


626 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  1. 


came,  and  with  what  insolence  Antigonus 
inarched,  and  that  such  his  insolence  was 
too  great  for  a  private  person,  and  that, 
accordingly,  he  had  come  with  a  great 
band  of  men  to  kill  him ;  for  that  he 
could  not  endure  this  bare  enjoyment  of 
royal  honour,  when  it  was  in  his  power  to 
take  the  kingdom  himself. 

Now  Aristobulus,  by  degrees,  and  un- 
willingly, gave  credit  to  these  accusa- 
tions; and,  accordingly,  he  took  care  not 
to  discover  his  suspicion  openly,  though 
he  provided  to  be  secure  against  any  inci- 
dents; so  he  placed  the  guards  of  his 
body  in  a  certain  dark  subterraneous  pas- 
sage ;  for  he  lay  sick  in  a  certain  place 
called  formerly  the  Citadel,  though,  after- 
ward, its  name  was  changed  to  Antonia; 
and  he  gave  orders  that,  if  Antigonus 
came  unarmed,  they  should  let  him  alone; 
but,  if  he  came  to  him  in  his  armour, 
they  should  kill  him.  He  also  sent  some 
to  let  him  know  beforehand  that  he  should 
come  unarmed.  But,  upon  this  occasiou, 
the  queen  very  cunningly  contrived  the 
matter  with  those  that  plotted  his  ruin, 
for  she  persuaded  those  that  were  sent  to 
conceal  the  king's  message;  but  to  tell 
Antigonus  how  his  brother  had  heard  he 
had  got  a  very  fine  suit  of  armour,  made 
with  fine  martial  ornaments  in  Galilee ; 
and,  because  his  present  sickness  hindered 
him  from  coming  and  seeing  all  that 
finery,  he  very  much  desired  to  see  him 
now  in  his  armour,  because,  said  he,  in  a 
little  time  thou  art  going  away  from  me. 

As  soon  as  Antigonus  heard-  this,  the 
good  temper  of  his  brother  not  allowing 
him  to  suspect  any  harm  from  him,  he 
came  along  with  his  armour  on  to  show  it 
to  his  brother;  but  when  he  was  going 
along  that  dark  passage,  which  was  called 
Strato's  Tower,  he  was  slain  by  the  body- 
guards, and  became  an  eminent  instance 
bow  calumny  destroys  all  good- will  and 
natural  affection,  and  how  none  of  our 
good  affections  are  strong  enough  to  resist 
envy  perpetually. 

And  truly,  any  one  would  be  surprised 
at  Judas  upon  this  occasion.  He  was  of 
the  sect  of  the  Essenes,  and  had  never 
failed  or  deceived  men  in  his  predictions 
before.  Now,  this  man  saw  Antigonus 
as  he  was  passing  along  by  the  temple, 
and  cried  out  to  his  acquaintance,  (they 
were  not  a  few  who  attended  upon  his 
scholars,)  "  Oh,  strange  I"  said  he  ;  "  it 
is  good  for  me  to  die  now,  since  truth  is 
dead    before    me,  and    somewhat   that   I 


have  foretold  hath  proved  false  ;  for  this 
Antigonus  is  this  day  alive,  who  ought  to 
have  died  this  day  ;  and  the  place  where 
he  ought  to  be  slain,  according  to  that 
fatal  decree,  was  Strato's  Tower,  which  is 
at  the  distance  of  six  hundred  furlongs 
from  this  place,  and  yet  four  hours  of  this 
day  are  over  already ;  which  point  of  time 
renders  the  prediction  impossible  to  be 
fulfilled."  And,  when  the  old  man  had 
said  this,  he  was  dejected  in  his  mind, 
and  so  continued.  But,  in  a  little  time, 
news  came  that  Antigonus  was  slain  in 
a  subterraneous  place,  which  was  itself 
also  called  Strato's  Tower,  by  the  same 
name  with  that  Cesarea  which  lay  by  the 
seaside ;  and  this  ambiguity  it  was  which 
caused  the  prophet's  disorder. 

Hereupon  Aristobulus  repented  of  the 
great  crime  he  had  been  guilty  of,  and 
this  gave  occasion  to  the  increase  of  his 
distemper.  He  also  grew  worse  and  worse, 
and  his  soul  was  constantly  disturbed  at 
the  thought  of  what  he  had  done,  till  his 
very  bowels  being  torn  to  pieces  by  the 
intolerable  grief  he  was  under,  he  threw 
up  a  great  quantity  of  blood.  And,  as 
one  of  those  servants  that  attended  him 
carried  out  that  blood,  he,  by  some  super- 
natural providence,  slipped  and  fell  down 
in  the  very-  place  where  Antigonus  had 
been  slain ;  and  so  he  spilt  some  of  the 
murderer's  blood  upon  the  spots  of  the 
blood  of  him  that  had  been  murdered, 
which  still  appeared.  Hereupon  a  la- 
mentable cry  arose  among  the  spectators, 
as  if  the  servant  had  spilled  the  blood  on 
purpose  in  that  place  ;  and,  as  the  king 
heard  that  cry,  he  inquired  what  was  the 
cause  of  it ;  and,  while  nobody  durst  tell 
him,  he  pressed  them  so  much  the  more 
to  let  him  know  what  was  the  matter; 
so,  at  length,  when  he  had  threatened 
them  and  forced  them  to  speak  out, 
they  told;  whereupon  he  burst  into  tears 
and  said,  "  So  I  perceive  I  am  not  like  to 
escape  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God  as  to  the 
greatest  crimes  I  have  committed ;  but 
the  vengeance  of  the  blood  of  my  kins- 
man pursues  flfe  hastily.  0  thou  most 
impudent  body  !  how  long  wilt  thou  re- 
tain a  soul  that  ought  to  die,  on  account 
of  that  punishment  it  ought  to  suffer  for 
amother  and  a  brother  slain  ?  How  long 
shall  I  myself  spend  my  blood  drop  by 
drop  ? — let  them  take  it  all  at  once ;  and 
let  their  ghosts  no  longer  be  disappointed 
by  a  few  parcels  of  my  bowels  offered  to 
them."     As  soon  as   he   had  said   these 


U  A*.  IV.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


627 


words,  he    presently  died,  when  he  had 
reigned  no  longer  than  a  year- 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Alexander    Jnnneus   succeeds  to  the  crown,    and 
reigns  twenty-seven  years. 

And  now  the  king's  wife  loosed  the 
king's  brethren,  and  made  Alexander 
king,  who  appeared  both  elder  in  age  and 
more  moderate  in  his  temper  than  the 
rest;  who,  when  he  came  to  the  govern- 
ment, slew  one  of  his  brethren,  as  affect- 
ing to  govern  himself;  but  had  the  other 
of  them  in  great  esteem,  as  loving  a  quiet 
life,  without  meddling  with  public  affairs. 

Now  it  happened  that  there  was  a  bat- 
tle between  him  and  Ptolemy,  who  was 
called  Lathyrus,  who  had  taken  the  city 
Asochis.  He,  indeed,  slew  a  great  many 
of  his  enemies;  but  the  victory  rather 
inclined  to  Ptolemy.  But  when  this 
Ptolemy  was  pursued  by  his  mother  Cleo- 
patra, and  retired  into  Egypt,  Alexander 
besieged  Gadara,  and  took  it ;  as  also  he 
did  Amathus,  which  was  the  strongest  of 
all  the  fortresses  that  were  about  Jordan, 
and  therein  were  the  most  precious  of  all 
the  possessions  of  Theodorus,  the  son  of 
Zeno.  Whereupon  Theodorus  marched 
against  him,  and  took  what  belonged  to 
himself,  as  well  as  the  king's  baggage, 
and  slew  10,000  of  the  Jews.  However, 
x\lexander  recovered  this  blow,  and  turned 
his  force  toward  the  maritime  parts,  and 
took  Raphia  and  Gaza,  with  Anthedon 
also,  which  was  afterward  called  Agrip- 
pias  by  King  Herod. 

But  when  he  had  made  slaves  of  the 
citizens  of  all  these  cities,  the  nation  of 
Jews  made  an  insurrection  against  him  at  a 
festival;  for  at  those  feasts  seditions  were 
generally  begun :  and  it  looked  as  if  he 
should  not  be  able  to  escape  the  plot  they 
had  laid  for  him,  had  not  his  foreign 
auxiliaries,  the  Pisidians  and  Cilicians  as- 
sisted him ;  for,  as  to  the  Syrians,  he  never 
admitted  them  among  his  mercenary 
troops,  on  account  of  their  innate  enmity 
against  the  Jewish  nation.  And  when  he 
had  slain  more  than  6000  of  the  rebels,  he 
made  an  incursion  into  Arabia,  and  when 
he  had  taken  that  country,  together  with 
the  Gileadites  and  Moabites,  he  enjoined 
them  to  pay  him  tribute,  and  returned  to 
Amathus;  and  as  Theodorus  was  surprised 
at  his  great  success,  he  took  the  fortress, 
and  demolished  it. 

However,  when  he  fought  with  Obodas, 


king  of  the  Arabians,  who  had  laid  an 
ambush  for  him  near  Golan,  and  a  plot 
against  him,  he  lost  his  entire  army,  which 
was  crowded  together  in  a  deep  valley,  and 
broken  to  pieces  by  the  multitude  of 
camels  ;  and  when  he  had  made  his  escape 
to  Jerusalem,  he  provoked  the  multitude, 
who  hated  him  before,  to  make  an  insur- 
rection against  him,  and  this  on  account  of 
the  greatness  of  the  calamity  that  he  was 
under.  However,  he  was  then  too  hard 
for  them ;  and  in  the  several  battles  that 
were  fought  on  both  sides,  he  slew  no 
fewer  than  50,000  of  the  Jews  in  the  in- 
terval of  six  years.  Yet  had  he  no  reason 
to  rejoice  in  these  victories,  since  he  did 
but  consume  his  own  kingdom;  till  at 
length  he  left  off  fighting,  and  endeavoured 
to  come  to  a  composition  with  them,  by 
talking  with  his  subjects;  but  this  muta- 
bility and  irregularity  of  his  conduct  made 
them  hate  him  still  more;  and  when  he 
asked  them  why  they  so  hated  him,  and 
what  he  should  do,  in  order  to  appease 
them,  they  said,  by  killing  himself;  for 
that  it  would  be  then  all  they"  could  do,  to 
be  reconciled  to  him  who  had  done  such 
tragical  things  to  them,  even  when  he  was 
dead.  At  the  same  time  they  invited 
Demetrius,  who  was  called  Eucerus,  ,to 
assist  them  ;  and,  as  he  readily  complied 
with  their  request,  in  hopes  of  great 
advantages,  and  came  with  his  army,  the 
Jews  joined  with  those  their  auxiliaries 
about  Shechem. 

Yet  did  Alexander  meet  both  these 
forces  with  1000  horsemen  and  8000  mer- 
cenaries that  were  on  foot.  He  had  also 
with  him  that  part  of  the  Jews  .which 
favoured  him,  to  the  number  of  10,000; 
while  the  adverse  party  had  3000  horse- 
men and  14,000  footmen.  Now,  before 
they  joined  battle,  the  kings  made  procla- 
mation, and  endeavoured  to  draw  off  each 
other's  soldiers  and  make  them  revolt; 
while  Demetrius  hoped  to  induce  Alex- 
ander's mercenaries  to  leave  him, — and 
Alexander  hoped  to  induce  the  Jews  that 
were  with  Demetrius  to  leave  him;  but, 
since  neither  the  Jews  would  leave  off 
their  rage,  nor  the  Greeks  prove  unfaith- 
ful, they  came  to  an  engagement,  and  to  a 
close  fight  with  their  weapons.  In  which 
battle  Demetrius  was  the  conqueror,  al- 
though Alexander's  mercenaries  showed 
the  greatest  exploits,  both  in  soul  and 
body.  Yet  did  the  upshot  of  this  battle 
prove  different  from  what  was  expected, 
as  to  both  of  them;  for  neither  did  those 


628 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I 


that  invited  Demetrius  to  come  to  them 
continue  firm  to  him,  though  he  was  con- 
queror; and  6000  Jews,  out  of  pity  to  the 
change  of  Alexander's  condition,  when  he 
had  fled  to  the  mountains,  came  over  to 
him.  Yet  could  not  Demetrius  bear  this 
turn  of  affairs;  but  supposing  that  Alex- 
ander was  already  become  a  match  for 
him  again,  and  that  all  the  nation  would 
[at  length]  run  to  him,  he  left  the  coun- 
try, and  went  his  way. 

However,  the  rest  of  the  [Jewish]  mul- 
titude did  not  lay  aside  their  quarrels  with 
him,  when  the  [foreign]  auxiliaries  were 
gone;  but  they  had  a  perpetual  war  with 
Alexander,  until  he  had  slain  the  greatest 
part  of  them,  and  driven  the  rest  into  the 
city  Bemeselis ;  and  when  he  had  demo- 
lished that  city,  he  carried  the  captives  to 
Jerusalem.  Nay,  his  rage  was  grown  so 
extravagant,  that  his  barbarity  proceeded 
to  a  degree  of  impiety;  for  when  he  had 
ordered  800  to  be  hung  upon  crosses  in 
the  midst  of  the  city,  he  had  the  throats 
of  their  wives  and  children  cut  before 
their  eyes;  and  these  executions  he  saw 
as  he  was  drinking  and  lying  down  wkh 
his  concubines.  Upon  which  so  deep  a 
surprise  seized  on  the  people,  that  8000  of, 
his  opposers  fled  away  the  very  next  night 
out  of  all  Judea,  whose  flight  was  only  ter- 
minated by  Alexander's  death;  so  at  last, 
though  not  till  late,  and  with  great  difficul- 
ty, he,  by  such  actions,  procured  quiet  to 
his  kingdom,  and  left  off  fighting  any  more. 

Yet  did  that  Antiochus,  who  was  also 
called  Dionysius,  become  an  origin  of  trou- 
bles again.  This  man  was  the  brother  of 
Demetrius,  and  the  last  of  the  race  of  the 
Seleucidoe.*  Alexander  was  afraid  of 
him,  when  he  was  marching  against  the 
Arabians ;  so  he  cut  a  deep  trench  be- 
tween Antipatris,  which  was  near  the 
mountains,  and  the  shores  of  Joppa ;  he 
also  erected  a  high  wall  before  the  trench, 
and  built  wooden  towers,  in  order  to  hin- 
der any  sudden  approaches;  but  still  he 
was  not  able  to  exclude  Antiochus,  for  he 
burnt  the  towers,  and  filled  up  the  trenches, 
qnd  marched  on  with  his  army;  and  as 
he  looked  upon  taking  his  revenge  on 
Alexander  for  endeavouring  to  stop  him, 
as  a  thing  of  less  consequence,  he  marched 
directly  against  the  Arabians,  whose  king 

*  Josephus  here  calls  this  Antiochus  the  last  of 
tne  Seleucidae.  although  there  remained  still  a  sha- 
dow of  another  king  of  that  family,  Antiochus 
Asiaticus,  or  Commagenus,  who  reigned,  or  rather 
lay  hid,  till  Pompey  turned  him  out. 


retired  into  such  parts  of  the  country  an 
were  fittest  for  engaging  the  enemy,  and 
then  on  the  sudden  made  his  horse  turn 
back,  who  were  in  number  10,000,  and 
fell  upon  Antiochus's  army  while  they 
were  in  disorder,  and  a  terrible  battle 
ensued.  Antiochus's  troops,  so  long  as 
he  was  alive,  fought  it  out,  although  a 
mighty  slaughter  was  made  among  them 
by  the  Arabians  ;  but  when  he  fell,  for  ho 
was  in  the  forefront,  in  the  utmost  danger, 
in  rallying  his  troops,  they  all  gave 
ground,  and  the  greatest  part  of  his  army 
was  destroyed,  either  in  the  action  or  the 
flight ;  and  for  the  rest,  who  fled  to  the 
village  of  Cana,  it  happened  that  they 
were  all  consumed  by  want  of  necessaries, 
a  few  only  excepted. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  the  people 
of  Damascus,  out  of  their  hatred  to  Ptole- 
my, the  son  of  Menneus,  invited  Aretas 
[to  take  the  government],  and  made  him 
king  of  Celesyria.  This  man  also  made 
an  expedition  against  Judea,  and  beat 
Alexander  in  battle;  but  afterward  re- 
tired by  mutual  agreement.  But  Alex- 
ander, when  he  had  taken  Pella,  marched 
to  Gerasa  again,  out  of  the  covetous  desire 
he  had  of  Theodorus's  possessions;  and 
when  he  had  built  a  triple  wall  about  the 
garrison,  he  took  the  place  by  force.  lie 
also  demolished  Golan,  and  Seleucia,  and 
what  was  called  the  Valley  of  Antiochus; 
besides  which,  he  took  the  strong  fortresses 
of  Gamala,  and  stripped  Demetrius,  who 
was  governor  therein,  of  what  he  had,  on 
account  of  the  many  crimes  laid  to  his 
charge,  and  then  returned  into  Judea, 
after  he  had  been  three  whole  years  in 
this  expedition ;  and  now  he  was  kindly 
received  of  the  nation,  because  of  the  good 
success  he  had.  So,  when  he  was  at  rest 
from  war,  he  fell  into  a  distemper;  for  he 
was  afflicted  with  a  quartan  ague,  and 
supposed  that,  by  exercising  himself  ag;iin 
in  martial  affairs,  he  should  get  rid  of  this 
distemper;  but  by  making  such  expedi- 
tion at  unseasonable  times,  and  forcing 
his  body  to  undergo  greater  hardships 
than  it  was  able  to  bear,  he  brought  him- 
self to  his  end.  He  died,  therefore,  in 
the  midst  of  his  troubles,  after  he  had 
reigned  27  years. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Alexandra  reigns  nine  years. 

Now  Alexander  left  the  kingdom  to 
Alexandra  his  wife,  and  depended  upon  it 


Caw.  III.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


629 


that  the  Jews  would  now  very  readily 
submit  to  her ;  because  she  had  been  very 
averse  to  such  cruelty  as  he  had  treated 
them  with,  and  had  opposed  his  violation 
of  their  laws,  and  had  thereby  gained  the 
good-will  of  the  people.  Nor  was  he  mis- 
taken as  to  his  expectations;  for  this 
woman  kept  the  dominion,  by  the  opinion 
that  the  people  had  of  her  piety ;  for  she 
cliiefiy  studied  the  ancient  customs  of  her 
country,  aud  cast  those  men  out  of  the 
government  that  offended  against  their 
holy  laws.  And  as  she  had  two  sons  by 
Alexander,  she  made  Hyrcanus,  the  elder, 
high  priest,  on  account  of  his  age ;  as 
also,  besides  that,  on  account  of  his  inac- 
tive temper  noway  disposing  him  to  dis- 
turb the  public.  Bat  she  retained  the 
younger,  Aristobulus,  with  her  as  a  private 
person,  by  reason  of  the  warmth  of  his 
temper. 

And  now  the  Pharisees  joined  them- 
selves to  her,  to  assist  her  in  the  govern- 
ment. There  are  a  certain  sect  of  the 
Jews  that  appear  more  religious  than 
others,  and  seem  to  interpret  the  laws 
more  accurately.  Now  Alexandra  heark- 
ened to  them  to  an  extraordinary  degree, 
as  being  herself  a  woman  of  great  piety 
toward  God.  But  these  Pharisees  art- 
fully insinuated  themselves  into  her  favour 
by  little  and  little,  and  became  them- 
selves the  real  administrators  of  the  public 
affairs :  they  banished  and  reduced  whom 
they  pleased  ;  they  bound  and  loosened 
[men]  at  their  pleasure;*  and,  to  say  all 
at  once,  they  had  the  enjoyment  of  the 
royal  authority,  while  the  expenses  and 
the  difficulties  of  it  belonged  to  Alex- 
andra. She  was  a  sagacious  woman  in  the 
management  of  great  affairs,  and  intent 
always  upon  gathering  soldiers  together; 
so  that  she  increased  the  army  the  one- 
half,  and  procured  a  great  body  of  foreign 
troops,  till  her  own  nation  not  only  be- 
came very  powerful  at  home,  but  terrible 
also  to  foreign  potentates,  while  she  go- 
verned other  people,  and  the  Pharisees 
governed  her. 

Accordingly  they  themselves  slew  Dio- 
genes, a  person  of  figure,  and  one  that 
had  been  a  friend  to  Alexander;  and 
accused  him  as  having  assisted  the  king 
with  his  advice,  for  crucifying  the  SOU 
men  [before  mentioned].  They  also  pre- 
vailed with  Alexandra  to  put  to  death  the 
rest    of    those     who    had    irritated     him 

*  Matt.  xvi.  19;  xv'ui.  18. 


against  them.  Now,  she  was  so  supersti- 
tious as  to  comply  with  their  des  res,  and 
accordingly  they  slew  whom  they  pleased 
themselves.  But  the  principal  of  those 
that  were  in  danger  fled  to  Aristobulus, 
who  persuaded  his  mother  to  spare  the 
men  on  account  of  their  dignity,  but  to 
expel  them  out  of  the  city,  unless  she  took 
them  to  be  innocent;  so  they  were  suffered 
to  go  unpunished,  and  were  dispersed  all 
over  the  country.  But,  when  Alexandra 
sent  out  her  army  to  Damascus,  under 
pretence  that  Ptolemy  was  always  oppress- 
ing that  city,  she  got  possession  of  it; 
nor  did  it  make  any  considerable  resistance. 
She  also  prevailed  with  Tigranes,  king  of 
Armenia,  who  lay  with  his  troops  about 
Ptolemais,  and  besieged  Cleopatra,*  by 
agreements  and  presents,  to  go  away. 
Accordingly,  Tigranes  soon  arose  from  the 
siege,  by  reason  of  those  domestic  tumults 
which  happened  upon  Lucullus's  expedi- 
tion into  Armenia. 

In  the  mean  time,  Alexandra  fell  sick, 
and  Aristobulus,  her  younger  son,  took 
hold  of  this  opportunity,  with  his  domes- 
tics, of  which  he  had  a  great  many,  who 
were  all  of  them  his  friends,  on  account  of 
the  warmth  of  their  youth,  and  got  pos- 
session of  all  the  fortresses.  He  also  used 
the  sums  of  money  he  found  in  them,  to 
get  together  a  number  of  mercenary  sol- 
diers, and  made  himself  king;  and  be- 
sides this,  upon  Hyrcanus's  complaint  to 
his  mother,  she  compassioned  his  case, 
and  put  Aristobulus' s  wife  and  sons  under 
restraint  in  Antonia,  which  was  a  fortress 
which  joined  to  the  north  part  of  the  tem- 
ple. It  was,  as  I  have  already  said,  of  old 
called  the  Citadel,  but  afterward  got  the 
name  of  Antonia,  when  Antony  was  lord 
[of  the  East],  just  as  the  other  cities,  Se- 
baste  and  Agrippias,  had  their  names 
changed,  and  these  given  them  from  Sebas- 
tus  and  Agrippa.  But  Alexandra  died 
before  she  could  punish  Aristobulus  for 
his  disinheriting  his  brother,  after  she  had 
reigued  nine  years. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Hyrcanus  resigns  the  kingdom  in  favour  of  his 
brother  Aristobulus — is  induced  to  reclaim  it. — 
Pompey  arbitrates  between  the  two  brothers. 

Now   Hyrcanus  was  heir  to  the  king- 
dom, aud  to   him  did  his   mother  commit 

*  Cleopatra  wns  besieged  by  Tigranes,  not  in 
Ptolemais,  but  after  she  had  left  Syria,  in  Soleucia. 
a  citadel  in  Mesopotamia. 


630 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


it  before  she  d'.ed  :  but  Aristobulus  was 
superior  to  him  hi  power  and  magnani- 
mity ;  and  when  there  was  a  battle  be- 
tween them,  to  decide  the  dispute  about 
the  kingdom,  near  Jericho,  the  greatest 
part  deserted  Hyrcanus,  and  went  over  to 
Aristobulus :  but  Hyrcanus,  with  those 
of  his  party  who  stayed  with  him,  fled  to 
Autonia,  and  got  into  his  power  the  host- 
ages that  might  be  for  his  preservation, 
(which  were  Aristobulus's  wife,  with  her 
children;)  but  they  came  to  an  agreement 
before  things  should  come  to  extremities, 
that  Aristobulus  should  be  king,  and 
Hyrcanus  should  resign  that  up,  but  re- 
tain all  the  rest  of  his  dignities,  as  being 
the  king's  brother.  Hereupon  they  were 
reconciled  to  each  other  in  the  temple, 
and  embraced  one  another  in  a  very  kind 
manner,  while  the  people  stood  round 
about  them  :  they  also  changed  their 
houses;  while  Aristobulus  went  to  the 
royal  palace,  and  Hyrcanus  retired  to  the 
house  of  Aristobulus. 

Now,  those  other  people  who  were  at 
variance  with  Aristobulus  were  afraid, 
upon  his  unexpectedly  obtaining  the  go- 
vernment; and  especially  this  concerned 
Antipater,  whom  Aristobulus  hated  of  old. 
lie  was  by  birth  an  Idumean,  and  one  of 
the  principal  of  that  nation,  on  account 
of  his  ancestors  and  riches,  and  other 
authority  to  him  belonging:  he  also  per- 
suaded Hyrcanus  to  fly  to  Aretas,  'the 
king  of  Arabia,  and  to  lay  claim  to  the 
kingdom  ;  as  also  he  persuaded  Aretas  to 
receive  Hyrcanus,  and  to  bring  him  back 
to  his  kingdom  ;  he  also  cast  reproaches 
upon  Aristobulus,  as  to  his  morals,  and 
gave  great  commendations  to  Hyrcanus, 
and  exhorted  Aretas  to  receive  him,  and 
told  him  how  becoming  a  thing  it  would 
be  for  him,  who  ruled  so  great  a  kingdom, 
to  afford  his  assistance  to  such  as  are 
injured  ;  alleging  that  Hyrcanus  was  treat- 
ed unjustly,  by  being  deprived  of  that 
dominion  which  belonged  to  him  by  the 
prerogative  of  his  birth.  And  when  he 
had  predisposed  them  both  to  do  what  he 
would  have  them,  he  took  Hyrcanus  by 
tight,  and  ran  away  from  the  city ;  and, 
continuing  his  flight  with  great  swiftness, 
he  escaped  to  the  place  called  Petra, 
which  is  the  royal  seat  of  the  king  of 
Arabia,  where  he  put  Hyrcanus  into  Are- 
tas's  hands;  and  by  discoursing  much 
with  him,  and  gaining  upon  him  with 
many  presents,  he  prevailed  with  him  to 
give  him  an  army  that  might  restore  him 


to  his  kingdom.  This  army  consisted  of 
50,000  footmen  and  horsemen,  against 
which  Aristobulus  was  not  able  to  make 
resistance,  but  was  deserted  in  his  first 
onset,  and  was  driven  to  Jerusalem  :  he 
also  had  been  taken  at  first  by  force,  if 
Scaurus,  the  Roman  general,  had  not 
come  and  seasonably  interposed  himself, 
and  raised  the  siege.  This  Scaurus  was 
sent  into  Syria  from  Armenia  by  Pompey 
the  Great,  when  he  fought  against  Tigra- 
nes  :  so  Scaurus  came  to  Damascus,  which 
had  been  lately  taken  by  Metellus  and 
Lollius,  and  caused  them  to  leave  the 
place ;  and,  upon  his  hearing  how  the 
affairs  of  Judea  stood,  he  made  haste  thi- 
ther as  to  a  certain  booty. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  was  come  into 
the  country,  there  came  ambassadors  from 
both  the  brothers,  each  of  them  desiring 
his  assistance ;  but  Aristobulus's  300 
talents  had  more  weight  with  him  than 
the  justice  of  the  cause;  which  sum, 
when  Scaurus  had  received,  he  sent  a 
herald  to  Hyrcanus  and  the  Arabians,  and 
threatened  them  with  the  resentment  of 
the  Romans  and  of  Pompey,  unless  they 
would  raise  the  siege.  So  Aretas  was 
terrified,  and  retired  out  of  Judea  to 
Philadelphia,  as  did  Scaurus  return  to 
Damascus  again :  nor  was  Aristobulus 
satisfied  with  escaping  [out  of  his  brother's 
hands],  but  gathered  all  his  forces  to- 
gether and  pursued  his  enemies,  and 
fought  them  at  a  place  called  Papyrou, ' 
and  slew  above  6000  of  them,  and,  to- 
gether with  them,  Antipater's  brother 
Phalion. 

When  Hyrcanus  and  Antipater  were 
thus  deprived  of  their  hopes  from  the 
Arabians,  they  transferred  the  same  to 
their  adversaries;  and  because  Pompey 
had  passed  through  Syria,  and  was  come 
to  Damascus,  they  fled  to  him  for  assist- 
ance;  and,  without  any  bribes,  they  made 
the  same  equitable  pleas  that  they  had 
used  to  Aretas,  and  besought  him  to  hate 
the  violent  behaviour  of  Aristobulus,  and 
to  bestow  the  kingdom  upon  him  to  whom 
it  justly  belonged^  both  on  account  of 
his  good  character,  and  on  account  of  his 
superiority  in  age.  However,  neither  was 
Aristobulus  wanting  to  himself  in  this 
case,  as  relying  on  the  bribes  that  Scaurus 
had  received;  he  was  also  there  himself, 
and  adorned  himself  after  a  manner  the 
most  agreeable  to  royalty  that  he  was 
able.  But  he  soon  thought  it  beneath 
him  to  come  in  such   a  servile   manner. 


Chat.  VII.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


631 


and  could  not  endure  to  serve  his  own 
ends  in  a  way  so  much  more  abject  than 
he  was  used  to ;  so  he  departed  from 
Diospolis. 

At  this  his  behaviour  Pompey  had 
great  indignation  :  Hyrcanus  also  and  his 
friends  made  great  intercession  to  Pom- 
pey; so  he  took  not  only  his  Roman 
forces,  but  many  of  his  Syrian  auxiliaries, 
and  marched  against  Aristobulus.  But 
when  he  had  passed  by  Pella  and  Scy- 
thopolis,  and  was  come  to  Corea,  where 
you  enter  into  the  country  of  Judea,  when 
you  go  up  to  it  through  the  Mediterranean 
parts,  he  heard  that  Aristobulus  was  fled 
to  Alexandrium,  which  is  a  stronghold, 
fortified  with  the  utmost  magnificence, 
and  situated  upon  a  high  mountain,  and 
he  sent  to  him,  and  commanded  him  to 
come  down.  Now  his  inclination  was  to 
try  his  fortune  in  a  battle,  since  he  was 
called  in  such  an  imperious  manner,  rather 
than  to  comply  with  that  call.  However, 
he  saw  the  multitude  were  in  great  fear, 
and  his  friends  exhorted  him  to  consider 
what  the  power  of  the  Romans  was,  and 
how  it  was  irresistible;  so  he  complied 
with  their  advice,  and  came  down  to 
Pompey;  and  when  he  had  made  a  long 
apology  for  himself,  and  for  the  justness 
of  his  cause  in  taking  the  government,  he 
returned  to  the  fortress.  And  when  his 
brother  invited  him  again  [to  plead  his 
cause],  he  came  down  and  spake  about 
the  justice  of  it,  and  then  went  away 
without  any  hinderance  from  Pompey  :  so 
he  was  between  hope  and  fear.  And 
when  he  came  down,  it  was  to  prevail 
with  Pompey  to  allow  him  the  government 
entirely;  and  when  he  went  up  to  the 
citadel,  it  was  that  he  might  not  appear 
to  debase  himself  too  low.  However, 
Pompey  commanded  him  to  give  up  his 
fortified  places,  and  forced  him  to  write 
to  every  one  of  their  governors  to  yield 
them  up;  they  having  had  this  charge 
given  them,  to  obey  no  letters  but  what 
were  of  his  own  handwriting.  According- 
ly, he  did  what  he  was  ordered  to  do ; 
but  had  still  an  indignation  at  what  was 
done,  and  retired  to  Jerusalem,  and  pre- 
pared to  fight  with  Pompey. 

Hit  Pompey  did  not  give  time  to  make 
any  preparations  [for  a  siege],  but  fol- 
lowed him  at  his  heels;  he  was  also 
obliged  to  make  haste  in  his  attempt,  by 
the  death  of  Mithridates,  of  which  he 
Was  informed  about  Jericho.  Now  here 
is  the   most  fruitful    country  of  Judea, 


which  bears  a  vast  number  of  palm-trees, 
besides  the  balsam-tree,  whose  sprouts 
they  cut  with  sharp  stones,  and  at  the 
incisions  they  gather  the  juice,  which 
drops  down  like  tears.  So  Pompey  pitch- 
ed his  camp  in  that  place  one  night,  and 
then  hasted  away  the  next  morning  to 
Jerusalem  ;  but  iVristobulus  was  so  af- 
frighted at  his  approach,  that  he  came 
and  met  him  by  way  of  supplication.  He 
also  promised  him  money,  and  that  he 
would  deliver  up  both  himself  and  the 
city  unto  his  disposal ;  and  thereby  he 
mitigated  the  anger  of  Pompey.  Yet  did 
not  he  perform  any  of  the  conditions  he 
had  agreed  to;  for  Aristobulus's  party 
would  not  so  much  as  admit  Gabinius 
into  the  city,  who  was  sent  to  receive  the 
money  that  he  was  promised. 


CHAPTER  VIT. 

Jerusalem  surrendered  to  Pompey,  who  seizes  on 
the  Temple  by  force. 

At  this  treatment  Pompey  was  very 
angry,  and  took  Aristobulus  into  custody; 
and  when  he  had  come  to  the  city  he 
looked  about  where  he  might  make  his 
attack ;  for  he  saw  the  walls  were  so  firm 
that  it  would  be  hard  to  overcome  them, 
and  that  the  valley  before  the  walls  was 
terrible;  and  that  the  temple,  which  was 
within  that  valley,  was  itself  encompassed 
with  a  very  strong  wall,  insomuch  that 
if  the  city  were  taken,  the  temple  would 
be  a  second  place  of  refuge  for  the  enemy 
to  retire  to. 

Now,  as  he  was  long  in  deliberating 
about  this  matter,  a  sedition  arose  among 
the  people  within  the  city ;  Aristobulus's 
party  being  willing  to  fight,  and  to  set 
their  king  at  liberty,  while  the  party  of 
Hyrcanus  were  for  opening  the  gates  to 
Pompey;  and  the  dread  people  were  in, 
occasioned  these  last  to  be  a  very  nu- 
merous party,  when  they  looked  upon  the 
excellent  order  the  Roman  soldiers  were 
in.  So  Aristobulus's  party  was  worsted, 
and  retired  into  the  temple,  and  cut  off 
the  communication  between  the  temple 
and  the  city,  by  breaking  down  the  bridge 
that  joined  them  together,  and  prepared 
to  make  an  opposition  to  the  utmost ;  but 
as  the  others  had  received  the  Romans 
into  the  city,  and  had  delivered  up  the 
palace  to  him,  Pompey  sent  Piso,  one  of 
his  great  officers,  into  that  palace  with  an 
army,  who  distributed  a  garrison  about 
the  city,  because  he  could  not  persuade 


632 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


any  one  of  those  that  had  fled  to  the 
temple  to  come  to  terms  of  accommoda- 
tion; he  then  disposed  all  things  that 
were  round  about  them  so  as  might  favour 
their  attacks,  as  having  Hyrcanus's  party 
very  ready  to  afford  them  both  counsel 
and  assistance. 

But  Pompey  himself  filled  up  the  ditch 
that  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  temple, 
and  the  entire  valley  also,  the  army  itself 
being  obliged  to  carry  the  materials  for 
tbat  purpose.  And  indeed  it  was  a  hard 
thing  to  fil]  up  that  va-lley,  by  reason  of 
its  immense  depth,  especially  as  the  Jews 
ased  all  the  means  possible  to  repel  them 
from  their  superior  station  ;  nor  had  the 
Romans  succeeded  in  their  endeavours, 
had  not  Pompey  taken  notice  of  the 
seventh  days,  on  which  the  Jews  abstain 
from  all  sorts  of  work  on  a  religious 
account,  and  raised  his  bank,  but  restrain- 
ed his  soldiers  from  fighting  on  those 
days ;  for  the  Jews  only  acted  defensively 
on  sabbath  days.  Rut  as  soon  as  Pom- 
pey had  filled  up  the  valley,  he  erected 
high  towers  upon  the  bank,  and  brought 
those  engines  which  they  had  fetched 
from  Tyre  near  to  the  wall,  and  tried  to 
batter  it  down  ;  and  the  slingers  of  stones 
beat  off  those  that  stood  above  them,  and 
drove  them  away ;  but  the  towers  on  this 
side  of  tbe  city  made  very  great  resist- 
ance, and  were  indeed  extraordinary  both 
for  largeness  and  magnificence. 

Now,  here  it  was  that  upon  the  many 
hardships  which  the  Romans  underwent, 
Pompey  could  not  but  admire  not  only 
at  the  other  instances  of  the  Jews'  forti- 
tude, but  especially  that  they  did  not  at 
all  intermit  their  religious  services,  even 
when  they  were  encompassed  with  darts 
on  all  sides;  for,  as  if  the  city  were  in 
full  peace,  their  daily  sacrifices  and  puri- 
fications, and  every  branch  of  their  re- 
ligious worship,  were  still  performed  to 
God  with  the  utmost  exactness.  Nor  in- 
deed, when  the  temple  was  actually  taken, 
and  they  were  every  day  slain  about  the 
altar,  did  they  leave  off  the  instances  of 
their  divine  worship  that  were  appointed 
by  their  law ;  for  it  was  in  the  third 
month  of  the  siege  before  the  Romans 
sould  even  with  great  difficulty  overthrow 
&ne  of  the  towers,  and  get  into  the 
temple. 

Now  he  that  first  of  all  ventured  to  get 
over  the  wall,  was  Faustus  Cornelius,  the 
sol  of  Sylla;  and  next  after  him  were 
two  centurions,  Furius  and  Fabius;  and 


every  one  of  these  was  followed  by  a 
cohort  of  his  own,  who  encompased  the 
Jews  on  all  sides,  and  slew  them;  some 
of  them  as  they  were  running  for  shelter 
to  the  temple,  and  others  as  they,  for  a 
while,  fought  in  their  own  defence. 

And  now  did  many  of  the  priests,  even 
when  they  saw  their  enemies  assailing 
them  with  swords  in  their  hands,  without 
any  disturbance,  go  on  with  *fteir  divine 
worship,  and  were  slain  while  they  were 
offering  their  drink-offerings  and  burning 
their  incense,  as  preferring  the  duties 
about  their  worship  to  God  before  their 
own  preservation.  The  greatest  part  of 
them  were  slain  by  their  own  countrymen 
of  the  adverse  faction,  and  an  innumera- 
ble multitude  threw  themselves  down 
precipices;  nay,  some  there  were  wh^ 
were  so  distracted  among  the  insuperable 
ble  difficulties  they  were  under,  that  they 
set  fire  to  the  buildings  that  were  near 
to  the  wall,  and  were  burnt  together 
with  them.  Now  of  the  Jews  were  slain 
12,000 ;  but  of  the  Romans  very  few 
were  slain,  but  a  greater  number  were 
wounded. 

But  there  was  nothing  that  affected  the 
nation  so  much,  in  the  calamities  they 
were  then  under,  as  that  their  holy  place, 
which  had  been  hitherto  seen  by  none, 
should  be  laid  open  to  strangers ;  for 
Pompey,  and  those  that  were  about  him, 
went  into  the  temple  itself,  whither  it 
was  not  lawful  for  any  to  enter  but  the 
high  priest,  and  saw  what  was  reposited 
therein,  the  candlestick  with  its  lamps, 
and  the  table,  and  the  pouring  vessels, 
and  the  censers,  all  made  entirely  of  gold, 
as  also  a  great  quantity  of  spices  heaped 
together,  with  2000  talents  of  sacred 
money.  Yet  did  not  he  touch  the  money, 
nor  any  thing  else  that  was  there  repo- 
sited; but  he  commanded  the  ministers 
about  the  temple,  the  very  next  day  after 
he  had  taken  it,  to  cleanse  it,  and  to  per- 
form their  accustomed  sacrifices.  More- 
over, he  made  Hyrcanus  high  priest,  as 
one  that  not  only  in  other  respects  had 
shown  great  alacrity  on  his  side,  duriDg 
the  siege,  but  as  he  had  been  the  means 
of  hindering  the  multitude  that  was  in 
the  country  from  fighting  for  Aristobulus, 
which  they  were  otherwise  very  ready  tc 
have  done;  by  which  means  he  acted  the 
part  of  a  good  general,  and  reconciled  the 
people  to  him  more  by  benevolence  than 
by  terror.  Now  among  the  captives, 
Aristobulus's  father-in-law  was  taken,  whf 


Chap   "VIII. J 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


G33 


was  also  his  undo,  so  those  that  were  the 
most  guilty  he  punished  with  decollation  ; 
but  rewarded  Faustus,  and  those  with 
him  that  had  fought  so  bravely,  with 
glorious  presents;  and  laid  a  tribute  upon 
the  country,  and  upon  Jerusalem  itself. 

He  also  took  away  from  the  nation  all 
those  cities  they  had  formerly  taken,  and 
that  belonged  to  Celesyria,  and  made  them 
subject  to  him  that  was  at  that  time  appoint- 
ed to  be  the  Roman  president  there,  and  re- 
duced Judea  within  its  proper  bounds. 
He  also  rebuilt  Gadara,  that  had  been  de- 
molished by  the  Jews,  in  order  to  gratify 
one  Demetrius,  who  was  of  G-adara,  and 
was  one  of  his  own  freedmen.  He  also 
made  other  cities  free  from  their  dominion, 
that  lay  in  the  midst  of  the  country, — 
such,  I  mean,  as  they  had  not  demolished 
before  that  time ;  Hippos,  and  Scythopo- 
lis,  as  also  Pella,  and  Samaria,  and  Ma- 
rissa;  and  besides  these,  Ashdod,  and 
Jamnia,  and  Arethusa;  and  in  like  man- 
ner dealt  he  with  the  maritime  cities, 
Gaza  and  Joppa,  and  Dora,  and  that  which 
was  anciently  called  Strato's  Tower,  but 
was  afterward  rebuilt  with  the  most  mag- 
nificent edifices,  and  had  its  name  changed 
to  Cesarea,  by  King  Herod.  All  which 
he  restored  to  their  own  citizens,  and  put 
them  under  the  province  of  Syria;  which 
province,  together  with  Judea,  and  the 
countries  as  far  as  Egypt  and  Euphrates,  he 
committed  to  Scaurus,  as  their  governor, 
and  gave  him  two  legions  to  support  him; 
while  he  made  all  the  haste  he  could  him- 
self to  go  through  Cilicia,  in  his  way  to 
Rome,  having  Aristobulus  and  his  chil- 
dren along  \fith  him,  as  his  captives. 
They  were  two  daughters  and  two  sons ; 
the  one  of  which  sons,  Alexander,  ran 
away  as  he  was  going;  but  the  younger, 
Antigonus  with  his  sisters,  were  carried 
to  Rome. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Alexander,  son  of  Aristobulus,  makes  an  expedi- 
tion again.st  Ilyrcanus — is  defeated  by  Gabinius 
— Aristobulus  escapes  from  Rome — is  beaten  by 
the  Romans,  and  sent  back  again. 

In  the  mean  time,  Scaurus  made  an  ex- 
pedition into  Arabia,  but  was  stopped  by 
the  difficulty  of  the  places  about  Petra. 
However,  he  laid  waste  the  country  about 
lMla,  though  even  there  he  was  under 
great  hardship,  for  his  army  was  afflicted 
with  famine.  In  order  to  supply  which 
want,  JIyrcanu,s  afforded  him  some  assist- 
ance, and  sent  him  provisions  by  the  means 


of  Antipater ;  whom  also  Scaurus  sent  to 
Aretas,  as  one  well  acquainted  with  him, 
to  induce  him  to  pay  him  money  to  buy 
his  peace.  The  king  of  Arabia  complied 
with  the  proposal,  and  gave  him  300  ta- 
lents ;  upon  which  Scaurus  drew  his  army 
out  of  Arabia.* 

But  as  for  Alexander,  that  son  of  Aris- 
tobulus who  ran  away  from  Pompey,  in 
some  time  he  got  a  considerable  band  of 
men  together,  and  lay  heavy  upon  Hyr- 
canus,  and  overran  Judea,  and  was  likely 
to  overturn  him  quickly  ;  and  indeed  he 
had  come  to  Jerusalem,  and  had  ventured 
to  rebuild  its  wall  that  was  thrown  down 
by  Pompey,  had  not  Gabinius,  who  was 
sent  as  successor  to  Scaurus  into  Syria, 
shown  his  bravery,  as  in  many  other 
points,  so  in  making  an  expedition  against 
Alexander,  who,  as  he  was  afraid  that  he 
would  attack  him,  so  he  got  together  a 
large  army,  composed  of  10,000  armed 
footmen,  and  1500  horsemen.  He  also 
built  walls  about  proper  places — Alexan- 
drium,  and  Hyrcanium,  and  Macherus, 
that  lay  upon  the  mountains  of  Arabia. 

However,  Gabinius  sent  before  him 
Marcus  Antonius,  and  followed  himself 
with  his  whole  army;  but  for  the  select 
body  of  soldiers  that  were  about  Antipa- 
ter, and  another  body  of  Jews  under 
the  command  of  Malichus  and  Pitholaus, 
these  joined  themselves  to  those  captains 
that  were  about  Marcus  Antonius,  and 
met  Alexander ;  to  which  body  came  Ga- 
binius with  his  main  army  soon  afterward  ; 
and  as  Alexander  was  not  able  to  sustain 
the  charge  of  the  enemies'  forces,  now 
they  were  joined,  he  retired.  But  when 
he  was  come  near  to  Jerusalem,  he  was 
forced  to  fight,  and  lost  6000  men  in  the 
battle  ;  3000  of  whom  fell  down  dead,  and 
3000  were  taken  alive;  so  he  fled  with 
the  remainder  to  Alexandrium. 

Now,  when  Gabinius  had  come  to  Alex- 
andrium, because  he  found  a  great  many 
there  encamped,  he  tried,  by  promising 
them  pardon  for  their  former  offences,  to 
induce  them  to  come  over  to  him  before  it 
came  to  a  fight;  but  when  they    would 

*  Take  the  like  attestation  to  the  truth  of  this 
submission  of  Aretas,  king  of  Arabia,  to  Scaurus, 
the  Roman  general,  in  the  words  of  Dean  Aldrich. 
"Hence  (says  he)  is  derived  that  old  and  famous 
denarius  belonging  to  tho  Emilian  family,  [repre- 
sented in  Havercainp's  edition,]  wherein  Aretas  .i|  - 
pears  in  a  posturo  of  supplication,  and  taking 
hold  of  a  camel's  bridle  with  his  left  hand,  and 
with  his  right  hand  presenting  a  branch  of  the 
frankincense-tree,  with  this  inscription  :  M.  SCAU- 
RUS EX  S.  C. ;  and  beneath,  REX  ARETAS." 


634 


WARS    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


hearkeu  to  no  terms  of  accommodation, 
he  slew  a  great  number  of  them,  and 
shut  up  a  great  number  of  them  in  the 
citadel.  Now  Marcus  Antonius,  their 
leader,  signalized  himself  in  this  battle, 
who,  as  he  always  showed  great  courage, 
bo  did  he  never  show  it  so  much  as  now; 
but  Gabinius,  leaving  forces  to  take  the 
citadel,  went  away  himself,  and  settled 
the  cities  that  had  not  been  demolished, 
and  rebuilt  those  that  had  been  destroyed. 
Accordingly,  upon  his  injunction,  the  fol- 
lowing cities  were  restored  : — Scythopolis, 
Samaria,  Anthedon,  Apollonia,  Jamnia, 
Raphia,  Marissa,  Adoreus,  Gamala,  Ash- 
dod,  and  many  others ;  while  a  great 
number  of  men  readily  ran  to  each  of 
them,  and  became  their  inhabitants. 

When  Gabinius  had  taken  care  of  these 
cities,  he  returned  to  Alexandrium,  and 
pressed  on  the  siege.  So  when  Alexan- 
der despaired  of  ever  obtaining  the  go- 
vernment, he  sent  ambassadors  to  him, 
and  prayed  him  to  forgive  what  he  had 
offended  him  in,  and  gave  up  to  him  the 
remaining  fortresses,  Hyrcanium  and  Ma* 
cherus,  as  he  put  Alexandrium  into  his 
hands  afterward  :  all  which  Gabinius  de- 
molished, at  the  persuasion  of  Alexander's 
mother,  that  they  might  not  be  recepta- 
cles of  men  in  a  secoud  war.  She  was 
now  there,  in  order  to  mollify  Gabinius, 
out  of  her  concern  for  her  relations  that 
were  captives  at  Rome,  which  were  her 
husband  and  her  other  children.  After 
this,  Gabinius  brought  Hyrcanus  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  committed  the  care  of  the 
temple  to  him;  but  ordained  the  political 
government  to  be  by  an  aristocracy.  He 
also  parted  the  whole  nation  into  five  con- 
ventions, assigning  one  portion  to  Jerusa- 
lem, another  to  Gadara,  that  another 
should  belong  to  Amathus,  a  fourth  to 
Jericho,  and  to  the  fifth  division  was  al- 
lotted Sepphoris,  a  city  of  Galilee.  So 
the  people  were  glad  to  be  thus  freed  from 
monarchical  government,  and  were  govern- 
ed for  the  future  by  an  aristocracy. 

Yet  did  Aristobulus  afford  a  new  found- 
ation for  other  disturbances.  He  fled 
away  from  Rome,  and  got  together  many 
of  the  Jews  that  were  desirous  of  a 
change,  such  as  had  borne  an  affection  to 
him  of  eld;  and  when  he  had  taken  Alex- 
andrium in  the  first  place,  he  attempted 
to  build  a  wall  about  it ;  but  as  soon  as 
Gabinius  had  sent  an  army  against  him 
under  Sisenna,  Antonius,  and  Sirvilius, 
he    was    aware   of   it ;   and   retreated    to 


Macherus.  And  as  for  the  unprofitable 
multitude,  he  dismissed  them,  and  only 
marched  on  with  those  that  were  armed, 
being  to  the  number  of  8000,  among 
whom  was  Pitholaus,  who  had  been  the 
lieutenant  at  Jerusalem,  but  deserted  to 
Aristobulus  with  1000  of  his  men ;  so 
the  Romans  followed  him,  and  when  i0 
came  to  a  battle,  Aristobulus' s  party  for 
a  long  time  fought  courageously  ;  but  at 
length  they  were  overborne  by  the  Ro- 
mans, and  of  them  5000  fell  dead,  and 
about  2000  fled  to  a  certain  little  hill ; 
but  the  1000  that  remaiued  with  Aristo- 
bulus broke  through  the  Roman  army, 
and  marched  together  to  Macherus;  and, 
when  the  king  had  lodged  the  first  night 
on  its  ruins,  he  was  in  hopes  of  raising 
another  army,  if  the  war  would  but  cease 
awhile ;  accordingly  he  fortified  that  strong- 
hold, though  it  was  done  after  a  poor 
manner.  But  the  Romans  falling  upon 
him,  he  resisted,  even  beyond  his  abili- 
ties, for  two  days,  and  then  was  taken, 
and  brought  a  prisoner  to  Gabinius,  with 
Antigonus  his  son,  who  had  fled  away 
together  with  him  from  Rome ;  and  from 
Gabinius  he  was  carried  to  Rome  again. 
Wherefore  the  senate  put  him  under  con- 
finement, but  returned  his  children  back 
to  Judea,  because  Gabinius  informed 
them  by  letters,  that  he  had  promised 
Aristobulus's  mother  to  do  so,  for  her  de- 
livering the  fortresses  up  to  him. 

But  now  as  Gabinius  was  marching  to 
the  war  against  the  Parthians,  he  was 
hindered  by  Ptolemy,  whom,  upon  his 
return  from  Euphrates,  he  brought  back 
into  Egypt,  making  use  of  Hyrcanus  and 
Antipater  to  provide  every  thing  that  was 
necessary  for  this  expedition  ;  for  Antipa- 
ter  furnished  him  with  money,  and  wea- 
pons, and  corn,  and  auxiliaries ;  he  also 
prevailed  with  the  Jews  that  were  there 
and  guarded  the  avenues  at  Pelusiurn,  to 
let  them  pass.  But  now,  upon  Gabinius's 
absence,  the  other  part  of  Syria  was  in 
motion,  and  Alexander,  the  son  of  Aris- 
tobulus, brought  the  Jews  to  revolt  again. 
Accordingly,  he  got  together  a  very  great 
army,  and  set  about  killing  all  the  Ro- 
mans that  were  in  the  country  ;  hereupon 
Gabinius  was  afraid,  (for  he  had  come 
back  already  out  of  Egypt,  and  obliged 
to  come  back  quickly  by  these  tumults,) 
and  sent  Antipater,  who  prevailed  with 
some  of  the  revolters  to  be  quiet.  How- 
ever, 30,000  still  continued  with  Alexan- 
der, who  was  himself  eager  to  light  also ; 


Chap.  IX.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEW©. 


635 


accordingly,  Gabiuius  went  out  to  tight, 
when  the  Jews  met  him  ;  and,  as  the  bat- 
tle was  fought  near  Mount  Tabor,  10,000 
of  them  were  slain,  and  the  rest  of  the 
multitude  dispersed  themselves  and  fled 
away.  So  Gabinius  came  to  Jerusalem, 
and  settled  the  government  as  Antipater 
would  have  it;  thence  he  marched,  and 
fought  and  beat  the  Nabateans  :  as  for 
Mithridates  and  Orsanes,  who  fled  out  of 
Parthia,  he  sent  them  away  privately, 
but  gave  it  out  among  the  soldiers  that 
they  had  run  away. 

In  the  mean  tine,  Crassus  came  as  suc- 
cessor to  Gabinius  in  Syria.  He  took 
away  all  the  rest  of  the  gold  belonging 
to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  in  order  to 
furnish  himself  for  his  expedition  against 
the  Parthians.  He  also  took  away  the 
2000  talents  which  Pompey  had  not 
touched ;  but  when  he  had  passed  over 
Euphrates,  he  perished  himself,  and  his 
army  with  him  ;  concerning  which  affairs 
this  is  not  a  proper  time  to  speak  [more 
largely]. 

But  now  Cassius,  after  Crassus,  put  a  stop 
p  the  Parthians,  who  were  marching,  in 
j)rder  to  enter  Syria.  Cassius  had  fled 
nto  that  province,  and  when  he  had  taken 
possession  of  the  same,  he  made  a  hasty 
march  into  Judea;  and,  upon  his  taking 
.Tarichse,  he  carried  30,000  Jews  into 
slavery.  He  also  slew  Pitholaus,  who 
jad  supported  the  seditious  followers  of 
\ristobulus ;  and  it  was  Antipater  who  ad- 
rised  him  so  to  do.  Now  this  Antipater 
iiarried  a  wife  of  an  eminent  family 
imong  the  Arabians,  whose  name  was 
J v pros,  and  had  four  sons  born  to  him 
>y  her,  Phasaelus  and  Herod,  who  was 
tfterward  king,  and  besides,  Joseph  and 
Pheroras;  and  he  had  a  daughter  whose 
lame  was  Salome.  Now,  as  he  made 
limself  friends  among  the  men  of  power 
everywhere,  by  the  kind  offices  he  did 
hem,  and  the  hospitable  manner  that  he 
reated  them  ;  so  did  he  contract  the 
greatest  friendship  with  the  king  of  Ara- 
)ia,  by  marrying  his  relation;  insomuch 
hat  when  he  made  war  with  Aristobulus, 
ie  sent  and  intrusted  his  children  with 
lim.  So,  when  Cassius  had  forced  Alex- 
ander to  come  to  terms  and  to  be  quiet, 
ie  returned  to  Euphrates,  in  order  to 
)revent  the  Parthians  from  repassing  it; 
:oncerning  which  matter  we  shall  speak 
lsewhere.* 

*  This  citation  is  now  wanting. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Aristobulus  poisoned  by  Pompey's  party — Scipio 
beheads  Alexander  —  Antipater  cultivates  a 
friendship  with  Ca;sar  after  Pompey's  death. 

Now,  upon  the  flight  of  Pompey  and 
of  the  senate  beyond  the  Ionian  Sea,  Cae- 
sar got  Rome  and  the  empire  under  his 
power,  and  released  Aristobulus  from  his 
bonds.  He  also  committed  two  legions 
to  him,  and  sent  him  in  haste  into  Syria, 
as  hoping  that  by  his  means  he  should 
easily  conquer  that  country,  and  the  parts 
adjoining  to  Judea.  But  envy  prevented 
any  effect  of  Aristobulus's  alacrity  and 
the  hopes  of  Csesar ;  for  he  was  taken 
off  by  poison  given  him  by  those  of  Pom- 
pey's party;  and,  for  a  long  while,  he 
had  not  so  much  as  a  burial  vouchsafed 
him  in  his  own  country;  but  his  dead 
body  lay  [above  ground],  preserved  in 
honey,  until  it  was  sent  to  the  Jews  by 
Antony,  in  order  to  be  buried  in  the  royal 
sepulchres. 

His  son  Alexander  also  was  beheaded 
by  Scipio  at  Antioch,  and  that  by  the 
command  of  Pompey,  and  upon  an  accu- 
sation laid  against  him  before  his  tribu- 
nal, for  the  mischiefs  he  had  done  to  the 
Romans.  But  Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Men- 
neus,  who  was  then  ruler  of  Chalcis,  un- 
der Libanus,  took  his  brethren  to  him  by 
sending  his  son  Philippio  for  them  to  As- 
calon  ;  who  took  Antigonus,  as  well  as 
his  sisters,  away  from  Aristobulus's  wife, 
and  brought  them  to  his  father;  and,  fall- 
ing in  love  with  the  younger  daughter,  he 
married  her,  and  was  afterward  slain  by 
his  father  on  her  account;  for  Ptolemy 
himself,  after  he  had  slain  his  son,  mar- 
ried her,  whose  name  was  Alexandria; 
on  account  of  which  marriage  he  took  the 
greater  care  of  her  brother  and  sister. 

Now,  after  Pompey  was  dead,  Antipa- 
ter changed  sides,  and  cultivated  a  friend- 
ship with  Caesar.  And,  since  Mithridates 
of  Pergamus,  with  the  forces  he  led 
against  Egypt,  was  excluded  from  the 
avenues  about  Pelusium,  and  was  forced 
to  stay  at  Ascalon,  he  persuaded  the  Ara- 
bians among  whom  he  had  lived  to  assist 
hiii),  and  came  himself  to  hirn  at  the 
head  of  3000  men.  He  also  encouraged 
the  men  of  power  in  Syria  to  come  to  his 
assistance;  as  also  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Libanus,  Ptolemy,  and  Jamblicus,  and 
another  Ptolemy;  by  "which  means  the 
cities  of  that  country  came  readily  into 
this  war;  insomuch  that  Mithridates  ven- 
tured now,  in  dependence  upon  the  addi 


6'36 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


tional  strength  that  he  had  gotten  by  An- 
tipater, to  march  forward  to  Pelusium ; 
and,  when  they  refused  him  a  passage 
through  it,  he  besieged  the  city;  in  the 
attack  of  which  place  Antipater  princi- 
pally signalized  himself,  for  he  brought 
down  that  part  of  the  wall  which  was 
over  against  him,  and  leaped  first  of  all 
into  the  city  with  the  men  that  were 
about  him. 

Thus  was  Pelusium  taken.  But  still, 
as  they  were  marching  on,  those  Egyptian 
Jews  that  inhabited  the  country,  called 
the  country  of  Onias,  stopped  them. 
Then  did  Antipater  not  only  persuade 
them  not  to  stop  them,  but  to  afford  pro- 
visions for  their  army;  on  which  account 
even  the  people  about  Memphis  would 
not  fight  against  them,  but,  of  their  own 
accord,  joined  Mithridates.  Whereupon 
he  went  round  about  Delta,  and  fought 
the  rest  of  the  Egyptians  at  a  place  called 
the  Jews'  Camp  :  nay,  when  he  was  in 
danger  in  the  battle  with  all  his  right 
wing,  Antipater  wheeled  about  and  came 
along  the  bank  of  the  river  to  him;  for 
he  had  beaten  those  that  opposed  him  as 
he  led  the  left  wing.  After  which  suc- 
cess he  fell  upon  those  that  pursued  Mith- 
ridates, and  slew  a  great  many  of  them, 
and  pursued  the  remainder  so  far  that  he 
took  their  camp,  while  he  lost  no  more 
than  fourscore  of  his  own  men;  as  Mith- 
ridates lost,  during  the  pursuit  (that  was 
made  after  him,  about  800.  He  was  also 
himself  saved  unexpectedly,  and  became 
an  irreproachable  witness  to  Csesar  of  the 
great  actions  of  Antipater. 

Whereupon  Csesar  encouraged  Antipater 
to  undertake  other  hazardous  enterprises 
for  him,  and  that  by  giving  him  great  com- 
mendations and  hopes  of  reward.  In  all 
which  enterprises  he  readily  exposed  him- 
self to  many  dangers,  and  became  a  most 
courageous  warrior;  and  had  many  wounds 
all  over  his  body,  as  demonstrations  of  his 
valour.  And  when  Caesar  had  settled  the 
affairs  of  Egypt,  and  was  returning  into 
Syria  again,  he  gave  him  the  privilege  of 
a  Roman  citizen,  and  freedom  from  taxes, 
and  rendered  him  an  object  of  admiration 
by  the  honours  and  marks  of  friendship 
be  bestowed  upon  him.  On  this  account 
it  was  that  he  also  confirmed  Hyrcanus  in 
the  high-priesthood. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Antipater  procurator  of  Judea — appoints  Phasae. 
lus  governor  of  Jerusalem,  and  Herod  of  Gali 
lee — Sextus  Caesar  murdered  by  Bassus. 

About  this  time  it  was  that  Antigonus, 
the  son  of  Aristobulus,  came  to  Caesar, 
and  became,  in  a  surprising  manner,  the 
occasion  of  Antipater' s  further  advance- 
ment; for,  whereas  he  ought  to  have  la- 
mented that  his  father  appeared  to  have 
been  poisoned  on  account  of  his  quarrels 
with  Pompey,  and  to  have  complained  of 
Scipio's  barbarity  toward  his  brother,  and 
not  to  mix  any  invidious  passion  when 
suing  for  mercy ;  instead  of  those  things, 
he  came  before  Caesar,  and  accused  Hyr- 
canus and  Antipater,  how  they  had  driven 
him  and  his  brethren  entirely  out  of  their 
native  country,  and  had  acted  in  a  great 
many  instances  unjustly  and  extrava- 
gantly with  regard  to  their  nation ;  and 
that  as  to  the  assistance  they  had  sent 
him  into  Egypt,  it  was  not  done  out  of 
good-will  to  him,  but  out  of  the  fear  they 
were  in  from  former  quarrels,  and  in 
order  to  gain  pardon  for  their  friendship 
to  [his  enemy]  Pompey. 

Hereupon  Antipater  threw  away  his 
garments,  and  showed  the  multitude  of 
the  wounds  he  had,  and  said,  that,  as  to 
his  good-will  to  Caesar,  he  had  no  occa- 
sion to  say  a  word,  because  his  fyody  cried 
aloud,  though  he  said  nothing  himself; 
that  he  wondered  at  Antigonus's  boldness, 
while  he  was  himself  no  other  than  the 
son  of  an  enemy  to  the  Romans,  and  of  a 
fugitive,  and  had  it  by  inheritance  from 
his  father  to  be  fond  of  innovations  and 
seditions,  that  he  should  undertake  to 
accuse  other  men  before  the  Roman  go- 
vernor, and  endeavour  to  gain  some  ad- 
vantages to  himself,  when  he  ought  to  bo 
contented  that  he  was  suffered  to  live; 
for  that  the  reason*  of  his  desire  of  go- 
verning public  affairs,  was  not  so  much 
because  he  was  in  want  of  it,  but  because, 
if  he  could  once  obtain  the  same,  he 
might  stir  up  a  sedition  among  the  Jews, 
and  use  what  he  should  gain  from  the 
Romans  to  the  disservice  of  those  that 
gave  it  him. 

When  Caesar  heard  this,  he  declared 
Hyrcanus  to  be  the  most  worthy  of  the 
high  priesthood,  and  gave  leave  to  Anti- 
pater to  choose  what  authority  he  pleased; 
but  he  left  the  determination  of  such  dig- 
nity to  him  that  bestowed  the  dignity 
upon  him ;  so  he  was  constituted  pro- 
curator of  all  Judea,  and  obtained  leave. 


Chap.  X.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


637 


moreover,  to  rebuild  those  walls  of  his 
country  that  had  been  thrown  down. 
These  honorary  grants  Caesar  sent  orders 
to  have  engraved  in  the  capitol,  that 
they  might  stand  there  as  indications  of 
his  own  justice,  and  of  the  virtue  of 
Antipater. 

But,  as  soon  as  Antipater  had  con- 
ducted Caesar  out  of  Syria,  he  returned 
to  Judea,  and  the  first  thing  he  did  was 
to  rebuild  that  wall  of  his  own  country 
"Jerusalem],  which  Pompey  had  over- 
thrown, and  then  to  go  over  the  country, 
ind  to  quiet  the  tumults  that  were  there- 
u  ;  where  he  partly  threatened  and  partly 
idvised  every  one,  and  told  them  that,  in 
3ase  they  would  submit  to  Hyrcanus,  they 
svould  live  happily  and  peaceably,  and 
2ujoy  what  they  possessed,  and  that  with 
aniversal  peace  and  quietness;  but  that, 
n  case  they  hearkened  to  such  as  had 
iome  frigid  hopes,  by  raising  new  trou- 
jle.s,  to  get  themselves  some  gain,  they 
mould  then  find  him  to  be  their  lord,  in- 
stead of  their  procurator,  and  find  Hyr- 
;anus  to  be  a  tyrant,  instead  of  a  king, — 
.nd  both  the  Romans  and  Caesar  to  be 
heir  enemies,  instead  of  rulers ;  for  that 
hey  would  not  suffer  him  to  be  removed 
rom  the  government,  whom  they  had 
3iade  their  governor ;  and,  at  the  same 
ime  that  he  said  this,  he  settled  the  af- 
airs  of  the  country  by  himself,  because 
ie  saw  that  Hyrcanus  was  inactive,  and 
iot  fit  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  king- 
lom.  So  he  constituted  his  eldest  son, 
hasaelus,  governor  of  Jerusalem,  and 
)f  the  parts  about  it;  he  also  sent  his 
lext  son,  Herod,  who  was  very  young, 
vith  equal  authority  into  Galilee. 

Now  Herod  was  an  active  man,  and 
ioon  found  proper  materials  for  his  active 
spirit  to  work  upon.  As  therefore  he 
ound  that  Hezekias,  the  head  of  the  rob- 
>ers,  ran  over  the  neighbouring  parts  of 
Syria  with  a  great  band  of  men,  he  caught 
lim  and  slew  him,  and  many  more  of  the 
obbers  with  him;  which  exploit  was 
ihiefly  grateful  to  the  Syrians,  insomuch 
hat  hymns  were  sung  in  Herod's  com- 
oeridation,  both  in  the  villages  and  in  the 
ities,  as  having  procured  their  quietness, 
.nd  having  preserved  what  they  possessed 
o  them ;  on  which  occasion  he  became 
-cquaiuted  with  Sextus  Caesar,  a  kinsman 
f  the  great  Caesar,  and  president  of 
>yria.  A  just  emulation  of  his  glorious 
•ctions  excited  Phasaelus  also  to  imitate 
iim.     Accordingly,  he  procured  the  good- 


will of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  by 
his  own  management  of  the  city  affairs, 
and  did  not  abuse  his  power  in  any  disa- 
greeable manner;  whence  it  came  to  pass 
that  the  nation  paid  Antipater  the  re- 
spects that  were  due  only  to  a  king,  and 
the  honours  they  all  yielded  him  were 
equal  to  the  honours  due  to  an  absolute 
lord  ;  yet  did  he  not  abate  any  part  of 
that  good-will  or  fidelity  which  he  owed 
to  Hyrcanus. 

However,  he  found  it  impossible  to 
escape  envy  in  such  his  prosperity ;  for 
the  glory  of  these  young  men  affected 
even  Hyrcanus  himself  already  privately, 
though  he  said  nothing  of  it  to  anybody; 
but  what  he  principally  was  grieved  at 
was  the  great  actions  of  Herod,  and  that 
so  many  messengers  came  one  before 
another,  and  informed  him  of  the  great 
reputation  he  got  in  all  his  undertakings. 
There  were  also  many  people  in  the  royal 
palace  itself  who  inflamed  his  envy  at 
him ;  those,  I  mean,  who  were  obstructed 
in  their  designs  by  the  prudence  either 
of  the  young  men  or  of  Antipater.  These 
men  said,  that,  by  committing  the  public 
affairs  to  the  management  of  Antipater 
and  of  his  sons,  he  sat  down  with  nothing 
but  the  bare  name  of  a  king,  without  any 
of  its  authority ;  and  they  asked  him 
how  long  he  would  so  far  mistake  him- 
self as  to  breed  up  kings  against  his  own 
interest ;  for  that  they  did  not  now  con- 
ceal their  government  of  affairs  any 
longer,  but  were  plainly  lords  of  the  na- 
tion, and  had  thrust  him  out  of  his  autho- 
rity; that  this  was  the  case  when  Herod 
slew  so  many  men  without  his  giving  him 
any  command  to  do  it,  either  by  word  of 
mouth  or  bv  his  letter,  and  this  in  contra- 
diction  to  the  law  of  the  Jews;  who, 
therefore,  in  case  he  be  not  a  king,  but  a 
private  man,  still  ought  to  come  to  his 
trial,  and  answer  it  to  him,  and  to  the 
laws  of  his  country,  which  do  not  permit 
any  one  to  be  killed  till  he  had  been 
condemned  in  judgment. 

Now,  Hyrcanus  was  by  degrees  in- 
flamed with  these  discourses,  and  at  length 
could  bear  no  longer,  but  summoned 
Herod  to  take  his  trial.  Accordingly,  by 
his  father's  advice,  and  as  soou  as  the 
affairs  of  Galilee  would  give  him  leave, 
he  came  up  [to  Jerusalem],  when  he  had 
first  placed  garrisons  in  Galilee  ;  however, 
he  came  with  a  sufficient  body  of  soldiers, 
— so  many,  indeed,  that  he  might  not  ap 
pear  to  have,  with  him  an  army  able  to 


638 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS 


[Book  1. 


overthrow  Hyrcanus's  government,  nor 
yet  so  few  as  to  expose  him  to  the  insults 
of  th  >se  that  envied  him.  However,  Sex-( 
tus  Caesar  was  in  fear  for  the  young  man, 
lest  he  should  be  taken  by  his  enemies, 
and  brought  to  punishment ;  so  he  sent 
some  to  denounce  expressly  to  Hyrcanus, 
that  he  should  acquit  Herod  of  the  capi- 
tal charge  against  him  ;  who  acquitted  him 
accordingly,  as  being  otherwise  inclined 
also  so  to  do,  for  he  loved  Herod. 

But  Herod,  supposing  that  he  had  es- 
caped punishment  without  the  consent  of 
the  king,  retired  to  Sextus,  to  Damascus, 
and  got  every  thing  ready  in  order  not 
to  obey  him  if  he  should  summon  him 
again ;  whereupon  those  that  were  evil 
disposed  irritated  Hyrcanus,  and  told  him 
that  Herod  had  gone  away  in  anger,  and 
was  prepared  to  make  war  upon  him ; 
and  as  the  king  believed  what  they  said, 
he  knew  not  what  to  do,  since  he  saw  his 
antagonist  was  stronger  than  he  was  him- 
self; and  now,  since  Herod  was  made 
general  of  Celesyria  and  Samaria  by  Sex- 
tus Caesar,  he  was  formidable,  not  only 
from  the  good-will  which  the  nation  bore 
him,  but  by  the  power  he  himself  had  ; 
insomuch  that  Hyrcanus  fell  into  the  ut- 
most degree  of  terror,  and  expected  he 
would  presently  march  against  him  with 
his  army. 

Nor  was  he  mistaken  in  the  conjecture 
he  made ;  for  Herod  got  his  army  together, 
out  of  the  anger  he  bore  him  for  his 
threatening  him  with  the  accusation  in  a 
public  court,  and  led  it  to  Jerusalem,  in 
order  to  throw  Hyrcanus  down  from  his 
kingdom  ;  and  this  he  had  soon  done,  un- 
less his  father  and  brother  had  gone  out 
together  and  broken  the  force  of  his  fury, 
and  this  by  exhorting  him  to  carry  his  re- 
venge no  further  than  to  threatening  and 
affrighting,  but  to  spare  the  king,  under 
whow  he  had  been  advanced  to  such  a  de- 
gree of  power  ;  and  that  he  ought  not  to 
be  so  much  provoked  at  his  being  tried,  as 
to  forget  to  be  thankful  that  he  was  ac- 
quitted ;  nor  so  long  to  think  upon  what 
was  of  a  melancholy  nature,  as  to  be  un- 
grateful for  his  deliverance;  and  if  we 
ought  to  reckon  that  God  is  the  arbitra- 
tor of  success  in  war,  an  unjust  cause  is 
of  more  disadvantage  than  any  army  can 
be  of  advantage ;  and  that  therefore  he 
ought  not  to  be  entirely  confident  of  suc- 
cess in  a  case  where  he  is  to  fight  against 
his  king,  his  supporter,  and  one  that  had 
often  been  his  benefactor,  and  that  had 


never  been  severe  to  him  any  otherwise* 
than  as  he  had  hearkened  to  evil  counsel, 
lors,  and  this  no  further  than  by  bringing  a 
shadow  of  injustice  upon  him.  So  Herod 
was  prevailed  upon  by  these  arguments, 
anH  supposed  that  what  he  had  already 
done-  was  sufficient  for  his  future  hopes, 
and  that  he  had  enough  shown  his  power 
to  the  nation. 

In  the  mean  time,  there  was  a  disturb, 
ance  among  the  Romans  about  Apamia, 
and  a  civil  war  occasioned  by  the  treacher- 
ous slaughter  of  Sextus  Caesar,*  by  Ce- 
cilius  Bassus,  which  he  perpetrated  out 
of  his  good-will  to  Pompey;  he  also  took 
the  authority  over  his  forces;  but,  as  tho 
rest  of  Caesar's  commanders  attacked  Bas- 
sus with  their  whole  army,  in  order  to 
punish  him  for  the  murder  of  Caesar,  An- 
tipater  also  sent  them  assistance  by  his 
sons,  both  on  account  of  him  that  was 
murdered,  and  on  account  of  that  Caesar 
who  was  still  alive,  both  of  whom  were 
their  friends ;  and  as  this  war  grew  to  be 
of  a  considerable  length,  Marcus  came  out 
of  Italy  as  successor  to  Sextus. 


CHAPTER,  XI. 

Herod  made  procurator  of  all  Syria. 

There  was  at  this  time  a  mighty  war 
raised  among  the  Romans,  upon  the  sud- 
den and  treacherous  slaughter  of  Caesar 
by  Cassius  and  Brutus,  after  he  had  held 
the  government  for  three  years  and  seven 
months.  Upon  this  murder  there  were 
very  great  agitations,  and  the  great  men 
were  mightily  at  difference  one  with 
another,  and  every  one  betook  himself  to 
that  party  where  they  had  the  greatest 
hopes  of  advancing  themselves.  Accord- 
ingly, Cassius  came  into  Syria,  in  order 
to  receive  the  forces  that  were  at  Apamia, 
where  he  procured  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween Bassus  and  Marcus,  and  the  legions 
which  were  at  difference  with  him  :  so  he 
raised  the  siege  of  Apamia,  and  took  upon 
him  the  command  of  the  army,  and  went 
about  exacting,  tribute  of  the  cities,  and 
demanding  their  money  to  such  a  degree 
as  they  were  not  able  to  bear. 

So  he.  gave  command  that  the  Jews 
should  bring  in  700  talents :  whereupon 
Antipater,  out  of  his  dread  of  Cassius's 
threats,  parted  the  raising  of  this  sum 
among  his  sons,  and  among  others  of  his 

*  Many  writers  of  the  Roman  history  give  an 
account  of  this  murder  of  bextus  Caesar,  and  ol 
the  war  of  Apamia  upon  that  occasion. 


CHAP.  XL] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


639 


acquaintance,  and  to  be  done  immediately ; 
and  among  them  he  required  one  Mali- 
ehus,  who  was  at  enmity  with  him,  to  do 
his  part  also,  which  necessity  forced  him 
to  do.  Now  Herod,  in  the  first  place, 
mitigated  the  passion  of  Cassius,  by 
bringing  his  share  out  of  Galilee,  which 
was  100  talents,  on  which  account  he  was 
in  the  highest  favour  with  him  ;  and  when 
he  reproached  the  rest  for  being  tardy,  he 
was  angry  at  the  cities  themselves ;  so  he 
made  slaves  of  Gophna  and  Eramaus, 
and  two  others  of  less  note  :  nay,  he  pro- 
ceeded as  if  he  would  kill  Malichus,  be- 
cause he  had  not  made  greater  haste  in 
exacting  his  tribute  ;  but  Antipater  pre- 
vented the  ruin  of  this  man,  and  of  the 
other  cities,  and  got  into  Cassius's  favour 
by  bringing  in  100  talents  immediately.* 

However,  when  Cassius  was  gone,  Mali- 
chus forgot  the  kindness  that  Antipater 
had  done  him,  and  laid  frequent  plots 
against  him  that  had  saved  him,  as  mak- 
ing haste  to  get  him  out  of  the  way,  who 
was  an  obstacle  to  his  wicked  practices ; 
but  Antipater  was  so  much  afraid  of  the 
power  and  cunning  of  the  man,  that  he 
went  beyond  Jordan,  in  order  to  get  an 
army  to  guard  himself  against  his  treach- 
erous designs;  but  when  Malichus  was 
caught  in  his  plot,  he  put  upon  Antipater's 
sons  by  his  impudence,  for  he  thoroughly 
deluded  Phasaelus,  who  was  the  guardian 
of  Jerusalem,  and  Herod  who  was  in- 
trusted with  the  weapons  of  war,  and 
this  by  a  great  many  excuses  and  oaths, 
and  persuaded  them  to  procure  his  recon- 
ciliation to  his  father.  Thus  was  he  pre- 
served again  by  Antipater,  who  dissuaded 
Marcus,  the  then  president  of  Syria,  from 
his  resolution  of  killing  Malichus,  on  ac- 
count of  his  attempts  for  innovation. 

Upon  the  war  between  Cassius  and  Bru- 
tus on  one  side,  against  the  younger 
Caesar  [Augustus]  and  Antony  on  the 
other,  Cassius  and  Marcus  got  together  an 
army  out  of  Syria;  and  because  Herod 
was  likely  to  have  a  great  share  in  pro- 
viding necessaries,  they  then  made  him 
procurator  of  all   Syria,  and  gave  him  an 

*  It  appears  evidently  by  Josephus's  accounts, 
Doth  here  and  in  his  Antiquities,  (b.  xiv.  chap,  xi.,) 
that  this  Cassius,  one  of  Caesar's  murderers,  was  a 
bitter  oppressor  and  exacter  of  tribute  in  Judea. 
These  TOO  talents  amount  to  about  300,000  pounds 
sterling,  and  were  about  half  the  yearly  revenues 
of  King  Herod  afterward.  It  also  appears  that 
Galilee  *hen  paid  no  more  than  100  talents,  or  the 
seventh  part  of  the  ?um  to  be  levied  in  all  the 
country. 


army  of  foot  and  horse.  Cassius  pro- 
mised him  also,  that  after  the  war  was  over, 
he  would  make  him  kino;  of  Judea;  but 
it  so  happened,  that  the  power  and  hopes 
of  his  son  became  the  cause  of  his  per- 
dition ;  for,  as  Malichus  was  afraid  of  this, 
he  corrupted  one  of  the  king's  cup-bear- 
ers with  money,  to  give  a  poisoned  potion 
to  Antipater;  so  he  became  a  sacrifice  to 
xMalichus's  wickedness,  and  died  at  a  feast. 
He  was  a  man,  in  other  respects,  active  in 
the  management  of  affairs,  and  one  that 
recovered  the  government  to  Hyreanus, 
and  preserved  it  in  his  hands. 

However,  Malichus,  when  he  was  sus- 
pected of  poisoning  Antipater,  and  when 
the  multitude  was  angry  with  him  for  it, 
denied  it,  and  made  the  people  believe  he 
was  not  guilty.  He  also  prepared  to 
make  a  greater  figure,  and  raised  soldiers ; 
for  he  did  not  suppose  that  Herod  would 
be  quiet,  who  indeed  came  upon  him  with 
an  army  presently,  in  order  to  revenge 
his  father's  death ;  but,  upon  hearing  the 
advice  of  his  brother  Phasaelus,  not  to 
punish  him  in  an  open  manner,  lest  the 
multitude  should  fall  into  a  sedition,  he 
admitted  of  Malichus's  apology,  and  pro- 
fessed that  he  cleared  him  of  the  suspi- 
cion ;  he  also  made  a  pompous  funeral  for 
his  father. 

So  Herod  went  to  Samaria,  which  was 
then  in  a  tumult,  and  settled  the  city  in 
peace ;  after  which,  at  the  [Pentecost] 
festival,  he  returned  to  Jerusalem,  having 
his  armed  men  with  him  ;  hereupon  Hyr- 
canus,  at  the  request  of  Malichus,  who 
feared  his  approach,  forbade  them  to  in- 
troduce foreigners  to  mix  themselves  with 
the  people  of  the  country,  while  they 
were  purifying  themselves ;  but  Herod 
despised  the  pretence,  and  him  that  gave 
that  command,  and  came  in  by  night. 
Upon  which  Malichus  came  to  him,  and 
bewailed  Antipater;  Herod  also  made 
him  believe  [he  admitted  his  lamentation 
as  real],  although  he  had  much  ado  to 
restrain  his  passion  at  him  ;  however,  ho 
did  himself  bewail  the  murder  of  his 
father  in  his  letters  to  Cassius,  who,  on 
other  accounts,  also  hated  Malichus.  Cas- 
sius sent  him  word  back  that  he  should 
avenge  his  father's  death  upon  him,  and 
privately  gave  order  to  the  tribunes  that 
were  under  him,  that  they  should  assist 
Herod  in  a  righteous  action  he  was  about 

And  because,  upon  the  taking  of  Lao- 
dicea  by  Cassius,  the  men  of  power  were 
gotten    together    from    all  quarters    with 


640 


WARS    0*F   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I 


presents  and  crowns  in  their  hands,  Herod 
allotted  this  time  for  the  punishment  of 
Malichus.  When  Malichus  suspected  that, 
and  was  at  Tyre,  he  resolved  to  withdraw 
his  son  privately  from  among  the  Tyrians, 
who  was  an  hostage  there,  while  he  got 
ready  to  fly  away  into  Judea ;  the  despair 
he  was  in  of  escaping,  excited  him  to 
think  of  greater  things;  for  he  hoped 
that  he  should  raise  the  nation  to  a  revolt 
from  the  Romans,  while  Cassius  was 
busy  about  the  war  against  Antony,  and 
that  he  should  easily  depose  Hyrcanus, 
and  get  the  crown  for  himself. 

But  fate  laughed  at  the  hopes  he  had, 
for  Herod  foresaw  what  he  was  so  zealous 
about,  and  invited  both  Hyrcanus  and 
him  to  supper;  but  calling  one  of  the 
principal  servants  that  stood  by  him  to 
him,  he  sent  him  out,  as  though  it  were 
to  get  things  ready  for  supper,  but  in 
reality  to  give  notice  beforehand  about  the 
plot  that  was  laid  against  him  ;  according- 
ly, they  called  to  mind  what  orders  Cas- 
sius had  given  them,  and  went  out  of  the 
city  with  their  swords  in  their  hands  upon 
the  seashore,  where  they  encompassed 
Malichus  round  about,  and  killed  him 
with  many  wounds.  Upon  which  Hyr- 
canus was  immediately  affrighted,  till  he 
swooned  away,  and  fell  down  at  the  sur- 
prise he  was  in ;  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  he  was  recovered,  when  he  asked 
who  it  was  that  had  killed  Malichu's.  And 
when  one  of  the  tribunes  replied  that  it 
was  done  by  the  command  of  Cassius, 
"Then,"  said  he,  " Cassius  hath  saved 
both  me  and  my  country,  by  cutting  off 
one  that  was  laying  plots  against  them 
both."  Whether  he  spake  according  to 
his  own  sentiments,  or  whether  his  fear 
was  such,  that  he  was  obliged  to  com- 
mend the  action  by  saying  so,  is  uncer- 
tain ;  however,  by  this  method  Herod 
inflicted  punishment  upon  Malichus. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Phasaelus  too  hard  for  Felix — Herod  overcomes 
Antigonus — the  Jews  accuse  Herod  and  Phasae- 
lus— Antonius  acquits  them,  and  makes  them 
tetrarchs. 

When  Cassius  had  gone  out  of  Syria, 
another  sedition  arose  at  Jerusalem, 
wherein  Felix  assaulted  Phasaelus  with  an 
army,  that  he  might  revenge  the  death 
of  Malichus  upon  Herod,  by  falling  upon 
his  brother.  Now  Herod  happened  then 
to  be  with  Fabius,  the  governor  of  Da- 
mascus, and  as  he  was  going  to  his  bro- 


ther's assistance,  he  was  detained  by  sick- 
ness ;  in  the  mean  time,  Phasaelus  was  by 
himself  too  hard  for  Felix,  and  reproached 
Hyrcanus  on  account  of  his  ingratitude, 
both  for  what  assistance  he  had  afforded 
Malichus,  and  for  overlooking  Malichus's 
brother,  when  he  possessed  himself  of 
the  fortresses ;  for  he  had  gotten  a  great 
many  of  them  already,  and  among  them 
the  strongest  of  them  all,  Masada. 

However,  nothing  could  be  sufficient 
for  him  against  the  force  of  Herod,  who, 
as  soon  as  he  had  recovered,  took  the 
other  fortresses  again,  and  drove  him  out 
of  Masada  in  the  posture  of  a  supplicant ; 
he  also  drove  away  Marion,  the  tyrant  of 
the  Tyrians,  out  of  Galilee,  when  he  had 
already  possessed  himself  of  three  forti- 
fied places;  but  as  to  those  Tyrians  whom 
he  had  caught,  he  preserved  them  all 
alive ;  nay,  some  of  them  he  gave  presents 
to,  and  so  sent  them  away,  and  thereby 
procured  good-will  to  himself  from  the 
city,  and  hatred  to  the  tyrant.  Marion 
had  indeed  obtained  that  tyrannical  power 
of  Cassius,  who  set  tyrants  over  all 
Syria;*  and  out  of  hatred  to  Herod  it 
was  that  he  assisted  Antigonus,  the  son  of 
Aristobulus,  and  principally  on  Fabius'a 
account,  whom  Antigonus  had  made  his 
assistant  by  money,  and  had  him  accord- 
ingly on  his  side  when  he  made  his  de« 
scent ;  but  it  was  Ptolemy,  the  kinsman 
of  Antigonus,  that  supplied  all  that  he 
wanted. 

When  Herod  had  fought  against  these 
in  the  avenues  of  Judea,  he  was  conqueror 
in  the  battle,  and  drove  away  Antigonus, 
and  returned  to  Jerusalem,  beloved  by 
everybody  for  the  glorious  action  he  had 
done ;  for  those  who  did  not  before  favour 
him,  did  join  themselves  to  him  now,  be- 
cause of  his  marriage  into  the  family  of 
Hyrcanus ;  for  as  he  had  formerly  mar- 
ried a  wife  out  of  his  own  country  of  no 
ignoble  blood,  who  was  called  Doris,  of 
whom  he  begat  Antipater,  so  did  he  now 
marry  Mariamne,  the  daughter  of  Alex- 
ander, the  son  of  Aristobulus,  and  the 
grand-daughter  of  Hyrcanus,  and  was 
become  thereby  a  relation  of  the  king. 

But  when  Cassar  and  Antony  had  slain 
Cassius  near  Philippi,  and  Caesar  was 
gone    to    Italy,   and    Antony    to    Asia, 

*  Here  we  see  that  Cassius  set  tyrants  over  aL 
Syria ;  so  that  his  assisting  to  destroy  Caesar  does 
not  seem  to  have  proceeded  from  his  true  zoal  for 
public  liberty,  but  from  a  desire  to  bo  a  tyrant 
himself. 


OlIAP.    VIII. j 


WARS   OF   THF    JEWS. 


641 


among  the  rest  of  the  cities  which  sent 
ambassadors  to  Antony  unto  Bithynia, 
the  great  men  of  the  Jews  came  also,  and 
accused  Phasaelus  and  Herod,  that  they 
kept  the  government  by  force,  and  that 
Hyrcanus  had  no  more  than  an  honourable 
name.  Herod  appeared  ready  to  answer 
this  accusation  ;  and,  having  made  Anto- 
ny his  friend  by  the  large  sums  of  mo- 
ney he  gave  him,  he  brought  him  to  such 
a  temper  as  not  to  hear  the  others  speak 
against  him  ;  and  thus  did  they  part  at 
thi^  time.  However,  after  this  there  came 
100  of  the  principal  men  among  the 
Jews  to  Daphne  by  Antioch,  to  Antony, 
who  was  already  in  love  with  Cleopatra  to 
the  degree  of  slavery  ;  these  Jews  put 
those  men  that  were  the  most  potent, 
both  in  dignity  aud  eloquence,  foremost, 
and  accused  the  brethren.*  But  Mes- 
sala  opposed  them,  and  defended  the  bre- 
thren, and  that  while  Hyrcanus  stood  by 
him,  on  account  of  his  relation  to  them. 
When  Antony  had  heard  both  sides,  he 
asked  Hyrcanus  which  party  was  the  fit- 
test to  govern;  he  replied  that  Herod  and 
his  party  were  the  fittest.  Antony  was 
glad  of  that  answer,  for  he  had  been  for- 
merly treated  in  a  hospitable  and  obliging 
mauner  by  his  father  Antipater,  when  he 
marched  into  Judea  with  Gabinius;  so  he 
constituted  the  brethren  tetrarchs,  and  com- 
mitted to  them  the  government  of  Judea. 
But  when  the  ambassadors  had  indigna- 
tion at  this  procedure,  Antony  took  fifteen 
of  them  and  put  them  into  custody,  whom 
he  was  also  going  to  kill  presently,  and 
the  rest  he  drove  away  with  disgrace;  on 
which  occasion  a  still  greater  tumult  arose 
at  Jerusalem  ;    so  they  sent  again    1U0U 

issadors  to  Tyre,  where  Antony  now 

le,  as  he  was  marching  to  Jerusalem  : 
upou  these  men  who  made  a  clamour,  he 

out  the  governor  of  Tyre,  and  ordered 
him  to  punish  all  that  he  could  catch  of 
them,  and  to  settle  those  in  the  adminis- 
tration whom  he  had  made  tetrarchs. 

But  before  this,  Herod  aud  Hyrcanus 
went  out  upon  the  seashore,  and  earnestly 
1' sired  of  these  ambassadors  that  they 
w  mid  neither  bring  nuin  upon  themselves, 

war  upon  their  native  country,  by 
their  rash  contentions;  and  when  they 
grew  still  more  outrageous,  Antony  sent 
out  armed  men,  and  slew  a  great  many, 
and  wounded  more  of  them:  of  whom 
those    that    were    slain    were    buried    bv 


*  Phasaelus  and  II erod 

41 


Hyrcanus,  as  were  the  wounded  put  under 
the  care  of  physicians  by  him;  yet  would 
not  those  that  had  escaped  be  quiet  still, 
but  put  the  aifairs  of  the  city  into  such 
disorder,  and  so  provoked  Antony,  that 
he  slew  those  whom  he  had  put  in  bonds 
also. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Parthians  bring  Antigonus  back — Hyrcanus 
and  Phasaelus  imprisoned — flight  of  Herod- — 
the  Parthians  obtain  possession  of  Jerusalem — 
Death  of  Phasaelus. 

Now  two  years  afterward,  when  Bar- 
zapharnes,  a  governor  among  the  Par- 
thians, and  Pacorus,  the  king's  son,  had 
possessed  themselves  of  Syria,  and  when 
Lysanias  had  already  succeeded,  upon  the 
death  of  his  father  Ptolemy,  the  son  of 
Menneus,  in  the  government  [of  Chalcis], 
he  prevailed  with  the  governor,  by  a  pro- 
mise of  1000  talents  and  500  women,  to 
bring  back  Antigonus  to  his  kingdom, 
and  to  turn  Hyrcanus  out  of  it.  Paco- 
rus was  by  these  means  induced  so  to  do, 
and  marched  along  the  seacoast,  while 
he  ordered  Barzapharnes  to  fall  upon  the 
Jews  as  he  went  along  the  Mediterranean 
part  of  the  country  ;  but  of  the  maritime 
people,  the  Tyrians  would  not  receive 
Pacorus,  although  those  of  Ptolemais  and 
Sidon  had  received  him  ;  so  he  committed 
a  troop  of  his  horse  to  a  certain  cup- 
bearer belonging  to  the  royal  family,  of 
his  own  name  [Pacorus],  and  gave  him 
orders  to  march  into  Judea,  in  order  to 
learn  the  state  of  affairs  among  their 
enemies,  and  to  help  Antigonus  when  he 
should  want  his  assistance. 

Now,  as  these  men  were  ravaging  Car- 
mel,  many  of  the  Jews  ran  together  to 
Antigonus,  and  showed  themselves  ready 
to  make  an  incursion  into  the  country;  sc 
he  sent  them  before  into  that  place  called 
Drymus  [the  woodland],*  to  seize  upon 
the  place;  whereupon  a  battle  was  fought 
between  them ;  and  they  drove  the  enemy 
away,  and  pursued  them,  and  ran  after 
them  as  far  as  Jerusalem,  and  as  their 
numbers  increased,  they  proceeded  as  far 
as  the  king's  palace;  but  as  Hyrcanus 
and  Phasaelus  received  them  with  a  strong 
body  of  men,  there  happened  a  battle  in 
the  market-place,  in  which  Herod's  party 
beat  the  enemy,  and  shut  them  up  in  the 

*  This  large  and  noted  wood,  or  woodland,  be- 
longing to  Carmel,  called  Drumoe  by  the  Septu- 
agint,  is  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  2  Kinge 
six.  23.  and  [aa.  xxxvii.  2-L. 


WARS  OF  THE  JEWS. 


mm  of  concoro,  and  said  one  to  another,  "What 
do  we  here,  and  what  do  we  mean,  when  we 
suffer  three  fortified  walls  to  be  built,  to  coop 
as  in,  that  we  ehall  not  he  able  to  breathe  free- 
f:  while  the  enemy  is  securely  building  a  kind 
•f  city  in  opposition  to  us,  and  while  we  sit 
Rill  within  our  own  walls,  and  become  specta- 
tors only  of  what  thoy  are  doing,  with  our 
hands  idle,  and  our  armor  laid  by,  as  if  they 
were  about  somewhat  that  was  for  our  good 
and  advantage.  We  are,  it  seems,  (so  did  they 
erv  out,)  only  courageous  against  ourselves, 
wfiiJe  the  Romans  are  likely  to  gain  the  city 
without  bloodshci  by  our  sedition.  Thus  did 
they  encourage  one  another  when  they  were 
rotten  together,  and  took  their  armor  imme- 
aiat^ly,  and  ran  out  upon  the  tenth  legion,  and 
fell  upon  the  Romans  with  great  eagerness, 
and  with  a  prodigious  shout,  as  they  were  for- 
tifying their  camp.  These  Romans  were 
caught  in  different  parties,  and  this,  in  order  to 
perform  their  several  works,  and  on  that  ae- 
eount  had  in  a  gr^at  measure  laid  aside  their 
arms;  for  they  thought  the  Jews  would  not 
have  ventured  to  make  a  sally  upon  them,  end, 
had  they  been  disposed  so  to  do,  they  supposed 
their  sedition  would  have  distracted  them.  So 
they  were  put  into  disorder  unexpectedly; 
when  some  of  them  left  their  works  they  were 
about,  and  immediately  marched  ofT,  while 
many  ran  to  their  arms,  but  wero  smitten  and 
slain  before  they  could  turn  back  upon  the 
tnerny.  The  Jews  became  still  more  and 
more  in  number,  as  encouraged  by  the  good 
success  of  those  that  first  made  the  attack;  and 
while  they  had  such  good  fortune,  they  seemed, 
both  to  themselves  and  to  the  enemy,  to  be 
many  more  than  they  really  were.  The  dis- 
orderly way  of  their  righting  at  first  put  the 
Romans  also  to  a  stand,  who  had  been  con- 
stantly used  to  fight  skilfully  in  good  order, 
and  with  keeping  their  ranks,  and  ol>eying  the 
orders  that  were  given  them;  for  which  reason 
the  Romans  were  caught  unexpectedly,  and 
were  obliged  to  give  way  to  the  assaults  that 
were  made  upon  them.  Now  when  the  Ro- 
mans were  overtaken,  and  turned  back  upon 
the  Jews,  thry  put  a  stop  to  their  career,  yet, 
when  they  did  not  take  care  enough  of  them- 
selves through  the  vehemency  of  their  pursuit, 
they  were  wounded  by  them;  but,  as  still  more 
and  more  Jews  sallied  out  of  the  city,  the  Ro- 
mans wero  at  length  brought  into  confusion, 
and  put  to  flight,  and  ran  away  from  their 
camp.  Nay,  tilings  looked  as  though  the  en- 
tire legion  would  have  been  in  danger,  unless 
Titus  had  been  informed  of  the  case  they  were 
m,  and  had  pent  them  succors  immediately. 
Bo  he  reproached  them  far  their  cowardice, 
and  brought  those  bark  thai  were  running  away 
and  fell  himself  upon  the  Jews  on  their  flank, 
with  those  select  troojra  that  \ver«  *vith  him. 
uid  slew  a  considerable  number,  and  wounded 
mure  of  them,  and  put  Iheni  all  to  flight,  ami 
made  them  run  away  hastily  down  the  valley. 
Now,  as  these  Jews  suffered  greatly  in  the  de- 
elm  ty  of  die  valley,  so,  when  they  were  got- 
ftao  over  it,  they  turned  about,  and  stood  over 


against  the  Romans,  having  the  valley  between 
them,  and  there  fought  with  them.  Thus  cud 
they  continue  the  fight  till  noon;  but,  when  h 
was  already  a  little  after  noon,  Titus  set  those 
that  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  Romans  with 
him,  and  those  that  belonged  to  the  cohorts,  to 
prevent  the  Jews  from  making  any  more  sallies. 
and  then  sent  the  rest  of  the  legion  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  mountain  to  fortify  their 
camp. 

5.  This  march  of  the  Romans  seemed  to  tht 
Jews  to  be  a  flight;  and  as  the  watchman  whe 
was  placed  upon  the  wall,  gave  a  signal  by 
shaking  his  garment,  there  came  out  a  fresh 
mukitu  le  of  Jews,  and  that  with  such  mighty 
viole  ee,  that  one  might  compare  it  to  the  run- 
ning of  the  most  terrible  wild  beasts.  To  say 
the  truth,  i  one  of  those  that  opposed  them 
could  sustain  the  fury  with  which  they  made 
their  attacks;  but,  as  if  they  had  been  cast  out 
of  an  engine,  they  broke  the  enemies'  ranks  to 
pieces,  who  were  put  to  flight  and  ran  away  to 
the  mountain;  none  but  Titus  himself,  and  a 
few  others  with  him,  being  left  in  the  midst  of 
the  acclivity.  Now  these  others  who  were  his 
friends,  despised  the  danger  they  were  in,  and 
were  ashamed  to  leave  their  general,  earnestly 
exhorting  him  "to  give  way  to  these  Jews  that 
are  fond  of  dying,  and  not  run  into  such  dan- 
gers before  those  that  ought  to  stay  before  him; 
to  consider  what  his  fortune  was,  and  not,  by 
supplying  the  place  of  a  common  soldier,  to 
venture  to  turn  back  upon  the  enemy  so  sud- 
denly, and  this  because  he  was  general  in  the 
war,  and  lord  of  the  habitable  earth,  on  whose 
preservation  tho  public  affairs  do  all  depend." 
These  persuasions  Titus  seemed  not  so  much  as 
to  hear,  but  opposed  those  that  ran  upon  him. 
and  smote  them  on  the  face;  and,  when  he  had 
forced  them  to  go  back,  he  slew  them;  he  also 
fell  upon  great  numbers  as  they  marched  down 
the  hill,  and  thrust  them  forward,  while  those 
men  were  so  amazed  at  his  courage  and  hit 
strength,  that  they  could  not  fly  direct  to  the 
city,  but  declined  from  him  on  both  sides,  and 
pressed  after  those  that  fled  up  the  hill;  yet  did 
he  stiil  fall  upon  their  flank,  and  put  a  slop  to 
their  fury,  in  the  mean  time,  a  disorder  and 
a  terror  fell  again  upon  those  that  were  fortify- 
ing their  camp  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  upon  theii 
seeing  those  beneath  them  running  away;  in- 
somuch that  the  whole  legion  was  disjwrsed, 
while  they  thought  that  the  sallies  of  the  Jewi 
upon  them  were  rlainly  insupportable, and  thai 
Titus  was  himself  put  to  flight;  because  they 
took  it  for  granted,  that,  if  he  had  staid,  the 
rest  WO!tld  never  have  fled  for  it  Thus  were 
they  encompassed  on  every  side  by  r  kind  of 
panic  fear,  and  some  dispersed  themselves  one 
way,  and  some  another,  till '  ertain  of  them  saw 
their  general  in  the  very  midst  of  an  action, 
and,  being  under  great  concern  for  him,  the} 
loudly  proclaimed  the  danger  he  was  in  to  the 
entire  legion,  and  now  shame  made  them  tun 
back,  and  they  rcriroached  one  another  thai 
they  did  worse  than  run  away,  by  deserting 
Crcsar.  So  they  used  their  utmost  force  again* 
tin?  Jews*  and  declining  from  the  strait  declivi- 


BOOK  V— CHAK1ER  HI. 


648 


*y.  tney  drove  them  on  heaps  into  the  bottom 
■»f  the  valley.  Then  did  the  Jews  turn  about 
tnd  fig?  t  them:  *  ut  as  they  were  themselves 
retiring,  a. id  now  l>ecause  the  Romans  had  the 
advantage  of  the  i  *ound,  and  were  above  the 
Jews,  they  drove  them  all  into  the  valley.  Ti- 
tus also  pressed  ;  .pc  those  that  were  near  him, 
and  sent  the  N-  ion  again  to  fortify  their  camp; 
while  he,  and  those  that  were  with  him  before, 
opposed  the  ene  *%  and  kept  them  from  doing 
fijrther  mischi  f;  insomurii,  that  if  I  may  be 
allowed  neither  to  add  any  t'diig  out  of  flatte- 
ry, nor  to  diminish  any  thi  g  out  of  envy,  but 
13  speak  the  plain  truth,  C,  ssr  did  twice  de- 
'iver  that  entire  legion  whe  it  was  in  jeopar- 
ly,  and  gave  them  a  quiet  opportunity  of  forti- 
fying their  camp. 

CHAPTi:R  IP. 

How  the  sedition  was  again  reeved  withtn  Jeru- 
salem, and  yet  the  Jews  contrived  snares  for  the 
Romans.  How  Titus  ho  threatened  his  sol- 
diers for  their  ungyjernable  rashness. 

§  1.  As  now  the  war  abroad  ceased  for  a 
while,  the  sedition  within  was  revived;  and  on 
the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  which  was  now 
come,  it  being  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month 
Xanthicus  [Nisan,]  when  it  is  believed  the  Jews 
were  first  freed  from  the  Egyptians,  Eleazar 
tnd  his  party  opened  the  gates  of  this  [inmost 
court  of  the]  temple,  and  admitted  such  of  the 
people  as  were  desirous  to  worship  God  into 
it*  But  John  made  use  of  this  festival  as  a 
cloak  for  his  treacherous  designs,  and  armed 
the  most  inconsiderable  of  his  own  party,  the 
greater  part  of  whom  were  not  purified,  with 
weapons  concealed  under  their  garments,  and 
■ent  them  with  great  zeal  into  the  temple,  in 
order  to  s*iize  upon  it;  which  armed  men, 
when  they  were  gotten  in,  threw  their  gar- 
ments away,  and  presently  appeared  in  their 
armor.  Upon  which  there  was  a  very  great 
disorder  and  disturbance  about  the  holy  house; 
while  the  people,  who  had  no  concern  in  the 
sedition,  supposed  that  this  assault  was  made 
against  all  without  distinction;  as  the  Zealots 
thought  it  was  made  against  themselves  only. 
So  these  left  off  guarding  the  gates  any  longer, 
and  leaped  down  from  their  battlements  before 
they  came  to  an  engagement,  and  fled  away  into 
the  subterranean  caverns  of  the  temple;  while 
the  people  that  stood  trembling  at  the  altar,  and 
about  the  holy  house,  were  rolled  on  heaps  to- 
£u*hcr,  and  trampled  upon,  and  were  beaten 
both  with  wooden  and  with  iron  weapons  with- 
out mercy.  Such  also,  as  had  differences  with 
sthcrc,  slew  many  persons  that  were  quiet,  out 
of  the >  own  private  enmity  and  hatred,  as  if 
tlicy  were  opposite  to  the  seditious;  and  all 

*  Here  we  see  the  true  occasion  of  thove  vast  cumber*  of 
Jfws  that  were  in  Jerusalem  during  this  siege  b-  Tims,  and 
ttrished  thereu  ;  that  the  sieg  e  began  at  the  feast  f ihe  Pass- 
aver,  when  each  prodigious  multitudes  of  Jews  and  /rose- 
hrtes  of  the  gate  were  come  from  all  parts  of  Judea,  am? 
from  other  countries,  in  order  to  celebrate  that  great  fesuva!; 
see  the  note,  b.  vi.  chap.  ix.  sect.  3.  Tacitus  himself  Informs 
as,  that  the  number  of  men,  women,  and  children,  in  Jerusa- 
lem, when  it  was  besieged  by  the  Romans,  a.-*  he  had  been  in- 
formed, was  600,000.  This  information  must  have  been  taken 
frasa  lb*  Romans;  for  Joseph  us  never  mentions  the  number 
af  feaaa  that  «sn  bsAecesl.  oaJjr  kfl  U*s  as  kjoowoluu  of  ta* 


those  that  had  formerly  oflendsd  any  of  thew 
plotters,  were  now  known,  and  were  led  away 
to  the  slaughter:  and  when  they  had  done 
abundance  of  horrid  mischief  to  the  guiltless, 
they  granted  a  truce  to  the  guilty,  and  let  those 
go  off  that  came  out  of  the  caverns.  These 
followers  of  John  also  did  now  seize  upon  this 
inner  temple,  and  upon  all  the  warlike  engines 
therein,  and  then  ventured  to  oppose  Simon, 
And  thus  that  sedition,  which  had  been  divid- 
ed into  three  factions,  was  now  reduced  to  two. 

2.  But  Titus  intending  to  pitch  his  camp 
nearer  to  the  city  than  Scopus,  planed  us  many 
of  his  choice  horsemen  and  footmen  as  he 
thought  sufficient,  opposite  to  the  J<,*vs  to  pre- 
vent their  sallying  out  upon  them,  while  he 
gave  orders  for  the  whole  army  to  bvtl  the 
distance,  as  far  as  the  wall  of  the  city.  So 
they  threw  down  all  the  hedges  and  walla  which 
the  inhabitants  had  made  about  their  gardens 
and  groves  of  trees,  and  cut  down  all  tiie  fruit 
trees  that  lay  between  them  and  the  wall  of 
the  city,  and  filled  up  all  the  hollow  places  and 
the  chasms,  and  demolished  the  rocky  preci- 
pices with  iron  instruments,  and  thereby  made 
all  the  place  level  from  Scopus  to  Herod's 
monuments,  which  adjoined  to  the  pool  called 
the  Serpent's  Tool. 

3.  Now  at  this  very  time,  the  Jews  contrived 
the  following  stratagems  against  the  Romans. 
The  bolder  sort  of  the  seditious  went  out  at  the 
towers,  called  the  Women's  Towers,  as  if  they 
had  been  ejected  out  of  the  city  by  those  who 
were  for  peace,  and  rambled  about  as  if  they 
were  afraid  of  being  assaulted  by  the  Romans, 
and  were  in  fear  of  one  another;  while  those 
that  stood  upon  the  wall,  and  seemed  to  be  of 
the  people's  side,  cried  out  aloud  for  peace,  and 
entreated  they  might  have  security  for  their 
lives  given  them,  and  called  for  the  Romans, 
promising  to  open  the  gates  to  them;  and  as 
they  cried  out  after  that  manner,  they  threw 
stones  at  their  own  people,  as  though  they 
would  drive  them  away  from  the  gates.  These 
also  pretended  that  they  were  excluded  by  force, 
and  that  they  petitioned  those  that  were  within 
to  let  them  in;  and  rushing  upon  the  Romans 
perpetually,  with  violence,  they  then  came  back, 
and  seemed  to  be  in  great  disorder.  Now  the 
Roman  soldiers  thought  this  cur  ninp  stratagem 
of  theirs  was  to  be  believed  real,  and  thinking 
they  had  the  one  party  under  their  power,  and 
could  punish  them  as  they  pleased,  and  hoping 
that  the  other  party  would  open  their  gates  U> 
them,  set  to  the  execution  of  their  designs  ac- 
cordingly. Rut  for  Titus  himself,  he  had  thi* 
surprising  conduct  of  the  Jews  in  suspicion 
for  whereas  he  had  invited  them  to  come  to 
terms  of  accommodation,  by  Josephus,  but  one 

vulgar,  carried  dead  out  of  the  gater  and  buried  at  tbe  public 
charges,  was  the  like  number  of  600,000,  chap.  xiis.  sect.  7. 
However,  when  Oeotius  Callus  came  first  to  the  siege,  that 
sum  in  Tacitus  is  noway  disagreeable  to  Jntephus's  history, 
though  they  were  become  much  more  numerous  when  Titus 
encompassed  the  city  at  the  Passover.  As  to  the  number 
that  pcrudicd  during  the  siege,  J  owe  ph  us  assures  us,  as  wt 
shall  see  hereafter,  they  were  1,100,000,  besides  07,000  cap 
lives;  but  Tacitus'*  I:  nory  of  the  last  part  of  this  a*<fe  is 
not  now  extant,  »  we  cannot  compare  bis  parauV  vr 
bars  witb  Ukotr  U  Josepaas. 


1544 


WARS    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  1, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


flerod  rejected  in  Arabia — makes  haste  to  Rome — 
Antony  and  Caesar  unite  their  interest  to  make 
him  king  of  the  Jews. 

Now  Herod  did  the  more  zealously 
pursue  his  journey  into  Arabia,  as  making 
haste  to  get  money  of  the  king,  while 
his  brother  was  yet  alive;  by  which 
money  alone  it  was  that  he  hoped  to  pre- 
vail upon  the  covetous  temper  of  the 
barbarians  to  spare  Phasaelus ;  for  he 
reasoned  thus  with  himself:  that  if  the 
Arabian  king  was  too  forgetful  of  his 
father's  friendship  with  him,  and  was  too 
covetous  to  make  him  a  free  gift,  he 
would  however  borrow  of  him  as  much 
as  might  redeem  his  brother,  and  put 
into  his  hands,  as  a  pledge,  the  son  of 
him  that  was  to  be  redeemed.  Accord- 
ingly, he  led  his  brother's  son  along  with 
him,  who  was  of  the  age  of  seven  years. 
Now  he  was  ready  to  give  300  talents 
for  his  brother,  and  intended  to  desire 
the  intercession  of  the  Tyrians,  to  get 
them  accepted;  however,  fate  had  been 
too  quick  for  his  diligence;  and  siuce 
Phasaelus  was  dead,  Herod's  brotherly 
love  was  now  in  vain.  Moreover,  he  was 
not  able  to  find  any  lasting  friendship 
among  the  Arabians;  for  their  king, 
Malichus,  sent  to  him  immediately  and 
commanded  him  to  return  back  out  of  his 
country,  and  used  the  name  of  the  Par- 
tisans as  a  pretence  for  so  doing,  as  though 
these  had  denounced  to  him  by  their  am- 
bassadors to  cast  Herod  out  of  Arabia; 
while  in  reality  they  had  a  mind  to  keep 
back  what  they  owed  to  Antipater,  and 
not  be  obliged  to  make  requital  to  his 
sons  for  the  free  gifts  the  father  had  made 
them.  He  also  took  the  imprudent  ad- 
vice of  those  who,  equally  with  himself, 
were  willing  to  deprive  Herod  of  what 
Antipater  had  deposited  among  them ; 
and  these  men*  were  the  most  potent  of 
all  whom  he  had  in  his  kingdom. 

So  when  Herod  had  found  that  the 
Arabians  were  his  enemies,  and  this  for 
those  very  reasons  whence  he  hoped  they 
would  have  been  the  most  friendly,  and 
had  given  them  such  an  answer  as  his 
passion  suggested,  he  returned  back  and 
went  for  Egypt.  Now  he  lodged  the  first 
evening  at  one  of  the  temples  of  that 
country,  in  order  to  meat  with  those 
whom  he  left  behind;  but  on  the  next 
day  word  was  brought  him,  as  he  was 
going  to  Bhinocurura,  that  his  brother 
was  dead,  and  how  he  came  by  his  death; 


and  when  he  had  lamented  him  as  much 
as  his  present  circumstances  could  bear, 
he  soon  laid  aside  such  cares,  and  pro 
ceeded  on  his  journey.  But  now,  aftei 
some  time,  the  king  of  Arabia  repented 
of  what  he  had  done,  and  sent  presently 
away  messengers  to  call  him  back.  Herod 
had  prevented  them,  and  had  come  to 
Pelusium,  where  he  could  not  obtain  a 
passage  from  those  that  lay  with  the  fleet, 
so  he  besought  their  captains  to  iet  him 
go  by  them;  accordingly,  out  of  the 
reverence  they  bore  to  the  fame  and 
dignity  of  the  man,  they  conducted  him 
to  Alexandria;  and  when  he  came  into 
the  city,  he  was  received  by  Cleopatra 
with  great  splendour,  who  hoped  he  might 
be  persuaded  to  be  commander  of  her 
forces  in  the  expedition  she  was  now 
about.  But  he  rejected  the  queen's  soli- 
citations, and  being  neither  affrighted  at 
the  height  of  that  storm  which  then  hap- 
pened, nor  at  the  tumults  that  were  now 
in  Italy,  he  sailed  for  Bome. 

But  as  he  was  in  peril  about  Pamphy- 
lia,  and  obliged  to  cast  out  the  greatest 
part  of  the  ship's  lading,  he,  with  diffi- 
culty, got  safe  to  Bhodes,  a  place  which 
had  been  grievously  harassed  in  the  war 
with  Cassius.  He  was  there  received  by 
his  friends,  Ptolemy  and  Sappinius;  and, 
although  he  was  then  in  want  of  money, 
he  fitted  up  a  three-decked  ship  of  very 
great  magnitude,  wherein  he  and  his 
friends  sailed  to  Brundusium,*  and  went 
to  Borne  with  all  speed;  where  he  first 
of  all  went  to  Antony,  on  account  of  the 
friendship  his  father  had  with  him,  and 
laid  before  him  the  calamities  of  himself 
and  his  family ;  and  that  he  had  left  his 
nearest  relations  besieged  in  a  fortress, 
and  had  sailed  to  him  through  a  storm, 
to  make  supplication  to  him  for  assistance. 

Hereupon  Antony  was  moved  to  com- 
passion at  the  change  that  had  been 
made  in  Herod's  affairs,  and  this  both 
upon  his  calling  to  mind  how  hospitably 
he  had  been  treated  by  Antipater,  but 
more  especially  on  account  of  Herod's 
own  virtue;  so  he  then  resolved  to  get 
him  made  king  of  the  Jews,  whom  he 
had  formerly  made  tetrarch.  The-  com 
test  also  .that  he  had  with  Antigonus  was 
another  inducement,  and  that  of  no  less 
weight  than  the  great  regard  he  had  for 
Herod;    for  he   looked   upon   Antigonus 

*    Brentesiuin   or    Brundusiaui    has   coins    still 
preserved. 


Ouap.  XV.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS 


645 


as  a  seditious  person,  and  an  enemy  of 
the  Romans;  and  as  for  Caesar,  Herod 
found  him  better  prepared  than  Antony, 
as  remembering  very  fresh  the  wars  he 
had  gone  through  together  with  his 
father,  the  hospitable  treatment  he  had 
met  with  from  him,  and  the  entire  good- 
will he  had  shown  to  him;  besides  the 
activity  which  he  saw  in  Herod  himself. 
So  he  called  the  senate  together,  wherein 
Messalas,  and  after  him  Atratinus,  pro- 
duced Herod  before  them,  and  gave  a  full 
account  of  the  merits  of  his  father,  and 
his  own  good-will  to  the  Romans.  At 
the  same  time  they  demonstrated  that 
Antigorius  was  their  enemy,  not  only  be- 
cause he  soon  quarrelled  with  them,  but 
because  he  now  overlooked  the  Romans, 
and  took  the  government  by  the  means 
of  the  Parthians.  These  reasons  greatly 
moved  the  senate;  at  which  juncture 
Antony  came  in,  and  told  them  that  it 
was  for  their  advantage  in  the  Parthian 
war  that  Herod  should  be  king;  so  they 
all  gave  their  votes  for  it.  And  when 
the  senate  was  separated,  Antony  and  Cae- 
sar went  out,  with  Herod  between  them; 
while  the  consul  and  the  rest  of  the  ma- 
gistrates went  before  them,  in  order  to 
offer  sacrifices,  and  to  lay  the  decree  in  the 
eapitol.  Antony  also  made  a  feast  for 
Herod  on  the  first  day  of  his  reign. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Antigonus  besieges  Masada — Herod  compels  hirn 
to  raise  the  siege,  and  then  marches  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

Now  during  this  time,  Antigonus  be- 
sieged those  that  were  in  Masada,  who 
had  all  other  necessaries  in  sufficient 
quantity,  but  were  in  want  of  water;  on 
which  account  Joseph,  Herod's  brother, 
was  disposed  to  run  away  to  the  Arabians, 
with  200  of  his  own  friends,  because  he 
had  heard  that  Malichus  repented  of  his 
offences  with  regard  to  Herod;  and  he 
had  been  so  quick  as  to  have  been  gone 
out  of  the  fortress  already,  unless,  on 
that  very  night  when  he  was  going  away, 
there  had  fallen  a  great  deal  of  rain,  inso- 
much that  his  reservoirs  were  full  of 
water,  and  so  he  was  under  no  necessity 
of  running  away.  After  which,  there- 
fore, they  made  an  irruption  upon  Antigo- 
nus's  party,  and  slew  a  great  many  of 
them,  some  in  open  battles,  and  some  in 
private  ambush;  nor  had  they  always 
mccess  in  their  attempts    for  sometimes 


they  were  beaten,  and  ran  away.  In 
the  mean  time,  Ventidius,  the  Roman  ge- 
neral, was  sent  out  of  Syria,  to  restrain 
the  incursions  of  the  Parthians;  and 
after  he  had  done  that,  he  came  into 
Judea,  in  pretence  indeed  to  assist  Joseph 
and  his  party,  but  in  reality  to  get  money 
of  Antigonus;  and  when  he  had  pitched 
his  camp  very  near  to  Jerusalem,  as  soon 
as  he  had  got  money  enough,  he  went 
away  with  the  greatest  part  of  his  forces; 
yet  still  did  he  leave  Silo  with  some  part 
of  them,  lest  if  he  had  taken  them  all 
away,  his  taking  of  bribes  might  have 
been  too  openly  discovered.  Now  Anti- 
gonus hoped  that  the  Parthians  would 
come  again  to  his  assistance,  and  there- 
fore cultivated  a  good  understanding  with 
Silo  in  the  mean  time,  lest  any  interrup- 
tion should  be  given  to  his  hopes. 

Now  by  this  time  Herod  had  sailed  out 
of  Italy,  and  was  come  to  Ptolemais; 
and  as  soon  as  he  had  gotten  together  no 
small  army  of  foreigners,  and  of  his  own 
countrymen,  he  marched  through  Galilee 
against  Antigonus,  wherein  he  was  assist- 
ed by  Ventidius  and  Silo,  both  whom 
Dellius,*  a  person  sent  by  Antony,  per- 
suaded to  bring  Herod  [into  his  kingdom]. 
Now  Ventidius  was  at  this  time  among 
the  cities,  and  composing  the  disturbances 
which  had  happened  by  means  of  the 
Parthians,  as  was  Silo  in  Judea  corrupted 
by  the  bribes  that  Antigonus  had  given 
him;  yet  was  not  Herod  himself  desti- 
tute of  power,  but  the  number  of  his 
forces  increased  every  day  as  he  went 
along,  and  all  Galilee,  with  few  excep- 
tions, joined  themselves  to  him.  So  he 
proposed  to  himself  to  set  about  his  most 
necessary  enterprise,  and  that  was  Ma- 
sada, in  order  to  deliver  his  relations  from 
the  siege  they  endured.  But  still  Joppa 
stood  in  his  way,  and  hindered  his  going 
thither :  for  it  was  necessary  to  take  that 
city  first,  which  was  in  the  enemies' 
hands,  that  when  he  should  go  to  Jeru- 
salem, no  fortress  might  be  left  in  the 
enemies'  power  behind  him.  Silo  also 
willingly  joined  him,  as  having  now  a 
plausible  occasion  of  drawing  off  his 
forces  [from  Jerusalem];  and  when  the 
Jews  puisued  him,  and  pressed  upon  him 
[in  his  retreat],  Herod  made  an  excur- 
sion upon  them  with  a  small  body  of  his 
men,  and  soon  put  them  to  flight,  and 
saved  Silo  when  he  was  in  distress. 


*  This  Dellius  is  famous,  or  rather  infamous,  in 
the  history  of  Mark  Antony. 


616 


WAKS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  1 


After  this,  Herod  took  Joppa,  and 
then  made  haste  to  Masada  to  free  his  re- 
lations. Now,  as  he  was  marching,  many 
came  in  to  him;  some  induced  by  their 
friendship  to  his  father,  some  by  the  re- 
putation he  had  gained  himself,  and  some, 
in  order  to  repay  the  benefits  they  had 
received  from  them  both;  but  still  what 
engaged  the  greatest  number  on  his  side, 
was  the  hopes  from  him  when  he  should 
be  established  in  his  kingdom;  so  that 
he  had  gotten  together  already  an  army 
hard  to  be  conquered.  But  Antigonus 
laid  an  ambush  for  him  as  he  marched 
out,  in  which  he  did  little  or  no  harm  to 
his  enemies.  However,  he  easily  reco- 
vered his  relations  again  that  were  in  Ma- 
sada, as  well  as  the  fortress  Ressa,  and 
then  marched  to  Jerusalem,  where  the 
soldiers  that  were  with  Silo  joined  them- 
selves to  his  owd,  as  did  many  out  of  the 
city,  from  a  dread  of  his  power. 

Now,  when  he  had  pitched  his  camp 
on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  the  guards 
who  were  there  shot  their  arrows  and 
threw  their  darts  at  them,  while  others 
ran  out  in  companies,  and  attacked  those 
in  the  forefront;  but  Herod  commauded 
proclamation  to  be  made  at  the  wall,  that 
he  was  come  for  the  good  of  the  people 
and  the  preservation  of  the  city,  without 
any  design  to  be  revenged  on  his  open 
enemies,  but  to  grant  oblivion  to  them, 
though  they  had  been  the  most  obstinate 
against  him.  Now  the  soldiers  tha4>  were 
for  Antigonus  made  a  contrary  clamour, 
and  did  neither  permit  anybody  to  hear 
that  proclamation  nor  to  change  their 
party;  so  Antigonus  gave  order  to  his 
forces  to  beat  the  enemy  from  the  walls : 
accordingly,  they  soon  threw  their  darts 
at  them  from  the  towers,  and  put  them  to 
tiight. 

And  here  it  was  that  Silo  discovered 
ne  had  taken  bribes;  for  he  set  many  of 
the  soldiers  to  clamour  about  their  want 
of  necessaries,  and  to  require  their  pay, 
In  order  to  buy  themselves  food,  and  to 
demand  that  he  would  lead  them  into 
places  convenient  for  their  winter  quar- 
ters; because  all  the  parts  about  the  city 
were  laid  waste  by  the  means  of  Anti- 
gonus's  army,  which  had  taken  all  things 
away.  By  this  he  moved  the  army,  and 
attempted  to  get  them  off  the  siege;  but 
Herod  went  to  the  captains  that  were 
under  Silo,  and  to  a  great  many  of  the 
soldiers,  and  begged  of  them  not  to  leave 
Lisa,  who  was  sent  thitli  ?r  by  Caesar  aud 


Antony,  and  the  senate;  for  that  he  would 
take  care  to  have  their  wants  supplied 
that  very  day.  After  the  making  of 
which  entreaty,  he  went  hastily  into  the 
country,  and  brought  thither  so  great  an 
abundance  of  necessaries,  that  he  cut  off 
all  Silo's  pretences;  and,  in  order  to  pro- 
vide that  for  the  following  days  they 
should  not  want  supplies,  he  sent  to  the 
people  that  were  about  Samaria  (which 
city  had  joined  itself  to  him)  to  bring 
corn,  wine,  and  oil,  and  cattle  to  Jericho. 
When  Antigonus  heard  of  this,  he  sent 
some  of  his  party  with  orders  to  hinder, 
and  lay  ambushes  for  these  collectors  of 
corn.  This  command  was  obeyed,  and  a 
great  multitude  of  armed  men  were 
gathered  together  about  Jericho,  and  lay 
upon  the  mountains,  to  watch  those  that 
brought  the  provisions.  Yet  was  Herod 
not  idle,  but  took  with  him  ten  cohorts, — 
five  of  them  were  Roman,  and  five  were 
Jewish  cohorts,  together  with  some  mer- 
cenary troops  intermixed  among  them, 
and  besides  those  a  few  horsjmen,  and 
came  to  Jericho;  and  when  he  came  he 
found  the  city  deserted,  but  that  .here 
were  500  men,  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, who  had  taken  possession  of  the 
tops  of  the  mountains;  these  he  took, 
and  dismissed  them,  while  the  Romans 
fell  upon  the  rest  of  the  city,  and  plun- 
dered it,  having  found  the  houses  full  of 
all  sorts  of  good  things.  So  the  king 
left  a  garrison  at  Jericho,  and  came  back, 
and  sent  the  Roman  army  into  those 
cities  which  were  come  over  to  him,  to 
take  their  winter  quarters  there,  into  Ju- 
dea  [or  Idumea],  and  Galilee,  and  Sama- 
ria. Antigonus  also,  by  bribes,  obtained 
[permission]  of  Silo  to  let  a  part  of  his 
army  be  received  at  Lydda,  as  a  com- 
plimen;  to  Autonius. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Herod  takes  Sepphoriss — subdues  the  robbers — 
avenges  himself  on  Macheras — joins  Antony  a* 
Samosata. 

So  the  Romans  lived  in  plenty  of  all 
things  and  rested  from  war.  However, 
Herod  did  not  lie  at  rest,  but  seized  npon 
Idumea,  and  kept  it,  with  2000  footmen, 
and  400  .horsemen;  and  this  he  did  by 
sending  his  brother  Joseph  thither,  that 
no  innovation  might  be  made  \  y  Anti- 
gonus. He  also  removed  his  mother, 
and  all  his  relations,  who  had  been  in 
Masada,  to    Samaria;  and   when  he    had 


Cma.'.  XVI.  J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


6-17 


settled  them  securely,  he  marched  to  take 
the  remaining  parts  of  Galilee,  and  to 
drive  away  the  garrisons  placed  there  by 
Antigonus. 

But  when  Herod  had  reached  Seppho- 
ris,*  in  a  very  great  snow,  he  took  the 
city  without  any  difficulty,  the  guards  that 
should  have  kept  it  flying  away  before  it 
was  assaulted;  where  he  gave  an  opportu- 
nity to  his  followers  that  had  been  in 
distress  to  refresh  themselves,  there  being 
in  that  city  a  great  abundance  of  necessa- 
ries. After  which  he  hasted  away  to  the 
robbers  that  were  in  the  caves,  who  over- 
ran a  great  part  of  the  country,  and  did 
as  great  mischief  to  its  inhabitants  as  a 
war  itself  could  have  done.  Accordingly, 
he  sent  beforehand  three  cohorts  of  foot- 
men, and  one  troop  of  horsemen,  to  the 
village  Arbela,  and  came  himself  forty 
days  afterward  with  the  rest  of  his  forces. 
Yet  were  not  the  enemy  affrighted  at  his 
assault,  but  met  him  in  arms ;  for  their 
skill  was  that  of  warriors,  but  their  bold- 
ness was  the  boldness  of  robbers :  when, 
therefore,  it  came  to  a  pitched  battle,  they 
put  to  flight  Herod's  left  wing  with  their 
right  one :  but  Herod,  wheeling  about  on 
the  sudden  from  his  own  right  wing,  came 
to  their  assistance,  and  both  made  his 
own  left  wing  return  back  from  its  flight, 
and  fell  upon  the  pursuers,  and  cooled 
their  courage,  till  they  could  not  bear  the 
attempts  that  were  made  directly  upon 
them,  and  so  turned  back  and  ran  away. 

But  Herod  followed  them,  and  slew 
them  as  he  followed  them,  and  destroyed 
a  great  part  of  them,  till  those  that  re- 
mained were  scattered  beyond  the  river 
[Jordan];  and  Galilee  was  freed  from  the 
terrors  they  had  been  under,  excepting 
from  those  that  remained  and  lay  con- 
cealed in  caves,  which  required  longer 
time  ere  they  could  be  conquered.  In 
order  to  which,  Herod,  in  the  first  place, 
distributed  the  fruits  of  their  former  la- 
bours to  the  soldiers,  and  gave  every  one 
of  them  150  drachmae  of  silver,  and  a 
great  deal  more  to  their  commanders,  and 
sent  them  into  their  winter  quarters.  He 
also  sent  to  his  youngest  brother,  Pheroras, 
to  take  care  of  a  good  market  for  them, 
where  they  might  buy  themselves  provi- 
sions, and  build  a  wall  about  Alexan- 
drium;  who  took  care  of  both  those  in- 
junctions accordingly. 


*  Sepphori.s,  the  metropolis  of  Galilee,  so  often 
mentioned  by  Josephus,  has  coins  still  remaining. 


In  the  meau  time,  Antony  abode  at 
Athens,  while  Yentidius  called  for  Silo 
and  Herod  to  come  to  the  war  against  the 
Parthians,  but  ordered  them  first  to  settle 
the  affairs  of  Judea;  so  Hemd  willingly 
dismissed  Silo  to  go  to  Yentidius ;  but  he 
made  an  expedition  himself  against  those 
that  lay  in  the  caves.  Now  these  caves 
were  in  the  precipices  of  craggy  moun- 
tains, aad  could  not  be  come  at  from  any 
side,  since  they  had  only  some  winding 
pathways,  very  narrow,  by  which  they 
got  up  to  them ;  but  the  rock  that  lay  on 
their  front  had  beneath  it  valleys  of  a 
vast  depth,  and  of  an  almost  perpendicu- 
lar declivity ;  insomuch  that  the  king  was 
doubtful  for  a  long  time  what  to  do,  by 
reason  of  a  kind  of  impossibility  there 
was  of  attacking  the  place.  Yet  did  he 
at  length  make  use  of  a  contrivance  that 
was  subject  to  the  utmost  hazard  ;  for  he 
let  down  the  most  hardy  of  his  men  in 
chests,  and  set  them  at  the  mouths  of  the 
dens.  Now  these  men  slew  the  robbers 
and  their  families,  and  when  they  made 
resistance,  they  sent  in  fire  upon  them, 
[and  burnt  them] ;  and  as  Herod  was  de- 
sirous of  saving  some  of  them,  he  had 
proclamation  made,  that  they  should  come 
and  deliver  themselves  up  to  him  ;  but 
not  one  of  them  came  willingly  to  him ; 
and  of  those  that  were  compelled  to  come, 
many  preferred  death  to  captivity.  And 
here  a  certain  old  man,  the  father  of  seven 
children,  whose  children,  together  with 
their  mother,  desired  him  to  give  them 
leave  to  go  out,  upon  the  assurance  and 
right  hand  that  was  offered  them,  slew 
them  after  the  following  manner:  he  or- 
dered every  one  of  them  to  go  out,  while 
he  stood  himself  at  the  cave's  mouth,  aud 
slew  that  son  of  his  perpetually  who  went 
out.  Herod  was  near  enough  to  see  this 
sight,  and  his  bowels  of  compassion  were 
moved  at  it,  and  he  stretched  out  his  right 
hand  to  the  old  man,  and  besought  him  tc 
spare  his  children ;  yet  did  not  he  relent 
at  all  upon  what  he  said,  but  over  and 
above  reproached  Herod  on  the  lowness 
of  his  descent,  and  slew  his  wife  as  well 
as  his  children  ;  and  when  he  had  throwu 
their  dead  bodies  down  the  precipice,  he 
at  last  threw  himself  down  after  them. 

By  this  means  Herod  si  bdued  these 
caves,  and  the  robbers  that  were  in  them. 
He  then  left  there  a  part  of  his  army,  as 
many  as  he  thought  sufficient  to  prevent 
any  sedition,  and  made  Ptolemy  their  ge- 
neral, and   returned   to  Samaria;   he  led 


648 


WARS    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  L 


also  with  hi  in  3000  armed  footmen  ami 
600  horsemea  against  Antigonus-  Now 
here  those  that  used  to  raise  tumults  in 
Galilee,  having  liberty  so  to  do  upon  his 
departure,  fell  unexpectedly  upon  Ptole- 
my, the  general  of  his  forces,  and  slew 
him  :  they  also  laid  the  country  waste, 
and  then  retired  to  the  bogs,  and  to  places 
not  easily  to  be  found ;  but  when  Herod 
was  informed  of  this  insurrection,  he 
came  to  the  assistance  of  the  country  im- 
mediately, and  destroyed  a  great  number 
of  the  seditious,  and  raised  the  sieges  of 
all  those  fortresses  they  had  besieged ;  he 
also  exacted  the  tribute  of  100  talents  of 
his  enemies,  as  a  penalty  for  the  mutation 
they  had  made  in  the  country. 

By  this  time  (the  Parthians  being 
already  driven  out  of  the  country,  and 
Pacorus  slain)  Ventidius,  by  Antony's 
command,  sent  1000  horsemen  and  two 
legions  as  auxiliaries  to  Herod  against 
Antigonus.  Now  Antigonus  besought 
Macheras,  who  was  their  general,  by  letter, 
to  come  to  his  assistance,  and  made  a 
great  many  mournful  complaints  about 
Herod's  violence,  and  about  the  injuries 
he  did  to  the  kingdom  j  and  promised  to 
giv7e  him  money  for  such  his  assistance: 
but  he  complied  not  with  his  invitation  to 
betray  his  trust,  for  he  did  not  contemn 
him  that  sent  him,  especially  while  Herod 
gave  him  more  money  [than  the  other 
offered].  So  he  pretended  friendship  to 
Antigonus,  but  came  as  a  spy  to  discover 
his  affairs,  although  he  did  not  herein 
compty  with  Herod,  who  dissuaded  him 
from  so  doing;  but  Antigonus  perceived 
what  his  intentions  were  beforehand,  and 
excluded  him  out  of  the  city,  and  defend- 
ed himself  against  him  as  an  enemy, 
from  the  walls ;  till  Macheras  was  ashamed 
of  what  he  had  done,  and  retired  to  Em- 
maus  to  Herod;  and,  as  he  was  in  a  rage 
at  his  disappointment,  he  slew  all  the 
Jews  whom  he  met  with,  without  sparing 
those  that  were  for  Herod,  but  using  them 
all  as  if  they  were  for  Antigonus. 

Hereupon  Herod  was  very  angry  at 
him,  and  was  going  to  fight  against  Ma- 
cheras as  his  enemy  ;  but  he  restrained 
his  indignation,  and  marched  to  Antony 
to  accuse  Macheras  of  mal-administration  ; 
but  Macheras  was  made  sensible  of  his 
offences,  and  followed  after  the  king  im- 
mediately, and  earnestly  begged  and  ob- 
tained that  he  would  be  reconciled  to  him. 
However,  Herod  did  not  desist  from  his 
resolution  of  going  to  Antony  ;  but  when 


he  heard  that  he  was  besieging  Samosata* 
with  a  great  army,  which  is  a  strong  city 
near  to  Euphrates,  he  made  the  greater 
haste;  as  observing  that  this  was  a  proper 
opportunity  for  showing  at  once  his  cou- 
rage, and  for  doing  what  would  greatly 
oblige  Antony.  Indeed,  when  he  came, 
he  soon  made  an  end  of  that  siege,  and 
slew  a  great  number  of  the  barbarians, 
and  took  from  them  a  large  prey;  inso- 
much, that  Antony,  who  admired  his 
courage  formerly,  did  now  admire  it  still 
more.  Accordingly  he  heaped  many  more 
honours  upon  him,  and  gave  him  more 
assured  hopes  that  he  should  gain  his 
kingdom  :  and  now  King  Antiochus  was 
forced  to  deliver  up  Samosata. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Death  of  Joseph — Herod's  preservation — beheads 
the  slayer  of  his  brother — besieges  Jerusalem, 
and  marries  Mariamne. 

In  the  mean  time  Herod's  affairs  in 
Judea  were  in  an  ill  state.  He  had  left 
his  brother  Joseph  with  full  power,  but 
had  charged  him  to  make  no  attempts 
against  Antigonus  till  his  return;  for  that 
Macheras  would  not  be  such  an  assistant 
as  he  could  depend  on,  as  it  appeared  by 
what  he  had  done  already;  but  as  soon  as 
Joseph  heard  that  his  brother  was  at  a 
very  great  distance,  he  neglected  the 
charge  he  had  received,  and  marched  to- 
ward Jericho  with  five  cohorts,  which 
Macheras  sent  with  him.  This  movement 
was  intended  for  seizing  on  the  corn,  as  it 
was  now  in  the  midst  of  summer;  but 
when  his  enemies  attacked  him  in  the 
mountains,  and  in  places  which  were  diffi- 
cult to  pass,  he  was  both  killed  himself, 
as  he  was  very  bravely  fighting  in  the 
battle,  and  the  entire  Roman  cohorts  were 
destroyed;  for  these  cohorts  were  new- 
raised  men,  gathered  out  from  Syria,  and 
there  was  no  mixture  of  those  called 
veteran  soldiers  among  them,  who  might 
have  supported  those  that  were  unskilful 
in  war. 

This,  victory  was  not  sufficient  for  Anti- 
gonus; but  he  proceeded  to  that  degree 
of  rage  as  to  treat  the  dead  body  of  Jo-  | 
seph  barbarously ;   for  when  he  had  got, 
ten  possession  of  the  bodies  of  those  that 

*  This  Samosata,  the  metropolis  of  Commagena, 
is  well  known  from  its  coins.  Dean  Aldrich  con- 
firms what  Josephus  here  notes,  that  Hero'l  was  a 
great  means  of  taking  the  city  by  Antony,  and 
that  from  Plutarch  and  Dio. 


(Jhap.  XVII.  j 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


649 


were  slain,  he  cut  off  Lis  bead,  although 
his  brother  Pheroras  would  have  given 
50  talents  as  a  price  of  redemption  for  it. 
And  now  the  affairs  of  Galilee  were  put 
into  such  disorder  after  this  victory  of 
Antigonus,  that  those  of  Antigonus' s 
party  brought  the  principal  men  that  were 
on  Herod's  side  to  the  lake,  and  there 
drowned  them.  There  was  a  great  change 
made  also  in  Idumea,  where  Macheras 
was  building  a  wall  about  one  of  the  fort- 
resses, that  was  called  Gittha.  But  He- 
rod had  not  yet  been  informed  of  these 
things;  for  after  the  taking  of  Samosata, 
and  when  Antony  had  set  Sosius  over 
the  affairs  of  Syria,  and  given  him  orders 
to  assist  Herod  agaiust  Antigonus,  he 
departed  into  Egypt.  But  Sosius  sent 
two  legions  before  him  into  Judea,  to 
assist  Herod,  and  followed  himself  soon 
after  with  the  rest  of  his  army. 

Now  when  Herod  was  at  Daphne,  by 
Antioch,  he  had  some  dreams  which  clear- 
ly foreboded  his  brother's  death ;  and  as 
he  leaped  out  of  his  bed  in  a  disturbed 
manner,  there  came  messengers  that  ac- 
quainted him  with  that  calamity.  So 
when  he  had  lamented  this  misfortune  for 
awhile,  he  put  off  the  main  part  of  his 
mourning,  and  made  haste  to  march 
against  his  enemies;  and  when  he  had 
performed  a  march  that  was  above  his 
strength,  and  had  gone  as  far  as  Libanus, 
he  got  800  men  of  those  that  lived  near 
to  that  mountain,  as  his  assistants,  and 
joined  with  them  one  Roman  legion,  with 
which,  before  it  was  day,  he  made  an 
iiTuption  into  Galilee,  and  met  his  ene- 
mies, and  drove  them  back  to  the  place 
which  they  had  left.  He  also  made  an 
immediate  and  conditioned  attack  upon 
the  fortress.  Yet  was  he  forced,  by  a 
most  terrible  storm,  to  pitch  his  camp  in 
the  neighbouring  village  before  he  could 
take  it.  But  when,  after  a  few  days'  time, 
the  second  legion,  that  came  from  Antony, 
joined  themselves  to  him,  the  enemy  were 
affrighted  at  his  power,  and  left  their 
fortifications  in  the  night-time. 

After  he  marched  through  Jericho,  as 
making  what  haste  he  could  to  be  avenged 
on  his  brother's  murderers;  where  hap- 
pened to  him  a  providential  sign,  out  of 
which  whCn  he  had  unexpectedly  escaped, 
he  had  the  reputation  of  being  very  dear 
to  God;  for  that  evening  there  feasted 
with  him  many  of  the  principal  men  :  and 
after  that  feast  was  over,  and  all  the  guests 
vrere  gone  out,  the  house  fell  down  imme- 


diately. And  as  he  judged  this  to  be  a 
common  signal  of  what  dangers  he  should 
undergo,  and  how  he  should  escape  them  in 
the  war  that  he  was  going  about,  he  in  the 
morning  set  forward  with  his  army,  when 
about  6000  of  his  enemies  came  running 
down  from  the  mountains,  and  began  to 
fight  with  those  in  the  forefront ;  yet 
durst  they  not  be  so  very  bold  as  to  en- 
gage the  Romans  hand  to  hand,  but  threw 
stones  and  darts  at  them  at  a  distance,  by 
which  means  they  wounded  a  considerable 
number;  in  which  action  Herod's  own 
side  was  wounded  with  a  dart. 

Now  as  Antigonus  had  a  mind  to 
appear  to  exceed  Herod,  not  only  in  the 
courage,  but  in  the  number  of  his  men, 
he  sent  Pappus,  one  of  his  companions, 
with  an  army  against  Samaria,  whose 
fortune  it  was  to  oppose  Maoheras.  But 
Herod  overran  the  enemies'  country,  and 
demolished  five  little  cities,  and  destroyed 
2000  men  that  were  in  them,  and  burned 
their  houses,  and  then  returned  to  his 
camp ;  but  his  head-quarters  were  at  the 
village  called  Cana. 

Now  a  great  multitude  of  Jews  resorted 
to  him  every  day,  both  out  of  Jericho  and 
the  others  parts  of  the  country.  Some 
were  moved  so  to  do  out  of  their  hatred 
to  Antigonus,  and  some  out  of  regard  tc 
the  glorious  actions  Herod  had  done ;  but 
others  were  led  on  by  an  unreasonable 
desire  of  change ;  so  he  fell  upon  them 
immediately.  As  for  Pappus  and  his 
party,  they  were  not  terrified  either  at 
their  number  or  at  their  zeal,  but  marched 
out  with  great  alacrity  to  fight  them;  and 
it  came  to  a  close  fight.  Now  other  parts 
of  their  army  made  resistance  for  a  while : 
but  Herod,  running  the  utmost  hazard, 
out  of  the  rage  he  was  in  at  the  murder 
of  his  brother,  that  he  might  be  avenged 
on  those  that  had  been  the  authors  of  it, 
soon  beat  those  that  opposed  him ;  and, 
after  he  had  beaten  them,  he  always 
turned  his  forces  against  those  that  stood 
to  it  still,  and  pursued  them  all;  so  that 
a  great  slaughter  was  made,  while  some 
were  forced  back  into  that  village  whence 
they  came  out;  he  also  pressed  hard  upon 
the  hindermost,  and  slew  a  vast  number 
of  them;  he  also  fell  into  the  village  with 
the  enemy,  where  every  fcpuse  was  filled 
with  armed  men,  and  th?  upper  rooms 
were  also  crowded  with  soldiers  for  their 
defence ;  and  when  he  had  beaten  those 
that  were  on  the  outside,  he  pulled  tiie 
houses  to  pieces,  and  plucked  out  *hose 


650 


WARS  OF  THE  JEWS 


thousand,  and  had  eight  commanders,  among 
whom  those  of  greatest  fame  were  Jacob  the 
ton  of  Sosas,  and  Simon  the  son  of  Cathlas. 
John,  who  had  seized  upon  the  temple,  had 
•ix  thousand  armed  men  under  twenty  com- 
manders; the  Zealots  also  that  had  come  over 
to  him,  and  left  off  their  opposition,  were  two 
housand  four  hundred,  and  had  the  same  com- 
mander that  they  had  formerly,  Eleazar,  to- 
gether with  Simon  the  son  of  Arinus.  Now 
while  these  factions  fought  one  against  anoth- 
er, the  people  were  their  prey  on  both  sides,  as 
as  we  have  said  already;  and  that  part  of  the 
people  which  would  not  join  with  them  in  their 
wicked  practices,  were  plundered  by  both  fac- 
tions. Simon  held  the  upper  city,  and  the 
great  wall  as  far  as  Cedron,  and  as  much  of 
die  old  wall  as  bent  from  Siloam  to  the  east, 
and  which  went  down  to  the  palace  of  Mono- 
bazus,  who  was  king  of  the  Adiabene,  beyond 
Euphrates;  he  also  held  that  fountain,  and  the 
Acra,  which  was  no  other  than  the  lower  city; 
he  also  held  all  that  reached  to  the  palace  of 
queen  Helena,  the  mother  of  Monobazus. 
But  John  held  the  temple  and  the  parts  thereto 
adjoining,  for  a  great  way,  as  also  Ophla  and 
the  valley  called  the  Valley  of  Cedron;  and 
when  the  parts  that  were  interposed  between 
their  possessions  were  burnt  by  them,  they  left 
a  space  wherein  they  might  fight  with  each 
other,  for  this  internal  sedition  did  not  cease 
even  when  the  Romans  were  encamped  near 
their  very  walls.  But  although  they  bad 
grown  wiser  by  the  first  onset  the  Romans 
made  upon  them,  this  lasted  but  a  while;  for 
they  returned  to  their  former  madness,  and  se- 
parated one  from  another,  and  fought  it  out, 
and  did  every  thing  that  the  besiegers  could 
desire  them  to  do;  for  they  never  suffered  any 
thing  that  was  worse  from  the  Romans,  than 
they  made  each  other  surfer,  nor  was  there 
any  misery  endured  by  the  city  after  these 
men*s  actions,  that  could  be  esteemed  new. 
But  it  was  most  of  all  unhappy  before  it  was 
overthrown,  while  those  that  took  it  did  it  a 
greater  kindness;  for  I  venture  to  affirm,  that  the 
sedition  destroyed  the  city,  and  the  Romans 
destroyed  the  sedition,  which  it  was  a  much 
harder  thing  to  do  than  to  destroy  the  walls; 
so  that  we  may  justly  ascribe  our  misfortunes 
to  our  own  people,  and  the  just  vengeance  ta- 
ken on  them  to  the  Romans;  as  to  which  mat- 
ter let  every  one  determine  by  the  actions  on 
both  sides. 

'2.  Now,  when  aflTaire  within  the  city^were 
in  this  posture,  Titus  went  round  the  city  on 
he  outside  with  some  chosen  horsemen,  and 
looked  about  for  a  proper  place  where  he  might 
make  an  impression  upon  the  walls;  but  as  he 
was  in  doubt  where  he  could  possibly  make  an 
attack  on  any  side,  (for  the  place  was  no  way 
accessible  where  the  valleys  were,  and  on  the 
other  side  the  first  wall  appeared  too  strong  to 
be shaken  by  the  engines,)  he  thereupon  thought 
it  bust  to  make  his  assault  upon  the  monument 
of  John  the  high  priest;  for  there  it  was  that 
tbs  first  fortification  was  lower,  and  the  second 
was  not  joined  to  it,  the  builders  ut^ctio^to 


iMT\     Mr  at 


build  the  wall  strong  where  tne  new 
not  much  inhabited;  here  also  was  an  eas)  (^si* 
age  to  the  third  wall,  through  which  he  thought 
to  take  the  upper  city,  and,  through  the  tower 
of  Antonia,  the  temple  itself,  But  at  this  time, 
as  he  was  going  round  about  the  city,  one  of 
his  friends,  whose  name  was  Nicanor,  was 
wounded  with  a  dart  on  his  left  shoulder,  as  he 
approached,  together  with  Josephus,  too  near 
the  wall,  and  attempted  to  discourse  to  those 
that  were  upon  the  wall,  about  terms  of  peaces 
for  he  w&s  a  person  known  by  them,  (in  this 
account  it  was  that  Caesar,  as  soon  as  he  knew 
their  vehemence,  that  they  would  not  bear 
even  such  as  approached  them  to  persuade 
them  to  what  tended  to  their  own  preservation, 
was  provoked  to  press  on  the  siege.  He  also 
at  the  same  time  gave  his  soldiers  leave  to  set 
the  suburbs  on  fire,  and  ordered  that  they  should 
bring  timber  together,  and  raise  the  banka 
against  the  city;  and  when  he  had  parted  his 
army  in  three  parts  in  order  to  set  about  those 
works,  he  placed  those  that  shot  darts  and  the 
archers  in  the  midst  of  the  banks  that  were 
then  raising;  before  whom  he  placed  those  en- 
gines that  threw  javelins,  and  darts,  and  stones, 
that  he  might  prevent  the  enemy  from  sallying 
out  upon  their  works,  and  might  hinder  thuss 
that  were  upon  the  wall  from  being  able  toob 
struct  them.  So  the  trees  were  now  cut  do  vr» 
immediately,  and  the  suburbs  left  naked.  But 
now  while  the  timber  was  carrying  to  raise  die 
banks,  and  the  whole  army  was  earnestly  en- 
gaged in  their  works,  the  Jews  were  not,  how- 
ever, quiet;  and  it  happened  that  the  people  of 
Jerusalem,  who  had  been  hitherto  plundeied 
and  murdered,  were  now  of  good  courage,  *.nd 
supposed  they  should  have  a  breathing  time, 
while  the  others  were  very  busy  in  opposing 
their  enemies  without  the  city;  and  that  they 
should  now  be  avenged  on  those  that  had  been 
the  authors  of  their  miseries,  in  case  the  J  to- 
mans did  but  get  the  victory. 

3.  However,  John  staid  behind  out  of  fbaj 
of  Simon,  even  while  his  own  men  were  car- 
nest  in  making asally  upon  theirenemies  with- 
out Yet  did  not  Simon  lie  still,  for  he  lay  near 
the  place  of  the  siege;  he  brought  his  engines  of 
war,  and  disposed  of  them  at  due  distances 
upon  the  wall,  both  those  which  they  took  from 
Ccstius  formerly,  and  those  which  they  got 
when  they  seized  the  garrison  that  lay  in  the 
tower  Antonia.  But  though  they  had  these  en- 
gines in  their  possession,  they  had  so  little  skill 
in  using  them,  that  they  were  in  a  great  mea- 
sure useless  to  them;  but  a  few  there  were  who 
had  been  taught  by  deserters  how  to  use  them, 
which  they  did  use,  though  after  an  awkward 
manner.  So  they  cast  stones  and  airows  at 
those  that  were  making  the  banks;  they  also  ran 
out  upon  them  by  companies,  and  fought  with 
them.  Now  those  that  were  at  work  covered 
themselves  with  hurdles  spread  over  their  bank* 
and  their  engines  were  opposed  to  them  when 
they  made  their  excursions.  The  engines,  thai 
all  the  legions  had  ready  prepared  for  them, 
were  admirably  contrived;  but  still  more  ax- 
ttaorduMtr"  ones  belonged  to  the  tenth  \espon 


BOOK  V^-CHAFfER  VX 


651 


(faoM  tnat  inrew  dartB,  and  those  that  threw 
stones,  were  more  forcible  and  larger  than  the 
rest,  by  which  they  not  only  repelled  the  excur- 
sions of  the  Jews,  but  drove  those  away  that 
were  upon  the  walls  also.  Now,  the  stones  that 
mere  cast  were  of  the  weight  of  a  talent,  and 
were  carried  two  furlongs  and  farther.  The 
Wow  they  gave  was  no  way  to  be  sustained,  not 
only  by  those  that  stood  first  in  the  way,  but  by 
those  that  were  beyond  them  for  a  great  space. 
As  for  the  Jews,  they  at  first  watched  the  com- 
fcg  of  the  stone,  for  it  was  of  a  white  color, 
•nd  could  therefore  not  only  be  perceived  by 
the  great  noise  it  made,  but  could  be  seen  also 
Wore  it  came,  by  its  brightness;  accordingly, 
the  watchmen  that  sat  upon  the  towers  gave 
Jicm  notice  when  the  engine  was  let  go,  and 
the  stone  came  from  it,  and  cried  out  aloud,  in 
their  own  country  language,  tee  son  cometh:* 
so  those  that  were  in  its  way  stood  ofT,  and 
threw  themselves  down  upon  the  ground;  by 
which  means,  and  by  their  thus  guarding  them- 
selves, the  stone  fell  down  and  did  them  no 
harm.  Jhit  ihe  Romans  contrived  how  to  pre- 
vent that,  by  blacking  the  stone,  who  then  could 
tim  at  them  with  success,  when  the  stone  was 
not  discerned  beforehand,  as  it  had  been  till 
then;  and  so  they  destroyed  many  of  them  at 
one  blow.  Yet  did  not  the  Jews,  under  all  this 
distress,  permit  the  Romans  to  raise  their  banks 
in  quiet;  but  they  shrewdly  and  boldly  exerted 
themselves,  and  repelled  them  both  by  night 
Mid  by  day. 

4.  And  now,  upon  the  finishing  the  Roman 
works,  the  workmen  measured  the  distance 
there  was  from  the  wall,  and  this  by  lead  and 
t  line,  which  they  threw  to  it  from  their  banks, 
for  they  could  not  measure  it  any  otherwise, 
because  the  Jews  would  shoot  at  them,  if  they 
came  to  measure  it  themselves;  and  when  they 
found  that  the  engines  could  reach  the  wall, 
they  brought  them  thither.  Then  did  Titus 
•et  his  engines  at  proper  distances,  so  much 
nearer  to  the  wall,  that  the  Jews  might  not  be 
able  to  repel  them,  and  gave  orders  they  should 
go  to  work;  and  when  thereupon  a  prodigious 
noise  echoed  round  about  from  three  places, 
and  that  on  the  sudden  there  was  a  great  noise 
made  by  the  citizens  that  were  within  the  city, 
and  no  less  a  terror  fell  upon  the  seditious  them- 
selves; whereupon  both  sorts,  seeing  the  com- 
mon danger  they  were  in,  contrived  to  make  a 
like  defence.  So  those  of  different  factions 
cried  out  one  to  another,  that  they  acted  entire- 

•  What  should  he  the  meaning  of  this  signal  or  watch- 
irotd,  when  the  watchmen  saw  a  stone  coming  from  the  en- 

fi:e,thc son  coinrlh,  or  what  mistake  there  is  in  the  reading, 
cannot  tell.  The  .MSS.  botll  Greek  anil  Latin,  all  agree 
■  this  reading;  and  I  cannot  approve  of  any  groundless  con 
Jectural  alteration  of  die  text  from  1 101  to  102,  trial  not  the 
ton  or  a  stone,  but  that  tin:  arrow  or  Hurt  comrlh,  as  has  been 
Blade  by  Dr.  Hudson,  and  not  corrected  by  llavercamp. 
Had  Joseph  us  even  written  Ins  fir->t  edition  of  these  books 
Oi*  the  w;ir  m  pure  Hebrew,  or  had  the  Jews  then  used  the 

Kre  Hebrew  at  Jerusalem,  the  Hebrew  word  for  a  $on  is  so 
e  that  for  a  itone,  Hen  and  h'.hen,  thai  such  a  correction 
alight  have  been  more  easily  admitted.  Hut  Josephus  wrote 
bis  former  edition  for  the  use  of  the  J«-ws  beyond  Euphrates, 
and  so  in  the  L'huldee  language,  as  he  did  this  second  edition 
Id  Uie  Greek  language;  and  liar  w.v  the  Chaldee  word  for 
ton,  instead  of  the  Hebrew  Hen,  and  vvhh  used  not  only  in 
Chaldea,  lie.  but  in  Judea  also,  as  the  New  Testament  in 
Uf-     Dk>  also  leu*  us  know,  that  to 


ly  as  in  concert  with  their  enemies;  whereas 
they  ought,  however,  notwithstanding  God  did 
not  grant  them  a  lasting  concord,  in  their  present 
circumstances,  to  lay  aside  their  enmities  one 
against  another,  and  to  unite  together  against 
the  Romans.     Accordingly,  Simon  gave  those 
that  came  from  the  temple  leave,  by  proclama- 
tion to  go  upon  the  wall;  John  also  himself, 
though  he  could  not  believe  that  Simon  was 
in  earnest,  gave  them  the  same  leave.    So  on 
both  sides  they  laid  aside  their  hatred  and  their 
peculiar  quarrels,  and  formed  themselves  intf 
one  body;  they  then  ran  round  the  walls,  and 
having  a  vast  number  of  torches  with  them, 
they  threw  them  at   the  machines,  and  shot 
darts  perpetually  upon   those    that  impelled 
those  engines  which  battered  the   wall;  nay 
the  bolder  sort  leaped  out  by  troops  upon  the 
hurdles  that  covered  the  machines,  and  pulled 
them  to  pieces,  and  fell  upon  those  that  belong- 
ed to  them,  and  beat  them,  not  so  much  by  any 
skill  they  had, as  principally  by  the  boldness  of 
their  attacks.     However,  Titus   himself  st: 
sent  assistance  to  those  that  were  the  hardest 
set,  and  placed  both  horsemen  and  archers  on 
the  several  sides  of  the  engines,  and  thereby 
beat  off  those  that  brought  the  fire  to  them:  he 
also  thereby  repelled  those  that  shot  stones  or 
darts  from  the  towers,  and  then  set  the  engines 
to  work  in  good  earnest;  yet  did  not  the  wall 
yield  to  these  blows,  excepting  where  the  !>at- 
tering-ram  of  the  fifteenth  legion  moved  the 
corner  of  a  tower,  while  the  wall  itself  continu- 
ed unhurt;  for  the  wall  was  not  presently  in 
the  same  danger  with  the  tower,  which  was 
extant  far  above  it;  nor  cotdd  the  fall  of  that 
part  of  the  tower  easily  break  down  any  part 
of  the  wall  itself  together  with  it. 

5.  And  now  the  Jews  intermitted  their  sal 
lies  for  a  while;  but  when  they  observed  the 
Romans  dispersed  all  abroad  at  their  works, 
and  in  their  several  camps,  (for  they  thought 
the  Jews  had  retired  out  of  weariness  and  fear,) 
they  all  at  once  made  a  sally  at  the  tower  Hip- 
picus,  through  an  obscure  gate,  and  at  the  same 
time  brought  fire  to  burn  the  works,  and  went 
boldly  up  to  the  Romans,  and  to  their  very  for- 
tifications themselves,  where,  at  the  cry  the? 
made,  those  that  were  near  them  came  present- 
ly to  their  assistance,  and  those  farther  oft'  came 
running  after  them;  and  here  the  boldness  of 
the  Jews  was  too  hard  for  the  good  order  of 
the  Romans;  and  as  they  beat  those  whon 
they  first  fell  upon,  so  they  pressed  upon  those 

Rome  pronounced  tho  name  of  Simon,  the  son  of  Ciora, 
Bar  Poras  for  Har  Gioras,  as  we  learn  from  Xiphiline,  p. 
217.  Heland  takes  notice,  "That  many  will  here  look  for 
a  mystery,  as  though  the  meaning  were  Uiat  the  Son  of  God 
came  now  to  take  vengeance  on  the  sins  of  the  Jewish  na 
lion;"  which  is,  indeed,  Ui«  truth  of  the  fact,  but  hardlj 
what  the  Jew*  could  now  mean;  unless,  isi-sibly  *>y  way  o: 
derision  of  Christ's  threatening*  so  often  made,  thai  he  woulc 
come  at  the  head  of  the  Roman  army  for  their  destruction 
But  even  this  interpretation  has  but  u  very  small  degree  of 
probability.  If  I  were  to  make  an  emendation,  by  mere  con 
Jecture,  I  would  read  IIETFOX  Instead  of  TlOi.  thougfr 
the  likeness  re  not  so  great  as  in  IOEj  because  thai  is  tin 
word  used  b,  Josephus  Just  before,  as  1  have  ulready  noted, 
on  this  very  "occasion,  while  loi;,  on  wrote  Of  dart,  is  only  s 
poetical  word,  and  never  used  by  Josephus  elsewhere,  and 
u  indeed, no  way  suitable  to  the  occtsion,  tins  engine  ae» 
throwing  vrwtor  darts,  but  great  stones  at  this  time* 


o52 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


and    Maliehus,   the   kings   of  both  those 
nations,  slain  by  his  order 

Now  as  to  these  her  injunctions  to 
Antony,  he  complied  in  part ;  for  though 
he  esteemed  it  too  abominable  a  thing  to 
kill  such  good  and  great  kings,  yet  was 
he  thereby  alienated  from  the  friendship 
he  had  for  them.  He  also  took  away  a 
great  deal  of  their  country;  nay,  even 
the  plantation  of  palm-trees  at  Jericho, 
where  also  grows  the  balsam-tree,  and  be- 
stowed them  upon  her,  as  also  all  the  cities 
-yu  this  side  the  river  Eleutherus,  Tyre 
and  Sidon  excepted.  And  when  she  was 
become  mistress  of  these,  and  had  con- 
Jucted  Antony  in  his  expedition  against 
the  Parthians,  as  far  as  Euphrates,  she 
came  by  Apamia  and  Damascus  into 
Judea;  and  there  did  Herod  pacify  her 
indignation  at  him  by  large  presents.  He 
also  hired  of  her  those  places  that  had 
been  torn  away  from  his  kingdom,  at  the 
yearly  rent  of  200  talents.  He  conducted 
her  also  as  far  as  Pelusium,  and  paid  her 
all  the  respects  possible.  Now  it  was  not 
long  after  this  that  Antony  bad  come 
back  from  Parthia,  aud  led  with  him 
Artabazes,  Tigranes's  son,  captive,  as  a 
present  for  Cleopatra;  for  this  Parthian 
was  presently  given  her,  with  his  money, 
and  all  the  prey  that  was  taken  with  him. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Antony,  at  the  persuasion  of  Cleopatra,  sends 
Herod  to  fight  against  the  Arabians — great 
earthquake. 

Now  when  the  war  about  Actium  had 
begun,  Herod  prepared  to  come  to  the  as- 
sistance of  Antony,  as  being  already  freed 
from  his  troubles  in  Judea,  and  having 
gained  Hyrcania,  which  was  a  place  that 
was  held  by  Antigonus's  sister.  However, 
he  was  cunningly  hindered  from  partaking 
of  the  hazards  that  Antony  went  through 
by  Cleopatra ;  for  since,  as  we  have  already 
noted,  she  had  laid  a  plot  against  the 
kings  [of  Judea  and  Arabia],  she  pre- 
vailed with  Antony  to  commit  the  war 
against  the  Arabians  to  Herod ;  that  so, 
if  he  got  the  better,  she  might  become 
mistress  of  Arabia,  or,  if  he  were  worsted, 
of  Judea;  and  that  she  might  destroy  one 
uf  those  kings  by  the  other. 

However,  this  contrivance  tended  to 
the  advantage  of  Herod;  for  at  the  very 
first  he  took  hostages  from  the  enemy,  and 
got  together  a  great  body  of  horse,  and 
ordered  them  to  march  against  them  about 


Diospolis;  and  be  conquered  that  army, 
although  it  fought  resolutely  against  him. 
After  which  defeat,  the  Arabians  were  in 
great  motion,  and  assembled  themselves 
together  at  Kanatha,  a  city  of  Celesyria, 
in  vast  multitudes,  and  waited  for  the 
Jews.  And  when  Herod  had  come 
thither,  he  tried  to  manage  this  war  with 
particular  prudence,  and  gave  orders  that 
they  should  build  a  wall  about  their 
camp ;  yet  did  not  the  multitude  comply 
with  those  orders,  but  were  so  emboldened 
by  their  foregoing  victory,  that  they  pre- 
sently attacked  the  Arabians,  and  beat 
them  at  the  first  onset,  and  then  pursued 
them ;  yet  were  there  snares  laid  for  Her- 
od in  that  pursuit;  while  Athenio,  who 
was  one  of  Cleopatra's  generals,  and  al- 
ways an  antagonist  to  Herod,  sent  out  of 
Kanatha  the  men  of  that  country  against 
him  ;  for,  upon  this  fresh  onset,  the  Ara- 
bians took  courage,  and  returned  back, 
and  both  joined  their  numerous  forces 
about  stony  places,  that  were  hard  to  be 
gone  over,  and  there  put  Herod's  men  to 
the  route,  and  made  a  great  slaughter  of 
them  ;  but  those  that  escaped  out  of  the 
battle  ned  to  Ormiza,  where  the  Arabians 
surrounded  their  camp,  and  took  it,  with 
all  the  men  that  was  in  it. 

In  a  little  time  after  this  calamity, 
Herod  came  to  bring  them  succours ;  but 
he  came  too  late.  Now  the  occasion  of 
that  blow  was  this,  that  the  officers  would 
not  obey  orders ;  for  had  not  the  fight  be- 
gun so  suddenly,  Athenio  had  not  found  a 
proper  season  for  the  snares  he  laid  for 
Herod :  however,  he  was  even  with  the 
Arabians  afterward,  and  overran  their 
country,  and  did  them  more  harm  than 
their  single  victory  could  compensate.  But 
as  he  was  avenging  himself  on  his  ene- 
mies, there  fell  upon  him  another  provi- 
dential calamity;  for  in  the  seventh*  year 
of  his  reign,  when  the  war  about  Actium 
was  at  the   height,  at  the  beginning  of 

*  This  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Herod  [from 
the  conquest  or  death  of  Antigonus],  with  the 
great  earthquake  in  the  beginning  of  the  same 
spring,  which  are  here  fully  implied  to  be  not  much 
before  the  fight  af  Actium,  between  Octavius  and 
Antony,  and  which  is  known  from  the  Roman  his- 
torians to  have  been  in  the  beginning  of  Septem- 
ber in  the  31st  year  before  the  Christian  era,  de 
termines  the  chronology  of  Josephus  as  to  the 
reign  of  Herod,  viz.  that  he  began  in  the  year  37, 
beyond  rational  contradiction.  Nor  is  it  unworthy 
of  notice,  that  this  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of 
Herod,  or  the  31st  before  the  Christian  era,  con- 
tained the  latter  part  of  a  Sabbatic  year ;  on  which 
Sabbatic  year,  therefore,  it  is  plain,  this  g?  sal 
earthquake  happened  in  Judea. 


Chap.  XIX. 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


G53 


the  spring,  the  earth  was  shaken,  and 
destroyed  an  immense  number  of  cattle, 
with  30,000  men  ;  but  the  army  received 
no  harm,  because  it  lay  in  the  open  air. 
[n  the  mean  time,  the  fame  of  this  earth- 
quake elevated  the  Arabians  to  greater 
jourage,  and  this  by  augmenting  it  to  a 
fabulous  height,  as  is  constantly  the  case 
in  melancholy  accidents,  and  pretending 
that  all  Judea  was  overthrown.  Upon 
this  supposal,  therefore,  that  they  should 
easily  get  a  land  that  was  destitute  of  in- 
habitants into  their  power,  they  first  sacri- 
ficed those  ambassadors  who  were  come 
to  them  from  the  Jews,  and  then  marched 
into  Judea  immediately.  Now  the  Jewish 
nation  were  affrighted  at  this  invasion, 
and  quite  dispirited  at  the  greatness  of 
their  calamities  one  after  another;  whom 
yet  Herod  got  together,  and  endeavoured 
to  encourage  to  defend  themselves  by  the 
following  speech  which  he  made  to  them: 
"  The  present  dread  you  are  under, 
seems  to  me  to  have  seized  upon  you  very 
unseasonably.  It  is  true,  you  might  just- 
ly be  dismayed  at  the  providential  chas- 
tisement which  hath  befallen  you;  but  to 
suffer  yourselves  to  be  equally  terrified  at 
the  invasion  of  men,  is  unmanly.  As  for 
myself,  I  am  so  far  from  being  affrighted 
at  our  enemies  after  this  earthquake,  that 
I  imagine  that  God  hath  thereby  laid  a 
bait  for  the  Arabians,  that  we  may  be 
avenged  on  them ;  for  their  present  inva- 
sion proceeds  more  from  our  accidental 
misfortunes,  than  that  they  have  any 
great  dependence  on  their  weapons,  or 
their  own  fitness  for  action.  Now  that 
hope  which  depends  not  on  men's  own 
power,  but  on  others'  ill  success,  is  a  very 
ticklish  thing ;  for  there  is  no  certainty 
among  men,  either  in  their  bad  or  good 
fortunes;  but  we  may  easily  observe,  that 
fortune  is  mutable,  and  goes  from  one  side 
to  another ;  and  this  you  may  readily 
learn  from  examples  among  yourselves ; 
for  when  you  were  once  victors  in  the 
former  fight,  your  enemies  overcame  you  at 
last;  and  very  likely  it  will  now  happen  so, 
that  these  who  think  themselves  sure  of 
beating  you,  will  themselves  be  beaten  ; 
for  when  men  are  very  confident,  they  are 
not  upon  their  guard,  while  fear  teaches 
men  to  act  with  caution ;  insomuch,  that 
I  venture  to  prove  from  your  very  timor- 
ousness,  that  you  ought  to  take  courage; 
for  when  you  were  more  bold  than  you 
ought  to  have  been,  and  than  I  would  have 
had  you,  and  marched  on,  Athenio's  treach- 


ery took  place;  but  your  present  slowness 
and  seeming  dejection  of  rnind  is  to  me  a 
pledge  and  assurance  of  victory;  and  in- 
deed it  is  proper  beforehand  to  be  thus 
provident;  but  when  we  come  to  action, 
we  ought  to  erect  our  minds,  and  to  make 
our  enemies,  be  they  ever  so  wicked,  be- 
lieve, that  neither  any  human,  no,  nor 
any  providential  misfortune,  can  ever  de- 
press the  courage  of  Jews  while  they  are 
alive;  nor  will  any  of  them  ever  overlook 
an  Arabian,  or  suffer  such  a  one  to  become 
lord  of  his  good  things,  whom  he  has  in 
a  manner  taken  captive,  and  that  manys 
times  also  :  and  do  not  you  disturb  your- 
selves at  the  quaking  of  inanimate  crea- 
tures, nor  do  you  imagine  that  this  earth- 
quake is  a  sign  of  another  calamity;  for 
such  affections  of  the  elements  are  accord- 
ing to  the  course  of  nature ;  nor  does  it 
import  any  thing  further  to  men,  than 
what  mischief  it  does  immediately  of  it- 
self. Perhaps,  there  may  come  some  short 
sign  beforehand  in  the  case  of  pestilences, 
and  famines,  and  earthquakes ;  but  these 
calamities  themselves  have  their  force 
limited  by  themselves,  (without  forebodiug 
any  other  calamity ;)  and,  indeed,  what 
greater  mischief  can  the  war,  though  it 
should  be  a  violent  one,  do  to  us,  than  the 
earthquake  hath  done  ?  Nay,  there  is  a 
signal  of  our  enemies'  destruction  visible, 
and  that  a  very  great  one  also ;  and  this 
is  not  a  natural  one,  nor  derived  from  the 
hand  of  foreigners  neither,  but  it  is  this, 
that  they  have  barbarously  murdered  our 
ambassadors,  contrary  to  the  common  law 
of  mankind ;  and  they  have  destroyed  so 
many,  as  if  they  esteemed  them  sacrifices 
for  God,  in  relation  to  this  war  ;  but  they 
will  not  avoid  his  great  eye,  nor  his  invinci- 
ble right  hand ;  and  we  shall  be  revenged 
of  them  presently,  in  case  we  still  retain 
any  of  the  courage  of  our  forefathers,  and 
rise  up  boldly  to  punish  these  covenant- 
breakers.  Let  every  one  therefore  go  on 
and  fight,  not  so  much  for  his  wife  or  his 
children,  or  for  the  danger  his  country  is 
in,  as  for  these  ambassadors  of  ours : 
those  dead  ambassadors  will  conduct  this 
war  of  ours  better  than  we  ourselves  who 
are  alive  ;  and  if  you  will  be  ruled  by  me, 
I  will  myself  go  before  you  into  danger ; 
for  you  know  this  well  enough,  that  your 
courage  is  irresistible,  unless  you  hurt 
yourselves  by  acting  rashly. v* 


*  This  speech  of  Herod's  i?  set   down   twice   bj 
Josephua     here    and    Antiq.  b.    x\    chap,  v.,  to  tb*- 


o54 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  L 


When  Herod  Lad  encouraged  them  by 
this  speech,  and  he  saw  with  what  alacrity 
they  went,  he  offered  sacrifice  to  God; 
and  after  that  sacrifice,  he  passed  over  the 
river  Jordan  with  his  army,  and  pitched 
his  camp  about  Philadelphia,  near  the 
enemy,  and  about  a  fortification  that  lay 
between  them.  He  then  shot  at  them  at 
a  distance,  and  was  desirous  to  come  to  an 
engagement  presently ;  for  some  of  them 
had  been  sent  beforehand  to  seize  upon 
that  fortification;  but  the  king  sent  some 
who  immediately  beat  them  out  of  the 
fortification,  while  he  himself  went  in  the 
forefront  of  the  army,  which  he  put  in 
battle  array  every  day,  and  invited  the 
Arabiaus  to  fight;  but  as  none  of  them 
came  out  of  their  camp,  for  they  were  in 
a  terrible  fright,  and  their  general,  Elthe- 
tnus,  was  not  able  to  say  a  word  for  fear; 
so  Herod  came  upon  them,  and  pulled 
their  fortification  to  pieces,  by  which 
means  they  were  compelled  to  come  out 
to  fight,  which  they  did  in  disorder,  and 
so  that  the  horsemen  and  footmen  were 
mixed  together.  They  were  indeed  supe- 
rior to  the  Jews  in  number,  but  inferior 
in  their  alacrity,  although  they  were 
obliged  to  expose  themselves  to  danger 
by  their  very  despair  of  victory. 

Now  while  they  made  opposition,  they 
had  not  a  great  number  slain  ;  but  as  soon 
as  they  turned  their  backs,  a  great  many 
were  trodden  to  pieces  by  the  Jews,  and 
a  great  many  by  themselves,  and  so  pe- 
rished, till  5000  were  fallen  down  dead  in 
their  flight,  while  the  rest  of  the  multitude 
prevented  their  immediate  death,  by  crowd- 
ing into  the  fortification.  Herod  encom- 
passed these  around,  and  besieged  them  ; 
and  while  they  were  ready  to  be  taken  by 
their  enemies  in  arms,  they  had  another 
additional  distress  upon  them,  which  was 
thirst  and  want  of  water;  for  the  king 
was  above  hearkening  to  their  ambassa- 
dors; and  when  they  offered  500  talents 
as  the  price  of  their  redemption,  he  pressed 
sitill  harder  upon  them ;  and  as  they  were 
burnt  up  by  their  thirst,  they  came  out 
and  voluntarily  delivered  themselves  up 
by  multitudes  to  the  Jews,  till  in  five  days' 
time  4000  of  them  were  put  into  bonds ; 
and  on  the  sixth  day  the  multitude  that 
were  left  despaired  of  saving  themselves, 
and  came  out  to  fight :  with  these  Herod 


«rery  same  purpose,  but  by  no  means  in  the  same 
words  ;  whence  it  appears  that  the  sense  was  He- 
rodJ6,  but  the  composition  Josephus's. 


fought,  and  slew  again  about  7000,  inso- 
much that  he  punished  Arabia  so  severely, 
and  so  far  extinguished  the  spirits  of  the 
men,  that  he  was  chosen  by  the  nation 
for  their  ruler.      

CHAPTER  XX. 

Herod  is  confirmed  in  his  kingdom  by  Caesar — 
cultivates  a  friendship  with  the  emperor  by  mag- 
nificent presents — Caesar  returns  Herod's  kind- 
ness by  enlarging  his  territories. 

But  now  Herod  was  under  immediate 
concern    about  a  most    important   affair, 
on  account  of  his  friendship  with  Antony, 
who  was  already  overcome  at  Actium  by 
Caesar,  yet  he  was  more  afraid  than  hurt ; 
for  Caesar  did  not  think  that  he  had  quite 
undone  Antony,  while  Herod    continued 
his  assistance  to  him.     However,  the  king 
resolved  to  expose  himself  to    dangers  : 
accordingly,  he  sailed  to  Rhodes,  where 
Caesar  then  abode,  and  came  to  him  with- 
out his  diadem,  and  in  the  habit  and  ap- 
pearance of  a  private  person,  but  in  his 
behaviour    as  a    king.      So   he  concealed 
nothing  of  the  truth,  but  spake  thus  be- 
fore his  face  :  "O  Caesar,  as  I  was  made 
king  of  the  Jews  by  Antony,  so  do  I  pro- 
fess that  I  have  used  my  royal   authority 
in  the  best  manner,  and   entirely  for  his 
advantage ;  nor  will  I  conceal  this  further, 
that  thou  hadst    certainly  found    me    in 
arms,  and  an  inseparable  companion  of 
his,  had  not  the  Arabians  hindered  me. 
However,  I  sent  him  as  many  auxiliaries  as 
I  was  able,  and  many   10,000  [cori]  of 
corn.     Nay,  indeed,  I  did  not  desert  my 
benefactor  after  the  blow  that  was  given 
him  at  Actium  ;  but  I  gave  him  the  best 
advice  I  was  able,  when  I  was  no  longer 
able  to  assist    him   in   the    war;    and  I 
told  him  that  there  was  but  one  way  of 
recovering  his  affairs,  and  that  was  to  kill 
Cleopatra;    and  I  promised  him  that  if 
she  were  once  dead,  I  would  afford  him 
money  and  walls  for  his  security,  with  an 
army  and  myself  to  assist  him  in  his  war 
against  thee ;  but  his  affections  for  Cleo- 
patra stopped  his  ears,  as  did  God  himself 
also,  who  hath  bestowed  the  governmeni 
on  thee.      I  own  myself  also  to  be  over- 
come   together  with  him ;  and   with  his 
last  fortune  I  have  laid  aside  my  diadem, 
and  am  come  hither  to  thee,  having  my 
hopes  of  safety  in  thy  virtue  ;  and  I  desire 
that  thou  wilt  first  consider  how  faithful  a 
friend,  and  not  whose  friend,  I  have  been." 
Caesar    replied    to  him    thus:    "Nay. 
thou  shalt  not  only  be  in  safety  but  shalt 


Chap.  XX.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


€55 


be  a  king,  and  that  mure  firmly  than 
thou  wast  before ;  for  thou  art  worthy  to 
reign  over  a  great  many  subjects,  by 
reason  of  the  fastness  of  thy  friendship  ; 
and  do  thou  endeavour  to  be  equally  con- 
stant in  thy  friendship  to  tne  upon  my 
good  success,  which  is  what  I  depend  upon 
from  the  generosity  of  thy  disposition. 
However,  Antony  hath  done  well  in  pre- 
ferring Cleopatra  to  thee ;  for  by  this 
means  we  have  gained  thee  by  her  mad- 
ness, and  thus  thou  hast  begun  to  be  my 
friend  before  I  began  to  be  thine  ;  on 
which  account  Quintus  Didius  hath  writ- 
ten to  me  that  thou  sentest  him  assistance 
against  the  gladiators.  I  do  therefore  as- 
sure thee  that  I  will  confirm  the  kingdom 
to  thee  by  decree  :  I  shall  also  endeavour 
to  do  thee  some  further  kindness  hereafter, 
that  thou  mayest  find  no  loss  in  the  want 
of  Antony/' 

When  Caesar  had  spoken  such  obliging 
things  to  the  king,  and  had  put  the  dia- 
dem again  about  his  head,  he  proclaimed 
what  he  had  bestowed  on  him  by  a  decree, 
iu  which  he  enlarged  in  the  commendation 
of  the  man  after  a  magnificent  manner. 
Whereupon  Herod  obliged  him  to  be  kind 
to  him  by  the  presents  he  gave  him,  and 
be  desired  him  to  forgive  Alexander,  one 
of  Antony's  friends,  who  had  become  a 
supplicant  to  him.  But  Caesar's  anger 
against  him  prevailed,  and  he  complained 
of  the  many  and  very  great  offences  the 
man  whom  he  petitioned  for  had  been 
guilty  of;  and  by  that  means  he  rejected 
bis  petition.  After  this,  Caesar  went  for 
Egypt  through  Syria,  when  Herod  re- 
ceived him  with  royal  and  rich  entertain- 
ments; and  then  did  he  first  of  all  ride 
along  with  Caesar,  as  he  was  reviewing 
his  army  about  Ptolemais,  and  feasted 
him  with  all  his  friends,  and  then  distri- 
buted among 'the  rest  of  the  army  what 
was  necessary  to  feast  them  withal.  He 
also  made  a  plentiful  provision  of  water 
for  them,  when  they  were  to  march  as  far 
as  Pelusium,  through  a  dry  country,  which 
he  did  also  in  like  manner  on  their  return 
thence ;  nor  were  there  any  necessaries 
wanting  in  that  army.  It  was  therefore  the 
opinion  both  of  Caesar  and  of  his  soldiers, 
that  Herod's  kingdom  was  too  small  for 
those  generous  presents  he  made  them; 
for  which  reason,  when  Caesar  had  come 
mto  Egypt,  and  Cleopatra  and  Antony 
were  dead,  he  did  not  only  bestow  other 
marks  of  honour  upon  him,  but  made  an 
addition  to  his  kingdom,  by  giving  him 


not  only  the  country  which  had  been  ta- 
ken from  him  by  Cleopatra,  but,  besides 
that,  Gadara,  and  Hippos,  and  Samaria; 
and  moreover  of  the  maritime  cities,  Ga- 
za,* and  Anthedon,  and  Joppa,  and  Stra- 
to's  Tower.  He  also  made  him  a  present 
of  400  Galls  [Galatians]  as  a  guard  for 
his  body,  which  they  had  been  to  Cleo 
patra  before.  Nor  did  any  thing  so  strong 
ly  induce  Caesar  to  make  these  presents  as 
the  generosity  of  him  that  received  them. 
Moreover,  after  the  first  games  at  Ac- 
tium,  he  added  to  his  kingdom  both  the 
region  called  Trachonitis,  and  what  lay  in 
its  neighbourhood,  Batanea,  and  the  coun- 
try of  Auranitis;  and  that  on  the  following 
occasion  : — Zenodorus,  who  had  hired  the 
house  of  Lysanias,  had  all  along  sent 
robbers  out  of  Trachonitis  among  the 
Damascenes ;  who  thereupon  had  recourse 
to  Varro,  the  president  of  Syria,  and 
desired  of  him  that  he  would  represent 
the  calamity  they  were  in  to  Caesar. 
When  Caesar  was  acquainted  with  it,  he 
sent  back  orders  that  this  nest  of  robbers 
should  be  destroyed.  Yarro  therefore 
made  an  expedition  against  them,  and 
cleared  the  land  of  those  men,  and  took 
it  away  from  Zenodorus.  Caesar  did 
afterward  bestow  it  on  Herod,  that  it 
might  not  again  become  a  receptacle  for 
those  robbers  that  had  come  against  Da- 
mascus. He  also  made  him  procurator  of 
all  Syria,  and  this  on  the  tenth  year  after- 
ward, when  he  came  again  into  that  pro- 
vince; and  this  was  so  established,  that 
the  other  procurators  could  not  do  any 
thing  in  the  administration  without  his 
advice  :  but  when  Zenodorus  was  dead, 
Caesar  bestowed  on  him  all  that  land 
which  lay  between  Trachonitis  and  Gali- 
lee. Yet,  what  was  still  of  more  conse- 
quence to  Herod,  he  was  beloved  by  Cae- 
sar next  after  Agrippa,  and  by  Agrippa 
next  after  Caesar;  whence  he  arrived  at 
a  very  great  degree  of  felicity ;  yet  did 
the  greatness  of  his  soul  exceed  it;  and 
the  main  part  of  his  magnanimity  was 
extended  to  the  promotion  of  piety. 


*  Since  Josephus,  both  here  and  in  his  Antip 
b.  xv.  chap,  vii.,  reckons  Gaza,  which  had  been  a 
free  city,  among  the  cities  given  Herod  by  An 
tus,  and  yet  implies  that  Herod  had  made  Costoba 
rus  a  governor  of  it  before,  Antiq.  b.  xv.  chap,  vii., 
Ilarduin  has  some  pretence  for  saying  that  .Jose- 
phus contradicted  bimself.  But  perhaps  Herod 
thought  he  had  sufficient  authority  to  put  a 
governor  into  Gaza,  after  he  was  made  tetrarch  or 
king,  in  times  of  war,  before  the  city  was  dotiveieJ 
entirely  into  his  hands  by  Augustus. 


656 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  L 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

Of  the  [temple   and]  cities   built  by   Herod — his 
magnificence  to  foreigners. 

Accordingly,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of 
his  reign,  Herod  rebuilt  the  temple, 
and  encompassed  a  piece  of  land  about  it 
with  a  wall ;  which  land  was  twice  as 
large  as  that  before  enclosed.  The  ex- 
penses he  laid  out  upon  it  were  vastly  large 
also,  and  the  riches  about  it  were  unspeak- 
able— a  sign  of  which  you  have  in  the' 
great  cloisters  that  were  erected  about  the 
temple,  and  the  citadel,*  which  was  on  its 
north  side.  The  cloisters  he  built  from 
the  foundation,  but  the  citadel  he  repaired 
at  a  vast  expense;  nor  was  it  other  than 
a  royal  palace,  which  he  called  Antony, 
in  honour  of  Antony.  He  also  built  him- 
self a  palace  in  the  upper  city,  containing 
two  very  large  and  most  beautiful  apart- 
ments; to  which  the  holy  house  itself 
could  not  be  compared  [in  largeness]. 
The  one  apartment  he  named  Caesareuru, 
and  the  other  Agrippium,  from  his  [two 
j;reat]  friends. 

Yet  did  he  not  preserve  their  memory 
vy  particular  buildings  only,  with  their 
viames  given  them,  but  his  generosity  went 
is  far  as  entire  cities;  for  when  he  had 
built  a  most  beautiful  wall  round  a  coun- 
try in  Samaria,  20  furlongs  long,  and  had 
brought  6000  inhabitants  into  it,  and  had 
allotted  to  it  a  most  fruitful  piece  of  land, 
and  in  the  midst  of  this  city,  thu^-  built, 
had  erected  a  very  large  temple  to  Caesar, 
and  had  laid  round  about  it  a  portion  of 
sacred  land  of  three  furlongs  and  a  half, 
he  called  the  city  Sebaste,  from  Sebastus, 
or  Augustus,  and  settled  the  affairs  of  the 
city  after  a  most  regular  manner. 

And  when  Caesar  had  further  bestowed 
on  him  another  additional  country,  he 
built  there  also  a  temple  of  white  marble, 
hard  by  the  fountains  of  Jordan:  the 
place  is  called  Panium,  where  is  a  top  of 
a  mountain  that  is  raised  to  an  immense 
height,  and  at  its  side,  beneath,  or  at  its 
bottom,  a  dark  cave  opens  itself;  within 
which  there  is  a  horrible  precipice,  that 
descends  abruptly  to  a  vast  depth;  it  con- 
tains a  mighty  quantity  of  water,  which  is 
immovable;  and  when  anybody  lets  down 

*  This  fort  was  first  built  by  John  Hyrcanus, 
and  called  "  Baris,"  the  Tower,  or  Citadel.  It  was 
afterward  rebuilt,  with  great  improvements,  by 
Herod,  under  the  government  of  Antonius,  and  was 
uamud  from  him  "the  Tower  of  Antonia;"  and 
about  the  time  when  Herod  rebuilt  the  temple,  he 
.".eeuis  to  have  put  his  last  hand  to  it. 


any  thing  to  measure  the  depth  of  the 
earth  beneath  the  water,  no  length  of  cord 
is  sufficient  to  reach  it.  Now  the  foun- 
tains of  Jordan  rise  at  the  roots  of  this 
cavity  outwardly ;  and,  as  some  think, 
this  is  the  utmost  origin  of  Jordan  :  but 
we  shall  speak  of  that  matter  more  accu- 
rately in  our  following  history. 

But  the  king  erected  other  places  at 
Jericho  also,  between  the  citadel  Cyprus 
and  the  former  palace,  such  as  were  better 
and  more  useful  than  the  former  for  tra- 
vellers, and  named  them  from  the  same 
friends  of  his.  To  say  all  at  once,  there 
was  not  any  place  of  his  kingdom  fit  for 
the  purpose,  that  was  permitted  to  be 
without  somewhat  that  was  for  Caesar's 
honour;  and  when  he  had  filled  his  own 
country  with  temples,  he  poured  out  the 
like  plentiful  marks  of  his  esteem  into  his 
province,  and  built  many  cities  which  he 
called  Cesareas. 

And  when  he  observed  that  there  was  a 
city  by  the  seaside  that  was  much  decayed 
(its  name  was  Strato's  Tower)  but  that, 
the  place,  by  the  happiness  of  its  situation, 
was  capable  of  great  improvements  from 
his  liberality,  he  rebuilt  it  all  with  white 
stone,  and  adorned  it  with  several  most 
splendid  palaces,  wherein  he  especially 
demonstrated  his  magnanimity ;  for  the 
case  was  this,  that  all  the  seashore  between 
Dora  and  Joppa,  in  the  middle,  between 
which  the  city  is  situated,  had  no  good 
haven,  insomuch,  that  every  one  that 
sailed  from  Phoenicia  for  Egypt  was 
obliged  to  lie  in  the  stormy  sea,  by  reason 
of  the  south  winds  that  threatened  them ; 
which  wind,  if  it  blew  but  a  little  fresh, 
such  vast  waves  are  raised,  and  dash  upon 
the  rocks,  that  upon  their  retreat,  the  sea 
is  in  great  ferment  for  a  long  way.  But 
the  king,  by  the  expenses  he  was  at,  and 
the  liberal  disposal  of  them,  overcame  na- 
ture, and  built  a  haven  larger  than  was 
the  Pyrecum  [at  Athens],  and  in  the 
inner  retirements  of  the  water  he  built 
other  deep  stations  [for  the  ships  also]. 

Now,  although  the  place  where  he  built 
was  greatly  opposite  to  his  purposes,  yet 
did  he  so  fully  struggle  with  that  diffi- 
culty, that  the  firmness  of  his  building 
could  not  easily  be  ©onquered  by  the  sea; 
and  the  beauty  and  ornament  of  the  works 
were  such,  as  though  he  bad  not  had  any 
difficulty  in  the  operation ;  for  when  he 
had  measured  out  as  large  a  space  as  we 
have  before  mentioned,  he  letdown  stones 
into  20  fathom  water,  the  greatest  part  of 


vlIAV.  XXI.  J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


657 


which  were  50  feet  in  length,  and  9  in 
depth,  and  10  in  breadth,  and  some  still 
Aarger.  But  when  the  haven  was  filled  up 
to  that  depth,  he  enlarged  that  wall  which 
was  thus  already  extant  above  the  sea,  till 
it  was  200  feet  wide;  100  of  which  had 
buildings  before  it,  in  order  to  break  the 
force  of  the  waves,  whence  it  was  called 
Pocumatia,  or  the  first  breaker  of  the 
waves;  but  the  rest  of  the  space  was 
under  a  stone  wall  that  ran  round  it.  On 
this  wall  were  very  large  towers,  the  prin- 
cipal and  most  beautiful  of  which  was 
called  Drusium,  from  Drusus,  who  was 
son-in-law  to  Caesar. 

There  were  also  a  great  number  of 
arches,  where  the  mariners  dwelt;  and  all 
the  places  before  them  round  about  was  a 
large  valley,  or  walk,  for  a  quay  [or  land- 
ing-place] to  those  that  came  on  shore; 
but  the  entrance  was  on  the  north,  because 
the  north  wind  was  there  the  most  gentle 
of  all  the  winds.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
haven  were  on  each  side  three  great  Colos- 
si, supported  by  pillars,  where  those  Co- 
lossi that  are  on  your  left  hand  as  you  sail 
into  the  port  are  supported  by  a  solid 
tower ;  but  those  on  the  right  hand  are 
supported  by  two  upright  stones  joined 
together,  which  stones  were  larger  than 
that  tower  which  was  on  the  other  side  of 
the  entrance.  Now  there  were  coutinual 
edifices  joined  to  the  haven,  which  were 
also  themselves  of  white  stone;  and  to 
this  haven  did  the  narrow  streets  of  the 
city  lead,  and  were  built  at  equal  dis- 
tances one  from  another.  And  over 
against  the  mouth  of  the  haven,  upon  an 
elevation,  there  was  a  temple  for  Caesar, 
which  was  excellent  both  in  beauty  and 
largeness ;  and  therein  was  a  Colossus  of 
Caesar,  not  less  than  that  of  Jupiter  Olym- 
pus, which  it  was  made  to  resemble.  The 
other  Colossus  of  Home  was  equal  to  that 
of  Juno  at  Argos.  So  he  dedicated  the 
city  to  the  province,  and  the  haven  to  the 
sailors  there ;  but  the  honour  of  the  build- 
ing he  ascribed  to  Cassar,  and  named  it 
Cesarea  accordingly. 

He  also  built  the  other  edifices,  the 
amphitheatre  and  theatre,  and  market- 
place, in  a  manner  agreeable  to  that  de- 
nomination ;  and  appointed  games  every 
fifth  year,  and  called  them,  in  like  manner, 
Caesar's  games;  and  he  first  himself  pro- 
posed the  largest  prizes  upon  the  192d 
Olympiad ;  in  which  not  only  the  victors 
themselves,  but  those  that  came  next  to 
them,  and  even  those  that  came  in  the 
42 


third  place,  where  partakers  of  his  royal 
bounty.  He  also  rebuilt  Anthedon,  a 
city  that  lay  on  the  coast,  and  had  been 
demolished  in  the  wars,  and  named  it 
Agrippeum.  Moreover,  he  had  so  very 
great  a  kindness  for  his  friend  Agrippa 
that  he  had  his  name  engraved  upon  that 
gate  which  he  had  himself  erected  in  the 
temple. 

Herod  was  also  a  lover  of  his  father,  if 
any  other  person  ever  was  so;  for  he 
made  a  monument  for  his  father,  even 
that  city  which  he  built  in  the  finest  plain 
that  was  in  his  kingdom,  and  »which  had 
rivers  and  trees  in  abundance,  and  named 
it  Antipatris.  He  also  built  a  wall  about 
a  citadel  that  lay  above  Jericho,  and  was 
a  very  strong  and  very  fine  building,  and 
dedicated  it  to  his  mother,  and  called  it 
Cypros.  Moreover,  he  dedicated  a  tower 
that  was  at  Jerusalem,  and  called  it  by  the 
name  of  his  brother  Phasaelus,  whose 
structure,  largeness,  and  magnificence  "we 
shall  describe  hereafter.  He  also  built 
another  city  in  the  valley  that  leads  north- 
ward from  Jericho,  and  named  it  Pha- 
saelus. 

And  as  he  transmitted  to  eternity  hi3  * 
family  and  friends,  so  did  he  not  neglect 
a  memorial  for  himself,  but  built  a  fortress 
upon  a  mountain  toward  Arabia,  and 
named  it  from  himself  Herodium;*  and 
he  called  that  hill,  that  was  of  the  shape 
of  a  woman's  breast,  and  was  sixty  fur- 
longs distant  from  Jerusalem,  by  the  same 
name.  He  also  bestowed  much  curious 
art  upon  it  with  great  ambition,  and  built 
round  towers  all  about  the  top  of  it,  and 
filled  up  the  remaining  space  with  the 
most  costly  palaces  round  about,  insomuch 
that  not  only  the  sight  of  the  inner  apart- 
ments was  splendid,  but  great  wealth  was 
laid  out  on  the  outward  walls  and  partitions 
and  roofs  also.  Besides  this,  he  brought 
a  mighty  quantity  of  water  from  a  great 
distance,  and  at  vast  charges,  and  raised 
an  ascent  to  it  of  200  steps  of  the  whitest 
marble,  for  the  hill  was  itself  moderately 
high,  and  entirely  factitious.  He  also 
built  other  palaces  about  the  roots  of  the 
hill,  sufficient  to  receive  the  furniture  that 
was  put  into  them,  with  his  friends  also, 
insomuch,  that  on  account  of  its  con- 
taining all  necessaries,  the  fortress  might 
seem  to  be  a  city,  but  by  the  bounds  it 
had,  a  palace  only. 

*  There  were  two  cities  or  citadels  ealled  Hero- 
dium, in  Judea :  one  of  them  was  60,  and  tb«  other 
200  furlongs  from  Jerusalem. 


b'58 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I 


And  when  he  had  built  so  much,  he 
showed  the  greatness  of  his  soul  to  no 
small  number  of*  foreign  cities.  He 
built  palaces  for  exercise  at  Tripoli,  and 
Damascus,  and  Ptolemais;  he  built  a  wall 
about  Byblus,  as  also  large  rooms,  and 
cloisters,  and  temples,  and  market-places 
at  Borytus  and  Tyre,  with  theatres  at 
Sidon  and  Damascus.  He  also  built 
aqueducts  for  those  Laodiceaus  who 
lived  by  the  seaside  ;  and  for  those  of 
Asoalon  he  built  baths  and  costly  foun- 
tains, as  also  cloisters  round  a  court,  that 
were  admirable  both  for  their  workman- 
ship and  largeness.  Moreover,  he  dedi- 
cated groves  and  meadows  to  some  people  : 
nay,  not  a  few  cities  there  were  who  had 
lands  of  his  donation,  as  if  they  were 
parts  of  his  own  kingdom.  He  also  be- 
stowed annual  revenues,  and  those  for 
ever  also,  on  the  settlements  for  exercises, 
and  appointed  for  them  as  well  as  for  the 
people  of  Cos,  that  such  rewards  should 
never  be  wanting.  He  also  gave  corn  to 
all  such  as  wanted  it,  and  conferred  upon 
Rhodes  large  sums  of  money  for  building- 
ships  ;  and  this  he  did  in  many  places, 
•  and  frequently  also.  And  when  Apollo's 
temple  had  been  burnt  down,  he  rebuilt 
it  at  his  own  charges,  after  a  better  man- 
ner than  it  was  before.  What  need  I 
speak  of  the  presents  he  made  to  the 
Lyeians  and  Samnians  !  or  of  his  great 
liberality  through  all  Ionia!  and  that  ac- 
cording to  everybody's  wants  of ( them. 
And  are  not  the  Athenians,  and  Lacede- 
monians, and  Nicopolitans,  and  that  Per- 
gumus  which  is  in  Mysia,  full  of  dona- 
tions that  Herod  presented  them  withal! 
and  as  for  that  large  open  place  belong- 
ing to  Antioch  in  Syria,  did  not  he  pave 
it  with  polished  marble,  though  it  were 
twenty  furlongs  long!  and  this  when  it 
was  shunned  b}  all  men  before,  because 
it  was  full  of  dirt  and  filthiness;  when 
he  besides  adorned  the  same  place  with  a 
cloister  of  the  same  length. 

It  is  true,  a  man  may  say,  these  were 
favours  peculiar  to  those  particular  places 
Dn  which  he  bestowed  his  benefits;  but 
then  what  favours  he  bestowed  on  the 
Eleans  was  a  donation  not  only  in  com- 
mon to  all  Greece,  but  to  all  the  habitable 
earth,  as  far  as  the  glory  of  the  Olympic 
games  reached ;  for  when  he  perceived 
that  they  were  come  to  nothing,  for  want 
of  meney,  and  that  the  only  remains  of 
ancient  Greece  were  in  a  manner  gone, 
he  not  only  became  one  of  the  combat- 


ants in  that  return  of  the  fifth  year 
games,  which  in  his  sailing  to  Rome  he 
happened  to  be  present  at,  but  he  settled 
upon  them  revenues  of  money  for  per- 
petuity, insomuch,  that  his  memorial  as 
a  combatant  there  can  never  fail.  It 
would  be  an  infinite  task  if  I  should  go 
over  his  payments  of  people's  debts,  or 
tributes,  for  them,  as  he  eased  the  people 
of  Phasaelus,  of  Batanea,  and  of  the 
small  cities  about  Cilicia,  of  those  annual 
pensions  they  before  paid.  However,  the 
fear  he  was  in  much  disturbed  the  greats 
ness  of  his  soul,  lest  he  should  be  ex- 
posed to  envy,  or  seem  to  hunt  after 
greater  things  than  he  ought,  while  he 
bestowed  more  liberal  gifts  upon  these 
cities  than  did  their  owners  themselves. 

Now  Herod  had  a  body  suited  to  his 
soul,  and  was  ever  a  most  excellent  hunt- 
er, where  he  generally  had  good  success, 
by  means  of  his  great  skill  in  riding 
horses;  for  in  one  day  he  caught  forty 
wild  beasts  :*  that  country  breeds  also 
bears ;  and  the  greatest  part  of  it  is  re- 
plenished with  stags  and  wild  asses.  He 
was  also  such  a  warrior  as  could  not  be 
withstood :  many  men  therefore  there 
are  who  have  stood  amazed  at  his  readi- 
ness in  his  exercises,  when  they  saw  him 
throw  the  javelin  directly  forward,  aud 
shoot  the  arrow  upon  the  mark ;  and 
then,  besides  these  performances  of  his, 
depending  on  his  own  strength  of  mind 
and  body,  fortune  was  also  very  favour- 
able to  him,  for  he  seldom  failed  of  suc- 
cess in  his  wars;  and  when  he  failed,  he 
was  not  himself  the  occasion  of  such 
failings,  but  he  either  was  betrayed  by 
some,  or  the  rashness  of  his  own  soldiers 
procured  his  defeat. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Murder   of   Aristobulus   and    Kyrcanus  the   high 
priests,  and  of  Mariamne  the  queen. 

However,  fortune  was  avenged  on 
Herod  in  his  external  great  success,  by 
raising  him  up  domestic  troubles;  and 
he  began  to  have  wild  disorders  in  his 
family,  on  account  of  his  wife,  of  whom 
he  was  so  very  fond  :  for  when  he  came 
to  the  government,  he  sent  away  her  1 
whom   he   had   before   married   when   he 

*  Here  seems  to  be  a  small  defect  in  the  copieu 
which  describe  the  wild  beasts  which  were  hunted 
in  a  certain  country  by  Herod  without  naming 
any  such  country  at  all 


Chap.  XXII. 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


659 


was  a  private  person,  and  who  was  born 
at  Jerusalem,  whose  name  was  Doris,  and 
married  Mariamne,  the  daughter  of  Alex- 
ander, the  son  of  Aristobulus ;  on  whose 
account  disturbances  arose  in  his  family, 
and  that  in  part  very  soon,  but  chiefly 
after  his  return  from  Rome ;  for,  first  of 
all,  he  expelled  Antipater,  the  son  of 
Doris,  for  the  sake  of  his  sons  by  Mari- 
amne, out  of  the  city,  and  permitted  him 
to  cc.we  thither  at  no  other  times  than  at 
the  festivals.  After  this  he  slew  his 
wife's  grandfather,  Hyrcanus,  when  he 
was  returned  out  of  Parthia  to  him,  un- 
der this  pretence,  that  he  suspected  him 
of  plotting  against  him.  Now  this  Hyr- 
canus had  been  carried  captive  to  Barza- 
pharnes,  when  he  overran  Syria;  but 
those  of  his  own  country  beyond  Euphra- 
tes, were  desirous  he  would  stay  with 
them,  and  this  out  of  the  commiseration 
they  had  for  his  condition ;  and  had  he 
complied  with  their  desires,  when  they 
exhorted  him  not  to  go  over  the  river  to 
Herod,  he  had  not  perished;  but  the  mar- 
riage of  his  grand-daughter  [to  Herod] 
was  his  temptation;  for  as  he  relied  upon 
him,  and  was  over  fond  of  his  own 
country,  he  came  back  to  it.  Herod's 
provocation  was  this:  not  that  Hyrcanus 
made  any  attempt  to  gain  the  kingdom, 
but  that  it  was  fitter  for  him  to  be  their 
king  than  for  Herod. 

Now  of  the  five  children  which  Herod 
had  by  Mariamne,  two  of  them  were 
daughters,  and  three  were  sons ;  and 
the  youngest  of  these  sons  was  educated 
at  Iiome,  and  there  died;  but  the  two 
eldest  he  treated  as  royal  blood,  on  ac- 
count of  the  nobility  of  their  mother, 
and  because  they  were  not  born  till  he 
was  king;  but  then  what  was  stronger 
than  all  this,  was  the  love  that  he  bore  to 
Mariamne,  and  which  inflamed  him  every 
day  to  a  great  degree,  and  so  far  con- 
spired with  the  other  motives,  that  he 
felt  no  other  troubles,  on  account  of  her 
he  loved  so  entirely  ;  but  Mariamne's  ha- 
tred to  him  was  not  inferior  to  his  love 
to  her.  She  had  indeed  but  too  just  a 
cause  of  indignation  from  what  he  had 
done,  while  her  boldness  proceeded  from 
his  affection  to  her;  so  she  openly  re- 
proached him  with  what  he  had  done  to 
her  grandfather,  Hyrcanus,  and  to  her 
brother,  Aristobulus,  for  he  had  not 
spared  this  Aristobulus,  though  he  was 
but  a  child;  for  when  he  had  given  him 


the  high-priesthood  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, he  slew  him  quickly  after  he  had 
conferred  that  dignity  upon  him ;  but 
when  Aristobulus  had  put  on  the  holy 
vestments,  and  had  approached  to  the 
altar  at  a  festival,  the  multitude,  in  great 
crowds,  fell  into  tears;  whereupon  the 
child  was  sent  by  night  to  Jericho,  and 
was  there  dipped  by  the  Galls,  at  Herod's 
command^  In  a  pond  till  Le  was  drowned. 

For  these  reasons  Mariamne  reproached 
Herod,  and  his  sister  and  mother,  after  a 
most  contumelious  manner,  while  he  was 
dumb  on  account  of  his  affection  for  her; 
yet  had  the  women  great  indignation  a* 
her,  and  raised  a  calumny  against  her, 
that  she  was  false  to  his  bed;  which  thing 
they  thought  rrost  likely  to  move  Herod 
to  anger.  They  also  contrived  to  have 
many  other  circumstances  believed,  in 
order  to  make  the  thing  more  credible, 
and  accused  her  of  having  sent  her  pic- 
ture into  Egypt  to  Antony,  and  that  her 
lust  was  so  extravagant  as  to  have  thus 
shown  herself,  though  she  was  absent,  tc 
%  man  that  ran  mad  after  women,  and  to 
2.  man  that  had  it  in  his  power  to  use 
violence  to  her.  This  charge  fell  like  a 
thunderbolt  upon  Herod,  and  put  him 
into  disorder;  and  that  especially,  be- 
cause his  love  to  her  occasioned  him  to 
be  jealous,  and  because  he  considered 
with  himself  that  Clecpatra  was  a  shrewd 
woman,  and  that  on  her  account  Lysanias 
the  king  was  taken  off,  as  well  as  Mali- 
chus  the  Arabian ;  for  his  fear  did  not 
only  extend  to  the  dissolving  of  his  mar- 
riage, but  to  the  danger  of  his  life. 

When,  therefore,  he  was  about  to  take 
a  journey  abroad,  he  committed  his  wife 
to  Joseph,  his  sister  Salome's  husband, 
as  to  one  who  would  be  faithful  to  him, 
and  bare  him  good-will  on  account  of 
their  kindred  :  he  also  gave  him  a  secret 
injunction,  that  if  Antony  slew  him,  he 
should  slay  her;  but  Joseph,  without 
any  ill  design,  and  only  in  order  to  de- 
monstrate the  king's  love  to  his  wife,  how 
he  could  not  bear  to  think  of  being 
separated  from  her,  even  by  death  itself, 
discovered  this  grand  secret  to  her;  upon 
which,  when  Herod  had  come  back,  and 
as  they  talked  together,  and  he  confirmed 
his  love  to  her  by  many  oaths,  and 
assured  her  that  he  had  never  such  an 
affection  for  any  other  woman  as  he  had 
for  her, — "  Yes,"  says  she,  "thou  didst, 
to  be  sure,  demonstrate  thy  love  to  me  by 


600 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


..he  injunctions  thou  gavest  Joseph,  when 
thou  commandedst  him  to  kill  me/'* 

When  he  heard  that  this  grand  secret 
was  discovered,  he  was  like  a  distracted 
man,  and  said,  that  Joseph  would  never 
Lave  disclosed  that  injunction  of  his,  un- 
less he  had  debauched  her.  His  passion 
also  made  him  stark  mad,  and  leaping 
out  of  his  bed,  he  ran  about  the  palace 
af^er  a  wild  maimer;  at  which  time  his 
sister  Salome  took  the  opportunity  also 
to  blast  her  reputation,  and  confirmed  his 
suspicion  about  Joseph ;  whereupon,  out 
of  his  ungovernable  jealousy  and  rage, 
he  commanded  both  of  thorn  to  be  slain 
immediately;  but  as  soon  as  e^-er  his  pas- 
sion was  over,  he  repented  )f  what  he 
had  done,  and  as  soon  as  his  anger  was 
worn  off,  his  affections  were  kindled 
again ;  and  indeed  the  flame  of  his  de- 
sires for  her  was  so  ardeut,  that  he  could 
not  think  she  was  dead,  but  would  ap- 
pear, under  his  disorders,  to  speak  to 
her  as  if  she  were  still  alive,  til1  he  was 
better  instructed  by  time,  when  his  grief 
and  trouble,  uow  she  was  dead,  appeared 
as  great  as  his  affection  had  been  for  her 
while  she  was  living. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Calumnies  against  the  sons  of  Mariamne — Antipa- 
ter  preferred  before  them— they  aro  accused 
before  Caesar,  and  Herod  is  reconciled  to  them. 

Now  Mariamne's  sons  were  heirs  to 
that  hatred  which  had  been  borne  to 
their  mother;  and  when  they  considered 
the  greatness  of  Herod's  crime  toward 
her,  they  were  suspicious  of  him  as  of  an 
enemy  of  theirs;  and  this  first  while  they 
were  educated  at  Rome,  but  still  more 
vhen  they  were  returned  to  Judea. 
This  temper  of  theirs  increased  upon 
tbem  as  they  grew  up  to  be  men;  and 
when  they  were  come  to  an  age  fit  for 
marriage,  the  one  of  them  married  their 
aunt  Salome's  daughter,  which  Salome 
had  been  the  accuser  of  their  mother;  the 
other  married  the  daughter  of  Archelaus, 
king  of  Cappadocia.  Aud  now  they 
used  boldness  in  speaking,  as  well  as  bore 
hatred  in  their  minds.     Now   those  that 


*  Here  is  either  a  defect  or  a  great  mistake  in 
Josephua's  present  copies  or  memory;  for  Mari- 
amne did  not  now  reproach  Herod  with  this  his 
first  injunction  to  Joseph  to  kill  her,  if  he  him- 
self were  slain  by  Antony,  but  that  he  had  given 
the  like  command  a  second  time  to  Soemus  also, 
when  he  was  afraid  of  being  slain  by  Augustus. 


calumniated  them  took  a  handle  from 
such  their  boldness,  and  certain  of  them 
spake  now  more  plainly  to  the  king,  that 
there  were  treacherous  designs  laid  against 
him  by  both  his  sons;  and  he  that  was 
son-in-law  to  Archelaus,  relying  upon  his 
father-in-law,  was  preparing  to  fly  away, 
in  order  to  accuse  Herod  before  Caesar; 
and  when  Herod's  head  had  been  iong 
enough  filled  with  these  calumnies,  he 
brought  Antipater,  whom  he  had  by  Do- 
ris, in  favour  again,  as  a  defence  to  him 
against  his  other  sons,  and  began  all  the 
ways  he  possibly  could  to  prefer  him  be- 
fore them. 

But  these  sons  were  not  able  to  beai 
this  change  in  their  affairs;  for  when  they 
saw  him  that  was  born  of  a  mother  of  no 
family,  the  nobility  of  their  birth  made 
them  unable  to  contain  their  indignation; 
but  whensoever  they  were  uneasy,  they 
showed  the  anger  they  had  at  it;  and  as 
these  sons  did,  day  after  day,  improve  in 
that  their  anger,  Antipater  already  exer- 
cised all  his  own  abilities,  which  were 
very  great,  in  flattering  his  father,  and 
in  contriving  many  sorts  of  calumnies 
against  his  brethren,  while  he  told  some 
stories  of  them  himself,  and  put  it  upon 
other  proper  persons  to  raise  other  stories 
against  them;  till  at  length  he  entirely 
cut  his  brethren  off  from  all  hopes  of 
succeeding  to  the  kingdom ;  for  he  was 
already  publicly  put  into  his  father's  will 
as  his  successor.  Accordingly,  he  was 
sent  with  royal  ornaments,  and  other 
marks  of  royalty,  to  Caesar,  excepting  the 
diadem.  He  was  also  able  in  time  to 
introduce  his  mother  again  into  Mari- 
amue's  bed.  The  two  sorts  of  weapon.* 
he  made  use  of  against  his  brethren  were 
flattery  and  calumny,  whereby  he  brought 
matters  privately  to  such  a  pass,  that  the 
king  had  thoughts  of  putting  his  sons  to 
death. 

So  the  father  drew  Alexander  as  far  as 
Rome,  and  charged  him  with  an  attempt 
of  poisoning  him,  before  Caesar.  Alex- 
ander could  hardly  speak  for  lamentation; 
but  having  a  judge  who  was  more  skilful 
than  Antipater^  and  more  wise  than 
Herod,  he  modestly  avoided  laying  any 
imputation  upon  his  father,  but  with  great 
strength  of  reason  confuted  the  calumnies 
laid  against  him ;  and  when  he  had  de- 
monstrated the  innocency  of  his  brother, 
who  was  in  the  like  danger  with  himself, 
he  at  last  bewailed  the  craftiness  of  Anti- 
pater, and  the  disgrace  they  were  under. 


(Jiiap.  XXII L] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


661 


He  was  enabled  also  to  justify  himself, 
not  only  by  a  clear  conscience,  which  he 
carried  within  him,  but  by  his  eloquence; 
for  he  was  a  shrewd  man  in  making 
speeches.  And  upon  his  saying  at  last, 
that  if  his  father  objected  this  crime  to 
them,  it  was  in  his  power  to  put  them  to 
death,  he  made  all  the  audience  weep ; 
and  he  brought  Caesar  to  that  pass,  as  to 
reject  the  accusations,  and  to  reconcile 
their  father  to  them  immediately.  But 
the  conditions  of  this  reconciliation  were 
these,  that  they  should  in  all  things  be 
obedient  to  their  father,  and  that  he 
should  have  power  to  leave  the  kingdom 
to  which  of  them  he  pleased. 

After  this,  the  king  came  back  from 
Rome,  and  seemed  to  have  forgiven  his 
sons  upon  these  accusations  ;  but  still  so, 
that  he  was  not  without  his  suspicions  of 
them.  They  were  fullowed  by  Antipater, 
who  was  the  fountain-head  of  those  accu- 
sations; yet  did  not  he  openly  discover 
his  hatred  to  them,  as  revering  him  that 
had  reconciled  them.  But  as  Herod  sailed 
by  Cilicia,  he  touched  at  Eleusa,  where 
Archelaus  treated  them  in  the  most  oblig- 
ing manner,  and  gave  him  thanks  for 
the  deliverance  of  his  son-in-law,  and  was 
much  pleased  at  their  reconciliation ;  and 
this  the  more,  because  he  had  formerly 
written  to  his  friends  at  Rome  that  they 
should  be  assisting  to  Alexander  at  his 
trial.  So  he  conducted  Herod  as  far  as 
Zephyrium,  and  made  him  presents  to  the 
value  of  30  talents. 

Now  when  Herod  had  come  to  Jerusa- 
lem, he  gathered  the  people  together,  and 
presented  them  his  three  sons,  and  gave 
them  an  apologetic  account  of  his  absence, 
and  thanked  God  greatly,  and  thanked 
Caesar  greatly  also,  for  settling  his  house 
when  it  was  under  disturbances,  and  had 
procured  concord  among  his  sons,  which 
was  of  greater  consequence  than  the  king- 
dom itself, — "and  which  I  will  render 
still  more  firm;  for  Caesar  hath  put  into 
flay  power  to  dispose  of  the  government, 
and  to  appoint  my  successor.  Accord- 
ingly, in  way  of  requital  for  his  kindness, 
and  in  order  to  provide  for  mine  own 
advantage,  I  do  declare  that  these  three 
sons  of  mine  shall  be  kings.  And,  in  the 
first  place,  I  pray  for  the  approbation  of 
God  to  what  I  am  about ;  and,  in  the 
next  place,  I  desire  your  approbation  also. 
The  age  of  one  of  them,  and  the  nobility 
of  the  other  two,  shall  procure  them  the 
iuwession.     Nay,  indeed,  my  kingdom  is 


so  large,  that  it  may  be  sufficient  for  more 
kings.  Now,  do  you  keep  those  in  their 
places  whom  Caesar  hath  joined,  and  their 
father  hath  appointed;  and  do  not  pay 
undue  or  unequal  respects  to  them,  but 
to  every  one  according  to  the  prerogative 
of  their  births;  for  he  that  pays  such 
respects  unduly,  will,  thereby,  uot  make 
him  that  is  honoured  beyond  what  his 
age  requires  so  joyful,  as  he  will  make 
him  that  is  dishonoured  sorrowful.  As 
for  the  kindred  and  friends  that  are  to 
converse  with  them,  I  will  appoint  them 
to  each  of  them,  and  will  so  constitute 
them,  that  they  may  be  securities  for 
their  concord;  as  well  knowing  the  ill 
tempers  of  those  with  whom  they  converse 
will  produce  quarrels  and  contentions 
among  them;  but  that  if  these  with  whom 
they  converse  be  of  good  tempers,  they 
will  preserve  their  natural  affections  for 
one  another.  But  still  I  desire,  that  not 
these  only,  but  all  the  captains  of  my 
army  have,  for  the  present,  their  hopes 
placed  on  me  alone ;  for  I  do  not  give 
away  my  kingdom  to  these  my  sons,  but 
give  them  royal  honours  only ;  whereby, 
it  will  come  to  pass  that  they  will  enjoy 
the  sweet  parts  of  government  as  rulers 
themselves,  but  that  the  burden  of  admi- 
nistration will  rest  upon  myself  whether 
I  will  or  not.  And  let  every  one  consider 
what  age  I  am  of;  how  1  have  conducted 
my  life,  and  what  piety  I  have  exercised; 
for  my  age  is  not  so  great,  that  men  may 
soon  expect  the  end  of  my  life ;  nor  have 
I  indulged  such  a  luxurious  way  of  living 
as  cuts  men  off  when  they  are  young; 
and  we  have  been  so  religious  toward 
God,  that  we  [have  reason  to  hope  we] 
may  arrive  at  a  very  great  age.  But  for 
such  as  cultivate  a  friendship  with  my 
sons,  so  as  to  aim  at  rny  destruction,  they 
shall  be  punished  by  me  on  their  account. 
I  am  not  one  who  envy  my  own  children, 
and  therefore  forbid  men  to  pay  them 
great  respect;  but  I  know  that  such 
[extravagant]  respects  are  the  way  to 
make  them  insoleut.  And  if  every  one 
that  comes  near  them  does  but  resolve 
this  in  his  mind,  that  if  he  proves  a  good 
man,  he  shall  receive  a  reward  from  me, 
but,  that  if  he  prove  seditious,  his  ill- 
intended  complaisauco  shall  get  him  no- 
thing from  him  to  whom  it  is  shown,  I 
suppose  they  will  all  be  of  my  side,  that 
is,  of  my  sons'  side;  for  it  will  be  for 
their  advantage  that  I  r°.ign,  and  that  I 
be  at  concord  with  them.     But  dj  you> 


662 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


0  my  good  children,  reflect  upon  the 
holiness  of  nature  itself,  by  whose  means 
natural  affection  is  preserved,  even  among 
wild  beasts;  in  the  next  place,  reflect 
upon  Caesar,  who  hath  made  this  reconci- 
liation among  us;  and,  in  the  third  place, 
reflect  upon  me,  who  entreat  you  to  do 
what  I  have  power  to  command  you, — 
continue  brethren.  I  give  you  royal  gar- 
ments, and  royal  honours;  and  I  pray  to 
God  to  preserve  what  I  have  determined, 
in  case  you  be  at  concord  one  with  an- 
other/' When  the  king  had  thus  spoken, 
and  had  saluted  every  one  of  his  sons 
after  an  obliging  manner,  he  dismissed 
the  multitude;  some  of  whom  gave  their 
assent  to  what  he  said,  and  wished  it 
might  take  effect  accordingly;  but  for 
those  who  wished  for  a  change  of  affairs, 
they  pretended  they  did  not  so  much  as 
hear  what  he  said. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Mnlice  of  Antipater  and  Doris — Herod  pardons 
Pherorasand  Salome — Herod's  eunuchs  tortured 
— Alexander  imprisoned. 

But  now  the  quarrel  that  was  between 
them  still  accompanied  these  brethren 
when  they  parted,  and  the  suspicions  they 
had  one  of  the  other  grew  worse.  Alex- 
ander and  Aristobulus  were  much  grieved 
that  the  privilege  of  the  firstborn  was 
confirmed  to  Antipater  ;  as  was  Antipater 
very  angry  at  his  brethren,  that  they  were 
to  succeed  him.  But  then  the  last  being 
of  a  disposition  that  was  mutable  and 
politic,  he  knew  how  to  hold  his  tongue, 
and  used  a  great  deal  of  cunning,  and  there- 
by concealed  the  hatred  he  bore  to  them; 
while  the  former,  depending  on  the  no- 
bility of  their  births,  had  every  thing  upon 
their  tongues  which  was  in  their  minds. 
Many  also  there  were  who  provoked  them 
further,  and  many  of  their  [seeming] 
friends  insinuated  themselves  into  their 
acquaintance,  to  spy  out  what  they  did. 
Now  every  thing  that  was  said  by  Alex- 
ander was  presently  brought  to  Antipater, 
and  from  Antipater  it  was  brought  to 
Herod,  with  additions.  Nor  could  the 
young  man  say  any  thing  in  the  simpli- 
city of  his  heart,  without  giving  offence, 
but  what  he  said  was  still  turned  to 
calumny  against  him.  And  if  he  had 
been  at  any  time  a  little  free  in  his  con- 
versation, great  imputations  were  forged 
from  the  smallest  cccasions.  Antipater 
also  was  perpetually  setting  some  to  pro- 


voke him  to  speak,  that  the  lies  he  raised 
of  him  might  seem  to  have  some  founda- 
tion of  truth ;  and  if,  among  the  many 
stories  that  were  given  out,  but  one  of 
them  could  be  proved  true,  that  was  sup- 
posed to  imply  the  rest  to  be  true  also. 
And  as  to  Antipater's  friends,  they  were 
all  either  naturally  so  cautious  in  speaking, 
or  had  been  so  far  bribed  to  conceal  their 
thoughts,  that  nothing  of  these  grand 
secrets  got  abroad  by  their  means.  Nor 
should  one  be  mistaken  if  he  called  the 
life  of  Antipater  a  mystery  of  wickedness: 
for  he  either  corrupted  Alexander's  ac- 
quaintance with  money,  or  got  into  their 
favour  by  flatteries ;  by  which  two  means 
he  gained  all  his  designs,  and  brought 
them  to  betray  their  master,  and  to  steal 
away,  and  reveal  what  he  either  did  or 
said.  Thus  did  he  act  a  part  very  cun- 
ningly in  all  points,  and  wrought  himself 
a  passage  by  his  calumnies  with  the  great- 
est shrewdness;  while  he  put  on  a  face 
as  if  he  were  a  kind  brother  to  Alexander 
and  Aristobulus,  but  suborned  other  men 
to  inform  of  what  they  did  to  Herod. 
And  when  any  thing  was  told  against 
Alexander,  he  would  come  in  and  pre- 
tend [to  be  of  his  side],  and  would  begin 
to  contradict  what  was  said ;  but  would 
afterward  contrive  matters  so  privately, 
that  the  king  should  have  au  indignation 
at  him.  His  general  aim  was  this:  to 
lay  a  plot,  and  to  make  it  be  believed  that 
Alexander  lay  in  wait  to  kill  his  father; 
for  nothing  afforded  so  great  a  confirma- 
tion to  these  calumnies  as  did  Antipater's 
apologies  for  him. 

By  these  methods  Herod  was  inflamed, 
and,  as  much  as  his  natural  affections  to 
the  young  men  did  every  day  diminish, 
so  much  did  it  increase  toward  Autipa- 
ter.  The  courtiers  also  inclined  to  the 
same  conduct ;  some  of  their  own  accord, 
and  others  by  the  king's  injunction,  as 
particularly  Ptolemy,  the  king's  dearest 
friend,  as  also  the  king's  brethren,  and 
all  his  children ;  for  Antipater  was  all  in 
all :  and  what  was  the  bitterest  part  of 
all  to  Alexander,  Antipater's  mother  was 
also  all  in  all ;  she  was  one  that  gave 
counsel  against  them,  and  was  more  harsh 
than  a  stepmother,  and  one  that  hated 
the  queen's  sons  more  than  is  usual  to 
hate  sons-in-law.  All  men  did  therefore 
already  pay  their  respects  to  Antipater, 
in  hopes  of  advantage  ;  and  it  was  the 
king's  command  which  alienated  every 
body  [from  the  brethren],  he  having  given 


Tha^.  XXI V\] 


WARS   OF  THE   JEWS. 


663 


this  charge  to  his  most  intimate  friends, 
that  they  should  not  come  near,  nor  pay 
any  regard  to  Alexander,  or  to  his  friends. 
Herod  had  also  become  terrible,  not  only 
to  his  domestics  about  the  court,  but  to 
his  friends  abroad;  for  Caesar  had  given 
such  a  privilege  to  no  other  king  as  he 
had  given  to  him,  which  was  this  :  that  he 
might  fetch  back  any  one  that  fled  from 
him,  even  out  of  a  city  that  was  not  under 
bis  own  jurisdiction.  Now  the  young 
men  were  not  acquainted  with  the  calum- 
nies raised  against  them  ;  for  which  rea- 
son, they  could  not  guard  themselves 
against  them,  but  fell  under  them ;  for 
their  father  did  not  make  any  public 
complaints  against  either  of  them  ;  though 
in  a  little  time  they  perceived  how  things 
were,  by  his  coldness  to  them,  and  by  the 
great  uneasiness  he  showed  upon  any 
thing  that  troubled  him.  Antipater  had 
also  made  their  uncle  Pheroras  to  be  their 
enemy,  as  well  as  their  aunt  Salome, 
while  he  was  always  talking  with  her  as 
with  a  wife,  and  irritating  her  against 
them.  Moreover,  Alexander's  wife,  Gla- 
phyra,  augmented  this  hatred  against 
them,  by  deriving  her  nobility  and  gene- 
alogy [from  great  persons],  and  pretend- 
ing that  she  was  a  lady  superior  to  all 
others  in  that  kingdom,  as  being  derived 
hy  her  father's  side  from  Temenus,  and 
by  her  mother's  side  from  Darius,  the  son 
of  Hystaspes.  She  also  frequently  re- 
proached Herod's  sister  and  wives  with 
the  ignobility  of  their  descent;  and  that 
they  were  every  one  chosen  by  him  for 
their  beauty,  but  not  for  their  family. 
Now  those  wives  of  his  were  not  a  few ; 
it  being  of  old  permitted  to  the  Jews  to 
marry  many  wives,*  and  this  king  de- 
lighted in  many;  all  of  whom  hated  Alex- 
ander, on  account  of  Glaphyra's  boasting 
and  reproaches. 

Nay,  Aristobulus  had  raised  a  quarrel 
between  himself  and  Salome,  who  was 
his  mother-in-law,  besides  the  anger  he 
had  conceived  at  Grlaphyra's  reproaches ; 
for  he  perpetually  upbraided  his  wife  with 

*  It  was  a  custom  among  the  Jews  and  their 
forefathers  to  have  sometimes  more  wives  and  con- 
cubines than  one,  at  the  same  time;  and  that 
this  polygamy  was  not  directly  forbidden  in  the 
law  :f  Moses  is  evident,  but  was  never  distinctly 
perm.tted  in  that  law.  Deut.  xvii.  16,  17  ;  or  xxi. 
15.  And  what  Christ  says  about  the  common  Jew- 
ish divorces,  seems  true  in  this  case  also ;  that 
Moses,  "  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,"  suf- 
fered them  to  have  several  wives  at  the  same  time; 
but  that  "  from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so."  Matt. 
six   «  •  Mark  x.  5. 


the  meanness  of  her  family,  and  com- 
plained, that  as  he  had  married  a  wjman 
of  a  low  family,  so  had  his  brother  Alex- 
ander married  one  of  royal  blood.  At 
this  Salome's  daughter  wept,  and  told  it 
her  with  this  addition,  that  Alexander 
threatened  the  mothers  of  his  other  bre- 
thren, that  when  he  should  come  to  the 
crown,  he  would  make  them  weave  with 
their  maidens,  and  would  make  those 
brothers  of  his,  country  schoolmasters; 
and  brake  this  jest  upon  them,  that  they 
had  been  very  carefully  instructed  to  fit 
them  for  such  an  employment.  Here- 
upon Salome  could  not  contain  her  anger, 
but  told  all  to  Herod;  nor  could  her  testi- 
mony be  suspected,  since  it  was  against  her 
own  son-in-law.  There  was  also  another 
calumny  that  ran  abroad,  and  inflamed 
the  king's  mind;  for  he  heard  that  these 
sons  of  his  were  perpetually  speaking  of 
their  mother,  and,  among  their  lamenta- 
tions for  her,  did  not  abstain  from  curs- 
ing him;  and  that  when  he  made  pre- 
sents of  any  of  Mariamne's  garments  to 
his  late  wives,  these  threatened,  that  in  a 
little  time,  instead  of  royal  garments, 
they  would  clothe  them  in  no  better  than 
haircloth. 

Now  upon  these  accounts,  though  He- 
rod was  somewhat  afraid  of  the  young 
men's  spirit,  yet  did  he  not  despair  of  re- 
ducing them  to  a  better  mind;  but  be- 
fore he  went  to  Rome,  whither  he  was 
now  going  by  sea,  he  called  them  to  him, 
and  partly  threatened  them  a  little,  as  a 
king;  but  for  the  main,  he  admonished 
them  as  a  father,  and  exhorted  them  to 
love  their  brethren  ;  and  told  them  that 
he  would  pardon  their  former  offences, 
if  they  would  amend  for  the  time  to 
come.  But  they  refuted  the  calumnies 
that  had  been  raised  of  them,  and  said 
they  were  false,  and  alleged  that  their 
actions  were  sufficient  for  their  vindica- 
tion; and  said,  withal,  that  he  himself 
ought  to  shut  his  ears  against  such  tales, 
and  not  to  be  too  easy  in  believiug  them, 
for  that  there  would  never  be  wanting 
those  that  would  tell  lies  to  their  disad- 
vantage, as  long  as  any  would  give  ear  to 
them. 

When  they  had  thus  soon  pacified  him, 
as  being  their  father,  they  got  clear  of 
the  present  fear  they  were  in.  Yet  did 
they  see  occasion  for  sorrow  in  some  time 
afterward;  for  they  knew  that  Salome, 
as  well  as  their  uncle  Pheroras,  was  their 
enemy;    who  were  both    of   then,    heavy 


6G4 


WARS    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  L 


and  severe  persons,  and  especially  Phe- 
roras,  who  was  a  partner  with  Herod  in 
all  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  excepting 
his  diadem.  He  had  also  one  hundred 
talents  of  his  own  revenues,  and  enjoyed 
the  advantage  of  all  the  land  beyond 
Jordan,  which  he  had  received  as  a  gift 
from  his  brother,  who  had  asked  of 
Caesar  to  make  him  a  tetrarch,  as  he  was 
made  accordingly.  Herod  had  also  given 
him  a  wife  out  of  the  royal  family,  who 
was  no  other  than  his  own  wife's  sister ; 
and  after  her  death,  had  solemnly  espous- 
ed to  him  his  own  eldest  daughter,  with 
a  dowry  of  300  talents,  but  Pheroras  re- 
fused to  consummate  this  royal  marriage, 
out  of  his  affection  to  a  maidservant  of 
his.  Upon  which  account  Herod  was 
very  angry,  and  gave  that  daughter  in 
marriage  to  a  brother's  son  of  his  [Jo- 
seph], who  was  slain  afterward  by  the 
Parthians;  but  in  some  time  he  laid  aside 
his  anger  against  Pheroras,  and  pardoned 
him,  as  one  not  able  to  overcome  his 
foolish  passion  for  the  maidservant. 

Nay,  Pheroras  had  been  accused  long 
before,  while  the  queen  [Mariamne]  was 
alive,  as  if  he  were  in  a  plot  to  poison 
Herod;  and  there  came  so  great  a  num- 
ber of  informers,  that  Herod  himself, 
though  he  was  an  exceeding  lover  of  his 
brethren,  was  brought  to  believe  what 
was  said,  and  to  be  afraid  of  it  also;  and 
when  he  had  brought  many  of  those  that 
were  under  suspicion  to  the  tortxire,  he 
came  at  last  to  Pheroras's  own  friends; 
none  of  whom  did  openly  confess  the 
crime,  but  they  owned  that  he  had  made 
preparation  to  take  her  whom  he  loved, 
and  run  away  to  the  Parthians.  Costo- 
barus  also,  the  husband  of  Salome,  to 
whom  the  king  had  given  her  in  mar- 
riage, after  her  former  husband  had  been 
put  to  death  for  adultery,  was  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  this  contrivance 
and  flight  of  his.  Nor  did  Salome  escape 
all  calumny  upon  herself;  for  her  bro- 
ther Pheroras  accused  her,  that  she  had 
made  an  agreement  to  marry  Sileus,  the 
procurator  of  Obodas,  king  of  Arabia, 
who  was  at  bitter  enmity  with  Herod; 
but  when  she  was  convicted  of  this,  and 
of  all  that  Pheroras  had  accused  her  of, 
6ne  obtained  her  pardon.  The  king  also 
pardoned  Pheroras  himself  the  crimes  he 
had  been  accused  of. 

But  the  storm  of  the  whole  family  was 
removed  to  Alexander;  and  all  of  it 
rested  upon  his  head.     There  were  three 


eunuchs  who  were  in  ihe  highest  esteem 
with  the  king,  as  was  plain  by  the  offices 
they  were  in  about  him;  for  one  of  them 
was  appointed  to  be  his  butler,  another 
of  them  got  his  supper  ready  for  him, 
and  the  third  put  him  into  bed,  and  lay 
down  by  him.  Now,  Alexander  had  pre- 
vailed with  these  men  by  large  gifts,  to 
let  him  use  them  after  an  obscene  man- 
ner; which,  when  it  was  told  to  the  king, 
they  were  tortured,  and  found  guilty,  and 
presently  confessed  the  criminal  conversa- 
tion he  had  with  them.  They  also  disco- 
vered the  promises  by  which  they  were 
induced  so  to  do,  and  how  they  were  de- 
luded by  Alexander,  who  had  told  them 
that  they  ought  not  to  fix  their  hopes 
upon  Herod,  an  old  man,  and  one  so 
shameless  as  to  colour  his  hair,  unless 
they  thought  that  would  make  him  young 
again;  but  that  they  ought  to  fix  their 
attention  to  him  who  was  to  be  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  kingdom,  whether  he  would 
or  not;  and  who,  in  no  long  time,  would 
avenge  himself  on  his  enemies,  and  make 
his  friends  happy  and  blessed,  and  them- 
selves in  the  first  place;  that  the  men  of 
power  did  already  pay  respects  to  Alex- 
ander privately,  and  that  the  captains  of 
the  soldiery  and  the  officers  did  secretly 
come  to  him. 

These  confessions  did  so  terrify  Herod, 
that  he  durst  not  immediately  publish 
them ;  but  he  sent  spies  abroad  privately, 
by  night  and  by  day,  who  should  make  a 
close  inquiry  after  all  that  was  done  and 
said ;  and  when  any  were  but  suspected  [of 
treason]  he  put  them  to  death,  insomuch 
that  the  palace  was  full  of  horribly  un- 
just proceedings;  for  everybody  forged 
calumnies,  as  they  were  themselves  in  a 
state  of  enmity  or  hatred  against  others ; 
and  many  there  were  who  abused  the 
king's  bloody  passion  to  the  disadvantage 
of  those  with  whom  they  had  quarrels, 
and  lies  were  easily  believed,  and  punish- 
ments were  inflicted  sooner  than  the  ca- 
lumnies were  forged.  He  who  had  just 
then  been  accusing  another,  was  accused 
himself,  and  was  led  away  to  execution 
together  with  -him  whom  he  had  con- 
victed; for  the  danger  the  king  was  in  of 
his  life  made  examinations  be  very  short. 
He  also  proceeded  to  such  a  degree  of 
bitterness,  that  he  could  not  look  on  any 
of  those  that  were  not  accused  with  a 
pleasant  countenance,  but  was  in  the  most 
barbarous  disposition  toward  his  own 
friends.     Accordingly,  he  forbade  a  great 


JHAP.   XXV.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


665 


many  of  them  to  come  to  court,  and  to 
those  whom  he  had  not  power  to  punish 
actually,  he  spake  harshly;  but  for  Anti- 
pater,  he  insulted  Alexander,  now  he  was 
under  his  misfortunes,  and  got  a  stout 
company  of  his  kindred  together,  and 
raided  all  sorts  of  calumny  against  him : 
and  for  the  king,  he  was  brought  to  such 
a  degree  of  terror  by  those  prodigious 
slanders  and  contrivances,  that  he  fancied 
he  saw  Alexander  coming  to  him  with 
a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand.  So  he  caused 
him  to  be  seized  upon  immediately  and 
bound,  and  fell  to  examining  his  friends 
by  torture,  many  of  whom  died  [under 
the  torture],  but  would  discover  nothing, 
nor  say  any  thing  against  their  con- 
sciences; but  some  of  them,  being  forced 
to  speak  falsely  by  the  pains  they  en- 
dured, said  that  Alexander  and  his  bro- 
ther Aristobulus  plotted  against  him,  and 
waited  for  an  opportunity  to  kill  him  as 
he  was  hunting,  and  then  fly  away  to 
Rome.  These  accusations,  though  they 
were  of  an  incredible  nature,  and  only 
framed  upon  the  great  distress  they  were 
in,  were  readily  believed  by  the  king,  who 
thought  it  some  comfort  to  him,  after  he 
had  bound  his  son,  that  it  might  appear 
he  had  not  done  it  unjustly. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

irchelaus  procures  a  reconciliation  between  Alex- 
ander, Pheroras,  and  Herod. 

Now  as  to  Alexander,  since  he  per- 
ceived it  impossible  to  persuade  his  father 
[that  he  was  innocent],  he  resolved  to 
meet  his  calamities,  how  severe  soever 
they  were  ;  so  he  composed  four  books 
against  his  enemies,  and  confessed  that 
he  had  been  in  a  plot;  but  declared  withal 
that  the  greatest  part  [of  the  courtiers] 
were  in  a  plot  with  him,  and  chiefly 
Pheroras  and  Salome ;  nay,  that  Salome 
once  came  and  forced  him  to  lie  with  her 
in  the  night-time,  whether  he  would  or 
no.  These  books  were  put  into  Herod's 
hands,  and  made  a  great  clamour  against 
the  men  in  power.  And  now  it  was  that 
Archelaus  came  hastily  into  Judea,  as 
being  affrighted  for  his  son-in-law  and  his 
daughter;  and  he  came  as  a  proper  assist- 
ant, and  in  a  very  prudent  manner,  and 
by  a  stratagem  he  obliged  the  king  not 
to  execute  what  he  had  threatened;  for 
when  he  had  come  to  him  he  cried  out, 
"  Where  in  the  world  is  this  wretched 
ion-in-law  cf  mine?     Where  shall  I  see 


the  head  of  him  who  had  contrived  to 
murder  his  father,  which  I  will  tear  tc 
pieces  with  my  own  hands  ?  I  will  do 
the  same  also  to  my  daughter,  who  hath 
such  a  fine  husband;  for  although  she  be 
not  a  partner  in  the  plot,  yet,  by  being 
the  wife  of  such  a  creature,  she  is  polluted. 
And  I  cannot  but  admire  at  thy  patience, 
against  whom  this  plot  is  laid,  if  Alex- 
ander be  still  alive ;  for  as  I  came  with 
what  haste  I  could  from  Cappadocia,  I 
expected  to  find  him  put  to  death  for  his 
crimes  long  ago;  but  still,  in  order  to 
make  an  examination  with  thee  about 
my  daughter,  whom,  out  of  regard  to 
thee,  and  thy  dignity,  I  had  espoused  to 
him  in  marriage,  but  now  we  must  take 
counsel  about  them  both;  and  if  thy 
paternal  affection  be  so  great,  that  thou 
canst  not  punish  thy  son,  who  hath  plot- 
ted against  thee,  let  us  change  our  right 
hands,  and  let  us  succeed  one  to  the 
other  in  expressing  our  rage  upon  this 
occasion." 

When  he  had  made  this  pompous  de- 
claration, he  got  Herod  to  remit  of  his 
anger,  though  he  was  in  disorder,  who, 
thereupon,  gave  him  the  books  which 
Alexander  had  composed  to  be  read  by 
him;  and  as  he  came  to  every  head,  he 
considered  of  it,  together  with  Herod 
So  Archclaus  took  hence  the  occasion  for 
that  stratagem  which  he  made  use  of,  and 
by  degrees  he  laid  the  blame  on  these 
men  whose  names  were  in  these  books, 
and  especially  upon  Pheroras ;  and  when 
he  saw  that  the  king  believed  him  [to  be 
earnest],  he  said,  "  We  must  consider 
whether  the  young  man  be  not  himself 
plotted  against  by  such  a  number  of 
wicked  wretches,  and  not  thou  plotted 
against  by  the  young  man  ;  for  I  cannot 
see  any  occasion  for  his  falling  into  so 
horrid  a  crime,  since  he  enjoys  the  ad- 
vantages of  royalty  already,  and  has  the 
expectation  of  being  one  of  thy  succes- 
sors ;  I  mean  this,  unless  there  were  some 
persons  that  persuade  him  to  it,  and  such 
persons  as  make  an  ill  use  of  the  facility 
they  know  there  is  to  persuade  young 
men;  for  by  such  persons,  not  only 
young  men  are  sometimes  imposed  upon, 
but  old  men  also;  and  by  them  some- 
times are  the  most  illustrious  families  and 
kingdoms  overturned." 

Herod  assented  to  what  he  had  said, 
and,  by  degrees,  abated  of  his  anger 
against  Alexander ;  but  was  more  angry 
at    Pheroras,    who,    perceiving    that    tin 


666 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


king's  inclinations  changed  on  a  sudden, 
and  that  Archelaus's  friendship  could  do 
every  thing  with  him,  and  that  he  had 
no  honourable  method  of  preserving  him- 
self, he  procured  his  safety  by  his  impu- 
dence. So  he  left  Alexander,  and  had 
recourse  to  Archelaus;  who  told  him  that 
he  did  not  see  how  he  could  get  him  ex- 
cused, now  he  was  directly  caught  in  so 
many  crimes,  whereby  it  was  evidently 
demonstrated  that  he  had  plotted  against 
the  king,  and  had  been  the  cause  of  those 
misfortunes  which  the  young  man  was 
now  under,  unless  he  would  moreover 
leave  off  his  cunning  knavery  and  his  de- 
nials of  what  he  was  charged  withal,  and 
confess  the  charge,  and  implore  pardon 
of  his  brother,  who  still  had  a  kindness 
for  him  ;  but  that  if  he  would  do  so,  he 
would  afford  him  all  the  assistance  he  was 
able. 

With  this  advice  Pheroras  complied, 
and,  putting  himself  into  such  a  habit  as 
might  most  move  compassion,  he  came 
with  black  cloth  upon  his  body,  and  tears 
in  his  eyes,  and  threw  himself  down  at 
Herod's  feet,  and  begged  his  pardon  for 
what  he  had  done,  and  confessed  that  he 
had  acted  very  wickedly,  and  was  guilty 
of  every  thing  that  he  had  been  accused 
of,  and  lamented  that  disorder  of  his 
mind  and  distraction  which  his  love  to 
a  woman,  he  said,  had  brought  him  to. 
So  when  Archelaus  had  brought  Phero- 
ras to  accuse  and  bear  witness  against 
himself,  he  then  made  an  excuse  for  him, 
and  mitigated  Herod's  anger  toward  him, 
a*nd  this  by  using  certain  domestic  exam- 
ples ;  for  that  when  he  had  suffered  much 
greater  mischiefs  from  a  brother  of  his 
own,  he  preferred  the  obligations  of  na- 
ture before  the  passion  of  revenge;  be- 
cause it  is  in  kingdoms  as  it  is  in  gross 
bodies,  where  some  member  or  other  is 
ever  swelled  by  the  body's  weight;  in 
which  case  it  is  not  proper  to  cut  off  such 
member,  but  to  heal  it  by  a  gentle  me- 
thod of  cure. 

Upon  Archelaus's  saying  this,  and 
much  more  to  the  same  purpose,  Herod's 
displeasure  against  Pheroras  was  softened ; 
yet  did  he  persevere  in  his  own  indigna- 
tion against  Alexander,  and  said  he  would 
have  his  daughter  divorced  and  taken 
jiway  from  him,  and  this  till  he  had 
brought  Herod  to  that  pass,  that,  contrary 
to  his  former  behaviour  to  him,  he  peti- 
tioned Archelaus  for  the  young  man,  and 
that  he  would   let   his  daughter  continue 


espoused  to  him  :  but  Archelaus  made 
him  strongly  believe  that  he  would  per- 
mit her  to  be  married  to  any  one  else,  but 
not  to  Alexander;  because  he  looked 
upon  it  as  a  very  valuable  advantage,  that 
the  relation  they  had  contracted  by  that 
affinity,  and  the  privileges  that  went  along 
with  it  might  be  preserved;  and  when 
the  king  said  that  his  son  would  take  it 
for  a  great  favour  done  to  him  if  he 
would  not  dissolve  the  marriage,  especially 
since  they  had  already  children  between 
the  young  man  and  her,  and  since  that 
wife  of  his  was  so  well  beloved  by  him, 
and  that  as  while  she  remains  his  wife  she 
would  be  a  great  preservative  to  him, 
and  keep  him  from  offending,  as  he  had 
formerly  done;  so  if  she  should  be  torn 
away  from  him,  she  would  be  the  cause 
of  bin  falling  into  despair;  because  such 
}Oung  men's  attempts  are  best  mollified 
when  they  are  diverted  from  them,  by 
Mettliag  their  affections  at  home.  So  Ar- 
chelaus complied  with  what  Herod  desired, 
but  not  without  difficulty,  and  was  both 
himself  reconciled  to  the  young  man,  and 
reconciled  his  father  to  him  also.  How- 
ever, he  said  he  must,  by  all  means,  be 
ser,t  to  Rome  to  discourse  with  Caesar, 
because  he  had  already  written  a  full 
account  to  him  of  this  whole  matter. 

Thus  a  period  was  put  to  Archelaus's 
stratagem,  whereby  he  delivered  his  son- 
in-law  out  of  the  dangers  he  was  in;  but 
whea  these  reconciliations  were  over,  they 
spent  their  time  in  feastings  and  agreeable 
entertainments;  and  when  Archelaus  was 
going  away,  Herod  made  him  a  present 
of  70  talents,  with  a  golden  throne  set 
wilh  precious  stones,  and  some  eunuchs, 
and  a  concubine  who  was  called  Panny- 
chis.  He  also  paid  due  honours  to  every 
one  of  his  friends  according  to  their  dig- 
nity. In  like  manner  did  all  the  king's 
kindred,  by  his  command,  make  glorious 
presents  to  Archelaus;  and  so  he  was  con- 
ducted on  his  way  by  Herod  and  his 
nobility  as  far  as  Antioch. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Eurycles*    calumniates    the  sons  of    Mariamne— 
Euaratus's  apology  has  no  effect. 

Now  a  little  afterward,  there  came  into 
Judea,  a  man  that  was  much  superior  to 


*  Eurycles,  the  Lacedemonian,  seems  to  have 
been  the  same  who  is  mentioned  by  Plutarch,  a* 
(25  years  before)  a   companion  to  Mark   Antony 


Chap.  XXVI.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


667 


Archelaus's  stratagems,  who  did  not  only 
overturn  that  reconciliation  that  had  been 
go  wist  ly  made  with  Alexander,  but 
proved  the  occasion  of  his  ruin.  He  was 
a  Lacedemonian,  and  his  uame  was  Eury- 
cles.  He  was  so  corrupt  a  man,  that  out 
!>f  the  desire  of  getting  money,  he  chose 
to  live  under  a  king,  for  Greece  could  not 
suffice  his  luxury.  He  presented  Herod 
with  splendid  gifts  as  a  bait  which  he  laid, 
in  order  to  compass  his  ends,  and  quickly 
receive  them  back  manifold;  yet  did  he 
esteem  bare  gifts  as  nothing,  unless  he 
imbrued  the  kingdom  in  blood  by  his 
purchases.  Accordingly,  he  imposed  upon 
the  king  by  flattering  him,  and  by  talking 
subtilely  to  him,  as  also  by  the  lying  en- 
comiums which  he  made  upon  him ;  for  as 
he  soon  perceived  Herod's  blind  side,  so 
he  said,  and  did  every  thing  that  might 
please  him,  and  thereby  became  one  of 
his  most  intimate  friends;  for  both  the 
kinor  and  all  that  were  about  him,  had  a 
great  regard  for  this  Spartan,  on  account 
of  his  country. 

Now  as  soon  as  this  fellow  perceived 
the  rotten  parts  of  the  family,  and  what 
quarrels  the  brothers  had  one  with  ano- 
ther, and  in  what  disposition  the  father 
was  toward  each  of  them,  he  chose  to 
take  his  lodging  at  the  first  in  the  house 
of  Antipater,  but  deluded  Alexander  with 
a  pretence  of  friendship  to  him,  and  falsely 
claimed  to  be  an  old  acquaintance  of  Ar- 
chelaus; for  which  reason  he  was  presently 
admitted  into  Alexander's  familiarity  as  a 
faithful  friend.  He  also  soon  recom- 
mended himself  to  his  brother  Aristobu- 
lus; and  when  he  had  thus  made  trial  of 
these  several  persons,  he  imposed  upon  one 
of  them  by  one  method,  and  upon  another 
by  another;  but  he  was  principally  hired 
by  Antipater,  and  so  betrayed  Alexander, 
and  this  by  reproaching  Antipater,  be- 
cause, while  he  was  the  eldest  son,  he 
overlooked  the  intrigues  of  those  who 
stood  in  the  way  of  his  expectations;  and 
by  reproaching  Alexander,  because  he 
who  was  born  of  a  queen,  and  was  mar- 
ried to  a  king's  daughter,  permitted  one 
that  was  burn  of  a   mean  woman   to  lay 


and  av.  living  with  Herod;  whence  he  might  easily 
insinuate  himself  into  the  acquaintance  of  Herod's 
Bons,  Antipater  and  Alexander.  The  reason  why 
his  being  a  Spartan  rendered  him  acceptable  to 
the  Jews  is  visible  from  the  public  records  of  the 
Jews  and  Spartans,  owning  them  to  be  of  kin  to 
the  Jews,  and  derived  from  their  common  ancestor 
Abraham,  the  first  patriarch  of  the  Jewish  nation. 
Mace.  chap.  xii.  ver.  7. 


claim  to  the  succession,  and  this  when  he 
had  Archelaus  to  support  him  in  the  most 
complete  manner.  Nor  was  his  advice 
thought  to  be  other  than  faithful  by  the 
young  man,  because  of  his  pretended 
friendship  with  Archelaus;  on  which  ac- 
count it  was  that  Alexander  lamented  to 
him  Antipater's  behaviour  with  regard 
to  himself,  and  this  without  concealing 
any  thing  from  him  ;  and  how  it  was  no 
wonder,  if  Herod,  after  he  had  killed  their 
mother,  should  deprive  them  of  her  king- 
dom. Upon  this,  Eurycles  pretended  to 
commiserate  his  condition,  and  to  grieve 
with  him.  He  also,  by  a  bait  that  he 
laid  for  him,  procured  Aristobulus  to  say 
the  same  things.  Thus  did  he  inveigle 
both  the  brothers  to  make  complaints  of 
their  father,  and  then  went  to  Antipater, 
and  carried  these  grand  secrets  to  him. 
He  also  added  a  fiction  of  his  own,  as  if 
his  brothers  had  laid  a  plot  against  him, 
and  were  almost  ready  to  come  upon  him 
with  their  drawn  swords.  For  this  intel- 
ligence he  received  a  great  sum  of  money, 
and  on  that  account  he  commended  Anti- 
pater before  his  father,  and  at  length  un- 
dertook the  work  of  bringing  Alexander 
and  Aristobulus  to  their  graves,  and  ac- 
cused them  before  their  father.  So  he 
came  to  Herod  and  told  him  that  he  would 
save  his  life,  as  a  requital  for  the  favours 
he  had  received  from  him,  and  would  pre- 
serve his  light  [or  life]  by  way  of  retribu- 
tion for  his  kind  entertainment;  for  that 
a  sword  had  been  long  whetted,  and  Alex- 
ander's right  hand  had  been  long  stretched 
out  against  him  ;  but  that  he  laid  impedi- 
ments in  his  way,  prevented  his  speed, 
and  that,  by  pretending  to  assist  him  in 
his  design  :  how  Alexander  said  that. 
Herod  was  not  contented  to  reign  in  a 
kingdom  that  belonged  to  others,  and  to 
make  dilapidations  in  their  mother's  go- 
vernment after  he  had  killed  her;  but 
besides  all  this,  that  he  introduced  a  spu- 
rious successor,  and  proposed  to  give  the 
kingdom  of  their  ancestors  to  that  pesti- 
lent fellow  Antipater;  that  he  would  now 
appease  the  ghosts  of  Hyrcanus  and  Ma- 
riamne,  by  taking  vengeance  on  him ;  for 
that  it  was  not  fit  for  him  to  take  the  suc- 
cession to  the  government  from  such  a 
father  without  bloodshed :  that  many 
things  happen  every  day  to  provoke  him 
so  to  do,  insomuch  that  he  can  say  no- 
thing at  all,  but  it  affords  occasion  for 
calumny  against  him;  for  that,  if  any 
mention    be    made   of  nobility   or    birth 


6u8 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS 


[Book  1 


even  in  other  cases,  he  is  abused  unjustly, 
while  his  father  would  say  that  nobody, 
to  be  sure,  is  of  noble  birth  but  Alexan- 
der, and  that  his  father  was  inglorious  for 
want  of  such  nobility.  If  they  be  at  any 
time  hunting,  and  he  says  nothing,  he 
gives  offence;  and  if  he  commends  any 
body,  they  take  it  in  way  of  jest;  that 
they  always  find  their  father  unmercifully 
severe,  and  having  no  natural  affections 
for  anv  of  them  but  for  Antipater ;  on 
which  accounts  if  this  plot  does  not  take, 
he  is  very  willing  to  die;  but  that  in  case 
he  kill  his  father,  he  hath  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity for  saving  himself.  In  the  first 
place  he  hath  Archelaus  his  father-in-law, 
to  whom  he  can  easily  fly ;  and  in  the 
next  place  he  hath  Csesar,  who  had  never 
known  Herod's  character  to  this  day  •  for 
that  he  shall  not  appear  then  before  him 
with  that  dread  he  used  to  do  when  his 
father  was  there  to  terrify  him ;  and  that 
he  will  not  then  produce  the  accusations 
(hat  concerned  himself  alone,  but  would, 
in  the  first  place,  openly  insist  on  the 
calamities  of  their  nation,  and  how  they 
are  taxed  to  death,  and  in  what  ways  of 
luxury  and  wicked  practices  that  wealth 
is  spent  which  was  gotten  by  bloodshed ; 
what  sort  of  persons  they  are  that  get  our 
riches,  and  to  whom  those  cities  belong 
upon  whom  he  bestows  his  favours;  that 
he  would  have  inquiry  made  what  became 
of  his  grandfather  [Hyrcanus],  and  his 
mother  [Mariamne],  and  would  openlj' 
proclaim  the  gross  wickedness  that  was 
in  the  kingdom;  on  which  accounts  he 
should  not  be  deemed  a  parricide. 

When  Eurycles  had  made  this  porten- 
tous speech,  he  greatly  commended  Auti- 
pater  as  the  only  child  that  had  an  affec- 
tion for  his  father,  and  on  that  account 
was  an  impediment  to  the  other's  plot 
against  him.  Hereupon  the  king,  who 
had  hardly  repressed  his  anger  upon  the 
former  accusations,  was  exasperated  to  an 
incurable  degree.  At  which  time  Anti- 
pater took  another  occasion  to  send  in 
other  persons  to  his  father  to  accuse  his 
brethren,  and  to  tell  him  that  they  had 
privately  discoursed  with  Jucundus  and 
Tyrannus,  who  had  once  been  masters  of 
the  horse  to  the  king,  but  for  some  offences 
had  been  put  out  of  that  honourable 
employment.  Herod  was  in  a  very  great 
rage  at  these  informations,  and  presently 
ordered  those  men  to  be  tortured  :  yet  did 
not  they  confess   any  thing  of  what  the 


king  had  been  informed;  but  a  certain 
letter  was  produced,  as  written  by  Alex- 
ander to  the  governor  of  a  castle,  to  desire 
him  to  receive  him  and  Aristobulus  iuto 
the  castle  when  he  had  killed  his  father, 
and  to  give  them  weapons,  and  what  other 
assistance  he  could  upon  that  occasion. 
Alexander  said  that  this  letter  was  a 
forgery  by  Diophantus.  This  Diophantus 
was  the  king's  secretary,  a  bold  man,  cun- 
ning in  counterfeiting  any  one's  hand ; 
and  after  he  had  counterfeited  a  great 
number,  he  was  at  last  put  to  death  for  it. 
Herod  did  also  order  the  governor  of  the 
castle  to  be  tortured  ;  but  got  nothing  out 
of  him  of  what  the  accusations  suggested. 

However,  although  Herod  found  the 
proofs  too  weak,  he  gave  order  to  have  his 
sons  kept  in  custody;  for  till  now  they 
had  been  at  liberty.  He  also  called  that 
pest  of  his  family,  and  forger  of  all  this 
vile  accusation,  Eurycles,  his  saviour  and 
benefactor,  and  gave  him  a  reward  of  50 
talents.  Upon  which  he  prevented  any 
accurate  accounts  that  could  come  of  what 
he  had  done,  by  going  immediately  into 
Cappadocia,  and  there  he  got  money  of 
Archelaus,  having  the  impudence  to  pre- 
tend that  he  had  reconciled  Herod  to 
Alexander.  He  thence  passed  over  into 
Greece,  and  used  what  he  had  thus  wicked- 
ly gotten  to  the  like  wicked  purposes. 
Accordingly  he  was  twice  accused  before 
Caesar,  that  he  had  filled  Achaia  with  sedi- 
tion, and  had  plundered  its  cities :  so  he 
was  sent  into  banishment.  And  thus  was 
he  punished  for  what  wicked  actions  he 
had  been  guilty  of  about  Aristobulus  and 
Alexander. 

But  it  will  be  now  worth  while  to  put 
Euaratus  of  Cos  in  opposition  to  this  Spar- 
tan ;  for  as  he  was  one  of  Alexander's 
most  intimate  friends,  and  came  to  him  in 
his  travels  at  the  same  time  that  Eury- 
cles came ;  so  the  king  put  the  question 
to  him  whether  those  things  of  which 
Alexander  was  accused  were  true  ?  He 
assured  him  upon  oath  that  he  had  never 
heard  any  such  things  from  the  young 
men  ;  yet  did  this  testimony  avail  nothing 
for  the  clearing  those  miserable  creatures  : 
for  Herod  was  only  disposed  the  most 
readily  to  hearken  to  what  was  made 
against  them,  and  every  one  was  most 
agreeable  to  him  that  would  believe  they 
were  guilty,  and  showed  their  indiguatioa 
at  them. 


fcnAP   ZXVU  J 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


6(59 


CHAPfER  XXVII. 

Herod,  by  Ceesar's  direction?,  accuses  his  sons  at 
Beryrus — They  are  condemned  and  sent  to  Se- 
baste,  and  strangled  shortly  afterward. 

Moreover,  Salome    exasperated    He- 
rod's cruelty  against  his  sons ;   for  Aristo- 
bulus  was  desirous  to  bring  her,  who  was 
his  mother-in-law  and  his  aunt,  into  the 
like  danger  with  themselves:  so  he  sent 
to  her  to  take  care  of  her  own  safety,  and 
told  her   that  the  king  was  prepared  to 
-)ut  her  to  death  on  account  of  the  accu- 
sation   that    was  laid   against  her,  as  if, 
when  she  formerly  endeavoured  to  marry 
herself   to  Syleus  the   Arabian,  she  had 
discovered    the   king's    grand    secrets    to 
him,  who  was  the  king's  enemy;  and  this 
t  was  that  came  at  the  last  storm,  and 
jntirely  sunk  the  young  men,  who  were  in 
great    danger   before ;    for   Salome   came 
running  to  the  king,  and  informed  him  of 
what   admonition    had   been    given    her; 
whereupon  he  could  bear  no  longer,  but 
commanded   both   the  young  men  to  be 
bound,  and  kept  the  one  asunder  from  the 
other.      He  also  sent  Volumius,  the  gene- 
ral of  his  army,  to  Caesar  immediately, 
as  also  his  friend  Olympus  with  him,  who 
carried  the  information  in  writing  along 
;  with  them.     Now,   as  soon    as  they  had 
:  sailed  to  Rome  and  delivered  the  king's 
letters  to  Caesar,  Caesar  was  mightily  trou- 
bled at  the  case  of  the  young  men ;  yet 
did  not  he   think    he  ought  to  take  the 
power  from  the  father  of  condemning  his 
pons;  so  he  wrote  back  to  him,  and  ap- 
pointed him   to  have  the  power  over  his 
sons ;   but  said  withal,  that  he  would  do 
well   to   make   an   examination    into  this 
matter  of  the  plot  against  him  in  a  public 
court,  and  to  take  for    his  assessors  his 
own   kindred    and    the   governors  of  the 
province;    and    if    those    sons    be    found 
guilty,  to  put  them  to  death ;  and  if  they 
appear  to  have  thought  of  no  more  than 
only  flying  away  from  him,  that  he  should, 
in  that  case,  moderate  their  punishment. 
With  these  directions  Herod  complied, 
and  came  to  Berytus,   where  Caesar  had 
ordered  the  court  to  be   assembled,  and 
got  the  judicature  together.     The  presi- 
dents sat  first,  as  Caesar's  letters  had  ap- 
pointed, who  were    Saturninus   and    Pe- 
danius,   and   their  lieutenants   that  were 
with  them,  with  whom  was  the  procurator 
Vulumnius  also;    next   to    them   sat  the 
king's  kinsmen  and  friends,  with  Salome 
also,  and    Pheroras;    after  them  sat  the 


principal  men  of  all  Syria,  excepting 
Archelaus;  for  Herod  had  a  suspicion  01 
him,  because  he  was  xllexander's  father- 
in-law.  Yet  did  not  he  produce  his  sons 
in  open  court;  and  this  was  done  very 
cunningly,  for  he  knew  well  enough,  that 
had  they  but  appeared  only,  they  would 
certainly  have  been  pitied ;  and  if  withal 
they  had  been  suffered  to  speak,  Alexan-1 
der  would  easily  have  answered  what  they 
were  accused  of;  but  they  were  in  custody 
at  Platane,  a  village  of  the  Sidonians. 

So  the  king  got  up,  and  inveighed 
against  his  sons  as  if  they  were  present; 
and  as  for  that  part  of  the  accusation  that 
they  had  plotted  against  him,  he  urged  it 
but  faintly,  because  he  was  destitute  of 
proof;  but  he  insisted  before  the  assessors 
on  the  reproaches,  and  jests,  and  injurious 
carriage,  and  ten  thousand  the  like  of- 
fences against  them,  which  were  heavier 
thau  death  itself;  and  when  nobody  cou- 
tradicted  him,  he  moved  them  to  pity  his 
case,  as  though  he  had  been  condemned 
himself,  now  he  had  gained  a  bitter  vic- 
tory against  his  sons.  So  he  asked  every 
one's  sentence,  which  sentence  was  first 
of  all  given  by  Saturninus,  and  was  this: 
that  he  condemned  the  young  men,  but 
not  to  death ;  for  that  it  was  not  fit  for 
him,  who  had  three  sons  of  his  own  now 
present,  to  give  his  vote  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  sons  of  another.  The  two 
lieutenants  also  gave  the  like  vote ;  some 
others  there  were  also  who  followed  their 
example;  but  Volumnius  began  to  vote 
on  the  more  melancholy  side,  and  all 
those  that  came  after  this  condemned  the 
young  men  to  die — some  out  of  flattery, 
and  some  out  of  hatred  to  Herod;  but 
none  out  of  indignation  at  their  crimes. 
And  now  all  Syria  and  Judea  was  in  great 
expectation,  and  waited  for  the  last  act 
of  this  tragedy ;  yet  did  nobody  suppose 
that  Herod  would  be  so  barbarous  as  to 
murder  his  children  :  however,  he  carried 
them  away  to  Tyre,  and  thence  sailed  to 
Cesarea,  and  then  he  deliberated  with 
himself  what  sort  of  death  the  young  men 
should  suffer. 

Now  there  was  a  certain  old  soldier  of 
the  king's  whose  name  was  Tero,  who  had 
a  son  that  was  very  familiar  with,  and  a 
friend  to  Alexander,  and  who  himself 
particularly  loved  the  young  men.  This 
soldier  was  in  a  manner  distracted,  out 
of  the  excess  of  the  indignation  he  had 
at  what  was  doing;  and  at  first  he  crisd 
out  aloud,  as  he  went  about,  that  justice 


670 


WARS    01    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I. 


was  trampled  under  foot,  that  truth  had 
perished,  and  nature  confounded,  and 
that  the  life  of  man  was  full  of  iniquity, 
and  every  thing  else  that  passion  could 
suggest  to  a  man  who  spared  not  his  own 
life  ;  and  at  last  he  ventured  to  go  to  the 
king,  and  said,  "  Truly,  I  think,  thou  art 
a  most  miserable  man,  when  thou  hearken- 
est  to  most  wicked  wretches  against 
those  that  ought  to  be  dearest  to  thee ; 
since  thou  hast  frequently  resolved  that 
Pheroras  and  Salome  should  be  put  to 
death,  and  yet  believest  them  against  thy 
sons,  while  these,  by  cutting  off  the  suc- 
cession of  thine  own  sons,  leave  all  wholly 
to  Antipater,  and  thereby  choose  to  have 
thee  such  a  king  as  may  be  thoroughly  in 
their  own  power.  However,  consider 
whether  this  death  of  Antipater's  brethren 
will  not  make  him  hated  by  the  soldiers; 
for  there  is  nobody  but  commiserates  the 
young  men;  and  of  the  captains  a  great 
many  show  their  indignation  at  it  openly." 
Upon  his  saying  this,  he  named  those 
that  had  such  indignation ;  but  the  king- 
ordered  those  men,  with  Tero  himself,  and 
his  son,  to  be  seized  upon  immediately. 

At  which  time  there  was  a  certain 
barber,  whose  name  was  Trypho.  This 
man  leaped  out  from  among  the  people  in 
a  kind  of  madness,  and  accused  himself, 
and  said,  "  this  Tero  endeavoured  to  per- 
suade me  also  to  cut  thy  throat  with  my 
razor  when  I  trimmed  thee ;  and  promised 
that  Alexander  should  give  me  lar-ge  pre- 
sents for  so  doing."  When  Herod  heard 
this,  he  examined  Tero,  with  his  son,  and 
the  barber  by  the  torture;  but  as  the 
others  denied  the  accusation,  and  he  said 
nothing  further,  Herod  gave  order  that 
Tero  should  be  racked  more  severely ;  but 
his  son,  out  of  pity  to  his  father,  promised 
to  discover  the  whole  to  the  king,  if  he 
would  grant  [that  his  father  should  be 
no  longer  tortured].  When  he  had 
agreed  to  this,  he  said  that  his  father,  at 
the  persuasion  of  Alexander,  had  an  in- 
tention to  kill  him.  Now  some  said  this 
was  forged,  in  order  to  free  his  father 
from  his  torments;  and  some  said  it  was 
true. 

And  now  Herod  accused  the  captains 
and  Tero  in  an  assembly  of  the  people, 
and  brought  the  people  together  in  a  body 
against  them  ;  and  accordingly,  there 
were  they  put  to  death,  together  with 
[Trypho]  the  barber;  they  were  killed  by 
the  pieces  of  wood  and  stones  that  were 
thrown  at  them.     He  also  sent  his  sons 


to  Sebaste,  a  city  not  far  fiom  Cesarea. 
and  ordered  them  to  be  there  strangled 
and  as  what  he  had  ordered  was  executed 
immediately,  so  he  commanded  that  their 
dead  bodies  should  be  brought  to  tne 
fortress  Alexandrium,  to  be  buried  with 
Alexander,  their  grand-father  by  the  mo- 
ther's side.  And  this  was  the  end  o+ 
Alexander  and  Aristobulus. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Antipater  hated  by  all — the  king  espouses  the 
sons  of  those  that  had  been  slain  to  his  kindred 
— Antipater  induces  him  to  change  them  for 
other  women — Herod's  marriages  and  children. 

But  an  intolerable  hatred  fell  upon 
Antipater  from  the  nation,  though  he  had 
now  an  indisputable  title  to  the  succession; 
because  they  all  knew  that  he  was  the 
person  who  contrived  all  the  calumnies 
against  his  brethren.  However,  he  began 
to  be  in  a  terrible  fear,  as  he  saw  the 
posterity  of  those  that  had  been  slain 
growing  up ;  for  Alexander  had  two  sons 
by  Glaphyra,  Tygranes  and  Alexander; 
and  Aristobulus  had  Herod  and  Agrippa 
and  Aristobulus,  his  sons,  with  Herodias 
and  Manamne,  his  daughters;  and  all  by 
Bernice,  Salome's  daughter.  As  for  Gla- 
phyra, Herod,  as  soon  as  he  had  killed 
Alexander,  sent  her  back,  together  with 
her  portion,  to  Cappadocia.  He  married 
Bernice,  Aristobulus's  daughter,  to  Anti- 
pater's uncle  by  his  mother,  and  it  was 
Antipater  who,  in  order  to  reconcile  her 
to  him,  when  she  had  been  at  variance 
with  him,  contrived  this  match ;  he  also 
got  into  Pheroras's  favour,  and  into  the 
favour  of  Caesar's  friends,  by  presents 
and  other  ways  of  obsequiousness,  and 
sent  no  small  sums  of  money  to  Borne ; 
Saturninus  also,  and  his  friends  in  Syria, 
were  all  well  replenished  with  the  pre- 
sents he  made  them;  yet,  the  more  he 
gave  the  more  he  was  hated,  as  not  mak- 
ing these  presents  out  of  generosity,  but 
spending  his  money  out  of  fear.  Accord- 
ingly it  so  fell  out,  that  the  receivers 
bore  him  no  more  good-will  than  before, 
but  that  those  to  whom  he  gave  nothing  at 
all  were  his  more  bitter  enemies.  How- 
ever, he  bestowed  his  money  every  day 
more  and  more  profusely,  on  observing 
that,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  the  king! 
was  taking  care  about  the  orphans,  and 
discovering  at  the  same  time  his  repent- 
ance for  killing  their  fathers,  by  hia 
commiseration  of  those  that  sprang  froin| 
them. 


cEAP.  XXVIII.  ] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


671 


Accordingly,  Herod  got  together  his 
kindred  and  friends,  and  set  them  before 
the  children,  and  with  his  eyes  full  of 
tears,  said  thus  to  them  :  "  It  was  an  uu- 
lucky  fate  that  took  away  from  me  these 
children's  fathers,  which  children  are  re- 
oommeuded  to  me  by  that  natural  com- 
miseration which  their  orphan  condition 
requires;  however,  I  will  endeavour, 
though  I  have  been  a  most  unfortunate 
father,  to  appear  a  better  grandfather, 
and  to  leave  these  children  such  curators 
after  myself  as  are  dearest  to  me.  I 
therefore  betroth  thy  daughter,  Phero- 
ras,  to  the  elder  of  these  brethren,  the 
children  of  Alexander,  that  thou  mayest 
be  obliged  to  take  care  of  them.  I  also 
betroth  to  thy  son  Autipater,  the  daughter 
of  Aristobulus ;  be  thou,  therefore,  a 
father  to  that  orphan;  and  my  son  Herod 
[Philip]  shall  have  her  sister,  whose 
grandfather,  by  the  mother's  side,  was 
high  priest.  And  let  every  one  that  loves 
me  be  of  my  sentiments  in  these  disposi- 
tions, whom  none  that  hath  an  affection 
for  me  will  abrogate.  And  I  pray  God 
that  he  will  join  these  children  together 
in  marriage,  to  the  advantage  of  my  king- 
dom, and  of  my  posterity  ;  and  may  he 
look  down  with  eyes  more  serene  upon 
them  than  he  looked  upon  their  fathers/' 

While  he  spake  these  words,  he  wept, 
and  joined  the  children's  right  hands 
together  :  after  which,  he  embraced  them 
every  one  after  an  affectionate  manner, 
and  dismissed  the  assembly.  Upon  this, 
Antipater  was  in  great  disorder  imme- 
diately, and  lamented  publicly  at  what 
was  done ;  for  he  supposed  that  this 
dignity,  which  was  conferred  on  these 
orphans,  was  for  his  own  destruction, 
even  iu  his  father's  lifetime,  and  that  he 
should  run  another  risk  of  losing  the 
government  if  Alexander's  sons  should 
have  both  Archelaus  [a  king]  and  Phero- 
ras  a  tetrarch  to  support  them.  He  also 
considered  how  he  was  himself  hated  by 
the  nation,  and  how  they  pitied  these 
orphans;  how  great  affection  the  Jews 
bore  to  those  brethren  of  his  when  they 
were  alive,  and  how  gladly  they  remem- 
bered them,  now  they  had  perished  by 
his  means.  So  he  resolved,  by  all  the 
ways  possible,  to  get  these  espousals  dis- 
solved. 

Now  he  was  afraid  of  going  subtilely 
about  this  matter  with  his  father,  who 
was  hard  to  be  pleased,  and  was  presently 
moved  upon  the  least  suspicion  :  so  he 


ventured  to  go  to  him  directly,  and  to 
beg  of  him  beforo  his  face,  not  to  deprive 
him  of  that  dignity  which  he  had  been 
pleased  to  bestow  upon  him ;  and  that  he 
might  not  have  the  bare  name  of  a  king, 
while  the  power  was  in  other  persons ; 
for  that  he  should  never  be  able  to  keep 
the  government,  if  Alexander's  son  was 
to  have  both  his  grandfather  Archelaus 
and  Pheroras  for  his  curators ;  and  he  be- 
sought him  earnestly,  since  there  were  so 
many  of  the  royal  family  alive,  that  he 
would  change  those  [intended]  marriages. 
Now  the  king  had  nine  wives,*  and  chil- 
dren by  seven  of  them ;  Antipater  was 
himself  born  of  Doris,  and  Herod  [Philip] 
of  Mariamne,  the  high  priest's  daughter; 
Antipas  also  and  Archelaus  were  by  Mal- 
thace,  the  Samaritan,  as  was  his  daughter 
Olympias,  which  his  brother  Joseph's^ 
son  had  married.  By  Cleopatra  of  Jerusa- 
lem he  had  Herod  and  Philip ;  and  by 
Pallas,  Phasaelus:  he  had  also  two  daugh- 
ters, Roxana  and  Salome,  the  one  by 
Phedra,  and  the  other  by  Elpis;  he  had 
also  two  wives  who  had  no  children,  the 
one  his  first  cousin,  and  the  other  his  niece  ; 
and  besides  these  he  had  two  daughters, 
the  sisters  of  Alexander  and  Aristobulus, 
by  Mariamne.  Since,  therefore,  the  royal 
family  was  so  numerous,  Antipater  prayed 
him  to  change  these  intended  marriages. 

When  the  king  perceived  what  dispo- 
sition he  was  in  toward  these  orphans,  he 
was  angry  at  it,  and  a  suspicion  came 
into  his  mind  as  to  those  sons  whom  he 
had  put  to  death,  whether  that  had  not 
been  brought  about  by  the  false  tales  of 
Antipater;  so  at  that  time  he  made  An- 
tipater a  long  and  a  peevish  answer,  and 
bade  him  begone.  Yet  was  he  afterward 
prevailed  upon  cunningly  by  his  flatteries, 
and  changed  the  marriages;  he  married 
Aristobulus's  daughter  to  him,  and  his 
son  to  Pheroras's  daughter. 

Now  one  may  learn,  in  this  instance, 
how  very  much  this  flattering  Antipater 


*  Dean  Aldrich  takes  notice  here,  that  these 
nine  wives  of  Herod  were  alive  at  the  same  time, 
and  that  if  the  celebrated  Mariamne,  who  was  now 
dead,  be  reckoned,  those  wives  were  in  all  ten. 
Yet  it  is  remarkable  that  he  had  no  more  than 
fifteen  children  by  them  all. 

j-  To  prevent  confusion,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
distinguish  between  four  Josephs  in  the  history 
of  Herod.  1.  Joseph,  Herod's  uncle,  and  the 
[second]  husband  of  his  sister  Salome,  slain  by 
Herod  on  account  of  Mariamne.  2.  Joseph,  He- 
rod's quaestor  or  treasurer,  slain  on  the  same  ac- 
count. 3.  Joseph,  Herod's  brother,  slain  in  battle 
against  Antigonus.  4.  Joseph,  Herod's  nephew 
the  husband  of  Olympias,  mentioned  in  this  plate- 


672 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book.  I 


could  do, — even  what  Salome  in  the  like 
circumstances  could  not  do;  for  when  she, 
who  was  his  sister,  had,  by  the  means  of 
Julia,  Caesar's  wife,  earnestly  desired 
leave  to  be  married  to  Sylleus  the  Ara- 
bian, Herod  swore  he  would  esteem  her 
his  bitter  enemy  unless  she  would  leave 
off  that  project:  he  also  caused  her, 
against  her  own  consent,  to  be  married  to 
Alexas,  a  friend  of  his,  and  that  one  of 
her  daughters  should  be  married  to 
Alexas's  son,  and  the  other  to  Antipater's 
uncle  by  the  mother's  side.  And  for  the 
daughters  that  the  king  had  by  Mariamne, 
the  one  was  married  to  Antipater,  his 
sister's  son,  and  the  other  to  his  brother's 
son,  Phasaelus. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Intolerance  of  Antipater — he  is  sent  to  Rome — 
Pheroras  refuses  to  divorce  his  wife. 

Now  when  Antipater  had  cut  off  the 
hopes  of  the  orphans,  and  had  contracted 
such  affinities  as  would  be  most  for  his 
own  advantage,  he  proceeded  briskly,  as 
having  a  certain  expectation  of  the  king- 
dom ;  and  as  he  had  now  assurances  add- 
ed to  his  wickedness,  he  became  intole- 
rable; for  not  being  able  to  avoid  the 
hatred  of  all  people,  he  built  his  security 
upon  the  terror  he  struck  into  them. 
Pheroras  also  assisted  him  in  his  designs, 
looking  upon  him  as  already  fixed  in  the 
kingdom.  There  was  also  a  confpany  of 
women  in  the  court  who  excited  new 
disturbances;  for  Pheroras's  wife,  together 
with  her  mother  and  sister,  as  also  Anti- 
pater's mother,  grew  very  impudent  in 
the  palace.  She  also  was  so  insolent  as 
to  affront  the  king's  two  daughters,*  on 
which  account  the  king  hated  her  to  a 
great  degree;  yet,  although  these  women 
were  hated  by  him,  they  domineered  over 
others :  there  was  also  Salome,  who  op- 
posed their  good  agreement,  and  informed 
the  king  of  their  meetings,  as  not  being 
for  the  advantage  of  his  affairs;  and 
when  those  women  knew  what  calumnies 
she  had  raised  against  them,  and  how 
much  Herod  was  displeased,  they  left  off 
their  public  meetings  and  friendly  enter- 
tainments of  one  another;  nay,  on  the 
contrary,  they  pretended  to  quarrel  one 
with  another  when  the  king  was  within 
hearing.  The  like  dissimulation  did  An- 
tipater make  use  of;  and  when  matters 

*  These  daughters  of  Herod,  whom  Pheroras's 
wife  affronted,  were  Salome  and  Roxana. 


were  public,  he  opposed  Pheroras;  but 
still  they  had  private  cabals,  and  merry 
meetings  in  the  night-time;  nor  did  the 
observation  of  others  do  any  more  than 
confirm  their  mutual  agreement.  How- 
ever, Salome  knew  every  thing  they  did, 
and  told  every  thing  to  Herod. 

But^  he  was  inflamed  with  anger  at 
them,  and  chiefly  at  Pheroras's  wife;  for 
Salome  had  principally  accused  her.  So 
he  got  an  assembly  of  his  friends  and 
kindred  together,  and  there  accused  this 
woman  of  many  things,  and  particularly 
of  the  affronts  she  had  offered  his  daugh- 
ter; and  that  she  had  supplied  the  Phari- 
sees with  money,  by  way  of  rewards  for 
what  they  had  done  against  him,  and  had 
procured  his  brother  to  become  his  enemy, 
by  giving  him  love-potions.  At  length 
he  turned  his  speech  to  Pheroras,  and 
told  him  that  he  would  give  him  his 
choice  of  these  two  things:  whether  he 
would  keep  in  with  his  brother,  or  with 
his  wife  ?  and  when  Pheroras  said  that 
he  certainly  would  die  rather  than  forsake 
his  wife,  Herod,  not  knowing  what  to  do 
further  in  that  matter,  turned  his  speech 
to  Antipater,  and  charged  him  to  have 
no  intercourse  either  with  Pheroras's 
wife  or  with  Pheroras  himself,  or  with 
any  one  belonging  to  her.  Now,  though 
Antipater  did  not  transgress  that  his  in- 
junction publicly,  yet  did  he  in  secret 
come  to  their  night-meetings:  and  be- 
cause he  was  afraid  that  Salome  observed 
what  he  did,  he  procured  by  the  means  of 
his  Italian  friends,  that  he  might  go  and 
live  at  Rome ;  for  when  they  wrote  that 
it  was  proper  for  Antipater  to  be  sent  to 
Caesar  for  some  time,  Herod  made  no  de- 
lay, but  sent  him,  and  that  with  a  splen- 
did attendance  and  a  great  deal  of  money, 
and  gave  himjris  testament  to  carry  with 
him,  wherein  Antipater  had  the  kingdom 
bequeathed  to  him,  and  wherein  Herod 
was  named  for  Antipater's  successor;  that 
Herod,  I  mean,  who  was  the  son  of  Ma- 
riamne, the  high  priest's  daughter. 

Sylleus  also,  the  Arabian,  sailed  to 
Rome,  without  any  regard  to  Caesar's  in- 
junctions, and  this  in  order  to  oppose 
Antipater  with  all  his  might,  as  to  that 
lawsuit  which  Nicolaus  had  with  him 
before.  This  Sylleus  had  also  a  great 
contest  with  Aretas,  his  own  king,  for  he 
had  slain  many  of  Aretas's  friends,  and 
particularly  Sohemus,  the  most  potent  man 
in  the  city  Petra.  Moreover,  he  had  pre- 
vailed with  Phabatus,  who  was  Herod's 


Chap.  XXX.] 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS. 


G73 


steward,  by  giving  him  a  great  sum  of 
money,  to  assist  him  against  Herod ;  but 
when  Herod  gave  him  more,  he  induced 
him  to  leave  Sylleus,  and  by  his  means  he 
demanded  of  him  all  that  Caesar  had  re- 
quired of  him  to  pay;  but  when  Sylleus 
paid  nothing  of  what  he  was  to  pay,  and 
did  also  accuse  Phabatus  to  Caesar,  and 
said  that  he  was  not  a  steward  for  Caesar's 
advantage,  but  for  Herod's,  Phabatus  was 
angry  at  him  on  that  account,  but  was 
still  in  very  great  esteem  with  Herod,  and 
discovered  Sylleus's  grand  secrets,  and 
told  the  king  that  Sylleus  had  corrupted 
Corinthus,  one  of  the  guards  of  his  body, 
by  bribing  him,  and  of  whom  he  must 
therefore  have  a  care.  Accordingly,  the 
king  complied ;  for  this  Corinthus,  though 
he  was  brought  up  in  Herod's  kingdom, 
yet  was  by  birth  an  Arabian ;  so  the 
king  ordered  him  to  be  taken  up  imme- 
diately, and  not  only  him,  but  two  other 
Arabians,  who  were  caught  with  him  ;  the 
one  of  them  was  Sylleus's  friend,  the 
other  the  head  of  a  tribe.  These  last, 
being  put  to  the  torture,  confessed  that 
they  had  prevailed  with  Corinthus,  for  a 
large  sum  of  money,  to  kill  Herod;  and 
when  they  had  been  further  examined 
before  Saturninus,  the  president  of  Syria, 
they  were  sent  to  Rome. 

However,  Herod  did  not  leave  off  im- 
portuning Pheroras,  but  proceeded  to 
force  him  to  put  away  his  wife ;  yet  could 
he  not  devise  any  way  by  which  he  could 
bring  the  woman  herself  to  punishment, 
although  he  had  many  causes  of  hatred 
to  her;  till  at  length  he  was  in  such  great 
uneasiness  at  her,  that  he  cast  both  her 
and  his  brother  out  of  his  kingdom. 
Pheroras  took  this  injury  very  patiently, 
and  went  away  into  his  own  tetrarchy 
[Perea,  beyond  Jordan],  and  sware  that 
there  should  be  but  one  end  put  to  his 
flight,  and  that  should  be  Herod's  death ; 
and  that  he  would  never  return  while  he 
was  alive.  Nor  indeed  would  he  return 
when  his  brother  was  sick,  although  he 
earnestly  sent  for  him  to  come  to  him, 
because  he  had  a  mind  to  leave  some  in- 
junctions with  him  before  he  died  :  but 
Herod  unexpectedly  recovered.  A  little 
afterward  Pheroras  himself  fell  sick,  when 
Herod  showed  great  moderation ;  for  he 
came  to  him  and  pitied  his  case,  and  took 
care  of  him  :  but  his  affection  for  him  did 
him  no  good,  for  Pheroras  died  a  little 
afterward.  Now,  though  Herod  had  so 
great  an  affection  for  him  to  the  last  day 
43 


of  his  life,  yet  was  a  report  spread  abroad 
that  he  had  killed  him  by  poison.  How- 
ever, he  took  care  to  have  his  dead  body 
carried  to  Jerusalem,  and  appointed  a 
very  great  mourning  to  the  whole  nation 
for  him,  and  bestowed  a  most  pompous 
funeral  upon  him ;  and  this  was  the  end 
that  one  of  Alexander's  and  Aristobulus''* 
murderers  came  to. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Herod  inquires  into  the  death  of  Pheroras — Con- 
sequences thereof. 

But  now  the  punishment  was  trans- 
ferred unto  the  original  author,  Anti pa- 
ter, and  took  its  rise  from  the  death  of 
Pheroras ;  for  certain  of  his  freedmen 
came  with  a  sad  countenance  to  the  king, 
and  told  him  that  his  brother  had  been 
destroyed  by  poison,  and  that  his  wife 
had  brought  him  somewhat  that  was  pre- 
pared after  an  unusual  manner,  and  that 
upon  his  eating  it,  he  presently  fell  into 
his  distemper;  that  Antipater's  mother 
and  sister,  two  days  before,  brought  a 
woman  out  of  Arabia  that  was  skilful  in 
mixing  such  drugs,  that  she  might  pre- 
pare a  love-potion  for  Pheroras;  and  that, 
instead  of  a  love-potion,  she  had  given 
him  deadly  poison ;  and  that  this  was 
done  by  the  management  of  Sylleus,  who 
was  acquainted  with  that  woman. 

The  king  was  deeply  affected  with  so 
many  suspicions,  and  had  the  maidser- 
vants and  some  of  the  freewomen  also 
tortured ;  one  of  them  cried  out  in  her 
agonies,  "May  that  God  that  governs  the 
earth  and  the  heaven,  punish  the  author 
of  all  these  our  miseries,  Antipater's  mo- 
ther I"  The  king  took  a  handle  from 
this  confession,  and  proceeded  to  inquire 
further  into  the  truth  of  this  matter.  So 
this  woman  discovered  the  friendship  of 
Antipater's  mother  to  Pheroras  and  An- 
tipater's women,  as  also  their  secret  meet- 
ings, and  that  Pheroras  and  Antipater  had 
drunk  with  them  for  a  whole  night  to- 
gether as  they  returned  from  the  king, 
and  would  not  suffer  anybody,  either 
manservant  or  maidservant,  to  be  there; 
while  one  of  the  freewomen  discovered 
the  whole  of  the  matter. 

Upon  this,  Herod  tortured  the  maid- 
servants, every  one  by  themselves  sepa- 
rately :  who  all  unanimously  agreed  in 
the  foregoing  discoveries,  and  that  accord- 
ingly by  agreement  they  went  away, 
Antipater    to    Ptome,    and    Pheroras    to 


674 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


TBockI 


Perea  ;  for  they  that  oftentimes  talked  to 
one  another  thus  :  that  after  Herod  had 
slain  Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  he  would 
fall  upon  them,  and  upon  their  wives,  be- 
cause after  he  had  not  spared  Mariamne 
aud  her  children,  he  would  spare  nobody; 
and  that  for  this  reason  it  was  best  to  get 
as  far  off  the  wild  beast  as  they  were  able : 
and  that  Antipater  oftentimes  lamented 
his  own  case  before  his  mother;  and  said 
to  her,  that  he  had  already  gray  hairs 
upon  his  head,  and  that  his  father  grew 
younger  every  day,  and  that  perhaps  death 
would  overtake  him  before  he  should  be- 
gin to  be  a  king  in  earnest;  and  that  in 
case  Herod  should  die,  which  yet  nobody 
knew  when  it  would  be,  the  enjoyment  of 
the  succession  could  certainly  be  but  for 
a  little  time;  for  that  these  heads  of  Hy- 
dra, the  sons  of  Alexander  and  Aristobu- 
lus, were  growing  up:  that  he  was  de- 
prived by  his  father  of  the  hopes  of  being 
succeeded  by  his  children,  for  that  his 
successor  after  his  death  was  not  to  be  any 
one  of  his  own  sons,  but  Herod  the  son 
of  Mariamne :  that  in  this  point  Herod 
was  plainly  distracted,  to  think  that  his 
testament  should  therein  take  place;  for 
he  would  take  care  that  not  one  of  his 
posterity  should  remain,  because  he  was, 
of  all  fathers,  the  greatest  hater  of  his 
children.  Yet  does  he  hate  his  brother 
still  worse  ;  whence  it  was  that  he  a  while 
ago  gave  himself  100  talents,  that  he 
should  not  have  any  intercourse  with  Phe- 
roras.  And  when  Pheroras  said,  wherein 
have  we  done  him  any  harm  ?  Antipa- 
ter replied,  "I  wish  he  would  but  deprive 
us  of  all  we  have,  and  leave  us  naked  and 
alive  only;  but  it  is  indeed  impossible  to 
escape  this  wild  beast,  who  is  thus  given 
to  murder;  who  will  not  permit  us  to  love 
any  person  openly,  although  we  be  to- 
gether privately;  yet  may  we  be  so  openly 
too,  if  we  are  but  endowed  with  the 
courage  and  the  hands  of  men." 

These  things  were  said  by  the  women 
upon  the  torture  :  as  also  that  Pheroras 
resolved  to  fly  with  them  to  Perea.  Now 
Herod  gave  credit  to  all  they  said,  on 
account  of  the  affair  of  the  100  talents; 
for  he  had  had  no  discourse  with  anybody 
about  them,  but  only  with  Antipater.  So 
he  vented  his  anger  first  of  all  against 
Antipater' s  mother,  and  took  away  from 
her  all  the  ornaments  which  he  had  given 
her,  which  cost  a  great  many  talents,  and 
cast  her  out  of  the  palace  a  second  time. 
Re  also  took  care  of  Pheroras's  women 


after  their  tortures,  as  being  now  recoo 
ciled  to  them  ;  but  he  was  in  great  con 
sternation  himself,  and  inflamed  upon 
every  suspicion,  and  had  many  innocent 
persons  led  to  the  torture,  out  of  his  fear 
lest  he  should  perhaps  leave  any  guilty 
person  untortured. 

And  now  it  was  that  he  betook  himself 
to  examine  Antipater  of  Samaria,  who 
was  the  steward  of  [his  son]  Antipater; 
and  upon  torturing  him,  he  learned  that 
Antipater  had  sent  for  a  potion  of  deadly 
poison  for  him  out  of  Egypt,  by  Antiphi- 
las,  a  companion  of  his ;  that  Theudio, 
the  uncle  of  Antipater,  had  it  from  him, 
and  delivered  it  to  Pheroras;  for  that 
Antipater  had  charged  him  to  take  his 
father  off  while  he  was  at  Rome,  and  so 
free  him  from  the  suspicion  of  doing  it 
himself:  that  Pheroras  also  committed 
this  potion  to  his  wife.  Then  did  the 
king  send  for  her,  and  bade  her  bring  to 
him  what  she  had  received  immediately. 
So  she  came  out  of  her  house  as  if  she 
would  bring  it  with  her,  but  threw  herself 
down  from  the  top  of  the  house,  in  order 
to  prevent  any  examination  and  torture 
from  the  king.  However,  it  came  to 
pass,  as  it  seems  by  the  providence  of  God, 
when  he  intended  to  bring  Antipater  to 
punishment,  that  she  fell  not  upon  her 
head  but  upon  other  parts  of  her  body, 
and  escaped.  The  king,  when  she  was 
brought  to  him,  took  care  of  her,  (for  she 
was  at  first  quite  senseless  upon  her  fall,) 
and  asked  her  why  she  had  thrown  her- 
self down;  and  gave  her  his  oath,  that 
if  she  would  speak  the  real  truth,  he 
would  excuse  her  from  punishment;  but 
that  if  she  concealed  any  thing,  he  would 
have  her  body  torn  to  pieces  by  torments, 
and  leave  no  part  f  f  it  to  be  buried. 

Upon  this  the  woman  paused  a  little, 
and  then  said,  "  Why  do  1  spare  to  speak 
of  these  grand  secrets,  now  Pheroras  is 
dead !  that  would  only  tend  to  save  Anti- 
pater, who  is  all  our  destruction.  Hear 
then,  0  king,  and  be  thou,  and  God  him- 
self, who  cannot  be  deceived,  witnesses  to 
the  truth  of  what  I  am  going  to  say. 
When  thou  didst  sit  weeping  by  Phero- 
ras as  he  was  dying,  then,  it  was  that  he 
called  me  to  him,  and  said — '  My  dear 
wife,  I  have  been  greatly  mistaken  as  to 
the  disposition  of  my  brother  toward  me, 
and  have  hated  him  that  is  so  affectionate 
to  me,  and  have  contrived  to  kill  him 
who  is  in  such  disorder  for  me  before  1 
am  dead.     As  for  mvself   I  receive  the 


Chav.  XXXI  ] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


675 


recompense  of  my  impiety ;  but  do  thou 
bring  what  poison  was  left  with  us  by 
Antipater,  and  which  thou  keepest,  in 
order  to  destroy  him,  and  consume  it 
immediately  in  the  fire  in  my  sight,  that 
I  may  not  be  liable  to  the  avenger  in  the 
invisible  world/  This  I  brought  as  he 
bade  me,  and  emptied  the  greatest  part  of 
ir  into  the  fire,  but  reserved  a  little  of  it 
for  my  own  use  against  uncertain  futurity, 
and  out  of  my  fear  of  thee." 

When  she  had  said  this,  she  brought 
the  box,  which  had  a  small  quantity  of 
this  potion  in  it:  but  the  king  let  her 
alone,  aud  transferred  the  tortures  to 
Antiphilus's  mother  and  brother ;  who 
both  confessed  that  Antiphilus  brought 
the  box  out  of  Egypt,  and  that  they  had 
received  the  potion  from  a  brother  of  his, 
who  was  a  physician  at  Alexandria.  Then 
did  the  ghosts  of  Alexander  and  Aristo- 
bulus  go  round  all  the  palace,  and  became 
the  inquisitors  and  discoverers  of  what 
could  not  otherwise  have  been  found  out, 
and  brought  such  as  were  the  freest  from 
suspicion  to  be  examined ;  whereby  it 
was  discovered,  that  Mariamne,  the  high 
priest's  daughter,  was  conscious  of  this 
plot;  and  her  very  brothers,  when  they 
were  tortured,  declared  it  so  to  be. 
Whereupon  the  king  avenged  this  insolent 
attempt  of  the  mother  upon  her  son,  and 
blotted  Herod,  whom  he  had  by  her,  out 
of  his  testament,  who  had  been  before 
named  therein  as  successor  to  Antipater. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Antipater,  convicted  by   Bathyllus,  returns   from 
Rome,  and  is  brought  to  trial  by  Herod. 

After  these  things  were  over,  Bathyl- 
lus came  under  examination,  in  order  to 
convict  Antipater,  who  proved  the  con- 
cluding attestation  to  Antipater's  designs; 
f<»r  indeed  he  was  no  other  than  his 
freed  in  an.  This  man  came,  and  brought 
another  deadly  potion,  the  poison  of  a>ps 
aud  the  juices  of  other  serpents,  that  if 
the  first  potion  did  not  do  the  business, 
Phcroras  and  his  wife  might  be  armed 
with  this  also  to  destroy  the  king.  lie 
brought  also  an  addition  to  Antipater's 
insolent  attempts  against  his  father,  which 
Has  the  letters  which  he  wrote  against 
his  brethren,  Archelaus  and  Philip,  who 
were  the  king's  sons,  and  educated  at 
Home,  being  yet  youths,  but  of  generous 
dispositions.  Antipater  set  himself  to  get 
rid  of  these  as  soon  as  he  could,  that  they 


might  not  be  prejudicial  to  his  hopes ; 
and  to  that  end  he  forged  letters  against 
them,  in  the  name  of  his  friends  at  Rome. 
Some  of  these  he  corrupted  by  bribes,  to 
write  how  they  grossly  reproached  their 
father,  and  did  openly  bewail  Alexander 
and  Aristobulus,  and  were  uneasy  at  their 
being  recalled;  for  their  father  had  al- 
ready sent  for  them,  whieh  was  the  very 
thing  that  troubled  Antipater. 

Nay,  indeed,  while  Antipater  was  in 
Judea,  and  before  he  was  upon  his  jour- 
ney to  Rome,  he  gave  mouey  to  have  the 
like  letters  against  them  sent  from  Rome, 
and  then  came  to  his  father,  who  as  yet 
had  no  suspicion  of  him,  apologized  for 
his  brethren,  and  alleged  on  their  behalf 
that  some  of  the  things  contained  in  those 
letters  were  false,  and  others  of  them 
were  only  youthful  errors.  Yet  at  the 
same  time  that  he  expended  a  great  deal 
of  his  money,  by  making  presents  to  such 
as  wrote  against  his  brethren,  did  he  aim 
to  bring  his  accounts  into  confusion,  by 
buying  costly  garments,  and  carpets  of 
various  contextures,  with  silver  and  gold 
cups,  and  a  great  many  more  curious 
things,  that  so,  among  the  very  great  ex- 
penses laid  out  upon  such  furniture,  he 
might  conceal  the  money  he  had  used  in 
hiring  men  [to  write  the  letters] ;  for  he 
brought  in  an  account  of  his  expenses, 
amounting  to  200  talents,  his  main  pre- 
tence for  which  was  the  lawsuit  that  he 
had  been  in  with  Sylleus.  So  while  all 
his  rogueries,  even  those  of  a  lesser  sort, 
were  covered  by  his  great  villany,  while 
all  the  examinations  by  torture  proclaimed 
his  attempt  to  murder  his  father,  and  the 
letters  proclaimed  his  second  attempt  to 
murder  his  brethren — yet  did  no  one  of 
those  that  came  to  Rome  iuform  him  of 
his  misfortunes  in  Judea,  although  seven 
months  had  intervened  between  his  con- 
viction and  his  return, — so  great  was  the 
hatred  which  they  all  bore  to  him.  And 
perhaps  they  were  the  ghosts  of  those 
brethren  of  his  that  had  been  murdered, 
that  stopped  the  mouths  of  those  that  in- 
tended to  have  told  him.  lie  then  wrote 
from  Rome,  and  informed  his  [friends] 
that  he  would  soon  come  to  them,  and 
how  he  was  dismissed  with  honour  by 
Caesar. 

Now  the  king  being  desirous  to  get  this 
plotter  against  him  into  his  hands,  and 
being  ulso  afraid  lest  he  should  someway 
come  to  the  knowledge  how  his  affairs 
stood,   and    be    upon    his   guard,  he  di> 


G7G 


WARS    OF  THE   JEWS. 


[lk)CK  I 


sembled  his  anger  in  his  epistle  to  him, 
as  in  other  points  he  wrote  kindly  to  him, 
and  desired  him  to  make  haste,  because, 
'if  he  came  quickly,  he  would  then  lay 
aside  the  complaints  he  had  against  his 
mother ;  for  Antipater  was  not  iguorant 
that  his  mother  had  been  expelled  out  of 
the  palace.  However,  he  had  before  re- 
ceived a  letter,  which  contained  an  ac- 
count of  the  death  of  Pheroras,  at  Taren- 
tum, — and  made  great  lamentations  at  it; 
for  which  some  commended  him,  as  being 
for  his  own  uncle ;  though  probably  this 
confusion  arose  on  account  of  his  having 
thereby  failed  in  his  plot  [on  his  father's 
life] ;  and  his  tears  were  more  for  the 
loss  of  him  that  was  to  have  been  sub- 
servient therein,  than  for  [an  uncle]  Phe- 
roras :  moreover,  a  sort  of  fear  came  upou 
him  as  to  his  designs,  lost  the  poison 
should  have  been  discovered.  However, 
when  he  was  in  Cilicia,  he  received  the 
forementioned  epistle  from  his  father,  and 
made  great  haste  accordingly.  But  when 
he  had  sailed  to  Celenderis,  a  suspicion 
came  into  his  mind  relating  to  his  mo- 
ther's misfortunes;  as  if  his  soul  fore- 
boded some  mischief  to  itself.  Those 
therefore  of  his  friends  who  were  the  most 
considerate,  advised  him  not  rashly  to  go 
to  his  father,  till  he  had  learned  what 
were  the  occasions  why  his  mother  had 
been  ejected,  because  they  were  afraid 
that  he  might  be  involved  in  the  calum- 
nies that  had  been  cast  upon  his  mother ; 
but  those  that  were  less  considerate,  and 
had  more  regard  to  their  owu  desires  of 
seeing  their  native  country  thau  to  Anti- 
pater's  safety,  persuaded  him  to  make 
haste  home,  and  not,  by  delaying  his 
journey,  afford  his  father  ground  for  an 
ill  suspicion,  and  give  a  handle  to  those 
that  raised  stories  against  him ;  for  that 
in  case  any  thing  had  been  moved  to  his 
disadvantage,  it  was  owing  to  his  absence, 
which  durst  not  have  been  done  had  he 
been  present;  and  they  said  it  was 
absurd  to  deprive  himself  of  certain  hap- 
piness, for  the  sake  of  an  uncertain  sus- 
picion, and  not  rather  to  return  to  his 
father,  and  take  the  royal  authority  upou 
him,  which  was  in  a  state  of  fluctuation 
on  his  account  only.  Antipater  complied 
with  this  las*  advice;  for  providence 
hurried  him  on  [to  his  destruction].  So 
he  passed  over  the  sea,  and  landed  at 
Sebastus,  the  haven  of  Cesarea. 

And  here  he  found  a  perfect  and  unex- 
pected solitude,  while  everybody  avoided 


him,  and  nobody  durst  come  at  him; 
for  he  was  equally  hated  by  all  men ;  and 
now  that  hatred  had  liberty  to  show  itself, 
and  the  dread  men  were  in  of  the  king's 
anger  made  men  keep  from  him  ;  for  the 
whole  city  [of  Jerusalem]  was  filled  with 
the  rumours  about  Antipater,  and  Anti- 
pater himself  was  the  only  person  who 
wa£  ignorant  of  them ;  for  as  no  man 
was  dismissed  more  magnificently  when 
he  began  his  voyage  to  Rome,  so  was 
no  man  now  received  back  with  greater 
ignominy.  And,  indeed,  he  began  already 
to  suspect  what  misfortunes  there  were  in 
Herod's  family :  yet  did  he  cunningly 
conceal  his  suspicion ;  and  while  he  was 
inwardly  ready  to  die  for  fear,  he  put  on 
a  forced  boldness  of  countenance.  Nor 
could  he  now  fly  any  whither,  nor  had  he 
any  way  of  emerging  out  of  the  difficulties 
which  encompassed  him ;  nor  indeed  had 
he  even  there  any  certain  intelligence  of 
the  affairs  of  the  royal  family,  by  reason 
of  the  threats  the  king  had  given  out; 
yet  had  he  some  small  hopes  of  better 
tidings,  for  perhaps  nothing  had  been 
discovered ;  or,  if  any  discovery  had  been 
made,  perhaps  he  should  be  able  to  clear 
himself  by  impudence  and  artful  tricks, 
which  were  the  only  things  he  relied  upon 
for  his  deliverance. 

And  with  these  hopes  did  he  screen 
himself,  till  he  came  to  the  palace,  without 
any  friends  with  him;  for  these  were 
affronted,  and  shut  out  at  the  first  gate. 
Now  Varus,  the  president  of  Syria,  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  palace  [at  this  junc- 
ture] ;  so  Antipater  went  in  to  his  father, 
and,  putting  on  a  bold  face,  he  came  near 
to  salute  him.  But  Herod  stretched  out 
his  hands,  and  turned  his  head  away  from 
him,  and  cried  out,  "  Even  this  is  an 
indication  of  a  parricide,  to  be  desirous 
to  get  me  into  his  arms,  when  he  is  under 
such  heinous  accusations.  God  confound 
thee,  thou  vile  wretch ;  do  not  thou  touch 
me  till  thou  hast  cleared  thyself  of  these 
crimes  that  are  charged  upon  thee.  I 
appoint  thee  a  court  where  thou  art  to  be 
judged;  and  this  Varus,  who  is  very 
seasonably  here',  to  be  thy  judge;  and 
get  thou  thy  defence  ready  against  to- 
morrow, for  I  give  thee  s^  much  time  to 
prepare  suitable  excuses  for  thyself.'' 
And  as  Antipater  was  so  confounded 
that  he  was  able  to  make  no  answer  to 
this  charge,  he  went  away;  but  his  mo- 
ther and  wife  came  to  him,  aud  told  him 
of  all  the  evidence  they  had  gotten  against 


(JHAP.   XXXII.  ] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS 


677 


him.  Hereupon  be  recollected  himself, 
and  considered  what  defence  he  should 
make  against  the  accusations. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Antipater  accused  before  Varus — is  convicted — 
his  punishment  postponed  till  the  recovery  of 
his  father. 

Now  the  day  following,  the  king  as- 
sembled a  court  of  kinsmen  and  friends, 
and  called  in  Antipater's  friends  also. 
Herod  himself,  with  Varus,  were  the 
presidents ;  and  Herod  called  for  all  the 
witnesses,  and  ordered  them  to  be  brought 
in;  among  whom  some  of  the  domestic 
servants  of  Antipater's  mother  were 
brought  in  also,  who  had  but  a  little 
while  before  been  caught,  as  they  were 
carrying  the  following  letter  from  her  to 
her  son  : — "  Since  all  those  things  have 
been  already  discovered  to  thy  father,  do 
not  thou  come  to  him,  unless  thou  canst 
procure  some  assistance  from  Caesar." 
When  this  and  the  other  witnesses  were 
introduced,  Antipater  came  in,  and  falling 
on  his  face  before  his  father's  feet,  he 
said,  •"  Father,  I  beseech  thee,  do  not 
thou  condemn  me  beforehand,  but  let  thy 
ears  be  unbiassed,  and  attend  to  my  de- 
fence; for  if  thou  wilt  give  me  leave,  I 
will  demonstrate  that  I  am  innocent." 

Hereupon  Herod  cried  out  to  him  to 
hold  his  peace,  and  spake  thus  to  Varus : — 
"I  cannot  but  think  that  thou,  Varus, 
and  every  other  upright  judge,  will  deter- 
mine that  Antipater  is  a  vile  wretch.  I 
am  also  afraid  that  thou  wilt  abhor  my  ill 
fortune  and  judge  me  also  myself  worthy 
of  all  sorts  of  calamity  for  begetting  such 
children;  while  yet  I  ought  rather  to  be 
pitied,  who  have  been  so  affectionate  a 
father  to  such  wretched  sons ;  for  when  I 
had  settled  the  kingdom  on  my  former 
sons  even  when  they  were  young,  and 
when,  besides  the  charges  of  their  educa- 
tion at  Rome,  I  had  made  them  the 
friends  of  Caesar,  and  made  them  envied 
by  other  kings,  I  found  them  plotting 
against  me.  These  have  been  put  to 
death,  and  that,  in  a  great  measure,  for 
the  sake  of  Antipater;  for  as  he  was  then 
young,  and  appointed  to  be  my  successor, 
I  took  care  chiefly  to  secure  him  from 
danger:  but  this  profligate  wild  beast, 
when  he  had  been  over  and  above  satiated 
with  that  patience  which  I  showed  him, 
he  made  use  of  that  abundance  I  had 
given  him  against   myself;   for   1   seemed 


to  him  to  live  too  long,  and  he  was  very 
uneasy  at  the  old  age  I  had  arrived  at; 
nor  could  he  stay  any  longer,  but  would 
be  a  king  by  parricide.  And  justly  I  am 
served  by  him  for  bringing  him  back  out 
of  the  country  to  court,  when  he  was  of 
no  esteem  before,  and  for  thrusting  out 
those  sons  of  mine  that  were  born  of  the 
queen,  and  for  making  him  a  successor  to 
my  dominions.  I  confess  to  thee,  0  Va- 
rus, the  great  folly  I  was  guilty  of;  for  I 
provoked  those  sons  of  mine  to  act  against 
me,  and  cut  off  their  just  expectations  for 
the  sake  of  Antipater;  and,  indeed,  what 
kindness  did  I  do  to  them,  that  could 
equal  what  I  have  done  to  Antipater!  to 
whom  I  have,  in  a  manner,  yielded  up  my 
royal  authority,  while  I  am  alive,  and 
whom  I  have  openly  named  for  the  suc- 
cessor to  my  dominions  in  my  testament, 
and  given  him  a  yearly  revenue  of  his  own 
of  fifty  talents,  and  supplied  him  with  mo- 
ney to  an  extravagant  degree  out  of  my 
own  revenue ;  and  when  he  was  about  to 
sail  to  Rome,  I  gave  him  300  talents, 
and  recommended  him,  and  him  alone  of 
all  my  children,  to  Caesar,  as  his  father's 
deliverer.  Now  what  crimes  were  these 
other  sons  of  mine  guilty  of  like  those  of 
Antipater!  and  what  evidence  was  there 
brought  against  them  so  strong  as  there  is 
to  demonstrate  this  son  to  have  plotted 
against  me !  Yet  does  this  parricide  pre- 
sume to  speak  for  himself,  and  hopes  to 
secure  the  truth  by  his  cunning  tricks 
Thou,  0  Varus,  must  guard  thyself  against 
him;  for  I  know  the  wild  beast,  and  I 
foresee  how  plausibly  he  will  talk,  and 
his  counterfeit  lamentation.  This  was  he 
who  exhorted  me  to  have  a  care  of  Alex- 
ander, when  he  was  alive,  and  not  to 
intrust  my  body  with  all  men  !  This  was 
he  who  came  to  my  very  bed,  and  looked 
about,  lest  any  one  should  lay  snares  for 
me !  This  was  he  who  took  care  of  my 
sleep,  and  secured  me  from  any  fear  of 
danger,  who  comforted  me  under  the 
trouble  I  was  in  upon  the  slaughter  of 
my  sons,  and  looked  to  see  what  affection 
my  surviving  brethren  bore  me !  This 
was  my  protector,  and  the  guardian  of  my 
body !  And  when  I  call  to  mind,  0 
Varus,  his  craftiness  upon  every  occasion, 
and  his  art  of  dissembling,  I  can  hardly 
believe  that  I  am  still  alive,  and  I  wonder 
how  I  have  escaped  such  a  deep  plotter  of 
mischief!  However,  since  some  fate  or 
other  makes  my  house  desolate,  and  per- 
petually raises  up  those  that  are  dearest  to 


678 


WARS    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  1 


me  against  me,  I  will,  with  tears,  lament 
my  hard  fortune,  and  privately  groan 
under  my  lonesome  condition;  yet  am  I 
resolved  that  no  one  who  thirsts  after  my 
blood  shall  escape  punishment,  although 
the  evidence  should  extend  itself  to  all 
my  sons." 

Upon  Herod's  saying  this,  he  was  in- 
terrupted by  the  confusion  he  was  in  ;  but 
ordered  Nicolaus,  one  of  his  friends,  to 
produce  the  evidence  against  Antipater. 
But  in  the  mean  time  Antipater  lifted  up 
his  head,  (for  he  lay  on  the  ground  before 
his  father's  feet,)  and  cried  out  aloud, 
"  Thou,  0  father,  hast  made  my  apology 
for  me;  for  how  can  I  be  a  parricide, 
whom  thou  thyself  confessest  to  have 
always  had  for  thy  guardian?  Thou 
eallest  my  filial  affection  prodigious  lies 
and  hypocrisy  !  how  then  could  it  be  that 
I,  who  was  so  subtle  in  other  matters, 
should  here  be  so  mad  as  not  to  under- 
stand that  it  was  not  easy  that  he  who 
committed  so  horrid  a  crime  should  be 
concealed  from  men,  but  impossible  that 
he  should  be  concealed  from  the  Judge 
of  Heaven,  who  sees  all  things,  and  is 
present  everywhere  ?  or  did  not  I  know 
what  end  my  brethreu  came  to,  on  whom 
God  inflicted  so  great  a  punishment  for 
their  evil  designs  against  thee?  And, 
indeed,  what  was  there  that  could  possibly 
provoke  me  against  thee?  Could  the 
hope  of  being  a  king  do  it?  I  was  a  king 
already.  Could  I  suspect  hatred  from 
thee  ?  No  :  was  T  not  beloved  by  thee  ? 
and  what  other  fear  could  I  have  ?  Nay, 
oy  preserving  thee  safe,  I  was  a  terror  to 
others.  Did  I  want  money?  No:  for 
who  was  able  to  expend  so  much  as  my- 
self? Iudeed,  father,  had  I  been  the 
most  execrable  of  all  mankind,  and  had 
1  had  the  soul  of  the  most  execrable  wild 
beast,  must  I  not  have  been  overcome  with 
the  benefits  thou  hadst  bestowed  upon  me? 
whom,  as  thou  thyself  sayest,  thou  trough  t- 
est  [into  the  palace];  whom  thou  didst 
prefer  before  so  many  of  thy  sons  ;  whom 
thou  madest  a  king  in  thine  own  lifetime, 
and,  by  the  vast  magnitude  of  the  other 
advantages  thou  bestowedst  on  me,  thou 
madest  me  an  object  of  envy.  0  mi- 
serable man  !  that  thou  shouldst  undergo 
this  bitter  absence,  and  thereby  afford  a 
greater  opportunity  for  envy  to  arise 
against  thee,  and  a  long  space  for  such  as 
were  laying  designs  against  thee  !  Yet 
was  I  absent,  father,  on  thy  affairs,  that 
Sylleus  might  not  treat  thee  with  contempt 


in  thine  old  age.  Rome  ih  a  witness  to 
my  filial  affection,  and  so  is  Caesar,  the 
ruler  of  the  habitable  earth,  who  often- 
times called  me  Philopater.*  Take  here 
the  letters  he  hath  sent  thee ;  they  are 
more  to  be  believed  than  the  calumniea 
raised  here ;  these  letters  are  :ny  only 
apology;  these  I  use  as  the  demonstration 
of  that  natural  affection  I  have  to  thee. 
Remember,  that  it  was  against  my  own 
choice  that  I  sailed  [to  Rome],  as  knowing 
the  latent  hatred  that  was  in  the  kingdom 
against  me.  It  was  thou,  0  father,  how- 
ever unwillingly,  who  hast  been  my  ruin, 
by  forcing  me  to  allow  time  for  the  calum 
nies  against  me,  and  envy  at  me.  How- 
ever, I  am  come  hither,  and  am  ready  to 
hear  the  evidence  there  is  against  me.  If 
I  be  a  parricide,  I  have  passed  by  land 
and  by  sea  without  suffering  any  misfor- 
tune ou  either  of  them ;  but  this  method 
of  trial  is  no  advantage  to  me ;  for  it 
seems,  O  father,  that  I  am  already  con- 
demned, both  before  God  and  before  thee; 
and  as  I  am  already  condemned,  I  beg  that 
thou  wilt  not  believe  the  others  that  have 
been  tortured,  but  let  fire  be  brought  to 
torment  me ;  let  the  racks  march  through 
my  bowels;  have  no  regard  to  any  la- 
mentations that  this  polluted  body  can 
make;  for,  if  I  be  a  parricide,  I  ought  not 
to  die  without  torture."  Thus  did  Anti- 
pater cry  out  with  lamentation  and  weep- 
ing, and  moved  all  the  rest,  and  Varus  in 
particular,  to  commiserate  his  case.  Herod 
was  the  only  person  whose  passion  was  too 
strong  to  permit  him  to  weep,  as  knowing 
that  the  testimonies  against  him  were  true. 
And  now  it  was  that,  at  the  king's 
command,  Nicolaus,  when  he  had  premised 
a  great  deal  about  the  craftiness  of  Anti- 
pater, and  had  prevented  the  effects  of 
their  commiseration  to  him,  afterward 
brought  in  a  bitter  and  large  accusation 
against  him,  ascribing  all  the  wickedness 
that  had  been  in  the  kingdom  to  him,  and 
especially  the  murder  of  his  brethren,  and 
demonstrated  that  they  had  perished  by 
the  calumnies  he  had  raised  against  them 
He  also  said,  that  he  had  laid  designs 
against  them  ttat  were  still  alive,  as  if 
they  were  laying  plots  for  the  succession; 
and  (said  he)  how  can  it  be  supposed  that 
he,  who  prepared  poison  for  his  father, 
should  abstain  from  mischief  as  to  his 
brethren?  He  then  proceeded  to  convict 
him  of  the  attempt  to  poison  Herod,  and 

*  A  lovei  of  his  father. 


Chap.    XXXI II  ] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


679 


gave  an  account,  in  order,  of  the  several 
discoveries  that  had  been  made ;  and  had 
great  indignation  as  to  the  affair  of  Phe- 
roras,  because  Antipater  had  been  for 
making  him  murder  his  brother,  and  had 
corrupted  those  that  were  dearest  to  the 
king,  and  filled  the  whole  palace  with 
wickedness;  and  when  he  had  insisted  on 
many  other  accusations,  and  the  proofs  of 
thorn,  he  left  off. 

Then  Varus  bade  Antipater  make  his 
defence ;  but  he  lay  long  in  silence,  and 
said  no  more  but  this  : — "God  is  my  wit- 
ness that  I  am  entirely  innocent."  So 
Varus  asked  for  the  potion,  and  gave  it 
to  be  drunk  by  a  condemned  malefactor, 
who  was  then  in  prison,  who  died  upon 
the  spot.  So  Varus,  when  he  had  had  a 
very  private  discourse  with  Herod,  and 
had  written  an  account  of  this  assembly 
to  Caesar,  went  away,  after  a  day's  stay. 
The  king  also  bound  Antipater,  and  sent 
away  to  inform  Caesar  of  his  misfortunes. 

Now  after  this,  it  was  discovered  that 
Antipater  had  laid  a  plot  against  Salome 
also;  for  one  of  Autiphilus's  domestic 
servants  came,  and  brought  letters  from 
Rome,  from  a  maidservant  of  Julia  [Cae- 
sar's wife],  whose  name  was  Acme.  By 
her  a  message  was  sent  to  the  king,  that 
she  had  found  a  letter  written  by  Salome, 
among  Julia's  papers,  and  had  sent  it  to 
him  privately,  out  of  her  good-will  to 
him.  This  letter  of  Salome  contained 
the  most  bitter  reproaches  of  the  king, 
and  the  highest  accusation  against  him. 
Antipater  had  forged  this  letter,  and  had 
corrupted  Acme,  and  persuaded  her  to 
send  it  to  Herod.  This  was  proved  by 
her  letter  to  Antipater,  for  thus  did  this 
woman  write  to  him  : — "As  thou  desirest, 
I  have  written  a  letter  to  thy  father,  and 
have  sent  that  letter;  and  am  persuaded 
that  the  king  will  not  spare  his  sister 
when  he  reads  it.  Thou  wilt  do  well  to 
remember  what  thou  hast  promised,  when 
all  is  accomplished. " 

When  this  epistle  was  discovered,  and 
what  the  epistle  forged  against  Salome 
contained,  a.  suspicion  came  into  the  king's 
mind,  that  perhaps  the  letters  against 
Alexander  were  also  forged ;  he  was  more- 
over greatly  disturbed,  and  in  a  passion, 
because  he  had  almost  slain  his  sister  on 
Antipater's  account.  He  did  no  longer 
delay  therefore  to  bring  him  to  punish- 
ment for  all  his  crimes;  yet,  when  he  was 
eagerly  pursuing  Antipater,  he  was  re- 
strained by  a  severe  distemper  he  fell  into. 


However,  he  sent  an  account  to  Caesar 
about  Acme,  and  the  contrivances  against 
Salome :  he  sent  also  for  his  testament, 
and  altered  it,  and  therein  made  Antipas 
king,  as  taking  no  care  of  Archelaus  and 
Philip,  because  Antipater  had  blasted 
their  reputations  with  him:  but  he  be- 
queathed to  Caesar,  besides  other  presents 
that  he  gave  him,  a  thousand  talents;  as 
also  to  his  wife,  and  children,  and  friends, 
and  freedmen  about  five  hundred :  he  also 
bequeathed  to  all  others  a  great  quantity 
of  land,  and  of  money,  and  showed  his 
respects  to  Salome,  his  sister,  by  giving 
her  most  splendid  gifts.  And  this  was 
what  was  contained  in  his  testament,  as 
it  was  now  altered. 


CHAPTER  XXXI1T. 

The  golden  eagle  cut  to  pieces — Herod's  barbarity 
— attempts  to  kill  himself — commands  Antipater 
to  be  slain — survives  him  five  da3rs. 

Now  Herod's  distemper  became  more 
and  more  severe  to  him,  and  this  because 
these  his  disorders  fell  upon  him  in  his 
old  age,  and  when  he  was  in  a  melancholy 
condition;  for  he  was  already  almost 
seventy  years  of  age,  and  had  been  brought 
low  by  the^  calamities  that  happened  to 
him  about  his  children,  whereby  he  had 
no  pleasure  in  life,  even  when  he  was  ia 
health ;  the  grief  also  that  Antipater  was 
still  alive  aggravated  his  disease,  whom 
he  resolved  to  put  to  death  now,  not  at 
random,  but  as  soon  as  he  should  be  well 
again;  and  resolved  to  have  him  slain  [in 
a  public  manner]. 

There  also  now  happened  to  him,  among 
his  other  calamities,  a  certain  popular 
sedition.  There  were  two  men  of  learn- 
ing in  the  city  [Jerusalem]  who  were 
thought  the  most  skilful  in  the  laws  of 
their  country,  and  were  on  that  account 
had  in  very  great  esteem  all  over  the  na- 
tion; they  were,  the  one  Judas,  the  son 
of  Sepphoris,  and  the  other  Matthias,  the 
son  of  Margalus.  There  was  a  great  con- 
course of  the  young  men  with  these  men 
when  they  expounded  the  laws,  and  there 
got  together  every  day  a  kind  of  an  army 
of  such  as  were  growing  up  to  be  men. 
Now  when  these  men  were  informed  that 
the  king  was  wearing  away  with  melan- 
choly, aud  with  a  distemper,  they  dropped 
words  to  their  acquaintance,  how  it  was 
now  a  very  proper  time  to  defend  the 
cause  of  God,  and  to  pull  down  what  had 
been  erected  contrary  to  the  laws  of  theiT 


(580 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  L 


country;  for  it  was  unlawful  there  should 
be  any  such  thing  in  the  temple  as  images 
or  faces,  or  the  like  representation  of  any 
animal  whatsoever.  Now  the  king  had 
put  up  a  golden  eagle  over  the  great  gate 
of  the  temple,  which  these  learned  men 
exhorted  them  to  cut  down :  and  told 
them,  that  if  there  should  any  danger 
arise,  it  was  a  glorious  thing  to  die  for  the 
laws  of  their  country:  because  that  the 
soul  was  immortal,  and  that  an  eternal 
enjoyment  of  happiness  did  await  such  as 
died  on  that  account;  while  the  mean- 
spirited,  and  those  that  were  not  wise 
enough  to  show  a  right  love  of  their  souls, 
preferred  death  by  a  disease,  before  that 
which  is  the  result  of  a  virtuous  behaviour. 

At  the  same  time  that  these  men  made 
this  speech  to  their  disciples,  a  rumour 
was  spread  abroad  that  the  king  was  dying, 
which  made  the  young  men  set  about  the 
work  with  greater  boldness ;  they  there- 
fore let  themselves  down  from  the  top  of 
the  temple  with  thick  cords,  and  this  at 
midday,  and  while  a  great  number  of 
people  were  in  the  temple,  and  cut  down 
that  golden  eagle  with  axes.  This  was 
presently  told  to  the  kiug's  captain  of  the 
temple,  who  came  running  with  a  great 
body  of  soldiers,  and  caught  about  forty 
of  the  young  men,  and  brought  them  to 
the  king.  And  when  he  asked  them,  first 
of  all,  whether  they  had  been  so  hardy  as 
to  cut  down  the  golden  eagle,  they  con- 
fessed they  had  done  so ;  and  when  he 
asked  them  by  whose  command  they  had 
done  it,  they  replied,  at  the  command  of 
the  law  of  their  couutry ;  and  when  he 
further  asked  them  how  they  could  be  so 
joyful  when  they  were  to  be  put  to  death, 
they  replied,  because  they  should  enjoy 
greater  happiness  after  they  were  dead. 

At  this  the  king  was  in  such  an  extra- 
vagant passion,  that  he  overcame  his 
disease  [for  the  time],  and  went  out,  and 
spake  to  the  people;  wherein  he  made  a 
terrible  accusation  against  those  men,  as 
guilty  of  sacrilege,  and  as  making  greater 
attempts  under  pretence  of  their  law ;  and 
ne  thought  they  deserved  to  be  puuished 
as  impious  persons.  Whereupon  the  people 
were  afraid  lest  a  great  number  should  be 
found  guilty,  and  desired  that  when  he 
had  first  punished  those  that  put  them 
upon  this  work,  and  then  those  that  were 
caught  in  it,  he  would  leave  off  his  anger 
as  to  the  rest.  With  this  the  king  com- 
plied, though  not  without  difficulty ;  and 
ordered    those    that    had    let    themselves 


down,  together  with  their  rabbins,  to  be 
burnt  alive  ;  but  delivered  the  rest  that 
were  caught  to  the  proper  officers,  to  be 
put  to  death  by  them. 

After  this,  the  distemper  seized  upon 
his  whole  body,  and  greatly  disordered  all 
its  parts  with  various  symptoms  ;  for  there 
was  a  gentle  fever  upon  him,  and  an  in- 
tolerable itching  over  all  the  surface  of 
his  body,  and  continual  pains  in  his  colon, 
aud  dropsical  tumours  about  his  feet, 
and  an  inflammation  of  the  abdomen, — 
and  a  putrefaction  of  his  privy  member, 
that  produced  worms.  Besides  which  he 
had  a  difficulty  of  breathing  upon  him, 
and  could  not  breathe  but  when  he  sat 
upright,  and  had  a  convulsion  of  all  his 
members ;  insomuch  that  the  diviners  said 
those  diseases  were  a  punishment  upon 
him  for  what  he  had  done  to  the  rabbins. 
Yet  did  he  struggle  with  his  numerous 
disorders,  and  still  had  a  desire  to  live,  and 
hoped  for  recovery,  and  considered  of  se- 
veral methods  of  cure.  Accordingly,  he 
went  over  Jordan,  and  made  use  of  thoso 
hot  baths  at  Callirrhoe,  which  run  into  the 
lake  Asphaltitis,  but  are  themselves  sweet 
enough  to  be  drunk.  And  here  the  phy- 
sicians thought  proper  to  bathe  his  whole 
body  in  warm  oil,  by  letting  it  down  into 
a  large  vessel  full  of  oil;  whereupon  his 
eyes  failed  him,  and  he  came  and  went  as 
if  he  were  dying;  and  as  a  tumult  was 
then  made  by  his  servants,  at  their  voice 
he  revived  again.  Yet  did  he  after  this 
despair  of  recovery,  and  gave  orders  that 
each  soldier  should  have  fifty  drachmae 
apiece,  and  that  his  commanders  and 
friends  should  have  great  sums  of  money 
given  them. 

He  then  returned  back  and  came  to 
Jericho,  in  such  a  melancholy  state  of 
body  as  almost  threatened  him  with  present 
death,  when  he  proceeded  to  attempt  a 
horrid  wickedness;  for  he  got  together  the 
most  illustrious  men  of  the  whole  Jewish 
nation,  out  of  every  village,  into  a  place 
called  the  Hippodrome,  and  there  shut 
them  in.  He  then  called  for  his  sister 
Salome,  and  her  husband  Alexas,  and 
made  this  speech  to  them  : — u  I  know  well 
enough  that  the  Jews  will  keep  a  festival 
upon  my  death ;  however,  it  is  in  my 
power  to  be  mourned  for  on  other  accounts, 
and  to  have  a  splendid  funeral,  if  you  will 
but  be  subservient  to  my  commands.  Do 
you  but  take  care  to  send  soldiers  to  encom- 
pass these  men  that  are  now  in  custody,  and 
slay  them  immediately  upon  my  death,  and 


Chap.  XKX11L] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


681 


then  all  Judea,  and  every  family  of  them, 
will  weep  at  it  whether  they  will  or  no." 

These  were  the  commands  he  gave 
them  ;  when  there  came  letters  from  his 
ambassadors  at  Home,  whereby  information 
was  given  that  Acme  was  put  to  death  at 
Caesar's  command,  and  that  Antipater  was 
condemned  to  die;  however,  they  wrote 
withal,  that  if  Herod  had  a  mind  rather 
to  banish  him,  Caesar  permitted  him  so 
to  do.  So  he  for  a  little  while  revived, 
and  had  a  desire  to  live;  but  presently 
after  he  was  overborne  by  his  pains,  and 
was  disordered  by  want  of  food,  and  by  a 
convulsive  cough,  and  endeavoured  to 
prevent  a  natural  death ;  so  he  took  an 
apple,  and  asked  for  a  knife,  for  he  used 
to  pare  apples  and  eat  them ;  he  then 
looked  round  about  to  see  that  there  was 
nobody  to  hinder  him,  and  lifted  up  his 
right  hand  as  if  he  would  stab  himself; 
but  A^hiabus,  his  first  cousin,  came  run- 
ning to  him,  and  held  his  hand,  and 
hindered  him  from  so  doing ;  on  which 
occasion  a  very  great  lamentation  was 
made  in  the  palace,  as  if  the  king  were 
expiring.  As  soon  as  ever  Antipater 
heard  that,  he  took  courage,  and,  with  joy 
in  his  looks,  besought  his  keepers,  for  a 
sum  of  money,  to  loose  him  and  let  him 
go  ;  but  the  principal  keeper  of  the  prison 
did  not  only  obstruct  him  in  that  his 
intention,  but  ran  and  told  the  king  what 
his  design  was :  hereupon  the  king  cried 
out  louder  than  his  distemper  would  well 
bear,  and  immediately  sent  some  of  his 
guards  and  slew  Antipater;  he  also  gave 
order  to  have  him  buried  at  Hyrcanium, 
and  altered  his  testament  again, — and 
therein  made  Archelaus,  his  eldest  son, 
and  the  brother  of  Antipas,  his  successor; 
and  made  Antipas  tetrarch. 

So  Herod,  having  survived  the  slaughter 
of  his  son  five  days,  died,  having  reigned 
thirty-four  years  since  he  had  caused 
Antigonus  to  be  slain,  and  obtained  his 
kingdom ;  but  thirty-seven  years  since  he 
had  been  made  king  by  the  Romans. 
Now,  as  for  his  fortune,  it  was  prosperous 
in  all  other  respects,  if  ever  any  other 
man  could  be  so ;  since,  from  a  private 
man,  he  obtained  the  kingdom,  and  kept 
it  so  long,  and  left  it  to  his  own  sons ; 
but  still,  in  his  domestic  affairs,  he  was  a 
most  unfortunate  man.  Now  before  the 
eoldiers  knew  of  his  death,  Salome  and 
her  husband  came  out  and  dismissed  those 
that  were  in  bonds,  whom  the  king  had 
commanded   to  be   slain,  and   told  them 


that  he  had  altered  his  mind,  and  would 
have  every  one  of  them  sent  to  their  own 
homes.  When  these  men  were  gone, 
Salome  told  the  soldiers  [the  king  was 
dead],  and  got  them  and  the  rest  of  the 
multitude  together  to  an  assembly,  in  the 
amphitheatre  at  Jericho,  where  Ptolemy, 
who  was  intrusted  by  the  king  with  hi* 
signet-ring,  came  before  them,  and  spake 
of  the  happiness  the  king  had  attained, 
and  comforted  the  multitude,  and  read  the 
epistle  which  had  been  left  for  the  soldiers, 
wherein  he  earnestly  exhorted  them  to 
bear  good-will  to  his  successor;  and  after 
he  had  read  the  epistle,  he  opened  and 
read  his  testament,  wherein  Philip  was  to 
inherit  Trachonitis  and  the  neighbouring 
countries,  and  Antipas  was  to  be  tetrarch, 
as  we  said  before,  and  Archelaus  was 
made  king.  He  had  also  been  commanded 
to  carry  Herod's  ring  to  Caesar,  and  the 
settlement  he  had  made,  sealed  up,  because 
Caesar  was  to  be  lord  of  all  the  settle- 
ments he  had  made,  and  was  to  confirm 
his  testament ;  and  he  ordered  that  the 
dispositions  he  had  made  were  to  be  kept 
as  they  were  in  his  former  testament. 

So  there  was  an  acclamation  made  to 
Archelaus,  to  congratulate  him  upon  his 
advancement ;  and  the  soldiers,  with  the 
multitude,  went  round  about  in  troops, 
and  promised  him  their  good-will,  and 
besides  prayed  God  to  bless  his  govern- 
ment. After  this,  they  betook  themselves 
to  prepare  for  the  king's  funeral ;  and 
Archelaus  omitted  nothing  of  magnificence 
therein,  but  brought  out  all  the  royal 
ornaments  to  augment  the  pomp  of  the 
deceased.  There  was  a  bier  all  of  gold, 
embroidered  with  precious  stones,  and  a 
purple  bed  of  various  contexture,  with  the 
dead  body  upon  it,  covered  with  purple ; 
and  a  diadem  was  put  upon  his  head,  and 
a  crown  of  gold  above  it,  and  a  sceptre  in 
his  right  hand  ;  and  near  to  the  bier  were 
Herod's  sons,  and  a  multitude  of  his 
kindred ;  next  to  whom  came  his  guards, 
and  the  regiment  of  Thracians,  the  Ger- 
mans also  and  Gauls,  all  accoutred  as  if 
they  were  going  to  war;  but  the  rest  of 
the  army  went  foremost,  armed,  and  fol- 
lowing their  captains  and  officers  in  i 
regular  manner;  after  whom,  500  of  hit 
domestic  servants  and  freedmen  followed, 
with  sweet  spices  in  their  hands;  and  the 
body  was  carried  200  furlongs,  to  He- 
rodium,  where  he  had  given  order  to  be 
buried.  And  thjs  shall  suffice  for  the 
conclusion  of  the  life  of  Herod 


1182 


WARS    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  IL 


BOOK  II. 


CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL  OF  SIXTY-NINE  YEARS,  FROM  THE  DEATH 
OF  HEROD  TILL  VESPASIAN  WAS  SENT  TO  SUBDUE  THE  JEWS  BY 
NERO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Archelaus  makes  a  funeral  feast — a  great  tumult 
raised  by  the  multitude — the  soldiers  destroy 
about  3000  of  them. 

Now  the  necessity  which  Archelaus 
was  under  of  taking  a  journey  to  Rome 
was  the  occasion  of  new  disturbances;  for 
when  he  had  mourned  for  his  father  seven 
days,*  and  had  given  a  very  expensive 
funeral  feast  to  the  multitude,  (which 
custom  is  the  occasion  of  poverty  to 
many  of  the  Jews,  because  they  are  forced 
to  feast  the  multitude;  for  if  any  one  omits 
it,  he  is  not  esteemed  a  holy  person,)  he 
put  on  a  white  garment,  and  went  up  to 
the  temple,  where  the  people  accosted  him 
with  various  acclamations.  He  also  spake 
kindly  to  the  multitude,  from  an  elevated 
seat  and  a  throne  of  gold,  and  returned 
them  thanks  for  the  zeal  they  had  shown 
about  his  father's  funeral,  and  the  sub- 
mission they  had  made  to  him,  as  if  he 
were  already  settled  in  the  kingdom ; 
but  he  told  them  withal,  that  he.  would 
not  at  present  take  upon  him  either  the 
authority  of  a  king,  or  the  names  thereto 
belonging,  until  Caesar,  who  is  made  lord 
of  this  whole  affair  bj'  the  testament,  con- 
firms the  succession ;  for  that  when  the 
soldiers  would  have  set  the  diadem  on  his 
head  at  Jericho,  he  would  not  accept  of 
it ;  but  that  he  would  make  abundant  re- 
quitals, not  to  the  soldiers  only,  but  to  the 
people,  for  their  alacrity  and  good-will  to 
him,  when  the  superior  lords  [the  Ro- 
mans] should  have  given  him  a  complete 
title  to  the  kingdom ;  for  that  it  should 


*  The  law  or  custom  of  the  Jews  requires  seven 
days'  mourning  for  the  dead;  whence  the  author 
of  the  book  of  Ecclesiasticus  (chap.  xxii.  12)  assigns 
seven  days  as  the  proper  time  of  mourning  for  the 
dead,  and  (chap,  xxxviii.  17)  enjoins  men  to  mourn 
for  the  dead,  that  they  may  not  be  evil  spoken  of; 
for,  as  Josephus  says  presently,  if  any  one  omits 
this  mourning  [funeral  feast],  he  is  not  esteemed 
a  holy  person.  Now  it  is  certain  that  such  a  seven 
days'  mourning  has  been  customary  from  times  of 
the  greatest  antiquity  Gen.  i.  10.  Funeral  feasts 
are  also  mentioned  as  of  considerable  antiquity, 
Ezek.  xxiv.  17;  Jer.  xvi.  7;  Pro  v.  xxxi.  6; 
Deut   xx vi.  14. 


be  his  study  to  appear  in  all  things  better 
than  his  father. 

Upon  this  the  multitude  were  pleased, 
and   presently  made   a  trial  of  what  he 
intended,  by  asking  great  things  of  him ; 
for  some  made  a  clamour  that  he  would 
ease  them  in  their  taxes ;  others,  that  he 
would  take  off  the  duties  upon   commo- 
dities;   and   some,  that    he   would  loose 
those  that  were  in  prison :  in  all  which 
cases  he  answered  readily  to  their  satis- 
faction, in  order  to  get  the  good-will  of 
the  multitude  ;  after  which  he  offered  [the 
proper]   sacrifices,   and    feasted  with   his 
friends.     And   here  it  was  that  a  great 
many  of  those   that  desired  innovations 
came  in  crowds  toward  the  evening,  and 
began   then  to   mourn  on  their  own  ac- 
count, when  the  public  mourning  for  the 
king  was  over.      These  lameuted   those 
that  were  put  to  death  by  Herod,  because 
they  had  cut  down  the  golden  eagle  that 
had   been   over   the  gate  of  the   temple. 
Nor  was  this  mourning  of  a  private  na- 
ture, but  the  lamentations  were  very  great, 
the    mourning  solemn,  and   the  weepiDg 
such  as  was  loudly  heard  all  over  the  city, 
as  being  for  those  men  who  had  perished 
for  the  laws  of  their  country,  and  for  the 
temple.     They  cried  out,  that  a  punish- 
ment ought  to  be  inflicted  for  these  men 
upon  those  that  were  honoured  by  Herod; 
and  that,  in  the  first  place,  the  man  whom 
he  had  made  high  priest  should  be  de- 
prived ;   and   that  it  was  fit  to  choose  a 
person  of  greater  piety  and  purity  than 
he  was. 

At  these  clamours  Archelaus  was  pro- 
voked; but  restrained  himself  from  taking 
vengeance  on  the  authors,  on  account  of 
the  haste  he  was  in  of  going  to  Rome,  as 
fearing  lest  upon  his  making  war  on  the 
multitude,  such  an  action  might  detain 
him  at  home.  Accordinly,  he  made  trial 
to  quiet  the  innovators  by  persuasion 
rather  than  by  force,  and  sent  his  general 
in  a  private  way  to  them,  and  by  him 
exhorted  them  to  be  quiet.  But  the 
seditious  threw  stones  at  him,  and  drove 


Ciup.    11.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


t>83 


him  away,  as  Le  came  into  the  temple, 
and  before  he  could  say  any  thing  to  them. 
The  like  treatment  they  showed  to  others, 
who  came  to  them  after  him,  many  of 
whom  were  sent  by  Archelaus,  in  order 
to  reduce  them  to  sobriety,  and  these 
answered  still  on  all  occasions  after  a  pas- 
sionate manner;  and  it  openly  appeared 
that  they  would  not  be  quiet,  if  their 
numbers  were  but  considerable.  And, 
indeed,  at  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
which  was  now  at  hand,  and  is  by  the 
Jews  called  the  passover,  and  used  to  be 
celebrated  with  a  great  number  of  sacri- 
fices, an  innumerable  multitude  of  the  peo- 
ple came  out  of  the  country  to  worship  : 
some  of  these  stood  in  the  temple  bewail- 
ing the  rabbins  [that  had  been  put  to 
death],  and  procured  their  sustenance  by 
begging,  in  order  to  support  their  sedition. 
At  this  Archelaus  was  affrighted,  and 
privately  sent  a  tribune,  with  his  cohort 
of  soldiers,  upon  them,  before  the  disease 
should  spread  over  the  whole  multitude, 
and  gave  orders  that  they  should  constrain 
those  that  began  the  tumult,  by  force  to 
be  quiet.  At  these  the  whole  multitude 
were  irritated,  and  threw  stones  at  many 
of  the  soldiers,  and  killed  them ;  but  the 
tribune  fled  away  wounded,  and  had  much 
ado  to  escape  so.  After  which  they  be- 
took themselves  to  their  sacrifices,  as  if 
they  had  done  no  mischief;  nor  did  it 
appear  to  Archelaus  that  the  multitude 
could  be  restrained  without  bloodshed; 
so  he  sent  his  whole  army  upon  them, 
the  footmen  in  great  multitudes,  by  the 
way  of  the  city,  and  the  horsemen  by  the 
way  of  the  plain,  who,  falling  upon  them 
on  the  sudden,  as  they  were  offering  their 
sacrifices,  destroyed  about  3000  of  them ; 
but  the  rest  of  the  multitude  were  dis- 
persed upon  the  adjoining  mountains : 
these  were  followed  by  Archelaus's  he- 
ralds, who  commanded  every  one  to  retire 
to  their  own  homes;  whither  they  all  went, 
and  left  the  festival. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Archelaus  accused  before  Caesar  by  Antipater — is 
successfully  defended  by  Nicolaus. 

Archelaus  went  down  now  to  the 
teaside  with  his  mother  and  his  friends, 
Poplas  and  Ptolemy  and  Nicolaus,  and 
left  behind  him  Philip,  to  be  his  steward 
in  the  palace,  and  to  take  care  of  his 
domestic  afiairs.  Salome  went  also  along 
with  him  with  her  sons,  as  did  also  the 


king's  brethren  and  sons-in-law.  There, 
in  appearance,  went  to  give  him  all  the 
assistance  they  were  able,  in  order  to 
secure  his  succession,  but  in  reality  to 
accuse  him  for  his  breach  of  the  laws  by 
what  he  had  done  at  the  temple. 

But  as  they  were  come  to  Cesarea, 
Sabinus,  the  procurator  of  Syria,  met 
them  :  he  was  going  up  to  Judca  to  secure ' 
Herod's  effects;  but  Varus  [president  of 
Syria],  who  was  come  thither,  restrained 
him  from  going  any  farther.  This  Varus, 
Archelaus  had  sent  for  by  the  earnest 
entreaty  of  Ptolemy.  At  this  time,  in- 
deed, Sabinus,  to  gratify  Varus,  neither 
went  to  the  citadels,  nor  did  he  shut  up 
the  treasuries  where  his  father's  money 
was  laid  up,  but  promised  that  he  would 
lie  still  until  Csesar  should  have  taken 
cognizance  of  the  affair.  So  he  abode  at 
Cesarea :  but  as  soon  as  those  that  were  his 
hinderance  were  gone,  when  Varus  was 
gone  to  Antioch,  and  Archelaus  was  sailed 
to  Rome,  he  immediately  went  on  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  seized  upon  the  palace ;  and 
when  he  had  called  for  the  governors  of 
the  citadels  and  the  stewards  [of  the 
king's  private  affairs],  he  tried  to  sift  out 
the  accounts  of  the  money,  and  to  take 
possession  of  the  citadels.  But  the  go- 
vernors of  those  citadels  were  not  unmind- 
ful of  the  commands  laid  upon  them  by 
Archelaus,  and  continued  to  guard  them, 
and  said  the  custody  of  them  rather  be- 
longed to  Caesar  than  to  Archelaus. 

In  the  mean  time  Antipas  went  also  to 
Rome,  to  strive  for  the  kingdom,  and  k 
insist  that  the  former  testament,  wTherein 
he  was  named  to  be  king,  was  valid  before 
the  latter  testament.  Salome  had  also 
promised  to  assist  him,  as  had  many  of 
Archelaus's  kindred  who  sailed  along  with 
Archelaus  himself  also.  He  also  carried 
along  with  him  his  mother,  and  Ptolemy, 
the  brother  of  Nicolaus,  who  seemed  one 
of  great  weight,  on  account  of  the  great 
trust  Herod  put  in  him,  he  having  been 
one  of  his  most  honoured  friends.  How- 
ever, Antipas  depended  chiefly  upon  Irae- 
neus,  the  orator;  upon  whose  authority 
he  had  rejected  such  as  advised  him  to 
yield  to  Archelaus,  because  he  wras  his 
elder  brother,  and  because  the  second  tes- 
tament gave  the  kingdom  to  him.  The 
inclination  also  of  all  Archelaus's  kindred, 
who  hated  him,  were  removed  to  Antipas, 
when  they  came  to  Rome ;  although  in 
the  first  place,  every  one  rather  desired 
to  live  under  their  own  laws  [without  a 


b84 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II 


king],  and  to  be  under  a  Roman  governor; 
but  if  they  should  fail  in  that  point,  these 
desired  that  Antipas  might  be  their  king. 

Sabinus  did  also  afford  these  his  assist- 
ance to  the  same  purpose,  by  the  letters 
he  sent,  wherein  he  accused  Archelaus 
before  Caesar,  and  highly  commended  An- 
tipas. Salome  also,  and  those  with  her, 
put  the  crimes  which  they  accused  Arche- 
laus of  in  order,  and  put  them  into  Caesar's 
hands;  and  after  they  had  done  that, 
Archelaus  wrote  down  the  reasons  of  his 
claim,  and,  by  Ptolemy,  sent  in  his  fa- 
ther's ring,  and  his  father's  accounts;  and 
when  Caesar  had  maturely  weighed  by 
himself  what  both  had  to  allege  for  them- 
selves, as  also  had  considered  of  the  great 
burden  of  the  kingdom,  and  largeness  of 
the  revenues,  and  withal  the  number  of 
the  children  Herod  had  left  behind  him, 
and  had  moreover  read  the  letters  he  hud 
received  from  Varus  and  Sabinus  on  this 
occasion,  he  assembled  the  principal  per- 
sons among  the  Romans  together,  (in 
which  assembly  Cuius,  the  son  of  Agrippa 
and  his  daughter  Julias,  but  by  himself 
adopted  for  his  own  son,  sat  in  the  first 
seat,)  and  gave  the  pleaders  leave  to  speak. 

Then  stood  up  Salome's  son,  Antipater, 
(who  of  all  Archelaus's  antagonists,  was 
the  shrewdest  pleader,)  and  accused  him 
in  the  following  speech  : — That  Archelaus 
did  in  words  contend  for  the  kingdom,  but 
that  in  deeds  he  had  long  exercisecl  royal 
authority,  and  so  did  insult  Caesar  in  desir- 
ing to  be  now  heard  on  that  account,  since 
he  had  not  stayed  for  his  determination 
about  the  succession,  and  since  he  had 
suborned  certain  persons,  after  Herod's 
death,  to  move  for  putting  the  diadem 
upon  his  head ;  since  he  had  set  himself 
down  in  the  throne,  and  given  answers  as 
a  king,  and  altered  the  disposition  of  the 
army,  and  granted  to  some  higher  digni- 
ties :  that  he  had  also  complied  in  all 
things  with  the  people  in  the  requests 
they  had  made  to  him  as  to  their  king, 
and  had  also  dismissed  those  that  had 
been  put  into  bonds  by  his  father,  for 
most  important  reasons.  Now,  after  all 
this,  he  desires  the  shadow  of  that  royal 
authority,  whose  substance  he  had  already 
seized  to  himself,  and  so  hath  made  Cae- 
_ar  lord,  not  of  things,  but  of  words.  He 
also  reproached  him  further,  that  his 
mourning  for  his  father  was  only  pre- 
tended, while  he  put  on  a  sad  countenance 
in  the  daytime,  but  drank  to  great  excess 


ir 


the 


night, 


from  which  behaviour,  he 


said,  the  late  disturbances  among  the 
multitude  came,  while  they  had  an  indig- 
nation thereat;  and  indeed  the  purport  of 
his  whole  discourse  was  to  aggravate  Ar- 
chelaus's crime  in  slaying  such  a  multitude 
about  the  temple,  which  multitude  came 
to  the  festival,  but  were  barbarously  slain 
in  the  midst  of  their  own  sacrifices;  and 
he  said  there  was  such  a  vast  number  of 
dead  bodies  heaped  together  in  the  tern 
pie,  as  even  a  foreign  war,  should  that 
come  upon  them  [suddenly]  before  it  was 
denounced,  could  not  have  heaped  toge- 
ther; and  he  added  that  it  was  the  fore- 
sight his  father  had  of  that  his  barbarity, 
which  made  him  never  give  him  any  hope? 
of  the  kingdom ;  but  when  his  mind  wa* 
more  infirm  than  his  body,  and  he  was 
not  able   to  reason  soundly,  and  did  not 

J   7 

well  know  what  was  tie  character  of  that 
son  whom  in  his  second  testament  he  made 
his  successor ;  and  this  was  done  by  him 
at  a  time  when  he  had  no  complaints  to 
make  of  him  whom  he  had  named  before, 
when  he  was  sound  in  body,  and  when  his 
mind  was  free  from  all  passion.  That,  how- 
ever, if  any  one  should  suppose  Herod's 
judgment  when  he  was  sick  was  superior 
to  that  at  another  time,  yet  had  Archelaus 
forfeited  his  kingdom  by  his  own  beha- 
viour, and  those  his  actions  which  were 
contrary  to  the  law,  and  to  its  disadvan- 
tage. Or  what  sort  of  a  king  will  this 
man  be,  when  he  hath  obtained  the  go- 
vernment from  Caesar,  who  hath  slain  so 
many  before  he  hath  obtained  it! 

When  Antipater  had  spoken  largely  to 
this  purpose,  and  had  produced  a  great 
number  of  Archelaus's  kindred  as  wit- 
nesses to  prove  every  part  of  the  accusa- 
tion, he  ended  his  discourse.  Then  stood 
up  Nicolaus  to  plead  for  Archelaus.  He 
alleged  that  the  slaughter  in  the  temple 
could  not  be  avoided ;  that  those  that  were 
slain  were  become  enemies,  not  to  Arche- 
laus's kingdom  only,  but  to  Caesar,  who 
was  to  determine  about  him.  He  also  de- 
monstrated, that  Archelaus's  accusers  had 
advised  him  to  perpetrate  other  things  of 
which  he  might  have  been  accused;  but 
he  insisted  tliat  the  latter  testament 
should,  for  this  reason  above  all  other?, 
be  esteemed  valid,  because  Herod  had 
therein  appointed  Caesar  to  be  the  person 
who  should  confirm  the  succession;  for 
he  who  showed  such  prudence  as  to  recede 
from  his  own  power,  and  yield  it  up  to 
the  lord  of  the  world,  cannot  be  supposed 
mistaken  in  his  judgment  about  him  that 


Chap   III.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


685 


was  to  be  nis  heir;  and  he  that  so  well 
knew  whom  to  choose  for  arbitrator  of 
the  succession,  could  not  be  unacquainted 
with  him  whom  he  chose  for  his  successor. 
"When  Nicolaus  had  gone  through  all 
he  had  to  say,  Archelaus  came  and  fell 
down  before  Caesar's  knees,  without  any 
noise ; — upon  which  he  raised  him  up, 
after  a  very  obliging  manner,  and  de- 
clared that  truly  he  was  worthy  to  succeed 
his  father.  However,  he  still  made  no 
firm  determination  in  his  case;  but  when 
he  had  dismissed  those  assessors  that  had 
been  with  him  that  day,  he  deliberated  by 
himself  about  the  allegations  which  he 
had  heard,  whether  it  were  fit  to  consti- 
tute any  of  those  named  in  the  testaments 
for  Herod's  successor,  or  whether  the  go- 
vernment should  be  parted  among  all  his 
posterity ;  and  this  because  of  the  num- 
ber of  those  that  seemed  to  stand  in  need 
of  support  therefrom. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Revolt  of  the  Jews. 
Now  before  Caesar  had  determined  any 
thing  about  these  affairs,  Malthace,  Arche- 
laus's  mother,  fell  sick  and  died.  Letters 
also  were  brought  out  of  Syria  from  Va- 
rus, about  a  revolt  of  the  Jews.  This 
was  foreseen  by  Varus,  who  accordingly, 
after  Archelaus  was  sailed,  went  up  to 
Jerusalem  to  restrain  the  promoters  of 
the  sedition,  since  it  was  manifest  that  the 
nation  would  not  be  at  rest;  so  he  left  one 
of  those  legions  which  he  brought  with 
him  out  of  Syria  in  the  city,  and  went 
himself  to  Antioch.  But  Sabinus  came, 
after  he  was  gone,  and  gave  them  an 
occasion  of  making  innovations ;  for  he 
compelled  the  keepers  of  the  citadels  to 
deliver  them  uo  to  him,  and  made  a  bitter 
search  after  the  king's  money,  as  depend- 
ing not  only  on  the  soldiers  who  were  left 
by  Varus,  but  on  the  multitude  of  his  own 
servants,  all  whom  he  armed  and  used  as 
the  instruments  of  his  covetousness.  Now 
when  that  feast,  which  was  observed  after 
seven  weeks,  and  which  the  Jews  culled 
Pentecost  (i.  e.  the  fiiftieth  day)  was  at 
hand,  its  name  being  taken  from  the  num- 
ber of  the  days  [after  the  Passover],  the 
people  got  together,  but  not  on  account  of 
the  accustomed  divine  worship,  but  of  the 
indignation  they  had  [at  the  present  state 
of  affairs].  Wherefore  an  immense  mul- 
titude ran  together,  out  of  Galilee,  and 
Idumea,  and  Jericho,  and  Perea,  that  was 


l  beyond  Jordan  ;  but  the  people  that 
naturally  belonged  to  Judea  itself  were 
above  the  rest  both  in  number  and  in  the 
alacrity  of  the  men.  So  they  distributed 
themselves  into  three  parts,  and  pitched 
their  camps  in  three  places;  one  at  the 
north  side  of  the  temple,  another  at  the 
south  side,  by  the  hippodrome,  and  the 
third  part  were  at  the  palace  on  the  west. 
So  they  lay  round  about  the  Romans  on 
every  side,  and  besieged  them. 

Now  Sabinus  was  affrighted,  both  at 
their  multitude  and  at  their  courage,  and 
sent  messengers  to  Varus  continually,  and 
besought  him  to  come  to  his  succour 
quickly,  for  that,  if  he  delayed,  his  legion 
would  be  cut  to  pieces.  As  for  Sabinus 
himself,  he  got  up  to  the  highest  tower 
of  the  fortress,  which  was  called  Pha- 
saelus;  it  is  of  the  same  name  with 
Herod's  brother  who  was  destroyed  by 
the  Parthians;  and  then  he  made  signs 
to  the  soldiers  of  that  legion  to  attack  the 
enemy ;  for  his  astonishment  was  so  great, 
that  he  durst  not  go  down  to  his  own  men. 
Hereupon  the  soldiers  were  prevailed 
upon,  and  leaped  out  into  the  temple, 
and  fought  a  terrible  battle  with  the  Jews ; 
in  which,  while  there  were  none  over  their 
heads  to  distress  them,  they  were  too  hard 
for  them,  by  their  skill,  and  the  others' 
want  of  skill  in  war ;  but  when  once  many 
of  the  Jews  had  gotten  up  to  the  top  of 
the  cloisters,  and  threw  their  darts  down- 
ward upon  the  heads  of  the  Romans, 
there  were  a  great  many  of  them  destroyed. 
Nor  was  it  easy  to  avenge  themselves  upon 
those  that  threw  their  weapons  from  on 
high,  nor  was  it  more  easy  for  them  to 
sustain  those  who  came  to  fight  them 
hand  to  hand. 

Since,  therefore,  the  Romans  were 
sorely  afflicted  by  both  these  circumstances, 
they  set  fire  to  the  cloisters,  which  were 
works  to  be  admired,  both  on  account  of 
their  magnitude  and  costliness.  Where- 
upon those  that  were  above  them  were 
presently  encompassed  with  the  flame, 
and  many  of  them  perished  therein;  a,s 
many  of  them  also  were  destroyed  by  the 
enemy,  who  came  suddenly  upon  them  ; 
some  of  them  also  threw  themselves  down 
from  the  walls  backward,  and  some  there 
were,  who,  from  the  desperate  condition 
they  were  in,  prevented  the  fire,  by  killing 
themselves  with  their  own  swords;  but  so 
many  of  them  as  crept  out  from  the  walls, 
and  came  upon  the  Romans,  were  easily 
mastered  by  them,  by  ruaion   of  the  as 


o86 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


tonishment  they  were  under;  until  at 
last,  some  of  the  Jews  being  destroyed, 
and  others  dispersed  by  the  terror  they 
were  in,  the  soldiers  fell  upon  the  treasure 
of  God,  which  was  now  deserted,  and 
plundered  about  400  talents,  of  which 
sum  Sabinus  got  together  all  that  was 
uot  carried  away  by  the  soldiers. 

However,  this  destruction  of  the  works 
[about  the  temple],  and  of  the  men,  oc- 
casioned a  much  greater  number,  and 
those  of  a  more  warlike  sort,  to  get  toge- 
ther, to  oppose  the  Romans.  These  encom- 
passed the  palace  round,  and  threatened 
to  destroy  all  that  were  in  it,  unless  they 
went  their  ways  quickly;  for  they  pro- 
mised that  Sabinus  should  come  to  no 
harm,  if  he  should  go  out  with  his  legion. 
There  were  also  a  great  many  of  the  king's 
party  who  deserted  the  Romans  and  as- 
sisted the  Jews ;  yet  did  the  most  warlike 
body  of  them  all,  who  were  3000  of  the 
men  of  Sebaste,  go  over  to  the  Romans. 
Rufus  also,  and  Gratus,  their  captains, 
did  the  same,  (Gratus  having  the  foot  of 
the  king's  party  under  him,  and  Rufus 
the  horse;)  each  of  whom,  even  without 
the  forces  under  them,  were  of  great 
weight,  on  account  of  their  strength  and 
wisdom,  which  turn  the  scales  in  war. 
Now  the  Jews  persevered  in  the  siege, 
and  tried  to  break  down  the  walls  of  the 
fortress,  and  cried  out  to  Sabinus  and  his 
party  that  they  should  go  their  ways  and 
not  prove  a  hinderance  to  them,  now  they 
hoped,  after  a  long  time,  to  recover  that 
ancient  liberty  which  their  forefathers  had 
enjoyed.  Sabinus  indeed  was  well  con- 
tented to  get  out  of  the  danger  he  was  in ; 
but  he  distrusted  the  assurances  the  Jews 
gave  him,  and  suspected  such  gentb 
treatment  was  but  a  bait  laid  as  a  snare 
for  them :  this  consideration,  together 
with  the  hopes  he  had  of  succour  from 
Varus,  made  him  bear  the  siege  still 
longer. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Herod's  veteran  soldiers  become  tumultuous — rob- 
beries of  Judas — Simon  and  Atbrongeus  assume 
the  tame  of  king. 

At  this  time  there  were  great  disturb- 
ances in  the  country,  and  that  in  many 
places ;  and  the  opportunity  that  now 
offered  itself  induced  a  great  many  to  set 
up  for  kings;  and  indeed,  in  Idumea, 
2000  of  Herod's  veteran  soldiers  got  to- 
gether, and  armed  themselves,  and  fought 


against  those  of  the  king's  party ;  against 
whom  Achiabus,  the  king's  first  cousin, 
fought,  and  that  out  of  some  of  the  places 
that  were  the  most  strongly  fortified  ;  but 
so  as  to  avoid  a  direct  conflict  with  them 
in  the  plains.  In  Sepphoris  also,  a  city 
of  Galilee,  there  was  one  Judas,  (the  son 
of  that  archrobber  Hezekias,  who  for- 
merly overran  the  country,  and  had  been 
subdued  by  King  Herod;)  this  man  got 
no  small  multitude  together,  and  broke 
open  the  place  where  the  royal  armour 
was  laid  up,  and  armed  those  about  him, 
and  attacked  those  that  were  so  earnest  to 
gain  the  dominion. 

In  Perea,  also,  Simon,  one  of  the  ser- 
vants to  the  king,  relying  upon  the  hand- 
some appearance  and  tallness  of  his  body, 
put  a  diadem  upon  his  own  head  also ;  he 
also  went  about  with  a  company  of  rob- 
bers that  he  had  gotten  together,  and 
burnt  down  the  royal  palace  that  was  at 
Jericho,  and  many  other  costly  edifices 
besides,  and  procured  himself  very  easily 
spoils  by  rapine,  as  snatching  them  out  of 
the  fire ;  and  he  had  soon  burnt  down  all 
the  fine  edifices,  if  Gratus,  the  captain  of 
the  foot  of  the  king's  party,  had  not  taken 
the  Trachonite  archers,  and  the  most  war- 
like of  Sebaste,  and  met  the  man.  His 
footmen  were  slain  in  the  battle  in  abun- 
dance. Gratus  also  cut  to  pieces  Simon 
himself,  as  he  was  flying  along  a  straight 
valley,  when  he  gave  him  an  oblique  stroke 
upon  his  neck,  as  he  ran  away,  and  broke 
it.  The  royal  palaces  that  were  near 
Jordan,  at  Betharamptha,  were  also  burnt 
down  by  some  other  of  the  seditious  that 
came  out  of  Perea. 

At  this  time  it  was  that  a  certain 
shepherd  ventured  to  set  himself  up  for  a 
king  :  he  was  called  Athrongeus.  It  was 
his  strength  of  body  that  made  him  ex- 
pect such  a  dignity,  as  well  as  his  soul, 
which  despised  death ;  and  besides  these 
qualifications,  he  had  four  brethren  like 
himself.  He  put  a  troop  of  armed  men 
under  each  of  these  his  brethren,  and 
made  use  of  them  as  his  generals  and 
commanders,  when  he  made  his  incur- 
sions, while  he^  did  himself  act  like  a 
king,  and  meddled  only  with  the  more 
important  affairs  ;  and  at  this  time  he  put 
a  diadem  about  his  head,  and  continued 
after  that  to  overrun  the  country  for  no 
little  time  with  his  brethren,  and  became 
their  leader  in  killing  both  the  Romans 
and  those  of  the  king's  party;  nor  did 
any  Jew  escape  him,  if  any  gain  could 


SjRKF.    V.J 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


687 


accrue  to  him  thereby.  He  once  ventured 
to  encompass  a  whole  troop  of  Romans 
at  Emmaus,  who  were  carrying  corn  and 
weapons  to  their  legion  :  his  men  shot 
their  arrows  and  darts,  and  thereby  slew 
their  centurion.  Arius,  and  forty  of  the 
stoutest  of  his  men,  while  the  rest  of 
them,  who  were  in  danger  of  the  same 
fate,  upon  the  coming  of  Gratus,  with 
those  of  Sebaste,  to  their  assistance,  es- 
caped; and  wheu  these  men  had  thus 
served  both  their  own  countrymen  and 
foreigners,  and  that*  through  this  whole 
war,  three  of  them  were  after  some  time 
subdued )  the  eldest  by  Archelaus,  the 
two  next  by  falling  into  the  hands  of 
Gratus  and  Ptolemeus ;  but  the  fourth 
delivered  himself  up  to  Archelaus,  upon 
his  giving  him  his  right  hand  for  this 
security.  However,  this  their  end  was 
not  till  afterward,  while  at  present  they 
filled  all  Judea  with  piratic  war. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Varus  quells  the  tumults  in  Judea — crucifies  about 
two  thousand  of  the  seditious. 

Upon  Varus's  reception  of  the  letters 
that  were  written  by  Sabinus  and  the 
captains,  he  could  not  avoid  being  afraid 
for  the  whole  legion  [he  had  left  there]. 
So  he  made  haste  to  their  relief,  and  took 
with  him  the  other  two  legion3,  with  the 
four  troops  of  horsemen  to  them  belonging, 
and  marched  to  Ptolemais,  having  given 
orders  for  the  auxiliaries  that  were  sent 
by  the  kings  and  governors  of  cities  to 
meet  him  there  Moroever,  he  received 
from  the  people  of  Berytus,  as  he  passed 
through  their  city,  1500  armed  men. 
Now  as  soon  as  the  other  body  of  aux- 
iliaries were  come  to  Ptolemais,  as  well 
as  Aretas  the  Arabian,  (who,  out  of  the 
hatred  he  bore  to  Herod,  brought  a  great 
army  of  horse  and  foot,)  Varus  sent  a 
part  of  his  army  presently  to  Galilee, 
which  lay  near  to  Ptolemais,  and  Caius, 
one  of  his  friends,  for  their  captain.  This 
Caius  put  those  that  met  him  to  flight, 
and  took  the  city  Sepphoris,  and  burnt  it, 
and  made  slaves  of  its  inhabitants.  But 
as  for  Varus  himself,  he  marched  to 
Samaria  with  his  whole  army,  where  he 
did  not  meddle  with  the  city  itself,  because 
he  found  that  it  had  made  no  commotion 
during  these  troubles,  but  pitched  his 
camp  about  a  certaiu  village  which  was 
called  Arius.  It  belonged  to  Ptolemy, 
and  on  that  account  was  Blundered  by  the 


Arabians,  who  were  very  angry  even  at 
Herod's  friends  also.  He  thence  marched 
on  to  the  village  Sampho,  another  fortified 
place,  which  they  plundered,  as  they  had 
done  the  other.  As  they  carried  off  all 
the  money  they  lighted  upon  belonging  tc 
the  public  revenues,  all  was  now  full  of 
fire  and  bloodshed,  and  nothing  could  re- 
sist the  plunders  of  the  Arabians.  Em- 
maus was  also  burnt,  upon  the  flight  of 
its  inhabitants,  and  this  at  the  command 
of  Varus,  out  of  his  rage  at  the  slaughter 
of  those  that  were  about  iVrius. 

Thence  he  marched  on  to  Jerusalem, 
and  as  soon  as  he  was  but  seen  by  the 
Jews,  he  made  their  camps  disperse  them- 
selves :  they  also  went  away,  and  fled  up 
and  down  the  country.  But  the  citizens 
received  him,  and  cleared  themselves  of 
having  any  hand  in  this  revolt,  and  said 
that  they  had  raised  no  commotions,  but 
had  only  been  forced  to  admit  the  mul- 
titude, because  of  the  festival,  and  that 
they  were  rather  besieged  together  with 
the  Romans,  than  assisted  those  that  had 
revolted.  There  had  before  this  met  him 
Joseph,  the  first  cousin  of  Archelaus,  and 
Gratus,  together  with  Rufus,  who  led 
those  of  Sebaste,  as  well  as  the  king's 
army :  there  also  met  him  those  of  the 
Roman  legion,  armed  after  their  accus- 
tomed manner;  for  as  to  Sabinus,  he 
durst  not  come  into  Varus's  sight,  but 
was  gone  out  of  the  city  before  this,  to 
the  seaside.  But  Varus  sent  a  part  of 
his  army  into  the  country,  against  those 
that  had  been  the  authors  of  this  com- 
motion, and  as  they  caught  great  numbers 
of  them,  those  that  appeared  to  have  been 
the  least  concerned  in  these  tumults  he 
put  into  custody,  but  such  as  were  the 
most  guilty  he  crucified :  these  were  in 
number  about  2000. 

He  was  also  informed  that  there  con- 
tinued in  Idumea  10,000  men  still  in 
arms ;  but  when  he  found  that  the  Arabians 
did  not  act  like  auxiliaries,  but  managed 
the  war  according  to  their  own  passions, 
and  did  mischief  to  the  country  otherwise 
than  he  intended,  and  this  out  of  their 
hatred  to  Herod,  he  sent  them  away,  but 
made  haste,  with  his  own  legions,  to 
march  against  those  that  had  revolted ; 
but  these,  by  the  advice  of  Achiabus,  de- 
livered themselves  up  to  him  before  it 
came  to  a  battle.  Then  did  Varus  forgive 
the  multitude  their  offences,  but  sent  their 
captains  to  Caesar  to  be  examined  by  him. 
Now   Caesar    forgave   the   rest,  but   gave 


688 


WARS    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


orders  that  certain  of  the  kihg's  relations 
(for  some  of  those  that  were  among  them 
were  Herod's  kinsmen)  should  be  put  to 
death,  because  they  had  engaged  in  a  war 
against  a  king  of  their  own  family.  When, 
therefore,  Varus  had  settled  matters  at 
Jerusalem  after  this  manner,  and  had  left 
the  former  legion  there  as  a  garrison,  he 
returned  to  Antioch. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Jews  complain  of  Archelaus,  and  desire  that 
they  may  be  made  subject  to  Roman  governors. 

But  now  came  another  accusation  from 
the  Jews  against  Archelaus  at  Rome, 
which  he  was  to  answer  to.  It  was  made 
by  those  ambassadors  who  before  the  re- 
volt had  come,  by  Varus's  permission,  to 
plead  for  the  liberty  of  their  country; 
those  that  came  were  fifty  in  number,  but 
there  were  more  than  8000  of  the  Jews 
at  Rome  who  supported  them ;  and  when 
Caesar  had  assembled  a  council  of  the  prin- 
cipal Romans  in  Apollo's*  temple,  that 
was  in  the  palace,  (this  was  what  he  had 
nimself  built  and  adorned,  at  a  vast  ex- 
pense,) the  multitude  of  the  Jews  stood 
with  the  ambassadors,  and  on  the  other 
side  stood  Archelaus,  with  his  friends : 
but  as  for  the  kindred  of  Archelaus,  they 
stood  on  neither  side ;  for  to  stand  on 
Archelaus's  side,  their  hatred  to  him,  and 
envy  at  him,  would  not  give  them  leave, 
while  yet  they  were  afraid  to  be  seen  by 
Caesar  with  his  accusers.  Besides  these, 
there  was  present  Archelaus's  brother, 
Philip,  being  sent  thither  beforehand,  out 
of  kindness,  by  Varus,  for  two  reasons: 
the  one  was  this,  that  he  might  be  assist- 
ing to  Archelaus ;  and  the  other  was  this, 
that  in  case  Ceesar  should  make  a  distri- 
bution of  what  Herod  possessed  among  his 
posterity,  he  might  obtain  some  share  of  it 

And  now,  upon  the  permission  that  was 
given  the  accusers  to  speak,  they,  in  the 
first  place,  went  over  Herod's  breaches 
of  their  law,  and  said  that  he  was  not  a 
king,  but  the  most  barbarous  of  all 
tyrants,  and  that  they  had  found  him  to 
be  such  by  the  sufferings  they  underwent 
from  him  :  that  when  a  very  great  number 
had  been  slain  by  him,  those  that  were 
left  had  endured  such  miseries  that  they 


*  This  holding  of  a  council  in  the  temple  of 
Apollo,  in  the  emperor's  palace  at  Rome,  by  Au- 
gustus, and  even  the  building  of  this  temple  mag- 
nificently by  himself  in  that  palace,  are  exactly 
agreeable  to  Augustus  in  his  elder  years. 


called  those  that  were  dead  happy  men; 
that  he  had  not  only  tortured  the  bodies 
of  his  subjects,  but  entire  cities,  and  had 
done  much  harm  to  the  cities  of  his  own 
country  while  he  adorned  those  that  be- 
longed to  foreigners ;  and  shed  the  blood 
of  Jews  in  order  to  do  kindness  to  those 
people  who  were  out  of  their  bounds: 
that  he  had  filled  the  nation  full  of 
poverty,  and  of  the  greatest  iniquity,  in- 
stead of  that  happiness  and  those  laws 
which  they  had  anciently  enjoyed :  that, 
in  short,  the  Jews  had'borne  more  calami 
ties  from  Herod,  in  few  years,  than  had 
their  forefathers  during  all  that  interval 
of  time  that  had  passed  since  they  had 
come  out  of  Babylon,  and  returned  home, 
in  the  reign  of  Xerxes  :*  that,  however, 
the  nation  was  come  to  so  low  a  condi- 
tion, by  being  inured  to  hardships,  that 
they  submitted  to  his  successor  of  their 
own  accord,  though  he  brought  them  into 
bitter  slavery;  that,  accordingly,  they 
readily  called  Archelaus,  though  he  was 
the  son  of  so  great  a  tyrant,  king,  after 
the  decease  of  his  father,  and  joined  with 
him  in  mourning  for  the  death  of  Herod, 
and  in  wishing  him  good  success  in  that 
his  succession ;  while  yet  this  Archelaus, 
lest  he  should  be  in  danger  of  not  being 
thought  the  genuine  son  of  Herod,  began 
his  reign  with  the  murder  of  3000  citi- 
zens; as  if  he  had  a  mind  to  offer  so 
many  bloody  sacrifices  to  Grod  for  his  go- 
vernment, and  to  fill  the  temple  with  the 
like  number  of  dead  bodies  at  that  festi- 
val :  that,  however,  those  that  were  left 
after  so  many  miseries,  had  just  reason  to 
consider  now  at  last  the  calamities  they 
had  undergone,  and  to  oppose  themselves, 
like  soldiers  in  war,  to  receive  those 
stripes  upon  their  faces  [but  not  upon 
their  backs  as  hitherto].  Whereupon 
they  prayed  that  the  Romans  would  have 
compassion  upon  the  [poor]  remains  of 
Judea,  and  not  expose  what  was  left  of 
them  to  such  as  barbarously  tore  them  to 
pieces,  and  that  they  would  join  their 
country  to  Syria,  and  administer  the 
government  by  their  own  commanders, 
whereby  it  woulcl  [soon]  be  demonstrated 
that  those  who  are  now  under  the  calumny 
of  seditious  persons,  and  lovers  of  war, 
know  how  to  bear  governors  that  are  set 

*  Here  we  have  a  strong  confirmation  that  it 
was  Xerxes,  and  not  Artaxerxes,  under  whom  the 
main  part  of  the  Jews  returned  out  of  the  Baby- 
lonian   captivity;  i.   e.  in  the   days   of   Ezra  and 

Nehemiah. 


Chap.  VII. ] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


689 


ovi;r  them,  if  they  he  but  tolerable  ones. 
So  the  Jews  concluded  their  accusations 
with  this  request.  Then  rose  up  Nico- 
laus,  and  confuted  the  accusations  that 
were  brought  against  the  kings,  and  him- 
self accused  the  Jewish  nation,  as  hard  to 
be  ruled, .and  as  naturally  disobedient  to 
kings.  He  also  reproached  all  those  kins- 
men of  Archelaus  who  had  left  him  and 
were  gone  over  to  his  accusers. 

•So  Caesar,  after  he  had  heard  both  sides, 
dissolved  the  assembly  for  that  time ;  but 
a  few  days  afterward  he  gave  the  one 
half  of  Herod's  kingdom  to  Archelaus,  by 
the  name  of  ethnarch,  and  promised  to 
make  him  king  also  afterward,  if  he  ren- 
dered himself  worthy  of  that  dignity  ;  but 
as  to  the  other  half,  he  divided  it  into  two 
tetrarchies,  and  gave  them  to  two  other 
sons  of  Herod,  the  one  of  them  to  Philip, 
and  the  other  to  that  Antipas  who  contested 
the  kingdom  with  Archelaus.  Under  this 
last  was  Perea  and  Galilee,  with  a  revenue 
of  200  talents;  but  Batanea,  and  Tracho- 
nitis,  and  Auranitis,  and  certain  parts  of 
Zeno's  house  about  Jamnia,  with  a  reve- 
nue of  100  talents,  were  made  subject  to 
Philip;  while  Idumea  and  all  Judea,  and 
Samaria,  were  parts  of  the  ethnarchy  of 
Archelaus,  although  Samaria  was  eased  of 
one-quarter  of  its  taxes,  out  of  regard  to 
their  not  having  revolted  with  the  rest  of 
the  nation.  He  also  made  subject  to  him 
the  following  cities,  viz.  Strato's  Tower, 
and  Sebaste,  and  Joppa,  and  Jerusalem  ; 
but  as  to  the  Grecian  cities,  Gaza,  and 
Gadara,  and  Hippos,  he  cut  them  off  from 
the  kingdom,  and  added  them  to  Syria. 
Now  the  revenue  of  the  country  that  was 
given  to  Archelaus  was  400  talents.  Sa- 
lome also,  besides  what  the  king  had  left 
her  in  his  testaments,  was  now  made  mis- 
tress of  Jamnia,  and  Ashdod,  and  Pha- 
saelis.  Caesar  did  moreover  bestow  upon 
her  the  royal  palace  of  Ascalon ;  by  all 
which  she  got  together  a  revenue  of  sixty 
talents;  but  he  put  her  house  under  the 
ethnarchy  of  Archelaus ;  and  for  the  rest 
of  Herod's  offspring,  they  received  what 
was  bequeathed  to  them  in  his  testaments; 
but,  besides  that,  Caesar  granted  to  Herod's 
two  virgin  daughters  500,000  [drachmae] 
of  silver,  and  gave  them  in  marriage  to 
the  sons  cf  Pheroras :  but  after  this  family 
distribution,  he  gave  between  them  what 
had  been  bequeathed  to  him  by  Herod, 
which  was  1000  talents,  reserving  to  him- 
self only  some  inconsiderable  presents  in 
honour  of  the  deceased. 
44 


CHAPTER  VII. 

History  of  the  spurious  Alexander — banishment  of 
Archelaus,  and  death  of  Glaphyra. 

In  the  mean  time  there  was  a  man,  who 
was  by  birth  a  Jew,  but  brought  up  at 
Sidon  with  one  of  the  Roman  freedmen, 
who  falsely  pretended,  on  account  of  the 
resemblance  of*  their  countenances,  that 
he  was  that  Alexander  who  was  slain  by 
Herod.  This  man  came  to  Rome,  in 
hopes  of  not  being  defeated.  He  had  one 
who  was  his  assistant,  of  his  own  nation, 
and  who  knew  all  the  affairs  of  the  king- 
dom, and  instructed  him  to  say  how  those 
that  were  sent  to  kill  him  and  Aristobu- 
lus  had  pity  upon  them,  and  stole  them 
away,  by  putting  bodies  that  were  like 
theirs  in  their  places.  This  man  deceived 
the  Jews  that  were  at  Crete,  and  got  a 
great  deal  of  money  of  them,  for  travel- 
ling in  splendour;  and  thence  sailed  to 
Melos,  where  he  was  thought  so  certain- 
ly genuine,  that  he  got  a  great  deal  more 
money,  and  prevailed  with  those  who  had 
treated  him  to  sail  along  with  him  to 
Rome.  So  he  landed  at  Dicearchia  [Pu- 
teoli],  and  got  very  large  presents  from 
the  Jews  who  dwelt  there,  and  was  con- 
ducted by  his  father's  friends  as  if  he 
were  a  king;  nay,  the  resemblance  in 
his  countenance  procured  him  so  much 
credit,  that  those  who  had  seen  Alexander, 
and  had  known  him  very  well,  would 
take  their  oaths  that  he  was  the  very  same 
person.  Accordingly,  the  whole  body  of 
the  Jews  that  were  at  Rome  ran  out  in 
crowds  to  see  him,  and  an  innumerable 
multitude  there  was  who  stood  in  the 
narrow  places  through  which  he  was  car- 
ried ;  for  those  of  Melos  were  so  far  dis- 
tracted, that  they  carried  him  in  a  sedan, 
and  maintained  a  royal  attendance  for 
him  at  their  own  proper  charges. 

But  Caesar,  who  knew  perfectly  well 
the  lineaments  of  Alexander's  face,  be- 
cause he  had  been  accused  by  Herod  be- 
fore him,  discerned  the  fallacy  in  his 
countenance,  even  before  he  saw  the  man. 
However,  he  suffered  the  agreeable  fame 
that  went  of  him  to  have  some  weight 
with  him,  and  sent  Celadus,  one  who  well 
knew  Alexander,  and  ordered  him  to 
bring  the  young  man  to  him.  But  when 
Caesar  saw  him,  he  immediately  discerned 
a  difference  in  his  countenance;  and  when 
he  had  discovered  that  his  whole  body 
was  of  a  more  robust  texture,  and  like 
that  of  a  slave,  he  understood  the  whoie 


690 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  n 


was  a  contrivance.  But  the  impudence 
of  what  he  said  greatly  provoked  him  to 
be  angry  an  him ;  for  when  he  was  asked 
about  Aristobulus,  he  said  that  he  was 
also  preserved  alive,  and  was  left  on  pur- 
pose in  Cyprus,  for  fear  of  treachery,  be- 
cause it  would  be  harder  for  plotters  to 
get  them  both  into  their  power  while 
they  were  separate.  Then  did  Caesar 
take  him  by  himself  privately,  and  said 
to  him,  "  I  will  give  thee  thy  life,  if  thou 
wilt  discover  who  it  was  that  persuaded 
thee  to  forge  such  stories/'  So  he  said 
that  he  would  discover  him,  and  followed 
Caesar,  and  pointed  to  that  Jew  who 
abused  the  resemblance  of  his  face  to  get 
money ;  for  that  he  had  received  more 
presents  in  every  city  than  ever  Alexander 
did  when  he  was  alive.  Caesar  laughed 
at  the  contrivance,  and  put  this  spurious 
Alexander  among  his  rowers,  on  account 
of  the  strength  of  his  body;  but  ordered 
him  that  persuaded  him  to  be  put  to 
death.  But  for  the  people  of  Melos,  they 
had  been  sufficiently  punished  for  their 
folly  by  the  expenses  they  had  been  at 
on  his  account. 

And  now  Archelaus  took  possession  of 
his  ethnarchy,  and  used  not  the  Jews 
only,  but  the  Samaritans  also,  barbarously; 
and  this  out  of  his  resentment  of  their 
old  quarrels  with  him.  "Whereupon,  they 
both  of  them  sent  ambassadors  against 
him  to  Caesar ;  and,  in  the  ninth  year  of 
his  government,  he  was  banished  to  Vi- 
enna, a  city  of  Gaul,  and  his  effects  were 
put  into  Caesar's  treasury.  But  the  re- 
port goes,  that  before  he  was  sent  for  by 
Caesar,  he  seemed  to  see  nine  ears  of  corn, 
full  and  large,  but  devoured  by  oxen. 
When,  therefore,  he  had  sent  for  the 
diviners,  and  some  of  the  Chaldeans,  and 
inquired  of  them  what  they  thought  it 
portended ;  and  when  one  of  them  had 
one  interpretation,  and  another  had  an- 
other, Simon,  one  of  the  sect  of  the 
Essenes,  said,  that  he  thought  the  ears  of 
corn  denoted  years;  and  the  oxen  denoted 
a  mutation  of  things,  because  by  their 
ploughing  they  made  an  alteration  of  the 
country.  That  therefore  he  should  reign 
as  many  }Tears  as  there  were  ears  of  corn ; 
and  after  he  had  passed  through  various 
alternations  of  fortune,  should  die.  Now 
five  days  after  Archelaus  had  heard  this 
interpretation,  he  was  called  to  his  trial. 

I  cannot  but  think  it  worthy  to  be  re- 
corded what  dream  Glaphyra,  the  daughter 
of  Archelaus,  king  of   Cappadocia,   had, 


who  had  at  first  been  wife  to  Alexander, 
who  was  the  brother  of  Archelaus,  con- 
cerning whom  we  have  been  discoursing 
This  Alexander  was  the  son  of  Herod  the 
king,  by  whom  he  was  put  to  death,  as 
we  have  already  related.  This  Glaphyra 
was  married,  after  his  death,  to  Juba, 
king  of  Libya;  and,  after  his  death,  was 
returned  home,  and  lived  a  widow  with 
her  father.  Then  it  was  that  Archelaus,' 
the  ethnarch,  saw  her,  and  fell  so  deeply 
in  love  with  her,  that  he  divorced  Ma- 
riamne,  who  was  then  his  wife,  and 
married  her.  When,  therefore,  she  was 
come  into  Judea,  and  had  been  there  for 
a  little  while,  she  thought  she  saw  Alex- 
ander stand  by  her,  and  that  he  said  to 
her,  "  Thy  marriage  with  the  king  of 
Libya  might  have  been  sufficient  for  thee; 
but  thou  wast  not  contented  with  h'm,  but 
art  returned  again  to  my  family,  to  a 
third  husband;  and  him,  thou  impudent 
woman,  hast  thou  chosen  for  thine  hus- 
band, who  is  my  brother.  However,  I 
shall  not  overlook  the  injury  thou  hast 
offered  me;  I  shall  [soon]  have  thee 
again,  whether  thou  wilt  or  no."  Now 
Glaphyra  hardly  survived  the  narration 
of  this  dream  of  hers  two  days. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Archelaus's  ethnarchy  reduced  to  a  [Roman]  pro- 
vince— sedition  of  Judas  of  Galilee — the  three 
sects  of  the  Jews. 

And  now  Archelaus's  part  of  Judea 
was  reduced  into  a  province,  and  Copo- 
nius,  one  of  the  equestrian  order  among 
the  Romans,  was  sent  as  a  procurator, 
having  the  power  of  [life  and]  death  put 
into  his  hands  by  Caesar.  Under  his  ad- 
ministration it  was  that  a  certain  Gali- 
lean, whose  name  was  Judas,  prevailed 
with  his  countrymen  to  revolt ;  and  said 
they  were  cowards  if  they  would  endure 
to  pay  a  tax  to  the  Romans,  aud  would, 
after  God,  submit  to  mortal  men  as  their 
lords.  This  was  a  teacher  of  a  peculiar 
sect  of  his  own,  and  was  not  at  all  like  the 
rest  of  those  their  leaders. 

For  there  are''  three  philosophical  sects 
among  the  Jews.  The  followers  of  the 
first  of  whom  are  the  Pharisees ;  of  the 
second,  the  Sadducees;  and  the  third  sect, 
who  pretend  to  a  severer  discipline,  are 
called  Essenes.  These  last  are  Jews  by 
birth,  and  seem  to  have  a  greater  affection 
for  one  another  than  the  other  sects  have. 
These  Essenes  reject  pleasures  as  an  evil, 


Chap.  VIII.] 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


691 


but  esteem  continence,  and  the  conquest 
over  our  passions,  to  be  virtue.  They 
neglect  wedlock,  but  choose  out  other  per- 
sons' children,  while  they  are  pliable,  and 
fit  for  learning ;  and  esteem  them  to  be 
of  their  kindred,  and  form  them  accord- 
ing to  their  own  manners.  They  do  not 
absolutely  deny  the  fitness  of  marriage, 
and  the  succession  of  mankind  thereby 
continued ;  but  they  guard  against  the 
lascivious  behaviour  of  women,  and  are 
persuaded  that  none  of  them  preserve 
their  fidelity  to  one  man. 

These  men  are  despisers  of  riches,  and 
so  very  communicative  as  raises  our  ad- 
miration. Nor  is  there  any  one  to  be 
found  among  them  who  hath  more  than 
another;  for  it  is  a  law  among  them,  that 
those  who  come  to  them  must  let  what 
they  have  be  common  to  the  whole  order — 
insomuch,  that  among  them  all  there  is 
no  appearance  of  poverty  or  excess  of 
riches,  but  every  one's  possessions  are  in  ter- 
mingled  with  every  other's  possessions ; 
and  so  there  is,  as  it  were,  one  patrimony 
among  all  the  brethren.  They  think  that 
oil  is  a  defilement ;  and  if  any  one  be 
anointed  without  his  own  approbation,  it 
is  wiped  off  his  body;  for  they  think  to 
be  sweaty  is  to  be  a  good  thing,  as  they 
do  also  to  be  clothed  in  white  garments. 
They  also  have  stewards  appointed  to  take 
care  of  their  common  affairs,  who  every 
one  of  them  have  no  separate  business  for 
any,  but  what  is  for  the  use  of  them  all. 

They  have  no  certain  city,  but  many 
)f  them  dwell  in  every  city ;  and  if  any 
of  their  sect  come  from  other  places,  what 
they  have  lies  open  for  them,  just  as  if  it 
were  their  own;  and  they  go  into  such  as 
they  never  knew  before,  as  if  they  had 
been  ever  so  long  acquainted  with  them. 
For  which  reason  they  carry  nothing  with 
them  when  they  travel  into  remote  parts, 
though  still  they  take  their  weapons  with 
them,  for  fear  of  thieves.  Accordingly 
there  is,  in  every  city  where  they  live, 
one  appointed  particularly  to  take  care  of 
strangers,  and  to  provide  garments  and 
other  necessaries  for  them.  But  the 
habit  and  management  of  their  bodies  is 
such  as  children  use  who  are  in  fear  of 
their  masters.  Nor  do  they  allow  of  the 
change  of  garments,  or  of  shoes,  till  they 
be  first  entirely  torn  to  pieces,  or  worn 
cit  by  time.  Nor  do  they  either  buy  or 
till  any  thing  to  one  another;  but  every 
one  of  them  gives  what  he  hath  to  him 
that  wanteth  it,  and   receives   from   him 


again  in  lieu  of  it  what  may  be  convenient 
for  himself;  and  although  there  be  no 
requital  made,  they  are  fully  allowed  to 
take  what  they  want  of  whomsoever  they 
please. 

And  as  for  their  piety  toward  G-od, 
it  is  very  extraordinary ;  for  before  sun- 
rising  they  speak  not  a  word  about  profane 
matters,  but  put  up  certain  prayers  which 
they  have  received  from  their  forefathers, 
as  if  they  made  a  supplication  for  its 
rising.  After  this  every  one  of  them  are 
sent  away  by  their  curators,  to  exercise 
some  of  those  arts  wherein  they  are  skill- 
ed, in  which  they  labour  with  great  dili- 
gence till  the  fifth  hour.  After  which 
they  assemble  themselves  together  again 
into  one  place ;  and  when  they  have 
clothed  themselves  in  white  veils,  they 
then  bathe  their  bodies  in  cold  water. 
And  after  this  purification  is  over,  they 
every  one  meet  together  in  an  apartment 
of  their  own,  into  which  it  is  not  per- 
mitted to  any  of  another  sect  to  enter ; 
while  they  go,  after  a  pure  manner,  into 
the  dining-room,  as  into  a  certain  holy 
temple,  and  quietly  set  themselves  down; 
upon  which  the  baker  lays  them  loaves  in 
order ;  the  cook  also  brings  a  single  plate 
of  one  sort  of  food,  and  sets  it  before 
every  one  of  them;  but  a  priest  says 
grace  before  meat;  and  it  is  unlaw- 
ful for  any  one  to  taste  of  the  food  before 
grace  be  said.  The  same  priest,  when  he 
hath  dined,  says  grace  again  after  meat ; 
and  when  they  begin,  and  when  they  end, 
they  praise  God,  as  he  that  bestows  their 
food  upon  them  ;  after  which  they  lay 
aside  their  [white]  garments,  and  betake 
themselves  to  their  labours  again  till  the 
evening;  then  they  return  home  to  sup- 
per, after  the  same  manner;  and  if  there 
be  any  strangers  there,  they  sit  down  with 
them.  Nor  is  there  ever  any  clamour  or 
disturbance  to  pollute  their  house,  but 
they  give  every  one  leave  to  speak  in  their 
turn;  which  silence  thus  kept  in  their 
house,  appears  to  foreigners  like  some 
tremendous  mystery;  the  cause  of  which 
is  that  perpetual  sobriety  they  exercise, 
and  the  same  settled  measure  of  meat  and 
drink  that  is  allotted  to  them,  and  that 
such  as  is  abundantly  sufficient  for  them. 

And  truly,  as  for  other  things,  they  do 
nothing  but  according  to  the  injunctions 
of  their  curators ;  only  these  two  things 
are  done  among  them  at  every  one's  own 
free  will,  which  are,  to  assist  those  that 
want  it,  and  to  show  mercy;  for  they  are 


692 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II. 


permitted  of  their  own  accord  to  afford 
succour  to  such  as  deserve  it,  when  they 
6tand  in  Deed  of  it,  and  to  bestow  food 
on  those  that  are  in  distress ;  but  they 
cannot  give  any  thing  to  their  kindred 
without  the  curators.  They  dispense  their 
anger  after  a  just  manner,  and  restrain 
their  passion.  They  are  eminent  for 
fidelity,  and  are  the  ministers  of  peace ; 
whatsoever  they  say  also  is  firmer  than  an 
oath ;  but  swearing  is  avoided  by  them, 
and  they  esteem  it  worse  than  perjury; 
for  they  say,  that,  he  who  cannot  be  be- 
lieved without  [swearing  by]  God,  is  al- 
ready condemned.  They  also  take  great 
pains  in  studying  the  writings  of  the  an- 
cients, and  choose  out  of  them  what  is 
most  for  the  advantage  of  their  soul  and 
body;  and  they  inquire  after  such  roots 
and  medicinal  stones  as  may  cure  their 
distempers. 

But  now,  if  any  one  hath  a  mind  to 
come  over  to  their  sect,  he  is  not  imme- 
diately admitted,  but  he  is  prescribed  the 
same  method  of  living  which  they  use, 
for  a  year,  while  he  continues  excluded  : 
and  they  give  him  a  small  hatchet,  and 
the  forementioned  girdle,  and  the  white 
garment.  And  when  he  hath  given  evi- 
dence, during  that  time,  that  he  can  ob- 
serve their  continence,  he  approaches 
nearer  to  their  way  of  living,  and  is  made 
a  partaker  of  the  waters  of  purification  ; 
yet  is  he  not  even  now  admitted  to  live 
with  them;  for  after  this  demonstration 
of  his  fortitude,  his  temper  is  tried  two 
more  years,  and  if  he  appear  to  be  worthy, 
they  then  admit  him  into  their  society. 
And  before  he  is  allowed  to  touch  their 
common  food,  he  is  obliged  to  take  tre- 
mendous oaths;  that,  in  the  first  place,  he 
will  exercise  piety  toward  God;  and  then, 
that  he  will  observe  justice  toward  men; 
and  that  he  will  do  no  harm  to  any  one, 
either  of  his  own  accord,  or  by  the  com- 
mand of  others;  that  he  will  always  hate 
the  wicked,  and  be  assistant  to  the 
righteous ;  that  he  will  ever  show  fidelity 
to  all  men,  and  especially  to  those  in 
authority,  because  no  one  obtains  the 
government  without  God's  assistance ; 
and  that  if  he  be  in  authority,  he  will  at 
no  time  whatever  abuse  his  authority, 
nor  endeavour  to  outshine  his  subjects, 
either  in  his  garments,  or  any  other  finery; 
that  he  will  be  perpetually  a  lover  of 
truth,  and  propose  to  himself  to  reprove 
those  that  tell  lies;  that  he  will  keep  his 
hands  clear  from  theft,  and  his  soul  from 


unlawful  gains ;  and  that  he  will  neither 
conceal  any  thing  from  those  of  his  own 
sect,  nor  discover  any  of  their  doctrines 
to  others,  no,  not  though  any  one  should 
compel  him  so  to  do  at  the  hazard  of  his 
life.  Moreover,  he  swears  to  communicate 
their  doctrines  to  no  one  any  otherwise 
than  as  he  received  them  himself;  that 
he  will  abstain  from  robbery,  and  will 
equally  preserve  the  books  belonging  to 
their  sect,  and  the  names  of  the  angels  [or 
messengers].  These  are  the  oaths  by 
which  they  secure  their  proselytes  to 
themselves. 

But  for  those  that  are  caught  in  any 
heinous  sins,  they  cast  them  out  of  their 
society;  and  he  who  is  thus  separated 
from  them,  does  often  die  after  a  miserable 
manner;  for  as  he  is  bound  by  the  oath 
he  hath  taken,  and  by  the  customs  he 
hath  been  engaged  in,  he  is  not  at  liberty 
to  partake  of  that  food  that  he  meets  with 
elsewhere,  but  is  forced  to  eat  grass,  and 
to  famish  his  body  with  hunger  till  he 
perish;  for  which  reason  they  receive 
many  of  them  again  when  they  are  at 
their  last  gasp,  out  of  compassion  to  them, 
as  thinking  the  miseries  they  have  endured 
till  they  came  to  the  very  brink  of  death, 
to  be  a  sufficient  punishmeut  for  the  sins 
they  have  been  guilty  of. 

But  in  the  judgments  they  exercise  they 
are  most  accurate  and  just;  nor  do  tbey 
pass  sentence  by  the  votes  of  a  court  that 
is  fewer  than  100.  And  as  to  what  is 
once  determined  by  that  number,  it  is  un- 
alterable. "What  they  most  of  all  honour, 
after  God  himself,  is  the  name  of  their 
legislator  [Moses];  whom,  if  any  one 
blaspheme,  he  is  punished  capitally.  They 
also  think  it  a  good  thing  to  obey  their 
elders,  and  the  major  part.  Accordingly, 
if  ten  of  them  be  sitting  together,  no  one 
of  them  will  speak  while  the  other  nine 
arc  against  it.  They  also  avoid  spitting 
in  the  midst  of  them,  or  on  the  right  side. 
Moreover,  they  are  stricter  than  any  other 
of  the  Jews  in  resting  from  their  labours 
on  the  seventh  day;  for  they  not  only  get 
their  food  ready-  the  day  before,  that  they 
may  not  be  obliged  to  kindle  a  fire  on  that 
day,  but  they  will  not  remove  any  vessel 
out  of  its  place,  nor  go  to  stool  thereon. 
Nay,  on  the  other  days  they  dig  a  smaL 
pit,  a  foot  deep,  with  a  paddle,  (which 
kind  of  hatchet  is  given  them  when  they 
are  first  admitted  among  them ;)  and 
covering  themselves  round  with  their  gar- 
ment, that  they  may  not  affront  the  divine 


Chap.  VIII.  J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS 


693 


rays  of  light,  they  ease  themselves  into 
that  pit,  after  which  they  put  the  earth 
that  was  dug  out  again  into  the  pit ;  and 
even  this  they  do  only  in  the  more  lonely 
places,  which  they  choose  out  for  this 
purpose;  and  although  this  easement  of 
the  body  be  natural,  yet  it  is  a  rule  with 
them  to  wash  themselves  after  it,  as  if  it 
were  a  defilement  to  them. 

Now  after  the  time  of  their  preparatory 
trial  is  over,  they  are  parted  into  four 
classes;  and  so  far  are  the  juniors  inferior 
to  the  seniors,  that  if  the  seniors  should 
be  touched  by  the  juniors,  they  must 
wash  themselves  as  if  they  had  inter- 
mixed themselves  with  the  company  of 
a  foreigner.  They  are  long  lived  also; 
insomuch  that  many  of  them  live  above 
100  years,  by  means  of  the  simplicity  of 
their  diet;  nay,  as  I  think,  by  means  of 
the  regular  course  of  life  they  observe 
also.  They  contemn  the  miseries  of  life, 
and  are  above  pain,  by  the  generosity  of 
their  mind.  And  as  for  death,  if  it  will 
be  for  their  glory,  they  esteem  it  better 
than  living  always  ;  and  indeed  our  war 
with  the  Romans  gave  abundant  evidence 
what  great  souls  they  had  in  their  trials, 
wherein,  although  they  were  tortured  and 
distorted,  burnt  and  torn  to  pieces,  and 
went  through  all  kinds  of  instruments  of 
torment,  that  they  might  be  forced  either 
to  blaspheme  their  legislator,  or  to  eat 
what  was  forbidden  them,  yet  could  they 
not  be  made  to  do  either  of  them,  no,  nor 
once  to  flatter  their  tormentors,  or  to  shed 
a  tear ;  but  they  smiled  in  their  very 
pains,  and  laughed  those  to  scorn  who  in- 
flicted the  torments  upon  them,  and  re- 
signed up  their  souls  with  great  alacrity, 
as  expecting  to  receive  them  again. 

For  their  doctrine  is  this : — That  bodies 
are  corruptible,  and  that  the  matter  they 
are  made  of  is  not  permanent;  but  that 
the  souls  are  immortal,  and  continue  for 
ever;  and  that  they  come  out  of  the  most 
subtile  air,  and  are  united  to  their  bodies 
as  in  prisons,  into  which  they  are  drawn 
by  a  certain  natural  enticement;  but  that 
when  they  are  set  free  from  the  bonds  of 
the  flesh,  they  then,  as  released  from  a 
long  bondage,  rejoice  and  mount  upward. 
And  this  is  like  the  opinion  of  the  Greeks, 
that  good  souls  have  their  habitations 
beyond  the  ocean,  in  a  region  that  is 
neither  oppressed  with  storms  of  rain,  or 
snow,  or  with  intense  heat,  but  that  this 
place  is  such  as  is  refreshed  by  the  gentle 
breathing   of   a  west  wind,    that   is   per- 


petually blowing  from  the  ocean;  while 
they  allot  to  bad  souls  a  dark  and  tem- 
pestuous den,  full  of  never-ceasing  punish- 
ments. And  indeed  the  Greeks  seem  to 
me  to  have  followed  the  same  notion, 
when  they  allot  the  islands  of  the  blessed 
to  their  brave  men,  whom  they  call  heroea 
and  demigods;  and  to  the  souls  of  the 
wicked  the  region  of  the  ungodly,  in 
Hades,  where  their  fables  relate  that  cer- 
tain persons,  such  as  Sisyphus,  and  Tan- 
talus, and  Ixion,  and  Tityus,  are  punished : 
which  is  built  on  this  first  supposition, 
that  souls  are  immortal;  and  thence  are 
those  exhortations  to  virtue,  and  dehor- 
tations  from  wickedness, collected;  where- 
by good  men  are  bettered  in  the  conduct 
of  their  life,  by  the  hope  they  have  of 
reward  after  their  death,  and  whereby  the 
vehement  inclinations  of  bad  men  to  vice 
are  restrained,  by  the  fear  and  expectation 
they  are  in,  that  although  they  should  lie 
concealed  in  this  life,  they  should  suffer 
immortal  punishment  after  their  death. 
These  are  the  divine  doctrines  of  the  Es- 
senes  about  the  sou*!,  which  lay  an  un- 
avoidable bait  for  such  as  have  once  had 
a  taste  of  their  philosophy. 

There  are  also  those  among  them  who 
undertake  to  fortell  things  to  come,  by 
reading  the  holy  books,  and  using  several 
sorts  of  purifications,  and  being  perpetu- 
ally conversant  in  the  prophets;  and  it  is 
but  seldom  that  they  miss  in  their  pre- 
dictions. 

Moreover,  there  is  another  order  of  Es- 
scnes,  who  agree  with  the  rest  as  to  their 
way  of  living,  and  customs,  and  laws, 
but  differ  from  them  in  the  point  of  mar- 
riage, as  thinking  that  by  not  marrying 
they  cut  off  the  principal  part  of  human 
life,  which  is  the  prospect  of  succession  ; 
nay  rather,  that  if  all  men  should  be  of 
the  same  opinion,  the  whole  race  of  man- 
kind would  fail.  However,  they  try  their 
spouses  for  three  years ;  and  if  they  find 
that  they  have  their  natural  purgations 
thrice,  as  trials  that  they  are  likely  to  be 
fruitful,  they  then  actually  marry  them. 
But  they  do  not  use  to  accompany  with 
their  wives  when  they  are  with  child,  as 
a  demonstration  that  they  do  not  marry 
out  of  regard  to  pleasure,  but  for  the  sake 
of  posterity.  Now  the  women  go  into  the 
baths  with  some  of  their  garments  on,  as 
the  men  do  with  somewhat  girded  about 
them.  And  these  are  the  customs  of  this 
order  of  Essenes. 

But  then  as  to  the  two  other  orders  at 


694 


WARS    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  Jl 


first  mentioned ;   the  Pharisees  are  those 
who   are    esteemed    most    skilful    in    the 
exact  explication  of  their  laws,  and  intro- 
duce the  first  sect.      These  ascribe  all   to 
fate  [or  providence],  and  to  God,  aud  yet 
allow,  that   to  act  what  is   right,  or  the 
contrary,  is  principally  in  the  power  of 
men,  although  fate  does  co-operate  in  every 
action       They  say  that  all  souls  are  in- 
corruptible;   but  that   the  souls  of  good 
men  are  only  removed  into  other  bodies, — 
but  that  the  souls  of  bad  men  are  subject 
to  eternal  punishment.   But  the  Sadducees 
are  those  that  compose  the  second  order, 
and  take  away  fate  entirely,  and  suppose 
that  God  is  not  concerned  in  our  doinjj  or 
not  doing  what  is  evil;  and  they  say,  that 
to  act  what  is  good,  or  what  is  evil,  is  at 
men's  own  choice,  and  that  the  one  or  the 
other  belongs  so  to  every  one,  that  they 
may  act  as  they  please.     They  also  take 
away  the  belief  of  the  immortal  duration 
of    the   soul,  and   the    punishments   and 
rewards  in   Hades.     Moreover,  the  Pha- 
risees are  friendly  to  one  another,  and  are 
for  the  exercise  of  concord  and  regard  for 
the   public.     But   the   behaviour  of   the 
Sadducees  one  toward  another  is  in  some 
degree  wild  ;  and  their  conversation  with 
those   that  are  of  their  own  party  is  as 
barbarous   as   if    they  were   strangers    to 
them.     And   this  is  what  I   had   to  say 
concerning   the   philosophic   sects  among 
the  Jews. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Death  of  Salome — Pilate  occasions  disturbances — 
Tiberius  puts  Agrippa  into  bonds — Caius  frees 
him,  and  makes  him  king — Herod  Antipas 
banished. 

And  now,  as  the  ethnarchy  of  Archelaus 
was  fallen  into  a  Roman  province,  the 
other  sons  of  Herod,  Philip,  and  that 
Herod  who  was  called  Antipas,  each  of 
them  took  upon  them  the  administration 
of  their  own  tetrarchies;  for  when  Salome 
died,  she  bequeathed  to  Julia,  the  wife  of 
Augustus,  both  her  toparchy,  and  Jamnia, 
as  also  her  plantation  of  palm-trees  that 
were  in  Phasaelis.  But  when  the  Roman 
empire  was  translated  to  Tiberius,  the  son 
of  Julia,  upon  the  death  of  Augustus,  who 
had  reigned  fifty-seven  years,  six  months, 
and  two  days,  both  Herod  and  Philip  con- 
tinued in  their  tetrarchies  ;  and  the  latter 
-jf  them  built  the  city  Cesarea,  at  the 
'ountains  of  Jordan,  and  in  the  region  of 
Paneas;  as  also  the  city  Julias,  in  the 
Lowei  Gaulonitis.    Herod  also  built  the 


city  Tiberias  in  Galilee,  and  in  Perea 
[beyond  Jordan]  another  that  was  also 
called  Julias. 

Now  Pilate,  who  was  sent  as  procurator 
into  Judea  by  Tiberius,  sent  by  night 
those  images  of  Caesar  that  are  called 
ensigns,  into  Jerusalem.  This  excited  a 
very  great  tumult  among  the  Jews  when 
it  was  day  ;  for  those  that  were  near  them 
were  astonished  at  the  sight  of  them,  as 
indications  that  their  laws  were  trodden 
under  foot :  for  those  laws  do  not  permit 
any  sort  of  image  to  be  brought  into  the 
city.  Nay,  besides  the  indignation  which 
the  citizens  themselves  had  at  this  pro- 
cedure, a  vast  number  of  people  came 
running  out  of  the  country.  These  came 
zealously  to  Pilate  to  Cesarea,  and  be- 
sought him  to  carry  those  ensigns  out  of 
Jerusalem,  and  to  preserve  them  their 
ancient  laws  inviolable;  but  upon  Pilate's 
denial  of  their  request,  they  fell  down 
prostrate  upon  the  ground,  and  continued 
immovable  in  that  posture  for  five  days 
and  as  many  nights. 

On  the  next  day  Pilate  sat  upon  his 
tribunal,  in  the  open  market-place,  and 
called  to  him  the  multitude,  as  desirous 
to  give  them  an  answer;  and  then  gave 
a  signal  to  the  soldiers  that  they  should 
all  by  agreement  at  once  encompass  the 
Jews  with  their  weapons;  so  the  band 
of  soldiers  stood  round  about  the  Jews  in 
three  ranks.  The  Jews  were  under  the 
utmost  consternation  at  the  unexpected 
sight.  Pilate  also  said  to  them,  that  they 
should  be  cut  in  pieces,  unless  they  would 
admit  of  Caesar's  images;  and  gave  inti- 
mation to  the  soldiers  to  draw  their  naked 
swords.  Hereupon  the  Jews,  as  it  were 
at  one  signal,  fell  down  in  vast  numbers 
together,  and  exposed  their  necks  bare, 
and  cried  out  that  they  were  sooner  ready 
to  be  slain,  than  that  their  law  should  be 
transgressed.  Hereupon  Pilate  was  greatly 
surprised  at  their  prodigious  superstition, 
and  gave  orders  that  the  ensigns  should 
be  presently  carried  out  of  Jerusalem. 

After  this  he  raised  another  disturbance 
by  expending  tfyat  sacred  treasure  which 
is  called  corban*  upon  aqueducts,  whereby 
he  brought  water  from  the  distance  of  400 
furlongs.  At  this  the  multitude  had 
great  indignation ;  and  when  Pilate  was 
come  to  Jerusalem,  they  came  about  his 

*  This  use  of  corban,  or  oblation,  as  here  applied 
to  the  sacred  money  dedicated  to  God  in  th« 
treasury  of  the  temple,  illustrates  the  words  0/ 
Christ.  Mark  vii.  11,  12. 


Chap.  X.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


695 


tribunal,  and  made  a  clamour  at  it.  Now 
when  he  was  apprized  beforehand  of  this 
disturbance,  he  mixed  his  own  soldiers  in 
their  armour  with  the  multitude,  and 
ordered  them  to  conceal  themselves  under 
the  habits  of  private  men,  and  not  indeed 
to  use  their  swords,  but  with  their  staves 
beat  those  that  made  the  clamour.  He 
then  gave  the  signal  from  his  tribunal  [to 
do  as  he  had  bidden  them].  Now  the 
Jews  were  so  sadly  beaten,  that  many  of 
them  perished  by  the  stripes  they  received, 
and  many  of  them  perished  as  trodden  to 
death,  by  which  means  the  multitude  was 
astonished  at  the  calamity  of  those  that 
were  slain,  and  held  their  peace. 

In  the  mean  time,  Agrippa,  the  son  of 
that  Aristobulus  who  had  been  slain  by 
his  father  Herod,  came  to  Tiberius  to 
accuse  Herod  the  tetrarch;  who  not  ad- 
mitting of  his  accusation,  stayed  at  Rome, 
and  cultivated  a  friendship  with  others  of 
the  men  of  note,  but  principally  with 
Caius,  the  son  of  Germanicus,  who  was 
then  but  a  private  person.  Now  this 
Agrippa,  at  a  certain  time,  feasted  Caius; 
and  as  he  was  very  complaisant  to  him  on 
several  other  accounts,  he  at  length 
stretched  out  his  hands,  and  openly  wish- 
ed that  Tiberius  might  die,  and  that  he 
mightquickly  see  him  emperor  of  the  world. 
This  was  told  to  Tiberius  by  one  of 
Agrippa* s  domestics ;  who  thereupon  was 
very  angry,  and  ordered  Agrippa  to  be 
bound,  and  had  him  very  ill  treated  in 
the  prison  for  six  months,  until  Tiberius 
died,  after  he  had  reigned  twenty-two 
years,  and  six  months,  and  three  days. 

But  when  Caius  was  made  Caesar,  he 
released  Agrippa  from  his  bonds,  and 
made  him  king  of  Philip's  tetrarchy,  who 
was  now  dead ;  but  when  Agrippa  had 
arrived  at  that  degree  of  dignity,  he  in- 
flamed the  ambitious  desires  of  Herod  the 
tetrarch,  who  was  chiefly  induced  to  hope 
for  the  royal  authority  by  his  wife  He- 
rodias,  who  reproached  him  for  his  sloth, 
and  told  him  that  it  was  only  because  he 
would  not  sail  to  Caesar  that  he  was 
destitute  of  that  great  dignity  ;  for  since 
Caesar  had  made  Agrippa  a  king  from  a 
private  person,  much  more  would  he  ad- 
vance him  from  a  tetrarch  to  that  dignity. 
These  arguments  prevailed  with  Herod, 
so  that  he  came  to  Caius,  by  whom  he 
was  punished  for  his  ambition,  by  being 
banished  into  Spain  ;  for  Agrippa  followed 
him,  in  order  to  accuse  him  ;  to  whom  also 
Caius  gave  his  tetrarchy.  by  way  of  ad- 


dition.    So  Herod  died  in  Spain,  whither 
his  wife  had  followed  him. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Caius  commands  that  his  statue  should  be  set  up  in 
the  temple. 

Now  Caius  Caesar  did  so  grossly  abuse 
the  fortune  he  had  arrived  at,  as  to  take 
himself  to  be  a  god,  and  to  desire  to  be 
so  called  also,  and  to  cut  off  those  of  the 
greatest  nobility  out  of  his  country.  He 
also  extended  his  impiety  as  far  as  the 
Jews.  Accordingly,  he  sent  Petronius 
with  an  army  to  Jerusalem,  to  place  his 
statues  in  the  temple,*  and  commanded 
him  that,  in  case  the  Jews  would  not  ad- 
mit of  them,  he  should  slay  those  that 
opposed  it,  and  carry  all  the  rest  of  the 
nation  into  captivity  :  but  God  concerned 
himself  with  these  commands.  However, 
Petronius  marched  out  of  Antioch  into 
Judea,  with  three  legions,  and  many 
Syrian  auxiliaries.  Now  as  to  the  Jews, 
some  of  them  could  not  believe  the  stories 
that  spake  of  a  war;  but  those  that  did 
believe  them  were  in  the  utmost  distress 
how  to  defend  themselves,  and  the  terror 
diffused  itself  presently  through  them  all ; 
for  the  army  was  already  come  to  Pto- 
lemais. 

This  Ptolemais  is  a  maritime  city  of 
Galilee,  built  in  the  great  plain.  It  is 
encompassed  with  mountains  :  that  on  the 
east  side,  sixty  furlongs  off,  belongs  to 
Galilee  ;  but  that  on  the  south  belongs  to 
Carmel,  which  is  distant  from  it  120  fur- 
longs ;  and  that  on  the  north  is  the 
highest  of  them  all,  and  is  called  by  the 
people  of  the  country,  the  "  ladder'*  of  the 
Tyrians,  which  is  at  the  distance  of  100 
furlongs.  The  very  small  river  Belus 
runs  by  it,  at  the  distance  of  two  furlongs; 
near  which  there  is  Memnon's  monument, 
and  hath  near  it  a  place  no  larger  than 
100  cubits,  which  deserves  admiration; 
for  the  place  is  round  and  hollow,  and 
affords  such  sand  as  glass  is  made  of; 
which  place,  when  it  hath  been  emptied 
by  the  many  ships  there  loaded,  it  is  filled 
again  by  the  winds,  which  bring  into  it, 
as  it  were  on  purpose,  that  sand  which  lay 
remote,  and  was  no  more  than  bare  com- 
mon sand,  while  this  mine  presently  turns 
it  into  glassy  sand;   and,  what  is  to  me 

*  Tacitus  owns  that  Caius  commanded  the  uevj 
to  place  his  statue  in  their  temp  e,  th  aigh  he  ;s 
mistaken  when  he  adds  that  the  Jews  thereu^'«n 
took  arms. 


696 


WARS   OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  [1 


still  more  wonderful,  that  glassy  sand 
which  is  superfluous,  and  is  once  removed 
out  of  the  place,  becomes  bare  common 
sand  again ;  and  this  is  the  nature  of  the 
place  we  are  speaking  of. 

But  now  the  Jews  got  together  in  great 
numbers,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
into  that  plain  that  was  by  Ptolemais,  and 
made  supplication  to  Petronius,  first  for 
their  laws,  and,  in  the  next  place,  for  them- 
selves. So  he  was  prevailed  upon  by  the 
multitude  of  the  supplicants,  and  by  their 
supplications,  and  left  his  army  and  statues 
at  Ptolemais,  and  then  went  forward  into 
Galilee,  and  called  together  the  multitude 
and  all  the  men  of  note  to  Tiberias,  and 
showed  them  the  power  of  the  Romans, 
and  the  threatenings  of  Caesar ;  and,  be- 
sides this,  proved  that  their  petition  was 
unreasonable,  because,  while  all  the  na- 
tions in  subjection  to  them  had  placed  the 
images  of  Caesar  in  their  several  cities, 
among  the  rest  of  their  gods, — for  them 
alone  to  oppose  it,  was  almost  like  the 
behaviour  of  revolters,  and  was  injurious 
to  Caesar. 

And  when  they  insisted  on  their  law,  and 
the  custom  of  their  country,  and  how  it 
was  not  only  not  permitted  them  to  make 
either  an  image  of  God,  or  indeed  of  a 
man,  and  to  put  it  in  any  despicable  part 
of  their  country,  much  less  in  the  temple 
itself,  Petronius  replied,  "  And  am  not  I 
also/'  said  he,  "  bound  to  keep  the  law  of 
my  own  lord  ?  For  if  I  transgress  it,  and 
spare  you,  it  is  but  just  that  I  perish  ; 
while  he  that  dent  me,  and  not  I,  will 
commence  a  war  against  you  ;  for  I  am 
under  command  as  well  as  you."  Here- 
upon the  whole  multitude  cried  out,  that 
they  were  ready  to  suffer  for  their  law. 
Petronius  then  quieted  them,  and  said  to 
them,  "  Will  you  then  make  war  against 
Caesar  V  The  Jews  said,  "  We  offer  sacri- 
fices twice  every  day  for  Caesar,  and  for 
the  Roman  people  ;"  but  that  if  he  would 
place  the  images  among  them,  he  must 
first  sacrifice  the  whole  Jewish  nation ; 
and  that  they  were  ready  to  expose  them- 
selves, together  with  their  children  and 
wives,  to  be  slain.  At  this  Petronius 
was  astonished, *and  pitied  them  on  account 
of  the  inexpressible  sense  of  religion  the 
men  were  under,  and  that  courage  of 
theirs  which  made  them  ready  to  die  for 
it ;  so  they  were  dismissed  without  success. 

But  on  the  following  days,  he  got  to- 
gether the  men  of  power  privately,  and 
the  multitude  publicly,  and  sometimes  he 


used  persuasions  to  them,  and  sometimes 
he  gave  them  his  advice ;  but  he  chiefly 
made  use  of  threatenings  to  them,  and  in- 
sisted upon  the  power  of  the  Romans,  and 
the  anger  of  Caius;  and  besides  upon  the 
necessity  he  was  himself  under  [to  do  as 
was  enjoined].  But  as  they  could  in  nc 
way  be  prevailed  upon,  and  he  saw  tha^ 
the  country  was  in  danger  of  lying  with- 
out tillage,  (for  it  was  about  seed  tima 
that  the  multitude  continued  for  fifty  days 
together  idle,)  so  he  at  last  got  them  to- 
gether, and  told  them,  that  it  was  best  foi 
him  to  run  some  hazard  himself;  "  for 
either,  by  the  divine  assistance,  I  shall  pre- 
vail with  Caesar;  and  shall  myself  escape 
the  danger  as  well  as  you,  which  will  be 
matter  of  joy  to  us  both ;  or,  in  case  Cae- 
sar continue  in  his  rage,  I  will  be  ready 
to  expose  my  own  life  for  such  a  great 
number  as  you  are."  Whereupon  he  dis- 
missed the  multitude,  who  prayed  greatly 
for  his  prosperity  ;  and  he  took  the  army 
out  of  Ptolemais,  and  returned  to  An- 
tioch  ;  from  whence  he  presently  sent  an 
epistle  to  Caesar,  and  informed  him  of  the 
irruption  he  had  made  into  Judea,  and  of 
the  supplications  of  the  nation ;  and  that 
unless  he  had  a  mind  to  lose  both  the 
country  and  the  men  in  it,  he  must  per- 
mit them  to  keep  their  law,  and  must 
countermand  his  former  inj unction.  Caius 
answered  that  epistle  in  a  violent  way, 
and  threatened  to  have  Petronius  put  to 
death  for  his  being  so  tardy  in  the  exe- 
cution of  what  he  had  commanded.  But 
it  happened  that  those  who  brought  Caius's 
epistle  were  tossed  by  a  storm,  and  were 
detained  on  the  sea  for  three  months,  while 
others  that  brought  the  news  of  Caius's 
death  had  a  good  voyage.  Accordingly, 
Petronius  received  the  epistle  concerning 
Caius,  twenty-seven  days  before  he  re- 
ceived that  which  was  against  himself. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  government  of    Claudius,    and   the  reign  of 
Agrippa — death  of  Agrippa  and  of  Herod. 

Now  when  Caius  had  reigned  three 
years  and  eight  months,  and  had  been 
slain  by  treachery,  Claudius  was  hurried 
away  by  the  armies  that  were  at  Rome  tc 
take  the  government  upon  him ;  but  the 
senate,  upon  the  reference  of  the  consuls, 
Sentius  Saturninus,  and  Pomponius  Se- 
cundus,  gave  orders  to  the  three  regiments 
of  soldiers  that  stayed  with  them,  to  keej 


Uhap.  XI 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


697 


the  city  quiet,  and  went  up  into  the  capitol 
in  great  numbers,  and  resolved  to  oppose 
Claudius  by  force,  on  account  of  the  bar- 
barous treatment  they  had  met  with  from 
Caius ;  and  they  determined  either  to  set- 
tle the  nation  under  an  aristocracy,  as  they 
ha/1  of  old  been  governed,  or  at  least  to 
choose  by  vote  such  an  one  for  emperor 
as  might  be  worthy  of  it. 

Now  it  happened  that  at  this  time 
Agrippa  sojourned  at  Rome,  and  that 
both  the  senate  called  him  to  consult 
with  them,  and  at  the  same  time  Claudius 


this 


he    delivered    it    to    the 


sent  for  him  out  of  the   camp,    that  he 
might  be  serviceable  to  him,  as  he  should 
have  occasion  for  his  service.     So  he,  per- 
ceiving that  Claudius  was  in  effect  made 
Csesar   already,  went    to    him,  who    sent 
him  as  an  ambassador  to  the  senate,  to  let 
them   know    what    his    intentions    were : 
that,  in  the  first   place,  it  was  without  his 
seeking  that  he  was  hurried  away  by  the 
soldiers  ;  moreover,  that  he  thought  it  was 
not  just  to   desert   those   soldiers  in  such 
their  zeal   for  him,  and  that  if  he  should 
do  so,  his  own  fortune  would  be  in  uncer- 
tainty ;  for  that  it  was   a  dangerous  case 
to  have   been  once  called  to   the  empire. 
He  added  further,  that  he  would  administer 
the  government  as  a  good  prince,  and  not 
like  a  tyrant;  for  that  he  would  be  satis- 
fied with  the  honour  of  being  called  em- 
peror, but  would,  in  every  one  of  his  ac- 
tions, permit   them   all   to  give  him  their 
advice;  for  that  although  he  had  not  been 
by  nature  for  moderation,  yet  would  the 
death  of  Caius  afford  him  a  sufficient  de- 
monstration  how   soberly  he  ought  to  act 
in  that  station. 

This  message  was  delivered  by  Agrippa; 
to  which  the  senate  replied,  that  since 
they  had  an  army,  and  the  wisest  counsels 
on  their  side,  they  would  not  endure  a 
voluntary  slavery.  When  Claudius  heard 
what  answer  the  senate  had  made,  he 
sent   Agrippa    to    them    again,   with    the 

following   message  : — That   he  could  not 

1111 

bear  the  thoughts  of  betraying  them  that 

had  given  their  oaths  to  be  true  to  him ; 
and  that  he  saw  he  must  figh-t,  though 
unwillingly,  against  such  as  he  had  no 
mind  to  fight ;  that  however  [if  it  must 
come  to  that],  it  was  proper  to  choose  a 
place  without  the  uty  for  the  war;  be- 
cause it  was  not  agreeable  to  piety  to 
pollute  the  temples  of  their  own  city  with 
the  blood  of  their  own  countrymen,  and 
this  only  on  occasion  of  their  imprudent 
conduct.     And  when  Agrippa  had  heard 


message, 
senators. 

In  the  mean  time,  one  of  the  soldiers  be- 
longing to  the  senate  drew  his  sword,  and 
cried  out,  "  0  my  fellow-soldiers,    what  is 
the  meaning  of  this  choice  of  ours,  to  kill 
our  brethren,  and  to  use  violence  to  oui 
kindred  that  are  with  Claudius  !     While 
we  may  have  him  for  our  emperor  whom 
no    one    can    blame,     and    who    hath    so 
many   just  reasons  [to  lay  claim  to  the 
government]  !     and    this   with    regard  to 
those  against  whom  we  are  going  to  fight  I" 
When    he    had    said    this,    he    marched 
through    the   whole   senate,    and    carried 
all  the  soldiers    along  with  him.     Upon 
which  all  the  patricians  were  immediately 
in    a    great    fright    at    their    being    thus 
deserted.     But   still,    because    there    ap 
peared  no  other  way  whither  they  could 
turn    themselves    for    deliverance,     they 
made     haste    the    same    way    with     the 
soldiers,    and    went    to    Claudius.       But 
those     that     had     the    greatest   luck    in 
flattering    the    good    fortune    of     Clau 
dius  betimes,  met  them  before  the  walls 
with  their  naked  swords,  and  there  was 
reason    to    fear     that    those    that    came 
first  might  have  been  in  danger,   before 
Claudius  could   know  what  violence  the 
soldiers  were  going    to    offer   them,  had 
not   Agrippa    run    before,    and    told  him 
what  a  dangerous  thing  they  were  going 
about,  and  that  unless  he  restrained  the 
violence  of  these  men,  who  were  in  a  fit 
of   madness    against    the    patricians,    he 
would  lose  those  on  whose  account  it  was 
most   desirable    to    rule,    and    would    be 
emperor  over  a  desert. 

When  Claudius  heard  this,  he  restrained 
the  violence  of  the  soldiery,  and  received 
the  senate  into  the  camp,  and  treated 
them  after  an  obliging  manner,  and  went 
out  with  them  presently,  to  offer  their 
thank-offerings  to  God,  which  were  pro- 
per upon  his  first  coming  to  the  empire. 
Moreover,  he  bestowed  on  Agrippa  his 
whole  paternal  kingdom  immediately,  and 
added  to  it,  besides  those  countries  that 
had  been  given  by  Augustus  to  Herod, 
Trachonitis  and  Auranitis,  and  still  be- 
sides these,  that  kingdom  which  was  call- 
ed the  kingdom  of  Lysanias.  This  gift 
he  declared  to  the  people  by  a  decree, 
but  ordered  the  magistrates  to  have  the 
donations  engraved  on  the  tables  of 
brass,  and  to  be  set  up  in  the  capitol. 
He  bestowed  on  his  brother  Herod,  who 
was    also    his    son  in-law,    by    marrying 


098 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II 


[bis  daughter]  Bernice,  the  kingdom  of 
Chalcis. 

So  now  riches  flowed  into  Agrippa  by 
his  enjoyment  of  so  large  a  dominion  ;  nor 
did  he  abuse  the  money  he  had  on  small 
matters,  but  he  began  to  encompass  Jeiu- 
salem   with   such   a   wall,    which,   had  it 
been  brought   to   perfection,    had  made  it 
impractiacble  for  the  Romans  to  take  it  by 
siege ;   but  hie  death,  which  happened  at 
Cesarea,  before  he  had  raised  the  walls  to 
their    due    height,    prevented    him.     He 
had  then    reigned  three   years,  as  he  had 
governed  his  tetrarchies  three  other  years. 
He  left  behind  him  three  daughters,  born 
to  him  by  Cypros — Bernice,    Mariamne, 
and  Drusilla;  and  a  son  born  of  the  same 
mother,  whose    name    was    Agrippa :  he 
was  left  a  very  young  child,  so  that  Clau- 
dius made  the  country  a  Roman  province, 
and  sent  Cuspius  Fadus  to  be  its  procurator, 
and  after  him  Tiberius  Alexander,  who, 
making  no  alterations  of  the  ancient  laws, 
tept  the  nation  in  tranquillity.     Now  after 
this,  Herod  the  king  of  Chalcis  died,  and 
left  behind  him  two  sons,  born  to  him  of 
his    brother's    daughter    Bernice ;     their 
names  were    Bernicianus  and    Hyrcanus. 
[He  also  left    behind    him]    Aristobulus, 
whom  he  had   by   his  former  wife,  Mari- 
amne.  There  was,  besides,  another  brother 
of  his  that  died  a  private  person, — his  name 
was  also  Aristobulus, — who    left  behind 
him  a  daughter,  whose  name  was  Jotape; 
and  these,  as  I  have  formerly  said,  were  the 
children  of  Aristobulus,  the  son  of  Herod; 
which  Aristobulus    and    Alexander  were 
horn  to  Herod  by  Mariamne,    and    were 
slain    by    him.      But    as  for  Alexander's 
posterity,  they  reigned  in  Armenia. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Tumults  under  Cumanus — suppressed  by  Quadra tus 
— Felix  procurator  of  Judea — Agrippa  advanced 
from  Chalcis  to  a  larger  kingdom. 

Now  after  the  death  of  Herod,  king  of 
Chalcis,  Claudius  set  Agrippa,  the  son  of 
Agrippa,  over  his  uncle's  kingdom,  while 
Cumanus  took  upon  him  the  office  of  pro- 
curator of  the  rest,  which  was  a  Roman 
province,  and  therein  he  succeeded  Alex- 
ander; under  which  Cumanus  began  the 
troubles,  and  the  Jews'  ruin  came  on  ;  for 
when  the  multitude  were  come  together  to 
Jerusalem,  to  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
and  a  Roman  cohort  stood  over  the  clois- 
ters of  the  temple,  (for  they  always  were 
armed  and  kept  guard  at  the  festivals,  to 


prevent  any  innovation  v^hich  the  mul- 
titude thus  gathered  together  might  make,) 
one  of  the  soldiers  pulled  back  his  gar- 
ment, and  cowering  down  after  an  indecent 
manner,  turned  his  breech  to  the  Jews, 
and  spake  such  words  as  you  might  expect 
upon  such  a  posture.  At  this  the  whole 
multitude  had  indignation,  and  made  a 
clamour  to  Cumanus  that  he  would  pu- 
nish the  soldier;  while  the  rasher  part  of 
the  youth,  and  such  as  were  naturally  the 
most  tumultuous,  fell  to  fighting,  and 
caught  up  stones,  and  threw  them  at  the 
soldiers.  Upon  which  Cumanus  was  afraid 
lest  all  the  people  should  make  an  assault 
upon  him,  and  sent  to  call  for  more  armed 
men,  who,  when  the}'  came  in  great  num- 
bers into  the  cloisters,  the  Jews  were  in  a 
very  great  consternation  ;  and  being  beaten 
out  of  the  temple,  they  ran  into  the  city; 
and  the  violence  with  which  they  crowded 
to  get  out  was  so  great,  that  they  trod 
upon  each  other,  and  squeezed  one  an- 
other, till  10,000  of  them  were  killed, 
insomuch  that  this  feast  became  the  cause 
of  mourning  to  the  whole  nation,  and 
every  family  lamented  [their  own  rela- 
tions]. 

Now  there  followed  after  this  another 
calamity,  which  arose  from  a  tumult  made 
by  robbers ;  for  at  the  public  road  of  Beth- 
horen,  one  Stephen,  a  servant  of  Caesar,  car- 
ried some  furniture,  which  the  robbers  fell 
upon  and  seized.  Upon  this  Cumanus  sent 
men  to  go  round  about  to  the  neighbouring 
villages,  and  to  bring  their  inhabitants  to 
him  bound,  as  laying  it  to  their  charge  that 
they  had  not  pursued  after  the  thieves, 
and  caught  them.  Now  here  it  was  that 
a  certain  soldier  finding  the  sacred  book 
of  the  law,  tore  it  to  pieces,  and  threw  it 
into  the  fire.*  Hereupon  the  Jews  were 
in  great  disorder,  as  if  their  whole  country 
were  in  a  flame,  and  assembled  themselves 
so  many  of  them  by  their  zeal  for  their 
religion,  as  by  an  engine;  and  ran  together 
with  united  clamour  to  Cesarea,  to  Cu- 
manus, and  made  supplication  to  him 
that  he  would  not  overlook  this  man,  who 
had  offered  sueh^an  affront  to  God  and  to 
his  law,  but  punish  him  for  what  he  had 
done.  Accordingly,  he  perceiving  that  the 
multitude  would  not  be  quiet  unless  they 
had  a  comfortable  answer  from  him,  gave 
order  that  the  soldier  should  be  brought, 

*  The  Talmud,  in  recounting  ten  sad  accidents 
for  which  the  Jews  ought  to  rend  their  garments, 
reckons  this  for  one; — "When  they  hear  that  thf 
law  of  God  is  burni." 


CftAP     XII    J 


WARS  OF    THE    JEWfe. 


699 


and  drawn  through  those  that  required  to 
hare  him  punished,  to  execution;  which 
being  done,  the  Jews  went  their  ways. 

After  this  there  happened  a  fight  be- 
tween the  Galileans  and  the  Samaritans  : 
it  happened  at  a  village  called  Geman, 
which  is  situate  in  the  great  plain  of  Sa- 
maria; where,  as  a  great  number  of  Jews 
were  going  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  feast 
[of  tabernaciesj,  a  certain  Galilean  was 
slain  j  and  besides,  a  vast  number  of  peo- 
ple ran  together  out  of  Galilee,  in  order 
to  fight  with  the  Samaritans.  But  the 
principal  men  among  them  came  to  Cu- 
manus,  and  besought  him  that,  before  the 
evil  became  incurable,  he  would  come  into 
Galilee,  and  bring  the  authors  of  this 
murder  to  punishment;  for  that  there 
was  no  other  way  to  make  the  multitude 
separate,  without  coming  to  blows.  How- 
ever, Cumanus  postponed  their  suppli- 
cations to  the  other  affairs  he  was  then 
about,  and  sent  the  petitioners  away  with- 
out success. 

But  when  the  affair  of  this  murder 
came  to  be  told  at  Jerusalem,  it  put  the 
multitude  into  disorder,  and  they  left  the 
feast ;  and  without  any  generals  to  conduct 
them,  they  marched  with  great  violence 
to  Samaria;  nor  would  they  be  ruled  by 
any  of  the  magistrates  that  were  set  over 
them  ;  but  they  were  managed  by  one 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Dineas,  and  by  Alex- 
ander, in  these  their  thievish  and  seditious 
attempts.  These  men  fell  upon  those 
that  were  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Acrabatene  toparchy,  and  slew  them,  with- 
out sparing  any  age,  and  set  the  villages 
on  fire. 

But  Cumanus  took  one  troop  of  horse- 
men, called  the  Troop  of  Sebaste,  out  of 
Cesarea,  and  came  to  the  assistance  of  those 
that  were  spoiled ;  he  also  seized  upon  a 
great  number  of  those  that  followed  Elea- 
Bar,  and  slew  more  of  them.  And  as  for 
the  rest  of  the  multitude  of  those  that 
went  so  zealously  to  fight  with  the  Sama- 
ritans, the  rulers  of  Jerusalem  ran  out, 
clothed  with  sackcloth,  and  having  ashes 
on  their  heads,  and  begged  of  them  to  go 
their  ways,  lest  by  their  attempt  to  re- 
vengo  themselves  upon  the  Samaritans, 
they  should  provoke  the  Romans  to  come 
against  Jerusalem — to  have  compassion 
upon  their  country  and  temple,  their  chil- 
dren and  their  wives,  and  not  bring  the 
utmost  dangers  of  destruction  upon  them, 
in  order  to  avenge  themselves  upon  one 
Galilean  only.     The  Jews  complied  with 


these  persuasions  of  theirs,  and  dispersed 
themselves;  but  still  there  was  a  great 
number  who  betook  themselves  to  robbing, 
in  hopes  of  impunity ;  and  rapines  and  in- 
surrections of  the  bolder  sort  happened 
over  the  whole  country.  And  the  men 
of  power  among  the  Samaritans  came  to 
Tyre,  to  Ummidius  Quadratus,  the  presi- 
dent of  Syria,  and  desired  that  they  that 
had  laid  waste  the  country  might  be  pu- 
nished :  the  great  men  also  of  the  Jews, 
and  Jonathan  the  son  of  Ananus,  the 
high  priest,  came  thither,  and  said  that 
the  Samaritans  were  the  beginners  of 
the  disturbance,  on  account  of  that  mur- 
der they  had  committed ;  and  that  Cu- 
manus had  given  occasion  to  what  had 
happened,  by  his  unwillingness  to  punish 
the  original  authors  of  that  murder. 

But  Quadratus  put  both  parties  off  for 
that  time,  and  told  them,  that  when  he 
should  come  to  those  places  he  would 
make  a  diligent  inquiry  after  every  cir- 
cumstance. After  which  he  went  to  Ce- 
sarea, and  crucified  all  those  whom  Cuma- 
nus had  taken  alive ;  and  when  from  thence 
he  was  come  to  the  city  Lydda,  he  heard 
the  affair  of  the  Samaritans,  and  sent  for 
eighteen  of  the  Jews,  whom  he  had  learned 
to  have  been  concerned  in  that  fight,  and 
beheaded  them;  but  he  sent  two  others 
that  were  of  the  greatest  power  among 
them,  and  both  Jonathan  and  Ananias, 
the  high  priests,  as  also  Ananus  the  son 
of  this  Ananias,  and  certain  others  that 
were  eminent  among  the  Jews,  to  Caesar; 
as  he  did  in  like  manner  by  the  most  illus- 
trious of  the  Samaritans.  He  also  ordered 
that  Cumanus  [the  procurator]  and  Celer 
the  tribune  should  sail  to  Rome,  in  order 
to  give  an  account  of  what  had  been  done 
to  Cae-ar.  When  he  had  finished  these 
matters,  he  went  up  from  Lydda  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  finding  the  multitude  celebrat- 
ing their  feast  of  unleavened  bread  with- 
out any  tumult,  he  returned  to  Antioch. 

Now  when  Cassar  at  Rome  had  heard 
what  Cumanus  and  the  Samaritans  had  to 
say,  (where  it  was  done  in  the  hearing  of 
Agrippa,  who  zealously  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  Jews,  as  in  like  manner  many  of 
the  great  men  stood  by  Cumanus,)  he  con- 
demned the  Samaritans,  and  commanded 
that  three  of  the  most  powerful  men  among 
them  should  be  put  to  death  :  he  banished 
Cumanus,  and  sent  Celer  bound  to  Jeru- 
salem, to  be  delivered  over  to  the  Jews  to 
be  tormented — that  he  should  be  drawD 
round  th«   city,  and  then  beheaded. 


700 


VTAKS   OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Bock  n 


After  this,  Caesar  sent  Felix,  the  brother 
of  Pallas,  to  be  procurator  of  Galilee,  and 
Samaria,  and  Perea,  and  removed  Agrippa 
fr-uri  Chalcis  unto  a  greater  kingdom  ; 
fo.;  he  gave  him  the  tetrarchy  which  had 
belonged  to  Philip,  which  contained  Ba- 
tanea,  Trachonitis,  and  Gaulonitis :  he 
added  to  it  the  kingdom  of  Lysanias,  and 
that  province  [Abilene]  which  Varus  had 
governed.  But  Claudius  himself,  when 
he  had  administered  the  government  thir- 
teen years,  eight  mouths,  and  twenty  days, 
died,  and  left  Nero  to  be  his  successor  in 
the  empire,  whom  he  had  adopted  by  his 
wife  Agrippina's  delusions,  in  order  to  be 
his  successor,  although  he  had  a  son  of  his 
own,  whose  name  was  Britannicus,  by  Mes- 
salina  his  former  wife,  and  a  daughter, 
whose  name  was  Octavia,  whom  he  had 
married  to  Nero :  he  had  also  another 
daughter,  by  Petina,  whose  name  was  An- 
tonia. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Nero  adds  four  cities  to  Agrippa's  kingdom — dis- 
turbances raised  by  the  Sicarii,  the  magicians, 
and  an  Egyptian  false  prophet. 

Now  as  to  the  many  things  in  which 
Nero  acted  like  a  madman,  out  of  the  ex- 
travagant degree  of  the  felicity  and  riches 
which  he  enjoyed,  and  by  that  means  used 
his  good  fortune  to  the  injury  of  others; 
aud  after  what  manner  he  slew  his  brother, 
and  wife,  and  mother,  from  whom  his 
barbarity  spread  itself  to  others  that  were 
most  nearly  related  to  him ;  and  how,  at 
last,  he  was  so  distracted  that  he  became 
an  actor  in  the  scenes,  and  upon  the  thea- 
tre, I  omit  to  say  any  more  about  them, 
because  there  are  writers  enough  upon 
those  subjects  everywhere;  but  I  shall 
turn  myself  to  those  actions  of  his  time 
m  which  the  Jews  were  concerned. 

Nero  therefore  bestowed  the  kingdom 
of  the  Lesser  Armenia  upon  Aristobulus, 
Herod 'a*  son,  and  he  added  to  Agrippa's 
kingdom  four  cities,  with  the  toparchies 
to  them  belonging :  I  mean  Abila,  and 
that  Julias  which  is  in  Perea,  Tarichea 
also,  and  Tiberias  of  G-alilee ;  but  over 
the  rest  of  Judea  he  made  Felix  procura- 
tor. This 'Felix  took  Eleazar  the  arch- 
robber,  and  many  that  were  with  him, 
alive,  when  they  had  ravaged  the  country 
for  twenty  years  together,  and  sent  them 
*o  Rome ;  but  as  to  the  number  of  the  rob- 


*  IJerod,  king  of  Chalcis. 


bers  whom  he  caused  to  be  crucified,  and 
who  were  caught  among  them,  and  those 
he  brought  to  punishment,  they  were  a 
multitude  not  to  be  enumerated. 

When  the  country  was  purged  of  these, 
there  sprang  up  another  sort  of  robbers 
in  Jerusalem,  which  were  called  Sicarii 
who  slew  men  in  the  daytime,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  city :  this  they  did  chiefly 
at  the  festivals,  when  they  mingled  them- 
selves among  the  multitude,  and  concealed 
daggers  under  their  garments,  with  which 
they  stabbed  those  that  were  their  ene- 
mies ;  and  when  any  fell  down  dead,  the 
murderers  became  a  part  of  those  that  had 
indignation  against  them  ;  by  which  means 
they  appeared  persons  of  such  reputation, 
that  they  could  by  no  means  be  discovered. 
The  first  man  who  was  slain  by  them  was 
Jonathan  the  high  priest,  after  whose 
death  many  were  slain  every  day,  while 
the  fear  men  were  in  of  being  so  served, 
was  more  afflicting  than  the  calamity  it- 
self; and  while  everybody  expected  death 
every  hour,  as  men  do  in  war,  so  men 
were  obliged  to  look  before  them,  and  to 
take  notice  of  their  enemies  at  a  great  dis- 
tance ;  nor,  if  their  friends  were  coming 
to  them,  durst  they  trust  them  any  longer; 
but,  in  the  midst  of  their  suspicions  md 
guarding  of  themselves,  they  were  slain. 
Such  was  the  celerity  of  the  plotters 
against  them,  and  so  cunning  was  their 
contrivance. 

There  was  also  another  body  of  wicked 
men  gotten  together,  not  so  impure  in 
their  actions,  but  more  wicked  in  their  in- 
tentions, who  laid  waste  the  happy  state 
of  the  city  no  less  than  did  these  murder- 
ers. These  were  such  men  as  deceived 
and  deluded  the  people  under  pretence  of 
divine  inspiration,  but  were  for  procuring 
innovations  and  changes  of  the  govern- 
ment; and  these  prevailed  with  the  mul- 
titude to  act  like  madmen,  and  went  be- 
fore them  into  the  wilderness,  as  pretend- 
ing that  God  would  there  show  them  the 
signals  of  liberty ;  but  Felix  thought  this 
procedure  was  to  be  the  beginning  of  a 
revolt;  so  he  sent  some  horsemen,  and 
footmen  both  armed,  who  destroyed  a 
great  number  of  them. 

But  there  was  an  Egyptian  false  pro- 
phet that  did  the  Jews  more  mischief  than 
the  former ;  for  he  was  a  cheat,  and  pre- 
tended to  be  a  prophet  also,  and  got  toge- 
ther 30,000  men  that  were  deluded  by 
him  :  these  he  led  round  about  from  the 
wilderness  to  the  mount  which  was  called 


CflAP   XI V  J 


WARS    OF   THE   JEWS. 


701 


the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  was  ready  to 
break  into  Jerusalem  by  force  from  that 
place ,  and  if  he  could  but  once  conquer 
the  Roman  garrison  and  the  people,  he 
intended  to  domineer  over  them  by  the 
assistance  of  those  guards  of  his  that  were 
to  break  into  the  city  with  him ;  but  Fe- 
lix prevented  his  attempt,  and  met  him 
with  his  Roman  soldiers,  while  all  the 
people  assisted  him  in  his  attack  upon 
them,  insomuch  that  when  it  came  to  a 
battle,  the  Egyptian  ran  away,  with  a  few 
others,  while  the  greatest  part  of  those 
that  were  with  him  were  either  destroyed 
or  taken  alive ;  but  the  rest  of  the  multi- 
tude were  dispersed  every  one  to  their 
own  homes,  and  there  concealed  them- 
selves. 

Now,  when  these  were  quieted,  it  hap- 
pened, as  it  does  in  a  diseased  body,  that 
another  part  was  subject  to  an  inflamma- 
tion ;  for  a  company  of  deceivers  and  rob- 
bers got  together,  and  persuaded  the  Jews 
to  revolt,  and  exhorted  them  to  assert  their 
liberty,  inflicting  death  on  those  that  con- 
tinued in  obedience  to  the  Roman  govern- 
ment, and  saying,  that  such  as  willingly 
chose  slavery,  ought  to  be  forced  from 
such  their  desired  inclinations ;  for  they 
parted  themselves  into  different  bodies, 
and  lay  in  wait  up  and  down  the  country, 
and  plundered  the  houses  of  the  great 
men,  and  slew  the  men  themselves,  and 
set  the  villages  on  fire ;  and  this  till  all 
Judea  was  filled  with  the  effects  of  their 
madness.  And  thus  the  flame  was  every 
day  more  and  more  blown  up,  till  it  came 
to  a  direct  war. 

There  was  also  another  disturbance  at 
Cesarea — those  Jews  who  were  mixed 
with  the  Syrians  that  lived  there,  raising 
a  tumult  against  them.  The  Jews  pre- 
tended that  the  city  was  theirs,  and  said 
that  he  who  built  it  was  a  Jew ;  meaning 
King  Herod.  The  Syrians  confessed  also 
that  its  builder  was  a  Jew;  but  they  still 
said,  however,  that  the  city  was  a  Grecian 
city ;  for  that  he  who  set  up  statues  and 
temples  in  it  could  not  design  it  for  the 
Jews.  On  which  account  both  parties 
had  a  contest  with  one  another;  and  this 
contest  increased  so  much,  that  it  came  at 
last  to  arms,  and  the  bolder  sort  of  them 
marched  out  to  fight;  for  the  elders  of  the 
Jews  were  not  able  to  put  a  stop  to  their 
own  people  that  were  disposed  to  be  tu- 
multuous, and  the  Greeks  thought  it  a 
a  shame  for  them  to  be  overcome  by  the 
Jews.      Now    these    Jews    exceeded    the 


others  in  riches  and  strength  of  body ; 
but  the  Grecian  part  had  the  advantage 
of  assistance  from  the  soldiery;  for  the 
greatest  part  of  the  Roman  garrison  was 
raised  out  of  Syria;  and  being  thus  re- 
lated to  the  Syrian  part,  they  were  ready 
to  assist  it.  However,  the  governors  of 
the  city  were  concerned  to  keep  all  quiet, 
and  whenever  they  caught  those  that  were' 
most  for  fighting  on  either  side,  they  pu- 
nished them  with  stripes  and  bonds.  Yet 
did  not  the  sufferings  of  those  that  were 
caught  affright  the  remainder,  or  make 
them  desist;  but  they  were  still  more  and 
more  exasperated,  and  deeper  engaged  in 
the  sedition.  And  as  Felix  came  once 
into  the  market-place,  and  commanded  the 
Jews,  when  they  had  beaten  the  Syrians, 
to  go  their  ways,  and  threatened  them  if 
they  would  not,  and  they  would  not  obey 
him,  he  sent  his  soldiers  out  upon  them, 
and  slew  a  great  many  of  them,  upon 
which  it  fell  out  that  what  they  had  was 
plundered.  And  as  the  sedition  still  con- 
tinued, he  chose  out  the  most  eminent 
men  on  both  sides  as  ambassadors  to  Nero, 
to  argue  about  their  several  privileges. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Festus,  Albinus,  and  Florus,  successively  procura- 
tors of  Judea^ — the  Jews  resist  the  cruelties  of 
Florus. 

Now  it  was  that  Festus  succeeded  Fe- 
lix as  procurator,  and  made  it  his  business 
to  correct  those  that  made  disturbances  in 
the  country.  So  he  caught  the  greatest 
part  of  the  robbers,  and  destroyed  a  great 
many  of  them.  But  then  Albinus,  who 
succeeded  Festus,  did  not  execute  his  office 
as  the  other  had  done ;  nor  was  there  any 
sort  of  wickedness  that  could  be  named 
but  he  had  a  hand  in  it.  Accordingly, 
he  did  not  only,  in  his  political  capacity, 
steal  and  plunder  every  one's  substance, 
nor  did  he  only  burden  the  whole  nation 
with  taxes,  but  he  permitted  the  relations 
of  such  as  were  in  prison  for  robbery,  and 
had  been  laid  there,  either  by  the  senate 
of  every  city,  or  by  the  former  procura- 
tors, to  redeem  them  for  money;  and  no- 
body remained  in  the  prisons  as  a  male- 
factor but  he  who  gave  him  nothing.  At 
this  time  it  was  that  the  enterprises  of  the 
seditious  at  Jerusalem  were  very  formida 
ble;  the  principal  men  among  them  pur- 
chasing leave  of  Albinus  to  go  on  with 
their  seditious  practices ;  while  that  part 
of   the   people   who  delighted   in  distur- 


702 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


("Book  IL 


bances  joined  themselves  to  such  as  had 
fellowship  with  Albinu? ;  and  every  one 
of  these  wicked  wretches  were  encom- 
passed with  his  own  band  of  robbers, 
while  he  himself,  like  an  archrobber,  or 
a  tyrant,  made  a  figure  among  his  com- 
pany, and  abused  his  authority  over  those 
about  him,  in  order  to  plunder  those  that 
lived  quietly.  The  effect  of  which  was 
this,  that  those  who  lost  their  goods  were 
forced  to  hold  their  peace,  when  they  had 
reason  to  show  great  indignation  at  what 
they  had  suffered  ;  but  those  who  had  es- 
caped, were  forced  to  flatter  him  that  de- 
served to  be  punished,  out  of  the  fear 
they  were  in  of  suffering  equally  with  the 
others.  Upon  the  whole,  nobody  durst 
speak  their  minds,  for  tyranny  was  gene- 
rally tolerated ;  and  at  this  time  were 
those  seeds  sown  which  brought  the  city 
to  destruction. 

And  although  such  was  the  character 
of  Albinus,  yet  did  Gessius  Florus,  who 
succeeded  him,  demonstrate  him  to  have 
been  a  most  excellent  person,  upon  the 
comparison  :  for  the  former  did  the  great- 
est part  of  his  rogueries  in  private,  and 
with  a  sort  of  dissimulation;  but  Gessius 
diil  his  unjust  actions  to  the  harm  of  the 
nation  after  a  pompous  manner;  and  as 
though  he  had  been  sent  as  an  execu- 
tioner to  punish  condemned  malefactors, 
he  omitted  no  sort  of  rapine,  or  of  vexa- 
tion :  where  the  case  was  really  pitiable, 
he  was  most  barbarous;  and  in  things  of 
the  greatest  turpitude,  he  was  more  im- 
pudent ;  nor  could  any  one  outdo  him  in 
disguising  the  truth;  nor  could  any  one 
contrive  more  subtle  ways  of  deceit  than 
he  did.  He  indeed  thought  it  but  a  petty 
offence  to  get  money  out  of  single  per- 
sons ;  so  he  spoiled  whole  cities,  and  ruined 
entire  bodies  of  men  at  once,  and  did  al- 
most publicly  proclaim  it  all  the  country 
over,  that  they  had  liberty  given  them  to 
turn  robbers,  upon  this  condition,  that  he 
might  go  shares  with  them  in  the  spoils. 
Accordingly,  this  his  greediness  of  gain 
was  the  occasion  that  entire  toparchies 
were  brought  to  desolation,  and  a  great 
many  of  the  people  left  their  own  coun- 
try, and  fled  into  foreign  provinces. 

And  truly,  while  Cestius  Gallus  was 
^resident  of  the  province  of  Syria,  no- 
body durst  do  so  much  as  send  an  embas- 
sage to  him  against  Florus;  but  when  he 
was  come  to  Jerusalem,  upon  the  approach 
)i  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  the  peo- 
ple came  about  him  not  fewer  in  number 


than  3,000,000  :*  these  besought  him  tc 
commiserate  the  calamities  of  their  nation, 
and  cried  out  upon  Florus  as  the  bane  of 
their  country.  But  as  he  was  present, 
and  stood  by  Cestius,  he  laughed  at  their 
words.  However,  Cestius,  when  he  had 
quieted  the  multitude,  and  had  a^ured 
them  that  he  would  take  care  that  Florus 
should  hereafter  treat  them  in  a  more 
gentle  manner,  returned  to  Antioch  :  Flo- 
rus also  conducted  him  as  far  as  Cesarea, 
and  deluded  him,  though  he  had  at  that 
very  time  the  purpose  of  showing  his  an- 
ger at  the  nation,  and  procuring  a  war 
upon  them,  by  which  means  alone  it  was 
that  he  supposed  he  might  conceal  his 
enormities ;  for  he  expected  that,  if  the 
peace  continued,  he  should  have  the  Jews 
for  his  accusers  before  Ccesar :  but  that  if 
he  could  procure  them  to  make  a  revolt, 
he  should  divert  their  laying  lesser  crimes 
to  his  charge,  by  a  misery  that  was  so 
much  greater ;  he  therefore  did  every  day 
augment  their  calamities,  in  order  to  in- 
duce them  to  a  rebellion. 

Now  at  this  time  it  happened  that  the 
Grecians  at  Cesarea  had  been  too  hard 
for  the  Jews,  and  had  obtained  of  Nero 
the  government  of  the  city,  and  had 
brought  the  judicial  determination  :  at  the 
same  time  began  the  war,  in  the  twelfth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Nero,  and  the  seven- 
teenth of  the  reign  of  Agrippa,  in  the 
month  of  Artemissus  [Jyar].  Now  the 
occasion  of  this  war  was  by  no  means 
proportionable  to  those  heavy  calamities 
which  it  brought  upon  us ;  for  the  Jews 
that  dwelt  at  Cesarea  had  a  synagogue 
near  the  place,  whose  owner  was  a  certain 
Cesarean  Greek :  the  Jew,  had  endea- 
voured frequently  to  have  purchased  the 
possession  of  tho  place,  and  had  offered 
many  times  its  v  due  for  its  price;  but  as 
the  owner  overlooked  their  offers,  so  did 
he  raise  other  buildings  upon  the  place, 
in  way  of  affront  to  them,  and  *nade  work- 
iug-shops  of  them,  and  left  them  but  a 
naiTOW  passage,  and  such  as  was  very 
troublesome  for  them  to  go  along  to  their 
synagogue ;  whereupon  the  warmer  part 
of  the  Jewish  youth  went  hastily  to  the 
workmen,  and  forbade  them  to  build  there; 
but  as  Florus  would  not  permit  them  to 
use  force,  the  great  men  of  the  Jews,  with 

*  Three  millions  of  the  Jews  were  present  at  the 
passover,  A.  D.  65,  which  confirms  Josephus's  state- 
ment, that  at  a  passover  a  little  later,  they  coimted 
256,500  paschal  lambs;  which,  at  twelve  persJiu 
to  eacn  lamb,  will  produce  3,078,000. 


-;hap.  XIV] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


70 


John  the  publican,  being  in  the  utmost 
distress  what  t?c  do,  persuaded  Florus, 
with  the  offer  of  eight  talents,  to  hinder 
the  work.  He  then,  being  intent  upon 
nothing  but  getting  money,  promised  he 
would  do  for  them  all  they  desired  of 
him,  and  then  went  away  from  Cesarea  to 
Sebaste,  and  left  the  sedition  to  take  its 
full  course,  as  if  he  had  sold  a  license  to 
the  Jews  to  fight  it  out. 

Now  on  the  next  day,  which  was  the 
seventh  day  of  the  week,  when  the  Jews 
were  crowding  apace  to  their  synagogue, 
a  certain  man  of  Cesarea,  of  a  seditious 
temper,  got  an  earthen  vessel,  and  set  it, 
with  the  bottom  upward,  at  the  entrance 
of  that  synagogue,  and  sacrificed  birds.* 
This  thing  provoked  the  Jews  to  an  in- 
curable degree,  because  their  laws  were 
affronted,  and  the  place  was  polluted ; 
whereupon  the  sober  and  moderate  part 
of  the  Jews  thought  it  proper  to  have  re- 
course to  their  governors  again,  while  the 
seditious  part,  and  such  as  were  in  the 
fervour  of  their  youth,  were  vehemently 
inflamed  to  fight.  The  seditious  also 
among  [the  Gentiles  of]  Cesarea  stood 
ready  for  the  same  purpose ;  for  they  had, 
by  agreement,  sent  the  man  to  sacrifice 
beforehand  [as  ready  to  support  him]  ;  so 
that  it  soon  came  to  blows.  Hereupon 
Jucundus,  the  master  of  the  horse,  who 
was  ordered  to  prevent  the  fight,  came 
thither,  and  took  away  the  earthen  vessel, 
and  endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to  the  se- 
dition ;  but  when  he  was  overcome  by  the 
violence  of  the  people  of  Cesarea,  the 
Jews  caught  up  their  books  of  the  law, 
and  retired  to  Narbata,  which  was  a  place 
to  them  belonging,  distant  from  Cesarea 
sixty  furlongs.  But  John,  and  twelve  of 
the  principal  men  with  him,  went  to  Flo- 
rus, to  Sebaste,  and  made  a  lamentable 
complaint  of  their  case,  and  besought  him 
to  help  them )  and  with  all  possible  de- 
cency, put  him  in  mind  of  the  eight  ta- 
lents they  had  given  him  ;  but  he  had  the 
men  seized  upon,  and  put  in  prison,  and 
accused  them  for  carrying  the  books  of 
the  law  out  of  Cesarea. 

Moreover,  as  to  the  citizens  of  Jerusa- 
lem, although  they  took  this  matter  very 

*  "By  this  action,  the  killing  of  a  bird  over  an 
earthen  vessel,  the  Jews  were  exposed  as  a  leprous 
people ;  for  that  was  to  be  done  by  the  law  in  the 
cleansing  of  a  leper.  (Lev.  ch.  xiv.)  It  is  also 
known,  that  the  Gentiles  reproached  the  Jews  as 
subject  to  the  leprosy,  and  believed  that  they  were 
driven  out  of  Egypt  on  that  account." — Dr.  Hud- 
son. 


ill,  yet  did  they  restrain  their  passion ; 
but  Florus  acted  herein  as  if  he  had  been 
hired,  and  blew  up  the  war  into  a  flame, 
and  sent  some  to  take  seventeen  talents 
out  of  the  sacred  treasure,  and  pretended 
that  Caesar  wanted  them.  At  this  the 
people  were  in  confusion  immediately,  and 
ran  together  to  the  temple,  with  prodi- 
gious clamours,  and  called  upon  Caesar  by 
name,  and  besought  him  to  free  them  from 
the  tyrannny  of  Florus.  Some  also  of 
the  seditious  cried  out  upon  Florus,  and 
cast  the  greatest  reproaches  upon  him,  and 
carried  a  basket  about,  and  begged  some 
spills  of  money  for  him,  as  for  one  that 
was  destitute  of  possessions,  and  in  a  mise- 
rable condition.  Yet  was  not  he  made 
ashamed  hereby  of  his  love  of  money,  but 
was  more  enraged,  and  provoked  to  get 
still  more;  and  instead  of  coming  to  Ce- 
sarea, as  he  ought  to  have  done,  and 
quenching  the  flame  of  war,  which  was 
beginning  thence,  and  so  taking  away  the 
occasion  of  any  disturbances,  on  which 
account  it  was  that  he  had  received  a  re- 
ward [of  eight  talents],  he  marched  has- 
tily with  an  army  of  horsemen  and  foot- 
men against  Jerusalem,  that  he  might  gain 
his  will  by  the  arms  of  the  Romans,  and 
might  by  his  terror,  and  by  his  threaten- 
ings,  bring  the  city  into  subjection. 

But  the  people  were  desirous  of  making 
Florus  ashamed  of  his  attempt,  and  met 
his  soldiers  with  acclamations,  and  put 
themselves  in  order  to  receive  him  very 
submissively;  but  he  sent  Capito,  a  cen- 
turion, beforehand,  with  fifty  soldiers,  to 
bid  them  go  back,  and  not  now  make  a 
show  of  receiving  him  in  an  obliging  man- 
ner, whom  they  had  so  foully  reproached 
before ;  and  said  that  it  was  incumbent  on 
them,  in  case  they  had  generous  souls, 
and  were  free  speakers,  to  jest  upon  him 
to  his  face,  and  appear  to  be  lovers  of 
liberty,  not  only  in  words,  but  with  their 
weapons  also.  With  this  message  was 
the  multitude  amazed  ;  and  upon  the  com- 
ing of  Capito's  horsemen  into  the  midst 
of  them,  they  were  dispersed  before  they 
could  salute  Florus,  or  manifest  their  sub- 
missive behaviour  to  him.  Accordingly, 
they  retired  to  their  own  houses,  and 
spent  that  night  in  fear  and  confusion  of 
face. 

Now  at  this  time  Florus  took  up  his 
quarters  at  the  palace;  and  on  the  next 
day  he  had  his  tribunal  set  before  it,  and 
sat  upon  it,  when  the  high  priests,  and 
the  men  of  power,  and  those  of  the  great- 


04 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  II 


est  eminence  in  the  city,  came  all  before 
that  tribunal;  upon  which  Floras  com- 
manded them  to  deliver  up  to  him  those 
that  had  reproached  him,  and  told  them 
that  they  should  themselves  partake  of 
the  vengeance  to  them  belonging,  if  they 
did  not  produce  the  criminals;  but  these 
demonstrated  that  the  people  were  peace- 
ably disposed,  and  they  begged  forgive- 
ness for  those  that  had  spoken  amiss;  for 
that  it  was  no  wonder  at  all  that  in  so 
great  a  multitude  there  should  be  some 
more  daring  than  they  ought  to  be,  and, 
by  reason  of  their  younger  age,  foolish 
also ;  and  that  it  was  impossible  to  distin- 
guish those  that  offended  from  the  rest, 
while  every  one  was  sorry  for  what  he  had 
done,  and  denied  it  out  of  fear  of  what 
would  follow :  that  he  ought,  however,  to 
provide  for  the  peaee  of  the  nation,  and 
to  take  such  counsels  as  might  preserve 
the  city  for  the  Romans,  and  rather,  for 
the  sake  of  a  great  number  of  innocent 
people,  to  forgive  a  few  that  were  guilty, 
than  for  the  sake  of  a  few  of  the  wicked, 
to  put  so  large  and  good  a  body  of  men 
into  disorder. 

Floras  was  more  provoked  at  this,  and 
called  aloud  to  the  soldiers  to  plunder 
that  which  was  called  the  Upper  Market- 
place, and  to  slay  such  as  they  met  with. 
So  the  soldiers,  taking  this  exhortation 
of  their  commander  in  a  sense  agreeable 
to  their  desire  of  gain,  did  not  only  plun- 
der the  place  they  were  sent  to,  but 
forcing  themselves  into  every  house,  they 
slew  its  inhabitants;  so  the  citizens  fled 
along  the  narrow  lanes,  and  the  soldiers 
slew  those  that  they  caught,  and  no 
method  of  plunder  was  omitted;  they 
also  caught  many  of  the  quiet  people, 
and  brought  them  before  Floras,  whom  he 
first  chastised  with  stripes,  and  then  cru- 
cified. Accordingly,  the  whole  number 
of  those  that  were  destroyed  that  day, 
with  their  wives  and  children,  (for  they 
did  not  spare  even  the  infants  themselves,) 
was  about  3600;  and  what  made  this 
calamity  the  heavier,  was  this  new  method 
of  Roman  barbarity;  for  Floras  ventured 
then  to  do  what  no  one  had  done  before, 
that  is,  to  have  men  of  the  equestrian  or- 
der whipped,*  and  nailed  to  the  cross 
before  his  tribunal;   who,  although  they 


were    by  birth   Jews,  yet  were    they  of 
Roman  dignity  notwithstanding. 


*  Native  Jews,  who  were  of  the  equestrian  order 
among  the  Komans,  ought  never  to  have  been 
whipped  or  crucified,  according  to  the  Roman 
laws.  See  a  parallel  case  in  St.  Paul,  Acts  xxii. 
25-29. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Bernice  petitions  Florus  to  spare  the  Jews — Cruel, 
ties  and  avarice  of  Florus. 

About  this  very  time  King  Agrippa 
was  going  to  Alexandria,  to  congratulate 
Alexander  upon  his  having  obtained  the 
government  of  Egypt  from  Nero;  but  as 
his  sister  Bernice  was  come  to  Jerusalem, 
and  saw  the  wicked  practices  of  the  sol- 
diers, she  was  sorely  affected  at  it,  and 
frequently  sent  the  masters  of  her  horse 
and  her  guards  to  Florus,  and  begged  of 
him  to  leave  off  these  slaughters;  but  he 
would  not  comply  with  her  request,  nor 
have  any  regard  either  to  the  multitude 
of  those  already  slain,  or  to  the  nobility 
of  her  that  interceded,  but  only  to  the  ad- 
vantage he  should  make  by  his  plunder- 
ing; nay,  this  violence  of  the  soldiers 
broke  out  to  such  a  degree  of  madness, 
that  it  spent  itself  on  the  queen  herself; 
for  they  did  not  only  torment  and  destroy 
those  whom  they  had  caught  under  her 
very  eyes,  but  indeed  had  killed  herself 
also,  unless  she  had  prevented  them  by  fly- 
ing to  the  palace,  and  had  stayed  there  all 
night  with  her  guards,  which  she  had 
about  her  for  fear  of  an  insult  from  the 
soldiers.  Now  she  dwelt  then  at  Jeru- 
salem, in  order  to  perform  a  vow  which 
she  had  made  to  God;  for  it  is  usual  with 
those  that  had  been  either  afflicted  with  a 
distemper,  or  with  any  other  distresses, 
to  make  vows;  and  for  thirty  days  before 
they  are  to  offer  their  sacrifices,  to  abstain 
from  wine,  and  to  shave  the  hair  of  their 
head.  Which  things  Bernice  was  now 
performing,  and  stood  barefoot  before 
Florus's  tribunal,  and  besought  him  [to 
spare  the  Jews].  Yet  could  she  neither 
have  reverence  paid  to  her,  nor  could  she 
escape  without  some  danger  of  being 
slain  herself.* 

This  happened  upon  the  sixteenth  day 
of  the  month  Artemissus  [Jyar].  Now 
on  the  next  day,  the  multitude,  who  were 
in  a  great  agony,  ran  together  to  the  Up- 
per Market-place,  and  made  the  loudest 
lamentations  for  those  that  had  perished ; 
and  the  greatest  part  of   the  cries  were 

*  Juvenal,  in  his  sixth  satire,  alludes  to  this  re- 
markable penance  or  submission  of  Bernice  to 
Jewish  discipline,  and  jests  upon  her  for  it.  Taci- 
tus, Dio,  Suetonius,  and  Sextus  Aurelius  mention 
her  as  one  well  known  at  Rome. 


JHAP     XV.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


705 


such  as  reflected  on  Florus j  at  which  the 
men  of  power  were  affrighted,  together 
with  the  high  priests,  and  rent  their  gar- 
ments, and  fell  down  before  each  of  them, 
and  besought  them  to  leave  off,  and  not 
to  provoke  Florus  to  some  incurable  pro- 
cedure, besides  what  they  had  already 
suffered.  Accordingly,  the  multitude 
complied  immediately,  out  of  reverence 
to  those  that  had  desired  it  of  them,  and 
out  of  the  hope  they  had  that  Florus 
would  do  them  no  more  injuries. 

So  Florus  was  troubled  that  the  dis- 
turbances were  over,  and  endeavoured  to 
kindle  that  flame  again,  and  sent  for  the 
high  priests,  with  the  other  eminent  per- 
sons, and  said,  the  only  demonstration 
that  the  people  would  not  make  any  other 
innovations  should  be  this — that  they 
must  go  out  and  meet  the  soldiers  that 
were  ascending  from  Cesarea,  whence  two 
cohorts  were  coming;  and  while  these 
men  were  exhorting  the  multitude  so  to 
do,  he  sent  beforehand,  and  gave  direc- 
tions to  the  centurions  of  the  cohorts, 
(bat  they  should  give  notice  to  those  that 
were  under  them,  not  to  return  the  Jews' 
salutations;  and  that  if  they  made  any 
reply  to  his  disadvantage,  they  should 
make  use  of  their  weapons.  Now  the 
high  priests  assembled  the  multitude  in 
the  temple,  and  desired  them  to  go  and 
meet  the  Romans,  and  to  salute  the  co- 
horts very  civilly,  before  their  miserable 
case  should  become  incurable.  Now  the 
seditious  part  would  not  comply  with 
these  persuasions;  but  the  consideration 
of  those  that  had  been  destroyed  made 
them  incline  to  those  that  were  the  boldest 
for  action. 

At  this  rime  it  was  that  every  priest, 
and  every  servant  of  God,  brought  out 
the  holy  vessels,  and  the  ornamental  gar- 
ments wherein  they  used  to  minister  in 
sacred  things.  The  harpers  also,  and  the 
singers  of  hymns,  came  out  with  their  in- 
struments of  music,  and  fell  down  before 
the  multitude,  and  begged  of  them  that 
they  would  preserve  those  holy  ornaments 
to  them,  and  not  to  provoke  the  Romans 
to  carry  off  those  sacred  treasures.  You 
might  also  see  then  the  high  priests  them- 
selves, with  dust  sprinkled  in  great  plenty 
upon  their  heads,  with  bosoms  deprived 
of  any  covering  but  what  was  rent;  these 
besought  every  one  of  the  eminent  men 
by  name,  and  the  multitude  in  common, 
that  they  would  not  for  a  small  offence 
betray  their  country  to  those  that  were 
45 


desirous  to  have  it  laid  waste;  saying, 
"What  benefit  will  it  bring  to  the  sol- 
diers to  have  a  salutation  from  the  Jews? 
or  what  amendment  of  your  affairs  will 
it  bring  you,  if  you  do  not  now  go  out  to 
meet  them?  and  that  if  they  saluted  tbem 
civilly,  all  handle  would  be  cut  off  from 
Florus  to  begin  a  war;  that  they  should 
thereby  gain  their  country,  and  freedom 
from  all  further  sufferings;  and  that,  be- 
sides, it  would  be  a  sign  of  great  want  of 
command  of  themselves,  if  they  should 
yield  to  a  few  seditious  persons,  while  it 
was  fitter  for  them,  who  were  so  great  a 
people,  to  force  the  others  to  act  soberly." 
By  these  persuasions,  which  they  used 
to  the  multitude  and  to  the  seditious, 
they  restrained  some  by  threatenings,  and 
others  by  the  reverence  that  was  paid 
them.  After  this  they  led  them  out,  and 
they  met  the  soldiers  quietly,  and  after  a 
composed  manner,  and  when  they  were 
come  up  with  them,  they  saluted  them; 
but  when  they  made  no  answer,  the  sedi- 
tious exclaimed  against  Florus,  which 
was  the  signal  given  for  falling  upon 
them.  The  soldiers  therefore  encom- 
passed them  presently,  and  struck  them 
with  their  clubs,  and  as  they  fled  away, 
the  horsemen  trampled  them  down;  so 
that  a  great  many  fell  down  dead  by  the 
strokes  of  the  Romans,  and  more  by  their 
own  violence,  in  crushing  one  another. 
Now  there  was  a  terrible  crowding  about 
the  gates,  and  while  everybody  was  mak- 
ing haste  to  get  before  another,  the  flight 
of  them  all  was  retarded,  and  a  terrible 
destruction  there  was  among  those  that 
fell  down,  for  they  were  suffocated  and 
broken  to  pieces  by  the  multitude  of 
those  that  were  uppermost;  nor  could 
any  of  them  be  distinguished  by  his  re- 
lations, in  order  to  the  care  of  his  fune- 
ral; the  soldiers  also  who  beat  them,  fell 
upon  those  whom  they  overtook,  without 
showing  them  any  mercy,  and  thrust  the 
multitude  through  the  place  called  Beze- 
tha,*  as  they  forced  their  way,  in  order 
to  get  in  and  seize  upon  the  temple,  and 
the  tower  Antonia.  Florus  also,  being 
desirous  to  get  those  places  into  his  pos- 
session, brought  such  as  were  with  him 
out  of  the  king's  palace,  and  would  have 
compelled  them  to  get  as  far  as  the  citadel 
[Antonia];  but  his  attempt  failed,  for 
the  people  immediately  turned  back  upou 
him,  and  stopped  the  violence  of   his    it- 

*  Perhaps  in  the  vicinity  of  the  "pool  of   BolA. 
esda,"  mentioned  in  John  v.  1. 


706 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[.Book  II 


tempt;  and  as  they  stood  upon  the  tops 
of  their  houses  they  threw  their  darts  at 
the  Romans,  who,  as  they  were  sorely 
galled  thereby,  because  those  weapons 
came  from  above,  and  they  were  not  able 
to  make  a  passage  through  the  multitude, 
which  stopped  up  the  narrow  passages, 
they  retired  to  the  camp  which  was  at 
the  palace. 

But  for  the  seditious,  they  were  afraid 
lest  Florus  should  come  again,  and  get 
possession  of  the  temple,  through  Anto- 
nia;  so  they  got  immediately  upon  those 
cloisters  of  the  temple  that  joined  to  An- 
tonia,  and  cut  them  down.  This  cooled 
the  avarice  of  Florus;  for  whereas  he  way 
eager  to  obtain  the  treasures  of  God  [in 
the  temple],  and  on  that  account  was  de- 
sirous of  getting  into  Antonia,  as  soon  as 
the  cloisters  were  broken  down  he  left 
off  his  attempt;  he  then  sent  for  the  high 
priests  and  the  sanhedrim,  and  told  them 
that  he  was  indeed  himself  going  out  of 
the  city,  but  that  he  would  leave  them  as 
large  a  garrison  as  they  should  desire. 
Hereupon  they  promised  that  they  would 
make  no  innovations,  in  case  he  would 
leave  them  one  band;  but  not  that  which 
had  fought  with  the  Jews,  because  the 
multitude  bore  ill-will  against  that  band 
on  account  of  what  they  had  suffered  from 
it;  so  he  changed  the  baud  as  they  de- 
sired, and  with  the  rest  of  his  forces  re- 
turned to  Cesarea. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Florus  accuses  the  Jews  of  revolting  from  the  Ro- 
man government — Agrippa's  speech  to  the  Jews 
on  their  intended  war  against  the  Romans. 

However,  Florus  contrived  another 
way  to  oblige  the  Jews  to  begin  the  war, 
and  sent  to  Cestius  and  accused  the  Jews 
falsely  of  revolting  [from  the  Roman  go- 
vernment], and  imputed  the  beginning  of 
the  former  fight  to  them,  and  pretended 
they  had  been  the  authors  of  that  dis- 
turbance, wherein  they  were  only  the  suf- 
ferers. Yet  were  not  the  governors  of 
Jerusalem  silent  upon  this  occasion,  but 
did  themselves  write  to  Cestius,  as  did 
Bernice  also,  about  the  illegal  practices  of 
which  Florus  had  been  guilty  against  the 
city;  who,  upon  reading  both  accounts, 
consulted  with  his  captains  [what  he 
should  do].  Now  some  of  them  thought 
it  best  for  Cestius  to  go  up  with  his  army, 
either  to  punish  the  revolt,  if  it  was  real, 
or  to  settle  the  Roman  affairs  on  a  surer 


foundation,  if  the  Jews  continued  quiet 
under  them;  but  he  thought  it  best  him 
self  to  send  one  of  his  intimate  friends 
beforehand,  to  see  the  state  of  affairs,  and 
to  give  him  a  faithful  account  of  the  in- 
tentions of  the  Jews.  Accordingly,  he 
sent  one  of  his  tribunes,  whose  name  was 
Neopolitanus,  who  met  with  King  Agrippa, 
as  he  was  returning  from  Alexandria,  at 
Jamnia,  and  told  him  who  it  was  the*, 
sent  him,  and  on  what  errands  he  was 
sent. 

And  here  it  was  that  the  high  priests, 
and  men   of   power   among  the  Jews,  as 
well  as  the  sanhedrim,  came  to  congratu- 
late the  king  [upon  his  safe  return];  and 
after   they  had  paid  him   their   respects, 
they  lamented   their  own  calamities,  and 
related  to  him  what  barbarous  treatment 
they   had    met  with    from     Florus.      At 
which  barbarity  Agrippa  had  great  indig- 
nation,   but    transferred    after    a    subtle 
manner,  his    anger    toward    those  Jews 
whom  he  really  pitied,  that  he  might  beat 
down   their  high   thoughts  of  themselves, 
and  would   have  them   believe  that  they 
had  not  been  so  unjustly  treated,  in  order 
to  dissuade    them    from   avenging   them- 
selves.     So  these  great  men,  as  of  better 
understanding  than  the  rest,  and  desirous 
of  peace,  because  of  the  possessions  they 
had,  understood  that   this  rebuke  which 
the    king   gave    them  was    intended   for 
their  good ;    but   as  to  the  people,  they 
came  sixty  furlongs  out  of  Jerusalem,  and 
congratulated  both  Agrippa  and  Neopoli- 
tanus;  but  the  wives   of  those  that  had 
been   slain  came  running  first  of  all  and 
lamenting.     The  people  also,  when  they 
heard   their  mourning,  fell  into  lamenta- 
tions also,  and  besought  Agrippa  to  assist 
them  ;  they  also  cried  out  to  Neopolitanus, 
and  complained  of  the  many  miseries  they 
had    endured    under    Florus ;     and    they 
showed  them,  when  they  were  come  into 
the  city,  how  the  market-plaee  was  made 
desolate,  and  the  houses  plundered.    They 
then     persuaded     Neopolitanus,    by    the 
means  of   Agrippa,  that  he   would  walk 
round  the  cityvwith  only  one  servant,  as 
far  as  Siloam,  that  he  might  inform  him- 
self  that   the  Jews  submitted  to  all  the 
rest   of  the  Romans,  and  were  only  dis- 
pleased at   Florus,   by  reason   of  his  ex- 
ceeding barbarity  to  them.      So  he  walked 
round,  and  had   sufficient   experience   ol 
the  good  temper  the  people  were  in,  and 
then  went   up   to  the   temple,  where   he 
called  the  multitude   together  and  highly 


JlIAP.  XVI.  ] 


WARS    OF  THE    JEWS. 


707 


commended  them  for  their  fidelity  to  the 
Romans,  and  earnestly  exhorted  them  to 
keep  the  peace;  and  having  performed 
such  parts  of  divine  worship  at  the  tem- 
ple as  he  was  allowed  to  do,  he  returned 
to  Cestius. 

But  as  for  the  multitude  of  the  Jews, 
they  addressed  themselves  to  the  king, 
and  to  the  high  priests,  and  desired  they 
might  have  leave  to  send  ambassadors  to 
Nero  against  Florus,  and  not  by  their  si- 
lence afford  a  suspicion  that  they  had  been 
the  occasion  of  such  great  slaughters  as 
had  been  made,  and  were  disposed  to  re- 
volt, alleging  that  they  should  seem  to 
have  been  the  first  beginners  of  the  war, 
if  they  did  not  prevent  the  report  by 
showing  who  it  was  that  began  it;  and  it 
appeared  openly  that  they  would  not  be 
quiet,  if  anybody  should  hinder  them 
from  seuding  such  an  embassage.  But 
Agrippa,  although  he  thought  it  too  dan- 
gerous a  thing  for  them  to  appoint  men 
to  go  as  the  accusers  of  Florus,  yet  did 
he  not  think  it  fit  for  him  to  overlook 
them,  as  they  were  in  a  disposition  for 
war.  He  therefore  called  the  multitude 
together  into  a  large  gallery,  and  placed 
his  sister  Bernice  in  the  house  of  the 
Asamoneans,  that  she  might  be  seen  by 
them,  (which  house  was  over  the  gallery, 
at  the  passage  to  the  upper  city,  where 
the  bridge  joined  the  temple  to  the  galle- 
ry,) and  spake  to  them  as  follows  : — 

*  "  Had  I  perceived  that  you  were  all 
zealously  disposed  to  go  to  war  with  the 
Romans,  and  that  the  purer  and  more  sin- 
cere part  of  the  people  did  not  propose  to 
live  in  peace,  I  had  not  come  out  to  you, 
nor  been  so  bold  as  to  give  you  counsel ; 
for  all  discourses  that  tend  to  persuade 
men  to  do  what  they  ought  to  do  is  super- 
fluous, when  the  hearers  are  agreed  to  do 
the  contrary.  But  because  some  are  ear- 
nest to  go  to  war  because  they  are  young, 
and  without  experience  of  the  miseries  it 
brings ;  and  because  some  are  for  it,  out 
of  an  unreasonable  expectation  of  regain- 
ing their  liberty;  and  because  others  hope 
to  get  by  it,  and  are  therefore  earnestly 
bent  upon  it,  that  in  the  confusion  of 
your  affairs  they  may  gain  what  belongs 
to  those  that  are  too  weak  to  resist  them — 

*  In  this  speech  of  King  Agrippa's  we  have  an 
authentic  account  of  the  extent  and  strength  of 
the  Roman  empire  when  the  Jewish  war  began. 
He  is  the  same  Agrippa  who  said  to  Paul,  "Almost. 
thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian,"  Acts  xxvi. 
28  ;  and  of  whom  St.  Paul  said,  "  lie  was  expert 
in  all  the  customs  and  questions  of  the  Jews." 


I  have  thought  proper  to  get  you  all  to- 
gether, and  to  say  to  you  what  I  think  to 
be  for  your  advantage ;  that  so  the  former 
may  grow  wiser,  and  change  their  minds, 
and  that  the  best  men  may  come  to  no 
harm  by  the  ill  conduct  of  some  other3. 
And  let  not  any  one  be  tumultuous  against 
me,  in  case  what  they  hear  me  say  do  not 
please  them  ;  for,  as  to  those  that  admit 
of  no  cure,  but  are  resolved  upon  a  revolt, 
it  will  still  be  in  their  power  to  retain  the 
same  sentiments  after  my  exhortation  is 
over;  but  still  my  discourse  will  fall  to 
the  ground,  even  with  relation  to  those 
that  have  a  mind  to  hear  me,  unless  you 
will  all  keep  silence.  I  am  well  aware 
that  many  make  a  tragical  exclamation 
concerning  the  injuries  that  have  been 
offered  you  by  your  procurators,  and  con- 
cerning the  glorious  advantages  of  liber- 
ty; but  before  I  begin  the  inquiry,  who 
you  are  that  must  go  to  war,  and  who 
they  are  against  whom  you  must  fight,  I 
shall  first  separate  those  pretenees  that 
are  by  some  connected  together  ;  for,  if 
you  aim  at  avenging  yourselves  on  those 
that  have  done  you  injury,  why  do  you 
pretend  this  to  be  a  war  for  recovering 
your  liberty?  but,  if  you  think  all  servi- 
tude intolerable,  to  what  purpose  serve 
your  complaints  against  your  particular 
governors  ?  for,  if  they  treated  you  with 
moderation,  it  would  still  be  equally  an 
unworthy  thing  to  be  in  servitude.  Con- 
sider now  the  several  cases  that  may  be 
supposed,  how  little  occasion  there  is  for 
your  going  to  war.  Your  first  occasion  is, 
the  accusations  you  have  to  make  against 
your  procurators ;  now  here  you  ought  to 
be  submissive  to  those  in  authority,  and 
not  give  them  any  provocation  ;  but  when 
you  reproach  men  greatly  for  small  of- 
fences, you  excite  those  whom  you  re- 
proach to  be  your  adversaries ;  for  this 
will  only  make  them  leave  off  hurting 
you  privately,  and  with  some  degree  of 
modesty,  and  to  lay  what  you  have  waste 
openly.  Now,  nothing  so  much  damps 
the  force  of  strokes  as  bearing  them  with 
patience;  and  the  quietness  of  those  who 
are  injured  diverts  the  injurious  persona 
from  afflicting.  But  let  us  take  it  foi 
granted,  that  the  Roman  ministers  are  in- 
jurious to  you,  and  are  incurably  severe; 
yet  are  they  not  all  the  Romans  who  thus 
injure  you;  nor  hath  Caesar,  against 
I  whom  you  are  going  to  make  war,  injured 
1  you  ;  it  is  not  by  their  command  that  auy 
i  wicked  governor  is  sent  to  you;  for  they 


708 


WARS    OF    THE  JEWS. 


[Boor  II 


who  are  in  the  west  cannot  see  those  that 
are  in  the  east ,  nor,  indeed,  is  it  easy  for 
them  there  even  to  hear  what  is  done  in 
these  parts.  Now,  it  is  absurd  to  make 
war  with  a  great  many  for  the  sake  of 
one  j  to  do  so  with  such  mighty  people 
for  a  small  cause  ;  and  this  when  these 
people  are  not  able  to  know  of  what  you 
complain  :  nay,  such  crimes  as  we  com- 
plain of  may  soon  be  corrected,  for  the 
same  procurator  will  not  continue  for  ever ; 
and  probable  it  is  that  the  successors  will 
come  with  more  moderate  inclinations. 
But,  as  for  war,  if  it  be  once  begun,  it  is 
not  easily  laid  down  again,  nor  borne 
without  calamities  coming  therewith. — 
However,  as  to  the  desire  of  recovering 
your  liberty,  it  is  unseasonable  to  indulge 
it  so  late;  whereas  you  ought  to  have 
laboured  earnestly  in  old  time  that  you 
might  never  have  lost  it;  for  the  first  ex- 
perience of  slavery  was  hard  to  be  en- 
dured, and  the  struggle  that  you  might 
never  have  been  subject  to  it  would  have 
been  just;  but  that  slave  who  hath  been 
once  brought  into  subjection,  aud  then 
runs  away,  is  rather  a  refractory  slave 
than  a  lover  of  liberty;  for  it  was  then 
the  proper  time  for  doing  all  that  was 
possible,  that  you  might  never  have  ad- 
mitted the  Romans  [into  your  city]  when 
Pompey  first  came  iuto  the  country.  But 
so  it  was,  that  our  ancestors  and  their 
kings,  who  were  in  much  better  circum- 
stances than  we  are,  both  as  to  money  and 
[strong]  bodies,  and  [valiant]  souls,  did 
not  bear  the  onset  of  a  small  body  of  the 
Roman  army.  And  yet  you,  who  have 
accustomed  yourselves  to  obedience  from 
one  generation  to  another,  and  who  are 
so  much  inferior  to  those  who  first  sub- 
mitted in  your  circumstances,  will  venture 
to  oppose  the  entire  empire  of  the  Ro- 
mans; while  those  Athenians,  who,  in 
order  to  preserve  the  liberty  of  Greece, 
did  once  set  fire  to  their  own  city — who 
pursued  Xerxes,  that  proud  prince,  when 
he  sailed  upon  the  sea,  and  could  not  be 
contained  by  the  seas,  but  conducted  such 
an  army  as  was  too  broad  for  Europe — 
and  made  him  run  away  like  a  fugitive  in 
a  single  ship,  and  brake  so  great  a  part 
of  Asia  as  the  Lesser  Salamis,  are  yet  at 
this  time  servants  to  the  Romans ;  and 
those  injunctions  which  are  sent  from 
Italy  become  laws  to  the  principal  govern- 
ing city  of  Greece.  Those  Lacedemo- 
nians also,  who  got  the  great  victories  it 
ThermoDylse  and  Platea,  and  had  Agesi- 


laus  [for  their  king],  and  searched  every 
corner  of  Asia,  are  contented  to  admit 
the  same  lords.  These  Macedonians  also, 
who  still  fancy  what  great  men  their 
Philip  and  Alexander  were,  and  see  that 
the  latter  had  promised  them  the  empire 
over  the  world,  these  bear  so  great  a  change 
and  pay  their  obedience  to  those  whonr 
fortune  hath  advanced  in  their  stead. 
Moreover,  10,000  other  nations  there  are 
who  had  greater  reason  than  we  to  claim 
their  entire  liberty,  and  yet  do  submit. 
You  are  the  only  people  who  thiuk  it  a 
disgrace  to  be  servants  to  those  to  whom 
all  the  world  hath  submitted.  What  sort 
of  an  army  do  you  rely  on?  What  are 
the  arms  you  depeud  on  ?  Where  is  your 
fleet  that  may  seize  upon  the  Roman  seas? 
and  where  are  those  treasures  which  may 
be  sufficient  for  your  undertakings  ?  Do 
you  suppose,  I  pray  you,  that  you  are  to 
make  war  with  the  Egyptians  aud  with 
the  Arabians  ?  Will  you  not  carefully 
reflect  upon  the  Roman  empire?  Will 
you  not  estimate  your  own  weakness? 
Hath  not  your  army  been  often  beaten 
even  by  your  neighbouring  nations,  while 
the  power  of  the  Romans  is  invincible  in 
all  parts  of  the  habitable  earth  ?  nay, 
rather,  they  seek  for  somewhat  still  be- 
yond that ;  for  all  Euphrates  is  not  a  suf- 
ficient boundary  for  them  on  the  east  side, 
nor  the  Danube  on  the  north  ;  aud  for 
their  southern  limit,  Libya  hath  been 
searched  over  by  them,  as  far  as  countries 
uninhabited,  as  is  Cadiz  their  limit  on  the 
west ;  nay,  indeed,  they  have  sought  for 
another  habitable  earth  beyond  the  ocean 
and  have  carried  their  arms  as  far  as  sucb 
British  islands  as  were  never  known  before 
What,  therefore,  do  you  pretend  to?  Are 
you  richer  than  the  Gauls,  stronger  than 
the  Germans,  wiser  than  the  Greeks,  more 
numerous  than  all  men  upon  the  habit- 
able earth  ?  What  confidence  is  it  that 
elevates  you  to  oppose  the  Romans  ?  Per- 
haps it  will  be  said,  It  is  hard  to  endure 
slavery.  Yes  ;  but  how  much  harder  is 
it  to  the  Greeks,  who  were  esteemed  thr 
noblest  of  all  people  under  the  sun ! 
These,  though  they  inhabit  a  large  coun- 
try, are  in  subjection  to  six  bundles  of 
Roman  rods.  It  is  the  same  case  with 
the  Macedonians,  who  have  juster  reason 
to  claim  their  liberty  than  you  have. 
What  is  the  case  of  500  cities  of  Asia  ? 
Do  they  not  submit  to  a  single  governor, 
and  to  the  consular  bundle  of  rods  ? 
What  need  I  speak  of  the  Heniochi  and 


Clap.  XVI  J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


709 


Colehi,  anl  the  nation  of  Tauri,  those  that 
inhabit  the  Bosphorus,  and  the  nations 
about  Pontus  an  1  Meotis,  who  formerly 
knew  not  so  much  as  a  lord  of  their  own, 
but  are  now  subject  to  3000  armed  men, 
and  where  forty  long  ships  keep  the  sea 
in  peace,  which  before  was  not  navigable, 
and  very  tempestuous  ?  How  strong  a 
plea  may  Bithynia  and  Cappadocia,  and 
the  people  of  Pamphylia,  the  Lycians, 
and  Cilicians,  put  in  for  liberty  !  but  they 
are  made  tributary  without  an  army. 
What  are  the  circumstances  of  the  Thra- 
cians,  whose  country  extends  in  breadth 
five  days'  journey,  and  in  length  seven, 
and  is  of  a  much  more  harsh  constitution, 
and  much  more  defensible  than  yours, 
and,  by  the  rigour  of  its  cold,  sufficient 
to  keep  off  armies  from  attacking  them  ? 
Do  not  they  submit  to  2000  men  of  the 
Roman  garrisons  ?  Are  not  the  Illyrians, 
who  inhabit  the  country  adjoining,  as  far 
as  Dalmatia  and  the  Danube,  governed  by 
barely  two  legions?  by  which  also  they 
put  a  stop  to  the  incursions  of  the  Da- 
cians;  and  for  the  Dalmatians,  who  have 
made  such  frequent  insurrections,  in  order 
to  regain  their  liberty,  and  who  could 
never  before  be  so  thoroughly  subdued 
but  that  they  always  gathered  their  forces 
together  again,  and  revolted,  yet  are  they 
now  very  quiet  under  one  Roman  legion. 
Moreover,  if  great  advantages  might  pro- 
voke any  people  to  revolt,  the  Gauls 
might  do  it  best  of  all,  as  being  so  tho- 
roughly walled  round  by  nature;  on  the 
east  side  by  the  Alps,  on  the  north  by  the 
river  Rhine,  on  the  south  by  the  Pyre- 
nean  mountains,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
ocean.  Now,  although  these  Gauls  have 
such  obstacles  before  them  to  prevent  any 
attack  upon  them,  and  have  no  fewer  than 
305  nations  among  them,  nay  have,  as 
one  may  say,  the  fountains  of  domestic 
happiness  within  themselves,  and  send  out 
plentiful  streams  of  happiness  over  al- 
most the  whole  world,  these  bear  to  be  tri- 
butary to  the  Romans,  and  derive  their 
prosperous  condition  from  them ;  and 
they  undergo  this,  not  because  they  are 
of  efft-minate  minds,  or  because  they  are 
of  an  ignoble  stock,  as  having  borne  a 
war  0*"  eighty  years,  in  order  to  preserve 
their  liberty  ;  but  by  reason  of  the  great 
regard  they  have  to  the  power  of  the  Ro- 
mans, and  their  good  fortune,  which  is  of 
greater  efficacy  than  their  arms.  These 
Gauls,  therefore,  are  kept  in  .servitude  by 
1200  soldiers,  who  are  hardly  so  many  as 


are  their  cities ;  nor  hath  the  gold  dug 
out  of  the  mines  of  Spain  been  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  a  war  to  preserve  their 
liberty,  nor  could  their  vast  distance  from 
the  Romans  by  land  and  by  sea  do  it; 
nor  could  the  martial  tribes  of  the  Lusi- 
tanians  and  Spaniards  escape ;  no  more 
could  the  ocean,  with  its  tide,  which  yet 
was  terrible  to  the  ancient  inhabitants. 
Nay,  the  Romans  have  extended  their 
arms  beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and 
have  walked  among  the  clouds,  upon  the 
Pyrenean  mountains,  and  have  subdued 
these  nations ;  and  one  legion  is  a  sufficient 
guard  for  these  people,  although  they 
were  so  hard  to  be  conquered,  and  at  a 
distance  so  remote  from  Rome.  Who  is 
there  among  you  that  hath  not  heard  of 
the  great  number  of  the  Germans  ?  You 
have,  to  be  sure,  yourselves  seen  them  to  be 
strong  and  tall,  and  that  frequently,  since 
the  Romans  have  them  among  their  cap- 
tives everywhere  ;  yet  these  Germans,  who 
QTfell  in  an  immense  country,  who  have 
minds  greater  than  their  bodies,  and  a 
scul  that  despises  death,  and  who  are  in 
rage  more  fierce  than  wild  beasts,  have 
the  Rhine  for  the  boundary  of  their  en- 
terprises,  and  are  tamed  by  eight  Roman 
legions.  Such  of  them  as  were  taken 
captives  became  their  servants ;  and  the 
rest  of  the  entire  nations  were  obliged  tc 
save  themselves  by  flight. 

"  Do  you  also,  who  depend  on  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem,  consider  what  a  wall  the 
Britons  had  :  for  the  Romans  sailed  away 
to  them,  and  subdued  them  while  they 
were  encompassed  by  the  ocean,  and  in- 
habited an  island  that  is  not  less  than 
[the  continent  of]  this  habitable  earth, 
and  four  legions  are  a  sufficient  guard  to 
so  large  an  island  :  and  why  should  I  speak 
much  more  about  this  matter,  while  the 
Parthians,  that  most  warlike  body  of  men, 
and  lords  of  so  many  nations,  and  en- 
compassed with  such  mighty  forces,  send 
hostages  to  the  Romans;  whereby  you 
may  see  if  you  please,  even  in  Italy,  the 
noblest  nation  of  the  east,  under  the  no- 
tion of  peace,  submitting  to  serve  them 
Now,  when  almost  all  people  under  the  sun 
submit  to  the  Roman  arms,  will  you  bo  the 
only  people  that  make  war  against  them? 
and  this  without  regarding  the  fate  of  the 
Carthaginians,  who,  in  the  midst  of  their 
boasts  of  the  great  Hannibal,  and  the  no- 
bility of  their  Phoenician  original,  fell  by 
the  hand  of  Scipio.  Nor,  indeed,  have 
the  Cyrenians,  derived  from   the  Lacedo- 


no 


WARS    OF   THE    JEWS 


[Book  II. 


monians,  nor  the  Marmaridae,  a  nation  ex- 
tended as  far  as  the  regions  uninhabitable 
for  want  of  water,  nor  have  the  Syrtes,  a 
place  terrible  to  such  as  barely  hear  it 
described,  the  Nasamons  and  Moors,  and 
the  immense  multitude  of  the  Numidians, 
been  able  to  put  a  stop  to  the  Roman 
valour ;  and  as  for  the  third  part  of  the 
habitable  earth  [Africa],  whose  nations 
are  so  many  that  it  is  not  easy  to  number 
thorn,  and  which  is  bounded  by  the  Atlan- 
tic sea  and  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and 
feeds  an  innumerable  multitude  of  Ethio- 
pians, as  far  as  the  Red  sea,  these  have 
the  Romans  subdued  entirely.  And  be- 
sides the  annual  fruits  of  the  earth,  which 
maintain  the  multitude  of  the  Romans 
for  eight  months  in  the  year,  this,  over 
and  above,  pays  all  sorts  of  tribute,  and 
aifords  revenues  suitable  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  government.  Nor  do  they, 
like  you,  esteem  such  injunctions  a  dis- 
grace to  them,  although  they  have  but  one 
Roman  legion  that  abides  among  them; 
and  indeed  what  occasion  is  there  for 
showing  you  the  power  of  the  Romans 
over  remote  countries,  when  it  is  so  easy 
to  learn  it  from  Egypt,  in  your  neighbour- 
hood ?  This  country  is  extended  as  far 
as  the  Ethiopians,  and  Arabia  the  Happy, 
and  borders  upon  India ;  it  hath  7,500,000 
men,  besides  the  inhabitants  of  Alexan- 
dria, as  may  be  learned  from  the  revenue 
of  the  poll-tax;  yet  it  is  not  ashamed  to 
submit  to  the  Roman  government,  al- 
though it  hath  Alexandria  as  a  grand 
temptation  to  a  revolt,  by  reason  it  is  so 
full  of  people  and  of  riches,  and  is  be- 
sides exceeding  large,  its  length  being 
thirty  furlongs,  and  its  breadth  no  less 
than  ten ;  and  it  pays  more  tribute  to  the 
Romans  in  one  month  than  you  do  in  a 
year  :  nay,  besides  what  it  pays  in  money, 
it  sends  corn  to  Rome  that  supports  it  for 
four  months  [in  the  year]  :  it  is  also 
walled  round  on  all  sides,  either  by  almost 
impassable  deserts,  or  seas  that  have  no 
havens,  or  by  rivers,  or  by  lakes ;  yet 
have  none  of  these  things  been  found  too 
strong  for  the  Roman  good  fortune ;  how- 
ever, two  legions  that  lie  in  that  city  are 
a  bridle  both  for  the  remoter  parts  of 
Egypt,  and  for  the  parts  inhabited  by  the 
more  noble  Macedonians.  Where  then 
aie  those  people  whom  you  are  to  have 
for  your  auxiliaries?  Must  they  come 
from  the  parts  of  the  world  that  are  un- 
inhabited ?  for  all  that  are  in  the  habita- 
ble earth  are  [under  the]  Romans.  Unless 


any  of  you  extend  his  hopes  as  far  as  be- 
yond the  Euphrates,  and  suppose  that 
those  of  your  own  nation  that  dwell  in 
Adiabene  will  come  to  your  assistance  ; 
(but  certainly  these  will  not  embarrass 
themselves  with  an  unjustifiable  war,  nor, 
if  they  should  follow  such  ill  advice,  will 
the  Parthians  permit  them  so  to  do;)  for 
it  is  their  concern  to  maintain  the  truce 
that  is  between  them  and  the  Romans, 
and  they  will  be  supposed  to  break  the 
covenants  between  them,  if  any  under 
their  government  march  against  the  Ro- 
mans. What  remains,  therefore,  is  this, 
that  you  have  recourse  to  divine  assist- 
ance ;  but  this  is  already  on  the  side  of 
the  Romans ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  so 
vast  an  empire  should  be  settled  without 
God's  providence.  Reflect  upon  it,  how 
impossible  it  is  your  zealous  observation 
of  your  religious  customs  should  be  here 
preserved,  which  are  hard  to  be  observed, 
even  when  you  light  with  those  whom 
you  are  able  to  conquer;  and  how  can  you 
then  most  of  all  hope  for  God's  assistance, 
when,  by  being  forced  to  transgress  his 
law,  you  will  make  him  turn  his  face 
from  you  ?  and  if  you  do  observe  the 
custom  of  the  Sabbath-days,  and  will  not 
be  prevailed  on  to  do  any  thing  thereon, 
you  will  easily  be  taken,  as  were  your  fore- 
fathers by  Pompey,  who  was  the  busiest 
in  his  siege  on  those  days  on  which  the 
besieged  rested ;  but  if  in  time  of  war 
you  transgress  the  law  of  your  country,  I 
cannot  tell  on  whose  account  you  will 
afterward  go  to  war ;  for  your  concern  is 
but  one,  that  you  do  nothing  against  any 
of  your  forefathers;  and  how  will  you  call 
upon  God  to  assist  you,  when  you  are 
voluntarily  transgressing  against  his  reli- 
gion ?  Now,  all  men  that  go  to  war,  do 
it  either  as  depending  on  divine  or  on  hu- 
man assistance  ;  but  since  your  going  to 
war  will  cut  off  both  those  assistances, 
those  that  are  forgoing  to  war  choose  evi- 
dent destruction.  What  hinders  you  from 
slaying  your  children  and  wives  with  your 
own  hands,  and  burning  this  most  excel- 
lent native  city  of  yours  ?  for  by  this  mad 
prank  you  will,  however,  escape  the  re- 
proach of  being  beaten ;  but  it  were  best, 
O  my  friends,  it  were  best,  while  the  ves- 
sel is  still  in  the  haven,  to  foresee  the  im- 
pending storm,  and  not  to  set  sail  out  of 
the  port  into  the  middle  of  the  hurricanes ; 
for  we  justly  pity  those  who  fall  into 
great  misfortunes  without  foreseeing  them; 
but   for    him   who   rushes    into    minifes! 


Chip.  XVII. J 


WARS    OF    THE    JLWS 


711 


ruin,  he  gains  reproaches  [instead  of  com- 
miseration]. But  certainly  no  one  can 
imagine  that  you  can  enter  into  a  war  as  by 
an  agreement,  or  that  when  the  Romans 
have  got  you  under  their  power,  they  will 
use  you  with  moderation,  or  will  not 
rather,  for  an  example  to  other  nations, 
burn  your  holy  city,  and  utterly  destroy 
your  whole  nation;  for  those  of  you  who 
shall  survive  the  war  will  not  be  able  to 
find  a  place  whither  to  flee,  since  all  men 
have  the  Romans  for  their  lords  alrea- 
dy, or  afraid  they  shall  have  hereafter. 
Nay,  indeed,  the  danger  concerns  not 
those  Jews  that  dwell  here  only,  but  those 
of  them  who  dwell  in  other  cities  also  ; 
for  there  is  no  people  upon  the  habitable 
earth  which  have  not  some  portion  of  you 
among  them,  whom  your  enemies  will 
slay,  in  case  you  go  to  war,  and  on  that 
account  also;  and  so  every  city  which 
hath  Jews  in  it  will  be  filled  with  slaugh- 
ter for  the  sake  only  of  a  few  men,  and 
they  who  slay  them  will  be  pardoned; 
but  if  that  slaughter  be  not  made  by 
them,  consider  how  wicked  a  thing  it  is 
to  take  arms  against  those  that  are  so 
kind  to  you.  Have  pity,  therefore,  if 
not  on  your  children  and  wives,  yet  upon 
this  your  metropolis,  and  its  sacred  walls; 
spare  the  temple,  and  preserve  the  holy 
house,  with  its  holy  furniture,  for  your- 
selves ;  for  if  the  Romans  get  you  under 
their  power,  they  will  no  longer  abstain 
from  them,  when  their  former  abstinence 
shall  have  been  so  ungratefully  requited.  I 
call  to  witness  your  sanctuary,  and  the 
holy  angels  of  God,  and  this  country, 
common  to  us  all,  that  I  have  not  kept 
back  any  thing  that  is  for  your  preserva- 
tion ;  and  if  you  will  follow  that  advice 
which  you  ought  to  do,  you  will  have  that 
peace  which  will  be  common  to  you  and 
to  me;  but  if  you  indulge  your  passions, 
you  will  run  those  hazards  which  I  shall 
be  free  from." 

When  Agrippa  had  spoken  thus,  both 
he  and  his  sister  wept,  and  by  their  tears 
repressed  a  great  deal  of  the  violence  of 
the  people  ;  but  still  they  cried  out,  that 
they  would  not  fight  against  the  Romans 
but  against  Florus,  on  account  of  what 
they  had  suffered  by  his  means.  To  which 
Agrippa  replied,  that  what  they  had  al- 
ready done  was  like  such  as  make  war 
against  the  Romans;  u for  you  have  not 
paid  the  tribute  which  is  due  to  Caesar;* 

*  Juliua  Caesar  had  decreed  that  the  Jews  of  Je- 


and  you  have  ciit  off  the  cloisters  [of  the 
temple]  from  joining  to  the  tower  Anto- 
nia.  You  will  therefore  prevent  any  oc- 
casion of  revolt,  if  you  will  but  join 
these  together  again,  and  if  you  will  but 
pay  your  tribute  ;  for  the  citadel  does  not 
now  belong  to  Florus,  nor  are  you  to  pay 
the  tribute-money  to  Florus." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Commencement  of  the  Jewish  war  with  the  Ro- 
mans— Manahem  heads  the  Jewish  insurgents, 
who  are  defeated  with  great  slaughter. 

This  advice  the  people  hearkened  to, 
and  went  up  into  the  temple  with  the  king 
and  Bernice,  and  began  to  rebuild  the 
cloisters  :  the  rulers  also  and  senators  di- 
vided themselves  into  the  villages,  and 
collected  the  tributes,  and  soon  got  toge- 
ther forty  talents,  which  was  the  sum  that 
was  deficient.  And  thus  did  Agrippa  then 
put  a  stop  to  that  war  which  was  threaten- 
ed. Moreover,  he  attempted  to  persuade 
the  multitude  to  obey  Florus,  until  Cae- 
sar should  send  one  to  succeed  him  ;  but 
they  were  hereby  more  provoked,  and 
cast  reproaches  upon  the  king,  and  got 
him  excluded  out  of  the  city;  nay,  some 
of  the  seditious  had  the  impudence  to 
throw  stones  at  him.  So  when  the  king 
saw  that  the  violence  of  those  that  were 
for  innovations  was  not  to  be  restrained, 
and  being  very  angry  at  the  contumelies 
he  had  received,  he  sent  their  rulers,  to- 
gether with  their  men  of  power,  to  Florus, 
to  Cesarea,  that  he  might  appoint  whom 
he  thought  fit  to  collect  the  tribute  in  the 
country,  while  he  retired  into  his  own 
kingdom. 

And  at  this  time  it  was  that  some  of 
those  that  principally  excited  the  people 
to  go  to  war,  made  an  assault  upon  a  cer- 
tain fortress  called  Masada.  They  took 
it  by  treachery,  and  slew  the  Romans  that 
were  there,  and  put  others  of  their  own 
party  to  keep  it.  At  the  same  time  Ele- 
azar,  the  sou  of  Ananias  the  high  priest, 
a  very  bold  youth,  who  was  at  that  time 
governor  of  the  temple,  persuaded  those 
that  officiated  in  the  divine  service  to  re- 
ceive no  gift  or  sacrifice  for  any  foreigner. 
And  this  was  the  true  beginning  of  our 
war  with  the  Romans;  for  they  rejected 
the  sacrifice  of  Caesar  on  this  account : 
and  when   many  of  the  high  priests   and 


rusalem  should  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  tha  Ro- 
mans, excepting  the  city  of  Joppa,  and  for  thj 
sabbatical  year. 


712 


WARS    OF  THE    JEWS. 


[Book  ft 


principal  men  besought  fchem  not  to  omit 
the  sacrifice,  which  it  was  customary  for 
them  to  offer  for  their  princes,  they  would 
not  be  prevailed  upon.  These  relied 
much  upon  their  multitude,  for  the  most 
flourishing  part  of  the  innovators  assisted 
them ;  but  they  had  the  chief  regard  to 
Eleazar,  the  governor  of  the  temple. 

Hereupon  the  men  of  power  got  to- 
gether, and  conferred  with  the  high 
priests,  as  did  also  the  principal  of  the 
Pharisees;  and  thinking  all  was  at  stake, 
and  that  their  calamities  were  becoming 
incurable,  took  counsel  what  was  to  be 
done.  Accordingly,  they  determined  to 
try  what  they  could  do  with  the  seditious 
by  words,  and  assembled  the  people  before 
the  brazen  gate,  which  was  that  gate  of 
the  inner  temple  [court  of  the  priests] 
which  looked  toward  the  sunrising.  And, 
in  the  first  place,  they  showed  the  great 
iudignation  they  had  at  this  attempt  for  a 
revolt,  and  for  their  bringing  so  great  a 
war  upon  their  country  :  after  which  they 
confuted  their  pretence  as  unjustifiable, 
and  told  them,  that  their  forefathers  had 
adorned  their  temple  in  great  part  with 
donations  bestowed  on  them  by  foreigners, 
and  had  always  received  what  had  been 
presented  to  them  from  foreign  nations; 
and  that  they  had  been  so  far  from  reject- 
ing any  person's  sacrifice,  (which  would 
be  the  highest  instance  of  impiety,)  (hat 
they  had  themselves  placed  those  dona- 
tions about  the  temple,  which  were  still 
visible,  and  had  remained  there  so  long  a 
time  :  that  they  did  now  irritate  the  Ro- 
mans  to  take  arms  against  them,  and 
invited  them  to  make  war  upon  them,  and 
brought  up  novel  rules  of  strange  divine 
worship,  and  determined  to  run  the  hazard 
of  having  their  city  condemned  for  im- 
piety, while  they  would  not  allow  any  fo- 
reigner, but  Jews  only,  either  to  sacrifice 
or  to  worship  therein.  And  if  such  a 
law  should  ever  be  introduced  in  the  case 
of  a  single  person  only,  he  would  have 
indignation  at  it  as  an  instance  of  inhu- 
manity determined  against  him ;  while 
they  have  no  regard  to  the  Romans  or  to 
Caesai,  and  forbade  even  their  oblations 
to  be  received  also  :  that  however  they 
canuot  but  fear,  lest  by  thus  rejecting  their 
sacrifices,  they  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
otfer  their  own  ;  and  that  this  city  will  lose 
its  principality,  unless  they  grow  wiser 
quickly,  and  restore  the  sacrifices  as  for- 
merly ;  and,  indeed,  amend  the  injury 
[they   have  offered  to  foreigners]  before 


the  report  of  it  comes  to  the  ears  of  those 
that  have  been  injured. 

And  as  they  said  these  things,  they  pro- 
duced those  priests  that  were  skilful  in  the 
customs  of  their  country,  who  made  the 
report,  that  all  their  forefathers  had  re- 
ceived the  sacrifices  from  foreign  nations. 
But  still  not  one  of  the  innovators  would 
hearken  to  what  was  said  ;  nay,  those  that 
ministered  about  the  temple  would  not 
attend  their  divine  service,  but  were  pre- 
paring matters  for  beginning  the  war.  So 
i  the  men  of  power,  perceiving  that  the  se- 
dition was  too  hard  for  them  to  subdue, 
and  that  the  danger  which  would  arise 
from  the  Romans  would  come  upon  them 
first  of  all,  endeavoured  to  save  themselves, 
and  sent  ambassadors  ;  some  to  Florus,  the 
chief  of  whom  was  Simon  the  son  of  Ana- 
nias ;  and  others  to  Agrippa,  among  whom 
the  most  eminent  were  Saul,  and  Antipas, 
and  Costobarus,  who  were  of  the  king's 
kindred ;  and  they  desired  of  them  both 
that  they  would  come  with  an  army  to  the 
city,  and  cut  off  the  sedition  before  it 
should  be  too  hard  to  be  subdued.  Now 
this  terrible  message  was  good  news  to 
Florus;  and  because  his  de&ign  was  to 
have  a  war  kindled,  he  gave  the  ambas- 
sadors no  answer  at  all.  But  Agrippa 
was  equally  solicitous  for  those  that  were 
revolting,  and  for  those  against  whom  the 
war  was  to  be  made,  and  was  desirous  to 
preserve  the  Jews  for  the  Romans,  and 
the  temple  and  metropolis  for  the  Jews; 
he  was  also  sensible  that  it  was  uot  for  his 
own  advantage  that  the  disturbances  should 
proceed ;  so  he  sent  3000  horsemen  to  the 
assistance  of  the  people,  out  of  Auranitis, 
and  Batanea,  and  Traehonitis,  and  these 
under  Darius,  the  master  of  his  horse, 
and  Philip,  the  son  of  Jacimus,  the  gene- 
ral of  his  army. 

Upon  this  the  men  of  power,  with  the 
high  priests,  as  also  all  the  part  of  the 
multitude  that  were  desirous  of  peace, 
took  courage,  and  seized  upon  the  upper 
city  [Mount  Sion];  for  the  seditious  part 
had  the  lower  city  and  the  temple  in  their 
power:  so  they  made  use  of  stones  and 
slings  perpetually  against  one  another, 
and  threw  darts  continually  on  both  sides; 
and  sometimes  it  happened  that  they 
made  excursions  by  troops,  and  fought  it 
out  hand  to  hand,  while  the  seditious 
were  superior  in  boldness,  but  the  king's 
soldiers  in  skill.  These  last  strove  chiefly 
to  gain  the  temple,  and  to  drive  those  out 
of  it  who  profaned  it;  as  did  the  seditious, 


Chap   XVII.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


713 


with  Eleazar,  (besides  what  they  had  al- 
ready,) labour  to  gain  the  upper  city. 
Thus  were  there  perpetual  slaughters  on 
both  sides  for  seven  days'  time;  but  nei- 
ther side  would  yield  up  the  parts  they 
had  seized  upon. 

Now  the  next  day  was  the  festival  of 
Xyiophory ;  upon  which  the  custom  was 
for  every  one  to  bring  wood  for  the  altar, 
(that  there  might  never  be  a  want  of  fuel 
for  that  fire  which  was  unquenchable  and 
always  burning.)  Upon  that  day  they 
excluded  the  opposite  party  from  the  ob- 
servation of  this  part  of  religion.  And 
when  they  had  joined  to  themselves  many 
»f  the  sicarii,  wTho  crowded  in  among  the 
weaker  people,  (that  was  the  name  for 
such  robbers  as  had  under  their  bosoms 
swords  called  sicse,)  they  grew  bolder, 
and  carried  their  undertakings  further; 
insomuch  that  the  king's  soldiers  were 
overpowered  by  their  multitude  and  bold- 
ness ;  and  so  they  gave  way,  and  were 
driven  out  of  the  upper  city  by  force. 
The  others  then  set  fire  to  the  house  of 
Ananias  the  high  priest,  and  to  the 
palaces  of  Agrippa  and  Bernice;  after 
which  they  carried  the  fire  to  the  place 
where  the  archives  were  deposited,  and 
made  haste  to  burn  the  contracts  belong- 
ing to  their  creditors,  and  thereby  dissolve 
their  obligations  for  paying  their  debts ; 
and  this  was  done  in  order  to  gain  the 
multitude  of  those  who  had  been  debtors, 
and  that  they  might  persuade  the  poorer 
sort  to  join  in  their  insurrection  with 
safety  against  the  more  wealthy ;  so  the 
keepers  of  the  records  fled  away,  and  the 
rest  set  fire  to  them.  And  when  they  had 
thus  burnt  down  the  nerves  of  the  city, 
they  fell  upon  their  enemies ;  at  which  time 
some  of  the  men  of  power,  and  of  the 
high  priests,  went  into  the  vaults  under 
ground,  and  concealed  themselves,  while 
others  fled  with  the  king's  soldiers  to  the 
upper  palace,  and  shut  the  gates  immedi- 
ately :  among  whom  were  Ananias  the 
high  priest,  and  the  ambassadors  that  had 
been  sent  to  Agrippa.  And  now  the  se- 
ditious were  contented  with  the  victory 
they  had  gotten,  and  the  buildings  they 
had  burnt  down,  and  proceeded  no  further. 

But  on  the  next  day,  which  was  the 
fifteenth  of  the  month  Louis  [Ab],  they 
made  an  assault  upon  Antonia,  and  be- 
sieged the  garrison  which  was  in  it  two 
days,  and  then  took  the  garrison,  and 
slew  them,  and  set  the  citadel  on  fire; 
after  which  they  marched   to  the  palace, 


whither  the  king's  soldiers  were  fled,  and 
parted  themselves  into  four  bodies,  and 
made  an  attack  upon  the  walls.  As  for 
those  that  were  within  it,  no  one  had  the 
courage  to  sally  out,  because  those  that 
assaulted  them  were  so  numerous;  but 
they  distributed  themselves  into  the  breast- 
works and  turrets,  and  shot  at  the  be- 
siegers, whereby  many  of  the  robbers  fell 
under  the  walls;  nor  did  they  cease  to 
fight  one  with  another,  either  by  night  or 
by  day;  while  the  seditious  supposed  that 
those  within  would  grow  weary  for  want 
of  food;  and  those  without,  supposed  the 
others  would  do  the  like  by  the  tedious- 
ness  of  the  siege. 

In  the  mean  time,  one  Manahem,  the 
son  of  Judas,  that  was  called  the  Galilean, 
(who  was  a  very  cunning  sophister,  and 
had  formerly  reproached  the  Jews  under 
Cyrenius,  that  after  God  they  were  subject 
to  the  Romans,)  took  some  of  the  men  of 
note  with  him,  and  retired  to  Massada, 
where  he  broke  open  King  Herod's  ar- 
moury, and  gave  arms  not  only  to  his  own 
people,  but  to  other  robbers  also.  These 
he  made  use  of  for  a  guard,  and  returned 
in  the  state  of  a  king  to  Jerusalem ;  he 
became  the  leader  of  the  sedition,  and 
gave  orders  for  continuing  the  siege;  but 
they  wanted  proper  instruments,  and  it 
was  not  practicable  to  undermine  the  wall, 
because  the  darts  came  down  upon  them 
from  above.  But  still  they  dug  a  mine, 
from  a  great  distance,  under  one  of  the 
towers,  and  made  it  totter;  and  having 
done  that,  they  set  on  fire  what  was  com- 
bustible, and  left  it;  and  when  the  found- 
ations were  burnt  below,  the  tower  fell 
down  suddenly.  Yet  did  they  then  meet 
with  another  wall  that  had  been  built 
within,  for  the  besieged  were  sensible  be- 
forehand of  what  they  were  doing,  and 
probably  the  tower  shook  as  it  was  under- 
mining; so  they  provided  themselves  of 
another  fortification;  which,  when  the 
besiegers  unexpectedly  saw,  while  they 
thought  they  had  already  gained  the  place, 
they  were  under  some  consternation. 
However,  those  that  were  within  sent  to 
Manahem,  and  to  the  other  leaders  of  the 
sedition,  and  desired  they  might  go  out 
upon  a  capitulation;  this  was  .granted  to 
the  king's  soldiers  and  their  own  coun- 
trymen only,  who  went  out  accordingly; 
but  the  Romans  that  were  left  alone  were 
greatly  dejected,  for  they  were  not  able 
to  force  their  way  through  such  a  multi 
tude;    and  to  desire  them  to  give  them 


n\ 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  II 


their  right  band  for  their  security,  they 
thought  would  be  a  reproach  to  them;  and 
besides,  if  they  should  give  it  them,  they 
durst  not  depend  upon  it;  so  they  de- 
serted their  camp,  as  easily  taken,  and 
ran  a  svay  to  the  royal  towers — that  called 
Hippicus,  that  called  Phasaelus,  and  that 
called  Mariamne.  But  Manahem  and  his 
party  fell  upon  the  place  whence  the  sol- 
diers were  fled,  and  slew  as  many  of  them 
as  they  could  catch,  before  they  got  up  to 
the  towers,  and  plundered  what  they  left 
behind  them,  and  set  fire  to  their  camp 
This  was  executed  on  the  sixth  day  of  the 
month  Gorpieus  [Elul]. 

But  on  the  next  day  the  high  priest 
was  caught,  where  he  had  concealed  him- 
self in  an  aqueduct;  he  was  slain,  together 
with  Hezekiah,  his  brother,  by  the  rob- 
bers :  hereupon  the  seditious  besieged  the 
towers,  and  kept  them  guarded,  lest  any 
one  of  the  soldiers  should  escape.  Now 
the  overthrow  of  the  places  of  strength, 
and  the  death  of  the  high  priest  Ananias, 
so  puffed  up  Manahem,  that  he  became 
barbarously  cruel;  and,  as  he  thought  he 
had  no  antagonist  to  dispute  the  manage- 
ment of  affairs  with  him,  he  was  no  better 
than  an  iusupportable  tyrant :  but  Eleazar 
and  his  party,  when  words  had  passed  be- 
tween them,  how  it  was  not  proper,  when 
they  revolted  from  the  Romans  out  of 
the  desire  of  liberty,  to  betray  that  liberty 
to  any  of  their  own  people,  and  to  bear  a 
lord,  who,  though  he  should  be  guilty  of 
no  violence,  was  yet  meaner  than  them- 
selves; as  also,  that,  in  case  they  were 
obliged  to  set  some  one  over  their  public 
affairs,  it  was  fitter  they  should  give  that 
privilege  to  any  one  rather  than  to  him, 
they  made  an  assault  upon  him  in  the 
temple;  for  he  went  up  thither  to  wor- 
ship in  a  pompous  manner,  and  adorned 
with  royal  garments,  and  had  his  followers 
with  him  in  their  armour.  But  Eleazar 
and  his  party  fell  violently  upon  him,  as 
did  also  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  taking 
up  stones  to  attack  him  withal,  they 
threw  them  at  the  sophister,  and  thought 
that  if  he  were  once  ruined,  the  entire  se- 
dition would  fall  to  the  ground.  Now 
Manahem  and  his  party  made  resistance 
for  a  while;  but  when  they  perceived  that 
the  whole  multitude  were  falling  up^n 
them,  they  fled  which  way  every  one  was 
able  :  those  that  were  caught  were  slain, 
and  those  that  hid  themselves  were 
searched  for.  A  few  there  were  of  them 
who  privately  escaped  to  Massada,  among 


whom  was  Eleazar,  the  sou  of  Jarius,  who 
was  kin  to  Manahem,  and  acted  the  part 
of  a  tyrant  at  Massada  afterward.  As  for 
Manahem  himself,  he  ran  away  to  tin 
place  called  Ophla,  and  there  lay  skulking 
in  private;  but  they  took  him  alive,  and 
drew  him  out  before  them  all;  they  then 
tortured  him  with  many  sorts  of  tor- 
ments, and  after  all  slew  him,  as  they  did 
by  those  that  were  captains  under  him 
also,  and  particularly  by  the  principal  in- 
strument of  his  tyranny,  whose  name  was 
Apsalom. 

And,  as  I  said,  so  far  truly  the  people 
assisted  them,  while  they  hoped  this 
might  afford  some  amendment  to  the  se- 
ditious practices;  but  the  others  were  not 
in  haste  to  put  an  end  to  the  war,  but 
hoped  to  prosecute  it  with  less  danger, 
now  they  had  slain  Manahem.  It  is  true, 
that  when  the  people  earnestly  desired 
that  the}'  would  leave  off  besieging  the 
soldiers,  they  were  the  more  earnest  in 
pressing  it  forward,  and  this  till  Metilius, 
who  was  the  Roman  general,  sent  to  Elea- 
zar, and  desired  that  they  would  give 
them  security  to  spare  their  lives  only; 
but  agreed  to  deliver  up  their  arms,  and 
what  else  they  had  with  them.  The  others 
readily  complied  with  their  petition,  and 
sent  to  them  Grorion,  the  son  of  Nicode- 
mus,  and  Ananias,  the  son  of  Sadduk, 
and  Judas,  the  son  of  Jonathan,  that  they 
might  give  the  security  of  their  right  hands, 
and  of  their  oaths  :  after  which  Metilius 
brought  down  his  soldiers;  which  sol- 
diers, while  they  were  in  arms,  were  not 
meddled  with  by  any  of  the  seditious,  nor 
was  there  any  appearance  of  treachery  : 
but  as  soon  as,  according  to  the  articles  of 
capitulation,  they  had  all  laid  down  their 
shields  and  their  swords,  and  were  under 
no  further  suspicion  of  any  harm,  but 
were  going  away,  Eleazar's  men  attacked 
them  after  a  violent  manner,  and  encom- 
passed them  round,  and  slew  them,  while 
they  neither  defended  themselves  nor  en- 
treated for  merey,  but  only  cried  out  upon 
the  breach  of  their  articles  of  capitulation 
and  their  oaths.  And  thus  were  all  these 
men  barbarously  murdered,  excepting  Me- 
tilius; for  when  he  entreated  for  mercy, 
and  promised  that  he  would  turn  Jew, 
and  be  circumcised,  they  saved  him  alive, 
but  none  else.  This  loss  to  the  Romaus 
was  but  light,  there  being  no  more  than 
a  few  slain  out  of  an  immense  army ;  but 
still  it  appeared  to  be  a  prelude  to  the 
Jews'  own  destruction,  while  men  made 


Chap.  XVIIL] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


715 


public  lamentation  when  tney  saw  that 
such  occasions  were  afforded  tor  a  war  as 
were  incurable ;  that  the  city  was  all  over 
polluted  with  such  abominations,  from 
which  it  was  but  reasonable  to  expect 
some  vengeance,  even  though  they  should 
escape  revenge  from  the  Romans ;  so  that 
the  city  was  filled  with  sadness,  and  every 
one  of  the  moderate  men  in  it  were  under 
great  disturbance,  as  likely  themselves  to 
undergo  punishment  for  the  wickeduess 
of  the  seditions;  for  indeed  it  so  happened 
that  this  murder  was  perpetrated  on  the 
Sabbath-day,  on  which  day  the  Jews  have 
a  respite  from  their  works  on  account  of 
divine  worship. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 

Dreadful  slaughters  and  sufferings  of  the  Jews. 

Now  the  people  of  Cesarea  had  slain 
the  Jews  that  were  among  them  on  the 
very  same  da}7  and  hour  [when  the  soldiers 
were  slain],  which  one  would  think  must 
have  come  to  pass  by  the  direction  of 
Providence;  insomuch  that  in  one  hour's 
time  above  20,000  Jews  were  killed,  and 
all  Cesarea  was  emptied  of  its  Jewish  in- 
habitants; for  Florus  caught  such  as  ran 
away,  and  sent  them  in  bonds  to  the 
galleys.  Upon  which  stroke  that  the 
Jews  received  at  Cesarea,  the  whole  nation 
was  greatly  enraged ;  so  they  divided 
themselves  into  several  parties,  and  laid 
waste  the  villages  of  the  Syrians,  and 
their  neighbouring  cities,  Philadelphia, 
and  Sebonitis,  and  Gerasa,  and  Pella,  and 
Scythopolis,  and  after  them  Gadara,  and 
Hippos ;  and  falling  upon  Gaulonitis, 
some  cities  they  destroyed  there,  and 
some  they  set  on  fire,  and  then  they  went 
to  Kedasa,  belonging  to  the  Tyrians,  and 
to  Ptolemais,  and  to  Gaba,  and  to  Ce- 
sarea; nor  was  either  Sebaste  (Samaria) 
or  Askelon  able  to  oppose  the  violence 
with  which  they  were  attacked  ;  and  when 
they  had  burned  these  to  the  ground, 
they  entirely  demolished  Anthedon  and 
Gaza;  many  also  of  the  villages  that 
were  about  every  one  of  those  cities  were 
plundered,  and  an  immense  slaughter  was 
made  of  the  men  who  were  caught  in 
them. 

However,  the  Syrians  were  even  with 
the  Jews  in  the  multitude  of  the  men 
whom  thy  slew ;  for  they  killed  those 
whom  th>y  caught  in  their  cities,  and 
that  not  enly  out  of  the  hatred  they  bare 
tbem,  as    formerly,    but    to   prevent   the 


danger  under  which  they  were  from  them  ; 
so  that  the  disorders  in  all  Syria  were 
terrible,  and  every  city  was  divided  into 
two  armies  encamped  one  against  another, 
and  the  preservation  of  the  one  party  was 
in  the  destruction  of  the  other;  so  the 
daytime  was  spent  in  shedding  of  blood, 
and  the  night  in  fear — which  was  of  the 
two  the  more  terrible;  for  when  the 
Syrians  thought  they  had  ruined  the  Jews, 
they  had  the  Judaizers  in  suspicion  also; 
and  as  ench  side  did  not  care  to  slay  those 
whom  they  only  suspected  on  the  other, 
so  did  they  greatly  fear  them  when  they 
were  mingled  with  the  other,  as  if  they 
were  certainly  foreigners.  Moreover, 
greediness  of  gain  was  a  provocation  to 
kill  the  opposite  party,  eveu  to  such  as 
had  of  old  appeared  very  mild  and  gentle 
toward  them;  for  they  without  fear 
plundered  the  effects  of  the  slain,  and 
carried  off  the  spoils  of  those  whom  they 
slew  to  their  own  houses,  as  if  they  had 
been  gained  in  a  set  battle;  and  he  was 
esteemed  a  man  of  honour  who  got  the 
greatest  share,  as  having  prevailed  over 
the  greatest  number  of  his  enemies.  It 
was  then  common  to  see  cities  filled  with 
dead  bodies,  still  lying  unburied,  and 
those  of  old  men,  mixed  with  infants,  all 
dead,  and  scattered  about  together ;  women 
also  lay  among  them,  without  any  co- 
vering for  their  nakedness  :  you  might 
then  see  the  whole  province  full  of  inex- 
pressible calamities,  while  the  dread  of 
still  more  barbarous  practices  which  were 
threatened,  was  everywhere  greater  than 
what  had  been  already  perpetrated. 

And  thus  far  the  conflict  had  been 
between  Jews  and  foreigners;  but  when 
they  made  excursions  to  Scythopolis,  they 
found  Jews  that  acted  as  euemies ;  for  as 
they  stood  in  battle-array  with  those  of 
Scythopolis,  and  preferred  their  own  safe- 
ty before  their  relation  to  us,  they  fought 
against  their  own  countrymen;  nay,  their 
alacrity  was  so  very  great,  that  those  of 
Scythopolis  suspected  them.  These  were 
afraid,  therefore,  lest  they  should  make  an 
assault  upon  the  city  in  the  night-time, 
and  to  their  great  misfortune,  should 
thereby  make  an  ape  logy  for  themselves 
to  their  own  people  for  their  revolt  from 
them.  So  they  commanded  them,  that  in 
case  they  would  confirm  their  agreement, 
and  demonstrate  their  fidelity  to  them, 
who  were  of  a  different  nation,  they  should 
go  out  of  the  city,  with  their  families,  to 
a   neighbouring   grove  :    and  when    they 


716 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS 


[Book  II. 


had  done  as  they  were  commanded,  with- 
out suspecting  any  thing,  the  people  of 
Scythopolis  lay  still  for  the  interval  of 
two  davs,  to  tempt  them  to  be  secure  ; 
but  on  the  third  night  they  watched  their 
opportunity,  and  cut  all  their  throats, 
some  of  them  .as  they  lay  unguarded,  and 
some  as>  they  lay  asleep.  The  number 
that  was  slain  was  above  13,000;  and  then 
they  plundered  them  of  all  that  they 
had. 

It  will  deserve  our  relation  what  befell 
Simon:  he  was  the  son  of  one  Saul,  a 
man  of  reputation  among  the  Jews.  This 
man  was  distinguished  from  the  rest  by 
the  strength  of  his  body  and  the  bold- 
ness of  his  conduct,  although  he  abused 
them  both  to  the  mischief  of  his  country- 
men ;  for  he  came  every  day  and  slew  a 
great  many  of  the  Jews  of  Scythopolis, 
and  he  frequently  put  them  to  flight,  and 
became  himself  alone  the  cause  of  his 
armv's  conquering.  But  a  just  punish- 
ment overtook  him  for  the  murders  he 
had  committed  upon  those  of  the  same 
nation  with  him  ;  for  when  the  people  of 
Scythopolis  threw  their  darts  at  them  in 
the  grove,  he  drew  his  sword,  but  did  not 
attack  any  of  the  enemy  j  for  he  saw  that 
he  could  do  nothing  against  such  a  mul- 
titude; but  he  cried  out,  after  a  very 
moving  manner,  and  said — "  0  you  people 
of  Scythopolis,  I  deservedly  suffer  for 
what  1  have  done  with  relation  <  to  you, 
when  I  gave  you  such  security  of  my 
fidelity  to  you,  by  slaying  so  many  of 
those  that  were  related  to  me.  Wherefore 
we  very  justly  experience  the  perfidious- 
ness  of  foreigners,  while  we  acted  after  a 
most  wicked  manner  against  our  own 
nation.  I  will  therefore  die,  polluted 
wretch  as  I  am,  by  mine  own  hands  ;  for 
it  is  not  fit  I  should  die  by  the  hand  of 
our  enemies ;  and  let  the  same  action  be 
to  me  both  a  punishment  for  my  great 
crimes,  and  a  testimony  of  my  courage  to 
my  commendation,  that  so  no  one  of  our 
enemies  may  have  it  to  boast  of,  that  he 
it  was  that  slew  me;  and  no  one  may  in- 
sult upon  me  as  I  fall."  Now  when  he 
had  said  this,  he  looked  round  about  him 
upon  his  family  with  eyes  of  commise- 
ration and  of  rage;  (that  family  consisted 
of  a  wife  and  children,  and  his  aged 
parents;)  so,  in  the  first  place,  he  caught 
his  father  by  his  gray  hairs,  and  ran  his 
sword  thrc  ugh  him;  and  after  him  he 
did  the  same  to  his  mother,  who  willingly 
received  it ;    and  after  them   he  did  the 


like  to  his  wife  and  children,  every  one 
almost  offering  themselves  to  his  sword, 
as  desirous  to  prevent  being  slain  by  their 
enemies;  so  when  he  had  gone  over  all  hia 
family,  he  stood  upon  their  bodies  to  be 
seen  by  all,  and  stretching  out  his  right 
hand,  that  his  action  might  be  observed 
by  all,  he  sheathed  his  entire  sword  into 
his  own  bowels.  This  young  man  was  to 
be  pitied,  on  account  of  the  strength  of 
his  body  and  the  courage  of  his  soul;  but 
since  he  had  assured  foreigners  of  his 
fidelity  [against  his  own  countrymen],  ho 
suffered  deservedl}\ 

Besides  this  murder  at  Scythopolis,  the. 
other  cities  rose  up  against  the  Jews  that 
were  among  them  :  those  of  Askelnn 
slew  2500,  and  those  of  Ptolemais,  2000, 
and  put  now  a  few  into  bonds;  those  of 
Tyre  also  put  a  great  number  to  death, 
but  kept  a  greater  number  in  prison ; 
moreover,  those  of  Hippos  and  those  of  Ga- 
dara  did  the  like,  while  they  put  to  death 
the  boldest  of  the  Jews,  but  kept  those  of 
whom  they  were  most  afraid  in  custody ; 
as  did  the  rest  of  the  cities  of  Syria,  ac- 
cording as  they  every  one  either  hated 
them  or  were  afraid  of  them;  only  the 
Antiochians,  the  Sidonians,  and  Apamiaus, 
spared  those  that  dwelt  with  thern,  and 
they  would  not  endure  either  to  kill  any 
of  the  Jews  or  to  put  them  in  bonds. 
And  perhaps  they  spared  them,  because 
their  own  number  was  so  great  that  they 
despised  their  attempts.  But  I  think 
that  the  greatest  part  of  this  favour  was 
owing  to  their  commiseration  of  those 
whom  they  saw  to  make  no  innovations. 
As  for  the  Gerasens,  they  did  no  harm  to 
those  that  abode  with  them ;  and  for 
those  who  had  a  mind  to  go  away,  they 
conducted  them  as  far  as  their  borders 
reached. 

There  was  also  a  plot  laid  against  the 
Jews  in  Agrippa's  kingdom  ;  for  he  was 
himself  gone  to  Ccstius  Gallus,  to  An- 
tioch,  but  had  left  one  of  his  companions, 
whose  name  was  NQarus,  to  take  care  of  the 
public  affairs  ;  which  Noarus  was  of  kiu 
to  King  Soheraus.  Now  there  came  cer- 
tain men,  seventy  in  number,  out  of 
Batanea,  who  were  the  most  considerable 
for  their  families  and  prudence  of  the 
rest  of  the  people ;  these  desired  to  have 
an  army  put  into  their  hands,  that  if  any 
tumult  should  happen,  they  might  have 
about  them  a  guard  sufficient  to  restrain 
such  as  might  rise  up  against  them.  This 
Noarus  sent  out  some  of  the  king's  armed 


JHAP.  XVIII.  J 


WARS  OF    THE    JEWS. 


717 


men  by  night,  ana  slew  all  those  [seventy] 
men;  which  bold  action  he  ventured  upon 
without  the  consent  of  Agrippa,  and  was 
such  a  lover  of  money,  that  he  chose  to 
be  so  wicked,  to  his  own  countrymen, 
although  he  brought  ruin  on  the  kingdom 
thereby ;  and  thus  cruelly  did  he  treat 
that  nation,  and  this  contrary  to  the  laws 
also,  until  Agrippa  was  informed  of  it, 
who  did  not  iudeed  dare  to  put  him  to 
death,  out  of  regard  to  Sohemus  ;  but 
still  he  put  an  end  to  his  procurators!) ip 
immediately.  But  as  to  the  seditious, 
they  took  the  citadel  which  was  called 
Cypros,  and  was  above  Jericho,  and  cut 
the  throats  of  the  garrison,  and  utterly 
demolished  the  fortifications.  This  was 
about  the  same  time  that  the  multitude 
of  the  Jews  that  were  at  Macherus  per- 
suaded the  Romans  who  were  in  garrison 
to  leave  the  place,  and  deliver  it  up  to 
them.  These  Romans  being  in  great 
fear  lest  the  place  should  be  taken  by 
force,  made  an  agreement  with  them  to 
depart  upon  certain  conditions  ;  and  when 
they  had  obtained  the  security  they  de- 
sired, they  delivered  up  the  citadel,  into 
which  the  people  of  Macherus  put  a  gar- 
rison for  their  own  security,  and  held  it 
in  their  own  power. 

But  for  Alexandria,  the  sedition  of  the 
people  of  the  place  against  the  Jews  was 
perpetual,  and  this  from  that  very  time 
when  Alexander  [the  Great],  upon  finding 
the  readiness  of  the  Jews  in  assisting  him 
against  the  Egyptians,  and  as  a  reward 
for  such  their  assistance,  gave  them  equal 
privileges  in  this  city  with  the  Grecians 
themselves  ; — which  honorary  reward  con- 
tinued among  them  under  his  successors, 
who  also  set  apart  for  them  a  particular 
place,  that  they  might  live  without  being 
polluted  [by  the  Gentiles],  and  were 
thereby  not  so  much  intermixed  with 
foreigners  as  before  :  they  also  gave  them 
this  further  privilege,  that  they  should  be 
called  Macedonians.  Nay,  when  the  Ro- 
mans got  possession  of  Egypt,  neither  the 
first  Caesar,  nor  any  one  that  came  after 
him,  thought  of  diminishing  the  honours 
which  Alexander  had  bestowed  on  the 
Jews.  But  still  conflicts  perpetually  arose 
with  the  Grecians;  and  although  the  go- 
vernors did  every  day  punish  many  of 
them,  yet  did  the  sedition  grow  worse  j 
but  at  this  time  especially,  when  there 
were  tumults  in  other  places  also,  the  dis- 
orders among  them  were  put  into  a  greater 
flame ;    for  when    the  Alexandrians   had 


once  a  public  assembly,  to  deliberate 
about  an  embassage  they  were  sending  to 
Nero,  a  great  number  of  Jews  came  flocking 
to  the  theatre;  but  when  their  adversaries 
saw  them,  they  immediately  cried  out,  and 
called  them  their  enemies,  and  said  they 
came  as  spies  upon  them ;  upon  which 
they  rushed  out  and  laid  violent  hands 
upon  them;  and  as  for  the  rest,  they 
were  slain  as  they  ran  away;  but  there 
were  three  men  whom  they  caught,  and 
hauled  them  along,  in  order  to  have  them 
burnt  alive ;  but  all  the  Jews  came  in  a 
body  to  defend  them,  who  at  first  threw 
stones  at  the  Grecians ;  but  after  that 
they  took  lamps,  and  rushed  with  violence  ' 
into  the  theatre,  and  threatened  that  they 
would  burn  the  people  to  a  man  ;  and  this 
they  had  soon  done,  unless  Tiberius 
Alexander,  the  governor  of  the  city,  had 
restrained  their  passions.  However,  this 
man  did  not  begin  to  teach  them  wisdom 
by  arms,  but  sent  among  them  privately 
some  of  the  principal  men,  and  thereby 
entreated  them  to  be  quiet,  and  not  pro- 
voke the  Roman  army  against  them  ;  but 
the  seditious  made  a  jest  of  the  entreaties 
of  Tiberius,  and  reproached  him  for  so 
doing. 

Now,  when  he  perceived  that  those 
who  were  for  innovations  would  not  be 
pacified  till  some  great  calamity  should 
overtake  them,  he  sent  out  upon  them 
those  two  Roman  legions  that  were  in  the 
city,  and,  together  with  them,  5000 
other  soldiers,  who,  by  chance,  were  come 
together  out  of  Lybia,  to  the  ruin  of  the 
Jews.  They  were  also  permitted  not  only 
to  kill  them,  but  to  plunder  them  of  what 
they  had,  and  set  fire  to  their  houses. 
These  soldiers  rushed  violently  into  that 
part  of  the  city  which  was  called  Delta, 
where  the  Jewish  people  lived  together, 
and  did  as  they  were  bidden,  though  not 
without  bloodshed  on  their  own  side  also; 
for  the  Jews  got  together,  and  set  those 
that  were  the  best  armed  among  them  in 
the  forefront,  and  made  resistance  for  a 
great  while ;  but  when  once  they  gave 
back  they  were  destroyed  unmercifully ; 
and  this  their  destruction  was  complete, 
some  being  caught  in  the  open  field,  and 
others  forced  into  their  houses,  which 
houses  were  first  plundered  of  what  was 
in  them,  and  then  set  on  fire  by  the  Ro- 
mans ;  wherein  no  mercy  was  shown  to 
the  infants,  and  no  regard  had  to  the 
aged  ;  but  they  went  on  to  the  slaughter 
of  persons  of  every  age,  till  all  the  place 


718 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  [I 


was  ovei flowed  with  blood,  and  50,000 
of  them  lay  dead  upon  heaps;  nor  had 
the  remainder  been  preserved,  had  they 
not  betaken  themselves  to  supplication. 
So  Alexander  commiserated  their  condi- 
tion, and  gave  orders  to  the  Romans  to 
retire  :  accordingly  these,  being  accus- 
tomed to  obey  orders,  left  off  killing  at 
the  first  intimation  ;  but  the  populace  of 
Alexandria  bore  so  very  great  hatred  to 
the  Jews,  that  it  was  difficult  to  recall 
them  ;  and  it  was  a  hard  thing  to  make 
them  leave  their  dead  bodies. 

And  this  was  the  miserable  calamity 
which  at  this  time  befell  the  Jews  at 
Alexandria.  Hereupon  Cestius  thought 
fit  no  longer  to  lie  still,  while  the  Jews 
were  everywhere  up  in  arms ;  so  he  took 
out  of  Antioch  the  twelfth  legion  entire, 
and  out  of  each  of  the  rest  he  selected 
2000,  with  six  cohorts  of  footmen,  and 
four  troops  of  horsemen,  besides  those 
auxiliaries  which  were  sent  by  the  kings, 
of  which  Antiochus  sent  '2000  horsemen, 
and  3000  footmen,  with  as  many  archers  ; 
and  Agrippa  sent  the  same  number  of 
footmen,  and  1000  horsemen ;  Sohemus 
also  followed  with  4000,  a  third  part 
whereof  were  horsemen,  but  most  part 
were  archers,  and  thus  did  he  march  to 
Ptolemais.  There  were  also  great  num- 
bers of  auxiliaries  gathered  together  from 
the  [free]  citie3,  who,  indeed,  had  not  the 
same  skill  in  martial  affairs,  but  made  up 
in  their  alacrity  and  in  their  hatred  to  the 
Jews  what  they  wanted  iu  skill.  There 
came  also  along  with  Cestius  Agrippa 
himself,  both  as  a  guide  in  his  march 
over  the  country  and  a  director  of  what 
was  fit  to  be  done ;  so  Cestius  took  part 
of  his  forces  and  marched  hastily  to  Za- 
bulon,  a  strong  city  of  Galilee,  which  was 
called  the  City  of  Men,  and  divides  the 
country  of  Ptolemais  from  our  nation  ; 
this  he  found  deserted  by  its  men,  the 
multitude  having  fled  to  the  mountains, 
but  full  of  all  sorts  of  good  things  ;  those 
he  gave  leave  to  the  soldiers  to  plunder, 
and  set  fire  to  the  city,  although  it  was 
of  admirable  beauty,  and  had  its  houses 
built  like  those  in  Tyre,  and  Sidon,  and 
Berytus.  After  this  he  overran  all  the 
country,  and  seized  upon  whatsoever  came 
in  his  way,  and  set  fire  to  the  villages  that 
were  round  about  them,  and  then  returned 
to  Ptolemais.  But  when  the  Syrians, 
and  especially  those  of  Berytus,  were  busy 
in  plundering,  the  Jews  plucked  up  their 
courage  again,  for  they  knew  that  Cestius 


was  retired,  and  fell  upon  those  that  were 
left  behind  unexpectedly,  and  destroyed 
about  2000  of  them. 

And  now  Cestius  himself  marched  from 
Ptolemais.  and  came  to  Cesarea;  but  he 
sent  part  of  his  army  before  him  to  Jop- 
pa,  and  gave  orders  that  if  they  could 
take  that  city  [by  surprise]  they  should 
keep  it;  but  that  in  case  the  citizens 
should  perceive  they  were  coming  to  at- 
tack them,  they  then  should  stay  for  him, 
and  for  the  rest  of  the  army.  So  some 
of  them  made  a  brisk  march  by  the  sea- 
side, and  some  by  land,  and  so  coming 
upon  them  on  both  sides,  they  took  the 
city  with  ease;  and,  as  the  inhabitants 
had  made  no  provision  beforehand  for  a 
flight,  nor  had  gotten  any  thing  ready  for 
fighting,  the  soldiers  fell  upon  them,  and 
slew  them  all,  with  their  families,  and 
then  plundered  and  burnt  the  city.  The 
i] umber  of  the  slain  was  8400.  In  like 
manner,  Cestius  sent  also  a  considerable 
body  of  horsemen  to  the  toparchy  of  Nar- 
batene,  that  adjoined  to  Cesarea,  who  de- 
stroyed the  country,  and  slew  a  great 
multitude  of  its  people  ;  they  also  plun- 
dered what  they  had,  aud  burnt  their  vil- 
lages. 

But  Cestius  sent  Gallus,  the  commander 
of  the  twelfth  legion,  into  Galilee,  and 
delivered  to  him  as  many  of  his  forces  as 
he  supposed  sufficient  to  subdue  that  na- 
tion. He  was  received  by  the  strongest 
city  of  Galilee,  which  was  Sepphoris,  with 
acclamations  of  joy;  which  wise  conduct 
of  that  city  occasioned  the  rest  of  the 
cities  to  be  in  quiet ;  while  the  seditious 
part  and  the  robbers  ran  away  to  that 
mountain  which  lies  in  the  very  middle 
of  Galilee,  and  is  situated  over  against 
Sepphoris;  it  is  called  Asarnon.  So  Gal- 
lus brought  his  forces  against  them; -but 
while  those  men  were  in  the  superior  parts 
above  the  Romans,  they  easily  threw  their 
darts  upon  the  Romans,  as  they  made 
their  approaches,  and  slew  about  200  of 
them  ;  but  when  the  Romans  had  gone 
round  the  mountains,  and  were  gotten  into 
the  parts  above  their  enemies,  the  others' 
were  soon  beaten;  nor  could  they  who 
had  only  light  armour  on  sustain  the  force 
of  them  that  fought  them  armed  all  over; 
nor  when  they  were  beaten  could  they 
escape  the  enemy's  horsemen;  insomuch 
that  only  some  few  concealed  themselves 
in  certain  places  hard  to  be  come  at, 
among  the  mountains,  while  the  rest, 
above  2000  in  number,  were  sbiia. 


Chap.  XIX  J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


719 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Cettius  besioges  Jerusalem — retreats  from  the  city 
— The  Jews  pursue  him,  and  defeat  him  with 
great  slaughter. 

And  now  Gallus,  seeing  nothing  more 
that  looked  toward  an  innovation  in  Gali- 
lee, returned  with  his  army  to  Cesarea ; 
but  Cestius  removed  with  his  whole  army 
and  marched  to  Antipatris  ;  and  when  he 
was  informed  that  there  was  a  great  body 
of  Jewish  fo^es  gotten  together  in  a  cer- 
tain tower  called  Aphek,  he  sent  a  party 
before  to  light  them  ;  but  this  party  dis- 
persed the  Jews  by  affrighting  them  before 
it  came  to  a  battle  :  so  they  came,  and, 
finding  their  camp  deserted,  they  burnt 
it,  as  well  as  the  villages  that  lay  about 
it.  But  when  Cestius  had  marched  from 
Antipatris  to  Lydda,  he  found  the  city 
empty  of  its  men,  for  the  whole  multi- 
tude* were  gone  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles ;  yet  did  he  destroy 
fifty  of  those  that  showed  themselves,  and 
burnt  the  city,  and  so  marched  forward ; 
and  ascending  by  Bethoron,  he  pitched 
his  camp  at  a  certain  place  called  Gabao, 
fifty  furlongs  distant  from  Jerusalem. 

But  as  to  the  Jews,  when  they  saw  the 
war  approaching  to  their  metropolis,  they 
left  the  feast,  and  betook  themselves  to 
their  arms;  and  taking  courage  greatly 
from  their  multitude,  went  in  a  sudden 
and  disorderly  manner  to  the  fight,  with 
a  great  noise,  and  without  any  considera- 
tion had  of  the  rest  of  the  seventh  day, 
although  the  Sabbath  was  the  day  to 
which  they  had  the  greatest  regard,  but 
that  rage  which  made  them  forget  the  re- 
ligious observation  [of  the  Sabbath]  made 
them  too  hard  for  their  enemies  in  the 
fight :  with  si*ch  violence,  therefore,  did 
they  fall  upon  the  Romans,  as  to  break 
into  their  ranks,  and  to  march  through 
the  midst  of  them,  making  a  great  slaugh- 
ter as  they  went,  insomuch  that  unless 
the  horsemen,  and  such  part  of  the  foot- 
men as  were  not  yet  tired  in  the  action, 
had  wheeled  round,  and  succoured  that 
part  of  the  army  which  was  not  yet 
broken,  Cestius,  with  his  whole  army, 
hud  been  in  danger;  however,  515  of  the 
Romans  were  slain,  of  which  number  400 
were  footmen,  and  the  rest  horsemen, 
while  the  Jews  lost  only  twenty-two,  of 
whom   the  most  valliant  were    the    kins 


*  An  Hebraism.  "All,"  or  "the  whole  multi- 
tude," meaning  tno  greater  part  of  the  male  popu- 
lation. 


men  of  Monobazus,  king  of  Adiabene, 
and  their  names  were  Monobazus  and 
Kenedeus  ;  and  next  to  them  were  Niger 
of  Perea,  and  Silas  of  Babylon,  who  had 
deserted  from  KingAgrippa  to  the  Jews; 
for  he  had  formerly  served  in  his  army 
When  the  front  of  the  Jewish  army  had 
been  cut  off,  the  Jews  retired  into  the 
city ;  but  still  Simon,  the  son  of  Giora, 
fell  upon  the  backs  of  the  Romans  as  they 
were  ascending  up  Bethoron,  and  put  the 
hindmost  of  the  army  into  disorder,  and 
carried  off  many  of  the  beasts  that  car- 
ried the  weapons  of  war,  and  led  them 
into  the  city;  but,  as  Cestius  tarried  there 
three  days,  the  Jews  seized  upon  the  ele- 
vated parts  of  the  city,  and  set  watches 
at  the  entrances  into  the  city,  and  ap- 
peared openly  resolved  not  to  rest  when 
once  the  Romans  should  begin  to  march. 

And  now  when  Agrippa  observed  that 
eveu  the  affairs  of  the  Romans  were  likely 
to  be  in  danger,  while  such  an  immense 
multitude  of  their  enemies  had  seized 
upon  the  mountains  round  about,  he  de- 
termined to  try  what  the  Jews  would 
agree  to  by  words,  as  thinking  that  he 
should  either  persuade  them  all  to  desist 
from  fighting,  or,  however,  that  he  should 
cause  the  sober  part  of  them  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  opposite  party.  So 
he  sent  Borceus  and  Phebus,  the  persons 
of  his  party  that  were  the  best  known  to 
them,  and  promised  them  that  Cestius 
should  give  them  his  right  haud,  to  secure 
them  of  the  Romans'  entire  forgiveness 
of  what  they  had  done  amiss,  if  they 
would  throw  away  their  arms  and  come 
over  to  them;  but  the  seditious,  fearing 
lest  the  whole  multitude,  in  hopes  of  se- 
curity to  themselves,  should  go  over  to 
Agrippa,  resolved  immediately  to  fall  upon 
and  kill  the  ambassadors :  accordingly, 
they  slew  Phebus  before  he  said  a  word ; 
but  Borceus  was  only  wounded,  and  so 
prevented  his  fate  by  flying  away.  Aud 
wheu  the  people  were  very  angry  at  this, 
they  had  the  seditious  beaten  with  stones 
and  clubs,  and  drove  them  before  thciu 
into  the  city. 

But  now  Cestius,  observing  that  the 
disturbances  that  were  begun  among  the 
Jews  afforded  him  a  proper  opportunity 
to  attaek  them,  took  his  whole  army  along 
with  him,  and  put  the  Jews  to  flight,  aud 
pursued  them  to  Jerusalem.  He  then 
pitched  his  camp  upon  the  elevation  called 
Scopus  [or  watch-tower],  which  was  dis- 
tant   seven   furlongs  from   the   city ;  yet 


720 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  tl 


did  he  not  assault  them  in  three  days' 
time,  out  of  expectation  that  those  within 
might  perhaps  yield  a  little  ;  and  in  the 
mean  time  he  sent  out  a  great  mauy  of  his 
soldiers  into  the  neighbouring  villages,  to 
seize  upon  their  corn  ;  and  on  the  fourth 
day,  which  was  the  thirtieth  of  the  mouth 
Hyperbereteus  [Tisri],  when  he  put  his 
army  in  array,  he  brought  it  into  the 
city.  Now,  for  the  people,  they  were 
kept  under  by  the  seditious ;  but  the  se- 
ditious themselves  were  greatly  affrighted 
at  the  good  order  of  the  Romans,  and 
retired  from  the  suburbs,  and  retreated 
into  the  inner  part  of  the  city,  and  into 
the  temple.  But  when  Cestius  was  come 
into  the  city,  he  set  the  part  called  Beze- 
tha,  which  is  also  called  Cenopolis  [or  the 
new  city],  on  fire ;  as  he  did  also  to  the 
timber-market:  after  which  he  came  into 
the  upper  city,  and  pitched  his  camp  over 
against  the  royal  palace  ;  and  had  he  but 
at  this  very  time  attempted  to  get  within 
the  walls  by  force,  he  had  won  the  city 
presently,  and  the  war  had  beeu  put  an 
end  to  at  once;  but  Tyrannus  Priscus,  the 
muster-master  of  the  army,  and  a  great 
number  of  the  officers  of  the  horse,  had 
been  corrupted  by  Florus,  and  diverted 
him  from  that  his  attempt;  and  that  was 
the  occasion  that  this  war  lasted  so  very 
long,  and  thereby  the  Jews  were  involved 
in  such  incurable  calamities. 

In  the  mean  time,  many  of  the  princi- 
pal men  of  the  city  were  persuaded  by 
Ananus,  the  son  of  Jonathan,  aud  invited 
Cestius  into  the  city,  and  were  about  to 
open  the  gates  for  him  ;  but  he  overlooked 
this  offer,  partly  out  of  his  anger  at  the 
Jtws,  and  partly  because  he  did  not  tho- 
roughly believe  they  were  in  earnest; 
whence  it  was  that  he  delayed  the  matter 
so  long,  that  the  seditious  perceived  the 
treachery,  and  threw  Ananus  and  those 
of  his  party  down  from  the  wall,  and, 
pelting  them  with  stones,  drove  them  into 
their  houses;  but  they  stood  themselves 
at  proper  distances  in  the  towers,  aud 
threw  their  darts  at  those  that  were  get- 
ting over  the  wall.  Thus  did  the  Bo- 
mans  make  their  attack  against  the  wall 
for  five  days,  but  to  no  purpose.  But, 
ou  the  next  day,  Cestius  took  a  great 
many  of  his  choicest  men,  and  with  them 
the  archers,  and  attempted  to  break  into 
the  temple  at  the  northern  quarter  of  it; 
but  the  Jews  beat  them  off  from  the 
cloisters,  and  repulsed  them  several  times 
when    they  were  gotten   near  to  the  wall, 


till  at  length  the  multitude  of  darts  cut 
them  off,  and  made  them  retire  :  but  the 
first  rank  of  the  Romans  rested  their 
shields  upon  the  wall,  and  so  did  those 
that  were  behind  them,  and  the  like  did 
those  that  were  still  more  backward,  and 
guarded  themselves  with  what  they  call 
testudo,  [the  back  of]  a  tortoise,  upon 
which  the  darts  that  were  thown  fell,  and 
slided  off  without  doing  them  any  harm  ; 
so  the  soldiers  undermined  the  wall,  with- 
out being  themselves  hurt,  and  got  all 
things  ready  for  setting  fire  to  the  gate  of 
the  temple. 

And  now  it  was  that  a  horrible  fear 
seized  upon  the  seditious,  insomuch  that 
many  of  them  ran  out  of  the  city,  as 
though  it  were  to  be  taken  immediately; 
but  the  people  upon  this  took  courage, 
and  where  the  wicked  part  of  the  city 
gave  ground,  thither  did  they  come,  in 
order  to  set  upon  the  gates,  and  to  admit 
Cestius  as  their  benefactor,  who,  had  he 
but  continued  the  siege  a  little  longer, 
had  certainly  taken  the  city  ;  but  it  was,  I 
suppose,  owing  to  the  aversion  God  had 
already  at  the  city  aud  the  sanctuary,  that 
he  was  hindered  from  putting  an  end  to 
the  war  that  very  day. 

It  then  happened  that  Cestius  was  not 
conscious  either  how  the  besieged  despaired 
of  success,  nor  how  courageous  the  people 
were  for  him;  and  so  he  recalled  his  sol- 
diers from  the  place,  and,  by  despairing 
of  any  expectation  of  taking  it,  without 
having  received  any  disgrace,  he  retired 
from  the  city,  without  any  reason  in  the 
world.  That  when  the  robbers  perceived 
this  unexpected  retreat  of  his,  they  re- 
sumed their  courage,  and  ran  after  the 
hinder  parts  of  his  army,  and  destroyed  a 
considerable  number  of  both  their  horse- 
men and  footmen ;  and  now  Cestius  lay 
all  night  at  the  camp,  which  was  at  Sco- 
pus ;  and  as  be  went  off  farther  next  day. 
he  thereby  invited  the  enemy  to  follow 
him,  who  still  fell  upon  the  hindmost,  and 
destroyed  them  ;  they  also  fell  upon  the 
flank  on  each  side  of  the  army,  and  threw 
darts  upon  them  obliquely,  nor  durst 
those  that  were  hindmost  turn  back  upon 
those  who  wounded  them  behind,  as 
imagining  that  the  multitude  of  those 
that  pursued  them  was  immense ;  noi 
did  they  venture  to  drive  away  those  that 
pressed  upon  them  on  each  side,  because 
they  were  heavy  with  their  arms,  and 
were  afraid  of  breaking  their  ranks  to 
pieces,   and    because  they  saw  the  Jews 


Cw.  XIX.  i 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS. 


721 


we*e  light  and  ready  for  making  incur- 
sions upon  them.  And  this  was  the  rea- 
son why  the  Romans  suffered  greatly, 
without  being  able  to  revenge  themselves 
upon  their  enemies ;  so  they  were  galled 
all  the  way,  and  their  ranks  were  put  into 
disorder,  and  those  that  were  thus  put  out  of 
then  lanks  were  slain;  among  whom  were 
Priscus,  the  commander  of  the  sixth  le- 
gion, atid  Longinus,  the  tribune,  and  Emi- 
lius  Secundus,  the  commander  of  a  troop 
of  horsemen.  So  it  was  not  without  dif- 
ficulty thai  they  got  to  Gabao,  their  former 
camp,  and  that  not  without  the  loss  of  a 
great  part  01  their  baggage.  There  it  was 
that  Cestius  stayed  two  days;  and  was  in 
great  distress  to  know  what  he  should  do  in 
these  circumstances;  but  when,  on  the 
third  day,  he  saw  a  still  greater  number 
of  enemies,  and  all  the  parts  round  about 
him  full  of  Jews,  he  understood  that  his 
delay  was  to  his  own  detriment,  and  if  he 
stayed  any  longer  there,  he  should  have 
still  more  enemies  upon  him. 

That  therefore  he  might  fly  the  faster, 
ne  gave  orders  to  cast  away  what  might 
hinder  his  army's  march;  so  they  killed 
the  mules  and  other  creatures,  excepting 
those  that  carried  their  darts  and  ma- 
chines, which  they  retained  for  their  own 
use,  and  this  principally  because  they 
were  afraid  lest  the  Jews  should  seize  upon 
them.  He  then  made  his  army  march  on 
as  far  as  Bethoron.  Now  the  Jews  did 
not  so  much  press  upon  them  when  they 
were  in  large,  open  places;  but  when  they 
were  penned  up  in  their  descent  through 
narrow  passages,  then  did  some  of  them 
get  before,  and  hindered  them  from  get- 
ting out  of  them ;  and  others  of  them 
thrust  the  hindermost  down  into  the 
lower  places ;  and  the  whole  multitude 
extended  themselves  over  against  the  neck 
of  the  passage,  and  covered  the  Roman 
army  with  their  darts.  In  which  circum- 
stances, as  the  footmen  knew  not  how  to 
defend  themselves,  so  the  danger  pressed 
the  horsemen  still  more,  for  they  were  so 
pelted,  that  they  could  not  march  along 
the  road  in  their  ranks,  and  the  ascents 
were  so  high  that  the  cavalry  were  not 
able  to  march  against  the  enemy ;  the 
precipices,  also,  and  valleys,  into  which 
they  frequently  fell,  and  tumbled  down, 
were  such  on  each  side  of  them,  that 
there  was  neither  place  for  their  flight, 
nor  any  contrivance  could  be  thought  of 

46 


for  their  defence,  till  the  distress  they 
were  at  last  in  was  so  great,  that  they  be- 
took themselves  to  lamentations,  and  to 
such  mournful  cries  as  men  use  in  the 
utmost  despair :  the  joyful  acclamations 
of  the  Jews  also,  as  they  encouraged  one 
another,  echoed  the  sounds  back  again, 
these  last  composing  a  noise  of  those  that 
at  once  rejoiced  and  were  in  a  rage.  In- 
deed these  things  were  come  to  such  a 
pass,  that  the  Jews  had  almost  taken 
Cestius's  entire  army  prisoners,  had  not 
the  night  come  on,  when  the  Romans  fled 
to  Bethoron,  and  the  Jews  seized  upon 
all  the  places  round  about  them,  and 
watched  for  their  coming  out  [in  the 
morning]. 

And  then  it  was  that  Cestius,  despair- 
ing of  obtaining  room  for  a  public  march, 
contrived  how  he  might  best  run  away ; 
and  when  he  had  selected  400  of  the  most 
courageous  of  his  soldiers,  he  placed  them 
at  the  strongest  of  their  fortifications,  and 
gave  order,  that  when  they  went  up  to  the 
morning  guard,  they  should  erect  their 
ensigns,  that  the  Jews  might  be  made  to 
believe  that  the  entire  army  was  there 
still,  while  he  himself  took  the  rest  of 
his  forces  with  him,  and  marched,  with- 
out any  noise,  thirty  furlongs.  But  when 
the  Jews  perceived,  in  the  morning,  that 
the  camp  was  empty,  they  ran  upon  those 
400  who  had  deluded  them,  and  immedi- 
ately threw  their  darts  at  them,  and  slew 
them  ;  and  then  pursued  after  Cestius. 
But  he  had  already  made  use  of  a  great 
part  of  the  night  in  his  flight,  and  still 
marched  quicker  when  it  was  day ;  inso- 
much, that  the  soldiers,  through  the  as- 
tonishment and  fear  they  were  in,  left  be- 
hind them  their  engines  for  sieges,  and  for 
throwing  of  stones,  and  a  great  part  of 
the  instruments  of  war.  So  the  Jews 
went  on  pursuing  the  Romans  as  far  as 
Antipatris  ;  after  which,  seeing  they  could 
not  overtake  them,  they  came  back  and 
took  the  engines,  and  spoiled  the  dead  bo- 
dies ;  and  gathered  the  prey  together 
which  the  Romans  had  left  behind  them, 
and  came  back  running  and  singing  to 
their  metropolis;  while  they  had  them- 
selves lost  a  few  only,  but  had  slain  of 
the  Romans  5300  footmen,  and  380 
horsemen.  This  defeat  happened  on  the 
eighth  day  of  the  month  Dius  [Marhes- 
van],  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Nero. 


722 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS 


[Book  II 


CHxVPTER  XX. 


Cestius  sends  ambassadors  to  Nero — the  Damas- 
cenes destroy  the  Jews  in  their  cities — Jerusalem 
put  in  a  state  of  defence  —  Josephus  made  a 
general  of  the  Jewish  forces. 

After  this  calamity  had  befallen  Ces- 
tius, many  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Jews 
swam  away  from  the  city,  as  from  a  ship 
when  it  was  going  to  sink  :  Costobarus, 
therefore,  and  Saul,  who  were  brethren, 
together  with  Philip,  the  son  of  Jacimus, 
who  was  the  commander  of  King  Agrippa's 
forces,  ran  away  from  the  city  and  went  to 
Cestius.  But  then  how  Antipas,  who 
had  been  besieged  with  them  in  the  king's 
palace,  but  would  not  fly  away  with  them, 
was  afterward  slain  by  the  seditious,  we 
shall  relate  hereafter.  However,  Cestius 
sent  Saul  and  his  friends,  at  their  own 
desire,  to  Achia,  to  Nero,  to  inform  him 
of  the  great  distress  they  were  in  ;  and  to 
lay  the  blame  of  their  kindling  the  war 
upon  Florus,  as  hoping  to  alleviate  his 
own  danger,  by  provoking  his  indignation 
against  Florus. 

In  the  mean  time  the  people  of  Damas- 
cus, when  they  were  informed  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  Romans,  set  about  the 
slaughter  of  those  Jews  that  were  among 
them  ;  and  as  they  had  them  already 
cooped  up  together  in  the  place  of  public 
exercises,  which  they  had  done,  out  of 
the  suspicion  they  had  of  them,  they 
thought  they  should  meet  with  luo  diffi- 
culty in  the  attempt ;  yet  did  they  dis- 
trust their  own  wives,  who  were  almost 
all  of  them  addicted  to  the  Jewish  reli- 
gion ;  on  which  account  it  was  that  their 
greatest  concern  was  how  they  might  con- 
ceal these  things  from  them  ;  so  they  came 
upon  the  Jews,  and  cut  their  throats,  as 
being  in  a  narrow  place,  in  number  10,000, 
and  all  of  them  unarmed,  and  this  in  one 
hour's  time,  without  anybody  to  disturb 
them. 

But  as  to  those  who  had  pursued  after 
Cestius,  when  they  were  returned  back 
to  Jerusalem,  they  overbore  some  of  those 
that  favoured  the  Romans  by  violence, 
and  some  they  persuaded  [by  entreaties] 
to  join  with  them,  and  got  together  in 
great  numbers  in  the  temple,  and  appoint- 
ed a  great  many  generals  for  the  war. 
Joseph  also,  the  son  of  Gorion,  and 
Ananus,  the  high  priest,  were  chosen  as 
governors  of  all  affairs  within  the  city, 
and  with  a  particular  charge  to  repair 
the  walls  of  the  city ;  for  they  did  not  or- 
dain   Eleazar,  the   sou  of  Simon,  to  that 


office,  although  he  had  gotten  into  his  pos- 
session the  prey  they  had  taken  from  the 
Romans,  and  the  money  they  had  taken 
from  Cestius,  together  with  a  great  part 
of  the  public  treasures,  because  they  saw 
he  was  of  a  tyrannical  temper  ;  and  that 
his  followers  were,  in  their  behaviour, 
like  guards  about  him.  However,  the 
want  they  were  in  of  Eleazar's  money, 
and  the  subtle  tricks  used  by  him,  brought 
all  so  about,  that  the  people  were  circum 
vented,  and  submitted  themselves  to  his 
authority  in  all  public  affairs. 

They  also  chose  other  generals  for  Idu- 
mea;  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sapphias,  one  of 
the  high  priests ;  and  Eleazar,  the  sou  of 
Ananias,  the  high  priest ;  they  also  en- 
joined Niger,  the  then  governor  of  Idu- 
mea,*  (who  was  of  a  family  that  belonged 
to  Perea,  beyond  Jordan,  and  was  thence 
called  the  Peraite,)  that  he  should  be 
obedient  to  those  forenamed  commanders. 
Nor  did  they  neglect  the  care  of  other 
parts  of  the  country;  but  Joseph,  the  son 
of  Simon,  was  sent  as  general  to  Jericho, 
as  was  Manasseh  to  Perea,  and  John,  the 
Essene,  to  the  toparchy  of  Thamma; 
Lydda  was  also  added  to  his  portion,  and 
Joppa  and  Emmaus.  But  John,  the  son 
of  Matthias,  was  made  the  governor  of 
the  toparchies  of  Gophniticaand  Aerabas- 
tene;  as  was  Josephus,  the  son  of  Mat- 
thias, of  both  the  Galilees.  Gamala  also, 
which  was  the  strongest  city  in  those  parts, 
was  put  under  his  command 

So  every  one  of  the  other  commanders 
administered  the  affairs  of  his  portion 
with  that  alacrity  aud  prudence  they  were 
masters  of;  but  as  to  Josephus,  when  he 
came  iuto  Galilee,  his  first  care  was  to  gain 
the  goodwill  of  the  people  of  that  coun- 
try, as  sensible  that  he  should  thereby 
have  in  general  good  success,  although  he 
should  fail  in  other  points.  And  being 
conscious  to  himself  that  if  he  communi- 
cated part  of  his  power  to  the  great  men, 
he  should  make  them  his  fast  friends; 
and  that  he  should  gain  the  same  favour 
from  the  multitude,  if  he  executed  his 
commands  by  persons  of  their  own  coun- 
try, and  with  whom  they  were  well  ac- 
quainted ;  he   chose  out  seventyf  of  the 

*  The  Idumeans,  having  been  proselytes  of  jus- 
tice since  the  days  of  John  Hyrcanus,  during  about 
195  years,  were  now  esteemed  as  part  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation,  and  provided  with  a  Jewish  commandei 
accordingly. 

f  Josephus  imitated  Moses,  as  well  as  the  Ro- 
mans, in  the  number  and  distribution  of  the  sub- 
altern officers  of  his  army,  (Exod  xviii.  2o;  Deut 


c'iiap  XX.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


723 


most  prudent  men  and  those  elders  in 
age,  and  appointed  them  to  be  rulers  of 
all  Galilee,  as  he  chose  seven  judges  in 
every  city  to  hear  the  lesser  quarrels; 
for  as  to  the  greater  causes,  and  those 
wherein  life  and  death  were  concerned, 
he  enjoined  they  should  be  brought  to 
him  and  the  seventy  elders. 

Josephus  also,  when  he  had  settled 
these  rules  for  determining  causes  by  the 
law,  with  regard  to  the  people's  dealings 
one  with  another,  betook  himself  to  make 
provisions  for  their  safety  against  external 
violence ;  and  as  he  knew  the  Romans 
would  fall  upon  Galilee,  he  built  walls  in 
proper  places  about  Jotapata,  and  Ber- 
gabee,  and  Salami's;  and  besides  these 
about  Caphareccho,  and  Japha,  and  Sigo, 
and  what  they  call  Mount  Tabor,  and 
Taricheae,  and  Tiberias.  Moreover,  he 
built  walls  about  the  caves  near  the  lake 
of  Gennessar,  which  places  lay  in  the 
Lower  Galilee ;  the  same  as  he  did  to  the 
places  of  Upper  Galilee,  as  well  as  to  the 
rock  called  the  Rock  of  the  Achabari, 
and  to  Seph,  and  Jamnith,  and  Meroth  ; 
and  in  Gaulanitis  he  fortified  Seleucia,  and 
Sogane,  and  Gamala;  but  as  to  those  of 
Sepphoris,  they  were  the  only  people  to 
whom  he  gave  leave  to  build  their  own 
walls,  and  this  because  he  perceived  they 
were  rich  and  wealthy,  and  ready  to  go 
to  war,  without  standing  in  need  of  any 
injunctions  for  that  purpose.  The  case 
was  the  same  with  Gischala,  which  had  a 
wall  built  about  it  by  John,  the  son  of 
Levi,  himself,  but  with  the  consent  of 
Josephus;  but  for  the  building  of  the 
rest  of  the  fortresses,  he  laboured  together 
with  all  the  other  builders,  and  was  present 
to  give  all  the  necessary  orders  for  that 
purpose.  He  also  got  together  an  army 
out  of  Galilee,  of  more  than  100,000 
young  men,  all  of  whom  he  armed  with 
the  old  weapons  which  he  had  collected 
together  and  prepared  for  them. 

And  when  he  had  considered  that  the 
Roman  power  became  invincible  chiefly  by 
their  readiness  in  obeying  orders,  and  the 
coustant  exercise  of  their  arms,  he  de- 
spaired of  teaching  these  his  men  the  use 
of  their  arms,  which  was  to  be  obtained 
by  experience;  but  observing  that  their 
readiness  in  obeying  orders  was  owing  to 
the  multitude  of  their  officers,  he  made 
his  partitions  in  his  army  more  after  the 


ii.  15;j  andinhis  charge  again.st  the  offences  com- 
mon attong  soldiers.  (Deut.  xxiii.  9  N 


Roman  manner,  and  appointed  a  great 
many  subalterns.  He  also  distributed  the 
soldiers  into  various  classes,  whom  he  put 
under  captains  of  tens,  and  captains  of 
hundreds,  and  then  under  captains  of 
thousands ;  and  besides  these  he  had 
commanders  of  larger  bodies  of  men.  He 
also  taught  them  to  give  the  signals  one 
to  another,  and  to  call  and  recall  the  sol- 
diers by  the  trumpets,  how  to  expand  the 
wings  of  an  army,  and  make  them  wheel 
about;  and  when  one  wing  had  had  suc- 
cess, to  turn  again  and  assist  those  that 
were  hard  set,  and  to  join  in  the  defence 
of  what  had  most  suffered.  He  also  con- 
tinually instructed  them  in  what  concerned 
the  courage  of  the  soul,  and  the  hardiness 
of  the  body ;  and,  above  all,  he  exercised 
them  for  war,  by  declaring  to  them  dis- 
tinctly the  good  order  of  the  Romans, 
and  that  they  were  to  fight  with  men 
who,  both  by  the  strength  of  their  bodies 
and  courage  of  their  souls,  had  conquered 
in  a  manner  the  whole  habitable  earth. 
He  told  them  that  he  should  make  trial 
of  the  good  order  they  would  observe  in 
war,  even  before  it  came  to  any  battle,  in 
case  they  would  abstain  from  the  crimes 
they  used  to  indulge  themselves  in,  such 
as  theft,  and  robbery,  and  rapine,  and 
from  defrauding  their  own  countrymen, 
and  never  to  esteem  the  harm  done  to 
those  that  were  so  near  of  kin  to  them  to 
be  any  advantage  to  themselves;  for  that 
wars  are  then  managed  the  best  when  the 
warriors  preserve  a  good  conscience;  but 
that  such  as  are  ill  men  in  private  life, 
will  not  only  have  those  for  enemies 
which  attack  them,  but  God  himself  also 
for  their  antagonist. 

And  thus  did  he  continue  to  admonish 
them.  Now  he  chose  for  the  war  such  an 
army  as  was  sufficient,  i.  e.  60,000  foot- 
men, and  1^50  horsemen  :*  and  besides 
these,  an  which  he  put  the  greatest  trust, 
there  were  about  4500  mercenaries :  ha 
had  also  GOO  men  as  guards  of  his  body. 
Now  the  cities  easily  maintained  the  rest 
of  his  army,  excepting  the  mercenaries  : 
for  every  one  of  the  cities  enumerated 
before  sent  out  half  their  men  to  their 
army,  and  retained  the  other  half  at  home, 
in  order  to  get  provisions  for  theai ;  in- 
somuch that  the  one  part  went  to  war, 
and  the  other  part  to  their  work  :  and  so 
those  that  sent  out  their  corn  were  paid 

*  A  very  small  body  of  cavalry  to  so  Urge  a* 
army  of  foot-soldiers  ;   in  all  probability  the  ^hou 
sands  are  dropped  in  our  present  copies. 


24 


AVARS    Of    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IX 


for  it  b?  those  that  were  in  arms,  by  that 
security  which  they  enjoyed  from  them. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Josephua  defeats  the  plots  of  John  of  Gischala, 
and  recovers  the  revolted  cities. 

Now,  as  Josephus  was  thus  engaged  in 
the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  Ga- 
lilee, there  arose  a  treacherous  person,  a 
man  of  Gischala,  the  son  of  Levi,  whose 
name  was  John.  His  character  was  that 
of  a  very  cunning  and  very  knavish  per- 
son, beyond  the  ordinary  rate  of  the  other 
men  of  eminence  there;  and  for  wicked 
practices  he  had  not  his  fellow  anywhere. 
Poor  he  was  at  first,  and  for  a  long  time 
his  wants  were  a  hinderance  to  him  in  his 
wicked  designs.  He  was  a  ready  liar,  and 
yet  very  sharp  in  gaining  credit  to  his 
fictions  :  he  thought  it  a  point  of  virtue 
to  delude  people,  and  would  delude  even 
such  as  were  the  dearest  to  him.  He  was 
a  hypocritical  pietender  to  humanity,  but 
where  he  had  hopes  of  gain,  he  spared 
not  the  shedding  of  blood  :  his  desires 
were  ever  carried  to  great  things,  and  he 
encouraged  his  hopes  from  those  mean, 
wicked  tricks  which  he  was  the  author  of. 
lie  had  a  peculiar  knack  at  thieving;  but 
in  some  time  he  got  certain  companions  in 
his  impudent  practices  :  at  first  they  were 
but  few,  but  as  he  proceeded  on  in  his  evil 
course,  they  became  still  more  and  more 
numerous.  He  took  care  that  none  of 
his  partners  should  be  easily  caught  in 
their  rogueries,  but  chose  such  out  of  the 
rest  as  had  the  strongest  constitutions  of 
body  and  the  greatest  courage  of  soul, 
together  with  great  skill  in  martial  affairs; 
so  he  got  together  a  band  of  400  men, 
who  came  principally  out  of  the  country 
of  Tyre,  and  were  vagabonds  that  had  run 
away  from  its  villages;  and  by  the  means 
of  these  he  laid  waste  all  Galike,  and 
irritated  a  considerable  number,  wno  were 
in  great  expectation  of  a  war  then  sud- 
denly to  arise  among  them. 

However,  John's  want  of  money  had 
hitherto  restrained  him  in  his  ambition 
after  command,  and  in  his  attempts  to 
advance  himself;  but  when  he  saw  that 
Josephus  was  highly  pleased  with  the 
activity  of  his  temper,  he  persuaded  him, 
iu  the  first  place,  to  intrust  him  with  re- 
pairing of  the  walls  of  his  native  city 
[Gischala] ;  in  which  work  he  got  a  great 
deal  of  money  from  the  rich  citizens.  He 
after  that  contrived  a  very  shrewd  trick, 


and  pretending  that  the  Jews  who  dwelt 
in  Syria  were  obliged  to  make  use  of  oil 
that  was  made  by  others  than  those  of 
their  own  nation,  he  desired  leave  of  Jo- 
sephus to  send  oil  to  their  borders ;  so  he 
bought  four  amphorae  with  such  Tyrian 
money  as  was  of  the  value  of  four  Attic 
drachmas,  and  sold  every  half-amphora  at 
the  same  price ;  and  as  Galilee  was  very 
fruitful  in  oil,  and  was  peculiarly  so  at 
that  time,  by  sending  away  great  quan- 
tities, aud  having  the  sole  privilege  so  to 
do,  he  gathered  an  immense  sum  of  money 
together,  which  money  he  immediately 
used  to  the  disadvantage  of  him  who  gave 
him  that  privilege  ;  and,  as  he  supposed 
that  if  he  could  once  overthrow  Josephus, 
he  should  himself  obtain  the  government 
of  Galilee,  so  he  gave  order  to  the  rob- 
bers that  were  under  his  command,  to  be 
more  zealous  in  their  thievish  expeditions, 
that  by  the  rise  of  many  that  desired 
innovations  in  the  country,  he  might 
either  catch  their  general  in  his  snares, 
as  he  came  to  the  country's  assistance,  and 
then  kill  him;  or,  if  he  should  overlook 
the  robbers,  he  might  accuse. him  for  his 
negligence  to  the  people  of  the  country; 
he  also  spread  abroad  a  report,  far  and 
near,  that  Josephus  was  delivering  up  the 
administration  of  affairs  to  the  Romans  ; 
and  many  such  plots  did  he  lay  in  order 
to  ruin  him. 

Now  at  the  same  time  that  certain 
young  men  of  the  village  Dabaritta,  who 
kept  guard  in  the  Great  Plain,  laid  snares 
for  Ptolemy,  who  was  Agrippa's  and  Ber- 
nice's  steward,  and' took  from  him  all  that 
he  had  with  him  ;  among  which  things 
there  were  a  great  many  costly  garments, 
and  no  small  number  of  silver  cup*,  and 
600  pieces  of  gold ;  yet  were  they  uot 
able  to  conceal  what  they  had  stolen,  but 
brought  it  all  to  Josephus,  to  Taricheae. 
Hereupon  he  blamed  them  for  the  violence 
they  had  offered  to  the  king  and  queen, 
and  deposited  what  they  brought  to  him 
with  Eneas,  the  most  potent  man  of  Ta- 
richeae, with  an  intention  of  sending  the 
things  back  to,  the  owners  at  a  propel 
time;  which  act  of  Josephus  brought  him 
into  the  greatest  danger;  for  those  thai 
had  stolen  the  things  had  an  indiguatioD 
at  him,  both  because  they  gained  no  share 
of  it  for  themselves,  and  because  they 
perceived  beforehand  what  was  Josephus's 
intention,  and  that  he  would  freely  deliver 
up  what  had  cost  them  so  much  pains 
to  the  king  and  queen.     These  ran  away 


Chap.  XXI.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


725 


by  night  to  their  several  villages,  and  de- 
clared to  all  men  that  Joseph  us  was  going 
to  betray  them ;  they  also  raised  great 
disorders  in  all  the  neighbouring  cities, 
insomuch  that  in  the  morning  100,000 
armed  men  came  running  together;  which 
multitude  was  crowded  together  in  the 
ii'ppodrome  atTariehese,  and  made  a  very 
peevish  clamour  against  him;  while  some 
cried  out  that  they  should  depose  the 
traitor;  and  others,  that  they  should  burn 
him.  Now  John  irritated  a  great  many, 
as  did  also  one  Jesus,  the  son  of  Sapphias, 
who  was  then  governor  of  Tiberias.  Then 
it  was  that  Josephus*  s  friends,  and  the 
guards  of  his  body,  were  so  affrighted  at 
this  violent  assault  of  the  multitude,  that 
they  all  fled  away  but  four;  and  as  he  was 
asleep,  they  awaked  him,  as  the  people 
were  going  to  set  fire  to  the  house ;  and 
although  those  four  that  remained  with 
him  persuaded  him  to  run  away,  he  was 
neither  surprised  at  his  being  himself 
deserted,  nor  at  the  great  multitude  that 
came  against  him,  but  leaped  out  to  them 
with  his  clothes  rent,  and  ashes  sprinkled 
on  his  head,  with  his  hands  behind  him, 
and  his  sword  hanging  at  his  neck.  At 
this  sight  his  friends,  especially  those  of 
Taricheaa,  commiserated  his  condition ; 
but  those  that  came  out  of  the  country, 
and  those  in  their  neighbourhood,  to  whom 
his  government  seemed  burdensome,  re- 
proached him,  and  bade  him  produce  the 
money  which  belonged  to  them  all  im- 
mediately, and  ^o  confess  the  agreement 
he  had  made  to  betray  them  ;  for  they 
imagined,  from  the  habit  in  which  he  ap- 
peared, that  he  could  deny  nothing  of 
what  they  suspected  concerning  him,  and 
that  it  was  in  order  to  obtain  pardon  that 
he  had  put  himself  entirely  into  so  pitiable 
a  posture;  but  this  humble  appearance 
was  only  designed  as  preparatory  to  a 
stratagem  of  his,  who  thereby  contrived 
to  set  those  that  were  so  angry  at  him  at 
variance  one  with  another  about  the  things 
they  were  angry  at.  However,  he  pro- 
mised he  would  confess  all  :  hereupon  he 
was  permitted  to  speak,  when  he  said, 
"I  did  neither  intend  to  send  this  money 
back  to  Agrippa,  nor  to  gain  it  myself; 
for  I  did  never  esteem  one  that  was  your 
enemy  to  be  my  friend ;  nor  did  I  look 
upon  what  would  tend  to  your  disadvan- 
tage to  be  my  advantage.  But,  O  you 
people  tf  Taricheae,  1  saw  that  your  city- 
stood  in  more  need  than  others  <  f  forti- 
fications  for    your    security,  ar-d    that    it 


wanted  money  in  order  for  the  building  it 
a  wall.  I  was  also  afraid  lest  the  people 
of  Tiberias  and  other  cities  should  lay  a 
plot  to  seize  upon  these  spoils,  and  there- 
fore it  was  that  I  intended  to  retain  this 
moLey  privately,  that  I  might  encompass 
you  with  a  wall.  But  if  this  does  not 
please  you,  I  will  produce  what  was 
brought  me,  and  leave  it  to  you  to  plunder 
it :  but  if  I  have  conducted  myself  so 
well  as  to  please  you,  you  may,  if  you 
please,  punish  your  benefactor. 

Hereupon  the  people  of  Tarichoae  loudly 
commended  him;  but  those  of  Tiberias, 
with  the  rest  of  the  company,  gave  him 
hard  names,  and  threatened  what  they 
would  do  to  him  ;  so  both  sides  left  off 
quarrelling  with  Josephus,  and  fell  to 
quarrelling  with  one  another.  So  he  grew 
bold  upon  the  dependence  he  had  on  his 
friends,  which  were  the  people  of  Ta- 
richeae, and  about  40,000  in  number,  and 
spake  more  freely  to  the  whole  multitude, 
and  reproached  them  greatly  for  their 
rashness;  and  told  them,  that  with  this 
money  he  would  build  walls  about  Ta- 
richeae, and  would  put  the  other  cities  in 
a  state  of  security  also;  for  that  they 
should  not  want  money,  if  they  would  but 
agree  for  whose  benefit  it  was  to  be  pro* 
cured,  and  would  not  suffer  themselves  t<? 
be  irritated  against  him  who  had  procured 
it  for  them. 

Hereupon  the  rest  of  the  multitude  that 
had  been  deluded  retired;  but  yet  so  that 
they  went  away  angry,  and  2000  of  them 
made  an  assault  upon  him  in  their  ar- 
mour; and  as  he  was  already  gone  to  his 
own  house,  they  stood  without  and  threat- 
ened him.  On  which  occasion  Josephus 
again  used  a  second  stratagem  to  escape 
them ;  for  he  got  upon  the  top  of  the 
house,  and  with  his  right  hand  desired 
them  to  be  silent,  and  said  to  them,  "  I 
cannot  tell  what  you  would  have,  nor  can 
hear  what  you  say,  for  the  confused  noise 
you  make :"  but  he  said  he  would  comply 
with  all  their  demands,  in  case  they  would 
but  send  some  of  their  number  into  him 
that  might  talk  with  him  about  it.  And 
when  the  principal  of  them,  with  their 
leaders,  heard  this,  they  came  into  the 
house.  He  then  drew  them  to  the  most 
retired  part  of  the  house,  and  shut  the 
door  of  that  hall  where  he  put  them, 
and  then  had  them  whipped  till  every  one 
of  their  inward  parts  appeared  naked. 
In  the  mean  time  the  multitude  stood  round 
the   house,  and  supposed  that  he  had   a 


/  -lb 


WARS    OF   THE  JEWS. 


rB00K  II 


long  discourse  with  those  that  were  gone 
in,  about  what  they  claimed  of  him.  He 
had  *:hen  the  doors  set  open  immediately, 
and  sent  the  men  out  all  bloody,  which  so 
terribly  affrighted  those  that  had  before 
threatened  him,  that  they  threw  away 
their  arms  and  ran  away. 

But  as  for  John,  his  envy  grew  greater 
[upon  this  escape  of  Josephus],  and  he 
framed  a  new  plot  against  him  :  he  pre- 
tended to  be  sick,  and  by  a  letter  desired 
that  Josephus  would  give  him  leave  to 
use  the  hot  baths  that  were  at  Tiberias, 
for  the  recovery  of  his  health.  Hereupon 
Josephus,  who  hitherto  suspected  nothing 
of  John's  plots  against  him,  wrote  to  the 
governors  of  the  city,  that  they  would  pro- 
vide a  lodging  and  necessaries  for  John  ; 
which  favours,  when  he  had  made  use  of, 
in  two  days'  time  he  did  what  he  came 
about;  some  he  corrupted  with  delusive 
frauds,  and  others  with  money,  and  so  per- 
suaded them  to  revolt  from  Josephus.  This 
Silas,  who  was  appointed  guardian  of  the 
city  by  Josephus,  wrote  to  him  imme- 
diately, and  informed  him  of  the  plot 
against  him ;  which  epistle  when  Jose- 
phus had  received,  he  marched  with  great 
diligence  all  night,  and  came  early  in  the 
morning  to  Tiberias;  at  which  time  the 
rest  of  the  multitude  met  him.  But  John, 
who  suspected  that  his  coming  was  not  for 
his  advantage,  sent,  however,  one  of  his 
friends,  and  pretended  that  he  was  sick, 
and  that  being  confined  to  his  bed,  he 
could  not  come  to  pay  him  his  respects. 
But  as  soon  as  Josephus  had  got  the  peo- 
ple of  Tiberias  together  in  the  stadium, 
and  tried  to  discourse  with  them  about  the 
letcers  that  he  had  received,  John  pri- 
vately sent  some  armed  men,  and  gave 
them  orders  to  slay  him.  But  when  the 
people  saw  that  the  armed  men  were  about 
to  draw  their  swords,  they  cried  out ; — 
■at  which  cry  Josephus  turned  himself 
about,  and  when  he  saw  that  the  swords 
were  just  at  his  throat,  he  marched  away 
in  great  haste  to  the  seashore,  and  left 
off  that  speech  which  he  was  going  to 
make  to  the  people,  upon  an  elevation 
of  six  cubits  high.  He  then  seized  on 
&  ship  which  lay  in  the  haven,  and  leaped 
into  it,  with  two  of  his  guards,  and  fled 
away  into  the  midst  of  the  lake. 

But  now  the  soldiers  he  had  with  him 
took  up  their  arms  immediately,  and 
marched  against  the  plotters,  but  Jose- 
chus  was  afraid  lest  a  civil  war  should  be 
raised   by  the  envy  of   a  few  men,  and 


bring  the  city  to  ruin ;  so  he  sent  some 
of  his  party  to  tell  them  that  they  should 
do  no  more  than  provide  for  their  own 
safety  ;  that  they  should  not  kill  anybody, 
nor  accuse  any  for  the  occasion  they  had 
afforded  [of  a  disorder.]  Accordingly, 
these  men  obeyed  his  orders,  and  were 
quiet;  but  the  people  of  the  neighbour- 
ing country,  when  they  were  informed  of 
his  plot,  and  of  the  plotter,  got  together 
in  great  multitudes  to  oppose  John.  But 
he  prevented  their  attempt,  and  fled  away 
to  Gischala,  his  native  city,  while  the 
Galileans  came  running  out  of  their 
several  cities  to  Josephus ;  and  as  they 
were  now  become  many  ten  thousands  of 
armed  men,  they  cried  out  that  they 
were  come  against  John  the  common  plot- 
ter against  their  interest,  and  would  at 
the  same  time  burn  him,  and  that  city 
which  had  received  him.  Hereupon  Jo- 
sephus told  them  that  he  took  their  good- 
will to  him  kindly,  but  still  he  restrained 
their  fury,  and  intended  to  subdue  his 
enemies  by  prudent  conduct,  rather  than 
by  slaying  them  ;  so  he  excepted  those  of 
every  city  which  had  joined  in  this  re- 
volt with  John,  by  name,  who  had  readily 
been  shown  him  by  those  that  came  from 
every  city,  and  caused  public  proclama- 
tion to  be  made  that  he  would  seize  upoD 
the  effects  of  those  that  did  not  forsake 
John  within  five  days'  time,  and  would 
burn  both  their  houses  and  their  families 
with  fire.  Whereupon  3000  of  John's 
party  left  him  immediately,  who  came  to 
Josephus,  and  threw  their  arms  down  at 
his  feet.  John  then  betook  himself,  to- 
gether with  his  2000  Syrian  runagates, 
from  open  attempts,  to  more  secret  ways 
of  treachery.  Accordingly,  he  privately 
sent  messengers  to  Jerusalem,  to  accuse 
Josephus,  as  having  too  great  power,  and 
to  let  them  know  that  he  would  soon  come 
as  a  tyrant  to  their  metropolis,  unless 
they  prevented  him.  This  accusation  the 
people  were  aware  of  beforehand,  but  had 
no  regard  to  it.  However,  some  of  the 
grandees,  out  of  envy,  and  some  of  th€ 
rulers  also,  sent  money  to  John  private- 
ly, that  he  might  be  able  to  get  together 
mercenary  soldiers,  in  order  to  fight  Jose- 
phus ;  they  also  made  a  decree  of  them- 
selves, and  this  for  recalling  him  from  his 
government,  yet  did  they  not  think  that 
decree  sufficient;  so  they  sent  withal 
2500  armed  men,  and  four  persons  of 
the  highest  rank -among  them;  Joazar, 
the    son  of   Nomicus,  and  Ananias,  the 


Chat.  XXI  ] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


727 


son  of  Sadduk  ;  as  also  Simon  and  Judas, 
the  sons  of  Jonathan,  (all  very  able  men 
in  speaking,)  that  these  persons  might 
withdraw  the  good-will  of  the  people  from 
Josephus.  These  had  it  in  charge,  that 
if  he  would  voluntarily  come  away,  they 
should  permit  him  to  [come  and]  give  an 
account  of  his  conduct ;  but  if  he  obsti- 
nately insisted  upon  continuing  in  his 
government,  they  should  treat  him  as  an 
enemy.  Now,  Josephus's  friends  had  sent 
him  word  that  an  army  was  coming  against 
him,  but  they  gave  him  no  notice  before- 
hand what  the  reason  of  their  coming  was, 
that  being  only  known  among  some  se- 
cret councils  of  his  enemies ;  and  by  this 
means  it  was  that  four  cities  revolted  from 
him  immediately,  Sepphoris,  and  Gramala, 
and  Grischala,  and  Tiberias.  Yet  did  he 
recover  these  cities  without  war ;  and 
when  he  had  routed  these  four  command- 
ers by  stratagems,  and  had  taken  the  most 
potent  of  their  warriors,  he  sent  them  to 
Jerusalem;  and  the  people  [of  Galilee] 
had  great  indignation  at  them,  and  were 
in  a  zealous  disposition  to  slay,  not  only 
these  forces,  but  those  that  sent  them 
also,  had  not  these  forces  prevented  it  by 
running  away. 

Now  John  was  detained  afterward  with- 
in the  walls  of  Gischala,  by  the  fear  he 
was  in  of  Josephus ;  but  within  a  few  days 
Tiberias  revolted  again,  the  people  within 
it  inviting  King  Agrippa  [to  return  to  the 
exercise  of  his  authority  there]  ;  and  when 
he  did  not  come  at  the  time  appointed, 
and  when  a  few  Roman  horsemen  appeared 
that  day,  they  expelled  Josephus  out  of 
the  city.  Now,  this  revolt  of  theirs  was 
presently  known  at  Taricheae;  and  as  Jo- 
sephus had  sent  out  all  the  soldiers  that 
were  with  him  to  gather  corn,  he  knew 
not  how  either  to  march  out  alone  against 
the  revolters,  or  to  stay  where  he  was,  be- 
cause he  was  afraid  the  king's  soldiers 
might  prevent  him  if  he  tarried,  and 
might  get  into  the  city;  for  he  did  not  in- 
tend to  do  any  thing  on  the  next  day, 
because  it  was  the  Sabbath-day,  and  would 
hinder  his  proceeding.  So  he  contrived 
to  circumvent  the  revolters  by  a  stratagem  ; 
and,  in  the  first  place,  he  ordered  the 
gates  of  Taricheae  to  be  shut,  that  nobody 
might  go  out  and  inform  [those  of  Tibe- 
rias], for  whom  it  was  intended,  what 
stratagem  he  was  about :  he  then  got  to- 
gether all  the  ships  that  were  upon  the 
lake,  which  were  found  to  be  230,  and  in 
each  of  them  he  put  no  more  than  four 


mariners.  So  he  saned  to  Tiberias  with 
haste,  and  kept  at  such  a  distance  from  the 
city  that  it  was  not  easy  for  the  people  to 
see  the  vessels,  and  ordered  that  the 
empty  vessels  should  float  up  and  down 
there,  while  himself,  who  had  but  seven 
of  his  guards  with  him,  and  those  unarmed 
also,  went  so  near  as  to  be  seen ;  but  when 
his  adversaries,  who  were  still  reproaching 
him,  saw  him  from  the  walls,  they  were 
so  astonished  that  they  supposed  all  the 
ships  were  full  of  armed  men,  and  threw 
down  their  arms,  and  by  signals  of  inter- 
cession they  besought  him  to  spare  the 
city. 

Upon  this  Josephus  threatened  them 
terribly,  and  reproached  them,  that  when 
they  were  the  first  that  took  up  arms 
against  the  Romans,  they  should  spend 
their  force  beforehand  in  civil  dissensions, 
and  do  what  their  enemies  desired  above 
all  things;  and  that  besides,  they  should 
endeavour  so  hastily  to  seize  upon  him, 
who  took  care  of  their  safety,  and  had  not 
been  ashamed  to  shut  the  gates  of  their 
city  against  him  that  built  their  walls; 
that,  however,  he  would  admit  of  any  in- 
tercessors from  them  that  might  make 
some  excuse  for  them,  and  with  whom  he 
would  make  such  agreements  as  might  be 
for  the  city's  security.  Hereupon  ten  of 
the  most  potent  men  of  Tiberias  came 
down  to  him  presently,  and  when  he  had 
taken  them  into  one  of  his  vessels,  he 
ordered  them  to  be  carried  a  great  way 
off  from  the  city.  He  then  commanded 
that  fifty  others  of  their  senate,  such  as 
were  men  of  the  greatest  emineuce,  should 
come  to  him,  that  they  also  might  give 
him  some  security  on  their  behalf.  After 
which,  under  one  new  pretence  or  another, 
he  called  forth  others,  one  after  another, 
to  make  the  leagues  between  them.  He 
then  gave  orders  to  the  masters  of  those 
vessels  which  he  had  thus  filled,  to  sail 
away  immediately  for  Taricheae,  and  to 
confine  those  men  in  the  prison  there ;  ti. 
at  length  he  took  all  their  senate,  consist- 
ing of  600  persons,  and  about  2000  of 
the  populace,  and  carried  them  away  to 
Taricheae. 

And  when  the  rest  of  the  people  cried 
out  that  it  was  one  Clitus  that  was  the 
chief  author  of  this  revolt,  they  desired 
him  to  spend  his  anger  upon  him  [only]  ; 
but  Josephus,  whose  intention  it  was  to 
slay  nobody,  commanded  one  Levius,  be- 
longing to  his  guards,  to  go  out  of  the 
vessel,  in  order  to  cut  off  both   Clitus'? 


VA6 


WARS    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  a 


hands;  jet  was  Levius  afraid  to  go  out  by 
himself  alone,  to  such  a  large  body  of 
enemies,  and  refused  to  go.  Now  Clitus 
saw  that  Josephus  was  in  a  great  passion 
in  the  ship,  and  ready  to  leap  out  of  it,  in 
order  to  execute  the  punishment  himself; 
he  begged  therefore  from  the  shore,  that 
he  would  leave  him  one  of  his  hands, 
which  Josephus  agreed  to,  upon  condition 
that  he  would  himself  cut  off  the  other 
hand ;  accordingly  he  drew  his  sword,  and 
with  his  right  hand  cut  off  his  left, — so 
great  was  the  fear  he  was  in  of  Josephus 
himself.  And  thus  he  took  the  people  of 
Tiberias  prisoners,  and  recovered  the  city 
again  with  empty  ships  and  seven  of  his 
guard.  Moreover,  a  few  days  afterward 
he  retook  Gischala,  which  had  revolted 
with  the  people  of  Sepphoris,  and  gave 
his  soldiers  leave  to  plunder  it ;  yet 
did  he  get  all  the  plunder  together,  and 
restored  it  to  the  inhabitants ;  and  the  like 
he  did  to  the  inhabitants  of  Sepphoris 
and  Tiberias ;  for  when  he  had  subdued 
those  cities,  he  had  a  mind,  by  letting 
them  be  plundered,  to  give  them  some 
good  instruction,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  regained  their  good-will  by  restoring 
them  their  noney  again. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Jews  prepare  for  war. 

And  thus  were  the  disturbances  of 
Galilee  quieted,  when,  upon  their  ceasing 
to  prosecute  their  civil  dissensions,  they 
betook  themselves  to  make  preparations 
for  the  war  with  the  Romans.  Now  in 
Jerusalem  the  high  priest  A  nanus,  and 
as  many  of  the  men  of  power  as  were  not 
in  the  interest  of  the  Romans,  both  re- 
paired the  walls,  and  made  a  great  many 
warlike  instruments,  insomuch  that,  in 
in  all  parts  of  the  city,  darts  and  all 
sorts   of   aimour   were    upon  the    anvil. 


Although  the  multitude  of  the  young 
men  were  engaged  in  exercises,  without 
any  regularity,  and  all  places  were  full  of 
tumultuous  doings  ;  yet  the  moderate  sort 
were  exceedingly  sad ;  and  a  great  many 
there  were  who,  out  of  the  prospect  they 
had  of  the  calamities  that  were  comin» 
upon  them,  made  great  lamentations. 
There  were  also  such  omens  observed  as 
were  understood  to  be  forerunners  of  evils, 
by  such  as  loved  peace,  but  were  by  those 
that  kindled  the  war  interpreted  so  as  to 
suit  their  own  inclinations  ;  and  the  very 
state  of  the  city,  even  before  the  Romans 
came  against  it,  was  that  of  a  place  doomed 
to  destruction.  However,  Ananus's  con- 
cern was  this,  to  lay  aside,  for  awhile,  the 
preparations  for  the  war,  and  to  persuade 
the  seditious  to  consult  their  own  interest, 
and  to  restrain  the  madness  of  those  that 
bad  the  name  of  zealots  :  but  their  vio- 
lence was  too  hard  for  him  ;  and  what  end 
he  came  to  we  shall  relate  hereafter. 

But  as  for  the  Acrabene  toparchy  Si- 
mon, the  son  of  Gioras,  got  a  ^reat 
number  of  those  that  were  fond  of  inno- 
vations together,  and  betook  himself  to 
ravage  the  country ;  nor  did  he  only  ha- 
rass the  rich  men's  houses,  but  tormented 
their  bodies,  and  appeared  openly  and  be- 
forehand to  affect  tyranny  in  his  govern- 
ment. And  when  an  army  was  sent 
against  him  by  Ananus,  and  the  other 
rulers,  he  and  his  band  retired  to  the 
robbers  that  were  at  Massada,  and  stayed 
there,  and  plundered  the  country  of  Idu- 
mea  with  them,  till  both  Ananus  and  his 
other  adversaries  were  slain;  and  until 
the  rulers  of  that  country  were  so  afflicted 
with  the  multitude  of  those  that  were 
slain,  and  with  the  continual  ravage  of 
what  they  had,  that  they  raised  an  army, 
and  put  garrisons  into  the  vilh-^es,  to  se- 
cure them  from  those  insults  And  in 
this  state  were  the  affairs  o*  Judea  a< 
that  time. 


Book  III.  Chap.  I.] 


WARb    OF    THE   JEWS. 


729 


BOOK  III. 


CONTAINING   THE  INTERVAL  OF  ABOUT  ONE  YEAR,  FROM  VESPASIAN'S 
COMING  TO  SUBDUE  THE  JEWS  TO  THE  TAKING  OF  GAMALA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Vespasian  sent  into  Syria  by  Nero,  to  make  war 
with  the  Jews. 

When  Nero  was  informed  of  the  Ro- 
mans' ill  success  in  Judea,  a  concealed 
consternation  and  terror,  as  is  usual  in 
such  cases,  fell  upon  him ;  although  he 
openly  looked  very  big,  and  was  very  an- 
gry, and  said,  that  what  had  happened 
was  rather  owing  to  the  negligence  of  the 
commander  than  to  any  valour  of  the 
enemy:  and  as  he  thought  it  fit  for  him, 
who  bare  the  burden  of  the  whole  empire, 
to  despise  such  misfortunes,  he  now  pre- 
tended so  to  do,  and  to  have  a  soul  supe- 
rior to  all  such  sad  accidents  whatsoever. 
Yet  did  the  disturbance  that  was  in  his 
soul  plainly  appear  by  the  solicitude  he 
was  in  [how  to  recover  his  affairs  again]. 

And  as  he  was  deliberating  to  whom  he 
should  commit  the  care  of  the  East,  now 
it  was  in  so  great  a  commotion,  and  who 
might  be  best  able  to  punish  the  Jews  for 
their  rebellion,  and  might  prevent  the 
same  distemper  from  seizing  upon  the 
neighbouring  nations  also — he  found  no 
one  but  Vespasian  equal  to  the  task,  and 
able  to  undergo  the  great  burden  of  so 
mighty  a  war,  seeing  he  was  growing  an 
old  man  already  in  the  camp,  and  from 
his  youth  had  been  exercised  in  warlike 
exploits:  he  was  also  a  man  that  had  long 
ago  pacified  the  West,  and  made  it  subject 
to  the  Romans,  when  it  had  been  put  into 
disorder  by  the  Germans:  he  had  also  re- 
covered to  them  Britain  by  his  arms, 
which  had  been  little  known  before; 
whereby  he  procured  to  his  father  Clau- 
dius to  have  a  triumph  bestowed  on  him 
without  any  sweat  or  labour  of  his  own. 

So  Nero  esteemed  these  circumstances 
is  favourable  omens,  and  saw  that  Ves- 
pasian's age  gave  him  sure  experience, 
and  great  skill,  and  that  he  had  his  sons 
as  hostages  for  his  fidelity  to  himself,  and 
that  the  flourishing  age  they  were  in 
would  make  them  fit  instruments  under 
their  father's  prudence.  Perhaps  also 
there  was  somf  interposition  of  Providence, 


which  was  paving  the  way  for  Vespasian's 
being  himself  emperor  afterward.  Upon 
the  whole,  he  sent  this  man  to  take  upon 
him  the  command  of  the  armies  that 
were  in  Syria;  but  this  not  without  great 
encomiums  and  flattering  compellations, 
such  as  necessity  required,  and  such  as 
might  mollify  him  into  complaisance.  So 
Vespasian  sent  his  son  Titus  from  Achaia, 
where  he  had  been  with  Nero,  to  Alexan- 
dria, to  bring  back  with  him  the  fifth  and 
tenth  legions,  while  he  himself,  when  he 
had  passed  over  the  Hellespont,  came  by 
land  into  Syria,  where  he  gathered  toge- 
ther the  Roman  forces,  with  a  consider- 
able number  of  auxiliaries  from  the  kings 
in  that  neighbourhood. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Slaughter  of  the  Jews  about  Ascalon — Vespasian 
arrives  at  Ptoiemais. 

Now  the  Jews,  after  they  had  beaten 
Cestius,  were  so  much  elevated  with  their 
unexpected  success,  that  they  could  not 
govern  their  zeal,  but,  like  people  blown 
up  into  a  flame  by  their  good  fortune, 
carried  the  war  to  remoter  places.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  presently  got  together  a 
great  multitude  of  all  their  most  hardy 
soldiers,  and  marched  away  for  Ascalon. 
This  is  an  ancient  city,  that  is  distant 
from  Jerusalem  520  furlongs,  and  was 
always  an  enemy  to  the  Jews;  on  which 
account  they  determined  to  make  their 
first  effort  against  it,  and  to  make  their 
approaches  to  it  as  near  as  possible.  This 
excursion  was  led  on  by  three  men,  who 
were  the  chief  of  them  all,  both  for 
strength  and  sagacity;  Niger,  called  the 
Peraite,  Silas,  of  Babylon,  and  besides 
them  John,  the  Essene.  Now  Ascalon 
was  strongly  walled  about,  but  had  almost 
no  assistance  to  be  relied  on  [near  them], 
for  the  garrison  consisted  of  one  cohort 
of  footmen,  and  one  troop  of  horsemen, 
whose  captain  was  Antonius. 

These  Jews,  therefore,  out  of  their  an- 
ger, marched  faster  than  ordinary,  and, 
as  if  they  had  come  but  a  little  way,  ap- 


730 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  I1L 


proached  very  near  the  city,  and  were 
come  even  to  it;  but  Antonius,  who  was 
not  unapprized  of  the  attack  they  were 
going  to  make  upon  the  city,  drew  out  his 
horsemen  beforehand,  and  being  neither 
daunted  at  the  multitude,  nor  at  the  cour- 
fige  of  the  enemy,  received  their  first  at- 
tacks with  great  bravery;  and  when  they 
crowded  to  the  very  walls,  he  beat  them 
off.  Now  the  Jews  were  unskilful  in 
war,  but  were  to  fight  with  those  who 
were  skilful  therein;  they  were  footmen 
to  fight  with  horsemen;  they  were  in  dis- 
order, to  fight  those  that  were  united  to- 
gether; they  were  poorly  armed,  to  fight 
those  that  were  completely  so;  they  were 
to  fight  more  by  their  rage  than  by  sober 
counsel,  and  were  exposed  to  soldiers  that 
were  exactly  obedient,  and  did  every  thing 
they  wore  bidden  upon  the  least  intima- 
tion. So  they  were  easily  beaten;  for  as 
soon  as  ever  their  first  ranks  were  once  in 
disorder,  they  were  put  to  flight  by  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  and  those  of  them  that 
came  behind,  such  as  crowded  to  the  wall, 
fell  upon  their  own  party's  weapons,  and 
became  one  another's  enemies;  and  this 
so  long  till  they  were  all  forced  to  give 
way  to  the  attacks  of  the  horsemen,  and 
were  dispersed  all  the  plain  over,  which 
plain  was  wide,  and  all  fit  for  the  horse- 
men ;  which  circumstance  was  very  com- 
modious for  the  Romans,  and  occasioned 
the  slaughter  of  the  greatest  number  of 
the  Jews;  for  such  as  ran  away,  they 
could  overruu  them,  and  make  them  turn 
back;  and  when  they  had  brought  them 
back  after  their  flight,  and  driven  them 
together,  they  ran  them  through,  and 
slew  a  vast  number  of  them,  insomuch 
that  others  encompassed  others  of  them, 
and  drove  them  before  them  whithersoever 
they  turned  themselves,  and  slew  them 
easily  with  their  arrows;  and  the  great 
number  there  were  of  the  Jews  seemed  a 
solitude  to  themselves,  by  reason  of  the 
distress  they  were  in,  while  the  Romans 
had  such  good  success  with  their  small 
number,  that  they  seemed  to  themselves 
to  be  the  greater  multitude;  and  as  the 
former  strove  zealously  under  their  mis- 
fortunes, out  of  the  shame  of  a  sudden 
flight,  and  hopes  of  the  change  in  their 
success,  so  did  the  latter  feel  no  weariness 
by  reason  of  their  good  fortune;  insomuch 
that  the  fight  lasted  till  the  evening,  till 
10,000  men  of  the  Jews'  side  lay  dead, 
with  two  of  their  generals,  John  and  Si- 
las; and  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder 


j  were  wounded,  with  Niger,  their  remain- 

I  ing  general,  who  fled  away  together  to  a 

small  city  of  Idumea,  called  Sallis.    Some 

few  also  of  the  Romans  were  wounded  in 

this  battle. 

Yet  were  not  the  spirits  of  the  Jews 
broken   by  so  great   a  calamity,  but  tho 
losses  they  had  sustained  rather  quickened 
their  resolution  for  other  attempts;   for, 
overlooking    the   dead   bodies  which   lay 
under    their    feet,  they  were   enticed  by 
their  former  glorious  actions  to  venture 
on    a   second  destruction;    so  when   they 
had  lain  still  so  little  a  while  that  their 
wounds  were  not  yet  thoroughly  cured, 
they  got   together    all    their    forces,   and 
came   with    greater    fury,   and    in    much 
greater  numbers,   to  Ascalon;    but  their 
former  ill  fortune  followed   them,  as  the 
consequence    of   their   unskilfulness    and 
other   deficiencies    in  war;  for  Antouius 
laid  ambushes  for  them  in  the  passages 
they  were  to  go  through,  where  they  fell 
into  snares  unexpectedly,  and  where  they 
were  encompassed  about  with   horsemen 
before  they  could  form  themselves  into  a 
regular  body  for  fighting,  and  were  above 
8000  of  them  slain ;   so  all  the   rest  of 
them    ran    away,  and   with    them  Niger, 
|  who  still  did  a  great  many  bold  expluits 
in  his  flight.     However,  they  were  driven 
along  together  by  the  enemy,  who  pressed 
hard    upon    them,  into  a    certain   strong 
tower  belonging  to  a  village  called  Beze- 
del.      However,  Antonius  and  his  party, 
that  they  might  neither  spend  auy  consi- 
derable time  about  this  tower,  which  was 
hard    to  be   taken,  nor   suffer  their  com- 
mander, and  the  most  courageous  man  of 
them  all,  to  escape  from   them,  they  set 
the  wall    on   fire;  and  as  the  tower  was 
burning,  the  Romans  went  away  rejoicing, 
as  taking   it  for  granted   that   Niger  was 
destroyed;  but  he  leaped  out  of  the  tower 
into  a   subterraneous  cave,  in  the  inner- 
most part  of  it,  and  was  preserved;  and 
on  the   third  day  afterward  he  spake  out 
of   the  ground   to  those  that  with   great 
lamentations  were  searching  for  him,  in 
order  to  give  him  a  decent  funeral ;  and 
when  he  was  come  out,  he  filled  all  the 
Jews  with  an  unexpected  joy,  as  though 
he  were  preserved  by  God's  providence  to 
be  their  commander  for  the  time  to  come. 
And   now  Vespasian   took    along  with 
him  his  army  from  Antioch  (which  is  the 
metropolis  of  Syria,  and,  without  dispute, 
deserves  the  place  of  the  third  city  in  the 
habitable  earth  that  was  under  the  Roman 


Chap   III.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS 


731 


empire,*  both  in  magnitude  and  other 
marks  of  prosperity,)  where  he  found 
King  Agrippa,  with  all  his  forces,  waiting 
for  bis  coming,  and  marched  to  Ptolemais. 
At  this  city  also  the  inhabitants  of  Sep- 
phoris  of  Galilee  met  him,  who  were  for 
peace  with  the  Romans.  These  citizens 
had  beforehand  taken  care  of  their  own 
safety,  and  being  sensible  of  the  power  of 
the  Romans,  they  had  been  with  Cestius 
Gallus  before  Vespasian  came,  and  had 
given  their  faith  to  him,  and  received  the 
security  of  his  right  hand;  and  had  re- 
ceived a  Roman  garrison,  and  at  this  time 
withal  they  received  Vespasian,  the  Ro- 
man general,  very  kindly,  and  readily 
promised  that  they  would  assist  him 
against  their  own  countrymen.  Now  the 
general  delivered  them,  at  their  desire,  as 
many  horsemen  and  footmen  as  he  thought 
sufficient  to  oppose  the  incursions  of  the 
Jews,  if  they  should  happen  to  come 
against  them;  and  indeed  the  danger  of 
losing  Sepphoris  would  be  no  small  one, 
in  this  war  which  was  now  beginning, 
seeing  it  was  the  largest  city  of  Galilee, 
and  built  in  a  place  by  nature  very  strong, 
and  might  be  a  security  of  the  whole 
nation's  [fidelity  to  the  Romans]. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Description  of  Galilee,  Samaria,  and  Judea. 

Now  Phoenicia  and  Syria  encompass 
about  the  Galilees,  which  are  two,  and 
called  the  Upper  Galilee  and  the  Lower. 
They  are  bounded  toward  the  sunsetting, 
with  the  borders  of  the  territory  belong- 
ing to  Ptolemais,  and  by  Carmel;  which 
mountain  had  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Galileans,  but  now  belonged  to  the 
Tynans;  to  which  mountain  adjoins  Gaba, 
which  is  called  the  City  of  Horsemen,  be- 
cause those  horsemen  that  were  dismissed 
by  Herod  the  king  dwelt  therein;  they 
are  bounded  on  the  south  with  Samaria 
and  Scythopolis,  as  far  as  the  river  Jordan  ; 
on  the  east  with  Hippene  and  Gadaris, 
and  also  with  Gaulanitis,  and  the  borders 
of  the  kingdom  of  Agrippa;  its  northern 
parts  are  bouuded  by  Tyre,  and  the  coun- 
try of  the  Tyrians.  As  for  that  Galilee 
which  is  called  the  Lower,  it  extends  in 
length  from  Tiberias  to  Zabulon,  and  of 
the    maritime    places,    Ptolemais    is    its 

*  Spanheim  and  Reland  both  agree  that  the 
two  cities  here  esteemed  greater  than  Antioch,  the 
metropolis  of  Syria,  were  Rome  and  Alexandria. 


neighbour;  its  breadtn  is  from  the  village 
called  Xaloth,  which  lies  in  the  great 
plain,  as  far  as  Bersabe,  from  which  be- 
ginning also  is  taken  the  breadth  of  the 
Upper  Galilee,  as  far  as  the  village  Baca, 
which  divides  the  land  of  the  Tyrians 
from  it;  its  length  i3  also  from  Meloth  to 
Thella,  a  village  near  to  Jordan. 

These  two  Galilees,  of  so  great  largeness, 
and  encompassed  with  so  many  nations  of 
foreigners,  have  always  been  able  to  make 
a  strong  resistance  on  all  occasions  of 
war;  for  the  Galileans  are  inured  to 
war  from  their  infancy,  and  have  been 
always  very  numerous ;  nor  hath  the 
country  been  ever  destitute  of  men  of 
courage,  or  wanted  a  numerous  set  of 
them ;  for  their  soil  is  universally  rich 
and  fruitful,  and  full  of  the  plantations 
of  trees  of  all  sorts,  insomuch  that  it  in- 
vites the  most  slothful  to  take  pains  in  its 
cultivation,  by  its  fruitfulness ;  accord- 
ingly, it  is  all  cultivated  by  its  inha- 
bitants, and  no  part  of  it  lies  idle.  More- 
over, the  cities  lie  here  very  thick;  and 
the  very  many  villages  there  are  here,  are 
everywhere  so  full  of  people,  by  the  rich- 
ness of  their  soil,  that  the  very  least  of 
them  contain  above  15,000  inhabitants. 

In  short,  if  any  one  will  suppose  tha. 
Galilee  is  inferior  to  Perea  in  magnitude, 
he  will  be  obliged  to  prefer  it  before  it  in 
its  strength  :  for  this  is  all  capable  of 
cultivation,  and  is  everywhere  fruitful ; 
but  for  Perea,  which  is  indeed  much  larger 
in  extent,  the  greater  part  of  it  is  desert, 
and  rough,  and  much  less  disposed  for 
the  production  of  the  milder  kinds  of 
fruits ;  yet  hath  it  a  moist  soil  [in  other 
parts],  and  produces  all  kinds  of  fruits, 
and  its  plains  are  planted  with  trees  of 
all  sorts,  while  yet  the  olive-tree,  the 
vine,  and  the  palm-tree  are  chiefly  culti- 
vated there.  It  is  also  sufficiently  watered 
with  torrents,  which  issue  out  of  the 
mountains,  and  with  springs  that  never 
fail  to  run,  even  when  the  torrents  fail 
them,  as  they  do  in  the  dog-days.  Now 
the  length  of  Perea  is  from  Macherus  to 
Pella,  and  its  breadth  from  Philadelphia 
to  Jordan  ;  its  northern  parts  are  bounded 
by  Pella,  as  we  have  already  said,  as  well 
as  its  western  with  Jordan  ;  the  land  of 
Moab  is  its  southern  border,  and  its  east- 
ern limits  reach  to  Arabia,  and  Silbonitis, 
and  besides  to  Philadelphene  and  Gerasa 

Now,  as  to  the  country  of  Samaria,  it 
lies  between  Judea  and  Galilee;  it  begins 
at   a  village    that  is   in   the  great  piajr 


73.2 


WARS    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  III 


called  Ginea,  and  ends  at  the  Acrabbene 
toparchy,  and  is  entirely  of  the  same 
nature  with  Judea;  for  both  countries 
are  made  up  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  are 
moist  enough  for  agriculture,  and  are  very 
fruitful.  They  have  abundance  of  trees, 
and  are  full  of  autumnal  fruit,  both  that 
which  grows  wild,  and  that  which  is  the 
effect  of  cultivation.  They  are  not  na- 
turally watered  with  many  rivers,  but 
derive  their  chief  moisture  from  rain- 
water, of  which  they  have  no  want;  and 
for  those  rivers  which  they  have,  all  their 
waters  are  exceeding  sweet :  by  reason 
also  of  the  excellent  grass  they  have, 
their  cattle  yield  more  milk  than  do  those 
in  other  places;  and,  what  is  the  greatest 
sign  of  excellency  and  of  abundance,  they 
each  of  them  are  very  full  of  people. 

In  the  limits  of  Samaria  and  Judea  lie 
the  village  Anuath,  which  is  also  named 
Borceos.  This  is  the  northern  boundary 
of  Judea.  The  southern  parts  of  Judea, 
if  they  be  measured  lengthways,  are 
bounded  by  a  village  adjoining  to  the  con- 
fines of  Arabia;  the  Jews  that  dwell 
there  call  it  Jordan.  However,  its  breadth 
is  extended  from  the  river  Jordan  to 
Joppa.  The  city  Jerusalem  is  situated 
in  the  very  middle ;  on  which  account 
some  have,  with  sagacity  enough,  called 
that  city  the  Navel  of  the  country.  Nor 
iudeed  is  Judea  destitute  of  such  delights 
as  eome  from  the  sea,  since  its  maritime 
places  extend  as  far  as  Ptolemais  :  it  was 
parted  into  eleven  portions,  of  which  the 
royal  city  Jerusalem  was  the  supreme, 
and  presided  over  all  the  neighbouring 
country,  as  the  head  does  over  the  body. 
As  to  the  other  cities  that  were  inferior 
to  it,  they  presided  over  their  several  to- 
parchies  ;  Gophna  was  the  second  of  those 
cities,  and  next  to  that  Acrabatta,  after 
them  Thamna,  and  Lydda,  and  Emmaus, 
and  Pella,  and  Idumea,  and  Engeddi,  and 
Herodium,  and  Jericho ;  and  after  them 
came  Jamnia  and  Joppa,  as  presiding  over 
the  neighbouring  people ;  and  besides 
these  there  was  the  region  of  Gamala,  and 
G-aulanitis,  and  Batanea,  and  Trachonitis, 
which  are  also  parts  of  the  kingdom  ot 
Agrippa.  This  [last]  country  begins  at 
Mount  Libanus,  and  the  fountains  of 
Jordan,  and  reaches  breadthways  to  the 
lake  of  Tiberias;  and  in  length  is  ex- 
tended from  a  village  called  Arpha,  as  far 
as  Julias.  Its  inhabitants  are  a  mixture 
of  Jews  and  Syrians.  And  thus  have  I, 
with  all  possible  brevity,  described    the 


country  of  Judea,  and  those  that  lie  round 
about  it. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Josephus  makes  an  attempt  upon  Sepphori3,  but  H 
repelled — Titus  joins  Vespasian  at  Ptolemais. 

Now  the  auxiliaries  who  were  sent  to 
assist  the  people  of  Sepphoris,  being  1000 
horsemen,  and  6000  footmen,  under  Pla- 
cidus,  the  tribune,  pitched  their  camp  in 
two  bodies  in  the  great  plain.  The  foot 
were  put  into  the  city  to  be  a  guard  to 
it;  but  the  horse  lodged  abroad  in  the 
camp.  These  last,  by  marching  conti- 
nually one  way  or  other,  and  overrunning 
the  parts  of  the  adjoining  country,  were 
very  troublesome  to  Josephus  and  his 
men ;  they  also  plundered  all  the  places 
that  were  out  of  the  city's  liberty,  and 
intercepted  such  as  durst  go  abroad.  On 
this  account  it  was  that  Josephus  marched 
against  the  city,  as  hoping  to  take  what 
he  had  lately  encompassed  with  so  strong 
a  wall,  before  they  revolted  from  the  rest 
of  the  Galileans,  that  the  Romans  would 
have  much  ado  to  take  it :  by  which 
means  he  proved  too  weak,  and  failed  of 
his  hopes,  both  as  to  forcing  the  place, 
and  to  his  prevailing  with  the  people  of 
Sepphoris  to  deliver  it  up  to  him.  By 
this  means  he  provoked  the  Romans  to 
treat  the  country  according  to  the  law  of 
war;  nor  did  the  Romans,  out  of  the 
anger  they  bore  at  this  attempt,  leave  off 
either  by  night  or  by  day,  burning  the 
places  in  the  plain,  or  stealing  away  the 
cattle  that  were  in  the  country,  and  kill- 
ing whatsoever  appeared  capable  of  fight- 
ing perpetually,  and  leading  the  weaker 
people  as  slaves  into  captivity;  so  that 
Galilee  was  all  over  filled  with  fire  and 
blood ;  nor  was  it  exempted  from  any 
kind  of  misery  or  calamity;  for  the  only 
refuge  they  had  was  this,  that  when  they 
were  pursued,  they  could  retire  to  the 
cities  which  had  walls  built  them  by  Jo- 
sephus. 

But  as  to  Titus,  he  sailed  over  from 
Achaia  to  Alexandria,  and  that  sooner, 
than  the  winter  season  did  usually  per- 
mit ;  so  he  took  with  him  those  forces  he 
was  sent  for,  and  marching  with  great  ex- 
pedition, he  came  suddenly  to  Ptolemais, 
and  there  finding  his  father,  together  with 
the  two  legions,  the  fifth  and  tenth,  which 
were  the  most  eminent  legions  of  all,  he 
joined  them  to  that  fifteenth  legion  which 
was    with    bis    father :    eighteen    cohort* 


Cii  ip.  v.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


733 


followed  these  legions  :  there  came  also 
five  cohorts  from  Cesarea,  with  one  troop 
of  horsemen,  and  five  other  troops  of 
horsemen  from  Syria.  Now  these  ten 
cohorts  had  severally  1000  footmen,  but 
the  other  thirteen  cohorts  had  no  more 
than  600  footmen  apiece,  with  120  horse- 
men. There  were  also  a  considerable 
number  of  auxiliaries  got  together,  that 
came  from  the  Kings  Antiochus  and 
Agrippa  and  Sohemus,  each  of  them 
contributing  1000  footmen  that  were 
archers,  and  1000  horsemen.  Malchus 
also,  the  king  of  Arabia,  sent  1000  horse- 
men, besides  5000  footmen,  the  greatest 
part  of  whom  were  archers;  so  that  the 
whole  army,  including  the  auxiliaries  sent 
by  the  kings,  as  well  horsemen  as  foot- 
men, when  all  were  united  together, 
amounted  to  60,000,  besides  the  servants, 
who,  as  they  followed  in  vast  numbers, 
so,  because  they  had  been  trained  up  in 
war  with  the  rest,  ought  not  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  fighting  men;  for  as 
they  were  in  their  masters'  service  in 
times  of  peace,  so  did  they  undergo  the 
like  dangers  with  them  in  times  of  war, 
insomuch  that  they  were  inferior  to  none, 
either  in  skill  or  in  strength,  only  they 
were  subject  to  their  masters. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Deecription  of  the  Roman  armies  and  camps. 

Now  here  one  cannot  but  admire  at 
the  precaution  of  the  Romans,  in  providing 
themselves  of  such  household  servants,  as 
might  not  only  serve  at  other  times  for 
ihe  common  offices  of  life,  but  might  also 
be  of  advantage  to  them  in  their  wars; 
and,  indeed,  if  any  one  does  but  attend 
to  the  other  parts  of  their  military  dis- 
cipline, he  will  be  forced  to  confess  that 
their  obtaining  so  large  a  dominion  hath 
been  the  acquisition  of  their  valour,  and 
not  the  bare  gift  of  fortune ;  for  they  do 
not  begin  to  use  their  weapons  first  in 
time  of  war,  nor  do  they  then  put  their 
hands  tirst  into  motion,  while  they  avoided 
so  to  do  in  times  of  peace;  but,  as  if  their 
weapons  did  always  cling  to  them,  they 
have  never  any  truce  from  warlike  exer- 
cises; nor  do  they  stay  till  times  of  war 
admonish  them  to  use  them;  for  their 
military  exercises  differ  not  at  all  from 
the  real  use  of  their  arms,  but  ever}' 
soldier  is  every  day  exercised,  and  that 
with  great  diligence,  as  if  it  were  in  time 
of  war  which  is  the  reason  why  they  bear 


the  fatigue  of  battles  so  easily  ;  for  neither 
can  any  disorder  remove  them  from  their 
usual  regularity,  nor  can  fear  affright  them 
out  of  it,  nor  can  labour  tire  them  ;  which 
j  firmness  of  conduct  makes  them  always  to 
!  overcome  those  that   have  not   the  same 
:  firmness;  nor  would  he  be  mistaken  that 
should  call  those  their  exercises  unbloody 
'  battles,    and    their    battles    bloody  exer 
cises.     Nor  can  their  enemies  easily  sur- 
prise them  with  the  suddenness  of  their 
|  incursions ;     for    as    soon    as    they    have 
marched  into    an  enemy's  land,  they  do 
not   begin  to  fight  till  they  have  walled 
their  camp  about ;   nor  is  the  fence  they 
raise    rashly  made,  or   uneven ;     nor   do 
they  all  abide  in  it,  nor  do  those  that  are 
in  it  take  their  places  at  random;  but  if 
it  happens  that  the  ground  is  uneven,  it 
is  first  levelled :   their  camp  is  also  four- 
square  by   measure,   and   carpenters   are  x 
ready,  in  great  numbers,  with  their  tools, 
to  erect  their  buildings  for  them.* 

As  for  what  is  within  the  camp,  it  is 
set  apart  for  tents,  but  the  outward  cir- 
cumference hath  the  resemblance  of  a 
wall,  and  is  adorned  with  towers  at  equal 
distances,  where,  between  the  towers, 
stand  the  engines  for  throwing  arrows  and 
darts,  and  for  slinging  stones,  and  where 
they  lay  all  other  engines  that  can  annoy 
the  enemy,  all  ready  for  their  several 
operations.  They  also  erect  four  gates, 
one  at  every  side  of  the  circumference, 
and  those  large  enough  for  the  entrance 
of  the  beasts,  and  wide  enough  for  making 
excursions,  if  occasion  should  require. 
They  divide  the  camp  within  into  streets, 
very  conveniently,  and  place  the  tents  of 
the  commanders  in  the  middle ;  but  in 
the  very  midst  of  all  is  the  general's  own 
tent,  in  the  nature  of  a  temple,  insomuch 
that  it  appears  to  be  a  city  built  on  the 
sudden,  with  its  market-place,  and  place 
for  handicraft  trades,  and  with  seats  for 
the  officers,  superior  and  inferior ;  where, 
if  any  differences  arise,  their  causes  are 
heard  and  determined.  The  camp,  and 
all  that  is  in  it,  is  encompassed  with  a 
a  wall  round  about,  and  that  sooner  than 


*  This  description  of  the  exact  symmetry  and 
regularity  of  the  Roman  army,  and  of  tho  Roman 
encampments,  with  the  sounding  their  trumpets, 
&c,  and  order  of  war,  described  in  thin  and  the 
next  section,  is  so  very  like  to  the  symmetry  and 
regularity  of  the  people  of  Israel  in  tho  wilderness, 
that  one  cannot  well  avoid  the  supposal  that  the 
one  was  the  ultimate  pattern  of  the  other,  and  thai 
the  tactics  of  tho  ancients  were  taken  from  tbe 
rules  given  to  Moses. 


734 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III, 


one  would  imagine,  and  this  by  the  mul- 
titude and  the  skill  of  the  labourers  j  and, 
if  occasion  require,  a  trench  is  drawn 
round  the  whole,  whose  depth  is  four 
cubits,  and  its  breadth  equal. 

When  they  have  thus  secured  them- 
selves, they  live  together  by  companies, 
with  quietness  and  decency,  as  are  all 
their  other  affairs  managed  with  good 
order  and  security.  Each  company  hath 
also  their  wood,  and  their  corn,  and  their 
water  brought  them,  when  they  stand  in 
need  of  them ;  for  they  neither  sup  nor 
dine  as  they  please,  themselves  singly,  but 
all  together.  Their  times  also  for  sleep- 
ing and  watching  and  rising  are  notified 
beforehand  by  the  sound  of  trumpets,  nor 
is  any  thing  done  without  such  a  signal; 
and  in  the  morning  the  soldiery  go  every 
one  to  their  centurions,  and  these  cen- 
*  turions  to  their  tribunes,  to  salute  them ; 
with  whom  all  the  superior  officers  go  to 
the  general  of  the  whole  army,  who  then 
gives  them  of  course  the  watchword  and 
other  orders,  to  be  by  them  carried  to  all 
that  arc  under  their  command ;  which  is 
also  observed  when  they  go  to  fight,  and 
thereby  they  turn  themselves  about  on 
the  sudden,  when  there  is  occasion  for 
making  sallies,  as  they  come  back  when 
they  are  recalled,  in  crowds  also. 

When  they  are  to  go  out  of  their  camp, 
the  trumpet  gives  a  sound,  at  which  time 
nobody  lies  still,  but  at  the  first  intimation 
they  take  down  their  tents,  and  all  is  made 
ready  for  their  going  out ;  then  do  the 
trumpets  sound  again,  to  order  them  to 
get  ready  for  the  march  ;  then  do  they  lay 
their  baggage  suddenly  upon  their  mules 
and  other  beasts  of  burden,  and  stand,  at 
the  place  for  starting,  ready  to  march  ; 
when  also  they  set  fire  to  their  camp,  and 
this  they  do  because  it  will  be  easy  for 
them  to  erect  another  camp,  and  that  it 
may  not  ever  be  of  use  to  their  enemies. 
Then  do  the  trumpets  give  a  sound  the 
tbird  time,  that  they  are  to  go  out,  in  or- 
der to  excite  those  that  on  any  account 
are  a  little  tardy,  that  so  no  one  may  be 
out  of  his  rank  when  the  army  marches. 
Then  does  the  crier  stand  at  the  general's 
right  hand,  and  asks  them  thrice,  in  their 
own  tongue, whether  they  be  now  ready  to 
go  out  to  war  or  not.  To  w7hich  they  re- 
ply as  often,  with  a  loud  and  cheerful  voice, 
saying,  "  We  are  ready."  And  this  they 
do  almost  before  the  question  is  asked 
them;  they  do  this  as  filled  with  a  kind 
of   martial    fury,  and    a4    the  time    that 


they  so  cry  out,  they  lift  up    their  hands 
also. 

When,  after  this,  they  are  gone  out  of 
their  camp,  they  all  march  without  noise, 
and  in  a  decent  manner,  and  every  one 
keeps  his  own  rank,  as  if  they  were  going 
to  war.  The  footmen  are  armed  with 
breastplates  and  headpieces,  and  have 
swords  on  each  side  ;  but  the  sword  which 
is  upon  their  left  side  is  much  longer  than 
the  other ;  for  that  on  the  right  side  is 
not  longer  than  a  span.  Those  footmen 
also  that  are  chosen  out  from  among  the 
rest  to  be  about  the  general  himself,  have 
a  lance  and  a  buckler ;  but  the  rest  of 
the  foot-soldiers  have  a  spear  and  a  long 
buckler,  besides  a  saw  and  a  basket,  a 
pickaxe,  and  an  axe,  a  thong  of  leather, 
and  a  hook,  with  provisions  for  three  days ; 
so  that  a  footman  hath  no  great  need  of  a 
mule  to  carry  his  burdens.  The  horse- 
men have  a  long  sword  on  their  right  sides, 
and  a  long  pole  in  their  hand  :  a  shield 
also  lies  by  them  obliquely  on  one  side  of 
their  horses,  with  three  or  more  darts  that 
are  borne  in  their  quiver,  having  broad 
points,  and  no  smaller  than  spears.  They 
have  also  headpieces  and  breastplates,  in 
like  manner  as  have  all  the  footmen. 
And  for  those  that  are  chosen  to  be  about 
the  general,  their  armour  noway  differs 
from  that  of  the  horsemen  belonging  to 
other  troops;  and  he  always  leads  the  le- 
gions forth  to  whom  the  lot  assigns  that 
employment. 

This  is  the  manner  of  the  marching  and 
resting  of  the  Romans,  as  also  these  are 
the  several  sorts  of  weapons  they  use. 
But  when  they  are  to  fight,  they  leave 
nothing  without  forecast,  nor  to  be  done 
offhand,  but  counsel  is  ever  first  taken  be- 
fore any  work  is  begun,  and  what  hath 
been  there  resolved  upon  is  put  into  ex- 
ecution presently  ;  for  w7hich  reason  they 
seldom  commit  any  errors;  and  if  they 
have  been  mistaken  at  any  time,  they 
easily  correct  those  mistakes.  They  also 
esteem  any  errors  they  comm  \t  upon  taking 
counsel  beforehand,  to  be  better  than  such 
rash  success  as  is-  owing  to  fortune  only; 
because  such  a  fortuitous  advantage  tempts 
them  to  be  inconsiderate,  while  consults 
ation,  though  it  may  sometimes  fail  ot 
success,  hath  this  good  in  it,  that  it  makes 
men  more  careful  hereafter  :  but  for  the 
advantages  that  arise  from  chance,  they 
are  not  owing  to  him  that  gains  them; 
and  as  to  what  melancholy  accidents  hap- 
nen  uik  xpecledly,  there  is  this  comfort  in 


Chap.  VI 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS 


735 


them,  that  they  had  however  taken  the 
best  consultations  they  could  to  prevent 
them. 

Now  they  so  manage  their  preparatory 
exercises  of  their  weapons,  that  not  the 
bodies  of  the  soldiers  only,  but  their  souls 
may  also  become  stronger  :  they  are  more- 
over hardened  for  war  by  fear ;  for  their 
laws  inflict  capital  punishments,  not  only 
for  soldiers  running  away  from  their  ranks, 
but  for  slothfulness  and  inactivity,  though 
it  be  but  in  a  lesser  degree  ;  as  are  their 
generals  more  severe  than  their  laws,  for 
they  prevent  any  imputation  of  cruelty 
toward  those  under  condemnation,  by  the 
great  rewards  they  bestow  on  the  valiant 
soldiers;  and  the  readiness  of  obeying 
their  commanders  is  so  great,  that  it  is 
very  ornamental  in  peace  ;  but  when  they 
come  to  a  battle,  the  whole  army  is  but 
one  body,  so  well  coupled  together  are 
their  ranks,  so  sudden  are  their  turnings 
about,  so  sharp  their  hearing  as  to  what 
orders  are  given  them,  so  quick  their  sight 
of  the  ensigns,  and  so  nimble  are  their 
hands  when  they  set  to  work  ;  whereby  it 
comes  to  pass,  that  what  they  do  is  done 
quickly,  and  what  they  suffer  they  bear 
with  the  greatest  patience.  Nor  can  we 
find  any  examples  where  they  have  been 
conquered  in  battle,  when  they  came  to  a 
close  %ht,  either  by  the  multitude  of  the 
enemies,  or  by  their  stratagems,  or  by  the 
difficulties  in  the  places  they  were  in  j  no, 
nor  by  fortune  neither,  for  their  victories 
have  been  surer  to  them  than  fortune 
could  have  granted  them.  In  a  case, 
therefore,  where  counsel  still  goes  before 
action,  and  where,  after  taking  the  best 
advice,  that  advice  is  followed  by  so  ac- 
tive an  army,  what  wonder  is  it  that 
Euphrates  on  the  east,  the  ocean  on  the 
west,  the  most  fertile  regions  of  Libya  on 
the  south,  and  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine 
on  the  north,  are  the  limits  of  this  empire. 
One  might  well  say,  that  the  Roman  pos- 
sessions are  not  inferior  to  the  Romans 
themselves. 

This  account  I  have  given  the  reader, 
not  so  much  with  the  intention  of  com- 
mending the  Romans,  as  of  comforting 
those  that  have  been  conquered  by  them, 
and  for  deterring  others  from  attempting 
innovations  under  their  government. 
This  discourse  of  the  Roman  military  con- 
duct may  also  perhaps  be  of  use  to  such 
of  the  curious  as  are  ignorant  of  it,  and 
yet  have  a  mind  to  know  it  I  return  now 
from  this  digression 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Placidus  attempts  to  take  Jotapata,  but  is  re- 
pulsed— Vespasian  marches  into  Galilee. 

And  now  Vespasian,  with  his  son  Titus, 
had  tarried  some  time  at  Ptolemais,  and 
had  put  his  army  in  order.  But  when 
Placidus,  who  had  overrun  G-alilee,  and 
had  besides  slain  a  number  of  those  whom 
he  had  caught  (which  were  only  the  weak- 
er part  of  the  Galileans,  and  such  as  were 
of  timorous  souls,)  saw  that  the  warriors 
ran  always  to  those  cities  whose  walls  had 
been  built  by  Josephus,  he  marched 
furiously  against  Jotapata,  which  was  of 
them  all  the  strongest,  as  supposing  he 
should  easily  take  it  by  a  sudden  surprise, 
and  that  he  should  thereby  obtain  great 
honour  to  himself  among  the  commanders, 
and  bring  a  great  advantage  to  them  in 
their  future  campaign ;  because,  if  this 
strongest  place  of  them  all  were  once  taken, 
the  rest  would  be  so  affrighted  as  to  sur- 
render themselves.  But  he  was  mightily 
mistaken  in  his  undertaking ;  for  the  men 
of  Jotapata  were  apprized  of  his  coming 
to  attack  them,  and  came  out  of  the  city, 
and  expected  him  there.  So  they  fought 
the  Romans  briskly  when  they  least  ex- 
pected it,  being  both  many  in  number, 
and  prepared  for  fighting,  and  of  great 
alacrity,  as  esteeming  their  couutry,  their 
wives,  and  their  children  to  be  in  danger, 
and  easily  put  the  Romans  to  flight,  and 
wounded  many  of  them,  and  slew  seven 
of  them ;  because  their  retreat  was  not 
made  in  a  disorderly  manner,  because  the 
strokes  only  touched  the  surface  of  their 
bodies,  which  were  covered  with  their  ar- 
mour in  all  parts,  and  because  the  Jews 
did  rather  throw  their  weapons  upon  them 
from  a  great  distance,  than  venture  to 
come  hand  to  hand  with  them,  and  had 
only  light  armour  on,  while  the  others 
were  completely  armed.  However,  three 
men  of  the  Jews'  side  were  slain,  and  a 
few  wounded  :  so  Placidus,  finding  him- 
self unable  to  assault  the  city,  ran  away. 

But  as  Vespasian  had  a  great  mind  to 
fall  upon  Galilee,  he  marched  out  from 
Ptolemais,  having  put  his  army  into  that 
order  wherein  the  Romans  used  to  march 
He  ordered  those  auxiliaries  which  were 
lightly  armed,  and  the  archers,  to  march 
first,  that  they  might  prevent  any  sudden 
insults  from  the  enemy,  and  might  search 
out  the  woods  that  looked  suspiciously, 
and  were  capable  of  ambuscades.  Nexi 
to  these  followed  that  par*  of  the  Rouam* 


736 


WARS    OF    THE   JEW'S. 


[Book  11L 


who  were  most  completely  armed,  both 
footmen  and  horsemen.  Next  to  these 
followed  ten  out  of  every  100,  carrying 
along  with  them  their  arms,  and  what  was 
necessary  to  measure  out  a  camp  withal; 
and  after  them,  such  as  were  to  make  the 
road  even  and  straight,  and  if  it  were  any- 
where rough  and  hard  to  be  passed  over, 
to  plane  it,  and  to  cut  down  the  woods 
that  hindered  their  march,  that  the  army 
might  not  be  in  distress,  or  tired  with 
their  march.  Behind  these  he  set  such 
carriages  of  the  army  as  belonged  both  to 
himself  and  to  the  other  commanders, 
with  a  considerable  number  of  their  horse- 
men for  their  security.  After  these  he 
marched  himself,  having  with  him  a  select 
body  of  footmen  and  horsemen  and  pike- 
men.  After  these  came  the  peculiar  ca- 
valry of  his  own  legion,  for  there  were  120 
horsemen  that  peculiarly  belonged  to  every 
legion.  Next  to  these  came  the  mules 
that  carried  the  engines  for  sieges,  and 
the  other  warlike  machines  of  that  nature. 
After  these  came  the  commanders  of  the 
cohorts,  and  tribunes,  having  about  them 
soldiers  chosen  out  of  the  rest.  Then 
came  the  ensigns  encompassing  the  eagle, 
which  is  at  the  head  of  every  Roman  le- 
gion, the  king  and  the  strongest  of  all 
birds,  which  seems  to  them  a  signal  of 
dominion,  and  an  omen  that  they  shall 
conquer  all  against  whom  they  march  ; 
these  sacred  ensigns  are  followed  by  the 
trumpeters.  Then  came  the  main  army 
in  their  squadrons  and  battalions  with  six 
men  in  depth,  which  were  followed  at  last 
by  a  centurion,  who,  according  to  custom, 
observed  the  rest.  As  for  the  servants  of 
every  legion,  they  all  followed  the  foot- 
men, and  led  the  baggage  of  the  soldiers, 
which  was  borne  by  the  mules  and  other 
beasts  of  burden.  But  behind  all  the  le- 
gions came  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
mercenaries;  and  those  that  brought  up 
the  rear  came  last  of  all,  for  the  security 
of  the  whole  army,  being  both  footmen, 
and  those.in  their  armour  also,  with  a  great 
number  of  horsemen. 

And  thus  did  Vespasian  march  with  his 
army,  and  came  to  the  bounds  of  Galilee, 
where  he  pitched  his  camp  and  restrained 
his  soldiers,  who  were  eager  for  war ;  he 
also  showed  his  army  to  the  enemy,  in  or- 
der to  affright  them,  and  to  afford  them  a 
season  for  repentance,  to  see  whether  they 
would  change  their  minds  before  it  came 
to  a  battle,  and  at  the  same  time  he  got 
things   ready  for  besieging   their  strong- 


holds. And  indeed  this  sight  of  the  gene- 
ral brought  many  to  repent  of  their  revolt, 
and  put  them  all  into  a  consternation ;  for 
those  that  were  in  Josephus's  camp  which 
was  at  the  city  called  Garis,  not  far  from 
Sepphoris,  when  they  heard  that  the  war 
was  come  near  them,  and  that  the  Romans 
would  certainly  fight  them  hand  to  hand,  dis- 
persed themselves  and  fled,  not  only  before 
they  came  to  a  battle,  but  before  the 
enemy  ever  came  in  sight,  while  Josephus 
and  a  few  others  were  left  behind  ;  and 
as  he  saw  that  he  had  not  an  army  suffi- 
cient to  engage  the  enemy,  that  the  spirits 
of  the  Jews  were  sunk,  and  that  the  great- 
er part  would  willingly  come  to  terms,  if 
they  might  be  credited,  he  already  de- 
spaired of  the  success  of  the  whole  war, 
and  determined  to  get  as  far  as  he  pos- 
sibly could  out  of  danger;  so  he  took 
those  that  stayed  along  with  him,  and 
fled  to  Tiberias. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Vespasian  takes  Gadara,  and  marches  to  Jotapata, 
which  is  betrayed  by  a  deserter. 

So  Vespasian  marched  to  the  city  Ga^ 
dara,  and  took  it  upon  the  first  onset,  be- 
cause he  found  it  destitute  of  any  con- 
siderable number  of  men  grown  up  and 
fit  for  war.  He  came  then  into  it,  and 
slew  all  the  youth,  the  Romans  having 
no  mercy  on  any  age  whatsoever;  and  this 
was  done  out  of  the  hatred  they  bore  the 
nation,  and  because  of  the  iniquity  they 
had  been  guilty  of  in  the  affair  of  Cestius. 
lie  also  set  fire,  not  only  to  the  city  itself, 
but  to  all  the  villas  and  small  cities  that 
were  round  about  it :  some  of  them  were 
quite  destitute  of  inhabitants;  and  out  of 
some  of  them  he  carried  the  inhabitants 
as  slaves  into  captivity. 

As  to  Josephus,  his  retiring  into  that 
city  which  he  chose  as  the  most  fit  for  his 
security,  put  it  into  great  fear;  for  the 
people  of  Tiberias  did  not  imagine  that 
he  would  have  run  away,  unless  he  had 
entirely  despaired  of  the  success  of  the 
war;  and  indeed,  as  to  that  point,  they 
were  not  mistaken  about  his  opinion ;  for 
he  saw  whither  the  affairs  of  the  Jews 
would  tend  at  last,  and  was  sensible  that 
they  had  but  one  way  of  escaping,  and 
that  was  by  repentance.  However,  al- 
though he  expected  that  the  Romans 
would  forgive  him,  yet  did  he  choose  to 
die  many  times  over  rather  than  to  be- 
tray his  country,  and  to  dishonour  that 
supreme  command  of  the  army  which  had 


Chap.  VII  ] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


737 


been  intrusted  with  him,  or  to  live  hap- 
pily under  those  against  whom  he  was 
sent  to  fight.  He  determined,  therefore,  to 
aive  an  exactaccount  of  affairs  to  the  princi- 
pal men  at  Jerusalem  by  a  letter,  that  he 
might  not,  by  too  much  aggrandizing  the 
power  of  the  enemy,  make  them  too  tim- 
orous; nor,  by  relating  that  their  power 
beneath  the  truth,  might  encourage  them 
to  stand  out  when  they  were  perhaps  dis- 
posed to  repentance.  He  also  sent  them 
word,  that  if  they  thought  of  coming  to 
terms,  they  must  suddenly  write  him  an 
answer ;  or,  if  they  resolved  upon  war, 
they  must  send  him  an  army  sufficient  to 
fight  the  Romans.  Accordingly,  he  wrote 
these  things,  and  sent  messengers  imme- 
diately to  carry  his  letter  to  Jerusalem. 

Now  Vespasian  was  very  desirous  of 
demolishing  Jotapata,  for  he  had  gotten  in- 
telligence that  the  greatest  part  of  the  ene- 
my had  retired  thither;  and  that  it  was, 
on  other  accounts,  a  place  of  great  secu- 
rity to  them.  Accordingly,  he  sent  both 
footmen  and  horsemen  to  level  the  road, 
which  was  mountainous  and  rocky,  not 
without  difficulty  to  be  travelled  over  by 
footmen,  but  absolutely  impracticable  for 
horsemen.  Now  these  workmen  accom- 
plished what  they  were  about  in  four  days' 
time,  and  opened  a  broad  way  for  the 
army.  On  the  fifth  day,  which  was  the 
twenty-first  of  the  month  Artemisius, 
(Jyar,)  Josephus  prevented  him,  and 
came  from  Tiberias,  and  went  into  Jota- 
pata, and  raised  the  drooping  spirits  of 
the  Jews.  And  a  certain  deserter  told  this 
good  news  to  Vespasian,  that  Josephus  had 
removed  himself  thither,  which  made  him 
make  haste  to  the  city,  as  supposing  that 
with  taking  that  he  should  take  all  Judea, 
in  case  he  could  but  withal  get  Josephus 
under  his  power.  So  he  took  this  news 
to  be  of  the  vastest  advantage  to  him,  and 
believed  it  to  be  brought  about  hy  the 
providence  of  God,  that  he  who  appeared 
to  be  the  most  prudent  man  of  all  their 
enemies,  had,  of  his  own  accord,  shut 
himself  up  in  a  place  of  sure  custody. 
Accordingly  he  sent  Placidus  with  1000 
horsemen,  and  Ebutius,  a  decurion,  a  per- 
son that  was  of  eminency  both  in  council 
and  in  action,  to  encompass  the  city  round, 
that  Josephus  might  not  escape  away  pri- 
vately. 

Vespasian  also,  the  very  next  day,  took 
his  whole  army  and  followed  them,  and 
by  marching  till  late  in  the  evening,  ar- 
rived then  at  Jotapata;  and  bringing  his 
47 


army  to  the  northern  side  of  the  city,  he 
pitched  his  camp  on  a  certain  small  hill 
which  was  seven  furlongs  from  the  city, 
and  still  greatly  endeavoured  to  be  well  seen 
by  the  enemy,  to  put  them  into  a  conster- 
nation, which  was  indeed  so  terrible  to  the 
Jews  immediately,  that  no  one  of  them 
durst  go  out  beyond  the  wall.  Yet  did 
the  Romans  put  off  the  attack  at  that 
time,  because  they  had  marched  all  the 
day,  although  they  placed  a  double  row 
of  battalions  round  the  city,  with  a  third 
row  beyond  them  round  the  whole,  which 
consisted  of  cavalry,  in  order  to  stop  up 
every  way  for  an  exit ;  which  thing  making 
the  Jews  despair  of  escaping,  excited  them 
to  act  more  boldly  ;  for  nothing  makes  men 
fight  so  desperately  in  war  as  necessity. 

Now  when  an  assault  was  made  the 
next  day  by  the  Romans,  the  Jews  at  first 
stayed  out  of  the  walls  and  opposed  them ; 
and  met  them,  as  having  formed  them- 
selves a  camp  before  the  city  walls.  But 
when  Vespasian  had  set  against  them  the 
archers  and  slingers,  and  the  whole  mul- 
titude that  could  throw  to  a  great  distance, 
he  permitted  them  to  go  to  work,  while 
he  himself,  with  the  footmen,  got  upon 
an  acclivity,  whence  the  city  might  easily 
be  taken.  Josephus  was  then  in  fear  for 
the  city,  and  leaped  out,  and  all  the  Jew- 
ish multitude  with  him  ;  these  fell  together 
upon  the  Romans  in  great  numbers,  and 
drove  them  away  from  the  wall,  and  per- 
formed a  great  many  glorious  and  bold 
actions.  Yet  did  they  suffer  as  much  as 
they  made  the  enemy  suffer ;  for  as  despair 
of  deliverance  encouraged  the  Jews,  so 
did  a  sense  of  shame  equally  encourage 
the  Romans.  These  last  had  skill  as 
well  as  strength;  the  other  had  only  cou- 
rage, which  armed  them  and  made  them 
fight  furiously.  And  when  the  fight  had 
lasted  all  day,  it  was  put  an  end  to  by  tho 
coming  on  of  the  night.  They  had 
wounded  a  great  many  of  the  Romans, 
and  killed  of  them  thirteen  men ;  of  the 
Jews'  side  seventeen  men  were  slain,  and 
600  wounded. 

On  the  next  day  the  Jews  made  another 
attack  upon  the  Romans,  and  went  out  of 
the  walls,  and  fought  a  much  more  des- 
perate battle  with  them  than  before;  for 
they  were  now  become  more  courageous 
than  formerly,  and  that  on  account,  of  the 
unexpected  good  opposition  they  had  made 
the  day  before,  as  they  found  the  Ro- 
mans also  to  fight  more  desperately  ;  fojr 
a   sense  of  shame  inflamed   thoho   into  a 


738 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  in 


passion,  as  esteeming  their  failure  of  a 
sudden  victory  to  be  a  kind  of  defeat. 
Thus  did  the  Romans  try  to  make  an  im- 
pression upon  the  Jews  till  the  fifth  day 
continually,  while  the  people  of  Jotapata 
made  sallies  out,  and  fought  at  the  walls 
most  desperately;  nor  were  the  Jews  af- 
frighted at  the  strength  of  the  enemy, 
nor  were  the  Romans  discouraged  at  the 
difficulties  they  met  with  in  taking  the 
city. 

Now  Jotapata  is  almost  all  of  it  built 
upon  a  precipice,  having  on  all  the  other 
sides  of  it  every  way  valleys  immensely 
deep  and  steep,  insomuch  that  those  who 
would  look  down  would  have  their  sight 
fail  them  before  it  reaches  to  the  bottom. 
It  is  only  to  be  come  at  on  the  north  side, 
where  the  utmost  part  of  the  city  is  built 
on  the  mountain,  as  it  ends  obliquely  at 
a  plain.  This  mountain  Josephus  had  en- 
compassed with  a  wall  when  he  fortified 
the  city,  that  its  top  might  not  be  capable 
of  being  seized  upon  by  the  enemies. 
The  city  is  covered  all  round  with  other 
mountains,  and  can  noway  be  seen  till  a 
man  comes  just  upon  it.  And  this  was 
the  strong  situation  of  Jotapata. 

Vespasktn,  therefore,  in  order  to  try 
how  he  might  overcome  the  natural 
strength  of  the  place,  as  well  as  the  bold 
defence  of  the  Jews,  made  a  resolution 
to  prosecute  the  siege  with  vigour.  To 
that  end  he  called  the  commanders  that 
were  under  him  to  a  council  of  war,  and 
consulted  with  them  which  way  the  as- 
sault might  be  managed  to  the  best  advan- 
tage ;  and  when  the  resolution  was  there 
taken  to  raise  a  bank  against  that  part  of 
the  wall  which  was  practicable,  he  sent 
his  whole  army  abroad  to  get  the  materials 
together.  So  when  they  had  cut  down 
all  the  trees  on  the  mountains  that  ad- 
joined to  the  city,  and  had  gotten  to- 
gether a  vast  heap  of  stones,  besides  the 
wood  they  had  cut  down,  some  of  them 
brought  hurdles,  in  order  to  avoid  the  ef- 
fects of  the  darts  that  were  shot  from 
above  them.  These  hurdles  they  spread 
over  their  banks,  under  cover  whereof 
they  formed  their  bank,  and  so  were  lit- 
tle or  nothing  hurt  by  the  darts  that  were 
thrown  upon  them  from  the  wall,  while 
others  pulled  the  neighbouring  hillocks  to- 
pieces,  and  perpetually  brought  earth  to 
them ;  so  that  while  they  were  busy  three 
sorts  of  ways,  nobody  was  idle.  How- 
ever, the  Jews  cast  great  stones  from  the 
walls  upon  the  hurdles  which  protected 


the  men,  with  all  sorts  of  darts  also ;  and 
the  noise  of  what  could  not  reach  them 
was  yet  so  terrible,  that  it  was  some  im- 
pediment to  the  workmen. 

Vespasian  then  sent  the  engines  for 
throwing  stones  and  darts  round  about 
the  city;  the  number  of  the  engines  was 
in  all  160 ;  and  bade  them  fall  to  work, 
and  dislodge  those  that  were  upon  the 
wall.  At  the  same  time  such  engines  as 
were  intended  for  that  purpose,  threw  at 
once  lances  upon  them  with  great  noise, 
and  stones  of  the  weight  of  a  talent  were 
thrown  by  the  engines  that  were  prepared 
for  that  purpose,  together  with  fire,  and  a 
vast  multitude  of  arrows,  which  made 
the  wall  so  dangerous,  that  the  Jews 
durst  not  only  not  come  upon  it,  but  durst 
not  come  to  those  parts  within  the  walls 
which  were  reached  by  the  engines ;  for 
the  multitude  of  the  Arabian  archers,  as 
well  also  as  all  those  that  threw  darts  and 
slung  stones,  fell  to  work  at  the  same 
time  with  the  engines.  Yet  did  not  the 
others  lie  still  when  they  could  not  throw 
at  the  Romans  from  a  higher  place ;  for 
they  then  made  sallies  out  of  the  city  like 
private  robbers,  by  parties,  and  pulled 
away  the  hurdles  that  covered  the  work- 
men, and  killed  them  when  they  were 
thus  naked  ;  and  when  those  workmen 
gave  way,  these  cast  away  the  earth  that 
composed  the  bank,  and  burnt  the  wood- 
en parts  of  it,  together  with  the  nurdles, 
till  at  length  Vespasian  perceived  that 
the  intervals  there  were  between  the 
works  were  of  disadvantage  to  him;  for 
those  spaces  of  ground  afforded  the  Jews 
a  place  for  assaulting  the  Romans.  So 
he  united  the  hurdles,  and  at  the  same 
time  joined  one  part  of  the  army  to  the 
other,  which  prevented  the  private  excur- 
sions of  the  Jews. 

And  when  the  bank  was  now  raised, 
and  brought  nearer  than  ever  to  the  bat- 
tlements that  belonged  to  the  walls,  Jo- 
sephus thought  it  would  be  entirely  wrong 
in  him  if  he  could  not  make  contrivances 
in  opposition  to  theirs,  and  that  might 
be  for  the  city's^  preservation;  so  he  got 
together  his  workmen,  and  ordered  them 
to  build  the  wall  higher;  and  when  they 
said  that  this  waB  impossible  to  be  done 
while  so  many  darts  were  thrown  at  them, 
he  invented  this  sort  of  cover  for  them : 
he  bade  them  fix  piles,  and  expand  before 
them  raw  hides  of  oxen  newly  killed, 
that  these  hides,  by  yielding  and  hollow- 
ing   themselves    when    the    stones    were 


V'HAP.    VII.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


739 


thrown  at  them,  might  receive  them,  for 
tbat  the  other  darts  would  slide  off  them, 
and  the  fire  that  was  thrown  would  be 
quenched  by  the  moisture  that  was  in 
them  ;  and  these  he  set  before  the  work- 
men; and  under  them  these  workmen  went 
on  with  their  works  in  safety,  and  raised 
the  wall  higher,  and  that  both  by  day  and 
by  night,  till  it  was  twenty  cubits  high. 
He  also  built  a  good  number  of  towers 
upon  the  wall,  and  fitted  it  to  strong  bat- 
tlements. This  greatly  discouraged  the 
Romans,  who  in  their  own  opinions  were 
already  gotten  within  the  walls,  while 
they  were  now  at  once  astonished  at  Jo- 
sephus'3  contrivance,  and  at  the  fortitude 
of  the  citizens  that  were  in  the  city. 

And  now  Vespasian  was  plainly  irri- 
tated at  the  great  subtilty  of  this  strata- 
gem, and  at  the  boldness  of  the  citizens  of 
Jotapata;  for,  taking  heart  again  upon  the 
building  of  this  wall,  they  made  fresh  sal- 
lies upon  the  Romans,  and  had  every  day 
conflicts  with  them  by  parties,  together 
with  all  such  contrivances  as  robbers  make 
use  of,  and  with  the  plundering  of  all 
that  came  to  hand,  as  also  with  the  set- 
ting fire  to  all  the  other  works ;  and  this 
till  Vespasian  made  his  army  leave  off 
fighting  them,  and  resolved  to  lie  round 
the  city,  and  to  starve  them  into  a  surren- 
der, as  supposing  that  either  they  would 
be  forced  to  petition  him  for  mercy  by 
want  of  provisions,  or,  if  they  should  have 
the  courage  to  hold  out  till  the  last,  they 
should  perish  by  famine :  and  he  con- 
cluded he  should  conquer  them  the  more 
easily  in  fighting,  if  he  gave  them  an  in- 
terval, and  then  fell  upon  them  when  they 
were  weakened  by  famine;  but  still  he 
gave  orders  that  they  should  guard  against 
their  coming  out  of  the  city. 

Now  the  besieged  had  plenty  of  corn 
within  the  city,  and  indeed  of  all  other 
necessaries,  but  they  wanted  water,  be- 
cause there  was  no  fountain  in  the  city, 
the  people  being  there  usually  satisfied 
with  rain-water ;  yet  it  is  a  rare  thing  in 
that  country  to  have  rain  in  summer,  and 
at  this  season,  during  the  siege,  they  were 
in  great  distress  for  some  contrivance  to 
satisfy  their  thirst;  and  they  were  very  sad 
at  this  time  particularly,  as  if  they  were 
already  in  want  of  water  entirely,  for  Jo- 
sephus,  seeing  that  the  city  abounded 
with  other  necessaries,  and  that  the  men 
were  of  good  courage,  and  being  desirous 
to  protract  the  siege  to  the  Romans  longer 
than  they  expected,  ordered  their  drink  to 


be  given  them  by  measure;  but  this  scanty 
distribution  of  water  by  measure  was 
deemed  by  them  as  a  thing  more  hard 
upon  them  than  the  want  of  it;  and  their 
not  being  able  to  drink  as  much  as  they 
would,  made  them  more  desirous  of 
drinking  than  they  otherwise  had  been; 
nay,  they  were  so  much  disheartened 
thereby  as  if  they  were  come  to  the  last 
degree  of  thirst.  Nor  were  the  Romans 
unacquainted  with  the  state  they  were  in, 
for  when  they  stood  over  against  them, 
beyond  the  wall,  they  could  see  them  run- 
ning together,  and  taking  their  water  by 
measure,  which  made  them  throw  their 
javelins  thither,  the  place  being  within 
their  reach,  and  kill  a  great  many  of  them. 

Hereupon  Vespasian  hoped  that  their 
receptacles  of  water  would  in  no  long  time 
be  emptied,  and  that  they  would  be  forced 
to  deliver  up  the  city  to  him;  but  Jo- 
sephus,  being  minded  to  break  such  his 
hope,  gave  command  that  they  should 
wet  a  great  many  of  their  clothes,  and 
hang  them  out  about  the  battlements,  till 
the  entire  walls  was  of  a  sudden  all  wet 
with  the  running  down  of  the  water.  At 
this  sight  the  Romans  were  discouraged, 
and  under  consternation,  when  they  saw 
them  able  to  throw  away  in  sport  so  much 
water,  when  they  supposed  them  not  to 
have  enough  to  drink  themselves.  This 
made  the  Roman  general  despair  of  taking 
the  city  by  their  want  of  necessaries,  and 
to  betake  himself  again  to  arms,  and  to 
try  to  force  them  to  surrender,  which  was 
what  the  Jews  greatly  desired;  for  as 
they  despaired  of  either  themselves  or 
their  city  being  able  to  escape,  they  pre- 
ferred a  death  in  battle  before  one  by 
hunger  and  thirst. 

However,  Josephus  conceived  another 
stratagem  besides  the  foregoing,  to  get 
plenty  of  what  they  wanted.  There  was 
a  certain  rough  and  uneven  place  that 
could  hardly  be  ascended,  and  on  that  ac- 
count was  not  guarded  by  the  soldiers ;  so 
Josephus  sent  out  certain  persons  along 
the  western  parts  of  the  valley,  and  by 
them  sent  letters  to  whom  he  pleased  of 
the  Jews  that  were  out  of  the  city,  and 
procured  from  them  what  necessaries  soever 
they  wanted  in  the  city  in  abundance;  he 
enjoined  them  also  to  creep  generally 
along  by  the  watch  as  they  came  into  the 
city,  and  to  cover  their  backs  with  such 
sheepskins  as  had  their  wool  upon  them, 
that  if  any  one  should  spy  them  in  the 
night-time,  they  might  be  believed   to  be 


740 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III 


dogs.  This  was  done  till  the  watch  per- 
ceived their  contrivance,  and  encompassed 
that  rough  place  about  themselves. 

And  now  it  was  that  Josephus  perceived 
that  the  city  could  not  hold  out  long,  and 
that  his  own  life  would  be  in  doubt  if  he 
continued  in  it;  so  he  consulted  how  he 
and  the  most  potent  men  of  the  city 
might  fly  out  of  it.  When  the  multitude 
understood  this,  they  came  all  round  about 
him,  and  begged  of  him  not  to  overlook 
them,  while  they  entirely  depended  on 
him,  and  him  alone;  for  that  there  was 
still  hope  of  the  city's  deliverance  if  he 
would  stay  with  them,  because  every- 
body would  undertake  any  pains  with 
great  cheerfulness  on  his  account,  and  in 
that  case  there  would  be  some  comfort  for 
them  also,  though  they  should  be  taken  : 
that  it  became  him  neither  to  fly  from  his 
enemies,  nor  to  desert  his  friends,  nor  to 
leap  out  of  that  city,  as  out  of  a  ship  that 
was  sinking  in  a  storm,  into  which  he 
came  when  it  was  quiet  and  in  a  calm ; 
for  that  by  going  away  he  would  be  the 
cause  of  drowning  the  city,  because  no- 
body would  then  venture  to  oppose  the 
enemy  when  he  was  once  gone,  upon 
whom  they  wholly  confided. 

Hereupon  Josephus  avoided  letting  them 
know  that  he  was  to  go  away  to  provide 
for  his  own  safety,  but  told  them  that  he 
would  go  out  of  the  city  for  their  sakes; 
for  that  if  he  stayed  with  them,  he  should 
he  able  to  do  them  little  good  while  they 
were  in  a  safe  condition ;  and  that  if  they 
were  once  taken,  he  should  only  perish 
with  them  to  no  purpose ;  but  that  if  he 
were  once  gotten  free  from  this  siege,  he 
should  be  able  to  bring  them  very  great 
relief;  for  that  he  wrould  then  imme- 
diately get  the  Galileans  together,  out  of 
the  country,  in  great  multitudes,  and  draw 
the  Romans  off  their  city  by  auother  war. 
That  he  did  not  see  what  advantage  he 
could  bring  to  them  nowT,  by  staying  among 
them,  but  only  provoke  the  Romans  to 
besiege  them  more  closely,  as  esteeming 
it  a  most  valuable  thing  to  take  him;  but 
that  if  they  were  once  informed  that  he 
was  fled  out  of  the  city,  they  would  greatly 
remit  of  their  eagerness  against  it.  Yet 
did  not  this  plea  move  the  people,  but  in- 
flamed them  the  more  to  hang  about  him. 
Accordingly,  both  the  children  and  the 
old  men,  and  the  women  with  their  in- 
fants, came  mourning  to  him,  and  fell 
down  before  him,  and  all  of  th^m  caught 
hold  of  his  feet,  and  held  him  fast,  and 


besought  him,  with  great  lamentations, 
that  he  would  take  his  share  with  them 
in  their  fortune;  and  I  think  they  did 
this,  not  that  they  envied  his  deliverance, 
but  that  they  hoped  for  their  own;  for 
they  could  not  think  they  should  suffer 
any  great  misfortune,  provided  Josephus 
would  but  stay  with  them. 

Now,  Josephus  thought,  that  if  he  re- 
solved to  stay,  it  would  be  ascribed  to 
their  entreaties ;  and  if  he  resolved  to  go 
away  by  force,  he  should  be  put  into  cus- 
tody. His  commiseration  also  of  the 
people  under  their  lamentation  had  much 
broken  that  of  his  eagerness  to  leave 
them;  so  he  resolved  to  stay,  and  arming 
himselr  with  the  common  despair  of  the 
citizens,  he  said  to  them,  "  Now  is  the 
time  to  begin  to  fight  in  earnest,  when 
there  is  no  hope  of  deliverance  left.  It 
is  a  brave  thing  to  prefer  glory  before 
life,  and  to  set  about  some  such  noble 
undertaking  as  may  be  remembered  by 
late  posterity."  Having  said  this,  he  fell 
to  work  immediately,  and  made  a  sally, 
and  dispersed  the  enemies'  outguaras, 
and  ran  as  far  as  the  Roman  camp  itself, 
and  pulled  the  coverings  of  their  tents  to 
pieces,  that  were  upon  tbeir  banks,  and 
set  fire  to  their  works.  And  this  was  the 
manner  in  which  he  never  left  off  fight- 
ing, neither  the  next  day  nor  the  day 
after  it,  but  went  on  with  it  for  a  con- 
siderable number  of  both  days  and 
nights. 

Upon  this,  Vespasian,  when  he  saw 
the  Romans  distressed  by  these  sallies, 
(although  they  were  ashamed  to  be  made 
to  run  away  by  the  Jews;  and  when  at 
any  time  they  made  the  Jews  run  away, 
their  heavy  armour  would  not  let  them 
pursue  them  far ;  while  the  Jews,  when 
they  had  performed  any  action,  and  be- 
fore they  could  be  hurt  themselves,  still 
retired  into  the  city,)  ordered  his  armed 
men  to  avoid  their  onset,  and  not  to  fight 
it  out  with  men  under  desperation,  while 
nothing  is  more  courageous  than  despair; 
but  that  their  violence  would  be  quenched 
when  they  saw  they  failed  of  their  pur- 
poses, as  fire  is  quenched  when  it  wants 
fuel;  and  that  it  was  most  proper  fur  the 
Romans  to  gain  their  victories  as  cheap 
as  they  could,  since  they  are  not  forced 
to  fight,  but  only  to  enlarge  their  own  do- 
minions. So  he  repelled  the  Jews,  in  a 
great  measure  by  the  Arabian  archers, 
and  the  Syrian  slingers,  and  by  those  thai 
threw  stones  at  them,  nor  was  there  any 


rjHiP.vn.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


741 


intermission  of  the  great  number  of  their 
offensive  engines.  Now,  the  Jews  suffered 
greatly  by  these  engines,  without  being 
able  to  escape  from  them ;  and  when 
these  engines  threw  their  stones  or  javelins 
a  great  way,  and  the  Jews  were  within 
their  reach,  they  pressed  hard  upon  the 
Romans,  and  fought  desperately,  without 
sparing  either  soul  or  body — one  part 
succouring  ;.nother  by  turns,  when  it  was 
tired  down. 

When,  therefore,  Vespasian  looked  upon 
himself  as  in  a  manner  besieged  by  these^ 
sallies  of  the  Jews,  and  when  his  banks 
were  now  not  far  from  the  walls,  he  de- 
termined to  make  use  of  his  battering- 
ram.  This  battering-ram  is  a  vast  beam 
of  wood  like  the  mast  of  a  ship;  its  fore- 
part is  armed  with  a  thick  piece  of  iron  at 
the  head  of  it,  which  is  so  carved  as  to  be 
like  the  head  of  a  ram,  whence  its  name 
is  taken.  This  ram  is  slung  in  the  air  by 
ropes  passing  over  its  middle,  and  is  hung 
like  the  balance  in  a  pair  of  scales  from 
another  beam,  and  braced  by  strong  beams 
that  pass  on  both  sides  of  it  in  the  nature 
of  a  cross.  When  this  ram  is  pulled 
backward  by  a  great  number  of  men  with 
united  force,  and  then  thrust  forward  by 
the  same  men,  with  a  mighty  noise,  it 
batters  the  walls -with  that  iron  part  which 
is  prominent;  nor  is  there  any  tower  so 
6trong,  or  walls  so  broad,  that  can  resist 
any  more  than  its  first  batteries,  but  all 
are  forced  to  yield  to  it  at  last.  This 
was  the  experiment  which  the  Roman 
general  betook  himself  to  when  he  was 
eagerly  bent  upon  taking  the  city,  and 
found  lying  in  the  field  so  long  to  be  to 
his  disadvantage,  because  the  Jews  would 
never  let  him  be  quiet.  So  these  Romans 
brought  the  several  engines  for  galling  an 
enemy  nearer  to  the  walls,  that  they 
might  reach  such  as  were  upon  the  wall, 
and  endeavoured  to  frustrate  their  at- 
tempts; these  threw  stones  and  javelins 
at  them ;  in  the  like  manner  did  the 
archers  and  slingers  come  both  together 
closer  to  the  wall.  This  brought  matters 
to  such  a  pass  that  none  of  the  Jews  durst 
mount  the  walls,  and  then  it  was  that  the 
other  Romans  brought  the  battering-ram 
that  was  cased  with  hurdles  all  over,  and 
in  the  upper  part  was  secured  with  skins 
that  covered  it,  and  this  both  for  the  se- 
curity of  themselves  and  of  the  engine. 
Now,  at  the  very  first  stroke  of  this  en- 
gine, the  wTall  was  shaken,  and  a  ter- 
rible   clamour  was  raised    by  the  people 


within  the  city,  as  if  they  were  already 
taken. 

And  now,  when  Josephus  saw  this  ram 
still  battering  the  same  place,  and  that 
the  wall  would  quickly  be  thrown  down 
by  it,  he  resolved  to  elude  for  a  while  the 
force  of  the  engine.  With  this  design  he 
gave  orders  to  fill  sacks  with  chaff,  and 
to  hang  them  down  before  that  place 
where  they  saw  the  ram  always  battering, 
that  the  stroke  might  be  turned  aside, 
or  that  the  place  might  feel  less  of  the 
strokes  by  the  yielding  nature  of  the 
chaff.  This  contrivance  very  much  de- 
layed the  attempts  of  the  Romans,  be- 
cause, let  them  remove  their  engine  to 
what  part  they  pleased,  those  that  were 
above  it  removed  their  sacks,  and  placed 
them  over  against  the  strokes  it  made^ 
insomuch  that  the  wall  was  noway  hurt, 
and  this  by  diversion  of  the  strokes,  till 
the  Romans  made  an  opposite  contrivance 
of  long  poles,  and  by  tying  hooks  at  their 
ends,  cut  off  the  sacks.  Now,  when  the 
battering-ram  thus  recovered  its  force, 
and  the  wall,  having  been  but  newly  built, 
was  giving  way,  Josephus,  and  those 
about  him,  had  afterward  immediate  re- 
course to  fire  to  defend  themselves  withal; 
whereupon  they  took  what  materials  soever 
they  had  that  were  but  dry,  and  made  a 
sally  three  ways,  and  set  fire  to  the 
machines,  and  the  hurdles,  and  the  banks 
of  the  Romans  themselves;  nor  did  the 
Romans  well  know  how  to  come  to  their 
assistance,  being  at  once  under  a  con- 
sternation at  the  Jews'  boldness,  and  being 
prevented  by  the  flames  from  coming  to 
their  assistance ;  for  the  materials  beinc 
dry  with  the  bitumen  and  pitch  that  were 
among  them,  as  was  brimstone  also,  the  fire 
caught  bold  of  every  thing  immediately  ; 
and  what  cost  the  Romans  a  great  deal 
of  pains,  was  in  one  hour  consumed. 

And  here  a  certain  Jew  appeared  worthy 
of  our  relation  and  commendation  :  he 
was  the  son  of  Sameas,  and  was  callsd 
Eleazar,  and  was  born  at  Saab,  in  Galilee. 
This  man  took  up  a  stone  of  vast  bigness, 
and  threw  it  down  from  the  wall  upon  the 
ram,  and  this  with  so  great  a  force  that  it 
broke  off  the  head  of  the  engine.  He 
also  leaped  down  and  took  up  the  head  of 
the  ram  from  the  midst  of  them,  and 
without  any  concern,  carried  it  to  the  top 
of  the  wall,  and  this  while  he  stood  as  a 
fit  mark  to  be  pelted  by  all  his  enemies. 
Accordingly,  he  received  the  strokes  upon 
his  naked   body,  and  was  wounded   with 


T42 


WARS  OF   THE   .TEWS. 


[Book  111. 


five  darts;  nor  did  he  mind  any  of  them 
while  he  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  wall, 
where  he  stood  in  sight  of  them  all,  as  an 
instance  of  the  greatest  boldness  :  after 
wrhich  he  threwr  himself  on  a  heap  with 
his  wounds  upon  him,  and  fell  down,  to- 
gether with  the  head  of  the  ram.  Next 
to  him  two  brothers  showed  their  coinage  : 
their  names  were  Netir  and  Philip,  both 
of  them  of  the  village  Ruma,  and  both 
jf  them  Galileans  also:  these  men  leaped, 
upon  the  soldiers  of  the  tenth  legion,  and 
fell  upon  the  Romans  with  such  a  noise 
and  force  as  to  disorder  their  ranks,  and 
pui;  to  fiight  all  upon  whomsoever  they 
made  their  assaults. 

After  these  men's  performances,  Jose- 
phus,  and  the  rest  of  the  multitude  with 
him,  took  a  great  deal  of  fire,  and  burnt 
both  the  machines  and  their  coverings, 
with  the  works  belonging  to  the  fifth  and 
to  the  tenth  legion,  which  they  put  to 
flight;  when  others  followed  them  imme- 
diately, and  buried  those  instruments  and 
all  their  materials  under  ground.  How- 
ever, about  the  evening  the  Romans 
erected  the  battering-ram  again,  against 
that  part  of  the  wall  which  had  suffered 
before;  where  a  certain  Jew  that  defended 
the  city  from  the  Romans,  hit  Vespasian 
with  a  dart  in  his  foot,  and  wounded  him 
a  little,  the  distance  being  so  great  that 
no  mighty  impression  could  be  made  by 
the  dart  thrown  so  far  off".  However,  this 
caused  the  greatest  disorder  among  the 
Romans ;  for  when  those  who  stood  near 
him  saw  his  blood,  they  were  disturbed  at 
it,  and  a  report  went  abroad,  through 
the  whole  army,  that  the  general  was 
wounded,  while  the  greatest  part  left  the 
siege,  and  came  running  together  with 
surprise  and  fear  to  the  general ;  and  be- 
fore them  all  came  Titus,  out  of  the  con- 
cern he  had  for  his  father,  insomuch  that 
the  multitude  were  in  great  confusion, 
and  this  out  of  the  regard  they  had  for 
their  general,  and  by  reason  of  the  agony 
that  the  son  was  in.  Yet  did  the  father 
soon  put  an  end  to  the  son's  fear,  and  to 
the  disorder  the  army  was  under,  for  being 
superior  to  his  pains,  and  endeavouring 
soon  to  be  seen  by  all  that  had  been  in  a 
fright  about  him,  he  excited  them  to  fight 
the  Jews  more  briskly ;  for  now  every 
body  was  willing  to  expose  himself  to 
danger  immediately,  in  order  to  avenge 
their  general;  and  then  they  encouraged 
one  another  with  loud  voices,  and  ran 
hastily  to  the  walls. 


But  still  Josephus  and  those  with  him, 
although  they  fell  down  dead  one  upon 
another  by  the  darts  and  stones  which  the 
engines  threw  upon  them,  yet  did  not 
they  desert  the  wall,  but  fell  upon  those 
who  managed  the  ram,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  hurdles,  with  fire,  and  iron 
weapons,  and  stones;  and  these  could  do 
little  or  nothing,  but  fell  themselves  per- 
petually, while  they  were  seen  by  those 
whom  they  could  not  see,  for  the  light  of 
their  own  flame  shone  about  them,  and 
made  them  a  most  visible  mark  to  the 
enemy,  as  they  were  in  the  daytime, 
while  the  engines  could  not  be  seen  at  a 
great  distance,  and  so  what  was  thrown  at 
them  was  hard  to  be  avoided;  for  the 
force  with  which  these  engiues  threw 
stones  and  darts  made  them  hurt  several 
at  a  time,  and  the  violent  noise  of  the 
stones  that  were  cast  by  the  engines  was 
so  great  that  they  carried  away  the  pinna- 
cles of  the  wall,  and  broke  oft'  the  corners 
of  the  towers;  for  no  body  of  men  could 
be  so  strong  as  not  to  be  overthrown  to 
the  last  rank  by  the  largeness  of  the 
stones;  and  any  one  may  learn  the  force 
of  the  engines  by  what  happened  this 
very  night;  for  as  one  of  those  that  stood 
round  about  Josephus  was  near  the  wall, 
his  head  was  carried  away  by  such  a 
stone,  and  his  skull  was  flung  as  far  as 
three  furlongs.  In  the  daytime  also,  a 
woman  with  child  had  her  belly  so  vio- 
lently struck,  as  she  was  just  come  out 
of  her  house,  that  the  infant  was  carried 
to  the  distance  of  half  a  furlong:  so  great 
was  the  force  of  that  engine.  The  noise 
of  the  instruments  themselves  was  very 
terrible ;  the  sound  of  the  darts  and  stones 
that  were  thrown  by  them,  was  so  also; 
of  the  same  sort  was  that  noise  the  dead 
bodies  made,  when  they  were  dashed 
against  the  wall ;  and  indeed  dreadful  was 
the  clamour  which  these  things  raised  in 
the  women  within  the  city,  which  was 
echoed  back  at  the  same  time  by  the  cries 
of  such  as  were  slain;  while  the  whole 
space  of  ground  whereon  they  fought  ran 
with  blood,  andvthe  wall  might  have  been 
ascended  over  by  the  bodies  of  the  dead 
carcasses;  the  mountains  also  contributed 
to  increase  the  noise  by  their  echoes;  nor 
!  was  there  on  that  night  any  thing  of  ter- 
ror wanting  that  could  either  affect  the 
hearing  or  the  sight;  yet  did  a  great  part 
of  those  that  fought  so  hard  for  Jotapata 
fall  manfully,  as  were  a  great  part  of 
them  wounded.     However,  the   morniDg 


Chap  VII.  1 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


743 


watch  was  come  ere  the  wall  yielded  to 
the  machines  employed  against  it,  though 
it  had  been  battered  without  intermission. 
However,  those  within  covered  their  bodies 
with  their  armour,  and  raised  works  over 
against  that  part  wThicb  was  thrown  down, 
before  those  machines  were  laid  by  which 
the  Romans  were  to  ascend  into  the  city. 

In  the  morning,  Vespasian  got  his  army 
together,  in  order  to  take  the  city  [by 
storm],  after  a  little  recreation  upon  the 
hard  pains  they  had  been  at  the  night 
before  ;  and  as  he  was  desirous  to  draw 
off  those  that  opposed  him  from  the  places 
where  the  wall  had  been  thrown  down, 
he  made  the  most  courageous  of  the 
horsemen  get  off  their  horses,  and  placed 
them  in  three  ranks  over  against  those 
ruins  of  the  walls,  but  covered  with  their 
armour  on  every  side,  and  w7ith  poles  in 
their  hands,  that  so  these  might  begin 
their  ascent  as  soon  as  the  instruments 
for  such  ascent  were  laid:  behind  them 
he  placed  the  flower  of  the  footmen  ;  but 
for  the  rest  of  the  horse,  he  ordered  them 
to  extend  themselves  over  against  the 
wall,  upon  the  whole  hilly  country,  in 
order  to  prevent  any  from  escaping  out  of 
the  city  when  it  should  be  taken;  and 
behind  these  he  placed  the  archers  round 
about,  and  commanded  them  to  have  all 
their  darts  ready  to  shoot.  The  same 
command  he  gave  to  the  slingers,  and  to 
those  that  managed  the  engines,  and  bade 
thena  to  take  up  their  ladders  and  have 
them  ready  to  lay  upon  those  parts  of  the 
wall  which  were  yet  untouched,  that  the 
besieged  might  be  engaged  in  trying  to 
hinder  their  ascent  by  them,  and  leave 
the  guard  of  the  parts  that  were  thrown 
down,  while  the  rest  of  them  should  be 
overborne  by  the  darts  cast  at  them,  and 
might  afford  his  men  an  entrance  into  the 
city. 

But  Josephus,  understanding  the  mean- 
ing of  Vespasian's  contrivance,  set  the 
old  men,  together  with  those  that  were 
tired  out,  at  the  sound  parts  of  the  wall, 
as  expecting  no  harm  from  those  quarters, 
but  set  the  strongest  of  his  men  at  the 
place  where  the  wall  was  broken  down,  and 
before  them  all,  six  men  by  themselves, 
among  whom  he  took  his  share  of  the 
first  and  greatest  danger.  He  also  gave 
orders  that  when  the  legions  made  a 
shout  they  should  stop  their  ears,  that 
they  might  not  be  affrighted  at  it,  and 
that,  to  avoid  the  multitude  of  the  ene- 
mies'  darts,   they   should    bend   down    on 


their  knees,  and  cover  themselves  with 
their  shields,  and  that  they  should  retreat 
a  little  backward  for  a  while,  till  the 
archers  should  have  emptied  their  quivers; 
but  that,  when  the  Romans  should  lay 
their  instruments  for  ascending  the  walls, 
they  should  leap  out  on  the  sudden,  and 
with  their  own  instruments  should  meet 
the  enemy,  and  that  every  one  should 
strive  to  do  his  best,  in  order,  not  to  de 
fend  his  own  city,  as  if  it  were  possible  tc 
be  preserved,  but  in  order  to  revenge  it, 
when  it  was  already  destroyed;  and  that 
they  should  set  before  their  eyes  how 
their  old  men  were  to  be  slain,  and  their 
children  and  their  wives  to  be  killed  im- 
mediately by  the  enemy;  and  that  they 
would  beforehand  spend  all  their  fury,  on 
account  of  the  calamities  just  coming 
upon  them,  and  pour  it  out  on  the  actors. 

And  thus  did  Josephus  dispose  of  both 
his  bodies  of  men ;  but  then  for  the  use- 
less part  of  the  citizens,  the  women  and 
children,  when  they  saw  their  city  encom- 
passed by  a  threefold  army,  (for  none  of 
the  usual  guards  that  had  been  fighting 
before  were  removed,)  when  they  also 
saw  not  only  the  walls  thrown  down,  but 
their  enemies  with  swords  in  their  hands, 
as  also  the  hilly  country  above  them 
shining  with  their  weapons,  and  the  darts 
in  the  hands  of  the  Arabian  archers,  they 
made  a  final  and  lamentable  outcry  of  the 
destruction,  as  if  the  misery  were  uot 
only  threatened,  but  actually  come  upon 
them  already.  But  Josephus  ordered  the 
women  to  be  shut  up  in  their  houses,  lest 
they  should  render  the  warlike  actions  of 
the  men  too  effeminate,  by  making  them 
commiserate  their  condition,  and  com- 
manded them  to  hold  their  peace,  and 
threatened  them  if  they  did  not,  while  he 
came  himself  before  the  breach,  where  his 
allotment  was;  for  all  those  who  brought 
ladders  to  the  other  places,  he  took  no 
notice  of  them,  but  earnestly  waited  for 
the  shower  of  arrows  that  was  coming. 

And  now  the  trumpeters  of  the  several 
Roman  legions  sounded  together,  and  the 
army  made  a  terrible  shout;  and  the  darts, 
as  by  order,  flew  so  fast  that  they  inter- 
cepted the  light.  However,  Josephus's 
men  remembered  the  charges  he  had 
given  them  :  they  stopped  their  ears  at  the 
sounds,  and  covered  their  bodies  against 
the  darts;  and  as  to  the  engines  that  were 
set  ready  to  go  to  work,  the  Jews  ran  out 
upon  them  before  those  that  should  have 
used  them  were  gotten  upon  them.     And 


744 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III 


now,  on  the  ascending  of  the  soldiers, 
there  was  a  great  conflict,  and  many  ac- 
tions of  the  hands  and  of  the  soul  were 
exhibited,  while  the  Jews  did  earnestly 
endeavour,  in  the  extreme  danger  they 
were  in,  not  to  show  less  courage  than 
those  who,  without  being  in  danger, 
fought  so  stoutly  against  them;  nor  did 
they  leave  struggling  with  the  Romans 
till  they  either  fell  down  dead  themselves, 
or  killed  their  antagonists.  But  the  Jews 
grew  weary  with  defending  themselves 
continually,  and  had  not  enow  to  come  in 
their  places  to  succour  them, — while,  on 
the  side  of  the  Romans,  fresh  men  still 
succeeded  those  that  were  tired;  and  still 
new  men  soon  got  upon  the  machines  for 
ascent,  in  the  room  of  those  that  were 
thrust  down  ;  those  encouraging  one  an- 
other, and  joining  side  to  side  with  their 
shields,  which  were  a  protection  to  them, 
they  became  a  body  of  men  not  to  be 
broken  ;  and  as  this  band  thrust  away  the 
Jews,  as  though  they  were  themselves  but 
one  body,  they  began  already  to  get  upon 
the  wall. 

Then  did  Josephus  take  necessity  for 
his  counsellor  in  this  utmost  distress, 
(which  necessity  is  very  sagacious  in  in- 
vention, when  it  is  irritated  by  despair,) 
and  gave  orders  to  pour  scalding  oil  upon 
those  whose  shields  protected  them. 
Whereupon  they  soon  got  it  ready,  being 
many  that  brought  it,  and  what^  they 
brought  being  a  great  quantity  also,  and 
poured  it  on  all  sides  upon  the  Romans, 
and  threw  down  upon  them  their  vessels 
as  they  were  still  hissing  from  the  heat 
of  the  fire ;  this  so  burnt  the  Romans, 
that  it  dispersed  that  united  band,  who 
now  tumbled  down  from  the  wall  with 
horrid  pains,  for  the  oil  did  easily  run 
down  the  whole  body  from  head  to  foot, 
under  their  entire  armour,  and  fed  upon 
their  flesh  like  flame  itself,  its  fat  and 
unctuous  nature  rendering  it  soon  heated 
and  slowly  cooled;  and  as  the  men  were 
cooped  up  in  their  headpieces  and  breast- 
plates, they  could  noway  get  free  from 
this  burning  oil;  »,ney  could  only  leap 
and  roll  about  in  their  pains,  as  they  fell 
down  from  the  bridges  they  had  laid. 
And  as  they  were  thus  beaten  back,  and 
retired  to  their  own  party,  who  still 
pressed  them  forward,  they  were  easily 
wounded  by  those  that  were  behind  them. 

However,  in  this  ill  success  of  the  Ro- 
mans, their  courage  did  not  fail  them,  nor 
did   the  Jews  want  prudence   to    oppose 


them;  for  the  Romans,  although  thej 
saw  their  own  men  thrown  down,  and  in 
a  miserable  condition,  yet  were  they  ve 
hemently  bent  against  those  that  poured 
the  oil  upon  them,  while  every  one  re- 
proached the  man  before  him  as  a  coward, 
and  one  that  hindered  him  from  exerting 
himself;  and  while  the  Jews  made  use  of 
another  stratagem  to  prevent  their  ascent, 
and  poured  boiling  fenugreek  upon  the 
boards,  in  order  to  make  them  slip  and 
fall  down;  by  which  means  neither  could 
those  that  were  coming  up,  nor  those  that 
were  going  down,  stand  on  their  feet; 
but  some  of  them  fell  backward  upou  the 
machines  on  which  they  ascended,  and 
were  trodden  upon;  many  of  them  fell 
down  on  the  bank  they  had  raised,  and 
when  they  were  fallen  upon  it  were  slaiu 
by  the  Jews;  for  when  the  Romans  could 
not  keep  their  feet,  the  Jews,  being  freed 
from  fighting  hand  to  haud,  had  leisure 
to  throw  their  darts  at  them.  So  the 
general  called  off  those  soldiers  in  the 
evening  that  had  suffered  so  sorely,  of 
whom  the  number  of  the  slain  was  not  a 
few,  while  that  of  the  wounded  was  still 
greater;  but  of  the  people  of  Jotapata  no 
more  than  six  men  were  killed,  although 
more  than  300  were  carried  off"  wounded. 
This  fight  happened  on  the  twentieth  daj 
of  the  month  Desius  [Sivan]. 

Hereupon  Vespasian  comforted  his  ar- 
my on  occasion  of  what  had  happened  ; 
and  as  he  found  them  angry  indeed,  but 
rather  wanting  somewhat  to  do  than  any 
further  exhortations,  he  gave  orders  to 
raise  the  banks  still  higher,  and  to  erect 
three  towers,  each  fifty  feet  high,  and  that 
they  should  cover  them  with  plates  of 
iron  on  every  side,  that  they  might  be 
both  firm  by  their  weight,  aud  not  easily 
liable  to  be  set  on  fire.  These  towers  he 
set  upon  the  banks,  and  placed  upon  them 
such  as  could  shoot  dirts  and  arrows, 
with  the  lighter  engines  for  throwing 
stones  and  darts  also;  and  besides  these, 
he  set  upon  them  the  stoutest  men  among 
the  sliugers,  who,  not  being  to  be  seen, 
by  reason  of  the^  height  they  stood  upon 
and  the  battlements  that  protected  them, 
might  throw  their  weapons  at  those  that 
were  upon  the  wall,  and  were  easily  seen 
by  them.  Hereupon  the  Jews  not  being 
easily  able  to  escape  those  darts  that  were 
thrown  down  upon  their  heads,  nor  to 
avenge  themselves  on  those  whom  they 
could  not  see,  and  perceiving  that  the 
height  of  the  towers  was  so  great,  that  a 


Chap.  TIL] 


WARS   6F    THE   JEWS. 


745 


dart  which  they  threw  with  their  hand 
could  hardly  reach  it,  and  that  the  iron 
plates  about  them  made  it  very  hard  to 
come  at  them  by  fire,  they  ran  away  from 
the  walls,  and  fled  hastily  out  of  the  city, 
and  fell  upon  those  that  shot  at  them. 
And  thus  did  the  people  of  Jotapata  re- 
sist the  Romans,  while  a  great  number  of 
them  were  every  day  killed,  without  their 
being  able  to  retort  the  evil  upon  their 
enemies ;  nor  could  they  keep  them  out 
of  the  city  without  danger  to  themselves. 
About  this  time  it  was  that  Vespasian 
sent  out  Trajan  against  a  city  called 
Japha,  that  lay  near  to  Jotapata,  and  that 
desired  innovations,  and  was  puffed  up 
with  the  unexpected  length  of  the  oppo- 
sition of  Jotapata.  This  Trajan  was  the 
commander  of  the  tenth  legion,  and  to 
him  Vespasian  committed  1000  horsemen 
and  2000  footmen.  When  Trajan  came 
to  the  city,  he  found  it  hard  to  be  taken, 
for,  besides  the  natural  strength  of  its 
situation,  it  was  also  secured  by  a  double 
wall ;  but  when  he  saw  the  people  of  this 
city  coming  out  of  it,  and  ready  to  fight 
him,  he  joined  battle  with  them,  and 
after  a  short  resistance  which  they  made, 
he  pursued  after  them  ;  and  as  they  fled  to 
their  first  wall,  the  Romans  followed  them 
so  closely,  that  they  fell  in  together  with 
them  :  but  when  the  Jews  were  endeavour- 
ing to  get  again  within  their  second  wall, 
their  fellow-citizens  shut  them  out,  as  be- 
ing afraid  that  the  Romans  would  force 
themselves  in  with  them.  It  was  certain- 
ly God,  therefore,  who  brought  the  Ro- 
mans to  punish  the  Galileans,  and  did 
then  expose  the  people  of  the  city  every 
one  of  them  manifestly  to  be  destroyed 
by  their  bloody  enemies;  for  they  fell 
upon  the  gates  in  great  crowds,  and  ear- 
nestly calling  to  those  that  kept  them, 
and  that  by  their  names  also,  yet  had  they 
their  throats  cut  in  the  very  midst  of  their 
supplications;  for  the  enemy  shut  the 
gates  of  the  first  wall,  and  their  own  citizens 
Bhut  the  gates  of  the  second,  so  they  were 
enclosed  between  two  walls,  and  were  slain 
in  great  numbers  together  ;  many  of  them 
were  run  through  by  swords  of  their  own 
men,  and  many  by  their  own  swords,  be- 
sides an  immense  number  that  were  slain 
by  the  Romans; — nor  had  they  any  cou- 
rage to  revenge  themselves;  for  there  was 
added  to  the  consternation  they  were  in 
from  the  enemy,  their  being  betrayed  by 
their  own  friends,  which  quite  broke  their 
spirits;  and  at    last    they   died,  cursing, 


not  the  Romans,  but  their  own  citizens, 
till  they  were  all  destroyed,  being  in  num- 
ber 12,000.  So  Trajan  gathered  that  the 
city  was  empty  of  people  that  could  fight, 
and  although  there  should  a  few  of  them 
be  therein,  he  supposed  that  they  would 
be  too  timorous  to  venture  upon  any  op- 
position ;  so  he  reserved  the  taking  of  the 
city  to  the  general.  Accordingly,  he  sent 
messengers  to  Vespasian,  and  desired  him 
to  send  his  son  Titus  to  finish  the  victory 
he  had  gained.  Vespasian  hereupon  ima- 
gining there  might  be  some  pains  still 
necessary,  sent  his  son  with  an  army  of 
500  horsemen  and  1000  footmen.  So 
he  came  quickly  to  the  city,  and  put  his 
army  in  order,  and  set  Trajan  over  the 
left  wing,  while  he  had  the  right  himself, 
and  led  them  to  the  siege  :  and  when  the 
soldiers  brought  ladders  to  belaid  against 
the  wall  on  every  side,  the  Galileans  op- 
posed them  from  above  for  a  while  ;  but 
soon  afterward  they  left  the  walls.  Then 
did  Titus's  men  leap  into  the  city,  and 
seized  upon  it  presently  ;  but  when  those 
that  were  iu  it  were  gotten  together,  there 
was  a  fierce  battle  between  them ;  for  the 
men  of  power  fell  upon  the  Romans  in 
the  narrow  streets,  and  the  women  threw 
whatsoever  came  next  to  hand  at  them, 
and  sustained  a  fight  with  them  for  six 
hours'  time ;  but  when  the  fighting  men 
were  spent,  the  rest  of  the  multitude 
had  their  throats  cut,  partly  in  the  open 
air  and  partly  in  their  own  houses,  both 
young  and  old  together.  So  there  were 
no  males  now  remaining,  besides  infants, 
who  with  the  women  were  carried  as 
slaves  into  captivity  ;  so  that  the  number 
of  the  slain,  both  now  in  the  city  and  at 
the  former  fight,  was  15,000,  and  the 
captives  were  2130.  This  calamity  befell 
the  Galileans  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of 
the  month  Desius  [Sivan]. 

Nor  did  the  Samaritans  escape  their 
share  of  misfortunes  at  this  time  ;  for  they 
assembled  themselves  together  upon  the 
mountain  called  Gerizzim,  which  is  with 
them  a  holy  mountain,  and  there  they  re- 
mained ;  which  collection  of  theirs,  aa 
well  as  the  courageous  minds  they  showed, 
could  not  but  threaten  somewhat  of  war; 
nor  were  they  rendered  wiser  by  the  mise- 
ries that  had  come  upon  their  neighbour- 
ing cities.  They  also,  notwithstanding 
the  great  success  the  Romaus  had,  marched 
on  in  an  unreasonable  maimer,  depending 
on  their  own  weakness,  and  were  dis- 
posed for  any  tumult  upon  its  first  appear  ■ 


746 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[13ook  III 


ance.  Vespasian  therefore  thought  it 
Dest  to  prevent  their  motions,  and  to  cut 
off  the  foundation  of  their  attempts  ;  for 
although  all  Samaria  had  ever  garrisons 
settled  among  them,  yet  did  the  number 
of  those  that  were  come  to  mount  Gerriz- 
zim,  and  their  conspiracy  together,  give 
ground  to  fear  what  they  would  be  at : 
he  therefore  sent  thither  Cerealis,  the 
commander  of  the  fifth  legion,  with  600 
horsemen  and  3000  footmen,  who  did  not 
think  it  safe  to  go  up  to  the  mountain 
and  give  them  battle,  because  many  of 
the  enemy  were  on  the  higher  part  of  the 
ground ;  so  he  encompassed  all  the  lower 
part  of  the  mountain  with  his  army,  and 
watched  them  all  that  day.  Now  it  hap- 
pened that  the  Samaritans,  who  were  now 
destitute  of  water,  were  inflamed  with  a 
violent  heat,  (for  it  was  summer  time,  and 
the  multitude  had  not  provided  themselves 
with  necessaries,)  insomuch  that  some  of 
them  died  that  very  day  with  heat,  while 
others  of  them  preferred  slavery  before 
such  a  death  as  that  was,  and  fled  to  the 
Romans;  by  whom  Cerealis  understood 
that  those  who  still  stayed  there  were 
very  much  broken  by  their  misfortunes. 
S';  he  went  up  to  the  mountain,  and  hav- 
ing placed  his  forces  round  about  the  ene- 
my, he,  in  the  first  place,  exhorted  them 
to  take  the  security  of  his  right  hand, 
and  come  to  terms  with  him,  and  thereby 
nave  themselves;  and  assured  themrthat 
if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms,  he 
would  secure  them  from  any  harm  ;  but 
when  he  could  not  prevail  with  them,  he 
fell  upon  them  and  slew  them  all,  being 
in  number  11,600.  This  wTas  done  on 
the  twenty-seventh  day  of  the  month  De- 
isius  [Si van].  And  these  were  the  cala- 
mities that  befell  the  Samaritans  at  this 
time. 

Bu  as  the  people  of  Jotapata  still  held 
out  manfully,  and  bore  up  under  their 
miseries  beyond  all  that  could  be  hoped 
for,  on  the  forty-seventh  day  [of  the  siege] 
the  banks  cast  up  by  the  Romans  were 
become  higher  than  the  wall;  on  which 
day  a  certain  deserter  went  to  Vespasian, 
aud  told  him  how  few  were  left  in  the 
ijity,  and  how  weak  they  were,  and  that 
they  had  been  so  worn  out  with  perpetual 
watching,  and  also  perpetual  fighting, 
that  they  could  not  now  oppose  any  force 
that  came  against  them,  and  that  they 
might  be  taken  by  stratagem,  if  any  one 
would  attack  them ;  for  that  about  the 
last  watch  of  the  night,  when  they  thought 


they  might  have  some  rest  from  the  hard 
ships  they  were  under,  and  when  a  morn- 
ing sleep  used  to  come  upon  them,  as  they 
were  thoroughly  weary,  he  said  the  watch 
used  to  fall  asleep  :  accordingly  his  advice 
was  that  they  should  make  their  attack  at 
that  hour.  But  Vespasian  had  a  suspi 
cion  about  this  deserter,  as  knowing  how 
faithful  the  Jews  were  to  one  another, 
and  how  much  they  despised  any  punish- 
ments that  could  be  inflicted  on  them ; 
this  last,  because  one  of  the  people  of 
Jotapata  had  undergone  all  sorts  of  tor- 
ments, and  though  they  made  him  pass 
through  a  fiery  trial  of  his  enemies  in  his 
examination,  yet  would  he  inform  them 
nothing  of  the  affairs  within  the  city,  and 
as  he  was  crucified,  smiled  at  them  ! 
However,  the  probability  there  was  in 
the  relation  itself  did  partly  confirm  the 
truth  of  what  the  deserter  told  them,  and 
they  thought  he  might  probably  speak 
the  truth.  However,  Vespasian  thought 
they  should  be  no  great  sufferers  if  the 
report  was  a  sham  ;  so  he  commanded  them 
to  keep  the  man  in  custody,  and  prepared 
the  army  for  taking  the  city. 

According  to  which  resolution  they 
marched  without  noise  at  the  hour  that 
had  been  told  them,  to  the  wall ;  and  it 
was  Titus  himself  that  first  got  upon  it, 
with  one  of  his  tribunes,  Domitius  Sabi- 
uus,  and  had  a  few  of  the  fifteenth  legion 
along  with  him.  So  they  cut  the  throats 
of  the  watch,  and  entered  the  city  very 
quietly.  After  these  came  Cerealis,  the 
tribune,  and  Placidus,  and  led  on  those 
that  were  under  them.  Now  when  the 
citadel  was  taken,  and  the  enemy  were  in 
the  very  midst  of  the  city,  and  when  it 
was  already  day,  yet  was  not  the  taking 
of  the  city  known  by  those  that  held  it; 
for  a  great  many  of  them  were  fast  asleep, 
and  a  great  mist,  which  then  by  chance 
fell  upon  the  city,  hindered  those  that  got 
up  from  distinctly  seeing  the  case  they 
were  in,  till  the  whole  Roman  army  was 
gotten  in,  and  they  were  raised  up  only 
to  fiud  the  miseries  they  were  under ;  and 
as  they  were  slaying,  they  perceived  the 
city  was  taken.  And  for  the  Romans, 
they  so  well  remembered  what  they  had 
suffered  during  the  siege,  that  they 
spared  none,  nor  pitied  any,  but  drove 
the  people  down  the  precipice  from  the 
citadel,  and  slew  them  as  they  drove  them 
down ;  at  which  time  the  difficulties  of 
the  place  hindered  those  that  were  still 
able  to  fight  from  defending  themselves; 


Chap   VTII.J 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


747 


for  as  they  were  distressed  in  the  narrow 
streets,  and  could  not  keep  their  feet  sure 
along  the  precipice,  they  were  overpowered 
with  the  crowd  of  those  that  came  fight- 
in  g  them  down  from  the  citadel.  This 
provoked  a  great  many,  even  of  those 
chosen  men  that  were  about  Joseph  us,  to 
kill  themselves  with  their  own  hands ; 
for  when  they  saw  that  they  could  kill 
none  of  the  Unmans,  they  resolved  to 
prevent  being  killed  by  the  Romans,  and 
got  together  in  great  numbers,  in  the  ut- 
most parts  of  the  city,  and  killed  them- 
selves. 

However,  such  of  the  watch  as  at  the 
first  perceived  they  were  taken,  and  ran 
away  as  fast  as  they  could,  went  up  into 
one  of  the  towers  on  the  north  side  of  the 
city,  and  for  a  while  defended  themselves 
there;  but  as  they  were  encompassed  with 
a  multitude  of  enemies,  they  tried  to  use 
their  right  hands  when  it  was  too  late, 
and  at  length  they  cheerfully  offered 
their  necks  to  be  cut  off  by  those  that 
stood  over  them.  And  the  Romans  might 
have  boasted  that  the  conclusion  of  that 
siege  was  without  blood  [on  their  side], 
if  there  had  not  been  a  centurion,  Anto- 
nius,  who  was  slain  at  the  taking  of  the 
city.  His  death  was  occasioned  by  the 
following  treachery  :  for  there  was  one  of 
those  that  were  fled  into  the  caverns, 
which  were  a  great  number,  who  desired 
that  this  Antonius  would  reach  him  his 
right  hand  for  his  security,  and  would  as- 
sure him  that  he  would  preserve  him,  and 
give  him  his  assistance  in  getting  up  out 
of  the  cavern ;  accordingly,  he  incautious- 
ly reached  him  his  right  hand,  while  the 
other  man  prevented  him,  and  stabbed 
him  under  his  loins  with  a  spear,  and  killed 
him  immediately. 

And  on  this  day  the  Romans  slew  all  the 
multitude  that  appeared  openly ;  but  on  the 
following  days  they  searched  the  hiding- 
places,  and  fell  upon  those  that  were  under 
ground,  and  in  the  caverns,  and  went 
thus  through  every  age,  excepting  the 
iufants  and  the  women,  and  of  these  there 
were  gathered  together  as  captive  1200; 
and  as  for  those  that  were  slain,  at  the 
taking  of  the  city,  and  in  the  former 
fights,  they  were  numbered  to  be  40,000. 
So  Vespasian  gave  order  that  the  city 
should  be  entirely  demolished,  and  all  the 
fortifications  burnt  down.  Aud  thus  was 
Jotapata  taken,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of 
the  reign  of  Nero,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
month  Paneuuis  [Tamuz] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Josephus  discovered  in  a  cave — He  delivers  him- 
self up  to  the  Romans,  who  bring  him  before 
Vespasian. 

And  now  the  Romans  searched  for 
Josephus,  both  out  of  the  hatred  they 
bore  him,  and  because  their  general  was 
very  desirous  to  have  him  taken  ;  for  he 
reckoned  that  if  he  were  once  taken,  the 
greatest  part  of  the  war  would  be  over. 
They  then  searched  among  the  dead,  and 
looked  into  the  most  concealed  recesses 
of  the  city ;  but  as  the  city  was  first 
taken,  he  was  assisted  by  a  certain  super- 
natural providence;  for  he  withdrew  him- 
self from  the  enemy  when  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  leaped  into  a  certain 
deep  pit,  whereto  there  adjoined  a  large 
den  at  one  side  of  it,  which  den  could  not 
be  seen  by  those  that  were  above  ground ; 
and  here  he  met  with  forty  persons  of 
eminence  that  had  concealed  themselves, 
and  with  provisions  enough  to  satisfy  them 
for  not  a  few  days.  So  in  the  daytime 
he  hid  himself  from  the  enemy,  who  had 
seized  upon  all  places ;  and  in  the  night- 
time he  got  up  out  of  the  den,  and  looked 
about  for  some  way  of  escaping,  and  took 
exact  notice  of  the  watch  :  but  as  all 
places  were  guarded  everywhere  on  his 
account,  that  there  was  no  way  of  getting 
oft'  unseen,  he  went  down  again  into  the 
den.  Thus  he  concealed  himself  two 
days;  but  on  the  third  day,  when  they 
had  taken  a  woman  who  had  been  with 
them,  he  was  discovered.  Whereupon 
Vespasian  sent  immediately  and  zealously 
two  tribunes,  Paulinus  and  Gallicanus, 
and  ordered  them  to  give  Josephus  their 
right  hands  as  a  security  for  his  life,  and 
to  exhort  him  to  come  up. 

So  they  came  and  invited  the  man  to 
come  up,  and  gave  him  assurances  that 
his  life  should  be  preserved;  but  they  did 
not  prevail  with  him ;  for  he  gathered 
suspicions  from  the  probability  there  was 
that  one  who  had  done  so  many  things 
against  the  Romans  must  suffer  for  it, 
though  not  from  the  mild  temper  of  those 
that  invited  him.  However,  he  was  afraid 
that  he  was  invited  to  come  up  in  order 
to  be  punished,  until  Vespasian  sent  be- 
sides these  a  third  tribune,  Nicanor,  to 
him  :  he  was  one  that  was  well  known  to 
Josephus,  and  had  been  his  familiar  ac- 
quaintance in  old  time.  When  he  was 
come,  he  enlarged  upon  the  natural  mild- 
-  of  the  Romans  toward  those  they 
have  once  conquered;  and  told  hirn  that 


748 


WARS    OF  THE  JEWS. 


I_Book  IIL 


he  had  behaved  himself  so  valiantly,  that 
the  commanders  rather  admired  than  hated 
him ;  that  the  general  was  very  desirous 
to  have  him  brought  to  him,  not  in  order 
to  punish  him,  for  that  he  could  do  though 
he  should  not  come  voluntarily,  but  that 
he  was  determined  to  preserve  a  man  of 
his  courage.  He  moreover  added  this, 
that  Vespasian,  had  he  been  resolved  to 
impose  upon  him,  would  not  have  sent  to 
him  a  friend  of  his  own,  nor  put  the 
fairest  colour  upon  the  vilest  action,  by 
pretending  friendship  and  meaning  per- 
fidiousness,  nor  would  he  have  himself 
acquiesced,  or  come  to  him,  had  it  been 
to  deceive  him. 

Now,  as  Josephus  began  to  hesitate  with 
himself  about  Nicanor's  proposal,  the  sol- 
diery were  so  angry,  that  they  ran  hastily 
to  set  fire  to  the  den ;  but  the  tribune 
would  not  permit  them  so  to  do,  as  being 
very  desirous  to  take  the  man  alive.  And 
now,  as  Nicanor  lay  hard  at  Josephus  to 
comply,  and  he  understood  how  the  mul- 
titude of  the  enemy  threatened  him,  he 
called  to  mind  the  dreams  which  he  had 
dreamed  in  the  night-time,  whereby  God 
had  signified  to  him  beforehand  both  the 
future  calamities  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
events  that  concerned  the  Roman  em- 
perors. Now  Josephus  was  able  to  give 
shrewd  conjectures  about  the  interpretation 
of  such  dreams  as  have  been  ambiguously 
delivered  by  God.  Moreover,  he  was  not 
unacquainted  with  the  prophecies  con- 
tained in  the  sacred  books,  as  being  a 
priest  himself,  and  of  the  posterity  of 
priests ;  and  just  then  was  he  in  an  ecstasy ; 
riud  setting  before  him  the  tremendous 
linages  of  the  dreams  he  had  lately  had, 
he  put  up  a  secret  prayer  to  God,  and 
said — "  Since  it  pleaseth  thee,  who  hast 
created  the  Jewish  nation,  to  depress  the 
same,  and  since  all  their  good  fortune  is 
gone  over  to  the  Romans ;  and  since  thou 
hast  made  choice  of  this  soul  of  mine  to 
foretell  what  is  to  come  to  pass  hereafter, 
I  willingly  give  them  my  hands,  and  am 
content  to  live.  And  I  protest  openly, 
that  I  do  not  go  over  to  the  Romans  as  a 
deserter  of  the  Jews,  but  as  a  minister 
from  ihee." 

When  he  had  said  this,  he  complied 
with  Nicanor's  invitation.  But  when 
those  Jews  who  had  fled  with  him,  under- 
stood that  he  yielded  to  those  that  invited 
him  to  come  up,  they  came  about  him  in 
h  body,  and  cried  out:  "Nay,  iudeed, 
oow   may    the    laws   of   our   forefathers, 


which  God  ordained  himself,  groan  tc 
some  purpose ;  that  God  we  mean  who 
hath  created  the  souls  of  the  Jews  of  such 
a  temper  that  they  desprse  doath.  0 
Josephus  !  art  thou  still  fond  of  life ;  and 
canst  thou  bear  to  see  the  light  in  a  state 
of  slavery  ?  How  soon  hast  thou  for- 
gotten thyself!  How  many  hast  thou 
persuaded  to  lose  their  lives  for  liberty  ! 
Thou  hast  therefore  had  a  false  reputation 
for  manhood,  and  a  like  false  reputation 
for  wisdom,  if  thou  canst  hope  for  preser- 
vation from  those  against  whom  thou  hast 
fought  so  zealously,  and  art  however  will- 
ing to  be  preserved  by  them,  if  they  be 
in  earnest.  But  although  the  good  fortune 
of  the  Romans  hath  made  thee  forget 
thyself,  we  ought  to  take  care  that  the 
glory  of  our  forefathers  may  not  be 
tarnished.  We  will  lend  thee  our  right 
baud  and  a  sword ;  and  if  thou  wilt  die 
willingly,  thou  wilt  die  as  general  of  the 
Jews  ;  but  if  unwillingly,  thou  wilt  die  as 
a  traitor  to  the  in."  As  soon  as  they  said 
this,  they  began  to  thrust  their  swords  at 
him,  and  threatened  they  would  kill  him, 
if  he  thought  of  yielding  himself  to  the 
Romans. 

Upon  this,  Josephus  was  afraid  of  their 
attacking  him,  and  yet  thought  he  should 
be  a  betrayer  of  the  commands  of  God  if 
he  died  before  they  were  delivered.  So 
he  began  to  talk  like  a  philosopher  to 
them  in  the  distress  he  was  then  in,  when 
he  said  thus  to  them  : — "  0  my  friends, 
why  are  we  so  earnest  to  kill  ourselves? 
and  why  do  we  set  our  soul  and  body, 
which  are  such  dear  companions,  at  such 
variance  ?  Can  any  one  pretend  that  I 
am  not  the  man  I  was  formerly  ?  Nay, 
the  Romans  are  sensible  how  that  matter 
stands  well  enough.  It  is  a  brave  thiug 
to  die  in  war;  but  so  that  it  be  according 
to  the  law  of  war,  by  the  hand  of  con- 
querors. If,  therefore,  I  avoid  death 
from  the  sword  of  the  Romans,  I  am 
truly  worthy  to  be  killed  by  my  own 
sword,  and  my  own  hand ;  but  if  they 
admit  of  mercy,  and  would  spare  their 
enemy,  how  muo-h  more  ought  we  to  have 
mercy  upon  ourselves,  and  to  spare  our- 
selves !  for  it  is  certainly  a  foolish  thing 
to  do  that  to  ourselves  which  we  quarrel 
with  them  for  doiug  to  us.  I  confess 
freely,  that  it  is  a  brave  thing  to  die  for 
liberty  ;  but  still  so  that  it  be  in  war,  and 
done  by  those  who  take  that  liberty  from 
us;  but  at  present  our  enemies  do  neithei 
meet   us  in  battle,  nor  do   they  kill   us. 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


749 


Now,  he  Is  equally  a  coward  who  will  not 
die  waen  he  is  obliged  to  die,  and  he  who 
will  die  when  he  is  not  obliged  so  to  do. 
What  are  we  afraid  of,  when  we  will  not 
go  up  to  the  Romans  ?  Is  it  death  ?  If 
so,  what  we  are  afraid  of,  when  we  but 
suspect  our  enemies  will  inflict  it  on  us, 
shall  we  inflict  it  on  ourselves  for  certain? 
But  it  may  be  said,  we  must  be  slaves, 
And  are  we  then  in  a  clear  state  of  liberty 
at  present  ?  It  may  also  be  said,  that  it 
is  a  manly  act  for  one  to  kill  himself. 
No,  certainly,  but  a  most  unmanly  one; 
as  I  should  esteem  that  pilot  to  be  an 
arrant  coward,  who,  out  of  fear  of  a  storm, 
should  sink  his  ship  of  his  own  accord. 
Now,  self-murder  is  a  crime  most  remote 
from  the  common  nature  of  all  animals, 
and  an  instance  of  impiety  against  God 
our  Creator :  nor  indeed  is  there  any 
animal  that  dies  by  its  own  contrivance, 
or  by  its  own  means  ;  for  the  desire  of 
life  is  a  law  engraven  in  them  all;  on 
which  account  we  deem  those  that  openly 
take  it  away  from  us  to  be  our  enemies, 
and  those  that  do  it  by  treachery  are 
punished  for  so  doing.  And  do  not  you 
think  that  God  is  very  angry  when  a  man 
does  injury  to  what  he  hath  bestowed  on 
him  ?  for  from  him  it  is  that  we  have 
received  our  being;  and  we  ought  to  leave 
it  to  his  disposal  to  take  that  being  away 
from  us.  The  bodies  of  all  men  are  in- 
deed mortal,  and  are  created  out  of  corrup- 
tible matter ;  but  the  soul  is  ever  im- 
mortal, and  is  a  portion  of  the  Divinity 
that  inhabits  our  bodies.  Besides,  if  any 
one  destroys  or  abuses  a  depositum  he 
hath  received  from  a  mere  man,  he  is 
esteemed  a  wicked  and  perfidious  person ; 
but  then  if  any  one  cast  out  of  his  body 
this  divine  depositum,  can  we  imagine 
that  he  who  is  there  affronted  does  not 
know  of  it.  Moreover,  our  law  justly 
ordains  that  slaves  who  run  away  from 
their  master  shall  be  punished,  though 
the  masters  they  ran  away  from  may  have 
been  wicked  masters  to  them.  And  shall 
we  endeavour  to  run  away  from  God, 
Who  i.s  the  best  of  all  masters,  and  not 
think  ourselves  highly  guilty  of  impiety  ? 
Do  not  you  know  that  those  who  depart 
out  of  this  life  according  to  the  law  of 
nature,  and  pay  that  debt  which  was  re- 
ceived from  God,  when  he  that  lent  it  us 
is  pleased  to  require  it  back,  enjoy  eternal 
fame  ?  that  their  houses  and  their  posterity 
are  sure  that  their  souls  are  pure  and 
obedient,  and  obtain  a  most  holy  place  in 


heaven,  from  whence,  in  the  revolution 
of  ages,  they  are  again  sent  into  pure 
bodies;  while  the  souls  of  those  whose 
hands  have  acted  madly  against  them- 
selves are  received  by  the  darkest  place 
in  Hades,  and  while  God,  who  is  their 
father,  punishes  those  that  offend  against 
either  of  them  in  their  posterity  ?  for 
which  reason  God  hates  such  doings,  and 
the  crime  is  punished  by  our  most  wise 
legislator.  Accordingly,  our  laws  deter- 
mine that  the  bodies  of  such  as  kill  them- 
selves should  be  exposed  till  the  sun  be 
set,  without  burial,  although  at  the  same 
time  it  be  allowed  by  them  to  be  lawful 
to  bury  our  enemies  [sooner].  The  laws 
of  other  nations  also  enjoin  such  men's 
hands  to  be  cut  off  when  they  are  dead, 
which  had  been  made  use  of  in  destroying 
themselves  when  alive,  while  they  reckoned 
that  as  the  body  is  alien  from  the  soul, 
so  is  the  hand  alien  from  the  body.  It 
is  therefore,  my  friends,  a  right  thing  to 
reason  justly,  and  not  add  to  the  calamities 
which  men  bring  upon  us,  impiety  toward 
our  Creator.  If  we  have  a  mind  to  pre 
serve  ourselves,  let  us  do  it;  for  to  bo 
preserved  by  those  our  enemies,  to  whom 
we  have  given  so  many  demonstrations  of 
our  courage,  is  no  way  inglorious ;  but  if 
we  have  a  mind  to  die,  it  is  good  to  die 
by  the  hand  of  those  that  have  conquered 
us.  For  my  part,  I  will  not  run  over  to 
our  enemies'  quarters,  in  order  to  be  a 
traitor  to  myself;  for  certainly  I  should 
then  be  much  more  foolish  than  those  that 
deserted  to  the  enemy,  since  they  did  it  in 
order  to  save  themselves,  and  I  should 
do  it  for  my  own  destruction.  However, 
I  heartily  wish  the  Romans  may  prove 
treacherous  in  this  matter;  for  if,  after 
their  offer  of  their  right  hand  for  security, 
I  be  slain  by  them,  1  shall  die  cheerfully, 
and  carry  away  with  me  the  sense  of  their 
perfidiousness,  as  a  consolation  greater 
than  victory  itself." 

Now  these  and  many  the  like  motives 
did  Joseph  us  use  to  these  men,  to  prevent 
their  murdering  themselves;  but  despe- 
ration had  shut  their  ears,  as  having  long 
ago  devoted  themselves  to  die,  and  they 
were  irritated  at  Josephus.  They  then 
ran  upon  him  with  their  swords  in  their 
hands,  one  from  one  quarter,  and  another 
from  another,  and  called  him  a  coward, 
and  every  one  of  them  appeared  openly 
as  if  he  were  ready  to  smite  him;  but,  he 
calling  to  one  of  them  by  name,  and 
looking   like   a   general   to  another,  and 


750 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


fBooK  III 


taking  a  third  by  the  hand,  and  making 
a  fourth  ashamed  of  himself,  by  praying 
him  to  forbear,  and  being  in  this  condition 
distracted  with  various  passions,  (as  he 
well  might  in  the  great  distress  he  was 
then  in,)  he  kept  off  every  one  of  their 
swords  from  killing  him,  and  was  forced 
to  do  like  such  wild  beasts  as  are  encom- 
passed about  on  every  side,  who  always 
turn  themselves  against  those  that  last 
touched  them.  Nay,  some  of  their  right 
hands  were  debilitated  by  the  reverence 
they  bore  to  their  general  in  these  his 
fatal  calamities,  and  their  swords  dropped 
out  of  their  hands;  and  not  a  few  of  them 
there  were,  who,  when  they  aimed  to 
smite  him  with  their  swords,  were  not 
thoroughly  either  willing  or  able  to  do  it. 

However,  in  this  extreme  distress,  he 
was  not  destitute  of  his  usual  sagacity 
but  trusting  himself  to  the  providence  of 
God,  he  put  his  life  into  hazard  [in  the 
manner  following]  : — u  And  now,"  said  he, 
u  since  it  is  resolved  among  you  that  you 
will  die,  come  on,  let  us  commit  our  mu- 
tual deaths  to  determination  by  lot.  He 
whom  the  lot  falls  to  first,  let  him  be  kill- 
ed by  him  that  hath  the  second  lot,  and 
thus  fortune  shall  make  its  progress 
through  us  all;  nor  shall  any  of  us  perish 
by  his  own  right  hand,  for  it  would  be  un- 
fair if,  when  the  rest  are  gone,  somebody 
should  repent  and  save  himself."  This 
proposal  appeared  to  them  to  be  very  just; 
add  when  he  had  prevailed  with  them  to 
determine  this  matter  by  lots,  he  drew  one 
of  the  lots  for  himself  also.  He  who  had 
the  first  lot  laid  his  neck  bare  to  him  that 
had  the  next,  as  supposing  that  the  gene- 
lal  would  die  among  them  immediately; 
for  they  thought  death,  if  Josephus  might 
but  die  with  them,  was  sweeter  than  life; 
yet  was  he  with  another  left  to  the  last, 
whether  we  must  say  it  happened  so  by 
chance,  or  whether  by  the  providence  of 
God;  and  as  he  was  very  desirous  neither 
to  be  condemned  by  the  lot,  nor,  if  he  had 
been  left  to  the  last,  to  imbrue  his  right 
hand  in  the  blood  of  his  countryman,  he 
persuaded  him  to  trust  his  fidelity  to  him, 
and  to  live  as  well  as  himself. 

Thus  Josephus  es/caped  in  the  war  with 
the  Romans,  and  in  this  his  own  war  with 
his  friends,  and  was  led  by  Nicanor  to 
Vespasian ;  but  now  all  the  Romans  ran 
together  to  see  him,  and  as  the  multitude 
pressed  one  upon  another  about  their  ge- 
neral there  was  a  tumult  of  a  various  kind ; 
while   some   rejoiced   that   Josephus  was 


taken,  and  some  threatened  him,  and  some 
crowded  to  see  him  very  near;  but  those 
that  were  more  remote  cried  out  to  have 
this  their  enemy  fmt  to  death,  while  those 
that  were  near  called  to  mind  the  actions 
he  had  done,  and  a  deep  concern  appeared 
at  the  change  of  his  fortune.  Nor  were 
there  any  of  the  Roman  commanders,  how 
much  soever  they  had  been  enraged  at 
him  before,  but  relented  when  they  came 
to  the  sight  of  him.  Above  all  the  rest, 
Titus's  own  valor,  and  Josephus's  own  pa- 
tience under  his  afflictions,  made  him  pity 
him,  as  did  also  the  commiseration  of  his 
age,  when  he  recalled  to  mind  that  but  a 
little  ago  he  was  fighting,  but  lay  now  in 
the  hands  of  his  enemies,  which  made  him 
consider  the  power  of  fortune,  and  how 
quick  is  the  turn  of  affairs  in  war,  and  how 
no  state  of  men  is  sure;  for  which  reason 
he  then  made  a  great  many  more  to  be  of 
the  same  pitiful  temper  with  himself,  and 
induced  them  to  commiserate  Josephus. 
He  was  also  of  great  weight  in  persuading 
his  father  to  preserve  him.  However, 
Vespasian  gave  strict  orders  that  he  should 
be  kept  with  great  caution,  as  though  he 
would,  in  a  very  little  time,  send  him  to 
Nero. 

When  Josephus  heard  him  give  those 
orders,  he  said  that  he  had  somewhat  in 
his  mind  that  he  would  willingly  say  to 
himself  alone.  When  therefore  they  were 
all  ordered  to  withdraw,  excepting  Titus 
and  two  of  their  friends,  he  said,  "Thou, 
0  Vespasian,  thinkest  no  more  than  that 
thou  hast  taken  Josephus  himself  captive; 
but  I  come  to  thee  as  a  messenger  ol  great- 
er tidings;  for  had  not  I  been  sent  by 
God  to  thee,  I  knew  what  was  the  law  of 
the  Jews  in  this  case,  and  how  it  becomes 
generals  to  die.  Dost  thou  send  me  to 
Nero  ?  For  why  ?  Are  Nero's  successors 
till  they  come  to  thee  still  alive  ?  Thou,  0 
Vespasian,  art  Caesar  and  emperor,  thou, 
and  this  thy  son.  Bind  me  now  still 
faster,  and  keep  me  for  thyself,  for  thou, 
0  Caesar,  art  not  only  lord  over  me,  but 
over  the  land  and  the  sea,  and  all  man- 
kind ;  and  certainly  I  deserve  to  be  kept 
in  closer  custody  than  I  am  now  in,  in 
order  to  be  punished,  if  T  rashly  affirm  any 
thing  of  God."  When  he  had  said  this, 
Vespasian  at  present  did  not  believe  him, 
but  supposed  that  Josephus  said  this  as  a 
cunning  trick,  in  order  to  his  own  preserva 
tion  ;  but  in  a  little  time  he  was  convinced, 
and  believed  what  he  said  to  be  true,  God 
himself  erecting  his  expectations,  so  as  tc 


L'HAr.  IX.] 


WARS  OF    THE    JEWS. 


751 


think  of  obtaining  the  empire,  and  by 
other  signs  foreshowing  his  advancement. 
He  also  found  Josephus  to  have  spoken 
truth  on  other  Dccasions;  for  one  of  those 
friends  that  were  present  at  that  secret 
conference,  said  to  Josephus,  "  I  cannot 
but  wonder  how  thou  couldst  not  foretell 
to  the  people  of  Jotapata,  that  they  should 
be  taken,  nor  couldst  foretell  this  captivi- 
ty which  hath  happened  to  thyself,  unless 
what  thou  now  sayest  be  a  vain  thing,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  rage  that  is  risen  against 
thyself."  To  which  Josephus  replied,  "I 
did  foretell  to  the  people  of  Jotapata  that 
they  would  be  taken  on  the  forty-seventh 
day,  and  that  I  should  be  caught  alive  by 
the  Romans."  Now  when  Vespasian  had 
inquired  of  the  captives  privately  about 
these  predictions,  he  found  them  to  be 
true,  and  then  he  began  to  believe  those 
that  concerned  himself.  Yet  did  he  not 
set  Josephus  at  liberty  from  his  bands, 
but  bestowed  on  him  suits  of  clothes  and 
other  precious  gifts;  he  treated  him  also 
in  a  very  obliging  manner,  and  continued 
bo  to  do  :  Titus  still  joining  his  interest 
in  the  honours  that  were  done  him. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Joppa  taken,  and  Tiberias  delivered  up. 

Now  Vespasian  returned  to  Ptolemais 
on  the  fourth  day  of  the  month  Panemus 
[Tamuz],  and  from  thence  he  came  to 
Cesarea,  which  lay  by  the  seaside.  This 
was  a  very  great  city  of  Judea,  and  for 
the  greatest  part  inhabited  by  Greeks:  the 
citizens  here  received  both  the  Roman 
army  and  its  general  with  all  sorts  of 
acclamations  and  rejoicings,  and  this 
partly  out  of  the  good-will  they  bore  to 
the  Romans,  but  principally  out  of  the 
hatred  they  bore  to  those  that  were  con- 
quered by  them ;  on  which  account  they 
came  clamouring  against  Josephus  in 
crowds,  and  desired  he  might  be  put  to 
death ;  but  Vespasian  passed  over  this 
petition  concerning  him,  as  offered  by  the 
injudicious  multitude,  with  a  bare  silence. 
Two  of  the  legions  also  he  placed  at  Ce- 
sarea, that  they  might  there  take  their  win- 
ter-quarters, as  perceiving  the  city  very 
fit  for  such  a  purpose ;  but  he  placed  the 
tenth  and  the  fifth  at  Scythopolis,  that  he 
/night  not  distress  Cesarea  with  the  entire 
army.  This  place  was  warm,  even  in  win- 
ter, as  it  was  suffocating  hot  in  the  summer- 
time, by  reason  of  its  situation  in  a  plain, 
and  near  to  the  sea  [of  Galilee]. 


In  the  mean  time  there  were  gathered 
together  as  well  such  as  had  seditiously 
got  out  from  among  their  enemies  as  those 
that  had  escaped  out  of  the  demolished 
cities,  which  were  in  all  a  great  number, 
and  repaired  Joppa,  which  had  been  left 
desolate  by  Cestius,  that  it  might  serve 
them  for  a  place  of  refuge ;  and  because 
the  adjoining  region  had  been  laid  waste 
in  the  war,  and  was  not  capable  of  support- 
ing them,  they  determined  to  go  off  to  sea. 
They  also  built  themselves  a  great  many 
piratical  ships,  and  turned  pirates  upon 
the  seas  near  to  Syria,  and  Phoenicia,  and 
Egypt,  and  made  those  seas  unnavigable  to 
all  men.  Now  as  soon  as  Vespasian  knew 
of  their  conspiracy,  he  sent  both  footmen 
and  horsemen  to  Joppa,  which  was  un- 
guarded in  the  night-time  :  however  those 
that  were  in  it  perceived  that  they  should 
be  attacked,  and  were  afraid  of  it;  yet  did 
they  not  endeavour  to  keep  the  Romans 
out,  but  fled  to  their  ships,  and  lay  at  sea 
all  night,  out  of  the  reach  of  their  darts. 

Now  Joppa  is  not  naturally  a  haven, 
for  it  ends  in  a  rough  shore,  where  all  the 
rest  of  it  is  straight,  but  the  two  ends 
bend  toward  each  other,  where  there  are 
deep  precipices,  and  great  stones  that  jut 
out  into  the  sea,  and  where  the  chains 
wherewith  Andromeda  was  bound  have 
left  their  footsteps,  which  attest  to  the  an- 
tiquity of  that  fable;  but  the  north  wind 
opposes  and  beats  upon  the  shore,  and 
dashes  mighty  waves  against  the  rocks 
which  receive  them,  and  renders  the  haven 
more  dangerous  than  the  country  they 
had  deserted.  Now  as  those  people  of 
Joppa  were  floating  about  in  this  sea,  in 
the  morning  there  fell  a  violent  wind 
upon  them  :  it  is  called  by  those  that  sail 
there  "  the  black  north  wind,"  and  there 
dashed  their  ships  one  against  another, 
and  dashed  some  of  them  against  the 
rocks,  and  carried  many  of  them  by  force, 
while  they  strove  against  the  opposite 
waves,  into  the  main  sea;  for  the  shore 
was  so  rocky,  and  had  so  many  of  the 
enemy  upon  it,  that  they  were  afraid  to 
come  to  land  ;  nay,  the  waves  rose  so  very 
high,  that  they  drowned  them;  nor  was 
there  any  place  whither  they  could  fly, 
nor  any  way  to  save  themselves — while 
they  were  thrust  out  of  the  sea  by  the 
violence  of  the  wind,  if  they  stayed  where 
they  were,  and  out  of  the  city  by  the  vio- 
lence of  the  Romans;  and  much  lamenta- 
tion there  was  when  the  ships  were  dashed 
against  one  another,  and  a  terrible  noise 


752 


WARiS    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  III 


when  they  were  broken  to  pieces ;  and 
some  of  the  multitude  that  were  in  them 
were  covered  with  the  waves,  and  so  perish- 
ed, and  a  great  many  were  embarrassed  with 
shipwrecks  ;  but  some  of  them  thought 
that  to  die  by  their  own  swords  was  lighter 
than  by  the  sea,  and  so  they  killed  them- 
selves before  they  were  drowned ;  although 
the  greatest  part  of  them  were  carried  by 
the  waves,  and  dashed  to  pieces  against 
the  abrupt  parts  of  the  rocks,  insomuch 
that  the  sea  was  bloody  a  long  way,  and 
the  maritime  parts  were  full  of  dead  bo- 
dies;  for  the  Romans  came  upon  those 
that  were  carried  to  the  shore,  and  de- 
stroyed them  ;  and  the  number  of  the  bo- 
dies that  were  thus  thrown  out  of  the  sea 
was  4200.  The  Romans  also  took  the 
city  without  opposition,  and  utterly  de- 
stroyed it. 

And  thus  was  Joppa  taken  twice  by  the 
Romans  in  a  little  time;  but  Vespasian, 
in  order  to  prevent  these  pirates  from 
coming  thither  any  more,  erected  a  camp 
there,  where  the  citadel  of  Joppa  had 
been,  and  left  a  body  of  horse  in  it,  with 
a  few  footmen;  that  these  last  might  stay 
there  and  guard  the  camp,  and  the  horse- 
men might  spoil  the  country  that  lay 
round  it,  and  might  destroy  the  neigh- 
bouring villages  and  smaller  cities.  So 
these  troops  overran  the  country,  as  they 
were  ordered  to  do,  and  every  day  cut  to 
pieces  and  laid  desolate  the  whole  region. 

But  now,  when  the  fate  of  Jotapata 
was  related  at  Jerusalem,  a  great  many  at 
the  first  disbelieved  it,  on  the  account  of 
the  vastness  of  the  calamity,  and  because 
they  had  no  eyewitness  to  attest  the  truth 
3f  what  was  related  about  it;  for  not  one 
person  was  saved  to  be  a  messenger  of 
that  news,  but  a  fame  was  spread  abroad 
at  random  that  the  city  was  taken,  as 
such  fame  usually  spreads  bad  news  about. 
However,  the  truth  was  known  by  de- 
grees, from  the  places  near  Jotapata,  and 
appeared  to  all  to  be  too  true.  Yet  were 
there  fictitious  stories  added  to  what  was 
really  done ;  for  it  was  reported  that  Jo- 
sephus  was  slain  at  the  taking  of  the  city; 
which  piece  of  news  filled  Jerusalem  full 
of  sorrow.  In  every  house  also,  and 
among  all  to  whom  any  of  the  slain  were 
allied,  there  was  a  lamentation  for  them; 
but  the  mourning  for  the  commander  was 
a  public  one ;  and  some  mourned  for 
those  that  had  lived  with  them,  others  for 
their  kindred,  others  for  their  friends, 
and    others   for    their  brethren,    but  all 


mourned  for  Josephus  ;  insomuch  that  the 
lamentation  did  not  cease  in  the  city  be- 
fore the  thirtieth  day  ;  and  a  great  many 
hired  mourners,*  with  their  pipes,  who 
should  begin  the  melancholy  ditties  for 
them. 

But  as  the  truth  came  out  in  time,  it 
appeared  how  the  affairs  of  Jotapata  real- 
ly stood ;  yet  it  was  found  that  the  death 
of  Josephus  was  a  fiction ;  and  when  they 
understood  that  he  was  alive,  and  was 
among  the  Romans,  and  that  the  command- 
ers treated  him  at  another  rate  than  they 
treated  captives,  they  were  as  vehemently 
angry  at  him  now  as  they  had  shown  their 
good- will  before,  when  he  appeared  to 
have  been  dead.  He  was  also  abused  by 
some  as  having  been  a  coward,  and  by 
others  as  a  deserter ;  and  the  city  was  full 
of  indignation  at  him,  and  of  reproaches 
cast  upon  him  ;  their  rage  was  also  aggra- 
vated by  their  afflictions,  and  more  in- 
flamed by  their  ill  success;  and  what 
usually  becomes  an  occasion  of  caution  to 
wise  men,  I  mean  affliction,  became  a  spur 
to  them  to  venture  on  further  calamities, 
and  the  end  of  one  misery  became  still 
the  beginuing  of  another  :  they  therefore 
resolved  to  fall  on  the  Romans  the  more 
vehemently,  as  resolving  to  be  revenged 
on  him  in  revenging  themselves  on  the 
Romans.  And  this  was  the  state  of  Je- 
rusalem as  to  the  troubles  which  now  came 
upon  it. 

But  Vespasian,  in  order  to  see  the 
kingdom  of  Agrippa,  while  the  king  per- 
suaded him  so  to  do  partly  in  order  to  his 
treating  the  general  and  his  army  in  the 
best  and  most  splendid  manner  his  pri- 
vate affairs  would  enable  him  to  do,  and 
partly  that  he  might,  by  their  means,  cor- 
rect such  things  as  were  amiss  in  his  go- 
vernment, he  removed  from  that  Cesarea 
which  was  by  the  seaside,  and  went  to 
that  which  is  called  Cesarea  Philippi ;  and 
there  he  refreshed  his  army  for  twenty 
days,  and  was  himself  feasted  by  King 
Agrippa,  where  he  also  returned  public 
thanks  to  God  for  the  good  success  he  bad 
had  in  his  undertakings.  But  as  soon  as 
he  was  informed^that  Tiberias  was  fond  of 
innovations,  and  that  Tarichese  had  re- 
volted, (both  which  cities  were  parts  of 
the  kingdom  of  Agrippa,)  and  was  satis- 
fied within  himself  that  the  Jews  were 

*  These  public  mourners,  hired  upon  the  sup- 
posed death  of  Josephus,  and  the  real  death  of 
many  more,  illustrate  some  passages  in  the  Bible, 
which  suppose  the  same  custom,  as  Matt.  xii.  17. 


Chap.  X.J 


WARS   OF  THE   JEWS. 


753 


everywhere  perverted  [from  their  obedience 
r,o  their  governors],  he  thought  it  season- 
able to  make  an  expedition  against  those 
cities,  and  that  for  the  sake  of  Agrippa,  and 
in  order  to  brins;  his  cities  to  reason.  So  he 
sent  away  his  son  Titus  to  [the  other] 
Cesarea,  that  he  might  bring  the  army 
that  lay  there  to  Scythopolis,  which  is  the 
largest  city  of  Becapolis,  and  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Tiberias,  whither  he  came, 
and  where  he  waited  for  his  son.  He 
then  came  with  three  legions,  and  pitched 
his  camp  thirty  furlongs  off  Tiberias,  at 
a  certain  station  easily  seen  by  the  inno- 
vators :  it  is  named  Sennabris.  He  also 
sent  Valerian,  a  decurion,  with  fifty  horse- 
men, to  speak  peaceably  to  those  that  were 
in  the  city,  and  to  exhort  them  to  give 
him  assurances  of  their  fidelity;  for  he 
had  heard  that  the  people  were  desirous 
of  peace,  but  were  obliged  by  some  of 
the  seditious  part  to  join  with  them,  and 
so  were  forced  to  fight  for  them.  When 
Valerian  had  marched  up  to  the  place,  and 
was  near  the  wall,  he  alighted  off  his  horse, 
and  made  those  that  were  with  him  do 
the  same,  that  they  might  not  be  thought 
to  come  to  skirmish  with  them  ;  but  be- 
fore they  could  come  to  a  discourse  one 
with  another,  the  most  potent  men  among 
the  seditious  made  a  sally  upon  them 
armed  :  their  leader  was  one  whose  name 
was  Jesus,  the  son  of  Shaphat,  the  princi- 
pal head  of  a  band  of  robbers.  Now 
Valerian,  neither  thinking  it  safe  to  fight 
contrary  to  the  commands  of  the  general, 
though  he  were  secure  of  a  victory,  and 
knowing  that  it  was  a  very  hazardous  un- 
dertaking for  a  few  to  fight  with  many, 
for  those  that  were  unprovided  to  fight 
those  that  were  ready,  and  being  on  other 
accounts  surprised  at  this  unexpected  on- 
set of  the  Jews,  he  ran  away  on  foot,  as 
did  five  of  the  rest  in  like  manner,  and 
left  their  horses  behind  them;  which 
horses  Jesus  led  away  into  the  city,  and 
rejoiced  as  if  they  had  taken  them  in 
battle,  and  not  by  treachery. 

Now  the  seniors  of  the  people,  and  such 
as  wire  of  principal  authority  among  them, 
fearing  what  would  be  the  issue  of  this 
matter,  fled  to  the  camp  of  the  Romans: 
they  then  took  their  king  along  with 
them,  and  fell  down  before  Vespasian,  to 
supplicate  his  favour,  and  besought  him 
not  to  overlook  them,  nor  to  impute  the 
madness  of  a  few  to  the  whole  city,  to 
3pare  a  people  that  had  been  ever  civil  and 
obliging  to  the  Romans;  but  to  bring  the 
48 


authors  of  tnis  revolt  to  due  punishment, 
who  had  hitherto  so  watched  them,  that 
though  they  were  zealous  to  give  them 
the  security  of  their  right  hands  of  a  long 
time,  yet  could  they  not  accomplish  the 
same.  With  those  supplications  the  gene- 
ral complied,  although  he  were  very  angry 
at  the  whole  city  about  the  carrying  eff 
his  horses,  and  this  because  he  saw  that 
Agrippa  was  under  a  great  concern  for 
them.  So  when  Vespasian  and  Agrippa 
had  accepted  of  their  right  hands  by  way 
of  security,  Jesus  and  his  party  thought 
it  not  safe  for  them  to  continue  at  Tibe- 
rias, so  they  ran  away  to  Tarichese.  The 
next  day  Vespasian  sent  Trajan  before, 
with  some  horsemen,  to  the  citadel,  to 
make  trial  of  the  multitude,  whether  they 
were  all  disposed  for  peace;  and  as  soon 
as  he  knew  that  the  people  were  of  the 
same  mind  with  the  petitioners,  he  took 
his  army,  and  went  to  the  city;  upon 
which  the  citizens  opened  to  him  their 
gates,  and  met  him  with  acclamations  of 
joy,  and  called  him  their  saviour  and  bene- 
factor. But  as  the  army  was  a  great 
while  in  getting  in  at  the  gates,  they  were 
so  narrow,  Vespasian  commanded  the 
south  wall  to  be  broken  down,  and  so 
made  a  broad  passage  for  their  entrance. 
However,  he  charged  them  to  abstain 
from  rapine  and  injustice,  in  order  to  gra- 
tify the  king;  and  on  his  account  spared 
the  rest  of  the  wall,  while  the  king  under- 
took for  them  that  they  should  continue 
[faithful  to  the  Romans]  for  the  time  to 
come.  And  thus  did  he  restore  this  city 
to  a  quiet  state,  after  it  had  been  griev 
ously  afflicted  by  the  sedition. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Tarichese  taken — A  description  of  the  River  Jordan, 

and  of  Gencsareth. 

And  now  Vespasian  pitched  his  camp 
between  this  city  and  Tarichese,  but  forti- 
fied his  camp  more  strongly,  as  suspecting 
that  he  should  be  forced  to  stay  there, 
and  have  a  long  war;  for  all  the  innova- 
tors had  gotten  together  at  Tarichese,  as 
relying  upon  the  strength  of  the  city, 
and  on  the  lake  that  lay  by  it.  This  lake 
is  called  by  the  people  of  the  country  the 
Lake  of  Gencsareth.  The  city  itself  is 
situated  like  Tiberias,  at  the  bottom  of  a 
mountain  ;  and  on  those  sides  which  are 
not  washed  by  the  sea,  had  been  strongly 
fortified  by  Joseph  us,  though  not  so 
strongly  as  Tiberias;  for  the  wall  of  Tibe- 


754 


WARS    OF    THE  JEWS. 


[Book  III. 


rias  had  been  built  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Jews'  revolt,  when  he  had  great  plenty 
of  money,  and  great  power,  but  Tarichese 
partook  only  the  remains  of  that  liberali- 
ty. Yet  had  they  a  great  number  of 
ships  gotten  ready  upon  the  lake,  that  in 
case  they  were  beaten  at  land,  they  might 
retire  to  them  ;  and  they  were  so  fitted  up, 
that  they  might  undertake  a  sea-fight 
also.  But  as  the  Romans  were  building 
a  wall  about  their  camp,  Jesus  and  his 
party  were  neither  affrighted  at  their  num- 
ber nor  at  the  good  order  they  were  in, 
but  made  a  sally  upon  them ;  and  at  the 
very  first  onset  the  builders  of  the  wall 
were  dispersed  ;  and  these  pulled  what  lit- 
tle they  had  before  built  to  pieces ;  but  as 
soon  as  they  saw  the  armed  men  getting 
together,  and  before  they. had  suffered 
any  thing  themselves,  they  retired  to  their 
own  men.  But  then  the  Romans  pur- 
sued them,  and  drove  them  into  their 
ships,  where  they  launched  out  as  far  as 
might  give  them  an  opportunity  of  reach- 
ing the  Romans  with  what  they  threw  at 
them,  and  then  cast  anchor,  and  brought 
their  ships  close,  as  in  a  line  of  battle, 
and  thence  fought  the  enemy  from  the 
sea,  who  were  themselves  at  land.  But 
Vespasian  hearing  that  a  great  multitude 
of  them  were  gotten  together  in  the  plain 
that  was  before  the  city,  he  thereupon 
sent  his  son  with  600  chosen  horsemen, 
to  disperse  them.  r- 

But  when  Titus  perceived  that  the  enemy 
was  very  numerous,  he  sent  to  his  father, 
and  informed  him  that  he  should  want 
more  forces.  But  as  he  saw  a  great  many 
of  the  horsemen  eager  to  fight,  and  that 
before  any  succours  could  come  to  them, 
and  that  yet  some  of  them  were  privately 
under  a  sort  of  consternation  at  the  mul- 
titude of  the  Jews,  he  stood  in  a  place 
whence  he  might  be  heard,  and  said  to 
them,  "  My  brave  Romans!  for  it  is  right 
for  me  to  put  you  in  mind  of  what  nation 
you  are,  in  the  beginning  of  my  speech, 
that  so  you  may  not  be  ignorant  who  you 
are,  and  who  they  are  against  whom  we 
are  a  going  to  fight.  For  as  to  us,  Ro- 
mans, no  part  of  the  habitable  earth  hath 
been  able  to  escape  our  hands  hitherto ; 
but  as  for  the  Jews,  that  I  might  speak  of 
them  too,  though  they  have  been  already 
beaten,  yet  do  they  not  give  up  the  cause; 
and  a  sad  thing  it  would  be  for  us  to  grow 
weary  under  good  success,  when  they  bear 
up  under  their  misfortunes.  As  to  the 
alacrity  which  you  show  publicly,  I  see 


it,  and  rejoice  at  it;    jet  am  I  afriid  lest 
the  multitude  of  the  enemy  should  bring 
a  concealed  fright  upon  some  of  you  :   let 
such  an  one  consider  again,  who  we  are 
that    are   to   fight ;    and    who    those   are 
against  whom  we  are  to  fight.    Now  these 
Jews,  though  they  be  very  bold  and  great 
despisers  of  death,  are  but  a  disorderly 
body,  and  unskilful  in  war,  and  may  rather 
be  called  a  rout  than  an  army ;  while  I 
need  say  nothing  of  our    skill    and    our 
good  order;  for  this  is  the  reason  why  we 
Romans  alone    are  exercised  for  war  in 
time  of  peace,  that  we  may  not  think  of 
number  for  number  when  we  come  to  fight 
with   our  enemies  ;    for   what  advantage 
should   we  reap  by  our  continual  sort  of 
warfare,  if  we  must  still  be  equal  in  num- 
ber to  such  as  have  not  been  used  to  war? 
Consider,  further,  that  you  are  to  have  a 
conflict  with  men  in  effect  unarmed,  wrhile 
you  are  well  armed;  with  footmen,  while 
you  are  horsemen ;    with  those  that  have 
no  good  general,  while  you  have  oue,  and 
as  these  advantages  make  you  in  effect 
manifold  more  than  you  are,  so  do  their 
disadvantages    mightily    diminish     their 
number.     Now  it  is  not  the  multitude  of 
men,  though  they  be  soldiers,  that  manage 
wars  with  success,  but  it  is  their  bravery 
that  does  it,  though   they  be  but  a  few; 
for  a  few  are  easily  set  in  battle-array, 
and   can   easily  assist  one  another,  while 
over-numerous  armies  are    more  hurt  by 
themselves  than  by  their  enemies.     It  is 
boldness  and  rashness,  the  effects  of  mad- 
ness, that  conduct  of  the  Jews.     Those 
passions  indeed  make  a  great  figure  when 
they  succeed,  but  are  quite  extinguished 
upon  the  least  ill  success;  but  we  are  led 
on   by  courage,  and  obedience,  and   forti- 
tude, which  shows  itself  indeed    in  our 
good  fortune,  but  still  does  not  for  ever 
desert  us  in  our  ill  fortune.  Nay,  indeed, 
your  fighting  is  to  be  on  greater  motives 
than  those  of  the  Jews;  for  although  they 
run  the  hazard  of  war  for  liberty,  and  for 
their  country,  yet  what  can   be  a  greater 
motive  to  us  than  glory  ?  and  that  it  may 
never  be  said,  that  after  we  have  got  do- 
minion of  the  habitable  earth,  the  Jews 
are  able   to  confront  us.     We  must  also 
reflect  upon  this,  that  there  is  no  fear  of 
our  suffering  any  incurable  disaster  in  the 
present  case ;  for  those  that  are  ready  to 
assist  us  are  many,  and  at  hand  also;   yet 
it  is  in  our  power  to  seize  upon  this  victo- 
ry ourselves;   and  I  think  we  ought  to 
prevent  the  coming  of  those  my  father  is 


tfHAP.  X.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


755 


Bending  to  ns  for  our  assistance,  that  our 
success  may  be  peculiar  to  ourselves,  and 
of  greater  reputation  to  us ;  and  I  cannot 
but  think  this  an  opportunity  wherein  my 
father,  and  I,  and  you  shall  be  all  put  to 
the  trial,  whether  he  be  worthy  of  his 
former  glorious  performances,  whether  I 
be  his  son  in  reality,  and  whether  you  be 
really  my  soldiers;  for  it  is  usual  for  my 
father  to  conquer;  and  for  myself,  I  should 
not  bear  the  thoughts  of  returning  to  him 
if  I  were  once  taken  by  the  enemy  ;  and 
how  will  you  be  able  to  avoid  being 
ashamed,  if  you  do  not  show  equal  cou- 
rage writh  your  commander,  when  he  goes 
before  you  into  danger?  For  you  know 
very  well  that  I  shall  go  into  the  danger 
first,  and  make  the  first  attack  upou  the 
enemy.  Do  not  you  therefore  desert  me, 
but  persuade  yourselves  that  God  [the 
gods]  will  be  assisting  to  my  onset.  Know 
this  also  before  we  begin,  that  we  shall 
now  have  better  success  thau  we  should 
have,  if  we  were  to  fight  at  a  distance." 
As  Titus  was  saying  this,  an  extra- 
ordinary fury  fell  upon  the  men  :  and  as 
Trajan  was  already  come  before  the  fight 
began,  with  400  horsemen,  they  were 
uneasy  at  it.  because  the  reputation  of 
the  victory  would  be  diminished  by  being 
common  to  so  many.  Vespasian  had  also 
sent  both  Antonius  and  Silo,  with  2000 
archers,  and  had  given  it  them  in  charge 
to  seize  upon  the  mountain  that  was  over- 
agaiust  the  city,  and  repel  those  that  were 
upon  the  wall;  which  archers  did  as  they 
were  commanded,  and  prevented  those 
that  attempted  to  assist  them  that  way ; 
and  now  Titus  made  his  own  horse  march 
first  against  the  enemy,  as  did  the  others 
with  a  great  noise  after  him,  and  extended 
themselves  upon  the  plain  as  wide  as  the 
enemy  who  confronted  them  ;  by  which 
means  they  appeared  much  more  numerous 
thau  they  really  were.  Now  the  Jews, 
although  they  were  surprised  at  their 
onset,  and  at  their  good  order,  made  re- 
sistance against  their  attacks  for  a  little 
while ;  but  when  they  were  pricked  with 
their  long  poles,  and  overborne  by  the 
violent  noise  of  the  horsemen,  they  came 
to  be  trampled  under  their  feet;  many 
also  of  them  were  slain  on  every  bide, 
which  made  them  disperse  themselves  and 
run  to  the  city,  as  fast  as  every  one  of 
them  was  able.  So  Titus  pressed  upon 
the  hindmost,  and  slew  them  ;  and  of  the 
rest,  some  he  fell  upon  as  they  stood  on 
heaps,   and  some  he  prevented,  and  met 


them  in  the  mouth,  and  ran  them  thiough  ; 
many  also  he  leaped  upon  as  they  fell  one 
upon  another,  and  trod  them  down,  and 
cut  off  all  the  retreat  they  had  to  the 
wall,  and  turned  them  back  into  the  plain, 
till  at  least  they  forced  a  passage  by  their 
multitude,  and  got  away,  and  ran  into 
the  city. 

But  now  there  fell  out  a  terrible  se- 
dition among  them  within  the  city  ;  for 
the  inhabitants  themselves,  who  had  pos- 
sessions there,  and  to  whom  the  city  be- 
longed, were  not  disposed  to  fight  from 
the  very  beginning ;  and  not  the  less  so, 
because  they  had  been  beaten  :  but  the 
foreigners,  who  were  very  numerous, 
would  force  them  to  fight  so  much  the 
more,  insomuch  that  there  was  a  clamour 
and  a  tumult  among  them,  as  all  mutually 
angry  at  one  another;  and  when  Titus 
heard  this  tumult,  for  he  was  not  far  from 
the  wall,  he  cried  out :  "  Fellow-soldiers, 
now  is  the  time;  and  why  do  we  make 
any  delay,  when  God  is  giving  up  the 
Jews  to  us  ?  Take  the  victory  which  is 
given  you  :  do  not  your  hear  what  a  noise 
they  make  ?  Those  that  have  escaped  our 
hands  are  in  an  uproar  against  one  another 
We  have  the  city  if  we  make  haste  ;  but 
besides  haste,  we  must  undergo  some 
labour,  and  use  some  courage ;  for  uc 
great  thing  can  be  accomplished  without 
danger;  accordingly,  we  must  not  only 
prevent  their  uniting  again,  which  ne- 
cessity will  soon  compel  them  to  do,  but 
we  must  also  prevent  the  coming  of  our 
own  men  to  our  assistance,  that  as  few  as 
we  are,  we  may  conquer  so  great  a  mul- 
titude, and  may  ourselves  alone  take  the 
city." 

As  soon  as  ever  Titus  had  said  this  he 
leaped  upon  his  horse,  and  rode  apace 
down  to  the  lake ;  by  which  lake  he 
marched,  and  entered  into  the  city  the 
first  of  them  all,  as  did  the  others  soon 
after  him.  Hereupon  those  that  were 
upon  the  walls  were  seized  with  a  terror 
at  the  boldness  of  the  attempt,  nor  dur^t 
any  one  venture  to  fight  with  him,  or  to 
hinder  him  ;  so  they  left  guarding  the 
city,  and  some  of  those  that  were  about 
Jesus  fled  over  the  country,  while  others 
of  them  ran  down  to  the  lake,  and  met 
the  enemy  in  the  teeth,  and  some  were 
slain  as  they  were  getting  up  into  ships; 
but  others  of  them  as  they  attempted  to 
overtake  those  that  were  already  gone 
aboard.  There  was  also  a  great  slaughter 
made  in  the  city,  while  those  foreigners 


756 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[tfOOK  II) 


that  had  not  fled  away  already,  made  op- 
position ;  but  the  natural  inhabitants 
were  killed  without  fighting:  for  in  hopes 
of  Titus's  giving  them  his  right  hand  for 
their  security,  and  outof  the  consciousness 
that  they  had  not  given  any  consent  to 
the  war,  they  avoided  fighting,  till  Titus 
had  shiin  the  authors  of  this  revolt,  and 
then  put  a  stop  to  an}'  further  slaughters, 
(tut  of  commiseration  of  these  inhabitants 
of  the  place:  but  for  those  that  had  fled 
to  the  lake,  upon  seeing  the  city  taken, 
they  sailed  as  far  as  they  possibly  could 
from  the  enemy. 

Hereupon  Titus  sent  one  of  his  horse- 
men to  his  father,  and  let  him  know  the 
good  news  of  what  he  had  done  :  at 
which,  as  was  natural,  he  was  very  joyful, 
both  on  account  of  the  courage  and  glo- 
rious actions  of  his  son  ;  for  he  thought 
that  now  the  greatest  part  of  the  war  was 
over.  He  then  came  thither  himself,  and 
set  men  to  guard  the  city,  and  gave  them 
command  to  take  care  that  nobody  got 
privately  out  of  it,  but  to  kill  such  as 
attempted  so  to  do ;  and  on  the  next  day 
he  went  down  to  the  lake,  and  commanded 
ihat  vessels  should  be  fitted  up,  in  order 
r.o  pursue  those  that  bad  escaped  in  the 
chips.  These  vessels  were  quickly  gotten 
ready  accordingly,  because  there  was  a 
great  plenty  of  materials,  and  a  great 
number  of  artificers  also. 

Now  this  lake  of  Genesareth  is  so  callled 
from  the  country  adjoining  to  it.  Its 
breadth  is  40  furlongs,  and  its  length 
140 ;  its  waters  are  sweet,  and  very 
agreeable  for  drinking,  for  they  are  finer 
than  the  thick  waters  of  other  fens;  the 
lake  is  also  pure,  and  on  every  side  ends 
directly  at  the  shores  and  at  the  sand; 
it  is  also  of  a  temperate  nature  when  you 
draw  it  up,  and  of  a  more  gentle  nature 
than  river  or  fountain  water,  and  yet  al- 
ways cooler  than  oue  could  expect  in  so 
diffuse  a  place  as  this  is.  Now  wThen  this 
water  is  kept  in  the  open  air,  it  is  as  cold 
as  that  snow  which  the  country-people  are 
accustomed  to  make  by  night  in  summer. 
There  are  several  kinds  of  fish  in  it,  dif- 
ferent both  to  the  taste  and  the  sight  from 
those  elsewhere :  it  is  divided  into  two 
parts  by  the  river  Jordan.  Now  Panium 
is  thought  to  be  the  fountain  of  Jordan, 
but  in  reality  it  is  carried  thither  after  an 
occult  manner  from  the  place  called 
Phiala:  this  place  lies  as  you  go  up  to 
Trachonitis,  and  is  120  furlongs  from 
Cesarea,  and  is  not  far  out  of  the  road  on 


the  right  hand;  and  indeed  it  hath  its 
name  of  Phiala  [vial  or  bowl]  very  justly, 
from  the  roundness  of  its  circumference, 
as  being  round  like  a  wheel :  its  water 
continues  always  up  to  its  edges,  without 
either  sinking  or  running  over  ;  and  as 
this  origin  of  Jordan  was  formerly  not 
known,  it  was  discovered  so  to  be  whea 
Philip  was  tefrarch  of  Trachonitis;  for  he 
had  chaff  thrown  into  Phiala,  and  it  was 
found  at  Panium,  where  the  ancients 
thought  the  fountain-head  of  the  river 
was,  whither  it  had  been  therefore  carried 
[by  the  waters].  As  for  Panium  itself, 
its  natural  beauty  had  been  improved 
by  the  royal  liberality  of  Agrippa,  and 
adorned  at  his  expense.  Now  Jordan's 
visible  stream  arises  from  this  cavern,  and 
divides  tin-  marshes  and  fens  of  the  lake 
Semechonitis :  when  it  hath  run  another 
120  furlongs,  it  first  passes  by  the  city 
Julias,  and  then  passes  through  the  middle 
of  the  lake  Genesareth;  after  which  it 
runs  a  long  way  over  a  desert,  and  then 
makes  its  exit  into  the  lake  Asphaltitis. 

The  country  also  that  lies  over  against 
this  lake  hath  the  same  name  as  Gene- 
sareth ;  its  nature  is  wonderful  as  well  as 
its  beauty;  its  soil  is  so  fruitful  that  all 
sorts  of  trees  can  grow  upon  it,  and  the 
inhabitants  accordingly  plant  all  sorts  of 
trees  there;  for  the  temper  of  the  air  is 
so  well  mixed,  that  it  agrees  very  well 
with  those  several  sorts;  particularly  wal- 
nuts, which  require  the  coldest  air,  flourish 
there  in  vast  plenty;  there  are  palm-trees 
also,  which  grow  best  in  hot  air;  tig-trees 
also  and  olives  grow  near  them,  which 
yet  require  an  air  that  is  more  temperate. 
One  may  call  this  place  the  ambition  of 
nature,  where  it  forces  those  plants  that 
are  naturally  enemies  to  one  another  tf 
agree  together  :  it  is  a  happy  contention 
of  the  seasons,  as  if  every  one  of  them 
laid  claim  to  this  country  ;  for  it  not  only 
nourishes  different  sorts  of  autumnal  fruit 
beyond  men's  expectation,  but  preserves 
them  a  great  while;  it  supplies  men  with 
the  principal  fruits,  with  grapes  and  figs 
continually,  during  ten  months  of  the  year, 
and  the  rest  of  the  fruits. as  they  become 
ripe  together,  through  the  whole  year; 
for  besides  the  good  temperature  of  the 
air,  it  is  also  watered  from  a  most  fertile 
fountain.  The  people  of  the  country  call 
it  Capharnaum  Some  have  thought  ii 
to  be  a  vein  of  the  Nile,  because  it  pro- 
duces the  Coracin  fish  as  well  as  that  lake 
does  which  is  near  to  Alexandria.      The 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


757 


length  of  this  country  extends  itself  along 
the  banks  of  this  lake  that  bears  the  same 
name,  for  thirty  furlongs,  and  is  in  breadth 
twenty ;  and  this  is  the  nature  of  that 
place. 

But  now,  when  the  vessels  were  gotten 
ready,  Vespasian  put  upon  shipobard  as 
many  of  his  forces  as  he  thought  suffi- 
cient to  be  too  hard  for  those  that  were 
upon  the  lake,  and  set  sail  after  them. 
Now  these  which  were  driven  into  the 
lake  could  neither  fly  to  the  land,  where 
all  was  in  their  enemies'  hands  and  in 
war  against  them,  nor  could  they  fight 
upon  the  level  by  sea,  for  their  ships  were 
small  and  fitted  only  for  piracy  j  they 
were  too  weaK  to  tight  with  Vespasian's 
vessels,  and  the  mariners  that  were  in 
them  were  so  few,  that  they  were  afraid 
to  come  near  the  Romans,  who  attacked 
them  in  great  numbers.  However,  as 
they  sailed  round  about  the  vessels,  and 
sometimes  as  they  came  near  them,  they 
threw  stones  -at  the  Romans  when  they 
were  a  good  way  off,  or  came  closer  and 
fought  them  ;  yet  did  they  receive  the 
greatest  harm  themselves  in  both  cases. 
As  for  the  stones  they  threw  at  the  Ro- 
mans, they  only  made  a  sound  one  after 
another,  for  they  threw  them  against  such 
as  were  in  their  armour,  while  the  Roman 
darts  could  reach  the  Jews  themselves  ; 
and  when  they  ventured  to  come  near  the 
Romans,  they  became  sufferers  themselves 
before  they  could  do  any  harm  to  the 
other,  and  were  drowned,  they  and  their 
ships  together.  As  for  those  that  endea- 
voured to  come  to  an  actual  fight,  the 
Romans  ran  many  of  them  through  with 
their  long  poles.  Sometimes  the  Romans 
leaped  into  their  ships,  with  swords  in 
their  hands,  and  slew  them  ;  but  when 
some  of  them  met  the  vessels,  the  Romans 
caught  them  by  the  middle,  and  destroyed 
at  once  their  ships  and  themselves  who 
were  taken  in  them.  And  for  such  as 
as  were  drowning  in  the  sea,  if  they  lifted 
their  heads  up  above  the  water  they  were 
either  killed  by  darts,  or  caught  by  the 
vessels;  but  if,  in  the  desperate  case  they 
were  in,  they  attempted  to  swim  to  their 
enemies,  the  Romans  cut  off  either  their 
heads  or  their  hands;  and  indeed  they 
were  destroyed  after  various  manners 
everywhere,  till  the  rest,  being  put  to 
flight,  were  forced  to  get  upon  the  land, 
while  the  vessels  encompassed  them  about 
[ou  the  sea]  :  but  as  many  of  these  were 
repulsed  when   they  were  getting  ashore, 


they  were  killed  by  the  darts  upon  the 
lake  ;  and  the  Romans  leaped  out  of  their 
vessels,  and  destroyed  a  great  many  more 
upon  the  land  :  one  might  then  see  the 
lake  all  bloody,  and  full  of  dead  bodies, 
for  not  one  of  them  escaped.  And  a 
terrible  stink,  and  a  very  sad  sight  there 
was  on  the  following  days  over  that 
country;  for  as  for  the  shores,  they  were 
full  of  shipwrecks,  and  of  dead  bodies  all 
swelled;  and  as  the  dead  bodies  were  in- 
flamed by  the  sun,  and  putrefied,  they 
corrupted  the  air,  insomuch  that  the 
misery  was  not  only  the  object  of  commi- 
seration to  the  Jews,  but  to  those  that 
hated  them  and  had  been  the  authors  of 
that  misery.  This  was  the  upshot  of  the 
sea-fight.  The  number  of  the  slain,  in- 
cluding those  that  were  killed  in  the  city 
before,  was  6500. 

After  this  fight  was  over,  Vespasian 
sat  upon  his  tribunal  at  Tariehese,  in 
order  to  distinguish  the  foreigners  from 
the  old  inhabitants ;  for  those  foreigners 
appear  to  have  begun  the  war.  So  he 
deliberated  with  the  other  commanders, 
whether  he  ought  to  save  those  old  inha- 
bitants or  not.  And  when  those  com- 
manders alleged  that  the  dimission  of 
them  would  be  to  his  own  disadvantage, 
because,  when  they  were  once  set  at  liberty, 
they  would  not  be  at  rest,  since  they  would 
be  people  destitute  of  proper  habitations, 
and  would  be  able  to  compel  such  as  they 
fled  to,  to  fight  against  us,  Vespasian 
acknowledged  that  they  did  not  deserve 
to  be  saved,  and  that  if  they  had  leave 
given  them  to  fly  away,  they  would  make 
use  of  it  against  those  that  gave  them 
that  leave.  But  still  he  considered  with 
himself  after  what  manner  they  should  be 
slain;*  for  if  he  had  slain  them  there, 
he  suspected  the  people  of  the  country 
would  thereby  become  his  enemies;  for 
that  to  be  sure  they  would  never  bear  it, 
that  so  many  that  had  been  supplicants 
to  him  should  be  killed;  and  to  offer 
violence  to  them,  after  he  had  given  them 
assurance  of  their  lives,  he  could  not 
himself  bear  to  do  it.  However.,  his 
friends  were  too  hard  for  him,  and  pre- 
tended that  nothing  against  Jews  could 
be    any    impiety,    and    that   he    ought    to 

*  This  is  the  most  cruel  and  barbarous  action 
that  Vespasian  ever  committed,  and  is  the  greatest 

stain  upon  his  character.  It  was  done  both  after 
public  assurance  given  of  sparing  the  prisoners' 
lives,  and  when  all  knew  and  confessed  tlr.it  thesw 
prisoners  were  noway  guilty  of  any  sedition 
against  the  Romans. 


758 


WARS    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


prefer  what  was  profitable  before  what 
was  fit  to  be  done,  where  both  could  not 
be  made  consistent.  So  he  gave  them  an 
ambiguous  liberty  to  do  as  they  advised, 
and  permitted  the  prisoners  to  go  along 
no  toher  road  than  that  which  led  to  Ti- 
berias only.  So  they  readily  believed 
what  they  desired  to  be  true,  and  went 
along  securely,  with  their  effects,  the  way 
which  was  allowed  them,  while  the  Ro- 
mans seized  upon  all  the  road  that  led  to 
Tiberias,  that  none  of  them  might  go  out 
of  it,  and  shut  them  up  in  the  city.  Then 
came  Vespasian,  and  ordered  them  all  to 
stand  in  the  stadium,  and  commanded 
them  to  kill  the  old  men,  together  with 
the  others  that  were  useless,  who  were  iu 


number  1200.  Out  of  the  young  men  he 
chose  6000  of  the  strongest,  and  sent  them 
to  Nero,  to  dig  through  the  Isthmus,  and 
sold  the  remainder  for  slaves,  being  30,400, 
besides  such  as  he  made  a  present  of  to 
Agrippa;  for  as  to  those  that  belonged  to 
his  kingdom,  he  gave  him  leave  to  do 
what  he  pleased  with  them;  however,  the 
king  sold  these  also  for  slaves ;  but  for 
the  rest  of  the  multitude,  who  were 
Trachonites,  and  Gaulanites,  and  of  Hip- 
pos, and  some  of  Gadara,  the  greatest  part 
of  them  were  seditious  persons  and  fu- 
gitives, who  were  of  such  shameful  charac- 
ters that  they  preferred  war  before  peace. 
These  prisoners  were  taken  on  the  eighth 
day  of  the  month  Gorpiaeus  [Elul]. 


BOOK  IV. 


CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL  OF  ABOUT  ONE  YEAR,  FROM  THE  SIEGE  OF 
GAMALA  TO  THE  COMING  OF  TITUS  TO  BESIEGE  JERUSALEM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  siege  and  taking  of  Gamala. 

Now  all  those  Galileans  who,  after  the 
taking  of  Jotapata,  had  revolted  from  the 
Romans,  did,  upon  the  conquest  of  Tari- 
cheje,  deliver  themselves  up  to  them  again. 
And  the  Romans  received  all  the  fortresses 
and  the  cities,  excepting  Gischala,  and 
those  that  had  seized  upon  Mount  Tabor; 
Gamala  also,  which  is  a  city  over-against 
Taricheae,  but  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake,  conspired  with  them.  This  city  lay 
upon  the  borders  of  Agrippa's  kingdom, 
as  also  did  Sogana  and  Seleucia.  And 
these  were  both  parts  of  Gaulanitis;  for 
Sogona  was  a  part  of  that  called  the  Up- 
per Gaulanitis,  as  was  Gamala  of  the 
Lower;  while  Seleucia  was  situated  at  the 
lake  Semechonitis,  which  lake  is  thirty 
furlongs  in  breadth,  and  sixty  in  length ; 
its  marshes  reach  as  far  as  the  place 
Daphne,  which,  in  other  respects,  is  a  de- 
licious place,  and  hath  such  fountains  as 
supply  water  to  what  is  cailed  Little  Jor- 
dan, under  the  temple  Qf  the  golden  calf,* 


*  Here  we  have  the  exact  situation  of  one  of 
Jeroboam's  "golden  calves,"  at  the  exit  of  Little 
Jordan  into  Great  Jordan,  near  a  place  called 
Daphne,  but  of  old  Dan.  Reland  suspects  that  we 
enould  read  Dan  instead  of  Daphne,  there  being 
nowhere  else  any  mention  of  a  place  called  Daphne 
hereabout? 


where  it  is  sent  into  Great  Jordan.  Now 
Agrippa  had  united  Sogana  and  Seleucia 
by  leagues  to  himself,  at  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  revolt  from  the  Romans;  yet 
did  not  Gamala  accede  to  them,  but  re- 
lied upon  the  difficulty  of  the  place,  which 
was  greater  than  that  of  Jotapata,  for  it 
was  situated  upon  a  rough  ridge  of  a  high 
mountain,  with  a  kind  of  neck  in  the  mid- 
dle :  where  it  begins  to  ascend,  it  length- 
ens itself,  and  declines  as  much  downward 
before  as  behind,  insomuch  that  it  is  like 
a  camel  in  figure,  from  whence  it  is  so 
named,  although  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try do  not  pronounce  it  accurately.  Both 
on  the  side  and  the  face  there  are  abrupt 
parts  divided  from  the  rest,  and  ending  in 
vast  deep  valleys;  yet  are  the  parts  be- 
hind, where  they  are  joined  to  the  moun- 
tain, somewhat  easier  of  ascent  than  the 
other;  but  then  the  people  belonging  to 
the  place  have  cut  an  oblique  ditch  there, 
and  made  that  hard  to  be  ascended  also. 
On  its  acclivity,  which  is  straight,  houses 
are  built,  and  those  very  thick  and  close 
to  one  another.  The  city  also  hangs  so 
strangely,  that  it  looks  as  if  it  would  fall 
down  upon  itself,  so  sharp  is  it  at  the  top. 
It  is  exposed  to  the  south ;  and  its  south- 
ern mount,  which  reaches  to  an  immense 
height,  was  in  the  nature  of  a  citadel  to 
the  city ;   and  above  that  was  a  precipice, 


JHAP.  IJ 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS, 


759 


not  walled  about,  but  extending  itself  to 
an  immense  depth.  There  was  also  a 
spring  of  water  within  the  wall,  at  the 
utmost  limits  of  the  city. 

As  this  city  was  naturally  hard  to  be 
taken,  so  had  Josephus,  by  building  a  wall 
about  it,  made  it  still  stronger,  as  also  by 
ditches  and  mines  under  ground.  The 
people  that  were  in  it  were  made  more 
bold  by  the  nature  of  the  place  than  the 
people  of  Jotapata  had  been,  but  it  had 
much  fewer  fighting  men  in  it;  and  they 
had  such  a  confidence  in  the  situation  of 
the  place,  that  they  thought  the  enemy 
could  not  be  too  many  for  them  ;  for  the 
city  had  been  filled  with  those  that  had 
fled  to  it  for  safety,  on  account  of  its 
strength :  on  which  account  they  had 
been  able  to  resist  those  whom  Agrippa 
sent  to  besiege  it  for  seven  months  to- 
gether 

But  Vespasian  removed  from  Emmaus, 
where  he  had  last  pitched  his  camp  before 
the  city  Tiberias — (now  Emmaus,  if  it  be 
interpreted,  may  be  rendered  "  a  warm 
bath,"  for  therein  is  a  spring  of  warm 
water,  useful  for  healing) — and  came  to 
Gamala  ;  yet  was  its  situation  such  that  he 
was  not  able  to  encompass  it  all  round 
with  soldiers  to  watch  it;  but  where  the 
places  were  practicable,  he  set  men  to 
watch  it,  and  seized  upon  the  mountain 
which  was  over  it.  And  as  the  legions,  ac- 
cording to  their  usual  custom,  were  forti- 
fying their  camp  upon  that  mountain,  he 
began  to  cast  up  banks  at  the  bottom,  at 
the  part  toward  the  east,  where  the  high- 
est tower  of  the  whole  city  was,  aud 
where  the  fifteenth  legion  pitched  their 
camp;  while  the  fifth  legion  did  duty  over 
against  the  midst  of  the  city,  aud  while 
the  tenth  legion  filled  up  the  ditches  and 
valleys.  Now  at  this  time  it  was  that  as 
King  Agrippa  was  come  nigh  the  walls, 
and  was  endeavouring  to  speak  to  those 
that  were  on  the  walls  about  a  surrender, 
be  was  hit  with  a  stone  on  his  right  elbow 
by  one  of  the  slingers;  he  was  then  im- 
mediately surrounded  with  his  own  men. 
But  the  Romans  were  excited  to  set  about 
the  siege,  by  their  indignation  on  the 
king's  account,  and  by  their  fear  on  their 
own  account,  as  concluding  that  those 
men  would  omit  of  no  kinds  of  barbarity 
against  foreigners  and  enemies,  who  were 
so  enraged  against  one  of  their  own  na- 
tion, and  one  that  advised  them  to  nothing 
but  what  was  for  their  own  advantage. 

Now  when   the  banks    were    finished, 


which  was  done  on  the  sudden,  both  by 
the  multitude  of  hands,  and  by  their  be- 
ing accustomed  to  such  work,  they  brought 
the  machines;  but  Chares  and  Joseph, 
who  were  the  most  potent  men  of  the 
city,  set  their  armed  men  in  order,  though 
already  in  a  fright,  because  they  did  net 
suppose  that  the  city  could  hold  out  long, 
since  they  had  not  a  sufficient  quantity 
either  of  water  or  of  other  necessaries. 
However,  these  their  leaders  encouraged 
them,  and  brought  them  out  upon  the 
wall,  and  for  a  while  indeed  they  drove 
away  those  that  were  bringing  the  ma- 
chines; but  when  those  machines  threw 
darts  and  stones  at  them,  they  retired  into 
the  city ;  then  did  the  Romans  bring  bat- 
tering-rams to  three  several  places,  and 
make  the  wall  shake  [and  fall].  They 
then  poured  in  over  the  parts  of  the  wall 
that  were  thrown  down,  with  a  mighty 
sound  of  trumpets  and  noise  of  armour, 
aud  with  a  shout  of  the  soldiers,  and  brake 
in  by  force  upon  those  that  were  in  the 
city  ;  but  these  men  fell  upon  the  Romans 
for  some  time,  at  their  first  entrance,  and 
prevented  their  going  any  farther,  and 
with  great  courage  beat  them  back;  and 
the  Romans  were  so  overpowered  by  the 
greater  multitude  of  the  people  who  beat 
them  on  every  side,  that  they  were  obliged 
to  run  into  the  upper  parts  of  the  city. 
Whereupon  the  people  turned  about,  and 
fell  upon  their  enemies,  who  had  attacked 
them,  and  thrust  them  down  to  the  lower 
parts,  and,  as  they  were  distressed  by  the 
narrowness  and  difficulty  of  the  place, 
slew  them ;  and  as  these  Romans  could 
neither  beat  those  back  that  were  above 
them,  nor  escape  the  force  of  their  own 
men  that  were  forcing  their  way  forward, 
they  were  compelled  to  fly  into  their  ene- 
mies' houses,  which  were  low  ;  but  these 
houses  being  thus  full  of  soldiers,  whose 
weight  they  could  not  bear,  fell  down  sud- 
denly ;  and  when  one  house  fell,  it  shook  a 
great  many  of  those  that  were  under  it,  as 
did  those  do  to  such  as  were  under  them 
By  this  means  a  vast  number  of  the  Ro- 
mans perished;  for  they  were  so  terribly 
distressed,  that  although  they  saw  the 
houses  subsiding,  they  were  compelled  to 
leap  upon  the  tops  of  them ;  so  that  a  great 
many  were  ground  to  powder  by  these 
ruins,  and  a  great  many  of  those  that  got 
from  under  them  lost  some  of  their  limbs, 
but  still  a  greater  number  were  suffocated 
by  the  dust  that  arose  from  those  ruins. 
The  people  of  Gamala  supposed  this  t« 


7G0 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


be  an  assistance  afforded  them  by  God,  and 
without  regarding  what  damage  they  suf- 
fered themselves,  they  pressed  forward, 
and  thrust  the  enemy  upon  the  tops  of 
their  houses;  and  when  they  stumbled  in 
the  iharp  and  narrow  streets,  and  were 
perpetually  tumbling  down,  they  threw 
their  stones  or  darts  at  them,  and  slew 
them.  Now  the  very  ruins  afforded  them 
stones  enough  ;  and  for  iron  weapons,  the 
dead  men  of  the  enemy's  side  afforded 
them  what  they  wanted  ;  for  drawing  the 
swords  of  those  that  were  dead,  they  made 
use  of  them  to  despatch  such  as  were 
only  half  dead;  nay,  there  were  a  great 
number  who,  upon  their  falling  down  from 
the  top  of  the  houses,  stabbed  themselves, 
and  died  after  that,  manner;  nor  indeed 
was  it  easy  for  those  that  were  beaten 
back  to  fly  away  ;  for  tliey  were  so  unac- 
quainted with  the  ways,  and  the  dust  was 
so  thick,  that  they  wandered  about  with- 
out knowing  one  another,  and  fell  down 
dead  among  the  crowd. 

Those  therefore  that  were  able  to  find 
the  ways  out  of  the  city  retired.  ]>ut 
now  Vespasian  always  stayed  among  those 
that  were  hard  set;  for  he  was  deeply  af- 
fected with  seeing  the  ruins  of  the  city- 
falling  upon  his  army,  and  forgot  to  take 
care  of  his  own  preservation.  He  went 
up  gradually  toward  the  highest  parts  of 
the  city  before  he  was  aware,  and  was  left 
in  the  midst  of  dangers,  having  only  a 
very  few  with  him;  for  even  his  son  Titus 
was  not  with  him  at  that  time,  having 
been  then  sent  into  Syria  to  Mucianus. 
However,  he  thought  it  not  safe  to  fly, 
nor  did  he  esteem  ir  a  lit  thing  for  him  to 
do;  but  calling  to  mind  the  actions  he  had 
done  from  his  youth,  and  recollecting  his 
courage,  as4f  he  had  been  excited  by  a 
divine  fury,  he  covered  himself  and  those 
that  were  with  him  with  their  shields,  and 
formed  a  testudo  over  both  their  bodies 
and  their  armour,  and  bore  up  against  the 
enemy's  attacks,  who  came  running  down 
from  the  top  of  the  city  :  and  without 
showing  any  dread  at  the  multitude  of 
the  men  or  of  their  darts,  he  endured  all, 
until  the  enemy  took  notice  of  that  divine 
courage  that  was  within  him,  and  remit- 
ted of  their  attacks;  and  when  they 
pressed  less  zealously  upon  him,  he  retired, 
though  without  showing  his  buck  to  them, 
till  he  was  gotten  out  of  the  walls  of  the 
city.  Now  a  great  number  of  the  Ro- 
mans fell  in  this  battle,  among  whom  was 
Kbutius,  the  decurion,  a  man  who  appear- 


ed not  only  in  this  engagement,  wherein 
he  fell,  but  everywhere,  and  in  former  en- 
gagements,, to  be  of  the  truest  courage, 
and  one  that  had  done  very  great  mis- 
chief to  the  Jews.  But  there  was  a  cen- 
turion, whose  name  was  Gallus,  who,  dur- 
ing this  disorder,  being  encompassed 
about,  he  and  ten  other  soldiers  privatelv 
crept  into  the  house  of  a  certain  person, 
where  he  heard  them  talking  at  supper 
what  the  people  intended  to  do  against 
the  Romans,  or  about  themselves,  (for 
both  the  man  himself  and  those  with  him 
were  Syrians.)  So  he  got  up  in  the 
night-time,  and  cut  all  their  throats,  and 
escaped,  together  with  his  soldiers,  to  the 
Romans. 

And  now  Vespasian  comforted  his  army, 
which  was  much  dejected  by  reflecting  on 
their  ill  success,  and  because  they  had 
never  before  fallen  into  such  a  calamity, 
and  besides  this  because  they  were  great- 
ly ashamed  that  they  had  left  their  gene- 
ral alone  in  great  dangers.  As  to  what 
concerned  himself,  he  avoided  to  say  any 
thing,  that  he  might  by  no  means  seem 
to  complain  of  it;  but  he  said  that  u  we 
ought  to  bear  manfully  what  usually  falls 
out  in  war,  and  this,  by  considering  what 
the  nature  of  war  is  and  how  it  can  never 
be  that  we  must  conquer  without  blood- 
shed on  our  own  side ;  for  there  stands 
about  us  that  fortune  which  is  of  its  own 
nature  mutable  ;  that  while  they  had  killed 
so  many  ten  thousands  of  the  Jews,  they 
had  now  paid  their  small  share  of  the 
reckoning  to  fate ;  and  as  it  is  the  part  of 
weak  people  to  be  too  much  puffed  up 
with  good  success,  so  is  it  the  part  of 
cowards  to  be  too  much  affrighted  at  that 
which  is  ill;  for  the  change  from  the  one  to 
the  other  is  sudden  on  both  sides;  and  he  is 
the  best  warrior  who  is  of  a  sober  mind  un- 
der misfortunes,  that  he  may  continue  in 
that  temper,  and  cheerfully  recover  what 
hath  been  lost  formerly ;  and  as  for  what 
had  now  happened,  it  was  neither  owing 
to  their  own  effeminacy  nor  to  the  valour 
of  the  Jews,  but  the  difficulty  of  the 
place  was  the  occasion  of  their  advantage, 
and  of  our  disappointment.  Upon  re- 
flecting on  which  matter  one  might  blame 
your  zeal  as  perfectly  ungovernable  ;  for 
when  the  enemy  had  retired  to  their  high- 
est fastnesses,  you  ought  to  have  restrained 
yourselves,  and  not,  by  presenting  your- 
selves at  the  top  of  the  city,  to  be  exposed 
to  dangers ;  but  upon  your  having  obtained 
the  lower  parts  of  the  city  you  ought  tr 


Chap.  I.] 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


7C1 


Lave  pre  poked  those  that  had  retired 
thither  to  a  safe  and  settled  tattle;  where- 
as, in  rushing  so  hastily  upon  victory,  you 
took  no  care  of  your  own  safety.  But 
this  incautiousness  in  war,  and  this  mad- 
ness of  zeal,  is  not  a  Roman  maxim. 
While  we  perform  all  that  we  attempt  by 
skill  and  good  order,  that  procedure  is 
only  the  part  of  barbarians,  and  is  what 
the  Jews  chiefly  support 'themselves  by. 
We  ought  therefore  to  return  to  our  own 
virtue,  and  to  be  rather  angry  than  any 
longer  dejected  at  this  unlucky  mis- 
fortune ;  and  let  every  one  seek  for  his 
own  consolation  from  his  own  hand ;  for 
by  this  means  he  will  avenge  those  that 
have  been  destroyed,  and  punish  those 
that  have  killed  them.  For  myself,  I 
will  endeavour,  as  I  have  now  done,  to  go 
first  before  you  against  your  enemies  in 
every  engagement,  and  to  be  the  last  that 
retires  from  it." 

So  Vespasian  encourage  1  his  army  by 
this  speech  ;  but  for  the  people  of  Gamala, 
it  happened  that  they  took  courage  for  a 
little  while,  upon  such  great  and  unac- 
t  countable  success  as  they  had  had.  But 
when  they  considered  with  themselves 
that  they  had  now  no  hopes  of  any  terms 
of  accommodation,  and  reflecting  upon  it 
that  they  could  not  get  away,  and  that 
their  provisions  began  already  to  be  short, 
they  were  exceedingly  cast  down,  and  their 
courage  failed  them ;  yet  did  they  not 
neglect  what  might  be  for  their  preser- 
vation, so  far  as  they  were  able,  but  the 
most  courageous  among  them  guarded  those 
parts  of  the  wall  that  were  beaten  down, 
while  the  more  infirm  did  the  same  to  the 
rest  of  the  wall  that  still  remained  round 
the  city.  And  as  the  Bomans  raised  their 
banks,  and  attempted  to  get  into  the 
city  a  second  time,  a  great  many  of  them 
fled  out  of  the  city  through  impractica- 
ble valleys,  where  no  guards  were  placed, 
as  also  through  subterraneous  caverns ; 
while  those  that  were  afraid  of  being 
caught,  and  for  that  reason  stayed  in  the 
city,  perished  for  want  of  food;  for  what 
food  they  had  was  brought  together  from 
all  quarters,  and  reserved  fur  the  fight- 
ing men. 

And  these  were  the  hard  circumstances 
the  people  of  Gamala  were  in.  But  now 
Vespasian  went  about  other  work,  by  the 
by,  during  this  siege,  and  that  was  to 
subdue  those  that  had  seized  upon  Mount 
Tabor,  a  place  that  lies  in  the  middle  be- 
tween  the  Great  Plain  and  Scythopolis, 


whose  top  is  elevated  as  high  as  thirty 
furlongs,*  and  is  hardly  to  be  ascended 
on  its  north  side;  its  top  is  a  plain  of 
twenty-six  furlongs,  and  all  encompassed 
with  a  wall.  Now,  Josephus  erected  this 
so  long  a  wall  in  forty  days'  time,  and 
furnished  it  with  other  materials,  and 
with  water  from  below,  for  the  inhabitants 
only  made  use  of  rain-water;  as,  there- 
fore, there  was  a  great  multitude  of  people 
gotten  together  upon  this  mountain,  Ves- 
pasian sent  Placidus,  with  600  horsemen, 
thither.  Now,  as  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  ascend  the  mountain,  he  invited 
many  of  them  to  peace,  by  the  offer  of  his 
right  hand  for  their  security,  and  of  his 
intercession  for  them.  Accordingly,  they 
came  down,  but  with  a  treacherous  design, 
as  well  as  he  had  the  like  treacherous ; 
design  upon  them  on  the  other  side 
for  Placidus  spoke  mildly  to  them,  as 
aiming  to  take  them  when  he  got  them 
into  the  plain  ;  they  also  came  down,  as 
complying  with  his  proposals,  but  it  was 
in   order   to   fall   upon   him  when   he  was 

not  aware  of  it:  however,  Placidus's  stra- 

\  . 

tagem  was  too  hard  for  theirs;   for  when 

the  Jews  began  to  fight,  he  pretended  to 
run  away,  and  when  they  were  in  pursuit 
of  the  Bomans,  he  enticed  them  a  great 
way  along  the  plain,  and  then  made  his 
horsemen  turn  back ;  whereupon  he  beat 
them,  and  slew  a  great  number  of  them, 
and  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  rest  of  the 
multitude,  and  hindered  their  return.  So 
they  left  Tabor,  and  fled  to  Jerusalem, 
while  the  people  of  the  country  came  to 
terms  with  him,  for  their  water  failed 
them,  and  so  they  delivered  up  the  moun- 
tain and  themselves  to  Placidus. 

*  These  numbers  in  Josephus,  of  thirty  furlongs' 
ascent  to  the  top  of  Mount  Tabor,  whether  we 
estimate  it  by  winding  and  gradual,  or  by  perpen- 
dicular altitude,  and  of  twenty-six  furlongs'  cir- 
cumference upon  the  top,  as  also  fifteen  furlongs 
for  this  ascent  in  Polybius,  with  Geminus's  perpen- 
dicular altitude  of  almost  fourteen  furlongs,  do  none 
of  them  agree  with  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Maundrel, 
who  says  he  was  not  an  hour  in  getting  up  to  the 
top  of  this  Mount  Tabor,  and  that  the  area  of  the 
top  is  an  oval  of  about  two  furlongs  in  length, 
and  one  in  breadth.  We  may  rather  suppose  Jo- 
sephus wrote  three  furlongs  for  the  ascent,  instead 
of  thirty;  and  six  furlongs  for  the  circumference 
at  the  top,  instead  of  twenty-six, — since  a  mountain 
of  only  three  furlongs'  perpendicular  altitude  may 
easily  require  near  an  hour's  ascent;  and  the  cir- 
cumference of  an  oval  of  the  foregoing  quantity, 
is  near  six  furlongs.  Nor  certainly  could  such  a 
vast  circumference  as  twenty-six  furlongs,  or  three 
miles  and  a  quarter,  at  that  height,  be  encompassed 
with  a  wall,  including  a  trench  and  other  fortifi- 
cations, in  the  small  interval  of  forty  days,  as  Jo 
sephus  here  says  they  were  by  himself. 


762 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


But  of  the  people  of  (xamala,  those 
that  were  of  the  bolder  sort  fled  away,  and 
hid  themselves,  while  the  more  infirm 
perished  by  famine ;  but  the  men  of  war 
sustained  the  siege  till  the  two-and- 
twentieth  day  of  the  month  Hyperbere- 
tseus  [Tisri],  when  three  soldiers  of  the 
fifteenth  legion,  about  the  morning  watch, 
got  under  a  high  tower  that  was  near, 
and  undermined  it  without  making  any 
noise;  nor  when  they  either  came  to  it, 
which  was  in  the  night-time,  nor  when 
they  were  under  it,  did  those  that  guarded 
it  perceive  them.  These  soldiers  then, 
upon  their  coming,  avoided  making  a 
noise,  and  when  they  had  rolled  away  five 
of  its  strongest  stones,  they  went  away 
hastily;  whereupon  the  tower  fell  down 
on  a  sudden,  with  a  great  noise,  and  its 
guard  fell  headlong  with  it;  so  that  those 
that  kept  guard  at  other  places  were 
under  such  disturbance  that  they  ran 
away  ;  the  Romans  also  slew  many  of 
those  that  ventured  to  oppose  them,  among 
whom  was  Joseph,  who  was  slain  by  a 
dart,  as  he  was  running  away  over  that 
part  of  the  wall  that  was  broken  down  : 
but  as  those  that  were  in  the  city  were 
greatly  affrighted  at  the  noise,  they  ran 
hither  and  thither,  and  a  great  conster- 
nation fell  upon  them,  as  though  all  the 
enemy  had  fallen  in  at  once  upon  them. 
Then  it  was  that  Chares,  who  was  ill,  and 
jnder  the  physician's  hands,  gave<up  the 
ghost,  the  fear  he  was  in  greatly  contri- 
buting to  make  his  distemper  fatal  to 
him.  But  the  Romans  so  well  remem- 
bered their  former  ill  success,  that  they 
did  not  enter  the  city  till  the  three- 
and-twentieth  day  of  the  forementioned 
month. 

At  which  time  Titus,  who  was  now  re- 
turned, out  of  the  indignation  he  had  at 
the  destruction  the  Romans  had  under- 
gone while  he  was  absent,  took  200  chosen 
horsemen,  and  some  footmen  with  him, 
and  entered  without  noise  into  the  city. 
Now,  as  the  watch  perceived  that  he  was 
coming,  they  made  a  noise,  and  betook 
themselves  to  their  arms ;  and  as  this  his 
entrance  was  presently  known  to  those 
that  were  in  the  city,  some  of  them  caught 
bold  of  their  children  and  their  wives, 
and  drew  them  after  them,  and  fled  away 
to  the  citadel,  with  lamentations  and  cries, 
while  others  of  them  went  to  meet  Titus, 
and  were  killed  perpetually ;  but  so  many 
of  them  as  were  hindered  from  running 
up  to  the  citadel,  not  knowing  what  in 


the  world  to  do,  fell  among  the  Roman 
guards,  while  the  groans  of  those  that 
were  killed  were  prodigiously  great  every- 
where, and  blood  ran  down  over  all  the 
lower  parts  of  the  city,  from  the  upper. 
But  then  Vespasian  himself  came  t)  his 
assistance  against  those  that  had  fled  to 
the  citadel,  and  brought  his  whole  army 
with  him  :  now  this  upper  part  of  the  city 
was  every  way  rocky,  and  difficult  of  as- 
cent, and  elevated  to  a  vast  altitude,  and 
very  full  of  people  on  all  sides,  and  en- 
compassed with  precipices,  whereby  the 
Jews  cut  off  those  that  came  up  to  them, 
and  did  much  mischief  to  others  by  their 
darts  and  the  large  stones  which  they 
rolled  down  upon  them,  while  they  were 
themselves  so  high  that  the  enemies'  darta 
could  hardly  reach  them.  However,  there 
arose  such  a  divine  storm  against  them  aa 
was  instrumental  to  their  destruction  ;  thia 
carried  the  Roman  darts  upon  them,  and 
made  those  which  they  threw  return  back, 
and  drove  them  obliquely  away  from 
them  :  nor  could  the  Jews  indeed  stand 
upon  their  precipices,  by  reason  of  the 
violence  of  the  wind,  having  nothing  that 
was  stable  to  stand  upon,  nor  could  they 
see  those  that  were  ascending  up  to  them ; 
so  the  Romans  got  up  and  surrounded 
them,  and  some  they  slew  before  they 
could  defend  themselves,  and  others  aa 
they  were  delivering  up  themselves ;  and 
the  remembrance  of  those  that  were  slain 
at  their  former  entrance  into  the  city 
increased  their  rage  against  them  now ;  a 
great  number  also  of  those  that  were  sur- 
rounded on  every  side,  and  despaired  of 
escaping,  threw  their  children  and  their 
wives,  and  themselves  also,  down  the  pre- 
cipices, into  the  vailey  beneath,  which, 
near  the  citadel,  had  been  dug  hollow  to 
a  vast  depth  ;  but  so  it  happened,  that  the 
anger  of  the  Romans  appeared  not  to  bo 
so  extravagatit  as  was  the  madness  of 
those  that  were  now  taken,  while  the  Ro- 
mans slew  but  4000,  whereas  the  number 
of  those  that  had  thrown  themselves  down 
was  found  to  be  5000 ;  nor  did  any  one 
escape  except  two  women,  who  were  the 
daughters  of  Philip,  and  Philip  himself 
was  the  son  of  a  certain  eminent  man 
called  Jacimus,  who  had  been  general  of 
King  Agrippa's  army ;  and  these  did  there- 
fore escape,  because  they  lay  concealed 
from  the  sight  of  the  Romans  when  the 
city  was  taken ;  for  otherwise  they  spared 
not  so  much  as  the  infants,  of  whom  many 
were  flung  down  by  them  from  the  citadel 


OUap.II.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


763 


And  thus  was  Gamala  taken  on  the  three- 
and-twentieth  day  of  the  month  Hyper- 
beretseus  [Tisri],  whereas  the  city  had 
first  revolted  on  the  four-and-twentieth 
day  of  the  month  Gorpiseus  [Elul]. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  surrender  of  the  small  city  of  Gischala — John 
of  Gischala  flies  to  Jerusalem. 

Now,  no  place  of  Galilee  remained  to 
be  taken  but  the  small  city  of  Gischala, 
whose  inhabitants  yet  were  desirous  of 
peace  ;  for  they  were  generally  husband- 
men, and  always  applied  themselves  to 
cultivate  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  How- 
ever, there  were  a  great  number  that 
belonged  to  a  band  of  robbers,  that  were 
already  corrupted,  and  had  crept  in  among 
them,  and  some  of  the  governing  part  of 
the  citizens  were  sick  of  the  same  dis- 
temper. It  was  Johu,  the  son  of  a  cer- 
tain man  whose  name  was  Levi,  that 
drew  them  into  this  rebellion,  and  en- 
couraged them  in  it.  He  was  a  cunning 
knave,  and  of  a  temper  that  could  put  on 
various  shapes;  very  rash  in  expecting 
great  things,  and  very  sagacious  in  bring- 
ing about  what  he  hoped  for.  It  was 
known  to  everybody  that  he  was  fond  of 
war,  in  order  to  thrust  himself  into  au- 
thority ;  and  the  seditious  part  of  the 
people  of  Gischala  were  under  his  ma- 
nagement, by  whose  means  the  populace, 
who  seemed  ready  to  send  ambassadors 
in  order  to  a  surrender,  waited  for  the 
coming  of  the  Romans  in  battle-array. 
Vespasian  sent  against  them  Titus,  with 
1000  horsemen,  but  withdrew  the  tenth 
legion  to  Scythopolis,  while  he  returned 
to  Cesarea  with  the  two  other  legions, 
that  he  might  allow  them  to  refresh  them- 
selves after  their  hard  and  long  campaign, 
thinking  withal  that  the  plenty  which  was 
in  those  cities  would  improve  their  bodies 
and  their  spirits,  against  the  difficulties 
they  were  to  go  through  afterward;  for 
he  saw  there  would  be  occasion  for  great 
pains  about  Jerusalem,  which  was  not  yet 
taken,  because  it  was  the  royal  city,  and 
the  principal  city  of  the  whole  nation ; 
and  because  those  that  had  run  away  from 
the  war  in  other  places  got  all  together 
thither.  It  was  also  naturally  strong, 
and  the  walls  that  were  built  round  it 
made  him  not  a  little  concerned  about 
it.  Moreover,  he  esteemed  the  men  that 
were  in  it  to  be  so  courageous  and  bold, 
that  even  without   the   consideration   of 


the  walls,  it  would  be  hard  to  subdue 
them;  for  which  reason  he  took  care  of 
and  exercised  his  soldiers  beforehand  for 
the  work,  as  they  do  wrestlers  before  they 
begin  their  undertaking. 

Now  Titus,  as  he  rode  up  to  Gischala, 
found  it  would  be  easy  for  him  to  take 
the  city  upon  the  first  onset ;  but  knew 
withal,  that  if  he  took  it  by  force,  the 
multitude  would  be  destroyed  by  the  sol- 
diers without  mercy.  (Now  he  was  already 
satiated  with  the  shedding  of  blood,  and 
pitied  the  major  part,  who  would  then 
perish,  without  distinction,  together  with 
the  guilty.)  So  he  was  rather  desirous 
the  city  might  be  surrendered  up  to  him 
on  terms.  Accordingly,  when  he  saw  the 
wall  full  of  those  men  that  were  of  the 
corrupted  party,  he  said  to  them, — "  That 
he  could  not  but  wonder  what  it  was  they 
depended  on,  when  they  alone  stayed  to 
fight  the  Romans,  after  every  other  city 
was  taken  by  them ;  especially  when  they 
have  seen  cities  much  better  fortified  than 
theirs  is,  overthrown  by  a  single  attack 
upon  them ;  while  as  many  as  have  in- 
trusted themselves  to  the  security  of  the 
Romans'  right  hands,  which  he  now  of- 
fers to  them,  without  regarding  their  for- 
mer insolence,  do  enjoy  their  own  pos- 
sessions in  safety  ;  for  that  while  they  had 
hopes  of  recovering  their  liberty,  they 
might  be  pardoned;  but  that  their  con- 
tinuance still  in  opposition,  when  they  saw 
that  to  be  impossible,  was  inexcusable ; 
for  that,  if  they  will  not  comply  with  such 
humane  offers,  and  right  hands  for  secu- 
rity, they  should  have  experience  of  such 
a  war  as  would  spare  nobody,  and  should 
soon  be  made  sensible  that  their  wall 
would  be  but  a  trifle,  when  battered  by 
the  Roman  machines;  in  depending  on 
which,  they  demonstrate  themselves  to  be 
the  only  Galileans  that  were  no  bettej 
than  arrogant  slaves  and  captives. 

Now  none  of  the  populace  durst  not 
only  not  make  a  reply,  but  durst  not  so 
much  as  get  upon  the  wall,  for  it  was  all 
taken  up  by  the  robbers,  who  were  also 
the  guard  at  the  gates,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  of  the  rest  from  going  out  in  oider  to 
propose  terms  of  submission,  and  from 
receiving  any  of  the  horsemen  into  tho 
city.  But  John  returned  Titus  this  an- 
swer, That  for  himself  he  was  content  to 
hearken  to  his  proposals,  and  that  he 
would  either  persuade  or  force  those  that 
refused  them.  Yet  he  said,  that  Titua 
ought  to  have  such  regard  to  the  Jewish 


764 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


law,  as  to  grant  them  leave  to  celebrate 
that  day,  which  was  the  seventh  day  of 
the  week,  on  which  it  was  unlawful  not 
only  to  remove  their  arms,  but  even  to 
treat  of  peace  also ;  and  that  even  the  Ro- 
mans were  not  ignorant  how  the  period 
of  the  seventh  day  was  among  them  a 
cessation  from  all  labours;  and  that  he 
who  should  compel  them  to  transgress  the 
Jaw  about  that  day  would  be  equally  guil- 
ty with  those  that  were  compelled  to  trans- 
gress it :  and  that  this  delay  could  be  of  no 
advantage  to  him  ;  for  why  should  anybody 
think  of  doing  any  thing  in  the  night,  un- 
less it  was  to  fly  away?  which  he  might 
prevent  by  placing  his  camp  round  about 
them  :  and  that  they  should  think  it  a 
great  point  gained,  if  they  might  not  be 
obliged  to  transgress  the  laws  of  their 
country;  and  that  it  would  be  a  right 
thing  for  him,  who  designed  to  grant  them 
peace,  without  their  expectation  of  such 
a  favour,  to  preserve  the  laws  of  those 
they  saved  inviolable.  Thus  did  this  man 
put  a  trick  upon  Titus,  not  so  much  out 
of  regard  to  the  seventh  day  as  to  his 
own  preservation,  for  he  was  afraid  lest  he 
should  be  quite  deserted  if  the  city  should 
be  taken,  and  had  his  hopes  of  life  in 
that  night,  and  in  his  flight  therein. <Now 
"this  was  the  work  of  God,  who  therefore 
preserved  this  John,  that  he  might  bring 
on  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  j  as  also 
it  was  his  work  that  Titus  was  prevailed 
with  by  this  pretence  for  a  delay,  and  that 
he  pitched  his  camp  farther  off  the  city 
at  Cydessa.  This  Cydessa  was  a  strong 
Mediterranean  village  of  the  Tyrians, 
which  always  hated  and  made  war  against 
the  Jews;  it  had  also  a  great  number  of 
inhabitants,  and  was  well  fortified;  which 
made  it  a  proper  place  for  such  as  were 
enemies  to  the  Jewish  nation. 

Now,  in  the  night-time,  when  John  saw 
that  there  was  no  Roman  guard  about  the 
city,  he  seized  the  opportunity  directly, 
and,  taking  with  him  not  only  the  armed 
men  that  were  about  him,  but  a  consider- 
able number  of  those  that  had  little  to 
do,  together  with  their  families,  he  fled 
to  Jerusalem.  And,  indeed,  though  the 
man  was  making  haste  to  get  away,  and 
was  tormented  with  fears  of  being  a  cap- 
tive, or  of  losing  his  life,  yet  did  he  pre- 
vail with  himself  to  take  out  of  the  city 
along  with  him  a  multitude  of  women  and 
children,  as  far  as  twenty  furlongs  ;  but 
there  he  left  them  as  he  proceeded  farther 
«l    his   journey,  where  those  that  were 


left  behind  made  sad  lamentations  ,  fo? 
the  farther  every  one  was  come  from  his 
own  people,  the  nearer  they  thought  them- 
selves to  be  to  their  enemies.  They  also 
affrighted  themselves  with  this  thought, 
that  those  who  would  carry  them  into  cap 
tivity  were  just  at  hand,  and  still  turned 
themselves  back  at  the  mere  noise  they 
made  themselves  in  this  their  hasty  flight- 
as  if  those  from  whom  they  fled  were 
just  upon  them.  Many  also  of  them 
missed  their  ways;  and  the  earnestness 
of  such  as  aimed  to  outgo  the  rest,  threw 
down  many  of  them.  And  indeed  there 
was  a  miserable  destruction  made  of  the 
women  and  children  ;  while  some  of  them 
took  courage  to  call  their  husbands  and 
kinsmen  back,  and  to  beseech  them,  with 
the  bitterest  lamentations,  to  stay  for 
them  ;  but  John's  exhortation,  who  cried 
out  to  them  to  save  themselves,  and  fly 
away,  prevailed.  He  said  also,  that  if  the 
Romans  should  seize  upon  those  whom 
they  left  behind,  they  would  be  revenged 
on  them  for  it.  So  this  multitude  that 
run  thus  away  was  dispersed  abroad,  ac- 
cording as  each  of  them  was  able  to  run, 
one  faster  or  slower  than  another. 

Now  on  the  next  day  Titus  came  to  the 
wall,  to  make  the  agreement;  whereupon 
the  people  opened  their  gates  to  him,  and 
came  out  to  him,  with  their  children  and 
wives,  and  made  acclamations  of  joy  to 
him,  as  to  one  that  had  been  their  bene- 
factor, and  had  delivered  the  city  out  of 
custody  :  they  also  informed  him  of  John's 
flight,  and  besought  him  to  spare  them, 
and  to  come  in  and  bring  the  rest  of  those 
that  were  for  innovations  to  punishment; 
but  Titus,  not  so  much  regarding  the 
supplications  of  the  people,  sent  part  of  his 
horsemen  to  pursue  after  John,  but  they 
could  not  overtake  him,  far  he  was  gotten 
to  Jerusalem  before ;  they  also  slew  6000 
of  the  women  and  children  who  went  out 
with  him,  but  returned  back  and  brought 
with  them  almost  3000.  However,  Titus 
was  greatly  displeased  that  he  had  not 
been  able  to  bring  this  John,  who  had  de- 
luded him,  to^  punishment;  yet  he  bad' 
captives  enough,  as  well  as  the  corrupted 
part  of  the  city,  to  satisfy  his  anger,  when 
it  missed  of  John.  So  he  entered  the 
city  in  the  midst  of  acclamations  of  joy: 
and  when  he  had  given  orders  to  the  sol- 
diers to  pull  down  a  small  part  of  the 
wall,  as  of  a  city  taken  in  war,  he  repressed 
those  that  had  disturbed  the  city  rat  bet 
by   threatenings  than  by  executions ;    ioi 


ChAP.  III.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


'65 


h  J  thought  that  many  would  accuse  inno- 
cent persons  out  of  their  own  animosities 
and  quarrels,  if  he  should  attempt  to  dis- 
tinguish those  that  were  worthy  of  pu- 
nishment from  the  rest;  and  that  it  was 
better  to  let  a  guilty  person  alone  in  his 
fears,  than  to  destroy  with  him  any  one 
that  did  not  deserve  it;  for  that  probably 
such  an  one  might  be  taught  prudence  by 
the  fear  of  the  punishment  he  had  deserved, 
and  have  a  shame  upon  him  for  his  former 
offences,  when  he  had  been  forgiven,  but 
that  the  punishment  of  such  as  have  been 
once  put  to  death  could  never  be  relieved. 
However,  he  placed  a  garrison  in  the 
city  for  its  security,  by  which  means  he 
should  restrain  those  that  were  for  innova- 
tions, and  should  leave  those  that  were 
peaceably  disposed  in  greater  security. 
And  thus  was  all  Galilee  taken  ;  but 
this  not  till  after  it  had  cost  the  Romans 
much  pains  before  it  could  be  taken  by 
them. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Concerning  John  of  G-ischala — The  Zealots,  and 
the  high  priest  Ananus — The  Jews  raise  sedi- 
tions one  against  another. 

Now,  upon  John's  entry  into  Jerusa- 
lem, the  whole  body  of  the  people  were 
in  an  uproar,  and  10,000  of  them  crowd- 
ed about  every  one  of  the  fugitives  that 
were  come  to  them,  and  inquired  of  them 
what  miseries  had  happened  abroad,  when 
their  breath  was  so  short,  and  hot,  and 
quick,  that  of  itself  it  declared  the  great 
distress  they  were  in ;  yet  did  they  talk 
largely  under  their  misfortunes,  and  pre- 
tended to  say  that  they  had  not  fled  away 
from  the  Romans,  but  came  thither  in  or- 
der to  fight  them  with  less  hazard;  for 
that  it  would  be  an  unreasonable  and  a 
fruitless  thing  for  them  to  expose  them- 
selves to  desperate  hazards  about  Gischala, 
and  such  weak  cities,  whereas  they  ought 
to  lay  up  their  weapons  and  their  zeal, 
and  reserve  it  for  their  metropolis.  But 
when  they  related  to  them  the  taking  of 
G-ischala,  and  their  decent  departure,  as 
they  pretended,  from  that  place,  many  of 
the  people  understood  it  to  be  no  better 
than  a  flight;  and  especially  when  the 
people  were  told  of  those  that  were  made 
captives,  they  were  in  great  confusion,  and 
guessed  those  things  to  be  plain  indica- 
tions that  they  should  be  taken  also ;  but 
for  John,  he  was  very  little  concerned  for 


those  whom  he  nad  left  behind  him,  but 
went  about  among  all  the  people,  and  per- 
suaded them  to  go  to  war,  by  the  hopes 
he  gave  them.  He  affirmed  that  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Romans  were  in  a  weak  con- 
dition, and  extolled  his  own  power.  He 
also  jested  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  un- 
skilful, as  if  those  Romans,  although 
they  should  take  to  themselves  wTings, 
could  never  fly  over  the  wall  of  Jerusa- 
lem, who  found  such  great  difficulties  in 
taking  the  villages  of  Galilee,  and  had 
broken  their  engines  of  war  against  their 
walls. 

These  harangues  of  John's  corrupted  a 
great  part  of  the  young  men,  and  puffed 
them  up  for  the  war;  but  as  to  the  most 
prudent  part,  and  those  in  years,  there 
was  not  a  man  of  them  but  foresaw  what 
was  coming,  and  made  lamentation  on  that 
account,  as  if  the  city  was  already  un- 
done, and  in  this  confusion  were  the  peo 
pie;  but  then  it  must  be  observed,  that 
the  multitude  that  came  out  of  the  coun- 
try were  at  discord  before  the  Jerusalem 
sedition  began;  for  Titus  went  from  Gis- 
chala  to  Cesarea;  and  Vespasian  from 
Jamnia  and  Azotus,  and  took  them  both; 
and  when  he  had  put  garrisons  into  them 
he  came  back  with  a  great  number  of  the 
people,  who  were  come  over  to  him,  upon 
his  giving  them  his  right  hand  for  their 
preservation.  There  were  besides  disor- 
ders and  civil  wars  in  every  city ;  and  all 
those  that  were  at  quiet  from  the  Romans 
turned  their  hands  one  against  another. 
There  was  also  a  bitter  contest  between 
those  that  were  fond  of  war  and  those 
that  were  desirous  of  peace.  At  the  first 
this  quarrelsome  temper  caught  hold  of 
private  families,  who  could  not  agree 
among  themselves  ;  after  which  those  peo- 
ple that  were  the  dearest  to  one  another, 
brake  through  all  restraints  with  regard 
to  each  other,  and  every  one  associated 
with  those  of  his  own  opinion,  and  began 
already  to  stand  in  opposition  one  to 
another;  so  that  seditions  arose  every- 
where, while  those  that  were  for  innova- 
tions, and  were  desirous  of  war,  by  their 
youth  and  boldness,  were  too  hard  for  the 
aged  and  the  prudent  men;  and,  iu  the 
first  place,  all  the  people  of  every  place 
betook  themselves  tc  rapine;  after  which 
they  got  together  in  bodies,  in  order  to 
rob  the  people  of  the  country,  insomuch 
that  for  barbarity  and  iniquity  those  of 
the  same  nation  did  noway  differ  frjra 
the  Romans;  nay,  it  seemed  to  be  a  much 


766 


WARS    OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  IV, 


lighter  thing  to  bo  ruined  by  the  Romans 
than  by  themselves. 

Now  the  Homan  garrisons,  which  guard- 
ed the  cities,  partly  out  of  their  uneasi- 
ness to  take  such  trouble  upon  them,  and 
partly  out  of  the  hatred  they  bore  to  the 
Jewish  nation,  did  little  or  nothing  to- 
wards relieving  the  miserable,  till  the  cap- 
tains of  these  troops  of  robbers,  being 
satiated  with  rapines  in  the  country,  got 
all  together  from  all  parts,  and  became  a 
band  of  wickedness,  and  all  together  crept 
into  Jerusalem,  which  was  now  become  a 
city  without  a  governor,  and,  as  the  an- 
cient custom  was,  received  without  dis- 
tinction all  that  belonged  to  their  nation  ; 
and  these  they  then  received,  because  all 
men  supposed  that  those  who  came  so  fast 
into  the  city,  came  out  of  kindness,  and 
for  their  assistance,  although  these  very 
men,  besides  the  seditions  they  raised, 
were  otherwise  the  direct  cause  of  the 
city's  destruction  also;  for  as  they  were  an 
unprofitable  and  a  useless  multitude,  they 
spent  those  provisions  beforehand,  which 
might  otherwise  have  been  sufficient  for 
the  fighting  men.  Moreover,  besides  the 
bringing  on  of  the  war,  they  were  the  oc- 
casion of  sedition  and  famine  therein. 

There  were,  besides  these,  other  rob- 
bers that  came  out  of  the  country,  and 
came  into  the  city,  and  joining  to  them 
those  that  were  worse  than  themselves, 
omitted  no  kind  of  barbarity  j  for  they  did 
not  measure  their  courage  by  their  ra- 
pines and  plunderings  only,  but  proceeded 
as  far  as  murdering  men  ;  and  this  not  in 
the  night-time  or  privately,  or  with  regard 
to  ordinary  men,  but  did  it  openly  in  the 
daytime,  and  began  with  the  mosteminent 
persons  in  the  city  ;  for  the  first  man  they 
meddled  with  was  Antipas,  one  of  the 
royal  lineage,  and  the  most  potent  man 
in  the  whole  city,  insomuch  that  the  public 
treasures  were  committed  to  his  care  ;  him 
they  took  and  confined,  as  they  did  in  the 
next  place  to  Levias,  a  person  of  great 
note,  with  Sophas,  the  son  of  Raguel; 
uoth  of  whom  were  of  royal  lineage  also. 
And  besides  these,  they  did  the  same  to 
the  principal  men  of  the  country.  This 
caused  a  terrible  consternation  among  the 
people ;  and  every  one  contented  himself 
with  taking  care  of  his  own  safety,  as 
they  would  do  if  the  city  had  been  taken 
in  war. 

But  these  were  not  satisfied  with  the 
bonds  into  which  they  had  put  the  men 
before  mentioned ;   nor  did  they  think  it 


safe  for  them  to  keep  them  thus  in  custody 
long,  since  they  were  men  very  powerful, 
and  had  numerous  families  of  their  own 
that  were  able  to  avenge  them.  Nay, 
they  thought  the  very  people  would  per- 
haps be  so  moved  at  these  unjust  pro- 
ceedings as  to  rise  in  a  body  against 
them  :  it  was  therefore  resolved  to  have 
them  slain.  Accordingly,  they  sent  one 
John,  who  was  the  most  bloody-minded 
of  them  all,  to  do  that  execution  :  this 
man  was  also  called  "  the  son  of  Dorcas/'* 
in  the  language  of  our  country.  Ten 
more  men  went  along;  with  him  into  the 
prison,  with  their  swords  drawn,  and  so 
they  cut  the  throats  of  those  that  were  in 
custody  there.  The  grand  lyiug  pretence 
these  men  made  for  so  flagrant  an  enormity 
was  this,  that  these  man  had  had  con- 
ferences with  the  Romans  for  a  surrender 
of  Jerusalem  to  them;  and  so  they  said 
they  had  slain  only  such  as  were  traitors 
to  their  common  liberty.  Upon  the  whole, 
they  grew  the  more  insolent  upon  this 
bold  prank  of  theirs,  as  though  they  had 
been  the  benefactors  and  saviours  of  the 
city. 

Now,  the  people  were  come  to  that 
degree  of  meanness  and  fear,  and  these 
robbers  to  that  degree  of  madness,  that 
these  last  took  upon  them  to  appoint  high 
priests.  So  when  they  had  disannulled 
the  succession,  according  to  those  families 
out  of  whom  the  high  priests  used  to  be 
made,  they  ordained  certain  unknown  and 
ignoble  persons  for  that  office,  that  they 
might  have  their  assistance  in  their  wicked 
undertakings;  for  such  as  obtained  this 
highest  of  all  honours,  without  any  desert, 
were  forced  to  comply  with  those  that 
bestowed  it  on  them.  They  also  set  the 
principal  men  at  variance  one  with  another, 
by  several  sorts  of  contrivances  and  tricks, 
and  gained  the  opportunity  of  doing  what 
they  pleased,  by  the  mutual  quarrels  of 
those  who  might  have  obstructed  their 
measures;  till  at  length,  when  they  were 
satiated  with  the  unjust  actions  they  had 
done  toward  men,  they  transferred  their 
contumelious  behaviour  to  God  himself, 
and  came  into  tne  sanctuary  with  polluted 
feet. 


*  This  name,  Dorcas,  in  Greek,  was  Tabitha  in 
Hebrew  or  Syriac,  as  Acts  ix.  36.  Accordingly, 
some  of  the  manuscripts  set  it  down  here  Tabetha 
or  Tabeta.  Nor  can  the  context  in  Josephus  be 
made  out  but  by  supposing  the  reading  to  have 
been  this  :  "  The  son  of  Tabitha ;  which  in  the 
language  of  our  country  denotes  Dorcas"  [c;  * 
doe]. 


<;hap.  III.  j 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


767 


And  now  the  multitude  were  going  to 
rise  against  them  already  ;  for  Ananus, 
the  most  ancient  of  the  high  priests,  per- 
suaded them  to  it.  He  was  a  very  prudent 
man,  and  had  perhaps  saved  the  city  if  he 
could  but  have  escaped  the  hands  of  those 
that  plotted  against  him  Those  men 
made  the  temple  of  God  a  stronghold  for 
them,  and  a  place  whither  they  might 
resort,  in  order  to  avoid  the  troubles  they 
feared  from  the  people ;  the  sanctuary 
was  now  become  a  refuge  and  a  hold  of 
tyranny.  They  also  mixed  jesting  among 
the  miseries  they  introducod,  which  was 
more  intolerable  than  what  they  did;  for, 
in  order  to  try  what  surprise  the  people 
would  be  under,  and  how  far  their  own 
power  extended,  they  undertook  to  dis- 
pose of  the  high-priesthood  by  casting 
lots  for  it,  whereas,  as  we  have  said  al- 
ready, it  was  to  descend  by  succession  in 
a  family.  The  pretence  they  made  for 
this  strange  attempt  was  an  ancient  prac- 
tice, while  they  said  that  of  old  it  was 
determined  by  lot;  but  in  truth,  it  was 
no  better  than  a  dissolution  of  an  unde- 
niable law,  and  a  cunning  contrivance  to 
seize  upon  the  government,  derived  from 
those  that  presumed  to  appoint  governors 
as  they  themselves  pleased. 

Hereupon  they  sent  for  one  of  the  pon- 
tifical tribes,  which  is  called  Eniachim,* 
and  cast  lots  which  of  it  should  be  the 
high  priest.  By  fortune,  the  lot  so  fell 
as  to  demonstrate  their  iniquity  after  the 
plainest  manner,  for  it  fell  upon  one 
whose  name  was  Phannias,  the  son  of 
Samuel,  of  the  village  Aphtha.  He  was  a 
man  not  only  unworthy  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  but  that  did  not  well  know 
what  the  high-priesthood  was:  such,  a 
mere  rustic  was  he  !  yet  did  they  hale 
this  man,  without  his  own  consent,  out  of 
the  country,  as  if  they  were  acting  a  play 
upon  the  stage,  and  adorned  him  with  a 
counterfeit  face;  they  also  put  upon  him 
the  sacred  garments,  and  upon  every  oc- 
casion instructed  him  what  he  was  to  do. 
This  horrid  piece  of  wickedness  was  sport 
and  pastime  with  them,  but  occasioned 
the  other  priests,  who  at  a  distance  saw 
their  law  made  a  jest  of,  to  shed  tears, 
and  sorely  lament  the  dissolution  of  such 
a  sacred  dignity. 

And  now  the  people   could   no  longer 


*  This  tribe  or  course  of  the  high  priests  or 
priests,  here  called  Emachiin,  seems  to  be  that  in 
1  Chrou.  xxiv.  12,  "  the  course  of  Jakiui,  or 
Eliakiui." 


bear  the  insolence  of  this  procedure,  but 
did  altogether  run  zealously,  in  order  to 
overthrow  that  tyranny;  and  indeed  they 
were  Gorian,  the  son  of  Josephus,  and 
Symeon,  the  son  of  Gamaliel,  who  en- 
couraged them,  by  going  up  and  down 
when  they  were  assembled  together  in 
crowds,  and  as  they  saw  them  alone,  to 
bear  no  longer,  but  to  inflict  punishment 
upon  these  pests  and  plagues  of  their 
freedom,  and  to  purge  the  temple  of  these 
bloody  polluters  of  it.  The  best  esteemed 
also  of  the  high  priests,  Jesus,  the  son 
of  Gamala,  and  Anauus  the  son  of  Ananus, 
when  they  were  at  their  assemblies,  bit- 
terly reproached  the  people  for  their  sloth, 
and  excited  them  against  the  Zealots ;  for 
that  was  the  name  they  went  by,  as  if 
they  were  zealous  in  good  undertakings, 
and  were  not  rather  zealous  in  the  worst 
actions,  and  extravagant  in  thern  beyond 
the  example  of  others. 

And  now,  when  the  multitude  weie 
gotten  together  to  an  assembly,  and  every 
one  was  in  indignation  at  these  mens 
seizing  upon  the  sanctuary,  at  their  rapine 
and  murders,  but  had  not  yet  begun  their 
attacks  upon  them,  (the  reason  of  which 
was  this,  that  they  imagined  it  to  be  a 
difficult  thing  to  suppress  these  Zealots, 
as  indeed  the  case  was,)  Ananus  stood  in 
the  midst  of  them,  and  casting  his  eyes 
frequently  at  the  temple,  and  having  a 
flood  of  tears  in  his  eyes,  he  said,  li  Cer- 
tainly, it  had  been  good  for  me  to  die  be- 
fore I  had  seen  the  house  of  God  full  of 
so  many  abominations,  or  these  sacred 
places,  that  ought  not  to  be  trodden  upon 
at  random,  filled  with  the  feet  of  these 
bloodshedding  villains;  yet  do  I,  who  am 
clothed  with  the  vestments  of  the  high- 
priesthood,  and  am  called  by  that  most 
venerable  name  [of  high  priest],  still  live, 
and  am  but  too  fond  of  living,  and  cannot 
endure  to  undergo  a  death  which  would 
be  the  glory  of  my  old  age  ;  and  if  I  were 
the  only  person  concerned,  and,  as  it  were, 
in  a  desert,  I  would  give  up  my  life,  and 
that  alone  for  God's  sake;  for  to  what 
purpose  is  it  to  live  among  a  people  in- 
sensible of  their  calamities,  and  where 
there  is  no  notion  remaining  of  any  remedy 
for  the  miseries  that  are  upon  them?  for 
when  you  are  seized  upon,  you  bear  it ! 
and  when  you  are  beaten,  you  are  silent  ! 
and  when  the  people  are  murdered,  nobody 
dare  so  much  as  send  out  a  groan  openly ! 
0  bitter  tyranny  that  we  are  under  I  But 
why  do  I  complain  of  the  tyrants  ?     Waa 


768 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


it  not  you,  and  your  sufferance  of  them, 
that  have  nourished  them  ?  Was  it  not 
you  that  overlooked  those  that  first  of  all 
got  together,  for  they  were  then  but  a 
few,  and  by  your  silence  made  them  grow 
to  be  many  ;  and  by  conniving  at  them 
when  they  took  arms,  in  effect  armed  them 
against  yourselves  ?  You  ought  to  have 
then  prevented  their  first  attempts,  when 
they  fell  to  reproaching  your  relations ; 
but  by  neglecting  that  care  in  time,  you 
have  encouraged  these  wretches  to  plunder 
men.  When  houses  were  pillaged,  no- 
body said  a  word,  which  was  the  occasion 
why  they  carried  off  the  owners  of  those 
houses;  and  when  they  were  drawn  through 
the  midst  of  the  city,  nobody  came  to  their 
assistance.  They  then  proceeded  to  put 
those  whom  you  had  betrayed  into  their 
hands,  into  bonds.  I  do  not  say  how 
many,  and  of  what  characters  those  men 
were  whom  they  thus  served,  but  certainly 
they  wTere  such  as  were  accused  by  none, 
and  condemned  by  none ;  and  since  nobody 
succoured  them  when  they  were  in  bonds, 
the  consequence  was,  that  you  saw  the 
same  persons  slain  We  have  seen  this 
also  ;  so  that  still  the  best  of  the  herd  of 
brute  animals,  as  it  were,  have  been  still 
led  to  be  sacrificed,  when  yet  nobody  said 
one  word,  or  moved  his  right  hand  for 
their  preservation.  Will  you  bear,  there- 
fore,— will  you  bear  to  see  your  sanctuary 
trampled  on  ?  and  will  you  lay  steps  for 
these  profane  wretches,  upon  whicli  they 
may  mount  to  higher  degrees  of  insolence? 
Will  not  you  pluck  them  down  from  their 
exaltation  ?  for  even  by  this  time,  they 
had  proceeded  to  higher  enormities,  if 
they  had  been  able  to  overthrow  any  thing 
greater  than  the  sanctuary!  They  have 
seized  upon  the  strongest  place  of  the 
whole  city  •  you  may  call  it  the  temple, 
if  you  please,  though  it  be  like  a  citadel 
or  fortress.  Now,  while  you  have  tyranny 
in  so  great  a  degree  walled  in,  and  see 
your  enemies  over  your  heads,  to  what 
purpose  is  it  to  take  counsel  ?  and  what 
have  you  to  support  your  minds  withal  ? 
Perhaps  you  wait  for  the  Romans,  that 
they  may  protect  our  holy  places  :  are  our 
matters  then  brought  to  that  pass?  and  are 
we  come  to  that  degree  of  misery,  that  our 
enemies  themselves  are  expected  to  pity 
us  ?  0  wretched  creatures  !  will  not  you 
rise  up,  and  turn  upon  those  that  strike 
you  ?  which  you  may  observe  in  wild 
beasts  themselves,  that  they  will  avenge 
themselves   on    those    that   strike    them. 


Will  not  you  call  to  mind,  every  one  of 
you,  the  calamities  you  yourselves  have 
suffered  ?  nor  lay  before  your  eyes  what 
afflictions  you  yourselves  have  undergone? 
and  will  not  such  things  sharpen  your 
souls  to  revenge  ?  Is  therefore  that  most 
honourable  and  most  natural  of  our  pas- 
sions utterly  lost — I  mean  the  desire  of 
liberty  ?  Truly,  we  are  in  love  with 
slavery,  and  in  love  with  those  that  lord 
it  over  us,  as  if  we  had  received  that  prin- 
ciple of  subjection  from  our  aucestcrs  ! 
yet  did  they  undergo  many  and  great  wars 
for  the  sake  of  liberty,  nor  were  they  so 
far  overcome  by  the  power  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, or  the  Medes,  but  that  they  still  did 
what  they  thought  fit,  notwithstanding 
their  commands  to  the  contrary.  And 
what  occasion  is  there  now  for  a  war  with 
the  Romans  ?  (I  meddle  not  with  deter- 
mining whether  it  be  an  advantageous  and 
profitable  war  or  not.)  What  pretence  is 
there  for  it?  Is  it  not  that  we  may  enjoy 
our  liberty?  Besides,  shall  we  not  bear 
the  lords  of  the  habitable  earth  to  be 
lords  over  us,  and  yet  bear  tyrants  of  our 
own  country?  Although  I  must  say  that 
submission  to  foreigners  may  be  borne, 
because  fortune  hath  already  doomed  us 
to  it,  while  submission  to  wicked  people 
of  our  own  nation  is  too  unmanly,  and 
brought  upon  us  by  our  own  consent. 
However,  since  I  have  had  occasion  to 
mention  the  Romans,  I  will  not  conceal  a 
thing  that,  as  I  am  speaking,  comes  into 
my  mind,  and  affects  me  considerably; 
— it  is  this,  that  though  we  should  be 
taken  by  them,  (God  forbid  the  event 
ohould  be  so  !)  yet  can  we  undergo  no- 
thing that  will  be  harder  to  be  borne  than 
what  those  men  have  already  brought 
upon  us.  How  then  can  we  avoid  shedding 
of  tears,  when  we  see  the  Roman  donations 
in  our  temples,  while  we  withal  see  those 
of  our  own  nation  taking  our  spoils,  and 
plundering  our  glorious  metropolis,  and 
slaughtering  our  men,  from  which  enor- 
mities those  Romans  themselves  would 
have  abstained  ?  to  see  those  Romans 
never  going  beyond  the  bounds  allotted 
to  profane  persons,  nor  venturing  to  break 
in  upon  any  of  our  sacred  customs ;  nay, 
having  horror  on  their  minds  when  they 
view  at  a  distance  those  sacred  walls, 
while  some  that  have  been  born  in  this 
very  country,  and  brought  up  in  our 
customs,  and  called  Jews,  do  walk  about 
in  the  midst  of  the  holy  places,  at  the 
very  time  when  their  hauds  are  still  warm 


Chap.  III.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


76 


with  the  slaughter  of  their  own  country- 
men. Besides,  can  any  one  be  afraid  of 
a  war  abroad ;  and  that  with  such  as  will 
have  comparatively  much  greater  modera- 
tion than  our  own  people  have  ?  For  truly, 
if  we  may  suit  our  words  to  the  things 
they  represent,  it  is  probable  one  may 
hereafter  find  the  Romans  to  be  the  sup- 
porters of  our  laws,  and  those  within  our- 
selves the  subverters  of  them.  And  now 
I  am  persuaded  that  every  one  of  you 
here  comes  satisfied  before  I  speak,  that 
these  overthrowers  of  our  liberties  de- 
serve to  be  destroyed,  and  that  nobody  can 
so  much  as  devise  a  punishment  that  they 
have  not  deserved  by  what  they  have  done, 
and  that  you  are  all  provoked  against  them 
by  those  their  wicked  actions,  whence  you 
have  suffered  so  greatly.  But  perhaps 
many  of  you  are  affrighted  at  the  multi- 
tude of  those  Zealots,  and  at  their  auda- 
ciousness, as  well  as  the  advantage  they 
have  over  us  in  their  being  higher  in  place 
than  we  are;  for  these  circumstances,  as 
they  have  been  occasioned  by  your  negli- 
gence, so  will  they  become  still  greater  by 
being  still  longer  neglected  ;  for  their  mul- 
titude is  every  day  augmented,  by  every 
ill  man's  running  away  to  those  that  are 
like  to  themselves,  and  their  audacious- 
ness is  therefore  inflamed,  because  they 
meet  with  no  obstruction  to  their  designs. 
And  for  their  higher  place,  they  will  make 
use  of  it  for  engines  also,  if  we  give  them 
time  to  do  so  :  but  be  assured  of  this,  that 
if  we  go  up  to  fight  them,  they  will  be 
made  tamer  by  their  own  consciences ;  and 
what  advantages  they  have  in  the  height 
of  their  situation,  they  will  lose  by  the 
opposition  of  their  reason  ;  perhaps  also, 
God  himself,  who  hath  been  affronted  by 
them,  will  make  what  they  throw  at  us 
return  against  themselves,  and  these  im- 
pious wretches  will  be  killed  by  their  own 
darts  :  let  us  but  make  our  appearance  be- 
fore them,  and  they  will  come  to  nothing. 
However,  it  is  aright  thing,  if  there  should 
be  any  danger  in  the  attempt,  to  die  be- 
fore these  holy  gates,  and  to  spend  our 
very  lives,  if  not  for  the  sake  of  our 
children  and  wives,  yet  for  God's  sake, 
and  for  the  sake  of  his  sanctuary.  I  will 
assist  you,  both  with  my  counsel  and 
with  my  hand;  nor  shall  any  sagacity  of 
ours  be  wanting  for  your  support;  nor 
shall  you  see  that  I  will  be  sparing  of 
tnv  body  either." 

By  these  motives  Ananus  encouraged 
the  multitude  to  go  against  the  Zealots, 
49 


although  he  knew  how  difficult  it  wou-ld 
be  to  disperse  them,  because  of  their  mul- 
titude, and  their  youth,  and  the  courage 
of  their  souls;  but  chiefly,  because  of 
their  consciousness  of  what  they  had 
done,  since  they  would  not  yield,  as  not 
so  much  as  hoping  for  pardon  at  the  last 
for  those  their  enormities.  However, 
Ananus  resolved  to  undergo  whatever  suf- 
ferings might,  come  upon  him,  rather  than 
overlook  things,  now  they  were  in  such 
great  confusion.  So  the  multitude  cried 
out  to  him  to  lead  them  on  against  those 
whom  he  had  described  in  his  exhortation 
to  them  ;  and  every  one  of  them  was  most 
readily  disposed  to  run  any  hazard  whatso- 
ever on  that  account. 

Now  while  Ananus  was  choosing  out  his 
men,  and  putting  those  that  were  proper 
for  his  purpose  in  array  for  fighting,  the 
Zealots  got  information  of  his  undertak- 
ing, (for  there  were  some  who  went  to 
them,  and  told  them  all  that  the  people 
were  doing,)  and  were  irritated  at  it ;  and 
leaping  out  of  the  temple  in  crowds, 
and  by  parties,  spared  none  whom  they 
met  with.  Upon  this,  Ananus  got  the 
populace  together  on  the  sudden,  who 
were  more  numerous  indeed  than  the  Zea- 
lots, but  inferior  to  them  in  arms,  be- 
cause they  had  not  been  regularly  put  into 
array  for  fighting ;  but  the  alacrity  that 
everybody  showed,  supplied  all  their  defects 
on  both  sides,  the  citizens  taking  up  so 
great  a  passion  as  was  stronger  than  arms, 
and  deriving  a  degree  of  courage  from  the 
temple,  more  forcible  than  any  multitude 
whatsoever;  and  indeed  these  citizens 
thought  it  was  not  possible  for  them  to 
dwell  in  the  city,  unless  they  could  cut 
off  the  robbers  that  were  in  it.  The  Zea- 
lots also  thought,  that  uuless  they  pre- 
vailed, there  would  be  no  punishment  so 
bad  but  it  would  be  inflicted  on  them. 
So  their  conflicts  were  conducted  by  their 
passions;  and  at  the  first  they  only  cast 
stones  at  each  other  in  the  city,  and  be- 
fore the  temple,  and  threw  their  javelins 
at  a  distance  ;  but  when  either  of  them 
were  too  hard  for  the  other,  they  made 
use  of  their  swords ;  and  a  great  slaughter 
was  made  on  both  sides,  and  a  great  num- 
ber were  wounded.  As  for  the  dead  bo- 
dies of  the  people,  their  relations  carried 
them  out  to  their  own  houses;  but  when 
any  one  of  the  Zealots  were  wounded,  he 
went  up  into  the  temple,  and  defiled  that 
sacred  floor  with  his  blood,  insomuch  that 
one  may  say  it  was  their  blood  alone  that 


7  70 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Boo*  TV. 


polluted  our  sanctuary.  Now  in  these  con- 
flicts the  robbers  always  sallied  out  of  the 
temple,  and  were  too  hard  for  their  enemies ; 
but  the  populace  grew  very  angry,  and  be- 
came  more  and  more  numerous,  and  re- 
proached  those  that  gave  back,  and  those 
behind  would  not  afford  room  to  those  that 
were  going  off,  but  forced  them  on  again, 
till  at  length  they  made  their  whole  body 
to  turn  against  their  adversaries,  and   the 
robbers  could  no  longer  oppose  them,  but 
were  forced  gradually   to  retire   into  the 
temple ;   when  Ananus  and  his  party  fell 
into  it  at    the  same  time    together  with 
them.     This  horribly  affrighted  the  rob- 
bers, because  it  deprived  them  of  the  first 
court;    so  they   fled  into  the  inner  court 
immediately,  and  shut  the  gates.     Now, 
Ananus  did  not  think  fit  to  make  any  at- 
tack against  the  holy  gates,  although  the 
others  threw  their  stones  and  darts  at  them 
from  above.     He  also  deemed  it  unlawful 
to  introduce  the  multitude  into  that  court 
before    they  were   purified ;   he  therefore 
chose  out  of  them  all  by  lot,  6000  armed 
men,  and  placed  them  as  guards  in  the 
cloisters ;    so    there  was   a    succession  of 
such     guards     one    after    another,     and 
every  one  was    forced    to  attend    in    his 
course;  although  many  of  the  chief   of 
the  city  were  dismissed  by  those  that  then 
took  on  them  the  government,  upon  their 
hiring  some  of  the  poorer  sort,  and  send- 
ing them  to  keep  the  guard  in  their  stead. 
Now  it  was  John,  who,  as  we  told  you, 
ran  away   from  Gischala,  and  was  the  oc- 
casion of  all  these  being  destroyed.     He 
was  a  man  of  great  craft,  and   bore  about 
him  in  his  soul  a  strong  passion  after  ty- 
ranny, and  at  a  distance  was  the  adviser  in 
these  actions;  and  indeed  at  this  time  he 
pretended  to  be  of  the  people's  opinion, 
and  went  ali  about  with  Ananus,  when  he 
consulted  the  great  men  every  day,  and  in 
the  night-time   also  when  he  went  round 
the  watch;   but  he  divulged  their  secrets 
to  the  Zealots ;   and  every  thing  that  the 
people  deliberated  about  was  by  his  means 
known  to  their  enemies,  even    before  it 
had  been  well  agreed  upon  by  themselves; 
and  by  way  of  contrivance  how  he  might 
not  be  brought  into  suspicion,  he  cultivated 
the     greatest     friendship     possible    with 
Ananus,  and  with  the  chief  of  the  peo- 
ple ;    yet  did  this  overdoing  of  his  turn 
against   him,  for  he  flattered  them  so  ex- 
travagantly, that  he  was  but  the  more  sus- 
pected; and  his  constant  attendance  every- 
where, even  when  he  was  not  invited  to 


be  present,  made  him   strongly  suspected 
of  betraying  their  secrets   to  the  enemy ; 
for  they  plainly  perceived  that  they  un- 
derstood all  tiie  resolutions  taken  against 
them    at   their   consultations.      Nor   was 
there  any  one  whom   they  had  so   much 
reason  to  supect  of  that  discovery  as  this 
John  ;  yet  was  it  not  easy  to  get  quit  of 
him,  so  potent  was  he  grown  by  his  wicked 
practices.       He    was    also    supported    by 
many  of  those  eminent  men  who  were  to 
be  consulted  upon  all  considerable  affairs ; 
it  was    therefore    thought   reasonable    to 
oblige  him  to  give  them  assurance  of  his 
good-will  upon  oath  ;     accordingly  John 
took  such,  an  oath  readily,  that  he  would 
be  on  the  people's  side,  and  would  uot  be- 
tray any  of  their  counsels  or  practices  to 
their  enemies,    and   would  assist  them  in 
overthrowing    those  that   attacked   them, 
and  that  both  by  his  hand  and  his  advice. 
So   Ananus   and  his    party   believed  his 
oath,  and  did   now  receive  him   to   their 
consultations  without  further  suspicion; 
nay,  so  far  did  they  believe  him,  that  they 
sent  him  as  their  ambassador  iuto  the  tem- 
ple to  the  Zealots,  with  proposals  of  ac- 
commodation ;  for  they  were  very  desirous 
to  avoid   the  pollution  of  the   temple   as 
much  as  they  possibly  could,  and  that  no 
one  of  their  nation  should  be  slain  therein. 
But  now  this  John,  as  if  his  oath  had 
been  made  to  the  Zealots,  and  for  confirma- 
tion of    his  good-will  to   them,  and  not 
against  them,  went  into  the   temple,  and 
stood  in  the  midst  of  them  and  spake  as 
follows : — That  he  had  run  many  hazards 
on  their  account,  and  in  order  to  let  them 
know  of   every    thing  that  was    secretly 
contrived  against  them  by  Ananus  and  his 
party  ;   but  that  both  he  and  they  should 
be  cast  into  the  most  imminent  danger, 
unless  some  providential  assistance  were 
afforded  them;  for  that  Ananus  made  no 
longer  delay,  but  had  prevailed  with  the 
people  to  send  ambassadors  to  Vespasian 
to  invite  him  to  come  presently  and  take 
the  city ;  and  that  he  had  appointed  a  fast 
for  the  next  day  against  them,  that  they 
might  obtain   admission   into  the  temple 
on  a  religious  account,  or  gain  it  by  force, 
and    fight  with  them  there;   that  he  did 
not  see  how  long  they  could  either  endure 
a  siege,  or  how  they  could  fight  against  so 
many  enemies.     He  added  further,  that 
it  was  by  the  providence  of  Grod  he  was 
himself  sent  as  an  ambassador  to  them  for 
an  accommodation ;  for  that  Ananus  did 
therefore  offer  them  such  proposals,  thai 


OlIA*    IV  J 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS, 


771 


he  might  come  upon  them  when  they  were 
unarmed ;  that  they  ought  to  choose  one 
of  these  two  methods ;  either  to  intercede 
with  those  that  guarded  them,  to  save 
theii  lives,  or  to  provide  some  foreign  as- 
sistance for  themselves  ;  that  if  they  fos- 
tered themselves  with  the  hopes  of  par- 
don, in  case  they  were  subdued,  they  had 
forgotten  what  desperate  things  they  had 
done,  or  could  suppose,  that  as  soon  as  the 
actors  repented,  those  that  had  suffered 
by  them  must  be  presently  reconciled  to 
them  :  while  those  that  have  done  inju- 
ries, though  they  pretend  to  repent  of 
them,  are  frequently  hated  by  the  others 
for  that  sort  of  repentance ;  and  that  suf- 
ferers, when  they  get  the  power  into  their 
hands,  are  usually  still  more  severe  upon 
the  actors ;  that  the  friends  and  kindred 
of  those  that  had  been  destroyed  would 
always  be  laying  plots  against  them,  and 
that  a  large  body  of  people  were  very  an- 
gry on  account  of  their  gross  breaches 
of  their  laws  and  [illegal]  judicatures,  in- 
somuch that  although  some  part  might  com- 
miserate them,  those  would  be  quite  over- 
borne by  the  majority. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Idumeans,  being  sent  for  by  the  Zealots,  come 
immediately  to  Jerusalem. 

Now,  by  this  crafty  speech,  John  made 
the  Zealots  afraid ;  yet  durst  he  not  di- 
rectly name  what  foreign  assistance  he 
meant,  but  in  a  covert  way  only  intimated 
at  the  Idumeans;  but  now  that  he  might 
particularly  irritate  the  leaders  of  the 
Zealots,  he  calumniated  Ananus,  that  he 
was  about  a  piece  of  barbarity,  and  did 
in  a  special  manner  threaten  them.  These 
leaders  were  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Simon, 
who  seemed  the  most  plausible  man  of 
them  all,  both  in  considering  what  was  fit 
to  be  done,  and  in  the  execution  of  what 
he  had  determined  upon,  and  Zacharias, 
the  son  of  Phalek  ;  both  of  whom  derived 
their  families  from  the  priests.  Now, 
when  these  two  men  had  heard,  not  only 
the  common  threatenings  which  belonged 
to  them  all,  but  those  peculiarly  levelled 
against  themselves ;  and  besides,  how  An- 
anus and  his  party,  in  order  to  secure 
fchsir  own  dominion,  had  invited  the  Ro- 
mans to  come  to  them,  for  that  also  was 
part  of  John's  lie,  they  hesitated  a  great 
while  what  they  should  do,  considering 
the  shortness  of  the  time  by  which  they 
ware  straitened;  because  the  people  were 


prepared  to  attack  them  very  scon,  and 
because  the  suddenness  of  the  plot  laid 
against  them  had  almost  cut  off  their 
hopes  of  getting  any  foreign  assistance ; 
for  they  might  be  under  the  height  of 
their  afflictions  before  any  of  their  con- 
federates could  be  informed  of  it.  How- 
ever, it  was  resolved  to  call  in  the  Idu- 
means ;  so  they  wrote  a  short  letter  to  this 
effect : — That  Ananus  had  imposed  on  the 
people,  and  was  betraying  their  metropolis 
to  the  Romans ;  that  they  themselves  had 
revolted  from  the  rest,  and  were  in  custody 
in  the  temple,  on  account  of  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  liberty  ;  that  there  was  but 
a  small  timelefc,  wherein  they  might  hope 
for  their  deliverance  ;  and  that  unless  they 
would  come  immediately  to  their  assist- 
ance, they  should  themselves  be  soon  in 
the  power  of  Ananus,  and  the  city  would 
be  in  the  power  of  the  Romans.  They 
also  charged  the  messengers  to  tell  many 
more  circumstances  to  the  rulers  of  the 
Idumeans.  Now,  there  were  two  active 
men  proposed  for  the  carrying  of  this  mes- 
sage, and  such  as  were  well  able  to  speak, 
and  to  persuade  them  that  things  were  in 
this  posture,  and  what  was  a  qualification 
still  more  necessary  than  the  former,  they 
were  very  swift  of  foot;  for  they  knew 
well  enough  that  these  would  immediately 
comply  with  their  desires,  as  being  ever  a 
tumultuous  and  disorderly  nation,  always 
on  the  watch  upon  every  motion,  delight- 
ing in  mutations;  and  upon  your  flattering 
them  ever  so  little,  and  petitioning  them, 
they  soon  take  their  arms,  and  put  them- 
selves into  mation,  and  make  haste  to  a 
battle,  as  if  it  were  to  a  feast.  There 
was  indeed  occasion  for  quick  despatch  in 
the  carrying  of  this  message;  in  which 
point  the  messengers  were  noway  defective. 
Both  their  names  were  Ananias;  and 
they  soon  came  to  the  rulers  of  the  Idu- 
means. 

Now,  these  rulers  were  greatly  sur- 
prised at  the  contents  of  the  letter,  and 
at  what  those  that  came  with  it  further 
told  them  ;  whereupon  they  ran  about  the 
nation  like  madmen,  and  made  procla- 
mation that  the  people  should  come  to 
war ;  so  a  multitude  was  suddenly  got 
together,  sooner  indeed  than  the  time  ap- 
pointed in  the  proclamation,  and  every- 
body caught  up  their  arms,  in  order  to 
maintain  the  liberty  of  their  metropolis; 
and  20,000  of  them  were  put  into  battle- 
array,  and  came  to  Jerusalem,  under  four 
commanders,  John,  and  Jacob,  the  sou  .»f 


772 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[BOOA  iV 


Sosas;  and  besides  these  were  Simon,  the 
son  of  Cathlas,  and  Phineas,  the  son  of 
(Jlusothus. 

Now  this  exit  of  the  messengers  was 
not  known  either  to  Ananus  or  to  the 
guards ;  but  the  approach  of  the  Idumeans 
was  known  to  him  ;  for  as  he  knew  of  it 
before  they  came,  he  ordered  the  gates  to 
be  shut  against  them,  and  that  the  walls 
should  be  guarded.  Yet  did  not  he  by 
any  means  think  of  fighting  against  them, 
but,  before  they  came  to  blows,  to  try 
what  persuasions  would  do.  Accordingly, 
Jesus,  the  eldest  of  the  high  priests  next 
to  Ananus,  stood  upon  the  tower  that  was 
over  against  them,  and  said  thus : — 
"  Many  troubles,  indeed,  and  those  of 
various  kinds,  have  fallen  upon  this  city, 
yet  iu  none  of  them  have  I  so  much 
wondered  at  her  fortune  as  now,  when  you 
are  come  to  assist  wicked  men,  and  this 
after  a  manner  very  extraordinary  ;  for  I 
see  that  you  are  come  to  support  the  vilest 
of  men  against  us,  and  this  with  so  great 
alacrity,  as  you  could  hardly  put  on  the 
like,  in  case  our  metropolis  had  called  you 
to  her  assistance  against  barbarians;  and 
if  I  had  perceived  that  your  army  was 
composed  of  men  like  unto  those  who  in- 
vited them,  I  had  not  deemed  your  at- 
tempt so  absurd ;  for  nothing  does  so 
much  cement  the  minds  of  men  together 
us  the  alliance  there  is  between  their  man- 
but  now  for  these  men  who   have 


ners 


invited  you,  if  you  were  to  examine  them 
one  by  one,  every  one  of  them  would  be 
found  to  have  deserved  10,000  deaths; 
for  the  very  rascality  and  offscouring  of 
the  whole  country,  who  have  spent  in  de- 
bauchery their  own  substance,  and,  by 
way  of  trial  beforehand,  have  madly  plun- 
dered the  neighbouring  villages  and  cities, 
in  the  upshot  of  all,  have  privately  run 
together  into  this  holy  city.  They  are 
robbers,  who,  by  their  prodigious  wicked- 
ness, have  profaned  this  most  sacred  floor, 
and  who  are  to  be  now  seen  drinking 
themselves  drunk  in  the  sanctuary,  and 
expending  the  spoils  of  those  whom  they 
have  slaughtered  upon  their  insatiable 
bellies.  As  for  the  multitude  that  is  with 
you,  one  may  see  them  so  deceutly  adorned 
iu  their  armour,  as  it  would  become  them 
to  be,  had  their  metropolis  called  them  to 
her  assistance  against  foreigners.  What 
ean  a  man  call  this  procedure  of  yours,  but 
the  sport  of  fortune,  when  he  sees  a  whole 
oation  coming  to  protect  a  sink  of  wicked 
wretches  ?     1  have  for  a  good  while  Leeii 


in  doubt  what  it  sould  possibly  be  that 
should  move  }Tou  to  do  this  so  suddenly; 
because  certainly  you  would  not  take  on 
your  armour  on  the  behalf  of  robbers,  and 
against  a  people  of  kin  to  you,  without 
some  very  great  cause  for  your  sc  doing ; 
but  we  have  a  hint  that  the  Romans  are 
pretended,  and  that  we  are  supposed  to  be 
going  to  betray  this  city  to  them;  for 
some  of  your  men  have  lately  made  a 
clamour  about  those  matters,  and  have 
said  they  are  come  to  set  their  metropolis 
free.  Now,  we  cannot  but  admire  at  these 
wretches  in  their  devising  such  a  lie  as 
this  against  us ;  for  they  knew  there  was 
no  other  way  to  irritate  against  us  men 
that  were  naturally  desirous  of  liberty, 
and  on  that  account  the  best  disposed  to 
fight  against  foreign  enemies,  but  by 
framing  a  tale  as  if  we  were  going  to  be- 
tray that  most  desirable  thing,  liberty 
Rut  you  ought  to  consider  what  sort  of 
people  they  are  that  raise  this  calumuy, 
and  against  what  sort  of  people  that  ca- 
lumny is  raised,  and  to  gather  the  truth 
of  things,  not  by  fictitious  speeches,  but 
out  of  the  actions  of  both  parties;  for 
what  occasion  is  there  for  us  to  sell  our- 
selves to  the  Romans,  while  it  was  in  our 
power  not  to  have  revolted  from  them  at 
the  first,  or,  when  we  had  once  revolted, 
to  have  returned  under  their  dominion 
again,  and  this  while  the  neighbouring 
countries  were  not  yet  laid  waste '(  Whereas 
it  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  be  reconciled  to 
the  Romans,  if  we  were  desirous  of  it, 
now  they  have  subdued  Galilee,  and  are 
thereby  become  proud  and  insolent ;  and 
to  endeavour  to  please  them  at  the  time 
when  they  are  so  near  us,  would  briug 
such  a  reproach  upon  us  as  were  worse 
thau  death.  As  for  myself,  indeed,  I 
should  have  preferred  peace  with  them 
before  death  ;  but  now  we  have  once  made 
war  upon  them,  and  fought  with  them,  I 
prefer  death  with  reputation,  before  living 
iu  captivity  under  them.  But  further, 
whether  do  they  pretend  that  we,  who  are 
the  rulers  of  the  people,  have  sent  thus 
privately  to  the  -Romans,  or  hath  it  been 
done  by  the  common  suffrages  of  the 
people  ?  If  it  be  ourselves  only  that  have 
done  it,  let  them  name  those  friends  of  ■ 
ours  that  have  been  sent,  as  our  servants, 
to  manage  this  treachery.  Hath  any  one 
been  caught  as  he  went  out  on  this  errand, 
or  seized  upon  as  he  came  back  1  Are  they 
in  possession  of  our  letters  ?  How  could 
we  be  concealed  from  such  a  vast  numbe/ 


Chap.  IV.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


773 


of  our   fellow-citizens,  among  whom   we 
are  conversant  every  hour,  while  what  is 
dene  privately  in  the  country  is,  it  seems, 
known  by  the  Zealots,  who  are  but  few  in 
number,  and  under  confinement  also,  and 
are  not  able  to  come  out  of  the  temple 
fnto  the  city  !     Is  this  the  first  time  that 
they  are  become  sensible  how  they  ought 
to  be  punished  for  their  insolent  actions  ! 
For  while  these  men  were  free  from  the  fear 
they  are  now  under,  there  was  no  suspicion 
raised  that  any  of  us  were  traitors.     But 
if  they  lay  this  charge  against  the  people, 
this  must  have  been  done  at  a  public  con- 
sultation, and  not  one  of  the  people  must 
have  dissented  from  the  rest  of  the  assem- 
bly :    in  which  case  the  public   fame  of 
this  matter  would  have  come  to  you  sooner 
than  any  particular  indication.     But  how 
could  that  be?    Must  there  not  then  have 
been    ambassadors    sent    to    confirm    the 
agreements  ?    And   let  them   tell  us  who 
this  ambassador   was   that  was    ordained 
for  that  purpose.     But  this  is  no   other 
than  a  pretence  of  such  men  as  are  loath 
to  die,  and  are  labouring  to  escape  those 
punishments  that  hang   over  them ;    for 
if  fate  had  determined  that  this  city  was 
to   be  betrayed   into  its  enemies'  hands, 
no  other  than  these  men  that  accuse  us 
falsely  could  have  the  impudence  to  do  it, 
there    being    no   wickedness    wanting    to 
complete  their  impudent  practices  but  this 
only,   that    they    become    traitors.     And 
now  you,  Idumeans,  are  come  hither  al- 
ready with  your  arms,  it  is  your  duty,  in 
the  first  place,  to  be  assisting  to  your  me- 
tropolis, and  to  join  with  us  in  cutting  off 
those  tyrants  that  have  infringed  the  rules 
of  our  regular  tribunals ;  that  have  tram- 
pled upon  our  laws,  and  made  their  sword- 
the  arbitrators  of  right  and  wrong;    for 
they  have  seized  upon  men  of  great  emi- 
nence, and  under  no  accusation,  as  they 
stood  in  the  midst  of  the  market-place, 
and  tortured  them  with  putting  them  into 
bonds,  and,  without  bearing  to  hear  what 
they  had  to  say,  or  what  supplications  they 
made,  they  destroyed  them.     You  may, 
if  you  please,  come  into  this  city,  though 
not  in  the  way  of  war,  and  take  a  view  of 
the  marks  still  remaining  of  what  I  now 
say,  and  may  see   the   houses   that   have 
been  depopulated  by  their  rapacious  hands, 
with  those  wives  and  families  that  are  in 
black,  mourning  for  their  slaughtered  re- 
lations ;   as  also  you  may  hear  their  groans 
an  1  lamentations  all  the  city  over ;    for 
there  is  nobody  but  hath  tasted  of  the  in- 


cursions of  these  profane   wretches,   whe 
have  proceeded  to  that  degree  of  madness, 
as  not  only  to  have  transferred  their  im- 
pudent robberies  out  of  the  country,  aud 
the  remote  cities,  into  this  city,  the  very 
face  and  head  of  the  whole  nation,  but 
out  of  the  city  into  the  temple  also;    for 
that    is   now   made   their  receptacle   and 
refuge,  and  the  fountain-head  whence  their 
preparations  are  made  against  us.     And 
this  place,  which  is  adored  by  the  habitable 
world,  and  honoured  by  such  as  only  know 
it  by  report,  as  far  as  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
is   trampled   upon  by   these  wild    beasts, 
born  among  ourselves.  They  now  triumph 
in  the  desperate  condition  they  are  already 
iu,   when   they   hear  that   one   people   is 
going  to  fight  against  another  people,  and 
one  city  against  another  city,  and  that  your 
La'  ion  hath  gotten  an  army  together  against 
its  own  bowels.     Instead  of  w7hich  proce- 
dure, it  were  highly  fit  and  reasonable,  as 
I  said  before,  for  you  to  join  with  us  in 
cutting  off  these  wretches,  and   in   parti- 
cular to  be  revenged  on  them  for  putting 
this  very  cheat  upon  you ;    I  mean,  for 
having  the   impudence   to  invite  you   to 
assist  them,  of  whom  they  ought  to  have 
stood  in  fear,  as  ready  to  punish   them. 
But   if  you   have   some  regard   to   these 
men's  invitation  of  you,  yet  may  you  lay 
aside  your  arms,  and  come  into  the  city 
under  the  notion  of  our  kindred,  and  take 
upon  you  a  middle  name  between  that  of 
auxiliaries  and  of  enemies,  and  so  become 
judges  in  this  case.     However,  consider 
wha-t  these  men  will  gain  by  being  called 
into  judgment  before  you,   for  such  un- 
deniable  and   such   flagrant  crimes,  who 
would  not  vouchsafe  to  hear  such  as  had 
no  accusations  laid  against  them  to  speak 
a  word  for  themselves.   However,  let  them 
gain  this  advantage  by  your  coming.  But 
still,  if  you  will  neither  take  our  part  in 
that  indignation  we  have  at  these   men, 
nor  judge  between  us,  the  third  thing  I 
have  to  propose  is  this,  that  you   let   us 
both  alone,  and  neither  insult  upon  our 
calamities,  nor  abide  with   these  plotters 
against  their  metropolis;  for  though  you 
should  have  ever  so  great  a  suspicion  that 
some  of  us  have  discoursed  with  the  Ro- 
mans, it  is  in  your  power  to  watch   the 
passages  into  the  city;   and  in  case  any 
thing  that  we   have   been   accused   of   is 
brought  to  light,  then  to  come  and  defend 
your  metropolis,  and  to  inflict  punishment 
on  those  that  are  found  guilty;  for  the 
enemy    cannot   prevent  you   who   are   so 


74 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV 


near  to  the  city.  But  if,  after  all  none 
of  these  proposals  seem  acceptable  and 
moderate,  do  not  you  wonder  that-  the 
gates  are  shut  against  you,  while  you  bear 
your  arms  about  you." 

Thus  spake  Jesus;  yet  did  cot  the  mul- 
titude of  the  Idumeans  give  any  attention 
to  what  he  said,  but  were  in  a  rage,  be- 
cause they  did  not  meet  with  a  ready  en- 
trance into  the  city.  The  generals  also 
had  indignation  at  the  offer  of  laying 
down  their  arms,  and  looked  upon  it  as 
equal  to  a  captivity,  to  throw  them  away 
at  any  man's  injunction  whomsoever.  But 
Simon,  the  son  of  Cathlas,  one  of  their 
commanders,  with  much  ado  quieted  the 
tumult  of  his  own  men,  and  stood  so  that 
the  high  priests  might  hear  him,  and  said 
as  follows : — "  I  can  no  longer  wonder 
that  the  patrons  of  liberty  are  under  cus- 
tody in  the  temple,  since  there  are  those 
that  shut  the  gates  of  our  common  city* 
to  their  own  nation,  and  at  the  same  time 
are  prepared  to  admit  the  llomans  into  it; 
nay,  perhaps,  are  disposed  to  crown  the 
gates  with  garlands  at  their  coining,  while 
they  speak  to  the  Idumeans  from  their 
own  towers,  and  enjoin  them  to  throw 
down  their  arms  which  they  have  taken 
up  for  the  preservation  of  its  liberty ; 
and  while  they  will  not  intrust  the  guard 
of  our  metropolis  to  their  kindred,  profess 
to  make  them  judges  of  the  differences 
that  are  among  them ;  nay,  while  they 
accuse  some  men  of  having  slain  others, 
without  a  legal  trial,  they  do  themselves 
condemn  a  whole  nation,  after  an  igno- 
minious manner,  and  have  now  walled  up 
that  city  from  their  own  nation,  which 
used  to  be  open  even  to  all  foreigners  that 
came  to  worship  there.  We  have  indeed 
come  in  great  haste  to  you,  and  to  a  war 
against  our  own  countrymen  ;  and  the 
reason  why  we  have  made  such  haste  is 
this,  that  we  may  preserve  that  freedom 
which  you  are  so  unhappy  as  to  betray. 
You  have  probably  been  guilty  of  the  like 
crimes  against  those  whom  you  keep  in 
custody,  and  have,  I  suppose,  collected 
together  the  like  plausible  pretences  against 
them  also  that  you  make  use  of  against 

*  This  appellation  of  Jerusalem,  (given  it  here 
by  Simon,  the  general  of  the  Idumeans,)  "the 
common  city'"  of  the  Idumeans,  who  were  proselytes 
of  justice,  as  well  as  of  the  original  native  Jews, 
greatly  confirms  that  maxim  of  the  rabbins,  that 
"Jerusalem  was  not  assigned,  or  appro2Jriated,  to 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin  or  Judah,  but  every  tribe 
had  equal  right  to  it  at  their  coming  to  worship 
there  it  th/-  several  festivals." 


us ;  after  which  you  have  gotten  the  ma- 
tery  of  those  within  the  temple,  anu 
keep  them  in  custody,  while  they  are  only 
taking  care  of  the  public  affairs  You 
have  also  shut  the  gates  of  the  city  in 
general  against  nations  that  are  the  mo** 
nearly  related  to  you;  and  while  you  give 
sueh  injurious  commands  to  others,  you 
complain  that  you  have  been  tyrannized 
over  by  them,  and  fix  the  name  of  unjust 
governors  upon  such  as  are  tyrannized 
over  by  yourselves.  Who  can  bear  this, 
your  abuse  of  words,  while  they  have  a 
regard  to  the  contrariety  of  your  actions, 
unless  you  meau  this,  that  those  Idumeans 
do  now  exclude  you  out  of  our  metropolis, 
whom  you  exelude  from  the  sacred  offices 
of  your  own  country  !  One  may  indeed 
justly  complain  of  those  that  are  besieged 
in  the  temple,  that  when  they  had  courage 
enough  to  punish  those  tyrants,  whom  you 
call  eminent  men,  and  free  from  any  accu- 
sations, because  of  their  being  your  com- 
panions in  wickedness,  they  did  not  begin 
with  you,  and  thereby  cut  off  beforehand 
the  most  dangerous  parts  of  this  treason. 
But  if  these  men  have  been  more  merci- 
ful than  the  public  necessity  required,  we 
that  are  Idumeans  will  preserve  this  house 
of  God,  and  will  fight  for  our  common 
country,  and  will  oppose  by  war  as  well 
those  that  attack  them  from  abroad,  as 
those  that  betray  them  from  within. 
Here  will  we  abide  before  the  walls  in 
our  armour,  until  either  the  Romans  grow 
weary  in  waiting  for  you,  or  you  become 
friends  to  liberty,  and  repent  of  what  you 
have  done  against  it." 

And  now  did  the  Idumeans  make  an 
acclamation  to  what  Simon  had  said ;  but 
Jesus  went  away  sorrowful,  as  seeing  that 
the  Idumeans  were  against  all  moderate 
counsels,  and  that  the  city  was  besieged 
on  both  sides ;  nor  indeed  were  the  minds 
of  the  Idumeans  at  rest;  for  they  were  in 
a  rage  at  the  injury  that  had  been  offered 
them  by  their  exclusion  out  of  the  city  ; 
and  when  they  thought  the  Zealots  had 
been  strong,  but^saw  nothing  of  theirs  to 
support  them,  they  were  in  doubt  about 
the  matter,  and  many  of  them  repented 
that  they  had  come  thither.  But  the 
shame  that  would  attend  them  in  case 
they  returned  without  doing  any  thing  at 
all,  so  far  overcame  that  their  repentance, 
that  they  lay  all  night  before  the  wall, 
though  in  a  very  bad  encampment ;  for 
there  broke  out  a  prodigious  storm  in  the 
night,  with  the  utmost  violence,  and  ven 


Chap.  V*.] 


WARS  OF    THE    JEWS. 


775 


strong  winds,  with  the  largest  showers  of 
rain,  with  continual  lightnings,  terrible 
thunderings,  and  amazing  concussions  and 
bellowings  of  the  earth,  that  was  in  an 
earthquake.  These  things  were  a  mani- 
fest indicati  jn  that  some  destruction  was 
coming  upon  men,  when  the  system  of 
the  world  was  put  into  this  disorder ;  and 
any  one  would  guess  that  these  wonders 
foreshowed  some  grand  calamities  that 
were  coming. 

Now  the  opinion  of  the  Idumeans  and 
of  the  citizens  was  one  and  the  same. 
The  Idumeans  thought  that  God  was  an- 
gry at  their  taking  arms,  and  that  they 
would  not  escape  punishment  for  their 
making  war  upon  their  metropolis.  Ana- 
nus  and  his  party  thought  that  they  had 
conquered  without  fighting,  and  that  God 
acted  as  a  general  for  them ;  but  truly 
they  proved  both  ill  conjectures  at  what 
was  to  come,  and  made  those  events  to  be 
ominous  to  their  enemies,  while  they  were 
themselves  to  undergo  the  ill  effects  of 
them ;  for  the  Idumeans  fenced  one  another 
by  uniting  their  bodies  into  one  band,  and 
thereby  kept  themselves  warm,  and  con- 
necting their  shields  over  their  heads,  were 
not  so  much  hurt  by  the  rain.  But  the 
Zealots  were  more  deeply  concerned  for 
the  danger  these  men  were  in  than  they 
were  for  themselves,  and  got  together,  and 
looked  about  them,  to  see  whether  they 
could  devise  any  means  of  assisting  them. 
The  hotter  sort  of  them  thought  it  best  to 
force  their  guards  with  their  arms,  and  after 
that  to  fall  into  the  midst  cf  the  city,  and 
publicly  open  the  gates  to  those  that  came  to 
their  assistance;  as  supposing  the  guards 
would  be  in  disorder,  and  give  way  at  such 
an  unexpected  attempt  of  theirs,  especially 
as  the  greater  part  of  them  were  unarmed 
and  unskilled  in  the  affairs  of  war ;  and  that 
besides,  the  multitude  of  the  citizens  would 
not  be  easily  gathered  together,  but  confined 
to  their  houses  by  the  storm;  and  that  if 
there  were  any  hazard  in  their  undertaking, 
it  became  them  to  suffer  any  thing  what- 
soever themselves,  rather  than  to  overlook 
so  great  a  multitude  as  were  miserably  pe- 
rishing on  their  account.  But  the  more 
prudent  part  of  them  disapproved  of  this 
forcible  method,  because  they  saw  not  only 
the  guards  about  them  very  numerous,  but 
the  walls  of  the  city  itself  carefully  watch- 
ed, by  reason  of  the  Idumeans.  They 
also  supposed  that  Ananus  would  be  every- 
where, and  visit  the  guards  every  hour; 
which  indeed  was  done  upon  other  nights, 


but  was  omitted  that  night,  not  by  reason 
of  any  slothfulness  of  Ananus,  but  by  the 
overbearing  appointment  of  fate,  that  so 
both  he  himself  might  perish,  and  the 
multitude  of  the  guards  might  perish  with 
him ;  for  truly,  as  the  night  was  far  gone, 
and  the  storm  very  terrible,  Ananus  gave 
the  guards  in  the  cloisters  leave  to  go  to 
sleep ;  while  it  came  into  the  heads  of 
the  Zealots  to  make  use  of  the  saws  be- 
longing to  the  temple,  and  to  cut  the  bars 
of  the  gates  to  pieces.  The  noise  of  tho 
wind,  and  that  not  inferior  sound  of  the 
thunder,  did  here  also  conspire  with  their 
designs,  that  the  noise  of  the  saws  was  not 
heard  by  the  others. 

So  they  secretly  went  out  of  the  temple 
to  the  wall  of  the  city,  and  made  use  of 
their  saws,  and  opened  that  gate  which 
was  over  against  the  Idumeans.  Now  at 
first  there  came  a  fear  upon  the  Idumeans 
themselves,  which  disturbed  them,  as 
imagining  that  Ananus  and  his  party  were 
coming  to  attack  them,  so  that  every  one 
of  them  had  his  right  hand  upon  his  sword, 
in  order  to  defend  himself;  but  they  soon 
came  to  know  who  they  were  that  came  to 
them,  and  were  entered  the  city.  And 
had  the  Idumeans  then  fallen  upon  the 
city,  nothing  could  have  hindered  them 
from  destroying  the  people,  every  man  of 
them,  such  was  the  rage  they  were  in  at 
that  time ;  but  they  first  of  all  made  haste 
to  get  the  Zealots  out  of  custody,  which 
those  that  brought  them  in  earnestly  desired 
them  to  do,  and  not  overlook  those  for 
whose  sake  they  were  come,  in  the  midst 
of  their  distresses,  nor  to  bring  them  into 
a  still  greater  danger;  for  that  when  they 
had  once  seized  upon  the  guards  it  would 
be  easy  for  them  to  fall  upon  the  city ; 
but  that  if  the  city  were  once  alarmed, 
they  would  not  then  be  able  to  overcome 
those  guards,  because  as  soon  as  they 
should  perceive  they  were  there,  they 
would  put  themselves  in  order  to  fight 
them,  and  would  hinder  their  coming  into 
the  temple. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Cruelty  of  the  Idumeans  and  the  Zealots—  Slaagh 
ter  of  Ananus,  Jesus,  and  Zacharias. 

This  advice  pleased  the  Idumeans,  and 
they  ascended  through  the  city  to  the 
temple.  The  Zealots  were  also  in  great 
expectation  of  their  coming,  and  earnestly 
waited  for  them.  When  therefore  these 
were  entering   they  also  came  boldly  out 


776 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV 


of  the  inner  temple,  and  mixing  them- 
selves with  the  Idumeans,  they  attacked 
the  guards ;  and  some  of  those  that  were 
upon  the  watch,  but  were  fallen  asleep, 
they  killed  as  they  were  asleep ;  but  as 
those  that  were  now  awakened  made  a  cry, 
the  whole  multitude  arose,  and  in  the 
amazement  they  were  in  caught  hold  of 
their  arms  immediately,  and  betook  them- 
selves to  their  own  defence;  and  so  long 
as  they  thought  they  were  only  the  Zea- 
lots who  attacked  them  they  went  on 
boldly,  as  hoping  to  overpower  them  by 
their  numbers ;  but  when  they  saw  others 
pressing  in  upon  them  also,  they  perceived 
the  Idumeans  were  got  in  ;  and  the  great- 
est part  of  them  laid  aside  their  arms, 
together  with  their  courage,  and  betook 
themselves  to  lamentation.  But  some  few 
of  the  younger  sort  covered  themselves 
with  their  armour,  and  valiantly  received 
the  Idumeans,  and  for  a  while  protected 
the  multitude  of  old  men.  Others,  in- 
deed, gave  a  signal  to  those  that  were  in 
the  city  of  the  calamities  they  were  in; 
but  when  these  were  also  made  sensible 
that  the  Idumeans  were  come  in,  none  of 
them  durst  come  to  their  assistance  ;  only 
they  returned  the  terrible  echo  of  wailiug 
and  lamenting  their  misfortunes.  A  great 
howling  of  the  women  was  excited  also, 
and  every  one  of  the  guards  were  in  dau- 
ger  of  being  killed.  The  Zealots  also 
joined  in  the  shouts  raised  by  tile  Idu- 
means; and  the  storm  itself  rendered  the 
cry  more  terrible  ;  nor  did  the  Idumeans 
spare  anybody  ;  for  as  they  are  uaturally 
a  most  barbarous  and  bloody  nation,  and 
had  been  distressed  by  the  tempest,  they 
made  use  of  their  weapons  against  those 
that  had  shut  the  gates  against  them,  and 
acted  in  the  same  manner  as  to  those  that 
supplicated  for  their  lives  and  to  those 
that  fought  them,  insomuch  that  they  ran 
through  those  with  their  swords,  who  de- 
sired them  to  remember  the  relation  there 
was  between  them,  and  begged  of  them  to 
have  regard  to  their  common  temple. 
Now  there  was  at  present  neither  any 
place  for  flight,  nor  any  hope  for  pre- 
servation ;  but  as  they  were  driven  one 
upon  another  in  heaps,  so  were  they  slain. 
Thus  the  greater  part  were  driven  together 
by  force,  as  there  was  now  no  place  of  re- 
tirement, and  the  murderers  were  upon 
them ;  and,  having  no  other  way,  threw 
themselves  down  headlong  into  the  city ; 
whereby,  in  my  opinion,  they  underwent 
a   more   miserable   destruction  than   that 


which  they  avoided,  because  th^t  was  a 
voluntary  one.  And  now  the  outer  tem- 
ple was  all  of  it  overflowed  with  blood ; 
and  that  day,  as  it  came  on,  saw  8500 
dead  bodies  there. 

But  the  rage  of  the  Idumeans  was  not 
satiated  by  these  slaughters ;  but  they 
now  betook  themselves  to  the  city,  and 
plundered  every  house,  and  slew  every  one 
they  met ;  and  for  the  multitude,  they  es- 
teemed it  needless  to  go  on  with  killing 
them,  but  they  sought  for  the  high  priests, 
and  the  generality  went  with  the  greatest 
zeal  against  them ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
caught  them  they  slew  them,  and  then 
standing  upon  their  dead  bodies,  in  way 
of  jest,  upbraided  Ananus  with  his  kind- 
ness to  the  people,  and  Jesus  with  his 
speech  made  to  them  from  the  wall.  Nay, 
they  proceeded  to  that  degree  of  impiety 
as  to  cast  away  their  dead  bodies  without 
burial,  although  the  Jews  used  to  take  so 
much  care  of  the  burial  of  men,  that  they 
took  down  those  that  were  condemned  and 
crucified,  and  buried  them  before  the  going 
down  of  the  sun.  I  should  not.  mistake 
if  I  said  that  the  death  of  Ananus  was  the 
beginning  of  the  destructiou  of  the  city, 
and  that  from  this  very  day  may  be  dated 
the  overthrow  of  her  wall,  and  the  ruin  of 
her  affairs,  whereon  they  saw  their  high 
priest,  and  the  procurer  of  their  preser- 
vation, slain  in  the  midst  of  their  city. 
He  was  on  other  accounts  also  a  venerable, 
and  a  very  just  man  ;  and  besides  the 
grandeur  of  that  nobility,  and  dignity, 
and  honour  of  which  he  was  possessed,  he 
had  been  a  lover  of  a  kind  of  parity;  even 
with  regard  to  the  meanest  of  the  people; 
he  was  a  prodigious  lover  of  liberty,  and 
an  admirer  of  a  denn  >cracy  in  government ; 
and  did  ever  prefer  the  public  welfare  be- 
fore his  own  advantage,  and  preferred 
peace  above  all  things ;  for  he  was  tho- 
roughly sensible  that  the  Romans  were  not 
to  be  conquered.  He  also  foresaw  that  of 
necessity  a  war  would  follow,  and  that 
unless  the  Jews  made  up  matters  with 
them  very  dexterously,  they  would  be 
destroyed  :  to  say  all  in  a  word,  if  Ananus 
had  survived  they  had  certainly  com- 
pounded matters ;  for  he  was  a  shrewd 
man  in  speaking  and  persuading  the  peo- 
ple, and  had  already  gotten  the  mastery 
j  of  those  that  opposed  his  designs,  or  were 
1  for  the  war.  And  the  Jews  had  then  put 
'  abundance  of  delays  in  the  way  of  the 
Romans,  if  they  had  had  such  a  general 
i  as  he  was.     Jesus  was  also  joined  with 


CilAP.  V.J 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


777 


him  J  and  although  he  was  inferior  to  him 
upon  the  comparison,  he  was  superior  to  the 
rest;  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  it  was 
because  God  had  doomed  this  city  to  de- 
struction, as  a  polluted  city,  and  was  re- 
solved to  purge  his  sanctuary  by  fire,  that 
he  cut  off  these  their  great  defenders  and 
wellwishers,  while  those  that  a  little  before 
had  worn  the  sacred  garments,  and  had  pre- 
sided over  the  public  worship,  and  had 
been  esteemed  venerable  by  those  that 
dwelt  on  the  whole  habitable  earth  when 
they  came  into  our  city,  were  cast  out 
naked,  and  seen  to  be  the  food  of  dogs 
and  wild  beasts.  And  I  cannot  but  ima- 
gine that  virtue  itself  groaned  at  these 
men's  case,  and  lamented  that  she  was 
here  so  terribly  conquered  by  wickedness. 
And  this  at  last  was  the  end  of  Ananus 
and  Jesus. 

Now  after  these  were  slain,  the  Zealots 
and  the  multitude  of  the  Idumeans  fell 
upon  the  people  as  upon  a  flock  of  profane 
animals,  and  cut  their  throats  ;  and,  for 
the  ordinary  sort,  they  were  destroyed  in 
what  place  soever  they  caught  them.  But 
for  the  noblemen  and  the  youth,  they 
first  caught  them  and  bound  them,  and 
shut  them  up  in  prison,  and  put  off  their 
slaughter,  in  hopes  that  some  of  them 
would  turn  over  to  their  party ;  but  not 
one  of  them  would  comply  with  their  de- 
sires, but  all  of  them  preferred  death  be- 
fore being  enrolled  among  such  wicked 
wretches  as  acted  against  their  own  coun- 
try. But  this  refusal  of  theirs  brought 
upon  them  terrible  torments ;  for  they 
were  so  scourged  and  tortured,  that  their 
bodies  were  not  able  to  sustain  their  tor- 
ments, till  at  length,  and  with  difficulty, 
they  had  the  favour  to  be  slain.  Those 
whom  they  caught  in  the  daytime  were 
slain  in  the  night,  and  then  their  bodies 
were  carried  out  and  thrown  away,  that 
there  might  be  room  for  other  prisoners ; 
and  the  terror  that  was  upon  the  people  was 
so  great,  that  no  one  had  courage  enough 
either  to  weep  openly  for  the  dead  man 
that  was  related  to  him,  or  bury  him  ;  but 
those  that  were  shut  up  in  their  own 
houses,  could  only  shed  tears  in  secret, 
and  durst  not  even  groan  without  great 
caution,  lest  any  of  their  enemies  should 
hear  them  ;  for  if  they  did,  those  that 
mourned  for  others  soon  underwent  the 
same  death  with  those  whom  they  mourned 
for.  Only  in  the  night-time  they  would 
take  up  a  little  dust  and  throw  it  upon 
their  bodies;  and  even  some  that  were  the 


most  ready  to  expose  themselves  to  danger, 
would  do  it  in  the  daytime  :  and  there 
were  12,000  of  the  better  sort  who  pe- 
rished in  this  manner. 

And  now  these  Zealots  and  Idumeans 
were  quite  weary  of  barely  killing  men ; 
so  they  had  the  impudence  of  setting  up 
fictitious  tribunals  and  judicatures  for  that 
purpose ;  and  as  they  intended  to  have 
Zacharias,  the  son  of  Baruch,  one  of  the 
most  eminent  of  the  citizens,  slain, — so 
what  provoked  them  against  him  was,  that 
hatred  of  wickedness  and  love  of  liberty 
which  were  so  eminent  in  him  :  he  was 
also  a  rich  man,  so  that  by  taking  him  off, 
they  did  not  only  hope  to  seize  his  effects, 
but  also  to  get  rid  of  a  man  that  had 
great  power  to  destroy  them.  So  they 
called  together,  by  a  public  proclamation, 
seventy  of  the  principal  men  of  the  popu- 
lace, for  a  show  as  if  they  were  real 
judges,  while  they  had  no  proper  authori- 
ty. Before  these  was  Zacharias  accused 
of  a  design  to  betray  their  polity  to  the 
Romans,  and  having  traitorously  sent  to 
Vespasian  for  that  purpose.  Now  tnere 
appeared  no  proof  or  sign  of  what  he  was 
accused;  but  they  affirmed  themselves  that 
they  were  well  persuaded  that  so  it  was, 
and  desired  that  such  their  affirmation 
might  be  taken  for  sufficient  evidence. 
Now  when  Zacharias  clearly  saw  that  there 
was  no  way  remaining  for  his  escape  from 
them,  as  having  been  treacherously  called 
before  them,  and  then  put  in  prison,  but 
not  with  any  intention  of  a  legal  trial,  he 
took  great  liberty  of  speech  in  that  despair 
of  life  he  was  under.  Accordingly  he 
stood  up,  and  laughed  at  their  pretended 
accusation,  and  in  a  few  words  confuted 
the  crimes  laid  to  his  charge;  after  which 
he  turned  his  speech  to  his  accusers,  and 
went  over  distinctly  all  their  transgres- 
sions of  the  law,  and  made  heavy  lamenta- 
tions upon  the  confusion  they  had  brought 
public  affairs  to  :  in  the  mean  time  the 
Zealots  grew  tumultuous,  and  had  much 
ado  to  abstain  from  drawing  their  swords, 
although  they  designed  to  preserve  the  ap- 
pearance and  show  of  judicature  to  tho 
end.  They  were  also  desirous,  on  other 
accounts,  to  try  the  judges,  whether  they 
would  be  mindful  of  what  was  just  ai 
their  own  peril.  Now  the  seventy  judges 
brought  in  their  verdict,  that  the  person 
accused  was  not  guilty — as  choosing  rather 
to  die  themselves  with  him,  than  to  have 
his  death  laid  at  their  doors :  hereupon 
there  arose  a  great  clamo  ir  of  the  Zealot* 


778 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV 


upon  his  acquittal,  and  they  all  had  indig- 
nation at  the  judges,  for  not  understand- 
ing that  the  authority  that  was  given  them 
was  but  in  jest.  So  two  of  the  boldest  of 
them  fell  upon  Zaeharias  in  the  middle  of 
the  temple,  and  slew  him ;  and  as  he  fell 
down  dead  they  bantered  him,  and  said, 
fi  Thou  hast  also  our  verdict,  and  this  will 
prove  a  more  sure  acquittal  to  thee  than 
the  other."  They  also  threw  him  down 
out  of  the  temple  immediately  into  the 
valley  beneath  it.  Moreover,  they  struck 
the  judges  with  the  backs  of  their  swords, 
by  way  of  abuse,  and  thrust  them  out  of 
the  court  of  the  temple,  and  spared  their 
lives  with  no  other  design  than  that,  when 
they  were  dispersed  among  the  people  in 
the  city,  they  might  become  their  messen- 
gers, to  let  them  know  they  were  no  bet- 
ter than  slaves. 

But  by  this  time  the  Idumeans  repented 
of  their  coming,  and  were  displeased  at 
what  had  been  done  ;  and  when  they  were 
assembled  together  by  one  of  the  Zealots, 
who  had  come  privately  to  them,  he  de- 
clared to  them  what  a  number  of  wicked 
pranks  they  had  themselves  done  in  con- 
junction with  those  that  invited  them,  and 
gave  a  particular  account  of  what  mis- 
chiefs had  boen  done  against  their  metropo- 
lis. He  said,  that  they  had  taken  arms, 
as  though  the  high  priests  were  betraying 
their  metropolis  to  the  Romans,  but  had 
found  no  indication  of  any  such  treach- 
ery; but  that  they  had  succoured  those 
that  had  pretended  to  believe  such  a 
thing,  while  they  did  themselves  the  works 
of  war  and  tyranny  after  an  insolent  man- 
ner. It  had  been,  indeed,  their  business 
to  have  hindered  them  from  such  their 
proceedings  at  the  first,  but  seeing  they 
had  once  been  partners  with  them  in  shed- 
ding the  blood  of  their  own  countrymen, 
it  was  high  time  to  put  a  stop  to  such 
crimes,  and  not  continue  to  afford  any 
more  assistance  to  such  as  were  subverting 
the  laws  of  their  forefathers ;  for  that  if 
any  had  taken  it  ill  that  the  gates  had 
been  shut  against  them,  and  they  had  not 
been  permitted  to  come  into  the  city,  yet 
that  those  who  had  excluded  them  had 
been  punished,  and  Ananus  was  dead,  and 
that  almost  all  those  people  had  been  de- 
stroyed in  one  night.  That  one  might 
perceive  many  of  themselves  now  repent- 
ing for  what  they  had  done,  and  might 
see  the  horrid  barbarity  of  those  that  had 
invited  them,  and  that  they  had  no  regard 
to  su^  as  had  saved  them ;  that  they  were 


so  impudent  as  to  perpetrate  the  vilest 
things,  under  the  eyes  of  those  who  had 
supported  them,  and  that  their  wicked  ac- 
tions would  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the 
Idumeans,  and  would  be  so  laid  to  their 
charge,  till  somebody  obstructed  their  pro- 
ceedings, or  separated  himself  from  the 
same  wicked  action ;  that  they  therefore 
ought  to  retire  home,  since  the  imputation 
of  treason  appeared  to  be  a  calumny,  and 
that  there  was  no  expectation  of  the 
coming  of  the  Romans  at  that  time,  and 
that  the  government  of  the  city  was  se- 
cured by  such  walls  as  could  not  easily  be 
thrown  down ;  and,  by  avoiding  any  further 
fellowship  with  those  bad  men,  to  make 
some  excuse  for  themselves,  as  to  what 
they  had  been  so  far  deluded  as  to  have 
been  partners  with  them  hitherto. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Idumeans  return  home — The  Zealots  continue 
their  slaughter  of  the  citizens — Vespasian  dis- 
suades the  Romans  from  proceeding  in  the  Jew- 
ish  war. 

The  Idumeans  complied  with  these  per- 
suasions; and,  in  the  first  place,  they  set 
those  that  were  in  the  prison  at  liberty, 
being  about  2000  of  the  populace,  who 
thereupon  fled   away  immediately  to  Si- 
mon, one  whom  we  shall  speak  of  presently. 
After  which  these  Idumeans  retired  from 
Jerusalem,  and  went  home ;  which  depart- 
ure of  theirs  was  a  great  surprise  to  both 
parties;  for  the  people,  not  knowing  of 
their  repentance,  pulled  up  their  courage 
for  awhile,  as  eased  of  so  many  of  their  ene- 
mies, while  the  Zealots  grew  more  inso- 
lent, not  as  deserted  by  their  confederates, 
but  as  freed  from  such  men  as  might  hin- 
der their   designs  and    put   some  stop  to 
their  wickedness.  Accordingly,  they  made 
no  longer  any  delay,  nor  took  any  delibe- 
ration   in    their  enormous  practices,  but 
made  use  of  the  shortest  methods  for  all 
their  executions ;  and  what  they  had  once 
resolved  upon,  they  put  in  practice  sooner 
than  any  one  could  imagine;    but   their 
thirst  was  chiefly  after  the  blood  of  valiant 
men,  and  men  01  good  families ;  the  one 
sort  of  whom  they  destroyed  out  of  envy, 
the  other  out  of  fear;  for  they  thought 
their  whole  security  lay  in  leaving  no  po- 
tent men  alive ;  on  which  account  they  slew 
Gorion,  a  person  eminent  in  dignity,  and 
on  account  of  his  family  also;  he  was  also 
for  democracy,  and  of  as  great  boldness 
and  freedom  of  spirit  as  were  any  of  the 
Jews  whosoever;  the  principal  thing  that 


Chap.  VI  ] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


779 


ruined  him,  added  to  his  other  advantages, 
was  his  free  speaking.     Nor  did  Niger  of 
Perea  escape  their  hands ;  he  had  been  a 
man  of  great  valour  in  their  war  with  the 
Romans,  but  was  now  drawn  through  the 
middle   of    the    city,    and,    as    he    went, 
he    frequently    cried     out,    and    showed 
tho  scars  of  his  wounds ;    and  when   he 
was  drawn  out  of  the  gates,  and  despaired 
of  his  preservation,  he  besought   them  to 
grant  him  a  burial ;  but  as  they  had  threat- 
ened   him  beforehand  not  to  grant    him 
any  spot  of  earth   for  a  grave,  which  he 
chiefly  desired  of  them,  so  did  they  slay 
him   [without  permitting  him  to  be  bu- 
ried].    Now  when  they  were  slaying  him, 
he  made  his  imprecation  upon  them,  that 
they  might  undergo  both  famine  and  pesti- 
lence in    this   war,  and  besides  all  that, 
they  might  come  to  the  mutual  slaughter 
of  one    another;  all  which  imprecations 
God  confirmed  against  these  impious  men, 
and  was  what  came  most  justly  upon  them, 
vrhen  not  long  afterward  they  tasted  of 
their  own  madness  in   their  mutual  sedi- 
tions one  against  another.     So  when  this 
Niger  was  killed,  their  fears  of  being  over- 
turned were  diminished,  and  indeed  there 
was  no  part  of  the  people  but  they  found 
out  some  pretence  to  destroy  them  ;  for 
some  were  therefore  slain,  because  they 
hau  had  differences  with  some  of  them  ; 
and  as  to  those  that  had  not  opposed  them 
in  times  of  peace,  they  watched  seasona- 
ble opportunities  to  gain   some  accusation 
against  them;  and  if  any  one  did  not  come 
near  them  at  all,  he  was  under  their  sus- 
picion as  a  proud  man  ;  if  any  one  came 
with    boldness,  he   was  esteemed    a  con- 
temner of  them ;  and  if  any  one  came  as 
aiming  to  oblige  them,  he  was  supposed  to 
have  some  treacherous  plot  against  them; 
while    the    only   punishment    of    crimes, 
whether    they    were   of    the    greatest  or 
smallest  sort,  was  death.     Nor  could  any 
one  escape,  unless  he  were  very  inconsider- 
able, either  on  account  of  the   meanness 
of  his  birth,  or  on  account  of  his  fortune. 
And  now  all  the  rest  of  the  command- 
ers of  the  Romans  deemed  this  sedition 
among  their  enemies  to  be  of  great  advan- 
tage to  them,  and  were  very  earnest  to 
march  to  the  city;  and  they  urged  Vespa- 
sian, as  their  lord  and  general  in  all  cases, 
to  make  haste,  and  said  to  him,  that  "  the 
providence  of  God  is  on  our  side,  by  set- 
ting our  enemies  at  variance  against  one 
another  ;  that  still  the  change  in  such  cases 
may  be  sudden,  and  the  Jews  may  quick- 


ly be  at  one  again,  either  because  they 
may  be  tired  out  with  the  r  civil  miseries, 
or  repent  them  of  such    doings  "       But 
Vespasian  replied,  that  they  were  greatly 
mistaken  in  what  they  thought  fit  to  be 
done,  as  those  that,  upon  the  theatre,  love 
to  make  a  show  of  their  hands  and  of  their 
weapons,  but  do  it  at  their  own  hazard. . 
without  considering  what  was  for  their  ad  I 
vantage  and  for  their  security,  for  that  if 
they  now  go  and  attack  the  city  immedi- 
ately, they  shall  but   occasion   their  ene- 
mies to  unite  together,  and  shall  convert 
their  force,  now  it  is  in  its  height,  against 
themselves ;  but  if  they  stay  awhile  they 
shall   have  fewer  enemies,   because   they 
will  be  consumed  in  this  sedition  :  that 
God  acts  as  a  general  of  the  Romans  bet- 
ter than  he  can  do,  and  is  giving  the  Jews 
up   to   them   without  any   pains  of  their 
own,  and  granting  their  army  a  victory 
without  any  danger;  that   therefore   it  is 
their  best  way,  while  their  enemies  are 
destroying    each    other    with    their    owu 
hands,  ajid  falling  into  the  greatest  of  mis- 
fortunes, which   is   that  of  sedition,  to  sit 
still  as  spectators  of  the  dangers  they  run 
into,  rather  than  to  fight  hand  to  hand 
with   men  that    love   murdering,  and  are 
mad  one  against  another.      "But  if  any 
one   imagines   that   the   glory  of  victory, 
when  it  is  gotten  without  fighting,  will  be 
more   insipid,  let   him   know  this   much, 
that  a  glorious  success,  quietly  obtained, 
is  more  profitable  than  the  dangers  of  a 
battle ;  for  we  ought  to  esteem  those  that 
do  what  is  agreeable  to  temperance  and 
prudence,  no  less  glorious  than  those  that 
have    gained    great   reputation    by    their 
actions  in  war  :  that  he  shall  lead  on  his 
army  with  greater  force  when  their  enemies 
are  diminished,  and  his  own  army  refreshed 
after  the  continual  labours  they  had  under- 
gone.    However,  that  this  is  not  a  proper 
time  to  propose  to  ourselves  the  glory  of 
victory;  for  that  the  Jews  are  not  now 
employed  in  making  of  armour  or  build- 
ing of  walls,   nor  iudeed   in  getting  to- 
gether auxiliaries,  while  the  advantage  will 
be  on  their  side  who  give  them  such  op- 
portunity of  delay ;    but   that  the  Jews 
are  vexed  to  pieces   every  day  by  their 
civil  wars  and  dissensions,  and  are  undei 
greater    misfortunes   than,  if   they    were 
once  taken,  could  be  inflicted  on  them  by 
us.     Whether,    therefore,   any   one    hath 
regard  to  what  is  for  our  safety,  he  ought 
to  suffer  these  Jews  to  destroy  one  another; 
or  whether  he  hath  regard  to  the  greater 


780 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Booz  IV 


glory  of  the  action,  we  ought  by  no  means 
to  meddle  with  these  men,  now  they  are 
afflicted  with  a  distemper  at  home ;  for 
should  we  now  conquer  them,  it  would  be 
said  the  conquest  was  not  owing  to  our 
bravery,  but  to  their  sedition. " 

And   now   the    commanders  joined   in 
their  approbation  of  what  Vespasian  had 
naid,  and  it  was  soon  discovered  how  wise 
an   opinion   he   had   given ;    and   indeed 
many  there  were  of    the  Jews  that  de- 
serted every  day,  and  fled  away  from   the 
Zealots,   although    their   flight  was   very 
difficult,   since  they   had    guarded    every 
passage   out  of  the  city,  and  slew  every 
one  that  was  caught  at  them,  as  taking 
it  for  granted  they  were  going  over  to  the 
Romans ;    yet   did    he    who    gave    them 
money  get  clear  off,  while  he  only  that 
gave  them  none  was  voted  a  traitor.     So 
the  upshot  was  this,   that  the   rich   pur- 
chased their  flight  by  money,  while  none 
but  the  poor  were  slain.     Along  all  the 
reads  also  vast  numbers   of  dead   bodies 
lay  in  heaps,  and  even  many  of  those  that 
were   so   zealous   in  deserting,  at   length 
chose  rather   to   perish  within    the   city ; 
for  the  hopes  of  burial  made  death  in  their 
own  city  appear  of  the  two  less  terrible 
to  them.     But  these  Zealots  came  at  last 
to    that    degree   of  barbarity,  as   not    to 
bestow  a  burial  either  on  those  slain  in 
the  city,  or  on  those   that  lay  along   the 
roads  ;  but  as  if  they  had  made  an  agree- 
ment  to   cancel   both   the   laws   of   their 
country  and  the  laws  of  nature,  and,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  defiled  men  with 
their  wicked  actions,  they  would  pollute 
the  Divinity  itself  also,  they  left  the  dead 
bodies  to  putrefy  under  the  sun :  and  the 
same  punishment  was  allotted  to  such  as 
buried    any,  as    to    those    that    deserted, 
which  was  no  other  than  death  ;  while  he 
that  granted  the    favour   of  a  grave   to 
another,  would  presently  stand  in  need  of 
a  grave  himself.     To  say  all  in  a  word, 
no  other  gentle  passion  was  so  entirely 
lost  among  them  as  mercy ;  for  what  were 
the  greatest  objects  of  pity  did  most  of 
all  irritate  these  wretches,  and  they  trans- 
ferred their  rage  from  the  living  to  those 
that  had  been  slain,  and  from  the  dead  to 
the  living.     Nay,  the  terror  was  so  very 
great,  that  he  who  survived  called  them 
that  were  first  dead  happy,  as  being  at 
rest  already ;  as  did  those  that  were  under 
torture  in  the  prisons  declare  that,  upon 
this  comparison,  those  that  lay  unburied 
were  the  happiest.    These  men,  therefore, 


trampled  upon  all  the  laws  )f  man,  and 
laughed  at  the  laws  of  God ;  and  for  tho 
oracles  of  the  prophets,  they  ridiculed 
them  as  the  tricks  of  jugglers;  yet  did 
these  prophets  foretell  many  things  con- 
cerning [the  rewards  ofj  virtue,  and 
[punishments  of]  vice,  which  when  these 
Zealots  violated,  they  occasioned  the  ful 
filling  of  those  very  prophecies  belonging 
to  their  own  country;  for  there  was  a 
certain  ancient  oracle  of  those  men,  that 
the  city  should  then  be  taken,  and  the 
sanctuary  burnt,  by  right  of  war,  when  a 
sedition  should  invade  the  Jews,  and  their 
own  hand  should  pollute  the  temple  of 
God.*  Now,  while  these  Zealots  did  not 
[quite]  disbelieve  these  predictions,  they 
made  themselves  the  instruments  of  their 
accomplishment. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Tyranny    of    John — Massada    plundered    by   the 
Zealots — Vespasian  takes  Gadara. 

By  this  time  John  was  beginning  to 
tyrannize,  and  thought  it  beneath  him  to 
accept  of  barely  the  same  honours  that 
others  had;  and  joining  to  himself  by 
degrees  a  party  of  the  most  wicked  of 
them  all,  he  broke  off  from  the  rest  of 
the  faction.  This  was  brought  about  by 
his  still  disagreeing  with  the  opinions  of 
others,  and  giving  out  injunctions  of  his 
own,  in  a  very  imperious  manner  :  so  that 
it  was  evident  he  was  setting  up  a  mo- 
narchical power.  Now  some  submitted  to 
him  out  of  their  fear  of  him,  and  others 
out  of  their  good-will  to  him ;  for  he  was 
a  shrewd  man  to  entice  men  to  him,  both 
by  deluding  them  and  putting  cheats  upon 
them.  Nay,  many  there  were  that  thought 
they  should  be  safer  themselves,  if  the 
causes  of  their  past  insolent  actions  should 
now  be  reduced  to  one  head,  and  not  to  a 
great  many.  His  activity  was  so  great, 
and  that  both  in  action  and  counsel,  that 
he  had  not  a  few  guards  about  him ;  yet 
was  there  a  great  party  of  his  antagonists 
that  left  him ;  among  whom  envy  at  him 
weighed  a  great  deal,  while  they  thought 
it  a  very  heavy  thing  to  be  in  subjection 
to  one  that  was  formerly  their  equal.  But 


*  This  prediction,  that  the  city  (Jerusalem) 
should  then  "  be  taken,  and  the  sanctuary  burnt  by 
right  of  war,  when  a  sedition  should  invade  the 
Jews,  and  their  own  hands  should  pollute  that 
temple,"  or,  as  it  is,  b.  vi.  chap,  ii.,  "  when  any 
one  should  begin  to  slay  his  countrymen  in  the 
city,"  is  wanting  in  our  present  copies  of  the  Old 
Testament 


chap.vh  j 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


781 


the  main  reason  that  moved  men  against 
him  was  the  dread  of  monarchy,  for  they 
could  not  hope  easily  to  put  an  end  to 
his  power,  if  he  had  once  obtained  it; 
and  yet  they  knew  that  he  would  have 
this  pretence  always  against  them,  that 
they  had  opposed  him  when  he  was  first 
advanced ;  while  every  one  chose  rather 
to  suffer  any  thing  whatsoever  in  war, 
than  that,  when  they  had  been  in  a  volun- 
tary slavery  for  some  time,  they  should 
afterward  perish.  So  the  sedition  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  and  John  reigned 
in  opposition  to  his  adversaries  over  one 
of  them :  but  for  their  leaders,  they 
watched  one  another,  nor  did  they  at  all, 
or  at  least  very  little,  meddle  with  arms 
in  their  quarrels;  but  they  fought  ear- 
nestly against  the  people,  and  contended 
one  with  another  which  of  them  should 
bring  home  the  greatest  prey.  But  be- 
cause the  city  had  to  struggle  with  three 
of  the  greatest  misfortunes,  war,  and  ty- 
ranny, and  sedition,  it  appeared,  upon  the 
comparison,  that  the  war  was  the  least 
troublesome  to  the  populace  of  them  all. 
Accordingly  they  ran  away  from  their  own 
houses  to  foreigners,  and  obtained  that 
preservation  from  the  Romans  which  they 
despaired  to  obtain  among  their  own 
people. 

And  now  a  fourth  misfortune  arose,  in 
order  to  bring  our  nation  to  destruction. 
There  was  a  fortress  of  very  great  strength 
not  far  from  Jerusalem,  which  had  been 
built  by  our  ancient  kings,  both  as  a  repo- 
sitory for  their  effects  in  the  hazards  of 
war,  and  for  the  preservation  of  their 
bodies  at  the  same  time.  It  is  called 
Massada.  Those  that  were  called  Sicarii 
had  taken  possession  of  it  formerly ;  but 
at  this  time  they  overran  the  neighbouring 
countries,  aiming  only  to  procure  to  them- 
selves necessaries;  for  the  fear  they  were 
then  in  prevented  their  further  ravages ; 
but  when  once  they  were  informed  that 
the  Roman  army  lay  still,  and  that  the 
Jews  were  divided  between  sedition  and 
tyranny,  they  boldly  undertook  greater 
matters;  and  at  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread,  which  the  Jews  celebrate  in  memo- 
ry of  their  deliverance  from  the  Egyptian 
bondage,  when  they  were  sent  back  into 
the  country  of  their  forefathers,  they  came 
down  by  night,  without  being  discovered 
by  those  that  could  have  prevented  them, 
and  overran  a  certain  small  city  called 
Engeddi:  in  which  expedition  they  pre- 
vented   those    citizens    that    could     have 


stopped  them,  before  they  could  arm  them- 
selves and  fight  them.  They  also  dis- 
persed them,  and  cast  them  out  of  the  city. 
As  for  such  as  could  not  run  away,  being 
women  and  children,  they  slew  of  them 
above  700.  Afterward,  when  they  had 
carried  every  thing  out  of  their  houses, 
and  had  seized  upon  all  the  fruits  that 
were  in  a  flourishing  condition,  they 
brought  them  into  Massada.  And,  indeed, 
these  men  laid  all  the  villages  that  were 
about  the  fortress  waste,  and  made  the 
whole  country  desolate  :  while  there  came 
to  them  every  day  from  all  parts,  not  a 
few  men  as  corrupt  as  themselves.  At 
this  time  all  the  other  regions  of  Judea 
that  had  hitherto  been  at  rest  were  in  mo- 
tion, by  means  of  the  robbers.  Now,  as 
it  is  in  a  human  body,  if  the  principal 
part  be  inflamed,  all  the  members  are  sub- 
ject to  the  same  distemper,  so  by  means 
of  the  sedition  and  disorder  that  was  in 
the  metropolis,  had  the  wicked  men  that 
were  in  the  country  opportunity  to  ravage 
the  same.  Accordingly,  when  every  one 
of  them  had  plundered  their  own  villages, 
they  then  retired  into  the  desert ;  yet 
were  these  men  that  now  got  together  and 
joined  in  the  conspiracy  by  parties,  too 
small  for  an  army,  and  too  many  for  a 
gang  of  thieves  :  and  thus  did  they  fall 
upon  the  holy  places*  and  the  cities;  yet 
did  it  now  so  happen  that  they  were  some- 
times very  ill  treated  by  those  upon  whom 
they  fell  with  such  violence,  and  were 
taken  by  them  as  men  are  taken  in  war : 
but  still  they  prevented  any  further  punish- 
ment as  do  robbers,  who  as  soon  as  their 
ravages  [are  discovered]  run  their  way. 
Nor  was  there  now  any  part  of  Judea  that 
was  not  in  a  miserable  condition,  as  well 
as  its  most  eminent  city  also. 

These  things  were  told  Vespasian  by 
deserters;  for  although  the  seditious 
watched  all  the  passages  out  of  the  city, 
and  destroyed  all,  whosoever  they  were, 
that  came  thither,  yet  were  there  some 
that  had  concealed  themselves,  and,  when 
they  had  fled  to  the  Romans,  persuaded 
their  general  to  con.e  to  their  city's  assist- 
ance, and  save  the  remainder  of  the  people 
informing  him  withal,   that  it  was  upon 

*  By  "holy  places,"  as  distinct  from  cities,  must 
be  meant  "  houses  of  prayer"  out  of  cities  ;  of 
which  we  find  mention  made  in  the  New  Testament. 
See  Luke  vi.  12;  Acts  xvi.  13,  16.  They  were  si 
tuated  sometimes  by  the  sides  of  rivers,  or  by  the 
seaside.  So  did  the  seventy-two  interpreters  go  to 
pray  every  morning  by  the  seaside,  before  th^y 
went  to  their  work. 


782 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  IV 


account  of  the  people's  good-will  to  the 
Romans  that  many  of  them  were  already 
slain,  and  the  survivors  in  danger  of  the 
same  treatment.  Vespasian  did  indeed 
already  pity  the  calamities  these  men 
were  in,  and  arose,  in  appearance,  as 
though  he  was  going  to  besiege  Jeru- 
salem,— but  in  reality  to  deliver  them 
from  a  [worse]  siege  they  were  already 
under.  However,  he  was  obliged  at  first 
to  overthrow  what  remained  elsewhere, 
and  to  leave  nothing  out  of  Jerusalem 
behind  him  that  might  interrupt  him  in 
that  siege.  Accordingly  he  marched 
against  Gadara,  the  metropolis  of  Perea, 
which  was  a  place  of  strength,  and  entered 
that  city  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  month 
Dystrus  [Adar] ;  for  the  men  of  power 
had  sent  an  embassage  to  him,  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  feditious,  to  treat 
about  a  surrender ;  which  they  did  out 
of  the  desire  they  had  of  peace,  and  for 
saving  their  effects,  because  many  of  the 
citizens  of  Gadara  were  rich  men.  This 
embassy  the  opposite  party  knew  nothing 
of,  but  discovered  it  as  Vespasian  was 
approaching  near  the  city.  However, 
they  despaired  of  keeping  possession  of 
the  city,  as  being  inferior  in  number  to 
their  enemies  who  were  within  the  city, 
and  seeing  the  Romans  very  near  to 
the  city ;  so  they  resolved  to  fly,  but 
thought  it  dishonourable  to  do  it  without 
shedding  some  blood,  and  revenging 
themselves  on  the  authors  of  this  sur- 
render; so  they  seized  upon  Dolesus  (a 
person  not  only  the  first  in  rank  and 
family  in  that  city,  but  one  that  seemed 
the  occasion  of  sending  such  an  embassy) 
and  slew  him,  and  treated  his  dead  body 
after  a  barbarous  manner,  so  very  violent 
was  their  anger  at  him,  and  then  ran  out 
of  the  city.  And  as  now  the  Roman 
army  was  just  upon  them,  the  people  of 
Gadara  admitted  Vespasian  with  joyful 
acclamations,  and  received  from  him  the 
becurity  of  his  right  hand,  as  also  a  gar- 
rison of  horsemen  and  footmen,  to  guard 
them  against  the  excursions  of  the  runa- 
gates; for  as  to  their  wall,  they  had  pulled 
it  down  before  the  Romans  desired  them 
so  to  do,  that  they  might  thereby  give 
them  assurance  that  they  were  lovers  of 
peace,  and  that,  if  they  had  a  mind, 
they  could  not  low  make  war  against 
them. 

And  now  Vespasian  sent  Placidus 
against  those  that  had  fled  from  Gadara, 
with  500   horsemen   and   3000   footmen, 


while  he  returned  himself  to  Cesarea, 
with  the  rest  of  the  army.  But  as  soon 
as  these  fugitives  saw  the  horsemen  that 
pursued  them  just  upon  their  backs,  and 
before  they  came  to  a  close  fight,  they  ran 
together  to  a  certain  village,  which  was 
called  Bethennabris,  where  finding  a  great 
multitude  of  young  men,  and  arming 
them,  partly  by  their  own  consent,  and 
partly  by  force,  they  rashly  and  suddenly 
assaulted  Placidus  and  the  troops  that 
were  with  him.  These  horsemen  at  the 
first  onset  gave  way  a  little,  as  contriving 
to  entice  them  farther  off  the  wall ;  and 
when  they  had  drawn  them  into  a 
place  fit  for  their  purpose,  they  made  their 
horse  encompass  them  round,  and  threw 
their  darts  at  them.  So  the  horsemen  cut 
off  the  flight  of  the  fugitives,  while  the 
foot  terribly  destroyed  those  that  fought 
against  them ;  for  those  Jews  did  no  more 
than  show  their  courage,  and  then  were 
destroyed  ;  for  as  they  fell  upon  the  Ro- 
mans when  they  were  joined  close  to- 
gether, and,  as  it  were,  walled  about  with 
their  entire  armour,  they  were  not  able  to 
find  any  place  where  the  darts  could  en- 
ter, nor  were  they  any  way  able  to  break 
their  ranks,  while  they  were  themselves 
run  through  by  the  Roman  darts,  and. 
like  the  wildest  of  wild  beasts,  rushed 
upon  the  points  of  the  others'  swords ;  so 
some  of  them  were  destroyed,  as  cut  with 
their  enemies'  swords  upon  their  faces, 
and  others  were  dispersed  by  the  horsemen. 
Now  Placidus's  concern  was  to  exclude 
them  in  their  flight  from  getting  into  the 
village  ;  and  causing  his  horse  to  march 
continually  on  that  side  of  them,  he  then 
turned  short  upon  them,  and  at  the  same 
time  his  men  made  use  of  their  darts,  and 
easily  took  their  aim  at  those  that  were 
the  nearest  to  them,  as  they  made  those 
that  were  farther  off  turn  back  by  the  ter- 
ror they  were  in,  till  at  last  the  most  cour- 
ageous of  them  brake  through  those  horse- 
men and  fled  to  the  wall  of  the  village. 
And  now  those  that  guarded  the  wall  were 
in  great  doubt  what  to  do;  for  they  could 
n<»t  bear  the  thoughts  of  excluding  those 
that  came  from  Gadara,  because  of  their 
own  people  that  were  among  them;  and 
yet,  if  they  should  admit  them,  they  ex- 
pected to  perish  with  them,  which  came 
to  pass  accordingly ;  for  as  they  were 
crowding  together  at  the  wall,  the  Roman 
horsemen  were  just  ready  to  fall  in  with 
them.  However,  the  guards  prevented 
them,  and  shut  the  gates,  when  Placid uj-" 


Chap.  VIII. 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


783 


made  an  assault  upon  them,  and  fighting 
courageously  till  it  was  dark,  he  got  pos- 
session of  the  wall,  and  of  the  people  that 
were  in  the  city,  when   the  useless  multi- 
tude were  destroyed  ;  but  those  that  were 
mDre  potent  ran  away;  and  the  soldiers 
plundered  the  houses,  and  set  the  village 
on  fire.     As  for  those  that  ran  out  of  the 
village,  they  stirred  up  such  as  were  in 
the  country,  and  exaggerating  their  own 
calamities,  and  telling  them  that  the  whole 
army  of  the   Romans  were  upon    them, 
they  put  them  into  great  fear  on  every 
side;  so  they  got    in  great  numbers  to- 
gether, and  fled  to  Jericho,  for  they  knew 
no  other  place  that  could  afford  them  any 
hope  of  escaping,  it  being  a  city  that  had 
a  strong  wall  and  a  great  multitude  of 
inhabitants.     But  Placidus,  relying  much 
upon  his  horsemen  and  his  former  good 
success,  followed  them,  and  slew  all  that 
he  overtook,  as  far  as  Jordan  ;  and  when 
he  had  driven  the  whole  multitude  to  the 
riverside,  where  they  were  stopped  by  the 
current,  (for  it  had  been  augmented  lately 
by  rains,  and  was  not  fordable,)  he  put  his 
soldiers  in  array  over  against  them  ;  so  the 
necessity  the  others  were  m,  provoked  them 
to  hazard  a  battle,  because  there  was  no 
place  whither  they  could  flee.     They  then 
extended   themselves    a    very    great  way 
along  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  sustained 
the  darts  that  were  thrown  at  them  as  well 
as  the  attacks  of  the  horsemen,  who  beat 
many  of  them,  and  pushed  them  into  the 
current.     At  which  fight,  hand  to  hand, 
15,000  of  them  were  slain,  while  the  num- 
ber of  those  that  were  unwillingly  forced 
to  leap  into  Jordan  was  prodigious.  There 
were,  besides,  2200  taken  prisoners.     A 
mighty  prey  was  taken  also,  consisting  of 
asses,  and  sheep,  and  camels,  and  oxen. 

Now  this  destruction  that  fell  upon  the  j 
Jews,  as  it  was  not  inferior  to  any  of  the  I 
rest  in  itself,  so  did  it  appear  greater  than 
it  really  was;   and  this,  because  not  only 
the   whole  of  the  country  through   which  , 
they  fled  was  filled  with   slaughter,   and  j 
Jordan  could  not  be  passed  over,  by  rea- 
son of  the  dead  bodies  that  were  in  it,  but 
because  the  lake  Asphaltitis  was  also  full 
of  dead  bodies,  that  were    carried  down 
into  it  by  the  river.     And  now  Placidus,  ; 
after  this  good  success  he  had,  fell  violently 
upon  the  neighbouring  smaller  cities  and 
villages;  when  he  took  Abila,  and  Julias, 
and   Bezemoth,  and  all  those  that  lay  as 
far  as  the  lake  Asphaltitis,  and  put  such 
of  the  deserters  into  each  of  them  as  he 


thought  proper.  He  then  put  his  soldiers 
on  board  the  ships,  and  slew  such  as  had 
fled  to  the  lake,  insomuch  that  all  Perea 
had  either  surrendered  themselves,  or  were 
taken  by  the  Romans,  as  far  as  Macherus. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Commotions  in  Gall  [Galatia] — Vespasian  ha3tena 
to  terminate  the  Jewish  war — Description  of 
Jericho,  the  Groat  Plain,  and  the  Lake  AsphaltitiB. 

In  the  mean  time,  an  account  came  that 
there  were  commotions  in  Gall,  and  that 
Vindex,  together  with  the  men  of  power 
in  that  country,  had  revolted  from  Ne- 
ro ;  which  affair  is  more  accurately  de- 
scribed elsewhere.  This  report,  thus  re- 
lated to  Vespasian,  excited  him  to  go  on 
briskly  with  the  war;  for  he  foresaw  al- 
ready the  civil  wars  which  were  coming 
upon  them,  nay,  that  the  very  government 
was  in  danger;  and  he  thought  if  he  could 
first  reduce  the  eastern  parts  of  the  em- 
pire to  peace,  he  should  make  the  fears  for 
Italy  the  lighter;  while,  therefore,  the  win- 
ter was  his  hindorance  [from  going  into 
the  field],  he  put  garrisons  into  the  villages 
and  smaller  cities  for  their  security ;  he 
put  decurions  also  into  the  villages,  and 
centurions  into  the  cities;  he  besides  this 
rebuilt  many  of  the  cities  that  had  been 
laid  waste ;  but  at  the  beginning  of  the 
spring  he  took  the  greatest  part  of  his 
army,  and  led  it  from  Cesarea  to  Antipa- 
tris,  where  he  spent  two  days  in  settling 
the  affairs  of  that  city,  and  then,  on  the 
third  day,  he  marched  on,  laying  waste 
and  burning  all  the  neighbouring  villages. 
And  when  he  had  laid  waste  all  the  places 
about  the  toparchy  of  Thamnas,  he  passed 
on  to  Lydda  and  Jamnia ;  and  when  both 
those  cities  had  come  over  to  him,  he 
placed  a  great  many  of  those  that  had 
come  over  to  him  [from  other  places]  as 
inhabitants  therein,  and  then  came  to  Em- 
maus,  where  he  seized  upon  the  passages 
which  led  thence  to  their  metropolis,  and 
fortified  his  camp,  and  leaving  the  fifth 
legion  therein,  he  came  to  the  toparchy 
of  Bethletephon.  He  then  destroyed  that 
place,  and  the  neighbouring  places,  by 
fire,  and  fortified,  at  proper  places,  the 
strongholds  all  about  Idumea;  and  when 
he  had  seized  upon  two  villages,  which 
were  in  the  very  midst  of  Idumea,  Betaris, 
and  Caphartobas,  he  slew  above  10,000 
of  the  people,  and  carried  into  captivity 
above  1000,  and  drove  away  the  rest  of 
the  multitude,  and  placed  no  small  part 
of  his  own  forces  in  them,  who  overran 


784 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Boor  IT. 


and  laid  waste  the  whole  mountainous 
country ;  while  he,  with  the  rest  of  his 
forces,  returned  to  Eraraaus,  whence  he 
came  down  through  the  country  of  Sama- 
ria, and  hard  by  the  city  by  others  called 
Neapolis,  (or  Sichem,)  but  by  the  people 
of  that  country  Mabortha,  to  Corea,  where 
he  pitched  his  camp  on  the  second  day 
of  the  month  Daesius  [Sivan]  ;  and  on  the 
day  following  he  came  to  Jericho ;  on 
which  day  Trajan,  one  of  his  commanders, 
joined  him  with  the  forces  he  brought  out 
of  Perea,  all  the  places  beyond  Jordan 
being  subdued  already. 

Hereupon   a  great  multitude  prevented 
their  approach,  and  came  out  of  Jericho, 
and  fled  to  those  mountainous  parts  that 
lay  over    against    Jerusalem,  while    that 
part  which  was  left  behind  was  in  a  great 
measure  destroyed  :  they   also  found   the 
city  desolate.      It  is  situated  in   a.  plain  ; 
but  a  naked  and  barren  mountain,   of  a 
great  length,  hangs  over  it,  which  extends 
itself  to  the  land  about  Scythopolis  north- 
ward, but  as  far  as  the  country  of  Sodom, 
and  the  utmost  limits  of  the  lake  Asphal- 
titis  southward.      This  mountain  is  all  of 
it  very  uneven,  and  uninhabited  by  reason 
of  its  barrenness :  there   is    an    opposite 
mountain  that  is  situated  over  against  it, 
on  the  other  side  of  Jordan  ;  this  last  be- 
gins at  Julias  and  the  northern  quarters, 
and  extends  itself  southward  as  far  as  So- 
morrhon,*  which  is  the  bounds  of  ^etra, 
in   Arabia.     In  this  ridge  of    mountains 
there  is  one  called  the  Iron  Mountain,  that 
runs  in  length  as  far  as  Moab.      Now  the 
region  that    lies  in  the  middle,    between 
these  ridges  of  mountains,  is  called   the 
Great  Plain  ;   it  reaches  from   the  village 
Ginnabris,  as  far  as  the  lake  Asphaltitis  ; 
its  length  is  230  furlongs,  and  its  breadth 
120,  and  it  is  divided  in  the  midst  by  Jor- 
dan.     It  hath   two  lakes  in  it ;    that  of 
Asphaltitis,  and  that  of  Tiberias,   whose 
natures  are  opposite  to  each  other;  for  the 
^'ormer  is  salt  and  unfruitful ;  but  that  of 
Tiberias  is  sweet  and  fruitful.    This  plain 
is  much  burnt  up  in  summer  time;  and, 
by  reason  of  the  extraordinary  heat,  con- 
tains a  very  unwholesome    air;   it  is  all 
destitute    of   water    excepting    the    river 
Jordan,  which  water  of  Jordan  is  the  oc- 
casion why  those  plantations  of  palm-trees 
that  are  near  its  banks  are  more  flourish- 
ing, and   much  more  fruitful,  while  those 
that  are  remote  from  it  are  not  so  flourish- 

*  Probablv  the  same  as  Gomorrha. 


ing  or  fruitful.     Notwithstanding  which, 
there  is  a  fountain  by  Jericho,  that  runs 
plentifully,  and   is  very   fit   for  watering 
the  ground  :   it   arises   near  the  old  city, 
which  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  the  gene 
ral   of  the  Hebrews,  took  the  first  of  all 
the  cities  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  by  right 
of  war.     The  report  is,  that  this  fountain, 
at    the  beginning,    caused    not    only  the 
blasting  of  the  earth  and  the  trees,  but  of 
the  children  born  of  women ;  and  that  it 
was  entirely  of  a  sickly  and  corruptive  na- 
ture to  all  things  whatsoever,  but  that  it 
was  made  gentle,  and  very  wholesome  and 
fruitful,    by   the    prophet    Elisha.      This 
prophet  was  familiar  with  Elijah,  and  was 
his  successor,  who,  when  he  once  was  the 
guest  of  the  people  of  Jericho,  and  the 
men   of  the   place  had   treated   him  very 
kindly,  he  both  made  them  amends  as  well 
as  the  country,  by  a  lasting  favour;  for  he 
went  out  of  the  city  to  this  fountain,  and 
threw  into  the  current  an  earthen  vessel 
full  of  salt;  after  which,  he  stretched  out 
his    righteous    hand    unto    heaven,    and, 
pouring  out  a  mild  drink-offering,  he  made 
this  supplication,  that  the  current  might 
be  softened,  and  that  the  veins  of  fresh 
water  might  be  opened  :    that    God  also 
would  bring  into  the  place  a  more  temper- 
ate and  fertile  air  for    the  current,  and 
would   bestow    upon    the    people   of  that 
country  plenty  of  the   fruits  of  the  earth, 
and  a  succession  of  children:  and  that  this 
prolific  water  might  never  fail  them,  while 
they    continued    to    be    righteous.*       To 
these  prayers  Elisha  joined  proper  opera- 
tions of  his  hands,  after  a  skilful  manner, 
and  changed  the  fountain  ;  and  that  water, 
which   had  been   the  occasion  of  barren- 
ness and   famine   before,  from   that  time 
did  supply  a  numerous  posterity,  and  af- 
forded great   abundance    to  the  country. 
Accordingly,  the  power  of  it  is  so  great 
in  watering  the  ground,  that  if  it  do  but 
once  touch  a  country,  it  affords  a  sweeter 
nourishment  than  other  waters  do,  when 
they    lie  so  long  upon  them    till  they  are 
satiated   with   them.      For  which  reason, 
the  advantage  gained  from  other  waters, 
when  they  flow  In  great    plenty,  is  but 
small,   while  that  of  this  water  is  great 
when  it  flows  even  in  little  quantities.    Ac- 
cordingly it  waters  a  larger  space  of  ground 
than  any  other  waters  do,  and  passes  along 
a  plain  of  seventy  furlongs  long,  and  twen- 

*  This  prayer  of  Elisha  is  wanting  in  our  copies 
2  Kings  ii.  21,  22  :  it  is  referred  to  in  the  Aposto- 
lical Constitutious,  b.  vii.  c.  '61. 


Chap.  IX.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS 


785 


ty  broad ;  whereii.  it  affords  nourishment 
to  those  most  excellent  gardens  that  are 
thickly  set  with  trees  There  are  in  it 
many  sorts  of  palm-trees  that  are  watered 
by  it,  different  from  each  other  in  taste 
*nd  Dame  ;  the  better  sort  of  them,  when 
they  are  pressed,  yield  an  excellent  kind 
of  honey,  not  much  inferior  in  sweetness 
to  other  honey.  This  country  withal  pro- 
duces honey  from  bees :  it  also  bears  that 
balsam  which  is  the  most  precious  of  all 
the  fruits  in  that  place  ;  cypress-trees  also, 
and  those  that  bear  myrobalanum  ;  so  that 
he  who  should  pronounce  this  place  to  be 
divine  would  not  be  mistaken,  wherein  is 
such  plenty  of  trees  produced  as  are  very 
rare  and  of  the  most  excellent  sort.  x\nd, 
indeed,  if  we  speak  of  those  other  fruits, 
it  will  not  be  easy  to  light  on  any  climate 
in  the  habitable  earth  that  can  well  be 
compared  to  it, — what  is  here  sown  comes 
up  in  such  clusters :  the  cause  of  which 
seems  to  me  to  be  the  warmth  of  the  air 
and  the  fertility  of  the  waters  ;  the  warmth 
calling  forth  the  sprouts,  and  making  them 
spread,  and  the  moisture  making  every 
one  of  them  take  root  firmly,  and  supply- 
ing that  virtue  which  it  stands  in  need  of 
in  summer  time.  Now  this  country  is 
then  so  badly  burnt  up,  that  nobody  cares 
to* come  at  it;  and  if  the  water  be  drawn 
up  before  sunrising,  and  after  that  exposed 
to  the  air,  it  becomes  exceeding  cold,  and 
becomes  of  a  nature  quite  contrary  to  the 
ambient  air  :  as  in  winter  again  it  becomes 
warm ;  and  if  you  go  into  it,  it  appears 
very  gentle.  The  ambient  air  is  here  also 
of  so  good  a  temperature,  that  the  people 
of  the  country  are  clothed  in  linen  only, 
even  when  snow  covers  the  rest  of  Judea. 
This  place  is  150  furlongs  from  Jerusalem, 
and  60  from  Jordan.  The  country  as  far 
as  Jerusalem  is  desert  and  stony ;  but 
that  as  far  as  Jordan  and  the  lake  As- 
phaltitis  lies  lower  indeed,  though  it  be 
equally  desert  and  barren.  But  so  much 
shall  suffice  to  have  been  said  about  Jericho, 
and  of  the  great  happiness  of  its  situation. 
The  nature  of  the  lake  Asphaltitis  is 
also  worth  describing.  It  is,  as  I  have 
said  already,  bitter  and  unfruitful.  It  is 
so  light  [or  thick]  that  it  bears  up  the 
heaviest  thing3  that  are  thrown  into  it; 
nor  is  it  easy  for  any  one  to  make  things 
sink  therein  to  the  bottom,  if  he  had  a 
mind  to  do  so.  Accordingly,  when  Ves- 
pasian went  to  see  it,  he  commanded  that 
some  who  could  not  swim,  should   have 


thrown  into  the  deep,  when  it  so  happened 
that  they  all  swam,  as  if  a  wind  had  forced 
them  upward.  Moreover,  the  change  of 
the  colour  of  this  lake  is  wonderful,  for  it 
changes  its  appearance  thrice  every  day; 
and  as  the  rays  of  the  sun  fall  differently 
upon  it,  the  light  is  variously  reflected. 
However,  it  casts  up  black  clods  of  bitumen 
in  many  parts  of  it;  these  swim  at  the  top 
of  the  water,  and  resemble,  both  in  shape 
and  bigness,  headless  bulls;  and  when  the 
labourers  that  belong  to  the  lake  come  to 
it,  and  catch  hold  of  it  as  it  hangs  together, 
they  draw  it  into  their  ships ;  but  when 
the  ship  is  full,  it  is  not  easy  to  cut  off 
the  rest,  for  it  is  so  tenacious  as  to  make 
the  ship  hang  upon  its  clods  till  they  set 
it  loose  with  blood,  and  with  urine,  to 
which  alone  it  yields.  This  bitumen  is 
not  only  useful  for  the  caulking  of  ships, 
but  for  the  cure  of  men's  bodies  :  accord- 
ingly it  is  mixed  in  a  great  many  medi- 
cines. The  length  of  this  lake  is  580  fur- 
longs, where  it  is  extended  as  far  as  Zoar, 
in  Arabia;  and  its  breadth  is  150.  The 
country  of  Sodom  borders  upon  it.  It  was 
of  old  a  most  happy  land,  both  for  the 
fruits  it  bore  and  the  riches  of  its  cities, 
although  it  be  now  all  burnt  up.  It  is 
related  how,  for  the  impiety  of  its  inhabit- 
ants, it  was  burnt  by  lightning ;  in  con- 
sequence of  which  there  are  still  the 
remainders  of  that  divine  fire ;  and  the 
traces  [or  shadows]  of  the  five  cities  are 
still  to  be  seen,  as  well  as  the  ashes  grow- 
ing in  their  fruits,  which  fruits  have  a 
colour  as  if  they  were  fit  to  be  eaten ;  but 
if  you  pluck  them  with  your  hands,  they 
dissolve  into  smoke  and  ashes.  And  thus 
what  is  related  of  this  land  of  Sodom 
hath  these  marks  of  credibility  which  our 
very  sight  affords  us. 


th 


fir 


hands  tied 
50 


behind    them,   and    be 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Vespasian  makes  preparations  to  besiege  Jerusa- 
lem— Death  of  Nero — An  account  of  Simon  of 
Gerasa. 

And  now  Vespasian  had  fortified  all 
the  places  round  about  Jerusalem,  and 
erected  citadels  at  Jericho  and  Adida,  and 
placed  garrisons  in  them  both,  partly  out 
of  his  own  Romans,  and  partly  out  of  the 
body  of  his  auxiliaries.  He  also  sent 
Lucius  Annius  to  Gerasa  and  delivered  to 
him  a  body  of  horsemen  andaconsiderable 
number  of  footmen.  So  when  he  bad 
taken  the  city,  which  he  did  at  the  first 
onset,  he  slew  1000  of  those   young  men 


786 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[t»OOK  IV 


who  had  not  prevented  him  by  flying 
away;  but  he  took  their  families  captive, 
and  permitted  his  soldiers  to  plunder  them 
of  their  effects;  after  which  he  set  fire  to 
their  houses,  and  went  away  to  the  ad- 
joining villages,  while  the  men  of  power 
fled  away,  and  the  weaker  part  were  des- 
troyed, and  what  was  remaining  was  all 
burnt  down.  And  now  the  war  having 
gone  through  all  the  mountainous  country, 
and  all  the  plain  country  also,  those  that 
were  at  Jerusalem  were  deprived  of  the 
liberty  of  going  out  of  the  city  ;  for  as  to 
such  as  had  a  mind  to  desert,  they  were 
watched  by  the  Zealots ;  and  as  to  such  as 
were  not  yet  on  the  side  of  the  Romans, 
their  army  kept  them  in,  by  encompassing 
the  city  round  about  on  all  sides. 

Now  as  Vespasian  was  returned  to  Ce- 
sarea,  and  was  getting  ready  with  all  his 
army  to  march  directly  to  Jerusalem,  he 
was  informed  that  Nero  was  dead,  after 
he  had  reigned  thirteen  years  and  eight 
days.  But  as  to  any  narration  after  what 
manner  he  abused  his  power  in  the  go- 
vernment, and  committed  the  managemeut 
of  affairs  to  those  vile  wretches,  Nym- 
phidius  and  Tigellinus,  his  unworthy 
freedmen  ;  and  how  he  had  a  plot  laid 
against  him  by  them,  and  was  deserted  by 
all  his  guards,  and  ran  away  with  four  of 
his  most  trusty  freedmen,  and  slew  him- 
self in  the  suburbs  of  Rome ;  and  how 
those  that  occasioned  his  death  w,ere,  in 
no  long  time,  brought  themselves  to  punish- 
ment; how  also  the  war  in  Gall  ended; 
and  how  Galba  was  made  emperor,  and 
returned  out  of  Spain  to  Rome ;  and  how 
he  was  accused  by  the  soldiers  as  a  pusil- 
lanimous person,  and  slain  by  treachery  in 
the  middle  of  the  market-place  at  Rome, 
and  Otho  was  made  emperor ;  with  his 
expedition  against  the  commanders  of 
Vitellius,  and  his  destruction  thereupon ; 
and  besides  what  troubles  there  were  under 
Vitellius,  and  the  fight  that  was  about  the 
capitol ;  as  also  how  Antonius  Primus 
and  Mucianus  slew  Vitellius  and  his  Ger- 
man legions,  and  thereby  put  an  end  to 
that  civil  war,  I  have  omitted  to  give  an 
exact  account  of  them,  because  they  are 
well  known  by  all,  and  they  are  described 
by  a  great  number  of  Greek  and  Roman 
authors ;  yet  for  the  sake  of  the  connection 
of  matters,  and  that  my  history  may  not 
be  incoherent,  I  have  just  touched  upon 
every  thing  briefly.  Wherefore  Vespasian 
put  off  at  first  his  expedition  against  Jeru- 
salem, and  stood  waiting  whither  the  em- 


pire would  be  transferred  after  the  death 
of  Nero.  Moreover,  when  he  heard  that 
Galba  was  made  emperor,  he  attempted 
nothing  till  he  also  should  send  him  some 
directions  about  the  war  :  however,  he  sent 
his  son  Titus  to  him,  to  salute  him,  and 
to  receive  his  commands  about  the  Jews. 
Upon  the  very  same  errand  did  King 
Agrippa  sail  along  with  Titus  to  G-alba ; 
but  as  they  were  sailing  in  their  long  ships 
by  the  coasts  of  Achaia,  for  it  was  winter 
time,  they  heard  that  Galba  was  slain, 
before  they  could  get  to  him,  after  he  had 
reigned  seven  months  and  as  many  days. 
After  whom  Otho  took  the  government, 
and  undertook  the  management  of  public 
affairs.  So  Agrippa  resolved  to  go  on  to 
Rome  without  any  terror  on  account  of 
the  change  in  the  government;  but  Titus, 
by  a  divine  impulse,  sailed  back  from 
Greece  to  Syria,  and  came  in  great  haste 
to  Cesarea,  to  his  father.  And  now  they 
were  both  in  suspense  about  the  public 
affairs,  the  Roman  empire  being  then  in  a 
fluctuating  condition,  and  did  not  go  on 
with  their  expedition  against  the  Jews, 
but  thought  that  to  make  any  attack  upon 
foreigners  was  now  unseasonable  on  account 
of  the  solicitude  they  were  in  for  their  own 
country. 

And  now  there  arose  another  wan  at 
Jerusalem.  There  was  a  son  of  Giora, 
one  Simon,  by  birth  of  Gerasa,  a  young 
man,  not  so  cunning  indeed  as  John  [of 
Gischala],  who  had  already  seized  upon 
the  city,  but  superior  in  strength  of  body 
and  courage ;  on  whHh  account,  when  he 
had  been  driven  away  from  that  Acrabat- 
tene  toparchy,  which  he  once  had,  by 
Ananus  the  high  priest,  he  came  to  those 
robbers  who  had  seized  upon  Massada.  At 
first  they  suspected  him,  and  only  per- 
mitted him  to  come  with  the  women  he 
brought  with  him  into  the  lower  part  of 
the  fortress,  while  they  dwelt  in  the  upper 
part  of  it  themselves.  However,  his 
manner  so  well  agreed  with  theirs,  and  he 
seemed  so  trusty  a  man,  that  he  went  out 
with  them,  and  ravaged  and  destroyed 
the  country  with  them  about  Massada; 
yet  when  he  persuaded  them  to  undertake 
greater  things,  he  could  not  prevail  with 
j  them  so  to  do ;  for  as  they  were  accustomed 
|  to  dwell  in  that  citadel,  they  were  afraid 
!  of  going  far  from  that  which  was  their 
hiding-place  ;  but  he  affecting  to  tyrannize, 
and  being  fond  of  greatness,  when  he  had 
heard  of  the  death  of  Ananus,  left  them, 
and  went  into  the  mountainous  part  of 


JlIAP.   IX  ] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


787 


the  country.  So  he  proclaimed  liberty 
to  those  in  slavery,  and  a  reward  to  those 
already  free,  and  got  together  a  set  of 
wicked  men,  from  all  quarters. 

And  as  he  had  now  a  strong  body  of 
men  about  him,  he  overran  the  villages 
that  lay  in  the  mountainous  country,  and 
when  there  were  still  more  and  more  that 
came  to  him,  he  ventured  to  go  down  into 
the  lower  parts  of  the  country,  and  since 
.  he  had  now  become  formidable  to  the  cities, 
many  of  the  men  of  power  were  corrupted 
by  him  ;  so  that  his  army  was  no  longer 
composed  of  slaves  and  robbers,  but  a 
great  many  of  the  populace  were  obedient 
to  him  as  to  their  king.  He  then  over- 
ran ,the  Acrabattene  toparchy,  and  the 
places  that  reached  as  far  as  the  Great 
Idumea;  for  he  built  a  wall  at  a  certain 
village  called  Nain,  and  made  use  of  that 
as  a  fortress  for  his  own  party's  security ; 
and  at  the  valley  called  Paran  he  enlarged 
many  of  the  caves,  and  many  others  he 
found  ready  for  his  purpose  ;  these  he 
made  use  of  as  repositories  for  his  trea- 
sures and  receptacles  for  his  prey,  and 
therein  he  laid  up  the  fruits  that  he  had 
got  by  rapine ;  and  many  of  his  partizans 
had  their  dwelling  in  them ;  and  he  made 
no  secret  of  it  that  he  was  exercising  his 
men  beforehand,  and  making  preparations 
for  the  assualt  of  Jerusalem. 

Whereupon  the  Zealots,  out  of  the 
dread  they  were  in  of  his  attacking  them, 
and  being  willing  to  prevent  one  that  was 
growing  up  to  oppose  them,  went  out 
against  him  with  their  weapons.  Simon 
met  them,  and  joining  battle  with  them, 
slew  a  considerable  number  of  them,  and 
drove  the  rest  before  him  into  the  city  : 
but  durst  not  trust  so  much  upon  his 
forces  as  to  make  an  assault  upon  the  walls ; 
but  he  resolved  first  to  subdue  Idumea, 
and  as  he  had  now  20,000  armed  men,  he 
marched  to  the  borders  of  their  country. 
Hereupon  the  rulers  of  the  Idumeans  got 
together  on  the  sudden  the  most  warlike 
part  of  their  people,  about  25,000  in 
number,  and  permitted  the  rest  to  be  a 
guard  to  their  own  country,  by  reason  of 
the  incursions  that  were  made  by  the 
Sicarii  that  were  at  Massada.  Thus  they 
received  Simon  at  their  borders,  where 
they  fought  him,  and  continued  the  bat- 
tle all  that  day ;  and  the  dispute  lay 
whether  they  had  conquered  him  or  been 
conquered  by  him.  So  he  went  back  to 
Nain,  as  did  the  Idumeans  return  home. 
Nor  was  it  long  °re  Simon  came  violently 


again  upon  their  country ;  when  he  pitch- 
ed his  camp  at  a  certain  village  called 
Thecoe,  and  sent  Eleazar,  one  of  his  com- 
panions, to  those  that  kept  garrison  at 
Herodium,  and  in  order  to  persuade  them 
to  surrender  that  fortress  to  him.  The 
garrison  received  this  man  readily,  while 
they  knew  nothing  of  what  he  came  about; 
but  as  soon  as  he  talked  of  the  surrender 
of  the  place,  they  fell  upon  him  with  their 
drawn  swords,  till  he  found  he  had  no 
place  for  flight,  when  he  threw  himself 
down  from  the  wall  into  the  valley  beneath ; 
so  he  died  immediately  :  but  the  Idumeans, 
who  were  already  much  afraid  of  Simon's 
power,  thought  fit  to  take  a  view  of  the 
enemy's  army  before  they  hazarded  a  bat- 
tle with  him. 

Now,  there  was  one  of  their  command- 
ers, named  Jacob,  who  offered  to  serve 
them  readily  upon  that  occasion,  but  had 
it  in  his  mind  to  betray  them.  He  went, 
therefore,  from  the  village  Alurus,  where- 
in the  army  of  the  Idumeans  were  gotten 
together,  and  came  to  Simon,  and  at  the 
very  first  he  agreed  to  betray  his  country 
to  him,  and  took  assurances  upon  oath 
from  him  that  he  should  always  have  him 
in  esteem,  and  then  promised  him  that  he 
would  assist  him  in  subduing  all  Idumea 
under  him ;  upon  which  account  he  was 
feasted  after  an  obliging  manner  by  Simon, 
and  elevated  by  his  mighty  promises ;  and 
when  he  had  returned  to  his  own  men,  he 
at  first  belied  the  army  of  Simon,  and  said 
it  was  manifold  more  in  number  than  what 
it  was;  after  which,  he  dexterously  per- 
suaded the  commanders,  and  by  degrees 
the  whole  multitude,  to  receive  Simon, 
and  to  surrender  the  whole  government  up 
to  him  without  fighting  ;  and  as  he  was 
doing  this,  he  invited  Simon  by  his  mes- 
sengers, and  promised  him  to  disperse  the 
Idumeans,  which  he  performed  also;  for 
as  soon  as  their  army  was  nigh  them,  he 
first  of  all  got  upon  his  horse,  and  fled, 
together  with  those  whom  he  had  cor- 
rupted :  hereupon  a  terror  fell  upon  the 
whole  multitude;  and  before  it  came  to  a 
close  fight,  they  broke  their  ranks,  and 
every  one  retired  to  his  own  home. 

Thus  did  Simon  unexpectedly  march 
into  Idumea  without  bloodshed,  and  made 
a  sudden  attack  upon  the  city  Hebron, 
and  took  it;  wherein  he  got  possession  of 
a  great  deal  of  prey,  and  plundered  it  of 
a  vast  quantity  of  fruit.  Now,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  country  say  that  it  is  a  moro 
ancient  city,   not  only   than  any  in  thai 


788 


WARS    OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV. 


country,  but  than  Memphis  in  Egypt,  and 
accordingly  its  age  is  reckoned  at  2300 
years.  They  also  relate  that  it  had  been 
the  habitation  of  Abram,  the  progenitor 
of  the  Jews,  after  he  had  removed  out  of 
Mesopotamia ;  and  they  say  that  his  pos- 
terity descended  from  thence  into  Egypt, 
whose  monuments  are  to  this  very  time 
shown  in  that  small  city;  the  fabric  of 
which  monuments  are  of  the  most  excel- 
lent marble,  and  wrought  after  the  most 
elegant  manner.  There  is  also  there  shown, 
at  the  distance  of  six  furlongs  from  the 
city,  a  very  large  turpentine-tree ;  and  the 
report  goes  that  this  tree  has  continued 
ever  since  the  creation  of  the  world. 
Thense  did  Simon  make  his  progress  over 
all  Idumea,  and  did  not  only  ravage  the 
cities  and  villages,  but  laid  waste  the 
whole  country;  for,  besides  those  that 
were  completely  armed,  he  had  40,000 
men  that  followed  him,  insomuch  that  he 
had  not  provisions  enough  to  suffice  such 
a  multitude.  Now,  besides  this  want  of 
provisions  that  he  was  in,  he  was  of  a 
Darbarous  disposition,  and  bore  great  anger 
at  this  nation,  by  which  means  it  came  to 
pass  that  Idumea  was  greatly  depopulated; 
and  as  one  may  see  all  the  woods  behind 
despoiled  of  their  leaves  by  locusts,  after 
they  had  been  there,-  so  were  there  nothing 
left  behind  Simon's  army  but  a  desert. 
Some  places  they  burnt  down,  some  they 
utterly  demolished,  and  whatsoever  grew 
in  the  country,  they  either  trod  it' down 
or  fed  upon  it;  and  by  their  marches  they 
made  the  ground  that  was  cultivated,  hard- 
er and  more  untractable  than  that  which 
was  barren.  In  short,  there  was  no  sijm 
remaining  of  those  places  that  had  been 
laid  waste,  that  ever  they  had  had  a  being. 
This  success  of  Simon  excited  the  Zea- 
lots afresh ;  aud  though  they  were  afraid 
to  fight  him  openly  in  a  fair  battle,  yet  did 
they  lay  ambushes  in  the  passes,  aud 
seized  upon  his  wife,  with  a  considerable 
number  of  her  attendants ;  whereupon 
they  came  back  to  the  city  rejoicing,  as  if 
they  hud  taken  Simon  himself  captive, 
and  were  in  present  expectation  that  he 
would  lay  down  his  arms,  and  make  sup- 
plication to  them  for  his  wife  ;  but  instead 
of  indulging  any  merciful  affectiou,  he 
grew  very  angry  at  them  for  seizing  his 
beloved  wife;  so  he  came  to  the  wall  of 
Jerusalem,  and  like  wild  beasts  when 
they  are  wounded,  and  cannot  overtake 
those  that  wounded  them,  he  vented  his 
spleen,  upon  all  persons  that  he  met  with. 


Accordingly,  he  caught  a.  those  that  were 
come  out  of  the  city  gates,  either  to  gathei 
herbs  or  sticks,  who  were  unarmed  and  in 
years ;  he  then  tormented  them  and  de- 
stroyed them,  out  of  the  immense  rage  he 
was  in,  and  was  almost  ready  to  taste  the 
very  flesh  of  their  dead  bodies.  He  also 
cut  off  the  hands  of  a  great  many,  and 
sent  them  into  the  city  to  astonish  his 
enemies,  and  in  order  to  make  the  people 
fall  into  a  sedition,  and  desert  those 
that  had  been  the  authors  of  his  wife's 
seizure  He  also  enjoined  them  to  tell 
the  people  that  Simon  swore  by  the  God 
of  the  universe,  who  sees  all  things,  that 
unless  they  will  restore  him  his  wife,  he 
will  break  down  their  wall,  and  inflict  the 
like  punishment  upon  all  the  citizens, 
without  sparing  any  age,  and  without 
making  any  distinction  between  the  guilty 
and  the  innocent.  These  threatenings  so 
greatly  affrighted,  not  the  people  only,  but 
the  Zealots  themselves  also  that  they  sent 
his  wife  back  to  him — when  he  became  a 
little  milder,  and  left  off  his  perpetual 
blood-shedding. 

But  now  sedition  and  civil  war  prevail- 
ed, not  only  over  Judea,  but  in  Italy,  also  ; 
for  now  Galba  was  slain  in  the  midst  of 
the  lloman  market-place;  then  was  Otho 
made  emperor,  and  fought  against  Vitcl- 
lius,  who  set  up  for  emperor  also  ;  for  the 
legious  in  Germany  had  chosen  him  :  but 
when  he  gave  battle  to  Valens  and  Cecin- 
na,  who  were  Vitellius's  generals,  at  Be- 
triacuin,  in  Gall,  Otho  gained  the  advan- 
tage on  the  first  day ;  but  on  the  second 
day  Vitellius's  soldiers  had  the  victory  ; 
and  after  much  slaughter,  Otho  slew  him- 
self, when  he  had  heard  of  this  defeat  at 
Brixia,  and  after  he  had  mauaged  the  pub- 
lic affairs  three  months  aud  two  days. 
Otho's  army  also  came  over  to  Vitellius's 
generals,  and  he  came  himself  down  to 
Rome  with  his  army  ;  but  in  the  mean 
time  Vespasian  removed  from  Cesarea,  on 
the  fifth  day  of  the  month  Daesius  [Sivan], 
aud  marched  against  those  places  of  Judea 
which  were  not  yet  overthrown.  So  he 
went  up  to  the  mountainous  country,  and 
took  those  two  toparchies  that  were  called 
the  Gophnitiek  and  Acrabattene  toparchies. 
After  which  he  took  Bethel  and  Ephraim, 
two  small  cities;  and  when  he  had  put 
garrisons  into  them,  he  rode  as  far  as  Je- 
rusalem, in  which  march  he  took  many 
prisoners,  and  many  captives.  But  Cerea- 
lis,  one  of  his  commanders,  took  a  body 
of  horsemen  and  footmen,  and  laid  wast* 


UI1AP.  lA.j 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


789 


that  part  of  Idumea  which  was  called  the 
Upper  Iduinea,  and  attacked  Caphethra, 
which  pretended  to  be  a  small  city,  and 
took  it  at  the  first  onset,  and  burnt  it 
down.  He  also  attacked  Capharabim,  and 
laid  siege  to  it,  for  it  had  a  very  strong 
wall ;  and  when  he  expected  to  spend  a 
long  time  in  that  siege,  those  that  were 
within  opened  their  gates  on  the  sudden, 
and  came  to  beg  pardon,  and  surrendered 
themselves  up  to  him.  When  Cerealis 
had  conquered  them,  he  went  to  Hebron, 
another  very  ancient  city.  I  have  told 
you  already  that  this  city  is  situated  in 
a  mountainous  country  not  far  off  Jeru- 
salem ;  and  when  he  had  broken  into  the 
city  by  force,  what  multitude  and  young 
men  were  left  therein  he  slew,  and  burnt 
down  the  city ;  so  that  as  now  all  the  places 
were  taken,  excepting  Herodium,  and 
Massada,  and  Macherus,  which  were  in 
the  possession  of*  the  robbers,  so  Jerusa- 
lem was  what  the  Romans  at  present 
aimed  at. 

And  now,  as  soon  as  Simon  had  set  his 
wife  free,  and  recovered  her  from  the  Zea- 
lots, he  returned  back  to  the  remainders 
of  Idumea,  and  driving  the  nation  all  be- 
fore him  from  all  quarters,  he  compelled  a 
great  number  of  them  to  retire  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  he  followed  them  himself  also  to 
the  city  ;  and  encompassed  the  wall  all 
ound  again;  and  when  he  lighted  upon 
any  labourers  that  were  coming  thither  out 
of  the  country,  he  slew  them.  Now  this 
Simon,  who  was  without  the  wall,  was  a 
greater  terror  to  the  people  than  the  Ro- 
mans themselves,  as  were  the  Zealots  who 
were  within  it  more  heavy  upon  them  than 
both  of  the  others;  and  during  this  time  did 
the  mischievous  contrivances  and  courage 
[of  John]  corrupt  the  body  of  the  Galile- 
ans ;  for  these  Galileans  had  advanced  this 
John  and  made  him  very  potent,  who 
made  them  a  suitable  requital  from  the 
authority  he  had  obtained  by  their  means; 
for  he  permitted  them  to  do  all  things  that 
any  of  them  desired  to  do,  while  their  in- 
clination to  plunder  was  insatiable,  as  was 
their  zeal  in  searching  the  houses  of  the 
rich  ;  and  for  the  murdering  of  the  men, 
and  abusing  of  the  women,  it  was  sport 
to  them.  They  also  devoured  what  spoils 
tiny  had  taken,  together  with  their  blood, 
and  indulged  themselves  in  feminine  wan- 
tonness, without  any  disturbance,  till  they 
were  satiated  therewith ;  while  they  decked 
their  hair,  and  put  on  women's  garments, 
and  were  besmeared  over  with  ointments ; 


and  that  they  might  appear  very  comely, 
they  had  paints  under  their  eyes,  and  imi- 
tated, not  only  the  ornaments,  but  also 
the  lusts  of  women,  and  were  guilty  of 
such  intolerable  uncleanness,  that  they 
invented  unlawful  pleasures  of  that  sort. 
And  thus  did  they  roll  themselves  up  and 
down  the  city,  as  in  a  brothel-house,  and 
defiled  it  entirely  with  their  impure  actions; 
nay,  while  their  faces  looked  the  faces  of 
women,  they  killed  with  their  right  hands : 
and  when  their  gait  was  effeminate,  they 
presently  attacked  men,  and  became  war- 
riors, and  drew  their  swords  from  under 
their  finely  dyed  cloaks,  and  ran  every- 
body through  whom  they  alighted  upon. 
However,  Simon  waited  for  such  as  ran 
away  from  John,  and  was  the  more  bloody 
of  the  two ;  and  he  who  had  escaped  the 
tyrant  within  the  wall,  was  destroyed  by 
the  other  that  lay  before  the  gates.  So 
that  all  attempts  of  flying  and  deserting 
to  the  Romans  were  cut  off,  if  any  had  a 
mind  so  to  do. 

Yet  did  the  army  that  was  under  John 
raise  a  sedition  against  him ;  and  all  the 
Idumeans  separated  themselves  from  the 
tyrant,  and  attempted  to  destroy  him,  and 
this  out  of  their  envy  at  his  power  and 
hatred  of  his  cruelty  ;  so  they  got  to- 
gether, and  slew  many  of  the  Zealots,  and 
drove  the  rest  before  them  into  that  royal 
palace  that  was  built  by  Grapte,  who  was 
a  relation  of  Izates,  the  king  of  Adiabene  ; 
the  Idumeans  fell  in  with  them,  and  drove 
the  Zealots  out  thence  into  the  temple, 
and  betook  themselves  to  plunder  John's 
effects;  for  both  he  himself  was  in  that 
palace,  and  therein  had  he  laid  up  the 
spoils  he  had  acquired  by  his  tyranny.  In 
the  mean  time  the  multitude  of  those 
Zealots  that  were  dispersed  over  the  city, 
ran  together  to  the  temple  under  those 
that  had  fled  thither,  and  John  prepared 
to  bring  them  down  against  the  people  and 
the  Idumeans,  who  were  not  so  much 
afraid  of  being  attacked  by  them  (because 
they  were  themselves  better  soldiers  than 
they)  as  at  their  madness,  lest  they  should 
privately  sally  out  of  the  temple,  and  get 
among  them,  and  not  only  destroy  them, 
but  set  the  city  on  fire  also.  So  they  as- 
sembled themselves  together,  and  the  high 
priests  with  them,  and  took  counsel  after 
what  manner  they  should  avoid  their  as- 
sault. Now  it  was  God  who  turned  their 
opinions  to  the  worst  advice,  and  thence 
they  devised  such  a  remedy  to  get  them- 
selves free,  as  was  worse  than  the  disease 


790 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS 


itself.  Accordingly,  in  order  to  overthrow 
John,  they  determined  to  admit  Simon, 
and  earnestly  to  desire  the  introduction 
of  a  second  tyrant  into  the  city ;  which 
resolution  they  brought  to  perfection,  and 
Bent  Matthias,  the  high  priest,  to  beseech 
this  Simon  to  come  into  them,  of  whom 
they  had  so  often  been  afraid.  Those  also 
that  had  fled  from  the  Zealots  in  Jerusa- 
lem joined  in  this  request  to  him,  out  of 
the  desire  they  had  of  preserving  their 
houses  and  their  effects.  Accordingly, 
he,  in  an  arrogant  manner,  granted  them 
his  lordly  protection,  and  came  into  the 
city,  in  order  to  deliver  it  from  the  Zea- 
lots. The  people  also  made  joyful  accla- 
mations to  him,  as  their  saviour  and  their 
preserver ;  but  when  he  was  come  in,  with 
his  army,  he  took  care  to  secure  his  own 
authority,  and  looked  upon  those  that  had 
invited  him  to  be  no  less  his  enemies  than 
those  against  whom  the  invitation  was  in- 
tended. 

And  thus  did  Simon  get  possession  of 
Jerusalem,  in  the  third  year  of  the  war, 
in  the  month  Xanthicus  [Nisan] ;  where- 
upon John,  with  his  multitude  of  Zealots, 
as  being  both  prohibited  from  coming  out 
of  the  temple,  and  having  lost  their  pow- 
er in  the  city,  (for  Simon  and  his  party 
had  plundered  them  of  what  they  had,) 
were  in  despair  of  deliverance.  Simon 
also  made  an  assault  upon  the  temple, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  people,  while 
the  others  stood  upon  the  cloisters  and  the 
battlements,  and  defended  themselves  from 
their  assaults.  However,  a  considerable 
number  of  Simon's  party  fell,  and  many 
were  carried  off  wounded ;  for  the  Zealots 
threw  their  darts  easily  from  a  superior 
place,  and  seldom  failed  of  hitting  their 
enemies ;  but  having  the  advantage  of 
situation,  and  having  withal  erected  four 
very  large  towers  beforehand,  that  their 
darts  might  come  from  higher  places,  one 
at  the  north-east  corner  of  the  court,  one 
above  the  Xystus,  the  third  at  another 
corner  over  against  the  lower  city,  and  the 
last  was  erected  above  the  top  of  the 
Pastophoria,  where  one  of  the  priests  stood 
of  course,  and  gave  a  signal  beforehand 
with  a  trumpet,*  at  the  beginning  of  every 
seventh  day,  in  the  evening  twilight,  as 
also  at   the  evening   when   the   day    was 

*  This  beginning  and  ending  the  observation  of 
the  Jewish  seventh  day,  or  Sabbath,  with  a  priest's 
Mowing  of  a  trumpet,  is  remarkable.  Nor  is  Re- 
iand's  conjecture  improbable,  that  this  was  the 
very  place- that- has  puzzled  our  commentators  so 


[Book  IV 

finished,  as  giving  notice  to  the  people 
when  they  were  to  leave  off  work,  and 
when  they  were  to  go  to  work  again.  These 
men  also  set  their  engines  to  cast  dart? 
and  stones  withal,  upon  those  towers,  with 
their  archers  and  slingers.  And  now  Si- 
mon made  his  assault  upon  the  temple 
more  faintly,  by  reason  that  the  greatest 
part  of  his  men  grew  weary  of  that  work  j 
yet  did  he  not  leave  off  his  opposition, 
because  his  army  was  superior  to  the 
others,  although  the  darts  which  were 
thrown  by  the  engines  were  carried  a 
great  way,  and  slew  many  of  those  that 
fought  for  him. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Vespasian  proclaimed  emperor  by  the  soldiers  in 
Judea  and  Egypt — He  liberates  Josephus. 

Now,  about  this  very  time  it  was  that; 
heavy  calamities  came  about  Rome  on  all 
sides;  for  Vitellius  was  come  from  Ger- 
many with  his  soldiery,  and  drew  along 
with  him  a  great  multitude  of  other  men 
besides.  And  when  the  spaces  allotted  for 
soldiers  could  not  contain  them,  he  made 
all  Rome  itself  his  camp,  and  filled  all  the 
houses  with  armed  men;  which  men,  when 
they  saw  the  riches  of  Rome  with  those 
eyes  which  had  never  seen  such  riches  be- 
fore, and  found  themselves  shine  round 
about  on  all  sides  with  silver  and  gold, 
they  had  much  ado  to  contain  their  covet- 
ous desires,  and  were  ready  to  betake 
themselves  to  plunder,  and  to  the  slaugh- 
ter of  such  as  should  stand  in  their  way. 
And  this  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  Italy 
at  that  time. 

But  when  Vespasian  had  overthrown 
all  the  places  that  were  near  to  Jerusa- 
lem, he  returned  to  Cesarea,  and  heard 
of  the  troubles  that  were  at  Rome,  and 
that  Vitellius  was  emperor.  This  pro- 
duced indignation  in  him,  although  he 
well  knew  how  to  be  governed,  as  well  as 
to  govern,  and  could  not  with  any  satis- 
faction own  him  for  his  lord  who  acted  so 
madly,  and  seized  upon  the  government 
as  if  it  were  absolutely  destitute  of  a 
governor.  And  as  this  sorrow  of  his  was 
violent,  he  was  not  able  to  support  the 
torments  he  was  under,  nor  to  apply  him- 
self further  in  other  wars  when  his  native 

long,  called  "  Musach  Sabbati,"  the  "  Covert  of  the 
Sabbath,"  if  that  be  the  true  reading,  2  Kings  xvi 
18  ;  because  here  the  proper  priest  stood  dry,  undw 
a  "  covering,"  to  proclaim  the  beginning  and  endinfl 
of  every  Jewish  Sabbath. 


Chap  X.j 


vVARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


7yi 


country  was  laid  waste ;  but  then,  as 
much  as  his  passion  excited  him  to  avenge 
his  country,  so  much  was  he  restrained 
by  the  consideration  of  his  distauce  there- 
from ;  because  fortune  might  prevent  him, 
and  do  a  world  of  mischief  before  he  could 
himself  sail  over  the  sea  to  Italy,  espe- 
cially as  it  was  still  the  winter  season ;  so 
he  restrained  his  anger,  how  vehement 
soever  it  was,  at  this  time. 

But  now  his  commanders  and  soldiers 
met  in  several  companies,  and  consulted 
openly  about  changing  the  public  affairs; 
and,  out  of  their  indignation,  cried  out,  how 
"  at  Rome  there  are  soldiers  that  live  deli- 
cately, and  when  they  have  not  ventured 
so  much  as  to  hear  the  fame  of  war,  they 
ordain  whom  they  please  for  our  governors, 
and  in  hopes  of  gain  make  them  empe- 
rors ;  while  you,  who  have  gone  through 
so  many  labours,  and  are  grown  into  years 
under  your  helmets,  give  leave  to  others 
to  use  such  a  power,  when  yet  you  have 
among  yourselves  one  more  worthy  to  rule 
than  any  whom  they  have  set  up.  Now 
what  more  just  opportunity  shall  they 
ever  have  of  requiting  their  generals,  if 
they  do  not  make  use  of  this  that  is  now 
before  them  ?  While  there  is  so  much 
more  just  reason  for  Vespasian's  being 
emperor  than  for  Vitellius ;  as  they  are 
themselves  more  deserving  than  those  that 
made  the  other  emperors  ;  for  that  they 
have  undergone  as  great  wars  as  have  the 
troops  that  come  from  Germany;  nor  are 
they  inferior  in  war  to  those  that  have 
brought  that  tyrant  to  Rome ;  nor  have 
they  undergone  smaller  labours  than  they ; 
for  that  neither  will  the  Roman  senate 
nor  people  bear  such  a  lascivious  em- 
peror as  Vitellius,  if  he  be  compared  with 
their  chaste  Vespasian ;  nor  will  they 
endure  a  most  barbarous  tyrant,  instead 
of  a  good  governor,  nor  choose  one  that 
hath  no  child,  to  preside  over  them,  in- 
stead of  him  that  is  a  father;  because  the 
advancement  of  men's  own  children  to 
dignities  is  certainly  the  greatest  security 
kings  can  have  for  themselves.  Whether, 
therefore,  we  estimate  the  capacity  of  go- 
verning from  the  skill  of  a  person  in 
years,  we  ought  to  have  Vespasian, — or 
whether  from  the  strength  of  a  young 
man,  we  ought  to  have  Titus  ;  for  by  this 
means  we  shall  have  the  advantage  of 
both  their  ages,  for  that  they  will  afford 
strength  to  those  that  shall  be  made  em- 
perors, they  having  already  three  legions, 
besides  other  auxiliaries  from  the  neigh- 


bouring kings,  and  will  have  fuither  all 
the  armies  in  the  East  to  support  them,  as 
also  those  in  Europe,  so  far  as  they  are 
out  of  the  distance  and  dread  of  Vitellius, 
besides  such  auxiliaries  as  they  may  have 
in  Italy  itself :  that  is,  Vespasian's  brother, 
and  his  other  son  [Domitian];  the  one  of 
whom  will  bring  iu  a  great  many  of  those 
young  men  that  are  of  dignity,  while  the 
other  is  intrusted  with  the  government 
of  the  city,  which  office  of  his  will  be  no 
small  means  of  Vespasian's  obtaining  the 
government.  Upon  the  whole,  the  case 
may  be  such,  that  if  we  ourselves  make 
further  delays,  the  senate  may  choose  an 
emperor,  whom  the  soldiers,  who  are  the 
saviours  of  the  empire,  will  have  in 
contempt. " 

These  were  the  discourses  the  soldiers 
had  in  their  several  companies;  after 
which  they  got  together  in  a  great  body, 
and,  encouraging  one  another,  they  de- 
clared Vespasian  emperor,  and  exhorted 
him  to  save  the  government  which  was 
now  in  danger.  Now  Vespasian's  con- 
cern had  been  for  a  considerable  time 
about  the  public,  yet  did  not  he  intend  to 
set  up  for  governor  himself,  though  his 
actions  showed  him  to  deserve  it,  while  he 
preferred  that  safety  which  is  in  a  private 
life  before  the  dangers  in  a  state  of  such 
dignity;  but  when  he  refused  the  empire, 
the  commanders  insisted  the  more  earnestly 
upon  his  acceptance;  and  the  soldiers  came 
about  him,  with  their  drawn  swords  in 
their  hands,  and  threatened  to  kill  him, 
unless  he  would  now  live  according  to  his 
dignity.  And  when  he  had  shown  his 
reluctance  a  great  while,  and  had  endea- 
voured to  thrust  away  this  dominion  from 
him,  he  at  length,  being  not  able  to  per- 
suade them,  yielded  to  their  solicitations 
that  would  salute  him  emperor. 

So  upon  the  exhortations  of  Mucianus 
and  the  other  commanders,  that  he  would 
accept  of  the  empire,  and  upon  that  of 
the  rest  of  the  army,  who  cried  out  thar 
they  were  willing  to  be  led  against  all  his 
opposers,  he  was  in  the  first  place  intent 
upon  gaining  the  dominion  over  Alexan- 
dria, as  knowing  that  Egypt  was  of  the 
greatest  consequence,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  entire  government,  because  of  its  sup- 
plying corn  [to  Rome];  which  corn,  if 
he  could  be  master  of,  he  hoped  to  de- 
throne Vitellius,  supposing  he  should  aim 
to  keep  the  empire  by  force;  (for  he  would 
not  be  able  to  support  himself,  if  the 
multitude    at   Rome   should    once    be   in 


/92 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[JiOOE.  V 


want  of  food;)  and  because  he  was  desirous 
to  join  the  two  legions  that  were  at 
Alexandria  to  the  other  legions  that  were 
with  him.  He  also  considered  with  him- 
self, that  he  should  then  have  that  coun- 
try for  a  defence  to  himself  against  the 
uncertainty  of  fortune  ;  for  Egypt  is  hard 
to  be  entered  by  land,  and  hath  no  good 
havens  by  sea.  It  hath  on  the  west  the 
dry  deserts  of  Libya;  and  on  the  south 
Syene,  that  divides  it  from  Ethiopia,  as 
well  as  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile,  that 
cannot  be  sailed  over ;  and  on  the  east  the 
Rod  Sea,  extending  as  far  as  Coptus ;  and 
it  is  fortified  on  the  north  by  the  land 
that  reaches  to  Syria,  together  with  that 
called  the  Egyptian  Sea,  having  no  havens 
in  it  for  ships.  And  thus  is  Egypt  walled 
about  on  every  side.  Its  length  betweeu 
Pelusium  and  Syene  is  2000  furlongs, 
and  the  passage  by  sea  from  Pliu thine  to 
Pelusium  is  3600  furlongs.  Its  river 
Nile  is  navigable  as  far  as  the  city  called 
Elephantine,  the  forenamed  cataracts  hin- 
dering ships  from  going  any  farther.  The 
haven  also  of  Alexandria  is  not  entered 
by  the  mariners  without  difficulty,  even  in 
times  of  peace ;  for  the  passage  inward  is 
narrow,  aud  full  of  rocks,  that  lie  under 
the  water,  which  oblige  the  mariners  to 
turn  from  a  straight  direction  :  its  left  side 
is  blocked  up  by  works  made  by  men's 
hands  on  both  sides;  on  its  right  side 
lies  the  island  called  Pharos,  which  is 
situated  just  before  the  entrance,  and  sup- 
ports a  very  great  tower,  that  affords  the 
sight  of  a  fire  to  such  as  sail  withiu  oOU 
furlongs  of  it,  that  ships  may  cast  anchor 
a  great  way  off  in  the  night  time,  by 
reason  of  the  difficulty  of  sailing  nearer. 
About  this  island  are  built  very  great 
piers,  the  handiwork  of  men,  against 
which  when  the  sea  dashes  itself,  and  its 
waves  are  broken  against  those  bounda- 
ries, the  navigation  becomes  very  trouble- 
some, and  the  entrance  through  so  narrow 
a  passage  is  rendered  dangerous  :  yet  is 
the  haven  itself,  when  you  are  got  into  it, 
a  very  safe  one,  and  of  thirty  furlongs  in 
largeness;  into  which  is  brought  what  the 
country  wants,  in  order  to  its  happiness; 
as  also  what  abundance  the  country  affords 
more  than  it  wants  itself,  is  hence  dis- 
tributed into  all  the  habitable  earth. 

Justly,  therefore,  did  Vespasian  desire 
to  obtain  that  government,  in  order  to 
corroborate  his  attempts  upon  the  whole 
of  the  empire;  so  he  immediately  sent 
to    Tiberius    Alexander,    who    was    then 


governor  of  Egvpt  and  of  Alexandria, 
and  informed  him  what  the  army  had  put 
upon  him,  and  how  he,  being  forced  to 
accept  of  the  burden  of  the  government, 
was  desirous  to  have  him  for  his  con- 
federate and  supporter.  Now  as  soon  as 
ever  Alexander  had  read  this  letter,  ho 
readily  obliged  the  legions  and  the  multi 
tude  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  Yes 
pasian,  both  of  whom  willingly  complied 
with  him,  as  already  acquainted  with  the 
courage  of  the  man,  from  his  conduct  in 
their  neighbourhood.  Accordingly,  Ves- 
pasian, looking  upon  himself  as  alread) 
intrusted  with  the  government,  got  all 
things  ready  for  his  journey  [to  Rome]. 
Now  fame  carried  this  news  abroad  more 
suddenly  than  one  could  have  thought, 
that  he  was  emperor  over  the  East,  upon 
which  every  city  kept  festivals,  and  ce- 
lebrated sacrifices  and  oblations  for  such 
good  news ;  the  legions  also  that  were  in 
Mysia  and  Pannonia,  who  had  been  in 
commotion  a  little  before,  on  account  of 
this  insolent  attempt  of  Vitellius,  were 
very  glad  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to 
Vespasian,  upon  his  coming  to  the  empire. 
Vespasian  then  removed  from  Cesarea  to 
Berytus,  where  many  embassages  came 
to  him  from  Syria,  and  many  from  other 
provinces,  bringing  with  them  from  every 
city  crowns,  and  the  congratulations  of  the 
people.  Mucianus  came  also,  who  was 
t Lie  president  of  the  province,  and  told 
him  with  what  alacrity  the  people  [received 
the  news  of  his  advancement],  aud  hew 
the  people  of  every  city  had  taken  the 
oath  of  fidelity  to  him. 

So  Vespasian's  good  fortune  succeeded 
to  his  wishes  everywhere,  and  the  public 
affairs  were,  for  the  greatest  part,  already 
in  his  hands;  upon  which  he  considered 
that  he  had  not  arrived  at  the  government 
without  Divine  Provid  nee,  but  that  a 
righteous  kind  of  fate  had  brought  the 
empire  under  his  power;  for  as  he  calico 
to  mind  the  other  signals  (which  had  been 
a  great  many  everywhere)  that  foretold 
he  should  obtain  the  government,  so  did 
he  remember  what  Josephus  had  said  to 
him  when  he  ventured  to  foretell  his 
coming  to  the  empire  while  Nero  was 
alive ;  so  he  was  much  concerned  that 
this  man  was  still  in  bonds  with  hira.  He 
then  called  for  Mucianus,  together  with 
his  other  commanders  and  friends,  and, 
in  the  first  place,  he  informed  them  what 
a  valiant  man  Josephus  had  been,  and 
what  great  hardships  he  had   made   hiir 


Chaf   XL] 


WARS   Ob'    THE   JEWS. 


793 


undergo  in  the  siege  of  Jotapata.  After 
that  he  related  those  predictions  of  his,* 
which  he  had  then  suspected  as  fictions, 
suggested  out  of  the  fear  he  was  in,  but 
which  had  by  time  been  demonstrated  to 
be  divine.  "It  is  a  shameful  thing  (said 
he)  that  this  man,  who  hath  foretold  my 
coming  to  the  empire  beforehand,  and 
been  the  minister  of  a  divine  message  to 
me,  should  still  be  retained  in  the  con- 
dition of  a  captive  or  prisoner."  So  he 
called  for  Josephus,  and  commanded  that 
he  should  be  set  at  liberty ;  whereupon 
the  commanders  promised  themselves  glo- 
rious things,  from  this  requital  Vespasian 
made  to  a  stranger.  Titus  was  then  present 
with  his  father,  and  said,  "  0  father,  it  is 
but  just  that  the  scandal  [of  a  prisoner] 
should  be  taken  off  Josephus,  together 
with  his  iron  chain;  for  if  we  do  not 
barely  loose  his  bonds,  but  cut  them  to 
pieces,  he  will  be  like  a  man  that  hath 
never  been  bound  at  all."  For  that  is 
the  usual  method  as  to  such  as  have  been 
bound  without  a  cause.  This  advice  was 
agreed  to  by  Vespasian  also ;  so  there 
came  a  man  in,  and  cut  the  chain  to 
pieces ;  while  Josephus  received  this  testi- 
mony of  his  integrity  for  a  reward,  and 
was  moreover  esteemed  a  person  of  credit 
as  to  futurities  also. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Upon  the  conquest  and  slaughter  of  Vitellius,  Ves- 
pasian hastens  to  Rome,  and  Titus  returns  to 
Jerusalem.  - 

And  now,  when  Vespasian  had  given 
answers  to  the  embassages,  and  had  dis- 
posed of  the  places  of  power  justly,f  and 
according  to  every  one's  deserts,  he  came 
to  Antioch,  and  consulting  which  way  he 
had  best  take,  he  preferred  to  go  to  Home, 
rather  than  to  march  to  Alexandria,  be- 

*  As  Daniel  was  preferred  by  Darius  and  Cyrus, 
on  account  of  his  having  foretold  the  destruction 
of  the  Babylonian  monarchy  by  their  means,  and 
the  consequent  exaltation  of  the  Medes  and  Per- 
|ian8,  Dan.  v.  vi. ;  or  rather,  as  Jeremiah,  when  he 
was  a  prisoner,  was  set  at  liberty  and  honourably 
treated  by  Nebuzaradan,  at  the  command  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, on  account  of  his  having  foretold  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians,  Jer. 
xl.  1-7  _:  so  was  our  Josephus  set  at  liberty  and 
honourably  treated,  on  account  of  his  having  fore- 
told the  advancement  of  Vespasian  and  Titus  to 
the  Roman  empire. 

f  This  is  well  observed  by  Josephus,  that  Ves- 
pasian, in  order  to  secure  his  success,  and  establish 
his  government  at  first,  distributed  his  offices  and 
places  upot  the  foot  of  justice,  and  bestowed  them 
on  such  as  best  deserved  them  and  were  best  fit 
for  them. 


j  cause  he  ssw  that  Alexandria  was  sure 
to  him  already,  but  that  the  affairs  of 
Rome  were  put  into  disorder  by  Vitellius  : 
so  he  sent  Mucianus  to  Italy,  and  com- 
mitted a  considerable  army  both  of  horse- 
men and  footmen  to  him ;  yet  was  Muci- 
anus afraid  of  going  by  sea,  because  it 
was  the  middle  of  winter ;  so  he  led  his 
army  on  foot  through  Cappadocia  and 
Phrygia. 

In  the  mean  time,  Antonius  Primus  took 
the  third  of  the  legions  that  were  in  My- 
sia,  for  he  was  president  of  that  province, 
and  made  haste,  in  order  to  fight  Vitellius  j 
whereupon  Vitellius  sent  away  Cecinna, 
with  a  great  army,  having  a  mighty  con- 
fidence in  him,  because  of  his  having 
beaten  Otho.  This  Cecinna  marched  out 
of  Rome  in  great  haste,  and  found  Anto- 
nius about  Cremona  in  Gall,  which  city  is 
in  the  borders  of  Italy;  but  when  he  saw 
there  that  the  enemy  were  numerous  and 
in  good  order,  he  durst  not  fight  them  ;  and 
as  he  thought  a  retreat  dangerous,  so  he 
began  to  think  of  betraying  his  army  tu 
Antonius.  Accordingly,  he  assembled  the 
centurions  and  tribunes  that  were  under 
his  command,  and  persuaded  them  to  go 
over  to  Antonius,  and  this  by  diminishing 
the  reputation  of  Vitellius,  and  by  exag- 
gerating the  power  of  Vespasiau.  He 
also  told  them  that  with  the  one  there 
was  no  more  than  the  bare  name  of  do- 
minion, but  with  the  other  was  the  power 
of  it;  and  that  it  was  better  for  them  to 
prevent  necessity,  and  gain  favour,  and, 
while  they  were  likely  to  be  overcome  in 
battle,  to  avoid  the  danger  beforehand,  and 
go  over  to  Antonius  willingly;  that  Ves- 
pasian was  able  of  himself  to  subdue  what 
had  not  yet  submitted,  without  their  as- 
sistance, while  Vitellius  could  not  preserve 
what  he  had  already  with  it. 

Cecinna  said  this,  and  much  more  to 
the  same  purpose,  and  persuaded  them  to 
comply  with  him;  and  both  he  and  his 
army  deserted ;  but  still  the  very  same 
night  the  soldiers  repented  of  what  they 
had  done,  and  a  fear  seized  on  them  lest 
perhaps  Vitellius  who  sent  them  should 
get  the  better;  and  drawing  their  swords, 
they  assaulted  Cecinna,  in  order  to  kill 
him ;  and  the  thing  had  been  done  by 
them,  if  the  tribunes  had  not  fallen  upon 
their  knees,  and  besought  them  not  to  do 
it:  so  the  soldiers  did  not  kill  him,  but 
put  him  in  bonds  as  a  traitor,  and  were 
about  to  wSend  him  to  Vitellius.  When 
[Antonius]     Primus     heard   of   this,    he 


/94 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  IV.  Chap.  XI 


raised  up  his  men  immediately,  and  made 
them  put  on  their  armour,  and  led  them 
against  those  that  had  revolted;  hereupon 
they  put  themselves  in  order  of  battle, 
and  nade  resistance  for  a  while,  but  were 
soon  beaten,  and  fled  to  Cremona;  then 
did  Primus  take  his  horsemen,  and  cut  off 
their  entrance  into  the  city,  and  encom- 
passed and  destroyed  a  great  multitude 
of  them  before  the  city,  and  fell  into  the 
city  together  with  the  rest,  and  gave  leave 
to  his  soldiers  to  plunder  it.  And  here 
it  was  that  many  strangers,  who  were  mer- 
chants, as  well  as  many  of  the  people  of 
that  country,  perished,  and  among  them 
Vitellius's  whole  army,  being  30,200, 
while  Antoniuslost  no  more  of  those  that 
came  with  him  from  Mysia  than  4500 ; 
he  then  loosed  Cccinna,  and  sent  him  to 
Vespasian  to  tell  him  the  good  news.  So 
he  came,  and  was  received  by  him  ;  and 
covered  the  scandal  of  his  treachery  by 
the  unexpected  honours  he  received  from 
Vespasian. 

And  now,  upon  the  news  that  Antonius 
was  approaching,  Sabinus  took  courage  at 
Rome,  and  assembled  those  cohorts  of 
soldiers  that  kept  watch  by  night,  and  in 
the  night-time  seized  upon  the  capitol; 
and,  as  the  day  came  on,  many  men  of 
character  came  over  to  him,  with  Domi- 
tian,  his  brother's  son,  whose  encourage- 
ment was  of  very  great  weight  for  the  en- 
compassing the  government.  Now,  Vi- 
tellius  was  not  much  concerned  at  this 
Primus,  but  was  very  angry  with  those 
that  had  revolted  with  Sabinus;  and  thirst- 
ing, out  of  his  natural  barbarity,  after 
noble  blood,  he  sent  out  that  part  of  the 
army  which  came  along  with  him  to  fight 
against  the  capitol ;  and  many  bold  actions 
were  done  on  this  side,  and  on  the  side  of 
those  that  held  the  temple.  But  at  last, 
the  soldiers  that  came  from  Germany, 
being  too  numerous  for  the  others,  got  the 
hill  into  their  possession,  where  Domitian, 
with  many  other  of  the  principal  Romans, 
providentially  escaped,  while  the  rest  of 
the  multitude  were  entirely  cut  to  pieces, 
and  Sabinus  himself  was  brought  to  Vi- 
tellius  and  then  slain  :  the  soldiers  also 
plundered  the  temple  of  its  ornaments, 
and  set  it  on  fire.  But  now,  within  a 
day's  time  came  Antonius,  with  his  army, 
and  were  met  by  Vitellius  and  his  army  ; 
and  having  had  a  battle  in  three  several 
places,  the  last  were  all  destroyed.  Then 
did  Vitellius  come  out  of  the  palace,  in 
hi9  cups,  and  satiated  with  an  extravagant 


and  luxurious  meal,  as  in  the  last  extremi 
ty,  and  being  drawn  along  through  the 
multitude,  and  abused  with  all  sorts  of  tor- 
ments, had  his  head  cut  off  in  the  midst 
of  Rome,  having  retained  the  government 
eight  months  and  five  days ;  and  had  hi 
lived  much  longer,  I  cannot  but  think  the 
empire  would  not  have  been  sufficient  for 
his  lust.  Of  the  others  that  were  slain, 
were  numbered  above  50,000.  This  bat- 
tle was  fought  on  the  third  day  of  the 
month  Apelleus  [Casleu];  on  the  next 
Mucianus  came  into  the  city  with  his  army, 
and  ordered  Antonius  and  his  men  to  leave 
off  killing ;  for  they  were  still  searching 
the  houses,  and  killed  many  of  Vitellius's 
soldiers  and  many  of  the  populace,  as  sup- 
posing them  to  be  of  his  party,  preventing 
by  their  rage  any  accurate  distinction  be- 
tween them  and  others.  He  then  pro- 
duced Domitian,  and  recommended  him  to 
the  multitude,  until  his  father  should  come 
himself:  so  the  people  being  now  freed 
from  their  fears,  made  acclamations  of  joy 
for  Vespasian,  as  for  their  emperor,  and 
kept  festival-days  for  his  confirmation,  and 
for  the  destruction  of  Vitellius. 

And  now,  as  Vespasian  was  come  to 
Alexandria,  this  good  news  came  from 
Ro'me,  and  at  the  same  time  came  embas- 
sies from  all  his  own  habitable  earth,  to 
congratulate  him  upon  his  advancement; 
and  though  this  Alexandria  was  the  great- 
est of  all  cities  next  to  Rome,  it  proved 
too  narrow  to  contain  the  multitude  that 
then  came  to  it.  So  upon  this  confirma- 
tion of  Vespasian's  entire  government, 
which  was  now  settled,  and  upon  the  un- 
expected deliverance  of  the  public  affairs 
of  the  Romans  from  ruin,  Vespasian 
turned  his  thoughts  to  what  remained  un- 
subdued in  Judea.  However,  he  himself 
made  haste  to  go  to  Rome,  as  the  winter 
was  now  almost  over,  and  soon  set  the  af- 
fairs of  Alexandria  in  order,  but  sent  his 
son  Titus,  with  a  select  part  of  his  army, 
to  destroy  Jerusalem.  So  Titus  marched 
on  foot  as  far  as  Nicopolis,  which  is  dis- 
tant twenty  furlongs  from  Alexandria ; 
there  he  put  his  -army  on  board  some  long 
ships,  and  sailed  upon  the  river,  along  the 
Mendesiau  Nomus,  as  far  as  the  city 
Thmuis;  there  he  got  out  of  the  ships, 
and  walked  on  foot,  and  lodged  all  night 
at  a  small  city  called  Tanis.  His  second 
station  was  Heracleopolis,  and  hi  $  third 
Pelusium ;  he  then  refreshed  his  army  at 
that  place  for  two  days ;  and  on  the  third 
passed  over   the  mouths   of  the  Nile  at 


Book  V    Chap.  I.J 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


795 


Pelusiura  ;  he  then  proceeded  one  station 
over  the  desert,  and  pitched  his  camp  at 
the  temple  of  the  Casian  Jupiter,  and  on 
the  next  day  at  Ostracine.  This  station 
had  no  water;  but  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try make  use  of  water  brought  from  other 
places.  After  this  he  rested  at  Rhinoco- 
lura,  and  from  thence  he  went  to  Raphia, 


which  was  his  fourth  station.  This  city  is 
the  beginning  of  Syria.  For  his  fifth  sta- 
tion he  pitched  his  camp  at  Gaza  ;  after 
which  he  came  to  Ascalon,  and  thence  to 
Jamnia,  and  after  that  to  Joppa,  and  from 
Joppa  to  Cesarea,  having  taken  a  resolu- 
tion to  gather  all  his  other  forces  together 
at  that  place. 


BOOK  Y. 


CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL  OF  NEAR  SIX  MONTHS,  FROM  THE  COMING 
OF  TITUS  TO  BESIEGE  JERUSALEM,  TO  THE  GREAT  EXTREMITY  TO 
WHICH  THE   JEAVS  WERE  REDUCED. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Sedition?  at  Jerusalem,  and  miseries    consequent 
thereon. 

When,  therefore,  Titus  had  marched 
over  that  desert  which  lies  between  Egypt 
and  Syria,  in  the  manner  before  mention- 
ed, he  came  to  Cesarea,  having  resolved 
to  set  his  forces  in  order  at  that  place,  be- 
fore he  began  the  war.  Nay,  indeed, 
while  he  was  assisting  his  father  at  Alex- 
andria, in  settling  that  government  which 
had  been  newly  conferred  upon  them  by 
God,  it  so  happened  that  the  sedition  at 
Jerusalem  was  revived,  and  parted  into 
three  factions,  and  that  one  faction  fought 
against  the  other;  which  partition  in  such 
evil  cases  may  be  said  to  be  a  good  thing, 
and  the  effect  of  divine  justice.  Now  as 
to  the  attack  the  Zealots  made  upon  the 
people,  and  which  I  esteem  the  beginning 
uf  the  city's  destruction,  it  hath  been  al- 
ready explained  after  an  accurate  manner; 
as  also  whence  it  arose,  and  to  how  great 
a  mischief  it  was  increased;  but  for  the 
present  sedition,  one  should  not  mistake 
if  he  called  it  a  sedition  begotten  by  ano- 
ther sedition,  and  to  be  like  a  wild  beast 
grown  mad,  which,  for  want  uf  food  from 
abroad,  fell  now  upon  eating  its  own  flesh. 

For  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Simon,  who 
made  the  first  separation  of  the  Zealots 
from  the  people,  and  made  them  retire 
into  the  temple,  appeared  very  angry  at 
John's  insolent  attempts,  which  he  made 
every  day  upon  the  people  ;  for  this  man 
uever  left  off  murdering :  but  the  truth 
was,  that  he  could  not  bear  to  submit  to 


a  tyrant  who  set  up  after  him.  So  he  be- 
ing desirous  of  gaining  the  entire  power 
and  dominion  to  himself,  revolted  from 
John,  and  took  to  his  assistance  Judas, 
the  son  of  Chelcias,  and  Simon,  the  son 
of  Ezron,  who  were  among  the  men  of 
greatest  power.  There  was  also  with  him 
Hezekiah,  the  son  of  Chobar,  a  person  of 
eminence.  Each  of  these  were  followed 
by  a  great  many  of  the  Zealots;  these 
seized  upon  the  inner  court  of  the  temple, 
and  laid  their  arms  upon  the  holy  gates, 
and  over  the  holy  fronts  of  that  court; 
and  because  they  had  plenty  of  provisions, 
they  were  of  good  courage,  for  there  was 
a  great  abundance  of  what  was  consecrated 
to  sacred  uses,  and  they  scrupled  not  the 
making  use  of  them;  yet  were  they  afraid, 
on  account  of  their  small  number;  and 
when  they  had  laid  up  their  arms  there, 
they  did  not  stir  from  the  place  they  were 
in.  Now  as  to  John,  what  advantage  he 
had  above  P]leazar  in  the  multitude  of  his 
followers,  the  like  disadvantage  he  had  in 
the  situation  he  was  in,  since  he  had  his 
enemies  over  his  head  ;  and  as  he  could 
not  make  any  assault  upon  them  without 
some  terror,  so  was  his  anger  too  great  to 
let  them  be  at  rest ;  nay,  although  he  suf- 
fered more  mischief  from  Eleazar  and  his 
party  than  he  could  inflict  upon  them,  yet 
would  he  not  leave  off  assaulting  them, 
insomuch  that  there  were  continual  sallies 
made  one  against  another,  as  well  as  darts 
thrown  at  one  another,  and  the  temple 
was  defiled  every  where  with  murders. 

But  now  the  tyrant  Simon,  the  son  of 
Gioras,  whom   the  people  had   invited  in 


796 


WARS    U*    THE    JEW  a 


[Book  V 


out  of  the  hopes  they  had  of  his  assist- 
ance in  the  great  distresses  they  were  in, 
having  in  his  power  the  upper  city,  and  a 
great  part  of  the  lower,  did  now  make  more 
vehement  assaults  upon  John  and  his 
party,  because  they  were  fought  against 
from  above  also  ;  yet  was  he  beneath  their 
situation,  when  he  attacked  them,  as  they 
were  beneath  the  attacks  of  the  others 
above  them.  Whereby  it  came  to  pass, 
that  John  did  both  receive  and  inflict  great 
damage,  and  that  easily,  as  he  was  fought 
against  on  both  sides;  and  the  same  ad- 
vantage that  Eleazar  and  his  party  had 
over  him,  since  he  was  beneath  them,  the 
dame  advantage  had  he,  by  his  higher 
situation  over  Simon.  On  which  account 
he  easily  repelled  the  attacks  that  were 
made  from  beneath,  by  the  weapons 
thrown  from  their  hands  only ;  but  was 
obliged  to  repel  those  that  threw  darts 
from  the  temple  abo^e  him,  by  his  engines 
of  war  ;  for  he  had  such  engines  as  threw 
darts,  and  javelins,  and  stones,  and  that 
in  no  small  number,  by  which  he  did  not 
•mly  defend  himself  from  such  as  fought 
against  him,  but  slew  moreover  many  of 
the  priests,  as  they  were  about  their  sa- 
cred ministrations;  for,  notwithstanding 
these  men  were  mad  with  all  sorts  of  im- 
piety, yet  did  they  still  admit  those  that 
desired  to  offer  their  sacrifices,  although 
they  took  care  to  search  tho  people  of 
their  country  beforehand,  and  bota  sus- 
pected aud  watched  them ;  while  they 
were  not  so  much  afraid  of  strangers,  who, 
although  they  had  gotten  leave  of  them, 
how  cruel  soever  they  were,  to  come  into 
ihat  court,  were  yet  often  destroyed  by 
this  sedition  :  for  those  darts  that  were 
thrown  by  the  engines  came  with  that  force 
that  they  went  all  over  the  buildings,  and 
reached  as  far  as  the  altar,  and  the  temple 
itself,  and  fell  upon  the  priests,  and  those 
[Levites]  that  were  about  the  sacred  of- 
fices ;  insomuch  that  many  persons  who 
came  thither  with  great  zeal  from  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  to  offer  sacrifices  at  this 
celebrated  place,  which  was  esteemed  holy 
by  all  mankind,  fell  down  before  their 
own  sacrifices  themselves,  aud  sprinkled 
that  altar  which  was  venerable  among  all 
men,  both  Greeks  and  Barbarians,  with 
their  own  blood;  till  the  dead  bodies  of 
strangers  were  mingled  together  with 
«,nose  of  their  own  country,  aud  those  of 
profane  persons  with  those  of  the  priests, 
and  the  blood  of  all  sorts  of  dead  carcases 
stood  in  kikes  in  the  holy  courts  them- 


selves. And  now,  "  0  most  wretched 
city,  what  misery  so  great  as  this  didst 
thou  suffer  from  the  Romans,  when  the-v 
came  to  purify  thee  from  thy  intestine 
hatred !  For  thou  couldst  be  no  longer 
a  place  fit  for  G-od,  nor  couldst  thou 
longer  continue  in  being,  after  thou  hadst 
been  a  sepulchre  for  the  bodies  of  thine 
own  people,  and  hadst  made  the  holy 
house  itself  a  burying-ptace  in  this  civi' 
war  of  thine  !  Yet  mayst  thou  again 
grow  better,  if  perchance  thou  wilt  here- 
after appease  the  anger  of  that  God  who 
is  the  author  of  they  destruction/'  But 
I  must  restrain  myself  from  these  passions 
by  the  rules  of  history,  since  this  is  not  a 
proper  time  for  domestic  lamentations, 
but  for  historical  narrations  :  I  therefore 
return  to  the  operations  that  follow  in 
this  sedition. 

And  now  there  were  three  treacherous 
factions  in  the  city,  the  one  parted  from 
the  other.  Eleazar  and  his  party,  that 
kept  the  sacred  first-fruits,  came  against 
John  in  their  cups.  Those  that  were 
with  John  plundered  the  populace,  and 
went  out  with  zeal  against  Simon.  This 
Simon  had  his  supply  of  provisions  from 
the  city,  in  opposition  to  the  seditious. 
When,  therefore,  John  was  assaulted  on 
both  sides,  he  made  his  men  turn  about., 
throwing  his  darts  upon  those  citizens  that 
came  up  against  him,  from  the  cloisters 
he  had  in  his  possession,  while  he  opposed 
those  that  attacked  him  from  the  temple 
by  his  engines  of  war ;  and  if  at  any  time 
he  was  freed  from  those  that  were  above 
him,  which  happened  frequently,  from 
their  being  drunk  and  tired,  he  sallied 
out  with  a  great  number  upon  Simon  and 
his  party ;  and  this  he  did  always  in  such 
parts  of  the  city  as  he  could  come  at,  till 
he  set  on  fire  those  houses  that  were  full 
of  corn,  and  of  all  other  provisions.* 
The  same  thing  was  done  by  Simon,  when, 
upon  the  other's  retreat,  he  attacked  the 
city  also;  as  if  they  had,  on  purpose, 
done  it  to  serve  the  Romans,  by  destroying 
what  the  city  had  laid  up  against  the  siege, 
and  by  thus  cutting  off  the  nerves  of  their 
own  power.     Accordingly,  it  so  came  to 

*  This  destruction  of  such  a  vast  quantity  o* 
corn  and  other  provisions,  sufficient  for  many  years. 
was  the  direct  occasion  of  that  terrible  famine, 
which  destroyed  incredible  numbers  of  Jews  in 
Jerusalem  during  its  siege.  Nor  probably  could 
the  Romans  have  taken  this  city,  after  all,  had  not 
these  seditious  Jews  been  so  infatuated  as  thus 
madly  to  destroy,  what  Josephus  here  justly  style* 
"  The  nerves  of  their  power." 


ClIAP    I.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


VjI 


pass,  that  all  the  places  that  were  about 
the  temple  were  burnt  down,  and  were 
become  an  interim  diate  desert  space,  ready 
for  fighting  on  both  sides  ;  and  that  almost 
all  the  corn  was  burnt,  which  would  have 
been  sufficient  for  a  siege  of  many  years. 
So  they  were  taken  by  the  means  of  the 
famine,  which  it  was  impossible  they 
should  have  been,  unless  they  had  thus 
prepared  the  way  for  it  by  this  procedure. 

And  now,  as  the  city  was  engaged  in  a 
war  on  all  sides,  from  these  treacherous 
crowds  of  wicked  men,  the  people  of  the 
city,  between  them,  were  like  a  great  body 
torn  in  pieces.  The  aged  men  and  the 
women  were  in  such  distress  by  their  in- 
ternal calamities,  that  they  wished  for  the 
Unmans,  and  earnestly  hoped  for  an  ex- 
ternal war,  in  order  to  their  delivery  from 
their  domestic  miseries.  The  citizens 
themselves  were  under  a  terrible  conster- 
nation and  fear ;  nor  had  they  any  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  counsel,  and  of  changing 
their  conduct;  nor  were  there  any  hopes 
of  coming  to  an  agreement  with  their 
enemies;  nor  could  such  as  had  a  mind 
flee  away;  for  guards  were  set  at  all 
places,  and  the  heads  of  the  robbers, 
although  they  were  seditious  one  against 
another  in  other  respects,  yet  did  they 
agree  in  killing  those  that  were  for  peace 
with  the  Uomans,  or  were  suspected  of  an 
inclination  to  desert  to  them,  as  their 
common  enemies.  They  agreed  in  nothing 
but  this,  to  kill  those  that  were  innocent. 
The  noise  also  of  those  that  were  fighting 
was  incessant,  both  by  day  and  by  night; 
but  the  lamentations  of  those  that  mourned 
exceeded  the  other;  nor  was  there  ever 
any  occasion  for  them  to  leave  off  their 
lamentations,  because  their  calamities  came 
perpetually  one  upon  another,  although 
the  deep  consternation  they  were  in  pre- 
vented their  outward  wailing;  but  being 
constrained  by  their  fear  to  conceal  their 
inward  passions,  they  were  inwardly  tor- 
mented, without  daring  to  open  their  lips 
in  groans.  Nor  wa?  any  regard  paid  to 
those  that  were  still  alive,  by  their  re- 
lations :  nor  was  there  any  care  taken  of 
burial  for  those  that  were  dead ;  the  oc- 
casion of  both  which  was  this,  that  every 
one  despaired  of  himself;  for  those  that 
were  not  among  the  seditious  had  no  great 
desires  of  any  thing,  as  expecting  for 
certain  that  they  should  very  soon  be  de- 
stroyed ;  but  for  the  seditious  themselves, 
they  fought  against  each  other,  while  they 
trod   upon   the   dead  bodies   as   they   lay 


heaped  one  upon  another,  and  taking  up 
a  mad  rage  from  those  dead  bodies  that 
were  under  their  feet,  became  the  more 
fierce  thereupon.  They,  moreover,  were 
still  inventing  somewhat  or  other  that 
was  pernicious  against  themselves ;  and 
when  they  had  resolved  upon  any  thing, 
they  executed  it  without  mercy,  aud 
omitted  no  method  of  torment  or*of  bar-' 
barity.  Nay,  John  abused  the  sacred 
materials,  and  employed  them  in  the  con- 
struction of  his  engines  of  war ;  for  the 
people  and  the  priests  had  formerly  de- 
termined to  support  the  temple,  and  raise 
the  holy  house  twenty  cubits  higher  :  for 
King  Agrippa  had,  at  a  very  great  expense, 
and  with  very  great  pains,  brought  thithei 
such  materials  as  were  proper  for  that 
purpose,  being  pieces  of  timber  very  well 
worth  seeing,  both  for  their  straightness 
and  their  largeness  :  but  the  war  coming 
on,  and  interrupting  the  work,  John  had 
them  cut,  and  prepared  for  the  building 
him  towers,  he  finding  them  long  enough 
to  oppose  from  them  those  adversaries 
that  fought  him  from  the  temple  that  was 
above  him.  He  also  had  them  brought 
and  erected  behind  the  inner  court  ovei 
against  the  west  end  of  the  cloisters,  where 
alone  he  could  erect  them ;  whereas,  the 
other  sides  of  that  court  had  so  many 
steps  as  would  not  let  them  come  nigh 
enough  the  cloisters. 

Thus  did  John  hope  to  be  too  hard  for 
his  enemies  by  these  engines  constructed 
by  his  impiety;  but  God  himself  demon- 
strated that  his  pains  would  prove  of  no 
use  to  him,  by  bringing  the  Uomans  upon 
him  before  he  had  reared  any  of  his 
towers  ;  for  Titus,  when  he  had  gotten 
together  part  of  his  forces  about  him,  and 
had  ordered  the  rest  to  meet  him  at  Je- 
rusalem, marched  out  of  Cesarea.  He 
had  with  him  those  three  legions  that  had 
accompanied  his  father  when  he  laid  Ju- 
dea  waste,  together  with  that  twelfth  legion 
which  had  been  formerly  beaten  with  (Jes- 
tius;  which  legion,  as  it  was  otherwise 
remarkable  for  its  valour,  so  did  it  march 
on  now  with  greater  alacrity  to  avenge 
themselves  on  the  Jews,  as  remembering 
what  they  had  formerly  suffered  from 
them.  Of  these  legions  he  ordered  the 
fifth  to  meet  him,  by  going  through  Em- 
maus,  and  the  tenth  to  go  up  by  Jericho; 
he  also  moved  himself,  together  with  the 
rest;  besides  whom  marched  those  auxi- 
liaries that  came  from  tiie  kings,  being 
now  more  in  number  than  before;  together 


798 


WARS    OF   THE  JEWS. 


[Book  V 


with  a  considerable  number  that  came  to 
his  assistance  from  Syria.  Those  also 
that  had  been  selected  out  of  these  four 
legions,  and  sent  with  Mucianus  to  Italy, 
had  their  places  filled  up  out  of  these 
soldiers  that  came  out  of  Egypt  with  Titus, 
who  were  2000  men,  chosen  out  of  the 
armies  at  Alexandria.  There  followed  him 
also  3000  drawn  from  those  that  guarded 
the  river  Euphrates;  as  also,  there  came 
Tiberius  Alexander,  who  was  a  friend  of 
his,  most  valuable,  both  for  his  good-will 
to  him  and  for  his  prudence.  He  had 
formerly  been  governor  of  Alexandria, 
but  was  now  thought  worthy  to  be  general 
of  the  army  [under  Titus].  The  reason 
of  this  was,  that  he  had  been  the  first 
who  encouraged  Vespasian  very  lately  to 
accept  this  his  new  dominion,  and  joined 
himself  to  him  with  great  fidelity,  when 
things  were  uncertain,  and  fortune  had 
not  yet  declared  for  him.  He  also  fol- 
lowed Titus  as  a  counsellor,  very  useful 
to  him  in  this  war,  both  by  his  age  aud 
skill  in  such  affairs. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Titus  marches  to  Jerusalem. 

Now,  as  Titus  was  upon  his  march  into 
the  enemy's  country,  the  auxiliaries  that 
were  sent  by  the  kings  marched  first, 
having  all  the  other  auxiliaries  with  them; 
after  whom  followed  those  that  were  to 
prepare  he  roads  and  measure  out  the 
camp ;  then  came  the  commander's  bag- 
bage,  and  after  that  the  other  soldiers, 
who  were  completely  armed,  to  support 
them  ;  then  came  Tifcus  himself,  having 
with  him  another  select  body  ;  and  then 
came  the  pikemen ;  after  whom  came  the 
horse  belonging  to  that  legion.  All  these 
came  before  the  engines ;  and  after  these 
engines,  followed  the  tribunes  and  the 
leaders  of  the  cohorts,  with  their  select 
bodies ;  after  these  came  the  ensigns, 
with  the  eagle ;  and  before  those  ensigns 
came  the  trumpeters  belonging  to  them ; 
next  these  came  the  main  body  of  the 
army  in  their  ranks,  every  rank  being  six 
deep;  the  servants  belonging  to  every 
legion  came  after  these ;  and  before  these 
hst  their  baggage ;  the  mercenaries  came 
(ast,  and  those  that  guarded  them  brought 
np  the  rear.  Now,  Titus,  according  to 
the  Roman  usage,  went  in  the  front  of 
the  army  after  a  decent  manner,  and 
marched  through  Samaria  to  G-ophna,  a 
city  that  had  been  formerly  taken  by  his 


father,  and  was  then  garrisoned  by  Roman 
soldiers  :  and  when  he  had  lodged  there 
one  night,  he  marched  on  in  the  morning; 
and  when  he  had  gone  as  far  as  a  day's 
march,  he  pitched  his  camp  at  that  valley 
which  the  Jews,  in  their  own  tongue,  call 
"  The  Valley  of  Thorn,"  near  a  certain  vil- 
lage called  Gabaothsaul,  which  signifies  the 
"  Hill  of  Saul,"  being  distant  from  Je- 
rusalem about  thirty  furlongs.  There  it 
was  that  he  chose  out  600  select  horse- 
men, and  went  to  take  a  view  of  the  city, 
to  observe  what  strength  it  was  of,  and 
how  courageous  the  Jews  were;  whether, 
when  they  saw  him,  and  before  they  camo 
to  a  direct  battle,  they  would  be  affrighted 
and  submit ;  for  he  had  been  informed, 
what  was  really  true,  that  the  people  who 
were  fallen  under  the  power  of  the  se- 
ditious and  the  robbers,  were  greatly  de- 
sirous of  peace ;  but  being  too  weak  to 
rise  up  against  the  rest,  they  lay  still. 

Now,  so  long  as  he  rode  along  the 
straight  road  which  led  to  the  wall  of  thn 
city,  nobody  appeared  out  of  the  gates; 
but  when  he  went  out  of  that  road,  and 
declined  towards  the  tower  Psephinus, 
and  led  the  band  of  horsemen  obliquely, 
an  immense  number  of  the  Jews  leaped 
out  suddenly  at  the  towers  called  the 
"  Women's  Towers,"  through  that  gate 
which  was  over  against  the  monuments 
of  Queen  Helena,  and  intercepted  his 
horse;  and  standing  directly  opposite  to 
those  that  still  ran  along  the  road,  hindered 
them  from  joining  those  that  had  declined 
out  of  it.  They  intercepted  Titus  also, 
with  a  few  others.  Now  it  was  here  im- 
possible for  him  to  go  forward,  because 
all  the  places  had  trenches  dug  in  them 
from  the  wall,  to  preserve  the  gardens 
round  about,  and  were  full  of  gardens 
obliquely  situated,  and  of  many  hedges ; 
and  to  return  back  to  his  own  men,  he 
saw  it  was  also  impossible,  by  reason  of 
the  multitude  of  the  enemies  that  lay 
between  them ;  many  of  whom  did  not  so 
much  as  know  that  the  king*  was  in  any 
danger,    but    supposed    him    still    among 


*  Titus  is  here  'called  "  a  king/'  and  "  Cassar," 
by  Josephus,  even  while  ho  was  no  more  than  the 
emperor's  son,  and  general  of  the  Roman  army, 
and  his  father  Vespasian  still  alive;  just  a6  the 
New  Testament  says,  "  Archelaus  reigned."  or 
"was  king,"  (Matt.  ii. 22,)  though  nc  was  properly 
no  more  than  ethnarch.  Antiq.  b.  xviii.  chap.  xi. , 
War,  b.  ii.  chap.  vi.  Thus  also  the  Jews  called  the 
Roman  emperors  "  kings,"  though  they  never  took 
that  title  to  themselves :  "We  have  no  king  but 
Caisar."  John  xix.  15.  "  Submit  to  the  king  as 
supreme."    1  Pet.  ii.  13,  17. 


Chap.  II.  J 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


7l>9 


them.  So  he  perceived  that  his  preserva- 
tion must  be  wholly  owing  to  his  own 
courage,  and  turned  his  horse  about,  and 
cried  out  aloud  to  those  that  were  about 
him  to  follow  him,  and  ran  with  violence 
into  the  midst  of  his  enemies,  in  order  to 
force  his  way  through  them  to  his  own 
men.  And  hence  we  may  principally 
learn,  that  both  the  success  of  wars,  and 
the  dangers  that  kings  are  in,  are  under 
the  providence  of  God  ;  for  while  such  a 
number  of  darts  were  thrown  at  Titus, 
when  he  had  neither  his  headpiece  on 
nor  his  breastplate,  (for,  as  I  told  you,  he 
went  out  not  to  fight,  but  to  view  the  city,) 
none  of  them  touched  his  body,  but  went 
aside  without  hurting  him  ;  as  if  all  of 
them  missed  him  on  purpose,  and  only 
made  a  noise  as  they  passed  by  him.  So 
he  diverted  those  perpetually  with  his  sword 
that  came  on  his  side,  and  overturned  many 
of  those  that  directly  met  him,  and  made 
bis  horse  ride  over  those  that  were  over- 
thrown. The  enemy,  indeed,  made  a 
great  shout  at  the  boldness  of  Caesar,  and 
exhorted  one  another  to  rush  upon  him. 
Yet  did  these  againsi  whom  he  marched 
fly  away,  and  go  oft  from  him  in  great 
numbers;  while  those  that  were  in  the 
same  danger  with  him,  kept  up  close  to 
him,  though  they  were  wounded  both  on 
their  backs  and  on  their  sides;  for  they 
had  each  of  them  but  this  one  hope  of 
escaping,  if  they  could  assist  Titus  in 
opening  himself  a  way,  that  he  might  not 
be  encompassed  round  by  his  enemies  be- 
fore he  got  away  from  them.  Now,  there 
were  two  of  those  that  were  with  him,  but 
at  some  distance ;  the  one  whom  the  ene- 
my encompassed  round,  and  slew  him 
with  their  darts,  and  his  horse  also ;  but 
the  other  they  slew  as  he  leaped  down 
from  his  horse,  and  carried  oft"  his  horse 
with  them.  But  Titus  escaped  with  the 
rest,  and  came  safe  to  the  camp.  So  this 
success  of  the  Jews'  first  attack  raised 
their  minds,  and  gave  them  an  ill-grounded 
hope ;  and  this  short  inclination  of  for- 
tune on  their  side  made  them  very  cou- 
rageous for  the  future. 

Jiut  now,  as  soon  as  that  legion  that 
had  been  at  Emmaus  was  joined  to  Cae- 
sar at  night,  he  removed  thence,  when  it 
was  day,  and  came  to  a  place  called  Sco- 
pus :  from  whence  the  city  began  already 
to  be  seen,  and  a  plain  view  might  be 
taken  of  the  great  temple.  Accordingly, 
this  place  on  the  north  quarter  of  the  city, 
and   adjoining  thereto,   was  a  plain,  and 


very  properly  named  Scopus  [the  pros- 
pect] ;  and  was  no  more  than  seven  fur- 
longs distant  from  it.  And  here  it  was 
that  Titus  ordered  a  camp  to  be  fortified 
for  two  legions  that  were  together;  but 
ordered  another  camp  to  be  fortified  at 
three  furlongs  farther  distance  behind 
them,  for  the  fifth  legion;  for  he  thought 
that,  by  marching  in  the  night,  they 
might  be  tired,  and  might  deserve  to  be 
covered  from  the  enemy,  and  with  less 
fear  might  fortify  themselves  :  and,  as 
these  were  now  beginning  to  build,  the 
tenth  legion,  who  came  through  Jericho, 
was  already  come  to  the  place,  where  a 
certain  part  of  armed  men  had  formerly 
lain,  to  guard  that  pass  into  the  city,  and 
had  been  taken  before  by  Vespasian. 
These  legions  had  orders  to  encamp  at  the 
distance  of  six  furlongs  from  Jerusalem, 
at  the  mount  called  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
which  lies  over  against  the  city  on  the 
east  side,  and  is  parted  from  it  by  a  deep 
valley,  interposed  between  them,  which  is 
named  Cedron. 

Now,  when  hitherto  the  several  parties 
in  the  city  had  been  dashing  one  against 
another  perpetually,  this  foreign  war, 
now  suddenly  come  upon  them  after 
a  violent  manner,  put  the  first  stop  to 
their  contentions  one  against  another; 
and,  as  the  seditious  now  saw  with  asto- 
nishment the  Romans  pitching  three  se- 
veral camps,  they  began  to  thiuk  of  an 
awkward  sort  of  concord,  and  said  to  one 
another,  "  What  do  we  here,  and  what 
do  we  mean,  when  we  suffer  three  forti- 
fied walls  to  be  built  to  coop  us  in,  that 
we  shall  not  be  able  to  breathe  freely  ? 
while  the  enemy  is  securely  building  a 
kind  of  city  in  opposition  to  us,  and  while 
we  sit  still  within  our  own  walls,  and  be- 
come spectators  only  of  what  they  are 
doing,  with  our  hands  idle,  and  our  ar- 
mour laid  by,  as  if  they  were  about  some- 
what that  was  for  our  good  and  advan- 
tage. We  are,  it  seems,"  so  did  they  cry 
out,  "  only  courageous  against  ourselves, 
while  the  Romans  are  likely  to  gain  the 
city  without  bloodshed  by  our  sedition." 
Thus  did  they  encourage  one  another, 
when  they  were  gotten  together,  and  took 
their  armour  immediately,  and  ran  out 
upon  the  tenth  legion,  and  fell  upon  the 
Romans  with  great  eagerness,  and  with  a 
prodigious  shout,  as  they  were  fortifying 
their  camp.  These  Romans  were  caught 
in  different  parties,  and  this  in  order  to 
perform  their  several  works,  and  on  tha* 


800 


WARS    OF  THE    JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


accoant  had  in  great  measure  laid  aside 
their  arms ;  for  they  thought  the  Jews 
would  not  have  ventured  to  make  a  sally 
upon  them ;  and  had  they  been  disposed 
so  to  do,  they  supposed  their  sedition 
would  have  distracted  them.  So  they 
were  put  into  disorder  unexpectedly ; 
when  some  of  them  left  their  works  they 
were  about,  and  immediately  marched  off, 
while  many  ran  to  their  arms,  but  were 
smitten  and  slain  before  they  could  turn 
back  upon  the  enemy.  The  Jews  be- 
came still  more  and  more  in  number,  as 
encouraged  by  the  good  success  of  those 
that  first  made  the  attack  ;  and,  while  they 
had  such  good  fortune,  they  seemed,  both 
to  themselves  and  to  the  enemy,  to  be 
many  more  than  they  really  were.  The 
disorderly  way  of  their  fighting  at  first 
put  the  Romans  also  to  a  staud,  who  had 
been  constantly  used  to  fight  skilfully  in 
good  order,  and  with  keeping  their  ranks, 
and  obeying  the  orders  that  were  given 
them;  for  which  reason  the  Romans  were 
caught  unexpectedly,  and  were  obliged  to 
give  way  to  the  assaults  that  were  made 
upon  them.  Now,  when  these  Romans 
were  overtaken,  and  turned  back  upon  the 
Jews,  they  put  a  stop  to  their  career ; 
yet,  when  they  did  not  take  care  enough 
of  themselves,  through  the  vehemency  of 
their  pursuit,  they  were  wounded  by  them ; 
but,  as  still  more  and  more  Jews  sallied 
out  of  the  city,  the  Romans  were  at 
length  brought  into  confusion,  and  put  to 
flight,  and  ran  away  from  their  camp. 
Nay,  things  looked  as  though  the  entire 
legion  would  have  been  in  danger,  unless 
Titus  had  been  informed  of  the  case  they 
were  in,  and  had  sent  them  succours  im- 
mediately. So  he  reproached  them  for 
their  cowardice,  and  brought  those  back 
that  were  running  away,  and  fell  himself 
upon  the  Jews  on  their  flank,  with  those 
select  troops  that  were  with  him,  and  slew 
a  considerable  number,  and  wounded  more 
of  them,  and  put  them  all  to  flight,  and 
made  them  run  away  hastily  down  the 
valley.  Now,  as  these  Jews  suffered 
♦greatly  in  the  declivity  of  the  valley,  so, 
when  they  were  gotten  over  it,  they  turned 
about,  and  stood  over  against  the  Romans, 
having  the  valley  between  them,  and  there 
fought  with  them.  Thus  did  they  con- 
tinue the  fight  till  noon  ;  but  when  it 
was  already  a  little  after  noon,  Titus  set 
those  that  came  to  the  assistance  of  the 
Romans  with  him,  and  those  that  be- 
longed   to   the   cohorts,    to   prevent   the 


Jews  from  making  any  more  sallies,  and 
then  sent  the  rest  of  the  legion  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  mountain,  to  fortify 
their  camp. 

This  march  of  the  Romans  seemed  to 
the  Jews  to  be  a  flight ;  and  as  the  watch- 
man, who  was  placed  upon  the  wall,  gave 
a  signal  by  shaking  his  garment,  there 
came  out  a  fresh  multitude  of  Jews,  and 
that  with  such  mighty  violence,  that  one 
might  compare  it  to  the  running  of  the 
most  terrible  wild  beasts.  To  sav  the 
truth,  none  of  those  that  opposed  them 
could  sustain  the  fury  with  which  they 
made  their  attacks ;  but,  as  if  they  had 
been  cast  out  of  an  engine,  they  brake 
the  enemy's  ranks  to  pieces,  who  wore 
put  to  flight,  and  ran  away  to  the  moun- 
tain ;  none  but  Titus  himself,  and  a  few 
others  with  him,  being  left  in  the  midst 
of  the  acclivity.  Now  these  others,  who 
were  his  friends,  despised  the  danger  they 
were  in,  and  were  ashamed  to  leave  their 
general,  earnestly  exhorting  him  to  give 
way  to  these  Jews  that  are  fond  of  dying, 
and  not  to  run  into  such  dangers  before 
those  that  ought  to  stay  before  •him ;  to 
consider  what  his  fortune  was,  and  not, 
by  supplying  the  place  of  a  common  sol- 
dier, to  venture  to  turn  back  upon  the 
enemy  so  suddenly ;  and  this  because  he 
was  general  in  the  war,  and  lord  of  the 
habitable  earth,  on  whose  preservation  the 
public  affairs  do  all  depend.  These  per- 
suasions Titus  seemed  not  so  much  as  to 
hear,  but  opposed  those  that  ran  upon 
him,  and  smote  them  on  the  face;  and, 
when  he  had  forced  them  to  go  back,  he 
slew  them  :  he  also  fell  upon  great  num- 
bers as  they  marched  down  the  hill,  and 
thrust  them  forward ;  while  those  men 
were  so  amazed  at  his  courage  and  his 
strength,  that  they  could  not  fly  directly 
to  the  city,  but  declined  from  him  on 
both  sides,  and  pressed  after  those  that 
fled  up  the  hill ;  yet  did  he  still  fail  upon 
I  their  flank,  and  put  a  stop  to  their  fury. 
|  In  the  mean  time,  a  disorder  and  a  terror 
I  fell  again  upon  those  that  were  fortifying 
their  camp  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  upon 
their  seeing  those  beneath  them  running 
away,  insomuch  that  the  whole  legion  was 
dispersed,  while  they  thought  that  tho 
sallies  of  the  Jews  upon  them  were  plainly 
insupportable,  and  that  Titus  was  himself 
put  to  flight ;  because  they  took  it  for 
granted  that,  if  he  had  stayed,  the  rest 
would  never  have  fled  for  it.  Thus  were 
they  encompassed  on  every  side  by  a  kind 


Chap.  II1.1 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


801 


of  panic  fear,  and  some  dispersed  them- 
selves one  way,  and  some  another,  till  cer- 
tain of  them  saw  their  general  in  the  very 
midst  of  an  action,  and,  being  under  great 
concern  for  him,  they  loudly  proclaimed 
the  danger  he  was  in  to  the  entire  legion ; 
and  now  shame  made  them  turn  back,  and 
they  reproached  one  another,  that  they 
did  worse  than  run  away,  by  deserting 
Caesar.  So  they  used  their  utmost  force 
against  the  Jews,  and  declining  from  the 
straight  declivity,  they  drove  them  in  heaps 
into  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Then  did 
the  Jews  turn  about  and  fight  them  ;  but 
as  they  were  themselves  retiring,  and  now, 
because  the  Romans  had  the  advantage  of 
the  ground,  and  were  above  the  Jews, 
they  drove  them  all  into  the  valley.  Ti- 
tus also  pressed  upon  those  that  were  near 
him,  and  sent  the  legion  again  to  fortify 
their  camp;  while  he,  and  those  that  were 
with  him  before,  opposed  the  enemy,  and 
kept  them  from  doiug  further  mischief; 
insomuch  that,  if  I  may  be  allowed  nei- 
ther to  add  any  thing  out  of  flattery,  nor 
to  diminish  any  thing  out  of  envy,  but  to 
speak  tfhe  plain  truth,  Caesar  did  twice 
deliver  that  entire  legion  when  it  was  in 
jeopardy,  and  gave  them  a  quiet  opportu- 
nity of  fortifying  their  camp. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  sedition  again  revived  within  Jerusalem— the 
Jews  contrive  snares  for  the  Romans — Titus 
threatens  his  soldiers  for  their  ungovernable 
rashness. 

As  now  the  war  abroad  ceased  for 
a  while,  the  sedition  within  was  revived  ; 
and  on  -the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
which  was  now  come,  it  being  the  four- 
teenth day  of  the  month  Xanthicus  [Ni- 
san],  when  it  is  believed  the  Jews  were 
first  freed  from  the  Egyptians,  Eleazar 
and  his  party  opened  the  gates  of  this 
[inmost  court  of  the]  temple,  and  admit- 
ted such  of  the  people  as  were  desirous  to 
worship  God  into  it.*     But  John  made 

*  Here  we  see  the  true  occasion  of  those  vast 
auinbers  of  Jews  that  were  in  Jerusalem  during 
ibi;  siege  by  Titus,  and  perished  therein  ;  that  the 
siege  began  at  the  feast  of  the  passover,  when  such 
prodigious  multitudes  of  Jews  and  proselytes  of 
the  gate  had  coma  from  all  parts  of  Judea,  and 
from  other  countries,  in  order  to  celebrate  that 
great  festival.  Tacitus  himself  informs  us  that  the 
number  of  men,  women,  and  children,  in  Jerusa- 
lem, when  it  was  besieged  by  the  Romans,  as  he 
had  been  informed,  was  600,01)0.  This  information 
must  have  been  taken  from  the  Romans ;  for  Jo- 

phus  never  mentions  the  numbers  of  those  that 

51 


use  of  this  festival  as  a  cloak  for  hie 
treacherous  designs,  and  armed  the  most 
inconsiderable  of  his  own  party,  the 
greater  part  of  whom  were  not  purified, 
with  weapons  concealed  under  their  gar- 
ments, and  sent  them  with  great  zeal  into 
the  temple,  in  order  to  seize  upon  it ; 
which  armed  men,  when  they  were  gotten 
in,  threw  their  garments  away,  and  pre- 
sently appeared  in  their  armour.  Upon 
which  there  was  a  very  great  disorder  and 
disturbance  about  the  holy  house;  while 
the  people  who  had  no  concern  in  the  sedi- 
tion supposed  that  this  assault  was  made 
against  all  without  distinction,  as  the 
Zealots  thought  it  was  made  against  them- 
selves only.  So  these  left  off  guarding 
the  gates  any  longer,  and  leaped  down 
from  their  battlements  before  they  came 
to  an  engagement,  and  fled  away  into  the 
subterranean  caverns  of  the  temple ;  while 
the  people  that  stood  trembling  at  the  al- 
tar, and  about  the  holy  house,  were  rolled 
on  heaps  together,  and  trampled  upon,  and 
were  beaten  both  with  wooden  and  with 
iron  weapons  without  mercy.  Such  also 
as  had  differences  with  others,  slew  many 
persons  that  were  quiet,  out  of  their  own 
private  enmity  and  hatred,  as  if  they  were 
opposite  to  the  seditious;  and  all  those  that 
had  formerly  offended  any  of  these  plot- 
ters were  now  known,  and  were  now  led 
away  to  the  slaughter;  and,  when  they 
hud  done  abundance  of  horrid  mischief  to 
the  guiltless,  they  granted  a  truce  to  the 
guilty,  and  let  those  go  off  that  came  out 
of  the  caverns.  These  followers  of  John 
also  did  now  seize  upon  this  inner  temple, 
and  upon  all  the  warlike  engines  therein, 
and  then  ventured  to  oppose  Simon.  And 
thus  that  sedition,  which  had  been  divided 
into  three  factions,  was  now  reduced  to  two 
But  Titus,  intending  to  pitch  his  camp 
nearer  to  the  city  than  Scopus,  placed  as 
many  of  his  choice  horsemen  and  footmen 
as  he  thought  sufficient,  opposite  to  the 
Jews,  to  prevent  their  sallying  out  upon 
them,  while  he  gave  orders  for  the  whole 


were  besieged;  only  he  lets  us  know,  that,  of  the 
vulgar,  carried  dead  out  of  the  gates,  and  buried  at 
the  public  charges,  was  the  like  number  of  600,000. 
However,  when  Cestius  (Jallus  came  first  to  the 
siege,  that  number  in  Tacitus  is  noway  contrary 
to  Josephus's  history,  though  they  were  become 
much  more  numerous  when  Titus  encompassed  tho 
city  at  the  passover.  As  to  the  number  that  pe- 
rished during  the  siege,  Josephus  assures  us  they 
were  1,100,000,  besides  9/,000  captives.  Tacitus's 
history  of  the  last  part  of  this  siege  is  not  now  ex- 
tant ;  so  we  cannot  compare  his  parallel  numbers 
with  those  of  Josephus. 


802 


WARS    OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


army  to  level  the  distance  as  far  as  the 
wall  of  the  city.  So  they  threw  down  all 
the  hedges  and  walls  which  the  inhabitants 
had  made  about  their  gardens  and  groves 
of  trees,  and  cut  down  all  the  fruit-trees 
that  lay  between  them  and  the  wall  of 
the  city,  and  filled  up  all  the  hollow  places 
and  the  chasms,  and  demolished  the  rocky 
precipices  with  iron  instruments;  and 
thereby  made  all  the  place  level  from 
Scopus  to  Herod's  monuments,  which  ad- 
joined to  the  pool  called  the  Serpent's 
Pool. 

Now,  at  this  very  time,  the  Jews  con- 
trived the  following  stratagem  against  the 
Romans.  The  bolder  sort  of  the  seditious 
went  out  at  the  towers,  called  the  Wo- 
men's Towers,  as  if  they  had  been  ejected 
out  of  the  city  by  those  who  were  for 
peace,  and  rambled  about  as  if  they  were 
afraid  of  being  assaulted  by  the  Romans, 
and  were  in  fear  of  one  another ;  while 
those  that  stood  upon  the  wall,  and  seem- 
ed to  be  of  the  people's  side,  cried  aloud 
for  peace,  and  entreated  they  might  have 
security  for  their  lives  given  them,  and 
called  for  the  Romans,  promising  to  open 
the  gates  to  them ;  and  as  they  cried  out 
after  that  manner,  they  threw  stones  at 
their  own  people,  as  though  they  would 
drive  them  away  from  the  gates.  These 
also  pretended  that  they  were  excluded  by 
force,  and  that  they  petitioned  those  that 
were  within  to  let  them  in ;  and  rushing 
upon  the  Romans  perpetually,  with  vio- 
lence, they  then  came  back,  and  seemed 
to  be  in  great  disorder.  Now  the  Roman 
soldiers  thought  this  cunning  stratagem 
of  theirs  was  to  be  believed  real,  and 
thinking  they  had  the  one  party  under  their 
power,  and  could  punish  them  as  they 
pleased,  and  hoping  that  the  other  party 
would  open  their  gates  to  them,  set  to  the 
execution  of  their  designs  accordingly. 
But  for  Titus  himself,  he  had  this  surpris- 
ing conduct  of  the  Jews  in  suspicion ;  for 
whereas  he  had  invited  them  to  come  to 
terms  of  accommodation  by  Josephus  but 
one  day  before,  he  could  then  receive  no 
civil  answer  from  them  ;  so  he  ordered  the 
soldiers  to  stay  where  they  were.  How- 
ever, some  of  them  that  were  set  in  the 
front  of  the  works  prevented  him,  and, 
catching  up  their  arms,  ran  to  the  gates ; 
whereupon  those  that  seemed  to  have  been 
ejected  at  the  first  retired  ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  soldiers  were  gotten  between  the  tow- 
ers on  each  side  of  the  gate,  the  Jews  ran 
out  ari  encompassed  them  round,  and  fell 


upon  them  behind,  while  that  multitude 
which  stood  upon  the  wall,  threw  a  heap 
of  stones  and  darts  of  all  kinds  at  them, 
insomuch  that  they  slew  a  considerable 
number,  and  wounded  many  more;  for  it 
was  not  easy  for  the  Romans  to  escape,  by 
reason  those  behind  them  pressed  them 
forward ;  besides  which,  the  shame  they 
were  under  for  being  mistaken,  and  the 
fear  they  were  in  of  their  command- 
ers, engaged  them  to  persevere  in  their 
mistake;  wherefore  they  fought  with  their 
spears  a  great  while,  and  received  many 
blows  from  the  Jews,  though  indeed  they 
gave  them  as  many  blows  again,  and  at  last 
repelled  those  that  had  encompassed  them 
about,  while  the  Jews  pursued  them  as  they 
retired,  and  followed  them,  and  threw  darts 
at  them  as  far  as  the  monuments  of  Queen 
Helena. 

After  this  these  Jews,  without  keeping 
any  decorum,   grew  insolent    upon  their 
good  fortune,  and  jested  upon  the  Romans 
for  being  deluded  by  the  trick   they  had 
upon  them,  and,  making  a  noise  with  beat- 
ing their  shields,  leaped  for  gladness,  and 
made  joyful    exclamations ;    while    these 
soldiers  were   received  with   threatening 
by  their  officors,  and  with  indignation  by 
Caesar  himself  [who  spake  to  them  thus]  : 
"  These  Jews,  who  are  only  conducted  by 
their  madness,  do  every  thing  with  care 
and  circumspection  ;  they  contrive  strata- 
gems, and  lay  ambushes,  and  fortune  gives 
success  to  their  stratagems,  because  they 
are  obedient,  and  preserve  their  good-will 
and  fidelity  to  one  another ;  while  the  Ro- 
mans, to  whom  fortune  uses  to  be  ever  sub- 
servient, by  reason  of  their  good   order, 
and  ready  submission  to  their  commanders, 
have  now  had  ill  success  by  their  contrary 
behaviour,  and   by  not  being  able  to  re- 
strain their  hands  from  action,  they  have 
been    caught ;     and     that   which    is    the 
most    to  their  reproach,  they  have  gone 
on    without    their    commanders,    in    the 
very  presence  of  Caesar.       Truly,"  says 
Titus,  "  the  laws  of  war  cannot  but  groan 
heavily,  as  will  my  father  also  himself 
when  he  shall  be  informed  of  this  wound 
that  hath  been  given  us,  since  he,  who  is 
grown  old  in  wars,   did  never  make  so 
great  a  mistake.     Our  laws  of  war  do  also 
ever  inflict  capital  punishment  on  those 
that  in  the  least  break  into  good  order, 
while  at  this  time  they  have  seen  an  entire 
army  run  into  disorder.      However,  those 
that  have  been  so  insolent  shall  be  made 
immediately  sensible,  that  even  they  who 


Chap.  IT.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


803 


conquer  among  the  Romans,  without  orders 
for  fighting,  are  to  be  under  disgrace. " 
When  Titus  had  enlarged  upon  this  mat- 
ter before  the  commanders,  it  appeared 
evident  that  he  would  execute  the  law 
ao-ainst  all  those  that  were  concerned ;  so 
these  soldiers'  minds  sank  down  in  de- 
spair, as  expecting  to  be  put  to  death,  and 
that  justly  and  quickly.  However,  the 
other  legions  came  round  about  Titus,  and 
entreated  his  favour  to  these  their  fellow- 
soldiers,  and  made  supplication  to  him 
that  he  would  pardon  the  rashness  of  a 
few,  on  account  of  the  better  obedience  of 
all  the  rest;  and  promised  for  them  that 
they  should  make  amends  for  their  present 
fault,  by  their  more  virtuous  behaviour  for 
the  time  to  come. 

So  Caesar  complied  with  their  desires, 
and  with  what  prudence  dictated  to  him 
also ;  for  he  esteemed  it  fit  to  punish  sin- 
gle persons  by  real  executions,  but  that 
the  punishment  of  great  multitudes  should 
proceed  no  further  than  reproofs;  so  he 
was  reconciled  to  the  soldiers,  but  gave 
them  a  special  charge  to  act  more  wisely 
for  the  future ;  and  he  considered  with 
liimself  how  he  might  be  even  with  the 
Jews  for  their  stratagem.  And  now,  when 
the  space  between  the  Romans  and  the 
wall  had  been  levelled,  which  was  done  in 
four  days ;  and  as  he  was  desirous  to  bring 
the  baggage  of  the  army,  with  the  rest 
of  the  multitude  that  followed  him,  safely 
to  the  camp,  he  set  the  strongest  part  of 
his  army  over  against  that  wall  which  lay 
on  the  north  quarter  of  the  city,  and  over 
against  the  western  part  of  it,  and  made 
his  army  seven  deep,  with  the  footmen 
placed  before  them,  and  the  horsemen  be- 
hiud  them,  each  of  the  last  in  three  ranks, 
while  the  archers  stood  in  the  midst  in 
seven  ranks.  And  now  as  the  Jews  were 
prohibited,  by  so  great  a  body  of  men, 
from  making  sallies  upon  the  Romans, 
both  the  beasts  that  bear  the  burdens,  and 
belonged  to  the  three  legions,  and  the  rest 
of  the  multitude,  marched  on  without  any 
fear.  But  as  for  Titus  himself,  he  was 
but  about  two  furlongs  distant  from  the 
wall,  at  that  part  of  it  where  was  the 
3orner,*  and  over  against  that  tower  which 
was  called  Psephinus,  at  which  tower  the 
compass  of  the  wall  belonging  to  the  north 
bended,  and  extended  itself  over  against 
the  west;   but  the  other  part  of  the  army 

*  Perhnps,  says  Dr.  Hudson,  here  was  that  gate 
?alleu  the  "  Gate  of  the  corner,"  in  2  Chron. 
i?>i.  9. 


fortified  themselves  at  the  tower  called 
Hippicus,  and  was  distant,  in  like  manner, 
but  two  furlongs  from  the  city.  However, 
the  tenth  legion  continued  in  its  own 
place,  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Description  of  Jerusalem. 

The  city  of  Jerusalem  was  fortified 
with  three  walls,  on  such  parts  as  were  not 
encompassed  with  impassable  valleys;  for 
in  such  places  it  had  but  one  wall.  The 
city  was  built  upon  two  hills  which  are 
opposite  to  one  another,  and  have  a  valley 
to  divide  them  asunder;  at  which  valley 
the  corresponding  rows  of  houses  on  both 
hills  end.  Of  these  hills,  that  which  con- 
tains the  upper  city  is  much  higher,  and 
in  length  more  direct.  Accordingly,  it 
was  called  the  "  Citadel"  by  King  Da- 
vid ;  he  was  the  father  of  that  Solomon 
who  built  this  temple  at  the  first ;  but  it 
is  by  us  called  the  u  Upper  Market-place." 
But  the  other  hill,  which  was  called 
"  Acra,"  and  sustains  the  lower  city,  is  of 
the  shape  of  a  moon  when  she  is  horned  ; 
over  against  this  was  a  third  hill,  but  na- 
turally lower  than  Acra,  and  parted  for- 
merly from  the  other  by  a  broad  valley. 
However,  in  those  times  when  the  Asa- 
moneans  reigned,  they  filled  up  that,  valley 
with  earth,  and  had  a  mind  to  join  the 
city  to  the  temple.  They  then  took  off 
part  of  the  height  of  Acra,  and  reduced 
it  to  be  of  less  elevation  than  it  was  be- 
fore, that  the  temple  might  be  superior  to 
it.  Now  the  Valley  of  the  Cheesemon- 
gers, as  it  was  called,  and  was  that  which 
we  told  you  before  distinguished  the  hill 
of  the  upper  city  from  that  of  the  lower, 
extended  as  far  as  Siloam  ;  for  that  is  the 
name  of  a  fountain  which  hath  sweet 
water  in  it,  and  this  in  great  plenty  also. 
But  on  the  outsides,  these  hills  are  sur- 
rounded by  deep  valleys,  and  by  reason 
of  the  precipices  to  them  belonging  on 
both  sides,  they  arc  everywhere  impassable. 

Now,  of  these  three  walls,  the  old  one 
was  hard  to  be  taken,  both  by  reason  of  the 
valleys,  and  of  that  hill  on  which  it  was 
built,  and  which  was  above  them.  But 
besides  that  great  advantage,  as  to  the 
place  where  they  were  situated,  it  was  also 
built  very  strong;  because  David  and 
Solomon,  and  the  following  kings,  were 
very  zealous  about  this  work.  Now  that 
wall  began  on  the  north,  at  the  tower 
called  "  Hippicus,"  and   extended   as   far 


804 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  V 


as  the  "  Xistus,"  a  place  so  called,  and 
then,  joining  to  the  council-house,  ended 
at  the  west  cloister  of  the  temple.  But 
if  we  go  the  other  way  westward,  it  "began 
at  the  same  place,  and  extended  through  a 
place  called  "  Bethso,"  to  the  gate  of  the 
Esseues;  and  after  that  it  went  southward, 
having  its  bending  above  the  fountain  Si- 
loam,  where  it  also  bends  again  toward 
the  east  at  Solomon's  Pool,  and  reaches  as 
far  as  a  certain  place  which  they  called 
"  Ophlas,"  where  it  was  joined  to  the 
eastern  cloisters  of  the  temple.  The  se- 
cond wall  took  its  beginning  from  that 
gate  which  they  called  "  Gennath,"  which 
belonged  to  the  first  wall ;  it  only  encom- 
passed the  northern  quarter  of  the  city, 
and  reached  as  far  as  the  tower  Antonia. 
The  beginning  of  the  third  wall  was  at 
the  tower  Hippicus,  whence  it  reached  as 
far  as  the  north  quarter  of  the  city,  and 
the  tower  Psephinus,  and  then  was  so  far 
extended  till  it  came  over  against  the  mo- 
numents of  Helena,  which  Helena  was 
queen  of  Adiabene,  the  daughter  of  Izates : 
it  then  extended  farther  to  a  great  length, 
and  passed  by  the  sepulchral  caverns  of 
the  kings,  and  bent  again  at  the  tower  of 
the  corner,  at  the  monument  which  is 
called  the  "  Monument  of  the  Fuller/' 
and  joined  to  the  old  wall  at  the  valley 
called  the  "  Valley  of  Cedrou."  It  was 
Agrippa  who  encompassed  the  parts  added 
to  the  old  city  with  this  wall,  which  had 
been  all  naked  before  ;  for  as  the  city  grew 
more  populous,  it  gradually  crept  beyond 
its  own  limits,  and  those  parts  of  it  that 
stood  northward  of  the  temple,  and  joined 
that  hill  to  the  city,  made  it  considerably 
larger,  and  occasioned  that  hill,  which  is  in 
number  the  fourth,  and  is  called  "  Beze- 
tha,"  to  be  inhabited  also.  It  lies  over 
against  the  tower  Antonia,  but  is  divided 
from  it  by  a  deep  valley,  which  was  dug 
on  purpose,  and  that  in  order  to  hinder  the 
foundations  of  the  tower  of  Antonia  from 
joining  to  this  hill,  and  thereby  affording 
an  opportunity  for  getting  to  it  with  ease, 
and  hindering  the  security  that  arose  from 
its  superior  elevation  ;  for  which  reason 
also  that  depth  of  the  ditch  made  the 
elevation  of  the  towers  more  remarkable. 
This  new-built  part  of  the  city  was  called 
'•  Bezetha/'  in  our  language,  which,  if  in- 
terpreted in  the  Grecian  language,  may  be 
called  "  the  New  City."  Since,  there- 
fore, its  inhabitants  stood  in  need  of  a 
covering,  the  father  of  the  present  king, 
aod  of  the  same  name  with  him,  Agrippa, 


began  that  wall  we  spoke  of;  but  he  left 
off  building  it  when  he  had  only  laid  the 
foundation,  out  of  the  fear  he  was  in  of 
Claudius  Caesar,  lest  he  should  suspect 
that  so  strong  a  wall  was  built  in  order  to 
make  some  innovation  in  public  affairs; 
for  the  city  could  noway  have  been  taken 
if  that  wall  had  been  finished  in  the  man- 
ner it  was  begun  ;  as  its  parts  were  con- 
nected together  by  stones  twenty  cubits 
long,  and  ten  cubits  broad,  which  could 
never  have  either  been  easily  undermined 
by  any  iron  tools,-  or  shaken  by  any  en- 
gines. The  wall  was,  however,  ten  cubits 
wide,  and  it  would  probably  have  had  a 
height  greater  than  that,  had  not  his  zeal 
who  began  it  been  hindered  from  exerting 
itself.  After  this  it  was  erected  with 
great  diligence  by  the  Jews  as  high  as 
twenty  cubits,  above  which  it  had  battle- 
ments of  two  cubits,  and  turrets  of  three 
cubits  altitude,  insomuch  that  the  entire 
altitude  extended  as  far  as  twenty-five 
cubits. 

Now  the  towers  that  were  upon  it  were 
twenty  cubits  in  breadth,  and  twenty  cu- 
bits   in    height;     they    were    square    and 
solid,  as  was  the  wall  itself,  wherein  the 
niceness  of  the  joints  and  the  beauty  of 
the  stones  were  noway  inferior  to  those 
of    the    holy   house   itself.      Above    this 
solid  altitude  of  the   towers,  which  was 
twenty  cubits,  there  were  rooms  of  great 
magnificence,  and  over  them  upper  rooms, 
and  cisterns  to  receive  rain-water.     They 
were  many  in  number,  and  the  steps  by 
which  you  ascended  up  to  them  were  every 
one  broad  ;  of  these  towers  then  the  third 
wall  had  ninety,  and  the  spaces  between 
them  were  each  200  cubits;   but  in  the 
middle  wall   were  forty  towers,  and   the 
old  wall  was  parted  into  sixty,  while  the 
whole  compass  of  the  city  was  thirty-three 
furlongs.     Now  the  third  wall  was  all  of 
it  wonderful ;  yet  was  the  cower  Psephinus 
elevated  above  it  at  the  north-west  corner, 
and  there  Titus  pitched  his  own  tent ;  for 
being  seventy  cubits  high,  it  both  afforded 
a  prospect  of  Arabia  at  sunrising,  as  well 
as  it  did  of  the  utmost  limits  of  the  He- 
brew    possessions   at    the    sea    westward. 
Moreover,   it  was  an   octagon,  and   over 
against  it  was  the  tower  Hippicus;  and 
hard  by  two  others  were  erected  by  King 
Herod,  in  the  old  wall.     These  were,  for 
largeness,   beauty,  and   strength,    beyonu 
all  that  were  in  the  habitable  earth ;  for 
besides  the  magnanimity  of   his  nature, 
and  his  magnificence  toward   the  city  od 


Chap.  IV. J 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


805 


other  occasbns,  he  built  these  after  such 
an  extraordinary  manner,  to  gratify  his 
own  private  affections,  and  dedicated  these 
towers  to  the  memory  of  those  three  per- 
sons who  had  been  the  dearest  to  him, 
and  from  whom  be  named  them.  They 
were  his  brother,  his  friend,  and  his  wife. 
This  wife  he  had  slain,  out  of  his  love 
[and  jealousy],  as  we  have  already  related ; 
the  other  two  he  lost  in  war,  as  they  were 
courageously  fighting.  Hippicus,  so  named 
from  his  friend,  was  square ;  its  length 
and  breadth  were  each  twenty-five  cubits, 
and  its  height  thirty,  and  it  had  no  vacuity 
in  it.  Over  this  solid  building,  which 
was  composed  of  great  stones  united  to- 
gether, there  was  a  reservoir  twenty  cubits 
deep,  over  which  there  was  a  house  of 
two  stories,  whose  height  was  twenty-five 
cubits,  and  divided  into  several  parts; 
over  which  were  battlements  of  two  cu- 
bits, and  turrets  all  round  of  three  cubits 
high,  insomuch  that  the  entire  height  add- 
ed together  amounted  to  fourscore  cubits. 
The  second  tower,  which  he  named  from 
his  brother  Phasaelus,  had  its  breadth  aud 
its  height  equal,  each  of  them  forty  cu- 
bits; over  which  was  its  solid  height  of 
forty  cubits ;  over  which  a  cloister  went 
round  about,  whose  height  was  ten  cubits, 
and  it  was  covered  from  enemies  by 
breastworks  and  bulwarks.  There  was 
also  built  over  that  cloister  another  tower, 
parted  into  magnificent  rooms  and  a  place 
for  bathing;  so  that  this  tower  wanted 
nothing  that  might  make  it  appear  to  be 
a  royal  palace.  It  was  also  adorned  with 
battlements  and  turrets,  more  than  was  the 
foregoing,  and  the  entire  altitude  was  about 
ninety  cubits;  the  appearance  of  it  re- 
sembled the  tower  of  Pharos,  which  ex- 
hibited a  fire  to  such  as  sailed  to  Alexan- 
dria, but  was  much  larger  than  it  in  com- 
pass. This  was  now  converted  to  a  house, 
wherein  Simon  exercised  his  tyrannical 
authority.  The  third  tower  was  Mariamne, 
for  that  was  his  queen's  name;  it  was  solid 
as  high  as  twenty  cubits;  its  breadth  and 
its  length  were  twenty  cubits,  aud  were 
equal  to  each  other;  its  upper  buildings 
were  more  magnificent,  and  had  greater 
variety  than  the  other  towers  had  ;  for 
the  kiug  thought  it  most  proper  for  him 
to  adorn  that  which  was  denominated  from 
his  wife,  better  than  those  denominated 
from  men,  as  those  were  built  stronger 
than  this  that  bore  his  wife's  name.  The 
entire  height  of  this  tower  was  fifty  cubits. 
Now  as  these  towers  were  so  very  tall, 


they  appeared  much  taller  by  the  place 
on  which  they  stood  ;  for  that  very  old 
wall  wherein  they  were,  was  built  on  a 
high  hill,  and  was  itself  a  kind  of  elevation 
that  was  still  thirty  cubits  taller;  over 
which  were  the  towers  situated,  and  there- 
by were  made  much  higher  to  appearance. 
The  largeness  also  of  the  stones  was  wonder- 
ful, for  they  were  not  made  of  common 
small  stones,  nor  of  such  large  ones  only 
as  men  could  carry,  but  they  were  of 
white  marble,  cut  out  of  the  rock  ;  each 
stone  was  twenty  cubits  in  length,  and 
ten  in  breadth,  and  five  in  depth.  They 
were  so  exactly  united  to  one  another, 
that  each  tower  looked  like  one  entire  rock 
of  stone,  so  growing  naturally,  and  after- 
ward cut  by  the  hands  of  the  artificers 
into  their  present  shape  and  corners;  so 
little  or  not  at  all  did  their  joints  or  con- 
nection appear.  Now  as  these  towers 
were  themselves  on  the  north  side  of  the 
wall,  the  king  had  a  palace  inwardly 
thereto  adjoined,  which  exceeds  all  my 
ability  to  describe  it;  for  it  was  so  very 
curious  as  to  want  no  cost  or  skill  in  its 
construction,  but  was  entirely  walled 
about  to  the  height  of  thirty  cubits,  and 
was  adorned  with  towers  at  equal  dis- 
tances, aud  with  large  bedchambers,  that 
would  contain  beds  for  100  guests  apiece, 
in  which  the  variety  of  the  stones  is  not 
to  be  expressed  ;  for  a  large  quantity  of 
those  that  were  rare  of  that  kind  was  col- 
lected together.  Their  roofs  were  also 
wonderful,  both  for  the  length  of  the 
beams  and  the  splendour  of  their  orna- 
ments. The  number  of  the  rooms  was 
also  very  great,  aud  the  variety  of  the 
figures  that  were  about  them  was  prodi- 
gious ;  their  furniture  was  complete,  and 
the  greatest  part  of  the  vessels  that  were 
put  in  them  was  of  silver  and  gold.  There 
were  besides  many  porticoes,  one  beyond 
another,  round  about,  and  in  each  of  these 
porticoes  curious  pillars;  yet  were  all  the 
courts  that  were  exposed  to  the  air  every- 
where green.  There  were,  moreover,  seve- 
ral groves  of  trees,  aud  long  walks  through 
them,  with  deep  canals  and  cisterns,  that 
in  several  parts  were  filled  with  brazeu 
statues,  through  which  the  water  ran  out. 
There  were  withal   many  dove-courts*  of 

•  These  dove-courts  in  Josephus,  built  by  Herod 
the  Great,  are,  in  the  opinion  of  Beland,  the  very 
same  that  are  mentioned  by  the  Talmudists,  and 
named  by  them  "  Herod's  dove-courts."  Nor  it- 
there  any  reason  to  suppose  otherwise,  since,  in 
both  accounts,  they  were  expressly  taue  pigeon* 
which  were  kept,  la  them. 


806 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


tame  pigeons  about  the  canals  ;  but,  indeed, 
it  is  not  possible  to  give  a  complete  de- 
scription of  these  palaces;  and  the  very 
remembrance  of  them  is  a  torment  to  one, 
as  putting  one  in  mind  what  vastly  rich 
buildings  that  firo  which  was  kindled  by 
the  robbers  hath  consumed  ;  for  these  were 
jot  burned  Dy  the  Romans,  but  by  these 
internal  plotters,  as  we  have  already  re- 
lated, in  the  beginning  of  their  rebellion. 
That  fire  began  at  the  tower  of  Antonia, 
and  went  on  to  the  palaces,  and  consumed 
the  upper  parts  of  the  three  towers  them- 
selves.  

CHAPTER  V. 

Description  of  the  Temple. 

Now  this  temple,  as  I  have  already  said, 
was  built  upon  a  strong  hill  At  first  the 
plain  at  the  top  was  hardly  sufficient  for 
the  holy  house  and  the  altar,  for  the 
ground  about  it  was  very  uneven,  and  like 
a  precipice;  but  when  King  Solomon, 
who  was  the  person  that  built  the  temple, 
had  built  a  wall  to  it  on  its  east  bide, 
there  was  then  added  one  cloister  founded 
on  a  bank  cast  up  for  it,  and  on  the  other 
parts  the  holy  house  stood  naked ;  but  in 
future  ages  the  people  added  new  banks, 
aud  the  hill  became  a  larger  plain.  They 
theu  broke  down  the  wall  on  the  north 
6ide,  and  took  in  as  much  as  sufficed  after- 
ward for  the  compass  of  the  entire'  tem- 
ple ;  and  when  they  had  built  walls  on 
three  sides  of  the  temple  round  about, 
from  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  and  had  per- 
formed a  work  that  was  greater  than  could 
be  hoped  for,  (in  which  work  long  ages 
were  spent  by  them,  as  well  as  all  their  sa- 
cred treasures  were  exhausted,  which  were 
still  replenished  by  those  tributes  which 
were  sent  to  God  from  the  whole  habita- 
ble earth,)  they  then  encompassed  their 
upper  courts  with  cloisters  as  well  as  they 
[afterward]  did  the  lowest  [court  of  the] 
temple.  The  lowest  part  of  this  was 
erected  to  the  height  of  300  cubits,  and  in 
some  places  more  ;  yet  did  not  the  entire 
depth  of  the  foundations  appear,  for  they 
brought  earth,  and  filled  up  the  valleys, 
as  being  desirous  to  make  them  on  a  level 
with  the  narrow  streets  of  the  city;  where- 
in they  made  use  of  stones  of  forty  cubits 
in  magnitude ;  for  the  great  plenty  of 
money  they  then  had,  and  the  liberality  of 
the  people,  made  this  attempt  of  theirs  to 
succeed  to  an  incredible  degree  ;  and  what 
could  not  be  so  much  as  hoped  for  as  ever 


to  be  accomplished,  was  bj  perseverance 
and  length  of  time  brought  to  perfection. 
Now,  for  the  works  that  were  above 
these  foundations,  these  were  not  unworthy 
of  such  foundations ;  for  all  the  cloisters 
were  double,  and  the  pillars  to  them  be- 
longing were  twenty -five  cubits  in  height, 
and  supported  the  cloisters.  These  pillars 
were  of  one  entire  stone  each  of  them,  and 
that  stone  was  white  marble ;  and  the 
roofs  were  adorned  with  cedar,  curiously 
graven.  The  natural  magnificence,  and 
excellent  polish,  and  the  harmony  of  the 
joints  in  these  cloisters,  afforded  a  prospect 
that  was  very  remarkable;  nor  was  it  on 
the  outside  adorned  with  any  work  of  (he 
painter  or  engraver.  The  cloisters  [of  the 
utmost  court]  were  in  breadth  thirty  cu- 
bits, while  the  entire  compass  of  it  was,  by 
measure,  six  furlongs,  including  the  tower 
of  Antonia;  those  entire  courts  that  were 
exposed  to  the  air  were  laid  with  stones 
of  all  sorts.  When  you  go  through  these 
[first]  cloisters,  unto  the  second  [court  of 
the]  temple,  there  was  a  partition  made 
of  stone  all  round,  whose  height  was  three 
cubits :  its  construction  was  very  elegant; 
upon  it  stood  pillars,  at  equal  distances 
from  one  another,  declaring  the  law  of  pu- 
rity, some  in  Greek,  and  some  in  Roman 
letters,  that  "  no  foreigner  should  go  with- 
in that  sanctuary  •"  for  that  second  [court 
of  the]  temple  was  called  "  the  Sanctua- 
ry," aud  was  ascended  to  by  fourteen  steps 
from  the  first  court.  This  court  was  four- 
square, and  had  a  wall  about  it  peculiar  to 
itself ;  the  height  of  its  buildings,  although 
it  was  on  the  outside  forty  cubits,*  was 
hidden  by  the  steps,  and  on  the  inside  that 
height  was  but  twenty-five  cubits;  for  it 
being  built  over  against  a  higher  part  of 
the  hill  with  steps,  it  was  no  further  to  be 
entirely  discerned  within,  being  covered 
by  the  hill  itself.  Beyond  these  fourteen 
steps  there  was  the  distance  of  ten  cubits: 


*  What  Josephus  seems  here  to  mean  is  this : — 
That  these  pillars,  supporting  the  cloisters  in  the  se- 
cond court,  had  their  foundations  or  lowest  parts  as 
deep  as  the  floor  of  the  first  or  lowest  court ;  but 
that  so  far  of  those  lowest  parts  as  were  equal  to  the 
elevation  of  the  upp€r  floor  above  the  lowest,  were, 
and  must  be,  hidden  on  the  inside  by  the  ground 
or  rock  itself,  on  which  that  upper  court  was  built : 
so  that  forty  cubits  visible  below,  were  reduced  to 
twenty-five  visible  above,  and  implies  the  differ- 
ence of  their  heights  to  be  fifteen  cubits.  The  main 
difficulty  lies  here,  how  fourteen  or  fifteen  steps 
should  give  an  ascent  of  fifteen  cubits,  half  a  cubil 
seeming  sufficient  for  a  single  step.  Possibly  there 
were  fourteen  or  fifteen  steps  at  the  partition-wall, 
and  fourteen  or  fifteen  more  thence  into  the  sourt  it- 
self, which  would  bring  the  whole  near  to  th<5  just 
proportion. 


Cbap.  V  J 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


807 


this  was  all  plain,  whence  there  were  other 
steps,  each  of  five  cubits  apiece,  that  led 
to  the  gates,  which  gates  on  the  north  and 
sides  were  eight,  on  each  of  those  sides 
four,  and  of  necessity  two  on  the  east  ; 
for  since  there  was  a  partition  built  for 
the  women  on  that  side,  as  the  proper  place 
wherein  they  were  to  worship,  there  was  a 
necessity  of  a  second  gate  for  them  :  this 
gate  was  cut  out  of  its  wall,  over  against 
the  first  gate.  There  was  also  on  the 
other  sides  one  southern  and  one  northern 
gate,  through  which  was  a  passage  into 
the  court  of  the  women;  for  as  to  the  other 
gates,  the  women  were  not  allowed  to  pass 
through  them ;  nor  when  they  went 
through  their  own  gate  could  they  go  be- 
yond their  own  wall.  This  place  was  al- 
lotted to  the  women  of  our  own  country, 
and  of  other  countries,  provided  they  were 
of  the  same  nation,  and  that  equally;  the 
western  part  of  this  court  had  no  gate  at 
all,  but  the  wall  was  built  entire  on  that 
side ;  but  then  the  cloisters  which  were  be- 
twixt the  gates  extended  from  the  wall 
inward,  before  the  chambers;  for  they 
were  supported  by  very  fine  aud  large 
pillars.  These  cloisters  were  single, 
and,  excepting  their  magnitude,  were 
noway  inferior  to  those  of  the  lower 
court. 

Now  nine  of  these  gates  were  on  every 
side  covered  over  with  gold  and  silver,  as 
were  the  jambs  of  their  doors  aud  their 
lintels ;  but  there  was  one  gate  that  was 
without  [the  inward  court  of]  the  holy 
house,  which  was  of  Corinthian  brass,  and 
greatly  excelled  those  that  were  only  co- 
vered over  with  silver  and  gold.  Each  gate 
had  two  doors,  whose  height  was  severally 
thirty  cubits,  and  their  breadth  fifteen. 
However,  they  had  large  spaces  within  of 
thirty  cubits,  and  had  on  each  side  rooms, 
and  those,  both  in  breadth  and  in  length, 
built  like  towers,  and  their  height  was 
above  forty  cubits.  Two  pillars  did  also 
support  these  rooms,  and  were  in  circum- 
ference twelve  cubits.  Now  the  magni- 
tudes of  the  other  gates  were  equal  one 
to  another;  but  that  over  the  Corinthian 
gate,  which  opened  on  the  east  over  against 
the  gate  of  the  holy  house  itself,  was  much 
larger;  for  its  height  was  fifty  cubits;  and 
its  doors  were  forty  cubits;  and  it  was 
adorned  after  a  most  costly  manner,  as 
having  much  richer  and  thicker  plates  of 
silver  and  gold  upon  them  than  the  other. 
These  nine  gates  had  that  silver  and  gold 
poured  upon  them  by  Alexander,  the  fa- 


ther of  Tibenus.  Now  there  were  fifteen 
steps,  which  led  away  from  the  wall  of  the 
court  of  the  women  to  this  greater  gate ; 
whereas  those  that  led  thither  from  the 
other  gates  were  five  steps  shorter. 

As  to  the  holy  house  itself,  which  was 
placed  in  the  midst  [of  the  inmost  court] 
that  most  sacred  part  of  the  temple,  it 
was  ascended  by  twelve  steps ;  and  in 
front  its  height  and  its  breadth  were 
equal,  and  each  100  cubits,  though  it  was 
behind  forty  cubits  narrower  ;  for  on  its 
front  it  had  what  may  be  styled  shoul- 
ders on  each  side,  that  passed  twenty  cu- 
bits farther.  Its  first  gate  was  seventy 
cubits  high,  and  twenty-five  cubits  broad; 
but  this  gate  had  no  doors ;  for  it  repre- 
sented the  universal  visibility  of  heaven, 
and  that  it  cannot  be  excluded  from  any 
place.  Its  front  was  covered  with  gold 
all  over,  and  through  it  the  first  part  of 
the  house,  that  was  more  inward,  did  ali 
of  it  appear ;  which,  as  it  was  very  large, 
so  did  all  the  parts  about  the  more  inward 
gate  appear  to  shine  to  those  that  saw 
them ;  but  then,  as  the  entire  house  was 
divided  into  two  parts  within,  it  was  only 
the  first  part  of  it  that  was  open  to  our  view. 
Its  height  extended  all  along  to  ninety 
cubits  in  height,  and  its  length  was  fifty 
cubits,  and  its  breadth  twenty  ;  but  that 
gate  which  was  at  this  end  of  the  first 
part  of  the  house,  was,  as  we  have  already 
observed,  all  over  covered  with  gold,  as 
was  its  whole  wall  about  it :  it  had  also 
golden  vines  above  it,  from  which  clusters 
of  grapes  hung  as  tall  as  a  man's  height ; 
but  then  this  house,  as  it  was  divided  into 
two  parts,  the  inner  part  was  lower  than 
the  appearance  of  the  outer,  aud  had 
golden  doors  of  fifty-five  cubits  altitude,  and 
sixteen  in  breadth ;  but  before  these  doors 
there  was  a  vail  of  equal  largeness  with  the 
doors.  It  was  a  Babylonian  curtain,  embroi- 
dered with  blue,  and  tine  linen,  and  scarlet, 
and  purple,  and  of  a  contexture  that  was 
truly  wonderful.  Nor  was  this  mixture  of 
colours  without  its  mystical  interpretation, 
but  was  a  kind  of  image  of  the  universe; 
for  by  the  scarlet  there  seemed  to  be  enig- 
matically signified  fire,  by  the  fine  flax  the 
earthy  by  the  blue  the  air,  and  by  the  pur- 
ple the  sea  ;  two  of  them  having  their 
colours  the  foundation  of  this  resemblance  ; 
but  the  fine  flax  and  the  purpie  have  their 
own  origin  for  that  foundation,  the  earth 
producing  the  one,  aud  the  sea  the  other. 
This  curtain  had  also  embroidered  upou  it 
all  that  was  mystical  in  the  heaveus,  ex- 


808 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


TBook  V 


cepting  that  of  the  [twelve]  signs,  repre- 
senting living  creatures. 

When  any  person  entered  into  the  tem- 
ple, its  floor  received  them.  This  part  of 
the  temple,  therefore,  was  in  height  sixty 
cubits,  and  its  length  the  same  ;  whereas 
its  breadth  was  but  twenty  cubits :  but 
still  that  sixty  cubits  in  length  was  di- 
vided again,  and  the  first  part  of  it  cut  off 
at  forty  cubits,  and  had  in  it  three  things 
that  were  very  wonderful  and  famous 
among  all  mankind  ;  the  candlestick,  the 
table  [of  show-bread],  and  the  altar  of 
incense.  Now,  the  seven  lamps  signified 
the  seven  planets  ;  for  so  many  there  were 
springing  out  of  the  candlestick.  Now, 
the  twelve  loaves  that  were  upon  the  table 
Bignified  the  circle  of  the  zodiac  and  the 
year ;  but  the  altar  of  incense,  by  its 
thirteen  kinds  of  sweet-smelling  spices 
with  which  the  sea  replenished  it,  signified 
that  God  is  the  possessor  of  all  things 
that  are  both  in  the  uninhabitable  and 
habitable  parts  of  the  earth,  and  that  they 
are  all  to  be  dedicated  to  his  use.  But 
the  inmost  part  of  the  temple  of  all  was 
of  twenty  cubits.  This  was  also  separated 
from  the  outer  part  by  a  vail.  In  this 
there  was  nothing  at  all.  It  was  inacces- 
sible and  inviolable,  and  not  to  be  seen  by 
auy ;  and  was  called  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
Now,  about  the  sides  of  the  lower  part 
of  the  temple  there  were  little  houses, 
with  passages  out  of  one  into  another ; 
there  were  a  great  many  of  them,  and 
they  were  of  three  stories  high  ;  there 
were  also  entrances  on  each  side  into  them 
from  the  gate  of  the  temple.  But  the 
superior  part  of  the  temple  had  no  such 
little  houses  any  farther,  because  the  tem- 
ple was  there  narrower,  and  forty  cubits 
higher,  and  of  a  smaller  body  than  the 
lower  parts  of  it.  Thus  we  collect  that 
the  whole  height,  including  the  sixty 
cubits  from  the  floor,  amounted  to  100 
cubits. 
>"~  Now  the  outward  face  of  the  temple  in 
its  front  wanted  nothing  that  was  likely  to 
surprise  either  men's  minds  or  their  eyes: 
for  it  was  covered  all  over  with  plates  of 
gold  of  great  weight,  and,  at  the  first 
rising  of  the  sun,  reflected  back  a  very 
fiery  splendor,  and  made  those  who  forced 
themselves  to  look  upon  it  to  turn  their 
eyes  away,  just  as  they  would  have  done 
at  the  sun's  own  rays.  But  this  temple 
appeared  to  strangers,  when  they  were  at 
a  distance,  like  a  mountain  covered  with 
snow ;  for  as  to  those  parts  of  it  that  were 


not  gilt,  they  were  exceeding  white  On 
its  top  it  had  spikes  with  sharp  points,  tc 
prevent  any  pollution  of  it  by  birds  sit- 
ting upon  it.  Of  its  stones,  some  of 
them  were  forty-five  cubits  in  length,  five 
in  height,  and  six  in  breadth.  Before 
this  temple  stood  the  altar,  fifteen  cubits 
high,  and  equal  both  in  length  and 
breadth;  each  of  which  dimensions  was 
fifty  cubits.  The  figure  it  was  built  in 
was  a  square,  and  it  had  corners  like 
horns;  and  the  passage  up  to  it  was  by 
an  insensible  acclivit}\  It  was  formed 
without  any  iron  tool,  nor  did  any  such 
iron  tool  so  much  as  touch  it  at  any  time. 
There  was  a  wall  of  partition,  about  a 
cubit  in  height,  made  of  fine  stones,  and  so 
as  to  be  grateful  to  the  sight ;  this  en- 
compassed the  holy  house  and  the  altar, 
and  kept  the  people  that  were  on  the  out- 
side off  from  the  priests.  Moreover, 
those  that  had  the  gonorrhoea  and  the  le- 
prosy were  excluded  out  of  the  city  en- 
tirely; women  also,  when  in  an  impure 
state,  were  shut  out  of  the  temple ;  nor  when 
they  were  free  from  that  impurity  were 
they  allowed  to  go  beyond  the  limit  be- 
fore mentioned;  men  also  that  were  not 
thoroughly  pure  were  prohibited  to  come 
into  the  inner  [court  of  the]  temple ;  nay, 
the  priests  themselves  that  were  not  pure 
were  prohibited  to  come  into  it  also. 

Now  all  those  of  the  stock  of  the  priests 
that  could  not  minister  by  reason  of  some 
defect  in  their  bodies,  came  within  the 
partition  together  with  those  that  had  no 
sueh  imperfection,  and  had  their  share 
with  them  by  reasou  of  their  stock,  but 
still  made  use  of  none  except  their  own 
private  garments;  for  nobody  but  he  that 
officiated  had  on  his  sacred  garments ;  but 
then  these  priests  that  were  without  any 
blemish  upon  them,  went  up  to  the  altar 
clothed  in  fine  linen.  They  abstained 
chiefly  from  wine,  out  of  this  fear,  lest 
otherwise  they  should  transgress  some 
rules  of  their  ministration.  The  high 
priest  did  also  go  up  with  them ;  not  al- 
ways indeed,  but  on  the  seventh  days  and 
new  moons,  and  if  any  festivals  belouging 
to  our  nation,  wnich  we  celebrate  every 
year,  happened.  When  he  officiated,  he 
had  on  a  pair  of  breeches  that  reached 
beneath  his  privy  parts  to  his  thighs,  and 
had  ou  an  inner  garment  of  linen,  together 
with  a  blue  garment,  round,  without  seam, 
with  fringe-work,  and  reaching  to  the 
feet.  There  were  also  golden  bells  that 
hung  upon  the  fringes,  the  pomegranates 


Chap.  VI. ] 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS 


809 


intermixed  among  them.  The  bells  sig- 
nified thunder,  and  the  pomegranates 
lightning.  But  that  girdle  that  tied  the 
garment  to  the  breast  was  embroidered 
with  nve  rows  of  various  colours  of  gold, 
and  purple,  and  scarlet,  as  also  of  fine 
linen  and  blue  ;  with  which  colours,  we 
told  jou  before,  the  vails  of  the  temple 
were  embroidered  also.  The  like  embroi- 
dery was  upon  the  ephod  ;  but  the  quan- 
tity of  gold  therein  was  greater.  Its  figure 
was  that  of  a  stomacher  for  the  breast. 
There  were  upon  it  two  golden  buttons 
like  small  shields,  which  buttoned  the 
ephod  to  the  garment:  in  these  buttons 
were  enclosed  two  very  large  and  very 
excellent  sardonyxes,  having  the  names 
of  the  tribes  of  that  nation  engraved  upon 
them  :  on  the  other  part  were  hung  twelve 
stones,  three  in  a  row  one  way,  and  four 
in  the  other;  a  sardius,  a  topaz,  and  an 
emerald  :  a  carbuncle,  a  jasper,  and  a  sap- 
phire :  an  agate,  an  amethyst,  and  a  li- 
gure  :  an  onyx,  a  beryl,  and  a  chrysolite  : 
upon  every  one  of  which  was  again  en- 
graved one  of  the  before-mentioned  names 
of  the  tribes.  A  mitre  also  of  fine  linen 
encompassed  his  head,  which  was  tied  by 
a  blue  riband,  about  which  there  was  an- 
other golden  crown,  in  which  was  en- 
graven the  sacred  name  [of  God]  :  it  con- 
sists of  four  vowels.  However,  the  high 
priest  did  not  wear  these  garments  at 
other  times,  but  a  more  plain  habit;  he 
only  did  it  when  he  went  into  the  most 
sacred  part  of  the  temple,  which  he  did 
but  once  a  year,  on  that  day  when  our 
custom  is  for  all  of  us  to  keep  a  fast  to 
God.  And  thus  much  concerning  the  city 
and  the  temple;  but  for  the  customs  and 
laws  hereto  relating,  we  shall  speak  more 
accurately  another  time  ;  for  there  remain 
a  great  many  things  thereto  relating, 
which  have  not  been  here  touched  upon. 
Now,  as  to  the  tower  of  Antonia,  it  was 
situated  at  the  corner  of  two  cloisters  of 
the  court  of  the  temple;  of  that  on  the 
west,  and  that  on  the  north ;  it  was 
erected  upon  a  rock  of  fifty  cubits  in 
height,  and  was  on  a  great  precipice;  it 
was  the  work  of  King  Herod,  wherein  he 
demonstrated  his  natural  magnanimity. 
In  the  first  place,  the  rock  itself  was  co- 
vered over  with  smooth  pieces  of  stone, 
from  its  foundation,  both  for  ornament, 
and  that  any  one  who  would  either  try  to 
get  up  or  go  dowu  it,  might  not  be  able 
to  hold  his  feet  upon  it.  Next  to  this, 
and  before  you  come  to  the  edifice  of  the 


tower  itself,  tnere  was  a  wall  three  cubits 
high;  but  within  that  wall  all  the  space 
of  the  tower  of  Antonia  itself  was  built 
upon,  to  the  height  of  forty  cubits.  The 
inward  parts  had  the  largeness  and  form 
of  a  palace,  it  being  parted  into  all  kinds 
of  rooms  and  other  conveniences,  such  as 
courts,  and  places  for  bathing,  and  broad 
spaces  for  camps;  insomuch  that,  by  hav- 
ing all  conveniences  that  cities  wanted,  it 
might  seem  to  be  composed  of  several 
cities,  but,  by  its  magnificence,  it  seemed 
a  palace  ;  and,  as  the  entire  structure  re- 
sembled that  of  a  tower,  it  contained  also 
four  other  distinct  towers  at  its  four  cor- 
ners; whereof  the  others  were  but  fifty 
cubits  high  ;  whereas  that  which  lay  upon 
the  south-east  corner  was  seventy  cubits 
high,  that  from  thence  the  whole  temple 
might  be  viewed  ;  but  on  the  corner  where 
it  joined  to  the  two  cloisters  of  the  tem- 
ple, it  had  passages  down  to  them  both, 
through  which  the  guard  (for  there  al- 
ways lay  in  this  tower  a  Roman  legion) 
went  several  ways  among  the  cloisters, 
with  their  arms,  on  the  Jewish  festivals. 
in  order  to  watch  the  people,  that  they 
might  not  there  attempt  to  make  any  in- 
novations ;  for  the  temple  was  a  fortress 
that  guarded  the  city,  as  was  the  tower 
of  Antonia  a  guard  to  the  temple;  and  in 
that  tower  were  the  guards  of  those  three.* 
There  was  also  a  peculiar  fortress  belong- 
ing to  the  upper  city,  which  was  Herod's 
palace  ;  but  for  the  hill  of  Bezetra,  it  was 
divided  from  the  tower  of  Antonia,  as  we 
have  already  told  you;  and  as  that  hill 
on  which  the  tower  of  Antonia  stood  was 
the  highest  of  these  three,  so  did  it  ad- 
join to  the  new  city,  and  was  the  only 
place  that  hindered  the  sight  of  the  tem- 
ple on  the  north.  And  this  shall  suffice 
at  present  to  have  spoken  about  the  city 
and  the  walls  about  it,  because  I  have  pro- 
posed to  myself  to  make  a  more  accurate 
description  of  it  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Titus  continues  the  siege  vigorously. 

Now  the  warlike  men  that  were  in  the 
city,  and  the  multitude  of  the  seditious 
that  were  with  Simon,  were  10.000,  be- 
sides the  Idumeaus.      Those   10,000   had 


*  These  three  guards  that  lay  in  the  towt  *  <}* 
Antonia  must  bo  those  that  guarded  UV.  city,  tbf 
temple,  and  the  tower  of  Antonia. 


810 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


fifry  commanders,  over  whom  this  Simon  j 
was  supreme.  The  Idumeans  that  paid 
him  homage  were  5000,  and  had  eight 
commanders,  among  whom  those  of  great- 
est fame  were  Jacob,  the  son  of  Sosas, 
and  Simon,  the  son  of  Cathlas.  John, 
who  had  seized  upon  the  temple,  had 
6000  armed  men,  under  twenty  com- 
manders ;  the  Zealots  also  that  had  come 
over  to  him,  and  left  off  their  opposition, 
were  2  100,  and  had  the  same  commander 
that  they  had  formerly,  Eleazar,  together 
with  Simon,  the  son  of  Arinus.  Now,  while 
these  factions  fought  one  against  another, 
the  people  were  their  prey  on  both  sides, 
as  we  have  said  already  ;  and  that  part  of 
the  people  who  would  not  join  with  them 
in  their  wicked  practices  were  plundered 
by  both  factions.  Simon  held  the  upper 
city,  and  the  great  wall  as  far  as  Cedron, 
and  as  much  of  the  old  wall  as  bent  from 
Siloam  to  the  east,  and  which  went  down 
to  the  palace  of  Monobazus,  who  was 
king  of  the  Adiabcni,  beyond  Euphrates; 
he  also  held  that  fountain,  and  the  Acra, 
which  was  no  other  thau  the  lower  city ; 
he  also  held  all  that  reached  to  the  palace 
of  Queeu  Helena,  the  mother  of  Mono- 
bazus: but  John  held  the  temple,  aud  the 
parts  thereto  adjoining,  for  a  great  way, 
as  also  Ophla,  and  the  valley  called  "  the 
Valley  of  Cedron  j"  and  when  the  parts 
that  were  interposed  between  their  pos- 
sessions were  burnt  by  them,  they  left  a 
space  wherein  they  might  fight  with  each 
other ;  for  this  internal  seditiou  did  not 
cease  even  when  the  Romaus  were  en- 
camped near  their  very  walls.  But  al- 
though they  had  grown  wiser  at  the  first 
onset  the  Romans  made  upon  them,  this 
lasted  but  a  while ;  for  they  returned  to 
their  former  madness,  and  separated  one 
from  another,  and  fought  it  out,  and  did 
every  thing  that  the  besiegers  could  desire 
them  to  do  ;  for  they  never  suffered  any 
thing  that  was  worse  from  the  Romans 
than  they  made  each  other  suffer,  nor  was 
there  any  misery  endured  by  the  city  after 
these  men's  actions  that  could  be  esteemed 
new.  But  it  was  most  of  all  unhappy 
before  it  was  overthrown,  while  those  that 
took  it  did  it  a  greater  kindness ;  for  I 
vsnture  to  affirm,  that  the  sedition  de- 
stroyed the  city,  and  the  Komans  destroyed 
the  sedition,  which  was  a  much  harder 
thing  to  do  than  to  destroy  the  walls;  so 
that  we  may  justly  ascribe  our  misfortunes 
to  our  own  people,  and  the  just  vengeance 
<&ken   on  them  to   the   Romans;    as  to 


which  matter  let  every  one  determine  by 
the  actions  on  both  sides. 

Now,  when  affairs  within  the  city  were 
in  this  posture,  Titus  went  round  the  city 
on  the  outside  with  some  chosen  horse- 
men, and  looked  about  for  a  proper  place 
where  he  might  make  an  impression  upon 
the  walls ;  but  as  he  was  in  doubt  where 
he  could  possibly  make  an  attack  on  any 
side,  (for  the  place  was  noway  accessible 
where  the  valleys  were,  and  on  the  other 
side  the  first  wall  appeared  too  strong  to 
be  shaken  by  the  engines,)  he  thereupon 
thought  it  best  to  make  his  assault  upon 
the  monument  of  John  the  high  priest ; 
for  there  it  was  that  the  first  fortification 
was  lower,  and  the  second  was  not  joined 
to  it,  the  builders  neglecting  to  build  the 
wall  strong  where  the  new  city  was  not 
much  inhabited ;  here  also  was  an  easy 
passage  to  the  third  wall,  through  which 
he  thought  to  take  the  upper  city,  and, 
through  the  tower  of  Antonia,  the  temple 
itself.  But  at  this  time,  as  he  was  going 
round  about  the  city,  one  of  his  friends, 
whose  name  was  Nicanor,  was  wounded 
with  a  dart  on  his  left  shoulder,  as  he  ap- 
proached, together  with  Josephus,  too  near 
the  wall,  and  attempted  to  discourse  to 
those  that  were  upon  the  wall  about  terms 
of  peace;  for  he  was  a  person  known  by 
them.  On  this  account  it  was  that  Cae- 
sar, as  soon  as  he  knew  their  vehemence, 
that  they  would  not  bear  even  such  as 
approached  them  to  persuade  them  to 
what  tended  to  their  own  preservation, 
was  provoked  to  press  on  the  siege.  He 
also  at  the  same  time  gave  his  soldiers 
leave  to  set  the  suburbs  on  fire,  and  or- 
dered  that  they  should  bring  timber  toge- 
ther, and  raise  banks  against  the  city; 
and  when  he  had  parted  his  army  into 
three  parts,  in  order  to  set  about  those 
works,  he  placed  those  that  shot  darts  and 
the  archers  in  the  midst  of  the  banks  that 
were  then  raising  ;  before  whom  he  placed 
those  engines  that  threw  javelins,  and 
darts,  and  stones,  that  he  might  prevent 
the  enemy  from  sallying  out  upon  their 
works,  and  might  hinder  those  that  were 
upon  the  wall  from  being  able  to  obstruct 
them.  So  the  trees  were  now  cut  down 
immediately,  and  the  suburbs  left  naked. 
But  now,  while  the  timber  was  carrying 
to  raise  the  banks,  and  the  whole  army 
was  earnestly  engaged  in  their  works,  the 
Jews  were  not,  however,  quiet  ;  and  it 
happened  that  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
who    had    been    hitherto    plundered    and 


Chap.  VI.  ] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


611 


murdered,  were  now  of  good  courage, 
and  supposed  they  should  have  a  breath- 
ing time,  while  the  others  were  very  busy 
in  opposing  their  enemies  without  the 
city,  and  that  they  should  now  be  avenged 
on  those  that  had  been  the  authors  of 
their  miseries,  in  case  the  Romans  did  but 
got  the  victory. 

However,  John  stayed  behind,  out  of 
his  fear  of  Simon,  even  while  his  own 
men  were  earnest  in  making  a  sally  upon 
their  enemies  without.  Yet  did  not  Si- 
mon lie  still,  for  he  lay  near  the  place 
of  the  siege ;  he  brought  his  engines  of 
war,  and  disposed  of  them  at  due  dis- 
tances upon  the  wall,  both  those  which 
they  took  from  Cestius  formerly,  and 
those  which  they  got  when  they  seized  the 
garrison  that  lay  in  the  tower  of  Antonia. 
But  though  they  had  these  engines  in  their 
T>ossession,  they  had  so  little  skill  in  using 
.hem,  that  they  were  in  a  great  measure 
useless  to  them ;  but  a  few  there  were 
who  had  been  taught  by  deserters  how  to 
use  them,  which  they  did  use,  though 
after  an  awkward  manner.  So  they  cast 
stones  and  arrows  at  those  tlrat  were  mak- 
ing the  banks;  they  also  ran  out  upon 
shem  by  companies,  and  fought  with  them. 
Now  those  that  were  at  work  covered 
themselves  with  hurdles  spread  over  their 
banks,  and  their  engines  were  opposed  to 
them  when  they  made  their  excursions. 
The  engines,  that  all  the  legions  had 
ready  prepared  for  them,  were  admirably 
contrived ;  but  still  more  extraordinary 
ones  belonged  to  the  tenth  legion  :  those 
that  threw  darts  and  those  that  threw 
stones  were  more  forcible  and  larger  than 
the  rest,  by  which  they  not  only  repelled 
the  excursions  of  the  Jews,  but  drove 
those  away  that  were  upon  the  walls  also. 
Now,  the  stones  that  were  cast  were  of 
the  wefght  of  a  talent,  and  were  carried 
two  furlongs  and  farther.  The  blow  they 
gave  was  noway  to  be  sustained,  not  only 
by  those  that  stood  first  in  the  way,  but 
by  those  that  were  beyond  them  for  a 
great  space.  As  for  the  Jews,  they  at 
first  watched  the  coming  of  the  stone,  for 
it  was  of  a  white  colour,  and  could  there- 
fore not  only  be  perceived  by  the  great 
noise  it  made,  but  could  be  seen  also  be- 
fore it  came  by  its  brightness  ;  accordingly 
the  watchmen  that  sat  upon  the  towers  gave 
them  notice  when  the  engine  was  let  go 
and  the  stone  came  from  it.  and  cried  out 
liloud,   in    their    own    country   language, 


"  The  son  comet.i  ;"*  so  those  that  were 
in  its  way  stood  off,  and  threw  themselve? 
down  upon  the  ground ;  by  which  means, 
and  by  their  thus  guarding  themselves, 
the  stone  fell  down  and  did  them  no  harm. 
But  the  Romans  contrived  how  to  prevent 
that  by  blacking  the  stone,  who  then  could 
aim  at  them  with  success,  when  the  stone 
was  not  discerned  beforehand,  as  it  had 
been  till  then ;  and  so  they  destroyed 
many  of  them  at  one  blow.  Yet  did  not 
the  Jews,  under  all  this  distress,  permit 
the  Romans  to  raise  their  banks  in  quiet; 
but  they  shrewdly  and  boldly  exerted 
themselves,  and  repelled  them  both  by 
night  and  by  day. 

And  now,  upon  the  finishing  the  Ro- 
man works,  the  workmen  measured  the 
distance  there  was  from  the  wall,  and  this 
by  lead  and  a  line,  which  they  threw  to  it 
from  their  banks  ;  for  they  could  not  mea- 
sure it  any  otherwise,  because  the  Jews 
would  shoot  at  them  if  they  came  to  mea- 
sure it  themselves ;  and  when  they  found 
that  the  engines  could  reach  the  wall,  they 
brought  them  thither.  Then  did  Titus 
set  his  engines  at  proper  distances,  so 
much  nearer  to  the  wall,  that  the  Jews 
might  not  be  able  to  repel  them,  and  gave 
orders  that  they  should  go  to  work  ;  and 
when  thereupon  a  prodigious  noise  echoed 
round  about  from  three  places,  and  that 
on  the  sudden  there  was  a  great  noise 
made  by  the  citizens  that  were  within  the 
city,  and  no  less  a  terror  fell  upon  the 
seditious  themselves  ;  whereupon  both 
sorts,  seeing  the  common  danger  they 
were  in,  contrived  to  make  a  like  defence. 
So  those  of  different  factions  cried  out  one 
to  another,  that  they  acted  entirely  as  in 
concert  with  their  enemies;  whereas  they 
ought,  however,  notwithstanding  God  did 
not  grant  them  a  lasting  concord,  in  their 
present  circumstances,  to  lay  aside  their 
enmities  one  against  another,  and  to  unite 
together  against  the  Romans.  Accord- 
ingly, Simon  gave  those  that  came  from 
the  temple  leave,  by  proclamation,  to  go 
upon  the  wall ;  John  also  himself,  though 
he  could  not  believe  Simon  was  in  earnest, 
gave  them  the  same  leave.  So  on  both 
sides  they  laid  aside  their  hatred  and  their 
peculiar  quarrels,  and  formed  themselves 
into  one  body ;  they  then  ran  round  the 
walls,  and  having  a  vast  number  of  torches 

*  Probably,  "The  stone  coinstb  "  Tne  learned 
are  not  agreed  as  to  the  precise  meaning  of  Ihis 
expression. 


812 


WARS    OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


with  them,  they  threw  them  at  the  ma- 
chines, and  shot  darts  perpetually  upon 
those  that  impelled  those  engines  which 
battered  the  wall ;  nay,  the  bolder  sort 
leaped  out  by  troops  upon  the  hurdles 
that  covered  the  machines,  and  pulled 
them  to  pieces,  and  fell  upon  those  that 
belonged  to  them,  and  beat  them,  not  so 
much  by  any  skill  they  had,  as  princi- 
pally by  the  boldness  of  their  attacks. 
However,  Titus  himself  sent  assistance  to 
those  that  were  the  hardest  set,  and  placed 
both  horsemen  and  archers  on  the  several 
sides  of  the  engines,  and  thereby  beat  off 
those  that  brought  the  fire  to  them  ;  he 
also  thereby  repelled  those  that  shot  stones 
or  darts  from  the  towers,  and  then  set  the 
eugines  to  work  in  good  earnest;  yet  did 
not  the  wall  yield  to  these  blows,  except- 
ing where  the  battering-ram  of  the  fif- 
teenth legion  moved  the  corner  of  a  tower, 
while  the  wall  itself  contiuued  unhurt  ; 
for  the  wall  was  not  presently  in  the  same 
danger  with  the  tower,  which  was  extant 
far  above  it;  nor  could  the  fall  of  that 
part  of  the  tower  easily  break  down  any 
part  of  the  wall  itself  together  with  it. 

And  now  the  Jews  intermitted  their 
6allies  for  a  while;  but  when  they  observed 
the  Romans  dispersed  all  abroad  at  their 
works,  and  in  their  several  camps,  (for 
they  thought  the  Jews  had  retired  out  of 
weariness  and  fear,)  they  all  at  once  made 
a  sally  at  the  tower  Hippicus,  through  an 
obscure  g;»te,  and  at  the  same  time  brought 
fire  to  burn  the  works,  and  went  boldly 
up  to  the  Romans,  and  to  their  very  forti- 
fications themselves,  where,  at  the  cry 
they  made,  those  that  were  near  them 
came  presently  to  their  assistance,  and 
those  farther  off  came  running  after 
them  :  and  here  the  boldness  of  the  Jews 
was  too  hard  for  the  good  order  of  the 
Romans ;  and  as  they  beat  those  whom 
they  first  fell  upon,  so  they  pressed  upon 
those  that  were  now  gotten  together.  So 
this  fight  about  the  machines  was  very 
hot,  whiie  the  one  side  tried  hard  to  set 
them  on  fire,  and  the  other  side  to  prevent 
it ;  on  both  sides  there  was  a  confused  cry 
made,  and  many  of  those  in  the  forefront 
of  the  battle  were  slain.  However,  the 
Jews  were  now  too  hard  for  the  Romans, 
by  the  furious  assaults  they  made  like 
madmen  ;  and  the  fire  caught  hold  of  the 
works,  and  both  all  those  works  and  the 
engines  themselves  had  been  in  danger 
of  being  burnt,  had  not  many  of  these 
select  soldiers  that  came  from  Alexandria 


opposed  themselves  to  prevent  it,  and 
had  they  not  behaved  themselves  with 
greater  courage  than  they  themselves 
supposed  they  could  have  done ;  for  they 
outdid  those  in  this  fight  that  had  gi eater 
reputation  than  themselves  before.  This 
was  the  state  of  things  till  Csesar  took  the 
stoutest  of  his  horsemen,  and  attacked  the 
enemy,  while  he  himself  slew  twelve  of 
those  that  were  in  the  forefront  of  the 
Jews;  which  death  of  these  men,  when 
the  rest  of  the  multitude  saw,  they  gave 
way,  and  he  pursued  them,  and  drove 
them  all  into  the  city,  and  saved  the  works 
from  the  fire.  Now  it  happened  at  this 
fight,  that  a  certain  Jew  was  taken  alive 
who  by  Titus's  orders  was  crucified  before 
the  wall,  to  see  whether  the  rest  of  them 
would  be  affrighted,  and  abate  of  theii 
obstinacy.  But,  after  the  Jews  were  re- 
tired, John,  who  was  commander  of  the 
Idumeans,  and  was  talking  to  a  certain 
soldier  of  his  acquaintance  before  the 
wall,  was  wounded  by  a  dart  shot  at  him 
by  an  Arabian,  and  died  immediately, 
leaving  the  greatest  lamentation  to  the 
Jews,  and  sorrow  to  the  seditious ;  for  he 
was  a  man  of  great  eminence  both  for  his 
actions  and  his  conduct  also. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Romans,  after  great  slaughter,  obtain  pos- 
session of  the  first  wall — Treacherous  snares  of 
the  Jews. 

Now,  on  the  next  night,  a  most  sur- 
prising disturbance  fell  upon  the  Romans; 
for  whereas  Titus  had  given  orders  for  the 
erection  of  three  towers  of  fifty  cubits 
high,  that  by  setting  men  upon  them  at 
every  bank,  he  might  from  thence  drive 
those  away  who  were  upon  the  wall,  it  so 
happened  that  one  of  these  towers  fell 
down  about  midnight;  and  as  its  fall  made 
a  very  great  noise,  fear  fell  upon  the  army, 
and  they  supposing  that  the  enemy  was 
coming  to  attack  them,  ran  all  to  their 
arms.  Whereupon  a  disturbance  and  a 
tumult  arose  among  the  legions,  and  aa 
nobody  could  tell  what  had  happened.; 
they  went  on  after  a  disconsolate  manner, 
and  seeing  no  enemy  appear,  they  were 
afraid  one  of  another,  and  every  one  de- 
manded of  his  neighbour  the  watchword 
with  great  earnestness,  as  though  the  Jews 
had  invaded  their  camp.  And  now  they 
were  like  people  under  a  panic  fear,  till 
Titus  was  informed  of  what  had  happened, 
and   gave  orders   that  all   should   be  an- 


o:iap.  VII.] 


WAKS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


813 


quainted  with  it;  and  then,  though  with 
some  difficulty,  they  got  clear  of  the  dis- 
turbances they  ha(q  been  under. 

Now,  these  towers  were  very  trouble- 
some to  the  Jews,  who  otherwise  opposed 
the  Romans  very  courageously ;  for  they 
shot  at  them  out  of  their  lighter  engines 
from  those  towers,  as  they  did  also  by 
those  that  threw  darts,  and  the  archers, 
and  those  that  slung  stones.  For  neither 
could  the  Jews  reach  those  that  were  over 
them,  by  reason  of  their  height ;  and  it 
was  not  practicable  to  take  them,  nor  to 
overturn  them,  they  were  so  heavy,  nor  to 
set  them  on  fire,  because  they  were  cover- 
ed with  plates  of  iron.  So  they  retired 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  darts,  and  did  no 
longer  endeavour  to  hinder  the  impression 
of  their  rams,  which,  by  continually  beat- 
ing upon  the  wall,  did  gradually  prevail 
against  it ;  so  that  the  wall  already  gave 
way  to  the  "  Nico,"  for  by  that  name  did 
the  Jews  themselves  call  the  greatest  of 
their  engines,  because  it  conquered  all 
things.  And  now,  they  were  for  a  long 
while  grown  weary  of  fighting,  and  of 
keeping  guard,  and  were  retired  to  lodge 
in  the  night-time  at  a  distance  from  the 
wall.  It  was  on  other  accounts  also 
thought  by  them  to  be  superfluous  to  guard 
the  wall,  there  being,  besides  that,  two 
other  fortifications  still  remaining,  and 
they  being  slothful,  and  their  counsels 
having  been  ill  concerted  on  all  occasions; 
so  a  great  many  grew  lazy  and  retired. 
Then  the  Romans  mounted  the  breach, 
where  Nico  had  made  one,  and  all  the 
Jews  left  the  guarding  that  wall,  and  re- 
treated to  the  second  wall ;  so  those  that 
had  gotten  over  that  wall  opened  the  gates, 
and  received  all  the  army  within  it.  And 
thus  did  the  Romans  get  possession  of  this 
first  wall,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  siege, 
which  was  the  seventh  day  of  the  month 
Artemisius  [Jyar],  when  they  demolished 
a  great  part  of  it,  as  well  as  they  did  of 
the  northern  parts  of  the  city,  which  had 
been  demolished  also  by  Cestius  formerly. 

And  now  Titus  pitched  his  camp  with- 
n  the  city,  at  that  place  which  was  called 
"the  camp  of  the  Assyrians,"  having  seized 
upon  all  that  lay  as  far  as  Cedron,  but 
took  care  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
Jews'  darts.  He  then  presently  began 
his  attacks,  upon  which  the  Jews  divided 
themselves  into  several  bodies,  and  cou- 
rageously defended  that  wall;  while  John 
and  his  faction  did  it  from  the  tower  of 
Antonia,  and  from  the  northern  cloister 


of  the  temple,  and  fought  the  Romans  be- 
fore the  monument  of  Kinjj  Alexander ; 
and  Simon's  army  also  took  for  their  share 
the  spot  of  ground  that  was  near  John's 
monument,  and  fortified  it  as  far  as  to 
that  gate  where  water  was  brought  in  to 
the  tower  Hippicus.  However,  the  Jews 
made  violent  sallies,  and  that  frequently 
also,  and  in  bodies  together,  out  of  the 
gates,  and  there  fought  the  Romans ;  and 
when  they  were  pursued  altogether  to  the 
wall,  they  were  beaten  in  those  fights,  as 
wanting  the  skill  of  the  Romans.  But 
when  they  fought  them  from  the  walls, 
they  were  too  hard  for  them,  the  Romans 
being  encouraged  by  their  power,  joined 
to  their  skill,  as  were  the  Jews  by  their 
boldness,  which  was  nourished  by  the  fear 
they  were  in,  and  that  hardiness  which  is 
natural  to  our  nation  under  calamities; 
they  were  also  encouraged  still  by  the 
hope  of  deliverance,  as  were  the  Romans 
by  the  hopes  of  subduing  them  in  a  little 
time.  Nor  did  either  side  grow  weary ; 
but  attacks  and  fightings  upon  the  wall, 
and  perpetual  sallies  out  in  bodies  were 
practised  all  the  day  long;  nor  were  there 
any  sort  of  warlike  engagements  that  were 
not  then  put  in  use.  And  the  night 
itself  had  much  ado  to  part  them,  when 
they  began  to  fight  in  the  morning;  nay, 
the  night  itself  was  passed  without  sleep 
on  both  sides,  and  was  more  uneasy  than 
the  day  to  them,  while  the  one  was  afraid 
lest  the  wall  should  be  taken,  and  the 
other  lest  the  Jews  should  make  sallies 
upon  their  camps ;  both  sides  also  lay  in 
their  armour  during  the  night-time,  and 
thereby  were  ready  at  the  first  appearance 
of  light  to  go  to  the  battle.  Now,  among 
the  Jews  the  ambition  was  who  should 
undergo  the  first  dangers,  and  thereby 
gratify  their  commanders.  Above  all, 
they  had  a  great  veneration  and  dread  of 
Simon ;  and  to  that  degree  was  he  regarded 
by  every  one  of  those  that  were  under  him, 
that  at  his  command  they  were  very  ready 
to  kill  themselves  with  their  own  hands. 
What  made  the  Romans  so  courageous 
was  their  usual  custom  of  conquering  and 
disuse  of  being  defeated,  their  constant 
wars,  and  perpetual  warlike  exercises,  and 
the  grandeur  of  their  dominion;  and  what 
was  now  their  chief  encouragement — Ti- 
tus, who  was  present  everywhere  with 
them  all;  for  it  appeared  a  terrible  thing 
to  grow  weary  while  Caesar  was  there,  and 
fought  bravely  as  well  as  they  did,  and 
was    himself   at    ance    a^i    eyewitness    of 


814 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


such  as  behaved  themselves  valiantly,  and 
he  who  was  to  reward  them  also.  It  was, 
besides,  esteemed  an  advantage  at  present 
to  have  any  one's  valour  known  by  Caesar; 
on  which  account  many  of  them  appeared 
to  have  more  alacrity  than  strength  to 
answer  it.  And  now,  as  the  Jews  were 
about  this  time  standing  in  array  before 
the  wall,  and  that  in  a  strong  body,  and 
while  both  parties  were  throwing  their 
darts  at  each  other,  Longinus,  one  of  the 
equestrian  order,  leaped  out  of  the  army 
of  the  Romans,  and  leaped  into  the  very 
midst  of  the  army  of  the  Jews;  and  as 
they  dispersed  themselves  upon  this  attack, 
he  slew  two  of  their  men  of  the  greatest 
courage ;  one  of  them  he  struck  in  his 
mouth,  as  he  was  coming  to  meet  him  ; 
the  other  was  slain  by  him  with  that  very 
dart  that  he  drew  out  of  the  body  of  the 
other,  with  which  he  ran  this  man  through 
his  side  as  he  was  running  away  from 
him ;  and  when  he  had  done  this,  he  first 
of  all  ran  out  of  the  midst  of  his  enemies 
to  his  own  side.  So  this  man  signalized 
himself  for  his  valour,  and  many  there 
were  who  were  ambitious  of  gaining  the 
like  reputation.  And  now  the  Jews  were 
unconcerned  at  what  they  suffered  them- 
selves from  the  Romans,  and  were  only 
solicitous  about  what  mischief  they  could 
do  them  ;  and  death  itself  seemed  a  small 
matter  to  them,  if  at  the  same  time  they 
could  but  kill  any  one  of  their  enemies. 
But  Titus  took  care  to  secure  his  own  sol- 
diers from  harm,  as  well  as  to  have  them 
overcome  their  enemies.  He  also  said 
that  inconsiderate  violence  was  madness; 
and  that  this  alone  was  the  true  courage 
that  was  joined  with  good  conduct.  He 
therefore  commanded  his  men  to  take  care, 
when  they  fought  their  enemies,  that  they 
received  no  harm  from  them  at  the  same 
time ;  and  thereby  show  themselves  to  be 
truly  valiant  men. 

And  now  Titus  brought  one  of  his  en- 
gines to  the  middle  tower  of  the  north  part 
of  the  wall,  in  which  a  certain  crafty  Jew, 
whose  name  was  Castor,  lay  in  ambush, 
with  ten  others  like  himself,  the  rest  being 
fled  away  by  reason  of  the  archers.  These 
men  lay  still  for  awhile,  as  in  great  fear, 
under  their  breastplates;  but  when  the 
tower  was  shaken,  they  arose ;  and  Castor 
did  then  stretch  out  his  hand,  as  a  petition- 
er, and  called  for  Caesar,  and  by  his  voice 
moved  his  compassion,  and  begged  of  him 
bo  have  tnercy  upon  them ;  and  Titus,  in 
the  innoeenc)  of  his  heart,  believing  him 


to  be  in  earnest,  and  hoping  that  the  Jewr 
did  now  repent,  stopped  the  working  of 
the  battering-ram,  and  forbade  them  to 
shoot  at  the  petitioners,  and  bade  Castor 
say  what  he  had  a  mind  to  say  to  him. 
He  said  that  he  would  come  down,  if  he 
would  give  him  his  right  hand  for  his  se- 
curity. To  which  Titus  replied,  that  he 
was  well  pleased  with  such  his  agreeable 
conduct,  and  would  be  more  pleased  if  all 
the  Jews  would  be  of  his  mind ;  and  that, 
he  was  ready  to  give  the  like  security  to 
the  city.  Now  five  of  the  ten  dissembled 
with  him,  and  pretended  to  beg  for  mercy  ; 
while  the  rest  cried  out  aloud,  that  they 
would  never  be  slaves  to  the  Romans, 
while  it  was  in  their  power  to  die  in  a 
state  of  freedom.  Now  when  these  men 
were  quarrelling  for  a  long  while,  the  at 
tack  was  delayed;  Castor  also  sent  to  Si- 
mon, and  told  him  that  they  might  take 
some  time  for  consultation  about  what  was 
to  be  done,  because  he  would  elude  the 
power  of  the  Romans  for  a  considerable 
time.  And  at  the  same  time  that  he  sent 
thus  to  him,  he  appeared  openly  to  exhort 
those  that  were  obstinate,  to  accept  of 
Titus's  hand  for  their  security;  but  they 
seemed  very  angry  at  it,  and  brandished 
their  naked  swords  upon  the  breastworks ; 
and  struck  themselves  upon  their  breasts, 
and  fell  down  as  if  they  had  been  slain. 
Hereupon  Titus,  and  those  with  him,  were 
amazed  at  the  courage  of  the  men ;  and 
as  they  were  not  able  to  see  exactly  what 
was  done,  they  admired  at  their  great 
fortitude,  and  pitied  their  calamity.  Dur- 
ing this  interval,  a  certain  person  shot  a 
dart  at  Castor,  and  wounded  him  in  his 
nose ;  whereupon  he  presently  pulled  out 
the  dart,  and  showed  it  to  Titus,  and  com- 
plained that  this  was  unfair  treatment;  so 
Caesar  reproved  him  that  shot  the  dart, 
and  sent  Josephus,  who  then  stood  by  him, 
to  give  his  right  hand  to  Castor.  Rut 
Josephus  said  that  he  would  uot  go  to  him, 
because  these  pretended  petitioners  meant 
nothing  that  was  good;  he  also  restrained 
those  friends  of  his  who  were  zealous  to 
go  to  him.  But  still  there  was  one  iEneas, 
a  deserter,  who  said  he  would  go  to  him. 
Castor  also  called  to  them,  that  somebody 
should  come  and  receive  the  money  which 
he  had  with  him ;  this  made  iEneas  the 
more  earnestly  to  run  to  him  with  his  bo- 
som open.  Then  did  Castor  take  up  a 
great  stone,  and  threw  it  at  him,  which 
missed  him,  because  he  guarded  himself 
i  against  it ;   but  still  it  wounded  another 


JHAP.VIII.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS 


$15 


soldier  that  wis  coming  to  him.  "When 
Caesar  understood  that  this  was  a  delusion, 
he  perceived  that  mercy  in  war  is  a  per- 
nicious thing,  because  such  cunning  tricks 
have  less  place  under  the  exercise  of 
greater  severity.  So  he  caused  the  en- 
gine tc  work  more  strongly  than  before, 
on  account  of  his  anger  at  the  deceit  put 
upon  him.  But  Castor  and  his  compa- 
nions set  the  tower  on  fire  when  it  began 
to  give  way,  and  leaped  through  the  flame 
into  a  hidden  vault  that  was  under  it; 
which  made  the  Romans  further  suppose 
that  they  were  men  of  great  courage,  as 
having  cast  themselves  into  the  fire. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Romans  possess  themselves  of  the  second  wall. 

Now  Caesar  took  this  wall  there  on  the 
fifth  day  after  he  had  taken  the  first ;  and 
when  the  Jews  had  fled  from  him,  he  en- 
tered into  it  with  1000  armed  men,  and 
those  of  his  choice  troops,  and  this  at  a 
place  where  were  the  merchants  of  wool, 
the  braziers,  and  the  market  for  cloth,  and 
where  the  narrow  streets  led  obliquely  to 
the  wall.  Wherefore,  if  Titus  had  either 
demolished  a  larger  part  of  the  wall  imme- 
diately, or  had  come  in,  and,  according 
to  the  law  of'  war,  had  laid  waste  what 
was  left,  his  victory  would  not,  I  suppose, 
have  been  mixed  with  any  loss  to  himself; 
but  now,  out  of  the  hope  he  had  that  he 
should  make  the  Jews  ashamed  of  their  ob- 
stinacy, by  not  being  willing,  when  he  was 
able,  to  afflict  them  more  than  he  needed 
to  do,  he  did  not  widen  the  breach  of  the 
wall  in  order  to  make  a  safer  retreat  upon 
occasion ;  for  he  did  not  think  they  would 
lay  snares  for  him  that  did  them  such  a 
kindness.  When  therefore  he  came  in,  he 
did  not  permit  his  soldiers  to  kill  any  of 
those  they  caught,  nor  to  set  fire  to  their 
houses  neither ;  nay,  he  gave  leave  to  the 
seditious,  if  they  had  a  mind,  to  fight 
without  any  harm  to  the  people,  and  pro- 
mised to  restore  the  people's  effects  to 
them  ;  for  he  was  very  desirous  to  preserve 
the  city  for  his  owu  sake,  and  the  temple 
for  the  sake  of  the  city.  As  to  the  people, 
he  had  them  of  a  long  time  ready  to  com- 
ply with  his  proposals ;  but  as  to  the  fight- 
ing men,  this  humanity  of  his  seemed  a 
mark  of  his  weakness ;  and  they  imagined 
that  he  made  these  proposals  because  he 
was  not  able  to  take  the  rest  of  the  city. 
They  also  threatened  death  to  the  people, 
if  they   should  any    one  of  them   say   a 


word  about  a  surrender.  They  moreover 
cut  the  throats  of  such  as  talked  of  a 
peace,  and  then  attacked  those  Romans 
that  were  come  within  the  wall.  Some  of 
them  they  met  in  the  narrow  streets,  and 
some  they  fought  against  from  their  houses, 
while  they  made  a  sudden  sally  out  at  the 
upper  gates,  and  assaulted  such  Romans 
as  were  beyond  the  wall,  till  those  that 
guarded  the  wall  were  so  affrighted,  that 
they  leaped  down  from  their  towers,  and 
retired  to  their  several  camps  :  upon  which 
a  great  noise  was  made  by  the  Romans 
that  were  within,  because  they  were  en- 
compassed round  on  every  side  by  their 
enemies;  as  also  by  them  that  were  with- 
out, because  they  were  in  fear  for  those 
that  were  left  in  the  city.  Thus  did  the 
Jews  grow  more  numerous  perpetually, 
and  had  great  advantages  over  the  Romans, 
by  their  full  knowledge  of  those  narrow 
lanes;  and  they  wounded  a  great  many  of 
them,  and  fell  upon  them  and  drove  them 
out  of  the  city.  Now  these  Romans  were 
at  present  forced  to  make  the  best  resist- 
ance they  could ;  for  they  were  not  able, 
in  great  numbers,  to  get  out  at  the  breach 
in  the  wall,  it  was  so  narrow.  It  is  also 
probable  that  all  those  that  were  gotten 
within  had  been  cut  to  pieces,  if  Titus  had 
not  sent  them  succours ;  for  he  ordered  the 
archers  to  stand  at  the  upper  ends  of  these 
narrow  lanes,  and  he  stood  himself  where 
was  the  greatest  multitude  of  his  enemies, 
and  with  his  darts  he  put  a  stop  to  them ; 
as  with  him  did  Domitius  Sabinus  also,  a 
valiant  man,  and  one  that  in  this  battle 
appeared  so  to  be.  Thus  did  Caesar  con- 
tinue to  shoot  darts  at  the  Jews  continu- 
ally, and  to  hinder  them  from  coming 
upon  his  men,  and  this  until  all  the  sol- 
diers had  retreated  out  of  the  city. 

And  thus  were  the  Romans  driven  out, 
after  they  had  possessed  themselves  of  the 
second  wall.  Whereupon  the  fighting 
men  that  were  in  the  city  were  lifted  up 
in  their  minds,  and  were  elevated  upon 
this  their  good  success,  and  began  to  think 
that  the  Romans  would  never  venture  to 
come  in  the  city  any  more ;  and  that,  if 
they  kept  within  it  themselves,  they  should 
not  be  any  more  conquered ;  for  God  had 
blinded  their  minds  for  the  transgressions 
they  had  been  guilty  of,  nor  could  they 
see  how  much  greater  forces  the  Romans 
had  than  those  that  were  now  expelled,  no 
more  than  they  could  discern  how  a  famine 
was  creeping  upon  them  ;  for  hitherto  they 
had    fed    themselves   out   of    the    public 


316 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


miseries,  and  drunk  the  blood  of  the  city. 
But  now  poverty  had  for  a  long  time 
seized  upon  the  better  part,  and  a  great 
many  had  died  already  for  want  of  neces- 
saries; although  the  seditious  indeed  sup- 
posed the  destruction  of  the  people  to  be 
a  relief  to  themselves;  for  they  desired 
that  none  others  might  be  preserved  but 
such  as  were  against  a  peace  with  the  Ro- 
mans, and  were  resolved  to  live  in  opposi- 
tion to  them,  and  they  were  pleased  when 
the  multitude  of  those  of  a  contrary  opi- 
nion were  consumed,  as  being  then  freed 
from  a  heavy  burden ;  and  this  was  their 
disposition  of  mind  with  regurd  to  those 
that  were  within  the  city,  while  they  co- 
vered themselves  with  their  armour,  and 
prevented  the  Romans,  when  they  were 
trying  to  get  into  the  city  again,  and  made 
a  wail  of  their  own  bodies  over  against 
that  part  of  the  wall  that  was  cast  down. 
Thus  did  they  valiantly  defend  themselves 
for  three  days  ;  but  on  the  fourth  day  they 
could  not  support  themselves  against  the 
vehement  assaults  of  Titus,  but  were  com- 
pelled by  force  to  fly  whither  they  had 
fled  before  ;  so  he  quietly  possessed  him- 
self again  of  that  wall,  and  demolished  it 
entirely  ;  and  when  he  had  put  a  garrison 
into  the  towers  that  were  on  the  south 
parts  of  the  city,  he  contrived  how  he 
might  assault  the  third  wall. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Temporary  cessation  of  the  siege — Renewal  of  hos- 
tilities— Josephus  sent  to  offer  peace. 

A  resolution  was  now  taken  by  Titus 
to  relax  the  siege  for  a  little  while,  and 
to  afford  the  seditious  an  interval  for  con- 
sideration, and  to  see  whether  the  de- 
molishing of  their  second  wall  would 
not  make  them  a  little  more  compliant,  or 
whether  they  were  not  somewhat  afraid 
of  a  famine,  because  the  spoils  they  had 
gotten  by  rapine  would  not  be  sufficient  for 
them  long  ;  so  he  made  use  of  this  relaxa- 
tion, in  order  to  compass  his  own  designs. 
Accordingly,  as  the  usual  appointed  time 
when  he  must  distribute  subsistence-mo- 
ney to  the  soldiers  was  now  come,  he  gave 
orders  that  the  commanders  should  put  the 
army  into  battle-array,  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy,  and  then  give  every  one  of  the 
soldiers  their  pay.  So  the  soldiers,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  opened  the  cases  where- 
in their  arms  before  lay  covered,  and 
marched  with  their  breastplates  on  ;  as 
did  the  horsemen  lead  their  horses  in  their 


fine  trappings.  Then  did  the  places  that 
were  before  the  city  shine  very  splendidly 
for  a  great  way  ;  nor  was  there  any  thing 
so  grateful  to  Titus's  own  men,  or  so  ter- 
rible to  the  enemy  as  that  sight ;  for  the 
whole  old  wall  and  the  north  side  of  the 
temple  were  full  of  spectators,  and  one 
might  see  the  houses  full  of  such  as 
looked  at  them  ;  nor  was  there  any  part  of 
the  city  which  was  not  covered  over  with 
their  multitudes ;  nay,  a  very  great  con- 
sternation seized  upon  the  hardiest  of  the 
Jews  themselves,  when  they  saw  all  the 
army  in  the  same  place,  together  with  the 
fineness  of  their  arras,  and  the  good  order 
of  their  men  ;  and  I  cannot  but  think  that 
the  seditious  would  have  changed  their 
minds  at  that  sight,  unless  the  crimes  they 
had  committed  against  the  people  had  been 
so  horrid,  that  they  despaired  of  forgive- 
ness from  the  Romans;  but  as  they  be- 
lieved death  with  torments  must  be  their 
punishment,  if  they  did  not  go  on  in  the 
defence  of  the  city,  they  thought  it  much 
better  to  die  in  war.  Fate  also  prevailed 
so  far  over  them,  that  the  innocent  were  to 
perish  with  the  guilty,  and  the  city  was  to  be 
destroyed  with  the  seditious  that  were  in  it. 
Thus  did  the  Romans  spend  four  days 
in  bringing  this  subsistence-money  to  the 
several  legions  ;  but  on  the  fifth  day,  when 
no  signs  of  peace  appeared  to  come  from 
the  Jews,  Titus  divided  his  legions,  and 
began  to  raise  banks,  both  at  the  tower  of 
Autonia,  and  at  John's  monument.  Now 
his  designs  were  to  take  the  upper  city  at 
that  monument,  and  the  temple  at  the  tower 
of  Antonia ;  for  if  the  temple  were  not 
taken,  it  would  be  dangerous  to  keep  the 
city  itself;  so  at  each  of  these  parts  he 
raised  him  banks,  each  legion  raising  one. 
As  for  those  that  wrought  at  John's  monu- 
ment,  the  Idu means,  and  those  that  were 
in  arms  with  Simon,  made  sallies  upon 
them,  and  put  some  stop  to  them  ;  while 
John's  party,  and  the  multitude  of  Zeal- 
ots with  them,  did  the  like  to  those 
that  were  before  the  tower  of  Antonia. 
These  Jews  were  now  too  hard  for  the  Ro- 
mans, not  only  in  direct  fighting,  because 
they  stood  upon  the  higher  ground,  but 
because  they  had  now  learned  to  use  their 
own  engines  ;  for  their  continual  use  of 
them,  one  day  after  another,  did  by  de- 
grees improve  their  skill  about  them  ;  for 
of  one  sort  of  engines  for  darts  they  had 
340  for  stones;  by  the  means  of  which 
they  made  it  more  tedious  for  the  Romans 
to    raise    their    banks ;    but    then    Titus, 


Cha*\  IX.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


81f 


knowing  that  the  city  would  be  either 
saved  or  destroyed  for  himself,  did  not  only 
proceed  earnestly  in  the  siege,  but  did  not 
omit  to  have  the  Jews  exhorted  to  repent- 
ance ;  so  he  mixed  good  counsel  with  his 
works  for  the  siege ;  and  being  sensible 
that  exhortations  are  frequently  more  ef- 
fectual than  arms,  he  persuaded  them  to 
surrender  the  city,  now  in  a  manner  al- 
ready taken,  and  thereby  to  save  them- 
selves, and  sent  Josephus  to  speak  to  them 
in  their  own  language ;  for  he  imagined 
they  might  yield  to  the  persuasion  of  a 
countryman  of  their  own. 

So  Josephus  went  rouud  about  the  wall, 
and  tried  to  find  a  place  that  was  out  of 
the  reach  of  their  darts,  and  yet  within 
their  hearing,  and  besought  them,  in  many 
words,  to  spare  themselves,  to  spare  their 
country  and  their  temple,  and  not  to  be 
more  obdurate  in  these  cases  than  foreign- 
ers themselves;  for  that  the  Romans,  who 
had  no  relation  to  those  things,  had  a 
reverence  for  their  sacred  rites  and  places, 
although  they  belonged  to  their  enemies, 
and  had  till  now  kept  their  hands  off  from 
meddling  with  them ;  while  such  as  were 
Drought  up  under  them,  and,  if  they  be 
preserved,  will  be  the  only  people  that  will 
reap  the  benefit  of  them,  hurry  on  to  have 
them  destroyed.  That  certainly  they  have 
seen  their  strongest  walls  demolished,  and 
that  the  wall  still  remaining  was  weaker 
than  those  that  were  already  taken.  That 
they  must  know  the  Roman  power  was 
invincible,  and  that  they  had  been  used  to 
serve  them  ;  for,  that  in  case  it  be  allowed 
a  right  thing  to  fight  for  liberty,  that  ought 
to  have  been  done  at  first  j  but  for  them 
that  have  once  fallen  under  the  power  of 
the  Romans,  and  have  now  submitted  to 
them  for  so  many  long  years,  to  pretend 
to  shake  off  that  yoke  afterward,  was  the 
work  of  such  as  had  a  mind  to  die  misera- 
bly, not  of  such  as  were  lovers  of  liberty. 
Besides,  men  may  well  enough  grudge  at 
the  dishonour  of  owuing  ignoble  masters 
over  them,  but  ought  not  to  do  so  to  those 
who  have  all  things  under  their  command  : 
for  what  part  of  the  world  is  there  that 
hath  escaped  the  Romans,  unless  it  be  such 
as  are  of  no  usej  for  violent  heat  or  vio- 
lent cold  ?  And  evident  it  is,  that  fortune 
is  on  all  hands  gone  over  to  them  ;  and 
that  God,  when  he  had  gone  round  the 
nations  with  this  dominion,  is  now  settled 
in  Italy.  That,  moreover,  it  is  a  strong 
and  fixed  law,  even  among  brute  beasts,  as 
well  as  among  men,  to  yield  to  those  that 
52 


are  too  strong  for  them  ;  and  to  suffer  those 
to  have  dominion,  who  are  too  hard  for  the 
rest  in  war;  for  which  reason  it  was  that 
their  forefathers,  who  were  far  superior  to 
them  both  in  their  souls  and  bodies,  and 
other  advantages,  did  yet  submit  to  the 
Romans ;  which  they  would  not  have  suffer- 
ed, had  they  not  known  that  God  was  with 
them.  As  for  themselves,  what  can  they 
depend  on  in  this  their  opposition,  when 
the  greatest  part  of  their  city  is  already 
taken  ?  and  when  those  that  are  within  it 
are  under  greater  miseries  than  if  they 
were  taken,  although  their  walls  be  &till 
standing  ?  For  that  the  Romans  are  not 
unacquainted  with  that  famine  which  is  in 
the  city,  whereby  the  people  are  already 
consumed,  and  the  fighting  men  will,  in  a 
little  time  be  so  too;  for  although  the  Ro- 
mans should  leave  off  the  siege,  and  not 
fall  upon  the  city  with  their  swords  in 
their  hands,  yet  was  there  an  insuperable 
war  that  beset  them  within,  and  was  aug- 
mented every  hour,  unless  they  were  able 
to  wage  war  with  famine,  and  fight  against 
it,  or  could  alone  conquer  their  natural 
appetites.  He  added  this  further,  How 
right  a  thing  it  was  to  change  their  con- 
duct before  their  calamities  were  become 
incurable,  and  to  have  recourse  to  such 
advice  as  might  preserve  them,  while  op- 
portunity was  offered  them  for  so  doing; 
for  that  the  Romans  would  not  be  mind- 
ful of  their  past  actions  to  their  disadvan- 
tage, unless  they  persevered  in  their  inso- 
lent behaviour  to  the  end  ;  because  they 
were  naturally  mild  in  their  conquests, 
and  preferred  what  was  profitable,  before 
what  their  passions  dictated  to  them ; 
which  profit  of  theirs  lay  not  in  leaving 
the  city  empty  of  inhabitants,  nor  the 
country  a  desert ;  on  which  account  Caesar 
did  now  offer  them  his  right  hand  for  their 
security.  Whereas,  if  he  took  the  city 
by  force,  he  would  not  save  any  one  of 
them,  and  this  especially  if  they  rejected 
his  offers  in  these  their  utmost  distresses  ; 
for  the  walls  that  were  already  taken, 
could  not  but  assure  them  that  the  third 
would  quickly  be  taken  also;  and  though 
their  fortifications  should  prove  t«,o  strong 
for  the  Romans  to  break  through  them, 
yet  would  the  famine  fight  for  the  Romans 
against  them. 

While  Josephus  was  making  this  ex- 
hortation to  the  Jews,  many  of  them  jested 
upon  him  from  the  wall,  and  many  re- 
proached him  ;  nay,  some  threw  their  dart." 
at  him :   but  when  he  could   not  himself 


818 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


persuade  them  by  such  open  good  advice, 
he  betook  himself  to  the  histories  belong- 
ing to  their  own  nation  ;  and  cried  out 
aloud,  aO  miserable  creatures  !  Are  you 
so  unmindful  of  those  that  used  to  assist 
you,  that  you  will  fight  by  your  weapons, 
and  by  your  hands  against  the  Romans  ? 
When  did  we  ever  conquer  any  other  na- 
tion by  such  means?  and  when  was  it  that 
God,  who  is  the  Creator  of  the  Jewish 
people,  did  not  avenge  them  when  they 
had  been  injured  ?  Will  not  you  turn 
again,  and  look  back,  and  consider 
whence  it  is  that  you  fight  with  such  vio- 
lence, and  how  great  a  supporter  you  have 
profanely  abused  ?  Will  not  you  reoall  to 
mind  the  prodigious  things  done  for  your 
forefathers  and  this  holy  place,  and  how 
great  enemies  of  yours  were  by  him  sub- 
dued under  yon  ?  I  even  trouble  myself 
in  declaring  the  works  of  God  before  your 
ears,  that  are  unworthy  to  hear  them  : 
however,  hearken  to  me,  that  you  may  be 
informed  how  you  fight,  not  only  against 
the  Romans,  but  against  God  himself.  In 
old  times  there  was  one  Necho,  king  of 
Egypt,  who  was  also  called  Pharaoh  :  he 
came  with  a  prodigious  army  of  soldiers, 
and  seized  Queen  Sarah,  the  mother  of  our 
nation.  What  did  Abraham  our  progeni- 
tor then  do  ?  Did  he  defend  himself  from 
this  injurious  person  by  war,  although  he 
had  318  captains  under  him,  and  an  im- 
mense army  under  each  of  them  ?  Indeed, 
he  deemed  them  to  be  no  number  at  all 
without  God's  assistance,  and  only  spread 
out  his  hands  toward  this  holy  place, 
which  you  have  now  polluted,  and  reckon- 
ed upon  him  as  upon  his  invincible  sup- 
porter, instead  of  his  own  army.  Was 
not  our  queen  sent  back,  without  any  de- 
filement, to  her  husband,  the  very  next 
evening  ? — while  the  king  of  Egypt  fled 
away,  adoring  this  place  which  you  have 
defiled  by  shedding  thereon  the  blood  of 
your  countrymen;  and  he  also  trembled  at 
those  visions  which  he  saw  in  the  night 
season,  and  bestowed  both  silver  and  gold 
on  the  Hebrews,  as  on  a  people  beloved  of 
God.*  Shall  I  say  nothing,  or  shall  I 
mention  the  removal  of  our  fathers  into 
Egypt,  who,  when  they  were  used  tyran- 
nically, and  were  fallen  under  the  power 
of  foreign  kings  for  400  years  together, 
and  might  have  defended  themselves  by 
war  a*id  by  fighting,  did  yet  do  nothing  but 

*  This  version  of  the  abduction  of  Sarah  is  some- 
what at  variance  with  the  simple  and  unadorned 
narration  receded  in  Genesis. 


commit  themselves  to  God  ?  Who  is  there 
that  does  not  know  that  Egypt  was  over- 
run with  all  sorts  of  wild  beasts,  and  con- 
sumed by  all  sorts  of  distempers  ?  how 
their  land  did  not  bring  forth  its  fruit  ? 
how  the  Nile  failed  of  water  ?  how  the 
ten  plagues  of  Egypt  followed  one  upon 
another?  and  how,  by  those  means,  our 
fathers  were  sent  away,  under  a  guard, 
without  any  bloodshed,  and  without  run- 
ning any  dangers,  because  God  conducted 
them  as  his  peculiar  servants  ?  Moreover, 
did  not  Palestine  groan  under  the  ravage 
the  Assyrians  made,  when  they  carried 
away  our  sacred  ark  ?  as  did  their  idol 
Dagon,  and  as  also  did  that  entire  nation 
of  those  that  carried  it  away,  how  they 
were  smitten  with  a  loathsome  distemper 
in  the  secret  parts  of  their  bodies,  when 
their  very  bowels  came  down  together, 
with  what  they  had  eaten,  till  those  hands 
that  stole  it  away  were  obliged  to  bring 
it  back  again,  and  that  with  the  sound  of 
cymbals  and  timbrels,  and  other  oblations, 
in  order  to  appease  the  anger  of  God  for 
their  violation  of  his  holy  ark.  It  was 
God  who  then  became  our  general,  and 
accomplished  these  great  things  for  our 
fathers,  and  this  because  they  did  not 
meddle  with  war  and  fighting,  but  com- 
mitted it  to  him  to  judge  about  their  af- 
fairs. When  Sennacherib,  king  of  As- 
syria, brought  along  with  him  all  Asia, 
and  encompassed  this  city  round  with  his 
army,  did  he  fall  by  the  hands  of  men? 
were  not  those  hands  lifted  up  to  God  in 
prayers,  without  meddling  with  their  arms, 
when  an  angel  of  God  destroyed  that  pro- 
digious army  in  one  night  ?  when  the  As- 
syrian king,  as  he  rose  next  day,  found 
185,000  dead  bodies,  and  when  be,  with 
the  remainder  of  his  army,  fled  away  from 
the  Hebrews,  though  they  were  unarmed, 
and  did  not  pursue  them  !  You  are  also 
acquainted  with  the  slavery  we  were  under 
at  Babylon,  where  the  people  were  cap- 
tives for  seventy  years  ;  yet  were  they  not 
delivered  into  freedom  again  before  God 
made  Cyrus  his  gracious  instrument  in 
bringing  it  about ;  accordingly,  they  were 
set  free  by  him,  and  did  again  restore  the 
worship  of  their  Deliverer  at  his  temple. 
And,  to  speak  in  general,  we  can  produce 
no  example  wherein  our  fathers  got  any 
success  by  war,  or  failed  of  success  when 
without  war  they  committed  themselves 
to  God.  When  they  stayed  at  home  they 
conquered,  as  pleased  their  Judge  ;  but 
when  they  went  out  to  fight  they  were  al- 


UflAP.   IX.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS- 


819 


wuys  disappointed  :  f  >r  example,  when  the 
king  of  Babylon  besieged  this  very  city, 
und  our  king  Zedekiah  fought  against  him 
contrary  to  what  predictions  were  made 
to  him  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  he  was 
at  once  taken  prisoner,  and  saw  the  city 
and  the  temple  demolished.  Yet  how 
much  greater  was  the  moderation  of  that 
king,  than  is  that  of  your  present  govern- 
ors, and  that  of  the  people  then  under 
him,  than  is  that  of  yours  at  this  time  !  for 
when  Jeremiah  cried  out  aloud,  how  very 
angry  God  was  at  them,  because  of  their 
transgressions,  and  told  them  that  they 
should  be  taken  prisoners,  unless  they 
would  surrender  up  their  city,  neither  did 
the  king  nor  the  people  put  him  to  death  ; 
but  for  you,  (to  pass  over  what  you  have 
done  within  the  city,  which  I  am  not  able 
to  describe  as  your  wickedness  deserves,) 
you  abuse  me,  and  throw  darts  at  me, 
who  only  exhort  you  to  save  yourselves,  as 
being  provoked  when  you  are  put  in  mind 
of  your  sins,  and  cannot  bear  the  very 
mention  of  those  crimes,  which  you  every 
day  perpetrate.  For  another  example, 
when  Antiochus,  who  was  called  Epi- 
phanes,  lay  before  this  city,  and  had  been 
guilty  of  many  indignities  against  God, 
and  our  forefathers  met  him  in  arms,  they 
then  were  slain  in  the  battle,  this  city  was 
plundered  by  our  enemies,  and  our  sanc- 
tuary made  desolate  for  three  years  and 
six  months.  And  what  need  I  bring  any 
more  examples  !  Indeed,  what  can  it  be 
that  hath  stirred  up  an  army  of  the  Ro- 
mans against  our  nation  ?  Is  it  not  the 
impiety  of  the  inhabitants  ?  Whence  did 
our  servitude  commence  ?  Was  it  not  de- 
rived from  the  seditions  that  were  among 
our  forefathers,  when  the  madness  of  Aris- 
tobulus  and  Hyrcanus,  and  our  mutual 
quarrels,  brought  Pompey  upon  this  city, 
and  when  God  reduced  those  under  sub- 
jection to  the  Romans,  who  were  unwor- 
thy of  the  liberty  they  had  enjoyed?  Af- 
ter a  siege,  therefore,  of  three  months, 
they  were  forced  to  surrender  themselves, 
although  they  had  been  guilty  of  such  of- 
fences with  regard  to  our  sanctuary  and 
our  laws,  as  you  have  ;  and  this  while 
they  had  much  greater  advantages  to  go 
to  war  than  you  have.  Do  not  we  know 
what  end  Antigonus,  the  son  of  Aristobu- 
lus,  came  to,  under  whose  reign  God  pro- 
vided that  this  city  should  be  taken  again 
upon  account  of  the  people's  offences  ? 
When  Herod,  the  sou  of  Anti pater, 
brought    upon     us    Sosius,    and    Sosius 


brought  upon  us  the  Roman  army,  they 
were  then  encompassed  and  besieged  for 
six  months,  till,  as  a  punishment  for  their 
sins,  they  were  taken,  and  the  city  was 
plundered  by  the  enemy.  Thus  it  appears 
that  arms  were  never  given  to  our  nation; 
but  that  we  are  always  given  up  to  be 
fought  against,  and  to  be  taken;  for  I 
suppose,  that  such  as  inhabit  this  holy 
place  ought  to  commit  the  disposal  of  all 
things  to  God,  and  then  only  to  disregard 
the  assistance  of  men  when  they  resign 
themselves  up  to  their  arbitrator,  who  is 
above.  As  for  you,  what  have  you  done 
of  those  things  that  are  recommended  by 
our  legislator !  and  what  have  you  not 
done  of  those  things  that  he  hath  con- 
demned !  How  much  more  impious  are 
you  than  those  who  were  so  quickly  taken  ! 
You  have  not  avoided  so  much  as  those 
sins  which  are  usually  done  in  secret;  I 
meau  thefts,  and  treacherous  plots  against 
men,  and  adulteries.  You  are  quarrelling 
about  rapines  and  murders,  and  invent 
strange  ways  of  wickedness.  Nay,  the 
temple  itself  is  become  the  receptacle  of 
all,  and  this  divine  place  is  polluted  by 
the  hands  of  those  of  our  own  country  ; 
which  place  hath  yet  been  reverenced  by 
the  Romans  when  it  was  at  a  distance  from 
them,  when  they  have  suffered  many  of 
their  own  customs  to  give  place  to  our 
law.  And,  after  all  this,  do  you  expect 
Him  whom  you  have  so  impiously  abused, 
to  be  your  supporter.  To  be  sure  then 
you  have  a  right  to  be  petitioners,  and  to 
call  upon  Him  to  assist  you,  so  pure  are 
your  hands  !  Did  your  king  [Hezekiah] 
lift  up  such  hands  in  prayer  to  God  against 
the  king  of  Assyria,  when  he  destroyed 
that  great  army  in  one  night?  And  do 
the  Romans  commit  such  wickedness  as 
did  the  king  of  Assyria,  that  you  may 
have  reason  to  hope  for  the  like  vengeance 
upon  them.  Did  not  that  king  accept  of 
money  from  our  king  upon  this  condition, 
that  he  should  not  destroy  the  city,  and 
yet,  contrary  to  the  oath  he  had  takeu, 
he  came  down  to  burn  the  temple  ?  while 
the  Romans  do  demand  no  more  than  that 
accustomed  tribute  which  our  fathers  paid 
to  their  fathers ;  and  if  they  may  but 
once  obtain  that,  they  neither  aim  to  de- 
stroy this  city,  nor  to  t  nich  this  sanctuary  ; 
nay,  they  will  grant  you  besides,  that  your 
posterity  shall  be  free,  and  your  posses- 
sions secured  to  you,  and  will  preserve 
your  holy  laws  inviolate  to  you.  And  it 
is  plain  madness  to  expect  that  God  shoulu 


820 


WARS    OF  THE  JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


appear  as  well  disposed  toward  the  wicked 
as  toward  the  righteous,  since  he  knows 
when  it  is  proper  to  punish  men  for  their 
sins  immediately ;  accordingly  he ,  brake 
the  power  of  the  Assyrians  the  very  first 
night  that  they  pitched  their  camp. 
Wherefore,  had  he  judged  that  our  nation 
was  worthy  of  freedom,  or  the  Romans  of 
punishment,  he  had  immediately  inflicted 
punishment  upon  those  Romans,  as  he  did 
upon  the  Assyrians,  when  Pompey  began 
to  meddle  with  our  nation,  or  when  after 
him  Sisius  came  up  against  us,  or  when 
Vespasian  laid  waste  Galilee,  or,  lastly, 
when  Titus  came  first  of  all  near  to  this 
city :  although  Maguus  and  Sosius  did  not 
only  suffer  nothing,  but  took  the  city  by 
force  ;  as  did  Vespasian  go  from  the  war 
he  made  against  you  to  receive  the  em- 
pire ;  and  as  for  Titus,  those  springs  that 
were  formerly  almost  dried  up  when  they 
were  under  your  power,  since  he  is  come, 
run  more  plentifully  than  they  did  before  ; 
accordingly,  you  know  that  Siloam,  as  well 
as  all  the  other  springs  that  were  without 
the  city,  did  so  far  fail,  that  water  was 
sold  by  distinct  measures;  whereas  they 
now  have  such  a  great  quantity  of  water 
for  your  enemies  as  is  sufficient  not  only 
for  drink  both  for  themselves  and  their 
cattle,  but  for  watering  their  gardens  also. 
The  same  wonderful  sign  you  had  also  ex- 
perience of  formerly,  when  the  before-men- 
tioned king  of  Babylon  made  war  against 
us,  and  when  he  took  the  city  and  burnt 
the  temple;  while  yet  I  believe  the  Jews 
of  that  age  were  not  so  impious  as  you 
are.  Wherefore,  I  cannot  but  suppose 
that  God  is  fled  out  of  his  sanctuary,  and 
stands  on  the  side  of  those  against  whom 
you  fight.  Now,  even  a  man,  if  he  be  but 
a  good  man,  will  fly  from  an  impure  house, 
and  will  hate  those  that  are  iu  it;  aud  do 
you  persuade  yourselves  that  God  will 
abide  with  you  in  your  iniquities,  who  sees 
all  secret  things,  and  hears  what  is  kept 
most  private  !  Now,  what  crime  is  there, 
I  pray  you,  that  is  so  much  as  kept  secret 
among  you,  or  is  concealed  by  you  I  nay, 
what  is  there  that  is  not  open  to  your 
very  enemies  !  for  you  show  your  trans- 
gressions after  a  pompous  manner,  and 
contend  one  with  another  which  of  you 
shall  be  more  wicked  than  another ;  and 
you  make  a  public  demonstration  of  your 
injustice,  as  if  it  were  virtue  !  However, 
there  is  a  place  left  for  your  preservation, 
if  you  be  willing  to  accept  of  it ;  and  God 
is  easily  reconciled  to  those  that  confess 


their  faults,  and  repent  of  them.  0 
hard-hearted  wretches  as  you  are  !  cast 
away  all  your  arms,  and  take  pity  of 
your  country  already  going  to  ruin  ;  re- 
turn from  your  wicked  ways,  and  have  re- 
gard to  the  excellency  of  that  city  which 
you  are  going  to  betray,  to  that  excellent 
temple  with  the  donations  of  so  many 
countries  in  it.  Who  could  bear  to  bo 
the  first  to  set  that  temple  on  fire !  who 
could  be  willing  that  these  things  should 
be  no  more  !  and  what  is  there  that  can 
better  deserve  to  be  preserved  !  0  insensi- 
ble creatures,  and  more  stupid  than  are 
the  stones  themselves  !  And  if  you  can- 
not look  at  these  things  with  discerning 
eyes,  yet,  however,  have  pity  upon  your 
families,  and  set  before  every  one  of  your 
eyes  your  children,  and  wives,  and  parents, 
who  will  be  gradually  consumed  either  by 
famine  or  by  war.  I  am  sensible  that 
this  danger  will  extend  to  my  mother,  and 
wife,  and  to  that  family  of  mine  who 
have  been  by  no  means  ignoble,  and  in- 
deed to  one  that  hath  been  very  eminent 
in  old  time;  and  perhaps  you  may  imagine 
that  it  is  on  their  account  only  that  I  give 
you  this  advice  :  if  that  be  all,  kill  them  ; 
nay,  take  my  own  blood  as  a  reward,  if  it 
may  but  procure  your  preservation;  for  I 
am  ready  to  die  in  case  you  will  but  re- 
turn to  a  sound  mind  after  my  death." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Many  of  the  Jews  endeavour  to  desert  to  the  Ro. 
mans — Severe  famine  in  the  city. 

As  Josephus  was  speaking  thus  with  a 
loud  voice,  the  seditious  would  neither 
yield  to  what  he  said,  nor  did  they  deem 
it  safe  for  them  to  alter  their  conduct; 
but  as  for  the  people,  they  had  a  great 
inclination  to  desert  to  the  Romans ;  ac- 
cordingly, some  of  them  sold  what  they 
had,  and  even  the  most  precious  things 
that  had  been  laid  up  as  treasures  by  them, 
for  a  very  small  matter,  and  swallowed 
down  pieces  of  gold,  that  they  might  not 
be  found  out  by  the  robbers ;  and  when 
they  had  thus  escaped  to  the  Romans, 
they  had  wherewithal  to  provide  plenti- 
fully for  themselves  :  for  Titus  let  a  great 
number  of  them  go  away  into  the  coun- 
try, whither  they  pleased;  and  tie  main 
reasons  why  they  were  so  ready  t(  desert 
were  these :  That  now  they  should  be 
freed  from  those  miseries  which  they  had 
endured  in  that  city,  and  yet  should  not 
be  in  slavery  to  the  Romans :  however 


Chap.  X.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


821 


John  and  Sio.on,  with  their  factions,  did 
more  carefully  watch  these  men's  going 
out  than  they  did  the  coming  in  of  the 
Ptomans;  and,  if  any  one  did  but  afford 
the  least  shadow  of  suspicion  of  such  an 
intention,  his  throat  was  cut  immediately. 

But  as  for  the  richer  sort,  it  proved  all 
one  to  them  whether  they  stayed  in  the 
city,  or  attempted  to  get  out  of  it,  for 
they  were  equally  destroyed  in  both  cases; 
for  every  such  person  was  put  to  death 
under  this  pretence,  that  they  were  going 
to  desert, — but  in  reality,  that  the  rob- 
bers might  get  what  they  had.  The  mad- 
ness of  the  seditious  did  also  increase  to- 
gether with  their  famine,  and  both  those 
miseries  were  every  day  inflamed  more 
and  more ;  for  there  was  no  corn  which 
auywhere  appeared  publicly,  but  the  rob- 
bers came  running  into,  and  searched 
men's  private  houses ;  and  then,  if  they 
found  any,  they  tormented  them,  because 
they  denied  they  had  any  ;  and  if  they 
found  none,  they  tormented  them  worse, 
because  they  supposed  they  had  more 
carefully  concealed  it.  The  indication  they 
made  use  of  wh'ether  they  had  any  or  not, 
was  taken  from  the  bodies  of  these  misera- 
ble wretches ;  which,  if  they  were  in  good 
case,  they  supposed  they  were  in  no  want 
at  all  of  food;  but  if  they  were  wasted 
away,  they  walked  off  without  searching 
any  further ;  nor  did  they  think  it  proper 
to  kill  such  as  these,  because  they  saw 
they  would  very  soon  die  of  themselves 
for  want  of  food.  Many  there  were,  in- 
deed, who  sold  what  they  had  for  one  mea- 
sure ;  it  was  of  wheat,  if  they  were  of 
the  richer  sort;  but  barley,  if  they  were 
poorer.  When  these  had  so  done,  they 
shut  themselves  up  in  the  inmost  rooms 
of  their  houses,  and  ate  the  corn  they  had 
gotten;  some  did  it  without  grinding  it, 
\y  reason  of  the  extremity  of  the  want 
they  were  in,  and  others  baked  bread  of 
it,  according  as  necessity  and  fear  dictated 
to  them  :  a  table  was  nowhere  laid  for  a 
distinct  meal,  but  they  snatched  the  bread 
out  of  the  fire,  half-baked,  and  ate  it  very 
hastily. 

It  was  now  a  miserable  case,  and  a 
sight  that  would  justly  bring  tears  into 
our  eyes,  how  men  stood  as  to  their  food, 
while  the  more  powerful  had  more  than 
enough,  and  the  weaker  were  lamenting 
[for  want  of  it].  But  the  famine  was  too 
hard  for  all  other  passions,  and  it  is  de- 
structive to  nothing  so  much  as  to  mo- 
desty ;  for  what  was  otherwise  worthy  of  \ 


reverence  was  in  this  case-  despised  ,  inso- 
much that  children  pulled  the  very  mor- 
sels that  their  fathers  were  eating  out  of 
their  very  mouths,  and  what  was  still 
more  to  be  pitied,  so  did  the  mothers  do 
as  to  their  infants;  and  when  those  that 
were  most  dear  were  perishing  under  their 
hands,  they  were  not  ashamed  to  take 
from  them  the  very  last  drops  that  might 
preserve  their  lives  ;  and  while  they  ate 
after  this  manner,  yet  were  they  not  con- 
cealed in  so  doing ;  but  the  seditious 
everywhere  came  upon  them  immediately, 
and  snatched  away  from  them  what  they 
had  gotten  from  others;  for  when  they 
saw  any  house  shut  up,  this  was  to  them 
a  signal  that  the  people  within  had  gotten 
some  food ;  whereupon  they  broke  open 
the  doors  and  ran  in,  and  took  pieces  of 
what  they  were  eating  almost  up  out  of 
their  very  throats,  and  this  by  force :  the 
old  men,  who  held  their  food  fast,  were 
beaten  ;  and  if  the  women  hid  what  they 
had  within  their  hands,  their  hair  was 
torn  for  so  doing  ;  nor  was  there  any  com- 
miseration shown  either  to  the  aged  or  to 
infants,  but  they  lifted  up  children  from 
the  ground  as  they  hung  upon  the  mor- 
sels they  had  gotten,  and  shook  them 
down  upon  the  floor ;  but  still  were  they 
more  barbarously  cruel  to  those  that  had 
prevented  their  coming  in,  and  had  actu- 
ally swallowed  down  what  they  were  go- 
ing to  seize  upon,  as  if  they  had  been 
unjustly  defrauded  of  their  right.  They 
also  invented  terrible  methods  of  torment 
to  discover  where  any  food  was,  and  they 
were  these :  to  stop  up  the  passages  of 
the  privy  parts  of  the  miserable  wretches, 
and  to  drive  sharp  stakes  therein;  and  a 
man  was  forced  to  bear  what  it  is  terrible 
even  to  hear,  in  order  to  make  him  con- 
fess that  he  had  but  one  loaf  of  bread,  or 
that  he  might  discover  a  handful  of  barley- 
meal  that  was  concealed ;  and  this  was 
done  when  these  tormentors  were  not 
themselves  hungry ;  for  the  thing  had 
been  less  barbarous  had  necessitv  forced 
them  to  it ;  but  this  was  done  to  keep 
their  madness  in  exercise,  and  as  making 
preparation  of  provisions  for  themselves 
for  the  following  days.  These  men  went 
also  to  meet  those  that  had  crept  out  of  the 
city  by  night,  as  far  as  the  Roman  guards, 
to  gather  some  plants  and  herbs  that  grew 
wild;  and  when  those  people  thought 
they  had  got  clear  of  the  enemy,  these 
snatched  from  them  what  they  had  brought 
with  them,  even  while  they  had  frequently 


822 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


entreated  them,  and  that  by  calling  upon 
the  iremendous  name  of  God,  to  give  them 
back  some  part  of  what  they  had  brought, 
though  these  would  not  give  them  the 
least  crumb ;  and  they  were  to  be  well 
contented  that  they  were  only  spoiled,  and 
not  slain  at  the  same  time. 

These  were  the  afflictions  which  the 
lower  sort  of  people  suffered  from  these 
tyrants'  guards;  but  for  the  men  that 
were  in  dignity,  and  withal  were  rich,  they 
were  carried  before  the  tyrants  themselves ; 
eome  of  whom  were  falsely  accused  of 
laying  treacherous  plots,  and  so  were  de- 
stroyed ;  others  of  them  were  charged 
with  designs  of  betraying  the  city  to  the 
Romans  :  but  the  readiest  way  of  all  was 
this,  to  suborn  somebody  to  affirm  that 
they  were  resolved  to  desert  to  the  enemy ; 
and  he  who  was  utterly  despoiled  of  what 
he  had  by  Simon,  was  sent  back  again  to 
John,  as  of  those  who  had  been  already 
plundered  by  John,  Simon  got  what  re- 
mained;  insomuch  that  they  drank  the 
blood  of  the  populace  to  one  another,  and 
divided  the  dead  bodies  of  the  poor  crea- 
tures between  them  ;  so  that  although,  on 
account  of  their  ambition  after  dominion, 
they  contended  with  each  other,  yet  did 
they  very  well  agree  in  their  wicked  prac- 
tices ;  for  he  that  did  not  communicate 
what  he  had  got  by  the  miseries  of  others 
to  the  other  tyrant,  seemed  to  be  t,oo  lit- 
tle guilty,  and  in  one  respect  only;  and 
he  that  did  not  partake  of  what  was  so 
communicated  to  him,  grieved  at  this,  as 
at  the  loss  of  what  was  a  valuable  thing, 
that  he  had  no  share  in  such  barbarity. 

It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  go  dis- 
tinctly over  every  instance  of  these  men's 
iniquity.  I  shall,  therefore,  speak  my 
mind  here  at  once  briefly  : — That  neither 
did  any  other  city  ever  suffer  such  mise- 
ries, nor  did  any  age  ever  breed  a  gene- 
ration more  fruitful  in  wickedness  than 
this  was,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world.  Finally,  they  brought  the  He- 
brew nation  into  contempt,  that  they 
might  themselves  appear  comparatively 
less  impious  with  regard  to  strangers. 
They  confessed  what  was  true,  that  they 
were  the  slaves,  the  scum,  and  the  spu- 
rious and  abortive  offspring  of  our  nation, 
wnile  they  overthrew  the  city  themselves, 
and  forced  the  Romans,  whether  they 
would  or  no,  to  gain  a  melancholy  reputa- 
tion, by  acting  gloriously  against  them, 
and  did  almost  draw  that  fire  upon  the 
temple,  which  they  seemed  to  think  came 


too  slowly ;  and,  indeed,  when  they  saw 
that  temple  burning  from  the  upper  city, 
they  were  neither  troubled  at  it,  nor  did 
they  shed  any  tears  on  that  account,  while 
yet  these  passions  were  discovered  amoi  g 
the  Romans  themselves ;  which  circum- 
stances we  shall  speak  of  hereafter  in  their 
proper  place,  when  we  come  to  treat  of 
such  matters. 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Jews  crucified  before  the  walls  of  the  ?ity — 
Antiochus  Epiphanes — The  Jews  overthicw  th-j 
banks  raised  by  the  Romans. 

So  now  Titus's  banks  were  advanced  a 
great  way,  notwithstanding  his  soldiers 
had  been  very  much  distressed  from  the 
wall.  He  then  sent  a  party  of  horse- 
men, and  ordered  they  should  lay  am- 
bushes for  those  that  went  out  into  the 
valleys  to  gather  food.  Some  of  these 
were  indeed  fighting  men,  who  were  not 
contented  with  what  they  got  by  rapine ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  were  poor 
people,  who  were  deterred  from  deserting 
by  the  concern  they  were  •under  for  their 
own  relations  :  for  they  could  not  hope  to 
escape  away,  together  with  their  wives 
and  children,  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  seditious ;  nor  could  they  think  of 
leaving  these  relations  to  be  slain  by  the 
robbers  on  their  account ;  nay,  the  seve- 
rity of  the  famine  made  them  bold  in 
thus  going  out :  so  nothing  remained  but 
that,  when  they  were  concealed  from  the 
robbers,  they  should  be  taken  by  the 
enemy;  and  when  they  were  going  to 
be  taken,  they  were  forced  to  defend 
themselves,  for  fear  of  being  punished : 
as,  after  they  had  fought,  they  thought 
it  too  late  to  make  any  supplications 
for  mercy  :  so  they  were  first  whipped, 
and  then  tormented  with  all  sorts  of 
tortures  before  they  died,  and  were  then 
crucified  before  the  wall  of  the  city.  This 
miserable  procedure  made  Titus  greatly  to 
pity  them,  while  they  caught  every  day 
500  Jews;  nay , some  days  thoy  caught 
more ;  yet  did  it  not  appear  to  be  safe  for 
him  to  let  those  that  were  taken  by  force 
go  their  way ;  and  to  set  a  guard  over  so 
many,  he  saw  would  be  to  make  such  as 
guarded  them  useless  to  him.  The  main 
reason  why  he  did  not  forbid  that  cruelty 
was  this,  that  he  hoped  the  Jews  might, 
perhaps,  yield  at  that  sight,  out  cf  fear 
lest  they  might  themselves  afterward  be 
liable  to  the   same  cruel  treatment.     So 


Chap.  XL] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


823 


the  soldiers,  out  of  the  wrath  and  hatred 
they  bore-  the  Jews,  nailed  those  they 
caught,  one  after  one  way,  and  another 
a^ter  another,  to  the  crosses,  by  way  of 
jast;  when  their  multitude  was  so  great 
that  room  was  wanting  for  the  crosses, 
and  crosses  Van  ting  for  the  bodies. 

But  so  far  were  the  seditious  from  re- 
penting at  this  sad  sight,  that,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  made  the  rest  of  the  multitude 
believe  otherwise ;  for  they  brought  the 
relations  of  those  that  had  deserted  upon 
the  wall,  with  such  of  the  populace  as 
wefe  very  eager  to  go  over  upon  the  se- 
curity offered  them,  and  showed  them 
what  miseries  those  underwent  who  fled 
to  the  Romans ;  and  told  them  that  those 
who  were  caught  were  supplicants  to  them, 
and  not  such  as  were  taken  prisoners.  This 
sight  kept  many  of  those  within  the  city 
who  were  so  eager  to  desert,  till  the  truth 
was  known ;  yet  did  some  of  them  run 
away  immediately  as  unto  certain  punish- 
ment, esteeming  death  from  their  enemies 
to  be  a  quiet  departure,  if  compared  with 
that  by  famine.  So  Titus  commanded 
that  the  hands  of  many  of  those  that  were 
caught  should  be  cut  off,  that  they  might 
not  be  thought  deserters,  and  might  be 
credited  on  account  of  the  calamity  they 
were  under,  and  sent  them  into  John  and 
Simon,  with  this  exhortation,  that  they 
would  now  at  length  leave  off  [their  mad- 
ness], and  not  force  him  to  destroy  the 
city,  whereby  they  would  have  those  ad- 
vantages of  repentance,  even  in  their 
utmost  distress,  that  they  would  preserve 
their  own  lives,  and  so  fine  a  city  of  their 
own,  and  that  temple,  which  was  their 
peculiar.  He  then  went  round  about  the 
banks  that  were  cast  up,  and  hastened 
them,  in  order  to  show  that  his  words 
should  in  no  long  time  be  followed  by 
his  deeds.  In  answer  to  which,  the 
seditious  cast  reproaches  upon  Caesar  him- 
self, and  upon  his  father  also,  and  cried 
out  with  a  loud  voice,  that  they  contemued 
death,  and  did  well  in  preferring  it  before 
slavery;  that  they  would  do  all  the  mis- 
chief to  the  Romans  they  could  while 
they  had  breath  in  them  ;  and  that  for 
their  own  city,  since  they  were,  as  he  said, 
to  be  destroyed,  they  had  no  concern 
about  it,  and  that  the  world  itself  was  a 
better  temple  to  God  than  this.  That  yet 
this  temple  would  be  preserved  by  him 
that  inhabited  therein,  whom  they  still 
had  for  their  assistant  in  this  war,  and  did 
therefore  laugh   at    all    his   threatenings, 


which  would  come  to  nothing;  because 
the  conclusion  of  the  whole  depended 
upon  God  only.  These  words  were  mixed 
with  reproaches,  and  with  th-em  they  made 
a  mighty  clamour. 

In  the  mean  time  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
came  to  the  city,  having  with  him  a  con- 
siderable number  of  other  armed  men, 
and  a  band  called  the  Macedonian  band 
about  him,  all  of  the  same  age,  tall,  and 
just  past  their  childhood,  armed,  and  in- 
structed after  the  Macedonian  manner, 
whence  it  was  that  they  took  that  name. 
Yet  were  many  of  them  unworthy  of  so 
famous  a  nation;  for  it  had  so  happened 
that  the  king  of  Commagene  had  flourished 
more  than  other  kings  that  were  under 
the  power  of  the  Romans,  till  a  change 
happened  in  his  condition ;  and  when  he 
was  become  an  old  man,  he  declared 
plainly  that  we  ought  not  to  call  any  man 
happy  before  he  is  dead.  Rut  this  son  of 
his,  who  was  then  come  thither  before  his 
father  was  decaying,  said  that  he  could 
not  but  wonder  what  made  the  Romans 
so. tardy  in  making  their  attacks  upon  the 
wall.  Now  he  was  a  warlike  man,  and 
naturally  bold  in  exposing  himself  to  dan- 
gers; he  was  also  so  strong  a  man  that 
his  boldness  seldom  failed  of  having  suc- 
cess. Upon  this,  Titus  smiled  and  said 
he  would  share  the  pains  of  an  attack  with 
him.  However,  Antiochus  went  as  he 
then  was,  and  with  his  Macedonians  made 
a  sudden  assault  upon  the  wall;  and,  in- 
deed, for  his  own  part,  his  strength  and 
skill  were  so  great,  that  he  guarded  him- 
self from  the  Jewish  darts,  and  yet  shot 
his  darts  at  them,  while  yet  the  young 
men  with  him  were  almost  all  sorely 
galled ;  for  they  had  so  great  a  regard  to 
the  promises  that  had  been  made  of  their 
courage,  that  they  would  needs  persevere 
in  their  fighting,  and  at  length  many  of 
them  retired,  but  not  till  they  were 
wounded;  and  then  they  perceived  that 
true  Macedonians,  if  they  were  to  be  con- 
querors, must  have  Alexander's  good  for- 
tune also. 

Now,  as  the  Romans  began  to  raise  their 
banks  on  the  twelfth  day  of  the  month 
Artemisius  [Jyar],  so  had  they  much  ado 
to  finish  them  by  the  twenty-ninth  day  of 
the  same  month,  after  they  had  laboured 
hard  for  seventeen  days  continually ;  for 
there  were  now  four  g  *eat  banks  raised, 
one  of  which  was  at  the  tower  of  Antouia; 
this  was  raised  by  the  fifth  legion,  ovei 
against  the  middle  of  that  pool  which  was 


824 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  \ 


called  Struthius.  Another  was  cast  up 
by  tha  twelfth  legion,  at  the  distance  of 
about  twenty  cubits  from  the  other.  But 
the  labours  of  the  tenth  legion,  which  lay 
a  great  way  off  these,  were  on  the  north 
quarter,  and  at  the  pool  called  Amygda- 
lon;  as  was  that  of  the  fifteenth  legion 
about  thirty  cubits  from  it,  and  at  the 
high  priest's  monument.  And  now,  when 
the  engines  were  brought,  John  had  from 
within  undermined  the  space  that  was 
over  against  the  tower  of  Antonia,  as  far 
a*,  the  banks  themselves,  and  had  sup- 
ported the  ground  over  the  mine  with 
beams  laid  across  one  another,  whereby 
the  Roman  works  stood  upon  an  uncertain 
foundation.  Then  did  he  order  such  ma- 
terials to  be  brought  in  as  were  daubed 
over  with  pitch  and  bitumen,  and  set  them 
on  fire ;  and  as  the  cross-beams  that  sup- 
ported the  banks  were  burning,  the  ditch 
yielded  on  the  sudden,  and  the  banks  were 
shaken  down,  and  fell  into  the  ditch  with 
a  prodigious  noise.  Now  at  the  first  there 
arose  a  very  thick  smoke  and  dust,  as  the 
fire  was  choked  by  the  fail  of  the  bank  ; 
but  as  the  suffocated  materials  were  now 
gradually  consumed,  a  plain  flame  broke 
out;  on  which  sudden  appearance  of  the 
flame  a  consternation  fell  upon  the  Romans, 
aud  the  shrewdness  of  the  contrivance  dis- 
couraged them;  and  indeed,  this  accident 
coming  upon  them  at  a  time  when  they 
thought  they  had  already  gained  '  their 
point,  cooled  their  hopes  for  the  time  to 
come.  They  also  thought  it  would  be  to 
no  purpose  to  take  the  pains  to  extinguish 
the  fire,  since,  if  it  were  extinguished,  the 
banks  were  swallowed  up  already  [and 
become  useless]  to  them. 

Two  days  after  this,  Simon  and  his 
party  made  an  attempt  to  destroy  the 
other  banks ;  for  the  Romans  had  brought 
their  engines  to  bear  there,  and  began  al- 
ready to  make  the  wall  shake.  And  here 
one  Tephtheus,  of  Grarsis,  a  city  of  Galilee, 
and  Megassarus,  one  who  was  derived  from 
some  of  Queen  Mariamne's  servants,  and 
with  them  one  from  Adiabene,  he  was  the 
son  of  Nabateus,  and  called  by  the  name 
of  Chagiras,  from  the  ill  fortune  he  had, 
the  word  signifying  "  a  lame  man," 
snatched  some  torches  and  ran  suddenly 
upon  the  engines.  NoT  were  there,  during 
this  war,  any  men  that  ever  sallied  out  of 
the  city  who  were  their  superiors,  either 
in  their  own  boldness,  or  in  the  terror 
they  struck  into  *;heir  enemies;  for  they 
ran  out  upon  the  Romans,  not  as  if  they 


were  enemies,  but  friends,  without  fear  01 
delay ;  nor  did  they  leave  their  enemies 
till  they  had  rushed  violently  through  the 
midst  of  them,  and  set  their  machines  on 
fire ;  and  though  they  had  darts  thrown 
at  them  on  every  side,  and  were  on  every 
side  assaulted  with  their  enemies'  swords, 
yet  did  they  not  withdraw  themselves  out 
of  the  dangers  they  were  in,  till  the  fire 
had  caught  hold  of  the  instruments;  but 
when  the  flame  went  up,  the  Romans 
came  running  from  their  camp  to  save 
their  engines.  Then  did  the  Jews  hindei 
their  succours  from  the  wall,  and  fought 
with  those  that  endeavoured  to  quench 
the  fire,  without  any  regard  to  the  danger 
their  bodies  were  in.  So.  the  Romans 
pulled  the  engines  out  of  the  fire,  while 
the  hurdles  that  covered  them  were  on 
fire  ;  but  the  Jews  caught  hold  of  the  bat- 
tering-rams through  the  flame  itself,  and 
held  them  fast,  although  the  iron  upon 
them  was  become  red  hot;  and  now  the 
fire  spread  itself  from  the  engines  to  the 
banks,  and  prevented  those  that  came  to 
defend  them;  and  all  this  while  the  Ro- 
mans were  encompassed  round  about  with 
the  name;  and,  despairing  of  saving  their 
works  from  it,  they  retired  to  their  camp. 
Then  did  the  Jews  become  still  more  and 
more  in  number,  by  the  coming  of  those 
that  were  within  the  city  to  their  assist- 
ance; and  as  they  were  very  bold  upon 
the  good  success  they  had  had,  their  vio- 
lent assaults  were  almost  irresistible;  nay, 
they  proceeded  as  far  as  the  fortifications 
of  the  enemy's  camp,  and  fought  with 
their  guards.  Now,  there  stood  a  body  of 
soldiers  in  array  before  that  camp,  which 
succeeded  one  another  by  turns  in  their 
armour;  and  as  to  those,  the  law  of  the 
Romans  was  terrible,  that  he  who  left  his 
post  there,  let  the  occasion  be  whatsoever 
it  might,  he  was  to  die  for  it;  so  that 
body  of  soldiers,  preferring  rather  to  die 
in  fighting  courageously,  than  as  a  pu- 
nishment for  their  cowardice,  stood  firm; 
and  at  the  necessity  these  men  were  in  of 
standing  to  it,  many  of  the  others  that 
had  run  away,  out  of  shame,  turned  back 
again;  and  when  they  had  set  their  en- 
gines against  the  wall,  they  kept  the  mul- 
titude from  coming:  more  of  them  out  of 
the  city  [which  they  could  the  more  easily 
do];  because  they  had  made  no  provision 
for  preserving  or  guarding  their  bodies  at 
this  time;  for  the  Jews  fought  now  hand 
to  hand,  with  all  that  came  in  their  way, 
and,  without  any  caution,  fell  against  the 


C'HA?    Xll.j 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


825 


points  of  their  enemy's  spears,  and  at- 
tacked them  bodies  against  bodies  ;  for 
they  were  now  too  hard  for  the  Romans, 
not  so  much  by  their  other  warlike  actions, 
as  by  these  courageous  assaults  they  made 
upon  them;  and  the  Romans  gave  way 
more  to  their  boldness  than  they  did  to 
the  sense  of  the  harm  they  had  received 
from  them. 

And  now  Titus  had  come  from  the  tower 
of  Antouia,  whither  he  had  gone  to  look 
out  for  a  place  for  raising  other  banks,  and 
reproached  the  soldiers  greatly  for  permit- 
ting their  own  walls  to  be  in  danger,  when 
they  had  taken  the  walls  of  their  enemies, 
and  sustained  the  fortune  of  men  besieged, 
while  the  Jews  were  allowed  to  sally  out 
against  them,  though  they  were  already 
in  a  sort  of  prison.  He  then  went  round 
about  the  enemy  with  some  chosen  troops, 
and  fell  upon  their  flank  himself;  so  the 
Jews,  who  had  been  before  assaulted  in 
their  faces,  wheeled  about  to  Titus,  and 
continued  the  fight.  The  armies  also  were 
now  mixed  one  among  another,  and  the 
dust  that  was  raised  so  far  hindered  them 
from  seeing  one  another,  and  the  noise 
that  was  made  so  far  hindered  them  from 
hearing  one  another,  that  neither  side 
could  discern  an  enemy  from  a  friend. 
However,  the  Jews  did  not  flinch,  though 
not  so  much  from  their  real  strength,  as 
from  their  despair  of  deliverance.  The 
Romans  also  would  not  yield,  by  reason 
of  the  regard  they  had  to  glory,  and  10 
their  reputation  in  war,  and  because  Cae-ar 
himself  went  into  the  danger  before  them; 
insomuch  that  I  cannot  but  think  the  Ro- 
mans would  in  the  conclusion  have  now 
taken  even  the  whole  multitude  of  the 
Jews,  so  very  angry  were  they  at  them, 
had  these  not  prevented  the  upshot  of  the 
battle,  and  retired  into  the  city.  How- 
ever, seeing  the  banks  of  the  Romaus 
were  demolished,  these  Romans  were  very 
much  cast  down  upon  the  loss  of  what  hud 
cost  them  so  long  pains,  and  this  in  one 
hour's  time;  and  many  indeed  despaired 
of  taking  the  city  with  their  usual  engines 
of  war  only. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Titus  encompasses  the  city  round  with  a  wall — The 
famine  consumes  the  people  by  whole  houses  and 
families. 

And  now  did  Titus  consult  with  his 
commanders  what  was  to  be  done.  Those 
that  were  of  the  warmest  tempers  thought 
h%  should  bring  the  whole   army  against 


the  city  and  storm  the  wall;  foi  that 
hitherto  no  more  than  a  part  of  their  army 
had  fought  with  the  Jews;  but  that  in 
case  the  entire  army  was  to  come  at  once, 
they  would  not  be  able  to  sustain  their 
attacks ;  but  would  be  overwhelmed  by 
their  darts;  but  of  those  that  were  for  a 
more  cautious  management,  some  were  for 
raising  their  banks  again;  and  ethers  ad- 
vised to  let  the  banks  alone,  but  to  lie 
still  before  the  city,  to  guard  against  the 
coming  out  of  the  Jews,  and  against  their 
carrying  provisions  into  the  city,  and  so 
to  leave  the  enemy  to  the  famine,  and  this 
without  direct  fighting  with  them ;  for 
that  despair  was  not  to  be  conquered, 
especially  as  to  those  who  are  desirous  to 
die  by  the  sword,  while  a  more  terrible 
misery  than  that  is  reserved  for  them. 
However,  Titus  did  not  think  it  fit  for  so 
great  an  army  to  lie  entirely  idle,  and  that 
yet  it  was  in  vain  to  fight  with  those  that 
would  be  destroyed  one  by  another;  he 
also  showed  them  how  impracticable  it 
was  to  cast  up  any  more  banks,  for  want 
of  materials,  and  to  guard  against  the 
Jews  coming  out,  still  more  impractica- 
ble; as  also,  that  to  encompass  the  whole 
city  round  with  his  army,  was  not  very 
easy,  by  reason  of  its  magnitude,  and  the 
difficulty  of  the  situation;  and  on  other 
accounts  dangerous,  upon  the  sallies  the 
Jews  might  make  out  of  the  ci ty ;  for  al- 
though they  might  guard  the  known  pas- 
sages out  of  the  place,  yet  would  they, 
when  they  found  themselves  under  the 
greatest  distress,  contrive  secret  passages 
out,  as  being  well  acquainted  with  all  such 
places;  and  if  any  provisions  were  carried 
in  by  stealth,  the  siege  would  thereby  be 
longer  delayed.  He  also  owned,  that  he 
was  afraid  that  the  length  of  time  thus  to 
be  spent  would  diminish  the  glory  of  his 
success;  for  though  it  be  true,  that  length 
of  time  will  perfect  every  thing,  yet,  that 
to  do  what  we  do  in  a  little  time,  is  still 
necessary  to  the  gaining  reputation  :  that 
therefore  his  opinion  was,  that  if  they 
aimed  at  quickness,  joined  with  security, 
they  must  build  a  wall  round  about  the 
whole  city;  which  was,  he  thought,  the 
only  way  to  prevent  the  Jews  from  coming 
out  any  way,  and  that  then  they  would 
either  entirely  despair  of  saving  the  city, 
aud  so  would  surrender  it  up  to  him,  or  be 
still  the  more  easily  conquered  when  the, 
famine  had  further  weakened  them;  for 
that  besides  this  wall,  he  would  not  lie 
entirely  at  rest  afterward,  but  woul  1  take 


826 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V. 


care  then  to  have  banks  raised  again,  when 
those  that  would  oppose  them  were  become 
weaker :  but  that  if  any  one  should  think 
such  a  work  to  be  too  great,  and  not  to  be 
finished  without  much  difficulty,  he  ought 
to  consider  that  it  is  not  fit  for  Romans  to 
undertake  any  small  work,  and  that  none 
.)ut  God  himself  could  with  ease  accom- 
plish any  great  thing  whatsoever. 

These    arguments    prevailed    with    the 
commanders.     So  Titus  gave  orders  that 
the  army  should   be  distributed  to  their 
several  shares  of  this  work;  and  indeed 
there  now  came  upon  the  soldiers  a  certain 
divine  fury,  so  that  they  did  not  only  part 
the  whole  wall  that  was  to  be  built  among 
them,  nor  did  only  one  legion  strive  with 
another,   but  the  lesser  divisions  of   the 
army  did  the  same ;  insomuch  that  each 
soldier  was  ambitious  to  please  his  decu- 
rion,   each  decurion  his    centurion,   each 
centurion  his  tribune,  and  the  ambition  of 
the  tribunes  was  to  please  their  superior 
commanders,    while   Caesar  himself   took 
notice  of  and  rewarded  the  like  contention 
iu  those  commanders;  for  he  went  round 
about   the  works   many  times  every  day, 
and  took  a  view  of  what  was  done.    Titus 
began  the  wall  from  the  Camp  of  the  As- 
syrians, where  his  own  camp  was  pitched, 
and  drew  it  down   to  the  lower  parts  of 
Cenopolis;  thence  it  went  along  the  valley 
of  Cedron  to  the  Mount  of  Olives;  it  then 
bent  toward  the  south,  and  encompassed 
the   mountain    as  far   as  the  rock   called 
Peristereon,  and  that  other  hill  which  lies 
next  to  it,  and  is  over  the  valley  which 
reaches    to    Siloam;    whence    it    bended 
again  to  the  west,  and  went  down  to   the 
valley  of  the  Fountain,  beyond  which  it 
went  up  again  at  the  monument  of  Ana- 
nus    the    high   priest,   and  encompassing 
that  mountain    where    Pompey   had   for- 
merly pitched  his  camp,  it  returned  back 
to  the  north  side  of  the  city,  and  was  car- 
ried on  as  far  as  a  certain  village  called 
"The    House    of    the  Erebinthi;"    after 
which  it  encompassed  Herod's  monument, 
and  there,  on  the  east,  was  joined  to  Ti- 
tus's own  camp,   where  it  began.     Now 
the  length  of  this  wall  was  forty  furlongs, 
one  only  abated.     Now  at  this  wall  with- 
out were  erected  thirteen  places  to  keep 
garrisons  in,  the  circumference  of  which, 
put  together,  amounted  to  ten  furlongs; 
the  whole  was  completed  in  three  days : 
so  that  what   would    naturally   have   re- 
quired  some    months,    was    done    in    so 
3Uort  an  interval  as  is  incredible.     When 


Titus  had,  therefore,  encompassed  the 
city  with  this  wall,  and  put  garrisons 
into  proper  places,  he  went  round  the 
wall,  at  the  first  watch  of  the  night, 
and  observed  how  the  guard  was  kept; 
the  second  watch  he  allotted  to  Alexan- 
der; the  commanders  of  legions  took  the 
third  watch.  They  also  cast  lots  among 
themselves  who  should  be  upon  the  water 
in  the  night-time,  and  who  should  go  all 
night  long  round  the  spaces  that  were 
interposed  between  the  garrisons. 

So  all  hope  of  escaping  was  now  cut 
off    from   the  Jews,  together  with   their 
liberty  of  going  out  of  the  city.     Then 
did  the  famine  widen  its  progress,  and  de 
voured  the  people   by  whole  houses  and 
families;    the  upper  rooms  were  full  of 
women  and  children  that  were  dying  by 
famine ;    and   the  lanes  of  the  city  were 
full  of  the  dead  bodies  of  the  aged;  the 
children  also  and  the  young  men  wandered 
about  the  market-plaees  like  shadows,  all 
swelled  with   the  famiue,   and  fell  dowu 
dead  wheresoever  their  misery  seized  them 
As  for  burying  them,  those  that  were  sick 
themselves  were  not  able  to  do  it;  and 
those  that  were  hearty  and  well  were  de- 
terred from  doing  it  by  the  great  multi- 
tude of  those  dead  bodies,  aud  by  the  un- 
certainty there  was  how  soon  they  should 
die   themselves;    for  many  died   as   they 
were   burying  others,  and  many  went  M 
their  coffins    before    that  fatal   hour   was 
come!     Nor   was   there  any  lamentation 
made   under    these   calamities,    nor  were 
heard  any  mournful  complaints ;   but  the 
famine   confounded  all  natural  passions ; 
for  those  who  were  just  going  to  die,  looked 
upon  those  that  were  gone  to  their  rest  be- 
fore them  with  dry  eyes  and  open  mouths. 
A  deep  silence  also,  and  a  kind  of  deadly 
night,  had  seized  upon  the  city;  while  yet 
the  robbers  were  still  more  terrible  than 
these  miseries  were  themselves;  for  they 
brake    open    those    houses    which    were 
no    other    than    graves   of    dead    bodies, 
and  plundered  them   of  what  they  had; 
and   carrying   off   the   coverings  of  their 
bodies,  went  out  foughing,  and  tried  the 
points  of  their  swords  on  their  dead  bo- 
dies ;  and,  in  order  to  prove  what  mettle 
they  were  made  of,  they  thrust  some  of 
those  through  that  still  lay  alive  upon  the 
ground ;   for  those  that  entreated  them  to 
lend    them    their   right  hand    and   their 
sword  to  despatch   them,  they   were  too 
proud    to    grant  their  requests,  and   left 
them  to  be  consumed  by  the  famine.    Now 


i;hap.  XIII.  J 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


827 


every  one  of  these  died  with  their  eye? 
fixed  upon  the  temple,  and  left  the  sedi- 
tious alive  behind  them.  Now  the  sedi- 
tious at  first  gave  orders  that  the  dead 
fihouldbe  buried  out  of  the  public  treasury, 
as  not  enduring  the  stench  of  their  dead 
bodies.  But  afterward,  when  they  could 
not  do  that,  they  had  them  cast  down 
from  the  walls  into  the  valleys  beneath. 
'  However,  when  Titus,  in  going  his 
rounds  along  those  valleys,  saw  them  full 
of  dead  bodies,  and  the  thick  putrefaction 
running  about  them,  he  gave  a  groan ; 
and,  spreading  out  his  hands  to  heaven, 
called  God  to  witness  that  this  was  not  his 
doing :  and  such  was  the  sad  case  of  the 
city  itself.  But  the  Romans  were  very 
joyful,  since  none  of  the  seditious  could 
now  make  sallies  out  of  the  city,  because 
they  were  themselves  disconsolate ;  and 
the  famine  already  touched  them  also. 
These  Romans,  besides,  had  great  plenty 
of  corn  and  other  necessaries  out  of  Syria, 
and  out  of  the  neighbouring  provinces ; 
many  of  whom  would  stand  near  to  the 
wall  of  the  city,  and  show  the  people  what 
great  quantities  of  provisions  they  had, 
and  so  make  the  enemy  more  sensible  of 
their  famine,  by  the  great  plenty,  even  to 
satiety,  which  they  had  themselves.  How- 
ever, when  the  seditious  still  showed  no 
inclination  of  yielding,  Titus,  out  of  his 
commiseration  of  the  people  that  re- 
mained, and  out  of  his  earnest  desire  of 
rescuing  what  was  still  left  out  of  these 
miseries,  began  to  raise  his  banks  again, 
although  materials  for  them  were  hard  to 
be  come  at;  for  all  the  trees  that  were 
about  the  city  had  been  already  cut  down 
for  the  making  of  the  former  banks.  Yet 
did  the  soldiers  bring  with  them  other 
materials  from  the  distance  of  ninety  fur- 
longs, and  thereby  raised  banks  in  four 
parts,  much  greater  than  the  former, 
though  this  was  done  only  at  the  tower 
of  Antonia.  So  Caesar  went  his  rounds 
through  the  legions,  and  hastened  on  the 
works,  and  showed  the  robbers  that  they 
were  now  in  his  hands.  But  these  meu, 
and  these  only,  were  incapable  of  repent- 
ing of  the  wickedness  they  had  been 
guilty  of;  and  separating  their  souls  from 
their  bodies,  they  used  them  both  as  if 
they  belonged  to  other  folks,  and  not  to 
themselves.  For  no  gentle  affection  could 
touch  their  souls,  nor  could  any  pain  affect 
their  bodies,  since  they  could  still  tear  the 
dead  bodies  of  the  people  as  dogs  do,  and 
fill  the  prisons  with  those  that  were  sick. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Great  slaughter  and  sacrilege  in  Jerusalem. 

Accordingly,  Simon  would  not  suffei 
Matthias,  by  whose  means  he  got  posses- 
sion of  the  city,  to  go  off  without  torment. 
This  Matthias  was  the  son  of  Boethus, 
and  was  one  of  the  high  priests,  one  that 
had  been  very  faithful  to  the  people,  and 
in  great  esteem  with  them :  he,  when  the 
multitude  were  distressed  by  the  Zealots, 
among  whom  John  was  numbered,  pei- 
suaded  the  people  to  admit  this  Simon  to 
come  in  to  assist  them,  while  he  had  made 
no  terms  with  him,  nor  expected  any 
thing  that  was  evil  from  him.  But  when 
Simon  was  come  in,  and  had  gotten  the 
city  under  his  power,  he  esteemed  him 
that  had  advised  them  to  admit  him 
as  his  enemy  equally  with  the  rest,  as 
looking  upon  that  advice  as  a  piece  of  his 
simplicity  only :  so  he  had  him  then 
brought  before  him,  and  condemned  to  die 
for  being  on  the  side  of  the  Romans, 
without  giving  him  leave  to  make  his  de- 
fence. He  condemned  also  his  three  sons 
to  die  with  him ;  for,  as  to  the  fourth,  he 
prevented  him,  by  running  away  to  Titus 
before.  And  when  he  begged  for  this, 
that  he  might  be  slain  before  his  sons,  and 
that  as  a  favour,  on  account  that  he  had 
procured  the  gates  of  the  city  to  be  opened 
to  him,  he  gave  order  that  he  should  be 
slain  the  last  of  them  all ;  so  he  was  not 
slain  till  he  had  seen  his  sons  slain  before 
his  eyes,  and  that  by  being  produced  over 
against  the  Romans ;  for  such  a  charge 
had  Simon  given  to  Anauus,  the  son  of 
Bamadus,  who  was  the  most  barbarous  of 
all  his  guards.  He  also  jested  upon  him, 
and  told  him  that  he  might  now  see  whether 
those  to  whom  he  intended  to  go  over,  would 
send  him  any  succours  or  not;  but  still 
he  forbade  their  dead  bodies  should  be 
buried.  After  the  slaughter  of  these,  a 
certain  priest,  Ananias,  the  son  of  Ma- 
sambulus,  a  person  of  eminence,  as  also 
Aristeus,  the  scribe  of  the  sanhedrim,  and 
born  at  Emmaus,  and  with  them  fifteen 
men  of  figure  among  the  people,  were 
slain.  They  also  kept  Josephus's  father 
in  prison,  and  made  public  proclamation 
that  no  citizen  whosoever  should  either 
speak  to  him  himself,  or  go  into  his  com- 
pany among  others,  for  fear  he  should  be- 
tray them.  They  also  slew  such  as  joined 
in  lamenting  these  men,  without  any  fur- 
ther examination. 

Now,  when  Judas,  the  son   oi   Judas, 


828 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  V 


who  was  one  of  Simon's  under-officers, 
and  a  peison  intrusted  by  him  to  keep 
one  of  the  towers,  saw  this  procedure  of 
Simon,  he  called  together  ten  of  those 
under  him,  that  were  most  faithful  to  him, 
(perhaps  this  was  done,  partly  out  of  pity 
to  those  that  had  so  barbarously  been  put 
to  death ;  but,  principally,  in  order  to 
provide  for  his  own  safety,)  and  spoke 
thus  to  them  : — "  How  long  shall  we  bear 
these  miseries  ?  or,  what  hopes  have  we 
of  deliverance  by  thus  continuing  faithful 
to  such  wicked  wretches  ?  Is  not  the 
famine  already  come  against  us?  Are 
not  the  Romans  in  a  manner  gotten  within 
the  city?  Is  not  Simon  become  unfaith- 
ful to  his  benefactors  ?  and  is  there  not 
reason  to  fear  he  will  very  soon  bring  us 
to  the  like  punishment,  while  the  security 
the  Romans  offer  us  is  sure?  Come  on, 
let  us  surrender  up  this  wall,  and  save 
ourselves  and  the  city.  Nor  will  Simon 
be  very  much  hurt,  if,  now  he  despairs  of  de- 
liverance, he  be  brought  to  justice  a  little 
sooner  thau  he  thinks  on."  Now,  these 
teu  were  prevailed  upon  by  those  argu- 
ments ;  so  he  sent  the  rest  of  those  that 
were  under  him,  some  one  way  and  some 
another,  that  no  discovery  might  be  made 
of  what  they  had  resolved  upon.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  called  to  the  Romans  from 
the  tower,  abput  the  third  hour ;  but 
they,  seme  of  them  out  of  pride,  despised 
what  he  said,  and  others  of  them  did  not 
believe  him  to  be  in  earnest,  though  the 
greatest  number  delayed  the  matter,  as 
believing  they  should  get  possession  of 
the  city  in  a  little  time,  without  any  ha- 
zard; but  when  Titus  was  just  coming 
thither  with  his  armed  men,  Simon  was 
acquainted  with  the  matter  before  he 
came,  and  presently  took  the  tower  into 
his  own  custody,  before  it  was  surren- 
dered, and  seized  upon  these  men,  and 
put  them  to  death  in  the  sight  of  the  Ro- 
mans themselves;  and,  when  he  had  man- 
gled their  dead  bodies,  he  threw  them 
down  before  the  wall  of  the  city. 

In  the  mean  time,  Josephus,  as  he  was 
going  round  the  city,  had  his  head 
wounded  by  a  stone  that  was  thrown  at 
him  ;  upon  which  he  fell  down  as  giddy. 
['Don  which  fall  of  his  the  Jews  made  a 
sally,  and  he  had  been  hurried  away  into 
the  city,  if  Csesar  had  not  sent  men  to 
protect  him  immediately;  and,  as  these 
men  were  fighting,  Josephus  was  taken 
up,  though  he  heard  little  of  what  was 
done.      So    the    seditious    supposed   they 


had  now  slain  that  man  whom  they  were 
the  most  desirous  of  killing,  and  made 
thereupon  a  great  noise,  in  way  of  rejoic- 
ing. This  accident  was  told  in  the  city  ; 
and  the  multitude  that  remained  became 
very  disconsolate  at  the  news,  as  being 
persuaded  that  he  was  really  dead,  on 
whose  account  alone  they  could  venture 
to  desert  to  the  Romans ;  but  when  Jose- 
phus's  mother  heard  in  prison  that  her 
son  was  dead,  she  said  to  those  that 
watched  about  her,  That  she  had  always 

'  ml 

been  of  opinion,  since  the  siege  of  Jota- 
pata  [that  he  would  be  slain],  and  she 
should  never  enjoy  him  alive  any  more. 
She  also  made  great  lamentation  privately 
to  the  maid-servants  that  were  about  her, 
and  said,  That  this  was  all  the  advantage 
she  had  of  bringing  so  extraordinary  a 
person  as  this  sun  into  the  world;  that 
she  should  not  be  able  even  to  bury  that 
son  of  hers,  by  whom  she  expected  to 
have  been  buried  herself.  However,  this 
false  report  did  not  put  his  mother  to 
pain,  nor  afford  merriment  to  the  robbers 
long  ;  for  Josephus  soon  recovered  of  his 
wound,  and  came  out  and  cried  out  aloud, 
That  it  would  not  be  long  ere  they  should 
be  punished  for  this  wound  they  had  given 
him.  He  also  made  a  fresh  exhortation 
to  the  people  to  come  out,  upon  the  secu- 
rity that  would  be  given  them.  This 
sight  of  Josephus  encouraged  the  people 
greatly,  and  brought  a  great  consternation 
upon  the  seditious. 

Hereupon  some  of  the  deserters,  hav- 
ing no  other  way,  leaped  down  from  the 
wall  immediately,  while  others  of  them 
went  out  of  the  city  with  stones,  as  if 
they  would  fight  them;  but  thereupon, 
they  fled  away  to  the  Romans.  But  here 
a  worse  fate  accompanied  these  thau  what 
they  had  found  within  the  city ;  and  they 
met  with  a  quicker  despatch  from  the  too 
great  abundance  they  had  among  the  Ro- 
mans, than  they  could  have  done  from  the 
famine  among  the  Jews;  for  when  they 
came  first  to  the  Romans,  they  were 
puffed  up  by  the  famine,  and  swelled  like 
men  in  a  dropsy  y  after  which  they  all  on 
the  sudden  overfilled  those  bodies  that 
were  before  empty,  and  so  burst  asunder, 
excepting  such  only  as  were  skilful 
enough  to  restrain  their  appetites,  and, 
by  degrees,  took  in  their  food  into  bodies 
unaccustomed  thereto.  Yet  did  another 
plague  seize  upon  those  that  were  thus 
preserved ;  for  there  was  found  among 
the  Syrian  deserters  a  certain  person  who 


Chap.  XEIl  J 


WARS   OF   THE    JEWS. 


829 


was  caught  gathering  pieces  of  gold  out 
of  the  excrements  of  the  Jews'  bellies; 
for  the  deserters  used  to  swallow  such 
pieces  of  gold,  as  we  told  you  before,  when 
they  came  out;  and  for  these  did  the  se- 
ditious search  them  all ;  for  there  was  a 
great  quantity  of  gold  in  the  city,  inso- 
much that  as  much  was  now  sold  [in  the 
Roman  camp]  for  twelve  Attic  [drams], 
as  was  sold  before  for  twenty-five;  but 
when  this  contrivance  was  discovered  in 
one  instance,  the  fame  of  it  filled  their 
several  camps,  that  the  deserters  came  to 
them  full  of  gold.  So  the  multitude  of 
the  Arabians,  with  the  Syrians,  cut  up 
those  that  came  as  supplicauts,  and 
searched  their  bellies.  Nor  docs  it  seem 
to  me  that  any  misery  befell  the  Jews  that 
was  more  terrible  than  this,  since  in  one 
night's  time  about  2000  of  these  deserters 
were  thus  dissected. 

When  Titus  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
this  wicked  practice,  he  had  like  to  have 
surrounded  those  that  had  been  guilty  of 
it  with  his  horse,  and  have  shot  them  dead ; 
and  he  had  done  it,  had  not  their  number 
oeen  so  very  great,  and  those  that  were 
liable  to  this  punishment  would  have  been 
manifold  more  than  those  whom  they  had 
slain.  However,  he  called  together  the 
commanders  of  the  auxiliary  troops  he 
had  with  him,  as  well  as  the  commanders 
of  the  Roman  legions,  (for  some  of  his 
own  soldiers  had  been  also  guilty  herein, 
aschc  had  been  informed,)  and  had  great 
indignation  agaiust  both  sorts  of  them, 
and  spoke  to  them  as  follows  : — "  What ! 
have  any  of  my  own  soldiers  done  such 
things  as  this  out  of  the  uncertain  hope 
of  gain,  without  regarding  their  own  wea- 
pons, which  are  made  of  silver  and  gold  ? 
Moreover,  do  the  Arabians  and  Syrians 
now  first  of  all  begin  to  govern  themselves 
as  they  please,  aud  to  indulge  their  appe- 
tites in  a  foreign  war,  and  then,  out  of 
their  barbarity  in  murdering  men,  and 
out  of  their  hatred  to  the  Jews,  get  it  as- 
cribed to  the  Romans  V* — for  this  infa- 
mous practice  was  said  to  be  spread  among 
some  of  his  own  soldiers  also.  Titus  then 
threatened  that  he  would  put  such  men  to 
death,  if  any  one  of  them  were  discovered 
to  be  so  insolent  as  to  do  so  again  :  more- 
over, he  gave  it  in  charge  to  the  legions, 
that  they  should  make  a  search  after  such 
as  were  suspected,  and  should  bring  them 
to  him  ;  but  it  appeared  that  the  love  of 
money  was  too  haid  for  all  their  dread  of 


punishment,  and  a  vehement  desire  of 
gain  is  natural  to  men,  and  no  passion  is 
so  venturesome  as  covetousness ;  other- 
wise such  passions  have  certain  bounds, 
and  are  subordinate  to  fear ;  but  in  reality 
it  was  God  who  condemned  the  whole  na- 
tion, and  turned  every  course  that  was 
taken  for  their  preservation  to  their  de- 
struction. This,  therefore,  which  was  for- 
bidden by  Caesar  under  such  a  threatening, 
was  ventured  upon  privately  against  the 
deserters,  and  these  barbarians  would  go 
out  still,  and  meet  those  that  ran  away 
before  any  saw  them,  and  looking  about 
them  to  see  that  no  Romans  spied  them, 
they  dissected  them,  and  pulled  this  pol- 
luted money  out  of  their  bowels ;  which 
money  was  still  found  in  a  few  of  them, 
while  yet  a  great  many  were  destroyed  by 
the  bare  hope  there  was  of  thus  getting  by 
them,  which  miserable  treatment  made 
many  that  were  deserting  to  return  back 
again  into  the  city. 

But  as  for  John,  when  he  could  no 
longer  plunder  the  people,  he  betook  him- 
self to  sacrilege,  and  melted  down  many 
of  the  sacred  utensils,  which  had  been 
given  to  the  temple  ;  as  also  many  of  those 
vessels  which  were  necessary  for  such  as 
ministered  about  holy  things,  the  caldrons, 
the  dishes,  and  the  tables ;  nay,  he  did  not 
abstain  from  those  pouring-vessels  that 
were  sent  them  by  Augustus  and  his  wife  ; 
for  the  Roman  emperors  did  ever  both 
honour  and  adorn  this  temple  :  whereas 
this  man,  who  was  a  Jew,  seized  upon 
what  were  the  donations  of  foreigners; 
and  said  to  those  that  were  with  him,  that 
it  was  proper  for  them  to  use  divine  things 
while  they  were  fighting  for  the  Divinity, 
without  fear,  and  that  such  whose  warfare 
is  for  the  temple,  should  live  of  the  tem- 
ple; on  which  account  he  emptied  the  ves- 
sels of  that  sacred  wine  and  oil,  which  the 
priests  kept  to  be  poured  on  the  burnt-of- 
ferings, and  which  lay  in  the  inner  court 
of  the  temple,  and  distributed  it  among 
the  multitude,  who,  in  their  anointing 
themselves  and  drinking,  used  [each  of 
them]  above  a  hin  :  and  here  I  cannot  but 
speak  my  mind,  and  what  the  concern  I 
am  under  dictates  to  me,  aud  it  is  this:  1 
suppose,  that  had  the  Romans  made  any 
longer  delay  in  coming  against  these  vil- 
lains, the  city  would  either  have  been 
swallowed  up  by  the  ground  opening  upon 
them,  or  been  overflowed  by  water,  or  else 
been  destroyed  by  rnich  thunder   as  the 


830 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI 


country  of  ,  jodom*  perished  by,  for  it  bad 
brought  forth  a  generation  of  men  much 
more  atheistical  than  were  those  that  suf- 
fered such  punishments;  for  by  their  mad- 
ness it  was  that  all  the  people  came  to  be 
destroyed. 

And  indeed,  why  do  I  relate  these  par- 
ticular calamities  ? — while  Manneus,  the 
son  of  Lazarus,  came  running  to  Titus  at 
this  very  time,  and  told  him  that  there 
had  been  carried  out  through  that  one 
gate,  which  was  intrusted  to  his  care,  no 
fewer  than  115,880  dead  bodies,  in  the  in- 
terval between  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
month  Xanthicus  [Nisan],  when  the  Ro- 
mans pitched  their  camp  by  the  city,  and 
the  first  day  of  the  month  Panemus  [Ta- 
muz].  This  was  itself  a  prodigious  multi- 
tude ;  and  though  this  man  was  not  him- 
self set  as  a  governor  at  that  gate,  yet 
was  he  appointed  to  pay  the  public  stipend 
for  carrying  these  bodies  out,  and  so  was 
obliged  of  necessity  to  number  them, 
while  the  rest  were  buried  by  their  rela- 
tions, though  all  their  burial  was  but  this, 
to  bring  them  away,  and  cast  them  out  of 
the  city.     After  this  man  there  ran  away 


to  Titus  many  of  the  eminent  citizens, 
and  told  him  the  entire  number  of  the 
poor  that  were  dead ;  and  that  no  fewet 
than  600,000  were  thrown  out  at  the  gates, 
though  still  the  number  of  the  rest  could 
not  be  discovered ;  and  they  told  him 
further,  that  when  they  were  no  longer  able 
to  carry  out  the  dead  bodies  of  the  poor, 
they  laid  their  corpses  on  heaps  in  very 
large  houses,  and  shut  them  up  therein  ; 
as  also  that  a  medimnus  of  wheat  was  sold 
for  a  talent;  and  that  when,  a  while  after 
ward,  it  was  not  possible  to  gather  herbs 
by  reason  the  city  was  all  walled  about 
some  persons  were  driven  to  that  terriblo 
distress  as  to  search  the  common  sewers 
and  old  dunghills  of  cattle,  and  to  e<at  the 
dung  which  they  got  there ;  and  what 
they  of  old  could  not  endure  so  much  as 
to  see,  they  now  used  for  food.  When  the 
Romans  barely  heard  all  this,  they  com- 
miserated their  case  ;  while  the  seditious, 
who  saw  it  also,  did  not  repent,  but  suffer- 
ed the  same  distress  to  come  upon  them- 
selves ;  for  they  were  blinded  by  that  fate 
which  was  already  coming  upon  the  city, 
and  upon  themselves  also. 


BOOK  VI. 


CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL  OF  ABOUT  ONE  MONTH,  FROM  THE  GREAT 
EXTREMITY  TO  WHICH  THE  JEWS  WERE  REDUCED  TO  THE  TAKING 
OF  JERUSALEM  BY   TITUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  miseries  of  the  Jews  increase — The  Romans 
make  an  assault  upon  the  tower  of  Antonia. 

Thus  did  the  miseries  of  Jerusalem 
grow  worse  and  worse  every  day,  and  the 
seditious  were  still  more  irritated  by  the 
calamities  they  were  under,  even  while  the 
famine  preyed  upon  themselves,  after  it 
had  preyed  upon  the  people.  And,  in- 
deed, the  multitude  of  carcases  that  lay  in 
heaps  one  upon  another  was  a  horrible 
eight,  and  produced  a  pestilential  stench, 
which  was  a  hinderance  to  those  that 
would  make  sallies  out  of  the  city  and 

*  Josephus  esteems  the  land  of  Sodom,  not  as 
purt  of  the  lake  Asphaltitis,  or  under  its  waters  ; 
but  near  it  only,  as  Tacitus  also  took  the  same  no- 
tion from  him,  which  Reland  takes  to  be  the  truth, 
both  in  his  nee  on  this  place  and  in  his  Palestina. 


fight  the  enemy :  but  as  those  were  to  go 
in  battle-array  who  had  been  already  used 
to  10,000  murders,  and  must  tread  upon 
those  dead  bodies  as  they  marched  along, 
so  were  not  they  terrified,  nor  did  they 
pity  men  as  they  marched  over  them ;  nor 
did  they  deem  this  affront  offered  to  the 
deceased  to  be  any  ill  omen  to  themselves ; 
but  as  they  had  their  right  hands  already 
polluted  with  tfye  murders  of  their  own 
countrymen,  and  in  that  condition  ran  out 
to  fight  with  foreigners,  they  seemed  to 
me  to  have  casta  reproach  upon  God  him- 
self, as  if  he  were  too  slow  in  punishing 
them;  for  the  war  was  not  now  gone  on 
with  as  if  they  had  any  hope  of  victory ; 
for  they  gloried  after  a  brutish  manner  in 
that  despair  of  deliverance  they  were  al- 
ready in.   And  now  the  Romans,  although 


Chap.  I.J 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


831 


they  were  greatly  distressed  in  getting  to- 
gether their  materials,  raised  their  banks 
in  one-and-twenty-days,  after  they  had  cut 
down  all  the  trees  that  were  in  the  coun- 
try that  adjoined  to  the  city,  and  that  for 
ninety  furlongs  round  about,  as  I  have 
already  related.  And  truly,  the  very 
view  itself  of  the  country  was  a  melancho- 
ly thing;  for  those  places  which  were  be- 
fore adorned  with  trees  and  pleasant  gar- 
dens, were  now  become  a  desolate  country 
every  way.  and  its  trees  were  all  cut  down  : 
nor  could  any  foreigner  that  had  formerly 
seen  Judea  and  the  most  beautiful  suburbs 
of  the  city,  and  now  saw  it  as  a  desert, 
but  lament  and  mourn  sadly  at  so  great  a 
change ;  for  the  war  had  laid  all  signs  of 
beauty  quite  waste  :  nor,  if  any  one  that 
had  known  the  place  before  had  come  on 
a  sudden  to  it  now,  would  he  have  known 
it  again  ;  but  though  he  were  at  the  city 
itself,  yet  would  he  have  inquired  for  it 
notwithstanding. 

And  now  the  banks  were  finished,  they 
afforded  a  foundation  for  fear  both  to  the 
Romans  and  to  the  Jews ;  for  the  Jews 
expected  that  the  city  would  be  taken,  un- 
less they  could  burn  those  banks,  as  did 
the  Romans  expect  that,  if  these  were 
once  burnt  down,  they  should  never  be 
able  to  take  it ;  for  there  was  a  mighty 
scarcity  of  materials,  and  the  bodies  of 
the  soldiers  began  to  fail  with  such  hard 
labours,  as  did  their  souls  faint  with  so 
many  instances  of  ill  success ;  nay,  the 
very  calamities  themselves  that  were  in 
the  city  proved  a  greater  discouragement 
to  the  Romans  than  to  those  within  the 
city  )  for  they  found  the  fighting  men  of 
the  Jews  to  be  not  at  all  mollified  among 
such  their  sore  afflictions,  while  they  had 
themselves  perpetually  less  and  less  hopes 
of  success,  and  their  banks  were  forced  to 
yield  to  the  stratagems  of  the  enemy, 
their  engines  to  the  firmness  of  the  wall, 
and  their  closest  fights  to  the  boldness  of 
their  attack  ;  and,  whai  was  their  greatest 
discouragement  of  all,  they  found  the 
Jews'  courageous  souls  to  be  superior  to 
the  multitude  of  the  miseries  they  were 
under  by  their  sedition,  their  famine,  and 
the  war  itself;  insomuch  that  they  were 
ready  to  imagine  that  the  violence  of  their 
attacks  was  invincible,  and  that  the  ala- 
crity they  showed  would  not  be  discouraged 
by  their  calamities ;  for  what  would  not 
those  be  able  to  bear  if  they  should  be  for- 
tunate, who  turned  their  very  misfortunes 
to  the  improvement  of  their  valour  1  These 


considerations  made  the  Romans  keep  a 
stronger  guard  about  their  banks  than  they 
formerly  had  done. 

But  now  John  and  his  party  took  care 
for  securing  themselves  afterward,  even  in 
case  this  wall  should  be  thrown  down, 
and  fell  to  their  work  before  the  battering- 
rams  were  brought  against  them.  Yet 
did  they  not  compass  what  they  endea- 
voured to  do,  but  as  they  were  gone  out 
with  their  torches,  they  came  back  undei 
great  discouragement,  before  they  came 
near  to  the  banks ;  and  the  reasons  were 
these  :  that  in  the  first  place,  their  conduct 
did  not  seem  to  be  unanimous,  but  they  went 
out  in  distinct  parties,  and  at  distinct  inter- 
vals, and  after  a  slow  manner,  and  timor- 
ously, and  to  say  all  in  a  word,  without  a 
Jewish  courage  ;  for  they  were  now  de- 
fective in  what  is  peculiar  to  our  nation, 
that  is,  in  boldness,  in  violence  of  assault, 
and  in  running  upon  the  enemy  all  to- 
gether, and  in  persevering  in  what  they 
go  about,  though  they  do  uot  at  first  suc- 
ceed in  it ;  but  they  now  went  out  in  a 
more  languid  manner  than  usual,  and  at 
the  same  time  found  the  Romans  set  in 
array,  and  more  courageous  than  ordinary, 
and  that  they  guarded  their  banks  both 
with  their  bodies  and  their  entire  armour, 
and  this  to  such  a  degree  on  all  sides,  thai 
they  left  no  room  for  the  fire  to  get  among 
them,  and  that  every  one  of  their  soula 
was  in  such  good  courage,  that  they  would 
sooner  die  than  desert  their  ranks ;  tot 
besides  their  notion  that  all  their  hopes 
were  cut  otf,  in  case  their  works  were 
once  burnt,  the  soldiers  were  greatly 
ashamed  that  subtlety  should  be  quite  too 
hard  for  courage,  madness  for  armour, 
multitude  for  skill,  and  Jews  for  Romans. 
The  Romans  had  now  also  another  advan- 
tage— their  engines  for  sieges  co-operat- 
ing with  them  in  throwing  darts  and 
stones  as  far  as  the  Jews,  when  they  were 
coming  out  of  the  city ;  whereby  the  man 
that  fell  became  an  impediment  to  him 
that  was  next  to  him,  as  did  the  danger 
of  going  farther  make  them  less  zealoua 
in  their  attempts ;  and  for  those  that  had 
run  under  the  darts,  some  of  them  were 
terrified  by  the  good  order  and  closeness 
of  the  enemies'  ranks  before  they  came  to 
a  close  fight,  and  others  were  pricked  with 
their  spears,  and  turned  back  again  ;  at 
length  they  reproached  one  another  for 
their  cowardice,  and  retired  without  doing 
any  thing.  This  attack  was  made  upon  the 
first  day  of  the  month  Panemus  [Tamuz]. 


832 


WARS   OF   THE    JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


So,  when  the  Jews  were  retreated,  the  Ro- 
mans brought  their  engines,  although  they 
had  all  the  while  stones  thrown  at  them 
from  the  tower  of  Antonia,  and  were  as- 
saulted by  fire  and  sword,  and  by  all  sorts 
of  darts,  which  necessity  afforded  the  Jews 
to  make  use  of;  for  although  these  had 
great  dependence  on  their  own  wall,  and 
a  contempt  of  the  Roman  engines,  yet  did 
they  endeavour  to  hinder  the  Romans  from 
bringing  them.  Now  these  Romans  strug- 
gled hard,  on  the  contrary,  to  bring  them, 
as  deeming  that  this  zeal  of  the  Jews  was 
.n  order  to  avoid  any  impression  being 
made  on  the  tower  of  Antonia,  because  its 
wall  was  but  weak,  and  its  foundations 
rotten.  However,  that  tower  did  not  yield 
to  the  blows  given  it  from  the  engines; 
yet  did  the  Romans  bear  the  impressions 
made  by  the  enemies'  darts  which  were 
perpetually  cast  at  them,  and  did  not  give 
way  to  any  of  those  dangers  that  came 
upon  them  from  above,  and  so  they  brought 
their  engines  to  bear;  but  then,  as  they 
were  beneath  the  other,  and  were  sadly 
wounded  b}7  the  stones  thrown  down  upon 
them,  some  of  them  threw  their  shields 
over  their  bodies,  and  partly  with  their 
hands,  and  partly  with  their  bodies,  and 
partly  with  crows,  they  undermined  its 
foundations,  and  with  great  pains  they  re- 
moved four  of  its  stones.  Then  night 
came  upon  both  sides,  and  put  an  end  to 
this  struggle  for  the  present;  however, 
that  night  the  wall  was  so  shaken  by  the 
battering-rams  in  that  place  where  John 
had  used  his  stratagem  before,  and  had 
undermiued  their  bauks,  that  the  ground 
then  gave  way,  and  the  wall  fell  down 
suddenly. 

When  this  accident  had  unexpectedly 
happened,  the  minds  of  both  parties  were 
variously  affected :  for  though  one  would 
expect  that  the  Jews  would  be  discouraged, 
because  this  fall  of  their  wall  was  unex- 
pected by  them,  and  they  had  made  no 
provision  in  that  case,  yet  did  they  pull 
up  their  courage,  because  the  tower  of 
Antonia  itself  was  still  standing;  as  was 
the  unexpected  joy  of  the  Romans,  at  this 
fall  of  the  wall,  soon  quenched  by  the 
aight  they  had  of  another  wall,  which  John 
and  his  party  had  built  within  it.  How- 
ever, the  attack  of  this  second  wall  ap- 
peared to  be  easier  than  that  of  the  former, 
because  it  seemed  a  thing  of  greater  facility 
to  get  up  to  it  through  the  parts  of  the 
former  wall  that  were  now  thrown  down. 
This  new  wall  appeared  also  to  be  much 


weaker  than  the  tower  of  Antonia,  and  ac- 
cordingly the  Romans  imagined  that  it  had 
been  erected  so  much  on  the  sudden,  that 
they  should  soon  overthrow  it:  yet  did 
not  anybody  venture  now  to  go  up  to  this 
wall ;  for  that  such  as  first  ventured  so  to 
do  must  certainly  be  killed. 

And  now,  Titus,  upon  consideration 
that  the  alacrity  of  soldiers  in  war  is 
chiefly  excited  by  hopes  and  by  good 
words,  and  that  exhortations  and  promises 
do  frequently  make  men  to  forget  the 
hazards  they  run,  nay,  and  sometimes  to 
despise  death  itself,  got  together  the  most 
courageous  part  of  his  army,  and  tried 
what  he  could  do  with  his  men  by  these 
methods  : — "  0  fellow-soldiers,"  said  he, 
"  to  make  an  exhortation  to  men,  to  do 
what  hath  no  peril  in  it,  is  on  that  very 
account  inglorious  to  such  to  whom  that 
exhortation  is  made;  and  indeed,  so  it  is 
in  him  that  makes  the  exhortation,  an  ar- 
gument of  his  own  cowardice  also.  I 
therefore  think,  that  such  exhortations 
ought  then  only  to  be  made  use  of  when 
affairs  are  in  a  dangerous  condition,  and 
yet  are  worthy  of  being  attempted  by 
every  one  themselves;  accordingly,  I  am 
fully  of  the  same  opinion  with  you,  that 
it  is  a  difficult  task  to  go  up  to  this  wali ; 
but  that  it  is  proper  for  those  that  desire 
reputation  for  their  valour,  to  struggle 
with  difficulties  in  such  cases,  will  then 
anoear,  when  I  have  particularly  shown 
that  it  is  a  brave  thing  to  die  with  glory, 
and  that  the  courage  here  necessary  shall 
not  go  unrewarded  in  those  that  first  begin 
the  attempt;  and  let  my  first  argument  to 
move  you  to  it  be  taken  from  what  proba- 
bly some  would  think  reasonable  to  dis- 
suade you,  I  mean  the  constancy  and 
patience  of  these  Jews,  even  under  their 
ill  successes;  for  it  is  unbecoming  you, 
who  are  Romans  and  my  soldiers,  who 
have  in  peace  been  taught  how  to  make 
wars,  and  who  have  also  been  used  to  con- 
quer in  those  wars,  to  be  inferior  to  Jews, 
either  in  action  of  the  hand  or  in  courage 
of  the  soul,  and  this  especially  when  you 
are  at  the  conclusion  of  your  victory,  and 
are  assisted  by  (rod  himself;  for  as  to  our 
misfortunes,  they  have  been  owing  to  the 
madness  of  the  Jews,  while  their  suffer- 
ings have  been  owing  to  your  valour,  and 
to  the  assistance  God  hath  afforded  you; 
for  as  to  the  seditions  they  have  been  in, 
and  the  famine  they  are  under,  and  the 
siege  they  now  endure,  and  the  fall  of 
their  walls  without  our  engines,  what  can 


Chap  l.J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


833 


they  all  be  but  demonstrations  of  God's 
anger  against  them,  and  of  his  assistance 
afforded  us?  It  will  not,  therefore,  be 
proper  for  you,  either  to  show  yourselves 
inferior  to  those  to  whom  you  are  really 
superior,  or  to  betray  that  divine  assist- 
ance which  is  afforded  you;  and,  indeed, 
how  can  it  be  esteemed  otherwise  than  a 
base  and  unworthy  thing,  that  while  the 
Jews,  who  need  not  to  be  much  ashamed 
if  they  be  deserted,  because  they  have 
long  learned  to  be  slaves  to  others,  do  yet 
despise  death,  that  they  may  be  so  no 
longer, — and  to  make  sallies  into  the  very 
midst  of  us  frequently,  not  in  hopes  of 
conquering  us,  but  merely  for  a  demon- 
stration of  their  courage ;  we,  who  have 
gotten  possession  of  almost  all  the  world 
that  belongs  to  either  land  or  sea,  to 
whom  it  will  be  a  great  shame  if  we  do 
not  conquer  them,  do  not  once  undertake 
any  attempt  against  our  enemies  wherein 
there  is  much  danger,  but  sit  still  idle, 
with  such  brave  arms  as  we  have,  and  only 
wait  till  the  famine  and  fortune  do  our 
business  themselves,  and  this  when  we 
have  it  in  our  power,  with  some  small 
aazard,  to  gain  all  that  we  desire !  For 
if  we  go  up  to  this  tower  of  Antonia,  we 
gain  the  city;  for  if  there  should  be  any 
more  occasion  for  fighting  against  those 
within  the  city,  which  I  do  not  suppose 
there  will,  since  we  shall  then  be  upon  the 
top  ot  the  hill,  and  be  upon  cfir  enemies 
before  they  can  have  taken  breath,  these 
advantages  promise  us  no  less  than  a  cer- 
tain and  sudden  victory.  As  for  myself, 
I  shall  at  present  waive  any  commendation 
of  those  who  die  in  war,*  and  omit  to 
speak  of  the  immortality  of  those  men 
who  are  slain  in  the  midst  of  their  martial 
bravery ;  yet  cannot  I  forbear  to  impre- 
cate upon  those  who  are  of  a  contrary  dis- 
position, that  they  may  die  in  time  of 
peace,  by  some  distemper  or  other,  since 
their  souls  are  already  condemned  to  the 
grave,  together  with  their  bodies;  for 
what  man  of  virtue  is  there  who  does  not 
know  that  those  souls  which  are  severed 

•  In  thi3  speech  of  Titus  we  may  clearly  see  the 
notions  which  the  Romans  then  had  of  death,  and 
of  the  happy  state  of  those  who  died  bravely  in 
war,  and  the  contrary  estate  of  those  who  died  ig- 
nobly iu  their  beds  by  sickness.  Reland  here  also 
produces  two  parallel  passages,  the  one  out  of  Am- 
mianus  Marcellinus,  concerning  the  Alani,  that 
**  they  judged  that  man  happy  who  laid  down  his 
life  in  battle  ;"  the  other  of  Valerius  Maximus,  who 
eays,  "that  the  Cimbri  and  Celtiberi  exulted  for 
joy  in  tho  army,  as  being  to  go  out  of  the  world 
gloriously  and  happilv  ' 

53 


from  their  fleshly  bodies  in  battles  by  the 
sword,  are  received  by  the  ether,  that 
purest  of  elements,  and  joined  to  that 
company  which  are  placed  among  the 
stars;  that  they  become  good  demons,  and 
propitious  heroes,  and  show  themselves  as 
such  to  their  posterity  afterward?  while 
upon  those  souls  that  weai  away  in  and 
with  their  distempered  bodies,  conies  a 
subterranean  night  to  dissolve  them  to 
nothing,  and  a  deep  oblivion  to  take  away 
all  the  remembrance  of  them,  and  this 
notwithstanding  they  be  clean  from  all 
spots  and  defilements  of  this  world;  so 
that,  in  this  case,  the  soul  at  tho  same 
time  comes  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  its 
life,  and  of  its  body,  and  of  its  memorial 
also;  but  since  fate  hath  determined  that 
death  is  to  come  of  necessity  upon  all 
men,  a  sword  is  a  better  instrument  for 
that  purpose  than  any  disease  whatsoever. 
Why,  is  it  not  then  a  very  mean  thing  for 
us  not  to  yield  up  that  to  the  public  bene- 
fit, which  we  must  yield  up  to  fate  ?  And 
this  discourse  have  I  made,  upon  the  sup- 
position that  those  who  at  first  attempt  to 
go  upon  this  wall  must  needs  be  killed  in 
the  attempt,  though  still  men  of  true  cou- 
rage have  a  chance  to  escape,  even  in  the 
most  hazardous  undertakings;  for,  in  the 
first  place,  that  part  of  the  former  wall 
that  is  thrown  down  is  easily  to  be 
ascended;  and  for  the  new-built  wall,  it 
is  easily  destroyed.  Do  you,  therefore, 
many  of  you,  pull  up  your  courage,  and 
set  about  this  work,  and  do  you  mutually 
encourage  and  assist  one  another;  and 
this  your  bravery  will  soon  break  the 
hearts  of  your  enemies  ;  and  perhaps  such 
a  glorious  undertaking  as  yours  is  may  be 
accomplished  without  bloodshed ;  for,  al- 
though it  be  justly  to  be  supposed  that 
the  Jews  will  try  to  hinder  you  at  your  first 
beginning  to  go  up  to  them,  yet  when  you 
have  once  concealed  yourselves  from  them, 
and  driven  them  away  by  force,  they  will 
not  be  able  to  sustain  your  efforts  against 
them  any  longer,  though  but  a  few  of 
you  prevent  them,  and  get  over  the  wall. 
As  for  that  person  who  first  mounts  the 
wall,  I  should  blush  for  shame  if  I  did  not 
make  him  to  be  envied  of  others,  by  those 
rewards  I  would  bestow  upon  him.  If 
such  a  one  escape  with  his  life,  he  shall 
have  the  command  of  others  that  are  now 
but  his  equals;  although  it  be  true  also, 
that  the  greatest  rewards  will  accrue  to 
such  as  die  in  the  attempt." 

Upon  this  speech  of  Titus,  the  rest  of 


B34 


WARS   OF  THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VL 


the  multitude  were  affrighted  at  so  great 
a  danger.  6ut  there  was  one  whose  name 
was  Sab;n"s,  a  soldier  that  served  among 
the  cohorts,  and  a  Syrian  by  birth,  who 
appeared  to  be  of  very  great  fortitude,  both 
in  the  actions  he  had  done,  and  the  cou- 
rage of  his  soul  he  had  shown;  although 
anybody  would  have  thought,  before  he 
came  to  his  work,  that  he  was  of  such  a 
weak  constitution  of  body  that  he  was 
not  fit  to  be  a  soldier  ;  for  his  coluur  was 
black,  his  flesh  was  lean  and  thin,  and  lay 
close  together;  but  there  was  a  certain 
heroic  soul  that  dwelt  in  this  6  <iall  body, 
which  body  was  indeed  much  too  narrow 
for  that  peculiar  courage  which  was  in 
him.  Accordingly,  he  was  the  first  that 
rose  up;  when  he  thus  spake : — "  I  readily 
surrender  myself  to  thee,  0  Caesar:  I  first 
ascend  the  wall,  and  I  heartily  wish  that 
my  fortune  may  follow  my  courage  and 
my  resolution.  And  if  some  ill  fortune 
grudge  me  the  success  of  my  undertaking, 
take  notice  that  my  ill  success  will  not  be 
unexpected,  but  that  I  choose  death  volun- 
tarily for  thy  sake."  When  he  had  said 
this,  and  had  spread  out  his  shield  over 
his  head  with  his  left  hand,  and  had,  with 
hi3  right  hand,  drawn  his  sword,  he 
marched  up  to  the  wall  just  about  the 
sixth  hour  of  the  day.  There  followed 
him  eleven  others,  and  no  more;  that  re- 
solved to  imitate  his  bravery ;  but  still 
this  was  the  principal  person  of  them  all, 
and  went  first,  as  excired  by  a  divine  fury. 
Now  those  that  guarded  the  wall  shot  at 
them  from  thence,  and  cast  innumerable 
darts  upon  them  from  every  side ;  they 
also  rolled  very  large  stories  upon  them, 
which  overthrew  some  of  those  eleven  that 
were  with  him.  But  as  for  Sabinus  him- 
self, he  met  the  darts  that  were  cast  at 
him,  and  though  he  was  overwhelmed  with 
them,  yet  did  he  not  leave  off  the  violence 
of  his  attack  before  he  had  gotten  up  on 
the  top  of  the  wall,  and  had  put  the  enemy 
to  flight.  For  as  the  Jews  were  astonished 
at  his  great  strength,  and  the  bravery  of 
his  soul;  and  as,  withal,  they  imagined 
more  of  them  had  got  upon  the  wall  than 
really  had,  they  were  put  to  flight.  And 
now  one  cannot  but  complain  here  of  for- 
tune, as  still  envious  of  virtue,  and  always 
hindering  the  performance  of  glorious 
achievements  :  this  was  the  case  of  the 
man  before  us,  when  he  had  just  obtained 
his  purpose ;  for  he  then  stumbled  at  a 
certain  large  stone,  and  fell  down  upon  it 
headlong,  with  a  very  great  noise.     Upon 


which  the  Jews  turned  back,  and  when 
they  saw  him  to  be  alone,  and  fallen  down 
also,  they  threw  darts  at  him  from  every 
side.  However,  he  got  upon  his  knee, 
and  covered  himself  with  his  shield,  and 
at  the  first  defended  himself  against  them, 
and  wounded  many  of  those  that  came 
near  him  ;  but  he  was  soon  forced  to  relax 
his  right  hand,  by  the  multitude  of  the 
wounds  that  had  been  given  him,  till  at 
length  he  was  quite  covered  over  with 
darts  before  he  gave  up  the  ghost.  He 
was  one  who  deserved  a  better  fate,  by 
reason  of  his  bravery;  but,  as  might  be 
expected,  he  fell  under  so  vast  an  attempt. 
As  for  the  rest  of  his  partners,  the  Jews 
dashed  three  of  them  to  pieces  with  stones, 
and  slew  them  as  they  were  gotten  up  to 
the  top  of  the  wall ;  the  other  eight,  being 
wounded,  were  pulled  down  and  carried 
back  to  the  camp.  These  things  were 
done  upon  the  third  day  of  the  month 
Panemus  [Tamuz] 

Now,  two  day?  afterward,  twelve  of 
these  men  that  were  on  the  forefront,  and 
kept  watch  upon  the  banks,  got  together, 
and  called  to  them  the  standard-bearer  of 
the  fifth  legion,  and  twc-  others  of  a  troop 
of  horsemen,  and  one  trumpeter;  these 
went  without  noise,  about  the  ninth  hour 
of  the  night,  through  the  ruins,  to  the 
tower  of  Antonia;  and  when  they  had  cut 
the  throats  of  the  first  guards  of  the  place, 
as  they  were  asleep,  they  got  possession  of 
the  wall,  and  ordered  the  trumpeter  to 
sound  his  trumpet.  Upon  which  the  rest 
of  the  guard  got  up  on  the  sudden,  and 
ran  away  before  anybody  could  see  how 
many  they  were  thit  were  gotter  up;  foi 
partly  from  the  fear  they  were  in,  ana 
partly  from  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  which 
they  heard,  they  imagined  a  great  number 
of  tbe  enemy  were  gotten  up.  But  ae 
soon  as  Caesar  heard  the  signal,  he  orderea 
the  army  to  put  on  their  armour  imme- 
diately, and  came  thither  with  hia  com- 
manders, and  first  of  ail  ascended,  as  did 
the  chosen  men  that  weie  wiih  hirn.  And 
as  the  Jews  were  flying  away  to  the  tem- 
ple, they  fell  into  that  mine  which  John 
had  dug  under  the  Roman  banks.  Then 
did  the  seditious  of'  both  the  bodies  of  the 
Jewish  army,  as  well  that  belonging  to 
John  as  that  belonging  to  Simon,  drive 
them  away;  and  indeed  were  noway 
wanting  as  to  the  highest  degree  of  force 
and  alacrity;  for  they  esteemed  themselves 
entirely  ruined  if  once  the  Romans  got 
into  the  temple,  as  did  the  Romans  look 


Chap.  I.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS 


835 


upon  the  same  thing  as  the  beginning  of 
their  entire  conquest.  So  a  terrible  battle 
was  fought  at  the  entrance  of  the  temple, 
while  the  Romans  were  forcing  their  way, 
in  order  to  get  possession  of  that  temple, 
and  the  Jews  were  driving  them  back  to 
the  tower  of  Antonia;  in  which  battle  the 
daits  were  on  both  sides  useless,  as  well  as 
the  spears,  and  both  sides  drew  their 
swords,  and  fought  it  out  hand  to  hand. 
Now,  during  this  struggle,  the  positions 
of  the  men  were  undistinguished  on  both 
sides,  and  they  fought  at  random,  the  men 
being  intermixed  one  with  another,  and 
confounded,  by  reason  of  the  narrowness 
of  the  place ;  while  the  noise  that  was 
made  fell  on  the  ear  after  an  indistinct 
manner,  because  it  was  so  very  loud. 
Great  slaughter  was  now  made  on  both 
sides,  and  the  combatants  trod  upon  the 
bodies  and  the  armour  of  those  that  were 
dead,  and  dashed  them  to  pieces.  Ac- 
cordingly, to  which  side  soever  the  battle 
inclined,  those  that  had  the  advantage  ex- 
horted one  another  to  go  on,  as  did  those 
that  were  beaten  make  great  lamentation. 
But  still  there  was  no  room  for  flight,  nor 
for  pursuit,  but  disorderly  revolutions  and 
retreats,  while  the  armies  were  intermixed 
one  with  another;  but  those  that  were 
in  the  first  ranks  were  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  killing  or  being  killed,  with- 
out any  way  for  escaping;  for  those  on 
both  sides  that  came  behind  forced 
those  before  them  to  go  on,  without  leav- 
ing any  space  between  the  armies.  At 
length  the  Jews'  violent  zeal  was  too  hard 
for  the  Romans'  skill,  and  the  battle  al- 
ready inclined  entirely  that  way;  for  the 
fight  had  lasted  from  the  ninth  hour  of 
the  night  till  the  seventh  hour  of  the  day, 
while  the  Jews  came  on  in  crowds,  and 
had  the  danger  the  temple  was  in  for  their 
motive;  the  Romans  having  no  more  here 
than  a  part  of  their  army;  for  those  le- 
gions on  which  the  soldiers  on  that  side 
depended  were  not,  come  up  to  them.  So 
it  was  at  present  thought  sufficient  by  the 
Romans  to  take  possession  of  the  tower  of 
Antonia. 

But  there  was  one  Julian,  a  centurion, 
that  came  from  Bithynia;  a  man  he  was 
of  great  reputation,  whom  I  had  formerly 
seen  in  that  war,  and,  one  of  the  highest 
fame,  both  for  his  skill  in  war,  his  strength 
of  body,  and  the  courage  of  his  soul.  This 
man,  seeing  the  Romans  giving  ground, 
and  in  a  sad  condition,  (for  he  stood  by 
Titus  at  the  tower  of  Antonia,)  leaped  out, 


and  of  himselt  aione  put  me  Jews  tq 
flight  when  they  were  already  conquerors, 
and  made  them  retire  as  far  as  the  corner 
of  the  inner  court  of  the  temple:  from  him 
the  multitude  fled  away  in  crowds,  as  sup- 
posing that  neither  his  strength  nor  his 
violent  attacks  could  be  those  of  a  mere 
man.  Accordingly,  he  rushed  through 
the  midst  of  the  Jews,  as  they  were  dis- 
persed all  abroad,  and  killed  those  that  he 
caught.  Nor,  indeed,  was  there  any  sight 
that  appeared  more  wonderful  in  the  eyes 
of  Caesar,  or  more  terrible  to  others,  than 
this.  However,  he  was  himself  pursued 
by  fate,  which  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
who  was  but  a  mortal  man  should  escape  : 
for  as  he  had  shoes  all  full  of  thick  and 
sharp  nails,  as  had  every  one  of  the  other 
soldiers,  so  when  he  ran  on  the  pavement 
of  the  temple,  he  slipped,  and  fell  down 
upon  his  back  with  a  very  great  noise, 
which  was  made  by  his  armour.  This 
made  those  that  were  running  away  to 
turn  back;  whereupon  those  Romans  that 
were  in  the  tower  of  Antonia  set  up  a  great 
shout,  as  they  were  in  fear  for  the  man. 
But  the  Jews  got  about  him  in  crowds, 
and  struck  at  him  with  their  spears  and 
with  their  swords  on  all  sides.  Now  he 
received  a  great  many  of  the  strokes  of 
these  iron  weapons  upon  his  shield,  and 
often  attempted  to  get  up  again,  but  was 
thrown  down  by  those  that  struck  at  him; 
yet  did  he,  as  he  lay  along,  stab  many  of 
them  with  his  sword.  Nor  was  he  soon 
killed,  as  being  covered  with  his  helmet 
and  his  breastplate  in  all  those  parts  of 
his  body  where  he  might  be  mortally 
wounded  ;  he  also  pulled  his  neck  close  to 
his  body,  till  all  his  other  limbs  were  shat- 
tered, and  nobody  durst  come  to  defeud 
him,  and  then  he  yielded  to  his  fate.  Now 
Caesar  was  deeply  affected  on  account  of 
this  man  of  so  great  fortitude,  and  espe- 
cially us  he  was  killed  in  the  sight  of  so 
many  people;  he  was  desirous  himself  to 
come  to  his  assistance,  but  the  place  would 
not  give  him  leave,  while  such  as  could 
have  done  it  were  too  much  terrified  to 
attempt  it.  Thus  when  Julian  had  strug- 
gled with  death  a  great  while,  and  had  let 
but  few  of  those  that  had  given  him  his 
mortal  wound  go  off  unhurt,  he  had  at 
last  his  throat  cut,  though  not  without 
some  difficulty;  and  left  behind  him  a 
very  great  fame,  not  only  among  the  Ro- 
mans and  with  Caesar  himself,  but  among 
his  enemies  also;  then  did  the  Jews  catch 
up  his  dead  body,  and  put  the  Romans  to 


836 


WARS    OF  THE  JEWS 


[Book  VI 


flight  again,  and  shut  them  up  in  the  tower 
of  Aritonia.  Now  those  that  most  signal- 
ized themselves,  and  fought  most  zeal- 
ously in  this  battle  of  the  Jewish  side, 
were  one  AlexasandGyphtheus,  of  John's 
party;  and  of  Simon's  party  were  Mala- 
chias,  and  Judas  the  son  of  Merto,  and 
James  the  son  of  Sosas,  the  commander 
of  the  Idumeans;  and  of  the  Zealots,  two 
brethren,  Simon  aad  Judas,  the  sons  of 
Jairus. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Titus  orders  the  tower  of  Antonia  to  be  destroyed — 
Josephus  exhorts  the  Jews  to  surrender. 

And  now  Titus  gave  orders  to  his  sol- 
diers that  were  with  him  to  dig  up  the 
foundations  of  the  tower  of  Antonia,  and 
make  him  a  ready  passage  for  his  army  to 
come  up;  while  he  himself  had  Josephus 
brought  to  him,  (for  he  had  been  informed 
that  on  that  very  day,  which  was  the 
seventeenth  day*  of  Panemus  [Tamuz], 
the  sacrifice  called  "the  Daily  Sacrifice" 
had  failed,  and  had  not  been  offered  to 
God  for  want  of  men  to  offer  it,  and  that 
the  people  were  grievously  troubled  at  it,) 
and  commanded  him  to  say  the  same 
things  to  John  that  he  had  said  before, 
that  if  he  had  any  malicious  inclination 
for  fighting,  he  might  come  out  with  as 
many  of  his  men  as  he  pleased,  in  order 
to  light,  without  the  danger  of  destroying 
either  his  city  or  temple;  but  that  he  de- 
sired he  would  not  defile  the  temple,  nor 
thereby  offend  against  God.  That  he 
might,  if  he  pleased,  offer  the  sacrifices 
which  were  now  discontinued,  by  any  of 
the  Jews  whom  he  should  pitch  upon.  Upon 
this,  Josephus  stood  in  such  a  place  where 
he  might  be  heard,  not  by  John  only,  but 
by  many  more,  and  then  declared  to  them 
what  Caesar  had  given  him  in  charge,  and 
this  in  the  Hebrew  language.*)"  So  he 
earnestly  prayed  them  to  spare  their  own 

*  This  was  a  very  remarkable  day,  the  17th  of 
Panemus  [Tamuz],  A.  D.  70,  when,  according  to 
Daniel's  prediction,  606  years  before,  the  Romans 
"  in  half  a  week  caused  the  sacrifice  and  oblation 
to  cease,"  Dan.  ix.  27 ;  for  from  the  month  of  Fe- 
bruary, A.  D.  66,  about  which  time  Vespasian  en- 
tered on  this  war,  to  this  very  time,  was  just  three 
years  and  a  half.  See  Bishop  Lloyd's  Tables  of 
Chronology  on  this  year.  Nor  is  it  to  be  omitted, 
what  very  nearly  confirms  this  duration  of  the  war, 
that  four  years  before  the  war  began,  was  some- 
what above  seven  years  and  five  months  before  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

y  The  same  that  in  the  New  Testament  is  always 
so  called,  and  was  then  the  common  language  of 
the  Je^<5  in  Judea,  which  was  th«.  S/riac  dialect. 


city,  and  to  prevent  that  fire  which  wag 
just  ready  to  seize  upon  the  temple,  and 
to  offer  their  usual  sacrifices  to  God 
therein.  At  these  words  of  his  a  great 
sadness  and  silence  were  observed  among 
the  people.  But  the  tyrant  himself  cast 
many  reproaches  upon  Josephus,  with 
imprecations  besides;  and  at  last  added 
this  withal,  that  he  did  never  fear  the 
taking  of  the  city,  because  it  was  God's 
own  city.  In  answer  to  which,  Josephus 
said  thus,  with  aloud  voice : — " To  be  sure, 
thou  hast  kept  this  city  wonderfully  pure 
for  God's  sake  !  the  temple  also  continues 
entirely  unpolluted  !  Nor  hast  thou  been 
guilty  of  any  impiety  against  him,  for 
whose  assistance  thou  hopest!  He  still 
receives  his  accustomed  sacrifices!  Vile 
wretch  that  thou  art!  if  any  one  should 
deprive  thee  of  thy  daily  food,  thou  wouldst 
esteem  him  to  be  an  enemy  to  thee;  but 
thou  hopest  to  have  that  God  for  thy  sup- 
porter in  this  war  whom  thou  has  deprived 
of  his  everlasting  worship  !  and  thou  im- 
putest  those  sius  to  the  Romans,  who,  to 
this  very  time,  take  care  to  have  our  laws 
observed,  and  almost  compel  these  sacri- 
fices to  be  still  offered  to  God,  which  have 
by  thy  means  been  intermitted  !  Who  is 
there  that  can  avoid  groans  and  lamenta,- 
tions  at  the  amazing  change  that  is  made 
in  this  city?  since  very  foreigners  and 
euemies  do  now  correct  that  impiety  whieh 
thou  hast  occasioned  :  while  thou,  who  art 
a  Jew,  and  wast  educated  in  our  laws,  art 
become  a  greater  enemy  to  them  than  the 
others !  But  still,  John,  it  is  never  dis- 
honourable to  repent,  and  amend  what 
hath  been  done  amiss,  even  at  the  last  ex- 
tremity. Thou  hast  an  instance  before 
thee  in  Jechoniah,*  the  king  of  the  Jews, 
if  thou  hast  a  mind  to  save  the  city,  who, 
when  the  king  of  Babylon  made  war 
against  him,  did,  of  his  own  accord,  go  out 
of  this  city  before  it  was  taken,  and  did 
undergo  a  voluntary  captivity  wi"h  his 
family,  that  the  sauctuary  might  not  be 
delivered  up  to  the  enemy,  and  that  he 
might  not  see  the  house  of  God  set  on  fire : 
on  which  account-  he  is  celebrated  among 
all  the  Jews,  in  their  sacred  memorials, 
and  his  memory  is  become  immortal,  and 
will  be  conveyed  fresh  down  to  our  pos- 
terity through  all  ages.  This,  John,  is  an 
excellent  example  in  such  a  time  of  dan- 


*  Our  present  copies  of  the  Old  Testament  want 
this  encomium  upon  King  Jechoniah  or  Jehoiachim, 
which  it  seems  was  in  Josephus's  copy. 


Chap.  II.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


837 


ger;  and  I  dare  venture  to  promise  that 
the  Romans  shall  still  forgive  thee.  And 
take  notice,  that  I,  who  make  this  exhort- 
ation to  thee,  am  one  of  thine  own  nation; 
f,  who  am  a  Jew,  do  make  this  promise 
to  thee.  And  it  will  become  thee  to  con- 
sider who  I  am  that  give  thee  this  counsel, 
and  whence  T  am  derived ;  for  while  I  am 
alive  I  shall  never  be  in  such  slavery  as 
to  forego  my  own  kindred,  or  forget  the 
laws  of  our  forefathers.  Thou  hast  indig- 
nation at  me  again,  and  makest  a  clamour 
at  me,  and  reproachest  me;  indeed,  I  can- 
not deny  but  I  am  worthy  of  worse  treat- 
ment than  all  this  amounts  to,  because,  in 
opposition  to  fate,  I  make  this  kind  invi- 
tation to  thee,  and  endeavour  to  force  de- 
liverance upon  those  whom  God  hath  con- 
demned. And  who  is  there  that  does  not 
know  what  the  writings  of  the  ancient 
prophets  contain  in  them, — and  particu- 
larly that  oracle  which  is  just  now  going 
to  be  fulfilled  upon  this  miserable  city ! — 
for  they  foretold  that  this  city  should  be 
then  taken  when  somebody  shall  begin  the 
slaughter  of  his  countrymen !  and  are  not 
both  the  city  and  the  entire  temple  now 
full  of  the  dead  bodies  of  your  country- 
men ?  It  is  God,  therefore,  it  is  God  him- 
self, who  is  bringing  on  this  fire,  to  purge 
that  city  and  temple  by  means  of  the  Ro- 
mans,* and  is  going  to  pluck  up  this  city, 
which  is  full  of  your  pollutions. " 

As  Joseph  us  spoke  these  words  with 
groans,  and  tears  in  his  eyes,  his  voice 
was  intercepted  by  sobs.  However,  the 
Romans  could  not  but  pity  the  affliction 
he  was  under,  and  wonder  at  his  conduct. 
But  for  John,  and  those  that  were  with 
him,  they  were  but  the  more  exasperated 
against  the  Romans  on  this  account,  and 
were  desirous  to  get  Josephus  also  into 
their  power :  yet  did  that  discourse  influ- 
ence a  great  many  of  the  better  sort;  and 
truly  some  of  them  were  so  afraid  of  the 
guards  set  by  the  seditious,  that  they  tar- 
ried where  they  were,  but  still  were  satis- 
fied that  both  they  and  the  city  were 
doomed  to  destruction.  Some  also  there 
were  who,  watching  for  a  proper  opportu- 
nity when  they  might  quietly  get  away, 
ded  to  the  Romans,  of  whom  were  the 
high  priests,  Joseph  and  Jesus,  and  of  the 
sons  of  high  priests  three,  whose  father 

*  Josephus,  both  here  and  in  many  places  else- 
where, speaks  so  that  it  is  most  evident  he  was  fully 
satisfied  that  God  was  on  the  Romans'  side,  and 
made  use  of  them  now  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Jowiah  na'ion. 


was  Tshmael,  who  was  beheaded  in  Cyrene, 
and  four  sons  of  Matthias,  as  also  one  son 
of  the  other  Matthias,  who  ran  away  after 
his  father's  death,*  and  whose  father  was 
slain  by  Simon,  the  son  of  Gioras,  with 
three  of  his  sons,  as  I  have  already  re- 
lated: many  also  of  the  other  nobility 
went  over  to  the  Romans,  together  with 
the  high  priests.  Now  Caesar  not  only 
received  these  men  very  kindl}*  in  other 
respects,  but,  knowing  they  would  not 
willingly  live  after  the  customs  of  other 
nations,  he  sent  them  to  Gophna,  and  de- 
sired them  to  remain  there  for  the  present, 
and  told  them,  that  when  he  was  gotten 
clear  of  this  war,  he  would  restore  each  of 
them  to  their  possessions  again  :  so  they 
cheerfully  retired  to  that  small  city  which 
was  allotted  them,  without  fear  of  any 
danger.  But  as  they  did  not  appear,  the 
seditious  gave  out  again  that  these  desert- 
ers were  slain  by  the  Romans, — which  was 
done  in  order  to  deter  the  rest  from  run- 
ning away,  by  fear  of  the  like  treatment. 
This  trick  of  theirs  succeeded  now  for 
a  while,  as  did  the  like  trick  before  ;  for 
the  rest  were  hereby  deterred  from  de- 
serting, by  fear  of  the  like  treatment. 

However,  when  Titus  had  recalled  those 
men  from  Gophna,  he  gave  orders  that 
they  should  go  round  the  wall,  together 
with  Josephus,  and  show  themselves  to 
the  people;  upon  which  a  great  many  fled 
to  the  Romans.  These  men,  also,  got  in 
a  great  number  together,  and  stood  before 
the  Romans,  and  besought  the  seditious, 
with  groans,  and  tears  in  their  eyes,  in 
the  first  place  to  receive  the  Romans  en- 
tirely into  the  city,  and  save  that  their 
own  place  of  residence  again  ;  but  that,  if 
they  would  not  agree  to  such  a  proposal, 
they  would  at  least  depart  out  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  save  the  holy  house  for  their  own 
use ;  for  that  the  Romans  would  not  ven- 
ture to  set  the  sanctuary  on  fire,  but  un- 
der the  most  pressing  necessity.  Yet  did 
the  seditious  still  more  and  more  contra- 
dict them;  and  while  they  cast  loud  and 
bitter  reproaches  upon  these  deserters, 
they  also  set  their  engines  for  throwing 
of  darts  and  javelins  and  stones  upon 
the  sacred  gates  of  the  temple,  at  due  dis- 

•  Josephus  had  before  told  us,  that  this  fourth 
son  of  Matthias  ran  away  to  the  Romans  "  before" 
his  father's  and  brethren's  slaughter,  and  not  "af- 
ter" it,  as  here.  The  former  account  is,  in  all  pro- 
bability, the  truest;  for  had  not  that  fourth  sju 
escaped  before  the  others  were  caught  and  put  to 
death,  he  had  been  caught  and  put  to  death  with 
them- 


638 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Bo>k  VL 


tances  from  one  another,  insomuch  that 
all  the  space  round  about  within  the  tem- 
ple might  be  compared  to  a  burying- 
ground,  so  great  was  the  number  of  the 
dead  bodies  therein;  as  might  the  holy 
house  itself  be  compared  to  a  citadel.  Ac- 
cord i  ugly,  these  men  rushed  upon  these 
holy  places  in  their  armour,  that  were 
otherwise  unapproachable,  and  that  while 
^Leir  hands  were  yet  warm  with  the  blood 
of  their  own  people  which  they  had  shed; 
nay,  they  proceeded  to  such  great  trans- 
gressions, that  the  very  same  indignation 
which  Jews  would  naturally  have  against 
Romans,  had  they  been  guilty  of  such 
abuses  against  them,  the  Romans  now  had 
against  Jews,  for  their  impiety  in  regard 
to  their  own  religious  customs.  Nay,  in- 
deed, there  were  none  of  the  Roman  sol- 
diers who  did  not  look  with  a  sacred  hor- 
ror upon  the  holy  house,  and  adored  it, 
and  wished  that  the  robbers  would  repent 
before  their  miseries  became  incurable. 

Now  Titus  wTas  deeply  affected  with  this 
state  of  things,  and  reproached  John  aud 
his  party,  and  said  to  them,  "  Have  not 
you,  vile  wretches  that  you  are,  by  our 
permission,  put  up  this  partition-wall  be- 
fore your  sanctuary  ?  Have  not  you  been 
allowed  to  put  up  the  pillars  thereto  be- 
longing, at  due  distances,  and  on  it  to 
engrave  in  Greek,  and  in  your  own  let- 
ters, this  prohibition,  that  no  foreigner 
should  go  beyond  that  wall  ?  Have-not 
we  given  you  leave  to  kill  such  as  go 
beyond  it,  though  he  were  a  Roman  ? 
Aud  what  do  you  do  now,  you  pernicious 
villains?  Why  do  you  trample  upon  dead 
bodies  in  this  temple  ?  and  why  do  you 
pollute  this  holy  house  with  the  blood 
both  of  foreigners  and  Jews  themselves  ? 
I  appeal  to  the  gods  of  my  own  country, 
and  to  every  god  that  ever  had  any  regard 
to  this  place,  (for  I  do  not  suppose  it  to 
be  now  regarded  by  any  of  them  ;)  I  also 
appeal  to  my  own  army,  and  to  those  Jews 
that  are  now  with  me,  and  even  to  you, 
yourselves,  that  I  do  not  force  you  to  de- 
tile  this  your  sanctuary ;  and  if  you  will 
but  change  the  place  whereon  you  will 
fight,  no  Roman  shall  either  come  near 
your  sanctuary,  or  offer  any  affront  to  it ; 
nay,  I  will  endeavour  to  preserve  you 
your  holy  house,  whether  you  will  or 
not."* 


*  That  these  seditious  Jews  were  the  direct  oc 
uasion  of  their  own  destruction,  and  of  the  con 
flagration  of  their  citv  and  temple    and  that  Titus 


As   Josephus    explained    these    things 
from  the  mouth  of  Caesar,  both  the  rob- 
bers and  the   tyrant  thought  that  these 
exhortations  proceeded  from  Titus's  fear, 
and  not  from   his  good-will  to  them,  and 
grew  insolent  upon   it ;   but  when   Titus 
saw  that  these   men   were   neither  to    be 
moved    by   commiseration    toward   them 
selves,  nor  had  any  concern  upon  them  tc 
have  the  holy  house  spared,  he  proceeded, 
uu willingly,  to  go  on  agaki  with  the  war 
against  them.      He  could  not  indeed  bring 
all  his  army  against  them,  the  place  was 
so  narrow  ;  but  choosing  thirty   soldiers 
of  the  most  valiant  out  of  every  hundred, 
and  committing  1000  to  each  tribune,  and 
making  Cereal  is  their  commander-in  chief, 
he  gave  orders   that   they  should   attack 
the  guards  of  the  temple  about  the  ninth 
hour  of  that  night;   but,  as  he  was  now 
in  his  armour,  aud  preparing  to  go  down 
with  them,  his  friends  would  not  let  him 
go,  by  reason  of  the  greatness  of  the  dan- 
ger, and  what  the  commanders  suggested 
to  them  ;   for  they  said  that  he  would  do 
more  by  sitting  above  in  the  tower  of  An- 
tonia,  as  a  dispenser  of  rewards  to  those 
soldiers  that  signalized  themselves  in  the 
fight,  than  by  coming  down  and  hazarding 
Lis  own  person  iu  the  forefront  of  them; 
for  that  they  would  all  fight  stoutly  while 
Caesar  looked  upou  them.     With  this  ad- 
vice  Caesar   complied,  and  said  that  the 
only  reason  he  had  for  such  compliance 
with  the  soldiers  was  this,  that  he  might 
be    able    to    judge    of    their    courageous 
actions,  and  that  no  valiant  soldier  might 
lie  concealed,   and  miss   of   his   reward ; 
and    no   cowardly   soldier   might   go   un- 
punished ;   but  that  he  might  himself  be 
an  eye-witness,  and  able  to  give  evidence 
of  all  that  was  done,  who  was  to  be  the 
disposer  of  punishments  and  rewards  to 
them.     So  he  sent  the  soldiers  about  their 
work  at  the  hour. before  mentioned,  while 
he  went  out  himself  to  a  higher  place  in 
the  tower  of  Antonia,  whence  he  might 
see  what  was  done,  and  there  waited  with 
impatience  to  see  the  event. 

However,  the  sxddiers  that  were  sent 
did  not  find  the  guards  of  the  temple 
asleep,  as  they  hoped  to  have  done;  but 
were  obliged  to  fight  with  them  immedi- 
ately hand  to  hand,  as  they  rushed  with 
violence  upon  them  with  a  great  shout. 
Now,  as  soon  as  the  rest  within  the  tem- 


carnestly  and  constantly  laboured  to  save  both,  is 
here  and  everywhere  most  evident  in  jDse|hus. 


Chap.  II.  J 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


839 


pie  heard  that  shout  of  those  that  were 
upon  the  watch,  they  ran  out  in  troops 
upon  them.  Then  did  the  Romans  re- 
ceive the  onset  of  those  that  came  first 
upon  them  ;  but  those  that  followed  them 
fell  upon  their  own  troops,  and  many  of 
them  treated  their  own  soldiers  as  if  they 
had  bceu  enemies ;  for  the  great  confused 
noise  that  was  made  on  both  sides  hin- 
dered them  from  distinguishing  one  an- 
other's voices,  as  d'd  the  darkness  of  the 
night  hinder  them  from  the  like  distinc- 
tion  by  the  sight,  besides  that  blindness 
which  arose  otherwise  also  from  the  pas- 
sion and  the  fear  they  were  in  at  the  same 
time  ;  for  which  reason  it  was  all  one  to 
the  soldiers  who  it  was  they  struck  at. 
However,  this  ignorance  did  less  harm  to 
the  Romans  than  to  the  Jews,  because 
they  were  joined  together  under  their 
shields,  and  made  their  sallies  more  regu- 
larly than  the  others  did,  and  each  of 
them  remembered  their  watchword;  while 
the  Jews  were  perpetually  dispersed 
abroad,  and  made  their  attacks  and  re- 
treats at  random,  and  so  did  frequently 
seem  to  one  another  to  be  enemies;  for 
every  one  of  them  received  those  of  their 
own  men  that  came  back  in  the  dark  as 
Romans,  and  made  an  assault  upon  them  ; 
so  that  more  of  them  were  wounded  by 
their  own  men  than  by  the  enemy,  till, 
upon  the  coming  on  of  the  day,  the  na- 
ture of  the  fight  was  discerned  by  the  eye 
afterward.  Then  did  they  stand  in  battle- 
array  in  distinct  bodies,  and  cast  their 
darts  regularly,  and  regularly  defended 
themselves  ;  nor  did  either  side  yield  or 
grow  weary.  The  Romans  contended 
with  each  other  who  should  fight  the  most 
strenuously,  both  single  men  and  entire 
regiments,  as  being  under  the  eye  of  Ti- 
tus ;  and  every  one  conclude!  that  this 
day  would  begin  his  promotion,  if  he 
fought  bravely.  The  great  sucourage- 
ments  which  the  Jews  had  in  \iew  to  act 
vigorously  were  their  fear  for  themselves 
and  for  the  temple,  and  the  prssence  of 
their  tyrant,  who  exhorted  some,  and  beat 
and  threatened  others,  to  act  courageously. 
Now,  it  so  happened  that  this  fight  was,  for 
the  most  part,  a  stationary  one,  wherein 
the  soldiers  went  on  and  came  back  in  a 
short  time,  and  suddenly  ;  for  there  was 
no  long  space  of  ground  for  either  their 
flights  or  pursuits;  but  still  there  was  a 
tumultuous  noise  among  the  Romans  from 
the  tower  of  Antonia,  who  loudly  cried 
out  upon  all  occasions  for  their  own  men 


to  press  on  courageously,  when  they  were 
too  hard  for  the  Jews,  and  to  stay  when 
they  were  retiring  backward ;  so  that  here 
was  a  kind  of  theatre  of  war;  for  what 
was  done  in  this  fight  could  not  be  con- 
cealed either  from  Titus  or  from  those 
that  were  about  him.  At  length  it  ap- 
peared that  this  fight,  which  began  at  the 
ninth  hour  of  the  night,  was  not  over  till 
past  the  fifth  hour  of  the  day  ;  and  that, 
in  the  same  place  where  the  battle  began, 
neither  party  could  say  they  had  made  the 
other  to  retire;  but  both  the  armies  left 
the  victory  almost  in  uncertainty  between 
them;  wherein  those  that  signalized  them- 
selves on  the  Roman  side  were  a  great 
many ;  but  on  the  Jewish  side,  and  of 
those  that  were  with  Simon,  Judas  the 
son  of  Merto,  and  Simon  the  son  of  Jo- 
sias  ;  of  the  Idumeans,  James  and  Simon, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  the  son  of  Cathlas, 
and  James  was  the  son  of  Sosas  ;  of  those 
that  were  with  John,  Gyphtheus  and 
Alexas ;  aud  of  the  Zealots,  Simon  the 
son  of  Jairus. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  rest  of  the  Ro- 
man army  had,  iu  seven  days'  time,  over- 
thrown [some]  foundations  of  the  tower 
of  Antonia,  and  had  made  a  ready  and 
broad  way  to  the  temple.  Then  did  the 
legions  come  near  the  first  court,*  and 
began  to  raise  their  banks.  The  one  bank 
was  over  against  the  north-west  corner  of 
the  inner  temple  ;"j"  another  was  at  that 
northern  edifice  which  was  between  the 
two  gates ;  and  of  the  other  two,  one  was 
at  the  western  cloister  of  the  outer  court* 
of  the  temple;  the  other  against  its 
northern  cloister.  However,  these  works 
were  thus  far  advanced  by  the  Romans, 
not  without  great  pains  and  difficulty,  and 
particularly  by  being  obliged  to  bring  their 
materials  from  the  distance  of  100  fur- 
longs. They  had  further  difficulties  also 
upon  them  :  sometimes,  by  the  over-great 
security  they  were  iu,  that  they  should 
overcome  the  Jewish  snares  laid  for  them, 
and  by  that  boldness  of  the  Jews,  which 
their  despair  of  escaping  had  inspired 
them  withal ;  for  some  of  their  horse- 
men, when  they  went  out  to  gather  wood 
or  hay,  let  their  horses  feed  without  hav- 
ing their  bridles  on  during  the  time  of 
foraging;  upon  which  horses  the  Jews 
sallied  out  in  whole  bodies,  and  seized 
them;    aud    when    this    was    continually 


*  The  Court  of  the  Gentiles. 
f  The  Court  of  Israel. 


840 


*VARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


done,  aad  Caesar  believed,  what  the  truth 
was,  that  the  horses  were  stolen  more  by 
the  negligence  of  his  own  men  than  by 
the  valour  of  the  Jews,  he  determined  to 
use  greater  severity  to  oblige  the  rest  to 
take  care  of  their  horses ;  so  he  com- 
manded that  one  of  those- soldiers  who 
had  lost  their  horses  should  be  capitally 
punished ;  whereby  he  so  terrified  the 
rest,  that  they  preserved  their  horses  for 
the  time  to  come  ;  for  they  did  not  any 
longer  let  them  go  from  them  to  feed  by 
themselves,  but,  as  if  they  had  grown  to 
them,  they  went  always  along  with  them 
when  they  wanted  necessaries.  Thus  did 
the  Romans  still  continue  to  make  war 
against  the  temple,  and  to  raise  their 
banks  against  it. 

Now,  after  one  day  had  been  interposed 
since  the  Romans  asceuded  the  breach, 
many  of  the  seditious  were  so  pressed  by 
the  famine,  upon  the  present  failure  of 
their  ravages,  that  they  got  together,  and 
made  an  attack  on  those  Roman  guards 
that  were  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and 
this  about  the  eleventh  hour  of  the  day, 
as  supposing  first,  that  they  would  not  ex- 
pect such  au  onset,  and,  in  the  next  place, 
that  they  were  then  taking  care  of  their 
bodies,  and  that  therefore  they  should  very 
easily  beat  them ;  but  the  Romans  were 
apprized  of  their  coming  to  attack  them 
beforehand,  and  running  together  from  the 
neighbouring  camps  on  the  sudden,*  pre- 
vented them  from  getting  over  their  forti- 
fication, or  forciug  the  wall  that  was  built 
about  them.  Upon  this  came  on  a  shaip 
fight,  and  here  many  great  actions  were 
performed  on  both  sides  ;  while  the  Ro- 
mans showed  both  their  courage  and  their 
skill  in  war,  as  did  the  Jews  come  on 
them  with  immoderate  violence  and  in- 
tolerable passion.  The  one  party  were 
urged  on  by  shame,  and  the  other  by  ne- 
cessity ;  for  it  seemed  a  very  shameful 
thing  to  the  Romans  to  let  the  Jews  go, 
now  they  were  taken  in  a  kind  of  net; 
while  the  Jews  had  but  one  hope  of  sav- 
ing themselves,  and  that  was,  in  case  they 
could  by  violence  break  through  the  Ro- 
man wall :  and  one,  whose  name  was  Pe- 
dauius,  belonging  to  a  party  of  horsemen, 
when  the  Jews  were  already  beaten  and 
forced  down  into  the  valley  together, 
spurred  his  horse  on  their  flank  with  great 
vehemence,  and  caught  up  a  certain  young 
man  belonging  to  the  enemy  by  his  ankle, 
as  he  was  running  away.  The  man  was, 
however  of  a  robust  body,  and  in  his  ar- 


mour; so  low  did  Pedanius  bend  himself 
downward  from  his  horse,  even  as  he  was 
galloping  away,  and  so  great  was  the 
strength  of  his  right  baud,  and  of  the  rest 
of  his  body,  as  also  such  skill  had  he  in 
horsemanship.  So  this  man  seized  upon 
that  his  prey,  as  upon  a  precious  treasure, 
and  carried  him  as  a  captive  to  Caesar: 
whereupon  Titus  admired  the  man  that 
had  seized  the  other  for  his  great  strength, 
and  ordered  the  man  that  was  caught  to 
be  punished  [with  death]  for  his  attempt 
against  the  Roman  wall,  but  betook  him- 
self to  the  siege  of  the  temple,  and  to 
pressing  on  the  raising  of  the  banks. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Jews  were  so  dis- 
tressed by  the  fights  they  had  been  in,  as 
the  war  advanced  higher  and  higher,  and 
creeping  up  to  the  holy  house  itself,  that 
they,  as  it  were,  cut  off  those  limbs  of  their 
body  which  were  infected,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  distemper's  spreading  farther; 
for  they  set  the  north-west  cloister  which 
was  joined  to  the  tower  of  Antouia,  on 
fire,  and  after  that  brake  off  about  twenty 
cubits  of  that  cloister,  and  thereby  made 
a  beginuing  in  burning  the  sanctuary : 
two  days  after  which,  or  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  the  before-named  mouth 
[Panemus,  or  Tamuz],  the  Romans  set  fire 
to  the  cloisters  that  joined  to  the  other, 
when  the  fire  went  fifteen  cubits  farther. 
The  Jews,  in  like  manner,  cut  off  its  roof; 
nor  did  they  entirely  leave  off  what  they 
were  about  till  the  tower  of  Autonia  was 
parted  from  the  temple,  even  when  it  was 
in  their  power  to  have  stopped  the  fire ; 
nay,  they  lay  still  while  the  temple  was 
first  set  on  fire,  and  deemed  this  spread- 
ing of  the  fire  to  be  for  their  own  advan- 
tage. However,  the  armies  were  still 
fighting  one  against  another  about  the  tem- 
ple ;  and  the  war  was  managed  by  con- 
tinual sallies  of  particular  parties  against 
one  another. 

Now  there  was  at  this  time  a  man  among 
the  Jews ;  low  of  stature  he  was,  and  of 
a  despicable  appearance  ;  of  no  character 
either  as  to  his  family,  or  in  other  re- 
spects :  his  name  was  Jonathan.  He 
went  out  at  the  high  priest  John's  monu- 
ment, and  uttered  many  other  insolent 
things  to  the  Romans,  and  challenged  the 
best  of  them  all  to  a  single  combat ;  but 
many  of  those  that  stood  there  in  the 
army  huffed  him,  and  many  of  them  (as 
they  might  well  be)  were  afraid  of  him. 
Some  of  them  also  reasoned  thus,  and  that 
justly  enough  :  that  it  was  not  fit  to  fighi 


CflAP.  III.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


841 


with  a  man  that  desired  to  die,  because 
those  that  utterly  despaired  of  deliverance 
bad,  besides  other  passions,  a  violence  in 
attacking  men  that  could  not  be  opposed, 
and  had  no  regard  to  God  himself;  and 
that  to  hazard  one's  self  with  a  person, 
whom  if  you  overcome,  you  do  no  great 
matter,  and  by  whom  it  is  hazardous  that 
you  may  be  taken  prisoner,  would  be  an 
instance,  not  of  manly  courage,  but  of  un- 
manly rashness.  So  there  being  nobody 
that  came  out  to  accept  the  man's  chal- 
lenge, and  the  Jew  cutting  them  with  a 
great  number  of  reproaches,  as  cowards, 
(for  he  was  a  very  haughty  man  in  him- 
self, and  a  great  despiser  of  the  Romans,) 
one  whose  name  was  Pudens,  of  the  body 
of  horsemen,  out  of  his  abomination  of 
the  other's  words,  and  of  his  impudence 
withal,  and  perpaps  out  of  an  inconsider- 
ate arrogance,  on  account  of  the  other's 
lowness  of  stature,  ran  out  to  him,  and 
was  too  hard  for  him  in  other  respects, 
but  was  betrayed  by  his  ill  fortune  ;  for  he 
fell  down,  and  as  he  was  down,  Jonathan 
came  running  to  him,  and  cut  his  throat, 
and  then  standing  upon  his  dead  body,  he. 
brandished  his  sword,  bloody  as  it  was, 
and  shook  his  shield  with  his  left  hand, 
and  made  many  acclamations  to  the  Ro- 
man army,  and  exulted  over  the  dead  man, 
and  jested  upon  the  Romans;  till  at  length 
one  Priscus,  a  centurion,  shot  a  dart  at 
him  as  he  was  leaping  and  playing  the 
fool  with  himself,  and  thereby  pierced  him 
through :  upon  which  a  shout  was  set  up 
both  by  the  Jews  and  the  Romans,  though 
on  different  accounts.  So  Jonathan  grew 
giddy  by  the  pain  of  his  wounds,  and  fell 
down  upon  the  body  of  his  adversary — a 
plain  instance  how  suddenly  vengeance 
may  come  upon  men  that  have  success  in 
war,  without  any  just  deserving  of  the 
same. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Stratagems  of  the  Jews  against  the  Romans — Fur- 
ther account  of  the  famine  within  the  city. 

But  now  the  seditious  that  were  in  the 
temple  did  every  day  openly  endeavour 
to  beat  off  the  soldiers  that  were  upon  the 
banks,  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of 
the  before-named  mfcnth  [Panemus,  or  Ta- 
muz],  contrived  such  a  stratagem  as  this  : 
they  filled  that  part  of  the  western  cloister* 
which  was  between   the   beams,  and  the 


*  Of  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles. 


roof  under  them,  with  dry  materials,  as 
also  with  bitumen  and  pitch,  and  then  re- 
tired from  that  place  as  though  they  were 
tired  with  the  pains  they  had  taken  ;  at 
which  procedure  of  theirs,  many  of  the 
most  inconsiderate  among  the  Romans, 
who  were  carried  away  with  violent  pas- 
sions, followed  hard  after  them  as  they 
were  retiring,  and  applied  ladders  to  the 
cloister,  and  got  up  to  it  suddenly ;  but 
the  prudent  part  of  them,  when  they  un- 
derstood this  unaccountable  retreat  of  the 
Jews,  stood  still  where  they  were  before. 
However,  the  cloister  was  full  of  those 
that  were  gone  up  the  ladders;  at  which 
time  the  Jews  set  it  all  on  fire;  and  as 
the  flames  burst  out  everywhere  on  the 
sudden,  the  Romans  that  were  out  of  the 
danger  were  seized  with  a  very  great  con- 
sternation, as  were  those  that  were  in  the 
midst  of  the  danger  in  the  utmost  dis- 
tress. So  when  they  perceived  themselves 
surrounded  with  the  flames,  some  of  them 
threw  themselves  down  backward  into 
the  city,  and  some  among  their  enemies 
[in  the  temple] ;  as  did  many  leap  down 
to  their  own  men,  and  broke  their  limbs 
to  pieces :  but  a  great  number  of  those 
that  were  going  to  take  these  violent  me- 
thods were  prevented  by  the  fire ;  though 
some  prevented  the  fire  by  their  own 
swords.  However,  the  fire  was  on  the 
sudden  carried  so  far  as  to  surround  those 
who  would  have  otherwise  perished.  As 
for  Caesar  himself,  he  could  not,  however, 
but  commiserate  those  that  thus  perished, 
although  they  got  up  thither  without  any 
order  for  so  doing,  since  there  was  no 
way  of  giving  them  any  relief.  Yet  was 
this  some  comfort  to  those  that  were  de- 
stroyed, that  everybody  might  see  that 
person  grieve,  for  whose  sake  they  came 
to  their  end  ;  for  he  cried  out  openly  to 
them,  and  leaped  up,  and  exhorted  those 
that  were  about  him  to  do  their  utmost  to 
relieve  them.  So  every  one  of  them  died 
cheerfully,  as  carrying  along  with  him 
these  words  and  this  intention  of  Caesar 
as  a  sepulchral  monument.  Some  there 
were,  indeed,  who  retired  into  the  wall  of 
the  cloister,  which  was  broad,  and  were 
preserved  out  of  the  fire,  but  were  then 
surrounded  by  the  Jews ;  and  although 
they  made  resistance  against  the  Jews  for 
a  long  time,  yet  were  they  wounded  by 
them,  and  at  length  they  all  fell  down 
dead. 

At  the  last,  a  young  man  among  them, 
whose  name  was  Longus,  became  a  deoo 


842 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VL 


ration  to  this  sad  affair,  and  while  every 
one  of  them  that  perished  were  worthy 
of  a  memorial,  this  man  appeared  to  de- 
serve it  beyond  all  the  rest.  Now  the 
Jews  admired  this  man  for  his  courage, 
and  were  further  desirous  of  having  him 
slain ;  so  they  persuaded  him  to  come 
down  to  them,  upon  security  given  him 
for  his  life.  But  Cornelius,  his  brother, 
persuaded  him,  on  the  contrary,  not  to 
tarnish  his  own  glory,  nor  that  of  the  Ro- 
man army.  He  complied  with  this  last 
advice,  and  lifting  up  his  sword  before 
both  armies,  he  slew  himself.  Yet  was 
there  one  Artorius  among  those  surround- 
ed with  the  fire,  who  escaped  by  his  sub- 
tlety ;  for  when  he  had  with  a  loud  voice 
called  to  him  Lucius,  one  of  his  fellow- 
soldiers,  that  lay  with  him  in  the  same 
tent,  and  said  to  him,  "I  do  leave  thee 
heir  of  all  I  have,  if  thou  wilt  come  and 
receive  me."  Upon  this  he  came  running 
to  receive  him  readily ;  Artorius  then 
threw  himself  down  upon  him,  and  saved 
his  own  life,  while  he  that  received  him 
was  dashed  so  vehemently  against  the 
stone  pavement  by  the  other's  weight, 
that  he  died  immediately.  This  melan- 
choly accident  made  the  Romans  sad  for  a 
while,  but  still  it  made  them  more  upon 
their  guard  for  the  future,  and  was  of  ad- 
vantage to  them  against  the  delusions  of 
the  Jews,  by  which  they  were  greatly 
damaged,  through  their  unacquaintedness 
with  the  places,  and  with  the  nature  of 
the  inhabitants.  Now  this  cloister  was 
burnt  down  as  far  as  John's  tower,  which 
he  built  in  the  war  he  made  against  Si- 
mon,  over  the  gates  that  led  to  the  Xys- 
tus.  The  Jews  also  cut  off  the  rest  of 
that  cloister  from  the  temple,  after  they 
had  destroyed  those  that  got  up  to  it.  But 
the  next  day  the  Romans  burnt  down  the 
northern  cloister  entirely,  as  far  as  the 
east  cloister,  whose  common  angle  joined 
to  the  valley  that  was  called  Cedron,  and 
was  built  over  it;  on  which  account  the 
depth  was  frightful.  And  this  was  the 
state  of  the  temple  at  that  time. 

Now  of  those  that  perished  by  famine 
in  the  city,  the  number  was  prodigious, 
and  the  miseries  they  underwent  were  un- 
speakable ;  for  if  so  much  as  the  shadow 
of  any  kind  of  food  did  anywhere  appear, 
a  war  was  commenced  presently ;  and  the 
dearest  friends  fell  a-fighting  one  with 
another  about  it,  snatching  from  each 
other  the  most  miserable  supports  of  life, 
tfor  would  men  believe  that   those  who 


were  dying  had  no  food  ;  but  the  robbers 
would  search  them  when  they  were  ex- 
piring, lest  any  one  should  have  concealed 
food  in  their  bosoms,  and  counterfeited 
dying:  nay,  these  robbers  gaped  for  want, 
and  ran  about  stumbling  and  staggering 
along  like  mad  dogs,  and  reeling  against 
the  doors  of  the  houses  like  drunken  men  ; 
they  would  also,  in  the  great  distress  they 
were  in,  rush  into  the  very  same  houses 
two  or  three  times  in  one  and  the  same 
day.  Moreover,  their  hunger  was  so  in- 
tolerable, that  it  obliged  them  to  chew 
every  thing,  while  they  gathered  such 
things  as  the  most  sordid  animals  would 
not  touch,  and  endured  to  eat  them  ;  nor 
did  they  at  length  abstain  from  girdles 
and  shoes  ;  and  the  very  leather  which  be- 
longed to  their  shields  they  pulled  off  and 
gnawed  :  the  very  wisps  of  old  hay  be- 
came food  to  some  ;  and  some  gathered  up 
fibres,  and  sold  a  very  small  weight  of 
them  fur  four  Attic  [drachmae].  But 
why  do  I  describe  the  shameless  impu- 
dence that  the  famine  brought  on  men 
in  their  eating  inanimate  things,  while  I 
am  going  to  relate  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
like  to  which  no  history  relates,  either 
among  the  Greeks  or  Barbarians  !  It  is 
horrible  to  speak  of  it,  and  incredible 
when  heard.  I  had  indeed  willingly 
omitted  this  calamity  of  ours,  that  1 
might  not  seem  to  deliver  what  is  so  por- 
tentous to  posterity,  but  that  I  have  innu- 
merable witnesses  to  it  in  my  own  age ; 
and  besides,  my  country  would  have  had 
little  reason  to  thank  me  for  suppressing 
the  miseries  that  she  underwent  at  this 
time 

There  was  a  certain  woman  that  dwelt 
beyond  Jordan-— her  name  was  Mary;  her 
father  was  Eleazar,  of  the  village  Bethe- 
zub,  whch  signifies  the  "house  of  hyssop." 
She  was  eminent  for  her  family  and  her 
wealth,  and  had  fled  away  to  Jerusalem 
with  the  rest  of  the  multitude,  and  was 
with  them  besieged  therein  at  this  time. 
The  other  effects  of  this  woman  had  been 
already  seized  upon  ;  such,  I  mean,  as  she 
had  brought  with  her  out  of  Perea,  and 
removed  to  the  city.  What  she  had  trea- 
sured up  besides,  as  also  what  food  she 
had  contrived  to  save,t  had  been  also  car- 
ried off  by  the  rapacious  guards,  who  came 
every  day  running  into  her  house  for  that 
purpose.  This  put  the  poor  woman  into 
a  very  great  passion,  and  by  the  frequent  re- 
proaches and  imprecations  she  cast  at  these 
rapacious  villains,  she  had  provoked  them 


Chap  IV.  1 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


843 


to  anger  against  her  ;   but  none  of  them, 
either  out   of    the    indignation    she    had 
raised  against  herself,  or  out  of  the  com- 
miseration  of  her  case,  would  take  away 
ner  life ;  and  if  she  found  any  food,  she 
perceived  her  labours  were  for  others,  and 
not  for  herself;  and  it  was  now  become 
impossible  for   her  any  way  to  find  any 
more     food,    while    the    famine    pierced 
through    her    very    bowels    and    marrow, 
when  also  her  passion  was  fired  to  a  de- 
gree   beyond  the  famine  itself:   nor  did 
she  consult  with  any  thing  but  with  her 
passion  and  the  necessity  she  was  in.   She 
then  attempted  a  most  unnatural  thing ; 
and  snatching  up  her  son,  who  was  a  child 
sucking  at  her  breast,  she  said,  "  0  thou 
miserable  infant  !  for  whom  shall  I  pre- 
serve thee  in   this  war,  this  famine,  and 
this  sedition  ?     As  to  the   war  with  the 
Romans,  if  they  preserve   our  lives,   we 
must  be  slaves !     This  famine   also  will 
destroy  us,  even  before  that  slavery  comes 
upon  us;  yet  are  these  seditious  rogues 
more  terrible  than  both  the  other.     Come 
on;  be  thou  my  food,  and  be  thou  a  fury 
to  these  seditious  varlets,  and  a  Dyword 
to   the  world,  which  is  all    that  is  now 
wanting  to  complete  the  calamiries  of  us 
Jews."     As  soon  as  she  had  said  this,  she 
slew  bar  son ;  and  then  roasted  him,  and 
ate   tb*   one   half  of  him,   and  kept  the 
other  half  by  her  concealed.     Upon  this 
the  seditious  came  in  presently,  and  smell- 
ing   the  horrid  scent  of  this  food,  they 
threatened  her  that  they  would  cut  her 
throat  immediately  if  she  did   not  show 
them    what  food  she   had  gotten   ready. 
She  replied,  that  she   had  saved  a  very 
fine  portion  of  it  for  them ;  and  withal 
uncovered    what    was    left    of   her    sou. 
Hereupon  they  were  seized  with  a  horror 
and  amazement  of  mind,  and  stoud  asto- 
nished   at   the   sight;    when  she  said  to 
them.  "  This  is  mine  own  son ;  and  what 
hath    been   done   was   mine    own    doing ! 
Come,  eat  of  this  food ;  for  I  have  eateu 
of  it  myself !     Do  not  you  pretend  to  be 
either  more  tender  than  a  woman,'  or  more 
compassionate  than  a  mother;   but  if  you 
be  so  scrupulous,  and  do  abominate  this 
my  sacrifice,  as  I  have  eaten  the  one  half, 
let   the   rest    be  reserved    for   me    aLo." 
After  which,  those   men  went  out  trem- 
bling, being  never  so  much  affrighted  at 
any  thing  as  they  were  at  this,  and   with 
BOliie  difficulty  they  left  the  rest  of  that 
meat    to   the    mother.      Upon    which   the 
whole  city  was  full  of  this  horrid  action 


immediately;  and  while  everybody  laid 
this  miserable  case  before  their  own  eyes, 
they  trembled,  as  if  this  unheard-of  action 
had  been  done  by  themselves.  So  those 
that  were  thus  distressed  by  the  famine 
were  very  desirous  to  die ;  and  those  ah 
ready  dead  were  esteemed  happy,  because 
they  had  not  lived  long  enough  cither  to 
hear  or  to  see  such  miseries. 

This  sad  instance  was  quickly  told  to 
the  Romans,  some  of  whom  could  not  be- 
lieve it,  and  others  pitied  the  distress 
which  the  Jews  were  uuder;  but  there 
were  many  of  them  who  were  hereby  in- 
duced to  a  more  bitter  hatred  than  ordi- 
nary against  our  nation  ;  but  for  Caesar, 
he  excused  himself  before  God  as  to  this 
matter,  and  said  that  he  had  proposed 
peace  and  liberty  to  the  Jews,  as  well  as 
an  oblivion  of  all  their  former  insolent 
practices ;  but  that  they,  instead  of  con- 
cord, had  chosen  sedition ;  instead  of 
peace,  war;  and  before  satiety  and  abun- 
dance, a  famine.  That  they  had  begun 
with  their  own  hands  to  burn  down  that 
temple  which  we  have  preserved  hitherto  ; 
and  that  therefore  they  deserved  to  eat 
such  food  as  this  was.  That,  however, 
this  horrid  action  of  eating  one's  own  child 
ought  to  be  covered  with  the  overthrow 
of  their  very  country  itself;  and  men 
ought  not  to  leave  such  a  city  upon  the 
habitable  earth  to  be  seen  by  the  sun, 
wherein  mothers  are  thus  fed,  although 
such  food  may  be  more  fit  for  the  fathers 
than  for  the  mothers  to  eat  of,  since  it  is 
they  that  continue  still  in  a  state  of  war 
against  us,  after  they  have  undergone  such 
miseries  as  .these.  And  at  the  same  time 
that  he  said  this,  he  reflected  on  the  des- 
perate condition  these  men  must  be  in; 
nor  could  he  expect  that  such  men  could 
be  recovered  to  sobriety  of  mind,  after 
they  had  endured  those  very  sufferings, 
for  the  avoiding  whereof  it  only  was  pro- 
bable they  might  have  repented. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Destruction  of  the  Temple. 

And  now  two  of  the  legions  had  com- 
pleted their  banks  on  the  eigiith  day  of 
the  month  Lous  [Ab].  Whereupon  Titus 
gave  orders  that  the  battering-rams  should 
be  brought  and  set  over  against  the  west- 
ern edifice  of  the  iuner  temple  ;  for  before 
these  were  brought,  the  firmest  of  all  the 
other  engines  had  battered  the  wall  for 
six  days  together  without  ceasing,  without 


844 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VI 


making  any  impression  upon  it ;  but  the 
vast  largeness  and  strong  connection  of 
the  stones  were  superior  to  that  engine, 
and  to  the  other  battering-rams  also. 
Other  Romans  did,  indeed,  undermine 
the  foundations  of  the  northern  gate,  and, 
after  a  world  of  pains,  removed  the  outer- 
most stones,  yet  was  the  gate  still  upheld 
by  the  inner  stones,  and  stood  still  un- 
hurt ;  till  the  workmen,  despairing  of  all 
such  attempts  by  engines  and  crows, 
brought  their  ladders  to  the  cloisters. 
Now  the  Jews  did  not  interrupt  them  in 
so  doing;  but  when  they  were  gotten  up, 
they  fell  upon  them  and  fought  with 
them;  some  of  them  they  thrust  down, 
and  threw  them  backward  headlong; 
others  of  them  they  met  and  slew  :  they 
also  beat  many  of  those  that  went  down 
the  ladders  again,  and  slew  them  with 
their  swords,  before  they  could  bring  their 
shields  to  protect  them  ;  nay,  some  of  the 
ladders  they  threw  down  from  above,  when 
they  were  full  of  armed  men  ;  a  great 
slaughter  was  made  of  the  Jews  also  at 
the  same  time,  while  those  that  carried' 
the  ensigns  fought  hard  for  them,  as  deem- 
ing  it  a  terrible  thing,  and  what  would 
tend  to  their  great  shame,  if  they  permit- 
ted them  to  be  stolen  away.  Yet  did  the 
Jews  at  length  get  possession  of  these 
engines,  and  destroyed  those  that  had 
gone  up  the  ladders,  while  the  rest  were 
so  intimidated  by  what  those  suffered  who 
were  slain  that  they  retired;  although 
none  of  the  Romans  died  without  having 
done  good  service  before  his  death.  Of 
the  seditious,those  that  had  fought  bravely 
in  the  former  battles,  did  the  like  now  ;  as 
besides  them  did  Eleazar,  the  brother's 
son  of  Simon  the  tyrant.  But  when  Ti- 
tus perceived  that  his  endeavours  to  spare 
a  foreign  temple  turned  to  the  damage  of 
his  soldiers,  and  made  them  be  killed,  he 
gave  order  to  set  the  gates  on  fire. 

In  the  mean  time  there  deserted  to  him 
Ananus,  who  came  from  Emmaus,  the 
most  bloody  of  all  Simon's  guards,  and 
Archelaus,  the  son  of  Magadatus,  they 
hoping  to  be  still  forgiven,  because  they 
left  the  Jews  at  a  time  when  they  were 
conquerors.  Titus  objected  this  to  these 
men,  as  a  cunning  trick  of  theirs ;  and  as 
he  had  been  informed  of  their  other  bar- 
barities toward  the  Jews,  he  was  going  in 
all  haste  to  have  them  both  slain.  He 
told  them  that  they  were  only  driven  to 
this  desertion  because  of  the  utmost  dis- 
trr<;g  they  were  in,  and  did  not  come  away 


of  their  own  good  disposition ;  and  that 
those  did  not  deserve  to  be  preserved  by 
whom  their  own  city  was  already  set  on 
fire,  out  of  which  fire  they  now  hurried 
themselves  away.  However,  the  security 
he  had  promised  deserters  overcame  his 
resentments,  and  he  dismissed  them  ac- 
cordingly, though  he  did  not  give  then, 
the  same  privileges  that  he  had  affordea 
to  others ;  and  now  the  soldiers  had  al- 
ready put  fire  to  the  gates,  and  the  silver 
that  was  over  them  quickly  carried  the 
flames  to  the  wood  that  was  within  it, 
whence  it  spread  itself  all  on  the  sudden, 
and  caught  hold  of  the  cloisters.  Upon  the 
Jews  seeing  this  fire  all  about  them,  their 
spirits  sank,  together  with  their  bodies, 
and  they  were  under  such  astonishment, 
that  not  one  of  them  made  any  haste, 
either  to  defend  himself  or  to  quench  the 
fire,  but  they  stood  as  mute  spectators 
of  it  only.  However,  they  did  not  so 
grieve  at  the  loss  of  what  was  now  burn- 
ing as  to  grow  wiser  thereby  for  the  time 
to  come;  but  as  though  the  holy  house 
itself  had  been  on  fire  already,  they  whet- 
ted their  passions  against  the  Romans. 
This  fire  prevailed  during  that  day  and 
the  next  also ;  for  the  soldiers  were  not 
able  to  burn  all  the  cloisters  that  were 
round  about  together  at  one  time,  but 
only  by  pieces. 

But  then,  on  the  next  day,  Titus  com- 
manded part  of  his  army  to  quench  the 
fire,  and  to  make  a  road  for  the  more  easv 
marching  up  of  the  legions,  while  he  him- 
self gathered  the  commanders  together. 
Of  those  there  were  assembled  the  six 
principal  persons :  Tiberius  Alexander, 
the  commander  [under  the  general]  of 
the  whole  army;  with  Sextus  Cerealis, 
the  commander  of  the  fifth  legion ;  and 
Larcius  Lepidus,  the  commander  of  the 
tenth  legion  ;  and  Titus  Frigius,  the  com- 
mander of  the  fifteenth  legion  :  there  was 
also  with  them  Eternius,  the  leader  of 
the  two  legions  that  came  from  Alexan- 
dria ;  and  Marcus  Antonius  Julian  us, 
procurator  of  Judea;  after  these  came 
together  all  the^rest  of  the  procurators 
and  tribunes.  Titus  proposed  to  these 
that  they  should  give  him  their  advice 
what  should  be  done  about  the  holy  house. 
Now,  some  of  these  thought  it  would  be 
the  best  way  to  act  according  to  the  rules 
of  war  [and  demolish  it]  ;  because  the 
Jews  would  never  leave  off  rebelling 
while  the  house  was  standing ;  at  which 
house  it  was  that  they  used  to  get  all  to- 


CllAl'.  I  V.J 


WARS  OF    THE    JEWS. 


845 


gether.  Others  of  them  were  of  opinion, 
that,  in  case  the  Jews  would  leave,  and 
none  of  them  would  lay  their,  arms  up  in 
it,  ne  might  save  it;  but  that  in  case  they 
got  upon  it,  and  fought  any  more,  he 
might  burn  it ;  because  it  must  then  be 
looked  upon  not  as  a  holy  house,  but  as  a 
citadel  ;  and  that  the  impiety  «of  burning 
it  would  then  belong  to  those  that  forced 
this  to  be  done,  and  not  to  them.  But 
Titus  said,  that  "  although  the  Jews 
should  get  upon  that  holy  house,  and 
fight  us  thence,  yet  ought  we  not  to  re- 
venge ourselves  on  things  that  are  inani- 
mate, instead  of  the  men  themselves;" 
and  that  he  was  not  in  any  case  for  burn- 
ing down  so  vast  a  work  as  that  was, 
because  this  would  be  a  mischief  to  the 
Romans  themselves,  as  it  would  be  an 
ornament  to  their  government  while  it 
continued.  So  Fronto,  and  Alexander, 
and  Cerealis  grew  bold  upon  that  decla- 
ration, and  agreed  to  the  opinion  of  Titus. 
Then  was  this  assembly  dissolved,  when 
Titus  had  given  orders  to  the  commanders 
that  the  rest  of  their  forces  should  lie  still ; 
but  that  they  should  make  use  of  such 
as  were  most  courageous  in  this  attack. 
So  he  commanded  that  the  chosen  men 
that  were  taken  out  of  the  cohorts  should 
make  their  way  through  the  ruins,  and 
quench  the  fire. 

Now  it  is  true,  that  on  this  day  the 
Jews  were  so  weary,  and  under  such  con- 
sternation, that  they  refrained  from  any 
attacks;  but  on  the  next  day  they  ga- 
thered their  whole  force  together,  and  ran 
upon  those  that  guarded  the  outward  court 
of  the  temple,  very  boldly,  through  the 
east  gate,  and  this  about  the  second  hour 
of  the  day.  These  guards  received  their 
attack  with  great  bravery,  and  by  cover- 
ing themselves  with  their  shields  before, 
as  if  it  were  with  a  wall,  they  drew  their 
squadrons  close  together ;  yet  was  it  evi- 
dent that  they  could  not  abide  there  very 
long,  but  would  be  overborne  by  the  mul- 
titude of  those  that  sallied  out  upon  them, 
and  by  the  heat  of  their  passion.  How- 
ever, Caesar  seeing,  from  the  tower  of  An- 
tonia,  that  this  squadron  was  likely  to 
give  way,  he  sent  some  chosen  horsemen 
to  support  them.  Hereupon  the  Jews 
found  themselves  not  able  to  sustain  their 
onset,  and,  upon  the  slaughter  of  those  in 
the  forefront,  many  of  the  rest  were  put 
to  flight ;  but  a3  the  Romans  were  going 
off,  the  Jews  turned  upon  them  and  fought 
them;  and  as  those    Romans  came  back 


upon  them,  they  retreated  again,  until 
about  the  fifth  hour  of  the  day  they  were 
overborne,  and  shut  themselves  up  in  the 
inner  [court  of  the]  temple. 

So  Titus  retired  into  the  tower  of  An- 
tonia,  and  resolved  to  storm  the  temple 
the  next  day,  early  in  the  morning,  with 
his  whole  army,  and  to  encamp  round 
about  the  holy  house ;  but,  as  for  that 
house,  God  had  for  certain  long  ago 
doomed  it  to  the  fire ;  and  now  that  fatal 
day  was  come  according  to  the  revolution 
of  ages  :  it  was  the  tenth  day  of  the  month 
Lous  [Ab],  upon  which  it  was  formerly 
burnt  by  the  king  of  Babylon ;  although 
these  flames  took  their  rise  from  the  Jews 
themselves,  and  were  occasioned  by  them  ; 
for,  upon  Titus's  retiring,  the  seditious 
lay  still  for  a  little  while,  and  then  at- 
tacked the  Roman:;  again,  when  those  that 
guarded  the  holy  house  fought  with  those 
that  quenched  the  fire  that  was  burning 
in  the  inner  [court  of  the]  temple ;  but 
these  Romans  put  the  Jews  to  flight,  and 
proceeded  as  far  as  the  holy  house  itself. 
At  which  time  one  of  the  soldiers, 
without  staying  for  any  orders,  and  with- 
out any  concern  or  dread  upon  him  at  so 
great  an  undertaking,  and  hurried  on  by 
a  certain  divine  fury,  snatched  somewhat 
out  of  the  materials  that  were  on  lire,  and 
being  lifted  up  by  another  soldier,  he  set 
fire  to  a  golden  window,  through  which 
there  was  a  passage  to  the  rooms  that 
were  round  about  the  holy  house,  on  the 
north  side  of  it.  As  the  flames  went  up- 
ward, the  Jews  made  a  great  clamour, 
such  as  so  mighty  an  affliction  required, 
and  ran  together  to  prevent  it;  and  now 
they  spared  not  their  lives  any  longer, 
nor  suffered  any  thing  to  restrain  their 
force,  since  that  holy  house  was  perishing, 
for  whose  sake  it  was  that  they  kept  such 
a  guard  about  it.  And  now  a  certain 
person  came  running  to  Titus,  and  told 
him  of  this  Are,  as  he  was  resting  himself 
in  his  tent  after  the  last  battle ;  where- 
upon he  rose  up  in  great  haste,  and,  as 
he  was,  ran  to  the  holy  house,  in  order  to 
have  a  stop  put  to  the  fire ;  after  him  fol- 
lowed all  his  commanders,  and  after  thcra 
followed  the  several  legions,  in  great  as- 
tonishment ;  so  there  was  a  great  clamour 
and  tumult  raised,  as  was  natural  upon 
the  disorderly  motion  of  so  great  an  army. 
Then  did  Caesar,  both  by  calling  to  the 
soldiers  that  were  fighting,  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  by  giving  a  signal  to  them  with 
his  right  hand,  order  them  to  quench  the 


S46 


WARS    OF  THE    JEWS. 


[Book  VI. 


fire ;  but  they  did  not  hear  what  he  said, 
though  he  spake  so  loud,  having  their  ears 
already  dinned  by  a  greater  noise  another 
way ;  nor  did  they  attend  to  the  signal  he 
made  with  his  hand  neither,  as  still  some 
of  them  were  distracted  with  fighting,  and 
others  with  passion  ;  but  as  for  the  le- 
gions that  came  running  thither,  neither 
any  persuasions  nor  any  threatenings  could 
restrain  their  violence,  but  each  one's  own 
passion  was  his  commander  at  this  time  ; 
and  as  they  were  crowding  into  the  tem- 
ple together,  many  of  them  were  tram- 
pled on  by  one  another,  while  a  great  num- 
ber fell  among  the  ruins  of  the  cloisters, 
which  were  still  hot  and  smoking,  and 
were  destroyed  in  the  same  miserable  way 
with  those  whom  they  had  conquered  : 
and  when  they  were  come  near  the  holy 
house,  they  made  as  if  they  did  not  so 
much  as  hear  Caesar's  orders  to  the  con- 
trary ;  but  they  encouraged  those  that 
were  before  them  to  set  it  on  fire.  As  for 
the  seditious,  they  were  in  too  great  dis- 
tress already  to  afford  their  assistance 
[toward  quenching  the  fire] ;  they  were 
everywhere  slain,  and  everywhere  beaten; 
and  as  for  a  great  part  of  the  people,  they 
were  weak  and  without  arms,  and  had 
their  throats  cut  wherever  they  were 
caught.  Now,  round  about  the  altar  lay 
dead  bodies  heaped  one  upon  another  ;  as 
at  the  steps  going  up  to  it  ran  a  great 
quantity  of  their  blood,  whither  also  the 
dead  bodies  that  were  slain  above  [on  the 
altar]  fell  down. 

And  now,  since  Caesar  was  noway  able 
to  restrain  the  enthusiastic  fury  of  the 
soldiers,  and  the  fire  proceeded  on  more 
and  more,  he  went  into  the  holy  place  of 
the  temple,  with  his  commanders,  and  saw 
it,  with  what  was  in  it,  which  he  found  to 
be  far  superior  to  what  the  relations  of 
foreigners  contained,  and  not  inferior  to 
what  we  ourselves  boasted  of  and  believed 
about  it ;  but  as  the  flame  had  not  as  yet 
reached  to  its  inward  parts,  but  was  still 
consuming  the  rooms  that  were  about  the 
holy  house,  and  Titus  supposing  what  the 
fact  was,  that  the  house  itself  might  yet 
be  saved,  he  came  in  haste  and  endeavour- 
ed to  persuade  the  soldiers  to  quench  the 
fire,  and  gave  order  to  Liberalius  the  cen- 
turion, aud  one  of  those  spearmen  that 
were  about  him,  to  beat  the  soldiers  that 
were  refractory  with  their  staves,  and  to 
restrain  them ;  yet  were  their  passions  too 
hard  for  the  regard  they  had  for  Caesar, 
*nd  the  dread   they  had  of  him  who  for- 


bade them,  as  was  their  hatred  of  the 
Jews,  and  a  certain  vehement  inclination 
to  fight  them,  too  hard  for  them  also 
Moreover,  the  hope  of  plunder  induced 
many  to  go  on,  as  having  this  opinion, 
that  all  the  places  within  were  full  of  mo- 
ney, and  as  seeing  that  all  round  about  it 
was  made  of  gold  ;  and  besides,  one  of 
those  that  went  into  the  place  prevented 
Caesar,  when  he  ran  so  hastily  out  to  re- 
strain the  soldiers,  and  threw  the  fire  upon 
the  hinges  of  the  gate,  in  the  dark ; 
whereby  the  flame  burst  out  from  withiu 
the  holy  house  itself  immediately,  when 
the  commanders  retired,  and  Caesar  with* 
them,  and  when  nobody  any  longer  for- 
bade those  that  were  without  to  set  fire  to 
it ;  and  thus  was  the  holy  house  burnt 
down,  without  Caesar's  approbation. 

Now,  although  any  one  would  justly 
lament  the  destruction  of  such  a  work  as 
this  was,  since  it  was  the  most  admirable 
of  all  the  works  that  we  have  seen  or 
heard  of,  both  for  its  curious  structure 
and  its  magnitude,  and  also  for  the  vast 
wealth  bestowed  upon  it,  as  well  as  for 
the  glorious  reputation  it  had  for  its 
holiness ;  yet  might  such  a  one  comfort, 
himself  with  this  thought,  that  it  was  fate 
that  decreed  it  so  to  be,  which  is  inevi- 
table, both  as  to  living  creatures,  and  as 
to  works  and  places  also.  However,  one 
canuot  but  wonder  at  the  accuracy  of  this 
period  thereto  relating;  for  the  same 
month  and  day  were  now  observed,  as 
I  said  before,  wherein  the  holy  house  was 
burnt  formerly  by  the  Babylonians.  Now, 
the  number  of  years  that  passed  from  its 
first  foundation,  which  was  laid  by  King 
Solomon,  till  this  its  destruction,  which 
happened  in  the  second  year  of  the  reigu 
of  Vespasian,  are  collected  to  be  1130, 
besides  seven  months  and  fifteen  days ; 
and  from  the  second  building  of  it,  which 
was  done  by  Haggai,  in  the  second  year 
of  Cyrus  the  king,  till  its  destruction  un- 
der Vespasian,  there  were  i)6'i)  years  and 
forty- five  days. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Distress  of  the  Jews  upon  the  destruction  of  the 
Temple. 

While  the  holy  house  was  on  fire, 
every  thing  was  plundered  that  came  to 
hand,  and  10,000  of  those  that  were 
caught  were  slain  ;  nor  was  there  a  com- 
miseration of  any  age,  or  any  reverencn 
of  gravity ;    but  children,  and  old  men, 


i;hap.  v.j 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


847 


and  profane  persons,  and  priests,  were  all 
slain  in  the  same  manner;  so  that  this 
war  went  round  all  sorts  of  men,  and 
brought  them  to  destruction,  and  as  well 
those  that  made  supplication  for  their 
lives  as  those  that  defended  themselves 
by  fighting.  The  flame  was  also  carried  a 
long  way,  and  made  an  echo,  together 
with  the  groans  of  those  that  were  slain ; 
and  because  this  hill  was  high,  and  the 
works  at  the  temple  were  very  great,  one 
would  have  thought  the  whole  city  had 
been  on  fire.  Nor  can  one  imagine  any 
thing  either  greater  or  more  terrible  than 
this  noise ;  for  there  was  at  once  a  shout 
of  the  Roman  legions,  who  were  marching 
all  together,  and  a  sad  clamour  of  the  se- 
ditious, who  were  now  surrounded  with 
fire  and  sword.  The  people  also  that  were 
left  above  were  beaten  back  upon  the  ene- 
my, and  under  a  great  consternation,  and 
made  sad  moans  at  the  calamity  they 
were  under  :  the  multitude  also  that  was 
in  the  city  joined  in  this  outcry  with  those 
that  were  upon  the  hill;  and  besides, 
many  of  those  that  were  worn  away  by 
the  famine,  and  their  mouths  almost 
closed,  when  they  saw  the  fire  of  the  holy 
house,  they  exerted  their  utmost  strength, 
and  brake  out  into  groans  and  outcries 
again  :  Perea  did  also  return  the  echo,  as 
well  as  the  mountains  round  about  [the 
city],  and  augmented  the  force  of  the  en- 
tire noise.  Yet  was  the  misery  itself 
more  terrible  than  this  disorder;  for  one 
would  have  thought  that  the  hill  itself,  on 
which  the  temple  stood,  was  seething-hot, 
as  full  of  fire  on  every  part  of  it,  that 
the  blood  was  larger  in  quantity  than  the 
6re,  and  those  that  were  slain  more  in 
number  than  those  that  slew  them  ;  for 
the  ground  did  nowhere  appear  visible,  for 
the  dead  bodies  that  lay  on  it ;  but  the 
soldiers  went  over  heaps  of  these  bodies, 
as  they  ran  upon  such  as  fled  from  them. 
And  now  it  was  that  the  multitude  of  the 
robbers  were  thrust  out  [of  the  inner 
court  of  the  temple]  by  the  Romans,  and 
had  much  ado  to  get  into  the  outer  court, 
and  from  thence  into  the  city,  while  the 
remainder  of  the  populace  fled  into  the 
cloister  of  that  outer  court.  As  for  the 
priests,  some  of  them  plucked  up  from 
the  holy  house  the  spikes  that  were  upon 
it,  with  their  bases,  which  were  made  of 
lead,  and  shot  them  at  the  Romans  instead 
of  darts.  But  then  as  they  gained  no- 
thing by  so  doing,  an  1  as  the  fire  bur.-t 
out  upon   them,   they  retired  to  the  wall 


that  was  eight  cubits  broad,  and  there  they 
tarried ;  yet  did  two  of  these  of  eminence 
among  them,  who  might  have  saved  them- 
selves by  going  over  to  the  Romans,  or 
have  borne  up  with  courage,  and  taken 
their  fortune  with  the  others,  throw  them- 
selves into  the  fire,  and  were  burnt  to- 
gether with  the  holy  house ;  their  namea 
were  Meirus  the  son  of  Belgas,  and  Jo- 
seph the  son  of  Daleus. 

And  now  the  Romans,  judging  that  it 
was  in  vain  to  spare  what  was  round  about 
the  holy  house,  burnt  all  those  places,  as 
also  the  remains  of  the  cloisters  and  the 
gates,  two  excepted ;  the  one  on  the  east 
side,  and  the  other  on  the  south ;  both 
which,  however,  they  burnt  afterward. 
They  also  burnt  down  the  treasury-cham- 
bers, in  which  was  an  immense  quantity 
of  money,  and  an  immense  number  of 
garments,  and  other  precious  goods,  there 
deposited ;  and,  to  speak  all  in  a  few 
words,  there  it  was  that  the  entire  riches 
of  the  Jews  were  heaped  up  together, 
while  the  rich  people  had  there  built  them* 
selves  chambers  [to  contain  such  furni- 
ture]. The  soldiers  also  came  to  the  rest 
of  the  cloisters  that  were  in  the  outer 
[court  of  the]  temple,  whither  the  wo- 
men and  children,  and  a  great  mixed  mul- 
titude of  the  people  fled,  in  number  about 
6000.  But  before  Caesar  had  determined 
any  thing  about  these  people,  or  given 
the  commanders  any  orders  relating  to 
them,  the  soldiers  were  in  such  a  rage, 
that  they  set  the  cloister  on  fire  ;  by  which 
means  it  came  to  pass  that  some  of  these 
were  destroyed  by  throwing  themselves 
down  headlong,  and  some  were  burnt  in 
the  cloisters  themselves.  Nor  did  any  one 
of  them  escape  with  his  life.  A  false 
prophet  was  the  occasion  of  these  people's 
destruction,  who  had  made  a  public  procla- 
mation in  the  city  that  very  day,  that  God 
commanded  them  to  get  up  upon  the  tem- 
ple, and  that  there  they  should  receive  mi- 
raculous signs  of  their  deliverance.  Now, 
there  was  then  a  great  number  of  false 
prophets  suborned  by  the  tyrants  to  im- 
pose upon  the  people,  who  denounced  this 
to  them,  that  they  should  wait  for  de- 
liverance from  God;  and  this  was  in  or- 
der to  keep  them  from  deserting,  and  that 
they  might  be  buoyed  up  above  fear  and 
care  by  such  hopes.  Now,  a  man  that  is 
in  adversity  does  easily  comply  with  such 
promises;  for  when  such  a  seducer  makes 
him  believe  that  he  shall  be  delivered  from 
those  miseries  which  oppress  him,  then  it 


848 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


TBook  VI 


is  that  the  patient  is  full  of  hopes  of  such 
deliverance. 

Thus  were  the  miserable  people  persuad- 
ed by  these  deceivers,  and  such  as  belied 
God  himself;  while  they  did  not  attend, 
nor  give  credit,  to  the  signs  that  were  so 
evident,  and  did  so  plainly  foretell  their 
future  desolation ;  but,  like  men  infatu- 
ated, without  either  eyes  to  see  or  minds 
to  consider,  did  not  regard  the  denuncia- 
tions that  God  made  to  them.  Thus, 
there  was  a  star  resembling  a  sword, 
which  stood  over  the  city,  and  a  comet, 
that  continued  a  whole  year.  Thus  also, 
before  the  Jews'  rebellion,  and  before 
those  commotions  which  preceded  the  war, 
when  the  people  were  come  in  great 
crowds  to  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
on  the  eighth  day  of  the  month  Xanthicus 
[Nisan],  and  at  the  ninth  hour  of  the 
night,  so  great  a  light  shone  round  the  al- 
tar and  the  holy  house  that  it  appeared  to 
be  bright  daytime  ;  which  light  lasted  for 
half  an  hour.  This  light  seemed  to  be  a 
good  sign  to  the  unskilful,  but  was  so  in- 
terpreted by  the  sacred  scribes  as  to  por- 
tend those  events  that  followed  immediate- 
ly upon  it.  At  the  same  festival  also,  a 
heifer,  as  she  was  led  by  the  high  priest 
to  be  sacrificed,  brought  forth  a  lamb  in 
the  midst  of  the  temple.  Moreover,  the 
eastern  gate  of  the  inner  [court  of  the] 
temple,  which  was  of  brass,  and  vastly 
heavy,  and  had  been  with  difficulty  shut 
by  twenty  men,  and  rested  upon  a  basis 
armed  with  iron,  and  had  bolts  fastened 
very  deep  into  the  firm  floor,  which  was 
there  made  of  one  entire  stone,  was  seen 
to  be  opened  of  its  own  accord  about  the 
sixth  hour  of  the  night.  Now,  those  that 
kept  watch  in  the  temple,  came  hereupon 
running  to  the  captain  of  the  temple,  aud 
told  him  of  it ;  who  then  came  up  thither, 
and  not  without  great  difficulty  was  able 
to  shut  the  gate  again.  This  also  ap- 
peared to  the  vulgar  to  be  a  very  happy 
prodigy,  as  if  God  did  thereby  open  them 
the  gate  of  happiness.  But  the  men  of 
learning  understood  it,  that  the  security 
of  their  holy  house  was  dissolved  of  its 
own  accord,  and  that  the  gate  was  opened 
for  the  advantage  of  their  enemies.  So 
these  publicly  declared  that  this  signal 
foreshowed  the  desolation  that  was  coming 
upon  them.  Besides  these,  a  few  days 
after  that  feast,  on  the  one-and-twentieth 
day  of  the  month  Artemisius  [Jyar],  a  cer- 
tain prodigious  and  incredible  phenome- 
non appeared  :  I  suppose  the  account  of 


it  would  seem  to  be  a  fable,  were  it  not  re 
lated  by  those  that  saw  it,  and  were  not 
the  events  that  followed  it  of  so  consider- 
able a  nature  as  to  deserve  such  signals ; 
for,  before  sunsetting,  chariots  and  troops 
of  soldiers  in  their  armour  were  seen  run- 
ning about  among  the  clouds,  and  sur- 
rounding of  cities.  Moreover,  at  that 
feast  which  we  call  Pentecost,  as  the 
priests  were  going  by  night  into  the  inner 
[court  cf  the]  temple,  as  their  custom  was, 
to  perform  their  sacred  ministrations,  they 
said  that,  in  the  first  place,  they  felt  a 
quaking,  and  heard  a  great  noise,  and  af- 
ter that  they  heard  a  sound  as  of  a  great 
multitude,  saying,  "  Let  us  remove  hence/' 
But,  what  is  still  more  terrible,  there  was 
one  Jesus,  the  son  of  Ananus,  a  plebeian 
and  a  husbandman,  who,  four  years  be* 
fore  the  war  began,  and  at  a^time  when 
the  city  was  in  very  great  peace  and  pros- 
perity, came  to  that  feast  whereon  it  is 
our  custom  for  every  one  to  make  taberna- 
cles to  God  in  the  temple,  began  on  a 
sudden  to  cry  aloud,  "  A  voice  from  the 
east,  a  voice  from  the  west,  a  voice  from 
the  four  winds,  a  voice  against  Jerusalem 
and  the  holy  house,  a  voice  against  the 
bridegrooms  and  the  brides,  and  a  voice 
against  this  whole  people !"  This  was 
his  cry,  as  he  went  about  by  day  and  by 
night,  in  all  the  lanes  of  the  city.  How- 
ever, certain  of  the  most  eminent  among 
the  populace  had  great  indignation  at  this 
dire  cry  of  his,  and  took  up  the  man,  and 
gave  him  a  great  number  of  severe  stripes  ; 
yet  did  not  he  either  say  any  thing  for 
himself,  or  any  thing  peculiar  to  those 
that  chastised  him,  but  still  he  went  on 
with  the  same  words  which  he  cried  be- 
fore. Hereupon  our  rulers  supposing,  as 
the  case  proved  to  be,  that  this  was  a  sort 
of  divine  fury  in  the  man,  brought  him 
to  the  Roman  procurator;  where  he  was 
whipped  till  his  bones  were  laid  bare  ; 
yet  did  he  not  make  any  supplication  for 
himself,  nor  shed  any  tears,  but  turning 
his  voice  to  the  most  lamentable  tone  pos- 
sible, at  every  stroke  of  the  whip,  his  an- 
swer was,  "  Wo-,  wo  to  Jerusalem  !"  And 
when  Albinus  (for  he  was  then  our  procu- 
rator) asked  him,  "Who  he  was?  and 
whence  be  came  ?  and  why  he  uttered 
such  words  V  he  made  no  manner  of  re- 
ply to  what  he  said,  but  still  did  not  leavd 
off  his  melancholy  ditty,  till  Albinus  took 
him  to  be  a  madman,  and  dismissed  him. 
Now,  during  all  the  time  that  passed  be- 
fore the  war  began,  this  man  did  not  go 


l^IIAP    VI.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS 


849 


Dear  any  one  of  the  citizens,  nor  was  seen 
by  them  while  he  said  so;  but  he  every 
day  uttered  these  lamentable  words,  as  if 
it  were  his  premeditated  vow,  "Wo,  wo, 
to  Jerusalem !"  Nor  did  he  give  ill  words 
to  any  of  those  that  beat  him  every  day, 
nor  good  words  to  those  that  gave  him 
food;  but  this  was  his  reply  to  all  men, 
and  indeed  no  other  than  a  melancholy 
presage  of  what  was  to  come.  This -cry 
of  his  was  the  loudest  at  the  festivals;  and 
he  continued  this  ditty  for  seven  years  and 
five  months,  without  growing  hoarse,  or 
being  tired  therewith,  until  the  very  time 
that  he  saw  his  presage  in  earnest  fulfilled 
in  our  siege,  when  it  ceased  ;  for  as  he 
was  going  round  upon  the  wall,  he  cried 
out  with  his  utmost  force,  "  Wo,  wo,  to 
the  city  again,  and  to  the  people,  and  to 
the  holy , house  !"  And  just  as  he  added 
at  the  last,  u  Wo,  wo,  to  myself  also !" 
there  came  a  stone  out  of  one  the 
engines,  and  smote  him,  and  killed  him 
immediately;  and  as  he  was  uttering 
the  very  same  presages,  he  gave  up  the 
ghost. 

Now,  if  any  one  consider  these  things, 
he  will  find  that  God  takes  care  of  man- 
kind, and  by  all  ways  possible  foreshows 
to  our  race  what  is  for  their  preservation ; 
but  that  men  perish  by  those  miseries 
which  they  madly  and  voluntarily  bring 
upon  themselves;  for  the  Jews,  by  demo- 
lishing the  tower  of  Antonia,  had  made 
their  temple  foursquare,  while  at  the 
same  time  they  had  it  written  in  their  sa- 
cred oracles,  "That  then  should  their  city 
be  taken,  as  well  as  their  holy  house, 
when  once  their  temple  should  become 
foursquare/'  But  now,  what  did  most 
elevate  them  in  undertaking  this  war,  was 
an  ambiguous  oracle  that  was  also  found 
in  their  sacred  writings,  how,  "  about  that 
time,  one  from  their  country  should  be- 
come governor  of  the  habitable  earth/' 
The  Jews  took  this  prediction  to  belong 
to  themselves  in  particular;  and  many  of 
the  wise  men  were  thereby  deceived  in 
their  determination.  Now,  this  oracle 
certainly  denoted  the  government  of  Ves- 
pasian, who  was  appointed  emperor  in 
Judea.  However,  it  is  not  possible  for 
men  to  avoid  fate,  although  they  see  it 
beforehand.  But  these  men  interpreted 
some  of  these  signals  according  to  their 
own  pleasure;  and  some  of  them  they 
utterly  despised,  until  their  madness  was 
demonstrated,  both  by  the  taking  of  their 
city  and  their  own  destruction. 
54 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The    Romans   continue    to  plunder  and  burn  the 
city. 

And  now  the  Romans,  upon  the  flight 
of  the  seditious  iuto  the  city,  and  upon  tho 
burning  of  the  holy  house  itself,  and  of 
all  the  buildings  round  about  it,  brought 
their  ensigns  to  the  temple,  and  set  them 
over  against  its  eastern  gate ;  and  there 
did  they  offer  sacrifices  to  them,  and  there 
did  they  make  Titus  imperator,*  with  the 
greatest  acclamations  of  joy.  And  now 
all  the  soldiers  had  such  vast  quantities 
of  the  spoils  which  they  had  gotten  by 
plunder,  that  in  Syria  a  pound  weight  of 
gold  was  sold  for  half  its  former  value. 
But  as  for  those  priests  that  kept  them- 
selves still  upon  the  wall  of  the  holy 
house, j"  there  was  a  boy  that,  out  of  the 
thirst  he  was  in,  desired  some  of  the  Ro- 
man guards  to  give  him  their  right  hands 
as  a  security  for  his  life,  and  confessed  he 
was  very  thirsty.  These  guards  commi- 
serated his  age,  and  the  distress  he  was 
in,  and  gave  him  their  right  hands  ac- 
cordingly. So  he  came  down  himself,  and 
drank  some  water,  and  filled  the  vessel  he 
had  with  him  when  he  came  to  them  with 
water,  and  then  went  off,  and  fled  away  to 
his  own  friends;  nor  could  any  of  those 
guards  overtake  him;  but  still  they  re- 
proached him  for  his  perfidiousness.  To 
which  he  made  this  answer  : — "  I  have  not 
broken  the  agreement;  for  the  security  I 
had  given  me  was  not  in  order  to  my 
staying  with  you,  but  only  in  order  to  my 
coming  down  safely,  and  taking  up  some 
water;  both  which  things  I  have  per- 
formed, and  thereupon  think  myself  to 
have  been  faithful  to  my  engagement." 
Hereupon  those  whom  the  child  had  im- 
posed upon  admired  at  his  cunning,  and 
that  on  account  of  his  age.  On  the  fifth 
day  afterward,  the  priests  that  were  pined 
with  the  famine  came  down,  and  when 
they  were  brought  to  Titus  by  the  guards, 
they  begged  for  their  lives :  but  he  replied, 
that  the  time  of  pardon  was  over  as  to 
them ;  and  that  this  very  holy  house,  on 
whose  account  only  they  could  justly  bop<? 
to  be  preserved,  was  destroyed;  and  that 
it  was  agreeable  to  their  office  that  priests 


*  This  declaring  Titus  imperator  by  the  soldiers, 
upon  such  signal  success,  and  the  slaughter  of  such 
a  vast  number  of  enemies,  was  according  to  the 
usual  practice  of  the  Romans  in  like  ca 

|  The  Jews  of  later  times  agree  with  Josephus 
that  there  were  hiding-places  or  secret  chamber* 
about  the  holy  house. 


850 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VT 


should  perish  with  the  house  itself  to 
which  they  belonged.  So  he  ordered 
them  to  be  put  to  death. 

But  as  for  the  tyrants  themselves,  and 
those  that  were  with  them,  when  they 
found  that  they  were  encompassed  on 
every  side,  and,  as  it  were,  walled  round, 
without  any  method  of  escaping,  they  de- 
sired to  treat  with  Titus  by  word  of  mouth. 
Accordingly,  such  was  the  kindness  of  his 
nature,  and  his  desire  of  preserving  the 
city  from  destruction,  joined  to  the  advice 
of  his  friends,  who  now  thought  the  rob- 
bers were  come  to  a  temper,  that  he 
placed  himself  on  the  western  side  of  the 
outer  [court  of  the]  temple;  for  there 
were  gates  on  that  side  above  the  Xystus, 
and  a  bridge  that  connected  the  upper 
city  to  the  temple.  This  bridge  it  was 
that  lay  between  the  tyrants  and  Caesar, 
and  parted  them ;  while  the  multitude 
stood  on  each  side ;  those  of  the  Jewish 
nation  about  Simon  and  John,  with  great 
hope  of  pardon  ;  and  the  Romans  about 
Caesar,  in  great  expectation  how  Titus 
would  receive  their  supplication.  So  Ti- 
tus charged  his  soldiers  to  restrain  their 
rage,  and  to  let  their  darts  alone,  and  ap- 
pointed an  interpreter  between  them, 
which  was  a  si^n  that  he  was  the  con- 
queror,  and  first  began  the  discourse,  and 
said,  "I  hope  you,  sirs,  are  now  satiated 
with  the  miseries  of  your  country,  who 
have  not  had  any  just  notions,  either  of 
our  great  power,  or  of  your  own  great 
weakness;  but  have,  like  madmen,  after  a 
violent  and  inconsiderate  manner,  made 
such  attempts,  as  to  have  brought  your 
people,  your  city,  and  your  holy  house  to 
destruction.  You  have  been  the  men  that 
have  never  left  off  rebelling  since  Pompey 
first  conquered  you;  and  have,  since  that 
time,  made  open  war  with  the  Romans. 
Have  you  depended  on  your  multitude, 
while  a  very  small  part  of  the  Roman  sol- 
diery have  been  strong  enough  for  you? 
Have  you  relied  on  the  fidelity  of  your 
confederates  ?  and  what  nations  are  there, 
out  of  the  limits  of  our  dominion,  that 
would  choose  to  assist  the  Jews  before  the 
Romaus  ?  Are  your  bodies  stronger  than 
ours  ?  nay,  you  know  that  the  [strong] 
Germans  themselves  are  our  servants. 
Have  you  stronger  walls  than  we  have  ? 
Pray,  what  greater  obstacle  is  there  than 
the  wall  of  the  ocean,  with  which  the  Bri- 
tons are  encompassed,  and  yet  do  adore 
the  arms  of  the  Romans  ?  Do  you  exceed 
os  in  courage  of  soul,  and  in  the  sagacity 


of  your  commanders  ?  Nay,  indeed,  you 
cannot  but  know  that  the  very  Carthagi- 
nians have  been  conquered  by  us.  It  can 
therefore  be  nothing  certainly  but  the 
kindness  of  us  Romans,  which  hath  ex- 
cited you  against  us;  who,  in  the  first 
place,  have  given  you  this  land  to  possess ; 
and,  in  the  next  place,  have  set  over  you 
kings  of  your  own  nation ;  and,  in  the 
third  place,  have  preserved  the  laws  of 
your  forefathers  to  you,  and  have  withal 
permitted  you  to  live,  either  by  yourselves, 
or  among  others,  as  it  should  please  you  ? 
and,  what  is  our  chief  favour  of  all,  we 
have  given  you  deave  to  gather  up  that 
tribute  which  is  paid  to  Grod,  with  such 
other  gifts  that  are  dedicated  to  him;  nor 
have  we  called  those  that  carried  these  do- 
nations to  account,  nor  prohibited  them; 
till  at  length  you  became  richer  than  we 
ourselves,  even  when  you  were  our  ene- 
mies; and  you  made  preparations  for  war 
against  us  with  our  own  money;  nay, 
after  all,  when  you  were  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  these  advantages,  you  turned  your 
too  great  plenty  against  those  that  gave  it 
you,  and  like  merciless  serpents,  have 
thrown  out  your  poison  against  those  that 
treated  you  kindly.  I  suppose,  therefore, 
that  you  might  despise  the  slothfulness  of 
Nero,  and,  like  limbs  of  the  body  that  are 
broken  or  dislocated,  you  did  then  be 
quiet,  waiting  for  some  other  time,  though 
still  with  a  malicious  intention,  and  have 
now  shown  your  distemper  to  be  greater 
than  ever,  and  have  extended  your  desires 
as  far  as  your  impudent  and  im  mense  hopes 
would  enable  you  to  do  it.  At  this  time 
my  father  came  into  this  country,  not  with 
a  design  to  punish  you  for  what  you  had 
done  under  Cestius,  but  to  admonish  you; 
for,  had  he  come  to  overthrow  your  nation, 
he  had  run  directly  to  your  fountain  head, 
and  had  immediately  laid  this  city  waste; 
whereas  he  went  and  burnt  Galilee  and 
the  neighbouring  parts,  and  thereby  gave 
you  time  for  repentance;  which  instance 
of  humanity  you  took  for  an  argument  of 
his  weakness,  and  nourished  ap  your  im* 
pudence  by  our^-mildness.  When  Nero 
was  gone  out^of  the  world,  you  did  as  the 
most  wicked  wretches  would  have  done, 
and  encouraged  yourselves  to  act  againsi 
us  by  our  civil  dissensions,  and  abused 
that  time,  when  both  I  and  my  father 
were  gone  away  to  Egypt,  to  make  prepa- 
rations for  this  war.  Nor  were  you 
ashamed  to  raise  disturbances  against  us 
when  we  were   made  emperors,  and  this 


Chap.  VI  ] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


851 


while  you  had  experienced  how  mild  we 
had  been,  when  we  were  no  more  than 
generals  cf  the  army;  but  when  the  go- 
vernment was  devolved  upon  us,  and  all 
other  people  did  thereupon  lie  quiet,  and 
even  foreign  nations  sent  embassies,  and 
congratulated  our  access  to  the  govern- 
ment, then  did  you  Jews  show  yourselves 
to  be  our  enemies.  You  sent  embassies 
to  those  of  your  nation  that  are  beyond 
Euphrates,  to  assist  you  in  your  raising 
disturbances;  new  walls  were  built  by 
you  round  your  city,  seditions  arose, 
and  one  tyrant  contended  against  an- 
other, and  a  civil  war  broke  out  among 
you;  such,  indeed,  as  became  none 
but  so  wicked  a  people  as  you  are. 
I  then  came  to  this  city,  as  unwillingly 
sent  by  my  father,  and  received  melan- 
choly injunctions  from  him.  When  I 
heard  that  the  people  were  disposed  to 
peace,  I  rejoiced  at  it :  I  exhorted  you  to 
leave  off  these  proceedings  before  I  began 
this  war  ;  I  spared  you  even  when  you 
had  fought  against  me  a  great  while  ;  I 
gave  my  right  hand  as  security  to  the  de- 
serters ;  I  observed  what  I  had  promised 
faithfully.  When  they  fled  to  me,  I  had 
compassion  of  many  of  those  that  I  had 
taken  captive  ;  I  tortured  those  that  were 
eager  for  war,  in  order  to  restrain  them. 
It  was  unwillingly  that  I  brought  my 
engines  of  war  against  your  walls;  I  al- 
ways prohibited  my  soldiers,  when  they 
were  set  upon  your  slaughter,  from  their 
severity  against  you.  After  every  victory 
I  persuaded  you  to  peace,  as  though  I  had 
been  myself  conquered.  When  I  came 
near  your  temple,  I  again  departed  from 
the  laws  of  war,  and  exhorted  you  to 
spare  jour  own  sanctuary,  and  to  preserve 
your  holy  house  to  yourselves.  I  allowed 
you  a  quiet  exit  out  of  it,  and  security 
for  your  preservation  :  nay,  if  you  had  a 
mind,  I  gave  you  leave  to  fight  in  another 
place.  Yet  have  you  still  despised  every 
one  of  my  proposals,  and  have  set  fire  to 
your  holy  house  with  your  own  hands. 
And  now,  vile  wretches,  do  you  desire  to 
treat  with  me  by  word  of  mouth  ?  To 
what  purpose  is  it  that  you  would  save 
such  a  holy  house  as  this  was,  which  is 
now  destroyed  ?  What  preservation  can 
you  now  desire  after  the  destruction  of 
your  temple  ?  Yet  do  you  stand  still  at 
this  very  time  in  your  armour;  nor  can 
you  bring  yourselves  so  much  as  to  pre- 
tend to  be  supplicauts  even  in  this  your 
utmost   extremity  !       0    miserable    crea- 


tures !  what  is  it  you  depend  on  ?  Are 
not  your  people  dead  ?  is  not  your  holy 
house  gone  ?  is  not  your  city  in  my  power? 
and  are  not  your  own  very  lives  in  my 
hands  ?  And  do  you  still  deem  it  a  part 
of  valour  to  die  ?  However,  I  will  not 
imitate  your  madness.  If  you  throw 
down  your  armour,  and  deliver  up  your 
bodies  to  me,  I  grant  you  your  lives  ;  and 
I  will  act  like  a  mild  master  of  a  family ; 
what  cannot  be  healed  shall  bo  punished, 
and  the  rest  I  will  preserve  for  my  own 
use." 

To  that  offer  of  Titus  they  made  this 
reply  : — That  they  could  not  accept  of  it, 
because  they  had  sworn  never  to  do  so ; 
but  they  desired  they  might  have  leave 
to  go  through  the  wall  that  had  been 
made  about  them,  with  their  wives  and 
children  ;  for  that  they  would  go  into  the 
desert,  and  leave  the  city  to  him.  At 
this  Titus  had  great  indignation ;  that, 
when  they  were  in  the  case  of  men  al- 
ready taken  captives,  they  should  pretend 
to  make  their  own  terms  with  him  as  if 
they  had  been  conquerors !  So  he  or- 
dered this  proclamation  to  be  made  to 
them,  that  they  should  no  more  come  out 
to  him  as  deserters,  nor  hope  for  any  fur- 
ther security;  for  that  he  would  hence 
forth  spare  nobody,  but  fight  them  with 
his  whole  army;  and  that  they  must  save 
themselves  as  well  as  they  could  ;  for  that 
he  would  from  henceforth  treat  them  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  war.  So  he  gave 
orders  to  the  soldiers  both  to  burn  and 
to  plunder  the  city ;  who  did  nothing, 
indeed,  that  day;  but  on  the  next  day 
they  set  fire  to  the  repository  of  the  '&?- 
chives,  to  Acra,  to  the  council-house,  and 
to  the  place  called  Ophlas  ;  at  which  time 
the  fire  proceeded  as  far  as  the  palace  of 
Queen  Helena,  which  was  in  the  middle 
of  Acra  :  the  lanes  also  were  burnt  down, 
as  were  also  those  houses  that  were  full  of 
the  dead  bodies  of  such  as  were  destroyed 
by  famine. 

On  the  same  day  it  was  that  the  sons 
and  brethren  of  Izates  the  king,  together 
with  many  others  of  the  eminent  men  of 
the  populace,  got  together  there,  and  be- 
sought Caesar  to  give  them  his  right  hand 
for  their  security.  Upon  which,  though 
he  was  very  angry  at  all  that  were  now 
remaining,  yet  did  he  not  lay  aside  his  old 
moderation,  but  received  these  men.  At 
that  time,  indeed,  he  kept  them  all 
in  custody,  but  still  bound  the  king's 
sons   and   kiusmau,   and    led    them   with 


852 


WARS  OF    THE    JEWS. 


him  to  Rome,  in  order  to  make  them 
hostages  for  their  country's  fidelity  to 
the  Romans. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Tho  seditious  continue  to  resist  the  Romans. 

And  now  the  seditious  rushed  into  the 
royal  palace,  into  which  many  had  put 
their  effects,  because  it  was  so  strong,  and 
drove  the  Romans  away  from  it.  They 
also  slew  all  the  people  that  had  crowded 
into  it,  who  were  in  number  about  8400, 
and  plundered  them  of  what  they  had. 
They  also  took  two  of  the  Romans  alive; 
the  one  was  a  horseman,  and  the  other  a 
footman.  They  then  cut  the  throat  of 
the  footman,  and  immediately  had  him 
drawn  through  the  whole  city,  as  reveng- 
ing themselves  upon  the  whole  body  of 
the  Romans  by  this  one  instance.  But 
the  horseman  said  he  had  somewhat  to 
suggest  to  them,  in  order  to  their  preser- 
vation ;  whereupon  he  was  brought  before 
Simon;  but  he  having  nothing  to  say 
when  he  was  there,  he  was  delivered  to 
Ardalas,  one  of  his  commanders,  to  be 
punished,  who  bound  his  hands  behind 
him,  and  put  a  riband  over  his  eyes,  and 
then  brought  him  out  over  against  the 
Romans,  as  intending  to  cut  off  his  head. 
Rut  the  man  prevented  that  execution, 
and  ran  away  to  the  Romans,  and  this 
while  the  Jewish  executioner  was  drawing 
out  his  sword.  Now  when  he  was  gotten 
away  from  the  enemy,  Titus  could  not 
think  of  putting  him  to  death ;  but  be- 
cause he  deemed  him  unworthy  of  being 
a  Roman  soldier  any  longer,  on  account 
that  he  had  been  taken  alive  by  the  ene- 
my, he  took  away  his  arms  and  ejected 
him  out  of  the  legion  whereto  he  had  be- 
longed ;  which,  to  one  that  had  a  sense 
of  shame,  was  a  penalty  more  severe  than 
death  itself. 

On  the  next  day  the  Romans  drove  the 
robbers  out  of  the  lower  city,  and  set  all 
on  fire  as  far  as  Siloam.  These  soldiers 
were,  indeed,  glad  to  see  the  city  de- 
stroyed. Rut  they  missed  the  plunder, 
because  the  seditious  had  carried  off  all 
their  effects,  and  were  retired  into  the 
\ipper  city ;  for  they  did  not  yet  at  all 
repent  of  the  mischiefs  they  had  done, 
but  were  insolent,  as  if  they  had  done 
well  ;  for,  as  they  saw  the  city  on  fire, 
they  appeared  cheerful,  and  put  on  joyful 
countenances,  in  expectation,  as  they  said, 
of  death  to  end  their  miseries.     Accord- 


ingly, as  the  people  were  now  slain,  the 
holy  house  was  burnt  down,  and  the  city 
was  on  fire,  there  was  nothing  further  left 
for  the  enemy  to  do.  Yet  did  not  Jose- 
phus  grow  weary,  even  in  this  utmost 
extremity,  to  beg  of  them  to  spare  what 
was  left  of  the  city  ;  he  spake  largely  to 
them  about  their  barbarity  and  impiety, 
and  gave  them  bis  advice,  in  order  to 
their"  escape,  though  he  gained  nothing 
thereby  more  than  to  be  laughed  at  by 
them ;  and,  as  they  could  not  think  of 
surrendering  themselves  up,  because  of 
the  oath  they  had  taken,  nor  were  strong 
enough  to  fight  with  the  Romans  any 
longer  upon  the  square,  as  being  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides,  and  a  kind  of  pri- 
soners already,  yet  were  they  so  accus- 
tomed to  kill  people,  that  they  could  not 
restrain  their  right  hands  from  acting  ac- 
cordingly. So  they  dispersed  themselves 
before  the  city,  and  laid  themselves  in 
ambush  among  its  ruins,  to  catch  those 
that  attempted  to  desert  to  the  Romans  ; 
accordingly,  many  such  deserters  were 
caught  by  them,  and  were  all  slain  ;  for 
these  were  too  weak,  by  reason  of  their 
want  of  food,  to  fly  away  from  them,  so 
their  dead  bodies  were  thrown  to  the  dogs. 
Now,  every  sort  of  death  was  thought 
more  tolerable  than  the  famine,  insomuch 
that,  though  the  Jews  despaired  now  of 
mercy,  yet  would  they  fly  to  the  Romans, 
and  would  themselves,  even  of  their  own 
accord,  fall  among  the  murderous  rebels 
also.  Nor  was  there  any  place  in  the 
city  that  had  no  dead  bodies  in  it,  but 
what  was  entirely  covered  with  those  that 
were  killed  either  by  the  famine  or  the 
rebellion  ;  and  all  was  full  of  the  dead 
bodies  of  such  as  had  perished,  either  by 
that  sedition  or  by  that  famine. 

So  now  the  last  hope  which  supported 
the  tyrants,  and  that  crew  of  robbers  who 
were  with  them,  was  in  the  caves  and 
caverns  under  ground ;  whither,  if  they 
could  once  fly,  they  did  not  expect  to  be 
searched  for;  but  endeavoured,  that,  after 
the  whole  city  should  be  destroyed,  and 
the  Romans  gone- away,  they  might  come 
out  again,  and  escape  from  them.  Thi? 
was  no  better  than  a  dream  of  theirs;  for 
they  were  not  able  to  lie  hid  either  from 
God  or  from  the  Romans.  However,  they 
depended  on  these  under-ground  subter- 
fuges, and  set  more  places  on  fire  than  did 
the  Romans  themselves;  and  those  that 
fled  out  of  their  houses  thus  set  on  fire 
into  ditches,  they  killed  without  mercy, 


Chap.  VUl.J 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


853 


and  pillaged  them  also;  and  if  they  dis- 
covered food  belonging  to  any  one,  they 
seized  upon  it  and  swallowed  it  down,  to- 
gether with  their  blood  also;  nay,  they 
were  now  come  to  fight  one  with  another 
about  their  plunder  ;  and  I  cannot  but 
think  that,  had  not  their  destruc\ion  pre- 
vented it,  their  barbarity  would  have  made 
them  taste  of  even  the  dead  bodies  them- 
selves. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Titus  gains  possession  of  the  whole  city. 

Now,  when  Caesar  perceived  that  the 
upper  city*  was  so  steep,  that  it  could  not 
possibly  be  taken  without  raising  banks 
against  it,  he  distributed  the  several  parts 
of  that  work  among  his  army,  and  this 
on  the  twentieth  day  of  the  month  Lous 
[Ab],  Now,  the  carriage  of  the  mate- 
rials was  a  difficult  task,  since  all  the 
trees,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  that  were 
about  the  city,  within  the  distance  of  100 
furlongs,  had  their  branches  cut  off  al- 
ready, in  order  to  make  the  former  banks. 
The  works  that  belonged  to  the  four  le- 
gions were  erected  on  the  west  side  of  the 
city,  over  against  the  royal  palace;  but 
the  whole  body  of  the  auxiliary  troops, 
with  the  rest  of  the  multitude  that  were 
with  them  [erected  their  banks]  at  the 
Xystus,  whence  they  reached  to  the 
bridge,  and  that  tower  of  Simon,  which 
he  had  built  as  a  citadel  for  himself 
against  John,  when  they  were  at  war  one 
with  another. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  command- 
ers of  the  Idumeans  got  together  pri- 
vately, and  took  counsel  about  surrender- 
ing up  themselves  to  the  Romans.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  sent  five  men  to  Titus,  and 
entreated  him  to  give  them  his  right  hand 
for  their  security.  So  Titus  thinking  that 
the  tyrants  would  yield,  if  the  Idumeans, 
upon  whom  a  great  part  of  the  war  de- 
pended, were  once  withdrawn  from  them, 
after  some  reluctance  and  delay,  complied 
with  them,  and  gave  them  security  for 
their  lives,  and  sent  the  five  men  back; 
but,  as  these  Idumeans  were  preparing  to 
march  out,  Simon  perceived  it,  and  im- 
mediately slew  the  five  men  that  had  gone 
to  Titus,  and  took  their  commanders,  ami 
put  them  in  prison,  of  whom  the  most 
eminent  was  Jacob,  the  son  of  Sosas;  but 
as   for    the   multitude   of  the   Idumeans, 


*  Mount  Sion. 


who  did  not  at  all  know  what  to  do,  now 
their  commanders  were  taken  from  them, 
he  had  them  watched,  and  secured  the 
walls  by  a  more  numerous  garrison.  Yet 
could  not  that  garrison  resist  those  that 
were  deserting  ;  for  although  a  great  num- 
ber of  them  were  slain,  yet  were  the  de- 
serters many  more  in  number.  These 
were  all  received  by  the  Romans,  because 
Titus  himself  grew  negligent  as  to  his 
former  orders  for  killing  them,  and  be- 
cause the  very  soldiers  grew  weary  of  kill- 
ing them,  and  because  they  hoped  to  get 
some  money  by  sparing  them;  for  they 
left  only  the  populace,  and  sold  the  rest 
of  the  multitude,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  and  every  one  of  them  at  a  very 
low  price,  and  that  because  such  as  were 
sold  were  very  many,  and  the  buyers  very 
few ;  and  although  Titus  had  made  pro- 
clamation beforehand,  that  no  deserter 
should  come  alone  by  himself,  that  so 
they  might  bring  out  their  families  with 
them,  yet  did  he  receive  such  as  these 
also.  However,  he  set  over  them  such  as 
were  to  distinguish  some  from  others,  in 
order  to  see  if  any  of  them  deserved  to 
be  punished  ;  and,  indeed,  the  number  of 
those  that  were  sold  was  immense  ;  but  of 
the  populace  above  40,000  were  saved, 
whom  Caesar  let  go  whither  every  one  of 
them  pleased. 

But  now  at  this  time  it  was  that  ono 
of  the  priests,  the  son  of  Thebuthus, 
whose  name  was  Jesus,  upon  his  having 
security  given  him,  by  the  oath  of  Caesar, 
that  he  should  be  preserved,  upon  condi- 
tion that  he  should  deliver  to  him  certain 
of  the  precious  things  that  had  been  de- 
posited in  the  temple,  came  out  of  it,  and 
delivered  him  from  the  wall  of  the  holy 
house  two  candlesticks  like  to  those  that 
lay  in  the  holy  house,  with  tables  and 
cisterns  and  vials,  all  made  of  solid  gold, 
and  very  heavy.  He  also  delivered  to 
him  the  vails  and  the  garments,  with  the 
precious  stones,  and  a  great  number  of 
other  precious  vessels  that  belonged  to 
their  sacred  worship.  The  treasurer  of 
the  temple  also,  whose  name  was  Phineas, 
was  seized  on,  and  showed  Titus  the  coats 
and  girdles  of  the  priests,  with  a  great 
quantity  of  purple  and  scarlet,  which 
were  there  reposited  for  the  uses  of 
the  vail,  as  also  a  great  deal  of  einna- 
inoi)  and  cassia,  with  a  large  quantity 
of  other  sweet  spices,  which  used  to  be 
mixed  together,  and  offered  as  incense  to 
God    every    day.      A   great    ma;;y    other 


854 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Be  ok  VI 


treasures  were  also  delivered  to  him,  with 
sacred  ornaments  of  the  temple  not  a  few; 
which  things  thus  delivered  to  Titus,  ob- 
tained of  him  for  this  man  the  same  par- 
don that  he  had  allowed  to  such  as  de- 
Berted  of  their  own  accord. 

And  now  were  the  banks  finished  on  the 
seventeenth  day  of  the  month  Gorpieus 
[Elul],  in  eighteen  days'  time,  when  the 
Romans  brought  their  machines  against 
the  wall ;  but  for  the  seditious,  some  of 
them,  as  despairing  of  saving  the  city,  re- 
tired from  the  wall  to  the  citadel ;  others 
of  them  went  down  into  the  subterranean 
vaults,  though  still  a  great  manv  of  them 
defended  themselves  against  those  that 
brought  the  engines  for  the  battery;  yet 
did  the  Romans  overcome  them  by  their 
number  and  by  their  strength;  and,  what 
was  the  principal  thing  of  all,  by  going 
cheerfully  about  their  work,  while  the 
Jews  were  quite  dejected  aud  become 
weak.  Now,  as  soon  as  a  part  of  the  wall 
was  battered  down,  aud  certain  of  the 
towers  yielded  to  the  impression  of  the 
battering-rams,  those  that  opposed  them- 
selves fled  away,  aud  such  a  terror  fell 
upon  the  tyrants  as  was  much  greater 
than  the  occasion  required ;  for  before  the 
enemy  got  over  the  breach  they  were  quite 
etuuued,  and  were  immediately  for  flying 
away;  and  now  one  might  see  these  men, 
who  had  hitherto  been  so  insolent  and  ar- 
rogant in  their  wicked  practices,  to  bercast 
down  and  to  tremble,  insomuch  that  it 
would  pity  one's  heart  to  observe  the 
change  that  was  made  in  those  vile  per- 
sons. Accordingly,  they  ran  with  great 
violence  upon  the  Roman  wall  that  en- 
compassed them,  in  order  to  force  away 
those  that  guarded  it,  and  to  break  through 
it,  and  get  away ;  but  when  they  saw  that 
those  who  had  formerly  been  faithful  to 
them,  had  gone  away,  (as  indeed  they  were 
.fled  whithersoever  the  great  distress  they 
were  in  persuaded  them  to  flee,)  as  also 
when  those  that  came  running  before  the 
,rest  told  them  that  the  western  wall  was 
entirely  overthrown,  while  others  said  the 
Romans  were  gotten  in,  and  others  that 
they  were  near,  and  looking  out  for  them, 
which  were  onlv  the  dictates  of  their  fear 
which  imposed  upon  their  sight,  they  fell 
upon  their  faces,  and  greatly  lamented 
their  own  mad  conduct;  and  their  nerves 
w7ere  so  terribly  loosed,  that  they  could 
not  flee  away;  and  here  one  may  chiefly 
reflect  on  the  power  of  God  exercised  upon 
these  wicked  wretches,  and  on   the   good 


fortune  of  the  Romans;  for  these  tyrants 
did  now  wholly  deprive  themselves  of  the 
security  they  had  in  their  own  power,  and 
came  down  from  those  very  towers  of  their 
own  accord,  wherein  they  could  have 
never  been  taken  by  force,  nor  indeed  by 
any  other  way  than  by  famine.  And 
thus  did  the  Romans,  when  they  had 
taken  such  gre^t  pains  about  weaker  walls 
get  by  good  fortune  what  they  could  never 
have  gotten  by  their  engines;  for  three 
of  these  towers  were  too  strong  for  all 
mechanical  engines  whatsoever;  concern- 
ing which  we  have  treated  of  before^- 

So  they  now  left  these  towers  of  them- 
selves, or  rather  they  were  ejected  out  of 
them  by  God  himself,  and  fled  immedi- 
ately to  that  valley  which  was  under 
Siloam,  where  they  again  recovered  them- 
selves out  of  the  dread  they  were  in  for  a 
while,  aud  ran  violently  against  that  part 
of  the  Roman  wall  which  lay  on  that  side  ; 
but  as  their  courage  was  too  much  de- 
pressed to  make  their  attacks  with  sufS- 
cient  force,  aud  their  power  was  now 
broken  with  fear  and  affliction,  they  were 
repulsed  by  the  guards,  aud  dispersing 
themselves  at  distances  from  each  other, 
went  dowm  into  the  subterranean  caverns. 
So  the  Romans  being  now  become  mas- 
ters of  the  walls,  they  both  placed  their 
ensigns  upon  the  towers,  and  made  joyful 
acclamations  for  the  victory  they  had 
gaiued,  as  having  found  the  end  of  this 
war  much  lighter  than  its  beginning;  for 
when  they  had  gotten  upon  the  last  wall, 
without  any  bloodshed,  they  could  hardly 
believe  what  they  found  to  be  true;  but 
seeing  nobody  to  oppose  them,  they  stood 
in  doubt  what  such  an  unusual  solitude 
could  mean.  But  when  they  went  in 
numbers  into  the  lawes  of  the  city,  with 
their  swords  drawn,  they  slew  those  whom 
they  overtook,  without  mercy,  and  set  fire 
to  the  houses  whither  the  Jews  were  fled, 
and  burnt  every  soul  in  them,  and  laid 
waste  a  great  many  of  the  rest;  and  when 
they  were  come  to  the  houses  to  plunder 
them,  they  found  in  them  entire  families 
of  dead  men,  and  ihe  upper  rooms  full  of 
dead  corpses,  that  is  of  such  as  died  by 
the  famine;  they  then  stood  in  a  horror 
at  this  sight,  aud  went  out  without  touch- 
ing any  thing.  But  although  they  had 
this  commiseration  for  such  as  were  de- 
stroyed in  that  manner,  yet  had  they  not 
the  same  for  those  that  were  still  alive, 
but  they  ran  every  one  through  whom 
they  met  with,  and  obstructed  the  verv 


Chap.  IX.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


855 


lanes  with  their  dead  bodies,  and  made 
the  whole  city  run  down  with  blood,  to 
such  a  degree  indeed,  that  the  fire  of 
many  of  the  houses  was  quenched  with 
these  mea's  blood.  And  truly  so  it  hap- 
pened, that  though  the  slayers  left  off  at 
the  evening,  yet  did  the  fire  greatly  pre- 
vail in  the  night;  and  as  all  was  burning 
came  that  eighth  day  of  the  month  G-or- 
pieus  [Elul]  upon  Jerusalem ;  a  city  that 
had  been  liable  to  so  many  miseries  during 
this  siege,  that,  had  it  always  enjoyed  as 
much  happiness  from  its  first  foundation, 
it  would  certainly  have  been  the  envy  of 
the  world.  Nor  did  it  on  any  other  ac- 
count so  much  deserve  these  sore  misfor- 
tunes, as  by  producing  such  a  generation 
of  men  as  were  the  occasion  of  this  its 
overthrow. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Titus  examines  the  city — Number  of  captives  and 
of  the  slain — The  Romans  entirely  destroy  the 
walls. 

Now,  when  Titus  was  come  into  this 
[upper]  city,  he  admired  not  only  some 
other  places  of  strength  in  it,  but  particu- 
larly those  strong  towers  which  the  tyrants, 
in  their  mad  conduct,  had  relinquished; 
for  when  he  saw  their  solid  altitude,  and  the 
largeness  of  their  several  stones,  and  the 
exactness  of  their  joints,  as  also  how  great 
was  their  breadth,  and  how  extensive  their 
length,  he  expressed  himself  after  the  man- 
ner following: — "We  have  certainly  had 
God  for  our  assistant  in  this  war,  and  it 
was  no  other  than  God  who  ejected  the 
J.'ws  out  of  these  fortifications;  for  what 
could  the  hands  of  men,  or  any  machines, 
do  toward  overthrowing  these  towers !" 
At  which  time  he  had  many  such  dis- 
courses to  his  friends  ;  he  also  let  such  go 
free  as  had  been  bound  by  the  tyrants,  and 
were  left  in  the  prisons.  To  conclude, 
when  he  entirely  demolished  the  rest  of 
the  city,  and  overthrew  its  walls,  he  left 
these  towers  as  a  monument  of  his  good 
fortune,  which  had  proved  his  auxiliaries, 
and  enabled  him  to  take  what  could  not 
otherwise  have  been  taken  by  him. 

And  now,  since  his  soldiers  were  already 
quite  tired  with  killing  men,  and  yet  there 
appeared  to  be  a  vast  multitude  still  re- 
maining alive,  Caesar  gave  orders  that  they 
should  kill  none  but  those  that  were  in 
arms,  and  opposed  them,  but  should  take 
the  rest  alive.  But,  together  with  those 
whom  they  had  orders  to  slay,  they  slew 
the  aged  and  infirm;  but  for  those  that 


were  in  their  flourishing  age.  and  who 
might  be  useful  to  them,  they  drove  them 
together  into  the  temple,  and  shut  them 
up  within  the  walls  of  the  court  of  the 
women;  over  which  Caesar  set  one  of  hia 
freedmen,  as  also  Fronto,  one  of  his  own 
friends;  which  last  was  to  determine  every 
one's  fate,  according  to  his  merits.  So 
this  Fronto  slew  all  those  that  had  been 
seditious  and  robbers,  who  were  impeached 
one  by  another;  but  of  the  young  men  he 
chose  out  the  tallest  and  most  beautiful, 
and  reserved  them  for  the  triumph;  and 
as  for  the  rest  of  the  multitude  that  were 
above  seventeen  years  old,  he  put  them 
into  bonds,  and  sent  them  to  the  Egyp- 
tian mines.*  Titus  also  sent  a  great  num- 
ber into  the  provinces,  as  a  present  to 
them,  that  they  might  be  destroyed  upon 
their  theatres,  by  the  sword  and  by  the 
wild  beasts;  but  those  that  were  under 
seventeen  years  of  age  were  sold  for  slaves. 
Now,  during  the  days  wherein  Fronto  was 
distinguishing  these  men,  there  perished, 
for  want  of  food,  11,000;  some  of  whom 
did  not  taste  any  food,  through  the  hatred 
their  guards  bore  to  them  ;  and  others 
would  not  take  in  any  when  it  was  given 
them.  The  multitude  also  was  so  very 
great,  that  they  were  in  want  even  of  corn 
for  their  sustenance. 

Now  the  numberj"  of  those  that  were 
carried  captive  during  this  whole  war  was 
collected  to  be  97,000 ;  as  was  the  num- 
ber of  those  that  perished  during  the 
whole  siege  1,100,000,  the  greater  part 
of  whom  were  indeed  of  the  same  nation 
[with  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem],  but  not 
belonging  to  the  city  itself;  for  they  were 
come  up  from  all  the  country  to  the  feast 
of  unleavened  bread,  and  were  on  a  sud- 
den shut  up  by  an  army,  which  at  the 
very  first  occasioned  so  great  a  straitness 
among  them  that  there  came  a  pestilential 
destruction  upon  them,  and  soon  afterward 
such  a  famine  as  destroyed  them  more 
suddenly.      And  that  this  city  could  con- 

■■:  See  Deut.  xxviii.  68  ;  Jer.  xliv.  7  ;  Hos.  viii. 
13,  ix.  '6,  xi.  '6b  ;  2  Esrt.  xv.  10-14. 

f  The  whole  multitude  of  the  Jews  that  were  de- 
stroyed during  the  entire  seven  years  before  this 
time,  in  all  the  countries  of  and  bordering  on  Judea, 
is  summed  up  by  Archbishop  Usher,  from  Lipsius, 
out  of  Josephus,  A.  D.  70,  and  amounts  to  1,3)57,490. 
Nor  could  there  have  been  that  number  of  Jews  in 
Jerusalem  to  be  destroyed  by  this  siege,  as  will  be 
presently  set  down  by  Josephus,  but  that  both  Jews 
and  proselytes  of  justice  were  just  then  come  up  out 
of  the  other  countries  of  Galilee,  Samaria,  and  Perea, 
and  other  remote  regions,  to  tl.e  Passover,,  in  vast 
numbers,  and  therein  cooped  up  as  in  a  prison,  bj 
the  Roman  army. 


856 


WARS   OF  THE  JEWS 


[Book  VI.  Chap.  X 


tain  so  many  p3ople  in  it  is  manifest  by 
that  number  of  them  which  was  taken  un- 
der Cestius,  who  being  desirous  of  inform- 
ing Nero  of  the  power  of  the  city,  who 
otherwise  was  disposed  to  contemn  that 
nation,  entreated  the  high  priasts,  if  the 
thing  were  possible,  to  take  the  number 
of  their  whole  multitude.  So  these  high 
priests,  upon  the  coming  of  their  feast 
which  is  called  the  Passover,  when  they 
slay  their  sacrifices,  from  the  ninth  hour 
till  the  eleventh,  but  so  that  a  company 
not  less  than  ten  belong  to  every  sacrifice, 
(for  it  is  not  lawful  for  them  to  feast 
singly  by  themselves,)  and  many  of  us 
are  twenty  in  a  company,  found  the  num- 
ber of  sacrifices  was  256,500;  which,  upon 
the  allowance  of  no  more  than  ten  that 
feast  together,  amounts  to  2,700,200  per- 
sons that  were  pure  and  holy;  for  as  to 
those  that  have  the  leprosy,  it  is  not  law- 
ful for  them  to  be  partakers  of  this  sacri- 
fice ;  nor  indeed  for  any  foreigners  neither 
who  come  hither  to  worship. 

Now  this  vast  multitude  is  indeed  col- 
lected out  of  remote  places,  but  the  entire 
nation  was  now  shut  up  by  fate,  as  in  a 
prison,  and  the  Roman  army  encompassed 
the  city  when  it  was  crowded  with  inha- 
bitants. Accordingly,  the  multitude  of 
those  that  therein  perished  exceed  all  the 
destructions  that  either  men  or  God  ever 
brought  upon  the  world;  for,  to  speak 
only  of  what  was  publicly  known,  the  Ro- 
mans slew  some  of  them  ;  some  they  car- 
ried captives,  and  others  they  made  search 
for  under  ground  ;  and  when  they  found 
where  they  were,  they  broke  up  the  ground 
and  slew  all  they  met  with.  There  were 
also  found  slain  there  above  2000  per- 
sons, partly  by  their  own  hands,  and 
partly  by  one  another,  but  chiefly  de- 
stroyed by  the  famine ;  but  then  the  ill 
savour  of  dead  bodies  was  most  offensive 
to  those  that  lighted  upon  them,  insomuch 
that  some  were  obliged  to  get  away  imme- 
diately, while  others  were  so  greedy  of 
gain,  that  they  would  go  in  among  the 
dead  bodies  that  lay  in  heaps,  and  tread 
upon  them ;  for  a  great  deal  of  treasure 
was  found  in  these  caverns,  and  the  hope 
of  gain  made  every  way  of  getting  it  to  be 
esteemed  lawful.  Many  also  of  those  that 
had  been  put  in  prison  by  the  tyrants  were 
cow  brought  out;  for  they  did  not  leave 
off  their  barbarous  cruelty  at  the  very  last ; 
yet   did  God  avenge   himself  upon  them 


both,  in  a  manner  agreeable  to  justice. 
As  for  John,  he  wanted  food,  together  with 
his  brethren,  in  these  caverns,  and  begged 
that  the  Romans  would  now  give  hini 
their  right  hand  for  his  security,  which  he 
had  often  proudly  rejected  before ;  but  for 
Simon,  he  struggled  hard  with  the  dis- 
tress he  was  in,  till  he  was  forced  to  sur- 
render himself,  as  we  shall  relate  hereaf- 
ter ;  so  he  was  reserved  for  the  triumph, 
and  to  be  then  slain:  as  was  John  con- 
demned to  perpetual  imprisonment :  and 
now  the  Romans  set  fire  to  the  extreme 
parts  of  the  city,  and  burnt  them  down, 
and  entirely  demolished  its  walls. 


CHAPTER  X. 

History  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  its  various  sieges. 

And  thus  was  Jerusalem  taken,  in  the 
second  year  of  the  reign  of  Vespasian, 
on  the  eighth  day  of  the  month  Gorpieus 
[Elul].  It  had  been  taken  five  times  be- 
fore, though  this  was  the  second  time  of 
its  desolation  ;  for  Shishak,  the  king  of 
Egypt,  and  after  him  Antiochus,  and  af- 
ter him  Pompey,  and  after  them  Sosius 
and  Herod  took  the  city,  but  still  preserved 
it ;  but  before  all  these,  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon conquered  it,  and  made  it  desolate, 
1468  years  and  6  months  after  it  was 
built.  But  he  who  first  built  it  was  a  po- 
tent man  among  the  Canaanites,  and  is  in 
our  tongue  called  [Melchisedek],  the 
Righteous  King,  for  such  he  really  was  ; 
on  which  account  he  was  [there]  the  first 
priest  of  God,  and  first  built  a  temple 
[there],  and  called  the  city  Jerusalem, 
which  was  formerly  called  Salem.  How- 
ever, David,  the  king  of  the  Jews,  ejected 
the  Canaanites,  and  settled  his  own  peo- 
ple therein.  It  was  demolished  entirely 
by  the  Babylonians,  477  years  and  6 
months  after  him.  And  from  King  Da- 
vid, who  was  the  first  of  the  Jews  who 
reigned  therein,  to  this  destruction  under 
Titus,  were  1179  years;  but  from  its  first 
building,  till  this  last  destruction,  were 
2177  years ;  yet  hath  not  its  great  antiqui- 
ty, nor  its  vast  riches,  nor  the  diffusion  of 
its  nation  over  all  the  habitable  earth, 
nor  the  greatness  of  the  veneration  paid 
to  it  on  a  religious  account,  been  suffi- 
cient to  preserve  it  from  being  destroy- 
ed. And  thus  ended  the  siege  of  Jeru- 
salem. 


Book    VII.   Chap.  L 1 


WARS    OF   THE    JEWS. 


857 


BOOK  VII. 


CONTAINING  THE  INTERVAL  OF  ABOUT  THREE  YEARS,  FROM  THE  TAK- 
ING OF  JERUSALEM  BY  TITUS,  TO  THE  SEDITION  OF  THE  JEWS  AT 
CYRENE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Entire  destruction  of   Jerusalem — Titus    rewards 
his  soldiers,  and  dismisses  many  of  them. 

Now,  as  soon  as  the  army  had  no  more 
people  to  slay  or  to  plunder,  because  there 
remained  none  to  be  the  objects  of  their 
fury,  (for  they  would  not  have  spared  any, 
had  there  remained  any  other  such  work 
to  be  done,)  Caesar  gave  orders  that  they 
should  now  demolish  the  entire  city  and 
temple,  but  should  leave  as  many  of  the 
towers  standing  as  were  of  the  greatest 
eminence;  that  is,  Phasaelus,  and  Hippi- 
cus,  and  Mariamne,  and  so  much  of  the 
wall  as  enclosed  the  city  on  the  west  side. 
This  wall  was  spared,  in  order  to  afford  a 
camp  for  such  as  were  to  lie  in  garrison  ; 
as  were  the  towers  also  spared,  in  order  to 
demonstrate  to  posterity  what  kind  of 
city  it  was,  and  how  well  fortified,  which 
the  Roman  valour  had  subdued  ;  but  for 
all  the  rest  of  the  wall,  it  was  so  tho- 
roughly laid  even  with  the  ground  by 
those  that  dug  it  up  to  the  foundation, 
that  there  was  left  nothing  to  make  those 
that  came  thither  believe  it  had  eyer  been 
inhabited.  This  was  the  end  which  Je- 
rusalem came  to  by  the  madness  of  those 
that  were  for  innovations;  a  city  other- 
wise of  great  magnificence,  and  of  mighty 
fame  among  all  mankind. 

But  Caesar  resolved  to  leave  there,  as  a 
guard,  the  tenth  legion,  with  certain 
troops  of  horsemen  and  companies  of 
footmen.  So,  having  entirely  completed 
this  war,  he  was  desirous  to  commeud  his 
whole  army,  on  account  of  the  great  ex- 
ploits they  had  performed,  and  to  bestow 
proper  rewards  on  such  as  had  signalized 
themselves  therein.  He  had,  therefore,  a 
great  tribunal  made  for  him  in  the  midst 
of  the  place  where  he  had  formerly  en- 
camped, and  stood  upon  it,  with  his  prin- 
cipal commanders  about  him,  and  spake 
so  as  to  be  heard  by  the  whole  army  in 
the  manner  following  : — That  he  returned 
them  abundance  of  thanks  for  their  good- 
will which  they  had  shown  to  him  ;   he 


commended  them  for  that  ready  obedience 
they  had  exhibited  in  this  whole  war ; 
which  obedience  had  appeared  in  the 
many  and  great  dangers  they  had  courage- 
ously undergone ;  as  also,  for  that  cou- 
rage they  had  shown,  and  had  thereby 
augmented  of  themselves  their  country's 
power,  and  had  made  it  evident  to  all  men, 
that  neither  the  multitude  of  their  ene- 
mies, nor  the  strength  of  their  places,  nor 
the  largeness  of  their  cities,  nor  the  rash 
boldness  and  brutish  rage  of  their  antago- 
nists, were  sufficient  at  any  time  to  get 
clear  of  the  Roman  valour,  although  some 
of  them  may  have  fortune  in  many  re- 
spects on  their  side.  He  said  further,  that 
it  was  but  reasonable  for  them  to  put  an 
end  to  this  war,  now  it  had  lasted  so  long, 
for  they  had  nothing  better  to  wish  for 
when  they  entered  into  it;  and  that  this 
happened  more  favourably  for  them  and 
more  for  their  glory;  that  all  the  Romans 
had  willingly  accepted  of  those  for  their 
governors,  and  the  curators  of  their  do- 
minions, whom  they  had  chosen  for  them, 
and  had  sent  into  their  owu  country  for 
that  purpose,  which  still  continued  under 
the  management  of  those  whom  they  had 
pitched  on,  and  were  thankful  to  them  for 
pitching  upon  them.  That  accordingly, 
although  he  did  both  admire  and  tenderly 
regard  them  all,  because  he  knew  that 
every  one  of  them  had  gone  as  cheerfully 
about  their  work  as  their  abilities  and  op- 
portunities would  give  them  leave,  yet, 
he  said,  that  he  would  immediately  be- 
stow rewards  and  dignities  on  those  that 
had  fought  the  most  bravely,  and  with 
greater  force,  and  had  signalized  their  con- 
duct in  the  most  glorious  manner,  and  had 
made  his  army  more  famous  by  their  noble 
exploits;  and  that  no  one  who  had  been 
willing  to  take  more  pains  than  another, 
should  miss  of  a  just  retribution  for  the 
same;  for  that  he  had  been  exceedingly 
careful  about  this  matter,  and  that  the 
more,  because  he  had  much  rather  reward 
the  virtues  of  his  fellow-soldiers  than  pu 
uiak  such  as  had  offended. 


858 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  TO 


Hereupon  Titus  ordered  those  whose 
business  it  was,  to  read  the  list  of  all  that 
had  performed  great  exploits  in  this  war, 
whom  he  called  to  him  by  their  names, 
and  commended  them  before  the  company, 
and  rejoiced  in  them  in  the  same  manner 
as  a  man  would  have  rejoiced  in  his  own 
exploits.  He  also  put  on  their  heads 
crown3  of  gold,  and  golden  ornaments 
about  their  necks,  and  gave  them  long 
spears  of  gold,  and  ensigns  that  were 
made  of  silver,  and  removed  every  one 
of  them  to  a  higher  rank  :  and  besides 
this,  he  plentifully  distributed  among 
them,  out  of  the  spoils  and  the  other  prey 
they  had  taken,  silver,  and  gold,  and  gar- 
ments. So  when  they  had  all  these  ho- 
nours bestowed  on  them,  according  to  his 
own  appointment  made  to  every  one,  and 
he  had  wished  all  sorts  of  happiness  to 
the  whole  army,  he  came  down,  among 
the  great  acclamations  which  were  made 
to  him,  and  then  betook  himself  to  offer 
thank-offerings  [to  the  gods],  and  at  once 
sacrificed  a  vast  number  of  oxen,  that 
stood  ready  at  the  altars,  and  distributed 
them  among  the  army  to  feast  on  ;  and 
when  he  had  stayed  three  days  among  the 
principal  commanders,  and  so  long  feasted 
with  them,  he  sent  away  the  rest  of  his 
army  to  the  several  places  where  they 
would  be  every  one  best  situated  j  but 
permitted  the  tenth  legion  to  stay,  as  a 
guard  at  Jerusalem,  and  did  not1  send 
them  away  beyond  Euphrates,  where  they 
nad  been  before ;  and  as  he  remembered 
that  the  twelfth  legion  had  given  way  to 
the  Jews,  under  Cestius,  their  general,  he 
expelled  them  out  of  all  Syria,  for  they 
had  lain  formerly  at  Raphanea,  and  sent 
them  away  to  a  place  called  Meletine, 
near  Euphrates,  which  is  in  the  limits  of 
Armenia  and  Cappadocia;  he  also  thought 
fit  that  two  of  the  legions  should  stay 
with  him  till  he  should  go  to  Egypt.  He 
then  went  down  with  his  army  to  that 
Cesarea  which  lay  by  the  seaside,  and 
there  laid  up  the  rest  of  his  spoils  in  great 
quantities,  and  gave  order  that  the  cap- 
tives should  be  kept  there ;  for  the  winter 
season  hindered  him  then  from  sailing  into 
Italy.  

CHAPTER  II. 

Titus  exhibits  shows  at  Cesarea  Philippi — Capture 
of  Simon. 

Now,  at  the  same  time  that  Titus  Cae- 
sar lay  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  did 
Vespasian  go  on  board  a  merchant-ship, 


and  sailed  from  AlexanJria  to  Rhodes, 
whence  he  sailed  away  in  ships  with  three 
rows  of  oars ;  and  as  he  touched  at  seve- 
ral cities  that  lay  in  his  road,  he  was  joy- 
fully received  by  them  all,  and  so  passed 
over  from  Ionia  into  Greece;  whence  he 
set  sail  from  Corcyra  to  the  promontory 
of  Iapyx,  whence  he  took  his  journey  by 
land.  But  as  for  Titus,  he  marched  from 
that  Cesarea  which  lay  by  the  seaside, 
and  came  to  that  which  is  named  Cesarea 
Philippi,  and  stayed  there  a  considerable 
time,  and  exhibited  all  sorts  of  shows 
there  ;  and  here  a  great  number  of  the 
captives  were  destroyed ;  some  being 
thrown  to  wild  beasts,  and  others,  in  mul- 
titudes, forced  to  kill  one  another,  as  if 
they  were  enemies.  And  here  it  was 
that  Titus  was  informed  of  the  seizure 
of  Simon,  the  son  of  Gioras,  which  was 
made  after  the  manner  following : — 
This  Simon,  during  the  siege  of  Jerusa- 
lem, was  in  the  upper  city  ;  but  when  the 
Roman  army  were  gotten  within  the 
walls,  and  were  laying  the  city  waste,  he 
theu  took  the  most  faithful  of  his  friends 
with  him,  and  among  them  some  that 
were  stonecutters,  with  those  iron  tools 
which  belonged  to  their  occupation,  and 
as  great  a  quantity  of  provisions  as  would 
suffice  them  for  a  long  time,  and  let  him- 
self and  them  all  down  into  a  certain  sub- 
terraneous cavern  that  was  not  visible 
above  ground.  Now,  so  far  as  had  been 
digged  of  old,  they  went  onward  along  it 
without  disturbance;  but  where  they  met 
with  solid  earth,  they  dug  a  mine  under 
ground,  aud  this  in  hopes  that  they  should 
be  able  to  proceed  so  far  as  to  rise  from 
under  ground,  in  a  safe  place,  and  by  that 
means  escape ;  but  when  they  came  to 
make  the  experiment,  they  were  disap- 
pointed of  their  hope;  for  the  miners 
could  make  but  small  progress,  and  that 
with  difficulty  also;  insomuch  that  their 
provisions,  though  they  distributed  them 
by  measure,  began  to  fail  them.  And 
now,  Simon,  thinking  he  might  be  able 
to  astonish  and  delude  the  Romans,  put 
on  a  white  frock,  and  buttoned  upon  him 
a  purple  cloak,  and  appeared  out  of  the 
ground  in  the  place  where  the  temple  had 
formerly  been.  At  the  first,  indeed,  those 
that  saw  him  were  greatly  astonished,  and 
stood  still  where  they  were ;  but  after- 
ward they  came  nearer  to  him,  and  asked 
him  who  he  was.  Now  Simon  would  not 
tell  them,  but  bade  them  call  for  their 
captain  ;   and  when  they  ran  tc  call  him, 


Chap    Hi .] 


WARS    OF    THE   J  KWS. 


859 


Terentius  Rufus,*  who  was  left  to  com- 
mand the  army  there,  came  to  Simon, 
and  learned  of  him  the  whole  truth,  and 
Kept  him  in  bonds,  and  let  Caesar  know 
that  he  was  taken.  Thus  did  God  bring 
this  man  to  be  punished  for  what  bitter 
and  savage  tyranny  he  had  exercised 
against  his  countrymen,  by  those  who 
were  his  worst  enemies ;  and  this  while 
he  was  not  subdued  by  violence,  but  vo- 
luntarily delivered  himself  up  to  them  to 
be  punished,  and  that  on  the  very  same 
account  that  he  had  laid  false  accusations 
against  many  Jews,  as  if  they  were  falling 
away  to  the  Romans,  and  had  barbarously 
slain  them ;  for  wicked  actions  do  not 
escape  the  divine  anger,  nor  is  justice  too 
weak  to  punish  offenders,  bur,  in  time 
overtakes  those  that  transgress  its  laws, 
and  inflicts  its  punishments  upon  the 
wicked  in  a  manner  so  much  more  severe, 
as  they  expected  to  escape  it  on  account 
of  their  not  being  punished  immediately. 
Simon  was  made  sensible  of  this,  by  fall- 
ing under  the  indignation  of  the  Romans. 
This  rise  of  his  out  of  thf  ground  did  also 
occasion  the  discovery  of  a  great  number 
of  others  of  the  seditious  at  that  time, 
who  had  hidden  themselves  underground  ; 
bui  for  Simon,  he  was  brought  to  Caesar 
in  bonds,  when  he  had  come  back  to  that 
Oesarea  which-  was  on  the  seaside ;  who 
gave  orders  that  he  should  be  kept  against 
that  triumph  which  he  was  to  celebrate  at 
Rome  upon  this  jccasion. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Vitus  celebrates  his  father's  and  brother's  birthday 
by  slaughtering  many  of  the  Jewish  captives — 
The  people  of  Antioch  accuse  the  Jews  of  sedi- 
tion. 

While  Titus  was  at  Cesarea,  he  so- 
lemnized the  birthday  of  his  brother 
[Domitian]  after  a  splendid  manner,  and 
inflicted  a  great  deal  of  the  punishment 
intended  for  the  Jews  in  honour  of  him ; 
for  the  number  of  those  that  were  now 
slain  in  fighting  with  the  beasts,  and  were 
burnt,  and  fought  with  one  another,  ex- 
ceeded 2500.  Yet  did  all  this  seem  to 
the  Romans,  when  they  were  thus  destroy- 

*  This  Terentius  Rufua  is  the  same  whom  the 
Talmudis-ts  call  Turnus  Rufus:  of  whom  they  re- 
late, that  "  he  ploughed  up  Sion  as  a  field,  and 
made  Jerusalem  become  as  heaps,  and  the  moun- 
tain of  the  house  as  the  high  places  of  a  forest;" 
vbich  was  long  before  foretold  by  the  prophet 
ivlicah,  (Hi.  12,)  and  quoted  from  him  in  the  prophe- 
sies of  Jeremiah,  (xxvi.  18.) 


ing  ten  thousand  several  ways,  to  be  a 
punishment  beneath  rneir  deserts.  After 
this,  Caesar  came  to  Berytus,  which  is  a 
city  of  Phoenicia,  and  a  Roman  colony, 
and  stayed  there  a  longer  time,  and  ex- 
hibited a  still  more  pompous  solemnity 
about  his  father's  birthday,  both  in  the 
magnificence  of  the  shows,  and  in  the 
other  vast  expenses  he  was  at  in  his  de- 
vices thereto  belonging  ;  sc  that  a  great 
multitude  of  the  captives  were  here  de- 
stroyed after  the  same  manner  as  before. 

It  happened  also  about  this  time,  that 
the  Jews  who  remained  at  Antioch  were 
under  accusations,  and  in  danger  of  pe- 
rishing, from  the  disturbances  that  were 
raised  against  them  by  th«  Antiochians, 
and  this  both  on  account  of  the  slanders 
spread  abroad  at  this  time  against  them, 
and  on  account  of  what  pranks  they  had 
played  not  long  before;  which  I  am 
obliged  to  describe  without  fail,  though 
briefly,  that  I  may  the  better  connect  my 
narration  of  future  actions  with  those  that 
went  before. 

For,  as  the  Jewish  nation  is  widely 
dispersed  over  all  the  habitable  earth 
among  its  inhabitants,  so  it  is  very  much 
intermingled  with  Syria,  by  reason  of  its 
neighbourhood,  and  had  the  greatest  mul- 
titudes in  Antioch,  by  reason  of  the  large- 
ness of  the  city,  wherein  the  kings,  aftei 
Antiochus,  had  afforded  them  a  habitation 
with  the  most  undisturbed  tranquillity;  for 
though  Antiochus,  who  was  called  Epipha- 
nes,  laid  Jerusalem  waste,  and  spoiled  the 
temple,  yet  did  those  that  succeeded  him 
in  the  kingdom,  restore  all  the  donations 
that  were  made  of  brass  to  the  Jews  of 
Antioch,  and  dedicated  them  to  their  syna- 
gogue ;  and  granted  them  the  enjoyment 
of  equal  privileges  of  citizens  with  the 
Greeks  themselves ;  and,  as  the  succeed- 
ing king  treated  them  after  the  same 
manner,  they  both  multiplied  to  a  great 
number,  and  adorned  their  temple*  glo- 
riously by  fine  ornaments,  and  with  great 
magnificence,  in  the  use  of  what  had  been 
given  them.  They  also  made  proselytes 
of  a  great  many  of  the  Greeks  perpetu- 
ally, and  thereby,  after  a  sort,  brought 
them  to  be  a  portion  of  their  own  body. 
Rut  about  this  time,  when  the  present  war 
began,  and  Vespasian  was  newly  sailed  to 
Syria,  and  all  men  had  taken  up  a  great 
hatred  against  the  Jews,  then  it  was  that 
a  certain  person,  whose  name  was  Antio 

*  Thoir  synagogue. 


880 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS 


[Book  VII 


ehus;  being  one  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and 
greatly  respected  on  account  of  his  father, 
vho  was  governor  of  the  Jews  at  Anti- 
och,* came  upon  the  theatre  at  a  time 
when  the  people  of  Antioch  were  assem- 
lled  together,  and  became  an  informer  j 
against  his  father ;  and  accused  both  him  i 
md  others,  that  they  had  resolved  to  burn  j 
ohe  whole  city  in  one  night;  he  also  de-  j 
livered  up  to  them  some  Jews  that  were 
foreigners,  as  partners  in  their  resolutions. 
When  the  people  heard  this,  they  could 
not  refraiD  their  passion,  but  commanded 
that  those  who  were  delivered  up  to  them 
should  ha^e  fire  brought  to  burn  them  ; 
who  were,  accordingly,  all  burnt  upon  the 
theatre  immediately.  They  did  also  mil 
violently  upon  the  multitude  of  the  Jews, 
as  supposing,  that,  by  punishing  them 
suddenly,  they  should  save  their  own  city. 
As  for  Antiochus,  he  aggravated  the  rage 
they  were  in,  and  thought  to  give  them  a 
demonstration  of  his  own  conversion,  and 
of  his  hatred  of  the  Jewish  customs,  by 
sacrificing  after  the  manner  of  the  Greeks; 
he  persuaded  the  rest  also  to  compel  them 
uo  do  the  same,  because  they  would  by 
that  iieans  discover  who  they  were  that 
had  plotted  against  them,  since  they  would 
not  do  :o;  and  when  the  people  of  Antioch 
tried  tie  experiment,  some  few  complied; 
but  those  that  would  not  do  so  were  slain. 
As  for  Antiochus  himself,  he  obtained 
soldiers  from  the  Roman  commanded,  and 
became  a  severe  master  over  his  own  citi- 
zens, not  permitting  them  to  rest  on  the 
seventh  day,  but  forcing  them  to  do  all 
that  they  usually  did  ou  the  other  days  ; 
and  to  that  degree  of  distress  did  he  re- 
duce them  in  this  matter,  that  the  rest  of 
the  seventh  day  was  dissolved,  not  only 
at  xVntioch-  but  the  same  thing  which 
took  thence  'ts  rise  was  done  in  other 
cities  also,  in  like  manner,  for  some  small 
time. 

Now,  after  these  misfortunes  had  hap- 
pened to  the  Jews  at  Antioch,  a  second 
calamity  befell  them,  the  description  of 
which,  when  we  were  going  about,  we 
premised  the  account  foregoing;  for  upon 
this    accident,    whereby    the     foursquare 

*  The  Jews  at  Antioch  and  Alexandria,  the  two 
principal  cities  in  ail  the  East,  had  allowed  them, 
both  by  the  Macedonians,  and  afterward  by  the 
Remans,  a  governor  of  their  own,  who  was  exempt 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  other  civil  governors. 
He  was  called  sometimes  barely  "  governor,"  some- 
times "  ethnarch,"  and  [at  Alexandria]  ''alabarch." 
They  had  the  like  governors  allowed  them  at 
Babylon  under  their  caj  tivity  there. 


market-place  was  burnt  down,  as  well  as 
the  archives,  and  the  place  where  the  pub- 
lic records  were  preserved,  and  the  royal 
palaces,  (and  it  was  not  without  difficulty 
that  the  fire  was  then  put  a  stop  to,  which 
was  likely,  by  the  fury  wherewith  it  was 
carried  along,  to  have  gone  over  the  whole 
city,)  Antiochus  accused  the  Jews  as  the 
occasion  of  all  the  mischief  that  was 
done.  Now  this  induced  the  people  o» 
Antioch,  who  were  now  under  the  imme- 
diate persuasion,  by  reason  of  the  disor- 
der they  were  in,  that  this  calumny  was 
true ;  and  would  have  been  under  the 
same  persuasion,  even  though  they  had 
not  borne  an  ill-will  at  the  Jews  before, 
to  believe  this  man's  accusation,  especially 
when  they  considered  what  had  been  done 
before;  and  this  to  such  a  degree,  that 
they  all  fell  violently  upon  those  that 
were  accused;  and  this,  like  madmen,  in 
a  very  furious  rage  also,  even  as  if  they 
had  seen  the  Jews  in  a  manner  setting 
fire  themselves  to  the  city  ;  nor  was  it 
without  difficulty  that  one  Cueius  Colle- 
gas,  the  legate,  could  prevail  with  them  to 
permit  the  affairs  to  be  laid  before  Csesar; 
for  as  to  Cesennius  Petus,  the  president 
of  Syria,  Vespasian  had  already  sent  him 
away  ;  and  so  it  happened  that  he  was  not 
yet  come  back  thither.  But  when  Col- 
legas  had  made  a  careful  inquiry  into  the 
matter,  he  found  out  the  truth,  and  that 
not  one  of  those  Jews  that  were  accused 
by  Antiochus  had  any  hand  in  it;  but 
that  all  was  done  by  some  vile  persons 
greatly  in  debt,  who  supposed  that,  if  they 
could  once  set  fire  to  the  market-place,  and 
burn  the  public  records,  they  should  have 
no  further  demands  made  upon  them.  So 
the  Jews  were  under  great  disorder  and 
terror,  in  the  uncertain  expectations  of 
what  would  be  the  upshot  of  those  accu- 
sations against  them. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Vespasian's  reception  at  Rome — Revolt  of  the 
German  legion — The  Samaritans  overrun  Myria, 
but  are  defeated. 

And  now,  Titus  Caesar,  upon  the  news 
that  was  brought  him  concerning  his  fa- 
ther, that  his  coming  was  much  desired  by 
all  the  Italian  cities,  and  that  Rome  espe- 
cially received  him  with  great  alacrity  and 
splendour,  betook  himself  to  rejoicing  and 
pleasures  to  a  great  degree,  as  now  freed 
from  the  solicitude  he  had  been  under, 
after  the  most  agreeable  manner.  For  all 
men  that  were   in  Italy  showed   their  re 


>!b\p.  IV.] 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS. 


8G1 


spects  to  him  in  their  minds,  before  he 
rame  thither,  as  if  he  were  already  come, 
as  esteeming  the  very  expectation  they 
had  of  him  to  be  his  real  presence,  on 
account  of  the  great  desires  they  had  to 
see  him,  and  because  the  good-will  they 
hore  him  was  entirely  free  and  uncon- 
strained ;  for  it  was  a  desirable  thing  to 
the  senate,  who  well  remembered  the  ca- 
lamities they  had  undergone  in  the  late 
changes  of  their  governors,  to  receive  a 
governor  who  was  adorned  with  the  gra- 
vity of  old  age,  and  with  the  highest  skill 
in  the  actions  of  war,  whose  advancement 
would  be,  as  they  knew,  for  nothing  else 
bur  for  the  preservation  of  those  that  were 
to  be  governed.  Moreover,  the  people 
had  been  so  harassed  by  their  civil  mise- 
ries, that  they  were  still  more  earnest  for 
his  coming  immediately,  as  supposing  they 
should  then  be  firmly  delivered  from  their 
calamities,  and  believed  they  should  then 
recover  their  secure  tranquillity  and  pros- 
perity :  and  for  the  soldiery,  they  had  the 
principal  regard  to  him,  for  they  were 
chiefly  apprized  of  his  great  exploits  in 
war;  and  since  they  had  experienced  the 
want  of  skill  and  want  of  courage  in  other 
commanders,  they  were  very  desirous  to 
be  freed  from  that  great  shame  they  had 
undergone  by  their  means,  and  heartily 
wished  to  receive  such  a  prince  as  might 
be  a  security  and  an  ornament  to  them  ; 
and  as  this  good-will  to  Vespasian  was 
universal,  those  that  enjoyed  any  remark- 
able dignities  could  not  have  patience 
enough  to  stay  in  Rome,  but  made  haste 
to  meet  him  at  a  very  great  distance 
from  it;  nay,  indeed,  none  of  the  rest 
could  endure  the  delay  of  seeing  him,  but 
did  all  pour  out  of  the  city  in  such  crowds, 
and  were  so  universally  possessed  with  the 
opinion  that  it  was  easier  and  better  for 
them  to  go  out  than  to  stay  there,  that 
this  was  the  very  first  time  that  the  city 
joyfully  perceived  itself  almost  empty  of 
its  citizens;  for  those  that  stayed  within 
were  fewer  than  those  that  went  out;  but 
as  soon  as  the  news  was  come  that  he  was 
hard  by,  and  those  that  had  met  him  at 
first  related  with  what  good-humour  he 
received  every  one  that  came  to  him,  then 
it  was  that  the  whole  multitude  that  had 
remained  in  the  city,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  came  into  the  road,  and  waited  for 
him  there;  an  1  for  those  whom  he  passed 
by,  they  made  all  sorts  of  acclamations  on 
account  of  the  joy  they  had  to  see  him, 
and  the  pleasantness  of  his  countenance, 


ana  styled  him  their  benefactoi  and  sa- 
viour, and  the  only  person  who  was  wor 
thy  to  be  ruler  of  the  city  of  Rome  ;  ana 
now  the  city  was  like  a  temple,  full  of 
garlands  and  sweet  odours ;  ncr  was  it 
easy  for  him  to  come  to  the  royal  palace 
for  the  multitude  of  people  that  stood 
about  him,  where  yet  at  last  he  performed 
his  sacrifices  of  thanksgivings  to  his  house- 
hold  gods,  for  his  safe  return  to  the  city 
The  multitude  did  also  betake  themselves 
to  feasting;  which  feasts  and  drink-offer- 
ings they  celebrated  by  their  tribes  and 
their  families  and  their  neighbourhoods, 
and  still  prayed  God  to  grant  that  Vespa- 
sian, his  sons,  and  all  their  posterity, 
might  continue  in  the  Roman  government 
for  a  very  long  time,  and  that  his  domi- 
nion might  be  preserved  from  all  opposi- 
tion. And  this  was  the  manner  in  which 
Rome  so  joyfully  received  Vespasian,  and 
thence  grew  immediately  into  a  state  of 
great  prosperity. 

But  before  this  time,  and  while  Vespa- 
sian was  about  Alexandria,  and  Titus  was 
lying  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  a  great 
multitude  of  the  Germans  were  in  com- 
motion, aud  tended  to  rebellion ;  and  as 
the  Gauls  in  their  neighbourhood  joined 
with  them,  they  conspired  together,  and 
had  thereby  great  hopes  of  success,  and 
that  they  should  free  themselves  from  the 
dominion  of  the  Romans.  The  motives 
that  induced  the  Germans  to  this  attempt 
for  a  revolt,  and  for  beginning  the  war, 
were  these  : — In  the  first  place,  the  nature 
[of  the  people],  which  was  destitute  of 
just  reasonings,  and  ready  to  throw  them- 
selves rashly  into  danger  upon  small 
hopes ;  in  the  next  place,  the  hatred  they 
bore  to  those  that  were  their  governors, 
while  their  nation  had  never  been  con- 
scious of  subjection  to  any  but  to  the  Ro- 
maus,  and  that  by  compulsion  only.  Be- 
sides these  motives,  it  wTas  the  opportunity 
that  now  offered  itself,  which,  above  all 
the  rest,  prevailed  with  them  so  to  do ; 
for  when  they  saw  the  Roman  govern- 
ment in  a  great  internal  disorder,  by  the 
continual  changes  of  its  rulers,  and  un- 
derstood that  every  part  of  the  habitable 
earth  under  them  was  in  an  unsettled  and 
tottering  condition,  they  thought  this  was 
the  best  opportunity  that  could  afford  it- 
self for  themselves  to  make  a  sedition, 
when  the  state  of  the  Romans  was  so  ill. 
Clussicus  also,  and  Vitellius,  two  of  their 
commanders,  'puffed  them  up  with  such 
hopes.     These  had   for  a  lon^  time  been 


882 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book  VIi. 


'•penly  desirous  of  such  an  innovation,  and 
were  inducec  by  the  present  opportunity  to 
venture  upon  the  declaration  of  their  sen- 
timents; toe  multitude  was  also  ready; 
and  when  these  men  told  them  of  what 
they  intended  to  attempt,  that  news  was 
qfladly  received  by  them.  So  when  a 
great  part  of  the  Germans  had  agreed  to 
rebel,  and  the  rest  were  no  better  dis- 
posed, Vespasian,  as  guided  by  Divine 
Providence,  sent  letters  to  Petilius  Cerea- 
lis,  who  had  formerly  had  the  command 
of  Germany,  whereby  he  declared  him  to 
have  the  dignity  of  consul,  and  com- 
manded him  to  take  upon  him  the  govern- 
ment of  Britain ;  so  he  went  whither  he 
was  ordered  to  go,  and,  when  he  was  in- 
formed of  the  revolt  of  the  Germans,  he 
fell  upon  them  as  soon  as  they  were  got- 
ten together,  and  put  his  army  into  bat- 
tle-array, and  slew  a  great  multitude  of 
them  in  the  fight,  and  forced  them  to 
leave  off  their  madness,  and  to  grow  wiser; 
nay,  had  he  not  fallen  thus  suddenly  upon 
them  on  the  place,  it  had  not  been  long 
ere  they  would,  however,  have  been 
brought  to  punishment ;  for  as  soon  as 
ever  the  news  of  their  revolt  was  come  to 
Home,  and  Co9sar  Domitian  was  made 
acquainted  with  it,  he  made  no  delay  even 
at  that  his  age,  when  he  was  exceeding 
young,  but  undertook  this  weighty  affair. 
He  had  a  courageous  mind,  from  his  fa- 
ther, and  had  made  greater  improvements 
than  belonged  to  such  an  a^e ;  accordingly 
he  marched  against  the  barbarians  imme- 
diately ;  whereupon  their  hearts  failed 
them  at  the  rumour  of  his  approach,  and 
they  submitted  themselves  to  him  with 
fear,  and  thought  it  a  happy  thing  that 
they  were  brought  under  their  old  yoke 
again  without  suffering  any  further  mis- 
chief. When,  therefore,  Domitian  had 
settled  all  the  affairs  of  Gaul  in  such  good 
order,  that  it  would  not  be  easily  put  into 
disorder  any  more,  he  returned  to  Home 
with  honour  and  glory,  as  having  per- 
formed such  exploits  as  were  above  his 
own  age,  and  worthy  of  such  a  father. 

At  the  very  same  time  with  the  before- 
mentioned  revolt  of  the  Germans,  did  the 
bold  attempt  of  the  Scythians  against  the 
Romans  occur;  for  those  Scythians  who 
are  called  Sarmatians,  being  a  very  nu- 
merous people,  transported  themselves 
over  the  Danube  into  Mysia,  without  being 
perceived :  after  which,  by  their  violence, 
and  entirely  unexpected  assault,  they  slew 
a  great  many  of  the  Romans  that  guarded 


the  frontiers ;  and  as  the  consular  legate, 
Fonteius  Agrippa,  came  to  meet  them,  and 
fought  courageously  against  them,  he  was 
slain  by  them.  They  then  overran  all  the 
region  that  had  been  subject  to  him,  tear- 
ing and  rending  every  thing  that  fell  in 
their  way;  but  when  Vespasian  was  in- 
formed of  what  had  happened,  and  how 
Mysia  was  laid  waste,  he  sent  away 
Rubrius  Galsus  to  punish  these  Sarma- 
tians; by  whose  means  many  of  then" 
perished  in  the  battles  he  fought  against 
them,  and  that  part  which  escaped  fled 
with  fear  to  their  own  country.  So  when 
this  general  had  put  an  end  to  the  war,  he 
provided  for  the  future  security  of  the 
country  also;  for  he  placed  more  and  more 
numerous  garrisons  in  the  place,  till  he 
made  it  altogether  impossible  for  the  bar- 
barians to  pass  over  the  river  any  more; 
and  thus  had  this  war  in  Mysia  a  sudden 
conclusion. 

CHAPTER  V. 

An  account  of  the  Sabbatic  River — The  Antiochians 
petition  Titus  against  the  Jews,  but  are  rejected — 
Description  of  the  triumphal  shows  of  Vespasian 
and  Titus. 

Now,  Titus  Caesar  tarried  some  time  at 
Berytus,  as  we  told  you  before.  He  thence 
removed,  and  exhibited  magnificent  shows 
in  all  those  cities  of  Syria  through  which 
he  went,  and  made  use  of  the  captive  Jews 
as  public  instances  of  the  destruction  of 
that  nation.  He  then  saw  a  river  as  he 
went  along,  of  such  a  nature  as  deserves  to 
be  recorded  in  history;  it  runs  in  the 
middle  between  Arcea,  belonging  to 
Agrippa's  kingdom,  and  Raphanea.  It 
hath  somewhat  very  peculiar  in  it;  for 
when  it  runs,  its  current  is  strong,  and 
has  plenty  of  water ;  after  which  its  springs 
fail  for  six  days  together,  and  leave  its 
channels  dry,  as  any  one  may  see ;  after 
which  days  it  runs  on  the  seventh  day  as 
it  did  before,  and  as  though  it  had  under- 
gone no  change  at  all :  it  hath  also  been 
observed  to  keep  this  order  perpetually  and 
exactly;  whence  it  is  that  they  call  it  the 
Sabbatic  River,  -that  name  being  taken 
from  the  sacred  seventh  day  among  the 
Jews. 

But  when  the  people  of  Antioch  were 
informed  that  Titus  was  approaching,  they 
were  so  glad  at  it,  that  they  could  not 
keep  within  their  walls,  but  hastened 
away  to  give  him  the  meeting;  nay,  they 
proceeded  as  far  as  thirty  furlongs,  and 
more,   with   that  intention.     These  were 


CHA.P.   V.] 


WARS    OF    THE    JEWS. 


863 


not  the  men  only,  but  a  multitude  of  wo- 
men also,  with  their  children,  did  the 
same;  and  when  they  saw  him  coming  up 
to  them,  they  stood  on  both  sides  of  the 
way,  and  stretched  out  their  right  hands, 
saluting,  and  making  all  sorts  of  acclama- 
tions to  him,  and  turned  back  together  with 
him .  They  also,  among  all  the  acclamations 
they  made  to  him,  besought  him  all  the 
way  they  went,  to  eject  the  Jews  out  of 
their  city ;  yet  did  not  Titus  at  all  yield 
to  this  their  petition,  but  gave  them  the 
bare  hearing  of  it  quietly.  However,  the 
Jews  were  in  a  great  deal  of  terrible  fear, 
under  the  uncertainty  they  were  in  what 
his  opinion  was,  and  what  he  would  do  to 
them  ;  for  Titus  did  not  stay  at  Antioch, 
but  continued  his  progress  immediately 
to  Zeugma,  which  lies  upon  the  Euphrates, 
whither  came  to  him  messengers  from 
Vologeses,  king  of  Parthia,  and  brought 
him  a  crown  of  gold  upon  the  victory  he 
had  gained  over  the  Jews;  which  he 
accepted  cf,  and  feasted  the  king's  mes- 
sengers, and  then  came  back  to  Antioch. 
And  when  the  senate  and  people  of  An- 
tioch earnestly  entreated  him  -.to  come 
upon  their  theatre,  where  their  whole 
multitude  was  assembled,  and  expected 
him,  he  complied  with  great  humauify; 
but  when  they  pressed  him  with  much 
earnestness,  and  continually  begged  of 
him,  that  he  would  eject  the  Jews  out  of 
their  city,  he  gave  them  this  very  perti- 
nent answer  : — u  How  can  this  be  done, 
since  that  country  of  theirs,  whither  the 
Jews  must  be  obliged  then  to  retire,  is 
destroyed,  and  no  place  will  receive  them 
besides?"  Whereupon  the  people  of  An- 
tioch, when  they  had  failed  of  success  in 
this  their  first  request,  made  him  a  second  ; 
for  they  desired  that  he  would  order  those 
tables  of  brass  to  be  removed,  on  which 
the  Jews'  privileges  were  engraven.  How- 
ever, Titus  would  not  grant  that  neither, 
but  permitted  the  Jews  of  Antioch  to 
continue  to  enjoy  the  very  same  privileges 
in  that  city  which  they  had  before,  and 
then  departed  for  Egypt ;  and  as  he  came 
to  Jerusalem  in  his  progress,  and  com- 
pared the  melancholy  condition  he  saw  it 
then  in,  with  tiie  ancient  glory  of  the  city, 
and  called  to  mind  the  greatness  of  its 
present  ruins,  as  well  as  its  ancient  splen- 
dour, he  could  not  but  pity  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city,  so  far  was  he  from  boast- 
ing that  so  great  and  goodly  a  city  as  that 
was  had  been  by  him  taken  by  force ; 
nay,  he  frequently  cursed   those  that  had 


been  the  authors  of  their  revolt,  and  had 
brought  such  a  punishment  upon  the  city ; 
insomuch  that  it  only  appeared  that  he 
did  not  desire  that  such  a  calamity  as  this 
punishment  of  theirs  amounted  to  should 
be  a  demonstration  of  his  courage.  Yet 
was  there  no  small  quantity  of  the  riches 
that  had  been  in  that  city  still  found 
among  its  ruins,  a  great  deal  of  which  the 
Romans  dug  up;  but  the  greatest  part 
was  discovered  by  those  who  were  captives, 
and  so  they  carred  it  away ;  I  mean  the 
gold  and  silver;  and  the  rest  of  that  most 
precious  furniture  which  the  Jews  had, 
and  which  the  owners  had  treasured  up 
under  ground,  against  the  uncertain  for- 
tunes of  war. 

So  Titus  took  the  journey  he  intended 
into  Egypt,  and  passed  over  the  desert 
very  suddenly,  and  came  to  Alexandria, 
and  took  up  a  resolution  to  go  to  Rome 
by  sea.  And  as  he  was  accompanied  by 
two  legions,  he  sent  each  of  them  again  to 
the  places  whence  they  had  before  come ; 
the  fifth  he  sent  to  Mysia ;  and  the  fif- 
teenth to  Pannouia :  as  for  the  leaders  of 
the  captives,  Simon  and  John,  with  the 
other  700  men,  whom  he  had  selected  out 
of  the  rest  as  being  eminently  tall  and 
handsome  of  body,  he  gave  order  that  they 
should  be  soon  carried  to  Italy,  as  resolv- 
ing to  produce  them  in  his  triumph.  So 
when  he  had  had  a  prosperous  voyage  to 
his  mind,  the  city  of  Home  behaved  itself 
in  his  reception,  and  their  meeting  him  lit 
a  distance,  as  it  did  in  the  case  of  hii 
father.  But  what  made  the  most  spleu  j.id 
appearance  in  Titus's  opinion  was,  when 
his  father  met  him,  and  received  him;  but 
still  the  .  multitude  of  the  citizens  con- 
ceived the  greatest  joy  when  they  savr 
them  all  three  together,*  as  they  did  at 
this  time:  nor  were  many  days  overpast 
when  they  determined  to  have  but  on6 
triumph,  that  should  be  cemmon  to  roth 
of  them,  on  account  of  the  glorious  exp.'oits 
they  had  performed,  although  the  senate 
had  decreed  each  of  them  a  separate  tri- 
umph by  himself.  So  when  notice  had 
been  given  beforehand  of  the  day  appc  inted 
for  this  pompous  solemnity  to  be  made,  on 
account  of  their  victories,  not  one  cf  the 
immense  multitude  was  left  iu  the  city, 
but  everybody  went  out  so  far  as  to  gain 
only  a  station  where  they  might  stand, 
and  left  only  such  a  passage  as  was  neces- 


*  Vespasi&B  and  his  two  sons,  Titus  and  Dorai 
tian. 


864 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  Vil 


sary  for  those  that  were  to  oe  seen  to  go 
along  it. 

Now  all  the  soldiery  marched  out  be- 
forehand by  companies,  and  in  their  seve- 
ral ranks,  under  their  several  commanders, 
in  the  night-time,  and  were  about  the 
gates,  not  of  the  upper  palaces,  but  those 
near  the  temple  of  Isis;  for  there  it  was 
that  the  emperory  had  rested  the  foregoing 
night.  And  as  soon  as  ever  it  was  day, 
Vespasian  and  Titus  came  out,  crowned 
with  laurel,  and  clothed  in  those  ancient 
purple  habits  whifh  were  proper  to  their 
family,  and  then  ^ent  as  far  as  Octavian's 
Walks ;  for  there  it  was  that  the  senate, 
and  the  principal  rulers,  and  those  that 
had  been  recorded  as  of  the  equestriau 
order,  waited  for  them.  Now  a  tribuual 
had  been  erected  before  the  cloisters,  and 
ivory  chairs  had  been  set  upon  it,  when 
they  came  and  sat  down  upon  them. 
Whereupon  the  soldiery  made  an  acclama- 
tion of  joy  to  them  immediately,  and  all 
gave  thein  attestations  of  their  valour; 
while  they  were  themselves  without  their 
arms,  and  only  in  their  silkeu  garments, 
and  crowned  with  laurel :  then  Vespasian 
accepted  of  these  shouts  of  theirs;  but 
while  they  were  still  disposed  to  go  on  in 
such  acclamations,  he  gave  them  a  signal 
of  silence.  And  when  everybody  entirely 
held  their  peace,  he  stood  up,  and  cover- 
ing the  greatest  part  of  his  head  with  his 
cloak,  he  put  up  the  accustomed  solemn 
prayers  ;  the  like  prayers  did  Titus  put  up 
also  ;  after  which  prayers  Vespasian  made 
a  short  speech  to  all  the  people,  and  then 
sent  away  the  soldiers  to  a  dinner  pre- 
pared for  them  by  the  emperors.  Then 
did  he  retire  to  that  gate  which  was  called 
the  Gate  of  the  Pomp,  because  pompous 
shows  do  always  go  through  that  gate; 
there  it  was  that  they  tasted  some  food; 
and  when  they  had  put  on  their  triumphal 
garments,  and  had  offered  sacrifices  to  the 
gods  that  were  placed  at  the  gate,  they 
sent  the  triumph  forward,  and  marched 
through  the  theatres,  that  they  might  the 
more  easily  be  seen  by  the  multitude. 

Now  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the 
multitude  of  the  shows  as  they  deserve, 
and  the  magnificence  of  them  all;  such 
mdeed  as  a  man  could  not  easily  think  of 
as  performed  either  by  the  labour  of  work- 
men, or  the  variety  of  riches,  or  the  rari- 
ties of  nature  ;  for  almost  all  such  curiosi- 
ties as  the  most  happy  men  ever  get  by 
piecemeal  were    here    heaped    one    upon 


another,  and  those  both  admirable  and 
costly  in  their  nature;  and  all  brought 
together  on  that  day,  demonstrated  the 
vastness  of  the  dormuions  of  the  Romans; 
for  there  was  here  to  be  seen  a  mighty 
quantity  of  silver  and  gold  and  ivory,  con- 
trived into  all  sorts  of  things,  and  did  not 
appear  as  carried  along  in  pompous  show 
only,  but,  as  a  man  may  say,  ruuuing 
along  like  a  river.  Some  parts  were  com- 
posed of  the  rarest  purple  hangings,  and 
so  carried  along ;  and  others  accurately 
represented  to  the  life  what  was  embroid- 
ered by  the  arts  of  the  Babylonians. 
There  were  also  precious  stones  that  were 
transparent,  some  set  in  crowns  of  gold, 
and  some  in  other  ouches,  as  the  workmen 
pleased  ;  and  of  these  such  a  vast  number 
were  brought,  that  we  could  not  but  thence 
learn  how  vainly  we  imagined  any  of  them 
to  be  rarities.  The  images  of  the  gods 
were  also  carried,  beiug  as  well  wonderful 
for  their  largeness,  as  made  very  artifi- 
cially, and  with  great  skill  of  the  work- 
men ;  nor  were  any  of  these  images  of  any 
other  than  very  costly  materials ;  and 
many  species  of  animals  were  brought, 
every  one  in  their  own  natural  ornaments. 
The  men  also  who  brought  every  one  of 
these  shows  were  great  multitudes,  and 
adorned  with  purple  garments,  all  over 
interwoven  with  gold ;  those  that  were 
chosen  for  carrying  these  pompous  shows, 
having  also  about  them  such  magnificent 
ornaments  as  were  both  extraordinary  and 
surprising.  Besides  these,  one  might  see 
that  even  the  great  number  of  the  cap- 
tives was  not  unadorned,  while  the  variety 
that  was  in  their  garments,  and  their  fine 
texture,  concealed  from  the  sight  the  de- 
formity of  their  bodies.  But  what  afforded 
the  greatest  surprise  of  all,  was  the  struc- 
ture of  the  pageants  that  were  borne  along; 
for,  indeed,  he  that  met  them,  could  not 
but  be  afraid  that  the  bearers  would  not 
be  able  firmly  enough  to  support  them, 
such  was  their  magnitude ;  for  many  of 
them  were  so  made  that  they  were  on 
three  or  even  four  stories,  one  above  an- 
other. The  magnificence  also  of  their 
structure  afforded  one  both  pleasure  and 
surprise;  for  upon  many  of  them  were 
laid  carpets  of  gold.  There  was  also 
wrought  gold  and  ivory  fastened  about 
them  all :  and  many  resemblances  of  the 
war,  and  those  in  several  ways,  and 
variety  of  contrivances,  affording  a  most 
lively    portraiture    of    itself;     for    there 


Ciiap.  V.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


865 


was  to  be  seen  a  happy  country  laid 
waste,  and  entire  squadrons  of  enemies 
slain  ;  while  some  of  them  ran  away,  and 
some  were  carried  into  captivity;  with 
walls  of  great  altitude  and  magnitude 
overthrown,  and  ruined  by  machines  ;  with 
the  strongest  fortifications  taken,  and  the 
walls  of  most  populous  cities  upon  the 
tops  of  hills  seized  on,  and  an  army  pour- 
ing itself  within  the  walls  ;  as  also  every 
place  fall  of  slaughter  and  supplications 
of  the  enemies,  when  they  were  no  longer 
able  to  lift  their  hands  in  way  of  opposi- 
tion. Fire  also  sent  upon  temples  was 
here  represented,  and  houses  overthrown 
and  falling  upon  their  owners ;  rivers  also, 
after  they  came  out  of  a  large  and  melan- 
choly desert,  ran  down,  not  into  a  land 
cultivated,  nor  as  drink  for  men,  or  for 
cattle,  but  through  a  land  still  on  fire 
upon  every  side ;  for  the  Jews  related 
that  such  a  thing  they  had  undergone 
during  this  war.  Now  the  workmanship 
of  these  representations  was  so  magnifi- 
cent and  lively  in  the  construction  of  the 
things,  that  it  exhibited  what  had  been 
lone  to  such  as  did  not  see  it,  as  if 
they  had  been  there  really  present.  On 
the  top  of  every  one  of  these  pageants 
was  placed  the  commander  of  the  city 
that  was  taken,  and  the  manner  wherein  he 
was  taken.  Moreover,  there  followed  those 
pageants  a  great  number  of  ships  ;  and  for 
the  other  spoils,  they  were  carried  in  great 
Dlenty.  But  for  those  that  were  taken  in 
„he  temple  of  Jerusalem,  they  made  the 
greatest  figure  of  them  all ;  that  is,  the 
goideu  table  of  the  weight  of  many  ta- 
lents ;  the  candlestick  also,  that  was  made 
of  gold,  though  its  construction  were  now 
changed  from  that  which  we  made  use  of: 
for  its  middle  shaft  was  fixed  upon  a  basis, 
and  the  small  branches  were  produced  out 
of  it  to  a  great  length,  having  the  like- 
ness of  a  trident  in  their  position,  and 
had  every  one  a  socket  made  of  brass  for 
a  lamp  at  the  tops  of  them.  These  lamps 
were  in  number  seven,  and  represented 
the  dignity  of  the  number  seven  among 
the  Jews;  and  the  last  of  all  the  spoils 
was  carried  t he  law  of  the  Jews.  After 
these  spoils  passed  by  a  great  many  men, 
carrying  the  images  of  Victory,  whose 
structure  was  entirely  either  of  ivory  or 
of  gold.  After  which  Vespasian  marched 
in  the  first  place,  and  Titus  followed  him; 
Domitian  also  rode  along  with  them,  and 
ma  >e  a  glorious  appearance,  aud  rode 
55 


on  a  horse  that   was  worthy    of  admira- 
tion. 

Now  the  last  part  of  this  pompous  show 
was  at  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus, 
whither  when  they  were  come,  they  stood 
still;  for  it  was  the  Romans'  ancient  cus- 
tom to  stay  till  somebody  brought  the 
news  that  the  general  of  the  enemy  was 
slain.  This  general  was  Simon,  the  son 
of  Gioras,  who  had  then  been  led  in  this 
triumph  among  the  captives;  a  rope  had 
also  been  put  upon  his  head,  and  he  had 
been  drawn  into  a  proper  place  in  the 
forum,  and  had  withal  been  tormented  by 
those  that  drew  him  along;  and  the  law 
of  the  Romans  required  that  malefactors 
condemned  to  die  should  be  slain  there. 
Accordingly,  when  it  was  related  that 
there  was  an  end  of  him,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple had  set  up  a  shout  for  joy,  they  then 
began  to  offer  those  sacrifices  which  they 
had  consecrated,  in  the  prayers  used  in 
such  solemnities;  which  when  they  had 
finished,  they  went  away  to  the  palace. 
And  as  for  some  of  the  spectators,  the  em- 
perors entertained  them  at  their  own  feast; 
and  for  all  the  rest  there  were  noble  pre- 
parations made  for  their  feasting  at  home; 
for  this  was  a  festival  day  to  the  city  of 
Rome,  as  celebrated  for  the  victory  ob- 
tained by  their  army  over  their  enemies, 
for  the  end  that  was  now  put  to  their  civil 
miseries,  and  for  the  commencement  of 
their  hopes  of  future  prosperity  and  hap- 
piness. 

After  these  triumphs  were  over,  and  af- 
ter the  affairs  of  the  Romans  were  settled 
on  the  surest  foundations,  Vespasian  re- 
solved to  build  a  temple  to  Peace,  which 
he  finished  in  so  short  a  time,  and  in  so 
glorious  a  manner,  as  was  bej'ond  all  hu- 
man expectations  and  opinion  :  for  he  hav- 
ing now  by  Providence  a  vast  quantity  of 
wealth,  besides  what  he  had  formerly 
gained  in  his  other  exploits,  he  had  this 
temple  adorned  with  pictures  aud  statues; 
for  in  this  temple  were  collected  and  de- 
posited all  such  rarities  a3  men  aforetime 
used  to  wander  all  over  the  habitable 
world  to  see,  when  they  had  a  desire  to 
see  them  one  after  auother :  he  also  laid 
up  therein,  as  ensigns  of  his  glory,  those 
golden  vessels  and  instruments  that  were 
taken  out  of  the  Jewish  temple.  But  still 
he  gave  order  that  they  should  lay  up  their 
law,  and  the  purple  vails  of  the  holy  place, 
in  the  royal  palace  itself,  and  keep  them 
there 


$6$ 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The   city   Maeherus — Luoilius    Bassus   takes   the 
citadel  and  other  places. 

Now  Lucilius  Bassus  was  sent  as  legate 
into  Judea,  and  there  he  received  the  army 
from  Cerealis  Vitellius,  and  took  that 
citadel  which  was  in  Herodium,  together 
^  with  the  garrison  that  was  in  it ;  after 
which  he  got  together  all  the  soldiery  that 
was  there,  (which  was  a  large  body,  but 
dispersed  into  several  parties,)  with  the 
tenth  legion,  and  resolved  to  make  war 
upon  Maeherus;  for  it  was  highly  neces- 
sary that  this  citadel  should  be  demolished, 
lest  it  might  be  a  means  of  drawing  away 
many  into  a  rebellion,  by  reason  of  its 
strength  ;  for  the  nature  of  the  place  was 
very  capable  of  affording  the  surest  hopes 
of  safety  to  those  that  possessed  it,  as  well 
as  delay  and  fear  to  those  that  should  at- 
tack it;  for  what  was  walled  in  was  itself 
a  very  rocky  hill,  elevated  to  a  very  great 
height;  which  circumstance  alone  made  it 
very  hard  to  be  subdued.  It  was  also  so 
contrived  by  nature,  that  it  could  not  be 
easily  ascended ;  for  it  is,  as  it  were, 
ditched  about  with  such  valleys  on  all 
sides,  and  to  such  a  depth,  that  the  eye 
cannot  reach  their  bottoms,  and  such  as 
are  not  easily  to  be  passed  over,  and  even 
such  as  it  is  impossible  to  fill  up  with 
earth ;  for  that  valley  which  cuts  it  on 
the  west,  extends  to  threescore  furlongs, 
and  did  not  end  till  it  came  to  the  lake 
Asphaltitis;  on  the  same  side  it  was  also 
that  Maeherus  had  the  tallest  top  of  its 
hill  elevated  above  the  rest.  But  then  for 
the  valleys  that  lay  on  the  north  and  south 
sides,  although  they  are  not  so  large  as 
that  already  described,  yet  is  it  in  like 
manner  an  impracticable  thing  to  think  of 
getting  over  them  ;  and  for  the  valley  that 
lies  on  the  east  side,  its  depth  is  found  to 
be  no  less  than  100  cubits.  It  extends  as 
far  as  a  mountain  that  lies  over  against 
Maeherus,  with  which  it  is  bounded. 

Now,  when  Alexander  [Janneus],  the 
king  of  the  Jews,  observed  the  nature  of 
this  place,  he  was  the  first  who  built  a 
citadel  here,  which  afterward  was  demo- 
lished by  G-abinius,  when  he  made  war 
against  Aristobulus;  but,  when  Herod 
jame  to  be  king,  he  thought  the  place  to 
be  worthy  of  the  utmost  regard,  and  of 
being  built  upon  in  the  firmest  manner, 
and  this  especially  because  it  lay  so  near 
to  Arabia ;  for  it  is  seated  in  a  convenient 
place  on  that  account,  and  hath  a  prospect 


toward  that  country;  he  therefore  sur- 
rounded a  large  space  of  ground  with 
walls  and  towers,  and  built  a  city  there, 
out  of  which  city  there  was  a  way  that 
led  up  to  the  very  citadel  itself  on  the  top 
of  the  mountain;  nay,  more  than  this, 
he  built  a  wall  round  that  top  of  the  hill, 
and  erected  towers  at  the  corners,  of  160 
cubits  high;  in  the  middle  of  which  place 
he  built  a  palace,  after  a  magnificent 
manner,  wherein  were  large  and  beautiful 
edifices.  He  also  made  a  great  many  re- 
servoirs for  the  reception  of  water,  that 
there  might  be  plenty  of  it  ready  for  all 
uses,  and  those  in  the  most  proper  places 
that  were  afforded  him  there.  Thus  did 
he,  as  it  were,  contend  with  the  nature 
of  the  place,  that  he  might  exceed  its 
natural  strength  and  security  (which  yet 
itself  rendered  it  hard  to  be  taken)  by 
those  fortifications  which  were  made  by 
the  hands  of  men.  Moreover,  he  put  a 
large  quantity  of  darts  and  other  ma- 
chines of  war  into  it,  and  contrived  to  get 
every  thing  thither  that  might  any  way 
contribute  to  its  inhabitants'  security, 
under  the  longest  siege  possible. 

Now,  within  this  place  there  grew  a 
sort  of  rue.  that  deserves  our  wonder  on 
account  of  its  largeness,  for  it  was  noway 
inferior  to  any  fig-tree  whatsoever,  either 
in  height  or  in  thickness;  and  the  repor* 
is,  that  it  had  lasted  ever  since  the  tim 
of  Herod,  and  would  probably  have  laste« 
much  longer,  had  it  not  been  cut  down 
by  those  Jews  who  took  possession  of  the 
place  afterward ;  but  still  in  that  valley 
which  encompasses  the  city  on  the  north 
side,  there  is  a  certain  place  called  Baaras, 
which  produces  a  root  of  the  same  name 
with  itself;*  its  colour  is  like  to  that  of 
flame,  and  toward  the  evening  it  sends 
out  a  certain  ray  like  lightning  :  it  is  not 
easily  taken  by  such  as  would  do  it,  but 
recedes  from  their  hands,  nor  will  yield 
itself  to  be  taken  quietly,  uotil  either  the 
urine  of  a  woman,  or  blood,  be  poured 
upon  it ;  nay,  even  then  it  is  certain 
death  to  those  that  touch  it,  unless  any 
one  take  and  hang  the  root  itself  down 
from  his  hand,  and  so  carry  it  away.  It 
may  also  be  taken  another  way,  without 
danger,  which  is  this  :   they  dig  a  trench 


*  This  strange  account  of  the  place  and  root 
Baaras  seems  to  have  been  taken  from  the  magi- 
cians, and  the  root  to  have  been  made  use  of,  in  the 
days  of  Josephus,  in  that  suporstitious  way  of  cast- 
ing out  demons,  supposed  by  him  to  have  beer 
derived  from  King  Solomon. 


Jhap.  VI.] 


WARS   OF    THE   JEWS. 


867 


quite  round  about  it,  till  the  hidden  part 
of  the  root  be  rery  small,  they  then  tie  a 
dog  to  it,  and.  when  the  dog  tries  hard  to 
follow  him  that  tied  him,  this  root  is 
easily  plucked  up,  but  the  dog  dies  imme- 
diately, as  if  it  were  instead  of  the  man 
that  would  take  the  plant  away;  nor  after 
this  need  any  one  be  afraid  of  taking  it 
into  their  hands.  Yet,  after  all  this  pains 
in  getting,  it  is  only  valuable  on  account 
of  one  virtue  it  hath,  that  if  it  be  only 
brought  to  sick  persons,  it  quickly  drives 
away  those  called  demons,  which  are  no 
other  than  the  spirits  of  the  wicked,  that 
enter  into  any  men  that  are  alive  and  kill 
them,  unless  they  can  obtain  some  help 
against  them.  Here  are  also  fountains 
of  hot  water  that  flow  out  of  this  place, 
which  have  a  very  different  taste  one  from 
the  other;  for  some  of  them  are  bitter, 
and  others  of  them  are  plainly  sweet. 
Here  are  also  many  eruptions  of  cold 
waters,  and  this  not  only  in  the  places 
that  lie  lower,  and  have  their  fountains 
near  one  another,  but  what  is  still  more 
wonderful,  here  is  to  be  seen  a  certain  cave 
hard  by,  whose  cavity  is  not  deep,  but  it 
is  covered  over  by  a  rock  that  is  promi- 
nent :  above  this  rock  there  stand  up  two 
[hills  or]  breasts,  as  it  were,  but  a  little 
distant  one  from  another,  the  one  of  which 
sends  out  a  fountain  that  is  very  cold,  and 
the  other  sends  out  one  that  is  very  hot; 
which  waters,  when  they  are  mingled  to- 
gether, compose  a  most  pleasant  bath; 
they  are  medicinal  indeed  for  other  mala- 
dies, but  especially  good  for  strengthening 
the  nerves.  This  place  has  in  it  also 
mines  of  sulphur  and  alum. 

Now,  when  Bassus  had  taken  a  full 
view  of  the  place,  he  resolved  to  besiege 
it  by  filling  up  the  valley  that  lay  on  the 
east  side;  so  he  fell  hard  to  work,  and 
took  great  pains  to  raise  his  banks  so  soon 
as  possible,  and  by  that  means  to  render 
the  siege  easy.  As  for  the  Jews  that  were 
caught  in  this  place,  they  separated  them- 
selves from  the  strangers  that  were  with 
them,  and  they  forced  those  strangers,  as 
an  otherwise  useless  multitude,  to  stay  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  undergo 
the  principal  dangers,  while  they  them- 
selves seized  on  the  upper  citadel,  and 
held  it,  and  this  both  on  account  of  its 
strength,  and  to  provide  for  their  own 
safety.  They  also  supposed  they  might 
obtain  their  pardon,  in  case  they  should 
at  last  surrender  the  citadel.  However, 
they  were   willing   to  make   trial,  in   the 


first  place,  whether  the  hopes  they  had  of 
avoiding  a  siege  would  come  to  any  thing; 
with  which  intention  they  made  sallies 
every  day,  and  fought  with  those  that  met 
them ;  in  which  conflicts  they  were  many 
of  them  slain,  as  they  therein  slew  many 
of  the  Romans;  but ^still  it  was  the  op- 
portunities that  presented  themselves, 
which  chiefly  gained  both  sides  their  vic- 
tories; these  were  gained  by  the  Jewsr 
when  they  fell  upon  the  Romans  as  they 
were  off  their  guard ;  but  by  the  Romans, 
when,  upon  the  others'  sallies  against 
their  banks,  they  foresaw  their  coming, 
and  were  upon  their  guard  when  they 
received  them;  but  the  conclusion  of  this 
siege  did  not  depend  upon  these  bicker- 
ings; but  a  certain  surprising  accident, 
relating  to  what  was  done  in  this  siege, 
forced  the  Jews  to  surrender  the  citadel. 
There  was  a  certain  young  man  among 
the  besieged,  of  great  boldness,  and  very 
active  of  his  hand,  his  name  was  Eleazar; 
he  greatly  signalized  himself  in  those  sal- 
lies, and  encouraged  the  Jews  to  go  out 
in  great  numbers,  in  order  to  hinder  the 
raising  of  the  banks,  and  did  the  Romans 
a  vast  deal  of  mischief  when  they  came 
to  fighting;  he  so  managed  matters,  that 
those  who  sallied  out  made  their  attacks 
easily,  and  returned  back  without  danger, 
and  this  by  still  bringing  up  the  rear  him- 
self. Now  it  happened,  that,  on  a  certain 
time  when  the  fight  was  over,  and  both 
sides  were  parted,  and  retired  home,  he, 
in  way  of  contempt  of  the  enemy,  and 
thinking  that  none  of  them  would  begin 
the  fight  again  at  that  time,  stayed  with- 
out the  gates,  and  talked  with  those  that 
were  upon  the  wall,  and  his  mind  was 
wholly  intent  upon  what  they  said.  Now 
a  certain  person  belonging  to  the  Roman 
camp,  whose  name  was  Rufus,  by  birth 
an  Egyptian,  ran  upon  him  suddenly, 
when  nobody  expected  such  a  thing,  and 
carried  him  off  with  his  armour  itself; 
while,  in  the  mean  time,  those  that  saw  it 
from  the  wall  were  under  such  an  amaze- 
ment, that  Rufus  prevented  their  assist- 
ance, and  carried  Eleazar  to  the  Roman 
camp.  So  the  general  of  the  Romans 
ordered  that  he  should  be  taken  up  naked, 
set  before  the  city  to  be  seen,  and  sorely 
whipped  before  their  eyes.  Upon  this 
sad  accident  that  befell  the  young  man, 
the  Jews  were  terribly  confounded,  and  the 
city,  with  one  voice,  sorely  lamented  him, 
ami  the  mourning  proved  greater  than 
could  well  be  supposed  upon  the  calamity 


863 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


Book  VII 


of  a  single  person.  When  Bassus  per- 
ceived that,  he  began  to  think  of  using  a 
stratagem  against  the  enemy,  and  was  de- 
sirous to  aggravate  their  grief,  in  order  to 
prevail  with  them  to  surrender  the  city 
for  the  preservation  of  that  man.  Nor 
did  he  fail  of  his  hope;  for  he  commanded 
them  to  set  up  a  cross,  as  if  he  were  just 
going  to  hang  Eleazar  upon  it  immedi- 
ately :  the  sight  of  this  occasioned  a  sore 
grief  among  those  that  were  in  the  cita- 
del, and  they  groaned  vehemently,  and 
cried  out  that  they  could  not  bear  to  see 
him  thus  destroyed.  Whereupon  Eleazar 
besought  them  not  to  disregard  him,  now 
he  was  going  to  suffer  a  most  miserable 
death,  and  exhorted  them  to  save  them- 
selves, by  yielding  to  the  Roman  power 
and  good  fortune,  since  all  other  people 
were  now  conquered  by  them.  These 
men  were  greatly  moved  with  what  he 
said,  there  being  also  many  within  the 
city  that  interceded  for  him,  because  he 
was  of  an  eminent  and  very  numerous 
family  ;  so  they  now  yielded  to  their  pas- 
sion of  commiseration,  contrary  to  their 
usual  custom.  Accordingly  they  sent  out 
immediately  certain  messengers,  and  treat- 
ed wiih  the  Romans,  in  order  to  a  sur- 
render of  the  citadel  to  them,  and  desired 
that  they  might  be  permitted  to  go  away, 
and  take  Eleazar  along  with  them.  Then 
did  the  Romans  and  their  general  accept 
of  these  terms  ;  while  the  multitude'  of 
strangers  that  were  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city,  hearing  of  the  agreement  that 
was  made  by  the  Jews  for  themselves 
alone,  were  resolved  to  fly  away  privately, 
in  the  night-time;  but  as  soon  as  they 
had  opened  their  gates,  those  that  had 
come  to  terms  with  Bassus  told  him  of  it; 
whether  it  were  that  they  envied  the 
others'  deliverance,  or  whether  it  were 
done  out  of  fear,  lest  an  occasion  should 
be  take?!  against  them  upon  their  escape, 
is  uuoertaia.  The  most  courageous,  there- 
fore, of  those  men  that  went  out  prevented 
the  enemy5  and  got  away,  and  fled  for  it ; 
but  for  those  men  that  were  caught  with- 
in, they  were  slain,  to  the  number  of 
1700,  as  were  the  women  and  the  chil- 
dren made  slaves  ;  but,  as  Bassus  thought 
he  must  perform  the  covenant  he  had 
made  with  those  that  had  surrendered  the 
3itadel,  he  let  them  go,  and  restored 
Eleazar  to  them. 

When  Bassus  had  settled  these  affairs, 
he  marched  hastily  to   the   forest  of  Jar- 


den,  as  it  is  called;  for  ne  had  heard  thai 
a  great  many  of  those  that  had  fled  from 
Jerusalem  and  Macherus  formerly,  were 
there  gotten  together.  When  ho  was., 
therefore,  come  to  the  place,  and  'lnder- 
stood  that  the  former  news  was  no  mis- 
take, he,  in  the  first  place,  surrounded  the 
whole  place  with  his  horsemen,  that  such 
of  the  Jews  as  had  boldness  enough  to  try 
to  break  through,  might  have  no  way  f  ;s- 
sible  for  escaping,  by  reason  of  the  situa- 
tion of  these  horsemen  ;  and  for  the  foot- 
men, he  ordered  them  to  cut  down  the 
trees  that  were  in  the  wood  whither  they 
were  fled.  So  the  Jews  were  under  a 
necessity  of  performing  some  glorious  ex- 
ploit, and  of  greatly  exposing  themselves 
in  a  battle,  since  they  might,  perhaps, 
thereby  escape.  So  they  made  a  general 
attack,  and  with  a  great , shout  fell  upon 
those  that  surrounded  them,  who  received 
them  with  great  courage ;  and  so  while 
the  one  side  fought  desperately,  and  the 
others  would  not  yield,  the  fight  was  pro- 
longed on  that  account.  But  the  event 
of  the  battle  did  not  answer  the  expecta- 
tion of  the  assailants  ;  for  so  it  happeued 
that  no  more  than  twelve  fell  on  the  Ro- 
man side,  with  a  few  that  were  wounded ; 
but  not  oue  of  the  Jews  escaped  out  of  this 
battle,  for  they  were  all  killed,  being  in 
the  whole  not  fewer  in  number  than  3000, 
together  with  Judas,  the  son  of  Jairus, 
their  general ;  concerning  whom  we  have 
before  spoken,  that  he  had  been  captain 
of  a  certain  band  at  the  siege  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  by  going  down  into  a  certain  vault 
under  ground  had  privately  made  his 
escape. 

About  the  same  time  it  was  that  Caesar 
sent  a  letter  to  Bassus,  and  to  Liberius 
Maximus,  who  was  the  procurator  [of 
Judea],  and  gave  order  that  all  Judea 
should  be  exposed  to  sale ;  for  he  did  not 
found  any  city  there,  but  reserved  the 
country  for  himself.  However,  he  as- 
signed a  place  for  800  men  only,  whom 
he  had  dismissed  from  bis  army,  which  he 
gave  them  for  their  habitation  ;  it  is  called 
Emmaus,  aud  is  distant  from  Jerusalem 
threescore  furlongs.  He  also  laid  a  tri- 
bute upon  the  Jews  wheresoever  they 
were,  and  enjoined  every  one  of  them  to 
bring  two  drachmae  every  year  into  the 
capitol,  as  they  used  to  pay  the  same  to 
the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  And  this  was 
the  state  of  the  Jewish  affairs  at  thiar 
time 


jiup.  VII.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS 


8C9 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Misfortunes  of  Antiochus,  king  of  Commagene — 
Clemency  of  Vespasian — The  Alans  ravage  the 
countries  of  the  Modes  and  Armenians. 

And  now,  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign 
of  Vespasian,  it  came  to  pass  that  Antio- 
chus,  the  king  of  Commagene,  with  all  his 
family,  fell  into  very  great  calamities.  The 
occasion  was  this  : — Cesennius  Petus,  who 
was  president  of  Syria  at  this  time,  whe- 
ther it  was  done  out  of  regard  to  truth,  or 
whether  out  of  hatred  to  Antiochus,  (for 
which  was  the  real  motive  was  never 
to  Caesar,  and  therein  told  him  that 
thoroughly  discovered,)  sent  an  epistle 
Antiochus,  with  his  son  Epiphanes,  had 
resolved  to  rebel  against  the  Romans,  and 
had  made  a  league  with  the  king  of  Par- 
thia  to  that  purpose  :  that  it  was  there- 
fore fit  to  prevent  them,  le3t  they  prevent 
us,  and  begin  such  a  war  as  may  cause  a 
general  disturbance  in  the  Roman  empire. 
Now  Caesar  was  disposed  to  take  some 
care  about  the  matter,  since  this  discovery 
was  made;  for  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Kingdoms  made  this  affair  worthy  of 
greater  regard  ;  for  Samosata,  the  capital 
of  Commagene,  lies  upon  Euphrates,  and, 
upon  any  such  design,  could  afford  an  easy 
passage  over  it  to  the  Parthians,  and  could 
also  afford  them  a  secure  reception.  Pe- 
tus was  accordingly  believed,  and  had  au- 
thority given  him  of  doing  what  he  should 
think  proper  in  the  case ;  so  he  set  about 
it  without  delay,  and  fell  upon  Com- 
magene before  Antiochus  and  his  people 
had  the  least  expectation  of  his  coming  : 
he  had  with  him  the  tenth  legion,  as  also 
some  cohorts  and  troops  of  horsemen. 
These  kings  also  came  to  his  assistance: 
Aristobulus,  king  of  the  country  called 
Chalcidene,  and  Sohemus,  who  was  called 
king  of  Emesa :  nor  was  there  any  oppo- 
sition made  to  his  forces  when  they  en- 
tered the  kingdom  j  for  no  one  of  that 
country  would  so  much  as  lift  up  his  hand 
against  them.  When  Antiochus  heard 
this  unexpected  news,  he  could  not  think 
in  the  least  of  making  war  with  the  Ro- 
mans, but  determined  to  leave  his  whole 
kingdom  in  the  state  wherein  it  now  was, 
and  to  retire  privately,  with  his  wife  and 
children,  as  thinking  thereby  to  demon- 
strate himself  to  the  Romans  to  be  inno- 
cent as  to  the  accusation  laid  against  him. 
So  h'3  went  away  from  that  city  as  far  as 
120  furlongs,  into  a  plain,  and  there 
pitched  his  tents. 


Petus  then  sent  some  of  his  men  tc 
seize  upon  Samosata,  and  by  their  means 
took  possession  of  that  city,  while  he  went 
himself  to  attack  Antiochus  with  the  rest 
of  his  army.  However,  the  king  was  not 
prevailed  upon  by  the  distress  he  was  in 
to  do  any  thing  in  the  way  of  war  against 
the  Romans,  but  bemoaned  his  own  hard 
fate,  and  endured  with  patience  what  he 
was  not  able  to  prevent.  But  his  sons, 
who  were  young  and  inexperienced  in  war, 
but  of  strong  bodies,  were  not  easily  in- 
duced to  bear  this  calamity  without  fight- 
ing. Epiphanes,  therefore,  and  Callini- 
cus  betook  themselves  to  military  force  ; 
and,  as  the  battle  was  a  sore  one,  and 
lasted  all  the  day  long,  they  showed  their 
own  valour  in  a  remarkable  manner;  and 
nothing  but  the  approach  of  night  put  a 
period  thereto,  and  that  without  any  di- 
minution of  their  forces;  yet  would  not 
Antiochus,  upon  this  conclusion  of  the 
fight,  continue  there  by  any  means,  but 
took  his  wife  and  his  daughters,  and  fled 
away  with  them  to  Celicia;  and,  by  so  doing, 
quite  discouraged  the  minds  of  his  own 
soldiers.  Accordingly,  they  revolted,  and 
went  over  to  the  Romans,  out  of  the  de- 
spair they  were  in  of  his  keeping  the 
kingdom  ;  and  his  case  was  looked  upou 
by  all  as  quite  desperate.  It  was  there- 
fore necessary  that  Epiphanes  and  his 
soldiers  should  get  clear  of  their  enemies  be- 
fore they  became  entirely  destitute  of  any 
confederates ;  nor  were  there  any  more 
than  ten  horsemen  with  him,  who  passed 
with  him  over  Euphrates,  whence  they 
went  undisturbed  to  Vologeses,  the  king 
of  Parthia,  where  they  were  not  regarded 
as  fugitives;  but  had  the  same  respect 
paid  them  as  if  they  had  retained  their 
ancient  prosperity. 

Now,  when  Antiochus  was  come  to  Tar- 
sus in  Celicia,  Petus  ordered  a  centurion 
to  go  to  him,  and  send  him  in  bonds  to 
Rome.  However,  Vespasian  could  not 
endure  to  have  a  king  brought  to  him  in 
that  manner,  but  thought  it  fit  rather  to 
have  a  regard  to  the  ancient  friendship 
that  had  been  between  them,  than  to  pre 
serve  an  inexorable  anger  upon  pretence 
of  this  war.  Accordingly,  he  gave  orders 
that  they  should  take  off  his  bonds,  while 
he  was  still  upon  the  road,  and  that  he 
should  uot  come  to  Rome,  but  should  now 
go  and  live  at  Lacedemou  ;  he  also  gave 
him  large  revenues,  that  he  might  not 
only  live  in  plenty,  but  like  a  king  also. 
When  Epiphanes,  who  before  waa>  in  great 


870 


WARS  OF    THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VIL 


fear  for  his  father,  was  informed  of  this, 
his  mind  was  freed  from  that  great  and 
almost  incurable  concern  it  had  been  un- 
der. He  also  hoped  that  Caesar  would  be 
reconciled  to  them,  upon  the  intercession 
of  Yologeses ;  for,  although  he  lived  in 
plenty,  he  knew  not  how  to  bear  living 
out  of  the  Roman  empire.  So  Caesar 
gave  him  leave,  after  an  obliging  manner, 
and  he  came  to  Rome ;  and,  as  his  father 
came  quickly  to  him  from  Lacedemon,  he 
had  all  sorts  of  respect  paid  him  there, 
and  there  he  remained. 

Now  there  was  a  nation  of  the  Alans, 
which  we  have  formerly  mentioned  some- 
where as  being  Scythians,*  and  inhabit- 
ing at  the  lake  Meotis.  This  nation, 
about  this  time,  laid  a  design  of  falling 
upon  Media  and  the  parts  beyond  it,  in 
order  to  plunder  them  ;  with  which  inten- 
tion they  treated  with  the  king  of  Ily  rcania ; 
for  he  was  master  of  that  passage  which 
Kiug  Alexander  [the  Great]  shut  up  with 
iron  gates.  This  king  gave  them  leave  to 
come  through  them ;  so  they  came  in 
great  multitudes,  and  fell  upon  the  Medes 
unexpectedly  and  plundered  their  country, 
which  they  found  full  of  people,  and  re- 
plenished with  abundance  of  cattle,  while 
nobody  durst  make  any  resistance  against 
them  ;  for  Pacorus,  the  king  of  the  coun- 
try, had  fled  away  for  fear,  iuto  places 
where  they  could  not  easily  come  at  him, 
and  had  yielded  up  every  thing  he  haoYto 
them,  and  had  only  saved  his  wrife  and  his 
concubines  from  them,  and  that  with  diffi- 
culty, also,  after  they  had  been  made  cap- 
tives, by  giving  them  100  talents  for  their 
ransom.  These  Alans,  therefore,  plundered 
the  country  without  opposition,  and  with 
great  ease,  and  then  proceeded  as  far  as 
Armenia,  laying  all  waste  before  them. 
Now  Tiridates  was  king  of  that  country, 
who  met  them  and  fought  them,  but  had 
like  to  have  been  taken  alive  in  the  bat- 
tle ;  for  a  certain  man  threw  a  net  over 
him  from  a  great  distance,  and  had  soon 
drawn  him  to  him,  unless  he  had  imme- 
diately cut  the  cord  with  his  sword,  and 
ran  away  and  prevented  it.  So  the  Alans, 
being  sail  more  provoked  by  this  sight, 
/aid  waste  the  country,  and  drove  a  great 
multitude  of  the  men,  and  a  great  quan- 
tity of  the  other  prey  they  had  gotten  out 
of  both  kingdoms,  along  with  them, 
and  then  retreated  back  to  their  own 
country. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


*  This  is  now  wanting:. 


Massada  besieged  by  Flavius  Silra. 

When  Bassus  was  dead  in  Judea,  Fla- 
vius Silva  succeeded  him  as  procurator 
there;  who,  when  he  saw  that  all  the  res! 
of  the  country  was  subdued  in  this  war. 
and  that  there  was  but  only  one  strong- 
hold that  was  still  in  rebellion,  he  got  all 
his  army  together  that  lay  in  different 
places,  and  made  an  expedition  against  it. 
This  fortress  was  called  Massada.  It  was 
one  Eleazar,  a  potent  man,  and  the  com- 
mander of  these  Sicarii,  that  had  seized 
upon  it.  He  was  a  descendant  from  that 
Judas  who  had  persuaded  abundance  of 
the  Jews,  as  we  have  formerly  related,  not 
to  submit  to  the  taxation  when  Cyrenius 
was  sent  into  Judea  to  make  one ;  for 
then  it  was  that  the  Sicarii  got  together 
against  those  that  were  willing  to  submit 
to  the  Romans,  and  treated  them  in  all  re- 
spects as  if  they  had  been  their  enemies, 
both  by  plundering  them  of  what  they  had, 
by  driving  away  their  cattle,  and  by  set- 
ting fire  to  their  houses  :  for  they  said  that 
they  differed  uot  at  all  from  foreigners,  by 
betraying,  in  so  cowardly  a  manner,  that 
freedom  which  Jews  thought  worthy  to  be 
contended  for  to  the  utmost,  and  by  own- 
ing that  they  preferred  slavery  under  the 
Romans  before  such  a  contention.  Now 
this  was  in  reality  no  better  than  a  pre- 
tence, and  a  cloak  for  the  barbarity  which 
was  made  use  of  by  them,  aud  to  colour 
over  their  own  avarice,  which  they  after- 
ward made  evident  by  their  own  actions; 
for  those  that  were  partners  with  them  in 
their  rebellion,  joined  also  with  them  in 
the  war  against  the  Romans,  aud  went 
further  lengths  with  them  in  their  impu- 
dent undertakings  against  them  ;  and  when 
they  were  again  convicted  of  dissembling 
in  such  their  pretences,  they  still  more 
abused  those  that  justly  reproached  them 
for  their  wickedness;  and  indeed  that  was 
a  time  most  fertile  in  all  manner  of  wicked 
practices,  iusomuch  that  no  kind  of  evil 
deeds  were  then  left  undone ;  nor  could 
any  one  so  much  as^devise  any  bad  thing 
that  was  new,  so  deeply  were  they  all  in- 
fected, and  strove  with  one  another  in 
their  single  capacity,  and  in  their  commu- 
nities, who  should  run  the  greatest  lengths 
iu  impiety  toward  God,  and  in  uniust  ac- 
tions toward  their  neighbours;  the  men 
of  power  oppressing  the  multitude,  and 
the  multitude  earnestly  labouring  to  de- 
stroy the   men  of  power.     The  one  part 


Jhap.  VIII.  j 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


871 


were  desirous  of  tyrannizing  over  others ; 
and  the  rest  of  offering  violence  to  others, 
and  of  plundering  such  as  were  richer  than 
themselves.     They  were  the   Sicarii  who 
first  began  these  transgressions,  and  first 
became  barbarous  toward   those  allied  to 
them,  and  left  no  words  of  reproach  unsaid, 
aud  no  works  of  perdition  untried,  in  or- 
der  to   destroy  those  whom  their  contri- 
vances affected.     Yet   did  John   demon- 
strate  by   his   actions,   that  these   Sicarii 
were  more  moderate  than  he  was  himself, 
for   he  not  only  slew  such  as   gave   him 
good  counsel  to  do  what   was  right,  but 
treated  them  worst  of  all,  as  the  most  bit- 
ter enemies   that   he  had  among  all  the 
citizens;  nay,  he  filled  his  entire  country 
with  10,000  instances  of  wickedness,  such 
as  a  man  who  was  already  hardened  suffi- 
ciently iu  his  impiety  toward  God,  would 
naturally  do;  for  the  food  was  unlawful 
that  was  set  upon  his  table,  aud  he  re- 
jected those  purifications  that  the  law  of 
his  country  had  ordained ;  so   that  it  was 
no  longer  a  wonder  if  he,  who  was  so  mad 
in  his  impiety   toward  God,  did  not  ob- 
serve any  rules  of  gentleness  and  common 
affection   toward  men.     Again,  therefore, 
what  mischief  was  there  which  Simon  the 
son  of  Gioras  did  not  do?  or  what  kind 
of  abuses  did  he  abstain  from  as  to  those 
very  free  men  who  had  set  him  up  for  a 
tyrant  ?    What  friendship  or  kindred  were 
there  that  did  not  make  him  more  bold  in 
his  daily  murders?  fur   they  looked   upon 
the  doing  of  mischief  to  strangers  ouly,  as 
a  work  beneath  their  courage,  but  thought 
their  barbarity  toward  their  nearest  rela- 
tions would  be  a  glorious  demonstration 
thereof.     The  Idumeans  also  strove  with 
these   men  who  should  be  guilty  of  the 
greatest    madness !    for    they    [all],    vile 
wretches  as  they  were,  cut  the  throats  of 
the  high  priests,  that  so  no  part  uf  a  reli- 
gious regard  to  God   might  be  preserved; 
they  thence  proceeded  to  destroy  utterly 
the  least  remains  of  a  political  government, 
and  introduced  the  most  complete  scene  of 
iniquity  in  all  instances  that  were  practica- 
ble ;  undir  which  scene,  that  sort  of  people 
that  were  called  Zealots  grew  up,  aud  who 
indeed    corresponded    to    the    name;    for 
they  imitated  every  wicked  work ;   nor,  if 
their   memory  suggested   any  evil   thing 
that    had   formerly   been   done,  did  they 
avoid  zealously  to  pursue  the  same  ;  and 
although  they  gave  themselves  that  name 
from  their  zeal  for  what  was  good,  yet  did 
it  a^-ee  to  them  only  by  way  of  irony,  on 


account  of  those  they  had  unjustly  treated 
by  their  wild  and  brutish  disposition,  or 
as  thinking  the  greatest  mischiefs  to  be 
the  greatest  good.  Accordingly,  they  all 
met  with  such  ends  as  God  deservedly 
brought  upon  them  in  way  of  punishment ; 
for  all  such  miseries  have  been  sent  upon 
them  as  man's  nature  is  capable  of  under- 
going, till  the  utmost  period  of  their  lives, 
and  till  death  came  upon  them  in  various 
ways  of  torment :  yet  might  one  say  justly 
that  they  suffered  less  than  they  had  done, 
because  it  was  impossible  they  could  be 
punished  according  to  their  deserving : 
but  to  make  a  lamentation  according  to 
the  deserts  of  those  who  fell  under  these 
men's  barbarity,  this  is  not  a  proper  place 
for  it:  I  therefore  now  return  again  to 
the  remaining  part  of  the  present  narra- 
tion. 

For  now  it  was  that  the  Roman  genera] 
came,  and  led  his  army  against  Eleazar 
and  those  Sicarii  who  held  the  fortress 
Massada  together  with  him ;  and  for  the 
whole  country  adjoining,  he  presently 
gained  it,  and  put  garrisons  into  the  most 
proper  places  of  it :  he  also  built  a  wall 
quite  round  the  entire  fortress,  that  none 
of  the  besieged  might  easily  escape;  he 
also  set  his  men  to  guard  the  several  parts 
of  it :  he  also  pitched  his  camp  in  such  an 
agreeable  place  as  he  had  chosen  for  the 
siege,  and  at  which  place  the  rock  belong- 
ing to  the  fortress  did  make  the  nearest 
approach  to  the  neighbouring  mountain, 
which  yet  was  a  place  of  difficulty  for  get- 
ting plenty  of  provisions;  for  it  was  not 
only  food  that  was  to  be  brought  from  a 
great  distance  [to  the  army],  and  this  with 
a  great  deal  of  pain  to  those  Jews  who 
were  appointed  for  that  purpose,  but  water 
was  also  to  be  brought  to  the  camp,  be- 
cause the  place  afforded  no  fountain  that 
was  near  it.  When,  therefore,  Silva  had 
ordered  these  affairs  beforehand,  he  fell  to 
besieging  the  place ;  which  siege  was 
likely  to  stand  in  need  of  a  great  deal  of 
skill  and  pains,  by  reason  of  the  strength 
of  the  fortress,  the  nature  of  which  I  will 
now  describe. 

There  was  a  rock,  not  small  in  circum- 
ference, and  very  high.  It  was  encom- 
passed with  valleys  of  such  vast  depth 
downward,  that  the  eye  could  not  reach 
their  bottoms;  they  were  abrupt,  and  such 
as  no  animal  could  walk  upon,  excepting 
at  two  places  of  the  rock,  where  it  subsides, 
in  order  to  afford  a  passage  f'or  ascent, 
though  not  without  difficulty.      Now,  of 


872 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


^dok  vn 


the  ways  that  load  to  it,  one  is  that  from 
the    lake    Asphaltitis,    toward     the     sun- 
rising,  and  another  on  the  west,  where  the 
ascent  is  easier :  the  one  of  these  ways  is 
called    the    Serpent,    as    resembling  that 
animal  in  its  narrowness,  and  its  perpetual 
windings;   for  it  is  broken  off  at  the  pro- 
minent precipices  of  the  rock,  and  returns 
frequently    into    itself,    and    lengthening 
again  by  little  and  little,  hath  much  ado 
to    proceed    forward  ;  and  he  that  would 
walk  along  it  must  first  go  on  one  leg  and 
then  on  the  other ;   there  is  also  nothing 
but  destruction,  in    case  your  feet   slip; 
for   on  each  side  there  is  a    vastly  deep 
chasm  and    precipice,  sufficient    to  quell 
the  courage  of  everybody  by  the  terror  it 
infuses  into  the  mind.     When,  therefore, 
a  man  hath  gone  along  this  way  for  thirty 
furlongs,  the  rest  is  the  top  of  the  hill,  not 
ending  at  a  small  point,  but  is  no  other 
than  a  plain  upon  the  highest  part  of  the 
mountain.     Upon    this    top   of   the    hill, 
Jonathan  the  high  priest  first  of  all  built 
a    fortress    and  called    it  Massada;  after 
which    the   rebuilding   of   this  place  em- 
ployed the  care  of  King  Herod  to  a  great 
degree;  he  also  built  a  wall  round  about 
the  entire  top  of  the  hill,  seven  furlongs 
long;  it  was  composed  of  white  stone ;  its 
height  was  twelve,  and  its  breadth  eight 
cubits;   there  were  also  erected  upon  that 
wall  thirty-eight  towers,  each  of  them  fifty 
cubits  high ;    out    of    which    you    might 
pass  into  lesser  edifices,  which  were  built 
on  the  inside,  round  the  entire  wall ;  for 
the    king    reserved    the    top  of  the  hill, 
which  was  of  a  fat  soil,  and  better  mould 
than  any  valley,  for  agriculture,  that  such 
as  committed  themselves  to  this  fortress 
for    their    preservation,    might    not  even 
there  be  quite  destitute  of  food,  in  case 
there  should  ever  be  want  of  it  from  abroad. 
Moreover,  he  built  a  palace  therein  at  the 
western  ascent :  it  was  within,  and  beneath 
the  walls  of  the  citadel,  but  inclined  to  its 
north  side.     Now  the  wall  of  this  palace 
was  very  high  and  strong,  and  had  at  its 
four    corners    towers    sixty    cubits    high. 
The  furniture  also  of  the  edifices,  and  of 
the  cloisters,  and  of  the  baths,  was  of  great 
variety,  and  very  costly ;  and  these  build- 
ings were  supported  by  pillars  of  single 
stones  on  every  side  :  the  walls  also  and 
the  floors  of  the  edifices  were  paved  with 
etones  of  several  colours.      He  also  had  cut 
many  and  great  pits,  as  reservoirs  for  wa- 
ter, out  of  the  rocks,  at  every  one  of  the 
places  that  were  inhabited,  both  above  and 


round  about  the  palace,  and  .•fore  the 
wall ;  and  by  this  contrivancv  *e  endea- 
voured to  have  water  for  sever ../  ases,  as  h 
there  had  been  fountains  tLoie.  Here 
was  also  a  road  digged  from  the  palace, 
and  leading  to  the  very  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, which  yet  could  not  be  s.en  by  such 
as  were  without  [the  walls]  ;  nor  indeed 
could  enemies  easily  make  use  of  the  plain 
roads;  for  the  road  on  the  eas*.  side,  as  we 
have  already  taken  notice,  could  not  be 
walked  upon,  by  reason  of  its  mature  ;  and 
for  the  western  road,  he  Lailt  a  large 
tower  at  its  narrowest  place,  at  no  less  a 
distance  from  the  top  of  the  hiil  than  1000 
cubits;  which  tower  could  not  possibly  be 
passed  by,  nor  could  it  be  easily  taken ; 
nor  indeed  could  those  that  walked  along 
it  without  any  fear  (such  was  his  contri- 
vance) easily  get  to  the  end  of  it;  and  af- 
ter such  a  manner  was  the  citadel  fortified, 
both  by  nature  and  by  the  hand;*  of  men, 
in  order  to  frustrate  the  attack?  of  ene- 


mies. 


As  for  the  furniture  that   was  within 
this  fortress,  it  was  still  more  wonderful 
on  account  of  its  splendour  and  long  con- 
tinuance;   for  here  was  laid  up  corn  in 
large  quantities,  and  such  as  would  subsist 
men  for  a  long  time ;  here  was  also  wine 
and  oil  in  abundance,  with  all  kinds  of 
pulse  and  dates  heaped  up  together;  all 
which  Eleazer  found  there  when  he  and 
his  Sicarii  got  possession  of  the  fortress  by 
treachery.     These  fruits   were  also  fresh 
and  full  ripe,  and  noway  inferior  to  such 
fruits  newly  laid  in,  although  they  were 
little  short  of  100  years  from  the  laying  in 
these  provisions  [by  Herod],  till  the  place 
was  taken   by  the   Romans;  nay,  indeed, 
when  the  Romans  got  possession  of  those 
fruits  that  were  left,  they  found  them  not 
corrupted  all  that  while  :  nor  should  we 
be  mistaken,  if  we  supposed  that  the  air 
was  here  the  cause  of  their  enduring  so 
long,  this  fortress  being  so  high,  and   so 
free  from  the  mixture  of  all  terrene  and 
muddy    particles  of   matter.     There  was 
also   found   here  a  large   quantity  of  all 
sorts  of  weapons  of  war,  which  had  been 
treasured  up  by  that  king,  and  were  suffi- 
cient for  10,000  men  :  there  was  cast  iron, 
and  brass  and  tin,  which  show  that  he  had 
taken  much  pains  to  have  all  things  here 
ready  for  the  greatest  occasions ;  for  the 
report  goes  how  Herod  thus  prepared  this 
fortress  on  his  own  account,  as  a  refuge 
against  two  kinds  of  danger;  the  one  for 
fear  of  the   multitude  of  the  Jews,  lest 


Chap.  VIII.  J 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


873 


they  should  depose  him  and  restore  their 
former  kings  to  the  government ;  the  other 
danger  was  greater  and  more  terrible, 
which  arose  from  Cleopatra,  queen  of 
Egypt,  who  did  not  conceal  her  intentions, 
but  spoke  often  to  Antony,  and  desired 
him  to  cut  off  Herod,  and  entreated  him 
to  bestow  the  kingdom  of  Judea  upon 
her.  And  certainly  it  is  a  great  wonder 
that  Antony  did  never  comply  with  her 
commands  in  this  point,  as  he  was  so 
miserably  enslaved  to  his  passion  for  her; 
nor  should  any  one  have  been  surprised 
if  she  had  been  gratified  in  such  her  re- 
quest. So  the  fear  of  these  dangers  made 
Herod  rebuild  Massada,and  thereby  leave 
it  for  the  finishing  stroke  of  the  Romans 
in  this  Jewish  war. 

Since,  therefore,  the  Roman  commander 
Silva  had  now  built  a  wall  on  the  outside, 
round  about  this  whole  place,  as  we  have 
said  already,  and  had  thereby  made  a  most 
accurate  provision  to  prevent  any  one  of 
the  besieged  running  away,  he  undertook 
the  siege  itself,  though  he  found  but  one 
single  place  that  would  admit  of  the 
banks  he  was  to  raise;  for  behind  that 
tower  which  secured  the  road  that  led  to 
the  palace,  and  to  the  top  of  the  hill  from 
the  west,  there  was  a  certain  eminency  of 
the  rock,  very  broad  and  very  prominent, 
but  300  cubits  beneath  the  highest  part 
of  Massada;  it  was  called  the  White  Pro- 
montory. Accordingly,  he  got  upon  that 
part  of  the  rock,  and  ordered  the  army 
to  bring  earth ;  and  when  they  fell  to  that 
work  with  alacrity,  and  abundance  of  them 
together,  the  bank  was  raised,  and  became 
solid  for  200  cubits  in  height.  Yet  was 
not  this  bank  thought  sufficiently  high  for 
the  use  of  the  engines  that  were  to  be  set 
upon  it;  but  still  another  elevated  work, 
of  great  stones  compacted  together,  was 
raised  upon  that  bank  :  this  was  fifty  cu- 
bits, both  in  breadth  and  height.  The 
other  machines  that  were  now  got  ready 
were  like  to  those  that  had  been  first  de- 
vised by  Vespasian,  and  afterward  by 
Titus,  for  sieges. 

There  was  also  a  tower  made  of  the 
height  of  sixty  cubits,  and  all  over  plated 
with  iron,  out  of  which  the  Romans  threw 
darts  and  stones  from  the  engines,  and 
Boon  made  those  that  fought  from  the 
walls  of  the  place  to  retire,  and  would 
not  let  them  lift  up  their  heads  above  the 
works.  At  the  same  time,  Silva  ordered 
that  great  battering-ram  which  he  had 
made,  to  be  brought  thither,   and  to  be 


set  against  the  wall,  and  to  make  frequent 
batteries  against  it,  which,  with  some  dif- 
ficulty, broke  down  a  part  of  the  wall, 
and  quite  overthrew  it.  However,  the 
Sicarii  made  haste,  and  presently  built 
another  wall  within  that,  which  should 
not  be  liable  to  the  same  misfortune  from 
the  machines  with  the  other  :  it  was  made 
soft  and  yielding,  and  so  was  capable  of 
avoiding  the  terrible  blows  that  affected 
the  other.  It  was  framed  after  the  fol- 
lowing manner  : — They  laid  together  great 
beams  of  wood  lengthways,  one  close  to 
the  end  of  another,  and  the  same  way  in 
which  they  were  cut :  there  were  two  of 
these  rows  parallel  to  one  another,  and 
laid  at  such  a  distance  from  each  other  as 
the  breadth  of  the  wall  required,  and 
earth  was  put  into  the  space  between 
those  rows.  Now,  that  the'  earth  might 
not  fall  away  upon  the  elevation  of  this 
bank  to  a  greater  height,  they  further  laid 
other  beams  over  across  them,  and  thereby 
bound  those  beams  together  that  lay 
lengthways.  This  work  of  theirs  was 
like  a  real  edifice ;  and  when  the  ma- 
chines were  applied,  the  blows  were  weak- 
ened by  its  yielding  ;  and  as  the  materials 
by  such  concussion  were  shaken  closer  to- 
gether, the  pile  by  that  means  became 
firmer  than  before.  Wheu  Silva  saw  this, 
he  thought  it  best  to  endeavour  the  taking 
of  this  wall  by  setting  fire  to  it;  so  he 
gave  order  that  the  soldiers  should  throw 
a  greater  number  of  burning  torches  upon 
it:  accordingly,  as  it  was  chiefly  made  of 
wood,  it  soon  took  fire;  and  when  it  was 
once  set  on  fire,  its  hollowness  made  that 
fire  spread  to  a  mighty  flame.  Now,  at 
the  very  beginning  of  this  fire,  a  north 
wind  that  then  blew  proved  terrible  to  the 
Romans ;  for>  by  bringing  the  flame 
downward,  it  drove  it  upon  them,  and 
they  were  almost  in  despair  of  success,  as 
fearing  their  machines  would  be  burnt; 
but  after  this,  on  a  sudden,  the  wind 
changed  into  the  south,  as  if  it  were  done 
by  Divine  Providence ;  and  blew  strongly 
the  contrary  way,  and  carried  the  flame 
and  drove  it  against  the  wall,  which  was 
now  on  fire  through  its  entire  thickness. 
So  the  Romans,  having  now  assistance 
from  God,  returned  to  their  camp  with 
joy,  and  resolved  to  attack  their  enemies 
the  very  next  day;  on  which  occasion 
they  set  their  watch  more  carefully  that 
night,  lest  any  of  the  Jews  should  run 
away  from  them  without  being  discovered. 
However,    neither     did    Eleazar    ouo* 


874 


WARS    OF    THE  JEWS. 


[Book  VH 


think  of  flying  away,  nor  would  lie  per- 
mit any  one  else  to  do  so;  but  when  he 
saw  their  wall  burnt  down  by  the  fire,  and 
could  devise  no  other  way  of  escaping,  or 
room  for  their  further  courage,  and  setting 
before  their  eyes  what  the  Romans  would 
do  to  them,  their  children,  and  their 
wives,  if  they  got  them  into  their  power, 
he  consulted  about  having  them  all  slain. 
Now,  as  he  judged  this  to  be  the  best 
thing  they  could  do  in  their  present  cir- 
cumstances, he  gathered  the  most  cou- 
rageous of  his  companions  together,  and 
encouraged  them  to  take  that  course  by  a 
speech*  which  he  made  to  them  in  the 
manner  following  : — "  Since  we,  long  ago, 
my  generous  friends,  resolved  never  to  be 
servants  to  the  Romans,  uor  to  any  other 
than  to  God  himself,  who  alone  is  the 
true  and  just' Lord  of  mankind,  the  time 
is  now  come  that  obliges  us  to  make  that 
resolution  true  in  practice.  And  let  us 
not  at  this  time  bring  a  reproach  upon 
ourselves  for  self-contradiction,  while  we 
formerly  would  not  undergo  slavery, 
though  it  were  then  without  danger,  but 
must  now,  together  with  slavery,  choose 
such  punishments  also  as  are  intolerable  : 
I  meau  this  upon  the  supposition  that  the 
Romans  once  reduce  us  under  their  power 
vhile  we  are  alive.  We  were  the  very 
first  that  revolted  from  them,  and  we  are 
the  last  that  fight  against  them ;  and  I 
cannot  but  esteem  it  as  a  favour  that  God 
hath  granted  us,  that  it  is  still  in  our 
power  to  die  bravely,  and  in  a  state  of 
freedom,  which  hath  not  been  the  case  of 
others,  who  were  conquered  unexpectedly. 
It  is  very  plain  that  we  shall  be  taken 
within  a  day's  time;  but  it  is  still  an  eli- 
gible thing  to  die  after  a  glorious  manner, 
together  with  our  dearest  friends.  This 
is  what  our  enemies  themselves  cannot  by 
any  means  hinder,  although  they  be  very 
desirous  to  take  us  alive.  Nor  can  we  pro- 
pose to  ourselves  any  more  to  fight  them 
and  beat  them.  It  had  been  proper,  in- 
deed, for  us  to   have  conjectured  at  the 

*  These  speeches  introduced,  under  the  person 
of  Eleazar,  are  exceeding*  remarkable,  and  on  the 
noblest  subjects,  the  contempt  of  death,  and  the 
dignity  and  immortality  of  the  soul ;  and  that  not 
only  among  the  Jews,  but  among  the  Indians  them- 
selves also;  and  are  worthy  an  attentive  perusal. 
It  seems  that  the  philosophic  lady  who  survived 
(see  chap,  ix.)  remembered  the  substance  of  these 
discourses,  as  spoken  by  Eleazar,  and  so  Josephus 
clothed  them  in  his  own  words:  as  they  contain  the 
Jewish  notions  on  this  subject,  as  understood  by 
Josephus,  they  cannot  Wt  deserve  a  suitable  regard 
<u  the  present  day. 


purpose  of  God  much  sooner,  and  at  the 
very  first,  when  we  were  so  desirous 
of  defending  our  liberty,  and  when  wo 
received  such  sore  treatment  from  one  an- 
other, and  worse  treatment  from  our  ene- 
mies, and  to  have  been  sensible  that  the 
same  God,  who  had  of  r\d  taken  the  Jew- 
ish nation  into  his  favour,  had  now  con- 
demned them  to  destruction;  for  had  he 
either  continued  favourable,  or  been  but 
in  a  lesser  degree  displeased  with  us,  he 
had  not  overlooked  the  destruction  of  so 
many  men,  or  delivered  his  most  holy  city 
to  be  burnt  and  demolished  by  our  ene- 
mies. To  be  sure,  we  weakly  hoped  to 
have  preserved  ourselves,  and  ourselves 
alone,  still  in  a  state  of  freedom,  as  if  we 
had  been  guilty  of  no  sins  ourselves 
against  God,  nor  been  partners  with  those 
of  others ;  we  also  taught  other  men  to 
preserve  their  liberty.  Wherefore,  con- 
sider how  God  hath  convinced  us  that  our 
hopes  were  in  vain,  by  bringiug  such  dis- 
tress upon  us  in  the  desperate  state  we 
are  now  in,  and  which  is  beyond  all  our 
expectations ;  for  the  nature  of  this  for- 
tress, which  was  in  itself  unconquerable, 
hath  not  proved  a  means  of  our  deliver- 
ance ;  and  even  while  we  have  still  great, 
abundance  of  food,  and  a  great  quantity 
of  arms,  aud  other  necessaries  more  than 
we  want,  we  are  openly  deprived  by  God 
himself  of  all  hopes  of  deliverance  ;  for 
that  fire  which  was  driven  upon  our  ene- 
mies did  not,  of  its  own  accord,  turn  back 
upon  the  wall  which  we  had  built :  this 
was  the  effect  of  God's  anger  against  us 
for  our  manifold  sins,  which  we  have 
been  guilty  of  in  a  most  insolent  and  ex- 
travagant manner  with  regard  to  our  own 
countrymen ;  the  punishments  of  which 
let  us  not  receive  from  the  Romans,  but 
from  God  himself,  as  executed  by  our  own 
hands,  for  these  will  be  more  moderate 
than  the  other.  Let  our  wives  die  before 
they  are  abused,  and  our  children  before 
they  have  tasted  of  slavery ;  and,  after  we 
have  slain  them,  let  us  bestow  that  glo- 
rious benefit  upon  one  another  mutually, 
and  preserve  ourselves  in  freedom,  as  an 
excellent  funeral  monument  for  us.  But 
first  let  us  destroy  our  money  and  the  for- 
tress by  fire ;  for  I  am  well  assured  that 
this  will  be  a  great  grief  to  the  Romans, 
that  they  shall  not  be  able  to  seize  upon 
our  bodies,  and  shall  fail  of  our  wealth 
also  :  and  let  us  spare  nothing  but  our 
provisions ;  for  they  will  be  a  testimonial 
when  we  are  dead  that  we  were  not  subdued 


Chap.  VIII.  ] 


WARS    DF  THE   JEWS. 


87! 


for  want  of  necessaries ;  but  that,  accord- 
ing to  our  original  resolution,  we  have 
preferred  death  before  slavery. " 

This  was  Eleazar's  speech  to  them, 
ret  did  not  the  opinion  of  all  the  auditors 
acquiesce  therein;  but,  although  some  of 
them  were  very  zealous  to  put  his  advice 
in  practice,  and  were  in  a  manner  filled 
with  pleasure  at  it,  and  thought  death  to 
be  a  good  thing,  yet  had  those  that  were 
most  effeminate  a  commiseration  for  their 
wives  and  families;  and  when  these  men 
were  especially  moved  by  the  prospect  of 
their  own  certain  death,  they  looked  wist- 
fully at  one  another,  and  by  the  tears  that 
were  in  their  eyes,  declared  their  dissent 
from  his  opinion.  When  Eleazar  saw 
these  people  in  such  fear,  and  that  their 
souls  were  dejected  at  so  prodigious  a  pro- 
posal, he  was  afraid  lest,  perhaps,  these 
effeminate  persons  should,  by  their  la- 
mentations and  tears,  enfeeble  those  that 
heard  what  he  had  said  courageously ;  so 
he  did  not  leave  off  exhorting  them,  but 
stirred  up  himself,  and,  recollecting  pro- 
per arguments  for  raising  their  courage, 
he  undertook  to  speak  more  briskly  and 
fully  to  them,  and  that  concerning  the 
immortality  of  the  soul.  So  he  made  a 
lamentable  groan,  and  fixing  his  eyes  in- 
tently on  those  that  wept,  he  spake  thus : 
"  Truly,  I  was  greatly  mistaken  when  I 
thought  to  be  assisting  to  brave  men  who 
struggled  hard  for  their  liberty,  and  to 
such  as  were  resolved  either  to  live  with 
honour,  or  else  to  die;  but  I  find  that 
you  are  such  people  as  are  no  better  than 
others,  either  in  virtue  or  in  courage,  and 
are  afraid  of  dying,  though  you  be  deli- 
vered thereby  from  the  greatest  miseries, 
while  you  ought  to  make  no  delay  in  this 
matter,  nor  to  await  any  one  to  give  you 
good  advice;  for  the  laws  of  our  country, 
and  of  God  himself,  have,  from  ancient 
times,  and  as  soon  as  ever  we  could  use 
our  reason,  continually  taught  us,  and 
our  forefathers  have  corroborated  the  same 
doctrine  by  their  actions  and  by  their 
bravery  of  mind,  that  it  is  life  that  is  a 
calamity  to  men,  and  not  death ;  for 
this  last  affords  our  souls  their  liberty, 
and  sends  them  by  a  removal  into  their 
own  place  of  purity,  where  they  are  to  be 
insensible  of  all  sorts  of  misery;  for, 
while  souls  are  tied  down  to  a  mortal  body, 
they  are  partakers  of  its  miseries;  and 
really  to  speak  the  truth,  they  are  them- 
selves dead ;  for  the  union  of  what  is  di- 
vine to  what  is  mortal,  is  disagreeable.    It 


is  true,  the  power  of  the  soul  is  great, 
even  when  it  is  imprisoned  in  a  mortal 
body ;  for  by  moving  it  after  a  way  that 
is  invisible,  it  makes  the  body  a  sensible 
instrument,  and  causes  it  to  advance  far- 
ther in  its  actions  than  mortal  nature 
could  otherwise  do.  However,  when  it  is 
freed  from  that  weight  which  draws  it 
down  to  the  earth,  and  is  connected  with 
it,  it  obtains  its  own  proper  place,  and 
does  then  become  a  partaker  of  that 
blessed  power,  and  those  abilities,  which 
are  then  every  way  incapable  of  being 
hindered  in  their  operations.  It  conti- 
nues invisible,  indeed,  to  the  eyes  of  men, 
as  does  God  himself;  for  certainly  it  is 
not  itself  seen,  while  it  is  in  the  body ; 
for  it  is  there  after  an  invisible  manner, 
and,  when  it  is  freed  from  it,  it  is  still  not 
seen.  It  is  this  soul  which  hath  one  na- 
ture, and  that  an  incorruptible  one  also ; 
but  yet  is  it  the  cause  of  the  change  that 
is  made  in  the  body  ;  for  whatsoever  it 
be  which  the  soul  touches,  that  lives  and 
flourishes ;  and  from  whatsoever  it  is  re- 
moved, that  withers  away  and  dies :  such 
a  degree  is  there  in  it  of  immortality. 
Let  me  produce  the  state  of  sleep  as  a 
most  evident  demonstration  of  the  truth 
of  what  I  say;  wherein  souls,  when  the 
body  does  not  distract  them,  have  th6 
sweetest  rest  depending  on  themselves, 
and  conversing  with  God,  by  their  alliance 
to  him ;  they  then  go  everywhere,  and 
foretell  many  futurities  beforehand :  and 
why  are  we  afraid  of  death,  while  we  are 
pleased  with  the  rest  that  we  have  in 
sleep  ?  and  how  absurd  a  thing  is  it  to 
pursue  after  liberty  while  we  are  alive, 
and  yet  to  envy  it  to  ourselves  where  it 
will  be  eternal  !  We,  therefore,  who  have 
been  brought  up  in  a  discipline  of  our 
own,  ought  to  become  an  example  to 
others  of  our  readiness  to  die;  yet,  if  we 
do  not  stand  in  need  of  foreigners  to  sup- 
port us  in  this  matter,  let  us  regard  those 
Indians  who  profess  the  exercise  of  phi- 
losophy ;  for  these  good  men  do  but  un- 
willingly undergo  the  time  of  life,  and 
look  upon  it  as  a  necessary  servitude,  and 
make  haste  to  let  their  souls  loose  from 
their  bodies ;  nay,  when  no  misfortune 
presses  them  to  it,  nor  drives  them  upon 
it,  these  have  such  a  desire  of  a  life  of 
immortality,  that  they  tell  other  men  be- 
forehand that  they  are  about  to  depart ; 
and  nobody  hinders  them,  but  every  one 
thinks  them  happy  men,  and  gives  them 
letters    to    be    carried    to    their    familiar 


876 


WARS    OF  THE  JEWS. 


O  ok  VII 


friends  [that  are  dead]  ;  so  firmly  and 
certainly  do  they  believe  that  souls  con- 
verse with  one  another  [in  the  other 
world].  So  when  these  men  have  heard 
all  such  commands  that  were  to  be  given 
them,  they  deliver  their  body  to  the  fire ; 
and,  in  order  to  their  getting  their  soul  a 
separation  from  the  body,  in  the  greatest 
purity,  they  die  in  the  midst  of  hymns  of 
commendations  made  to  them ;  for  their 
dearest  friends  conduct  them  to  their 
death  more  readily  than  do  any  of  the 
rest  of  mankind  conduct  their  fellow-citi- 
zens when  they  are  going  a  very  long 
journey,  who,  at  the  same  time,  weep  on 
their  own  account,  but  look  upon  the 
others  as  happy  persons,  as  so  soon  to  be 
made  partakers  of  the  immortal  order  of 
beings.  Are  not  we,  therefore,  ashamed  to 
have  lower  notions  than  the  Indians?  and 
by  our  own  cowardice  to  lay  a  base  reproach 
upon  the  laws  of  our  country,  which  are 
so  much  desired  and  imitated  by  all  man- 
kind ?  But  put  the  case  that  we  had 
been  brought  up  under  another  persua- 
sion, and  taught  that  life  is  the  greatest 
good  which  men  are  capable  of,  and  that 
death  is  a  calamity;  however,  the  circum- 
stances we  are  now  in  ought  to  be  an  in- 
ducement to  us  to  bear  such  calamity 
courageously,  since  it  is  by  the  will  of 
God,  and  by  necessity,  that  we  are  to  die; 
for  it  now  appears  that  God  hath  made 
such  a  decree  against  the  whole  Jewish 
nation,  that  we  are  to  be  deprived  of  this 
life  which  [he  knew]  we  would  not  make 
a  due  use  of;  for  do  not  you  ascribe  the 
occasion  of  your  present  condition  to 
yourselves,  nor  think  the  Romans  are  the 
true  occasion  that  this  war  we  have  had 
with  them  is  become  so  destructive  to  us 
all :  these  things  have  not  come  to  pass 
by  their  power,  but  a  more  powerful  cause 
hath  intervened,  and  made  us  afford  them 
an  occasion  of  their  appearing  to  be  con- 
querors over  us.  What  Roman  weapons, 
1  pray  you,  were  those  by  which  the  Jews 
of  Cesarea  were  slain  ?  On  the  contrary, 
when  they  were  noway  disposed  to  rebel, 
but  were  all  the  while  keeping  their  se- 
venth-day festival,  and  did  not  so  much 
as  lift  up  their  hands  against  the  citizens 
of  Cesarea,  yet  did  those  citizens  run  upon 
unem  in  great  crowds,  and  cut  their 
throats,  and  the  throats  of  their  wives 
and  children,  and  this  without  any  regard 
to  the  Romans  themselves,  who  never 
took  us  for  their  enemies,  till  we  revolted 
from  them.     But  some  may  be  ready  to 


say,  that  truly  the  people  of  Cesarea  had 
always  a  quarrel  against  those  that  lived 
among  them,  and  that  when  an  opportu- 
nity offered  itself,  they  only  satisfied  the 
old  rancour  thev  had  against  them.  What 
then  shall  we  say  to  those  of  Scythopolis, 
who  ventured  to  wage  war  with  us  on  ac- 
count of  the  Greeks  ?  Nor  did  they  do 
it  by  way  of  revenge  upon  the  Romans, 
when  they  acted  in  concert  with  our  roun- 
trymen.  Wherefore,  you  see  how  little 
our  good-will  and  fidelity  to  them  profited 
us,  while  they  were  slain,  they  and  their 
whole  families,  after  the  most  inhuman 
manner,  which  was  all  the  requital  'hat 
was  made  them  for  the  assistance  they  had 
afforded  the  others ;  for  that  very  same 
destruction  which  they  had  prevented 
from  falling  upon  the  others,  did  they 
suffer  themselves  from  them,  as  if  they 
had  been  ready  to  be  the  actors  against 
them.  It  would  be  too  long  for  me  to 
speak  at  this  time  of  every  destruction 
brought  upon  us  :  for  you  cannot  but 
know,  that  there  was  not  any  one  Syrian 
city  which  did  not  slay  their  Jewish  in- 
habitants, and  were  not  more  bitter  enemies 
to  us  than  were  the  Romans  themselves : 
nay,  even  those  of  Damascus,  when  they 
were  able  to  allege  no  tolerable  pretence 
against  us,  filled  their  city  with  the  most 
barbarous  slaughter  of  our  people,  and 
cut  the  throats  of  18,000  Jews,  with  their 
wives  and  children.  And  as  to  the  mul- 
titude of  those  that  were  slain  in  Egypt, 
and  that  with  torments  also,  we  have  been 
informed  they  were  more  than  60,000 ; 
those,  indeed,  being  in  a  foreign  country, 
and  so  naturally  meeting  with  nothing  to 
oppose  against  their  enemies,  were  killed 
in  the  manner  before  meutioned.  As  for 
all  those  of  us  who  have  waged  war 
against  the  Romans  in  our  own  country, 
had  we  not  sufficient  reason  to  have  sure 
hopes  of  victory  ?  For  we  had  arms  and 
walls  and  fortresses  so  prepared  as  not  to 
be  easily  taken,  and  courage  not  to  be 
moved  by  any  dangers  in  the  ^ause  of 
liberty,  which  encouraged  us  all  to  revolt 
from  the  Romans.  But  then  these  ad- 
vantages sufficed  us  but  for  a  short  time, 
and  only  raised  our  hopes,  while  they 
really  appeared  to  be  the  origin  of  our 
miseries ;  for  all  we  had  hath  been  takeB 
from  us,  and  all  hath  fallen  undei  our 
enemies,  as  if  these  advantages  were  only 
to  render  their  victory  over  us  the  more 
glorious,  and  were  not  disposed  for  the 
preservation  of  those  by  whom  these  pre- 


CilAP.   IX.] 


WARS    OF    THE   JEWS. 


partitions  were  made.  And,  as  for  those 
that  are  already  dead  in  the  war,  it  is  rea- 
sonable we  should  esteem  them  blessed,  for 
they  are  dead  in  defending,  and  not  in 
betraying  their  liberty ;  but  as  to  the 
multitude  of  those  that  are  now  under  the 
Romans,  who  would  not  pity  their  condi- 
tion ?  and  who  would  not  make  haste  to  die, 
before  he  would  suffer  the  same  miseries 
with  them?  Some  of  them  have  been  put 
upon  the  rack,  and  tortured  with  fire  and 
whippings,  and  so  died.  Some  have  been 
half  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  and  yet 
have  been  reserved  alive  to  be  devoured 
by  them  a  second  time,  in  order  to  afford 
laughter  and  sport  to  our  enemies;  and 
such  of  those  as  are  alive  still,  are  to  be 
looked  on  as  the  most  miserable,  who,  be- 
ing so  desirous  of  death,  could  not  come 
at  it.  And  where  is  now  that  great  city, 
the  metropolis  of  the  Jewish  nation,  which 
was  fortified  by  so  many  walls  round 
about,  which  had  so  many  fortresses  and 
lanre  towers  to  defend  it,  which  could 
hardly  contain  the  instruments  prepared 
for  the  war,  and  which  had  so  many  ten 
thousands  of  men  to  fight  for  it?  Where 
is  this  city  that  was  believed  to  have  God 
himself  inhabiting  therein  ?  It  is  now 
demolished  to  the  very  foundations;  and 
hath  nothing  but  that  monument  of  it 
preserved.  I  mean  the  camp  of  those 
that  have  destroyed  it,  which  still  dwells 
upon  its  ruins;  some  unfortunate  old  men 
also  lie  upon  the  ashes  of  the  temple,  and 
a  few  women  are  there  preserved  alive  by 
the  enemy  for  our  bitter  shame  and  re- 
proach. Now,  who  is  there  that  revolves 
these  things  in  his  mind,  and  yet  is  able 
to  bear  the  sight  of  the  sun,  though  he 
mijiht  live  out  of  danger  ?  Who  is  there 
so  much  his  country's  enemy,  or  so  un- 
manly, and  so  desirous  of  living,  as  not 
to  repent  that  he  is  still  alive?  And  I 
cannot  but  wish  that  we  had  all  died 
before  we  had  seen  that  holy  city  demo- 
lished by  the  hands  of  our  enemies,  or 
the  foundations  of  our  holy  temple  dug 
up  after  so  profane  a  manner.  But  since 
we  had  a  generous  hope  that  deluded  us, 
as  if  we  might,  perhaps,  have  been  able 
to  avenge  ourselves  on  our  enemies  on  that 
account,  though  it  be  now  become  vanity, 
and  hath  left  'us  alone  in  this  distress,  let 
us  make  haste  to  die  bravely.  Let  us 
pity  ourselves,  our  children,  and  our 
wives,  while  it  is  in  our  power  to  show 
pity  to  them  ;  for  we  are  born  to  die,  as 
well  as  those  were  whom  we  have  begot- 


ten ;*  nor  is  it  in  the  power  of  the  most 
happy  of  our  race  to  avoid  it.  But  for 
abuses  and  slavery,  and  the  sight  of  our 
wives  led  away  after  an  ignominious  man- 
ner, with  their  children,  these  are  not 
such  evils  as  are  natural  and  necessary 
among  men  ;  although  such  as  do  not  pre- 
fer death  before  those  miseries,  when  it  is 
in  their  power  so  to  do,  must  undergo  even 
them,  on  account  of  their  own  cowardice. 
We  revolted  from  the  Romans  with  great 
pretensions  to  courage  ;  and  when,  at  the 
very  last,  they  invited  us  to  preserve  our- 
selves, we  would  not  comply  with  them. 
Who  will  not,  therefore,  believe  that  they 
will  certainly  be  in  a  rage  at  us,  in  case 
they  can  take  us  alive?  Miserable  will 
then  be  the  young  men,  who  will  be 
strong  enough  in  their  bodies  to  sustain 
many  torments  !  miserable  also  will  be 
those  of  elder  years,  who  will  not  be  able 
to  bear  those  calamities  which  young  men 
might  sustain  !  One  man  will  be  obliged 
to  hear  the  voice  of  his  son  imploring 
help  of  his  father,  when  his  hands  are 
bound  !  But  certainly  our  h mds  are  still 
at  liberty,  and  have  a  sword  in  them  : 
let  them  then  be  subservient  to  us  in 
our  glorious  design  ;  let  us  die  before  we 
become  slaves  under  our  enemies,  and  let 
us  go  out  of  the  world,  together  with  our 
children  and  our  wives,  in  a  state  of  free- 
dom. This  it  is  that  our  laws  command 
us  to  do ;  this  it  is  that  our  wives  and 
children  crave  at  our  hands;  nay,  God 
himself  hath  brought  this  necessity  upon 
us ;  while  the  Romans  desire  the  contrary, 
and  are  afraid  lest  any  of  us  should  die 
before  we  are  taken.  Let  us,  therefore, 
make  haste,  and  instead  of  affording  them 
so  much  pleasure,  as  they  hope  for  in  get- 
ting us  under  their  power,  let  us  leave 
them  an  example,  which  shall  at  onc6 
cause  their  astonishment  at  our  death,  aud 
their  admiration  of  our  hardiness  therein. " 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  inhabitants  of  the  fortress,  at  the  instigation 
of  Eleazar,  destroy  each  other. 

Now,  as  Eleazar  was  proceeding  od  in 
this  exhortation,  they  all  cut  him  off  short, 
and  made  haste  to  do  the  work,  as  full  of 
an  unconquerable  ardour  of  mind,  and 
moved  with  a  demoniacal  fury.  So  they 
went  their  ways,  as  one  still  endeavouring 
to  be  before  another,  and  as  thinking  that 

*  Reland  here  sets  down  a  parallel  aphorism  i>f 
one  of  the  Jewish  rabbins,  "We  are  born  tl-it  «v« 
may  die,  and  die  that  we  may  live." 


878 


WARS  OF   THE   JEWS. 


[Book  VII 


this  eagerness  would  be  a  demonstration 
of  their  courage  and  good  conduct,  if  they 
could  avoid  appearing  in  the  last  class : 
so  great  was  the  zeal  they  were  in  to  slay 
their  wives  and  children,  and  themselves 
also !  Nor,  indeed,  when  they  came  to 
the  work  itself,  did  their  courage  fail 
then,  as  one  might  imagine  it  would  have 
done  ;  but  they  then  held  fast  the  same 
resolution,  without  wavering,  which  they 
had  upon  the  hearing  of  Eleazar's  speech, 
while  yet  every  one  of  them  still  retained 
the  natural  passion  of  love  to  themselves 
and  their  families,  because  the  reasoning 
they  went  upon  appeared  to  them  to  be 
very  just,  even  with  regard  to  those  that 
were  dearest  to  them;  for  the  husbands 
tenderly  embraced  their  wives,  and  took 
their  children  into  their  arms,  and  gave 
the  longest  parting  kisses  to  them,  with 
tears  in  their  eyes.  Yet  at  the  same  time 
did  they  complete  what  they  had  resolved 
on,  as  if  they  had  been  executed  by  the 
hands  of  strangers,  and  they  had  nothing 
else  for  their  comfort  but  the  necessity 
they  were  in  of  doing  this  execution,  to 
avoid  that  prospect  they  had  of  the  mise- 
ries they  were  to  suffer  from  their  enemies. 
Nor  was  there  at  length  any  one  of  these 
men  found  that  scrupled  to  act  their  part 
in  this  terrible  execution,  but  every  one 
of  them  despatched  his  dearest  relations. 
Miserable  men  indeed  were  they!  whose 
distress  forced  them  to  slay  theif  own 
wives  and  children  with  their  own  hands, 
as  the  lightest  of  those  evils  that  were  be- 
fore thein.  So  they  being  not  able  to 
bear  the  grief  they  were  under  for  what 
they  had  done  any  longer,  and  esteeming 
it  an  injury  to  those  they  had  slain,  to 
live  even  the  shortest  space  of  time  after 
them,  they  presently  laid  all  they  had 
in  a  heap,  and  set  fire  to  it.  They  then 
chose  ten  men  by  lot  out  of  them,  to  slay 
all  the  rest ;  every  one  of  whom  laid  him- 
self down  by  his  wife  and  children  on  the 
ground,  and  threw  his  arms  about  them, 
and  they  offered  their  necks  to  the  stroke 
of  those  who  by  lot  executed  that  melan- 
choly office:  and  when  these  ten  had, 
without  fear,  slain  them  all,  they  made 
the  same  rule  for  casting  lots  for  them- 
selves, that  he  whose  lot  it  was,  should 
first  kill  the  other  nine,  and,  after  all, 
should  kill  himself.  Accordingly,  all 
these  had  courage  sufficient  to  be  noway 
behind  one  another  in  doing  or  suffering ; 
so  for  a  conclusion,  the  nine  offered  their 
necks  to  the  executioner,  and  he,  who  was 


the  last  of  all,  took  a  view  of  all  the  other 
bodies,  lest  perchance  some  or  other 
among  so  many  that  were  slain  should 
want  his  assistance  to  be  quite  despatched; 
and  when  he  perceived  that  they  were  all 
slain,  he  set  fire  to  the  palace,  and  with 
the  great  force  of  his  hand  ran  his  swora 
entirely  through  himself,  and  fell  down 
dead  near  to  his  own  relations.  So  these 
people  died  with  this  intention,  that  they 
would  leave  not  so  much  as  one  soul 
among  them  all  alive  to  be  subject  to  the 
Romans.  Yet  was  there  an  ancient  wo- 
man, and  another  who  was  of  kin  to  Elea- 
zar,  and  superior  to  most  women  in  pru- 
dence and  learning,  with  five  children,  who 
had  concealed  themselves  in  caverns  un- 
der ground,  and  had  carried  water  thither 
for  their  drink,  and  were  hidden  there 
when  the  rest  were  intent  upon  the  slaugh 
ter  of  one  another  Those  others  were  960 
in  number,  the  women  and  children  being 
withal  included  in  that  computation.  This 
calamitous  slaughter  was  made  on  the  fif- 
teenth  day  of  the  month  Xanthicus  [Nisan]. 
Now  for  the  Romans,  they  expected 
that  they  should  be  fought  in  the  morning, 
when,  accordingly,  they  put  on  their  ar- 
mour, and  laid  bridges  of  planks  upon 
their  ladders  from  their  banks,  to  make  an 
assault  upon  the  fortress,  which  they  did ; 
but  saw  nobody  as  an  enemy,  but  a  terri- 
ble solitude  on  every  side,  with  a  fire 
within  the  place,  as  well  as  a  perfect 
silence.  So  they  were  at  a  loss  to  guess 
at  what  had  happened.  At  length  they 
made  a  shout,  as  if  it  had  been  at  a  blow 
given  by  the  battering-ram,  to  try  whether 
they  could  bring  any  one  out  that  was 
within;  the  women  heard  this  noise  and 
came  out  of  their  underground  cavern,  and 
informed  the  Romans  what  had  been  done, 
as  it  was  done;  and  the  second  of  them 
clearly  described  all,  both  what  was  said 
and  what  was  done,  and  the  manner  of  it; 
yet  did  they  not  easily  give  their  attention 
to  such  a  desperate  undertaking,  and  did 
not  believe  it  could  be  as  they  said;  they 
also  attempted  to  put  the  tire  out,  and 
quickly  cutting  themselves  a  way  through 
it,  they  came  within  the  palace,  and  so 
met  with  the  multitude  of  the  slain,  but 
could  take  no  pleasure  in  the  fact,  though 
it  were  done  to  their  enemies.  Nor  couid 
they  do  other  than  wonder  at  the  courage 
of  their  resolution,  and  the  immovable 
contempt  of  death,  which  so  great  a  num- 
ber of  them  had  shown,  when  they  went 
through  with  such  an  action  as  that  was. 


CriAP.  X.] 


WARS   OF   THE   JEWS. 


879 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  Sicarii  flee  to  Alexandria — Destruction  of  the 
Jewish  temple  built  by  Onias. 

When  Massada  was  thus  taken,  the 
general  left  a  garrison  in  the  fortress  to 
keep  it,  and  he  himself  went  away  to 
Cesarea;  for  there  were  now  no  enemies 
left  in  the  country,  it  being  all  overthrown 
by  so  long  a  war.  Yet  did  this  war  afford 
disturbances  and  dangerous  disorders  even 
in  places  very  far  remote  from  Judea;  for 
still  it  came  to  pass  that  many  Jews  were 
slain  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt :  for  as  many 
of  the  Sicarii  as  were  able  to  fly  thither, 
out  of  the  seditious  wars  in  Judea,  were 
not  content  to  have  saved  themselves,  but 
must  needs  be  undertaking  to  make  new 
disturbances,  and  persuaded  many  of  those 
that  entertained  them  to  assert  their 
liberty,  to  esteem  the  Romans  to  be  no 
better  than  themselves,  and  to  look  upon 
God  as  their  only  Lord  and  Master.  But 
when  part  of  the  Jews  of  reputation  op- 
posed them,  they  slew  some  of  them,  and 
with  the  others  they  were  very  pressing  in 
their  exhortations  to  revolt  from  the  Ro- 
mans; but  when  the  principal  men  of  the 
senate  saw  what  madness  they  were  come 
to,  they  thought  it  no  longer  safe  for 
themselves  to  overlook  them.  So  they 
got  all  the  Jews  together  to  an  assembly, 
and  accused  the  madness  of  the  Sicarii, 
and  demonstrated  that  they  had  been  the 
authors  of  all  the  evils  that  had  come  upon 
them.  They  said  also,  that  "these  men, 
now  they  were  run  away  from  Judea,  hav- 
ing no  sure  hope  of  escaping,  because  as 
soon  as  ever  they  shall  be  known,  they 
will  be  soon  destroyed  by  the  Romans, 
they  come  hither  and  fill  us  full  of  those 
calamities  which  belong  to  them,  while  we 
have  not  been  partakers  with  them  in  any 
of  their  sins."  Accordingly,  they  ex- 
horted the  multitude  to  have  a  care,  lest 
they  should  be  brought  to  destruction  by 
their  means,  and  to  make  their  apology  to 
the  Romans  for  what  had  been  done,  by 
delivering  these  men  up  to  them;  who 
being  thus  apprized  of  the  greatness  of  the 
dauger  they  were  in,  complied  with  what 
was  proposed,  and  ran  with  great  violence 
upon  the  Sicarii,  and  seized  upon  them  ; 
and,  indeed,  600  of  them  were  caught  im- 
mediately: but  as  to  all  those  that  fled 
into  Egypt,  and  to  the  Egyptian  Thebes, 
it  was  not  long  ere  they  were  caught  also, 
and  brought  back,  whose  courage,  or 
whether  we  ought  to  call  it  madness,  or 


hardiness  in  their  opinions,  everybody  was 
amazed  at;  for  when  all  sorts  of  torments 
and  vexations  of  their  bodies  that  could 
be  devised  were  made  use  of  to  them,  they 
could  not  get  any  one  of  them  to  comply 
so  far  as  to  confess,  or  seem  to  confess, 
that  Caesar  was  their  lord  ;  but  they  pre- 
served their  own  opinion,  in  spite  of  all 
the  distress  they  were  brought  to,  as  if 
they  received  these  torments  and  the  fire 
itself,  with  bodies  insensible  of  pain,  and 
with  a  soul  that  in  a  manner  rejoiced  un- 
der them.  But  what  was  most  of  all 
astonishing  to  the  beholders,  was  the  cou- 
rage of  the  children;  for  not  one  of  these 
children  was  so  far  overcome  by  these  tor- 
ments, as  to  name  Caesar  for  their  lord. 
So  far  does  the  strength  of  the  courage 
[of  the  soul]  prevail  over  the  weakness  of 
the  body. 

Now  Lupus  did  then  govern  Alexandria, 
who  presently  sent  Caesar  word  of  this 
commotion;  who  having  in  suspicion  the 
restless  temper  of  the  Jews  for  innovation, 
and  being  afraid  lest  they  should  get  to- 
gether again,  and  persuade  some  others  to 
join  with  them,  gave  orders  to  Lupus  to 
demolish  that  Jewish  temple,  which  was 
in  the  region  called  Onion,  and  was  in 
Egypt,  which  was  built  and  had  its  deno- 
mination from  the  occasion  following: 
Onias,  the  son  of  Simon,  one  of  the  Jew- 
ish high  priests,  fled  from  Antiochus,  the 
king  of  Syria,  when  he  made  war  with  the 
Jews,  and  came  to  Alexandria ;  and  as 
Ptolemy  received  him  very  kindly  on  ac- 
count of  his  hatred  to  Antiochus,  he  as- 
sured him,  that  if  he  would  comply  with 
his  proposal,  he  would  bring  all  the  Jews 
to  his  assistance;  and  when  the  king  agreed 
to  do  it  so  far  as  he  was  able,  he  desired 
him  to  give  him  leave  to  build  a  temple 
somewhere  in  Egypt,  and  to  worship  G-od 
according  to  the  customs  of  his  own  coun- 
try ;  for  that  the  Jews  would  then  be  so 
much  readier  to  fight  against  Antiochus, 
who  had  laid  waste  the  temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  that  they  would  then  come  to 
him  with  greater  good-will ;  and  that,  by 
granting  them  liberty  of  conscience,  very 
many  of  them  would  come  over  to  him. 

So  Ptolemy  complied  with  his  proposals, 
and  gave  him  a  place  180  furlongs  distant 
from  Memphis.*     That  Nomos  was  called 


*  Josephus  here  speaks  of  Antiochus,  who  pro- 
faned the  teruple,  as  now  alive,  when  Onias  had 
leave  given  him  by  Philometor  to  build  his  temple; 
whereas  it  seems  not  to  have  been  actually  built 
till  about  fifteen  years  afterward.     Yet,  Vecause  it 


880 


WARS   OF    THE    JEWS. 


[Book   VU 


the  Nomos  of  Heliopolis,  where  Onias built 
a  fortress  and  a  temple,  not  like  to  that  at 
Jerusalem,  but  such  as  resembled  a  tower. 
He  built  it  of  large  stones  to  the  height 
of  sixty  cubits ;  he  made  the  structure  of 
the  altar  in  imitation  of  that  in  our  own 
country,  and  in  like  manner  adorned  with 
gifts,  excepting  the  make  of  the  candle- 
stick, for  he  did  not  make  a  candlestick, 
but  had  a  [single]  lamp  hammered  out  of 
a  piece  of  gold,  which  illuminated  the 
place  with  its  rays,  and  which  he  hung  by 
a  chain  of  gold;  but  the  entire  temple  was 
encompassed  with  a  wall  of  burnt  brick, 
though  it  had  gates  of  stone.  The  king 
also  gave  him  a  large  country  for  a  revenue 
in  money,  that  both  the  priests  might  have 
a  plentiful  provision  made  for  them,  and 
that  God  might  have  great  abundance  of 
what  things  were  necessary  for  his  worship. 
iTet  did  not  Onias  do  this  out  of  a  sober 
disposition,  but  he  had  a  mind  to  contend 
with  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  and  could  not 
forget  the  indignation  he  had  for  being 
banished  thence.  Accordingly,  he  thought 
that  by  building  this  temple  he  should 
draw  away  a  great  number  from  them  to 
limself.  There  had  been  also  a  certain 
incient  prediction  made  by  a  [prophet] 
whose  name  was  Isaiah,  about  600  years 
before,  that  this  temple  should  be  built  by 
a  man  that  was  a  Jew  in  Egypt.  And 
this  is  the  history  of  the  building  of  that 
temple.  r- 

And  now  Lupus,  the  governor  of  Alex- 
andria, upon  the  receipt,  of  Caesar's  letter, 
came  to  the  temple  and  carried  out  of  it 
some  of  the  donations  dedicated  thereto, 
and  shut  up  the  temple  itself;  and  as 
Lupus  died  a  little  afterward,  Paulinus 
succeeded  him.  This  man  left  none  of 
these  donations  there,  and  threatened  the 
priests  severely  if  they  did  not  bring  them 
all  out;  nor  did  he  permit  any  who  were 
desirous  of  worshipping  Grod  there  so  much 
as  to  come  near  the  whole  sacred  place ; 
but  when  he  had  shut  up  the  gates,  he 
made  it  entirely  inaccessible,  insomuch 
that  there  remained  no  longer  the  least 
footsteps  of  any  divine  worship  that  had 
been  in  that  place.  Now  the  duration 
of  the  time  from  the  building  of  this 
temple  till  it  was  shut  up  again  was  343 
years. 

is  said  that  Onias  went  to  Philometor,  during  the  , 
lifetime  of  that  Antiocbus,  it  is  provable  be  peti-  I 
tioned,  and  perhaps  obtained  his  leave  then,  though 
it  were  not  actually  built  or  finished   till  fifteen 
years  afterward-  j 


CHAPTER  XL 

Conclusion. 


And  now  did  the  madness  of  the  Sicarii, 
like  a  disease,  reach  as  far  as  the  cities  of 
Cyrene ;  for  one  Jonathan,  a  vile  person, 
and  by  trade  a  weaver,  came  thither,  and 
prevailed  with  no  small  number  of  the 
poorer  sort  to  give  ear  to  him  ;  he  also  led 
them  into  the  desert,  upon  promising  them 
that  he  would  show  them  signs  and  appa- 
ritions; and  as  for  the  other  Jews  of 
Cyrene,  he  concealed  his  knavery  from 
them,  and  put  tricks  upon  them;  but  those 
of  the  greatest  dignity  among  them  in- 
formed Catullus,  the  governor  of  the 
Libyan  Pentapolis,  of  his  march  into  the 
desert,  and  of  the  preparations  he  had 
made  for  it.  So  he  sent  out  after  him  both 
horsemen  and  footmen,  and  easily  over- 
came them,  because  they  were  unarmed 
men  :  of  these,  many  were  slain  in  the 
fight,  but  some  were  taken  alive,  and 
brought  to  Catullus.  As  for  Jonathan, 
the  head  of  this  plot,  he  fled  away  at  that 
time;  but.  upon  a  great  and  very  diligent 
search  which  was  made  all  the  country 
over  for  him,  he  was  at  last  taken  ;  and 
when  he  was  brought  to  Catullus,  he  de- 
vised a  way  whereby  he  both  escaped  pu- 
nishment himself,  and  afforded  an  occasion 
to  Catullus  of  doing  much  mischief;  for 
he  falsely  accused  the  richest  men  among 
the  Jews,  and  said  that  they  had  put  him 
upon  what  he  did. 

Now  Catullus  easily  admitted  of  these 
his  calumnies,  and  aggravated  mattera 
greatly,  and  made  tragical  exclamations 
that  he  might  also  be  supposed  to  have 
had  a  hand  in  the  finishing  of  the  Jewish 
war ;  but  what  was  still  harder,  he  did  not 
only  give  a  too  easy  belief  to  his  stories, 
but  he  taught  the  Sicarii  to  accuse  men 
falsely.  He  bade  this  Jonathan,  there- 
fore, name  one  Alexander,  a  Jew,  (with 
whom  he  had  formerly  had  a  quarrel,  and 
openly  professed  that  he  hated  him;)  he 
also  got  him  to  name  his  wife  Bernice,  as 
concerned  with  him.  These  two  Catullus 
ordered  to  be  slain  in  the  first  place  ;  nay, 
after  them  he  caused  all  the  rich  and 
wealthy  Jews  to  be  slain,  being  no  fewer 
in  all  "than  3000.  This,  he  thought,  he 
might  do  safely,  because  he  confiscated 
their  effects,  and  added  them  to  Caesar's 
revenues. 

Nay,  indeed,  lest  any  Jews  that  lived 
elsewhere  should  convict  him  of  his  vil- 
lany,    he   extended   his    false  accusations 


Chap.  XI] 


WARS    OF   THE    JEWS. 


881 


further,  and  persuaded  Jonathan,  and  cer- 
tain others  that  were  caught  with  him,  to 
bring  an  accusation  of  attempts  for  inno- 
vation against  the  Jews  that  were  of  the 
best  character,  both  at  Alexandria  and  at 
Rome.  One  of  these,  against  whom  this 
treacherous  accusation  was  laid,  was  Jose- 
ph us,  the  writer  of  these  books.  However, 
this  plot,  thus  contrived  by  Catullus,  did 
not  succeed  according  to  his  hopes;  for 
though  he  came  himself  to  Rome,  and 
brought  Jonathan  and  his  companions 
along  with  him  in  bonds,  and  thought  he 
should  have  had  no  further  inquisition 
made  as  to  those  lies  that  were  forged  un- 
der his  government,  or  by  his  means,  yet 
did  Vespasian  suspect  the  matter,  and 
made  an  inquiry  how  far  it  was  true;  and 
when  he  understood  that  the  accusation 
laid  against  the  Jews  was  an  unjust  one, 
he  cleared  them  of  the  crimes  charged  upon 
them;  and  this,  on  account  of  Titus's  con- 
cern about  the  matter,  and  brought  a  de- 
served punishment  upon  Jonathan;  for  he 
was  first  tormented  and  then  burnt  alive. 
But  as  to  Catullus,  the  emperors  were 
so  gentle  to  him,  that  he  underwent  no 
severe  condemnation  at  this  time :  yet 
was  it  not  long  before  he  fell  into  a  com- 
plicated and  almost  incurable  distemper, 


and  died  miserably.  He  was  not  only 
afflicted  in  body,  but  the  distemper  in  his 
mind  was  more  heavy  upon  him  than  the 
other ;  for  he  was  terribly  disturbed,  and 
continually  cried  out,  that  he  saw  the 
ghosts  of  those  wThom  he  had  slain  stand- 
ing before  him.  Whereupon  he  was  not 
able  to  contain  himself,  but  leaped  out  of 
his  bed,  as  if  both  torments  and  fire  were 
brought  to  him.  This  his  distemper  grew 
still  a  great  deal  worse  continually,  and 
his  very  entrails  were  so  corroded,  that 
they  fell  out  of  his  body,  and  in  that  con- 
dition he  died.  Thus  he  became  as  great 
an  instance  of  Divine  Providence  as  ever 
was,  and  demonstrated  that  God  punishes 
wicked  men. 

And  here  we  shall  put  an  end  to  this 
our  history ;  wherein  we  formerly  pro- 
mised to  deliver  the  same  with  all  accu- 
racy, to  such  as  should  be  desirous  of  un- 
derstanding after  what  manner  this  war 
of  the  Romans  with  the  Jews  was  managed. 
Of  which  history,  how  good  the  style  is, 
must  be  left  to  the  determination  of  the 
readers,  but  for  the  agreement  with  the 
facts,  I  shall  not  scruple  to  say,  and  that 
boldly,  that  truth  hath  been  what  I  have 
alone  aimed  at  through  its  entire  compoai' 
tion. 


56 


FLAYIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION.* 


BOOK  I. 


1  suppose  that,  Dy  my  books  of  the 
"Antiquities  of  the  Jew*,"  most  excel- 
lent Epaphroditus,  j*  I  have  made  it  evi- 
dent to  those  that  peruse  them,  that  our 
Jewish  nation  is  of  very  great  antiquity, 
and  had  a  distinct  subsistence  of  its  own 
originally;  as  also,  I  have  therein  declared 
how  we  came  to  inhabit  this  country 
wherein  we  now  live.  Those  Antiquities 
contain  the  history  of  5000  years,  and  are 
taken  out  of  our  sacred  books;  but  are 
translated  by  me  into  the  Greek  tongue. 
However,  since  I  observe  a  considerable 
number  of  people  giving  ear  to  the  re- 
proaches that  are  laid  against  us  by  those 
who  bear  ill-will  to  us,  and  will  not  believe 
what  I  have  written  concerning  the  anti- 
quity of  our  nation,  while  they  take  it  for 
a  plain  sign  that  our  nation  is  of  a  late 
date,  because  they  are  not  so  much  as 
vouchsafed  a  bare  mention  by  the  most 
famous  historiographers  amoug  the  Gre- 
cians, I,  therefore,  have  thought  niyself 
under  an    obligation    to  write  somewhat 


*  This  first  book  has  a  wrong  title.  It  is  not 
written  against  Apion,  as  is  the  first  part  of  the  se- 
cond book,  but  against  those  Greeks  in  general  who 
would  not  believe  Josephus's  former  accounts  of  the 
very  ancient  state  of  the  Jewish  nation,  in  his  XX. 
books  of  Antiquities  ;  and  particularly  against  Aga- 
tharchides,  Manetho,  Cheremon,  and  Lysimachus. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  learned,  excellent,  and  useful 
books  of  all  antiquity;  and  upon  Jerome's  perusal 
of  this  and  the  following  books,  he  declares,  that  it 
seems  to  him  a  miraculous  thing  "how  one  that 
was  a  Hebrew,  who  had  been  from  his  infancy 
instructed  in  sacred  learning,  should  be  able 
to  produce  such  a  number  of  testimonies  out  of  pro- 
fane authors,  as  if  he  had  read  over  all  the  Grecian 
libraries."  Manasseh-Ben-Israel  esteemed  these 
two  books  so  excellent,  as  to  translate  them  into 
Hebrew. 

f  Since  Flavius  Josephus  wrote  [or  finished]  his 
books  of  Antiquities  on  the  thirteenth  of  Domitian 
[A.  1).  93],  and  after  that  wrote  the  Memoirs  of  his 
own  Life,  as  an  appendix  to  the  books  of  Antiqui- 
ties, and  at  last  his  two  books  against  Apion,  and 
yet  dedicated  all  those  writings  to  Epaphroditus, 
he  can  hardly  be  that  Epaphroditus  who  was  for- 
merly secretary  to  Nero,  and  was  slain  on  the 
fourteenth  [or  fifteenth]  of  Domitian,  after  he  had 
been  for  a  good  while  in  banishment ;  but  another 
Epaphroditus,  a  freedman,  and  procurator  of  Tra- 
;an,  (livk*  \  't  ) 


brierly  about  these  subjects,  in  order  fcc 
convict  those  that  reproach  us  of  spite  and 
voluntary  falsehood,  and  to  correct  the  ig- 
norance of  others,  and  withal  to  instruct 
all  those  who  are  desirous  of  knowing  the 
truth  of  what  great  antiquity  we  really 
are.  As  for  the  witnesses  whom  I  shall 
produce  for  the  proof  of  what  I  say,  they 
shall  be  such  as  are  esteemed  to  be  of  the 
greatest  reputation  for  truth,  and  the  most 
skilful  in  the  knowledge  of  all  antiquity, 
by  the  Greeks  themselves  I  will  also 
show,  that  those  who  have  written  so  re- 
proachfully and  falsely  about  us,  are  to  be 
convicted  by  what  they  have  written  them- 
selves to  the  contrary.  I  shall  also  en- 
deavour to  give  an  account  of  the  reasons 
why  it  has  so  happened,  that  there  has  not 
been  a  great  number  of  Greeks  who  have 
made  mention  of  our  nation  in  their  his- 
tories; I  will,  however,  bring  those  Gre- 
cians to  light  who  have  not  omitted  such 
our  history,  for  the  sake  of  those  that 
either  do  not  know  them,  or  pretend  not 
to  know  them  already. 

And  now,  in  the  first  place,  I  cannot 
but  greatly  wonder  at  those  men  who  sup- 
pose that  we  must  attend  to  none  but 
Grecians,  when  we  are  inquiring  about  the 
most  ancient  facts,  and  must  inform  our- 
selves of  their  truth  from  them  only,  while 
we  must  not  believe  ourselves  nor  other 
men;  for  I  am  convinced,  that  the  very 
reverse  is  the  truth  of  the  case.  I  mean 
this,  if  we  will  not  be  led  by  vain  opinions, 
but  will  make  inquiry  after  truth  from 
facts  themselves;  for  they  will  find,  that 
almost  all  which  concerns  the  Greeks  hap- 
pened not  long  ago;  nay,  one  may  say,  is 
of  yesterday  only.  I  speak  of  the  build- 
ing of  their  cities,  the  inventions  of  their 
arts,  and  the  description  of  their  laws; 
and  as  for  their  care  about  the  writing 
down  of  their  histories,  it  is  very  near  the 
last  thing  they  set  about.  However,  they 
acknowledged  themselves  so  far,  that  they 
were  the  Egyptians,  the  Chaldeans,  and 
the  Phoenicians,  (for  I  will  not  now  reckon 

882 


Book  I.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


883 


ourselves  among  them,)  that  have  pre- 
served the  memorials  of  the  most  ancient 
and  most  lasting  traditions  of  mankind ; 
for  almost  all  these  nations  inhabit  such 
countries  as  arc  least  subject  to  destruction 
from  the  world  about  them :  and  these  also 
have  taken  especial  care  to  have  nothing 
omitted  of  what  was  [remarkably]  done 
among  them ;  but  their  history  was 
esteemed  sacred,  and  put  into  public  ta- 
bles, as  written  by  men  of  the  greatest 
wisdom  they  had  among  them.  But  as 
for  the  place  where  the  Grecians  inhabit, 
ten  thousand  destructions  have  overtaken 
it,  and  blotted  out  the  memory  of  former 
actions;  so  that  they  were  ever  beginning 
a  new  way  of  living,  and  supposed  that 
every  one  of  them  was  the  origin  of  their 
new  state.  It  was  also  late,  and  with  dif- 
ficulty, that  they  came  to  know  the  letters 
they  now  use;  for  those  that  would  ad- 
vance their  use  of  these  letters  to  the 
greatest  antiquity,  pretend  that  they 
learned  them  from  the  Phoenicians  and 
from  Cadmus;  yet  is  nobody  able  to  de- 
monstrate that  they  have  any  writing  pre- 
served from  that  time,  neither  in  their 
temples,  nor  in  any  other  public  monu- 
ments. This  appears,  because  the  time 
when  those  lived  who  went  to  the  Trojan 
war,  so  many  years  afterward,  is  in  great 
doubt,  and  great  inquiry  is  made,  whether 
the  Greeks  used  their  letters  at  that  time; 
and  the  most  prevailing  opinion,  and  that 
nearest  the  truth  is,  that  the  present  way 
of  using  those  letters  was  unknown  at  that 
time.  However,  there  is  not  any  writing 
which  the  Greeks  agree  to  be  genuine 
among  them  more  ancient  than  Homer's 
poems,*  who  must  plainly  be  confessed 
later  than  the  siege  of  Troy ;  nay,  the  re- 
port goes,  that  even  he  did  not  leave  the 
poems  in  writing,  but  that  their  memory 
was  preserved  in  songs,  and  thuy  were  put 
together  afterward,  and  that  this  is  the 
reason  of  such  a  number  of  variations  as 
are  found  in  them.  As  for  those  who  set 
themselves  about  writing  their  histories,  I 
mean  such  as  Cadmus  of  Miletus,  and 
Acusilaus  of  Argos,  and  any  others  that 
maybe;  mentioned  as  succeeding  Acusilaus, 
they  lived  but  a  little  while  before  the 
Persian  expedition  into  Greece.  But  then 
for  those  that  first  introduced  philosophy, 
and   the  consideration  of  things  celestial 

*  J^sephus  does  not  say  "  there  was  no  more  an- 
cient writings  among  the  Greeks  than  Homer's 
poems,"  but  that  they  did  not  fully  own  any  writings 
pretending  to  such  antiquity  as  genuine. 


and  divine  among  them,  such  as  Phere- 
cydes  the  Syrian,  and  Pythagoras,  and 
Thales,  all  with  one  consent  agree  that 
they  learned  what  they  knew  of  the  Egyp- 
tians and  Chaldeans,  and  wrote  but  little. 
And  these  are  the  things  which  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  oldest  of  all  among  the 
Greeks ;  and  they  have  such  ado  to  believe 
that  the  writings  ascribed  to  those  men  are 
genuine. 

How  can  it  then  be  other  than  an  ab- 
surd thing  for  the  Greeks  to  be  so  proud, 
and  to  vaunt  themselves  to  be  the  only 
people  that  are  acquainted  with  antiquity, 
and  that  have  delivered  the  true  accounts 
of  those  early  times  after  an  accurate  man- 
ner !  Nay,  who  is  there  that  cannot 
easily  gather  from  the  Greek  writers 
themselves,  that  they  knew  but  little  on 
any  good  foundation  when  they  set  to 
write,  but  rather  wrote  their  histories  from 
their  own  conjectures  ?  Accordingly,  they 
confute  one  another  in  their  own  books  on 
purpose,  and  are  not  ashamed  to  give  ua 
the  most  contradictory  accounts  of  the 
same  things  :  and  I  should  spend  my  time 
to  little  purpose  if  I  should  pretend  to 
teach  the  Greeks  that  which  they  know 
better  than  I  already,  what  a  great  disa- 
greement there  is  between  Hellanicus  and 
Acusilaus  about  their  genealogies;  in  how 
many  cases  Acusilaus  corrects  Hesiod ;  or 
after  what  manner  Ephorus  demonstrates 
Hellanicus  to  have  told  lies  in  the  greatest 
part  of  his  history ;  as  does  Timeus  in  like 
manner  as  to  Ephorus,  and  the  succeeding 
writers  do  to  Timeus,  and  all  the  latter 
writers  do  to  Herodotus;*  nor  could 
Timeus  agree  with  Antiochus  and  Philis- 
tius,  or  with  Callias,  about  the  Sicilian 
history,  no  more  than  do  the  several 
writers  of  the  Atthidoe  follow  one  another 
about  the  Athenian  affairs;  nor  do  the 
historians  the  like  that  wrote  the  Argolics, 
about  the  affairs  of  the  Argives.  And 
now  what  need  I  say  any  more  about  par- 
ticular cities  and  smaller  places,  while  in 

*  It  well  deserves  to  be  considered,  that  Josephus 
here  says,  that  all  the  following  Greek  historians 
looked  on  Herodotus  as  a  fabulous  author ;  and 
that  Manetho,  the  most  authentic  writer  of  the 
Egyptian  history,  greatly  complains  of  his  mistakes 
in  the  Egyptian  affairs  :  also  that  Strabo,  the  most 
accurate  geographer  and  historian,  esteemed  him 
such  ;  that  Xenophon,  the  much  more  accurate  his- 
torian in  the  affairs  of  Cyrus,  implies  that  llero- 
dotus's  account  of  that  great  man  is  almost  entirely 
romantic.  We  must  not,  therefore,  always  depend 
on  the  authority  of  Herodotus,  where  it  is  unsup- 
ported by  other  evidence,  but  ought  to  compare  the 
other  evidences  with  his,  and,  it  it  preponderato, 
to  prefer  it  before  his. 


884 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  AriON. 


Boor  I. 


the  most  approved  writers  of  the  expedi- 
tion of  the  Persians,  and  of  the  actions 
which  were  therein  performed,  there  are 
so  great  differences?  Nay,  Thucydides 
himself  is  accused  by  some  as  writing  what 
is  false,  although  he  seems  to  have  given 
us  the  most  exact  history  of  the  affairs  of 
his  own  time. 

As  for  the  occasion  of  so  great  a  disa- 
greement of  theirs,  there  may  be  assigned 
many  that  are  very  probable,  if  any  have 
a  mind  to  make  an  inquiry  about  them; 
but  I  ascribe  these  contradictions  chiefly  to 
two  causes,  which  I  will  now  mention,  and 
still  think  what  I  shall  mention  in  the 
first  place  to  be  the  principal  of  all.  For 
if  we  remember,  that  iu  the  beginning  the 
Greeks  had  taken  no  care  to  have  public 
records  of  their  several  transactions  pre- 
served, this  must  for  certain  have  afforded 
those  that  would  afterward  write  about 
those  ancient  transactions,  the  opportunity 
of  making  mistakes,  and  the  power  of 
making  lies  also;  for  this  original  record- 
ing of  such  ancient  transactions  hath  not 
only  been  neglected  by  the  other  states  of 
Greece,  but  even  among  the  Athenians 
themselves  also,  who  pretend  to  be  abori- 
gines, and  to  have  applied  themselves  to 
learning,  there  are  no  such  records  extant ; 
nay,  they  say  themselves  that  the  laws  of 
Draco  concerning  murders,  which  are  now 
extant  iu  writing,  are  the  most  ancient  of 
their  public  records;  which  Draco  yet 
lived  but  a  little  before  the  tyrant  Pisis- 
ratus.  For  as  to  the  Arcadians,  who 
make  such  boasts  of  their  antiquity,  what 
need  I  speak  of  them  iu  particular,  since 
it  was  still  later  before  they  got  their  let- 
ters, and  learned  them,  and  that  with  dif- 
ficulty also  ? 

There  must,  therefore,  naturally  arise 
great  differences  among  writers,  when  they 
had  no  original  records  to  lay  for  their 
foundation,  which  might  at  once  inform 
those  who  had  an  inclination  to  learn,  and 
contradict  those  that  would  tell  lies.  How- 
ever, we  are  to  suppose  a  second  occasion, 
besides  the  former,  of  these  contradictions ; 
it  is  this,  that  those  who  were  the  most 
zealous  to  write  history  were  not  solicitous 
for  the  discovery  of  truth,  although  it  was 
very  easy  for  them  always  to  make  such 
a  profession  ;  but  their  business  was  to  de- 
monstrate that  they  could  write  well,  and 
make  an  impression  upon  mankind  there- 
by ;  and  in  what  manner  of  writing  they 
thought  they  were  able  to  exceed  others, 
to  that  did  they  apply  themselves.     Some 


of  them  betook  themselves  to  the  writing 
of  fabulous  narrations;  some  of  them  en- 
deavoured to  please  the  cities  or  the  kings, 
by  writing  in  their  commendation;  othen* 
of  them  fell  to  finding  faults  with  transac- 
tions, or  with  the  writers  of  such  transac- 
tions, and  thought  to  make  a  great  figuri. 
by  so  doing.  And,  indeed,  these  do  what 
is  of  all  things  the  most  contrary  to  true 
history;  for  it  is  the  great  character  of 
true  history,  that  all  concerned  therein, 
both  speak  and  write  the  same  things ; 
while  these  men,  by  writing  differently 
about  the  same  things,  think  they  shall  be 
believed  to  write  with  the  greatest  regard 
to  truth.  We,  therefore,  [who  are  Jews,] 
must  yield  to  the  Grecian  writers  as  to 
language  and  eloquence  of  composition; 
but  then  we  shall  give  them  no  such  pre- 
ference as  to  the  verity  of  ancient  history, 
and  least  of  all  as  to  that  part  which  con- 
cerns the  affairs  of  our  several  countries. 

As  to  the  care  of  writing  down  the  re- 
cords from  the  earliest  antiquity  among 
the  Egyptians  and  Babylonians;  that  the 
priests  were  intruded  therewith,  aud  em- 
ployed a  philosophical  concern  about  it; 
that  they  were  the  Chaldean  priests  that 
did  so  among  the  Babylonians,  and  that 
the  Phoenicians,  who  were  mingled  among 
the  Greeks,  did  especially  make  use  of 
their  letters,  both  for  the  common  affairs 
of  life,  aud  for  the  delivering  down  the 
history  of  common  transactions,  I  think  I 
may  omit  any  proof,  because  all  men  allow 
it  so  to  be  :  but  now  as  to  our  forefathers, 
that  they  took  no  less  care  about,  writing 
such  records,  (for  I  will  not  say  they  took 
greater  care  than  the  others  I  spoke  of,) 
and  that  they  committed  that  matter  to 
their  high  priests  and  to  their  prophets, 
and  that  these  records  have  been  written 
all  along-  down  to  our  own  times  with  the 
utmost  accuracy, — nay,  if  it  be  not  too 
bold  for  me  to  say  it,  our  history  will  be 
so  written  hereafter, — I  shall  endeavour 
briefly  to  inform  you. 

For  our  forefathers  did  not  only  appoint 
the  best  of  these  priests,  and  those  that 
attended  upon  the  divine  worship,  for 
that  design  from  the  beginning,  but  made 
provision  that  the  stock  of  the  priests 
should  continue  unmixed  and  pure;  for 
he  who  is  partaker  of  the  priesthood  must 
propagate  of  a  wife  of  the  same  nation, 
without  having  any  regard  to  money,  or 
any  other  dignities ;  but  he  is  to  make  a 
scrutiny,  and  take  his  wife's  genealogy 
from  the  ancient  tables,  and  procure  manj 


Book  I  "i 


FLAVIUS  JOSEP1IUS  AGAINST  APION. 


885 


witnesses  to  it ;  and  this  is  our  practice, 
not  only  in  Judea,  but  wheresoever  any 
body  of  men  of  our  nation  do  live;  and 
even  there,  an  exact  catalogue  of  our 
priests'  marriages  is  kept ;  I  mean  at 
Egypt  and  at  Babylon,  or  in  any  other 
place  of  the  rest  of  the  habitable  earth, 
whithersoever  our  priests  are  scattered  ; 
for  they  send  to  Jerusalem  the  ancient 
names  of  their  parents  in  writing,  as  well 
as  those  of  their  remoter  ancestors,  and 
signify  who  are  the  witnesses  also  ;  but 
if  any  war  falls  out,  such  as  have  fallen 
out,  a  great  many  of  them  already,  when 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  made  an  invasion 
upon  our  country,  as  also  when  Pompey 
the  Great  and  Quintilius  Varus  did  so 
also,  and  principally  in  the  wars  that  have 
happened  in  our  own  times,  those  priests 
that  survive  them  compose  new  tables  of 
geuealogy  out  of  the  old  records,  and  ex- 
amine the  circumstances  of  the  women 
that  remain  ;  for  still  they  do  not  admit 
of  those  that  have  been  captives,  as  sus- 
pecting that  they  had  conversation  with 
some  foreigners  ;  but  what  is  the  strongest 
argument  of  our  exact  management  in  this 
matter  is  what  I  am  now  going  to  say, 
that  we  have  the  names  of  our  high  priests 
from  father  to  son,  set  down  in  our  re- 
cords, for  the  interval  of  2000  years ;  and 
if  any  one  of  these  have  been  transgressors 
of  these  rules,  they  are  prohibited  to  pre- 
sent themselves  at  the  altar,  or  to  be  par- 
takers of  any  other  of  our  purifications ; 
and  this  is  justly,  or  rather  necessarily 
done,  because  every  one  is  not  permitted 
of  his  own  accord  to  be  a  writer,  nor  is 
there  any  disagreement  in  what  is  written  ; 
they  being  only  prophets  that  have  writ- 
ten the  original  and  earliest  accounts  of 
things  as  they  learned  them  of  God  him- 
self by  inspiration  ;  and  others  have  writ- 
ten what  hath  happened  in  their  own 
times,  and  that  in  a  very  distinct  manner 
also. 

For  we  have  not  an  innumerable  multi- 
tude of  books  among  us,  disagreeing  from, 
and  contradicting  one  another  [as  the 
Greeks  have],  but  only  twenty-two  books, 
which  contain  the  records  of  all  the 
past  times;  which  are  justly  believed 
to  be  divine ;  and  of  them  five  belong  to 
Moses,  which  contain  his  laws  and  the 
traditions  of  the  origin  of  mankind  till 
his  death.  This  interval  of  time  was  lit- 
tle short  of  3000  years  ;  but  as  to  the 
time  from  the  death  of  Moses  till  the 
reign  of  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Persia,  who 


reigned  after  Xerxes,  the  prophets,  who 
were  after  Moses,  wrote  down  what  was 
done  in  their  times  in  thirteen  books. 
The  remaining  four  books  contain  hymns 
to  God,  and  precepts  for  the  conduct  of 
human  life.  It  is  true,  our  history 
hath  been  written  since  Artaxerxes  very 
particularly,  but  hath  not  been  esteemed 
of  the  like  authority  with  the  former  by 
our  forefathers,  because  there  hath  not, 
been  an  exact  succession  of  prophets  since 
that  time  ;  and  how  firmly  we  have  given 
credit  to  those  books  of  our  own  nation, 
is  evident  by  what  we  do ;  for,  during  so 
many  ages  as  have  already  passed,  no  one 
has  been  so  bold  as  either  to  add  any 
thing  to  them,  to  take  any  thing  from 
them,  or  to  make  any  change  in  them  ; 
but  it  becomes  natural  to  all  Jews,  imme- 
diately and  from  their  very  birth,  to  esteem 
those  books  to  contain  divine  doctrines, 
and  to  persist  in  them,  and,  if  occasion 
be,  willingly  to  die  for  them.  For  it  is 
no  new  thing  for  our  captives,  many  of 
them  in  number,  and  frequently  in  time, 
to  be  seen  to  endure  racks  and  deaths  of 
all  kinds  upon  the  theatres,  that  they 
may  not  be  obliged  to  say  one  word 
against  our  laws  and  the  records  that  con- 
tain them ;  whereas  there  are  none  at  all 
among  the  Greeks  who  would  undergo  the 
least  harm  on  that  account,  no,  nor  in 
case  all  the  writings  that  are  among  them 
were  to  be  destroyed ;  for  they  take  them 
to  be  such  discourses  as  are  framed  agree- 
ably to  the  inclinations  of  those  that  write 
them ;  and  they  have  justly  the  same 
opinion  of  the  ancient  writers,  since  they 
see  some  of  the  present  generation  bold 
enough  to  write  about  such  affairs,  wherein 
they  were  not  present,  nor  had  concern 
enough  to  inform  themselves  about  them 
from  those  that  knew  them ;  examples  of 
which  may  be  had  in  this  late  war  of  ours, 
where  some  persons  have  written  histories, 
and  published  them,  without  having  been 
in  the  places  concerned,  or  having  been 
near  them  when  the  actions  were  done  ; 
but  these  men  put  a  few  things  together 
by  hearsay,  and  insolently  abuse  the 
world,  and  call  these  writings  by  the  name 
of  Histories. 

As  for  myself,  I  have  composed  a  true 
history  of  that  whole  war,  and  all  the 
particulars  that  occurred  therein,  as  hav 
uig  been  concerned  in  all  its  transactions; 
for  I  acted  as  generel  of  those  among  us 
that  are  named  Galileans,  as  long  as  it 
was  possible  for  us  to  make  any  oppoui- 


886 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  auAINST  APION. 


[Book  I 


tion.  I  was  then  seized  on  by  the  Ro- 
mans, and  became  a  captive.  Vespasian 
also  and  Titus  had  me  kept  under  a  guard, 
and  forced  me  to  attend  them  continually. 
At  the  first  I  was  put  into  bonds ;  but 
was  set  at  liberty  afterward,  and  sent  to 
accompany  Titus  when  he  came  from 
Alexandria  to  the  siege  of  Jerusalem ; 
during  which  time  there  was  nothing  done 
which  escaped  my  knowledge  ;  for  what 
happened  in  the  Roman  camp  I  saw,  and 
wrote  down  carefully;  and  what  informa- 
tims  the  deserters  brought  [out  of  the 
city],  I  was  the  only  man  that  understood 
them.  Afterward,  I  got  leisure  at  Rome ; 
and  when  all  my  materials  were  prepared 
for  that  work,  I  made  use  of  some  persons 
to  assist  me  in  learning  the  Greek  tongue, 
and  by  these  means  I  composed  the  his- 
tory of  those  transactions  ;  and  I  was  so 
well  assured  of  the  truth  of  what  T  re- 
lated, that  I  first  of  all  appealed  to  those 
that  had  the  supreme  command  in  that 
war,  Vespasian  and  Titus,  as  witnesses  for 
me,  for  to  them  I  presented  those  books 
first  of  all,  and  after  them  to  many  of  the 
Romaus  who  had  been  in  the  war.  I 
also  sold  them  to  many  of  our  men  who 
understood  the  Greek  philosophy  ;  among 
whom  were  Julius  Archelaus,  Herod 
[king  of  Chalcis],  a  person  of  great  gra- 
vity, and  King  Agrippa  himself,  a  person 
that  deserved  the  greatest  admiration. 
Now,  all  these  men  bore  their  testimony  to 
me,  that  I  had  the  strictest  regard  to  truth ; 
who  yet  would  not  have  dissembled  the  mat- 
ter, nor  been  silent,  if  I,  out  of  ignorance, 
or  out  of  favour  to  any  side,  either  had 
given  false  colours  to  actions,  or  omitted 
any  of  them. 

There  have  been,  indeed,  some  bad 
men,  who  have  attempted  to  calumniate 
my  history,  and  took  it  to  be  a  kind  of 
scholastic  performance  for  the  exercise 
of  young  men.  A  strange  sort  of  accu- 
sation and  calumny  this!  since  every  one 
that  undertakes  to  deliver  the  history  of 
actions  truly,  ought  to  know  them  accu- 
rately himself  in  the  first  place,  as  either 
having  been  concerned  in  them  himself, 
or  been  informed  of  them  •  by  such  as 
knew  them.  Now,  both  these  methods 
of  knowledge  I  may  very  properly  pre- 
tend to  in  the  composition  of  both  my 
works;  for,  as  I  said,  I  have  translated 
the  Antiquities  out  of  oui  sacred  books ; 
which  I  easily  could  do,  since  I  was  a 
priest  by  my  birth,  and  have  studied  that 
philosophy  which  is    contained  in  those 


writings  :  and  as  for  the  History  of  the 
War,  I  wrote  it  as  having  been  an  actor 
myself  in  many  of  its  transactions,  an 
eye-witness  in  the  greatest  part  of  the 
rest,  and  was  not  unacquainted  with  any 
thing  whatsoever  that  was  either  said  or 
done  in  it.  How  impudent,  then,  must 
those  deserve  to  be  esteemed,  who  undertake 
to  contradict  me  about  the  true  state  of  af- 
fairs !  who,  although  they  pretend  to  hava 
made  use  of  both  the  emperors'  own  me- 
moirs, yet  they  could  not  be  acquainted 
with  our  affairs  who  fought  against  them. 

This  digression  I  have  been  obliged  to 
make,  out  of  necessity,  as  being  desirous 
to  expose  the  vanity  of  those  that  profess 
to  write  histories;  and  I  suppose" I  have 
sufficiently  declared  that  this  custom  of 
transmitting  down  the  histories  of  ancient 
times  hath  been  better  preserved  by  those 
nations  which  are  called  Barbarians,  than 
by  the  Greeks  themselves.  I  am  now 
willing,  in  the  next  place,  to  say  a  few 
things  to  those  who  endeavour  to  prove 
that  our  constitution  is  but  of  late  time, 
for  this  reason,  as  they  pretend,  that  the 
Greek  writers  have  said  nothing  about  us; 
after  which  I  shall  produce  testimonies 
for  our  antiquity  out  of  the  writings  of 
foreigners  :  I  shall  also  demonstrate  that 
such  as  cast  reproaches  upon  our  nation 
do  it  very  unjustly. 

As  for  ourselves,  therefore,  we  neither 
inhabit  a  maritime  country,  nor  do  we 
delight  in  merchandise,  nor  in  such  a  mix- 
ture with  other  men  as  arises  from  it;  but 
the  cities  we  dwell  in  are  remote  from  the 
sea,  and  having  a  fruitful  country  for  our 
habitation,  we  take  pains  in  cultivating 
that  only.  Our  principal  care  of  all  is 
this,  to  educate  our  children  well ;  and  we 
think  it  to  be  the  most  necessary  business 
of  our  whole  life,  to  observe  the  laws  that 
have  been  given  us,  and  to  keep  those 
rules  of  piety  that  have  been  delivered 
down  to  us.  Since,  therefore,  besides 
what  we  have  already  taken  notice  of,  we 
have  had  a  peculiar  way  of  living  of  cur 
own,  there  was  no  occasion  offered  us  in 
ancient  ages  for  intermixing  among  the 
Greeks,  as  they  had  for  mixing  among 
the  Egyptians,  by  their  intercourse  of  ex- 
porting and  importing  their  several  goods ; 
as  they  also  mixed  with  the  Phoenicians, 
who  lived  by  the  seaside,  by  means  of 
their  love  of  lucre  in  trade  and  merchant 
dise.  Nor  did  our  forefathers  betake 
themselves,  as  did  some  others,  to  robbe 
ry;  nor  did  they,  in  order  to  gain  more 


IJOOK  I  J 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPIIUS  AGAINST  APION. 


887 


wealth,  fall  into  foreign  wars,  although 
our  country  contained  many  ten  thou- 
sands of  men  of  courage  sufficient  for 
that  purpose;  for  this  reason  it  was  that 
<;he  Phoenicians  themselves  came  soon  by 
trading  and  navigation  to  be  known  to  the 
Grecians,  and  by  their  means  the  Egyp- 
tians became  known  to  the  Grecians  also, 
as  did  all  those  people  whence  the  Phoeni- 
cians in  long  voyages  over  the  seas  carried 
wares  to  the  Grecians.  The  Medes  also 
and  the  Persians,  when  they  were  lords 
of  Asia,  became  well  known  to  them;  and 
this  was  especially  true  of  the  Persians, 
who  led  their  armies  as  far  as  the  other 
continent  [Europe].  The  Thracians  were 
also  known  to  them  by  the  nearness  of 
their  countries,  and  Scythians  by  the 
means  of  those  that  sailed  to  Pontus  ;  for 
it  was  so  in  general  that  all  maritime  na- 
tions, and  those  that  inhabited  near  the 
eastern  or  western  seas,  became  most 
known  to  those  that  were  desirous  to  be 
writers ;  but  such  as  had  their  habitations 
farther  from  the  sea,  were,  for  the  most 
part,  unknown  to  them  :  which  things 
appear  to  have  happened  as  to  Europe 
also,  where  the  city  of  Home,  that  hath 
this  long  time  been  possessed  of  so  much 
power,  and  hath  performed  such  great 
actions  in  war,  is  never  yet  mentioned  by 
Herodotus,  nor  by  Thucydides,  nor  by 
any  one  of  their  contemporaries;  and  it 
was  very  late,  and  with  great  difficulty, 
that  the  Romans  became  known  to  the 
Greeks.  Nay,  those  that  were  reckoned 
the  most  exact  historians  (and  Ephorus 
for  one)  were  so  very  ignorant  of  the 
Gauls  and  the  Spaniards,  that  he  supposed 
the  Spaniards,  who  inhabit  so  great  a  part 
of  the  western  regions  of  the  earth,  to  be 
no  more  than  one  city.  Those  historians 
also  have  ventured  to  describe  such  cus- 
toms as  were  made  use  of  by  them,  which 
they  never  had  either  done  or  said  ;  and 
the  reason  why  these  writers  did  not  know 
the  truth  of  their  affairs,  was  this,  that 
they  had  not  any  commerce  together;  but 
the  reason  why  they  wrote  such  falsities 
was  this,  that  they  had  a  mind  to  appear 
to  know  things  which  others  had  not 
known.  How  can  it  then  be  any  wonder 
if  our  nation  was  no  more  known  to  many 
of  the  Greeks,  nor  had  given  them  any 
occasion  to  mention  them  in  their  writings, 
while  they  were  so  remote  from  the  sea, 
and  had  a  conduct  of  life  so  peculiar  to 
themselves  ? 

Let  us  now  put  the  case,  therefore,  that 


we  made  use  of  this  argument  concerning 
the  Grecians,  in  order  to  prove  that  their 
nation  was  not  ancient,  because  nothing  is 
said  of  them  in  our  records ;  would  not 
they  laugh  at  us  all,  and  probably  give 
the  same  reasons  for  our  silence  that  I 
have  now  alleged,  and  would  produce 
their  neighbouring  nations  as  witnesses  to 
their  own  antiquity  ?  Now,  the  very 
same  thing  will  I  endeavour  to  do ;  for  I 
will  bring  the  Egyptians  and  the  Phoeni- 
cians as  my  principal  witnesses,  because 
nobody  can  complain  of  their  testimony 
as  false,  on  account  that  they  are  known 
to  have  borne  the  greatest  ill-will  toward 
us  :  I  mean  this  as  to  the  Egyptians,  in 
general  all  of  them,  while  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians, it  is  known  the  Tyrians  have  been 
most  of  ail  in  the  same  ill  disposition  to- 
ward us :  yet  do  I  confess  that  I  cannot 
say  the  same  of  the  Chaldeans,  since  our 
first  leaders  and  ancestors  were  derived 
from  them  ;  and  they  do  make  mention 
of  us  Jews  in  their  records,  on  account 
of  the  kindred  there  is  between  as.  Now, 
when  I  shall  have  made  my  assertions 
good,  so  far  as  concerns  the  others,  I  will 
demonstrate  that  some  of  the  Greek 
writers  have  made  mention  of  us  Jews 
also,  that  those  who  envy  us  may  not  have 
even  this  pretence  for  contradicting  what 
I  have  said  about  our  nation. 

I  shall  begin  with  the  writings  of  the 
Egyptians ;  not,  indeed,  of  those  that 
have  written  in  the  Egyptian  language, 
which  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  do.  But 
Manetho  was  a  man  who  was  by  birth  an 
Egyptian,  yet  had  he  made  himself  mas- 
ter of  the  Greek  learning,  as  is  very  evi- 
dent :  for  he  wrote  the  history  of  his  own 
country  in  the  Greek  tongue,  by  translat- 
ing it,  as  he  saith  himself,  out  of  their 
sacred  records :  he  also  finds  great  fault 
with  Herodotus  for  his  ignorance  and  false 
relations  of  Egyptian  affairs.  Now,  this 
Manetho,  in  the  second  book  of  his  Egyp- 
tian History,  writes  concerning  us  in  the 
following  manner  :  I  will  set  down  his 
very  words,  as  if  I  were  to  bring  the  very 
man  himself  into  a  court  for  a  wituess  : — 
"  There  was  a  king  of  ours,  whose  name 
was  Timaus.  Under  him  it  came  to  pass, 
I  know  not  how,  that  God  was  avcrae  to 
us,  and  there  came,  after  a  surprising  man- 
ner, men  of  ignoble  birth  out  of  the  east- 
ern parts,  and  had  boldness  enough  tc 
make  an  expedition  into  our  couutry,  and 
with  ease  subdued  it  by  force,  yet  without 
our    hazarding  a  battle  with    them.     Ho 


S88 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  i 


when  they  had  gotten  those  that  governed 
us  under  their  power,  they  afterward 
burnt  down  our  cities,  and  demolished 
the  temples  of  the  gods,  and  used  all  the 
inhabitants  after  a  most  barbarous  man- 
ner :  nay,  some  they  slew,  and  led  their 
children  and  their  wives  into  slavery.  At 
length  they  made  one  of  themselves  king, 
whose  name  was  Salatis ;  he  also  lived  at 
Memphis,  and  made  both  the  upper  and 
lower  regions  pay  tribute,  and  left  garri- 
sions  in  places  that  were  the  most  proper 
for  them.  He  chiefly  aimed  to  secure  the 
eastern  parts,  as  foreseeing  that  the  Assy- 
rians, who  had  then  the  greatest  power, 
would  be  desirous  of  that  kingdom,  and 
invade  them ;  and  as  he  found  in  the 
Saite  Nomos  [Seth-roite]  a  city  very  pro- 
per for  his  purpose,  and  which  lay  upon 
the  Bubastic  channel,  but  with  regard  to 
a  certain  theologic  notion  was  called  Ava- 
ris,  this  he  rebuilt,  and  made  very  strong 
by  the  walls  he  built  about  it,  and  by  a 
most  numerous  garrison  of  240,000  armed 
men  whom  he  put  into  it  to  keep  it. 
Thither  Salatis  came  in  summer  time, 
partly  to  gather  his  corn,  and  pay  his 
soldiers  their  wages,  and  partly  to  exercise 
his  armed  men,  and  thereby  to  terrify 
foreigners.  When  this  man  had  reigned 
thirteen  years,  after  him  reigned  another, 
whose  name  was  Beon,  for  forty-four 
years;  after  him  reigued  another,  called 
Apachnas,  thirty-six  years  and  seven 
months;  after  him  Apophis  reigned  sixty- 
one  years,  and  then  Jonias  fifty  years  and 
one  mouth ;  after  all  these  reigned  Assis 
forty-nine  years  and  two  months.  And 
these  six  were  the  first  rulers  among  them, 
who  were  all  along  making  war  with  the 
Egyptians,  and  were  very  desirous  gradu- 
ally to  destroy  them  to  the  very  roots. 
This  whole  nation  was  styled  Hycsos, 
that  is,  Shepherd-kings  ;  for  the  first  syl- 
lable, Hyc,  according  to  the  sacred  dialect, 
denotes  a  king,  as  is  Sos  a  shepherd, 
but  this  according  to  the  ordinary  dialect; 
and  of  these  is  compounded  Hycsos  :  but 
some  say  that  these  people  were  Arabians." 
Now,  in  another  copy  it  is  said  that  this 
word  does  not  denote  kings,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  denotes  Captive  Shepherds,  and 
this  on  account  of  the  particle  Hyc  ;  for 
that  Hyc,  with  the  aspiration,  in  the 
Egyptian  tongue,  again  denotes  Shepherds, 
and  that  expressly  also;  and  this  to  me 
seems  the  more  probable  opinion,  and 
more  agreeable  to  ancient  history.  [But 
Manetho     goes     on]  : — "  These    people, 


whom  we  have  before  named  kings,  and 
called  shepherds  also,  and  their  descend- 
ants," as  he  says,  "  kept  possession  of 
Egypt  511  years."  After  these,  he  says, 
"  That  the  kings  of  Thebais  and  of  the 
other  parts  of  Egypt  made  an  insurrec- 
tion against  the  shepherds,  and  that  there 
a  terrible  and  long  war  was  made  between 
them  "  He  says  further,  "  That  under 
a  king,  whose  name  was  Alisphragmutho- 
sis,  the  shepherds  were  subdued  by  him, 
and  were  indeed  driven  out  of  other  parts 
of  Egypt,  but  were  shut  up  in  a  place 
that  contained  10,000  acres:  this  place 
was  named  Avaris."  Manetho  says, 
"  That  the  shepherds  built  a  wall  round 
all  this  place,  which  was  a  large  and  strong 
wall,  and  this  in  order  to  keep  all  their 
possessions  and  their  prey  within  a  place 
of  strength,  but  that  Thummosis,  the  son 
of  Alisphragmuthosis,  made  an  attempt  to 
take  them  by  force  and  by  siege,  with 
480,000  men  to  lie  round  about  tbem; 
but  that  upon  his  despair  of  taking  the 
place  by  that  siege,  they  came  to  a  com- 
position with  them,  that  they  should  leave 
Egypt,  and  go  without  any  harm  to  be 
doue  them,  whithersoever  they  would; 
and  that,  after  this  composition  was  made, 
they  went  away  with  their  whole  families 
and  effects,  not  fewer  in  number  than 
240,000,  and  took  their  journey  from 
Egypt,  through  the  wilderness,  for  Syria: 
but  that,  as  they  were  in  fear  of  the  As- 
syrians, who  had  then  the  dominion  over 
Asia,  they  built  a  city  in  that  country, 
which  is  now  called  Judea,  and  that  large 
enough  to  contain  this  great  number  of 
men,  and  called  it  Jerusalem."*  Now 
Manetho,  in  another  book  of  his,  says, 
"  That  this  nation,  thus  called  Shepherds, 
were  also  called  Captives,  in  their  sacred 
books."  And  this  account  of  his  is  the 
truth ;  for  feeding  of  sheep  was  the  em- 
ployment of  our  forefathers  in  the  most 
ancient  ages  ;"j"  aud,  as  they  led  such  a 
wandering  life  iu  feeding  sheep,  they  were 
called  Shepherds.  Nor  was  it  without 
reason  that  they  were  called  Captives  by 
the  Egyptians,  sinee  one  of  our  ancestors, 
Joseph,  told  the  king  of  Egypt  that  he 
was  a  captive,  and  afterward  sent  for  his 
brethren  into  Egypt  by  the  king's  permis- 
sion ;  but,   as  for  these   matters,  1  shall 

*  Here  we  have  an  account  of  the  first  building 
of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  according  to  Manetho, 
when  the  Phoenician  shepherds  were  expelled  out 
of  Egypt,  about  thirty-seven  years  before  Abrahau? 
came  out  of  Haran. 

•j   Gen.  xlvi.  32,  34;  xlvii.  3,  4. 


Bcok  l.'J 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION 


889 


make  a   more  exact  inquiry  about  them 
elsewhere.* 

But  now  I  hhall  produce  the  Egyptians 
as  witnesses  to  the  antiquity  of  our  na- 
tion. I  shall,  therefore,  here  bring  in 
Manetho  again,  and  what  be  writes  as  to 
the  order  of  the  times  in  this  case,  and 
thus  he  speaks: — "  When  this  people  or 
shepherds  were  gone  out  of  Egypt  to  Je- 
rusalem, Tethmosis,  the  king  of  Egypt, 
who  drove  them  out,  reigned  afterward 
twenty-five  years  and  four  months,  and 
then  died  ;  after  him  his  son  Chebron  took 
the  kingdom  for  thirteen  years;  after  whom 
came  Amenophis,  for  twenty  years  and 
seven  months :  then  came  his  sister 
Amesses,  for  twenty-one  years  and  nine 
months ;  after  her  came  Mephres,  for 
twelve  years  and  nine  months ;  after  him 
was  Mephramuthosis,  for  twenty- five  years 
and  ten  months;  after  him  was  Tethmo- 
this,  for  nine  years  and  eight  months ; 
after  him  came  Amenophis,  for  thirty 
years  and  ten  months;  after  him  came 
#Orus,  for  thirty-six  years  and  five  months ; 
then  came  his  daughter  Acenchres,  for 
twelve  years  and  one  month ;  then  was 
her  brother  Rathotis,  for  nine  years ;  then 
was  Acencheres,  for  twelve  years  and  five 
months;  then  came  another  Acencheres, 
for  twelve  years  and  three  months ;  after 
him  Armais,  for  four  years  and  one  month ; 
after  him  was  Harnesses,  for  one  year  and 
four  months;  after  him  came  Armessus 
Miammoun,  for  sixty-six  years  and  two 
months;  after  him  Amenophis,  for  nine- 
teen years  and  six  months ;  after  him 
came  Sethosis,  and  Harnesses,  who  had  an 
army  of  horse,  and  a  naval  force.  This 
king  appointed  his  brother  Armais  to  be 
his  deputy  over  Egypt.  [In  another 
copy  it  stood  thus  : — After  him  came 
Sethosis,  and  Ramesses,  two  brethren,  the 
former  of  whom  had  a  naval  force,  and  in 
a  hostile  manner  destroyed  those  that  met 
him  upon  the  sea;  but,  as  he  slew  Ra- 
mesnes  in  no  long  time  afterward,  so  he 
appointed  another  of  his  brethren  to  be 
his  deputy  over  Egypt.]  He  also  gave 
him  all  the  other  authority  of  a  king,  but 
with  these  injunctions  only,  that  he 
ehould  not  wear  the  diadem,  nor  be  inju- 
rious to  the  queen,  the  mother  of  his  chil- 
dren, and  that  he  should  not  meddle  with 
the  other  concubines  of  the  king;  while 
he  made  an  expedition  against  Cyprus  and 
Phoenicia,  and   besides  against  the  Assy- 


*  This  is  now  wanting. 


rians  and  the  Medes.  He  then  subdued 
them  all,  some  by  his  arms,  some  without 
fighting,  and  some  by  the  terror  of  his 
great  army ;  and  being  puffed  up  by  the 
great  successes  he  had  had,  he  went  on 
still  the  more  boldly,  and  overthrew  the 
cities  and  countries  that  lay  in  the  eastern 
parts;  but,  after  some  considerable  time, 
Armais,  who  was  left  in  Egypt,  did  all 
those  very  things  by  way  of  opposition, 
which  his  brother  had  forbidden  him  to 
do,  without  fear ;  for  he  used  violence  to 
the  queen,  and  continued  to  make  use  of 
the  rest  of  the  concubines,  without  sparing 
any  of  them ;  nay,  at  the  persuasion  of 
his  friends  he  put  on  the  diadem,  and  set 
up  to  oppose  his  brother ;  but  then  he 
who  was  set  over  the  priests  of  Egypt, 
wrote  letters  to  Sethosis,  and  informed  him 
of  all  that  had  happened,  and  how  his 
brother  had  set  up  to  oppose  him  :  he, 
therefore,  returned  back  to  Pelusium  im- 
mediately, and  recovered  his  kingdom 
again.  The  country,  also,  was  called  from 
his  name  Egypt;  for  Manetho  says  that 
Sethosis  himself  was  called  Egyptus,  as 
was  his  brother  Armais  called  Danaus." 

This  is  Manetho's  account;  and  evident 
it  is  from  the  number  of  years  by  him 
set  down  belonging  to  this  interval,  if 
they  be  summed  up  together,  that  these 
shepherds,  as  they  are  here  called,  who 
were  no  other  than  our  forefathers,  were 
delivered  out  of  Egypt,  and  came  thence, 
and  inhabited  this  country  393  years  be- 
fore Danaus  came  to  Argos ;  although  the 
Argives  look  upon  him  as  their  most  an- 
cient king.  fvlanetho,  therefore,  bears 
this  .testimony  to  two  points  of  the  greatest 
consequence  to  our  purpose,  and  those 
from  the  Egyptian  records  themselves.  In 
the  first  place,  that  we  came  out  of  an- 
other country  into  Egypt;  and  that  withal 
our  deliverance  out  of  it  was  so  ancient  in 
time,  as  to  have  preceded  the  siege  of  Troy 
almost  1000  years;  but  then,  as  to  those 
things  which  Manetho  adds,  not  from  the 
Egyptian  records,  but,  as  he  confesses  him- 
self, from  some  stories  of  an  uncertain 
original,  I  will  disprove  them  hereafter 
particularly,  and  shall  demonstrate  that 
they  are  no  better  than  incredible  fables. 

1  will  now,  therefore,  pass  from  these 
records,  and  come  to  those  that  belong  to 
the  Phoenicians,  and  coneern  our  nation, 
and  shall  produce  attestations  to  what  1 
have  said  out  of  them.  There  are  then 
records  among  the  Ty rians  that  take  in 
the  history  of  many  years,  and  these  are 


890 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Boor  I 


public  writings,  and  are  kept  with  great 
exactness,  and  include  accounts  of  the 
facts  done  among  Them,  and  such  as  con- 
cern their  transactions  with  other  nations 
also:  those  I  mean  which  were  worthy  of 
remembering.  Therein  it  was  recorded 
that  the  temple  was  built  by  King  Solomon 
at  Jerusalem,  143  years  and  eight  months 
before  the  Tyrians  built  Carthage  ;  and  in 
their  annals  the  building  of  our  temple  is 
related  :  for  Hiram,  the  king  of  Tyre,  was 
the  friend  of  Solomon  our  king,  and  had 
such  friendship  transmitted  down  to  him 
from  his  forefathers.  He  thereupou  was 
ambitious  to  contribute  to  the  splendour 
of  this  edifice  of  Solomon,  and  made  him 
a  present  of  120  talents  of  gold.  He  also 
cut  down  the  most  excellent  timber  out 
jf  that  mountain,  which  is  called  Liba- 
nus,  and  sent  it  to  him  for  adorning  its 
roof.  Solomon  also  not  only  made  him 
many  other  presents,  by  way  of  requital, 
but  gave  him  a  country  in  Galilee  also, 
that  was  called  Chabulon;  but  there  was 
another  passion,  a  philosophic  inclination 
of  theirs,  which  cemented  the  friendship 
that  was  betwixt  them ;  for  they  sent  mu- 
tual problems  to  one  another,  with  a  de- 
sire to  have  them  unriddled  by  each  other, 
wherein  Solomon  was  superior  to  Hiram, 
as  he  was  wiser  than  him  in  other  re- 
spects;* and  many  of  the  epistles  that 
passed  between  them  are  still  preserved 
among  the  Tyrians.  Now,  that  this'  may 
not  depend  on  my  bare  word,  I  will  pro- 
duce for  a  witness,  Dius,  one  that  is  be- 
lieved to  have  written  the  Phoenician  His- 
tory after  an  accurate  manner.  This 
Dius,  therefore,  writes  thus,  in  his  Histo- 
ries of  the  Phoenicians : — "  Upon  the  death 
of  Abibalus,  his  son  Hiram  took  the 
kingdom.  This  king  raised  bauks  at  the 
eastern  part  of  the  city,  and  enlarged  it; 
he  also  joined  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Olym- 
pus, which  stood  before  in  an  island  by 
itself,  to  the  city,  by  raising  a  causeway 
between  them,  and  adorned  that  temple 
with  donations  of  gold.  He,  moreover, 
went  up  to  Libanus,  and  had  timber  cut 
down  for  the  building  of  temples.  They 
say  further,  that  Solomon,  when  he  was 
king  of  Jerusalem,  sent  problems  to  Hi- 
ram to  be  solved,  and  desired  he  would 
send  others  back  for  him  to  solve,  and  that 
he  who  could  not  solve  the  problems  pro- 
posed to  him,  should  pay  money  to  him 
that  solved  them;  and  when  Hiram  had 


*  1  Kings  ix.  13. 


agreed  to  the  proposals,  but  was  not  able 
to  solve  the  problems,  he  was  Dbliged  to 
pay  a  great  deal  of  money,  as  a  penalty  for 
the  same.  As  also  they  relate,  that  one 
Abdemon,  a  man  of  Tyre,  did  solve  the 
problems,  and  proposed  others  which  Solo- 
mon could  not  solve,  upon  which  he  was 
obliged  to  repay  a  great  deal  of  money  to 
Hiram/'  These  things  are  attested  to  by 
Dius,  and  confirm  what  we  have  said  upon 
the  same  subjects  before. 

And    now   I  shall  add   Menander  the 
Ephesian  as  an  additional  witness.     This 
Menander  wrote  the  Acts  that  were  done 
both  by  the  Greeks  and  Barbarians,  un- 
der every  one  of  the  Tyrian  kings;  and 
had  taken  much  pains  to  learn  their  his- 
tory out  of  their  own  records.     Now,  when 
he  was  writing  about  those  kings  that  had 
reigned  at  Tyre,  he  came  to  Hiram,  and 
says  thus : — u  Upon  the  death  of  Abibalus, 
his    son    Hiram    took    the  kingdom ;    he 
lived  fifty-three  years,  and  reigned  thirty- 
four.      He   raised   a  bank  on  that  called 
the  Broad  Place,  and  dedicated  that  golden, 
pillar   which  is   in  Jupiter's   temple;  he 
also  went  and  cut  down  timber  from   the 
mountain  called  Libanus,  and  got  timber 
of  cedar  for  the  roofs  of  the  temples.     He 
also    pulled   down  the  old   temples,  and 
built  new  ones:    besides  this,    he  conse- 
crated the  temples  of  Hercules  and  Astarte. 
He  first   built  Hercules's  temple,  in  the 
month  Peritus,  and  that  of  Astarte,  when 
he  made  his  expedition  against  the  Titvans, 
who  would  not  pay  him  their  tribute ;  and 
when  he  had  subdued  them  to  himself,  he 
returned  home.     Under  this  king   there 
was  a  younger  son  of  Abdemon,  who  mas- 
tered the  problems  which  Solomon,  king 
of  Jerusalem,    had    recommended    to  be 
solved."     Now  the  time  from  this  king  to 
the  building  of  Carthage,   is  thus  calcu- 
lated : — "  Upon  the  death  of  Hiram,  Balea- 
zarus  his  son  took  the  kingdom  ;   he  lived 
forty-three  years,  and  reigned  seven  years  ; 
after  him  succeeded  his  son  Abdastartus  ; 
he  lived  twenty-nine  years,  and  reigned 
nine  years.     Now  four  sons  of  his  nurse 
plotted  against  him  and  slew  him,  the  eld- 
est of  whom  reigned  twelve  years :  after 
them  came  Astartus,  the  son  of  Deleastar- 
tus ;  he  lived  fifty-four  years,  and  reigned 
twelve  years:  after  him  came  his  brother 
Aserymus;  he  lived  fifty-four  years,  and 
reigned  nine  years:  he  was  slain   by  his 
brother  Pheles,   who  took   the  kingdom, 
and  reigned  but  eight  months,  though  ho 
lived  fifty  years  :  he  was  slain  by  Ithoba- 


iJOOK  I  ] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


891 


lus,  the  priest  of  Astarte,  who  reigned 
thirty-two  years,  aud  lived  sixty-eight 
years :  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Badezorus,  who  lived  forty-five  years,  and 
reigned  six  years ;  he  was  succeeded  by 
Matgenus  his  son  :  he  lived  thirty-two 
years,  and  reigned  nine  years;  Pygmalion 
succeeded  him  :  he  lived  fifty-six  years, 
and  reigned  forty-seven  years.  Now,  in 
the  seventh  year  of  his  reign,  his  sister 
fled  away  from  him,  and  built  the  city  of 
Carthage  in  Libya."  So  the  whole  time 
from  the  reign  of  Hiram  till  the  building 
of  Carthage,  amounts  to  the  sum  of  155 
years  and  eight  months.  Since  then  the 
temple  was  built  at  Jerusalem  in  the 
twelfth  year  of  the  reign  of  Hiram,  there 
were  from  the  building  of  the  temple  un- 
til the  building  of  Carthage,  143  years 
and  eight  months.  Wherefore,  what  oc- 
casion is  there  for  alleging  any  more  testi- 
monies out  of  the  Phoenician  histories  [on 
the  behalf  of  our  nation],  since  what  I 
have  said  is  so  thoroughly  confirmed  al- 
ready ?  and  to  be  sure  our  ancestors  came 
into  this  country  long  before  the  building 
of  the  temple;  for  it  was  not  till  we  had 
gotten  possession  of  the  whole  land  by 
war  that  we  built  our  temple.  And  this 
is  the  point  that  I  have  clearly  proved 
out  of  our  sacred  writings  in  my  Anti- 
quities. 

I  will  now  relate  what  hath  been  writ- 
ten concerning  us  in  the  Chaldean  histo- 
ries; which  records  have  a  great  agree- 
ment with  our  books  in  other  things  also. 
Berosus  shall  be  witness  to  what  1  say : 
he  was  by  birth  a  Chaldeau,  well  known 
by  the  learned,  on  account  of  his  publica- 
tion of  the  Chaldean  books  of  astronomy 
and  philosophy  among  the  Greeks.  This 
Berosus,  therefore,  following  the  most  an- 
cient records  of  that  nation,  gives  us  a 
history  of  the  deluge  of  waters  that  then 
happened,  and  of  the  destruction  of  man- 
kind thereby,  and  agrees  with  Moses's 
narration  thereof.  He  also  gives  us  an 
account  of  that  ark  wherein  Noah,  the 
origin  of  our  race,  was  preserved,  when  it 
was  brought  to  the  highest  part  of  the 
Armenian  mountains :  after  which  he 
gives  us  a  catalogue  of  the  posterity  of 
Noah,  and  adds  the  years  of  their  chrono- 
logy, and  at  length  comes  down  to  Nabo- 
lassar,  who  was  king  of  Babylon,  and  of 
the  Chaldeans.  And  when  he  was  relating 
the  acts  of  this  king,  he  describes  to  us 
how  he  sent  his  son  Nabuchodonosor 
against  Egypt,  and  against  our  land,  with 


a  great  army,  upon  his  being  informed 
that  they  had  revolted  from  him;  and  how, 
by  that  means,  he  subdued  them  all,  and 
set  our  temple  that  was  at  Jerusalem  on 
fire;  nay,  and  removed  our  people  en- 
tirely out  of  their  own  country,  and  trans- 
ferred them  to  Babylon;  when  it  so  hap- 
pened that  our  city  was  desolate  during 
the  interval  of  seventy  years,  until  the 
days  of  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia.  He  then 
says,  "That  this  Babylonian  king  con- 
quered Egypt,  and  Syria,  and  Phoenicia, 
and  Arabia;  and  exceeded  in  his  exploits 
all  that  had  reigned  before  him  in  Babylon 
and  Chaldea."  A  little  after  which  Be- 
rosus subjoins  what  follows  in  his  History 
of  Ancient  Times:  I  will  set  down  Bero- 
sus's  own  accounts,  which  are  these  : — 
"When  Nabolassar,  father  of  Nabuchodo- 
nosor, heard  that  the  governor  whom  he 
had  set  over  Egypt  and  over  the  parts  of 
Celesyria  and  Phoenicia  had  revolted  from 
him,  he  was  not  able  to  bear  it  any 
longer;  but  committing  certain  parts  of 
his  army  to  his  son  Nabuchodonosor,  who 
was  then  but  young,  he  sent  him  against 
the  rebel:  Nabuchodonosor  joined  battle 
with  him,  and  conquered  him,  and  reduced 
the  country  under  his  dominion  again. 
Now  it  so  fell  out,  that  his  father  Nabo- 
lassar fell  into  a  distemper  at  this  time, 
and  died  in  the  city  of  Babylon,  after  he 
had  reigned  twenty-nine  years.  But  as 
he  understood,  in  a  little  time,  that  hi? 
father  Nabolassar  was  dead,  he  set  the 
affairs  of  Egypt  and  the  other  countries  in 
order,  and  committed  the  captives  he  had 
taken  from  the  Jews,  and  Phoenicians,  and 
Syrians,  and  of  the  nations  belonging  to 
Egypt,  to  some  of  his  friends,  that  they 
might  conduct  that  part  of  the  forces  that 
had  on  heavy  armour,  with  the  rest  of  his 
baggage,  to  Babylonia,  while  he  went  in 
haste,  having  but  a  few  with  him,  over  the 
desert  to  Babylon  ;  whither  when  he  was 
come,  he  found  the  public  affairs  had  been 
managed  by  the  Chaldeans,  and  that  the 
principal  persons  among  them  had  pre- 
served the  kingdom  for  him.  Accordingly, 
he  now  entirely  obtained  all  his  father's 
dominions.  He  then  came,  and  ordered 
the  captives  to  be  placed  as  colonies  in  the 
most  proper  places  of  Babylonia:  but,  tor 
himself,  he  adorned  the  temple  of  Belus, 
and  the  other  temples,  after  an  elegant 
manner,  out  of  the  spoils  he  had  taken  in 
this  war.  He  also  rebuilt  the  whole  city, 
and  added  another  to  it  on  the  outside, 
and  so   far  restored  Babylon,  that  nonu 


892 


FLAV1TJS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  i 


who  should  besiege  it  afterward  might 
have  it  in  their  power  to  divert  the  river, 
bo  as  to  facilitate  an  entrance  into  it;  and 
this  he  did  by  building  three  walls  about 
the  inner  city,  and  three  about  the  outer. 
Some  of  these  walls  he  built  of  burnt  brick 
and  bitumen,  and  some  of  brick  only.  So 
when  he  had  thus  fortified  the  city  with 
walls,  after  an  excellent  manner,  and  had 
adorned  the  gates  magnificently,  he  added 
a  new  palace  to  that  which  his  father  had 
dwelt  in,  and  this  close  by  it  also,  and 
that  more  eminent  in  its  height,  and  in 
its  great  splendour.  It  would  perhaps  re- 
quire too  long  a  narration,  if  any  one  were 
to  describe  it.  However,  as  prodigiously 
large  and  magnificent  as  it  was,  it  was 
finished  in  fifteen  days.  Now  in  this 
palace  he  erected  very  high  walks,  sup- 
ported by  stone  pillars,  and  by  planting 
what  was  called  a  pensile  paradise,  and 
replenishing  it  with  all  sorts  of  trees,  he 
rendered  the  prospect  of  an  exact  resem- 
blance of  a  mountainous  country.  This 
he  did  to  please  his  queen,  becau-e  she 
had  been  brought  up  in  Media,  and  was 
fond  of  a  mountainous  situation." 

This  is  what  Berosus  relates  concerning 
the  before-mentioned  king,  as  he  relates 
many  other  things  about  him  also  in  the 
third  book  of  his  Chaldean  History; 
wherein  he  complains  of  the  Grecian 
writers  for  supposing,  without  any  found- 
ation, that  Babylon  was  built  by  Semi- 
ramis,  queen  of  Assyria,  and  for  her  false 
pretence  to  those  wonderful  edifices  thereto 
relating,  as  if  they  were  her  own  work- 
manship; as  indeed  in  these  affairs,  the 
Chaldean  History  cannot  but  be  the  most 
credible.  Moreover,  we  meet  with  a  con- 
firmation of  what  Berosus  says,  in  the 
archives  of  the  Phoenicians,  concerning 
this  king  Nabuchodonosor,  that  he  con- 
quered all  Syria  and  Phoenicia;  in  which 
case  Philostratus  agrees  with  the  others 
in  that  history  which  he  composed,  where 
he  mentions  the  siege  of  Tyre;  as  does 
Megasthenes  also,  in  the  fourth  book  of 
his  Indian  History,  wherein  he  pretends 
to  prove  that  the  before-mentioned  king  of 
the  Babylonians  was  superior  to  Hercules 
in  strength,  and  the  greatness  of  his  ex- 
ploits ;  for  he  says  that  he  conquered  a 
great  part  of  Libya,  and  conquered  Iberia 
also.  Now,  as  to  what  I  have  said  before 
about  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  that  it  was 
fought  against  by  the  Babylonians,  and 
burnt  by  them,  but  was  opened  again 
when   Cyrus  had  taken   the  kingdom  of 


Asia,  shall  now  be  dc  a.  jnstrated  from 
what  Berosus  adds  further  upon  that  head ; 
for  thus  be  says  in  his  third  book : — "  Na- 
buchodonosor, after  he  had  begun  to  build 
the  before-mentioned  wall,  fell  sick,  and 
departed  this  life,  when  he  had  reigned 
forty-three  years;  whereupon  his  son  Evil- 
merodach  obtained  the  kingdom.  He 
governed  public  affairs  after  an  illegal  and 
impure  manner,  and  had  a  plot  laid  against 
him  by  Neriglissoor,  his  sister's  husband, 
and  was  slain  by  him  when  he  had  reigned 
but  two  years.  After  he  was  slain,  Neri- 
glissoor, the  person  who  plotted  against 
him,  succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom,  and 
reigned  four  years ;  his  son  Laborosoar- 
chod  obtained  the  kingdom,  though  he  was 
but  a  child,  and  kept  it  nine  mouths ;  but 
by  reason  of  the  very  ill  temper  and  ill 
practices  he  exhibited  to  the  world,  a  plot 
was  laid  against  him  also  by  his  friends, 
and  he  was  tormented  to  death.  After 
his  death,  the  conspirators  got  together, 
and  by  common  consent  put  the  crown 
upon  the  head  of  Nabonnedus,  a  man  of 
Babylon,  and  one  who  belonged  to  that 
insurrection.  In  his  reign  it  was  that  the 
walls  of  the  city  of  Babylon  were  curiously 
built  with  burnt  brick  and  bitumen;  but 
when  he  was  come  to  the  seventeenth  year 
of  his  reign,  Cyrus  came  out  of  Persia 
with  a  great  army ;  and  having  already 
conquered  all  the  rest  of  Asia,  he  came 
hastily  to  Babylonia.  When  Nabonuedus 
perceived  he  was  coming  to  attack  him,  he 
met  him  with  his  forces,  and  joining  battle 
with  him,  was  beaten,  and  fled  away  with 
a  few  of  his  troops  with  him,  and  was  shut 
up  within  the  city  Borsippus.  Hereupon 
Cyrus  took  Babylon,  and  gave  order  that 
the  outer  walls  of  the  city  should  be  de- 
molished, because  the  city  had  proved 
very  troublesome  to  him,  and  cost  him  a 
great  deal  of  pains  to  take  it.  He  then 
marched  away  to  Borsippus,  to  besiege 
Nabonnedus  ;  but  as  Nabonnedus  did  not 
sustain  the  siege,  but  delivered  himself 
into  his  hands,  he  was  at  first  kindly 
used  by  Cyrus,  who  gave  him  Carmania, 
as  a  place  for  him^to  inhabit  in,  but  sent 
him  out  of  Babylonia.  Accordingly,  Na- 
bonnedus spent  the  rest  of  his  time  in  that 
country,  and  there  died." 

These  accounts  agree  with  the  true  his- 
tory in  our  books ;  for  in  them  it  is  writ- 
ten that  Nebuchadnezzar,  in  the  eighteenth 
year  of  his  reign,  laid  our  temple  desolate, 
and  so  it  lay  in  that  state  of  obscurity  for 
fifty  years;   but  that  in   the  second  yeaa 


BujB   I.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPIIUS  AGAINST    APIOft. 


893 


of  the  reign  of  Cyrus,  its  foundations 
were  laid,  and  it  was  finished  again  in  the 
second  year  of  Darius.  I  will  now  add 
the  records  of  the  Phoenicians  ;  for  it  will 
not  be  altogether  superfluous  to  give  the 
reader  demonstrations  more  than  enow  on 
this  occasion.  In  them  we  have  this  enu- 
meration of  the  times  of  their  several 
kings  : — "  Nabuchodouosoi  besieged  Tyre 
for  thirteen  years  in  the  days  of  Ithobal, 
their  king;  after  him  reigned  Baal,  ten 
years  ;  after  him  were  judges  appointed, 
who  judged  the  people  :  Ecmbalus,  the 
son  of  Balsacus,  two  months;  Chclbes, 
the  son  of  Abdeus,  ten  months ;  Abhar, 
the  high  priest,  three  months;  Mitgonus 
and  Gerastratus,  the  sons  of  Abdelemus, 
were  judges  six  years  ;  after  whom  Bala- 
torus  reigned  one  year ;  after  his  death 
they  sent  and  fetched  Merbalus  from  Ba- 
bylon, who  reigned  four  years  ;  after  his 
death  they  sent  for  his  brother  Hiram, 
who  reigned  twenty  years.  Under  his 
reign  Cyrus  became  king  of  Persia."  So 
that  the  whole  interval  is  fifty-four  years, 
besides  three  months;  for  in  the  seventh 
year  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  he 
began  to  besiege  Tyre ;  and  Cyrus  the 
Persian  took  the  kingdom  in  the  four- 
teenth year  of  Hiram.  So  that  the  re- 
records  of  the  Chaldeans  and  Tyrians 
agree  with  our  writings  about  this  temple; 
and  the  testimonies  here  produced  are  an 
indisputable  and  undeniable  attestation 
to  the  antiquity  of  our  nation ;  and  I 
suppose  that  what  I  have  already  said 
may  be  sufficient  to  such  as  are  not  very 
contentious. 

But  now  it  is  proper  to  satisfy  the  in- 
quiry of  those  that  disbelieve  the  records 
of  barbarians,  and  think  none  but  Greeks 
to  be  worthy  of  credit,  and  to  produce 
many  of  these  very  Greeks  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  our  nation,  and  to  set  be- 
fore them  such  as  upon  occasion  have 
made  mention  of  us  in  their  own  writings. 
Pythagoras,  therefore,  of  Samos,  lived  in 
very  ancient  times,  and  was  esteemed  a 
person  superior  to  all  philosophers,  in  wis- 
dom and  piety  toward  God.  Now  it  is 
plain  that  he  did  not  only  know  our  doc- 
trines, but  was  in  very  great  measure  a 
follower  and  admirer  of  them.  There  is 
not,  indeed,  extant,  any  writing  that  is 
owned  for  his;  but  many  there  are  who 
have  written  his  history,  of  whom  Her- 
mippus  is  the  most  celebrated,  who  was  a 
person  very  inquisitive  in  all  sorts  of  his- 
tory.    Now  this  Hermippus,  in  his  first 


book  concerning  Pythagoras,  speaks  thus  : 
"  That  Pythagoras,  upon  the  death  of  one 
of  his  associates,  whose  name  was  Calli- 
phon,  a  Crotoniate  by  birth,  affirmed  that 
this  man's  soul  conversed  with  him  both 
night  and  day,  and  enjoined  him  not  to 
pass  over  a  place  where  an  ass  had  fallen 
down  ;  as  also  not  to  drink  of  such  waters 
as  caused  thirst  again ;  and  to  abstain 
from  all  sorts  of  reproaches."  After 
which  he  adds  thus :  "  This  he  did  and 
said  in  imitation  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Jews  and  Thracians,  which  he  transferred 
into  his  own  philosophy."  For  it  is  very 
truly  affirmed  of  this  Pythagoras,  that  ho 
took  a  great  many  of  the  laws  of  the  Jews 
into  his  own  philosophy.  Nor  was  our 
nation  unknown  of  old  to  several  of  the 
Grecian  cities,  and,  indeed,  was  thought 
worthy  of  imitation  by  some  of  them. 
This  is  declared  by  Theophrastus,  in  his 
writings  concerning  laws  ;  for  he  says  that 
"  the  laws  of  the  Tyrians  forbid  men  to 
swear  foreign  oaths."  Among  which  he 
enumerates  some  others,  and  particularly 
that  called  Corban  ;  which  oath  can  only 
be  found  among  the  Jews,  and  declares 
what  a  man  may  call  "  A  thing  devoted  to 
God."  Nor,  indeed,  was  Herodotus,  of 
Halicarnassus,  unacquainted  with  our  na- 
tion, but  mentions  it  after  a  way  of  his 
own,  when  he  saith  thus,  in  the  second 
book  concerning  the  Colchians.  His 
words  are  these  : — "  The  only  people  who 
were  circumcised  in  their  privy  members 
originally,  were  the  Culchians,  the  P^gyp- 
tians,  and  the  Ethiopians;  but  the  Phoe- 
nicians and  those  Syrians  that  are  in  Pa- 
lestine, confess  that  they  learned  it  from 
the  Egyptians;  and  as  for  those  Syrians 
who  live  about  the  rivers  Thermoden  and 
Parthemius,  and  their  neighbours  the  Ma- 
crones,  they  say  they  have  lately  learned 
it  from  the  Colchians;  for  these  are  the 
only  people  that  are  circumcised  among 
mankind,  and  appear  to  have  done  the 
very  same  thing  with  the  Egyptians;  but 
as  for  the  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians  them- 
selves, I  am  not  able  to  say  which  of  them 
received  it  from  the  other."  This,  there- 
fore, is  what  Herodotus  says,  that  "  the 
Syrians  that  are  in  Palestine  are  circum- 
cised." But  there  are  no  inhabitants  of 
Palestine  that  are  circumcised  excepting 
the  Jews;  and,  therefore,  it  must  be  his 
knowledge  of  them  that  enabled  him  to 
speak  so  much  concerning  them.  Chcri- 
lus  also,  a  still  more  ancient  writer,  aud  a 
poet,   makes   mention   of  our  nation,  aiu1 


894 


FLAVIUS   .OSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  I 


informs  us  that  it  came  to  the  assistance 
of  King  Xerxes,  in  his  expedition  against 
Greece ;  for,  in  his  enumeration  of  all 
those  nations,  he  last  of  all  inserts  ours 
among  the  rest,  when  he  says — "  At  the 
last  there  passed  over  a  people,  wonderful 
to  be  beheld ;  for  they  spake  the  Phoeni- 
cian tongue  with  their  mouths  ;  they 
dwelt  in  the  Solymean  mountains,  near  a 
broad  lake :  their  heads  were  sooty  ;  they 
had  round  rasures  on  them  :  their  heads 
and  faces  were  like  nasty  horse-heads  also, 
that  had  been  hardened  in  the  smoke." 
I  think,  therefor^,  that  it  is  evident  to 
everybody  that  Cherilus  means  us,  because 
the  Solymean  mountains  are  in  our  coun- 
try, wherein  we  inhabit,  as  is  also  the  lake 
called  Asphaltitis;  for  this  is  a  broader 
and  larger  lake  than  any  other  that  is  in 
Syria  :  and  thus  does  Cherilus  make  men- 
tion of  us.  But  now  that  not  only  the 
lowest  sort  of  the  Grecians,  but  those  that 
are  held  in  the  greatest  admiration  for 
their  philosophic  improvements  among 
them,  did  not  only  know  the  Jews,  but 
when  they  lighted  upon  any  of  them  ad- 
mired them  also,  it  is  easy  for  any  one  to 
know ;  for  Clearchus,  who  was  the  scho- 
lar of  Aristotle,  and  inferior  to  no  one  of 
the  Peripatetics  whomsoever,  in  his  first 
book  concerning  sleep,  says  that  "  Aristo- 
tle, his  master,  related  what  follows  of  a 
Jew,"  and  sets  down  Aristotle's  own  dis- 
course with  him.  The  account  is  tbfis,  as 
written  down  by  him  : — "  Now,  for  a  great 
part  of  what  this  Jew  said,  it  would  be 
too  long  to  recite  it ;  but  what  includes  in 
it  both  wonder  and  philosophy,  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  discourse  of.  Now,  that  I 
may  be  plain  with  thee,  Hyperochides,  I 
shall  herein  seem  to  thee  to  relate  won- 
ders, and  what  will  resemble  dreams  them- 
selves. Hereupon  Hyperochides  answered 
modestly,  and  said,  For  that  very  reason  it 
is  that  all  of  us  are  very  desirous  of  hear- 
ing what  thou  art  going  to  say.  Then 
replied  Aristotle,  For  this  cause  it  will  be 
the  best  way  to  imitate  that  rule  of  the 
rhetoricians,  which  requires  us  first  to  give 
dn  account  of  the  man,  and  of  what  na- 
tion he  was,  that  so  we  may  not  contra- 
dict our  master's  directions.  Then  said 
Hyperochides,  Go  on,  jf  it  so  pleases 
thee.  This  man  then  [answered  Aristo- 
tle] was  by  birth  a  Jew,  and  came  from 
Celesyria ;  these  Jews  are  derived  from 
the  Indian  philosophers;  they  are  named 
by  the  Indians  Calami,  and  by  the  Syrians 
Judsei,    and    took    their  name  from    the 


country  they  inhabit,  which  is  called 
Judea;  but  for  the  name  of  their 
city  it  is  a  very  awkward  one,  for  they 
call  it  Jerusalem.  Now  this  man,  when 
he  was  hospitably  treated  by  a  great  many, 
came  down  from  the  upper  country  to  the 
places  near  the  sea>  and  became  a  Grecian, 
not  only  in  his  language,  but  in  his  soul 
also ;  insomuch  that  when  we  ourselve* 
happened  to  be  in  Asia  about  the  same 
places  whither  he  came,  he  conversed  with 
us  and  with  other  philosophical  persons,  and 
made  a  trial  of  our  skill  in  philosophy; 
and,  as  he  had  lived  with  many  learned 
men,  he  communicated  to  us  more  infor- 
mation than  he  received  from  us."  This 
is  Aristotle's  account  of  the  matter,  as 
given  us  by  Clearchus;  which  Aristotle 
discoursed  also  particularly  of  the  great 
and  wonderful  fortitude  of  this  Jew  in 
his  diet,  and  continent  way  of  living,  as 
those  that  please  may  learn  more  about 
him  from  Clearchus' s  book  itself;  for  I 
avoid  setting  down  any  more  than  is  suffi- 
cient for  my  purpose.  Now  Clearchus 
said  this  by  way  of  digression,  for  his 
main  design  was  of  another  nature  ;  but 
for  Hecateus  of  Abdera,  who  was  both  a 
philosopher,  and  one  very  useful  in  an 
active  life,  he  was  contemporary  with 
King  Alexander  in  his  youth,  and  after- 
ward with  Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus ;  he 
did  not  write  about  the  Jewish  affairs  by- 
the-by  only,  but  composed  an  entire  book 
concerning  the  Jews  themselves;  out  of 
which  book  I  am  willing  to  run  over  a  few 
things,  of  which  I  have  been  treating  by 
way  of  epitome.  And  in  the  first  place  I 
will  demonstrate  the  time  when  this  He- 
cateus lived ;  for  he  mentions  the  fight 
that  was  between  Ptolemy  and  Demetrius 
about  Gaza,  which  was  fought  in  the  ele- 
venth year  after  the  death  of  Alexander, 
and  in  the  117th  olympiad,  as  Castor  says 
in  history.  For  when  he  had  set  down 
this  olympiad,  he  says  further,  that  "  on 
this  olympiad,  Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus, 
beat  in  battle  Demetrius,  the  son  of  An- 
tigonus,  who  was  named  Poliorcetes,  at 
Gaza."  Now,  it  is  agreed  by  all,  that 
Alexander  died  in  the  114th  olympiad; 
it  is,  therefore,  evident  that  our  nation 
flourished  in  his  time,  and  in  the  time  of 
Alexander.  Again,  Hecateus  says  to  the 
same  purpose,  as  follows  : — "  Ptolemy  got 
possession  of  the  places  in  Syria  after  the 
battle  at  Gaza ;  aud  many,  when  they 
heard  of  Ptolemy's  moderation  and  hu- 
manity, went  along   with   him  to  Ijgypt 


Cook  I.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


895 


and  were  willing  to  assist  him  in  his  af- 
fairs ;  one  of  whom  (Hecateus  pays)  was 
Ilezekiah,  the  high  priest  of  the  Jews ;  a 
man  of  about  sixty-six  years  of  age,  and 
in  great  dignity  among  his  own  people. 
He  was  a  very  sensible  man,  and  could 
epeak  very  movingly,  and  was  very  skilful 
in  the  management  of  affairs,  if  any  other 
man  ever  were  so ;  although,  as  he  says, 
all  the  priests  of  the  Jews  took  tithes  of 
the  products  of  the  earth,  and  managed 
public  affairs,  and  were  in  number  not 
above  1500  at  the  most."  Hecateus 
mentions  this  Hezekiah  a  second  time, 
and  says  that,  "  as  he  was  possessed  of  so 
great  a  dignity,  and  was  become  familiar 
with  us,  so  did  he  take  certain  of  those 
that  were  with  him,  and  explained  to 
them  all  the  circumstances  of  their  peo- 
ple ;  for  he  had  all  their  habitations  and 
polity  down  in  writing/'  Moreover, 
Hecateus  declares  again,  "  what  regard 
we  have  for  our  laws,  and  that  we  resolve 
to  endure  any  thing  rather  than  transgress 
them,  because  we  think  it  right  for  us  to 
do  so."  Whereupon  he  adds,  that,  "al- 
though they  are  in  a  bad  reputation  among 
their  neighbours,  and  among  all  those  that 
come  to  them,  and  have  been  often  treated 
injuriously  by  the  kings  and  governors  of 
Persia,  yet  can  they  not  be  dissuaded  from 
acting  what  they  think  best;  but  that 
when  they  are  stripped  on  this  account, 
and  have  torments  inflicted  upon  them, 
and  they  are  brought  to  the  most  terrible 
kinds  of  death,  they  meet  them  after  a 
most  extraordinary  manner,  beyond  all 
other  people,  and  will  not  renounce  the 
religion  of  their  forefathers."  Hecateus 
also  produces  demonstrations  not  a  few  of 
this  their  resolute  tenaciousness  of  their 
laws,  when  he  speaks  thus  : — "  Alexander 
was  once  at  Babylon,  and  had  an  intention 
to  rebuild  the  temple  of  Belus  that  was 
fallen  to  decay,  and,  in  order  thereto,  he 
commanded  all  his  soldiers  in  general  to 
bring  earth  thither.  But  the  Jews,  and 
they  only,  would  not  comply  with  that 
commaud;  nay,  they  underwent  stripes 
and  great  losses  of  what  they  had  on  this 
account,  till  the  king  forgave  them,  and 
permitted  them  to  live  in  quiet."  He 
adds  further,  that  "  when  the  Macedonians 
came  to  them  in  that  country,  and  demo- 
lished the  [old]  temples  and  the  altars, 
they  assisted  them  in  demolishing  them 
all  ;  but  [for  not  assisting  them  in  re- 
building them]  thev  either  underwent 
losses,  or  sometimes  obtained  forgiveness." 


He  adds  further,  that  "these  men  deserve 
to  be  admired  on  that  account."  He  also 
speaks  of  the  mighty  populousness  of  our 
nation,  and  says  that  "  the  Persians  for- 
merly carried  away  many  ten  thousands 
of  our  people  to  Babylon,  as  also  that  not 
a  few  ten  thousands  were  removed  after 
Alexander's  death  into  Egypt  and  Phoe- 
nicia, by  reason  of  the  sedition  that  was 
arisen  in  Syria."  The  same  person  takea 
notice  in  his  history  how  large  the  coun- 
try is  which  we  inhabit,  as  well  as  of  its 
excellent  character,  and  says  that  "  the 
land  in  which  the  Jews  inhabit  contains 
3,000,000  of  arourae,  and  is  generally  of  a 
most  excellent  and  most  fruitful  soil;  nor 
is  Judea  of  lesser  dimensions."  The 
same  man  describes  our  city  Jerusalem 
also  itself  as  of  a  most  excellent  structure, 
and  very  large,  and  inhabited  from  the 
most  ancient  times.  He  also  discourses 
of  the  multitude  of  men  in  it,  and  of  the 
construction  of  our  temple,  after  the  fol- 
lowing manner : — "  There  are  many  strong 
places  and  villages  (says  he)  in  the  coun- 
try of  Judea  ;  but  one  strong  city  there  is, 
about  fifty  furlongs  in  circumference, 
which  is  inhabited  by  120,000  men,  or 
thereabouts :  they  call  it  Jerusalem. 
There  is,  about  the  middle  of  the  city, 
a  wall  of  stone,  the  length  of  which  is 
500  feet,  and  the  breadth  100  cubits,  with 
double  cloisters;  wherein  there  is  a  square 
altar,  not  made  of  hewn  stone,  but  com- 
posed of  white  stones  gathered  together, 
having  each  side  twenty  cubits  long,  and 
its  altitude  ten  cubits.  Hard  by  it  is  a 
large  edifice,  wherein  there  is  an  altar  and 
a  candlestick,  both  of  gold,  and  in  weight 
two  talents;  upon  these  there  is  a  light 
that  is  never  extinguished,  neither  by 
night  nor  by  day.  There  is  no  image,  nor 
any  thing,  nor  any  donations  therein  :  no- 
thing at  all  is  there  planted,  neither  grove, 
nor  any  thing  of  that  sort.  The  priests 
abide  therein  both  nights  and  days,  per- 
forming certain  purifications,  and  drinking 
not  the  least  drop  of  wine  while  they  are 
in  the  temple."  Moreover,  he  attests  that 
we  Jews  went  as  auxiliaries  along  with 
King  Alexander,  and  after  him  with  his 
successors.  I  will  add  further  what  he 
says  he  learned  when  he  was  himself  with 
the  same  army,  concerning  the  actions  of 
a  man  that  was  a  Jew.  His  words  are 
these  : — "  As  I  was  myself  going  to  the 
Red  Sea,  there  followed  us  a  man  whose 
name  was  Mosollam;  he  was  one  of  the 
Jewish   horsemen  who  conducted  us ;  he 


896 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[BuOK    1 


was  a  person  of  great  courage,  of  a  strong 
body,  and  by  all  allowed  to  be  the  most 
skilful  archer  that  was  either  among  the 
Greeks  or  barbarians.     Now  this  man,  as 
people  were  in  great  numbers  passing  along 
the  road,  and  a  certain  augur  was  observ- 
ing an  augury  by  a  bird,  and  requiring 
them  all  to  stand  still,  inquired  what  they 
stayed  for.     Hereupon  the  augur  showed 
him   the  bird  from   whence  he  took    his 
augury,   and    told    him  that  if   the  bird 
stayed  where  he  was,  they  ought  all  to 
stand  still ;    but   that  if  he  got  up,  and 
flew  onward,  they  must  go  forward ;  but 
that  if  he  flew  backward,  they  must  retire 
again.       Mosollam    made    no    reply,    but 
drew  his  bow,  and  shot  at  the  bird,  and 
hit  him,  and  killed  him ;  and  as  the  augur 
and   some    others   were  very   angry,   and 
wished    imprecations   upon    him,    he  an- 
swered the  in  thus  :  Why  are  you  so  mad 
as   to  take  this  most  unhappy  bird  into 
your  hands?  for  how  can  this  bird  give  us 
any  true  information  concerning  our  march, 
which  could  not  foresee  how  to  save  him- 
self?  for  had  he  been  able  to  foreknow 
what  was  future,  he  would  not  have  come 
to  this  place,  but  would  have  been  afraid 
lest  Mosollam  the  Jew  would  shoot  at  him, 
and  kill  him."     But  of  Hecateus's  testi- 
monies we  have  said  enough,  for  as  to  such 
as  desire  to  know  more  of  them,  they  may 
easily   obtain   them   from  his  book  itself. 
However,  I  shall  not  think  it  too  much 
for  me  to  name  Agatharchides,  as  having 
made  mention  of  us  Jews,  though  in  way 
of  derision  at  our  simplicity,  as  he  sup- 
poses it  to  be;  for  when  he  was  discoursing 
of  the  affairs  of  Stratonice,  "  how  she  came 
out  of  Macedonia  into  Syria,  and  left  her 
husband  Demetrius,   while  yet   Seleucus 
would  not  marry  her  as  she  expected,  but 
during  the  time  of  his  raising  an  army  at 
Babylon,  stirred  up  a  sedition  about  An- 
tioch;   and  how  after  that  the  king  came 
back,  and  upon  his  taking  of  Antioch,  she 
fled  to  Seleucia,  and  had  it  in  her  power 
to  sail  away  immediately,  yet  did  she  com- 
ply with  a  dream  which  forbade  her  so  to 
do,  and  so  was  caught  and  put  to  death. " 
When  Agatharchides  had  premised   this 
dtory,  and  had  jested  upon  Stratonice  for 
her  superstition,  he  gives  a  like  example 
of  what  was  reported  concerning  us,  and 
writes  thus: — "There  are  a  people  called 
Jews,  who  dwell  in  a  city  the  strongest  of 
all  other  cities,  which  the  inhabitants  call 
Jerusalem,  and  are  accustomed  to  rest  on 
every  seventh  day;  on  which  times  they 


make  no  use  of  their  arms,  nor  meddle 
with  husbandry,  nor  take  care  of  any 
affairs  of  life,  but  spread  out  their  handa 
in  their  holy  places,  and  pray  till  the  even- 
ing. Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  when 
Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus,  came  into  this 
city  with  his  army,  these  men,  in  observing 
this  mad  custom  of  theirs,  instead  of 
guarding  the  city,  suffered  their  country 
to  submit  itself  to  a  bitter  lord ;  and  their 
law  was  openly  proved  to  have  commanded 
a  foolish  practice.*  This  accident  taught 
all  other  men  but  the  Jews  to  disregard 
such  dreams  as  these  were,  and  not  to  fol- 
low the  like  idle  suggestions  delivered  as 
a  law,  when,  in  such  uncertainty  of  human 
reason iugs,  they  are  at  a  loss  what  they 
should  do."  Now  this  our  procedure 
seems  a  ridiculous  thing  to  Agatharchides, 
but  will  appear  to  such  as  consider  it 
without  prejudice  a  great  thing,  and  what 
deserved  a  great  many  encomiums ;  I 
mean,  when  certain  men  constantly  prefer 
the  observation  of  their  laws,  and  their 
religion  toward  God,  before  the  preserva- 
tion of  themselves  and  their  country. 

Now,  that  some  writers  have  omitted  to 
mention  our  nation,  not  because  they 
knew  nothing  of  us,  but  because  they  en- 
vied us,  or  for  some  other  unjustifiable 
reasons,  I  think  I  can  demonstrate  by 
particular  instances;  for  Hieronymus,  who 
wrote  the  History  of  [Alexander's]  suc- 
cessors, lived  at  the  same  time  with  He- 
cateus,  aud  was  a  friend  of  King  Antigonus, 
and  president  of  Syria.  Now,  it  is  plain 
that  Hecateus  wrote  an  entire  book  con- 
cerning us,  while  Hieronymus  never  men- 
tions us  in  his  history,  although  he  was 
bred  up  very  near  to  the  places  where  we 
live.  Thus  different  from  one  another  are 
the  inclinations  of  men ;  while  the  one 
thought  we  deserved  to  be  carefully  re- 
membered, as  some  ill-disposed  passion 
blinded  the  other's  mind  so  entirely,  that 
he  could  not  discern  the  truth.  And  now, 
certainly,  the  foregoing  records  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  Chaldeans,  and  Phoeni- 
cians, together  with  so  many  of  the  Greek 
writers,  will  be  sufficient  for  the  demon- 
stration of  our  antiquity.  Moreover,  be- 
sides those  before  mentioned,  Theophilus, 
Theodotus,  and  Mnaseas,  and  Aristo- 
phanes, and  Hermogenes,  Euhemerus  also, 
and  Conon,  and  Zopyrion,  and  perhaps 
many  others  (for  I  have  not  lighted  upon 


*  Not  their  law,  but  the  superstitious  interpret* 
tion  of  their  leaders. 


fWOK  I.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


897 


all  the  Greek  books)  have  made  distinct 
mention  of  us.  It  is  true,  many  of  the 
men  before  mentioned  have  made  great 
mistakes  about  the  true  accounts  of  our 
nation  in  the  earliest  times,  because  they 
had  not  perused  our  sacred  books;  yet 
have  they  all  of  them  afforded  their  testi- 
mony to  our  antiquity,  concerning  which 
I  am  now  treating.  However,  Demetrius 
Phalerus,  and  the  elder  Philo,  with  Eupo- 
lemus,  have  not  greatly  missed  the  truth 
about  our  affairs ;  whose  lesser  mistakes 
ought  therefore  to  be  forgiven  ♦hem ;  for 
it  was  not  in  their  power  to  understand 
our  writings  with  the  utmost  accuracy. 

One  particular  there  is  still  remaining 
behind  of  what  I  at  first  proposed  to  speak 
to,  and  that  is  to  demonstrate  that  those 
calumnies  and  reproaches,  which  some 
have  thrown  upon  our  nation,  are  lies,  and 
to  make  use  of  those  writers'  own  testi- 
monies against  themselves  :  and  that  in 
general  this  self-contradiction  hath  hap- 
pened to  many  other  authors  by  reason  of 
their  ill-will  to  some  people,  I  conclude, 
is  not  unknown  to  such  as  have  read  his- 
tories with  sufficient  care ;  for  some  of 
them  have  endeavoured  to  disgrace  the  no- 1 
bility  of  certain  nations,  and  of  some  of 
the  most  glorious  cities,  and  have  cast  re- 
proaches upon  certain  forms  of  govern- 
ment. Thus  hath  Theopompus  abused 
the  city  of  Athens,  Polycrates  that  of  La-  I 
cedemon,  as  hath  he  that  wrote  the  Tiipo- 1 
liticus  (for  he  is  not  Theopompus,  as  is 
supposed  by  some,)  done  by  the  city  of 
Thebes.  Timeusalso  hath  greatly  abused 
the  foregoing  people  and  others  also ;  and 
this  ill  treatment  they  use  chiefly  when 
they  have  a  contest  with  men  of  the  great- 
est reputation  ;  some,  out  of  envy  and 
malice,  and  others  as  supposing  that  by 
this  foolish  talking  of  theirs,  they  may  be 
thought  worthy  of  being  remembered 
themselves ;  and,  indeed,  they  do  by  no 
means  fail  of  their  hopes,  with  regard  to 
the  foolish  part  of  mankind,  but  men  of 
sober  judgment  still  condemn  them  of 
great  malignity. 

Now  the  Egyptians  were  the  first  that 
cast  reproaches  upon  us;  in  order  to 
please  which  nation,  some  others  under- 
took to  pervert  the  truth,  while  they  would 
neither  own  that  our  forefathers  came  into 
Egypt  from  another  country,  as  the  fact 
was,  nor  give  a  true  account  of  our  depar- 
ture thence;  and  indeed  the  Egyptians 
took  many  occasions  to  hate  us  and  envy 
as :  in  the  first  place,  because  our  ancestors 
57 


had  had  the  dominion  over  their  country,* 
and  when  they  were  delivered  from  them, 
and  gone  to  their  own  country  again,  they 
lived  there  in  prosperity.  In  the  next 
place,  the  difference  of  our  religion  from 
theirs  hath  occasioned  great  enmity  be- 
tween us,  while  our  way  of  divine  worship 
did  as  much  exceed  that  which  their  laws 
appointed,  as  does  the  nature  of  Grod  ex- 
ceed that  of  brute  beasts ;  for  so  far  tiujy 
all  agree  through  the  whole  country,  to 
esteem  such  animals  as  gods,  although 
they  differ  from  one  another  in  the  pecu- 
liar worship  they  severally  pay  to  them  ; 
and  certainly,  men  they  are  entirely  of 
vain  and  foolish  minds,  who  have  thus  ac- 
customed themselves  from  the  beginning 
to  have  such  bad  notions  concerning  their 
gods,  and  could  not  think  of  imitating  that 
decent  form  of  divine  worship  which  was 
made  use  of,  though,  when  they  saw  our 
institutions  approved  of  by  many  others, 
they  could  not  but  envy  us  on  that  ac- 
count ;  for  some  of  them  have  proceeded 
to  that  degree  of  folly  and  meanness  in 
their  conduct,  as  not  to  scruple  to  contra- 
dict their  own  ancient  records,  nay,  to  con- 
tradict themselves  also  in  their  writings, 
and  yet  were  so  blinded  by  their  passions 
as  not  to  discern  it. 

And  now  I  will  turn  my  discourse  to 
one  of  their  principal  writers,  whom  I  have 
a  little  before  made  use  of  as  a  witness  to 
our  antiquity  :  I  mean  Manetho.j*  He 
promised  to  interpret  the  Egyptian  history 
out  of  their  sacred  writings,  and  promised 
this :  that  "  our  people  had  come  into 
Egypt,  many  ten  thousands  in  number, 
and  subdued  its  inhabitants;"  and  when 
he  had  further  confessed  that  "  we  went 
out  of  that  country  afterward,  and  settled 
in  that  country  which  is  now  called  Judea, 

*  The   Phoenician    shepherds,  whom   Josephus 
mistook  for  the  Israelites. 

■f-  "  In  reading  th'13  and  the  remaining  sections  of 
this  book,  and  some  parts  of  the  next,  one  may 
easily  perceive  that  our  usually  cool  and  candid 
author,  Josephus,  was  too  highly  offended  with  the 
impudent  calumnies  of  Manetho,  and  the  other  bit- 
ter enemies  of  the  Jews,  with  whom  he  had  now  to 
deal,  and  was  thereby  betrayed  into  a  greater  heat 
and  passion  than  ordinary,  and  that  by  consequence 
he  docs  not  hear  reason  with  his  usual  fairness  and 
impartiality  ;  he  seems  to  depart  sometimes  from 
the  brevity  and  sincerity  of  a  faithful  historian, 
which  is  his  grand  character,  and  indulges  the  pro- 
lixity and  colours  of  ft  pleader  and  a  disputant: 
accordingly,  I  confess,  I  always  read  these  sections 
with  less  pleasure  than  I  do  the  rest  of  his  writ- 
ings; though  I  fully  believe  the  reproaches  cast 
on  the  Jews,  which  be  here  endeavours  to  confute 
and  expose,  were  wholly  groundless  and  unreason 
able." —  Whitton. 


898 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book. 


and  there  built  Jerusalem  and  its  temple." 
Now  thus  far  he  followed  his  ancient  re- 
cords; but  after  this  he  permits  himself, 
in  order  to  appear  to  have  written  what 
rumours  and  reports  passed  abroad  about 
the  Jews,  and  introduces  incredible  nar- 
rations, as  if  he  would  have  the   Egyp- 
tian    multitude,    that    had     the     leprosy 
and     other     distempers,    to    have    been 
mixed    with   us,  as    he    says    they  were, 
and  that  they  were  condemned  to  fly  out 
of  Egypt  together;  for  he  mentions  Ame- 
nophis,  a  fictitious  king's  name,  though  on 
that  account  he  durst  not  set  down  the 
number  of  years  of  his  reign,  which  yet  he 
had  accurately  done  as  to  the  other  kings 
he    mentions ;    he   then    ascribes    certain 
fabulous  stories  to  this  king,  as  having  in 
a  manner  forgotten    how  he  had  already 
related  that  the  departure  of  the  shepherds 
for  Jerusalem  had  been  518  years  before; 
for  Tethmosis  was  king  when  they  went 
away.     Now,  from  his  days,  the  reigns  of 
the  intermediate  kings,  according  to  Ma- 
netho,  amounted  to  393  years,  as  he  says 
himself,  till  the  two  brothers  Sethos  and 
Hermeus;  the  one  of  whom,  Sethos,  was 
called  by   that  other  name   of  Egyptus; 
and  the  other,  Hermeus,  by  that  of  Danaus. 
He  also  says  that  Sethos  cast  the  other  out 
of  Egypt,  and  reigned  fifty-nine  years,  as 
did  his  eldest  son  Rhampses  reign  after 
him    sixty-six    years.       When    JManetho, 
therefore,    had    acknowledged    that    our 
forefathers  had  gone  out  of  Egypt  so  many 
years  ago,  he  introduces  his  fictitious  king 
Amenophis,  and  says  thus:   "This   king 
was  desirous  to  become  a  spectator  of  the 
gods,  as  had  Orus,  one  of  his  predecessors 
in  that  kingdom,  desired  the  same  before 
him ;  he  also  communicated  that  his  de- 
sire to  his  namesake  Amenophis,  who  was 
the  son  of  Papis,  and  one  that  seemed  to 
partake  of  a  divine  nature,  both  as  to  wis- 
dom and  the   knowledge    of   futurities." 
Mauetho  adds — "  How  this  namesake  of 
his  told  him  that  he  might  see  the  gods  if 
he  would  clear  the  whole  country  of  the 
lepers   and  of  the  other  impure   people ; 
and  the  king  was  pleased  with  this  injunc- 
tion, and  got  together  all  that  had  any  de- 
fects in  their  bodies  out  of  Egypt.     And 
that  their  number  was  80,000  ;   whom  he 
sent  to  those  quarries  which  are  on  the 
east   side  of  the   Nile,    that  they  might 
work  in   them,  and   might    be   separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  Egyptians."  He  says 
further,   that   "  there   were   some    of    the 
learned  priests  that  were  polluted  with  the 


leprosy ;  but  that  still  this  Amenophis, 
the  wise  man  and  the  prophet,  was  afraid 
that  the  gods  would  be  angry  at  him  and 
at  the  king,  if  there  should  appear  to  have 
been  violence  offered  them ;  who  also 
added  this  further  [out  of  his  sagacity 
about  futurities],  that  certain  people  would 
come  to  the  assistance  of  these  polluted 
wretches,  and  would  conquer  Egypt,  and 
keep  it  in  their  possession  thirteen  years: 
that,  however,  he  durst  not  tell  the  king 
of  these  things,  but  that  he  left  a  writing 
behind  him  about  all  those  matters,  and. 
then  slew  himself,  which  made  the  king 
disconsolate." 

After  which  he  writes  thus,  verbatim  : 
"  After  those  that  were  sent  to  work  in  the 
quarries  had  continued  in  that  miserable 
state  for  a  long  while,  the  king  was  desired 
that  he  would  set  apart  the  city  Avaris, 
which  was  then  left  desolate  of  the 
shepherds,  for  their  habitation  and  pro- 
tection;  which  desire  he  granted  them. 
Now  this  city,  according  to  the  ancient 
theology,  was  Trypho's  city.  But  when 
these  men  were  gotten  into  it,  and  found 
the  place  fit  for  a  revolt,  they  appointed 
themselves  a  ruler  out  of  the  priests  of 
Heliopolis,  whose  name  was  Osarsiph,  and 
they  took  their  oaths  that  they  would  be 
obedient  to  him  in  all  things.  He  then, 
in  the  first  place,  made  this  law  for  them, 
that  they  should  neither  worship  the 
Egyptian  gods,  nor  should  abstain  from 
any  one  of  those  sacred  animals  which 
they  have  in  the  highest  esteem,  but  kill 
and  destroy  them  all ;  that  they  should 
join  themselves  to  nobody  but  to  those 
that  were  of  this  confederacy.  When  he 
had  made  such  laws  as  these,  and  many 
more  such  as  were  mainly  opposite  to  the 
customs  of  the  Egyptians,*  he  gave  order 
that  they  should  use  the  multitude  of  the 
hands  they  had  in  building  walls  about 
their  city,  and  make  themselves  ready  for 
a  war  with  King  Amenophis,  while  he  did 
himself  take  into  his  friendship  the  other 
priests  and  those  that  were  polluted  with 
them,  and  sent  ambassadors  to  those 
shepherds  who  had,  been  driven  out  of  the 
land  by  Tethmosis  to  the  city  called  Jeru- 
salem ;  whereby  he  informed  them  of  his 
own  affairs,  and  of  the  state  of  those 
others  that  had  been  treated  after  such  an 
ignominious  manner,  and  desired  that  they 

*  This  is  a  very  valuable  testimony  of  Manetho, 
that  the  laws  of  Osarsiph,  or  Moses,  were  not 
made  in  compliance  with,  but  in  opposition  to,  thfl 
customs  of  the  Egyptians. 


*5ook  1.1 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPIIUS  AGAINST  APION. 


899 


would  come  with  one  consent  to  his  as- 
sistance in  this  war  against  Egypt.  He 
a)so  promised  that  ne  would,  in  the  first 
place,  bring  them  back  to  their  ancient 
city  and  country  Avaris,  ana  provide  a 
plentiful  maintenance  for  their  multitude; 
that  he  would  protect  them  and  tight 
for  them  as  occasion  should  require,  and 
would  easily  reduce  the  country  under 
their  dominion.  These  shepherds  were 
all  very  glad  of  this  message,  and  came 
away  with  alacrity  all  together,  being  in 
number  200,000  men ;  and  in  a  little 
time  they  came  to  Avaris.  And  now 
Amenophis,  the  kin-g  of  Egypt,  upon  his 
being  informed  of  their  invasion,,  was  in 
great  confusion,  as  calling  to  mind  what 
Amenophis,  the  son  of  Papis,  had  foretold 
him ;  and  in  the  first  place,  he  assembled 
the  multitude  of  the  Egyptians,  and  took 
counsel  with  their  leaders,  and  sent  for 
their  sacred  animals  to  him,  especially  for 
those  that  were  principally  worshipped  in 
their  temple,  and  gave  a  particular  charge 
to  the  priests  distinctly,  that  they  should 
hide  the  images  of  their  gods  with  the 
utmost  care.  He  also  sent  his  son  Sethos, 
who  was  also  named  Ramesses  from  his 
father  Rhampses,  being  but  five  years  old, 
to  a  friend  of  his.  He  then  passed  on 
with  the  rest  of  the  Egyptians,  being 
300,000  of  the  most  warlike  of  them, 
against  the  enemy,  who  met  them.  Yet 
did  he  not  join  battle  with  them;  but 
thinking  that  would  be  to  fight  against 
the  gods,  he  returned  back  and  came  to 
Memphis,  where  he  took  Apis  and  the 
other  sacred  animals  which  he  had  sent 
for  to  him,  and  presently  marched  into 
Ethiopia,  together  with  his  whole  army 
and  multitude  of  Egyptians;  for  the  king 
of  Ethiopia  was  under  an  obligation  to 
him,  ou  which  account  he  received  hiro, 
and  took  care  of  all  the  multitude  that, 
was  with  him,  while  the  country  supplied 
all  that  was  necessary  for  the  food  of  the 
men.  He  also  allotted  cities  and  villages 
for  this  exile,  that  was  to  be  from  its  be- 
ginning during  those  fatally  determined 
thirteen  years.  Moreover,  he  pitched  a 
camp  for  his  Ethiopian  army,  as  a  guard 
to  King  Amenophis,  upon  the  borders  of 
Egypt.  And  this  was  the  st;ite  of  things 
in  Ethiopia.  But  for  the  people  of  Jeru- 
balem,  when  they  came  down  together 
with  the  polluted  Egyptians,  they  treated 
the  men  in  such  a  barbarous  manner,  that 
those  who  saw  how  they  subdued  the 
before  mentioned  country,  and  the  horrid 


wickedness  they  were  guilty  of,  thought  it 
a  most  dreadful  thing ;  for  they  did  not 
only  set  the  cities  and  villages  on  fire,  but 
were  not  satisfied  till  they  had  been  guilty 
of  sacrilege,  and  destroyed  the  images  of 
the  gods,  and  used  them  in  roasting  those 
sacred  animals  that  used  to  be  worshipped, 
and  forced  the  priests  and  prophets  ro  be 
the  executioners  and  murderers  of  those 
animals,  and  then  ejected  them  naked  out 
of  the  country.  It  was  also  reported  that 
the  priest  who  ordained  their  polity  and 
their  laws,  was  by  birth  of  Heliopolis ; 
and  his  name  Osarsiph,  from  Osiris,  who 
was  the  god  of  Heliopolis;  but  that  when 
he  was  gone  over  to  these  people,  his  name 
was  changed,  and  he  was  called  Moses." 

This  is  what  the  Egyptians  relate  about 
the  Jews,  with  much  more,  which  I  omit 
for  the  sake  of  brevity.  But  still  Mane 
tho  goes  on,  that  u  after  this,  Amenophis 
returned  from  Ethiopia  with  a  great  army, 
as  did  his  son  Rhampses  with  another 
army  also,  and  that  both  of  them  joined 
battle  with  the  shepherds  and  the  polluted 
people,  and  beat  them  and  slew  a  great 
many  of  them,  and  pursued  them  to  the 
bounds  of  Syria. "  These  and  the  like 
accounts  are  written  by  Manetho.  But  I 
will  demonstrate  that  he  trifles,  and  tells 
arrant  lies,  after  I  have  made  a  distinction 
which  will  relate  to  what  I  am  going  to 
say  about  him ;  for  this  Manetho  had 
granted  and  coufessed  that  this  nation 
was  not  originally  Egyptian,  but  that  they 
had  come  from  another  country,  and 
subdued  Egypt,  and  then  went  away  again 
out  of  it.  But  that  those  Egyptians  who 
were  thus  diseased  in  their  bodies  were  not 
mingled  with  us  afterward,  and  that  Moses 
who  brought  the  people  out  was  not  one  of 
that  company,  but  lived  many  generations 
earlier,  I  shall  endeavour  to  demonstrate 
from  Manetho's  own  accounts  themselves. 

Now,  for  the  first  occasion  of  this 
fiction,  Manetho  supposes  what  is  no  bet- 
ter than  a  ridiculous  thing;  for  he  says 
that  "  King  Amenophis  desired  to  see  the 
gods."  What  gods,  I  pray,  did  he  desire 
to  see  ?  If  he  meant  the  gods  whom  their 
laws  ordained  to  be  worshipped,  the  ox, 
the  goat,  the  crocodile,  and  the  baboon, 
he  saw  them  already  ;  but  for  the  heavenly 
gods,"  how  could  he  see  them,  and  what 
should  occasion  this  his  desire?  To  be 
sure,  it  was  because  another  king  before 
him  had  already  seen  them.  He  had 
then  been  informed  what  sort  of  gods 
they   were,  and  after  what   manner  th»y 


900 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  1 


had  been  s?en,  insomuch  that  he  did  not 
stand    in    need   of  any   new    artifice    for 
obtaining  this  sight.     However,  the  pro- 
phet, by  whose  means  the  king  thought 
to  compass    his  design  was  a  wise  man. 
If  so,  how  came  he  not  to  know  that  such 
his    desire  was  impossible  to  be  accom- 
plished ?  for  the  event  did  not  succeed. 
And   what   pretence    could   there    be   to 
suppose  that  the  gods  would  not  be  seen 
by  reason  of  the  people's  maims  in  their 
bodies,  or  leprosy  ?  for  the  gods  are  not 
angry  at  the  imperfection  of  bodies,  but 
at  wicked   practices ;    and   as   to    80,000 
lepers,  and  those  in  an  ill  state  also,  how 
is  it  possible  to  have  them  gathered  to- 
gether in  one  day  ?  nay,  how  came  the 
king  not  to  comply  with  the  prophet  ?  for 
his  injunction  was,  that  those  that  were 
maimed  should  be  expelled  out  of  Egypt, 
while  the  king  only  sent  them  to  work  in 
the  quarries,  as  if  he  were  rather  in  want 
of  labourers,  than  intended  to  purge  his 
country.      He   says    further,    that    "  this 
prophet  slew  himself,  as   foreseeing   the 
anger  of  the  gods,  and  those  events  which 
were  to  come  upon  Egypt  afterward ;  and 
that  he  left  this  prediction  for  the  king 
in  writing.     Besides,  how  came  it  to  pass 
that  this   prophet   did  not   foreknow  his 
own  death  at  the  first  ?  nay,  how  came  he 
not  to  contradict  the  king  in  his  desire  to 
see  the  gods  immediately  ?  how  came  that 
unreasonable  dread   upon   him    of  'judg- 
ments that  were  not  to  happen  in  his  life- 
time; or  what  worse  thing  could  he  suffer, 
out  of  the  fear  of  which  he  made  haste 
to  kill  himself?     But  now  let  us  see  the 
silliest  thing  of  all : — The  king,  although 
he    had   been   informed  of   these  things, 
and  terrified  with  the  fear  of  what  was  to 
come,  yet  did  not  he  even  then  eject  these 
maimed  people  out  of  his  country,  when 
it  had  been  foretold  him  that  he  was  to 
clear  Egypt  of  them  ;    but,  as  Manetho 
says,  "  He  then,  upon  their  request,  gave 
them  that  city  to  inhabit,  which  had  for- 
merly belonged  to  the  shepherds,  aud  was 
called  Avaris;  whither  when  they  were 
gone  in  crowds  (he  says)  they  chose  one 
that  had  formerly  been  priest  of  Helio- 
polis ;  and  that  this  priest  first  ordained 
that  they  snould  neither  worship  the  gods, 
nor  abstain  from  those  animals  that  were 
worshipped  by  the  Egyptians,  but  should 
kill  and  eat  them  all,  and  should  associate 
with  nobody  but  those  that  had  conspired 
with  them ;  and  that  he  bound  the  multi- 
tude by  oaths  to  be  sure  to  continue  in 


those  laws ;  and  that  when  he  had  built  a 
wall  about  Avaris,  he  made  war  against 
the  king,"    Manetho  adds  also,  that  "  this 
priest  sent  to  Jerusalem   to   invite   that 
people  to  come  to  his  assistance,  and  pro- 
mised to  give  them  Avaris;  for  that  it 
had  belonged  to  the  forefathers  of  those 
that  were  coming  from   Jerusalem,   aud 
that  when  they  were  come,  they  made  a 
war    immediately   against  the   king,  and 
got  possession  of  all   Egypt."     He  says 
also,  that  "  the  Egyptians  came  with  an 
army  of  200,000  men,  and  that  Ameno- 
phis,  the  king  of  Egypt,  not  thinking  that 
he  ought  to  fight  against  the  gods,  ran 
away  presently  into  Ethiopia,  and   com- 
mitted Apis   and   certain   other  of  their 
sacred  animals  to   the  priests,  and  com- 
manded them  to  take  care  of  preserving 
them/'    He  says  further,  that  "  the  people 
of  Jerusalem  came  accordingly  upon  the 
Egyptians,  and  overthrew  their  cities,  and 
burnt  their  temples,  and  slew  their  horse- 
men, and,  in    short,  abstained    from    no 
sort  of  wickedness  nor  barbarity  :  and  for 
that  priest  who  settled  their  polity  and 
their  laws,"  he  says  "  he  was  by  birth  of 
Heliopolis,  and  his  name  was  Osarsiph, 
from   Osiris,  the  god  of  Heliopolis;    but 
that    he    changed    his   name,  and   called 
himself  Moses."    He  then  says,  that  "  on 
the  thirteenth  year  afterward,  Amenophis, 
according  to  the  fatal  time  of  the  duration 
of  his  misfortunes,  came  upon  them  out 
of  Ethiopia  with  a  great  army,  and  joining 
battle  with  the  shepherds  and  with  the 
polluted  people,  overcame  them  in  battle, 
and  slew  a  great  many  of  them,  and  pur- 
sued them  as  far  as  the  bounds  of  Syria." 
Now  Manetho  does  not  reflect  upon  the 
improbability  of  his  lie;  for  the  leprous 
1  people,  and  the  multitude  that  was  with 
j  them,  although  they  might  formerly  have 
|  been  angry  at  the  king,  and  at  those  that 
!  had    treated  them   so   coarsely,   and  this 
!  according   to  the  prediction  of   the   pro- 
I  phet;  yet  certainly,  when  they  were  come 
I  out  of  the  mines,  and  had  received  of  the 
;  king  a  city,  and  a  country,   they  would 
have  grown  milder  toward    him.      How- 
i  ever,  had  they  ever  so  much  hated  him 
!  in    particular,    they    might    have    laid    a 
i  private    plot  against  himself,  but  would 
'  hardly    have    made  war    against   all   the 
Egyptians :  I  mean  this  on  the  account 
of  the  great  kindred   they  who  were  so 
numerous  must   have   had  among  them. 
|  Nay   still,  if   they  had  resolved   to  fight 
with  the  men,  they  would  not  h»ve  had 


liO  OK  I.  ] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPH  US  AGAINST  APION. 


901 


impudence  enough  to  fight  with  their  gods; 
nor  would  they  have  ordained  laws  quite 
contrary  to  those  of  their  own  country, 
and  to  those  in  which  they  had  been  bred 
up  themselves.  Yet  are  we  beholden  to 
Manetho,  that  he  does  not  lay  the  princi- 
pal charge  of  this  horrid  transgression 
upon  those  that  came  from  Jerusalem, 
but  says  that  the  Egyptians  themselves 
were  the  most  guilty,  and  that  they  were 
their  priests  that  contrived  these  things, 
and  made  the  multitude  take  their  oaths 
for  doing  so ;  but  still  how  absurd  is  it  to 
suppose  that  none  of  these  people's  own 
relations  or  friends  should  be  prevailed 
with  to  revolt,  nor  to  undergo  the  hazards 
of  war  with  them ;  while  these  polluted 
people  were  forced  to  send  to  Jerusalem, 
and  bring  their  auxiliaries  from  thence ! 
What  friendship,  I  pray,  or  what  relation 
was  there  formerly  between  them  that 
required  this  assistance  ?  On  the  contrary, 
these  people  were  enemies,  and  greatly 
differed  from  them  in  their  customs.  He 
says,  indeed,  that  they  complied  immedi- 
ately, upon  their  promising  them  that 
they  should  conquer  Egypt ;  as  if  they 
did  not  themselves  very  well  know  that 
country  out  of  which  they  had  been 
driven  by  force.  Now,  had  these  men 
been  in  want,  or  lived  miserably,  perhaps 
they  might  have  undertaken  so  hazardous 
an  enterprise;  but  as  they  dwelt  in  a 
happy  city,  and  had  a  large  country,  and 
one  better  than  Egypt  itself,  how  came  it 
about,  that  for  the  sake  of  those  that  had 
of  old  been  their  enemies,  of  those  that 
were  maimed  in  their  bodies,  and  of  those 
whom  none  of  their  own  relations  would 
endure,  they  should  run  such  hazards  in 
assisting  them  ?  For  they  could  not  fore- 
see that  the  king  would  run  away  from 
them :  on  the  contrary,  he  saith  himself, 
that  "  Amenophis's  son  had  300,000  men 
with  him,  and  met  them  at  Pelusium." 
Now,  to  be  sure,  those  that  came  could 
not  be  ignorant  of  this;  but  for  the  king's 
repentance  and  flight,  how  could  they 
possibly  guess  at  it?  He  then  says,  that 
4i  those  who  came  from  Jerusalem,  and 
made  this  invasion,  got  the  granaries  of 
Egypt  into  their  possession,  and  perpe- 
trated many  of  the  most  horrid  actions 
there."  And  thence  he  reproaches  them, 
as  though  he  had  not  himself  introduced 
them  as  enemies,  or  as  though  he  might 
accuse  such  as  were  invited  from  another 
place  for  so  doing,  when  the  natural 
Egyptians  themselves  had  done  the  same 


things  before  their  coming,  and  had  taken 
oaths  so  to  do.  However,  "  Ameno- 
phis,  some  time  afterward,  came  upon 
them,  and  conquered  them  in  a  battle,  and 
slew  his  enemies,  and  drove  them  before 
him  as  far  as  Syria. "  As  if  Egypt  were 
so  easily  taken  by  people  that  came  from 
any  place  whatsoever;  and  as  if  those 
that  had  conquered  it  by  war,  when  they 
were  informed  that  Amenophis  was  alive, 
did  neither  fortify  the  avenues  out  of 
Ethiopia  into  it,  although  they  had  great 
advantages  for  doing  it,  nor  diU  get  their 
other  forces  ready  for  their  defence ;  but 
that  he  followed  them  over  the  sandy  de- 
sert, and  slew  them  as  far  as  Syria;  while 
yet  it  is  not  an  easy  thing  for  an  army 
to  pass  over  that  country,  even  without 
fighting. 

Our  nation,  therefore,  according  to 
Manetho,  was  not  derived  from  Egypt,  nor 
w«.-re  any  of  the  Egyptians  mingled  with 
us,  for  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  many  of 
the  leprous  and  distempered  people  were 
dead  in  the  mines,  since  they  had  been 
there  a  long  time,  and  in  so  ill  a  condition ; 
many  others  must  be  dead  in  the  battles 
that  happened  afterward,  and  more  still 
in  the  last  battle  and  flight  after  it. 

It  now  remains  that  I  debate  with  Ma- 
netho about  Moses.  Now  the  Egyptians 
acknowledge  him  to  have  been  a  wonder- 
ful and  a  divine  person  ;  nay,  they  would 
willingly  lay  claim  to  him  themselves, 
though  afrer  a  most  abusive  and  incredi- 
ble manner;  and  pretend  that  he  was  of 
Heliopolis,  and  one  of  the  priests  of  that 
place,  and  was  ejected  out  of  it  amoug 
the  rest,  on  account  of  his  leprosy ;  al- 
though it  had  been  demonstrated  out  of 
their  records,  that  he  lived  518  years 
earlier,  and  then  brought  our  forefathers 
out  of  Egypt  into  the  country  that  is  now 
inhabited  by  us.  But  now  that  he  was 
not  subject  in  his  body  to  any  such  ca- 
lamity, is  evident  from  what  he  himself 
tells  us  ;  for  he  forbade  those  that  had  the 
leprosy  either  to  continue  in  a  city,  or  to 
inhabit  a  village,  but  commanded  that 
they  should  go  about  by  themselves  with 
their  clothes  rent ;  and  declares  that  such 
as  either  touch  them,  or  live  under  the 
same  roof  with  them,  should  be  esteemed 
unclean;  nay,  more,  if  any  one  of  their 
disease  be  healed,  and  ho  recover  his 
natural  constitution  again,  he  appointed 
them  certain  purifications  and  washings 
with  spring-water,  and  the  snaving  off  all 
their  hair,  and  enjoins  that  they  shall  offer 


902 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  i 


many  sacrifices,  and  those  of  several  kinds, 
and  then  at  length  to  be  admitted  into  the 
city  holy;  although  it  were  to  be  expected 
that,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  had  been  un- 
der the  same  calamity,  he  should  have 
taken  care  of  such  persons  beforehand, 
and  have  had  them  treated  after  a  kinder 
manner,  as  affected  with  a  concern  for 
those  that  were  to  be  under  the  like  mis- 
fortunes with  himself.  Nor  was  it  only 
those  leprous  people  for  whose  sake  he 
made  these  laws,  but  .  also  for  such  as 
should  be  maimed  in  the  smallest  part  of 
their  body,  who  yet  are  not  permitted  by 
him  to  officiate  as  priests  ;  nay,  although 
any  priest,  already  initiated,  should  have 
such  a  calamity  fall  upon  him  afterward, 
he  ordered  him  to  be  deprived  of  his 
honour  of  officiating.  How  can  it  then 
be  supposed  that  Moses  should  ordain 
such  laws  against  himself,  to  his  own  re- 
proach and  damage  who  so  ordained  them  ? 
Nor,  indeed,  is  that  other  notion  of  Ma- 
netho  at  all  probable,  wherein  he  relates 
the  change  of  his  name,  and  says  that  "  he 
was  formerly  called  Osarsiph;"  and  this 
a  name  noway  agreeable  to  the  other, 
while  his  true  name  was  Mouses,  and  sig- 
nifies a  person  who  is  preserved  out  of 
the  water,  for  the  Egyptians  call  water 
Moii.  I  think,  therefore,  I  have  made  it 
sufficiently  evident  that  Mauetho,  while 
he  followed  his  ancient  records,  did  not 
mueh  mistake  the  truth  of  the  history  ; 
but  that  when  he  had  recourse  to  fabulous 
stories,  without  any  certain  author,  he 
either  forged  them  himself,  without  any 
probability,  or  else  gave  credit  to  some 
men  who  spake  so,  out  of  their  ill-will 
to  us. 

And  now  I  have  done  with  Manetho,  I 
will  inquire  into  what  Cheremon  says ; 
for  he  also,  when  he  pretended  to  write 
the  Egyptian  history,  sets  down  the  same 
name  for  this  king  that  Manetho  did, 
Ameuophis,  as  also  of  his  son  Harnesses, 
and  then  goes  jn  thus  : — "  The  goddess 
Isis  appeared  to  Amenophis  in  his  sleep, 
and  blamed  him  that  her  temple  had  been 
demolished  in  the  war  ;  but  that  Phriti- 
phantes,  the  sacred  scribe,  said  to  him, 
that,  in  case  he  would  purge  Egypt  of  the 
men  that  had  pollutions  upon  them,  he 
should  be  no  longer  troubled  with  such 
frightful  apparitions.  That  Amenophis 
aceordingly  chose  out  250,000  of  those 
that  were  thus  diseased,  and  cast  them 
out  ( f  the  country  :  that  Moses  and  Jo- 
seph  were  scribes,  and  Joseph  was  a  sa- 


cred scribe;  that  their  names  were  Egyp 
tian  originally ;  that  of  Moses  had  been 
Tisithen,  and  that  of  Joseph,  Peteseph  ; 
that  these  two  came  to  Pelusium,  and 
lighted  upon  380,000  that  had  been  left 
there  by  Amenophis,  he  not  being  willing 
to  carry  them  into  Egypt;  that  these 
scribes  made  a  league  of  friendship  with 
them,  and  made  with  them  an  expedition 
against  Egypt  :  that  Amenophis  could 
not  sustain  their  attacks,  but  immediately 
fled  into  Ethiopia,  and  left  his  wife  with 
child  behind  him,  who  lay  concealed  in 
certain  caverns,  and  there  brought  forth  a 
son,  whose  name  was  Messene,  and  who, 
when  he  was  grown  up  to  man's  estate, 
pursued  the  Jews  into  Syria,  being  about 
200,000  men,  and  then  received  his  father 
Amenophis  out  of  Ethiopia." 

This  is  the  account  Cheremon  gives  us. 
Now,  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  what  I 
have  said  already  hath  plainly  proved  the 
falsity  of  both  these  narrations;  for  had 
there  been  any  real  truth  at  the  bottom, 
it  was  impossible  that  they  should  so 
greatly  disagree  about  the  particulars ; 
but  for  those  that  invent  lies,  what  they 
write  easily  will  give  us  very  different  ac- 
counts, while  they  forge  what  they  please, 
out  of  their  own  heads.  Now,  Manetho 
says  that  the  king's  desire  of  seeing  the 
gods  was  the  origin  of  the  ejection  of  the 
polluted  people  ;  but  Cheremon  feigns 
that  it  was  a  dream  of  his  own,  sent  upon 
him  by  Isis,  that  was  the  occasion  of  it. 
Mauetho  says,  that  the  person  who  fore- 
showed this  purgation  of  Egypt  to  the 
king  was  Amenopiiis;  but  this  man  says 
it  was  Phritiphantes.  As  to  the  numbers 
of  the  multitude  that  were  expelled,  they 
agree  exceedingly  well,  the  former  reck- 
oning them  80,000,  and  the  latter  about 
250,000!  Now,  for  Mauetho,  he  de- 
scribes these  polluted  persons  as  sent  first 
to  work  in  the  quarries,  and  says,  that 
after  that  the  city  Avaris  was  given  them 
for  their  habitation.  As  also,  he  relates 
that  it  was  not  till  after  they  had  made 
war  with  the  rest^of  the  Egyptians,  that 
they  invited  the  people  of  Jerusalem  to 
come  to  their  assistance  ;  while  Cheremon 
says  only,  that  they  were  gone  out  of 
Egypt,  and  lighted  upon  380,000  men 
about  Pelusium,  who  had  been  left  there 
by  Amenophis,  and  sc  they  invaded 
Egypt  with  them  again ;  that  thereupon 
Amenophis  fled  into  Ethiopia;  but  then 
this  Cheremon  commits  a  most  ridiculous 
blunder  in  not  informing  us  who  this  armj 


Boo*  i.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


903 


bf  so  many  ten  thousands  were,  or  whence 
fhey  came ;  whether  they  were  native 
Egyptians,  or  whether  they  came  from  a 
°oreign  country.  Nor,  indeed,  has  this 
aian,  who  forged  a  dieam  from  Isis  about 
the  leprous  people,  assigned  the  reason 
why  the  king  would  not  bring  them  into 
Egypt.  Moreover,  Cheremon  sets  down 
Joseph  as  driven  away  at  the  same  time 
with  Moses,  who  yet  died  tour  generations 
before  Moses  ;  which  four  generations 
make  almost  170  years.  Besides  all  this, 
Harnesses,  the  son  of  Amenophis,  by  Ma- 
netho's  account,  was  a  young  man,  and 
assisted  his  father  in  his  war,  and  left  the 
country  at  the  same  time  with  him,  and 
fled  into  Ethiopia :  but  Cheremon  makes 
him  to  have  been  born  in  a  certain  cave, 
after  his  father  was  dead,  and  that  he  then 
overcame  the  Jews  in  battle,  and  drove 
them  into. Syria,  being  in  number  about 
200,000.  Oh  the  levity  of  the  man  !  for 
he  neither  told  us  who  these  380,000 
were,  nor  how  the  430,000  perished ;  whe- 
ther they  fell  in  war,  or  went  over  to  Ha- 
rnesses ;  and,  what  is  the  strangest  of  all, 
it  is  not  possible  to  learn  out  of  him,  who 
they  were  whom  he  calls  Jews,  or  to  which 
of  these  two  parties  he  applies  that  deno- 
mination, whether  to  the  250,000  leprous 
people,  or  to  the  380,000  that  were  about 
Pelusium.  But,  perhaps,  it  will  be  looked 
upon  as  a  silly  thing  iu  me  to  make  any 
larger  confutation  of  such  writers  as  suffi- 
ciently confute  themselves;  for  had  they 
been  only  confuted  by  other  men,  it  had 
been  more  tolerable. 

I  shall  now  add  to  these  accounts  about 
Menetho  and  Cheremon,  somewhat  about 
Lysimachus,  who  hath  taken  the  same 
topic  of  falsehood  with  those  before  men- 
tioned, but  hath  gone  far  beyond  them  in 
the  incredible  nature  of  his  forgeries ; 
which  plainly  demonstrates  that  he  con- 
trived them  out  of  his  virulent  hatred  of 
our  nation.  His  words  are  these  : — "The 
people  of  the  Jews  being  leprous  and 
scabby,  and  subject  ro  certain  other  kinds 
of  distempers,  in  the  days  of  Bocchoris, 
king  of  Egypt,  they  fled  to  the  temple, 
and  got  their  food  there  by  begging;  and, 
as  the  numbers  were  very  great  that  were 
fallen  under  these  diseases,  there  arose  a 
scarcity  in  Egypt.  Hereupon  Bocchoris, 
the  king  of  Egypt,  sent  some  to  consult 
the  oracle  of  [Jupiter]  Amnion  about  this 
scarcity.  The  god's  answer  was  this,  that 
he  must  purge  his  temples  of  impure  and 
impious  men,  by  expelling  them  out  of 


those  temples  into  desert  places;  out,  as 
to  the  scabby  and  leprous  people,  he  must 
drown  them,  and  purge  his  temples,  the 
sun  having  an  indignation  at  these  men 
being  suffered  to  live ;  and  by  this  means 
the  land  will  bring  forth  its  fruits.  Upon 
Bocchoris's  having  received  these  oracles, 
he  called  for  their  priests,  and  the  attend- 
ants upon  their  altars,  and  ordered  them  to 
make  a  collection  of  the  impure  people, 
and  to  deliver  them  to  the  soldiers,  to 
carry  them  away  into  the  desert ;  but  to 
take  the  leprous  people,  and  wrap  them 
in  sheets  of  lead,  and  let  them  down  into 
the  sea.  Hereupon  the  scabby  and  le- 
prous people  were  drowned,  and  the  rest 
were  gotten  together,  and  sent  into  desert 
places,  in  order  to  be  exposed  to  destruc- 
tion. In  this  case  they  assembled  them- 
selves together,  and  took  counsel  what 
they  should  do ;  and  determined,  that, 
as  the  night  was  coming  on,  they  should 
kindle  fires  and  lamps,  and  keep  watch ; 
that  they  also  should  fast  the  next  night, 
and  propitiate  the  gods,  in  order  to  obtain 
deliverance  from  them.  That,  on  the 
next  day,  there  was  one  Moses,  who  ad- 
vised them  that  they  should  venture  upon 
a  journey,  and  go  along  one  road  till  thoy 
should  come  to  places  fit  for  habitation  : 
that  he  charged  them  to  have  no  kind  re- 
gards for  af5y  man,  nor  give  good  counsel 
to  any,  but  always  to  advise  them  for  the 
worst;  and  to  overturn  all  those  temples 
and  altars  of  the  gods  they  should  meet 
with  :  that  the  rest  commended  what  he 
had  said  with  one  consent,  and  did  what 
they  had  lesolved  on,  and  so  travelled 
over  the  desert.  But  that  the  difficulties 
of  the  journey  being  over,  they  came  to  a 
country  inhabited,  and  that  there  they 
abused  the  men,  and  plundered  and  burnt 
their  temples,  aud  then  came  into  that 
land  which  is  called  Judea,  and  there  they 
built  a  city,  and  dwelt  therein,  and  that 
their  city  was  named  Hierosyla,  from  this 
their  robbing  of  the  temples;  but  that 
still,  upon  the  success  they  had  afterward, 
they,  through  course  of  time,  changed  its 
denomination,  that  it  might  not  be  a 
reproach  to  them,  and  called  the  city 
Hierosolyma,  and  themselves  Hierosoly- 
mites." 

Now  this  man  did  not  discover  and  men. 
tion  the  same  king  with  the  others,  but 
feigned  a  newer  name,  and  passing  by  the 
dream  and  the  Egyptian  prophet,  he  bring.1' 
him  to  [Jupiter]  Ammon,  iu  order  togair 
oracles  about  the  scabby  and  leprous  pt  o 


904 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


Boor  IL 


pie )  for  he  bays  that  the  multitude  of 
Jews  were  gathered  together  at  the  tem- 
ples. Now,  it  is  uncertain  whether  he 
ascribes  these  names  to  these  lepers,  or  to 
those  that  were  subject  to  such  diseases 
among  the  Jews  only ;  for  he  describes 
them  as  a  people  of  the  Jews.  What 
people  does  he  mean  ?  foreigners,  or  those 
of  that  country  ?  Why  then  dost  thou 
call  them  Jews,  if  they  were  Egyptians  ? 
But  if  they  were  foreigners,  why  dost  thou 
not  tell  us  whence  they  came  ?  And  how 
could  it  be  that,  after  the  king  had  thrown 
many  of  them  into  the  sea,  and  ejected 
the  rest  into  desert  places,  there  should  be 
still  so  great  a  multitude  remaining  ?  Or 
after  what  manner  did  they  pass  over  the 
desert,  and  get  the  land  which  we  now 
dwell  in,  and  build  our  city,  and  that  tem- 
ple which  hath  been  so  famous  among  all 
mankind  ?  And  besides,  he  ought  to  have 
spoken  more  about  our  legislator  than  by 
giving  us  his  bare  name ;  and  to  have  in- 
formed us  of  what  nation  he  was,  and 
what  parents  he  was  derived  from ;  and 
to  have  assigned  the  reasons  why  he  un- 
dertook to  make  such  laws  concerning 
the  gods,  and  concerning  matters  of  in- 
justice with  regard  to  men  during  that 
journey.  For,  in  case  the  people  were 
by  birth  Egyptians,  they  would  not  on  the 
sudden  have  so  easily  changed  the  cus- 
toms of  their  country ;  and  in  case  they 
had  been  foreigners,  they  had  for  certain 
some  laws  or  other  which  had  been  kept 


by  them  from  long  custom.  It  is  true, 
that  in  regard  to  those  who  had  ejected 
them,  they  might  have  sworn  never  to 
bear  good-will  to  them,  and  might  have 
had  a  plausible  reason  for  so  doing.  But 
if  these  men  resolved  to  wage  an  implaca- 
ble war  against  all  men,  in  case  they  had 
acted  as  wickedly  as  he  relates  of  them, 
and  this  while  they  wanted  the  assistance 
of  all  men,  this  demonstrates  a  kiud  of 
mad  conduct  indeed )  but  not  of  the  mer 
themselves,  but  very  greatly  so  of  him 
that  tells  such  lies  about  them.  He  hath 
also  impudence  enough  to  say  that  a  name 
[Hierosyla]  implying  "  Robbers  of  the 
temples,"*  was  given  to  their  city,  and 
that  this  name  was  afterward  changed. 
The  reason  of  which  is  plain,  that  the 
former  name  brought  reproach  and  hatred 
upon  them  in  the  times  of  their  posterity, 
while,  it  seems,  those  that  built  the  city 
thought  they  did  honour  to  the  city  by 
giving  it  such  a  name.  So  we  see  that 
this  fine  fellow  had  such  an  unbounded 
inclination  to  reproach  us,  that  he  did  not 
understand  that  robbery  of  temples  is  not 
expressed  by  the  same  word  and  name 
among  the  Jews  as  it  is  among  the  Greeks. 
But  why  should  a  man  say  any  more  to 
a  person  who  tells  such  impudent  lies ! 
However,  since  this  book  is  risen  to  a 
competent  length,  I  will  make  another  be- 
ginning, and  endeavour  to  add  what  still 
remains  to  perfect  my  design  in  the  follow- 
ing book. 


BOOK  II. 


In  the  former  book,  most  honoured 
Epaphroditus,  I  have  demonstrated  our 
antiquity,  and  confirmed  the  truth  of  what 
I  have  said,  from  the  writings  of  the 
Phoenicians,  and  Chaldeans,  and  Egyp- 
tians. I  have,  moreover,  produced  many 
of  the  Grecian  writers,  as  witnesses  there- 
to. I  have  also  made  a  refutation  of  Ma- 
netho  and  Cheremon,  and  of  certain  others 
of  our  enemies.  I  shall  now,"j"  therefore, 
begin  a  confutation  of  the  remaining  au- 
thors who  have  written  any  thing  against 

*  That  is  the  meaning  of  Ilierosyla  in  Greek, 
not  in  Hebrew. 

f  Th<>  former  part  of  this  second  book  is  written 
against  the  calumnies  of  Apion,  and  then  more 
briefly  against  the  like  calumnies  of  Apollonius 
Molo      But  after  that,  Josephus  leaves  off  the  more 


us;  although,  I  confess,  I  have  had  a 
doubt  upon  me  about  Apion,J  the  gram- 
marian, whether  I  ought  to  take  the  trou* 
ble  of  confuting  him  or  not ;  for  some  of 
his  writings  contain  much  the  same  accu- 
sations which  the  others  have  laid  against 
us,  some  things  that  he  hath  added  are 
very  frigid  and  contemptible,  and  for  the 
greatest  part  of  what  he  says,  it  is  very 
scurrilous,  and,  to  speak  no  more  than  the 
plain  truth,  it  shows  him  to  be  a  very  un- 
learned person,  and  what  he  lays  together, 


particular  reply  to  those  adversaries  of  the  Jews, 
and  gives  an  excellent  description  and  vindication 
of  that  theocracy  which  was  settled  for  the  Jewish 
nation  by  Moses. 

%  Called  by  Tiberius,  "  Cymbalum  Mundi,"  the 
drum  of  the  world. 


Book  11.  J 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


905 


looks  like  the  work  of  a  man  of  very  bad 
morals,  and  of  one  no  better  in  his  whole 
life  than  a  mountebank.  Yet,  because 
there  are  a  great  many  men  so  very  foolish, 
that  they  are  rather  caught  by  such  ora- 
tions than  by  what  is  written  with  care, 
and  take  pleasure  in  reproaching  other 
men,  and  cannot  abide  to  hear  them  com- 
mended, I  thought  it  to  be  necessary  not 
to  let  this  man  go  off  without  examina- 
tion, who  had  written  such  an  accusatiou 
against  us,  as  if  he  would  bring  us  to 
make  an  answer  in  open  court.  For  I 
also  have  observed,  that  many  men  are 
very  much  delighted  when  they  see  a 
man  who  first  began  to  reproach  another, 
to  be  himself  exposed  to  contempt  on  ac- 
count of  the  vices  he  hath  himself  been 
guilty  of.  However,  it  is  not  a  very  easy 
thing  to  go  over  this  man's  discourse,  nor 
to  know  plainly  what  he  means  :  yet  does 
he  seem,  amid  a  great  confusion  and  dis- 
order in  his  falsehoods,  to  produce,  in  the 
first  place,  such  things  as  resemble  what 
we  have  examined  already,  and  relate  to 
the  departure  of  our  forefathers  out  of 
Egypt;  and,  in  the  second  place,  he  ac- 
cuses the  Jews  that  are  inhabitants  of 
Alexandria;  as,  in  the  third  place,  he 
mixes  with  those  things  such  accusations 
as  concern  the  sacred  purifications,  with 
the  other  legal  rites  used  in  the  temple. 

Now,  although  I  cannot  but  think  that 
I  have  already  demonstrated,  and  that 
abundantly  more  than  was  necessary, 
that  our  fathers  were  not  originally  Egyp- 
tians, nor  were  thence  expelled,  either  on 
account  of  bodily  diseases,  or  on  any 
other  calamities  of  that  sort;  yet  will  I 
briefly  take  notice  of  what  Apion  adds 
upon  that  subject ;  for  in  his  third  book, 
which  relates  to  the  affairs  of  Egypt,  he 
speaks  thus  : — "  I  have  heard  of  the  an- 
cient men  of  Egypt,  that  Moses  was  of 
Heliopolis,  and  that  he  thought  himself 
obliged  to  follow  the  customs  of  his  fore- 
fathers, and  offered  his  prayers  in  the  open 
air,  toward  the  city  walls;  but  that  he 
reduced  them  all  to  be  directed  toward 
sunrising,  which  was  agreeable  to  the 
situation  of  Heliopolis :  that  he  also  set 
up  pillars  instead  of  gnomons,  under  which 
was  represented  a  cavity  like  that  of  a 
boat,  and  the  shadow  that  fell  from  their 
tops  fell  down  upon  that  cavity,  that  it 
might  go  round  about  the  like  course  as 
the  sun  itself  goes  round  in  the  other." 
This  is  that  wonderful  relation  which  wc 
have  given  us  by  this  grammarian.      But 


that  it  is  a  false  one  is  so  plain,  that  it 
stands  in  need  of  few  words  to  prove  it, 
but  is  manifest  from  the  works  of  Moses  ; 
for  when  he  erected  the  first  tabernacle  to 
God,  he  did  himself  neither  give  order  for 
any  such  kind  of  representation  to  be 
made  at  it,  nor  ordain  that  those  that  came 
after  him  should  make  such  an  one.  More* 
over,  when,  in  a  future  age,  Solomon  built 
his  temple  in  Jerusalem,  he  avoided  all 
such  needless  decorations  as  Apion  hath 
here  devised.  He  says,  further,  how 
"  he  had  heard  of  the  ancient  men,  thai 
Moses  was  of  Heliopolis."  To  be  sure 
that  was  because,  being  a  younger  man 
himself,  he  believed  those  that  by  theii 
elder  age  were  acquainted  and  conversed 
with  him  !  Now  this  grammarian  as  he 
was,  could  not  certainly  tell  which  was  the 
poet  Homer's  country,  no  more  than  he 
could  which  was  the  country  of  Pytha- 
goras, who  lived  comparatively  but  a  little 
while  ago  :  yet  does  he  thus  easily  deter- 
mine the  age  of  Moses,  who  preceded 
them  such  a  vast  number  of  years,  as  de- 
pending on  his  ancient  men's  relation; 
which  shows  how  notorious  a  liar  he  was. 
But  then  as  to  his  chronological  determina- 
tion of  the  time  when  he  says  he  brought, 
the  leprous  people,  the  blind,  and  the 
lame  out  of  Egypt,  see  how  well  thif 
most  accurate  grammarian  of  ours  agreeb 
with  those  that  have  written  before  him. 
Manetho  says  that  the  Jews  departed 
out  of  Egypt  in  the  reign  of  Teth- 
mosis,  393  years  before  Danaus  fled  to 
Argos ;  Lysimachus  says  it  was  under 
King  Bocclioris,  that  is  1700  years  ago ; 
Molo  and  some  others  determined  it  as 
every  one  pleased ;  but  this  Apion  of 
ours,  as  deserving  to  be  believed  before 
them,  hath  determined  it  exactly  to  have 
been  in  the  seventh  olympiad,  and  the 
first  year  of  that  olympiad  ;  the  very  same 
year  in  which  he  says  that  Carthage  was 
built  by  the  Phoenicians.  The  reason  why 
he  added  this  building  of  Carthage  was, 
to  be  sure,  in  order,  as  he  thought,  to 
strengthen  his  assertion  by  so  evident  a 
character  of  chronology.  But  he  was  not 
aware  that  this  character  confutes  his  as- 
sertion;  for  if  we  may  give  credit  to  the 
Phoenician  records,  as  to  the  time  of  the 
first  coming  of  their  colony  to  Carthage, 
they  relate  that  Hiram  their  king  was 
above  150  years  earlier  than  the  building 
of  Carthage,  concerning  whom  I  have 
formerly  produced  testimonials  out  of 
those  Phoenicians  records,  as  also  that  this 


908 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGSINST  APION. 


[Book  II. 


Hiram  was  a  friend  of  Solomon,  when  he 
was  building  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  and 
gave  him  great  assistance  in  his  building 
that  temple ;  while  still  Solomon  himself 
built  that  temple  612  years  after  the  Jews 
oame  out  of  Egypt.  As  for  the  number 
of  those  that  were  expelled  out  of  Egypt, 
he  hath  contrived  to  have  the  very  same 
number  with  Lysimachus,  and  says  they 
were  110,000.  He  then  assigns  a  certain 
wonderful  and  plausible  occasion  for  the 
name  of  Sabbath,  for  he  says,  that  "  when 
the  Jews  had  travelled  a  six  days'  jour- 
ney, they  had  swellings  on  their  groins; 
and  that  on  this  account  it  was  that  they 
rested  on  the  seventh  day,  as  having  got 
safely  to  that  country  which  is  now  called 
Judea;  that  then  they  preserved  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Egyptians,  and  called  that 
day  the  Sabbath,  for  that  malady  of  swell- 
ings on  their  groin  was  named  Sabbatosis 
by  the  Egyptians/1  And  would  not  a 
man  now  laugh  at  this  fellow's  trifling,  or 
rather  hate  his  impudence  in  writing  thus? 
We  must,  it  seems,  take  it  for  granted 
chat  all  these  110,000  men  must  have 
these  swellings.  But,  for  certain,  if  those 
men  had  been  blind  and  lame,  and  had 
all  sorts  of  distempers  upon  them,  as 
Apion  says  they  had,  they  could  not  have 
gone  one  single  day's  journey ;  but  if  they 
had  been  all  able  to  travel  over  a  large 
desert,  and  besides  that  to  fight  and  con- 
quer those  that  opposed  them,  they  had 
not  all  of  them  had  swellings  on  their 
groins  after  the  sixth  day  was  over :  for 
no  such  distemper  comes  naturally,  and 
of  necessity  upon  those  that  travel ;  but 
still  when  they  are  many  ten  thousands  in 
a  camp  together,  they  constantly  march  a 
settled  pace  [in  a  day].  Nor  is  it  at  all 
probable  that  such  a  thing  should  happen 
by  chance :  this  would  be  prodigiously  ab- 
surd to  be  supposed.  However,  our  ad- 
mirable author  Apion  had  before  told  us, 
that  "  they  came  to  Judea  in  six  days' 
time;"  and  again,  that  "  Moses  went  up 
to  a  mountain  that  lay  between  Egypt  and 
Arabia,  which  was  called  Sinai,  and  was 
concealed  there  forty  days,  and  that  when 
He  came  down  from  thence  he  ^ave  laws  to 
the  Jews."  But  then,  how  was  it  possible 
for  them  to  tarry  forty  days  in  a  desert  place 
where  there  was  no  water,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  pass  all  over  the  country  between 
that  and  Judea  in  six  days  ?  And  as  for 
this  grammatical  translation  of  the  word 
Sabbath,  it  either  contains  an  instance 
<if    his   great    impudence  or  gross  igno- 


rance ;  for  the  words  Sabbo  and  Sabbath 
are  widely  different  from  one  another ; 
for  the  word  Sabbath  in  the  Jewish  lan- 
guage denotes  rest  from  all  sorts  of  work ; 
but  the  word  Sabbo,  as  he  affirms,  denotes, 
among  the  Egyptians,  a  malady  of  a 
swelling  in  the  groin. 

This  is  that  novel  account  which  the 
Egyptian  Apion  gives  us  concerning  the 
Jews'  departure  out  of  Egypt,  and  is  no 
better  than  a  contrivance  of  his  own.  But, 
why  should  we  wonder  at  the  lies  he  tells 
about  our  forefathers,  when  he  affirms 
them  to  be  of  Egyptian  original,  when  he 
lies  also  about  himself  ?  for  although  he 
was  born  at  Oasis  in  Egypt,  he  pretends 
to  be,  as  a  man  may  say,  the  top  man  of 
all  the  Egyptians ;  yet  does  he  forswear 
his  real  country  and  progenitors,  and  by 
falsely  pretending  to  be  born  at  Alexan- 
dria, cannot  deny  the  pravity  of  his  fami- 
ly ;  for  you  see  how  justly  he  calls  those 
Egyptians  whom  he  hates  and  endeavours 
to  reproach,  for  had  he  not  deemed  Egyp- 
tians to  be  a  name  of  great  reproach,  he 
would  not  have  avoided  the  name  of  an 
Egyptian  himself;  as  we  know  that  those 
who  boast  of  their  own  countries,  value 
themselves  upon  the  denomination  they 
acquire  thereby,  and  reprove  such  as  un- 
justly lay  claim  thereto.  As  for  the 
Egyptians'  claim  to  be  of  our  kindred,  they 
do  it  on  one  of  the  following  accounts  : 
I  mean,  either  as  they  value  themselves 
upon  it,  and  pretend  to  bear  that  relation 
to  us ;  or  else  as  they  would  draw  us  in 
to  be  partakers  of  their  own  infamy. 
But  this  fine  fellow  Apion  seems  to  broach 
this  reproachful  appellation  against  us 
[that  we  were  originally  Egyptians],  in 
order  to  bestow  it  on  the  Alexandrians  as 
a  reward  for  the  privilege  they  had  given 
him  of  being  a  fellow-citizen  with  them  : 
he  also  is  apprized  of  the  ill-will  the 
Alexandrians  bear  to  those  Jews  who  are 
their  fellow-citizens,  and  so  proposes  to 
himself  to  reproach  them,  although  he 
must  thereby  include  all  the  other  Egyp- 
tians also,  while  in  both  cases  he  is  no 
better  than  an  imptident  liar. 

But  let  us  now  see  what  those  heavy  and 
wicked  crimes  are,  which  Apion  charges 
upon  the  Alexandrian  Jews  :  "  They  came 
(says  he)  out  of  Syria,  and  inhabited  near 
the  tempestuous  sea,  and  were  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  dashing  of  the 
waves."  Now,  if  the  place  of  habitation 
includes  any  thing  that  is  reproachful,  this 
man  reproaches  not  his  own  real  countrv 


^OOK  II   J 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST    APION. 


907 


[Egypt],  but  what  he  pretends  to  be  his 
own  country,  Alexandria ;  for  all  are 
agreed  in  this,  that  the  part  of  that  city 
which  is  near  the  sea,  is  the  best  part  of 
all  for  habitation.  Now,  if  the  Jews 
gained  that  part  of  the  city  by  force,  and 
have  kept  it  hitherto  without  impeach- 
ment, this  is  a  mark  of  their  valour ;  but 
in  reality  it  was  Alexander  himself  that 
gave  them  that  place  for  their  habitation, 
when  they  obtained  equal  privileges  there 
with  the  Macedonians.  Nor  can  I  devise 
what  Apion  would  have  said,  had  their 
habitation  been  at  Necropolis,  and  not 
been  fixed  hard  by  the  royal  palace  [as  it 
is] ;  nor  had  their  nation  had  the  deno- 
mination of  Macedonians  given  them  till 
this  very  day  [as  they  have].  Had  this 
man  now  read  the  epistles  of  king  Alex- 
ander, or  those  of  Ptolemy,  the  son  of 
Lagus,  or  met  with  the  writings  of  the 
succeeding  kings,  or  that  pillar  which  is 
still  standing  at  Alexandria,  and  contains 
the  privileges  which  the  great  [Julius] 
Caesar  bestowed  upon  the  Jews;  had  this 
man,  I  say,  known  these  records,  and  yet 
hath  the  impudence  to  write  in  contra- 
diction to  them,  he  hath  shown  himself  to 
be  a  wicked  man;  but  if  he  knew  nothing 
of  these  records,  he  hath  shown  himself 
to  be  a  man  very  ignorant;  nay,  when  he 
appears  to  wonder  how  Jews  could  be 
called  Alexandrians,  this  is  another  like 
instance  of  his  ignorance ;  for  all  such  as 
are  called  out  to  be  colonies,  although  they 
be  ever  so  far  remote  from  one  another 
in  their  original,  receive  their  names  from 
those  that  bring  them  to  their  new  habi- 
tations. And  what  occasion  is  there  to 
speak  of  others,  when  those  of  us  Jews 
that  dwell  at  Antioch  are  named  Antio- 
chiaus,  because  Seleucus,  the  founder  of 
that  city,  gave  them  the  privileges  be- 
longing thereto  ?  After  the  like  manner 
do  those  Jews  that  inhabit  Ephesus  and 
the  other  cities  of  Ionia  enjoy  the  same 
name  with  those  that  were  originally  born 
there,  by  the  grant  of  the  succeeding 
princes;  nay,  the  kindness  and  humanity 
of  the  Komans  hath  been  so  great,  that  it 
hath  granted  leave  to  almost  all  others  to 
take  the  same  name  of  Komans  upon 
them;  I  mean  not  particular  men  only, 
but  entire  aud  large  nations  themselves 
also ;  for  those  anciently  named  Iberi, 
and  Tyreheni,  and  Sabini,  are  now  called 
liomani :  and  if  Apion  reject  this  way  of 
obtaining  the  privilege  of  a  citizen  of 
Alexandria,  let  him  abstain  from  calling 


as 

u  Alexander  honoured  our 
degree,    that,  for   the 


himself  an  Alexandrian  hereafter ;  for 
otherwise,  how  can  he  who  was  born  in  the 
very  heart  of  Egypt  be  an  Alexandrian,  if 
this  way  of  accepting  such  a  privilege,  of 
what  he  would  have  us  deprived,  be  once 
abrogated  ?  Although,  indeed,  these  Ro- 
mans, who  are  now  the  lords  of  the  habit- 
able earth,  have  forbidden  the  Egyptians 
to  have  the  privileges  of  any  city  whatso- 
ever, while  this  fine  fellow,  who  is  willing 
to  partake  of  such  a  privilege  himself  as 
he  is  forbidden  to  make  use  of,  endeavours 
by  calumnies  to  deprive  those  of  it  that 
have  justly  received  it;  for  Alexander 
did  not,  therefore,  get  some  of  our  nation 
to  Alexandria,  because  he  wanted  inhabit- 
ants for  this  his  city,  on  whose  building 
he  had  bestowed  so  much  pains  ;  but  this 
was  given  to  our  people  as  a  reward  ;  be- 
cause he  had,  upon  a  careful  trial,  found 
them  all  to  have  been  men  of  virtue  aud 
fidelity  to  him ;  for,  as  Hecateus  says 
concerning  us,  i 
nation  to  such  a 
equity  and  the  fidelity  which  the  Jews 
had  exhibited  to  him,  he  permitted  them 
to  hold  the  country  of  Samaria  free  from 
tribute.  Of  the  same  mind  also  was 
Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Lagus,  as  to  those 
Jews  who  dwelt  at  Alexandria.  For  he 
intrusted  the  fortresses  of  Egypt  into 
their  hands,  as  believing  they  would  keep 
them  faithfully  and  valiantly  for  him  ; 
and  when  he  was  desirous  to  secure  the 
government  of  Cyrene,  and  the  other 
cities  of  Libya  to  himself,  he  sent  a  party 
of  Jews  to  inhabit  them.  And  for  his 
successor  Ptolemy,  who  was  called  Phila- 
delphus,  he  did  not  only  set  all  those  of 
our  nation  free,  who  were  captives  under 
him,  but  did  frequently  give  money  [for 
their  ransom];  and,  what  was  his  greatest 
work  of  all,  he  had  a  great  desire  of 
knowing  our  laws,  and  of  obtaining  the 
books  of  our  sacred  scriptures :  accord- 
ingly, he  desired  that  such  men  might  be 
sent  him  as  might  interpret  our  law  to 
him;  and,  in  order  to  have  them  well 
compiled,  he  committed  that  care  to  no 
ordinary  persons,  but  ordained  that  De- 
metrius Phalereus,  and  Audreus,  and 
Aristeas — the  first,  Demetrius,  the  most 
learned  person  of  his  age,  and  the  others, 
such  as  were  intrusted  with  the  guard  of 
his  body — should  take  the  care  of  this 
matter  :  nor  would  he  certainly  have  been 
so  desirous  of  learning  our  law  and  the 
philosophy  of  our  nation,  had  he  despised 
the  men  that  made  use  of  it,  or  had  he 


yC8 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  II 


uot  indeed  had  them  in  great  admiration. 
Now,  this  Apion  was  unacquainted  with 
almost  all  the  kings  of  those  Macedonians 
whom  he  pretends  to  have  been  his  pro- 
genitors who  were  yet  very  well  affected 
toward  us;  for  the  third  of  those  Ptole- 
mies, who  was  called  Euergetes,  when  he 
had  gotten  possession  of  all  Syria  by  force, 
did  not  offer  his  thank-offerings  to  the 
Egyptian  gods  for  his  victory,  but  came 
to  Jerusalem,  and  according  to  our  own 
laws,  offered  many  sacrifices  to  God,  and 
dedicated  to  him  such  gifts  as  were  suita- 
ble to  such  a  victory  :  and  as  for  Ptolemy 
Philometor  and  his  wife  Cleopatra,  they 
committed  their  whole  kingdom  to  Jews, 
when  Onias  and  Dositheus,  both  Jews, 
whose  names  are  laughed  at  by  Apion, 
were  the  generals  of  their  whole  army ; 
but  certainly,  instead  of  reproaching  them, 
he  ought  to  admire  their  actions,  and 
return  them  thanks  for  saving  Alexandria, 
whose  citizen  he  pretends  to  be;  for 
when  these  Alexandrians  were  making 
war  with  Cleopatra  the  queen,  and  were 
in  danger  of  being  utterly  ruined,  these 
Jews  brought  them  to  terms  of  agreement, 
and  freed  them  from  the  miseries  of  a  civil 
war.  "  But  then,"  says  Apion,  "  Onias 
brought  a  small  army  afterward  upon  the 
city  at  the  time  when  Thermus,  the  Ro- 
man ambassador,  was  there  present. " 
Yes,  do  I  venture  to  say,  and  that  he  olid 
rightly  and  very  justly  in  so  doing;  for 
that  Ptolemy  who  was  called  Physco,  upon 
the  death  of  his  brother  Philometor,  came 
from  Cyrene,  and  would  have  ejected 
Cleopatra  as  well  as  her  sons  out  of  their 
kingdom,  that  he  might  obtain  it  for 
himself  unjustly.  For  this  cause  then  it 
was  that  Onias  undertook  a  war  against 
him  on  Cleopatra's  account;  nor  would 
be  desert  that  trust  the  royal  family  had 
reposed  in  him  in  their  distress.  Accord- 
ingly, God  gave  a  remarkable  attesta- 
tion to  his  righteous  procedure ;  for  when 
Ptolemy  Physco  had  the  presumption  to 
fight  against  Onias' s  army,  and  had  caught 
all  the  Jews  that  were  in  the  city  [Alex- 
andria], with  their  children  and  wives, 
and  exposed  them  naked  and  in  bonds  to 
his  elephants,  that  they  might  be  trodden 
upon  and  destroyed,  and  when  he  had 
made  those  elephants  drunk  for  that  pur- 
pose, the  event  proved  contrary  to  his 
preparations ;  for  these  elephants  left  the 
Jews  who  were  exposed  to  them,  and  fell 
violently  upon  Physco's  friends  and  slew 
a  great,  u umber  of  theni ;  nay;  after  this, 


Ptolemy  saw  a  terrible  ghost,  which  pro- 
hibited his  hurting  those  men ;  his  very 
concubine,  whom  he  loved  so  well,  (some 
call  her  Ithaca,  and  others  Irene,)  making 
supplication  to  him  that  he  would  not 
perpetrate  so  great  a  wickedness.  So  he 
complied  with  her  request,  and  repented 
of  what  he  either  had  already  done,  or 
was  about  to  do ;  whence  it  is  well  known 
that  the  Alexandrian  Jews  do  with  good 
reason  celebrate  this  day,  on  the  account 
that  they  had  thereon  been  vouchsafed 
such  an  evident  deliverance  from  God. 
However,  Apion,  the  common  calumniator 
of  men,  hath  the  presumption  to  accuse 
the  Jews  for  making  this  war  against 
Physco,  when  he  ought  to  have  com- 
mended them  for  the  same.  This  man 
also  makes  mention  of  Cleopatra,  the  last 
queen  of  Alexandria,  and  abuses  us,  be- 
cause she  was  ungrateful  to  us ;  whereas 
he  ought  to  have  reproved  her,  who  in- 
dulged herself  in  all  kinds  of  injustice 
and  wicked  practices,  both  with  regard  to 
her  nearest  relations,  and  husbands  who 
had  loved  her,  and  indeed  in  general  with 
regard  to  all  the  Romans,  and  those 
emperors  that  were  her  benefators;  who 
also  had  her  sister  Arsinoe  slain  in  a 
temple,  when  she  had  done  her  no  harm  : 
moreover,  she  had  her  brother  slain  by 
private  treachery,  and  she  destroyed  the 
gods  of  her  country,  and  the  sepulchres 
of  her  progenitors;  and  while  she  had 
received  her  kingdom  from  the  first  Caesar, 
she  had  the  impudence  to  rebel  against 
his  son*  and  successor ;  nay,  she  corrupted 
Antony  with  her  love-tricks,  and  rendered 
him  an  enemy  to  his  country,  and  made 
him  treacherous  to  his  friends,  and  [by 
his  means]  despoiled  some  of  their  royal 
authority,  and  forced  others  in  their  mad- 
ness to  act  wickedly ;  but  what  need  I 
enlarge  upon  this  head  any  further,  when 
she  left  Antony  in  his  fight  at  sea,  though 
he  were  her  husband,  and  the  father  of 
their  common  children,  and  compelled 
him  to  resign  up  his  government,  with 
the  army,  and  to  follow  her  [into  Egypt]  ; 
nay,  when  last  of  all  Caesar  had  taken 
Alexandria,  she  came  to  that  pitch  of 
cruelty,  that  .she  declared  she  had  some 
hope  of  preserving  her  affairs  still,  in  case 
she  could  kill  the  Jews,  though  it  were 
with  her  own  hand ;  to  such  a  degree  of 
barbarity  and  perfidiousness  had  she  ar- 
rived ;  and  doth  any  one  think   that  we 

*  His  sister's  son,  whom  he  had  adopted, 


Bf  OK    II.] 


FLATIUS   JOSErUUS    AGAINST    APION. 


909 


cannot  boast  ourselves  of  any  thing,  if, 
as  Apion  says,  this  queen  did  not  at  a 
time  of  famine  distribute  wheat  among 
is  ?  However,  she  at  length  met  with 
the  punishment  she  deserved.  As  for  us 
Jews,  we  appeal  to  the  great  Caesar  what 
assistance  we  brought  him,  and  what 
fidelity  we  showed  to  him  against  the 
Egyptians ;  as  also  to  the  senate  and  its 
decrees,  and  the  epistles  of  Augustus 
Caesar,  whereby  our  merits  [to  the  Ro- 
mans] are  justified.  Apion  ought  to  have 
looked  upon  those  epistles,  and  in  parti- 
cular to  have  examined  the  testimonies 
given  on  our  behalf,  under  Alexander  and 
all  the  Ptolemies,  and  the  decrees  of  the 
senate  and  of  the  greatest  Roman  empe- 
rors; and  if  Germanicus  was  not  able  to 
make  a  distribution  of  corn  to  all  the  in- 
habitants of  Alexandria,  that  only  shows 
what  a  barren  time  it  was,  and  how  great 
a  want  there  was  then  of  corn,  but  tends 
nothing  to  the  accusation  of  the  Jews; 
for  what  all  the  emperors  have  thought 
of  the  Alexandrian  Jews  is  well  known, 
for  this  distribution  of  wheat  was  no  other- 
wise omitted  with  regard  to  the  Jews, 
than  it  was  with  regard  to  the  other  inha- 
bitants of  Alexandria ;  but  they  still 
were  desirous  to  preserve  what  the  kings 
had  formerly  intrusted  to  their  care — I 
mean  the  custody  of  the  river  ;  nor  did 
those  kings  think  them  unworthy  of  hav- 
ing the  entire  custody  thereof  upon  all 
occasions. 

But  besides  this,  Apion  objects  to  us 
thus  :  "  If  the  Jews  (says  he)  be  citizens 
of  Alexandria,  why  do  they  not  worship 
the  same  gods  with  the  Alexandrians  V 
To  which  I  give  this  answer :  Since  you 
are  yourselves  Egyptians,  why  do  you 
fight  it  out  one  against  another,  and  have 
implacable  wars  about  your  religion  ?  At 
this  rate  we  must  not  call  you  all  Egyp- 
tians, nor  indeed  in  general  men,  because 
you  breed  up  with  great  care  beasts  of  a 
nature  quite  contrary  to  that  of  men, 
although  the  nature  of  all  men  seems  to 
be  one  and  the  same.  Now,  if  there  be 
such  differences  in  opinion  among  you 
Egyptians,  why  are  you  surprised  that 
those  who  came  to  Alexandria  from  ano- 
ther country,  and  had  original  laws  of 
their  own  before,  should  persevere  in  the 
observance  of  those  laws?  But  still  he 
charges  us  with  being  the  authors  of  sedi- 
tion :  which  accusation,  if  it  be  a  just 
one,  why  is  it  not  laid  against  us  all,  since 
we  are   known   to  be   all  of  one  mind  ? 


Moreover,  those  that  search  into  such  mat- 
ters will  soon  discover  that  the  authors 
of  sedition  have  been  such  citizens  of  Al- 
exandria as  Apion  is  ;  for  while  they  were 
the  Grecians  and  Macedonians  who  were 
in  possession  of  this  city,  there  was  no  se- 
dition raised  against  us,  and  we  were  per- 
mitted to  observe  our  ancient  solemnities; 
but  when  the  number  of  the  Egyptians 
therein  came  to  be  considerable,  the  times 
grew  confused,  and  then  these  sedi- 
tions brake  out  still  more  and  more, 
while  our  people  continued  uncorrupted. 
These  Egyptians,  therefore,  were  the  au- 
thors of  these  troubles,  who  not  having 
the  constancy  of  Macedonians,  nor  the 
prudence  of  Grecians,  indulged  all  of 
them  the  evil  manners  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  continued  their  ancient  hatred  against 
us  ;  for  what  is  here  so  presumptuously 
charged  upon  us,  is  owing  to  the  differ- 
ences that  are  among  themselves ;  while 
many  of  them  have  not  obtained  the  pri- 
vileges of  citizens  in  proper  times,  but 
style  those  who  are  well  known  to  have 
had  that  privilege  extended  to  them  all, 
no  other  than  foreigners;  for  it  does  not 
appear  that  any  of  the  kings  have  ever 
formerly  bestowed  those  privileges  of 
citizens  upon  Egyptians,  no  more  than 
have  the  emperors  done  it  more  lately ; 
while  it  was  Alexander  who  introduced  us 
into  this  city  at  first,  the  kings  augmented 
our  privileges  therein,  and  the  Romans 
have  been  pleased  to  preserve  them  always 
inviolable.  Moreover,  Apion  would  lay 
a  blot  upon  us,  because  we  do  not  erect 
images  to  our  emperors,  as  if  those  empe- 
rors did  not  know  this  before,  or  stood  in 
need  of  Apion  as  their  defender ;  whereas 
he  ought  rather  to  have  admired  the  mag- 
nanimity and  modesty  of  the  Romans, 
whereby  they  do  not  compel  those  that 
are  subject  to  them  to  transgress  the  laws 
of  their  countries,  but  are  willing  to  re- 
ceive the  honours  due  to  them  after  such 
a  manner  as  those  who  are  to  pay  them 
esteem  consistent  with  piety  and  with  their 
own  laws;  for  they  do  not  thank  people 
for  conferring  honours  upon  them,  when 
they  are  compelled  by  violence  so  to  do 
Accordingly,  since  the  Grecians  and  some 
other  nations  think  it  a  right  thing  tc 
make  images,  nay,  when  they  have  painted 
the  pictures  of  their  parents,  and  wives, 
and  children,  they  exult  for  joy ;  and 
some  there  are  who  take  pictures  for  them- 
selves of  such  persons  as  were  noway  re- 
lated to  them  :  nay,  some  take  the  picturcu 


910 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


Book  II 


of  mich  servants  as  they  were  fond  of. 
What  wonder  is  it  then  if  such  as  these 
appear  willing  to  pay  the  same  respect  to 
their  princes  and  lords?  But  then  our 
legislator  hath  forbidden  us  to  make 
images,  not  by  way  of  denunciation  before- 
hand, that  the  Roman  authority  was  not 
to  be  honoured,  but  as  despising  a  thing 
that  was  neither  necessary  nor  useful  for 
either  God  or  man  ;  and  he  forbade  them, 
as  we  shall  prove  hereafter,  to  make  these 
images  for  any  part  of  the  animal  creation, 
and  much  less  for  God  himself,  who  is  no 
part  of  such  animal  creation.  Yet  hath 
our  legislator  nowhere  forbidden  us  to  pay 
honours  to  worthy  men,  provided  they  be 
of  another  kind,  and  inferior  to  those  we 
pay  to  God;  with  which  honours  we  will- 
ingly testify  our  respect  to  our  emperors, 
aud  to  the  people  of  Rome ;  we  also  offer 
perpetual  sacrifices  for  them ;  nor  do  we 
only  offer  them  every  day  at  the  common 
expenses  of  all  the  Jews,  but  although  we 
offer  no  other  such  sacrifices  out  of  our 
common  expenses,  no  not  for  our  own  chil- 
dren, yet  do  we  this  as  a  peculiar  honour 
to  the  emperors,  and  to  tbem  alone,  while 
we  do  the  same  to  no  other  person  whom- 
soever. And  let  this  suffice  for  an  answer 
in  general  to  Apion  as  to  what  he  says 
with  relation  to  the  Alexandrian  Jews. 

However,  I  cannot  but  admire  those 
other  authors  who  furnished  this  man  with 
such  his  materials;  I  mean  Possidonius 
and  Apollonius  [the  son  of]  Molo,  who 
while  they  accuse  us  for  not  worshipping 
the  same  gods  whom  others  worship,  they 
think  themselves  not  guilty  of  impiety 
when  they  tell  lies  of  us,  and  frame  absurd 
and  reproachful  stories  about  our  temple ; 
whereas  it  is  a  most  shameful  thing  for 
freemen  to  forge  lies  on  any  occasion,  and 
much  more  £o  to  forge  them  about  our 
temple,  which  was  so  famous  over  all  the 
world,  and  was  preserved  so  sacred  by  us ; 
for  Apion  hath  the  impudence  to  pretend, 
♦hat  "  the  Jews  placed  an  ass's  head  in 
tneir  holy  place;"  and  he  affirms  that 
this  was  discovered  when  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes  spoiled  our  temple,  and  found  that 
ass's  head  there  made  of  gold,  and  worth 
a  great  deal  of  money.  To  this  my  first 
answer  shall  be  this,  that  had  there  been 
any  such  thing  among  us,  an  Egyptian 
ought  by  no  means  to  have  thrown  it  in 
our  teeth,  since  an  ass  is  not  a  more  con- 
temptible animal  than  ,*  and  goats, 


*  It  cannot  be  ascertained  at  this  distance  of  time, 
to  what  particular   animal  Josephus  here  alludes, 


and  other  such  creatures,  which  among 
them  are  gods.  But  besides  this  answer, 
I  say  further,  how  comes  it  about  that. 
Apion  does  not  understand  this  to  be  no 
other  than  a  palpable  lie,  and  to  be  con- 
futed by  the  thing  itself  as  utterly  incredi- 
ble ?  For  we  Jews  are  always  governed 
by  the  same  laws,  in  which  we  constantly 
persevere ;  and  although  many  misfor- 
tunes have  befallen  our  city,  as  the  like 
have  befallen  others,  and  although  Theos 
[Epiphanes],  and  Pompey  the  Great,  and 
Licinius  Crassus,  and  last  of  all  Titus 
Caesar,  have  conquered  us  in  war,  and  got- 
ten possession  of  our  temple,  yet  has  none 
of  them  found  any  such  thing  there,  nor 
indeed  any  thing  but  what  was  agreeable 
to  the  strictest  piety  ;  although  what  they 
found  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  reveal  to 
other  nations.  But  for  Antiochus  [Epi- 
phanes], he  had  no  just  cause  for  that 
ravage  in  our  temple  that  he  made;  he 
only  came  to  it  when  he  wanted  money, 
without  declaring  himself  our  enemy,  and 
attacked  us  while  we  were  his  associates 
and  his  friends:  nor  did  he  find  any  thing 
there  that  was  ridiculous.  This  is  attested 
by  many  worthy  writers — Polybius  of 
Megalapolis,  Strubo  of  Cappadocia,  Nico- 
laus  of  Damascus,  Timagenes,  Castor  the 
chronologer,  and  Apollodorus,  who  all  say 
that  it  was  out  of  Antiochus's  want  of 
money  that  he  broke  his  league  with  the 
Jews,  and  despoiled  their  temple  when  it 
was  full  of  gold  and  silver.  Apion  ought 
to  have  had  a  regard  to  these  facts,  unless? 
he  had  himself  had  either  an  ass's  heart, 
or  a  dog's  impudence ;  of  such  a  dog  I 
mean  as  they  worship  ;  for  be  had  no  other 
external  reason  for  the  lies  he  tells  of  us 
As  for  us  Jews,  we  ascribe  no  honour  or 
power  to  asses,  as  do  the  Egyptians  to 
crocodiles  and  asps,  when  tbey  esteem 
such  as  are  seized  upon  by  the  former,  or 
bitten  by  the  latter,  to  be  happy  persons, 
and  persons  worthy  of  God.  Asses  are 
the  same  with  us  which  they  are  with 
other  wise  men,  viz.  creatures  that  bear 
the  burdens  that  we  lay  upon  them;  but 
if  they  come  to  our  ^threshing-floors  and 
eat  our  corn,  cr  do  not  perform  what  we 
impose  upon  them,  we  beat  them  with  a 
great  many  stripes;  because  it  is  their 
business  to  minister  to  us  in  our  husband- 
ry affairs.     But  this   Apion  of  ours  was 

but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  it  was  the  ox  <  r  cow, 
both  of  which,  in  common  with  many  other  ani- 
mals, were  held  in  great  reverence  by  the  Egyr 
tians. 


.?00K  II.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


911 


either  perfect./  unskilful  in  the  composi- 
tion of  such  fallacious  discourses,  or  how- 
ever, when  he  began  [somewhat  better], 
he  was  not  able  to  persevere  in  what  he  had 
undertaken,  since  he  hath  no  manner  of 
success  in  those  reproaches  he  casts  upon  us. 
He  adds  another  Grecian  fable,  in  order 
to  reproach  us.  In  reply  to  which,  it 
would  be  enough  to  say  that  they  who 
presume  to  speak  about  divine  worship, 
ought  not  to  be  ignorant  of  this  plain 
truth,  that  it  is  a  degree  of  less  impurity 
to  pass  through  temples,  than  to  forge 
wicked  calumnies  of  its  priests.  Now, 
such  men  as  he  are  more  zealous  to  justify 
a  sacrilegious  king  than  to  write  what  is 
just  and  what  is  true  about  us,  and  about 
our  temple  ;  for  when  they  are  desirous  of 
gratifying  Antiochus,  and  of  concealing 
that  perfidiousness  and  sacrilege  which  he 
was  guilty  of,  with  regard  to  our  nation, 
when  he  wanted  money,  they  endeavour 
to  disgrace  us,  and  tell  lies  even  relating 
to  futurities.  Apion  becomes  other  men's 
prophet  upon  this  occasion,  and  says,  that 
"  Antiochus  found  in  our  temple  a  bed  and 
a  man  lying  upon  it,  with  a  small  table 
before  him,  full  of  dainties,  from  the 
[fishes  of  the]  sea,  and  the  fowls  of  the 
dry  land ;  that  this  man  was  amazed  at 
these  dainties  thus  set  before  him ;  that 
he  immediately  adored  the  kiug,  upon  his 
coming  in,  as  hoping  that  he  would  afford 
him  all  possible  assistance ;  that  he  fell 
down  upon  his  kuees,  and  stretched  out  to 
him  his  rigjit  hand,  and  begged  to  be  re- 
leased :  and  that  when  the  king  bade  him 
sit  down,  and  tell  him  who  he  was,  and 
why  he  dwelt  there,  and  what  was  the 
meaning  of  those  various  sorts  of  food  that 
were  set  before  him,  the  man  made  a  la- 
mentable complaiut,  and  with  sighs,  and 
tears  in  his  eyes,  gave  him  this  account 
of  the  distress  he  was  in;  and  said  that  he 
was  a  Greek,  and  that  as  he  went  over 
this  province,  in  order  to  get  his  living,  he 
was  seized  upon  by  foreigners,  on  a  sud- 
den, and  brought  to  this  temple,  and  shut 
up  therein,  and  was  seen  by  nobody,  but 
was  fattened  by  these  curious  provisions 
thus  set  before  him  :  and  that  truly  at  the 
first  .such  unexpected  advantages  seemed 
to  him  matter  uf  great  joy;  that,  after  a 
while  they  brought  a  suspicion  upon  him, 
and  at  length  astonishment,  what  their 
meaning  should  be;  that  at  last  he  in- 
quired of  the  servants  that  came  to  him, 
aud  was  by  them  informed  that  it  was  in 
Mder  to  the  fulfilling  a  law  of  the  Jews, 


which  they  must  not  tell  him,  that  he  was 
thus  fed;  and  that  they  did  the  same  at  a 
set  time  every  year :  that  they  used  to 
catch  a  Greek  foreigner,  and  fatten  him 
thus  up  every  year,  and  then  lead  him  to 
a  certain  wood,  and  kill  him,  and  sacri- 
fice with  their  accustomed  solemnities, 
and  taste  of  his  entrails,  and  take  an  oath 
upon  this  sacrificing  a  Greek,  that  they 
would  ever  be  at  enmity  with  the  Greeks; 
and  that  then  they  threw  the  remaining 
parts  of  the  miserable  wretch  into  a  cer- 
tain pit."  Apion  adds  further,  that  "the 
man  said  there  were  but  a  few  days  to 
come  ere  he  was  to  be  slain,  and  implored 
Antiochus  that,  out  of  the  reverence  ho 
bore  to  the  Grecian  gods,  he  would  disap- 
point the  snares  the  Jews  laid  for  his 
blood,  and  would  deliver  him  from  the 
miseries  with  which  he  was  encompassed. " 
Now  this  is  such  a  most  tragical  fable,  as 
is  full  of  nothing  but  cruelty  and  impu- 
dence ;  yet  does  it  not  excuse  Antiochus 
of  his  sacrilegious  attempts,  as  those  who 
wrote  it  in  his  vindication  are  willing  tc 
suppose ;  for  he  could  not  presume  be- 
forehand that  he  should  meet  with  any 
such  thing  in  coming  to  the  temple,  but 
must  have  found  it  unexpectedly.  He 
was,  therefore,  still  an  impious  person, 
that  was  given  to  unlawful  pleasures,  and 
had  no  regard  to  God  in  his  actions.  But 
[as  for  Apion]  he  hath  done  whatever 
his  extravagant  love  of  lying  hath  dictated 
to  him,  as  it  is  most  easy  to  discover  by  a 
consideration  of  his  writings ;  for  the  dif- 
ference of  our  laws  is  known  not  to  regard 
the  Grecians  only,  but  they  are  princi- 
pally opposite  to  the  Egyptians,  and  to 
some  other  nations  also :  for  while  it  so 
falls  out,  that  men  of  all  countries  come 
sometimes  and  sojourn  among  us,  how 
conies  it  about  that  we  take  an  oath,  and 
conspire  only  against  the  Grecians,  and 
that  by  the  effusion  of  their  blood  also  ? 
Or  how  is  it  possible  that  all  the  Jews 
should  get  together  to  these  sacrifices,  and 
the  entrails  of  one  man  should  be  sufficient 
for  so  many  thousands  to  taste  of  them,  as 
Apion  pretends?  Or  why  did  not  the 
king  carry  this  man,  whosoever  he  was, 
and  whatsoever  was  his  name  (which  is 
not  set  down  in  Apion's  book)  with  great 
pomp  back  into  his  own  country?  when 
he  might  thereby  have  been  esteemed  a 
religious  person  himself,  and  a  mighty 
lover  of  the  Greeks,  and  might  thereby 
have  procured  himself  great  assistance 
from  all  men  against  that  hatred  the  Jews 


912 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  II 


bore  to  him.  But  I  leave  this  matter; 
for  the  proper  way  to  confute  fools  is  not 
to  use  bare  words,  but  to  appeal  to  the 
things  themselves  that  make  against  them. 
Now  then,  all  such  as  ever  saw  the  con- 
struction of  our  temple,  of  what  nature  it 
was,  know  well  enough  how  the  purity  of 
it  was  never  to  be  profaned ;  for  it  had 
four  several  courts,*  encompassed  with 
cloisters  round  about,  every  one  of  which 
had  by  our  law  a  peculiar  degree  of  sepa- 
ration from  the  rest.  Into  the  first  court 
everybody  was  allowed  to  go,  even  foreign- 
ers; and  none  but  women,  during  their 
courses,  were  prohibited  to  pass  through 
it ;  all  the  Jews  went  into  the  second  court, 
as  well  as  their  wives,  when  they  were 
free  from  all  uncleanness ;  into  the  third 
went  the  Jewish  men  when  they  were 
clean  and  purified  ;  into  the  fourth  went 
the  priests,  having  on  their  sacerdotal  gar- 
ments; but  for  the  most  sacred  place, 
none  went  in  but  the  high  priests,  clothed 
in  their  peculiar  garments.  Now  there  is 
so  great  caution  used  about  these  offices 
of  religion,  that  the  priests  are  appointed 
to  go  into  the  temple  but  at  certain  hours  : 
for,  in  the  morning,  at  the  opening  of  the 
inner  temple,  those  that  are  to  officiate 
receive  the  sacrifices,  as  they  do  again  at 
noon,  till  the  doors  are  shut.  Lastly,  it 
is  not  so  much  as  lawful  to  carry  any  ves- 
sel into  the  holy  house;  nor  is  there  any 
thiug  therein,  but  the  altar  [of  incense], 
the  table  [of  show-bread],  the  censer,  and 
the  candlestick,  which  are  all  written  in 
the  law  :  for  there  is  nothing  further  there, 
nor  are  there  any  mysteries  performed 
that  may  not  be  spoken  of;  nor  is  there 
any  feasting  within  the  place.  For  what 
I  have  now  said  is  publicly  known,  and 
supported  by  the  testimony  of  the  whole 
people,  and  their  operations  are  very  ma- 
nifest; for,  although  there  be  four  courses 
of  the  priests,  and  every  one  of  them 
have  above  5000  men  in  them,  yet  do 
they  officiate  on  certain  days  only;  and 
when  those  days  are  over,  other  priests 
succeed  in  the  performance  of  their  sacri- 
fices, and  assemble  together  at  midday, 
and  receive  the  keys  of  the  temple,  and 
the  vessels  by  tale,  without  any  thing  re- 
lating to  food  or  drink  being  carried  into 

*  It  is  remarkable  that  Josephus  here  reckons 
ap  four  distinct  courts  of  the  temple  :  that  of  the 
Gentiles,  that  of  the  women  of  Israel,  that  of  the 
men  of  Israel,  and  that  of  the  priests;  as  also  that 
til e  court  of  the  women  admitted  the  husbands  of 
khose  wives  that  were  therein ;  while  the  court  of 
the  men  did  not  admit  any  women  into  it  at  all. 


the  temple  ;  nay,  we  are  not  allowed  tc 
offer  such  things  at  the  altar  excepting 
what  is  prepared  for  the  sacrifices. 

What,  then,  can  we  say  of  Apion,  but 
that  he  examined  nothing  that  concerned 
these  things,  while  still  he  uttered  incre- 
dible words  about  them  ?  But  it  is  a 
great  shame  for  a  grammarian  not  to  be 
able  to  write  true  history.  Now,  if  he 
knew  the  purity  of  our  temple,  he  hath 
entirely  omitted  to  take  notice  of  it ;  but 
he  forges  a  story  about  the  seizing  of  a 
Grecian,  about  ineffable  food,  and  the 
most  delicious  preparation  of  dainties ; 
And  pretends  that  strangers  could  go  into 
a  place  whereinto  the  noblest  men  among 
the  Jews  are  not  allowed  to  enter,  unless 
they  be  priests.  This,  therefore,  is  the 
utmost  degree  of  impiety,  and  a  volun 
tary  lie,  in  order  to  the  delusion  of  those 
who  will  not  examine  into  the  truth  of 
matters.  Whereas,  such  unspeakable 
mischiefs  as  are  above  related,  have  been 
occasioned  by  such  calumnies  that  are 
raised  upon  us. 

Nay,  this  miracle  of  piety  derides  us 
further,  aud  adds  the  following  pretended 
facts  to  his  former  fable;  for  he  says  that 
this  man  related  how,  "  while  the  Jews  were 
once  in  a  long  war  with  the  Idumeans,  there 
came  a  man  out  of  one  of  the  cities  of  the 
Idumeans,  who  there  had  worshipped  Apol- 
lo. This  man,  whose  name  is  said  to  have 
been  Zabidus,  came  to  the  Jews,  and  pro- 
mised that  he  would  deliver  Apollo,  the 
god  of  Dora,  into  their  hands,  and  that 
he  would  come  to  our  temple,  if  they 
would  all  come  up  with  him,  and  bring 
the  whole  multitude  of  the  Jews  with 
them  ;  that  Zabidus  made  him  a  certain 
wooden  instrument,  and  put  it  round 
about  him,  and  set  three  rows  of  lamps 
therein,  and  walked  after  such  a  manner 
that  he  appeared  to  those  that  stood  a 
great  way  off  him  to  be  a  kind  of  star 
walking  upon  the  earth  :  that  the  Jews 
were  terribly  frighted  at  so  surprising  an 
appearance,  and  stood  very  quiet  at  a 
distance ;  and  that  Zabidus,  while  they 
continued  so  very  -quiet,  went  into  the 
holy  house  and  carried  off  that  golden 
head  of  an  ass,  (for  so  facetiously  does  he 
write,)  and  then  went  his  way  back  again 
to  Dora  in  great  haste. "  And  say  you 
so,  sir !  as  I  may  reply ;  then  does  Apion 
load  the  ass,  (that  is,  himself,)  and  lays 
on  him  a  burden  of  fooleries  and  lies ;  for 
he  writes  of  places  that  have  no  being;  aud 
not  knowiug  the  cities  he  sptaks  of,  be 


Boor  II.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAIN8*  APION. 


913 


changes  their  situation  ;  for  Idumea  bor- 
ders upon  our  country,  and  is  near  to 
Gaza,  in  which  there  is  no  such  city  as 
Dora,  although  there  be,  it  is  true,  a  city 
named  Dora  in  Phoenicia,  near  Mount 
Carmel,  but  it  is  four  days'  journey  from 
Idumea.  Now,  then,  why  does  this  man 
accuse  us  because  we  have  not  gods  in 
common  with  other  nations  ? — if  our  fore- 
fathers were  so  easily  prevailed  upon  to 
have  Apollo  come  to  them,  and  thought 
they  saw  him  walking  upon  the  earth, 
and  the  stars  with  him ;  for  certainly 
those  who  have  so  many  festivals,  wherein 
they  light  lamps,  must  yet,  at  this  rate, 
have  never  seen  a  candlestick  !  But  still 
it  seems  that,  while  Zabidus  took  his  jour- 
ney over  the  country,  where  were  so  many 
ten  thousands  of  people,  nobody  met  him. 
He  also,  it  seems,  even  in  a  time  of  war, 
found  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  destitute  of 
guards.  I  omit  the  rest.  Now  the  doors 
of  the  holy  house  were  seventy  cubits 
high,  and  twenty  cubits  broad,  they  were 
all  plated  over  with  gold,  and  almost  of 
solid  gold  itself,  and  there  were  no  fewer 
than  twenty  men  required  to  shut  them 
every  day  ;  nor  was  it  lawful  ever  to  leave 
them  open,  though  it  seems  this  lamp- 
bearer  of  ours  opened  them  easily,  or 
thought  he  opened  them,  as  he  thought 
he  had  the  ass's  head  in  his  hand.  Whe- 
ther, therefore,  he  returned  it  to  us  again, 
or  whether  Apion  took  it  and  brought  it 
into  the  temple  again,  that  Antiochus 
might  find  it,  and  afford  a  handle  for  a 
second  fable  of  Apion,  is  uncertain. 

Apion  also  tells  a  false  story  when  he 
mentions  an  oath  of  ours,  as  if  we  "  swore 
by  Gxl,  the  maker  of  the  heaven  and 
earth  and  sea,  to  bear  no  go^d-will  to  any 
foreigner,  and  particularly  to  none  of  the 
Greeks."  Now  this  liar  ought  to  have 
said  directly  that  "  we  would  bear  no 
good-will  to  any  foreigner,  and  particu- 
larly to  none  of  the  Egyptians."  For 
then  his  story  about  the  oath  would  have 
squared  with  the  rest  of  his  original  for- 
geries, in  case  our  forefathers  had  been 
driven  away  by  their  kinsmen  the  Egyp- 
tians, not  on  account  of  any  wickedness 
they  had  been  guilty  of,  but  on  account  of 
the  calamities  they  were  under ;  for  as  to 
the  Grecians,  we  are  rather  remote  from 
them  in  place  than  different  from  them 
in  our  institutions,  insomuch  that  we 
have  no  enmity  with  them,  nor  any  jea- 
lousy of  them.  On  the  contrary,  it  hath 
no  happened,  that  many  of  them  have 
58 


come  over  to  our  laws,  and  some  of  them 
have  continued  in  their  observation,  al- 
though others  of  them  had  not  courage 
enough  to  persevere,  and  so  departed  from 
them  again ;  nor  did  anybody  ever  hear 
this  oath  sworn  by  us ;  Apion,  it  seems, 
was  the  only  person  that  heard  it,  for  he, 
indeed,  was  the  first  composer  of  it. 

However,  Apion  deserves  to  be  ad- 
mired for  his  great  prudence,  as  to  what 
I  am  going  to  say,  which  is  this,  "  That 
there  is  a  plain  mark  among  us,  that  we 
neither  have  just  laws,  nor  worship  God 
as  we  ought  to  do,  because  we  are  not 
governors,  but  are  rather  in  subjection  to 
Gentiles,  sometimes  to  one  nation,  some- 
times to  another;  and  that  our  city  has 
been  liable  to  several  calamities,  while 
their  city  [Alexandria]  hath  been  of  old 
time  an  imperial  city,  and  not  used  to  be 
in  subjection  to  the  Romans."  But  now 
this  man  had  better  leave  off  his  boasting ; 
for  everybody  but  himself  would  thiuk  that 
Apion  said  what  he  hath  said  against 
himself;  for  there  are  very  few  nations 
that  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  conti- 
nue many  generations  in  the  principality, 
but  still  the  mutations  in  human  affairs 
have  put  them  into  subjection  under 
others ;  and  most  nations  have  been  often 
subdued,  and  brought  into  subjection  by 
others.  Now  for  the  Egyptians,  perhaps, 
they  are  the  only  nation  that  have  had 
this  extraordinary  privilege,  to  have  never 
served  any  of  those  monarchs  who  sub- 
dued Asia  and  Europe,  and  this  on  ac- 
count, as  they  pretend,  that  the  gods  fled 
into  their  country  and  saved  themselves, 
by  being  changed  into  the  shapes  of  wild 
beasts.  Whereas  these  Egyptians  are  the 
very  people  that  appear  to  have  never,  in 
all  the  past  ages,  had  one  day  of  freedom, 
no  not  so  much  as  from  their  own  lords. 
For  I  will  not  reproach  them  with  re- 
lating the  manner  how  the  Persians  used 
them,  and  this  not  once  only,  but  many 
times,  when  they  laid  their  cities  waste, 
demolished  their  temples,  and  cut  the 
throats  of  those  animals  whom  they 
esteemed  to  be  gods ;  for  it  is  not  reason- 
able to  imitate  the  clownish  ignorance  of 
Apion,  who  hath  no  regard  to  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  Athenians,  or  of  the  Lacede- 
monians, the  latter  of  whom  were  styled 
by  all  men  the  most  courageous,  and  the 
former  the  most  religious,  of  the  Grecians-. 
I  say  nothing  of  such  kings  as  have  been 
famous  for  piety,  particularly  of  one  of 
them  whose  name  was  Cresus,  nor  what 


914 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  I) 


calamities  he  met  with  in  his  life  ;  I  say 
nothing  of  the  citadel  of  Athens,  of  the 
temple  at  Ephesus,  of  that  at  Delphi,  nor 
of  ten  thousand  others  which  have  been 
burnt  down,  while  nobody  cast  reproaches 
on  those  that  were  the  sufferers,  but  on 
those  that  were  the  actors  therein.  But 
now  we  have  met  with  Apion,  an  accuser 
of  our  nation,  though  one  that  still  for- 
gets the  miseries  of  his  own  people,  the 
Egyptians ;  but  it  is  that  Sesostris,  who 
was  once  so  celebrated  a  king  of  Egypt, 
that  hath  blinded  him.  Now  we  will  not 
boast  of  our  kings,  David  and  Solomon, 
though  they  conquered  many  nations ; 
accordingly  we  will  let  them  alone.  How- 
ever, Apion  is  ignorant  of  what  everybody 
knows,  that  the  Egyptians  were  servants 
to  the  Persians,  and  afterward  to  the  Ma- 
cedonians, when  they  were  lords  of  Asia, 
aud  were  no  better  than  slaves,  while  we 
have  enjoyed  liberty  formerly  ;  nay,  more 
than  that,  have  had  the  dominion  of  the 
cities  that  lie  round  about  us,  and  this 
nearly  for  120  years  together,  until  Pom- 
peius  Magnus.  And  when  all  the  kings 
everywhere  were  conquered  by  the  Ro- 
mans, our  ancestors  were  the  only  people 
who  continued  to  be  esteemed  their  con- 
federates and  friends,  on  account  of  their 
fidelity  to  them. 

"But,"  says  Apion,  "we  Jews  have 
not  had  any  wonderful  men  among  us,  not 
any  inventors  of  arts,  nor  any  eminent 
for  wisdom."  He  then  enumerates  So- 
crates and  Zeno  and  Cleanthes,  and  some 
others  of  the  same  sort ;  and,  after  all,  he 
adds  himself  to  them,  which  is  the  most 
wonderful  thing  of  all  that  he  says,  and 
pronounces  Alexandria  to  be  happy,  be- 
cause it  has  such  a  citizen  as  he  is  in  it ; 
for  he  was  the  fittest  man  to  be  a  witness 
to  his  own  deserts,  although  he  hath  ap- 
peared to  all  others  no  better  than  a 
wicked  mountebank,  of  a  corrupt  life  and 
ill  discourses;  on  which  account  one  may 
justly  pity  Alexandria,  if  it  should  value 
itself  upon  such  a  citizen  as  he  is.  But 
as  to  our  own  men,  we  have  had  those 
who  have  been  as  deserving  of  commenda- 
tion as  any  other  whosoever  ;  and  such  as 
have  perused  our  Antiquities  cannot  be 
ignorant  of  them. 

As  to  the  other  things  which  he  sets 
down  as  blameworthy,  it  may,  perhaps, 
be  the  best  way  to  let  them  pass  without 
apology,  that  he  may  be  allowed  to  be  his 
own  accuser,  and  the  accuser  of  the  rest 
of  the  Egyptians.     However,  he  accuses 


us  for  sacrificing  animals,  and  for  abstain- 
ing from  swine's  flesh,  and  laughs  at  us 
for  the  circumcision  of  our  males.  Now, 
as  for  our  slaughter  of  tame  animals  for 
sacrifices,  it  is  common  to  us  and  to  all 
other  men  ;  but  this  Apion,  by  making  it 
a  crime  to  sacrifice  them,  demonstrates 
himself  to  be  an  Egyptian  ;  for  had  he 
been  either  a  Grecian  or  a  Macedonian 
[as  he  pretends  to  be],  he  had  not  shown  an 
uneasiness  at  it ;  for  those  people  glory  in 
sacrificing  whole  hecatombs  to  the  gods, 
and  make  use  of  those  sacrifices  for  feast- 
ing ;  and  yet  is  not  the  world  thereby 
rendered  destitute  of  cattle,  as  Apion  was 
afraid  would  come  to  pass.  Yet,  if  all 
men  had  followed  the  manners  of  the 
Egyptians,  the  world  had  certainly  been 
made  desolate  as  to  mankind,  but  had 
been  filled  full  of  the  wildest  sort  of  brute 
beasts,  which,  because  they  suppose  them 
to  be  gods,  they  carefully  nourish.  How- 
ever, if  any  one  should  ask  Apion  which  of 
the  Egyptians  he  thinks  to  be  the  most  wise, 
and  most  pious  of  them  all,  he  would  cer- 
tainly acknowledge  the  priests  to  be  so ; 
for  the  histories  say  that  two  things  were 
originally  committed  to  their  care  by  their 
kings'  injunctions,  the  worship  of  the 
gods,  and  the  support  of  wisdom  and  phi- 
losophy. Accordingly,  these  priests  are 
all  circumcised,  and  abstain  from  swine's 
flesh  ;  nor  does  any  one  of  the  other 
Egyptians  assist  them  in  slaying  those 
sacrifices  they  offer  to  the  gods.  Apion 
was  therefore  quite  blinded  in  his  mind, 
when,  for  the  sake  of  the  Egyptians,  he 
contrived  to  reproach  us,  and  to  accuse 
such  others  as  not  only  make  use  of  that 
conduct  of  life  which  he  so  much  abuses, 
but  have  al^)  taught  other  men  to  be  cir- 
cumcised, as  says  Herodotus  ;  which 
makes  me  think  that  Apion  is  hereby 
justly  punished  for  his  casting  such  re- 
proaches on  the  laws  of  his  own  country; 
for  he  was  circumcised  himself  of  ne- 
cessity, on  account  of  an  ulcer ;  and 
when  he  received  no  benefit  by  such  cir- 
cumcision, but  the  wound  became  putrid, 
he  died  in  great  torment.  Now,  meu  of 
good  tempers  ought  to  observe  their  own 
laws  concerning  religion  accurately,  and 
to  persevere  therein,  but  not  pAesently  to 
abuse  the  laws  of  other  nations,  while  this 
Apion  deserted  his  own  lawu,  and  told 
lies  about  ours;  and  this  was  the  end  of 
Apion's  life,  and  this  shall  be  the  conclu- 
sion of  our  discourse  about  him. 

But  now,  since  Apollonius  Molo,  and 


Book.  II.] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


915 


Lysimacbus,  and  some  others,  write  trea- 
tises about  our  lawgiver  Moses,  and  about 
our  laws,  which  are  neither  just  nor  true, 
and  this  partly  out  of  ignorance,  but 
chiefly  out  of  ill-will  to  us,  while  they  ca- 
lumniate Moses  as  an  impostor  and  de- 
ceiver, and  pretend  that  our  laws  teach  us 
wickedness,  but  nothing  that  is  virtuous, 
I  have  a  mind  to  discourse  briefly,  accord- 
ing to  my  ability,  about  our  whole  consti- 
tution of  government,  and  about  the  par- 
ticular branches  of  it;  for  I  suppose  it 
will  thence  become  evident  that  the  laws 
we  have  given  us  are  disposed  after  the 
best  manner  for  the  advancement  of  piety, 
for  mutual  communion  with  one  another, 
for  a  general  love  of  mankind,  as  also  for 
justice,  and  for  sustaining  labours  with 
fortitude,  and  for  a  contempt  of  death ; 
and  I  beg  of  those  that  shall  peruse  this 
writing  of  mine,  to  read  it  without  partial- 
ity ;  for  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  write  an 
encomium  upon  ourselves,  but  I  shall  es- 
teem this  as  a  most  just  apology  for  us, 
and  taken  from  those  our  laws,  according 
to  which  we  lead  our  lives,  against  the 
many  and  the  lying  objections  that  have 
been  made  against  us.  Moreover,  since 
this  Apollonius  does  not  do  like  Apion, 
and  lay  a  continued  accusation  against 
us,  but  does  it  only  by  starts,  and  up  and 
down  his  discourse,  while  he  sometimes 
reproaches  us  as  atheists,  and  man-haters, 
and  sometimes  hits  us  in  the  teeth  with 
our  want  of  courage,  and  yet  sometimes, 
on  the  contrary,  accuses  us  of  too  great 
boldness,  and  madness  in  our  conduct ; 
nay,  he  says  that  we  are  the  weakest  of 
all  the  barbarians,  and  that  this  is  the  rea- 
son why  we  are  the  only  people  who  have 
made  no  improvements  in  human  life ; 
now  I  think  I  shall  have  then  sufficiently 
disproved  all  these  his  allegations,  when 
it  shall  appear  that  our  laws  enjoin  the 
very  reverse  of  what  he  says,  and  that  we 
very  carefully  observe  those  laws  our- 
selves ;  and  if  I  be  compelled  to  make 
mention  of  the  laws  of  other  nations,  that 
are  contrary  to  ours,  those  ought  deserved- 
ly to  thank  themselves  for  it,  who  have 
pretended  to  depreciate  our  laws  in  com- 
parison of  their  own ;  nor  will  there,  I 
think,  be  any  room  after  that  for  them  to 
pretend,  either  that  we  have  no  such  laws 
ourselves,  an  epitome  of  which  I  will  pre- 
sent to  the  reader,  or  that  we  do  not, 
above  all  men,  continue  in  the  observa- 
tion of  them. 

To  begin  th^n  a  good  way  backward,  I 


would  advance  this,  in  the  fL*st  place,  that 
those  who  have  been  admirers  of  good 
order,  and  of  living  under  common  laws, 
and  who  began  to  introduce  them,  may 
well  have  this  testimony  that  they  are 
better  than  other  men,  both  for  modera- 
tion and  such  virtue  as  is  agreeable  to 
nature.  Indeed,  their  endeavour  was  to 
to  have  every  thing  they  ordained  believed 
to  be  very  ancient,  that  they  might  not 
be  thought  to  imitate  others,  but  might 
appear  to  have  delivered  a  regular  way  of 
living  to  others  after  them.  Since  then 
this  is  the  case,  the  excellency  of  a  legis- 
lator is  seen  in  providing  for  the  people's 
living  after  the  best  manner,  and  in  pre- 
vailing with  those  that  are  to  use  the  laws 
he  ordains  for  them,  to  have  a  good  opi- 
nion of  them,  and  in  obliging  the  multi- 
tude to  persevere  in  them,  and  to  make 
no  changes  in  them,  neither  in  prosperity 
nor  adversity.  Now,  I  venture  to  say, 
that  our  legislator  is  the  most  ancient  of 
all  the  legislators  whom  we  have  any- 
where heard  of;  for  as  for  the  Lycurguses, 
and  Solons,  and  Zaleucus  Locrensis,  and 
all  those  legislators  who  are  so  admired  by 
the  Greeks,  they  seem  to  be  of  yesterday, 
if  compared  with  our  legislator,  insomuch 
as  the  very  name  of  law  was  not  so  much 
as  known  in  old  times  among  the  Grecians. 
Homer  is  a  witness  to  the  truth  of  this 
observation,  who  never  uses  that  term  in 
all  his  poems  ;  for,  indeed,  there  was  then 
no  such  thing  among  them,  but  the  multi- 
tude was  governed  by  wise  maxims,  and 
by  the  injunctions  of  their  king.  It  was 
also  a  long  time  that  they  continued  in  the 
use  of  these  unwritten  customs,  although 
they  were  always  changing  them  upon 
several  occasions;  but  for  our  legislator, 
who  was  of  so  much  greater  antiquity 
than  the  rest,  (as  even  those  that  speak 
against  us  upon  all  occasions  do  always 
confess,)  he  exhibited  himself  to  the  peo- 
ple as  their  best  governor  and  counsellor, 
and  included  in  his  legislation  the  entire 
conduct  of  their  lives,  and  prevailed  with 
them  to  receive  it,  and  brought  it  so  to  pass, 
that  those  that  were  made  acquainted  with 
his  laws  did  most  carefully  observe  them. 

But  let  us  consider  his  first  and  greatest 
work ;  for  when  it  was  resolved  on  by  our 
forefathers  to  leave  Egypt  and  return  to 
their  own  country,  this  Moses  took  tho 
many  ten  thousands  that  were  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  saved  them  out  of  many  despe- 
rate distresses,  and  brought  them  home  in 
safety.      And    certainly   it  was    here  no- 


916 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Boos  II 


eessary  to  travel  over  a  country  without 
water,  and  full  of  sand,  to  overcome  their 
enemies,  and,  during  these  battles,  to  pre- 
serve their  children,  and  their  wives,  and 
their  prey;  on  all  which  occasions  he  be- 
came an  excellent  general  of  an  army, 
and  a  most  prudent  counsellor,  and  one 
that  took  the  truest  care  of  them  all  :  he 
also  so  brought  it  about,  that  the  whole  mul- 
titude depended  upon  him  ;  and  while  he 
had  them  always  obedient  to  what  he  en- 
joined, he  made  no  manner  of  use  of  his 
authority  for  his  own  private  advantage, 
which  is  the  usual  time  when  governors 
gain  great  powers  to  themselves,  and  pave 
the  way  for  tyranny,  and  accustom  the 
multitude  to  live  very  dissolutely ;  where- 
as, when  our  legislator  was  in  so  great  au- 
thority, he,  on  the  contrary,  thought  he 
ought  to  have  regard  to  piety,  and  show 
his  great  good-will  to  the  people;  and  by 
this  means  be  thought  he  might  show  the 
great  degree  of  virtue  that  was  in  him, 
and  might  procure  the  most  lasting  securi- 
ty to  those  who  had  made  him  their  go- 
vernor. When  he  had,  therefore,  come 
to  such  a  good  resolution,  and  had  per- 
formed such  wonderful  exploits,  we  had 
just  reason  to  look  upon  ourselves  as  hav- 
ing him  for  a  divine  governor  and  coun- 
sellor ;  and  when  he  had  first  persuaded 
himself  that  his  actions  and  designs  were 
agreeable  to  God's  will,  he  thought  it  his 
duty  to  impress,  above  all  things,  that  no- 
tion upon  the  multitude ;  for  those  who 
have  once  believed  that  G-od  is  the  inspec- 
tor of  their  lives,  will  not  permit  them- 
selves in  any  sin ;  and  this  is  the  charac- 
ter of  our  legislator:  he  was  no  impostor, 
no  deceiver,  as  his  revilers  say,  though  un- 
justly, but  such  an  one  as  they  boast  Mi- 
nos to  have  been  among  the  Greeks,  and 
other  legislators  after  him ;  for  some  of 
them  suppose  that  they  had  their  laws 
from  Jupiter,  while  Minos  said  that  the 
revelation  of  his  laws  was  to  be  referred 
to  Apollo,  and  his  oracle  at  Delphi, 
whether  they  really  thought  they  were  so 
derived,  or  supposed,  however,  that  they 
could  persuade  the  people  easily  that  so 
it  was :  but  which  of  these  it  was  who 
made  the  best  laws,  and  which  had  the 
greatest  reason  to  believe  that  God  was 
their  author,  it  will  be  easy,  upon  com- 
paring those  laws  themselves  together,  to 
determine ;  for  it  is  time  that  we  come  to 
that  point.  Now,  there  are  innumerable 
differences  in  the  particular  customs  and 
laws  that  are  among  all  mankind,  which  a 


man  may  briefly  reduce  under  the  follow- 
ing heads  : — Some  legislators  have  permit- 
ted their  governments  to  be  under  mo- 
narchies, others  put  them  under  oligar- 
chies, and  others  under  a  republican  form  ; 
but  our  legislator  had  no  regard  to  any  of 
these  forms,  but  he  ordained  our  govern- 
ment to  be  what,  by  a  strained  expression, 
may  be  termed  a  Theocracy,  by  ascribing 
the  authority  and  the  power  to  God,  and 
by  persuading  all  the  people  to  have  a  re- 
gard to  him,  as  the  author  of  all  the  good 
things  enjoyed  either  in  common  by  all 
mankind,  or  by  each  one  in  particular,  and 
of  all  that  they  themselves  obtained  by 
praying  to  him  in  their  greatest  difficul- 
ties. He  informed  them  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  escape  God's  observation,  either 
in  any  of  our  outward  actions,  or  in  any 
of  our  inward  thoughts.  Moreover,  he 
represented  God  as  unbegotten,  and  im- 
mutable, through  all  eternity,  superior  to 
all  mortal  conceptions  in  pulchritude ; 
and,  though  known  to  us  by  his  power, 
yet  unknown  to  us  as  to  his  essence.  I 
do  not  now  explain  how  these  notions  of 
God  are  the  sentiments  of  the  wisest 
among  the  Grecians,  and  how  they  were 
taught  them  upon  the  principles  that  he 
afforded  them.  However,  they  testify, 
with  great  assurance,  that  these  notions 
are  just,  and  agreeable  to  the  nature  of 
God,  and  to  his  majesty;  for  Pythagoras, 
and  Anaxagoras,  and  Plato,  and  the  Stoic 
philosophers  that  succeeded  them,  and  al- 
most all  the  rest,  are  of  the  same  senti- 
ments, and  had  the  same  notions  of  the 
nature  of  God;  yet  durst  not  these  men 
disclose  those  true  notions  to  more  than  a 
few,  because  the  body  of  the  people  were 
prejudiced  with  other  opinions  before- 
hand. But  our  legislator,  who  made  his 
actions  agree  to  his  laws,  did  not  only 
prevail  with  those  that  were  his  contempo- 
raries to  agree  with  these  his  notions,  but 
so  firmly  imprinted  this  faith  in  God  upon 
all  their  posterity,  that  it  never  could  be 
removed.  The  reason  why  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  legislation  was  ever  better  di- 
rected to  the  utility  of  all  than  other  le- 
gislations were,  is  this,  that  Moses  did  not 
make  religion  a  part  of  virtue,  but  he  saw 
and  he  ordained  other  virtues  to  be  parts 
of  religion  ;  I  mean  justice,  and  fortitude, 
and  temperance,  and  a  universal  agree- 
ment of  the  members  of  the  community 
with  one  another  ;  for  all  our  actions  and 
studies,  and  all  our  words  [in  Moses's  set 
tlement]    have    a    reference    to  piety  to 


UookIL] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEP1IUS  AGAINST  APION. 


917 


ward  God  ;  for  ho  hath  left  none  of  these 
in  suspense,  or  undetermined;  for  there 
are  two  ways  of  coming  at  any  sort  of 
learning,  and  a  moral  conduct  of  life  ;  the 
one  is  by  instruction  in  words,  the  other 
by  practical  exercises.  Now,  other  law- 
givers have  separated  these  two  ways  in 
their  opinions,  and  choosing  one  of  those 
ways  of  instructions,  or  that  which  best 
pleased  every  one  of  them,  neglected  the 
other.  Thus  did  the  Lacedemonians  and 
the  Cretans  teach  by  practical  exereises, 
but  not  by  words;  while  the  Athenians, 
and  almost  all  the  other  Grecians,  made 
laws  about  what  was  to  be  done,  or  left 
undone,  but  had  no  regard  to  the  exer- 
cising them  thereto  in  practice. 

But  for  our  legislator,  he  very  carefully 
joined  these  two  methods  of  instruction 
together;  for  he  neither  left  these  practi- 
cal exercises  to  go  on  without  verbal  in- 
struction, nor  did  he  permit  the  hearing 
of  the  law  to  proceed  without  the  exer- 
cises for  practice  ;  but  beginning  immedi- 
ately from  the  earliest  iufancy,  and  the 
appointment  of  every  one's  diet,  he  left 
nothing  of  the  very  smallest  consequence 
to  be  done  at  the  pleasure  and  disposal 
of  the  person  himself.  Accordingly,  he 
made  a  fixed  rule  of  law  what  sorts  of 
food  they  should  abstain  from,  and  what 
sorts  they  should  use;  as  also,  what  com- 
munion they  should  have  with  others, 
what  great  diligence  they  should  use  in 
their  occupations,  and  what  times  of  rest 
should  be  interposed,  that  by  living  under 
that  law  as  under  a  father  and  a  master, 
we  might  be  guilty  of  no  sin,  neither  vo- 
luntary nor  out  of  ignorance ;  for  he 
did  not  suffer  the  guilt  of  ignorance  to  go 
on  without  punishment,  but  demonstrated 
the  law  to  be  the  best  and  most  necessary 
instruction  of  all  others,  permitting  the 
people  to  leave  off  their  other  employ- 
ments, and  to  assemble  together  for  the 
hearing  of  the  law,  and  learning  it  ex- 
actly, and  this  not  once  or  twice,  or  often- 
er,  but  every  week  ;  which  thing  all  the 
other  legislators  seem  to  have   neglected. 

And,  indeed,  the  greatest  part  of  man- 
kind are  so  far  from  living  according  to 
their  own  laws,  that  they  hardly  know 
them  ;  but  when  they  have  sinned,  they 
learn  from  others  that  they  have  trans- 
gressed the  law.  Those  also  who  are  in 
the  highest  and  principal  posts  of  the 
government,  confess  they  are  not  acquaint- 
ed with  those  laws,  and  are  obliged  to 
take   such  persons   for   their   assessors  in 


publio  administrations  as  profess  to  have 
skill  in  those  laws  ;  but  for  our  poople, 
if  anybody  do  but  ask  any  of  them  about 
our  laws,  he  will  more  readily  tell  them 
all  than  he  will  tell  his  own  name,  and 
this  in  consequence  of  our  having  learned 
them  immediately  as  soon  as  ever  we  be- 
came sensible  of  any  thing,  and  of  our 
having  them,  as  it  were,  engraven  on  our 
souls.  Our  transgressors  of  them  are  but 
few ;  and  it  is  impossible,  when  any  do 
offend,  to  escape  punishment. 

And  this  very  thing  it  is  that  princi- 
pally creates  such  a  wonderful  agreement 
of  minds  among  us  all ;  for  this  entire 
agreement  of  ours  in  all  our  notions  con- 
cerning God,  and  our  having  no  difference 
in  our  course  of  life  and  manners,  pro- 
cures among  us  the  most  excellent  con- 
cord  of  these  our  manners  that  is  any- 
where among  mankind ;  for  no  other  peo- 
ple but  we  Jews  have  avoided  all  dis- 
courses about  God,  that  any  way  contra- 
dict one  another,  which  yet  are  frequent 
among  other  nations  ;  and  this  is  true, 
not  only  among  ordinary  persons,  accord- 
ing as  every  one  is  affected,  but  some  of 
the  philosophers  have  been  insolent 
enough  to  indulge  Vsuch  contradictions, 
while  some  of  them  have  undertaken  to 
use  such  words  as  entirely  take  away  the 
nature  of  God,  as  others  of  them  have 
taken  away  his  providence  over  mankind. 
Nor  can  any  one  perceive  among  us  any 
difference  in  the  conduct  of  our  lives ; 
but  all  our  works  are  common  to  us  all. 
We  have  one  sort  of  discourse  concerning 
God,  which  is  conformable  to  our  law, 
and  affirms  that  he  sees  all  things ;  as 
also,  we  have  but  one  way  of  speaking 
concerning  the  conduct  of  our  lives,  that 
all  other  things  ought  to  have  piety  for 
their  end;  and  this  anybody  may  hear 
from  our  women  and  servants  themselves. 

Hence  hath  arisen  that  accusation  which 
some  make  against  us,  that  we  have  not 
produced  men  that  have  been  the  inven- 
tors of  new  operations,  or  of  new  ways 
of  speaking ;  for  others  thiuk  it  a  fine 
thing  to  persevere  in  nothing  that  has 
been  delivered  down  from  their  fore- 
fathers, and  these  testify  it  to  be  an  in 
stance  of  the  sharpest  wisdom  when  these 
men  venture  to  transgress  those  traditions: 
whereas  we,  on  the  contrary,  suppose  it 
to  be  our  only  wisdom  and  virtue  to 
admit  no  actions  nor  supposals  that  are 
contrary  to  our  original  laws  ;  which  pro- 
cedure of  ours  is  a  just  and  sure  *ign  that 


918 


FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS   AGAINST   APION. 


l'Boor  n 


our  law  is  admirably  constituted ;  for 
sucV  laws  as  are  not  thus  well  made,  are 
convicted  upon  trial  to  want  amendment. 

But  while  we  are  ourselves  persuaded 
that  our  law  was  made  agreeably  to  the 
will  of  God,  it  would  be  impious  for  us 
not  to  observe  the  same ;  for  what  is  there 
in  it  that  anybody  would  change !  and 
what  car  be  invented  better !  or  what  can 
we  take  out  of  other  people's  laws  that 
vriU  exceed  it !  Perhaps  some  would  have 
the  entire  settlement  of  our  government 
altered.  And  where  :?hall  we  find  a  better 
or  more  righteous  constitution  than  ours, 
while  this  makes  us  esteem  God  to  be  the 
governor  of  the  universe,  and  permits  the 
priests  in  general  to  be  the  administrators 
of  the  principal  affairs,  and  withal  intrusts 
the  government  over  the  other  priests 
to  the  chief  high  priest  himself;  which 
priests  our  legislator,  at  their  first  appoint- 
ment, did  not  advance  to  that  dignity  for 
their  riches,  or  any  abundance  of  other 
possessions,  or  any  plenty  they  had  as  the 
gifts  of  fortune ;  but  he  intrusted  the 
principal  management  of  divine  worship 
to  those  that  exceeded  others  in  an  ability 
to  persuade  men,  and  in  prudence  of  con- 
duct. These  men  had  the  main  care  of 
the  law  and  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
people's  conduct  committed  to  tbem  ;  for 
they  were  the  priests  who  were  ordained 
to  be  the  inspectors  of  all,  and  the  judges 
in  doubtful  cases,  and  the  punishers'  of 
those  that  were  condemned  to  suffer 
punishment. 

What  form  of  government  then  can  be 
more  holy  than  this?  what  more  worthy 
kind  of  worship  can  be  paid  to  God  than 
we  pay,  where  the  entire  body  of  the 
people  are  prepared  for  religion,  where  an 
extraordinary  degree  of  care  is  required 
in  the  priests,  and  where  the  whole  polity 
is  so  ordered  as  if  it  were  a  certain  reli- 
gious solemnity  ?  For  what  things  foreign- 
ers, when  they  solemnize  such  festivals, 
are  not  able  to  observe  for  a  few  days' 
time,  and  call  them  Mysteries  and  Sacred 
Ceremonies,  we  observe  with  great  plea- 
sure and  an  unshaken  resolution  during 
our  whole  lives.  What  are  the  thinks 
then  that  we  are  commanded  or  forbidden  ? 
They  are  simply  and  easily  known.  The 
first  command  is  concerning  God,  and 
affirms  that  God  contains  ail  things,  and 
is  a  being  every  way  perfect  and  happy, 
self-sufficient,  and  supplying  all  other 
beings ;  the  beginning,  the  middle,  and 
the  end  of  all  things.     He  is  manifest  in 


his  works  and  benefits,  and  more  conspi« 
cuous  than  any  other  being  whatsoever; 
but  as  to  his  form  and  magnitude,  he  is 
most  obscure.  All  materials,  let  them  be 
ever  so  costly,  are  unworthy  to  compose 
an  image  for  him ;  and  all  arts  are  unart- 
ful to  express  the  notion  we  ought  to  have 
of  him.  We  can  neither  see  nor  think 
of  any  thing  like  him,  nor  is  it  agreeable 
to  piety  to  form  a  resemblance  of  him. 
We  see  his  works,  the  light,  the  heaven, 
the  earth,  the  sun  and  the  moon,  the 
waters,  the  generations  of  animals,  the 
productions  of  fruits.  These  things  hath 
God  made,  not  with  hands,  not  with  la- 
bour, nor  as  wanting  the  assistance  of  any 
to  co-operate  with  him ;  but  as  his  will 
resolved  they  should  be  made  and  be 
good  also,  they  were  made,  and  became 
good  immediately.  All  men  ought  tc 
follow  this  Being,  and  to  worship  him  in 
the  exercise  of  virtue;  for  this  way  of 
worship  of  God  is  the  most  holy  of  all 
others. 

There  ought  also  to  be  but  one  temple 
for  one  God ;  for  likeness  is  the  constant 
foundation  of  agreement.  This  temple 
ought  to  be  common  to  all  men,  because 
he  is  the  common  God  of  all  men.  His 
priests  are  to  be  continually  about  his 
worship,  over  whom  he  that  is  the  first  by 
his  birth  is  to  be  their  ruler  perpetually 
His  business  must  be  to  offer  sacrifices  to 
God,  together  with  those  priests  that  are 
joined  with  him,  to  see  that  the  laws  be 
observed,  to  determine  controversies,  and 
to  punish  those  that  are  convicted  of 
injustice  ;  while  he  that  does  not  submit  to 
him  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  punish- 
ment, as  if  he  had  been  guilty  of  impiety 
towards  God  himself.  When  we  offer 
sacrifices  to  him,  we  do  it  not  in  order  to 
surfeit  ourselves,  or  to  be  drunken ;  for 
such  excesses  are  against  the  will  of  God, 
and  would  be  an  occasion  of  injuries  and 
of  luxury ;  but  by  keeping  ourselves  so- 
ber, orderly,  and  ready  for  our  other 
occupations,  and  being  more  temperate 
than  others.  And  far  our  duty  at  the 
sacrifices  themselves,  we  ought,  in  the 
first  place,  to  pray*  for  the  common  wel- 
fare of  all,  and  after  that  our  own;  for 
we  are  made  for  fellowship  one  with 
another ;  and  he  who  prefers  the  common 
good  before  what  is  peculiar  to  himself, 
is  above  all  acceptable  to  God.  And  lei 
our   prayers  and    supplications   be  made 


*  See  1  Kings  vifi'.,  2  Chron.  vi. 


Book  II.] 


FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS    AGAINST   APION. 


919 


humbly  to  God,  not  [so  much]  that  he 
would  give  us  what  is  good,  (for  he  hath 
already  given  that  of  his  own  accord,  and 
hath  proposed  the  same  publicly  to  all,) 
as  that  we  may  duly  receive  it,  and  when 
we  have  received  it,  may  preserve  it. 
Now  the  law  has  appointed  several  puri- 
fications at  our  sacrifices,  whereby  we  are 
cleansed  after  a  funeral,  after  what  some- 
times happens  to  us  in  bed,  and  after 
accompanying  with  our  wives,  and  upon 
many  other  occasions,  too  long  now  to  set 
down.  And  this  is  our  doctrine  concern- 
ing God  and  his  worship,  and  is  the  same 
that  the  law  appoints  for  our  practice. 

But  then,  what  are  our  laws  about 
marriage  ?  That  law  owns  no  other  mix- 
ture of  sexes  but  that  which  nature  hath 
appointed,  of  a  man  with  his  wife,  and 
that  this  be  used  only  for  the  procreation 
of  children.  But  it  abhors  the  mixture 
of  a  male  with  a  male;  and  if  any  one 
do  that,  death  is  his  punishment.  It  com- 
mands us  also,  when  we  marry,  not  to 
have  regard  to  portion,  nor  to  take  a  wo- 
man by  violence,  nor  to  persuade  her 
deceitfully  and  knavishly ;  but  demand 
her  in  marriage  of  him  who  hath  power 
to  dispose  of  her,  and  is  fit  to  give  her 
away  by  the  nearness  of  his  kindred;  for, 
saith  the  Scripture,  "  A  woman  is  inferior 
to  her  husband  in  all  things. "*  Let  her, 
therefore,  be  obedient  to  him ;  not  so, 
that  he  should  abuse  her,  but  that  she 
may  acknowledge  her  duty  to  her  hus- 
band ;  for  God  hath  given  the  authority 
to  the  husband.  A  husband,  therefore, 
is  to  lie  only  with  his  wife  whom  he  hath 
married ;  but  to  have  to  do  with  another 
man's  wife  is  a  wicked  thing;  which,  if 
any  one  venture  upon,  death  is  inevitably 
his  punishment :  no  more  can  he  avoid 
the  same  who  forces  a  virgin  betrothed  to 
another  man,  or  entices  auother  man's 
wife.  The  law,  moreover,  enjoins  us  to 
bring  up  all  our  offspring,  and  forbids 
women  to  cause  abortion  of  what  is  be- 
gotten, or  to  destroy  it  afterward  ;  and  if 
any  woman  appears  to  have  so  done,  she 
will  be  a  murderer  of  her  child,  by  de- 
stroying a  living  creature,  and  diminishing 
human  kind;  if  any  one,  therefore,  pro- 
ceeds to  such  fornication  or  murder,  he 
cannot  be  clean.  Moreover,  the  law  en- 
joins, that  after  the  man  and  wife  have 
lain  together  in  a  regular  way,  they  shall 
bathe   themselves;  for  there   is  a  defile- 

*  This  text  is  nowhere  in  our  present  copies  of 
the  Old  Testament. 


ment  contracted  thereby,  both  m  soul 
and  body,  as  if  they  had  gone  into  another 
country ;  for  indeed  the  soul,  by  being 
united  to  the  body,  is  subject  to  miseries, 
and  is  not  freed  therefrom  again  but  by 
death  ;  on  which  account  the  law  requires 
this  purification  to  be  entirely  performed. 

Nay,  indeed,  the  law  does  not  permit 
us  to  make  festivals  at  the  births  of  our 
children,  and  thereby  afford  occasion  of 
drinking  to  excess  ;  but  it  ordains  that  the 
very  beginning  of  our  education  should 
be  immediately  directed  to  sobriety.  It 
also  commands  us  to  bring  those  children 
up  in  learning  and  to  exercise  them  in 
the  laws,  and  make  them  acquainted  with 
the  acts  of  their  predecessors,  in  order  to 
their  imitation  of  them,  and  that  they 
may  be  nourished  up  in  the  laws  from 
their  infancy,  and  might  neither  trans- 
gress them,  nor  yet  have  any  pretence  for 
their  ignorance  of  them. 

Our  law  hath  also  taken  care  of  the 
decent  burial  of  the  dead,  but  without  any 
extravagant  expenses  for  their  funerals, 
and  without  the  erection  of  any  illustrious 
monuments  for  them  ;  but  hath  ordered 
that  their  nearest  relations  should  perform 
their  obsequies  :  and  hath  shown  it  to  be 
regular,  that  all  who  pass  by  when  any 
one  is  buried,  should  accompany  the 
funeral,  and  join  in  the  lamentation.  It 
also  ordains,  that  the  house  and  its  inha- 
bitants should  be  purified  after  the  funeral 
is  over,  that  every  one  may  thence  learn 
to  keep  at  a  great  distance  from  the 
thoughts  of  being  pure,  if  he  hath  been 
once  guilty  of  murder. 

The  law  ordains  also,  that  parents 
should  be  honoured  immediately  after 
God  himself,  and  delivers  that  son  who 
does  not  requite  them  for  the  benefits  he 
hath  received  from  them,  but  is  deficient 
on  any  such  occasion,  to  be  stoned.  It 
also  says,  that  the  young  men  should  pay 
due  respect  to  every  elder,  since  God  is 
the  eldest  of  all  beings.  It  does  not  give 
leave  to  conceal  any  thing  from  our  friends, 
because  that  is  not  true  friendship  which 
will  not  commit  all  things  to  their  fidelity  : 
it  also  forbids  the  revelation  of  secrets, 
even  though  an  enmity  arise  between 
them.  If  any  judge  takes  bribes,  his 
punishment  is  death  :  he  that  overlooks 
oue  that  offers  him  a  petition,  and  this 
when  he  is  able  to  relieve  him,  he  is  a 
guilty  person.  What  is  not  by  any  one 
intrusted  to  another,  ought  not  to  be 
required  back  again.     No  one  is  to  touch 


920 


FLAVIUS   JOSEPHUS   AGAINST   APION. 


[Book  II 


another's  goods.  He  that  lends  money, 
must  not  demand  usury  for  its  loan. 
These,  and  many  more  of  the  like  sort, 
are  the  rules  that  unite  us  in  the  bands 
of  society  one  with  another. 

It  will  be  also  worth  our  while  to  see 
what  equity  our  legislator  would  have  us 
exercise  in  our  intercourse  with  strangers; 
for  it  will  thence  appear  that  he  made  the 
best  provision  he  possibly  could,  both 
that  we  should  not  dissolve  our  own 
constitution,  nor  show  any  envious  mind 
toward  those  that  would  cultivate  a 
friendship  with  us.  Accordingly,  our 
legislator  admits  all  those  that  have  a 
mind  to  observe  our  laws,  so  to  do;  and 
this  after  a  friendly  manner,  as  esteeming 
that  a  true  union,  which  not  only  extends 
to  our  own  stock,  but  to  those  that  would 
live  after  the  same  manner  with  us ;  yet 
does  he  not  allow  those  that  come  to  us 
by  accident  only  to  be  admitted  into  com- 
munion with  us. 

However,  there  are  other  things  which 
our  legislator  ordained  for  us  beforehand, 
which,  of  necessity,  we  ought  to  do  in 
common  to  all  men ;  as  to  afford  fire,  and 
water,  and  food  to  such  as  want  it ;  to 
show  them  the  roads ;  and  not  to  let  any 
one  lie  unburied.  He  also  would  have  us 
treat  those  that  are  esteemed  our  enemies 
with  moderation  ;  for  he  doth  not  allow 
us  to  set  their  country  on  fire,  nor  perrnit 
us  to  cut  down  those  trees  that  bear  fruit : 
nay,  further,  he  forbids  us  to  spoil  those 
that  have  been  slain  in  war.  He  hath 
also  provided  for  such  as  are  taken  captive, 
that  they  may  not  be  injured,  and  espe- 
cially that  the  women  may  not  be  abused. 
Indeed,  he  hath  taught  us  gentleness 
and  humanity  so  effectually,  that  he  hath 
not  despised  the  care  of  brute  beasts,  by 
permitting  no  other  than  a  regular  use  of 
them,  and  forbidding  any  other;  and  if 
any  of  them  come  to  our  houses,  like 
supplicants,  we  are  forbidden  to  slay  them  : 
nor  may  we  kill  the  dams,  together  with 
their  young  ones;  but  we  are  obliged, 
even  in  an  enemy's  country,  to  spare  and 
not  kill  those  creatures  that  labour  for 
mankind.  Thus  hath  our  lawgiver  con- 
trived to  teach  us  an  equitable  conduct 
every  way,  by  using  us  to  such  laws  as 
instruct  us  therein;  while  at  the  same 
time  he  hath  ordained,  that  such  as  break 
these  laws  should  be  punished,  without 
the  allowance  of  any  excuse  whatsoever. 

Now  the  greatest  part  of  offences  with 
us  art  capital ;  as  if  any  one  be  guilty  of 


adultery;  if  any  one  force  a  virgin;  il 
any  one  be  so  impudent  as  to  attempt  an 
unnatural  crime ;  or  if,  upon  another's 
making  an  attempt  upon  him,  he  submits 
to  be  so  used.  There  is  also  a  law  for 
slaves  of  the  like  nature,  that  can  never 
be  avoided.  Moreover,  if  any  one  cheau> 
another  in  measure  or  weights,  or  makes  a 
knavish  bargain  and  sale,  in  order  to  cheat 
another  ;  if  any  one  steal  what  belongs  to 
another,  and  takes  what  he  never  depo- 
sited; all  these  have  punishments  allotted 
them,  not  such  as  are  met  with  anions: 
other  nations,  but  more  severe  ones.  And 
as  for  attempts  of  unjust  behaviour  to- 
ward parents,  or  impiety  against  God, 
though  they  be  not  actually  accomplished, 
the  offenders  are  destroyed  immediately. 
However,  the  reward  for  such  as  live  ex- 
actly according  to  the  laws,  is  not  silver 
or  gold ;  it  is  not  a  garland  of  olive- 
branches  or  of  smallage,  nor  any  such  pub- 
lic sign  of  commendation  ;  but  every  good 
mau  hath  his  own  conscience  bearing  wit- 
ness to  himself,  and  by  virtue  of  our 
legislator's  prophetic  spirit,  and  of  the 
firm  security  God  himself  affords  such  an 
one,  he  believes  that  God  hath  made  this 
grant  to  those  that  observe  these  law*, 
even  though  they  be  obliged  readily  to 
die  for  them,  that  they  shall  come  into 
being  again,  and  at  a  certain  revolution 
of  things  receive  a  better  life  than  they 
had  enjoyed  before.  Nor  would  I  venture 
to  write  thus  at  this  time,  were  it  not  well 
known  to  all  by  our  actions  that  many  of 
our  people  have  many  a  time  bravely  re- 
solved to  endure  any  sufferings,  rather 
than  speak  one  word  against  our  law. 

Nay,  indeed,  in  case  it  had  so  fallen  out, 
that  our  nation  had  not  been  so  thoroughly 
known  among  all  men  as  they  are,  and  our 
voluntary  submission  to  our  laws  had  not 
been  so  open  and  ^manifest  as  it  is,  but 
that  somebody  had  pretended  to  have 
written  these  laws  himself,  and  had  read 
them  to  the  Greeks,  or  had  pretended  that 
he  met  with  men  out  of  the  limits  of  the 
known  world,  that  had  such  reverend  no- 
tions of  God,  and  had  continued  for  a  long 
time  in  the  firm  observance  of  such  laws 
as  ours,  I  cannot  but  suppose  that  all  men 
would  admire  them  on  a  reflection  upon 
the  frequent  changes  they  had  therein 
been  themselves  subject  to;  and  this  while 
those  that  have  attempted  to  write  some- 
what of  the  same  kind  for  politic  govern- 
ment, and  for  laws,  are  accused  as  com- 
posing monstrous  things,  and  are  said  to 


JOOK  II  J 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


921 


have  undertaken  an  impossible  task  upon 
them.  And  here  I  will  say  nothing  of 
those  other  philosophers  who  have  under- 
taken any  thing  of  this  nature  in  their 
writings.  But  even  Plato  himself,  who 
is  so  admired  by  the  Greeks  on  account 
of  that  gravity  in  his  manner  and  force  in 
his  words,  and  that  ability  he  had  to  per- 
suade men  beyond-  all  other  philosophers, 
is  little  better  than  laughed  at  and  exposed 
to  ridicule  on  that  account,  by  those  that 
pretend  to  sagacity  in  political  affairs ;  al- 
though he  that  shall  diligently  peruse  his 
writings,  will  find  his  precepts  to  be  some- 
what gentle,  and  pretty  near  to  the  cus- 
toms of  the  generality  of  mankind.  Nay, 
Plato  himself  confesseth  that  it  is  not  safe 
to  publish  the  true  notion  concerning  God 
among  the  ignorant  multitude.  Yet  do 
some  men  look  upon  Plato's  discourses  as 
no  better  than  certain  idle  words  set  off 
with  great  artifice.  However,  they  admire 
Lycurgus  as  the  principal  lawgiver;  and 
all  men  celebrate  Sparta  for  having  con- 
tinued in  the  firm  observance  of  his  laws 
for  a  very  long  time.  So  far  then  we 
have  gained,  that  it  is  to  be  confessed  a 
mark  of  virtue  to  submit  to  laws.*  But 
then  let  such  as  admire  this  in  the  Lace- 
demonians compare  that  duration  of  theirs 
with  more  than  2000  years  which  our  po- 
litical government  hath  continued;  and 
let  them  further  consider,  that  though  the 
Lacedemonians  did  seem  to  observe  their 
laws  exactly  while  they  enjoyed  their 
liberty,  yet  that  wheu  they  underwent  a 
change  in  their  fortune,  they  forgot  almost 
all  those  laws ;  while  we,  having  been  un- 
der ten  thousand  changes  in  our  fortune, 
by  the  changes  that  happened  among  the 
kings  of  Asia,  have  never  betrayed  our 
laws  under  the  most  pressing  distresses 
we  have  been  in  ;  nor  have  we  neglected 
them  either  out  of  sloth  or  for  a  liveli- 
hood. Nay,  if  any  one  will  consider  it, 
the  difficulties  and  labours  laid  upon  us 
have  been  greater  than  what  appears  to 
have  been  borne  by  the  Lacedemonian 
fortitude,  while  they  neither  ploughed 
their  land,  nor  exercised  any  trades,  but 
lived  in  their  own  city,  free  from  all  such 
pains-taking,  in  the  enjoyment  of  plenty, 
and  using  such  exercises  as  might  improve 


•  *'  I  will,"  ?ays  he,  "  boldly  declare  my  opinion, 
though  the  whole  world  be  offended  at  it.  I  pre- 
fer this  little  book  of  the  Twelve  Tables  alone  to 
all  the  volumes  of  the  philosophers.  I  find  it  to 
be  not  only  cf  more  weight,  but  also  mnoh  more 
useful" — '7c    IM  Oratore. 


their  bodies,  while  they  maae  use  of  other 
men  as  their  servants  for  all  the  necessa- 
ries of  life,  and  had  their  food  prepared 
for  them  by  the  others ;  and  these  good 
and  humane  actions  they  do  for  no  other 
purpose  but  this,  that  by  their  actions  and 
their  sufferings  they  may  be  able  to  con- 
quer all  those  against  whom  they  make 
war.  I  need  not  add  this,  that  they  have 
not  been  fully  able  to  observe  their  laws ; 
for  not  only  a  few  single  persons,  but  mul- 
titudes of  them,  have  in  heaps  neglected 
those  laws,  and  have  delivered  themselves, 
together  with  their  arms,  into  the  hands  of 
their  enemies. 

Now,  as  for  ourselves,  I  venture  to  say, 
that  no  one  can  tell  of  so  many  ;  nay,  not 
of  more  than  one  or  two  that  have  be- 
trayed our  laws,  no  not  out  of  fear  of 
death  itself;  I  do  not  mean  such  an  easy 
death  as  happens  in  battles,  but  that  which 
comes  with  bodily  torments,  and  seems  to 
be  the  severest  kind  of  death  of  all  others. 
Now  I  think,  those  that  have  conquered 
us  have  put  us  to  such  deaths,  not  out  of 
their  hatred  to  us  when  they  had  subdued 
us,  but  rather  out  of  their  desire  of  seeing 
a  surprising  sight,  which  is  this,  whether 
there  be  such  men  in  the  world  who  believe 
that  no  evil  is  to  them  so  great  as  to  be 
compelled  to  do  or  to  speak  any  thing  con- 
trary to  their  own  laws.  Nor  ought  men 
to  wonder  at  us,  if  we  are  more  courageous 
in  dying  for  our  laws  than  all  other  men 
are ;  for  other  men  do  not  easily  submit 
to  the  easier  things  in  which  we  are  insti- 
tuted; I  mean  working  with  our  hands, 
and  eating  but  little,  and  being  contented 
to  eat  and  drink,  not  at  random,  or  at 
every  one's  pleasure,  or  being  under  in- 
violable rules  in  lying  with  our  wives,  in 
magnificent  furniture,  and  again  in  the 
observation  of  our  times  of  rest;  while 
those  that  can  use  their  swords  in  war, 
and  cau  put  their  enemies  to  flight  when 
they  attack  them,  cannot  bear  to  submit 
to  such  laws  about  their  way  of  living: 
whereas  our  being  accustomed  willingly 
to  submit  to  laws  in  these  instances,  ren- 
ders us  fit  to  show  our  fortitude  upon 
other  occasions  also. 

Yet  do  the  Lysimachi  and  the  Moloncs, 
and  some  other  writers  (unskilful  sophists 
as  they  are,  and  the  deceivers  of  young 
men)  reproach  us  as  the  vilest  of  all  man- 
kind. Now  I  have  no  mind  to  make  an 
inquiry  into  the  laws  of  other  nations  ;  for 
the  custom  of  our  country  is  to  keep  our 
own  laws,  but  not  to  accuse  the  laws  of 


922 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  II 


others  And)  indeed,  our  legislator  hath 
expressly  forbidden  us  to  laugh  at  and  re- 
vile those  that  are  esteemed  gods  by  other 
people,  on  account  of  the  very  name  of 
God  ascribed  to  them.  But  since  our  an- 
tagonists think  to  run  us  down  upon  the 
comparison  of  their  religion  and  ours,  it 
is  not  possible  to  keep  silence  here,  espe- 
cially while  what  I  shall  say  to  confute 
these  men  will  not  be  now  first  said,  but 
hath  been  already  said  by  many,  and 
these  of  the  highest  reputation  also  ;  for 
who  is  there  among  those  that  have  been 
admired  among  the  Greeks  for  wisdom, 
who  hath  not  greatly  blamed  both  the 
most  famous  poets,  and  most  celebrated 
legislators,  for  spreading  such  notions 
originally  among  the  body  of  the  people 
concerning  the  gods?  such  as  these,  that 
they  may  be  allowed  to  be  as  numerous 
as  they  have  a  mind  to  have  them ;  that 
they  are  begotten  one  by  another,  and 
that  after  all  the  kinds  of  generation  you 
can  imagine.  They  also  distinguish  them 
in  their  places  and  ways  of  living,  as  they 
would  distinguish  several  sorts  of  animals : 
as  some  to  be  under  the  earth ;  some  to 
be  in  the  sea ;  and  the  most  ancient  of 
them  all  to  be  bound  in  hell;  and  for 
those  to  whom  they  have  allotted  heaven, 
they  have  set  over  them  one,  who  in  title 
is  their  father,  but  in  his  actions  a  tyrant 
and  a  lord ;  whence  it  came  to  pass  tljat 
his  wife,  and  brother,  and  daughter  (which 
daughter  he  brought  forth  from  his  own 
head)  made  a  conspiracy  against  him  to 
seize  upon  him  and  confine  him,  as  he  had 
himself  seized  upon  and  confined  his  own 
father  before. 

And  justly  have  the  wisest  men  thought 
these  notions  deserved  severe  rebukes; 
they  also  laugh  at  them  for  determining 
that  we  ought  to  believe  some  of  the  gods 
to  be  beardless  and  young,  and  others  of 
them  to  be  old,  and  to  have  beards  ac- 
cordingly ;  that  some  are  set  to  trades : 
that  one  god  is  a  smith,  and  another 
goddess  is  a  weaver;  that  one  god  is  a 
warrior,  and  fights  with  men;  that  some 
of  them  are  harpers,  or  delight  in  archery ; 
and  besides,  that  mutual  seditions  arise 
among  them,  and  that  they  quarrel  about 
men,  and  this  so  far,  that  they  not  only 
lay  hands  upon  one  another,  but  that  they 
are  wounded  by  men,  and  lament,  and 
takson  for  such  their  afflictions ;  but  what 
is  the  grossest  of  all  in  point  of  lascivious- 
ness,  are  those  unbounded  lusts  ascribed 
to  almost  all  of  them,  and  their  amours, 


which  how  can  it  be  other  than  a  most 
absurd  supposal,  especially  when  it  reaches 
to  the  male  gods,  and  to  the  female 
goddesses  also?'  Moreover,  the  chief  of 
all  the  gods,  and  their  first  father  himself, 
overlooks  those  goddesses  whom  he  hath 
deluded  and  begotten  with  child,  and 
suffers  them  to  be  kept  in  prison,  or 
drowned  in  the  sea.  He  is  also  so  bound 
up  by  fate,  that  he  cannot  save  his  own 
offspring,  nor  can  he  bear  their  deaths 
without  shedding  of  tears.  These  are  fine 
things  indeed  !  as  are  the  rest  that  follow. 
Adulteries,  truly,  are  so  impudently 
looked  on  in  heaven  by  the  gods,  that 
some  of  them  have  confessed  they  envied 
those  that  were  found  in  the  very  act;  and 
why  should  they  not  do  so,  when  the 
eldest  of  them,  who  is  their  king  also,  hath 
not  been  able  to  restrain  himself  in  the 
violence  of  his  lust  from  lying  with  his 
wife,  so  long  as  they  might  get  into  their 
bedchamber  ?  Now,  some  of  the  gods 
are  servants  to  men,  and  will  sometimes 
be  builders  for  a  reward,  and  sometimes 
will  be  shepherds;  while  others  of  them, 
like  malefactors,  are  bound  in  a  prison  of 
brass;  and  what  sober  person  is  there 
who  would  not  be  provoked  at  such  stories, 
and  rebuke  those  that  forged  them,  and 
condemn  the  great  silliness  of  those  that 
admit  them  for  true  !  Nay,  others  there 
are  that  have  advanced  a  certain  timor- 
ousness  and  fear,  as  also  madness  and 
fraud,  and  any  other  of  the  vilest  passions, 
iuto  the  nature  and  form  of  gods,  and 
have  persuaded  whole  cities  to  offer  sacri- 
fices to  the  better  sort  of  them  ;  on  which 
account  they  have  been  absolutely  forced 
to  esteem  some  gods  as  the  givers  of  good 
things,  and  to  call  others  of  them  averters 
of  evil.  They  also  endeavour  to  move 
them,  as  they  would  the  vilest  of  men,  by 
gifts  and  presents,  as  looking  for  nothing 
else  than  to  receive  some  great  mischief 
from  them,  unless  they  pay  them  such 
wages. 

Wherefore,  it  deserves  our  inquiry  what 
should  be  the  occasion  of  this  unjust 
management,  and  of  these  scandals  about 
the  Deity.  And,  truly,  I  suppose  it  to 
be  derived  from  the  imperfect  knowledge 
the  heathen  legislators  had  at  first  of  the 
true  nature  of  God;  nor  did  they  explain 
to  the  people  even  so  far  as  they  did  com- 
prehend of  it :  nor  did  they  compose  the 
other  parts  of  their  political  settlements 
according  to  it,  but  omitted  it  as  a  thing 
of  very  littie  consequence,  and  gave  leave 


Book  II  ] 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


923 


both  to  the  poets  to  introduce  what  gods 
they  pleased,  and  those  subject  to  all  sorts 
of  passions,  and  to  the  orators  to  procure 
political  decrees  from  the  people  for  the 
admission  of  such  foreign  gods  as  they 
thought  proper.  The  painters  also,  and 
statuaries  of  Greece,  had  herein  great 
power,  as  each  of  them  could  contrive  a 
shape  [proper  for  a  god] ;  the  one  to  be 
formed  out  of  clay,  and  the  other  by  mak- 
ing a  bare  picture  of  such  a  one  ;  but 
those  workmen  that  were  principally  ad- 
mired, had  the  use  of  ivory  and  of  gold 
as  the  constant  materials  for  their  new 
statues  [whereby  it  comes  to  pass  that 
some  temples  are  quite  deserted,  while 
others  are  in  great  esteem,  and  adorned 
with  all  the  rites  of  all  kinds  of  purifica- 
tion]. Besides  this,  the  first  gods,  who 
have  long  flourished  in  the  honours  done 
them,  are  now  grown  old  [while  those 
that  flourished  after  them  are  come  in 
their  room  as  a  second  rank,  that  I  may 
speak  the  most  honourably  of  them  that  I 
can] ;  nay,  certain  other  gods  there  are 
who  are  newly  introduced,  and  newly 
worshipped  [as  we,  by  way  of  digression, 
have  said  already,  and  yet  have  left  their 
places  of  worship  desolate]  ;  and  for  their 
temples,  some  of  them  are  already  left 
desolate,  and  others  are  built  anew,  ac- 
cording to  the  pleasure  of  men  ;  whereas 
they  ought  to  have  preserved  their  opi- 
nion about  God,  and  that  worship  which 
is  due  to  him,  always  and  immutably  the 
same. 

But  now,  this  Apollonius  Molo  was  one 
of  these  foolish  and  proud  men.  How- 
ever, nothing  that  I  have  said  was  un- 
known to  those  that  were  real  philoso- 
phers among  the  Greeks,  nor  were  they 
unacquainted  with  those  frigid  pretences 
of  allegories  [which  had  been  alleged  for 
such  things]  :  on  which  account  they 
justly  despised  them,  but  have  still  agreed 
with  us  as  to  the  true  and  becoming  no- 
tions of  God ;  whence  it  was  that  Plato 
would  not  have  political  settlements  to 
admit  of  any  one  of  the  other  poets,  and 
dismisses  even  Homer  himself,  with  a 
garlaud  on  his  head,  and  with  ointment 
poured  upon  him,  and  this  because  he 
should  not  destroy  the  right  notions  of 
God  with  his  fables.  Nay,  Plato  princi- 
pally imitated  our  legislator  in  this  point, 
that  he  enjoined  his  citizens  to  have  the 
main  regard  to  this  precept :  "  That  every 
one  of  them  should  learn  their  laws  accu- 
rately."      He    also    ordained    that    they 


should  not  admit  of  foreigners  intermix- 
ing with  their  own  people  at  random ;  and, 
provided  that  the  commonwealth  should 
keep  itself  pure,  and  consist  of  such  only 
as  persevered  in  their  own  laws.  Apol- 
lonius Molo  did  noway  consider  this, 
when  he  made  it  one  branch  of  his 
accusation  against  us,  that  we  do  not 
admit  of  such  as  have  different  notions 
about  God,  nor  will  we  have  fellowship 
with  those  that  choose  to  observe  a  way 
of  living  different  from  ourselves ;  yet  is 
not  this  method  peculiar  to  us,  but  com- 
mon to  all  other  men;  not  among  the 
ordinary  Grecians  only,  but  among  such 
of  those  Grecians  as  are  of  the  greatest 
reputation  among  them.  Moreover,  the 
Lacedemonians  continued  in  their  way  of 
expelling  foreigners,  and  would  not,  in- 
deed, give  leave  to  their  own  people 
to  travel  abroad,  as  suspecting  that  those 
two  things  would  introduce  a  dissolution 
of  their  own  laws  :  and,  perhaps,  there 
may  be  some  reason  to  blame  the  rigid 
severity  of  the  Lacedemonians,  for  they 
bestowed  the  privilege  of  their  city  on  no 
foreigners,  nor  would  give  leave  to  them 
to  stay  among  them  :  whereas  we,  though 
we  do  not  think  fit  to  imitate  other  insti- 
tutions, yet  do  we  willingly  admit  of  those 
that  desire  to  partake  of  ours,  which  I 
think  I  may  reckon  to  be  a  plain  indica- 
tion of  our  humanity,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  our  magnanimity  also. 

But  I  shall  say  no  more  of  the  Lacede- 
monians. As  for  the  Athenians,  who 
glory  in  having  made  their  city  to  be 
common  to  all  men,  what  their  behaviour 
was,  Apollonius  did  not  know,  while  they 
punished  those  that  spoke  contrary  to 
their  laws  about  the  gods,  without  mercy; 
for  on  what  other  account  was  it  that  So- 
crates was  put  to  death  by  them  ?  Cer- 
tainly, he  neither  betrayed  their  city  to 
its  enemies,  nor  was  he  guilty  of  sacrilege 
with  regard  to  their  temples ;  but,  on 
this  account,  that  he  swore  certain  new 
oaths,  and  that  he  affirmed,  either  in  earn- 
est, or,  as  some  say,  only  in  jest,  that  a 
certain  demon  used  to  make  signs  to  him 
[what  he  should  not  do].  For  these  rea- 
sons he  was  condemned  to  drink  poison, 
and  kill  himself.  His  accuser  also  com- 
plained that  he  corrupted  the  young  men, 
by  inducing  them  to  despise  the  political 
settlement  and  laws  of  their  city  :  and 
thus  was  Socrates,  the  citizen  of  Athens, 
punished.  There  was  also  Anaxagoras, 
who,  although  he  was  of  Clazomeuae,  was 


y24 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPH  US  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  II 


within  a  fUw  suffrages  of  being;  condemned 
to  die,  because  he  said  the  sun,  which 
the  Athenians  thought  to  be  a  god,  was  a 
ball  of  fire.  They  also  made  this  public 
proclamation,  "  That  they  would  give  a 
talent  to  any  one  who  would  kill  Diago- 
ras  of  Melos,"  because  it  was  reported 
that  he  laughed  at  their  mysteries.  Porta- 
goras  also,  who  was  thought  to  have  writ- 
ten somewhat  that  was  not  owned  for 
truth  by  the  Athenians  about  the  gods, 
had  been  seized  upon,  and  put  to  death, 
if  he  had  not  fled  immediately.  Nor 
need  we  wonder  that  they  thus  treated 
such  considerable  men,  when  they  did  not 
even  spare  women  ;  for  they  very  lately 
slew  a  certain  priestess,  because  she  was 
accused  by  somebody  that  she  initiated 
people  into  the  worship  of  strange  gods, 
it  having  been  forbidden  so  to  do  by  one  of 
their  laws;  and  a  capital  punishment  had 
been  decreed  to  such  as  introduced  a 
strange  god  ;  it  being  manifest  that  they 
who  make  use  of  such  a  law,  do  not  be- 
lieve those  of  other  nations  to  be  really 
gods,  otherwise  they  had  not  envied  them- 
selves the  advantage  of  more  gods  than 
they  already  had  ;  and  this  was  the  happy 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Athe- 
nians !  Now,  as  to  the  Scythians,  they 
take  a  pleasure  in  killing  men,  and  differ 
little  from  brute  beasts ;  yet  do  they  think 
it  reasonable  to  have  their  institutions 
observed.  They  also  slew  Anacharsis,  a 
person  greatl}'  admired  for  his  wisdom 
among  the  Greeks,  when  he  returned  to 
them,  because  he  appeared  to  come 
fraught  with  Grecian  customs.  We  find 
many  punished  among  the  Persians,  on 
the  same  account.  Apollonius  was  greatly 
pleased  with  the  laws  of  the  Persians, 
and  was  an  admirer  of  them,  because  the 
Greeks  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  their 
courage,  and  had  the  very  same  opinion 
about  the  gods  which  they  had.  This 
last  was  exemplified  m  the  temples  they 
burnt,  and  their  courage  in  coming,  and 
almost  entirely  enslaving  the  Grecians. 
However,  Apollonius  has  imitated  all  the 
Persian  institutions,  and  that  by  his  offer- 
ing violence  to  other  men's  wives,  and 
castrating  his  own  sons.  Now,  with  us, 
it  is  a  capital  crime,  if  any  one  does  thus 
a-buse  even  a  brute  beast ;  and  as  for  us, 
neither  hath  the  fear  of  our  governors, 
nor  a  desire  of  following  what  other  na- 
tions have  in  so  great  esteem,  been  able 
to  withdraw  us  from  our  laws ;  nor  have 
we  exerted  our  courage  in  raising  up  wars 


to  increase  our  wealth,  but  only  for  the 
observation  of  our  laws;  and  when  we 
with  patience  bear  other  losses,  yet  when 
any  person  would  compel  us  to  break  our 
laws,  then  it  is  that  we  choose  to  go  to 
war,  though  it  be  beyond  our  ability  to 
pursue  it,  and  bear  the  greatest  calamities 
to  the  last  with  much  fortitude;  and,  in- 
deed, what  reason  can  there  be  why  we 
should  desire  to  imitate  the  laws  of  other 
nations,  while  we  see  they  are  not  ob- 
served by  their  own  legislators  ?  And 
why  do  not  the  Lacedemonians  think  of 
abolishing  that  form  of  their  government 
which  suffers  them  not  to  associate  with 
any  others,  as  well  as  their  contempt  of 
matrimony  ?  And  why  do  not  the  Eleans 
and  Thebans  abolish  that  unnatural  and 
impudent  lust,  which  makes  them  lie  with 
males  ?  For  they  will  not  show  a  suffi- 
cient sign  of  their  repentance  of  what 
they  of  old  thought  to  be  very  excellent, 
and  very  advantageous  in  their  practices, 
unless  they  entirely  avoid  all  such  actions 
for  the  time  to  come  :  nay,  such  things 
are  inserted  into  the  body  of  their  laws, 
and  had  once  such  a  power  among  the 
Greeks,  that  they  ascribed  these  uunatu- 
ral  practices  to  the  gods  themselves,  a& 
part  of  their  good  character  ;  and,  indeed, 
it  was  according  to  the  same  manner  that 
the  gods  married  their  own  sisters.  This 
the  Greeks  contrived  as  an  apology  for 
their  own  absurd  and  unnatural  pleasures. 

I  omit  to  speak  concerning  punishments, 
and  how  many  ways  of  escaping  them, 
the  greatest  part  of  legislators  have  af- 
forded malefactors,  by  ordaining  that,  for 
adulteries,  fines  in  money  should  be  al- 
lowed, and  for  corrupting  [virgins]  they 
need  only  marry  them  ;*  as  also  what  ex- 
cuses they  may  have  in  denying  the  facts, 
if  any  one  should  attempt  to  inquire  into 
them;  for  among  most  other  nations,  it  is 
a  studied  art  how  men  may  transgress 
their  laws;  but  no  such  thing  is  permit- 
ted among  us ;  for  though  we  be  deprived 
of  our  wealth,  of  our  cities,  or  of  other 
advantages  we-  have,  our  law  continues 
immortal ;  nor  can  any  jew  go  so  far  from 
his  own  country,  nor  be  so  affrighted  at 
the  severest  lord,  as  not  to  be  more  af- 
frighted at  the  law  than  at  him.    If,  there 

©  ... 

fore,  this  be  the  disposition  we  are  under, 
with  regard  to  the  excellency  of  our  laws, 
let  our  enemies  make  us  this  concession, 


*  Or  "  for  corrupting  other  men's  wives,  the  sarm 
allowance." 


Book  II. 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


925 


that  our  laws  are  most  excellent;  and  if 
still  they  imagine  that  though  we  so  firmly 
adhere  to  them,  yet  are  they  bad  laws 
notwithstanding,  what  penalties  then  do 
they  deserve  to  undergo  who  do  not  ob- 
serve their  own  laws,  which  they  esteem 
superior  ?  Whereas,  therefore,  length  of 
time  is  esteemed  to  be  the  truest  touchstone 
in  all  cases,  I  would  make  that  a  testimo- 
nial of  the  excellency  of  our  laws,  and  of 
that  belief  thereby  delivered  to  us  con- 
cerning God  ;  for  as  there  hath  been  a  very 
long  time  for  this  comparison,  if  any  one 
will  but  compare  its  duration  with  the 
duration  of  the  laws  made  by  other  legis- 
lators, he  will  find  our  legislator  to  have 
been  the  most  ancient  of  them  all. 

We  have  already  demonstrated  that  our 
laws  have  been  such  as  have  always  in- 
spired admiration  and  imitation  into  all 
other  men  ;  nay,  the  earliest  Grecian  phi- 
losophers, though  in  appearance  they  ob- 
served the  laws  of  their  own  countries, 
yet  did  they,  in  their  actious  and  their 
philosophic  doctrines,  follow  our  legislator, 
and  instructed  men  to  live  sparingly,  and 
to  have  friendly  communication  one  with 
another.  Nay,  further,  the  multitude  of 
mankind  itself  have  had  a  great  inclination 
of  a  long  time  to  follow  our  religious  ob- 
servances ;  for  there  is  not  any  city  of  the 
Grecians,  nor  any  of  the  barbarians,  nor 
any  nation  whatsoever,  whither  our  cus- 
tom of  resting  on  the  seventh  day  hath  not 
come,  and  by  which  our  fasts  and  lighting 
up  lamps,  and  many  of  our  prohibitions 
as  to  our  food,  are  not  observed ;  they 
also  endeavour  to  imitate  our  mutual  con- 
cord with  oue  another,  aud  the  charitable 
distribution  of  our  goods,  and  our  dili- 
gence in  our  trades,  and  our  fortitude  in 
undergoing  the  distresses  we  are  in,  on 
account  of  our  laws ;  and,  what  is  here 
matter  of  the  greatest  admiration,  our 
law  hath  no  bait  or  pleasure  to  allure  men 
to  it,  but  it  prevails  by  its  own  force ;  and, 
as  God  himself  pervades  all  the  world,  so 
hath  our  law  passed  through  all  the  world 
also.  So  that,  if  any  one  will  but  reflect 
on  his  own  country,  and  his  own  family, 
he  will  have  reason  to  give  credit  to  what 
1  say.  It  is,  therefore,  but  just,  either  to 
condemn  all  mankind  of  indulging  a 
wicked  disposition,  when  they  have  been 
so  desirous  of  imitating  laws  that  are  to 
them  foreign  and  evil  in  themselves,  ra- 
ther than  following  laws  of  their  own  that 
are  of  a  better  character,  or  else  our  ac- 
cusers mus<"   leave  off"  their  spite  against 


us ;  nor  are  we  guiity  of  an^  envious  be- 
haviour toward  them,  when  we  honour 
our  own  legislator,  and  believe  what  he, 
by  his  prophetic  authority,  hath  taught  us 
concerning  God;  for  though  we  should 
not  be  able  ourselves  to  understand  the 
excellency  of  our  own  laws,  yet  would  the 
great  multitude  of  those  that  desire  to 
imitate  them,  justify  us  in  greatly  valuing 
ourselves  upon  them. 

But  as  for  the  [distinct]  political  laws 
by  wnich  we  are  governed,  I  have  deli- 
vered them  accurately  in  my  books  of 
Antiquities ;  and  have  only  mentioned 
them  now,  so  far  as  was  necessary  to  my 
present  purpose,  without  proposing  to 
myself  either  to  blame  the  laws  of  other 
nations,  or  to  make  an  encomium  upon 
our  own,  but  in  order  to  convict  those 
that  have  written  about  us  unjustly,  and 
in  an  impudent  affectation  of  disguising 
the  truth  :  and  now  I  think  I  have  suffi- 
ciently completed  what  I  proposed  in 
writing  these  books ;  for  whereas  our  ac- 
cusers have  pretended  that  our  nation  are 
a  people  of  very  late  original,  I  have  de- 
monstrated that  they  are  exceedingly  an- 
cient ;  for  I  have  produced  as  witnesses 
thereto  many  ancient  writers,  who  have 
made  mention  of  us  in  their  books,  while 
they  had  said  no  such  writer  had  so  done. 
Moreover,  they  had  said  that  we  were 
sprung  from  the  Egyptians,  while  I  have 
proved  that  we  came  from  another  country 
into  Egypt :  while  they  had  told  lies  of 
us,  as  if  we  were  expelled  thence  on  ac- 
count of  diseases  on  our  bodies,  it  has  ap- 
peared on  the  contrary,  that  we  returned 
to  our  country  by  our  own  choice,  and 
with  sound  and  strong  bodies.  Those  ac- 
cusers reproached  our  legislator  as  a  vile 
fellow;  whereas,  God  in  old  time  bare 
witness  to  his  virtuous  conduct ;  and, 
since  that  testimony  of  God,  time  itself 
hath  been  discovered  to  have  borne  wit- 
ness to  the  same  thing. 

As  to  the  laws  themselves,  more  words 
are  unnecessary,  for  they  are  visible  in 
their  own  nature,  and  appear  to  teach  not 
impiety,  but  the  truest  piety  in  the  world. 
They  do  not  make  men  hate  one  another, 
but  encourage  people  to  communicate  what 
they  have  to  one  another  freely ;  they  are 
enemies  to  injustice,  ihey  take  care  of 
righteousness,  they  banish  idleness  and 
expensive  living,  and  instruct  men  to  be 
content  with  what  they  have,  and  to  be 
laborious  in  their  callings ;  they  forbid 
men  to  make  war  from  a  desire  of  getting 


926 


FLAVIUS  JOSEPHUS  AGAINST  APION. 


[Book  U 


more,  but  make  men 


courageous  in  de- 
fending the  laws  ;  they  are  inexorable  in 
punishing  malefactors :  they  admit  no 
sophistry  of  words,  but  are  always  esta- 
blished by  actions  themselves,  which  ac- 
tions we  ever  propose  as  surer  demonstra- 
tions than  what  is  contained  in  writing 
only;  on  which  account  I  am  so  bold  as 
to  say  that  we  are  become  the  teachers 
of  other  men,  in  the  greatest  number  of 
things,  and  those  of  the  most  excellent 
nature  only;  for  what  is  more  excellent 
than  inviolable  piety?  what  is  more  just 
than  submission  to  laws  ?  and  what  is 
more  advantageous  than  mutual  love  and 
concord  ?  and  this  so  far  that  we  are  to  be 
neither  divided  by  calamities,  nor  to  be- 
come injurious  and  seditious  in  prosperity; 
but  to  contemn  death  when  we  are  in  war, 
bnd  in  peace  to  apply  ourselves  to  our 


mechanical  occupations,  or  to  our  tillage 
of  the  ground ;  while  we  in  all  things  and 
all  ways  are  satisfied  that  Grod  is  the  in- 
spector and  governor  of  our  actions.  If 
these  precepts  had  either  been  written  at 
first,  or  more  exactly  kept  by  any  others 
before  us,  we  should  have  owed  them 
thanks  as  disciples  owe  to  their  masters ; 
but  if  it  be  visible  that  we  have  made  use 
of  them  more  than  any  other  men,  and  if 
we  have  demonstrated  that  the  original 
invention  of  them  is  our  own,  let  the 
Apions  and  the  Molones,  with  all  the  rest 
of  those  that  delight  in  lies  and  reproaches, 
stand  confuted;  but  let  this  and  the  fore- 
going book  be  dedicated  to  thee,  Epaphro- 
ditus,  who  art  so  great  a  lover  of  truth, 
and  by  thy  means  to  those  that  have  been 
in  like  manner  desirous  to  be  acquainted 
with  the  affairs  of  our  nation. 


(-- 


AN   EXTRACT 


OUT   OF   JOSEPHUS'S   DISCOURSE   TO   THE    GREEKS   CONCERNING 


HADES. 


1.  Now  as  to  Hades,  wherein  the  souls 
of  the  righteous  and  unrighteous  are  de- 
tained, it  is  necessary  to  speak  of  it. 
Hades  is  a  place  in  the  world  not  regu- 
larly finished ;  a  subterraneous  region, 
wherein  the  light  of  this  world  does  not 
shine ;  from  which  circumstance,  that  in 
this  region  the  light  does  not  shine,  it 
cannot  but  be  there  must  be  in  it  per- 
petual darkness.  This  region  is  allotted 
as  a  place  of  custody  for  souls,  in  which 
angels  are  appointed  as  guardians  to  them, 
who  distribute  to  them  temporary  punish- 
ment, agreeable  to  every  one's  behaviour 
and  manners. 

2.  In  this  region  there  is  a  certain  place 
set  apart  as  a  lake  of  unquenchable  fire, 
whereinto  we  suppose  no  one  hath  hither- 
to been  case ;  but  it  is  prepared  for  a  day 
aforedetermined  by  God,  in  which  one 
righteous  sentence  shall  deservedly  be 
passed  upon  all  men;  when  the  unjust, 
and  those  that  have  been  disobedient  to 
God,  and  have  given  honour  to  such  idols 
as  have  been  the  vain  operations  of  the 
hands  of  men  as  to  God  himself,  shall  be 
adjudged  to  this  everlasting  punishment, 
as  having  been  the  causes  of  defilement; 
while  the  just  shall  obtain  an  incorruptible 
and  never-fading  kingdom.  These  are 
*iow,  indeed,  confined  in  Hades,  but  not 
in  the  same  place  wherein  the  unjust  are 
confined. 

3.  For  there  is  one  descent  into  this 
region,  at  whose  gate  we  believe  there 
stands  an  archangel  with  a  host;  which 
gate  when  those  pass  through  that  are 
conducted  down  by  the  angels  appointed 
over  souls,  they  do  not  go  the  same  way, 
but  the  just  are  guided  to  the  right  hand, 
and  are  led  with  hymns,  sung  by  the 
angels  appointed  over  that  place,  unto  a 
region  of  light,  in  which  the  just  have 
dwelt  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  ; 
not  constrained  by  necessity,  but  ever 
enjoving  the  prospect  of  the  good  things 


they  see,  and  rejoicing  in  the  expectation 
of  those  new  enjoyments  which  will  be 
peculiar  to  every  one  of  them,  and  esteem- 
ing those  things  beyond  what  we  have 
here  :  with  whom  there  is  no  place  of  toil, 
no  burning  heat,  no  piercing  cold,  nor 
any  briers  there  ;  but  the  countenance  of 
the  fathers  and  of  the  just,  which  they 
see,  always  smiles  upon  them,  while  they 
wait  for  that  rest  and  eternal  new  life 
in  heaven  which  is  to  succeed  this  region. 
This  place  we  call  the  bosom  of  Abra- 
ham. 

4.  But  as  to  the  unjust,  they  are 
dragged  by  force  to  the  left  hand  by  the 
angels  allotted  for  punishment,  no  longer 
going  with  a  good  will,  but  as  prisoners 
driven  by  violence  ;  to  whom  are  sent  the 
angels  appointed  over  them  to  reproach 
them,  and  threaten  them  with  their  terri- 
ble looks,  and  to  thrust  them  still  down- 
ward. Now  those  angels  that  are  set 
over  these  souls  drag  them  into  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  hell  itself ;  who,  when  they 
are  hard  by  it,  continually  hear  the  noise 
of  it,  and  do  not  stand  clear  of  the  hot 
vapour  itself;  but  when  they  have  a  near 
view  of  this  spectacle,  as  of  a  terrible  and 
exceeding  great  prospect  of  fire,  they  are 
struck  with  a  fearful  expectation  of  a 
future  judgment,  and  in  effect  punished 
thereby  :  and  not  only  so,  but  where  they 
see  the  place  [or  choir]  of  the  fathers 
and  of  the  just,  even  hereby  are  they 
punished  ;  for  a  chaos  deep  and  large  is 
fixed  between  them;  insomuch  that  a  just 
man  that  hath  compassion  upon  them 
cannot  be  admitted,  nor  can  one  that  is 
unjust,  if  he  were  bold  enough  to  attempt 
it,  pass  over  it. 

5.  This  is  the  discourse  concerning 
Hades,  wherein  the  souls  of  all  men  are 
confined  until  a  proper  season,  which  God 
hath  determined,  when  he  will  make  a 
resurrection  of  all  men  from  the  dead ; 
not  procuring  a  transmigration  of  souls 

927 


928 


JOSEPHUS'S    DISCOURSE   CONCERNING   HADES. 


from  one  body  to  another,  but  raising 
again  those  very  bodies  which  you  Greeks, 
seeing  to  be  dissolved,  do  not  believe 
[their  resurrection].  But  learn  not  to  dis- 
believe it ;  for  while  you  believe  that  the 
soul  is  created  and  yet  is  made  immortal 
by  Grod,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Plato, 
and  this  in  time,  be  not  incredulous, 
but  believe  that  God  is  able,  when  he  hath 
raised  to  life  that  body  which  was  made 
as  a  compound  of  the  same  element,  to 
make  it  immortal ;  for  it  must  never  be 
said  of  God,  that  he  is  able  to  do  some 
things  and  unable  to  do  others.  We 
have,  therefore,  believed  that  the  body 
will  be  raised  again ;  for  although  it  be 
dissolved,  it  is  not  perished  ;  for  the  earth 
receives  its  remains,  and  preserves  them  ; 
and  while  they  are  like  .seer/,  and  are 
mixed  among  the  more  fruitful  soil,  they 
flourish  ;  and  what  is  sown  is,  indeed, 
sown  bare  grain,  but  at  the  mighty 
sound  of  God  the  Creator  it  will  sprout 
up,  and  be  raised  in  a  clothed  and  glorious 
condition,  though  not  before  it  has  been 
dissolved  and  mixed  [with  the  earth].  So 
that  we  have  not  rashly  believed  the  re- 
surrection of  the  body  ;  for  although  it  be 
dissolved  for  a  time  on  account  of  the 
original  transgression,  it  exists  still,  and 
is  cast  into  the  earth  as  into  a  potter's 
furnace,  in  order  to  be  formed  again,  not  in 
order  to  rise  again  such  as  it  was  before, 
but  in  a  state  of  purity,  and  so  as  never 
to  be  destroyed  any  more.  And  to  every 
body  shall  its  own  soul  be  restored.  And 
when  it  hath  clothed  itself  with  that 
body,  it  will  not  be  subject  to  misery; 
but  being  itself  pure,  it  will  continue 
with  its  pure  body,  and  rejoice  with  it; 
with  which  it  having  walked  righteously 
now  in  this  world,  and  never  having  had 
it  as  a  snare,  it  will  receive  it  again  with 
great  gladness.  But  as  for  the  unjust, 
they  will  receive  their  bodies  not  changed, 
not  freed  from  diseases  or  distempers, 
nor  made  glorious,  but  with  the  same 
diseases  wherein  they  died  ;  and  such  as 
they  were  in  their  unbelief,  the  same 
shall  they  be  when  they  shall  be  faithfully 
judged. 

6.   For  all  men,  the  just  as  well  as  the 
unjust,  shall  be  brought  before  God  the 

Word ;  for  to  him  hath  the  Father  com- 
mitted all  judgment ;  and  he,  in  order  to 
fulfil  the  will  of  his  Father,  shall  come 
as  judge,  whom  we  call  Christ.  For 
Minos    and    Khadamanthus   are   not   the 

judges,  as  you  Greeks  do   suppose,  but 


he    whom     God    and    the    Father    hath 
glorified  ;  concerning  whom  we  have 

ELSEWHERE     GIVEN     A     MORE     PARTICU- 
LAR ACCOUNT,  FOR   THE   SAKE  OF   THOSE 

who  seek  after  truth.  This  person 
exercising  the  righteous  judgment  of  the 
Father  toward  all  men,  hath  prepared 
a  just  sentence  for  every  one,  according 
to  his  works ;  at  whose  judgment-seatv 
when  all  men,  and  angels,  and  demons 
shall  stand,  they  will  send  forth  one 
voice,  and  say,  just  is  thy  judgment  : 
the  rejoinder  to  which  will  bring  a  just 
sentence  upon  both  parties,  by  giving 
justly  to  those  that  have  done  well  an 
everlasting  fruition;  but  allotting  to  the 
lovers  of  wicked  works  eternal  punish- 
ment. To  these  belong  the  unquenchabh 
fire,  and  that  without  end,  and  a  certain 
fiery  worm  never  dying,  and  not  destroy- 
ing the  body,  but  continuing  its  eruption 
out  of  the  body  with  never-ceasing  grief : 
neither  will  sleep  give  ease  to  these  men, 
nor  will  the  night  afford  them  comfort; 
death  will  not  free  them  from  their 
'punishment,  nor  will  the  interceding  pray- 
ers of  their  kindred  profit  them  ;  for  the 
just  are  no  longer  seen  by  them,  nor  are 
they  thought  worthy  of  remembrance. 
But  the  just  shall  remember  only  their 
righteous  actions,  whereby  they  have  at- 
tained the  heavenly  kingdom,  in  which 
there  is  no  sleep,  no  sorrow,  no  corrup- 
tion, no  care,  no  night,  no  day  mea- 
sured by  time  :  no  sun  driven  in  his 
course  along  the  circle  of  heaven  by  ne- 
cessity, and  measuring  out  the  bouuds 
and  conversions  of  the  seasons,  for  the 
better  illumination  of  the  life  of  men ; 
no  moon  decreasing  and  increasing,  or 
introducing  a  variety  of  seasons,  nor  will 
she  then  moisten  the  earth  :  no  burn- 
ing sun,  no  Bear  turning  round  [the 
pole],  no  Orion  to  rise,  no  wandering  of 
innumerable  stars.  The  earth  will  not 
then  be  difficult  to  be  passed  over;  nor 
will  it  be  hard  to  find  out  the  court  of 
paradise ;  nor  will  there  be  any  fearful 
roaring  of  the  sea,  ^forbidding  the  passen- 
gers to  walk  on  it;  even  that  will  be 
made  easily  passable  to  the  just,  though 
it  will  not  be  void  of  moisture.  Heaven 
will  not  then  be  uuinhabitable  by  men, 
and  it  will  not  be  impossible  to  discover 
the  way  of  ascending  thither.  The  earth 
will  not  be  uncultivated.,  nor  require  too 
much  labour  of  men,  but  will  bring  forth 
its  fruits  of  its  own  accord,  and  will  be 
well  adorned  with  them.     There  will  be 


JOSEPHUS'S   DISCOURSE   CONCERNING   HADES. 


929 


ao  more  generations  of  wild  beasts,  nor 
will  the  substance  of  the  rest  of  the 
animals  shoot  out  any  more ;  for  it  will 
not  produce  men ;  but  the  number  of  the 
righteous  will  continue,  and  never  fail, 
together  with  righteous  angels  and  spirits 
[of  God],  and  with  his  word,  as  a  choir 
of  righteous  men  and  women  that  never 
grew  old,  and  continue  in  an  incorrup- 
tible state,  singing  hymns  to  God,  who 
hath  advanced  them  to  that  happiness,  by 
the  means  of  a  regular  institution  of  life  ; 
with  whom  the  whole  creation  also  will 
lift  up  a  perpetual  hymn  from  corruption 
to  incorruption,  as  glorified  by  a  splendid 
and  a  pure  spirit.  It  will  not  then  be 
restrained  by  a  bond  of  necessity,  but  with 
a  lively  freedom  shall  offer  up  a  voluntary 
hymn,  and  shall  praise  him  that  made  them, 
together  with  with  the  angels,  and  spirits, 
and  men,  now  freed  from  all  bondage. 

7.  And  now  if  you  Gentiles  will  be 
persuaded  by  these  motives,  and  leave 
your  vain  imaginations  about  your  pedi- 
grees, and  gaining  of  riches,  and  philo- 
sophy, and  will  not  spend  your  time  about 
subtilities  of  words,  and  thereby  lead 
your  minds  into  error,  and  if  you  will 
apply  your  ears  to  the  hearing  of  the 
inspired  prophets,  the  interpreters  both  of 
God  and  of  his  word,  and  will  believe  in 
God,  you  shall  both  be  partakers  of  these 
things,  and  obtain  the  good  things  that 
are  to  come:  you  shall  see  the  ascent 
nnto  the  immense  heaven  plainly,  and 
that  kingdom  which  is  there :  For  what 


God  hath  now  concealed  in  silence  [will 
be  then  made  manifest],  ivhat  neither  eye 
hath  seen,  nor  ear  hath  heard,  nor  hath 
it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  thing  % 
that  God  hath  prepared  for  them,  that 
love  him. 

8.  In  whatsoever  ways  I  shall  find  you, 
in  them  shall  I  judge  you  entirely ;   so 
cries  the  end  of  all  things.     And  he  who 
hath   at    first    lived   a  virtuous  life,   but 
toward    the    latter    end    falls    into    vice, 
these  labours  by  him  before  endured  shall 
be  altogether  vain  and  unprofitable,  even 
as  in  a  play  brought  to  an  ill  catastro- 
phe.   Whosoever  shall  have  lived  wicked- 
ly   and    luxuriously    may   repent :    how- 
ever,  there  will    be    need  of  much   time 
to  conquer  an  evil  habit;  and  even  after 
repentance,  his  whole  life  must  be  guarded 
with  great  care   and  diligence,  after  the 
manner  of  a  body,   which,  after  it  hath 
been  a  long  time  afflicted  with  a  distem- 
per, requires  a  stricter  diet  and  method 
of  living  :  for  though  it  may  be  possible, 
perhaps,  to   break  off   the  chain   of   our 
irregular  affections  at  once,  yet  our  amend- 
ment cannot  be  secured  without  the  grace 
of  God,  the   prayers   of  good   men,   the 
help  of  the  brethren,  and  our  own  sincere 
repentance    and    constant  care.     It  is   a 
good  thing  not  to  sin  at  all;  it  is  also 
good,  having  sinned,  to  repent;  as  it  is 
best  to  have  health  always,  but  it  is  a 
good  thing  to  recover  from  a  distemper. 
To  God  be  glory  and  dominion  for  evet 
and  ever,  Amen. 


59 


DISSERTATION   I. 


THE  TESTIMONIES  OF  JOSEPHUS  CONCERNING  JESUS  CHRIST,  JOHN  THE 
BAPTIST,  AND  JAMES  THE  JUST,  VINDICATED. 


Since  we  meet  with  several  important 
testimonies  in  Josephus,  the  Jewish  his- 
torian, concerning  John  the  Baptist,  the 
forerunner  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  con- 
cerning Jesus  of  Nazareth  himself,  and 
concerning  James  the  Just,  the  brother 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ;  and  since  the 
principal  testimony,  which  is  that  con- 
cerning Jesus  of  Nazareth  himself,  has 
of  late  been  greatly  questioned  by  many, 
and  rejected  by  some  of  the  learned  as 
spurious,  it  will  be  fit  for  me,  who  have 
ever  declared  my  firm  belief  that  these 
testimonies  were  genuine,  to  set  down  fairly 
some  of  the  original  evidence  and  citations 
I  have  met  with  in  the  first  fifteen  cen- 
turies concerning  them,  and  then  to  make 
proper  observations  upon  that  evidence, 
for  the;  reader's  more  complete  satisfaction. 


But  before  I  produce  the  citations  them- 
selves out  of  Josephus,  give  me  leave  to 
prepare  the  reader's  attention,  by  setting 
down  the  sentiments  of  perhaps  the  most 
learned  person,  and  the  most  competent 
judge  that  ever  was,  as  to  the  authority 
of  Josephus, — I  mean  of  Joseph  Scaliger 
in  the  Prolegomena  to  his  book,  De  Em^n- 
datione  Temporum,  p.  17: — "Josephus 
is  the  most  diligent  and  the  greatest  lover 
of  truth  of  all  writers ;  nor  are  we  afraid 
to  affirm  of  him,  that  it  is  more  safe  to 
believe  him,  not  only  as  to  the  affairs  of 
the  Jews,  but  also  as  to  those  that  are 
foreign  to  them,  than  all  the  Greek  and 
Latin  writers,  and  this,  because  his  fidelity 
and  his  compass  of  learning  are  every- 
where conspicuous." 


THE  ANCIENT  CITATIONS  OF  THE  TESTIMONIES  OF  JOSEPHUS  FROM  HIS 
OWN  TIME  TILL  THE  END  OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 


About  A.  D.  110.  Tacit.  Annal.  lib. 
xv.  cap.  44. — Nero,  in  order  to  stifle  the 
rumour  [as  if  he  had  himself  set  Rome 
on  fire],  ascribed  it  to  those  people  who 
were  hated  for  their  wicked  practices,  and 
called  by  the  vulgar  Christians :  these  he 
punished  exquisitely.  The  author  of  this 
name  was  Christ,  who,  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius,  was  brought  to  punishment  by 
Pontius  Pilate  the  procurator. 

About  A.  D.  147.  Just.  Mart.  Dialog. 
cum  Trypho,  p.  234. — You  [Jews]  knew 
that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead,  and 
ascended  into  heaven,  as  the  prophecies 
did  foretell  was  to  happen. 

About  A.  D.  230.  Origen.  Comment. 
in  Matth.  p.  230. — This  James  was  of  so 
shining  a  character  among  the  people,  on 
account  of  his  righteousness,  that  Flavius 
Josephus,  when,  in  his  twentieth  book  of 
the  Jewish  Antiquities,  he  had  a  mind  to 
set  down   what   was  the    cause   why  the 


people  suffered  such  miseries,  till  the  very 
holy  house  was  demolished,  he  said  that 
these  things  befell  them  by  the  anger  of 
God,  on  account  of  what  they  had  dared 
to  do  to  James,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  who 
was  called  Christ:  and  wonderful  it  is, 
that,  while  he  did  not  receive  Jesus  for 
Christ,  he  did,  nevertheless,  bear  witness 
that  James  was  so  righteous  a  man.  lie 
says  further,  that  the  people  thought  that 
they  suffered  these  things  for  the  sake  of 
James. 

About  A.  D.  250v    Contr.  Cels.  lib.  i. 

pp.  35,  36. — I  would  say  to  Celsus,  who 

personates  a  Jew,  that  admitted  of  John 

the  Baptist,  and  how  he  baptized  Jesus, 

that  one  who  lived  but  a  little  while  after 

John  and  Jesus,  wrote,  how  that  John 

I  was  a  baptizer  unto  the  remission  of  sins: 

for  Josephus   testifies  in  the   eighteenth 

I  book   of  Jewish    Antiquities,    that   John 

i  was  the   Baptist,  and   that   be   promised 

930 


DISSERTATION  I. 


931 


purification  to  those  that  were  baptized. 
The  same  Josephus  also,  .although  he  did 
not  believe  in  Jesus  as  Christ,  when  he 
was  inquiring  after  the  cause  of  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  demo- 
lition of  the  temple,  and  ought  to  have 
said  that  their  machinations  against  Jesus 
were  the  cause  of  those  miseries  coming 
on  the  people,  because  they  had  slain  that 
Christ,  who  was  foretold  by  the  prophets, 
he,  though  as  it  were  unwillingly,  and 
yet  as  one  not  remote  from  the  truth,  says : 
— "  These  miseries  befell  the  Jews  by 
way  of  revenge  for  James  the  Just,  who 
was  the  brother  of  Jesus,  that  was  called 
Christy  because  they  had  slain  him  who 
was  a  most  righteous  person."  Now  this 
James  was  he  whom  that  genuine  disciple 
of  Jesus,  Paul,  said  he  had  seen  as  the 
Lord's  brother  [Gal.  i.  19]  ;  which  rela- 
tion implies  not  so  much  nearness  of 
blood,  or  the  sameness  of  education,  as  it 
does  the  agreement  of  manners  and  preach- 
ing. If,  therefore,  he  says  the  desolation 
of  Jerusalem  befell  the  Jews  for  the  sake 
of  James,  with  how  much  greater  reason 
might  he  have  said  that  it  happened  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus  !  &c. 

About  A.  D.  324.  Euseb.  Demonstr. 
Evan.  lib.  iii.  p.  124. — Certainly  the  at- 
testation of  those  I  have  already  produced 
concerning  our  Saviour  may  be  sufficient. 
However,  it  may  not  be  amiss,  if,  over 
and  above,  we  make  use  of  Josephus  the 
Jew  for  a  further  witness;  who,  in  the 
eighteenth  book  of  his  Antiquities,  when 
he  was  writing  the  history  of  what  hap- 
pened under  Pilate,  makes  mention  of  our 
Saviour  in  these  words  : — Now  there  was 
about  this  time,  Jesus,  a  wise  man,  if  it 
be  lawful  to  call  him  a  man,  for  he  was  a 
doer  of  wonderful  works,  a  teacher  of  such 
men  as  had  a  veneration  for  truth ;  he 
drew  over  to  him  both  many  of  the  Jews 
and  many  of  the  Gentiles  :  he  was  the 
Christ.  And  when  Pilate,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  principal  men  among  us,  had 
condemned  him  to  the  cross,  those  that 
loved  him  at  Hist  did  not  forsake  him,  for 
he  appeared  to  them  alive  again  the  third 
day,  as  the  divine  prophets  had  spoken  of 
these,  and  ten  thousand  other  wonderful 
things  concerning  him;  whence  the  tribe 
of  Christians,  so  named  from  him,  are 
not  extinct  at  this  day.  If,  therefore,  we 
nave  this  historian's  testimony,  that  he 
not  only  brought  over  to  himself  the 
twelve  apostles  with  the  seventy  disciples, 
but  many  of  the  Jews  and   many  of  the 


Gentiles  also,  he  must  manifestly  have 
had  somewhat  in  him  extraordinary  above 
the  rest  of  mankind ;  for  how  otherwise 
could  he  draw  over  so  many  of  the  Jews 
and  of  the  Gentiles,  unless  he  performed 
admirable  and  amazing  works,  and  used  a 
method  of  teaching  that  was  not  common? 
Moreover,  the  Scripture  of  the  Acts  :f 
the  Apostles  bears  witness,  that  there 
were  many  ten  thousands  of  Jews  who 
were  persuaded  that  he  was  the  Christ  of 
God,  who  was  foretold  by  the  prophets 
[Acts  xi.  20]. 

About  A.  D.  330.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  i. 
cap.  11. — Now  the  divine  Scripture  of  the 
Gospels  makes  mention  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist as  having  his  head  cut  off  by  the 
younger  Herod.  Josephus  also  concurs 
in  this  history,  and  makes  mention  of 
Herodias  by  name,  as  wife  of  his  brother, 
whom  Herod  had  married,  upon  divorcing 
his  former  lawful  wife.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Aretas,  king  of  the  Petrean 
Arabians;  and  which  Herodias  he  had 
parted  from  her  husband  while  he  was 
alive  :  on  which  account  also,  when  he 
had  slain  John,  he  made  war  with  Aretas 
[Aretas  made  war  with  him],  because  his 
daughter  had  been  used  dishonourably; 
in  which  war,  when  it  came  to  a  battle, 
he  says  that  all  Herod's  army  was  de- 
stroyed, and  that  he  suffered  this  because 
of  his  wicked  contrivance  against  John. 
Moreover,  the  same  Josephus,  by  acknow- 
ledging John  to  have  been  a  most  right- 
eous man  and  the  Baptist,  conspires  in 
his  testimony  with  what  is  written  in  the 
Gospels.  He  also  relates  that  Herod  lost 
his  kingdom  for  the  sake  of  the  same  He- 
rodias, together  with  whom  he  was  him- 
self condemned  to  be  banished  to  Vienna, 
a  city  of  Gaul.  And  this  is  his  account 
in  the  eighteenth  book  of  the  Antiquities, 
where  he  writes  thus  of  John  verbatim: — 
Some  of  the  Jews  thought  that  the  de- 
struction of  Herod's  army  came  from  God, 
and  that  very  justly,  as  a  punishment  for 
what  he  did  against  John  that  was  called 
the  Baptist,  for  Herod  slew  him,  who  was 
a  good  man,  and  one  that  commanded  the 
Jews  to  exercise  virtue,  both  as  to  right- 
eousness toward  one  another,  and  piety 
toward  God,  and  so  to  come  to  baptism, 
for  that  by  this  means  the  washing  [with 

j  water]  would  appear  acceptable  to  him, 
when  they  made  use  of  it,  not  in  order  to 
the   putting  away  [or   the  remission]  of 

!  some  sins  [only],  but  for  the  purification 
of  the  body,  supposing  still  that  the  boui 


932 


DISSEKIaTION  I. 


were  thoroughly  purified  beforehand  by 
righteousness.  Now  when  [many]  others 
came  in  crowds  about  him,  for  they  were 
greatly  delighted  in  hearing  his  words, 
Herod  was  afraid  that  this  so  great  power 
of  persuading  men  might  tend  to  some 
sedition  or  other,  for  they  seemed  to  be 
disposed  to  do  every  thing  he  should  advise 
them  to ;  so  he  supposed  it  better  to  pre- 
vent any  attempt  for  a  mutation  from  him 
by  cutting  him  off,  than  after  any  such 
mutation  should  be  brought  about,  and 
the  public  should  suffer,  to  repent  [of  such 
negligence].  Accordingly,  he  was  sent  a 
prisoner,  out  of  Herod's  suspicious  temper, 
to  Macherus,  the  castle  I  before  mentioned, 
and  was  there  put  to  death.  When  Jose- 
phus  had  said  this  of  John,  he  makes 
mention  also  of  our  Saviour  in  the  same 
history,  after  this  manner: — Now  there 
was  about  this  time  one  Jesus,  a  wise  man, 
if  it  be  lawful  to  call  him  a  man,  for  he 
was  a  doer  of  wonderful  works,  a  teacher 
of  such  men  as  receive  the  truth  with 
pleasure ;  he  drew  over  to  him  both  many 
of  the  Jews,  and  many  of  the  Gentiles 
also  :  he  was  the  Christ.  And  when 
Pilate,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  priucipal 
men  among  us,  had  condemned  him  to  the 
cross,  those  that  loved  him  at  the  first  did 
not  forsake  him,  for  he  appeared  to  them 
alive  again  the  third  day,  as  the  divine 
prophets  had  foretold  these,  and  ten  thou- 
sand other  wonderful  things  concerning 
him.  And  still  the  tribe  of  Christians, 
so  named  from  him,  are  not  extinct  at 
this  day.  And  since  this  writer,  sprung 
from  the  Hebrews  themselves,  hath  de- 
livered things  above  in  his  own  work,  con- 
cerning John  the  Baptist  and  our  Saviour, 
what  room  i«  there  for  any  further  eva- 
sion ?  &c. 

Now  James  was  so  wonderful  a  person, 
and  was  so  celebrated  by  all  others  for 
righteousness,  that  the  judicious  Jews 
thought  this  to  have  been  the  occasion  of 
that  siege  of  Jerusalem,  which  came  on 
presently  after  his  martyrdom,  and  that 
it  befell  them  for  no  other  reason,  than 
that  impious  fact  they  were  guilty  of 
against  him.  Josephus,  therefore,  did  not 
refuse  to  attest  thereto  in  writing,  by  the 
words  following: — These  miseries  befell 
the  Jews  by  way  of  revenge  for  James 
the  Just,  who  was  the  brother  of  Jesus 
that  was  called  Christy  on  this  account, 
that  they  had  slain  him  who  was  a  most 
righteous  person. 

The  same  Josephus  declares  the  mauner 


of  his  death  in  the  twentieth  book  of  the 
Antiquities,  in  these  words  : — Caesar  sent 
Albinus  into  Judea  to  be  procurator,  wheu 
he  had  heard  that  Festus  was  dead.  Now 
Ananus  junior,  who,  as  we  said,  had  been 
admitted  to  the  high-priesthood,  was  in 
his  temper  bold  and  daring  in  an  extraor- 
dinary manner.  He  was  also  of  the  sect 
of  the  Sadducees,  who  are  more  savage  in 
judgment  than  any  of  the  other  Jews,  as 
we  have  already  signified.  Since,  there- 
fore, this  was  the  character  of  Ananus,  he 
thought  he  had  now  a  proper  opportunity 
[to  exercise  his  authority],  because  Festus 
was  dead,  and  Albinus  was  but  upon  the 
road •  so  he  assembles  the  sanhedrim  of 
judges,  and  brings  before  them  James, 
the  brother  of  Jesus,  who  was  called 
Christ,  and  some  others  [of  his  com- 
panions], and  when  he  had  formed  an 
accusation  against  them,  as  breakers  of  the 
law,  he  delivered  them  to  be  stoned :  but 
as  for  those  who  seemed  the  most  equi- 
table of  the  citizens,  and  those  who  were 
the  most  uneasy  at  the  breach  of  the  laws, 
they  disliked  what  was  done.  They  also 
sent  to  the  king  [Agrippa],  desiring  him 
to  send  to  Auanus  that  he  should  act  so 
no  more,  for  that  what  he  had  already 
done  could  not  be  justified,  &c. 

About  A.  D.  360.  Ambrose  or  Hcge- 
sippus  de  Excid.  Urb.  Hierosolym.  lib.  ii. 
cap.  1*2. — We  have  discovered  that  it  was 
the  opinion  and  belief  of  the  Jews,  as 
Josephus  affirms,  (who  is  an  author  not  to 
be  rejected,  when  lie  writes  against  him- 
self,) that  Herod  lost  his  army,  not  by  the 
deceit  of  men,  but  by  the  anger  of  God, 
and  that  justly,  as  an  effect  of  revenge  for 
what  he  did  to  John  the  Baptist,  a  just 
man,  who  had  said  to  him,  It  is  not  lawful 
for  thee  to  have  thy  brother's  wife. 

The  Jews  themselves  also  bear  witness 
to  Christ,  as  appears  by  Josephus,  the 
writer  of  their  history,  who  says  thus:—- 
That  there  was  at  that  time  a  wise  man, 
if,  says  he,  it  be  lawful  to  have  him  called 
a  man,  a  doer  of  wonderful  works,  who 
appeared  to  his  disciples  after  the  third 
day  from  his  death,  alive  again,  according 
to  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  who  fore- 
told these  and  innumerable  other  miracu- 
lous events  concerning  him ;  from  whom 
began  the  congregation  of  Christians,  and 
hath  penetrated  among  all  sorts  of  men  : 
nor  does  their  remain  any  nation  in  the 
Roman  world,  which  continues  strangers 
to  his  religion.  If  the  Jews  do  not  believe 
us,    let    them  at  least  believe  their   owe 


DISSERTATION  1. 


933 


writers.  Joseph  us,  whom  (hey  esteem  a 
very  great  man,  hath  said  this,  and  yet 
hath  he  spoken  truth  after  such  a  manner, 
and  so  far  was  his  mind  wandered  from 
the  right  way,  that  even  he  was  not  a  be- 
liever, as  to  what  he  himself  said  :  but 
thus  he  spake  in  order  to  deliver  historical 
truth,  because  he  thought  it  not  lawful 
for  him  to  deceive,  while  yet  he  was  no 
believer,  because  of  the  hardness  of  his 
heart,  and  his  perfidious  intention.  How- 
ever, it  was  no  prejudice  to  the  truth  that 
he  was  not  a  believer;  but  this  adds  more 
weight  to  his  testimony,  that  while  he 
was  an  unbeliever,  and  unwilling  this 
should  be  true,  he  has  not  denied  it  to 
be  so. 

About  A,  D.  400.  Hieronym.  de  Vir. 
lllustr.  in  Josepho. — Josephus,  in  the 
eighteenth  book  of  Antiquities,  most  ex- 
pressly acknowledges,  that  Christ  was  slain 
by  the  Pharisees  on  account  of  the  great- 
ness of  his  miracles;  and  that  John  the 
Baptist  was  truly  a  prophet ;  and  that 
Jerusalem  was  demolished  on  account  of 
the  slaughter  of  James  the  apostle.  Now 
he  wrote  concerning  our  Lord  after  this 
manner : — At  the  same  time  there  was 
Jesus,  a  wise  man,  if  yet  it  be  lawful  to 
call  him  a  man,  for  he  was  a  doer  of  won- 
derful works,  a  teacher  of  those  who  will- 
ingly receive  the  truth.  He  had  many 
followers  both  of  the  Jews  and  of  the 
Gentiles  :  he  was  believed  to  be  Christ. 
And  when,  by  the  envy  of  our  principal 
men,  Pilate  had  condemned  him  to  the 
cross,  yet  notwithstanding,  those  who  had 
loved  him  at  first  persevered,  for  he  ap- 
peared to  them  alive  on  the  third  day,  as 
the  oracles  of  the  prophets  had  foretold 
many  of  these,  and  other  wonderful  things 
concerning  him  :  and  the  sect  of  Christians, 
so  named  from  him,  are  not  extinct  at  this 
day. 

About  A.  D.  410.  Isodorus  Pelusiota, 
the  Scholar  of  Chrysostom,  lib.  iv.  epist. 
225. — There  was  one  Josephus,  a  Jew  of 
the  greatest  reputation,  and  one  that  was 
zealous  of  the  law ;  one  also  that  para- 
phrased the  Old  Testament  with  truth, 
and  acted  valiantly  for  the  Jews,  and  had 
showed  that  their  settlement  was  nobler 
than  can  be  described  by  words.  Now 
since  he  made  their  interest  give  place  to 
truth,  for  he  would  not  support  the  opi- 
nion of  impious  men,  I  think  it  necessary 
to  set  down  his  words.  What  then  does 
he  say  ?  Now  there  was  about  that  time 
Jesus,  a  wise  man,  if  it  be  lawful  to  call 


him  a  man,  for  he  was  a,.doer  of  wonderful 
works,  a  teacher  of  such  men  as  receive 
the  truth  with  pleasure.  He  drew  over 
to  him  both  many  of  the  Jews,  and  many 
of  the  Gentiles:  he  was  the  Christ.  And 
when  Pilate,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
principal  men  among  us,  had  condemned 
him  to  the  cross,  those  that  loved  him  at 
first  did  not  forsake  him,  for  he  appeared 
to  them  the  third  day  alive  again,  as  the 
divine  prophets  had  said  these,  and  a  vast 
number  of  other  wonderful  things  con- 
cerning him ;  and  the  tribe  of  Christians, 
so  named  from  him,  are  not  extinct  at 
this  day.  Now  I  cannot  but  wonder 
greatly  at  this  man's  love  of  truth  in  many 
respects,  but  chiefly  where  he  says — 
"  Jesus  was  a  teacher  of  men  which  re- 
ceived the  truth  with  pleasure. " 

About  A.  D.  440.  Sozomon.  Hist. 
Eccles.  lib.  i.  cap.  1. — Now  Josephus,  the 
son  of  Matthias,  a  priest,  a  man  of  very 
great  note  both  among  the  Jews  and  the 
Romans,  may  well  be  a  witness  of  credit 
as  to  the  truth  of  Christ's  history ;  for 
he  scruples  to  call  him  a  man,  as  being  a 
doer  of  wonderful  works,  and  a  teacher  of 
the  words  of  truth  :  he  names  him  Ohrisi 
openly;  and  is  not  ignorant  that  he  was 
condemned  to  the  cross,  and  appeared  on 
the  third  day  alive  ;  and  that  ten  thou- 
sand other  wonderful  things  were  foretold 
of  him  by  the  divine  prophets.  He  testi- 
fies also,  that  those  whom  he  drew  over 
to  him,  being  many  of  the  Gentiles  as 
well  as  of  the  Jews,  continued  to  love 
him  ;  and  that  the  tribe  named  from  him 
was  not  then  extinct.  Now  he  seems  to 
me,  by  this  his  relation,  almost  to  pro- 
claim that  Christ  is  God.  However,  he 
appears  to  have  been  so  affected  by  the 
strangeness  of  the  thing,  as  to  run  as  it 
were  in  a  sort  of  middle  way,  so  as  not 
to  put  any  indignity  upon  believers  in 
him,  but  rather  to  afford  his  suffrage  to 
them. 

About  A.  D.  510.  Cassiodorus  Hist. 
TriparHt.  e  Sozomeno. — Now  Josephus, 
the  son  of  Matthias,  and  a  priest,  a  man  of 
great  nobility  among  the  Jews,  and  of  a 
great  dignity  among  the  Romans,  shall  be 
a  witness  to  the  truth  of  Christ's  history: 
for  he  dares  not  call  him  a  man,  as  a  doer 
of  famous  works,  and  a  teacher  of  true 
doctrines;  he  names  him  Christ  openly ; 
and  is  not  ignorant  that  he  was  condemned 
to  the  cross,  and  appeared  on  the  third 
day  alive,  and  that  an  infinite  number 
of  other  wonderful   things  were  foretold 


934 


DISSERTATION  I. 


of  him  by  the  holy  prophets.  Moreover, 
he  testifies  also,  that  there  were  then 
alive  many  whom  he  had  chosen,  both 
Greeks  and  Jews,  and  that  they  continued 
io  love  him;  and  that  the  sect  which  was 
named  from  him  was  by  no  means  extinct 
at  that  time. 

About  A.  D.  640.  Chron.  Alex.  p. 
51  t. — Now  Josephus  also  relates  in  the 
eighteenth  book  of  Antiquities,  how  John 
the  Baptist,  that  holy  man,  was  beheaded 
on  account  of  Herodias,  the  wife  of  Philip, 
the  brother  of  Herod  himself ;  for  Herod 
had  divorced  his  former  wife,  who  was 
still  alive,  and  had  been  his  lawful  wife  : 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Aretas,  king  of 
the  Petreans.  When,  therefore,  Herod 
had  taken  Herodias  away  from  her  hus- 
band, while  he  was  yet  alive,  (on  whose 
account  he  slew  Johr.  also,)  Aretas  made 
war  against  Herod,  because  his  daughter 
had  been  dishonourably  treated  :  in  which 
war  he  says,  that  all  Herod's  army  was 
destroyed,  and  that  he  suffered  that 
calamity  because  of  the  wickedness  he 
had  been  guilty  of  against  John.  The 
same  Josephus  relates,  that  Herod  lost 
his  kingdom  on  account  of  Herodias,  and 
that  with  her  he  was  banished  to  Lyons, 
&c. 

P.  526,  527.]— Now  that  our  Saviour 
taught  his  doctriues  three  years,  is  de- 
monstrated both  by  other  necessary  rea- 
sonings, as  also  out  of  the  holy  Gospels, 
and  out  of  Josephus's  writings,  who  was 
a  wise  man  among  the  Hebrews,  &c. 

P.  584,  586.] — Josephus  relates  in  the 
fifth  book  of  the  [Jewish]  war,  that  Jeru- 
salem was  taken  in  the  third  [second] 
year  of  Vespasian,  as  after  forty  years 
eince  they  had  dared  to  put  Jesus  to 
death :  in  which  time  he  says,  that  James 
the  brother  of  our  Lord,  and  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,  was  thrown  down  [from  the 
temple],  and  slain  of  them  by  stoning. 

About  A.  D.  740.  Anastasius  Abbas 
contr.  Jud. — Now  Josephus,  an  author 
and  writer  of  your  own,  says  of  Christ, 
that  he  was  a  just  and  good  man,  showed 
and  declared  so  to  be  by  divine  grace, 
who  gave  aid  to  many  by  signs  and 
miracles. 

About  A.  D.  790.  Georgius  Syncel- 
lus  Citron,  p.  339. — These  miseries  befell 
the  Jews  by  way  of  revenge  for  James 
the  Just,  who  was  the  brother  of  Jesus 
cnat  wTas  called  Christ,  on  the  account 
that  they  had  slain  him  who  was  a  most 
righteous   person,      Now   as   An  anus,   a 


person  of  that  character,  thought  he  had 
a  proper  opportunity,  because  Festus  was 
dead,  and  Albinus  was  but  upon  the  road, 
so  he  assembles  the  sanhedrim  of  judges, 
and  brings  before  them  James,  the  bro- 
ther of  Jesus,  who  was  called  Christ,  and 
some  of  his  companions;  and  when  he 
had  formed  an  accusation  against  them, 
as  breakers  of  the  laws,  he  delivered 
them  to  be  stoned ;  but  as  for  those  that 
seemed  the  most  equitable  of  the  citizens, 
and  those  that  were  the  most  uneasy  at  the 
breach  of  the  laws,  they  disliked  what 
was  done.  They  also  sent  to  the  king 
[Agrippa],  desiring  him  to  send  to  Ana- 
nus  that  he  should  act  so  no  more,  for 
that  what  he  had  already  done  could  not 
be  justified,  &c. 

About  A.  D.  850.  Johan.  Malela  Chron. 
lib.  x. — From  that  time  began  the  des- 
truction of  the  Jews,  as  Josephus,  the 
philosopher  of  the  Hebrews,  hath  writ- 
ten ;  who  also  said  this,  that  from  the 
time  the  Jews  crucified  Christ,  who  was 
a  good  and  a  righteous  man,  (that  is,  if 
it  be  fit  to  call  such  an  one  a  man,  and 
not  a  God,)  the  land  of  Judea  was  never 
free  from  trouble.  These  things  the 
same  Josephus  the  Jew  has  related  in 
his  writings. 

About  A.  D.  860.  Photius  Cod.  lib. 
xlviii. — I  have  read  the  treatise  of  Jose- 
phus about  the  universe,  whose  title  I  have 
elsewhere  read  to  be,  Of  the  Substance 
of  the  Universe.  It  is  contained  in  two 
very  small  treatises.  He  treats  of  the 
origin  of  the  world  in  a  brief  manner. 
However,  he  speaks  of  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  who  is  our  true  God,  in  a  way 
very  like  to  what  we  use,  declaring  that 
the  same  name  of  Christ  belongs  to  him 
and  writes  of  his  ineffable  generation  of 
the  Father  after  such  a  manner  as  cannot 
be  blamed ;  which  thing  may  perhaps 
raise  a  doubt  in  some,  whether  Josephus 
was  the  author  of  the  work,  though  the 
phraseology  does  not  at  all  differ  from 
this  man's  other  works.  However,  I  have 
found  in  some  papers^,  that  this  discourse 
was  not  written  by  Josephus,  but  by  one 
Caius,  a  presbyter. 

Cod.  ccxxxvii.]  Herod,  the  tetrarch  of 
Galilee  and  of  Perea,  the  son  of  Herod 
the  Great,  fell  in  love,  as  Josephus  says, 
with  the  wife  of  his  brother  Philip,  whose 
name  was  Herodias,  who  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  Herod  the  Great,  by  his  sod 
Aristobulus,  whom  he  had  slain.  Agrippa 
was  also  her  brother.     How  Herod  tool! 


DISSERTATION  I. 


935 


ft  >r  away  from  her  husband  and  married 
her.  This  is  he  that  slew  John  the 
Baptist,  that  great  man,  the  forerunner 
[of  Christ],  being  afraid  (as  Josephus 
says)  lest  he  should  raise  a  sedition 
among  the  people  j  for  they  all  followed 
the  directions  of  John,  on  account  of  the 
excellency  of  his  virtue.  In  his  time  was 
the  passion  of  our  Saviour. 

Cod.  xxiii.]  I  have  read  the  Chronicle 
of  Justus  of  Tiberias.  He  omits  the 
greatest  part  of  what  was  most  necessary 
to  be  related  ;  but  as  infected  with  Jewish 
prejudices,  being  also  himself  a  Jew  by 
birth,  he  makes  no  mention  at  all  of  the 
advent,  or  of  the  acts  done,  or  of  the 
miracles  wrought  by  Christ. 

The  time  uncertain.  Macarius  in  Actis 
sanctorum,  torn.  v.  p.  149,  ap.  Fabric. 
Joseph,  p.  61. — Josephus,  a  priest  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  one  that  wrote  with  truth  the 
history  of  the  Jewish  affairs,  bears  witness 
that  Christ,  the  true  God,  was  incarnate 
and  crucified,  and  the  third  day  rose 
agaiu  \  whose  writings  are  reposited  in 
the  public  library.  Thus  he  says  : — Now 
there  was  about  this  time  Jesus,  a  wise 
man,  if  it  be  lawful  to  call  him  a  man, 
for  he  was  a  doer  of  wonderful  works,  a 
teacher  of  such  men  as  received  the  truth 
with  pleasure  \  he  drew  over  to  him  both 
many  of  the  Jews,  and  many  of  the 
Gentiles  also  :  this  was  the  Christ.  And 
when  Pilate,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
principal  men  among  us,  had  condemned 
him  to  the  cross,  those  that  loved  him 
at  the  first  did  not  forsake  him,  for  he 
appeared  to  them  alive  again  the  third  day, 
as  the  divine  prophets  had  foretold  these, 
and  ten  thousand  other  wonderful  things 
concerning  him.  And  still  the  tribe  of 
Christians,  so  named  from  him,  are  not 
extinct  at  this  day.  Since,  therefore, 
the  writer  of  the  Hebrews  had  engraven 
this  testimony  concerning  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  in  his  own  books,  what  defence 
can  there  remain  for  the  unbelievers  ? 

About  A.  D.  980.  tiuidas  in  voce 
Jesous. — We  have  found  Josephus,  who 
hath  written  about  the  taking  of  Jerusa- 
lem, (of  whom  Eusebius  Pamphili  makes 
frequent  mention  in  his  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory,) saying  openly  in  his  memoirs  of 
the  captivity,  that  Jesus  officiated  in  the 
temple  with  the  priests.  This  we  have 
found  Josephus  saying,  a  man  of  ancient 
times,  and  not  very  long  after  the  apos- 
tles, &c. 

About  A.  D,  1060.      Cedrenus   Com- 


pend.  Histor.  p.  196. — Josephus  does  in- 
deed write  concerning  John  the  Baptist 
as  follows  : — Some  of  the  Jews  thought 
that  the  destruction  of  Herod's  army 
came  from  God,  and  that  he  was  punished 
very  justly  fur  what  punishment  he  had 
inflicted  on  John,  that  was  called  the 
Baptist;  for  Herod  slew  him,  who  was  a 
good  man,  and  commanded  the  Jews  to 
exercise  virtue,  both  by  righteousness 
toward  one  another,  and  piety  toward 
God,  and  so  to  come  to  baptism.  But  as 
concerning  Christ,  the  same  Josephus 
says,  that  about  that  time  there  was 
J«sus,  a  wise  man,  if  it  be  lawful  to  call 
him  a  man,  for  he  was  a  doer  of  wonder- 
ful works,  and  a  teacher  of  such  men 
as  receive  the  truth  with  pleasure,  for 
that  Christ  drew  over  many  even  from 
the  Gentiles;  whom  when  Pilate  had 
crucified,  those  who  at  first  had  loved  him 
did  not  leave  off  to  preach  concerning 
him,  for  he  appeared  to  them  the  third 
day  alive  again,  as  the  divine  prophets 
had  testified  and  spoken  these  and  other 
wonderful  things  concerning  him. 

About  A.  D.  1080.  Theophylact  in 
Joan.  lib.  xiii. — The  city  of  the  Jews  was 
taken,  and  the  wrath  of  God  was  kindled 
against  them  ;  as  also  Josephus  witnesses, 
that  this  came  upon  them  on  account  of 
the  death  of  Jesus. 

About  A.  D.  1120.  Zonarus  Annal. 
torn.  i.  p.  267. — Josephus,  in  the  eigh- 
teenth book  of  Antiquities,  writes  thus 
concerning  our  Lord  and  God  Jesus 
Christ : — Now  there  was  about  this  time 
Jesus,  a  wise  man,  if  it  be  lawful  to  call 
him  a  man,  for  he  was  a  doer  of  wonder- 
ful works,  a  teacher  of  such  men  as  re- 
ceive the  truth  with  pleasure.  He  drew 
over  to  him  many  of  the  Jews,  and  many 
of  the  Gentiles  :  he  was  the  Christ.  And 
when  Pilate,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
principal  men  among  us,  had  condemned 
him  to  the  cross,  those  that  had  loved  him 
at  first  did  not  forsake  him,  for  he  ap- 
peared to  them  the  third  day  alive  again, 
as  the  divine  prophets  had  said  these,  and 
ten  thousand  other  wonderful  things  con- 
cerning him  :  and  the  tribe  of  Christians, 
so  named  from  him,  are  not  extinct  at 
this  day. 

About  A.  D.  1120.  Glycas  Annal. 
p.  23-t. — Then  did  Philo,  that  wise  man, 
and  Josephus,  flourish.  This  last  was 
styled,  The  lover  of  truth,  because  he  com- 
mended John,  who  baptized  our  Lord  ; 
and  because  he  bore  witness  that  Christ,  ir« 


936 


DISSERTATION  I. 


like  manner,  was  a  wise  man,  and  the 
doer  of  great  miracles;  and  that  when  he 
was  crucified  he  appeared  the  third  day. 

About  A.  D.  1 1 7  0 .  Got f rid  as  Viterbiens  is 
Chron.  p.  366,  e  Vers.  Rufini. — Josephus 
relates  that  a  very  great  war  arose  between 
Aretas,  king  of  the  Arabians,  and  Herod, 
on  account  of  the  sin  which  Herod  had 
jommitted  against  John.  Moreover,  the 
same  Josephus  writes  thus  concerning 
Christ : — There  was  at  this  time  Jesus,  a 
wise  man,  if  at  least  it  be  lawful  to  call 
him  a  man,  for  he  was  a  doer  of  wonder- 
ful works,  a  teacher  of  such  men  as  will- 
ingly hear  truth.  He  also  drew  over  to 
him  many  of  the  Jews,  and  many  of  the 
Gentiles  :  he  was  Christ.  And  when  Pi- 
late, at  the  accusation  of  the  principal  men 
of  our  nation,  haddecreed  that  he  should 
be  crucified,  those  that  had  loved  him  from 
the  beginning  did  not  forsake  him,  for  he 
appeared  to  them  the  third  day  alive  again, 
according  to  what  the  divinely  inspired 
prophets  had  foretold,  that  these  and  in- 
numerable other  miracles  should  come  to 
pass  about  him.  Moreover,  both  the 
name  and  sect  of  Christians,  who  were 
named  from  him,  continue  in  being  unto 
this  day. 

About  A.  D.  1360.  Niccphoms  Cattis- 
tus  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  i.  p.  90,  91. — Now  this 
[concerning  Herod  the  tetrarch]  is  attested 
to,  not  only  by  the  book  of  the  holy  Gos- 
pels, but  by  Josephus,  that  lover  of  truth; 
who  also  makes  mention  of  Herodias,  his 
brother's  wife,  whom  Herod  had  taken 
away  from  him,  while  he  was  alive,  and 
married  her,  having  divorced  his  former 
lawful  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Are- 
tas, king  of  the  Petrean  Arabians.  This 
Herodias  he  had  married,  and  lived  with 
her  :  on  which  account  also,  when  he  had 
slain  John,  he  made  war  with  Aretas, 
because  his  daughter  had  been  dishonour- 
ably used  ;  in  which  war  he  relates  that 
all  Herod's  army  was  destroyed,  and  that 
he  suffered  this  on  account  of  the  most 
unjust  slaughter  of  John.  He  also  adds 
that  John  was  a  most  righteous  man. 
Moreover,  he  makes  mention  of  his  bap- 
tism, agreeing  in  all  points  thereto  relat- 
ing with  the  Gospel.  He  also  informs  us 
tnat  Herod  lost  his  kingdom  on  account 
of  Herodias,  with  whom  also  he  was  con- 
demned to  be  banished  to  Vienna,  which 
was  their  place  of  exile,  and  a  city  bor- 
dering upon  Gaul,  and  lying  near  the 
utmost  bounds  of  the  west. 

Abo^t   A.    D.    1450.        Hardmannus 


Schedelius  Chron.  p.  1 10. — Josephus  tb« 
Jew,  who  was  called  Flavins,  a  priest,  and 
the  son  of  Matthias,  a  priest  of  that  na- 
tion, a  most  celebrated  historian,  and  very 
skilful  in  many  things :  he  was  certainly 
a  good  man,  and  of  an  excellent  character, 
who  had  the  highest  opinion  of  Christ. 

About  A.  D.  1480.  Platina  de  Vitis 
Pontifieum  in  Christo. — I  shall  avoid 
mentioning  what  Christ  did  until  the  30th 
year  of  his  age,  when  he  was  baptized  by 
John,  the  son  of  Zacharias,  because  not 
only  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  are  full  of 
those  acts  of  his,  which  he  did  in  the 
most  excellent  and  most  holy  manner,  but 
the  books  of  such  as  were  quite  remote 
from  his  way  of  living  and  acting  and 
ordaining  are  also  full  of  the  same.  Fla- 
vius  Josephus  himself,  who  wrote  twenty 
books  of  Antiquities  in  the  Greek  tongue, 
when  he  had  proceeded  as  far  as  the  go- 
vernment of  the  Emperor  Tiberius,  says, 
there  was  in  those  days  Jesus,  a  certain 
wise  man,  if  at  least  it  be  lawful  to  call 
him  a  man,  for  he  was  a  doer  of  wonder- 
ful works,  and  a  teacher  of  men,  of  such 
especially  as  willingly  hear  the  truth.  On 
this  account  he  drew  over  to  him  many 
both  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  :  he  was 
Christ.  But  when  Pilate,  instigated  by 
the  principal  men  of  our  nation,  had 
decreed  that  he  should  be  crucified,  yet 
did  not  those  that  loved  him  from  the  be- 
ginning forsake  him  :  and  besides,  he  ap- 
peared to  them  the  third  day  after  his 
death  alive,  as  the  divinely  inspired  pro- 
phets had  foretold,  that  these  aud  innu- 
merable other  miracles  should  come  to 
pass  about  him.  And  the  famous  name 
of  Christians,  taken  from  him,  as  well  as 
their  sect,  do  still  continue  in  being. 

The  same  Josephus  also  affirms  that 
John  the  Baptist,  a  true  prophet,  and  on 
that  account  one  that  was  had  in  esteem 
by  all  men,  was  slain  by  Herod,  the  son 
of  Herod  the  Great,  a  little  before  the 
death  of  Christ,  in  the  castle  Macherus; 
not  because  he  was  afraid  for  himself  and 
his  kingdom,  as  the  same  author  says,  but 
because  he  had  incestuously  married  He- 
rodias, the  sister  of  Agrippa,  and  the  wife 
of  that  excellent  person  his  brother  Philip. 

About  A.  D.  1480.  Trithemius  Abbas' 
de  Scripior.  Eccles. — Josephus  the  Jew, 
although  he  continued  to  be  a  Jew,  did 
frequently  commend  the  Christians;  and, 
in  the  eighteenth  book  of  Antiquities, 
wrote  down  an  eminent  testimony  con- 
cerning our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


DISSERTATION  I. 


937 


OBSERVATIONS  FROM  THE  FOREGOING  EVIDENCE  AND  CITATIONS. 


I.  The  style  of  all  these  original  testi- 
monies belonging  to  Josephus  is  exactly 
the  style  of  the  same  Josephus,  and  espe- 
cially the  style  about  those  parts  of  his 
Antiquities  wherein  we  find  these  testi- 
monies. This  is  denied  by  nobody  as  to 
the  other,  concerning  John  the  Baptist 
and  James  the  Just,  and  is  now  become 
equally  undeniable  as  to  that  concerning 
Christ. 

II.  These  testimonies,  therefore,  being 
confessedly  and  undeniably  written  by  Jo- 
sephus himself,  it  is  next  to  impossible 
that  he  should  wholly  omit  some  testi- 
mony concerning  Jesus  Christ;  nay,  while 
his  testimonies  of  John  the  Baptist  and 
of  James  the  Just  are  so  honourable,  and 
give  them  so  great  characters,  it  is  also 
impossible  that  his  testimony  concerning 
Christ  should  be  other  than  very  honour- 
able, or  such  as  afforded  him  a  still  greater 
character  also.  Could  the  very  same 
author,  who  gave  such  a  full  aud  advan- 
tageous character  of  John  the  Baptist,  the 
forerunner  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  all  whose 
disciples  were  by  him  directed  to  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  as  to  the  true  Messias,  and  all 
of  whom  became  afterward  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  say  nothing  honour- 
able of  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  himself; 
and  this  in  a  history  of  those  very  times 
in  which  he  was  born  and  lived  and  died, 
and  that  while  the  writer  lived  but  a  little 
after  him  in  the  same  country  in  which 
he  was  born  and  lived  and  died  ?  This  is 
almost  incredible.  And  further,  could 
the  very  same  author,  who  gave  such  an 
advantageous  character  of  James  the  Just, 
and  this  under  the  very  appellation  of 
James  the  brother  of  Jesus,  who  was  called 
Christ,  which  James  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal disciples  or  apostles  of  this  Jesus 
Christ,  and  had  been  many  years  the  only 
Christian  bishop  of  the  believing  Jews  of 
Judea  and  Jerusalem,  in  the  very  days, 
aud  in  the  very  country  of  this  writer; 
eould  he,  I  say,  wholly  omit  any,  nay,  a 
very  honourable  account  of  Jesus  Christ 
himself,  whose  disciple  and  bishop  this 
James  most  certainly  was  ?  This  is  also 
almost  incredible.  Hear  what  Ittigius, 
one  of  the  wisest  and  learnedest  of  all 
those  who  have  lately  inclined  to  give  up 
the  testimony  concerning  Christ,  as  it 
stands  in  our  copies,  for  spurious,  says 
upon  this  occasion  : — "If  any  one  object 
to  me,  that  Josephus  hath   not  omitted 


John  the  Baptist,  the  forerunner  of  Christ, 
nor  James  the  disciple  of  Christ,  and  that 
therefore  he  could  not  have  done  the  part 
of  a  good  historian,  if  he  had  been  en- 
tirely silent  concerning  Christ,  I  shall 
freely  grant  that  Josephus  was  not  en- 
tirely silent  concerning  Christ;  nay,  1 
shall  further  grant,  that,  when  Josephus 
was  speaking  of  Christ,  he  did  not  abstain 
from  his  commendation;  for  we  are  not 
to  determine  from  that  inveterate  hatred 
which  the  modern  Jews  bear  to  Christ, 
what  was  the  behaviour  of  those  Jews, 
upon  whom  the  miracles  that  were  daily 
wrought  by  the  apostles  in  the  name  of 
Christ  imprinted  a  sacred  horror." 

III.  The  famous  clause  in  this  testi- 
mony of  Josephus  concerning  Christ,  This 
was  Christ,  or  the  Christ,  did  not  mean 
that  this  Jesus  was  the  Christ  of  God,  or 
the  true  Messias  of  the  Jews,  but  that 
this  Jesus  was  distinguished  from  all 
others  of  that  name,  of  which  there  were 
not  a  few,  as  mentioned  by  Josephus 
himself,  by  the  addition  of  the  other 
name  of  Christ ;  or  that  this  person  was 
no  other  than  he  whom  all  the  world  knew 
by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  his 
followers  by  the  name  of  Christians.  This 
I  esteem  to  be  a  clear  case,  and  that  from 
the  arguments  following. 

(1.)  The  Greeks  and  Romans,  for  whose 
use  Josephus  wrote  his  Antiquities,  could 
no  otherwise  understand  these  words. 
The  Jews  indeed,  and  afterward  the 
Christians,  who  knew  that  a  great  Messias, 
a  person  that  was  to  be  Christ,  the  Anoint- 
ed of  God,  that  was  to  perform  the  office 
of  a  King,  a  Priest,  and  a  Prophet,  to 
God's  people,  might  readily  so  understand 
this  expression;  but  Josephus,  as  I  have 
already  noted,  wrote  here,  not  to  Jews  or 
Christians,  but  to  Greeks  and  Romans, 
who  knew  nothing  of  this,  but  knew  very 
well  that  an  eminent  person  lived  in 
Judea,  whose  name  was  Jesus  Chrst,  or 
Jesus  Christ,  had  founded  a  new  and  nu- 
merous sect,  which  took  the  latter  of 
those  names,  and  were  everywhere  from 
him  called  Chrestians,  or  Christians ;  in 
which  sense  alone  could  they  understand 
these  words  of  Josephus,  and  in  which 
sense  I  believe  he  desired  they  should 
understand  them  :  nor  does  Josephus  evei 
use  the  Hebrew  term  Messiah  in  any  of 
his  writings,  nor  the  Greek  term  Chri»( 
in  any  such  acceptation  elsewhere 


y38 


DISSERTATION 


(2.)  Josephus  himself  as  good  as  ex- 
plains his  own  meaning,  and  that  by  the 
last  clause  of  this  very  passage,  where  he 
says  the  Christians  were  named  from  this 
Christ,  without  a  syllable,  as  though  he 
really  meant  he  was  the  true  Messiah,  or 
Christ  of  God.  He  further  seems  to  me 
to  explain  this  his  meaning  in  that  other 
place,  where  alone  he  elsewhere  mentions 
this  name  of  Christ,  that  is,  wheu  upon 
occasion  of  the  mention  of  James,  when 
he  was  condemned  by  Ananus,  he  calls 
him  the  brother  of  Jesus,  not  that  was 
the  true  Messiah,  or  the  true  Christ,  but 
only  that  was  called  Christ 

(3.)  It  was  quite  beside  the  purpose  of 
Josephus  to  declare  himself  here  to  be 
a  Christian,  or  a  believer  in  Jesus  as  the 
true  Messiah.  Had  he  intended  so  to 
do,  he  would  surely  have  explained  the 
meaning  of  the  word  Christ  to  his  Greek 
and  Roman  readers  :  he  would  surely  have 
been  a  great  deal  fuller  and  larger  in  his 
accounts  of  Christ,  and  of  the  Christian 
religion  :  nor  would  such  a  declaration  at 
that  time  have  recommended  him,  or  his 
nation,  or  his  writings,  to  either  the 
Greeks  or  the  Romans  ;  of  his  reputation 
with  both  which  people  he  is  known  to 
have  been,  in  the  writiug  of  these  Antiqui- 
ties, very  greatly  solicitous. 

(4.)  Josephus's  usual  way  of  writing 
is  historical  and  declarative  of  facts,  and 
of  the  opinions  of  others,  and  but  rarely 
such  as  directly  informs  us  of  his  own 
opinion,  unless  we  prudently  gather  it 
from  what  he  says  historically,  or  as  the 
opinions  of  others.  This  is  very  observ- 
able in  the  writings  of  Josephus,  and  in 
particular  as  to  what  he  says  of  Jdliu  the 
Baptist  and  of  James  the  Just;  so  that 
this  interpretation  is  most  probable,  as 
most  agreeable  to  Josephus's  way  of  writ- 
ing in  parallel  cases. 

(5.)  This  seems  to  be  the  universal 
sense  of  all  the  ancients  without  exception, 
who  cite  this  testimony  from  him  ;  and 
though  they  almost  everywhere  own  this 
to  be  the  true  reading,  yet  do  they  every- 
where suppose  Josephus  to  be  still  ah 
unbelieving  Jew,  and  not  a  believing 
Christian  :  nay,  Jerom  appears  so  well 
assured  of  this  interpretation,  and  that 
uosephus  did  not  mean  to  declare  any 
more  by  these  words  than  a  common 
opinion,  that,  according  to  his  usual  way 
of  interpreting  authors,  not  to  the  words 
but  to  the  sense  (of  which  we  have,  I 
think,  two  more  instances  in  his  accounts 


out  of  Josephus,  now  before  us,)  he 
renders  this  clause,  credebatur  esse  Chris- 
tus,  i.  e.  he  was  believed  to  be  Christ. 
Nor  is  the  parallel  expression  of  Pilate  to 
be  otherwise  understood,  when  he  made 
that  inscription  upon  the  cross,  This  is 
Jesus  the  King  of  the  Jews;*  which  is 
well  explained  by  himself  elsewhere,  and 
corresponds  to  the  import  of  the  present 
clause,  What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus  who  is 
called  Christ  ?\  And  we  may  full  a  a 
well  prove  from  Pilate's  inscription  upon 
the  cross,  that  he  hereby  declared  him 
self  a  believer  in  Christ,  for  the  real  king 
of  the  Jews,  as  we  can  from  these  words 
of  Josephus,  that  he  hereby  declared 
hi  in  self  to  be  a  real  believer  in  him,  as 
the  true  Messiah 

IV.   Though  Josephus  did  not  design 
here   to   delare    himself  openly   to  be    a 
Christian,  yet  could  he  not  possibly  be- 
lieve all  that  he  here  asserts  concerning 
Jesus    Christ,  unless    he  were   so    far    a 
Christian  as  the  Jewish  Nazarenes  or  Ebi- 
onites  then  were,  who  believed  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  to  be  the  true  Messiah,  without 
believing  he  was  more  than  a  man;  who 
also  believed  the  necessity  of  the  obser- 
vation of  the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses  in 
oider  to  salvation  for  all   mankind,  which 
were  the  two  main  articles  of  those  Jew- 
ish Christians'  faith,  though  in  opposition 
to  all  the  thirteen  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  first  century,  and  in  opposition  to 
the   whole  catholic  church   of   Christ  in 
the  following  centuries  also.   Accordingly, 
I  have  elsewhere  proved,  that  Josephus 
was  no  other,  in  his  own  mind  and  con- 
science,   than    a    Nazarene    or    Ebionite 
Jewish  Christian  :  and  have  observed  that 
this  entire  testimony,  and  all  that  Jose- 
phus says  of  John   the   Baptist,  and  of 
James,  as  well    as    his    absolute    silence 
about  all  the  rest  of  the  apostles  and  their 
companions,  ^exactly  agrees  to  him  under 
that  character,  and  no  other.     And,   in- 
deed, to  me  it  is  most  astonishiug,  that 
all   our,   learned   men,  who   have   of  late 
considered  these  testimonies  of  Josephus, 
except    the    converted    Jew    Galatinus, 
should  miss  such  an^-obvious  and  natural 
observation.     We  all  know  this  from  St. 
James's^  own    words,  that  so  many  ten 
thousands  of  Jews  as  believed  in    Christ, 
in   the  first  century,  were  all  zealous?  of 
the  ceremonial  lawy  or  were  no  other  thao 


*  Matt,  xxvii.  31.  f  Matt,  xxvii.  17,  22. 

+  Acts  xxi.  2(T. 


DISSERTATION  I. 


939 


Nazarene  or  Ebionite  Christians;  and,  by 
consequence,  if  there  were  any  reason  to 
think  our  Josephus  to  be,  in  any  sense,  a 
believer  or  a  Christian,  as  from  all  these 
testimonies  there  were  very  great  ones, 
all  those  and  many  other  reasons  could 
not  but  conspire  to  assure  us  he  was  no 
other  than  a  Nazarene  or  Ebionite  Chris- 
tian ;  and  this  I  take  to  be  the  plain  and 
evident  key  of  this  whole  matter. 

V.  Since,  therefore,  Josephus  appears 
to  have  been  in  his  own  heart  and  con- 
science no  other  than  a  Nazarene  or  Ebi- 
onite Christian,  and  by  consequence  with 
them  rejected  all  our  Greek  Gospels  and 
Greek  books  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
received  only  the  Hebrew  Gospel  of  the 
Nazarenes  or  Ebionites,  styled  by  them 
The  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews,  or 
according  to  the  twelve  apostles,  or  even 
according  to  Matthew,  we  ought  always 
to  have  that  Nazarene  or  Ebionite  Gospel, 
with  the  other  Nazarene  or  Ebionite  frag- 
ments in  view,  when  we  consider  any 
passages  of  Josephus  relating  to  Christ 
or  to  Christianity.  Thus,  since  that  Gos- 
pel omitted  all  that  is  in  the  beginning  of 
our  St.  Matthew's  and  St.  Luke's  Gospel, 
and  began  with  the  ministry  of  John 
the  Baptist :  in  which  first  parts  of  the 
gospel  history  are  the  accounts  of  the 
slaughter  of  the  infants,  and  of  the  enrol- 
ment or  taxation  under  Augustus  Caesar 
and  Herod,  it  is  no  great  wonder  that 
Josephus  has  not  taken  care  particularly 
and  clearly  to  preserve  those  histories  to 
us.  Thus,  when  we  find  that  Josephus 
calls  James  the  brother  of  Christ,  by  the 
the  name  of  James  the  Just,  and  describes 
him  as  a  most  just  or  righteous  man,  in 
an  especial  manner,  we  are  to  remember 
that  such  is  his  name  and  character  in 
the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
the  other  Ebionite  remains  of  Hege- 
sippus,  but  nowhere  else,  that  I  remem- 
ber, in  the  earliest  antiquity  ;  nor  are  we 
to  suppose  they  herein  referred  to  any 
other  than  that  righteousness  which  was 
by  the  Jewish  law,  wherein  St.  Paul,* 
before  he  embraced  Christianity,  pro- 
fesseth  himself  to  have  been  blameless. 
Thus  when  Josephus,  with  other  Jews, 
ascribed  the  miseries  of  that  nation  under 
Vespasian  and  Titus,  with  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  to  the  barbarous  murder 
of  James  the  Just,  we  must  remember, 
what  we  learu  from  the  Ebionite  fragments 

*  Philip,  iii.  4-6. 


of  Hegesippus,  that  these  Ebionites  in- 
terpreted a  prophecy  of  Isaiah  as  fore- 
telling this  very  murder,  and  those  conse- 
quent miseries :  Let  us  take  away  the 
just  one,  for  he  is  unprofitable  to  us; 
therefore  shall  they  eat  the  fruits  of  their 
own  ways.*  Thus  when  Josephus  says, 
as  we  have  seen,  that  the  most  equitable 
citizens  of  Jerusalem,  and  tifose  that  were 
most  zealous  of  the  law,  were  very  un- 
easy at  the  condemnation  of  this  James 
and  some  of  his  friends  or  fellow  Chris- 
tians, by  the  high  priest  and  sanhedrim, 
about  A.  D.  62,  and  declares,  that  he  him- 
self was  one  of  those  Jews  who  thought 
the  terrible  miseries  of  that  nation  effects 
of  the  vengeance  of  God  for  their  murder 
of  this  James,  about  A.  D.  68,  we  may 
easily  see  those  opinions  could  only  be 
the  opinions  of  converted  Jews  or  Ebi- 
onites. The  high  priest  and  sanhedrim, 
who  always  persecuted  the  Christians,  and 
now  condemned  these  Christians,  and  the 
body  of  those  unbelieving  Jews,  who 
are  supposed  to  suffer  for  murdering  this 
James,  the  head  of  the  Nazarene  or 
Ebionite  Christians  in  Judea,  could  not, 
to  be  sure,  be  of  that  opinion ;  nor  could 
Josephus  himself  be  of  the  same  opinion, 
as  he  declares  he  was,  without  the  strong- 
est inclinations  to  the  Christian  religion, 
or  without  being  secretly  a  Christian  Jew, 
i.  e.  a  Nazarene  or  Ebionite  ;  which  thing 
is,  by  the  way,  a  very  great  additional 
argument  that  such  he  was,  and  no  other. 
Thus,  lastly,  when  Josephus  is  cited  in 
Suidas  as  affirming  that  Jesus  officiated 
with  the  priests  in  the  temple,  this  ac- 
count is  by  no  means  disagreeable  to  the 
pretensions  of  the  Ebionites.  Hegesip- 
pus affirms  the  very  same  of  James  the 
Just  also. 

VI.  In  the  first  citation  of  the  famous 
testimony  concerning  our  Saviour  from 
Tacitus,  almost  all  that  was  true  of  the 
Jews  is  directly  taken  by  him  out  of  Jose- 
phus, as  will  be  demonstrated  under  the 
third  Dissertation  hereafter. 

VII.  The  second  author  I  have  alleged 
tor  it  is  Justin  Martyr,  one  so  nearly 
coeval  with  Josephus,  that  he  might  be 
born  about  the  time  when  he  wrote  his 
Antiquities,  appeals  to  the  same  Antiqui- 
ties by  that  very  name  :  and  though  he 
does  not  here  directly  quote  them,  yet 
does  he  seem  to  me  to  allude  to  this  very 
testimony  in  them  concerning  our  Saviour, 

*  Isa.  iii.  10. 


910 


DISSERTATION 


when  he  affirms  in  this  place  to  Trypho 
the  Jew,  That  his  nation  originally  knew 
that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead,  and 
ascended  into  heaven,  as  the  prophecies  did 
foretell  was  to  happen.  Since  there  nei- 
ther now  is,  nor  probably  in  the  days  of 
Justin  was  any  other  Jewish  testimony 
extant,  which  is  so  agreeable  to  what  Jus- 
tin here  affirms  of  those  Jews,  as  is  this 
of  Josephus  the  Jew  before  us ;  nor  indeed 
does  he  seem  to  me  to  have  had  any 
thing  else  particularly  in  his  view  here, 
but  this  very  testimony,  where  Josephus 
says  that  Jesus  appeared  to  his  followers 
alive  the  third  day  after  his  crucifixion, 
as  the  divine  prophets  had  foretold  these, 
and  ten  thousand  other  wonderful  things 
concerning  him. 

VIII.  The  third  author  I  have  quoted 
for  Josephus's  testimonies  of  John  the 
Baptist,  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  of 
James  the  Just,  is  Origen,  who  is  indeed 
allowed  on  all  hands  to  have  quoted  him 
for  the  excellent  characters  of  John  the 
Baptist,  and  of  James  the  Just,  but  whose 
supposed  entire  silence  about  this  testi- 
mony concerning  Christ  is  usually  alleged 
as  the  principal  argument  against  its  being 
genuine,  and  particularly  as  to  the  clause, 
This  was  the  Christ,  and  that,  as  we 
have  seen,  because  he  twice  assures  us, 
that,  in  his  opinion,  Josephus  did  not  him- 
self acknowledge  Jesus  for  Christ.  Now 
as  to  this  latter  clause,  I  have  already 
showed,  that  Josephus  did  not  here,  in 
writing  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  mean 
any  such  thing  by  those  words  as  Jews 
and  Christians  naturally  understand  by 
them  :  I  have  also  observed,  that  all  the 
ancients  allow  still,  with  Origen,  that 
Josephus  did  not,  in  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian sense,  acknowledge  Jesus  for  t'he 
true  Messiah,  or  the  true  Christ  of  God, 
notwithstanding  their  express  quotation 
of  that  clause  in  Josephus  as  genuine  :  so 
that  unless  we  suppose  Origen  to  have 
had  a  different  notion  of  these  words  from 
all  the  other  ancients,  we  cannot  conclude 
from  this  assertion  of  Origen's,  that  he 
had  not  those  words  in  his  copy,  not  to 
say  that  it  is,  after  all,  much  more  likely 
that  his  copy  a  little  differed  from  the 
other  copies  in  this  clause,  or  indeed, 
omitted  it  entirely,  than  that  he,  on  its 
account,  must  be  supposed  not  to  have 
had  the  rest  of  this  testimony  therein, 
though  indeed  I  see  no  necessity  of  mak- 
ing any  such  supposal  at  all.  However, 
it  seems  to  me,  that  Origen  affords  us  four 


several  indications  that  the  main  parts  a* 
least  of  this  testimony  itself  were  in  his 
copy. 

(1.)  When  Origen  introduces  Jose- 
phus's testimony  concerning  James  the 
Just,  that  he  thought  the  miseries  of  th* 
Jews  were  an  instance  of  the  divine  ven 
geance  on  that  nation  for  putting  Jamei 
to  death  instead  of  Jesus,  he  uses  an  ex- 
pression noway  necessary  to  his  purpose, 
nor  occasioned  by  any  words  of  Josephus 
there,  that  they  had  slain  that  Chrisi 
which  was  foretold  in  the  prophecies. 
Whence  could  this  expression  come  here 
into  Origen's  mind,  when  he  was  quoting 
a  testimony  of  Josephus's  concerning  the 
brother  of  Christ,  but  from  his  remem- 
brance of  a  clause  in  the  testimony  of  the 
same  Josephus  concerning  Christ  himself, 
that  the  prophets  had  foretold  his  death 
and  resurrection,  and  ten  thousand  otlw* 
wonderful  tilings  concerning  him? 

(42.)  How  came  Origen  to  be  so  surprised 
at  Josephus's  ascribing  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  to  the  Jews  murdering 
James  the  Just,  and  not  to  their  murder- 
ing of  Jesus,  as  we  have  seen  he  was,  if 
lie  had  not  known  that  Josephus  had 
spoken  of  Jesus  and  his  death  before,  and 
that  he  had  a  very  good  opinion  of  Jesus, 
which  yet  he  could  learn  noway  so  au- 
thentically as  from  this  testimony  ?  Nor 
do  the  words  he  here  uses,  that  Josephus 
was  not  remote  from  the  truth,  perhaps 
allude  to  any  thing  else  but  to  this  very 
testimony  before  us. 

(3.)  How  came  the  same  Origen,  upon 
another  slight  occasion,  when  he  had  just 
set  down  that  testimony  of  Josephus  con- 
cerning James  the  Just,  the  brother  of 
Jesus  who  was  called  Christ,  to  say,  that 
it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  Jews 
thought  Jesus  to  be  a  man,  or  whether  they 
did,  not  suppose  him  to  be  a  being  of  a 
divim/r  kind?  This  looks  so  very  like  to 
the  fifth  and  sixth  clauses  of  this  testi- 
mony in  Josephus,  that  Jesus  was  a  wise 
man,  if  it  be  lawful  to  call  'him  a  man, 
that  it  is  highly  probable  Origen  thereby 
alluded  to  them  :  and  this  is  the  more  to 
be  depended  on,  because  all  the  unbeliev- 
ing Jews,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Nazarene 
Jews,  esteemed  Jesus  with  one  consent  as 
a  mere  man,  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary ; 
and  it  is  not,  I  think,  possible  to  produce 
any  one  Jew  but  Josephus,  who  in  a  sort 
of  compliance  with  the  Romans  and  the  ca- 
tholic Christians,  who  thought  him  a  God, 
w^uld  say  any  thing  like  his  being  a  Go>'L 


DISSERTATION  I. 


941 


(4.)  TIow  came  Origen  to  affirm  twice, 
so  expiessly,  that  Josephus  did  not  him- 
self own,  in  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
sense,  that  Jesus  was  Christ,  notwithstand- 
ing his  quotations  of  such  eminent  testi- 
monies out  of  him  for  John  the  Baptist 
his  forerunner,  and  for  James  the  Just  his 
brother,  and  one  of  his  principal  disciples  ? 
There  is  no  passage  in  all  Josephus  so 
likely  to  persuade  Origer  c/  ""his  as  is  the 
famous  testimony  before  uf»,  therein,  as  he 
and  all  the  ancients  understood  it,  he  was 
generally  called  Christ  indeed,  but  not 
any  otherwise  than  as  the  common  name 
whence  the  sect  of  Christians  was  derived, 
and  where  he  all  along  speaks  of  those 
Christians  as  a  sect  then  in  being,  whose 
author  was  a  wonderful  person,  and  his 
followers  great  lovers  of  him  and  of  the 
truth,  yet  as  such  a  sect  as  he  had  not 
joined  himself  to  ;  which  exposition,  as  it  is 
a  very  natural  one,  so  was  it,  I  doubt,  but 
too  true  of  our  Josephus  at  that  time  ', 
nor  can  I  devise  any  other  reason  but  this, 
and  the  parallel  language  of  Josephus 
elsewhere,  when  he  speaks  of  James  as 
the  brother,  not  of  Jesus  who  was  Christ ', 
but  of  Jesus  who  was  called  Christ,  that 
could  so  naturally  induce  Origen  and 
others  to  be  of  that  opiuion. 

IX.  There  are  two  remarkable  pas- 
sages in  Suidas  and  Theophylact,  already 
set  down,  as  citing  Josephus;  the  former 
that  Jesus  officiated  with  the  priests  in  the 
temple,  and  the  latter  that  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  and  miseries  of  the  Jews, 
were  owing  to  their  putting  Jesus  to  death, 
which  are  in  none  of  our  present  copies, 
nor  cited  thence  by  any  ancienter  authors  \ 
nor,  indeed,  do  they  seem  altogether  con- 
sistent with,  the  other  more  authentic 
testimonies :  however,  since  Suidas  cites 
his  passage  from  a  treatise  of  Joseph  us' s 
called  Memoirs  of  the  Jews*  Captivity,  a 
book  never  heard  of  elsewhere,  and  since 
both  citations  are  not  at  all  disagreeable 
to  Josephus's  character  as  a  Nazarene  or 
Ebionite,  I  dare  not  positively  conclude 
they  are  spurious,  but  must  leave  them 
in  suspense,  for  the  further  consideration 
of  the  learned. 

X.  As  to  that  great  critic  Photius,  in 
the  ninth  century,  who  is  supposed  not  to 
have  had  this  testimony  in  his  copy  of 
Josephus,  or  else  to  have  esteemed  it  spu- 
rious, because  in  his  extracts  out  of  Jose- 
phus's Antiquities  it  is  not  expressly  men- 
tioned j  this  is  a  strange  thing  indeed! 
that  a  section  which  had  been  cited  out,  of 


Josephus's  copies  all  along  Defore  tho 
days  of  Photius,  as  well  as  it  has  been  all 
along  cited  out  of  them  since  his  days, 
should  be  supposed  not  to  be  in  his  copy, 
because  he  does  not  directly  mention  it 
in  certain  short  and  imperfect  extracts, 
noway  particularly  relating  to  such  mat- 
ters. Those  who  lay  a  stress  on  this 
silence  of  Photius  seem  little  to  have 
attended  to  the  nature  and  brevity  of 
those  extracts.  They  contain  little  or 
nothing,  as  he  in  effect  professes  at  their 
entrance,  but  what  concerns  Antipater, 
Herod  the  Great,  and  his  brethren  and 
family,  with  their  exploits,  till  the  days 
of  Agrippa,  jun.,  and  Cumanus,  the 
governor  of  Judea,  fifteen  years  after  the 
death  of  our  Saviour,  without  one  word 
of  Pilate,  or  what  happened  under  his 
government,  which  yet  was  the  only  pro- 
per place  in  which  this  testimony  could 
come  to  be  mentioned.  However,  since 
Photius  seems,  therefore,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  suspect  the  treatise  ascribed  by  some 
to  Josephus  of  the  Universe,  because  it 
speaks  very  high  things  of  the  eternal 
generation  and  divinity  of  Christ,  this 
looks  very  like  his  knowledge  and  belief 
of  somewhat  really  in  the  same  Josephus, 
which  spake  in  a  lower  manner  of  him, 
which  could  be  hardly  any  other  passage 
than  this  testimony  before  us.  And  since, 
as  we  have  also  seen,  when  he  speaks  of 
the  Jewish  history  of  Justus  of  Tiberias, 
as  infected  with  the  prejudices  of  the 
Jews,  in  taking  no  manner  of  notice  of 
the  advent,  of  the  acts,  and  of  the  mira- 
cles of  Jesus  Christ,  while  yet  he  never 
speaks  so  of  Josephus  himself,  this  most 
naturally  implies  also,  that  there  was  not 
the  like  occasion  here  as  there,  but  that 
Josephus  had  not  wholly  omitted  that 
advent,  tho3e  acts,  or  miracles,  which 
yet  he  has  done  everywhere  else,  in  the 
books  seen  by  Photius,  as  well  as  Justus 
of  Tiberias,  but  in  this  famous  testimony 
before  us,  so  that  it  is  most  probable 
Photius  not  only  had  this  testimony  in  his 
copy,  but  believed  it  to  be  genuine  also. 

XL  As  to  the  silence  of  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  who  cites  the  Antiquities  of 
Josephus,  but  never  cites  any  of  the  testi- 
monies now  before  us 
thing  at  all,  since 
phus  but  once,  and  that  for  a  point  of 
chronology  only,  to  determine  how  many 
years  had  passed  from  the  days  of  Moses 
to  the  days  of  Josephus,  so  that  his 
silence    may  almost   as   well   be    alleged 


,  it  is   no  strange 
he  never  cites  Jose 


942 


DISSERTATION   II. 


against  a  hundred  other  remarkable  pas- 
seges  in  Josephus's  works  as  against  these 
before  us. 

XII.  Nor  does  the  like  silence  of 
Tertullian  imply  that  these  testimonies,  or 
any  of  them,  were  not  in  the  copies  of 
his  age.  Tertullian  never  once  hints  at 
any  treatises  of  Josephus's  but  those 
against  Apion,  and  that  in  general  only 
for  a  point  of  chronology :  nor  does  it 
auy  way  appear  that  Tertullian  ever  saw 
any  of  Josephus's  writings  besides,  and 
far  from  being  certain  that  he  saw  even 
those.  He  had  particular  occasion  in  his 
dispute  against  the  Jews  to  quote  Jose- 
phus,  above  any  other  writer,  to  prove  the 
completion  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old 


Testament  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  miseries  of  the  Jews  at  that 
time,  of  which  he  there  discourses,  yet 
does  he  never  once  quote  him  upon  that 
solemn  occasion  ;  so  that  it  seems  to  me, 
that  Tertullian  never  read  either  the 
Greek  Antiquities  of  Josephus,  or  his 
Greek  books  of  the  Jewish  wars ;  nor  is 
this  at  all  strange  in  Tertullian,  a  Latin 
writer,  that  lived  in  Africa,  by  none  of 
which  African  writers  is  there  any  ona 
clause,  that  I  know  of,  cited  out  of  any  of 
Josephus's  writings  :  nor  is  it  worth  my 
while,  in  such  numbers  of  positive  cita- 
tions of  these  clauses,  to  mention  the 
silence  of  other  later  writers,  as  being 
here  of  very  small  consequence. 


DISSERTATION    II. 


CONCEKNING  GOD'S  COMMAND   TO   ABRAHAM   TO  OFFER  UP  ISAAC  HIS 

SON  FOR  A   SACRIFICE. 


Since  this  command  of  God  to  Abra- 
ham* has  of  late  been  greatly  mistaken 
by  some,  who  venture  to  reason  about 
very  ancient  facts  from  very  modern  no- 
tions, and  this  without  a  due  regard  to 
either  the  customs,  or  opinions,  or  circum- 
stances of  the  times  whereto  those  facts 
belong,  or  indeed  to  the  true  reasons  of 
the  facts  themselves ;  since  the  mistakes 
about  those  customs,  opinions,  circum- 
stances, and  reasons  have  of  late  so  far 
prevailed,  that  the  very  same  action  of 
Abraham's,  which  was  so  celebrated  by 
St.  Paul,")"  St.  James,J  the  author  to  the 
Hebrews,§  Philo,||  and  Josephus,^[  in  the 
first  century,  and  by  innumerable  others 
since,  as  an  uncommon  instance  of  signal 
virtue,  of  heroic  faith  in  God,  and  piety 
toward  him  ;  nay,  is  in  the  sacred  his- 
tory** highly  commended  by  the  divine 
angel  of  the  covenant,  in  the  name  of  God 
himself,  and  promised  to  be  plentifully 
rewarded ;  since  this  command,  I  say,  is 
now  at  last  in  the  eighteenth  century  be- 
come a  stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of 
offence  among  us,  and  that  sometimes  to 
persons  of  otherwise  good  sense,  and  of  a 
religious  disposition  of  mind  also,  I  shall 

*  Gen.  xxii.  f  Rom.  iv.  16-25. 

%  James  ii.  21-32.  \  Heb.  xi.  17-19. 

8  PUil.  de  Gygant.  p.  294.  \  Jos.  Ant  b.  L  \  xiii. 
**  Gen.  xxii.  15-18. 


endeavour  to  set  this  matter  in  its  true, 
i.  «.,  in  its  ancient  and  original  light,  for 
the  satisfaction  of  the  inquisitive.  In 
order  whereto  we  are  to  consider, 

1.  That,  till  this  very  profane  age,  it 
has  been,  I  think,  universally  allowed  by 
all  sober  persons,  who  owned  themselves 
the  creatures  of  God,  that  the  Creator 
has  a  just  right  overall  his  rational  crea- 
tures, to  protract  their  lives  to  whai 
length  he  pleases;  to  cut  them  off  when 
and  by  what  instruments  he  pleases;  to 
afflict  them  with  what  sickness  he  pleases, 
and  to  remove  them  from  one  state  or 
place  in  this  his  great  palace  of  the  uni- 
verse to  another  as  he  pleases;  and  that 
all  those  rational  creatures  are  bound  in 
duty  and  interest  to  acquiesce  under  the 
divine  disposal,  and  to  resign  themselves 
up  to  the  good  providence  of  God  in  all 
such  his  dispensations  toward  them.  I 
do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  God  may, 
or  ever  does  act  in  these  cases,  after  a 
mere  arbitrary  manner,  or  without  suffi- 
cient reason,  believing,  according  to  the 
whole  tenor  of  natural  and  revealed  re- 
ligion, that  he  hateth  nothing  that  he  hath 
made;*  that  whatsoever  he  does,  now 
melancholy  soever  it  may  appear  at  first 
sight  to  us,  is  really  intended  for  the  good 


*  Wisd.  xi.  24. 


DISSERTATION    II. 


943 


jf  his  creatures,  and  at  the  upshot  of 
things  will  fully  appear  so  to  be ;  but 
that  still  he  is  not  obliged,  nor  does  in 
general  give  his  creatures  an  account  of 
the  particular  reasons  of  such  his  dispen- 
sations toward  them  immediately,  but 
usually  tries  and  exercises  their  faith  and 
patience,  their  resignation  and  obedience, 
in  their  present  state  of  probation,  and 
reserves  those  reasons  to  the  last  day,  the 
day  of  the  revelation  of  the  righteous  judg- 
ment of  God* 

2.  That  the  entire  histories  of  the  past 
ages,  from  the  days  of  Adam  till  now, 
show,  that  Almighty  God  has  ever  exer- 
cised his  power  over  mankind,  and  that 
without  giving  them  an  immediate  account 
of  the  reasons  of  such  his  conduct ;  and 
that  withal  the  best  and  wisest  men  in  nil 
ages,  heathens  as  well  as  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians, Marcus  Antoninus  as  well  as  the 
patriarch  Abraham  and  St.  Paul,  have 
ever  humbly  submitted  themselves  to  this 
conduct  of  divine  providence,  and  always 
confessed  that  they  were  obliged  to  the 
undeserved  goodness  and  mercy  of  God 
for  every  enjoyment,  but  could  not  de- 
mand any  of  them  of  his  justice,  no,  not 
so  much  as  the  continuance  of  that  life 
whereto  those  enjoyments  do  appertain. 
When  God  was  pleased  to  sweep  the 
wicked  race  of  men  away  by  a  flood,  the 
young  innocent  infants  as  well  as  the 
guilty  old  sinners;  when  he  was  pleased 
to  shorten  the  lives  of  men  after  the  flood, 
and  still  downward  till  the  days  of  David 
and  Solomon  ;  when  he  was  pleased  to 
destroy  impure  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  by 
fire  and  brimstone  from  heaven,  and  to 
extirpate  the  main  body  of  the  Amorites 
out  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  as  soon  as  their 
iniquities  were  full,^  and  in  these  instances 
included  the  young  innocent  infants,  to- 
gether with  the  old  hardened  sinners; 
when  God  was  pleased  to  send  an  angel, 
and  by  him  to  destroy  185,000  Assyrians 
(the  number  attested  to  by  Berosus  the 
Chaldean,  as  well  as  by  our  own  Bibles,) 
in  the  days  of  Hezekiah,  most  of  which 
seem  to  have  had  no  other  peculiar  guilt 
upon  them  than  that  common  to  soldiers 
in  war,  of  obeying,  without  reserve,  their 
king  Sennacherib,  his  generals  and  cap- 
tains: and  when  at  the  plague  of  Athens, 
London,  or  Marseilles,  &c,  so  many  thou- 
sand righteous  men  and  women,  with 
innocent   babes,   were  swept  away   on  a 


•  Rom,  ii.  5. 


f  Gen.  xv.  16. 


sudden  ty  a  fatal  contagion,  I  do  not  re- 
member that  sober  men  have  complained 
that  God  dealt  unjustly  with  such  his 
creatures,  in  those  to  us  seemingly  severe 
dispensations  :  nor  are  we  certain  when 
any  such  seemingly  severe  dispensations 
are  really  such,  nor  do  we  know  but 
shortening  the  lives  of  men  may  some- 
times be  the  greatest  blessing  to  them,  and 
prevent  or  put  a  stop  to  those  courses  of 
gross  wickedness  which  might  bring  them 
to  greater  misery  in  the  world  to  come  : 
nor  is  it  indeed  fit  for  such  poor,  weak, 
and  ignorant  creatures  as  we  are,  in  the 
present  state,  to  call  our  Almighty,  and 
All-wise,  and  All-good  Creator  and  Bene- 
factor, to  an  account  upon  any  such  occa- 
sions ;  since  we  cannot  but  acknowledge, 
that  it  is  he  that  hath  made  us,  and  not 
toe  ourselves  ;*'  that  we  are  nothing,  and 
have  nothing  of  ourselves  independent  on 
him,  but  that  all  we  are,  all  we  have,  and 
all  we  hope  for,  is  derived  from  him,  from 
his  free  and  undeserved  bounty,  which, 
therefore,  he  may  justly  take  from  us  in 
what  way  soever,  and  whensoever  he 
pleases ;  all  wise  and  good  men  still  say- 
ing in  such  cases  with  the  pious  Psalmist, 
xxxix.  9,  "  I  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  mj 
mouth,  because  thou  didst  it;"  and  with 
patient  Job  i.  21,  ii.  10,  "  Shall  we  re- 
ceive good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  !<hal! 
we  not  receive  evil  ?  The  Lord  gave,  and 
the  Lord  hath  taken  away,  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  If,  therefore,  thi«> 
shortening  or  taking  away  the  lives  of  meir 
be  no  objection  against  any  divine  com- 
mand for  that  purpose,  it  is  full  as  strong 
against  the  present  system  of  the  world, 
against  the  conduct  of  divine  providence 
in  general,  and  against  natural  religion, 
which  is  founded  on  the  justice  of  that 
providence,  and  is  noway  peculiar  to  re- 
vealed religion,  or  to  the  fact  of  Abraham, 
now  before  us :  nor  is  this  case  much 
different  from  what  was  soon  after  the 
days  of  Abraham  thoroughly  settled,  after 
Job's  and  his  friend's  debates,  by  the  in- 
spiration  of  Alihu,  and  the  determinatioc. 
of  God  himself,  where  the  divine  pro 
vidence  was  at  length  thoroughly  cleared 
and  justified  before  all  the  world,  as  it 
will  be,  no  question,  more  generally  cleared 
and  justified  at  the  final  judgment. 

3.  That,  till  this  profane  age,  it  has 
also,  I  think,  been  universally  allowed  by 
all  sober  men,  that  a  command  of  God, 

*  Ps.  o.  3. 


944 


DISSERTATION   II. 


when  sufficiently  made  known  to  be  so,  is 
abundant  authority  for  the  taking  away 
the  life  of  any  person  whomsoever.  I 
doubt  both  ancient  and  modern  princes, 
generals  of  armies,  and  judges,  even  those 
of  the  best  reputation  also,  have  ventured 
to  take  many  men's  lives  away  upon  much 
less  authority  :  nor,  indeed,  do  the  most 
skeptical  of  the  moderns  care  to  deny 
this  authority  directly ;  they  rather  take 
a  method  of  objecting  somewhat  more 
plausible,  though  it  amount  to  much  the 
same  :  they  say,  that  the  apparent  disa- 
greement of  any  command  to  the  moral 
attributes  of  God,  such  as  this  of  the 
slaughter  of  an  only  child  seems  plainly  to 
be,  will  be  a  greater  evidence  that  such  a 
command  does  not  come  from  God,  than 
any  pretended  revelation  can  be  that  it 
does.  But  as  to  this  matter,  although 
divine  revelations  have  so  long  ceased, 
that  we  are  not  well  acquainted  with  the 
manner  of  conveying  such  revelations  with 
certainty  to  men,  aud  by  consequence  the 
apparent  disagreement  of  a  command  with 
the  moral  attributes  of  God  ought  at 
present,  generally,  if  not  constantly,  to 
deter  men  from  acting  upon  such  a  pre- 
tended revelation,  yet  was  there  no  such 
uncertainty  in  the  days  of  the  old  pro- 
phets of  God,  or  of  Abraham,  the  friend 
of  God*  who  are  ever  found  to  have  had 
mi  entire  certainty  of  those  their  revela- 
tions :  and  what  evidently  shows  they 
were  not  deceived  ?.s  this,  that  the  events 
and  consequences  of  things  afterward  al- 
ways corresponded,  and  secured  them  of 
the  truth  of  such  divine  revelations. 
Thus,  the  first  miraculous  voice  from 
heaven,-)"  calling  to  Abraham  not  to  exe- 
cute this  command,  and  the  performance 
of  these  eminent  promises  made  by  the 
second  voice, J  on  account  of  his  obedience 
to  that  command,  are  demonstrations  that 
Abraham's  commission  for  what  he  did 
was  truly  divine,  and  are  an  entire  justifi- 
cation of  his  conduct  in  this  matter.  The 
words  of  the  first  voice  from  heaven  will 
come  hereafter  to  be  set  down  in  a  fitter 
place,  but  the  glorious  promises  made  to 
Abraham's  obedience  by  the  second  voice 
•nust  here  be  produced  from  verses  15, 16, 
17,  18.  "And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
Balled  unto  Abraham  out  of  heaven  the 
second  time,  and  said,  By  myself  have  I 
sworn,  saith  the  Lord,  for  because   thou 


lsa.  xli.  8.  t  Gen-  xxii-  11»  12- 

t  Gen.  xxii.  17,  18. 


hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not  with- 
held  thy  son,  thine  only  son.  from  me, 
that  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in 
multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which 
is  upon  the  seashore ;  and  thy  seed  shall 
possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies  :  and  in 
thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
be  blessed,  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my 
voice."  Every  one  of  which  promises 
have  been  eminently  fulfilled  •  and,  what 
is  chiefly  remarkable,  the  last  and  princi- 
pal of  them,  that  in  Abraham's  seed  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed, 
was  never  promised  till  this  time.  It  had 
been  twice  promised  him,  chap.  xii.  ver. 
3,  and  xviii.  18,  that  in  himself  shoidd  all 
the  families  of  ilic  earth  be  blessed ;  but 
that  this  blessing  was  to  belong  to  future 
times,  and  to  be  bestowed  by  the  means  of 
one  of  his  late  posterity,  the  Messias,  that 
great  seed  and  son  of  Abraham  only,  was 
never  revealed  before,  but,  on  such  an 
amazing  instance  of  his  faith  and  obe- 
dience as  was  this  his  readiness  to  offer  up 
his  only  begotten  son  Isaac,  was  now  first 
promised,  and  has  been  long  ago  per- 
formed, in  the  birth  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
the  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham,4 
which  highly  deserves  our  observation  in 
this  place  :  nor  can  we  suppose  that  any 
thing  else  than  clear  conviction  that  this 
command  came  from  God,  could  induce 
so  good  a  man,  so  tender  a  father  as 
Abraham  was,  to  sacrifice  his  only  be- 
loved son,  and  to  lose  thereby  all  the 
comfort  he  received  from  him  at  present, 
and  all  the  expectation  he  had  of  a  nu- 
merous and  happy  posterity  from  him 
hereafter. 

4.  That,  long  before  the  days  of  Abra 
ham,  the  demons  or  heathen  gods  had 
required  and  received  human  sacrifices 
and  particularly  that  of  the  offerer's  own 
children,  and  this  both  before  and  after 
the  deluge.  This  practice  had  been  in- 
deed so  long  left  off  in  Egypt,  and  the 
custom  of  sacrificing  animals  there  was 
confined  to  so  few  kinds  in  the  days  of 
Herodotus,  that  he  would  not  believe 
they  had  ever  offered  human  sacrifices  at 
all,  for  he  says  :|  "--That  the  fable,  as  if 
Hercules  was  sacrificed  to  Jupiter  in 
Egypt,  was  feigned  by  the  Greeks,  who 
were  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  nature 
of  the  Egyptians  and  their  laws  \  for  how 
should  they  sacrifice   men,  with  whom  it 


*  Matt.  i.  1. 


f  Ap.  Marsh.  Car  m,  p.  303. 


DISSERTATION   II. 


945 


is  unlawful  U  sacrifice  any  brute  beast? 
(boars,  and  bulls,  and  pure  calves,  and 
ganders,  only  excepted.")  However,  it 
is  evident  from  Sanchoniatho,  Manetho, 
Pausanias,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Philo,  Plu- 
tarch, and  Porphyry,  that  such  sacrifices 
were  frequent  both  in  Phoenicia  and 
Egypt,  and  that  long  before  the  days  of 
Abraham,  as  Sir  John  Marsham  and 
Bishop  Cumberland  have  fully  proved  ; 
nay,  that  in  other  places  (though  not  in 
Egypt)  this  cruel  practice  continued  long 
after  Abraham,  and  this  till  the  very 
third,  if  not  also  to  the  fifth  century  of 
Christianity,  before  it  was  quite  abolished. 
Take  the  words  of  the  original  authors  in 
English,  as  most  of  them  occur  in  their 
originals,  in  Sir  John  Marsham's  Chroni- 
cou,  p.  76-78,  300-304. 

u  *  Cronus  offered  up  his  only  begotten 
son,  as  a  burnt-offering,  to  his  father 
Ouranus,  when  there  was  a  famine  and  a 
pestilence." 

"  f  Cronus,  whom  the  Phoenicians 
name  Israel  [it  should  be  IT],  and  who 
was  after  his  death  consecrated  into  the 
star  Saturn,  when  he  was  king  of  the 
country,  and  had  by  a  nymph  of  that 
country,  named  Anobret,  an  only  begotten 
son,  whom,  on  that  account,  they  called 
Jcud,  (the  Phoenicians  to  this  day  calling 
an  only  begotten  son  by  that  name,)  he, 
in  his  drfad  of  very  great  dangers  that 
lay  upon  the  country  from  war,  adorned 
his  son  with  royal  apparel,  and  built  an 
altar,  and  offered  him  in  sacrifice. " 

"J The  Phoenicians,  when  they  were 
in  great  dangers  by  war,  by  famine,  or 
by  pestilence,  sacrificed  to  Saturn  one 
of  the  dearest  of  their  people,  whom  they 
chose  by  public  suffrage  for  that  purpose  : 
aud  Sanchoniatho's  Phoenician  history  is 
full  of  such  sacrifices. "  [These  hitherto 
i  take  to  have  been  before  the  flood.] 

"  §  In  Arabia,  the  Dumatii  sacrificed  a 
child  every  year." 

"  ||  They  relate,  that  of  old  the  [Egyp- 
tian] kings  sacrificed  such  men  as  were 
cf  the  same  colour  with  Typho,  at  the 
sepulchre  of  Osiris." 

"  ^f  Manetho  relates,  that  they  burnt 
Typhonean  men  alive  in  the  city  Idithyia 
for  Ilithyia],  and  scattered  their  ashes 
like  chaff'  that  is  wiuuowed ;  and  this  was 


*  Philo.  Bib.  ex.  Sanchon.p.  76. 

f  Philo    Bib.  ex.  Sanchon.  p.  77. 

f  Porphyry,  p.  78.  #  Porphyry,  p.  77. 

(  Diod.  p.  78.  «jj  Plutarch,  p.  78. 

uo 


done  publicly,  and  at  a  set  season,  in  tho 
dog-days." 

"  *  The  barbarous  nations  did  a  long 
time  admit  of  the  slaughter  of  children, 
as  of  a  holy  practice,  and  acceptable  to 
the  gods.  And  this  thing  both  private 
persons,  and  kings,  and  entire  nations 
practise  at  proper  seasons." 

"  f  The  human  sacrifices,  that  were 
enjoined  by  the  Dodonean  oracle,  men- 
tioned in  Pausanias's  Achaics,  in  the 
tragical  story  of  Coresus  and  Callirrhoe, 
sufficiently  intimate  that  the  Phoenician 
and  Egyptian  priests  had  set  up  this  Do- 
donean oracle  before  the  time  of  Amosis, 
who  destroyed  that  barbarous  practice  in 
Egypt." 

Inque  adytis  haze  triatiu,  dicta  reportat, 


Sanguine  pfacautis  ventos,  et  virgine  ccesa, 
Cum  primum  Iliacua  Danai  venistis  ad  oraB  ; 
Sanguine  qucerendi  reditux,  animaque  litand-erni 
AryolicaA 

He  from  the  gods  this  dreadful  answer  brought, 


0  Grecians,  when  the  Trojan  shores  you  sought, 
Your  passage  with  a  virgin's  blood  was  bought ; 
So  must  your  safe  return  be  bought  again, 
And  Grecian  blood  once  more  atone  the  main. 

Drydkn. 

These  bloody  sacrifices  were,  for  certain, 
instances  of  the  greatest  degree  of  iin- 
piety,  tyranny,  and  cruelty  in  the  world, 
that  either  wicked  demons,  or  wicked 
men,  who  neither  made  nor  preserved 
mankind,  who  had  therefore  no  right  over 
them,  nor  were  they  able  to  make  them 
amends  in  the  next  world  for  what  they 
thus  lost  or  suffered  in  this,  should,  after 
so  inhuman  a  manner,  command  the 
taking  away  the  lives  of  men,  and  par- 
ticularly of  the  offerer's  own  children, 
without  the  commission  of  any  crime. 
This  was,  I  think,  an  abomination  derived 
from  him  who  was  a  murderer  from  the 
beginning  ;§  a  crime  truly  and  properly 
diabolical. 

5.  That,  accordingly,  Almighty  God 
himself,  under  the  Jewish  dispensation, 
vehemently  condemned  the  pagans,  and 
sometimes  the  Jews  themselves,  for  this 
crime ;  and  for  this,  among  other  heinous 
sins,  cast  the  idolatrous  nations  (nay, 
sometimes  the  Jews  too)  out  of  Pales- 
tine. Take  the  principal  texts  thereto  re- 
lating, as  they  lie  in  order  in  the  Old 
Testameut. 

"  ||  Thou  shalt  not  let  any  of  thy  seed 
pass  through  the  fire  to  Molech. — Deliie 

*  Nonnulli  ap.  Philon.  p.  76. 

f  Cumberl.  Sanchon.  p.  38. 

j  Virg.  ^Eneid.  b.  ii.  ver.  115. 

|  John  *m.  44.  |j  Lev.  xviii.  21. 


946 


DISSERTATION    II. 


not  yourselves  in  any  of  these  things,  for 
in  all  these  the  nations  are  defiled,  which 
I  cast  out  before  you,"  &c. 

u  *  Whosoever  he  be  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  or  of  the  strangers  that  sojourn  in 
Israel,  that  giveth  any  of  his  seed  unto 
Molech,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death  : 
the  people  of  the  land  shall  stone  him 
with  stones." 

"-("Take  heed  to  thyself,  that  thou  be 
not  snared  by  following  the  nations,  after 
that  they  be  destro}red  from  before  thee  ; 
and  that  thou  inquire  not  after  their 
gods,  saying,  How  did  these  nations  serve 
their  gods?  even  so  will  I  do  likewise. 
Thou  shalt  not  do  so  unto  the  Lord  thy 
God  ;  for  every  abomination  of  the  Lord, 
which  he  hafeth,  have  they  done  uuto 
their  gods:  for  even  their  sous  and  their 
daughters  have  they  burnt  in  the  fire 
to  their  gods."  See  chap,  xviii.  9  j  - 
Kings  xvii.  17. 

"  J  And    Ahaz    made    his    BOD    to    | 
through   the  fii  rding  to  the   abo- 

minations of  the  heathen,  irhom  the  Lord 
east  out,  before  the  children  of  Israel." 

11  §  Moreover,  Alia/  burnt  incense  in 
the  valley  of  the  '    Binnom,   an  1 

burnt  his  children  [his  son,  in  Josephus] 
in  the  lire,  after  the  abominations  of  the 
heathen,    whom    the    L  >rd    hi  out 

before  the  children  of  Israel." 

"  ||  And    the    Sepbarvites    burnt    their 
children  in    the  fire  to  Adramnnl 
Anamineleeh,    the    g  tdfl    of    N  pharvaim, 
&c." 

"  ^[  And  Josiah  defiled  Topbcth,  which 
is  in  the  valley  of  the  children  of  II  in  - 
DOin,  that  no  one  might  make  his  son  or 
his  daughter  to  pass  through  the  lire  unto 
Molech." 

"  **  Yea,  they  sacrificed  their  suns  and 
their  daughters  unto  demons  j  and  shed 
innocent  blood,  the  blood  of  their  sons 
and  of  their  daughters,  whom  they  sa- 
crificed unto  the  idols  of  Canaan,  and 
the  laud  was  polluted  with  blood."  See 
Isa.  lvii.  5. 

a  ■)")"  The  children  of  Judah  hath  done 
evil  in  my  sight,  saith  the  Lord;  they 
have  set  their  abomination  in  the  house 
which  is  called  by  my  name,  to  pollute 
it :  and  they  have  built  the  high  places 
of  Tophet,  which  is  in  the  valley  of  the 
son  of  Hinnom,   to  burn  their  sous  and 


*  Lev.  xx.  2. 
J  2  Kings  xvi.  3. 
|  2  Kings  xvii.  31. 
**  Ps.  cvi.  37,  38. 


f  Deut.  xii.  30,  31. 
g  2  Chron.  xxvii.  3. 
^  2  Kings  xxii.  10. 
ft  Jer.  vr    3«-32. 


their  daughters  in  the  fire,  which  I  com- 
manded them  not,  nor  came  it  into  my 
heart." 

"*Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the 
God  of  Israel,  Behold,  I  will  bring  evil 
upon  this  place,  the  which  whosoever 
heareth,  his  ears  shall  tingle,  because  they 
have  forsaken  me,  and  have  estranged 
this  place,  and  have  burnt  iucense  unto 
other  gods,  whom  neither  they  nor  their 
fathers  have  known,  nor  the  kings  of 
Judah,  and  have  filled  this  place  with  the 
blood  of  innocents.  .  They  have  built  also 
the  high  places  of  Baal,  to  burn  their  sons 
with  tire  for  burnt-offerings  unto  Baal, 
which  I  commanded  not,  nor  spake  it, 
neither  came  it  into  my  mind,"  &C. 

uf  They  built  the  high  places  of  Baal, 
which  are  in  the  valley  of  the  son  of  Iliu- 
noni,  to  cause  their  sons  and  their  daugh- 
throngh  the  fire  uuto  Moleuh, 
which  I  commanded  them  not,  neither 
came  it  into  my  mind  that  they  should 
do  this  abomination  to  cause  Judah  to 
sin/' 

u|  Moreover,  thou  hast  taken  thy  sons 
and  thy  daughters,  whom  thou  has!  borne 
unto    me,    and    tin-  thou    sacriiievd 

unto  them  to  be  devoured*  Is  this  of  thy 
whoredoms  a  small  matter,  that  thou  hast 
slain  my  children,  and  delivered  them  te 
cause  them  to  pass  through  the  tire  for 
then.  5       chap.  xx. ;  1  Cor.  x.  "J'». 

"  §  Thou  hatest  the  old  inhabitants  ,,f 
thy  holy'  land,  for  doing  most  odious 
works  of  witchcraft,  and  wicked  sacrifices  j 
and  also  those  merciless  murderers  of 
children,  and  devourers  of  man's  fl 
and  :  .  with  their  priests,  out 

of  the  midst  of  their  idolatrous  crew,  and 
the  parents  that  killed  with  their  own 
hands  souls  destitute  of  help." 

G.  That  Almighty  God  never  permitted, 
in  any  one  instance,  that  such  a  human 
sacrifice  should  actually  be  offered  to  him- 
self, (though  he  had  a  right  to  have  re- 
quired it,  if  he  had  so  pleased,)  under  the 
whole  Jewish  dispensation,  which  yet  was 
full  of  many  other  kinds  of  sacritices,  and 
this  at  a  time  when  mankind  generally 
thought  such  sacrifices  of  the  greatest  vir- 
tue for  the  procuring  pardou  of  sin,  and 
the  divine  favour.  This  the  ancient  re- 
cords of  the  heathen  world  attest.  Take 
their  notion  in  the  words  of  Philo  Byblius, 
the   translator    of   Sanchoniatho.       u  ||  It 

*  Jer.  xix.  3-5.  f  Jer.  xxxii.  35. 

X  Ezek.  xvi.  20,  21.  \  Wiad.  xii.  4-6. 

||  Ap.  Marsh,  p.  76.  77. 


DISSERTATION  II. 


947 


was  the  custom  of  the  ancients,  in  the 
greatest  calamities  and  dangers,  for  the 
governors  of  the  city  or  nation,  in  order 
to  avert  the  destruction  of  all,  to  devote 
their  beloved  son  to  be  slain,  as  a  price  of 
redemption  to  the  punishing  [or  avenging] 
demons;  and  those  so  devoted  were  killed 
after  a  mystical  manner. "  This  the  his- 
tory of  the  king  of  Moab,*  when  he  was 
in  great  distress  in  his  war  against  Israel 
and  Judah,  informs  us  of;  who  then  took 
his  eldest  son,  that  should  have  reigned  in 
his  steady  and  offered  him  for  a  burnt- 
offering  upon  the  city  wall.  This  also  the 
Jewish  prophet  Micahf  implies,  when  ha 
inquires,  "  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before 
the  Lord,  and  bow  myself  before  the  High 
G.od  ?  Shall  I  come  before  him  with 
burnt-offerings,  with  calves  of  a  year  old? 
Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands 
of  rams,  with  ten  thousands  of  fat  kids  of 
the  goats  ?  Shall  I  give  my  firstborn  for 
my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body 
for  the  sin  of  my  soul  V  No,  certainly, 
"for  he  hath  showed  thee,  0  man,  what  is 
good  ;  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of 
thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy, 
and  to  humble  thyself,  to  walk  with  thy 
God?" 

It  is  true,  God  did  here  try  the  faith  and 
obedience  of  Abraham  to  himself,  whether 
they  were  as  strong  as  the  pagans  ex- 
hibited to  their  demons  or  idols  ;  yet  did 
he  withal  take  effectual  care,  and  that  by 
a  miraculous  interposition  also,  to  prevent 
the  execution,  and  provided  himself  a 
ram  as  a  vicarious  substitute,  to  supply 
the  place  of  Isaac  immediately.  J  "And 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abra- 
ham, and  said,  Abraham^  Abraham  ;  and 
he  said,  Here  am  I;  and  he  said,  Lay  not 
thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou 
any  thing  unto  him  ;  for  now  I  know  that 
thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  not 
withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from  me. 
And  Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 
looked,  and  behold  a  ram  caught  in  a 
thicket  by  his  horns;  and  Abraham  went 
and  took  the  ram,  and  offered  him  up  for 
a  burnt-offering  in  the  stead  of  his  son." 
Thus  though  Jeptha§  has  by  many  been 
thought  to  have  vowed  to  offer  up  hisonly 
daughter  and  child  for  a  sacrifice,  and  that 
as  bound  on  him,  upon  supposition  of  his 
vow,  by  a  divine  law,  Lev.  xxvii.  28,  29, 
of  which  opinion  I  was  once  myself;  yet 


*  2  Kings  iii.  27. 
I  Gen.  xxii.  11-13. 


|  Micah  vi.  6-8. 
fa  Judg.  xi.  36-39. 


upon  more  mature  consideration  1  have, 
for  some  time,  thought  this  to  be  a  mis- 
take, and  that  his  vow  extended  only  to 
her  being  devoted  to  serve  God  at  the  ta- 
bernacle, or  elsewhere,  in  a  state  of  per- 
petual virginity;  and  that  neither  that 
law  did  enjoin  any  human  sacrifices,  noi 
do  we  meet  with  any  example  of  its  exe* 
cution  in  this  sense  afterward.  Philo 
never  mentions  any  such  law,  no  more 
than  Josephus :  and  when  Josephus 
thought  that  Jeptha  had  made  such  a 
vow  and  executed  it,  he  is  so  far  from 
hinting  at  its  being  done  in  compliance 
with  any  law  of  God,  that  he  expressly 
condemns  him  for  it,  as  having  acted  con- 
trary thereto;  or,  in  his  own  words,  "  *as 
having  offered  an  oblation  neither  con- 
formable to  the  law,  nor  acceptable  to 
God,  nor  weighing  with  himself  what 
opinion  the  hearers  would  have  of  such  a 
practice." 

7.  That  Isaac  being  at  this  time,  ac- 
cording to  Joscphus,f  who  is  herein  justly 
followed  by  Archbishop  Usher, f  no  less 
than  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  Abraham 
being,  by  consequence,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  thai 
Abraham  could  bind  Isaac,  in  order  to 
offer  him  in  sacrifice,  but  by  his  own  free 
consent ;  which  free  consent  of  the  party 
who  is  to  suffer  seems  absolutely  neces- 
sary in  all  such  cases;  and  which  free 
consent  St.  Clement,  as  well  as  Josephus, 
distinctly  takes  notice  of  on  this  occasion. 
St.  Clement  describes  it  thus: — §"  Isaac, 
being  fully  persuaded  of  what  he  knew 
was  to  come,  cheerfully  yielded  himself  up 
for  a  sacrifice."  And  for  Josephus,|| 
after  introducing  Abraham  in  a  pathetic 
speech,  laying  before  Isaac  the  divine 
command,  and  exhorting  him  patiently  and 
joyfully  to  submit  to  it,  he  tells  us,  that 
"Isaac  very  cheerfully  consented;"  and 
then  introduces  him,  in  a  short  but  very 
pious  answer,  acquiescing  in  the  proposal ; 
and  adds,  that  "  he  then  immediately  and 
and  readily  went  to  the  altar  to  be  sacri- 
ficed." Nor  did  Jeptha^f  perform  his  rash 
vow,  whatever  it  were,  till  his  daughter  had 
given  her  consent  to  it. 

8.  It  appears  to  me  that  Abraham  never 
despaired  entirely  of  the  interposition  of 
Providence  for  the  preservation  of  Isaac, 
although  in  obedience  to  the  command  ho 
prepared  to  sacrifice   him  to  God.     This 


*  Antiq.  b.  v.  c.  vii. 
tUsh.  An.  ad  A.  M.  21. 
I  Antiq.  b.  i  c.  xiii. 


f  Antiq.  b.  i.  c.  xiu 
$  Clem.  sect.  31. 
*i  Judg.sL  36,  37 


948 


DISSERTATION  II. 


seems  to  me  intimated  in  Abraham's  words 
to  his  servants,  on  the  third  day,  when  he 
was  in  sight  of  the  mountain  on  which  he 
was  to  offer  his  son  Isaac  :  *  "  We  will  go 
and  worship,  and  we  will  come  again  to 
you."  As  also  in  his  answer  to  his  son, 
when  he  inquired,  "  Behold  the  fire  and 
the  wood,  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a 
burnt-offering?  And  Abraham  said,  My 
3on,  God  will  provide  himself  a  lamb  for 
a  burnt-offering."  Both  these  passages 
look  to  me  somewhat  like  such  an  expec- 
tation. 

9.  However,  it  appears  most  evident, 
that  Abraham,  and  I  suppose  Isaac  also, 
firmly  believed,  that  if  God  should  permit 
Isaac  to  be  actually  slain  as  a  sacrifice,  he 
would  certainly  and  speedily  raise  him 
again  from  the  dead.  This,  to  be  sure,  is 
supposed  in  the  words  already  quoted,  that 
both  he  and  his  son  would  go  and  worship, 
and  come  again  to  the  servants  ;  and  is 
clearly  and  justly  collected  from  this  his- 
tory by  the  author  to  the  Hebrews,  chap, 
xi.  17-19 :  "  By  faith  Abraham  when  he 
was  tried  offered  up  Isaac  :  and  he  that 
had  received  the  promises  offered  up  his 
only  begotten,  of  whom  it  was  said,  that 
in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called,  account- 
ing or  reasoning  that  God  was  able  to  raise 
him  from  the  dead."  And  this  reasoning 
was  at  once  very  obvious,  and  wholly  un- 
deniable, that  since  God  was  truth  itself, 
and  had  over  and  over  promised  that  he 
wouldf  "  multiply  Abraham  exceedingly  \ 
that  he  should  be  a  father  of  mauy  nations' ; 
that  his  name  should  be  no  longer  Abram, 
but  Abraham,  because  a  father  of  many 
nations  God  had  made  him,  &c.  ;  that 
Sarai  his  wife  should  be  called  Sarah,  that 
he  would  bless  her,  and  give  Abraham  a 
son  also  of  her;  and  that  he  would  bless 
him ;  and  she  should  become  nations,  and 
kings  of  people  should  be  of  her,"  &c, 
and  that  J  u  in  Isaac  should  his  seed  be 
jailed."  And  since  withal  it  is  here  sup- 
posed that  Isaac  was  to  be  slain  as  a  sa- 
crifice, before  he  was  married,  or  had  any 
seed,  God  was,  for  certain,  obliged  by  his 
promises,  in  these  circumstances,  to  raise 
Isaac  again  from  the  dead,  and  this  was 
an  eminent  instance  of  that  faith  whereby 
§  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  im- 
puted to  him  for  righteousness,  viz.  that 
if  God  should  permit  Isaac  to  be  sacri- 
ficed, he  would  certainly  and  quickly  raise 


*  Gen.  xxii.  5,  7. 
X  Gen.  xxi.  12. 


f  Gen.  xvii.  2-6,16. 
§  Gen.  xv.  6. 


him  up  again  from  the  de-,\d*  f  jm  whence 
also  he  received  him  in  a  figure,  as  the  au- 
thor to  the  Hebrews  here  justly  observes. 

10.  That  the  firm  and  just  foundation 
of  Abraham's  faith  and  assurance  in  God 
for  such  a  resurrection  was  this,  besides 
the  general  consideration  of  the  divine  ve- 
racity, that  during  the  whole  time  of  his 
sojourning  in  strange  countries,  in  Ca- 
naan and  Egypt,  ever  since  he  had  been 
called  out  of  Chaldea  or  Mesopotamia,  at 
seventy-five  years  of  age.")"  he  had  had 
constant  experience  of  a  special,  of  an 
overruling,  of  a  kind  and  gracious  Provi- 
dence over  him,  till  this  his  125th  year, 
which  against  all  human  views  had  con- 
tinually blessed  him  and  enriched  him, 
and  in  his  elder  age  had  given  him  first 
Ishmael  by  Ilagar,  and  afterward  promised 
him  Isaac  to  "  £  spring  from  his  own  body 
now  dead,§  and  from  the  deadness  of  Sa- 
rah's womb,  when  she  was  past  age,  and 
when  it  ceased  to  be  with  Sarah  after  the 
manner  of  women, "||  and  had  actually 
performed  that  and  every  other  promise, 
how  improbable  soever  that  performance 
had  appeared,  he  had  ever  made  to  him, 
and  this  during  fifty  entire  years  together  ; 
so  that  although,  at  his  first  exit  out  of 
Chaldea  or  Mesopotamia,  he  might  havt 
been  tempted  to  u  stagger  at  such  a  pro- 
mise of  God  through  uubelief,"^f  yet 
might  he  now  after  fifty  years  constant 
experience  be  justly  strong  in  faith,  giv- 
ing glory  to  God,  as  being  fully  persuaded, 
that  what  God  had  promised,  the  resur- 
rection of  Isaac,  he  was  both  able  and  will- 
ing to  perform. 

11.  That  this  assurance,  therefore,  that 
God,  if  he  permitted  Isaac  to  be  slain, 
would  infallibly  raise  him  again  from  the 
dead,  entirely  alters  the  state  of  the  case 
of  Abraham's  sacrificing  Isaac  to  the  true 
God,  from  that  of  all  other  human  sacri 
fices  whatsoever  offered  to  false  ones,  all 
those  others  being  done  without  the  least 
promise  or  prospect  of  such  a  resurrec- 
tion; and  this,  indeed,  takes  away  all  pre- 
tence of  injustice  in  the  divine  command, 
as  well  as  of  all  inhumanity  or  cruelty  in 
Abraham's  obedience  to  it. 

12.  That,  upon  th'e  whole,  this  aozn- 
mand  to  Abraham,  and  what  followed  upon 
it,  looks  so  very  like  an  intention  of  God 
to  typify  or  represent  beforehand  in  Isaac, 


*  Heb.  xi.  19. 
X  Rom.  iv.  19. 
||  Gen.  xviii.  11. 


f  Gen.  xii.  4. 
\  Heb.  xi.  11. 
%  Rom.  iv.20,  21. 


DISSERTATION  II. 


949 


it  beloved  or  only  begotten  son,  what  was 
to  happen  long  afterward  to  the  great  son 
and  seed  of  Abraham,  the  3Iessiah,  the 
beloved  and  the  "  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  whose  day  Abraham  saw  by  faith 
beforehand,  and  rejoiced  to  see  it,"* 
viz.  that  he,  "  by  the  determinate  counsel 
and  foreknowledge  of  God  should  be  cru- 
cified, and  slain"")*  as  a  sacrifice,  and 
should  be  raised  again  the  third  day,  and 
this  at  Jerusalem  also,  and  that,  in  the 
meantime,  God  would  accept  of  the  sacri- 
fices of  rams,  and  the  like  animals,  at  the 
same  city  Jerusalem,  that  one  cannot  easily 
avoid  the  application.  This  seems  the 
reason  why  Abraham  was  obliged  to  go  to 
the  land  of  Moriah,  or  Jerusalem  ;  and 
why  it  is  noted,  that  it  was  the  third  day^ 
that  he  came  to  the  place,  which  implies 
that  the  return  back,  after  the  slaying  of 
the  sacrifice,  would  naturally  be  the  third 
day  also  ;  and  why  this  sacrifice  was  not 
Ishmael  the  son  of  the  flesh  only,  but 
Isaac  the  son  by  promise,  the  beloved  son 
of  Abraham,  and  why  Isaac  was  styled  the 
only  son,  or  only  begotten  so7?§  of  Abra- 
ham, though  he  had  Ishmael  besides;  and 
why  Isaac  himself  was  to  bear  the  ivood\\ 
on  which  he  was  to  be  sacrificed;  and  why 
the  place  was  no  other  than  the  land  of 
Moriah  *^  or  vision,  i.  e.  most  probable  a 
place  where  the  Shecinah  or  Messiah  had 
been  seen,  and  God  by  him  worshipped, 
even  before  the  days  of  Abraham,  and 
where  lately  lived,  and  perhaps  now  lived, 
Melchisedeck,  the  grand  type  of  the  Mes- 
siah, (who  might  then  possibly  be  present 
at  the  sacrifice,)  and  why  this  sacrifice  was 
to  be  offered  either  on  the  mountain  called 
afterward  distinctly  Moriah,  where  the 
temple  stood,  and  where  all  the  Mosaic 
sacrifices  were  afterward  to  be  offered,  as 
Josephus**  and  the  generality  suppose,  or, 
perhaps,  as  others  suppose,  that  where  the 
Messiah  himself  was  to  be  offered,  its 
neighbour  mount  Calvary.  This  seems 
also  the  reason  why  the  ram  was  substi- 
tuted as  a  vicarious  sacrifice  instead  of 
Lsaac.  These  circumstances  seem  to  me 
very  peculiar  and  extraordinary,  and  to 
render  the  present  hypothesis  extremely 
probable.  Nor,  perhaps,  did  St.  Clement 
mean  any  thing  else,  when  in  his  forecited 
passage  he  says,  that  "  Isaac  was  fully 
persuaded  of  what  he  knew  was  to  come;" 

*  John  viii.  56.  f  Acts  ii.  23. 

I  Gen.  xxii.  2,  4.  \  lieb.  xi.  17. 

\  Gen.  xxii.  6.  \  John  xix.  17. 

•*   Antiq.  b.  i.  c.  xiii. 


and,  therefore,  "cheerfully  yielded  him- 
self up  for  a  sacrifice."  Nojr,  indeed,  does 
that  name  of  this  place,  Jehovah  Jireh, 
which  continued  till  the  days  of  Moses, 
and  signified,  God  will  see,  or  rather,  God 
will  provide,  seem  to  be  given  it  by  Abra- 
ham on  any  other  account,  than  that  God 
would  there,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  "  pro- 
vide himself  a  lamb  [that  lamb  of  God, 
which  was  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the 
world]*  for  a  burnt-offering." 

But  if,  now  after  all,  it  be  objected,  that 
how  peculiar  and  how  typical  soever  the 
circumstances  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  might 
be  in  themselves,  of  which  the  heathens 
about  them  could  have  little  notion,  yet 
such  a  divine  command  to  Abraham  for 
slaying  his  beloved  son  Isaac  must,  how- 
ever, be  of  very  ill  example  to  the  Gen- 
tile world,  and  that  it  probably  did  either 
first  occasion,  or,  at  least,  greatly  encou- 
rage their  wicked  practices  in  offering 
their  children  for  sacrifices  to  their  idols, 
I  answer  by  thu  next  consideration. 

13.  That  this  objection  is  so  far  from 
truth,  that  God's  public  and  miraculous 
prohibition  of  the  execution  of  this  com- 
mand to  Abraham,  (which  command  itself 
the  Gentiles  would  not  then  at  all  be  sur- 
prised at,  because  it  was  so  like  to  their 
own  usual  practices,)  as  well  as  God's  sub- 
stitution of  a  vicarious  oblation,  seems  to 
have  been  the  very  occasion  of  the  immediate 
oblation  of  those  impious  sacrifices  by  Teth- 
mosis,  or  Amosis,  among  the  neighbour- 
ing Egyptians,  and  of  the  substitution  of 
more  inoffensive  ones  there  instead  of  them. 
Take  the  account  of  this  abolition,  which  we 
shall  presently  prove  was  about  the  time  of 
Abraham's  offering  up  his  son  Isaac,  as 
it  is  preserved  by  Porphyry,  from  Mane- 
tho,  the  famous  Egyptian  historian  and 
chronologer,  which  is  also  cited  from  Por- 
phyry by  Eusebius  and  Theodorct. 
••Amosis,"*)*  says  Porphyry,  " abolished 
the  law  for  slaying  of  men  in  Heliopolis 
of  Egypt,  as  Manetho  bears  witness,  in 
his  book  of  Antiquity  and  Piety.  They 
were  sacrificed  to  Juno  and  were  examined, 
as  were  the  pure  calves,  that  were  also 
sealed  with  them  :  they  were  sacrificed 
three  in  a  day.  In  whose  stead  Amosis 
commanded  that  men  of  wax,  of  the  same 
number,  should  be  substituted." 

Now,  I  have  lately  shown,  that  these 
Egyptians  had  Abraham  in  great  venera- 
tion,   and    that  all   the  wisdom    of  thow 


John  i.  2» 


f  Marsn.  p.  301. 


950 


DISSERTATION  III. 


Egyptians,  in  which  Moses  teas  afterward 
learned ,  was  derived  from  no  other  than 
from  Abraham.  Now  it  appears  evidently, 
by  the  forecited  passage,  that  the  first  abo- 
lition of  these  human  sacrifices,  and  the 
substitution  of  waxen  images  in  their 
stead,  and  particularly  at  Heliopolis,  in 
the  north-east  part  of  Egypt,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Beersheba,  in  the  south  of 
Palestine,  where  Abraham  now  lived,  at 
ihc  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  only,  was  in  the  days,  and  by 
the  order  of  Tethmosis  or  Amosis,  who 
was  the  first  of  the  Egyptian  kings,  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  Phoenician  shepherds. 
Now,  therefore,  we  are  to  inquire  when 
this  Tethmosis  or  Amosis  lived,  and  com- 
pare his  time  with  the  time  of  the  sacri- 
fice of  Isaac.  Now,  if  we  look  into  my 
chronological  table,  published  A.  D.  1721, 
we  shall  find  that  the  hundred  and  twen- 


ty-fifth year  of  Abraham,  or  which  is  all 
one,  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  Isaac,  falls 
into  A.  M.  2573,  or  into  the  thirteenth 
year  of  Tethmosis  or  Amosis,  which  is  the 
very  middle  of  his  twenty-five  years  reign  . 
so  that  this  abolition  of  human  sacrifices 
in  Egypt,  and  substitution  of  others  in 
their  room,  seems  to  have  been  occasioned 
by  the  solemn  prohibition  of  such  a  sacri- 
fice in  the  case  of  Abraham,  and  by  the 
following  substitution  of  a  ram  in  its 
stead  :  which  account  of  this  matter  not 
only  takes  away  the  groundless  suspicions 
of  the  moderns,  but  shows  the  great  sea- 
sonableness  of  the  divine  prohibition  of 
the  execution  of  this  command  to  Abra- 
ham, as  probably  the  direct  occasion  of 
putting  a  stop  to  the  barbarity  of  the 
Egyptians  in  offering  human  sacrifices, 
and  that  for  many,  if  not  for  all  genera- 
tions afterward. 


DISSERTATION   III. 

TACITUS'S  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  JEWISH  NATION,  AND  OF 
THE  PARTICULARS  OF  THE  LAST  JEWISH  WAR;  THAT  THE  FORMER 
WAS  PROBABLY  WRITTEN  IX  OPPOSITION  TO  JOSEPHUS'S  ANTIQUI- 
TIES, AND  THAT  THE  LATTER  WAS  FOR  CERTAIN  ALMOST  ALL 
DIRECTLY  TAKEN  FROM  JOSEPHUS'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWISH  WAR. 


Since  Tacitus,  the  famous  Roman  his- 
torian, who  has  written  more  largely  and 
professedly  about  the  origin  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  about  the  chorography  of  Judea, 
and  the  last  Jewish  war  under  Cestius, 
Vespasian,  and  Titus,  than  any  other  old 
Roman  historian ;  and  since  both  Jose- 
phus and  Tacitus  were  in  favour  with 
the  same  Roman  emperors,  Vespasian, 
Titus,  and  Domitian ;  and  since  Tacitus 
was  an  eminent  pleader  and  writer  of 
history  at  Pvonie,  during  the  time  or  not 
long  after  our  Josephus  had  been  there 
studying  the  Greek  language,  reading  the 
Greek  books,  and  writing  his  own  works 
in  the  same  Greek  language,  which  lan- 
guage was  almost  universally  known  at 
Rome  in  that  age ;  and  since,  therefore, 
it  is  next  to  impossible  to  suppose  that 
Tacitus  could  be  unacquainted  with  the 
writings  of  Josephus,  it  cannot  but  be 
highly  proper  to  compare  their  accounts 
of  Judea,  of  the  Jews,  and  Jewish  affairs 
together.     Nor  is  it   other  than   a  very 


surprising  paradox  to  me,  how  it  has  oeen 
possible,  for  learned  men,  particularly  for 
the  several  learned  editors  of  Josephus 
and  Tacitus,  to  be  so  very  silent  about 
this  matter  as  they  have  hitherto  been, 
especially  when  not  only  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  authors  as  to  time  and 
place,  but  the  likeness  of  the  subject- 
matter  and  circumstances  is  so  very  often 
so  very  remarkable;  nay,  indeed,  since 
mauy  of  the  particular  facts  belonged 
peculiarly  to  the  region  of  Judea,  and  to 
the  Jewish  nation,  and  are  such  as  could 
hardly  be  taken  by  a  foreigner  from  any 
other  author  than  from  our  Josephus,  this 
strange  silence  is  almost  unaccountable, 
if  not  inexcusable.  The  two  only  othei 
writers  whom  we  know  of,  whence  such 
Jewish  affairs  might  be  supposed  to  be 
taken  by  Tacitus,  who  never  appears  tc 
have  been  in  Judea  himself,  are  Justus 
of  Tiberias,  a  Jewish  historian,  contem- 
porary with  Josephus,  and  one  Autoniua 
Julianus,  once    mentioned    by    Minutius 


DISSERTATION  III. 


951 


Felix  in  his  Octavius,  sect.  33,  as  having 
written  on  the  same  subject  with  Jose- 
phu.°,  and  both  already  mentioned  by  me 
on  another  occasion,  Dissert.  I.  As  to 
Justus  of  Tiberias,  he  could  not  be  the 
historian  whence  Tacitus  took  his  Jewish 
affairs,  because,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the 
place  just  cited,  the  principal  passage  in 
Tacitus  of  that  nature,  concerning  Christ, 
and  his  sufferings  under  the  emperor 
Tiberius,  and  by  his  procurator  Pontius 
Pilate,  was  not  there,  as  we  know  from  the 
testimony  of  Photius,  Cod.  xxx.  And  as 
to  Antonius  Julianus,  his  very  name  show's 
him  to  have  been  not  a  Jew,  but  a  Ro- 
man. He  is  never  mentioned  by  Jose- 
phus,  and  so  probably  knew  no  more  of 
the  country  or  affairs  of  Judea  than  Taci- 
tus himself.  He  was,  I  suppose,  rather 
an  epitomizer  of  Josephus,  and  not  so 
early  as  Tacitus,  than  an  original  historian 
himself  before  him.  Nor  could  so  exact 
a  writer  as  Tacitus  ever  take  up  with  such 
poor  and  almost  unknown  historians  as 
these  were,  while  Josephus's  seven  books 
of  the  Jewish  war  were  then  so  common ; 
were  in  such  great  reputation  at  Rome  ; 
were  attested  to,  and  recommended  by 
V^espasian  and  Titus  the  emperors,  by 
King  Agrippa,  and  King  Archelaus,  and 
Herod,  king  of  Chalcis;  and  he  was  there 
honoured  with  a  statue :  and  these  his 
books  were  reposited  at  the  public  library 
at  Rome,  as  we  know  from  Josephus 
himself,  from  Eusebius,  and  Jerom,  while 
we  never  hear  of  any  other  history  of 
the  Jews  that  had  then  and  there  any  such 
attestations  or  recommendations.  Some 
things,  indeed,  Tacitus  might  take  from 
the  Roman  records  of  this  war,  I  mean 
from  the  Commentaries  of  Vespasian, 
which  are  mentioned  by  Josephus  himself, 
in  his  own   Life,  sect.  65,  vol.   iv.,  and 


some  others  from  the  relations  of  Roman 
people,  where  the  affairs  of  Rome  were 
concerned  j  as  also  other  affairs  might  be 
remembered  by  old  officers  and  soldiers 
that  had  been  in  the  Jewish  war.  Ac- 
cordingly, I  still  suppose  that  Tacitus  had 
some  part  of  his  information  these  ways, 
and  particularly  where  he  a  little  differs 
from  or  makes  additions  to  Josephus : 
but  then,  as  this  will  all  reach  no  further 
than  three  or  four  years  during  this  war, 
so  will  it  by  no  means  account  for  that 
abridgment  of  the  geography  of  the  coun- 
try, and  entire  series  of  the  principal 
facts  of  history  thereto  relating,  which 
are  in  Tacitus,  from  the  days  of  Anti- 
ochus  Epiphanes,  240  years  before  that 
war,  with  which  Antiochus  both  Jose- 
phus and  Tacitus  begin  their  distinct 
histories  of  the  Jews,  preparatory  to  the 
history  of  this  last  war.  Nor  could  Taci- 
tus take  the  greatest  part  of  those  earlier 
facts  belonging  to  the  Jewish  nation  from 
the  days  of  Moses,  or  to  Christ  and  the 
Christians  in  the  days  of  Tiberius,  from 
Roman  authors ;  of  which  Jewish  and 
Christian  affairs  those  authors  had  usually 
very  little  knowledge,  and  which  the 
heathen  generally  did  grossly  pervert  and 
shamefully  falsify  :  and  this  is  so  true 
as  to  Tacitus's  own  accounts  of  the  origin 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  that  the  reader  may 
almost  take  it  for  a  constant  rule,  that 
when  Tacitus  contradicts  Josephus's  Jew- 
ish Antiquities,  he  either  tells  direct 
falsehoods,  or  truths  so  miserably  dis- 
guised, as  renders  them  little  better  than 
falsehoods,  and  hardly  ever  lights  upon 
any  thing  relating  to  them  that  is  true 
and  solid,  but  when  the  same  is  in  those 
Antiquities  at  fhis  day  ;  of  which  matters 
more  will  be  said  in  the  notes  on  this 
history  immediately  following. 


HISTORY   OF   THE  JEWS. 
Book  V.  Chap.  II. 


Since  we  are  now  going  to  relate  the 
final  period  of  this  famous  city  [Jerusa- 
lem], it  seems  proper  to  give  an  account 
of  its  original.* — The  tradition  is,  that 
the  Jews  ran  away  from  the  island  of 
Crete,  and  settled  themselves  on  the  coast 
of   Libya,    and    this    at    the    time   when 


*  Most  of  these  stories  are  so  entirely  ground- 
less, and  ><>  contradictory  to  one  another,  that  they 
do  not  deserve  a  serious  confutation.  It  is  strange 
Tacitus  could  persuade  himself  thus  crudely  to  set 
them  down 


Saturn  was  driven  out  of  his  kingdom  by 
the  power  of  Jupiter:  an  argument  for  it 
is  fetched  from  their  name.  The  mountain 
Ida  is  famous  in  Crete ;  and  the  neigh- 
bouring inhabitants  are  named  Idaei, 
which,  with  a  barbarous  augment,  be- 
comes the  name  of  Judsei  [Jews].  Some 
say  they  were  a  people  that  were  very 
numerous  in  Egypt,  under  the  reign  of 
Isis,  and  that  the  Egyptians  got  free  i/om 
that    burden    bv   sending   theu   into  the 


952 


DISSERTATION  III. 


adjoining  countries,  under  their  captains 
Hierosolymus  and  Judas.  The  greatest 
part  say  they  were  those  Ethiopians  whom 
i.  ar  and  hatred  obliged  to  change  their 
habitations  in  the  reign  of  King  Cepheus.* 
Tkere  are  those  which  report  they  were 
Assyrians,  who,  wanting  lands,  got  toge- 
ther, and  obtained  part  of  Egypt,  and 
soon  afterward  settled  themselves  in  cities 
of  their  own,  in  the  lands  of  the  Hebrews, 
Mid  the  parts  of  Syria  that  lay  nearest  to 
them.!  Others  pretend  their  origin  to  be 
more  eminent,  and  that  the  Solymi,  a  peo- 
ple celebrated  in  Homer's  poems,  were  the 
founders  of  this  nation,  and  gave  this  their 
own  name  Hierosolyma  to  the  city  which 
they  built  there. £ 

Chap.  HI.]  Many  authors  agree,  that 
when  once  an  infectious  distemper  was 
arisen  in  Egypt,  and  made  men's  bodies 
impure,  Bocchoris  their  king  went  to  the 
oracle  of  [Jupiter]  Hammon,  and  begged 
he  would  grant  him  some  relief  against 
this  evil,  and  that  he  was  enjoined  to 
purge  his  nation  of  them,  and  to  banish 
this  kind  of  men  into  other  countries,  as 
hateful  to  the  gods  :§  that  when  he  had 
sought  for,  and  gotten  them  all  together, 
they  were  left  in  a  vast  desert;  that  here- 
upon the  rest  devotea  themselves  to  weep- 
ing and  inactivity  ;  but  one  of  those  exiles, 
Moses  by  name,  advised  them  to  look  for 
no  assistance  from  any  of  the  gods,  or 
from  any  of  mankind,  since  they  had  been 
abandoned  by  both,  but  bade  them  believe 
in  him,  as  in  a  celestial  leader,||  by  whose 
help  they  had  already  gotten  clear  of  their 
present  miseries.  They  agreed  to  it;  and 
though  they  were  unacquainted  with  every 
thing,  they  began  their  journey  at  random  : 
but  nothing  tired  them  so  much  as  want 
of  water  ,  and  now  they  laid  themselves 
lown  on  the  ground  to  a  great  extent,  as 
just  ready  to  perish,  when  a  herd  of  wild 


*  One  would  wonder  how  Tacitus  or  any  hea- 
thens could  suppose  the  African  Ethiopians,  under 
Jepheus,  who  are  known  to  be  blacks,  could  be 
the  parents  of  the  Jews,  who  are  known  to  be 
whites. 

f  This  account  comes  nearest  the  truth  ;  and  this 
Tacitus,  might  have  from  Josephus,  only  disguised 
by  himself. 

%  This  Taci/us  might  have  out  of  Josephus, 
intiq.  b.  vii.  c  iii. 

£  Strange  d<  ctrine  to  Josephus!  who  truly  ob- 
serves on  this  occasion,  that  the  gods  are  angry  not 
it  bodily  imperfections,  but  at  wicked  practices. 
Apion,  b.  i. 

||  This  believing  in  Moses  as  in  a  celestial  lender, 
(teems  a  blind  confession  of  Tacitus  that  Mosos  pro- 
fessed to  have  his  laws  from  God. 


r 


asses  came  from  feeding,  and  went  to  a 
rock  overshadowed  by  a  grove  of  trees. 
Moses  followed  them,  as  conjecturing  that 
there  was  [thereabout]  some  grassy  soil, 
and  so  he  opened  large  sources  of  water 
for  them.*  That  was  an  ease  to  them ; 
and  when  they  had  journeyed  continually 
six  entire  days, *f*  on  the  seventh  they  drove 
out  the  inhabitants,  and  obtained  those 
lands  wherein  their  city  and  temple  were 
dedicated. 

Chap.  IV.]  As  for  Moses,  in  order  to 
secure  the  nation  firmly  to  himself,  he 
ordained  new  rites,  and  such  as  were  con- 
trary to  those  of  other  men.  All  things 
are  with  them  profane  which  with  us  are 
sacred ;  and  again,  those  practices  are  al- 
lowed among  them  which  are  by  us  es- 
teemed most  abominable. £ 

They  place  the  image  of  that  animal  in 
their  most  holy  place,  by  whose  indication 
it  was  that  they  had  escaped  their  wan- 
dering condition  and  their  thirst. § 

They  sacrifice  rams,  by  way  of  reproach, 
to  [Jupiter  Hammon].  An  ox  is  also 
sacrificed,  which  the  Egyptians  worship 
under  the  name  of  ^4pi's.|| 

They  abstain  from  swine's  flesh,  as  a 
memorial  of  that  miserable  destruction 
which  the  mange,  to  which  that  creature 
is  liable,  brought  on  them,  and  with  which 
they  had  been  defiled.^ 

That  they  had  endured  a  long  famine, 
they  attest  still  by  their  frequent  fastings.** 
And  that  they  stole  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  we  have  an  argument  from  the 
bread  of  the  Jews,  which  is  unlea- 
vened, ff 


*  This  looks  also  like  a  plain  confession  of  Taci- 
tus, that  Moses  brought  the  Jews  water  out  of  a 
rock  in  great  plenty,  which  he  might  have  from 
Josephus,  Antiq.  b.  iii.  c.  i. 

|  Strange  indeed,  that  600,000  men  should 
travel  above  200  miles  over  the  deserts  cf  Arabia 
in  six  days,  and  conquer  Judea  the  seventh  ! 

|  This  is   not  true  in  general,  but  only  so  far, 
that  the  Israelites  were  by  circumcision  and  other 
rites  to  be  kept  separate  from  the  wicked  and  idol 
atrous  nations  about  them. 

$  This  strange  story  contradicts  what  the  same 
Tacitus  will  tell  us  presently,  that  when  Pompey 
went  into  the  holy  of  holies  he  found  no  image 
there. 

||  These  are  only  guesses  of  Tacitus  or  his  r.  eathen 
authors,  but  no  more. 

^f  Such  memorials  of  what  must  have  been  very 
reproachful,  are  strangers  to  the  rest  of  mankind, 
and  without  any  probability. 

••  The  Jews  had  but  one  solemn  fast  of  old  in 
the  whole  year,  the  great  day  of  expiation. 

ff  Unleavened  bread  was  only  used  at  the  pass 
over. 


DISSERTATION   III. 


It  is  generally  supposed  they  rest  on 
the  seventh  day,*  because  that  day  gave 
them  [the  first]  rest  from  their  labours. 
Besides  which,  they  are  idle  on  every 
seventh  year, -J"  as  being  pleased  with  a 
lazy  life.  Others  say,  that  they  do  honour 
thereby  to  Saturn  ;J  or,  perhaps,  the 
Jdaei  gave  them  this  part  of  their  religion, 
who  [as  we  said  above]  were  expelled  to- 
gether with  Saturn,  and  who,  as  we  have 
been  informed,  were  the  founders  of  this 
nation ;  or  else  it  was  because  the  star 
Saturn  moves  in  the  highew:  orb,  and  of 
the  seven  planets  exerts  the  principal  part 
of  that  energy  whereby  mankind  arc  go- 
verned :  and,  indeed,  that  most  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  exert  their  power,  and 
perform  their  courses,  according  to  the 
number  seven. § 

Chap.  V.]  These  rites,  by  what  man- 
ner soever  they  were  first  begun,  are 
supported  by  their  antiquity. ||  The  rest 
of  their  institutions  are  awkward,^"  im- 
pure, and  got  ground  by  their  pravity  j 
for  every  vile  fellow,  despising  the  rites 
of  his  forefathers,  brought  thither  their 
tribute  and  contributions,  by  which 
means  the  Jewish  commonwealth  was 
augmented.  And  because  among  them- 
selves there  is  an  unalterable  fidelity 
and  kindness  always  ready  at  hand,  but 
bitter  enmity  to  all  others,**  they  are  a 
people  separated  from  others  in  their 
food,  and  in  their  beds;  though  they  be 
the  lewdest  nation  upon   earth,    yet  will 


*  It  is  very  strange  that  Tacitus  should  not  know 
or  confess  that  the  Jews'  seventh  day,  and  seventh 
year  of  rest,  were  in  memory  of  the  seventh,  or 
Sabbath-day's  rest,  after  the  six  days  of  creation. 
Every  Jew,  as  well  as  every  Christian,  could  have 
informed  him  of  those  matters. 

f  A  strange  hypothesis  of  the  origin  of  the  sab- 
batic year,  and  without  all  good  foundation.  Taci- 
tus probably  had  never  heard  of  the  Jews'  year  of 
jubilee,  so  he  says  nothing  of  it. 

i  As  if  the  Jews,  in  the  days  of  Moses,  or  long 
before,  knew  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans  would 
long  afterward  call  the  seventh  day  of  the  week 
Saturn's  day;  which  Dio  observes  was  not  so  called 
of  old  time  ;  and  it  is  a  question  whether,  before 
the  Jews  fell  into  idolatry,  they  ever  heard  of  such 
a  star  or  god  as  Saturn.  Amos  v.  25;  Acts 
vii.  43. 

#  That  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  rule  over  the 
affairs  of  mankind,  was  a  heathen,  and  not  a  Jewish 
notion.  Neither  Jews  nor  Christians  were  permit- 
ted to  deal  in  astrology,  though  Tacitus  seems  to 
have  been  deep  in  it. 

||  This  acknowledgment  of  the  antiquity  of  Moses, 
and  of  his  Jewish  settlement,  was  what  thd  heathens 
cared  not  always  to  own. 

^f  Wha>  these  pretended  awkward  and  impure 
institutioi  s  were,  Tacitus  does  not  inform  us. 

**  Joseph  us  shows  the  contrary,  as  to  the  laws 
wf  Moses,  contr  Apion,  b.  ii. 


they  not  corrupt  foreign  women,*  though 
nothing  be  esteemed  unlawful  among 
themselves.*)" 

They  have  ordained  circumcision  of  the 
parts  of  generation,  that  they  may  there- 
by be  distinguished  from  other  people  : 
the  proselytesj  to  their  religion  have  the 
same  usage. 

They  are  taught  nothing  sooner  *:han 
to  despise  the  gods,  to  renounce  their 
country,  and  to  have  their  parents,  chil- 
dren, and  brethren  in  the  utmost  con- 
tempt :§  but  still  they  take  care  to  increase 
and  multiply,  for  it  is  esteemed  utterly 
unlawful  to  kill  any  of  their  children. 

They  also  look  on  the  souls  of  those 
that  die  in  battle,  or  are  put  to  death 
for  their  crimes,  as  eternal  Hence 
comes  their  love  of  posterity  and  con- 
tempt of  death. 

They  derive  their  custom  of  burying, 
instead  of  burning,  their  dead,  from  the 
Egyptians  :||  they  have  also  the  same  care 
of  the  dead  with  them,  and  the  same  per- 
suasion about  the  invisible  world  below: 
but  of  the  gods  above,  their  opinion  is 
contrary  to  theirs.  The  Egyptians  wor- 
ship abundance  of  animals,  and  images  of 
various  sorts. 

The  Jews  have  no  notion  of  any  more 
than  one  divine  being,^[  and  that  known 
only  by  the  mind.  They  esteem  such  to 
be  profane  who  frame  images  of  gods,  out 
of  perishable  matter,  and  in  the  shape  of 
men.  That  this  being  is  supreme  and 
eternal,  immutable  and  imperishable,  is 
their  doctrine.  Accordingly,  they  have 
no  images  in  their  cities,  much  less  in 
their  temples :  they  never  grant  this 
piece  of  flattery  to  kings,  or  this  kind  of 

*  A  high,  and,  I  doubt,  a  false  commendation 
of  the  Jews. 

f  An  entirely  false  character,  and  contrary  to 
their  many  laws  against  uncleanness.  See  Jose- 
phus,  Antiq.  b.  iii.  c.  xi. 

J  The  proselytes  of  justice  only,  not  the  prose- 
lytes of  the  gate. 

$  How  does  this  agree  with  that  unalterable 
fidelity  and  kindness  which  Tacitus  told  us  the 
Jews  had  toward  one  another?  unless  he  only 
means  that  they  preferred  the  divine  commands 
before  their  nearest  relations,  which  is  the  highest 
degree  of  Jewish  and  Christian  piety. 

||  This  custom  is  at  least  as  old  among  the  He- 
brews as  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  the  cave  of 
Machpelah,  long  before  the  Israelites  went  into 
Egjpt.     Gen.  xxiii.  1-20;  xxv.  8-10. 

^[  These  are  valuable  concessions,  which  Tacitus 
here  makes,  as  to  the  unspotted  piety  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  in  the  worship  of  one  infinite,  invisible 
God,  and  absolute  rejection  of  all  idolatry,  and  of 
all  worship  of  images,  nay,  of  the  image  of  tie 
Emperor  Caius  biiaself,  or  of  rffor  Jing  it  a  place  io 
their  temple. 


1SERTATI0N    111. 


tor  to  emperors.41  l$ut  because  their 
.  wh-ii  they  play  on  the  pipe  and 
the  timbrels,  wear  ivy  round  their  head, 
and  ■  golden  vincj*  has  been  found  in 
their  temple,  Borne  have  thought  that 
the)  worshipped  our  father  Bacchus,  the 
ineror  of  t he  East ;  whereas  the  cere- 
monies of  the  Jews  do  not  at  all  agree  with 
those  of  Bacchus;  for  he  appointed  rites 
that  wore  of  a  jovial  nature,  and  fit  for 
festivals,  while  the  practices  of  the  Jews 
are  absurd  and  sordid. 

Chat.  VI.]  The  limits  of  Jndea  east- 
erly are  bounded  by  Arabia  :  Egypt  lies 
m  the  south  :  on  the  west  are  Phoenicia 
and  the  [great]  sea.  They  have  a  pros- 
pect of  Syria  on  their  north  quarter,  as 
at  some  distance  from  them. J 

The  bodies  of  the  men  are  healthy,  and 
such  as  will  bear  great  labours. 

They  have  not  many  showers  of  rain  : 
their  soil  is  very  fruitful :  the  produce  of 
their  land  is,  like  ours,  in  great  plenty. § 

They  have  also,  besides  ours,  two  trees 
peculkir  to  themselves,  the  balsam -tree  and 
the  palm-tree.  Their  groves  of  palms  are 
tall  and  beautiful.  The  balsam-tree  is  not 
very  large.  As  soon  as  any  branch  is 
swelled,  the  vines  quake  as  for  fear,  if  you 
bring  an  iron  knife  to  cut  them.  They 
are  to  be  opened  with  the  broken  piece  of 
a  stone,  or  with  the  shell  of  a  fish.  The 
juice  is  useful  in  physic. 

Libanus  is  their  principal  mountain,  and 
is  very  high,  and  yet,  what  is  very  strange 
to  be  related,  it  is  always  shadowed  with 
trees,  and  never  free  from  snow.  The 
same  mountain  supplies  the  river  Jordan 
with  water,  and  affords  it  its  fountains  also. 
Nor  is  this  Jordan  carried  into  the  sea  j 
it  passes  through  one  and  a  second  lake 
undiminished,  but  it  is  stopped  by  the 
third.  || 

This  third   lake  is  vastly  great  in  cir- 

*  All  these  concessions  were  to  be  learned  from 

Josephus.  and  almost  only  from  him  ;  out  of  whom, 

re,   I      include   Tacitus  took   the   finest  part 

of  hi.-  character  of  the  Jews. 

f  Tliis  particular  fact,  that  there  was  a  golden 

vine  in  the  front  of  the  Jewish    temple,  was   in   all 

probability  taken  by  Taeittu  out  of  Josephus :  but 

I  •■  Jewish  priests  were  never  adorned  with  ivy, 

the  signal  of  Bacchus,  how  Tacitus  came  to  ima- 
gine this,  I  cannot  telL 

I  Bee  the  ehorography  of  Judea  in  Josephus,  Of 
the  War,  h.  iii.:  wheme  most  probably  Tacitus 
framed  this  short  abridgmeni  of  it.  It  comes  in  both 
authors  naturally  before  V<         tan's  first  campaign. 

>c  The  latter  branch  of  this  Tacitus  might  have 
frnn  Josephus,  >f  the  War.  b.  i\.  <•.  viii.  The 
oth<r  U  do!  in  tk  t  presi  ol  copies. 

y  These  accounts  of  Jordan,  of  its  fountains  de- 
rived from  Mount  I.ihanus,  and  of  the  tWO  la! 


cumference,  as  if  it  were  a  sea.*  It  i«  of 
an  ill  taste  and  is  pernicious  try  the  adjoin- 
ing inhabitants  by  its  strong  tsmeli.  The 
wind  raises  no  waves  there,  nor  will  it 
maintain  either  fishes,  or  sach  birds  as  use 
the  water  The  reason  id  uncertain,  but 
the  fact  is  thus,  that  bodies  cast  into  it  are 
borne  up,  as  by  somewhat  solid.  Those 
who  can  and  those  wno  cannot  swim  are 
equally  borne  up  by  it.  \  At  a  certain  time 
of  the  yearj  it  casts  out  bitumen :  the 
manner  of  gathering  it,  like  other  arts, 
has  been  taught  by  experience  The  li- 
quor is  of  its  own  nature  of  a  black  co- 
lour j  and  if  you  pour  vinegar  upon  it,  it 
clings  together,  and  swims  on  the  top. 
Those  wnose  business  it  is  take  it  in  their 
hands  and  puii  it  into  the  upper  parts  of 
the  ship,  after  t\hich  it  follows,  without 
further  attraction,  and  fills  the  ship  full, 
till  you  cut  it  off:  nor  can  you  cut  it  off 
either  witn  a  brass  or  an  iron  instrument, 
but  it  cannot  bear  the  touch  of  blood, 
or  of  a  cloth  wet  with  the  menstrual  pur- 
gucions  of  women,  as  the  ancient  authors 
sny.  But  those  that  are  acquainted  with 
the  place  assure  us,  that  these  waves  of 
bitumen  are  driven  along,  aud  by  the  hand 
drawn  to  the  shore  ;  and  that  when  they 
are  dried  by  the  warm  steams  from  the 
earth  and  the  force  of  the  sun,  they  arp  cut 
in  pieces  with  axes  and  wedges,  as  timber 
and  stones  are  cut  in  pieces. 

Chap.  VII.]  Not  far  from  this  lake  are 
those  plains,  which  are  related  to  have  been 
of  old  fertile,  and  to  have  had  many§  ci- 
ties full  of  poople,  but  to  have  been  burnt 
up  by  a  stroke  of  lightning  :  it  is  also  said, 
that  the  footsteps  of  that  destruction  still 
remain,  and  that  the  earth  itself  appears  aa 
burnt  earth,  and  has  lost  its  natural  fer- 
tility :  and  that  as  an  argument  thereof, 
all  the  plants  that  grow  of  their  own  ac- 
cord, or  .are  planted  by  the  hand,  whether 
they  arrive  at  the  degree  of  an   herb,  or 

runs  through,  and  its  stoppage  by  the  third,  are  ex- 
actly agreeable  to  Josephus.  Of  the  War,  b.  iii.  c.  x. 

•  No  less  than  580  furlongs  long  and  150  broad, 
in  Josephus,  Of  the  War,  b.  iv.  c.  viii. 

f  Strabo  says,  that  a  man  could  not  sink  into  the 
water  of  this  lake  so  deep  as  the  navel. 

J  Josephus  never  says  that  this  bitumen  was  cast 
out  at  a  certain  time  of  the  year  only,  and  Strahosayi 
the  direct  contrary,  but  Pliny  agrees  with  Tacitus. 

#  This  is  exactly  according  tO  Josephus,  ani 
must  have  been  taken  from  him  in  the  place  fore- 
cited,  and  that  particularly  became  it  is  peculiar  to 
him,  bo  far  as  I  know,  in  all  antiquity.  The  rest 
thought  the  cities  were  in  the  very  same  place 
where  now  the  lake  is,  hut  Jc<=cphu8  and  Taeitu* 
say  they  were  in  its  neighrourhood  only,  which  if 
Mr.  Kelund's  opinion  also. 


DISSERTATION    III 


955 


of  a  flowei,  or  at  complete  maturity,  be- 
come black  and  empty,  and,  as  it  were, 
vanish  into  ashes.  As  for  myself,  as  I  am 
willing  to  allow  that  these  once  famous 
cities  were  burnt  by  fire  from  heaven,  so 
would  I  suppose  that  the  earth  is  infected 
with  the  vapour  of  the  lake,  and  the  spirit 
or  air  that  is  over  it  thereby  corrupted; 
and  that  by  this  means  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  both  corn  and  grapes,  rot  away, 
both  the  soil  and  the  air  being  equally  un- 
wholesome. 

The  river  Belus  does  also  run  into  the 
sea  of  Judea;  and  the  sands  that  are  col- 
lected about  its  mouth,  when  you  mix  ni- 
tre with  them,  are  melted  into  glass  :  this 
sort  of  shore  is  but  small,  but  its  sand, 
for  the  use  of  those  that  carry  it  off,  is  in- 
exhaustible. 

Chap.  VIII.]  A  great  part  of  Judea  is 
composed  of  scattered  villages  ;  it  also  has 
larger  towns  :  Jerusalem  is  the  capital  city 
of  the  whole  nation.  In  that  city  there 
was  a  temple  of  immense  wealth ;  in  the 
first  parts  that  are  fortified  is  the  city  it- 
self; next  it  the  royal  palace.  The  tem- 
ple is  enclosed  in  its  most  inward  recesses. 
A  Jew  can  come  no  farther  than  the  gates; 
ail  but  the  priests  are  excluded  by  their 
threshold.  While  the  East  was  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Assyrians,  the  Medes, 
and  the  Persians,  the  Jews  were  of  all 
slaves  the  most  despicable.* 

f  After  the  dominion  of  the  Macedo- 
nians prevailed,  King  Antiochus  tried  to 
conquer  their  superstition,  and  to  intro- 
duce the  customs  of  the  Greeks ;  but  he 
was  disappointed  of  his  design,  which  was 
to  give  this  most  profligate  nation  a  change 
for  the  better,  and  that  was  by  his  war 
with  the  Parthians,  for  at  this  time  Ar- 
saces  had  fallen  off  [from  the  Macedoni- 
ans]. 'Then  it  was  that  the  Jews  set  kings 
over  them,  because  the  Macedonians  were 
become  weak,  the  Parthians  were  not  yet 
very  powerful,  and  the  Romans  were  very 
remote  :  which  kings,  when  they  had  been 
expelled  by  the  mobility  of  the  vulgar, 
and  had  recovered  their  dominion  by  war, 
attempted  the  same  things  that  kings  used 
to  do,  I  mean  they  introduced  the  de- 
struction of  cities,  the  slaughter  of  bre- 


*  A  groat  slander  against  ths  Jews,  without  any- 
just  foundation.  Josephus  wjuld  have  informed 
bim  better. 

f  Here  begins  Josephus's  and  Tacitus's  true  ac- 


thren,  of  wives,  and  parents,  but  still  went 
on  in  their  superstition;  for  they  took  upou 
them  withal  the  honourable  dignity  of  the 
high-priesthood,  as  a  firm  secu.ity  to  their 
power  and  authority. 

Chap  IX.]  The  first  of  the  Romans 
that  conquered  the  Jews  was  Cneius  Pom- 
peius,  who  entered  the  temple  by  right 
of  victory.  Thence  the  report  was  every- 
where divulged,  that  therein  was  no  image 
of  a  god,  but  an  empty  place,  and  myste- 
ries, most  secret  places  that  have  nothing 
in  them.  The  wralls  of  Jerusalem  were 
then  destroyed,  but  the  temple  continued 
still.  Soon  afterward  arose  a  civil  war 
among  us;  and  when  therein  these  pro- 
vinces were  reduced  under  Marcus  Anto- 
nius,  Pacorus,  king  of  the  Parthians,  got 
possession  of  Judea,  but  was  himself  slain 
by  Paulus  Ventidius,  and  the  Parthians 
were  driven  beyond  Euphrates;  and  for 
the  Jews,  Caius  Socius  subdued  them. 
Antonius  gave  the  kingdom  to  Herod ; 
and  when  Augustus  conquered  Antonius, 
he  still  augmented  it. 

After  Herod's  death,  one  Simon,  with- 
out waiting  for  the  disposition  of  Caesar, 
took  upon  him  the  title  of  km</y  who  waa 
brought  to  punishment  by  [or  under] 
Quintilius  Varus,  when  he  was  president 
of  Syria.  Afterward  the  nation  was  re- 
duced, and  the  children  of  Herod  go- 
verned it  in  three  partitions. 

Under  Tiberius  the  Jews  had  rest. 
After  some  time  they  were  enjoined  to 
place  Caius  Caesar's  statue  in  the  temple; 
but  rather  than  permit  that,  they  took  up 
arms;*  which  sedition  was  put  an  end  to 
by  the  death  of  Caesar. 

Claudius,  after  the  kings  were  either 
dead  or  reduced  to  smaller  dominions, 
gave  the  province  of  Judea  to  Roman 
knights,  or  to  freedmen,  to  be  governed 
by  them.  Among  whom  was  Antonius 
Felix,  one  that  exercised  all  kind  of 
barbarity  and  extravagance,  as  if  he  had 
royal  authority,  but  with  the  disposition 
of  a  slave.  He  had  married  Drusilla, 
the  grand-daughter  of  Antonius,  so  that 
Felix  was  the  grand-daughter's  husband, 
and  Claudius  the  grandson  of  the  same 
Antonius. 

*  They  came  to  Petronius,  the  president  of 
Syria,  in  vast  numbers,  but  without  aruvi,  and  as 
humble  supplicants  only.  See  Tacitus  presently, 
where  he  afterward  sets  this  matter  almost  right, 
according  to  Josephus,  and  by  way  of  correction, 
counts  of  the  Jews  preliminary  to  the  last  wa~.  See  !  for  that  account  is  in  his  annals,  which  wera 
Of  the  War,  proasm.  written  after  this,  which  is  in  his  hist  /ries. 


^56 


DISSERTATION  III. 


ANSAL.     Book  XII. 


But  lie  that  was  the  brother  of  Pallas, 
whose  surname  was  Felix,  did  not  act 
with  the  same  moderation  [as  did  Pallas 
liinself].  He  had  been  a  good  while  ago 
*et  over  Judea,  and  thought  he  might 
be  guilty  of  all  sorts  of  wickedness  with 
impunity,  while  he  relied  on  so  sure  an 
authority. 

The  Jews  had  almost  given  a  specimen 
of  sedition  ;  and  even  after  the  death  of 
Caius  was  known,  and  they  had  not 
obeyed  his  command,  there  remained  a 
degree  of  fear,  lest  some  future  prince 
should  renew  that  command  [for  the  set- 
ting up  the  prince's  statue  in  their  tem- 
ple]. And  in  the  mean  time,  Felix,  by 
the  use  of  unseasonable  remedies,  blew 
up  the  coals  of  sedition  into  a  flame,  and 
was  imitated  by  his  partner  in  the  govern- 
ment, Ventidius  Cumanus;  the  country 
being  thus  divided  between  them,  that 
the  nation  of  the  Galileans  were  under 
Cumanus,  aud  the  Samaritans  under  Felix, 
which  two  nations  were  of  old  at  vari- 
ance, but  now,  out  of  contempt  of  their 
governors,  did  less  restrain  their  hatred  j 
they  then  began  to  plunder  one  another, 


to  send   in   parties   of  roobers,  to  lie  in 
wait,  and  sometimes  to  fight  battles,  and 
withal  to  bring  spoils  and  prey  to  the  pro- 
curators [Cumanus  and  Felix].      Where- 
upon these  procurators  began  to  rejoice; 
3  et  when  the  mischief  grew  considerable, 
SDldiers  were  sent  to  quiet  them,  but  the 
soldiers   were    killed;    and   the    province 
had  been  in   the  flame  of  war,  had    not 
Quadritus,  the  president  of  Syria,  afforded 
his  assistance.     Nor  was  it  long  in  dispute 
whether    the   Jews  who    had   killed    the 
soldiers  in  the  mutiny  should  be  put  to 
death:   it  was   agreed    they  should    die; 
only   Cumanus    and    Felix    occasioned    a 
delay ;    for    Claudius,   upon    hearing  the 
causes    as    to    this    rebellion,    had    given 
[Quadratus]  authority  to   determine   the 
case,  even   as   to   the    procurators   them- 
selves; but  Quadratus  showed  Felix  among 
the  judges,  and  took  him  into  his  seat  of 
judgment,  on  purpose  that  he  might  dis- 
courage his  accusers.     So  Cumanus  was 
condemned    for    those    flagitious   actions, 
of   which    both   he  and   Felix   had   been 
guilty,   and    peace    was    restored    to    the 
province.* 


HISTOR.     Book  V.  Chap.  X. 


However,  the  Jews  had  patience  till 
Gessius  Florus  was  made  procurator. 
Under  him  it  was  that  the  war  began. 
Then  CestiusGallus,  the  president  of  Syriar 
attempted  to  appease  it,  tried  several 
battles,  but  generally  with  ill  success. 

Upon  his  death,*  whether  it  came  by 
fate,  or  that  he  was  weary  of  his  life,  is 
uncertain,  Vespasian  had  the  good  fortune, 
by  his  reputation  and  excellent  officers, 
and  a  victorious  army,  in  the  space  of  two 
summers,  to  make  himself  master  of  all 
the  open  country,  and  of  all  the  cities, 
Jerusalem  excepted. 

[Flavius  Vespasianus,  whom  Nero  had 
chosen  for  his  general,  managed  the  Jew- 
ish war  with  three  legions.  Histor.  b.  i. 
z.  x.] 

The  next  year,  which  was  employed  in 
a  civil  war  at  [home],  so  far  as  the  Jews 
were  concerned,  passed  over  in  peace. 
When  Italy  was  pacified,  the  care  of 
foreign  parts  was  revived.  The  Jews 
wer)  the  only  people  that  stood  out,  which 

*  Joseph  us  says  nothing  of  the  death  of  Cestius  ' 
so  Tacitus  s».'.'niH  t<  bare  known  nothing  in  parti- 
cular abou   it. 


increased  the  rage  [of  the  Romans].  It 
was  also  thought  most  proper  that  Titus 
should  stay  with  the  army,  to  prevent  any 
accident  or  misfortune  which  the  new 
government  might  be  liable  to. 

[Vespasian  had  put  an  end  to  the  Jew- 
ish war :  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  was  the 
only  enterprise  remaining,  which  was  a 
work  hard  and  difficult,  but  rather  from 
the  nature  of  the  mountain,  and  the  obsti- 
nacy of  the  Jewish  superstition,  than 
because  the  besieged  had  strength  enough 
to  undergo  the  distresses  [of  a  siege]. 
We  have  already  informed  the  reader 
that  Vespasian  had  with  him  three  le- 
gions, well  exercised  in  war.  Hisloi. 
b.  ii.  c.  v.] 

When  Vespasian  was  a  very  young 
man,  it  was  promised  him  that  he  should 
arrive  at  the  highest  pitch  of  fame:  but 
what  did  first  of  all  seem  to  confirm  the 
omen  was  his  triumphs  and  consulship, 
and  the  glory  of  his  victories  over  the 
Jews.      When  he  had  once  obtained  these, 


•  Here  seems  to  be  a  great  mistake  about  th« 
Jewish  affairs  in  Tacitus.     See  Qc  the  War,  b.  ii 


DISSERTATION   III. 


957 


he  believod  it  was  portended  that  he 
should  come  to  the  empire.* 

There  is  between  Judea  and  Syria  a 
mountain  and  a  god,  both  called  by  the 
same  name  of  Carmel,  though  our  pre- 
decessors have  informed  us  that  this  god 
had  no  image,  and  no  temple,  and,  indeed, 
no  more  than  an  altar  and  solemn  wor- 
ship. Vespasian  was  once  offering  a  sacri- 
fice there,  at  a  time  when  he  had  some 
secret  thought  in  his  mind  :  the  priest, 
whose  name  was  Basilides,  when  he  over 
and  over  looked  at  the  entrails,  said, 
Vespasian,  whatever  thou  art  about,  whe- 
ther the  building  of  thy  house,  or  enlarge- 
ment of  thy  lands,  or  augmentation  of  thy 
slaves,  thou  art  granted  a  mighty  seat, 
very  large  bounds,  a  huge  number  of  men. 
These  doubtful  answers  were  soon  spread 
abroad  by  fame,  and  at  this  time  were 
explained :  nor  was  any  thing  so  much  in 
public  vogue ;  and  very  many  discourses 
of  that  nature  were  made  before  him,  and 
the  more  because  they  foretold  what  he 
expected. 

Mucianus  and  Vespasianus  went  away, 
having  fully  agreed  on  their  designs ;  the 
former  to  Antioch,  the  latter  to  Caesarea. 
Antioch  is  the  capital  of  Syria,  aud  Cae- 
sarea  the  capital  of  Judea.  The  com- 
mencement of  Vespasian's  advancement 
to  the  empire  was  at  Alexandria,  where 
Tiberius  Alexander  made  such  haste,  that 
he  obliged  the  legions  to  take  the  oath  of 
fidelity  to  him  on  the  calends  of  July, 
which  was  ever  after  celebrated  as  the 
day  of  his  inauguration,  although")"  the 
army  in  Judea  had  taken  the  oath  on  the 
fifth  of  the  nones  of  July,  with  that 
eagerness  that  they  would  not  stay  fur 
his  son  Titus,  who  was  then  on  the  road, 
returning  out  of  Syria,  c.  lxxix.  Ves- 
pasian delivered  over  the  strongest  part 
of  his  forces  to  Titus,  to  enable  him  to 
finish  what  remaiued  of  the  Jewish  war. 
Hist.  b.  iv.  c.  li. 

During  those  months  in  which  Vespa- 


•  Josephus  takes  notice  in  general  of  these  many 
omens  of  Vespasian's  advancement  to  the  empire, 
and  distinctly  adds  his  own  remarkable  prediction 
of  it  also.     Antiq.  b.  iii.  c.  viii. 

f  This  although  seems  to  imply  that  Vespasian 
was  proclaimed  emperor  in  Judea  before  he  was 
so  proclaimed  at  Alexandria,  as  the  whole  history 
of  Josephus  implies,  and  the  place  where  now 
Vespasian  was,  which  was  no  other  than  Judea, 
requires  also,  though  the  inauguration  day  might 
be  celebrated  afterward  from  his  first  proclamation 
at  the  great  city  Alexandria,  only  then  the  nones 
or  ides  in  Tacitus  and  Suetonius  must  be  of  June, 
and  not  of  July. 


sian  continued  at  Alexandria,  waiting  for 
the  usual  set  time  of  the  summer  gales  of 
wind,  and  stayed  for  settled  fair  weather 
at  sea,  many  miraculous  events  happened, 
by  which  the  good-will  of  heaven,  and  a 
kind  of  inclination  of  the  Deity  in  his 
favour,  was  declared. 

A  certain  man  of  the  vulgar  sort  at 
Alexandria,  well  known  for  the  decay  of 
his  eyes,  kneeled  down  by  him,  and 
groaned,  and  begged  of  him  the  cure  of 
his  blindness,  as  by  the  admonition  of 
Serapis,  that  god  which  this  superstitious 
nation  worships  above  others.  He  also 
desired  that  the  emperor  would  be  pleased 
to  put  some  of  his  spittle  upon  thj  balls 
of  his  eyes.  Another  infirm  main  there, 
who  was  lame  of  his  hand,  prayed  Caesar, 
as  by  the  same  god's  suggestion,  to  tread 
upon  him  with  his  foot.  Vespasian  at 
first  began  to  laugh  at  them,  and  to  reject 
them ;  and  when  they  were  instant  with 
him,  he  sometimes  feared  he  should  have 
the  reputation  of  a  vain  person,  and  some- 
times upon  the  solicitation  of  the  infirm, 
he  flattered  himself,  and  others  flattered 
him,  with  the  hopes  of  succeeding.  At 
last  he  ordered  the  physicians  to  give 
their  opinion,  whether  this  sort  of  blind- 
ness and  lameness  were  curable  by  the 
art  of  man  or  not?  The  physicians  an- 
swered uncertainly,  that  the  one  had  not 
his  visual  faculty  utterly  destroyed,  and 
that  it  might  be  restored,  if  the  obstacles 
were  removed;  that  the  other's  limbs 
were  disordered,  but  if  a  healing  virtue 
were  made  use  of,  they  were  capable  of 
being  made  whole.  Perhaps,  said  they, 
the  gods  are  willing  to  assist,  and  that  the 
emperor  is  chosen  by  divine  interposition  : 
however,  they  said  at  last,  that  if  the 
cures  succeeded,  Caesar  would  have  the 
glory,  if  not,  the  poor  miserable  objects 
would  only  be  laughed  at.  Whereupon 
Vespasian  imagined  that  his  good  fortune 
would  be  universal,  and  that  nothing  on 
that  account  could  be  incredible;  so  he 
looked  cheerfully,  and  in  the  sight  of  the 
multitude,  who  stood  in  great  expectation, 
he  did  what  they  desired  him :  upon 
which  the  lame  hand  was  recovered,  and 
the  blind  man  saw  immediately.  Both 
these  cures*  are  related  to  this  day  by 
those  that  were  present,  and  when  speak- 
ing falsely  will  get  no  reward. 

*  The  miraculous  cures  done  by  Vespasian  are 
attested  to  both  by  Suetonius  in  Vespasian,  sect. 
7,  and  by  Dio,  p.  217,  and  seem  to  me  well  attested. 
Our  Saviour  seems  to  b"ve  overruled  the  heathen 


DISSERTATION  III 


Book  V.  Chap.  I. 


:  the  beginning  of  the  same  year, 
Rtna  Caesar,  who  was  pitched  upon  by 
his  father  to  finish  the  conquest  of  Judea, 

and.  while  both  he  and  his  father  wore 
private    persons,   was  celebrated    for    his 

martial  conduct,  acted  now  with  greater 
vigour  and  hopes  of  reputation,  the  kind 
inclinations  both  of  the  provinces  and  of 
the  armies  striving  one  with  another  who 
should  most  encourage  him.  He  was 
also  himself  in  a  disposition  to  show  that 
he  was  more  than  equal  to  his  fortune; 
and  when  he  appeared  in  arms,  he  did  all 
things  after  such  a  ready  and  graceful 
way,  treating  all  after  such  an  affable 
manner,  and  with  such  kind  words,  as 
invited  the  good-will  and  good  wishes  of 
all.  He  appeared  also  in  his  actions  and 
in  his  place  in  the  troops  ;  he  mixed  with 
the  common  soldiers,  yet  without  any 
stain  to  his  honour  as  a  general.*  He 
was  received  in  Judea  by  three  legions, 
the  fifth  and  the  tenth,  and  the  fifteenth, 
who  were  Vespasian's  old  soldiers.  Syria 
also  afforded  him  the  twelfth,  and  Alex- 
andria soldiers  out  of  the  twenty-second 
and  twenty-third  legions.  Twenty  cohorts-)* 
of  auxiliaries  accompanied  him,  as  also 
eight  troops  of  horse. 

King  Agrippa  also  was  there,  and  King 
Sohemus,  and  the  auxiliaries  of  King 
Antiochus,  and  a  strong  body  of  Arabians, 
who,  as  is  usual  in  nations  that  are  neigh- 
bours to  one  another,  went  with  their 
accustomed  hatred  against  the  Jews,  with 
many  others  out  of  the  city  of  Rome,  as 
every  one's  hopes  led  him  of  getting 
early  into  the  general's  favour,  before 
others  should  prevent  them. 

sracle  of  Serapis  to  procure  the  divine  approbation 
to  Vespasian's  advancement  to  the  empire  of 
Rome,  as  he  suggested  the  like  upprobation  to  the 
advancement  both  of  Vespasian  and  Titus  to  Jose- 
phos,  which  two  were  to  be  hie  chosen  instruments 
in  bringing  on  that  terrible  destruction  upon  the 
Jewish  nation,  which  he  had  threatened  to  execute 
by  these  Roman  armies.  Nor  could  any  other 
Roman  generals  than  Vespasian  and  Titus,  at  that 
time,  in  human  probability,  have  prevailed  over  the 
Jews,  and  destroyed  Jerusalem,  as  this  whole  his- 
tory in  Josephns  implies.  Josephus  also  every- 
where supposes  Vespasian  and  Titus  raised  up  to 
lommand  against  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  and  to 
govern  the  Roman  empire  by  divine  providence, 
and  not  in  the  ordinary  way;  ai  also,  he  always 
supposes  this  destruction  a  divire  judgment  on  the 
'         for  their  sins. 

*  This  oharaoter  of  Titus  agrees  exactly  with 
the  history  of  Josephus  upon  all  oooasions. 

t  These  twenty  cohorts  and  eight  troops  of  horse 
»re  not  directly  enumerated  by  Josephus,  Antiq. 
b.  v.  c.  i. 


He  entered  into  the  borders  of  the 
enemies'  country  with  these  forces,  in  ex- 
act order  of  war  :  and  looking  carefully 
about  him,  and  being  ready  for  battle,  he 
pitched  his  camp  not  far  from  Jerusalem 

Chap.  X.]  When,  therefore,  he  had 
pitched  his  camp,  as  we  said  just  now, 
before  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  he  pomp- 
ously showed*  his  legions  ready  for  an 
engagement. 

Chap.  XI.]  The  Jews  formed  their 
camp  under  the  very  wallsj"  [of  the  city], 
and  if  they  succeeded,  they  resolved  to 
venture  farther,  but  if  they  were  beaten 
back,  that  was  their  place  of  refuge. 
When  a  body  of  cavalry  t  were  sent  against 
them,  and  with  them  cohorts,  that  were 
expedite  and  nimble,  the  fight  was  doubt- 
ful )  but  soon  afterward  the  enemies  gave 
ground,  and  on  the  following  days  there 
were  frequent  skirmishes  before  the  gates, 
till  after  many  losses  they  were  driven 
into  the  city.  The  Romans  then  betook 
themselves  to  the  siege,  for  it  did  not 
seem  honourable  to  stay  till  the  enemies 
were  reduced  by  famine.  §  The  soldiers 
were  very  eager  to  expose  themselves  to 
dangers,  part  of  them  out  of  true  valour, 
many  out  of  a  brutish  fierceness,  and 
others  out  of  a  desire  of  rewards. 

Titus  had  Rome,  and  the  riches  and 
pleasures  of  it  before  his  eyes,  all  which 
seemed  to  be  too  long  delayed,  unless 
Jeruselam  could  be  soon  destroyed. 

The  city||  stood  on  a  high  elevation, 
and  it  had  great  works  and  ramparts  to 
secure  it,  such  indeed  as  were  sufficient 
for  its  fortification,  had  it  been  on  plain 
ground ;  for  there  were  two  hills,  of  a 
vast  height,  which  were  enclosed  by  walls 
made  crooked  by  art,  or  [naturally]  bend- 


*  This  word  in  Tacitus,  pompously  shmotd  hii 
legions,  looks  as  if  that  pompous  show,  which  was 
some  months  afterward  in  Josephus,  ran  in  hii 
mind,  Antiq.  b.  v.  c  ix. 

f  These   first   bickerings    and    battles  near  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  are  at  large  in  Josephus,  Antiq. 
|  b.  v.  c.  ii. 

X  Josephus  distinctly  mentions  these  horsemen 
i  or  cavalry,  600  in  number,  among  whom  Titus  had 
like  to  have  been  slaiu  or  taken  prisoner,  An  tin. 
b.  v.  c.  ii. 

g  Such  a  deliberation  and  resolution,  with  this 
very    reason,   that    it  would    be  dishonourable    to 
!  stay  till  the  Jews  were  starved  out   by  famine,  is 
in  Josephus,  Antiq.  b.  v.  c.  xii. 

||  This  description  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  its- 
two  hills,  its  three  walls,  and  four  towers,  <fce  ,  aro 
in   this  place  at    large   in  Josephus,   Antiq.    b.    v. 
i  c.  iv.     See  also  Pompey's  siege,  b.  xiv.  e.  it 


DISSERTATION  III. 


969 


mg  inward,  that  they  might  flank  the 
besiegers,  and  casts  darts  on  them  side- 
way.  The  extreme  parts  of  the  rock  were 
craggy,  and  the  towers,  when  they  had 
the  advantage  of  the  ground,  were  60 
feet  high  :  when  they  were  built  on  the 
plain  ground  they  were  not  built  lower 
than  120  feet :  they  were  of  uncommon 
beauty,  and  to  those  who  looked  at  them 
at  a  great  distance,  they  seemed  equal. 
Other  walls  there  were  beneath  the  royal 
palace,  besides  the  tower  of  Antonia,  with 
its  top  particularly  conspicuous.  It  was 
called  so  by  Herod,  in  honour  of  Marcus 
Antonius. 

Chap.  XII.]  The  temple  was  like  a 
citadel,  having  walls  of  its  own,  which 
had  more  labour  and  pains  bestowed  on 
them  than  the  rest.  The  cloisters  where- 
with the  temple  was  enclosed  were  an 
excellent  fortification. 

They  had  a  fountain  of  water  that  ran 
perpetually ;  and  the  mountains  were 
hollowed  under  ground ;  they  had  more- 
over pools*  and  cisterns  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  rain-water. 

They  that  built  this  city  foresaw,  that, 
from  the  difference  of  their  conduct  of 
life  from  their  neighbours,  they  should 
have  frequent  wars ;  thence  it  came  to 
pass  that  they  had  provisions  for  a  long 
siege.  After  Pompey's  conquest  also 
their  fear  and  experience  had  taught  them 
generally  what  they  should  want.")" 

Moreover,  the  covetous  temper  that 
prevailed  under  Claudius  gave  the  Jews 
an  opportunity  of  purchasing  for  money 
leavej  to  fortify  Jerusalem;  so  they  built 
walls  in  time  of  peace,  as  if  they  were 
going  to  war,  they  being  augmented  in 
number  by  those  rude  multitudes  of  peo- 
ple that  retired  thither  on  the  ruin  of  the 
other  cities;    for   every  obstinate   fellow 

*  Of  these  pools,  see  Josephus,  b.  v.  c.  xi.  The 
cisterns  are  not  mentioned  by  him  here,  though 
they  be  mentioned  by  travellers.  See  Reland's 
Palestine,  torn.  i.  p.  304. 

f  This  is  Tacitus's  or  the  Romans'  own  hypo- 
thesis, unsupported  by  Josephus. 

J  This  sale  of  leave  for  the  Jews  to  build  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  for  money  is  also  Tacitus's  or 
the  Romans' own  hypothesis,  unsupported  by  Jose- 
phus. Nor  is  Josephus's  character  of  Claudius 
near  so  bad,  as  to  other  things  also,  as  it  is  in 
Tacitus  and  Suetonius.  Dio  says,  he  was  far  from 
covetousness  in  particular.  The  others  seem  to 
have  misrepresented  his  meek  and  quiet  temper 
and  learning,  but  without  ambition,  and  his  great 
kindness  to  the  Jews,  as  the  most  contemptible 
folly.  See  Antiq.  b.  xix.  c.  iv.  He  was,  in- 
deed, much  ruled  at  first  by  a  very  bad  minister, 
Pallas ;  and  at  last  was  ruled  and  poisoned  by  a 
rery  bad  wife,  Agrippina, 


ran  away  thither,  and  there  became  more 
seditious  than  before 

There  were  three  captains,  and  as  manv 
armies.  Simon  had  the  remotest  and 
largest  part  of  the  walls  under  him.  John, 
who  was  also  called  Bar  Gioras  [the  son 
of  Gioras],  had  the  middle  parts  of  the 
city  under  him  ;  and  Eleazar  had  fortified 
the  temple  itself.  John  and  Simon  were 
superior  in  multitude  and  strength  of 
arms,  Eleazar  was  superior  by  his  situa- 
tion; but  battles,  factions,  and  burnings 
were  common  to  them  all ;  and  a  great 
quantity  of  corn  was  consumed  by  fire. 
After  a  while  John  sent  some  who,  under 
the  pretence  of  offering  sacrifice,  might 
slay  Eleazar  and  his  body  of  troops,  which 
they  did,  and  got  the  temple  under  their 
power.  So  the  city  now  was  parted  into 
two  factions,  until,  upon  the  coming  of 
the  Romans,  this  war  abroad  produced 
peace  between  these  that  were  at  home. 

Chap.  XIII. ]  Such  prodigies*  had 
happened  as  this  nation,  which  is  super- 
stitious enough  in  its  own  way,  would  not 
agree  to  expiate  by  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Roman  religion,  nor  would  they  atone 
the  gods  by  sacrifices  and  vows,  as  these 
used  to  do  on  the  like  occasions.  Armies 
were  seen  to  fight  in  the  sky,  and  their 
armour  looked  of  a  bright  red  colour,  and 
the  temple  shone  with  sudden  flashes  of 
fire  out  of  the  clouds.  The  doors  of  the 
temple  were  opened  on  a  sudden,  and  a 
voice  greater  than  human  was  heard,  tha 
the  gods  were  retiring ;  and  at  the  same 
time  was  there  a  great  motion  perceived, 
as  if  they  were  going  out  of  it,  which 
some  esteemed  to  be  causes  of  terror.  The 
greater  part  had  a  firm  belief  that  it  was 
contained  in  the  old  sacerdotal  books,  that 
at  this  very  time  the  east  would  prevail 
and  that  some  that  came  out  of  Judca 
should  obtain  the  empire  of  the  world, 
which  obscure  oracle  foretold  Vespasian 
and  Titus;  but  the  generality  of  the  ccm- 
mon  people,  as  usual,  indulged  their  awn 
inclinations,  and  when  they  had  once  in- 
terpreted all  to  forebode  grandeur  to  them- 
selves, adversity  itself  could  not  persuade 
them  to  change  their  minds,  though  it  were 
from  falsehood  to  truth. f 

We  have  been  informed  that  the  num- 
ber of  the  besieged,  of  every  age,  and  of 
both    sexes,   male   and    female,    was    six 

*  These  prodigies,  and  more,  are  at  large  in  Jo- 
sephus, Antiq.  b.  vi.  c.  v. 

f  This  interpretation  and  reflections  are  in  Jose 
phub,  Antiq.  b.  vi.  c.  v. 


9G0 


DISSERTATION  III. 


hundred  thousand.41  There  were  weapons 
for  all  that  could  carry  them,  and  more 
than  oould  be  expected,  for  their  number 
wne  bold  enough  to  do  so.  The  men 
and  the  women  were  equally  obstinate; 
and  when  they  supposed  they  were  to  be 
carried  captive,  they  were  more  afraid  of 
life  than  of  death. 

Against    this    city    and    nation    Titus 


Caesar  resolved  to  fight  by  ramparts  and 
ditches,  since  the  situation  of  the  place 
did  not  admit  of  taking  it  by  storm  or 
surprise.  He  parted  the  duty  among  the 
legions;  and  there  were  no  further  en- 
gagements, until  whatever  had  been  in- 
vented for  the  taking  of  cities  by  the  an- 
cients, or  by  the  ingenuity  of  the  moderns, 
was  got  ready. 


ANNAL.     Book  XV. 


NERO,  in  order  to  stifle  the  rumour  [as 
if  he  had  himself  set  Rome  ou  fire],  as- 
cribed it  to  those  people  who  were  hated 
for  their  wicked  practices,  and  called  by 
the  vulgar  Christians;  these  he  punished 
exquisitely.  The  author  of  this  name 
was  Christ,  who,  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius, 
was  brought  to  punishment  by  Pontius 
Pilate,  the  procurator.f  For  the  present 
this  pernicious  superstition  was  in  part 
suppressed,  but  it  brake  out  again,  not 
only  over  Judea,  whence  this  mischief  first 
sprang,  but  in  the  city  of  Home  also,  whi- 
ther do  run  from  every  quarter  and  make 
a  noise,  all  the  flagrant  and  shameful  enor- 
mities. At  first,  therefore,  those  were 
seized  who  confessed,  afterward  a  vast 
multitude  were  detected  by  them,  and 
were  convicted,  not  so  much  as  really 
guilty  of  setting  the  city  on  fire,  but  as 
hating  all  mankind ;  nay,  they  made  a 
mock  of  them  as  they  perished,  and  de- 
stroyed them  by  putting  them  into  the 
skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  setting  dogs  upon 
them  to  tear  them  to  pieces.  Some  were 
nailed  to  crosses,  and  others  flamed  to 
death  ;  they  were  also  used  in  the  night- 
time instead  of  torches,  for  illumination. 


Nero  had  offered  his  own  gardens  for  this 
spectacle.  He  also  gave  them  Circensian 
games,  and  dressed  himself  like  a  driver 
of  a  chariot,  sometimes  appearing  among 
the  common  people,  sometimes  in  the 
circle  itself;  whence  a  commiseration  arose, 
though  the  punishments  were  levelled  at 
guilty  persons,  and  such  as  deserve  to  be 
made  the  most  flagrant  examples,  as  if 
these  people  were  destroyed,  not  for  the 
public  advantage,  but  to  satisfy  the  bar- 
barous humotir  of  one  man. 

JV.  B.  Since  I  have  set  down  all  the 
vile  calumnies  of  Tacitus  upon  the  Chris- 
tians as  well  as  the  Jews,  it  will  be  proper, 
before  I  come  to  my  observations,  to  set 
down  two  heathen  records  in  their  favour, 
and  those  hardly  inferior  in  antiquity,  and 
of  much  greater  authority  than  Tacitus,  1 
mean  Pliny's  epistle  to  Trajan,  when  he 
was  proconsul  of  Bithyuia,  with  Trajan's 
answer  or  rescript  to  Pliny,  cited  by  Ter- 
tullian,  Eusebius,  and  Jerom.  These 
are  records  of  so  great  esteem  with 
Havcrcamp,  the  last  editor  of  Josephus, 
that  he  thinks  they  not  only  deserve  to 
be  ready  but  almost  to  be  learned  by  heart 
also. 


PLINY'S   EPISTLE   TO  TRAJAN. 
About  A.  D.  112. 


Sir,  it  is  my  constant  method  to  apply 
myself  to  you  for  the  resolution  of  all  my 
doubts,  for  who  can  better  govern  my 
dilatory  way  of  proceeding,  or  instruct  my 


*  The  number  GOO. 000  for  the  besieged  is  no- 
where in  Josephus,  'jut  is  there  for  the  poor  buried 
at  the  public  charge,  Antiq.  b.  v.  e.  xii.,  which 
might  be  about  the  number  of  the  besieged  under 
u  Gallus,  though  they  were  many  more  after- 
ward at  Titus's  Biege(  aa  Josephus  implies,  Antiq. 
b.  vi.  c.  ix. 

f  This]  to  have  1 a direotly taken 

l roin  Josephus* s  famous  testimony  concerning 
1  !,  and  tin;  Christians,  Antiq.  b.  wiii.  e.  iii..  of 
which  In  isei ;.  I.  I: 


ignorance  ?  I  have  never  been  present  at  the 
examination  of  the  Christians  [by  others], 
on  which  account  I  am  unacquainted  with 
what  uses  to  be  inquired  into,  and  what 
and  how  far  they  used  to  be  punished : 
nor  are  my  doubts  small,  whether  there 
be  not  a  distinction  to  be  made  between 
the  ages  [of  the  accused],  and  whether 
tender  youth  ought  to  have  the  same  pu- 
nishment with  strong  men  ?  whether  there 
be  not  room  for  pardon  upon  repentance  ?* 

*  Till  now  it  Beems  repentance  was  not  commonly 
allowed  those  that  had  been  onee  Christians,  but 
though  they  recanted,  and  returned  to  idolatry  yet 


DISSERTATION  III. 


961 


ot  whether  it  may  not  be  an  advantage  to 
one  that  had  been  a  Christian,  that  he  has 
forsaken  Christianity  ?  whether  the  bare 
name,*  without  any  crimes  besides,  or  the 
crimes  adhering   to  that  name,  be  to  be 
punished  ?       In  the    mean  time,   I  have 
taken   this  course  about  those  who  have 
been  brought  before  me  as  Christians  : — 
I  asked   them  whether  they  were  Chris- 
tians or  not  ?     If  they  confessed  that  they 
were  Christians,  I  asked  them  again,  and 
a   third     time,    intermixing    threatenings 
with  the  questions  :  if  they  persevered  in 
their   confession,    I    ordered   them    to  be 
executed  -f  for  I  did  not  doubt  but,  let 
their  confession  be  of  any  sort  whatsoever, 
this  positiveness  and   inflexible  obstinacy 
deserved    to    be    punished.      There    have 
been  some  of  this  mad  sect  whom  I  took 
notice  of  in  particular  as  Roman  citizens, 
that   they    might   be   sent  to  that   city. j 
After  some  time,  as  is  usual   in  such  ex- 
aminations, the  crime  spread   itself,  and 
many  more  cases  came  before  me.   A  libel 
was  sent   me,  though  without  an  author, 
containing  many  names   [of   persons  ac- 
cused].    These   denied    that    they    were 
Christians  now,  or  ever  had  been.     They 
called  upon  the  gods,  and  supplicated  to 
your  image, §  which  I  caused  to  be  brought 
to  me  for  that  purpose,  with  frankincense 
and  wine  :  they  also  cursed  Christ  :||  none 
of  which  things,  as  it  is  said,  can  any  of 
those  that  are  really  Christians  be  com- 
pelled to  do ;  so  I  thought  fit  to  let  them 
go.     Others  of  them,  that  were  named  in 
the  libel,  said  they  were  Christians,  but 
presently  denied  it  again  j  that,   indeed, 


were  they  commonly  put  to  death.  This  was  per- 
secution in  perfection. 

•  This  was  the  just  and  heavy  complaint  of  the 
ancient  Christians,  that  they  commonly  suffered  for 
that  bare  name,  without  the  pretence  of  any 
crimes  they  could  prove  against  them.  This  was 
also  persecution  in  perfection  ! 

f  Amazing  doctrine  !  that  a  firm  and  fixed  reso- 
lution of  keeping  a  good  conscience  should  be 
thought  without  dispute  to  deserve  death,  and  this 
by  such  comparatively  excellent  heathens  as  Pliny 
and  Trajan ! 

\  This  was  the  case  of  St.  Paul,  who,  being  a 
citizen  of  Rome,  was  allowed  to  appeal  unto  Ccetar, 
and  was  sent  to  Home  accordingly.  Acts  xxii. 
25-29  ;  xxv.  25  ;  xxvi.  32  ;   xxvii. 

§  Amazing  stupidity  !  that  the  emperor's  image, 
even  while  he  was  alive,  should  be  allowed  capable 
of  divine  worship,  even  by  such  comparatively  ex- 
cellent heathens  as  Pliny  and  Trajan. 

||  Take  hero  a  parallel  account  out  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  Polycarp,  sect.  9.  The  proconsul  said — "  Re- 
proach Christ."  Polycarp  replied — "  Eighty  and 
eix  years  have  I  now  served  Christ,  and  he  has 
never  done  me  the  least  wrong;  how  then  can  I 
blaspheme  my  King  and  my  Saviour  ?" 

61 


they  had  been  Christians,  but  had  ceased 
to  be  so,  some  three  years,  some  many 
more;  and  one  there  was  that  said  he  had 
not  been  so  these  twenty  years.  All  these 
worshipped  your  image,  and  the  images 
of  our  gods :  these  also  cursed  Christ. 
However,  they  assured  me,  that  the  main 
of  their  fault,  or  of  their  mistake  was 
this, — that  they  were  wont,  on  a  stated 
day,  to  meet  together  before  it  was  light, 
and  to  sing  a  hymn  to  Christ,  as  a  god, 
alternately ;  and  to  oblige  themselves  by 
a  sacrament  [or  oath],  not  to  do  any  thing 
that  was  ill,  but  that  they  would  commit 
no  theft,  or  pilfering,  or  adultery ;  that 
they  would  not  break  their  promises,  or 
deny  what  was  deposited  with  them,  when 
it  was  required  back  again  :  after  which 
it  was  their  custom  to  depart,  and  to  meet 
again  at  a  common  but  innocent  meal,* 
which  yet  they  had  left  off  upon  that 
edict  which  I  published  at  your  command, 
and  wherein  I  had  forbidden  any  such 
conventicles.  These  examinations  made 
me  think  it  necessary  to  inquire,  by  tor- 
ments, what  the  truth  was,  which  I  did  of 
two  servant-maids,  which  were  called 
deaconesses;  but  still  I  discovered  no 
more,  than  that  they  were  addicted  to  a 
bad  and  an  extravagant  superstition. 
Hereupon  I  have  put  off  any  further  ex- 
aminations, and  have  recourse  to  you ;  for 
the  affair  seems  to  be  well  worth  consulta- 
tion, especially  on  account  of  the  number 
of  those  that  are  in  danger  yf  for  there  are 
many  of  every  age,  of  every  rank,  and  of 
both  sexes,  which  are  now  and  hereafter 
likely  to  be  called  to  account,  and  to  be  in 
danger ;  for  this  superstition  is  spread 
like  a  contagion,  not  only  into  cities  and 
towns,  but  into  country  villages  also, which 
yet  there  is  reason  to  hope  may  be  stop- 
ped and  corrected.  To  be  sure,  the  tem- 
ples, which  were  almost  forsaken,  begin 
already  to  be  frequented ;  and  the  holy 
solemnities,  which  were  long  intermitted, 
begin  to  be  revived.  The  sacrifices  begin 
to  sell  well  everywhere,  of  which  very 
few  purchasers  had  of  late  appeared; 
whereby  it  is  easy  to  suppose  how  great  a 
multitude  of  men  may  be  amended,  if 
place  for  repentance  be  admitted. 


*  This  must,  xrost  probably,  be  the  feast  qf 
charity. 

f  Some  of  late  are  very  loath  to  believe  that  th« 
Christians  were  numerous  in  the  second  century ; 
but  this  is  such  an  evidence  that  they  were  very 
numerous,  at  least  in  Bithynia,  even  in  the  begin- 
ning of  that  century,  as  is  wholly  undeniable. 


9G2 


DISSERTATION  III. 


TRAJAN'S  EPISTLE  TO  PLINY. 


My  Pliny — You  have  taken  the  me- 
thod which  you  ought,  in  examining  the 
causes  of  those  that  had  been  accused  as 
Christians ;  for,  indeed,  no  certain  and 
general  form  of  judging  can  be  ordained 
in  this  case.  These  people  are  not  to  be 
sought  for ;  but  if  they  be  accused,  and 
convicted,  they  are  to  be  punished,  but 
with    this  caution,  that   he    who   denies 


himself  to  be  a  Christian,  and  makes  it 
plain  that  he  is  not  so  by  supplicating  to 
our  gods,  although  he  had  been  so  for- 
merly, may  be  allowed  pardon,  upon  his 
repentance.  As  for  libels  sent  without 
an  author,  they  ought  to  have  no  place 
in  any  accusation  whatsoever,  for  that 
would  be  a  thing  of  very  ill  example,  and 
not  agreeable  to  my  reign. 


OBSERVATIONS  UPON  THE  PASSAGES  TAKEN  OUT  OF  TACITUS. 


I.  We  see  here  what  great  regard  the 
best  of  the  Roman  historians  of  that  age, 
Tacitus,  had  to  the  history  of  Josephus, 
while,  though  he  never  names  him,  as  he 
very  rarely  names  any  of  those  Roman 
authors  whence  he  derives  other  parts  of 
his  history,  yet  does  it  appear  that  he 
refers  to  his  seven  books  of  the  Jewish 
Wars  several  times  in  a  very  few  pages, 
and  almost  always  depends  on  his  accounts 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Romans  and  Parthi- 
ans,  as  well  as  of  the  Jews,  during  no 
fewer  than  240  years,  to  which  those 
books  extend. 

II.  Yet  does  it  appear  that  when  he 
aow  and  then  followed  other  historians 
or  reports  concerning  the  Romans,  the 
Parthians,  or  the  Jews,  during  that  long 
interval,  he  was  commonly  mistaken  in 
them,  and  had  better  have  kept  close  to 
Josephus,  than  hearken  to  any  of  his 
other  authors  or  informers. 

III.  It  also  appears  highly  probata 
that  Tacitus  had  seen  the  Antiquities  of 
Josephus,  and  knew  that  the  most  part 
of  the  accounts  he  produced  of  the  origin 
of  the  Jewish  nation  entirely  contradicted 
those  Antiquities.  He  also  could  hardly 
avoid  seeing  that  those  accounts  contra- 
dicted one  another  also,  and  were  child- 
ish, absurd,  and  supported  by  no  good 
evidence  whatsoever :  as  also,  he  could 
hardly  avoid  seeing  that  Josephus' s  ac- 
counts in  those  Antiquities  were  authenti  \ 
substantial,  and  thoroughly  attested  U- 
by  the  ancient  records  of  that  nation, 
and  of  the  neighbouring  nations  also, 
which,  indeed,  no  one  can  now  avoid  see- 
ing, that  carefully  peruses  and  considers 
them. 

IV.  Tacitus,  therefore,  in  concealing 
the  greatest  part  of  the  true  ancient  his- 
tory of  the  Jewish  nation,  which  lay  be- 
fore him  in  Josephus,  and  producing  such 
fabulous,    ill-grounded,  and    partial    his- 


tories, which  he  had  from  the  heathens, 
acted  a  most  unfair  part;  and  this  pro- 
cedure of  his  is  here  the  more  gross,  in 
regard  he  professed  such  great  impartial- 
ity, Hist.  b.  i.  c.  i.,  and  is  allowed  to  have 
observed  that  impartiality  in  the  Romap 
affairs  also. 

V.  Tacitus's  hatred  and  contempt  of 
God's  peculiar  people,  the  Jews,  and  his 
attachment  to  the  grossest  idolatry,  su- 
perstition, and  astral  fatality  of  the  Ro- 
mans, were,  therefore,  so  strong  in  him, 
as  to  overbear  all  restraints  of  sober  reason 
and  equity  in  the  case  of  those  Jews, 
though  he  be  allowed  so  exactly  to  have 
followed  them  on  other  occasions  relating 
to  the  Romans. 

VI.  Since,  therefore,  Tacitus  was  so 
bitter  against  the  Jews,  and  sine:  he 
knew  that  Christ  was  a  Jew  himself,  and 
that  his  apostles  and  first  followers  wire 
Jews,  and  also  knew  that  the  Christian 
religion  was  derived  into  the  Roman  pro- 
vinces from  Judea,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
hi;  hatred  and  contempt  of  the  Jews  ex- 
tended itself  to  the  Christians  also,  whom 
the  Romans  usually  confounded  with  the 
Jews :  as,  therefore,  his  hard  words  of 
the  Jews  appear  to  have  been  generally 
groundless,  and  hurt  his  own  reputation, 
instead  of  theirs,  so  ought  we  to  esteem 
his  alike  hard  words  of  the  Christians  to 
be  blots  upon  his  own  character,  and  not 
theirs. 

VII.  Since,  therefore,  Tacitus,  soon 
after  the  publication  of  Josephus's  An- 
tiquities, and  in  contradiction  to  them,  was 
determined  to  produce  such  idle  stories 
about  the  Jews,  and  since  one  of  those 
idle  stories  is  much  the  same  as  that  pub- 
lished in  Josephus  against  Apion,  from 
Manetho  and  Lysimachus,  and  nowhere 
else  met  with  so  fully  in  all  antiquity, 
it  is  most  probable  that  those  Antiqui- 
ties of  Josephus  were  the  very   occasion 


DISSERTATION  III. 


9G3 


A  Tacitus  giving  us  these  stories,  as 
we  know  from  Josephus  himself,  contr. 
Apion,  b.  i.  s.  1,  that  the  same  Antiqui- 
ties were  the  very  occasion  of  Apion's 
publication  of  his  equally  scandalous 
Btories  about  them,  and  which  Josephus 
so  thoroughly  confuted  in  his  two  books 
written  against  them.  And  if  Tacitus,  as 
I  suppose,  had  also  read  those  two  books, 
his  procedure  in  publishing  such  stories, 
after  he  had  seen  so  thorough  a  confuta- 
tion of  them,  was  still  more  highly  crimi- 
nal. Nor  will  Tacitus' s  fault  be  much 
less,  though  we  suppose  he  neither  saw 
the  Antiquities,  nor  the  books  against 
Apion,  because  it  was  so  very  easy  for 
him,  then  at  Rome,  to  have  had  more  au- 
thentic accounts  of  the  origin  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  of  the  nature  of  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  religions,  from  the 
Jews  and  Christians  themselves,  which, 
he  owns,  were  very  numerous  there  in  his 
days  ;  so  that  his  publication  of  such  idle 
stories  is  still  utterly  inexcusable. 

VIII.  It  is,  therefore,  very  plain,  after 
all,  that  notwithstanding  the  encomiums 
of  several   of  our  learned    critics    uDon 


Tacitus,  and  hard  suspicions  upon  Jose- 
phus, that  all  the  (involuntary)  mistakes 
of  Josephus,  in  all  his  large  works  put 
together,  their  quality,  as  well  as  quantity, 
considered,  do  not  amount  to  near  so 
great  a  sum,  as  do  these  gross  errors  and 
misrepresentations  of  Tacitus  about  the 
Jews  amount  to  in  a  few  pages ;  so  little 
reason  have  some  of  our  later  and  lesser 
critics  to  prefer  the  Greek  and  iloman 
profane  historians  and  writers  to  the  Jew- 
ish, and  particularly  to  Josephus.  Such 
later  and  lesser  critics  should  have  learned 
more  judgment  and  modesty  from  their 
great  father  Joseph  Scaliger,  when,  as  we 
have  seen,  after  all  his  deeper  inquiries,  he 
solemnly  pronounces,  De  Emend.  Temp. 
Prolegom.  p.  17, — that  "Josephus  was 
the  most  diligent  and  the  greatest  lover 
of  truth  of  all  writers;"  and  is  not  afraid 
to  affirm,  that  "  it  is  more  safe  to  believe 
him,  not  only  as  to  the  affairs  of  the 
Jews,  but  also  as  to  those  that  are  foreign 
to  them,  than  all  the  Greek  and  Latin 
writers,  and  this  because  his  fidelity  and 
compass  of  learning  are  everywhere  con- 
spicuous." 


TABLE  OF  JEWISH  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES, 

PARTICULARLY    OF    THOSE    MENTIONED    IN    JOSEPHUS'S    WORKS. 


Of  the  Jewish  Measures  of  Length 


Cubit,  the  standard,  . 
Zcrcth  or  large  span, 
Small  span, 

Palm  or  hand's  breadth, 
Inch  or  thumb's  breadth, 
Digit  or  finger's  breadth, 
Orgyia  or  fathom, 
Ezekiel's  Canneh  or  Reed, 
Arabian  Cannah  or  pole, 
Schoenus,  line  or  chain, 
Sabbath-day's  journey, 
Jewish  mile, 
Stadium  or  furlong, 
Parasang, 


Inches.  Feet.  Inches. 

21  .     .     .     .     ;  1  9 

10.5  0  10£ 

7  0  7 

3.5  0  3£ 

1.16 0  1.16 

0.875 0  0.875 

84  7  0 

126  10  6 

168  14  0 

1,680  140  0 

42,000  3,500  0 

84,000  7,000  0 

8,400  700  0 

252,000  21,000           0 


Of  the  Jewish  Measures  of  Capacity. 


Bath  or  Epha,    . 

Corus  or  Chomer,    . 

Seah  or  Saton,     . 

Ditto,  according  to  Josephus, 

Hin,    .         .         .         .    "    . 

Ditto,  according  to  Josephus, , 

Omer  or  Assaron 

Cab, 

Log, 

Metretes  or  Syrian  firkin, 


Cub.  Inches. 

807.2/4 
8,072.74 
269.091 
828  28 
134.51 
414.12 
80.722 
44.859 
11.21 
207 


Pints  or  Pounds. 

27.83 
27S.3 
9.266 

28.3 
4.4633 

14.3 
2.7S 
1.544 
0.39 
7.125 


Of  the  Jewish  "Weights  and  Coins. 

£        s.        d. 

Stater,  Siclus,  or  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  the  standard, 0         2         6 

Tyrian  coin,  equal  to  the  shekel,          .........  026 

Bekah,  half  of  the  shekel,       .  • 013 

Drachma  Attica,  one-fourth,        ......*...  0         0         7J 

Drachma  Alexandrina,  or  Darchon,  or  Adarchon,  one-half,    .....  0         1         3 

Gerah,  or  Obolus,  one-twentieth,         .........  001^ 

Maneh,  or  Mna — 100  shekels  in  weight,  21,900  grains  Troy,  .... 

Maneh,  Mna,  or  Mina,  as  a  coin — 60  shekels,     .......  7       10         0 

Talent  of  silver— 3000  shekels, .  375         0         0 

Drachma  of  gold,  not  more  than          .........  011 

Shekel  of  gold,  not  more  than  ..........044 

Daric  of  gold,       .............  104 

Talent  of  gold,  not  more  than 64S         0         0 


TABLE  OF  THE  JEWISH  MONTHS 


IN  JOSEPnUS    AND    OTHERS,  WITH    THE    SYRO-MACEDOXI AX    NAMES    JOSEPHUS    GIVES   THEM, 
AND    THE    NAMES    OF    THE    JULIAN    OR    ROMAN    MONTHS    CORRESPONDING    TO    THEM. 

Roman  Names. 
March  and  April. 
April  and  May. 
May  and  June. 
June  and  July. 
July  and  August. 
August  and  September. 
September  and  October. 
October  and  November. 
November  and  December. 
December  and  January. 
January  and  February. 
February  and  March. 


Hebrew  Names. 

Syro-Macedonian  Names 

(1  )  Nisan. 

Xanthicus. 

(2.)  Jyar. 

Artemisius. 

(3.)  Sivan. 

Doesius. 

(4.)  Tamuz. 

Panemus. 

(5.)  Ah. 

Lous. 

(0.)  Elul. 

Gorpiseus. 

(7.)  Tiari. 

Hype.beretajus. 

(8.)  Marchesvan. 

Dius. 

(9.)  Casleu. 

Apclla?us. 

Mi).     Tebeth. 

Audynaeus. 

(11.)  Shebat. 

Peritius. 

(12.)   Adar. 

Dystrus. 

Vea'lar, 

or  the  Second  Adar 

,  intercalated. 

904 

INDEX 


Aaron,  88,  615 ;  made  high-priest,  109  ;  his  sons,  110 ; 
his  death,  127. 

Abdastartus,  890. 

Abdemon,  257,  890. 

Abdenago,  or  Abednego,  319. 

Abdon  succeeds  Elon,  170. 

Abel,  42 ;  his  sacrifice,  ib. 

Abiatbar,  tbe  sou  of  Abimelech,  209 ;  flies  to  David,  211 ; 
is  high-priest,  220,  228,  236,  242;  deprived  of  the 
high-priesthood,  245. 

Abibalus,  257 ;  890. 

Abigail  married  to  David,  204 ;  mother  of  Amasa,  231. 

Abihu,  the  son  of  Aaron,  109. 

Abijah,  or  Abia,  232 ;  266  ;  succeeds  his  father,  268 ; 
conquers  the  ten  tribes,  269. 

Abilamaradochus,  or  Evil-Merodach,  323. 

Abimael,  49. 

Abimelech  tyrannizes  over  the  Shechemites,  166;  ex- 
pelled, 1G7 ;  destroys  them  all,  168 ;  killed,  168. 

Abiram,  122. 

Abishag,  David's  nurse,  240  ;  245. 

Abishai,  205 ;  212 

Abner,  188,  212,  213,  et  seq. ;  Saul's  kinsman,  188;  gen- 
eral of  his  army,  212 ;  reconciles  the  Israelites  to 
David,  213;  is  killed,  214. 

Abram,  or  Abraham,  leaves  Chaldea,  goe3  to  Canaan,  49 ; 
,  lives  at  Damascus,  50;  at  Hebron,  50;  advises  his 
eons  to  plant  colonies,  56  ;  instructs  the  Egyptians  in 
the  mathematical  sciences,  50;  divides  the  country 
between  himself  and  i.,ot,  50 ;  God  promises  him  a 
eon,  51 ;  beats  the  Assyrians,  51 ;  dies,  58. 

Absalom,  217  ;  flies  to  Geshnr,  226 ;  recalled  by  a  strat- 
agem of  Joab's,  227  ;  rebels  against  David,  22s  ;  pur- 
sues him,  231 ;  his  army  put  to  flight,  232 ;  hangs  on 
a  tree  by  his  hair,  ib. ;  is  stabbed  by  Joab,  and  dies, 
ib. 

Achar,  or  Achan,  is  guilty  of  theft,  150 ;  is  punished, 
151. 

Achitopel,  or  Ahitopel,  228 ;  gives  evil  counsel,  229 ; 
hangs  himself,  231. 

Acme,  679 ;  her  letters  to  Antipater  and  Ilerod,  525 ; 
her  death,  529. 

Acmon,  attacks  David,  236  ;  is  killed  by  Abishai,  237. 

Acratheus,  or  llatach,  342. 

Actium,  battle  at,  459,  460,  4G3,  652. 

Ada,  the  wife  of  Lamech,  42. 

Adad,  a  king  of  Damascus,  219. 

Adam  created,  40  ;  his  fall,  42. 

Ader,  or  lladad,  219,  262. 

Adonias,  or  Adonijah,  pretends  to  the  crown,  240 :  takes 
sanctuary,  242 ;  is  refused  Abishag  to  wife,  245  ;  killed, 
246. 

Adonibesek,  made  prisoner,  his  hands  and  feet  cut  off, 
and  dies,  157. 

Adoram,  250. 

Adrasar,  or  Hadadezer,  219,  262. 

iEbutius,  a  decurion,  15. 

iEgypt,  whence  named,  889. 

^Egyptian  kings  called  Pharaohs  for  1300  years,  258. 

^Egyptians,  iamous  for  wisdom,  248;  learned  mathe- 
matics of  Abraham.  50 ;  their  sacred  scribes  or 
priests,  82;  held  it  unlawful  to  feed  cattle,  80. 

.Egyptian  false  prophet  put  to  flight  by  Felix,  611,700. 

JElius  Gallus,  475. 

iEmilius  Regulus,  574. 

iEneas,  succeeds  Obodas,  506. 

iEsop,  a  servant,  454. 

^Ethiopian  commodities  were  slaves  and  monkeys,  260. 

Agag,  189;  is  killed,  191. 

Agar,  or  Hagar,  and  Ishmael,  are  sent  away,  by  Abra- 
ham, 54. 

AyyapevaOai,  or  forcible  pressure  taken  off  the  Jews 
by  Demetrius,  385. 

Aggeus,  or  Haggai,  the  prophet,  334 ;  he  prophecies  at 
the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  334. 

Agones,  or  games,  instituted  by  Herod,  471 ;  at  the 
finishing  Caesarea,  657. 


Agrippa,  (Marcus)  his  bounty  towards  the  Jews,  360 ; 
splendidly  entertained  by  Herod,  486;  makes  equal 
returns  to  him,  486 ;  his  expedition  to  the  Bosphorus, 
486 ;  hears  the  cause  of  the  Jews  in  Ionia,  707  ;  con- 
firms their  privileges,  489 ;  his  letter  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  in  lavor  of  the  Jews,  497 ;  and  to  those  of  Gy- 
rene, 497. 

Agrippa  the  Great,  or  elder,  Herod's  grandson,  516,  553, 
670  ;  his  adventures,  554 ;  is  imprisoned,  558  ;  his  li- 
berty and  happiness  foretold,  558 ;  released,  and  made 
lord  of  two  tetrarchies,  with  the  title  of  king,  561 ; 
gives  Caius  a  sumptuous  entertainment  at  Rome,  565 ; 
is  sent  to  Claudius,  590 ;  his  advice  to  Claudius,  590 ; 
Claudius  bestows  on  him  almost  all  the  dominions  of 
his  grandfather,  592;  his  eulojdum,  596;  his  bounty 
towards  those  of  Berytus,  597  ;  he  treats  several  kings 
splendidly,  597;  entertains  Caesarea  with  shows,  and 
appears  himself  upon  the  stage  in  a  magnificent 
dress,  597 ;  dies  soon  after,  598 ;  his  death  and  chil- 
dren, 698;  Agrippa,  his  son  by  Cypros,  698;  did  not 
immediately  succeed  in  his  father's  kingdom,  598 ; 
Claudius  gave  him  that  of  his  uncle  Herod,  606  ;  to 
which  he  added  the  tetrarchies  of  Philip  and  Lysa- 
sanias,  608  ;  is  hurt  at  the  siege  of  Gamala,  759  ;  his 
letters  to  Josephus,  32 ;  his  speech  to  the  Jews,  to 
dissuade  them  from  a  war  with  the  Romans,  707. 

Agrippa,  son  of  Felix,  609. 

Agrippa  Fonteius  slain,  8(i2. 

Ahab,  272;  reproved  by  Elijah,  276;  fights  with  Ben- 
hadad,  277 ;  pardons  him,  278 ;  is  afterwards  killed 
by  the  Syrians,  280;  his  sons,  292. 

Ahaz,  the  king  of  Judah,  301. 

Ahaziah,  king  of  Israel,  281. 

Ahaziah,  king  of  Judah,  291. 

Abijah,  the  prophet,  263. 

Ahimelech,  or  Achimelech,  slain  by  the  order  of  Saul, 
200. 

Ahitophel,  or  Achitopel,  228 ;  gives  evil  counsel,  229 ; 
hangs  himself,  230. 

Ai  besieged,  150  ;  taken,  151. 

Aizel,  or  Uzal,  49. 

Alans,  870. 

Albinus,  613. 

Alcimus,  or  Jacimus,  379 ;  calumniates  Judas,  379 ;  dies, 
380. 

Alcyon,  a  physician,  584. 

Alexander  Lysiuiachus,  the  alabarch,  555,  593,  606. 

Alexander,  the  son  of  Alexander,  by  Glaphyra,  670. 

Alexander,  the  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  384 ;  sur- 
named  Balas,  ib.  in  note;  king  of  Syria,  385;  his 
letter  to  Jonathan,  ib. ;  engages  in  a  battle  with  De- 
metrius, 385 ;  demands  Ptolemy's  daughter  in  mar- 
riage, 387  ;  is  killed  in  Arabia,  and  his  head  sent  to 
Ptolemy,  390. 

Alexander  and  Aristobulus,  Herod's  sons,  strangled  by 
their  father's  order,  513,  670. 

Alexander,  the  son  of  Aristobulus,  421,  634;  makes  war 
upon  the  Romans,  634;  is  conquered,  635;  killed, 
424,  635. 

Alexander  Janneus  succeeds  his  brother  Aristobulus, 
627 ;  a  sedition  raised  against  him,  327 ;  his  expedi- 
tion against  Ptolemais,  406  ;  is  called  Thracida,  for 
his  barbarous  cruelty,  410;  dies  of  a  quartan  ague, 
411,  628;  his  sons  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus,  412, 
629. 

Alexander  the  Great  succeeds  his  father  Philip,  348 ; 
conquers  Darius,  349 ;  pursues  his  victories,  ib. ;  sends 
a  letter  to  the  high-priest  at  Jerusalem,  ib. ;  goes  to 
Jerusalem,  ib. ;  his  dream,  350;  adores  the  name  of 
God  on  the  high-priest's  forehead,  350;  enters  the 
temple,  ib.;  grants  privileges  to  the  Jews,  ib. ;  the 
Pamphylian  sea  gives  way  to  his  army,  94 ;  his  arms 
and  armor  kept  in  the  temple  of  Diana,  376. 

Alexander,  son  of  Phasaelus  and  Salampsio,  553. 

Alexander  (Tiberius)  succeeds  Cuspius  Fadus,  <;06, 698 ; 
is  made  procurator  of  Egypt,  704;  chief  commander 
of  the  Roman  army,  792,  844. 

965 


966 


INDEX. 


Alexander  Beblna,  king  of  Syria,  is  conquered  and 
diee,  401. 

indra,  Alexander  Janneus's  widow.  h<>Ms  the  ad- 
ministration after  Ins  death,  412;  dies,  413;  her 
enlogium,  4 1 1. 

indra,  daughter  of  Hyrcanus,  writes  a  letter  to 

ipatra,  462;  sends  the  pictures  of  her  son  and 

daughter  to  Antonius,  453;  is  feignedly  reconciled  to 

Herod,  453;  U  suspected  l>y  Herod, 464;  prepares  to 

fly  Into  Egypt,  464  :  bemoans  the  death  of  Aristo- 

bulU8.  466;  acquaints  Cleopatra  with    the  snares  of 

Herod,  and  the  death  of  her  son.  ib.;  is  put  into 
prison,  467;  her  indecent  behavior  towards  her 
daughter  Marianiue,  468;  is  killed  by  Herod's  order, 
4t.'.'. 

Alexandra,  daughter  of  Pha.saelus  and  Salampsio,  553; 
is  married  to  Tiniius  Cyprius,  ib. 

Alexandria,  a  great  part  of  that  city  assigned  to  the 
Jews,  423;  the  Jews  declare  its  citizens,  429. 

Alisphragmuthosis,  or  llalisphragmuthosis,  888. 

Aliturius,  a  Jew,  8. 

Alliance  between  Ptolemy  and  Antioehus,  3G2. 

Altar  of  incense,  Km;;  of  burnt-offering  made  of  un- 
hewn stone,  MIS,  895 

ri malt  lutes  attack  the  Israelites,  97;  are  conquered 
and  plundered,  98. 

Autan,  or  Hainan,  enemy  of  the  Jews,  341 ;  his  edict 
against  the  Jews, 342  ;  orders  a  gallows  for  Mordecai, 
344  ;  is  obliged  to  honor  Mordecai,  345  ;  his  malicious 
design  laid  before  the  king,  34.");  his  edict  counter- 
manded, 340;  he  is  himself  hanged,  345. 

Amarinus,  or  Omri,  272. 

Amasa,  231,233;  sou  of  .Tether,  killed  by  Joab,  235,  244. 

Amazias,  or  Amaziah,  295,  296  ;  makes  war  on  Jeho- 
ash,  and  is  beaten,  297;  murdered  in  a  conspiracy, 
298. 

Amathus,  48. 

Ambassadors  sent  with  presents  to  Hezekiah,307:  am- 
bassadors slain  by  the  Arabs,  460;  this  a  violation  of 
the  law  of  nations,  461. 

Ambassage  sent  by  Jonathan  to  the  Lacedemonians, 
393;  sent  by  the  Jews  to  Rome,  380. 

Ambivius  (Marcus),  545. 

Amenophis,  889,  898,  9u2. 

Amesses,  889. 

Ammonius,  killed,  389. 

Amnon,  217;  falls  in  love  with  his  sister  Tamar,  225 ; 
is  slain  by  Absalom's  order,  226. 

Amorites  given  to  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and 
the  half-tribe  of  Manasseh,  134. 

Amphitheatres  built  at  Jerusalem  by  Herod,  471;  an- 
other at  Jericho,  529. 

Amrani,  Moses's  father,  82. 

Amram,  599. 

Ainraphcl,  51.  r 

Anacharis,  or  Rabsaris,  305. 

Ananelus  made  high-priest,  452;  deprived  of  it,  454; 
restored  to  it,  455. 

Ananias  made  high-priest,  606,  699,  711;  his  son,  699  ; 
both  sent  in  tetters  to  Rome,  608;  slain,  together 
witli  his  brother,  714. 

Ananias,  the  son  of  Onias,  335,  402.  408. 

Ananias,  the  son  of  Masambalus,  827. 

A  nanus,  seuior,  made  high  priest,  613;  his  eulogium, 
767. 

Animus,  junior,  mado  high-priest,  20,  613,  767 ;  his 
speech  to  the  people,  767;  accused  of  the  murder  of 
James,  til:;;  deprived  of  the  high-priesthood,  ib. ; 
his  death,  776. 

Ananus,  the  son  of  Seth,  made  high-priest,  545;  de- 
posed, 646. 

Ananus,  son  of  Bamadus,  827  ;  flies  to  Titus,  844. 

Ananus,  governor  of  the  temple,  608. 

Ananus,  son  of  Jonathan,  72U. 

Anchus,  or  Achish,  206. 

Andromachus  expelled  the  court  of  Herod,  502. 

Andronicns,  387. 

Angels  of  God  become  familiar  with  women,  43. 

AnileUB,  567,668;  killed  by  the  Babylonians,  572. 

Annihal  put  to  death  by  Padus  for  a  mutiny,  599. 

Annius  <  Lucius  i  takes  Qerasa,  785. 

Annius  tdinucianus,  574. 

Annius  Rufus,  •">  I ■>. 

Anoch  or  Enoch,  42. 

Anteim  killed,  682. 

Aatigonus  governs  Asia,  861. 

Antigonus,  s if   AriStobulUB,  420,    422;    impeaches 

Hyrcnnus  and  Antipater,  425,  636 ;  conquered  by  He- 
rod, 437  ;  Invades  Judea,  439  ;  re-established,  442,  643 : 

cntS    oil     Hyrcanus's    eats    and    causes   the   death    of 

Phasaelus,  4  12,  643;  surrenders  himself,  460,  651  ; 

fc'-nt  in  fetten  t<>  llaXCUS  Antonius,  861;  the  fust 
king  whose  bead  was  cut  oil'  by  the  Romans,  451. 


Antigonus,  son  of  nyrcanus  I.,  made  commander  at  the 
siege  oi  Samaria.  402  ;  beloved  by  his  brother,  404; 
watched  by  the  queen  and  her  favorites,  4o5,  626. 

Antioch,  the  chief  city  in  Syria,  730;  the  Jews  made 
citizens  thereof  by  Seleucus,  360;  is  burnt,  860. 

Antiochans  rebel,  389;  their  envy  against  the  Jews, 
360. 

Antioehus,  king  of  Commagena,  547,  593,  597,  823, 
b69 ;  Commagena  and  part  of  Cilicia  granted  him, 
593. 

Antioehus  Cyzicenus,  401 ;  assists  the  Samaritans,  but 
is  put  to  flight,  4u2,  624;  is  taken  prisoner,  and  put 
to  death  by  Seleucus,  4()lJ. 

Antioehus  bionysius  makes  an  expedition  against  tb« 
Jews,  410,  628. 

Antioehus  the  Great,  361  ;  his  letters  in  favor  of  the 
Jews,  361,  362;  his  wars  with  Ptolemy  1'hilopater 
and  Physcon,  361,  it  seq.;  marries  bis  daughter  Cleo- 
patra to  Ptolemy,  362. 

Antioehus  Epipbanes,  his  expedition  into  Egypt,  368; 
takes  Jerusalem,  368  ;  goes  into  Persia,  372;  designs 
to  destroy  the  Jews,  372  ;  bis  impiety,  399;  he  dies, 
376. 

Antioehus  Eupator,  his  son,  invades  Judea,  377  ;  fights 
with  Judas,  377,  623;  makes  peace  with  the  Jews, 
378  ;  breaks  it,  378  ;  is  killed,  378. 

Antioehus  Crypus,  4(.l ;  his  death,  409. 

Antioehus  Phnometer,  406. 

Antioehus  Pius  makes  war  with  Seleucus,  409  ;  is  slain, 
ib. 

Antioehus  Eusebius,  or  Pius,  besieges  Jerusalem,  399  ; 
raises  the  siege,  400;  marches  against  the  Partbians, 
and  is  killed,  400. 

Antioehus,  the  sou  of  Alexandar.  commonly  called  The 
God,  360 ;  crowned  in  his  youth,  392 ;  enters  into 
alliance  with  Jonathan  the  high-priest,  ib. ;  slain  by 
Trypho,  his  tutor,  397.  623. 

Antiochuu,  the  brother  of  Seleucus,  slain  in  battle,  409. 

Antioehus  Soter,  brother  of  Demetrius,  401;  make6 
war  with  Trypho,  398. 

Antipas,  Herod  s  son  by  Malthace,  515,  671 ;  is  tetrarch 
of  Galilee,  529,  54t),  681 ;  goes  to  Rome  to  get  to  be  a 
king,  532,  683;  what  was  given  him  by  Caesar.  540! 

Antipas  put  in  prisou  and  slain,  766. 

Antipater,  the  Idumean,  excites  troubles,  415 ;  sent 
embassador  to  Aretas,  420;  his  wife  Cyprus,  and  his 
children,  423;  his  valor,  424;  advises  Hyrcanus  to 
put  himself  under  the  protection  of  Aretas,  630; 
makes  his  son  Phasaelus  governor  of  Jerusalem,  and 
Herod  of  Galilee,  426,  637;  endeavors  to  deserve  Cae- 
sar's favor,  635  ;  honored  by  (  aosar,  and  made  citizen 
of  Rome,  425,  636 ;  his  defence  against  Antigonus, 
425,  636;  made  governor  of  Judea,  425,  636;  poi- 
soned, 435,  639. 

Antipater,  son  of  Phasaelus  and  Salampsio,  553. 

Antipater,  son  of  Salons,  impeaches  Archelaus,  532. 

Antipater,  son  of  Herod,  436 ;  sent  to  Rome  to  Civsar, 

490,  672,  675;  he  sets  bis  father  against  his  brethren, 

491,  660,  662;  his  subtility,  499;  is  recalled  by  He- 
rod, 490,  S21 ;  reigns  jointly  with  his  father,  514; 
hated  by  everybody,  514 ;  attempts  his  father's  life, 
514;  is  concerned  for  himself,  514,  675  ;  appears  be- 
fore Varus's  tribunal,  521,  677;  his  plea,  522;  is  put 
in  irons,  679,  525 ;  is  put  to  death,  529,  681. 

Antipatris  taken  by  Vespasian,  783. 

Antonia,  Claudius's  daughter  by  Petina.  700. 

Antouia,  Claudius's  mother,  lends  money  to  Agrippa 
the  elder,  555  ;  her  eulogium,  557. 

Antonia,  called  Baris,  626  ;  taken  by  Titus,  834. 

Antonius  (Lucius)  sends  a  letter  to  the  Sardiaus,  in  fa- 
vor of  the  Jews,  432. 

Antonius  Primus,  7  3. 

Antony,  a  captain  or  centurion,  729,  7  17. 

Antony  (Mark),  his  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  431 ; 
marches  into  Asia,  after  Cassius's  defeat.  4:;7;  his 
letter  to  EI)  nanus,  437  ;  to  the  Tyrians.  438  ;  tails  in 
love  with  Cleopatra.  439;  makes  Phasaelus  and  He- 
rod tetrarchs, 439 ;  orders  their  accusers  to  be  put  to 
death,  ib. ;  confers  signal  favors  on  Herod,  443;  so- 
journs at  Athens,  446,  647  ;  his  luxury,  453. 

Anubis,  a  god,  648. 

Apachmas,  king  of  Egypt,  KSS. 

Apame,  Darius's  concubine,  330. 

Apiou,  ambassador,  663. 

Apollodotus,  captain  of  the  Gazeans,  408;  killed,  408. 

Apollonins,  401. 

Apolloiiius  bans,  388;  challenges  Jonathan  to  au  en« 
gagement,  and  is  defeated,  388. 

Apollonlus,  governor  of  Samaria,  369,  371. 

A]  ion  ins,  592. 

Apophis,  king  of  Egypt,  888. 

Apsalom,  714. 

Apsan,  or  lbzan,  judge,  169. 


INDEX. 


967 


Aqnila.  the  murderer  of  Caius,  581. 

Arabians  circumcise  their  children  when  thirteen,  54; 

twelve  towns  taken  from  them  by  Alexander,  415. 
Arabia  borders  on  Judea,  415;  Petra  the  king's  resi- 
dence, ib. ;  Zabdiel  their  lord,  1590 ;  Arabians  defeated, 
463  ;  their  women  great  poisoners,  519. 

Aram,  48. 

Aran,  or  Ilaran,  49. 

Arasca,  or  Nisroch.  307. 

Arases,  or  Rezin,  301. 

Araunah,  or  Orouna,  the  Jebusite  ;  his  threshing-floor, 
239 ;  the  place  where  Isaac  was  to  have  been  sacri- 
ficed, and  where  the  temple  was  afterwards  built, 
239. 

Archelaus,  king  of  Cappadocia,  comes  to  Herod,  504, 
608,  065  ;  goes  with  him  to  Antioch,  6*)6 ;  reconciles 
Herod  to  his  son  Alexander,  and  to  his  brother,  Phe- 
roras,  666. 

Archelaus,  son  of  Herod  the  Great.  515,  520,  669,  675 ; 
made  ethnarch,  540;  marries  Glaphyra,  542,  690  ;  pro- 
claimed king,  529,  681;  his  speech  to  the  people,  530, 
682;  endeavors  to  appease  the  people,  530;  goes  to 
Rome,  532,  683  ;  accused  there  by  the  deputies  of  the 
people,  638,  688  ;  banished  to  Vienna,  690  ;  his  dreams 
and  Glaphyra's,  542,  690. 

Archelaus,  grandson  of  Chelcias,  598. 

Archelaus,  son  of  Magdatus,  814. 

Aretas,  king  of  the  Arabians,  408,  415,  510.  630,  672  ; 
expedition  against  Aristobulus,  416;  succeeds  Obo- 
das,  506;  impeaches  Sylleus,  518  ;  succors  Ilyrcanus, 
630. 

Aretas,  king  of  Celesyria,  marches  against  Judea, 
411. 

Aretas  of  Petra,  537,  552. 

Arioch,  320. 

Arion,  treasurer,  366. 

Aristobulus,  6on  of  Hyrcanus  I.,  402 ;  the  first  high- 
priest  who  assumed  the  title  of  king,  404;  called 
Philellen,  or  lover  of  the  Greeks,  405. 

Aristobulus,  son  of  Alexander  Janneus,  an  enterpris- 
ing man,  412;  complains  of  the  Pharisees,  412;  re- 
proaches his  mother,  413  ;  endeavors  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  kingdom,  413  ;  fights  with  his  elder  bro- 
ther for  the  crown,  415 ;  brings  him  to  an  accommoda- 
tion, ib.,  630;  sends  a  golden  vine  to  Pompey,  417; 
is,  with  his  children,  brought  captive  to  Rome  by 
Pompey,  420,  633 ;  escapes,  but  is  retaken  and  Kent 
back  again,  421,  634 ;  is  poisoued  by  the  partisans  of 
Pompey,  424;  his  children,  ib. 

Aristobulus,  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  477  ;  marries  Be- 
renice, 486 ;  put  in  prison,  508 ;  accused  by  his  father 
and  condemned,  511 ;  strangled,  513,  670. 

Aristobulus,  son  of  Herod,  king  of  Chalcis,  610,  870. 

Aristobulus,  sou  of  Joseph  and  Mariamne,  553. 

Aristobulus,  sou  of  Aristobulus,  is  made  high  priest  by 
Herod,  454 ;  drowned  by  the  secret  order  of  the  same 
Herod,  455,  659. 

Aristobulus,  son  of  Aristobulus  and  Berenice  553. 

Aristocracy  the  best  form  of  government,  139 ;  insti- 
tuted in  Judea  by  Gabinius,  634. 

Arithmetic  and  astronomy  came  from  Chaldea  to 
Egypt,  and  thence  into  Greece.  50. 

Arius  sends  a  letter  to  Onias,  367. 

Ark  of  God,  its  description,  105  ;  taken  by  the  Philis- 
tines, 177  ;  restored,  178;  carried  to  Jerusalem,  218. 

Ark  of  Noah,  where  it  rested,  44;  mentioned  by  all 
barbarian  historians,  ib  ;  its  remains  long  preserved, 
45. 

Armais,  king  of  Egypt,  887. 

Armenia  conquered  by  Antonius,  458 ;  Cotys,  king  of 
the  Lesser  Armenia.  597. 

Armesses,  king  of  Egypt,  889. 

Arphaxad,  48. 

Arsaces,  king,  395,  400. 

Artabanus,  king  of  Media,  546. 

Artabanus,  king  of  the  Parthians,  551,  568;  flies  to 
Izates,  603 ;  kindly  received  and  restored  to  his  king- 
dom, 604 ;  dies,  604. 

Artabazes,  or  Artavasdes,  is  given  as  a  present  to  Cleo- 
patra by  Antonius,  652. 

Artaxerxes,  310  ;  his  edict  against  the  Jews,  342 ;  con- 
tradicted, 316. 

Artaxias.  459. 

Artorius  saves  his  life,  842. 

Arucas,  48. 

Arudeus,  48. 

Aruntius  (Euaristus).  583. 

Aruntius  (Paulus),  580. 

Asa,  270 ;  alliance  with  the  king  of  Damascus,  271. 

Asael  killed  by  Abner,  212. 

Asamoneus,  370. 

Asamoneans,  the  end  of  their  reign,  450. 

Ascalonites  punished,  364 


Ashdod,  388 ;  inhabitants  plagued,  177. 

Ashpenaz  a  eunuch,  319. 

Asineus  and  Anileus,  567. 

Asprenas.  580  ;  cut  in  pieces,  581. 

Assemblies  forbidden  to  all  at  Rome  but  to  the  Jews, 

431. 
Ass  s  head  falsely  reported  by  Apion  as  an  object  of 

worship  among  the  Jews,  910. 
Assyrian  empire  overthrown,  307. 
Astarte's  temple,  257,  890. 
Astronomy;  for  its  improvement  the  first  men  lived 

near  a  thousand  years,  45 ;  came  out  of  Chaldea  into 

Egypt,  and  thence  into  Greece,  49. 
Asylum,  right  of,  belonging  to  some  towns,  135. 
Athenians  decree  honors  to  Ilyrcanus,  425. 
Athenio,  363. 

Athenio,  a  general  of  Cleopatra,  652  ;  perfidious,  459. 
Athronges  crowns  himself  king  of  Judea,  536;  is  con- 
quered. 537. 
Atratinns,  443. 
Augustus's  arrival  in  Syria,  478;  his  letter  to  Herod, 

510 ;  holds  a  council  about  the  affaire  of  Judea.  533  ; 

his  edict  and  letter  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  496  ;  is  angry 

with  Herod,  506;  is  reconciled  to  him,  509  ;  divides 

Herod's  dominions,  689  ;  his  death,  694. 
Azariah,  the  prophet,  270. 
Azarias,  one  of  Daniel's  companions,  319. 
Azarias.  a  commander,  is  defeated  by  Gorgias,  375. 
Azizus,  609 ;  is  circumcised,  and  marries  Drusilla,  ib. ; 

dies,  610. 
Azotufl,  or  Ashdod,  its  inhabitants  plagt.ed,  177  ;  taken 

by  Jonathan,  388. 

Baal,  893 ;  god  of  the  Tyrians,  292. 

Baalis,  king.  317. 

Baaras,  a  place,  and  plant,  806. 

Baasha,  271 ;  kills  Nadab,  270;  dies,  271. 

Baba's  children  preserved,  470  :  afterwards  killed,  471. 

Babylon,  derived  from  Babel,  46 ;  taken  by  Cyrus,  324  ; 
Nebuchadnezzar's  buildings  at  Babylon,  322  ;  its  walls 
not  built  by  Semiramis,  but  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
892;  its  walls  built  by  Nobonidus  of  brick  and  bitu- 
men, ib.  ;  its  pensile  gardens  erected  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, 322,  892. 

Bacchides,  379,  381  ;  he  attacks  the  Jews,  622 ;  die«, 
623. 

Bagoses,  348. 

Balak,  king  of  Moab,  129. 

Baladan,  king  of  Babylon,  377. 

Balaam,  the  prophet,  129,  et  seq.;  his  ass  speaks,  129. 

Ballas,  king  of  Sodom,  51. 

Balm,  or  Balsam,  near  Jericho,  418,  458,  631. 

Baltasar  [Belshazzar,  or  Naboandel,  or  Nabonadius], 
king  of  Babylon,  323;  his  terrible  vision,  and  its  in- 
terpretation, 323,  his  death,  324. 

Balthasar  [Belteshazzar],  Daniel's  name,  320. 

Banus,  a  hermit,  7. 

Barachias,  301. 

Barak,  encounters  Sisera,  164. 

Barbarians,  their  riches  formerly  consisted  in  cattle, 
86. 

Bardanes,  is  slain,  604. 

Baris,  built  by  Daniel,  325. 

Barnabazns,  341. 

Baruch,  left  with  Jeremiah  the  prophet  in  Judea,  317. 

Barzaphernes,  governor,  611. 

Barzillai,  231,  234. 

Bazan,  or  Baasha,  king  of  Israel,  slays  Nadab,  271. 

Bassus  (Ventidius).     See  Ventidius. 

Bassus  (Oecilius,)  murderer  of  Sextus  Caesar,  435,  638. 

Bassus  (Lucilius,)  sent  with  an  army  into  Judea;  takes 
Macherus,  86(i,  et  seq. 

Bathsheba,  222,  et  seq 

Bathyllus,  675. 

Battering-ram,  described,  741. 

Battle  at  Tarichea?,  753. 

Belus,  the  Tyrian  god,  272. 

Belus,  the  Babylonian  god,  322;  his  temple,  ib. 

Benaiah,  a  man  of  valor,  238;  son  of  Jehoiada,  220, 
made  commander,  246 ;  son  of  Achilus,  248. 

Beneficence,  its  commendation  and  reward,  207. 

Benhadad  besieges  Samaria,  276  ;  the  second  time,  286; 
falls  sick,  and  is  smothered,  289. 

Benjamites  attacked  at  Gibea,  and  at  last  cut  off,  160; 
their  tribe  restored,  161. 

Berenice,  daughter  ol  Agrippa,  553  ;  is  married  to  He- 
rod, 593. 

Berenice,  Agrippa's  mother,  dies,  554. 

Berenice,  Archelaus's  and  Mariamne's  daughter,  609. 

Berenice,  the  widow  of  Herod,  marries  Polemon,  609; 
leaves  him,  609. 

Berenice,  Salome's  daughter,  Aristobulus's  wife,  485. 

Berenice,  Agrippa  senior's  daughter,  in  danger,  704. 


INDEX. 


•'i«,  where  the  cent*  between  I l«r. »<l  end  his  sous 
11. 
r  ii. 

■day  of  Ptolemy's  eon  kepi  l»y  the  t  yriana,  365 ; 
I         tits  made  there udod,  '■>*><>. 
I-         »ris,  kin-  of  Egypt, 
Book  of  the  lew  found, 
u      -       apoeed  by  Solomon,  2-18;  twenty-two  most 

the  Jews,  886. 
I-      ,174;  JrlndnOM  towards  Ruth,  171;  marries  her, 
171. 

more  raluable  than  gold,  336. 
Bride,  1 1< >\v  she  was  to  part  from  one  that  refused  to 

marry  ber,  17 1. 
Briton*,  860. 
Britannione,  Too. 
Brocchua,  a  tribune,  590. 

Brother,  a  title  which  Alexander  Balas  pave  to  Jona- 
than, 384;  the  same  title  given  him  by  Demetrius 
Boter,  390. 
Buckle,  or  button,  sent  to  Jonathan  by  Alexander,  king 

of  Syria.  387  ;  and  by  Demetrius,  392. 
Burrhus,  012. 

CLr.svn  'Julius)  makes  war  in  Egypt,  424;  his  decrees 
in  favor  of  tlio  .lews,  429  ;  he  is  murdered,  435. 
rea  built  by  Herod,  405,  470,  <j_:6. 

Gessarean  games  instituted,  471.  057;  begun  at  the  fin- 
ishing  of  Gaesarea  Augusta,  495. 

Csesennius  Petus,  t>09. 

CsBsonia,  killed  by  Lupus,  586. 

Cain  murders  Abel,  12;  his  punishment,  42;  peoples 
the  land  of  Nod.  il>. 

Oaius  is  made  emperor,  559,  695  ;  puts  Tiberius  to  death, 
659;  his  behavior,  502;  orders  his  statue  to  be 
erected  in  the  temple,  503;  gratifies  Agrippa,  and 
forbids  its  erection,  500;  his  letter  to  Petronius,  507; 
rages  against  the  Jews,  573  ;  calls  himself  the  bro- 
ther of  Jupiter,  573  ;  a  conspiracy  against  him,  574; 
the  conspirators  increase,  577;  his  death,  580;  his 
threatening  letter  to  Petronius  retarded  till  he  was 
dead.  507,  095;  his  character,  587. 

Caleb,  one  that  searched  the  land  of  Canaan,  118,  158. 

Calf  I  golden)  near  Daphne  or  Dan,  758. 

Call imander,  402. 

Callinicus,  809. 

Gallistus,  577. 

Gambyses  succeeds  Cyrus,  328;  dies,  329. 

Gamp  of  the  Jews,  117  ;  of  the  Assyrians,  813,  826. 

Canaan,  land  of  its  description  and  division,  154. 

Ganaanites  distress  the  tribe  of  Dan,  162  ;  spared  con- 
trary to  the  command  of  God,  158;  war  denounced 
against  them  by  Judah  and  Simeon,  ib. 

Candlestick  in  the  tabernacle,  105 ;  captured,  865. 

Gantheras  removed  from  the  high-priesthood,  601. 

Oapellus,  12.  r 

Capito,  703. 

Captives  of  the  Jews,  how  many  killed,  &c,  855;  cap- 
tives carried  in  triumph.  802,  c.t  seq. 

Captivities  of  the  ten  and  of  the  two  tribes,  319. 

Cassander  governs  Macedonia  after  Alexander's  death, 
35 1 . 

Gassiua  Longinus,  435,  482,599;  favors  Antipater  and 
Herod,  435;  repels  the  Parthians,  and  then  retires 
to  Judea,  4^:3,  035;  defeated  at  Philippi,  437. 

1  -  or  Citadels,  two  at  Jerusalem,  376,  409,  473. 

Castor's  cunning  trick,  M4. 

Castration  forbidden  by  the  law  of  Moses,  144;  young 
men  castrated  by  Nebuchadnezzar's  order,  and  among 
oilers  Daniel,  319. 

Catullus,  880;  his  calumny  against  the  Jews,  880;  his 
death,  ib. 

murderer  of  Bextua  Caesar,  435,  638. 

'        ma,  793;  sent  to  Vespasian,  794. 

Celadus,  641,  689 

Celer  put  to  death,  608. 

Celtic  legion,  681. 

Cendebeus,  398,  624. 

I  -  ills  sent  against  the  Samaritans,  715;  marches  to- 
wards Hebron,  788  ;  i^  ordered  to  attack  the  temple, 
838;  called  to  a  council  of  war,  844. 

Oestius  Gallus,  22,  702;  gathers  an  army  against  the 
7i-s;  enters  Jerusalem,  719 ;  is  beaten,  720. 

Qi1  birred  up  again  t  Cai us,  574 ;  draws 

others  Into  tbe  conspiracy,  57 o  ;  gives  Oaius  the  first 
0;  is  beheaded, 
ras,  *24. 

Chalaman, 

Cham,  or  Ham,  the  Ron  of  Noah.  46;  his  posterity,  47. 

Chanaan,  oi  I  anaan,  the  son  of  llam,  48;  his  posterity 
•i  ■ 

Ghai  rea. 

Chatura,  "i  Ketarah,  66. 


Chebron,  kin-  of  Egypt,  880. 

tie  I  iron,  or  Hebron,  older  than  Memphis  [Tanis],  787; 

taken  by  the  Israelites,  158. 
Chelbee,  *93. 

(  hi -riibim,  their  shape  not  known,  251. 

•  Ihesed,  Nahor's  roii,  49. 

Chetim,  or  Kittim,  47. 

Children  not  always  like  their  parents,  ISO. 

Christ  and  Christians,  548. 

Chusarthee,  or  Cushan,  oppresses  the  Israelites,  162. 

( Ihuehi,  or  Ilushai,  228. 

Cinnamus,  603. 

Circumcision  is  received  in  Palestine  by  the  Jews,  893 ; 
its  institution,  52;  tha  Arabians  circumcise  their 
children  after  the  13th  year  of  their  age,  54 ;  thi 
rians  in  Palestine  received  it  from  the  Egyptians, 
207;  not  to  be  forced  upon  any  body,  15;  the  Idu- 
means  forced  to  bo  circumcised,  and  become  .lews,  or 
leave  their  country,  400;  the  Itureans  forced  to  he 
circumcised,  405. 

Classicus,  861. 

Claudius  Ca?sar,  584,  5S8 ;  is  dragged  out  of  a  corner  to 
the  imperial  dignity,  ib.,  690  ;  is  favored  by  the  army, 
592  ;  his  liberality  to  Agrippa,  592  ;  his  edict,  in  favor 
of  the  Jews,  593;  his  letter  to  the  Jews,  600;  he  dies, 
609,  700. 

Clement,  576. 

Cleopatra,  daughter  of  Antiochus  married  to  Ptolemy, 
302. 

Cleopatra,  wife  of  Philometer,  386 ;  she  takes  up  arms 
against  Ptolemy,  4o7  ;  makes  an  alliance  with  Alex- 
ander, 408;  takes  Ptolemais,  408. 

Cleopatra,  wife  of  Demetrius  II.,  397 ;  married  to  An- 
tiochus Soter,  398. 

Cleopatra,  queen  of  Egypt  meets  Antony.  439;  her 
cruelty  and  avarice.  457,  050 ;  kills  her  sister  Arsinoe, 
457  ;  obtains  part  of  Arabia  and  Judea,  457  ;  tempts 
Herod  to  lie  with  her,  458;  Ilerod  conducts  her  to- 
wards Egypt,  459. 

Cleopatra  (Selene)  besieged  by  Tigranes,  413,  629. 

Cleopatra  of  Jerusalem,  the  wife  of  Ilerod,  515,  071 

Cleopatra,  wife  of  Floras,  010. 

Clitus,  author  of  a  rebellion  at  Tiberias,  19 ;  cuts  off 
his  left  hand,  19,  727. 

Cluvius,  574. 

Collega  (Cueus,)  860. 

Colonies  in  and  out  of  Italy,  593. 

Columns  in  the  land  of  Siriad,  43 ;  Corinthian,  in  Solo- 
mon's palace,  251 ;  in  Herod's  temple,  800. 

Commandments  written  upon  two  tables,  102;  by  the 
hand  of  God,  102 ;  not  to  have  their  very  words  pub- 
lished, 102. 

Conscience  of  good  actions  is  safer  to  be  relied  on,  than 
on  the  concealment  of  evil  ones,  69. 

Conspiracy  against  Ilerod,  472,  et  scq. 

Convention  of  Asia  at  Ancyra,  496 ;  at  Jerusalem,  12. 

Coponius,  543,  545,  690. 

Coracinus,  a  fish,  756. 

Corban,  or  sacred  treasure,  694. 

Cores,  or  Korah,  raises  a  .sedition,  121 :  perishes,  124. 

Corinthus,  518;  an  Arabian  by  birth,  672. 

Cornelius  Faustus,  419,  632. 

Cornelius,  842. 

Corus,  a  Jewish  measure,  119. 

Costobarus,  an  Idumean,  Salome's  husband,  469 

Costobarus,  a  ringleader  of  the  robbers,  014. 

Cotylas,  or  Zeno,  399,  624. 

Cotys,  king,  009. 

Cow,  the  red  cow  for  purification,  127. 

Cozbi,  a  Midianitish  woman,  132. 

Coze,  or  Koze,  Idumean  Idol,  470. 

Crassns,  succeeds  Gabinius,  422 ;  arrives  in  Judea,  and 
plunders  the  temple  of  its  treasures,  422,  035;  per" 
ishes  in  an  expedition,  035. 

Creation  of  the  world,  42. 

Crown  or  mitre  of  the  high-priest,  107. 

Cumanus,  606,  098. 

Curses  denounced  from  Mount  Ebal,  146,  156. 

Cusprus  Fadu  ,  procurator,  181,  590,  599, 

Customs  or  taxes  of  Syria,  Phoenicia,  Judea,  ami  Sama- 
ria, 8(100  talents,  364. 

CutheanS,  who  they  were,  and  whence  thej  came,  304  J 
go  t,i  Samaria,  319;  hinder  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple,  333. 

Cypros,  King  Agrippa's  wife,  898. 

Cypres,  Antipater  senior's  wire,  423,  635. 

Cypros,  Antipater'a  daughter  by  Cypros,  663;  married 
to  Alexas  Belcias,  ib. 

CyprOS,  Herod's  daughter,  married  to  Antipater,  553. 
CyprOS,  daughter  id'  I'hasaelus  and  Salampsio,  married 

to  agrippa  senior,  .">.'>.">. 
Gyrenius,  or  Quirinius,  513,  870. 
Cyreuians  derived  from  the  Lacedaemonians,  707. 


INDEX. 


969 


Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  323;  purposes  to  rebuild  the 
Jewish  temple,  327 ;  releases  the  Jews  from  their  cap- 
tivity, 327  ;  his  death,  328. 

Cyrus,  the  son  of  Xerxes,  made  king,  340;  his  letter 
rescinding  the  edict  of  Haman,  346. 

Dagon,  his  temple  burnt,  177. 

Damascene  colonies  transported  into  Higher  Media, 
302. 

Damascus  taken  by  Tiglathpileser,  302 ;  taken  by  the 
Romans,  416. 

Dan  built  by  the  Danites,  162. 

Danaus,  or  Hermeus,  king  of  Egypt,  897. 

Daniel  the  prophet,  310 ;  is  castrated,  ib. ;  Daniel  fore- 
tells future  events,  320 ;  tells  and  iuterprets  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's dream,  321 ;  is  honored  for  it,  321 ;  his 
companions  are  cast  Into  a  fiery  furnace,  ib.;  Daniel 
explains  the  handwriting  upon  the  wall,  324;  is  car- 
ried into  Media,  324 ;  is  made  one  of  the  presidents 
of  the  kingdom,  ib. ;  a  conspiracy  against  him,  ib. ; 
is  thrown  into  the  lion's  den,  325 ;  builds  a  tower  at 
Ecbatana,  325 ;  the  manner  and  certainty  of  his  pro- 
phecies, 326 ;  his  vision  of  the  ram  and  the  he-goat, 
326;  his  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  the  Jews, 
326  ;  of  the  profanation  of  the  temple,  373. 

Darius,  the  son  of  Astyages,  called  by  another  name 
among  the  Greeks,  324. 

Darius,  the  son  of  Hystapes,  made  king,  329 ;  makes  a 
splendid  entertainment,  ib. ;  proposes  questions  to 
be  resolved,  ib. ;  his  letters  for  rebuilding  the  temple, 
332  ;  has  Cyrus's  records  searched  about  that  temple, 
334;  gives  order  for  its  rebuilding,  ib. ;  his  edict 
against  the  Samaritans,  335. 

Dathan,  121. 

David's  genealogy,  174 ;  anointed  by  Samuel,  191 ;  plays 
upon  tbe  harp  before  Saul,  192  ;  fights  Goliath,  191; 
his  and  Jonathan's  friendship,  195 ;  is  reconciled  to 
Saul,  ib. ;  is  in  danger  of  being  killed  by  Saul,  196 ; 
his  flight,  198,  205 ;  he  spares  Saul's  life  twice,  202, 
204 ;  promises  to  assist  the  king  of  Gath,  206 ;  pur- 
sues tbe  Amalekites,  209 ;  makes  a  funeral  oration  for 
Saul  and  Jonathan,  211;  is  make  king  of  Judah,  212  ; 
and  of  the  Israelites,  216;  takes  Jerusalem,  216; 
casts  the  Jebusites  out,  ib. ;  marries  several  wives, 
217  ;  conquers  the  Philistines,  217  ;  has  the  ark  car- 
ried to  Jerusalem,  218 ;  purposes  to  build  the  temple, 
219;  his  victories,  220;  his  liberality  to  Mephibo- 
sheth,  221 ;  falls  in  love  with  Bathsheba,  222;  causes 
Uriah  to  be  slain,  223;  marries  Bathsheba,  223;  is 
reproved  by  Nathan  the  prophet,  224 ;  his  son  by 
Bathsheba  dies,  224;  he  mourns  for  Absalom's  death, 
232;  orders  the  people  to  be  numbered,  238  ;  chaoses 
the  pestilence,  239 ;  makes  great  preparations  for  the 
building  of  the  temple,  240 ;  exhorts  Solomon  to  build 
it,  ib.,  243;  divides  the  priests  and  Levites  into 
twenty-four  courses,  242  ;  he  dies,  244  ;  is  buried,  ib. ; 
treasures  hidden  in  his  monument,  244,  400,  498,  624. 

Day  unusually  lengthened,  152. 

Deborah,  164. 

Decrees  of  the  Romans,  &c,  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  425, 
429,  et  seq. 

Dellius,  444,  453,  646. 

Deluge,  44,  et  seq. 

Demetrius,  Alabarch  at  Alexandria,  609. 

Demetrius,  the  son  of  Demetrius,  joins  Jonathan  and 
Ptolemy,  and  conquers  Alexander,  389,  et  seq. ;  called 
Nicator,  390 ;  his  letter  in  lavor  of  the  Jews,  390 ; 
hated  by  the  Antiochans,  391 ;  breaks  friendship  with 
Jonathan,  392 ;  conquered  by  Antiochus,  ib. ;  made 
prisoner  by  Arsaces,  and  released.  395 ;  Trypho  rebels 
against  him,  397  ;  defeated,  and  flies  in  vain  to  Cleo- 
patra, his  wife,  401 ;  goes  thence  to  Tyre,  is  made  a 
prisoner,  and  dies,  ib. 

Demetrius  Eucerus  made  king  of  Syria  Damascena, 
409 ;  his  assistance  desired  by  the  Jews,  409 ;  makes 
war  upon  Alexander  and  conquers  him,  409,  627  ; 
makes  war  with  his  brother  Philip,  is  carried  pri- 
soner into  Parthia,  and  dies  there,  410. 

Demetrius  of  Gadara  obtains  the  rebuilding  of  that 
city,  420. 

Demetrius  Phalcrius,  352,  907  ;  his  petition  to  King 
Philadelphus,  354. 

Demetrius  Soter  made  king  of  Syria,  378;  puts  Antio- 
chus to  death,  ib. ;  sends  Bachides  against  the  Jews, 
379 ;  his  character.  384 ;  his  letter  to  Jonathan,  385  ; 
is  killed,  386. 

Demons,  248. 

Dcmoteles,  393. 

Diana's  temple  at  Elymais  in  Persia,  376. 

Dido,  sister  of  Pygmalion,  891. 

Diklath.  49. 

Dinaa,  Jacob's  daughter,  64. 

Dioclerus,  248. 


Diodorus,  son  of  Jason,  461. 

Diodorus,  or  Trypho,  391. 

Dionysius,  417. 

Diophantus,  508. 

Divorce,  causes  of  it,  141. 

Doeg,  the  Syrian,  200. 

Dogs  ;  it  is  natural  to  them  to  devour  the  bones  with 

the  flesh,  334. 
Dolabella's  letter  to  the  Ephesians  in  favor  of  the  Jews, 

431. 
Dolesus,  134. 

Domitia  kind  to  Josephus,  36. 
Domitian,  regent  in  his  father's  absence,  794;  kind  to 

Josephus,  36;  expedition  against  the  Germans,  861. 
Domitius  Sabinus,  815. 

Doris,  Herod's  wife,  437  ;  expelled  the  court,  674. 
Dorians  erect  Caesar's  statue  in  a  synagogue,  594 ;  Pe- 

tronius's  edict  against  them,  ib. 
Dorotheus,  358. 
Dortus,  357. 

Dositheus,  a  Jew,  his  perfidiousness,  464. 
Dositheus,  a  general  of  the  Jews,  908. 
Dove  sent  out  of  the  ark,  44. 
Draco's  laws,  884. 
Drusilla,  a  daughter  of  Agrippa  senior,  553 ;  married 

to  Azizus,  6U9 ;  afterwards  to  Felix,  609. 
Drusus,  her  brother,  553. 
Drusus,  brother  of  Tiberius,  559. 

Eagle,  pulled  down  from  the  front  of  the  temple,  526 ; 

holding  a  dragon  in  his  claws  in  the  Lacedemonian 

seal,  367. 
Earthquake  wherein  the  followers  of  Dathan  and  Abi- 

ram  were  swallowed  up,  123. 
Earthquake,  a  very  great  one  in  Judea,  460. 
Eating  the  sinew  upon  the  hip,  why  refused  by  the 

Jews,  64. 
Ebal,  49. 
Ebau,  217. 

Ebutius,  737;  slain,  760. 
Eclipse  of  the  moon,  527. 
Ecnibalus,  king  of  Tyre,  893. 
Eglon  oppresses  the  Israelites,  163. 
Elah  succeeds  Baasha  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  271. 
Elam,  49. 
Elcanah,  301. 

Eleazar,  son  of  Aaron,  109. 

Eleazar,  the  son  of  Ananias,  high-priest,  545,  711. 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Dineus,  607,  GlU. 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Dodo,  237. 
b  leazar  casts  out  a  demon,  248. 
Eleazar,  the  brother  of  Joazar,  made  high-priest,  542 ; 

deprived,  ib. 
Eleazar,  brother  of  Judas  Maccabeus,  371,  377  ;  crushed 

to  death  by  an  elephant,  ib.,  623. 
Eleazar  of  Massada's  speech  to  his  garrison,  873. 
Eleazar,  high-priest  in  the  days  of  Joshua,  127 ;  dies, 

157. 
Eleazar,  high-priest  in  the  days  of  Philadelphus,  Pref. 

38,  354,  541 ;  his  letter  to  Philadelphus,  355  ;  dies, 

362. 
Eleazar,  the  son  of  Sameas,  his  valor,  741. 
Eleazar,  tbe  sou  of  Simon,  722,  771,  759,  801,  843. 
Eleazar,  the  companion  of  Simon,  dies,  787,  810. 
Eleazar,  commander  of  the  temple,  613,  711. 
Eleazar  taken  by  Rufus,  867. 
Eleazar,  ringleader  of  robbers,  599,  870 ;  taken  prisoner, 

sent  to  Rome,  610,700. 
Eleazar,  son  of  Moses,  88. 
Eleazar,  treasurer  of  the  temple,  422. 
Eleutheri  (or  Freemen),  horsemen  so  called,  642. 
Eli,  high-priest,  245  ;  is  judge  after  Sampson,  173 ;  hia 

profligate  sons,  175. 
Eliakim,  305. 
Elien,  217. 

Eliashib,  338  ;  dies,  348. 
Elijah,  the  prophet,  272  ;  his  miracles  for  the  widow  of 

Sarepta,  273;  presents  himself  to  Ahab,  ib.;  foretells 

rain,  ib. ;  false  prophets  killed  by  his  order,  275  ;  calls 

for  fire  from  heaven,  283;  taken  up,  284;  his  letter  to 

Jehoram,  289. 
Elimelech,  173. 

Elioneus  made  high-priest,  597. 
Elisha,  the  prophet,  275,  284 ;  his  miracles,  287,  288 

his  death,  296 ;  his  cure  of  the  fountain,  784. 
Elkanah,  or  Elcanah,  Samuel's  father,  301. 
Elon  succeeds  Ibsan,  170. 
Elthemus,  654. 
Eluleus,  304. 
Emnos,  David's  son,  216. 
Enemies,  when  conquered,  may   be   lawfully   killed, 

286. 
Enoch,  42,  43. 


070 


INDEX. 


}         h  and  Elijah  translated,  284. 

j         the  son  of  Beth,  I  L 

i  i  the  Romans,  517  ;  sacrifices  to  them,  849. 

Iiroditus,  his  character,  Pref.  37  ;  a  great  friend  of 
phus,  30. 

their  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  429. 

Ephod,  106, 

i  102. 

Kpicurians,  their  error  concerning  Providence  con- 
fir 

le  of  Jonathan  the  high-priest,  393;  of  Philad.d- 
phus,353:  to  Eleazar  the  high-priest,  354;  of  Solo- 
iik  >n  and  Hiram,  2-49;  of  Xerxes  to  Esdras,  335;  of 
Artaxerxed  to  the  governors  near  Judea,  346  ;  of  An- 
tiochus  the  Great  to  Ptolemy,  301  ;  of  the  Samaritans 
t  i  Antiochus,  309;  of  Alexander  Balas  to  Jonathan, 
I  :  of  Onias  to  Ptolemy  and  Cleopatra,  3b0 ;  of  De- 
metrius to  Jonathan  and  the  Jews.  392;  of  Julius 
sar  to  the  Roman  magistrates,  429;  of  Mark  An- 
tony to  the  Tvrians,  438. 

•i,  or  Isaiah,  the  prophet,  303,  306,  307  ;  his  eulo- 
gium,  3u7  ;  his  prophecy  concerning  the  Assyrians, 
ib. ;  concerning  Cyrus,  327  ;  his  prophecy  concerning 
the  temple  of  Onias,  879. 

Esau,  or  hdom,  03  ;  his  birth,  58. 

Esdras.  335;  his  grief  for  the  foreign  marriages,  336; 
reads  the  law  of  Moses  to  the  people,  338;  dies,  338. 

Essen,  or  high-priest's  breast-plate,  111. 

Essens  honored  by  Herod,  479;  are  against  swearing, 
091 ;  mauners,  rites,  Ac,  described,  394,  544,  090  ;  ab- 
stained from  anointing  themselves  with  oil,  091 ;  dili- 
gence in  reading  their  sacred  books,  091;  Simon  the 
Essen  an  interpreter  of  dreams,  542. 

Esther,  341;  married  to  the  king,  ib. ;  concerned  for 
the  Jews,  342 ;  invites  the  king  and  Haman,  343. 

Etham,  24b. 

Ethbaal,  or  Ithobalus,  272,  890,  892. 

Ethi,  or  Ittai,  the  Gittite,  228 

Ethnarchy,  Simon's  contracts  thence  dated,  395. 

Euaratus  of  Cos,  507,  008. 

Euaristus  Aruutius,  575. 

Eve  created,  40  ;  her  fall,  41. 

Evil-merodach,  323,  892. 

Euodus,  559. 

Eupoleuius,  son  of  John,  380. 

Eurycle  slanders  the  sons  of  Herod,  667,  608;  he  re- 
turns to  his  own  country,  608. 

Eutychus,  Agrippa's  charioteer,  55C. 

Eutychus,  Caius  Caesar's  charioteer,  591. 

Exorcisms,  composed  by  Solomon,  248. 

Ezecbias,  426. 

Ezekiel  the  prophet,  310,  315 ;  carried  captive  to  Baby- 
lon, 312  ;  his  prophecy  concerning  the  destruction  of 
the  Jews,  313;  his  prophecy  reconciled  to  that  of  Je- 
remiah, 313. 

r~ 

Fabatus,  Caesar's  servant,  518;  Herod's  steward,  672. 

Fabius,  governor  of  Damascus,  430,  040. 

Fabius,  a  centurion,  420. 

Factions,  three  in  Jerusalem,  796. 

Fadna  (Cuspius),  4S2,  599,  098. 

Famine  in  Judea  in  Herod's  reign,  473;  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius,  120,  002,  000;  in  Jerusalem,  621,820;  for 
Saul's  cruelty  to  the  Gibeonites,  236;  at  Samaria, 
402. 

Fannius's  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  432. 

Fannius,  a  pretor,  401. 

Fast  observed  at  Jerusalem,  on  the  day  on  which  Pom- 
pey  took  Jerusalem,  419. 

Felix,  procurator  of  Judea,  436,  608,  610,  640;  punishes 
tin:  mutineers,  011. 

Festivals  of  the  Hebrews,  113;  three  great  ones,  550; 
Roman  guards  were  posted  at  the  temple,  098;  im- 
munity granted  them  at  those  festivals,  385;  cele- 
brated in  shining  garments,  lot;  and  on  them  no 
manner  of  work,  114;  celebra  ed  by  t lie  Gentiles  in 
idleness  and  pleasure,  04  ;  no  mourning  among  the 
Jewi  at  inch  times,  838;  nor  did  they  then  travel 
far,  400;  Egyptian  women  appeared  at  such  times  in 
public,  89  J  wood  carried  on  a  festival  day  for  the 
altar,  713;   festival  of  tin;  dedication  of  the  temple, 

by  Judas  Maccabeus,  37  1. 
i        us  (Norbanus),  proconsul,  497;  president  of  Syria, 
664. 

i  .       i    el   horses,  mules,  Ac,  forbidden   to  bo   brought 

Within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  36J 
FlorUS   (GeSSiUS),  515,  (ill;   is   the   cause  of  the  Jewish 

war,  616,  ei  ko.,702;  Is  derided  by  the  people,  To:;, 
704 :  plunders  the  city,  7'M  ;  calumniates  the  Jews,  706. 
Igrippa  killed,  862. 

Fountain  near  Jericho,  784;  is  cured  by  Elisba,  ib.; 
its  wonderful  virtui . 

Fran  to, 


Fulvia,  a  lady,  defrauded  of  her  money  by  a  Jew,  549. 
Furius,  420;  632. 

Ga.u.  protects  the  Shoohemites  against  Abimelech,  lf.7. 

Qablnius,  417,  418,  631;  made  president  of  Svria,  421, 
o.;3. 

Gad,  the  prophet,  238. 

Gadara  taken  by  Vespasian,  781. 

Gaddis  (John),  382. 

Galadens,  their  queen  Laodice,  409. 

Galba  succeeds  Nero,  5G0;  is  murdered,  ib. 

Galilee  comes  under  the  Roman  dominion,  758,  763. 

Gallicanus,  747. 

Gallus  (.Elius),  475. 

Gallus  (Cestius),  8,  702. 

Gallus  a  centurion,  700. 

Galsus  (Rubrius),  802, 

Gamala  besieged,  758,  ct  scq. 

Games  of  the  circus,  575 ;  Olympic  games  restored, 
490;  Cesarean  games  instituted,  471,  495,  657;  or- 
dained by  Titus  on  the  birth-days  of  his  father  and 
brother, 859. 

Gauls  became  Herod's  life-guards,  655,707. 

Gaza  demolished,  408. 

Gazcans  grievously  punished  by  Jonathan,  392. 

Gemellus  (Tiberious),  559. 

Gemellus,  Herod's  friend,  expelled  his  court,  502. 

Geometry  invented  by  the  long-lived  patriarchs,  45. 

Gerizzim,  its  temple  demolished,  400. 

Germanicus,  house,  581  ;  father  of  Caius,  559 ;  sent  into 
the  east,  547  ;  poisoned  by  Piso,  ib. 

Germans  described,  707  ;  are  enslaved  by  the  Romans, 
180;  mutiny,  218;  a  German's  predictions  concern- 
ing Agrippa,  550;  German  guard,  573. 

Giants,  158,  230,  118,  158. 

Gibeath,  rape  at,  159. 

Gibeonites,  by  a  wile,  make  a  covenant,  151 ;  their  fraud 
punished,  ib. ;  they  are  satisfied  for  the  attempt  of 
Saul  to  slay  them,  236. 

Gideon's  strategem,  105  ;  he  dies,  166. 

Glaphyra  married  to  Alexander,  485,  499 ;  her  enmity 
with  Salome,  485,  662  ;  her  lamentation  when  her 
husband  was  put  in  chains,  508 ;  is  sent  back  a  widow, 
514 ;  afterwards  married  to  Juba,  and  then  to  Archue- 
laus,  542;  her  dream,  and  death,  542. 

God  (the  true  God),  his  presence  in  the  tabernacle,  109  ; 
judged  to  be  only  the  god  of  the  hills  by  the  Syrians, 
277  ;  discovers  his  ineffable  name  to  Moses.  87 ;  his 
wisdom,  and  he  cannot  be  bribed,  115  ;  his  mercy  ob- 
tained by  religion,  157;  his  foreknowledge,  and  his 
decrees  cannot  be  avoided.  123  ;  his  will  irresistible, 
82;  his  providence  against  the  Epicureans,  325 ;  no- 
thing is  concealed  from  him,  67;  dangerous  to  dis- 
obey him,  189;  easier  to  serve  God  or  man,  267 ;  uses 
beasts  to  punish  the  wicked,  324 ;  not  to  be  imposed 
upon  by  the  wicked,  147  ;  delights  not  in  sacrifices, 
but  in  good  men,  190 ;  is  called  on  in  danger,  524 ; 
foretells  futurities,  72  ;  affords  assistance  in  desperate 
cases,  92  ;  is  omnipresent,  67. 

Gods  of  Laban  stolen,  02  ;  of  Cutha,  brought  to  Sama- 
ria, 304;  of  the  Amalekites,  worshipped  by  Amaziah, 
297;  of  the  heathen,  not  to  be  cursed  or  blasphemed, 
137,  906;  Beelzebub,  the  god  of  Hies,  283. 

Goliath  ot  Gath  challenges  the  Jews  to  a  single  combat, 
192;  is  slain  by  David,  193. 

Gorgias  is  put  to  flight,  373 ;  has  better  success,  370. 

Gorion  and  Simeon  exhort  the  people  to  attack  the 
mutineers,  707;  put  to  death,  778. 

Gratus,  557;  puts  Simon  to  death,  536;  meets  Varus, 
687;  discovers  Claudius,  and  brings  him  out  to  be 
emperor,  586. 

Greeks  put  Hebrew  names  into  their  own  form,  47. 

Hadad,  king,  219. 

lladad,  or  lladar,  becomes  Solomon's  enemy,  262. 

Hadadezer,  or  Iiadarezer,  202. 

llagar  and  Ishmael  are  sent  away  by  Abraham,  55. 

llaggai,  a  prophet,  334;  he  and  Zechariah  encourage 
the  Jews  to  rebuild  their  temple,  334, 

Halicarnassians1  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  434. 

Hainan,  an  enemy  of  the  Jews,  311  ;  his  edicr  against 
the  Jews,  312;  he  orders  a  gibbet  to  be  erected  for 
Mordecai,  344;  is  obliged  to  honor  Mordecai.  345  ;  the 
the  edict  is  contradicted,  345;   he  is  hanged,  345. 

Harlots  excluded  from  marriage,  141. 

Hal  ach,  or  Acratheus,  342. 

lla/.ael,  275,  289  ;  he  plunders  Judea,  295  ;   be  dies,  296. 

Hebrews  twice  carried  captives  beyond  Euphrates,  318  ; 
thought  by  some  to  have  come  originally  from  Egypt, 
79  ;  not  put  to  servile  labor,  in  the  days  of  Solomon, 
259;  ot  those  Hebrews  that  came  to  offer  their  sacri- 
fices from  beyond  Euphrates,  L18;  tight  the  Cdoaan- 
ites  against  Moses's  order,  120;  ten  tribes  Lived  DO- 


INDEX. 


971 


yond  Euphrates,  336 ;  language  and  character  came 
near  to  the  Syriac.  352 ;  nouns  have  all  the  same  for- 
mation, 48 ;  have  but  one  temple  and  altar,  137  ;  met 
at  Shiloh  thrice  in  a  year,  161 ;  only  the  two  tribes 
under  the  Roman  domiuion,  336;  their  wise  men  in 
the  days  of  Solomon,  248. 

Helcias  the  Great,  564. 

Helcias,  treasurer,  612. 

Helena,  queen,  embraces  the  Jewish  religion,  600 ;  goes 
to  Jerusalm,  602 ;  buried  there,  6u5. 

Herennius  Capito,  555. 

Herod,  the  son  of  Antipater,  423,  635 ;  began  to  rule  in 
Galilee  in  his  15th  [25th]  year,  426;  puts  Ezechias, 
and  otber  robbers,  to  death,  426;  being  accused  for 
it,  he  takes  his  trial,  427,  637  ;  escapes,  428 ;  goes 
to  Sextus  Caesar,  and  is  made  governor  of  Celesyria, 
ib. ;  is  in  favor  with  tbe  Romans,  639 ;  made  procu- 
rator or  governor  of  Syria,  435,  639 ;  puts  Malichus 
to  death,  ib. ;  beats  Antigonus,  437  ;  bribes  Mark  An- 
tony, ib. ;  impeached  by  the  Jews,  but  made  a  tc- 
trarch  by  Antony,  439  ;  gets  the  better  of  the  Jews, 
ib. ;  escapes  the  snares  of  the  Parthians,  440;  acci- 
dents of  his  flight,  441;  goes  to  Egypt,  thence  to 
Rhodes,  and  thence  to  Rome,  442,  644 ;  made  king  by 
the  Roman  senate,  443,  645 ;  sails  back  to  Judea,  and 
fights  against  Antigonus,  444  ;  takes  Joppa,  and  be- 
sieges Jerusalem,  444,  646;  takes  Sepphoris,  445; 
conquers  his  enemies,  ib. ;  joins  his  troops  with  An- 
tony's, at  the  siege  of  Samosata,  447  ;  is  providentially 
delivered,  448;  defeats  Pappus,  448;  besieges  Jerusa- 
lem, takes  it,  makes  Antigonus  prisoner,  and  sends 
him  in  chains  to  Antony,  449,  650;  promotes  his 
friends,  and  destroys  those  of  Antigonus,  444 ;  mar- 
ries the  famous  Mariamne,  449,  650 ;  causes  his  wife's 
brother,  Aristobulus  to  be  drowned,  454;  is  sum- 
moned to  take  his  trial  for  it,  455 ;  brings  Antony 
over  to  his  interest  by  bribes,  457 ;  puts  Joseph  to 
death,  457 ;  is  solicited  to  adultery  by  Cleopatra,  458 ; 
makes  wax  against  the  Arabians,  459, 652 ;  his  speech 
to  the  army  in  distress,  460,  653  ;  beats  the  Arabians, 
461,  654;  puts  Uyrcanus  to  death,  464;  his  commen- 
taries, ib. ;  orders  Mariamne  to  be  put  to  death,  if  he 
himself  coma  to  an  ill  end,  465  ;  his  presence  of  mind 
before  Augustus,  ib. ;  is  confirmed  in  his  kingdom, 
465 ;  entertains  Cassar  magnificently,  ib. ;  receives 
more  favors  from  Caesar,  and  has  his  dominions  en- 
larged, 466,  655 ;  puts  Mariamne  to  death,  468,  660 ; 
is  very  uneasy  at  her  death,  469, 660 ;  is  afflicted  with 
a  kind  of  madness,  469,  679 ;  departs  from  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  Jews,  471 ;  builds  theatres, 
and  exhibit  shows,  ib. ;  a  conspiracy  against  him,  472  ; 
builds  a  temple  at  Samaria,  473  ;  a  palace  at  Jerusa- 
lem, 475 ;  and  a  citadel,  475 ;  relieves  the  people  in  a 
famine,  474;  marries  Simeon's  daughter,  475;  his 
policy,  ib. ;  builds  Caesarea,  476;  sends  his  sons  to 
Rome,  477  ;  builds  a  temple  to  Caesar,  479;  eases  the 
people  of  a  third  part  of  their  taxes,  ib. ;  forbids  them 
to  meet  privately,  ib. ;  keeps  spies,  and  becomes  one 
himself,  ib. ;  honors  the  Essens,  479 ;  rebuilds  the 
temple,  480,  656;  makes  a  new  law  concerning 
thieves,  485;  goes  to  Caesar,  brings  home  his  sous, 
and  marries  them,  485 ;  entertains  Marcus  Agrippa, 
486 ;  is  in  great  favor  with  Agrippa,  486 ;  eases  his 
subjects  of  the  fourth  part  of  their  taxes,  489;  quar- 
rels in  his  family,  ib. ;  favors  Antipater,  490;  im- 
peaches his  sons  at  Rome,  491 ;  is  reconciled  to  them, 
494,  661;  celebrates  games  in  honor  of  Caesar,  495; 
builds  towns  and  castles,  495  ;  builds  Apollo  s  temple, 
and  renews  the  Olympic  games,  496,  658 ;  his  temper 
described,  496 ;  opens  David's  sepulchre,  498 ;  sus- 
pects his  kindred,  4^.9 ;  is  accused  by  fey  Ileus,  505 ;  his 
cruelty  to  his  sons,  511;  accuses  them  in  council, 
ib. ;  orders  them  to  be  strangled,  512 ;  provides  for 
their  children,  515 ;  his  wives  and  children,  515,  553 ; 
contracts  marriages  for  Mariamne's  children,  515, 
672 ;  alters  those  contracts,  672 ;  sends  Antipater  to 
Caesar,  518,  672;  is  made  to  believe  that  his  brother 
was  poisoned,  519,  673;  finds  the  poison  was  for  him- 
self, 519,  674;  tries  Antipater,  and  puts  him  in  chains, 
525;  his  bitterness  in  his  old  age,  526;  makes  his 
will,  ib. ;  his  terrible  sickness,  527,  679;  his  order  for 
murdering  the  principal  of  the  Jews,  528;  attempts 
to  murder  himself,  529  ;  alters  his  will,  ib.;  his  cha- 
racter, 529 ;  death  and  burial,  530,  681 ;  his  will 
opened  and  read,  529 ;  not  to  take  place  till  confirmed 
by  Caesar,  ib. 

Hexod,  son  of  Herod,  made  tetrarch,  545,  561,  694; 
builds  towns  in  honor  of  Caesar,  545,  694;  bends  a 
letter  to  Caesar,  551 ;  makes  war  upon  Aretas,  552 ;  is 
banished,  695. 

Herod,  Agrippa  senior's  brother,  593 ;  marries  Mari- 
amne, 594 ;  has  the  power  over  the  temple  given  him 
by  Claudius,  600 ;  his  death  and  children,  606,  698. 


Herodias  envies  Agrippa's  royal  dignity,  563,  695 ;  fol- 
lows her  husband  in  his  banishment,  562 ;  married 
to  Herod,  sun  of  Herod  the  Great,  552 ;  afterward 
married  to  Herod,  the  former  husband's  brother,  553. 

Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  302 ;  his  speech  to  his  people, 
ib. ;  his  solemn  celebration  of  the  passover,  303 ; 
makes  war  upon  the  Philistines,  ib. ;  defends  himself 
from  Sennacherib,  305 ;  recovers  from  sickness,  307 ; 
dies,  308. 

Hiram,  David's  friend,  217  ;  sends  ambassadors  to  Solo- 
mon, 249. 

Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  890. 

Hophni,  175  ;  is  slain,  176 

Hoshea,  king  of  Israel,  302 ;  he  is  made  a  prisoner, 
303. 

House  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon,  259. 

Iluldah  the  prophetess,  309. 

Human  sacrifice,  284. 

Hushai,  228,  et  seq. ;  232. 

Hymns  composed  by  David,  237. 

Hyrcanus.  son  of  Joseph,  364;  his  artful  invention, 
365 ;  sent  to  Ptolemy  and  kindly  received,  365 ;  ac- 
tions and  death,  366,  et  seq. 

Hyrcanus  (John),  son  of  Simon,  escapes  being  slain, 
398;  attacks  Ptolemy,  ib.,  624:  is  made  high-priest, 
398,  624;  is  besieged  by  Antiochus,  399;  buys  a  peace, 
399 ;  marches  into  Syria,  recovers  the  towns  that  had 
been  taken,  and  renews  the  alliance  with  the  Ro- 
mans, 400 ;  takes  Samaria  and  demolishes  it,  402  ;  his 
intercourse  with  God,  ib. ;  his  dream,  406 ;  was  eth- 
narch,  high-priest,  and  prophet,  625;  his  death  and 
eulogium,  404,  625. 

Hyrcanus  II.  made  high-priest,  412,  629 ;  agrees  to 
leave  the  civil  government  to  his  brother,  415 ;  his 
inactive  genius,  and  why  he  fled  to  Aretas,  415  ;  tries 
to  bribe  bcaurus,  416;  pleads  against  his  brother  be- 
fore Pompey,  417  ;  recovers  the  high-priesthood,  420; 
confirmed  therein  by  Caesar,  425,  636;  honored  by 
the  Romans  and  Athenians,  425 ;  taken  prisoner  and 
his  ears  cut  off,  442;  released  by  the  Partliians,  and 
returns  to  Herod,  452 ;  perfidiously  treated,  and  put 
to  death,  452. 

Ibis  destroys  serpents,  85. 

Ibzan,  judge  after  Jephtha,  169. 

Ide,  548;  is  crucified,  549. 

Idunieans,  374,  771,  870 ;  refuse  to  give  the  Israelites 
passage,  126;  turn  Jews,  4U0;  are  but  half  Jews,  444; 
Koze  their  former  idol,'  469 ;  celebrate  the  Jewish 
iestivals,  535. 

Images,  or  brazen  oxen,  not  lawful  to  be  made  by  Solo- 
mon, 261 ;  images  of  animals  are  against  the  law, 
471,  476;  to  set  them  up,  or  consecrate  them,  for- 
bidden, 103,  497. 

Incense  only  to  be  offered  by  the  posterity  of  Aaron 
299. 

Infants  murdered  in  Egypt,  82. 

Ireneus  the  pleader,  532. 

Isaac,  52. 

Isaiah.    See  Esaiah. 

Ishbosheth  is  made  king,  212  ;  murdered  by  treachery, 
215. 

Ishmael,  52. 

Ishmael  murders  Gedaliah,  317. 

Isis,  her  temple  polluted  and  demolished,  548. 

Israelites  carried  captive  into  Media  and  Persia,  304. 

Istob  or  Ishtob,  king,  221. 

Ithamar,  109;  his  family  loses  the  high-priesthood, 
245. 

Izates  embraces  the  Jewish  religion,  600,  602 ;  is  cir- 
cumcised, 61)2  ;  succeeds  Monobazus,  601 ;  dies,  605  ; 
his  children  and  brethren  besieged  in  Jerusalem,  851. 

Jabel,  40. 

Jabesh  Gilead  demolished,  161. 

Jabin  enslaves  the  Israelites,  162. 

Jacimus,  or  Alcimus,  378. 

Jacob  born,  58;  contracts  with  Laban  for  Rachel,  61; 
wrestles  with  an  angel,  62;  his  sons,  64;  privately 
departs  from  Laban,  62 ;  his  posterity  when  ne  went 
into  Egypt,  79;  sends  Benjamin  to  Egypt,  74;  meets 
Esau,  64. 

Jacob,  an  Idumean,  betrays  his  country,  787. 

Jadus,  or  Jadua,  high-priest,  348;  meets  Alexander, 
350;  dies,  351. 

Jadon,  265;  killed  by  a  lion,  266. 

Jael  kills  Sisera,  164. 

Jahazalcel  the  prophet,  282. 

James,  the  brother  of  Jesus  Christ,  stoned,  613. 

Japhet,  4 o  ;  what  countries  his  sons  possessed,  47. 

Jason,  or  Jesus,  368. 

Jason,  son  of  Eleazar,  380. 

Javan,  47. 


72 


INDEX. 


Jehoahas,  king  of  Jndah,  811 ;  he  dies  In  Egypt,  811. 
J   hu.  king  of  Israel,  294. 

Jehoaafa  i  made  king,  293 ;  murdered,  295. 

Jehoiachin,  or  J<  o  >niah,  31 1. 

Jehoiakim  rebels  againsi  the  Babylonians, 311 ;  is  slain 
buchadnessar,  and  cast  out  of  the  gate,  312. 

Jebonadab,  292. 

Jehoram,  king  of  Jndah, 

Jehoram,  king  of  Israel,  liis  expedition  against  the 
Ifoabites,  284;  his  distemper  and  death,  289,  290. 

Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Jndah,  279;  pardoned  for  an  alli- 
ance With  Ahab,  28l ;  his  fleet  broken,  282  ;  his  deuth, 
284, 

lb  eh  a,  293. 

Jehu,  275  ;  is  made  king  of  Israel.  290  ;  his  actions,  291, 
ct  tea. ;  puts  Baal's  priests  to  death,  292;  dies,  294. 

Jehu,  the  prophet,  271. 

Jenhtha  puts  the  Ammonites  to  flight,  168 ;  sacrifices 
his  daughter,  169;  makes  a  great  slaughter  among 
the  Ephraimite8,  ib. 

Jeremiah,  311  ;  his  lamentations  on  the  death  of  Jo- 
siah,  ib. ;  his  prophecy  against  Jerusalem,  312;  his 
scribe  Baruch,  312;  is  accused  and  discharged,  312 ; 
his  prophecy  read  in  the  temple,  and  his  roll  burnt, 
312  ;  his  prophecy  of  the  Jews"  release  from  captivity, 
313 ;  he  is  thrown  into  the  dungeon,  314 ;  is  left  with 
Baruch,  in  Judea,  317. 

Jericho  taken,  149  ;  its  rebuilder  cursed,  150 ;  it  is 
plundered  by  the  Romans,  445. 

Jeroboam  conspires  against  Solomon,  262 ;  made  king 
of  the  ten  tribes,  204;  erects  golden  calves,  ib. ;  his 
hand  withered,  265 ;  his  expedition  against  Abijah, 
268  ;  dies,  270. 

Jeroboam  II.  makes  war  against  the  Syrians,  298 ;  dies, 
299. 

Jerusalem  taken  by  David,  216  ;  whence  that  name  de- 
rived. 217;  taken  by  the  Babylonians,  314,  315;  by 
Ponipey,  419 ;  by  Herod  and  Sosius,  449 ;  by  Ptolemy, 
437  ;  how  many  times  taken,  856;  made  tributary  to 
the  Romans,  420;  levelled  with  the  ground,  857  ;  de- 
clared holy,  inviolable,  and  free  by  Demetrius,  385; 
two  citadels  therein,  469 ;  who  first  built  it,  8  6 ; 
situated  in  the  middle  of  Judea,  732 ;  set  on  fire  by 
the  Romans,  854;  a  fast  kept  there  yearly,  450;  as 
also  when  it  was  taken  by  Pompey,  and  by  Herod 
and  Sosius,  419,  450;  a  Jebusite  king  of  Jerusalem, 
with  four  others,  make  war  on  the  (Jibeonites,  152; 
are  put  to  flight  by  Joshua, ib.;  Jerusalem  described, 
8U3,  895. 

Jesse,  father  of  David,  191. 

Jesus  Christ,  a  testimony  to  him,  548. 

Jesus,  son  of  Phabet,  deprived  ot  the  priesthood,  776. 

Jesus,  son  of  Ananus,  his  ominous  clamor  and  death, 
848,  et  seq. 

Jesus,  or  Jason,  368. 

Jesus,  the  son  oi  Sapphias,  governor  of  Tiberias,  11,'  16, 
722. 

Jesus,  brother  of  Onias,  deprived  of  the  high-priest- 
hood, 454. 

Jesus,  the  eldest  priest  after  Ananus,  772,  776;  his 
speech  to  the  Idumeans,  772. 

Jesus,  or  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  118;  successor  of 
Moses,  134;  commands  the  Israelites  against  the 
Amalekites,  98  ;  prophecies  in  the  life-time  of  Moses, 
146;  leads  the  Israelites  to  Jordan,  148;  consults 
about  the  partition  of  the  land,  151 ;  his  speech  to  the 
two  tribes  and  half,  155  ;  his  death,  157. 

Jcmis,  son  of  Saphat,  ringleader  of  robbers,  14,  753. 

Jethro,  tin:  Midianite,  158. 

Jews,  governed  by  Aristocracy,  421,  634;  priests  care- 
ful to  many  according  to  their  law,  884;  in  danger 
at  Antioch,  859;  at  Ecbatana  near  Galilee,  11;  cut 
offai  (  B3sarea,715;  at,  Scythopolis,  715 ;  in  factions 
on  account  of  t  In-  priesthood,  308 ;  killed  on  the  Sab- 
bath, 370;  Jews  beyond  Euphrates,  454;  at  Alexan- 
dria, in  Kg.vpt  and  (  \  pins.  Ki2  ;  go  to  war  under  Alex- 
ander the  Great, 350 ;  carried  into  Egypt  by  Ptolemy, 
.'*">1  ;  banished  home,  649 j  desire  to  be  a  Roman  pro- 
vinee,  638;  favored  by  Seleucus  Nicator,  3>u;  by 
Vespasian  and  TitUS,  380;  by  Marcus  Agrippa,  361 ; 
by  Antiochus  the  threat,  361 ;  shut  up  in  the  Hippo- 
drome, hut  released,  629;  pray  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Spartans,  893;  Antiochus  accuses  his  own  father, 
859;  privileges  granted  them  by  the  kings  of  Asia, 
483;  Egyptians  and  Tyriaus  chiefly  hated  the  Jews, 
;  Demetrius  remits  part  of  the  tribute,  886  ;  Jews 
ai  Alexandria  allowed  an  ethnarch,  423;  allowed  to 
gather  their  sacred  collections  at  Rome,  431  :  derived 
from  the  same  origin  with  the  Bpartans,  867 ;  have 
their  own  laws  under  Alexander  the  Great,  360;  pro- 
hibited to  meddle  with  foreign  women.  364;  tenacious 
of  their  laws,  915 ;  numerous  at  Alexandria,  423 ;  at 
Babylon,  462;  form  of  their  government,  335;  quar- 


rel with  the  Syrians  about  privileges,  612;  their 
marriages,  919;  had  a  synagogue  at  Antioch.  f 
privileges  under  the  Romans,  469;  send  an  embassy 
against  Archelaus,  638;  the  Asiatic  J«ws  send  an  em- 
bassy to  Caesar,  496;  great  slaughter  of  Jews,  572, 
651 ;  calamities  in  Rf<  SOpol  unia,  and  Babylonia, 
antiquity  of  their  rites.  452,  <t  ■<"/.;  towns  in  Syria, 
Phoenicia,  and  Iduinea.  belonging  to  them,  411. 

Jezebel,  Ahab*s  wife,  273 ;  is  torn  to  pieces  by  dogs, 
291. 

Joab,  212;  takes  the  citadel  of  Jerusalem,  216;  con- 
spires, 240. 

Joathan,  or  Jotham,  245,  316. 

Joazar,  high-priest,  527,  543,  547;  deprived  by  Arche- 
laus, 511,  515. 

John  (Baptist)  killed  by  Herod,  552. 

John,  the  son  of  Dorcas,  766. 

John  (Gaddis),  is  killed,  382. 

John,  son  of  Levi,  rebuilds  Gischala,  10,  723,  870;  ene- 
my to  Josephus,  13,  15,  724;  aims  at  absolute  do- 
minion, 770,  780. 

Johu,  son  of  Judas,  high -priest,  murders  his  brother 
in  the  temple,  348. 

John,  captain  of  the  Idumeans,  killed,  812. 

John,  or  Johauan,  son  of  Kareah,  317 ;  pursues  after 
Ishmael,  318. 

Joktan,  49. 

Jonadab,  225,  226,  237. 

Jonas,  the  prophet,  298. 

Jonathan,  son  of  Ananus,  595 ;  refuses  the  high-priest- 
hood, ib. ;  his  actions,  699,  et  seq. ;  is  murdered,  700. 

Jonathan,  called  Appus,  the  Maccabee,  370;  makes  a 
league  with  Antiochus,  623 ;  is  surprised  and  killed, 
624. 

Jonathan,  son  of  Saul,  beats  a  garrison  of  the  Philis- 
tines, 186;  reconciles  Saul  to  David,  195;  his  confer- 
ence with  David,  197 ;  slain  in  battle,  210. 

Jonathan,  a  Sadducee,  provokes  Hyrcanus  against  the 
Pharisees,  4<i3. 

Jonathan,  a  Jew,  challenges  the  Romans  to  single  com- 
bat, 840;  is  killed  by  Prisons,  841. 

Jonathan,  a  ringleader  of  the  Sicarii,  880. 

Jonathan,  high-priest,  murdered,  610. 

Jonathan,  the  Maccabee,  commander  of  the  Jews,  382; 
with  his  brother  Simon  defeats  the  Nalrteans,  383; 
makes  peace  with  Dacchides,  383 ;  restores  divine 
worship,  384;  defeats  Demetrius*s  captains,  386,  392; 
renews  the  league  with  the  Romans  and  Spartans, 
393 ;  his  letter  to  the  Spartans,  ib. ;  killed  by  Trypho, 
397. 

Joppa  taken  by  the  Romans,  718 ;  demolished,  751. 

Joseph  Cabi,  high-priest,  613  ;  is  deprived,  ib. 

Joseph,  son  of  Cauanus,  made  high-priest,  600;  de- 
prived, 606. 

Joseph  (Caiaphas),  made  high-priest,  545;  deprivod, 
551. 

Joseph,  son  of  a  female  physician,  stirs  up  a  sedition, 
20. 

Joseph,  son  of  Daleus.  847. 

Joseph,  a  treasurer,  465. 

Joseph,  Herod's  uncle,  456 ;  married  Salome,  659 ;  dis- 
covers his  injunction  to  kill  Mariamne;  is  put  to 
death,  457,  659. 

Joseph,  son  of  Tobias,  reproaches  his  uncle,  363 ;  sent 
to  Ptolemy,  ib. ;  his  tax-gatherer,  364;  goes  to  Syria, 
364;  his  wealth  and  children,  ib. :  dies,  367. 

Joseph,  son  of  Jacob,  his  dreams,  (\('j;  sold  to  the  Ish- 
maelites,  GS;  his  chastity,  69;  put  in  prison,  70;  re- 
leased, 71  ;  discovers  his  brethren,  73  ;  tries  them,  78  ; 
discovers  himself,  78;  his  death,  81. 

Josephus  made  governor  of  Galilee,  722;  his  danger  at 
TaricheSB,  724;  reduces  Tiberias,  727;  is  in  great 
danger  again,  828 ;  his  mother  laments  him  as  dead, 
ib. ;  his  speech  to  the  Taricheauis,  17  ;  his  stratagems, 
17,  19;  escapes  a  great  danger,  17;  goes  to  Tiberias, 
18;  his  Wonderful  dream,  21;  goes  to  Tanchea1,  26; 
his  father  put  in  chains,  <s'-7  ;  bis  love  to  his  country, 
717;  is  betrayed,  862;  surrenders  to  Nicanor,  748; 
6peech  to  his  companions,  748;  is  in  danger  of  his 
life,  749;  advises  the  casting  of  lots,  760;  carried  to 
Vespasian,  760;  Bpeech  to  \  espasian,  lb. ;  honored  by 
Vespasian  and  Titus,  35,  751;  by  Domitian  and  Do- 
mitia,  36;  is  set  at  liberty,  793 ;  advises  the  Jews  to 
surrender, 816,  836;  accused  of  conspiracy,  880;  Ti- 
tus gives  him  lands  in  Judea, 36  ;  had  three  wives,  36; 
his  children,  ib. ;  was  greatly  skilled  in  learning,  7, 
C17;  was  a  Pharisee,  7 ;  goes  to  home,  8;  trees  tha 
Bepphorites  from  Bear,  9;  stays  in  Galilee,  11;  his 
moderation,  12;  when  he  finished  the  Antiquities, 
617  ;  when  he  was  horn,  7 ;  appeals  to  Vespasian,  Ti- 
tus, and  others,  for  the  truth  of  his  history. 
Joshua,  son  nl'  Nun.  See  Jesus,  309. 
Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  his  piety,  309;  his  death,  311. 


INDEX 


973 


Jotapata,  besieged  and  demolished,  737,  et  seq. 

Jotham,  his  parable,  167. 

Jotham,  king  of  Judah,  300;  his  death,  301. 

Jubal,  42. 

Jubilee,  116. 

Jucundus  calumniates  Alexander,  507. 

Jucundus,  captain  of  horse,  703. 

Judadas,  or  Dedan,  48. 

Judas,  the  Esscne,  402,  626. 

Judas,  a  Galilean,  author  of  a  fourth  sect  among  the 
Jews,  543,  544,  593,  690. 

Judas,  son  of  Jairus,  is  slain,  868. 

Judas,  the  Maccabee,  370;  succeeds  his  father,  371,  623; 
speech  to  his  men  before  a  battle,  372  ;  is  victor,  ib. ; 
comes  to  Jerusalem,  and  restores  the  temple  worship, 
373 ;  takes  vengeance  on  the  Idumeans  and  others, 
374;  besieges  the  citadel  at  Jerusalem,  376;  made 
high-priest,  380 ;  alliance  with  the  Romans,  ib. ;  fights 
Bacchides,  381 ;  is  killed,  381. 

Judas,  son  of  Saripheus  or  Sepphoreus,  526,  679. 

Judas,  son  of  Ezekias,  ringleader  of  the  robbers,  536, 
686. 

Judea.  it  begins  at  Coreae,  418 ;  great  earthquake  in, 
460;  its  fertility,  895;  its  description,  731  ;  length, 
breadth,  and  limits,  732;  but  lately  known  to  the 
Greeks,  886 ;  annexed  to  Syria,  543 ;  parted  into  five 
jurisdictions,  421;  made  tributary  to  the  Romans, 
420. 

Judges  of  the  Hebrews,  335. 

Judges  of  the  council  in  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  328 ;  seven 
inferior  judges  in  every  city,  but  an  appeal  from  them 
to  the  great  Sanhedrim  at  Jerusalem,  138. 

Julian  of  Bithynia,  835. 

Justus  of  Tiberias,  30 ;  when  he  published  his  history, 
31 ;  condemned  by  Vespasian,  but  saved,  30. 

Justus,  eon  of  Pistus,  stirs  up  sedition,  9. 

Keturait,  Abraham's  wife,  56. 
King  Solomon's  palace,  256. 
Kings  of  David's  race,  316. 
Kittim  or  Cethim,  47. 

Korah  raises  a  sedition,  121 ;  perishes  with  his  followers, 
124. 

Laban,  49;  his  fraud,  61. 

Laborosoarchod,  or  Labosordacus,  323  892. 

Lamech,  42. 

Languages  confounded,  46. 

Laodiceans,  their  letter  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  433. 

Laws  given  the  Israelites  upon  Mount  Sinai,  94,  et  seq., 
135;  to  be  read  on  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  138;  to 
be  learned  by  children,  ib. ;  order  a  rebellious  son  to 
be  stoned,  511;  martial  laws,  920;  the  tables  of  the 
law,  102 ;  law  of  Moses  translated  into  Greek,  38, 
352 ;  law  made  by  Herod  to  sell  thieves,  485 ;  law 
carried  in  triumph  at  Rome,  864. 

Lentulus's  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  431. 

Lepidus  killed  by  Caius,  576. 

Leprous  persons  obtain  places  of  honor,  115 ;  are  to 
live  out  of  cities,  287. 

Letters  of  Solomon,  and  Hiram,  and  the  Tyrians,  245 ; 
of  Xerxes  to  Ezra,  335  ;  of  Artaxerxes  to  the  gover- 
nors near  Judea,  346 ;  of  Antiochus  the  Great  to 
Ptolemy,  361 ;  of  the  Samaritans  to  Antiochus,  368  ; 
of  Alexander  Balas  to  Jonathan,  384 ;  of  Onias  to 
Ptolemy  and  Cleopatra,  386 ;  of  Ptolemy  and  Cleo- 
patra to  Onias,  386 ;  of  Demetrius  to  Jonathan  and 
the  Jews,  390 ;  of  Julias  Csesar  to  the  Roman  magis- 
trates and  to  the  Sidonians,  429 ;  of  Mark  Antony  to 
the  Tyrians,  438. 

Levites  exempted  from  military  functions,  116. 

Levite's  concubine  abused,  159. 

Levitical  tribe  consecrated,  141 ;  their  allowance,  126  ; 
and  how  many  cities  belonged  to  them,  126. 

Liberius  Maximus,  868. 

Liberty  granted  the  Jews  by  Demetrius,  385. 

Libya,  48. 

Longinus's  bravery,  814. 

Longus  kills  himself,  841. 

Lot,  49,  51;  his  wife,- 53. 

Lupus  Julius  put  to  death,  586. 

Lupus,  governor  of  Alexandria,  879 

Lycurgus,  915. 

Lydda  burnt,  719. 

Lysanias  is  put  to  death   458,  641. 

Lysias,  372,  et  seq. 

Lysimachus  obtains  tke  government  of  the  Hellespont, 
351. 

Maccabees,  370. 

Macedonians  governed  by  a  Roman  proconsul,  707. 

Macheras,  446,  447,  648. 

Macherus  surrenders  to  Bassus,  867 


Machines  of  the  Romans,  810 ;  for  casting  stones,  741. 
Madai,  or  Medes,  47. 

Madianites,  or  Midianites,  bring  Israel  into  subjection, 
165;  Moses  makes  war  upon  them  and  beats  them, 
133 ;  their  women  seduce  the  Israelites,  132. 
Magician,  an  Egyptian  one,  701. 
Magog,  47. 

Mahlon,  son  of  Elimelech,  173. 
Malchus,  391,  412,  644. 

Malichus,  a  Jewish  commander,  421,  633,  639 ;  poisons 
Antipater,  435  ;  a  great  dissembler,  ib. ;  is  killed  by 
a  device  of  Herod,  436. 
Manaem,  or  Manahem,  300. 
Manahem,  an  Essene,  479. 
Manahem,  son  of  Judas,  8,  713,  et  seq. 
Manasseh,  king,  carried  into  captivity,  308;   is  sent 

back,  and  dies,  ib. 
Manasseh  marries  Sanballett's  daughter,  348;  high*- 

priest  of  the  Samaritans,  362. 
Manna  from  heaven,  96. 
Manneus,  son  of  Lazarus,  830. 
Manoah,  170. 

Manslaughter,  suspected,  how  purged,  138. 
Marcus,  or  Murcus,  president  of  Syria,  435. 
Marcus,  638,  et  seq. 

Mariamne,  Agrippa  senior's  daughter,  553,  698 ;  mar- 
ried to  Archelaus,  609 ;    divorced,  690 ;  married   to 
Demetrius,  609. 
Mariamne,  or  Miriam,  Moses's  sister,  dies,  127. 
Mariamne  married  to  Herod,  54  ;  grows  angry  with  He- 
rod, 471,  659 ;  is  put  to  death,  467  ;  her  eulogium,  ib. ; 
her  sons  strangled,  670. 
Mariamne,  daughter  of  Josephus  and  Olympias,  553. 
Mariamne,  daughter  of  Simon  the  high-priest,  671. 
Marion,  tyrant,  437. 

Marriage  of  freemen  with  slaves  unlawful,  140. 
Marsyas,  555,  559,  560. 
Mary,  eats  her  own  child,  842. 
Mathusala,  44. 

Mattathias,  great-grandson  of  Asamoneus,  refuses  to 
sacrifice  to  an  idol,  and  persuades  the  Jews  to  fight 
on  the  Sabbath,  370 ;  exhorts  his  sons  to  defend  the 
law,  371 ;  dies,  371. 
Matthias,  high-priest,  595. 
Matthias  Curtus,  7. 
Matthias,  son  of  Margalothus,  526,  679 ;   he  and  his 

partners  are  burnt  alive,  527. 
Matthias,  son  of  Theophilus,  made  high-priest,  519,  614; 

he  is  deprived,  526. 
Matthias,  Josephus's  father,  7. 
Matthias,  son  of  Boethus,  calls  in  Simon  to  his  aid,  and 

is  put  to  death  by  him,  827. 
Maximus  (Liberius),  868. 
Maximus  (Trebellius),  586. 

Meal,  the  purest  used  in  the  Jewish  oblations,  112. 
Meirus,  son  of  Belgas,  846. 
Melas,  508. 
Melchisedeck,  51. 
Memucan,  340. 

Menes,  or  Mineus,  built'Memphis,  258. 
Mephibosheth  highly  favored  by  David,  220,  234. 
Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  284. 
Meshech,  one  of  the  three  holy  children,  319. 
Messalina,  609,  700. 
Mestraei,  or  Mitzraim,  Egyptians,  48. 
Metilius,  a  Roman,  714. 

Micah  the  prophet,  quoted  in  Jeremiah,  312. 
Micaiah,  the  prophet,  278,  280. 
Mice  spoil  the  country  of  Ashdod,  177;   five  golden 

mice,  177. 
Michal  married  to  David,  195 ;  saves  David's  life,  196. 
Milk,  &c,  offered  by  Abel,  42. 
Minucianus  (Annius),  574,  et  seq. 
Misael,  one  of  the  three  holy  children,  319. 
Mithridates,  king  of  Pergamus,  424;  brings  succors  to 

Caesar  in  Egypt,  424,  635. 
Mithridates,  king  of  Parthia,  410. 
Mithridates,  king  of  Pontus,  dies,  418. 
Mithridates,  a  Parthian,  marries  Artabanus's  daughter, 
570;  taken  prisoner,  570;  set  at  liberty,  ib. ;  expe- 
dition against  the  Jews,  and  routs  Anileus,  571. 
Mitzraim,  48. 

Modius  iEquicolus,  10,  15, 19. 
Monobazus,  brother  of  Izates,  is  king  after  his  brother's 

death,  605. 
Monobazus,  king  of  Adiabene,  600,  719;  his  death,  601. 
Moon  eclipsed,  526. 

Moses,  his  character,  Pref.  38;  his  birth  foretold,  82  ; 
how  born  and  saved,  83;  why  called  Moses,  901  ; 
adopted  by  Thcrmusis,  84;  brought  up  to  succeed 
her  father,  84;  tramples  on  the  crown,  ib. ;  made 
general  of  the  Egyptian  army,  and  beats  the  Ethio- 
pians, 85  ;  marries  Tharbis,  86 ;  flies  out  of  Egypt,  ib. ; 


974 


INDEX. 


sees  the  burning  trash  at  Sinai,  ST  ;  appointed  to  de- 
liver the  Israelites,  ib.  ;  does  miracles  and  heard  tho 

moat  sacred  name  of  God,  87 ;  returns  to  Egypt,  88; 
let  miracles  before  Pharaoh,  B8;  leads  the  Israel- 
it.  -  ,..;[  of  Bgypt,  91  ;  their  number,  92;  his  prayer, 
leads  the  Israelites  through  the  iu-d  Pea,  93; 
makes  the  bitter  water  sweet,  96 ;  brings  water  out 
of  the  rock,  97;  beats  the ; Amaiekitea,  98;  brings 
the  tables  of  tho  covenant,  101;  stays  forty  days 
upon  Mount  Sinai,  102;  confers  tho  priesthood  on 
Aaron,  L09;  otters  sacrifices  at  the  tabernacle,  111  ; 
receives  laws  and  commands  at  the  tabernacle,  111, 
114;  numbers  the  people,  110;  gives  orders  for  their 
marching,  117  ;  sends  spies  to  search  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan. 118;  quells  the  faction  of  Corah,  123;  his  jus- 
tice, 121 ;  his  prayer  to  Cod,  123 ;  cleanses  the  people, 
128;  destroys  Bihon  and  Og,  127;  defeats  the  kings 
of  Midian,  133;  appoints  Joshua  his  successor,  134 ; 
his  predictions  before  his  death,  135;  his  song,  145  ; 
blesses  Joshua,  14(3 ;  is  surrounded  with  a  cloud,  and 
disappears,  147;  his  death  greatly  lamented  by  the 
people,  ib.;  his  great  authority,  119;  his  books  laid 
up  in  the  temple,  309;  what  they  contain,  885; 
called  by  Manetho,  Osarsiph,  897,  902;  allowed  by 
the  Egyptians  to  bo  a  divine  man,  901;  the  age  in 
which  he  lived,  915 ;  his  virtue  and  great  actions,  ib.; 
his  posterity  honored  by  David,  244. 

Hosoch,  or  Meshech,  47. 

Mucianus,  president  of  Syria,  3G0,  760,  786,  791.  793. 

Mundus  ravishes  Paulina,  548,  et  seq. 

Musical  instruments  of  the  Jews  described,  237. 

Mysian  war,  218. 

Mytgonus,  king,  893. 

Naamaii,  daughter  of  Lamech,  42. 

Naash,  or  Nahash,  king,  221 ;  wars  against  the  Israel- 
ites, 183. 

Nabal.  a  foolish  man,  203. 

Nabolassar,  or  Nabopollassar,  king  of  Babylon,  891. 

Naboth,  275. 

Nabuchodonosor,  or  Nabuchadnezzar,  891;  conquers  a 
great  part  of  Syria,  311 ;  lays  a  tax  upon  the  Jews, 
311 ;  sacks  Jerusalem,  312,  315 ;  his  famous  dream, 
320  ;  his  golden  image,  321;  lives  among  the  beasts, 
321 ;  dies,  322. 

Nabuzaradan  plunders  and  burns  the  temple,  316,  317. 

Nacebus,  605,  509. 

Nadah,  king  of  Israel,  270. 

IN  ahum,  300;  his  prophecy  concerning  Nineveh,  ib. 

Naomi.  Elimelech's  wife,  173. 

Nathan  the  prophet,  219,  224,  2 

Nazarites,  120,  594. 

Nechao,  or  Necho,  311 ;  concpuered  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
311. 

Nehemiah,  338 ;  his  love  to  his  country,  ib. ;  exhorts 
the  people  to  rebuild  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  339. 

Neriglissor,  king,  892. 

Nero  made  emperor,  G09,  700 ;  his  death.  786. 

Netir,  a  Galilean,  742. 

Nicanor,  358,  309,  747;  sent  against  Judas,  37*9;  de- 
feated and  killed,  379. 

Nicanor,  a  friend  of  Titus,  wounded  with  an  arrow, 
810. 

Nicaso  married  to  Manasseh,  348. 

Nicaule,  orNitocris,  259. 

Niceteria,  or  festival  for  the  victory  over  Nicanor,  380. 

Nicolaus  of  Damascus,  the  Jews'  advocate,  300,  486;  is 
sent  to  Herod  by  Augustus,  506 ;  his  6peech  before 
Augustus,  533,  539,  684;  exaggerates  Antipater's 
crime-,  522,  678;  his  brother  Ptolemy,  683. 

Niger  of  Perea,  719,  722;  his  wonderful  escape,  729, 
730. 

Niglissar,  323. 

Nimrod,  or  Nebrodes,  46. 

Nisroch,  or  Araske,  a  temple  at  Nineveh,  306. 

Noah,  or  Noe,  43;  is  saved  in  the  ark,  43,  et  seq.',  invo- 
cates  God  after  the  deluge,  45;  God  answers,  45; 
laws  given  to  him,  ib.;  genealogy,  44;  death,  46. 

Horbanus  Flacous'l  letter  in  behalf  of  the  Jews,  497. 

Norbanus  (another;  slain,  581. 

Ouadiah,  a  protector  <»f  the  true  prophets,  273,  et  seq. 

Obed,  the  prophet,  301. 
I  -  iron  bed,  128. 

Oil  used  in  the  oblations,  112:  consumed  by  the  sedi- 
tious 7ol  ;  prepared  by  tho  foreigners  not  us-d  by 
the  Jews,  360,  724. 

Olympiad,  Herod's  daughter,  616;  is  marriod  to  Joseph, 
wm  of  Herod's  brother,  870. 

Olympias,  Jupiter's  Image,  573. 

Olympus  sent  to  Koine,  609,  009. 

Omri,  king  ol  I-  reel,  272. 

On,  tho  son  of  Peleth,  121. 


Onias,  son  of  Jaddus,  succeeds  in  the  high-priesthood 

351. 
Onias,  the  son  of  Simon,  made  high-priest,  362  ;  causes 

great  troubles,  307. 
Onias,  brother  of  Jesus,  or  Jason,  made  high-priest, 

302. 
Onias  and  Dositheus  saved  Egypt  from  ruin,  909. 
Onias,  son  of  Onias,  flies  into  Egypt,  :j*8G,  622,  880;  his 

letter  to  Ptolemy  ami  Cleopatra,  386 ;  their  answer, 

380 ;  he  build-  the  temple  Onion,  ib. ;  that  temple  is 

shut  up,  880. 
Onias  procures  rain  in  a  famine  by  his  prayers,  416 ;  is 

stoned  to  death,  ib. 
Ophelhus,  440,  642. 
Opobalsamum,  260,  418. 
Oracle  concerning  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  780, 

792,  837  ;  concerning  a  great  prince  to  arise  in  Judea, 

849. 
Oreb,  a  king  of  Midian,  166. 
Orodes,  546. 

Oronna,  6ee  Araunah,  251. 
Osarsiph,  see  Moses,  899. 
Othniel,  162. 
Otho,  emperor,  786,  et  seq. 

Pacorus,  604 ;  redeems  his  wife  and  concubines,  870. 

Pacorus,  the  king  of  Parthia's  son,  gets  possession  of 
Syria,  139 ;  lays  a  plot  to  catch  Hyrcanus  and  Phasa- 
leus,  440;  marches  against  the  Jews,  641;  admitted 
into  Jerusalem,  642 ;  slain  in  battle,  446. 

Pageants,  or  Pegmata,  at  Titus's  triumph,  864. 

Pallas,  Felix's  brother,  612,  700. 

Palm-trees,  famous,  282,  418. 

Pannychis,  666. 

Pappinius,  576. 

Pappus,  sent  into  Samaria  by  Antigonus,  449,  649. 

Paradise  described,  41,  892. 

Parthians  possess  themselves  of  Syria,  and  endeavor  to 
settle  Antigonus  in  Judea,  641 ;  their  expedition  into 
Judea,  439 ;  besiege  Jerusalem,  and  take  the  city  and 
temple,  ib.,  et  seq. ;  their  perfidiousness,  440,  641. 

Passover,  a  festival,  91,  113,  416,  531 ;  manner  of  its 
celebration,  855  ;  called  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
410,  531,  801 ;  on  the  14th  day  of  Nisan,  334,  801 ; 
numerous  sacrifices  then  offered,  and  vast  numbers 
come  up  to  it,  531,  682 ;  from  the  9th  hour  to  the 
11th,  and  not  less  than  ten  to  one  paschal  lamb,  855. 

Paulina  ravished,  548. 

Paulinus,  a  tribune,  747. 

Paulinus  succeeds  Lui  us,  880;  he  plunders  and  shuts 
up  the  temple  Onion,  ib. 

Pedanius,  009,  840. 

Pekah  slays  Pekahiah.  and  succeeds  him,  300 ;  he  de- 
feats the  king  of  Judah,  301 ;  he  is  slain  by  Hoshea, 
302. 

Pekahiah,  king  of  Israel,  300. 

Pentecost,  a  festival,  114,  534;  whence  its  name.  6S5; 
vast  numbers  came  to  it,  ib. ;  the  priests  attended 
the  temple  in  the  night,  848;  the  Jews  did  not  then 
take  journeys,  400. 

Perea  subdued  by  the  Romans,  782,  et  seq. 

Pergamens'  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  433. 

Persians,  their  seven  principal  families.  329  :  their  king 
is  watched  during  his  sleep,  330;  their  law  forbade 
strangers  to  see  their  king's  wives,  340;  seven  men 
were  the  interpreters  of  their  laws,  ib. ;  their  royal 
robes,  343. 

Petilius  Cerealis,  the  proconsul,  reduces  the  Germans, 
861. 

Petronius,  governor  of  Egypt,  474;  supplies  Herod 
with  corn.  ib. 

Petronius  (Publius)  president  of  Syria,  503;  sent  with 
an  army  to  Jerusalem  by  Cains,  to  set  up  his  Btatue 
in  the  temple,  ib..  696;  endeavors  to  prevent  it,  and 
s;ivo  the  Jews,  696  ;  his  edict  against  the  Dorites, 
594. 

Petus  (Cassennius),  his  expedition  into  Commagena, 
869. 

Phalion,  417.  630. 

Phannius,  son  of  Samuel,  767. 

Pharisees,  a  sect,  403,  541,  629;  envy  Hyrcanus,  403  ; 
opposite  to  the  Badducees  in  principles,  403 ;  their 
great  authority,  616 ;  especially  in  the  reign  of  Alex- 
andra, 412,  0211;  refuse  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to 
Csesar  and  Herod,  517;  their  unwritten  traditions, 
894,403;  their  moderation  in  Inflicting  punishment-, 
ib.:  tb(>  common  people  side  with  them,  ib. ;  are 
skilful  in  the  law,  20. 

Pharnaces,  418. 

Phasaelus,  son  of  Antipater,  423,  515,035;  his  death, 
•112.  462,  643. 

Phaser  Ins,  sou  of  nerod,  515. 

Pheroras,  423,  035;  hates  Salome's  children,  499,  663; 


INDEX. 


975 


makes  Alexander  jealous  of  his  wife  Glaphyra,  500 ; 
provokes  Herod  to  anger,  ib.,  499;  lays  the  blame 
upon  Salome,  500 ;  enters  into  friendship  with  Anti- 
pater,  516 ;  hated  by  Herod,  517 ;  ordered  to  retire 
to  his  tetrarchy,  51S. 

Pheroras's  wife  pays  the  fine  laid  upon  the  Pharisees, 
517 ;  associates  with  the  other  court  ladies,  510 ; 
charged  with  getting  poison,  519;  her  confession, 
519. 

Philip,  Herod's  son  by  Cleopatra,  515,  516,  520,  671; 
brother  of  Archelaus,  689 ;  what  Herod  left  him  by 
his  will,  529;  what  Caesar  gave  him,  540;  tetrarch 
of  Gaulanitis  and  Trachonitis,  and  Paneas,  529;  he 
dies,  551 ;  his  eulogium,  552. 

Philip,  a  Galilean,  742. 

Philip  made  regent  of  Syria  during  Eupator's  minority, 
376. 

Philip,  king  of  Syria,  409,  410. 

Philip  of  Macedon  slain,  348. 

Philippion  marries  Alexandra,  and  is  killed  by  his 
father,  424,  635. 

Philo,  chief  deputy  of  the  Jews  to  Caius,  563. 

Philostephanus,  4(<7. 

Phineas,  son  of  Clusothus,  772. 

Phineas,  son  of  Eleazar,  slays  Zimri  and  Cosbi,  133 ; 
leads  the  Israelites  against  the  Midianites,  133;  his 
speech  to  the  Jews,  156 ;  is  made  high-priest,  157 ; 
the  high-priesthood  returns  to  his  family,  246. 

Phineas,  son  of  Eli,  175  ;  high-priest,  176  ;  is  slain,  ib. 

Phraates,  king  of  the  Parthians,  452 ;  his  death,  546. 

Phraataces,  son  of  Phraates,  546. 

Phul,  or  Pul,  king,  300. 

Phurim,  a  festival,  347. 

Phut,  the  planter  of  Libya,  48. 

Pilate  (Pontius),  occasions  tumults  among  the  Jews, 
547  ;  causes  a  great  slaughter  of  them,  548,  694 ;  and 
of  the  Samaritans,  550 ;  is  accused  for  it  and  sent  to 
Rome,  ib. 

Pillars  erected  by  the  children  of  Seth,  43;  Corinthian 
pillars  in  Solomon's  palace,  256 ;  in  Herod's  temple, 
807. 

Piso,  governor  of  Rome,  556. 

Pitholaus,  421,  423,  633. 

Placidus  skirmishes  with  Joeephus,  22,35;  his  other 
actions,  735,  737,  746,  782,  et  seq. 

Plague  among  the  Israelites,  239. 

Polemo,  king  of  Cilicia,  609. 

Polemo,  king  of  Pontus,  597. 

Polity  of  the  Jews  after  the  captivity,  335. 

Pollio,  a  Pharisee,  451 ;  a  Roman,  477. 

Pompedius,  575. 

Pompey  the  Great  goes  to  Damascus,  417,  630;  to  Jeru- 
salem, 418,  631;  the  city  delivered  up  to  him,  419; 
takes  the  temple  by  force,  419,  632 ;  the  Jews  send 
him  a  golden  vine,  417  ;  goes  into  the  holy  of  holies, 
420,  632  ;  meddles  with  nothing  in  the  temple,  420 ; 
hears  the  cause  between  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus, 
417  ;  determines  it  in  favor  of  Hyrcanus,  and  makes 
war  upon  Aristobulus,  418;  flies  into  Epirus,  425. 

Poppea  favors  the  Jews,  8,  612,  616. 

Porcius  Festus.     See  Festus. 

Presents  sent  to  Joseph,  74. 

Priests,  if  maimed,  are  excluded  from  the  altar  and 
temple,  116,  901 ;  not  to  marry  several  sorts  of  women, 
116,  884;  washed  their  hands  and  feet  before  they 
ministered,  103;  succeed  one  another  according  to 
their  courses,  912  ;  their  allowances,  112,  1^6,  et  seq. ; 
242;  their  courses  twenty-four,  912;  very  numerous, 
912;  two  families  from  Aaron's  two  sons,  166;  their 
offices  and  employments,  912,  et  seq.;  their  sacred 
garments,  106,  808;  priests  and  Levites  exempted 
from  taxes  by  Xerxes,  335 ;  none  but  priests  of  the 
posterity  of  Aaron  might  burn  incense  at  the  temple, 
299;  not  to  drink  wine  in  their  sacred  garments, 
116;  priesthood  a  mark  of  nobility  among  the 
Jews,  7. 

High-priest  not  to  be  the  son  of  a  captive  woman,  403 ; 
to  marry  a  virgin,  and  not  to  touch  a  dead  body,  116 ; 
the  prophets,  and  sanhedrim,  were  to  determine  diffi- 
cult causes,  138 ;  several  at  the  same  time  in  later 
ages,  767,  827  ;  to  succeed  by  birth,  918;  elected  by 
lot  among  the  seditious,  767;  abolish  the  regular 
succession,  ib. ;  Herod  made  the  high-priests  till  his 
death,  600 ;  a  series  from  Aaron  to  the  destruction  of 
the  temple  by  Titus,  615;  another  series,  from  the 
building  of  the  temple  to  the  captivity,  316 ;  high- 
priests'  robes  kept  by  the  Romans,  600;  where  they 
were  laid  up,  481,  550,  599 ;  high  priest's  ornaments 
described,  106,  808. 

High-priesthood  translated  from  one  family  to  another, 
170;  of  Onias  at  Heliopolis,  378,  402,  615;  vacant  at 
Jerusalem  for  four  years,  385;  Herod,  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  and  Aristobulus  deprive  high-priests  of 


their  office  which  others  held  for  life,  454;  taken 

from  Jesus,  and  given  to  Simon,  476 ;  settled  upon 

the  family  of  Aaron,  615. 
Priests'  lauds  in  the  days  of  Joseph  free  from  tax,  80. 
Primogeniture,  its  privileges  sold  by  Esau,  65. 
Primus  ( Antonius),  marches  against  Vitellius,  and  kills 

him,  786,  793. 
Priscus  (Tyrannius),  720. 
Priscus  kills  Jonathan,  840. 
Privileges  granted  the  Jews  by  Alexander  the  Great, 

907. 
Prophecies  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  780,  849, 
Prophecy  of  Isaiah,  accomplished,  386. 
Prophecies  could  not  agree  to  the  events,  if  the  world 

were  governed  by  chance,  326. 
Prophets,  excepting  Daniel,  chiefly  foretold  calamities, 

326 ;  greatly  to  be  esteemed,  281. 
Prophets  (false  ones)  suborned  by  the  Jewish  tyrants, 

847. 
Proseuchse,  or  houses  of  prayer,  among  the  Jews,  27. 
Prostitution  of  the  body,  a  most  heinous  crime,  137. 
Providence  asserted,  325. 
Pseua-Alexander,  540,  689. 
Ptolemy,  the  administrator  of  Herod's   kingdom,  16, 

499,  503,  509. 
Ptolemy,  the  brother  of  Cleopatra,  poisoned  by  her, 

457. 
Ptolemy,  the  brother  of  Nicolaus  of  Damascus,  532. 
Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  361 ;  he  dies,  368. 
Ptolemy  Euergetes,  Philopater,  or  Eupator,  361,  362, 

908. 
Ptolemy,  the  son  of  Jamblious,  424,  635. 
Ptolemy  Lathyrus,  402,  627 ;  driven  out  of  his  king- 
dom, 405 ;   makes  an  alliance  with  Alexander,  and 

breaks  it,  406 ;  defeats  Alexander's  army,  407  ;  his 

cruelty,  ib. 
Ptolemy,  son  of  Lagus,  obtains  Egypt  after  the  death 

of  Alexander  the  Great,  351 ;  takes  Jerusalem,  and 

carries  many  Jews  into  Egypt,  352. 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  the  second  king  of  Egypt  of 

that  race,  Pref.  38,  352,  907 ;  his  skill  in  mechanic 

arts,  354 ;  procures  a  translation  of  the  law  of  Moses, 

352,  908 ;  sets  a  vast  number  of  the  Jews  free,  352 ; 

sends  a  letter  to  the  high-priest,  354;  his  liberal  ob- 
lations and  presents,  357,  et  seq. 
Ptolemy  Philometer,  362,  368,  386,  908;   he  and   his 

queen  Cleopatra  permit  Onias  to  build  the  temple 

Onion,  380 ;  expedition  into  Syria,  389 ;  is  wounded 

and  dies,  390. 
Ptolemy,  son  of  Meneus,  413.  417,  436,  628,  641 ;  prince 

of  Chalcis,  424  ;  he  marries  Alexandra,  ib. 
Ptolemy,  the  murderer  of  Simon  the  Maccabee,  398; 

murders  John  Hyrcarus's  mother  and  brothers,  399. 
Ptolemy  Physcon,  362,  401,  908. 
Pudens  engages  in  a  duel  with  Jonathan,  and  is  killed, 

841. 
Purple  robes  worn  by  Chaldean  kings,  323 ;   by  the 

Persian  kings,  329,  344;  Joseph  is  clothed  in  purple 

by  Pharaoh,  72. 
Pygmalion,  king  of  Tyre,  891. 
Pythian,  or  Apollo's  temple,  built  by  Herod,  495. 

Quadratus  (Ummidius),  608. 

Quails  fall  upon  the  camp  of  Israel,  96. 

Queen  of  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  comes  to  Solomon,  259, 

260. 
Quirinus,  or  Cyrenius,  sent  by  Caasar  to  tax  Syria,  543. 

Rabsases  (Themasius),  330. 

Rachel,  60;  steals  and  couceals  her  father's  idols,  62. 

Raguel,  99 ;  his  advice  to  Moses  for  the  government  of 
the  Israelites,  99,  et  seq. 

Rahab,  an  inn-keeper  at  Jericho,  148 ;  her  life  saved, 
150. 

Rainbow,  45. 

Harnesses,  king  of  Egypt,  889. 

Rapsaces,  or  Rabshakeh,  305  ;  his  speech  to  the  people 
of  Jerusalem,  ib. 

Rathumus,  or  Rheum,  328. 

Rationale,  or  breast-plate  of  judgment  of  the  high- 
priest,  102,  111. 

Raven  sent  out  of  the  ark,  44. 

Rebekah,  49;  demanded  for  a  wife  to  Isaac,  57;  bears 
twins,  58 ;  imposes  upon  her  husband,  59. 

Recem,  or  Rekem,  king,  135. 

Records  of  the  Tyrians,  890. 

Regulus  (Emilius),  574. 

Rehoboam  succeeds  Solomon,  263 ;  ten  tribes  revolt, 
264;  builds  and  fortifies  several  towns,  266;  has 
eighteen  wives  and  thirty  concubines,  267;  dies,  268. 

Revenues  of  Celesyria,  Phoenicia,  Judea,  and  Samaria, 
364. 

Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  301. 


07G 


INDEX. 


Reaon,  Solomon's  enemy.  202. 

posited  in  David's  monument,  214. 
Bod 

Roman  n  ree  In  favor  of  the  Jews,  -101,  425. 

Rubrius  Gallua,  218. 

Rue  of  ii  prodigious  magnitndi . 

Rufua, 

Ruliu  ptian)  takes  Bleaaar  prisoner,  867. 

Rnfufl   Terentius  or  Turn  us)  left  with  an  army  at  Jern- 

-  limn,  859. 
Rntb  gleans  In  Boac'a  field.  174;  married  to  Boaz,  and 
id  the  mot  Lor  of  Obed,  174. 

mii  DAT  kept  very  strictly  by  the  Essens,  693 ; 
Sabbath,  so  called  from  the  Egyptian  word  Sabo,  806; 
auperstitiouBly  observed  by  the  Jews,  370,  632,  7U7; 
tiny  arc  advised  by  Matthias  to  defend  themselves, 

on  the  Sabbath  day,  370  ;  and  by  Jonathan,  382;  al- 
lowed to  repel,  hut  not  to  attack  an  enemy  on  that 
day,  668,  7t'7  ;  Antiochus  forces  the  Jews  to  break  the 
Sabbath,  >sv.»;  spent  in  reading  the  law, 489;  nshered 
in  and  ended  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  790;  Jews 
on  that  day  dined  at  the  sixth  hour,  2G;  the  seditious 
kill  the  Romans  on  the  Sabbath  day,  714;  unlawful 
to  travel  far  on  the  Sabbath  day,  400 ;  pretended  to 
be  unlawful  either  to  make  war  or  peace  on  the  Sab- 
bath day,  764;  not  allowed  by  some,  even  in  case  of 
necessity,  to  take  arms  either  on  the  Sabbath  day,  or 
the  evening  before,  18. 

Sabbatic  river,  802. 

Sabbeus,  387 

Sabbiou  discovers  Alexander's  design  to  Herod,  434. 

Sabinus,  Caesar's  steward  in  Judca,  532,  6S5;  he  accuses 
Archelaus.  532;  falls  heavy  upon  the  Jews,  534. 

Sabinus,  one  of  the  murderers  of  Caius,  591 ;  kills  him- 
self, 592. 

Sabinus,  the  brother  of  Vespasian,  takes  the  capital, 
7'J4;  is  killed  by  Yitellius,  ib. 

Sabinus,  by  birth  a  Syrian,  a  man  of  great  valor,  834. 

Sacrifices  were  either  private  or  public,  112  ;  all  or  part 
only  burnt,  ib. ;  how  offered,  ib. ;  how  sin-offerings 
were  offered,  ib.;  those  of  swine  forbidden,  3G9 ;  Ti- 
tus desires  John  not  to  leave  off  the  sacrifices,  83G; 
sacrifices  for  Caesar's  prosperity,  G9  • ;  omissions 
thereof  the  beginning  of  the  Jewish  war,  711 ;  offer- 
ings of  foreigners  usually  received  by  the  Jews,  but 
now  prohibited  by  the  seditious,  712  ;  what  parts  were 
due  to  the  priests,  12G ;  none  but  Jews  to  overlook 
the  sacrifices  in  the  temple,  012;  not  to  be  tasted  till 
the  oblation  is  over,  3GG ;  not  to  be  bought  by  hire 
of  an  harlot,  137;  meat-offerings  joined  to  bloody 
sacrifices,  112,  et  seq. ;  not  to  be  abused  to  luxury, 
918;  ought  to  be  without  blemish,  116;  what  were 
burnt  offerings,  111;  animals  not  offered  till  the 
eighth  day  alter  their  birth,  113;  wine  and  oil  re- 
served  for  sacrifices  consumed  by  the  seditious,  829. 

Sadduc  stirs  up  sedition,  543. 

Sadducees  deny  fate,  394  ;  contrary  to  the  Pharisees, 
403;  observe  only  the  written  law,  ib. ;  opinions, 
544,  094  ;  the  rich  men  on  their  side,  403. 

Sages  or  wise  men  among  the  Israelites,  248. 

NiLitis,  king  of  Egypt,  869. 

Salmanezer,  or  Shalmanezer,  invades  Syria  and  Phoe- 
nicia, and  carries  the  ten  tribes  away,  303. 

Salome  charges  her  husband  with  adultery,  457;  sends 
a  bill  of  divorce  to  her  second  husband,  470;  envies 
Herod's  sons  and  their  wives,  485,489  ;  clears  herself, 
490;  Herod  forces  her  to  be  married  to  Alexas,  515. 

Salome,  granddaughter  ol  Herod  the  Great,  553 ;  mar- 
ried to  Philip  the  tetrarch,  and  afterwards  to  Aristo- 
bulus,  lb. 

Salt  suv.  ii  upon  the  ruins  of  a  demolished  town,  1G8. 

Samacha,  601. 

ria built,  272;  whence  Its  name  derived,  ib.;  be- 
ged  by  the  Syrians,  ami  wonderfully  relieved.  . 

i,  suiters  famine,  is  taken,  and  levelled 
u  nil  the  ground,  402,  625. 

Samaritans,  a  colony  from  Cutha,  304,  319;  pretend  to 
be  the  posb  rity  of  Joseph,  850;  sometimes  deny  and 

sometimes   j  rofess   them-'  Ives    Jews,   804,   350,   3G9 ; 

harass  the  .bus  under  Oniae,  362;  pretend  to  be  Bi- 
dooiona,  369;  their  temple  upon  Mount  Gerizzim, 
ib. ;  pollute  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  645 ;  are  ene- 
he  Jews,  335,  607  ;  dispute  wit  h  the  Jews  in 
i      pi  aboul  their  temple,  386 ;  call  Antiochus  a  god, 

I.  479;  bis  speech  against   Herod,  427; 
is  bonoi ed  by  I lerod,  428. 

birth,  lTu;  marries  a  Philistine  woman,  1 T  l : 
kill  Ib. ;  propu  ea  a  riddle,  l t  i  ;  burns  the 

corn,    171;    is  delivered    up    to    the    I'liilistines,   172; 


■lays  them  With  the  jawbone  of  an  ns-;  carries  the 
gate  of  tia/.a  away,  ib. ;  fulls  in  love  with  Delila,  17   ; 

is  betrayed  by  her,  and  his  eyes  put  out,  17^:  j  u.la 
a  1.  >u.-e  down  upon  the  Philistines,  ib. 

Samuel  bom,  and  consecrated  to  God,  175;  God  calls 
him,  ib. ;  conquers  the  Philistines,  178;  bis  sous  \ 
bad  judges,  180;  ib  offended  at  the  people's  demand- 
ing a  king,  ib.;  tells  the  people  the  manners  of  a 
king,  180,  et  seq.;  threatens  Saul  with  the  loss  of  his 
kingdom,  186;  anoints  David,  192;  dies,  203;  is 
raised,  and  foretells  Saul's  death,  2u0. 

Sanhedrim,  their  power,  11. 

Sapinius,  503. 

Sapphoia.     See  Zipphora,  99. 

Sarai,  or  Sarah,  Abraham's  wife,  50  ;  goeB  with  him  in- 
to Egypt,  50;  the  king  tails  in  love  with  her,  50;  her 
death,  5G. 

Saramalla,  440,  642. 

Sardians,  their  decree  in  favor  of  the  Jews,  434. 

Sarepta,  its  widow,  272. 

Sarmatians  invade  Mysia,  862. 

Saturninus  (Seutius),  609,  611,  514,  518,  521,  669. 

Saul,  181  ;  seeks  his  father's  asses,  ib.;  Samuel  anoints 
him,  182;  is  made  king,  183;  promises  to  assist  the 
Gileadites,  184;  is  inaugurated  again,  185;  conquers 
the  Philistines,  187  ;  his  wars  and  family,  188  ;  makes 
war  on  the  Amalekites,  189;  spares  Agag  against 
God's  command,  189;  for  which  Samue!  foretells  the 
loss  of  his  kingdom,  190 ;  his  cruel  order  for  murder- 
ing Ahimelech  and  the  priests,  199;  he  consults  with 
a  necromantic  woman,  20G ;  his  death,  210. 

Saulus,  614. 

Scaurus,  630,  632,  633;  returns  into  Syria,  416;  raises 
the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  ib.;  expedition  into  Arabia, 
420. 

Scopas  defeated  by  Antiochus,  360. 

Sea  divided,  92. 

Sebas,  or  Sheba,  the  son  of  Ilus,  237. 

Sects  of  the  Jews,  394,  544,  7,  690. 

Sedition  among  the  priests,  612  ;  sedition  of  Korah  and 
his  followers,  121 ;  of  the  Israelites,  118  ;  quelled  by 
Joshua,  118 ;  at  Ca?sarea,  611. 

Sejanus  put  to  death,  557. 

Seleucus  Nicator  possesses  Syria,  351;  his  bounty  to- 
wards the  Jews,  360. 

Seleucus  Soter,  367. 

Seleucus,  sou  of  Antiochus  Grypus,  409 ;  his  death,  409. 

Scllum,  or  Shallum,  300. 

Sem,  or  Shem,  46 ;  his  posterity,  48. 

Semei,  or  Shiniei,  229,  233,  243,  244;  is  put  to  death, 
246. 

Semelius,  329. 

Semprouius  (Caius),  401. 

Sennacherib  makes  war  on  Hezekiah,  305  ;  his  death, 
306. 

Senate  of  Rome's  decree  concerning  the  Jews,  380; 
they  renew  their  league  with  the  Jews.  425  ;  another 
decree  of  theirs  concerning  the  Jews,  433. 

Sepphoris  burnt,  537;  taken  by  Josephus,  34. 

Serebams,  332. 

Scron,  general,  371. 

Serpent  deprived  both  of  speech  and  feet,  41. 

Servilius  (Publius),  his  letter  to  Cue  Milesians  in  favor 
of  the  Jews,  433. 

Seth,  son  of  Adam,  43  ;  his  posterity's  pillars,  ib. 

Sethos,  king  of  Egypl 

Sethotis,  or  Sesotris,  889. 

Seventy-two  interpreters  sent  by  Eleazarwith  the  books 
of  the  law,  357;  arrive  at  Alexandria,  357;  bring 
with  them  the  law,  ib.  ;  they  wash  in  the  sea  bef<  re 
they  begin,  359;  tiny  finish  in  seventy-two  days,  ib. 

Sextus  Cesser,  427,  638;  slain  by  Cecilius  lkussus,  638. 

Shallum,  300. 

Shalmanezer.     See  Salmanassar. 

Shamegar  succeeds  Ehud,  163. 

Sheba,  235,  237. 

Shechemitea  meet  Alexander  the  Great,  350. 

Shekel,  a  coin.  109. 

Shem,  46;   his  posterity,  48. 

Shield,  a  token  of  a  league  between  tho  Jews  and  the 
Romans,  425. 

Slum.  i.  229,  233,  211  ;  put  to  death,  246. 

ships  sent  to  Pontile  ai  d  Thrace  under  Aha/iah.282. 

Shi  -hack,  or  Sesae,  king  of  Ifigypt,  220,  263,  267. 

SibaS,  or  Ziba,  221,  228;   Saul's  lieedmaii. 

Sibbechal,  the  Hittlte,  237. 

Sicarii,  or  banditti,  flee  to  Alexandria,  879;  cannot  be 

ton-  id  to  own  Caesar,  879. 
Sichon,  or  sihon.  conquered,  127. 
Sidon, 

appearing  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 

Ms. 

governor,  13,  26. 


INDEX. 


977 


Silas,  tyrant  of  Lysias,  <*17. 

Silas,  an  attendant  on  king  Agrippa  senior,  559,  595; 
becomes  troublesome  to  the  king,  ib. ;  is  killed,  596. 

Silo,  the  Roman  captain,  444. 

Silo,  or  Shiloh,  a  town  where  the  tabernacle  was  fixed, 
153. 

Silva,  governor  of  Judea,  870;  besieges  Masada,  871 

Silver  of  little  value  in  the  days  of  Solomon,  261. 

Simeon,  767. 

Simon,  son  of  Boethus,  made  high-priest,  475;  his 
daughter  married  to  Herod,  ib. ;  he  is  deprived,  520. 

Simon  the  Just,  354,  362. 

Simon,  son  of  Onias,  the  high-priest,  dies,  367. 

Simon  the  Essene,  542. 

Simon,  son  of  Gioria,  719,  786;  fights  with  the  zealots, 
787  ;  conquers  Idumea,  787  ;  made  prisoner,  and  re- 
served for  the  triumph,  858 ;  put  to  death  at  the  tri- 
umph, 865. 

Simon,  brother  of  Judas  and  Jonathan,  beats  the  enemy 
in  Galilee,  374 ;  made  captain  of  the  Jews,  380 ;  his 
speech  to  them,  395 ;  made  their  prince,  396  ;  high- 
priest,  397  ;  killed  by  Ptolemy  his  son-in-law,  398. 

Simon,  captain  of  the  Idumeans  at  Jerusalem,  774. 

Simon,  a  life-guard  man  to  Josephus,  16. 

Simon  of  Jerusalem,  596. 

Simon,  a  magician,  609. 

Simon,  a  Pharisee,  20. 

Simon,  a  servant  of  Herod,  assumes  the  crown,  536. 

Simon,  son  of  Saul,  716. 

Simon  persuades  the  people  to  exclude  Agrippa  from 
the  temple,  596. 

Sieera  oppresses  the  Israelites,  164 ;  is  killed  by  Jael, 
164. 

Sisinnes,  327 ;  governor  of  Syria,  333. 

Slaughter,  the  greatest  that  ever  was  in  one  battle, 
2G9. 

Sodomites  and  their  associates  conquered,  51. 

Sodomites  burnt  with  fire  from  heaven,  53,  et  seq. 

Sohcmus  succeeds  his  brother  Azizus,  610,  869. 

Sohemus  of  Iturea  betrays  Herod's  secret  order  for 
killing  Mariamne,  465,  466 ;  is  put  to  death  by  Herod, 
467. 

Solomon,  217 ;  promised  to  David,  219 ;  born,  225 ; 
anointed  and  proclaimed  king,  241 ;  again  anointed 
and  proclaimed,  243;  marries  Pharaoh's  daughter, 
246 ;  determines  the  cause  of  two  harlots,  247 ;  his 
power,  grandeur,  and  wisdom,  248;  his  letter  to  Hi- 
ram, 249;  builds  the  temple,  250;  his  addresses  to 
God  and  the  people  after  it  was  built,  254;  offers  sac- 
rifices, 255  ;  builds  himself  a  royal  palace,  256  ;  solves 
the  problems  proposed  by  the  king  of  Tyre,  257  ;  for- 
tifies Jerusalem,  and  builds  several  towns,  258;  lays 
a  tax  on  the  remaining  Canaanites,  259 ;  fits  out  a 
fleet,  ib. ;  his  great  riches,  260;  his  immoderate  love 
of  women,  261 :  his  death,  263. 

Solyma,  or  Salem,  the  old  name  of  Jerusalem,  217. 

Sosias,  447,  449  ;  joins  with  Herod  against  Antigonus, 
449,  649;  he  takes  Antigonns  prisoner  and  carries 
him  to  Antony,  450,  651. 

Souls  of  heroes  slain  supposed  to  be  placed  among  the 
stars,  833. 

Speech  of  Herod  to  his  army,  460 ;  to  the  people,  480 ; 
speech  of  Moses  to  Corah  and  the  people,  122 ;  to  the 
people  before  his  death,  135. 

Spies  sent  to  view  the  land  of  Canaan,  148 ;  to  Jericho, 
118 ;  they  bring  back  a  faithful  account,  148,  et  seq. 

Spoils  of  barbarians  reposited  in  Herod  s  temple,  481. 

Spoils  of  war  equally  divided  between  those  that  fight, 
and  these  that  guard  the  baggage,  209. 

Supplicants  in  Syria  used  to  come  with  a  halter  about 
their  heads,  278. 

lyila,  35. 

ylleus,  first  minister  to  king  Obadas,  501,  664,669; 
goes  to  Rome,  505  ;  accuses  Herod  before  Augustus, 
ib. ;  demands  Salome  in  marriage,  501 ;  is  refused,  ib. ; 
charged  with  several  murders,  518;  accused  before 
Augustus,  509;  sentenced  to  death,  510. 

Syrian  commodities,  68. 

Syrians'  hatred  to  the  Jews,  627. 

Tabernacle  built,  102  ;  its  description,  103  ;  its  purifi- 
cation, 109. 

Tabernacles  (feast  of),  a  great  festival  of  the  Jews,  253, 
454 ;  celebrated  in  war  by  the  leave  of  king  Antio- 
chus,  39  ;  celebrated  for  fourteen  days  upon  the  de- 
dication of  Solomon's  temple,  255  ;  Jews  then  carry 
boughs  with  fruit,  409;  Jews  then  fixed  tabernacles 
in  the  temples,  848 ;  it  is  celebrated  after  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity,  332,  338. 

Table  [of  show-bread],  golden,  made  by  Ptolemy,  355  ; 
with  its  cups  and  vials,  350. 

Table  in  the  court  of  the  priests,  105. 

Tamar,  David's  daughter,  217. 
62 


Tamar,  Absalom's  daughter,  married  to  Rehoboam,  232. 

Tartan,  305. 

Temple  upon  Mount  Gerizzim,  316,  387 ;  like  to  that  at 
Jerusalem,  348. 

Temple  built  by  Herod,  in  honor  of  Augustus,  478, 
656. 

Temple  of  the  golden  calf,  758. 

Temples  in  Egypt,  386. 

Temples  of  the  Canaanites  were  to  be  demolished,  135. 

Temples  of  foreign  nations  not  to  be  plundered,  nor 
their  donations  taken  away,  137. 

Temples  of  Hercules  and  Astarte  at  Tyre,  257 ;  of  De- 
cerns and  the  Graces  at  Athens,  425 ;  of  Belus  at  Ba- 
bylon, 317. 

Temple  built  by  Herod  at  Samaria,  473. 

Temple  (Herod's)  at  Jerusalem  described,  475. 

Temple  Onian  in  Egypt  built  like  that  at  Jerusalem, 
386,  402,  615. 

Temple  of  Diana  at  Elymais,  376 ;  of  Dagon  at  Ashdod, 
or  Azotus,  388 ;  of  Apollo  at  Gaza,  408. 

Temple  of  Jerusalem  rebuilt  by  Zorobabel,  333,  615 ; 
the  Jews  hindered  in  building  it,  334 ;  they  go  on  by 
order  of  Darius,  332 ;  it  is  finished  in  seven  years, 
334;  lower  than  Solomon's  temple,  480;  plundered 
by  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  368  ;  taken  by  Pompey,  and 
its  most  holy  place  seen  by  him,  420,  632  ;  rebuilt  by 
Herod,  481 ;  burnt  by  Titus,  845  ;  Titus  goes  into  the 
most  holy  place,  845. 

Temple  of  Solomon  described,  250,  et  seq. ;  dedicated  by 
Solomon,  251;  foreigners  could  go  but  to  a  partition- 
wall  in  Herod's  temple,  482;  women  excluded  the 
two  inner  courts,  ib. ;  tax  out  of  the  temple-treasure 
remitted,  385 ;  Daniel's  prophecy  fulfilled,  374. 

Terah,  Abraham's  lather,  49. 

Terebinth,  or  turpentine-tree,  near  Hebron,  supposed 
as  old  as  the  world,  788. 

Tero,  an  old  soldier,  512,  669 ;  charged  with  treason  by 
Trypho,  ib. 

Thaumastus,  558. 

Theatres  erected  at  Jerusalem  by  Herod,  471,  657  ;  at 
Caesarea,  477. 

Theft,  how  punished,  143. 

Theodorus,  4U8,  627. 

Theodosius,  387. 

Thermusa,  546. 

Theudas,  an  imposter,  606. 

Tholomy,  424. 

Thummosis,  or  Tethmosis,  king  of  Egypt,  8'88,  889, 
898. 

Thrugamma,  or  Togarmah,  47. 

Tiberius  Alexander,  procurator  of  Judea,  606. 

Tiberius  Alexander,  governor  of  Alexandria,  717,  798 ; 
he  brings  Egypt  over  to  Vespasian,  792. 

Tiberius  the  emperor,  547,  694;  his  dilatory  proceed- 
ings, 556;  his  prognostic  of  a  successor,  560;  his 
death, ib. 

Tiglathpileser,  300. 

Tigranes,  king  of  Armenia,  413,  458,  554,  629,  670. 

Timaus,  king  of  Egypt,  887. 

Timidius,  575. 

Timotheus,  374;  he  is  put  to  flight  by  Judas,  375. 

Tiridates,  60-*. 

Tithes  and  first  fruits  given  to  the  Levites,  126 ;  their 
tithes  or  tenth  parts  given  to  the  priests,  ib. ;  this 
law  restored  by  Hezekiah,  303. 

Titus  Cassar  sent  to  Alexandria,  729 ;  brings  a  great 
number  of  troops  to  Vespasian,  732  ;  hi  piety  towards 
his  lather,  742 ;  he  and  Vespasian  take  Jotapata,  745 ; 
his  mildness  to  Josephus,  750 ;  is  sent  against  Tari- 
cheaa,  753 ;  his  valor  in  this  expedition,  755 ;  his 
speech  to  his  soldiers,  ib. ;  takes  Taricheae,  755 ;  sent 
to  Rome  with  king  Agrippa,  to  compliment  Galba, 
786 ;  arrives  at  Jerusalem,  and  is  exposed  to  great 
danger,  798 ;  his  great  valor,  ib. ;  his  great  concern 
to  save  Jerusalem,  816 ;  and  the  temple,  838,  844 ;  his 
speech  to  his  soldiers,  832  ;  his  speech  to  the  Jewish 
tyrants,  850;  ascribes  the  conquest  of  the  city  to 
God,  855 ;  thanks  the  army,  and  distributes  rewards, 
858 ;  celebrates  his  father's  and  brother's  birthdays, 
859 ;  makes  great  shows,  862 ;  comes  to  Antioch,  862 ; 
and  to  Rome,  863 ;  what  persons  he  carried  with  him 
for  the  triumph,  ib. ;  his  approbation  of  Josephus's 
history,  31 ;  his  generosity  to  Josephus,  36. 

Toparchies  (three),  or  prefectures,  added  ta.Judea,  390. 

Tower  of  Babel,  and  the  Sibyl's  testimony  concerning 

it,  46. 
Trachonites  rebel,  504. 
Traditions  of  the  Pharisees  unwritten,  403 
Trajan,  captain  of  the  tenth  legion,  745. 
Treasure  kept  in  the  temple,  &c,  336. 
Tiilc  8  oi  rerael,  and  their  portions  of  land  by  lot,  154. 
Tribute  paid  out  of  Judea  to  Antiochus  Pius,  400;  great 
men  farm  such  tributes,  364;  poll-money  paid  to  the 


INDEX. 


kings  of  Byrl  d  thousand  drachmae  paid  ou1 

.■I  the  temple  to  them,  ib. :   three  hundred  talents 

:  by  Jonathan  to  Demetrius,  390 ;  Jews  (reed  from 

such  tribute,  390;   high-priest  used  to  pay 

talents  tribute  to  the  kings  of  Egypt,  362; 

poll-money,  crown   tax,  .Vc,  forgiven  the  principal 

rs  of  the  Jews, 

Triumphal  gate  at  Rome,  864. 

iphal  pomp  described,  B64,  1 1  tea. 
a  [ve  offence  to  i  lie  Jews,  171. 
Invention,  117. 
Trypho,  tin'  tyrant,  brings  young  Antiochus  back   to 
Syria,  391 ;  his  perfldious  behavior  to  Antiochus, 
draws  Jonathan  into  a  snare,  395;  makes  anirrup- 
tion  into  Judea,  396;  imposes  upon  Simon,  396 ;  kills 
Jonathan,  391  -   Antiochus  to  be  killed,  398; 

is  made  king  by  the  army,  ib. ;  is  killed  at  Apamea, 

Trypho,  Ptolemy's  favorite,  300. 

Trypho,  Ilerod's  barber,  512,  G70. 

Tubal-Oain,  42. 

Tyrannicus  Priscus,  720. 

Tyrannus'a  deposition  against  Alexander,  507,  668. 

built,  25u;  oppressed  by  Marion,  437;    besieged, 
349. 

Tyre,  the  name  of  a  castle  built  by  Hyrcanus,  367. 

Tynans,  their  god,  Baal,  292;   their  ancient  records, 
;  they  beat  the  Assyrians  at  sea,  30-i;  their  tem- 
a   of  Jupiter  Olympius,  of  Hercules,  and  of  As- 
tarte,  257,  890. 

Ummidius  Quadratus,  608. 
Uriah  slain.  222. 
Uzzah  smitten  by  God,  218. 

I        ah,  or  Azariah,  298:  burns  incense  in  the  temple, 
:  is  smitten  with  the  leprosy,  299. 

Yaleriax,  a  decurion.  753. 

Valerius,  procousul  of  Asia,  580,  584. 

Varro, 

Varus  (Quintilius),  10,  521,  524,  532,  676,  685;  comes  to 
succor  Sabinus,  537, 687  ;  punishes  the  mutineers,  534, 
038. 

Ta-hti,  340. 

Vatiniue,  579. 

Veils  of  the  tabernacle,  108. 

Ventidius  Bassus  bribed  by  Antigonus,  443;  sent  to  re- 
pel the  Parthiaus,  444;  kills  Pacorus  in  battle,  and 
defeats  the  Parthians,  446. 

Vespasian  and  Titus's  generosity  towards  the  Jews, 
iiiil ;  his  wars  in  Judea,  729,  758,  et  seq. 

Vindex  rebels,  783. 

Vine  (golden)  in  Herod's  temple,  481 ;  another  sent  to 
Rome,  417. 

Vitellius.  482,  861;  is  highly  treated  by  the  Jews,  550r 
553:  expedition  against  Aretas,  552;  is  ordered  by 
T  perius  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  Artabanus, 
651. 

Vitellius  made  emperor  after  Otho,  788. 


Voioe  heard  in  the  temple,  848. 

Tologesses,  kin-  Of  Parthia,  GU5,  8G3,  870:  ho  declares 

war  against  [sates,  606. 
Volumnius,  procurator  of  Syria,  505,  511,  GG9. 
Vonones, 
Vow  of  Jeptha,  169,  et  seq. 

War  not  begun  with  foreign  nations  till  ambassadors 
are  sent,  145,  160. 

War  flaws  of)  among  the  Jews,  145,  920. 

War  (Jewish)  whence  begun,  700,  et  seq. :  703,  et  seq. 

Water  of  Bethlehem  offered  to  God  by  David,  238. 

Witch,  or  necromantic  woman  of  Endor,  207,  et  ■  ■  q. 

Women's  power,  330;  their  cunning  in  preventing  ac- 
cusations, 69;  their  dress  forbidden  men,  145;  when 
divorced,  cannot  marry  without  their  former  hus- 
band's consent,  470;  Persian  women  or  wives  not  to 
be  seen  by  strangers,  340;  not  allowed  to  be  wit- 
nesses, 138. 

Xanthicus,  the  Syro-Macedonian  name  of  the  Jewish 

month  Nisan,  44. 
Xerxes  succeeds  Barius,  335 ;  his  letter  to  Ezra,  ib. 
Xylophoria,  a  festival,  when  they  carried  wood  to  the 

temple  for  the  sacrifices,  713. 

Year,  two  beginnings  of  Jewish  years,  44. 

Great  Year,  a  period  of  six  hundred  common  years,  46. 

Zabdiel,  390. 

Zabidus,  an  Idumean,  913. 

Zachariah,  king  of  Israel,  299 ;  his  death,  300. 

Zachariah,  son  of  Jehoiada,  a  prophet,  is  stoned,  295. 

Zachariah,  the  prophet,  334,  et  seq. 

Zacariah,  son  of  Ahaz,  is  slain  by  Maaseiah,  301. 

Zacharias,  son  of  Baruch,  777 ;  he  is  murdered  in  the 

temple,  778. 
Zacharias,  son  of  Phalek,  771. 
Zamaris,  51G. 

Zealots,  767,  et  seq.,  773,  775,  871. 
Zedekiah,  or  Sedacias,  a  false  prophet,  280. 
Zedekiah,  or  Sedacias,  king  of  Judah,  312 ;  revolts,  313 ; 

calls  for  Jeremiah's  advice,  314  •  is  carried  captive  to 

Babylon,  315 ;  his  death,  317. 
Zebina  (Alexander),  conquered  by  Antiochus  Grypus, 

and  dies,  401. 
Zeno,  styled  Cotylas,  tyrant  of  Philadelphia,  399. 
Zenodorus,  477,  655 ;  his  death,  478. 
Zerah  defeated  by  Asa,  270. 
Zeuxis,  362. 
Zimri.  prince  of  the  Simeonites,  132 ;  his  speech  against 

Moses,  132. 
Zimri  kills  Elah,  271 ;  his  death,  272. 
Zipporah,  Moses's  wife,  99. 
Zizon,  an  Arabian,  410. 
Zoilus,  a  tyrant,  406. 
Zorobabel,  328,  et  seq. 
Zur,  king  of  the  Midianites,  134. 


THE   END. 


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